#bubble wrap holder

[cronchytoast]

objects that are on one canvas for no particular reason

[atasteforsuicidal]

Unpacking and finding more broken things is making me really sad :(

One of my grandmother's plates and my first le petit prince mug, especially :(

[honeykaes]

not a fairytale

pairing: ayato x femme!reader II 3.1k

warning: smut, 18+ content, minors do not interact, hurt/comfort, angst, arranged-marriage au, based on queen charlotte, reader is from fontaine, fingering, cunnilingus, virginity loss, creampies, unedited

synopsis: to improve relations between inazuma and fontaine, focolors and raiden shogun arrange you and ayato to get married much to your dismay. As you try to be hopeful about the situation, you find yourself getting angrier and lonelier as ayato completely distances himself from your life.

A small lit candle on your vanity illuminated the dark room as wax soon dropped along its golden holder. Your obi, decorated in navy and sewn with silver cranes was thrown to the ground, leaving your robe barely covering your chest and stomach.

Your eyes gazed at your reflection in the mirror, darkened eyes watching you back. You looked completely different than you did in Fontaine three months ago before you had sailed across the lands for weeks to reach Inazuma where you would reside for the rest of your days with a man you had never met before.

It had been three months since you had married Ayato Kamisato, the head of the Yashiro Commission in Inazuma.

The archons, Focolars and the Raiden Shogun had chosen your families to wed as to improve relations between the two nations—your family, hailed for its international politics and diplomacy matched with his family’s managing shrines, festivals, and other cultural events. You had traded your bodices, frills, and corsets for robes, obis, and haoris. 

You hated being a pawn in a game you weren’t even playing, but how could you fight against two all-powerful archons? When you first met your husband, he had seemed kind as you battled with yourself whether you could run away without your family being tried by Focolars for “breach of contract”. Ayato offered reassurances, that you wouldn’t be forced to do anything you didn’t please, that you’d be free how to go about life in the estate.

It comforted your heart and made you hopeful that you had an ally, someone to rely on, someone to eventually trust and love. Yet, after you said your vows in front of the people of Inazuma adorned in a white shiromuku kimono you didn’t get to choose, he distance himself from you and ushered off to attend to whatever with his retainers flashing a sad look to you. 

The two of you haven’t even consummated the wedding. How utterly embarrassing. The man had not provided a shared bedroom with him. It was separate rooms, separate lives, separate people. 

You hardly saw him at all.

You gripped your fists tight, nails digging in the flesh of your palms. Tears pricked at your eyes watching your hardened eyes fill with them.

“It’s not fair. I didn’t want this. I never wanted a marriage like this…” you muttered out loud. You heard a timid knock on the door as one of your personal retainers, Ayato seemed to assign her to, peaked her head out of the door. 

“My l-lady? Are you crying?” she stammered out. You narrowed your eyes at her, quickly wiping your cheeks to hide any stains or residue your tears could leave behind. Shifting under the weight of your cold gaze, her eyes leered away momentarily before gazing back at you.

“I’m fine,” you muttered. “He missed my dinner invitation again despite the numerous attempts to get his attention. I’m not going to try anymore. I’m tired of feeling like this.”

The retainer hesitantly leered behind her again before letting out a soft sigh.

“I see, my lady. But, my lord is actually here at the door with me wishing to speak with you,” she answered, opening the door further to reveal Ayato’s somber form peering over at you. He was dressed casually in a pale blue yukata, purple heko obi wrapped around his waist. His lips pulled themselves in a frown.

The sight of his eyes gazing at you pitifully caused bubbles of anger to rile deep in your chest. You turned your head around glaring at the pair through the reflection of the mirror.

“I don’t care. Va-t’en!” you barked. The retainer shrunk as you yelled, looking up to Ayato as he silently lifted a hand up signaling she could leave. The retainer rushed out as Ayato walked fully into your private chamber, closing the shoji behind him. You hear his heavy footstep creep closer to you as you shut your eyes, knowing he was now right behind you.

“(Name), I believe I owe you a long-deserved apology,” he murmured. You napped your eyes open, whipping your head around, and scoffed, seeing his frown deepen. 

“Oh? What makes you say that?” you sarcastically ask. You rose from your seat, jamming a finger into his chest. Ayato could feel the daggers digging into his eyes from your gaze.

“You said we were in this together. That’s what you told me on our wedding day! That’s what you even said in your vows to me,” you barked. Tears were beginning to prick at the corners of your eyes once more, as Ayato’s eyes softened.

“You made me believe that this shitty situation would be hopeful! That I’d be happy despite being a sacrificial pawn to my nation,” you yelled out. Ayato briefly closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh from his chest.

“...It seems my own judgment about you was incorrect,” he replied, reaching out and placing his hand on your shoulder. A fire lit under you as the rage that developed for months finally reached its boiling point. You shrugged away his hand, Ayato’s mouth opening in surprise.

“Don’t act like my husband now, my lord,” you cooly reply. Ayato closed his mouth, taking a sigh once more to collect himself and retreating his hand back to his sigh.

“When we first met, and I saw you at the docks strategizing with yourself on how you could wiggle yourself out of this situation, I couldn’t help but smile. It comforted me that I was also not alone in feeling like a pawn to the archons, to the nation,” he confessed. You sniffled, crossing your arms tight. He thought you would interrupt him, curse at him, beat on his chest but you stood there, silent tears streaming down your face, and simply glared at him.

“You told me your wish for independence. I knew that you did not want this, so I did not want to force you into a role you had no choice to do. I wanted you to be able to do as you pleased and work on your efforts of diplomacy and international cultural teachings Inazuma needs after the Sakoku Decree lifted—”

“No, Ayato! I WANTED LOVE!” 

Your eyes widened surprised by your own outrage before drifting your arms to hug yourself. Your blurry vision darted to the floor, shame bubbling inside of you as you finally admitted the core issue of your frustration. Ayato’s lilac eyes widened, taking a step back surprised at your outburst too.

You turned your body around, trying to escape his eyes peering into your own. The two of you briefly sat in silence, the candle still burning briefly alerting you that Ayato still remained there, paused as his shadow did not move.

You wiped your eyes once more, sniffing loudly to prevent any snot threatening to peak from your nose, and took a shaky sigh before turning around to face your husband. His eyes had narrowed, not from anger or disappointment, but from thought. 

“...As a child, my favorite story was Cendrillon. Although I did not have an evil stepmother or step-siblings, I related to that poor girl so much,” you confessed. Ayato took a silent step forever, getting closer to you.

“Yes, I wanted my independence and freedom but I also wanted to share that with someone that I loved,” you uttered, voice beginning to get shaky. Ayato still had not said a word, same expression outlined on his face.

“...I…” Ayato trailed off before, closing his mouth once again.  He took a deep breath, an attempt to reassure himself against your own watchful eyes.

“When my parents passed when I was a child, the stories that I loved…I began to hate them. How could these fairytales, love like that even exist even when I would never be granted those privileges? I couldn’t shrink my responsibility, I had to take care of my little sister and the clan my father had left for me,” Ayato recalled, closing his eyes.

“I didn't understand because I had the legacy of my bloodline, my family on my shoulders; however…” he trailed off, reaching his hand for your palm. He lifted the appendage up, pressing his lips against your palm.

“...I need to at least be willing to learn with you. I cannot promise I will be a prince from those stories, but, as I said in our vows, I will open myself to you, in my heart…if you’ll still let me.”

You froze as Ayato gave you a soft smile, letting your hand go and placing his large palm against your cheek. It was warm, his touch gentle as if he was handling cracked glass. As more tears cascaded down your cheek, he wiped them away with his thumb slowly leaning him and placing his lips on top of your own. 

And to both of your surprise, your eyes fluttered close—pressing your lips back with the same fervor.

Your arms wrapped around his neck, deepening the kiss and closing an inch of space between you two—lips desperate and clinging on to the hope of reassurance of the future of your marriage. A low moan reverberated from Ayato’s lips, drifting his hands to your waist, and pulling you closer. You gasped feeling something hard beginning to nudge your upper thighs, before he gripped your robe—already exposing much of your body to him—and took it off, leaving you bare to him

Embarrassment fills your form remembering the little clothes you did have on when you confronted Ayato, but it didn’t matter at this moment; his hands gently brought your body down against the large plush futon on the ground. He laid on top of you, breaking the kiss momentarily to let his eyes wander across your form before claiming them once more. Ayato’s hand brushed against your thighs, pinching the plush skin of your upper thighs.

Ayato breaks the kiss once more, grunting in brief frustration, at the lack of contact his skin was having yours. With his obi and yukata joining your attire, your eyes fell to his hardened cock before he laid on top of you once more, pressing his lips against the shell of your ear. His hand snaked itself between your thighs, cupping your slit as a soft sigh escaped your lips. 

“Ayato, please,” you begged.  He sucked a breath in and felt his cock throb at the low seductive nature of your voice. Two fingers brushed themselves along your fold, gathering up the slick drooling out of you You gasped as they sank themselves inside, inching deeper into your core. Ayato struggled pumping his fingers inside of you from how tight you were, walls clinging against him as if they didn’t want them to leave.

“You’re beautiful and already dripping this much for me. I didn't take you for the innocent type,” he hummed in your ear. Your nails harpooned in the soft silk of your sheets, feeling hot precum smearing against your leg as Ayato absentmindedly ground himself against you. 

“I see you’re feeling confident now, my lord,” you muttered in response. Ayato clicked his tongue, pressing his lips against your neck.

“I thought I told you when we got married not to call me that. I want to hear your voice, especially like this, call me by my given name,” he whispered. You choke out another moan, his fingers scissoring themselves to stretch you out further.  Ayato leaned over, stealing another kiss from you, before parting his fingers. The digits were illuminating under the dim light, caked with your arousal before Ayato briskly lapped them up.

His lips moved down from your neck, leaving a trail of burning kisses along your body.

“W-What are you doing now,” you stammered out as he reached the valley of your breasts. His hands propped up, fondling the pair with a tight squeeze as you whined. 

“Something you’ll enjoy, I promise,” he reassured, lips curling to a smirk. He flashed his eye up briefly at you, admiring your embarrassed expression eating up every move and tease he was showing to your body. A soft laugh escaped him before continuing to kiss down your body until he reached your naval.

“Did they not explain what consummating truly meant?” he hummed in amusement, lips moving towards your inner thighs. You ball your hands into fists, pounding them down against the futon.

“I know what it means! I’ve read books about it, Ayato! It’s not like I had anything else to do stuck inside of here all day!” you barked back. Your husband, who was nipping at your inner thighs, paused hesitantly before offering you a regretful smile.

“Hence why I want to give you the best experience possible. To help atone for my cruelty,” he replied. He set his sight on your entrance, watching your sweet hole puckering on nothing, and leaned in further. Opening his mouth, Ayato pressed his tongue along your slit, sliding the muscle up and down. You whined, pleasure shooting through you as his tongue nudged against your clit ever so often.

He slurped the abundant slick pouring from you, wrapping his lips against your swollen clit and sucking with passion. His name yelled from your lips, drifting your hands down on Ayato’s soft pale blue hair—pushing his head further against your crotch. Your ground your hips against his face desperate for more friction on the bundle of nerves.

“Heh…our retainers probably know what we are doing from how loud you are being,” he cooed, giving your clit kitten licks as your hips bucked for more. He quickly released your hands that were pressing against Ayato’s hair covering your mouth in embarrassment. He clicked his tongue, corners of his lips turned downwards before gliding two fingers back inside of your warmth, curling themselves inside of you as if they were determinately searching for something.

“That’s not to say to be quiet, love. Please…I want to hear your voice. Let me know how my actions are making you feel,” he breathlessly groaned. You shakily let your hands go, pitch rising as Ayato went back to toying with your clit as he pumped his fingers inside of you. Your stomach churned, thighs trembling as you crawled closer to your high.

“Ayato! Ayato, fuck!” you cursed out loudly, overwhelmed with the pleasure he graced you with throughout your body. As you shivered in pleasure, hips rising without control, Ayato pressed his hand down—trying to control your writhing form.

“Easy there. Shhh, I got you,” he cooed, helping you ease down from your climax. Your chest heaved, catching your breath—half-lidded, tired eyes peering up at his soft ones. You drifted your eyes away from his gaze as he leaned up, wiping his mouth of the slick that clung onto it. 

Your attention was now on his cock, twitching impatiently. Although it wasn’t girthy, it was long and looked heavy as it curled up. Precum budded at his flushed tip; a few moles littering along its base.

Ayato lined himself up against your slit, the sensation feeling foreign to you as he reassuringly nudged his tip against your burning clit. You wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders, trying to internally prepare for what was to come. 

“I won’t sugarcoat it, this is going to be painful,” he murmured, offering you a kiss on your cheek. “But, just let me know when you're ready for me to start moving. Don’t worry about how long that will take. I’m a patient man.”

Ayato slowly slid his cock inside of you. You suck a sharp breath in, walls burning as you feel him slowly stretching you out overtook your senses. As he inched further, Ayato found gnawed on his bottom lip fighting the urge to immediately bottom out. Your walls were soft, tightly clenched around his length. Your nails dig into his pale. Broad shoulders as tears develop in your eyes.

As he finally bottoms out, he peppered kisses along your tear-stained face, softly moaning at your pulsating walls trying to milk him.

“You’re taking me so well. It’s hard to control myself when I have you like this,’ he confessed, drawing shapes on your hips to distract yourself from the pain. His fingers eventually move away finding themselves against your clit while it rubbed tight circles, trying to ease the torment into pleasure

Time eventually passes and you whine, offering a shaky nod. Pressing his lips on yours one more time, his hips begin to move. His pace is powerful, clearly overwhelmed by your cunt. You could hear him grunt against the shell of your ear, muttering your name repeatedly. 

Your legs wrapped around his thin waist, allowing him to plunge himself deeper. Ayato’s tip brushed against the spot he had found earlier and you yelped out in response. Your head had thrown back, sliding your nails down his back as he clenched his jaw at the sharp pain. He increases his pace, as the sound of skin slapping against one another echoed throughout the room.

With his balls slapping against your ass, his eyes focused on his cock continuously disappearing inside of you, glistening in your slick. Your stomach churned, walls fluttering down as you crept closer to your high once more.

His patience had sadly thinned too much, shutting his eyes tight and grunting loudly. His hips stifled, cum shooting deep inside of you.

“I can’t stop myself, I’m sorry,” he slurred out, pressing his face tight against the nape of your neck. He continued to rut against you, thrusting his cum deeper as one hand stroked along your thigh to try to wake him up from this spell.

As his thrust slowed and then halted, sheathed completely inside of you, he lifted his face from your sweaty nape—capturing your lips once more. The two of you moaned before he leaned away again.

 A blush had decorated Ayato’s face, lilac eyes darker and focused as if you were the only person on the planet. His head clung onto his forehead, his lips, glossy, as a string of saliva connected them with yours still. You let your hands fall to the futon before Ayato weaved his own with them and gave you a soft smile.

He was beautiful like this, vulnerable. It was different from his usual distant, calculating self. 

“What made you come tonight,” you whispered. Ayato sighed, letting your hands go and leaning his head to rest on one of your breasts.

“My sister and one of my closest retainers, Thoma. The pair held an intervention for me and put the mirror to my face on how I was treating you. He paused briefly.

“As I said, I’m truly sorry. You won’t have to worry about me leaving you alone anymore,” he whispered. You smiled.

Although it would not make up for everything he put you through, it was at least a start.

A glimmer of hope.

You brushed his hair with your hand, closing your eyes—a peace you haven’t felt in months overtaking you.

“We’re in this together. Never forget that.”

[gravedigginbbydoll]

Could you do eddie and fem reader who are getting spicy in his van but she sees he went to their favorite fast food place without her but they don't wanna stop so they have sex while arguing

A/N: Hi! I'm so sorry to get to this so late! I wanted to do this justice! I changed it up a little, but it is the same idea? Kinda? Lol

CW: sex, smut, porn with plot?, Eddie x reader, no genitals or gender for reader mentioned, desperate! Eddie, riding Eddie, penetrative sex, unprotected (wrap it up, kids), sub! Eddie, dom! reader, kinda grumpy/mean! reader, food mentioned, etc.

Lesson Learned?

Sub! Eddie x Dom! Reader

Eddie was spent, his hands gripping your hips, thrusting in and out of you as you bounced on his cock, your eyes rolling back as you tried to grip something near you, the closest thing being the cupholder Eddie had in the back that was conveniently behind him. You grabbed at it, hands brushing something plastic that was wet and cold. You furrowed your brows as Eddie, continued to thrust up but stuttered a bit as you grabbed the object, bringing it up and out of the holder, curious as to where Eddie had stopped before he picked you up. 

“B-baby? What’s the matter?,” Eddie stuttered out, hips still thrusting into you despite your still body. 

You stared at the cup behind his head, recognizing the little blue windmill anywhere. 

Dutch Bros. 

The jackass went to Dutch Bros without you. 

You pulled the cup from behind Eddie’s head as you held it in front of his face, eyebrows furrowed and blood boiling. 

“What the fuck is this?”

Eddie swallows a bit, but looks confused, shrugging. “I got a Rebel because I was tired from work. Didn’t want to be too tired to visit my baby,” He purred, trying to lean in and kiss you as you shoved his face away. You gripped his chin with your hand, anger spurring inside you. 

“And you didn’t get me anything?” 

Eddie smiles weakly, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I forgot what you usually get and-” 

You dropped the drink behind him into the holder and began once again riding him with reckless abandon, anger bubbling over at your boyfriend's mistake. He knew how much you loved Dutch Bros. And sure it was a simple mistake, but after the shitty day you’d had? It was the last straw. 

“Then fucking call and ask? Hm?” 

Eddie’s eyes rolled back as he seemed to try and clutch at you, his moans veering more into whines. “Fuck, baby…not so rough…I can’t-” 

You dug your nails into him. Dragging them down his chest and causing a guttural groan to escape his mouth. You leaned in and whispered, voice full of venom. “And now, you don’t get to cum until I let you.” You pulled back, an evil grin gracing your face as Eddie seemed to whimper, eyes wide and body strained. 

“Bu-but, I-”

You put a finger to his lips and continued to ride him, pleasuring yourself on his cock. You squeezed him, causing him to whimper. 

“Too bad.” 

Eddie’s body was shaking as he continued to thrust into you after your fifth orgasm, his brow getting that cute little furrow you loved so much. His poor cock was red at the tip as you continued to use him, your body practically spent from the pleasure. 

Eddie whimpered and seemed to practically sob, clearly overstimulated from all the edging and foreplay that he’d had for the past hour. 

“Please…please…baby…been so good…I’m sorry,” He whined out, voice almost raw. 

You gripped his hair, pulling a moan from his lips before a sob escaped them. 

“Fine…I guess you’ve paid for your mistake. Go ahead, baby. Been so good, you deserve to fill me up, hm?,” You purred, clawing lightly at his chest. 

Eddie groaned and started to thrust more erratically, his eyes rolling back as his hands roamed, desperate to touch any part of you. You felt your pleasure climb as well, finally snapping as Eddie groaned and spilled into you, his dick continuing to twitch as rope after rope of cum spurted into you. 

Eddie collapsed on top of you a bit, sighing before panting, hair painted to his forehead with sweat, his skin painted red with claw marks and bites. A perfect vision. 

“S-sorry…I’ll call next t-time,” He worked out still collapsed above you, making you smile devilishly to yourself. Guess he learned.

“It’s okay…I’m over it now.”

[thevenusianleo2]

early

riri williams x black!plussize!reader

a/n : i’m so rusty but kinda inspired so please be patient with me 🤍

the foamy white bubbles of your face wash spilled from your fingers down to your wrist, the sound of water rushing down the drain echoing through the otherwise quiet bathroom. you breathed deep as you rinsed your face, fingers scrubbing your eyes to get rid of any residual lash glue. as much as you loved the look of clusters, that itching was no joke. you continued with your skincare, enjoying the peace and quiet until you heard riri cracking her knuckles and rolling over onto your side of the bed. just as you took off your bonnet she came brushing past you, snot even sparing you a look as she sat on the toilet.

“well good morning to you too” you side eyed her, fingers sliding through your curls before scratching at your scalp. she nudged you out the way with her hip so she could wash her hands before going behind you to put you back in front of the sink where you were and wrapping her arms around your waist. “good morning ma” she mumbled, head resting on your shoulder as she waited for you to kiss her. you looked at her through the mirror and put your hand in front of her face, puckered lips hitting your palm as you picked up her toothbrush with the other hand.

“unt unt, that breath a lil rough baby” you laughed as she took it from your hand and put in back in the holder, kissing you anyway. “you got jokes today huh” she spoke against your lips. you pushed her back by her shoulders playfully before digging in the drawer for your comb. “you still doing my hair today?” she asked, running her hands over her frizzy braids hiding underneath her durag. “yeah, i will after i wash my hair” you answered as you started to comb your hair out from the bottom.

“it’s bout time, you was flaking all over the pillows” she teased, finger scratching the back of your scalp. “girl don’t start, me and these flakes will go lay with somebody else” you huffed with your face scrunched up, popping her hand with the comb. before she could reply the baby monitor on the counter crackled to life, the whines of your baby boy coming through the speaker.

“go get my son and stop playing with me riri”

[rodolfoparras]

its all fun and games thinking about price until you start thinking about Dragon!Price. What id let that dragon man do to me is horrifying. He'd be so warm and cozy! But also so so so possessive of you! Someone flirts, say goodbye to your ability to walk and say hello to a bunch of marks 👍

Thinking about Price being known as the mean old dragon living in the mountains and all the villagers fear him, have tried to defeat him only to end up dead and those who’ve managed to survive haven’t been able to tell the tale from the sheer shock of surviving the event. One day someone as adventurous or rather someone as foolish as you sets out to meet this dragon only to discover him tucked away in some corner of his cave while baring his claws at you, in an attempt to defend himself.

However you don’t take out your sword to hurt him, matter of fact you sit down on the cold concrete floor, pushing a small offering his way without coming any closer.

You read in one of the ancient books hidden away in the library that if you want to build a connection with a dragon you should try handing it an offer.

Although he’s in his dragon form you can see the confused look on his face, the slight tilt to his head and how his whiskers sway in the air before he approaches closer.

The smell of smoke becomes much prominent, dust raising from the ground as he moves his large body before he swiftly takes the offering in his mouth and quickly returns to his original spot .

He turns to meet your gaze only to see the soft smile on your face as you continue to sit in place.

This goes on for days, weeks, months, you’ll walk all the way to the mountain where the mean old dragon resides bring him offering before leaving for the night.

Despite taking up a dragon form he’s more human than you thought. You see the way his eyes light up when you bring him the fruit he likes, you see the curl of his lip, the smoke coming out his nostrils as if huffing when you reprimand him for eating so quick (you’re just trying to make sure he doesn’t get sick from the way he’s basically inhaling his offerings)

You even see the way he’s grown accustomed to you, sure he won’t try to approach but at least he no longer bares his claws at you.

It’s safe to say that you’ve formed some type of bond with the mean old dragon.

You don’t mention this routine to anyone, keeping it all under wraps while continuously visiting the him so it comes as a surprise when you arrive one day with offerings in your hand only to be met with the sight of the dragon bleeding out.

You drop the basket in hand, red apples falling to the floor and the loud thudding sound catches the dragons attention.

Before you know of it the dragon is lunging at you, only to narrowly miss when you roll away in the last second.

“Hey hey it’s me it’s me” you try to explain but the dragon doesn’t seem to care as it launches another attack your way. This time he manages to get in a scratch but even then you keep your sword tucked away, still trying to talk some sense into the dragon.

“Hey hey look,” you say as you take the sword out of its holder and slide it over to where he stands.

At first you can’t see his reaction, face obscured by the cloud of smoke coming from his nose but when you do you see his head tilted just the same as when you first met him in this cave.

“See? I won’t hurt you” you say with a soft smile on your face even going as far as raising your hands in the air.

The dragon's gaze drops from your face down to the ground and when you follow his eyes you see your own blood dripping down.

“Oh” you say gaze glued back to the dragon again “just a minor scratch dont worry about it” minor was an understatement but despite your blury eyes and the nasoua bubbling up in your gut you make your way over to him.

“You’re hurt too” you say as if the dragon could understand you “let me check on it?”

The dragon doesn’t respond but doesn’t move away either as you steadily approach.

You continue to keep your hands up in the air, soft smile still glued to your face doing your best to be as reassuring as possible as you approach him on shaky legs.

When you go to take a closer look, you see the many scales on his underbelly ripped away and a foreign object jammed into it.

“What happened?” You say to yourself before looking up at the dragon again. “I’m going to try to take it out alright? You say pointing to the wound in hopes of making yourself understood.

Once again the dragon doesn’t respond but doesn’t move away either when you approach.

“Good boy” you whisper to yourself and for the first time since you’ve been visiting this dragon you get a proper look at the many scale that decorate his skin. Although most of them are soaked in blood you can see the gold color that coats them and hues of orange and red scattered about on them. You careful reach a hand out ,neck uncomfortably cranking up to meet the dragons gaze, so far he hasn’t moved away yet and you take it as a positive sign as you grab ahold of the sword and slowly but surely start pulling it out of his underbelly.

The dragon roars not out of fear but out of pain as you continue to pull the sword out of him.

“I know I know just give me a second” you say under a shaky breath using all your strength to finally pull it out of him

Immediately he slumps down, wings protectively covering his lower half as he lets out a sound that is something like a mix of pain and relief. Behind him you see the skeletal remains of what must’ve been a person tempting fate and with the dragons blood on your hands, it’s hard to feel bad for the dead man.

You carefully sit down too and make quick work of ripping a piece of your shirt to use as gauze all while the dragon continues to watch you.

Once you’re all cleaned and wrapped up you smile up at him, and once again he just stares at you without giving much of a response.

“We’re okay”

The two of you continue to be okay days weeks and months after that event.

You even seem to grow closer, and at some point the dragon allows you to touch him. Sure it may be to only attended to minor injuries but progress is still progress.

However it all takes a turn when you go to visit him like you usually do, with a basket of apples in hand and a soft smile on your face that quickly drops along with the basket as you take in the sight of the dragon charging towards you. 

You don’t even have time to react before the dragon is just a hair away from your face and you close your eyes out of instinct , as a frightful sound tumbles past your lips.

However the frightened look quickly turns into one of confusion when you notice that the dragon hasn’t attacked you yet and when you open your eyes you don’t see the mean old dragon standing in front of you but instead it’s a man, completely nude and staring at you with the most beautiful pair of cerulean eyes you’ve ever seen in your life.

“Why do you smell like someone else?”

Spitball w/ me?

[sophswritingthings]

constantly thinking of modern! mizu 😭 but i think it would be so cute if mizu and her partner live together in an apartment during college anddd what if mizu’s partner loves baking so mizu always comes home after class to their apartment smelling like a bakery and her partner always makes her favorite sweets 🥺 i would bake her anything she wanted

pairing: modern/college au!mizu x fem!baker!reader

warning(s): light swearing 

a/n: mizu coming home after her acting lessons with eiji: “…. cake. cookies. I need substance”

summary: mizu comes home after a long day—coming home to the whole house smelling of cookies and other sweets.

word count: 748 words / 4,202 characters 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mizu was fumbling with the keys to your apartment, her eyes narrowed as she could barley manage to wiggle the key into the lock.

she was tired, god, oh so tired.

eiji was never easy on her with their practices, particularly their fencing practices. he was an old man, yes—blind, too—but that didn’t stop him from being hard as all hell on her.

once mizu managed to get the door open, she was hit with a sweet, warm smell.

she knew you had been taking culinary classes on the side; but she had no clue it was going to lead to this.

“um.. sweetheart?”

she called into the apartment, hearing as you fumbled through the apartment with a clink and clatter—appearing around the corner with gloves on your hands and apron covered in dust.

she chuckled, “busy?”

“very!” you smiled brightly, ducking back into the kitchen. she dropped her bag by the door, hanging her keys on the key holder and sliding into the kitchen.

“I’m bakin’ you snacks,” you smiled, giggling as you pulled out what looked to be red-velvet cookies. and you had cream-cheese frosting right beside the oven.

“oh?” she let a small smile curl over her pretty pink lips, wrapping her arms around your waist, her chin rested on your shoulder.

“mhm!” you hummed, tilting your head a little to give her the access she might want, “I know how much you do all day.” 

she pressed kisses on your neck, right behind your earlobe, trailing down and pressing them against your shoulder.

“what would I be doing without you, hmm?” she hummed, slipping away and into your bedroom—where she changed into a simple sports bra and shorts, sitting on the bed and waiting for her lovely girlfriend to appear with snacks and love.

you appeared moments later, placing a plate with an array of snacks down on your beside table.

you climbed into bed beside her, resting your head on her shoulder, your arms wrapped around her tightly.

you noticed she had a few bruises and scrapes along her arms and chest. 

“you need to be more careful,” you murmured, rubbing your hands across the bruises.

“it’s just some bruises..” she whispered, rubbing her hand through your hair. “they’ll heal in a few weeks time.”

“.. right. you always say that,” you sat up a little, gazing at her with narrowed eyes, “don’t you think eiji is a little too hard on you?”

she took in a deep breath, “I don’t,” she responded, your eyes wide. “I think he does exactly what he has to do when he has to.”

you sighed, flopping back down on the bed. your back was facing her, tears in your eyes.

“hey—I—“ mizu stumbled with her words, placing down her food and crawling over to you. she wrapped her arms around you—placing kisses along your shoulders and arms.

“I-I don’t—“ you sniffled, “wanna see you hurt, mizu, what if something happens while you’re practicing? what if..”

“shh,” she shushed, running a hand through your hair, “nothing is going to happen to me while practicing, my love—“

“but it could!” your shot upwards, your eyes bubbling with tears as you gripped her shoulders, “it could, mizu. that’s what scares me.”

she sighed, seeing your distressed expression.

“I know.” she murmured, “yet I don’t want you to be constantly worrying about my well-being.”

“that’s what I’m supposed to do, mizu—I love you.” you gently caressed the side of her face, rubbing your thumb across her cheek.

supposed to do..

huh.

the concept was foreign to her—considering her last experiences with a “serious” relationship. 

was mikio supposed to worry about her, too?

she could assume it was true.

“yeah—yeah, okay,” she whispered, her voice breathy. “y-you can worry about me, I guess.”

“.. even if you don’t say I can, doesn’t mean I won’t,” you pressed a kiss against her forehead. “we’re supposed to worry about one another, mizu, that’s what a relationship is. we’re supposed to.. care about each other.”

worry about each other?

she was sure she had worried for mikio, in the past, but.. had he ever cared for her?

all of this was so.. new to her. a relationship with someone, with mutual affection and care?

“okay,” she laid down beside you, wrapping you up in her embrace. “I worry about you a lot.”

“.. yeah?” you murmured.

“yeah,” she stroked your hair gently. “don’t wanna lose you.”

you smiled softly, nuzzling yourself into her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[stayteezdreams]

And His Name Was Death {Part One}

Summoned

Plot: What happens when you accidentally summon death himself, and he decides he doesn't want to leave?

{Part Two}

Pairing: Death!Park Seonghwa x Gn!Reader

Requests: "I thought I saw something" + 'You meet Death himself, and he seems to have a crush on you.' + 'The creaking of an old door' + 'Accidentally summoning a demon while decorating'

Requested by: Anonymous; @tumbleboof and @amalialoved

A/n: yeah...I enjoyed writing these requests so much it turned into a series.

Warnings: Mildly suggestive content. Mentions of death (obviously)

Words: ~5.3k

Joy radiated through you as you rifled through the various decorations you had picked up on your recent trip into town. You could never resist decorations, especially Halloween decorations.

Between the festive scented candles, candle holders, themed mugs, fake webs, and candy, your counter top was covered in your new purchases.

Your eyes drifted to the last bag as you delicately pulled it open. Lifting out the object wrapped in brown paper, you unwrapped. Smiling softly at the old book, you ran your fingers over it. It had clearly been heavily used and was obviously quite old. The cover was engraved with barely legible markings, in a language you guessed was Latin, or at least similar to it.

Flipping through the pages, your eyes scanned the various blocks of text you couldn't understand, as well as random sketched pictures ranging from plants, to weapons, and what you assume were various monsters.

When you had gone to the antique store, you didn't really intend to buy anything, but when you spotted the old book sitting on a shelf, somewhat hidden behind an old lock box, you felt almost drawn to it. For a moment it felt as though you recognized it, like it was yours, but obviously you had never seen it before.

When you picked it up, you couldn't ignore the desire to buy it that bubbled up, so you did just that. You convinced yourself it would be a good Halloween decoration, though it did cost more than the other decorations you had bought combined. Something you would be convincing yourself was a good idea for a while. Though you feared you would just end up regretting it later.

As you reached the last page of the book as you quickly flipped through it, you stopped as you saw two handwritten passages on the back cover. It was in ink but had obviously been written a long time ago.

You ran your finger over the top passage as you wondered what it was. It was written in another language, but you found yourself muttering the words out loud as best as you could.

When you finished the first passage, you felt a wave of dizziness wash over you and you closed your eyes, shaking your head softly as you opened them again. The dizziness passed, and you hummed to yourself. After a moment's thought, you figured it was because you hadn't eaten yet.

Your eyes drifted to the second passage, but before you could read it, you jolted as you heard a loud fluttering sound similar to wings coming from behind you. Looking back towards the hallway, you furrowed your brow.

'Did a bird get in?' You thought to yourself as you made your way cautiously towards where the noise had originated.

After checking every room and making sure no windows were open, you wandered back to the kitchen, no bird being found. You shook your head, thinking maybe it had just flown past the window and sounded like it was inside.

Your eyes locked on the book and you frowned, pausing in your steps. It was now shut, though you swore you hadn't closed it. As you walked back to the book, you felt goosebumps rise up your arms and neck.

Instead of opening it again, you set it up on the counter beside the cauldron candy bowl. After sparing it one more curious glance, you continued to set out the decorations, only stopping when there was a knock at your door. You grinned to yourself as you quickly padded towards the door, knowing your friends had arrived for an evening hangout.

One Halloween movie later, you all stretched and joked as Yeosang and Wooyoung argued over the next movie to be put it. San made his way to the kitchen to grab some more candy, and you heard him call out to you a moment later.

Looking back at him, you saw him assessing the old book, "What's this?"

You turned around and smiled, "Isn't it cool? I found it at an old antique shop. I thought it would make a cool decoration."

"It's creepy." Yesoang commented as he looked over to see what San had.

"That's the point." Wooyoung said with a scoff, causing Yeosang to glare at him.

Seeing San suddenly look back further into the house, you followed his line of sight. "What?"

He slowly looked back at you and shook his head a bit, "I thought I saw something."

You felt goosebumps rise up your arms again but ignored them. "I thought I heard something earlier, like a bird got in, but I couldn't find anything."

"Want me to look?"

"Sure." You said with a soft nod, watching as he made his way into the back of your house.

As you watched him disappear, you got an odd feeling in your stomach, like a knot starting to form. As you began to rise, feeling as though you should follow him, he came back out with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I didn't see anything."

"Huh." You plopped back down, feeling a bit of relief wash over you, though the knot in your stomach still remained.

"Maybe your house is haunted." Wooyoung teased making you roll your eyes.

Though, when you spared the book another glance, and your mind flashed back to it being closed when you swore you left it open, you almost believed his words.

As Yeosang put another movie in, after winning against Wooyoung in rock, paper, scissors, and San had his fill of candy choices, you tried to distract yourself from your wandering thoughts.

Your thoughts however were only distracted for a short time, as you caught onto an unfamiliar figure in the TV's reflection as the screen went black momentarily. It was only for a second, but you swore someone was standing right behind you.

Not wanting to freak yourself out, you slowly turned your head, finding that the room was empty behind you. You stared down the darkened hallway, as you felt as though you were being watched. Looking back at the book, you took in a deep breath.

"Are you sure there was nothing when you looked San?"

San looked over at you, noticing you peering back at the dark area of your house.

He frowned "Yeah I'm sure, why?"

"I don't know" You hesitated, "I just...got a weird feeling."

Yeosang had now paused the movie and he and Wooyoung looked back down the hallway as well.

San stood up tapping Wooyoung's leg, "Come on."

You looked over at them as they all stood up, "What are you doing?"

"We'll check everything, so you can feel better about it okay?"

You smiled at him as you stood up as well, "That would make me feel better."

He smiled and nodded as you all walked through the house, checking every closet and every room. Yeosang checked every door and window until you were satisfied.

You sat back on the couch with a sigh, "Maybe watching horror movies when I know I live alone isn't such a good idea." You joked, making the others chuckle.

"Or, maybe I was right." Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows and you smacked his shoulder. "Shut up! I do not want to think about my house being haunted Woo."

He chuckled, "Sorry, sorry. I'm sure it's not, I'm just joking."

"Come on, let's put in a more lighthearted movie. That will be better right?" Yeosang asked looking at you, and you nodded with a smile, grateful he wanted you to feel more comfortable.

Even with the house fully checked, you felt uneasy when the time came for the three to go home. You knew your house was empty, you knew you were safe, but something felt...off.

San gave you a soft smile, "You gonna be okay?"

You nodded your head, "Yeah, I'll be fine." It wasn't a lie, you hoped.

Throwing away candy wrappers and washing your drinking glasses, you started to feel a bit better as your house grew quiet. As you began to sing softly to yourself, your nerves began to settle even more. You really were just riling yourself up with stupid thoughts.

Creak

Your voice went silent and your whole body froze as the door at the end of the hallway creaked open.

Looking to your left, you slowly reached over, grabbing the heavy candle holder you had bought earlier in the day. Silently, you walked to the hall and turned the light on, seeing it empty ahead of you. The door was in fact open and you felt your heart thump painfully in your chest.

You let out a shaky breath as you slowly crept down the hall, peering into every room, until you finally checked the last room, yet finding nothing once again.

You cursed to yourself as you walked back into your kitchen. Scoffing as you set the candle holder down, you grabbed the book and stared at it.

"You're not really haunted, are you?"

"Not quite."

Gasping you dropped the book as you quickly grabbed the candle holder, spinning around you saw a man standing a few feet away. Chucking the candle holder at him, he dodged it, though barely, as he was surprised by your quick movements.

You froze for a second as the man looked back at you, surprise fading into a smirk, "Good reflexes."

Quickly reaching behind you, you grabbed a knife from the counter and held it defensively.

His smirked seemed to widen, "A fighter too."

"Who are you?" You asked boldly, though there was a waver in your voice.

He quirked his brow, "Shouldn't you know? You called me here."

He could see the confusion that crossed your face and his interest continued to pique.

"What do you mean?" Your grip tightened around the handle of the knife.

Tilting his head softly, his eyes drifted to the book on the counter behind you, "That little incantation you read earlier."

You quickly glance at the book, and your eyes furrowed more, "What?"

He furrowed his brow before he scoffed, "You have magic in your veins and you aren't even aware of it."

You were as far away from the man as you could get but fully cornered in your kitchen. Eyeing the counter, you knew you were fully prepared to vault over it if needed.

"What does that mean? Who are you?" You asked again, your voice holding more force than before.

"It means you are a child of witches. No matter how far back in your bloodline, only those with magic in their blood can use that book. And you summoned me."

"S-summoned?"

Your heart pounded in your chest as your mind went wild. This guy was crazy, or maybe you were crazy. Whichever one it was, nothing was making sense.

Slowly, the man smiled, showing his bright white teeth. Bowing to you, he peered up, and as his eyes met yours you could see they were now completely black. Your heart jolted with shock as you felt locked in place.

"And to answer your other question. I am Death." Standing straight up again, you watched as his eyes faded back to brown. "But, you can call me Seonghwa. It is the name I go by with humans."

"Yeah, I'm going crazy." You muttered, staring almost blankly at him.

He tilted his head and a soft smile graced his face. "Is that easier to believe?"

"Is it easier to believe I'm going crazy over the fact that I somehow summoned Death into my house? Yeah, a bit."

He grinned at your words before he moved to walk into your living room. You followed him with your eyes, taking the moment to move out of your kitchen and to an area you could easily make a break for it if needed.

Looking around he smiled, "At least I didn't get summoned by someone who wanted to use me, or trap me. Last time that happened- Well, it didn't work out very well for him."

A shiver ran up your spine at his words, and you spoke again, your voice soft, and showing your new fear.

"Are you going to kill me?

Slowly he looked over at you, and for a moment you saw what you could only describe as dejection.

"Do you want to die?" He asked slowly, making your breath catch.

You shook your head, "No."

He smiled again and you almost felt relieved. "Then no, I am not going to kill you."

As he looked back towards your living room, you watched him pick up a piece of chocolate and eat it. You took this moment to fully take in his appearance.

His black hair perfectly matched his fully black outfit, and you couldn't deny he was gorgeous, almost ethereal even. If he wasn't a stranger claiming to be Death as he walked around your house as if he hadn't broken in, you might be flirting with him.

Looking over at you, his eyes scanned you before landing on the knife still in your hand.

"That won't do anything by the way." He commented with a casual tone.

Your eyes fell down to the knife in your hand and you held it tighter. "You say that, but it makes me feel better."

His lip quirked up slightly, "Then keep it."

You glanced over at the book and recalled everything that had happened since you bought it. Noises, shadows in the corner of your eyes, the feeling of being watched, but never finding or seeing anyone. Maybe he really was telling the truth.

"Why- what is an incantation to summon death doing written in the back of an old book?"

He shrugged "Well, it's not just an old book, its a grimoire, a spell book for witches. And it belonged to the last man who summoned me. The one who trapped me." You could hear malice in his voice as he looked back over at the book and your chest tightened.

"The one you killed?"

His eyes fell on you and his brow quirked, "How do you know I killed him?"

"You implied it. Besides, you said you were Death." You quickly answered.

His lips curled into a smile you would normally find charming if he weren't so unnerving.

"Smart too." He hummed as he turned to face you fully, his eyes scanned you up and down, as something you didn't recognize flashed in his eyes.

He started to walk slowly towards you and a shiver crawled up your spine, you backed away, and your felt your heart drop as your back hit the wall. Lifting your hand you reminded him of the knife as you gripped it, ready to fight if needed.

He stopped right in front of you and you felt your breath catch. The tip of the knife was pressed to his chest, but he didn't so much as blink.

Lifting his hand, he reached towards your face, his fingers gently caressing your cheek.

"Brave, strong-willed, smart, and beautiful."

His touch was cold, but it felt nice, and you resisted the urge to let out a sigh. The thought alone jarring you. You should be afraid, you should be yelling, running, fighting, but you weren't.

You met his eyes and you were startled by the softness he held in his gaze.

"What do you want from me?" You asked, voice soft, just above a whisper.

He tilted his head ever so slightly as he admired your face, dropping his hand.

"I was going to ask you that." Stepping away from you, he walked over to your fridge, pulling it open. "You summoned me, though I now know it was an accident. What was it you told your friend? You thought it would make a nice decoration?" You could hear a note of amusement in his tone.

You watched him rummage through your fridge as you thought back on your conversation with San. So he really had been here in the house, unseen, invisible. You recalled the reflection in the TV and you shivered.

Silently you walked back over to the book, the grimoire, as he called it. Quietly flipping through it, you wondered if every passage was a different spell. And you couldn't help but wonder, if you summoned him could you maybe do more?

You glanced back up at him, seeing him investigating your left-overs. Setting the knife down, you continued to flip to the end of the book.

Finding the last passage, the one you had summoned him with, your eyes fell to the second half, the part you had not read aloud. If the first half summoned him, perhaps the second half-

Before you could even finish your thought, you were being pressed up against the counter, hands held down at your sides, as Seonghwa's chest was pressed against your own. His nose brushed yours as his eyes held an intense gaze with yours.

"Don't." His voice was strong, but you thought you heard...panic?

"Don't what?" You asked somewhat breathlessly, still startled by his quick movements. You hadn't even seen him step away from the fridge.

"Read it."

"Why?" You asked, a challenge in your tone. You already knew you had been right, and from his reaction, he knew you knew it too.

"Because I don't want to go."

You felt your gut twist at the sudden vulnerability on his face, the tone of his voice did show fear, and almost desperation.

"Wh-why?" You asked again, your tone softer this time.

You felt his grip on your wrists loosen, but he still held you against him. Seonghwa debated telling you, what if you were secretly cruel? Just waiting for the perfect moment to get your hands back on the book? But as he studied your gaze a bit longer, he saw the genuine curiosity, and kindness peaking through, he also saw concern. For him? He felt his chest clench.

No, you weren't cruel, you were something...else. Something that intrigued him more than he could fully understand just yet.

"It's been so long since I've come here without cause or instruction, I'd like to stay. Unless you demand something of me."

"Demand?"

"You summoned me, and because of that, you have some realm of control over me. So tell me, what do you want?"

You stared into his eyes and saw various emotions coursing through them. What had others who summoned him demanded he do? He was Death, so did that mean he was summoned to kill? And who? Innocent people? Evil people? What did the man who owned the grimoire before you do to him when he trapped him?

The more you thought of these possibilities, the more you could make sense of the emotions in his gaze. He was afraid, he was angry, he was tired. He wanted to be free.

You found yourself shaking your head. "I don't want anything."

Seonghwa studied your face for a moment, his eyes grazing over your lips longer than he fully intended. He let go of your hands as he let out a breath.

You would really wish nothing of him? You had a powerful, God-like being at your beckoning, and you wanted nothing?

A smile formed on his face. "Kind too. I'll add that to the list."

You felt a smile tugging at your lips, but you pushed it away. "So can you only come here when you are summoned?"

Seonghwa smiled. So you had finally accepted he was really Death. Now, you were curious. Usually he might ignore your questions and flee, but you were, more or less, setting him free. And, something made him not want to leave, at least not quite yet.

"Or to take souls to the Underworld. But most times, I can only stay for a short time. Until my bidding is done."

"And...are you the only Death? I mean, there can't just be you, right?"

"No, there are many of us. We are demons, a type at least."

Your brow furrowed, "I thought Death was supposed to be an Angel?"

"The original one was, yes. But Angels can only handle so much death before they are tainted by it. Demons are not."

You nodded as if you understood, but you only grew more confused by the second.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this so easily." He mused, his tone holding both curiosity and amusement.

"And I don't know why I'm not freaking out."

He smiled as a soft chuckle left his mouth and as you smiled in return, he felt his heart skip a beat. As he studied you his gaze almost became playful.

You felt your ears and neck growing hot, "What?" You asked, uncertain what to do under his gaze.

A smirk formed on his face, "I like you." He said matter-of-factly.

You could no longer ignore the heat that had risen up your neck, or the way your heart pounded in your chest. How and why did he make you feel like this, when you had been terrified not too long ago?

Before you could respond, you heard a knock on your door, causing you to flinch out of surprise.

Seonghwa glanced towards your door before he looked back at you. He tried to ignore the disappointment that filled his chest as you looked away from him. He hated interruptions.

"Your friend is back."

You looked from the door to him and he motioned his head for you to go. You slowly walked away, leaving the kitchen, and his line of sight, still uneasy due to his previous actions. He wasn't going to do anything to whoever was at the door was he?

Peeping out of the window, you saw San bouncing on his feet outside your door. You rose your brow as you wondered how Seonghwa had known it was one of your friends. And why were you referring to him as Seonghwa like you knew him??

As you disappeared from his sight Seonghwa looked down at the grimoire before picking it up. It really could do you good, if you learned more about your magic. But, as long as that incantation was in the back, he couldn't let you have it. Not if you might change your mind about letting him stay.

He could hear you answer the door, and knew you wouldn't say anything about his presence. If you did, you would just sound crazy, and he wouldn't be here to prove that wrong.

"Hey! I left my phone in the living room." San said as soon as you opened the door, before he rushed inside "I gotta get it before Wooyoung drives off without me."

"Oh, I can get it!"

He chuckled "That's okay, I'll be quick!" He called back as he headed past the kitchen where Seonghwa was.

You followed him, fear spiking through you, what would Seonghwa do? What would San do? As you rounded the corner, you saw San grabbing his phone from the table, while the kitchen was empty, Seonghwa no where in sight. Your eyes landed on the counter and your heart jumped. He had taken the book.

San grinned at you, "Got it! Sorry, I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?!" He called as he jogged out of the house and towards Wooyoung's car as he sat impatiently out front.

You looked around, wondering where Seonghwa had gone. Had he really left? You walked swiftly through your house and didn't find him. He had taken the book and vanished. Of course he would. That was the smart thing to do.

Your thoughts swam for a moment as your eyes stared blankly at where the book had been.

Why wouldn't he leave? I didn't command him to do anything and he just wanted to be free. And he took the book...because I could use it to send him back to...well wherever it was he came from.

You knew he was smart for taking the book, but why did he leave? And why did your chest ache because of it? Was he going to come back? Or was that the first and last time you would meet the black haired demon? Would you see him again years down the road when you die? Were you really descended from witches?

Thoughts plagued you as you sat on the couch. How had your day gone from so normal, to so earth-shatteringly complicated in the span of a few hours?

Slowly, without really noticing, you started to sink lower into the couch as your mind slowed, exhaustion from the adrenaline of your evening. Giving into it, mind foggy, you lied down, accepting sleep as it washed over you.

Maybe this was all a dream, and I've been asleep the whole time.

That was the last coherent thought that crossed your mind. So lost in the fog of sleep, you could barely register the sound of wings fluttering nearby, or the sound of footsteps approaching you. The soft caress of fingertips across your cheek might have shocked you if your mind had been more alert.

As your body became weightless, you stirred for only a moment before you drifted into a deep sleep.

When you woke the next morning the thoughts of the previous night rushed to your mind. There was no way that actually happened, right?

You sat up and looked down at yourself. You had never changed into your pajamas. In fact, you had fallen asleep on the couch, not in your bed. So, how were you in your bedroom now?

The image of Seonghwa appeared in your mind and your chest tightened.

It wasn't a dream, was it?

Walking out into your living room, your eyes scanned the room, before landing on the kitchen counter. Walking over you found the candle-holder you had thrown now sitting on the edge of the table. And the spot where you had placed the book was empty.

Would he come back? Should you wait?

No. No, I have a life, I can't sit and wait around for Death.

The sudden thought almost made you laugh. The thought would be more profound if it weren't a person you were referring too.

Deciding to get dressed and go to work, you tried not to focus on all of the new thoughts and questions plaguing your mind. But you found very little to distract yourself with. All day you looked around expecting to see Seonghwa watching you. Every time you heard the sound of a bird fly past your eyes darted around.

Was it just your mind that made you so paranoid? When every time you felt like you were being watched, or that someone was behind you even though no one was there. Was it just you? Or was it really him?

You weren't sure why, but you kept yourself so busy with work you stayed late. Then you decided to run errands that didn't even need to be done.

It was all because you were afraid to go home. But why, is what confused you. It wasn't that you were afraid he would show up, it was that you wanted him too.

You should be terrified, but you just wanted to know more. More about what or who he is. More about yourself and magic.

Was it morbid curiosity? Was it attraction to some form of darkness you didn't understand?

You hated that you couldn't sort your thoughts out. And all you felt was exhaustion by the time you finally got home. You ran out of things to keep you away, so you gave in.

As you stepped into your quite house, you looked around, checking each room casually before you let out a sigh and wandered over to the fridge.

He took the book, he is free to do what he wants, he's not coming back. Why would he?

Leaning down to look through the fridge, your whole body froze as the sound of fluttering wings came from behind you. Slowly, you stood up, before turning to peer over your shoulder.

You knew what you were going to see, but your heart still jumped as you set eyes on Seonghwa. He stared at you from across the room, a small smile on his face.

Slowly turning around, you closed the fridge as you stared at him in silence for a moment.

"And here I was beginning to wonder if you were ever real at all." You mumbled, trying to steady your heavy beating heart.

His small smile widened but he stayed silent.

Your eyes wandered to where the book had been and you met his eyes. "Wanted to make sure I couldn't send you back?"

He glanced to the kitchen counter and for a second you thought you saw guilt cross his face before he shrugged his head.

"Yes. Honestly I should have gotten rid of it last time, but I had no idea the incantation was written in the book itself."

"You could have just asked." You mumbled almost under your breath, and he noted the mild offense in your tone.

He looked you up and down and took a step closer before tilting his head. "Are you saying you wouldn't have done it?"

You laced your hands together behind your back as you kept eye contact with him. You walked away from the fridge and around the counter to face him straight on.

"I don't know. I'm still struggling to understand if this is all real or-"

"Or if you're going crazy?"

You nodded slowly as he finished your thought. Suddenly, he began walking towards you, you hesitated, only stepping back as he nearly ran into you. You let out a soft gasp as your back hit the wall.

You met his eyes in mild panic and uncertainty, but he simply stared into your eyes with a soft smile. His forehead nearly brushed yours as he got closer. Slowly, he lifted his hand and brushed his knuckles against the side of your face before cupping your cheek.

"Do you feel that?"

Your voice had vanished, but you nodded.

His other hand rubbed against your own before he laced his fingers through yours and held your hand.

"And that?"

You nodded again, your heart pounding so hard you were sure he could feel it himself.

He smiled before he slowly removed his hand and took a step back, "Then this is real, and you are not crazy"

Opening your mouth, you hesitated for second before you finally found your voice again. "Why did you come back?"

He stared at you for a moment before raising his brow.

"You took the book, I can't send you back, you're free to stay, just like you wanted. So why did you come back here?"

He kept his eyes locked with yours in silence for a moment before he hummed under his breath.

"I wondered that too, and I can come to only one conclusion."

You waited in silence, questioning him with your gaze. Your breath caught as he leaned forward again, closing the distance he had just put between you.

Seonghwa brought his face next to yours, as his breath tickled your ear.

"I want you."

Your eyes widened as you took in his words, but before you could respond a gust of air and the sound of fluttering wings caused you to flinch and blink in surprise. As you opened them again, he was gone, as though he had never been there at all.

You let out a staggered breath as the tension in your body released.

Taking everything in, you felt dizzy from the amount of thoughts passing through your head. But all of it came crashing down as you let out a bewildered breath and the only thing you could truly muster.

"What the fuck."

xx End xx

{Part Two}

Series Taglist Open

General Taglist: @otsilliak, @brattybunfornct, @bahng-chrizz, @otakutrash669

Ateez Taglist: @soso59love-blog, @thunderous-wolf

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite

Marc Spector X F!ReaderRating: 18+ pals  Masterlist | ao3 | want to be tagged?

Steven's Part Jake's Part

A/N: For @loonymagizoologist's ask!

I have a fever (that only cowbell can solve), so I’ve written this. I'm so sorry, this is just filth. NSFW. (No 'tad' about it. I don't know what happened, it just got away from me.)

Summary: Marc can't take without giving in turn.

Warnings: ahhhh, kinda sub!marc?, begging, love bites, hand jobs, oral (both m & f receiving), hair pulling, typos

Word Count: 2177

Taglist: @pleasurebuttonwrites @jake-g-lockley @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @mystinky-butt @cocodiem @oscarisaacsspit @welcometostayingawake @mbakubabe @solobagginses

( @romanarose & @melodygatesauthor I've tagged you both too, because I thought you might like, I hope you don't mind!)

_________________________________________

Marc shifted against you, pressing his back closer to your chest. As if he could push away the very last molecules of air that were separating you. 

You smiled against the back of his neck.

You were both lying in bed on your sides. Marc was the little spoon. Your phone was propped up on Marc’s pillow by a bamboo holder you had bought from IKEA on a wim, it was playing a compilation video from a let’s player you both enjoyed. Though you could tell by Marc’s subtle squirming that he wasn’t giving it his full attention. 

He nuzzled against your left arm that was squeezed in the gap between his neck, shoulder and the pillow. Leaning down and pressing his lips against your skin before sighing softly. 

He thought he was being inconspicuous. Discreet in his need to touch you. 

Part of you was sure that his actions weren’t even fully conscious. The subliminal need to self soothe with skin to skin contact. 

You shifted your right leg, moving it to rest your knee on his hip and calf on his thigh. 

Marc hummed quietly in satisfaction, breathing in deeply as he laid his right hand on your arm under his neck. Drawing circles on your skin with his thumb as he placed the occasional kiss.

There was a soft drag of the stubble along his jaw as he moved, like fine sandpaper. It sent a little shiver along your spine. 

He shifted again. Pressing his ass against your pelvis. 

You moved slowly as the video distracted him. Running your right hand along his waist, just dipping under the loose material of his night top to trail your fingers along his warm skin. 

Marc shivered a little, the echo of the movement vibrating against your chest. 

His breath hitched as you pressed firmly against his lower abdomen, his muscles twitching at the contact. 

He opened his mouth to speak just as you slipped your fingers under the waistband of his pyjamas and boxers and grazed over the tip of his semi-hard cock. 

Whatever Marc was going to say was lost in the low moan that escaped his lips and rumbled deep in his chest. He bucked against your touch without thinking, twisting his hips to chase the pressure of your hand. 

Your smile widened.

You moved all at once; wrapping your right hand around his cock as you slid your left up and into his hair. His head fell back against your shoulder as you eased him back closer to you. 

“Baby…” He managed to whimper just before you pressed your lips against his neck, just under his ear, Marc’s weak spot. 

“Fuuuck.” He swallowed, eyes tight shut as he screwed up the bedcovers in his hands. 

You placed feather light kisses along his skin, far off from being the pressure you knew Marc craved, as you languidly pumped your hand. 

His breath hitched, his legs squirmed as he thrusted and tried to get you to increase your tempo. But you tutted to hide the giggles that threatened to bubble up and relaxed your grip every time he tried.

He let out a frustrated moan as his plan, once again, failed. “Baby, please…”

“Hmmm?” You kissed the shell of his ear lightly, almost completely letting go of him. 

“Nooo, pleasepleaseplease-”

You ran your thumb over the very tip of him, smearing precome around the head of his cock. 

“Please what?” You ask innocently, still peppering kisses along his neck. 

He groans as you trace the large vein that runs down the length of him, burying his face into the pillow. “Harder.”

“Sorry Marc?” 

He whines a little, lifting his head slightly, “harder, please.” 

For a second you consider continuing to tease him. 

His breathing is a little shaky, his speech a little quick as he rushes to get the words out. “Please, baby, Ineedyoupleas-”

He cuts himself off with a low moan as you sink your teeth into his neck and tighten your grip. You jerk him off quickly, long strokes with a twist of your wrist at the end that you know he likes. While you continue to bite and suck and kiss dark bruises into his skin. 

He never used to be so vocal. Used to clench his jaw and swallow down every sound he wanted to make, as if the lovely noises that escaped him were off putting. 

It had taken a long time to coax those sighs and moans out of him. To stop Marc from being quite as wrapped up in his own head.

Pleasure began to coil in the base of his stomach, to pinch at the bottom of his spine and make his thighs shake. 

Marc shifted his legs, digging his heels into the mattress as his hips chased the strokes of your hand. 

He couldn’t stop the shudder that shook his limbs as you traced your teeth down the long column of his throat. 

“Fuck, I’m going to, fuck,” his hips stuttered. His vision whiting out as the pleasure overtook him completely.

You moved away from his neck, and, even though the angle was a little awkward, managed to sit up and bend over him, swallowing his cock and release as he came down your throat. 

Marc cried out, grabbing hold of your arm as he rode out his high, before falling back into the mattress. All tension leaving his body all at once. 

He breathed deeply as you swallowed around him, making sure you had every last drop before you tucked him back into his pyjamas and patted his thigh. 

“You okay?” 

You smiled when he hummed an affirmative. 

“Good.” 

You bend forward, kissing his forehead lightly before leaning over him and half out of the bed, trying to find the phone and stand that you knew had ended up on the floor somewhere. 

Marc let out a little whine of distress. The sound of it alone was enough to strike terror into your bones. You moved back quickly, panicking that you had accidentally hurt him as you leant over. 

But his arms wrap around you as you come back to a sitting up position, your thighs on either side of his chest. 

He nuzzles into your hips, nipping at the slither of skin that isn’t covered by your pyjamas. 

You can see the love bites you’ve littered along his neck much clearer from his angle. The dark purples that are deepening in colour before your eyes. 

“I think I might have got a bit carried away there,” you gently brush the tips of your fingers over the bruises. 

“Good.” Marc growls against you when he hears the concern in your voice. His breath is hot and wet, his skin scorching every place you touch. 

He pulls at your waistband, trying to manoeuvre you out of your clothes without loosening his grip around your waist. And not doing the worst job all things considered. 

“Marc,” you laugh a little as his fingers dig in and tickle just under your ribs. 

He ignores you. 

“Marc,” you try again, pulling softly at his hair so that he has to look up at you. 

He scowls, his eyes dark and fixing you with a glare before continuing in his task. 

“Marc,” you dip down a little, trying to escape his grip and look him in the eyes. 

He snarls, a sound that really shouldn’t send a wave of heat to your core. And in a practised judo move flips you over. 

It’s so quick that you don’t even get a chance to yelp in surprise. One second you are sitting on top of him, the next your back is pressed into the bed with Marc looming over you. 

He silences the words that start to form on your lips with a kiss, sliding his tongue into your mouth with a practised ease. 

You can’t stop the little moan that escapes your chest as his tongue strokes against yours, as he leans his weight down on you ever so slightly, pushing his thigh between your legs to press against your centre. 

He hums in appreciation as your fingers instinctively tangle in his top and try to pull him closer. 

You swallow and move your head just enough so that you can get out, “Marc, I,”

But he tuts. Sits up quickly and hooks his fingers into the waistband of your pyjama bottoms. “I was going to let you ride my face,” he gives you an offhand disappointed look that for some reason reminds you of a police officer in some cheesy drama.

‘Exactly how fast do you think you were going back there?’

“But since you’re not behaving…” He raises his eyebrows at you and begins to pull your trousers down.

You lean up and kiss him quickly, distracting him only momentarily and placing both of your hands on his face. “You don’t have to do anything you know? If you don’t want to?” You breathe against his mouth. 

Marc gives you a slightly lopsided smile and kisses you gently, before trailing his lips down to your neck and slowly pushing you back against the mattress. 

“Want you to come,” he whispers between kisses. “Need to make you come,” he presses his lips to your sternum and stomach through the soft material of your top, before nuzzling at your skin just above your trousers. 

He looks up at you for permission, there’s a dopey, love sick look on his face that you never grow tired of seeing. 

It’s only when you nod, running your hand through his hair once more before trailing your fingers down to his chin, that he begins to take off your trousers. 

You raise your hips up to help, shimmying back a little to assist in getting the offending things off. 

You barely have time to register the cool air of the flat before Marc is on you, pulling your legs over his shoulders and diving at your centre. 

He places a chaste kiss on your clit and you can feel him grin against you as you let out a shaky breath. Before he begins to slowly kiss lower and lower, until he can dip his tongue between your folds and into you. 

His groan reverberates through your core, sending small sparks of pleasure through you. 

“Fuck,” you grab at his hair instinctively and he groans again, pressing his face into you.

He grabs hold of your right hand that is in his hair as he licks a trail back up to your clit and threads his fingers tightly over yours for a second. You know what he’s asking. Harder.

You hum an affirmative and scrap your fingernails along his scalp. Drawing out the movement so that he moans against you again, before seizing tight fistfuls of his hair. 

The kisses he places against you are sloppier this time, teasing your entrance with his tongue before placing long, flat licks against your clit that has you bucking into his touch and seeing stars. 

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck!”

He swirls his tongue around your bundle of nerves, running his teeth softly over the tip of it as he slowly presses a finger into you. The pace is agonising, drawn out to almost the point of pain. You can’t muffle the cry that rises from your throat. 

“Fuck Marc, please!” You shift your hips, tug at his hair, trying to ride his face and drag him further inside you. He’ll do anything for you, anything to hear you moan his name again.

He pulls on your hips, shifting your position slightly so that he can continue to lap at you, sliding his tongue over you with a practised ease that makes your toes curl. He slips another finger into you, his saliva and your wetness making sure there is zero resistance, and pressed up against your walls. He keeps his fingers still as he sucks on your clit, allowing you to buck and writhe underneath him. 

“Marc!” Your voice goes straight to his cock.

He feels light headed, lost in the taste of you and burn of your hands in his hair. Marc can’t help but rut against the mattress as works you closer to your release, anything to ease the quickly building ache between his own legs. 

Sparks of pleasure run along your thighs as Marc flicks his tongue against your clit, once, twice and then you're gone, hit all at once. Your back aches off the bed as your orgasm strikes you hard, stealing your breath. 

Marc follows you, not letting up on his movements as he moans into you as you come. 

He only slows when he feels your muscles start to relax, your grip in his hair loosen. His dick throbs, echoing his rapidly beating heart. 

“Marc,” you whisper, your voice a little horse. 

He looks up, taking his mouth away from you but not removing his fingers. The bottom of his face is soaked with your release. 

He smiles again, that sweet love sick smile before kissing your inner thigh and gently biting at your skin. 

[lucielitta]

Forget-me-not

This is Part 1

A Bonten Haitani brothers x big sister reader fic.

Lenght: 888 words

Notes: How's this? Let me know if you want more parts! ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

"Tsk, You're useless."

A pained gasp croaked through the man's battered lips, its tall, tender frame tumbled down the mottled soil while his body tensed and was forced to entangle itself In the mossy mess.

"A single shot isn't enough for him, Aniki." Rindou narrowed and a disdained look splattered his usual sly expression.

His violet eyes rolled at the crumpled mess on the ground, hinting no remorse nor forgiveness in his gaze that fixated on the man twisting in agony.

The vivid hues of purple and blue's on his roughed skin tore a blood-way within him, how battered he is; a mark of his insignificance to the eyes of those who wield power over him.

Pursing his lips into a sardonic sneer, Ran tapped his index on the gun impatiently, making a mockery out of him as he stepped forward towards the writhing nuisance. "I don't have patience for little bastards," The eldest yawned, lightly flicking the slender roll of nicotine that dangled in between his lean fingers, lighting the burning embers off his nicotine. "It'd be better to leave him dying." A bubble of ashen air escaped his lungs with a low chuckle, his mind immersed in the torment of the pained seer by the man below.

All the while his calm mask still held onto his face with a sly smirk as he dragged on, "It sounds more thrilling, don't you think?" Ran piqued. He discarded the stick of cigar onto the man's reddened side as his smirk soon faltered, walking away from the scene with his hands in his pockets. Disappointment replaced his expression as he handed the gun back to his brother, his thoughts elsewhere

Turning a heel away from the scene, Rindou slid his gun back into its holder, a sigh followed by on his lips as frustration formed on his face.

Heavy lines of exhaustion etched deep into the brothers' faces as an uncomfortable silence settled around them. The coldness of the winter air stung their breaths, their fatigue was palpable, but despite the weariness that weighed on them, they remained silent.

The silence was intense, almost stifling, yet neither brother felt the need to break it.

Just... Where the hell is she?

Patience was wearing thin, and they could feel the tension building up with every passing moment. He couldn't bear it any longer, restlessness wrapped around his body in coldness and each second ticking away felt like an eternity, a loop. How long would this day continue on for? They were at their wit's end, and the uncertainty and frustration were reaching a breaking point.

Tap..

Tap..

Tap...

Rindou's foot tapped in annoyance, his patience growing more and more thin as the heavy seconds ticked by.

"Damn it..." He groaned. "How long has it been? Five months now?"

Ran rolled his lips between his teeth, his fingers fiddling with the box of cigars. The eldest Haitani pulled another one from the box, his slender fingers placing it between his lips. "It's been three months."

Three long, torturous months had rolled by since they'd begun on the search for their long-lost elder sister. It was a challenge as day after day, week after week, the search went on, with no end in sight. They felt as if they were falling behind. Each day brought new challenges and frustrations, leaving them exhausted and disheartened. The thought of never seeing her again formed a coil around their necks in despair.

If only they searched for her earlier, would they have found her by now? Will she still be here by their sides?

The thought plagued his mind like a dark cloud, always present in Ran's troubled mind.

"Forget it," the other muttered irritably, a click of disapproval sounded on his tongue as he went on, sparking an inner turmoil within Ran. "She could be dead by now so what's the point of doing this search? We're just wasting time." His words pushed back the silence that settled around them, the air thick with tension that danced around his bitter words.

"15 fucking years..." He reminisced in frustration, a reminder of the years gone by without her by their side. The mere mention of her name sent an ache of regret and loneliness within his heart. "After all this time..." He glowered sullenly, "Why should we start caring if she's alive or not?" his jaw set in a hard line.

15 years, and there's no sign of her anywhere. They had searched everywhere, leaving no corner or no street unseen, there was no trace of her anywhere.

Ran's fingers halted to a still, the bitter cigarette dangled from it's precarious position on his lips as he took in his brother's bitter words. The eldest brother took a long, silent breath, the ash of the cigarette slowly crumbling down as the thin smoke curled around his face.

His muscles tensed while his eyes darkened from the harsh edges of Rindou's words, it took everything in him to hold himself back from saying something he'll regret.

He sympathized with his brother's pain. They had buried their memories of her deep within their hearts, never bringing her up in conversation for such a long time, until now when the weight of her absence was too heavy to ignore.

He's confused, pained, lost, and so is he.

NOTES: ▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||| 0:10

As you can see, English isn't my first language so I'm still experimenting how I'll write my stories. Sorry if there's some mistakes or grammatical errors. And I'm kinda lacking some creativity in explaining some parts and the flow isn't that good, I think. I was planning to write it more creatively? But I got stuck so maybe I'll re-write and improve it in the future.

Anyways, It was fun making it, although it's short and messy. I still have many ideas in my head that I reaaally wanna write down and draw but there's so much that I don't know where to start. So, please let me know if you want more or have requests, ideas, or suggestions, I'd love to hear it!

[gayhoediaz]

wip wednesday

tagged by @messyhairdiaz 💞

With a soft - exhausted, but genuine down to his bones - smile, Buck had laced his fingers together with Tommy's, and allowed himself to be led into the bathroom.

Only to find dim, warm cozy lighting: candles placed around the edges of the tub, and on the counter (all tall holders, thankfully.) There is even an incense stick burning in the corner, which Buck has never considered for himself - but it doesn't smell half bad.

He likes it.

And of course, the bath carries a tall mountain of bubbles. A glimpse of the bright blue water beneath makes him think there's probably a bathbomb in there too - and epsom salts, probably the fancy kind with scents.

So now they're here, two large, fully grown men squeezed into a smaller sized bathtub - Buck safely locked in between Tommy's legs, wrapped in his arms, safely leaned back against his chest, his head on his shoulder, and he thinks he can feel the anxiety slipping off of his shoulders as one of Tommy's hands gently cups his bicep, shifting his hand up and down - caressing.

tagging @lesbiankinard @starkguzman @mmtions @doublecheekedkinard @buckttommy @bucktommys @canonbibuck @sibylsleaves @rewritetheending

[storiesofsvu]

Love Comes Quietly Ch 11

Alex Blake x reader warnings: language, mentions of smut, chaos. It's kind of a filler chapter, plenty of chaos (some of which worked better in my head/ spitballing with @prentiss-theorem but i included it anyways)

You stirred at the sound of a very loud magpie on the other side of the window, letting out a small groan as you rolled over, stretching out your body. You felt Alex’s arm that was draped over your waist tighten, pulling you closer to her and her lips brushed against your forehead.

“Mmm…” you nuzzled into the embrace, aching to stay in your little bubble for even a moment longer before the real world pricked it back open, “what time is it?”

Alex groaned softly, shifting so she could see the clock over your shoulder, “just passed ten thirty.” She settled back into the pillows, “what time did Prentiss want us in again?”

“Noon.” You grumbled back, “and I do not want to be subjected to the torture if we’re late, and I definitely need a shower.”

Very reluctantly you untangled your limbs from hers, slipping from under the sheets only pausing to scoop up your discarded swimsuit from the floor before you were opening the door.

“Hey, weren’t you doing laundry last night?”

“Fuck!” You groaned, “it didn’t make it out of the washer. I’ll throw it on a speed wash and hopefully it’s done in time.”

*

Thankfully there was enough time, and honestly it was good the two of you had woken up when you did. There was still a pretty big mess in the kitchen and a jug of sangria sitting out in the backyard. With the off chance that you’d be sent out on another case you didn’t want to leave any of that lying around for god knows how long. So you danced around each other while you made sure everything was in place, your go bags were adequately packed and managed to get some coffee and breakfast into your systems before it was time to go.

You were halfway to the BAU when your phone buzzed in the cupholder and Alex’s eyes darted from the road to it, letting out a small groan from the drivers seat.

“Please don’t let that be a case.”

You scooped it up, swiping open the message, “no. Em just wants me to grab her a coffee on the way in.”

“She can’t be bothered to go downstairs herself?” Alex chuckled and you huffed a laugh.

“Says she’s overrun with paperwork.”

“I seriously pray to whatever higher power is out there that paperwork is all today is.”

“Considering we haven’t even started ours from the D.C case and still need to wrap up the Phoenix closure files, if we do get something new she’ll probably split the team up depending on severity.”

“Okay, your brain is clearly caffeinated enough already. Give me that.” She swiped the coffee out of your hand with a grin and you scoffed.

“Rude Blake.”

“Just get yourself another one when you pick up Emily’s.”

“Ugh.” You rolled your eyes, but there was a ghost of a smile on your face as you sent of a couple more texts to Em. Your phone dropped back into the cupholder and you let out a small sigh, settling back into the seat, “are we gonna have to put the whole kiss thing into the report?”

Alex let out a hearty laugh, glancing over to you and you caught the pink tinge of her cheeks, “I’m not sure. Sounds like a Prentiss question.”

“True.” You laughed, managing to swipe the coffee back out of the holder when she put it down to make a left turn and she shot you a playful glare.

*

When you got to Quantico you split off, you beelining for the Starbucks on the main level while Alex headed for the elevator to get a head start on the day. Thankfully, the weather was warm and Emily had requested an iced latte so you were able to stop at your desk briefly, there were a couple of things that just needed a read over and a signature before they were done.

“Hey.” You knocked on her open office door in greeting, pausing to make sure she wasn’t on the phone.

“Hey.” She glanced up, tossing you a quick smile before she returned to whatever she was working on, the pile in her inbox way larger than the out, she really was drowning in paperwork.

“Hate to add to that monster of a pile.” You winced, dropping two folders down onto it, “but that’s the wrap up from Phoenix.”

“As long as it comes with coffee I won’t hate you.” She grumbled, scrawling her signature across the bottom of a page before flipping it shut and adding it to the outbox. Letting out a sigh of relief when you put the coffee down in the free space on her desk.

“Can’t have that now.”

“You’re a true hero.” She took a sip then her head tilted, eyes flitting between the bull pen and you, “Blake got here like twenty minutes ago, did you guys drive separately? Is there something up?”

“Didn’t realize we were playing twenty questions.” You laughed, tugging off your blazer to toss it over one of her spare chairs, “no we drove together, I just stopped for coffee, ran into Garcia and then quickly finished those.” You nodded toward the folders you’d dropped off, “sorry for withholding the caffeine.” You caught her eyeing you, her lips curving up in a teasing grin and your eyes narrowed, “what?”

“You put the bikini on, didn’t you?”

“What? Em...”

“I’m just assuming that’s how you got that hickey; I mean, Blake didn’t exactly go all Dracula in the bar.”

“What hickey?” You asked back in a very feeble attempt to steer her away from the topic.

“Oh, you’re telling me that’s dryer lint stuck to your shirt on the right side of your neck?”

Your hand raised as if you were trying to remove whatever definitely wasn’t a bruise on your skin and you couldn’t help the near wince when your fingers pressed into the mark. You were suddenly transported back to the previous night, Alex’s cock buried deep inside you as she’d made a very comfortable home in the crook of your neck and you knew there was no distracting Emily. You let out a huff, dropping back into the chair in defeat.

“Fine. It’s a hickey.”

“I fucking knew it!” Emily leant forward, suddenly very excited and invested, “so, just a steamy make out session in the hot tub? Please tell me that’s what it was, please tell me I made this happen because you two have been insufferable recently.”

“I.. well…”

“Wait…did you already—”

“Em!” You shot a glance to her open office door and she quickly shut up while you stood to cross the room and close it for some amount of privacy. “It turns out… your opinions on the red bikini may be shared by a certain linguist.”

“Oh my god! Yes!!”

The response was loud enough that it could only be muffled by the walls and Alex couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at her desk, feeling the heat creep up her cheeks as the memories of the night before came flooding back to her.

“Wait, did you guys fuck in the hot tub? Because now I’m never going to be able to use it again.” Emily nearly whined.

“Oh come on! No. That’s disgusting.” You huffed, dropping back into the chair, “there was just some making out in the hot tub. And…maybe a little more on one of the loungers… and then we went inside.”

“And?” She raised a brow, gleam prevalent in her eye.

“Well you were right on the nose about the mommy thing.”

“Blake you kinky motherfucker.” She chuckled, gaze drifting out to the bullpen briefly before she looked back at you. “Well, technically I think you’re the mother fucker here.”

“I take the time out of my day to bring you coffee and this is what I get, really?” You replied dryly, glaring in her direction.

“Okay, okay. I’m just happy you two finally hooked up. I take it, it was good?”

“Obviously.” You practically laughed, shaking your head at her before you settled back in your chair, your eyes glancing out toward Alex’s desk and you let out a sigh, tugging your lower lip into your teeth.

“Hey…” Emily’s voice was softer this time, watching the way you were watching the other woman.

“Hmm?” You didn’t glance back to her yet.

“Why’d you just shut down? I don’t need to know all the kinky details or anything, I know that might feel weird considering I know both of you.”

You let out a huff of a sigh, turning back to her with a shrug, “we…. didn’t exactly talk about things after. Like… maybe it was some one time thing fueled by booze and an undercover kiss…”

“And you don’t want it to be.” Emily replied and it wasn’t a question.

“No, of course not. I was fucking blind to what was going on until recently but like… I still haven’t found a house, what if it’s hella fucking awkward at home now? What if she was just pent up and wanted some sex post divorce? What if sex is all she wants?”

“Okay, okay.” She held up a hand, “I’m gonna stop you right there before you start to spiral. I wouldn’t worry about any of that Murphy.”

“You sure?” You raised a brow in her direction and she almost laughed.

“Absolutely. Alex likes you, she just needed to… un scramble some wires to figure out if it was a platonic thing or not and considering you’ve now fucked, I think platonic is off the table.”

“Wait.. have you talked to her about this?”

“A few times on and off, briefly, yeah.”

“So your whole little badgering chaotic thing was actually you legitimately trying to match make?”

“I have been waiting for the two of you to kiss since I met you and saw the way you acted together in that coffee shop in New York. Maybe the two of you took some time to realize it but you have some weirdly insane special connection. She likes you; she cares about you, she adores having you around, and now you’ve got orgasms added to the benefit list. Trust me. Because I’m the one who can see the way one of you is looking at the other when they’re not paying attention, and you’ve both had heart eyes for months.”

“When did your inner chaotic gremlin turn into Gandhi?” You half glared at her, but knew she was right. If things were going to be weird, they would’ve been awkward that morning, or on the thirty minute drive in, while there hadn’t been any conversation about the sex and you’d both been too distracted and busy to actually share a kiss, nothing felt different in that way.

“Hey!” She scoffed, “don’t hate me. I did this! You should be thanking me.”

“I’m standing up.” You warned with a point, “which means we’re back in work mode. Yes Chief Prentiss, I’m on it, paperwork is to be done. If you start talking about sex again HR is gonna have to hear about it.”

“Please, you would never.” She laughed and you rolled your eyes.

“But seriously, can you please keep this quiet? We really don’t need the entire team finding out, especially before we’ve even figured things out.”

“My lips are sealed.” She replied with a soft smile, “oh! Hold on.” She slid her chair over, digging through her go bag for a second before pulling out a couple of make up compacts, “cover up that hickey because someone else will call you out.”

Taking the items from her you flipped one of them around in your hands, noting that it was a colour correcting one, not just regular foundation, “you carry these with you?”

“Yeah, after this many years in the field you never know when you’re gonna take a punch and need to make a media appearance within twenty four hours.”

“Eck.” You winced, “thanks.”

*

Alex had disappeared into her home office shortly after the two of you got home, a soft instrumental playlist echoing down the hall through the open doorway. You knew she was lecturing at Georgetown in the coming week and there was no doubt she had some prep work to do for that. You took the solo time to head out on a run considering you hadn’t gotten the chance over the past couple of days and then jumped into the shower.

It was shortly after that that your stomach began to growl and you meandered out to the kitchen. A grocery trip was definitely in order, there really wasn’t much in the fridge, you stood staring into the pantry, eyes searching through the food to figure out what you could do for dinner. You registered the sound of Alex’s footsteps, followed by the soft thud of her phone being dropped onto the island and you figured she was grabbing a drink. What you didn’t expect was for her arm to wrap around your waist from behind, her body nestled into yours as her lips tenderly brushed against the bruise on your neck.

“Snack or meal?” She asked softly and you let out a little sigh, picking up a box of pasta.

“I know it’s not much but I’m thinking kraft dinner. You want some?” You half turned in her arm and she chuckled softly, her hand taking the box from you to put it back on the shelf.

“I was actually thinking that maybe tonight I could take you out?”

“Really?” You turned completely, your attention fully on Alex as her free hand came up to stroke at your cheek while she nodded.

“I know I should’ve bought you dinner before fucking you, but the thought still counts, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” You smiled softly at her, “yeah it does.”

Her fingers trailed down your jaw, soothing over the bruise in the crook of your neck and she frowned slightly, “that doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“Only when Emily’s prodding at it.” You grumbled, rolling your eyes.

“I figured it wouldn’t take her long to put things together.” She laughed softly.

“Yeah. So what’re you thinking for dinner?”

“Not sure, nothing too fancy, you’re already cozy I wouldn’t want to make you change again.”

“What about Mezcalero? You were talking about wanting to try it out last week.”

“I think…” She started, her hand shifting back up to cup your cheek again, “that sounds perfect.”

She leant in, closing the small gap between you to meet your lips with hers and you let out a happy sigh, relaxing into the kiss as your arms circled around her shoulders. Neither of you could help the way your lips were curving up into smiles as they moved against each other, warmth blooming in your chest and flowing through your entire body. It was just as Alex slid her tongue across your lower lip that her phone buzzed against the island and she let out a groan, not wanting to pull away from you. As she reluctantly pulled away from you, a hand lingering on your waist, you closed the pantry, moving towards your own phone, waiting for it to go off.

“Oh fucking hell…” She felt her stomach plunge and when you glanced up you noticed how her eyes had widened, her face somehow both going pale and blushing at the same time.

“What?” You asked, your brow furrowing as Alex’s phone went off again, “ugh, is Emily sending you wildly inappropriate things?! I told her to stay out of this, I’m sorry, I’ll tell her to fuck off.” You picked up your phone with the intention of doing that when Alex finally found her voice again.

“Not Emily.”

“Please don’t tell me she blabbed already and it’s someone else on the team.”

“Nope.” Alex groaned, swiftly typing out a message on her phone, grimacing when it buzzed again in her hands and she dropped it to the island, running a hand over her face, pinching at the bridge of her nose, “I am so sorry.”

“You’ve lost me.”

With a sigh she slid her phone across the island and you picked it up to read the conversation,

‘Looks like you and bookstore girl really are getting along. Have to say, I saw that coming.’

‘Excuse me?’

A photo attachment, camera clearly aimed at the backyard with both the pool and hot tub in its frame, the part that mortified Alex, however, was that clear as day were the two of you all over each other in the hot tub.

‘Are you stalking my security cameras!?’

‘Relax. You said you weren’t going to be home until Saturday, I noticed a notification and thought some kids must’ve hopped the fence again.’

‘Definitely not the case.’

‘Hey, good for you. I’m glad you’re getting back out there. At least the hot tub’s finally getting some good use’

‘James, I swear to god.’

‘Don’t worry. Once I realized it was you I very quickly turned it off. While I’m not above teasing I’m not about to spy on your personal life.’

You glanced up to Alex, your eyes wide as she surveyed you, “James? As in your ex-husband, James?”

“That would be the one.” She let out a huff, accepting the phone back from you, “when we first moved in here it became pretty common knowledge that we had a pool and were both out of town a lot. We were both working when we got a call from local pd that a party had been shutdown at our house and one of the kids admitted it wasn’t the first time. So we installed the extra camera, James still has access since he keeps an eye on things when I’m out of town, he’s always on his phone, it’s a quicker call, easier for him to step away from work than me.”

“At least we waited until we were inside for the clothes to come off.” You suggested with a laugh, one that infected Alex and she chuckled, shaking her head at you.

“I guess that’s the saving grace. And believe me, he means it when he said he turned it off.”

“Well, one less semi awkward conversation to have next time you’re in Boston?” You offered and this time she couldn’t help but laugh, the ridiculousness of the entire situation settling down over her and she tugged you to her, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as laughter filled the kitchen.

“I am mortified. I didn’t even know how to bring up dating to James…”

“And now you don’t have to.” You laughed, prodding at her ribs, “the better question is… can you turn just that camera off?” You glanced up at her with a gleam in your eye and she raised a brow.

“Sounds like you have an idea.”

“Oh I have plenty of ideas. But they all involve a lens cap.”

“It can definitely be turned off.” She smiled, leaning down to kiss you.

“Good.” You grinned, “now take me to dinner.”

“You’re not going to share your ideas with the class?”

“Dinner first.” You kissed her, “dessert when we get home.”

“Now that, I like the sound of.”

________________

@svulife-rl rl @clarawatson @hbkpop @momlifebehard @alexusonfire @itisdoctortoyousir @temilyrights @alexxavicry @evilregal2002 @alcabots @ladysc @dextur @disneyfan624 @augustvandyne @supercriminalbean @lex13cm @prentiss-theorem @happenstnces @whiteberryx @heidss @geekyandgay98 @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @desperate-gay @amypoehlfey @overtrred28 @emobabeyy @1974-sp @theclassicgaycousin @kalixxa @leftoverenvy @bigolgay @daddy-heather-dunbar @regalmilfs4me @scorpsik @riveramorylunar @h-doodles @maybe-a-humanbean

[imzadi-caskett-huddy]

Hell Hath No Fury (21/?)

Thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter! If I missed responding, I apologize. I thought I had fixed the problem with notifications from the site, but apparently it really is an issue with the site and not my email. So I’m doing my best to try to keep track of the reviews I still need to respond to!

As I said in the last chapter, I’m opening this chapter with a significant time jump. So the last chapter wrapped up the July 4 holiday, and this chapter is going to start right after Labor Day.

Also, I want to give all you guys a heads-up…I won’t be posting any updates between June 5 and June 15 because I’ll be on vacation. I promise to try to post one more chapter of It Started With a Kiss before we leave, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to get it written and edited in time. But, I promise to post as soon as I can get something written after we get back home!

Also, Kate goes shopping for some dresses in this chapter. I am many things and can write many things, but I am not a fashion writer. So I'm posting the pics of the dress that appears in this chapter.

I still don’t own Castle…

This is the dress featured in this chapter:

xxxxx

After the Fourth of July, Kate spent most of the remainder of the summer in the Hamptons, only returning to the city for a day here and there when she had plans with Lanie or her dad. She and Castle barely spent a night apart anymore, but after returning to the city from the Hamptons on Labor Day, Kate had insisted they should each sleep at their own place that night. She needed to unpack from the summer, and Alexis was starting her senior year of high school the following day; she wasn’t going to let Castle miss that. After a lengthy goodbye at the Hamptons, they’d ridden back separately–Kate on her motorcycle and Castle in the Ferrari with Alexis, as Martha had driven the Mercedes back.

Kate didn’t regret her decision until that night when she was trying to fall asleep in her bed. It just felt…empty. She missed his presence, she missed his warmth at her back, she just missed him. But she refused to text him, knowing he’d either immediately come over or persuade her to join him at the loft, and she was determined they could handle a night apart. She knew she needed to begin reacclimating herself…and him…to daily life outside of their perfect Hamptons bubble they’d created for themselves. She knew there would be nights apart now…her job (when she returned from suspension in a couple of weeks), or his, would keep them apart sometimes, and they simply needed to start getting used to it now. That stubborn determination didn’t make it any easier to fall asleep alone, however.

That same stubborn determination is also what prevented her from texting Castle the next morning. Kate Beckett had never been a clingy girlfriend…she was not about to start now. She knew Castle would call or text her once Alexis was off to school and he’d caught up on things she was sure he’d fallen behind on while spending his summer in the Hamptons. So when he heard a knock on her door around 10, she knew exactly who it was.

She opened the door with a smile and immediately found herself being pulled into a kiss. “Hi,” Castle greeted her softly when he pulled back from the kiss a few moments later.

“Hi,” she returned with a smile, the fingers of one hand flexing against his chest. She stepped back, tugging him into her apartment and closing the door behind him.

“I missed you last night,” he admitted softly, offering her one of the coffees he had in the cup holder he was carrying.

She smiled and accepted the cup, closing her eyes as she savored a sip. No one could make her coffee like he could. She’d missed that with her own coffee that morning. “I missed you too,” she admitted. “But we can’t spend every night together. We’re back in the real world now. It’s best if we start readjusting to that now. There are just some nights we’ll have to be apart,” she reasoned.

“About that…” Castle started with a slight frown. “Gina and Paula have set up some dates for me to promote the new book.”

She hid her slight frown behind her coffee cup. She’d known it would happen sooner or later. She just thought they’d have given him a little more time to settle into being back in the city first. “Where are they sending you?” she finally asked.

“San Diego, LA, San Francisco, and Seattle,” he answered.

“That’s only 4 cities, Castle…that’s not so bad,” she tried to reassure him.

“That’s just this weekend,” he told her.

“Oh,” she wrinkled her nose.

“Then it’s Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, and Boston. That’s next weekend.”

She placed her cup on the island and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I think I’ll survive without you for a few days,” she smiled up at him.

He pouted slightly. “But what about me? I might not survive without you.”

“Castle, that’s sweet, but you’ll be fine. We both will. We will call each other when you’re gone, and when you get back, we can make up for the nights away,” she suggested with a playful grin.

“Or…you could come with me.”

She raised an eyebrow at his suggestion. “What?”

“You could come with me. You’ve got two weeks left on your suspension. You could come with me to most of the cities. You wouldn’t be able to come to Boston, but that’s a shuttle flight out of JFK all the time. I could fly home with you from Atlanta and then fly out to Boston on Monday for the event, then fly back home that night. After that, it’s pretty much just local signings or short distances I can cover down and back on the same day.”

She studied him for a moment. “You really want me to go on your book tour? What am I supposed to do while you’re working, hmm?”

“Well, it’s not all boring. Sure, there are usually a couple of hours I’ll appear at a bookstore to sign copies of the book, but almost all of the cities have a release party. Nothing as splashy as when Heat Wave came out, but a cocktail party. You can be my date,” he smiled.

“Did you run this plan by Gina and Paula? Aren’t they worried you having a girlfriend with you is going to put a damper on your roguish playboy persona they like to use to sell your books?”

He offered her a small smile. “I don’t care what they think. Their job is to set up the events, but they don’t get to tell me who I bring. My life is my own. And I want you with me. I don’t want to be apart for that many days,” he whined slightly, his fingers lightly teasing her hips.

“And the press?” she asked. She knew dating him would involve some dealings with the press, but she had hoped to minimize it. She was a private person, and living her life, her relationship, in the papers was disconcerting to her.

He sighed softly. “There will be some press. And I can’t control all the paparazzi who might take pictures of us together. But I can control the narrative Gina and Paula put out there. So you tell me what you’re comfortable with, and that’s the official narrative that goes out,” he promised her with a smile. “If you want the official narrative to be that you and I are dating, that’s what I’ll tell them to say. But if you aren’t comfortable with that and would prefer the narrative to be that you are the inspiration for Nikki Heat, and that’s why you are at the book parties with me, then that can be the official narrative.”

“Why do we have to tell them anything?” she asked, dropping her forehead to his shoulder.

“Because if we don’t tell them something when they ask, they will engage in wild speculation,” he chuckled. “And trust me, that is so much worse than just telling them what we want the story to be.”

She took a deep breath and finally straightened up to look at him again. “Well, I don't want women thinking you’re single, so tell them we’re together,” she stated. “I’m not crazy about living my life in the papers, but I do know that sometimes comes with the territory of dating you. So I’ll get used to it,” she offered him a small smile.

“Does that mean you’ll come on the tour with me?” he asked hopefully.

“It means I’ll go this weekend. We’ll see how that goes before I agree to anything else,” she agreed.

“It will be fun, you’ll see,” he grinned, giving her a quick kiss.

She really hoped he was right because whether or not it was fun, if she was going to be with Castle, this was a part of the package. Hopefully, she’d adjust quickly and manage not to be too newsworthy.

xxxxx

“Tell me why I need 4 dresses again?” Kate asked Lanie as she stared at the rack full of dresses in the dressing room at one of Lanie’s go-to boutiques when it came to killer dresses.

Lanie simply shot her best friend a look. “Because you’re going to 4 different release parties in 4 different cities back to back to back to back. Do you want to be photographed in the same dress on back-to-back days? You’re Richard Castle’s girlfriend. Besides, it’s been ages since you bought a new dress…I know, I’ve seen your closet.”

Kate rolled her eyes in response to that. “It’s just, I’m sure I have at least a couple of dresses…”

“Uh uh,” Lanie interrupted her quickly. “Do not go there. Like I just said, I’ve seen your closet. Besides, you’re going to look amazing in at least most of these. So try them on, then we’ll narrow it down.” Seeing the look Kate shot her, Lanie sighed. “If you can’t find 4 that you look amazing in, we’ll talk about what’s in your closet, deal?”

Kate chewed her lower lip for a minute before agreeing. “Deal.” She grabbed one of the dresses and stepped behind the curtain. “I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of this, Lanie. Castle’s seen me naked probably a thousand times by now; he knows what's under the dress,” she continued to talk as she changed into the dress.

“But he’s never seen you at his book release party as his girlfriend, trying to be sexy for him,

and sometimes the wrapping is part of the fun,” Lanie pointed out. “And a thousand times? You two have been together, what, almost 4 months now? You’re telling me he’s seen you naked a thousand times in roughly 120 days? You guys are like rabbits, good Lord.” When she saw Kate’s head pop around the curtain with a glare, she couldn’t help but laugh. “What? I’m just saying! Sounds like you two had a nice summer.”

“We did,” Kate smiled with a slight blush on her cheeks as she stepped out from behind the curtain in the first dress. “Well?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well you look freaking amazing in that, Kate, and you know it.”

“Really?”

“Girl, I’ma smack you. Yes really! Castle’s eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you in that. Now you cannot honestly tell me you have anything in your closet that looks that incredible on you,” Lanie crossed her arms.

“You might be right about that,” Kate finally relented.

“Girl, I know I’m right. That one is a keeper,” she stated, grabbing the next dress and handing it to her.

By the time Kate had finished trying on the dresses an hour later, all of which Kate looked phenomenal in, Lanie had helped her narrow it down to the four she was going to get that day. As they headed toward the register with their selections, Lanie gave her a smile. “See, was this so bad?”

“I’ll let you know when I see the total,” Kate replied simply.

“Girl, please. You never splurge like this. Shut up and treat yourself for once. You’ll thank me when Castle sees you in those dresses. You need shoes to go with any of those?” she asked casually, wondering if their little impromptu shopping trip included shoe shopping as well.

Kate laughed softly. “With my collection of heels? No, I’m sure I’ve got something that will work for these.”

“What about lingerie?” Lanie teased then.

“Lanie, this is a business trip!”

“So? Doesn’t mean you two can’t have fun in your hotel room afterward,” she smirked.

Kate laughed softly. “I’m pretty sure by the time we’re done at the release party and back in our room, he’s not going to be able to keep his hands off me, so lingerie is going to be pretty much irrelevant,” she admitted. Seeing her friend’s questioning look, she looked away with a slight blush. “It will be off me and across the room before he even has a chance to register what I looked like in it,” she explained.

“Damn,” Lanie chuckled.

“I mean, I don’t know that it will always be like this, but…it still is, so…” she trailed off with a shrug and a slight smile.

“Girl, you two are like fire and gasoline. I don’t care how often you mix them, you always get the same result…explosive inferno,” she chuckled as Kate handed over her credit card to the saleswoman to pay for her dresses.

xxxxx

“Kate, the car is downstairs,” Castle called to her from his spot in the living room area of their suite where she’d banished him so that she could get ready without him slowing down her process.

“I’m almost ready,” she called back from the closed bedroom. A few moments later she stepped out of the room in a gorgeous purple dress with a plunging neckline. The skirt hit just above her knees in front but was longer in the back to the point of almost, but not quite, hitting the floor. She’d paired it with a pair of silver strap stilettos and kept her hair down with her natural waves. She’d specifically gone with this purple dress after seeing his dress shirt for the evening was a shade of purple as well.

Castle’s jaw literally dropped when he saw her. “Oh…wow…” he finally managed to stutter out. “You look…just…wow…”

She gave him a shy smile as she approached, smoothing his shirt front slightly with her fingers. “You don’t look so bad yourself, babe,” she replied softly. When he leaned in for a kiss, she stopped him with a finger to his lips. “Uh uh,” she smiled slightly at his frown. “You’ll end up wearing my lipstick, and it's definitely not your shade. Later,” she promised.

He frowned a little more but simply pressed the kiss to her cheek instead. “Later…” he murmured lowly.

She smiled at that, taking his hand and leading him out of the room.

xxxxx

Kate had to admit the walk from the car to get into the event hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought

it would be. Sure, there were photographers…and fans…outside taking pictures, and a few people had stopped Castle for some questions, but it hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d made it out to be in her head. Once they were inside the ballroom being utilized for the event, she let her hand trail down his arm to lace their fingers. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought,” she admitted to him softly.

He grinned, bringing her knuckles up to his lips for a soft kiss. “Tomorrow night in LA will be the worst one,” he assured her. “LA and New York are always the worst. Plus, the press had no idea you were coming with me tonight. Trust me, tomorrow night will be different.” He dropped her hand then in order to grab two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray.

“Rick!” Paula came over as soon as she spotted them. “When you told me you were bringing your new girlfriend, you failed to mention you were dating Nikki Heat! I would have had more press outside,” she greeted Castle with a kiss on the cheek.

“Actually, it’s Kate,” Kate offered a smile, extending her hand.

“Paula, I’d like you to meet Kate Beckett.”

Paula took Kate’s hand with a smile. “Honey, you being here with him this weekend is going to push his book sales through the roof,” she told her. Turning back to Castle, she smirked slightly. “I guess telling you to sleep with her a couple of years ago to get her out of your system didn’t really go as planned, huh?”

“Excuse me?” Kate asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Funny story…I’ll tell you later,” Castle said quickly. “Paula, how long before the reading?” he asked, trying to change the subject. He wasn’t sure Kate would be all that thrilled about the conversation Paula had referenced.

“30 minutes. We’ll start with the reading, and then you can mingle for the rest of the evening. I’m going to go check to make sure everything is ready, and then I’ll be back for you in about 25 minutes. No hiding this time,” she told him using her fingers to gesture that she had her eyes on him as she walked away.

“So that’s Paula,” Kate took a sip of the champagne, watching Paula walk away for a moment before turning her attention back to Castle.

He nodded. “That’s Paula.”

“So you wanna tell me what she meant?” she asked him then.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he tried to maintain his innocence.

“Uh-huh. That funny story you said you’d tell me later. It’s later, and I’d love a laugh.”

Castle swallowed a large drink of his champagne. “It’s really funny,” he assured her, even giving a chuckle. “At the Heat Wave party a couple of years ago, she thought you were just an infatuation I had, and that I needed to get you out of my system. So she told me to sleep with you so I could go sign the Bond deal. Obviously, I didn’t listen to her…” he studied her for a reaction then. When she said nothing, he began to get nervous. “I mean, you were never just an infatuation…or someone that I wanted to get out of my system…not that I can get you out of my system…I mean, you so obviously aren’t something to just get out of my system…”

The way he stumbled over his words amused her, and she finally cracked a smile as she took another sip of her champagne. “Relax, Castle. I know it wasn’t you who said it. She’s a little uncouth…I’m not going to hold what she says against you,” she promised him. “Ironically enough, I probably would have slept with you that night had you not pissed me off…maybe even then if you had played your cards right,” she informed him with a playful smile.

He had to do a double-take at her words. “You…you would?”

She nodded, moving a little closer to him, letting her fingers toy with the lapel on his jacket. “In fact, when you came over while I was reading the dedication, I kinda hoped you were going to make a move. Imagine my disappointment when you brought up the case,” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I…oh…uh, you…you were?” he swallowed hard at the look she was giving him and how close she still was to him.

“I was.”

“But I thought…” he started, but he wasn’t really sure how to finish that thought.

She couldn’t help the soft giggle that escaped. “You’re really not very good at reading women’s signals if they aren’t throwing themselves at you, are you?” she asked, clearly amused.

He shook his head. “Apparently I am not.”

Another giggle escaped as her fingers lightly traced the outline of his lapel again before she used it to pull him even closer to her. “I guess I’ll just have to throw myself at you later,” she husked lowly in his ear, giving him a wicked grin and a soft kiss before taking a step back from him, leaving him stunned and speechless.

That was the moment Paula returned. “Time to go, Rick,” she stated, grabbing his arm and tugging the still-flustered man toward where he would get ready to do his reading in a few moments. Meanwhile, Kate grabbed another glass of champagne from a waiter and moved toward the back of the crowd to enjoy his reading without distracting him.

xxxxx

After the reading, Castle kept her by his side the rest of the night, using his hand on her back or his hand in hers to keep her close, except for the times one or the other of them had excused themselves to the restroom. Even then, as soon as they were within each other’s orbit again, Castle would pull her back to his side. It didn’t matter who he was talking to, he always introduced her as his girlfriend, Kate, before he would begin the conversation, and he made sure she was included in any conversation she actually wished to be a part of…and probably a few she would have rather just listened to. He knew this was not her type of event, and the last thing he wanted to do was have her uncomfortable or leave her to fend off the sharks by herself.

Once he was sure they’d stayed long enough to satisfy Paula and his commitment to the event, he turned to her with a grin. “Ready to get out of here?” he asked her.

She returned his grin with a smile of her own. “Yes.” She’d been ready to leave an hour ago, but she wasn't going to push him to leave his event. As much as she enjoyed watching him in his element, she was not a fan of small talk or forced conversations with people who normally wouldn’t even give her the time of day. She did have a few laughs that she managed to keep to herself, though, at the women who seemed rather disappointed he had shown up with a girlfriend. She was sure they’d most likely secured tickets to the event with the hopes they would be the lucky girl he’d be leaving the event with.

Once he’d slid into the car next to her, she leaned over and kissed him softly. “Thank you for not signing any chests tonight,” she smiled.

He chuckled. “I’d be happy to sign your chest if you’d like,” he grinned, pulling his Sharpie out of his jacket pocket.

“Castle, you’re not signing my chest!” she couldn’t help but laugh. “It would be obvious in all the dresses I brought with me, and although I am proud to be your girlfriend, I am not walking into your release parties with your signature on my chest,” she shook her head with another laugh.

“What about…other body parts? Can I sign those?” he asked with a playful smile.

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth as she considered his question. “Are you offering me a private autograph session, Mr. Castle?” she asked, her voice husky at the thought.

His eyes darkened slightly at the tone of her voice. “I am. Are you interested?”

“I might be able to think of a few places I’d like you to sign,” she smiled.

He grinned a little. “Oh yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah,” she leaned in to kiss him, brushing her tongue past his lips to stroke against his.

By the time they got back to their hotel suite, it was all they could do to get through the door before their mouths were devouring each other. She shoved his suit jacket off his shoulders and let it hit the floor, but when his fingers began trying to find the zipper of her dress, she stepped back out of his grasp. She unzipped her own dress as she walked toward the bedroom, letting it slowly fall down her body, carefully stepping out of it as she walked and catching it before it could hit the floor.

Castle stood, completely mesmerized by her until he heard, “Castle, bring your Sharpie!” called in a seductive tone from the bedroom. He nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to grab it from the pocket of his jacket on the floor and join her in the bedroom.

xxxxx

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Also, remember I won’t be able to post another update to this until after June 15 because I’ll be on vacation from June 5 to 15, and I’m going to try to get another chapter of It Started With a Kiss done before I leave.

I look forward to hearing what you guys think for those who choose to leave comments!

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode illustrée, no. 38, 17 septembre 1865, Paris. Toilettes de Melles Rabouin, 67, r. Nve. des Pts. Champs. Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque Forney

Description de toilettes:

Jupe en popeline unie, nuance vert anglais, garnie d'un volant tuyauté, bordé d'un galon oriental et surmonté de quatre galons semblables. Robe pareille à cette jupe, garnie avec six galons un peu plus larges que les précédents, relevée sur la jupe par un porte-jupe dont le patron a paru dans le no. 24. Paletot pareil à la robe, bordé d'un galon, et retenu par une large ceinture en ruban assorti aux galons.

Petite fille de huit ans. Robe et paletot en alpaga blanc, ornés d'une broderie branche dé corail exécutée en laine rouge.

Toilette de bal d'automme. Robe de dessous en taffetas mauve. Robe de dessus en mousseline blanche, brodée avec un gros bouillonné traversé par un ruban mauve. Un bouillonné pareil, mais étroit, forme tunique par devant et remonte garni, d'une dentelle étroite sur chaque couture des lés. Une dentelle plus large garnit, en guise de volant, ce bouillonné étroit et retombe jusqu'au gros bouillonné. Corsage décolleté à longues basques arrondies, entièrement bouillonné en long et garni d'un bouillonné étroit et de deux dentelles. Un chou de ruban mauve est placé à chaque échancrure des basques. Manches courtes. Couronne en marguerites blanches.

—

Skirt in plain poplin, English green shade, trimmed with a piped ruffle, edged with an oriental braid and topped with four similar braids. Dress similar to this skirt, trimmed with six braids a little wider than the previous ones, raised on the skirt by a skirt holder whose pattern appeared in issue no. 24. Overcoat similar to the dress, bordered with a braid, and held in place by a wide ribbon belt matching the braids.

Dress for an eight-year-old girl. White alpaca dress and overcoat, decorated with coral branch embroidery in red wool.

Fall ball gown. Underdress in purple taffeta. White muslin outer dress, embroidered with a large swirl crossed by a mauve ribbon. A similar bubble wrap, but narrow, tunic-shaped at the front and trimmed with narrow lace on each seam of the strips. A wider lace garnishes, as a ruffle, this narrow bubble and falls down to the large bubble. Low-cut bodice with long rounded basques, entirely bubbled along the length and trimmed with a narrow bubble and two laces. A piece of purple ribbon is placed at each notch of the basques. Short sleeves. White daisy wreath.

[of-tatooine]

howlin' for you. | chapter 3 - and away she ran

when pure fear hit, there was only one way to run. The Wolf Among Us - Bigby Wolf x reader

Click, click.

Left, right. Another left. And another click.

The familiar sound of your heels hitting the worn-out concrete blocks, a memorized rhythm that was etched onto your routine for the past years. The spritzes of perfume evaporating slowly off of the radiant, smooth skin, mixing in with the usual combination of cigarette smoke, back alley grease and the city air.

It was just another Friday at the job.

Freshly painted lips wrapped around the thin cigarette between your fingers - a hungry drag of the killer nicotine running down your throat, smoke exiting out in a huff as you exhaled. The dress of choice had been a relatively innocent white halter top that night, clearly contrasting the atmosphere in which you had to throw yourself in for the time being. The cleavage ran low, it always did. It was just the way they preferred it.

Now that you had thought of it, it made the pretty little ribbon stand out even more.

It made cold, ice cold shivers run down your spine in the heatwave that disipated off into the night.

Everything will be alright. In and out, only for half an hour.

The fading gleam of the city lights, apartments flickering back to darkness one by one at the ungodly hour turned themselves into the pink and purple hues. High streetlights beaming down over you, dark and purple shadows following your graceful stride, a practiced one after too many nights spent on those high stilettos.

Yet how many more nights would you have to spend like this, so that you could get out of that damned club's employee list? Find a way to untangle that bow and not face the consequences? It had been a question looming, rippling and bubbling in your mind for the past too many years - somewhat motivating you, and sometimes, simply draining any life that was left within you. But that night, that one particular night, there was something new within - some sort of indescribable feeling of anxiety combined by both the fear and excitement of the unknown.

Freedom.

The mere thought of it making shivers run down your spine, those of comfort and excitement all combined within. If only your legs could take you far, far away, far enough to get out of the confinements of the spells binding your tongue. So close, yet so far. Tied to the brink of your very being by a literal piece of thread - the pink bow.

You will be just fine.

This appointment was one that came out of nowhere, not that it had been unusual to have a couple of those sometimes - there were a lot of people willing to request services on a whim up in Fabletown, and frankly, while you had been relatively new to the hellhole of a club, it made good money. That must have been why you hesitated a bit less than usual when Vivian gave you a very rushed call asking you to go to the motel right away - not that you had a choice anyway.

The night was just starting as you stood in front of the decrepit motel, lit under the streetlights that threatened to give out into the purple hues of neon darkness any minute. The crackling sign over you as the cigarette was swiftly extinguished on the floor under the sole, the wooden door creaking as the six-inch heels carried you inside with accustomed ease.

Loud, ethereal music coming from up above surrounded your senses as you took confident steps towards the little front desk, the smell of cigarettes, flesh and potent perfume all around the wretched motel. The phone that had been broken for a damn long time with no one to fix it, was dangling off the holder as the metal cord swayed gently in the leftover air - almost mimicking your step’s rhythm. Moans resonated off of the walls when the friction of wood against metal joined - with Beauty appearing behind the space, her lovely and innocent face bearing a genuine smile a striking contrast with the nature of her occupation.

“Hey, love,” she would greet you in her usual choice of sisterly endearment as your lips held a soft smile, a carefully constructed one.

“Have a key?”

A hand swiftly reaching to the side of your bag, you clutched the single key with a label attached on it, clinks echoing. “I do - 207.”

With a small nod, as gracefully as she could in a place like that, let you advance up the stairs leading up to the rooms.

That night, it would later appear the insulation spell running through the walls and doors did their job better than expected.

Nothing could have prepared you for the sight that awaited behind the closed door.

~

Sheriff Wolf needed a goddamn drink.

There was a very limited handful of things the wolf could truly get to enjoy, leading his particularly demanding lifestyle. Such as the mere promise of the one current constant in his life that was awaiting for him at home, if the pig had not lapped up the last of it - bourbon.

It was no addiction, no, not many substances could induce that type of behavior on a willpower like his. He considered it an established routine if anything - something that he kept coming back to and that he knew would always be there, one that provided him the slightest of comfortable buzzes, lulled him to sleep when no one else would. Just two fingers of the amber liquid every now and then - the sheer feeling of temporary warmth that fell down his parched throat, the lingering taste of honey with notes of caramel and the inherent woody bitterness.

Nights where he got to spend sprawled over his wide-enough armchair, head thrown back in exhaustion, his little tabletop fan a sad excuse for air circulation, knuckes red in fresh cuts with his long fingers loosely wrapped around a questionably clean glass - he felt like he was the luckiest man in the world.

Even when there were tears in his signature faded off-white, once crisp shirt, and blood trickling down on his jaw.

Just another Friday at the job.

It had been a lingering thought of his that maybe the alcohol helped subdue the monster hidden deep within, with the very momentary relaxation sent all over his being in the form of sips. Some sort of a Placebo effect, like the Mundies liked to call it - taking in the drug that essentially did close to nothing to ail the body, and yet, the strong, constructed and desperate belief that it just might made them feel all the better. Something he never understood how until he got to experience it himself.

And now, the very act of the ritual reminded him of his humanity, of who he truly believed he was at the core - not what.

That night, where the moon was so bright in the lingering heatwave, he found himself downing his fifth cup of strong coffee instead of liquor.

Running a hand down his two-day stubble that made him look even more rough around the edges than he already was, a sigh filled out the stuffy air of his small yet functional office, the exact copy of the fan in his apartment not doing much good. That moment, he mentally swore to ask Snow into letting the Woodlands transition to air conditioning, sooner rather than later in that damned heatwave. A long shot by any means - he of all people knew how hard she could be to convince but not impossible, nonetheless.

His body burning like a furnace, a hand would move up to loosen his tie even more, the white fabric parting ever so slightly to liberate taut skin.

A quick glance to the clock would make him sigh once more, this time a more guttural sound - 2:32AM.

A swift rustle of papers and he would find his half-empty pack, tapping it lightly to get a single cigarette as he placed the filtered part in between his lips, the lighter following suit.

A long, hungry drag later, the gray smoke filled his lungs as a huff came next, finally leaning back into his desk chair with the other hand tracing through the numerous files covering his wooden workspace.

How many cases had he gone through for the day? It was a particularly busy one, with the everlasting line at the Business Office which got redirected to his office eventually, most cases of accounts brought in by the Fables demonstrating their innate pettiness - stolen personal artifacts from the Homelands, the usual bar fight over hustling some pool, complaints for the increasing rent at the Luxury Apartments.

Wish they stopped calling it that.

Yet, there was this one report that stood splayed open with the attached file that stood to his eye - not the most recent but new and urgent nonetheless, one that he had been meaning to get to for days.

One of us.

It had been one of them missing, and it killed him to the core that he had not been able to start investigating when it first landed on his desk. That was the way it should have been - a Fable goes missing in an almost alien city that was not theirs to begin with, it should have been the first priority. It would have to override every single other case he was on, making him dedicate anything and everything he had.

Instead, he had to deal with drunken Fables hitting each other as they fought over stupid poker games.

Taking in another drag as his cheeks hollowed with the poison, his amber eyes scanned the papers and clippings attached. Short summary of the police reports would also be included if there were any - their absence, like this one time, was usually a good sign that left Bigby with yet one less thing to worry about.

Among the pictures that Snow clipped neatly over the documents, was a glamored one next to a true form. A certain realization made Bigby’s eyebrows furrow as he instinctively leaned in closer to inspect, blowing the smoke out in a slow exhale. A common choice of accessory in both shots.

A purple ribbon tied tautly around the neck.

Warm liquor was not enough the satiate the worry emancipating in his soul, growing the urge to protect and to find out the truth.

He would have to do either, sooner or later.

As an unexpected knock echoed through his chambers, he wished he could do the latter before having to break someone’s neck.

One hand holding the almost finished cigarette with the last trails of smoke flowing, he opened the creaking door only to find a pair of terrified eyes staring right into his.

[fenmere]

the entire show of steven universe takes place in the inworld of a system? i haven’t seen that theory before, could you elaborate on that? /gen

Sorry that we're not really in the state to infodump about this the way we usually can and really want to. But SU excites the shit out of us, and here's at least the barebones explanation:

The show is about the effects of trauma and how to address it. It covers generational trauma, and it even appears to address trauma related to colonialism and conquest, but it doesn't really model that last take from the perspective of the colonized very well. And that’s not just because it was written mostly by white people, though that’s a problem.

The reason it's plot is the way it is is because it's about the instigating event, the Diamond's mistreatment of Rose, and the ways that everyone (not just Rose) dealt with that for millennia afterward.

Right?

OK, so.

Start with the Crystal Gems. They live in a temple that looks like a person. And within that temple, they have their own rooms that work almost exactly like headspaces.

THEN, they are introduced to the audience as the group of beings going around and finding corrupted gems and bubbling them up and storing them in their rooms.

That's active dissociation of trauma holders.

When Steven goes in to one of their rooms to release a corrupted gem that he regrets bubbling, that gem goes and inadvertently releases a bunch of others.

That's an illustration of the hazards of poking around in dissociated memories. It can cause a cascading trigger.

That, right there, convinced us that at least the Crystal Gems represented a system. Combine that with Garnet being a fusion who loves being a fusion, but who can separate and reform, and we're dead convinced there was a system on the writing team, and that the central characters and themes of the show were written specifically for the benefit of systems with trauma, whether that's DID, OSDD, or CPTSD.

A lot of the messages can still apply to singlets, but they work best for systems.

Once you accept that, it's honestly hard not to see the entirety of the show's universe and history as the system itself. Especially with Steven's name, Universe, symbolically pointing to that perspective.

Most especially with how the show wraps up.

With corrupted gems being especially traumatized system members, you kind of logically have to look at all gems as part of the same system. At which point, you start to notice that all the gems are traumatized at least a little in ways that profoundly affect their behavior, including the Diamonds.

This raises the question of what the humans represent.

They could be introjects of people the system has met, the town they live in. But you don’t have to read it that literally. If the show is metaphorically about living in a system, the exact explanation isn't necessary. It's not canon, it's metaphor. Intentional and real, but not a fact of the story.

They could represent otherwise normal members. System members who would have existed as they are without the trauma that shaped the gems.

They could be dream people, the system members we all encounter in our dreams and mistake for NPCs.

They could be the members who aspire to be human, to be able to function when fronting in the outworld, and who are not caught up in being protectors (the Crystal Gems), persecutors (the Diamonds), or trauma holders (the corrupted gems), and the like (the other gems).

But whatever they represent, when Steven became able to fuse with Connie, it was obvious that the humans were really, fundamentally the same kind of beings as the gems, playing by the same rules of physics at a basic level. They're system members, too.

And when the show delved into their lives and showed the effects of the gems' antics, past and present, on them, that made it undeniable to us.

They're part of the system, too, and integral to everyone's future recovery, and part of the need for it.