#but alright i will address some of the charges

[sugoi-writes]

Morning! I have a little silly idea for Alastor x Reader and wanted to share :D

Reader is stressed over some big event that is about to happen in the Hotel (like idk maybe they're throwing a ball or some gala to encourage more sinners to check in) and while she's giving a pep talk to everyone she absentmindedly starts fixing Alastors bowtie/coat/hair and everyone expects him to snap at you (you two were more of rivals than friends) but instead he smiles at you softly and fixes your necklace. You two only realize what you did when Angel "quietly" asks as a joke when did the two of you get married 😅

Sorry this took so long!!! I hope this is doing your prompt a little bit of justice! Please enjoy!!!

No warnings for this one, really! Just some good old fluff and pining (which I DESPERATELY need to work on, HAHA--)

♥️♥️♥️

Everything was hung in place, not a tassel or a drape awry. The decorations and accents, deep reds and lush golds, adorned every surface you could see. It was... gaudy. But it was perfect.

When all was said and done, you clasped your hands together, a triumphant smile on your face. Charlie, being the sweetheart she was, tasked you with orchestrating the grand-reopening ball. She had to admit, it was nice to throw the reigns to someone else for a while. She definitely got some MUCH needed time alone with Vaggie, who was also more than willing to take a backseat.

Your voice cut through the chatter like a knife, silence behalfing the room with your address," Alright... guys, everything looks great. The place looks perfect. Everyone is looking--"

As your eyes flit about the hotel residents, you spy a freshly-apparated Alastor, who was... off. Physically, you mean. You squint for a moment, spying three things: Hair, Bowtie, Handkerchief.

"Sh-Sharp... everyone looks sharp."

Without thinking, you marched right up to the Radio Demon, collective gasps around the room as you touched him. Looks of bewilderment, horror, and amusement surrounded you both. You were preening him, adjusting him... unannounced? With no physical repercussions? How were you still alive?

Both hands shimmied the black bowtie into place," The music is covered, thank you for the recommendations, Alastor--"

"Anytime, dear," he quipped, not flinching in the slightest. His eyes were trained forward, avoiding eye contact as you pat his chest. Charlie's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull as you pulled out the handkerchief, refolding and placing it back into Alastor's breast pocket. Another, resolute tap to his chest, and Angel's brain was short circuiting.

"Right-- like I was saying, everything is PERFECT. I need everyone on their BEST behavior when the doors open-- you especially, Angel. Everyone has their roles--"

Angel squinted, pouting as he shifted his weight... His head cocked to the side with a smirk, as if to say 'speak for yourself'! You strained onto your tiptoes, fluffing and adjusting Alastor's fringe, completely oblivious. There was a tinge of hair gel in Alastor's crimson, which surprised you. He had really gone the extra mile... albeit, still a little under perfect. Or maybe, you had just never noticed how much effort he put into his appearance?

"Niffty: keep an eye on the buffet and clean any and all messes. Angel, intel and vibe-checker. We have some big-wigs coming tonight, and I'm sure we could weasel our way into their good graces-- Make sure they're drinking, eating, dancing-- yknow!!! Having a good time!"

Alastor leans his head down for you, allowing easier access to his hair. You silently thank him, your tangent continuing," Charlie, Vaggie: you know the drill. Get them hooked on this place. Give them the razzle-dazzle to get them to stay. Lucifer, sir, you're in charge of the fireworks. I'm sure you have something ENTIRELY too bombastic for this, but-- just try not to scare anyone off tonight, sir???"

Lucifer, though still flabbergasted, gave you a pair of finger guns. This was his way of giving silent acknowledgement.

"Husk, of course: you're on drink detail. The more booze, the looser these guys get. The more likely they'll cave and stay the evening or become a patron--"

You blinked as warm hands were on your collarbone, adjusting your necklace. Though your face burned brightly, you didn't utter a word as Alastor finished his adjustments, giving you a pat on the shoulder. You looked up towards him, a friendly smile shot your way.

No words were exchanged, just smiles. You nod to Alastor, before turning to face the crowd. You weren't expecting to see looks of confusion and shock: everyone looked like deer in headlights. You sigh, chuckling a bit as you crossed your arms," C'mon guys, I know everyone is nervous about reopening to the public today, but we've got this!!! Seriously, everything is absolutely perfect now and--"

"If I can cut in real quick, toots-- are we plannin' a weddin'?" Angel retorts, fanning his hand back and forth between you and the Radio Demon.

"I mean-- not that I'm complainin', but y'gotta warn a guy first. I would've worn somethin' else for such a special day~"

You blink, utterly confused, before it finally clicked. You sputter dramatically, eyes wide and face heated from the implications," I don't-- I don't know what you mean, Angel--"

"Oh honey, we aren't BLIND. Admit it, you're mackin' with Tall, Dark, McNasty. And honestly, I get it. Chase your dreams or whateva. It's kinda cute~"

There were murmurs from the other crew, loosely agreeing to Angel's sentiments.You take a step forward to say something, before a hand clamps onto your shoulder. Your face only grew warmer as Alastor stepped in front of you. His pleasant smile strained, his annoyance further proven by his left, twitching eye.

"Now now, let's not lead the night with accusations and gossip-- though I'm usually a big fan myself~," Alastor mused, his grin widening.

" I'm afraid you all have the wrong idea-- I was just simply making sure everything was perfect. Just as our party host is." Alastor turns to you now, his smile softening," And that's exactly what tonight will be, with you at the helm: perfectly executed."

Angel snorts, leaning over towards Husk as he covers his mouth. A hushed whisper and an eyebrow wiggle are thrown his way," Oh, they're DEFINITELY fuckin'~"

You nearly shrieked as you cover your face with both hands, frustrated," Shut up, shut up, just-- UGH. L-Let's get to our battle stations, guys-- doors open in FIVE MINUTES," you bark. The nervous energy in the hall multiplies before dispersing, as everyone made themselves busy. It was very clear that everyone was trying to ignore the elephant in the room (and failing miserably). You do your best not to smudge your polished appearance as you turn on your heel, making your way towards the bar.

Immediately, you give it a knock, two fingers out. Husker nods, pouring you a double shot of your preferred poison. Swiftly swallowing the elixir of courage, you felt some of the embarrassment melt away. A familiar presence appears beside you, mimicking your knock and drink order. You sigh as Alastor's hand comes into your line of sight, eyes naturally following it as he swirled his drink, before downing it. You couldnt help but focus on the bob of his adam's apple, before you had the decency to look away. Alastor grinned down to you, tilting his head.

"Still troubled by their words, dear?"

You groan," D-Don't call me that, Alastor... Angel's going to feel like he's right," you reply, holding the bridge of your nose. Alastor laughs, leaning against the counter," Oh come now, I'm sure this whole mess will roll off your back by night's end~" Alastor teases, jazz hands accenting his playfuk tone. You groan again, frustrated," UGH, no, if HE'S distracted by that, EVERYONE here will be-- I just-- I don't wanna cause any unnecessary attention. 'For EITHER of us. You have your gambit for tonight, and I have mine... We need this to go WELL, not to be the talk of the town..."

Alastor leans against the counter, back pressing into it as he looks your way. Normally, he would continue to goad you into a precious, pathetic mess, but the look on your face felt too... troubled. You really were overthinking things, his eye catching the way you bit your lip.

The two shots he ingested already softened his edge, his head lolling to the other side," ...'a little advice, then?" You look over at Alastor, surprised by the change of subject.

"Sure. Might as well," you quip, resting your chin on your hand as Husk whisks away your empty glasses.

"If you walk around the room like your hair is on fire, the entire operation goes up in flames... This is commonly seen in management, but works just the same here," Alastor states, pretending to be fascinated with his talons.

"And truly, for tonight, you are the leader, the ringmaster of this event... the others will ask questions, and look to you for guidance. If you walk around like everything is going to fail, then it is destined to. So perk up!" Alastor's hand finds your chin, forcing you to look his way. Your breath catches for a moment, your eyes settling on his face. It was flushed, warm... and a hint of something you can't describe. He was being unreasonably chaste. Is this what Mimzy meant by "sweet as a kitten"?

"I think everything will go as it should, as long as you keep a cool head, dear. And if you can't, well...," Alastor grins as he knocks on the counter, each of you receiving another drink.

"--there's always liquid courage to settle the nerves."

You nod slowly, processing his words. Real, genuine advice... and, some sincerity sprinkled in? Were you really that drunk already??? Deftly, you picked up your glass, almost downing it before Alastor stops you.

" A toast, first."

Alastor grins as he picks up his own glass, clinking it against yours," To your success, my dear."

You move in autopilot as you clink back against his drink," Y-Yeah uhh... to the Hotel's future," you added, the two of swallowing your drinks hastily. Alastor straightens his posture, reaching over to squeeze your arm in reassurance. The radio in the room flicks to a new frequency, changing to a modern, catchy song that you recognized.

" Th-This is--"

"Your favorite, right?" Alastor finishes, his grin widening," Well dear, I am nothing if not accommodating. For tonight, let's have a little fun. Change things up." You nearly jump out of your skin as the front lobby doors begin to open, Alastor's eyes meeting yours.

"I expect to have your first dance. Meet me when you'd like to accept the offer."

And with that, Alastor leaves you, melding into his shadow form to flit to another spot in the room. You blink a few times, still reeling from the entire interaction. You hadn't told Alastor your favorite song. Not even once. And, you never dared to listen to it in front of him, fearing that he would disregard you or even chastise you for your taste.

You feel your heart swelling as you search for Alastor again, mouth falling open in silent protest. You wanted to pester him, ask him how he was able to know something so personal.... However, you are greeted by a sharply dressed demon, all too eager to make your acquaintance.

You allow your hand to be kissed, and pleasantries were exchanged. But ultimately... you felt your eyes constantly searching for Alastor. Maybe Angel was right, you thought... Maybe you did have something going on between the two of you. You felt a blossom that had remained so stubborn finally experience it's long-awaited bloom.

Maybe you did like Alastor. Maybe, just maybe, he liked you too... As the night grew longer, you realized that you just might be content with that.

[delilahsturniolo]

so high school - m.s

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

in which: matt and y/n are rivals, and have been competing with each other academically all throughout high school. what happens when the rivalry they insist between each other breaks?

this story contains: kissing, academic rivals to lovers, angst, more.

written by: @delilahsturniolo

© delilahsturniolo

____________________________________________

“are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?”

“it’s just a game but really?”

____________________________________________

I fidgeted around in my chair as the teacher walked by every desk, passing our test results. I glanced back at Matt who sat behind me, who was also waiting.

“What’re you so nervous about, Y/n? Scared you got a lower grade than me, hm?” Matt taunted. I turned my whole body around to look at him.

“Actually, I’m not nervous thank you very much.” I stood my ground, I raised an eyebrow as Matt darkly chuckled.

“Your body language says otherwise. You’re shaking.” Matt smirked, I looked down and placed a hand on my leg that bounced up and down.

“How about you mind your own business. You won’t be blabbering as much when you find out I got the highest mark in the class.” I flipped my hair dramatically and turned around. Matt rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah? Looks like someone’s delusional.” Matt scoffed. As I was about to comment back, the teacher placed me and Matt’s papers on our desk.

I gasped, I grabbed my paper and flipped it over.

A 100, A perfect 100.

Feeling confident, I turned around in my chair. “What’d ya get?” I asked Matt. He looked up from his paper and into my eyes.

“100. What about you?” Matt asked, I groaned in annoyance.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I sighed.

“Y/n! Language!” The teacher called out. I turned to Matt again.

“The same score, again.” I exclaimed, Matt sighed heavily.

“Whatever.” Matt’s lips formed a line. The teacher abruptly cleared her throat, causing the class to go silent.

“Alright class, today I’ll be assigning you a project. A group project. But, I will be selecting the partners.” The teacher explained, the class sighed in disappointment.

The teacher started calling out the names.

“Sarah and Alex, Nina and Hailey, Y/n and Matt-“

“Woah woah woah, what!?” Matt exclaimed, sitting up in his chair slightly. I scoffed in disbelief.

“This has to be a mistake, miss.” I spoke, the teacher simply shook her head.

“No. Nope. I am not working with her. Can I switch my partner?” Matt insisted.

“Nope, no changing partners.” The teacher demanded. I buried my head in my hands, there was no way I had to work with Matt.

Eventually, the bell rung for the next class. I got up and left, walking through the crowded hallways. I went over to my locker, opening it and putting some of my books inside.

Suddenly, Matt approached me. He leaned up against the locker next to mine. I glanced at him in annoyance.

“What?” I asked bitterly, matt raised an eyebrow.

“Somebody’s got their panties in a twist.” Matt retorted, I rolled my eyes and shut my locker harshly, turning to face him.

“What? Struck a nerve or something?” Matt teased.

“Shut up and listen to me for a minute.” I snapped, Matt surprisingly went quiet at my command.

“If we’re going to do this project together, we have to perfect it. And the first step is to work on it later today, at my house.” I demanded.

Matt chuckled. “You aren’t in charge here, princess. And why your house?” He crossed his arms, his dark hair fell over his vibrant eyes that pierced into mine as he spoke to me.

I frowned, opening my locker again, grabbing one of my notebooks and ripping out a small piece of paper from it. I grabbed one of my pens and swiftly wrote my address on it, I shut my locker.

“You wanna pass this project, yeah?” I taunted, shoving the paper against his chest. “Then follow my lead.” I spoke, giving him one last look before walking off. Matt scoffed, glaring at me as I did so.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Matt murmured to himself.

7:00 PM…

I was laying on my bed, scrolling mindlessly through my phone when suddenly I heard the doorbell ring. I jolted up at the sound, immediately running to answer the door.

I opened the door, Matt stood on the other side, some books and his computer in his arms.

“Finally decided to listen to me for once?” I teased, Matt simply rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get used to it.” His eyes scanned over my entire body as he said so. I let him in and we immediately went into my room.

I plopped down on my bed, opening up my laptop, Matt looked around my room, fiddling with some of my stuff.

“Stop touching my stuff, sit down.” I patted the spot next to me. Matt groaned and hesitantly came over, sitting on the bed next to me.

“Okay, let’s get started.” I insisted. Matt simply just ignored me, as always.

Matt opened his laptop, beginning to type away. We were supposed to be working together..but it was silent most of the time, since we both wanted to do things our own ways and couldn’t come to an agreement.

Matt looked up from his computer, his eyes fixated on me. I didn’t notice until I saw him through my peripheral vision.

I looked up. “What?” I snapped.

“I can’t look at you?” Matt teased, a smirk slowly forming on his face.

“You never willingly look at me. Stop it.” I crossed my arms, Matt shook his head.

“Who said I don’t willingly look at you?” Matt questioned, I was so confused at the way he was acting.

“I..I don’t know. I just assumed since-“ I spoke, but Matt immediately cut me off.

“We’re supposed to hate each other?” Matt blurted out all of a sudden. I was taken aback by the ‘supposed to.’

“Supposed to? What the hell do you mean-“ I was cut off once again by Matt, but not by words..

He leaned in, grabbing the side of my neck and kissing me. I wanted to pull away. I was supposed to hate him, after all.

But I couldn’t pull away, something was drawing me to him. I felt a heavy weight lift off my shoulder as we kissed, he bit down on my bottom lip.

Matt pulled away, moving his hand to my chin. “Are you always this stubborn?” Matt asked, not breaking eye contact for a second.

“I hate you.” I mumbled, but not bothering to resist him. A dark smirk grew on Matt’s face.

Matt didn’t say anything as he placed his hand back on my neck tenderly, pulling me back in again. His lips slammed into mine, I gasped into the kiss as his tongue slid into my mouth.

My heart fluttered as he did so, I would totally be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying this.

As we pulled away once more, Matt spoke.

“Still hate me?” He whispered softly. I bit my lip, shaking my head no.

Matt looked down at me, his eyes searching mine. “I never hated you. I couldn’t ever.” He spoke.

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. He moved his hands to my waist. I rested my forehead against his.

I never thought I would say this..but his embrace felt..safe? It was warm, and comforting. I guess you could say, we didn’t end up finishing the project that night.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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[xuchiya]

p.seonghwa {the strict manager}

cafe love m.list  || k.hongjoong || p.seonghwa || j.yunho || k.yeosang || c.san || s.mingi || j.wooyoung || c.jongho

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries danced in the air, a familiar symphony to your ears. As a mother member of the "Cafe Love" team, your focus was ensuring the smooth operation of the cafe. You navigated the daily rush with practised ease, a steady presence that calmed customers and kept the staff on track. Your presence has sent comfort to each customer you encounter, and it reassures your colleagues to work harder to earn a compliment from you that keeps them doing their job better.

“Have a good day ma’am, bye sweetheart.” You coed, waving at her little boy in her arms who shyly waved back at you before covering himself with his mother’s hair. You chuckle watching them leave; your eyes settle on your manager. Your new manager.

 Seonghwa, your stoic manager, presented a stark contrast. His sharp gaze and imposing presence kept the staff in line, his silence often mistaken for severity. The day Eden’s resignation had everyone left in shock but soon they accepted the reality and let whoever is in charge take over. And it so happened to be a friend of Hongjoong, one of his college friends back in Busan and now how small the world is that they met again inside the cafe AND being Eden’s Godson. 

You shake your head as your heart leaps just watching him converse with Wooyoung, who just happens to break his character in just an hour after Seonghwa settles as being the manager. You turn away, communicating with the customer in front, taking their order.

  Today, however, a misplaced warmth filled his eyes as he observed you navigate the morning rush. Seonghwa wasn’t able to express his feelings well but he was a nervous wreck when he received the news that he will become the manager of his godfather’s cafe. He doesn’t know how to handle it but looking after his co-workers is something he doesn’t need questioning.

And the day you all welcome him; you show him around and what needs to be done and such, he knows he is in good hands. He feels safe around you, that explains why everyone feels so relaxed whenever you are around and why they do their best because your words encourage them to work best. 

He felt bad that he had been cold towards you and the others, making an impression as the angry bird catches your mistake with his sharp eyes. 

Every morning is a very hectic hour for all of you as every customer orders their usual or order for a good group of people and pastries and coffee beans run out where something they expect as the shop is close to company buildings; it is really the closest shop to grab some morning coffee.

And every morning, different customers were met just like this one.

Suddenly, a clumsy customer bumped into one of your colleagues, sending a scalding cup of coffee cascading down their apron and to the suit of the businessman. The commotion did not go unnoticed to every customer and to your colleagues’ meanwhile you were occupied with the cashier job; fill-in the spot for a while until they were able to clock-in, “Sweets take over this for me …”

   After years of experience kicked in, you knew how to handle this situation. You quickly moved towards your cowering colleague and apologised to the man, “We are deeply sorry sir. We will replace the coffee for you, in the house.” You turned towards her, your eyes softening, you spoke softly "Oh dear, are you alright?" I addressed her with a smile, she nodded before you place a reassuring hand on her back to indicate that she can change her clothes.

The customer, a portly man with a receding hairline, sputtered incoherently, his face contorting into a beetroot shade, “Does your sorry cleaned MY suit?! God! Where's the manager?! You have a clumsy employee and what?! You’re gonna let that slide and let that bitch continue working?! You should get that fired! This is a coffee shop not a fucking love story that she will be rescue by a random person for her mistakes!”

You took a deep breath, not liking how this customer spoke to them that way but you have to keep things professional and maintain peace at ease, “Excuse us sir but it is up to us to decide what we will do but in behalf of her mistake, we will provide necessary cleaning for your suit …” 

The man did not like how you were so composed after blaring words at you and ruined his mood even more. Before you could react further, his shaking hand lunged towards the empty cup, a menacing glint in his eye, “Call yourself a hero bitch.”

Time seems to slow down as you do not have enough energy to move away. Panic flickered in the corner of your vision, but just as the cup neared your face, a blur of black intervened. The familiar scent of the Eros swift your nose as Seonghwa materialised beside you, his voice a low growl.

"Enough," he commanded, his gaze pinning the man in place. The air crackled with a sudden, unexpected intensity. The man, seemingly shrunk under Seonghwa's imposing aura, “If you’re looking for that random person to rescue her for their mistakes then here I am .. oh I’m also the manager. So what do you need?” 

The man stammered apologies and scurried out of the cafe. You scoffed, not able to wrap around how this man was different towards you whilst such a coward when your manager came in.

Seonghwa then turned to you, his features softening. With efficiency, he ushered you to the back, his touch surprisingly gentle as he assessed the damage, "You handled that well," he murmured, his voice a rare velvet caress. "But you shouldn't have to."

A warmth bloomed in your chest, a stark contrast to the fading heat on your skin. In that moment, you saw a glimpse of the man beneath the stoic facade, a man who cared deeply, a stark contrast to the rumours that painted him as cold and unfeeling.

You gave him a gentle smile, “I know I shouldn’t but we’re one here in this cafe. I’m not gonna let my colleagues be treated that way, if they are then they have to go through me first.” Seonghwa shakes his head, a half-hearted laugh left on his lips.

Later on, Seonghwa lingered by your side. He had seen you work hard from morning— having to clock in earlier than the usual call to check up on the inventories, materials and such— and having to encounter a scene and then another rush afternoon break can be mentally and physically draining. So he ordered the others to pull up a break sign so all of your co-workers can have a small break.

You rest at the back as it seems to be cooler. "You deserve a break," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Let me get you something cool."

His unexpected attentiveness sent a flutter through your heart.  Perhaps, beneath the surface of your contrasting roles, a different story was waiting to be brewed. As Seonghwa's hand brushed against yours, a silent promise hung in the air, a promise of a warmth that might just thaw the winter in his heart.

It may not be noticeable as he thought it is, but you have seen his subtle way of taking care of you and the others. And that reassures you that he is doing well.

 Maybe a little too well. Towards you. You notice his actions were different from the others and you have seen this one before and knew you had to address it before you read the signs wrong."Just thought you might need a pick-me-up," he offered, his voice softer than usual.

The gesture was sweet, the warmth in his eyes undeniable. But a clear line needed to be drawn, "Thank you, Seonghwa," you said, accepting the latte, "but you know I typically avoid breaks during peak hours."

His gaze dipped, a flicker of disappointment flitting across his face. Taking a deep breath, you decided on a more direct approach, "I've noticed your attentiveness lately," you started, keeping your voice low. "While I appreciate it, it's important to maintain professionalism, especially during work hours."

A surprised flush crept up his neck. He cleared his throat, straightening with a forced casualness. "Right, of course," he replied, a touch too quickly. "Just looking out for everyone."

The air crackled with unspoken tension. A ghost of a smile played on your lips.

"Maybe so," you said, your gaze lingering on him. "But your concern seems...a tad more focused lately. Did you think I wouldn't notice the extra latte deliveries, or the way you linger by the counter whenever I'm around?"

Seonghwa's composure faltered completely. He ran a hand through his hair, the carefully constructed facade crumbling. "Alright, alright," he finally confessed, a sheepish grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Maybe I was trying to be...a little obvious. I like you. A lot."

And there it was, that made you chuckle as you noticed his ears turned red. You were not surprised at all but his confession was clearly unexpected. You thought he will deny it but he proved you wrong; a genuine smile followed. His flustered state was endearing, a stark contrast to his usual stoic demeanour.

"Seonghwa," you started, a playful lilt in your voice, "I guess you were the love story of this coffee shop."

A relieved laugh escaped him, his eyes sparkling with a newfound warmth. "Though, a proper date would make this love story better eh?"

The cafe's familiar hum seemed to fade into the background. In that moment, amidst the clatter of cups and the aroma of brewing coffee, a different kind of spark ignited, a promise of something that transcended the walls of Cafe Love.

[creptolli]

Train Ride - Gaz x GN!Reader

Word Count: 986

CW: None, it’s pretty chill. Some strangers to friends to eventual lovers because there isn’t enough of that casual stuff :3

A/N: I wrote this on my phone so I apologise for any silly spelling errors! This is actually the story for my OC that I have been putting off writing for - so I wrote it as an x reader sorta thing.

Also I was listening to Laufey half the time of writing this, it’s very much those vibes.

“Shit, shit, shit…” you rambled as you rushed onto the train, yells directed at you as the doors quickly closed behind you. The laptop open in your hands practically screaming at you to charge it, but you ignore it. It’s got a good… 5, 10 minutes left? It’ll be fine.

Finally peering away from the screen to observe the area around you, you spot an open seat. The train wasn’t incredibly busy considering it was past rush hour, but it was busy enough that there were no completely available seats. Which just made you realise how late you really are.

You sit down opposite from a pretty big dude, dark skin, short hair and beautiful brown eyes. He was staring straight down at his phone, headphones sitting in his ears which lead you to look away, not wanting to stare. You sat off half the seat, not trying to seem invasive of the guys space, not that it looked like he even acknowledged your presence.

After a heavy sigh, you look back at your half empty document.

‘METAPHYSICS - What is reality?’ Labelled at the top of your page, daunting over the smaller text plowed across the bright white background. Your Philosophy assessment was due, today. Well, technically it was due... “23 minutes ago… shit.” You mumbled, a little louder than intended.

The sudden speech seemed to have caught the man parallel to you’s attention. He shifted, looking up from his screen to you, scanning from the panic in your eyes to the small bag laying at your feet.

Taking out one of his earphones, he called out to you.

“Hey, you alright?” He partially whispered to you, his English accent flowing with his voice.

“Hm? Oh- sorry, did I bother you?” You stumble out after realising he was addressing you. You couldn’t help but analyse the man’s face, it looked like it was sculpted by the Greek gods. As if Hephaestus himself carved it out.

He let out a small chuckle, “no, no.” He assured.

“You just look a little..” he searched for the right phrasing, not wanting to offend you.

“..All over the place.” He finished, a warm smile taking pity on you.

You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, if it was obvious enough for a complete stranger to see it, it was probably true.

Burying your head on the keyboard sitting in your lap, you frantically apologised in a hushed tone.

“I.. I have a late assignment and my professor’s gonna kill me.” You said in a strained, slightly overdramatic voice. You didn’t know why you were rambling about this to a complete stranger, but it was a lot more relieving than embarrassing, like you thought it would be.

Maybe this is a sign that a therapist is a good option… no, too expensive.

“Uni?” The man questioned, putting his phone in his pocket as he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his arms dangling forward. He seemed pretty invested in where your day was heading so far.

“Yeah, 4th year. I took a gap year though, thank goodness.” You clarified, already calming down from talking to him. You felt comfortable, which even you could tell was odd.

He let out a small chuckle, enjoying the conversation. He seemed entertained by your stress now that he could tell it wasn’t anything genuinely concerning.

The two of you kept talking, but your attention was partially stuck on thinking about what to write, what to tell your professor, and when the fuck this train would get to your station.

“..you enjoy university?” He asked, snapping you back to the present.

“Yeah, I mean it’s alright. Not that bad, just a little.. stressful at times.” You couldn’t help but stare at him a few seconds, a small confused expression plastered on your face.

“Are you not at uni too? I mean, you can’t be older than me.” You said with a confused chuckle, surely by the looks of him you were right.

He quickly let out a short, somewhat hearty laugh, his neck going limp as it fell downwards.

“Ahh.. no, I’m in the military instead. Sometimes I do wish I went though, could’ve been fun.” He said as he began to lean back, a soft smile and warm eyes staring straight into you. It was somehow both comforting and haunting, as if he’s perfected the act.

The silence that followed was far from a void, as if the stare you two held was enough to keep the warm atmosphere.

“ARRIVING AT BERKLY STATION”

You were so focused on the dude in front of you, you barely heard the train automated message over the speaker. Alarming you that you have finally arrived at your stop, ‘oh no.. oh shitt..’ your heart dropped.

Instantly recognising the familiar panic in your eyes, the man took a sigh.

You grabbed your little bag and looked to your laptop-

Dead.

“Oh shittt…” you audibly trailed, taking a deep breath, you put it back in the bag and threw it over your shoulder, a swarm of stress piling up.

Distracted, you were about to get off the train and prepare for your professor, when you pause.

“Oh! Right… what’s your name? Sorry, I need to go but it was lovely meeting you.” You said to him in one breath, your voice shaky from the nerves of facing your professor.

“Kyle.” He said, looking as if he was contemplating something. You were familiar with the look, it was almost as if most of your class constantly presented it.

‘Kyle.’ You made a mental note of that, it was devastatingly unlikely that you would ever see him again, but it was nice to put a name to a face.

"Well, thank you, Kyle." You let out with a small smile. "You made this morning a lot less..." You looked for the fitting word.

"Shit?" He finished your sentence.

"Yeah, shit."

Post writing notes: It took about 2 weeks to get this out and I don't know why. Probably the huge lack of inspiration as well as a lot of work outside of writing, but who knows. I was gonna continue this and make it longer BUTTTT I decided to just make this the little leak into the actual story coming out on my Ao3 which is an OC with a name and face (..that I have already drawn). I wanted to cut it off because the way I was going was just so stiff :/ but anywho! ty for reading c:

ALSO! I changed my Ao3 !! (like... I moved. I have a fresh account for reasons that would make sense if I elaborated)

https://archiveofourown.org/users/devolin/profile

[hayanwulf]

Magical Vandalism

Prompt fill for this : "Stephen gets arrested, and calls the only person he knows who might actually be able to post bail: Tony Stark." @ironstrangeprompts

“Boss, an unsaved number is calling you on your personal number.”

Tony paused his soldering and looked up. “Who?”

“The number is registered as belonging to Officer Jennifer from NYPD.”

“How’d they get my number.” And why would they call him? This was very odd. People didn’t just get Tony’s personal number like that.

“I’m not sure, Boss,” FRIDAY replied.

Tony huffed out an airy breath and put the soldering iron down on the table. “Put them through.”

There was a click as the call was accepted.

“Tony?”

Tony stilled.

That voice.. Tony hadn’t heard that deep, baritone voice since 2008. Since the day the person Tony had loved had dumped him, had walked out on him.

“..Hello?”

Why call now? Why, after all these years of radio silence?

Who was Tony kidding. Of course he knew exactly why Stephen was calling him now.

He knew about the accident from nearly a year ago. He knew Stephen’s hands had been destroyed. He knew the doc had driven himself bankrupt trying to heal his hands, with no success. He knew Stephen had no money to his name and had disappeared off the grid nearly 9 months ago, his trails ending cold in Nepal.

He knew all of this, because he’d been keeping up with news on Stephen, all these years. Had been actively trying to track him after his disappearance.

He shouldn’t have. He should’ve just moved on, like Stephen had.

Perhaps there was a small part of him that just couldn’t stop loving Stephen, even after all this time.

“Tony.. are you there?”

Tony should end the call right then and there. But.. damn it, he was worried. Stephen had been completely off the grid for the past 9 months and suddenly he was calling Tony, of all people. Tony was worried.

“Yes,” he replied after a pause, managing to keep his voice even.

There was a sigh from the other end, like Stephen was relieved that he’d been answered. “I.. I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of anyone else to call. I need.. help.”

Tony sighed, closing his eyes. Part of him wanted to just refuse it and end the call.

But...

Damn it, Stephen.

“What do you need?”

“I.. ah..” A short pause. “I got arrested and can’t afford the bail money.”

Tony blinked. “You got arrested,” he parroted, a little disbelieving.

“Yes.”

“What did you do? Theft?”

“What? No! Why would I do that!?”

Because you’re broke, Tony wanted to say. Instead he said, “Then what did you do!?”

“Wow, your faith in me is astounding,” Stephen said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “What makes you think I did anything at all?”

True, Stephen could’ve been falsely arrested. But, he supposed, good to know that Stephen still hadn’t lost any of his wit and sarcasm. “Well then, let’s hear it. What did they charge you with?”

“Vandalism.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Right, like I don’t do it myself every other day.” Though, he had certainly gotten better at reducing the collateral damage during fights over the past years. He could safely say that he was proud of the progress he’d made on that front. “What exactly did they charge you with?”

“... Breaking all windows of a neighborhood.”

Tony was silent for a moment.

“Why!?”

Stephen sighed tiredly. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

“You broke all the windows of an entire neighborhood, accidentally.”

Stephen groaned. “Just help me. Please.”

Oh, Tony had questions. He wouldn’t sit quietly until they were answered. “Alright, give me the address.”

A quick flight later, Tony landed in front of a local police station in Manhattan.

Ignoring the gawking looks some officers shot at him, he strode in, eyes searching for a particular figure.

When they did finally fall on the figure inside a cabin, Tony froze.

There, sitting on a chair in front of an officer’s desk, was one Stephen Strange.

He wore the weirdest clothes; blue, thick, and highly intricate robes. They couldn’t have been farther from Stephen’s fashion sense. His hands rested on the desk, eyes closed, body a little hunched. He looked paler than Tony remembered him being, and.. was that scabbed blood on his forehead?

Just what the hell had happened?

“Mr. Stark,” someone squeaked out, drawing both of Tony and Stephen’s attentions. The officer who had just entered through the door was looking up at Tony with comically wide eyes. “You’re really here. I didn’t believe when this man claimed that he’s contacted you.”

Tony quickly put on his media persona and stepped closer to the officer, offering a hand. “Officer Jeremy, right?”

The officer shook his hand. “It’s Officer Jennifer.”

Tony gave a nod. “Right. Now what do we need to post bail for my good friend over here?”

It didn’t take long to bail Stephen out, and he was given his strange assortment of belongings back — a red cape which, Tony thought, would look dramatic as hell if worn, a weird looking double ring, and at least half a dozen odd ropes and belts, which, what?

“They weren’t sure how I did it,” Stephen explained at Tony’s judgmental look, “so they confiscated everything I had on me.” He sighed tiredly, wrapping the belts around his waist.

No, that was decidedly not why Tony had put on a judgmental look. Why do you have so many belts? WHY are you putting on all of them, weirdo?

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, as if that would dispel the questions in his mind that were beginning to pile up into a tall mountain. He opened his eyes to ask the most important question, “Well, how did you do it?”

Stephen paused just as he was putting on the weird ring on his fingers, and glanced up at Tony with a considering look.

It was then that Tony truly noticed the state Stephen was in.

He was beyond exhausted. It was visible in his expression, in the way his face was droopy, in the way those gray eyes seemed to be devoid of energy. He looked like he was sick and hadn’t slept at all in a while.

“Magic,” he said, making Tony blink.

He gave Stephen’s clothing a once-over again. “Did you become a street magician? Your choice of costume still sucks.”

Stephen gave him a dry look, but quickly moved on. He placed a shaking hand on the neatly folded red cape held by his other hand — and oh, the scars; Tony felt a pang in his heart at the sight — and then, to Tony’s surprise, golden light came to life under Stephen’s fingers, drawing perfect, geometrical shapes and unreadable symbols on the red cloth’s surface. Startled, Tony flinched back by a step. Stephen didn’t seemed to have noticed, focused on the cloth.

Tony watched as the.. magic? — magic, magic like Loki’s, magic like Wanda’s, magic meaning bad — pulsed a wave of gold through the red cloth, and the next moment, the cloth was.. animated? Vibrating? Wiggling?

“Is that moving by itself!?” Tony yelped.

“The Cloak is sentient and capable of moving, yes,” was Stephen’s answer.

And, okay, Tony’s day had just gotten all kinds of strange.

“They are more drained than me,” Stephen added as a corner of the cape moved weakly and wrapped around his free wrist. He returned the gesture, wrapping his shaking fingers around it. “But they’ll recover.”

Something about that exchange was.. strangely affectionate. Tony found it hard to tear his eyes away from Stephen, who was looking down at that animated piece of cloth with concern and relief in his eyes.

And then the moment was over, and Stephen took a step backwards, putting distance between Tony and him.

That tenderness in his eyes from only a moment ago was gone.

“Thank you, Tony. I.. didn’t think that you’d respond.”

Well, there had been a fair chance of Tony ending the call at one point. But at the end, his worry had won over his resentment towards this man.

Tony gave a nonchalant shrug, trying to play it off like he didn’t actually care. “Well I was bored, and this turned out to be somewhat interesting.”

“Right.”

They stood awkwardly for a few long moments.

“I, uh, I’ll owe you one. I should go now,” Stephen said and turned away.

“Wait,” Tony called out, making him pause.

Stephen turned to him.

“And how do I contact you for the favor?”

Stephen paused. Tony was sure that he’d get a number. Instead he got something entirely unexpected, but not unwelcome.

“177A, Bleecker Street.”

And Stephen disappeared through shattered mirrors.

Tony stared at the empty air in front of him.

“What the fuck!?”

[horeformilfs]

Dove

Mother Miranda x Fem! Maid Reader

TW: Bleeding, Injuries, Near Death, Major Character Death, Grief, Mentions of Torture, Negative Self Talk

------------------------------------------

The grand hall of Castle Dimitrescu echoed with the authoritative voice of Lady Dimitrescu as she addressed her staff, the loyal maids who tended to the sprawling estate. Y/n, a reserved maid with a silent efficiency, stood among them, her gaze lowered as she listened intently.

"In three days, Mother Miranda will grace us with her presence for dinner. I expect nothing less than perfection from all of you. The castle must be impeccable, and any deviation from that will have severe consequences," Lady Dimitrescu announced, her piercing eyes scanning the assembly.

Bela, one of Lady Dimitrescu's daughters, stood by her side, her elegant poise matching her mother's. As the instructions continued, Lady Dimitrescu's eyes eventually landed on Y/n. A subtle nod from the imposing lady signaled Y/n's assignment for the evening.

"Y/n," Lady Dimitrescu's voice commanded attention. "You will be in charge of the kitchen and dining hall during the dinner. After serving the family, you will move to the sitting room to attend to us and Mother Miranda directly."

A murmur of disapproval rippled through the assembly, particularly from the maid previously in charge of the kitchen. She spoke up, "Lady Dimitrescu, it's unfair to have someone else take over our responsibilities. We are perfectly capable of handling the dinner arrangements."

Bela, always quick to defend Y/n, stepped forward, her voice carrying a regal authority, "Mother has chosen Y/n for a reason. She has proven herself time and again with her dedication and efficiency. We trust her to handle this important evening."

Despite the objections, Lady Dimitrescu remained resolute. "Y/n has earned this responsibility. You will respect my decision. The success of this dinner is paramount, and I expect you all to cooperate. Dismissed."

As the other maids dispersed, casting judgmental glances towards Y/n, Bela lingered, offering a supportive smile.

The three days leading up to Mother Miranda's dinner were a flurry of activity within Castle Dimitrescu. Y/n, dedicated to her duties, found herself working late into the night, ensuring that every corner of the castle was spotless. The sisters, keenly observant, had noticed her tireless efforts and sensed the underlying nervousness in her demeanor.

It was in the quiet expanse of the library that the sisters finally caught up with Y/n. As she meticulously dusted off ancient tomes, her eyes betrayed a weariness that didn't go unnoticed.

"Daniela, Bela, look who we have here," Cassandra remarked with a sly smile as the trio approached Y/n.

"Y/n, darling, working so diligently as always," Daniela chimed in, her tone a mix of curiosity and concern.

Caught off guard, Y/n straightened up, offering a polite nod. "Good evening, ladies. Just finishing up some cleaning in the library before heading to the kitchen."

Bela, ever the empathetic one, studied Y/n's face and noted the paleness. "You've been burning the midnight oil, haven't you? Are you feeling alright, Y/n?"

A subtle sigh escaped Y/n's lips as she attempted to brush off their concern. "Oh, I'm fine, really. Just a bit tired. Nothing to worry about."

Cassandra leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Tired? You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you sure you're okay?"

Y/n chuckled nervously, "I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, I can handle it. Just a little pre-dinner jitters."

Bela, sensing there was more to the story, spoke with a gentleness that contradicted her vampiric nature. "Y/n, we care about you. You don't have to carry all this weight alone. If there's anything bothering you, you can tell us."

Daniela, with a playful grin, added, "After all, we wouldn't want our favorite maid collapsing from exhaustion. It would be terribly inconvenient."

Y/n couldn't help but smile at their genuine concern. "Thank you, really. It's just the pressure of the upcoming dinner. I'll make sure to rest after it's all over."

Cassandra, not easily convinced, poked Y/n's side. "Promise?"

Y/n chuckled, "I promise. Now, I should check on the kitchen. Lady Dimitrescu expects everything to be perfect tonight."

As Y/n left the library, the sisters exchanged glances, silently agreeing to keep a watchful eye on their favorite maid.

The kitchen buzzed with activity as Y/n meticulously checked the final preparations for Mother Miranda's dinner. The air was thick with tension, and Y/n couldn't help but overhear hushed whispers among the other maids. They spoke in low tones, casting furtive glances in her direction.

"She thinks she's so special, getting all the attention from Lady Dimitrescu."

"I heard she only got the key to the distillery because she's the favorite. It's not fair."

Y/n clenched her jaw, choosing to focus on her tasks rather than the gossip swirling around her. As she moved gracefully between counters, ensuring everything was in order, the whispers persisted.

Meanwhile, the entrance to the kitchen swung open, and the room fell silent. Lady Dimitrescu entered, her towering presence commanding respect and instilling fear in equal measure. The maids froze, their eyes lowered in submission.

Lady Dimitrescu's eyes scanned the room before settling on Y/n. "You, come here," she commanded, her voice cutting through the anxious silence.

Y/n approached with a mixture of apprehension and deference. Lady Dimitrescu handed her an ornate key, its design intricate and foreboding. "Take this. It's the key to the distillery."

Y/n accepted it, her curiosity evident. "May I ask why, Lady Dimitrescu?"

The imposing figure of the lady leaned in, her voice a low, confidential tone. "Mother Miranda prefers a particular vintage for tonight's dinner. I want you to fetch it from the distillery. It's crucial that the wine is exquisite."

Understanding the gravity of the task, Y/n nodded. "Of course, Lady Dimitrescu. I'll get it right away."

As Y/n turned to leave, she felt the weight of eyes on her back. The other maids, seizing the opportunity, exchanged subtle glances and sly smirks. They had overheard Lady Dimitrescu's request and saw a chance to undermine Y/n.

In their huddled whispers, they concocted a plan. "Let's lock her in the distillery. She'll be too busy down there, and we won't have to deal with her stealing the spotlight anymore."

Unaware of the brewing conspiracy, Y/n made her way to the distillery, the key in hand. Little did she know that the shadows in the corners of the kitchen concealed the treacherous intentions of her fellow maids.

The dimly lit corridor leading to the distillery echoed with the soft footsteps of Y/n, unaware of the silent trio trailing her. As she reached the entrance, ready to unlock the door and retrieve the requested wine, she turned to find the three maids standing behind her.

Y/n furrowed her brow in confusion. "Is there something you need?"

The maid who had been leading the whispers stepped forward, a sly grin playing on her lips as she swiftly snatched the ornate key from Y/n's hand. "We just thought you should take your time down there, finding the perfect bottles for tonight."

Y/n, taken aback, instinctively reached for the key. "What are you talking about? I have to get the wine for Lady Dimitrescu."

The other two maids exchanged glances, their expressions betraying malicious intent. The one holding the key smirked, taunting Y/n, "Oh, you'll have plenty of time. We're just helping you relax a bit."

Y/n's eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping in. "This isn't necessary. Give me the key, and I'll handle the task."

The maid, now holding the key just out of Y/n's reach, chuckled darkly. "We've decided you could use a break. Down you go."

Before Y/n could react, the other maid forcefully shoved her, sending her tumbling down the narrow staircase. As Y/n descended, the sharp edges of the stone stairs greeted her with a painful collision, her head connecting with an unforgiving surface.

A groan escaped Y/n's lips as she struggled to sit up, her vision blurred from the impact. She clutched her throbbing head, feeling the warm stickiness of blood. Disoriented and vulnerable, she looked up to see the three maids peering down at her from the top of the stairs.

"You'll thank us later for the rest, dear Y/n," one of them sneered, and with that, they abandoned her in the darkness of the distillery, the heavy door creaking shut, sealing her off from the world above.

Over an hour had passed since Y/n was locked in the distillery, and Lady Dimitrescu's patience wore thin. The grand dinner was moments away, and there was still no sign of her trusted maid. The frustration etched on her face, she demanded answers from the other maids.

"Where is Y/n? I specifically placed her in charge of the wine, and she's nowhere to be found!" Lady Dimitrescu's voice boomed, echoing through the hallways.

The other maids exchanged nervous glances, their feigned innocence failing to deceive the imposing lady. "We... we don't know, Lady Dimitrescu. She was supposed to fetch the wine, but she never returned," one stammered.

"What?!" Lady Dimitrescu's eyes flashed with anger. "You had one task. I will deal with you later. Give me those bottles."

The maids handed over the three bottles of wine they managed to retrieve, and Lady Dimitrescu, seething with frustration, appointed another maid to oversee the kitchen. With a curt nod, she left the chaos behind and headed to meet Mother Miranda, her irritation palpable.

As Lady Dimitrescu joined the gathering in the dining hall, Mother Miranda's arrival signaled the commencement of the grand dinner. The opulent table adorned with delicacies lay in stark contrast to the tension in the air. The daughters, however, couldn't help but notice Y/n's absence.

"Daniela, where is Y/n? She should be here," Bela whispered, concern evident in her voice.

Daniela exchanged a puzzled glance with Cassandra, then turned to Lady Dimitrescu. "Mother, where is Y/n? Why isn't she here for the dinner?"

Lady Dimitrescu, struggling to contain her frustration, replied curtly, "I have no idea. She was supposed to handle the wine, but she's nowhere to be found."

Mother Miranda, intrigued by the conversation, turned her attention to Alcina. "Who is this Y/n that they speak of, Lady Dimitrescu?"

Alcina, maintaining her composure, explained, "Y/n is one of our maids, Mother Miranda. She has served diligently for years, but it seems she has encountered an unexpected delay tonight."

Mother Miranda's eyes bore into Lady Dimitrescu. "A delay? Inconvenient. I hope it doesn't affect the course of our evening."

The dinner proceeded, the absence of Y/n lingering in the minds of those present.

Y/n, still nursing the pain in her head, carefully navigated the dimly lit passages of the distillery. The air was thick with the pungent scent of wine and blood, an eerie ambiance that heightened her anxiety. Determined to find an escape, she tiptoed through the labyrinthine corridors, eyes darting in search of any opening.

As she ventured deeper, a faint noise reached her ears. Something shuffling, a low growl, and the clinking of rusted swords. Y/n's heart quickened, and she instinctively sought cover behind a stack of crates, praying she would remain unseen.

Peering cautiously from her hiding spot, Y/n's eyes widened as she saw the Moroaicǎ, grotesque creatures with twisted forms and lethal weapons. Their eerie, guttural sounds filled the air as they patrolled the dark passages, seemingly unaware of her presence.

Suppressing a gasp, Y/n tried to regulate her breathing, her eyes wide with fear as one of the Moroaicǎ turned its head towards her direction. The creature's cold, lifeless gaze met hers, and Y/n's heart skipped a beat. Panic set in as the Moroaicǎ, alerted to her presence, began to move in her direction.

Frantically, Y/n scanned her surroundings for a more concealed hiding place. She darted from behind the crates, hoping to evade their attention. The Moroaicǎ, sensing her movement, closed in, their rusted swords dragging against the cold stone floor.

With a burst of adrenaline, Y/n managed to find a niche in the shadows, holding her breath as the Moroaicǎ approached the spot she had just vacated. Sweat formed on her brow as she waited, praying they would pass without discovering her presence. The dim light flickered above, casting eerie shadows that danced around her, intensifying the suspense of her precarious situation.

The dinner concluded, and the group retired to the opulent sitting room, the daughters casting occasional glances towards the empty space where Y/n should have been. Lady Dimitrescu, masking her concern, informed her daughters of Mother Miranda's extended stay.

"Mother Miranda will be staying with us for a few days. We must ensure everything is in order during her visit," Lady Dimitrescu announced, her daughters nodding in acknowledgement, though their thoughts lingered on the absent maid.

As the night wore on, the maids diligently completed their final duties, a subdued atmosphere prevailing in the absence of Y/n. Lady Dimitrescu, growing increasingly uneasy, couldn't shake off the worry that gnawed at her.

Bela, the ever-observant daughter, spoke up, "Mother, shouldn't we look for Y/n? It's unusual for her to be absent like this."

Lady Dimitrescu considered the suggestion, her brow furrowed. Before she could respond, Mother Miranda intervened, "Perhaps a search is in order. Alcina, it would be wise to find your missing maid. I'll assist you in the search."

Lady Dimitrescu nodded, a mix of gratitude and apprehension in her eyes. "Very well. Bela, Cassandra, Daniela, you will search the upper floors. I will handle the ground floor. We reconvene in one hour."

The daughters, understanding the urgency, nodded in unison and dispersed to their assigned areas. As Lady Dimitrescu descended the grand staircase, her mind raced with worry, wondering what could have befallen Y/n.

Meanwhile, Mother Miranda turned to Alcina. "Let's begin below. We'll search the distillery and the dungeons. Time is of the essence."

With a determined nod, Lady Dimitrescu and Mother Miranda parted ways, each with a mission to unravel the mystery of Y/n's disappearance. The grand castle, once filled with regality, now held an air of uncertainty as the search for the missing maid unfolded in its echoing halls.

Y/n, realizing that hiding was not a sustainable option, mustered the courage to resume her search for an escape route. As she cautiously navigated the dim passages, the oppressive air weighed heavily on her. The scent of blood and wine intermingled, creating a sickening atmosphere that fueled her desperation.

Her heart raced as she stumbled upon the Moroaicǎ again. Panic set in, and before she could react, the sharp swing of a sickle sliced through the air, cutting into her arm. Y/n cried out, clutching the bleeding wound. The Moroaicǎ, relentless in their pursuit, closed in.

In a frantic attempt to evade them, Y/n pressed on, but another Moroaicǎ swung a rusted sword, cutting across her back. The pain was searing, and Y/n staggered, tumbling into the pooled mixture of blood and wine that flooded the distillery floor.

With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Y/n forced herself to her feet, the red liquid staining her clothes. Determination fueled her movements as she spied what appeared to be a potential escape route. The Moroaicǎ, undeterred, closed in once more.

In a desperate bid for freedom, Y/n lunged toward the passage, but before she could reach it, a Moroaicǎ struck her in the stomach with a swift, brutal stab. Y/n crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath, her hands instinctively clutching the wound as blood seeped through her fingers.

The pain was excruciating, and the distillery floor now mirrored the horrors of a macabre canvas, blood and wine blending in a grotesque dance beneath her. In her weakened state, Y/n fought against the encroaching darkness, the world around her blurred as the Moroaicǎ retreated, leaving her battered and bleeding on the unforgiving ground.

The three daughters reconvened in the upper level of the castle, their expressions a mix of concern and frustration. Bela spoke up first, her voice betraying a hint of worry, "I didn't find Y/n. Did either of you have any luck?"

Cassandra and Daniela exchanged glances before shaking their heads. "No sign of her. It's as if she vanished," Daniela replied, her usual playful demeanor replaced by genuine concern.

As they were about to discuss their next course of action, Lady Dimitrescu ascended the staircase, her towering figure casting a shadow over the hallway. "Have any of you found Y/n?" she inquired, her voice laced with urgency.

Bela, meeting her mother's gaze, shook her head solemnly. "No, Mother. We searched everywhere, but there's no trace of her."

Lady Dimitrescu's expression tightened, worry evident in her eyes. "I couldn't find her either. This is highly unusual. Where could she be?"

Cassandra, ever pragmatic, spoke up, "Mother Miranda hasn't returned yet. Maybe she's having more luck. We should wait for her."

Nodding in agreement, Daniela added, "Yes, perhaps Mother Miranda has uncovered something in her search. We can't lose hope just yet."

The group decided to return to the sitting room, a heavy silence settling among them as they anxiously awaited news of Y/n's whereabouts. The grandeur of the room seemed to amplify the uncertainty that lingered in the air, each passing moment intensifying the worry etched on their faces.

Mother Miranda pressed on through the labyrinthine passages of the distillery, encountering Moroaicǎ along the way. Her powerful abilities easily overcame the grotesque creatures, allowing her to continue the search undeterred. The echo of her footsteps resonated through the eerie silence of the underground.

As she delved deeper, she stumbled upon a haunting scene—a lifeless body lying on the wet ground, surrounded by the unsettling mixture of blood and wine. Mother Miranda approached with a sense of gravitas, turning the woman on her back to reveal her pallid face. The pain etched across Y/n's features tugged at Miranda's usually stoic demeanor.

Kneeling beside the injured maid, Miranda attempted to rouse her. "Y/n, wake up. Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters have been worried about you."

Y/n's eyes fluttered open, the pain evident in her gaze. She offered a weak apology, but Miranda hushed her gently, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Shh, my dear. You'll be okay. We'll get you out of here."

As Y/n succumbed to unconsciousness, Mother Miranda cradled her in her arms, a fleeting but profound feeling of completeness washing over her. With each step, she savored the weight of the maid in her embrace, a sensation as if a missing piece had been found. The dimly lit passages of the distillery bore witness to this peculiar connection between the two women.

Emerging from the depths below, Mother Miranda ascended the staircase with Y/n in her arms. The grandeur of Castle Dimitrescu's main floor starkly contrasted the eerie solitude of the distillery. The daughters and Lady Dimitrescu, anxiously waiting in the sitting room, were taken aback as Miranda, with a wave of her hand, effortlessly opened the door.

The shock on their faces deepened as Miranda entered, cradling the unconscious Y/n. Lady Dimitrescu, momentarily speechless, found her voice, "Mother Miranda, what happened?"

Miranda's gaze met Lady Dimitrescu's, and she spoke with a calm reassurance, "Y/n has sustained severe injuries, but I can help her. We need to tend to her immediately."

With Lady Dimitrescu leading the way, they entered a makeshift medical room within the castle. Miranda gently laid Y/n on a nearby table, the gravity of the situation evident in the concern etched on everyone's faces.

Miranda, assisted by Bela and Cassandra, began to tend to Y/n's wounds. Lady Dimitrescu, ever composed, attempted to console the tearful Daniela, whose worry manifested in quiet sobs. The atmosphere in the room was tense, a blend of relief and anxiety as the fate of the missing maid hung in the balance.

In the hushed stillness of the night, Y/n stirred from her uneasy slumber, pain coursing through her body. The dimly lit room danced with shadows, and a sense of disorientation enveloped her. As she struggled to make sense of her surroundings, a masked figure approached, causing a jolt of fear to shoot through her.

However, to her surprise, Miranda calmly reached up and removed her mask, revealing her piercing blue eyes and chiseled features. Y/n, caught off guard, took a moment to admire the unexpected sight before her.

Miranda, with a slight tease in her voice, remarked, "Dove, it seems you're quite captivated by my features."

Caught in her reverie, Y/n blushed, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Miranda chuckled warmly, her husky voice resonating in the quiet room. "No need to apologize, my dear. It's quite adorable how you get lost in thought."

Y/n's blush deepened, and she stammered, "I didn't mean to stare. I just..."

Miranda interrupted with a gentle laugh, "You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I find it quite endearing."

As Y/n tried to hide her embarrassment, Miranda's reassuring presence eased the tension in the room. 

Y/n's mind raced, and the overwhelming realization of the events hit her like a tidal wave. Panic set in, and her breathing quickened, chest tightening with anxiety. Frantically, she tried to get up from the bed, but her legs gave out beneath her. In the moment of vulnerability, Miranda swiftly caught her, gently guiding her back onto the bed.

"Dove, you need to rest," Miranda urged, her voice calm but firm.

Y/n's words stumbled out, frantic and desperate, "I... I need to apologize to Lady Dimitrescu. She'll be furious. I messed everything up."

Miranda, recognizing the distress in Y/n's eyes, gently cupped her face, directing her gaze to meet hers. "Listen to me, dear. Alcina will understand. Your well-being is the priority right now. We will face this together."

Y/n, still struggling to calm her racing heart, insisted, "But she trusted me with the dinner, and I ruined it. She's going to hate me."

Miranda continued to soothe her, "Alcina won't hate you. She cares about you. We'll explain everything to her. Right now, you need to focus on resting and recovering. The rest can be dealt with in due time."

Miranda continued her efforts to soothe Y/n, recognizing the persistent anxiety that gripped her. "Dove, you need to try and get some sleep. Worrying won't change what happened, and you need your strength to recover."

Y/n's restless expression revealed the inner turmoil she was experiencing. "I'm just too anxious, Miranda. I can't stop thinking about how Lady Dimitrescu will react."

Understanding, Miranda decided to take a more hands-on approach. She made her way to the other side of the bed, gesturing for Y/n to scoot over. With a gentle touch, she laid down beside her.

Y/n's eyes followed Miranda's movements, curious and apprehensive. Miranda, careful not to cause additional pain, pulled Y/n into her, cradling her in a protective embrace. Y/n, feeling the warmth of Miranda's body, relaxed against her, breathing in the comforting scent of her warm amber perfume.

As Y/n laid her head on Miranda's chest, Miranda's hand stroked her hair in a soothing rhythm. The calming gesture gradually eased Y/n's tension, and she began to drift back into a more serene slumber.

In the quiet intimacy of the moment, Y/n couldn't help but voice her curiosity. "Why are you being so caring, Miranda? Everything I've heard from the other maids told me otherwise."

Miranda paused for a moment before answering, "I'm not entirely sure. There's something about seeing you hurt in the distillery that stirred a protective instinct in me. You deserve care and kindness, especially in moments of vulnerability."

Y/n's heart swelled at the sincerity of Miranda's words. Miranda gently kissed Y/n's head before covering them both with the comforter. The room fell into darkness as Miranda extinguished the single candle, the subtle scent of warm amber lingering in the air.

As Y/n settled into the comforting embrace, Miranda whispered softly, "Rest now, Dove. We'll face whatever comes together." The quiet reassurance echoed in the stillness of the room, offering solace to Y/n as sleep reclaimed its hold on her troubled mind.

Y/n stirred from her slumber, the morning light filtering through the window. Her gaze wandered around the room, eventually resting on Miranda, who was already awake and watching her. As their eyes met, Y/n blushed and quickly looked away, prompting a soft chuckle from Miranda.

Before either of them could say anything, a knock echoed through the room. Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters entered, their eyes taking in the unexpected scene. Cassandra, always one for teasing, couldn't resist making a playful comment, causing Y/n to bury her face in her hands in embarrassment.

Miranda, with a fond smile, gently helped Y/n sit up, mindful of her lingering pain. Lady Dimitrescu, her expression a mix of concern and relief, addressed Y/n, "You've been relieved of your duties until further notice. Your priority now is to focus on recovering."

Y/n, still flustered, stammered out, "I'm sorry, Lady Dimitrescu. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Lady Dimitrescu's stern exterior softened, and she placed a reassuring hand on Y/n's shoulder. "It's alright, Y/n. Your well-being is what matters most. We'll address the situation in due time. For now, rest and recover."

Cassandra, with a mischievous grin, added, "Who would have thought our dear Y/n would end up in Mother Miranda's arms?"

Bela and Daniela exchanged amused glances, and Lady Dimitrescu, while maintaining her composure, couldn't suppress a small smile. 

Miranda, after a moment of silent consideration, addressed Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, "I would appreciate it if you could give us some privacy while I check on Y/n's injuries."

Lady Dimitrescu nodded, her daughters following suit. As they left the room, Miranda turned her attention back to Y/n. "Let me see how your injuries are healing," she said, her tone gentle.

Y/n complied, allowing Miranda to inspect the stitches and bruises. After a careful examination, Miranda offered a reassuring smile. "Everything seems to be healing well. Just be cautious of the stitches, and don't push yourself too hard."

As Miranda finished her assessment, Y/n hesitantly asked, "Do you think I could go for a walk in the courtyard? It might help me feel better."

Miranda considered the request before responding, "I wouldn't want you to go alone. But if you'd like, I can accompany you."

Y/n's face lit up with gratitude. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

Miranda helped Y/n to her feet, offering a supportive hand. They walked together toward the courtyard, Miranda's hand gently holding Y/n's. The castle's grandeur unfolded around them as they stepped into the open air of the courtyard. The quiet sounds of the castle grounds surrounded them, offering a peaceful backdrop to their walk.

As they strolled through the courtyard, Y/n couldn't help but express her appreciation, "Thank you, Miranda, for everything. I never expected you to be so caring."

Miranda, with a soft smile, replied, "Sometimes unexpected bonds are the strongest. I want to ensure you recover fully. You're important to this castle."

The courtyard stretched before them as they continued their leisurely walk, the soft sounds of their footsteps blending with the tranquil ambiance. Suddenly, Y/n stopped, a subtle wince crossing her features. Miranda, ever attentive, noticed the discomfort and immediately asked, "Are you okay, Y/n?"

Y/n, attempting to downplay the pain, forced a smile and replied, "I'm fine, really. Just a little twinge."

Miranda, unconvinced, studied Y/n's expression. "We can stop and rest if you need to. Your well-being is my priority."

Y/n, determined to continue, shook her head. "No, really, Miranda. I'm okay. Let's keep going."

Miranda hesitated, her concern evident, but she ultimately agreed, "If you're sure, but don't hesitate to let me know if you need a break."

As they continued their walk through the courtyard, the atmosphere shifted when Y/n suddenly stopped, her eyes widening with recognition. Miranda, noticing the change, questioned, "What's wrong, Y/n?"

Y/n's gaze fixated on a group of maids, the same ones who had locked her in the distillery. Memories of that traumatic incident flooded back, causing her to step back, seeking refuge closer to Miranda.

Miranda, sensing Y/n's distress, turned her back to the maids, cupping Y/n's face gently. "Tell me what's wrong," she urged.

The maids, surprised by Y/n's unexpected appearance, attempted to approach her, pretending as if nothing had happened. Y/n, however, instinctively moved away from them, drawing nearer to Miranda.

Miranda, maintaining her protective stance, turned around to face the maids. "What's going on here?" she questioned, her tone demanding answers.

The maids, caught off guard, nervously attempted to justify their actions, downplaying the severity of their actions. Y/n, her voice filled with a mixture of pain and frustration, told Miranda what they had done.

In response, Miranda positioned herself in front of Y/n, a shield against the maids. "You locked her in the distillery? Do you realize the danger you put her in?" Miranda's irritation was palpable.

The maids, seemingly unfazed, tried to dismiss the gravity of their actions, claiming it wasn't a big deal and that nobody would have noticed anyway. Miranda's expression hardened. "You could have killed her! Do you comprehend the consequences of your actions?"

Just then, Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters appeared, the maids visibly trembling at their presence. Lady Dimitrescu, with a stern expression, questioned, "What is going on here?"

Miranda wasted no time in revealing the maids' transgressions, explaining how they had locked Y/n in the distillery, putting her in grave danger. The air in the courtyard tensed as Lady Dimitrescu's gaze bore down on the guilty maids, the consequences of their actions becoming increasingly apparent.

Lady Dimitrescu's gaze bore into the group of maids, her towering figure casting a formidable shadow over them. She questioned them with a stern tone, "Explain yourselves."

The maids, now realizing the gravity of their actions, attempted feeble justifications, but Lady Dimitrescu cut through their excuses with a cold precision. "Enough of your excuses. You endangered one of my trusted maids, and for that, there will be consequences."

Cassandra, Bela, and Daniela, standing beside their mother, wore sadistic grins as they anticipated the impending punishment. Lady Dimitrescu's words carried the weight of authority as she declared, "You will be punished."

The daughters, eagerly awaiting their cue, exchanged glances, their excitement evident. Lady Dimitrescu, without uttering a word, nodded slightly, giving the signal for Cassandra, Bela, and Daniela to take charge.

The trio approached the maids with a sinister gleam in their eyes, ready to carry out the punishment ordered by their mother. Cassandra's grin widened as she spoke, "Oh, you're in for a treat."

Bela added, "The dungeon can be quite... enlightening."

Daniela, the youngest but no less enthusiastic, chimed in, "And we haven't had visitors in a while."

The maids, now fully aware of the severity of their actions, cast nervous glances at each other, realizing that the consequences under Lady Dimitrescu's rule were not to be taken lightly. The castle's cold corridors echoed with a mix of tension and anticipation as the daughters prepared to escort the guilty maids to the dreaded dungeon.

Miranda, ever attuned to Y/n's well-being, turned her attention to the shaken maid. "Are you okay, Y/n?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

Y/n, still processing the recent events, seemed a bit spaced out. Miranda, gently cupping Y/n's face, attempted to bring her attention back to the present moment. "Y/n, focus on me. You're safe now. Breathe."

Lady Dimitrescu, towering beside them, also expressed her concern. "Y/n, are you alright?"

Y/n, with a hint of distress in her eyes, replied, "I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't think they would go so far."

Lady Dimitrescu, her stern expression softening for a moment, reassured Y/n, "You are not at fault here. The maids will be punished severely for their actions. This was not your doing."

Y/n, still grappling with the aftermath of the confrontation, looked at Miranda and Lady Dimitrescu with a puzzled expression. "I don't understand why you're defending me. I'm just a maid, and my role is to serve the house without questioning anything, to never talk back or question the decisions of my superiors."

Miranda and Lady Dimitrescu exchanged glances, both confused by Y/n's perspective. Miranda spoke gently, "Y/n, it's normal for people to help each other, to care for one another. You don't have to bear everything on your own. We are here for you."

Lady Dimitrescu, realizing the depth of the situation, added, "What you've described is not a healthy way to live. It's okay to seek help, to question things. We're not just your superiors; we're also people who care about you."

Y/n hesitated, realizing the ingrained beliefs she had carried for so long. "I never thought about it that way. It's just the way things have always been for me."

Understanding the sensitivity of the conversation, Lady Dimitrescu turned to Miranda. "I'll give you two some time to talk. It seems like there's much for Y/n to process."

Miranda, sensing the need for a more intimate conversation, led Y/n to a quiet bench where they could sit together. Y/n, seeking comfort, rested her head on Miranda's shoulder, and Miranda gently took Y/n's hand in hers.

As they settled into a moment of shared vulnerability, Y/n began to explain, "I've always felt responsible for taking care of others. It's just how I've lived, and I never expected anyone to take care of me."

Miranda, with a soft smile, asked, "But who takes care of you, sweet girl, if you're always giving yourself to others?"

Y/n sighed, "No one, really. It's not anyone else's job to take care of me, and I shouldn't expect them to."

Miranda's expression softened further. "It's normal for people to care for others and, in return, receive care. You deserve that too, sweet girl." She wrapped her arm around Y/n, embracing her as they sat together on the bench.

They remained in that comforting silence for a while, Miranda providing a sense of security for Y/n. Eventually, Miranda spoke, "We'll work on this together, at your pace. It's okay to let people in and accept help. You don't have to carry everything on your own."

Y/n, feeling a mixture of vulnerability and gratitude, whispered, "Thank you, Miranda."

Miranda pressed a gentle kiss to Y/n's forehead and held her a little tighter, both of them acknowledging the journey ahead, one that would involve breaking down the walls Y/n had built around herself for so long.

Later that night, with Y/n peacefully sleeping, Miranda sat beside her, engrossed in a book. Alcina entered the room, requesting Miranda's presence for a talk. Miranda, kissing Y/n gently on the forehead, agreed before quietly leaving the room.

In the drawing room, Miranda and Alcina sat together. The sisters, sensing the serious atmosphere, joined them, ready for the conversation. Cassandra, with a sinister grin, started, "The maids' punishment has been taken care of."

Miranda, curious yet composed, questioned, "And how was it handled?"

Bela, her tone matter-of-fact, replied, "We tortured them before ending their lives."

Miranda, acknowledging the severity of the situation, simply nodded. "As long as it's been taken care of."

Daniela, changing the subject, asked with genuine concern, "How is Y/n? Is she alright?"

Miranda, a touch of warmth in her eyes, replied, "She's healing. It will take some time, but she'll be okay."

Daniela visibly relaxed, and Cassandra teased, "Oh, Daniela was practically inconsolable when we found Y/n. It was quite the scene."

Daniela blushed, trying to defend herself. "I was just worried, that's all."

Cassandra, chuckling, continued to tease her younger sister, and Bela added, "It's good to see you care, Daniela. Y/n means a lot to all of us."

As the conversation continued in the sitting room, Y/n stirred from her slumber, wondering where Miranda had gone. Following the sound of voices, she discovered them gathered in the sitting room. The attention of the group turned to Y/n as she entered the room, her presence bringing a pause to their discussion.

Daniela, with swift enthusiasm, rushed over to Y/n, enveloping her in a hug. Alcina, ever the protective figure, reminded Daniela to be gentle. Blushing, Daniela apologized, and Y/n reassured her, "It's okay, Daniela."

With a playful glint in her eye, Daniela warned, "If you ever scare us like that again, you won't like what happens."

Y/n settled on the couch beside Miranda, engaging in the ongoing conversation with the sisters. Finding comfort in Miranda's presence, she leaned into her, appreciating the warmth and reassurance. Miranda, in response, gently took Y/n's hand, their fingers entwining.

The sisters, ever observant, noticed the subtle intimacy and exchanged knowing glances. Their teasing remarks prompted Y/n to look down, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Miranda and Alcina chuckled at Y/n's reaction.

Cassandra smirked, "Looks like someone's enjoying the company."

Bela added with a playful tone, "Quite cozy, aren't we, Y/n?"

Daniela, joining in the teasing, teased, "I didn't know maids got such special treatment."

Y/n, feeling the heat in her cheeks, mumbled a response. Alcina, in a motherly tone, playfully scolded her daughters, "Leave the poor girl alone."

As the banter continued, the atmosphere remained light, filled with laughter and camaraderie. Eventually, Alcina and the sisters decided to retire to their rooms for the night, leaving Miranda and Y/n in the quiet sitting room.

Miranda, still holding Y/n's hand, turned to her, "They can be a handful, can't they?"

Y/n, feeling a mix of emotions, smiled and replied, "They're unique, but I appreciate the company."

Miranda, recognizing the lateness of the hour, suggested that it was time for both of them to retire to bed. Y/n agreed, and Miranda walked them to the door of Y/n's room. As they stood outside the room, Y/n expressed her gratitude, thanking Miranda for everything she had done.

Miranda, with a reassuring smile, replied, "It was no problem, Y/n. You're part of this household, and I want to ensure you feel safe and cared for."

Y/n nodded appreciatively but hesitated, a question lingering in her mind. Miranda, perceptive as always, sensed Y/n's uncertainty and gently probed, "What is it, Y/n? You seem like there's something on your mind."

Y/n bit her lip, hesitating before dismissing the thought, "Oh, it's nothing. I'll see you in the morning."

Miranda, not willing to let it go, softly grasped Y/n's hand, turning her to face her. "It's not 'nothing.' Tell me, Y/n. What's on your mind?"

Y/n glanced down, feeling a bit foolish, and mumbled, "It's stupid."

Miranda, with a patient and caring tone, insisted, "It's not stupid, and your thoughts matter. Talk to me, Y/n."

Miranda, unable to catch Y/n's quiet request, noticed the hesitancy in her expression. Gently lifting Y/n's face with her fingers, Miranda asked again, "What is it, dove? I couldn't quite hear you."

Blushing, Y/n repeated in a hushed tone, "I was wondering if... if you'd be willing to stay with me tonight."

Miranda's gentle smile grew, and she replied, "Of course, it's not stupid at all. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I'm happy to stay with you." Her fingers softly stroked Y/n's face, offering a reassuring touch.

Y/n, still uncertain, sought confirmation, "Really? You're willing to stay?"

Miranda nodded with sincerity, "Yes, really. Now, let's get ready for bed."

As Miranda prepared for bed, Y/n settled into the softness of the covers. When Miranda returned, Y/n eagerly cuddled up to her, finding solace in the comforting presence.

Miranda, embracing Y/n, softly whispered, "Goodnight, dove."

Y/n, feeling a warmth she hadn't known before, replied, "Goodnight, Miranda." 

Y/n, waking in the early morning hours, felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Touching the area, she discovered wetness on her hands. Panic set in as she looked down and saw blood, a significant amount staining her clothes and the bed. The realization struck her that the stitches must have ripped.

Freaked out and in a state of shock, she urgently tried to wake Miranda. When Miranda didn't respond immediately, Y/n rushed out of the room, her mind racing for help. Without hesitation, she headed towards Bela's room, knocking anxiously on the door.

Bela, expecting another maid, opened the door only to be surprised by the distressed sight of Y/n.

Bela, concerned by Y/n's distressed state, urgently inquired, "What's wrong? Y/n, please, tell me!"

In shock and unable to articulate fully, Y/n stammered, "Blood... stitches... pain..."

Bela caught the scent of blood and quickly noticed Y/n's clothes stained crimson. Realizing the severity, she tried to keep Y/n awake, urging, "Stay with me, Y/n. Don't close your eyes."

Before Bela could leave to fetch her sisters, Cassandra and Daniela appeared, having caught wind of the situation. Their worried expressions deepened as they saw Y/n.

Bela swiftly directed Cassandra, "Stay with Y/n. I need to get Miranda. Daniela, go get Alcina."

Cassandra, determined to keep Y/n conscious, gently applied pressure to the wound, attempting to stem the bleeding. Concern etched across her face, she encouraged, "Y/n, stay with me. Tell me about something, anything."

Y/n, weakened and in pain, mumbled, "I... I don't know... hurts..."

Cassandra, doing her best to offer comfort, helped Y/n lie down, cradling her head in her lap. "It's going to be okay. Help is on the way," Cassandra reassured, her voice a soothing presence in the midst of the crisis. "Just focus on staying awake for a little longer."

Y/n's voice, feeble and strained, whispered to Cassandra, "I feel... so cold and tired."

Cassandra, maintaining a reassuring tone, replied, "Hey, don't worry. You're going to be fine. You just need to hang on a little longer until Miranda and Alcina get here."

Y/n, shivering, continued, "It hurts... so much."

Cassandra, applying gentle pressure to the wound, acknowledged, "I know it hurts, but we're doing everything we can to help you. Just stay with us, Y/n."

Y/n's eyes flickered, a sign of her weakening state, "I'm scared, Cassandra..."

Cassandra, stroking Y/n's hair soothingly, responded, "I understand. It's okay to be scared, but you're not alone. We're here with you, and help is on the way. Focus on breathing, okay? In and out."

Y/n, her breathing becoming more labored, managed a faint smile, "You're... a good friend, Cassandra."

Cassandra smiled back, her eyes reflecting concern, "And you're a strong person, Y/n. We'll get through this together."

The frantic urgency in Cassandra's voice filled the room as she heard the approaching footsteps of Miranda, Alcina, and the other sisters. "They're coming, Y/n. Just hold on a bit longer, help is here."

Miranda and Alcina burst into the room, their eyes immediately assessing the situation. Bela and Daniela quickly explained the circumstances, with Alcina's gaze narrowing in concern. Miranda, with a soothing yet urgent tone, assured Y/n, "We're here now, dear. You're going to be okay. Just stay with us."

Cassandra, feeling a sense of relief with the arrival of help, informed Miranda, "She just passed out, but she was conscious a moment ago."

Y/n's limp form in Cassandra's lap heightened the sense of urgency. Panicking slightly, Cassandra shook Y/n gently, calling her name, "Y/n, wake up. They're here now."

Miranda, taking charge, directed, "We need to get her to the medical room. Alcina, can you assist?"

Alcina nodded, taking Y/n carefully into her arms. "Let's go," she said, her tone reflecting a mix of concern and determination.

Miranda led the way, with Alcina following, carrying Y/n through the corridors. Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela trailed behind, their worry evident as they entered the medical room together.In the stark medical room, the atmosphere was thick with tension as Miranda, Alcina, and the sisters worked desperately to save Y/n. However, it became increasingly apparent that Y/n had lost an alarming amount of blood, pushing the limits of conventional medical intervention.

As the urgency heightened, Miranda hesitated, grappling with the decision that could either save or jeopardize Y/n's life. The only option left was the cadou, a mysterious and potent solution with uncertain consequences. The weight of the decision hung heavily on Miranda's shoulders.

After a moment of contemplation, Miranda made the difficult choice to implant the cadou into Y/n. The room fell silent as they anxiously waited for any sign of change. However, seconds felt like an eternity, and the anticipated transformation failed to manifest.

A sense of despair settled over the room as Y/n's vital signs continued to decline. The heart monitor emitted a flatline, the sound cutting through the heavy air like a painful truth. The sisters, normally composed and poised, began to lose their composure. The reality of the situation struck hard, and panic set in.

Miranda, her expression pained and defeated, spoke with a heavy heart, "There's nothing more we can do. I'm sorry."

Daniela, overcome with grief, couldn't contain her emotions any longer. Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with Miranda, "Do something, please! Save her!"

As the sisters reluctantly left the room, Alcina casting a sympathetic glance at Miranda, a heavy silence enveloped the medical chamber. Alone with Y/n's lifeless form, Miranda's emotions erupted in a torrent of sadness and frustration.

Tears welled up in Miranda's eyes as she looked down at Y/n. A mix of sorrow and anger consumed her, the weight of responsibility settling heavily on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, my dear," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I should have seen the signs, done something sooner. This is my fault."

She sank into a chair beside Y/n's still form, her hands shaking as she reached out to brush a strand of hair from Y/n's face. "You trusted me, and I failed you," Miranda confessed, her voice trembling. "I should have known how fragile you were, but I was too blinded by my own arrogance."

The room seemed to echo with Miranda's self-reproach, and she continued to speak to the motionless figure on the bed. "I've spent centuries, seen so much, and yet, I couldn't save you. I can't forgive myself for this."

Tears fell freely as Miranda took Y/n's cold hand in hers, a futile attempt to warm the lifeless flesh. "You deserved better, my dove," she lamented. "I promised to protect you, and I failed. I'm so sorry." The weight of regret hung in the air, and Miranda's sorrowful confessions echoed through the silent room, unheard by the one person they were meant for.

The days that followed Y/n's passing were filled with a heavy atmosphere, grief clinging to the castle like a persistent shadow. The funeral had come and gone, leaving behind a somber emptiness that seemed to echo through the halls. But for Miranda, the pain persisted, and she found herself drawn to the small secret garden on the castle grounds.

In the tranquil enclosure, hidden away from the world, Miranda sat beside Y/n's resting place, surrounded by flowers that mirrored the fleeting beauty of life. She spoke to the quiet air, her voice a soft lamentation that blended with the rustling leaves and distant echoes of the castle.

"I miss you, my dove," Miranda confessed, her tears falling to the ground like silent prayers. "I never imagined your journey would end so abruptly. I failed you, and I can't forgive myself."

As Miranda poured out her heart, unbeknownst to her, Alcina and the sisters had silently followed her to the garden. They watched from a distance, hidden among the foliage, witnessing the raw emotion that Miranda had kept hidden from the world.

Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting the pain they felt for both Y/n and Miranda. Alcina, usually composed and commanding, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the woman she had come to care for in a way she hadn't anticipated.

Miranda's voice wavered as she continued to speak to the silent grave. "You deserved more than this. A life full of joy, not cut short by my shortcomings. I failed to protect you, and I'll carry that burden for eternity."

The wind carried Miranda's sorrowful words through the garden, mingling with the delicate fragrance of flowers. The sisters remained silent, allowing Miranda the space to grieve, understanding that some wounds could never fully heal. 

Miranda's estate, once a grand and imposing structure, now stood as a mere shell of its former self. The emptiness within the cold stone walls echoed the hollowness in her heart. Life had continued for everyone else, but for Miranda, time seemed to freeze in the moment she lost Y/n.

Each week, the journey to Castle Dimitrescu became a melancholic pilgrimage. The once vibrant secret garden now held the weight of memories that refused to fade. Miranda spoke to the silent grave, recounting the events leading to that fateful day, as if reliving the tragedy would somehow alter the outcome.

The hole in Miranda's heart persisted, a constant ache that refused to dull with time. Y/n, who had entered her life so briefly yet left an indelible mark, continued to haunt Miranda's thoughts. The pain she felt was reminiscent of the loss of her own daughter, a wound that had never truly healed.

Miranda found herself stuck in a perpetual loop of grief, reliving the day Y/n died over and over again. The vibrant colors of her world had faded to shades of gray, and the once powerful and enigmatic woman had become a mere shell of herself.

The grandeur of Miranda's estate, once a symbol of her prowess, now mirrored the desolation within. The grand halls, once filled with the echoes of power, now reverberated with the quiet sobs of a mourning soul.

As Miranda gazed upon the cold stone walls of her estate, the pain of losing Y/n weighed heavily on her. The fleeting moments of joy they had shared were overshadowed by the relentless sorrow that now clung to her like a persistent shadow. And so, Miranda remained trapped in the past, bound by the unyielding chains of grief, haunted by the ghost of a love that had slipped through her fingers.

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Hello! New prompt list just dropped. Can I get number 8 with Marko. It just fits him so well

Yes, absolutely! I hope you like this!

8. Why do you think I am the one most likely to wreck my bike?

------------------

"Hi, how can I help you?" I looked up, putting my standard customer service smile upon my face as I saw four bikers enter the store. I had seen them before, racing around the boardwalk on their motorcycles, tormenting the security guard. They seemed like wild people, not caring about a single thing in the world. It made me wonder, why would they be here?

"We want to sign up." The man clad in all black spoke, his voice demanding and cold.

I nodded, looking over some files. "Alright, I will need you all to fill in these forms."

"That's it?" A blonde looked at me, a certain sense of surprise in his tone. "You said it was way more work."

"Shit do I know," the leader of the group spoke again as he took the four forms, handing them out between them.

"Well, I mean, you do have to pay for our program."

It didn't take long, or the files were handed back to me. I looked them over, checking certain things. Their address, their account number at the bank. I was about to let them pay, when I noticed something.

"Which one of you is Marko?"

The curly blonde stepped forward, a slight defiant look on his face, as if daring me to say something.

"If you're eighteen I'll need to charge you more for the insurance."

"What? Why?"

"Statistically speaking, out of the four of you, you're the most likely to wreck your bike."

"Why do you think I am the one most likely to wreck my bike?"

"Your age, mainly."

"You really believe that?"

"I don't necessarily," I said, mentally adding that his attitude was a definite reason why he could crash his bike at some point, "but the company does, I can't help it."

"And what if I was nineteen?"

"What, you have a timemachine to age yourself up?"

"I'm flexible when it comes to age."

I raised an amused eyebrow. "Sure. The thing is, I can't change a thing about it. If you want insurance for your bike, you'll need to pay more."

"See, this is what's wrong with the fucking system!" Marko grumbled, still dropping some bills on the desk in front of me.

"Blame capitalism, not me."

"What if I talk you on a ride, show you how save I drive?"

I looked at him, realising there was only one year difference between us if he hadn't lied about him being eighteen. He looked tough, but even though his attitude was a thing, he did know what he wanted and why. Because of my conversation with him, I'd completely forgotten the other boys, but when I looked up, I saw them pretending to be busy at the other end of the store.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Would you say yes?"

"Would you be okay with me going out with you even though I didn't do a single thing to lower your price because I can't?"

"I'll never shut up about it, but I might forgive you."

I chuckled before nodding. I put their files in the right computer format, scanning them in and letting their leader - David - pay for the insurance on their bikes. I locked the store, smiling as I saw Marko waiting for me.

He helped me on, even giving me a helmet before he told me to hold on tightly. He raced off, sand flying everywhere. He jumped his bike up in the air, landing on the sand several feet below. I screamed.

"What, the bike's all save and secure?!"

"The bike might be!" I yelled over the rumble of the motor as I held on tightly to him, "but I am not!"

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Going to be honest, the more I see of “Oaky the Owl” and “meandmyowl” (same person) the more I’m convinced Leslie does not have this bird legally.

So since she’s located in north Salt Lake City, Utah you can use this page to submit an anonymous tip.

What’s not legal about what she’s doing? Well for starters, on her website she has a merch page. Not only that, but she also accepts a lot of donations and such during live streams and allows fans to pay her to bring the owl and give presentations about surviving near death experiences or the healing power of crystals, not just conservation or falconry.

Which is a bit of a problem due to, well, let’s see, she claims the owl is held on a falconry permit, right? And it’s a great horned owl, meaning it’s a species protected by the migratory bird treaty act. So what does that mean? It means she’s meant to comply with regulations from Utah's falconry regulations, AND the migratory bird treaty act’s federal regulation.

Alright, so what do those documents say about that exactly? Let’s start off with the Utah falconry regulations first, linked here if you’d like to read the entire document.

Article R657-20-28 subsection 5c clearly states that a raptor possessed under a falconry permit cannot be used in advertising or for commercial profit. The only profit a raptor held for falconry may garner would be if the bird is being used to promote conservation, biology, or falconry in some way. The gist of this is that you can use a falconry bird to, say, star in a documentary about falconry or the ecology of that species. You can have a gyrfalcon pose modeling a hood or jesses you are selling. You CANNOT use a falconry bird to sell phone cases or other merch for personal profit unrelated to the sport of falconry. Note as well that a falconer cannot be compensated for allowing their bird to star in a for-profit film, even when that film is about ecology or conservation.

Subsection 4e-4h vs. what is advertised on her page. Using the owl for any of the first four subjects is in violation of R657-20-28. The pricing she charges for these talks is not stated on her webpage and is only revealed if you email her an inquiry, meaning it’s a bit hard to say whether she is charging more than what would pay for the program, but honestly you can guarantee she is since she clearly has no interest in ethics or honesty in using this owl. Worth noting as well is that she allegedly claimed on a livestream that she does not hunt with the owl because she’s “an animal lover” which would also violate subsection 4e as the bird is NOT primarily used in falconry, because by her own words she has stated that the owl is not used for falconry in any sense.

You can read the full section on falconry in the migratory bird treaty act’s federal regulations regarding the sport here, but it’s almost identical to the rules further regulated by Utah’s state government.

TL;DR: you cannot lawfully use a great horned owl possessed by falconry permit to sell personal merch, draw people to your spiritual talks, monetize livestreams, or profit in any way. And you should use the link above to report this as this person is just keeping an owl as a pet to exploit for financial gain and fame. This breaks state and federal law and there must be consequences to harmful behavior such as this.

Edit: apparently this is her name.

That’s not her home address, it’s a PO Box which she has public so people can send her gifts so I’m not censoring it. Please include her last name in all future reports.

[mountttmase]

Am I Doing It Right?

Note - I hope you all enjoy this one 🙊 it a bit different to anything else I’ve done. There are big chucks of flashbacks and those will be in italics so it hope it’s not too annoying to read 😂 but please let me know what you think 🩷🩷🩷

Also a massive thank you to @carlottawllms who helped me so much with how to structure this and with some of the plot. I know she’s excited for this one so I hope it lives up to your expectations 😂🩷

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 6.2k

Warnings - smut, fluff and angst

‘I’m sorry, how is it 3am? I swear it was only 11 like twenty minutes ago’ your best friend Mia giggled as you and a few of your friends stumbled out of the club and into a waiting taxi.

‘My legs are killing me’ you moaned as you all squished in together but thankfully it wasn’t a long trip back to to the hotel.

You were currently in Edinburgh for one of your girlfriends birthdays and as you watched the unfamiliar city roll passed the window in the back of the taxi, your mind wondered to Mason being tucked up in bed at home. Your heart thudding at the thought of his pouty lips as he breathed softly in his sleep.

You were sharing a room with Mia and as soon as you got inside, you plugged your phone into charge as it had died about an hour and a half ago. You sat waiting for it to turn on as Mia was messing about in the bathroom and as soon as the screen lit up you were straight in your messages.

Your heart lept at how thoughtful he was and you quickly text him back in your half drunken state.

‘What the hell are you smiling at?’ Mia slurred and she came out of the bathroom, flopping down on the bed next to yours as you put your phone down.

‘Nothing, was just saying night to Mason’ you shrugged and she rolled her eyes with a smile.

‘What? He’s still awake?’

‘Yeah he said he wanted check I got back alright’ you told her and she started laughing loudly.

‘What on earth did you do to that poor boy? After all these years and he’s still completely wrapped around your finger’

‘Well I did take his virginity, maybe it’s that’ you said without thinking, laughing lightly as you looked at her but her face was a picture as you settled on it. Mouth agape and eyes wide and a look of shock on her face as she sat up to stare down at you.

‘You what? You took his- what?!’

‘Shhh’ you giggled, pulling here back down to try and get her to be quiet as you both erupted into laughter.

‘I need details, now. Why have you never told me this?’

‘Cause it’s private. You’ve never told me when you lost yours’

‘Yeah but we’re not talking about us here. We’re talking about Mason and I need you to tell me now’

You rolled you eyes, laying back and thinking back to all those years ago when you and Mason had first started dating.

You’d just started a new job in a local cafe whilst you were studying and you were on the way home from a shift when you found a wallet on the floor.

Thankfully his ID was inside and you smiled at the cute picture before your eyes landed on his date of birth. You weren’t that far apart in age and you quickly googled the address listed on it to find he lived about a 15 minute walk away. Fortunately for you it was a nice sunny day and you didn’t have anywhere else to be so you thought you’d do your good deed for the day and return it to them.

You had no idea where you were going, not knowing this particular area of town that well and the houses seemed to get bigger and bigger the further you went until you were on what seemed to be a private road. You were unsure of what to do as it was gated and you had no idea how to get to the other side as no one was around but thankfully a car pulled up just at the right time and after a mini pep talk, you ushered yourself in just before the gate closed.

The house was beautiful from what you could see but you were met with another gate, however this time there was a buzzer and you nervously pressed it in hopes someone would answer. It didn’t take long and after the third ring you heard a confused hello blast from the speaker.

‘Oh h-hi. My names y/n, um I was just on the way home from work when I found your wallet on the floor. Well I think it’s yours anyway the address is for here’ you rambled and you mentally slapped yourself for how stupid you must of sounded. ‘Sorry, I’m just returning it’ you gulped and without another word the gate began to open slowly. You took this as your cue to enter and you nervously made your way up the path to his front door.

You were about halfway when the door swung open and you felt yourself blush immediately. He was gorgeous but it was his smile that caught your attention immediately. His wide toothy grin making your tummy flutter from the first second you saw it as he made his way over to meet you and all you could think of was how his picture didn’t do him any justice.

‘Hey, Mason right?’ You questioned and he nodded before you handed his wallet over to him.

‘Thank you so much, I had no idea I’d even lost it’ he laughed as he quickly flipped it open. ‘Where was it?’

‘Just in town, by the roundabout?’

‘It must of fallen out when I came out the shop’ he laughed, tucking it back into his pockets. ‘Thank you so much for bringing it here’

‘That’s alright, it’s a nice day so it was a nice walk’ you smiled and he looked at you with a shocked expression.

‘Wait, you walked here?’ He exclaimed and you nodded at him shyly. ‘Do you um, do you wanna come in for a minute? I feel like I owe you a drink or something’

‘No you’re fine honestly’

‘Please? It will make me feel a bit better about myself’

‘Won’t your parents mind’ you asked and you watched his face flush slightly.

‘Oh uh, this is my house. They don’t live with me so I think they’ll be fine with it’

‘Oh’ you breathed, swallowing hard before nodding. If anything you we’re more curious to see the inside and work out who he was.

As predicted, the house was just as immaculate on the inside as the out and after a quick coffee and a chat he offered to drop you home as another thank you. His car was sparkling and expensive and you assumed he must of come from money so you were a little embarrassed to have him drop you outside your building but he didn’t bat an eyelid.

Two days later you came home to a beautiful bunch of pink roses and you were unsure as to who they had come from until you read the note from Mason letting you know how thankful he was and wondering if he could take you to dinner sometime with his number at the bottom. You only deliberated for a few hours before texting him back and in a few days time you were sat opposite him in some swanky restaurant you’d never heard of. You couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked him what he did and when he replied a footballer suddenly it all clicked into place.

He was unbelievably charming and made the worst dad jokes but you couldn’t help but laugh at them and it didn’t help that was was easy on the eye to the point you couldn’t look at him for more than 5 second intervals. By the end of the night you were fully under his spell so when he asked to see you again you agreed.

He seemed so different from anyone you knew, wanting to get to know you before anything else to the point you thought he might not even fancy you at all since he kept everything so platonic but on your fourth date he’d kissed you on your doorstep and you finally felt all those feeling you were told about in books and films.

‘Yeah yeah I know all this’ Mia laughed as the pair of you got comfy in bed after getting changed. ‘I want the juicy stuff’

‘I’m getting to it, it was years ago I can’t remember everything’

‘We’ll try harder. You must remember when he first told you he’d never done it?’

She was right, you did.

You’d been dating for around three months and even though he was an absolute dream, things hadn’t progressed passed a steamy make out session on his sofa and you were beginning to doubt yourself again. You’d tried making subtle advances but he seemed to be none the wiser and you thought maybe he was being respectful so you’d had a word with yourself and when you were next alone with him at his house you were going to put the moves on him.

It was his day off and you had gone to his house after work for dinner. You were currently cuddled up to him on the sofa as you watched tv, halfway through some weird film he’d found and you were waiting for the moment he looked down at you to kiss you so you could take it a bit further.

It didn’t take long and when he looked at you with a shy smile, you connected your lips in a deep kiss. You could feel him holding back a little bit like usual but you pushed through it, kissing him even deeper and sitting yourself in his lap so you could hopefully make him see what you wanted.

Your hands were all over his neck and chest whilst he kept his on your waist but that’s not what you wanted. In the end you grabbed hold of his wrists and pushed them down so he would hopefully touch you somewhere else but he resisted, pulling away from you entirely and resting his forehead on your shoulder. You were both out of breath and when he eventually looked back up at you your tummy dropped.

He didn’t want you like that, you could tell from a mile off and you quickly scrambled off of him as not to embarrass yourself any further.

‘Y/n, wait please’ he panicked, running after you but you couldn’t look at him, struggling to put your shoes on as he tried to stop you. ‘Y/n’

‘What?’ you snapped and his hands fell to his sides instantly. ‘What, Mason? I get it alright. If you don’t wanna have sex with me then you can just tell me. I’m a big girl, I can take it’ you shouted and you watched him wince at your words.

‘It’s not that at all’ he told you quietly but you didn’t believe him and you’d given up trying to talk to him. ‘Just stop, please’ he told you, holding you by your forearms as you looked up at him with a teary expression. ‘It’s not you-‘

‘Oh piss off Mason. Don’t even insult me with that it’s not you it’s me crap.

‘But it’s true’

‘Unless you give me a good enough reason then I’m off’ you told him and if you hadn’t of been so caught up in yourself you might if seen how vulnerable he looked but his silence told you everything so you pulled yourself out of his grasp and went to grab your things. ‘Bye Mase’

‘I’m a virgin’ he said quietly but it was loud enough for you to hear. Your head spinning round to face him as his eyes dropped to the floor, a wave of guilt washing over you as his words sunk into your skin. You didn’t know what to say as he stood there scratching his chin awkwardly but he beat you to it this time. ‘If you still wanna go I get it’

‘No no, Mase I’m so sorry’ you told him, rushing over to him and cupping his jaw so he would look at you but his eyes stayed glued to the floor even when you stroked your thumbs across his cheeks and you were now panicking that you’d pushed everything too far. ‘God I’m such a bitch I shouldn’t of said all that, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it’

‘You’re not a bitch’ he huffed lightly, finally placing his hands on your waist which made your heart settle a little bit. ‘I just… it’s not easy to talk about you know?’ He told you and you could see how nervous and unsure of himself he was. ‘I know we need to though so please stay. I promise I’ll explain everything’

‘Go sit I’ll be in soon’ you told him and with a kiss on his nose he shuffled off back to the living room. You couldn’t help but feel awful as you took your shoes off again and gave yourself a talking to in the mirror. You knew how much it would of taken for him to tell you what he just had and you needed to be there for him so you gave him a reassuring smile as you walked back in. He looked petrified but when you held your arms open for him he melted into your neck as you held him to your chest. ‘I’m sorry for blowing up at you and not speaking to you properly. I should never of forced you to tell me that if you weren’t comfortable. You don’t need to explain anything to me, not if you don’t want to’

‘I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, I’m just a bit embarrassed’ he told you, voice slightly muffled by your neck

‘You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about’

‘I’m nearly 19 and I’ve never had sex, y/n’

‘So? I know people older than you who haven’t had sex yet’ you told him and you felt him sigh into your neck ‘can I ask why you haven’t?’

‘Too focused on football I guess, never had time for girls or a proper relationship. It’s not like I haven’t wanted to but I think the longer it’s gone on the more I’ve built it up in my head and I’ve freaked myself out’

‘What’s the furthest you’ve gone with someone?’ You asked and you saw his face flush a deep red shade. ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to like feel free to tell me to mind my own business’

‘No I want to’ he breathed, nodding his head before taking your hands in his so he could play with your fingers as he spoke. ‘About six or seven months ago I started speaking to this girl and we had a little thing. I thought maybe I could just got for it and get it over with but it didn’t work out that way’

‘What happened?’ You asked gently and you smiled as he cringed a little bit.

‘We made out a few times, she um… she gave me head’ he laughed, hiding his face in his hands and you rubbed up and down his thigh gently to let him know he was fine and he eventually showed his face again. ‘I couldn’t cum though, and then she expected me to return the favour so I panicked and told her the truth and that I didn’t know what to do. She basically told me I was pathetic and left’

‘Oh Mase’ you whispered, linking your fingers through his as his eyes stayed in his lap.

‘I didn’t wanna mess up what we have so I didn’t say anything and I know you’ve wanted to do… stuff for a while but I was scared to loose you’

‘Come here’ you whispered, holding your arms out and he lent into you gently. ‘You’re not gonna loose me Mase. I get why you didn’t wanna say anything and I’m sorry for being so bratty earlier but I’m not going anywhere’

‘Are you sure?’ He murmured, holding you tighter as you nodded and stroked the back of his head.

‘Positive. Look I’m not exactly a master between the sheets myself. I only did it a handful of times with my ex so there’s still loads of stuff I don’t know and haven’t tried. If you want to do stuff we can but only when you’re ready. I don’t want to force you or anything’

‘You’re not forcing me’ he laughed against your chest and you held him even tighter. ‘It’s pretty much all I’ve thought about but I don’t want to disappoint you. I don’t wanna be shit at it you know? I wanna make you feel good’

‘Hey’ you huffed, pulling back so you could look at each other. ‘You could never disappoint me. It’s all a learning curve and we can work out what the other likes from the start. I know it seems scary but it’s fun when you know how’ you laughed and he finally smiled a real smile.

‘I wanna do thing’s properly with you, I think that’s why I held off saying anything cause you’re the first girl I’ve not wanted to just get it over with and be done. I want it to mean something’ he told you honestly and you lent in to give him a heavy kiss.

‘I really am sorry, I feel like a right cow. Having a big strop just because you won’t give me any’ you joked rolling your eyes. ‘I just thought maybe you didn’t like me in that way or something’

‘I like you in every way’ he told you sincerely and your heart fluttered as he brushed some hair behind your ear. ‘And this isn’t just about being physical, I like you for who you are and I want to spend time with you for as long as I can’

‘I want that too. I’d hate for you to think this is just sex for me’

‘I don’t think that’

‘Really?’

‘Of course. I love being with you and if we can take that next step then great but it might just take me a little bit of time to get there fully’

‘God you really are a cow’ she laughed and you hid your face out of embarrassment. ‘You practically outed the poor boy’

‘I didn’t mean to. I felt awful but can you blame me? Every time I look at him I wanna rip his clothes off and the fact it felt like he didn’t feel the same was making me feel like shit’ you laughed as she nodded in agreement. ‘I just presumed he’d done it already’

‘So how long did it take until you did it?’

‘A little while. I mean we did other stuff first’ you shrugged and you heard her let out an excited little squeal.

‘Spill. Now’

‘Mia, I’m not giving you a run down to the start of our sex life’

‘Yes you are. Now come on I haven’t got all night’

‘Fine’ you huffed with a laugh, actually enjoying thinking back to all those years ago.

You knew he was nervous about it all and wanted to let him know you were ready whenever he was, trying to reassure him over anything else but he seemed to want you just as much even if he was scared.

‘Well whenever you wanna start we can’ you winked and you watched him get all nervous again.

‘We could um- we could start now? If you wanted?’

‘If that what you want?’ You asked him quietly and he gave you a gentle nod. ‘Well, how about I look after you a little, make up for blowing up at you earlier’ you teased, running your hand up and down his thigh as he looked at you with blown out pupils. ‘We can start slow, like just kiss for a bit. Whatever you’re comfortable with and then if you want to try anything else we can. Does that sound okay?’

‘Yeah’ he told you quietly but you could tell he was on edge about the whole thing.

‘Just relax yeah? We can go as slow as you like and you can just tell me what feels good. And if it doesn’t then we can stop or try something else. Do you trust me?’

‘Yes’ he smiled, his shoulders finally relaxing as he repositioned the pair of you so you were slightly laid back. Your legs over his thighs as his arms circled your waist and you cupped his jaw to bring his lips to yours.

It all felt so different to before, he was finally relaxing into you properly and you hummed contently into his mouth as he slipped his tongue in after a while. You stayed like that for a bit until you were truly happy that he was relaxed before you started to move, sitting up so you could straddle him whilst not disconnecting your lips from his once. Moving your hands to his shoulders and across his chest where you could feel his heart beating just as rapidly as yours.

You could feel him underneath you and from the way his hands were now stroking lightly over the backs of your thighs you knew he was getting into things so you began to ever so gently rock your hips over him causing him to quietly moan into your mouth.

‘How’s that, Mase?’ You whispered against his lips but the way he was now gripping your hips told you everything you needed.

‘G-good. So fucking good’ he told you and you smiled, kissing his again and grinding down a little harder before you slid off his lap and sat next to him, lips still attached as you palmed him over his joggers and you moaned along with him at the feel of him in your hand.

‘Mase? Can I?’ You asked, your fingers dancing over his waist band and you felt him let out a shaky breath against you lips before he shimmied them down his hips along with his boxers until he had freed himself but you paid no attention to it at first pulling him back in for a kiss so he could relax again before you attempted to do anything. You couldn’t help but let your fingers wonder down to his length, griping him lightly before his head rolled back on the sofa.

You took the opportunity to see what you were working with and you felt your mouth water at the sight of him. You pumped him a few times before his lips were back on yours, hungrily kissing you as you worked on him until he was biting your bottom lip.

You moved down off the sofa to you could pop yourself in between his legs and pull his boxers down all the way but you didn’t want him feeling self conscious so you stripped yourself of your top to leave you in just your bra and the small growl he let out made you clench your thighs together.

You took him in your mouth gently, looking up at him through your lashes as he balled his fists as the side of him. You reached out to take his hands, threading his fingers through your hair so he could keep your hair out of your face while you made him feel as good as you could. And by the moans and whimpers coming from him you thought you were doing a pretty good job.

He was tense though, you could tell that much so you came of off him with a pop, taking him in your hand so you could pump him whilst looking back at him.

‘Relax, Mase’

‘I-I’m gonna cum’ he told you and you smiled up at him cheekily.

‘Good’ you breathed before taking him back in your mouth again, making sure you got him over the line and when he started bucking his hips up into you you knew he was close. ‘Don’t think about it yeah?’ You breathed ‘Just cum for me Mase’ you told him again and your words seem to hit this time as your name fell from his lips. You swallowed him down, pulling off of him and making sure you didn’t spill a drop as he looked down at you with wide and curious eyes.

‘Jesus Christ’ he laughed, his face flushed from embarrassment and you crawled back up into his lap so you could kiss his cheek.

‘How was it?’

‘You’re amazing’ he smiled, kissing you quickly before he cupped your jaw. ‘I can’t believe we just did that’ he giggled and you could tell he was feeling a little bit shy. ‘I promise I’ll pay you back when I’m ready’

‘Mase, it’s not about payback’ you laughed but he silenced you with a kiss.

‘I know but I want to’ he smiled before wrapping himself around you.

A week later you were back at Masons and after you’d cleared up from dinner he took you up to his room where he told you he wanted to be shown how to please you.

You stripped down to nothing with a little help from Mason who was eyeing you up like he never had before, confessing you were the first girl he’d ever seen fully naked and you felt yourself blush as he lead you over to his bed. Mason kept his boxers on for now and you laid next to him, guiding his hand and showing him where on your body you liked to be touched and kissed and even though he was technically learning, every touch of his fingers and lips made you shiver so when he took your nipple into his mouth unprompted you nearly lost your mind.

‘What you did to me, I wanna do that to you’ he told you quietly, looking up at you through his lashes as he moved to position himself in between your legs and you felt yourself melt at how vulnerable he was. ‘Tell me what to do’

You gave him a quick explanation, blushing and stuttering through it as he smiled up at you before dipping his head down suddenly. You could tell he was unsure but he was also listening to how you reacted to what he did and when you let out a loud moan he looked up at you with a small smile.

‘Am I doing it right?’ He asked and you nodded your head with a laugh before he was diving back in. You gave him a few more pointers but he surprised you again by dipping a finger inside you slowly, making you arch your back at the new sensation.

‘Mase, keep doing that’ you told him breathlessly and he did just that, find a rhythm the pair of you enjoyed and you sunk into the sheets, threading your fingers into his hair as you began to rock your hips against him. ‘Fucking hell, Mason. That’s so good’ you breathed and you felt him moan into your core, clearly loving hearing how good he was doing so you made a mental note to praise him when you could. You’d been waiting for this for a while so it didn’t take long until he was eventually riding you through it, feeling him move back to beside you with a cheeky grin. ‘What the fuck, Mase?’ You laughed, pulling him in for a kiss and you hummed as you tasted yourself. ‘You’re a natural’

‘I can’t take all the credit. After last week I did a bit of research’ he winked and you giggled as you pulled him closer.

‘So you watched porn?’

‘A shit tone, yes’ he confessed, kissing your forehead gently. ‘But don’t worry, I know most of it’s just for show I just needed a few pointers. Did I do good?’

‘Better than good’ you winked as your stroked his face, noticing the slight flush of his cheeks at your words. ‘What about you? did you enjoy it?’

‘Yeah, more than I thought I would. I like the idea of making you feel good and putting your pleasure above mine. Like knowing I can do that to you and make you feel that way’

‘And that’s the answer I was looking for’ you giggled as you pulled him in for a long kiss.

The pair of you had been experimenting for a few more weeks until he had a week off and once you’d taken a few days off yourself, he invited you over to stay for a few nights so you could spend some proper time together. You were in the bathroom taking your makeup up off when you felt him come up behind you, kissing your neck gently as he slowly stroked over your arms meaning you were covered in goosebumps.

‘Come with me?’ He asked softly as soon as you were done, and you took his hand and followed him back into his room.

He’d dimmed the lights and there was gentle music playing in the background but your eyes were focused on the bed where he’d sprinkled rose petals over the sheets and you felt your face flush as you took it all in.

‘What’s all this’ you laughed, turning to look at him but his shy smile told you everything.

‘I’ve been thinking about it and wondering what it feels like for days. If you talk me through it, I wanna try’

‘Yeah?’ You laughed, cupping his jaw so you could kiss him gently and you felt him smile onto your lips

‘Yeah. I’m not gonna lie I’m bricking it but I wanna do this’

‘It’s not that scary Mase, I promise. We can just do what we’ve been doing before so you can relax a bit and when you’re ready we can do whatever you want. But if you wanna stop just tell me yeah?’

‘I love you’ he breathed, looking right into your eyes in the most adoring way and you almost lost your breath. ‘I do, and I’m not just saying that cause we’re about to have sex and I feel like I should. You’ve been the best thing to happen to me in the longest time, like all this stuff you’ve been so calm and patient with me and there’s no one else I’d rather be doing this with’

‘I love you, too’ you giggled, pulling him into a kiss but the pair of you couldn’t stop smiling so you pulled away, playing with the hem of his top so you could subtly let him know you wanted it off and he didn’t stop you when you started tugging it up his body.

When the pair of you were undressed, he laid you down so he could kiss you again you you let your hands wonder all over him. Just as you told him, you fooled around a little first just to get each other going but it didn’t take long for him to look up at you with curious eyes.

‘What do I do? Where do I-‘

‘Shhh’ you cut him off when you could see he was panicking, kissing him again to relax him before speaking. ‘What way do you wanna do this? I can ride you, or I can lay down? Whatever you want’ you told him gently but you could tell he was overwhelmed so you stroked his cheek gently to soothe him. ‘Mase, we don’t have to rush this’

‘I’m just being stupid, I’m sorry’ he laughed

‘You’re not being stupid at all’ you reassured him before kissing him gently. ‘Why don’t you let me take control yeah? Just sit back there against the headboard and if you wanna try a different position after a while we can’

‘Okay’ he blushed, but did as you asked and sat himself back the headboard whilst you sat over him, rocking yourself along his length as you kissed him until he lifted you by your hips and you knew he was ready. You reached down to line him up with you as you held his eye contact as you sunk down onto him, his breath stuttering as you fully took him in. ‘Oh my god’

‘That feel good?’

‘Yes’ he whimpered as he gripped your thighs and you kissed his forehead to try and relax him.

‘I’m gonna start moving, yeah?’ You told him and with a gentle nod from Mason you began rocking your hips, keeping yourself steady with your hands on his shoulders. His eyes were wild, staring into your soul before he couldn’t take it anymore and shut them as his moans grew even louder.

‘You feel so fucking good. Why haven’t we don’t this before’ he gulped, starting to guide your hips and buck up into you slightly.

‘You’re so big Mase’ you moaned, getting lost in the feel of him and it wasn’t too long before he stilled your hips and you looked at him in confusion.

‘Can we try the other way?’ He asked shyly and you nodded with a smile before climbing off of him and swapping places so you were laying where he’d just sat. You could see he was a bit nervous still but you let him take his time and slowly push himself into you, moaning along with him as you watched his eyes roll back in his head.

‘That’s it, Mase’ you told him as he began to thrust into you ‘Don’t hold back, yeah? Don’t think about it just do what feels good. I want all of you, give me all you’ve got’ you told him quietly as your stared into his soul, watched his eyes roll to the back of his head again as he got into it before grabbing the backs of your thighs until you were even more spread out for him. You went hot all over at the way he was looking at your body before his eyes would flick down to where you connected, watching himself go in and out of you as his mouth hung open in a quiet disbelief. His thrusts became deeper as he pounded into you, his forehead coming to rest on yours as he held your eye contact and you knew he was close.

‘If need need to cum then you can’ you breathed but he shook in head in a mini protest.

‘I wanna make you cum’ he huffed, halting his hips and you thought his little scrunched up face was adorable.

‘We’ve got all night’ you told him, reaching up to cup his jaw and bring him down to kiss you. He started moving his hips soon after, breathing into each others mouths until you felt him shoot up and pull himself out of you, stroking over himself before releasing all over your chest and tummy.

You smiled at him as he blushed, dipping one of his fingers in and popping it into your mouth so you could taste him and the sight must of sent him feral as he was quick to lay down and start licking away at you. Making sure to make you cum as quickly as he could and after all the practice he’d had lately it didn’t take long.

He laid down next to you, linking your pinkies together as you you both got your breath back, eventually looking at each other shyly before erupting into giggles.

‘Congrats Mase, how was it?’ You chuckled and he looked down at you adoringly.

‘Well, all I can think about is cleaning you up and going again so I’d say pretty good’ he laughed. ‘I can’t believe I built it up for so long’

‘It’s okay, these things can be scary but we’ve crossed that line now. No going back’ you joked and he just smiled and shook his head it you in agreement.

‘Thank you. I really mean it. You could of walked away when I told you and I wouldn’t of blamed you’

‘Mase, I’m not going anywhere and I’m really glad we’ve got to do this together’

‘Me too, I feel way closer to you now. I still can’t believe you’re mine, I’m so lucky’ he told you, kissing you lovingly and you felt your chest fill with warmth as his fingers traced your skin. ‘I love you’ he breathed kissing your forehead as you felt yourself blush.

‘I love you too’

‘The pair of you make me sick I swear, of course it was perfect’ Mia laughed, rolling her eyes as you’d finished off your story.

‘Well in my mind it was perfect anyway’ you told her as you both let out a yawn.

‘So what you mean is you’ve trained him to do exactly what you like and basically ruined him for every other girl?’

‘Pretty much’ you winked

‘Wow, you really do have it all’ she laughed. ‘I still can’t believe it’

‘Just keep it to yourself. Mason would kill me if he found out you knew’

‘Set me up with one of his teammates and I’ll think about it’ she winked before shutting her eyes. You knew your secret was safe with her and with one final glance at your Lock Screen, a cute mirror selfie of you and Mason, you drifted off yourself.

[emeraldbloodcrown]

Once More

Chapter: Three - New Acquaintances Pairing: Poly; Tattoo Artists!141 x Baker!Female Reader Summary: Not getting the answers you want, you decide to catch a break at the town's festival, meeting two new strangers. Content/Warning: Still none, Kyle's dimples Word Count: 3.1k

Sharing a look with Anna both of you crouched by her sides, hooking an arm around her and guiding her movements until she could settle down on her bed. You swept another look over her body, trying to see the beginning of a bruise or her favoring an arm; anything to prove that she was injured. But you couldn't tell and she wouldn't say.

"Alright," you huffed exasperatedly. "Yell if you need anything."

Your grandmother waved you off, turning her hand as if to shoo you out of her room and you watched her pull the covers over herself before Anna closed the door.

You walked down the stairs in silence, a charged atmosphere between you both but Anna only addressed once you were back in your room.

"Do you buy it?"

Raising one of your eyebrow, you shot her a skeptic look. "Do you? Heavens, I don't want her to actually be injured but the way that just sounded… Plus, I can't shake that she's hiding something."

Anna furrowed her brows, "Anything in particular?"

"No, nothing I could point out but it's sitting there in the back of my mind, like things just don't fit together."

Climbing back into bed, you pulled the covers over you, setting an alarm for the next morning with the decision to start figuring out if your mind was playing tricks on you, or if there was truly something your grandmother was keeping to herself.

The next morning came faster than you had expected it, your entire body still aching from the day before and desperate for more sleep, and your finger hovered over the snooze button - just ten more minutes, or an hour - before you woke up enough to remember why you had set it so early to begin with.

The reason how your grandmother wound up owning a bakery had to do largely with her love for sweets. According to your father she had always been baking and progressing recipes to perfection. That was a similarity you apparently shared with her but where your drive came from a plethora of food allergies that made store bought foods feel like a round of Russian Roulette, she simply didn't like the taste, always complaining why she should buy it when she could make it so much better.

A sentiment that was soon shared by family and friends and after the first few people who hired her for making cakes and treats for their parties, she started to dream about doing that for a living and once her children had been old enough, she was able to fulfill that for herself.

Your grandmother had an unmatched love for good sweets and you reckoned that, with her age, it had been a long while since someone had gotten her something that hadn't been from a store, which could be just the right thing to get her to be more indulgent once you ask her some questions she's probably not gonna like.

Question was just what you were gonna make for her.

By the time you had something to show for your efforts, it was already an early morning and you could hear the slow, single footsteps of your grandmother making it down the stairs.

"Smells good in her, dearie. What're ya making?"

She circled the counter, one hand clutching the corner tight enough her knuckles were turning white and peaked into the pot.

"Quarkinis, hm?"

You hummed, rolling another ball out of curd dough and dropping it carefully into the hot oil.

"Gonna use powedered sugar?"

You hummed again.

"You used vanilla pods?"

Another hum.

"Two or three?"

"Don't play me; you've always used two and a half."

From the corner of your eyes, you could see her lips curl into a soft smile, nudging your side.

"I never understood your obsession with these. Ever since we made that trip to Germany, you just couldn't get enough of them."

"Cause you brought me there in the midst of the carnival season. Of course, I was gonna get hooked on sweets, music and bright colours. And," you raised a finger for emphasis before pointing it at her, "you combined Kreppels and Quarkinis for me so I wouldn't have to decide which I liked more."

There was a pause before your grandmother addressed the elephant in the room: "I also made them for you whenever we needed to talk."

"Sure did." Taking the last batch out of the oil and turning the stove off, you grabbed her a plate with the already filled in sugared curd balls. "Come on."

Your grandmother and you sat down in front of each other, the plate between you. She took one, observing the shape, giving it a small squeeze before taking a bite from it. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, her smile widening and pride shining in her eyes when she opened them again.

"Alright, what do you wanna talk about?"

"How did the fire start?"

You could visibly see how she was closing herself off: her shoulders drew high, lips turned into a thin line and her gaze hardened.

„I told you. Electric fire. The wires were old, was bound to happen one day."

You nodded. The report she had shown you when you had gotten back did state the cause of the fire as an electric one. Anna and you had already decided that you wanted everything of the bakery be new so that nothing could backfire on you due to age or over usage, so you had called someone to check and redo all of the wiring.

The thing was, given the tight-knit community, you had wounded up getting the son of the man who had done the check-ups for your grandmother, so they had both shown up for the appointment, meticulously checking everything after the father had apologized to you - 'could‘ve been your granny just the same' - and what they had found had raised more questions than answers.

All of the wiring was just as it should be, except for the one that had caused the fire. Which, father and son had pointed out, had started at a strange angle. It was too burnt now to truly tell, but you knew what they were trying to imply.

Someone had meddled with it.

"We just so happened to get the same electricians as you." 

"Oh, James‘ son? How nice of him to take over for his father" 

Her smile reappeared but it didn‘t reach her eyes, too practiced, as she went into an anecdote about something James did in his younger years.

"Sure, he also said that it‘s unlike his father to mess up like that-"

She didn‘t even let you finish properly before she started into an excuse.

"Well, didn‘t you always say that old people have a hard time coming to terms with the things they can‘t do anymore? And it‘s not like James‘ father is getting any younger either."

"Grandma."

She halted at the tone of your voice and watched as you crossed your arms and leaned over to rest them on the table.

"What aren‘t you telling me?"

"I don‘t know what you‘re talking about"

"All of the wiring was good. Kinda unlikely for it to burn your shop down, don‘t you think?"

"It was an electric fire," she insisted.

You knew you should back off but you also had the feeling that if you didn‘t push now, you might never get any clear answer from her.

"That‘s not true, and you know it!"

Her chair scratched over the floor as she slammed her hands on the table and got up.

"Stop it. You have no idea what you‘re talking about, just focus on rebuilding and leave everything else in the past. Where it belongs, I mean it."

You watched her leave before you deflated and pressed your hands over your head together. That wasn‘t ideal, but even if it wasn‘t the outcome you had hoped for, her reaction did show that something was off.

You took your time cleaning up, so by the time Anna found you, you were sitting on the window sill in the living room, window wide open and the hand closest to it holding a lit cigarette.

She came to a stop next to you, holding your shoulder to squeeze in and take a seat next to you, resting her head on your shoulder.

"Been a while since I've seen you smoke."

"Been a while since I've had a reason to."

She took the cigarette from your hand, taking a drag from it herself before she answered. "Yeah, I heard both of you yelling. Got anything?"

You shook your head, a bitter expression taking over your face. "Nope, only told me to drop it."

Anna scoffed and you couldn't help but smile. Years of working together had taught her that you were known for your stubbornness, often taking up fights with management for the sake of your residents' wellbeing. She had experienced it so many times that she had grown used the tone of voice that would precurse you not listening.

The same tone that was in your voice right now.

"Which you're obviously not gonna do."

Wrapping your arm around her shoulder, you squeezed her body. "Aww, look at you knowing me so well," You took your cigarette again, taking another drag, "No, I know something's going on."

"Well before you make that bomb explode, we got a festival to get to."

The sun was just starting to set when you and Anna arrived. The town square had been transformed: fairy lights and colorful pennants with the town's emblem hanging between the old street lamps and a stage right in the middle of it with several stalls loaded with a wide variety of food or little trinkets to buy.

You watched the pre-teens dancing to a mix of popular songs on stage before you hooked your arm with Anna and wandered into the masses. Quickly you noticed that nearly every family business was represented on this festival in one way or another but any bigger shop, those that had hundreds of branches all over the country, were missing.

A sudden pull from your elbow made you stop and look to Anna who had stopped, her fingers still in the crease of your elbow but she was focused on something on your left, her eyes filled with a child-like wonder. You had an inkling what had put her in such a state but you followed her line of sight, and heaved a sigh when you saw indded what you had been expecting.

Behind the row of food stalls were a few festival games set up, among them a shooting gallery with the woman working it advertising a giant sparkling Pegasus as the main prize.

"I want it…"

"5 pounds for three tries; that's gonna add up fast."

"I knooow"

You almost laughed when you heard her honest-to-God whine and you couldn't help but egg her on a little.

"You don't need it, tho"

Anna grabbed your arm with both hands and shook you while she kept whining.

"I want it so bad. I need it! Come on, have a heart."

"Okay, okay!  Where's your cut off?"

"500," she replied instantly and you snapped your head at her.

"The fuck you are; go lower. We ain't made of money."

"495"

"Try 50 or I'll keep your wallet hostage until we're home."

"You're a horrible friend," she said while grabbing the bills from you and stomped towards the game.

"For keeping you from bankruptcy? Yeah, so horrible."

Your only answer was Anna flipping you off. Laughing to yourself at that, you decided to take a look around to find something to keep you occupied while Anna tried to score her new friend.

You set your eyes on a claw crane and found if Anna could waste cash, so could you. Most people walked past the money trap, leaving only one person in front and you used the time to figure out which prize you wanted to try for.

"Bloody hell," he exclaimed in front of you, smacking his hands against the machine as it beeped sadly, indicating a loss. Noticing your eyes on him, he turned slightly, allowing you to see his, admittedly, pretty face; clean shaven and dark skin so soft to the look that it made you think of needing to do more of a skin care routine.

"Sorry, didn't mean to shout."

"All good. Which one were you trying to get?"

He made space for you and you stepped to the controls of the machine, feeding it the money for the first try. Surprised by your question, he pointed to plushie of a red panda holding a heart.

"That one. For my girlfriend."

You smiled at that and set the crane up for the panda.

"Oh please, you really don't ha-"

"They're a favorite of hers?"

You got on your tip toes for a moment before you decided to take the arm a little more to the left and letting it go down.

"Yeah, saw some compilation of them and has been obsessed ever since."

"That's cute."

The claws opened and closed around the leg, slipping a bit but had grabbed enough chunk of the body that it held on. You cheered the machine on as it so ever slowly moved to the front, and jumped in joy when it slid down the hatchet, and the machine beeped a success.

Taking in by your joy, the two of you high-fived before you went to retrieve the toy and give it to him.

"There was really no need for that but thank you," he said, adorning a sweet smile that dimples pop out in his cheeks.

"Anyone willing to get that angry for his girlfriend deserves some help. Besides, I often get lucky with these machines. Only them, tho," you laughed.

"Gotta remember that for next time then. I'm Kyle, by the way." Putting the panda under his arm, he reached to offer his hand and just as you were about to give him your name, you heard it being scremed by a very familiar voice.

Turning around to the commotion, you saw Anna waving, and when she noticed she had your attention, she waved the giant Pegasus in her arms.

"Unbelievable…"

"Your friend?" Kyle asked and, once you nodded while sighing in exasperation, he continued, "She looks fun. And she's found Johnny."

You looked again. Hooked around her arm was a man: tall with a mohawk, shirt exposing the intricate sleeve on his right arm, and an easy smile on his lips as he chatted with Anna and let himself be dragged by her to where you were standing with Kyle.

"Look!" Anne yelled when she was close enough, excitement bubbling in her voice.

"Can't believe you actually won it."

"Oh no, can't take the credit for that," she pulled Johnny closer, "he got it for me"

Mohawk guy - Johnny - winked at Anna, "Cannae leave a damsel in distress, aye?"

"And I'm sure you only had noble intentions," Kyle scoffed, smirk on his lips to which Johnny only rolled his eyes.

"I see ye got the toy fer yer girl."

Kyle clasped a hand around your shoulder: "Curtesy of my new friend."

Clapping his hands together once, Johnny said, "That calls for drinks. Come on."

You joined Anna's side just as Johnny went to Kyle, wrapping an arm around him and patting him on the back.

"Glad you could make it."

Johnny lead the three of you to the backside of the festival where a couple restaurant had their outdoor seating left open and offered food and drinks for a lower price. Naturally, seemingly ever table was occupied but Johnny found one almost hidden away at the far back.

Anna and you sat down next to each other with both of the boys opposite tou, and when you all had a drink, you clinked your glasses together in a toast.

"To new acquaintances."

Talking to new people had never been your strong suit, especially when you couldn't hide behind one of your expertises. But there was just something about how Johnny and Kyle created a pleasant atmosphere that even you could let yourself loose and not worry how you might be perceived.

"Am serious, Simon looked ready to murder him. Poor lad just about pissed himself."

Johnny had been retelling stories of their work, most of them having a Simon guy at the front of some customer forgetting their place.

"Wait, wait," you interjected, "so Simon's the big guy, right? Dressed like he's ready to rob a bank, that one?"

Johnny nodded vigorously, almost bouncing in his drunken giggle fit.

"And you have actually customers who throw a fit with him?"

Anna and you looked at each other incredulously, ready for Johnny to anounce it was a joke but nothing happened.

"So people are insane here, that's good to know."

You finished your drink, taking another look at Kyle. He had been joking with Johnny and sharing his own stories but for a while he had been absolutely quiet, eyes glued to the phone while his thumbs flew over the screen. A sharp curse escpaing his lips, getting Johnny's attention too, before he threw his drink back, patting his jacket for his wallet before Johnny stopped him.

"I got ye. Donnea worry, can pay me back later."

"Thanks, man. Sorry, I'll make this up to you," Kyle said, shifting his eyes as if to include you and Anna in the apology.

"Take care"

Anna nudged you, showing you the time.

"We should probably get going too," she said, raising her hand to flag down a waiter.

That seemed to get Johnny's attention, his head turning back to you both.

"Sure, ye girls mind if I bring ye home? Jus' tae be safe."

You hesitated for a moment but Anna jumped on the chance, swooning about him being a gentleman and hooking arms with him as soon as you were ready to leave. You could practically see hearts in her eyes and you realized where this was heading; sighing.

The entire way home,the conversation kept going but mainly between Anna and Johnny but you found yourself smiling at his attempts to keep you a participant and not just a listener while Anna chatted his ear off.

It didn't take long until you were almost home, bakery to your left when Johnny stopped, observing the work you had been doing.

"Damn me, almost back to her glory."

"And we're not even close to done," Anna exclaimed, letting go of Johnny in favor of hugging her new friend to her chest.

Johnny looked at you, "Cannae wait. Ye ever need help, ye know where ta find me."

[the-kr8tor]

Reader must leave for a work emergency and Hobie must remain in charge of his little daughter, will he have difficulties when the arachnid duty calls him or will it be a father-daughter adventure of which they will be accomplices?

I LITERALLY RUN TO WRITE THIS —🫀

This was so adorable! I changed some things around hope you don't mind ❤️ I tried making their names vague but it's literally impossible for this fic, I hope thats ok. thank you for the lovely prompt!

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! Reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, they have twin baby girls, CW food mention, FLUFF.

It's Fluffy Friday!

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" You kiss Ramona on her chubby cheeks whilst Hobie juggles Billie and your work bag in his arms. Helping him immediately, you take the bag from him in exchange for his daughter. It's the first time in months since you've gone to work, maternity leave (unfortunately) ending. You dread it, already missing your girls.

Hobie sees your frown, bouncing Mona in his arms, Billie gurgles in her sleep. "We'll be alright, love" he would embrace you if not for his twins occupying his arms.

You huff, puppy eyes staring at Hobie. You want to stay home, unfortunately diapers don't grow on trees. "I don't wanna go" pouting, you peck Billie's forehead, careful not to wake her. Hands circling Hobie's elbow with a steady hand.

"It'll be over before you know it. The girls and I will just be here waiting for you. Right, Mona?" Hobie addresses Mona, bouncing her in his arm, curls bouncing with the movement. She blows a raspberry, spit bubbles forming on her mouth.

The adorable sight would usually make you giggle but now you look forlorn while you wipe her tiny lips. "Mommy's gonna miss you" cooing at the bundle, you take a big whiff of her scent, (not the weirdest thing you've done since you've become a parent) "And you too" moving towards Billie, you caress her cheek with your index finger, she crinkles her nose in her sleep. It's uncanny how much she looks like Hobie when she makes that face.

"Oi, you forgot somethin'?" Hobie pipes up, brows furrowed.

"No, I was saving you for last" you finally crack a smile, kissing Hobie, pulling away for a second to stare at his eyes before you continue attacking his lips.

"Alright, you'll be late" he says against your lips. Hobie almost couldn't speak with you basically eating his face.

You pull away, sighing, taking a mental picture of your family. "Okay, call me if anything happens"

"Yes I will, they won't cause me any trouble. I've got 'em, yeah?" He fixes his hold on the babies. They've gotten quite heavy the last three months. "Be careful on your way"

"Okay, byeee" walking backwards to the door, your eyes glued to Hobie and your girls. It clicks closed.

Hobie turns back around when the door opens with you peeking through the gap. "Love," he says with a chuckle.

"Okay, bye for real this time" you do a flying kiss motion towards Hobie. The door closes for the second time.

Hobie expects the door to open again but it doesn't, he's so proud of your self restraint. Ramona takes his attention with a small whine, hand gripping his jumper. "You hungry? I think we've still got some roast beef here" he jokes, forgetting that you're not in the room with him. You would've laughed.

Guess you're not the only one missing someone. Hobie brings the twins on their Bassinets, Billie wakes up almost immediately when Hobie takes his arm away. His senses warn him of an impending loud cry. Eyes watering, lips trembling, Billie lets out a wail before Hobie could calm her down.

He takes her out of her bassinet, careful with her head, the loud noise ringing his ears. He can handle it, right? Hobie is Spider-Man after all. Glancing at Mona, he sees her slowly change her face from content to sadness. She probably just heard her sister and now she begs for his attention too.

"Crap" Hobie hisses when Mona cries in tandem with Billie. As if some cosmic entity wanted to torture him, his bracelet rings out, Miguel's booming voice startles his girls, they cry louder in his arms.

Oh it's gonna be a long day for him.

—

"I'm home!" You happily trot over to the living room, eyes searching for your family. "Hobie? Mona? Billieee?" You call out to them in a sing-song voice. Rattling the paper bag in your hand, you spot the bedroom door open, tiptoeing inside, melting at the scene.

Hobie sleeps with the twins on his chest, hands secured over their small backs. He looks exhausted with his wicks standing in different angles, shirt stained with milk and baby spit up. He has one sock on his right foot, the other nowhere to be found.

Dropping your bags on the floor, Hobie opens his eyes at the sound. You wince, feeling guilty you've woken him up.

"Sorry" whispering, you sit down on the edge of the bed, wiping his drool with your sleeve. "I've got take out" you beam at him with heart shaped eyes. Tilting your head to check on your girls, finding them both fast asleep. "You okay?"

"Peachy" he yawns, Billie snuggles closer to her dad while Mona holds Hobie's shirt with a strong grip. "That better be shawarma" he says with no ounce of anger, just fatigue laced in his voice. Hobie thinks it's all worth it though, all for his girls.

You chuckle quietly, leaning down to kiss Billie on her little beanie, tiny curls peeking out of her hat. Moving a bit, you peck Mona on the crown of her head, curls tickling your nose. Lastly, you cup Hobie's face with both hands, carefully avoiding hitting the twins with your elbow.

"It's shawarma from your favourite place" you say softly against his waiting lips.

"Thank fuck, love you" He leans up, meeting you halfway. Hobie will tell you about their little adventure after you give him some food.

Reblog banner by @/cafekitsune

[galaxygolfergirl]

Alright gang, let's talk about Kristoff. Here, I want to showcase his new look to discuss some ideas that I've had about his role in the franchise. I additionally updated Anna's look because I feel I didn't shade her enough on the last few pictures. Honeymaren and Ryder are up next, and after that the hypothetical villains of this next installment! But let's get right to it. Read below the cut for more info.

Kristoff. What can I even say about the guy? For as long as I've been a part of this fandom, I admit I've been ambivalent about the guy. He's not the most complex character to get into and Frozen 2 basically had him set up to be Anna's glorified boyfriend, which is a shame, really. He's a hardworking, earnest, dependable guy, an entrepreneur who had already made a life for himself before he met Anna, and while he may be awkward and at first abrasive, he has the best intentions at heart. Frozen 2 did not really give him the best material to work with, nor does he have much to do besides focus on proposing to Anna. So what do we do about this for Frozen 3?

For starters, let's address the fact that he's about to be Prince-consort/King-consort engaged to the Queen of Arendelle. What is there for him to do? He had the title of Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer, but we don't really see him do anything with that position. Furthermore, in the deleted scenes of Frozen 2, they toyed with the idea that Kristoff wasn't really happy with his life in Arendelle and fitting into this new role as part of the nobility. Maybe that should be addressed.

So here's what I did: for his look here, I decided to try and evoke the colors of his outfit in the first movie; a royal blue and gold jacket contrasted with comfortable civilian clothes that he likes to wear, his hair parted to the side and combed a bit more to reflect that while he's had situation of being prince-consort thrust upon him, he's still a down-to-earth guy who won't let the expectations of nobility change who he is. He's a little older, more mature now, and his appearance should reflect that in kind.

For his role in this story, he sees that Anna is stressed out trying to be queen and run the country, and if he and Anna expect to be equal partners by the time that they're married, he could assure her that she doesn't have to take on this responsibility by herself. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, back in his day dedicated his time supporting public causes, working on educational reform, and was in charge of running the Queen's household, office and estates. Perhaps Kristoff could do something similar. He could be a man of the people and rally them in a darkest hour situation, or heck, recruit those ice cutter guys from the first movies should Elsa's powers be hindered since he's Ice Master. He's been a supportive boyfriend thus far; like any Disney couple, he should be on equal footing with her to some degree.

Lastly, if Hans were to show up, as I've hypothesized, in an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation, the delicious amount of bickering that would ensue between the two of them would be amazing. The protective boyfriend ™️ would come out full swing for Kristoff's supportive arc, though after some time Hans could give Kristoff some insight on how to be a leader, if that scenario should arise.

Anyways, Kristoff deserved better. They all do, so hopefully y'all like what I've come up with so far. There's more on the way. 👍

@jasmindoodles

[mymoonagedaydream]

Part 3

Pairing: Mob!Bucky x y/n

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Language

Part 1 / Part 2

—

The sky was darkening by the time the two of you reached your apartment, streetlamps illuminating one by one and melding with the warm glowing light that spilled from the windows above you. Bucky released the arm that had been firmly anchored around you and took a step back while you rooted around in your bag. He obviously figured that, after the absolute shitshow the last twenty-four hours had been, there was a pretty good chance he wasn’t going to be invited in. You pulled out your keys, letting him sweat right up until the last second.

Before you could unlock the door, however, it swung open to reveal Lily, jarringly backlit by pale, fluorescent bulbs. She looked disappointed.

“Oh, my dear, you’ve just missed them.”

“Who?” You glanced back at Bucky and gave him a reassuring smile, knowing this interaction was bound to put him on edge. “Have your family been visiting?”

“No, your friends. They only left a few minutes ago.”

“My friends?” 

“Yes, the young men with the birthday cards for you. Very sweet. I sent them upstairs but my word they were noisy, they must have had some trouble working out how to use the letterbox.”

Well, now you were on edge too, partly because your birthday wasn’t for another three months and partly because you didn’t have a letterbox.

Before you had the chance to respond, Bucky charged through the gap between you and sprinted up the stairs, swiftly disappearing out of view. You asked Lily to lock the door before racing after him, pausing halfway up the stairs when it hit you that entrusting security detail to her might not have been the best idea. You weren’t even sure if she could remember who did and didn’t live here anymore.

After inwardly deliberating for a second, you shrugged and carried on, deciding that you’d actually quite like to see someone try messing with you while Bucky was nearby and this irate. Might even cheer you up a little.

You were out of breath by the time you reached the top of the stairs, but the sight you were met with somehow still managed to pull the last dregs of air from your lungs. 

Your door was hanging off its hinges. There were splinters of wood littering the hallway and holes of varying sizes punched into the drywall. A vague path of cigarette burns in the carpet led from where you were standing to the spot where your doormat should have been.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in the back of your throat, you slowly approached, tears welling in your eyes as they scanned over the inside of your apartment. It was worse than you could have imagined. The couch had been torn to pieces, the TV screen was smashed, the curtains had been ripped from the wall and strewn over the floor. You dreaded to think how the rest of the place looked and you weren’t sure you had the emotional capacity to find out right now.

Thundering footsteps approached from inside and Bucky stormed into view, his voice more deep and stern than usual as he addressed you.

“They’re gone. I can’t see anything missing but you should check around too.”

“Buck-”

“Fuckin’ cowards, man,” he kicked a nearby couch cushion and stuffing exploded out of it, “couldn’t even stick around to face us.”

“Buck, please.”

A warm tear spilled onto your cheek. He seemed to soften when he spotted it, quickly moving over and pulling you into a tight embrace. You buried your face in the shoulder of his suit jacket, letting a few more drops soak into the rough material, choking back hiccuped breaths. His hand smoothed down the hair on the back of your head.

“I’m sorry, baby. Take as long as you need.”

You turned your head to the side so your voice wasn’t muffled. “Is it bad?”

“It’s fixable.”

“Are you lying to make me feel better?”

“A little,” he took hold of your hands and gently prized them away from his chest, squeezing them firmly as he moved into your eyeline, “but we’ll do it together, okay? S’gonna be alright. C’mon.”

With a deep breath, you finally stepped into your devastated apartment and looked around. Some things were fixable. Most things weren’t. Slowly, tenderly, Bucky led you from room to room and helped you find all your valuables. Your laptop was still in your bedside drawer, camera still on your desk, even the emergency twenty dollar bill you kept in the key bowl by the front door was still there. It was bizarre, but you were actually starting to feel a little relieved- that was, until you walked through to the kitchen.

You spotted it immediately. Your grandmother’s necklace, the one that had hung from the corner of her picture on the wall ever since you’d moved in, was gone. You were in disbelief. It wasn’t even valuable, it was just a brass locket with a photograph of your grandfather inside, why the fuck would anyone take that?

You spun round and pointed it out to Bucky. If you’d been in a less disoriented state of mind, you might have noticed how his face dropped into something resembling dread, how his jaw suddenly clenched and his eyes squeezed shut, but you were far too busy spiralling. 

“Christ, I haven’t even called the cops. I don’t even know what crime this is. Destruction of property? Vandalism? Shit burglary?” Your shaking hands pulled your cellphone from your pocket. “Who the fuck would even do this? You think it could be that guy that was following me before?”

“No.”

“It makes sense, I mean he must have been working for someone, maybe they-” Your train of thought came to an abrupt stop as you realised what he’d said. “What d’you mean, no? Buck, do you know something about this?”

“No, I swear. It’s just- something my brother said earlier. It’s been bothering me. ”

“What did he say?”

“I might be overthinking it.”

“Buck. Tell me.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Most of the conversation was fine, really, I just told him about how much of an ass I’d been and how guilty I felt and he nodded along. But after we’d spoken, just before he left the room, he said, doesn't she know it’s a dangerous city for a girl all on her own?”

You felt the blood turn cold in your veins. 

Bucky’s brother had only ever been to your apartment once, a long time ago, when he dropped off your invitation to his wedding. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you vividly recalled him sipping coffee from your favourite mug and asking about the picture of your grandmother hung up in the kitchen. He listened intently while you reeled off all the reasons you idolised her, even putting a comforting hand on your shoulder when you told him how much you missed her. A pinprick of white hot rage started in your stomach, slowly expanding and filling your whole chest.

“That motherfucker.”

“I can’t believe he’d do something like this,” Bucky looked genuinely shellshocked, “I thought I could trust him. I’m so sorry, I-”

“Jesus, would you stop fucking apologising?" 

The air between you stilled. It seemed like neither of you had been expecting such an abrupt snap, but you knew he needed to hear this, so you swallowed back your hesitation and continued.

"You know who they are. You know what they do. How the hell is this a shock?”

“They also know how I feel about you. This isn’t how we treat family.”

“Oh, come on.” You were doing your best not to scream at him. “How many fucking times have we been told that I’ll never be accepted as part of your family? Well, now we’ve been shown, too. I don't feel like waiting around to find out what's next.”

“Nothing’s next, cause I’m gonna sort it out.”

You scoffed. “You’re gonna stand up to them?”

“Of course I am.”

“Whatever.”

You walked out of the kitchen, quickly wiping away your frustrated tears before he saw them. You needed to busy yourself or you’d end up doing a Bucky and punching the fucking wall. Dodging shattered pieces of table and couch, you made your way over to the TV and crouched down, starting to gather shards of smashed screen from the floor. He appeared after just a few seconds. His face was flushed and every visible muscle was tensed, a few beads of sweat starting to form just below his hairline. 

“I’m gonna make this right, I just need to think.” 

“The fuck is there to think about?”

“Well, y’know, I need to, to figure out- Fuck.” 

He let his arms go limp at his sides, looking utterly defeated. Noticing what you were doing, he picked up a blanket from the floor and shuffled over, crouching beside you and emptying the sharp pieces from your hand into the soft material. You didn’t look at him.

“I don’t know what to do. My head feels like it’s falling apart. I’ve got a helluva lot of shit to sort out, I know that, but for now all I care about is that you’re not safe here.”

“No shit. What gave it away, the lack of a front door or the visits from your insane family?”

He placed the blanket down. “Look, I know you hate me right now, and you have every reason to, but I need you to stay at my apartment tonight.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You don’t have to talk to me or even look at me, just let me make sure you’re somewhere safe.”

You spent a minute thinking about it whilst picking tiny splinters of glass out of your palm, but eventually gave a reluctant agreement. What the fuck else were you gonna do? You couldn’t stay here with no door and an increasingly unhinged downstairs neighbour, and you sure as hell couldn’t afford a hotel room for any significant length of time. Besides, even with him there, Bucky’s apartment would probably be the only place you’d feel secure enough to actually sleep.

He called a cab while you packed, collecting all your remaining valuables and yanking your clothes out of the wood pile that used to be a rickety chest of drawers. Both of you stayed quiet during the journey. The city rolling past the window became gradually less and less dilapidated, crumbling apartment blocks replaced by upscale residences and gleaming metal infrastructure, a whole different world than the one you were used to. Bucky’s world.

You hadn’t been to his apartment for a while, but it was still just as ridiculously opulent as you remembered. You dropped your bag on the floor and glanced around. Between working and seeing you, he never really spent any time here, so obviously never felt the need to properly decorate. It was sterile, like an overpriced showhome. 

He set you up on the squeaky, white leather couch, flicking on the TV and wrapping you in a blanket before ordering takeout. You listened to him rushing around out of view, marching between the bedroom and the bathroom, running water and spraying cleaning products. You let slip an exhausted chuckle at the cacophony of panicked noises. 

One thing you didn’t hear, however, was him picking up the photograph of him and his brother that he kept propped up on the bedroom mantelpiece. You didn’t hear him fold it in half and you didn’t hear the heavy breath that escaped from his lips as he tore it into two clean pieces.

He eventually reappeared and collapsed into the armchair to your left. The TV was blaring but he somehow managed to ignore it, instead staring at the wall all night, deep in thought and slowly tapping his fingers against the leather upholstery. 

He was definitely planning something, you just hoped to god it was something rational.

---

Story taglist: @mdpplgtz03​

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—

[cissyenthusiast010155]

My Guardian Angel ~Broken!Rita Calhoun xFem Younger!Investigator!Reader (Liz Donnelly x Alex Cabot) feat. Rafael Barba & Olivia Benson

Summary— AU where Rita has an abusive husband, and one night, after he storms out, Rita calls Reader. Reader brings Rita to the person who helped her with her own haunted past, Elizabeth Donnelly. Alex, Barba, and Liv makes appearances. What does the night have in store for Rita and Reader…?

Mommy… Master List

Requests & Prompt-List

Warnings: angst, a little fluff, dead dove: do not eat, implied abuse, implied sexual assault, implied abusive husband, comforting, crying, alcohol consumption, anxiety attacks, a little self destructive behavior, mentions to prostitution, SVU things, Elizabeth Donnelly, Alex Cabot, Rafael Barba, Olivia Benson, Liz and Alex are a bit of a power couple, gray ending, etc.

Enjoy (;

You didn’t know Rita Calhoun well. At least not originally. From the moment you did meet, you both couldn’t deny the connection between the two of you. You had always lived in coinciding worlds, she was a New York defense attorney, and you were an investigator for 1PP, occasionally lended out to SVU.

Originally, she was the lawyer whom you had hired for your idiot of a brother when he had been caught and charged with soliciting a prostitute. You had met with the high class woman on a couple of occasions, to discuss your brothers bail, probation, trial, payment, and anything else pertaining to his case.

You saw yourself intrigued by her elegant manner, high end fashion, and confidence. Soon you saw yourself get hooked to the tiny smiles and chuckles you managed to pull from her when in private. You found yourself fighting to make the woman laugh as much as you could, her laugh always seemed to make your day. And during the trial, your eyes were on her the entire time. You lived off those days outfits that Rita would strut into court in.

So when you checked your phone late Friday night, the last thing you expected to see what a very many handfuls of missed calls from Rita Calhoun. You saw that she had left a voicemail in the last call, so you pressed play.

“Heyyyy Y/N… S-sorry to be bothering you so I know it’s^^late… I… I just… I don’t know what to do, call me back k bye”

It was Rita alright, but something was very wrong. She had been stammering and hiccuping throughout the entire voicemail, and had broken into sobs by the end. She sounded like she’d been crying and drinking for far too long… Her sounds triggered memories of your own life, memories that you had gone to great lengths to bury.

You immediately called the woman back. The dial rang for a couple tones, then it shut off. You hit call again. The second time, she picked up. You heard a sniffle and then a choke sob.

“H-hey…” she practically whispered.

“Rita, Hi, is everything alright?”

“I…” She stammered, before the call went silent.

“Rita?” You asked, your concern growing.

“N-no�� She whispered, then letting out another choked sob.

You took a deep breath and your instincts kicked in once more. You got Rita to give you her address and told her that you would be over as soon as possible. That night you broke the made the most traffic violations in your entire life.

You entered the house, the front door having been unlocked which was mildly concerning to you. You walked through the lavish, lofty apartment, until you found Rita curled up facing away from you in the living room on the floor with a full bottle of wine in her hand. Your heart sank and a lump came into your throat. You hated how normal and used to this sight you were. Because not too long ago, this had been you…

You dropped to the floor, immediately going to comfort the woman. You carefully removed the alcohol, setting it aside. Rita let out a choke sob, immediately curling up into your lap. As she turned to face you, you saw the massive black eye that she had. Your eyes scanned her entire body, finding more red, raw skin marks along her arms and some blue bruising on her neck. Your heart nearly broke as Rita sobbed into your lap.

“I—im s-sorry… I didn’t-didn’t know who t-to call…! It’s it’s stupid, nothing really—” Rita choked out, muffled as she cried into your chest.

You knew this behavior. You knew it all too well.

“Hey hey, it’s okay. I’m here Rita… It’s all going to be okay. Can I touch you, honey…? Would that be alright…?” You very gently asked the woman, coming a little closer to her, trying to show that you were no threat.

Rita nodded as her cries were muffled by her face being in the crook of your neck. She clung onto you like her life depended on it.

“Ok, good… you are doing so good for me, Rita. Take some deep breaths for me? Can you try to do that?” You comforted the woman, bringing your hands around to hold the woman in your lap.

You could hear Rita trying to take some deep breaths as she nodded, although her hiccups made it more difficult.

“Good, very good, Rita.” You praised, then bringing your hands to cup the woman’s cheeks and direct her scattered gaze to you.

“Now Rita this is important… I need you to come back to me and think, okay?”

A slow nod.

“Is he going to come back anytime soon…?” You softly asked.

Rita’s eyes widened and she began to panic at your question. Your hold on the woman only tightened and you insisted on her answer.

“I know you don’t want to think about it, but I need to know if you’re safe staying here Rita.” You explained firmly yet lovingly.

Rita took some more deep breaths before stammering,

“I… he he’s gone out… drinking…” she gulped, “Be back late…”

Her eyes were red and glossy, and they only panicked more at the idea of her husband returning. You rubbed her back and caressed her check in comfort.

“Ok. We need to get you to a hospital, Rita…” you gently said, knowing the possible outlast that your words might cause.

Rita practically jumped out of your lap and was quick to stand up and start pacing in the living room. Her fingers were red and raw and fidgeting. Her gaze scattered everywhere. You slowly stood up and tried to corner the woman into your embrace.

“No no no hospitals… hospitals means cops and that means court and no no—” Rita rambled, her thoughts spiraling more and more.

You grabbed the woman’s hands, clasping them in your own to ground the woman. Her sobbing gaze finally met yours once more.

“Okay. That’s okay. Rita, listen to me, is there anywhere you can go to stay for the time being…?” You softly asked.

Rita’s lip began to tremble and her knees buckled, her body falling into yours. Luckily, you managed to gently catch and carry the weight of the woman while she regained partial strength.

“N-not RAF—Rafael… he can’t know, no no no one…” Rita choked out in gasps.

When she wasn’t able to come up with any other options, your mind went to the person who had helped you.

“Okay okay, that’s okay, Rita. How about Elizabeth? You know Judge Donnelly? She’s a close friend and I know she can help…” you spoke with understanding and reassurance.

Rita looked up to you from collapsing in your arms and nodded slowly. But her eyes told you that she had sunken too far into her thoughts, that you would have to start making the decisions in her best interest until she came back to you.

You gently placed Rita back on the couch, quickly going to the kitchen to grab her a water, while you then ran around the place, trying to pack her a weekend back. After about 15 minutes, you had the bag in hand and you were leading the woman out of the house and into a cab. The entire cab ride, Rita was snuffling and silently sobbing in your shoulder.

Once you reached Liz’s brownstone, you violently knocked on the door, Rita protected being you and holding your hand. The door flew open but it wasn’t Liz, it was a blonde. Your eyes went wide and you gulped, suddenly regretting not having double checked with Liz beforehand.

“You’re Y/N, right…? I’m Alex.” The tall blonde spoke slowly yet confidently.

“Yes, um is Liz home?” You said, quickly getting to the point while trying to hide Rita behind you to the best of your ability.

But Liz had told you about Alex, she was sharp, didn’t miss a thing.

“Yea, she’s in the kitchen… Is that Calhoun…?” Alex hummed, leaning against the doorway.

You took a deep breath and brought Rita to stand next to you. Alex’s jaw dropped and she took a step back in shock.

“I just… we needed a safe place to go for the night and Liz always said her door was always open and I’m sorry if we intruded, I just can’t handle this, I mean I know Liz can handle it, and so I thought—” you rambled.

Before you could say another word, the blonde was pulling you and Rita into the brownstone, closing the door behind her and marching straight up to Liz in the kitchen.

“Is that our take-out, bunny…?” Liz hummed, while sipping some wine before her gaze met yours and then Rita’s disheveled state.

“Oh my god.” Liz immediately put her glass doing and rushed over to Rita, her hands wandering all over the woman, her gaze scouring the woman’s injuries, “Rita, Darling, what happened…??”

Rita’s lip trembled before more violent sobs came out. No coherent words were possible for the woman at this point, all she could do was embrace Liz and sob into her chest. Liz happily consoled the poor woman before her gaze meet yours along with the go bag.

“I’m sorry…” you mouthed, referring to breaking up her and Alex’s obvious night together.

“Hush now, you did the right thing, take Rita’s things to the first bedroom on the second floor.” Liz told you, waving off your unneeded apology.

You immediately nodded and went to go up the stairs. Then Luz turned to Alex.

“Go run a bath, warm not too hot.” Liz spoke firmly.

Alex was off to the master bathroom after a quick nod. When you both returned, you found Rita clung around Liz like a Koala, clinging on for dear life and continuing to sob in her chest. The sight brought flashbacks of the night you had stumbled up on Liz’s doorstep, in an eerily same condition as Rita…

Liz soothed Rita while guiding her to the master bathroom. The older blonde sent you a comforting gaze with a nod, telling you that she had it. You placed a hand on your heart and took a shattered breath, nodding slowly.

It was then that you noticed Alex coming up beside you. You turned your head to her slightly.

“I… I just didn’t know where else to go… I’m sorry if I ruined your night…” you breathed out.

Alex brought a hand to your shoulder and reassuringly squeezed your skin lightly. Her eyes twinkled with sympathy and care.

“Hey, it’s okay. You made the right call. And hey, I’m glad to finally meet you.” Alex sighed, “Can I get you anything…?”

You nodded and then sighed yourself.

“Tea maybe…? Or fuck some scotch now that I think about it…”

A deep chuckle reverberated throughout Alex’s chest as she nodded in agreement, going to the kitchen and pulling a bottle out of the liquor cabinet. She poured two glasses and handed you one of them.

“Thanks” you muttered.

Alex hummed an of course in response, before going to sit down in the classy living room. You sat across from her, sipping your scotch lightly. The blonde looked you dead in the eye, as she sighed.

“Liz told me a bit about you and that night.”

You gulped and struggled to maintain the intense eye contact. You knew that Liz and Alex were close, really close, however it still was hard to reconcile another person knowing something so vulnerable about you. But if Liz trusted Alex with it, so did you.

“Yea… I was and am still so grateful to Lizzie for all that she did for me…” you confessed.

“Lizzie…?” Alex chuckled dryly with a cock of an eyebrow.

“Yea…” you breathily chuckled, “Her and my dad worked together…”

Alex smiled lightly in understanding, nodding along, waving her hand in the air and prompting you to continue, knowing from what Liz had said that that wasn’t the whole story.

“Yeah they were colleagues, and so I saw Lizzie at events and she’d been at my childhood home a couple times… I’d always been pretty independent, both my parents working all the time, and me being the oldest led to me getting used to being on my own. And then my parents divorced, and I got even more alone…” you sighed.

Another wave of sympathy washed over Alex’s face, as she sipped her scotch and listened intently.

“I’m sorry. I definitely know the pains of divorced parents…” Alex sighed.

You smiled lightly and nodded, before continuing you tawdry tale,

“Anyways, Lizzie was one of the only people who reached out to me, to y’know check on me and stuff. She’s always been in my corner, and she’s practically filled the role of a mother ever since the divorce…” you spoke out softly.

You could tell that Alex knew most of this, and that she was waiting for the part about how this all connected to Rita, so you cut to the chase.

“Anyways, about two years ago, I meet and started to see this guy… Looking back, he was a lot like my father, and I should have recognized the warning signs earlier… But I didn’t. And I let it go on for an entire year… Until…” you sucked in a breath, “I wound up on Lizzie’s doorstep, heart broken and bruised…”

You saw Alex’s audible gulp at your last sentence. You saw how her hand tightly clutched her glass, her knuckles almost white. With a deep breath, she nodded and prompted you to continue with her hand once more.

“Anywho, Lizzie helped me get my shit together and throw him out of my place and my life. I’d taken his abuse for a whole year, and I’m still recovering to this day from the number he did on me…” You concluded your story.

Alex then stood up and came to sit next to you on the couch you inhabited. Her hand came to squeeze your shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that…” Alex sighed, “I hear you, recovery takes time.”

You took a breathy, deep breath with a shaky nod, all the memories of your past coming up as you talked about it all. But her touch was soothing. It was then that Liz emerged from the hallway and came into the living room with a sigh. The older woman sat down next to you, a hand running up and down your thigh in reassurance.

“She’s okay, Rita is going to be fine.” Liz hummed, before stealing your glass of scotch and sipping away at it.

You didn’t mind the cheeky gesture, lord knows she needed the relaxation, merely humming and nodding in response.

“She’s in the bath, and she’s asking for you…” Liz spoke once more.

You sucked in a breath and nodded, starting to stand up. As you went to leave and find Rita in the master bath, you turned back towards Liz and Alex, who were now snuggling lovingly on the couch.

“Thank you Lizzie… Really, thank you.” You breathed out shakily.

Liz met your gaze, her eyes filled with love and care, and the older woman nodded.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

You nodded lightly with a small smile, before turning around and making your way to find Rita. By the time you reached the bath, you found Rita passed out in the warm water, snoring lightly and peacefully. You noted how graceful and content Rita looked asleep. Coming up to the tub, you sat down next to the rim, and proceeded to tuck a stray hair behind Rita’s ear.

She must be exhausted… you thought. And your suspicions were confirmed as the woman continued to sleep until the water in the tub threatened to go cold. It was then that you gently nudged the brunette out from her slumber. She snorted lightly as her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze still looked shattered and sad, and her lip was still lightly trembling.

“Fuck I’m mm sorry, I must have fallen asleep—” Rita rambled in a quiet mumble.

“Hush, none of that. It’s completely alright…” you comforted the woman, raising your hand for her to stop.

Rita shut her mouth and blushed a little, then shivering in the now cold bath water.

“Thanks…” she whispered.

“Of course. Now let’s get you out and into something warm…” you hummed, grabbing a fluffy towel from the bathroom cabinet and then reaching your hand out towards Rita.

Rita happily took your hand, then climbing out of the tub, then you proceeded to wrap the woman up in the warm towel.

“M-my clothes…” Rita murmured, looking to the ground as fear lurched in the pit of her stomache at the idea of having to wear her bloodied clothing.

You gently rubbed her towel wrapped shoulders with a light smile.

“I grabbed some things before we left your place, the bag is on the toilet. It will have to do for now, until we figure out what to do…” you cooed caringly.

Rita blushed lightly and muttered a thank you. You told her it’s was the least that you could do, before giving her a kiss on the forehead and leaving her in the bathroom to go through the bag and change.

As you exited the room and walked back into the living room, you found Liz and Alex right where you had left them, with Alex curled up in Liz’s arms. Liz’s head popped up from her gaze on Alex back to you as you came into the living room and took a seat on an opposing couch, with a pondering look on your face.

“I know that look…” Liz hummed cheekily, taking another sip of your scotch, “What’s on your mind, kiddo?”

You bit your lip, pulling out your phone, before looking over to Liz.

“I was thinking about maybe calling Barba…” you mused aloud, your mind questioning on what to do next.

At this, Alex perked up to. Liz’s eyes widened and her expression was a knowing one, one that quickly understood your line of thought.

“I see… What did Rita say?” Liz hummed, placing the scotch back on the table and much to Alex’s delight starting to massage the young blonde’s shoulders.

You looked away from Liz at her words, and back to your phone.

“When I asked where she could go, she said not Rafael… I know that their friends, she’s mentioned him before… But he could help…” you sighed, inwardly conflicted.

Liz sighed at your admission. And she seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before she spoke,

“When you came to me, did I call anyone…?” The older woman asked you.

You bit your lip and sighed.

“No…”

“Exactly. Even though I wanted to… Probably would have called Liv, but I didn’t. Because you didn’t want me to.” Liz spoke,

You once again looked to the ground instead of meeting the older woman’s gaze.

“I’m not saying that Barba is a bad idea…” she slowly explained, “I think that it would be best if we ask Rita first.”

“Ask me what?” Rita’s timid voice echoed through the expansive living room and kitchen.

All three of your heads swiveled with extreme speed to the end of the hallway where the brunette stood. She padded her way through part of the kitchen and then into the living room. You immediately scooted over and lightly waved her over to come and sit. Rita did exactly that before repeating her question, more vocal this time.

“What did you want to ask me first?” The woman spoke.

Liz and Alex immediately eyed you, quirking their eyebrows and very clearly telling you that since this was your idea, you were the one who was going to say something. You gulped, turning your body more towards the group. Your gaze met Rita’s and you reached your hands out to grasp her left available hand and reassuringly squeeze it.

“I… We were talking about maybe calling Liv… or Barba…” you shakily breathed out, squeezing her hand lovingly while speaking to comfort the woman.

The same panic from earlier this night came rushing back to the woman’s gaze. But she was a little more collected now, and she seemed to handle the surge of emotions better this time around.

“I…” Rita stammered, “I don’t know…”

She slumped forward a bit and closed her eyes, a singular tear escaping her eyes. You immediately extended your arm and brought the brunette into your soft embrace.

“That’s okay. We can deal with all that later… How are you feeling…?” You gently spoke.

“Exhausted…” Rita choked out, “and stupid… like it’s all my fault…!”

The broken defense lawyer turned completely towards you, clinging to your frame as she began to cry into your shoulder. You gently caressed her back and shoulders reassuringly.

“That’s it, it’s going to be ok, Rita… It’s all going to be okay…” you soothed the woman.

“B-but how do you know that…?”

You sighed.

“Because… I’ve been through something eerily similar…”

At this, Rita pulled back and looked at you with eyes full of empathy.

“I’m so sorry…” she uttered, fully processing the words you had just spoken.

You smiled lightly and cupped Rita’s face.

“It’s okay… I’m past that now. Now I’m here for you… Now how about bed…?” You hummed caringly.

Rita nodded and hummed a soft thank you, before you guided the woman up and to one of Liz’s many guest bedrooms. You stayed with her until she was asleep, which didn’t take too long, but you stayed nonetheless, before then turning in for the night yourself in another guest room, which Liz had so kindly offered you.

~~

Rita spent the rest of the weekend at Liz’s. Liz and Alex were more than happy to host, and they graciously let you stay as well to keep an eye on the broken brunette.

Then come Monday morning, you were walking into the SVU squad room with Rita anxiously by your side. You grabbed her shaky hand and squeezed it reassuringly, as your other hand rapped on Captain Liv Benson’s office door. Neither of you expected Barba to swing the door open, and he sure as hell didn’t expect to see Rita.

Liv ushered you in, and Rafael could immediately sense something was wrong. Rafael simply closed the door behind you, not bothering to leave.

“Rita, Y/N, how can I help you?” Liv spoke.

Rita shuffled her feet and looked to the ground. You squeezed her hand again and whispered that it was going to be okay.

“Wait what is going on…?” Rafael cut in.

Liv sent Barba a warning glance for him to be quiet to let you or Rita speak. You gently looked towards the brunette, whose lip was now trembling.

“I… I was raped…” Rita shakily breathed out, as a small tear rolled down her left cheek.

~~~

Part 2 with a happy ending…? Or maybe something more angsty…? 😏

Alex Cabot Masterlist

Olivia Benson Masterlist

Rita Calhoun Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

Elizabeth Donnelly Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

Rafael Barba Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

[technovillain]

So I spent a bunch of time wandering around postgame and wanted to share some findings.

some mail with some funny addresses lol. unclear who they're from but the helmut one has a stamp of a young bob on it hehe. collector's psychonauts stamps are kind of canon, there's ones of hollis around too.

in Sasha Nein's office there are two of these framed on the wall. So he's been Employee of the Year twice, good for him. The small text unde this name is really funny too, it reads "this goes to the guy who is the best at doing the thing that is the thing of which you could be doing for a year" What an accomplishment!

Volunteers are needed for Whispering Rock! I can see this easily becoming the next big "Junior Psychonaut" job instead of the busy people like Sasha, Milla, or Morry being in charge. Someone vandalized the poster (":P This place suxs!") and my bet is easily on Lili Zanotto. Because who else would be drawing Harold on a sticky note? (The styles seem to match between those two things lol.)

Also who are the Psi-Tutors posting ads?? If it's an agent then I have no guesses, but if it was posted by an intern, I'm almost certain it would be Adam.

Intern dorms canon!! They watch stupid movies together.

Who do we think drew this grumpy little Hollis on the board and who do we think was doing the fancy math equations? Feels a little Norma and Lizzie to me. Not to mention, which two interns have this longstanding vandalism tic-tac-toe battle going on?? Any combination of them is hilarious as an answer to this for me lol.

"La Jolla Taco Museum 9/12/76" which is apparently an unexplained phrase from the corner of a whiteboard in a developer's room at DoubleFine in 2011.

Not sure what percent of people have explored the remains of Otto's old mountainside lab (which was right beside Bob's greenhouse) but the hyperhyglaciator is actually there! Long abandoned and overturned. The lab appears to have suffered an electrical explosion and not much remains. There are a few bottles scattered on the ground near the edge of the explosion site, however. And considering it's right next to Bob's greenhouse and it's next to the old hyperhyglaciator, there's some sad implications there.

Also I feel like everyone knows about this vandalism but...who do we think did it? It feels like intern behavior but then again some of the Motherlobe workers seem to love gossiping about Sasha and Milla too...

Please use this post to think about the characters doing silly things around the Motherlobe. All of these questions I asked in this post are highly important for all of you to figure out, alright?

[second-axis-point]

Here's the Whiskey fic that we’ve all been waiting for! Sorry it took so long.

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Kingsman!Male!Reader

Warnings: A little bit of violence.

Content: Fighting, Smut, Riding

Good old Whiskey won the poll with like 60 votes. You guys seem to like him quite a bit. 😏 Anyway, this is the first time I’ve written a full fic for our favourite cowboy and I hope you guys enjoy it!

Finally Home

You were sitting in the pub alone. At least you thought you were before a few dickheads walked up behind you and saw how you were dressed. They assumed that you were some posh rich boy who was way out of his depth coming to the rough side of town. They thought that they could rob you pretty easy. Boy were they wrong.

“Oi, pretty boy.”

You heard one of the grunts say from behind you. You ignored it and took another swig of your beer. He slapped the back of your head so hard that your glasses flew off your face. You grunted and sat up slowly. You took a deep breath before picking your glasses back up off the bar. You turned in your stool to see three idiots with smug smiles on their faces.

“Can I help you?”

You asked calmly, irritating the grunts.

“Yeah, you can. Empty your pockets”

A switchblade was brandished in front of your face. You assumed that it was to intimidate you since these idiots didn’t have it in them to actually kill anyone.

“No.”

You replied. They all frowned and stepped closer. The bartender moved to shuffle into the back to call the police but you held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s alright. I’m sure we can settle this like gentlemen.”

You assured. He looked nervous but put the phone back down.

“We ain’t gonna ask you again. Empty your pockets. Now!”

You smiled at the grunts' attempt at intimidation. You slowly stood from your stool.

“And I’m not going to tell you again. No.”

You stood tall with proper posture like you were taught. You saw one of them adjust his footing to take a swing. You dodged easily and took a counter-shot at his gut, sending him to the floor immediately. The other two looked shocked before attacking at the same time. You took a step back and leaned to the side, avoiding one fist and taking the other to the side. You brushed it off and continued to taunt the lumbering idiots. One of them charged at you and you sidestepped and threw your fist right into the side of his skull, sending him sprawling to the floor as well.

Only one left standing. You grinned and put your hands behind your back, only stopping to listen to a voice in your ear.

“Stop playing with your food and go home already.”

Merlin came in through your ear piece. You chuckled, infuriating the last man standing.

“Sorry mate, looks like I gotta run.”

You move to walk out but he grabs your collar, as you expected. You let the guy rip your suit jacket off before ducking his punch and connecting your knuckles with his chin. He made a god awful grunting noise before falling straight on his back. You pick up your jacket off the floor and walk over to the bar. You finish your drink and leave extra money on the bar.

“For your trouble.”

You winked at the bartender before walking out the door. You had been instructed to take some time off for working your ass off for months on end. You booked a flight to America as soon as you got home. The flight was taking off the next morning. You shuffled around your flat to pack for your trip.

The next morning came quickly and you booked a cab to the airport. The plane trip went smoothly and you booked a taxi to the familiar address in Kentucky. You paid the driver and walked up to the door, suitcase rolling behind you. You knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice complaining from behind it.

“God damn it. Who the hell could-”

Jack’s complaining ceased after he saw you at the door.

“Hey sweetheart, you miss me?”

You asked with a grin. Jack pulled you in for a bone crushing hug.

“Hey sugar! I didn’t know you were in town. What brings you to Kentucky?”

He asked you.

“Well, I was given some time off and decided to come visit my favourite Statesman agent back in the states.”

You were pulled inside by your excited boyfriend. You set your stuff down in Jack’s room and was immediately pushed down onto the couch when you stepped out. He straddled your hips and gave you a wide smile.

“I don’t see you without a suit very often. Normal clothes suit you, darlin’.”

Jack grinned, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to your lips.

“Although I know for a fact that you look better in your birthday suit.”

Jack pulled back and looked at you with lust-filled eyes. That didn’t take very long. You put your hands on his waist and he grinded down on you. You pressed your forehead against his chest with a groan. God, you missed him. You hadn’t had time to fly over to see him in almost four months. Your grip on his waist tightened as Jack continued to grind down on your lap. He leaned in to kiss down your neck, leaving small hickeys across your collarbone. He moved his hands under your t-shirt, moving his fingers across your chest and back.

“Why don’t we take this back to my bedroom, sugar?”

He whispers in your ear. You grin and wrap your arms around his waist before standing. He wraps his legs around your hips and continues his attack on your neck as you walk back to Jack’s bedroom. You lean down to press him into the mattress. He doesn’t let go, instead he flips the two of you over so he is now crawling on top of you. You shuffled further up the bed and Jack waited for you to get comfortable before letting his hands wander under your shirt once again. You grab him and pull him close for a deep kiss. When you pull back, Jack reaches down to pull your t-shirt over your head. He undresses the both of you and grins.

“Lube is in the drawer.”

Jack said and waited for you to grab it. You grabbed it and handed it to him. You watched in awe as Jack prepared to stretch himself out.

“Wait.”

You said. You took the lube back and slicked your fingers.

“Come here.”

You grinned. Jack’s eyes glossed over as he crawled up your body. He leaned down and kissed you deeply as you pushed a finger into him. Jack groaned as you thrusted in and out. You added another finger and he moaned low in his throat. Jack started to push against your fingers so you added a third. He moaned and pulled away from the kiss, pressing his face into your neck.

“Please. I’m ready.”

Jack begged. He whined as you pulled your fingers out. Jack moved back down and put the head of your aching cock into his mouth. He swirled his tongue and bobbed his head. You tossed your head back and let him do what he wanted. Jack pulled off and lined himself up. He slowly sunk down, inch by inch, until you bottomed out. He was sat in your lap with his hands on your chest. You scooted up the bed so you were sitting up and looking right at Jack’s red face. He started to slowly roll his hips, making you both groan. You put your hands on his waist and pulled him almost all the way off of your cock. You then slammed him back down, making him moan loudly.

Jack started to bounce in your lap at a languid pace, teasing you. You felt him clench around you every so often. You got sick of it after a minute. You tightened your grip on his waist and held him still. You started to mercilessly thrust up into him, hitting his prostate almost every time. Jack let out a long string of moans. Your name was being chanted like a prayer. You thrusted harder. Jack couldn’t speak anymore. He was in absolute heaven. His sentences became incomprehensible moans. After a moment, you felt Jack tense for a moment before long ropes of cum fell from his aching and neglected cock. Jack moaned loudly and clenched around you. It didn't take you much longer to feel your release building as well.

“Inside.”

Was all Jack had to say before you pushed deep into him and came. You leaned forward and pressed Jack into the bed. He wrapped his arms and legs around you as he felt you fill him up. He gave you time to come down. He whined quietly as you pulled out, spilling a bit onto the bed. You rolled off of him and laid beside him. Jack was still breathing heavily. He turned his head to look at you and had a big satisfied grin on his face.

“Did you enjoy yourself, sugar?”

Jack asked. You chucked and nodded your head.

“I did indeed.”

Jack shuffled closer and you pressed a kiss to the sweaty scar on his temple. Jack sighed happily and closed his eyes.

“Shouldn’t we shower?”

You asked. Jack shook his head and rested a hand on your chest. You stayed quiet and closed your eyes as well. You were so glad that you were given time off.

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