#but its about the HEART EYES when i'm covered in BLOOD of their ENEMIES and WATCHING ME FIGHT

[fictionallyinparadise]

I think. Having my f/os call me their weapon or their attack dog would fix so many problems in me.

[undiscovered-horizon]

The clockmaker, the crow and the mantis

[contains vulgar language]

SUMMARY: When an infamous assassin breaks into his office, Kaz Brekker is offered a part in a strange scheme. Despite their mutual dislike, the two might yet have a common goal.

(enemies to lovers I guess?)

WORDCOUNT: ~ 2.2k

A feeling of a cold breeze brushing against his clothes makes Kaz stop immediately - he hasn't opened the window in weeks. The barely noticeable gust of wind tugs gently at the paperwork in front of him. Flames dance ever so slightly on their wicks. The darkness pooling in the corners of the room, where the candlelight can’t quite reach, seems deeper, more imposing, as though it wasn't the lack of light creating it but something much more alive, much more sinister.

Something moves out of the corner of his eye, bordering realism and phantasm. He gets up quickly, hand gripping the decorative cane that had seen its fair share of blood. Calculated, careful steps lead him to the centre of the room as Kaz studies the shapeless shadows encircling him like an ominous vignette.

His heart picks up its pace. A muffled sound of chatter and laughter reaches his ears from behind the heavy door. Horse hooves clatter against cobblestone, a wooden carriage quietly creeks as it rolls through the streets somewhere outside the building. But not a sound, except his own laboured breathing, comes from inside his office. The air doesn’t smell differently and even his eyes can’t quite discern between malicious darkness and the shadows he’s so used to being surrounded by.

By all accounts, Kaz is alone in his office that couldn’t have been tainted by an intruder. Despite his senses not earning him any useful information, he knows his privacy has been breached. It’s unclear what to call this sensation but it appears only in certain kinds of people - those who have been tried by particular ways of life. Their consciousness as if expands, almost miraculously sensing long knives in the dead of night.

Kaz swings his cane at a rather formless shadow by his side. Just as he expected, the staff comes into contact with something. Right there, where light meets darkness and safety of visibility becomes an impenetrable abyss, tips of gloved fingers appear, holding his cane mid-air. The grip is strong, textbook as if. Foreseen.

"Maybe listen to me first, you knucklehead,” resounds from the darkness.

He has to take a step back as the stranger emerges from the veil of the night, both of them still tightly gripping either side of the cane. The deep hood covers their eyes, making the lower half of their face easily visible. Kaz immediately notices a characteristic, pinkish scar ending about an inch below their right eye. The first button of their long, dark double-breasted coat is left open, revealing a grey shirt with moth-shaped collar pins. There’s so many pouches and pockets attached to their clothes - he couldn’t count them if he tried. Even more, Kaz can’t even begin to guess what they hide. A golden chain of their pocket watch glistens in the dim candlelight as they move forward, pushing Kaz farther back.

There’s only one wraith haunting Ketterdam that fits this description:

"Mantis,” he spits out.

"You know Krolmeister, the old clockmaker?" she asks calmly. Despite their less-than-friendly meeting, the assassin appears hardly bothered. One can only assume she has, in fact, been greeted in much worse ways and if one was to believe the wild legends people tell about her, even after applying a generous grain of salt, she can compete for the Dirtyhands title with him.

"I don't see how he has anything to do with you breaking into my office."

"He's the direct, well, indirect, reason why I'm here but we'll get to this in a moment. Mister Krolmeister has offered me a contract. A contract for you, to be precise.” She pauses for a moment, no doubt studying his demeanour, the reaction for such news. Her own face, however, remains just as unmoved making it impossible to say what she makes of his behaviour. Kaz clenches his jaw, already preparing for a fight with someone he can never measure up to. Part of him isn’t surprised in the slightest - after all, in what other way could the Bastard of the Barrell possibly pass away? Mantis leans offhandedly close to his face and continues in a voice barely above a whisper: “Now, you and I both have heads with more use than just wearing hats, so you're probably wondering what you had done to poor Bernard Krolmeister for him to have you killed. The short answer is nothing but the long answer is a lot more interesting. Care to listen?"

The woman lets go of the cane, giving Kaz a chance to strike her but he only lowers the staff to lean on it once again. He may be proud but he’s not stupid - if she had indeed come to kill him, he would have already been long dead, before his mind could even compute the final blow.

"Do not waste my time. Speak."

If he was trying to appear menacing, he has failed. Mantis casually strolls past him, towards a chair by the desk. She sits down, crosses her legs and only then gives Kaz an explanation: "My expertise on the matter tells me that Krolmesiter is nothing but a proxy, a dummy middle-man to blame if something goes south. Blackmail, probably, but that doesn't matter for now. That scenario suggests that there's someone above him, a puppet master if you will. And that puppet master, whoever they are, has good business in having you gone. Considering those two elements, the proxy and the determination, I'm certain you could accurately guess who's truly behind that contract.”

Kaz can’t help the scowl on his face. Her perplexing audacity, a clear and yet indirect disregard for him, makes the man grip the model crow atop his cane ever tighter. His teeth clatter against one another while Kaz contemplates the nature of a violent act that is bound to take her down a peg. Even after his list reaches double digits in just a few seconds, he knows better than to try anything - not yet, at least.

"You’re just a murder, Mantis, no matter how expensive.” 

His words don’t bother the woman as she continues to play with a paperweight on the desk. Her fingers make him wonder for a moment - even when gloved, they’re clearly thin and long, without a sign of heavy labour on them. They move swiftly and elegantly across the figurine, feeling its dips and rises as though she’s trying to remember them. Those are hands of a pianist or a prestidigitator, someone who’s precision borders on a miracle. 

She’s not even looking at him. Kaz feels his patience running thin. One can still work as an assassin without a finger or two, no? Without a whole hand, perhaps? 

“Why should I believe even a single word of this fairytale built on hypotheticals?" he grits through his teeth.

The gentle movement of her fingers stops abruptly. Finally, Mantis looks away from the brass paperweight. Kaz still can’t see her eyes but he can feel them - there’s something primal about her gaze like a predator studying its prey for any sign of hesitation. Heavy paperweight or not, if he turns his back to her, it might just be the last thing he does. 

“True, I am but a humble murderer.” Mantis mockingly puts a hand on her chest and bows her head. “But I’m really fucking good at it, too. I’m not asking for belief. Just trust my reputation.”

Kaz doesn’t answer for a longer while. His eyes bore into the hooded figure sitting in front of him. Disillusioned, he knows she’s doing exactly the same thing. The observation makes him even angrier but for an entirely different reason - perhaps, they are, after all, similar in some way. The restless urge sitting under his skin gets only more urgent. Kaz needs to hit something. Now.

“Why are you telling me all of this? Want me to pay you for telling me someone wants me dead?”

The man scoffs. It’s no news to him - everyday someone tries to get under his skin. Some figuratively, others literally.

"I need you to play dead for the next two days,” she states candidly. “You're silent, so I'm guessing you're interested. If I'm correct, and there's hardly any possibility I'm not, after I tell Bernard that the mighty Kaz Brekker had been dealt with, he's sure to inform a direct messenger between him and the possible blackmailer. I follow him, learn a thing or two and get back to you. And you'll get half of the reward. How's that?"

In slow limps, Kaz narrows the space between them. Mantis is still sitting, making the man tower over her but he knows it’s not much of an advantage. He leans further on his cane moving his face obscenely close to hers. An aroma of rainwater and grease fills his nostrils as he takes in a ragged breath:

"What do you get out of this deal?"

"Aside from like a hundred thousand Kruge? Peace,” she says with a shrug. Mantis looks away for a moment. She puckers her lips, sighs and turns back to him. “I don't like you, Kaz Brekker.” The way her words pierce the tension between them leaves no doubts about their honesty. “Damn, I'd probably open champagne if your head rolled into the gutter.” A light shake of head before she continues. “But you are, I'm afraid, a necessary evil. Say, if you do die, who will take your place on this throne of filth called the Barrel? You're a shitstain but you're tolerable."

To his own surprise, Kaz is speechless. Out of all the things she could ask in return for the information, Mantis only wants the Barrel to not get more problematic than it already is. As strangely kindhearted as it may sound, he continues to have a hard time tolerating her condescending attitude. Kaz Brekker is the king of this steaming pile of shit and to her, he appears to be nothing beyond an over glorified guard dog. Not even an imposing one, it seems.

"Those are some big words for someone who kills to make a living, don't you think?” He tilts his head in a futile attempt to see more of her face. “I suppose it takes a shitstain to know a shitstain."

"As much as both of us hate to admit it, a day has come when we need each other. Anyway, I won't take any more of your time. Places to go, people to kill, you know how it goes.”

Mantis throws her legs over the armrest of the chair and in swift strides makes her way towards the window. Considering her line of business, doors of any kind were prohibited. In a clearly experienced motion, she places a flat metal bar between the window frame and the windowsill, opening her exit in a smooth act. Before she climbs through his window only to disappear like a dream at the break of dawn, Kaz stops her one last time:

"You should be wary. Birds tend to eat praying mantis."

He watches as her lips curve into a cocky smile. "Only if he can catch her."

And with those words, she dives through the window, dissolving into the black night as though it was his fantasy that brought her to life. Kaz stands alone in his office. Nothing about the room has changed, even the brass paperweight is placed exactly as it was before Mantis put her hand on it. In some way, the assassin was never there. Despite her elusive nature, the smell of grease and rain will linger in his nose for a few more days, haunting him like the wraith of Ketterdam she is.

Jesper knows something is wrong the moment he notices Kaz’s bitter expression. Although his boss appears to wear a grimace most of the time, the wrinkle between his eyebrows seems slightly deeper than it did just a few hours ago. He’s clenching his jaw, looking at the people in his club with a patronizing scowl.

"You alright, boss?" he asks when Kaz reaches the bar counter.

But Brekker isn’t fast to answer. He downs the drink Jesper got for himself. Gripping the edge of the counter like his life depends on it, he begins to explain:

"I'm dead, Jesper."

Kaz isn’t funny. Truth be told, he doesn’t seem to have even a speck of a sense of humour. Despite that, Jesper dismisses the notion that his boss could be serious. It sounds ridiculous.

"You look pretty alive to me,” he says in a slow, reluctant tone. Maybe he missed something obvious?

An accusatory index finger makes Jesper unknowingly lean back slightly. "Tell everyone I'm dead, stabbed in my own office. And do it now."

"Hold on, what?” He shakes his head. “Why would you be dead?"

"Just do it, Jesper.” Kaz lets out a defeated sigh. The smart choice just so happens to be the one he hates.  “You'll know in due time. All we can do now is wait."

Jesper watches Kaz’s back as he walks back up the stairs into his office. A familiar anxiety blooms in his chest - something big is about to happen and he might just have the front-row seat.

[brassknucklespeirs]

Sᴄᴀʀʏ Dᴏɢ Pʀɪᴠɪʟᴇɢᴇ [Jᴏᴇ Tᴏʏᴇ x ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

Genre: Speed run enemies to lovers??? But also funny and cute???

Warnings: Swearing, a little bit of sexism, descriptions of warfare, mention of blood and wounds, the general idea is if you couldn't handle band of brothers, don't freaking read this okay?

Disclaimer: No disrespect to the real men of WW2, this is based off the actors portrayal from HBO

HI GUYS! I'M SO EXCITED THIS IS MY FIRST FIC BACK AND I'M SO HAPPY WITH IT SO PLEASE ENJOY! I'VE MISSED YOU GUYS LIKE CRAZY

To say Y/N was not warmly welcomed as a female replacement in Easy Company was an understatement. She was at the bottom of the food chain at this point; the Toccoa men being at the top, with her fellow replacements being beneath them, and then her at the very bottom thanks to her lack of an extra limb between her legs. In all honesty, she wasn't as bothered as she thought she would be, but perhaps that was because after making it through basic training she was more than use to being leered at; whether it was in distain, lust, or indifference was dependant on the man.

It wasn't all bad she guessed, but even in those men who did show her kindness, she still saw the hint of apprehension in their eyes as the smile they held didn't quite cover the look from their gaze. She was the only female in Easy company, while all of the other women that she had trained with were sent to Dog and Fox company. She held a sliver of envy because of this, for she didn't truly understand why none of the others had joined her in Easy, and yet here she was, the only woman in a company of men who saw her as a silly little girl playing dress up. Any time the monachopsis had crept in she pushed it away, reminding herself of why she was here, why she was persisting through the cold, both that which she was dealt from the men and that which the snowy terrain of Bastogne had brought her freely.

She kept to herself mostly, though it drove her slightly mad as she wished to share the unfamiliar sense of comradeship that she saw flowing between the men around her. Y/N would often find herself staring longingly as she watched them unconsciously huddle closer to each other to keep warm, while her stomach clenched in disappointment as they shared quiet laughter in their foxholes, exchanging jokes and light-hearted taunts to bring their spirits up as much as they could.

Yet here she was, alone in every meaning of the word except physically, holed up in a foxhole with someone who did not care for her existence as he looked down on her as a nuisance. Y/N's gaze would often flicker to the man beside her, taking note of how he pressed himself as close to his side of the dirty dugout in the ground, like she was a plague to be avoided. She could never stop her teeth from sinking into the raw flesh of her chewed bottom lip to keep herself from speaking to him, knowing the last time she had tried, he had ripped into her. The man had thrown insults and harsh words about how she was an army experiment gone wrong, and how the only reason she was allowed to be here is because they were that desperate for running targets to distract the Nazis from shooting at the 'real' soldiers. Every word had hit its mark but she refused to show it, keeping up her façade of indifference and annoyance until he had turned his back on her, at which point of time she had shifted her head in the opposite direction to let the tears that threatened to spill fall down her cheeks.

It was easy to see how Joe Toye was the man everyone painted him out to be, yet where others saw him as strong-willed she saw him as stubborn, and in the place of being a good leader, she had seen a pushy prick who expected those around him to bend and shape to his will. His sense of arrogance truly did stun her when she first arrived to the front, and though she never really got over it, she learnt how to play the ignorant card for the sake of her sanity; or perhaps for the sake of her position in Easy company, for she wasn't quite sure if she would be kept around if she bad-mouthed one of her sergeants. Yet it was in moments like that, when Joe used the consistent excuse of needing to watch the line to keep his glare off of her that she would watch anything but the line. She hated herself for it sometimes, knowing that her lack of normality had caused her to seek out any familiar comfort she could around her. The familiar comfort in question being the picture of a handsome face. He was all sharp angles from side on, with his sculpted jawline and large, curved nose, and she found herself flitting her gaze over his features in moments of quiet. A little too easy on the eyes for someone lacking any means of a soft spoken personality, she had thought to herself once as she forced herself to look away from him.

Y/N's jaw ached from how tightly she was grinding her teeth, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso as she tried to savour in her own warmth. Her gaze held envy as she eyed Malarkey, Muck, Penkala and Luz huddled together, giggling to one another while they talked in hushed voiced. She wished to know what it felt to relish in the cosiness they seemed to hold between one another, wanted to know what it was to laugh over such meaningless jokes to break through the bitter sensation that wrapped its way around her lonely heart. She huffed out a breath of frustration as she downed the rest of the lukewarm coffee that Lipton had previously handed her, the cup having already been half drunk when the first sergeant had taken pity on the clearly shivering woman and offered her the rest. Y/N sent Lip a small but grateful smile when she handed him back the mug as he shuffled past her, a stiff nod of his head and his own small smile being the acknowledgement she received before he walked off.

Y/N rolled her rigid shoulders as she walked back towards her and Joe's foxhole, her rifle tucked tightly between her arms and chest while her hands were squished under her armpits to savour the little warmth her body gave off. Her entire body froze for a moment as a whistling sound rung through her ears, carried through the breeze from the town of Foy below them. Y/N's head snapped behind her to look towards Lip over her shoulder, the first sergeant stared back at her with wide eyes, the both of them letting the realisation fall over them. Lipton's voice of authority resonated over the company members close by as he yelled to take cover over and over again, a mix of alarm and agitation leaking off every sharp syllable. Y/N's feet seemed to move without any further thought when the first shell hit the ground with an almighty bang, digging its nose into the dirt before scattering it across the frozen terrain. She threw herself into the closest cover she could, a shallow foxhole that looked as if it had been given up on halfway through being dug, her arms immediately covering her head while she pressed her cheek against the snow. From the position she was in, she was able to see the chaos that ensued around her as trees exploded and men screamed over the noise at one another. Her teeth sunk into the skin on the inside of her cheek, and the metallic taste of blood told her she had clenched too harshly as the anxiety built up in her chest.

The lone figure of a man in the distance caught her attention as they seemed to be the only person who had stupidly continued to scramble for cover while those around him had found theirs. Her gaze shifted to the trail of shells hitting the forest floor, and her uneasy grew, noting that the path they travelled was heading straight for the running soldier. She wasn't quite sure what led her to the point of brainlessness but in a split second decision, she was up and out of the half dug foxhole, her feet pushing her full force across the snowy ground towards him, her quads aching with every step. The cold wind blasted across her face while several bursts of heat would hit her cheek as the shells grew closer to her. Her heart felt ready to leap out of her chest as she watched the trail of destruction close in to her position with every step she took closer towards the figure. With seemingly seconds to spare, her body collided harshly with his, throwing his body to the side as they narrowly avoid a shell that blew the trees behind them to splinters. Y/N wasted no time as her hands gripped at the man's uniform and pulled him from the ground though a burning sensation along the side of her hip told her she had been hit. She didn't take the time to analyse her wound, throwing the man into the closest foxhole before diving after him, though another shell from behind them caused her to tumble in after him as it threw her off her feet. She managed to catch herself before she completely crushed the man beneath her, her hands and knees hitting the ground either side of him, holding her above his body. As the blasts continued around them, she took no time to ponder the precarious position she had landed in, the warm heat of the man she had saved pressed against her torso as she sat straddled over his lying body. She felt his chin pressed against the top of her head as she curled tightly into him, her face hidden in the crook of his neck without thought.

As the shelling eased and the forest around them grew silent once more, Y/N raised her head towards the sky as to angle her ears in such a way to hear better, but the ringing that echoed from the remnants of the blast was like an alarm bell. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Lipton's voice yell to stay down, and her stomach clenched in anticipation. She tilted her head back down towards the man as she felt him wriggle beneath her and a blush rose to her cheeks as she turned to apologise and move only to meet the dark eyes of Joe Toye. Her face hardened as she stared down at him, his eyes looking up to meet her gaze with surprise evident in his pupils. Y/N breathed harshly through her nose, pulling one leg over his body so she no longer perched in his lap before she tugged them to her chest, shuffling to the other side of the foxhole with a stiff expression. Joe said nothing but his eyes continued to watch her for a few more moments, his gaze causing the hairs on her arms to rise; or perhaps that was the chill the air held, she wasn't certain. Y/N ran her tongue over her top teeth as the silence enveloped them, but her irritation rose the longer it went on, her fingers gripping tighter at her rifle causing her knuckles to turn white.

"You're welcome, by the way." She spoke suddenly, her tone cold but the way she kept her eyes off of him expressed the idea that she didn't care; she certainly did care, and she expected grateful appreciation for saving his sorry ass. She turned her attention to what was going on above the foxhole they sat in as she pushed herself to a crouch to poke her head cautiously over the edge of the dugout, her eyes sweeping over the area as she analysed it carefully. Joe watched her in silence for another moment, his eyes trailing over the side of her face as she remained oblivious. He had previously noted that her face held a gentle beauty, but in this moment with messy hair peaking out from under her helmet, brows furrowed and her jaw visibly clenching, she held more of a wild divinity, like a budding rose that’s stem held many thorns. He drew in a breath as he forced himself to turn away as he thought to himself, A little too beautiful for someone who holds such an icy façade.

"Yeah. Thanks." Joe finally muttered shortly as he gazed down at his hands. Y/N didn't turn to look at him, but rolled her eyes at his stiff reply, not overly convinced he meant it. She opened her mouth to reply, swivelling on her toes to looked down at him only for the burning in her hip to arise again. The woman let out a strangled gasp, her hand immediately flying to the sliced flesh on her hip as the adrenaline running through her body began to dissipate. Joe's eyes widened, watching as she moved quickly to sit on her uninjured hip, all but collapsing beside him. "Shit Y/L/N. This just happen?" The sergeant called while moving closer to her, and if she wasn't focussed on her pain, Y/N would have seen fit to roll her eyes once more. She groaned, biting at the sensitive flesh of her lip as she pulled some of the torn fabric away from the wound, revealing the blood leaking from her body.

"Yeah. Next time remind me not to save your sorry ass." Y/N replied with as much of an taunting sneer as she could muster, completely disregarding their difference in rank as quite honestly in that moment she couldn't have cared less. Someone needed to dish it back to this man everyone once in a while to ensure his head didn't grow too large, and if that person had to be her, then she'd give it her best go. Even now as she squirmed uncomfortably at the burning gash on her hip, she was fully prepared to release the feminine rage that she had held caged in her chest for the last few months if she really had to.

Neither of them were given a moment to continue this exchange of simmering annoyance as a new bout of whistles filled the air causing Y/N to whine in distress, curling into herself to grasp at any comfort she could. She looked up from under her brows towards the sky as the first explosion went off, but immediately flinched in discomfort, turning her body away and pushing herself as close to the side of the foxhole as she could. When the not-so-solid soil wall seemed to wrap its arms around her tightly in a moment of shared unease, Y/N realised she had, in fact, unconsciously turned away from the wall of the foxhole, not towards it, and found herself pressed firmly against the warm body of Joseph Toye. The man's arms remained steadfast around her waist as the chaos outside the foxhole continued, his own fear slipping through with every 'bang' that was heard. The ground shook violently as a shell hit close by and Y/N let out a strangled scream of terror. Her hands unravelling from themselves to grasp at Joe's jacket, tugging herself closer to him while she tried her best to focus on the warmth that radiated from him, or the way his fingers could be felt rubbing back and forth over her spine. Even if he was a particularly cold man towards her, it had not been the first time she had used him as a distraction, though this was much more than just admiring him from afar. There was a certain intimacy in being held as if she was the only thing that could bring reassurance to the soldier beside her, a type of intimacy she had gladly welcomed at that moment as she too tightened her grip on his shirt, even going as far to hide her face in the fabric covering his shoulder.

A heavy silence hung over the air when the shelling stopped, the only noise being the creaking of nearby trees, half destroyed from the blasts and desperately clinging to hold their form. Y/N stayed leaning against Joe, his warmth offering comfort as her body grew tired as the adrenaline had leaked faster from her than it had the last time. Her wound began to burn hotter than last time, and a pained whine left her lips as she lifted her hand, pulling her face from the man's jacket to watch as crimson blood trickled down the palm it had begun to stain.

"Shit. MEDIC!" Joe screamed out as he glanced down at the woman as she lay groaning against his side, her hands coloured with scarlet liquid while her face was screwed up in a look of discomfort. "Uh, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asks, his voice a mixture of worry and uncertainty, his hand showing three fingers. Y/N seemed to pause her groaning for a moment, her head tilting up to look at him, her face showing disbelief at the words. Her gaze flickered between his face and his fingers, too confused to answer immediately as she took in the dead-serious look of concern on his features.

"I'm not dying you fucking moron. It's a shallow gash not a mortal wound." She replies with a quiet snort from her nose in amusement. Sure, the sliced flesh burned but it was certainly nothing to write home about, and she was more than prepared to never think about it again once she had been seen to by a medic. Until that point, she would ensure she'd made it clear to Joe that she deserved a little bit of appreciation for drawing blood for him, even if it was her own. The man rolled his eyes at her answer, pushing his fingers closer to her face while his brows tugged together in silent frustration.

"Just answer the fucking question Y/L/N." He said firmly. With a huff of irritation, Y/N gave her answer before using the hand that wasn't pressed tightly against the wound on her hip to flick his own hand away from her face.

"Thank the lord above they didn't make you a goddamn medic." She muttered under her breath quietly, though the roll of his eyes told her he had heard the words leave her mouth. The corners of her lips quip up in amusement but she pulled her eyes away from him as a heavy set of footfall could be heard coming towards them. Gene appeared beside her before she could blink, his presence causing her to jump in fright  "Jesus Gene, I just told Toye I wasn't dying. Don't you dare make me look a fool by giving me a heart attack." The woman mumbles lightly to the medic as he doesn't waste a second, pulling her hand from the wound and inspecting it closely.

"Sorry Y/L/N." Gene muttered gently, his eyes flickering up to hers for a moment in polite acknowledgement. He looked back down at the gash and noted several splinters still sticking out causing him to screw his face up in concentration, his eyes analysing the best way to get them out. He pulled his tweezers from his pouch and without warning, plucked the first splinter from her hip bringing about a cry made up of surprise and discomfort that rose loudly from her lips. Without thinking, her hand flew out to the side, landing on Joe's thigh, before squeezing tightly to sate her pain.

"AH, come on Gene, a little warning would be nice." She groaned, her fingers digging into the flesh of Joe's leg while she squirmed against his side as if trying to shuffle away from the medic and his tweezers. Joe let out a huff of bemusement as he glanced between her hand on him and her face, though he couldn't help the slight redness that dusted his cheeks.

"So would a homecooked Christmas dinner made by my ma, but we can't always get what we want, can we Y/N?" Joe said almost mockingly. The woman threw a warning glare over her shoulder in response to his words, not appreciative of his snark as she had a pair of tweezers shoved half an inch into a gash she took for him. Y/N watched as Gene finished pulling the splinters from her flesh, and wriggled uncomfortably as he stitched up the wound, yet the bleeding crimson that escaped from her had already painted the snow beneath her.

When the medic had finished up with dressing her wound as well as he could with his limited supplies, he had quickly disappeared off into the snowy terrain surrounding them. The woman kept her gaze on him as he ran off, a small smile of amusement painting her lips when she sees him scurry away so quickly. Movement against her hand reminded her that she was still gripping at Joe's thigh and without a single glance she retracted it as if she had been burnt, and it honestly looked as though she had been from the rose dusted blush on her cheeks. She didn't say a word to Joe, turning her head away from him so he could not see the embarrassment that so clearly showed on her face, yet the man used it to his advantage as he glanced out the corner of his eyes to look at her, his expression that of curiosity and intrigue. With a silent huff of amusement and a subtle shake of his head, Joe realised he had been wrong about Y/N, very wrong indeed.

▄︻デ----══━一

Joseph Toye had held a deep distain of the female replacement since the moment she showed up. Every part of her annoyed him; the way she seemingly refused to interact with most of the men as if she was above them, the way she watched them closely with narrowed eyes, the way she held herself like she was special because she was the only woman assigned to Easy company, the way she was so god damn distracting. He had decided quickly that she was not at all what a normal soldier was supposed to be, and let his thoughts and assumptions cloud his judgement. But after she had saved his ass from being blown sky high, he felt a strange feeling nag at his gut; guilt. His mind was a jumble of thoughts, mostly questions, of why she had taken the risk, why she would have bothered to put herself in the line of fire for anyone. He had a fair idea that she would not have known that it was him she was saving, the snowy haze that lingered in the air making it hard to see anything but silhouettes. Yet even then she had still gone out of her way, and gotten hurt in the process, just to ensure whatever random soldier that had failed to find cover was unharmed. She was braver than he gave her credit for.

His eyes followed her every move after Gene had left the foxhole they had fallen into, though in all honesty, they had been watching her for much longer than that. He remembered the way she interacted with Gene, and he wondered why she seemed to show a softer side for only a few of the men. Perhaps it was all backwards, and it was the other men who had given her a harsher side, one that had pushed her away. The guilt that ate at him came back as he realised his mistake, his mind flashing through the memories of what he had said to her, and how he had watched as others did the same and did nothing to stop them. That feeling didn't stop him from staying silent though, and if anything, it made him more reluctant to speak with her as he had come to know just how much he had screwed up. He felt like an idiot, so busy assuming the worst in her to see that he was a large part of the problem. She wasn't putting herself on a pedestal, she was protecting herself by being closed off to those around her who had taken one look at the woman and decided she wasn't worth their time.

They had lost Skip and Penkala the next day and following that, they had lost Buck, who seemed to feel the weight of the world collapse on him after he saw the explosion that took the two soldiers. Y/N could see where it had all gone wrong with the lieutenant, having watched as the light seemed to leave his eyes day by day until finally something gave way. She felt for him, but she could do nothing as she felt her own pressure on her shoulders, just as everyone else did, pushing her further into silence as she let her thoughts consume her more with every passing moment. The woman had sat quietly in the foxhole beside the ever present sergeant as Buck was led away by Lipton and Luz, tears leaking from his eyes and whimpers leaving his lips. Her mouth had grown dry, her heart clenching almost painfully at the sight of the broken man. Her eyes had meet Joe's for but a second as they shared a look that mirrored the other's, worry and unease swimming in their expression before she pulled her gaze from him, gulping down the feeling of disappointment.

The days following were much the same as each other, and though the two had spoken the odd word to one another when needed, they had generally kept to their own side of the foxhole. The only thing different was that of Y/N's lack of attention on Joe; her eyes no longer strayed to him and remained heavily on the line before them at all times aside from when she was sleeping. It seemed as though her lack of interest in him had increased his interest in her as if he had picked up the slack she had let loose. Her lip was chewed raw as every time she got the urge to look at him, she had countered it by tearing into her flesh with her teeth, like a punishment for having such ideas. The healing gash along her hip held a slight ache, yet it was the itch that drove her crazy, and she had already been growled at by Doc for ripping the scab open. It was the little things such as these that she used to distract herself from him; since she had saved him, he had changed from being the distraction to being distracting, and it sent her mind into a frenzy of thoughts.

It was early evening by the looks of the darkening sky when Joe had wandered off from their shared foxhole to grab some grub, his eyes finally moving from Y/N's form as she continued to watch the line from her spot. He wandered over to where several of the men had gathered to eat, and he made his way to Bill's side as soon as he spotted the man who grinned towards him. They chatted to themselves quietly while eating, mostly about Buck and his departure. Joe held his hands under his arms to warm up as the cold breeze pierced his coat, and his eyes were set on Bill as he spoke until something Cobb said had caught his attention. The sergeant had snapped his head towards the latter man when he mentioned something about Y/N, something lacking respect for the woman.

"Come off it will yah Cobb, she's just trying to do her job." Toye voice was firm as it cut through the air, his eyes holding a warning glare that only caused the smaller man to smirk as he turned to look at him.

"Oh? Tell me, has she been serving you as her sergeant well in that foxhole, hm?" Cobb snarked causing a couple of groans and noises of disappointment to sound from some of the men around them as the words left the man's mouth. They may not have all warmed up to the idea of a woman in the company, but she had not done anything to give room for such a derogatory accusation. Joe's hands clenched around his rifle as his jaw grew tense in anger, simmering in his blood while it began to boil. He didn't have time to question his own mind as it acted on autopilot, preparing to defend his foxhole partner's name against this soldier who loves to stir the pot a little too much for his liking.

"Show some god damn respect. She's done exactly what the rest of us have, her being a woman doesn't change that." He replied, his knuckles turning white, holding himself back from socking Cobb across the face.

"Except she hasn't. She's been here for what? A couple of months? Yet what good has she been?" Cobb said with a huff, his upper lip twitching in annoyance. Joe's mind flashed with memories of her body colliding with his to stop him from being blown to bits, and of the blood that leaked from her body as Gene patched her up. His jaw grew sharper, if it even could, the curve of it looking as if it had been cut from steel while the muscles connected to it rippled tightly under his skin.

"You seem to have gotten over this problem with the other replacements a while ago. Just say you're being a sexist prick and go Cobb." Joe said sternly, taking a step towards the shorter man with a dark look on his face. He held his head high as his gaze looked down his nose to assert a warning dominance over the other man, expressing the risk of opening his mouth to talk back once more with that action alone. Cobb seemed to gulp, his eyes trailing over Joe's imposing form as he realised his mistake. He said nothing as he stepped backwards, his feet taking him away from the dark haired man, only lowering his head in a show of capitulation before he scurried away. Joe followed him with his dark gaze until Luz placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention away from Cobb in hopes that he would not run after him to smack him across the face. Lipton watched from not too far away, having heard what had gone one, but he did not proceed to move closer as he glanced over his shoulder to Y/N who stood hidden from the scene behind him. The way her eyes remained on her coffee, wide and vacant, he knew she had heard every word that had been shared between the men.

"Don't let it get to you Y/N." Lipton said quietly as he turned to face her causing her to look up at him. She nodded but didn't say anything. In all honesty, none of Cobb's words had bothered her as she was so used to having comments like that thrown around about her. What did confuse her was the way Toye defended her so firmly, unwavering and looking fully prepared to hit the other man for what he said. Her eyes lingered on said man over Lip's shoulder, taking the time she hadn't used in recent days to look at him, especially now as it seemed no one but the first sergeant before her were aware she was there. She took note of the fact that it took Luz several words to calm Joe down, and she wondered whether he had been defending her or if he had simply been defending himself against the accusation that the two of them had been less than professional in their foxhole. The woman pondered the thought all the way back to their foxhole, though she didn't let the thought consume her enough that she couldn't be vigilant about her surroundings, her gaze remaining on the line as she settled back into her position. It wasn't long before Joe returned, his face no longer holding a tense anger, yet his brows were still furrowed in what she could guess to be concentration. That sat in silence for several minutes, both sets of eyes carefully running over the snowy terrain in front of them until the man's voice cut through the quiet.

"I'm sorry." Joe's voice was like a knife cutting through the tension, though his tone held a genuine edge to it, one that made her whip her head towards him in shock.

"What?" Y/N exclaimed before she had a chance to stop herself, completely thrown off by his words. The man took a deep breath before finally turning to return her gaze, his eyes hold sincerity.

"I said I'm sorry." He repeated, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed his nervousness at the feeling of her eyes piercing into him. "I think…I think I assumed several things about you that have turned out to be very wrong, and I apologise."

"I-" She stuttered for a moment as she processed his words. Her mouth opened before shutting quickly, a motion she repeated multiple times, trying to select her next words but choking on them every time. Joe forced himself to hold back an amused smile at her flustered expression, knowing it was not the right time.

"And the things I said and the way I acted because I let my own assumptions cloud my judgement were uncalled for." He continued, his hands wringing around the barrel of his rifle as a means of comfort for the conversation was necessary but it did not stop his stomach from churning.

"You can say that again." She mumbled under her breath, but he heard her and let out a loud exhale from his nose.

"Look, I'm trying to apologise here, can you just give me a second?" The man groaned, feeling a nervous frustration as he wished to express his vulnerable thoughts without the snark she held in her tone. Y/N pursed her lips, her teeth nibbling at the inside of her mouth as she did. She nodded slowly, raising a hand to push a stray hair from her face before she opened her mouth.

"Right, yes. Continue." Her eyes ran over his face as she spoke, taking in every miniscule detail to memory unconsciously.

"Thank you." He said with a grateful nod, "As I was saying, I shouldn't have said what I did. You aren't some failed experiment, and you certainly aren't just a running target. Hell, you've shown more in the last few days than a lot of the men have the entire time they've been here." His cheeks held the slightest tinge of red as he spoke the words to her, his body tense as he waited for her reply.

"Well…thanks Sarg." She says slowly, her expression showing she didn't quite know how to take his apology as she had not at all been expecting it. Y/N's heart bet out of her chest as their eyes met again, his lips turning up into a small smile that she would never admit made her stomach clench in a strange mix of unease and attraction. She knew for the sake of herself, she had to take his apology with a grain of salt, ensuring that he showed he was sorry more than just expressing it in words with little meaning. Her mind flashed with a rerun of his angered face staring at Cobb with a menacing look she'd seen a few time from him.

"Just Joe is fine." Joe's voice broke through her thoughts once more, and it took her a moment to gather herself, realising what he meant after a few seconds. She blinked animatedly as she looked at him, taking in his expression, the small smile mixed with the genuine look in his eyes. The woman chewed the inside of her cheek once more before nodding.

"Alright, just Joe." Y/N replied with a hint of playful grin on her lips, and the man chuckles lightly at her jest. They shared a friendly smile, feeling a strange weight taken off their shoulders; Joe knowing he was able to show he was willing to find a way to redeem himself, while Y/N was simply happy to feel a sense of comradeship from someone she had to spend so much time with.

▄︻デ----══━一

The seat beneath Y/N jostled as the truck hit a stray pothole in the rustic road they drove down, moving towards the town of Haguenau. She felt a sense of warmth as she sat sandwiched between Joe and George, her head titled down with her lower face nestled into the scarf wrapped around her neck. Luz, who had been struggling to not talk her ear off with random gibberish, had finally closed his mouth as he let his tiredness set in, his eyes fluttering closed every now and then. Y/N held a small smile on her face while she watched him, shaking her head in amusement as she turned away from him. A sigh left her lips as she readjusted her sitting position, her tailbone numb from the hard wood of the seat below her while she wished for anything to be able to find a comfortable way to lean her head back to relieve the ache in her shoulders. She shifted her head from side to side, testing each placement of her head she could think of, only to groan quietly in frustration once more. Something soft pressed against the back of her head suddenly, and she fought against herself to not jump in fright, turning her eyes quickly towards Joe. She took note of the way he held his hands raised as he adjusted his own scarf behind her, obviously aware of her discomfort, yet he said nothing and only motioned with a nod of his head for her to lean back. She sent him a small smile, before snuggling her head back, sighing in content at the perfect positioning. Y/N closed her eyes, rolling her shoulders a few times as she settled down for a short nap, ready to shut out the world for as much time as she could. Joe observed her, nodding to himself in silent satisfaction knowing he had been the one to bring her comfort, and he turned away from her with a hint of a smile.

Y/N had woken with a jolt as they came to a halt, her eyes snapping open within a second, gaze already surveying the area around her to ensure she was safe. A gentle hand lay itself on her shoulder and she shifted to stare at Luz as he grinned at her, sending her into a sense of calm, her grip loosening on the rifle she had clutched at tightly. Her lips twitched into a grateful curve at the man, a small nod of her head acknowledging his action before she jumped down from the vehicle behind Joe, her boots hitting the ground with a crunch when she landed.

Y/N had wandered behind the other men, catching sight of Lipton as they made their way towards the houses causing her brows to pull down in concern at the sick man. She jogged quickly to the first sergeant's side, her hair that she had let down to relieve her aching scalp bouncing against her back with every step until she made it to him. Joe had glanced over his shoulder to ensure she was there, but as the spot she had once lingered in lacked her presence, he quickly whirled around to see her walking with Lipton in a different direction. The man groaned under his breath before changing the course of his pathway, manoeuvring through the crowd of men to follow behind her. His eyes scanned the environment around them, flickering to Y/N between completion of every sweep of his gaze.

The trucks had rattled so obnoxiously loud on their drive that Y/N's brain seemed to echo the sound even as she wandered around the house they were setting up as the company CP. The woman nodded her head with a smile as they made their way into what was left of the entertainment room, her expression directed towards Speirs who had acknowledged her greeting with his own tight lipped smile, though if one was to blink they would have missed it as he disappeared into a different room within an instant. She walked behind Lipton as she ushered him towards the couch in the middle of the room with a wave of her hand.

"Sit Lip, take your kit off and I'll make you a warm cup of joe." She said with a motherly smile pulled across her lips, warm and gentle. Lipton nodded with a grateful expression on his face, but it quickly morphed to discomfort as he pulled his webbing off, his muscles aching painfully with every movement. Joe entered not long after, taking his helmet from his head to run a hand through his hair, a sigh of content leaving his lips as he felt the absence of cold wind whipping against his skin. He peered around the place, regarding Y/N tinkering with a small cooker she had pulled from her pouches, a small noise of triumph coming from her lips as it burst to life with a kick start from her lighter. Joe bit the inside of his cheek to stop the smile from tugging at his lips, his eyes lingering on her for a moment before turning to Lipton.

"Nice place you got here Lip." He muttered with a raised brow. Lipton let out the slightest snort of amusement at the man's words, but his lack of energy led him to do nothing more. Lipton lowered himself slowly to the couch with a groan that made her move quickly to him, a blanket she had found in the other room in her hands. Joe had watched her with a small grin as she tended to their first sergeant, a comforting expression evident on her face.

"Managed to snag this for you. Hopefully it'll teach the lad who was using it previously to take more vigilance while napping." Y/N joked as she tucked it over Lip's body while he coughed uncomfortably. She leaned over him, pressing a hand to his head to check his temperature, sending him a reassuring smile. "Joe can you grab that paperwork over by the table please?" She muttered to him, her hand reaching towards it with a point of her finger as she wandered back over to the water she'd left to boil for Lip's coffee. One of her hands rose to pull her helmet from her head, placing it down on the piano beside her before she shook her hair out to let her scalp breath, having been stuffed painfully tight into braids under that metal for too long.

Several minutes later, the woman held the freshly made coffee in her hands, making her way back towards Lip and Joe as they conversed over the paperwork she had previously talked about. Footsteps made Joe shift his gaze to the door, eyes landing on Webster with an unimpressed look as he emerged into the room with a fresh face and lively expression.

"Sergeant Toye. Long time no see." Webster said as his sweep of the room led his eyes to Joe. The latter man snorted, rolling his eyes in bemusement at the newcomer who Y/N did not recognise.

"Long time, huh, you can say that again." Joe all but sneered at him, causing him to almost flinch at the harsh action. Y/N laid a hand on Joe's shoulder as she approached, leaning behind him and Lipton on the couch, as if she was silently telling him to settle down. She handed Lip his coffee, receiving a quiet 'thank you' in reply.

"Sergeant Lipton, feeling alright?" The new man said, eyes flickering between the first sergeant and Y/N, something Joe was more than aware of.

"He's got pneumonia." The woman expressed, while tucking the blanket she had placed on Lipton tighter around his body with her free hand.

"I didn't know we had field nurses this close to the front." The newcomer said in confusion, his words causing Joe to bristle under Y/N's hand. The woman felt her own annoyance flare up, not because she was assumed to be a nurse as she had no issue with that at all for the nurses were admirable women, but because this man had not stopped talking since he'd arrived, and yet they were still no closer to knowing why he was even here.

"Does she look like a fucking nurse to you Webster?" Joe exclaimed grumpily, his hand motioning to her combat uniform, her newly sown chevrons on display along her sleeve, and rifle that still stayed slung over her shoulder protectively. She squeezed her hand once more over his shoulder before letting go and standing, crossing her arms over her chest as Webster stared at her in disbelief.

"My apologies Corporal…" He replied, leaning forward ever so slightly as he waited for her to finish his sentence. She wanted to be sympathetic, but she was very quickly coming to realise how it was to welcome replacements like she had once been, the frustration and envy she felt from his appearance being so clean alone was enough to cause her to lose her sympathy as she became increasingly aware of the grime that marred her skin.

"Y/L/N." The woman concluded, her eyes not leaving Lipton as she moved to whisper to him, asking if he would be okay without her. With a nod of confirmation, Y/N prepared herself to leave the room, and as he realised this, Joe stood, putting his helmet back on and readjusting his rifle sling.

"Corporal Y/L/N. I'm Webster, Private Webster."

"Yeah, I gathered that." She replied dismissively as she grabbed her things, placing her helmet on her head before walking from the room without another word. Joe smirked at her words, a weird sense of pride swelling in his chest. The man sauntered after her, his eyes staying on Webster as he passed him, dark and menacing when he noted the rifleman peering at her back curiously. His shoulder bumped the Harvard man's when he passed, a silent warning to watch himself around Y/N, before he too disappeared out the door. Joe found Y/N not far from the front door of the building, conversing with Luz as she seemingly waited for him to join her on her walk back to first platoon.

"That was a good one Y/N." Joe said as he approached the two, both of whom turned to look at him wandered over. The woman blinked at him several time without a words before she reached forward in a sudden surge of movement, a look of faux concern covering her face as she raised her hand to Joe's forehead. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, his eyes flickering between her and Luz who held the same look of confusion as he did.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked while the back of her hand was pressed gently against his head.

"You feeling okay Joe? You just complimented me." She said, a mocking wide eyed look on her face as she played her role of the worried soldier.

"Ha ha. Very funny doll." The man muttered with a roll of his eyes, while Luz chuckled under his breath behind the two, the amusement clear in his gaze that moved between them. The radioman's stare shifted to Malarkey who had wandered up beside him, watching the two with a similar expression as his.

"My goodness, we should get Gene over here, you just gave me a pet name. It's looking bad Joe, I think you may be worse off than Lip." Y/N continued with a gasp, but a small smirk pulled to her lips when Joe gave her shoulder a playful shove. "So easy to rile up, aye tough guy." She mumbled with a grin as she looked at him one last time before turning and walking off towards their platoon housing. Luz turned his gaze upon Joe when she disappeared, watching as the latter man followed her every step with his eyes. Feeling George's own eyes on him, he shifted around to look at him, taking note of the smirk pulled across his lips as he stared at him with raised brows.

"What?" Joe asked in confusion but his brain slowly connected the dots, Luz speaking clearly of the suggestion he was putting forward with his expression alone. "Don't look at me like that." He continued as the shorter man stayed silent. Luz raised his hands in mock surrender after he slung his rifle over his shoulder, but the smirk never left his lips.

"I wouldn't fault you if you did. She's one hell of a dame." The man said before following Y/N down the street, leaving Joe behind for a moment as said man lost himself in his thoughts.

"He's right you know." Malarkey choked out, and though his face held a dull vacancy, he still managed to send Joe an encouraging smile that quipped at the edges of his lips. Joe looked at the other sergeant for a moment, thinking over the two men's words before he huffed a noise of amusement from his nose, but he covered it with a faux frustrated groan before walking off without another word to follow her towards their platoon.

▄︻デ----══━一

It had become increasingly aware to the men in Easy company that Joe seemed to follow Y/N like a shadow, and with the woman's promotion to corporal for the same platoon Joe was the sergeant for, it was even easier to go about this. The female paratrooper was more than aware of how he lingered constantly at her side, and she relished in the feeling of knowing someone always had her six, especially someone such as the slightly intense man known as Joseph Toye.  They moved like magnets; where Y/N went, Joe wasn’t far behind. The two made a good command team, leveling the scale with a contrast in strengths and weaknesses as Y/N made up for Joe's lacking people skills, while the man gave more of a harsh authority where she held a motherly presence. They held an even stronger sense of comradery, having come so far from their icy ways in Bastogne, literally and figuratively.

It seemed everyone held an awareness for this dynamic between the two. Well, everyone but David Webster, even after he had received his first warning the day he returned. It was a funny thought, the man being such a poetic and literary man, and yet he couldn't read into the protective affinity Joe held for the female paratrooper. It was a common theme for the Harvard man to watch Y/N with a look of intrigue since the moment he wandered back into company after his extended stay in that English hospital. Webster was in luck, having gotten away with it for several weeks now, as Joe's attention was kept elsewhere with more important things to protect the woman from. It wasn't until they reached the Eagle's Nest that things changed, and quickly at that; Webster's luck had run dry.

They had found themselves in an interesting juxtaposition, as the further into Germany they went, the further away from harm they seemed to be, with the surrender of a massive number of German troops. It came with the news of victory in Europe that the men had taken the time to revel, indulging themselves in the liquor that flowed plentifully, a gift from Hitler himself as they rounded up bottle after bottle from the dead man's cellar. Y/N sat happily beside Bill and Joe, laughing at a tipsy remark that Luz had made while sipping straight from a bottle of expensive champagne. Her face screwed up at the taste, not particularly fond of champagne but continuing to like the buzz it gave her.

Webster's eyes had strayed to her as they usually did, an action that Liebgott picked up on. A smirk rose to the cab driver's lips, shaking his head at his friend while taking a sip of Cognac from his glass. The Harvard man shifted his gaze when he felt Lieb looking at him, his eyebrows furrowed while glancing between said man and Skinny who sat beside him.

"Can I help you with something Joe?" David asked with a brazen tone. Liebgott's grin grew wider, a cheeky glint in his eye the longer he stared at Webster.

"No, no. Please, continue your shameless staring." The man countered teasingly, his mischievous nature getting the better of him as he felt the desire to let things unfold without his interruption. Webster's face screwed up as an unease settled over him, knowing that nothing good ever came from Lieb's mischief. He rolled his eyes and turned away, shaking the feeling off and setting his sights back on the woman who he had become quite taken with.

Y/N had felt eyes on her for a while now, but she didn't feel the need to seek out who it was, not caring much as she sat leaning her body just the slightest amount towards Toye's side. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, taking note of the precarious position his arm was in, slung over the back of her seat but not close enough to touch her. She sucked her teeth to conceal her smile, but was caught by Bill who held his own teasing smile, his eyes flickering between Joe's hand and her face. The woman squinted her eyes at him playfully before taking another swig of champagne, downing the rest as the men began to cheer for her. She threw her hands up victorious, the empty bottle displayed for them to see. Joe chuckled beside her, looking over the side of her face, admiring her gleaming smile and the way she had her hair down for once. In a moment of coincidence, his eyes flickered passed her and landed on the man sitting at a distance, staring directly at Y/N. Joe took in the way Webster seemed to hold a starry eyed, school boy expression on his face, causing him to narrow his darkening eyes. His lip twitched unconsciously, his arm drawing closer to the woman without her noticing. Joe's gaze moved towards Y/N when she stood suddenly, on a mission to find another bottle of foul tasting but expensive wine. His eyes followed her figure, and he wasn't the only one as his gaze flickered to Webster once again.

Webster took a deep breath as he watched the woman wander across the room to a table in the corner that held multiple bottles of liquor, a bright smile on her face as she glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge a joke that Luz had thrown to her when she passed him. His hand clenched around his glass before he patted his leg as he stood, causing Liebgott and Skinny to look at him.

"I'm gonna do it." Webster proclaimed proudly, squaring his shoulders before heading over to her. Skinny leaned forward quickly to protest against it, his face showing concern.

"No, Web, I don't think that's a good ide-" The man stopped, turning his head towards Liebgott as he laid a hand on his chest, pushing him back to his seat.

"Shut up, I want to enjoy this." He said with a grin, his eyes trained on Joe Toye as he waited for the man to strike.

Y/N stood at the table, moving aside several bottles as she read over each label to decide what she would drink next. She was oblivious to the man that closed in on her position, his mind running with things he would say as he mumbled to himself different greetings. The woman had shifted in her spot, a new bottle pulled to her chest when she twisted around to walk back to her friends. He chose his words before he opened his mouth to say them as he walked up behind her, only several metres between them. Her gaze moved to him just as he went to take one last step closer only for a larger body to step between them and Webster stumbled as to not walk directly into the brick wall that was Joseph Toye. The taller man glowered down at the Harvard man, eyes dark as he squinted them.

"Where you off to in such a rush Webster?" Joe said firmly, his arms crossing over his chest as a small sneering smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Y/N had stopped walking back to their seats, opting to step up behind Joe, just enough so she could see what was unfolding. Webster's eyes glanced towards her form as she came back into view, and he rolled his shoulders to make himself seem bigger as he looked back to Joe.

"I just…wanted to talk to Y/N." He said, tilting his head up to seem confident in his words even though he was holding back a squirm from how dark Joe's gaze was. The man in question raised his brows, glancing over his shoulder to look at the woman, his grin widening as he saw how she stood closely behind him.

"Bold of you to assume she wants to talk to you." Joe retorted, shifting his eyes back to Webster. The latter man clenched his jaw in annoyance at the interference between him and Y/N.

"And you speak for her why?" Webster shot back, his own arms crossing over his chest. Y/N all but rolled her eyes at the interaction, but let it continue as her curiosity got the better of her, though she was ready to jump in if she must.

"I don't, I just know what she likes, and what she doesn't." Joe said with his smirk reaching ear to ear, his head tilting mockingly as if his words suggested more than what the conversation involved. Webster looked taken aback at the man's words, gaze flickering between the two before him, noting the way Joe had shuffled closer to her, and how she leaned towards him ever so slightly.

"Oh. Oh." Webster raised his eyebrows as if piecing a puzzle together, but at the realisation, his shoulders slumped slightly, and his gaze moved to the floor for a moment. "I..um..I'm just going to…" The man stuttered, his cheeks going red as he realised his mistake, reaching towards the table to swipe the first bottle he could reach before turning around and scampering off with his tail between his legs. As Webster sat back down, head lowered in shame and disappointment, he was aware of the amused giggle that left Liebgott's mouth, greatly entertained by the scene he had watched intently. He only laughed harder when Webster leaned over to smack him across the head in retaliation, dodging the hand before throwing his own back, all while giggling profoundly.

Joe watched Webster go, the smirk never leaving his smirk until he felt a hand grab at his bicep and tugging him towards their friends.

"Come on tough guy." Y/N said, her eyes rolling once more. He couldn't see her face as she had turned away from him, walking in front of him without taking her hand off his arm. He allowed himself to be dragged back to the table and sat back down beside the woman as she too took her seat. All of the men around them held looks of amusement as they looked at the two, before going back to their conversation and drinks when the pair said nothing.

"You're such a pain in the ass." The woman muttered to him beside her, her eyes not looking away from the men in front of her to gaze at him.

"You love it though." He whispered back while leaning closer to her ear, and he watched as the corners of her lips twitched upwards, her eyes glancing at him for a moment before she gave him a gentle shove to the chest.

"Shut up." She threw towards him dismissively causing him to laugh quietly, Meanwhile, her hands fiddled to open the bottle but she failed miserably, letting out a low huff of frustration. He took it from her suddenly, using his hand behind her to hold it and his other to pop the cork before handing it back to her. She muttered a quiet 'thank you', taking a sip of it while throwing her head back. Joe looked at her with a small grin, lowering his hand from where it had previously hovered to open her bottle, letting it lay over her shoulder, his hand hanging over her collarbone. Y/N inhaled quickly, almost choking on her drink while glancing out of the corner of her eyes at him again only for him to look away, gazing up at the ceiling as if pretending he didn’t do anything. She let out an amused huff from her nose before she allowed herself to settle against him, shuffling discreetly closer to him, her shoulder pressed carefully against his side. His smile grew, noting that she did not reject his advance, and he grew more bold as he tugged her closer so her neck rested against the inside of his elbow. Another breath left her nose, almost a sigh of content as she soaked in the feeling, the atmosphere of the room mixed with the man beside her setting her at ease.

Some of the men left early that night, deciding they would take the extra time they had to sleep, while other continued to party late into the night. Y/N felt herself growing more tired by the minute as she snuggled unconsciously into Joe's side. Her eyes seemed to flutter closed every now and then, before one of the men's loud laughs or boisterous words would make her open them once more. She yawned, using her hand to cover her mouth before she turned her face to hide in the collar of Joe's shirt, letting herself slip into a comfortable sleep. She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she felt Joe move underneath her, and she went to groan in annoyance until she felt an arm slip under her knees with another across the back of her shoulders, cradling her to a chest that smelt all too familiar.

"I've got her. I'll see you boys tomorrow." Joe said with a smile as he held the woman close to him, carrying her off towards the room she was staying in.

The man settled her down gently on the bed before tugging her boots off, and throwing the covers over her carefully. He took a moment to admire how peacefully she looked as her hair splayed out behind her on the pillow, low breaths leaving her lips. He smiled once before turning on his feet and making his way to the door, but he paused when he heard her voice call out to him.

"Where are you going?" She mumbled sleepily, one of her eyes squinting open as she looked at him standing a few metres away by the door.

"To bed, baby doll." He replied, his hand resting on the door handle.

"Then get in." Her hand reached towards the edge of the blanket as she held it up for him. His brows shot up and he froze for a moment but quickly made his way over, hopping as he tugged his boots off hastily. He lowered himself onto the bed beside her and he didn't waste any time before tugging her towards him, allowing her to snuggle up against him. She let out a sigh of content as she found her place under his arm, her cheek resting on his chest. She felt a calm feeling rush over her, the tranquillity and warmth he brought her could be compared to nothing she'd ever felt before; all she knew was that with him around, she could never imagine feeling more safe.

"Goodnight Y/N." He whispered into her hair as he planted an affectionate kiss to her head. She let out a hum before turning to look up at him, her gaze staying on him unmoving for a moment. He returned her stare, both of their eyes holding the same look of endearment as the other. Y/N seemed like she wanted to say something as her lips parted but no words left her as she became distracted by him, something she had been many times before. He leaned forward slowly, and she knew in a second what was happening as she met him in the middle, their lips meeting softly. Y/N had moved to lean closer to him, propped up on her elbow as she shifted onto her side, her hand resting on his chest. Joe's hand moved to cup her jaw as their lips moved slowly, tentatively, even though the both of them knew full well that this would happen eventually and neither were shy to think it. Y/N was the first to pull away, keeping her face close to his as she let her eyes trail over his face once more, a fond smile tugging to her lips.

"Goodnight Joe." She muttered back quietly, before pecking him one last time on the lips and then lowering herself back down, her face tucked into his neck. He could feel her smile against his skin, one that mirrored his as he stared into the darkness of the room at the ceiling. Her heart raced in her chest, much like his, and she couldn’t stop grinning until sleep took her and she fell asleep in the arms of her tough guy.

Taglist: @peggyvan (if you want to be added to the taglist for all my fics then flick me a message x)

[supercap2319]

In the communal shower in The Avengers locker room Uncle Steve spots a bite mark on Y/A Stark after a training session.

Y/N enjoyed spending time with his uncles. Even though technically they weren't his uncles by blood, they were his dad's best friends and he considered them family. He bonded with each of them differently. Archery with uncle Clint. Chemistry and science with uncle Bruce. Slamming coffee cups on the ground with uncle Thor. And workouts with uncle Steve and uncle Bucky. Sometimes together, and sometimes separate.

Today was separate. Y/N and Steve were hitting the sand bags as he watched his super-soldier uncle send a bag off its hinges and hit the wall. They watched it fall with a thud as Steve looked at him and blushed. "I think that's enough for today, don't you think?"

Y/N laughed. "Yeah. Dad will never know who was responsible for this." Steve blushed again.

Another thing about his uncles is that they could shower with their pesudeo-nephew and not make it weird. Nakedness had no effect on him, but he did get embarrassed when his uncle Thor examined his manhood to make sure he was developing right for his epic conquests in the bedroom.

So, to see his uncle Steve all bare and wet was nothing shocking or wonderful, but he was big everywhere. He can understand why uncle Bucky married him. Y/N would have been fine without getting caught in his sexual activities with Peter Parker, but he forgot that the prick bit his ass this morning and the bite marks were still present as Steve looked at his nephew's ass and frowned when he saw the purple marks.

"Y/N? Did someone bite your butt and leave hickey marks?"

He instinctively put a hand to cover his butt cheek, but it was too late. Steve saw. He blushed and opened his mouth to lie, but he was cut off by his uncle's military stare. "The truth, son."

Y/N blushed. "It's from Peter Parker."

Steve blinked. "As in your dad's intern?"

"That's right. And when I told uncle Bucky, he was like–"

"Wait, you told your uncle Bucky, but you didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't planning on telling anyone. It just happened. And I was embarrassed to say anything because I despise this guy, and it's like every time we have sex, he makes my heart melt a little bit, and then he goes back to being an ass and then we argue and then it leads to hot, passionate gay sex." Y/N said in one breath.

Steve nods. "Enemies to lovers."

"You're not going to tell my dad, right?"

"No, but you should. You need to be honest with him."

"I will. Just... Not yet. Not until I figure out how I feel about Parker."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About three months."

"Three months?!" Steve's eyes widened.

Y/N nods and blushed hard.

[degenerateshinji]

(timeline: international assassins arc)

"Where are we...?!"

"Ah..." Atsushi's eyes widened in fear.

"We're here..." Akutagawa quickly mumbled, though Atsushi was already aware of it himself. He recognized this place somehow, distantly. "...This can't be good."

He looked over his shoulder to the rest of division four all checking on Denji, but he was too preoccupied with himself to bother doing the same. He could feel himself begin to tremble.

"I'm human." He uttered. "I am human. A-Akutagawa, will you protect me?" He feebly said, and he felt tears begin to well up.

"I'll do what I can."

Atsushi looked over to notice something wrong with the rest of the fiends. They also seemed to be panicking like he was. But for the sake of keeping his cover, Atsushi tried to ignore the gradual buildup of sweat all over his body. He was shivering, too.

"Angel! Do you know what this place is?" Aki shouted, and Atsushi felt a chill travel up and down his spine.

"We're finished. This is hell... It's hell's scent." He said. Atsushi started screaming when he heard the word, and Akutagawa bent down beside him to comfort him. The others turned their heads, but also started shouting themselves, and had no time to check on him. He heard some of the fiends on the enemy's side begging to be killed, and he honestly felt some of that same fear himself, too.

"Ah! Someone's coming! Something's coming! It's here!" She screamed, and everyone looked up in fear as one of the doors hanging above them opened with a low creaking sound. "The darkness devil..."

A small speck of pure black hit the ground with a splash. The severed bodies of multiple astronauts lined up in a perfect path for the devil to walk through. Atsushi calmed his screams, with Akutagawa's arm around him.

"Akuta-"

Ribbit.

He violently felt both his arms being ripped off him in one go. When he looked around, he realized the same had happened to everyone else. But he couldn't process anything.

The devil stood right before them.

"My arms...! M-My...!" Atsushi choked out. The rest were also mumbling something similar to him. Akutagawa sat down beside him.

"I am the doll devil." Another one of division four's enemies knelt down before the powerful devil that had appeared. "I've brought you chainsaw's heart as per the contract." He continued, looking over at Denji. "Please give me the power to kill Makima."

Makima? It always comes back to her, doesn't it?

In outrage, Denji shouted, asking the man his intentions. The sound hurt his head.

"..shi. Atsushi." Akutagawa's voice came right into his ear. "Won't you bleed out? You're alright, right?" He sounded concerned. Atsushi looked around in fear, only to see that just about everyone, all his friends, had the exact same expression as he did; a terrified concern for what was to come next.

"I'm fine." He mumbled. "I won't die. I promise."

He heard a crumble from beside him. One of the men assigned to protect Denji had turned to stone. He turned to where Denji was, only to see the shark fiend trying to feed him his blood.

"...Right..." Atsushi pushed Akutagawa to the ground and poured the blood from where his limbs were severed into Akutagawa's mouth.

"What...?"

"Protect us, Akutagawa. You're powerful, so please..."

"I can't!" He angrily shouted as he took Atsushi's blood in and regenerated his body. "I can't, because you'll get diseased, and I can't heal humans! You'll all die!"

"You're the only one who can-" He stopped as he saw the shark fiend get sliced up into tens of pieces. "Ah...Ah...I'm next, I'm...!" Atsushi backed away in fear.

One of the enemy assassins, despite everything, ran towards the devil, but she was met with the same fate. Every devil and fiend among them was cut through, injured viciously, Akutagawa being no exception. His limbs were harshly twisted into something unrecognizable, and though it seemed painful, his expression didn't change. When the devil made its way towards Atsushi, though, it halted.

"P-Please... I just want to live..." He pathetically cried, before feeling a chasm-shaped hole where his heart was meant to be, and all over his body.

"Atsushi!" Akutagawa shouted from the ground next to him. His voice was pained, and louder than he'd ever heard it before. He nudged up next to Atsushi and forced his arms back into place to grab his shoulders to lay him on his lap. Atsushi saw that he had many wounds, he was bleeding, but he was still in better condition than himself now. "What do I do? Wh-What can I...?" His voice was broken.

"My blood." Atsushi muttered. "Drink my blood. Heal. Get me out of here."

"..."

"I'm not alive, Akutagawa. I can't be - You can heal me if I get diseased. Trust me. Do it."

And so, after briefly looking at the rest of the group and deciding Atsushi was the only one he could bring himself to care about, he carefully licked around Atsushi's wounds, trying to take in the blood to heal himself. Then, he transformed himself into his devil form and dragged Atsushi down with him into the puddle of liquid which formed. Atsushi felt himself being engulfed by it, and shut his eyes tight. He felt warm, which is something he didn't feel in Hell.

"Atsushi..." Akutagawa woke him on a rooftop. "It's only been a few minutes. The others made it out okay thanks to Makima, you don't have to worry..." His voice sounded broken again, and Atsushi wanted to reach out to grab his face, when he realized he no longer had the means to do that. "You promised you wouldn't die, but..." He was near tears.

Atsushi suddenly felt a horrible guilt wash over him.

"I-I don't know what to do... Atsushi, please..." He knelt down and stared directly into Atsushi's eyes. As he came to more, he started to hear the sounds of the commotion down below. Maybe Akutagawa brought him to a rooftop just to get away from all that, just so that Atsushi wouldn't have to hear it.

"I can heal if you give me blood." Atsushi started, anxiously. "It's, uh... It's part of my devil contract. So if you give me your blood, then - "

"You'll die."

Atsushi sighed. "Akutagawa, I'm going to die regardless, please just listen to me..."

"I can't!" He cried out. "I can't be the one to kill you!"

"I won't die if you give me your blood. Just, please, don't wait too long..."

Akutagawa stared at Atsushi's face, still, for a second, silently, before coughing with his mouth closed. A near inhuman sound came from his throat as he brought a hand up to cover it. Atsushi could smell blood coming from him as he continued to cough up more and more into his mouth. He leaned down and kissed Atsushi, passing the blood from his mouth to Atsushi's, who grunted as he took it in. He couldn't feel himself regenerate, though.

Akutagawa pulled away and Atsushi stared at him, heartbroken. He chuckled a bit. "Sorry. I guess I'm not immortal like some of the others... I'm just a fiend, after all. But you tell everyone I'm a human, please. That I died a human."

"You are human." He sobbed.

"Good. Kiss me again. It's the last thing I'd like to do."

"You can't leave me..."

"I don't mean to, Akutagawa. I do care for you. Please grant me my last wish."

Akutagawa, trembling, leaned down and picked Atsushi's head off his lap gently to kiss him. Atsushi wanted nothing more than to swing his hands around Akutagawa's neck, but he instead laid static.

"Thank you." He weakly said.

"Atsushi... Atsushi..." Akutagawa pulled him up and hugged him tightly as he could feel Atsushi's heart rate steadily increasing against his own chest. Atsushi opened his mouth to say something once more, but he couldn't seem to form words. He let out a choked cry before dying in Akutagawa's arms. Akutagawa tightened the grip even more when he felt his heart stop. He was convinced that if he embraced him tight enough, Atsushi would simply come back to life.

He screamed.

"Akutagawa. There you are."

Makima walked over the rooftop and towards him. The sky had cleared, and it was night. He thought he smelled burning a bit ago, but he lost all perception of time by now. He just knew he was still holding Atsushi, and he progressively got more and more cold as time went on.

"...Makima." Akutagawa recognized her voice and greeted her. He didn't turn around.

"I've been looking for you. Is that Atsushi?"

"He's dead."

"It's been over an hour, Akutagawa. You're still holding onto him?"

Akutagawa tightened his grip again as he buried his face into Atsushi's shoulder. "What do you want?" He shut his eyes tightly and imagined Atsushi was hugging him back.

"It's late. You have to get back to your quarters. I don't want a devil running rampant at night." Makima reasoned with next to no emotion in her tone.

"I don't want to go back. And I won't be running rampant, either. I won't move from this spot. I just want to sit here a bit longer."

"You can't. You have to go home now. It's the rule. I can't help that." She continued.

"You mean I'm breaking the law, right? Kill me. I'll be with him." He dully said. "I'll be..." His voice broke again as he buried his head deeper into Atsushi's neck. He couldn't feel him at all, and it was more than just unsettling.

"This isn't punishable by death, Akutagawa." She sighed as if he were being ridiculous. "Besides, Atsushi was the tiger fiend. If he did die, then the tiger devil's back in Hell now."

"He was human."

"I know he liked to tell you that, but he truly wasn't. I'm sorry he lied to you." She knelt down by him. "Can I have his body? I'll bury it somewhere nice, I promise."

"I don't want you to do that."

"You can't hold onto him forever. Haven't his limbs gone stiff by now?" She reached out to touch his shoulder, but Akutagawa pushed her hand away.

"Kill me now, and you can bury us together." Akutagawa proposed, which got Makima upset.

"I get it's unfortunate he died, but you can't throw your life away just because of that. You're a devil, Akutagawa, you're meant to fear death." She stood up.

"I feared for his death. I don't care much about my own life anymore now." Akutagawa shifted as he laid Atsushi's body down on the floor. He stared at his corpse, and noticed it was starting to rot. It must've been the result of his blood, and he felt even worse. He could feel tears welling up once more, but Makima lifted his head to stop him from looking at it.

"Get home. I'll discuss this with you in the morning."

"Heart."

Makima stumbled back as she suddenly felt her heart beat slower and slower. "...My..." She mumbled as she dropped to the ground. Akutagawa did, too.

"If I kill you, I'll be executed as a devil, right? Have I yet overstepped my boundaries?" He sounded pained, yet furious at the same time, unlike Makima, who was rendered speechless as she tried to gasp for air. Akutagawa turned his head to watch her as she entered cardiac arrest just like him. He felt a slight pain when he realized Atsushi wouldn't be there to heal him this time, so he began slowly healing himself.

"It's a shame, Akutagawa. You were one of our strongest. One of our best. I suppose next time I'll have to make sure none of our agents die, in case this happens again." He heard Makima's voice from right behind him and frantically turned his head towards her.

"W-What? How?" He asked in shock now, in fear. "Wait, you're...!" Akutagawa cut himself off.

Makima knelt down and propped him up to his knees, too, before whispering into his ear. "You'll go home, you'll get a good night's rest, and you'll be thinking clearly again in the morning."

Akutagawa felt his heart rate increase in fear, before it returned to normal, despite the disease he'd just given himself. He somehow even felt relieved of it now. He began, "I will go home... I will sleep... My sincerest apologies, miss Makima."

"And take care of yourself, alright?" She stood up and took Akutagawa up with her. "I'll deal with the body."

"Thank you, miss." He soullessly said, but when he looked back at Atsushi, he still felt a pain wash over him. "I loved him." He said. "I still do."

"I know." Makima smiled as she picked up Atsushi's corpse and slung him over her shoulder. "You'll talk to him again tomorrow, you'll be thinking clearly. Today was blurry, you don't remember it too much."

Akutagawa silently nodded before turning into his devil form and slowly creeping down the side of the building until he reached the streets below. Quietly, he strolled back to his home at Public Safety.

Makima watched him leave, before looking around her to make sure nobody was watching. She once more laid Atsushi down and placed a hand over the hole on his chest.

"Revive."

[somethingblu3]

Mirror Mirror | Nikolai

Read on Ao3 here

18+ minors dni.

Fandom: Beyond The Rave (2008)

Summary:

You and Nikolai need to relieve your stress after a hunt.

TW: vampires,mirror sex,hate fuck,Vampire Sex,Rough Sex,standing sex,dirty talk,humiliation,biting,scratching,bruises,bram stoker lore ,blood drinking,Enemies to Lovers, vampires vs humans, vampire hunter,Possessive Sex,toxic,Unhealthy Relationships,dom/sub,No Safeword,forbidden relationship,hunting,Stress Relief,Orgasm Delay/Denial.

Pairing: Nikolai x female afab reader.

Word Count: 2,044

Graphic Credit: @keep-it-light

Note:

lightly edited. Still new to smut so let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy the buffy references! I'm trying to keep the vampire lore mostly in line with Bram Stroker. Here's the poem.

"I would appreciate it if you stopped killing my friends," Nikolai sneers as he watches you enter the basement, and you drop the wooden stake to the floor with a 'clank.'

You roll your eyes at him. "And it would be nice if your friends stopped eating mine," You warn him.

He scoffs as he steps forward, and his hand cups your right cheek. "Darling, what would be the fun in that? I know you love the chase I can feel it when your heart skips a beat. I just wish you would admit it," He whispers into your neck softly.

"Never." You groan from the tiredness and the physical exhaustion of the hunt for pleasure from his bite. You can't tell.

After a few sucks, he pulls away and wipes the crimson blood stating his chin with the back of his hand. "What's not enough for you, Nikolai?" You almost whine.

He smirks greedily "It's not that Darling, it's just that I have a little...surprise for you...a little..gift."

You raise a brow. Nikolai's gifts were never traditional gifts as you watch him scurry around the basement you half expect him to gift you a fresh head in a box you wouldn't put it past him.

You keep your eye focused carefully on him as he moves something tall and rectangular shaped in the shadows covered in a bed sheet. As Nikolai removes the cloth, uncovering the mirror. The light behind you bounces off the glass, creating a kaleidoscope. As he shrugs the rest of the fabric away in the reflection of the mirror, the cloth dances on its own accord.

"A mirror?" you frown.

Nikolai throws the bed sheet onto the ground and he scans the mirror even though he has no reflection he reaches forward and presses his finger against the faded text of the silver frame.

"I thought Silver was deadly for vampires" You say with a frown as your eyes escape your own reflection. It makes you uncomfortable your skin scrawls it's almost as if you don't want to face yourself and you know that Nikolai can hear your blood pumping.

"That's a myth" He tells you. He seems entranced by the mirror, his eyes mesmerized by it.

It almost broke your heart. he hadn't seen himself for who knows how long. It must be strange you knew one thing for sure that being turned would be the last thing you wanted not just because of the loss of your reflection but also because of the other factors not being able to see the sun hiding in the dark and the shadows all alone but then your heart skipped and you knew he felt it too. Nikolai wasn't alone. He had you even if you wanted nothing more than to stake his heart and rip his head off. There was a fondness you had for him even if it was small and often short-lived you couldn't lie to yourself that Man. That monster consumed you.

"This mirror's special to you, isn't it?" You ask

He nods and you watch as his adam's apple bobs.

"I guess you could say that. It's the last thing from my home before....before it happened"

The fire. You knew so little about his past but every now and then he would bring up the fire you had done your own research of course behind his back you couldn't trust him at first but from what you've found he had gone through something traumatic regarding a fire. Loosing not just a house but from the wording of the newspaper a wife and a baby. You couldn't help but sometimes wonder if he was looking to replace that in you.

You squint your eyes as you try and read the font that is wrapped around the frame of the mirror. Not only is it singed, it's also cursive and you quickly discover it is not in English.

"Romanian" He tells you firmly snapping you out of your haze - a side effect of his bite.

"What does it mean?" You ask

He hesitates for a moment, clenching his jaw "It's a poem"

"Will you read me it?" You request hopefully a smirk curls at the corner of your lips.

"I will it's your girl after all Darling but why don't we use it to it's full advantage hm?" He hums

You chew your bottom lip "What do you mean?"

Nioklai turns on his feet suddenly he's behind you. Swift vampire speed.

You roll your eyes as you feel his hands digging into your side shimming you out of your dirt stained trousers.

"Why don't you wear skirts anymore?" He teased dragging the fabric further and further to expose your underwear.

Dark blue with constellations. Cute.

You wished more than anything you could see his reflection in the mirror as he stood behind you. A shiver ran down your spine as he palmed your ass with his hand caressing it until it left marks you knew you would be purple and blue all over when morning came you would have to go back to wearing your long jumpers in the middle of summer so that your brother Ed wouldn't see.

"Your thinking about him, aren't you pet?" Nikolai teased as he hooked your finger in your underwear. You were already bared and aching for him.

You didn't say anything in return you knew that he was playing with you teasing and trying to get under your skin you focus on your own reflection in the mirror ignoring his taunts you weren't going to let him get off that easy.

"Your brother Ed. What would he think if he knew that his innocent sister was a Vampire's whore?" He taunted as he punctuated every word.

"He won't know. He will never know about this-" You say as you watch him from the corner of his eye and he lets out a dark chuckle.

"My dear. If he doesn't know by now I will make sure that he does by leaving these pretty little marks against your porcelain skin" His lips brush against your neck even tangled in your hair.

You moan into him, almost giving up on him entirely. Your body turned to mush as your underwear fell to the ground of the basement, your legs cold and shivering even colder against his ice skin.

"You promised me-" You whine as he pulls his lips back "A poem"

He groans "Your insatiable"

"I thought this was meant to be my gift Nikolai?" you frown with a pout as you try to find some way to play with him. To get him back for all the times he would easily turn your body into clay he could mold anyway he wanted.

"Now your going to be a good girl and I'll tell you the poem as long as you let me fuck you in front of this mirror" He orders

You nod. Purley out of habit. Fuck.

"Tell me, tell me that you want to do this-" He urges.

You know he doesn't actually want your consent he just makes you say it so he can taunt you about it later. That you wanted this - that you asked for this. Asked for his bruises burning against your skin branding you with his sharp claws.

"I--" you whimper as his finger nails dig deeper into your flesh he hasn't even entered you yet and you don't even need to see his reflection to know that he's enjoying this.

You heard him from behind as he undid his zipper with one hand. You could feel his jeans rubbing against you as they fell down you could feel him immediately and he wans' even pressing against you.

"Love-"

"I want this" You tell him and then he finally enters. He breathing into your ear.

"I think you deserve this gift from me my sweet"

You moan as you feel him ghost against you, the edge of his tip pressing against the softness of your skin.

"Your dripping for me already aren't you my love?" He teases as his hand reaches to press against your clit.

"Drenched-" He smirks.

You watch yourself in the mirror. Your head and eyes rolling back as he brushed teased and rubbed against you. You bite your bottom lip trying to conceal your sounds but you were in the basement and your brother was away with his girlfriend for the week so it wasn't as if it matters how loud you were. You just didn't want to hear yourself so exposed and so used by him. It was humiliating but at the same time...you enjoyed it, craved it even.

You try and move away to tease him but he already has you under his grasp under his will it was like you were possessed - hypnotized even as he grinds against you continuing to pick up the pace.

"No more teasing-tell me your damn poem" You groan. You could orgasm just from this alone not even touching his cock and boy does he know that.

"Alright fine" He grunts "But if you look away you know the consequences" He taunts as he takes a handful of your hair as a taunt. As a warning.

You moan in conformation.

"Good" You hear Nikolai behind you licking his lips as your eyes flutter back to your reflection.

"And suddenly I understood that without you I’m not completely sane myself, To run away and come straight back I’m tempted"

His thrusts increase with each word. You watch yourself your body jerking back you can feel his eyes on your tits as the bounce under your shirt. You don't normally wear a bra with your workout gear and with a hunt there was no need for one today.

Lucky Bastard.

There was something about hearing Nikolai grunt behind you his hand slapping into your ass as his thrusts changed rhyme from slow and steady to then fast hard and primal.

"To never know my place on Earth again. So fast did you become part of my blood, So much part of myself you are right now, A mere scratch would make me cry, For fear that I might lose you drop by drop"

"Nikolai-" You gasp.

You felt nothing but your mixed pleasure dripping between your legs. Already you were numb and soaked after this you knew you would need a long warm shower to escape his aroma.

"There is no springtime anywhere, With lifeless blossoms now you button up your coat. With springtime’s bitterness I look for honey, But you, my love, are there in its place."

You wish you could see him as he came undone grunting as he thrusted into you. You knew it was nearing the end as he brushed his fangs against your neck puncturing it still you watched yourself in the mirror. You could practically see his cock probing against your belly he was so far so deep and so tight. There was something about a vampire that was so different from anything else you had experienced before. Perhaps that was the reason why you found it almost impossible to escape his embrace.

Your neck is red now as he tears at it, ingesting your blood your body rocking back and forth his skin smacking against yours. You eyes fall to the floor as you watch your cum drip down to your legs.

"And suddenly I know that without you, I die myself and can’t come back to life, Although I had been born, as you well know,To be the one protecting you from-from"

He stutters, and it's a sight to behold. You watch as your undead lover comes undone, groaning as he thrusts into you once more, slamming you into him. You are already weak at the knees, and thanks to his powerful grasp, you are able to stay upright for the most part.

"Nikolai-" There's a sense of urgency in your voice as you urge him to come and to finish the poem.

"From yourself-" He grunts, and you roll your head back as you feel his body vibrate with pleasure, and he wraps you in a cold embrace. He breathes in and then out. It won't be long until he's back thrusting into you again.

[her-stargirl]

Bridging Divide

Mizu X Fem!reader (angst)

Synopsis: y/n and Mizu talk out feelings in an attempt to grow closer

Authors note: I'm gonna be for real I think this is awful but you never know maybe y'all will like it, I'm writing this while fighting melatonin

As winter approaches and the air begins to get colder and thicken, so does the unrelenting cage around Mizu's heart. She's gotten more distant recently. spending most time in the woods, sometimes coming back covered in blood of some unknown enemy.

You feel as though she's growing to resent you, which is the last thing you'd want because you've just began to work through the divide between your opposite personalities. Both women who know what they want, however one is so close and you're so far.

You want Mizu to notice you, to notice the way your cheeks flush a soft pink when you watch her train, or the way you move impossibly close to her while eating supper at night (however when she asks you just tell her you're cold).

That being said tonight is going to be the night you talk to her, maybe not confess quite yet but, try to start to understand her feelings more.

So when Mizu comes in looking like death herself you're already sitting with warm, comforting food on the table. She sits down silently looking from the food to you with piercing eyes before picking put the bowl and sipping some of the soup broth.

"Please pardon me if this is intruding on something personal but.." You say softly, "If there's anything wrong you can always talk to me about it Mizu," You say her name and watch her gaze soften just a little.

"Oh..y/n," Mizu sighs, her gaze meeting yours, "you always know just when to ask about feelings..right now I feel as though I cannot live feeling this..distressed."

With that you get up and walk around to her side of the table, kneeling next to her, you place a light hand on her shoulder, "You can tell me."

Mizu opens then closes her mouth a few times then finally says, "My past often, follows me, tracks me down you could say." You listen to her words carefully, nodding. "Right as I have a happy moment I feel guilt and betrayal in my blood and it truly ruins how I view life."

"Mizu, if you ever, and I mean EVER feel like this please tell me." You say somehow calm yet also firmly. "I want to bridge the divide between us so please..you can be open around me," you rub your thumb on her shoulder. "You can let your guard down around me, I won't hurt you."

Mizus lips purse and she breathes in sharply, then lets out a long sigh. "Thank you y/n..I want you to know that if I ever treat you poorly its never your fault..unless, of course, you do something but I think you would know." Mizu stifled a small chuckle at what she had said.

"Don't worry I know," you didn't know, Mizu had hurt your feelings just a bit. However you felt as though your feelings were for another time.

[aphroditestempleimagines]

The Obsidianite Jewel

A fem!reader x Chevalier Michel Fanfiction

Chapter 20 -> Chapters Masterlist

Words: 2690

Warnings: blood, wounds

Summary: It all started when your fiancé, Prince Gilbert, brought you to the palace of Rhodolite. He hoped he would find the secrets of the princes. Instead, he lost your heart to the brutal beast. However, Gilbert is not going to let your heart wander away easily

In the following weeks, the 36th Batallion "conveniently" followed the princess' troops as the rebellion was swiftly snuffed out. And though rumors spread like wildfire no one dared to oppose this strategy, especially since the combined knowledge of the princess and the newly titled Earl swept the land of enemies and shortly acquired victory with the complete surrender of the rebelled Count. Yet as the victories and tales got told from ear to ear, soon they reached the pair both of you most feared.

"What do you mean you can't find him?", you asked an out-of-breath Jonathan the moment he had uttered his message, "Did he disappear?"

"I would not put it past him. This is Gilbert we're talking about"

"What about James? Has he learned anything?"

"Not that I know of", Jonathan shook his lowered head, "He should be here by nightfall though. Maybe he'll have some news"

Chevalier sighed at the sound of the argument as he stood in front of the entrance to Y/n's tent. He pushed the curtains out of his path and entered, immediately drawing the siblings' attention to himself. "You are not going to find him if he does not want to be found", he said as simply as stating a fact. The moment you fiddled your thumbs he sat next to you and drew them apart, taking one of your hands in his to hold and caress.

"He's planning something again", Jonathan covered his forehead with his calloused hand.

"Of course he is", Chevalier responded nonchalantly, "When isn't he?"

"This is not funny! He's definitely caught on to...this by now", he pointed from Chevalier to you and vice versa again and again, "And now he's a sore loser"

Chevalier turned his gaze to you. You kept your eyes low and your lips pressed tightly against each other. Even though you sat next to him, he could feel you were somewhere far far away. "Can you give us a moment alone?", he asked. His request seemed to take Jonathan aback until Chevalier gestured towards you. After that, he swiftly excused himself. The Brutal Beast shook off his white neatly woven hide. He elegantly wrapped it around your shoulders and pulled you closer to his embrace. His expression was still frigid as a glacier as he lifted your chin with his fingers, but his eyes emanated a comforting warmth for the love for you he could no longer hide.

"I...I'm evil aren't I?", you said before he ever asked a question, "I'm the villain in this tale"

Chevalier sighed. "You would not believe me even if I said you are not"

"He loved me", you closed your eyes as Chevalier's arms wrapped around you, "He loved me and I hurt him so badly for it"

"Y/n", Chevalier pressed his cheek over the crown of your hair, "Did you ever love him?"

"I...I liked him...I...", you tightened her embrace.

"Y/n", Chevalier urged softly, "You know what love feels like because you love me. Have you ever felt that way about Gilbert?"

"I...I..."

He pulled away a little, just enough to cup your warm cheeks and lift your face to meet his gaze. "I already know the answer, y/n", he said, "But you need to admit it to yourself". He brushed your hair away from your face. "If you had spent your life as you have, but were never engaged to Gilbert", he looked at your trembling lips, "Would you still feel so guilty now?"

It took a moment but you finally shook your head. "No", the word bullied its way out of your trembling lips. It hurt to admit. It hurt to admit the truth.

Using his thumb, Chevalier brushed away the few tears that escaped your eyes. "You feel so guilty over breaking a bond that was forced on you", he said, "You do not seem to assign it any political significance as these marriages often have yet you wreck yourself over not returning Gilbert's feelings. You are neither responsible for his happiness nor can you force yourself to feel something that you don't"

"But..."

His lips captured yours in a passionate kiss. His tongue delved inside the cavern of your mouth, swallowing all the objections it had to offer. He nipped your bottom lip before he broke away, his warm breath exploding over your bruised mouth. "If people could truly manipulate their own emotions explain to me why I am here", he rasped close to your ear. Only when you met his cold gaze did you spot the pain and anger he fought to conceal. "Stop this foolishness", he held you close, "You met a heartless prince and taught him how to love. And it felt so wonderful he could never let go. THAT is what happened."

"It was my choice!"

"It was the RIGHT choice", he spat back, "If people repudiate love on queue I would not be here. If you were happy with Gilbert, I would not be here. This is the only path you could have followed-"

"Maybe it could have been okay and I ruined it"

"Enough with the nonsense", his hands tightened around you, "You said it yourself. You made your choice. And what you chose is to be happy"

"That's..."

"That's what it comes down to and you know it", he stole another kiss before resting his cheek on your head, "Are you seriously going to argue that you're a terrible person because you wanted to be happy? I might have a biased view of your image, but I guarantee you no sane person would ever blame you for breaking off a loveless and practically politically worthless engagement you were forced into. So why are you blaming yourself?". Your body relaxed in his strong arms. He let out a sigh before reaching down to kiss your neck. "The truth is, you feel so bad precisely because you're a good person. I would know, cause guilt is not something I feel when I'm by your side. It never will be. And the reason is very simple: you smile more when I'm with you than when I'm not"

You buried your face in his chest. You were grateful his cloak rested now on your shoulders, for you could truly be enveloped by his warmth. He was right about everything. No matter how awful you felt to leave Gilbert behind, you could not let go of Chevalier. Even that mere fact was proof of who you truly loved. You wanted to spend every day waking up next to him. You wanted his arms to never leave your body. You wanted his comforting voice whispering in your ear in moments when you wanted to cry. You loved him. Chevalier, not Gilbert.

You stayed locked in the safety of that embrace before your brother called your name for outside. The war might had been almost over but there were always matters that required a princess' attention. Chevalier gave you another deep kiss before you left for the central tent. He wore back his thick cloak and gave a nod of gratitude to Jonathan before returning to his own tent.

"Hello.....old friend", Gilbert said coldly as Chevalier entered, "Long time no see".

His eyes were dead, one blue and one red, both devoid of emotion. His eyepatch lay discarded on the small sleeping bag Chevalier used at night. Chevalier walked quietly to pull up another stool and sit opposite Gilbert. An unspoken conversation raged between the two geniuses as they contemplated what their first spoken words should be.

One of his spies surely told Gilbert about the situation, Chevalier thought immediately. He must have shown up here because he knew talking to y/n would be pointless. But what was he trying to achieve? The King himself had given Chevalier his favour and the plan was moving smoothly. No matter what Gilbert did, y/n could refuse him were she given the chance, and her father could easily command him to leave her. After all, Richard was the head of this country they were both sitting so uncomfortably in.

"Are you happy?"

It was not often that Chevalier was stunned, but those three small words spoken out of Gilbert's lips without a hint of mockery were surprising enough to make up for all thirty years of his predictable life. He did not want to provide a reply; there was no way to admit the truth without showing his weakness to his greatest enemy and oldest friend.

"You once told me I was foolish", Gilbert continued, "to believe humans were born to love"

Chevalier looked away. "It is indeed a foolish notion", he said.

"So you're still..."

"Humans were not made to love, but love can change them for the better", Chevalier's crystal blue eyes fixed on Gilbert's with determination, "I was astonished to find out just how much of a fool I am myself"

Gilbert chuckled. "Is that so? Well...", he twisted his cane to reveal a trigger. Soon after, he had turned his walking aid into a riffle that pointed to the Brutal Beast's forehead. "I've killed so many people in my life...what's one more?", Gilbert's voice nearly broke, his finger fiddling with the trigger, "I wouldn't want to live if it wasn't for her..."

"You're not going to..."

Chevalier's sentence was cut short by the bullet that lodged itself in his right shoulder. It knocked him back. He had to use his aching arm to halt his fall as he was shocked off his chair and onto the floor. He groaned in pain, his hand clutching over the wound so that the blood would not seep out uncontrollably. The deafening sound of gunfire still rang in his ears. Gilbert walked to stand next to him. Chevalier felt the cold barrel of the gun chill his collarbone. He frowned. His white shirt had already been half-dyed crimson. Gilbert pressed his shoe over Chevalier's hand that covered the wound.

"I'm more bitter than I thought", the newly revealed Emperor leaned closer to the young King's body, his eyes fixed on the blood dripping down on the ground. He reached inside his coat and retrieved a many-times folded piece of paper. He carefully shoved it inside the Chevalier's pocket before standing up again and pointing the riffle back at the man's chest. "You of all people should know I'm a sore loser", he spoke with sorrow, "But I'm glad to at least tell you...I was right...in our argument"

A group of soldiers soon flooded the tent. A few of the high-ranking generals accompanied them from a safe distance. Everyone reached for their sword. Chevalier gestured towards you not to approach the moment he saw you arriving. Your eyes widened. You squeezed your hands into fists until they drew blood.

"What did you do?", James arrived at the tent, out of breath and out of mind as he ran towards the two men, "Are you insane?"

"Oh hello little traitor", Gilbert moved the gun to point at James' chest. The fragile peace around them was broken. A few soldiers charged Gilbert from behind, locking his arms together, while others desperately tried to pull James away from the mayhem with no meaningful result. "Awww are you arresting me?", Gilbert smirked as the lock of the cuffs rang in the tent, "I have diplomatic immunity you know".

"That counts for nothing after threatening a member of the royal family", Jonathan stepped forward.

"Guess you'll have to take me to your father then", Gilbert said casually, "Shame to be kicked out though, I really liked this place". He chuckled to himself as he was dragged away. In the last moment before he left the tent, he broke free from the soldiers' grasp and ran back to you. He called your name before his lips stole a quick kiss from yours. He leaned close to your ear. "Be happy", he whispered before he was dragged back into the arms of his captors, forcing him out of the tent.

The crowd soon dispersed. All but you, your brothers and Chevalier left the small tent. Jonathan had a squire fetch him some medical supplies and he began treating Chevalier's wound, even though the latter explained he could do it himself. The moment all foreign eyes left you, you ran and knelt next to your lover, softly wrapping your arms around his hurt body. Your body trembled from relief as you heard the steady sound of his breathing.

"I'm sorry....I'm so sorry", you brushed his sweaty locks away from his face.

"You were hardly at fault", he said earnestly, "Though it was rather unfortunate"

"That's putting it lightly", James gritted his teeth, his gaze still fixed at the entrance.

"Calm down James", Jonathan huffed as he finally managed to take out the bullet from Chevalier's shoulder. He dropped it on top of his medical box and began sanitizing the wound. "We should be glad it was your shoulder", he told Chevalier, "You weren't even wearing armour"

"It wouldn't have mattered at that range", James commented, "What we should be thankful of is that it wasn't close enough to cause rupture"

"STOP!", you cried, your hands still clinging to Chevalier.

"It's fine", he took your hand in his and gave a kiss to your warm cheek, "He did not want to hurt me"

"The hell he didn't!", James said furiously, "I can't believe I let this happen! I still don't know how the bastard slipped away!"

"You think it was not his purpose to kill you?", you asked.

Chevalier saw a spark flare behind your eyes; you had noticed it too. He grunted as he pulled out the letter Gilbert had left in his pocket. The paper was particularly thick and he could feel the imprint of a wax stamp as he held it between his fingers.

"Is that a..."

"A non-aggression treaty", Jonathan completed your sentence as the paper was unfolded.

Chevalier scoffed. "Clown", he said under his breath. His uninjured arm wrapped around your waist, pulling your body close to his. He buried his face in your hair, letting your scent conquer his senses and take away the brutal pain his body was in.

"Why the fuck would he do that?", James frowned, "He's got nothing to gain"

"No", you lowered your gaze, "He doesn't". Your fingers combed Chevalier's golden hair as he rested on your shoulder. Be happy, Gilbert had told you. He gave up, traded his own selfish happiness for yours and Chevalier's. You felt like you should cry but you could not. You felt your lover's breath on your soft skin, steady and warm and most importantly there. Gilbert turned himself into a villain and branded Chevalier as a martyr. He made himself into the final piece of a tale epic enough to sway the masses and turn their hearts on your side. The story of your love was now complete, ready to be passed around from mouth to mouth and build a steady fortress to protect your bond from the politics that kept you apart. "Jonathan", you called, "Is his wound okay?"

Jonathan huffed. "I'm done treating it for now", he responded, "It's nothing serious really, should be-"

"Can you and James leave for a sec?", you cut him off, never meeting his bewildered gaze. "Please", you added emphatically.

After that, Jonathan nodded. He pushed James by the shoulder and your two brothers disappeared outside the tent. Minute after minute passed without either you or Chevalier speaking. Your fingers traced the area on your lover's shoulder where the bullet had pierced through. His white shirt was shredded and burned around the border of the hole that had been left in the centre of a dark red spot. Chevalier pulled it back in place after Jonathan had finished stitching up the wound. Your mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and you desperately sought Gilbert's reasoning between them. He had done what you could not do in the end; he had traded his happiness away for yours. If only things had been different...

"No", Chevalier grunted as he sat up. You looked at him quizzically. "The only reason I'd ever stop fighting for us is if you had found happiness with someone else".

You looked at his hand as he spun the ring he gave you on your fingers. "I know"

"I do hate the bastard though", Your brows creased with confusion but Chevalier was quick to dispel it, "I owe him now"

[halsins-herbal-underpants]

Red - Wyll/Astarion prompt piece (sfw)

This is for @cozykomala who sent me my first prompt ever! After a fight, person A is covered in blood. Person B freaks out "omg are you ok!?" Person A is like "it's not my blood, but it's nice to know you care so much." Person B now has feelings they need to deal with.

AO3 Link

Wyll is used to seeing red. He saw it in the hellish flames of the demons he fought and killed for Mizora. He sees it when he gathers the courage to look in the mirror and his Hells-touched eye stares back. And he sees it with his companions, as they fight their way through goblins and gnolls and githyenki creches into lands touched by shadow.

Red on their enemies, red on his friends, red in his eyes, sometimes. But Wyll can't recall ever seeing this much red on any of them before.

"Astarion!? By the gods, are you all right?"

Wyll runs up the steps of the huge surgical theater towards the vampire, sliding his rapier back into its scabbard. They'd been fighting a mad shadow-claimed doctor and his whispering nurses, Wyll's attempt at parlay failing to convince the dead women to turn on their teacher. It was a tough battle, Gale and Shadowheart both nearly out of spells, but Wyll had lost track of Astarion; the last sight of him he'd caught was the spawn disappearing behind three screeching ghostly figures slashing their rusty surgical tools wildly at his face.

Now he was hobbling out of the shadows almost completely drenched in blood; it covered the leather bands of his drow-styled armor and sank into the crevices. It splashed over his face, his ears, and turned his moon-silver hair to crimson. He was even leaving bloody footprints behind in his wake as he stumbled forward. Wyll felt his heart leap into his throat, nearly choking him as he ran towards the rogue, catching Astarion by the elbow in case he was about to crumple to the ground.

The vampire blinked at him a moment with eyes that matched his bloody visage and then slowly cracked a smile. "Wyll," he said calmly in greeting, as if he didn't look like a slaughterhouse floor.

"Gods man, are you hurt? Where? Shadowheart, I don't think she -- s-she said she was out of--" Wyll's voice cracked and he grabbed at his pack. "I have a superior potion! We can at least stabilize you until we--by Helm's grace, Astarion I had no idea, I'm so sorry, I should have helped!"

"Wyll--" Astarion started, but was interrupted by the Blade shoving a potion at him, his voice laced with acute concern.

"Drink this, please. We have to tend to your wounds...where does it hurt the most? I have to say, with that much blood loss I have no idea how you're standing, it's been so long since you fed."

"Wyll!" Astarion tried to interrupt, his brows raising. The Blade turned, hand up to his mouth as he shouted at the other two while they picked through the dead for loot.

"SHADOWHEART, WE NEED--" Suddenly Astarion's hand was on Wyll's mouth, muffling whatever else he was about to demand. Shadowheart glanced up for a second, but then shrugged and went back to the bodies. Wyll's eyes widened and flicked to Astarion, who had the strangest smile on his face.

"Wyll. I'm fine." His smile widened, showing fangs. "It's not my blood."

Wyll blinked, brows furrowing. Astarion nodded his head towards the balcony, where three bodies were just visible beyond the railing, lying still.

"Mmhph!"

Astarion removed his hand with a soft chuckle. "Mmh, sorry. But yes, darling, I am perfectly all right. Not a scratch on me." He patted himself to prove it and Wyll visibly relaxed.

"Oh. I...I may have been hasty," the warlock admitted, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He paused and then mumbled, embarrassed. "...May I have my potion back, please?"

"Certainly." Astarion handed it back, a wide smirk on his lips that made Wyll's face feel hot. "Save it for the next time you fear for my unlife." He snickered and Wyll had to turn his head, something far too perceptive in that shimmering ruby gaze. Too dangerous to meet with his own.

"But thank you for your concern, sweet Blade," Astarion murred, stepping past him -- but then paused to half-turn back. A hand lifted to lightly grace Wyll's jaw, thumb sliding over his ridged cheek briefly. "I didn't know you cared so much."

He stepped away with a flourish as Wyll's cheeks burned and started walking back to the theater floor. "By the by," he called back airily over his shoulder. "I always love you in red." He gestured at his face and laughed, before turning to head down the stairs, loudly demanding the others had better not take everything for themselves.

Wyll flushed even darker, touching hands to his heated face and felt his heart still beating quickly in his chest. His fingers traced the ridge of his cheek, following the line Astarion's thumb made. His stomach felt fluttery as his mind's eye conjured the image again, over and over. As if wanting to burn it into his memory.

He swallowed hard and looked down at the far pale figure as it argued with their companions, his chest warming almost as much as his face. Those eyes, looking at him so knowingly, flashed in his mind. Red, warm...and waiting.

Shit.

[thecameronchronicles]

Bloodlust

TW: Violence. Blood. Language. Hematolagnia. Heavy smut. Dom!Rafe. 

Bitchy Kook!Reader

SUMMARY: You and Rafe continue to ride the high of the fight with the pogues, rewarding in each other in a very thorough way...

WORD COUNT: 2500

REQUESTED

-Hi! This is the first idea I am sending in for when you return! Some of them do not have as many details as my past requests did (this one has some), but I would definitely be up for expanding on it of you wanted input, but I didn’t want to add too much and potentially make you feel pressured to add certain things. Also, some of these might be too similar to other things you have written or plan to write but thought I would send in things anyways haha.

So… I think it’s a classic and a lot of people love when reader cleans up one of the guys, or they clean up for the reader after a fight, but what about if they all get in a fight? In my opinion it would work best if it was Rafe and reader or Topper and reader, and you are the girl in the kook group of Rafe, Topper, and Kelce.  Like usual, a fight starts between the pogues and the kooks, and everyone kind of has a designated person they always fight, you of course fighting Kie. Was also thinking maybe this fight was started by you and Kie instead of the boys like usual 👀. Of course the reader and Rafe/or Topper get turned on watching each other fight the pogues so after cleaning each other up you reward each other for winning the fight…Also if you wanted to add more plot, maybe y/n used to hang with the pogues but there was a falling out between them so that’s another reason that they hate each other so much. Luv ya!-💎

Bloodlust

It was a usual Friday night. Your arm wrapped around Rafe's neck shamelessly as usual as his fingers teased the hem of your skirt, testing how far you'd allow him to adorn you without needing the cover of a closed door to act on his seductions. You played your own however with his ear between your teeth and your hand playing with the fabric of his polo. 

"What the hell?" A distant voice managed to bring your attention to its source as Rafe was prepared to devour you on the spot. His eyes heavy with lust as he pulled you tighter to him to try and redirect your focus. And yet, it wasn't until Kiara made her way to the edge of your lounge chair that he understood the reason he couldn't convince you to devote yourself to him as he had done to you. 

"Problem, Kie?" Your eyes narrowed. 

"You and your psycho boyfriend need to stay the hell away from my friends." Immediately, you were on your feet. 

"Kie, she isn't worth it...let's just go..."JJ pulled her arm as Rafe took the spot behind your back, prepared to act if necessary. 

"We should charge every time a Pogue crosses to our side of the island, then they couldn't afford to annoy us..." Topper added as John B sized him from across the invisible line drawn between the group of upper and lower class citizens of the Outer Banks.

"But then who would fix all your cars and boats?" Pope inserted himself, a raised brow as Kelce stood as Topper's side, the entire group at the ready for their designated enemy. 

"Only way you could even afford to be around something so nice..."Rafe explained as you smiled. 

"Unless you married into it..." Your brow raised to Kiara. "I'm sure some pogue on your side of the island finds this...outburst appealing, Kie, but we have better things to do than to listen to one of your little rants..."

"Rants?! You and your friends have been terrorizing my friends for months! Cutting tires and vandalizing-"

"So where's Shoupe?" Topper asked with crossed arms as Rafe pulled you in tighter, his body tense yet proud at your back. The race of his heart synonymous with your own having validated a mutual eroticism to the moment. 

"If we did the things you said and you had proof, why are you bothering us and not having us arrested...oh wait..."

"I know you did it. Writing 'whore' on the side of The Chateau..." Kiara glared. 

You set your hands up as if to surrender, Rafe forced to release you in the process. 

"You're right…But am I wrong? I mean is there any guy in the Outer Banks that hasn't been disappointed in what you couldn't offer?" You couldn't even finish your insult before her fingers wrapped in your hair. And yet it was a momentary advantage as you were a true scrapper through and through. Nails and slaps would be exchanged between you both as your individualized social groups mirrored these actions. Topper raged against John B while Pope and Kelce had a scrap, leaving JJ and Rafe at odds. 

Bloodied knuckles and curses infiltrated the cheers from onlookers until Sarah made her way to the center of the group. 

"Stop it!"

"Of course you'd take their side!" Kiara wipes her bottom lip as you look at her wound with pride in knowing you were responsible. 

"I'm not taking anyone's side, but now I have to spend the rest of the night cleaning the yard and NOW cleaning off blood before my dad and Rose get back early tomorrow...Everyone, out!" Sarah ordered as she was rivaled for only a moment before screaming the demand again. This time, the only ones left were Topper as he helped clean, as Rafe led you back inside Tannyhill. 

But you wouldn't make it even a step over the threshold until he pinned you against the hallway. His hand already in your suit in vicious rubbings made over your clit as his other hand was at your jaw. 

"I don't care if it hurts baby, I need to show you just how proud I am of you..."

He kissed you, causing a bit of pain from the slap Kiara brought against your cheek, a pain welcome by the promise of pleasure that followed. 

That beautiful pain.

"Don't come baby..."

His palm made circles over your clitoral hood as one finger entered you into an immediate bend. Then two. The pressure was torment, but also something you welcomed openly. Your hand wrapping around his as your knuckles turned white to him. 

"It was so fucking hot watching you make her bleed, I wanted to bend you over that chair and fuck you right in front of her to show what it did to me..." He pulled your hand over the renewed bulge of his seam. The same one that had been present just before the arrival of the pogues. 

"But I'm the only one that gets to make you bleed, isn't that right baby?" You nodded as he pulled your lip between his teeth hard enough to warrant a wince. 

"I can't wait for the fucking bedroom..." He pulled you over the island of the kitchen, bending you over its ledge as your skirt gathered at your waist. With a single hold to the back of your neck, he prepared himself in exposure. 

"Fuck's sake!" Topper groaned as you were lifted upwards. For a moment, you saw something resembling envy in his eyes as he saw how willing you were for Rafe. All while he couldn't seem to convince Sarah to give him the time of day. 

"Nobody else gets to see you like this...nobody else has earned it..." You nodded as he pulled you immediately over his shoulder and into the direction of the bedroom. 

"I want those panties off right now, baby..." He instructed as he pulled his shirt over his head. 

"Pogues stupid enough to go against my girl..." He had a grip on your hair, a jolt made from this hold making you gasp but smirk once he continued, "My girl fucking showed them, didn't you? Bruised those pretty little knuckles..." He unlatched his belt and allowed it to fall to the floor along with his shorts while you wrapped your wounded hand around his length. 

"Same bloody knuckles wrapped around my cock, yeah?" He stretched out the question, making your bottom lip a prisoner between your teeth. 

"Spit baby...you know what to do..." You nodded, but upon doing so, watched a crimson tint stain his cock's head. Your eyes raised to him to witness the life behind recently dull analysis. 

"Again." He ordered as you paused, swallowing hard with a lack of salivation. Sensing this, he took hold of your hair as tightly as he could and forced you back. His second hand left his cock and designated to your jaw as he pulled your lips apart. Without the need for instruction, your tongue was offered to him. A wicked grin came before the line of spit fell to your palette. Iron left behind from his own wounds as you spit it onto him. 

"Look at me..." He instructed with a thumb brushing your eye and the scratch left behind. 

"You deserve so much better than being on your knees...but I want that busted lip sucking me off until I can't take it anymore..."

"I want to taste you..." 

"Good fucking girl..." He set himself inside of your cheeks, your eyes rolling in pleasure to the stretch he brought to your throat. Your eyes opening to the awe of a stretched mouth as he bit his bottom lip. 

"You're too good to me to be called a slut, but fuck baby, you got a whore's mouth..." You nodded, adding to the ecstasy by offering this submission. 

"Touch yourself. Just your clit baby...I wanna feel you moan..." You basked in the approval as you carried two fingers towards your center before he apprehended your wrist. Sucking on your two fingers, be moved down to the knuckle to run his tongue over the blood before his eyes moved to the back of his head. His cock flexed in your mouth as you moaned to the ecstasy of the scene. 

"Fast baby. I want you to feel as good as I do...Just don't come...you know you only get to from me." You nodded, a cruel rule, but one he made worth obeying as you conceded against him..

"So fucking perfect...shit!" He hissed as you took him as deep as your throat could allow and then some. A mess made of your makeup and drool pouring down your chin. 

"You sound so good choking on me, baby...You like when I make you cry?" You nodded quickly, teeth grilling his head as he shuddered to the threat. 

"You need a break?" You nodded as he picked you up by your hair. But as you expected to be taken to the bed, you were pulled across the room and to the mirror. His cock inside of you as he pulled you back to observe. 

"Look how you take me..." 

"Rafe..." You moaned, head resting at his shoulder as he kissed you. Falling victim to the sweetness you allowed before pounding into you and sending you into the glass. 

"I want you to bleed for only me...pogues are fucking lucky I was harder than I was angry...they wouldn't have gotten away so easily..." 

"You would hurt them for me?" You asked with a gasp, his knuckles coming to view over your breasts validating this. 

"I would kill for you, baby..." He spoke honestly but effortlessly as it chilled you. Your inner walls clenching around him to the confession. 

"Ooh...you like that baby? You like the idea of blood on my hands defending you? You know my cock like it's...feel how fucking deep I need to be inside you." 

"I love it..." 

"Yeah? Make you wanna come?"

"I need to...I'm so fucking close!" He slapped your breast as you moaned, repeating the process to your clit but remaining there to pinch and pull. 

"Bet I could make you come on this mirror...make you squirt for being such a good girl for me...you want that?"

"Please, Rafe! I'll be so good for you..." You moaned and gasped as he withdrew from you. 

"Then you know what has to happen..."

"Pain before pleasure..." You finished his phrase for him as he nodded. 

"You're gonna be so fucking sore by the time I'm done with you...and you're gonna love it…"

"Like always..." You smiled as he pumped two fingers viciously inside of you. Hitting that g-spot with every insertion as you could feel that pressure build. That edge so close. That lessire on his fingertips. And then the withdrawal. 

"Good girl baby...keep going..." He continued edging you, building up your necessity for him as you buckled closer to your release. 

"That was close..."

"Please..."

"Only when you feel you're gonna squirt for me, baby...you deserve it so fucking much..."

"I just want you to fuck me, Rafe...I'm already dripping." He paused for a second to collect the drops cascading down your thighs. You watched him savor you off of his fingers. 

"So you are..." But those fingers returned. And so did that rare but familiar pressure of something stronger than an orgasm. Although none of the orgasms with Rafe were ever "normal", this one was ethereal. 

"Stay with me, baby…eyes open..."

"I can feel it..."

"Oh, I know..."

"Please let me..."

"You've earned it, baby...Let me have it…oh yeah…THERE it is…shit…" 

"Ahh...ahhhh...AHHHH!" You moaned loudly until that rush had you trembling in his arms. Spurts of cum coating the mirror as he slipped inside of you. 

"My turn..." He fucked you into the mirror, interrupting your high before mending this and offering another as consolation. 

"It's too much! It hurts!"

"And we love it...don't we?" You nodded as he played with your nipples. 

"Oh baby...you're so fucking perfect...I'm gonna come so deep inside you..."

"YES! Please!"

"You want my cum, baby? Yeah?" You nodded as he turned you to face him. 

"Then take it..." You pushed yourself off the mirror in front of you to control the thrusts. His hand in your hair pulling you to him until your body locked. 

"Aww, can't take it, baby?"

"RAFE! IM FUCKIKG COMING! I don't wanna stop!" 

"Let me feel it baby...all over my cock..." He grunted into you as he pressed you harder into the glass. 

"Yes! Yes!" You exclaimed in finality before washing over him as he set his final thrusts inside of you. The murderous pace certain to leave your hips bruised by grip and pistoning before he turned you to face him. 

"There's no fucking point on giving you a shower..." He breathed deeply as he walked you towards the bed. 

"Legs apart..." You hesitated as they trembled. 

"Rafe..."

"I'm not fucking asking, baby..." He forced them apart with his knee before you were pulled to the ledge. 

"That was your reward...THIS is mine..." 

TAGLIST: @hopebaker @drewspisces @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @maybankslover @slut4tangerine @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @bluesongbird @slut-era @ailee-celeste @camilynn @sweetestdesire @onmykneesforrafe @jjmaybanksangel @phildunphyisadilf @mashdan0916 @belcalis9503

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[thehusbandoden]

ok hear me out-

mulan!dabi x shan yu!fem!reader

its were dabi was one if the armies greatest fighters but on one battle the enemy manages to take of dabi’s helmet (the rest of the imperial army hasnt seen dabis face before) so after the battle the imperial army kicked dabi out (like how mulan was kicked out) because they thought he was a monstrosity/spy for the hun’s so after he git kicked out he goes to reader for help because they used to be childhood friends but the reader ran away because of the pressure of being a female

ok thats all just pls make it end with them killing the imperial army

and make them get married

and also when dabi and reader meet pls dont make her break down into tears just make her chuckle and comfort dabi when he starts crying

and pls make this a long oneshot

im having mulan brainrot

and no im not a minor i just love mulan

shes my favorite

and i just watched the live action film

A/n: I'm so sorry this took so long 💀

I hope it's worth it though!! I loved this request sm! You're quite creative <33

The Endlessly Cracking Dam -Dabi x Fem!Reader (Mulan Au)

A/n (2): I'm not sure if you wanted a quirkless au or not, but to fit the story better there aren't any quirks. If you don't like that, or there are any other problems feel free to reach out to me and I'll fix them right away!!

General info:

Genre: angst to comfort/fluff // wc: 5,700+ // female reader // requested

Summary: the man called "Dabi" was one of the Imperial Army's best men. Everyone loved him- or did they? Fake smiles and suspicions kept Dabi on his toes, always hiding his face and past. Well, until that darned Hun knocked off his helmet. Zhu Bo, Dabi's all time tormenter, claimed that he was "cursed" and urged their captain to kick him out. But- Dabi just won that battle! Everyone loves him! They wouldn't kick him out... would they? But atlas people are cruel and heartless. Just because of Dabi's patched up face he was kicked out, leaving him and his horse; Mazu, to find there way to the one and only person Dabi could confine in; y/n l/n.

Warnings!: season 6 spoilers, Dabi's background, Endeavor, betrayal, feelings of abandonment, mentions of violence, hint of revenge (aka murder), blood, and animal slaughter (self defense), If any of these are triggering for you anon please reach out to me! <33

The Imperial Army is known to have many strong soldiers. Every soldier has earned trust from him fellow comrades. Battle after battle fighting side by side formed a strong brotherly bond between each, some getting along better than others. And then there was him.

Dabi, son of no one. He was a monstrosity in battle, setting fear in his opponents hearts, and even his own comrades on occasion. Even though he rarely spoke, and kept to himself when the other men laughed and played around, they all respected him, and usually left him alone, as he preferred. He protected their backs in battle, and has saved almost as many lives as he has taken.

He was truly respected and trusted by all.. except for Zhu Bo, their captain's counselor. Ever since "Dabi" showed up, he was immediately suspicious. This man not only had a helmet covering his face, but he refused to give them his actual name, only offering the name "Dabi" telling him to take it or leave it.

He was truly about to tell him to hit the road and come back later with a real name and his face. But, before he could their captain accepted his offer and welcomed him with a huge smile and gleaming eyes. Ever since Zhu has been looking for any reason to get "Dabi" kicked to the curb.

Zhu would sneak around and look for anything ranging between hidden women in Dabi's tent, letters sent or delivered, cheating during training, and he even attempted to take a peak at his face. Not to mention that he reached out to multiple villages miles and miles away, asking for any information on the mysterious soldier. He was desperate.

Well he found nothing.

Women?

The man didn't even indulge in the chattering about a future wife or being in a relationship.

Secret letters?

The only papers in his tent were notes on certain lessons, going over every miniscule detail of his captain's instruction.

Cheating during training?

This man had the audacity to not only do what the captain said, but went ahead and did extra.

Carrying more weight, training for longer, wearing wrist and ankle weights while battle training, woke up early, and stayed up late to train.

A face reveal?

Yeah no, it's impossible. When he's bathing? Always out of sight, usually late at night and away from the usual lake. Eating? He does so far away from everyone else, after everyone else. Sleeping?! If you're lucky enough to catch this "Dabi" sleeping, you'd not only have to stay up into the hours of early morning, but you'd have to be so quiet or else you'll wake the man up and he wouldn't go back to sleep. At all. But, if you do catch him sleeping, he not only has a full coverage face mask, but the only thing poking out is black, fluffy hair, and a part of his hands and feet.

And even in the hundreds of villages Zhu contacted, he found nothing.

Giving up, Zhu decided to resort to trying to convince the captain that he was overly suspicious. And he was starting to make progress! Their captain was watching Dabi a lot more, and even contributed to questioning villages. Zhu Bo will find something, and he doesn't care how long it takes.

~~~

(Dabi's p.o.v; 4:13 a.m.)

The chill of the morning air seeped through Dabi, causing the man to frown as he hurried to get dressed. After tugging on his boots Dabi swiftly attached his sword to his belt, finishing off the look. He always had a full suit of armor on, if any of the soldiers saw his scars.. well they'd think of him as some kind of monster.

The scars that he bore were not humane, and he didn't like seeing them, so who else would? At that thought his mind turned to y/n, his childhood best friend. Oh sweet y/n, she was always there for him. Whenever he needed a break from the horrors of his household she was there, giggling as she brought him to a place to rest, and drown out the world. Sadly, Dabi hasn't heard from, nor seen y/n since he left for war. Dabi just hoped that the Huns hadn't attacked their village, or that she didn't get married. At that thought Dabi let out a growl, ready to fight anyone who tried to take his away y/n from him.

After packing up all of his supplies and his tent Dabi saddled his mare, settling on her back to start making the 10 minute trot to the other tents. Once he got there, there were only a few sleepy-eyed soldiers slowly getting dressed, yawning every minute or so. After nodding solemnly to those who waved, Dabi made his way to one of the wagons.

There were only a few men with horses outside of the captain and Zhu Bo, and those who did had to lend their horse to pull wagons of supplies. Dabi's wagon was to be filled with food supplies, and so he started filling it, keeping in mind that he had to make sure that it wasn't too heavy for Mazu.

Dabi wasn't the kind of guy to have a lot of close ones, or to make a lot of special connections. All Dabi had was his mother, y/n, Mazu, and Nainai.

His mother, who he didn't even speak to anymore was always a support for him growing up. Even though he didn't treat her well she still loved him and tried to help. He will always love and appreciate her, even if she doesn't know it.

You, the girl that he has loved since childhood, and the one and only girl that he would even consider marrying.

Mazu, his companion and friend through thick and thin. His beautiful bay Jielin mare. Mazu has been with him since his Nainai gifted him and y/n her, telling them to be good and to take very good care of her. And that they did.

Dabi took care of her whenever he could get away, and y/n took care of her when Dabi couldn't. She was well cared for and very loved. When Dabi left for war they both agreed that he would take her, but he made a promise to look out for her like he would a comrade, and so far she's been completely safe.

And finally his Nainai. No, the woman was not his actual grandma, but all of his best childhood memories came from sitting in her garden, helping her weed alongside y/n, just talking, or even just listening to her stories. When the old woman asked them to call her Nainai they both willingly agreed, and the rest was history.

Dabi was pulled from his thoughts by the captain making his way over to him, black eyes focused on studying Dabi's wagon.

"Is this all you can fit?"

"If I add anymore it will either be not safely secured, or too heavy for Mazu to pull efficiently." Dabi replied, lowering his head lightly as a gesture of respect.

"Okay. Hook up your mare to the wagon and then get something to eat. You'll need your strength."

"Do you think today could be the day?"

"I do."

Dabi nodded, moving to tie up Mazu as his captain went off to check up on the other soldiers. After quickly eating Dabi moved to spend time with Mazu, lying on her back and he thought back to y/n, the woman who held his every waking thought. Yes, he went to war because he was forced to, but instead of being bitter about it he related it to protecting the people he loved back home.

As he continued to think about his dear friend a frown made its way to his lips. Y/n had promised to write to him, just as he promised to come back to her.

So why hasn't she? She wouldn't have forgotten about him, nor their promise, so that wasn't it. She rarely had problems with her parent/guardian(s), so that wasn't likely either. The only possibilities the Dabi could think of is that either their village was attacked or she got.. married. But she didn't seem to have any interest in marrying anyone when he was there, so what is happening?

"SOLDIERS! WE ARE PREPARING TO LEAVE! HURRY UP, GET READY, EAT, AND GET YOUR BUTTS OVER TO THE CAPTAIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES!"

Dabi hissed at the loudness ringing in his ears as he moved to sit right. Urging the mare forward, Mazu smoothly made her way toward the forming crowd. After settling to the side, Dabi fiddled with Mazu's reins, making sure that they were tight and would fit comfortably in his hands, it would be a long ride after all.

As Dabi kept his eyes straight ahead, he was pleased to see that everyone was energetic today, ranting about their future wife and what qualities she would have. After a while of their ranting Dabi spaced out, mind wandering to his special someone. As he thought back to his y/n the soldiers noticed his huge grin and came over to question him.

"So.. do you have a girl worth fighting for?"

"What does that matter? I'm here to defeat the Huns, not to bathe in the wonder of having a woman 'worth fighting for'."

"Yes yes we all know that you're battle hungry- but come on! You have to have someone! Like when you're exhausted and about to give up but then you think about her, it's important!"

"Unlike you weaklings I actually stay focussed on the battle instead of my silly daydreams."

"Gosh what a killjoy. I guess all those rumors about you are true. Have fun by yourself, loser."

Dabi just rolled his eyes, focussing back on the path in front of them.

~~~

Exhaustion seared through Dabi as his chest heaved, breathing heavily. The sounds of battle echoed in his ears as he looked around, dead bodies surrounding him, blood splattered everywhere. After scanning his surroundings, he rushed to help out a trio of young soldiers, pure fear evident in their eyes as they faced two enemies, the ragged hair and crazed eyes causing them to almost whimper.

Rushing towards them, Dabi swiftly cut down one of the two enemies, much to his comrades relief. Quickly moving toward the last enemy, Dabi dodged a hit last minute, which barely nudged his helmet instead of slashing at his neck. Moving to counter, he missed the fact that his helmet flew off, landing somewhere in the heat of battle. After splashing the Hun down Dabi turned to scold the young soldiers.

"Men! That was cowardly, get yourselves together and get back into battle!" Dabi seethed, not failing to notice how the men whimpered at his scolding, sinking into themselves.

Dabi just scoffed, noticing that one of them was the same man that insulted him earlier. Clicking his tounge, Dabi turned back to battle, pinpointing a fairly injured soilder fighting off four enemies at a time before rushing in, saving the man swiftly.

~~~

Hours later Dabi stood near the middle of the battle field, blood splattered acrossed his torn up armor, yet nothing but a small amount was his. After checking the surrounding area for more enemies, Dabi's shoulders dropped at the sight of none. They won. The Huns were gone.

Staggering toward the crowd of comrades, Dabi couldn't help but grin, focussing on their victory rather than their immense losses. They did it. They really did it.

The men cheered as they pushed each other around, reveling in their victory as many tears fell. Though, it all came to a stop as Zhu Bo stepped forward, black eyes pinning Dabi down with a wicked grin stuck on his face.

"Captain! Captain! Come take a look at this!" Zhu called, grin fading as the captain came into view.

"What is it, Zhu?"

"Look at him! He must have been cursed! Look at that face, he's a monster!"

As the captain pushed past the gathering crowd, his face paled at Dabi's appearance.

"Uh- excuse me? I am no moste-"

"SILENCE!" Zhu spat, glaring at Dabi with dark eyes.

"We'll talk in private, Zhu. Dabi, get yourself cleaned up, are you seriously injured?"

"No Sir."

"Okay, good job out there."

"Thank you, Sir."

After the captain led Zhu away Dabi clicked his tongue, moving to find Mazu before cleaning up.

~

After ensuring Mazu's safety Dabi cleaned up the blood and ate, watching as the other soldier avoided him as if he had the plague.

Typical.

Of course they are, this is exactly what he wanted to avoid.

Everyone always assumed the worst. After the fire incident everyone avoided him, calling him cruel names and telling him that he was cursed. The only one who knew the truth was y/n.

Dabi had told her all about how his father had trained him viciously, going as far as to burn him to the point of these wicked scars. And yet everyone thought that the man was inoccent. But, he really couldn't blaim them.

His father fought in many wars and saved the people multiple times. And yet he was a monster inside. He wed his wife for her family's reputation, and had children for one purpose: war. He always went too far in training and made his children suffer, all for more glory.

Dabi just couldn't take it anymore, and so he dyed his hair and changed his name, before running from home. He stayed with Nainai until the soldiers came.

Dabi was pulled from his thoughts by the captain, Zhu Bo, and an unfamiliar man gliding towards him, faces grim -except for Zhu's grin of course-.

"Dabi, you are being dispelled from the Imperial Army." The unfamiliar man commanded, cold eyes holding nothing but distaste.

"Ca-captain?" Dabi stutterer, hurt and betrayal pulsing through him.

"Dabi, you fought well, and you did us and the people a good service, but.."

"B-but what?"

"We can't risk it. Dabi.. You could be cursed. And I'd rather not take that risk." The captain said, usually warm eyes hardened with a bitter chill.

"I- I saved your butts back there! If it weren't for me you wouldn't have won!"

"Dabi.. just give it a rest."

"But-"

"OBEY YOUR CAPTAIN YOU MONSTER!" Zhu Bo screeched, eyes holding a victorious glint.

"I thought he was no longer my captain." Dabi sneered.

"That's-"

"Silence, Zhu. Dabi, you have an hour to pack up your things and leave."

"You're sick." Dabi sprat, turquoise eyes hardened with anger.

As Dabi turned to leave he couldn't fight off the urge to flip the trio off, causing Zhu to curse him out as he walked towards Mazu.

~~

After gathering both his belongings and enough rations to last him around three weeks, Dabi made his way out of camp and towards his village.

No, he didn't want to be around all of those gossipy villagers, or his family, but he needed y/n. His world was crashing and he just hoped that the dam wouldn't break before he found her.

~~

The next six weeks were spent horse back riding, hunting, and sleeping.

Dabi made sure to keep his eyes on the prize, refusing to even acknowledge the immense hurt that was brewing at the bottom of his chest.

He needed to get to y/n, and he could only hope she wasn't killed nor married, or he would be left alone in this cruel world.

~~

Two weeks later Dabi made it to the village, exhausted, hungry, dehydrated, and smelling absolutely horrible.

Immediately going to y/n's house he doesn't even have a thought about his.. strange appearance and rushes to the l/n resistance.

Swiftly knocking on the door, Dabi's breath caught in his throat as the door swung open.

Looking up at your parent/guardian, Dabi opened his mouth to ask the question he's been dying to ask.

"C-can I see y/n?" He stuttered, inwardly cursing at the rawness of his unused voice.

"Y/n.. I- I'm sorry but she ran away some months back.. and who are you again?"

Dabi's heart dropped.

You.. ran away?

"J-just a friend."

Clutching at his chest he forced himself to exchange a semi humane parting before stumbling back to Mazu.

"C'mon girl.. we.. we need to get out of here."

Treading through the village Dabi felt the dam holding back his emotions crack.

What if he couldn't find you?

What is you were.. gone?

His thoughts were interrupted by a far too familiar face. Panicking, Dabi pressed himself against Mazu, and hopefully out of sight of the villager.

After a few tense moments Dabi sighed. Sitting back onto Mazu, Dabi couldn't help but watch as Natsuo walked away, completely unaware of his older brother behind him.

Dabi chuckled pitifully as he felt another crack form.

He had to find y/n.

~~

(A few hours later; 5:23 p.m.)

After a while of looking and asking around, Dabi found himself in front of Nainai's door.

It was funny, really. He didn't mean to come here. His body has just engraved the habit of going to Nainai for help with anything and everything he needed.

Knocking on the door, Dabi desperately tried to stop the dam from cracking.

He needed y/n when it broke, there was no way he was going to let someone else see him so vulnerable. Not even Nainai.

"Touya? It's so good to see you! What's wrong?"

"C-can I come in for a bit?"

"Of course! Come in, come in! I just made some cookies!"

"Thanks Nainai."

"Anytime Touya, anytime."

~~

For the next hour and a half Nainai took care of Dabi. She found him some clothes that her deceased son used to wear, told him to take a long bath, cooked his childhood favorite food, prepared more rations, and even spoiled Mazu.

When Dabi was done with his soak he had lots of good food to eat, and Nainai did most of the talking, making sure that he wouldn't have to deal with awkward silence or hesitation to reach out to her.

Dabi and Nainai eventually got to the subject of y/n, and Dabi was glad to hear that she had come to stay with Nainai before running off. Nai Nai even had a clue to where she would be- much to Dabi's relief.

"I love talking to you, Nainai, but I really need to get to y/n asap."

"Oh it's alright Dear, I understand. I'll go get you a letter from her."

"A-a letter?!"

"Yes, she gave me one for you, and told me not to open it until you came searching for her. I have kept to my promise, Touya. This letter will be for your eyes, and your eyes only."

Nodding, Dabi's hands shook as he waited for Nai Nai to return.

Y/n.. she was still thinking about him? S-she's safe?

Dabi cursed as he felt the dam of emotions crack yet again.

He really did need y/n.

"Alright Touya. Here's the letter, all I know is that she will be reachable on horseback, and that she's about eight days away."

Nodding, Dabi shakingly took the letter out of Nai Nai's hands, looking at the small envelope in awe.

"Shall we say goodbye here? I expect you'd like some privacy."

"W-why?"

"Love works in that kind of way, I suppose."

"L-love?!"

"Ah yes, the unending denial." Nai Nai smiled bitterly, looking down at her ringed finger in pain. "Now, come give your Nainai a hug and then you can be off!"

After a long, warm, and very comforting hug, Dabi was left alone in his Nai Nai's cozy living room; envelope in hand.

Mentally bracing himself, Dabi tore open the envelope with little care, too anxious to see what was inside to worry about the pretty way you sealed the stupid envelope.

Unfolding a piece of paper, Dabi's eyes skimmed over the writing hungrily, needing your location to stay sane.

My dearest Touya, if you are reading this letter you must be home from war, and I must be gone. I know that you're hurt, and that you're confused at my silence. But trust me, my dearest companion, I tried and tried to reach you, but my letters were always sent back to me. I never received any of your letters, if you sent any. I am safe, and if you'd like to find me you are very welcome to, but I do have one condition. if you are to visit me, you are to always stay with me, locked away where the world can't hurt us anymore. things got too painful without you here, Touya. so if you can, come to me? I will show you a life worth living! If so, follow the instructions on the back of this paper, that is where I lay; and hopefully- where you will too.

Your Dearest friend,

Y/n/n. Or as you like to call me, Doll

Dabi cursed yet again as another crack formed in his teetering dam.

Of course y/n wouldn't leave him like that. She was truly the best.

Hurrying out to the stables, Dabi mentally calculated where he and Mazu needed to go before saddling Mazu and their belongings, and then riding off.

~~~

It had been nine days of riding, resting, eating, riding, and resting again.

Dabi looked like death yet again, and Mazu was pushing her limits.

Due to Dabi's exhaustion, he paid less and less attention to their surroundings, which resulted in unwanted, hungry eyes to find their perfect target.

~~

Dabi glared at the pack of wolves in front of him, eyes full of crazed hatred.

"Wanna dance, muts? Let's dance." Dabi grinned, katana held readily.

Dabi's turquoise eyes never left the vicious pack of wolves as he studied the starving creatures. He might of let them slip into his campsite, but there was no way he was going to let them get past him to Mazu.

Instantly tearing himself from his thoughts, Dabi slashed at the wolf that lunged itself at the solider, leaving a fatal gash on it's stomach. A loud whine set off the rest of the pack, causing three of the seven remaining wolves to leap at him at once.

Slashing the beasts with ease, Dabi held his ground.

A grin splayed across his lips, his exhaustion horrendously miscalculated the wolves damage. Pain shot through Dabi's shoulder as a fallen wolf leaped onto him, landing a fairly decent blow.

Cursing, Dabi stabbed the wolf in the chest, killing the animal.

Turning to the others, Dabi chuckled bitterly.

~~~

(Your p.o.v; 12:22 a.m.)

You sighed as you finished writing another letter.

It has been months since you've last seen Touya.. where could he be? Is he still in war, or did he make it home? Did he decide to stay, or did he find a nice young lady to marry and move to her village? Could he possibly be coming to you now?

The thoughts swirled in your head, souring your mood further.

Touya was not the kind of person to get married to some pretty little nobody. He cares for love, which was most likely due to his trauma with his parents relationship.

If he were to marry someone, he would have to love her deeply.

The thought made you sigh as you made your way to your bed, the thought of some rest helping ease some of the worries within you.

It will all work out in the end. If he truly didn't want to be out here with you, then that was his choice. You couldn't force him to, that would just be cruel, no matter how tempting.

~~

You awoke to a pounding on your door.

Groaning, you grumpily make your way to the noise, opening the door grudgingly.

"What the heck do you wa-"

You were interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around you.

Baffled, you were about to push the person off before you recognized the purple scars.

"Touya? What's wrong To?"

Touya simply shook his head, pushing himself as close as possible to your warmer form.

"Why don't you come in? It's warmer in here."

Touya squeezed you once before skidding into your cabin. After you closed the door he was back in your arms, pressing himself close to your back, head buried in your hair. Returning his embrace as best as possible, you stayed there with him for as long as he needed.

A few minutes later he pulled away before softly spinning you around to face him.

Chuckling, you move to wipe the blood streaming down his cheeks. "Shh it's okay Touya. I'm here now."

Bursting into sobs, Touya buried his head into your neck, arms wrapping around your waist.

"They- I- you-"

"Shh it's okay. It's all okay now. You're safe."

After a while Touya calmed down a lot, and the two of you had moved to your small wooden loveseat.

"Mazu.."

"Mazu? Oh- is she out there?"

Touya simply nodded, eyes hooded as he stared at you.

Squeezing his hand reassuringly, you make your way outside.

Mazu was grazing obediently next to a fence, her reign poorly tied. "Mazu!" You greet, petting the mare's neck lovingly. Neighing softly, Mazu nuzzled her head against yours.

After spending a little time with Mazu, taking care of her, and putting her away in a stall, you hurry back to Touya's side.

Walking in, you smile at the sight of Touya dozing on the love seat, hand buried in your German Shepherd Jin's fur. Smiling, you gesture for Jin to stay before getting ready for bed yourself.

~~

(The next morning; 8:23 a.m.)

Loud footsteps stirred you from your slumber. Rubbing your eyes, you tense at the sounds of another person in your cabin.

Why hadn't Jin alerted you?!

Why would he let a stranger in?!

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft, familiar curses. Touya? Why would Touya be in your-

And then the memories came flooding back.

Smiling, you hurry to greet your best friend properly. "Good morning Tou-"

Your heart stopped at the sight of the man in front of Your beloved Touya was overed in.. blood.

"Touya what happened?!" You demand, rushing to inspect the damage.

"A pack of wolves attacked me and Mazu. Don't worry about it. Most of it isn't mine."

Scoffing, you grab a wash tub to start filling.

"Ah don't be like that Doll."

You simply snort, filling the tub with hot, soapy water.

"Get in, wash up." You command, glaring at the man in front of you.

"With you in the room- I didn't know you were so-"

"No! I'm gonna leave, idiot!"

At your angered tone Touya's mood noticeably dropped, causing you to curse.

"Y-you're not mad at me.. are you?" Touya asked, voice small with worry. Everyone else but you and Nainai had rejected or neglected him. He couldn't bare to lose you too.

"Oh Touya no. I'm not mad at you. I'm just cross with you for being so nonchalant about getting hurt."

"But-"

"No buts. I care about you, I don't want to see you care so little about yourself. Put yourself in my shoes."

"W-what? I don't think they'd fit."

Smiling, you shake your head affectionately.

Ah yes. 'Dabi' was still your Touya, a confused and hurt teenager at heart really. He didn't understand metaphors much.

"I mean- look at it from my perspective. What if I got hurt, and acted like it was okay. Wouldn't you be a little upset?"

"I'd kick your butt and pin you down to make sure you're all patched up." Touya huffed, eyes holding a slight glint- warning you to not test him.

"See- that's what I'm dealing with. I care about a lot, I don't want to see you get hurt."

Slowly nodding, Touya's eyes were focused on your face.

MmYou blushed as he stared, noticing how he kept shifting from your eyes to your lips. You'd call him creepy- if you weren't doing the exact same thing.

"Y/n.. have I told you how much I've missed you?" Touya whispered, bringing his face slightly closer to yours.

"No, I don't think so." You smile, following his lead in advancement.

"Well then.. why don't I-"

You both were interrupted by Jin jumping on top of you, smothering your face in his wet and xsloberyx kisses.

"Jin, Off!" You command, causing the large dog to back off of you and sit between you and your love- crush? Friend? You don't even know anymore.

Clearing your throat, you keep your eyes held low as you studied Jin's fur, combing your fingers through his dark fur.

"Umm, I'm going to go care for Mazu. Why don't you wash up?" You blush, sinking closer to your pet.

"Y-yeah that's a good idea.." Touya replied, voice strained from some kind of emotion- embarrassment; you guessed.

Standing up, you gesture for Jin to follow you as you make your way out of the cabin.

"Oh- Touya?" You call, shyly glancing at the male.

"Y-yeah?"

"Your room is in the loft.. there's a ladder in the stable, and a towel will be on the shelf behind you. You have some personal clothes and belongings from the village.."

"Thank you y/n.." Touya whispered, blood pooling under his eyes.

"I'd hug you but uh- you're kinda soaked in blood sooo.."

"Just go you baby!" Touya laughed, making you smile.

~~~

(Two weeks later; 11:38 p.m.)

A sigh escaped your lips as you traced the scars on Touya's arms, desperately wishing to be able to lay kisses on the patched skin.

In the two weeks that Touya's been here, neither of you have talked about the almost kiss; though it was most definitely on both of your minds.

It was driving you insane- you loved Touya with all of your heart, so why couldn't you just voice those feelings?! Why was love so.. so complicated?!

Sighing again, you caught Touya's attention.

"What's wrong, Doll?"

"Oh I'm just.. thinking."

"About?"

"I really don't think you'd be interested.." you murmur, eyes never leaving the gorgeous skin of your childhood best friend.

"Tell me, I want to know what's bothering you." Touya insisted, placing a hand underneath your chin before bringing your gaze to his turquoise eyes.

"Umm.. what do you think about the- the kiss?" You stutter, wetting your lips at the wonder of Touya's eyes.

They were so... gorgeous.

"The kiss? Well.. I'm not really sure. I'm not really used to these kinds of things you know."

"Me neither." You huff, e/c eyes tracing every feature of Touya's.

"But, I do know that I want to try it again.." Touya continued, hand sliding up to cup your cheek. "If you'd let me, that is."

Your breath caught in your throat as you stared up at Touya.

Was this really what you wanted- did you love him?

Your heart beating against your chest screamed yes- causing your cheeks to burn.

"I- this isn't some kind of game to you?" You stutter, mind panicking at his closeness.

"I promise you that it isn't." Touya whispered, thumb caressing below your eye.

"T-then kiss me- please."

A warm chuckle emitted from Touya before he seized your lips with his.

The surprising contrast of his soft upper lip and his rough, almost leathery bottom one caused you to gasp. Taking the opportunity to deepen the kiss, Touya brought his other hand to hold your other cheek. Moving one hand to his neck and the other to his hair, you kissed him back with just as much emotion.

After a few, intense moments you pulled away, gasping for air.

"That- was- amazing-" Touya gasped, stroking your cheek with renewed gentleness.

You giggled as you smiled up at your childhood friend.

"I've been waiting to do that for a long~ time." You tease, practically purring as Touya pulled you closer to his warmth.

"And I've been waiting for longer!" Touya playfully growled, moving his hands to tickle your sides.

"S-stop that!" You laugh, moving your hands to carefully tickle his arms, avoiding the burnt areas with care.

After a few minutes of giggles, you both slowed down before you were simply just staring at one another, entranced in each other's gaze.

"I- I think I love you." Touya whispered, breathe fanning over your lips.

"And I know I love you." You giggle, pressing a kiss to Touya's lips, smiling into the kiss.

After a few, incredibaly soft and dreamy kisses Touya rest his forehead on yours, looking down at you. "Marry me."

"Wh-what?"

"Marry me. We can build our own family here, away from the world. They'll find us eventually.. and an unmarried woman like yourself would be forced to marry some snobby noble."

"You're just making excuses to make me yours." You tease, bumping your nose against his.

"Maybe I am. Would that be so bad?"

"Mmm not really."

"Oh ho? Is that a yes?" Touya smirked, pulling you into his lap.

"Depends. I require lots of attention. Plus foot massages when I'm pregnant."

"P-pregnant?"

"You mentioned a family, did you not?"

"Y-yeah.. I did."

"But on a more serious note, what are we going to do about the Imperial Army? They'll find us eventually- like you said, and then they'll expect our son or sons to go to war. And our daughters to get married-"

"Shhh, it's okay, Doll." Touya soothed, pressing a finger to your lips- receiving a kiss to the warm flesh.

"How about we.. get some revenge and protect our future angels?"

"That sound perfect, actually." You grin, knowing where this was going.

"But, marry me first. And then we'll go traveling around for our honeymoon.. we wouldn't be searching for the army's camp ground or anything.."

"I love you so freaking much."

"Not as much as I love you, Doll."

~~~~

A/n 3: I'm not too sure about the ending, but I hope this wasn't too long + suited your taste anon!! Also, I have zero experience kissing, so I hope it did an okay job lol 💀😅

~

Feedback and Reblogs are very appreciated <33

Dabi's masterlist | Masterlist | Navigation | You can tip me here <3

~~~~~

Do not copy, repost, nor plagiarize my work. Ask before you translate or use my work in any way -minus reblogging.

[argisthebulwark]

so so so I was on my way to work this morning blasting music right. not paying any particular attention to anything, just letting my playlist shuffle through bc I still had major fog brain and didn't think of anything past hitting play and what not.

Well suddenly mantra by bring me the horizon came on and it snapped me awake, particularly the part right after the second chorus that goes like "I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, all I'm asking for's a little bit of faith" bc my brain was like !!! major miraak and ldb vibes holy shit (which btw this entire blog is responsible for my new obsession with him so thanks)

like that part just hits soooo well for that. the lbd asking miraak to just have faith in them!!! and leave apocrypha with them. I had it on repeat for hours today and it's just been stuck it my head for the rest

aaa!! i don't usually listen to new BMTH but you're so right about this song. it's been added to my Miraak playlist. it goes so well. i'll link it here for anyone who wants to listen

"I promise I can save you."

The Last Dragonborn's words rattled Miraak's bones. Their hand was covered in blood and ink when they thrust it toward him. Eyes full of desperation watched his every move over the Black Book sitting open in their lap, dark magic whirling and twisting over its pages.

He couldn't trust them. They were his enemy. He belonged in Apocrypha even if it crumbled. He wanted nothing more than to squash their obnoxious hopefulness. He couldn't be saved, didn't know if he wanted to be.

"Close your eyes and listen carefully, Dragonborn." Miraak put every ounce of hatred into his words. They didn't even flinch. "I am bound to this realm. You cannot save me."

"I'm the only one that can save you." Their hand grabbed his, warm skin sticking together and Miraak was disgusted by the way his heart leapt. He'd stomped down his feelings for so long. He wouldn't allow himself to feel that way about the Last Dragonborn.

"How do you expect to do this?" That damned smile was on their face at his words. He knew he'd lost to them yet again. He had spent lifetimes building himself into an unbeatable foe but failed time and time again when met with the Last Dragonborn.

"I know it doesn't make a lot of sense." They babbled and gripped his hand so tight he swore he'd lose feeling. "All I'm asking for is a little bit of faith."

Their words took his breath away. The Book's green glow cast eerie shadows across the Last Dragonborn's face when they looked over at him and Miraak caught a glance of what they could have been. He imagined them at his side at the height of his power, matching thrones in his palace, the unstoppable force they could have become had they met under different circumstances.

"Can you believe in me?"

It's so easy to believe in them. Miraak felt himself nodding before he could think better of it. Apocrypha's seas beat against their platform and for the first time in ages he felt hope. It was a dangerous feeling but the Last Dragonborn gave him hope.

The world turned upside down. Miraak was nauseous when he tumbled through empty space, flashes of green and black stealing his vision when he succumbed to the power of the Black Book. The Last Dragonborn clung to his hand through it all. They never let him go.

Landing back on Skyrim knocked the air from his lungs. The bright sun overhead blinded him and old smells he'd long forgotten filled his nose. Trees towered overhead and Miraak waited for his vision to stop swirling.

Despite his worst fears the Last Dragonborn never let go of Miraak's hand. They squeezed his fingers to call his attention. He hesitated - his mask had been lost in their last battle. He wasn't sure what they saw when they looked at his face, if he'd become some horrible monster like the Seekers.

Their eyes crinkled when they smiled up at him. Miraak knew he was staring but couldn't help himself - the grime covering their face did nothing to stop his heart from hammering. He even felt a bit guilty for leaving so many wounds on them.

"How did you do that?" He whispered, trying to figure out how they'd cast a calming or persuasion enchantment without him noticing. He knew the truth but had to bury it. He couldn't have feelings for the Last Dragonborn. Absolutely not.

"Do what?" They laughed, rolling closer to Miraak over the dirty ground of whatever forest they'd landed in. "I just talked to you. You're the one that listened."

They were dangerous. Far too charismatic for their own good. Miraak's heart leapt when the Dragonborn leaned close to him, studying his face. They didn't seem horrified so it couldn't be too bad, though he didn't feel inclined to find a mirror anytime soon.

"You're too persuasive." Miraak felt himself smiling, a plan already forming in his mind. His last plot had only failed because he was working against the Last Dragonborn, but on the same side they could conquer everything. "Do you want to start a cult with me?"

[aliypop]

If You're Looking For Trouble: Part 2

Word Count: 1,318

Writers Note: This is a limited series requested by @sissylittlefeather if you lovely fans have any requests or wanna say hi my ask is open!

Warning: Language, death

Pairing: POC OC x Elvis

Plot: It's 1960 and the battle of the mobs is not a crossfire you want to mess with, with Elvis as the Don of the Memphis Mafia finds himself head-deep in insanity over Cecelia Shanel Valmos Don of the Valmos Cartel

Chapters: 1, 2, 3 (Coming soon)

Taglist

@darkmoviesquotespizza

@sissylittlefeather

@richardslady121

@thegettingbyp2

@presleyenterprise

@dkayfixates

@rjmartin11

@thetaoofzoe

@your-nanas-house

@zayurir

@60svintage

@sillybookmarks

@leapresley

@everythingelvispresley

@dreamondina94

@elvismylove04

@pocketfulofpresley

@epthedream69

Nashville Tennessee 1960

Rain was beating against the Valmos mansion windows as the trees rattled and the thunder rolled. Cecelia held a knife in her hand as she was covered in blood looming over a body. Carting him out in her Persian rug and into her car, she drove down to the river, lifted him over the railing, sliced his heart out, and as she let him go, she felt his hands around her throat, choking her. Cecelia couldn't breathe. She had a lump in her throat. Her heart was beating fast, and all she could do was scream. Midge ran to her bedside as she jolted up like a corpse, taking its last breath, 

"Boss, what's wrong..." 

"H-He...." Her hands were shaking, and her lips were dry, 

"Anthony again..."

"Mhmm..."

"Should I send in Rosa or Carlotta..." 

"Neither," She sighed, putting on her robe as she walked outside. Taking in the fresh air, she felt lonely, haunted even with her lack of romance, though she was running an empire.

"Cil..."

"Hmmm, Daphane..."

"A present." 

"Who's it from?"

"Elvis..." Cecelia opened the box and inside was a garnet and pink diamond ring. She knew Elvis had a way with gifts, but she knew he had a way with women, and those blue eyes already broke her before he'd even say anything to her.

Please don't send this back.

-Elvis Presley

P.S. There's a matching earring set.

"If you don't want his gift, I'll take it," Daphane said. Laughing, Cecelia blushed a little. No, she couldn't feel giddy, it wasn't like her, 

"I think I'll keep this one."

Memphis Tennessee 1960

"Heard you wanted to see me..." Elvis said he was standing in her almost-finished dance hall when he noticed the earrings and ring on her finger. So he did find something she liked, "Yeah, look, I know what you're doing, okay." Elvis's heartbeat began to race as he was nervous about what she was going to say, 

"And what am I doing..."

"Trying to butter me up so you can get me all vulnerable, and then when you have me right where you want me..." She paused as he looked at her, 'You'll crush the air from out my lungs." Elvis grabbed her by the arms as he hugged her, 

"I could never crush you..."

"You're bluffing." She stayed in his chest,

"Well, you keep burning my covers to hell and back." He laughed as he looked down at her. Elvis and Cecelia were good friends. They had moments of destroying each other, but they'd been friends for years. 

"You keep burning mine..." She looked up at him as their eyes met, 

"See, you liked the jewelry set ..."

"It was pink."

"You could just say thank you."

"To you... No," She laughed as he unwrapped himself from her. 

"So, really, why'd you wanna meet?"

"Well, I open tomorrow. And I want you as a partner..."

"Me?"

"Didn't I tell you? You don't want me as an enemy?" she smirked, walking as she began to show him around, "You did..." He laughed. There were moments like this that gave Elvis hope that she liked him, but she was tricky and a bit moody blue sometimes, but he adored her the same.

 "Look about your covers."

"Don't worry, Cil, I'm fixing them."

"They should be back up in a few months. You're welcome." She smiled at him as he turned to blush, "Did Mrs. Gladys Love Smith Presley not teach you to say thank you!" 

"I-I, uh, I'm shocked, is all." 

"Don't be. I like you, and I've been going through a lot, okay." She mentioned as he began to notice the lack of sleep under her eyes, 

"What's wrong, Cece..." He stopped walking as she kept going. 

"Nothing..." 

"Cecelia..." She looked at him, and those blue eyes were not fading from her viewpoint, "Don't make me ask you again." He glanced at her, 

"I had a nightmare. Everyone has a nightmare. It was stupid."

"Was it him..."

"Yeah, it was..." She sat next to him. Her hand was shaking. He knew about Anthony. He'd had his boys come after him a few times, 

"Same thing... Or,"

"I felt him choke me..." She shook her head, "It felt real..." she whispered, her hand on her neck as Elvis took it and placed her hand in his, 

"Well, it ain't real..." He looked at her again. She was at peace around him, but she couldn't be. She could not let her guard down, and he knew it, but he wished that once she'd let him in like she used to. "I know..." Moving her hand away from his as he sighed, the room was quiet as they heard footsteps. Their hands had both reached for their guns as they shot two of Anthony's men. It had to have been his mother sending them. 

"You take that end, I'll take the other end," Elvis said as she nodded,

"Gotcha..." She nodded, loading more bullets into her pistol as she continued to shoot. Blood was pooling around her feet in her new club, but Elvis wanted to keep her safe. As they finished their blood bath, Elvis came back carrying one of the men, 

"Figured you'd wanna torture this one."

"Figured you'd want this one... asshole made me chip a nail, so I chipped his tooth." She smiled, oh was Elvis a bit horny and horrified, 

"You wanna..."

"Yeah..."

"Girls take the folds off them..." Cecelia commanded as the two guys looked scared shitless. Elvis stood with Cecelia as Carlotta glared, "He's not a foe tonight..." Rosa mumbled as Daphane gave her a pair of pillars, 

"Uh, you want a hammer, Elvis?"

"Nah, I'll use my rings, honey," He winked as they left them. The two men were a part of the Rodgers mob, but she needed to know how they found her. 

"This can be either easy or hard..." She paced as they watched, "You tell me things, I tell you things..." She smiled as they smirked, "But if you don't tell me things, you'll lose blood." She said as Elvis chuckled. A few moments later, the two men still wouldn't spill. Cecelia took a deep breath as she pilled one man's nail bed back and ripped more nails from his fingers. Elvis had shot his guy in the knees twice.

"Now talk before she starts rippin teeth..."

"Okay, okay!"

"I'm listening..." 

"Fuck you!" The other goon said as Elvis shot him, 

"ELVIS AARON!" Cecelia looked at him in distress.

"What, he was rude," Elvis sighed. Something about him pushing his hair back with blood on his face was sending her into a heated frenzy,

 "Great..."

"Carlotta sent us to kill him!" Cecelia smirked at what he had to say, 

"You're bluffing..." 

"I-I-...."

"She can smell bullshit..." Elvis leaned in, "The truth just might work out for ya, son..." The goon spat in her face as Cecelia slit his throat open, "ARGH!" Her knife still going, " YOU BASTARD, NO ONE SPITS IN MY FACE, YOU GOT IT, ANTHO-" Elvis pulled her away from the body as he took the knife from her hand, 

"Cecelia Shanel Valmos! He's dead!"

"I... What happened?" 

"Ya snapped." He shook his head, "Look, how about you come to my place and-"

"You feed those bodies to the pigs, have your boys make sausages, and I'll send them as "gifts"." She grabbed him as he took her to his limo. When they arrived at his home, Jerry and Joe greeted him until they saw her.

 "Why's she here..."

"Relax, we had a rough day Jerbear." She sighed. Jerry glared at Elvis, 

"Two bodies in the trunk. Have Red and Billy deal with those."

"I'm gonna shower, so don't you try anything, Pres," Cecelia smirked as Elvis rolled his eyes, 

"You'd shoot me if I did, " He laughed as Judy watched, "So you do like someone..."

[obsxssedwithstuff]

Phoebe Green's "Maniac" is THE Trick song because the lyrics are them hear me out

You play girls like a man, (Nick)

but your eyes are like a child (either of them, but especially Nick's eyes are sad and puppy all the time)

(Especially in this scene)

Your face is cool and calm, but your hair is wrecked and wild (very obviously nick)

You hide behind your metaphors and pray that no one sees the fare behind your poker face: (consider Troy's "you stayed at the ranch because you love me" and children of violence speech)

Your dark and twisted needs (Nick's drug addiction, Troy's mommy issues, his experiments)

The girls all think you love them, but they make you feel sick (possibly Troy's not being straight and toxic Madison thing)

You smile and whisper in their ear but drop them just as quick (far fetched but Nick staying when Luciana left)

The bottles 'round the back all contain the hearts of lovers (Troy killing Mike, I don't believe they had anything besides friendship but still)

Lipstick stains on the pillow and lies under the covers (I literally don't believe in Nick and Luci)

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

(the push and pull Nick and Troy have going on, constantly pointing guns @ eachother)

Your fragile heart and your paper skin (Troy ft. trauma, basement, spoon, and hammer)

Such a beautiful boy filled with so much sin (LITERALLY TROY. and also Nick, but especially Troy, self-explanatory)

Your reflection is your very worst enemy ("you and me are more alike than you think," -Troy @ Nick

"you share the same self-destruction," -Alicia @ Nick

"maybe I'm as sick as he is." "He's a murderer." "Just don't forget what he is" - Nick @ Alicia/Madison)

Behind the glass is an angel, but the devil's beneath (the scene where Troy warns Nick of the horde (with the broken window) and overall the lines of who the 'bad guy' is being blurred(who is behind and who beneath the glass = angel/devil)

You smile at the moon even though it's haunting you (Nick's insomnia/sleeplessness)

You wonder if it ever feels as lonely as you do (literally Troy.)

Your nose is always bleeding but it's fine 'cause it looks pretty (Nick constantly being covered in blood)

It doesn't scare you like it did before the angel city (Los Angeles being Nick's starting point and all (self-explanatory))

(Goofy ahh pic I know)

You maniac, you tortured artist, do you crave attention? (Troy, self-explanatory)

Your shaking hands a consequence of how much you don't mention (both of them prob. Being reluctant to talk about the past, still being affected a lot by it, though(sort of headcanon/sort of canon))

Your mind was made of magic, now its ugly and diseased (Alicia talks about how she used to look up to Nick (this land is your land) and then the drug use. Also, Nick being like his dad and suicidal. Troy being twisted like he is)

Hell is in your head, and your head's between your knees (most definitely both of them, again a headcanon but self-explanatory)

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Your fragile heart and your paper skin

Such a beautiful boy filled with so much sin

Your reflection is your very worst enemy

Behind the glass is an angel, but the devil's beneath

(See the first time these appear)

You're so lonely, choked on money (not sure about this one as money doesn't play any role here)

Do you ever feel like you completely? ("You'll never feel freer or more yourself than when it's five in the morning and the sun's about to rise and you're out of your mind")

You're so quiet, eyes look tired (Nick fr)

You look like you're barely alive (them 24/7)

You're unreal, I can feel every single bone by your spine (had they gotten together properly :\ )

You're so pretty when you're spitting in the sink, but you can't think straight (Troy after getting beat up, probably)

[hirik0]

Jealousy 5

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

09 Soap/Ghost

After 3 weeks Ghost and Riley finished their first mission. Soap is waiting at the runway. Riley is jumping out of the helicopter slowly walking up to Soap. Ghost is still in the helicopter talking with Nik about something. Soap is kneeling in front of the dog scratching his ear. Riley is resting his head on Soaps knees slowly waking his tail looking tiered at Soap. "Hard first mission, huh? But you were a good boy, am I right Riley?" Riley is trying not to close his eyes, but his tail waks a bit faster a Spaps praise. "Riley did really good", is what Ghost says who suddenly appears in front of the two. He sounds like his just as exhaustedas Riley looks. "You ready for the debrief?" Soap ask him. "Yes Captain." Soap stops scratching Riley and stands up. Riley slowly follow the two humans to Soaps office l, looking ready to just drop and sleep till.

Ghost thought the last 3 weeks crushed his crush on Soap, but just when he heard Soap call Riley a good boy again he noticed how wrong he is. His face is burning from the blush and his heard is racing as if he just ran 20 minutes from enemies. He needs to get find a one night stand, to get some of the pend up desire out of his system, Soap cockblockes him for nearly 5 months. So he needs to be sneaky about it, Soap will stop him this time, hell he probably just ask Soap to fuck him. Somehow Ghost plush gets even strongerat this poiny the blood vessels in his face must be bursting. "Where's Captain Price?" Ghost ask while they walk to Soaps office. "Central Africa with Roach, Archer and Toad." Ghost regularly looks over his shoulder to make sure that Riley did not fall to far behind, knowing that his dog is as bone tiered as he is. When they reach the office, Soap offers him a glas of bourbon, to celebrate his return. Ghost accepts it even if he's sure the alcohol will not help him, not spilling out his crush on Soap to Soap. He removes the glasses and mask that's sticking to his face thanks to sweet and now dry blood. Ghost thinks about what he needs first sleep or a shower. When he goes with his hand over his messy sweaty hair he desites to shower first.

Everything went good he gives Soap the debrief, Riley is sleeping in the floor next to him. Till Ghost brain is digging up it's favourite and most tortureres fantasy, of Soap fucking his brain out on his desk. He takes a big gulp of the drink, hoping to flush the fantasy away. And Soap who is talking notes about what Ghsot tells him looks up because Ghost stops mid sentence. "We can do the rest later." Soaps says and then noticed that Ghost face has a light shade of red. "Your having a sunburn, Simon?" Soap asks confused, how can you get sunburn if nearly your hole face is covered up. Ghost face turns even reder at this question. "Are you blushing?" Soap ask surprised he honestly can't even imagin a scenario that would make Ghost blushing. Ghost can't come up with a answer then he has the feeling the second he opens his mouth he will just tell Soap. Riley is peacefully snoring while his owner is freaking out internally. "I gues it's the alcohol", its the only excuse even if it's obvious lie, its the only think Ghost can come up with. Ghost feels his heart speeding up, getting nervous if Soap is believing him, growing more and more nervous as Soap stays silent supressing the urge to sqirm in the chair. Soap does not because he is frowning, still staying silent watching Ghost body language. "You never blush from alcohol." Soap points out, rembering the detail from the rare times he and Ghost shared drinks in private and Ghost had removed his sunglasses and mask. Ghost is pressing his finger nails in to his tights to ground himself, relaxing his face while he thinks of an conter point "It does when I'm exhausted." Soap gives Ghost his best You're full of shit expression "Why are you really blushing, Simon?" "Nothing task related." Ghost answers before he can stop the words falling out of his mouth. Soap mouth falls open, Ghost is blushing about something not work related, in his office. Soaps brain starts working out what this possibly means. God he wants to know. Soap trys hard to not smirk when he notice that Ghost is incredible nervous, also a first for Soap to see. Ghost is bitting his lip waiting for what Soap will say next. Praying he will not poke to much. "I get it finally time for some dirty thoughts Simon?" Soap is not poking, he's stabing a fucking knife in the topic. "I.. eh.." Blood is rushing in to Ghost face, his blush spreading down his neck and to his ears. And Soap fucking loves it, seeing what kind of reations he is getting out of Simon, asking himself how often he haven't seen it because of the fucking mask. A big smirk is spreading across Soaps face seeing his wild gues is right from Simons reaction. "Well we still have to go over the mission, but when we're finished you can wank to your inappropriate thoughts." Sopas face is smug and Ghost is hiding his face behind his hands the blush spreading to his collarbones. "Fuck me." Ghost groans in his hands wanting to slip in the next shadow to never come back, never being so embraced and horny at the same time.

"Fuck me." Soap feels how his pants are getting a bit uncomfortable while this words are echoing in his head. 'He doesn't mean it like this, he doesn't mean it like this' Soap trys to remind himself but, he's also feeling bolt knowing that he catched the Ghost of guard getting these reactions out of him. It made Soap drunk on power and god he wants to know how far he can push Ghost before he gets burned. Soaps heart is racing on the thrill and also a desire is burning in his veins. He knows he wants Simon and he has the feeling that if he plays his cards right he will gets what he wants. "I gues we can find a time for that", Soap suggests, hearing the gasp Ghost lets out and somehow Ghost ears are turning more red. Ghost is opening his finger so he can see Soaps face.

Ghost panics internally, Soap is flirting with him. Soap is fucking flirting with him. And Soap is so fucking smug about it, knowing he's pushing all of Ghost buttons in the right way. This needs to stop, he needs to change topics, before Soap can get ask more questions about what Ghost wants. "If I see the state of your desk, I would say you will not have the time for what you're suggesting." Soap looks like he's thinking about what Ghost is saying. Ghost mountain somehow turned in to the fucking Sahara. The grin on Soaps face Ghost usually sees when the scot is allowed to blow something up on a mission. Ghost is swallowing knowing that what ever Soap will say next is the last nail in the coffin. He can't hold back anymore. "We'll find a way how we can do both, me doing paperwork and you getting your dirty fantasy." Check mate, Ghost logical part of his brain is official offline now, the only think he can think about is Soap offering him. "How?" If Ghost brain wasn't in the current state he would hate how breathless he sounds, how he looks at Soap with pure want and need. "Tell me Simon, what where you thinking about?"

The telephone is ringing and the spell Soap had on Ghost breaks. While Soap is busy with the call Ghost puts the mask on again. The call seems to be important because Soap is looking through some of the fils till he finds the right on. It's Ghost chance to just sneek away, get this shower he needs now for more reason then getting clean. He looks at Riley who is still sleeping and well Soap can look after the dog till after the shower. He sneaks out if the office and goes to his room with a private bathroom.

He strips out if his gear letting everything fall in the bathroom floor. He turns the shower on as cold as he thinks he can take. "Fuck", he curses because the water feels a lot colder then it really is because his skin is still hot from the conversation with Soap. "This god damm desk", he curses while trying hard to not think about what Soap might wanted to do with him. Did he want Ghost to suck him off? Would he let Ghost ride his dick? Would he have bent Ghost over the desk if asked. Even with the cold water Ghost is hard and fuck why did he leave the office, Soap would have taken care of this. He can never enter Soaps office ever again with out the high chance of getting hard. He's fucked and he needs to get fucked. By Soap a littel voice in his head is suggesting unhelpfully.

When Soap notices that Ghost ran away from him he's angry. He was so close to what he wanted. He slams his first on the desk in frustration cursing. That's when he notices that Ghost left Riley in the office. The dog makes a displeased sound by beeing waken up. "Sorry Riley." Soap also realised that they never finished the debrief, because he pushed Ghost to far. In fact so far that Ghost ran away. He text Meat to please pick up Riley from his office and to look after the dog till Ghost picks him up. He then text Ghost to tell him they can finish the debrief tomorrow. Soap is so frustrated if Shpeard haven't called to tell him wich file he needs to work on ASAP he would have Ghost still in his office and more importantly Ghost would likely suck his dick. Soap really tries to do the paperwork for Shepard but his brain is deadly focused on what Ghost is doing. Is he jerking of right now? Did he think about Soap while doing so? Paper work, paper work, this needs to be finished by tomorrow morning, Soap forces himself to focus on his task. When he realises that he is reading the same passage of the report with out taking anything in he's dropping his pen. Maybe, if he gets Ghost for some no strings attached sex in the next 2 hours he can go back to work. This is so dumb, Ghost will probably break his nose if he suggested this so directly. He decides to take a walk to get focused on work again. What Soap is not accounting for is that his brain walks him in front of Ghosts door. He stands in front of the door blinking slowly dumbfounded. He is about to leave when he nearly overhears a moaned Soap.

[whumpinaheartbeat]

Look At My Son, Pride Is Not The Word I'm Looking For (Febuwhump 2023 Day 20)

This fic contains violence, graphic injury, cauterisation and description of burned skin. Please read with discretion.

“Dad?”

The crack in Will’s voice made my heart break. My son, my beautiful son was standing there, an hand pressed to his side, his eyes begging me to help him. I roared, fighting against the Galymans that held me but it only tightened its grip, my muscles aching. I kicked backwards, desperate to get to Will but the enemy was made of stronger stuff than my flabby pimply human body.

The blood was blossoming out from Will’s wound, leaking through his fingers and staining his Camp Half Blood shirt, the knife that had inflicted the pain now sitting innocently on the ground. I distantly heard Calligula laugh but I couldn’t bring myself to care, fixated on Will and only Will.

In all of the millennia in my of life, everything I had done had been for myself. I had destroyed whole cities, cursed men and women alike to live miserable lives, I have done nothing but cause pain for all those around me and for what. For fun? Glory? Anger at a world that didn’t give a damn about me if I wasn’t saving someone every day?

Now that Will was standing in front of me covered in blood, his face growing paler by the moment, none of those reasons seemed like enough. Will had already been through so much in his short life and most of it had been because of me. Even now the only reason why he was here at all. He should have been safe at Camp, not on some quest to defeat all the Roman Emperors.

Will Solace was my son. I had already failed as a father so many times, I had so many kids that lay unclaimed, so many kids who died in my name while I never knew theirs. I was just a pathetic used-to-be God who had never done anything right in his life and now my son stood dying in front of me, I didn’t even have the strength to reach him.

No. 

Will needed me right now. I have to be stronger than this. I had to be worthy of my Son. Will had already done so much, been through so much, if he died because of me…

At first I didn’t recognise the heat burning in my chest, thinking it was just my growing anger at myself and at the one who had hurt my boy. But the heat turned into an inferno and I heard the beast behind me screech as its skin burned. I didn’t seem to have control over my Godly powers but that didn’t matter. The beast let go of me with a scream as the heat got too much and in an instant I was by Will’s side, his face in my hands.

“I’m here.” I said, wiping a stray tear from his face. “I’m right here.”

Will seemed to lose all of his strength and his knees buckled. I helped guide him to the ground, my heart breaking all over again when I heard him gasp. The world seemed to dissolve around us, there was no enemies around, no crazy Roman Emperor trying to become a God. It was just me and Will.

“Dad.” Will seemed out of breath, his chest spluttering up and down.

“Just relax…” I soothed. “I’ve got you.”

“Dad it hurts.”

“I know, I know. But you just have to relax.”

I needed to assess the injury but Will didn’t want to take his hand away. After a few more moments of calming him with soft words, he finally relented, his back arcing when I lifted his shirt. It was even worse than I had feared, jagged lines surrounding the deep puncture on his abdomen. Will hissed as I brushed against it, which at least meant he still had nerve feeling.

“Will, I need you to stay with me.” I said as his eyes seemed to flutter. “I know it hurts, but you’re going to get through this.”

Will’s eyes opened fully now, his beautiful blue eyes that reminded me so much of his mother. The normal sheen seemed to be missing, though if it was the lighting or his weakening body I did not know.

“I know.” Will mumbled. “With you, I can get through anything.”

His words struck me almost as strongly as a battering ram would. I fumbled for a response but as the God of Poetry all words seemed to allude me. As more blood pumped out of his wound, Will’s focus was waning once more.

“Will, I’m going to need to put pressure on your wound. Now, it’s going to hurt, but I need you to hold on. Can you do that?”

As Will hesitated, I became aware that Caligula was watching us as he lounged on his Roman sofa, popping grapes into his mouth as if he was watching the latest soap opera. I felt the rage boil up inside me again but I could deal with Caligula later. If the bastard was enjoying the show at least that meant I was allowed to treat my Son.

“Dad…” Will gritted his teeth. “I’m scared.”

“I know but I’m right here with you, okay? We’ll get through this, together.”

It was hard to believe that in just a few months, I could become so fiercely protective of Will. Of all of my Kids, really, Meg included in that list as annoying as she was. Before I became Lestor, when one of my children died I would be inconvenienced and maybe a little mad but those feelings would pass quickly, especially if that child hadn’t brought enough honour to my name. Humans simply hadn’t mattered all that much to me. But now the very idea of losing Will tore me apart.

Finally, Will nodded. He braced himself as much as he could, but the moment my hands pressed down on his side he was screaming, thrashing strongly.

“I’m sorry but it needs to be done.” I said as gently as I could while my own son fought against me. “Just breathe. Deep breathes… That’s it… Just breathe…”

His whole body jolted a few more times, plus another scream for good measure, but slowly Will relaxed beneath me. He was conscious, but barely, his face even whiter than before. He had lost so much blood already, it was surprising he had any strength left in him at all.

Will trembled, his breathing levelling out as much as it could considering the situation. Now that I had put pressure on the wound, while he was still bleeding it was a lot slower than before. I had bought him some time but time didn’t matter if I still couldn’t treat his wound.

Racking my brain for ideas, I realised that I was just delaying the inevitable. I had no equipment, no Godly powers, nothing. Will was still going to die and it was all my fault. I really was as useless as everyone thought I was. The God of Medicine, unable to stop his own son from bleeding to death.

Will suddenly hissed, his whole body spasming.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing that whatever it was there was nothing I could do about it.

“It… Burns…” Will choked out.

I startled so much I almost lifted my hands off of his wound. Burns. That hadn’t been from the wound, that was from me. In my anger and frustration, I had somehow again accessed my solar based abilities. While I was far from a full fledged God, I was getting stronger. Hope blossomed in my chest as I realised that maybe there was something I could do after all.

But if I was to use my Godly powers to fix this, then I would have to do it now. Will didn’t have my time left and who knew how long my abilities would remain.

Not wanting to scare Will anymore than I had to, I knew that I had to explain to him what I was going to do.

“Will, I have to stop this bleeding. I’m going to have to cauterise the wound. Do you understand?”

“Cauterising is when you burn the blood vessels around a wound to close off the system in the hopes of retaining blood pressure.” Will spoke confidently as if he wasn’t going to be the patient, though his breathing was becoming more laboured. “A procedure only used in emergencies as it can cause nerve damage or shock.”

“Very good.”

“I’ve been studying.” Will gasped. “I got Nico to quiz me. Oh Gods Nico. He’s going to kill me if I die.”

“You’re not going to die.” I wish I could say that my own voice wasn’t shaking but it most definitely was. “Not if I cauterise your wound.”

“There’s no fire.” Will said sluggishly, his eyes barely open. “It needs to be hot enough to cause an instant burn.”

“I’m the God of the Sun, remember.” I said, trying to convince both him and myself that this was going to work. “If I summon enough power, I might be able to seal off the bleeding enough to get you to surgery.”

Will’s face definitely paled then but I knew that no matter what I could not let that boy die. I would save him, even if Will cursed my name for the rest of eternity.

“Okay.” Will whispered.

Okay? Will was going to let his own father burn him? Geez, I really did suck as a parent if Will was so willing to accept such a stupid plan.

“I trust you.” Will said. 

My heart felt heavier than it ever had. He trusted me after everything I had done to him, after everything I had done to his uncountable amount of siblings that he will never know. The beautiful boy trusted me to not let him die.

Summoning my powers came easier this time as I finally remembered how it felt, that warmth that spread to my finger tips. I had to sear the wound closed as fast as I could less Will pass out from shock but the moment my hands began to heat he was screaming again and I had to fight the urge to move away and give him space. I held my position on his wound, forcing my hands to burn hotter, my eyes stinging as the smell of my own son’s flesh hit me. 

I would never forget that smell, never forget the feeling of my hands on his skin.

Will was still screaming. 

A foolish part of me wished that he would lose consciousness, that he would not have to feel any of this, but the rest of me knew that if those blue eyes closed they might never reopen. 

“Just breathe, Will, I’m almost done.”

I wasn’t but even I didn’t want to acknowledge that. I urged my powers to burn hotter, hot enough that his wound closed but not so hot that he would melt.

When I at last sat back my head was spinning and the tears were falling freely. Will lay there trembling on the floor, surrounded by his own blood. My hands were covered in it too, all of me was. The wound that the knife had inflicted looked horrendous, the skin bright red with burns that would probably never heal even with Ambrosia. Injuries caused by Gods were always prone to scarring and I knew for certain that this injury would scar me for all eternity too.

“Dad…” Will croaked. 

“I’m here.”

“I’m… Sorry…”

Will’s eyes rolled back and his body went still.

I don’t know how long I screamed. I don’t know how Caligula’s chest felt beneath my fists. I don’t know how heavy Will felt in my arms. I don’t know how I had gotten to Camp Half Blood, I don’t even know why I had went there at all.

All I knew was that I loved my son and my son was dead because of me.

I had fallen asleep at some point, no not asleep, unconscious, the use of my powers draining all of my energy. When I awoke I was warm, the sun streaming in through the window. I twisted away from it, wishing to never again see what I used to love so much.

“Dad,” A voice said. “Are you awake?”

Kayla. Yet another child of mine that I had failed time and again. How she must loath me now, knowing what I had done.

“Dad,” She said again “You should try to eat something.”

Even the thought of food made me feel ill. The thought of cooked meat especially made my stomach roll and I was certain I could still feel Will’s skin burning beneath my hands.

Kayla sighed and I waited for her to leave. Everyone left me eventually, not that I blamed them. I had been lucky that she had even stayed here for so long. The bed creaked beneath me and I tried not to tense. I kept my back to Kayla, undeserving of her gaze, willing my hands to stop shaking. 

“It must have been hard.” Kayla said. “Doing what you knew you had to for your patient. I wish I could have been that brave.”

Will wasn’t just my patient that I had failed. He was my son. He was my son and he was dead because of me, because of the pain I had inflicted. 

“He’s resting now,” Kayla continued. “I’ve been keeping him hyd-“

I was already up and off the bed before I registered her words, my legs feeling like jello beneath me. It was impossible, Will couldn’t be resting. He was dead. He had to be dead. I had seen his eyes close, I had seen his chest stutter and stop. Hell, I was the God of Healing, I could sense when someone was dead. 

Except my powers had been taken from me all those months ago. I had been able to summon just enough solar energy to cauterise Will’s wound but that didn’t mean I had unlocked the full extent of my Godhood. I looked down on myself, realising that I was not Apollo but I was Lestor, pimples and all.

I staggered forward but Kayla caught me, a hand on my elbow.

“Easy,” Kayla said. “You’re still weak.”

“He’s alive?” I croaked, my heart breaking at the mere idea that I had misheard her.

“Yes.” Kayla said. 

My legs really did fail me then and Kayla guided me to the ground, a comforting hand on my shoulder. 

“Will is alive because of what you did.” Kayla said. “You managed to stop the bleeding. I won’t lie and say that he’s completely out of the woods, he has yet to regain consciousness, but he is alive.”

Oh thank the Sun he was alive. My boy was alive, I hadn’t killed him after all.

Kayla, being Kayla, didn’t let me stand until she was sure I would not collapse again and when she did I hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead.

“I am so proud of you,” I said. “You are incredible and amazing and-“

“Dad.” She said. “You’re freaking me out. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head in that fight?”

“I’m just so glad to have you as a Daughter.”

Kayla smiled, hugging me one more time. She led me to the other side of the cabin, apparently not convinced I could walk by myself after all. There was a portion of the Cabin that had been sectioned off with surgical drapes and when we came to it I felt myself stop. What if this was just some cruel trick after all, what if Will was laying on that bed dead because of what I had done to him.

One arm still on my elbow, Kayla used the other hand to draw apart the drapes. 

On the bed lay a small body, its torso covered in bandages, its arms bruised with two seperate IV’s that had blood products and saline. The body was pale, too pale to be alive, and yet its chest slowly raised and fell, its breath misting the oxygen mask.

Nico Di Angelo was watching me carefully from his place by Will’s side but he said nothing, his hand holding Will’s own. How the boy must loathe me, knowing what I had done to the love of his life. Nico cleared his throat, at last glancing away from me.

“Thanks.” He said. “I guess.”

I did not know what to say so I did not say anything. Kayla sat me down on a chair on the other side of Will’s bed. She busied herself with checking Will’s vitals but I knew that she was blinking back the tears brewing in her eyes.

She hated seeing her brother like this just as much as I hated seeing my son unconscious and on life support.

“Will,” I said, my voice breaking. “My Will…”

“Dad?” Will whispered, his eyes fluttering.

Nico lurched forward, as did Kayla, but my sole focus was on Will.

“Dad…” Will said. “It hurts.”

“I know,” I said. 

I glanced at Kayla but she shook her head. Will had already been given the maximum dosage of medication. 

“You’re going to be okay.” I said.

“I know.” Will whispered. “Because you’re here.”