#but oh god i wish i could leave the fandom sometimes. pleas don’t get me started on how toxic it can be just for the sake of being toxic.

[thatone-churro]

honestly, at this point i’m not even worried about my personal project being so long because if warrior cats is going this long AND LONGER my series will still end up shorter. jesus christ.

[silence-burns]

Please Hate Me //part 40

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine​ Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, smut - please go easy on me, this is my first smut

"Darling, as much as I appreciate your concern, I'm still not dead," Loki mumbled, his head thrown back. 

You shushed him, lighting yet another candle and staging it around the bathtub. A shelf in the bathing chamber was full of them, just waiting to be used. 

Loki sighed as the flickering flame joined the others like a lone violin bringing an entire orchestra together.

The water was a blessing made of warm touches and muscles slowly relaxing. Whatever oils and foams you added to the bath were clearly a good choice judging by the soft, fresh aroma filling the air. Loki was not sure how long he had spent in the tub, and he cared little in finding out.

Your hands worked wonders on his scalp and he couldn't help a small groan from leaving his lips. 

"Someone's enjoying himself," you said into his ear, fingers washing the soap from his neck. The loose robe draped over your shoulders slowly came undone the more you moved. He kept an eye on it from under lowered lashes.

Loki wished you'd join him in the tub.

The air was heavy, and not only because of the steam fogging up the room. 

"How could I not?" he asked, craning his neck to look at your kneeling form behind his back. 

You put some of the foam on his nose. Loki didn't mind, and even if he did, he did nothing to stop you. He was spread lazily in the huge tub sunk into the polished, tiled floor. He took up much of the space, and looked good doing so, with the thick foam covering most of him, and only certain, oiled parts of his body rising above it like a greek statue half-submerged in the ocean.

Your fingers followed the curved lines of his arm and down to his hand, raising goosebumps in their wake. Loki's chest rose with an uneven breath.

You were glad about his magic working again - Loki spent a lot of time healing the cuts and bruises you'd  earned during the day's events. You could certainly get used to having injuries wiped away so easily. And you could certainly get used to having him so close. 

The robe's sleeve slid a little further, uncovering some collarbone that Loki wanted nothing more than to taste. 

Violet light seeped through the windows and the light breeze from outside playing with the thin curtains. A few yellowish lights passed through them soundlessly, hovering in the air for a moment before disappearing again. 

"I wish this peace could last," you said into Loki's shoulder. 

"It's not like I enjoy being chased by spiders the size of a cow either. The Edge isn't always so… hostile, though, we just chose a bad time to pay it a visit." 

"How many times have you been here?" 

"Twice, as a part of my father's court during official visitations. The first time happened when I was a child and had read hundreds of volumes about this place. I wanted absolutely nothing more than to visit its secret treasure trove. It's speculated to contain some truly marvelous things, but no one from the outside has ever seen it in person."

"I think I can see where this is going…" 

Loki felt your smile in the crook of his neck, raising goosebumps. 

"It didn't take me long to excuse myself from the welcoming feast, but sadly, neither did it take long for Thor to notice my absence. By the time he caught up to me, I had already been halfway through the locks and protection spells, so we both agreed to have just one look inside, just a peek, really."

"Was it worth it?" 

Loki's face lit up with the memories. "It was more than worth it, love. I only saw it for a few seconds, but the sheer aura of the collection was enough to take my breath away. The Edge is a space of high magical density, and the things that sometimes grow or appear here are one of a kind. I wish I had seen more, but I only had a few seconds before Thor waltzed into one of the traps…"

"So you overlooked some?" 

"I didn't," Loki stated with dignity. "I simply didn't think anyone would be stupid enough not to notice that one. I admit I might've overestimated my brother's wits, but that's all." He raised a hand and waved it as if he were dismissing the thought. 

"Wait, is that why Thor's no longer welcome here? He mentioned an old incident. So you left him there to take all the blame?" 

A barely noticeable blush crept onto Loki's cheeks. 

"That was not my plan. I had only recently begun training with teleportation, and in my childish pride I thought I'd manage to get us both to safety. A few miscalculations later, I found myself in that beautiful river near the castle walls, and Thor was left in the trove, where he was taken care of long before I managed to scramble to the riverbank and back to the feast. "

"Your father must've been delighted."

Loki closed his eyes. The rage of Odin on that day was something the Asgardian were talking about for weeks to come. "...you've got no idea."

You chuckled and kissed his cheek before standing up. "Don't think about him now. Focus on something more pleasant. We've earned ourselves an evening off." 

Loki watched you head toward the bedroom. The robe you wore was a thin, flimsy thing that fluttered over your knees and occasionally rode higher. Despite the bath turning cold, Loki was far from feeling its chill. To think that even after almost having been killed on the same day, you were still in the mood for jokes and teasing… He was lucky. Very lucky. 

There was little he could do to show his gratitude - being locked up in that suite made things difficult from a logistical side, but there were still a few ideas up his sleeve. 

Loki got out of the tub, sprinkling the scented water around the tiles. A few wild faeries - strange, bird-like creatures the size of a sparrow - were chittering outside the window, apparently arguing over a dead bug's corpse. Loki eyed them carefully while he took a robe in palest shades of green, but nothing suggested they were thinking about entering the bathroom. Still, Loki made sure to close the door firmly behind him. The last thing he needed right now were third-party intruders. 

The carpet was soft under his bare feet as Loki neared the chimney. Fire slid down his fingers and burrowed into the wood. You watched him, sprawled on the bed. 

"Someone's in a good mood," you noticed. Light played tricks with the shadows over your face. 

Loki stalked closer with a smile that made your heart skip a beat. The mattress moved under him as he laid down next to you - close enough to let you feel the heat radiating from him. 

"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked in a voice low and pleasant. 

"I didn't think being chased by a monster had that effect on you." 

"Maybe it was the company that made it that way?" 

You couldn't help the soft smile from spreading across your lips, despite how cheesy he sounded. And why should you try to stop it? You were happy. The Edge was not exactly what you thought it'd be. Its magic was stranger than you'd prefer. The investigation got more and more complicated, which made this whole situation widely different from what you'd expected. And yet, there was no denying that there were still moments of simple, unapologetic fun. There were moments of wonder. And there was the person that made everything better. 

"I love you," you said, hand brushing over Loki's brow. 

He kissed the inside of your palm. "How convenient then, that I share this feeling." 

He leaned over you, doing what he'd imagined a hundred times. He'd never get tired of how sweet your lips felt on his, moving slowly and patiently, learning every part of him. A half-breathed groan escaped him when Loki felt you open up. Blush blossomed on his face as he mapped the soft inside of your mouth with his tongue.

Your arms wrapped tightly around Loki's shoulders, pulling him further onto you, and he was more than happy to oblige. Your bodies joined, sharing the warmth and the softness, save for the thin pieces of clothing still somehow between you. Loki could feel you moving, your muscles tense and shifting with every stroke of his hand venturing over your side. 

Cautiously, Loki slid his leg between yours, in a question and a plea. He wouldn't push you into anything you didn't want, so he waited for you to choose. 

You felt him smile into the kiss that was stealing your breath away quite literally, as Loki settled between the legs you opened for him. With the heat rising in every place he touched, you couldn't help but nudge his hips even closer, too needy to wait. 

Loki devoured every whimper you fed him like a starving man. He accepted the silent request your knee was writing on his hip, and pulled more of his weight on you, his flustered face a mirror to yours. 

"Is this okay?" he whispered into the soft skin of your cheek, flushed and shining with a thin layer of sweat. His hand froze around the hem of your robe, your bare skin so close he could almost feel it, but wouldn't dare to just yet. 

"Yes," said the lips already swollen, half bare without the cover of his. 

Loki felt his body start at the intensity in that word, and he couldn't help but mark his thanks into your skin, and over the soft, sensitive edge of your earlobe that sent the shivers down your back and made your fingers clutch his hair oh, so tightly. 

"Are you sure?" 

The bastard toyed with the fabric, his knuckles brushing ever so slightly over the skin that was more than ready to be painted by his touch. He twirled it between his fingers in a manner that made you imagine all sorts of things they were capable of elsewhere. 

"You really are an asshole, Loki," your voice came out raspier than you expected. 

"Isn't that why you love me?" 

The heavy-lidded mess you'd become looked at him in a way that made Loki's resolve melt between one heartbeat and another. 

"Of course it is." 

A sigh escaped him, barely audible over the blood pulsating in his veins. It sang poems he wrote down word by word over the accepting curve of your neck as he moved slowly, meticulously down, not sparing an inch of skin from his attention. It tasted like heaven and he made sure you felt it with every nip and lick he took, tasting your desire on his tongue. 

His hand finally listened to your requests, and left your robe, moving it carefully away. The calloused fingers palmed at your heated thigh, drawing patterns of devotion with each stroke they made. The goosebumps he could feel made his hand shake just a little, as if he was struggling to keep it from squeezing too hard and too needily. Loki wanted to take his time on you, expressing everything that had been growing in his heart for so long, in every way his dreams had already teased him with. It'd been so difficult to stay focused and slow when all he wanted to do was devour you whole, to claw and bite his name into your very being so thoroughly no one would ever dare mistake who you chose to stay by your side, in this world and all the others. 

Loki growled your name into your collarbone with lips of a heathen discovering the absolute. His hand reached in the dark, following the curve of your hip to the soft expanse of your belly. Your robe was hitched higher as he went, and you whimpered at the fabric still separating you. You fumbled with it impatiently, blinded and deafened by the only thing that mattered, by the only person who would ever matter, to the point where everything else felt irrelevant and not needed, and so annoyingly in your way. 

Faster than you could notice, Loki stopped your hands with a wicked gaze and a smile that made your hips buckle. "Patience, my love, is a virtue." 

"...I don't need virtues, I need you closer, and now." 

Loki's mouth went dry as he let your hand slip from his grasp and slid over the soft fabric of his own robe. 

With a gentleness that broke his heart into a million shards, you brushed its edge off his collarbone and then further down his arm when he didn't protest. His chest heaved slightly as you reached to his rapid heartbeat and stopped your hand there. 

The muscles shifted under his velvety skin as Loki moved back to where he finished. Something ached in his chest, and his throat clenched as the kisses he trailed over your chest and stomach became more sloppy, and heated, and did wonders to the feeling rising in your core, so close to where his mouth now hovered--

The intensity of his heavy-lidded gaze was enough proof of his own pleasure. You might've wanted to say something in the moment you looked down at him, settled between your legs like he owned every inch of bare flesh, all now exposed to, and for, him. Loki smiled, holding your eyes as he slung your leg over his shoulder and lowered himself again. 

A throaty curse ripped from your lips as Loki licked, and sucked, and devoured what'd been rising in you throughout that night. Your hands flew back into his hair, burrowing in the soft strands brushing over your skin like feathers. 

Release rippled through your body, and you felt pleasure wash over you, over every place Loki had left his signature. One of his hands splayed over your hips, holding them in place as the other one, alongside his tongue, worked you through it until you were just a weak, shuddering mess gasping for breath on the silk covers of the bed. The velvety darkness did little to hide the sweat coating your limp body, and the blush radiating off your cheeks. The fireplace was still alive, and its light touched the few surfaces it could reach with tenderness reserved only for certain nights. The light brushed over your hand, still clutching the bed sheets tightly. It lightened up the curve of Loki's back as he let his robe fall off, exposing flesh, desire and the eyes burrowed into yours as if nothing else in the world was worth admiring. He rose on his knees, admiring his work with pride seeping out of his every pore. 

It also shined over the glistening mess around his lips and chin, where saliva and your juices mixed. And it showed the bastard putting his fingers, covered in it too, straight up to that damned mouth and licking them clean. 

"Thank you for the meal," he grinned, memorizing every piece of you laid out in front of him. 

You nudged him with a trembling leg, already missing his touch. 

"Where is mine?" you cooed softly, and watched the light flash in his eyes at the rasp and raw need in your words. 

Loki stretched over you again, pushing you closer and closer to him, until there was nothing separating your bodies. His hand found its way underneath your back, holding you with both gentleness and demand, as he positioned himself where he had always wanted to be. 

And as he entered where his fingers used to be just moments ago, he felt your back arch even more into him, and he drank the moan that escaped from your perfect trembling lips, and drowned in it as you moved together, nothing more than two separate beings that had finally became one, and nothing less. 

The world shattered around you, blurring the edges. Your nails dug into the flesh of Loki’s back. The moment of bliss lasted as the final waves turned into shivers and then into an embrace so tight it was barely different from the heated moments. But it was all you needed right then, and so the two of you stayed together, limbs interlaced, and fingers grasping for a hold as the night darkened, and sleep finally took you over.

*

A/N: I really hope this wasn’t weird, I’ve never written smut in my life, so please be merciful on me! I kept the reader gender neutral through the whole series, so I did my best to  keep it that way even in smut, although it was really hard.

[inactiive-shit]

The Shoulder

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Warnings: mentioned violence

Pairings: platonic DLAMP

Words: 2,795

Summary: Virgil gets hurt and the last thing he wants to do is be vulnerable withe people. Unfortunately for him, there are a few people he might like to be able to be vulnerable with.

Any inaccuracies with this one are on me, as I have never dislocated a shoulder. My sincerest apologies to every character I wrong when I get bored. Sorry, I had no idea what to name this.

Virgil didn’t want to knock on the door. He wanted to turn around and run away, tail tucked between his legs, and face the wrath of his friends sometime next week, when he couldn’t feasibly put off seeing them any longer. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have even come here if it had just been a few cuts and bruises.

But it wasn’t.

No, Virgil’s entire arm was kind of useless at the moment. Mostly because his shoulder got dislocated. While Virgil would love to say he could deal with that wound on his own, he knew better. He also knew that if he didn’t come for help and his friends found out, they might actually kill him. So, here he was. Trying to knock. It was harder than it looked, okay?

Finally, Virgil rapped the bruised knuckles on his functional hand against the door, trying not to wince. He only had to wait a few seconds before he heard pounding feet coming right at the door. Then it flew open to reveal Patton’s excited face.

“Hey, Virge! We weren’t sure if you were going to come tonight or-” Patton’s speech ground to halt as he finally took Virgil in. His hand reached out and gently cupped the less bruised side of his face. “Oh, Virgil.”

“Could I come in?” he grunted. Patton nodded and withdrew, leaving the entryway wide open before Virgil. He stumbled inside, and when Patton tried to wrap an arm around his waist to support him Virgil jolted. There were just too many bruises on his body for anything to not hurt.

Patton helped Virgil into the kitchen and he (carefully) collapsed in a chair. Patton rushed off before Virgil could even say thanks, and then he came back with the first aid kit and Logan in tow.

“Who did this to you?” Patton asked as he began setting up the supplies he needed. Virgil glanced away, and then made an aborted shrug-stupid fucking shoulder.

“Same old, same old.” He tried not to notice the assessing gaze that Logan directed at him, the sharp eyes that would see the reason Virgil had come here likely before Virgil felt like addressing it.

“Virgil, that’s not a name.” Patton began wiping Virgil’s face with something wet, a little harsher than he needed to. Virgil hissed and jerked back.

“Jesus, Pat. Are you trying to reopen the cuts?”

“Stop complaining,” Patton shot back and continued cleaning up the blood with barely any change to his methods. “You know, if you could just call us before doing something so-so-”

“Obtuse? Ludicrous? Half-witted? Shortsighted?” Logan suggested.

“Stupid, then you wouldn’t be nearly as hurt half as often. We could help you. You know we would.” Patton hesitated, eyes softening for a second. “We take care of our own, Virge.”

Before Virgil could refute that, say that they shouldn’t have to, or explain that it actually wasn’t his fault this time, he heard two more pairs of feet stomping down the steps.

“Padre! Nerd! What’s taking so long-” Roman stopped dead as he entered the kitchen, causing Dee to walk face first into his back. Roman barely budged, eyes glued to what he could see of Virgil’s injuries. His voice was an unbearably soft, concerned whisper as he said, “What the hell, Virgil?” and then turned angry and much louder as he proceeded it with, “Another fight? Are you fucking serious?”

Once again, no one waited for Virgil’s response or defense. Logan told Roman to calm down, and Roman began yelling at them both, and Logan got in Roman’s face. Then Patton abandoned his station as caretaker to get between the two of them and prevent the second fight that Virgil could lay witness to that night.

It was only Dee, who edged around the brewing tensions, that acknowledged Virgil in the situation at all.

“Damn,” he muttered, taking in Virgil’s face and pinching his chin to move it around to see from all angles, “I’d hate to see the other guy.”

“Guys.”

“What.” Dee’s voice lost all emotion and he brought Virgil’s face back to stare directly into his eyes. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Guys. Plural. As in more than one,” Virgil spat. He was glaring, but they both knew it had nothing to do with Dee.

At least, Virgil thought they both knew that.

Dee dropped Virgil’s face and stalked across the kitchen like a storm, finally gathering the attention of the other three. His face was curled into a snarl, scar standing out stark white against the burning red. He stood at the sink for a moment, staring out the window. Logan reached forward.

“Dee, is everything-”

He spun, startling Logan into going quiet. “Are you telling me,” he said - at Virgil more than to him, but at least he was speaking with Virgil in mind, right? “Are you telling me that you went out and fought multiple people at the same time without getting us first?” Dee’s voice had gone from barely controlled anger to outright yelling, and as soon as he finished the others were all piling on, adding their two cents to something they knew nothing about.

Virgil launched himself out of the chair then, and went for the back door. Gods, he wouldn’t have come at all if he had known that they would react like this, if he had realized they were just going to yell and scream and set off his anxiety after he’d already had his ass beat once tonight. This was bullshit. And really, wasn’t it what Virgil got? The one time he actually tries to get help, accept the offer that they will always be there for him, of course they would only get mad and blame Virgil for it, as though Virgil wanted to be covered in bruises and blood and injuries and-

Virgil felt the hand wrap around his dislocated arm, and Virgil tried to backpedal before his arm got yanked by his own stupid momentum, but -

But it was too late.

Virgil screamed as his arm wrenched backward and he hit the floor, curling in on himself. He could only be vaguely aware of the hand on his arm disappearing because the pain exploding from his shoulder was taking up all his senses. It pounded through him like a hammer and anvil, and all he could do was press his face into his knees and force breaths through clenched teeth in the same pattern Logan had taught him so long ago. It helped with panic, so maybe it would help with pain, too.

Minutes later, or hours or days, Virgil could hear Logan’s voice in front of him. “Just keep breathing Virgil. You’re doing very well. Keeping breathing.” He could also hear Logan’s hand making a steady beat against the linoleum of Patton’s kitchen, and he began the nerve-wracking process of matching his breathing to that pattern. Logan was a much steadier counter than Virgil was. It made for a much more effective breathing exercise.

It took at least ten more minutes for Virgil to be able to think coherent thoughts past the pain, and another two to even consider talking when every part of him hurt so badly.

“I’m-I’m good now,” he panted to Logan. He slowly uncurled himself from his knees. “Help me up?”

“Where-where will it not hurt?” Logan asked, and Virgil snorted. (Which hurt and almost threw Virgil headlong into a round of crying, but he had some self control, give him credit.)

“Everything hurts, L. Just, just take my hand, yeah?” Virgil offered Logan his more functional arm, and after a moment’s hesitation Logan used the arm to pull Virgil up. When he was standing again, Virgil pressed his head against Logan’s shoulder with his eyes closed and chanted I will not puke in his head until the vertigo passed.

“Virgil? What’s wrong?” That was definitely Patton’s voice, shaky and soft. Virgil glanced at him to see Patton was standing farther away than the other two, and he was holding his hands to his chest like he’d been burned.

Patton had been the one to grab his arm, then.

“I-it’s, um, can I-sit. I need to sit down.” Logan helped Virgil to the table, barely touching him like he thought one wrong move would kill him. Virgil wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t be appropriate right now, and it would probably kick start another argument and Virgil would definitely have to leave if that happened.

“Is your arm broken?” Dee asked, and he tried for his regular look of nonchalance, but he was pale and holding Roman’s hand. Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but another bout of nausea almost had him redecorating Patton’s kitchen, so he clamped his hand over his mouth and tried not to let the bile come up.

“Who did this, Virge?” Patton asked. “How did this happen?”

Virgil took a deep breath in, and tried to focus on the others’ breathing. It was better than pain and more real than the chair he was sitting on.

“I was coming here, and I crossed the alley by the river,” Virgil said.

“Stupid,” Roman whispered. It was less an accusation than a plea. Virgil whole-heartedly agreed. Stupid didn’t even kind of cover it, and he wished he could stop.

“Yeah, well, I thought-I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Point is, Remus’s friends were hanging down there, and I didn’t realize that until I was getting the shit kicked out of me.” Virgil did laugh then, small and cold and painful. It was too funny, really. He was always warning the others not to take that path, not to go where they knew those assholes hung out alone, and yet Virgil decided to do it. Alone. At night. All because he’d been running a little late and had missed more than his share of their hang-outs. It wasn’t fair, and Virgil was tired of not seeing his friends. Virgil was tired of showing up with bruises. Virgil was just very, very tired.

“I am going to kick hisss asssss,” Dee muttered, slipping into the hiss that only his closest friends got to hear. The look on Logan and Roman’s faces seemed to say that they agreed, which was odd considering Logan was the one most opposed to violence in their group.

Virgil decided not to dwell on that.

“So, what’s wrong with your arm?” Patton murmured.

“Shoulder’s dislocated, I think. I felt something pop and it hurts like a bitch.”

“God, I am so sorry, Virgil. I didn’t even-”

“It’s fine, Pat. It’s not your fault.” Virgil kept his eyes firmly on his hands in his lap. “I didn’t exactly tell you.”

“No, V, it’s-”

“Not now, Patton. We need to handle this injury before anything else.” Logan was eyeing Virgil’s shirt and jacket like a particularly difficult puzzle. “I need to see your shoulder to fix this, and to do that I will need to remove your clothes. I can infer that such an action would cause you immense pain, so I am unsure as to how we should go about this.”

“Cut it off,” Roman suggested. Virgil’s head shot up to him incredulously.

“What?” he demanded.

“Cut it off,” Roman repeated. “That jacket is shit, no offense Virgil. It’s not even lined and you’ve been wearing it so long it’s not even black anymore. It’s gray. And the shirt isn’t anything special either. It’s just a plain shirt.”

“I don’t have any clothes here, you moron. What am I supposed to wear?” Virgil said.

“Patton has clothes.”

“I am four inches taller than Patton.”

“And I’m three inches shorter. What’s your point?” Virgil looked wildly between Roman and everyone else. They all seemed to be in agreement.

“This is so stupid,” Virgil mumbled. He leaned back in the chair, one arm crossed and the other hanging uselessly at his side.

“Actually,” Logan said, staring consideringly at Virgil’s clothes, “we may not need to cut it off completely. The jacket is big enough it can probably be moved out of the way with relatively little difficulty, and the shirt would only need a cut through the fabric so that I can see your shoulder. But past that, I don’t think we would have to cut the whole garment off.”

Virgil sighed. “Fine. Do whatever.” He did his best not to whimper or flinch when Logan leaned closer, though judging by the look he got from Roman he still looked pretty damn pathetic.

“Definitely dislocated,” Logan announced. Virgil refrained from shrugging. “I can fix this. However, it will hurt. It will hurt a lot. I’ll be quick, Virgil, but I have to pop it back into place. That entails quite literally moving the ball of your arm around the socket in your shoulder until it goes back into place.” Logan’s eyes were large and worried behind his glasses.

“That’s supposed to be quick?” Virgil asked. He definitely didn’t whimper it or mumble it at his lap like a scared kid. He asked, because he was Virgil and Virgil got hurt enough that he would never embarrass himself by being scared of it.

Really. That’s...mostly true.

“It sounds a lot more complicated than it is,” Logan said. “But you are going to have to stand up. And I would feel a lot more comfortable if Roman could also come over here to steady you.” As Roman crossed the room, Logan looked over to Patton. “He’s going to need a sling. Do you think you could find one or perhaps something we can turn into one?”

“There should be one in the basement,” Patton murmured, staring with a distant horror at Virgil. But then Dee grabbed his arm and he snapped out of it. They both went downstairs.

“I’m not entirely sure I can stand back up,” Virgil said. Roman smiled, strained.

“That’s what you have me for, Dark And Gloomy. I’ve got ya. Just push with your legs.” Roman secured one hand under Virgil’s good elbow and put the other on his opposite side. On the count of three, they pulled Virgil to standing and he swallowed the vertigo down again. There could be time for puking up stomach acid later.

“Alright,” Logan said, placing one hand on Virgil collar bone and wrapping the other around his wrist. “I’m going to, well, essentially I’m just going to yank your arm and then the ball should pop back into the socket.”

“Should?” Roman asked. Virgil knew if he looked at Roman’s face and saw the incredulity there, he wouldn’t be able to do this.

“Fuck this,” Virgil said.

“It will,” Logan rephrased, then looked at Virgil. “Are you ready? On the count of three. One, two, three.”

The next thing Virgil knew, he was blinking awake and laying in Roman’s lap on the kitchen floor. His arm hurt like hell, but a lot less of hell than it had been before. He didn’t try to move it. He’d honestly rather just sleep.

“Are you awake there, Edgar Allan Woe?” Roman asked. One of his hands was brushing through Virgil’s hair. Virgil grunted and shook his head. Roman laughed. “Good for you. You really, uh, scared me there, Virge. I thought Logan had killed you.”

“‘m harder to kill than that, Princey,” Virgil mumbled.

“Obviously,” Roman agreed. “So, Logan got you a glass of water then went to see what’s taking Patton so long. I could give you the water, or I could move you to the couch in the living so that you’re resting somewhere comfortable. Your choice.”

“I doubt you could move me. I have seven inches on you.”

“And zero pounds,” Roman retorted. “To the couch we go.” Virgil hissed as Roman stood up with him and carried him to the other room. Roman set him down more gently than Virgil felt he’d ever been treated before, and then Roman was grabbing the glass of water from the kitchen and making Virgil drink.

“You have any other major injuries we should know about?” Roman asked. Virgil shrugged, winced, and then shook his head.

“Just bruises and stuff.” Virgil shut his eyes. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me if something cool happens.”

“You got it, Count Woelaf. See you in the morning.” Roman wedged himself under Virgil’s head and began running his hands through Virgil’s hair again. “That’s totally unfair. Somehow, even when you’re covered in dirt and blood, your hair is still softer than mine.” Virgil snorted, and let himself drift off. It was probably the most comfortable and safe he’d felt in weeks, and he was fucking exhausted. Putting on a sling could come later. For now, Virgil would sleep. And in the morning, he would eat. Simple as that.

[redvoid-40]

Chapter 6: New Enemies

Fanfic title: ??? Word count: 2817 Fandom: Naruto Pairing: eventual Gaara x OC, cannon pairings Genre: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Warnings: None 

And Gaara is here at last! It’s just a tiny bit but it’s there! :D Hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think about it!

(6 chapters already… plus the Happy Anniversary stand-alone. I guess I should make a Masterlist eventually”

Previous chapter / Next chapter

Ko-fi

After Team Seven returned to Konohagakure they had a week to rest and recover from their C-turned-A mission.

Since she had been mostly unharmed Shin used her free time to explore more her newfound sensitivity to chakra. From what she had observed during their mission, she was the only who had developed said ability and she couldn’t help but wonder. She thought of asking Kakashi or even Iruka about it, but both had been strangely busy those days so she ended up doing some solo training to practice it more. 

She had thought of going to the library to do some research about it, but the mere idea of being in a room surrounded by books and scrolls all day was enough to make hives raise on her skin.

Deciding to focus on a more hands-on strategy Shin decided to try sensing and analyzing the chakra of the people in the village. However, she was quickly overwhelmed by their numbers and unable to focus on just one energy. So she decided to go to training grounds that were surrounded by nature, where she could focus on the chakra of the animals and plants around her. Sometimes Naruto would join her there, and these chakra-sensing sessions quickly turned into sparring matches. After those matches, once they were both too exhausted to keep going, Naruto would sometimes volunteer to be Shin’s guinea pig in her special training, allowing her to use his chakra as a focusing point to improve her sensing abilities.

On their last free day, Naruto had done a full functional circuit around her and Shin had managed to follow his every movement with her eyes closed, only by sensing his chakra.

“It’s kind of creepy, Shin-chan. It means you can kinda watch me use the bathroom since we live so close, believe it.”

Once their week off was over, Kakashi had summoned them for a team meeting early on the next morning.

Shin had grown so used to go to bed late in the night - sometimes early in the morning - and waking up in the afternoon that Naruto had to use the key she had given him in case of emergencies to invade her apartment and physically detach her from her bed.

—

However, their teacher himself had arrived a whole hour late.

“So sorry I’m late.” Kakashi spoke and from his tone alone Shin knew he wasn’t sorry in the slightest. “I got lost in the path of life.”

Shin felt like a zombie and could only watch in silence as Naruto demanded exciting missions from their teacher, barely registering one every two words the boy said.

Naruto-chan, how I wish I had your energy.

“Relax, Naruto. I’ll give your missions soon enough.” Kakashi said. “Before that though… Shin-kun! Can you wake up and hear me out?”

Shin startled at her name being called and only then noticed she was nodding off so bad she had a bit of drool falling from her slack jaw. 

“Y-Yes, Kakashi-sensei!” The girl said, now wide awake and blushing furiously as she rubbed the back of her hand against her mouth.

“I need you to go to this address.” Kakashi said, offering her a piece of paper. “This is your mission for today.”

Shin took the paper from his hands, staring at Kakashi as if he had grown a second head.

“What?! How come only Shin-chan has a special mission?” Naruto complained. “Give me something too Kakashi-sensei! I’ll prove to you how much I’ve grown, believe it!”

“Naruto, I told you I had a mission for you three didn’t I? Learn some patience.” Kakashi said. “And you should get going Shin-kun. You’re already late, you know?”

Shin pouted at her teacher and quickly opened the folded paper to read the address in it. To her frustration the place was on the other side of the village.

With a sigh, Shin bid her friends goodbye and started to run towards the place.

—

It was well into the afternoon when Shin was dismissed from her… “mission”. And she couldn’t help the big smile stretching on her face as she made her way back. She hoped to find Naruto and the others on their usual after-mission meeting spot. She was so excited to tell them the news!

I can’t believe it! I wonder if Kakashi-sensei had the chance to talk to them yet? Ahhh! This is so great! I can’t wait to tell Naruto-chan! And Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun as well! 

To Shin’s glee, when she turned the corner she found Naruto and Sakura standing on a street together. To her surprise there were three others with them.

“Konohamaru-kun? Moegi-chan? Udon-kun?” Shin called as she approached the party. “What are you guys doing here?”

The trio smiled at seeing Shin andMoegi was quick to attach herself to one of her hands.

“Shin-nee! Nii-chan said he’d play Ninja with us today! Come play with us too!”

Shin was quick to smile and nod at Moegi. “Sure! But can it wait for a bit? There was something I wanted to talk abou-”

Shin noticed she had lost the others’ attention as Sakura approached. She stopped talking just in time to hear Konohamaru whispering to Naruto with a sly smile on his face.

“Tell us, Nii-chan. Is she your girlfriend?” The younger boy asked, obviously referring to Sakura.

Shin froze immediately. Oh boy, this won’t end well.

Naruto laughed. “Even you kids can see she’s crazy about me, huh?”

Shin’s jaw dropped as she stared at her soon-to-be-dead friend in disbelief. She couldn’t believe Naruto would gamble with his life like that! Once she recomposed herself, Shin turned to a fuming Sakura with the most disarming smile she could muster.

“Sakura-chan plea-”

Shin was unable to speak  further. In a blink of an eye Sakura had punched Naruto, making him fly through the wooden fence behind them. 

Shin stared at the fallen Naruto from over her shoulder and swallowed.

Scary, Sakura-chan.

Konohamaru took Naruto’s pains and opened his mouth and, before Shin could do anything about it, words were already leaving it.

“What kind of girlfriend are you? You’re a witch, and ugly too!”

Shin’s jaw dropped so wide she was sure she had dislocated it.

“Sakura-chan! Please calm down!” She yelled, putting herself in front of Konohamaru. “Please remember he’s a little kid! Don’t hit him!”

Sakura glared at Shin for a moment, but found it in herself to take a deep breath and calm down.

“I’m leaving.” She announced, giving her back to everyone.

Shin sighed in relief and pulled Naruto to his feet. “You kinda asked for that, Naruto-chan…”

“Shin-nee, how can you be on her side?” Konohamaru asked, blatantly offended. “I bet she’s not even human! Did you see how big her forehead is?”

Shin stared at Konohamaru in horror and for a moment she felt her heart stop.

Are they trying to get us all killed?

Slowly Shin looked over her shoulder, praying to every god out there that Sakura hadn’t heard that. But she had. And she was staring back at them with a terrifying expression on her face.

Shin swallowed; she knew none of them were safe now. Those are the eyes of a predator.

There was a moment of silence.

And then they ran.

Driven by fear - for he had been the worst offender - Konohamaru ran quicker than any of his comrades, desperate to escape the clutches of Death.

Before he could get far, he slammed on someone. And as one the whole party stopped; even Sakura forgot her momentary rage as she stared at people in front of them.

Konohamaru had slammed on a boy that seemed to be slightly older than them. He wore all black, had purple face-paint and a strange thing tied to his back. A few steps behind him there was an older girl, with blonde hair and a huge fan strapped to her back.

Both of them had the symbol of Sunagakure on their protectors.

“Do you need something?” The strange boy asked, glaring down at Konohamaru.

Shin didn’t quite understand why he had bothered to ask, since his hand shot out to grab the front of the boy’s shirt before he had a chance to answer. However, before he could raise Konohamaru in the air, Shin grabbed the boy’s wrist tightly, keeping it still.

“Please…” Shin began with a calm voice. “Let the kid go. It was an accident.”

The older boy glared at her but she felt his muscles relax as he let go of Konohamaru.

Shin smiled. “Thank-”

Before she could blink, his other hand shot forwards and bunched up her vest in a tight fist as he pulled her to him and growled in her face.

“You’re an annoying brat.”

The girl behind him seemed unamused. “Let her go, Kankuro. Or you’ll regret it later.”

Shin grabbed the boy’s wrist with both of her hands as he raised her to her tiptoes.

“Shin-chan! Let her go, you bastard! ”

Shin could hear Naruto sprinting to help her and then she felt it. A strange shift in this stranger’s -Kankuro - chakra, as it seemed to shoot towards Naruto.

“Wait, Naruto!” Shin yelled, trying to turn her neck to look at her friend. “Calm down!”

Her words stunned the boy into stillness and she sighed in relief. However, there was that shift once again, and next thing she heard was the loud sound of Naruto falling down.

How?

“You are a Genin here? Seems like your village is full of insects.”

Shin turned her brown eyes back to Kankuro and glared. “You played your little games. Leave them be.”

Kankuro just smirked at her and raised his fist higher in the air, making her feet leave the ground entirely. Shin was holding herself not to fight back and escalate things further, but this guy was really pushing her.

“I don’t like weaklings and brats like you. So when someone starts running their mouth like that… It makes me want to break them in two.”

Shin swallowed, feeling how serious this guy was.

This is turning out to be pretty bad…

“First, I’ll take care of you. Then I’ll deal with the loud one over there.”

As if in slow-motion Shin saw Kankuro raise his fist at her and tensed her body. She really did try her best not to get into trouble with this guy, but she was not about to get punched in the face for no reason.

Before his fist could touch her Shin grabbed tightly on the inside of his wrist and rotated it in outward roughly, until the entirety of Kankuro’s arm followed the movement as to not break any bones.

“Wha-”

Then a small rock flew towards the hand that was holding her in the air. It came with enough speed to make the boy bleed, and he at last let go of her.

As soon as Shin’s feet hit the ground she jumped back so she was standing side-by-side with Naruto. Her eyes glanced to the direction the rock had come from, and she gave a grateful nod at finding Sasuke sitting on a tree-branch over there.

“You’re pretty far from home.” Sasuke spoke. “Get lost.”

Shin smiled and laid a comforting hand on a sulking Naruto’s shoulder as Sakura and Moegi started to fangirl over Sasuke. 

“Thanks for running to my rescue, Naruto-chan. I really appreciate it.”

Her words seemed to embarrass Naruto further, and it didn’t help that Konohamaru was now drawing comparisons between the two boys.

“You brat, you’re the type of guy I hate the most.” Kankuro started up again, untying the… thing from his back. “Get down here.”

“Kankuro!” The girl called. “You’re not seriously going to use Karasu because of this!”

Shin sighed and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, ready to try to keep the peace for a second time. Then she felt it-

This chakra-

Heart beating even faster Shin’s smile died as her wide eyes went back to Sasuke’s tree. But she wasn’t staring at him. There was another boy there. He had messy red hair, a ‘Love’ kanji tattooed on his forehead, and a large gourd tied to his back.

And the feel of his chakra was terrifying. 

Shin’s brown eyes crossed with his sea-foam orbs and for a moment time seemed to freeze. No one had noticed that boy yet, only her.

How is this possible? Only Jonin should be this capable of hiding their presence, but this boy can’t be any older than us.

Shin opened her mouth to warn Sasuke, but the newcomer beat her to the punch.

“Kankuro, stand down. You’re an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten why we came here?”

His voice was cold, almost detached as he spoke but his eyes didn’t leaver hers for even a second. The boy’s gaze was becoming too intense for her, as if he was dissecting the very flesh from her bones, and Shin couldn’t help it. She averted her eyes, moving them back to Kankuro.

The newcomer’s presence visibly shook him.

“I know, Gaara. But these brats challenged us. They started it, I swear.”

“Shut up. Or I’ll kill you.”

“U-Understood. I’m sorry, I lost control here.”

Shin’s eyes widened at hearing Kankuro’s answer. He must be truly scared to lose face like this.

The boy’s unfeeling sea-foam eyes danced between Kankuro and Sasuke, before settling on Shin again. “I apologize for the problems he caused.”

Everyone around her stayed in absolute silence, so Shin took it upon herself to answer with a forced smile back on her face. “It’s okay. No harm done on our end.”

The redhead kept his gaze on her for a moment longer before dropping to the ground in a cloud of… sand?

“Let’s get going.” The redhead ordered. “We didn’t come here to play.”

As the trio turned to walk away, Sakura pushed her way to the front and ordered them to wait. 

Shin was close to pulling out her hair in frustration with everyone around her. What was up with people not letting things be today? If Konohamaru hadn’t teased Naruto about Sakura in the first place, none of that would’ve happened.

“Your protectors are from Sunagakure - the Hidden Village of Sand. While both the Fire Country and the Wind Country are allies, no Shinobi can enter another village without written authorization. So please explain what you are doing here.”

The three Suna Shinobi turned to them but it was the girl who spoke.

“Are you serious? Do you live in another planet?”

Sakura was equally annoyed and confused by the blonde’s response so before things escalated again, Shin put herself in the middle of them.

“Sakura-chan, I think they must be here for the Chūnin Exams.”

“Ah, at least one of you knows their stuff, huh?” The blonde teased.

Shin turned back to the trio of foreigners, seeing the girl raise her visa.

“As you can see, we have permission. We are Genin from Sunagakure in the Wind Country, and we came here to take the Chūnin Exams.”

“Shin-chan.” Naruto called, walking until he was by her side. “I’ve never heard of the Chūnin Exams. What are they?”

“It’s the exams all Genin like us need to take to graduate to the rank of Chūnin, Naruto-chan.” Shin explained. Then she pulled Naruto closer so she could whisper in his ear. “I have some pretty exciting stuff to tell you all later, so don’t let me forget.”

Just with that Naruto was pumped. “I can’t wait, Shin-chan! I’m in it, believe it!”

Shin smiled at her friend, for a moment forgetting all about the dangerous trio in front of them.

Sasuke dropped to the ground to stand by their side. Shin was about to thank him for his help, but before she could say anything he yelled the the Suna Shinobi’s backs.

“Hey, you! Identify yourself.”

The girl was the first to turn around, staring at Sasuke with a glint in her eyes that Shin knew all-too-well. 

“Me?” The blonde purred, smiling dreamly.

 “No. The one with the gourd.”

Shin swallowed as the boy turned back to them, eyes fixed on Sasuke. “I’m Sabaku no Gaara. I’m also curious about you. What’s your name?”

“Uchiha Sasuke.”

Gaara nodded once and Shin thought it would finally be the end of it. But then he turned his eyes back to her.

“And you with the wavy hair. What’s your name?”

“O-Osasu Shin.” She answered, then as an afterthought, she bowed her head to the trio. “Ah, nice to meet you all. I hope we can all… get along?”

Shin could feel everyone looking at her as if she was crazy and there was no helping the blush that spread on her cheeks.

“Shin-chan…” Sakura spoke lowly from behind her. “Sometimes I worry about you. Really, I do.”

[kittenwritesstuff]

Let’s hurt tonight

Fandom: Marvel Paring: Erik Lehnsherr x (teacher!mutant)reader Genres:  a bit of angst, fluff  Words:  1.482 Summary:  You and Erik fave feelings towards each other, but obviously none of you admits it. One evering, Erik misunderstoods Charles during a conversation about you and a confrontation ensues - requested by @ladyzombiielove

The evening has fallen quite some time ago yet you can’t sleep. Something bothers you and, despite having hard times admitting it, you know very well why sleep evades you.

You can’t stop thinking about Erik. Since the very day he had arrived with Charles, the quiet, cold facade of his couldn’t leave your thoughts. You wondered what happened to him, what made him so distant?

And when you found out… Good God, you couldn’t help but cry.

Still, Charles was the only one Erik would speak openly to. Yes, you did share a word or two with him but never a longer conversation. Actually, you began thinking Erik hated you.

Charles assured you that was not a thing. Erik was just like that, he had hard time trusting people, which was no surprise after what he had been through. But still, Charles didn’t convince you. Obviously, you knew better.

Even though you trusted Charles, you just couldn’t take his words seriously. He heard your worries and wanted you soothe you. Nothing more. Just empty words.

___________

“Charles, is Y/N your family? You seem very close.”

“No,” Charles laughs a little, “Y/N’s my friend. We’ve known each other for… forever.”

“Is she a mutant as well?”

Charles nods. “She is. Although she’s not very keen on using her powers.”

Erik knits his brows. “Why not? Did she hurt anybody?”

Charles nods once more. “Her power is a bit explosive, so to say. But now she can control it perfectly and thus, will teach the students how to control their powers.”

“You speak very fondly of her,” Erik muses, trying not to show anything more than polite interest. But Charles can sense that something is underneath, that Erik is hiding something. Surely, he will not push Erik , but Charles is starting to feel very curious.

“Well, how can I not? She’s the strongest woman I ever met, my real friend, someone with the same vision I have. At times, I think I didn’t deserve her. But she’s still by my side, still supporting me. You don’t meet people like her very often. She’s special.” Charles smiles, more to himself than to Erik, and the latter notices it immediately.

Then, out of nowhere, Erik stands up from his seat and leaves, muttering something to himself.

Charles opens his eyes as the memory of his last conversation with Erik ends. It was two days ago and for the time being, Erik is actively avoiding him.

Truth be told, he was suspecting something since he saw how Erik looked at you for the first time. And well, there were his thoughts… As if something exploded in Erik’s head and then was quickly muted so that Charles wouldn’t notice it.

And then, whenever Charles stumbled upon you and Erik in one room there was this heavy silence, a kind of tension you and Erik seemed to ignore. He didn’t talk to you or Erik about it simply because he was sure the two of you would solve it, one way or another.

However, nothing changed and Charles is now sure that both of you were acting like teenagers.

“Teenagers in love…” he mutters to himself as he makes his way to your room. He has a feeling  you won’t be sleeping.

___________

You don’t expect anyone to visit you this late but you’re not really surprised to hear a knocking on your door. There’s only one person who can come to you at this time and so you call,

“come in, Charles!”

He lets himself in and looks around you room. There’s an open book on your nightstand, still on the same page you opened it. A half drunk bottle of beer and an untouched dinner but you look like you don’t care about it. You’re still in you day clothes as if you didn’t plan on sleeping at all.

“Is everything okay?” you ask and Charles raises his brows.

“Yes, why?”

“It’s a bit late and you wouldn’t come here if everything was alright,” you note with a small smile that doesn’t quite reach you eyes.

“Well, uhm…” he clears his throat and sits on your bed. “I wanted to talk to you about something I sensed lately. Well, in fact, I’ve been sensing it for a while now.”

“Something’s wrong with one of the students? I thought they were doing well, none of them came with any problem to me.”

“No, no, no, it’s not about students, Y/N. It’s about you,” he decides to not mention Erik as of now. Most likely you will tell by yourself and Charles doesn’t want to be too nosy.

“Oh,” you pant and try to smile. “I forgot how observant you can be. Or were my thoughts too loud?”

“A bit of both,” he admits. Slowly, he comes to your bed and sits on the edge, facing you.

"So, what's the deal?" you ask, half jokingly. Charles notices you're tensed, a bit anxious.

"Y/N, forgive me for sticking my nose where I should no, but I've noticed that you and Erik don't really talk to each other."

You knit your brows, "well, that's true. But it's not my fault. He's... hard to get through."

Charles chuckles quietly.

"Yes, he is. Sometimes I think that nobody could break through his walls. Raven tried though..."

"And?"

"Let's say it ended up as a one time adventure."

"Oh..." you nod your head. It doesn't change how you feel about Erik, although for a brief moment you wish Charles didn't tell you.

"Does it bother you?"

"No, why would it?"

"Y/N... How long do we know each other? Please, I'm not going to judge you, I only want to help. You look like a shadow of yourself at times and I hate to see you so upset. Can you tell me what's wrong?" Charles pleas and you close your eyes, gathering your thoughts.

You're sure he won't judge you but admitting that you're in love with Erik... You don't really know how Charles will react. Would he secretly mock you? Would he play matchmaker and try to get you and Erik together?

You smirk at your last thought.

"What's so funny?"

"I just realized how bad of a matchmaker you'd be."

"Oh, wanna bet? Also, that's disappointing. You're my best friend, you know I'd do everything for you."

"Even that?"

"Of course! If that's what you want me to be..."

"Charles... You think that... it might happen? That I'm enough?"

"Y/N, love, without a question! Believe me, I know."

"Well, then... we can try to figure it out somehow. I mean, I don't want to say it out loud, but..."

"You don't have to," Charles gives you an encouraging smile and you nod.

"Want some tea?" you propose and he stands up.

"Sure."

You get up, tie your up in no time and come to the door, opening it.

And...

"Erik?" you almost shout, surprised.

"Charles, I thought I'd find you here. I have a quick question. When did you star to find it amusing?"

"Find what amusing?" Charles is shocked, even more than you.

"Making fun of my feelings," Erik says through gritted teeth, giving you a quick gaze.

Your heart starts to pound. You wasn't ready for that kind of confrontation. Frankly, you never wanted to take part in one.

"Erik, I was never-"

"Never? And that conversation we had couple of days ago? And now, a moment ago I've heard..."

"Heard what?" you ask as you finally realize what Erik is so angry about. He misinterpreted those words. As surely he did while speaking with Charles.

Erik looks at you intensly but you don't flinch. You're prepared, knowing very well now why he was acting so strangely around you.

"I was talking about you, you idiot," you whisper to him with a fond smile and he opens his mouth, caught of guard.

"She really was," Charles confirms and squeezes his way past the two of you. His head starts to ache - there's too much of emotions for him to bear. 

Erik is dumbfounded - he stares at you with absolute shock and you wave your hand in front of his face to snap him out. 

“Listen, I know Charles made it sound as if him and I were... very close, but we’re just friends.”

“I misunderstood everything,” Erik mutters, running his hand down his face. 

“Evidently,” you nod. “So, do you want to drink some tea with me? And talk?”

“Yes, but no tea. Wine maybe?” he smiles at you and your heart skips a bit. There he is - finally back to his senses and charming as ever. 

“Wine’s better, yes,” you admit and make your way to the kitchen. Erik steps by your side and slides his arm around your waist, making shivers run down your spine. And you sure enjoy it. 

“And perhaps less talking...” 

[tiny-maus-boots]

Soulmates AU pt 10

Summary:  Inspired by Soulmate(s) au, soulmate(s) au pt 2 , and Soulmate(s) au pt 3 hc by @fandom-heaux . An AU in which everyone is born with a smudged birthmark. As you find your mate in life the smudge forms their name when you’ve made an impression on them. In this world Beca doesn’t realize she has any, let alone three. FYI hc pt 3 is particularly important to Stacie’s reaction to her marks.

A/N: And a big thank you as always to @chloes-yellow-cup for reading this and posting in in places because I’m far too lazy to do it myself. She’s the bestest bestie. 

And no @rocketalana they are still not getting a dog

Beca

It felt like she had just gotten to sleep when the banging started. She thought at first if she ignored it that whoever the fuck it was would just go away. She’d gone to bed just as the sky was turning gray with the first rays of sun. They hadn’t stayed out that late but once she’d gotten home she’d found herself drawn to her work station. A melody she was toying with finally resolving itself into something real and tangible to work with. Something that had reminded her of the night she’d just had and the people she’d spent it with. It had burned in her brain until she was finally done with it and sometime during the third or fourth listen through she had passed out dead asleep at her table in the blissful slumber of the truly exhausted.

But now there was incessant banging and it was just too much to ignore. Beca rolled to her side thinking she was in bed and realized all too late that she was in her chair when the floor came up hard and fast to her face. “Son of a bitch.” Ow. Carefully she stood and blinked blearily at her phone to check the time as she shuffled to the door. It was just after 9 but she didn’t know anyone that would be trying to break her door in that early. She was already flinging the door open in just as much wild determination as whoever the hell was on the other side. “Alright, alright Jesus! Stop banging on my goddamn door like the fucking poli…” It took her a minute to process the image of Stacie dripping wet in only a towel on her doorstep. “Stacie, what the fu…”

“No! You what the fuck! What the fuck Beca? What. The. Fuck??” Before Beca had time to process anything that was happening Stacie pulled open her towel to expose her smudge marks. And most of everything else. “How could you do this to me?”

Beca’s eyes started to drift before she realized what she was doing and she brought her hand up quickly to cover them since Stacie didn’t seem to mind that she was mostly naked. “Dude! No! Why?” What was even happening right now? Stacie’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and struggled to pull her hand away from her face. There was a bit of a tussle and Beca was 95 percent sure boob touched her arm several times in the process. The door across the hall from hers opened abruptly and they both froze when her neighbor Luke cleared his throat.

“Ladies. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here but I know I’m into it.”

Something rose in her chest in a hot flash and she yanked Stacie into the apartment, quickly shoving the taller woman behind her own body. “Hey! Keep it in your pants creepster!” He gave her a raised brow and she nodded feeling a hell of a lot tougher than she was. “That’s right. I’m talking to you. Keep it moving Bucko.”

Luke gave her a mild snort. “Yeah alright whatever. Tell your friend to call me when she wants it proper.”

Beca’s face crinkled in disgust at that. “Gross.” She brought her hand up to point to her eyes then his letting him know she was watching him then slammed the door shut. Her furious protective streak momentarily giving her amnesia so that she wasn’t at all prepared for Stacie to be standing stark naked behind her, hands on her hips and seething with fury. “Uhhhhh….”

“Beca!”

“Stacie!” She felt her eyes start to drift again and jerked them up to meet unflinching green eyes. “Did you just run down here mid shower?” Because that was of course the relevant information at the moment. Stacie’s eyes narrowed and Beca hurriedly squeaked out a plea for mercy. “Could you maybe with clothes or something?”

“NO!” It seemed the longer Stacie stood there waiting for Beca to look at her the angrier she got. She’d never actually seen her friend get mad before but if it was like this she didn’t much care for it. Nor did she care for being the target of Stacie’s anger.

Okay okay it was time to bite the bullet. Beca took a deep calming breath and opened her eyes to look at where Stacie was pointing. And okay her gaze may have taken a really quick detour before it rested on the smudge along the taller woman’s ribs. Beca. Oh. OH. OH FUCK.

Beca raised her hand and pointed at the offending mark. “What the fuck is that?? What did you do that for!?!” This couldn’t be possibly happening. At all. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. She’d just fallen asleep and this was some crazy fucked up dream she was having because she was horny and she thought Stacie was hot. That’s all it was.

“I didn’t do it! You did!” They stared at each other each breathing heavily before Stacie’s gaze broke, her lip quivering with the effort to hold back whatever was threatening to spill over and Beca felt a pang of hurt in her chest that she hadn’t expected. Stacie shook her head and wrapped her towel around herself tightly, her voice strained with the raw emotion. “I know I fuck around a lot but you were my first actual friend.”

“You um, you’re making that sound like we’re not friends now.” When Stacie didn’t say anything in denial Beca bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah that’s about the way it always is. Can’t believe this one time I thought…no, you know what? Doesn’t even matter.” Beca shook her head still not sure how any of this was even happening or why. She only knew that she had gotten used to being close to someone, caring about them and it hurt like a bitch that she had to give it up again. “For what it’s worth Stace, I didn’t know and I’m really fucking sorry.”

So sorry she didn’t even have words for it. Beca rubbed her forehead against the headache thundering behind her eyes. She backed up a few steps until she felt the couch against her legs and let them give out so she could sink into the sofa. Beca pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees waiting for Stacie to yell or scream or worse…leave.

There was a moment of hesitation before Stacie moved to stand directly in front of Beca. She could tell Stacie was torn between her hurt and anger and the desire to say something else but she wasn’t sure what it was until Stacie settled on the coffee table in front of her, for once taking great care in not flashing Beca more skin than was already on display. “I just.” The tall brunette let her shoulders slump and she shook her head. “I just got used to the idea that maybe it would be okay. Having someone. Even if I lost them, maybe it would be okay. Because I had you and you’re not supposed to be my mate. I’m not… I’m not supposed to lose you too Beca. And now…now there’s this and there is nothing I can do about it.”

It hurt in a way it shouldn’t have and tears stung at the back of her eyelids. “I swear to God, I didn’t know Stacie.” If she knew it could happen she wouldn’t have spent any time at all with Stacie. She would have just kept doing what she was doing before which had worked out fine for her. “If you don’t want to talk to me again I would completely understand. I don’t know what else to say except maybe it’s a different Beca? Maybe it’s not me at all.”

Even saying it felt wrong and she could tell by the way Stacie’s eyes went from green to a stormy gray that it didn’t sit right with her either. “I don’t know any other Becas and it’s logical to assume it’s you because you met Chloe, who is married to Aubrey, who is also destined to be my….mate. There’s definitely a connection.”

Beca looked up at Stacie when she caught the soft wonder-filled pause before she said the word mate. She smiled at the look on Stacie’s face, remembering the way her friend had been so careful with Aubrey. Or the way she had made them all feel at ease with one another, comfortable and relaxed like they had all known each other for years. It had hit her sometime after their third round of karaoke that Stacie made her feel happier than she had in a really long time and she wished that she could know what it would be like to belong to each other.

But she had also wondered that about Chloe. Because it was supposed to be safe. Because she was Beca and she didn’t have marks or a future of together forever. It shouldn’t be possible but here it was, now she was somehow linked to Stacie for the rest of her life and Jesus she wanted it so bad it hurt to think about. She had wanted to mean something to someone for her entire life and never thought it was something she could have. “Should I keep apologizing?”

“No.” Stacie sighed like a DMV worker on a Friday afternoon and flopped her hands uselessly in her lap. “I know your dumb ass didn’t mean to do…” She shook her head and closed her mouth, taking a second to think things through before she spoke again. “Look. All of this is weird and fucked up. I have three marks you have none, and one of my marks belongs to someone who already has a mate. And you’re clearly stupid in love with Chloe.”

Beca cleared her throat and shook her head. “M’not stupid in love with Chloe. I don’t even know her.” Lie. She knew Chloe, knew her soul, and for fucks sake could she get any cheesier?

Stacie leveled a quietly disappointed look at her and she sighed. “Really Becs? Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t feel something for her?”

She couldn’t do it. Beca dropped her gaze and went back to resting her chin on her knees. “I think it’s pretty clear I have stupid feelings for people, don’t you?” Stacie gave a humorless chuckle and nodded. “So now what?”

“Now…now I guess I go upstairs finish my shower with cold water.” Beca raised both brows at that and Stacie shrugged. “Eh, I may have forgotten to turn off the water in my haste to kick your tiny ass into next Tuesday.”

“Sorry.” She didn’t even know why she felt compelled to apologize again but she did.

“No…I’m sorry. I knew you didn’t do anything…I just…it hurt yeah?”

Beca sat up straighter and tried to figure out how to say things she didn’t even know she understood fully? “Stacie…I know you don’t want to lose yourself or whatever. For what it’s worth? I wouldn’t want you to be any other way and if this is it…if this is real and not some fucked up cosmic joke…I won’t let anyone change you.”

Stacie looked like she wanted to say something else but she didn’t she simply gave a slow nod and reached out to squeeze Beca’s knee. Though to be fair Beca didn’t know if Stacie was comforting her or looking for comfort by the gesture. “Thanks Becs. I better go get ready. So should you by the way.”

“Uh…why?”

The leggy brunette stood and adjusted her towel again with a slight shrug as she headed for the door. “Aubrey and Chloe invited us over for lunch and we’re going.” She gave Beca a quick look as if she expected the smaller woman to argue but Beca just gave a slow nod.

“Sure, okay. But I mean…is that it? We just pretend like nothing is different?” Because it WAS different now. At least for Beca herself.

Stacie paused at the door and sighed. “I don’t know Beca. But I think ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away and if I’m right somehow Chloe and Aubrey are a part of this so talking to them is our best bet. Besides. Do you know anyone else we could talk to about this?”

That would be a big fat no. Until Stacie she didn’t even really have any friends. “Point taken. Meet back here in an hour?” Stacie gave her a half wave of agreement before she left the apartment. Beca watched her leave before she picked up her cell phone and dialed quickly. It rang several times before voicemail picked up and she sighed in frustration but put on an almost cheery tone. “Hi Mom, right I forgot you’re somewhere near Ecuador which is totally cool! If slightly…inconvenient. Kidding. Kidding. Okay well guess I called for no reason really. Just saying hi. L.A. is great, work is good. Yes the apartment building is still standing. So I guess that warning about a good strong gust of wind was wrong. Haha. Um are you sure I don’t have any marks? I mean. I’m asking for a friend? Okay whatever have a good time, be safe, and I love you. Tell dad I miss him. Don’t go to snake island!” She hung up before the message could cut her off and flopped back onto the sofa.

“Why do you like fucking with me Universe?” She was not in the least bit surprised when she received no answer.

[stimmypaw]

stimmypaw reads Shattered Sky, a late tumblr post

I just, forgot to post this for some reason. It’s me writing my thoughts on the third book of A Vision Of Shadows, I also did that with the first and second ones! Very full of spoilers, enjoy!

Omg.....meet Darktail's Kinnies... someone should name their wc kin server that its a great name, most of them seem to have wc names tho I thought he was a whole gang?? Did more of them get wc names or have already than we knew???

Oh no I barely got to see echosong :c I hope the others are okay, frecklewish is a wonderful name

Chapter one they already have all of the clans going 2 fight???? This absolutely won't go well and that terrifies me

Onestar realized Darktail has a beautiful voice :/ and he feels bad battling him /j

Yup just as I expected, awful loss. Plus Twigpaw was sure her sister was gonna kill her which killed Me

Alderheart parent mode

YASSSS ITS TIME FOR SKYCLAAANNNNNN

obviously the clans are pissed why the hell did they have this as a secret bro!!! why?? bramblestar was just ashamed now firestar???? bro WHY i seriously need to read firestar’s quest I just don’t get it

scenes of elders being cared for by apprentices is always so comforting, seeing it being interrupted and taken from violetpaw feels awful

WHO THE FUCK IS THISTLE he isn’t in the allegiances??????????????????? HELLO ah okay the rogues are showing up slowly ok

Violetpaw did a u-turn to her character here it seems?? She didn't find the elders were lecturing her at first, was Darktail's lil speech about how she was brave enough to convince her they are wrong??? A few compliments couldn't possibly be enough for that. Plus again she is seeing Darktail brutally murder someone and how despite seemingly treating each other nicely these cats are ready to betray each other anytime. Surely this would be enough for her to feel like the elders are still right and she can't trust these cats???

Hope she doesn't start seeing this violence as normal

I'm so sorry for blossomfall I can't believe she got with thornclaw of all cats

LIONBLAZE JAYFEATHER CINDERHEART AND TAWNYPELT, ALL JUST CASUALLY LISTENING TO GOSSIP. ABSOLUTELY SCANDALOUS I LOVE THEM

I love like how the book will take breaks every now and then to show for a millisecond ivypool being mad at tigerheart or vice versa and dovewing looking at tigerheart or vice versa and have the POV go "wonder what thats all about" and just proceed with the plot. Wonderful

Twigpaw :c

"A "mrrow" of welcome" has got to be my favorite line on this book

The cats complain there's already enough plots going on.

Whitewing is a very nice background cat and I appreciate her. But God Omen of the Stars only proved Starclan is just a bunch of old dead cats and that can be both good and terrible. Her argument is needed tho.

The others have a point tho, how can they leave the clan with less cats right now? I guess they would come back with more but what if they're not strong enough to defend themselves? A lot of trouble could happen with Skyclan coming as is to the territories and its understandable for the cats to be concerned

Violetpaw and Needletail cope with trauma as best they can and thats not a lot

I hope Violetpaw at least realizes how fucked up it is that they are scared of their leader who is supposedly their kin and the one who they should be the most loyal to

Oh Boy kittypets!

I love kittypets so much they're always fun. Darktail is so creepy tho I read some quotes he said to my girlfriend and she said he sounded like GLaDOS and yeah he's creepy I can feel it without Violetpaw agreeing with me that she's scared of what will happen next. Where did Darktail get that blood thing????

I like Zelda. She seems to be Violetpaw's age I hope she is so they can kiss. ALSO THIS IS KINDA LIKE MENTORING??? Violetpaw should get a warrior name

TWIGPAW PUT A PILLOW UNDER HER BLANKET SO NO ONE WOULD NOTICE SHE LEFT AHAHAHHA I bet she went to find Skyclan didn't she

PURDY

NOOOOOOO PURDYYY NOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

my gf said indigestion can sometimes have those effects on a cat if its really bad i didn't know that

PURDY CANT BE GONE PLEAS

I am SO sad I knew this was coming and I hated it terrible awful

I never saw a vigil so sweet. We Are All Love Purdy.

OH RIGHT TWIGPAW GSGWHAHAH

I appreciate no one is annoyed or pissed theyre all just worried, I am too

Apparently Alderheart and Bramblestar disagree lot? They seem to get along great though. And uh I guess Bramblestar doesn't always take his advice but, that doesn't mean much they like talk about stuff and Bramblestar forms conclusions taking in consideration the stuff his son said and all. Idk, feels like a weird statement Twigpaw something tells me the Erins are failing to send a message somewhere

Fuck I hope someone finds twigpaw soon, her adventure has been fun but I'm terrified for her

Violetpaw seems to be having a hard time too, not only is everything awful and terrible plus we had a time skip of a few days so who knows what happened to Twigpaw. Anyways Violetpaw having to care for Needletail like a mentor is like a young teen having to care for a young adult's mental health and that always sucks for the kid, there's not much else that can be done though Needletail probably doesn't want to worry

Violetpaw :C

This is so sad and terrible, I wish Violetpaw could be with Twigpaw right now she wouldn't be starclan knows where if they were just together!!! I hope the other cats don't start saying nonsense about Violetpaw now. She's scared she won't be accepted in Thunderclan and doesn't see herself as worthy of acceptance, and feels responsible for her older friend. I'm :CC

PAGGDHAHAHA Zelda is a trash cat and I love her

Violetpaw is suffering so much and Darktail is absolutely brainwashing her ass and she can't understand how he is to blame for everything.

Oh boy when she does.

This is such a good story God im like very tired and in need of sleep but I can't stop reading

Oh God so much has happened, this is so terrible, I love that Mothwing and Alderheart are hanging out tho I forgot what a fun character she can be!!!

Thinking about how so much would be easier since book 1 if Onestar agreed to lend a helping paw. Thinking about the begging dying bodies piling up at his door. Thinking about onestar.

Oh scratch what I said earlier guys WHEN VIOLETPAW FINDS OUT DARKTAIL KILLED DAWNPELT OH BOY

Its terrible knowing dawnpelt isn't there and like, so far thinking she was in thunderclan, only to have thunderclan cats wonder if she's in shadowclan like oh God oh fuckle this is IT

I feel so bad for Loki and Zelda :c I would give them treats

What the fuck Darktail

Holy shit Darktail

I am noticing like, cats making seriously spot on assumptions of things that happened out of small information and idk if that really isn't realistic and just a way to make cats realize things or if I'm just too autistic to relate

I'm so glad the medicine cats treat anxiety. Last time I remember that happening was the prophecy begins but I might be forgetting somethin

The fear these cats have of the clans ending feels so real I am absolutely terrified for them and I love it

It doesn't make sense for twigpaw 2 die so I'm not buying it but wow this hurts

Violetpaw time

I am itching for them to find skyclan so bad

Violetpaw you're not Squirrelpaw or Leafpaw in the new prophecy you wouldn't have felt if Twigpaw died :P

Bro Needletail :c I miss when she was a wild free creature

This prisoner smuggling deal is so fun I am absolutely excited about everyone's plans, it can't all go well so soon though.

TWIGPAW YESSSS BABY I MISSED YOU

Twigpaw lactose intolerant moment

omg she had a vision

Vision cat be nice 2 my baby she is dying

TWIGPAW FOUND SKYCLAN YESSSS YES YES YES

OMG......HAWKWING.....AAAAAAA THATS HER DAD BRO SHE FOUND HER DAD IM YESSSS YEAYESYESYEYD

This is so good im so happy

This is so awful I'm so sad WHERES THE CLAN CATS they were supposed to show up when they were asleep right????? Fuck!!!

This is so scary

NEEDWETAIL IM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Violetpaw definitely could have used a better friend at times, but God was Needletail good im so sad

Bramblestar: alderheart we need a point of view from thunderclan of what's happening so you're coming to the battle

OMG THEY DID IT!!!! I DID NOT EXPECT THAT WROW VERY NICE

Oh this is so exciting, how will they get Windclan back????

Twigpaw baby you always had your place here

I think they should both go to Skyclan but I understand if Twigpaw is indecisive she has always had a good life in Thunderclan.

Nononono Rowanstar, Scourge is the villain from the The Prophecy Begins here, your guy is named Darktail

Ominousnestar

I have been vaguely spoiled about Onestar being related to Darktail but I have no clue how

I can see Onestar's, Smoke's and Darktail's designs rotating in my mind its beautiful

I'm loving this story this is so cool

You dare challenge the warrior cats Fandom?

SKYCLAN, DROP YOUR CATS

RIVERCLAN, GET THE BUCKET

WINDCLAN, GRAB YOUR LEAFBLOWERS

THUNDERCLAN, GRAB YOUR LIGHTNING RODS

SHADOWCLAN, IDK MAN SAY BOO OR SOMETHING AHHAHA

I'm glad this is the prophecy this series really is Tumblr vs 4chan

Oh my god

This is so surreal

What an astounding battle wow and what an ending

I loved it

That was so so good

Everything here was fantastic, looking back its hard to believe they managed to fit so much plot into one book and like the pacing was Very Good this was just good writing wow? The development of Darktail, everything with Onestar, very fun I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing it was incredibly fun. I’m very excited for what’s to come too, I worry it probably won’t be as fun and exciting as this since they already got rid of the biggest threat, unless they get another, but still like I really wanna know what’s gonna happen with Skyclan! And Violetpaw and Twigpaw!!!! How will the clans cope with all this loss and receive a new clan in the territories??? There’s a lot of good build up that I don’t know if it will live up to all that happened so far, but I think it can be very good and I’m excited, lots ahead of us!!! Oh boy!!

[taeminuet]

Asphodel: Interlude 3

Title: Asphodel Fandom: SHINee (ft. EXO and f(x) members) Pairings: Onkai Wordcount: 1.5k Rating: NC-17 Chapter Warnings: Infidelity, Exhibitionism, Underage

Previous Chapters

Collab with @eorumverba

In the month between their birthdays, Jinki has almost forgotten about the little murmured promise Jongin made him.

In December, as Jinki celebrated turning 37, Jongin had smiled at him, softening his voice as he said, “I was going to get you a present, but it’s not quite ready yet. Is that okay?”

And Jinki had blinked because he hadn’t really expected Jongin to get him anything. This thing between them, whatever it is, is fledgling and new and secret. Jongin smiles shyly at him and Jinki’s hand curls warm and familiar over Jongin’s leg, his shoulders, the back of his neck. Sometimes, when Jongin is brave, he’ll lean in for a kiss or whisper that word, that tentative plea of ‘Daddy’, just quiet enough to keep it secret and soft in the air between them.

But Jongin is young and sweet and too innocent for this, and Jinki doesn’t know what all of this really is. He only knows that every moment with Jongin makes him feel simultaneously uncertain in his own choices and never more sure of himself. He doesn’t know the last time he felt like this about someone. He’s not sure he ever has.

And he’s not sure how much of that is what – the guilt, the thrill of the secret, the adoration, the protectiveness, the pride; he wishes he could separate them out so easily, but he can’t.

What he does know is that when Jongin had told him that he wanted to get him a present, Jinki had felt a rush of warmth and surprise and affection and it had taken everything in him not to kiss Jongin then and there, and anyone who saw be damned.

But instead he had curled his hand fondly – innocently – around the back of Jongin’s neck and murmured, “You don’t have to get me anything, Jongin. Having you, as a student – that’s a gift enough.”

And Jongin’s face had flushed just barely pink as he shook his head. “I want to,” he had said, voice wavering just a little but no less certain for it. “Just… wait just a little, okay?”

And if not for that flush, that slight shake in the intensity of his voice, Jinki would probably have forgotten. But as it stands, he thinks about it sometimes, a distant thought, and wonders at the fact that Jongin hasn’t given it to him yet

By the time a month has passed, Christmas slipping by in a blur of festivity and New Year’s nearly forgotten in the wake of their family preparing for school or lessons to resume, Jinki only thinks about it sometimes.

But it’s not until Jongin’s birthday that Jongin brings it up again.

They’re alone now, Jongin settling in for his usual lesson, and Jinki glances to the closed door before cupping Jongin’s face and kissing him softly. “Happy Birthday,” he murmurs. “I hope it’s a good one.”

Jongin giggles slightly, leaning into Jinki and stealing another kiss, coming away more breathless than he has any right to after only a few pecks. “It will be. Can I…?”

He trails off, the request for permission floating in the air without context, but Jinki nods anyways. Jinki is weak – he would give Jongin the world if he asked.

But Jongin only flushes and, now that he has permission, murmurs, “Daddy… I—your present is almost ready. Today, I promise.”

And Jinki doesn’t know what to do with that, because it’s Jongin’s birthday, but Jongin looks so earnest, his hands shaking just a little, and Jinki doesn’t know what to do but to kiss him again. “I wanted to get you something as well,” he says, but Jongin just shakes his head.

“I just want this,” Jongin says. “Want you.”

And Jinki’s stomach lurches, a wash of warmth running through him as Jongin pouts for another kiss. Jinki gives it, longer now, deeper, and when he pulls away, Jongin looks a little dazed, swaying slightly back into him.

“I… I have to go early,” he mumbles after a moment, almost a non-sequitur, but Jinki nods. It’s Jongin’s birthday after all – he’d expected him to have plans. Jongin hesitates for a moment. “Can you do something for me? Stay in here so I can give you your present?”

And Jinki raises an eyebrow, but… well, his ability to refuse Jongin hasn’t improved in the last few minutes. And as Jongin stands up, cheeks almost alarmingly red, and hurries away, Jinki stays, running his fingers over the piano keys. It’s only a few seconds before he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and turns to see Jongin yanking up the blinds on his window, pulling his curtains aside.

It’s more than Jinki’s seen of his room before, and it’s still a little messy in that teenage boy kind of way; clean, but with things stacked on shelves and bedsheets still pooled towards the end where Jongin kicked them off this morning. Jinki can’t see the whole thing, but he gets a view of the end of Jongin’s bed, his desk, and about half of his dresser. And Jongin.

Jongin, whose face is still red and whose hands are visibly trembling, who steps away from the window and who can’t even quite make eye contact with Jinki as – oh.

Jongin’s hands slip to the bottom of his shirt and he peels it up, graceless and a little rushed, but revealing golden skin and the barest hint of definition around his abs. He drops it to the floor and runs a hand through his hair, and he’s biting his lower lip, but his eyes flicker to Jinki’s, just for a moment, like a flash of bravery before they fall again.

He sinks to the edge of the bed, and Jinki can see the rise and fall of his shoulders, like he’s taking deep breaths, and Jinki knows what’s going to happen, somehow, before it does. He knows it’s wrong, but he can’t stop staring, can’t stop watching as Jongin lifts his hips, just a little, and pushes his jeans down around his thighs.

His cock is already half-hard, clearly with anticipation, and Jongin bites his lip as he wraps his fingers around it, and Jinki can imagine the noise he’s biting back as he tips his head back, just a little, baring his throat as he starts stroking his cock in full view.

That’s not graceful either – it’s fast and a little desperate, Jongin running his fingers over the head to smear precome down his shaft every so often to fight off the friction.

If he was touching Jongin, he would go slower, would teach him how to drag it out, how good it would feel -- god. Jinki swallows hard. He shouldn’t be thinking about this. He shouldn’t be watching this.

But he can’t bring himself to look away as Jongin’s back arches just so as his fingers sweep across a nipple, making him visibly shudder. Jinki is staring, memorizing whether he wants to or not, and he feels a pang of guilt for the way his hand creeps down, rubbing the heel of his palm over his cock.

Jongin’s mouth parts, and Jinki can’t help but imagine Jongin moaning for him, that low voice gasping his name. Or, no, god, not his name, because Jinki knows what Jongin would call him. And Jinki can’t help but imagine it now: Jongin shaking against him, letting Jinki build him up so slowly, and begging, ‘Daddy, please.”

Jinki bites back a groan. He’s hard now, eyes fixated on Jongin as he rubs his hand over his cock through his pants, the friction breathtaking. He doesn’t go as fast as Jongin, but that’s not exactly strange, because Jongin is lurching into his own hand, rough and unsteady and unpracticed, like his hand is the only one he’s ever had on his cock before.

Jinki presses down a little harder on his cock, biting his lips together against a moan.

Jongin’s hips are twitching now, fucking up into his hand like even the rapid pace he’s setting isn’t enough, and Jinki watches as Jongin’s eyes squeeze shut, mouth falling open just a little. He’s not even trying to be quiet, and Jinki wants to hear, wants to kiss those sounds off Jongin’s lips. Wants to be the reason for those sounds.

And then Jongin drops his gaze, just for a moment, eyes opening and finding Jinki’s through the windows between them, and Jongin comes, shooting sticky strands up his belly and over his hand.

Jongin trembles, chest heaving, but his eyes don’t leave Jinki’s as he raises his fingers to his mouth -- slick with Jongin’s come -- and licks them. It’s supposed to be sexy, but the way Jongin’s face twitches, unable to hide his surprise at the bitter taste, that’s somehow more.

Jinki feels his cock twitch helplessly. He’s not young enough to be able to come as fast as Jongin, but he can imagine, imagine Jongin already having come like this, squirming and sensitive --

Jongin’s face is pink, and he smiles at Jinki, nervous and flustered. After a moment he stands and scrambles around, digging around on his desk with his pants around his knees until he comes back and holds up a spiral notebook against the glass. In black sharpie he’s written, Happy birthday, daddy.

Jinki takes a steadying breath. He wants Jongin here, with him. Wants to tell him how good he did, how proud he is, wants to give Jongin the praise the boy so clearly yearns for. But he can’t.

Instead he stands, making a clear show of rubbing his palm over the tent in his pants. Jongin’s eyes go wide and he doesn’t even hide the way he licks his lips, the desire on his face.

But after a moment, Jongin’s head jerks around, and he drops the notebook, scrambling around for his clothes. After a minute, Jongin reaches up and the curtains fall shut, blocking him from view.

And Jinki stands there, just for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to go and run the coldest shower he can possibly stand.