#citrus chapter 20

[punkshort]

Chapter warnings: sexual tension, language, f masturbation, angst

Chapter Four

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

June 2003

The audit had been underway for roughly a week. You had volunteered, along with Colleen and Debbie, to work some overtime. The three of you and Heather blocked off a conference room on your floor for the next two weeks after hours, diligently working until about 8pm almost every night.

The audit was pretty standard. The auditors supplied a huge list of reports and documentation they wanted to review, and you spent most of your evenings working away on your assigned items. The evenings went by surprisingly fast, and it turned out to be kind of fun. You ordered in food to eat together while working. You got to know a lot more about your co-workers, finding you had much more in common than you thought. One evening, you and Debbie discovered she had grown up in a town only 20 minutes away from your hometown. Needless to say, you spent the rest of the night talking about favorite restaurants and mutual acquaintances.

One day, you were walking from the conference room, your grey ruffled skirt swishing around your knees, heading back towards your department. You were looking down at the paper in your hands, reminding yourself what files you needed to look for in the cabinet. Given the time of day, you were surprised when you ran headfirst into a hard wall of muscle as you rounded a corner, dropping the paper in your hand. It was almost 7pm, you hadn’t expected anyone else to be working.

Two large hands reached out and grabbed your shoulders to keep you steady. His scent hit you first, a comforting aroma of leather and citrus, and you knew it was Joel before you even looked up.

When your eyes met his, his face showed as much surprise as your own.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Miller. I didn’t expect anyone to be here this late,” you apologized, leaning forward to pick up the paper you dropped, but he held out a hand to stop you.

“My fault. Here, let me get that,” he said, bending down. “I wasn’t payin’ attention. What are you still doin’ here?”

He picked the sheet of paper off the ground, his face inches away from your bare calves, causing your throat to tighten. You shifted your weight, trying to subtly create more distance between you two. Joel turned his face towards you at the movement, eyes briefly flashing up and down your legs as he slowly straightened himself upright, towering over you. He held out the sheet of paper, which you took quickly, trying to hide the slight tremor in your hand.

You cleared your throat and glanced down at the paper. His eye contact was intense, it made you nervous and excited at the same time, and you found you fared better when you took a few moments to collect yourself by looking elsewhere.

“I volunteered to help with the audit," you explained. "A few of us have been working most evenings, I was just heading back to look up some files,” your eyes flicked over to the locked door, then settled back on him. His face was softer than usual, plush lips parted, and hands shoved in his pants pockets as he listened.

“I’ll come with you and carry 'em back, that looks like a long list.”

Before you could respond, he turned around and was punching his security code into the keypad. He opened the door and looked back at you.

“Are you coming?” he asked. Your cheeks flared at the direction your mind took with that question, scooting into the room as the door fell shut behind you. You walked by the printer and grabbed an empty cardboard box. Heading in the direction of your cube, you placed the box on the floor near your desk and began getting to work rifling through the file cabinet across the aisle.

Joel slowly trailed in after you, glancing around the room curiously, noting that you two were completely alone.

“I don’t make my way down here as much as I should.” Joel said, leaning against the wall of your cubical and crossing his arms. “Looks like you’ve settled in,” he added, eyeing up a few picture frames placed on your desk.

You looked over your shoulder, taking a moment to appreciate how strange it was to have him standing at your desk.

"Yep," you agreed, turning your attention back to the files, trying to work fast.

Joel leaned in a little closer to examine your photos, seemingly unaware of how distracted he was making you. He smugly noticed you didn't have any pictures of the Ken doll. He straightened back up, glancing down at your half-filled banker's box, then his eyes traveled over to the empty cubicle on the other side of the room.

"Did your boyfriend land on his feet?" he asked before he could stop himself. His eyes remained glued to the empty desk, unable to look you in the eye.

"I'm not sure, we broke up," you replied, distracted. Then the impact of his words hit you. "Wait, how did you know we were together?" You stopped sifting through files and turned towards him, waiting for his answer.

Joel shrugged and turned back around to face you, but only once he was able to wipe the stupid grin off his face at your admission.

"Wasn't hard to figure out, the way he'd look at you and couldn't keep his hands off you." Joel stated matter of factly. His heart was beating faster at the direction the conversation was headed, and he couldn't keep his mouth from turning up into a half smirk at how flustered he seemed to make you.

You tucked a piece of hair behind your ear nervously, shifting your eyes between him and the file cabinet, before giving the file cabinet your full attention again.

He noticed when Justin put his hand on your leg during that meeting.

"I'm sorry if that was inappropriate. He was only trying to calm me down." You kept your eyes down on the sheet of paper in front of you, looking at what was next on the list. He was your boss, and no matter what attraction you may have for him, you had to remind yourself this was a professional workplace.

Joel's face fell, and he immediately felt guilty. He hadn't meant to imply you had done anything wrong.

Why was he so bad at this?

"That's not what I meant, I..." he trailed off as your fingers stilled on the paper before you, intently listening but still not looking at him. "I just meant... shit, I don't know, I was just explainin’ how I knew, is all." He ran his fingers through his hair, getting frustrated with himself. His gaze fell on your pictures again.

"These your folks?" he asked you, pointing to one of the frames.

You turned to look at the pictures. You nodded and smiled warmly. His pulse began to return to normal: you were back on track.

"Yeah, those were taken at my graduation, so a bit old now. I should update those." You looked at them once more fondly, before turning back to the file cabinet.

"I gotta do that too," Joel murmured. "Change my pictures, that is. Tommy pointed it out the other day."

You smiled sweetly in his direction, making his heart flutter, and announced you were done. He bent forward to pick up the box of files. This time you were ready, and you made sure you had more room between you.

You held the door open for him as you both exited the room, back into the hallway. You passed Heather's closed office door, hearing her muffled voice as she talked on the phone.

Luckily, the conference room wasn't far. You opened the door, confused to just find Debbie still working. She did a double take when she saw Joel behind you holding a box. Debbie straightened up in her chair, gave a stiff greeting, and hunched back over her computer, trying to look busy.

"Where's Colleen?" you asked, sitting down in front of your laptop. Joel placed the box next to you on a chair, and you lifted your head up to smile your thanks to Joel, which he returned.

"Tommy asked for her help with something right after you left." She was responding to your question, but she was staring at Joel, stunned to see him smiling.

Suddenly, the conference room phone rang out shrilly. Debbie snatched it up. It was Heather, asking Debbie to come to her office to help her with something on her computer. Being a younger employee in the department meant you were the first line of defense against technical issues.

Debbie looked relieved as she got up to exit, but not before giving one more curious glance in Joel's direction as she left, shutting the door.

It was just the two of you again. He wandered over to the white board in the room and read over the list of tasks under each person's name. You wondered why he was still here, but you didn't want to draw attention to it. You stared down blankly at your computer, trying to think of something to say.

Fortunately, you didn't have to.

"Your friend seems jumpy," he stated, still turned towards the white board.

You grinned at his back. Surely, he was joking. Feeling a little more comfortable around him, you said sarcastically, "Yeah, I can't imagine why."

At that, Joel turned to look at you, genuine confusion painted across his face. You looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

Joel shook his head and you let out a small huff of laughter.

"You do realize everyone is afraid of you?" you boldly asked.

The corners of Joel's mouth turned up slightly, and he cast his eyes down quickly, quirking an eyebrow, before meeting your gaze again.

"Not you," he said, ticking his jaw to the side.

You gave a breathy laugh at his response.

"Are you sure about that?" you teased.

You watched as his gaze slowly turned from playful to heated, sending your pulse racing and making your grin vanish. His smile faded away as he walked around the table towards you. Like an animal hunting its prey.

You parted your lips slightly to accommodate your need for more air, your chest rising faster. The tremor returned to your hands that were delicately placed over your keyboard. You kept your head facing forward towards your monitor, but your eyes were glued to him approaching you from the side.

Joel placed one large hand flat on the table next to your computer, inches from your own. He leaned down, hovering over you, as his other hand gripped the back of your chair. Your heart was beating so fast, you were beginning to feel lightheaded. Your quickened breath was making your lips dry, so you shot your tongue out to dampen them, keeping your head positioned straight in front of you.

Joel's gaze caught your tongue shooting out of your mouth, and his breath hitched. He closed his eyes for a few moments and inhaled the floral scent drifting up from your hair. He could feel himself getting hard at the tension filling the room.

"You don't gotta be scared of me, sweetheart. I don't bite," he said to you, his voice husky, barely above a whisper. "Well, that’s a lie. Sometimes I bite," he couldn't resist adding with a smirk.

You couldn't stop the gasp that left your mouth at his words. Your eyes fluttered shut as you tried to stabilize your breathing, and you squeezed your thighs together under the table. The way his voice sounded and the innuendo in his words was causing your panties to grow damp. You opened your eyes and turned your face up towards him, finally seeing the heat behind his stare and the tension in his jaw. The hand that rested on the back of your chair was gripped so tight, his knuckles were turning white. Like he was fighting to hold himself back.

You opened your mouth to say something, but words failed you. When you went to shut your mouth, you gently sunk your teeth into your lower lip. His eyes flicked towards the movement, his own lips parting, and released a shaky breath.

The door banged open suddenly, revealing Tommy with his arm loosely wrapped around Colleen’s waist, giggling as they entered the room. Joel jumped away from you, shoving his hands back in his pockets as you clamped your mouth shut ruefully.

They seemed just as surprised to see you both, but slower to untangle themselves.

“Hey there, brother, didn’t realize you were still here, too,” Tommy gave Joel a mischievous grin, looking back and forth between the two of you. He glanced at Colleen, who looked disheveled and was smiling playfully at him. “Up to no good?”

Joel huffed and headed towards the door, your heart sinking in your chest, disappointed the moment was over.

"I was down here lookin’ for Heather, she needed my input on somethin’, what’s your excuse?” he shot back.

Tommy grinned and looked back towards Colleen, who had sat down in front of her computer, still smiling at him like a fool.

"Uh, yeah, same, came down to see what the status was on the thing…” his thoughts drifted away as Colleen giggled at his response.

“You mean the audit?” said Joel dryly, trying to draw Tommy’s attention away from your friend. 

“Yep! That’s it!” Tommy said, snapping his fingers and heading towards the door to join his brother. “We'll see you ladies later, be good now.” He winked in Colleen’s direction, which triggered another giggle from her.

Joel rolled his eyes and grabbed Tommy by the bicep, hauling him out of the room without giving you another glance.

The moment the door shut, you and Colleen whipped around to face each other, speaking at the same time.

"Joel?!"

"You've been dating Tommy?!"

Colleen grinned, with a dreamy look in her eye, answering first.

"Not exactly. We just hook up now and then."

You gave her a suspicious look.

"I'm not stupid," she continued. "I know he's done this with more than a few other girls who work here. It's just for fun, nothing serious."

You hummed thoughtfully, still in shock. You had no idea. Colleen must keep secrets better than you gave her credit for.

"Wait, what about you two? What was that all about?" Colleen asked. "Now it's starting to all make sense, no wonder he isn't tough on you! And - oh my god! Justin?! Did Joel force your boyfriend to quit so he could have you to himself?"

Your jaw dropped at her suggestion.

"No! Absolutely not! Nothing is going on between us," you could feel your cheeks heating up. It was technically true, nothing had happened. You just flirted a little bit, that didn't count. Right?

"I don't know, you both looked really cozy when we interrupted you just now." Colleen teased. "I've never seen him look that human before, I thought he just lived and breathed work." She laughed as she turned her attention back to her laptop, a silly grin still plastered on her face from her run-in with Tommy.

After speaking with Heather, Joel kept quiet until they were safely on the elevator heading back up to the 10th floor.

"What did I ask ya to do, Tommy? Stop screwin' all our employees, we are gonna get slapped with a lawsuit one day!" Joel wasn't sure what made him more furious - the fact Tommy ignored his request, or the fact that his moment with you was interrupted. The hypocrisy wasn't lost on him, but he knew your flirtatious relationship would only go that far. He was too old for you, and, considering your ex-boyfriend, he clearly was not your type. It was just harmless and playful, he told himself. Nothing more.

"Oh, spare me, Joel! I saw you two when we came in that room! I'm tired of your bullshit!" Tommy fired back, fists squeezed at his side.

Joel spun around, facing Tommy head on with his jaw clenched and pointing a finger in his brother's face.

"I ain't gonna say it again, there's nothin' goin' on. I was just helpin' her carry a box after I nearly ran her over. I'm not stupid enough to think she's interested in me, she's just bein' nice 'cause I'm her boss."

His words hung in the air for a moment, and Tommy relaxed after he processed what Joel had said. He leaned back against the elevator wall, crossed his arms, and nodded.

"Oh, I get it now."

Joel shook his head and turned back to face the doors, refusing to acknowledge Tommy's statement.

"Joel, I think you're wrong. If you want, I can ask Colleen-"

"No," Joel cut him off, his voice softer now, feeling guilty about his outburst. "No, just... just let it go," he begged.

The elevator opened and Joel walked briskly in the direction of his office. Tommy faltered for a moment, then decided to follow him. He cleared his throat to make his presence known, but Joel didn't seem to care. He picked up his leather jacket and cell phone, and shut down his computer, getting ready to leave for the day and still avoiding Tommy's gaze.

"Listen, brother, I'm not sure how that Amy got your head all twisted and made you think you don't deserve to be happy, but you do. Now I know what happened was fucked up, and I don't blame ya for being hung up on it, but it's been years." Tommy said calmly, trying his best to get through to him.

Joel stilled, staring down blankly at the cell phone in his hand. He averted his gaze out the window, trying to think of what to say.

"You gotta understand, what happened makes me want to avoid relationships in the office. I caught them in the copy room, for Christsake," he croaked out. Still avoiding Tommy's eyes, Joel brushed past him and back towards the elevator.

Tommy jogged back out to the lobby to keep up with his brother.

"Oh, shit, Joel, I'm sorry. That didn't even occur to me, no wonder you are so gung-ho about me leavin' the girls alone." They stood together, waiting for the elevator doors to reopen.

"Well, I don't wanna get hit with a lawsuit, either, but..." Joel trailed off as he entered the elevator again and pushed the button for the parking garage.

Tommy slapped his hand against the side of the elevator to keep the doors from closing, and finally Joel looked up to look his brother in the eye.

"I'll leave 'em alone, I promise. I thought you were just givin' me a hard time, I didn't think it through," Tommy relented. "You gonna be alright?"

Joel scoffed lightly, "Yeah, 'course. See ya tomorrow."

Tommy removed his hand and the elevator closed.

July 2003

The audit had been wrapped up for a week now, the rest of the time very uneventful compared to the night you discovered Colleen’s secret. The same night you and Joel had that charged moment in the conference room. Whenever your mind wasn’t occupied with something else, you found that your thoughts always drifted back to that night. You replayed it over in your head as much as you could remember, desperately trying to recall the exact tone of his voice and the feel of the heat rolling off his body as he hovered over you. 

On more than one occasion, you found yourself thinking about that night before you fell asleep: your hand sliding down the front of your sleep shorts, a finger dipping into your entrance to collect the wetness pooled there as you thought about Joel caging you into your seat. You had been interrupted that night, but you liked to imagine what would have happened.

You pictured Joel grabbing you by your arms and pushing you up against the conference room wall, his hands roaming up and down your sides while your hands raked through his hair. He would run one of his hands around to cup your ass, while the other went up to squeeze your breast through your blouse. Joel’s mouth would latch onto your neck as you moaned his name, grinding your hips up to his, desperate for contact. In your fantasy, Joel would feverishly rip your panties off and sink into you slowly, stretching you out and groaning in your ear about how wet you were for him.

You have replayed this fantasy over a lot in the past couple weeks, as you would hastily circle your swollen clit while another finger probed inside you, moaning out into the darkness of your one-bedroom apartment, grateful you finally lived by yourself and no one could hear.

At first, seeing Joel in the office felt awkward, embarrassed by your actions in the privacy of your own home. It became such a regular occurrence, however, that the awkwardness eventually faded away.

In fact, during your department’s monthly meetings with him, you felt more at ease. It was a stark contrast to the way you felt in your first meeting. You stayed quiet, not wanting to draw attention again, especially because Colleen thought something was happening between you and Joel. The only sensational thing was if one of you caught the other looking in their direction, which was typically met with a secret smile or a playful glance.

Today was the July monthly meeting. You sat, bored, listening to Heather discuss in great detail the end result of the audit, only looking up when she gave kudos to you, Colleen, and Debbie for helping out after hours. You smiled at her in return, feeling Joel’s gaze on you. You had a feeling he was recounting that one evening you ran into each other. You resisted the urge to look in his direction, afraid you wouldn't be able to hide your reaction.

When Heather was done, she quickly added that she had found a suitable replacement for Justin – a guy named Kyle, who had come from a competitor and had 5 years of payroll experience. He was scheduled to start Monday, which the team universally looked grateful to hear. Picking up the extra workload the past couple months was getting old.

Joel stopped Heather as she began gathering her things at the end of the meeting.

"Remember to bring me last month’s numbers before 3:30 today, I'm offsite after that.”

Heather froze for a half a second, then said enthusiastically, “Absolutely, will do!”

Everyone filed out and waited for the elevator. You chanced a look over your shoulder when you heard Joel and Tommy leave the room. Joel was wearing black dress pants and a dark blue button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, which you greedily noticed had become the standard lately. His eyes immediately caught yours and gave you a quick wink as he headed back to his office. You could feel the tips of your ears getting hot and you had a stupid grin on your face. Luckily, no one seemed to notice the exchange as you climbed into the elevator and headed back down to the 6th floor.

Everyone was settling back into their cubicles when the keypad began pinging and the door swung open, revealing a worried looking Heather.

“I hate to ask, but can anyone please take these reports up to Joel’s office? I completely forgot I had promised him, and I just don’t have the time, I have a meeting with HR in 10 minutes to go over onboarding for Kyle, and it won’t be over by 3:30.” 

The room remained completely silent, nobody wanting to offer up their head on the proverbial chopping block.

"I’ll do it,” you quietly piped up, much to everyone’s, including Heather’s, relief.

She handed you the file and briefed you on what information was inside in case Joel asked questions, and then quickly exited, on her way to HR.

Colleen grinned at you and whispered, “Why did I guess you would volunteer?”

You hushed her and once again confirmed you were not sleeping with the head of the company. She rolled her eyes.

"Don’t worry, I won’t say anything! I know that can be damaging, that’s why I didn’t tell you about you-know-who.” She winked at you and turned back to her computer, but not before whispering, “You better hurry, your boyfriend is waiting.”

For the second time, you found yourself face to face with Ruby Potter. Still ancient, and still had lipstick smeared on her front teeth. She seemed to recognize you, because this time she didn’t ask who you were here to see, she just said, “Go on in, dear, he’s free.”

You walked to his open office door and gently rapped your knuckles on the wood. He didn’t look up from his cell phone but motioned you to come and sit down. This time, you left the door open.

You sat down in the same chair as before and waited for him to acknowledge you. You took the time to glance over your shoulder at the cluster of picture frames he said he needed to update. You couldn’t really make out any of the faces, but you thought you saw Tommy in a few of them.

Joel set his cell phone down on his desk and finally looked up. The frown that seemed permanently etched on his face instantly eased when he saw it was you. You turned your head back and smiled warmly at him, which made him smile in return. You held out the folder in your hand.

"Heather was busy this afternoon and asked me to bring these up to you.”

He looked down at the folder, taking it and placing it carefully on the desk before him. 

"Thank you, sweetheart... I'm glad she chose you," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly.

You could tell he felt uncomfortable after that, because his eyes were shifting all over the surface of his desk, looking anywhere but at you.

"I actually volunteered," you told him. He looked up at you then, not sure what to say. "You scare the rest of the department, remember?" you teased him.

You could tell his thoughts definitely traveled back to that evening in the conference room now by the way his gaze darkened, still fixed on you.

Nervous about where the conversation was going, you tried to change the mood. "Did you have any questions about the numbers, Mr. Milller?"

You did your best to sound professional, and you thought you had succeeded, but his gaze only became more heated.

"Please," he croaked out, "please call me Joel."

He sounded like he could barely say the words, like he was drowning and it was all he could get out. His face looked borderline pained as he pinned you with his stare.

"Ok... Joel," you whispered heavily. At the sound of his name, his eyes fluttered shut for a few moments, as if to savor it.

You pressed your knees together again, knowing for sure now that the attraction was not just one sided. And you think he knew it, too.

Joel opened his eyes, taking you in from across the desk. You sat there, so pretty, and looking at him expectantly with those beautiful eyes. You had asked him a question, but neither of you were worried about the answer. He could see it now, the way you looked at him and said his name. He knew he had to do this right.

He cleared his throat and opened the folder, his gaze dropping to the reports in front of him. He pretended to read them but in reality, he was watching you in his peripheral. You shifted in your seat as you waited for him to acknowledge you again. He had to make sure you didn't leave here thinking the attraction wasn't mutual. He couldn't act on it yet, he needed time to think, when his head was clear.

Joel looked up at you after he pretended to review the reports. "No questions, sweetheart. Thank you... for volunteerin'. Made my day."

You felt the blush spreading across your cheeks. You stood and thanked him, heading towards the door.

When you reached the exit, you turned around and said, "Have a nice weekend... Joel." And disappeared back into the lobby.

Joel sat there, staring at the empty doorframe, replaying the way you said his name over and over in his head.

"Fuck," he muttered. He got up and headed to his bathroom.

Chapter Five

[zvaigzdelasas]

[The Herald is Zimbabwean State Media]

ZIMBABWE will soon receive a large injection of technology for mushroom farmers to upgrade their business and to bring many more into the sector, along with US$20 million worth of extra food assistance from China.

CHINA has been the main anchor of major economic milestones that the Second Republic has registered including the construction of the iconic, magnificent and imposing new Parliament building in Mount Hampden on the outskirts of Harare, President Mnangagwa has said.

The Head of State and Government said there has been growing diplomatic and economic engagement between Zimbabwe and China over the past years resulting in more companies from the Asian economic giant coming to make huge investments in the country.

President Mnangagwa said this yesterday at a handover ceremony of the China-aided New Parliament Building Project in Mt Hampden where Beijing officially handed over the building to Zimbabwe.[...]

“Over and above these projects, we have witnessed increased diplomatic and economic engagement between Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China. In addition, our country has seen many more Chinese companies investing in various sectors of the economy. The emergence of quality export products from Zimbabwe, particularly citrus, entering the Chinese market is a welcome development. The milestones that Zimbabwe has realised since the advent of the Second Republic have been positively impacted by the support of His Excellency, President Xi Jinping and the people of China.”[...]

“Honourable Members of the visiting Chinese delegation, we have noted that your country has developed based on its own resources and people. We are proud as Zimbabwe to have developed our own development philosophy, which recognises our peculiar realities, inspired by China’s development path. Here we say, Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo which, simply translated means ‘a country is built by its own people’.”[...]

“We shall forever be grateful to the People’s Republic of China who, along with the Russian Federation, vetoed machinations by some Western countries who in 2008, attempted to pass a United Nations Chapter 7 resolution on Zimbabwe at the United Nations Security Council. Presently, the People’s Republic of China continues to stand with Zimbabwe against the illegal sanctions and opposes interference in our internal affairs,” he said.

27 Oct 23

[seaoflove07]

🌹 Oc Introduction 🌹

• Artwork by The Drawables •

The red rose symbolizes romance, love, beauty, & courage.

It was the beginning of you and me,

Little by little,

You haunted my heart

and I

Became your Rose.

- Poetry By Me.

• I created my Oc on Picrew •

~ Diabolik Lovers Oc ~

A human young adult.

Name: Christine Melendez.

Gender: Female.

Pronouns: She/her.

Age: 20 years old.

Nationality: Hispanic American.

Languages she speaks: She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Blood Type: A+

Favorite Color: Pink.

Birthday: October 21st.

Favorite Flower: Pink and Red Rose.

Favorite Season: Summer.

Favorite Food: Pizza.

Favorite Drink: Coffee. She's a coffee lover who drinks 5 or 6 cups a day. Please don't judge her.

Hobbies: Reading Poetry, Coffee Dates, Listening to Music, Baking Cookies and Nature walks.

Favorite Novel: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin.

Places she loves going to: The Beach, Botanical Gardens, Mall, Coffee Shops, Museums, and Bookstores. (Even though she only reads on her Kindle)

Christine is very hard-working and responsible. She hates laziness. She is a very outgoing person, loves hangouts and she's very talkative. She is not a shy person when it comes to meeting new people.

She lives in the United States and works at an Elementary School. She's one of the younger Teachers. She loves working with children.

Christine has a kind heart and loves helping others. But her little self can get moody at times and she gets angry easily. But she knows how to control her temper.

~ APPEARANCE ~

• Artwork by December Custom •

Eye Color: Medium Brown.

Hair: Blonde and her hair is 24 inches long. Sometimes she will have two different hairstyle.

Example: Left soft wavy. Right soft curls.

Height: 157.48 cm.

Breast size: C cup.

Scent: Roses.

All her body care and hair products are rose-scented. Her favorite perfume and signature scent is Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. 🌹

A classy and very feminine fragrance. It’s a lovely floral scent with main notes of Rose, Patchouli, and a tiny hint of citrus. These notes together make the fragrance smell elegant and fresh. It's described that it smells like an imaginary fairytale garden. 💐

Christine loves this perfume and she uses it every day.

Azusa is obsessed with her scent. The scent of roses mixed with her blood scent is intoxicating to him.

• Artwork by The Drawables •

Style: Girly and Feminine.

• Artwork by Mark BrushesHands •

My Oc will not have a main outfit. She will have different outfits in all her arts.

Christine loves fashion and getting doll-up. She loves dresses. (Casual and Elegant)

She also loves skirts, cute blouses, high heels, and gold jewelry. Her favorite everyday necklace is a Gold Cross.

~ Diabolik Lovers AU Story Information ~

Story Title: Love Planted a Rose. 🌹

It will be a Trilogy. Dark, Maniac, and Ecstasy.

Art Cover and Story Description, Here.

Christine Diaboy Ship: 🔪Azusa Mukami.

• Artwork by The Drawables •

Azusa will be her one and only, I will NOT do Love Triangles or Multi-ship with the other Diaboys.

~ Why he calls her “Rose?” and not “Eve?”

Azusa calls Christine “Rose” mainly because of her scent of roses. But he has also said that the Red Rose in general reminds him of her.

Quotes is from a short Fanfic I wrote.

Azusa: “… I was… walking in the garden… and I picked up this… red rose for you...”

Caressing her cheek, he looks at her with so much love in his eyes.

Azusa: “You are… just… like this rose… You’re pretty… like this rose… you smell nice… like this rose … your skin is soft… like the…rose petals… and your blood… is the same color… like this rose…”

Quotes are from my Novel, Chapter 3.

Christine: “Rose? Why are you calling me “Rose?” When my name is Christine.”

He moves closer to her, runs his fingers through her hair, and strokes it. While caressing her arm with his other hand.

Azusa: “Your scent… is so good… and your skin… is so soft… like rose petals… you remind me of a beautiful red rose… The name suits you…”

“So nice... my own... little rose...”

Azusa likes to give roses to Christine as gifts, he also loves to place roses and other flowers on her hair. To him, she looks adorable. Later on in their story he also bought her a Red Rose hair clip. (The Red Rose in her hair that you see her wear in most of her arts, that's the clip he bought her) ☺️ Azusa also knows how to make Flower Crowns but he will only do those on special occasions.

Azusa and Christine both like going to the Garden a lot. They love taking walks together, holding hands, and enjoying the beautiful view of the different colors of the roses.

Roses are a huge symbol of their relationship.

The reason he doesn't call her “Eve” is because Yui Komori is in my story. She is the only true Eve. I did not want to replace Yui with Christine for the Eve Tittle. So I came up with another plan instead. Yui in this story her Diaboy choice is Ayato. (They are my favorite Ship) 🤭

Yui and Christine become good friends and you will see lots of interactions between them in the story.

So there is no reason for Azusa to call Christine “Eve” when she's not Eve.

Karlheinz has a different plan for Christine. He personally chose her. But I won't reveal that plan yet because it's a huge spoiler and a big character change. I'll probably reveal that plan in Maniac.

More information about their canon story and Ryoutei Academy. This will all be in another separate post.

~ Past Relationship ~ ⚠️

Before Azusa, Christine had a 4-year relationship with a guy from her hometown. His name is Mark. He was her first love.

Their first two years together was fantastic, and she was madly in love with him. But in their third year together everything changed. Mark started to be cold, he became verbally abusive to her. It was so bad to the point she started to believe his words. Making her feel worthless. They had lots of heated bad arguments. One time out of anger he almost raped her. He didn't succeed because someone knocked on his apartment door.

They continued this terrible relationship.

Christine even though she was unhappy she still loved him and tried to make it work. But nothing was good enough for Mark and he still continued to treat her like garbage.

One day he told her that he had been seeing someone new for a while now and that he wanted to start a serious relationship with that woman. He ends the relationship with Christine.

The fact that he was cheating behind her back, that he ended it first and moved on with someone else like she was nothing.

That broke her.

• From Picrew •

There will be Flashbacks of this topic in Love Planted a Rose, and the asshole Ex will make his appearance in Maniac.

Love Planted a Rose, Masterpost.

Admin Note:

If you read up here, thank you! I did try to not make this extremely long.

If you decide to read her story with Azusa, you will get to know Christine's personality even more. And of course, you will see her relationship with Azusa bloom. 💗🔪🌹

I do plan soon to open my Ask box again and maybe to do some Interactions with other Ocs.

I don't do Rps here on Tumblr. Only on Discord. If you want to Rp with Christine, just send me a DM and we can plan.

Christine Aesthetics.

~ Flower Crown ~ Angel ~ Flowers ~

~ Lavender Haze ~ ~Christmas 2023 ~

~ Reading Azusa’s Love Letter

[oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat]

» ⟬ Hearthfire Masterpost ⟭ «

This is my fanfic for the TSS Storytime Big Bang event. Chapters will be posted on Tumblr slowly throughout the day.

Feel free to read this story on Tumblr or ao3!

Rating: T (Teens and Up)

Pairings: gen, background qpp Logince

Summary: Orange accompanies Thomas and the Sides through a story of healing, getting listened to, a reveal of who Orange really is, and how Hope can look when the metaphorical plane is crashing down. As the story continues, strange and unfamiliar feelings arise between the creative and the logical. Brothers and old family reconnect, Sides get recognized for all of their contributions, and some adjust to the shades of grey mindset as a certain someone no longer has to watch from the shadows. Thomas learns what Hope and healing means, all with some help from a citrus-enthusiast as his Sides find Hope and truce within each other.

Warnings: Insecurity, Implied/Referenced Dissociation, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Attacks, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Accidental Self-Harm, Minor Blood, Spiders Used As a Metaphor, Parasitic Worms Mention, Worm Eggs Mention, Innuendos, Burn Scars, Weapons, Minor Violence, Threats, Burns, Fire, Touch-Starvation, Overstimulation, Repression, Emotional Repression, Fear of Vulnerability, Implied/Reference Intrusive Thoughts, Hopelessness

Word Count: 75k+

◅ Thanks & Art ▻

I want to thank everyone at @tss-storytime for organizing and putting their energy towards this event. It was so much fun to be a part of, and I hope there's many more years to come. I would also like to thank everyone in the TSS Storytime server for being so encouraging! Writers, Artists, Betas, Pinchhitters -- everyone was wonderful, and I'm glad to have met all of you.

Thank you to the wonderful artist who made art for my fanfic, @canvas-the-florist. Their art helps brings this story alive in such a lovely way. Link to their art is below.

Below is the link for Canvas' art

◅ The Story ▻

× Chapters ×

Prologue | Before 1 | The Daily Qualms of Rainbow and His Colours 2 | About One But Not the Other 3 | How to Hide in Pain: An Autobiography by Red 4 | The Armadillo and the Dog 5 | Avoidance 6 | There Will Be Hopeless Days (and That’s Okay) 7 | An Apologetic Bumblebee Talks to a Royal Cardinal 8 | 'Friends' is Too Kind a Word 9 | To Write a Cliqué Letter 10 | Reconnection 11 | When Six was Four was Three 12 | Another Meeting, Another Chance 13 | “And of Course, There’s Another One. I Just Can’t Have a Normal Personality, Can I?” 14 | Something Anew, Something Blue 15 | Anger is Hopeful, and So is Your Circumstance

(all chapters linked above are Tumblr links)

--- --- ---

Taglist: @lost-in-thought-20 @thegoldenduckie @not-sure-what-im-feeling

Let me know if you wanna be added on or taken off the taglist! I will only be tagging y'all on the Masterpost to avoid spam, but I will update this taglist if anyone wants to be added.

--- --- ---

◅ Official Playlist ▻

[hattywatch]

J. Vesey - July for the Whole Year Ch6.

A/N: Hoo boy, this was a long time coming. 80% of this has been written for months, but I just couldn't make it happen. It's citrus-y, but we're not quite at a lemon there. This chapter is about 15 pages, so grab a snack and settle in. Thank you to the 5 people who care about this little passion project :) #LGR?

<< Chapter 5

November 2021

After Jimmy leaves, you make the bed and wash the mug that you left in the sink, busying your shaking hands. 

We kissed. We kissed. We kissed.

Your brain loops the last 15 minutes over and over in your mind, simultaneously elated and panicked at the same time. 

This is Jimmy, though. 

There’s no reason to run, there’s no reason to be nervous, and there’s certainly no reason to not call Gracia right now and dissect second by second like you’re back in high school. 

Shutting the water, you dry your hands and head back to the phone, still forgotten on the couch. You have 1 notification. The one that made you turn your head and caused the slip-up that ended with Jimmy’s hands on your hips and tongue in your mouth. 

It’s Kevin. 

Of course it is. 

Kev: I’m both sorry for being pushy last night and praying that it was the push you morons needed lmk if you’re naming the first-born Kevin after me obviously ;)

The laugh that escapes you is crazed. After all the pushing he did last night, Kevin helped in a way he couldn’t even anticipate. You scroll to Gracia and start a video call first though, letting Kevin wait it out after his crass comments from the previous night. 

She answers after half a ring. 

“Before you start, please tell me this is the call I’ve been waiting years for,” she’s brushing her teeth. 

“Jimmy already called Brady, didn't he?” You sit back down on the couch and pull the blanket over your legs. 

She spits a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, “Oh my god, you know it. I can hear him giggling like a 5-year old in the bedroom.” She closes the door behind her to drown out Brady’s voice. Sitting on the edge of the tub, she props the phone on the sink and says, “Spill it.”

So you do, and regale her with the entire evening, from heading to the game and aching for your early 20s, to dinner- where Kevin ran his mouth too much for his own good. She laughs loudly at his antics, head thrown back and mouth open wide, “He’s so dumb. I love him.”  

When you get to the part about Jimmy’s TV being back-ordered and you two reconvening in his bedroom, she gasps. “Oh how fucking convenient, James.” Your face turns red before you can even answer her, “Stop!! It was an innocent mistake. We just wanted to watch some HGTV before bed.” 

“I swear, he has zero game; no wonder this took 5 years. He lures you into his bed with HGTV, of all things. I don’t know if he’s a genius or an idiot.” She’s been talking to Kevin too much and it shows. 

“Anyway!!!” She mimes zipping her lips and throwing away the key and you continue, stumbling through your emotions that went berserk when you woke up the next morning, and how worried you were that Jimmy was being evasive. 

When you get to the main event, she’s practically biting her nails, “Andddd, then we kissed.”

“I am not late to work for you to end the story like that,” she raises one eyebrow. 

Your ears feel hot, but you push through, she has been waiting 5 years after all. “It was the best of my life. I can’t wait for him to come back from this away stretch.” Her smile is genuine and your heart breaks that all of your closest friends are stretched out to all corners of the country. Especially now, when you’d rather her be sitting across from you, nudging her shoe against your shin in the coffee shop you like down on 5th. 

“So who was on the phone?! Who do we owe our undying gratitude to? Tell me it was someone calling about your car's extended warranty. I’ll die.”

You can’t hold in your laugh, “Worse,” you confirm. “It was Kevin.” 

She laughs so hard, she knocks the phone off the sink and the call disconnects.

____________

Kevin calls you before you can get to him. Calling Gracia clearly set off the unofficial phone tree. “Hey,” he doesn’t sound at all like you thought he would, smug and prideful. He's almost contrite when he continues, “I’m really sorry, you know I’m just kidding, but that wasn’t cool of me.”

“Woah,” you stop him, “what are you on about?” He clearly did not receive the same call Brady did. 

“Grac text me and told me to call you, and I just feel so bad,” you cut him off. 

“He kissed me. We kissed, because you text me  and my phone rang and I- I turned my head to see the caller ID and it just, just… happened? I don't know.” you sprint through the sentence. Feeling bad that Kevin’s been sweating this. 

He flips the script real quick once his brain catches up. “Are you fucking kidding me? I was freaking out all morning that I pushed it too far last night and you hated me, but you were too busy putting the moves on Jimmy to text me back? You’re joking.” 

“Serious as a heart attack,” your cheeks hurt from smiling and you can almost hear the gears in his head turning. 

“So are you going to name it Kevin?” He barely starts laughing at his own joke before you hang up on him and send him the middle finger emoji, but you send it with confetti, so he knows there’s no hard feelings. 

____________

Jimmy: You told Kevin?

I can’t believe you didn’t, tbh.

Jimmy: I was going to let him sweat it out… but I guess you just want to shout it from the rooftops, huh?

You know it ;) Fly safe.

Jimmy: 6 days. 

____________

Your day goes quicker than you thought it would, commuting back to your apartment and texting furiously with Gracia, who just keeps sending you littly kissy face emojis, what feels like every hour, on the hour. 

After you shower and crawl into your bed, you open your phone and look through the last few days of text messages with Jimmy. You look at them in a new light, reviewing each one with a fine toothed comb for any signs you missed, but you can’t see any. He’s the same Jimmy he’s been, and you scroll further and further back trying to find the shift in tone, the moment he wanted you, any indication of pining, a flirtatious winky face, even. How long has it been, why did him whispering finally against your lips feel like it was a breath released after years of holding it in too tightly. 

He’s still your best friend, and he’s definitely back at the hotel after practice, so you text him.

Hey there

Jimmy: Hey

The message comes instantly, and you smile, because you know Jimmy has no chill and you love it, especially when it’s directed at you. 

When you said "finally," this morning, was this something you thought about before or…

Jimmy: Are you kidding right now?

You're typing out a response to the tune of, shut up, never mind, when his image pops up on your screen and a facetime comes through. 

"I'm not doing this through texts," he has this put-upon, frowny face, but his hair looks soft and fluffy after the shower you know he just hopped out of, his shoulders pink, because he likes the water far too hot. 

You flip on your side, propping your phone up against the pillow, "You don't want me to have receipts of this conversation?" 

He smiles, it's wide and rare, showing his pointy canines while his eyes shine in the dim lamplight of the hotel room. 

"Yeah right. I just want to see your face," the eye roll he gives you does nothing to calm your heart skittering in your ribcage. "I bet you're all embarrassed, thinking about undsending it. Couldn't let that happen." He tucks one arm behind his head and stares at you through the phone, daring you to deny it. 

You give him your own eye roll, "Please, you answered so fast, I didn't even have time to second guess it." 

The look he gives you turns your insides hot, "The first time I thought about kissing you was over your kitchen table, the morning after you woke me up, banging on my door in the middle of the night, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since."

"Oh," you're honestly shocked. You came around to the idea that he reciprocated your feelings about 3 seconds after his mouth was on yours, but that long? It warms you to your bones thinking of how you'd steal glances to appraise him when he wasn't looking or would take any chance to touch him; the thought that he may have been doing the same is heady.

"Yeah, oh," he teases. You chew on the inside of your cheek, willing your face to cool down. He's smirky and smug that he shut you up. "What about you?"

You haven't really thought about it at length, it's felt like a slow pull over the years, magnets inevitably drawn together. "Do you remember when you helped me take my skates off at that first family skate? I think it was right around then."

He nods sagely, "Yeah, you've always struck me as an acts of service type. What else can I do for you, hm?" He's kidding and you know it, because he punctuates his sentence with a lascivious eyebrow raise and a flex of the arm that's behind his head. But at the same time, knowing he's kidding doesn't stop the arousal from pumping through your body.

"Are you flirting with me, James?" You can't help but tease him back, especially now that everything's out in the open. 

"Jesus Christ," he laughs. "Yeah, I am. Took you long enough to notice." 

It's not worth fighting, so you let your smile spread across your face and lift your cheeks. 

"You're so embarrassed, look at you!" His replying smile matches yours and you push your face into your pillow and whine out a stop itttt that should be more embarrassing in and of itself, but just makes your heart race and palms sweat. 

"This feels good, I wish I knew sooner. I love teasing you about this." He looks like the cat that got the canary, and predatory suits him immensely. 

"I still can't believe you didn't know," you start in a whisper. "Kevin was so obvious about it. Giving me your jersey. Being a big oaf at your parents house that summer I visited." He laughs at the memory and you continue, "Asking me 'who's giving it to me' last night." You shake your head, you were so sure Jimmy was politely ignoring your feelings in favor of your friendship.

His eyes scrunch closed at the last point you make, "I thought he was doing it because he wanted me to make a move. I didn't realize he was doing it to torment you, too." He runs his hands through his hair, "God I was so scared he knew something I didn't when he asked you that."

"So ridiculous," you squawk. "We've been practically living in each other's pockets since you came to Jersey. When would I have even had time to sleep with anyone else?" He opens his mouth to interject, but you quickly add, "And who would even want me when I'm clearly hung up on you." 

You see him go pink then red. "Now who's embarrassed, Vesey?"

"Not me," he shakes his head and sighs heavily, running his hand through his hair. "I just want to hear more about how hung up on me you are, but it's late and I gotta get to bed." He's right but you hate it, "6 days," he confirms.

"6 days," you echo. 

____________

Knowing Jimmy actual-facts likes you is amazing for your ego. Your clothes seem to fit better, your skin is glowing, and you cannot stop smiling. If you knew everything would feel like this after spilling your guts, you would have done it ages ago. 

He can’t return soon enough. Your whole body is on high alert, waiting impatiently until you can see  him again. And if you thought you were co-dependent before, it’s nothing compared to how you're feeling now. You’ve opened the floodgates and it’s apparent you’ve both been reigning in your feelings and faking chill for a while. 

Jimmy calls you every morning, just to check in and say good morning and that he misses you and can’t wait to come home. It seems ever since your mutual confession, he’s suddenly turned his charm up to 11. 

Obviously, you find him charming in general, you’ve been friends for years, but there’s something different now that you've come clean. An extra swagger in his demeanor and you’re simultaneously sorry and delighted to find that you feel a little woozy when he seemingly turns it on for your benefit.

“I'm coming straight to your place from the plane. You gonna greet me when I get there?”  He murmurs across the phone lines on day 3 of the count down. You’re getting ready for bed, putting on cute pajamas, because you’re feeling so special these days. 

“Do you want me to be there?” You know the answer, but you just want to hear him say it out loud. It's been two days, but you bask in his affection any chance you can get.

He changes the call to a facetime, and you answer, “You know I always want you there, right?” His face is open and honest, and especially easy to read. You’re beyond giddy, unable to stammer out a sentence after the highest praise of your life.  

“I’ll take that as a yes, you’re aware,” he responds as you try to string together a coherent sentence that isn't composed of the words, Love, I, or You, in any particular order. Your skin prickles, excited and nervous under the attention. 

He loves it, you can see it in his face, his eyes getting that sharpness to them. You don’t know how much more your heart can handle. You feel like it might explode into sparkling confetti when you finally get him back in person and have that gaze turned on you.

“So 3 more days then?” He nods, confirming what you know. 

“Can’t wait to see you,” his eyes go half lidded and his voice drops, “touch you.” You instantly break a sweat. 

“I- I have to go now!” He laughs and hangs up after getting the reaction that he wanted, and you disrupt your night-time routine in favor of hopping in a cold shower. 

____________

“I mean, it’s tomorrow,” you chomp through your toast, sitting at the kitchen table in your apartment. The same one that Jimmy said he first wanted to kiss you over a handful of years ago. Gracia shrieked her way through that story, and you’ve moved on to planning what you were going to wear for his big return tomorrow, “it’s not like I have a lot of time to shop.”

“Ugh, I’ve been waiting for this day for like, ever. And I’m not even there to help you find something that will knock him on his ass,” you gently place your dish in the sink and walk back into your closet. Solemnly she declares, “It’s a tragedy.”

“What does he like you in? Have you noticed his gaze…” she pauses to place the right word. “Lingering?” She's been reading too many romance novels.

You scoff and clink through your closet hanger by hanger, “Yeah, you know Jimmy, very open and vocal about everything,” she hums in agreement. “No, I didn’t even know he even looked at me like that until a few days ago.”

As she begins chastising you for being unobservant and oblivious, you remember something. “Blue,” it suddenly comes to you.

“I can work with that.” Before you know it, she's sent links to a dozen items from 10 stores, all within a mile of your apartment. 

____________

"I feel ridiculous," you mutter into your headphones in the dressing room of a lingerie store while you sweat through bra after bra. "I look ridiculous," you amend 

"Shut up, send me a photo," you comply but you're not happy about it.

The long screech Gracia emits confirms that she's received the photo, "This is the one! Buy it in every color." You sigh, but start changing back into your clothes. 

"You're sure? This seems like a lot," you repeat for the 6th time in as many minutes.

It's her turn to sigh, "I am so positive. He's going to die." You agree and hop into line to pay. 

____________

Jimmy: I heard you have a surprise for me.

I hate our friends

Jimmy: 😂

Jimmy: So no surprise?

No comment

____________

The plan was for Jimmy to meet you at your apartment. He could be there an hour after landing and, "It'll be a nice full circle moment. Knocking on your door, bringing you breakfast."

You're grinning ear to ear when you remind him, "You have a key."

He implores you to,"Give a guy a break," before reminding you of his flight itinerary and hanging up to go to dinner with the team. 

____________

Your alarm doesn't go off and you wake up to loud knocking on your door and quickly tumble out of bed, all sweaty palms and racing heart. Jimmy!

There's no time to change into your sexy last-minute lingerie you spent so much time picking out. There's not even any time to brush your hair or teeth. You glare at your phone, dead on the pillow beside you, useless.

"Hey? You in there?" You hear Jimmy call though through the door, as you're trying to make yourself as presentable as possible in the mirror next to your front door. 

Hastily turning the locks, you pull the door open and your heart kicks up erratically. Jimmy!

"You didn't change your mind did you? I brought some bagels, a bacon egg and cheese," he starts, holding out a bag and taking in your disheveled appearance with a small smile on his face. 

You recognize it immediately as how he first came to your door all those years ago, apologizing for Kevin's antics the previous evening. 

"Never. My phone died because someone insisted on FaceTiming at 1am. Let me put on some coffee, have a seat." You can't help but smile and lead him into your apartment, nerves lighting up in your belly. 

As you prep a coffee filter and scoop grinds into your ancient machine, Jimmy drops the bag on the table and sidles up behind you. "Missed you so much," he whispers into the nape of your neck, "This okay?" he questions as he squeezes the flesh of your hips and kisses gently down the side of your neck. 

"Yep! More than," you manage to squeak out, hands shaking a little with the distraction as they struggle through memorized motions. "I would like a minute though. I want to brush my hair and teeth and change and-"

"You're fine how you are," he cuts you off with a small suck to your skin that almost buckles your knees, but lets you go anyway, "but I'll finish this, go do whatever you need. You're spilling all over the counter anyway," he winks as you walk away with your mouth pinched to convey how unimpressed you are with his smarm. 

____________

Having Jimmy in the apartment while you're tugging and tying lingerie onto your body makes your blood pump louder in your ears, even if a few walls and doors separate you. It's been 6 days since you've confessed, six days since you've kissed, and you've been on high alert ever since. The skin of your neck that he dragged his lips over tingles and your body is flushed hot with anticipation. 

You're glad it's Jimmy, your best friend, standing in the kitchen, because you'd feel nervous about wearing this for anyone else. You flatten down the lingerie and shrug into a short, thin robe before brushing your teeth and hair and making your way back into the kitchen. 

There's already a mug of coffee waiting for you, steam curling out of the cup as Jimmy scrolls through his phone, bagel untouched in front of him, clearly waiting for your return. When he hears your footsteps he looks up and his eyes widen a little, despite the sharp smile that splits his face. 

"Oh, so we're doing this, huh?" You roll your eyes, but despite that, your core clenches at the thought. You tug the robe up where it's slipped down and exposed your shoulder and Jimmy's eyes track the motion; he wets his lips.

Feigning unimpressed, you sip your coffee, "I haven't decided, but now I'm leaning towards no." You bite into the bagel he plated for you and maintain your glare until he drags his chair closer to yours. 

"Well, we don't have to," he swirls his coffee around his mug. "I'm happy just to be able to look at you and not worry about getting caught."

You don't mean to, but a lovesick noise makes its way out of your mouth without your permission, and your cover is blown. "Stop it," you whine, glowing with the compliment and wanting him to do anything but stop. 

Because he knows you well, he loops his hand around the back of your chair and continues, "Remember when you said you were hung up on me?"

Leaning into his hold, you nod, "I have regretted it ever since." He laughs, but goes back to eating his plain bagel, ignoring your outright lie and moves his hand to rest on the back of your neck, tangled in your hair.

You make small talk, about his games, the roadie, your work, Mr. Callahan, until your plates and cups are empty and he starts tidying the table and dropping everything into the sink. 

It's your turn to walk up behind him as he rinses cups and plates. You snake one arm around his front, but the other wanders, tucks into his back pocket, giving a silly squeeze that makes him turn and glare, before sliding around to the front and peeling up the hem of his shirt and resting on his low belly, taut from hard work and covered in goosebumps that make you confident enough to start dragging your hands lower. 

He tosses the dish towel he's drying his hands with down and grabs your wrist, spinning in your arms so you're chest to chest. 

"Hi," you lay your chin on his chest and beam up at him, anticipation in your veins, grin on your face, and both of your hands now tucked into his back pockets. 

Jimmy gazes down at you and you can only wonder how you've never noticed before, if this is how he's been looking at you these past five years. 

"Can I kiss you," you raise up to your toes, "on purpose this time?" You gently lean in before he can answer you, confident he'll agree because of the soft look in his eyes and the way you can feel him starting to harden against you. 

He turns so you're stuck between him and the counter and lifts you up, setting you on top of it, much closer to his height. 

"Stop, you'll make me blush," he speaks directly into your collar bone, where his lips are kissing their way along the neck of your robe. "Never had a girl ask like that before." The way his lips skim over your skin as he speaks gives you goosebumps. 

Making space for him between your knees, you tug him into the gap you've created. "That's nothing, wait until you hear what I ask for after we get this robe off." You're half teasing, half serious, and fully sick of waiting to have his mouth on you.

Fisting the chest of his t-shirt, you tug him down, neither of you daring to even blink, maintaining eye contact until the moment your lips touch. The twin sounds of relief that you share almost make you giggle.

It's heaven. Jimmy is still for a moment, only until you lick his bottom lip and he opens his mouth for you. The way his lips slide against yours gives you goosebumps; you want his mouth and hands everywhere all at once. 

The wait has been worth it, you finally have him here, biting his way into your mouth harshly while his hands trail over your body gently, like you're delicate and fragile. 

Breathing heavily, you pull away a little to compose yourself but he leans back into you, sucking at the skin under your ear. "Please?" He grabs the tie of your robe, softly pulling at one tail of the bow that cinches the silky fabric at your waist. 

Speaking is becoming difficult with the way his lips make their way up to the shell of your ear, and murmur please again, so sweetly you almost moan. You nod furiously and squeeze your hands where they're settled on his upper biceps. He pulls slowly, inch by inch. As much as you want to close your eyes, you're vain and you bought what's underneath entirely with him in mind, so you keep them open to catalog his reaction. 

The harsh intake of breath is worth the small fortune you spent on useless underclothes. "Holyyy -," he's still gentle when he slides the robe down your shoulders to pool around where you're sitting on the counter, but your palms can feel the shake in his muscles and you know he's keeping precarious control of his strength. 

"Stop, now I'm blushing," you throw his earlier words back at him, albeit more breathless than he had been. 

Your wish to have his hands and mouth all over you comes to fruition. "Yeah?" He whispers out against your chest, hot with the blush in question, "Good." His mouth covers the new territory that removing your robe revealed while his hands do their best to chart all the skin and lace. 

Practically whimpering, you struggle to maintain your higher brain faculties, softly chanting a combination of his name and whispered prayers, although for what, you're not sure of. 

He's had his hands all over you, and you're elated but jealous, so your hands make their way to the hem of his shirt, which proves to be more difficult than you'd imagine with how wrapped up he has you. Timid fingers find a path to tuck underneath, and you've seen Jimmy's body before, have looked at and appreciated it in a less than respectful manner. Touching is different, though.

At the first brush of skin on skin, Jimmy sucks in a breath through his teeth, you can feel it against the tops of your breasts, where he's gently pulled the cups of your lingerie down, not enough to reveal anything but enough to tease you into insanity at the thought of how soon that might happen. 

Turnabout is fair play, so the fingers on your left hand tuck into the waistband of his sweats and still, while the right takes the path up the split in the middle of his stomach muscles and rests on his right pec. You curl your fingers just enough to barely bite your nails into the flesh of his chest, when you feel that harsh breath against your breast again, you move your hands back to the hem of his shirt and tug upwards. 

He obliges and steps back infinitesimally to reach behind his neck and ruck his shirt up and over his head. As he tries to lean back in, you stiff arm him, keeping him far enough so your eyes can take their fill, gaze heavy on his bare torso before you. 

Jimmy's always been pretty shy about any level of undress between the two of you. Over the years of your friendship of course it's happened. You've been to the pool, the beach, barged into the apartment unannounced to find him in his boxers and nothing else, but he's never sauntered around shirtless like Kevin is keen to do the second the temperature rises above 60. Now that you have carte blanche, mapping every freckle and scar is at the top of your list. 

After a handful of seconds under your stare, Jimmy clears his throat, and you look up to his face, "Stop looking like that, making me self conscious." He moves a hand to cover himself in what could be mock or serious modesty. You catch his wrist and place his hand high on your thigh.

"I've been waiting years for this, you know that right?" He doesn't immediately nod, so you feel the need to assure him, "Never had a chance to look at the body on you before. I didn't want to know I was so gone for you," you can barely speak through the grin on your face.

He smiles a little, but it's self deprecating and that wont do. You want him to feel loved, worshiped- a surge of power, like you felt when he peeled your robe off and couldn't keep his hands or mouth to himself.

Dropping your voice to make it a little more seductive, "Look at you," he's not meeting your eyes so you flick yours back down to his chest and continue, "wanna run my tongue over every muscle on your body. Is this what you do all summer? Hit the gym and figure out ways to make me drool?" 

He finally, blessedly laughs and tilts your face up, thumb under your chin, to slide his mouth over yours. It's hot and sweet and you can feel his smile. Pulling away, you place one index finger on the crevice between his pecs in the dip where his collar bones meet and drag it slowly down, down, down, until you tangle in the drawstring of his sweats. 

When you finally look up to his face, Jimmy's eyes are slightly hazy, his face erring more towards pink than usual. You plant a soft kiss in the middle of his chest, letting your tongue flick out for just a second to taste skin and sweat.

"Take me to bed, Jimmy," begging, you let go of the drawstring in your hands and press lower, finding him hard and ready for you. 

He hisses, eyes fluttering shut before groaning out "Finally." He picks you up and crosses the short distance from your kitchen to the lone bedroom in your apartment.

[sir-sunawani]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

20 Chapters - 46,838 words

Read it on Ao3 or Wattpad

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 20: Quicksand

When you wake up, you’re no longer in Buggy’s office. As far as you can tell you’re in the basement of the office building. There’re no windows, but the room is fairly well lit. Your immediate area is darker, shaded by a couple coat racks and what is unmistakably one of Crocodile’s coats draped between them. It not only keeps the area darker, but serves to shield the bed from the rest of the room.

The sweet scent of citrus and cigar smoke filled your senses, but along with that was the scent of fresh coffee and warm bread. You had no idea how long you had been asleep, only that you had been so completely exhausted that once you closed your eyes you lost all sense of the world around you.

Most certainly though, you were hungry.

Getting up quietly, you peek around the coat rack and look into the room properly. There are several tables set up in the middle of the room, with shelves lining the walls. Boxes are scattered about, some on the tables, some on the floor, a few mixed in with books and loose sheafs of paper on the shelves.

At one of the tables Crocodile was leaning back against a chair, staring up at the ceiling and blowing long steady lines of cigar smoke into the air. He seemed to be frustrated, but also trying to calm himself down.

“Suwani?” You ask quietly.

He flinches so hard at the sound you’re impressed the chair doesn’t wobble under him. Taking the cigar out of his mouth and setting it on an ashtray he moves to get up as you take a few steps toward him. He looks a little haggard.

“How long was I asleep?”

He glances at his pocket watch before lifting you up into a hug. “Twenty-three hours and seventeen minutes. Much longer and I was going to risk taking you to a hospital.”

“I have perhaps been overworking myself this last year or so.” You admit meekly as you realize how worried he’s been. “I don’t feel very sore, did you do something?”

“My secretary is friends with someone who possesses a healing devil fruit. The power can be preserved within glass jar, so it’s quite useful to have some available for emergencies.” He explains, his hug tightening for a moment before he sets you back down.

“I’m sorry I’ve worried you.” You say kindly, reaching out and caressing his cheek.

“Hmph, considering what I put you through, I’d prefer you never apologize to me again.” He says evenly despite the furrowing of his brows. “Are you hungry?”

“Incredibly.” You answer with a smile. You didn’t agree with the guilt he was feeling, but you could at least understand why he was feeling it. His plans had failed, and it wasn’t just himself or his organization that faced that failure, but also you.

Judging by his actions since your reunion, his feelings for you hadn’t diminished at all in the time you were separated. You feel the familiar pang of guilt, but you had thought him to be gone into the depths for the rest of your lives. There was no shame in having tried to move on when you had believed that to be an absolute truth.

“You mentioned your secretary earlier,” you began, following after him as he pulled the lid off a basket of food. “Miss All Sunday, right? Is she okay?”

“To my knowledge she is alive.” He answers, pulling out a chair for you and inclining his head. You sit with a smile as he pushes you comfortably up to the table. “According to Alvida after she ran into Donquixote, she fell in with the Kings of East Blue.”

“I’m glad she’s alive.” You say as he begins laying out food for you. “She did her best to keep me safe for as long as she could, and I appreciate it.”

“… Then I will wish her well in her new endeavors and leave it at that.” He says, sitting across from you.

“Normally you wouldn’t?”

“Normally, I would not.” He answers candidly.

“Have you slept?” You ask before taking a bite of food.

“Enough.”

“Suwani.” You don’t mean to pout, but you don’t manage to stop yourself.

“I spent the last 24 hours concerned,” he replies sternly. “I wouldn’t have slept well.”

“Humph. Have you eaten?” You question, narrowing your eyes a little.

“I have.” He answers a small smile playing at his lips. “If you’re attempting to look intimidating you are a far cry from such an expression.”

You smirk before you take another bite. “I wasn’t I… I was just…” Your face twists and despite your earlier brevity, emotion twists in your heart. “I just really missed this.”

Crocodile was knelt by the side of your chair with no more than the shifting of sand. “(Y/N), I-.”

You shake your head and cut him off. “No, it’s… you did the best you could. So did I. It’s… no one needs to feel guilty, okay?” You wipe your eyes and turn toward him. Even with him kneeling and you in the chair you were nearly at eye level. “Don’t treat me like glass, and don’t neglect yourself.” You cup his face in your hands, shifting errant strands back before leaning forward and putting your forehead against his.

“Tell me about this glorious plan.” You prompt, kissing him on the forehead before he stands up.

Crocodile leans against the table – practically sitting on it – while you pick at the food provided, and begins to explain the plan.

“The wheels are in motion for Buggy to fill the Warlord vacancy. Once him, and by association his affiliates, are essentially protected, then the alliance between him and Mihawk will be completed.”

“Mihawk? I thought he only cared about his sword skills?”

“Mm, he does, but apparently he has set himself a protégé of sorts, and that relationship has spurred him into more action than he would otherwise take.” Crocodile explains. “Whatever the reasoning within him, I’m only concerned about the alliance.”

“And the point of it? I can’t imagine you’re creating this entire alliance simply to get back at Dingo.” You say nonchalantly.

Crocodile coughs. “Dingo?”

You freeze for a moment, not having realized that you had called him that. “… Yes. It was the most derogatory thing I could risk calling him in my phone.” You’re quiet for a moment before you look up at Crocodile. “Nothing happened.”

“Hm?” He looks down at you with confusion.

“Between he and I, nothing happened. He, I mean, aside from Friday it was almost cordial.” You explain, looking back down at the table. “I just… I don’t know why it felt important to clarify that, but it did.”

Crocodile puts a hand on your shoulder. “Regardless of that he still laid his hands on you without your consent. That is, in itself, enough. That he pulled you into a contractual relationship against your will was, honestly, enough.”

“You make it sound like you would’ve forgiven him if all he had done was send you to prison.” You say with a grunt.

“I would’ve perhaps had a different plan.” Crocodile admits, and something in his voice almost makes you feel bad for Doflamingo, but not quite. “As it is there aren’t too many moving parts. We’ll be leaving the Emperors alone for this, but the fallout may lead to the complete disbandment of the Warlord system.

“Which, as luck would have it, is why we may find support from an unlikely source.”

Your brow knits as you think about it for a moment. “Marines?”

There’s an amused hum from Crocodile. “Indeed.”

“Don’t give me too mu-mu-.” Your sentence is cut short as you yawn. “Much credit. The Marine disdain for the Warlord System is fairly well-known. Though they’re not usually open to direct hostility.” You yawn again and lean back in the chair.

“The hostility has risen since my incarceration. Ironically, his own diversions are going to play a part in his downfall.” Crocodile says, with a grin that suits his namesake.

“I like that,” you admit with another yawn. “I don’t know what it says about me, but I’m looking forward to seeing that smug look cleared off his face.” You yawn again. “Heck, and, uh, I mean, I don’t care what it says about me.” You clarify before Crocodile can say anything.

“Still tired?”

“Mm, my mind is awake, but I think my body needs a nap.” You stretch. “I slept too much and now I need a post-sleep nap to reset.” You look up at him with a smile. “I would love for you to nap with me, if there’s time enough.”

“My love, there will be time for you no matter what.” He says confidently. Your chair is pulled away from the table as the ex-Warlord lifts you into his arms easily.

“You’re sleepy too.” You tease, nuzzling into his chest and nearly dozing off right then and there.

“Perhaps.”

“Will that bed hold both of us?”

“One way or another.”

“What time is it?”

“Late enough for a nap.”

“It can’t be past 4pm.”

“That doesn’t change my original answer, resting through the hottest part of the day is wise.”

“We’re in a basement.” You say, laughing.

“Indeed, which means it’s cool enough for this.”

Crocodile sets you on the bed and begins to unbutton his shirt. You can’t help the heat that rushes into your face, even though you are quite certain you’re going to nap with him. He grins down at you as he pulls the shirt off entirely.

“Lay down and face the wall.” He says, the grin turning devious.

You turn away from him and lay down, as close to the wall as you can comfortably manage. “You’re teasing me,” you say as you feel him lay down behind you.

“Perhaps.”

You can feel the warmth of him enveloping you as his shirt is draped over the two of you. There’s a surreal shifting feeling and his arms are wrapped around you without hardly having moved the shirt. His leg is over both of yours, and you are as warm and cuddled as you could hope to be.

“I feel like… like, pfft-haha!” You start laughing and can feel him hum questioningly. “Like I fell into quicksand or something.” You can feel him twitch against you and chuckle again. “Sorry, it’s a terrible pun all things considered, but-.”

“I was expecting you to call me a sand trap,” he admits, the velvet smooth voice so close to your ear soothes your laughter and puts heat back into your face. “Between the two of us, only one of us suggested going to a hotel after meeting once.”

You grunt. “You didn’t argue.”

“Letting you drive yourself there was one of many displays of restraint.” He admits, the glass fingers of his left hand moving slowly down your side, toward your hip. “You wanted to run, and while part of me wanted to chase you,” fingers slip along your hip, following a line toward your core. “More than anything I wanted to engulf you entirely. To bury you in sand and have you bloom only for me.”

Your leg moves over his, your foot hooking behind his knee and causing your skirt to hike up. You feel over-dressed. You’re warm from head to toe, head clear and needy, body tired and just as needy. You don’t even stifle the soft moan as you shift back against him.

His right hand reaches up from under you, holding your head against his chest, warm fingers cupping your face. Leaving you enough freedom to moan, but not leaving you much room to move. The cool glass finger of his left hand slips under the hem of your skirt and begins to slide along it, pulling it up so slowly you whimper.

“Don’t make me beg,” you whine.

“You wanted to nap.”

“Bury me, Suwani.” You demand, your body tensing in its need.

He pulls your skirt up the rest of the way, cool glass fingers slipping past your panties and finding your clit easily. You gasp in surprise at the rush of movements, and cry out in pleasure as the touch that’s haunted your dreams for over a year sinks into your body.

You can feel the pleasure building inside of you as fingers that long ago committed all your weaknesses to memory dance effortlessly against you. You don’t want him to stop, but you don’t want to be the only one to get any pleasure out of this, and as your hands fumble to reach him you feel the surreal shift again.

You’re under him as he looms over you, and with a few easy movements you’re on your back and he’s between your legs.

“There are quite a few ways I could bury you, my sweet desert flower, but I think I’d like to be direct right now.” He says, bringing your legs together and into one hand as he pulls your panties off and sets them aside before parting your legs on either side of his again. “I’m sure we’ll still have time to rest after this.”

The only delay is the moment it takes for him to put on a condom before he’s pulling your hips toward his. He leans over you, stiff cock slipping against your wet slit as those sharp eyes watch the needy expressions on your face. Leaning closer he kisses you deeply, his tongue pushing into your mouth as he pushes into your pussy.

Moans and all, you are devoured entirely by Suwani.

[quinloki]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 1 - Table of Consent -

Chapter 20: Quicksand

When you wake up, you’re no longer in Buggy’s office. As far as you can tell you’re in the basement of the office building. There’re no windows, but the room is fairly well lit. Your immediate area is darker, shaded by a couple coat racks and what is unmistakably one of Crocodile’s coats draped between them. It not only keeps the area darker, but serves to shield the bed from the rest of the room.

The sweet scent of citrus and cigar smoke filled your senses, but along with that was the scent of fresh coffee and warm bread. You had no idea how long you had been asleep, only that you had been so completely exhausted that once you closed your eyes you lost all sense of the world around you.

Most certainly though, you were hungry.

Getting up quietly, you peek around the coat rack and look into the room properly. There are several tables set up in the middle of the room, with shelves lining the walls. Boxes are scattered about, some on the tables, some on the floor, a few mixed in with books and loose sheafs of paper on the shelves.

At one of the tables Crocodile was leaning back against a chair, staring up at the ceiling and blowing long steady lines of cigar smoke into the air. He seemed to be frustrated, but also trying to calm himself down.

“Suwani?” You ask quietly.

He flinches so hard at the sound you’re impressed the chair doesn’t wobble under him. Taking the cigar out of his mouth and setting it on an ashtray he moves to get up as you take a few steps toward him. He looks a little haggard.

“How long was I asleep?”

He glances at his pocket watch before lifting you up into a hug. “Twenty-three hours and seventeen minutes. Much longer and I was going to risk taking you to a hospital.”

“I have perhaps been overworking myself this last year or so.” You admit meekly as you realize how worried he’s been. “I don’t feel very sore, did you do something?”

“My secretary is friends with someone who possesses a healing devil fruit. The power can be preserved within glass jar, so it’s quite useful to have some available for emergencies.” He explains, his hug tightening for a moment before he sets you back down.

“I’m sorry I’ve worried you.” You say kindly, reaching out and caressing his cheek.

“Hmph, considering what I put you through, I’d prefer you never apologize to me again.” He says evenly despite the furrowing of his brows. “Are you hungry?”

“Incredibly.” You answer with a smile. You didn’t agree with the guilt he was feeling, but you could at least understand why he was feeling it. His plans had failed, and it wasn’t just himself or his organization that faced that failure, but also you.

Judging by his actions since your reunion, his feelings for you hadn’t diminished at all in the time you were separated. You feel the familiar pang of guilt, but you had thought him to be gone into the depths for the rest of your lives. There was no shame in having tried to move on when you had believed that to be an absolute truth.

“You mentioned your secretary earlier,” you began, following after him as he pulled the lid off a basket of food. “Miss All Sunday, right? Is she okay?”

“To my knowledge she is alive.” He answers, pulling out a chair for you and inclining his head. You sit with a smile as he pushes you comfortably up to the table. “According to Alvida after she ran into Donquixote, she fell in with the Kings of East Blue.”

“I’m glad she’s alive.” You say as he begins laying out food for you. “She did her best to keep me safe for as long as she could, and I appreciate it.”

“… Then I will wish her well in her new endeavors and leave it at that.” He says, sitting across from you.

“Normally you wouldn’t?”

“Normally, I would not.” He answers candidly.

“Have you slept?” You ask before taking a bite of food.

“Enough.”

“Suwani.” You don’t mean to pout, but you don’t manage to stop yourself.

“I spent the last 24 hours concerned,” he replies sternly. “I wouldn’t have slept well.”

“Humph. Have you eaten?” You question, narrowing your eyes a little.

“I have.” He answers a small smile playing at his lips. “If you’re attempting to look intimidating you are a far cry from such an expression.”

You smirk before you take another bite. “I wasn’t I… I was just…” Your face twists and despite your earlier brevity, emotion twists in your heart. “I just really missed this.”

Crocodile was knelt by the side of your chair with no more than the shifting of sand. “(Y/N), I-.”

You shake your head and cut him off. “No, it’s… you did the best you could. So did I. It’s… no one needs to feel guilty, okay?” You wipe your eyes and turn toward him. Even with him kneeling and you in the chair you were nearly at eye level. “Don’t treat me like glass, and don’t neglect yourself.” You cup his face in your hands, shifting errant strands back before leaning forward and putting your forehead against his.

“Tell me about this glorious plan.” You prompt, kissing him on the forehead before he stands up.

Crocodile leans against the table – practically sitting on it – while you pick at the food provided, and begins to explain the plan.

“The wheels are in motion for Buggy to fill the Warlord vacancy. Once him, and by association his affiliates, are essentially protected, then the alliance between him and Mihawk will be completed.”

“Mihawk? I thought he only cared about his sword skills?”

“Mm, he does, but apparently he has set himself a protégé of sorts, and that relationship has spurred him into more action than he would otherwise take.” Crocodile explains. “Whatever the reasoning within him, I’m only concerned about the alliance.”

“And the point of it? I can’t imagine you’re creating this entire alliance simply to get back at Dingo.” You say nonchalantly.

Crocodile coughs. “Dingo?”

You freeze for a moment, not having realized that you had called him that. “… Yes. It was the most derogatory thing I could risk calling him in my phone.” You’re quiet for a moment before you look up at Crocodile. “Nothing happened.”

“Hm?” He looks down at you with confusion.

“Between he and I, nothing happened. He, I mean, aside from Friday it was almost cordial.” You explain, looking back down at the table. “I just… I don’t know why it felt important to clarify that, but it did.”

Crocodile puts a hand on your shoulder. “Regardless of that he still laid his hands on you without your consent. That is, in itself, enough. That he pulled you into a contractual relationship against your will was, honestly, enough.”

“You make it sound like you would’ve forgiven him if all he had done was send you to prison.” You say with a grunt.

“I would’ve perhaps had a different plan.” Crocodile admits, and something in his voice almost makes you feel bad for Doflamingo, but not quite. “As it is there aren’t too many moving parts. We’ll be leaving the Emperors alone for this, but the fallout may lead to the complete disbandment of the Warlord system.

“Which, as luck would have it, is why we may find support from an unlikely source.”

Your brow knits as you think about it for a moment. “Marines?”

There’s an amused hum from Crocodile. “Indeed.”

“Don’t give me too mu-mu-.” Your sentence is cut short as you yawn. “Much credit. The Marine disdain for the Warlord System is fairly well-known. Though they’re not usually open to direct hostility.” You yawn again and lean back in the chair.

“The hostility has risen since my incarceration. Ironically, his own diversions are going to play a part in his downfall.” Crocodile says, with a grin that suits his namesake.

“I like that,” you admit with another yawn. “I don’t know what it says about me, but I’m looking forward to seeing that smug look cleared off his face.” You yawn again. “Heck, and, uh, I mean, I don’t care what it says about me.” You clarify before Crocodile can say anything.

“Still tired?”

“Mm, my mind is awake, but I think my body needs a nap.” You stretch. “I slept too much and now I need a post-sleep nap to reset.” You look up at him with a smile. “I would love for you to nap with me, if there’s time enough.”

“My love, there will be time for you no matter what.” He says confidently. Your chair is pulled away from the table as the ex-Warlord lifts you into his arms easily.

“You’re sleepy too.” You tease, nuzzling into his chest and nearly dozing off right then and there.

“Perhaps.”

“Will that bed hold both of us?”

“One way or another.”

“What time is it?”

“Late enough for a nap.”

“It can’t be past 4pm.”

“That doesn’t change my original answer, resting through the hottest part of the day is wise.”

“We’re in a basement.” You say, laughing.

“Indeed, which means it’s cool enough for this.”

Crocodile sets you on the bed and begins to unbutton his shirt. You can’t help the heat that rushes into your face, even though you are quite certain you’re going to nap with him. He grins down at you as he pulls the shirt off entirely.

“Lay down and face the wall.” He says, the grin turning devious.

You turn away from him and lay down, as close to the wall as you can comfortably manage. “You’re teasing me,” you say as you feel him lay down behind you.

“Perhaps.”

You can feel the warmth of him enveloping you as his shirt is draped over the two of you. There’s a surreal shifting feeling and his arms are wrapped around you without hardly having moved the shirt. His leg is over both of yours, and you are as warm and cuddled as you could hope to be.

“I feel like… like, pfft-haha!” You start laughing and can feel him hum questioningly. “Like I fell into quicksand or something.” You can feel him twitch against you and chuckle again. “Sorry, it’s a terrible pun all things considered, but-.”

“I was expecting you to call me a sand trap,” he admits, the velvet smooth voice so close to your ear soothes your laughter and puts heat back into your face. “Between the two of us, only one of us suggested going to a hotel after meeting once.”

You grunt. “You didn’t argue.”

“Letting you drive yourself there was one of many displays of restraint.” He admits, the glass fingers of his left hand moving slowly down your side, toward your hip. “You wanted to run, and while part of me wanted to chase you,” fingers slip along your hip, following a line toward your core. “More than anything I wanted to engulf you entirely. To bury you in sand and have you bloom only for me.”

Your leg moves over his, your foot hooking behind his knee and causing your skirt to hike up. You feel over-dressed. You’re warm from head to toe, head clear and needy, body tired and just as needy. You don’t even stifle the soft moan as you shift back against him.

His right hand reaches up from under you, holding your head against his chest, warm fingers cupping your face. Leaving you enough freedom to moan, but not leaving you much room to move. The cool glass finger of his left hand slips under the hem of your skirt and begins to slide along it, pulling it up so slowly you whimper.

“Don’t make me beg,” you whine.

“You wanted to nap.”

“Bury me, Suwani.” You demand, your body tensing in its need.

He pulls your skirt up the rest of the way, cool glass fingers slipping past your panties and finding your clit easily. You gasp in surprise at the rush of movements, and cry out in pleasure as the touch that’s haunted your dreams for over a year sinks into your body.

You can feel the pleasure building inside of you as fingers that long ago committed all your weaknesses to memory dance effortlessly against you. You don’t want him to stop, but you don’t want to be the only one to get any pleasure out of this, and as your hands fumble to reach him you feel the surreal shift again.

You’re under him as he looms over you, and with a few easy movements you’re on your back and he’s between your legs.

“There are quite a few ways I could bury you, my sweet desert flower, but I think I’d like to be direct right now.” He says, bringing your legs together and into one hand as he pulls your panties off and sets them aside before parting your legs on either side of his again. “I’m sure we’ll still have time to rest after this.”

The only delay is the moment it takes for him to put on a condom before he’s pulling your hips toward his. He leans over you, stiff cock slipping against your wet slit as those sharp eyes watch the needy expressions on your face. Leaning closer he kisses you deeply, his tongue pushing into your mouth as he pushes into your pussy.

Moans and all, you are devoured entirely by Suwani.

~Fin

A/N – That’s the end of Book 1 \o/ (Don’t get mad at me, they were supposed to nap.) Quicksand: Warlords is coming soon! I was going to do this all in one book, but I want to, uh, make sure Doffy’s fall is appropriately large and epic – plus there’s a few other things I intend to do in book 2 as well. I considered doing a possibly 50-part long Epic Singular Book, but my brain didn’t like that.

And the happier I keep the brain, the easier the words come out. xD Plus, I think what all I hope to do will be well worth it -^_^-

[todays-aihara-yuzu]

Day 2 of posting from Citrus (Chapter 2, Page 20)

[heartfulselkie]

how long are you planning for bell the cat to be? like, ballpark estimate chapter count

I am astoundingly bad at estimating chapter counts for my fics...

If I were trying to be reasonable then I would pin it around 30 chapters. But I am anything but reasonable when it comes to fic writing.

For reference, I'd guesstimated Citrus and Lavender to also be around 30 chapters. It's now on chapter 37 and counting.

Penumbra also went way way beyond what I originally thought. 15-20 chapters somehow exploded to over 100. That fic in particular though went through so many drafts and changes that its not really fair to call it the same fic as when I first started writing it though.

This is probably because I tend to have just a loose idea of a fic's plot when starting out and nail things down as I go. This means things get chopped, changed, swapped and shifted a lot as I write. Sequences that I originally plan to take place in a single chapter sometimes end up happening across two. Things I think will take more focus end up becoming something lesser. Its chaotic, but its just how I write.

[citrus-blade]

20 questions for Writers thing

I got tagged by the wonderful @mistythedritten! thank you!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

Sixteen! I added like 7 due to the Citrus Dreamnoblade Week lol

2. What is your word count?

250.818! honestly more than I thught lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Dream SMP! :] (I used to write for Good Omens on another account a bit ago but have abandoned this lol)

4. What are your top 5 fics? (stats)

I'll go by Kudos! :] Infinitesimal, Home, Treasure, Hiraeth - Part 1 and Chains! :]

5. Do you always respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! Sometimes when I don't know what to comment and it would just be a 'thank you', that i already wrote 3 times to a different person I won't. usually I try to always bring something unique to a comment to show how much I appreciate them!

However, when someone comments on a fanfiction that has long been finished I usually don't reply cause I'm not sure if that would be seen as weird or not. I'm really insecure when it comes to replying comments cause I don't wanna be annoying

6. Angstiest ending for a fic?

Oof... i think it's Home (but it's more on the bittersweet one) or Time. But if you put them next to each other it's deffo Time. Hubert is also kinda angsty but the story is kinda fast paced that it doesn't feel angsty lol

7. First Fic with a Happy Ending?

Golden! My first ever DNB fic and therefore also the first one with a happy ending! :]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah! That's why I have to agree to comments for them to be public on my fanfictions! It's always anon and usually just people calling me names and slurs, trying to tell me what a horrible person I am lol

Can't really take this serious tbh

9. Do you write smut?

Yes! I really enjoy reading smut and also like writing it! I'm not good in it and I'm always frustrating a bit but I still enjoy it!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Ehhh, not really? But also yes...? I wrote a pokemon crossover, but I don't think that doesn't really count cause it's more an AU and none of the main characters of the anime/games appear except for Team Rocket. I think. I don't remember which villains I took, there are a lot.

I usually don't write crossovers because I'm unsure how good I can represent the other show. I'd love to write a Star Wars one or a Hogwarts one, but I am NOT into those movies and am too scared to write something that doesn't make sense. So usually I try to take apsects of those universes and try to turn it into my own kinda thing.

For example my Dragon Rider-AU that I am working on was supposed to be a Hogwarts AU with magic, but it kinda turned into it's own thing with focus on Dragons but still with magic! :D

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so? If anyone ever sees any of my fanfictions somewhere that's not AO3 please tell me! But as far as I'm aware none was stolen! :]

12. Ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I think Infinitesimal was started to translate in two languages, but I'm not sure if that's still happening. I know some chapters were uploaded? And apparently someone wanted to translate Apocylapse into russian!

13. Ever co-written?

Nope! Don't really know how that works tbh lol

14. Favorite ship?

Dreamnoblade and DNF!

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but probably never will?

OOF. I have sworn to myself to always finish what I start to write so not sure. Some ideas probably will never happen, but usually when I start writing something I will finish it sooner or later, specially when I started posting it somewhere

16. Writing strenghts?

No clue, I don't know if I have a specific strength. Sometimes I like something I write and then I read it and hate it lol

17. Writing weaknesses?

FIGHT SCENES MY ABSOLUTE ENEMY!!!

18. Thoughts on dialog in another language in a fic?

I write in english but think about including german sometimes lol When Attack on titan can do it in their openings I can do it in my fanfiction! Usually I like it as long as the translation is given atp in the fanfiction! :D

19. First fandom you have written for?

OOF. Eeeehm. I think Good Omens. I orphaned all my stuff there though lol

20. Favorite fic you have written?

Infinitesimal and Home :] (I also like that pokemon one lol)

And that's it! That was fun! :]

I'm too insecure to tag someone so whoever wanna do this, do it! :]

[lulubelle814]

Just Dizziness - Chapter 22

Arriving back home, we settled back in my room to resume the movie marathon.  This time she put on I Saw the Light.

When the movie ended, it was noticeably late.  Rather than end the night, we decided to put on one more movie.  Sarah suggested Thor Ragnarok, and I agreed.  It was my favorite Marvel movie.  When Odin told Thor and Loki that he loved both his sons, it made me cry more than usual.  The look on Loki’s face was both sad and haunting.  All I wanted to do at that moment was hug and comfort him.

When the movie and mid/post credit scenes were over, both of us were tired between the late hour and the over abundance of amazing goodies nibbled on throughout the movies, and I was fast asleep before Sarah could even make it off the bed.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up to the sound of thunder.  I attempted to stand up, but a dizzy spell said otherwise causing me to fall back onto the bed.  But that’s when I spotted something that seemed a little out of place tucked just a little under the pillow.  Slowly reaching for it, I managed to pull it out.  It was a familiar looking soft, long sleeved blue sweater.  Bringing it up to my face, it felt amazing and smelled of that citrus and musk I loved so much, but I wasn't sure where it came from.  Maybe it was a surprise from my bestie, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  It was good timing too as it was unusually cold in my room, and I pulled it on over my thin t-shirt.  

It was a little large for my somewhat small frame.  Had I lost weight?  I wasn't sure, but right now, my entire world revolved around this amazing sweater with the smell that reminded me of him.

Laying back down, I was able to easily fall back asleep.

The next morning, Sarah came in to wake me up so that we could both get ready for her appointment.  She noticed the sweater and had no idea where it came from but didn’t want to rock the boat because it seemed to make me happy.

“Hey sleepyhead, time to get up.  The appointment is in about 3 hours, but check in time is 90 minutes ahead, and it’ll take us most of that time just to get there.”

It was a cooler day out today allowing me to wear the blue sweater.  Pulling on my favorite black leggings and a pair of flats, I met her out in the living room.  Sarah was not allowed to eat before the tests, but she grabbed leftover croissants for me to eat on the way and then for her to eat afterwards.  

I noticed she seemed a bit wobbly this morning.  When we made it outside, I gestured to a taxi.  “It will be a nice walk.”  She began to take off and started to stumble.

“Taxi, now.”  I gave absolutely no room for argument.  Sarah didn’t look like she felt great this morning.  Maybe she just didn’t sleep well last night or was coming down with something.  Her breathing was a bit off, but I refused to let her miss this appointment.  The itch in the back of my brain was going crazy.  I had to know one way or the other.

The taxi pulled up to the hospital about 20 minutes later.  Helping Sarah inside, she checked in early for her tests.  The gentleman behind the desk took one look at her and called for a nurse and a wheelchair.  “You don’t look so good.  Let's see if we have a bed so you can lay down.  If we can get the tests started early, we’ll let you know.”

They were indeed able to find a spare bed, and the nurse had a doctor come round to check in on her.  “It’s a good thing your friend had you come in early.  I’m going to run a few extra tests if that’s ok?  Our cardiologist will be here shortly, but I’d like to run a few routine tests just to be safe.”

Sarah agreed and submitted a urine sample.  The phlebotomist then came by and drew a few vials of blood.  Soon after, the cardiologist came by to run his own general tests.  “It looks like we can go ahead and have someone take you to get that MRI done.  Dr. Fell sent me his notes as well.  With your current symptoms, I’d also like to do a coronary angiogram, an ECG, and an EKG just to rule out other possible issues.”

“She’ll do it.”  I responded.

“I guess I’ll do it.”  Sarah confirmed and squeezed my hand.

By the time someone came to take Sarah for her tests, her breathing was noticeably worse, and she was becoming a bit pale.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  Plus, I’m surrounded by doctors and nurses.  What could go wrong?”

She was wheeled away.  The nurse that took her advised that the tests would be done in succession and shouldn’t be more than 1.5 - 2 hours.  So when it came upon hour 3, I was getting worried.  They finally came back, and Sarah was very out of it.

“What happened?”

“She crashed during one of the tests, but we don’t know why.  We were able to bring her back around, but only just.  Once we get the results back, we’ll know how to proceed.”

They parked her bed and put on the breaks.  Once they left the room, I crawled right onto the bed next to her and gently hugged her from the side.  ‘I should have made her come in sooner, should have made her go see that damn doctor sooner,’ I thought to myself.

The cardiologist finally came in about an hour later.  “Her results have started coming in, and I’ve pinpointed the source of the issue.  It appears she has a rare congenital heart defect that would even make a heart transplant extremely dangerous if she were in perfect health.  I’m sorry.  I’m so, so sorry.  Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do but make her comfortable.”

I turned away from the doctor and cried into Sarah’s shoulder as the doctor administered some pain medication before leaving.  

I could feel her breaths getting more and more shallow, her heart beat getting slower until it stopped altogether.

“There’s nothing you could have done.”

I cried hard, ignoring the voice.

“I had to show you.  You needed to know that you couldn’t have changed anything.”

Finally looking up, I saw her standing at the end of the bed looking at me, dressed in the same clothes from 3 years ago, the last day I saw her alive.

“When the hospital called and told you I was gone, I know you spent all this time blaming yourself thinking you could have changed something, but I promise nothing could have been done.  You have to stop blaming yourself.”

“I can’t,” I finally responded. “You can.  You have to.  I’ll always be watching over you.”

“You swear?”

“I swear it.  And what’s more important is you have to go back.  You can’t stay here.  He needs you.”

She disappeared from the room along with her body on the bed, leaving me completely alone.  I laid on my side, crying my heart out until I had no more tears left, falling asleep from the overwhelming emotional exhaustion.

Chapter 23

[tacom-literatureu-blog]

im so genuinely curious cos im not a writer: how many comments is like, a lot? id think like, 5-10 is a lot, isnt it? or is that average?

It really depends on the writer, size of their audience, how much work they put in, comments on previous works, etc.

5-10 might seem like a lot to someone who isn't a writer. But the thing about commenting is it is literally so easy, and the only way we get to know what people are thinking. Like real life applause. Imagine doing a performance for a crowd of over 100 people, and 5-10 clap.

On average, I get 13-16 comments a chapter. But in the past I've had chapters with over 25 comments. The most comments I've ever gotten is in the 30's. So I know I have the audience. When I get 5-10 comments on a chapter, it makes me feel like I did something wrong. Like my writing isn't as good.

Even if its just a '<3' every and any comment is a good comment. I have a reader who just says 'bonus kudos' every chapter. I get just keysmashes sometimes. I'm not asking for a book report, any comment just let's me know my audience wants more.

Plus, how much work I put in. I'm doing, on average, 12-20 pages a night, 6 days a week, and have been since December 9th 2021. I've only recently started allowing myself nights off and wiggle room with upload times. I'm technically doing the work off two people. Is it really too much to ask to comment? I don't think so.

Ao3 doesn't have likes or reblogs. We have kudos, which are nice. But comments are essentially how we know our audience gives two shits. I had a fic before the TACOMLU. It lasted 3 chapters, because nobody commented.

The 4 comments I got on the first chapter of Our Last Summer gave me the motivation to keep going. To turn one fix it fic into a nearly 7 book series. To meet amazing friends. To meet my co-writer, Chambers, whose one of my best friends in the world.

I dunno where I'd be without Ash, Moonlight, Fish, Helleborus, p1nk, Citrus, Ella, etc. Helleborus, p1nk, and Ash even now have cameos in the TACOMLU as npcs! I worry when I don't see them in my comments. Like worrying about a classmate whose out sick.

The tldr is; comment. Comment. Comment. We appreciate it if you comment once, but if you comment every chapter, we love you, and you hold a special place in our hearts. - Patton

[princess-rising-chaos]

Best Yuri Competition: Round 3 Semi Finals

Semi Finals have arrived! Yay! Sorry for the delay, I was asleep!

Bloom Into You beat Beauty and the Beast Girl, which apparently someone thought was a one shot? Good news my friend, it has 50 chapters! it's really good!

Bloom Into You advances to face Still Sick, the series which has received by far the most support of all the series in the competition so far, beating Kase-san in a close match. Will our first seed triumph, or will the OLs win with their greater experience?

There were no easy wins on the other side of the bracket, with Easy Introduction to Love Triangles beating out Even if it Was Just Once, I Regret it.

Meanwhile, Green Tea Bitch continues to look unstoppable. It beat the beautiful drama of Run Away With Me, Girl by nearly 20 points. Wow! Now we'll have to see if it's popularity can carry it past the only polyamorous series in the competition.

Honestly these are all so good, that I have no idea who is going to advance to the finals. Then, when we get there, who on earth will win? Whoever does gets to join Citrus among the illustrious winners club. A prize worth... absolutely nothing, it's a silly tumblr competition.

[digitalgate02]

HERE IT IS, THE DIGIMENTAL WEAPONS NEW STORY + SOME DAIMIYA/DAIYAKO AND SOME VILLAINOUS POWER COUPLE WITH WALLACE & MENOA (Menace as Citrus/@citrus-cactus named the ship)

Summary:

The Digital World is a place where humans and digmon can live in harmony and peace. However, the existence of the Monarchs only causes them pain. Miyako runs into Daisuke, one of the servants for the Monarchs, but he sends her to the place where he lives with Mimi and Meiko as roommates. To fight the Monarchs, they have to join forces and reveal the secrets behind the enemy’s actions.

Notes:

BTW everyone has the same ages as Kizuna. (for the Digimental Weapons used here - check this document)

(sorry i have no pic to use here... YET)

Please lemme know what ya think, at this point i wrote 3 chapters and i'm on my way to finish ch 4. might be a little longer than the usual format of 10, maybe 15 or 20 chapters estimated.

[dawnsbreaking]

chapter one

The six younger brothers honor Rose's last night in the Devildom, the eldest is notably absent.

read on ao3 pairing: lucifer/OC (Rose) chapter word count: 4,070

slight spoilers for lesson 20

The attic bedroom is an odd place for a going-away party but Rose doesn’t have the heart to point this out. She smiles when Asmodeus refills her drink. His joke that she should drink her fill of Demonus while she still can is just another unwelcome reminder that her time with the brothers is coming to an end.

She takes a careful sip to avoid further conversation. The Demonus is sweet enough, it shouldn’t fill her with bitter nostalgia for a place she hasn’t yet left behind. Even still, as she tips the glass back and takes another sip, she can only smell the citrus and mint of the gardens where she spent her last year’s share of peaceful mornings. She can only taste all of the memories that associate themselves with the Devildom’s favorite drink. The parties she helped to plan, the celebrations held by her hosts, quiet evenings with Lucifer that the younger brothers don’t know about.

Lucifer himself is notably absent from this party. This isn’t surprising, it’s not the kind of gathering he’d usually take part in, but it does hurt Rose’s feelings.

She thinks about slipping away with the drink in her hand. Maybe the Demonus would be offering enough to get him to talk to her.

All week, Lucifer’s been avoiding her. He’s busy with ending the exchange program, with all of the little loose ends that Diavolo’s left for him to tie up, but not so much more busy than usual. Even during the few moments Rose has been able to steal from him, he’s been absent, acting unlike himself.

It’s the last night of the exchange program. Rose is running out of time to spend with Lucifer and he doesn’t seem to care.

Before she can flesh out her plan to leave the party, Mammon pulls her by the hand into a dance. An upbeat song is playing and Rose giggles as Mammon twirls her around and catches her at the waist.

She loves Mammon, too. The thought strikes through her mind like a flash of lightning. She shouldn’t be dwelling on the eldest brother when he can’t be bothered to make an appearance, when he won’t even deign to make a pact with her. She loves Mammon, too, and he’s been with her from the start.

“Chin up, Rosie.” Mammon taps under her chin with the back of two fingers, making his admonition literal. He speaks just loud enough to be heard over the music. Rose hadn’t even registered that she was frowning at him.

Premature nostalgia, again, crashes through her. No one in the human world was as attentive to her as the brothers. She doubts anyone ever will be. Doing her best to shake the feeling off, she lays a free hand on Mammon’s bicep and sways with him to the music. Rose has never been much of a dancer, but Mammon carries the beat well enough for both of them. 

“I’m going to miss you so much.” She completes their loose embrace, resting the hand with the glass in it on Mammon’s shoulder. Mammon’s dancing slows a little, helping her not to spill her drink.

“You’ll miss The Great Mammon most of all, right?”

Rose laughs, leaning her head into Mammon’s chest. She’s spent more time with Mammon than almost any of the other brothers. She loves his easy humor and effortful charm. His joke isn’t a play for a real answer, it’s just his way of deflecting. He knows that Rose has chosen another brother as her favorite.

In some ways, Rose’s relationship with Mammon feels sweeter because of how strictly platonic it is. Things between them are easy and lighthearted, and she’s glad that they’ve settled that way.

“Right,” she says. Deflecting.

“I’m joking, you know,” he says, voice softer. He ducks his head down to speak into her ear. “I can be the bigger man and give that up to Lucifer.”

“When have you ever been the bigger man?”

“Hey!” He lets go of her hand and gently flicks the side of her head with his middle finger. “Watch it.”

Rose giggles, ducking as she tries and fails to miss the blow. “Ah! Sorry!”

Taking her hand again, Mammon pulls her closer. A slower song is playing, allowing them to sway more gently. He rests his chin on the top of her head, likely in an effort to avoid her eye contact.

“You’re a bad liar,” he says, “and a shit dancer.”

“Asshole.” Rose can’t argue with him, so she resorts to calling names.

Mammon chuckles and pulls back, twirling her by the hand again. Before she can come back to him, though, Beel’s hand is on her wrist.

"Rosie." Beel's face is settled into his usual, too-serious expression. He remains stoic as he tugs her gently closer.

Mammon gives Rose's hand a squeeze before he lets her go and she throws a grateful smile over her shoulder at him in return. They'll probably chat again later, after the party.

"Hey, cutie," Rose ruffles Beel's hair when he frees her hand. He isn't dancing, which is probably for the best. The nickname brings with it another feeling of loss. She remembers when she first called him that, comparing his bright hair to the orange peel of a clementine in her lunch box. It had been the first time he'd seen the fruit and he'd consumed it whole.

You are what you eat, after all.

Beel crosses his arms at her. "I haven't gotten to talk to you since we first came up here."

"I'm sorry." Rose laughs. "You've got a lot of brothers and almost all of them want to talk to me."

He's silent for a moment, seeming to assemble each letter of his next words together in front of him before speaking. Eventually, and with much effort, he settles on: "I wish you didn't have to go."

"I also wish I didn't have to go." As a lame sort of consolation, Rose offers him her drink. He takes it from her hands with uncharacteristic grace before downing it all in one go.

When he’s finished, he frowns down into the glass, turning it in his hands. "You're the nicest person I know."

"You only know two human people," Rose chides.

"You're the nicest being I know." Beel confesses this to the ground, suddenly shy. "I'll miss you."

Rose loves Beel, too. Her gentle giant. She loves how honest he is and she loves the plain valor with which he protects his brothers. His physical presence has always been a soothing one, even in the earlier days when none of the brothers knew her very well. Beel was open minded and easily won over by Rose's cooking alone. She'll miss watching his eyes fill with unambiguous adoration at the simplest offering of a snack.

For his part, sweet Beel has always been on Rose's side.

She takes the glass back from him and sets it on a wooden writing desk nearby before pulling Beel into a hug. He heaves a hearty laugh as he picks her up off the ground. He's careful—aware of his own strength—but the embrace is still just short of bone-crushing.

“Okay, okay!” Rose squeaks, kicking her legs as if to get away. She’s laughing, though, so Beel loosens his grasp on her only slightly, keeps holding her off the ground.

“You’re also the cutest being I know,” Beel says, speaking like one would to a stray kitten. Rose won’t miss sometimes feeling like a house pet to the demons.

“Yeah, yeah…” She grumbles, ruffling Beel’s hair. “But you’re the cutest demon I know.”

Beel lowers her gently to her feet, hands lingering on her waist to help her find her balance. His cheeks are pink under soft eyes that greedily take her in. “Don’t let my brothers hear you.”

“Hear what?” Asmodeus’s voice startles Rose as he appears behind her. He reaches to quickly tug the hem Rose’s skirt under the guise of fixing where it’s been raised by Beel picking her up. His sense of boundaries with her hasn’t much improved since their first meeting. “You were almost flashing us.”

Rose darts Asmodeus a dirty look but doesn’t scold him. She doesn’t really mind his intrusions on her personal space as much as she used to, though she’s not sure if it’s because the two of them are closer or if she’s just been desensitized over time.

“I told Beel I’d miss him the most out of all of you,” Rose lies. This somehow seems less offensive than her actual declaration, maybe because it’s blatantly untrue.

Asmodeus gives Rose a cutesy pout. “Why are you lying to my baby brother?”

Beel laughs, shaking his head. He gives Rose a gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving her alone with Asmodeus.

While Asmodeus is far from her favorite brother, Rose can appreciate how much their relationship has grown since her arrival in the Devildom. When they met, Asmodeus was more friendly with her than most of his brothers. However, his friendliness felt too sickly-sweet to Rose and pushed her away more than it endeared her.

Rose can tell that Asmodeus will always be a little jealous of how close some of the other demons were to her, but it doesn’t seem to faze him much. He’s conceded to the fact that his and Rose’s personalities just aren’t compatible. This doesn’t keep him from his overfamiliarity and constant flirting, but his passes at her have been defanged.

“You didn’t really tell him that, did you?” Asmodeus asks, narrowing his eyes at her. “He’ll be heartbroken when he finds out you were lying to him.”

“Drop it,” Rose scolds. “You’re supposed to be nice to me tonight.”

“I’m always nice to you! It’s not my fault you’re a masochist.” He tuts at her shaking his head with mock dismay. “You went and fell for the demon that won’t even come to your party.”

Rose doesn’t have an answer for this.

“Just know I’ll always show up for you, lovely.” Asmodeus takes a strand of Rose’s long hair between two fingers, causing Rose to incline her head closer to his without thinking. “If you ever get tired of Lucifer’s arrogance.”

Rose laughs. “As if you’re any less arrogant.”

Giggling at her bold response, Asmodeus presses a quick kiss to the top of Rose’s head before letting go of her hair and taking a step back. He shrugs, not taking her rebuff personally. “You know I’ll never stop pining for you.”

“You only remind me once a day.”

“You’ll miss me.”

It’s true. She loves Asmodeus. Even if he annoys her, even if they clash. Some part of her will always belong to each of the brothers. Asmodeus has his share.

“I will miss you,” she admits. “I’m sure I’ll realize tomorrow that I’ve taken the constant flirting for granted.”

Asmodeus winks at her. “You will.” His eyes narrow at her empty hands. “Where’s the drink I gave you? Did you drink it already?”

“Yeah,” Rose lies, “I must have set the glass down somewhere to dance.” She turns around, pretending to look for the ‘missing’ glass. Finally, she lets her eyes settle on the writing desk where she left it. There, next to her empty cup, she finds Satan, leaning against the desk. His arms are crossed and his brow is furrowed as he stares at the ground.

Satan, like Lucifer, is not one for loud parties. Yet he’s here for Rose, even if he’s clearly not having a good time.

Rose gives Asmodeus another glance. “I’m going to…” She gestures toward Satan. Asmodeus is gone before she can finish the sentence.

“Hey, you.” She’s careful approaching Satan, as if she might startle him, leaning just close enough to be heard over the music once she’s next to him.

Satan smiles at her when he looks up. The shift in his mood reminds her of storm clouds clearing to reveal a clear sky.

“Hey, you,” he echoes.

“Are you alright? Mammon has the music a bit loud.”

Rose and Satan are much alike. Both of them enjoy quiet libraries and intimate talks over tea rather than drinks and dancing. She’s feeling a little overwhelmed by the music, herself.

Satan shakes his head. “I’m just thinking.”

“Will you step out with me for a second?” She frames it this way on purpose, like she’s asking a favor of him, even though she knows he’ll like the quiet, too.

“Sure.”

Satan takes her hand, leading her past his brothers with head held high. Asmodeus catches Rose’s eyes as she passes. He mouths, “Flirt.”

Rose stifles a laugh. This is a common accusation from him, but not one that holds much water. She is only decidedly romantic with one of the brothers and comfortably platonic with the rest.

When she and Satan reach the stairs and let the attic door close behind them, Rose takes a few steps down before sitting on one of the steps. Satan follows suit, choosing a lower step so that he can sit to the side and look up at her.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

“Not really.” Rose frowns, suddenly feeling as if she might cry. It’s a wonder she’s made it this long without tearing up.

“I can’t believe Lucifer isn’t here.” Satan’s voice remains steady, but Rose recognizes a fragile thread of anger just beneath his declaration.

Satan and Lucifer get on better now, mostly due to Rose’s intervention. She’s argued with Satan on Lucifer’s behalf countless times. And she’s argued with Lucifer on Satan’s behalf almost as much.

This time, though, she has nothing exonerating to say for the eldest brother.

“It’s not as if we invited him, really,” she says. That’s probably it. He wouldn’t ask permission to join a party he wasn’t explicitly invited to.

Rose knows Lucifer frustratingly well. Well enough to make allowances against her own hurt feelings.

“But you wish he were here. He should know that.” Satan bumps his knee against her leg, pulling her back from her thoughts. “Everyone else can tell.”

“I don’t think Beel could.”

“No, he was worried about you, too.”

“Really?”

Satan laughs. “He was pacing in circles around me for the last hour asking, ’Should I take Rosie another cupcake?’ and, ‘What’s wrong with Rosie?’”

“Oh.” Rose frowns. It’s always a hit to her ego when the brothers slip something past her. Even if it’s a misplaced insecurity, it reminds her that the demons are higher beings and makes her feel small in comparison.

“You didn’t get the hint by the third cupcake?” Satan teases. “You humans really are dense.”

Counter-intuitively, the joke makes Rose feel better. The way Satan says this, as if thinking something similar would be unfathomably ridiculous, helps her see that her fears are unfounded.

She laughs. “Everyone’s being touchy with me because I’m leaving! I can’t separate that from the other thing.”

“Well, Belphie has half a mind to run downstairs and give Lucifer a talking to, so we’d better sort it out.”

“We?”

“The Formerly-Anti-Lucifer-League is going to become the Anti-Lucifer-League again if Lucifer doesn't make this up to you so, yes, you and I should come up with a plan to steer our organization in the right direction."

"I have not been, nor will I ever be a member of the Anti-Lucifer-League."

Satan feigns injured astonishment. “But you attended all of our meetings!"

"You only ‘met’ any time you and Belphie had me cornered in a room."

Satan laughs, more at ease now that he's got Rose joking with him. It strikes Rose how different he is from how he was when they first met. During her first few months in the Devildom, he'd been cold and standoffish, barely speaking to her. Rose was stubborn, though, and steadfast in her quest to gain the trust of all seven brothers.

She used to sit in the library with him, pretending to read in tense silence with Satan as she asserted her right to be in the House of Lamentation. Her patience was rewarded tenfold when the walls finally fell, though, because they crumbled to bits. Satan trusted her fully. Sometimes she suspected that he trusted her more than some of his brothers.

In their soft dispositions, they understand each other, just like she’d always known they would.

“Should I go talk to him?” Rose asks. She’s still tangling with the idea from earlier. Part of her wonders if Lucifer expects her to slip away and find him. Such a thing wouldn’t be out of character, he is partial to their private meetings, greatly preferring those quiet moments to sharing Rose with his brothers.

Satan scowls, clearly vexed by the idea. “If he can’t put aside his pride for you for one night…”

Behind them, the attic door swings open, spilling warm light and festive music into the dim stairwell. Rose braces herself to be coaxed back into the party by one of the brothers.

“Hey.” Belphie emerges and quickly shuts the door behind him. He’s also not a fan of loud music, in Rose’s experience. “Levi sent me out to check on you two, I am using it as an excuse to escape.”

Satan scoots down a step, patting the place where he just was. “Have a seat.”

“Are we talking about how much we hate Lucifer?” Belphie asks, sitting on the step next to Rose. “Because I’ve been waiting all night to do so.”

“We’re…” Rose sighs, buries her face in her hands. “I don’t know.”

“Right.” Satan clears his throat. “I’m officially calling the final meeting of the Anti-Lucifer-League to begin.”

“An organization of which I am not a member,” Rose says, giggling despite herself.

“You’ve attended all of the meetings,” Belphie counters.

Rose sighs, doing her best to feign exasperation, but she can’t help but laugh. She loves that she’s found Satan and Belphie’s humor through their stoic exteriors.

Though she’s only really known Belphie for a short time, Rose is humbled by her proximity to his personal evolution. He’s welcomed himself back into the family that he tried to leave behind, allowing Rose to follow him. She loves him for this, even if she doesn’t feel that she knows him as well as his brothers.

Really, if it weren’t for the stubborn youngest, Rose imagines she would still feel like an outsider in the House of Lamentation. It was his meddling that caused her to form pacts with six brothers and it was his plan that forced her to confront the family’s problems head-on. The fact that his original intention was to kill Rose seems silly, now, so miraculous has been their journey from one point to another.

“Let’s talk through it,” Satan says, ever the voice of reason. “Do you want to go to Lucifer?”

Yes, Rose thinks. She’s wanted to go to him all night. Saying this out loud, though, proves more difficult. All of the brothers are protective of her but Satan is especially so. And he isn’t one to refrain from voicing his reservations.

“You sound judgemental,” Belphie scolds. Rose is surprised that he’s taken up her side without her having to say anything. “She’s not gonna answer if you ask her like that.” 

“Okay. Sorry.” Satan frowns, ceding lead of the conversation to his brother.

Belphie turns his body more towards Rose, resting a gentle hand on her thigh. His hand is warm, as always. His voice is soft. As a pleasant biproduct of his sin, the demon exudes comfort. “You want to go to him, don’t you?”

“I do,” Rose admits.

“But you’re worried it’s the wrong thing to do?” Satan asks.

“I wish he’d seek me out. Or show me that he’s sad that I’m leaving.”

Earlier in the day, during the exchange students’ final meeting with the student council, Diavolo teased Lucifer for how sad he was that the exchange program was coming to an end. This is the most concrete confirmation she has that Lucifer is going to miss her. 

Rose believes that Lucifer cares for her but she’s frustrated at his inability to show her. That’s where the compromise is, in their communication.

Again, the attic door swings open and Levi peeks his head out. “Hey, you three! If I can’t hide in my room, you can’t hide out here!”

“Leviathan…” Rose sighs. She often uses his full name just to annoy him but, this time, it falls from her mouth reflexively out of exasperation. “It’s my party, I’m allowed to sulk.”

“It’s your party, you’re supposed to attend it.” Levi puts his hands on his hips and squares his shoulders. “Come on.”

Of all of the brothers, Rose has found Levi to be the most difficult to connect with. There are a few shared interests. She likes some of the video games he plays and some of the comics he reads. She doesn’t mind occasionally gaming or watching shows with him and the other brothers. Neither of these things, though, are threads strong enough to tie them into a friendship. Even their pact is superficial, with clearly distorted motives—Levi’s envy of the other brothers’ pacts and Rose’s desire to unite the family as a whole.

Rose loves Levi the way one loves an annoying little brother. She can’t imagine the house without him, but she’s never been fully at ease in his company.

“Why don’t you come sit with us?” Rose asks. “If you’re so tired of the party.”

Levi softens a bit at the suggestion. “I mean… only if you want me to.”

“You know what? I haven’t gotten the chance to say goodbye to you yet. Come here.”

Belphie and Satan get the hint and stand, switching places with their brother. Each of them tap Rose on the head as they leave. Neither Satan nor Belphie do well with casual affection, but their attempts are adorable.

“You really want to sit with me?” Levi asks. He’s settled right next to Rose, avoiding her eyes. His confidence comes in waves, causing him either to shout or whisper most of the time. He looks timid, now, shoulders low, face hidden.

Rose shakes her head at him, laughing. "I asked you to, didn't I?"

Levi sighs, loosening his posture and letting his knees fall to the sides, unintentionally crowding Rose's legs. She allows the intrusion, doesn't move away.

"You're gonna get to visit still," Levi says, "I don't know why you're moping so much."

"It's not-“ Rose stops herself. Why should she explain her feelings about Lucifer to Levi? She's had that conversation plenty of times already. Instead, she vents the other thing. "It's not going to be the same, just visiting."

"You don't think so?"

"I know so. A place never feels like home again once you've left it behind."

"Hm." Levi considers this, staring down at his hands as if he hopes to physically grasp the idea, to turn it over and observe it. "I guess that's true."

Levi is one of the elder demons, meaning he was more established in the Celestial Realm in his youth. He speaks as though he knows what it means to leave a place behind.

"Still," he says, finally looking up at Rose, "I'll make sure you always have a place here."

"You will?" Rose doesn't mean to sound surprised but it's uncharacteristic of Levi to take such initiative or ownership over the House of Lamentation. It's more thoughtful than she's come to expect from him.

"Yes." He gives a decisive nod. "You can count on me."

This is a stretch too far. Rose giggles, bumping Levi's arm with her elbow. She jokes, "I'm gonna hold you to that."

They sit in silence for a moment, reveling in something approaching peaceful companionship. Levi stands, having enjoyed his allotted fill of Rose’s company.

“Mammon was asking after you,” he says, reaching for the door. “Are you coming back in or?”

Rose makes no move to stand. “Tell him I’m out here.”

“You got it, boss.”

The door swings open and shut behind her and Rose finds herself relieved to have some time alone. Six brothers have, in their own ways, told her that they’ll miss her. The absence of the eldest brother is even more glaring now that it’s framed by the rest of her evening.

Pride, perhaps, is the most fatal sin of all.

- one of those "this was for me and no one else but i hope someone else enjoys it" kinda fics. thx for reading <3

tags: @lorefaerie

[sir-sunawani]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

20 Chapters - 46,838 words

Read it on Ao3 or Wattpad

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 19: Swirling Sand

"Suwani..." Your vision blurred as tears filled your eyes. You start to move toward him when the pain of your injuries jolts through your body.

He couldn't see you like this. He couldn't see you battered and covered in makeup. Even if Alvida had helped make it look better, he could not see you like this. Not after all this time, this couldn't be the way he saw you for the first time in over a year.

"I... I can't." You shake your head and turn toward the door, running to get away before he can close the distance.

It's not your fault. The bruises, the makeup, the pain, it's not your fault, but you can't let him see you like this. Not as the first time after so long.

You can hear a strange sound from behind you and as your hands reach the doorknob it's louder. Sand moves around you, hot and full of the scents of citrus and cigars. Cool metal slips over your wrists and as the golden hook forms around them, they're caught inside of it.

Your hands are pulled back gently as one large, multi-ringed hand forms from sand and presses against the knob. Smoke and sand shift around you and the coarse grit of the desert coalesces against you. After a few seconds Crocodile forms completely as you take a step back, leaning into his chest.

"I knew, but... it's something else to see it in action," you admit, your voice and body trembling.

"Are you afraid of me?" His voice is steady, but you can see his hand tense against the door.

The sound of his voice causes your emotions to spill over, and you shake your head as tears choke your words. Your legs buckle and you're guided to your knees slowly as Crocodile sinks to the floor with you, his hand still on the doorknob as your back is pulled into his chest. His legs are on either side of, one foot on the floor and one knee on the floor, his hook still keeping your wrists trapped.

"If you're not afraid, then don't run away." The words are barely steady, and his voice is hot in your ear.

"I just... didn't want you to... see me like this." You manage to get the words out past the tightness in your chest and the emotions in your heart. "Not after so long."

The gentle kiss against your check nearly makes you sob harder. "The tears were expected."

You shake your head again, and your hands twist in his hook. "L-let me go, Suwani, I..." Your hands clench into fists and you curl into yourself a little. "I have to show you something, but I need a promise from you."

"A promise?" He questions, his hook turning into sand as your wrists are released before it reforms.

"I... have to show you something, and you can get angry, but... don't leave. No matter what, stay here, even just a moment longer." You're trembling as you get to your feet, taking a step back as Crocodile stands up, regarding you with concern.

Worry crosses his face, and you can see his usual confidence slip. "I will stay, (Y/N), I promise."

You take the tie and vest that are part of your work uniform off, and start to cry a little as you begin to unbutton the long-sleeved blouse you're wearing under it. You're holding onto the undone placket, struggling with opening it to remove the blouse.

"Please... no matter how angry you get, don't..."

"I won't leave." He reassures you.

You pull the shirt open, pulling it down to your wrists. You're shivering, and you can't look at him, but the deep purple welts are stark against you skin. Splotched over you like reckless paint, the terrible marks of one man's displeasure.

You could feel the air shift, and the ground beneath your feet shivers. You can see sand swirling around you and you don't need to look at Crocodile to know that he is furious. You had been sure that his control of his devil fruit was immense, given his position, but it seemed as though he meant to turn the entire city to sand in his fury.

"Suwani!" You cry out and his eyes shift from the bruises on your body to your eyes. The growing rage calms, and everything around you steadies again. "Y-you promised."

You hear a soft click, and a louder thud as the large golden hook falls to the floor. A gentle hand, and a gentler prosthetic pull your shirt back up and together.

"That's why you're wearing so much makeup." It's not a question, but you nod anyway as he buttons your blouse carefully.

"Alvida helped me this morning." You admit softly. It's hard to look at him. It shouldn't be, you shouldn't feel any shame or guilt, but you feel like you're hurting him and that makes it hard.

"Look at me, (Y/N)." He says softly, tilting his head down a little as you manage to bring your gaze around to look at him. "It has been far too long, and I would like to kiss you, if you'll allow it."

"I-if I cry, it won't be because it h-hurts," you can feel the heat rushing up to your cheeks even as you lean toward him.

"I know."

"So, don't stop, okay?"

"I won't." There's a breath between the two of you, and you can feel his warmth, his tenderness, and the heavy emotions barely held in check.

"I missed you more than I knew I could," you admit quietly as your lips find his.

Warm, dry, soft. The kiss is airy and tender, almost impossibly gentle. You reached out to him, your fingers caressing along the line of his jaw, disappearing into his hair just under his ear. That you could feel him, really truly feel him, makes your breath catch.

"I'm sore, but I'm not broken, Suwani, so please... more." You pull him into a deeper kiss and feel his hands steady against your back.

Wide warm hands seem to soothe the ache in your muscles, and the soft sigh of relief that slips between your lips is invitation enough. The kiss deepens, your lips part and the sweet taste of cigars and citrus pushes into you. The scents and flavors you've missed.

Hands wrap against your thighs and he lifts you up. There's a twinge of pain, but as your hips rest against his waist, there's no pressure against your torso, and you need to lean down a little to continue kissing him.

"I missed you," You say again, letting your kisses fall against his face like a light rain.

"I'm sorry." He smiles sadly.

"Why'd you do something so reckless, Suwani?" You demand, holding his face between your hands.

"Pardon?"

"The country. Why try to overthrow a country?"

Crocodile sits on the couch in Buggy's office, keeping you in his lap.

"It was something I had been working toward for years," he explains. "But, if I'm going to be honest, after we met I began to abandon it." His fingers push your hair out of your face, hooking the lock behind your ear. "That was part of the reason for the auction. I needed funds to undo what I had done."

"... So, then what happened?"

"I didn't know at the time, but everything I was doing to undo the revolt wasn't working. When I realized it was all going to come to light I did everything I could to keep you safe." He explains.

"I'm... actually kind of mad about that." You admit, covering your face with your hands.

"That's fine. I'll make it up to you," he promises. His voice keeps sinking into you, as though you could simply listen to him talk for hours. "I'm certain I know what happened now."

"Huh?"

"Among the Warlords, there are two who could be considered tamed by the World Government. One who seeks only to improve his own skills. One whose concern is for her people alone, and one who has bowed his head only to be left to his experiments." Crocodile begins, his hands tracing lines gently over your body idly. "The other two were manipulators, but in different ways. We knew this of one another, and the unspoken agreement was to leave well enough alone."

"Jinbe and Kuma would not have interfered, and if they had it would've been to stop me from being successful in overthrowing the country. Mihawk cares for nothing but his skill, and Boa for no one but her people. Moria wouldn't have looked up from his experiments long enough to even know what was going on." Crocodile's eyes meet yours. "None of the Emperors would've cared that I was changing my plans, even if they had all been aware, and the Government would've left a trail a child could follow."

"Many people would've benefited from my fall, but only one would've benefited personally from it. One with the skills and resources to match my own." Anger flashes in his eyes. "I'm angrier with myself than with him."

"You can't predict chaos." You say softly.

"I'm angry it took me so long to get back here. I'm angry that it only took me a couple of days after it was too late to learn the truth." His voice is a growl as he leans in, soft hot kisses against your skin as he resists being too rough with you. "I'm angry that he had your phone. I'm irritated he even dared to speak your name."

His teeth nip lightly at your neck. "I am furious he hurt you in that time."

"You're here now," you point out.

"I am." The nip at your neck turns into a kiss against your skin.

"You won't leave."

"I won't." Teeth pull at your earlobe, and your eyes close as you let the sensation roll through you.

"What happens next?"

"Buggy will be announced as the newest Warlord." Crocodile explains, and you laugh despite yourself, but even as the laugh escapes you, you can see it. "Then this business will be swept into the Cross Guild and so will begin the war between he and I."

"Cross Guild?"

"A contingency plan, kept separate from Baroque Works and Rain Dinners." He explains, fingers sliding gently down your back.

"How many of those do you have?"

"Organizations?"

"Contingency plans!" You clarify just before he kisses you again.

"Enough to keep up with that bastard's chaos, if I've learned anything in the last year." His words are grumbles against your lips. "It needs only be enough to keep you safe."

"I don't-." You let his kiss interrupt you before you lean back and hold his gaze. "I don't want to be safe and alone. It needs to be enough to keep you near me."

"Mm, you've learned to be demanding, I see." There's a smirk on his face as he pulls you back close again. "Buggy told me what you did in the last year for his business. I didn't doubt your capacity, but I seem to have underestimated it. Come with me. I want to go over everything with you and get your input."

"My...? I'm... I'm an officer worker, I mean," you stammer, and lose your train of thought to the kiss that pushes deep into you. Crocodile holds you close, and while you're sore from your bruises, there's such a sweet release in that kiss that it doesn't matter. It sinks into you, rising the heat in your core and making you dizzy from the lack of air.

He smiles as your breath comes out heavy when he releases you. "It's all just organizing people. Think of the goal as an unruly rich guest you must keep happy in the casino. How do you move it, how do you bring it where you want? What options can you create to force the outcome you need, what words will soothe a bump in the plan?" His voice is soothing and demanding, gentle but not open to debate. He has decided you can help, and no leeway is being given. "You don't need to be a criminal to help me, my love."

You don't even register anything else. "Say it again."

There's a second of confusion on his face before he registers the emotion on yours and smiles. "I love you, (Y/N). I'll say it as often as you like."

All the tension of the last year drains out of your body, and you lean against him completely. Your head against his shoulder, your chest pressed into his; not even your legs are holding you up against the couch. You have put yourself fully against him and you have to fight an exhaustion you didn't even know you were carrying.

"I love you too, Suwani." You murmur, your eyelids getting heavy. "I... just need a minute, so... don't go."

"Never again, I promise."