#damn realized i probably should have done a cw sorry!!!

[asterdeer]

my idiot warlock and her wizard boyfriend both got pushed out of different windows on different floors of the same building. but at least they’re together. this is the day after they decided not to pursue the power of the gods themselves btw

[auspicioustidings]

https://www.tumblr.com/auspicioustidings/734619885087375360/i-cannot-write-for-shit-right-now-so-any-little

Hmmmm I’m seeing so many x single mom readers and not sure if this is something you’re even interested in BUT

Simon meeting his pretty new neighbor while she’s moving I and realizes she is either a.) heavily pregnant or b.) has a very young baby so Simon goes “hmmmm mine now :)” and helps her out a little? (Alternatively, if you don’t wanna do Simon for this, then maybe Price?)

(Also if you haven’t read @peachesofteal’s Light On fic, Simon x single mom reader, I implore if you to do so!!! It’s so good)

Peaches Light On fics, and I am being so deadass serious, give me such a flood of serotonin any time I see a new one. Everyone get your butt over there because they are the standard for single mother content as far as I am concerned!

That being said, I've put a bit of a twist on this so it's not really what you requested at all, sorry :') I could not do a similar idea to Peaches because there is nothing I can do to improve perfection!

Tactical Action

Words: 1.1k

CWs: mentions of death

“It's not a shame Price, it's fucking ridiculous.”

Simon Riley was furious looking at the paperwork. It wasn't often that TF141 kept tabs on a promising rookie so when they did he expected nothing but excellence. What he did not expect was a large ‘Early Service Leaver’ stamp over an otherwise exemplary record.

“Their brother died in that warship collision, can't blame them for wanting out.”

“My brother was murdered, I kept fucking going.”

He had met you once when Johnny had dragged him. His Sergeant was both excited and annoyed that someone had gotten the new record for the 3rd selection phase. It made sense to get some feel for you then, if you were as good at escape, evasion and tactical questioning as the test scores suggested then the 141 needed to have you on their radar because the PMCs certainly would. 

You were a determined thing, shoulders back and addressing them with just the right amount of respect. Not arrogant, but not a pushover. Soap had been talking about how much he wanted to get his hands on you the whole drive back to base because he was a horny idiot and you were a challenge he found intriguing. Simon had just rolled his eyes and added your record to the small pile in Price's office. 

He knew a little of your background. Both parents gone, one sibling in the navy. Well one sibling now KIA. He could have understood taking leave, but to quit entirely? It made him angry, he thought it was a waste of potential. Price could see how it affected him and he sighed. 

“Go talk to them then. But do not get yourself reported for harassment and intimidation Simon, if they don't want back in then we make our peace with that.”

That was all the permission he needed. He probably should have taken Soap really, someone who could be comforting and coax you back. But fuck it, you were supposed to be good under pressure so he was going to give you some hard damn advice on not bloody giving up.

–

Exhausted didn't even begin to describe how you felt. This was the hardest thing you had ever done, but you were not going to just give up. You couldn't, not with this tiny thing relying on you. 

She had never even got to meet her parents. Your brother died just before the due date in that accident and then his girlfriend had died from complications in childbirth. You had promised her you would look after their baby if anything happened, made an oath that you'd not let her parents anywhere near such an innocent little thing. 

So you were on your own with nothing but grief and exhaustion and an ever dwindling death in service payment. They would pay part of your brother's pension out each month at least for the baby, but you were terrified that it wouldn't be enough to give her a life she deserved. She certainly deserved her parents and not her fathers ill equipped sibling, but you could only do your best even with the knowledge it would never be enough. 

You flinched when there was a hard knock at the door of your flat, freezing but taking a breath when the baby remained sleeping in your arms. You needed to move at one point you knew, a flat in a bit of a rough area was fine for a soldier (ex-soldier you reminded yourself) but not so much for a baby. 

The security you had upgraded as best you could at the moment and you checked the door camera to see Lieutenant Riley. Ghost. You had met him briefly once, but what was a legend like him doing here? Shit. You knew you looked a wreck but it wasn't like you could ignore him so you opened the door, bouncing baby girl gently to keep her sleeping. 

Simon's planned tirade died the moment he saw the situation. You had a baby. Oh that changed his tirade significantly. Your marital status had listed single, so he could only assume you had gotten yourself knocked up by some casual hookup. That was unacceptable in a soldier, so bloody stupid. 

“Shit” you cursed when she woke up, heading back inside and giving him a nod of invite.

You bounced her and tried to coo at her to go back to sleep. To please God go back to sleep. You never knew what she wanted, it felt like whatever you did was always wrong. And of course then she started wailing and the Lieutenant was in your flat closing the door behind him witnessing your absolute failure to take care of a baby. 

“Oh for Christ sake, give her here.”

Simon took the baby and hoisted the little thing up onto his shoulder, rubbing hard at her back. 

“When was the last time you fed her?”

“I- well, just before you got here. 10 minutes ago maybe? Just got her to sleep.”

“Did you burp her?”

“Oh. I…” you replied, straining yourself in an attempt not to cry. “No. I forgot.”

While his eyes were sharp on you his hands and voice were gentle and soothing for the baby. He was good at this. Did he have kids? Fuck was everyone just innately good at caring for babies but you? 

“Didn't stop to think if you could take care of her before having her?” 

“She's not mine. Well I suppose she is. I'm her only living relative, or only decent one at least. I, um… that warship accident from a few months back. My brother died during it and her mum passed during the birth. I'm her legal guardian now. I'm what she has sir, it was the best tactical action given the circumstance” you said, straightening up despite your exhaustion and prolonged terror at being responsible for such an innocent little thing. 

Simon cocked his head to the side as the baby on his shoulder burped and gurgled, now trying to get back to sleep. You were still a soldier he saw then, you were fighting back your emotions to give him a report on the situation. He reevaluated after the sitrep and took a moment to find the best course of action.

“Marry me then.”

“Sir?”

“We can get it done tomorrow. Might take a bit of time to get a decent house but we'll stay in my flat until then, better area. Still going to be out on assignment a lot but any death benefit would go to you and the widows pension would set you up for life. I'm what you have rookie, it's the best tactical action.”

“Yes sir.”

[kosije]

a/n: never have unprotected sex with strangers! only read about it <3 also this is a old work i just added a bit onto...

cw: mdni, mechanic!hawks x fem!reader, use of doll/ma'am/miss, unprotected sex, missionary, pretty vanilla, simp behavior by hawks, reader calls him keigo, corny dialogue, horrible capitalization (im so srry), probably wont edit this lol...

It's been hours. It's been hours and you're dripping sweat despite the multitude of cold drinks you've ingested from the vending machine in your local auto care. You just took your car in for an oil change and regretted not getting a bus ride back. The more the round clock above the register desk clicked, the more impatient you're getting and the smell of gasoline was hurting your head. After bobbing your leg up and down a little more, you decide to just go out and check on your car.

"Hey! Uh, my car was scheduled to be done 30 minutes ago. Is there any way I can check on it right now? Do you have an ETA of some sort?"

The receptionist, a dark-haired boy with a red choker, looks up empathetically before clicking his keyboard.

"Sorry miss, I dunno much about that, but let me call up your mechanic. What number are you?"

"3389"

"3....3....8- oh Hawks is working on that one! I'll call to see if you can get buzzed in, but no need to worry. He is our fastest and most skilled mechanic, so your car will be good as new as soon as he's done."

The boy's voice becomes the slightest bit animated and you feel your annoyance tone down. But you didn't care if it was "good as new," just as long as you could get home safe.

"Okay, thank you."

His fingers quickly punch into a corded phone before a voice comes on the other line.

"He said it should be done in 2, but you're more than welcome to go in."

You nod and thank the teen before stumbling past wired gates and stray cigarettes before finding your car. It looks damn good. Originally a somewhat hand-me-down from your mother to yourself, it was always beautiful on the outside. The silhouette was a classic thing. real sleek and "real groovy" according to your mother. But the upsides stopped at the exterior.

The ac was loud, and the radio was spotty. Even the leather seats were chipping, despite the multitude of repairs you've paid for out of pocket.

But now the car looks brand new. The shell of your car is clean and shiny. When you open the door, you're pleasantly surprised by the smell of musky cologne and your clean linen car freshener, and even more surprised when you can't see where the patches of missing leather are. you almost let yourself smile before realizing this might be a scam to force you to pay for the advancements.

You're too busy peeking into your interior to notice another person walking up.

"Is this ya car, or you lookin' for a ride to jack?"

You flinch slightly but recover yourself well enough to turn to face the deep voice and a rush of heat flushes over you. Sharp amber eyes run over your figure as you busy yourself with getting a good look at the man leaning against the bumper of your car. messy blonde hair, healthy tan, scruff, and muscular. All things you like, except (so far) his personality.

"And you are?"

"The mechanic, doll," He replies in a "duh" voice, slipping his arms out of his dirtied blue denim overalls and crossing them over the other. You don't miss how his biceps flex slightly at the gesture.

"You got anything else to ask, or are you jus’ gonna keep checking me out?"

"I wasn't checking you out."

"Whatever makes you feel better," He laughs, walking up only to lean on the steel table behind you.

"Look this is my car-" He cuts you off by reading your name off a stray paper that has dirt and oil on it, raising an eyebrow and you nod a confirmation.

He offhandedly purrs something about the name being pretty, and you have to consciously ignore the burn in your cheeks.

"Just tell me how much the repair is gonna cost," the question comes out with a sigh, and now it's your turn to cross your arms. It's done out of attitude, but when his eyes lower to focus on your chest, electricity trickles down your spine.

"You gonna answer or keep checking me out?"

coughing and readjusting himself on the table, he tells you $110.

"Are you kidding? The oil change was 60!"

"I did a whole lot besides an oil change, doll"

"without my consent! This has got to be illegal!" 

"Well, how about this?" he says, moving closer to you, and you can now see just how much he dwarfs you in size. "You pay $40 bucks, and let me take you out to dinner."

well... that wasn't something you were expecting.

"I don't know you."

"I know."

"You don't know me."

"Let's change that then." He says. The smirk he has is toothy and could almost be seen as sweet if he didn't just try to scam you out of $50. After another beat of silence, he talks again.

"Don't be brutal, doll. You know you're just as excited to see where this goes."

"I don't usually date scammers." You finally say, but it's meek and you instantly regret it because all he does is smile wider.

"There's a first for everything."

... 

You don't know why you agreed and gave him your number and address. But you did. You also don't know why you're wearing such an expensive dress and perfume. Or why you're putting on makeup. But you are. It was all too elaborate for a one-off date with a random man. Nevertheless, here you were, crouching down to put your bobby pins in your hair because your dress didn't allow for enough movement.

There are three quick knocks at your door before you hear Hawk's voice. 

"I'm starving, doll. Don't leave me like this." 

Bastard

You quickly give yourself a one-over and head to the door. When you open it you see Hawks, except he looks different. His hair is neatly brushed back, and he swapped his stronger cologne for a much more elegant one that matches even better with yours. simple suit and tie with square-cut earrings.

"you look good" he looks better than good, but you don't wanna say anything that'll inflate his ego more.

"you look perfect," and he punctuates it by saying your name instead of 'doll' and you like the way it sounds more than you thought.

Hovering over you now with one arm on the doorframe. He stretches out a hand with a small grin.

"May I? " You place your hand in his.

"You May."

...

5 things you've learned about Hawks Keigo so far

1. his real name is Keigo, hawks being a nickname he got in his youth because of his speed and eyes

2. his hand is much larger than yours

3. he has great taste in restaurants

4. his favorite food is yakitori (a new favorite of yours too)

5. he's ready to go back to your place

"How was your food?"

"It was actually... great"

"C'mon, don't act all reluctant! This restaurant has never done me wrong!" He says as you shift the air conditioner to fan your face and turn the radio up a bit.

"Right, yakitori connoisseur. I can see why you'd take your dates here."

"You're the first." He says emphasizing the last part with a sly look over to your spot in the passenger seat of his Mercedes. It's an admission that has a smile threatening to find a home on your lips, but you turn your head to face outside the window and he chuckles knowingly.

"Or are you saying this should now be the spot? Cuz I could make that work."

"You sure know how to ruin a mood." You're laughing at his feigned hurt expression as he steers with one hand while the other goes over his heart.

"How rude!" He says before the hand over his heart falls to your thigh and suddenly you're hyperaware of how warm he is. "I'll make sure this spot is special to just you."

If the hand on your thigh wasn't enough, the sincerity of his tone has you reeling and reaching over his middle console to kiss him. Soft, short, and sweet on his cheek. You can hear his breath hilt and the smell of his cologne is stronger. When you pull back, you can see the mark of your lipstick on his cheek. And his hand squeezes your thigh tighter.

"You're driving me crazy, doll."

"...was that a pun because you're driving?"

"What?"

"I said-" 

he dramatically turns up the radio and you roll your eyes when he excessively mouths 'I can't hear you!' 

"YOU'RE LUCKY THIS SONG IS GOOD!" you yell into his ear and he laughs, drawing circles onto your thigh with his thumb. The ride back to your apartment is shorter than you'd like, but at least he walks you up to your door, right?

"I don't usually invite scammers into my house."

"yeah?" he asks, hands already on your waist and head tilted.

"but there's a first for everything, isn't there?"

"id like that," he says, smiling down at you as you walk backward into your living room.

His lips are feverish on yours, tongue exploring as deep as it can into your mouth until his and your lips are purple and swollen before drawing purple bruises all over your neck and chest, just over your tits. Your body is hot and you hurriedly pull your arms out of your dress and shimmy it off-eliciting a pleasured hum when he finds that you're not wearing a bra- as he quickly tosses his button-up and jacket before his lips are back onto yours. Your hands wrap around Keigo's neck and his hands cup under your ass and lift you up.

"First door on your right." 

Following your instructions, he walks with you to his arms to your room and tosses you on the familiar sheets of your bed.

"Do you want this?" he asks, hands working on his belt

"Please."

His jaw clenches, and in a second he's bare in front of you.

And big. Much bigger than you think you can take. Thick veins wrap around his cock and you can tell he shaved just for tonight. He runs a finger up and down your clothing slit. Your lips part and a soft sigh rolls off your tongue.

"Don't be a tease."

"Yes ma'am," his finger hooks on the edge of your lace panties and slides them off before running his cock up and down to gather your slick with a quiet groan. Without warning, he slides into you, and you're both vocal. after letting you adjust to his length, he slowly starts moving inside of you, then faster and you're whining around him.

"so pretty," comes out a gasp when his hands pull your legs over his shoulders.

"yer so pretty. And yer the tightest lil' thing I've ever had. Why don't we make an h-habit of this, hmm?" 

"The sex or–fuck–dinner?" You ask, trying to slow the coil in your gut with deep breaths.

"Both."

"That sounds like dating." 

"It's not–shiit"

"How so?" You ask, moaning into the back of your hand when he switches his angle and hits that spot that has you seeing stars.

"You don't date scammers," he says and you would laugh if you didn't have drool sliding down the side of your mouth. His eyes flicker to it and when he licks it up, only to kiss it back into your mouth, and your nails find his back and rake over the skin in an attempt to ground yourself.

"So...what...' bout...it," he asks between kisses and you roll your eyes. When you don't answer, he grunts and stalls all movements.

"What-"

"Answer me and I'll move." 

His eyes widen as he watches you move up and down on your own.

"Stubborn," he whispers out, still wide-eyed when his lips split into a grin. "you won't be able to fuck yerself the way I do it. So just be good 'nd-"

"Yes." you bite out. Your pride feels robbed, but you can tell he's right when you feel your stomach ache.

"Yes, what?"

He's moved again, but it's too slow for your liking and leaves you irritated. You're exactly where he wants you, and so—reluctantly — you mutter:

"Let's make this a habit!" 

An uncharacteristically soft hand cups your cheek and your stomach twist.

"I knew you could be good for me," he says, lips pressing into the side of your mouth and you're writhing. 

Speeding up again, you feel that familiar flame of pleasure ignite within you and tangle your hands into his blonde strands. The room is filled with slaps and moans and if you weren't so fucked out, you might've been able to hear your headboard knocking against the wall and how the mess of your nightstand slightly bounces from the source. Praises are whispered in between messy thrusts and you try your best to focus on the sweat running down your back to let the feeling of him inside you last longer, but your toes are curled and can taste blood from how hard you’re biting down on your lip. 

“Don't shy away now, I love that pretty voice of yours,” and his face looks so much in ecstasy that when his tip hits that spot in you again a pornographic moan leaves your lips, and the flood of pleasure hits you is as foreign as it is blissful. You almost gave no control of yourself. barely hushing yourself, barely able to unravel your legs from around his hips, all too consumed in your high. But Keigo is no better. When your legs ease the hold around his hips, he hurriedly pulls out, but not fast enough, and globs of white spray onto your pussy and all over your chest, even up to your neck. He can only pump himself a few more times before he's falling on top of you with a huff, knocking the air out of you. 

"U-P!" you gasp out, hitting his chest until he rolls over with a sheepish look.

"'M sorry," is all that he says before narrowing his eyes when you giggle.

"Didn't know nutting took that much energy out."

"me neither," he says, joining in on your giggles with a squawk-like laugh that makes you laugh even harder. "I've never come that hard."

"I'm flattered." You purr, smiling up at the ceiling. "I don't think ill be able to walk for a couple of days myself."

And you were joking, but when he laughs and hoists himself up with a hand on your thigh, the soreness humbles you and you realize there's more truth to that statement than you care to admit. You point to the bathroom and he nods, disappearing and reappearing with a damp rag and cleans you up. 

"How do you like your baths?"

"Warm." you twitch when he wipes over a sensitive part, earning a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

When he's done, he moves back into your bathroom and you can hear him turn on the faucet, and you stretch to your legs until the water is turned off and he's scooping you into his arms. When you've finished, he offers to carry you back to bed, but you insist on getting back on your own, even if your legs felt a bit wobbly. You slip into something comfortable while he puts on what he had on before, only now it's wrinkled. You expect him to leave immediately after he's dressed.

"what are you going to watch me sleep?"

"just waiting for you to invite me to stay the night"

"not gonna happen," you say and laugh at the way he pouts. "next time, maybe." And now you're laughing harder at how quickly his expression changed to a smile.

He leans down to kiss you long and slow, pulling away to leave a peck on your cheek. 

"Same time next week?" he asks, giving you another peck, this time along your cheek. You mumble an affirmation, eyes blissfully shut as his lips move to our neck.

"and the one after that. " And he's grinning against you again when he says this.

"Overzealous, don't ya think?" not missing the glint in his eyes when they meet yours again. Same gold that seems to shimmer close up.

"Just makin' a habit of it." Is all he says, same beautiful eyes looking down at you, same lopsided grin, now pretty purple marks on his neck. 

And all you can do is say,

"okay, same time next week."

[steddieasitgoes]

@eddiemonth prompts for Oct. 3rd: School and a belated Oct. 2nd: Observant cw: mention of food read on ao3

Ms. Click’s first-period class isn’t the worst place Eddie can be — that spot is reserved for Ms. O’Donnell’s sixth-period Algebra class. And yet, he can still think of a million and one places he would rather be than sitting at his stupid desk in the middle of the room, like under the covers in his bed or smoking a joint while leafing through his latest Dungeons & Dragons campaign. 

Hell, if it wasn’t illegal and immediate grounds for expulsion, Eddie might just light up right here. Maybe a little weed will make the dates of Lincoln’s presidency finally stick in his damn head. At the very least, it might distract him enough from the dramatic sighs and pencil tapping his fellow classmate Robin Buckley is currently doing. Maybe she’s the one who needs a joint. 

He knows he should be listening to whatever Ms. Click is saying, but his ears are tuned in to Buckley’s pencil and the horrendous beat she’s tapping. Isn’t she in band? She should have better rhythm than this, he thinks. Having had enough, Eddie leans forward in his chair and taps Buckley on the shoulder. 

His feather-light touch startles her and she jumps, knee thunking against the underside of her desk. The pencil rolls off her desk when she lets go of it in favor of rubbing at her knee. 

“Sorry, Buckley, but that tapping was driving me insane,” Eddie says, whispering as best he can. 

“You could have just asked me to stop,” she snaps, bending down to retrieve the pencil. 

Eddie hums in agreement but doesn’t lean back in his seat. Instead, he stays hunched over, elbows hanging off the edge of his small desk. Head practically on Robin’s shoulder when she comes back up, he takes in her point-of-view of the classroom. It’s mostly the same as his. A view of Ms. Click with her back turned to them, scribbling out some timeline on the chalkboard. His classmates trying to copy it into their own notebooks. Except, there is one key difference in their seats because, from Buckley’s vantage point, he can see Steve Harrington in all his glory working his way through his breakfast bagel. 

Of course, Eddie thinks. That’s what has her heavily sighing like some old English housewife. 

“Buckley,” Eddie tsks. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen victim to Harrington's charm. I thought you were better than that.” 

Robin whirls around in her chair so fast the entire thing nearly topples over. If it weren’t for his own quick reflexes, she’d be overturned on the floor, and everyone would be laughing at her. Something Eddie absolutely does not want to happen. He may not know her, but he knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of their classmates’ laughter. And it’s definitely not a fun place to be. Ranks right above Ms. O’Donnell’s Algebra class. 

Her scowl is deep, the kind that would totally be shooting him with laser beams if that sort of thing existed in this world. It’s a good thing it doesn’t. But there’s something else at play behind those blue eyes of hers. A tension. It’s as if she’s debating how to respond to him. 

It’s interesting. 

Very interesting. 

“I don’t have a thing for Steve,” she sneers, barely above a whisper. Thankfully, Eddie has good hearing because he’s pretty sure no one else would even realize she’s talking. “I just…” she hesitates as she gazes over her shoulder in his direction. 

They’re not even on Steve’s radar. Hell, they could probably be screaming his name back and forth, and King Steve wouldn’t even pay them any mind. And it’s not like Steve’s diligently taking notes or anything. He’s more enthralled with his bagel than anything else. Ripping it into smaller bits before chewing on it with an open mouth. Crumbs strewn across his desk and the floor. Fingers covered in cream cheese and butter. 

Eddie wonders if he’ll ask to go to the bathroom to wash up when he’s done or if he’ll just brush the crumbs aside and wipe his hands on his jeans. Wonders what else Steve wipes away on his jeans when his hands are messy. Before the thought can spiral too out of control, Buckley’s talking again. 

“Why does he eat his bagel like that? He’s making a mess! There’s bagel crumbs everywhere!” she complains, turning her laser-beam scowl on Harrington’s profile. And then, even quieter than before, she says something Eddie knows he’s not meant to hear. “She’s covered in them, and she thinks it's cute. He’s not even looking at her. Why does she like him?” 

Oh. 

Oh.

It’s easy to put the pieces together after that. The erratic tapping, the frustrated sighs, the fight brewing in her eyes when he alluded to her liking Steve. The familiar, do I pretend or do I deny and possibly raise red flags argument he knows all too well. 

Shit, he thinks, she does need a joint. Maybe even more than him. 

“Hey,” he says, tapping her shoulder with a featherlight touch this time. She huffs and redirects her attention over her shoulder where Eddie sits. “I know you band kids pretend to be all high and mighty, but if you ever you know,” he trails off, mimes lighting a joint and inhaling it. “Come see me. Free of charge.” 

“Oh,” Robin says, surprised. A good kind of surprise this time; a smile tugging at her lips. “You know my parents were hippies, right? I’m pretty sure they have better pot than you do. No offense.” 

For a brief moment, Eddie forgets he’s sitting in Ms. Click’s first-period history class and laughs as if he’s sitting in the back of his van with his friends. The noise earns him a firm scolding from Ms. Click and a few curious stares from his peers, but he shakes them all off. Offers Ms. Click a half-assed apology before begging for her forgiveness with his hands clasped together. It’s only when she rolls her eyes and returns to the chalkboard does he tap Buckley on the shoulder one more time. 

“Well, shit, Buckley,” he chuckles, quieter this time. “Hippie pot, huh? You better bring me a sample.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Munson.” 

[swageyama-tobiyolo12]

Hold On (pt. 3)

link to part two 

cw: discussion of attempted overdose (not super detailed though), super angsty, kinda guilt-trippy (sorta unintentionally?)

a/n: oikawa realizing he’s an ass was kinda fun to write tbh guys. part four is gonna be out pretty much in the next hour, i’m on a roll

The moment those words came out of your mouth, Oikawa's anger vanished instantly. He was now hit with a wave of guilt and surprise. He took a step back, his expression filled with remorse.

“W-..What..What do you mean? The reason you're alive?”

You place a hand over your mouth.

“I uhm, I didn't mean to say that,” you mutter, looking away from him.

His heart was beating rapidly as he watched you place your hand over your mouth. The words you spoke, paired with your actions and the look in your eyes, sent a wave of realization over Oikawa. His eyes widened.

“Wait, are you- are you saying that Kageyama saved your life? How?”

“I was,” you sigh, clenching your fists to ground yourself, “having a hard time in high school and I just felt like I couldn’t take it anymore so I… I took some pills. But, Tobio found me and he kinda never left… He kept me from ever wanting to do it again. Like I said, the reason I'm alive.”

“Wait a minute. You- you really tried to…”

He couldn't even finish his sentence. The thought of losing you, to your own hand, made his heart ache. The guilt and remorse filled his entire being.

“Yeah well high school was rough for everyone,” you murmur softly.

He just continued to stare at you. He couldn't believe what you had tried to do. The thought of losing you... it was too much to bear.

“Why did you never tell me? All those years we knew each other…why didn't you tell me something like that?”

“We were never friends Toru. I had no reason to think you'd care at all.”

Those words felt like a knife to his heart. Maybe it was true that you two were never friends, but that didn't mean he didn't care. He had always cared, maybe a bit too much, about you.

“That's not true. I would have cared. If you had told me something like that, I would've cared. I- I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know what he had done for you.”

He then paused for a moment before a thought seemed into his mind.

“Can I ask you something?”

“I guess.”

He hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was appropriate to ask. He took a step closer to you, his expression solemn. He had to know.

“Was it because of me?”

Your breathing comes out shaky as you recall how Oikawa had treated you in both middle in highschool. You weren’t sure how to answer, you knew the answer, but you didn’t know if the man you were meant to marry should have to carry this no matter how much you loathed him. You take a deep breath and nod.

His heart shattered upon hearing you confirm that it was his fault. He took another step closer to you, his hands clenched into fists as guilt washed over him. He couldn't believe that he had caused you so much pain, it was too much to bear.

“God dammit. I'm- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain that you…”

“Don’t think about it too much, Toru. It’s been years.”

He sighed heavily. He knew he couldn't just not think about it. The guilt was eating him alive. 

“How can I not think about it? Goddammit, why did I have to be such a... such an arrogant, selfish jerk?”

“This is why I never wanted to say anything.”

He closed his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath. Your words hit him like a punch to the gut. The thought of you not wanting to say anything to spare him the added guilt and pain made him hate himself even more.

“Why? Why didn't you want to say anything? Shouldn't you be mad at me? Why try to protect me from guilt when it's my damn fault?”

“I wasn't trying to protect you exactly, but I have to marry you, that would probably have gone easier if you didn't know this.”

He winced. He couldn't exactly argue with that.

“Right... because we have to marry each other,” he spoke bitterly, “How the hell was I supposed to be married to you if I don't know how much pain I caused you?”

“Well now you know,” you sigh.

He leaned against a nearby tree, sighing heavily. He felt like he was drowning in guilt and remorse. He never realized the effect his actions had on you.

“Yeah,” you mutter, “Can we go?”

He nodded slowly, his heart still heavy with guilt. He pushed himself off the tree and started making his way out of the little cove. He walked silently beside you, his expression somber.

[votestaynight]

14th day "moonlight (I)"/15th day "Utopia" (scene 1)

cw; wouldn't you know it, Fate? STILL a porn game. That has not stopped being the case. Here we go again folks.

"Ha… ah――!" I put power into my right hand. I grab the ground and raise my half-sliced body.

"――!" I see Saber's face for an instant. She looks like she's about to cry. I'm proud of myself for falling in love with her.

"――Hold on. I'm not done yet." I raise my body with just one arm. My legs won't move. The magical energy that forced my body to move has depleted. The only thing remaining is my beating heart and my organs screaming in pain.

"Oh, lingering affection? I would assume so. This treasure is beyond you. I understand how you must feel. It must be really vexing to have it taken away by another man." That does it. I can't stand his talking anymore――

"I'm saying――don't talk like… you're treating… Saber… as an object――" I put power into my right arm. Is there metal in it? With a creaking noise, my body reacts to my wishes.

"Ha――ah, guh――!" I get up on one knee.

"Ku――damn, do as I tell you――" I put power into my body. As I do so, the things I need to live flow out.

"――Why? Why do you not understand that it is useless now…!?"

Saber's voice is almost insulting. She's a long way away. From a distant place, she is watching me in vexation.

"Ha――gu, guh――!" I ignore it and keep trying. Saber's voice is just a burden. Not my body nor Gilgamesh, but Saber is my greatest enemy now. Because… if she objects with an expression like that, my mind will die. Finally. My knee finally has strength, so all that's left is to stand―― "…No. I do not need your help. As I have been defeated, I am not your sword anymore…! Disappearing like this is the natural end for a Servant…!" Saber's voice. …Damn. If she interrupts me any more, I'll get mad even at her…! "No――please stop, Shirou. You cannot go on…! You will really die. I-If you die here, I will――" ――! How can she say such selfish things without knowing how I feel… "――Shut up, just be quiet for a second…! At times like this, you can rely on me…!" "That is not true, Shirou. Please do not get your priorities wrong. My life is not important. You should put your life first rather than such a thing――" She sounds like she's begging. …My mind almost collapses, thinking that I'm making her sound like that. But still―― "――I refuse. There's nothing I want more than you." I can't accept her words. "Wha――" Saber looks at me in astonishment. …I don't know why she looks like that. But I remember. She told me I was a fool who didn't know the value of his own life. I think she's right. It's too conceited for someone who can't even think about himself to try to help someone else. That's just complacent happiness, and it's an unstable happiness for the other party. The most important person is yourself. That kind of person probably can become happy and share their happiness. "…Yeah. I'm certainly a fool who doesn't consider his own life." I was wrong about what's most important for me. ――Since that day. That seat has been empty. …But I'm grateful for that abnormality. Because in that empty seat… …Is sitting a person I want to save from the bottom of my heart. "But Saber. This wouldn't change even if I valued my life above all. You're more beautiful than that. There's nothing inside me that can take your place." ――That makes me realize. I didn't feel sympathy for her. The girl I saw in my dream. She fought alone and died alone. I thought she was unrewarded, but at the same time, I was charmed by her. I just thought she was beautiful. She pulled out the sword and ran through her life without looking back. Her life itself was so brilliant. "――That's right. So…" So, I have to protect her. So that you, all alone, won't be engulfed in darkness in your last moments. …That's right. So that in your last moments, on the verge of your death… So that you can be proud of your life―― ――My doubts disappear. My path is so clear.

"――Sorry. I like you the most, Saber. So I won't give you to a guy like him." After I say that, I regret apologizing to her. But I had to say it. I wanted to say it now at this moment because there would be no impurities mixed in my words.

"―――――" I hear her gasp. I wanted to turn around and see, but I won't since I can't really see anymore.

I get up. I can still fight if my heart is beating. My magical energy is my life. As long as my heart is beating, I'll keep on recreating her sword.

"Well done. ―――So, now what? What can you do now?" ――I feel a burning heat on my right hand. Perhaps because I'm close to death, I remember ten years ago. …It's a terrible illusion. My body feels like it's still in that fire, reaching out for life.

"Go away. I can't give Saber to you." I raise my right hand and say that. "Fool. I do not need your consent." The enemy raises his sword.

"Get down, Shirou――!" I hear Saber's voice from behind me. I ignore it and using my remaining magical energy, I "project" the sword once more――

And I'm stopped by that light. Even though it's not as strong as Excalibur, the light that can burn away everything it touches is coming for me. "―――――" Feeling the heat on my body, I don't think about my death, but about Saber behind me.

"―――――" She'll be dragged in like this. So I have to at least protect her. I said I'd protect Saber. Yes, I wanted to protect her.

…She's strong, but at the same time, she could've broken down at any moment. So I have to hold steady. She's like a drawn sword, so I have to help her so she doesn't get hurt――

――And then. Before I realize it, there's something like a sword in my right hand.

"Wh――at?" Whose voice was that? The hesitation is only for an instant. At the same moment the golden knight, the absolute victor, retreats… "Shirou, let me――!" …Saber takes my hand.

――The rising light stops. Right beside me is Saber. Right before me is Gilgamesh, opening his eyes and bleeding.

"―――――" I don't know what happened. But I know this is a repeat of the battle against Berserker. Saber used something I made and defeated Gilgamesh's sword. A light pushed back his light and must have injured him, who was unscathed up to now.

"―――――" ――A frighteningly murderous intent. It feels like he needs to kill everything he sees in order to calm down. But the golden knight leaves silently.

"…Eh?" I don't even have time to be surprised. I don't know why he left. But even my fading mind knows that the battle is over.

My knees give away. All tension disappears, and my body falls to the ground. "Shirou…!"

Saber instantly supports me. With Saber supporting me, I look down at my body.

"Ha――" I let out a gasp. My wounds are so bad they cannot be treated. "Ah――haa, haa, ha――" My body, cut from my left shoulder, should have died instantly.

"――Oh. This is too…" I must be barely alive because of that healing power, but it must have its limits. My body is almost split in two. I'm sure nothing will be able to fix my body now. …I can't even tell if I'm still breathing or not, and my consciousness is starting to fade.

――The end is near. But the fortunate thing is about Saber. I have a fatal wound, but it seems Saber is just fatigued. She is unarmed now and her wounds are completely healed. So――even if I retire now, Tohsaka should be able to do something.

That sound again. A sound as if my bones are creaking is coming from my body. I look down at my wound.

"――――Wha?" There are many swords. What look like the blades of swords are layered on top of each other and crowding together to connect my separated body, making that sound.

I feel dizzy. It feels like every bone in my body, every muscle in my body is made out of swords――

"――Eh?" There's no such thing. It must have been my imagination as my body is just fine. As proof of that, my separated body is starting to connect and my cuts are healing quickly. It's more like restoration than healing. This is more creepy than strange.

"Wha――" It seems I'll be saved. But this is too―― "――I am glad. It seems that you will not die, Master." I hear Saber's voice by my ear. Uh… it's really close by.

"Well… that's… great… but――what's going on…?" Trying to finish, I'm assailed by dizziness.

――Then. My body is enclosed by soft arms.

"Eh――Sa… ber…?" "No. I finally understand. It is only natural for your body to heal."

…I can't stay conscious. It's because I produced too much magical energy. My tired mind wants to sleep right now.

…How strong is she? Saber wraps her arms around me and holds me tight.

"――I finally understand. You were my sheath, Shirou…" …She says so in a deep, seeping voice. The feeling is so comfortable that my remaining consciousness fades away. I'm glad to be saved and I let my body sleep.

…But before that. I complain to myself that it would have been more perfect if our positions were reversed――

――At the end… I see that red hill once more.

A red memory. I dive deeper into her memory, and I realize this is the last time.

These are the memories of a knight which I have seen many times before. After becoming king and becoming the will of the country by killing her own will, her days were filled with neglect even from her trusted knights.

Every time she won a battle, Arturia was made to wish for a battle she did not wish for. She continued to hide her sex, surrounded by suspicion. What awaited this isolated girl was a rebellion by one of her relatives.

A young knight took over the country while the king was on an expedition. The man's name was Mordred. That knight who was son of Morgan, the sister of the king of knights, was actually the son of the king of knights.

――To start at the end, Arturia could not have children as a woman. But Mordred certainly inherited the blood of Arturia. Arturia's older sister, Morgan――I am not sure how far she went, but she despised Arturia for becoming king even though Arturia was younger than her.

Mordred was created as her other self. He served the king as a knight with an unknown father, waited for his chance to take over the throne, and finally organized a revolt.

――This was the battle later known as the battle of Camlann. The end of King Arthur.

King Arthur discovered Mordred's betrayal on her expedition and returned to her homeland with her tired troops to invade her own territory. She slashed away knights that used to serve her. She attacked the lands she once protected. The few knights that stayed with her died off, and the only ones standing in the end were her and Mordred.

Their personal combat ended with the king's victory. …But she did not emerge unscathed. Mordred was bound by a strong curse, so he still swung his sword even after his death and left a fatal wound on the king. That is the end of this battle. The last of her, the one called the king of knights.

――It must have been painful. Come to think of it, none of her battles were painless. Every one of her twelve battles was severe, and this just happened to be the greatest wound appropriate for her end.

She returned to Britain and destroyed her own army. She punished the knights who used to serve her, and the knights following her all died. And in the end, she had to kill her own son, even if he was son only in name.

…I cannot tell what went through her mind. But I have to wish. The lone king, who tried to be a king until her last moments… I wish that her last dream might be a normal dream, one that the girl called Arturia might wish for.

"Hm…" I open my eyes. I don't know when I got back, but I'm in my room lying on my futon.

"――Oh. You have awoken, Shirou." "…Saber. Why am I…" "You have been sleeping since that time. Your body is almost completely healed, so you do not need to worry."

"…I see. That's great, but…." What about Saber? If my wound has healed, I'm fine. But Saber's different. Even though she can heal her wounds, her magical energy isn't infinite. It wouldn't be a problem if she had just fought, but she used Excalibur.

"…Saber. Um, were you treating me all this time…?" "I merely wiped your sweat. I cannot treat wounds as Rin does."

"――Idiot. You didn't need to do that. It must be more painful for you right now."

"That is not true. I only have a light wound compared to you. But I cannot ignore what you just said. Even if your wounds have healed, they were bad enough that you could have died. Please worry about yourself for now."

Saying so, Saber reaches for the washbowl beside her. There's a cold towel in there and after squeezing the water out of it, she wipes my sweating body. "―――――!" I'm really embarrassed.

"…? Shirou, does your wound hurt? It seems you are getting a fever again――"

"I-I don't have a fever…! No, you can just rest for now. You might be all right, but you used Excalibur. So you should be the one resting! You'll collapse again at this rate."

"Eh… well, that is true, but…" She hesitates, squeezing the towel.

"But, I am doing better than you right now. It is only natural for me to protect you until you get better." "――" …What's with that? I can't object if she says so with that kind of an expression.

"…Then you'll rest once I recover, Saber?" "Of course. I need to sleep as well."

Saber says so in her usual tone. …So, I let Saber take care of me and suppress my embarrassment.

"―――――" …Time passes slowly. Have I ever looked so closely at Saber without doing anything? Saber is the same as always, and moonlight is shining on her.

"―――――" Looking at her now, she really is feminine. White fingers and slender arms. She looks so lovely that it doesn't seem like she would be capable of fighting. …That's why I can't stay calm. She's been fighting all this time with that slim body of hers.

"Shirou…? Why are you staring at my arm? …I do not want to suspect this, but are you comparing my arms to those of Rin?"

…Is she angry or sulking? She has such slender arms, but she thinks her arms aren't cute at all. Probably because there's some muscle on them, but they're rather cute to me.

"No. The wound doesn't hurt, so I was just spacing out. It's not like I have anything to say about your arms."

"I see. That is good." Saber seems relieved. Then… Saber notices something as she closes her eyes and nods.

"So your wound is fine now? I was seriously angry before, but I will forget about it if you are all right. …It is rather late to say this, but I thank you, Shirou. And I am really happy that you are safe." She says happily. Then, she smiles faintly.

"Wha――" She's smiling about such a thing. …I recall her memories in my dream. She didn't know happiness or entertainment, but she's going to smile about something like this?

――No. She can only smile at somebody else's safety and not at her own happiness. Those words from before. That she was happier seeing me smile. She said that with a satisfied expression.

"―――――" I'm going mad. I really feel like I'm crazy, and… "…! Shirou…!?" …I hug Saber with all my strength.

"Sh-Shirou…! W-What are you doing…!?" She wriggles to tries to free herself. I ignore that and embrace her tighter.

"――! Shirou, please stop…! I do not know what is going on, but this is going too far for a joke…!" Her arms resist me. But. I don't listen.

"Shirou, please――!" Saber raises her arm to hit me. To that… "――It's okay. Listen, you have to smile for your own sake." I say so from the bottom of my heart.

"Eh――Shi… rou…?" I don't know why she hesitated. I just spat out what was inside me.

"――Why…"

…I can understand her being focused on the Holy Grail. But I can never approve of that. I want her to know normal happiness. I think it'll all be a lie if she doesn't. Because all this time, she's fought for others. So she should be as happy as the people she's made happy.

"…Are you crying――?"

"―――――!" When she asks that, I realize my eyes are watery. Not because I'm sad. It's just too vexing. I'm annoyed that Saber can only smile for others. It's just that my head went crazy because it pissed me off so much――

"…Saber. Isn't this enough? You've done your best. You fought even by yourself. So――you have to find your own happiness. You've fulfilled your oath, so you can return to being Arturia."

"Wha――you are still talking about that?"

"Yeah, I'll keep on saying it…! I can't help it because I've fallen in love with you…! I won't give up until you change your mind…!" I yell and embrace Saber as if to stop her from struggling.

"Wha――" …She's weak. She curls up in my arms and looks away.

"…Shirou. Please do not bother me. …This is unpleasant even if you are my Master, Shirou."

"I'll move away if you don't want this. …I said I like you, so I'll let you go if you don't like me."

"……" Saber doesn't answer. She just hangs her head to escape my stare.

"…You are being unfair. You knew my past, but you continued to invade me. You should know my answer already, so why――why are you still concerned about me? …You must have seen all the sins I have committed."

――Yeah, I did. She sacrificed many people in the name of the king and killed many enemies. I don't intend to ignore that or pretend it didn't happen. But still, even knowing that, I want the girl named Arturia to become happy.

"――So what? I don't know what this emotion is. I just can't leave you alone. Please smile. I want to be with you, Saber―"

A child-like unilateral confession. Saber bites her lip, still hanging her head.

"…My answer will not change. I cannot break my oath as a king. Even if I was not appropriate for the role, I was entrusted with my country as the king. I could not fulfill my duty, so this… this freedom is not permitted to me."

She looks at me straight on like she's about to cry.

"――――――――" Our eyes meet. Rejecting words and responding body. When I notice… I am kissing Saber while embracing her body.

"……! ――――――――" I can feel Saber's breath through my mouth.

……Hesitation at first. Saber places her hands on my chest as if to push me away. "……Hmm……ah――――――――" She does not push me away, but tenses her body.

"――――Sa…ber――――" Our lips are only slightly touching. I am not tasting Saber's soft lips nor am I pressing hard against them.

A clumsy kiss only to feel her lips with mine. It is a beautiful kiss that does not arouse excitement nor desire. Her small body. I just find the shaking girl so dear.

……I don't know how long we've been like this. It's not just her lips that I'm feeling. I'm feeling her whole body in our embrace.

I can't help but recall that night. But this feeling is different. I want to embrace her harder and tell her more about how I feel. Not just for my lust… But I want Saber to be happy about being here.

"……Shirou. That kiss was…" Does she want to say it's a mistake? She looks up at me with a face about to cry.

"It's not a mistake. I'll say it as many times as I need to. I like you and I can't just let you go. Tell me if you don't like it. Tell me that we're only a Master and a Servant and contradict me."

"……How unfair. Are you telling me to say such a thing?" "Yeah. I won't hold back if you won't tell me clearly. If you won't refuse me―――I want to do you right now." "――――――――"

I said it. I said it straight to her face while blushing. I said it believing it is the best sincerity I can do.

"――――――――" ……A long silence. Saber looks up at me and lowers her face.

"……Shirou. Does that mean you will embrace me like you did that night?" A weak power is put into her hand on my chest. She grabs my shirt with weak strength.

"――――That's different. We were desperate and we couldn't do anything back then. ……I didn't want to do such a thing. I want to treat you more valuably and do it with just the two of us."

"…………I see. I understand how you feel." "Oh――――"

……Saber puts power into her arms. She taps. She pushes me and gets away from me.

"――――Saber." "……I have a proposal as well. Please look away until I tell you to, Shirou."

"――――――――" ……Saber's voice is too frail. I nod back and turn around.

……I hear a small sound. It sounds like paper rubbing together or water flowing. Then, I notice it's the sound of clothes rustling. "……I am done. You can turn back now, Shirou." I open my eyes and turn back to her.

"―――――――" White body glowing in the darkness. Everything goes away the moment I see her. There's no hesitation nor desire. What is before me is just so beautiful that my mind goes completely blank.

"Sa…ber…" "……" Turning her back, Saber averts her gaze while hiding her breasts. ……She must be embarrassed about exposing her bare skin. Even the red tint is so beautiful that it blows my mind away.

"……I cannot answer your feeling. But I support your idea." "Support―――you mean…" "……I used my Noble Phantasm. In any case, I cannot fight unless I receive your power."

"……Please take off your clothes, Shirou. We are going to embrace each other, so I need for you to be naked as well so I can feel you. ……And it is unfair like this. I would like to see you naked as well." My heart jumps. I thought my heart would explode from just that line.

"Ah―――uh." "I would like to see you naked――――"[r] That's so unfair. Nobody would be able to stay calm if she says such a thing.

"……Shirou? Are you not going to do it?" Saber says so while she blushes. Her voice contains anxiety, embarrassment, and hidden hope――――

"――――――!" Still numb, I place my hands on my clothes. Repair is hopeless. My mind is completely destroyed from Saber's bare skin and words, and I take off my clothes to answer her request.

――――Saber sits on the futon. When I get naked, Saber stops hanging her head down. ……Um, I think she's interested in my naked body. She looks at me from time to time with her face blushing.

"――――――――" If I talk about blushing, I bet I'm blushing much more than her. ……She made me realize all the more, but Saber is just too cute.

She is trained as a knight, but no muscle on her is hard.

Slender arms and legs. Her body that has yet to mature is sweet yet dignified. But what makes her so different is…

"……Saber. You took your hair down?" "Eh……? Y-Yes. I only fasten my hair during battle. I thought I would not need to do so right now."

"――――――――" That's the reason I was mesmerized. With her hair down, there's no trace of her as a swordsman. She is bare naked right now.

"S-Shirou. ……Um, we are starting, right? ……Then having you standing up is somewhat troubling."

"――――――――!" That line troubles me more. To be honest, my body would not move. Saber is just so beautiful that I have no idea how to start so that I can get her happy. ……First of all, this is the first time I've been like this with a girl. And even though I'm the one who proposed this, my head is so blank――――

"Ah……uh…Hold…on. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'm not ready yet. ―――No, I am, but it went away when I saw you." I say a shameful thing while burning up my face.

"……? Looking at me?" Saber looks at me in question. A total cruelty for me……!

"Why? ……Um, this is what you have proposed, so nothing should hold you back…" "Uh―――no, well.. because… you're so beautiful… it was a surprise… and I was shocked."

……Our standpoints have reversed. Saber's skin and her stare is so embarrassing that I admit so while averting my gaze.

"……? Why? You have already seen my naked body before…" "I-I didn't. If I did, I wouldn't be able to talk to you……! I'm not that strong. If I saw it, I would've been hitting on you the moment we got out of the forest……!"

"Eh……Shirou?" Saber looks at me with more wonder. Crap. I'm so embarrassed that my head is empty and it's about to crack.

"Uh. ―――Um, so, it was so dark, I was in a panic, and I was just too into it……! See, we were so desperate at that time!"

"……I see. My naked body must have been nothing for you."

"Hey, that's not true……! Of course I was fascinated by your body at that time……! But you were in pain, you weren't the only one, I had my hands full restraining myself, and I had to act calm even after it so that I wouldn't attack you, well, that's not true, but um――――"

Man, I feel like I'm getting deeper into the hole the more I talk. I have to get out of this conversation and get calm! Or I won't be able to see her……!

"―――Yes. So what is it, Shirou?" Saber is acting more calm…man, what happened to her being embarrassed……!?

"Please be clear, Shirou. Or morning will come." "Ugh――――" Saber looks at me with a smile. Damn……I feel like I just lost a match, but it'll be more shameful if I change the subject right now.

"……So, um…We're naked, but…" You could say I have no guts, but… "―――You're just so beautiful that I don't know how I should do it."

……I throw away my pride and tell her honestly. Because everything I knew was blown away. I don't know what'll make her happy as I was mesmerized by her and was just standing there like an idiot.

"―――Fufu. That is so unlike you." ……Did she just laugh? Saber looks up at me and… "All right. I shall start in that case." She smiles. The smile she always gives when answering my trust.

"Eh……?" Still kneeling on the futon, Saber makes her way over to me.

"……Oh. You are tense as well, Shirou." The voice comes from right below me―――right by my waist. Saber is looking at my contracted thing.

"……Cute. I should make it big."

"Hey, Saber……!?" "Please do not move. Stay as you are, Shirou." "Wh――――" I stop halfway.

"――――!" I feel Saber's fingers. Saber gently wraps her fingers around my dick as if holding something precious.

"Hmm…….I only touched it and it is getting so hard." I feel blood rushing into my waist. My dick that was so tense is standing up from just one stroke by Saber.

"―――Gah―――Saber, hold…" My voice trying to stop her is so small. It's embarrassing. It's really embarrassing, but I don't want Saber to stop. I want her to continue. Even though my head is empty, I'm wishing for more and――――

"――――No, don't worry about me, Saber…" But I summon all the reasoning inside of me to place my hand on Saber's shoulder. But…

"……Please let me handle it, Shirou. I know how to make a man happy." She stops me by kissing it with her warm breath.

"Mn―――Shirou, please stay still――――"

"――――――――!" I have to pull my waist back because of the strong sensation. ―――My reasoning is really blown away. A soft sensation around my tip. My thing is covered in a wet, warm mouth―――――

"Haa――――Saber, this is……!" I know this is a blow job, but Saber is doing such a thing!?

"Ah―――fu, um…….Shirou, it is all right, so please come forward…"

"……!?" I feel something on the tip. With a wet feeling, a rough surface traces my head.

"――――!" Electricity runs through my spine. The instant I realize it's Saber's tongue, the electricity burns up my brain.

"H-Hold on……! No, Saber. You…" I can't tell her she doesn't need to do this. I realize for the first time. That there exists a temptation that is so hard to resist that I have to grit my teeth.

"Hm……hmmm, mm――――good……Shirou, you are getting bigger." ……My cock is already fully erect. My meat that is surrounded by Saber's finger is ridiculously erect and showing grotesque veins.

"Hm……mn, fu……hmm, um……!"

"――――!" Crap. I grit my teeth to keep myself from fainting. Her lips capture the head of my cock. They gently move back and forth and the instant she puts it in her mouth, her tongue licks behind the head.

"Hmm, oh……Shirou, you are beginning to get wet……ku, hmm……please……do not try to hold back――――" Her caress is soft and she is only trying to please me. Saber slowly swallows my member. Without putting her mouth on the shaft, she wraps her fingers around it.

"Hmm……! Kuh, mm….fu, hmm…..hmmm……" Her white fingers stroke my entire shaft in unison with the movement of her mouth. I feel myself rubbing on her. I almost lose to her caress.

"Ha, hmm……! Oh, it is getting larger……ah, it is……hmm…..!" With a wet sound… She deep throats it for an instant and presses the tip.

"Haa……mn, hm……it is……getting harder――――" "――――! Ku……!" Saber's mouth is drooling her own saliva and my pre-cum. Saber is drinking down what is flowing out of me.

"Haa…..you are really getting wet, Shirou……fuu, um……that is good, please feel me more……!" My tongue is numb. Her mouth is on my tip. After thoroughly licking my head, she moderately licks my hole.

"――――! S-Sab…" "Ya, mm……hmm……should I be slower or more gentle……?" My brain is being melted. It's not just the feeling of her mouth on me and the tongue licking me.

"Haa, hm……ahh……I understand……you like it here……?" Saber gently caresses me. Her figure drives me nuts. She is gently wrapping me, but it feels like I'm being wildly caressed.

"……Fu, ku……hmm……ah, fuh……ahh……"

"Saber――――" I try hard not to let it out. The hot shaft is now wet with Saber's saliva.

Wet sliding. Using the liquid spilling out her mouth as lubrication, she moves her hand with strength.

"――――!" My meat expands to its limits. "Hmm……ahh……it is getting larger still――――" Saber gets more wild with her mouth.

"……Hmm……ahh……hmm……ohh……ah, hmm, ahh……" ……Saber's caress increases its intensity every time her mouth covers my shaft.

Shutting her mouth, she uses her mouth to give me pleasure. Her fingers are grabbing me hard. My pre-cum is being extracted from the base.

"Ahh, fu……fuu……hmm…mn" Clear liquid flows down her chin. "Kufu……haa, ah―――hmm……" Saber swallows my pre-cum.

A dirty wet sound is made as my head is sucked on. Only my head is in her mouth, but it feels like my whole body is in her. Every time I try to pull back from too much sensation…

"……Hmm, no……you have to……finish off―――" …She grips my shaft and keeps it there. She sucks on my dick's head hard so as not to let me go.

"……! Ku――――ah――――ha――――" My mind is going white. I want to just melt. I can only hear Saber's breath and the sound of the sucking.

"Fu……um, umm, mm……" She carefully, carefully caresses me. Her warm mouth is now hot as fire.

"Hmm……fu……hmmm…..ah, ahh, ah, Shirou―――" ……It's just not my heat. Saber must be pleasing herself as well with this act. Her tongue that was trying to please me is becoming greedy and going after my cock.

"――――, ――――" ……Something is really wrong with me. Seeing her like that, I want to embrace her even more, but at the same time… I want to let it out on her face and push her down.

"Hmm…..ahh……hm, fu……!" Her mouth moves back and forth without stopping. Saber's tongue licks the head of my cock. Her fingers on my shaft grab me hard from time to time as if to embrace me.

"Haa――――" ……My waist is about to give out. I might collapse. I can't bear to stay standing. I need something to lean onto. A handle, I need a handle to grab on or――――

"――――No, Saber, I――――" If I stay like this, I'll really let it out in Saber's mouth. I pull my waist back with my shaking knees. But… "Haa, mm……ahh……! ……hmm……this place seems to be in pain as well, Shirou." Saber's right hand reaches down below my shaft.

"……!!!?" I jump at a totally different sensation. "Wha-What――――?" Saber has reached under my shaft to stroke my balls.

"Ah―――guh, Saber, that's……" ―――I can't bear this. If she touches me there like that, everything I've held back would explode――――!

"Hmm……are you sensitive here as well, Shirou……? Ha, hmm……hmmm…………Fufu, this is so big and hard…..and yet this is so soft."

"――――――――" I can't say anything. If I don't concentrate, I'll let it out in Saber's mouth.

"――――! ―――!' I can't do that. I can't…but…[r] "……Hmm……then I shall attack you here. It is natural to attack the weakest point." She strokes my balls even more……!

"Agh――――!" Her fingers dance around my balls. They move around. "Gah, no Saber……" My back tenses up. I'm about to explode.

"Haa……ahh……is it tough, Shirou……?" This is much more than that……! I'll collapse if she does any more. I won't be able to bear it if she even breathes on it again.

"Hmm……fu, ahh, mm―――hmmm. ……Yes, you can relieve yourself now……ahhh……Shirou, please give yourself to me."

Saber's mouth contracts. Saber sucks on the head of my cock and… She sucks on my dick as if to guide my cum that's trying to escape.

"……!" I let it out. I release what I've been holding in for so long into Saber's small mouth.

"Ahh――――, ――――!" Without knowing, I have grabbed Saber's head. Did I grab for balance since I arched back from the great sensation? Or did I just want her to take me in?

"Fuaa, ahh……hm, mm……" ……Saber doesn't resist. She sucks on the ejaculating penis and moves her throat.

"Hmm……kuh. Ah―――Ahhh." My cum drips down her mouth as she cannot drink all of it. It must be painful, but Saber tries hard to drink my cum and soothes my burning heat. "Fu――――――hm……" Her lips move away. My cum creates a string from her mouth. Without showing concern for it, Saber gently strokes my cock.

"……!' A numbing sensation runs up my penis. Saber makes me ejaculate the rest with her fingers. I ejaculate even more. What's left of my cum splashes onto Saber's body.

"Ah……ahhh…..this is Shirou's smell―――" Saber's heated voice. Saber puts her finger in the cum on her chest and takes it to her mouth.

"……Hmm…..so good……" She swallows it. What came out of me. Saber swallowed my desire itself as if being intoxicated by it.

"――――――――" Saber crouches down as if to rest. I don't know if she's tired, but her eyes are empty and they're not focused on anything.

"……Mm……ahh……" Then is she doing this unconsciously? Saber's hand is on her crotch.

"Mm……ah…..fa, ah, ahh……" She's breathing like she has a fever. ――――There's no doubt about it. Saber doesn't know how turned on she is.

"―――――――" Is it because I've calmed down after letting it out once? My blank mind slowly returns to its original state. ―――The girl before me is too cute. I want to please her as much as she pleased me.

"――――Saber. You can rest since you must be tired. It's my turn next, so get on the futon." "Eh……?" She looks at me absent-mindedly. "Just do as I say." "Um…if you say so."

Not knowing what I want to do myself, I let Saber rest. ……A stretched out white body. I place my face between her legs ignoring my erecting penis.

"Ah, what……!?" Saber's hand touches my head. Ignoring her, I open up her legs and place my head between them.

"Wh……what are you doing, Shirou……!?" Blushing furiously, Saber resists me.

"I'm just getting you back. I told you it's my turn." I say so right near her. I'm so near her that her hair would move just by breathing on it.

"Ha, hmm……! I-I do not need any return……! P-Please get away from such a place, Shirou……!"

"I don't care. I told you the same thing before, but you didn't listen to me either. So we're fair now. And I want to see this as well." "――――!"

Saber blushes even more. I can totally see her pussy. A slight pink slit and the inner wall I can see because her legs are open. A small clit that's swollen up. I can tell everything about it from her form up to her hair growth.

"N-No……! I-I do not want you to look at me so close―――" Saber wiggles. But Saber can't get away. I don't know if it's because I'm grabbing her legs or that Saber is hoping for something. With her body still on the futon, she lets me do what I'm doing.

"――――――――" ―――Saber's pussy is right in front of me. Just that fact causes my penis to go erect again. Her womanly part that is in contrast to her sweet figure. That imbalance stimulates my mind and my breathing goes wild.

"Hmm……so this is Saber's……" Without being able to stop myself, I slip my tongue onto her. "No―――No, Shirou……! Y-You will be dirtied if you place your tongue on such a place……!" I don't hear her. I touch her soft meat while she tries to push me away.

"It's not dirty at all. ……You did the same thing to me, so I have to do the same to you as well."

"……Ah, hmm……! Haa, no, not…inside……!" I stick my tongue on the warm slit. The small slit that doesn't know the pleasure of a woman. "Haa…..nha, no, please do not look…no, it will flow out…..!" But it starts to drip out juice just from getting licked softly.

I lick that juice and suck on it by making sound.

"S-Shirou……!? W-W-What are you doing……!? Are you sane……!?"

"Hm……it's not bad……but I think it's like sweat. It smells like you." "……! A-A-A-A-A-A-Are you stupid and curious? H-H-How can you say such a shameful thing?"

"Hey, I can't help it. Your pussy's so wet just when I open it. ……It's more of your fault than mine. See?"

"……Kuh, ah…..!" I move the outer wall with my tongue and taste her inner meat. ……Saber is already wet. It's not really wet, but the hole is burning and starting to squeeze out love juice.

"……See. Wow, it's wetter than that time. You weren't like this even with Tohsaka." "Ah……but that is because…" "……I see. So you were pleasing yourself when you were licking me."

"N-No……! T-This is just my body getting heated up and――――Shirou, you were being mean――――"

So she's fine doing it, but doesn't want others to do it on her? Saber is blushing red and grabs onto my hair.

"……No, no. Please get away. I would not allow any more even from you―――ahhh…..!" Saber pulls her waist back to get away from embarrassment. But wanting to see her more like that, I put my tongue on her slit.

"Ahh……! ……No, ah……ahh…..!"

I lick it. I lick up and down her slit as if stroking her warm pussy.

"……Ah, nn….., fua……!" ……My head feels dizzy. It's not only Saber's sensation on my tongue. It's my sense of smell rather than my touch that's driving me crazy. ……I can smell her love juice. The taste of Saber and the smell of Saber captivate me.

"……Hmm, fu――――" I lick it thoroughly. As Saber did so to me, I want to value her pussy and lick it with all my heart.

"……Haa, ah……ahh……Ah……haa." ……Her voice still contains fear and hesitation. Saber can still think. She looks at my caressing with half-absent eyes.

"……Shirou is licking my dirty area―――" With a voice more turned on than scared, she tries to stop her moaning.

"――――――" This thing isn't dirty at all. A girl-like skinny figure. It's very clean down here and the walls are perfectly arranged. It looks grotesque yet beautiful. "Hmmm……it's not dirty here, Saber."

"Eh……ah, fuahh, ahh――――!" I lick up her flowing juice. I can feel her hair tickling on my nose. I feel her clit every time I move my neck. I bare it with just my tongue.

"Ahh……kuhh――――!" ……Saber jumps. It was only a soft touch. I was only caressing it, but Saber is getting turned on without limit.

"Haa, ahh, ahhhhh…..! ……Ahh, ah……….No――――No, please stop, Shirou―――please……!"

It must have scared her as she frantically shakes her head. But in contrast to her words, her pussy gets wetter and wetter.

"……Why? Does it not feel good?" "U-Um―――well, but, um…." She tells me with her eyes that pleasure will overcome her reasoning. ……That's too late. The instant she can't resist me straight on, she has already lost.

"What?" "Ah……ahn……! Haa……I am saying.. ahh――――!" "I don't know what you're saying if you don't tell me clearly. I'll continue if you don't hate it." "Um, well…ahhh……!"

I don't wait for her answer. I can't stand waiting around. Something so young and vivacious is in front of me, so I can't just taste the surface forever.

"Ahh――――! Shirou, you used your mouth for…ahhh, ah―――!" Her body tenses up. Saber's body reacts to a foreign object.

"Ahh……! Your tongue…it is coming in……!" I stick my tongue out and insert it into her.

"……! Fuh, ah……ah―――――" There's no pain in Saber's voice. ……My tongue is too small compared to what entered her before. I bet something this small is more appropriate for Saber's small hole, though.

"Haa……mn, ah, ahh――――" Saber kills her voice and relaxes her body. Pleasure and embarrassment were in conflict up until now. But―――the insertion of the tongue has completely tipped the scale to one side.

"Haa……why……can I not think――――ahhh……!" I insert my tongue into her red throbbing hole and lick it up.

"No……! Shirou, that is……!" Juice flows out without limit. "Ah――――hm――――" I swallow it without hesitation. I suck it up with a sound and place the juice and her meat into my mouth.

"Ah…..ahhh……! Shirou……no, please do not make sounds――――!"

―――Saber's fingers are trembling. I drink it up without caring. Is it because my mouth was dry from that blow job earlier? There's no saltiness on the juice, but rather… "……Hmm……it's so good――――" It tastes better than anything else in the world.

"Shirou――――" Saber sounds entranced. ……My thirst is still not quenched. I place my mouth on her pussy, roll my tongue around inside it, and quench my thirst.

"……! Ah……ah…..!! No, I-I……!" ……Saber shakes even more. Ignoring it, I suck up Saber even more.

"Ah, ahhh……! ………Ahh, stronger…please……!" ―――Her shaking gets even stronger.

"Ahh……! Ah, Shirou, Shirou……!!!" Saber bites her lip and kills her voice. Her body convulses and her stiff legs weaken up.

"――――Saber――――" ……I let my mouth go. Saber is without power. That makes me realize that Saber has reached orgasm.

"……Ah……ah…"

She lets out a sweet gasp and throws out her limbs.

"……Ah……Shi…rou…" Her eyes are damp and her body is still hot. ……Was the orgasm a light one? Saber is resting in satisfaction, yet she is looking at me as if she wants more. Even if the body is satisfied, her mind is wanting more.

"……Shirou. I have yet to…" She must be embarrassed about her sexual desire. With her burned body, Saber is looking at my erect self.

"―――――――Saber." But I'm the one who can't wait any longer. I want it much more than Saber does. I can only think about feeling good with Saber.

I grab Saber's legs. I grab her burning hot legs and place my erect self between her legs.

"……Ahh……Mmm……" I hear a wet sound. ……It's Saber's slit. I go between them and place my tip between the slit.

"Ahhh……Shirou, you are so hot….." The voice sounds surprised and ecstatic. Her eyes look at me as if asking for help. I take it straight on.

"I'm putting it in, Saber." "…………Mm―――――" She must be embarrassed about even letting her voice out. Saber nods once and accepts me to come in.

"Mm, ahaaaa―――! ……Ahh……Shirou is coming in――――!"

The insertion went surprisingly smooth and I was able to easily put it all in. It must be because Saber is so wet. The small hole that accepted me could not bear the stimulation as it takes away Saber's reasoning.

"Ahh……ha…..ahh……!" She must be scared of this pleasure that is too strong. Saber hugs her own body and tries to keep herself.

That behavior is just too cute. She acts strongly trying not to be overwhelmed. Her girl-like breasts pressed down by her arms excite my male instincts.

"……I'm moving, Saber." "Oh……yes……please, ah……please do as you wish…Shirou." I move my hips slowly. Trying not to stimulate her too much as she is sensitive, I slowly move in her.

"Fu, ahh……! Ah, ahh……! Fu, mm…..! Ahh―――Shirou, you are kind――――" ……! I slowly pull then slowly push it in. Her pussy is wet with her juice. There's no resistance as Saber takes me deep in her with every stroke.

"――――!" This sensation. My erect penis that is now a giant nerve system moves back and forth between her tight walls. Saber's pussy is really tight. There's no pain since it's so wet, but the rubbing and the grip makes me go dizzy.

"Fuu, nha, ahh……! It feels good, Shirou―――[r] So good……ahh……!"

The pleasure through my penis and the fulfillment of being in Saber increase my pleasure.

"Ahh……!! Oh, it is getting…even…bigger……!" It feels like I'm getting licked there. It's not a sensation where it takes everything away. The slow movement increases our sensitivity slowly.

"Mnn, ahh……! Fuaahhhh……" Because of her overflowing juice, it doesn't feel like we're rubbing ourselves. The walls grip around me tightly as if to refuse me, but there's more than enough lubrication.

"Fuh―――then, I can―――" I raise my hips to give her more pleasure. "Aha, no, not so high……!" Not just back and forth, but I also add in up and down movements. My hard cock rages inside of Saber.

"……! Ah, ahh, hah……!!" It must feel good as Saber begins to moan harder. ……Her white skin gets a tint of red. The slow movement and the pleasure is heating up the girl called Saber.

"Ahn, it feels so good……ah……, hmm……Shirou……me too――――" "Saber……?" "Ahh……I would like――――to be kind to you as well――――"[r]

"Eh?" She sounds like she's in a dream. She must be starting to get used to the sensation as she looks up me and… "Ah, kuh――――!?" …Saber wraps her pussy around me as if to please me.

"Ah, wait――――" Saber's inner walls move around in a completely different fashion. Numerous walls wrap around me. The walls which used to only tighten around me now wrap themselves on me to please me――――!

"Saber, this is――――!" I bite my lip at the sensation. "Haa……a……―――I want Shirou…to feel good…as well…" Her voice is heated up. Withstanding her own pleasure, Saber tries her best to please me.

"――――――――" That fact blows my mind away. That causes my pre-cum to come out and it starts to mix in with Saber's juice.

Our meats make a soppy sound. "Ahh, fua, ah――――!" The lubricant coming out from both of us tells me I can move faster.

"……! Deeper, Shirou…..!" I thrust my hips forward. I insert my dick deep inside her and grind my hips in.

"Ah……! Ahh……hmm, ah――――!" Saber's body arcs back and her meat tightens around me at the sudden sensation. "Haa――――" That causes me to go even wilder.

"Ahh, ahh―――" I don't need any more kindness like before. I tense my hips up and concentrate on my erect penis.

"Haa――――ua,ah, ahn, ahh――――! ……Uha……ah……haa…I-I do not…mind Shirou……harder, please――――!" Saber screams out as if getting resolute.

"―――――――" My mind goes completely blank. I unconsciously raise Saber's hips and wildly thrust my dick into her.

"…….!!!! Yah, ha, nhaa……! Yes, ah……, ahhhhhh……!!"

"Ugh――――!" I thrust. I thrust my dick as if thrusting my whole body into her.

"It is in……! I can feel…you…in my…stomach――――!" I can't tell if her scream is pain or pleasure. Saber is only accepting whatever sensation there is.

"Hya―――!? Ah, haa, ah……!!" "――――!"

The previous movement is nothing compared to this. Our parts rub hard against each other and my senses are taken away each time I move. Saber's body reacts by moaning every time I thrust.

Her warm pussy is wet with her juice and it feels like I'm thrusting into some liquid.

"Ahh, ah―――! ……Ahh, it is flowing―――Shirou…and…I …Are melting――――!" "――――!"

It feels like my reasoning will just escape out of my mouth. It's not just myself thrusting into Saber. Every time I thrust forward, Saber wettens herself and tightens her pussy.

She reacts to my every move. There's no end to this pleasure. We lust for each other like man and woman, like animals.

"Ha, ah, no, it feels too…good……!" Our movement causes dirty sounds. "Nha, na, it is…scary, Shirou…you feel too…good, ahh――――!"

I'm holding nothing back now. I thrust inside her with force. Our crotches hit each other. My erect penis mercilessly strikes her.

"Fua, ya, haa, ahh, ah―――!!!" Her body heats up. Drops of sweat form on her pink body. "!! No, Shirou……! I will…go…crazy…if this continues……!!" Saber screams to keep her consciousness. Her pussy tightens around me.

"Haa, ah――――! Ah, ahh, Shi…Rou……! Haa, Shirou, Shirou, Shirou, Shirou――――!" My mind goes white. I want to embrace Saber. I want to bite on her lips. I want to obtain everything about her. "Ah, guh, Saber……!" My desire takes form and comes up. My dick begins its last expansion. "Ah, ahhhhhhhh……! It is expanding……!?" Saber's body jumps at the pressure of expansion. "―――Haa, nha, ah, ahhhhh――――! ……No, I cannot…keep my consciousness anymore―――I-I―――!" Her pussy convulses hard. A rough sensation wraps around the head of my manhood. That finishes me off. The last wall is destroyed inside Saber. "Ahh――――me too, Saber―――" "Ahh――――Ahh, ah, Shirou……! Please come closer, Shirou, Shirou――――!!!!!" I fall onto Saber. She must have felt it as Saber's pussy contracts and accepts me. "Nha, ha……! Ahh, yah, ahn, uhh, haa……ahh―――together…" Saber tightens herself around me hard. Right before her small body explodes…

"Nha, ah―――please come together, Shirou――――!"

A sensation like I'm being pulled in. I finally explode. I ejaculate inside of her as if to shoot her down―――

……And a dream is over. Saber is lying there, and I also cannot get up from exhaustion.

"――――――――" We are collapsed together in the darkness. Our body temperature hits our tired minds.

"……Saber." I call out to the girl laying beside me. ……The question I asked her before I had sex with her. To find out the reply for me wanting her.

"……Magical energy replenishment has been completed. I can fight as your Servant starting tomorrow." "Saber."

"……That is it for now, Shirou. My role is to protect you and to obtain the Holy Grail. I cannot think about anything else until the battle is over." "―――But…" "……Is that not right? Because you have…"

"…Chosen to fight to end this war."

Her voice echoes through the darkness. "……" I can't argue against her. If I want to do something about us, I have to end this war beforehand.

First of all, we have to defeat that man who's after Saber or I can't protect Saber. ――――But. Do we have a way to defeat that king of heroes?

"―――――――" "―――――――" We grow quiet and stare at the darkness.

……How long were we like that? Right when my body wants to take a rest and my eyes start to close…

"―――Huh?" I feel something on my hand.

"Saber……?" "……Yes. Let us think tomorrow, Shirou. We might come up with a good plan tomorrow. And…" ―――I would like to sleep like this for now." She says so while holding my hand.

"――――Yeah. I wanted to do so too." "……Yes. Good night, Shirou. ……Let us return to our previous selves when we wake up." I close my eyes with her close to me.

……My last vision of Saber sees her smiling warmly. I don't care if that was just for this night. Right now, her hand is warm. That is more than enough for me right now as I fall into a comfortable sleep.

―――I fall asleep… …Without knowing if we will be able to keep our hands connected even after everything is over…

When I wake up, the sun is already way up. The sunlight coming in from outside is faint, and the room is dim. I feel like it's still last night and shake my head violently.

"…It's cloudy outside. No wonder I didn't wake up." It seems my sleep-deprived body caught up on sleep, taking advantage of the darkness of the room. It seems it's already past 1 o'clock. Oversleeping this much can't just be called "sleeping in".

"Saber, are you awake…?" "――――――――" There's no answer. Saber is sleeping next to me, slightly curled. I wake up when I'm not sleepy any more, but Saber has to recover her magical energy. Considering how long she's slept before, she probably won't wake up until dinner.

I leave the room, trying not to wake Saber up. There's no need to wake her up right now. The contest begins at night. I don't think Lancer or Gilgamesh will appear during the day.

"……" So I have to come up with a plan. Putting Lancer aside, Gilgamesh will certainly come again tonight. I don't even need to think about it considering his personality and the murderous intent he showed last night.

…But what should I do? He has an infinite supply of Noble Phantasms, and one of them even exceeds Saber's Excalibur. Berserker was a difficult enemy to defeat, but we still could fight him even though we were inferior. We could look for a chance for a comeback even when he was pushing us.

But he's different. It won't even be a fight right now. If he uses that Noble Phantasm called Ea, we will all die.

"――I have to find a way. There isn't long before sunset." There's no solution if I think on my own. If Saber, Tohsaka, and I can't think of a plan, then――

"…The church. As supervisor, he might know." He might know a way to overcome this situation. King of heroes, Gilgamesh. Kotomine Kirei said that he would find some measure against that survivor of the last Holy Grail War. We can't find a counter-measure, but that priest might have already come up with a plan.

…I go up the hill. The sky is filled with gray clouds.

"―――――" The church is the only thing at the top of the hill. There's no one in sight, not even the sound of birds. Is it because of the dark sky? It looks more ominous than holy. Metaphorically, it feels like a gallows. Going up the long hill, through the large courtyard, prosecuted before God, and falling to hell.

"What am I talking about? That's not just a metaphor." From the beginning, a church is a place where people die. A hospital is a place where they try to prolong life, but at the same time, it is also a place where people face death. A church is the same. In those terms, no place has more deaths than here.

"―――――" The wind is cold. Fastening my collar, I go up the stairs to the church.

"Kotomine, I came to talk." I enter the chapel. There is no one in here either.

"――Kotomine?" Is he in the back again? Walking between the chairs, I walk to the altar.

Pat, pat, pat, pat. A dry sound echoes through the chapel. It must be designed for echoes as one person's footsteps fill the room.

"…Kotomine? Are you not here?" I call out in a soft voice. …It's certainly strange. I should be calling out in a loud voice if I'm calling for someone. I know he's somewhere in the back, so I should be calling out in a loud voice. But I advance keeping my voice quiet, my footsteps quiet, and suppressing my presence.

…Is it because the chapel is so magnificent? I feel like as soon as I reveal my presence, something will surround me and cut my head off for disgracing God or something――

I pass through the chapel and get out into the courtyard. "…I think Kotomine's room is――" I advance with quiet footsteps. The church is complicated and I don't know where Kotomine's room is. My memory is vague, so I know I won't be able to get there.

"―――――"

Something… I control my breathing. My throat is dry and it's hard to breathe. Why… Even though the hallway is cool, sweat forms on my brow. I stop calling out and examine the surroundings with all my senses. …Do I have such… …I don't know why. Why I'm walking silently, why my heart's beating so fast, why―― …An ominous feeling in this place?

"―――――" The same words repeat in my head. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Kotomine isn't here. So you don't have anything to do here. Go home since you're by yourself. Your decision is a mistake. Your actions are a mistake. Your chill is a mistake. Go back. Go back. Go back. This isn't bad. There's nothing bad here. There is nothing here, so go home――!

"――! Haa――!" I feel sick. I feel nauseous. At times like this, my chill is correct. My sense for danger is good enough for an amateur magus. That's why I can't stop. Suppressing my pounding heart, I look for Kotomine's room.

And in that way, I run into the darkness. "――Underground…?" I see stairs in the darkness. In a small indent between the walls one would normally miss because of the shadows is a narrow staircase.

"―――――" I shouldn't go down there. I'd bet money on it. Kotomine won't be down there. No one will be down there. There can't be down there. There can't be co down there. There can't be ses down there. There can't be rp down there. I shouldn't go in there――!

"――!" My neck stiffens. I――

[kvrokasaa]

Love at first sight

Akaashi, Semi, Tendou, Kenma (separately) x fem!reader

cw: bullying, not proof read

this is so bad, but I wanted to do a part 2

Akaashi walks into the library, ready to study again. Honestly, he didn't want to study, he's been studying for the past week straight. But he needed to pass this upcoming exam. The college entrance exams were coming up, and he needed to get in.

"Girl, put down the book. You're always studying so damn late." He heard someone whine out and another voice hushing the person.

Akaashi wasn't known to be snoopy, he was always someone that minded his own business. But this was a library, people should know proper etiquette. He turned his head to the other side of the aisle and saw two girls.

One of them was hunched over the table, trying to annoy the other one, he's guessing. The second girl was reading a book while taking notes. Glasses sit upon her nose, and she brings her hand up to adjust them from falling.

Now, Akaashi never really believed in love at first sight. He always thought that you should fall in love with someone who you knew. But as he watched the girl adjust in her seat and turn the page of the book, he realized that maybe, just maybe, he does believe. And maybe he just found someone worth his time.

"Are you seriously back at it again?" Tendou rolls his eyes. These stupid bullies think they can hurt him, he's not a kid anymore. Being called a monster was actually an ego boost now, something that lets him hold power over others.

The bullies' face's scrunch up in disgust, ready to reel back an insult. But it rests on their tongues when a pretty girl walks in between them and Tendou, hands resting on her hips.

"Get lost! And stop being so mean to people, it's annoying." Her face scrunches up and she raises her hands, as if she was going to smack them.

They look at her in fear and run away. Tendou looks over at the girl, a little astounded that she didn't even care about the insults they threw at her as they ran away.

"I could've handled it myself, you know." She only rolls her eyes, lending out a hand to help him off the floor, curtesy of those bullies.

Once their hands touch, he knows that he just found his new paradise.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Kenma looks up at the girl who just bumped into him, which resulted with him falling to the floor.

"I wasn't watching where I was going and..." but the words die down in his mind, she's so pretty. Honestly, he wouldn't have done anything even if the person was a guy. He would probably just whisper some insults and walk away.

But all his words die down and he couldn't think of anything other than, she's so pretty. He has the same facial expression when he buys a new game.

"It's fine," his voice is quiet, not wanting to disturb her too much. She was wearing some baggy pants with a tight shirt, a cute frog hat resting upon her head. Her hair looked shiny and smooth. She was his dream girl.

Kenma cringes at the thought. There's no way he can say that to her. But for now, he'll just watch her from afar, hoping he can gain enough courage to speak to her again.

Sakusa sometimes wishes that he didn't have a cousin, especially today. Komori just had to forget his lunch at home and instead of getting some for himself at the store, he stole Sakusa's.

Sakusa was known to be a picky eater, some foods he just hates. He thinks it's reasonable to hate cheese and if it happens to be one some food, he won't even go near it. And, of course, the cafeteria had to have cheese on almost everything. The food he packed for himself was full of his favorites. But Komori couldn't keep his hands to himself.

So now Sakusa has to walk all the way to the store just to grab a boxed lunch for himself. When he finally reaches the store, grabs what he wants, and is at the check-out, he realizes that he doesn't have his wallet. Great, another bad thing for today.

Just when he's about to give up, go back to class, maybe blame his cousin for everything, a girl steps up and places some money on the stand.

"I'll cover it, here's a 20." She turns to look at him and smiles.

Just like in a romance anime, book, show, anything, he can feel wind gush past him. His breath catches in his throat and suddenly it's hard to breathe. He takes another look at the girl and wishes that he could stay here forever.

Semi was known to love music. If you couldn't find him in class, or at the gym, then you can find him in the art room. Playing his guitar and writing down some notes.

He especially loved playing when he's had a hard day. Which was today. Everyone wouldn't leave him alone when all he wanted to do was go to the secluded room and play. And finally, he gets the chance to go right now.

But as he makes his way down the stairs and to the room, he hears some music already. Which was weird because this art room has been abandoned for years. Honestly, he thought everyone was scared of this room because of rumors of ghosts.

But he heads into the room and sees a girl in the school uniform playing the piano. She's sitting up straight with her eyes closed, playing whatever comes to mind.

Semi was ready to leave and give the girl some alone time, but then he heard her voice. She sang some soft notes from a piece of paper.

But when she looked up, she saw him, standing there. His eyes were slightly wide, along with his mouth. She blushed and covered her mouth, an apology already resting on her tongue.

But Semi knew that he had to talk to her, he had to hear this girl's voice again. It shouldn't be too hard; they already share some interests.

[aziraphales-library]

Hello! Thank you for doing the lord's work, I discovered some amazing fics thanks to this blog, and I'm so so grateful! I was wondering if there are fics where Aziraphale takes care of / bathes / soothes Crowley's burned feet after the church scene? Thank you again <3

Hi! We’re so happy you like the blog. Here are a bunch of feet washing fics set after the 1941 church scene...

Reverberations by MrsMoosie (T)

After the bombs fall in 1941, Crowley finds he is in need of more care than for the burns on his feet.

Kiss It Better by KannaOphelia (T)

Might as well admit it all. Well, not all. Probably not the right moment for I love you, I've always loved you, you took my world when you walked away, my reason for not even caring that I've been damned, I've been stalking you like the creepy demon I'm supposed to be ever since, do you know you're beautiful? "I thought you were saying we were nothing to each other, and I said things I didn't mean. I'm sorry, all right?" There was a long moment in which Crowley stared at his hands on the steering wheel, waiting for Aziraphale to say something. Counting breaths. Six breaths. Seven, eight... "I have first aid supplies in the bookshop. Come along now, don't dawdle, dear boy." "Yeah. Yeah, right. Fine. If you like." * * * The obligatory post-Church bombing scene every Good Omens author must write. With foot-kissing.

As I Have Loved You by summerofspock (T)

Aziraphale takes care of Crowley's burned feet after the church scene.

Deus Ibi Est by missgiven (G)

At the church in 1941, Crowley saves Aziraphale, but hurts himself badly in the process.

Aziraphale tends to Crowley's injured feet, inadvertently echoing John 13:4-5.

(Or: a foot-washing fic.)

Color Me Free by small_blue_owl (G)

When the bomb went off, Aziraphale was calm. Collected. Sure.

It wasn’t until a leather bag of books was placed in his hands by a certain demon that Aziraphale realized the bomb that had gone off in his heart. And in the burning ruins and clouds of smoke, something new appeared. Something soft yet powerful, something gloriously, impossibly, dangerously true. Something that had been caged in his heart for centuries and only just now had been given wings.

-or- Aziraphale comes to a realization after the incident in 1941

The Self-Informing Clavier Player by Jackie Thomas (NR)

There is pacing, peering out of windows, disturbing the books, rifling through the books, mis-shelving the books. He wanders about on the ceiling for a while until the shop bell rings and Aziraphale shoos him down with a broom.

Crowley shelters from Hell in the bookshop.

Let Me Shelter You by TogetherAgain (NR)

This was supposed to be a brief history of the umbrella, Ineffable style. It was also supposed to be pure fluff.

I have no idea how that 1941 post-church scene got into the history of the umbrella. I swear it's not my fault.

Mild CW for indirect references to mustard gas, panic attacks, and the Holocaust, but I promise this is MOSTLY happy, and it should leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

By the time Crawley became Crowley, he had a collection of objects he had made by hand, in times and places all over the world, all with the hope of someday pretending it was his wing that he was holding over Aziraphale. He hadn’t been able to do so with any of them, but that was hardly going to stop him from trying.

Crowley’s Roman parasol eventually joined the rest of his collection of Things Intended to Give Aziraphale Shelter, Which Have Never Done Their Job. It was a very impressive collection.

The Touch of Your Hand by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

After a moment of casual contact in Rome, Crowley realizes that he’s touch-starved. He dreams about holding Aziraphale’s hand or—even better—hugging him. But Aziraphale is an angel, and Crowley is a demon. And demons don’t deserve hand holding or hugs…do they?

- Mod D

[rezzyromance]

hihi may i request a heisenburg x reader comfort fic? reader is feeling deppressed or something and karl and reader just cuddle or something

I need this right now. Where's MY big, crusty, greasy, metal hobo man?

(CW: mentions and descriptions of depression based on my own personal experiences.)

The bed felt like it was consuming you at this point. You barely left it all week, and hadn't left it at all today. Your heavy body only had a slight feeling of piece when you lay curled up in the bed no matter the time of day. All of the lights were off and you were left alone with your thoughts. A feeling of numbness consumed you, yet you ached at the same time. How could someone feel so numb but so in pain at the same time? The question had been taunting you recently as every day made you feel more and more useless.

The self isolation you had put yourself through was only making things worse. You live in the factory with Karl but you haven't seen him since you've started staying in your room more often. He's so occupied with work that he hasn't really noticed your absence.

Well, it was bugging him in the back of his head. Something didn't feel right and he knew it, he just couldn't put a finger on what. It was actually a bit distracting. He didn't realize what was wrong until he was journaling. When he writes in his journal, it's one of the few moments he has where his emotions become somewhat known to him. He barely knows what he's writing until he rereads it. He just lets his mind take over as he writes. He was rereading his most recent journal and the last sentence made him pause.

'I haven't seen (Y/N) in a bit. I wonder where they're at."

"Damn.... I'm stupid...", he mumbled to himself. "How could I have been so oblivious?", he groaned and rubbed his forehead before setting his journal down. He expected the worst as he roamed the living areas of the factory in hopes to find you. "I bet they're pissed. I bet they hate me now.", his mind was clouded with negative thoughts.

He twisted the doorknob to your room, hoping you'll be there with a smile on your face. That smile that warms his heart so much and makes him feel like he's worth something. Instead, he was greeted with you laying on the bed with your back facing him. "Yep. Pissed.", he thought.

"Hey.. you awake?", he asked in an almost-whisper. He wasn't aware of what time it currently is, but the fact that you were in the bed with the lights off made him assume it's probably late. "Yeah.", you respond. "I'm awake." There was no emotions behind your words. You sounded so tired, but not a normal, groggy and sleepy type of tired. Like an exhausted and pained type of tired.

"Were you sleeping?", he asks. "No."

He inhales deeply through his nose as he tries to asses what's wrong. "I know you're mad at me. And you have every right to be.", he starts off. His words confuse you. You weren't mad. You've felt this way for a long time, but having Karl around helped you keep your chin up and tuck the bad feelings away. It wasn't until he became super occupied with his work that the feelings came rushing back. You were left with nothing to help distract you from the negativity that had been brewing inside of you for so long.

"I'm not mad.", you say, still without moving from your spot. "You're not?", he sounded genuinely shocked. "No." "I just haven't really checked on you or paid any attention to you recently. I know you must feel like I forgot about you completely." His words made you feel bad even though there was no reason for them to do so. "I'm sorry.", you say. He cocks his head to the side in confusion. "What? Why are you sorry?", he asks as he walks over to where you were laying.

Suddenly, you feel small. So small. You feel your eyes sting at the threat of tears. "I..", your voice shakes a little. "I don't know..", you can't help but sigh. Karl isn't the most empathetic person, but seeing you this way made him feel a type of way he has never felt before. He could tell you were upset, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to help, but he had no idea how. He had no past experience or even an example from his life where he figured out how to comfort someone that is sad.

"You look tired. You should rest.", is what he said. What his words really meant where "I recognize your emotions and I understand completely. Please, take care of yourself.",

He crawls into the bed and lays beside you. "Tell me..", he begins to talk and hesitates slightly, unsure of what to say. "What's got you so exhausted?", he says. He continues to use words like "tired" and "exhausted" as replacements for "depressed", but you both know what he really means. His words cause a sharp pain in your throat. You wanted to cry so badly but kept it in. "I don't know. I'm just....", you can't help but let a few tears fall. "I'm so tired." Even though there is an absence of light in the room, he can tell you're crying.

He swallows awkwardly, thinking of what to do next. He takes a deep breath and places his hand on your arm. He can feel you shaking beneath him as you quietly cry. Something in him feels like it breaks a little, but something else in him grows. A passion for protecting. A need to keep you safe. It fuels him in the moment as he pulls your body into his. He was still fully clothed with his work shirt, pants, and even boots, but he didn't want to waste a second removing his clothes when he could be holding you close. You're his number one priority.

You clutch the fabric of his shirt in your hands as you fight back the tears. "It's okay.", he says as he rubs your back in attempts to soothe you. "You're okay.", he kisses your forehead and lets you cry out what you've been holding back for so long.

Once you're done, you feel a little embarrassed and unsure of how he feels. But, he still holds you tightly to his body. He rubs circles in your back with his calloused thumb.

"It's okay to feel bad. That's probably a dumb thing to say.. but it's true. It's okay to be pissed off and sad. Just, try to remember that you're so much more than what you feel.", for a moment, his words actually sound wise and it surprises himself. "Promise you'll try and remember?", he asks. "I promise.", you sniffle. "Good. I'm gonna shut up before I say something stupid while trying to sound smart." His words make you giggle which lights up his face and heart. A wave of relief washes over him and he continues to hold you.

Now, you're no longer alone in the bed with you're thoughts. Sure, they're still there. But you're not alone. And as long as Karl's around he'll make sure you never go through them alone again.

[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x actress!reader (part 2)

(part 1)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 3k

chapter warnings: kinda smut? (male masturbation), stalking (not bucky lol), a bit a violence, angst

It had been a month.  Well, 29 days, to be exact; he’d been counting them.  29 days since he’d seen so much more than he was supposed to, and he was pretty sure you’d seen him too.  29 days of tense silence as he wondered if you were ever going to say anything about it.

It must have been that you hadn’t seen him, if you hadn’t said anything for so long.  But god, it really did feel like you were looking right into his eyes as you came that night.  He knew the reality was that it was a horrible mistake and he was a terrible person for looking at you like that, and that he was never going to be any closer to you than watching someone else pleasure you; he knew that truly.  But regardless, that moment had been playing on repeat in his mind for 29 days.

And now, as he took his shower, he prepared to finish off day 29 and start day 30.

“Fuck,” he hissed under his breath, head falling back against the cool tile as his hand stroked slowly over his cock.  He’d dreamt about you (again) and woken up so hard that it actually hurt; so this wasn’t a continuation of his perversion, or his unhealthy obsession, no, it was pain relief.  It was medicine, really.

In his dream, like always, it had been him between your legs in the back of the car and not that other guy— who he’d seen on TV the other day, dying in the first five minutes of an episode of some awful CW drama, by the way.  It killed him that he couldn’t know how you really taste, or how you really would sound saying his name, but the best guess of his subconscious would have to do.  He tried to conjure in his mind how you sounded that night, each frame of the memory burned into his brain until it was what he saw every time it closed his eyes.

Baby.

That was what you’d said first, and it still made his heart stop every time it echoed in his head.  Baby.

The word itself was sort of innocuous, but it was the way you said it— just below your breath, deep but airy— and what it meant.  It was a plea: you were begging him to touch you, to make you feel good, to help you.  Bucky could listen to you beg for hours, it would be like music to his ears; like poetry, even.  

Later that night, when he’d given you the rest of his sandwich, he’d gotten the closest he ever would to hearing you moan his name.  What you’d said originally was just ‘oh my god, Bucky, this is so good’ and it was just generic enough that he could imagine it being a little more specific.  Sure, it was stupid to get off on memories of you praising a sandwich (that you ate while drunk in the shower) but it still did wonders for him as his hand pumped his length faster and faster.

Oh my god, Bucky, it feels so good— you feel so good.  You’re so good.  Oh my god, Bucky—

He bit down on his lip, already so close to the edge that there was no turning back, toes curling underneath the stream of hot water as his breathing moved just as quick as his thoughts— thoughts of you in the back of the car, or in the shower with your foggy silhouette just barely visible to him, or doing all sorts of things that he’d never seen you do but he’d love to pretend he had.  

“Oh my god, Bucky!” you yelled as you swung open the door, a choked moan jumping out of his throat in shock as his eyes shot open, come starting to spill down over his hand.

You couldn’t see him through his shower curtain, thank all that’s holy, but it was a sort of sensory overload as he tried to process what was going on mid-orgasm.

“What?!” he yelped, voice clearly rougher but hopefully not in a way you would find suspicious.

“Come quick,” you requested.

Already did, he thought to himself with a shudder of guilt.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s somebody in the yard,” you explained frantically, “it’s probably nothing, but I don’t know how they got past the gate—”

Your mitigation was lost to him as he was already turning off the flow of water, the evidence of his misdeed already washed away, leaving only the ringing in his ears and the burning in his cheeks as reminders.

You stepped out into the hall to give him just enough privacy to slip on a robe, which he was certain he looked ridiculous in but he really had no choice.  Storming out of the bathroom, he wasn’t sure he was ready to confront a potential threat while dripping wet and barefoot, but the whole point of him living here most of the week was so he could keep you safe at all times— apparently, shower time included.  

“Stay inside,” he instructed you quickly, “and stay out of the line of sight of any windows and doors, got it?” 

You nodded, and he could tell you were scared.  He hated that you had to worry about this sort of stuff.  He was glad to be there to help, yes, but he would rather this line of work didn’t need to exist at all even if it put him out of a job.  You waited for him there as he pushed past you and moved through the living room, considering whether or not he should grab a weapon from the safe he kept hidden in this room— but then he glanced to his left arm, drying quicker than the rest of him, and remembered he already had a weapon.

By the time he reached the door he could hear someone shouting your name outside.  As Bucky flipped on the damn-near-blinding security light on your porch and entered the yard, he saw a guy— smaller than him, but not exactly tiny— who seemed to ignore him and the light completely as he continued his desperate attempts to get your attention.  

“This is private property, you need to leave,” Bucky told the man in his best ‘stern but not quite yelling’ voice. 

“Is she home?” he asked him instead, totally unfazed by the warning.  As the fan looked back up and called your name again, Bucky shivered with the realization that he was looking up at your bedroom window.  Had he already seen you there?  Or, worse, did he have some other way of knowing which window was your bedroom?

“You need to get out of here before I call the police.  You’re trespassing,” Bucky continued, pushing the man back towards the gate.  Sadly, Bucky knew from experience the police weren’t that concerned about celebrity stalkers— you and him had both called to no avail once they learned the name of the homeowner.  It made his blood boil just to think about it.

“Hey, let go of me!” the man resisted, pushing Bucky back.  He seemed to sober up a bit when Bucky’s face changed, though, but it was too late.  He tried to duck but totally missed, and Bucky’s right fist made contact with his jaw.  “Ow!” he screeched, cowering and trying to cover his face.  “What the fuck?!  That’s assault— you just assaulted me!”

“And you’re trespassing.  And harassing.  And probably stalking,” Bucky listed, continuing to guide the man back towards the gate.  “Tell me how you got in here.  Did you hop the fence?”

He couldn’t go any further back as the man was pressed back against a stone column, squirming a bit but otherwise putting up little fight— or maybe he was actually trying his best, and it was just lost on someone as strong as Bucky.  

Unamused by his stammering and lack of an answer, Bucky brought his metal fist to the column right beside the man’s face, hitting hard enough to break off a sizable chunk of the stone.  “Tell me!” he demanded.

“There’s a tree out back, I climbed it!” he explained with a whimper, “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t come back here, you hear me?  Or this—” Bucky pointed to the dent in the column that he’d made— “will be your face!”

Letting him go and swinging open the gate a bit, the man ran away of his own volition, stumbling down the street and out of the glowing light of the streetlamps.  Bucky let out a low sigh, hoping it was the last of him but terrified that it wouldn’t be.  He made a mental note to call a landscaper about trimming this mysterious tree in the back, or maybe chopping it down altogether, as he made his way back inside.  He found you in the living room, chewing your nails nervously and watching him step closer with wide, watery eyes.

“He’s gone,” Bucky informed you quickly.

“Thank you,” you mumbled.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

“Um, yeah,” you decided, but you didn’t seem so confident.  Even so, he wasn’t sure what more he could do.  

“Oh, I broke your pillar, by the way.  Sorry.”

“I saw that,” you smiled a little, but he frowned.

“I told you to stay out of sight of the windows,” he reminded you.

You sighed.   “I know, I know, I just…” you trailed off, lip quivering a little as you got emotional again.  “I know it’s stupid but—”

“No, don’t say that,” he interjected.

“— but I was so scared,” you finished, voice wavering as you ran towards him, suddenly pulling him into a tight hug.  It took him by surprise, but he figured it was okay to hug you back.  He was only wearing a robe, he suddenly remembered, and your face was against the exposed portion of his bare chest.  If he hadn’t gotten off just minutes ago, he certainly would’ve gotten hard just from that (embarrassingly enough).

“Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed gently, indulging himself in resting his chin on top of your head as he stroked your hair.  

“Thank you,” you mumbled against his skin, pulling him even closer, “god, I don’t even know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here.”

A pang of guilt rattled in his chest; you trusted him so completely and he was crushing on you, spying on you (only the once, but still), taking advantage of your need for protection, staying in your guest bedroom and jerking off to you in your shower— when had he turned into an unstoppable pervert?

“Will you stay in my room tonight?” you asked him suddenly, looking up at him with those big shiny eyes and a pouty lip.

“Oh nonononono,” he shook his head, instantly recognizing that trap.

“No, Bucky, please,” you whimpered, “that guy might come back, I don’t want you all the way across the house.”

“I shouldn’t— I’d be overstepping—” he stammered.

“Please,” you sighed, and he sighed too, because when you said it like that, he couldn’t say no to you.

//

Bucky had insisted on staying on the floor as opposed to getting up on your bed, which was a drag but whatever.  At least you had a lot of good spare blankets and pillows to make him a comfy-looking pallet.  He seemed to agree when he appeared behind you in the doorway to find you on your knees on the floor, putting it all together.

“You didn’t need to do that, I’m pretty good at sleeping on floors as-is,” he dismissed.

“No, I’m happy to!” you beamed, turning around and choking a bit when you looked up at him in his pajamas.  Even though they were still pretty conservative, specifically sweats and a scoop neck sweater-y sort of top, it was probably more than you’d ever seen of him since his uniform was very concealing.  You were kind of hoping to catch a glimpse of his metal hand— you didn’t get to see it much because he wore driving gloves the vast majority of the time, and you hadn’t really been paying attention when it was exposed earlier by his just being in a robe— but he was noticeably leaning against the doorframe in such a way that you couldn’t see it.  The thing that really got a reaction out of you was his dog tags, though; you’d never seen him wear them before and there was something perfect about the way the silver chain dangled over the slight peek of collarbone visible above his neckline.  “Aren’t you warm wearing that much to bed?”

“No, it’s fine,” he dismissed.  You hoped he wasn’t wearing more just for your benefit.  Shirtlessness would’ve benefited you more, certainly.  In fact, now you felt kind of bad that you were just wearing a thin, silky short-and-tank set.  Hopefully it didn’t make him uncomfortable.

Getting up from the floor, you slipped under your covers and motioned for him to do the same.  He turned off your lamp first, stealing your last chance at a good view of the hand, and you heard him get comfortable on the floor.

“Thank you for this,” you mumbled quickly into the darkness.  “I don’t think I’d be able to fall asleep if you weren’t in here.

“Oh, of course,” he replied softly.  

“Goodnight,” you whispered.

“Goodnight,” he answered back, and his low, sleepy voice was somehow both soothing and energizing.

You weren’t sure if you even tried to fall asleep, or how long you laid staring out into the void of the darkness.  It was so dark in your room that you saw purple spots dancing in the corners like static as your eyes adjusted, incomprehensible shapes forming to make up for the lack of visual stimulation.  You wished that there was enough ambient light to be able to see Bucky’s shape on the floor and know he was there; instead, you settled for the subtle sound of his slow breathing.  When you heard him adjust slightly, you decided maybe just the breathing wasn’t enough to be sure it was really safe.

“Bucky?” you whispered under your breath.  “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” he answered, making you sigh with relief.

“I can’t sleep.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to sleep if I wasn’t here.”

“But I never said you being here would make me sleep,” you pointed out.

“Then I should go,” he decided.

“No, please,” you hissed, “don’t go.”

“Okay.”

You took a deep breath.  “Tell me something,” you requested.

“Tell you what?”

“I don’t know, anything.”

He paused for a moment.  “Will it help you sleep?”

“Maybe,” you shrugged.

Bucky sighed, and you heard him turn on his side.  “Want me to tell you a bedtime story?” he asked, sarcasm noticeable even in a whisper.

“Yes,” you announced with a smile.

“Okay,” he pondered, “um… once upon a time—”

“Good start,” you rolled your eyes.

“No interrupting!” he scolded.

“Sorry…”

“Anyways, once upon a time there was a princess, who lived in a castle in the Isle of Manhattan.”

“A castle?” you asked excitedly.

“A somewhat modest castle, but yes.  One with big golden gates and marble columns.  The princess didn’t live all alone in her castle though— at least, not all the time.  She had many royal attendants, and servants, and plenty of friends of course.  But the problem with being a beautiful, kind, generous princess is that sometimes people get too friendly and want to visit her in the castle when she’d rather be alone.  Thankfully, the princess had a last line of defense—”

“Let me guess, a knight in shining armor?”  Or more like knight with shining arm.

“Wish I could say so,” he disagreed.  “No, this princess needed something a little fiercer, and that was why a dragon guarded the castle.”

“A dragon?!”

“Mhmm.  A big, scary dragon with sharp teeth and big wings, that breathed fire on anyone who got in his way.  The thing about knights is that they’re noble, and handsome, and righteous.  But righteousness prevents people from doing bad things, and sometimes bad things need to be done to protect good things.  So, knights can’t protect princesses like they should.  That’s what dragons are for.  They’re mean and nasty— it’s their nature, after all— and sometimes you need somebody burnt up, so you call a dragon and he’ll deal with it for you.  And this dragon was the meanest and nastiest of them all, and he’d burnt a lot of people in his time.  Oddly enough, the princess was still nice to him, but she had a lot of knights and princes and kings who wanted her hand.  Good thing the dragon was there to pick off the worst ones.”

You giggled a little, even though your heart was racing.

“The dragon watched over the castle every night— well, five nights a week… cause the princess wanted weekends to herself— but, still, he was very dedicated and did his best to keep her safe.  Sometimes he would take her to whatever lavish ball she had been invited to that week; she would ride on his back as he flew there, even though he was pretty scared she would fall off or something.  And sometimes…”

Your breath caught at the pause, waiting anxiously for what would come next.  

“Sometimes the dragon wished he wasn’t a monster.  But if he wasn’t a monster, then he couldn’t keep her safe.  So, he resigned himself to a life outside the castle, because at least he could be near her— even if she was impossibly far away.”

You swallowed as you tried to process it, finding yourself at a complete loss for words.

“The end,” he whispered gently, before giving you a goodnight and saying your name in a way that he’d never said it before— at least, you’d never heard him say it that way before.  But you really, really hoped you’d get to hear it again.  You did manage to fall asleep eventually, dreaming about flying and wishing you didn’t have to wake up.

[sukirichi]

earned it [07]

Gojo Satoru is a firm believer that if you work hard for it then you shall earn it. But on the other side, he’s not unfamiliar with his own sins. He also believes that there is punishment due for his sins as he’s earned it.

cw. explicit smut, pool sex, slight angst, i miss naoya :(, mafia business, mentions of blood, lots of drama, mentions of death and murder

note. IDEK ANYMORE. lmao anyways do you guys want faster updates or do you guys want to wait? i can finish the series next week and then we can move on to white lies 😈

series masterlist

The three of you were seated back at your tables, where the whole dancing fiasco had thankfully ended. Satoru noticed nothing of your behavior – either he was really clueless, or you were a damn good actor – the guy was much too invested with the files Nanami was currently showing.

For a moment, you let yourself loosen as you took a deep breath. The account was much more important than whatever Nanami was scheming.

“I think I may have found where the real money is, or treasure, we should say, since none of us can really figure out what the Zen’ins might be hiding. And from the looks of it, considering Naoya had no idea about what his family kept prior to his death, this is something only his elders wanted to know about,” Nanami pinched the bridge of his nose, sliding a photo of an unsuspecting white manor that you hadn’t seen in a long time. “And it’s been right under our nose the whole time.”

“That’s one of our islands,” you replied with a furrowed brow, “Are you saying you traced the source back there? But that’s impossible, we haven’t used that island for years and even Naoya told me he was going to sell it because it was of no use to us. It’s not on commercial waters and there’s no local people around either. That island is in the middle of nowhere.”

“This is exactly why it’s the best place to hide things – because no one would ever suspect this seemingly harmless middle of nowhere could contain their assets.”

Satoru, who’d kept silent the whole time, inched closer to you. His cologne wafting off to you eased you for a moment – purely because it was familiar – and even though you despised saying it, you were thankful he was here. Currently, the blond man posed a bigger threat, the difference being that Nanami actually had leverage against you while you had more control over Satoru.

You sighed. If Naoya was here, things would’ve been so much better. He never lost his composure in figuring things out on his own. But now that he was gone, now that he’d never be coming back, you had be responsible for his sake, but mostly for yours.

“Take a look at this. The nearest land is a small, uncharted city from Brazil’s outskirts. I’ve been illegally transporting weaponry and firearms somewhere near there since our family started the business – it’s the easiest place to sneak in things without getting caught. All you need to do is pay a few fishermen and they’ll easily transport our load from one place to another, no questions asked,” Satoru announced, seemingly deep in thought as he rubbed his chin. “It would make sense if the Zen’in clan elders found this place useful too. It’s basically a hot site for criminals.”

“But we don’t operate this way. The Zen’in elders are too prideful to handle transactions like this. They would’ve chosen a more…discreet yet formal way of handling things.”

“How does an underwater passage sound?” Nanami pushed the other photo aside to reveal a blurry snap of what seemed like a tunnel under the sea. On the surface, it looked just like an abandoned rig, but it stretched too long, the exterior already covered in mold and seaweed. “About 80 years ago, the Zen’in Clan leader at that time was often heavily targeted by their enemies in business that they preferred to travel under the sea. If my theory is correct, right under that island would be another base of some sort that allows the clan leaders move from one country to another while remaining undetected.”

“So that’s how they easily sent their own shit overseas…”

“It would be a very sound conclusion to assume so,” Nanami crossed his arms at Satoru’s musings, “However, that’s all I know. All I can tell you is where I last got the signal for the source – which is about seven years ago, and a few months right after Toji Zen’in was disowned by his family when Naobito took over. It would also be near around the time he met his wife and had his child, which would increase the possibilities that he may have stored something in this island for his son’s future. Again, it could be money, gold – we don’t really know,” he nodded your way, a sense of finality behind those blue eyes that had now looked so menacing when once it brought you comfort – reassurance. “How you get there is all up to you.”

Something didn’t feel right.

“If the elders really wanted to hide this place, they wouldn’t have passed the rights of the island into my inheritance when Naoya died. They surely wouldn’t have wanted me to find out about this.”

“I could think of two things,” Satoru proposed, “It’s either they trust your potential enough as the clan leader to replace Naoya, or they didn’t think you’d care anyway.”

You let his words sink in. The clan elders have never bothered much with you. They were too prideful about “saving face” and “keeping up images” that they couldn’t even let a word of insult slip past their lips under the belief they were above that. But you weren’t stupid; they had never approved of your marriage to Naoya. An outsider like you, suddenly becoming a part of their family when they could’ve had your husband marry a family friend?

They may have kept silent about their dislike to you, but one way or another, they were going to take action for it.

Knowing the Zen’ins, being a Zen’in, you knew there was one thing they hated the most: not being in control.

“Neither,” you finally concluded while mumbling down at your lap. The theory was hazy, incomplete, based only on mere emotions but slowly, you were coming together to piece it. You felt Satoru turn your way, his large hand caressing your knee as if coaxing the words out of you. “It’s neither. Naoya’s elders…they never liked me. It’s been made pretty clear to me that I’m dispensable without my husband, and I will never be a Zen’in in their eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked me to give up all my inheritance from Naoya because I’m not related to them by blood.”

The silence in the table stretched.

No matter how grandiose the hotel restaurant may be, you felt suffocated in that seat. How didn’t you realize it sooner? You were in a land that stretched past your territory, with both men accompanying you people you couldn’t wholeheartedly trust, while your husband rotted away back at home – probably covered in dust and not even given a proper burial like he deserved.

There was only one way out of this, to put an end to everything. It would prove to be a daunting task, but you didn’t have a choice. No, in fact, this was your only choice if you wanted to survive.

Satoru’s voice softened upon seeing the grimness of how you turned mum. “I’ll follow you wherever you go. I promise to help you in finding out whatever is in there,” he met your eyes; yours filled with contempt, with fear, with desperation, and his filled with regret. “It’s the least I could do…after everything I’ve done to you.”

You took a deep breath.

You couldn’t lie to yourself. There was no way you could trust him with his empty promises. He’d shown enough times that he wasn’t a man of his word, and you’d be a fool to fall for it again. However, Nanami’s glance was curious and suspecting, hiding his true colors with an innocent gesture of sipping his wine. He may seem unbothered and only here to ‘help’, but this man was cunning, possibly more so than Naoya could ever be, and one wrong move would be similar to stepping on a land mine.

Satoru received no response from you, and soon the three of you were standing outside the hotel’s lobby to escort Nanami back where he came from. The dinner was tense, so much so that you’d unknowingly been clutching Satoru’s bicep the whole time.

He tapped your shoulder, bringing you back to life as he gestured to his phone. “Sorry, it’s Geto.”

“Oh,” you muttered and stepped away from him, feeling your heart sink in your chest as you watched him retreat behind the glass doors. Beside you, Nanami snickered.

“Made up your mind, agent?” he taunted, “This is your final chance to prove yourself. Gather enough intel for us to intrude whatever that mighty clan is hiding underneath that island, surrender Gojo to us, and we’ll give you everything as promised.”

You faced him with fiery eyes, prepared for whatever he’d throw your way when he showed you that cursed red coin again. Realizing its power, the true meaning it held, you immediately shut your lips. It must’ve satisfied to know he was the one in charge here, and how could he not be when your life was literally at the palm of his hands, your days growing more numbered if you didn’t follow everything he asked for?

If you had just…if you had just done everything the Organization had asked you for, you wouldn’t have been here. You wouldn’t have felt this torn.

Nanami flipped the coin before tucking it into his pocket, sending one last salute your way. He hailed a cab and disappeared afterwards, leaving you alone to ponder over the consequences of your actions, your emotions. For the first time in his life, Naoya had lied to you.

He wasn’t correct when he said you were strong.

Because after all this time, you still held onto something that you should’ve let go of a long time ago, and you had nothing but your weak, sensitive, hopeless heart to blame for. Said hurdle appeared not long afterwards, his touch warm on your shoulder as he gazed at the empty spot beside you.

“Oh, Nanami left,” he noted, turning your shoulders to him until you were completely exposed. There was no more hiding from him, or more like you didn’t have enough energy to. You felt dull, tiredness lining your eyes and lips pressed into a flat line. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

Ten days. That was how much you’ve wasted your time here in Milan, and you weren’t even remotely close to figuring things out. Your resources were much more limited the farther you were from the Zen’in Estate, and your lawyer was a family one, meaning they held more loyalty to the actual Zen’ins instead of law-affiliated people like you were.

Simply put, you were all alone to solve this by yourself.

Satoru promised to help, but he kept disappearing in the morning along with Geto. You never asked where they went or what they did; it simply didn’t matter anymore.

You would only spend hours locked in your room as you researched everything you could on your private island near Brazil. Just like Satoru said, it seemed like the perfect place to hide things for the spot seemed remote enough to offer privacy for the family’s getaway. You could somewhat recall Naoya proposing once to take you there for your honeymoon, but business got in the way, and it wasn’t like you truly trusted him then to spend such an intimate with him that you said no.

Sighing, you put all the papers away. Not even a single clue led you to what could be possibly be there, but there was an underwater passage. The fact the Zen’ins was capable of building that made you wonder just what the extent of their powers and influence stretched to, and you contemplated for a bit if you could hold that same ability now that you had his name.

Whatever was there, you would look for it.

Your mission was clear – the success of it would determine the fate of your life. Find out what they’re hiding, surrender Satoru Gojo to the Organization, and then everything would be over.

It sounded simple, yet your heart knew it wasn’t. Naoya died with the confidence of his trust over you, the trust you worked so hard to earn. But wasn’t that point? You needed him to trust you for you to be able to pull this mission off, but things happened, emotions and conscience got in the way, and you banged your knuckles on the table until your ring throbbed on your finger.

You just wanted it all to end. You never meant to hurt Naoya, never meant to betray anyone, but it fucking pissed you off that Naoya wasn’t the real problem. He wasn’t the one holding you back.

With not much thought to your next actions, you slipped past the guards and into the pool that had long been closed since 10PM. Being at your room’s tub reminded you of memories you’d rather forget, and you slowly undid your robe and stepped out of your underwear before dipping in the cold, freezing water.

It felt good. It may have been temporary, but the numbing bite of the water helped you feel more placated. Even for a little while, it was nice to not worry about anything. There were no titles, no mafia drama, no anything, just you and the water that you would’ve easily fooled yourself to be simply enjoying your little trip in Milan until –

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You had me worried sick,” You sighed. Of course. Opening your eyes, you raised a brow as Satoru towered over you, a standard hotel towel in his arms. He’d change out of his suit and into cotton shorts and a shirt this time around, possibly on his way to sleep when he realized the room was empty. With no energy to deal with him, you swam away from the man, earning a groan in response. “What the hell is your problem? You’ve been acting weird ever since Nanami came. Listen, if this is about that island, you don’t have to worry too much about anything. I have enough people and resources to help you in every step of the way.”

You ignored him. After everything that happened, what was there to talk about anymore? Even if you told him everything, he might not understand.

So you swam in the middle of the pool, thankful that it was dark enough from the maintenance shutting the lights off that Satoru struggled to find you. However, you’d underestimated him because soon you heard the splashing of the water, and you were harshly tugged by the wrist before Satoru cornered you at the edge of the pool.

He was breathing hard; both of you were, and tried to push past his chest, only to be met with a solid plane of muscle that wouldn’t budge. You sighed and turned away from him, covering your exposed chest with your arms.

“Whatever Naoya is looking for…you’ll find it, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m serious,” the scorn in his tone had been so biting you turned back to him, about to hit him with something, scold him for something, but your words died down in your throat before you even had the chance to.

Satoru hadn’t been demanding. His face, illuminated by the moonlight, made his azure eyes twinkle like stardust exploding. Once in your life, you found so much comfort into staring at such beauty, but that was when everything was still a perfect lie. Funny how the truth ruined everything for its darkness, and you could only look back at him weakly, throat running dry from all the emotions that threatened to pour out of you.

Regret and desperation was written all over his face.

“Please,” he rested his forehead on yours, eyes closed as he mumbled, “You’re not alone in this. I don’t want to ask for much because I know I don’t deserve it, but please at least understand you don’t have to solve everything on your own. You’re not…you’re not alone. I’m here now.”

“When you left me,” your voice cracked, “It’s because you thought I wouldn’t love you anymore if I found out your true nature,” Satoru opened his eyes, anxiety swimming in those eyes that had once been so sweet. Perhaps he still held that sweetness now, albeit it was less tender and more cautious as he waited for you to continue. “If I told you about every sin I’ve committed, the name of each person I killed and everything I’ve done, would you stay with me? Or would you leave me again, only this time it’s because you think I’m no longer someone you could love?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” was all you said before you felt a tear prick the back of your eyes. You didn’t want him to see, god, you wanted to disappear in that moment you couldn’t think of anything else. Crashing your lips to his, you brought him down by the back of his neck to hide the tears freely falling from your face.

He froze for a split second before he eagerly pushed back, clenching the pool edges with his hands so hard his knuckles turned white. You were panting, moaning in his mouth as he pressed you harder against the edge, skin to skin, breath to breath, soul to soul.

Threading your hands to his hair, you grinded down on his shorts where he was already beginning to grow hard. Satoru groaned inside your mouth from your teasing but made no move to stop to – after all, why would he want to stop? It had been years, seven fucking years, and even you wouldn’t want to stop. It was wrong, it was dirty, it was immoral – but you needed this. You needed this more than ever.

Satoru’s hands tickled your waist as he squeezed them harsher than he intended, his calloused fingers travelling until he was kneading your breasts. You pulled away from him, head thrown back to rest on the edge.

And it was romantic.

The moon had never been so big, sprinkles of star shining in the vast darkness, the scene just perfect for two lovers in a getaway from the harshness of life. You knew it wasn’t real and the spell would break sooner than later, but did it matter? He rolled your beaded nipples into his fingers before he ducked down, lips suctioned to suck heavy bruises on the sensitive patch of skin on your neck that had you twitching in his hold.

Along with your moans, you cried harder. From heartbreak, from regret, from guilt; there was no turning back from this.

“Satoru, please, please, please. Make me feel better, make me feel good, I just want to forget everything.”

He nodded eagerly against your neck, letting your eager hands help him push his shorts down before his cock sprang free. His length grazed your lower abdomen for a moment, though he didn’t waste any time in entering your hole. You gritted your teeth at the intrusion, nails dug so hard in his shoulders that he bled.

The both of you had your foreheads connected, noses brushing and breaths mixing as you moaned and he sighed, eyes shut tight from finally being engulfed in your warmth.

“Right there, ‘Toru, oh fuck.”

“F-fuck,” he hitched one of your legs to wrap around his waist, “You’re still so tight after all this time,” Satoru praised, molding his lips with yours once again. He picked up his pace and watched as you desperately clung from one surface to another – his shoulders, his hair, the edge of the pool, flailing your arms each time his deep thrusts knocked the wind out of you – breasts bouncing as he bounced you on his cock.

“You look so fucking beautiful – my sweet, sweet angel. I missed you, missed you so fucking much.”

You didn’t say anything. No words were needed to be exchanged; actions spoke louder than words. At least right now, you could promise you wouldn’t lie.

Pulling him down for another kiss, you bit down on his bottom lip to muffle your moans, too speechless at each movement of his dick grazing past your walls. Fuck, he still felt so good, still knew your body way too well and your pussy hugged him so tight like you didn’t ever want to let go.

But you knew you had to, even as he came inside you and brought you back to your room, uncaring of the dripping mess you’ve both made before he locked the door.

You forgot how many hours you spent underneath him writhing in his bed. He took you each way he wanted – knees folded beside your head, on your side where he whispered all the filthy things he’d been wanting to do to you while he took you from behind, or your head squished on the pillow as he repeatedly smacked your ass, pulling your ass cheeks apart to praise you on how you took him so well. Satoru didn’t stop; you knew what you were getting into the moment you pulled him into you, that his sex drive was insane and he’d take long to tire himself out.

By the time the first shy fingertips of the sunlight extending across the horizon arrived, you were emptily staring at the window, Satoru fast asleep beside you.

It was time.

Silently, you pulled his arm away from you and quickly got dressed. He seemed to still be deep in slumber, and you carried the only bag previously packed with everything you might need. You were on the process of wearing your stilettos when he stirred awake, sleepily eyeing you from the bed you both devoted yourselves to in pleasuring one another.

“Where are you going?”

“Away,” you answered, tight-lipped. “From you.”

“Why?”

“Because…I lied,” you inhaled sharply, gloved hands frozen on the golden knobs.

Just open it, you screamed at yourself, walk away before it’s too late.

But you couldn’t move, pathetic that even after everything Naoya had worked so hard for, you still remained a slave to your past.

“No matter how much I hate everything you’ve done to me, I can’t bring myself to forget I once loved you. Maybe I still do – I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m not as strong as I thought I was,” you cried, losing grip on the bag before it fell. You watched emptily as all the contents poured out – your money, your clothes, your phone, your ring – it all served as a reminder of who you were, of who you’d forgotten to be, of who you were supposed to be.

Your shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I don’t have enough strength to kill you.”

“Hey, angel,” he cooed, reaching you in three long strides before he caged you in his arms. Satoru was so warm, so strong, and the safety he provided you with only made you cry harder. You wanted to hate him, wanted to keep lying yourself since you’d been doing a great job at doing that for the past seven years, but it wasn’t that easy. Deep down…you still harbored the most miniscule affection, and that enough was capable of destroying you.

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything,” you whispered brokenly as you banged a weak fist to his chest, “Everything is wrong.”

Finavice Pharmaceuticals didn’t disappoint.

You were beyond impressed the moment you stepped through the door, a horde of eager chemists guiding you through the upper floors. Finavice was one of the biggest – if not the biggest – companies that were known for harboring the rarest or hard to get elements that not even you and Naoya could get your hands on.

Not by yourselves, anyway, so you took it upon yourself to strike a sponsorship to their research program in developing a cure to cancer under the guise of being an advocate to the improvement of the medical field.

Truthfully, you just wanted to please Naoya, show him you were useful and that he didn’t need to kill you. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and there you were, your prettiest smile plastered on as you scanned the towering buildings with unmasked interest.

“Here is the laboratory for the Finavice Pharmaceuticals where we test…”

“Mrs. Zen’in?”

The entire team stopped as a tall man, cloaked in a beige suit instead of a lab coat appearhed out of nowhere. Judging by how everyone had ducked their heads down and turned silent, you could only guess he must be the boss. Flashing your most charming smile, you hitched your bag higher up your arm. “Yes?”

“May I have a word with you?”

You fought the urge to sigh. His question was spoken much more of a statement that you weren’t really given a room to decline, and the young chemists gazed at you curiously under their lashes.

Not wanting to create a commotion that would lead into unwanted attention, you nodded, following the man through a set of double doors, guarded by two heavily armed men from the outside.

The man, who was Kento Nanami, the founder of Finavice himself leaned back into his seat as he made himself comfortable. “So you signed a contract with us two weeks ago to partner on our latest medicine, am I right? I’ve read over your proposals and I must say, they are rather interesting and innovative. I didn’t expect that a businessman’s wife would be a chemist who is interested in expanding to the pharmaceuticals as well. The Zen’ins has never been much invested in that.”

Gladly accepting the tea he’d slid your way, you made sure to clink the teaspoon against the porcelain as you played along. “People change, Mr. Kento. My husband and I’s goals are rather different from their former, traditional ones. Surely, steel exchange couldn’t support us for the rest of our lives.”

“I can’t say no to that. Kudos to you and your husband for your rather…ambitious shared goals then.”

Your hand froze on the utensil, and you narrowed your eyes at him in warning. “Are you implying we should not have trusted you with this, Mr. Kento?”

“No, I am merely letting you know that your act won’t fool me,” he chuckled, leaning forwards to rest his chin on his clasped knuckles, his blue eyes growing dark and serious. “I know what you and your husband’s family does. The Organization knows a lot more about your actions than you think you know we do. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re only here because we’re the only company who has access to an element you need for your drug, isn’t that the case, Mrs. Zen’in?”

Well…this was certainly unexpected. You’ve been effortlessly deceiving countless businessmen, government leaders and officials even, that this took you by your surprise. Two could play at this game.

Even if he saw through you long ago, it wouldn’t take much to grab his letter opener that was right beside you and puncture it through a jugular vein. If his guards came, you could easily take them down too. Today was one of those few moments you were thankful for Naoya’s hellish training.

But you didn’t want him to feel satisfied, so you leaned back into your seat and crossed your leg over the other.

“If you knew this whole time, why didn’t you kill me already? A lot of people wouldn’t miss the chance to do so.”

Nanami chuckled. “It’s because like you, I’m not just a pioneer. I, too, have my goals and loyalty laid out for someone else. Most specifically, the Organization, an international collaborative effort of stopping and reducing mafia movement for the safety of our people. Obviously, I’ve been assigned in the Yakuza Division, and it’s no coincidence I read through your file. You are, after all, one of our precious targets.”

You stared at him boredly. Why couldn’t he just get straight to the point?

“Is this a threat? I’m not sure it’s working.”

“Oh, no, I’m not threatening you,” he snatched your tea and took a long sip from it, and it was the first time you learned of his habit of concealing his curious gaze through drinking; a perfect act to seem inconspicuous.

“I am offering you a path to redemption. You may fool everyone, but I know an unhappy woman when I see one, Mrs. Zen’in, and I can tell you find no pleasure in the life you live – running errands for your criminal husband, constantly fearing for your life, wishing you’d just been a regular person like everyone else…” At the lack of response, he took it a gesture for him to continue, and he set the cup down, pushing his glasses right back up his nose. “The Organization has labeled you a target, but I think you’re more of a victim caught in a series of unfortunate events. I merely wish to save you from it.”

You guffawed in laughter at his last statement.

“You men really are ridiculous!” you slapped your palm on his table, losing every bit of that elegant composure to be perfected by a Zen’in wife. “Always preaching about saving me and protecting me – what actually are you pathetic losers even capable of?”

Much to your dismay, Nanami didn’t seem the least bit affected by your mockery.

“Please, don’t group me in with your husband and your former lover. Unlike them, I harbor no interest in you as a woman, I only want to fulfill my duty as an Agent and save you not because you’re a damsel in distress, but rather because…I could kill two birds with one stone,” his eyes shone in mischief, and you swallowed in discomfort as he gazed you up and down.

You’ve had enough experience with being seen as a meal, but this was different. Nanami was viewing you like you were a secret weapon he intended on using as much as he could to achieve his goals.

“You are a very convenient woman, Mrs. Zen’in. Similar to how your husband adores your abilities, I would like to take advantage of your connections. The only difference between me and them is that I can actually give you something money can’t even buy.”

“Such as?”

“A second chance at a normal life.”

“What makes you think I’ll accept your offer? I’m the wife of a mafia leader – my loyalty resides in him.”

“Only because you fear for your life,” he flashed you a red coin, crescents of a Latin quote scripted inside. Mori quam foedari – death before dishonor.

“Join the Organization, Y/N. With your connections, we could easily take down these families and protect the country. Hand over Satoru Gojo and Naoya Zen’in to us, and I promise the Organization will do everything in its power to give you the life you always wanted. A safe, normal one. No more worrying about being killed as you ride your car, no more beating yourself up as you make drugs to promise your usefulness to your husband and no more pretending you are someone who you’re not,” he flipped the coin between his fingers, and tantalized, you couldn’t keep your eyes off it. “Don’t you want that? You’d be able to live freely if you cooperate with us.”

You could hear the gears in your head turning. Part of you would’ve assumed this was a trap had you not known better, but Naoya taught you that if something was a trap, it would sound too easy, too good.

None of this was easy. It would require facing a demon from your past and handling things differently than what Naoya had planned, but that wasn’t the worst.

It was the fact that if you accepted, you’d have to come home tonight and lie in the face of your husband who could easily read through you. He smelled lies and treachery before you could realize you were even thinking of doing something, and knowing Naoya, he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes the instant he felt something was off.

But his offer… it was a risk you had to take. You wouldn’t ever get an opportunity like this again.

“Do you promise…that I’ll really go back to normal after this? That I won’t be involved in this mess anymore?”

“I can only promise that if you also promise to do your part. You see, I strongly believe you are the one that can put an end to this all. All you have to do is join us, and soon it’ll feel like this nightmare never happened at all. You’ll be free from Naoya Zen’in and Gojo Satoru before you realize it.”

You stared at his coin harder. Death before dishonor. This Organization he was a part of obviously didn’t fuck around, and it seemed scarier because they had their eyes on you for a while now. What were the odds they offered a deal instead of outright killing you, even going as far as to provide you a second chance at life, one that you genuinely wanted to enjoy? It would be a shame to say no, and even if the chances of this turning out well were low, you would damn well take it. A small chance was better than nothing.

“What do I have to do?”

Nanami grinned and pocketed his coin. “A very wise decision, Mrs. Zen’in,” he congratulated, “Please, meet me at my office tomorrow, eight on the dot. Oh, and remember, the Organization will now be watching you wherever you go. You’re one of us now.”

The next day, Nanami had cut your palm.

He spilled your blood into an empty metal casing with engraved letters, mori quam foedari, the phrase both comforting and ominous. Soon, you came home with your blood solidified into a coin to prove your membership and loyalty, that they quite owned you in more ways than one. Your blood meant your loyalty, and the coin felt heavy in your pocket with the implication it was also your blood they wouldn’t hesitate to spill should you betray them.

Mori quam foedari.

Death before dishonor.

Your life over Naoya’s, your future over Gojo’s.

The next few days had been tense. After telling Satoru everything down from the smallest detail, things had shifted between you. Quite frankly, you expected that maybe he’d kill you right then and there after explicitly stating that just because you couldn’t kill him, didn’t mean you wouldn’t turn him in.

“Angel,” he begged, “Will you never really give me the chance to do everything right this time around?”

However, you were too firm on your plans. You originally wanted to leave and go to the island yourself; it was easier to leave Satoru open and vulnerable for the Organization to attack him in your absence. He loved you, that was much clear, and if he looked for you, he’d make himself vulnerable to the Organization, but recent plans had to be altered now that he wasn’t willing to let go of you. Though no matter what he said, you valued your life and future more than you could ever love him.

It was an act of kindness to yourself.

“I don’t want this life anymore, Satoru. Either way, I don’t have a choice, not when I could die literally anytime before I could even say goodbye.”

It had been hours since ‘that’ talk and now you were on a plane back to Tokyo. You had to pull out some archives from Naoya’s files to know more about the island before you could visit it, and it was important for Satoru to know details such as security measures over there.

You’d long fallen asleep from exhaustion, bundled up in a fleece blanket while Geto glared at you.

“Are you sure about this, Sir? I think we should just keep her with us even if she doesn’t want to. The Gojo clan is powerful enough that no one would dare cross us. Not even this Organization she speaks of has ever done anything to us. Without her, they stand no chance against us,” he sat in front his boss and kept sending wary glances your way. “Letting her go like you did before wasn’t a good idea. She knows too much about everyone to live normally now. Do you really believe the Organization will protect her?”

“Knowing the strings the government could pull – and add on to the fact Nanami Kento, one of the richest men in this country works for them that it’s safe to assume each figure in them is a powerhouse – I don’t doubt their promise one bit.”

“But you’ll go to jail if you let her surrender you. Or worse, they’ll destroy the clan from the bottom up.”

“I know that, Geto.”

Geto groaned, brushing his hands through his hair from how indifferent his boss was being, drinking champagne as if he wasn’t willingly walking into his own death. “Then why aren’t you thinking more clearly about this? I understand you love her and you want to make it up to her, but we can’t let her do whatever she pleases! In order to keep herself safe, she’s going to sacrifice you! She’s dangerous, Sir, she’s been lying to her husband the whole time and who’s to say she isn’t capable of doing something worse to a stranger like you?”

“I told you already, Geto,” Satoru swirled the pink liquid in his flute, his face empty and unreadable. “I know.”

“With all due respect, Sir, I don’t agree with your decision. The clan would fall without you and you don’t have siblings or an heir. No one is powerful to hold the clan together aside from you so if you leave – there’s no more hope for us,” he sighed when Satoru didn’t budge. “I at least want you to reconsider your actions. She’s just a woman, Sir. It’s either we kill her or we imprison her. You let her go before because you believed she would be your downfall, and quite frankly, it’s happening all over again.”

Satoru gazed out the window, bringing the flute to his lips with a dark glint in his eye that Geto recognized meant trouble, or worse, an actual solution to this hellish situation.

“Which is why we’re going to pay an old friend a visit, Geto. There’s only one person who could turn the tables around.”

ADDITIONAL NOTE: TOJI IS COMING SOON!!! what are your theories on what might be on that island and *drum roll* WHO IS GOJO’S OLD FRIEND?! 

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[elentiyawhitethorn]

When Passion Rules the Game | Part Seven

CW: NSFW, language

AN: Wow, I wrote seven chapters in seven days and I feel so accomplished! This fic has been so fun to write, and I hope everybody enjoyed. (Last chapter btw)

Part Six//Masterlist//2835 words

By some miracle, Aelin made it through the rest of the day. She introduced herself to Nox, showed him the ropes, and got some work done. And as soon as she had completed the day’s tasks, she just about bolted out to her car, headed to Rowan’s apartment.

There was no hesitation in Aelin’s mind as she firmly knocked on Rowan’s door. He would let her in, explain, and she would realize that this was all some cosmic joke.

Aelin heard footsteps approach the door, and she braced herself, straightening her back and plastering a smile on her face.

But the door never opened. After a moment, Aelin heard the footsteps retreat, and she blinked in confusion.

She knocked again.

Another minute passed. No more noises sounded within the apartment, and Aelin started to scowl. What right did he have to ignore her? She was his boss! Well, not anymore—but that was beside the point.

Aelin reached for the handle and jiggled it, but it was locked.

“Rowan,” she called. “Please let me in.”

“Dammit, go away, Aelin.”

She hadn’t been expecting a response, and to hear that animosity toward her frightened her. Rowan must have quit because she was sleeping with him, and he wasn’t comfortable with the situation. Aelin had never done anything like this before, never unintentionally harassed someone out of their job, and her heart started aching. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Coming to terms with the fact that Rowan wasn’t going to let her in the door, Aelin pulled a bobby-pin from her hair and inserted it into the lock. She had been a rambunctious teenager, always causing poor Aedion and her parents trouble, and picking a lock was second nature to her.

She smiled internally as the last tumbler fell into place and the lock clicked. Aelin absentmindedly discard the bobby pin in her purse and turned the knob.

Rowan was sitting on the couch, hunched over with his head in his hands, clearly upset about something. His head snapped up the instant Aelin walked in, and his eyes narrowed. “How did you—”

Aelin shut the door, cutting him off. “Why did you quit.” She was slightly angry at herself, and it came out in her tone.

Rowan sighed. “I resigned.”

“Same difference. Tell me why.”

Rowan stood up, but still kept his distance. “I found a new job. I thought it would be a better opportunity for me.”

Aelin scoffed. “You were just relocated to Terrasen. Don’t tell me you’re moving again.”

“I’m not moving. I got a job at Salvaterre Enterprises. It pays more.”

“If you wanted a raise, I—”

“I left. It’s done. There is nothing to say.”

Aelin frowned, trying to cover up the fact that her heart was fracturing in her chest. “But—”

“Do you always break into the homes of employees who decide they don’t want to work for you anymore?”

The ice in Rowan’s voice had Aelin trembling. “I want to know if you’re leaving because of me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re sleeping with me!” Aelin yelled. “And you’re quitting because you’re worried about it or you’re not comfortable with it or something and I can’t just let you do that! I can’t just sexually harass one of my employees and let them leave.”

Rowan’s eyes widened. “You’re not… Aelin, this is not your fault.”

“Then what is this?” she rasped. “Why did you even apply at Salvaterre Enterprises anyway?”

She could see the hesitation in his eyes. Rowan took a step forward, then paused. “I can’t… I just needed to go. I’ve never been uncomfortable around you, Aelin, I swear.”

“Then why, Rowan, did you go? Because I’m going to keep believing this is my fault if you don’t prove otherwise.”

He hissed out a breath and turned around, running his hands through his hair. “It’s because I…”

“Because you what?”

“I can’t… I shouldn’t say.”

“Tell me,” Aelin’s demanded. She dropped her purse on the floor so that she could cross her arms.

“Because I’m in love with you!” Rowan shouted, spinning back around. “Because I love how passionate you are about your work, and how funny you are, and how you pretend to have an attitude but spend your whole life trying to help people. I love the way you tuck your hair behind your ears when you’re nervous, and how red your face gets when you’re embarrassed, and I even love the way you eat your gods-damn bagels with a fork. And I can’t do it anymore!”

Aelin couldn’t summon words. Rowan loved her?

He was breathing hard, surprise evident on his face. Maybe he hadn’t meant to say all that.

“I think you should go, Aelin. Don’t feel bad. You’re not to blame.” Rowan sighed, turning his head.

He expected her to leave. To walk out and pretend this had never happened, to forget about him. Aelin didn’t know what she was going to do next, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to forget about him.

Rowan took a deep breath, then looked back at Aelin, who wasn’t breathing at all. “I’m sorry, Aelin. But I need you to leave now.”

Aelin didn’t do that.

Rowan gasped in surprise as he felt Aelin’s lips crash into his. She had mindlessly surged forward with no intentions of stopping herself. Aelin fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled him closer, tangling her tongue with his. Rowan kissed her back for what could have been a minute or an hour; Aelin was too lost in him to tell. When he finally pulled back, they were both panting.

“What does that mean?” Rowan gasped out.

“I think I might be in love with you, too.”

Rowan yanked her back to his mouth, and Aelin felt herself melting into his touch, trying to get closer and closer, touching as much of his body as she could.

They parted again, and Rowan raised his hand to her face. “You really feel the same?” His thumb stroked her cheek and Aelin leaned into the touch.

“Of course I do. You’re amazing and kind and hilarious, and despite your protests to the contrary, you’re a total sweetheart. I love you, Rowan. I should have noticed it a lot sooner, and I must have been blind not to until now, but I see it now. I love you.”

Rowan leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you, too. I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve cared about people, but no one has ever driven me so insane.”

Aelin laughed. “I drive you insane? I have never broken so many rules because of one man. And that’s really saying something.”

“Oh, I know,” he replied, their noses brushing. “No goody two shoes knows how to pick locks.”

“Don’t ask me about that,” Aelin said, laughing. “Or I’ll ask you why you have a picture of a scowling teenage boy with chains dangling from his jeans hanging up on the wall.”

Rowan groaned. “My mom made me hang that up when I moved in.”

“Oh, you’re a mama’s boy, then?” Aelin teased.

Rowan smiled, but the expression turned fond as he leaned forward that last half-inch and kissed her. It was nothing like any of the kisses they’d shared before; this one was soft and sweet. This one was full of love.

When they pulled apart this time, Aelin whispered, “I still can’t believe you love me.”

“Neither can I,” he replied softly. “I never expected you to say it back. Though I’ll admit, I wasn’t surprised to find you stubbornly knocking on my door.”

Aelin smiled, then tugged Rowan down to the couch, plumping onto his lap. “So now that we’ve gotten the love confessions out of the way, maybe we can try to be in a relationship? Be together?”

Rowan smiled. “I would love that. But I might have to dump you if you ever call me a sweetheart again.”

Aelin let out a choked laugh. “But you’re so sweet. Like a little cinnamon bun.”

“I really hope you did not just say that.”

Aelin grinned. “Now that we have all this sorted, you’ll come back to the company? Nox was good at the job, but he doesn’t have your work ethic, and I had to tell him how to—”

Rowan smiled sadly and interrupted her. “Babe, you would be my boss. We may be able to keep a lid on friends with benefits, but you think no one’s going to be upset to hear you’re in a relationship with me?”

“I don’t care what people think,” Aelin insisted, despite the sinking feeling in her gut.

He tugged her farther onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s still wrong. I can’t do it.”

“But… Rowan, you can’t give up your job for me.”

“I’m not. And if it came down to it, I probably wouldn’t. And neither would you, I would guess, should you ever be in that position. Your dedication to your career is one of the things I love about you.” At Aelin’s sad nod, he added, “But I got job with Salvaterre Enterprises, remember?”

Aelin rasied her brow.

“I wasn’t lying,” Rowan said with a grin. “I got a good position there, nothing worse than I had with you. I’ll miss working with you, but I’m excited to be working there, and I’m excited to be with you.”

Aelin bit her lip. “Okay, but I don’t care that you already got hired. I’m sending a recommendation for you. Not just because I love you—never because of that—but because you are an amazing worker. Besides, I know Lorcan.”

Rowan blinked in surprise. “Lorcan Salvaterre?”

Aelin flashed a grin. “We went to college together. Like you, he pretends to be an ass, but is super sweet.” Rowan scowled, and she laughed. “And he’s head-over-heels for Elide. I’ve been trying to set them up for ages.”

“Wow,” Rowan said.

“Underestimating my connections?” Aelin asked snarkily.

“Just shocked that you have friends with money. After all, you just about swiped my savings last time we played poker.”

Aelin smirked. “Lorcan always paid up in other ways.”

“I really hope you didn’t just imply…” Rowan trailed off.

“Imply what?” Aelin asked innocently.

“Did you sleep with my new boss?” Rowan asked, dreading the answer.

She laughed. “No, I was just kidding. I made him do my homework for a month every time he lost.”

Rowan breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you would trust someone to control what grade you get.”

Aelin snorted. “Oh, I wouldn’t. I turned in my own work. I just wanted to make him do it for the fun of it. He went ballistic when he found out I never turned any of his hours’ worth of work in. He’s been trying to get me back for it ever since.”

“Um, perhaps I won’t tell him I’m in a relationship with you, then?”

Aelin cackled.

After another hour of chatting and laughing, Aelin decided she would tell her cousin and friends about this tomorrow, and Rowan said he would do the same by calling his mom. She could barely contain the joy that flowed through her thinking that people would know about them, that he cared about her enough to tell his mother already.

The hand that Rowan had resting on her thigh started stroking her, and Aelin started trying to recall what underwear she had put on his morning. Hopefully something nice.

Aelin ground down on Rowan’s lap, and he stood in one sudden movement, pulling her legs around his waist. Aelin sighed against his neck as he carried her to the bedroom. It sure as hell wasn’t the first time she’d been in here, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Aelin smiled into Rowan’s shirt, but that smile dissolved when Rowan threw her onto the bed. She smiled up at him prettily, the epitome of virtuous and wholesome. Rowan just snorted and said, “Take your clothes off and touch yourself.”

Feeling blood race to her face, Aelin sensually stripped off each piece of clothing, a bit more urgently than she’d been attempting to do. It was hard to act sexy when Rowan was shirtless and smirking at her.

Once she finished, Aelin lay back and spread her legs slightly. She let one hand tug on several strands of hair, delighting in the way Rowan’s eyes tracked her hands.

Then Aelin licked her lips and moved one hand to her stomach to stroke the smooth skin. She smirked at Rowan as she moved her other hand to her mouth and sucked on her thumb, making sure he was able to see as her tongue swirled around the digit. Aelin brought her wet thumb to her nipple and rubbed it roughly, parting her lips in a breathy moan.

She noticed the bulge in Rowan’s pants becoming more apparent as she played with her nipple and teased him with the hand moving on her lower stomach, and she grinned. “Get on with it,” Rowan growled.

Laughing, Aelin spread her legs farther and trailed her hand down, pressing a finger into her entrance. She immediately gasped and inserted another finger, unused to having control over when she got what she wanted.

Knowing exactly what she was thinking as she started thrusting her fingers harder, Rowan smirked and pulled his shirt off. No matter that seeing him watching her made her even wetter, Aelin couldn’t concentrate on what she was doing when she looked at him. She averted her eyes to ceiling and started pumping her fingers in deeper, groaning.

But it was not to be. “Look at me,” Rowan commanded, and Aelin had no choice but to obey.

Holding his gaze, Aelin thrust her hips into her hand and and brought the second hand down the rub furiously at her clit. She was moaning now, making more noises than she did when she was by herself, turned on by the way Rowan rid himself of his pants and started pumping his own length.

“Stop,” Rowan ordered, right as she felt release nearing. She couldn’t. She couldn’t stop. She was so close, and just few more thrusts and she would be at the edge and—

Aelin’s hands were forcibly removed from her pussy, and she cried out as she was flipped over on the bed and spanked.

“What did I tell you?” Rowan’s voice was the sharpened edge of a blade, and Aelin shivered.

“You told me to stop,” she whispered.

Rowan’s hand smacked her ass once more. “And did you?”

Aelin whimpered. “No, sir.”

He spanked her again, his hand stinging the sensation flesh of her bottom. “Why not?”

“Because,” Aelin rasped, trying to summon even a single coherent thought, “I needed to come. I needed to.”

“Hmm,” Rowan said, trailing his finger along the curve of her ass. She shivered at the sensation. “But you knew I wouldn’t let you. And look where we are now.”

Aelin squirmed in his grasp. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” He brought his hand down, the slap sound filling the air. “Or are you just saying that so I’ll stop?”

“I’m sorry. Please, I’m so sorry.” Aelin clung to the sheets, burying her face.

Rowan hummed thoughtfully and spanked her again. But before Aelin could beg him to stop again, callused hands gripped her thighs and spread them, Rowan’s cock filling her almost instantly.

Aelin moaned loudly into the sheets. “Rowan, gods.”

He grabbed her hips, pulling her onto her knees and farther onto his cock. She whined and lifted her ass higher in the air.

Rowan’s grip was bruising as he slammed into her. He started pounding into her, and Aelin wondered how she was supposed to walk into work tomorrow and concentrate on her job, let alone walk at all.

The fingers Rowan had on her hips dug harder into her skin, and Aelin felt even wetter knowing that he was marking her right now. His cock was hardening fully inside of Aelin, and the immense awareness she had of him was driving her crazy.

Rowan’s balls slapped her pussy and she screamed into the sheets, her orgasm forcing its way over her body in a shattering earthquake of pleasure. Rowan kept moving, fucking her senseless as she shook and screamed, finally coming and spilling into her.

Once he separated their bodies and rolled over, Aelin turned on her side and put both an arm and a leg across his body. “I love you.”

Rowan kissed her neck. “I love you, too, darling.”

Aelin snuggled closer and, instead of reflecting on her previous shortsightedness and poor judgment, thought about how much she was looking forward to a life being teased, laughed at, fucked, and loved by Rowan.

Little did Aelin know, Elide would owe Dorian twenty bucks after losing the bet about how long it would take them to confess their feelings. What an interesting day tomorrow would be.

———

Tag List:

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[ashintheairlikesnow]

Would lowkey kill to see Kauri attempting to write poetry in his relationship with Jake era (omg Jake helping him/being the one to write it down) I always forget that he was a writer and loves poetry and I love him 10 times more every time I remember

CW: Some references to past trauma, forced illiteracy, some brief internalized victim-blaming/slut-shaming, Kauri’s low self-esteem

Takes place after Worth the Risk and Kauri’s first glimpse of his own past

“This is fucking stupid. I can’t fucking do this.” Kauri picks up the notebook, hard-backed blue with little golden stars twinkling on the cover, and throws it full-strength across the room until it smacks into the wall and drops to the ground, open to his own scrawling, struggling handwriting.

Chris, wrapped in a big fuzzy blue blanket and curled up in an armchair playing a game on his phone or texting Laken or maybe both, flinches and looks up. “Kauri?”

Kauri looks away from the earnest concern in those huge green eyes and kicks ineffectually at the coffee table, hissing when he doesn’t actually miss and his toes connect with the hard wooden leg. “Fuck. Fucking-... bullshit, I’m an idiot trying to do this, just-... god damn it. I should know better.”

There’s a silence, and then Chris asks, softly, “Know better than, than... than to what? What were you, um, you doing?”

Kauri’s jaw is set and for a second he considers lying. He’s a good liar, after all, and Chris is always so ready to believe him, he wouldn’t even question it. Safer to lie, hide the ideas inside his head, talk instead about something soft and surface-level. 

Safer to be stupid, always.

But he’s trying not to do that anymore.

He’s trying.

“Writing,” He says, finally. “I was... trying to-... write something.” The words are ground out of him nearly against his will. He glares at the notebook lying open on the floor, the scrawling handwriting of the fucked up slut still thinking he can be anything else. Looping and childish, too big almost to fit within the lines. 

“Oh.” Chris pauses, and then brightens, setting his phone aside and straightening up. “You, you sad you think that you used to, to, to, to write, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Kauri’s head hurts, a sharp punishing ache. How dare he think in metaphor and simile, how dare he try to build the villanelle, how dare he remember vaguely arguing with someone in a coffeeshop over old poetic forms being superior to poems that don’t even try to fit within a rhythm, and he just-

This is so-

He’s so stupid, thinking he could just pick it up again like it hasn’t been a decade or close, like he’s still whatever stupid shit lived in his body before he-

signed up for this-

followed a fucking hot guy outside in the dark and got thrown into a van and made into Kauri. 

“Well, my... my professor for, for, for, for Playwriting says... says writing is a muscle. You, you have to exercise. And you can’t do the, um, the, the, the-the heavy weights until you start with, with small ones.”

Kauri snorts, derisive, but it’s not because Chris is wrong - of course he’s not wrong. Part of Kauri knows it, too, that he used to write all the time, around the pounding inside his skull he knows that he used to scribble lines on napkins and paper towels and the margins of his study books, bringing together the poem itself only later, usually alone or with a boyfriend on the other side of the room. He used to be able to do this.

He used to do this all the time. 

“I wish Owen had wanted someone who could write a fucking poem,” Kauri says, voice breaking on the tears that threaten. “Maybe then I’d still be able to.” He pushes himself to his feet and stomps over to scoop up the notebook almost violently. “Why are you taking Playwriting, anyway? I thought you wanted to do set design.”

“I, I do.” Chris shrugs, eyes on Kauri, watching him walk back towards the doorway that leads to a hall and then to the kitchen. “But I thought-... I, I, I figured-... maybe if I learn how to, to write a play, it would help... visualize. For, for, for set-building. You, um. You know?”

Kauri exhales, slowly, and then nods. “Yeah. I get it. That’s a good plan - I mean, not that I would know, I’m a college fucking dropout, right?” He laughs, bitterness in every word, in every sound.

“No,” Chris replies, simply. “You, you were... abducted. We were, um. We, we, we were stolen. Your words were, um, were stolen, too. That’s what Dr. Berger-”

“Fuck Dr. Berger,” Kauri snaps, and leaves the room before Chris can make any more sense and possibly break apart Kauri’s determined self-loathing while he still wants to soak in it. 

Hating himself for what he can’t do - or what he’s been told he can’t do - is so much easier than trying to do it anyway.

Everything was easier than trying to get better.

So why is he still trying?

Notebook clenched in white-knuckled hands, Kauri climbs the stairs like a man moving to the gallows, one by one, his thoughts a swirling morass of self-hatred, and then he moves into the bedroom he shares with Jake here and stares at the rumpled covers on the bed.

He sleeps here every single night, wakes up to the same face pressed red on one side from the pillow, hears the same deep voice rumbling good morning, feels the same arm slide over his waist, the same scratchy stubble rubbing his jaw when he’s kissed. 

I have generally found, in my work, the fucking therapist’s voice echoes inside him, that when you begin to do the work to rebuild, you will find yourself dedicated over time to reconstructing not just a room, Kauri, but the entire city that was once leveled. Does that make sense?

He’d told her it didn’t.

Kauri spent years dodging therapy whenever Nat didn’t talk him into it, and he hates going. He hates having to spill all the darkness inside him to someone who never stops being so goddamn calm.

But the first time she’d said, have you ever heard about the effect that solitary confinement has on the human mind? He had told her he didn’t know, but he’d started crying, too, and hadn’t been able to explain why. 

Part of you knows, Dr. Berger had said gently. Part of you always knew.

He had never really wanted to know the person who had inhabited this skin, or try to be him again. But standing here looking at the evidence of the life he is slowly building - his clothes in a crumpled heap on the floor by the bed, his toothbrush in the little cup in the bathroom, a picture of he and Jake in a frame by the bed now, the very small silver ring he wears sometimes even though they’re not and they probably won’t but it kind of feels good to wear it sometimes... 

He wonders if Liam Harker wanted a life like this one.

---

“It’s really dumb,” Kauri mutters, pulling the pillow over his face, burning red with embarrassment. “I didn’t even really mean for you to see it-”

“It’s not dumb,” Jake says, gently. Kauri feels the dip in the mattress as he sits down, feels the warmth of his hand resting on Kauri’s thigh through the blanket. “I’m sorry I read it. I didn’t know what I was looking at. If it was supposed to be a secret-”

“No. I didn’t. I forgot I left it out on the dresser. It’s not your fault. It’s so fucking stupid. I don’t know why I even-”

“Kauri.” Jake’s voice sharpens, a little. “Stop. Stop calling yourself stupid. You’re not, and you never were, and you don’t have to repeat what that asshole told you about yourself anymore, remember?”

Kauri swallows, hard, a lump in his throat he can’t quite breathe around. “When does it stop being his voice,” He asks, muffled, “and start being my own?”

“When you let it,” Jake says, rubbing his leg soothingly. “Just like my dad’s voice. You’re not stupid. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m sorry I read it, but that’s because it wasn’t mine to read, not because it was dumb, or bad. It wasn’t.”

Kauri hesitates, then pulls the pillow to the side, looking at the sincere affection in Jake’s face, his slight smile. “Yeah? You’re not just-”

“Saying that? No, I’m not. I mean, I’m not, like, a poetry person-”

“It’s not even a real villanelle, anyway.”

“I have no idea what that means. I just... I thought it was pretty good, actually. When I realized-...  I put it down when I realized you were writing about-... you know. Yourself.”

“Liam,” Kauri says, hoarse, barely able to pronounce the name. “I wrote-”

“Yeah.” Jake takes his hand, pulls it to his lips, presses a kiss to Kauri’s knuckles. “I know. It’s really good, Kaur. You should keep writing. I promise I won’t look at any stray papers I find anymore, yeah?”

Kauri takes a breath. He feels almost dizzy, in a way that is both terrible and wonderful. The way you open yourself to the people you love is a horrible, amazing risk. The way you spill the darkest parts of yourself, not things you’ve done wrong but the things you are afraid of allowing back into the light, in case it washes them all away again.

But the light he lives in now isn’t cold, and it isn’t taking him away from himself. The light he lives in now is sunlight.

“What?” Jake’s eyebrows raise slightly. “What’s that face for?”

“Jake. What if-... what if I ask you to? Read them?”

Jake’s lips press together, and he nods, smiling slightly, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against Kauri’s hand. He’s always warm, Jake, even on the coldest days. He’s always warm. “I’d be-... be fucking honored, or something that sounds less bullshit than that, but I mean it. I’d be... I love you, Kauri. Seeing inside your head is what I want to do for-... for forever.”

“Maybe I’ll ask then,” Kauri says, and pulls Jake’s hand and then Jake himself, the taller, larger man settling on top of him, holding himself up on his elbows, careful not to rest all his weight. “I love you, too, you know.”

“Yeah.” Jake kisses the tip of his nose. “It’s pretty fucking great.”

Kauri’s eyes glimmer, but he closes them so Jake can’t see, and kisses his forehead. “It’s nice to think that I’m lucky and mean it.”

“I think you should read your poem to Dr. Berger,” Jake says, and when Kauri groans, he pulls back. “I mean it. She should know.”

Kauri wants to argue, but he looks into Jake’s eyes, and sighs, and says he’ll think about it.

---

AN APOLOGY

I am built from the hollow air left after your heart stopped beating

Your hands still gripped tight to the life they were ending

I know you thought of home but I don’t know where your home is

The sound of my voice is a green valley that only sends back screaming

Covered in smoke and dust that I told myself smelled like cologne

Pathways that remember your laughter silent in the years that followed

Have I done enough to build a life you would have enjoyed living?

I am built from the hollow air left over when your heart stopped beating

The heat of their hands as inevitable as a river tore down every foundation

Their cruelty buried you so deeply that only I remain

I don’t deserve the love that should have been yours to receive

The sound of my voice is a valley echoing back your screaming

I owe you an apology for walking around inside you

Crumbling ruins with my touch and calling it preservation

I’m sorry for every blade of grass growing through our bones

Am I nothing but hollow air from when your heart stopped beating?

-

Wildflowers grow inside me from soil windswept over ash

Is that life worth everything not quite dead so deep below?

Is Kauri Grant good enough to make up for Liam Harker’s loss?

In the valley of my body, does anyone but me still hear you screaming?

I owe you an apology and have to hope the life I live provides it

I wish I could ask for forgiveness from the shape of you  

We’re both ghosts, in the end, mosaic pieces shattered in shadows

I’m sorry that I’m all that’s left.

I built myself from hollow air in the shape of a heart still beating

The sound of my voice will always carry the echo of yours screaming

Tagging: @burtlederp , @finder-of-rings , @endless-whump , @whumpfigure , @astrobly @newandfiguringitout , @doveotions , @pretty-face-breaker , @boxboysandotherwhump , @orchidscript @cubeswhump , @whump-tr0pes @whumpiary @moose-teeth @whumptywhumpdump @wildfaewhump

[jordanstrophe]

A Cinnamon Bun too Pure for this World, part 1

((Will change title later, probably never though.)) CW: Whump, Kidnapping, heavily conditioned whumpee, possessive whumper, Whumpee trying to stay with Whumper (I have a ton planned for this, but if I don’t give them names, then I don’t have to say they’re OC’s)  They are 100% OCs and they are getting names

Masterlist

Caretaker leaned against their desk with their palm propping their chin up. Another slow day at the hotel, per usual. They perked up when two people walked in, one hiding skittishly behind the other while wearing a baggy sweater, that was obviously way too big for them. Odd, since it was a humid sunny day today. The other looked already done with the day before it even started. 

“Hi! Here to book a room?” Caretaker asked, instantly switching from their bored expression to a pleasant one. 

“Yeah, one room, single bed.” They said, tossing a large stack of fresh bills on the counter. 

“I’m so sorry, but we can’t accept cash. And only one room... Correct?” Caretaker asked, tilting their head to the side to try and get a look at Whumpee, who had their head pressed against Whumper’s back with one eye peeking out.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Whumper grumbled, annoyingly shoving the cash back into their bag. After they paid, Caretaker gave them the key and they were gone without another word, Whumpee trailing right behind them like a little duckling. Caretaker shook their head as they continued back to work.

-

Caretaker noticed a single dollar bill on the floor that must have been from that odd pair... They hardly had anything to do, so might as well make use of their time and do something good. They went upstairs to their room and as soon as they raised their fist to knock, they heard a loud banging sound.

“I told you to shut up and sit down! I should never have to ask you twice!”

“I-I’m...I’m sorry...”

“Sorry? You’re sorry, huh? I thought I trained you better than that. Into the back room, now~.”

Caretaker had heard enough as they slammed their fists into the door. The room instantly went deathly silent as not even movement could be heard. Caretaker knocked again as hesitant footsteps approached, unlocking the door.

Whumper opened it just a crack as they made eye contact with them with a single eye.

“Is there a problem?” Whumper asked, their voice calm, almost soothing. 

Caretaker raised an eyebrow as they tried to get a better look in the room, as Whumper inched the door closed even more. “Can I talk to the other one who was here with you please?” Caretaker asked, matching their calm tone. They figured they had a better chance of figuring out what was going on here if they lu Whumper into a false sense of security. 

“They’re busy right now, sorry.” Whumper smiled, trying to shut the door and turn away. Caretaker’s hand shot out, slamming their fist on the door to stop it from closing. When Whumper turned around Caretaker’s face was mere inches from theirs. 

“I’m terribly sorry, but it’s rather important. There was something wrong with booking.” Caretaker lied through their teeth while their eyes burned into theirs. Whumper sighed as they called Whumpee over, who shot like a bullet and plastered obedient to their side before Whumper could even finish their name. 

Whumper came out into the hall with Whumpee looking nervous and confused as they didn’t even acknowledge Caretaker, only staring up at Whumper expectantly. Whumper nudged them to look at Caretaker, as the most Whumpee gave them was a quick glance. 

“You’re okay, I just need to ask you something.” Caretaker gave them a warm smile. Whumper sighed as they grabbed Whumpee’s arm, forcing them to stand next to them, as they immediately cringed with distress. They finally looked up at Caretaker with a skittish expression as Caretaker could make out the red mark on Whumpee’s cheek. Had they been stuck?

“Are you okay?” Caretaker asked.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?!” Whumper shouted, grabbing Whumpee and pulling them back behind them. “What is wrong with you!? Banging on my door bothering me to ask such a stupid question? Just who do you think you are?! I want to speak to the manager!” Whumper hissed.

“I never said I wanted to ask you a question, I’m asking them.” Caretaker nodded at Whumpee, who clung to their coat.

“Sweetheart, nothing bad is going to happen no matter what you answer, okay? I’m here just for you.” They smiled. 

Whumpee perked up and came out a little bit, opening their mouth to say something, then instantly shutting it as they slowly looked up a Whumper. Surely they will tell them what to say, right? They always told them what to say. But Whumper was being silent... Why were they being silent? They couldn’t do anything without them! They were completely hopeless and pathetic, Whumper obviously knew this!

They nudged Whumper’s arm, their eyes begging to be told what to do. They were just scared and wanted to only do what made Whumper happy. 

Whumper let out a sigh. They knew Caretaker would get after them if they told Whumpee what to say, so they just had to let this stupid little thing figure it out themselves. They had done this enough they should know by now. Caretakers eyes narrowed. “It’s alright.” They finally shrugged. Whumper took a sigh of relief. 

“I’ll just call the police and let them handle it.” Caretaker muttered. 

“What.” Whumper’s eyes shot up as they looked stunned, scared even. 

“Wait! That’s not necessary, hold on now! Whumpee dear!” Whumper called, grabbed their shoulders. “Go on and tell them, you’re fine, now. Aren’t you?” Whumper coaxed.

Whumpee’s eyes lit up as they were finally given instructions. 

“I’m fine now! Aren't I?” They happily chirped at Caretaker, mimicking Whumper’s exact tone. 

“I am not buying that.” 

“Damn it!” Whumper hissed.

Caretaker pulled out their phone and began to dial 911, as Whumpers face twister in hatred. They slammed their shoulder into Caretaker's chest as they hit the floor, Whumpee jumped away and pressed their back against the wall with wide eyes.

Whumper is always right... Just let them do whatever they want... Whumper is always right. 

Whumpee peaked their eyes open to see Caretaker coughing and gasping for air. Whumper stepped over their body to the phone on the floor and dug the heel into the glass as it crunched beneath their boot. Whumper lifted it with two fingers and dangled the shattered phone tauntingly in front of Caretaker’s face.

“Oops. I do apologize, but you won’t need that anymore. Whumpee!” Whumper barked, as they jolted. “Come now, dearest. We’re leaving.” They hissed, grabbing their arm and ripping them off the wall as they staggered behind them. 

Whumper gasped when they were tackled from behind as Caretaker pinned them to the ground. They didn’t anticipate Caretaker to be stronger then them as they couldn’t push them off. They elbowed Caretaker again in the chest as they gasped, stunned for enough time for Whumper to slip out from underneath them and slam the emergency door open.

The fire alarm blared throughout the building, echoing through the halls. Caretaker wheezed as they struggled to their feet, Whumpee was kneeling on the ground with their hands covering their ears as they trembled with quiet whimpers and cries escaping their lips.  

“Heey, hey, it’s okay now. Are you alright?” Caretaker asked, resting a hand on their shoulder as they flinched. 

“Come on, we have to go.” Caretaker coaxed, trying to get them on their feet. They eventually had to wrap their arms around Whumpee’s chest and hoist them to their feet, keeping their arm wrapped around their back as they guided them downstairs to the main room. 

Caretaker pulled out a chair and sat Whumpee down behind the main desk, who obediently did anything Caretaker nudged them to. Their expression was wide, frozen in fear as their eyes never focused on anything in particular, their hands still covering their ears. Caretaker used the office phone to call for help while turning the alarm off. 

They crouched in front of Whumpee who still hadn’t moved their hands from their ears, as Caretaker rested their fingertips on Whumpee’s wrist to try and get them to lower their arms. 

“Help is on the way, okay? You’re safe now.” Caretaker smiled. Whumpee only viscously shook their head no in response. Caretaker’s smile slowly faded as concern hit them. 

Police came and Caretaker explained the situation. Whumpee sat with bent posture in the chair with their frightened eyes glued onto Caretaker. 

A man sat next to Whumpee as they cringed lower. They asked Whumpee questions, but they just sat with their lips slightly parted with a lost expression. They didn’t understand why they were even talking to Whumpee, Whumper said no one cared about them. Only Whumper did... 

The man sighed, “Is there any family we can call for you then?” He asked. Whumpee shook their head no as their expression went solemn. “Can you give me your phone number so we have a way to contact you?”

“I have a phone number?” Whumpee perked up, looking surprised with a head tilt. "... If you have one, then yes.” He muttered. Whumpee nervously glanced around, before locking eyes with Caretaker. ‘Wh-.. What’s my ph-phone number?” They asked, their fingers twirling rapidly in their lap. Caretaker looked at them with a puzzled look. “I-, I don’t know your phone number, do you remember it?” Caretaker asked.

“I only know Whumper’s phone number... Can... Can I call them p-please? They accidently left me here.” Whumpee murmured sadly, looking up at everyone with watering eyes. Everyone heart shattered for Whumpee right at that moment when they realized just how far the abuse must have gone. 

“I-... I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we’ll gladly take their number.” He said, giving them a sad smile. 

“What’s going to happen to them?” Caretaker asked with a hushed tone, watching Whumpee who struggled to write the number down “They said they didn’t have any family so they’ll just be sent off until we need them for more information. They’re an adult, so we can’t send them anywhere unless they say so.” He shrugged. 

“They don’t have any family?!” Caretaker cried, their head whipping towards Whumpee. 

“All they talked about was this Whumper... They keep asking when they’re coming back to pick them up.” He sighed. 

“You-, you can’t just send them on the street then! They’re not safe, they’re not even stable!” Caretaker cried. 

“We’re give them all the help we can give them, don’t worry.” He explained. Caretaker’s heart pounded in their chest. They already knew what they wanted to do, why were they still hesitating! If they didn’t say something now the guilt would burn at them for eternity. 

“You can have my phone number in their place.” Caretaker sighed, pulling out a pen.

“Mmm?” 

Caretaker ignored him and sat next to Whumpee.

“Hey sweetheart! How would you like to stay at my place for a little bit?”

To be continued...

(...because I’m tired)

Tag list: @grizzlie70  @alien-octopus @lave-whump @amethysts-sideblog @pyromilka @thingsthatgowhumpinthenight @yet-another-heathen @princessofonward @whatwhumpcomments @milk-carton-whump @whumpasaurus101​   @sillypizzazineoperator

o(^∀^*)o Thank you for reading!

[beigehearts]

Yandere adult trio: college AU These are drabbles for when they lose their mind and kill the people around you... and kidnaps you

These are going to be a little longer than usual but I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did when writing it (also im trying out the beta version of the new posting system so lemme know if anything is weird)

Sorry this took me forever bro

CW: murder, blood, physical abuse, alcohol

Hisoka

It's getting quite annoying to be completely honest. He just won't leave you alone, constantly flirting and making passes at you. And yet at the same time he makes fun of you and is actually very mean. It wasn't so bad in the beginning but this is just getting out of hand. You made sure he was aware of this. ---- He's looming over you as he corners you against the wall. You refuse to look up at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

While you aren't looking at him, you can feel him looking at you. You already know he has that annoying grin on his face that makes you want to punch him square in the nose.

He brushes his long fingers against your face, making a quiet humming noise. "Are you ready to give up my pet?"

You ignore his words and slap his hand away from your face. "I need to get to class, move Hisoka."

He frowns though you aren't looking at his face. He opens his mouth to say something when someone from behind him calls out to you. "Hey y/n! Are you okay?"

She walks towards you but before she can get involved you shove the man away and huff. What a nuisance. You turn towards him once you're standing next to your friend and glare at him.

"Leave me alone. It's annoying and it's scaring people. Got it?" Before he can respond you turn on your heels and drag your friend down the hall by her wrist just hoping to put distance between the two of you. ---- You're pretty sure you made it clear that you don't want him near you anymore. But by now you know he doesn't give up so easily. One can only hope that he gets bored of you and finds someone else to bother.

You and your friends went out for brunch earlier, and all was well until Chelsea handed you something. She said that she found it in her bag but it was addressed to you, so you put it in your own bag.

You pour yourself a rum and coke and make yourself comfortable on the couch of your shared apartment. All of your roommates went out for drinks but you were too tired to go out.

After taking a sip of the sweet liquid in your glass, you examine the letter you were given earlier. It's a typical white envelope with your name written in pen. There's no address on it or return address so you assume it was just supposed to be handed to you.

You rip open the letter with your finger and pull out the singular loose leaf paper. It's folded in three sections so you pull it open. The handwriting is messy but in an aesthetic sort of way.

Dear y/n, I strongly suggest that you go to class 406B in the technical building tonight. Don't be late or you'll miss the whole party. 10:45 pm - see you then. I almost forgot, if you don't come I have some revealing pictures of you that I can share with anyone I wish to. XOXO

This is the strangest letter you've ever received. It's probably a prank by one of your roommates or friends. You've never sent nudes to anyone so obviously they're bluffing.

Though perhaps you should entertain your friends and go. Who knows, maybe there will be drinks. But you are tired... Maybe you'll just go to bed. You peek over to the time on your phone, it's 9:12 pm. Yeah, you'll just go to bed after you finish your drink.

'bzz' 'bzzz'

Who is texting you so late at night? You sit up and realize you fell asleep on the couch. You wipe the drool off of your face and grab your phone with distain for whoever woke you up.

It's a blocked number.

ur late

Late? Late for what? Your phone displays the time, 11:27 pm. Are your friends really this committed to their prank? They must be trying to get Tik Tok famous or some shit. Well you're awake now, you might as well head over there.

----

The moment you step into the building something seems off. If all of the lights including the emergency lights wasn't enough, the ground seems sticky. Though you can't bring yourself to use your phone flash light to see what it is.

Eventually you find the room 406B in the darkness. The door is closed and no lights are on in the room. It seems as if no one is inside. As you reach for the handle of the door, you notice something on the window of the door. You can barely make it out, but there's what looks like a hand print. You chuckle, this must be a prank.

Now feeling a little better, you open the door and step inside. It's too dark to see anything but you can make out some figures in the dark. It must be your friends thinking they're being sneaky.

You roll your eyes and look for the light switch, finding it and switching it on. You squint at the sudden light, and your eyes begin to focus. Which you wish they never did.

There is blood everywhere, on the ceiling, the windows, the floor, the tables... But that's not the most jarring part. Your friends are sitting in chairs, one of them sitting on the ground against the wall.

There is your friend Chelsea, sitting in a chair with her head tipped down. You can't even tell what color her clothes originally were, they're covered in red, a dark dark red. Next to her is Derick, he's sitting the same way except his head is tipped backwards. His eyes are wide and his face is left in permanent horror- expressing the brutality of his end. You can't bare to look anymore, you drop to your knees and cover your face with your hands.

You scream and scream until your voice is hoarse and throat is raw. You're left coughing while you are drowned by your own tears.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" A deep voice asks from in front of you.

You can't stop the flow of tears as you look up at this monster. He's also covered in blood, and some is splattered on his face. He wipes a thumb across his face in the blood, and brings it to his lips. Sobs rack your body, you can't even make sense of this.

Hisoka squats down so you're face to face and grips your jaw bone tightly in his hand. You can feel the now cold substance being rubbed against your jaw by his fingers and it makes you want to puke.

"I got tired of waiting for you." His grin is nauseating, forcing you to stop yourself from puking.

His nails dig into your skin, mixing your own blood with that of your friend's. He brings his face close to yours and in a gentle but menacing tone he croaks, "Let's stop this childish game, alright y/n?"

Illumi

It's easy to miss things when you're caught up with the rush of classes and friends and love. All of the parties and hangovers are enough to satisfy your needs for entertainment and drama in this boring life. If you didn't fill up your daily life with these acts, you would probably sleep every day away until you fell into a coma.

To put it short, you're a busy body. And busy bodies don't have time to stop and look around at what is happening. For example, how were you to notice the key under your doormat was missing, or how your dresser drawers were left slightly open when you know you closed them before leaving. Noticing these small things are definitely not on your agenda.

It's 10 am, Saturday, and you don't have any classes or work today. You're sitting at the kitchen bar, drinking coffee and chatting with your roommate. It isn't often that you have a free day, and sometimes it is nice to have even if you want to get moving. The sun is peeking through the curtains and the aroma of espresso beans is a delight. It's a bit chilly so you have a blanket wrapped around your shoulders. What a peaceful morn-

'BANG BANG'

Your roommate eyes you when someone bangs on the front door, already knowing the events that are about to take place. She rolls her eyes and stomps up the stairs to her room, not wanting to get involved. You always feel bad that your roommates have to listen to this but you're really not sure how to end it.

You take your last peaceful sip of coffee and call out, "Come in!"

Before you can even finish your sentence, he storms inside and slams the door behind him. Your boyfriend of course is mad about something you've done. He trudges towards you and moves the stool next to you out of the way, and leans towards you so his face is next to yours.

"Are you kidding me y/n?!" He yells in your ear, but you don't flinch because you're used to this.

He rips his phone from his pocket and shoves it in your face after pulling up a screenshot. It's a conversation between you and his friend.

"Can't you learn to shut your damn mouth? This is our business and you have no right to tell anyone about it!" He's practically seething with rage.

You take a last sip of coffee and set your mug down on the counter. You continue facing forward and not facing him. "It's not our business, it's yours. And I asked him if it was true that you were cheating on me." You turn your head towards him while grimacing and mutter, "Again."

Ah but you've just lighted a bomb with your words.

His face has gone red and he looks like he's about to explode. You begin wondering why you were ever attracted to him.

"Maybe if you weren't such a prude! I can't even kiss my girlfriend whenever I want, it's ridiculous. You know full well that you're so... so... Ugh! You know what? Fuck you!"

As quickly as he came, he runs out of the house, slamming the door once again.

You whisper to yourself, "Fuck you too."

God he's such a child, you don't even want to be with him anymore. But every time you decide to break up with him he suddenly becomes Mr.Perfect. "I'm so sorry." "I love you." "Let me make it up to you." And then he does make it up to you only to tear down all of his hard work.

----

It's been a few days since your big fight with your boyfriend. He hasn't talked to you at all but this isn't uncommon for him. You promised your roommates that you would break up with him, not just for yourself but for the sake of their peace and quiet.

You texted him a few times while you were at work but he left you on read. He's so petty. So you text him one last time.

Come 2 my place at 8 tonight, We need to talk

He answers immediately which surprises you.

Can't, flat tire Come to my place

It doesn't make a difference to you where it is so that's fine. You wonder if maybe he's come to terms with the fact this needs to end. Hopefully so. If there's one thing you want him to be mature about, it's this.

Your shift ends at 6:30pm. You drive home, shower, get dressed, eat something and get ready to leave.

You send one last text,

OMW

It's read immediately but there's no response. Well, it's not like you expected much from him anyway. You drive to his house at 7:45 pm, and arrive around 7:58 pm. All of the lights in his town house are on. He's a few years older than you so he has his own house due to somehow being able to hold down a job. With his anger issues it's hard to believe that he can hold onto anything. Damn, he really is an unattractive person isn't he?

You step out of your car and lock it. Now that you're out of the car you realize that it's very quiet. This is unusual for when you go to his house, normally you can hear music or the sound affects of a shitty video game. But it's silent. Maybe he's waiting for you? He must be taking this well.

You step up the creaky stairs of the house, and knock on the equally as creaky door. No response. Maybe he's sleeping? You peek into the mail box and take out the extra key for the house from it. But when you go to unlock the door, it's already unlocked. This is becoming very strange.

You push open the door and peer into the dark living room. It's not too dark that you can't make out the furniture in the darkness. You step inside and shut the door behind you, it's still quiet. Not quiet, absolutely and undeniably silent. You flick the light on and look around again, nothing seems out of place. It's messy, with empty beer cans and bottles on the ground per usual. The stains on his carpet remain untouched, including the vomit stain in the corner.

"Jay?" You call out into the still atmosphere. Nothing. Is he not home? That can't be, his car is in the driveway.

The sound of his old floor boards being stepped on echoes through the house. What the hell is he trying to pull? You look up the stairs, but it's only darker up there than it was down here. He must be drunk.

Each step you take up the stairs, your heart begins to pound faster. Something feels off, this doesn't feel right. This isn't like your boyfriend, he's simple, he wouldn't try scaring you like this. On the top step, you feel your shoe touch something soft. You lean down and pick it up, and raise it up to your face. A pair of thongs that definitely aren't yours. So that's what's happening. He couldn't even pull himself together for one night.

Your pounding heart is no longer caused by fear but anger. He's cheated too many times to count on your hands, but this time makes you angrier than you've ever been. He's never been in bed with another woman knowing that you were coming over. This is fucking ridiculous.

You stomp towards his room and kick the door open. It's dark but you can tell that there are two people in bed. Your vision has gone red, you've never been this angry in your life.

You don't bother turning the lights on, you storm over to his side of the bed and rip the covers off. Just barely you can make out a woman sleeping next to him. You grab his shoulder tightly and shake him violently to wake him up.

"Get the fuck up Jay! Get! Up!" He doesn't respond, you lean down and yell in his ear like he always does to you. "You're such a childish piece of shit!"

He still doesn't move or speak, for fuck's sake. You stomp back to the entrance of the room and flick on the light. You turn around and begin walking back towards the bed, when you're stopped in your tracks.

Everything is red, but it's not your vision anymore. The bed has been dyed red, and his naked body is covered in it. Your mouths falls open but no screams come out. The woman next to him is splayed out on the bed, naked as well. Covered in red. You look down at the hands that touched your boyfriend, they're also red.

You rush over to the bed and shake your boyfriend again.

"Jay? Jay! Can you hear me?" You put your ear to his chest but you don't hear anything. You put your finger under his nose but don't feel anything.

"Hey! Hey! Wake up! This isn't funny!" Tears stream down your face as you pull him to your chest, cradling him.

Your sobs make it hard to speak and your chest begins to hurt. "J-... Jay... This- isn't-" You gasp between each word, "Funny..."

It's only when you hear a noise coming from behind you that you stop to think about what's going on. It doesn't matter to you though, they could kill you too if they wished.

"People are strange." You turn your head to see where the voice is coming from.

It's someone you don't recognize, he's tall, pale, has long hair, and hypnotizing eyes. Your sobs cease for a moment and you hug your boyfriend tighter to you.

"All of that fighting... You were even coming here to break up with him and yet... You're sad that he's gone?" He makes his way towards you slowly, "I've done you a favor, haven't I?"

He looms over you but all you can do is stand there, frozen by fear.

The man grabs the back of your shirt and pulls you violently from Jay. You try to run back to him, but the man pulls you to him, hugging you tightly. No matter how much you flail in his grasp you can't get away from him. You're left sobbing into his shirt, your body limp in his arms.

"Why?" You manage to whisper.

He holds you to him with one arm and pets your hair with his other hand. "You were miserable. He was making you miserable."

He sighs and kisses the top of your head. What is going on?

"Come on, don't waste your energy on human garbage. I'm here, so it's fine." He states it so 'matter of fact'.

"Who?" Is all you can ask, unable to finish your question.

"I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. Illumi is my name." With ease, he grabs you by your shoulders and lifts your face up to his. "Your future husband."

Chrollo

What more could you ask for? You already have easy college classes, fun parties, a good part time job, great friends, and an amazing best friend. Tonight you're going to hang out with a bunch of friends and have drinks at one of their apartments. It's a pretty normal Thursday night, nothing odd about it.

You're waiting for your best friend to pick you up, he's always there to pick you up on the dot. If he doesn't come early that is. You shove all the essentials into your bag and hear a honk outside. Must be him.

But of course you're always tardy. You lace up your shoes and run out of the dorm room, tripping out of the building. He's watching as you stumble towards the car since one of your shoes is already unlaced. When you finally flop down in the passenger seat he shakes his head with a knowing smile.

"Oh y/n, will you ever be organized?" He asks with amusement.

You click your tongue and straighten out your clothes, "Don't ask such stupid questions."

He turns his body towards you as much as possible and pats his lap. You instinctively know what that means. You hike your foot up above the console and put your foot on his lap. He begins tying your shoe, his smile is unmoving. He's always smiling.

"Chrollo, you don't need to baby me." You roll your eyes and groan.

He laughs and pats your leg, signaling that he's done. "If not me then who?"

You swing your leg back over to your side and buckle up. The two of you hang out a lot. Since you're both going to the hangout tonight, you decided to car pool. But first you're going to go get the alcohol. Everyone has to bring something for everyone, that way you guys can get wasted with no qualms.

You plug your phone into the aux and play your shared playlist. The first song that comes on is "The Cult of Dionysus" by The Orion Experience. Something that he added.

Finally you feel like you can relax, it always feels that way around Chrollo. His presence is just, comforting, in every way. You feel like you can do anything, say anything, ask for anything. He's always there for you with no exceptions and honestly you think you may have feelings for him. But it's a question of are you confusing comfort and friendly affection for romanticism. It's just that he's so perfect, he doesn't have a single flaw. Not one that you've ever seen at least. You probably never will see one of his flaws.

You sink into the seat and sigh.

He looks at you out of the corner of his eye, but quickly looks back at the road. "What's the matter?"

"Oh nothing... Just, everything is good."

He knows you better than anyone, so it's an obvious lie when you say this. "But what?"

Anytime he calls you out, you surrender and tell him everything. "Everything is so great you know." He nods with your statement. "I go to a good school, have good friends, have a good job." This has been on your mind for quite some time.

"Something is missing, you know? The excitement, the... the..." You chuckle and turn towards him and put up jazz hands, "The pizzazz!"

He doesn't turn to look at you but you know he saw you when his smile widens. "I get that. Maybe you just need to step outside of your comfort zone. Do something different."

Do something different? Yeah, maybe that is what you need.

----

All eleven of you are sitting in a circle on the ground, drinking and playing never have I ever. You take a long drink of your Mike's hard lemonade, which is just something to get the night going.

Dina wipes hair from her face and smiles, "Okay okay my turn. So never have I ever.... Uhh." She pops up when she thinks of something, "Never have I ever jumped out of a window."

DJ leans forward and raises an eyebrow, "Okay what kind of window we talking? High up? First floor?"

Dina answers, "Any kind, any kind of window." The majority of you put a finger down which makes the group burst out in laughter.

Your friend Zoey finishes off her bottle and slams it down on the floor. "Let's play something else."

"Like what?" One of your friends ask.

Zoey thinks for a moment, "Like... Truth or dare, spin the bottle. Or maybe eleven minutes in heaven."

Dj interjects, "I think it's seven minutes in heaven, not eleven."

"Oh whatever DJ, they rhyme." Zoey spits back.

Lex answers, "Let's play seven minutes in heaven!"

Of course DJ huffs and rolls his eyes, "What are we? Middle schoolers?"

Guac (which is his nickname) speaks up, "Oh come on, are you shy DJ?"

Finally the quiet Chrollo sitting next to you says something, "I'm not really interested. Right y/n?" He looks at you to back him up.

The group coos at the two of you and someone says, "We get it, you got something going on. The game is just for fun, don't be so serious Chrollo."

Chrollo opens his mouth to say something but you cut him off, "Hey, you told me to do something different. Maybe this is the first step."

His face shows betrayal and you feel a squeeze in your heart.

He stands up and glares at the group, "Whatever." He storms out of the apartment, and everyone mumbles to each other. Chrollo has never acted like this so this is quite a shock to everyone.

In order not to kill the mood you speak up, "Alright, let's pull names out of a hat!"

All of you write down your names on a small piece of paper and put it in a baseball cap. Dina pulls two names out of the hat and of course makes it a dramatic event.

"Alright so first we have the most lovely of people..." She looks at the group like a teacher waiting for an answer from her class. "Gracie!" Everyone claps and she stands up in front of all of you, taking a bow.

Dina pats her thighs rapidly, "Drum roll please!" Everyone obeys her, "The next hot piece of ass is y/n!"

You stand up and curtsey, taking Gracie's hand and leading her to the closet. Dina stands in front of the closet once both of you are inside and grins, "Timer starts now kids." She shuts the door on you two and all of your friends cheer from outside.

Here comes the awkward part. It's too dark to see her expression but you already know she's blushing.

You lean towards her and in a low voice so no one else can hear say, "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

She shakes her head, and you brush a hand through her dark coils. The both of you giggle when your finger gets stuck in her hair. She leans in for a kiss, but before your lips meet you're interrupted.

The front door is opened and slammed shut, you hear the lock click as well.

"Hey Chrollo, you feeling better?" "What are you doing?" "Holy shit, please, what are you doing?!" "Are you fucking crazy? This isn't funny!"

Something slams against the closet door and Gracie yelps.

"Whoa whoa, we can work something out." They sound desperate "Back up!" You hear a loud thump and then screams. "Grab him guys!" It sounds like people are running around, but soon the screams become not those of only fear but of pain. There are gargled pleas and pathetic whimpers for mercy.

You and Gracie hold each other, gripping onto one another for dear life.

Soon the screams, pleas, thuds, gurgling, all of it ends. The apartment goes quiet and you try to silence your heavy breathing.

There's a loud thud right in front of the closet and then the doors are opened abruptly. There Chrollo is, covered in blood, and you can see the bodies of your friends behind him. Before you can react, he pulls Gracie away from you, slams the doors closed and there's another thud.

Gracie's screams are blood curdling, screeches and cries for help. You try to open the doors but something is blocking it, keeping them closed. As her screams get louder you throw yourself against the doors, trying to push whatever is there out of the way.

Before you can even imagine of getting out, the screams fade out into whimpers, and into nothing.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit.

You're given no time to think when the doors fly open and you're face to face with Chrollo. He's blocking out the light and his usually neat clothes are crumpled and bloody. You look down to his hands, a sledge hammer hangs from his fingers, dripping with your friend's blood.

"Ch-Chrollo... Please don't." You whisper.

The sledge hammer drops to the ground and he wraps his arms around you gently. "Oh y/n. I would never hurt you."

He's so gentle with you, so gentle. It almost makes you forget what just happened, because he feels like home. "Why? Why did you do this?"

He steps back and grabs your shoulders, he leans down so he's eye to eye with you. "They crossed a line, a line that should not be crossed."

You begin to speak but he grabs your cheeks with one hand and dawns his usual smile, "You don't need them. You have me." He kisses your squished lips as if it were normal. "Right y/n?"

Slowly you nod, you don't need them. If Chrollo says it, it must be true.

"Good girl."

[princessphilly]

Plain Jane Chapter 2

Word Count: 2391

CW: a mention of P K*ne, allusions to issues with alcohol, references to being in the closet

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I’m too damn stubborn for my own good. I admit it; I don’t like to lose or be wrong. I hate being wrong. Well, I hate losing money more than anything else. But I really hate losing or being wrong after that. - Journal 10/12

One year later

Jamila couldn’t help but look at Jonathan Toews as he sat at the table for this charity dinner. He really was more handsome in person than in the pictures. But the guy sitting next to him was just as good looking as him, in her opinion. He was rougher looking with long auburn hair and blue eyes and probably a good decade older than her, just the way that Jamila liked it. The only issue was… Duncs was nice but he wasn’t as exciting as Jonathan Toews. But Jamila told Shan and Mel that she was going to fuck Duncan Keith and she always got her man. Plus, it didn’t help that Jonathan always has something smart to say which made Jamila more dedicated to fucking Duncs. 

But it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen. Jamila was frustrated; she knew she was gorgeous and she was used to getting her way. But Duncs had a preference for blondes and.. Jamila had no desire to dye her hair blonde anytime soon. Plus, she hated the fact that she was going to lose because then Jonathan would hold it over her. 

Normally, Jon wouldn’t give a fuck that a girl wanted Duncs over him. He knew exactly where he stood with the vast majority of women and that he could have anyone he wanted. But he really, for some reason, wanted her. It had been over a year since they met and she was still hung up over Duncs. Granted, during that time, Jon was recovering from an injury and was at home in Winnipeg. Now, he was back and he wanted Jamila, even though she was supposed to be Cizisky’s girl. Jon had pulled the younger defenseman to the side and asked him about her and Cizisky straight up said that she was just going out with him as a friend to events. So Jon knew that Jamila was basically single and available.

Jamila was smiling in Duncs face but whenever he talked to her, she got angry and flustered. Jon knew she really wasn’t that interested in Duncs. He could tell by the way Jamila got closer to him when they argued that she really liked him. But the stubborn woman didn’t want to admit it. 

As the captain, Jon was used to solving problems. But this was a problem that he couldn’t solve and he was becoming frustrated.

**

It wasn’t fair how intense those dark brown eyes were. And they had been focused on her while Jamila attempted to flirt with Duncs. Jamila had to admit she was failing and it was annoying her. He was being polite but she knew she was being brushed off.

She could hear Jonathan; “Duncs isn’t interested. Aren’t you tired of wasting your time?” All of that paired with a mocking look. She was done doing favors for Shan’s cousin. Next time he needed a plus one, he could find someone else.

“Tired of shooting wide?”

“Really, a hockey metaphor?” Jamila rolled her eyes while Jonathan chuckled. He really was tired of watching Jamila flirt with Duncs. She wasn’t his usual type but Jonathan wanted to be her type. Once Duncs made it clear that he wasn’t interested, Jonathan decided it was time to try his luck.

“Good, you’re learning about the game! But are you tired?”

“What do you mean?”

Jonathan was tall enough that while she wore 5-inch heels, Jamila still had to look up at him a bit. He licked his lips and once again, Jamila felt those unwanted shivers. Jonathan smirked before saying, “Stop pretending you’re interested in Duncs when we both know that you really want me.”

“You’re so conceited,” Jamila retorted. A small part of her said he was right but her pride hurt so fuck him.

Jonathan gave her a devilish grin. “Fuck me? We can make that happen.”

Jamila’s eyes grew wide when she realized she said that out loud. “Captain Serious? More like Captain Dickhead!” Jamila rolled her eyes as she gave him a once over.

Then Jon shocked her. “That was a bit too much, I’m sorry,” he said. The earnest look in his eyes told Jamila he was telling the truth. “But seriously, you’re wasting your time.”

Jamila sighed deeply. She knew he was right but her ego didn’t want to let her admit it. Jamila just grimaced before pushing away from Jonathan. 

For the rest of the night, Jamila kept mostly to herself and Alex, nursing her wine. She was tempted to get something stronger, very tempted, but she kept herself to her one glass of wine. It helped that Alex was watching her like a hawk, as if he knew that Jamila was in a mood. As soon as he was able to, Alex made his goodbyes, escorting Jamila out to the valet.

“What happened, Mila?”

Jamila sighed as Alex’s car was brought up. “Nothing, buddy. Nothing.”

Alex wisely didn’t press it as he got his keys from the valet, opening the door for Jamila and closing it after she got in. Once he was in the car and driving away, he said, “You’ve been in a mood since you talked with Tazer. Did he say something that triggered you? I’ll tell him to back off if he’s triggering you, Mila.”

Jamila sighed. “He didn’t say anything that triggered me, per se, but you know I hate being wrong.”

“Yeah, because you’re very wrong about Duncs… I’ve been telling you that for months,” Alex cracked.

Rolling her eyes, Jamila replied, “Jonathan basically said the same thing. Then he hit on me, again.”

“I thought you enjoyed verbally sparring with him. It’s entertaining as fuck.”

“Fuck you too, Alex!”

Alex snorted as he said, “I would if I liked pussy.”

“Talking about that, have you thought of coming out,” Jamila asked. 

Alex looked at the road as he thought about his words. Then he said, “I could but I feel the same ones who talk about ‘You Can Play’ and all of that aren’t as accepting as they pretend to be. I mean, Tazer would be supportive, probably Duncs, maybe Kaner, Brinks, Murph, but the rest of the guys… I don’t want to risk it right now.”

Jamila reached over, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. That was a lot to have to deal with. “People fucking suck, man.”

“I know. Thanks for being my plus-one, Mila. I will always support you, even when people are asking me to call you names when you finally get with the captain.”

Jamila laughed, tears forming in her eyes at the idea of dating Jonathan. “That was very funny, Alex, you should become a comedian.”

Smirking, Alex turned into the parking lot of the building that they lived in. They had separate units, Jamila’s bigger and more expensive, but it was still home. “Jamila, your eyes still follow Tazer everywhere he goes when you two are at the same place. It’s a matter of time, well, it’s a matter of how stubborn you are about it.”

**

As Jamila walked into her condo, she thought about Alex and his words. She felt a bit bad for him; locker room culture was real and it sucked that Alex couldn’t fully be himself yet. At the same time, Jamila wasn’t fully open about her own sexuality. If she wanted attention, she could easily come out as pansexual but Jamila didn’t want her life to become a circus. Add on the fact that she enjoyed bdsm and was a submissive…. It would be a hot mess, she thought. However, Jamila knew that she didn’t have to worry about the potential reactions of a bunch of other people if she did decide to come out. 

One thing Jamila did have to worry about was her thesis. It was finished, turned in, it was just a matter of finding out when she would have to defend it. Since she was graduating with her PhD this December, Jamila knew it would be before then. Not knowing the exact date was just irritating to her. Maybe once she had it, her dad would respect her more. 

Jamila sighed as she looked out at the Chicago skyline. It didn’t matter anyway. He wouldn’t really care. The only ones who would were Nina, Marisa, Ms. Tracey and Mr. Vernon, Siobhan, Lauren, maybe Karesha and Desiree. Sighing again, Jamila decided it was time to go to sleep for the night.

**

Jon looked at his computer screen as he looked at his budget for the month. Coming back this season has had it’s ups and down so far. The travel and other rhythms of the season were familiar but at the same time, Jon had enjoyed being at home. For over a decade, Jon had lived under the grind of the NHL season plus the playoffs. There was something nice about being a home, not a hotel room every couple of weeks. The hotels were all the same, they stayed at the same places in the same cities every year. But staying in his own bed night after night had it’s own appeal. 

At the same time, Jon wanted a 4th cup. It still irritated him that the team had decided to rebuild without even asking if the boys wanted to rebuild. Last season, Jon appreciated that the boys didn’t give up and tank even though the front office would have preferred that they did. Odds were stacked against them this season but Jon believed that they could make it. Once the playoffs started, it was anyone’s chance to get the Cup. 

Jon sighed as he opened the Netflix app. He was starting to really feel his age this year. He was only 33 but he could feel every hit now. Plus, coming home to this new place with no one waiting for him was getting very old. “Maybe that’s why you like that girl so much,” Jon muttered to himself. He felt dumb; every time he talked to Jamila, he felt like he put his foot in his mouth. But then, it seemed like she was just looking for an excuse to tell him no. 

As he mindlessly scrolled through shows, Jon felt super frustrated and ready to give up. He didn’t want to continue asking her out if she kept saying no. Jon blanched as the idea that maybe he was making Jamila uncomfortable came in his mind. As he clicked on watching Brooklyn 911, Jon decided that he was going to leave Jamila alone.

**

Jamila felt weird. It was two weeks since the last time she saw Jon and he was keeping his distance from her. All night, all he had done was say hi and wave when she greeted him. Jamila felt strangely bereft. Unconsciously, Jamila’s eyes drifted towards Jon more often than not during the charity auction. His black suit fit him like a glove, the crisp white shirt setting off his remaining tan. Of course, Jon didn’t wear a tie and it made him look absolutely delicious. Jamila inwardly scowled as she looked down at her water. 

Jamila was attempting to be good by sticking to water instead of any of the myriad alcoholic options tonight. The last time she had wine, she had to resist the urge to down the whole bottle. Jamila sighed; she thought she could try to have a bit of alcohol but now, she was sure that was impossible. Her sobriety was worth more than trying to fit in. 

The auction went pretty quickly, all things considered. Jamila made a couple small bids, there wasn’t really anything that caught her eye. Then the auctioneer said, “For our last, and surprise, auction item tonight, a date with the captain, Jonathan Toews. The winner gets to have one night with Captain Toews, at a place of your choice. Mr. Toews is a gentleman so it will be on him. Bidding starts at five hundred.”

One woman yelled, “One thousand!”

There were a flurry of bids and Jamila knew she had a screwface as she listened. One of the bidders was that bitch Frances and it looked like she was going to have the winning bid. The bids went up to six thousand before it started to slow. The auctioneer called out, “sixty-five hundred, do I hear sixty-six hundred?”

He waited for a couple of moments for additional bids. Jamila looked at her hands as the auctioneer said, “Sixty-five hundred, sixty-five hundred, going once-”

“Seventy-five hundred,” Jamila called out, raising her placard. 

There was a hush as people turned towards her. Jamila smirked as Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

“Seventy-five hundred, do I hear seventy-six hundred?”

Jamila waited as she sipped her water. Frances called out, “Eighty-five hundred,” frustration laced in her voice. Jamila smirked; this was time for payback.

The eyes turned towards her and Jamila looked down at her phone. There was a message from Alex: have u lost ur mind?????

“Ten-thousand,” Jamila called out. 

Jon let out a whoo, pursing his lips. This night had turned out in a way he hadn’t expected. The auctioneer called out, “Ten-thousand, ten-thousand, going once, going twice, sold, to number 53.”

Jamila rifled through her purse, looking for her wallet. She hoped she could just put it on her black card instead of needing a check. The money wasn’t a problem; the way of paying could be. One of the team’s interns came to Jamila. “Miss, come this way to pay.”

Following the intern, Jamila gave Frances a wide smile when she passed her. Luckily, Jamila was able to use her card to pay for her bid. 

“This wasn’t expected,” a deep voice said to her side. 

Jamila smiled. “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“I’m a tool for revenge? I feel like shit,” Jonathan joked. 

Jamila shrugged. “I’ll let you know if I ever want that date.”

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Jamila walked away. She still felt some satisfaction winning the bid over that bitch, but something told her she made a crucial decision in some way.