#god PLEASE play hi fi rush its such a good game

[jaykatt]

god this guys so stupid. I want him

also bonus 808 doodle for the soul :3

[violetnotez]

Its Chirstmasssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!! I finished this up all last night, so I hope this is at least coherent! 

This is for the BNHA Hangout Christmas Collab! Here is a link to future masterpost for the fics for the event!

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Shoto x reader | one shot

Word Count: 1.5k+

Warnings: cussing

Synposis: When Shoto realizes you’ve been particularly lonely without him during the holiday season, he decided to get you an extra special gift

the music collection | buy me a ko-fi! | requests open for haikyuu+jujutsu kaisen

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“Shoto-do you really have to go?”

You asked, a pout on your lips as you gazed at your boyfriend.

You were still cuddled up in your shared bed, the heat from Shoto’s skin already dissipating out of the sheets.

You pursed your lips, sitting up crossed leg as You watched him slide each button of his shirt sleeve into their slots, his washed, bi colored hair slightly wet from his shower.

“You know it’s not fair to look that good and then just leave,” you gave him a fake, stern look, earning a small smirk from the man.

He continued working up the shirt, looking sleek yet-well-delicious.

Shoto was just too handsomr for his own good-sharp jawline, perfect skin, piercing bi colored eyes, not to mention his amazing body….sometimes you had to wonder how you were able to get such a flawless man to end up with you.

He finished with his other sleeve, peeking a look at you as he slicked his hair back with his right hand, the strands mixing and framing his face perfectly,

why’d he have to look that good?

“It’s not as if I want to leave, dear-but I do have work,”

You cuddled deeper into the sweatshirt you were wearing, your hands dissappearing in the sleeves.

“But you’re always working-you cant take one day off?”

Shoto chuckled at your obvious neediness, making his way over to where you were sitting. He leaned across the bed to be in front of your sulking form, brushing a piece of your bed head from your face as he laid a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Evil doesn’t take a day off love,”

“Why do you always have to be so-so stoic all the time,” You giggled, playfully placing your hand on his chest and pushing him back.

Even though you and Shoto had been living together for over a year now, it never ceased to amaze you how much the man worked. After working at an agency after UA, Shoto had been incredibly busy-and being the #3 hero, you could see why. If it wasn’t a late night call, he was patrolling, interviewing sidekicks, training, teaching students on their hero studies, interviewing with magazines….he always had something to do.

You couldn’t get mad at him though-he had warned you in the beginning, but you were also accustomed to the hero life as well- well, somewhat.

You had gone to UA to be part of the hero suit course, and had become suit designer for the top heroes (hence how you met Shoto). You witnessed day in and day out how difficult it truly was to be a hero, even if you weren’t one yourself, so you didn’t mind when Todoroki was gone all the time. Yes, it got lonely at times, especially during the holiday season, but you made sure to keep a smile on for him.

“Don’t forget, I did take Christmas off,” Shoto gave you a small grin, his bicolored eyed searching to please you.

You smiled back, your heart thumping out of your chest as you poked him gently in the chest.

“After I asked you too,” you corrected, a teasing tone in your voice.

-And thank god too, I would have so lonely by myself,” you tried to chuckle at your remark, making the situation light.

Shoto knew you too well though-something about your voice didnt sound as happy and light as before. When you joked with him, your laughs were more cheerful and your smile was brighter-but something about you right now felt strange...as if you were holding something back from him.

Shoto’s grin turned into concern, his digits cupping your cheeks gently and guiding your eyes to look at his.

“Have you been feeling lonely lately?” He asked bluntly, your eyes growing wide.

Man-you couldn't hide anything from him.

You chuckled nervously, looking to the side, guilt beginning to fill your chest.

“I-I, no, it’s fine, really, I was only kidding,” you chuckled, your voice taking on a higher pitch.

“You don’t seem to be kidding,” Shoto bite the side of his lip, trying his best to make eye contact with you, “if you want to tell me something, you don’t have to be afraid.”

“Be afraid of the number three hero-“ You rolled your eyes playfully, a soft smirk on your lips, “-never.”

Shoto gave a small grin, worry still in his eyes. He knew something was strange about you lately, the way you seemed to be always craving for him. He hated to admit it, it boosted his ego somewhat to have you were so desperate for his touch- but he knew it wasnt healthy for you to be always missing him.

With him being a pro hero, he had quite alot more duties than most could imagine- which sadly left little for him to indulge in his own personal life. Shoto felt deeply lucky to have someone like you who understood his busy schedule, never batting an eye when he had to cancel yet another date or leave you by yourself on countless nights...but it still left a gnawing sensation of guilt sitting in his stomach.

“Im fine Shoto,” your voice broke into his thoughts, your tone gentle and sweet like a sun kissed cloud, “really.”

Shoto sighed, his thick lashes fanning his cheek. You were stubborn at times, especially when you wanted to reassure him-which only affirmed that you really werent feeling all that great as you said you were. But Shoto didnt want to push it any further- maybe you were really okay, and he was overthinking it….and he was going to be late if he didnt leave soon-

“Go kick some ass for me, kay?”

you gave him a wide smile, placing another quick kiss on his lips.

Shoto blinked a few times, a rush of adrenaline filling his body as he felt your skin against his. His lips tingled from the agonizingly quick touch-he took it upon him to give you a deeply intense kiss, the rush making you breathless.

Shoto pulled away, his eyes having the rarest glint of mischief as he stared back into yours

“Of course love,”

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“Ya ready Shoto?” You grinned, your body snuggled into your comfiest pair of pajamas and your fingers warmed by a hot cup of cocoa.

Christmas Day has finally came, and thankfully, Shoto kept his promise-he would be staying the whole day with you with no interruptions.

You were just so excited to finally have one day to selfishly love your boyfriend, and on a holiday too!

The room almost felt surreal-it was early morning, the Christmas tree you two decorated light up like a Star, class Christmas music playing in the background, homemade cookies littering the apartment in a sweet aroma and the room in a romantic warm haze of lights.

It just felt so unbelievable perfect and comfortable, Shoto looking sheepishly excited and nervous.

“I think you should go first,” you smiled up at him as he sat down next to you, black coffee snuggled into his hand (in a DynaMIGHT mug, of course gifted to him by the hero himself).

Shoto bit his lip, seemingly trying to hide a smile as he set his mug down on the coffee table.

“Not to be rude love,” he grinned, his hands gently grabbing a large box from under the tree. The paper was a shiny golden hue, snowflakes on the paper reflecting like glitter from the lights on the tree. He slide the box against the wooden floor, being strangely gentle with the contents.

“But my gift cant wait.”

Your eyebrows were knitted together, a confused grin on your lips.

The box was pretty big-what did he get you now?

Shoto never seemed to give you endlessly expensive gifts, having no concept of what was considered fancy or exorbitant- trips to places you could only dream of, hefty amounts of clothes and jewelry, merchandise from your favorite shows...hell you had to talk him out of buying you a car one time-this guy would drop anything to get you whatever you wanted.

And that made you guilty as hell whenever he did-so what did he give you this time around?

Your mind was racing as you looked at the box, trying to read whatever he was thinking about on his face.

“I swear to god Shoto if you bought me that expensive gaming system-“

He chuckled at your obviously guilty face, shaking his head as he smiled.

“No, no it’s nothing like that-“ he said, giving you a mischievous grin, “I think you’ll like it much better than that.”

You blinked a few times, your mind going completely blank.

What could be better than a PS5, Xbox, or Switch?

You looked down at the box, feeling strangely nervous as you obeyed Shoto’s wishes, slowly opening the top lid….until it rustles.

The box.

Moved on its own.

You squeaked out in surprise, your hands slamming the barely opened lid back down and looking at Shoto for help.

He had never seen you look so adorably confused in his life, a rosy hue on his cheeks as he looked at you with a loving expression.

“It’s okay,” he whispered reassuringly as he wrapped his hands nervously around yours.

You felt him guide your hands up, you both now lifting the lid off the large box.

Shoto took it and placed it gently on the ground, sitting back to watch you look into the box.

The box rustled again, your mind so utterly confused….what could make a box do that?

“Shoto I-“ you tried to ask, but all he did was nod to the box, signaling for you to just look.

You did as you were told, getting on your knees to peer inside…

A gasp left your lips, your heart beating out of your chest as you looked inside at the sweet little baby kitten playing with their bowl of yarn in the box.

“Hi baby,” you cooed in awe at the little baby, your hands scooping them out and snuggling them to your chest.

They were so soft and warm, their fur as white as a snowball with rosy pink paws.

“Oh my god-Shoto-you really didn’t- are they really-?” You were in such a state of shock, you couldn’t seem to form any coherent words as you looked at your sheepish boyfriend.

“I-I didn’t know exactly what to get you...but after seeing how much you missed me throughout the day, I thought it was fitting to get you a companion for when I’m gone,” he smiled, his digits nervously fidgeting in his lap as he waited for your approval.

You petted the little creature on your chest, it’s big doe eyes staring at you with such confusion you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Shoto…it’s perfect,” you smiled at your boyfriend, leaning in to plant him a kiss on his lips.

You giggled at his expression, clearly not expecting your show of affection as his cheeks turned a fiery red.

“I-I’m glad to here that,”

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© Violetnote 2020

None of these characters or shows are my own, only the storylines and narratives I create are mine. Copying, stealing, plagiarizing, rewording, or using my storylines in other media, claiming to be your own, or reposting without my consent is not allowed.

[peanut-butter-parkerxx]

plane pillow

where peter planned to play video games with ned through the whole flight but fate decided to take another turn....

*A/N: this isnt related to far from home nor the ending of endgame, just pretend infinity and all the movies after didnt exist since i imagine pete 16 in here. i dont know why 16 i just like that age on him lmao, enjoy reading!*

pairing: peter x reader

status: strangerz (well sort of since they haven't talked to eachother but they're in the same school)

NOT PROOF READ BTW SO SORRY IF THERE ARE ANY MISTAKES

peter's POV

"the flight will be amazing! i heard they'd installed the new game we were talking about" i gushed to ned, excited for the whole flight to be filled with video games.

"im excited" ned stated practically jumping from excitement and i shook my head laughing

"OK CLASS!" Mr Harrington clapped his hands getting our attention "we're boarding the plane in a few minutes so pack your stuff and lets goooo" he pointed at our gate dramatically.

we walked to the gate, scanned our ticket and sat on our assigned seats, ned and i sat on the three seater, he took the window seat by winning a 3 round match of rock, paper, scissors *sighs angrily* and i obvious got the middle, kinda scared of who'll sit beside me though.

we had to wait for a few minutes, since we boarded the flight early. ned and i obviously started playing video games, too entranced by the small glowing screen infront of me i haven't realized a girl.

she hadn't really acknowledged me either because she looked tired, i cursed at the screen for losing the game too quickly and my dumb ass still didnt realize a GIRL, MY AGE, looking PRETTY FUCKING ADORABLE was sitting next to me. oh dear god.

after a couple more games and me being the most idiotic teenager known today for not looking at my right to see her  the flight attendant alerted us that the plane will take off so we the screen will freeze any moment. ned and i decided to sleep, it was very early in the morning and we need to rest if we plan on gaming most of the flight.

i closed my eyes and shifted a bit in my seat, and slept. the plain was moving at the time trying to find the best place to take off. i guess i was really tired that i havent felt someone sleeping on my shoulder.

i was peacefully sleeping still agitated from the uncomfortable seat but i heard a loud noise that frightened the life out of me and due to my spidey senses i sensed a hand on my right, so what did i do? i fucking held the hand. hard, may i add, from the fright.

i opened my eyes quickly and jumped a bit, turning around to see who's the stranger that i held hands with, startled as well. i sighed in relief knowing our plane was safe and it was just about to take off. but then i took a good look on the perso- her, took a good look on her, on her? OH MY GOD ITS A GIRL calm down peter and please dont scare her off. i couldnt stop looking at her and to my luck she was looking at me as well, but none of us spoke

i couldnt help but notice the small part of her y/h/c hair that was shown from her hood looked so shiny and smooth, her eyes were the most perfect shade of y/e/c. the extremely large hoodie looked so comfortable on her which made me think of her wearing one of mine, how big and long it'll look on her body sent butterflies to my stomach. she looked small, and precious so fragile yet she held her body confidently.

the voice of the flight attendant echoed through the speakers which made us both stop our trance of one another. even though the lady's voice wasnt scary it still frightened us. i mean no hate towards miss attendant she called me a cutie and gave me extra blankets

but coz we got startled again we held hands....again looking for the sources of the noise. we visibly relaxed once we realized what it was, looked at eachother and laughed, her laugh was angelic and soft, hands down the best sound ive ever head. she looked rather embarrassed from the encounter but i bet you a thousand dollars i look worse, i could practically feel the blood rush through my cheeks once she realized how long ive stared at her

"i- uhm i-im so sorry for sleeping on your shoulder, and- and holding your hand and stuff" she apologized, it only made me even more baffled by her. how could a voice match with a face so perfectly.

"no no its fine uhh i dont mind *nervous laugh* and for the hand thing i was the one who grabbed yours so i-i should be the one apologizing...im sorry" i rubbed the back of my neck. this is why i dont talk to girls, ever. well mj is an exception since shes like the closest thing i have to a friend other than my best friend obviously.

"i-im y/n, by the way" she lifted her hand properly introducing herself

"peter, peter parker" i shook her hand, it was nice feeling the warmth of her hand again. we probably held hands (for the third time today by the way) longer the we should have but who am i to say i was bothered. i definitely wasnt.

"nice to meet you peter" she smiled shaking our hands one last time then sitting it on her lap. scratch what i said about her gorgeous laugh, hearing her say my name was the best thing ive heard in my 16 year of existence. (her laugh is obviously the second best)

before i could ask anything else, the plane decided to finally take off. i adjusted myself to the seat, not turning to my right side anymore and closed my eyes trying to think of smiling puppies. ive been on a plane before, in fact a private one last year but that was it. this is my second time flying away from new york and i was a bit nervous.

y/n somehow noticed my sudden tense form, who am i kidding i looked like i was about to die coz of my nerves. and held my hand. and i immediately opened my eyes again, the feeling of her skin coming in contact with mine brought chills down my spine, good ones obviously

"you looked rather tense, is this ok?" she leaned into my ear so i could hear her. i looked at her confused on why she would want to help me but nodded as a reply. a smile crept on my face and i couldnt seem to take it off.  the take off went smoothly thank god. and ive occasionally squeezed her hand, usually when the plane made very loud sounds. but i made it! woohoo

i didnt know if i should stop holding her hand or not, even though i didnt want to. will she think im a creep? and if i did, will she think im rude? but i guess it didnt seem to bother her if she went back to sleeping. so i figured i should do the same

i shifted in my seat a couple of times trying to get the perfect comfy spot....nothing. this seat will be the death of m-

"you can sleep on my shoulder if you want" she whispered. "i figured since you let me sleep on yours which im very sorry about, you could sleep on mine" she smiled

"thanks, but i dont wanna bother you or make you uncomfortable"

"oh nonsense! my body is screaming right now cheering for me, well partially scolding at me for saying something risky like that to a good looking guy, its ok" she laughed, her eyes widened in shock from what she confessed. i smiled at her and rested my head on her shoulder

"you think im good looking?" i whispered playing with our fingers, i dont know when i got the sudden confidence but hearing someone like her think a loser like me is cute did something to me.

"shut up" she playfully shoved me and i laughed.

"are you from midtown?" i asked her

"no im from queens" she joked

"oh you're definitely from midtown" i chuckled, next thing i know i was having a normal conversation with me laying my head on a girl i just met like we knew eachother for years, it was nice to talk to a girl i potentially thought was cute instead of talking gibberish

she was very understanding and looked like interested into what i was saying, i was gonna skip my geeky side when she asked about what i like but to my surprise, she mentioned it when i asked her the same, she said she loves comics and likes watching sci fi movies. i asked her if she watched star wars and she said she didnt...yet.

"wanna uhm watch it together?" i played with her fingers absentmindedly nervous if she'd reject me.

"yeah sure" her eyes lit up like she was waiting for me to ask her that. we watched the movie in bliss, thankfully she liked it! and immediately said to put the second one. and surprise surprise, we finished it.

when the credits rolled in, i saw her yawning, shifting in her seat again, i decided to be bold so i lifted her head off my shoulder pulled the arm rest away from us, took a pillow and patted my lap. immediately after doing it i regretted it, she barely knows me, what the fuck peter.

"you sure?" she asked smiling a bit, she looked like she felt something giddy inside which made me feel at peace again and i nodded.

"good night" she whispered snuggling her head on my lap, i hesitantly put my arm over

"good night, y/n" and we fell asleep like how ned slept the whooole time i was talking to her, wow we have a lot to catch up on

bonus:

peters pov

i didnt know the whole plane (our class) practically gushed over my interaction with y/n, i know its been a while since i liked a girl but betty and the rest (including Mr Harrington) practically begged mj to take photos of us since she was the closest, not that she wouldnt have done it without them asking her....

*A/N: idk what this bonus was lmao but i had to add the school feeling happy for our boy pete*

have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night!

-quacksonlover

[thelastpilot]

"Oh were you gonna finish that?”- Adrino Oneshot

Okay i actually wrote this maybe... two years ago? And i’ve always loved it so so much and I’ve only just finally finished it. Honestly pretty proud of the tone and the fun vibe and the cuteness so please if you will! Adrino Diner!AU!!

6k

Adrien had a favorite restaurant, like many serial commuters and busy people tend to have. Some people pick for location, or speed or menu or environment, but as far as he was concerned his favorite had absolutely everything going for it.

It was close to his apartment (a nice morning walk) and opened early and closed late. It had the best comfort foods around, no matter what time you came, and it always tasted like a homecooked meal. It was tucked off the main track so tourists were never too frequent, though enough to stimulate business he hoped, and he never had any trouble getting a table.

By all rights he should, but he was such a regular that he was fairly certain the family who owned the place moved things around to make sure he always got his favorite table if it was open.  He was known for tipping very well but had enough of a banter with the servers to think that they might just like him anyway even if he didn’t.

Adrien stretched as he stepped through the restaurant’s threshold that morning, chuckling a little as he looked around to confirm that he actually was the first customer of the day, or at least the only one currently in the building. His morning routine usually landed him there right after opening, where he had plenty of time to leisurely eat his fill before going to work. However, being so early usually meant that whatever staff was there wasn’t entirely prepared for him.

He waited patiently at the entrance, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth that warded off the cool November morning. He could smell coffee and hear the distant sounds of a kitchen just barely waking up, when he heard a familiar call of, “Oh! Good Morning!”

Adrien cracked an eye to see his favorite server poke his head out from the kitchen, quickly stepping out and drying his hands on a towel as he greeted him.

Nino looked just as tired as he was, his short dark hair a bit ruffled and his gold eyes heavy with sleep, but his smile was just as kind as always, brightening when Adrien returned his greeting.

“Dude I don’t know how you always get here so early; I get paid to do it and I barely wake up on time.”

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle, the two of them navigating to his well-worn window seat. “I was gonna say that I was surprised to see you opening for a change, I normally only catch you at lunch time. I prefer now though, I like to eat when its slow and I can take as long as I want.”

Nino moved a step ahead to set up the table, talking over his shoulder and he found a menu and a set of silverware.

“I’ve been opening more and more lately, it’s like my cousins realized my mid-day shift was a sweet gig compared to setting the restaurant up, and now they won’t stop taking my shifts.”  Nino shot him a sleepy smile as he added, “And for the record, I have never rushed you out. You’re always the one who pays in the middle of your meal.”

Adrien waited patiently as he finished setting up, mumbling something like “I feel bad wasting a table when you’re busy though…”, which made him laugh.

“Dude, you’ve paid enough in tips by this point to have a deed to that table, it’s yours.  So,” he fished in his apron for a pen, clicking it pointedly as he turned towards his guest. “What can I get going for you?”

“What’s ready?” Adrien countered as he sat, laughing too when Nino sighed in exhaustion.

“Literally nothing, I got in so late man. Once Ahmed wakes up a little though we should be able to get whatever. Uh,” Nino looked towards the kitchen before smiling bashfully. “Maybe a coffee for now? I have coffee.”

“Coffee’s good, no rush. I’ve got a late call time today so I’m not in a hurry at all.”

“Thank god,” Nino breathed out in a rush, shaking his head when Adrien snickered. He looked back at the kitchen again, glaring a little when no sound interrupted him. “… the kitchens gone quiet… which means Ahmed probably passed out or something. I’ll uh, go get your coffee, I know how you like it.”

Nino gave him a little thumbs up before tucking away his pretty unnecessary pen and darting off towards the long vacant counter in the back of the restaurant. He only stopped to wake up the main computer and quickly throw on some ambient music before running to the back, making himself known again only by the distant shouting that sounded in the kitchen a short time later.

Adrien settled in to wait, leaning back in his familiar booth with half lidded eyes as he gazed aimlessly out the window. Every once in a while, he would hear some clatter or tone or bustle from the kitchen and it would make him smile a little, enjoying the quiet lo-fi type beat Nino had thrown on before getting swallowed by his chores.

The music was always better when he was working.

 When his coffee finally came Adrien accepted it gladly, Nino looking a little more awake but still a bit stressed out as he ‘took his order’. He did the quotation marks himself, apologizing again because it was gonna be a minute for sure but his patience was really appreciated and everything. He scribbled down the order and was already mumbling to himself about the delivery truck and cleaning and who should have done what when closing the night before as he dashed away again, not leaving them much of a chance to chat, unfortunately. Adrien watched him leave as he sipped on his coffee, which despite his rush Nino still managed to make in his specific way and was distinctly glad again that he was the only one in the building. Nino and Ahmed would probably be way more stressed out if there was someone around who might actually mind.

He was glad that Nino knew him enough from all his patronage to understand that he wasn’t going to be a hassle.

Maybe, when Nino got more practice in with opening, he would be more prepared early on in the weekdays and they could maybe talk for a moment.

He had this sort of humble (pathetic) fantasy of saying good morning and sharing a smile, and then maybe inviting him to sit for a minute at his table when it was slow and he had nothing to do. Give him a bit of a chance to say something more impressive than his breakfast order for a change. Actually leave an impression, maybe.

 … alright fine he might have a lot of reasons for this to be his favorite restaurant.

He felt a little warm under the collar suddenly when he admitted that to himself, frowning at his half-drained cup of coffee like it had something to do with it. And it sort of did, actually, little gestures like remembering how to make his coffee in his favorite way without having to be asked contributing to his lame little fantasies.

They were pretty harmless, he certainly wasn’t the first person to entertain a distant whimsical crush based on not much more than breakfast orders. It felt lame to call it a crush but he didn’t have a better word for it, some part of him understanding it was a little pathetic to feel that way about some random waiter he barely knew.

He was just some charming man with a bright smile and outdated lingo who thought he was pretty hilarious and was kind of right. And a warm laugh and a lot of personality, and he played video games and had a lot of neat music.

Nothing interesting about any of that.

Adrien sighed, moodily sipping his drink.

He really needed to get out more… this could not keep being the highlight of his day. He needed some other stuff going on besides a ridiculously habitual eating schedule dictated by charming men and the food their mom’s make, but he never put himself out there. He wasn’t really enthused on the idea of like… going out, and trying to go on dates and meet people, so the best he managed usually was vaguely thinking about maybe talking to some guy, only to talk himself out of it and have a staring match with the empty seat across from him.

It was pretty much just them, now was a great time, but there had been a bunch of great times. And there would probably be a couple more before he just accepted that this wasn’t his greatest strategy and he just asked him out. Which he liked to believe he might really do at some point.

He was pretty deep in thought as he approached the end of his cup, so when Nino spoke very suddenly besides him it gave him kind of a scare.

“Here you go, something for you,” he was saying, pausing to raise an eyebrow when Adrien jumped and looked up at him startled. He gave him a look, but just chuckled to himself, setting down a plate and surprising him again by taking the coffee cup from his hands and replacing it gently with a new one so he didn’t burn him. Adrien watched as Nino took his cup for himself, drinking from it casually to finish it off and gesturing to his small offering.

He was still a little confused by the fact that his waiter just stole his coffee so he could drink it, but he looked down and focused on the cute assortment of pastries and fruit that were on the plate. They were positioned hastily to look presentable, one of them a little bit burned but placed in the back to not be as noticeable. They had clearly just been made, and in a hurry, but it still looked wonderful.

“What’s this?” Adrien asked, placing his new hot coffee on the table to he could pick up one of the pastries, smiling at one of the burnt edges.

“It’s a ‘I’m Sorry your Food is Gonna Take A While’ Pastry, very rare. I make them myself, if you couldn’t tell by the fact that they’re a little burned.”

Nino’s laugh was muffled in what used to be Adrien’s coffee, Adrien laughing too as he looked up at him, a bit unprepared for the casual interaction but enjoying it.

“You made these just now? That’s very nice of you, even if you did just steal the last half of my cup.”

“I brought you a new one,” Nino defended himself, smiling again when Adrien laughed. Nino huffed a bit too though, leaning against the booth Adrien was sitting in. “I’m really glad it’s just you in here man, this is not a smooth start to the day. I feel bad about making you wait but at least I know you’re cool about it.” He groaned, rubbing at his eyes beneath his glasses. “I’m so sorry, but whoever closed last night didn’t even count the till and we’re still waiting on our delivery so-,”

“Hey don’t worry about it! Seriously, it’s not a problem at all.” Adrien had to look nearly straight up just to talk to him, his very casual waiter practically leaning over him (not that he minded.) “If it’s easier,” he managed to continue, “I can just eat somewhere else today. I don’t want to-,”

He faltered when Nino’s eyes widened, and suddenly he was standing up straight, frantically waving his free hand.

“Oh no no no! Don’t leave, we’ve got it! I just wanted to apologize. You’re our guy I don’t want you to not get what you always do just because I’m not on top of it today. Plus I gave you apology pastries, you have to stay!”

He gestured to his ‘I’m Sorry’ plate again to emphasis his point, grinning awkwardly when his favorite patron laughed. Adrien was snickering, taking a piece of pastry and enjoying its kind of battered appearance for a moment before eating it. Nino took heart in knowing that his good sense of humor was holding out, and that he was still in the clear for at least a little while more. He really didn’t want to screw him when he was always so patient, so it was his intention to sprint to the back to finish as fast as possible so that he’d actually have something well made to bring him.

Adrien was savoring his food, aware of the fact that Nino was about to leave again and their casual chat was about to end. This was by far the best he had ever done, the two of them talking so comfortably that he was now far from tired. He was charged from the simple contact, his pastries making him feel warm, and a little braver.

He was brimming with that kind of energy a person usually feels right before they start laughing, and he was desperate not to lose it, so as Nino was starting to turn away, he suddenly spoke up again, surprising himself.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Nino paused, looking down at him with his body still half turned away. He must have looked confused, because Adrien immediately started explaining himself.

“There has to be something anybody could do. I’m not a cook or anything but I can unload a truck and clean counters. That would help, right?”

“You- you-…” Nino was stunned, completely caught off guard as Adrien started innocently munching on his apple slices. “You want to- wait no!” Nino blurted out as Adrien stood, looking pleased with himself.

“Doing dishes and stuff isn’t hard, and it would be one thing you and your cousin don’t have to do. It beats just sitting here and doing nothing.” Adrien lifted his plate, munching on his food as Nino started to stammer.

Of course he was adamantly refusing but now that the idea had occurred to him he was completely determined.

“No, no dude you’re like- hey wait!!”

Adrien was already walking away, happily eating his pasties and looking for something to do. Nino ran ahead of him to try and stop him, forced to walk backwards and rambling at top speed.

“No! It’s so cool of you to offer but seriously your patience is already great you don’t have to work I just needed a second to get your food!”

“But I want to,” Adrien pushed, grinning as Nino ran to block the kitchen door, looking flustered as he stood there with his outstretched hands to stop him (one of them still clutching his stolen coffee cup.)

He stopped, not wanting to barge in and stress him out but he wanted him to know that he totally meant it. Judging by his bewildered expression, he was guessing he understood that.

“Dude no you can just relax! We’ve got it we’re all over it! I mean like- thank you! But we’re already keeping you just go sit!”

Adrien stood there for a moment, mulling it over as he took another apple slice. Nino’s eyes were all over his face as he stood guard at the kitchen door, completely unprepared for this guy. He didn’t look terribly appeased with Adrien’s vague hum or smug smile either, his tone completely unconvincing.

“Alright,” he said with a nod, still too happy as he gestured with his plate towards the door. “I don’t want to keep you,” he repeated, “you’ve got a lot of stuff to do.”

 Neither of them moved, Nino clearly hesitant to leave now. He looked between Adrien and the kitchen, narrowing his eyes a little.

“… go back to your table.”

“Okay,” Adrien replied, not moving at all.

“Don’t do anything!” Nino stammered again, placing his cup down and edging towards the door but still so torn about leaving. He glanced behind him again, and then past Adrien towards the public entrance and could really feel the time he was losing when he didn’t even have a register open he could sell food with. But then he looked back at that cocky, lame guy who was just standing there happily, waiting for him to leave.

Adrien just nodded, grinning as he gestured at the door again, this time with an apple slice.

Nino hesitated again, before taking one step back, and another as Adrien just waited patiently. He could hear Ahmed working hard inside, feeling the pressure too since they were way behind schedule. His cousin was probably wondering what the hell he was doing but how was he supposed to explain this?

His back was all the way to the door when he just accepted that there was really no winning this, this guy was crazy.

They just had to see who was faster.

 Nino bolted through the kitchen door with a crash, scaring the hell out of Ahmed who was passing by with an arm full stuff but he didn’t stop, just skidding across the tile and through the kitchen and around the corner and into the office, ignoring Ahmed’s shouts completely as he ran to count money as fast as he possibly could.

The door was like a gunshot to a race, Adrien completely caught up in his own nerves at the game he created but determined to win. He left his mostly finished plate with a clatter on the counter as he ran like hell to the first task he could think of, running towards the front host stand with the only things he knew for sure. Menus, dishrags, silverware sets and cleaner.

Adrien was cleaning and setting up tables about as fast as Nino could count, the waiter frantically scribbling at the edges of their check in sheet with the cash count and kicking the safe closed. He scrambled to grab the till and sprint back out into the kitchen, ignoring Ahmed again as he ran back towards the main body of the restaurant, but he was forced to skid to a stop when Ahmed angrily shouted at him, “NINO!”

“What?!” he demanded sharply, whipping around to glare at Ahmed who was waving frantically towards the back doors.

“The truck is HERE, listen to me for a second!! I need to start loading in before we get more people.”

“Do whatever but hurry up! Get everything going I’ve got to set up!”

Both of them stiffened when they heard a distant chime, trading a frantic look between each other before turning and running with what they needed to do.

Nino busted through the kitchen door out of breath, about to call out towards the front door his standard good morning as he asked them for their patience, but he didn’t have the chance to.

He stood open mouthed in shock as Adrien cheerily called out, “Good Morning! Is it just the two of you today?” to an older couple who had just walked in. The bastard had two menus in his hands already, beaming as they answered their good mornings too.

Adrien could feel Nino standing there in disbelief with the cash till in his hands, but couldn’t bring himself to doubt in the slightest, he was just having way too much fun as he escorted their new customers to their seats. He had almost half of the tables perfectly clean and sat them in the middle of them so it all looked a bit better than it was at the moment. Nino only just got his wits about him enough to actually start setting up the register as Adrien was taking their drink order, chatting with them personably as he just jotted it down in his phone.

Nino kept looking back and forth from the screen to Adrien, who was now telling some light-hearted joke to the delight of the older woman, who actually cooed some line like “Oh aren’t you sweet?” At a glance it looked like he was even making suggestions, before giving them a little wave and promising them their coffee shortly. It was when Nino successfully clicked the till in that Adrien was nearly back at the counter, scouting around for coffee cups and looking oh so pleased with himself.

Nino was going to try and hiss something at him but could think of nothing to say, Adrien shooting him a smug glance as he busied himself with whatever he felt like, occasionally stopping to munch on his pastries. He whisked himself away before Nino could sputter something out, and eventually he could stall no longer and ran back into the kitchen with a groan.

The kitchen was empty but he could see the evidence of Ahmed’s traffic, hustling to burst out into the street outside, immediately accosted by the morning chill and the odd clean smell of produce mixed with the damp, cool smells of the back alley. The truck was backed up to the loading door of the restaurant, and he caught sight of Ahmed just in time emerging with his hands full to avoid crashing into him, spooking him once again.

“Would you STOP that!” Ahmed finally yelled irritably, teetering dangerously as his younger cousin darted around him and started grabbing anything he could get his hands on, seemingly ignoring him. “Look I can get this you need to go handle the customers; finish set up inside.”

To his surprise Nino just huffed, his voice strained as he picked up two awkwardly sized food crates. “Oh no trust me, someone beat me to it.”

“What does THAT mean?” he attempted but Nino just rattled past him unsteadily, and Ahmed was forced to just pick up the pace so he could double back for Nino’s stuff before the loser dropped it all.

 Inside Adrien was still on an adrenaline high, humming happily to himself as he polished off the last of his fruit. He had managed to clean all of the tables and the couple were happily sipping on their coffees, prepared to wait patiently for the order Adrien had only just taken. He had been looking around for something to write it on so he could pass it along to the kitchen when he had happened upon a hook laden with apron’s, so naturally he was wearing one now. Inside one of the pockets had been a misplaced pad of paper, so when Nino finally emerged in a frantic huff he was greeted with a folded slip of paper held between two fingers as Adrien triumphantly finished his coffee.

“Order for ya,” Adrien announced with a smirk, successfully cutting off whatever Nino had been about to say and waggling the paper slightly until he took it. “They only just made up their minds, so you’ve got awhile. The man’s coffee is black but the woman likes 3 creams no sugars.” He smiled, “In case you need to refill them, or I can do it, of course.”

“No!!” Nino finally spoke, so red in the face that Adrien was worried for just a second that he might actually have made him mad… but it only took a moment more for Nino’s flustered expression to become clear as he rubbed at his eyes, a laugh slipping through. And THAT made Adrien feel very brave.

They stood in relative privacy behind the counter together, the lo-fi tune and the general emptiness of the diner leaving them with each other to deal with. Nino sighed and crossed his arms, a smile still on his face even as he said, “You know I never really got that peak ‘bastard’ vibe off of you before but I have to admit it’s impressive.”

Adrien snickered, setting down his empty cup, but after a second’s thought started looking around for a place to clean it. “I have my moments,” he admitted, taking a full step towards the kitchen to find a sink to use before Nino snatched it from his hands, sliding past him to block the door again.

“What kind of pastry am I going to have to make to get you to sit down?”

“I don’t think you can top your apology pastry honestly, so I guess I can stop harassing you and go back to my booth. But then again it is a little weird for a waiter to switch out half-way through.”

Nino rolled his eyes, “I’ll tell them you went on ‘break’, now please give me a chance to make this up to you and go make your food?” He ended it like a question, since compliance was not guaranteed, but to his relief Adrien seemed to be relenting a little, taking his dirty plate with him and still entirely too happy with himself. He was really dragging his feet though, so Nino made a point to wander behind him, making a grab for his apron string which Adrien managed to dodge.

He was trying to assure his favorite waiter that he didn’t owe him anything and that he just wanted to help, but noticed after a moment that Nino was too distracted with huffing and puffing about all the clean tables and refilled salt shakers to listen, shepherding him back to his seat like he wished it had a ball and chain. The glare he got as he was finally forced back to his spot was just too good, and Adrien took his disbelieving sigh as a sign of victory.

“Now I’m going to go and make you your food and you better be sitting right here when I come back and give it to you. AND I’m going to get you another cup of coffee.” He said it almost defiantly, in a ‘and what are you gonna do about it?’ kind of way.

Adrien was going to say something charming or snarky when the door dinged again, and Nino leveled him with another glare when he turned to look. Adrien was forced to sheepishly bow his head, grinning innocently as Nino started taking steps away, walking backwards and watching him for most of the way before he finally turned around and said his standard, “Good Morning!”

 Adrien decided to play it safe after that, waiting in his booth patiently but was still bubbly enough to chuckle to himself every now and again. He kept peeking over his shoulder as Nino sat down the new patrons and took their drink orders, checking in with the older couple who had been sat before and politely explaining that the cook was just about done with everything. Normally he could get away with staring, but today he seemed to get caught every single time, Nino always glancing up in his direction as if to check he was where he should be. He’d catch him staring and smile a little, sometimes shaking his head, sometimes looking away, and every time it left Adrien with an odd spike of energy that snaked down his spine and made him chuckle again.

His stupid, showy stunt was ridiculous, looking back on it now that the hype had died down a little. He was self-aware enough to start feeling embarrassed about it, but whenever he started doubting himself or planning how to apologize, he’d think back to the disbelieving laughs or the banter and feel just a little reassured. Maybe he had been a little over-zealous, a little too eager but, for better or for worse

He finally made an impression.

 It was a short time later when the door dinged again, but to Adrien’s relief it was to signal help arriving. Another employee he recognized finally showed up to clock in, and it was only then that he really relaxed. He pulled off his cozy little apron and set it aside on the table, taking himself off standby now that Nino had another set of hands on deck. There were only two real customers to be worrying about, since at this point Adrien could honestly never get food and be perfectly content with it. He was relieved to see that he was not the first one served, the older couples’ orders coming through first and was glad to see that Nino had the sense to put him on the backburner regardless, or at least that was what he had assumed. In reality Ahmed must have just been hauling ass, because it was no time later at all that Adrien heard the familiar thunk of a plate being set down beside him.

He had been doodling in his handy dandy waiters notebook so Nino had actually managed to sneak up on him, sliding Adrien’s standard order to rest in front of him with a little more sass then was customary.

Adrien glanced up, determined to get out something witty this time, when suddenly his waiter’s momentum seemed to shift…

And he was moving to take a seat.

Adrien started slightly as Nino slid into the booth opposite him, setting down two empty coffee cups as he did and reaching for a carafe of the stuff he hadn’t noticed at first.

He felt himself going red in the face as Nino nonchalantly poured for them both, saying, “I’m sure you usually never drink this many cups in a sitting but it’s been a weird morning and you need something with your food. Plates hot, by the way.”

“I- uh,” Adrien stammered, looking down at it as an excuse to collect himself as Nino prepped his coffee the way he liked it. He was reeling from Nino’s sudden self-invite to his table, all his bold confidence from before totally evaporated by the sudden real life presence of his stupid, hopeless daydreams.  But he couldn’t just say nothing, so he managed, “I’ll have another. And uh, this looks great, thank you.”

There was another apology pastry, he noticed. Tucked right in the corner.

When Adrien finally managed to look up it was Nino who was smirking into his cup this time, living for it as it was Adrien’s turn to look a little caught out. A little bit of payback, just a touch. He didn’t start eating right away either, accepting the offered drink and scoffing a little as Nino stole a strawberry.

“I can’t really stay for too long,” he opened, and despite the fact that obviously that must be the case Adrien couldn’t help feeling disappointed. “But I wanted to take a sec to come over. I’m taking a five.”

Adrien was going to say something like ‘don’t waste your break on my account’ but couldn’t bring himself to and hesitated at the last second. Even if it was mostly placating, he didn’t want to risk him getting up and leaving. Nino took the silence and continued, leveling him with a glare he knew now to be playful.

“You bum rushing my counter was totally ludicrous. Like, I was literally just telling Ahmed about it in the back and he couldn’t believe it. He was laughing his ass off.” When Adrien started laughing he just shook his head, eating his strawberry and taking a second one. Adrien didn’t seem to mind. “Like what’s even the plan for that, I had no idea what to do so I was just like, well fuck it I guess?? I’ll count the tills.”

Adrien was laughing even harder, the other employee now taking care of tables craning their head to look at them but neither of them caring. They were both laughing after a minute, and Adrien fought through it to say, “Your face was so funny, I couldn’t help myself. It was awesome.”

“It was ridiculous but whatever,” Nino rolled his eyes, smiling too big to hide it with his cup, though he still kind of tried. “I can’t stop thinking like I owe you dude like I was freaking out about it but you actually really did help. And you waited so long for your food and you were so cool about it the whole time-,”

“You don’t owe me anything Nino, I’m serious. I was having fun.”

“No I do, I definitely do. I owe you breakfast,” Nino said matter-of-factly, but shook his head again when Adrien gestured at his plate with an eyebrow raised. “No, not that one, that one was late. And not here either like, somewhere else. Some other time.” He hesitated, and for the first time since sitting he looked a little bit nervous. “Like maybe Friday, actually. If you were free.” He paused. “Friday morning,” he clarified kind of needlessly, looking away. He glanced up once at Adrien’s stunned silence and started rambling again. “Cause uh, I’m off on Friday, and I actually have time and you are usually in here on Fridays so like, if you were free-,”

“I’d love to!” Adrien suddenly interrupted, his voice a bit rushed sounding as he surprised them both, now stammering a little himself. “Uh, I mean, yes! I’m free, on Friday. Where-…” Adrien kind of trailed off, his pulse electric as he desperately tried to keep his cool.

It was happening.

“Well um, I actually haven’t picked a place yet. I was thinking that maybe, if you didn’t mind I could just like…. text you, later. With the restaurant.”

Adrien only noticed that Nino was fidgeting with his notepad with his free hand when he put his coffee down to wrestle it out of the apron pocket, putting it on the tabletop a little bashfully and was surprised to see that Adrien had already beaten him to the pen (probably from his own apron), pulling the paper over to his side and ignoring his breakfast entirely. Nino sat there balling his apron up in his hands as Adrien quickly jotted down his phone number, sliding it back to him with an energetic smile that he returned.

Like okay maybe he had thought about doing this like a hundred times but he couldn’t believe he was actually doing it. When the hell had he grown a pair? This handsome guy had been a regular here for ages and he never actually managed to do something about it, but he could practically sense Ahmed creeping on him through the window in the kitchen door. He had already been thinking it, but it was Ahmed’s indignant encouragement that actually got him out there.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Adrien finally answered, sounding so totally earnest that Nino had no idea what to do with it, laughing with nervous excitement.

“Yeah, me too. Let someone else deal with the morning rush for once, huh?”

With that Nino got up, holding his coffee cup in his hand and smoothing his apron as he stood, and,  after a moments thought, leaned over to grab Adrien’s from the table (which he allowed without protest). He wanted to stay and get another laugh or poke fun at him or anything really, but he was so wired at this point that he just knew he was gonna fuck it up, so he did the safe thing and bailed. He traded a little wave with Adrien as he darted off to fill in Ahmed who was probably waiting to ambush him anyways, honestly a little childishly excited to share cause… he said yes. And when he risked a glance back as he fled he saw the man drop his head in his hands for a second, before he looked up again and beamed out the window. He looked so amped, Nino couldn’t stop thinking that maybe… he had been hoping? Hoping for Nino to ask him out? Had he been waiting for it? Was that why he jumped up to help had they both been-

When he crashed into the kitchen door without looking his coffee splashed against his chest, and he stumbled through it, the hot liquid catching mostly on the apron but burning his arms a little and drawing EVERYONES attention in the ridiculously quiet restaurant. He bolted through it and shut the door behind him, recoiling in on himself as he swore he heard him laughing.

 The only thing Adrien heard back from it was a text two minutes later from an unknown number that simply said, “Shut up you didn’t see that.”  

He quickly saved the contact and rushed to reply, “Lol yeah, I didn’t see anything.”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

idk if ur still doing song prompts but i was listening to in my head by maisie peters n thought of how ur writing would fit so well with it! so maybe that with cal? also, ur writing is fucking beautiful, thank u for sharing ur works with us! i’ll be sure to support ur works! ☺️🖤

First off, many thanks for such kind words! I greatly appreciate them. Thanks for the song suggestion as well!

Anyone can support me on Ko-fi! It helps me continue to provide this content and save for graduate school expenses. 

Song blurb requests are now closed. Thanks for all the love! 

__________________________________________

A Losing Game

Oh, it’s so stupid. 

You know that from the second you pick out the pink dress from your closet. He’s going to be there though. After how careless he was, you are going to make him pay for it. Calum is going to have to pay for the way he treated your heart. 

The thing is you guys weren’t together when it happened. You know that. You didn’t need anyone else to point that out to you. But still, how could he just be so reckless? How could he kiss you like that? How could he hold you so gently and then turn around and choose someone else? 

If that’s the bed he wanted to lay in, you were for damn sure going to make it a bed of thorns for him. Slipping into the dress and spraying your perfume, you glanced over yourself in your mirror. Was this petty? Of course. Was this overkill? Of course. Was that going to stop you? Never. No, Calum was going to have to drool over you. You are going to hurt him just like he hurt you. 

When Calum knocks on the door to the house and ducks inside, he looks around for you. He thinks he might be able to snag a moment to talk to you. When you’re not in the living room or in the kitchen of the house party, he thinks his time to apologize is over. He was an idiot. He is the first person to admit that. He’d admit it in the blink of an eye that he was stupid to have you literally in the palms of his hands and then on the same night, take someone else home with him. He made it so obvious too. He had waited for you to look up, to try and get one last word in with him before pulling her onto his lap. Then soon after out of the club to the waiting car. 

Fear is a bastard of an emotion; that’s what Calum had come to learn. He was terrified of actually liking you, of actually making that a real thing. 

As the night starts to settle in, he keeps half an eye out for you. It’s not until he turns into the kitchen for the second time in the night to get a refill, he finds you in the pink dress. God, his heart races. It was always a gorgeous color on you. He could paint you in a portrait of the color. 

You watch as Calum steps into the kitchen and turn to Luke, laughing at whatever was just said. You’re not halfway paying attention to whatever the group is going on about. Maybe you even go as far as to raise a hand to Luke’s chest and let it slide down to his forearm. Luke is oblivious you know and won’t take it strangely. All you need is for Calum to see it. All you need is for him to get just a taste of what it feels like to be the second choice. 

Calum steps closer, going for the cooler on the floor. You’re too busy with your head practically falling into Luke’s chest to see the flair of his nostrils and the clenched jaw. You do hear the harsh slam of the cooler’s top back to keep the coolness in. 

The whole night went like this. You finding every opportunity to blow Calum off and Calum only wanted to get five minutes with you. It’s soon you holding onto Michael during beer pong. Then it’s you cuddled up with Ashton laughing during a game of flip cup. It’s at every turn that Calum keeps hitting that wall of you always with someone, always buddied up and he’s fed up. He’s absolutely fed the fuck up. If that’s the game, he can play it too. Especially with a couple vodka shots in him. 

Part of you feels like the point’s been made. You noticed Calum’s particular sour pout after you paired with Michael during the game of beer pong but the hurt, the pain all kept fueling you to add more oxygen to keep the fire burning. The party’s still in a good swing, but you do have an early morning. You should be able to stick it out for another hour or two.

Your head is floating. The alcohol has caught up and now your bladder is pressing against every other organ. Waiting outside the bathroom, you drop your head into the wall, arms wrapping around your waist. You know you shouldn’t pee now. If you do you’ll have to pee another four times before you leave. 

There’s a soft moan followed by the smack of kissing. You figure it’s probably no one you really know and let the couple go on. All you need is for the person in the bathroom to finish before you witness a heavy petting. Another moan tickles your ear, deeper this time and something goes off in your head. You know that moan, only briefly though. Lazily turning your head, keeping it against the wall, you spot Calum. His mouth sealed around some other girl and his hands kneading at her waist. 

There’s a gasp, you’re not sure if it’s yours and the girls. 

Then it just hurts. All of this game playing and for what? All you wanted was for Calum to choose you and it seemed more than stupid now to have tried to keep pressing all his buttons. All you did was just make it easier for him to fall back into someone’s else arms. 

You try not to brush into Calum in your hurried passing. You suppress the urge to dig your nails into his lower back, just like you know he likes it. One hand covering your mouth, you see the tears watering your vision. Just keep the sob down, that’s all you have to do. Just keep from sobbing right here in front of him about him. 

Then it happens, in the rush to get around and dodge the incoming people, you feel the soft brush of his leather jacket over your arm. “S-sorry,” you barely get out, covering your mouth again. 

It’s cold as you step out, purse barely on your shoulder. “That was so stupid,” you reprimand to yourself. Your eyes can barely focus on the screen as you try to tap onto the black icon of the app. 

“Look what happened,” you cry into the sky. “I’m such a fucking idiot. And a broken-hearted one at that.”

“That’s hell a combo.” The voice is a little rough but you know the shakes to the deep timbre. 

“Fuck off, Cal.”

“Surprise you still remember my name.”

You keep staring at the street, keep waiting for the driver to magically appear even though it’s going to be another seven minutes. Your face is tight from the tears starting to dry but there are more threatening to fall. “I’m not in the mood for this shit.”

“You seemed to be in a really good mood earlier.” You know what the remark is referring to; you deserve it. That doesn’t mean that it hurts any less of course. 

“Don’t you have some other girl’s face to suck? Just leave me alone, please?”

Not his smoothest plan, he’ll admit. He exhales, glancing down to the screen of your phone. Five minutes. “Let me catch a ride with you. So we can talk.”

You’re intrigued. But is it even worth it? Is it worth this stupid fucking game you keep playing with him where the only thing you’ve ever won is pain? “You really don’t know how to take no for answer, do you?”

Calum can hear the shakes in your voice. Clearly, you’re not in the mood to talk. He’s not going to risk seeming like an asshole even if in some twisted way he means it well. “Alright, alright, fine.” 

He throws his hands up and starts back up the hill of the driveway to the house. But he lingers, watching as you step into the back of the car and waits until it pulls off. He pulls out his phone. At least let me know when you get home so I know you’re safe. 

You see as the message comes in, reading it quickly. God, why did he have to be such a mixed signal? Why did he have to care even an ounce about you? Your head finds its way into your hands and you’re sniffling hard. God, the snot it running. The driver probably thinks you’re sloppy drunk or an emotional mess. 

The party dies not too long after you leave, another hour left in most people before more Uber’s line up to take groups home in waves. Calum agrees to crash with Ashton and help clean up. When he finally checks his phone, nearing too early to still call it night, he spies a text. 

Am home. 

-H

[wwoww-au]

Shadow

Dark sat in one of the chairs outside of Abe’s office, nervously wringing their cane. They didn’t know why the department head had called them in for a meeting, but it had to be serious. They only ever stopped into his office for things in regard to the Warfstache case, and with the trail running cold they were anxious to get back to their own work. 

“Oh great, it’s you.”

The sound of Mare’s voice made Dark’s head snap up.

“I could say the same thing,” Dark huffed. “Abe called you here too?”

“No, we meet every Tuesday for tea and biscuits,” Mare snarked. He grabbed the chair next to Dark and placed it farther down the wall before sitting down. A moment later he pulled out a cell phone and began typing quickly.

Good. Dark didn’t want to talk to him, either.

What felt like several minutes passed before the door to Abe’s office opened. Their boss smiled tensely at both detectives as they stood almost simultaneously.

“Sorry you had to wait,” Abe said politely, holding the door open.

“It’s fi—”

Dark was cut off by Mare shoving past them, almost pushing them back into their chair. “Whatever,” Mare grumbled. “This better be good. I’ve got a lead waiting for me in my office.”

Abe smiled apologetically at Dark as they both followed Mare into the office. The department head let the two detectives take their seats in front of his desk before closing the door and taking his own.

"I take it you two are wondering why I called you here," said Abe, shuffling a few files lying on his desk. "Dark, the Wizard Committee has had growing concerns over your lack of success when it comes to the Warfstache case. So they've come to the decision to-"

"Oh, I know where this is going," Mare cut in with a smug grin. "The Committee's finally come to their senses and transferred the case over to me."

"No, that's not it." Abe sighed as if he was bracing for something. "Dark, the Committee thinks it's best if you get more experience in the field. You will be shadowing Mare for a day, starting tomorrow."

"What?!" both detectives cried out at the same time.

"I am not spending the day with him!" Dark protested through gritted teeth. "I don't need more experience. Abe, please."

"You can't do this!" Mare slammed his hands on the desk.

"I'm sorry." Abe rubbed his temples. "I know you don't like each other, but it's out of my hands. The Committee wants Dark to learn from our best detective, and that's you, Mare. So can you two please just try and get along for one day?"

"Fine." Mare glared at Dark. "But you better not get in the way." With that, he stormed out of the office, loudly slamming the door behind him. For a moment, it was silent in the office.

"This is going to be awful," Dark groaned. Why couldn’t the Committee have stuck them with some other detective? Mare already made things miserable for Dark. He was sure to be even worse when they were forced to work together for a whole day.

"I know. I really am sorry,” Abe said. “I wish there was something I could do. Just-- just let me know if anything goes wrong.” He gave Dark another apologetic look.

.

.

.

The next day, Dark stood outside of Mare's office. They took a moment to collect themself before knocking on the door.

"It's open," Mare called from inside. Dark took one step into the office before something small and white darted in front of their legs, making them stumble over.

Mare jumped up from behind his desk, running over. "Oh my wizard god, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dark grumbled.

"What? I wasn't talking to you." Mare bent over and picked up the small creature, a little white fox. One of its legs was wrapped in a pink cast. He cuddled it to his chest and spoke in a high pitched voice. "Are you okay, Mangle? Did the mean person hurt you?"

Dark stared in disbelief. "Why the hell do you have a fox in your office?"

Mare simply ignored Dark, continuing to coo over Mangle as he walked over to a large plush pet bed in the back left corner of the room. He gently placed the fox in the bed, quietly humming and stroking its head until it relaxed into the soft cushion.

“Her name is Mangle,” Mare finally answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “She usually stays at home, but she sprained her paw last week, so I’ve been watching her here. I doubt Abe would be willing to let me take time off to watch her at home.” He scoffed after his final remark before glancing back down at Mangle. His gaze softened for a moment.

“I’m sorry, you have a pet fox?” Dark asked incredulously. They hardly saw Mare as the kind of person to care for anything, much less an animal.

Mare’s gaze hardened again as he made eye contact with Dark. “Yeah, but that’s not why we’re here.” He gave Mangle one last pat on the head before walking back to his desk. He picked up a thin file and tossed it at Dark. They barely managed to catch it before Mare was pushing past them out the door.

Mare stormed down the hallways of the Crime Department, leaving Dark to jog after him and read the file. "'Zachary Calls'," they read out loud. "'Mundane magician who became a wizard after making a deal with-' huh, the name's crossed out. 'Corrupted, approach with caution'. Poor guy." 

"He made his choice," Mare spat. "It was his decision to mess with magic, and now he's paying the price. Why do you care?"

Dark silently closed the file. "No reason."

Mare pushed the doors of the Department building open, but only enough for him to slide through, letting the doors close directly in Dark’s face. Dark pushed against the doors, but they only budged slightly. They could just see Mare on the other side, leaning his back against the doors, and keeping Dark inside.

“Come on, Mare,” Dark huffed, leaning heavily against the door. “Just let me out and stop wasting time.” Mare only laughed in response.

Alright. If that was the game Mare was going to play, then so be it.

Dark took several steps away from the doors, then ran towards them at full tilt, leading with their shoulder. If Mare wasn’t going to move, they’d make him.

However, instead of being met with resistance as they had before, the doors now opened easily, and Dark was unable to slow their trajectory as they flew out the Department doors and went tumbling down the few stone steps. They lay at the bottom of the stairs, seething and sore, while somewhere above them, Mare continued to laugh.

"Alright, get up," he managed between laughs. "You're wasting time."

Mare didn’t wait for Dark as they hurried to pick up their cane and the papers that had flown out of the case file. They were about to stuff the last piece of paper back into the file when they noticed something they hadn’t before. They pulled the paper back out and read it over as they walked to where Mare’s car was parked. Most of the information was redacted, but it appeared to be a criminal profile. There was only one line Dark could actually read.

“‘Extremely dangerous. Do not approach,’” they read aloud. They looked over the photo in the top right of the page. A blurry hand rested on a long black cane with a clear orb on top, clasped by two clawed fingers.

“You ready to go yet?” Mare asked, leaning out the drivers’ window of his car. “Or do you need me to open the car door for you too?”

Dark considered answering yes, but decided that that would only make things worse. They moved to open the passenger door when they heard Mare shout, causing them to yank their hand away from the handle.

“I didn’t say you could sit up front, rookie,” Mare snapped. “Babies sit in the back of the car.”

“I’m not a baby,” Dark grumbled bitterly, opening the back door and sliding into their seat.

“Please, you’re hardly thirty,” Mare laughed. “You’re barely an adult.”

“Yeah, well, how old are you?” Dark countered. Mare had to be younger than them, at least by a couple years. He looked like he could be a college student.

“One hundred and seventy-four,” Mare answered smugly. “Older than you.”

Dark huffed and slid down their seat as far as they could. Some people’s ages were just impossible to guess, as their bodies generally slowed down aging in their twenties to thirties. Someone could look 25 and be nearly 200. A wizard in their 300s would hardly look older than 40.

Dark boredly picked strands of white fur off of the seat next to them as Mare drove. A couple minutes into the drive, Mare slid a rock CD into the car stereo. They didn’t pay much attention to the words, but the more they listened, the more familiar the voice sounded.

“Did you sing this?” Dark asked, sitting up slightly.

“Yeah, dumbass,” Mare answered, glancing back in the rearview mirror. “Did you forget I’m a music wizard?”

“No, I just-- never mind,” Dark mumbled, leaning back again. Between hunting down Warfstache and studying magic, they hardly knew any of their coworkers. They were sure they’d been told at one point Mare’s specialty, and they’d heard music coming from his office countless times, but they’d never bothered to really listen. It was, admittedly, rather good. Not that they’d tell Mare that. He’d just find some way to mock them for it.

“Hey, I said we’re here,” Mare barked, startling Dark into sitting up. “Are you always this absentminded? No wonder you haven’t caught Warfstache yet.”

“That’s not-” Dark’s retort was cut off by Mare’s door slamming shut.

Dark stepped out of the car, gripping their cane tightly as a cold wind rushed past.

The apartment was obviously not well maintained. Ivy crept up the sides, covering almost the whole bottom half of the building. Paint was chipping off in multiple places, revealing the crumbling brick underneath. The bushes in front of the apartment were unmaintained and threatened to overtake the sidewalk. The windows were barred, like some kind of old prison, and a few of them were cracked.

Dark ascended the steps carefully, sure that the stone would crumble under their feet at any second. The rusted railing didn’t bolster their confidence much either. The wooden door was clearly rotting, and creaked painfully loudly as Mare pushed it open.

Mare was glaring back at Dark, opening his mouth to talk when something fell upstairs, making a loud crash. Mare’s microphone was in his hand in an instant, wire crackling with navy blue energy.

“He knows we’re here,” Mare muttered, glaring at Dark as if it was their fault. “Wait here. Cut him off if he tries to escape.”

The gravity in Mare’s voice shocked Dark, and they only nodded in response, backing up against the door with their cane in both hands. A door slammed upstairs, making Mare and Dark both look up.

“If you screw this up,” Mare threatened, glaring back down at Dark, “they’re not gonna find a body to hand the pink slip to.”

Not waiting for a response, Mare left Dark standing at the door, quietly scaling the stairs himself. Dark listened anxiously, wringing their cane in their hands. They froze when they heard another door slam, and after a moment’s hesitation, ran up the stairs.

Mare was cursing at a door as he ran his hands over it, his blue energy mixing slightly with the sickly shade of orange magically covering the door. His eyes landed on Dark, and his face twisted into a scowl.

“What is that?” Dark asked, glancing at the door.

“It’s a door, dipshit.”

“No, I-- the stuff covering the door.”

“Glitch magic,” Mare answered, taking a step away from the door. “A lot of Mundanes-turned-wizards get it. Usually when they mess with a core type that isn’t theirs.” He spat at the bottom of the door. “It’s disgusting.”

Dark shuffled uncomfortably on their feet. “Can I see?”

Mare huffed and stepped farther away from the door. “Be my guest.”

Dark took Mare’s place in front of the door and began running their hands over it, as they had seen him do. It felt like static electricity against their palms. When they tried to grab the doorknob, it felt hot, like there was a fire on the other side. They pulled their hand away as quickly as possible, but it still came away red.

"Alright, move aside, Dark," Mare spat, taking his microphone off of his belt again. "I'm gonna break down the door." 

"Wait," Dark said, holding a hand out in front of the other man. "Let me talk to him first." 

Mare stared at them before rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

Dark turned to the door and spoke gently, "Hey, Zachary, right? Look, I understand how you feel right now. Finding out magic exists, and then the next thing you know you have powers you can't control and you're lost in a world that doesn't make sense anymore. It's overwhelming. I’m-- we’re gonna help you, okay? You just gotta let us in. It’s gonna be okay. Just take the lock off the door.”

Almost instantly, the glitch magic covering the door faded. The door opened slightly.

“You’re really gonna help me?” a shaky voice asked quietly, barely loud enough for Dark to hear.

“Promise,” Dark said gently.

The door finally opened all the way.

Standing on the opposite side of the door was Zachary Calls. He looked as terrified as he’d sounded, eyes wide, soot-covered hands holding tightly onto a Mundane magician’s wand. His black hair was messy, clearly having gone a while without being washed. Going along with the wand in his hand, Zachary’s outfit appeared to be that of a Mundane magician’s as well. The black suit and cape were clearly dirty, and the edge of the cape appeared to be slightly burnt.

He gave Dark a slight smile, dark brown eyes lighting up, and stepped across the threshold.

“Thank y--” Zachary’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed forwards into Dark’s arms. They froze briefly before swinging their head to look at Mare.

The music wizard swung his microphone confidently as the last of the spell he’d cast faded into its wire.

“Good job, Dark,” Mare said, clapping a hand on their shoulder. “Maybe you’re not completely useless after all.”

Dark sputtered with rage as they adjusted Zachary’s unconscious form in their arms. “Y-you-- why I-- you didn’t have to do that!” They shrugged Mare’s hand off of their shoulder and glared up at him. “He was going to come along peacefully!”

Mare snorted. “They always start out that way,” he began, shaking his head condescendingly. “Trust me, if I hadn’t knocked him out, he would have exploded at us halfway down the stairs and run off. Corrupted wizards are dangerous creatures, Dark. You should learn that now, before it gets you hurt.”

Dark was still fuming as they followed Mare back outside, still carrying Zachary in their arms. He looked almost peaceful, and Dark felt a pang of guilt as they gently buckled him in, opting to sit in the back and keep a careful eye on him than deal with Mare in the front. It was their fault now. They’d promised to help him, and then as soon as he’d let them in, Mare had ruined everything.

Once the car started moving, Dark kept their attention to Zachary. At one point in the ride Mare made a violent turn around a corner, causing the magician's unconscious form to slump over into Dark's lap. They ended up just leaving him there; it was easier than constantly having to prop him up against the door. 

Eventually the car abruptly stopped. Dark looked up from Zachary to see a rundown warehouse looming above them just outside the window. Peeling grey paint, several shattered windows, and a door locked with rusted chains made it apparent it had been abandoned for decades.

"This isn't the Department," Dark said cautiously.

"That's the first decent observation you've made all day," Mare huffed as he got out of his car and walked to the back. "Now, if you would please stop cuddling with the criminal." He yanked Zachary from the car, dragging him to his feet as he just barely began to stir from unconsciousness. He shoved him forward, practically dragging him into the warehouse. Dark jumped out of the car to follow, a white-knuckled grip on their cane. Mare continued to pull the criminal around the side of the building and through a small opening where the wooden wall had rotted away. 

The warehouse was dark, with the only light source being a few beams of sunlight spilling through high windows illuminating all the dust in the air. Besides some scattered debris on the floor, the only things in the expansive room were a metal chair, and few coils of rope lying beneath it. Countless scratches and burns marked the concrete floor around the chair. 

"Mare, what the hell is going on?" Dark's voice echoed throughout the room. Mare simply ignored them, unceremoniously dumping Zachary into the metal chair. The detective slipped a gag around Zachary’s mouth, then picked up the ropes and set to work tying down each of the corrupted wizard’s limbs, so tight the ropes visibly dug into his flesh. Zachary cried out weakly, fully woken up by the pain. His eyes searched the room with panic.

Dark flinched as Zachary’s eyes landed on them, and the fear in his eyes was replaced by betrayal. Before they could try to convey their sincere apology, Mare stepped between them, facing Zachary. Dark only saw a flash of movement and flinched again as they heard the sound of Mare’s backhand connecting with Zachary’s face. They wanted to do something, but something made them hesitate, take a step back instead of forwards. Maybe it would be best if they just left. They could run back to the Department, tell Abe what was happening, get help--

Dark yelped as something wrapped around their wrist, shocking them slightly. They looked down at the wire leading away from their wrist, following it to Mare’s microphone.

“Don’t think you’re leaving,” Mare ordered, pulling the microphone cord and forcing Dark forward. “You’re still shadowing me, remember?”

Dark resisted the urge to fight back, and instead sat down in another chair Mare had pulled out of somewhere. They were several feet from where Zachary sat, tears streaming down his face already. Dark wanted to help, they really did, but something about the look in Mare’s eyes, the way his microphone crackled with magical energy, told them that this was probably the worst time to pick a fight with their coworker.

.

Dark recoiled as Mare’s microphone cord whipped against Zachary’s face once again. The corrupted wizard convulsed with pain as his own magic turned against him, setting him briefly ablaze with what looked like multi-colored fire. Mare raised the cord and lashed out again, this time hard enough to slash open Zachary's cheek. Blood leaked out of the wound and began to seep into the gag in his mouth. He turned briefly to look pleadingly at Dark, tears running down his face as he searched for any sort of respite. Dark only turned away, flinching as they heard Mare’s cord crack once more. Tears ran down their own face, guilt twisting a knife into their heart.

Dark didn’t know how much time had passed when the noise suddenly stopped. They felt a presence in front of them and looked up, quickly wiping the tears from their eyes. Mare glared down at them, a disgusted sneer on his face.

“Get up,” he ordered, grabbing Dark by their shoulder and forcing them to their feet. He shoved them forwards, closer to Zachary, who was struggling weakly against his bonds. He stopped as Dark approached, a hopeful look in his eyes.

“Take his item,” Mare snapped, making Dark flinch and Zachary’s eyes go wide.

“Why can’t you do it?” Dark asked, not taking their eyes off of Zachary. Maybe they could get him free. They could get him out of this awful place.

“I’m not touching him,” came Mare’s answer. “Oh, and don’t try anything. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for another criminal running off, would you?”

Dark held back a sharp comeback as they stepped closer to Zachary. The old black and white wand was stuck in between some of the ropes, likely so Zachary could use all of his power to torture himself. Dark gave the corrupted wizard an apologetic look as they took it. They tried their best to ignore his muffled pleas as they passed the wand to Mare. They began to walk back to their chair, when a hand grabbed their arm, holding them back.

“Stay here,” Mare commanded, a dangerous smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I want you to watch this up close.”

“Watch what?” Dark chanced, eyes flitting down to the wand held tightly in Mare’s hand.

Mare took a few steps away and placed the wand on the ground at his feet, pointing it directly at Zachary. “You know, they say the worst pain a wizard can go through is having their item destroyed,” Mare said, stepping back from the wand. “Unfortunately, that requires several wizards, and I don’t have that. However, the second worst pain is having their item damaged.” Mare grinned, and Dark’s heart skipped a beat as they realized what was happening. “That I can do.”

Mare held his microphone up to his mouth, the entire cord lighting up as he began to sing, starting out low, building up higher and louder as he carried the note. The wand in the middle of the floor began to spark and smoke. The light glistened off the sweat trailing down the side of Mare’s face. This was clearly taking a lot of effort, yet the note held strong.

Dark turned to face Zachary as they heard the sound of gagged screaming begin again. He thrashed against his bonds, eyes rolled halfway up his skull. Every muscle was taut, but still powerless against the ropes holding them. The chair threatened to tip over several times.

Dark could only watch.

They were frozen, watching someone suffer in front of them, powerless to do anything. Powerless. They were powerless again. They could only watch. Bad memories threatened to surface. This was all too familiar. This was--

The note ended, and Dark was startled out of their thoughts by the sudden silence. The only noise in the room was the heavy breathing coming from both Mare and Zachary.

Mare’s breathing steadied as he walked back to the wand. He glared down at it for a second before kicking it away. Dark could hear it clatter against some distant wall in the darkness.

Zachary slumped over in the chair, barely clinging to consciousness. His muffled breathing the only noise in the room. Dark stumbled backwards and stood in stunned silence, too terrified to make a sound.

"So disappointing." A man's voice cut through the quiet. Zachary's head whipped up, looking more frightened at the new arrival than he did at his captors. Both detectives turned around towards the voice.

He stood in the middle of the room. There had been no footsteps, no rustle of debris to alert his arrival. It was as if he had simply appeared from thin air. His face was mostly hidden in the shadow of his hat, but anyone could see the scale-like scars across the side of his face and neck. He dressed like a businessman, and held tight onto the cane in his right hand. Pink smoke swirled within the glass orb that sat on top of it.

"I saw some real potential in you. But you know what the contract says about being caught..." the man said, his smooth voice sending ice through Dark’s veins. Zachary thrashed against his bonds with suddenly renewed energy, crying out desperately from behind the gag. His body was ablaze with flames trying to break free. "I really am sorry, kid."

The man tapped his cane against the concrete floor. The sound reverberated louder than should've been possible. The pink smoke from inside the orb burst out, long tendrils of it reaching out towards Zachary, whose screams rose until they were clearly audible behind the gag.

All was quiet. Zachary sat perfectly still, unblinking eyes staring forward. The smoke retreated back to the glass orb on the cane, carrying a flickering ball of yellow-orange light. The stranger lifted his cane to get a better look at the orb on top, an almost remorseful smile on his face. "Such a shame. He was one of my favorites."

"Phantom," Mare spat the name in disgust, stalking towards the man. "I should've known you’d show up eventually."

"Ah, Nate, so nice to see you. I see you're still as big a nuisance as ever." Phantom looked uninterested, not even bothering to look at Mare. He shifted his gaze to Dark, who only stared in horror at Zachary's still form. "Oh look, you brought a friend. I didn't think you had any of those."

"First of all, they're not my friend--"

"So you admit you have no friends?"

"What the hell is going on?" Dark cut in. "Who is this guy? Did he just-- did he take his soul?"

"Stay out of this, Dark!" Mare snapped.

"Be civil for once in your life, little brother. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Phantom." He gave a slight bow. "And to answer your question, yes. I did take his soul. A fair exchange, you see I was the one who gave poor Zachary his magic. A simple contract, allowing Zachary perform magic, and giving me the rights to his soul. Of course, dear Zachary was only one of my contractees. I’ve made many soul contracts in my career."

Dark sputtered, unable to say anything besides "Brother?"

"I know. It's unfortunate, isn't it?" Phantom shook his head. "He's so immature, always throwing a tantrum when things don't go his way. And having a brother so high up in the Crime Department is just so inconvenient, especially in my trade."

"At least it's better than having a dirty, soul-stealing criminal for a brother," Mare said through gritted teeth. The wire in his hand began to spark to life with blue energy. 

"Losing your temper already? Show some restraint; we're trying to have a civil conversation here," Phantom tutted. He took a few steps towards Dark, his intense gaze almost enough to make them back away. "Where were we? Oh yes, my brother here can be so insufferable, though I'm sure you know that already. But enough about me; Dark, was it? It's a pleasure to meet you." He held his hand out, a surface-warm smile on his face.

Dark eyed his hand with suspicion. After his talk of soul contracts, they were apprehensive to take anything he offered, even if it was just a handshake. "I can't say the feeling is mutual," they said, folding their arms.

Phantom frowned, placing his hand onto his cane. "Very well. I can respect your judgement. You're definitely more perceptive than most of the Committee's pitiful members. If you weren't so obviously attached to their contrived rules, I might even offer you a job--"

"That's enough," Mare said. The wire in his hand crackled violently, bright blue bolts of magic sparking of its surface. "If you don't leave right now, I swear I'll cut you to pieces and feed you to my fox!"

"Not now, Nate," Phantom brushed off the threat. "The grownups are talking."

That was enough to set Mare off. In a flash he whipped out the cord, catching Phantom by the ankle and pulling hard. He hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Hmph. I don't have time for this," Phantom sneered, slamming his cane down. In an instant the room filled with inky black smoke.

"Phantom!" Dark heard Mare cry out, though they thought the word sounded much more terrified than angry.

Dark felt a heavy tug at the back of their coat, dragging them back into the smoke in an instant. They were thrown down onto the concrete, the impact enough to knock the wind out of them. They blindly threw out a wild mass of sparking red magic before a heavy boot came down on their chest, locking them to the ground.

"I only have so much time until my idiotic brother finds me, so I'll make this quick," Phantom's voice said, his towering figure briefly illuminated as he idly dodged another of Dark's magical attacks. "Here's some advice. Learn to control those powers of yours soon, or you'll be in that chair next." A cloud of red smoke completely enveloped him, and suddenly the weight on their chest was gone. 

The smoke blanketing the room cleared. Dark began slowly pushing their aching body off the floor, when they were yanked up to their feet by the front of their shirt, pulled face to face with a fuming Mare.

"Where did he go?" Mare was visibly shaking, and his eyes darted around the room.

Phantom's words echoed in Dark's ears, sending shivers down their spine. They cleared their throat, keeping their voice steady. "I have no idea. I got knocked down and then the smoke cleared."

"Of course." Mare let them go with a shove. He turned his attention to Zachary, who still stared forward with unseeing eyes. He scowled before turning his back on Dark. "Should've expected he wouldn't stick around for a decent fight. He's a coward, hiding behind his stupid contracts." 

The two stood in silence. Dark shifted their gaze from Zachary to Mare, who was still shaking. The taller detective lifted his hand to his face, apparently wiping his eyes on the edge of his sleeve.

Dark hesitated.

“Mare,” they asked finally, causing him to jump, “are-- are you okay?”

“Go back to the car,” was Mare’s only response, though the usual malice in his voice was almost entirely gone. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

“What about Zacha--”

“I’ll bring him,” Mare interrupted, voice tight. “Just go.”

Dark nodded before turning on their heels and walking quickly out of the old building. Mare’s car was locked, so they resigned to sitting on the curb to wait. It was only a few minutes before they saw Mare leave the building, carrying Zachary over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. He didn’t acknowledge Dark as he approached the car, opening the side door and setting Zachary inside with surprising gentleness. Mare only grunted at Dark before getting in the car himself. Dark quickly followed, barely getting their seatbelt on before Mare slammed on the gas pedal and the car began rocketing down the street.

Dark held tightly onto whatever they could as Mare sped recklessly in the direction of the Crime Department. They tried not to scream as the car ran a few red lights and nearly caused several accidents. They were sure that they blacked out from pure shock, because the next thing they knew, Mare’s car was screeching to a halt in front of the Department, throwing Dark and Zachary forward, only stopped by their seatbelts.

The crowd of departing employees parted smoothly around Mare as he carried Zachary up the steps, Dark trailing closely behind. They didn’t realize how long they’d been gone. They’d left with Mare almost as soon as they’d gotten to work, and now it was time for the last wave of employees to go home. Dark glanced behind them to watch the last few employees leave before following Mare up the stairs to Abe’s office.

Abe met them at the top of the stairs, a look on his face that said he had known this was going to happen, but had been hoping it wouldn’t. He gave them both a sympathetic look before retreating back into his office, gesturing for them to follow. Dark stayed slightly behind Mare, letting him enter with Zachary before entering themself. There was a tense silence in the room before Mare spoke.

“Phantom came,” Mare huffed, sliding Zachary off of his shoulders and laying him down on the ground in front of Abe.

“Are you--” Abe began, but a look from Mare stopped him.

“I’m fine, Abe,” Mare said, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring down at the floor.

Abe frowned. “Are you sure? Jackie’s still here if you need--”

“I said I’m fine,” Mare growled.

“Alright,” Abe said, letting out a resigned sigh. “Your report, then?”

Mare looked up quickly. “Right now?”

Abe nodded.

Mare shrugged. “Fine. We found the Corrupted holed up in some abandoned apartments towards the edge of the city. Dark assisted in coaxing him out of hiding so I could--”

“So you could knock him out, unnecessarily,” Dark grumbled under their breath.

Mare turned to glare at Dark. “I told you, he would have attacked us if I hadn’t.”

“You don’t know that!” Dark snapped. “He was just scared. He needed help, not-- not you!”

“Oh, so you could have taken care of him all by yourself, is that what you’re saying?” Mare asked incredulously. “You? Who can’t even catch one time thief?”

“Yeah, I could have,” Dark argued.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“You could have, if you’d just let me--”

“That’s enough,” Abe snapped, “both of you. Dark, please don’t interrupt again. Mare, continue your report.”

Dark grumbled and glared at the floor, trying to ignore the smug look Mare gave them.

“As I was saying,” Mare continued, “before I was so rudely interrupted, I apprehended the Corrupted and brought him to an undisclosed location for questioning.”

“That was questioning?!” Dark asked, mouth agape with shock and disbelief. “That’s what you call that? You seriously expect Abe--” Dark stopped and looked over to the Department Head. “Abe, you-- he didn’t question Zachary at all! That-- that was tor--”

“Dark, I told you not to interrupt again,” Abe said firmly, cutting Dark off. Dark met his eyes with a look of betrayal. “Let Mare finish. We can talk afterwards.”

Dark sputtered, looking frantically back and forth between Abe, Mare, and Zachary. “Fine,” they said eventually, a pang of hurt jabbing them in the chest.

“Phantom arrived before I was able to finish,” Mare said, his voice tightening. “He took the Corrupted’s soul before filling the room with darkness and vanishing.” Mare started shaking again, staring down at Zachary. “That’s all.”

Abe nodded. “Thank you, Mare.” He leaned forward and whispered something in Mare’s ear. The detective nodded just slightly, and then walked quickly out of the room.

Abe let out a tired sigh and leaned back on his desk. “All right, Dark,” Abe said patiently. “Let it out.”

"Do you know?" Dark's voice shook, it was clear they were barely holding back tears. "Do you know what he does to the people he takes in for 'questioning'?" 

Abe hesitated. "Yes. I know it's awful, I would make him stop if I could, but you know how the Committee is. They don’t care about the means, just the results."

"I don't give a damn about the Committee! Mare tortured him, Abe! He wasn't some selfish criminal, he was a kid! He didn't deserve to be tortured just because Mare has some grudge against his brother!" They took a breath in an attempt to steady their voice. "He was so scared. He didn't know what was happening he just-- it reminded me of--" That was enough to set them off. The emotion building up over the course of this hellish day had finally spilled over, and all they could do was sob. 

Abe immediately moved around the desk to comfort his friend. Dark held a hand out before he could reach them, taking a breath to gain their composure. They ran a hand through their hair and sighed. "Don't you ever make me spend the day with him again." They wiped their face with the sleeve of their coat before turning to leave the room, mumbling a half-hearted goodbye to Abe. They gave one final solemn look down at Zachary's lifeless form before leaving the cluttered office.

Dark quickly walked down the hallway, wanting nothing more than to go home and collect their thoughts. They passed the closed doors of the offices of their fellow detectives, picking up the pace when they passed Mare's. As soon as they reached the stairs at the end of the hall, they heard one of the doors open.

"Dark." They turned around to see Mare standing in the doorway of his office, Mangle trotting up to sit at his feet. 

"What do you want?" Dark muttered. "Haven’t you done enough to make today a living hell for me?" 

"I just wanted to tell you that even though this whole shadowing thing was ridiculous, I hope you learned something."

"What?" 

"Yeah, maybe after today you can finally stop being so damn soft and actually catch Warfstache next time you find him."

Dark was taken aback by Mare's blunt words. They stared at him in disgust for a moment before simply saying, "The only thing I learned today is that you're a monster." They turned back and began walking down the stairs.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mare sputtered. "I'm not a monster, I'm doing what's right!"

"Tell that to Zachary." Dark didn't even bother to turn around.

“Bastard had it coming,” Mare spat. “It was his choice to sign Phantom’s contract and Ascend. He should have known what the consequences would be, or he should have just been smart enough in the first place to see what he was really being offered. Ascension’s a one way trip to corruption, Dark. He got the punishment he deserved.”

Dark froze, unable to speak or move forward.

“Now keep walking before I push you down the stairs,” Mare snapped, now right behind Dark.

Well aware the threat was completely serious, Dark forced themself to move forward, almost sprinting to the door when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Mare’s words stuck in Dark’s head the whole way back to their apartment. The image of Zachary’s limp body lingered just behind their eyelids. Phantom’s warning lurked in the back of their mind. They wouldn’t rest easy tonight.

[tiaragqueen]

Hello there! Could you write an obsessive yandere jungkook (who has an oppa kink) stalking his mechanic crush (that’s younger than him) and wondering what she keeps her so busy whenever he asks to hang out with her and come to find out, she turns out to be a yandere too after placing tracking devices in the majority of his posessions? This doesn’t make any sense tbh T^T

Hidden Blessing

✂ Pairing: Yandere! Jeon Jeongguk x Yandere! Reader

✂ Word Count: 1,7k+

✂ Trigger Warning: Obsessiveness, toxic relationship, stalking, reader being a yandere for the first time

✂ This story is fictional and for amusement only. I don’t believe any of the members would do this in real life. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day!

Donot re-upload my writing to another website or use it without mypermission.

[Edited]

***

Yandere reader, huh? I’ve certainly never tried this before, but I do think about it once in a while. And also, I don’t know much about mechanical stuffs. So, pardon me if this came out strange and Jungkook wasn’t obsessive enough. I feel a bit tired recently.

If you like mywriting, please support me on ko-fi!

“I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I’d love you to love me. I’m beggin’ you to beg me.” – I Want You To Want Me [Cheap Trick]

[11.25 am] Jungkook: Hi, wanna hang out today? :)

Seen.

[12.10 pm] You: Hey~! Sorry, oppa. I’m busy today. Maybe tomorrow??

Seen.

[12.11 pm] Jungkook: Oh, okay then. Don’t forget to text me, kay? ;)

Seen.

Declined. Again.

Jungkook sucked a breath through his gritted teeth and threw the device in frustration. On to the bed, of course, because he couldn’t afford to break his precious phone. It was the only way he could contact you outside the campus, being a broke college student he was.

It was a hassle, having to text you first just to hang out together. Sometimes he wished he was more than a senior to you – more than someone you occasionally met in a passing – so he could freely visit you anytime he wanted.

But you never thought of him that way, did you?

Sighing, Jungkook plopped on the edge of the bed and rested his forehead against his palms. The urge to ‘claim’ you had never been this strong ever since you started declining his invitations. Jungkook didn’t understand what went on in your life until you couldn’t possibly spare an hour or so to hang out together. Yeah, everyone had their own businesses to deal with, but surely it wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit more time for him? He never asked much besides your company, and now you were too ‘busy’ to do that.

Or maybe he could come to your apartment and pretended to help you with whatever you were working on…?

No, he shook his head. That would be rude of him to show up in your doorstep unannounced. He should’ve waited a little longer. Didn’t you tell him that you would text him again tomorrow? Well, you didn’t since you only saw his message, but that counted as one right?

God, how did a simple hangout could be this complicated? Why couldn’t you just agree to his fucking invitation? Didn’t you know that he couldn’t be away from you for too long?

Jungkook simpered bitterly. Of course, you didn’t. You were too busy to notice that, anyway.

Well, there was no need to stress himself even more. You already promised him that you would hang out tomorrow, and Jungkook planned on keeping that promise.

Tomorrow…

In less than twenty-four hours, he would be able to be with you. Laughing, chatting, eating, touching. All the affectionate things that only lovers could do.

Lovers, not friends.

Boyfriend, not senior.

Jungkook grinned giddily and rested his head on the pillow. Staring up the plain ceiling, he imagined you laying on top of him with that angelic smile of yours. Your hand stroked his cheek tenderly, [e/c] eyes admiring the dark constellation that scattered around his face as he did yours. Then, after you finished marveling at each other, you would slowly lean down. Jungkook closed his eyes, pressing himself further into the bed.

However, instead of the kiss that would take his breath away or make him see the stars, only cold air greeted his lonely lips.

Fluttering his eyes open, Jungkook sighed in disappointment.

When would the day come until those imaginations materialize right in front of his sight like he always dreamed of?

***

You didn’t text.

Jungkook had waited and waited, since this morning, for the anticipated message. Permission from you. However, even after the hours fleeted to noon, his phone still showed your selfie that he secretly saved as his lock screen a few days ago.

Did you forget about your promise? Did you forget about him already? No, you didn’t. You must be doing something and you probably were waiting for the right time to text him.

No, he refused to believe that you forgot about your promise or him. You weren’t that cruel, right?

Then, why did you still haven’t send him a single message? It didn’t matter if it was a curt ‘yes’, Jungkook would still be happy. But apparently, you opted to ignore him instead.

Maybe you didn’t care about him as much as he liked to believe. Maybe it was all just his imagination, yet again. Maybe he had tricked himself into thinking that you cared about him.

Maybe you had been leading him on all along, and he was just too stupid to realize it now.

Gritting his teeth, Jungkook thrashed his room like a madman on the loose. After all the things he had done to gain your attention, after all the money he had spent for you to the point of near poverty, you had the guts to lead him on? What kind of a man did you take him for?!

You were a brave one, he admitted. No, not brave. Bold would be a perfect word to describe your attitude. Jungkook might have fallen head over heels to you, but it didn’t mean he would let himself be made a fool. Especially to some weak, lovely woman.

A glint in the upper corner of his closet caught his attention. It was tiny enough that he would have missed it, but somehow, his senses increased during his mini rampage. Perhaps, it was a sign from the above that his current situation wasn’t a predicament at all. Either way, Jungkook was glad that he noticed that alien thing.

Because he soon discovered that it was, in fact, a camera. And the flickering light indicated that it was on and recording.

Jungkook inspected its shiny appearance, face stony. It seemed brand new, from the looks of it. He was entirely clueless about that fact, but he knew that he should do the thing he had been procrastinating until now.

Cleaning.

Grabbing the cleaning equipment, Jungkook began to clear up the mess that littered around his room whilst searching for other hidden cameras. He found many tracking devices concealed in his bags, hoodies, the back pockets of his pants, and snapbacks. Dark was certainly Jungkook’s favorite color, thus camouflaging those devices that were also dark in color. They were active, as seen from the red lights that flickered intermittently. Aside from that, the stalker must have known that he tended to be careless.

But the question was, who would stalk him? There was nothing remarkable from him. Sure, he had a handsome, boyish face and bunny-like teeth that many people found a charm in. However, he wasn’t the only person who possessed such features. His grades weren’t high enough to attract attention, too. Average enough to pass the tests, yet not enough to be the top-third.

All in all, Jungkook was a normal college student that liked to procrastinate and played video games until late at night. Oh, and a normal guy that had a seemingly unrequited ‘crush’ on his junior.

“I want to be an artisan someday. I just like creating things, you know? Especially electronics devices, such as cameras and the like…”

You. You were his stalker. Oh God, how did this happen? Since when have you been stalking him? He thought you weren’t interested in him. And how did you manage to slip those–

“Glad to know that I’m not the only messy one here, Oppa. Don’t worry, I won’t judge!”

Jungkook’s tensed shoulders slowly slackened as the epiphany dawned on him.

“[Name], I’m gonna go to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Sure! I’ll look around in the meantime. Don’t pee on the floor, ‘kay?”

Happiness erupted within his swelling chest and manifested itself with a smile that became wider in each second. Jungkook didn’t know why he felt this way when he was supposed to be creeped out at the fact that you had stalked him for a month now. But one thing for sure was that his feelings and efforts weren’t waste in vain. In fact, you had been secretly reciprocating them by ‘keeping an eye’ on him.

You had been appointing yourself as his bodyguard, and Jungkook couldn’t be any happier.

What did he do to deserve such an attentive woman like you? He felt like the luckiest guy in the world, even though you both had yet to get married.

But there was no need to rush, now that he knew about your love for him. Jungkook always noticed that despite your playful attitude, you had a difficulty in expressing true feelings. And while he was a little disappointed that he only realized them just a few seconds ago, he understood and appreciated your efforts. Little things were what he cherished the most, although he certainly wouldn’t mind if you showed more forthright and grand gestures.

Whatever suited you better; Jungkook already accepted you as a whole, anyway.

The screen of his phone suddenly lit up, displaying the very name he had been waiting to see. Swiping the green button upwards, he put the phone near his ear. 

“Hello?”

“Oppa! Oh, God. I’m so sorry I forgot to text you!” Your frantic, yet heavenly voice filled his hearing. “I was so busy watching and–”

“I know,” Jungkook beamed, gazing out of the window. The sky was cloudy, and there were already several drops of water against the windowpane. Yet, an inexplicable warmth filled his heart as he listened to your sputtering across the call. “You were watching me, weren’t you?”

“W-what? Of course not! What are you talking about, Oppa?” you tittered and tried to cover up the truth, but Jungkook knew better. Besides, you weren’t very good at lying, anyway.

“Don’t worry, I won’t judge.” He used your own words to see if you were able to catch the hint. “Glad to know that I’m not the only one who works hard here. Thank you, by the way. I was surprised to see that camera inside my closet.”

“Oppa, can we go out?”

You sounded weary, and Jungkook didn’t like it. Not one bit. So, to cheer you up, he decided to say the sentence that you probably wanted him to say.

The three words that he had been yearning to say.

The three words that would change your lives drastically, either for the best or the worst.

For other people, it would certainly be the worst. But for him, it would be best. Because life with you was heaven in itself.

“I love you.”

There was a momentary silence before you replied in a soft voice. The kind of voice whose speaker had already surrendered to their fate, yet couldn’t have it any other way.

Because this was for the better.

“I love you too, Oppa.”

Satisfaction colored the happiness in his smile as he realized that hidden blessings existed in every kind of predicament. He just needed to look deeper and be patient.

For he would reap what he sow.

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation - Chapter 6 Part 4

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

———————————

Chapter 6 - The Bard’s Introduction

Part 4

As Oifey feared, once Sigurd’s army captured Anphony Castle, Augusty Castle deployed their knights to attack Nordion.

The Kingdom of Augusty was famous for its powerful cavalry unit. If the entire unit attacked at once, they would probably capture Nordion. However, Chagall lacked confidence and decisiveness as a military leader. The moment he made up his mind to attack, all the potential ways he could lose came flooding into his mind. In the end, he decided to play it safe and keep the main unit behind, so he could keep a solid defense over Augusty even if he lost to Nordion.

As a result, they were driven away by Sigurd’s infantry unit, which had just returned to Nordion.

-

The moment the battle was over, Beowulf went to Nordion Castle.

He passed through the castle gate, and saw a beautiful young woman with blonde hair dressed as a soldier. She was giving out orders to the Nordionian Army.

‘Seems awful stuck up.’ He thought in response to her behavior and expressions, then asked one of the soldiers, “Who’s she?”

“Princess Lachesis, King Eldigan’s younger sister.”

‘So that’s his little sister, eh?’

He’d gotten a bad impression of Eldigan when he once traveled to Nordion looking for work.

-

While resting alongside the road, he met a group of cavaliers that would occasionally go hunting. The leader was well dressed, rode a white horse, and had perfect posture.

‘He looks like a pretty high-ranking cavalier.’ Beowulf thought.

He asked the knight at the end of the line who they were, and the man said with pride, “That man is our king, His Majesty Eldigan!”

Beowulf mounted his horse, and rode up alongside Eldigan.

“Your Majesty!”

Eldigan stopped his horse and looked at him.

“I am Beowulf, a mercenary. I would like to serve you, if you would please consider hiring me…”

“Sorry, but Nordion has no need for mercenaries. Excuse me.” Eldigan said, and continued on as if nothing had happened.

Beowulf simply watched Eldigan and his men walk away, unable to say anything.

‘That man has everything, and I have nothing.’

But that stark difference between them did not make him jealous, rather, he was relieved to be nothing like Eldigan.

-

After that, Beowulf asked the villagers about Eldigan every chance he had. They were always happy to boast about their king, and also told him about his half-sister, Lachesis, from a different mother. She was a beautiful, refined girl. But the envious villagers also told him that she was a little too close to her brother.

‘And those villagers were right.’ He thought, looking at her from the side.

‘She’s completely different from any girl I’ve ever met before. The difference between them and her is as great as the difference between Eldigan and I.’

Beowulf had very rugged face, which was attractive to women who liked such features. However, next to the princess, he felt ugly by comparison.

Suddenly, he was overcome by an impulse unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

Before he realized what he was doing, he was next to Lachesis.

She stared at him, and seemed to be on edge.

“So this is the princess of Nordion!”

“How rude! And who might you be?”

“Oh, sorry to bother you. I’m a mercenary. Name’s Beowulf.”

“Do you have business with me?”

“Yeah, I just wanna say one thing to you. War is no game. A chick like you would just get in our way! You should behave more like a princess, and stay in the castle.”

“Why you…! You have no right to say such a thing to me! I’ve done a lot for this army!”

“Ha ha ha! You really are Eldigan’s sister. You have a really strong spirit.”

“Huh? ...You know my brother?”

“Yeah, we were acquaintances a long time ago. He asked me to look after you, so that’s why imposed myself on you like that.”

“Oh, I understand now. I’m sorry.” There was nothing arrogant about the way she spoke her words. They were a genuine apology.

“Yeah, me too.” He panicked and thought, ‘What did I say that for!?’ However, he found his next sentence coming out as smooth as ever. “If you want, I can teach you how to fight in your free time. Eldigan would want me to.”

“Yes, Please. If you have something in mind already, we can start right now.”

“Really? Try holding your sword, then.”

If he didn’t know any better, he would have said she wasn’t in a battle stance at all.

“Alright, think of me as an enemy. Attack me.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“You don’t have a sword.”

“That’s fine. Just come at me!”

“Ha!” She put a fair amount of power into her swing, but he was easily able to dodge it.

“Good. Once more!”

“Hii-yah!”

Not even three minutes later, Lachesis was already out of breath.

“Alright, that’s enough for today.”

Lachesis sheathed her sword, then looked at Beowulf with a worried expression.

“That was an amazing first training session.”

Her face lit up at his words.

“But you still lack power. You look like a princess playing a game of fencing. From now on, we’re going to train every day.”

She’d never heard such harsh words before, not even from her brother. But she agreed with him. “Please.”

He could tell by the light in her eyes that she already trusted him.

‘No woman’s ever looked at me like that before. I’d never be able to betray her.’ He thought. ‘I’ll protect your sister while you’re gone, King Eldigan.’

ー

Sigurd gathered together the leaders of his army for a tactics meeting.

To reach Augusty and save Eldigan, they needed to pass through Mackily. And to do that, they would have to capture the castle. The only road to Mackily was a thin one between two plateaus.

However, on the right-side plateau were five ballistae, ready to shoot down anyone who tried to travel down the road. To make matters worse, the villagers told them that King Clement of Mackily was a mage with the ability to wield a Sleep Staff.

Deirdre offered to use her Silence Staff once more, but for her to do that, she had to enter the ballistae’s range.

“The ballistae are dangerous, but their accuracy is poor. If our calvary ambush them, we can minimize the damage done to our army. Several of them might be put to sleep, but I think it’s worth the risk if we can defeat Clement.” Eve, one of the Cross Knights, suggested.

“No, that plan is too risky for me.” Sigurd dissented. “Is there any way we can come close to Mackily Castle without entering the ballistae’s range?”

“It is possible. There’s a mountain path north of Evans. If we climb that, we can pass behind the ballistae. But that would take a week.”

“Yes! Then, we can avoid being seen by them at all! The problem though is the week of travel. Oifey, do you think anything might happen to Eldigan during that time?”

“I asked for information from the Cross Knights, and they said Augusty’s cavalier unit is extremely powerful. The group that attacked Nordion was only a fraction of their full army. However, it also seems that what I’ve heard about Chagall is correct. He is very indecisive. Therefore, I can say with confidence that King Eldigan is safe."

"What makes you say that?"

"If Augusty loses, then he can use Eldigan as leverage to convince us to agree to a cease-fire. He won’t risk losing that option.”

“Of course. Then let’s go with the mountain strategy. It will also allow everyone some time to relax.”

Sigurd put together the small unit that would go with him, entrusted Nordion to Quan, then left for Evans Castle.

-

When they arrived at Evans Castle, they saw a group of pegasi flying towards them from the north.

“What are Silessian pegasus knights doing here?” Sigurd wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Lewyn rushed up to the top of the castle wall.

The pegasus knights shifted into a battle formation, but Lewyn took off his striped bard’s turban, and waved his arms, signaling to the pegasus knights. His bright green hair flowed in the wind.

He recognized their leader. It was Erinys.

When she saw Lewyn’s green hair, she gasped, and ordered her knights to halt the attack. She realized there was a chance the man might be Prince Lewyn, who they’d been sent out to search for.

They approached the castle wall, still cautious, and immediately knew for sure that the man was indeed Lewyn.

Erinys sped up her pegasus and quickly landed on the castle wall.

“Prince Lewyn, you’re safe!”

“Yes, I am. But more importantly, Erinys, why are you here? You even tried to kill me!”

“I apologize. But, you're wearing such strange clothing, that I didn’t think it was you…”

“This? Oh, it’s what a bard wears. What do you think? Looks good on me, huh?”

“U-Um, yes, it does.”

“Hmph! The look on your face says otherwise! Well, whatever. You still haven’t answered my question.”

“N-No, I haven’t. I apologize. Queen Rahna ordered us to go look for you. We went to Augusty Castle, looking for information about you, and King Chagall told us that you’d been captured by the Grannvalian Army, and were being held at Evans Castle…”

“You’re too trusting.”

“Huh?”

“Did you get a good look at his face? Didn’t you notice that he has the face of a liar?”

“Um…”

“It’s great that you’re so honest, but you’d never make it as a commoner. Someone would take advantage of you, and you’d end up like Sylvia…”

“Prince, Lewyn, who is… Sylvia…?”

“Oh, um… nevermind. So what are you going to do now that you’ve found me?”

“We’re going to take you back to Silesse, of course! Please come home with us! Queen Rahna is worried about you!”

“If I go home, then it will only incite civil war! It would do nothing more than make the people suffer. Are you okay with that?”

“But you are Wind God Forseti’s successor...”

“But I don’t have the Holy Mark!”

“You’re lying.”

“How would you know?”

“Because Queen Rahna told me that it might not have appeared when you left the country, but surely it would have by now…”

“So, are you going to undress me and look to see if I have it?”

“Uh… um…”

“I’m joking, I’m joking. I’ll do it. I’ll go home soon. But there’s things I must do here first.”

“Then please let me stay with you. I’ll go tell my knights that you’re safe.”

“I’d tell you not to, but I know you wouldn’t listen. I get it. I’m going to stay with Prince Sigurd for the time being. He’s an interesting man. Plus, his army is full of beautiful women. You should become friends with them! You could teach them a thing or two about how to be a proper lady.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hey, I’m still joking. Isn’t it obvious? Don’t look so scared. Jeez, you’re too serious. ...But, you’re also the cutest woman in the world. So don’t change. You’re perfect the way you are.”

“Y-Yes, You’re Majesty. ...I-I mean, no, I’m not…”

‘She hasn’t changed a bit.’ Lewyn thought at the sight of her blushing face. ‘But she’s grown into a fine woman since I last saw her, physically speaking.’

[aliciameade]

Baby - Ch. 16

Title: Baby Author: aliciameade Rating: *** M *** Pairing: Stephanie Smothers/Emily Nelson Summary:  That tearful kiss shared between Stephanie and Emily wasn't their first—and it certainly wasn't their last.

(Chapter 1)

Also on AO3

(You can buy me a ko-fi if you want to!)

The forged documents Emily procured for everyone before she left town are impeccable.

The TSA officer doesn’t give Alyson Barrett and her sons Devon and Connor a second glance after checking their passports.

Regardless, her heart doesn’t stop pounding. Its reason for pounding changes once the jet leaves the runway, though.

It pounds because she’s on her way to Emily.

~ ~

~ ~

It’s not easy to find her way to the house. Greek is not an intuitive language. There are no Latin roots to help her identify street names or make an attempt at a conversation. She did what she could to teach herself in advance without leaving breadcrumbs. Please. Thank you. Water. Restroom. East/west/north/south. Son. Σας παρακαλούμε. Ευχαριστώ. Νερό. Τουαλέτα. Ανατολή/δυτικά/Βόρειος/Νότος. Υιός.

She hands the taxi driver the address with a smile.

Her knee won’t stop bouncing even when Miles points it out with a laugh. She’s excited. She’s nervous. This is going to be a big change for her, for the boys. It’s a new beginning in every sense of the phrase and it’s almost intimidating to think about: Emily’s waiting for them.

At least, she hopes she’s waiting for them. They haven’t spoken in months. She has no idea if Emily is where they’d planned to meet. She could have run off and started her new life without Stephanie. She might have met someone else. Had second thoughts about everything. Or maybe she’d simply seduced Stephanie to get her to do her bidding and rid her of life’s inconveniences.

The house looks just like it did on the real estate website where Stephanie had found it. It’s the very picture of Greece set into the steep hillside high above the water amongst other homes, white walls and blue roof and a stone staircase leading up to its front door. She’d purchased it under her new name with a small down payment. (She would never be so careless as to drop a few hundred thousand dollars on international property after inheriting millions and before disappearing.)

Alyson Barrett has a very normal, very unsuspecting mortgage that will be paid in due time.

The shutters on the house are open; she notices that from the bottom of the steps, suitcase in hand and Nicky and Miles already racing one another up the stairs. It means someone has at least been in the house. Of course, it could be the seller, or the real estate agent, or a cleaning service.

She’s trying to steel herself for the possibility that Emily hadn’t waited for her. That she’s thrown away her entire life, killed a person, put an innocent man in prison and took his child all for nothing.

She climbs the stairs, chin held high to try to psyche herself up. If Emily sees them coming, she doesn’t want to appear sad or afraid. She’s excited underneath the apprehension and she takes the steps faster as she nears the top.

The door is closed and, she discovers when she tries it, locked.

The boys have already found a soccer ball, probably one that escaped its owner and rolled down the hilly walkways too quickly to be caught, and they’re playing with it in the small courtyard. They’re noisy and it doesn’t seem to earn anyone’s curious attention.

She considers knocking but then decides she shouldn’t knock on the door of her own home. She does, after all, have a key.

She lets herself in and holds her breath. She half-expects Emily to be standing in the foyer, arms open to greet them.

Instead, the house is quiet, dark save for the natural light, and as far as Stephanie can tell...empty.

She sets down her bag and ventures deeper, calling for the boys to come inside. It’s clear the house has been lived in. There are dishes in the sink, a martini glass on the counter, food in the refrigerator and cabinets. She’s scared to go upstairs. Scared of what she might find, or worse, what she might not find in the bedrooms and closets.

She forces herself, though. Up the stairs and into the first room which is furnished with a single bed, dresser, chair, and child’s desk, but otherwise empty. The second, also furnished, also empty. And the third, furnished and empty but also not empty. The bed is only partially made. A book sits on the nightstand of the unmade side. A silk robe drapes over the back of a chair.

She paces through the room in a slow circle. She doesn’t recognize anything in the room until she gets to the robe. She can’t help but run her fingers over the soft fabric as she lifts it.

Emily’s perfume.

Stephanie could and would never forget it and there is no doubting it’s her robe. That Emily was here so very recently.

It makes Stephanie’s heart race again, excitement filling her veins. She drops the robe and hurries through the other rooms to see if Emily is perhaps tucked away in one unaware that anyone else is in the house, though they’re all vacant.

She’s left with jittery excitement and disappointment.

She’ll have to wait until Emily comes home.

~ ~

~ ~

Stephanie busies herself unpacking her meager baggage. She couldn’t clear out her entire house; that’d be far too suspicious. Instead, she brought things like a few of her favorite dresses, photos no one would notice had disappeared, Miles’s baby book, and the Barnard T-shirt that had come to be Emily’s more than her own.

She lets the boys pick which of the two single rooms they want and is relieved they agree on who gets which.

She finds more than enough ingredients to put together a Greek salad for everyone dinner. She knows it’s dumb and Emily would surely roll her eyes at it, but she doesn’t care. She also knows Emily would smile as she did so.

She keeps an attentive ear on the door at all times waiting to hear keys in the lock through dinner and while she puts away what’s left of it.

Settling in a cozy armchair in the living room, she watches Nicky and Miles invent some kind of game where they play together on the floor. They’re going to have to work on remembering to use their new names. To make the trip, Stephanie had told them they were playing pretend. She’s going to have to tell them soon that they have new real names. That she does, too.

It’s quiet. There’s no television, no chiming iPhone, no sounds of passing cars. If she strains, she can hear the sound of music and crashing waves in the distance and laughter and boisterous conversation from another house. It’s quiet and comfortable and the long day’s travel catches up with her until she nods off.

~ ~

~ ~

“Mom? Mom!”

Stephanie startles awake, first panicked by Miles’s outburst, then realizing it’s Nicky’s voice.

She sits up, blinking her eyes to get them to focus and they land on Emily. Her Emily. On her knees in the doorway with her son in her arms. She’s crying in a way Stephanie’s only ever seen her cry once before as she holds him close.

“Emily! You’re here!” Miles shrieks in surprise and runs to join them and all Stephanie can do is watch. Watch as her entire life finally comes home.

“I missed you, little dudes!”

God, how she’s missed that voice.

She knows she’s crying, too, and covers her mouth before the sob escapes. She must not catch it in time because as soon as it does, Emily’s eyes meet hers for the first time in months.

It’s agony to wait one second longer but she’s waited this long; she can wait until Nicky’s had his moment with his mother who’s come back from the dead for him.

When his arms do slip from around her neck, she kisses his cheek and whispers in his ear, then does the same to Miles before standing.

Stephanie stands, too, and rushes forward as soon as Emily steps past the boys.

“Oh, my God,” Stephanie says with a sob as Emily’s arms wrap around her. Her own encircle Emily’s neck and she hugs her as hard as she can.

“Hi, baby.” Emily’s voice is watery, too and Stephanie breathes her in. She’ll never forget what it feels like for Emily to hold her this way, so desperately, so fiercely that she can feel it etching into her very soul to erase all the worry and doubts that had been trying to creep up on her.

But Stephanie pulls back the few inches necessary so she can lift her head and find Emily’s lips waiting for her.

They’re as soft and warm as she remembers them. It feels almost like a first kiss, full of nervous excitement. It feels familiar as ever, though and Stephanie feels herself sink into Emily as much as she feels soaked in by her. It’s slow and safe, a kiss of reconnection and grounding oneself and when they part, Stephanie lets her forehead fall to rest in the hollow of Emily’s throat. She smells the same. Tastes the same. Her skin and hair—several inches shorter than it used to be—have been kissed by the Mediterranean sun and it looks good on her as does the white linen slip of a dress she’s wearing.

“I missed you so much,” Stephanie croaks through a choked sob.

She feels Emily’s hands on her back, stroking aimlessly. Just touching. “I missed you, too.”

Stephanie knows they have so, so much to discuss and catch up on, but it will have to wait until the boys are asleep and they’re alone. So instead, she nods and tries to bury herself more deeply in the embrace.

When Emily suddenly jumps, they both look down to find Miles and Nicky at their feet, each of them hugging one of her legs. Neither of them had questioned their mothers kissing. Stephanie is relieved by that; Miles asking her about it had been stressful. Maybe not hiding it from them normalized it.

“You guys getting jealous?” Emily says with a laugh and Stephanie feels her arms slip away, and it’s okay because Emily’s only reclaiming them so she can rest her hands on their sons.

Nicky nearly climbs her like a tree once he has an arm within reach and she allows it, letting him pull himself up until he’s in her arms. He’s still crying and she kisses him while offering a small smile of what Stephanie assumes to be an apology but there’s no need for that. Nicky should absolutely be her priority and she shakes her head as she reaches for Miles’s hand.

“Come on, Smooch. Let’s get you unpacked, okay?” She offers Emily a smile in return to give her much-needed time alone with her son.

“Okay,” Miles says with a sharp nod.

Stephanie glances back when they’re halfway to the stairs that lead to the bedrooms and her heart aches as much as it swells at the look of relief, love, and happiness on Emily’s face as she speaks quietly to Nicky.

She can’t imagine being separated from Miles as long as Emily tolerated being away from her son. She’ll never be able to repay her for her sacrifice.

In Miles’s new bedroom, the two of them make quick work of unpacking his one small suitcase that contains a few changes of clothes and a handful of his favorite toys. At the bottom of it all, Stephanie finds a large sheet of paper that’s well-worn and folded in half. She’s about to open it when she hears Miles shout, “No!”

“Whoa, excuse me, we don’t yell when we’re indoors,” she admonishes and then gasps in shock when he snatches the paper from her hands. “Miles! Where are your manners?”

“You can’t see it!” he says as he hurriedly shoves the paper under the pillow on his bed as if Stephanie won’t be able to access it there. “It’s a surprise,” he says with his signature pout when he turns back again and she feels bad for snapping. She also vaguely remembers Miles and Emily conspiring about a secret surprise months ago.

“Okay, but we need to remember our inside voice and to not grab things from other people.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” he shrugs and she decides to let it slide.

“All right. Let’s get you ready for bed. Are you sleepy?” They’re seven hours ahead now and while the sun is beginning to set in Santorini, Greece, it’s just past lunchtime in Warfield, Connecticut.

Thankfully, he nods. She’d suspected the travel would wear him out. He didn’t sleep at all on the flight that had them waking up before dawn. He and Nicky were having too much fun to sleep. She helps him change into the Batman pajamas he insisted on bringing and walks with him to the bathroom so he’s sure he knows where it is if he needs it in the middle of the night.

They’re walking back to his room with minty breath and a clean face when she hears Emily’s voice making its way up the stairs. She slows her steps so she can catch a glimpse of her again. It’s still hard to believe any of this is real, that Emily’s in her life again and there’s no more hiding, no more hoping a husband doesn’t come home, no more secrets.

(Well...a few secrets.)

She sees her round the one curve in the staircase, Nicky on her hip and his little suitcase in her other hand. She must have had the same idea that Stephanie’d had to get him set up in his room and they exchange smiles again before Stephanie steps back into Miles’s.

“Okay, buster, let’s test out this new bed,” she says and Miles jumps into it and climbs into the middle like he’s slept in it for years.

“It’s good,” he says with a nod.

“Good.” She sits on the edge of the bed and tucks the covers around him before bending down to kiss his forehead. “I’m going to be just down the hall, okay? I know new houses can feel funny at first. You can come find me if you need to. Or just call for me and I’ll come check on you.”

“I’ll be okay,” he says with a confidence that shouldn’t feel bittersweet. He’ll always be her little boy, but every day he grows up a bit more.

“I know you will be. We’ll talk about our new house in the morning, okay?”

He nods and wiggles further under the sheets to make her chuckle.

“Okay. Goodnight, Smooch.”

“‘Night, Mom.”

She kisses him again, then stands to draw the curtains so the morning light won’t be so bright.

She passes Nicky’s room on her way to her own and pauses in the doorway. Emily’s in bed with Nicky, curled up together talking. Nicky’s oblivious to Stephanie’s presence, too enraptured with his mother to notice, but Emily sees her.

Stephanie expects her to wink but instead, her eyes fill with tears and she blinks quickly to try to stop them and only partially succeeds. She smiles despite them and nods toward the wall, toward what is about to officially be their bedroom and Stephanie understands. Emily will be in soon.

Stephanie freshens up from her travels but doesn’t bother changing. She’ll allow Emily to handle undressing her and there won’t be a need to put clothes back on again until the morning. The thought makes her warm and lightheaded; it’s not as though she’d forgotten that she’d be reuniting with Emily in more ways than one today. She was just so caught up in being in any kind of measurable proximity with her once again that she hadn’t had a chance to think about it.

But now that she’s thought about it, she can’t shake it.

She wants Emily to take as long as she needs to with Nicky, but when she does come to bed…

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Emily’s voice so close behind her makes her jump and then melt into the arms that wrap around her waist where she’s standing aimlessly in the middle of the room.

“You,” she answers simply.

There’s a quiet hum in her ear followed by lips on her cheek, and then she feels Emily unwind from her to take her hand. “Come on; I want to show you something.”

Stephanie follows her, hand-in-hand, out of the bedroom to what Stephanie had envisioned when she was looking at the property as potentially a craft room, or a study, or an office of some kind. It’s still an empty room waiting to be personalized, but it also leads to a small balcony on the sea-facing side of the house.

There’s a chair and a small table there along with an empty wine bottle tucked next to the wall and Stephanie suspects Emily likes to sit and read or whatever it is she’s been doing for the past four months (she can’t wait to hear about it all).

Her thoughts are interrupted when Emily steps to the side to not block Stephanie’s view and when she does, it takes Stephanie’s breath away.

“Oh, wow…” she whispers. The sun hangs low in the sky, casting orange and yellow and pink hues across the sky where they’re mirrored in the ocean. It’s utterly brilliant; she’s never seen anything like it.

It brings tears to her eyes, or maybe that’s caused by Emily moving to hold her from behind to look out over the island and ocean together.

“Beautiful,” Emily whispers in her ear but when lips touch her neck, Stephanie wonders if maybe Emily wasn’t referring to the sunset.

She leans against the railing and sighs. Warmth crawls through her and though she’s painfully desperate, she’s in no rush.

Emily and she have all the time in the world now.

She senses Emily may feel the same; her kisses aren’t hurried or demanding, but they are thoughtful in their placement and pressure. Her hands rest on Stephanie’s waist but they’re not idle. They’re slow and sure as they slip under the edge of Stephanie’s blouse to graze the smooth skin of her abdomen. Warm as she is, she shivers.

“God, I missed you,” Emily mumbles against the curve of Stephanie’s shoulder before biting it playfully.

“Mm, do go on,” Stephanie teases.

Emily’s hands breeze higher under her shirt but stop short of reaching the edge of her bra before they move down again. “I missed the way you feel.”

She smiles to herself and reaches behind her to find the back of Emily’s neck to rest her hand upon. The tickle of a nose grazing her ear makes her bite her lip.

“I missed the way you smell.”

Stephanie’s body is still responding to that when the warmth of a tongue glides up her neck from shoulder to pulse point. It lingers there until breath drifts over her ear.

“I missed the way you taste.”

She can’t stop the moan that escapes her lips at that, especially when Emily’s hands are moving higher again, and she knows they’re not going to stop this time.

“I missed the way you sound,” Emily purrs as her hands frame Stephanie’s breasts over smooth satin. Stephanie arches into the touch and when she does, she feels Emily’s chest pressing into her back. She knows she’s braless; she can feel it.

It’s all she can do not to crumble; the fact that her hips are pinned against the balcony railing by Emily’s is her only savior. She twists her neck to seek out Emily’s wandering lips and they find hers quickly.

It’s a soft kiss at first, a gentle connection. But then Emily’s hands tense in reflex and Stephanie can’t hold back anymore. She parts her lips to capture Emily’s, not just touch them. She hears Emily react, a quick inhale before she returns the instant passion in kind. The hands that were so recently content to graze and hold now grab and squeeze and the only reason Stephanie’s tongue isn’t in Emily’s mouth is that Emily’s is in hers.

She whines against it, trapped as she is with a limited range of motion. When their lips part solely so Emily’s teeth can nip at her neck, Stephanie breathes, “Take me to bed.”

There’s no stumbling backward blind shuffle through the room and across the hall. Emily breaks away from her, grabs her hand, and pulls to make quick work of the distance. Stephanie follows more than willingly and they both pause in the hallway, a mutual listening to see if their children are asleep.

They’re met with silence so Stephanie pushes forward, her free hand on Emily’s lower back to quietly close the door behind her. She doesn’t bother waiting for something so trivial as Emily to turn back and pin her against that door. She just pushes past her, still hand-in-hand, and pulls Emily with her until they’re tumbling into a bed Stephanie’s never been in.

Emily’s lips are on hers before they’re even lying down. It feels so good just to have Emily’s weight pressing her into the mattress that her hips tilt to try to find friction. “Em…” she whines again, one hand tangled in the messy blonde hair she hasn’t gripped in so long while the other runs down her body. Emily’s skin is as warm and smooth as she remembers it, the strength in her arms evident as she supports herself over Stephanie.

She’s grateful for the dress Emily’d chosen to wear that day. Its spaghetti straps allow Stephanie to re-stake her claim quickly even if it’s only one side of her body since Stephanie’s right hand is busy keeping Emily’s mouth on her own.

Not that it seems to be trying to leave.

Stephanie’s free hand skirts down Emily’s side until it’s tugging at her dress, bunching it between her fingers to inch it higher and higher until her palm finds the bare skin of her thigh. She feels her react, tongue sliding more desperately against Stephanie’s. She shifts and for a second, Stephanie’s upset because Emily’s hips aren’t between her legs anymore but then she’s back, settling next to Stephanie, almost straddling her thigh but not quite.

Sure fingers sweep down from Stephanie’s neck, over her chest, straight to the button on her pants that she’s irate about wearing. She should have changed after all, at least into a dress or something a little more forgiving. It doesn’t slow Emily down, though, and there’s a pull at her waist and the button gives. Those sure fingers graze up her stomach, then twist and start to slide down, catching on the edge of her panties.

The fact that Emily’s not waiting, not even bothering to undress ignites a desperation in Stephanie she didn’t think possible. Her hips lift in anticipation and her own hand runs up Emily’s inner thigh until—

“God,” Stephanie thinks she says. It may not have actually been a word; maybe more like a sound. Emily definitely didn’t form a sentence or even a word; instead, she groaned through their kiss as Stephanie’s fingers slid between her legs just as her own slipped between Stephanie’s.

Emily’s wet, soaked, and she knows she’s in a similar state. It’s been too long and Emily’s fingers know her so well.

They rock together, messy, needy. Fully dressed.

“Baby,” Emily breathes against her. “Shit, I—”

Stephanie nods and moves her fingers more quickly; she knows Emily’s already close and it’s a relief. She was about to come embarrassingly fast but now she’s not ashamed.

She wants to scream but has to settle for sinking her teeth into Emily’s shoulder when Emily’s kiss breaks away to press into the pillow. It muffles Emily’s moan from traveling beyond their room but she’s so close to Stephanie’s ear that it rings clear. She flies over the edge with her, clinging to Emily best she can with her one free arm as she sinks her fingers into Emily to feel her climax for the first time in so very long.

She feels Emily do the same and there’s a long, eternal moment of heavy breathing and stillness that feels a lot like missing pieces settling together.

When Emily finally lifts her head, she’s smiling sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I’m flattered,” Stephanie says with a teasing smile as she lifts her head a bit to kiss Emily.

Emily jostles her a little in protest but connected as they still are, it translates differently and Stephanie fails to cut off the moan before it escapes.

“Okay, yeah, I barely lasted as long as you did,” she says against Emily’s lips and tries to deepen the kiss but Emily pulls back.

Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are as dark as they are bright. “Did I mention that I missed you?”

It’s difficult to not be flattered when someone like Emily tells her such things. “Once or twice,” she manages to flirt.

“Then have I mentioned I love you?” Emily whispers as she leans in again.

“It’s been a while,” Stephanie manages before her lips are captured. She knows she’s crying again; she can feel the warm tears trickling down her temples as Emily, her love, her everything kisses her and kisses her and kisses her. They’re starting to move against one another again and as deep as the need remains, the frenzy has lessened. She eventually turns her face away to urge Emily’s lips to her neck, and so she can finally reply, “I love you, too.”

She hears a hitch in Emily’s breath at the words, and then Emily’s taking her hand away and sitting up to tug at Stephanie’s shirt. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“So take them off,” Stephanie says as she lifts her shoulders off the bed to let Emily pull it up and over her head. Her pants go next and with them, her underwear, as she gets rid of her bra herself. She reaches for Emily’s dress next and it lifts up and off to be tossed aside with the rest. Then she sits up to hook her fingers under the thin strip of elastic at Emily’s hips and works them down, marveling at Emily’s long, toned, now tanned legs. “I feel like you’re even more beautiful than when you left.” She lets her eyes roam up Emily’s body, still sitting up in bed, their legs barely touching. “Did you get more beautiful?”

Emily laughs and shakes her head. “I’m just finally happy.”

The words land low and warm in Stephanie and make her breathless. “Oh.” The warmth travels up her chest and down her legs until it’s unbearable. “Lay down.”

“You lay down,” Emily counters, lifting a hand to nudge Stephanie’s shoulder.

She shakes her head and counters, too, both hands pushing at Emily’s shoulders. “You can wait your turn.”

“I’ve waited four months,” Emily says as she gives in and lays back.

“So have I.” Stephanie moves over her as soon as she’s down and claims her lips. She lets herself rest against Emily, not bothering to try to keep her weight off her. She knows Emily loves it and whimpers when Emily’s arms and legs wrap around her, everything pulling her down and impossibly closer. As though Emily cannot get her close enough.

Stephanie moves her lips to Emily’s neck, over the golden skin and straining tendons as Emily moves beneath her, already writhing impatiently despite having release not ten minutes earlier.

But Stephanie’s not judging; she’s ready again, too.

She has to use a bit of force to move backward; Emily’s strong and her arms hold firm until Stephanie rolls her shoulders to get them loose enough to move down as her hand cups Emily’s right breast to hold it as her lips cover the tip.

Emily’s restless; nails rake over Stephanie’s back though it’s not painful. Her hips won’t stop moving and Stephanie can feel how much she’s needed every time they tilt just-so against her stomach. She lavishes attention on Emily’s breasts, mouth on one and hand on the other until hands land on her shoulders and actually push her down.

“Oh, my God,” she says with a laugh as she shuffles down. “I was getting there.”

“I don’t need foreplay,” Emily pants as she lifts her head to each as Stephanie settles between her legs, arms hooking around her thighs so her hands can rest on Emily’s stomach.

“Maybe I just wanted to make you feel good.” She turns her head to kiss the warm, soft skin of Emily’s inner thigh and feels fingers thread through her hair to tighten and pull.

“Baby.” Emily’s voice breaks over the word as her hips lift, begging.

Stephanie lets herself be guided; it’s so hot to be so wanted, and even if she wants to prolong Emily’s pleasure, she also really, really wants her mouth on her and if that’s what Emily wants…

“Fuck,” Emily breathes as her hips buck at the first touch of Stephanie’s tongue between her legs.

She tastes exquisite and Stephanie moans as she runs her tongue through her again, fingers pulling at flesh to expose more of Emily to her mouth. She’s also so, so wet and Stephanie’s hips press into the bed wanting their own relief. She indulges that, starting to rock against the bed and the covers that are bunched up beneath her and uses the motion to her advantage. She tucks an arm beneath her chest so she can press two fingers into Emily. She’s warm and Stephanie can feel it as she squeezes her, an unhindered moan escaping from both of them.

Stephanie curses as she licks at Emily’s swollen clit, all desire to tease or torment flying out the window when she feels how much Emily needs her. She laps at her, making love to her with everything she has so Emily knows just how much Stephanie missed her. How much she needs her, too. She thrusts into her in time with her own rocking and she knows she’s going to have to stop herself from coming; she only wants to give her pleasure to Emily but for now, she can fuck with abandon.

She’s grateful the bed is solid. She knows the one she left behind would be making an awful racket.

Emily’s heels drag over her back and shoulders until she’s holding her own knee back against her chest, her other hand still clutching Stephanie’s hair as she writhes and rocks. It makes Stephanie press a third finger into her and she fits so perfectly inside that she keeps them there, buried deep, curling and stroking with the tips of her fingers as she pulls Emily’s clit between her lips to suck.

Emily’s being too loud; they both know it, and Stephanie desperately hopes the boys don’t come knocking in curiosity, at least not before she makes Emily come in her mouth.

There’s a harsh pull on her hair and the leg that’s not pulled high presses against her ear and Stephanie has to lift her hips away from the bed to stave off her orgasm because Emily’s about to come.

She sucks hard, tongue stroking the sensitive flesh, and she feels Emily quivering from within before her body bucks with release, hot and hard and Stephanie has to work to keep her fingers deep and her mouth on her.

All the times they’ve shared this, the innumerable orgasms Stephanie has given her...none of them have felt like this.

It’s intense and long and Emily’s moan is weak and airy as though all energy has been diverted to one thing so while it doesn’t sound like it’s hard, Stephanie can feel it in the way she clenches around her. In the way her back arches and her thighs tense. It’s in the way her neck strains and her head twists from left to right and back again until they’re looking at one another, Emily breathing hard and Stephanie still licking.

“Get up here and lay down.” Emily almost growls it but the lust that her body’s awash in removes all bits of potential threat from her tone.

Even so, Stephanie shivers in anticipation as she gives up her spot to climb on slightly wobbly hands and knees until she’s hovering above Emily.

She lets herself be pulled down into a kiss. She already knows she’s done, about to be destroyed, with the way Emily’s tongue works in her mouth. It’s only a prelude, a preview of what’s about to be done elsewhere and she doesn’t resist when Emily sits up to push her onto her back.

Stephanie parts her legs immediately but Emily’s descent stalls at her breasts much like her own had and she arches her back and whimpers when teeth tease her nipple. She senses Emily’s hand near her head, searching blindly until it finds the pillow it was looking for. Then she sits up on her knees, all messy hair and swollen lips and arousal as she stares down at Stephanie.

She seems almost lost for a moment, as though she’s struggling for words until she finally just groans and pulls at Stephanie’s hip to get her to lift up to slide the pillow beneath her.

They don’t usually use one, but when they do, it’s for a reason. When they do, it’s because someone’s going to be on their stomach for a while.

She bites her lip at the thought and watches Emily move back and down until she’s lying between Stephanie’s thighs. She doesn’t take a moment to tease or taunt. She just says, “Fuck,” and presses her tongue into Stephanie while fingers slide over her clit to start rubbing.

It makes Stephanie’s hips come off the pillow with a sharp gasp; she hadn’t been quite ready for such a high level of stimulation but after a few seconds it feels like it’s not enough. She settles again and parts her legs wider as she squeezes the tongue that’s working its way deeper inside until she’s being properly fucked with it.

Her moans are more like breathy whimpers as she tries to watch. It’s difficult, though. Emily’s already relentless and Stephanie was so close to climax before she’d even laid down and she just gives in. She doesn’t want to fight it or wait.

She comes.

She comes hard and now she knows why Emily was so quiet despite it. She can barely breathe as ecstasy overtakes her and drowns her. Her hands twist into the bedding beneath her and then they twist into Emily’s hair, both of them frozen in place as Stephanie throbs.

As soon as it begins to ebb Emily resumes, though she’s less demanding. Stephanie appreciates it; she’s on fire and as good as it feels it’s also almost painful and Emily’s tongue slipping out of her to gently tease her clit instead is a welcome relief.

It works her up again despite her oversensitivity but this time she’s able to sit up, to prop herself on an elbow and watch this beautiful, exquisite woman make love to her with a kind of mutual passion she’s never experienced with anyone but her.

She trembles as Emily’s eyes meet hers and this time she’s able to keep her eyes open while Emily makes her feel worthy of the stars. She whimpers and Emily moans in understanding as her tongue moves more quickly until Stephanie comes with a gasp and a lip-bitten moan as they watch each other.

Emily pulls back after a few moments but her hand just replaces her tongue. She’s even gentler now, though, just brushing back and forth as she sucks a bruise into Stephanie’s thigh.

Stephanie knows what she’s doing; she’s catching her breath because she’s not finished and it makes her hips twitch in reflex which earns her a smirk in response.

“Shut up,” she laughs. “You are so good at that.”

The smirk only grows so all Stephanie can do is roll her eyes and fall backward to stare at the ceiling while Emily has her way with her.

She can have her way with her all night.

She doesn’t give a flying fuck. They have four months of separation to make up for.

Emily starts again, the softness of her tongue peeking between fingers that are pressing a little more firmly and Stephanie gives up and yanks the other pillow, the one beneath her head, out to press it over her face so she can moan as loudly as she needs to.

It takes her a bit longer this time, and instead of an explosion of lightning, it’s more like rolling thunder that has her shuddering with aftershocks every time Emily’s lips place a kiss against her. She tosses the pillow to the side to breathe and when she glances down, Emily’s still smirking up at her.

“God, I love you,” Stephanie pants. Her voice crackles and it’s a reminder that she’d just been moaning in ecstasy at the top of her lungs.

“I love you, too,” Emily says after taking one more indulgent lick. She shifts a bit until she has her face propped on Stephanie’s thigh to rest, still looking up at her with a smile. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she adds after a few quiet seconds.

“Were you doubting me?” Stephanie tries to sit up a little.

Emily shakes her head and waits to answer until she’s finished licking through Stephanie again, making them both twitch. “It was hard not knowing how long it would take.” She licks again and Stephanie has to bite down on a moan.

“I’m dying to talk to you about everything but I can’t when you’re doing that.”

“Do you want to talk or do you want me to do this?” Stephanie watches her do it, tongue pressing flat against her to grind into her.

“Oh, my…” her breath catches because as over-sensitive as she is, whatever Emily’s doing is perfect. “That, do that.”

Emily’s agreement is nothing more than a moan and a neverending circle with her tongue that makes Stephanie shove the pillow over her face again.

It treads the line between too much and not enough until Emily’s fingers sinking into her tip the scales toward ‘not enough,’ until she’s begging for harder and faster which her body should not be able to handle at this point, but she’s on a different plane of existence entirely and she’s been driven there by the woman she adores.

She begs until Emily stops.

She stops.

“What are you doing?!” Stephanie gasps when Emily pulls away from her without warning.

“Giving you what you want,” Emily says, breathing nearly as hard as Stephanie as she rolls off the bed to cross to the dresser.

Stephanie already knows and she has to bite back another moan as she watches Emily slip a pair of briefs up her legs, then work a dark purple silicone phallus through the O-ring. They’re new; definitely not what they’d used back in Warfield, and the fact that Emily had purchased new toys once she arrived in Greece...to be ready…

She just turns over and gets on her knees and sinks forward, ready to bury her face in the pillow again.

A hand connects with her ass and it’s not exactly gentle. It seems like maybe it was on purpose with the way it rubs at the spot it just slapped and it makes her moan again. She lets Emily hear it, wants her to know it was okay, that she liked it, but instead of doing it again, Emily sinks into her.

Stephanie just whines. It’s all she can do at this point. Whine and whimper like the wrecked thing she’s become as Emily’s hands grip her waist to start fucking her.

She’s not slow but she’s steady, giving Stephanie a minute or two to get used to it before she picks up speed.

“God, yes,” Stephanie groans before biting the pillow and twisting her fists into it.

It’s the green light for Emily who stops being any kind of gentle and instead fucks into her with the same level of abandon that Stephanie already feels.

It’s so hard and so fast and so deep that it should hurt and Stephanie’s eyes do tear but they tear in pleasure as the sounds of their wild lovemaking fill the room, moans and skin on skin and wetness as Stephanie struggles to stay on her knees when all she wants is to collapse and be fucked right through the bed.

Instead, she pushes up higher for an even better angle and she can hear Emily behind her, swearing and half-words and gasps and she knows they’re going to come together.

The thought whips through her brain and she tightens her grip on the pillow, turns her head the tiniest bit to let Emily hear more of what she’s making her feel to help get her there more quickly because Stephanie’s on the verge.

Her voice catches. Skips up an octave. Her hips jerk and she can’t stop it but she doesn’t need to. She feels Emily fold herself over her back, sweat and breasts and hair clinging to her as she keeps thrusting into Stephanie again and again until they’re both moaning, Stephanie into the pillow and Emily into Stephanie’s back as they climax together, a wild, uncontrollable orgasm this time that has Stephanie half-wondering between explosions of pleasure how much of a mess they’ll be after.

When it passes, she soaks in Emily’s weight above her, how hard she’s breathing, that somehow she’s still kissing Stephanie’s back and shoulder and neck. “I love you,” Emily exhales before sucking at her neck to leave a mark. “Fuck, I love you so much.”

Stephanie can only hum in response. She’s too spent for anything else, even words, but she’ll be sure to respond to that as soon as she’s able.

It must be ten, fifteen minutes before Emily starts to peel herself away, leaving both of them with a shiver as the air hits hot, damp skin. Stephanie gasps when Emily pulls out and she feels the motion of Emily leaving the bed, hears the thunk of the strap hitting the floor, and then she’s back in bed. Stephanie has the distinct sensation that she’s being gathered up and she savors it, weakly trying to help get herself turned onto her side until she and Emily are tangled up together, a picture of exhausted bliss as they kiss.

“I love you, too,” Stephanie finally manages and Emily beams. She’ll never get tired of that. Of Emily’s pure, almost innocent (though she’s the very opposite of innocent) fascination with loving and being loved in return.

Emily kisses her again, then kisses her nose and closed eyes and forehead and then her lips again. None of it is demanding now. No one’s trying to start anything. It’s connection out of pure necessity and Stephanie can feel it in her bones.

“So,” Emily starts with another kiss to Stephanie’s brow, “what took you so long?”

Stephanie takes a breath to answer but instead, she lets out an exhausted sigh. “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

She hears Emily chuckle deep in her chest where she’s tucked. “That’s fine, baby. I’m just glad you’re finally here.”

Stephanie tightens her arm where it wraps around Emily’s waist. “Me, too.”

It’s hard for her to believe any of this is real. The past four months, six months, year have been a blur filled with memories she could have never imagined experiencing. But she’s in Emily’s arms again. On the other side of the world. In a house they will share. With their sons who are already as close as brothers. New names. Anonymity. A new life together.

She’s home.

~ ~

~ ~

(Chapter 17 - Epilogue)

[emeraldtawny]

Leonardo x MC: Earn Your Keep (NSFW)

WHAT’S THIS?! IKEVAMP?! HELL YEAH IT IS! This is the result of a Ko-Fi fic requested by the lovely @colivara (posted here with her permission) wanting some sweeeeeeeeeeeet Leo smut. Please PLEASE take this with a grain of salt as I have not played the Japanese version of the game and only had very vague guidelines of what Leo is like I like writing characters as accurately as I can so this was difficult for me dajkgnsrkx Once the game drops in English, you bet I’ll be writing more stuff but until then TAKE THE SMUT! >:3

(He’s not here…)

You stand hesitantly outside the door to Leonardo’s room, knocking again on the ornate wooden door, intricate carvings chipped beautifully into the deep mahogany wood. Scrunching your lips up in confusion and resignation, you tug the door handle down and step into the room, half expecting him to be standing before you chuckling to himself for how hesitant you were to open the door to his room without being prompted.

But no, the room is empty. The mountains of books scattered haphazardly yet orderly around his room fill the room with that calming paper scent - a scent that always draws your mind to him. You lean against the still open door, meandering about the entrance and wondering if you should just wait in his room until he gets back from wherever he went. You know you planned to spend the night with him, but you can’t deny that you rushed through your work with Sebastian to get here faster. Tapping your finger against the door, you look around the room, from his desk stacked high with books further adding to the cyclone of literature around his room, to his bookless yet still disarrayed bed. Draped on the bed is his overcoat, the only neat, folded element in his room.

You quirk an eyebrow, knowing it’s rare for him to be without it. “He can’t have gone far then. He should be back soon, I’d gather.”

Voicing it aloud makes you smile and you step into the room, dancing with light steps through the maze of books and scrolls, the movements almost second-nature to you at this point. You sink into the bed and run your hand over his coat, the long garb still oddly gargantuan in comparison to your smaller form even when folded neatly beside you. Curiosity getting the better of you and knowing that his clothing will still likely hold his scent that you adore, you grab the coat and unfurl it, watching it flow to the ground and pool over your feet.

Standing up and being careful not to stand on and accidentally rip the fabric, you twirl Leonardo’s jacket behind you and slip your arms through the sleeves. It is comically oversized on you, the tips of your fingers not even reaching the cuffs of the sleeves and the long coat more reminiscent of a wedding dress train as it flows down to the ground. You look down to yourself with a childish smile and a short giggle, the golden brown of the coat contrasting against your white nightgown. Spinning on the balls of your feet, you watch with delight as the coat tangles then flows free from your legs, sweeping across the ground.

“What do you think you’re doing, ___?”

You freeze mid-spin, straightening up to look at the door, causing the wide shoulder of the overcoat to fall from your shoulder and into the crook of your elbow. Before you stands the very man you were waiting for, eyes as warm and iridescent as the twilight sunset narrowing at you, a small smile tilting his lips to accompany it.

“Um--I was...waiting?” You direct your gaze to a pile of books, feeling unable to meet his gaze without feeling like a child about to be scolded by her dad.

A deep, gravely chuckle bubbles amusedly from him, “That’s an unusual way to wait for someone. Do you put on everyone’s clothes when you’re waiting to see them?”

“N-no! Of course not!” Of course, you know he’s teasing you, but you can already feel the heat prickling your cheeks and quickly spreading its reach to your neck and ears.

You pull your eyes up to meet his own, wrapping your arms around yourself to hold the coat on you as the other shoulder falls from yours. Amusement still glimmering in his eyes, Leonardo maneuvers his way through the mine zone of his room before he stands before you, his large hands pulling the shoulders of his coat back up onto your shoulders.

“While I can’t say it fits you, it does suit you.”

“Really?”

He twirls a strand of your hair around his long finger and tucks it behind your ear with utmost care, “Yes. Although, I can’t deny seeing you without my coat on would be just as lovely.”

You pull your lips tight in your desperation to keep a straight face against the clear implications in his words. His smile widens as he lets his finger linger over your ear, his chestnut hair tinged with smoky grey wisping softly over your cheek as he leans closer to let his voice drawl out directly into your ear,

“Take it off. Nice and slow for me.”

You swallow yet remain still, your gaze fixed on anywhere except Leonardo, your hesitation only making him huff a short laugh in response.

“If you’re a good girl and follow my instructions, I can promise you I’ll make it worth your while.”

(I know you will. But...that doesn’t stop it from being embarrassing.)

You roll your shoulders back, the oversized coat falling easily from their perches and catching once again in the crooks of your elbows, exposing your arms to the air. Leonardo watches on, an almost annoyingly calm smile on his face, his face still inches from your ear and each delightful exhale is aimed directly into it, causing involuntary shivers to wrack your body.

“Slower, ___.”

You bite your lip as you slip your arm ever so slowly from the left sleeve, letting the fabric fall and dangle aimlessly, only your right arm stopping the coat from drifting to the floor. Cheeks burning and eyes trembling to stay locked on him, you stroke your hand down your right arm until you meet fabric and push the sleeve off your arm, not failing to notice Leonardo’s gaze following each miniscule movement you make. It flows like liquid as it falls from your form, pooling on the floor before you and Leonardo.

“Like that?” You ask gingerly, your shoulders suddenly tensing at his low thrumming hum and his nose brushing chastely against the shell of your ear.

“Mm, it’s a start.”

The response on your lips is bitten back as he kisses your ear, making sure the luscious, wet noises of his tongue carving its path along your ear echo perfectly for you to hear every sound. Your hands that reach to grasp at his shirt are grabbed by his own, restraining your wrists lightly yet stopping any advances.

“Leonardo--”

He pulls back, analysing your heated cheeks and eyes dancing with the beginnings of a lustful abyss.

“I do love it when you say my name, but I prefer it more...wild.”

He near on growls that word, a gasp escaping you beyond your control. Leonardo grins, the response exactly what he wanted.

“I’ll have you crying out for me, ___, but you have to earn it.”

You hold his gaze, utterly captivated by every word those gorgeous lips form, knowing full well of the insurmountable pleasure he can make you feel. Those hues of orange sunlight hold a question and a challenge: can you do it?

You lean your body forward towards his, Leonardo’s hold on your wrists slackening so you can move easier. You stand up on your tiptoes and press your lips to his, humming with heavenly pleasure into him as he returns the gesture. Your lips move together like poetry, breaths mingling and lips smacking together with each caress, each return bolstering in a greater wave of confidence. He keeps your wrists in his hold and denying you to touch him, but you’re more focused on teasing the seam of his lips with your tongue, seeking entrance. He refuses, yet his grip loosens and you rip your hands free to wrap them near desperately around his neck, eliminating the slither of distance left between you.

You gasp in shock into the kiss as his hands move to lift you into his arms, his hands strong against your thighs. You wrap your legs around his waist, hardly noticing his movement as you lose yourself in kissing him, biting down sensually on his lower lip and tugging. You notice his sly grin before the wall greets your back with a loud thud. Pulling back, you left your head rest against the wall, catching your breath and enjoying the sight before you.

“Legs down.”

You obey, letting your legs loosen and drift to the floor. As soon as your feet touch the ground, he slams his mouth against yours, your head hitting the wall with its ferocity, your eyes flying open. The tip of his tongue exploring your mouth has them fluttering shut, a muffled moan escaping you as you tighten your hold on Leonardo’s collar. He lets his kisses trail down your neck, giving extra love to your exposed collarbone with his tongue. You barely notice his hand moving from its hold on your leg, realisation dawning when it sweeps under your nightgown and up towards your inner thigh. You tense in anticipation, but all you get is a chaste finger drawing lazy circles on the skin of your inner thigh.

“Leonardo, please--”

He pauses his showering of love over your collarbone, you feeling his lips twitch into a smile.

“You want it, ___? All you have to do is tell me.”

“Just...touch me. Please, god, just--mm!”

Your begging halts with the quick swipe over your clit. His long exhale over your kissed skin elevates the lingering pleasure zipping through you.

“Again.”

The promise of his fingers trace the outline of your sex and you hold back the desire to buck your hips towards him.

“T-touch me. Plea--” He traces a finger down your entrance, “Mmn, and….finger me. Ma- make me--ah!” He inserts a single finger, pumping languidly, “Please, Leonardo--! Give me more!”

He attaches his lips to your collarbone and sucks hard, the deliriously hazy pain overpowered by his abrupt addition of a second finger into your heat, his fingers scissoring your core to let a wanton moan escape from you. He pumps his fingers relentlessly inside you, your walls clenching against your control as you pant and whimper, your hands grasping shakily at the collar of his shirt. Without warning, his lips detach from your collarbone and he drops to his knees, one hand stroking down your leg while the other twists his fingers still inside you.

“Hold your skirt out of the way, and let me hear what you want me to do to you.”

You race to grasp at and pull your skirt up, your bare sex still sheathing Leonardo’s fingers in their warmth. Painting softly, you look down at him, his gaze intensely pointed at your sex but otherwise remains unmoving.

“___.”

"Mm--”

Just your name spoken in his gravely, lust-kissed voice has you trembling. His hand strokes your bare thigh, prompting you.

“...Lick it.”

His tongue licks a single time over your clit, its purposefully slow journey drawing a sigh from your lips.

“M-more..”

“More, what?”

“Mm, lick it again, but...more. And--harder.”

His breath fans out over your sensitive clit, but no stimulation comes. Not before he speaks,

“Keep telling what you want, ___. Let me hear you revelling in the pleasure I bring you.”

His lips enclose over you, tongue licking softly, almost playfully. You groan, tightening your hold on your skirts, desperate to keep looking down at Leonardo until pleasure wills you away.

“R-right there, yes--mmmmn. U-use….use your fingers.”

He pumps them, twisting slightly with each thrust while his tongue continues to swirl over the small bundle of nerves unravelling your composure.

“Ah! Oh, yes, Leonardo! Mmn, don’t stop!”

He groans softly against you, the vibrations of the sound reverberating gloriously against your clit, sending a fresh wave of pleasure tingling through you. His fingers pump faster and his licks evolve into sucks, your legs threatening to give out completely.

“Just like that,” He speaks just an octave above a whisper, the sound drowned out by your brazen moans, “Scream for me, ___.”

He ceases his pumping to curl his fingers up, hooking that spot that leaves your legs trembling on the verge of collapse. His harsh, voracious sucks coupled with the resulting deliciously lewd sounds tip you over the edge. Your knees buckle as you climax, Leonardo’s hand on your hip slowing your descent as you sink to your knees, your breathy moans and heady whimpers filling the air as you come down from your high.

The taste of your essence on your tongue as Leonardo kisses you gives you the strength to force your eyes open. His amber eyes burning like the sun itself meet yours, a contented yet heated smile blessing his rugged face.

“You seem a little weak there. Is it arrogant of me to think I caused this of you?”

You let out a breathless laugh into the air and the two of you share a grin, “Not at all. That...that was amazing.”

“Hmm, you’re speaking like I had plans to stop there.”

A roguish grin splits your lips, “Oh, I wasn’t going to let you stop. Give me ten minutes and I’ll return the favour.”

Leonardo smiles a charming smile, the gentlemanly demeanour shifting suddenly into a teasing grin. You gasp in shock, his fingers pumping you from their place still inside you, the sensitivity of your clit peaking as his thumb brushes over it.

“You’re returning the favour now.”

His lips catch yours in a breathless kiss, both of you uncaring for your need of oxygen, too busy indulging yourself in each other’s lips to care. Each gasp and whimper Leonardo draws from you as he pumps at different speeds and presses against your overstimulated clit leave him grinning into the kiss, drawing every drop of pleasure he possibly can from you to leave him gratified and proud of what he does to you.

[puppetwritings]

Please! This isn’t a Game! || Pt. 6 || Jeonghan

Pt. 1 // Pt. 2 // Pt. 3 // Pt. 4 // Pt. 5 // Pt. 6 //

➢ Word Count: 1565

➢ Genre: sci-fi, fantasy, fluff, comedy, transmigration

➢ Summary: What do you do when you get thrown into an unknown world? Well, Jeonghan sure as heck does not know.

——–

“How are you feeling?”

Jeonghan stared languidly up at the tent’s ceiling and let out a long, shallow sigh. “Like death.”

“Mm,” the doctor nodded. “This is natural. You did just go through a life and death situation, after all.”

“Is there anything wrong with me, Doctor?” Jeonghan asked, glancing over at the elderly man who was still taking his sweet time doing god knows what.

“No, not at all. On the contrary, I think your constitution might have improved. I will have to run some tests before I can be certain though and for that—”

“Ah!”

“—I will have to draw a bit of blood. Don’t worry, young man, you will be fine in a few days.”

Jeonghan sat up quickly and felt his world spin. He stared at the quack doctor incredulously as the old men left, leaving his nurse to press Jeonghan back onto the bed so he would have an easier time if he fainted. He pressed a bit of gauze to the wound and stuck some medical tape over it.

“Don’t worry,” the nurse reassured Jeonghan. “Doctor Kim knows what he’s doing. He’s just a little…eccentric—that’s all.”

“Yes,” Jeonghan closed his eyes as he tried to center himself again. “Yes, of course.”

“Rest well, sir,” the nurse packed up his things and rolled his cart out.

“How are you feeling?” the system tentatively asked.

“Like absolute shit,” Jeonghan groaned honestly. “My body hurts. It feels uncomfortable to be in so many layers of clothing.”

“You’re in one layer of clothing,” the system helpfully reminded him. “And it’s made of linen.”

“Everything is sticky,” Jeonghan whined. He unbuttoned his shirt and pushed back his hair. His brows were furrowed and he was sweating more than one would in this type of weather. “Is it summer time already?”

The system hummed worriedly and spun around its host several times. “The doctor said you should be fine in a few days.”

“And you trust that guy?” Jeonghan asked irritably. “What do you think? What do you see?”

The system did a quick body scan and reported what it saw. Nothing was wrong. Everything was normal. It’s just his body was trying to adjust to the new form of magic.

“The magic? I thought you said it’d be okay.”

“I think it’s the world reacting to the magic, Host,” the system observed. “In the original storyline, Jeonghan shouldn’t have gotten to this point but you awakened his full potential. On top of that, your soul’s constitution is naturally better than his and you’re from another world. With these two factors, along with this strange shift in the world’s plot, the world has noticed you. It’s trying to figure out if you’re a bug or not.”

“What if it concludes that I’m a bug?”

“It won’t. It will only realize you’re an agent that was sent to help fix the world,” the system reassured him.

Jeonghan let out a pained groan. He massaged his chest and scrunched his eyebrows. “As long as I don’t get kicked out.”

“You won’t.”

“Do I get an update on how my mission is going?”

The system didn’t respond for several moments and eventually the voice that came out next was a mechanical voice, reminding Jeonghan, once again, of Google Translate. “Greetings, Host, the first mission is at 99% completion. Overall world is 0.3% cleared. Please continue your hard work.”

“0.3%...cleared,” Jeonghan repeated. “Is that even worth mentioning?!”

“You asked for a status report,” the system pouted.

“I was only wondering if I would be able to get an update on how it was going.”

The system stared at its shameless host and couldn’t help but sigh. Only wondering? As if he wouldn’t have asked for the report directly after the system responded with an affirmative! The system could only quietly comfort itself, saying that its host was currently in much pain and discomfort. That is why he was being extra unreasonable.

There was a lull as Jeonghan stared blankly at the ceiling. “The mission will naturally be finished after this, right?”

“Correct.”

“Then what’s the next one?”

“It’s the main mission. You have to make sure it becomes impossible for Yoon Taewook to take over the world.”

“We’re directly jumping into the main mission?” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. He turned to look at the floating system. “Are there sub bullets I could go by? You can’t just throw me into the deep end. I can barely walk steadily!”

The system eyed its host. “Why are you suddenly so humble, host? Haven’t you said before that you could do it?”

“I could, I can, and I will,” Jeonghan said, slowly sitting up. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want guidelines! Don’t you have any tips? Somewhere I can start?”

The system showed some reluctance before finally making a sound similar to sighing. “Host, you have actually been going down the right path.”

Jeonghan’s eyes widened. His lips slowly curled into a smile, but before he could speak, the system quickly interrupted him.

“You were right to enter the army and you were right to get close to Seungcheol. I’m sure if you continue down this path, you will be successful in your mission.”

“Navi?”

“Yes, Host?”

“This entire time, you’ve been doubting me and dissuading me.”

“Yes, Host.”

“But now you’re telling me that…I’ve actually been right? This entire time?”

“…Yes, Host.”

Jeonghan’s smirk gave the system chills. “Navi…I really should put you in time out.”

The system dodged Jeonghan’s outstretched hand. “Host, let’s be calm about this! I knew that you would plow through anyway! You don’t seem to be the type to listen to well-meaning advice and I was just trying to make sure you weren’t rushing into anything you weren’t ready for!”

“Oh, so now you’re calling me reckless?” Jeonghan attempted to grab the system again, only for his hands to grasp air.

“Host, you know that you are!” The system said helplessly. “Why are you suddenly offended?!”

Jeonghan sat panting as the system flew around tent. His cheeks were flushed and eyes were obviously out of focus. He pointed at the swaying system, an obvious grudge in his tone. “You. I’ll deal with you at a later date. Just…not now.”

As Jeonghan got out his last word, the tent opened again. Jeonghan turned his head and his angered expression turned into one of mild disdain.

Seungcheol saluted and glanced at Jeonghan. There was a bit more respect in his eyes than the last time they had met. Instead of looking like he had just seen a trashcan, Seungcheol now looked like he was looking at a beaten, stray dog.

“Did something happen?” Jeonghan asked.

“I have just come to report that we have safely sent Miss Y/N over to Colonel Yoon’s camp.”

“That’s good,” Jeonghan mumbled. After a second, his eyes looked livelier. He turned to Seungcheol, concern on his face. “And you gave her a fresh set of clothes?”

Seungcheol’s brows furrowed. It was so slight, Jeonghan wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been paying attention. “Yes, sir.”

Jeonghan let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good…”

Seungcheol remained by the door until Jeonghan looked up again. “Sir, once your fever is gone, we have orders to join up with Colonel Yoon.”

“Oh, do we?” Jeonghan seemed to writhe uncomfortably. “Then…go ahead and make preparations. I should be fine after tomorrow.”

Seungcheol’s furrow deepened. “Permission to speak, sir.”

“Yes, of course.”

“I believe that you should rest a few more days, sir. Colonel Taewook is not in a rush. Your health comes first, sir,” Seungcheol said.

The system watched Seungcheol in surprise. Did he…care for Jeonghan?

Unlike the system, Jeonghan didn’t get ahead of himself. This was just showing him a little face after Jeonghan had proved he wasn’t the wimp that everyone made him out to be. This was not the respect someone had for his superior.

“No, no it’s okay,” Jeonghan said, shifting and purposely showing a grimace. He gulped a little and looked down at his hands before quietly saying, “It wouldn’t be good to keep my brother waiting.”

The system watched Seungcheol carefully as Seungcheol stared at Jeonghan. His gaze was complicated. Was Jeonghan that scared of Taewook? Even if Taewook was an strict older brother that Jeonghan respected, Jeonghan shouldn’t be this afraid of him, right?

Jeonghan looked up at Seungcheol, his eyes shining with the same naivety that he had shone you the previous night.

Seungcheol blinked back wordlessly before his gaze fell. He saluted again. “Then, we will do as you say, sir. I will tell the others to prepare to leave tomorrow.”

Jeonghan pulled on a bright smile. “Alright. Thank you, Seungcheol.”

After bowing once more, Seungcheol excused himself to make preparations.

Jeonghan slowly sank back down into his bed, a small smile playing at his lips. If Jeonghan wanted to prevent Taewook from taking over the world, he’d have to strip him of his allies first. Seungcheol, you, and whoever else that would be considered a powerhouse in Taewook’s gang. Without them to build the foundation of his power? Well, the name Yoon Taewook wouldn’t even be worth mentioning anymore.

It was times like these, when Jeonghan was scheming, that made the system really wonder what kind of life he had lived before. How could a person make such a scary expression?

[dr-gloom]

The Makings of Greatness: Chapter 10

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairing: platonic logince, platonic moxiety, platonic anxeit, familial ThVi

Tags/Warnings (for this chapter): violence, betrayal, deceit, mutiny

Ko-fi

AO3

Masterlist

Prologue  Ch 1  Ch 2  Ch 3  Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6  Ch 7  Ch 8  Ch 9  Ch 10  Ch 11  Ch 12  Ch 13 Ch 14  Ch 15  Ch 16  Ch 17

“There it is!”

“Oh my god….”

“Look at it…”

Just past a group of dark clouds, Treasure Planet looms in the green light of one of its rings. Asteroids float idly by, the ship effortlessly maneuvering past them closer to the planet. The crew rush to the trim, gripping it with excited hands as they take in the sight of the fabled planet. Declan reaches into his coat pocket for his telescope, but it’s not there. Strange… He checks his other pocket. Not there either. He must have left it in the galley.

Virgil climbs out of the barrel on shaky legs, steadying himself with a hand on one of the tables. His fingers brush a golden telescope, sending it rolling a few inches. Declan’s telescope. Virgil’s heart squeezes painfully at the sight.

He turns away from it and runs across the galley, making it halfway up the stairs before someone blocks his path. He freezes and looks up, coming face-to-face with Declan on his way down.

“Virge….” Declan looks back to the deck to make sure the crew are preoccupied before making his way down the stairs, effectively forcing Virgil to walk backwards back into the galley. He smiles. “Playing games with Morph again?” He keeps walking, Virgil never taking his eyes off him and backing himself into a table.

“Yeah, playing games.”

His tone is scathing, his glare piercing, and Declan understands. He must have heard the conversation. A part of him wants to reassure Virgil that it was all lies, that he hadn’t meant any of it, but a larger part of him is screaming at him that he has to take care of this, get Virgil out of the way before he blows Declan’s cover. “Oh. I see… I always hated games. Not a very good loser…” Behind him, his hand retreats into his arm to be replaced with a gun. He cocks it.

Virgil reaches behind himself blindly, fingers curling around a leftover knife from breakfast. “Yeah… me too!” He lunges forward, driving the knife into the accordion part of Declan’s leg and shooting past him up the stairs. Declan cries out in pain and grabs his leg, air hissing out around the blade. He stumbles up the stairs, his robotic eye searching manically for the teen.

It skirts over the crewmen, zooming in and out, switching between looking for heat signatures and focusing in on normal vision. He looks clear across the deck to the other end of the ship, his eye homing in on movement and zooming in just in time to see a frantic, scared Virgil shutting and locking the door to the captain’s stateroom.

“Dammit…” Declan scrambles to his feet, gripping his leg before forcing himself to stand erect and letting out a loud whistle. “Change of plans, men! We move. Now!”

The crew let out excited whoops and hollers, set into motion. Crewmen rush down the shrouds, slide down ropes, and race across the deck to reach their weapons. “Raise our flag, Mr. Onus!” The lookout solutes Declan, grinning.

“Aye, captain!”

He brings Roman’s flag down, replacing it with their own; a black flag with a fanged skull, bordered by two planetary belts in an X. A pirate flag.

The crewmen race up the steps to the stateroom, where Virgil, Logan, and Roman are locked inside. Roman opens his armoire, expression grave as he grabs a solar gun. “Pirates,” he snarls, “I’ll see them all hang.” He turns the safety off the gun and tosses it to Logan. “Familiar with these?” Logan fumbles to catch it and holds it like he’s scared it’ll explode. “Ah, I’ve seen… I’ve read…” His finger slips over the trigger and it fires, shattering Roman’s globe-shaped map. “Ah, no. No I’m not.” Roman sighs, bringing out the orb. “Mr. Shae, defend this with your life.” He tosses it to Virgil, but Morph catches it in midair and flits away with it.

“Morph! Gimme that!” He grabs for it, fighting with Morph for a moment before Morph lets it go. Virgil stuffs it in his pocket.

The lock on the door starts glowing red. The pirates on the other side must be melting it with solar guns.

Declan shoves the men aside, scowling. “You’re taking too long. Idiots.” He hooks up his arm to a solar canon attached to his thigh and only takes a brief moment to charge before he’s firing it at the door, the wood splintering deafeningly and the metal lock and handle mangling, red-hot. Declan and his men storm into the room through the smoke, pausing just inside the doorway to wait for it to clear.

The room is empty, a hole blasted in the floor, and Declan swears. He grabs the nearest crewman and shoves him towards the hole, snarling, “After them!”

Deep in the ship’s interior, far past the barracks and stateroom, Virgil, Roman, and Logan race through the innards of the ship. The inner mechanisms of the ship don’t look too different from that of a normal ship’s, with large pipes twisting and turning in all directions along the walls, boilers and other machines necessary for the ship’s function, and a thin catwalk in the middle to guide them through. The three men pass the entryway into another section of the ship and look back to see several crewmen racing after them. Roman’s heart leaps into his throat and he grips the switch to the door, flipping it to shut just in time before the crewman can cross the threshold and using his solar gun to melt the lock. It won’t be permanent, but it will buy them a little time.

“We need to get to the skiffs!”

The three men race the remaining way to the skiffs, Virgil knowing the route from the time he came down here with Declan, and Logan following close behind. Virgil stumbles to a stop next to one of the skiffs and climbs in, grabbing the rope and already starting to untie it and lower the skiff. Roman pulls the lever to open up the underbelly of the ship and runs for the skiff, jumping in. A thundering boom echoes down the hall; the pirates must have gotten past the door.

Morph glances at the orb poking out of Virgil’s pocket and grins, snatching it in his mouth and flitting away. Virgil startles and tries to grab for him. “Morph, no!”

Morph flits back over to the catwalk and Virgil leaps out of the skiff to follow, scrambling to his hands and knees. The crewmen make it to the skiff room and Roman opens fire to buy themselves more time. Being five against one, he’s quickly becoming outnumbered by heavy fire. Logan swallows his heart back into his chest and stands, aiming his own gun at some giant metal structure in the ceiling. He fires, by some miracle hitting it, and the structure falls to the catwalk, shattering the wood under the crewmen’s feet and sending them plummeting through the ship’s open underbelly. Roman blinks in surprise.

“Did you actually aim for that?”

Logan scoffs. “Of course I did.”

A solar shot is fired in their direction and Roman tackles Logan down. Declan reaches the controls and flips the switch; the underbelly begins to close. Roman swears and turns to Logan. “Doctor, when I give the word, shoot out the forward cable. I’ll take the other.” Logan nods, adjusting the grip on his gun.

Virgil chases Morph around the remaining catwalks, jumping desperately to grab him where he flits around just out of Virgil’s reach. “Morph, come on, give it back! Please!” His desperate tone draws Declan’s attention, and he sees the orb Morph is holding in his mouth. He grins.

“Morph!” Morph turns to look at him, his little butt wagging. “Morph, come here.”

Virgil’s heart skips a beat and he forces a fun smile on his face, waving Morph closer. “Morph, come on, bring it here.”

“Come on Morph, come to dad!”

“Come here, Morph!” Virgil whistles like he’s calling to a dog.

“Come on Morphy! Come here!”

Morph whips back and forth, looking between both men, conflicted. He dives into a pile of rope with the orb.

Declan goes to make a run for it, but his leg gives out on him and he groans, falling to his knees. He grips his robotic thigh as he scoots himself closer desperately.

Virgil scrambles to his feet and races across the catwalk, managing to grab the orb just before Declan can reach in and take it, pausing to stare at him wide-eyed for only a moment before running for the skiff. Declan lets out an enraged cry, raising his gun and aiming, sights locked on Virgil.

He lowers the gun, gritting his teeth.

“Now!”

Virgil jumps for the skiff. Roman and Logan each shoot at one of the pulley’s cables, snapping the rope and breaking the metal wheels. The skiff falls, smacking into the still-closing underbelly and sliding out through the remaining gap before continuing to fall.

The jolt in the skiff’s movement offsets Virgil’s projection and he scrambles to grab onto the trim, legs kicking. “Virgil!” Logan lunges forward and grabs Virgil by his shirt, hauling him into the skiff as Roman pulls the lever to release the solar sail.

The sail unfurls and immediately starts to take in light energy. Roman sits and grabs the controls, directing them towards Treasure Planet.

On the ship, the crewman in charge of the light canon gets ready to aim, locking onto the skiff. Declan rushes to stop him, gripping at the machine. “Hold your fire! We’ll lose the map!” It’s too late, though; the blast is released and it hits the back of the skiff, offset by Declan’s pulling. Roman cries out as the back of the skiff splinters, the thruster taking damage and the wood of the craft flying in every direction. The back of the skiff and the sail catch fire and the skiff’s trajectory stutters, dropping them a few feet before continuing forward. The sail burns up, leaving nothing powering the skiff.

Roman grits his teeth against the pain in his side and grabs the controls, fighting with the damaged machinery to guide the skiff into anything but a nosedive. The craft rapidly descends towards the planet, crashing through the indigenous foliage - large puke-green mushrooms with incredibly long stalks. Virgil and Logan are sent toppling over onto their sides, letting out twin cries of shock. The craft’s stem hits the ground and they flip, skidding for several yards before finally coming to a stop, then all is still.

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[tony-luvv]

KO

Clint’s a sore loser and he takes it out on Tony’s ass. This is something I prompted myself I while ago.

Available to read on Ao3 and Fanfiction

Clint and Tony were enjoying a couple’s long weekend at Tony’s Malibu mansion. They arrived two days ago on Wednesday and spent almost all of that time in the water. If they weren’t surfing down on the private stretch of beach then they were playing in Tony’s pool. At some point yesterday they even had a water balloon fight.

But today neither of them felt like getting wet.

Which is why they were currently hanging out in the kitchen, sitting quietly, bored out of their minds.

Clint was sitting at the island’s counter top. Head resting on his folded arms and empty coffee cup pushed aside. Tony was lounging on the counter by the coffee machine. Back resting on the wall, legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed, and coffee pot easily within reach.

“We could go somewhere?” Tony wondered aloud.

Out the corner of his eyes he could see Clint shrug his shoulders. “No.”

“Okay…” Tony’s fingers fiddle with his Stark Industries mug while he stared into the brown liquid. “We could cook something?”

Again Clint shrugged his shoulders, “Eh. Not really hungry.”

Tony wasn’t either. Too used to skipping actual breakfast food in favor of more coffee and lab time. “Video games?”

Clint was already shaking his head no but then he thought about what his boyfriend said. His head popped up in interest. “I’m listening.”

Tony turned and looked at Clint. When his eyes focused in on his lover’s face he immediately had to bite down on his cheek to keep from smiling. Clint had a giant red mark on his forehead from leaning on his arm. It was far too early in the morning for the archer to look that ridiculous. He could feel the skin pulling on his cheeks, wanting to grin but he wasn’t going to. Instead he rolled his lips and sucked his cheeks in trying to stop himself. “Hmm?”

Clint ignored his obvious merriment, “Video games.”

Tony was only faintly smiling now, “Right.” He paused to clear his throat, “I have a theater room here. There’s a bunch of gaming consoles and games in there…”

His sandy blonde boyfriend looked incredulous and slightly irritated with him, “Why am I just now finding out about this!?”

“I don’t know–”

“Well fuck babe, let’s stop wasting time!” With that said he pushed away from the island and took off running down a hall.

Tony had to sigh as he placed his cup down and jumped down from the counter. “JARVIS can you make sure he doesn’t get lost.”

“Would you like me to direct him to the entertainment room?”

He smirked evilly in view of one of JARVIS’ cameras. “Nah, let him figure it out on his own.”

“THIS IS IN YOUR HOUSE?”

“Yes Clinton, honestly there’s no need to shout. I’m literally standing right next to you–”

“IS THAT AN ICEE MACHINE?”

Tony glared at him and crossed his arms over his chest, “Movies are better with a cherry icee…”

“HOW MANY SYSTEMS DO YOU HAV–”

“CLINT.”

“Sorry.” Barton had to physically calm himself down before continuing, “How many gaming consoles do you have?”

Tony looked over at the wall with its multiple screens and system boxes surrounding them. “Almost all of them, new and old.”

“…I think I just popped a boner.”

Tony shoved him aside. “Gross Clint.”

Laughing at his ridiculous boyfriend he walked around the recliners and couches to the TVs. He really did have a lot…Nintendo 64, GameCube, a few Play Stations and Xboxes with an abundance of games to go with them. “So what do you want to play?”

Clint was quick to join him after that and browse the options. He studied them entirely until he stopped on one of the Wii games. “Yes son, we’re about to dance our asses off.” He held up the Michael Jackson Experience.

Tony chuckled at his choice, “Okay. Just don’t get upset when I get all the high scores.”

“Oh whatever twinkle toes, let’s dance!”

Everything, no matter what they played, it seemed like Tony was always winning.

Of course Tony wasn’t kidding about keeping highest score on Michael Jackson. He’s not sure how much experience Tony had playing the game but he moved like he had every step memorized. Thank god Clint had played the game before otherwise he would have looked like a complete fool trying to follow along to the steps. But even songs he was confident he could beat Tony at, like Smooth Criminal or Black and White, he still lost.

At least all the movement got them hungry enough to stop and move onto something else. After ordering in some pizzas they grabbed the GameCube and put in Mario Party 5. But after coming in second to everything they played, Clint in a not so subtle way (he threw the remote down and marched up to the TV to change the game) switched games over to Mortal Kombat. There was no way he’d lose to Tony in this.

Clint watched in a slight daze, hands slack on his controller as Tony’s character, Sub-Zero tore apart his Scorpion avatar.

His brutal defeat was the final straw.

Tony puffed out his chest with pride, “Ah yes, another victory to add to the books. It’s okay dear Clinton, maybe one day you’ll be as good as I–” Clint moved fast, grabbing the abandoned control from the GameCube and tackled Tony to the floor over the pillows they had gathered. With fast efficiency built over years as a spy Clint tied Tony’s hands together with the cord of the controller.

“You little shit! That’s it.”

Tony laughed even as Clint worked his pants over his hips and off his legs, “What are you doing?”

Clint pulled a bottle of lube out of his pocket and slicked his fingers. “You want to be so damn smug…” quickly slicking his finger he pushed one inside of Tony who squeaked at the intrusion, “High score this, first place that. Well I’m ‘bout to turn your ass into a fatality! With my dick!” Even though Clint was clearly pissed off and being a complete sore loser about the whole thing, he took his time prepping Tony. The archer gave him just enough time to adjust before shoving another finger inside of him. It wasn’t really painful but it was definitely rushed and rough.

Tony was very turned on.

Clint must have sensed how much he was enjoying this rough treatment because he cursed at him. “Fuck! Fuck you Tony.” Pulling his fingers out he made quick work of freeing his own erection and positioned it at Tony’s entrance. “Take that!” Without further ado, he shoved home, making Tony’s back bend off the ground and toes curl.

“CLINT!”

He started thrusting almost immediately after he slammed home. Fast and punishing like the game they had been playing. Tony loved it.

“How’s that Tony? How do you like my lethal dick combo?” He rammed his hips forward while tugging his hips closer. Clint adjusted his angle just the slightest so that it pounded into Tony’s prostate on every other thrust.

The genius couldn’t even comment, too caught up on riding the sensations that Clint’s cock was delivering. It wasn’t often that they indulged in something so primal.

If the smirk on his face was anything to go by, Tony’s inability to talk was greatly appreciated by his boyfriend.

Finally, he was on top and he was in charge, Clint thought as he inspected Tony’s debauched self. Head thrown back, moans spilling out of his mouth uncontrollably. Clint bent his head down and bit at Tony’s neck. Marking the clean skin there and worrying the tender flesh until he could work a good hickey into place.

Tony’s tied hands scrambled to find purchase on the back of Clint’s shirt. Desperate to hold on to something as he enjoyed the ride for however long it was about to last. His orgasm was building fast and he could tell the archer was getting close too.

“Clint, Clint, Clint!”

“Yes Tony, that’s it. Come on my cock, come for me.”

He did. Body clenching down around Clint as he shot off like some prepubescent teenager that’s never had sex before. Thankfully Clint wasn’t far behind him, thrusting a few more times before emptying a load inside of him.

They laid there panting and exhausted. Clint on top of him, slowing going soft inside of him as he caught his breath and Tony laid out below him, still tied up.

Once he gathered enough of himself, Tony cracked an eye open and glanced at Clint who had his head turned away.

He smirked, just as planned.

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think!

Also if you could please support me on Ko-fi, I have to buy new tires for my car and possibly a new brakes.