#he is tuna filled if you are wondering

[404-mind-not-found]

「ヘンリー！マイク！助けて、私はキャラ弁です！」 Henry! Mike! Help me, I'm a Kyaraben!

(Don't help him he's rice now)

[ellecdc]

girl girl hear me out YAPPER GF X REGULUS!! Pls pls pls like u could do anything u wanted with them!!! I have a few ideas (take any or none)

May be she just walks up to him one day like clearly wanting to befriend him cuz she has a lil crush and just starts yapping about how the great hall had her fave pastry for breakfast today and he's so confused but also intrigued and then she starts sitting next to him in classes and asking him to hang out at hogsmead and she just yaps and sometimes she thinks may be he zones out but then he'll bring up this super niche detail she mentioned last time like "hey what happened to that quill you forgot in the potions lecture?"

they r already dating and she worries she's too much energy and talk for him and tries to be quiet and he's just like r u sick? R u mad at me? What's wrong u haven't gone on a 30 min description/rant about ur day

3. May be someone else brings up she talks a lot and Reggie defends her?

you guys really love your bubbly/talkative readers with Regulus, don't you? (so do i); thanks for your request!

Regulus Black x yapper!reader who didn't think he was actually listening

CW: fem!reader, rolling thoughts, brief mention of difficulty making friends, people talking about reader behind her back, swear words (on ellecdc? nooo [sarcasm])

Your family said that you had an incessant need to fill silence from the moment you could talk. 

“If there’s a room with our daughter in it, you can be certain that it won’t be quiet.” Your mum had proclaimed as she beamed at you lovingly one day.

While it was certainly a trait that your family had always found rather endearing, you felt that it made it particularly difficult making friends once you began attending Hogwarts. 

But the friends you managed to make loved you for it, and they had often stated “you can call her what you want but you can’t call her boring.” 

That didn’t mean your other classmates appreciated your stories or tangents, though. 

Which is how you ended up serving numerous detentions for speaking during class or lectures and disturbing the students around you, and how you’d been cycled through numerous seat partners in potions class. 

And that is how poor Regulus Black ended up stuck sharing a worktable with the likes of you.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. And if he did, well, he certainly never said anything about it.

You were quite sure he tuned you out during your rambles, hardly ever sparing you a glance and keeping his eyes trained on his parchment in front of him as he took dutiful notes during lectures.

Couldn’t be you, however.

No.

You were too busy lamenting about the fact that you couldn’t get more than twenty feet to the mooncalf herd up the hill behind the quidditch pitch before they would all run off. They only came out at night, you see, and you wanted to take some photos of them. Some photos turned into midnight picnics, and picnics turned into sharing apple slices by means of throwing them towards the bug-eyed beasts and watching them argue over the slice until you threw another. But even after feeding them forty seven apples and counting at this point (Winky the house elf from the kitchen was not pleased with you), they still wouldn’t let you get any closer to them.

Your next course of action was to try a smellier and higher value treat; you wondered then if mooncalves could have tuna? Tuna was certainly smelly enough. Well, if you couldn’t entice the mooncalves, you’d certainly entice a cat or two. 

You wondered then if mooncalves and cats got along? Kneazles were nearly the same size as the poor beasts, but cats were much smaller. You figured cats would look at a mooncalf the same way they’d look at a goat. 

You’d seen a cat ride a goat once, not many people believed you, though. You’d have to learn how to make a pensieve one day just to prove it to everyone. You didn’t much care for goats, though; something about their square pupils seemed alien to you. 

Which seemed odd considering there were numerous beasts in the magical world that really were quite alien, yet it was  goats that did it for you.

And why were they always associated with the devil? Was it because of the square pupils? Do you think there’d be a book that explained that?

But you didn’t even realise that the period had ended until Regulus stood and collected his books, offering you a curt nod before leaving the classroom. 

Fuck….do you think he’d let you copy his notes? 

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Merlin’s tits, she never stops talking! I feel bad for the poor sod stuck next to her; Black probably wants to avada himself every class. You heard a classmate mutter as you walked to your workbench, movements slowed as you lowered yourself into your chair and tried not to let their words hurt you. 

You were used to the comments, you were used to the sentiment honestly; did they think it was easy being you? Did they think you didn’t get tired of listening to yourself too? 

Of course you did, it was exhausting; your brain never stopped moving, and apparently, neither did your mouth.

But it did hurt a little, perhaps because Regulus had been quite gracious about it thus far. He had listened to you carry on about the astrological significance of space waste and how that was affecting the magic of the stars. He had listened to you bemoan about the positive impact that centaur migration had on local flora and fauna and how the fencing of fields and forests was going to cause unimaginable damage to the life cycles of such. He also had listened to your morose mooncalf story and the update the next day that you were able to order cans of tuna via owl to the castle.

And he’d not so much as bat an eye at you.

Certainly he’d have said something to you if you bothered him? 

Although, perhaps this was why Slughorn put him beside you, because he knew Regulus wouldn’t say anything; had Regulus done something to anger Slughorn? Was placing you beside Regulus less about you driving your seat mates crazy, but more about being a punishment for Regulus?

Well, you couldn’t imagine Regulus had done anything bad enough to deserve a full term with you as a potions partner.

No, you decided, you would not be his punishment.

So when Regulus entered class that day, and Slughorn read out the instructions for today’s potion brew, you resisted the urge to speak.

You were quiet when retrieving your potion ingredients, you were quiet as you checked and double checked the brewing instructions, and you were quiet as you waited for the potion to reach its boiling point. 

You actually thought you’d done quite well; you sort of wished you had started a timer, this may very well have been a record for you. 

Well, unless sleeping counted. Would sleeping count as being quiet? Oh gods, what if you talked in your sleep too!? You’d have to ask your roommates.

“L/N.” Regulus called as if it hadn’t been the first time he’d done so. “You alright?” He asked, ducking down in an attempt to meet your gaze as you watched a divot appear between his brows.

“Yeah? Why?” You asked, finding yourself furrowing your brows in solidarity; you found Regulus to be too pretty to look so worried. 

He shrugged his shoulders and straightened up, though the space between his brows remained divoted. “You’ve been awfully quiet, s’all.” He murmured quietly, and you were surprised to see a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” You muttered perhaps pointedly; his eyes narrowing to match the furrowed brows. 

“Says who?”

Your eyes traitorously darted to the students who had been discussing your habits, and Regulus followed your gaze.

He rolled his eyes and muttered something in French under his breath as he turned his attention back towards your shared potion. “Those tossers are just mad that they have nothing of value to say.”

You more felt than heard a disbelieving breath escape your lips as you looked at Regulus in bemusement. 

He didn’t seem to notice though, as he continued to the next step in your potion and carried on. “Did the tuna work?”

You stared at him dumbly before your brain kicked back into gear. “I beg your pardon?”

“The tuna.” He repeated. “For the mooncalves?”

Oh.

“Oh.” You started, giving your head a shake as you tried to find your balance you had long lost during this conversation. “Erm, no, but I did indeed attract a few cats.”

“Ah.” Regulus offered, smiling at you (or at the expected poof from the potion signifying that the two of you had brewed it correctly thus far). 

“Also, I found out why goats are often associated with the devil, but the book you’d be looking for is Biblical in nature.”

You stared at him with your mouth agape as he continued. “There’s a quote where that Christ bloke mentions something about separating people from one another just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. They’re used as a metaphor for the ‘bad’ or ‘inferior’ member of any group; it could also be understood as the divide between the pure and the wicked. I say goats got a bad rap, though.”

The next step in your potion brewing process was to allow the potion to simmer until it turned a milky white colour, so Regulus lowered the heat before appearing to remember something.

“I almost forgot…” He started as he began rooting through his book bag. “I asked the shopkeep at Brood & Peck, and she said this is a favourite of mooncalves; maybe you’ll have more luck tonight?” He asked as he held out a parchment of beast treats to you. 

“You’ve been listening? This whole time?” You whispered in awe as you took the bag delicately as if  he had just handed you a delicate china dish. 

His brows furrowed again as he searched your eyes. “Well…yeah? I’m rather invested now.” He explained just as your potion turned its intended colour. 

“Very good Mr. Black, Miss. L/N.” Professor Slughorn commented as he walked past your workbench. 

You were alerted to the fact that class was over when everyone’s potions were vanished with a pop and students started to pack up their belongings.

“You’ll keep me posted, yeah? About the mooncalves?” Regulus asked as he started walking backwards towards the door. 

“Sure.” You murmured, earning you a wide smile from the notoriously quiet boy. 

Yes… You’d be more than happy to keep Regulus Black posted.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Wait could you do something for Yandere!Rook when he stays over at Ramshackle with the SDC crew? I feel like if you showed him affection he'd take a mile. Like if you sheepishly told him you liked him; the next morning he's broken into your room and happily cuddling you (his prey) in your bed. I just want to see how a lovesick Rook would behave at Ramshackle during the VDC. (How long can he keep paying Grim off with tuna?)

Congratulations! You've acquired a second shadow.

The Devotion of the Rook | Yandere Rook Hunt

He absolutely would but you don’t need to be especially nice

All it takes is just one compliment

He’s so used to the sarcastic and teasing of typical NRC

But then there’s you smiling without any other intention then just being happy

“I love your hat!”

“Why thank you, beau filou! Now what can I help with!”

Thus begins a whole new extensive photo album of all things you

He was probably already curious because of your entrance to NRC but now he’s officially obsessed

It feels like fate when Crowley and Vil dedicate you to help with the SDC crew 

Now he has access to you so much easier

So when you do return to your room during a dance break and he’s in there

You shouldn’t mind him, he only misplaced a feather from his hat

Or how he can eagerly offer to do your laundry with the liberty of taking whatever the dirtiest object in there is without alerting you 

And the pictures

Oh the pictures

he screws up his sleep schedule and risks scolding by Vil because he’s having a hard time limiting himself

And he’ll find that’s how it always is with you

“Oh Rook if you’ll excuse I’ve got to get past to the bathroom.”

“Ah~<3”

“Uh are you okay?”

“Oui! I just was surprised by how soft your touch was.”

“Hey don’t be weird.”

It only worsens after you survive Vil’s overblot with him

So brave!

You joined him when you sensed Vil’s killed intent

So oblivious!

You just casually called possibly the most dangerous creature alive by a cute nickname and got him to smile

So supportive!

The way you cheered them on despite your little twitch everytime one of them messed up

It’s invigorating

Almost more than he has with Neige

But it’d be wrong to quantify his love for the beauties in his life

Hence why he won’t keep track of how many times he ends up following you more than he does Vil

Or how the ceiling he’d reserved for Neige is filled with pictures of you

Or how often he ends up shooting arrows in the direction of troublesome students who can’t seem to stay away from you

Or how he’s willing to continue spending his allowance to pay for tuna that keeps Grim from telling you of his growing scent in the Ramshackle dorm

“Wow thanks for helping me out Rook, I didn’t know you were into building stuff.”

“I’m happy to help you mon filou! Besides seeing you work up a sweat really does something for me. I love to help you and Grim rest in beautiful luxury.”

“Aw thanks! Ace and Deuce said they’d help too but something came up.”

“I see. A shame they’re missing all the fun probably wondering how they got locked in a room with Floyd. You can trust I’ll always come when you call! In truth one may even say I am your biggest fan!”

[mochinomnoms]

I love all your stuff, it fuels my Octatrio brain rot!

After reading your post on the Azul explaining that marriage contract post, I couldn't help but think of how the tweels would react to seeing people tease yuu about their "engagement" (I'm sure octavinelle students complained to their friends I the other dorm about the very loud mating happening) and some who don't believe it and are stupid enough to flirt with/bully Yuu.

Like Ace would tease them and say "should we call you Mx. Leech from now on?~" while Deuce is "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! BLINK TWICE IF THIS IS AGAINST YOUR WILL" and Grim wondering how they can use this to get more tuna

Meanwhile an idiot from Savannahclaw or Diasmonia approaches you and says something like "So your whoring yourself out to non-humans? When's my turn with the magicless bi-" then his body is found at the bottom of a lake somewhere the next day.

Thank you for being a place for us octasimps to gather and spill our thoughts!

(yessss octasimps take residence with meeeee~)

Oh, word gets around soooo quick, no matter how much the twins scare the dorm, Octavinelle students like to gossip. Besides, it's not like the tweels care, they want everyone to know that you're taken! Must be a merfolk thing, because you're trying to hide from the embarrassment of being known as the one who fucked not one, but both Leech twins.

You spend the entire first period ignoring Ace's jests and prodding, while Deuce continuously checked in. He wasn't convinced that you weren't swindled into a contract, please help calm him down, he looks like he's going to cry. Grim is actually disgusted, until he receives a platter of fancy tuna at lunch from an “anonymous” benefactor. Now he's down for anything as long as Jade and Floyd provide him with the most decedent seafood.

You eventually have to run an errand for Crowley during your study period, so you leave Grim with Jack to run it faster without the familiar's interruptions. That's when the scenario above happens:

You're cornered in a hallway by a small group of students, one from each dorm minus Octavinelle. They may gossip, but they certainly know better than the others. The group is jeering and whistling, a Scarabia and Diasomnia student reaching to pinch at your arms and thighs, while a Pomefiore cat beastman croons.

“Aw what's wrong? I thought you liked nonhumans? Huh, no? Well, then maybe you shouldn't have been such a whore for merman dick!”

A few more hands move to grab and push you, intending to take out their long festering anger with the twins on you instead. Intended is the key word here; two towering shadows cover you and the group when two pairs of hands reach for the group leader, the cat from Pomefiore. He screamed before being cut off by a crunch, collapsing on the ground as he groaned and clutched his ribs.

Floyd terrifying when angry, but it's not an unfamiliar sight. But Jade's always had a polite, soft expression. So seeing him with a blank face, but fury filled eyes was like looking into the eyes of the devil himself. Combined that with each other, the twins were like the antichrist given form in the shape of 6'2” sharped tooth mermen. Your mates made quick work of the group, growling insults and promising them that they're being much more merciful than they deserved.

After the whole ordeal, you find yourself being accompanied by Floyd draping his arm around your shoulders as you finish your task. Jade walked off, letting you know that he needed to make sure he reported back the students' behavior to their housewardens. Omitting their latest “scuffle” of course. They should consider themselves lucky that they only walked away with bruised ribs, black eyes, and only one hand and nose were broken! They really went easy!

Everyone knows not to mess with you after that. Everyone should know how protective nonhumans get over their humans, especially moray eels. The sharp teeth aren't for show, you know.

[calcifiedunderland]

Part I, Part II, Part III (Here) (COMPLETED)

Ending I, Ending II, Ending III

Note: *falls over from exhaustion* after overthinking wayyy to much, here’s the last part!! Thank you all so much!!!!!!!

Taglist: @recreyomakesdoodles, @aruis4nosleep, @tinseltina, @ibby-miyoshi-nerd, @takitafulily, @viperwhispered, @peeisgood, @twistedcece,

Warnings: food/eating

————————————————————————————————♣️🐙🐍

The next day, you busied yourself getting ready for the Unbirthday Party.

You ate the leftovers from Jamil for breakfast while Grim feasted on some tuna. You’d fallen into a nice little rhythm - eat Jamil or Azul’s leftovers for breakfast, and snack on a pastry or two made by Trey on your walk from Ramshackle to the Mirrors, and attend class. You’d even wrapped up a slice of tart in a napkin and munched on it in between classes, slipping Grim a bite or two to keep him happy.

After breakfast, you headed out. The two of you ambled on the way to Heartslabyul, when your phone rang.

You rose an eyebrow, but responded, “Hey Azul, is everything ok?” Azul’s voice came from your phone, sounding a bit shaky. “Everything is fine, Prefect. I was wondering if you could stop by the Lounge for a moment?”

About two minutes earlier, Azul was in his office, idly twirling the longer lock of hair next to his cheek. His thumb hovered over the send button, uncertain. How in the Seven Seas do humans do this?! He huffed and deleted it all, setting his phone down on his desk.

For the hundredth time, he thought back to how your study date went. The relieved look on your face, when you finally understood the subject because he had helped you filled him with smug satisfaction. He’d proven that he was reliable. His mind raced, there’s another exam for Alchemy. Maybe they’d want more help.

He reopened your chat when the door to his office opened. Floyd flopped onto the couch in boredom while Jade perched next to him, smirking with intrigue. Azul frowned, setting his phone down to pace around his office.

“I have no idea what to say. How, in the Sea Witch’s name, do I ask to see them again?” At that, Floyd just groaned in annoyance, but grinned when he saw Azul’s phone (unlocked) on his desk. “Ya can just ask them!” He cackled as he held Azul back with one arm and called your number with the other. Jade simply chuckled with a sadistic grin, while Azul yelled.

Now, Azul was sweating enough to fill the ocean twice over. “I’d like you to stop by the Lounge, because…” he trailed off, staring wide-eyed at the twins. Jade hummed, and offered “leftovers?” Azul nodded rapidly, then said quickly “y-yes! There’s some leftovers I’d like you to have!”

You stepped into the Heartslabyul mirror, “I really appreciate it, Azul, but I really don’t need any more leftovers, I barely have any space.” Your fridge was already bursting with Jamil’s curry, Azul’s Lounge dishes, and Trey’s fancy pastries. You’d taken to pawning some off to Ruggie, and even Epel began stopping by for some food.

Azul stared at Jade and Floyd, floundering for words. What? How?! You’d only taken two boxes of food, enough for one meal between you and Grim. He cleared his throat. “I-I see, well… I understand that Crewel will be having an Alchemy test soon, perhaps we could schedule a… session?” He gulped. He ignored Jade chuckling and mumbling ‘surely you mean date.’

You stopped in front of the Heartslabyul maze with a smile. “I’d really appreciate that, thank you. Y’know, I was having trouble with last week’s potion.” Azul sighed with relief, dropping into his office chair, “How about you come by later today? I have the afternoon free, and-“

“I won’t be able to, Azul,” you said apologetically. You waved to Ace and Deuce in the distance, the two of them were setting the table for the Party. You continued, “The Unbirthday Party is today, and it’ll be a while. Trey wanted me to help with the desserts again.” Trey stepped out into the maze, smiling at you.

You began walking to them, “Anyway Azul, I can call you back later, Trey needs me, I have to go.” You ended the call. Azul stared at his phone in disbelief. Clover…!

He stood abruptly, a scheming look in his eye. At that, Jade and Floyd immediately stood to attention, and moved to walk behind Azul as he stalked out of his office.

————————————————————♣️🐙🐍

You smiled as Trey walked up to you. The green-haired third year held a large cake stand in his hands, with a nicely decorated white heart-shaped cake sitting neatly inside. “Hello, (name),” he greeted you, setting the cake down on the table in front of Riddle’s throne. He smiled at you, and you felt warmth spread from your cheeks to your toes. “I’m glad you made it early, I needed some help frosting some last-minute cookies.”

You nodded in understanding, and walked with him into the kitchens. Trey walked behind you, “here, you’ll need an apron,” he gently put the neckpiece over your head and tied the string around your waist. You were caught off guard with how fast it happened, and your face felt warm. Even though you couldn’t see him, you could hear the smile (or smirk?) in Trey’s soft voice. “Wouldn’t want you to mess up your nice party outfit,” a deep chuckle reverberated from him.

You nodded quickly, squeaking out “of course!” before picking up a piping bag and frosting the cookies with the typical heart-pattern they always had. Trey smiled softly at you before doing the same with another bag, and the two of you fell into a comfortable silence. Beneath his breath, Trey hummed, glancing at you every so often. As he swirled icing onto a madeleine, he wondered if he could ask you to help him again sooner.

Pretty soon, you two stacked the cookies into a tray and the Unbirthday Party was underway. Cheerfully, you watched your friends play croquet while you nibbled on a buttery madeleine cookie that Trey frosted. Thankfully, you weren’t particularly hungry now. You’d scarfed down some of Jamil’s cooking for breakfast, unable to resist the deliciously crisp scent of falafel that you’d warmed in the microwave.

While it didn’t have the same crunchy texture like when Jamil finished making it, it still tasted divine. And after browsing through your fridge, Jamil insisted on cooking you some dolma, complete with bell peppers stuffed with veggies and rice, and a few large, sweet, juicy, delectable mangos sent (and grown!) by Kalim’s family.

Jamil’s food was incredibly filling, and it didn’t help that every time he saw you, he sent you back with at least three tupperwares. Not that you minded, of course - you never minded it, especially when Jamil looked so happy. Subconsciously, you pulled out your phone and opened Jamil’s chat. You saw he left a message.

Jamil: Hey (name), are you doing ok? Please text me when you get this.

Back in the Scarabia kitchens, Jamil frowned at his phone. What is going on? An hour ago, he was walking to Sam’s shop to buy ingredients when he overheard Azul and the twins talking in the Mirror Chamber. Quickly, he hid behind the post and listened carefully to them. Strange, why was Azul going to the Heartslabyul mirror?

“So, whatcha gonna do about Sea Turtle?” Floyd asked, hands up behind his head. “Can’t have him crampin’ your style on Shrimpy.” Jade chuckled, a wicked grin on his face, “quite right. What is your plan, Azul?” The Housewarden in question merely stalked to the mirror, saying “I’ll simply chat with Trey. I’m sure Heartslabyul wouldn’t mind some more guests to their Unbirthday Party.” The twins merely grinned at each other, and walked into the mirror after Azul.

Jamil stared after them. So, not only is Azul pursuing you, he thought as he pulled out his phone to text you, but so is Trey? He’d known about Azul’s plans to become closer to you, but he hadn’t considered Trey. Still, Jamil should know about lying low and using closeness to your advantage. Sevens, that Clover could be as cunning as him. Despite the situation, a devious grin spread on Jamil’s face. It seemed that both of them weren’t aware of Jamil’s intentions though.

When he went back to the Scarabia kitchens, Jamil expected a text from you soon, but he was still waiting after an hour. It wasn’t like he wanted to oust himself by going to the Unbirthday Party looking for you, but he was feeling antsy just waiting. He flipped over a falafel patty on the stove, when he heard his text notification.

(Name): Hey Jamil! Yea im good, sorry for the late txt, im at heatslabl rn

(Name): its knda crazy here, jade and flyod are here??? Atm im hidin from flody, he saw me an yelled SHRmPY n I dont wanna be eaten lmao T-T

Jamil frowned deeply, and wrote back:

Jamil: Stay safe, I hope everything is ok. Do you know where Trey is? Maybe he could help.

Jamil: And do you know if Azul is there?

You flinched when you saw Floyd’s feet running beside the table you were huddled under, tablecloth obscuring you. He laughed loudly, babbling out “Crabby!” and “Mackerel!” Thankfully, he wasn’t looking for you anymore, but Sevens you needed a break. You responded to Jamil:

(Name): uh idk, i haven’t seen trey fr a while, and idk if azul is here at all.

Jamil’s eyes narrowed at his phone screen. Putting the last falafel aside, he packaged up some in a tupperware with more pita, some tahini hummus, and shawarma. He sent you a thumbs up, and made his way out of Scarabia.

————————————————————♣️🐙🐍

“Hello, Trey,” Azul greeted, hand firm on his cane. The two of them stood in the Heartslabyul kitchen, tension thick. Trey’s eyes narrowed at Azul. “Azul, what brings you to Heartslabyul?” he asked conversationally, though forced. Azul smiled thinly, eyes narrowing in turn, “I simply came to see what your…Unbirthday Parties are like.”

Trey crossed his arms, “Well, as I’m sure you can see, we’re all busy. Though they are called Parties, they’re an important event to Heartslabyul. An irreplaceable tradition,” he stressed. Azul hummed, “I’m sure, but they’re rather… unorganized, no?” He nodded towards the sink, “I see several things have escaped your care…” He glanced around the kitchen, noting a few stray cookies, cupcakes, and icing laying around, not to mention the large mound of dishes packed in the sink.

Azul looked up at Trey, pursing his lips. “You seem quite busy, perhaps all your eggs aren’t in one basket, hm?” he said with a smirk. Trey crossed his arms, angling his head, “I’m sure you didn’t come here for eggs, Azul, so say your piece and let me go to the Party.”

Under the scrutiny of Azul’s grey eyes, Trey was surprised at himself for his sudden brashness. Still, he decided, he didn’t want Azul taking advantage of your kindness. Azul cleared his throat, before the door to the kitchen swung open.

Trey’s golden eyes widened at Jamil’s dark grey irises, and the Scarabia second year steeled his gaze at him. Jamil shifted the Tupperware in his arms, “Hello Trey,” he said calmly while clutching the container considerably not calmly. “Where is the Prefect? I was looking for them.”

Jamil noticed the way Trey and Azul side-eyed each other. He serenely smiled at them, staying silent. Something swirled in Jamil’s dark eyes that made Azul’s eyes narrow - it wasn’t Jamil’s Unique Magic, but was still just as sinister.

“Jamil,” Trey said evenly, “it’s not often we see members of other dorms in Heartslabyul.” Its even stranger that you’re here looking for Prefect. And now that Azul is here too… Jamil nodded, and Trey continued. “The Prefect is out at the Party right now, what do you need them for?” The two listened closely to Jamil, who said carefully, “They texted me, and I was going to bring them back to Scarabia for a bite to eat-“

“Hm, how kind of you, Jamil.” Azul cut Jamil off, smiling coldly at him. He tapped his cane on the floor twice, saying “but I’m afraid I must take the Prefect with me to study, as they’re obligated under contract.” Trey narrowed his eyes, arms crossing, “If they were under contract, wouldn’t they be there now instead of here, the Party?”Azul stared disdainfully at him, damn, I should’ve explicitly wrote out when (Name) would meet with me. I shouldn’t have left it up to them!

Trey felt triumphant as he said, “I’m sure whatever obligations the Prefect has, they will attend to after the Unbirthday Party.” Azul grit his teeth, “While Scarabia is… accommodating,” he nodded to Jamil, recalling Kalim’s wild chaotic parties, “and the Queen of Hearts’ dorm is indeed… charming,” he nudged a fallen cookie with his cane, “I believe the Prefect would prefer the attention of Octavinelle. After all, they have sought refuge with us before. If I recall, it was during winter break, right Jamil?”

Jamil’s eyes widened, and he glared at Azul’s smug look, “Yes, I’m sure they feel right at home being watched by your two henchmen. Please,” he scoffed, “They already have enough on their plate. You’d probably make them work at your restaurant.”

Trey begrudgingly agreed, “he’s right. That isn’t your decision to make, Azul.” He adjusted his glasses, the frame glinting in the kitchen’s light, “Of course, when they want to relax with people who care, they do come to Heartslabyul.”

Jamil turned incredulously to Trey, snorting “Heartslabyul also has a pair of ruckus-causing freshmen, if I remember correctly. I’m not sure the Prefect could properly relax here.” He tossed his bangs over his shoulder, “Scarabia is far more suitable, and Kalim’s family recently sent over new sofas for the lounge room. They’d be comfortable there.”

The three stared at each other, no one moving. Outside, however, was pandemonium.

————————————————————♣️🐙🐍

Something just had to happen at the Unbirthday Party, you thought exasperatedly. Of course, none other than Jade and Floyd had to come to Heartslabyul.

Now, Riddle was screaming Off With Your Head! at a wild, giggly Floyd. Meanwhile, Jade was inspecting the Rose Maze grounds under the excuse of ‘looking for wild mycelia.” Even though Heartslabyul meticulously kept the grounds spotless. Still, it didn’t stop your first year friends from tailing the Octavinelle Vice suspiciously while Cater was busy live-streaming the entire mess with a cheerful peace sign and grin. And now, after texting Jamil as a plea for help, you were staring at the thumbs up emoji he sent you. Like, what the hell Jamil? Really?

You sighed to yourself, drinking the last of your (drink) before rising to your feet. You had some suspicions for why the twins were here, paranoia filling you. Azul’s call earlier was a little strange. You would’ve asked him if he was alright, if you hadn’t had the Party. Shit, was there something in the contract I violated or something? You’d scoured that contract for everything, surely there wasn’t anything you missed?

You quietly passed a laughing Floyd and picked up a few empty cake and pastry platters, silently walking to the kitchens to put them in the sink. It’ll be nice to help Trey out a little. You also wondered if Jamil texted you back, oh and you could call Azul about your study session too! You were about to push the kitchen door open when you heard Trey mention your name.

“...and in any case, (Name) is already overworked,” Trey continued, maintaining eye contact with Azul. “I’m sure you wouldn’t do them any favors.” Azul’s eyes narrowed, “and what exactly do you mean by that, Clover?” His tone became icy, and a chill ran down your back as if you were doused with ice water.

You were startled to hear Jamil, who responded sternly, “the Prefect mentioned you made a contract with them. The last time you made contracts for studying, I remember it didn’t go well with them.” You heard Trey sigh and agree, “Jamil is right, and you know it. How do we know you aren’t just fooling them?”

Azul winced pushed up his glasses, frowning deeply, “I admit that the Prefect and I haven’t had the… best start,” he began, “but what happens between them and I is none of your concern.” You heard Trey bite back in a tone you’d never heard him use, “I’ll make it my concern if something happens to them.” Hastily he backtracked, “they’re my underclassmen, I have to look after them.”

Azul scoffed and continued, unimpressed “I’ve told you before, my intentions with them are entirely pure and good. I have been nothing but benevolent. Besides,” he smirked, ego growing, “don’t you find it interesting they came to me for help, and not either of you?”

You were surprised to hear Jamil’s voice sneer, “You would’ve found some way to rope them into your contracts sooner or later. But I wouldn’t have let you get away with it with (Name).” You heard Trey grit out, “You’re not much better than Azul, Jamil. Don’t think they haven’t told me what happened during winter break.”

You sucked in a deep breath and hefted the dishes in your arms. You’d heard enough. You were tired of people discussing you. And you were too underpaid to deal with whatever bullshit those three were beefing about in there. You summoned every acting tip Vil gave you, and pushed the kitchen door open with your back, “Hey Trey!” You feigned cheerfully, “I got some dishes, and did you know the twins are here?-“

Despite what you heard, you watched with amusement as the three of them jumped out of their skins. Trey and Azul’s glasses went askew and Azul’s cane clattered to the floor, smashing a fallen cookie into crumbs. Trey’s hat fell off next to him. The decorative coin beads in Jamil’s hair jangled as he flinched. Jamil’s long bangs and braids whipped Azul in the face as he spun around to look at you. As Azul spluttered at the sudden hair-attack, you noted Jamil was clutching a food container in his arms. Your mind drifted to your fridge.

You looked at them innocently and dumped the dishes in the sink. Not my problem.

“Oh, hello Azul!” You hummed, putting the cane in his hand, “I didn’t realize you came too! What a surprise!” You decided to ignore the flustered look on Azul’s face as he fidgeted with the cane. “And there you are, Jamil! I got worried when you didn’t text me back.” You smiled and hugged him softly, brushing his bangs behind his ear. Jamil’s face went slack with shock as you did, the tupperware almost slipping from his grasp.

You turned to Trey, sweeping up his hat and dusting it off before reaching up on your toes. You set it down softly on his head before adjusting his glasses gently, “Hey uh, fair warning, Trey,” you kept your tone in check, practically feeling Azul’s and Jamil’s gazes staring at the back of your head, “the twins are here, and Floyd is kinda making Riddle very… behead-y,” you winced. “Sorry, I tried to help…”

You noted the soft dust of pink on Trey’s cheeks as he cleared his throat, and gently grabbed your hand that was still hovering by his glasses, “it’s no problem, Prefect. You’ve done an excellent job, I can take it from here.” You smiled at the three of them, deciding to get the hell out of there. “Thanks, Trey!”

In a last-minute pitied attempt to quell all three of them, you smiled nervously at them all, “And, uh, Trey? Thank you for the pastries, they’re absolutely delicious,” Trey smiled, eyes closed as he rubbed the back on his head, “Glad you like them, (Name).” You suddenly felt the other two guys’ eyes on you.

Azul cleared his throat, “I hope you’ve been eating balanced meals, Prefect? After all, too much sweets aren’t good for you.” Trey sent him a look, “there are many pastries that aren’t sweet, and besides, I’ve been ensuring the Prefect is getting enough to eat. And as for their health,” Trey smiled teasingly at you, “you’ve been brushing your teeth, right?” You groaned, smacking his arm. Trey chuckled, “the Prefect does deserve a sweet treat once in a while, right Azul?” “Tch…”

You were curious why Azul simply pushed up his glasses, saying “but simply as dessert. I believe the main course is more important in a meal. For that,” Azul smiled charmingly at you, “I’m sure you’d find my menu at the Lounge more suitable to your tastes.” Something in Azul’s voice tipped you off - he was using his business-y convincing voice. And you noted that Trey was watching him very closely, while Jamil was looking at the two of them calculatingly. As your gaze bounced from one to the other, Jamil smiled, not quite reaching his eyes, “perhaps you’d like to try some more of my homemade cooking? I haven’t had you try all the ones I want to make for Kalim yet…”

Suddenly you felt the air in the kitchen get very stuffy. Go figure, this is NRC. Of course there’s an ego-feeding competition. Still, feeling a little bad about not acknowledging the other two, you nodded to Azul, “well Azul, thanks for the food! I had some for breakfast. And, thank you for helping me with the History test, I appreciate it a lot!” You grinned at him, “I was the highest in the class, Trein was impressed!” Azul chuckled softly, but you saw the blush dusting his face, “Of course, Prefect. It was my pleasure.” Finally, you smiled at Jamil, “And thank you for the leftovers, Jamil. They were incredible!”

Trey and Azul’s eyes dart immediately to Jamil, then to the tupperware he held. Jamil smirked slightly and held the tupperware out to you. “I’m glad you liked it, Prefect. I made some more, please take it.” You nodded, taking it with a nervous smile. You idled there awkwardly, then cleared your throat. “WELL!” you tucked the tupperware under your arm, “I’d better get going! Thank you all so much!” You turned on your heel and scampered out of the kitchen.

Azul sighed heavily, “I was about to ask them about another study session… oh, well.” He turned to Trey, “I believe we’ve both outstayed our welcome. I suppose I’ll see you, Trey.” Trey nodded, lips pursed. Jamil followed after Azul, looking back at Trey for a moment before walking.

You sighed heavily, tossing yourself onto your mattress in your room. Downstairs, you heard Grim hum happily as he nommed on something, but you couldnt be bothered now. You flopped over, staring at the ceiling. This is so weird.

You couldn’t help but feel like you’d stumbled into something entirely out of your control, but somehow it was different than dealing with Overblots, Grim, or even Crewel’s cruel tests. It felt… strange dealing with emotions like this. In your heart, you felt like you knew what it was, even if you didn’t want to admit it yet.

Soon, you lost track of time, so lost in thought that you flinched when you heard your phone go off. You sighed, and got yourself up off the bed. Walking over, you picked up your phone from the nightstand, and saw you had a text from…

Cake Ending

Five Star Meal Ending

Silky Melon Ending

————————————————————♣️🐙🐍

Lmk which dorm is your fav in the comments, mine is heatslabl lmao

Comments, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated!!! I had a lot of fun writing this fic, and it makes me so happy that people like it!!! Take care shrimpies~

[strange-dreams-are-made-of-these]

Playing Games With This Old Heart

Summary: You need to make cash fast after losing your job. After stumbling on a job, you can't help but to think about your first customer. And he can't get you out of his head.

Warnings: no smut, no fluff, still MDNI as this will be a planned series, canon typical violence, hints of death of a loved one (prior to story), animal death (bear), angst, Female Mutant!Reader with regenerative healing factor.

A/N: It's been two years since ive poste dont his account, so i hope you guys wont hold that against me. Please take this sample of a fic with our favorite X-Man.

Word Count: 4.7 k words

The days were shifting between the long summer heat and a cooler breeze as the leaves started to change from their usual green and full thick coverings to reds, yellows, and browns before leaving their life-sustaining tree and falling to the ground. There was something subtle about the sound of leaves crunching under ones footstep that somehow felt calming. The ground around your home was littered with the fine needles of the Douglas Fir trees that had a very distinct pine smell to them. It was a welcoming smell for you, having lived the majority of your life in rural Montana, the fresh smell of pine felt like home.

The colorful coat of the Maine Coon cat you owned stood out against the green throw blanket placed on the couch, the place he dubbed his spot. His name was Felix and he had been your fury best friend of nearly six years now. He showed up one day on your doorstep when it was raining with his mother. Not knowing much about cats, but knowing they were hungry, you couldn't help but open the last can of tuna you had in your pantry, draining it of its liquid before setting it out for the mother and son cats to eat. His mother trusted you enough to leave her son with you before leaving, never to be seen again. You often wondered what happened to the little minx of a feline, though you were happy to assure her you could take care of her baby.

"Okay, Felix. I'm going into town. Don't miss me too bad while I'm gone, okay?" You chuckle a little watching him as he stretches out, adjusting your jacket in the process. With keys in hand, wallet in your warm coat, and a fully charged phone, you left your home. Your next-door neighbor was only five miles away, as was his other neighbor. The only thing you had to worry about here were bears, mountain lions, and wolves showing up unannounced during meal times. Thankfully the only time you spotted any of the three was during their migration journeys at quite the distance from your porch to the open land headed out toward the lake where they could get their fill of fresh fish and other small creatures that dwelled there.

You kept your distance, you respected their space, and in turn, they stayed away from you. Just how it should have been.

Hoping into your truck, an old one of your father's, you kick it into gear and leave your driveway. The roads were bumpy as the broken rock and dirt shifted under the weight of the truck, bouncing you a little as you made the drive into town. There were a few things you needed to make it through the week: gasoline, and a refill of your water containers. One was used for cooking and drinking, one was used for bathing, and the third was the backup. Being out in these parts, you had to prepare for the unthinkable. Trees block major routes to give supplies, unpredictable weather, and supply shortages.

Another thing you would have liked to get was a fresh cut of meat for dinner. Depending on what was at the store would determine the dinner in store for you. Grilled fish? sounded nice. A steak could have been as equally nice to eat.

Though, there was another reason for your outing today. Since Mr. Kirkwood had sold his farm, you had been out of a job and had been running low on funds. You had to find a job today, any job. Anything that would provide you cash for hard work to continue to provide for yourself and Felix. Stocking shelves at the only grocery store in town? Perfect! Cutting down trees for the logging company? You're the girl for the job, nevermind you have never cut a vertical tree before, only when they were already grounded.

You just needed any job, one that you can continue to live your life.

--

Parking the truck, you walked to the bed, picking up the water containers, two in one hand and the third in the other. Thankfully there had been a man coming out of the store, seeing your hands full he held it open for you. You thanked him, recognizing him as one of your father's old co-workers. You nodded to each other, letting him go back to his day as you entered the door.

"There she is, I was wondering when you would be coming back. I hadn't seen you in a few days," came the beckoning voice of the store's owner, Mr. Morgan. He was almost like an uncle to all of the younger people in town, being about thirty-five and younger. You were toward the older end of his infinite nieces and nephews, though he would swear you were his favorite.

"I was able to get an extra day or two in on my stock. I call that quite the accomplishment."

"Did you make it last longer, or did you go without longer than usual?" He questioned you, peering over his glass at you as you set the water containers down. He knew what your current situation was, but at the end of the day, he still had a business to run. "I can't do anything for you today until you pay your tab." He was serious, but he had a little glint in his eye as if letting a loved one down.

You looked at him, your once welcoming face now placid. "Mr. Morgan, please. You know I'm good for the money." you fished around in your jacket, pulling out the last thirty-seven dollars and change you had. You knew it wouldn't cover your tab plus what you needed, but you also knew he had a business to run. "I just need a little more time. And some supplies. Please."

It was a plea, a simple one. Though you knew he was the holder behind how the rest of your week was going to go. "I'll stock shelves for you to pay the rest of my tab. I'll scrub the floors with a toothbrush. I'm willing to work."

He took his glasses off, looking at the cash in front of him. He didn't want to see anybody struggling, but he couldn't ignore his debts. He shuffled the money around, taking thirty dollars for himself and handing you the seven dollars and change back. "I can't afford to add anybody else to my payroll, or else I would. You can have one water refill, a full tank of gas, and some cat food. Nothing more."

You stared at him, lips parted as if to protest the money exchange, but the sound of the bells chiming against the door flooded those thoughts. You reached for the cash, scooping the change into your hand. All you could muster was a simple "Thank you." Moving the water containers to the side, you placed two of the containers into the designated area, then took one to the refill station, and filled the water container.

You had to figure something out and fast.

--

A newly filled water container was placed in the truck bed, a full tank of gas in your truck, and a sack of wet and dry cat food sat on the passenger floorboard. Looking around the small main street of the town where ninety percent of the town's businesses resided, you decided to leave your truck where it was. You were on the hunt for a job, and you were damn determined to find employment by the end of the day.

You used your side view mirror to make sure your hair looked fine, adjusting the collar of your jacket and shirt, you straightened up peering back at the main street. The best way to start job hunting was to start at the end of the street and work your way back down, entering every business you spotted. The good thing about small towns was all you needed was to name-drop a couple of people, resumes didn't hold up well.

The bad thing about small towns was that everybody needed work. Store owner after store owner denied your requests. The pawn shop wasn't looking for new employees, the liquor store had too many employees as is, and the antiquities store only hired their family members. The options were dwindling down, and soon you were nervous you were going to have to find a creative way to make money or even worse, entertain the thought of being a lot lizard.

The only two businesses left were the diner on the right side of the street and the motel at the end of the road. Either of them could have positions open, yet they could also deny you a job opening. You had to hope they had an opening somewhere, knowing you were not creative enough to make and sell items for cash. You didn't own many items to sell, beyond the couch, a cot you used to sleep on, and the few little trinkets you received when her father died. The most expensive item you owned was more than likely the truck, and selling it would mean nearly desertion at your home.

Without another thought, you crossed the street as a logging truck passed in front of you. You made some eye contact with the driver, making sure you waited until he drove in front of you before crossing the street.

As you pushed open the doors of the diner, a woman ten years your senior greeted you. "Have a seat wherever you want, sweetheart."

You crossed the room, taking a seat in front of her as she cleaned the counter space. "I know you are busy, and I don't want to take up too much of your time. I'm looking for a job. Mr. Morgan told me you might have something open here?"

The woman looked up from her work, eyeing you down after you mentioned Mr. Morgan. Her ginger curly hair cascaded down her shoulders as she shifted her weight. "Mr. Morgan, huh?" It was hard to tell by her expression, but she seemed to be thinking about something.

The door opened again, and a young blonde woman entered appearing slightly disheveled as if she had just woken up. "I'm here, Rebecca."

The woman in front of you, Rebecca as you read the name tag, turned her body toward the younger woman, then looked to the clock. She placed one hand on her hip. "Only two hours late." She looked between you and the woman, a mischievous look in her eyes. "I told you, show up on time or don't show up at all."

The blonde woman huffed a little, crossing her arms. "It's not like anybody else wants this job."

Rebecca smirked, walking around the counter toward the woman. "Actually she does." She was quick to snatch the apron from the blonde woman. "Clean your uniform and have it dropped by the end of the week, then you will get your check." She then tossed the apron to you, catching it effortlessly.

The blonde huffed, storming out of the diner and throwing a couple of curses in the air. "Your shift starts now. Take a menu, and study it between customers. Orders go to Big Ben. Don't ask us why we call him that and don't make any eye contact. Burgers are made to order, the soup of the day is Italian wedding, and you can give me your jacket."

Her orders came quickly as you stood up, removing your jacket and tying the apron around your waist. There had been a little notebook in the apron and a pen, thankfully saving your ass as you wrote down the notes she gave you. The doorbell rang again, the older woman looked at you with a questionable look. That was your cue, time to work. "Take a seat wherever you want." You nodded, taking a menu in your hands and walking up to your first-ever customer.

--

As his boots made contact with the ground below him, the man took a moment to adjust his shoulders, rolling them a couple of times as he stretched. He could have sworn the truck cabs were getting smaller and smaller, almost feeling his head touch the rooftop. At least he could rest comfortably during his lunch break. He had contemplated having a liquid diet for lunch paired with a cigar, but the smell of greasy burgers filled his nostrils. Tucking the keys of the truck in his vest pocket, Logan walked toward to diner.

He passed by an unruly blonde woman, muttering under her breath about being fired barely filling his ears. He persisted in, entering the diner. Not looking up, he heard the greeting offered to him, hearing two different footsteps filling the diner. One was the small heels clicking against the tile floors. The other was boots muffled against the tile. A small pair of hands moved to set a menu down in front of him, along with what looked like one single-ply napkin and a fork. "What can I get started for you?"

Logan still hadn't looked up yet, looking at the laminated two-sided menu in front of him. "Coffee." He blurted, though wishing he could have an iced beer with his food. The woman left his table, rounding the counter and finding the coffee pot and cups. A minute may have passed by as he scanned the menu. He wasn't that much of a picky eater, as long as it used to have a heartbeat, he was fine.

The mug was set down in front of him, steam rolling off the black liquid. "I'll have the cheeseburger and fries." He picked up the menu, handing it back to the waitress. That was when he finally turned to look at her, remembering her as the woman who crossed the street behind him. She didn't seem to be dressed for work, not like the other woman who was behind the counter now fiddling with some dishes.

"You got it." She left the table, and walked over to the window, setting a ticket in the designated space that the other woman told her about. His hand wrapped around the mug in front of him, looking outside as he silently observed the town. He was in this stretch of land only long enough to get him enough cash to figure out his next move. He didn't like to stay in the same place too long, maybe a year or two at most. He didn't mind the small circles running in this part of the state, but he knew that if he wanted to go somewhere else he would have to figure it out soon before the snow moved in.

What felt like ten minutes had passed before the woman came back, setting his plate in front of him. "Can I get you anything else?"

He shook his head, brushing her off. As she left, she could smell a strong scent of pine around her, as if she herself was a pine tree. It wasn't a disheartening smell, something he actually liked.

Another set of diners came in, sitting a few booths behind Logan. As he ate his food all he could hear was her voice, despite there being a total of seven beings in the diner he could hear. Somehow her voice was the loudest in his mind. Not the heartbeats of the seven people, not his heartbeat, not her heartbeat. Her voice.

As he finished the food in front of him, she walked over to him, leaving his ticket and grabbing the empty plate. "Do you want a cup for the road?"

He reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a billfold. "Yeah, sounds good."

She returned with his to-go coffee, handing it over to him as he left cash on the table, adjusting his shirt collar. "Here, let me get your change."

"Keep it." He walked out of the diner, making a bee-line for his truck, fighting everything in him to talk to her again. Little did he know, that wasn't going to be their only interaction for the day.

--

The daylight began to dissipate, street lights were turning on and the neon signs from the only bar in town began to glow. Rebecca presented to you with a powder blue uniform dress. The diner and the employees looked as if they hadn't left the fifties, just as the regular customers liked to relive. "You did good, peanut. The job is yours. Your next shift is tomorrow, Nine to five, be here no less than ten minutes before clocking in tomorrow. I'll have some shoes for you. Can't have my girls in boots for service."

You took the uniform and hanger, nodding. "Yes ma'am."

Rebecca giggled a little. "Oh darlin', I'm no ma'am. You can call me Becky."

Parting ways with your new manager, you left the diner, uniform in hand and some tips in your apron. You couldn't help but think about the first customer you had that day, a man appearing around your age, how quick your interactions were, but how he almost seemed disinterested in interacting with you. Was it possible he was a regular of the blonde woman? He paid his bill, he tipped you, and you went on about your day. That was all you could ask for.

Returning to your truck still parked in front of the grocery store, you set your items down in the cab. Peering to the bed of the truck, you huff as you realize your water container is missing. At least the thief had the balls to leave your empty gas container. Mr. Morgan's place was closed for the night, so you would have to swing by the store after work. "Cowards." you hum to yourself, getting in the truck and turning over the engine.

Returning home, you fed Felix with the food you acquired today. Becky made sure you had something to eat as well before you left the diner, though Big Ben had made a comment about it. This only solved three of your problems for the day. You still needed to wash up, and without the water container, you only had one choice.

The easiest thing would be to take a bucket to the lake and boil the water before using it to wash up. Not thinking clearly either, you left the house without any type of protection, knowing you were just getting water and heading back to the house. The only light you had to help you was the half-moon above you.

Unknown to you, the man from the diner had followed you home, wondering what you were up to. He wished he could understand what was happening, but your voice was all he could hear and focus on the rest of the day. His truck was parked in the woods opposite your home, and he stood in the tree line listening to the orchestra of insects and animals around the both of you. Foxes howled in the far distance, deer were settling in for the night. But there was another predator within the vicinity, one unbeknownst to you.

You kneeled down to fill the metal bucket with water, you were being watched by a wolverine and a black bear. A bear looking for its next meal, and a wolverine searching for answers, only to find more problems in his way.

The grunt of the bear finally caught your attention. It had been nearly twenty feet in front of you, standing on a rock as it discarded the fish carcass in its claws. He smelled bigger game, and his blood lust was all he could focus on.

Leaving the bucket still in the water, you slowly stood up, keeping your hands to your sides. It stayed on its rock, turning toward you. It must have been fully grown, which spelled danger for you. Black bears did not care and would defend themselves to the death, even if it was not threatened.

Seconds felt like minutes as the bear finally stood up, roaring before falling to all fours and darting toward you. There was no way you could outrun a bear, let alone rely on your home to defend you. Laying down now meant instant death for you. Climbing trees was out of the question.

Your heart pounded in your chest with every footfall, knowing the longer you thought about survival, the more your chances diminished.

The bear caught up to you, pinning you down and tossing you around. Your screams filled the space of the open field around you. Claws tore into your skin and clothes as you felt warm blood escape your body.

Snikt

The bear roared out, turning its attention away from you to something else, attacking it. The sounds of two animals tousling with each other filled the air, but after one minute, the bear grew quiet, a distinct thud was heard as its body fell to the ground.

Something rushed up to you, and before you could react, you felt human hands touching your body. "No, no, no."

You looked up to see the man from the diner hovering over you as his knees collided with the ground next to you. His face was bleeding, but as you watched him, you saw his wounds close and heal within seconds. Almost just like...

He observed you, looking at where your wounds were.

Or used to be.

You sat up, scooting away from him a little. Breathing heavily, the both of, you looked at his tattered clothes and blood stains. yet there was an absence of wounds. "What are you?" You asked hurriedly.

He stared at you, his eyes dancing the same tango where your wounds used to be. "I could ask you the same." He ran a hand over his hair before standing up. He offered you a hand, however you didn't take it. Brushing yourself off from the dirt.

"Nothing happened here, okay?"

Logan turned toward you as he watched you walk back to the lake, picking up the bucket of water.

You realized what you said sounded harsh, and that wasn't your nature. Closing your eyes briefly, you look back at the man. "I have some clothes in my house. I can at least give you something to replace those."

He watched you begin walking toward the cabin you called home. Taking a moment, he decided to follow in your footsteps, quickly matching your pace to walk with you. "I saw you get attacked by that bear. I can see the blood." His eyes scan over your back, where layers of clothes are torn. Not just your jacket, but your shirt, and an undershirt.

You swung open the door of your cabin after walking up the little set of stairs on your porch. "Not to sound like a broken record, but, I can ask you the same."

After both of you were in the cabin, you set the bucket down next to the woodfire stove, pulled some of the water into a pot, then set it on the surface of the stove to boil the water. You then opened up a door, the only closet space in your cabin. There was a box labeled Dad's clothes written in neat handwriting. You pushed it out to the side, then grabbed two jackets. "Here, pick out what you want."

He looked at you, unsure of the idea. There was more to ask now, and he wasn't so sure where to start. He watched as you moved around in the cabin, picking up a little bowl and scooping its contents into a bowl. He could smell the cat, but not see it. He looked around, wondering where it was.

You observed his behavior, wondering what he was doing. Clearing your throat, you took a stab in the dark. "His name is Felix. He doesn't like strangers. If I had to guess, he is on my bed, or under it."

He smirked a little, knowing his suspicion had been confirmed. He approached the box, opening it to look at the different shirts and pants inside.

You observed him, crossing your arms over your chest as you leaned against the wall. "Why are you out here?" You were thankful he showed up when he did, knowing you didn't have many defenses against the bear beyond how you healed.

Instead of giving a bullshit answer or response, he turned to look at you, a gray flannel in hand. "I was just passing through." He lied.

You shook your head, eyeing him as you lowered an eyebrow. "No, you didn't. Nobody passes through this place." Sighing a little, you felt a tug in your back. "Look, I've had a somewhat normal life here, have my entire life. I don't really have anything else to go to, or the drive to go anywhere else. I'll tell you what I can do, and I can answer any questions you have. Then we can part our separate ways. Sound like a deal?"

Logan stood up, tossing the flannel over his shoulder. He held his hands up to his sides, shrugging his shoulders. "I won't complain." He didn't know where this would lead him, but the thought of getting some answers meant his trip wouldn't be wasted.

Nodding, you rolled the sleeve of your torn jacket up, exposing the lower part of your arm to him. you pulled one of the logs out of the stove, holding the unburned end in your hand. The other side was on fire. You held your arm out in front of you, then pressed the fire to your skin, doing your best to stifle the groans from the injury. Pulling the log away, the third-degree burn healed almost instantly as tissue, muscles, and skin grew back together. After showing him the display of your power, you put the log back in the stove. "I was never sick as a child. injured that should have resulted in broken bones never bothered me."

Logan watched you burn yourself and then heal almost instantly. He hadn't met anyone before who had the same healing rate as he did. What were the odds of meeting another mutant out in the middle of nowhere Montana?

"Can I show you what I can do?" He asked, watching your every moment with precision. As he watched you nod, he moved his right hand to cross in front of him. Slowly, the sound of moving metal filled the air as three long knife-like appendages emerged between his knuckles. You stared in a mix of awe and confusion. He smirked, then sliced the pad of his left hand, showing you his own healing rate.

What caught him off guard was how you began to approach him, though it was a slow approach. On instinct, he retracted his claws, the spaces where they had once been healing up. "Does it hurt?" You ask him, rubbing your own knuckles where the blades would have been.

He didn't know how to feel, knowing that the two of you were just strangers passing in the night. "Every damn time." His voice was above a whisper, as if afraid the tone of his voice would break the sound barrier.

Silent moments passed between the two of you, tension filling the air. He couldn't stand it anymore as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "I should really get going," he spoke, stepping around you. Dazed little you finally felt you weren't the only one anymore.

You turned around to face him as he approached your door. "You know, I have a shift at the diner tomorrow. Maybe you'll happen to forget your lunch and have to stop by the diner?"

He should say no. He should be grabbing his things and heading out of town as quickly as possible. He should put this place in his rearview mirror and forget anything that happened there. But the drum of your heartbeat spoke bigger volumes than his brain did.

"We'll see." He nodded, thanking you silently with a gesture of the shirt before leaving your cabin, and walking toward his truck. He needed out of there as quickly as possible. Another moment with you could have sent him into a coma. How beautiful you smelled, how kind you were. Even though you were quick to block him earlier and run away, you still let him into your home and offered him a simple reward for saving your life.

It was almost too intoxicating to think about. And the promise of tomorrow could never come any sooner.

[17020]

☆ LOVE IS IN THE MEOW.

In which Chifuyu Matsuno forgets to feed his cat after getting into a fight, and is also obsessed with Shoujo manga. Not to worry, though, he found someone to care for him and Peke J. 1.7k wc. Chifuyu is a bit ooc, fem! reader, injuries mentioned. Inspired by "Me and Excalibur", the fifth extra chapter.

Peke J was... a hungry cat. Enough to get CHIFUYU MATSUNO into hot water.

'Are you really going to take care of it yourself?'

His mother's question had found itself lingering on his mind as he rushed out of his room, too engrossed in the emergency meeting the Tokyo Manji gang had scheduled for the afternoon, thereby leaving the black cat with no meal. It was well past midnight, and the blond had yet to return. Another late dinner for the feline.

With an open window, Peke J opted to explore his surroundings, settling for whatever he found to chow it down.

Peke J let out a soft meow. It was pitiful and weak. The cat growled as he jumped from his owner's window to the one above him. As the black cat landed on the fire escape, he felt his stomach rumble. An emergency meeting in Tokyo Manji meant a confrontation was inevitable, but it also meant poor Peke J was left with no choice but to munch on scraps he found on the streets.

Meooowr.

This time, it was high-pitched, loud, and cranky. The cat grew irritated as he looked at his own reflection in the closed window. Hunger had struck again, and Peke J's upstairs food supplier was nowhere to be found. A sudden, salty aroma broke the cat out of his trance, carefully jumping down the landing to follow the smell of fresh fish.

This led the cat to his owner's downstairs neighbor, a young woman named Yn Ln. You awaited the cat; sitting cross-legged on your landing, in front of you laid a plate filled with canned tuna. The cat wasted no time in approaching the plate, relieving his desire for food.

"You hungry, pretty baby? Did your owner forget to feed you?"

Busy devouring the plate in front of him, the cat could only let out a muffled purr.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Truth was, his owner did forget to leave food on his plate before leaving; Chifuyu Matsuno struggled to balance his life as a delinquent and a feline father. Unbeknownst to him, his raven-haired neighbor from upstairs fed him whenever Peke J approached his window, leaving Chifuyu with the impression that his cat was well-off in his own care. And now, it was up to you to care for the cat, which had quickly consumed the tuna off the plate.

The cat groomed himself, licking his paws and whiskers so there was no residue of his meal. You took this as an opportunity to pet the cat, running your fingers through its rich, black fur. Your fingers traced the scar next to the cat's ear, with him pushing his head forward, melting into your touch.

"What's your name, kitty?"

The cat purred in return, climbing onto your lap. He laid there as you softly embraced him. Peke J grew fond of you with each passing minute, as pampering was something his owner did not provide during the day. You got ahold of his collar, admiring the cross it had hanging from it. As your looked for his name tag, a voice was heard. It was a whisper-yell, coming from the landing above.

"Peke J!" the voice whispered, "where are you, Peke J?"

Instinctively, the cat sprung up from your lap, meowing as he climbed the fire escape in search of his owner. Curious, you followed Peke J, going up the staircase which led to your neighbor's window.

"You should really care more for your cat, y'know? Poor kitty was desperate for food."

In front of you stood a young man. He was blond, handsome, with gorgeous green eyes. You wondered why you hadn't met him before, because you swore you would have remembered a face as mesmerizing as his. The cuts on his face ultimately answered your doubts, as he had been beaten to a pulp. Bruises, a black uniform, a white sash wrapped around him, gold lettering—

There was no doubting it. He was a gang member.

"And you should mind your business. Peke J is well taken care of."

He immediately regretted his choice of words. Defending himself from his neighbor's implications was in Chifuyu's nature, but he did not mean to come off as abrasive. He stood in front of you, face red from embarrassment. He was captivated by you, taking in your beauty while you crossed your arms and stared at him with a blank expression. Even when mad, you were simply charming.

Chifuyu was internally scolding himself, because he was a total fool for saying the first thing that came to mind. Did his advice for Takemitchy turn to dust? Were the Ai Yazawa works he read worth nothing? The girl in front of him was beautiful, and he completely shunned her off. No wonder he didn't have a date for New Year's.

"It becomes my business when your cat comes to me for food. I'm Yn Ln, I live on the floor below yours."

The boy had been given a second chance, it seemed, and he was more than willing to take it. The collection of Shoujo manga sitting in his bedroom had taught him that, if anything, chances like this are hard to come by. He was not about to ruin this.

"Name's Chifuyu Matsuno. Thanks for caring for Peke J while I was gone" he replied with a bashful smile. Your eyebrows furrowed with worry as you studied his face, concerned with the boy's injuries. He had some cuts and scratches on his cheeks, a bruised eye, and a few traces of blood on his nose.

"You... uh... need any help with that?" you asked, gesturing to his face.

He nodded, not wanting to say anything that could jeopardize this opportunity. "Come with me, I have a first aid kit in my bathroom" you smiled, stepping down the stairs and entering your room through the open window, leaving the blond to follow after you.

Chifuyu Matsuno was nervous.

To be quite frank, he felt like shitting himself. It was not the first time Chifuyu let another person tend to his wounds, having his friends patch him up at their homes or hideouts.

This time, though, it felt different.

Because the person who was to treat his wounds was a total babe, and his mind was clouded with every possible scenario he read on the mangas he had stacked on his bedroom floor.

He sat on top of your bathroom sink as you pulled out a cotton ball from a small bag which sat in Chifuyu's lap. You soaked it with alcohol, positioning yourself in between his legs as your hands reached for his face.

'A classic', he thought, 'though it would've been nice if she were the one sitting.'

And it was, indeed, a classic. It was a typical scenario straight out of his magazines: a boy, a girl, and a room so cramped with little to no place to move. To Chifuyu Matsuno, this was perfect.

With a gentle grip on his jaw, you guided your hand towards his cheek, brushing the soaked ball onto his scratches. Chifuyu was used to the sting of antiseptics, so he showed no reaction as the ball stroked against his skin. On the other hand, you were anxious, afraid of causing discomfort on the boy. He noticed how your movements became stiff, with the ball now barely touching his injuries.

"Is this the first time you do this?"

You nodded in response, "I've fed cats before, but I've never had to patch up their owners."

He smiled, getting ahold of your hand clasping the cotton ball and bringing it closer to his face.

"Don't be scared, I won't bite."

Still, you were delicate, careful enough to not apply excessive pressure. His eyes gently closed, slowly relaxing into your touch as he absentmindedly let out a content sigh.

"Seems like you're already used to this" you commented while discarding the used cotton ball. He nodded in response, softly laughing. "I've had worse."

Curiosity had gotten the better of you, as you took out another cotton ball from the bag. "What happened?"

This prompted the boy to recount the events that occurred during the afternoon up until midnight: the meeting with ToMan, the brawl, and the punches he received (and returned). He went on and on, even narrating his background and how he became vice-captain of the first division. It was strange for him to open up, especially to someone whom he had just met. Nonetheless, he felt a sense of comfort with you, seeing as you saw past his 'tough, gang member exterior' and saw him for what he truly was.

A (very) carefree feline father.

You reached down to his lap, taking out bandages from the bag. You placed them on his skin, softly pressing them to make sure they stuck properly. He was patched up, and it was time for him to go.

"All done, Matsuno."

His eyes fluttered open, and his lips formed into a smile. "Drop the formalities, it's Chifuyu" he laughed, "thanks for patching me up."

His body was unconsciously leaning towards yours, and before he knew it, his lips were placing a quick kiss on your cheek. His body acted on its own, and with wide eyes and the color drained from his face, he nervously awaited your reaction.

To his surprise, you leaned in to peck his cheek. "If you need help next time, just stop by" you whispered, "whether it's with injuries or Peke J, I'll be more than happy to help."

He was about to get off the sink when he noticed the shift in your gaze as you leaned out. Your eyes drifted off towards his lips, with your lips being slightly parted. Chifuyu took notice, and with half-lidded eyes, he gently brought you closer. Feeling your breath on his lips, Chifuyu experienced giddiness like never before.

"May I?" he asked. He made a mental note that, if he succeeds tonight, he would spoil Peke J rotten.

You did not reply, instead opting to close the gap between you and him. Chifuyu felt like he was on cloud nine as his lips slammed into yours. Your hand went up to carefully hold his cheek, and he snaked his arm around your waist, bringing you even closer. This was way better than his magazines, this was dreamlike. Every protagonist from every novel he had read—they could suck it—because Chifuyu Matsuno had outdone them all.

Oh thank you, Peke J. Thank you so—

Meoooow.

Chifuyu pulled away as he sighed in defeat. You smiled as your eyes met the blond's.

"Quite the needy cat you have there, Chifuyu."

In his mind, Chifuyu was cursing out his cat. Because God bless Peke J, but God damn him too.

[medusapelagia]

12 Nothing left

written for @steddieangstyaugust (prompt: Terrible Things – Mayday Parade ) and @augustwritingchallenge (Prompt: animagus ) Rating: Mature Relationship: Steve/Eddie TW: mention of plane crash, mention of Steve’s parents death, suicidal thoughts, magic Words: 1735

The grumpy black cat shows at his door for the fifth night in a row, demanding loudly to be fed the fancy tuna Steve’s mom used to buy in the bio shop.

He has never had an animal and even if the cat is definitely a stray with no collar and probably full of fleas, he doesn’t seem eager to get a family. He wants his fancy tuna, nothing more.

Steve sighs, goes into the kitchen to grab a little dish and the can of tuna then he gets back and grabs some water too, and goes back to his backyard. The black cat is still there, staring at his reflection in the water like it was something unusual, but his pointed ears flinch when he hears the door slide open and turns toward Steve with a soft mew that makes Steve chuckle.

He doesn’t step closer until the food and the water are neatly positioned on the plates and Steve has moved away, staring at him from one of the deck chairs. The cat eats quietly, always very aware of Steve’s presence, and when he’s done he licks his thick black fur and then he blinks at Steve with his eyes so dark that they seem to hold all the secrets of the universe and then he disappears through the woods.

Steve sighs, realizing that the cat visits are the best moment of his day. In the last two weeks, his entire life was destroyed. He lost his place as the alpha male at school and his parents… 

He puts his hands into his hair and pulls until he chokes back the tears.

His parents are dead. The plane they rented to get on that stupid island never made it. They are dead somewhere in the ocean. No flight data recorder, no plane, no emergency call. Nothing. Just Cindy, his father’s secretary, calling him to give him the news.

And that’s not all. 

His father wasn’t the great businessman he pretended to be. He had so many debts that Steve would have to renounce his inheritance if he doesn’t want to drown in his debts. Still, he’s feeding a stray cat the best tuna in town and pretending that everything is fine.

The news of the accident didn’t make it on the news to protect Steve from debt collectors so none knows that he has nothing left. None knows that some days he wonders if it wouldn’t be easy for him to just put an end to his misery.

He was having those kinds of thoughts the first time the cat showed up. Big, furry, and loud. He has mewled until he got Steve’s attention and since that day he has shown up every night, at the same hour, when waves of despair fill Steve’s lungs, making breathing an unbearable task.

It’s just a coincidence, Steve isn’t so naive to believe that a stray cat is trying to save him, but he has found himself waiting eagerly for the elegant animal to come to visit. 

While Steve cleans the little plates he reminds himself that he should try to find a job, but that would mean that the entire town will know that he has nothing left and his stupid pride won’t let him. He sighs loudly. He has one week to leave the house, then it will be put on sale and he’ll have to start living in his car like a homeless guy at nineteen.

That’s not the life he thought was waiting for him.

A scratch on the door attracts his attention, and the big black cat is back, holding a lizard in his mouth.

Steve chuckles, opening the door to let him in, “Come on. I don’t bite.” Steve chuckles, while the cat weary gets inside, leaving his bloody prey on the Persian carpet. Steve will put it in the trash as soon as the cat leaves, but it’s nice seeing that at least he has a friend left.

“Milk?” he asks the cat, not really waiting for an answer but pouring some in a little plate while he grabs his beer, “You must be thirsty after your hunt.”

Steve cracks the beer can open while the cat slowly laps the milk.

“I’m having a hell of a week.” Steve complains, drinking his beer, “My parents died in a plane crash. They didn’t even have a funeral because there was no body to retrieve. They asked me if I wanted a commemoration ceremony but it didn’t make sense to bury two empty caskets in old Lord Harrington chapel, you know?” he drinks some more, “Oh, and I’m full of debts. And I’m going to lose the house soon. Hope the new owner will be kind to you. You’re a good guy. You even brought me a lizard.” Steve chuckles, grabbing another beer, and another until he’s too drunk to stand and he simply sits on the Valentino’s tiles his mom personally chose when they moved.

“I won’t even be present at the graduation ceremony. The Principal told me he’d have my diploma delivered where I wanted. But I have no idea where the hell I’m going to stay. Not here, that’s for sure, but I don't know how comfortable my car is for sleeping. Had a few hookups but never slept there. Not even once. Maybe I should have tried ahead. To be ready. And you have to take care, little friend.” Steve sighs, “I'm only telling you this because life can do terrible things. You can’t know it but I used to be sort of good at school, I was rich and famous and had the prettiest girl in school. Then another boy came and claimed my crown. My friends left me. My parents died. And all I’m left with is a car and a stray cat that loves my mom’s fancy tuna.”

The cat steps closely so slowly that for a moment Steve thinks that he’s imagining it, but after a few moments the cat is standing next to his feet, his dark eyes pointed at Steve like he had understood his entire discourse and he was sorry for him.

Those eyes are dark, so dark, almost magnetic. But he’s just a cat and Steve has drunk too much. He should go to bed.

“Yes, you should.” the cat says, and Steve giggles.

“Cats don’t talk. God I drank too much.” he decides, standing up and wobbling toward his room, moving one leg after the other but feeling that it's not him who’s ordering his limbs to move.

Bullshit.

He’s just drunk.

***

When he wakes up the next day the sun shines too brightly and he curses himself for drinking too much. On his night table, there’s a big glass of water and some Advil. At least past him foresaw that he was going to need them in the morning.

He slowly steps down the stairs, but he freezes: someone is singing in his kitchen. Steve grabs an umbrella from the umbrella rack and steps quietly into the kitchen. In front of the fires, cooking some eggs and bacon stands a beautiful man with long black hair and deep dark eyes.

“Good morning.” He says, smirking, and his teeth look a little bit too sharp.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Steve asks, holding the umbrella tight to his chest.

“Are you threatening me with an umbrella, Steve? For real?”

“How do you know my name?!”

“I know many things about you. And I know you had an awful week and that you need to eat something more than chips and candies. Sit down. It’s almost ready.”

“How did you get in?”

“You invited me.”

“I never did such a thing.”

The man turns with a little smirk, and his tongue flickers on his lower lips just for a moment in a very familiar way.

“This can’t be true. I must be still asleep!”

“What can’t be true?”

“You… your tongue… the cat… it’s not…”

“I need my opposable thumbs to cook, but I guess I can indulge you for a moment.” the man winks, and with a puff he disappears.

“Where the hell…?”

But when Steve circumnavigates the table the big black cat is staring at him with the same smirk the man had.

“Do you prefer this form? My uncle says I’m cuter like this.”

Steve startles and falls on the ground, hitting the floor harshly, while the cat steps closer to him, climbing his legs with ease.

“Hi, Steve. I’m Eddie. Nice to meet you. Now can you tell me where are you hiding that incredible tuna? I really enjoyed it.”

Steve points a shivering finger toward a kitchen cabinet, and Eddie gets down from his lap and turns back into a human to open the kitchen cabinet, “Here it is! I’m going to miss it when we move.”

“We… what?”

“My uncle is coming to visit soon, he’ll decide if you are one of us, but I already know you are.”

“One of you?”

“Animagus. Mages that can change into animals.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you are, Eddie confirms, putting some eggs and bacon on a plate and offering it to Steve, “That’s how I found you.”

“I… I didn’t transform into an animal.”

“No, you didn't.” Eddie replies, nudging the plate closer to him, “But you almost did. I smell the stench of your despair from miles away. I just had to make sure before calling Wayne, don’t want to make the old man travel so long for a false alarm, you know?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Eat, Stevie.” Eddie insists, taking a chair and putting the tuna on a little plate but eating it with a fork this time, “Phoenix burn themselves when they’re desperate.” Eddie says, licking his lips, “And you almost did.” He explains, holding the fork and gesturing with it while he talks, “I thought you were a grumpy old man tired of living between normies. You can easily understand how surprised I was to see a young phoenix with no training abandoned in a huge and empty house.”

A knock on the window interrupts them and when Steve turns the biggest eagle he ever saw is staring at him with his head tilted to the side.

“Oh, that’s Wayne.  He’ll explain it better. Anyway, if he says you’re one of us you’re coming with us.”

“Where?”

“Home.”

[anxiouseldergod]

hiii I love the premise of your au ✨️

I was wondering about a couple things..

1. is grim part of it?

2. what about ace and Deuce? what do they do? I think it would cute if they were still super close to reader (I'm totally NOT a huge fan of the heartshackle dynamic /s)

I wrote way more on this then I meant to lmao

While I do intend for this to be an x reader series thingy, this is more of a "how you met" scenario, so it doesn't really have any romance.

It's kind of long, so it's all below the cut!

I had planned to include Grim in my post going over my au, actually! I ended up writing it in the middle of the night though and completely forgot to add him there lol

In my au, Grim lives with the reader as their familiar! Maybe it's an overused trope to make him their familiar in au's, but I have this cute image in my head of him trying to help around both the shops.

struggling to reach certain shelves to fill them with books of magical items, napping on the counters next to you while you're working, going out with you while collect herbs...

I adore my dumbass son.

as for adeuce? I feel like they would be regular customers at the magic shop, always stocking up on healing items.

I see them as rookie (but surprisingly successful) adventurers.

They were trained by family members, Ace learned from his older brother and Deuce from his mom (a now retired adventurer).

They ended up joining the same guild, Heartslabyul, which is based in one of the cities nearby.

As the two newest members, they often get paired up together, much to their dismay.

I feel like they heard rumors of the magic shop in the woods and got curious, wanting to know if it was actually real.

So, they set out, going deeper and deeper into the dark woods. Just when they thought maybe it wasn't real, they stumbled across you.

They were certainly surprised to find you living in the woods with just your familiar to keep you company.

Entering your shop, they were immensely disappointed to see a bookstore instead of a magic shop.

You greet them politely, smiling from behind the counter.

"Welcome! Feel free to look around, let me know if you need anything."

While neither of them are at all interested in the books you have, they decide to look around anyway. They came all this way, after all.

The two boys disappear from you line of sight, conversing quietly as they browse the shelves despite their lack of interest. Grim looks up from the can of tuna he was eating, ear twitching as he stares in their direction curiously.

After finishing his snack, Grim wanders away from you, toward where the two had gone. He weaves through the maze of shelves, peeking out from behind one. He watches the boys argue quietly.

"No, I told you it wasn't real! But you just had to come see!"

"What? How is this my fault? You wanted to come too.."

The back and forth continues for a moment as Grim watches from the side. The whole scene is greatly amusing to him and, without realizing, he lets out a small laugh.

Ace and Deuce pause in their useless bickering, turning to stare at the laughing creature. They look thoroughly confused by him, clearly never having seen anything like him. Ace speaks up first.

"Hang on, is that weird cat laughing at us–"

Grim's face immediately changes as the fire coming from his ears burns a little brighter. He stomps his little foot, tail swishing angrily.

"I am NOT a cat!"

The boys jump a bit, deuce accidentally backing into the bookshelf behind him.

"Why can it talk?!" He shouts, before seemingly remembering the sign that told him to keep quiet. He tries again, whisper shouting this time. "Why can it talk?!"

Grim looks even more upset at this. "Why can you talk? Clearly you don't have anything smart to say!"

Ace laughs at this, snorting before covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his amusement. Deuce notices this and elbows him.

Grim turns to Ace, hands on his hips as he speaks to him. "You don't seem much smarter, you know."

Now, Ace is upset. He yells at Grim, not worried about keeping his voice down. "What would some ugly kitten know about me anyway?"

Grim is even more offended now. In his upset, he gets the bright not idea to scare the two with with his fire magic. He breathes a blue flames toward them, successfully scaring them like he had intended.

However, he didn't account for Deuce's reaction.

"I summon thee, cauldron!"

A large cauldron comes crashing down from seemingly nowhere. It hits the bookshelf beside them and sends it crashing to the ground,

Grim manages to mostly avoid the disaster, but ends up getting his tail smashed by a stray book. A rather large one too. He yelps in pain, shooting more fire magic out reflexively.

Ace and Deuce look on in horror as the book shelf falls over completely, Grim's flames catching on the books. The smoke builds up around them, making it hard to see.

Suddenly, the fire is put out all at once.

As the smoke clears, the three of them see you angry face as you survey the damage they caused.

Grim scrambles behind your legs, holding his sore tail and glaring at the adventurers.

Deuce is practically tripping over himself trying to apologize, but is abruptly stopped as you inspect the cauldron on the ground.

"You use magic?"

You can see the color drain from their faces at your question. Their both stammering, coming up with lame excuses or trying to change the subject.

Ace is sure you'll snitch about Deuce's magic, and he'll get busted for keeping it a secret. He's (overly) confident that he can escape the law if he has to, but he's more worried about how his brother will react.

Deuce is sure he'll never go another quest, then he'll never achieve his dream of becoming a legendary adventurer! He can already see his mother's disappointed face when she hears that her only son was locked up due to illegal use of summoning magic. Which is why he's so confused when he hears you laugh.

"What a terrible display! You're not very experienced are you?" You say, a smile growing on you face. You turn to Ace. "I'm assuming you use it too, right? Actually, no need to answer, I can sense your magic energy."

Grim looks up at you incredulously. "Why are ya laughin'? Aren't ya gonna tear into 'em for the mess they made?"

You smile to yourself, closing your eyes as you think for a moment. "Oh, you're all in trouble, Grim. But I think this might actually work in my favor."

You turn back to Ace and Deuce, who stand there in confusion. "You were here looking for The Moon's Alcove, right? Come with me!"

Bewildered, the boys and Grim follow you from the chaos of your destroyed bookshelf. They watch as you unlock the door in the back. You lead them through it, into your magic shop while ignoring their awed expressions.

"Here it is!" You exclaim, arms out as you gesture to your secret shop. "I run the place. Here lately I've had more customers than usual. It's difficult for me to mange the shops and gather materials for potions and other items. Obviously, I can't trust Grim to go alone."

Your familiar makes an offended sound from beside your feet.

"As payment for the damage you've caused here today, I'd like the two of you to gather my materials." You explain.

"Like, a job?" Ace asks, sneering at the thought of extra work.

"Mhm! Should be easy since adventurers like you are always exploring and foraging anyway. I'll even pay you, you'll get extra if you can find me some magical items or artifacts."

Deuce puts his hand to chin, looking around the colorful shop as muses aloud. "I mean, if it keeps us out of trouble..."

You clap your hands together, magic flying from them in little sparkles due to your excitement. "I would never snitch! I'm in no position to anyway. So, do we have a deal?"

The boys look to each other, shrugging as they come to a silent conclusion.

"I guess?"

"Great!" You clap again. "I actually forgot to mention something though, since this is to repay me for the damage to my precious books, I actually won't be paying you the firs two weeks."

"What?!" They exclaim in unison.

Ace crosses his arms. "Repayment of not, what makes you think we'll do this for free? What if we just run off and don't come back, huh?"

Before they can complain further, you take a small pouch from your pocket. Carefully, you pour a small amount of red powder into you hand and then toss it into the air above their heads. It drifts down onto them as you say a few mysterious words with your hands clasped together, they glow slightly.

"There! Now if you try to weasel out of this, your heads will explode!"

The boys look horrified at this statement, backing away from you quickly. Ace takes back his previous words, assuring you he they'll do their job well.

Eventually, a few more terms are worked out between you and them and they leave. It's agreed that they'll spend the next few days searching for the materials you listed and then bring them to you at a specific date.

Not long after they leave does it begin to grow dark out. You sit on your bed, gently applying a mild healing ointment to Grim's sore tail.

After a moment of silence, he speaks. "Are ya really gonna explode their heads if they don't listen?"

You laugh, shaking your head. "Of course not, that's way too far."

"Then what was that powder you put on 'em?"

"Paprika."

[strawberrystepmom]

gojo x f!reader. cw: food mentions and suggestive theming. he refers to reader as sunshine.

this is a bit of a love language exploration. reader’s giving love language is acts of service (😔 never beating those allegations) and gojo’s is giving physical touch with a dose of words of affirmation. wc 1.3k

divider thanks to @/cafekitsune

There are times when the simple daily acts of taking care of Satoru feel like the sole thing you were put on earth to do.

Not in the fashion of the maids he was raised by, tutting over his wrinkled yukatas and forcing him to eat the slimy natto he’d swallow through a pout with eyes as watery as the oceans that color them, but as if you’re the well from which his energy springs. He wouldn’t think about little things like slowing down to eat, rest, drink, and enjoy without someone there to remind him to do it. The curse and blessing of being as close to otherworldly as one can be without entering the uncanny valley.

This realization came to you long before you admitted to anyone that you were enamored with him. Back when you were a pair of bratty teenagers and you’d only ever seen him munch on konpeito with a hand wrapped around a bottle of melon soda to wash the scratchy sugar crystals down. You were appalled at how little he cared about himself (you didn’t take excellent care of yourself either in those days, judgmental one…) but you took it upon yourself to start taking better care of yourself and him by proxy in the process. A small act of compassion for a friend would never hurt, you reasoned easily at 17.

At that point, your role was merely sharing bentos or onigiri you made for yourself with him, trading a bite of your tuna filled rice for a sip of his soda - the indirect kiss aspect of this ritual made him giddy for more years than he’d like to admit aloud - or some of the star shaped sugar crystals in his palm that he’d toss between your lips and teeth when you’d open your mouth wide enough to catch them.

(You’d stick your tongue out far enough to allow him to watch the sugar melt away and turn into a colorful splotch. His big eyes, animated as ever, widened further with each bright green and orange spot that appeared and washed away in a flash. This little ritual is also how both of you learned to French kiss but that’s a memory to reminisce upon another morning.)

The two of you experienced some terrible things your first year and his second year of high school. A certain part of you felt bad for how unapproachable and closed off he seemed after Suguru’s departure and you know now that the acts of kindness had a larger impact than intended. A stray cat that gets fed always returns, after all.

He keeps returning. You thank the stars above morning, noon, and night.

Now, caring for him is as steady and effortless as the click, click, click of the knob thay controls the flow of gas on your stove as a flame ignites beneath your rectangle shaped tamagoyaki pan. Oil sizzles and the sound of it mingles with the shower running across the apartment and Gojo’s singing that is somehow louder than both of these happenings.

No wonder the neighbors hate you.

Whatever off key song he has come up with at least makes you giggle while pouring enough egg into the pan to start the process of making breakfast. Some days you are both too busy to sit down and share these moments but you still make sure he eats, a bento always tucked into his bag that matches the one in yours. Thankfully you are both off today so you get to enjoy the process rather than rush through it.

“It smells amazing.”

You didn’t hear him shut off the shower, too busy pouring and positioning egg to notice wet footsteps across the floor and heading directly toward you. A towel is slung carelessly over his hips and you giggle when he drapes himself over your shoulder, his hands dangling down the front of you. Shifting your face, you meet his with a smile and pretend to frown when water droplets fall out of his hair and onto your shirt.

“Whatever happened to good morning?”

He looks up at you from the corner of his eye and then feigns a bright idea coming into his head, shaking it and making more droplets fall on you at the same time. Giggling, you try to simultaneously monitor your eggs and him at the same time.

“You’re so right, how could I forget!” He clears his throat dramatically and stands up, hands wrapping around your waist. He bends to whisper in your ear. “Good morning, sunshine.”

You glance up at him with a too fond smile. When did you become so soft? You’re no better than the sugar that used to melt on your tongue, more than charmed by his sweet words and tender touches. It may be written all over your face but you do your best to hide it, raising your brows and sighing dramatically.

“That’s better.”

Clicking off the heat and shooing him as much as you possibly can, you pull the hot pan off of the stove and deposit your eggs onto a cutting board. Even a few seconds of time apart makes Satoru antsy so he’s by your side long before you can miss him, an arm draped around your shoulder and a hand on his hip.

“Thank you for doing this. I know the sun makes you hiss before 10 so it means a lot.”

Rolling your eyes, you slice the tamagoyaki and he hums his approval immediately. Steam wafts through the air and you have to admit that it’s making your mouth water, too.

“You’re the only person I’d do it for,” you mutter under your breath and he laughs, leaning to kiss your cheek. “You’re a liar. You’d do this for anyone who needed it.”

You continue slicing and he removes his hand from his hip, reaching to grab one of the already cooling slices off of the cutting board and stuffing it into his mouth. It’s still too hot and whatever he was going to say next is lost completely when he burns his tongue. He breathes through his mouth for a second to cool the eggs down the rest of the way and you groan.

“Mouth closed. You’re an adult, I shouldn’t have to tell you this.”

Now that it has been sufficiently cooled down, he chews the mouthful and swallows. He knows you’re joking so there’s no hurt feelings, just a cheeky grin and a dramatic eye roll.

“I was going to say, before your breakfast tried to murder me, that I’m grateful you do it for me and not just because we live together.”

The way he beams down at you is all the thanks you need, his smile as big as he is, but the words make you squirm. You’ve never been good at accepting praise or compliments no matter the amount of them you’ve been given.

“Yeah, yeah. I did it willingly when I was just your late night call too, I know.” He scoffs and shakes his head, reaching for another piece of egg. You slap his hand away playfully. “You’ve never been just a late night call to me, you know that.”

This is true and you lean into his side, aware again that he’s naked except for that damn towel. Wrapping your arm around his waist, you tickle his side and he whines.

“Go get dressed. I’m feeding you natto this morning.”

Satoru Gojo, alleged grown man, whines again. Loudly, childishly, pathetically. You giggle at his dramatics and slump when he puts most of his weight on your shoulder, drooping.

“Really?” He asks and you shake your head. “No, we’re having salmon. Go get dressed.”

He shakes his hips and the towel wrapped around them threatens to fall right in the kitchen and you tap his side with a coy smile.

“Goooooo,” you urge. “The sooner you do the sooner we can eat and then our day can really begin.”

Raising your eyebrows suggestively, he picks up on your meaning immediately and holds the knot of the towel against him while he hurries to your room to pull on some sweatpants. They’re his favorite for easy access and he’s more than prepared to give you his thanks in the form of as many orgasms as you want as soon as you’ve both fueled up.

[forgeofthenine]

So I met a fellow tiefling bachelors enthusiast and we got into a conversation about weather or not the three would like foods from earth. Specifically pizza. What do you think will happen when the modern s/o (post absolute) makes them pizza for the first time?

I've gotta admit Anon, this did end up becoming more of a broad 'modern food' reaction, but I did add all of their opinions on pizza! I hope you still enjoy it :)

How the tiefling bachelors react to modern food

Dammon

Dammon strikes me as the kind of guy that genuinely really likes pizza

He's not picky with food, you can top it with anything and give him any type of base and he'll still enjoy it

I actually think he'd like pizzas with unique toppings, he'd be big on olives on pizza, or Hawaiian style ones with pineapple, and he'd love dessert pizza

One of Dammons favourite at home date night ideas ends up being cooking up a pizza dinner together

Both of you filling the counter with potential toppings and very occasionally sabotaging each others pizza

He'd also like other more 'modern' foods, think hot dogs, popcorn, and shoe string style chips

Hot dogs in particular he'll happily load up with all the fixings, you'll start to wonder if he has more toppings than hot dog

Dammon is a defender of loaded fries too, and he's always offering you a taste of whatever topping combo he's come up with this time

Zevlor

I feel like Zevlor wouldn't be a big fan of pizza

Modern pizza chains would be too greasy for his taste and homemade pizza just doesn't hit the spot

I feel like if he could though, Zevlor would get really into modern barbeque and smoked meat culture

As soon as he realises the possibilities there's no stopping him

I think Zevlor would really vibe with burgers, particularly because with the right kind of meat and toppings it's not too greasy

A big fan of chicken burgers, and if he is making a burger with beef then he's a huge supporter of beetroot on burgers

He'd love having a wood smoker too, absolutely the type to put research and practice into making the best smoked brisket and smoked fish

The good food and sense of accomplishment really keep him circling back to the hobby, very quickly becoming an expert

Zevlor loves seeing your reactions to his latest food endeavours too

Rolan

Okay, I feel like Rolan has no strong opinions of pizza, hot dogs, or burgers

They're all something he where he could take it or leave it, not a big deal to him

He does appreciate it if you cook any of these for him though

However, there are some modern foods he absolutely loves

One of them is sushi, he's obsessed from first taste

Rolan loves a variety of sushi but his favourites include tuna, salmon, egg, and avocado

He likes that it's quick and easy to eat without him feeling bogged down afterwards

When he's wanting something a bit different he'd go for Korean fried chicken

I see Rolan as someone that handles spice really well and I think he'd enjoy some spicy fried chicken

Between the crunch as he bites into it and all the different spices used have him addicted

His love of spicy food doesn't end there though, this man would love biryani

The spicier the better for him

Unless you're also good with spice don't ask for a bit of Rolans food, or you might find your tongue burning

[bruciemilf]

Factually, I know Bruce is a bad cook. In my wonderland brain, however, he's a baker in some Hell's Kitchen-esque neighborhood, both flourishing and festering down the Narrow's ribs.

Curiously, The Bat seems particularly focused on protecting this joint. And whoever walks in it.

The classic myth of food is that it brings people together; That's the one thing everyone, under the greyscale rainbow in Gotham, has in common. Everyone has to eat, and everyone has to die.

And all kinds of people walk in there.

You get thieves with watchful, observant eyes nemorizing the concise, expert movement of your fingers and wonder how these machines of pain and violance can be delicate enough for sweets.

"I know what you are. I know who you are."

"I'm not exactly hiding. "

" I'm gonna rob you now."

" Take some tuna for Iris while you're at it,"

You get jesters with runny make-up and busted lips and a heartbroken hope in their eyes, crying over their fried ice cream,

" I'm stupid. I know -- I know what he's doing to me. And my mom's voice is just pounding in my ear, every fuckin' day, ' You're letting him, Harley. You're letting him and you deserve it. You should've married that fucking doctor. At least he didn't hit you, he just yelled and screamed and called you nasty names.'

Bruce drizzles some extra rainbow sprinkles on her ice cream. " And that voice is wrong." And he'll keep saying that voice is wrong till the day Harley doesn't like ice cream anymore. And that day doesn't exist.

And slowly, you learn not to be impressed. When you live with wolves, you sharpen your teeth. Dogs do what dogs do; they eat. An angry dog is a hungry dog.

And this boy, with a red scarf over his nose, waving a gun in Bruce's face, is looking plenty angry.

"Just fucking stay there, okay?" He'd probably sound more threatening without the glass tremble in his voice. "I'm just gonna take some cash, and,--"

Bruce's calm is frosty; He's got experience with guns being pointed at his face. " Your safety's on. "

Teal eyes are glossy, shining with feral, living fear, like it's Bruce who has him cornered, backed up to a wall and looming death over him. there's no kids in crime alley.

Whatever they are, they can't afford that title. But he looks exactly how boys in crime alley look; Young and scared and haunted.

"What's your name, honey?"

"...Jason."

" Are you hungry, Jason?"

The way he wolfs down three plates with tears running down his cheek answers Bruce plenty.

"You can have the cash, " I don't really need it, goes unspoken. It already feels slimy enough to take it. The charities and well- filled cups of homeless people don't ease that. "I'm guessing you need it."

"It's for my dad," 'Dad' drips from Jason's lips like liquid hatred, " He told me to rob you cause you never call the cops."

" Calling criminals to stop other criminals seems a little counter-productive, " He needs to do something with his hands; Or he'll take Jason and hug him and drag him to the manor, where Alfred can prepare the fluffiest bed, and the warmest bath. So he's packing him something extra, to take at home.

Still. Hearing Jason laugh makes it worth it.

" You can say you got dinner, too."

" I'm not giving Willis shit, " Willis. One of Harvey's guns. They need a chat about working hazards. " Gonna take this to Dickie and Timmy, thought. Dick's gonna love this..."

And Jason, Bruce comes to find out, doesn't know himself half as good as he knows his siblings.

He learns Timmy, the baby brother, loves to skate, and he's the reason they go to the ER every other Thursday. He learns Dick can never run out of energy; Learns he's running on spite alone and they can't go a day without fighting.

And when Bruce is fighting Nightwing, the newest villain in Gotham, he learns both he and Dick can land the meanest Produnova recorded.

[pinkcatcafe]

As The World Falls Down

Quick Description: Grim's thought process as he sees the reader going through an overblot.

A/N: I'd been thinking about this for a while now, and I just couldn't keep it in my system any longer. It's not written but the reader doesn't die, I wouldn't just leave Grim alone like that... maybe some other time lol now it's time for me to go to bed.

TW: Angst, no comfort?, mention of wanting to vomit

It felt like everything around him came to a sudden halt the moment Grim looked up at you.

He wondered what he had done wrong to have this happen to you. Sure, you looked more tired these days, your eyes more dull, but you said you were okay, so Grim just assumed that Crowley had given you his paperwork to complete again or something.

But seeing you frantically backing away from everyone, from him, while blot dripped-no, gushed- out of your nose had his head spinning. You started coughing, trying to get the blot out of your esophagus, and the noise felt like nails on a chalkboard to Grim.

His eyes started filling up rapidly with tears and your hunched figure became blurry. He wondered, Why? Why was this happening to you, his one and only hench-human? Sure, he often skipped out on his work and classes, and sometimes he would steal some food from your plate, but he didn't think this would happen. Not to you, the person who had his back through thick and thin, no matter what happened or what he did.

He sees Jack pick you up and start running, making a beeline for the infirmary and before he can register his own movement, he's running. He can faintly hear Ace and Deuce telling him to stop, but his only focus was catching up to Jack. He runs and runs and runs, and he keeps running after you, even when his lungs burn, even if he feels like he's about to throw up.

He should have been nicer, more diligent. Maybe if he studied harder you wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe if he had shared his tuna with you, you would've been laughing alongside the rest of the first years without a care in the world. Maybe if he told you how much he truly appreciated you, you would have been okay, sitting at the Ramshackle dorms dusty couches, giving him the kisses he said he hated so much. Maybe, maybe, maybe-

He sees the infirmary door thrown open, a trail of inky black blot leading inside, and he rushes in without a second thought, nearly bumping into Jack. Jack was trying his hardest to maintain his composure, but he was quickly falling apart, distraught at the sight of you writhing in the infirmary bed. Grim looked at you, crying out in pain, reaching your hand out for someone and he rushed over to you, ignoring how Jack yelled at him to not get closer.

Grim put his paws in your waiting hands and begged. He begged you to stay with him, to not leave him. He begged the Seven to not take you away from him, and when that didn't seem to work, he made promises to you.

He promised he would attend all his classes.

Grim woke up in a panic. He had a nightmare, and instinctively started to look for you in the darkness of your shared room. His movement had shaken you awake, and you softly called out to him. "Are you okay?" He looked at you, and relief filled his body at the sound of your voice. He nodded, and you opened up your arms, inviting Grim to sleep closer to you. He shuffles over and lays down on your chest, your waiting arms hugging his shivering body close. "It's okay, I'm right here with you." You say, and before sleep fully takes over him, he feels you kiss his forehead.

He promised he would share his precious tuna with you everyday.

"Grim!" You yell out, and Grim hurries to hide the (already half eaten) sandwich he was eating behind his back. "Did you eat my sandwich?" You say with an angry tone, and he swallows the piece of sandwich he had in his mouth before answering. "N-no! I don't know what you're talking about! It must have been Ace!" You narrow your eyes and scoff at him. "The last time Ace was here was two days ago, and I just made that sandwich!" Grim knew he had been caught, and before you could catch him, he ran away. "Grim! Get back here right now!" He could faintly hear the ghosts laughing at him as he dashed through Ramshackle, with you hot on his heels.

He promised he wouldn't leave you to clean up his messes.

Grim could hear sniffling coming from the other side of the bedroom door, and he slowly began to open it. You were sitting on the edge of the bed hunched over, your hands covering your face. "Hench-human?" He called out, and you turned your head towards him, your eyes red and glossy. He jumped up on the bed next to you and asked you what was wrong. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed." You reply, bringing a hand up to his head, slowly petting him. Grim looks up at your for a moment before he crawls over to your lap and lays his back against your stomach, pointing his thumb at his chest. "There's nothing to worry about when the Great Grim is here with you!" He smirks up at you, and you smile at his statement. Your arms wrap him in a tight hug and you softly reply, "Yeah, at least you're here with me."

He would make you a million promises if it meant that you would be okay. If it meant that he would wake up every morning to your smile, telling him it was time to get up and get ready for class. If it meant you would stay by his side forever.

He would do anything, and so he begged once more;

Please, don't leave me.

[azlrse]

➳ kiss of death (yandere ghost prince!idia shroud x GN!human reader)

summary: was set in the ghost marriage event but instead of princess eliza, it was the ghost prince himself who fancied you to be his but first, you must be in the netherworld/underworld with him...

cw: yandere themes, forced marriage, major character death, mentions of the afterlife, captivity, alternate universe (idia didn't attend NRC), ooc idia & not proofread (there could be some mistakes, please point it out if you find some)

a/n: happy halloween everyone and thank you so much for the patience for this fic to be released. at first, this is mostly self-indulgent but decided to turn this into a halloween special fic. <333

He is a ghost. You are a human.

Two sides of the same coin from what he thought was a sign of his so-called fulfilling destiny. A destiny for you to be with him in the afterlife. It was quite unusual for the ghost prince to watch over you for months as he saw you on how kind and soft-hearted you are. The way you got along with everyone around you as you smile warmly but at the same time, snap at anyone who even dared to lay a hand on you or your heartslabyul friends is what makes you attractive to him.

Plus, his family are nagging him for him to find someone who can rule beside him as his loving spouse.

And they didn't tell him if the love of his life can be a ghost or a mortal.

He was a very lonely ghost; coped up in his room filled with so much technology, books and consoles as he gamed and studied day and night within the Shroud Palace. He didn't have friends to begin with, only contented with the company of his little brother who also nags him to go outside, visit the mortal realm to see if there's someone caught his eye.

At first, he contemplates about his own decision to his brother's suggestion. Floating around the dark hallways of NRC while overthinking endless possibilities if he goes outside. What if there's someone who would catch him? What if he accidentally spooked someone and died from a heart attack? What if he accidentally possessed someone? And so on and so forth.

"Let's go haunt a ghost! I bet Deuce's gonna run away like a chicken!" He heard a giddy voice out of nowhere, making the ghost prince flinch from the sudden noise. Ida was internally panicking, quickly scrambling to see which hiding spot was best for him. "I am not!" Another (angry) voice filled the hallway as the flashing light of the flashlight fills the right side of the hallway. "Hey guys, you two buy me lunch if (m/c) here runs away. I wanna stuff myself with that delicious canned tuna tomorrow!"

As the voices began to draw nearer and nearer, he goes through the ceiling of the building, only his face as poking through it's wooden surface. "Hey, I ain't scared of ghosts! Plus, we're gonna be in so much trouble when Riddle finds us ghost hunting in 2 in the morning."

And that's how he met you. His eyes caught a particular human and became intrigued by you like some kind of rare artifact he obtain from the games he played before. He felt like this was like a dating sim; him being a mysterious entity who fell in love with the protagonist and loved happily ever after as the couple consumate their marriage.

The ghost prince followed you everywhere to learn more about you. From your favorites, your strength and weaknesses, games you play, your birthday, anything!! And soon enough, he fell deeply in love with you. He would constantly tell Ortho about this mysterious human he fancied. How he wished that he would just appear on front of you and profess his love as he carries you into the deep depths of the underworld. Or perhaps, you would even fell for him when you knew that your admirer wasn't just a ghost but part royalty!

He thought that it was just some mere crush but Ortho tells him otherwise that he finally found himself some love. "Don't you get it brother? You finally found the love of your life! Isn't that wonderful? Now mom and dad would be so happy when they knew that you found your potential spouse!"

Idia didn't buy his brother's words but wants to secretly court you by giving gifts that was considered as courtship gifts from his kind. Trinkets of silver coins appeared randomly in different parts of your dorm. A bouquet of black roses was placed on your doorstep and heartfelt and sweet letters written by yours truly appeared mysteriously by the mail box.

And you made a mistake by accepting those gifts. You didn't reject those gifts but was looking forward to see what gifts your admirer has for you. At first thought, you guessed that your secret admirer was kind of shy and didn't want to reveal his identity until they're ready to reveal who they are in the first place.

But what you didn't know is that your admirer wasn't a human like you.

His guards came back to him with great news, telling the entire royal family that the human the future heir liked had accepted those gifts with open arms. Oh, how happy his parents was when they knew that their oldest son found his true love. His mother couldn't wait to see the future ruler who would rule beside her son. His father on the other hand, gave a silent nod, indicating that he approves of his future in-law joining the family.

Even more months has passed by, more and more gifts are sent by your doorstep but he guards didn't left those gifts but by himself. The way his lovestruck eyes glistened as you excitedly open the small box that was wrapped in a pretty black ribbon and has a label with your name on it with a little doodled heart at the end of your name.

While being invisible, he sat right beside you, waiting patiently as you opened the box to reveal the most beautiful piece of jewelry you've ever seen; it was a silver ring, embedded with sapphire gems around the band and a blue skull gem can be seen on top of the band. Idia watched in nervousness, watching you closely inspecting the ring as if you are jewel critic. Without hesitation, you wear the ring and heavily admiring it, making Idia sigh in relief, a weight of his shoulder finally lifted off when he saw that you accepted his engagement ring.

You didn't even know that you're now engaged to the ghost prince himself.

And you swear to yourself that you felt a small warm peck on your forehead but quickly shrugged it off, thinking that it was just the wind blowing from the window you've forgotten to close.

From that point on, Idia would constantly follow everywhere you go under the guise of him being your night in shining armor. In class? He's there by your side, and dropped a small flower he picked outside on the courtyard. Walking along the lonely hallways of the school? You can feel your hand being interwined by some invisible force. Felt even just a bit of hunger and craving sweets? No worries, for the ghost prince himself would provide you some sweets to satisfy your cravings.

For the longest time, he never felt this happy. Happiness was not on his list for a long time and the only way he seek his own happiness was by playing games on his computer. He never thought he could find somebody that would make him happy.

He felt empty and alone for a long time and it seems that you filled in the missing gap within his heart. As soon as the royal messenger told all the ghosts that the prince found a potential suitor, everyone was very excited to see their future ruler.

The ghost prince also appeared on your dreams whenever you went into deep slumber, now finally has the courage to at least hold you and giving you sweet kisses whenever he saw you. Idia would talk about on how pretty/handsome you looked and if you receprocate his methods of 'flirting', you can see his hair turning into a soft shade of hot pink as the blush on his face reddened up like some kind of tomato.

It was bittersweet if Idia was honest, sure that he can finally interact with you without freaking you out that he's a ghost but he's desperate for you to be one of his kind. To be right beside him and to be crowned as the next crowned royal of his kingdom. Oh how he imagined you in a formal attire, a bouquet in hand as the flow of your veil flows through the isle as he stares at you with heart eyes. He can feel his heart thumping non stop whenever he imagines you getting married to him.

But what he thought was a perfect fairy tale has turned into an absolute nightmare.

If love has its own enemy, it's not other than obsession itself.

For you see, Idia is a very envious man. He doesn't like it if some lowly NPC fawns over you from afar, would even talk to you or being friends with you, especially those heartslabyul brats. He doesn't like it how they would hug you or wrapping their arms around you, even if it's just mere platonic. He the only one who can do those acts for you. He's your fiancé for goodness sake! He's supposed to be the only man in your life.

Oh wait, you didn't know it yet but soon enough, you will soon find out that you are the reason why bad luck has occurred within the school.

Don't let his jealousy reach to the top because he doesn't hesitate to make that person disappear or driven to the brink of insanity to the point that they took their own life. He would constantly appear at the end of the hallway, the prince would either glare at you or giving you a sinister smirk and disappear when a person walk by your vision. It freaked you out and it didn't stop there; every single night, you would hear vague whispers of your name, old wrinkled papers that dated back centuries ago has little messages on it, smeared in black and red ink as possessive words were written all over the parchment.

And that's not all, your dreams with the mysterious entity has becoming a terrible dreams. Warning you that he'll come for you if the right time comes (the right time was today). His words made you absolutely scared the living daylights of you, and finally consulted the only teacher who has connections with the other side, Mr. S himself. You and your heartslabyul friends ran straight towards the small boutique at the side of the school, only to see the shopkeeper closing his shop for the day. "Mr S! We need to speak to you and this is urgent!" Ace heaved and panted, his lungs greedily intaking lots of air to breathe.

"Ah my little imps! What are you guys doing here? Aren't you guys supposed to be in the dining hall with the others? And what happened to them?" He pointed at you, eye bags and blood shot eyes as you trembled in fear, both your arms are placed around your arms as if it would protect you. "It's a long story, Mr. S but we want to know about a particular ghost that haunted not only the school but also our friend here. Is there a possibility on why (m/c) is haunted?" Deuce added while rubbing your back as a way to comfort you.

Sam inspected your entire article of clothing to see if there's something suspicious that could link towards the haunting and his eyes landed on the ring rested on your ring finger. His eyes stared at the strange looking jewelry that gives off this weird energy surrounding the four of you. He needs to confirm if his thoughts are true by inspect the band around your finger. "Hmm, may I see your hand, little imp." He inspected the ring and you slowly realized that the wrenching feeling on your stomach was confirmed when the tall man's eyes widen in disbelief. "So that's why you're being haunted.." he muttered. "What's the reason Mr. S?" Grim replied, worried for his answer.

"That ring. The ring you had on your finger belongs to the royal family of ghosts! And if a mortal was gifted with that ring, it was stated that you now belong to that particular family, precisely to their oldest son!" Looks of disbelief appeared on their faces, you on the other hand, felt the colors from your face drain off upon hearing such news. "So wait wait, if (m/c) has a ghost pinning after them, does it explain why they have gifts and flowers appeared on their doorstep out of nowhere?" Deuce asked, out of curiosity.

The shopkeeper sighed in disappoinment, indicating that not only that one of the students has been favored by a ghost but their life being at risk. "I'm afraid so, little imp. I'm so sorry."

In the far corner of the shop, Idia stood there, hands curled into a fist as his expression contorted into anger and possessiveness.

. ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

You couldn't sleep tonight.

Staring towards the ceiling of your bedroom as you held your blanket for dear life after hearing what the shopkeeper has told you and your friends hours ago. Thank the heavens that Grim is asleep right by the chair because you couldn't handle him seeing your bloodshot eyes and tears are threatening to stream from your face. Even your body tells you that you need some sleep, you still convinced yourself that you are not tired, at least when the issue is finally solved.

Speaking of which, both your mouth and your throat are getting dry but you're still terrified on getting up from the bed. You've become so thirsty that you got up from your bed and began to wake Grim up from his peaceful slumber.

"Grim.." you shook the furry feline. "Grim wake up.." The feline only muttered in slight annoyance. "I need some company, I'm too scared on coming back down." Grim muttered and flipped on the opposite side of the armchair. "Hnggg go bother Deuce and Ace on the other room, I'm tired (m/c)." He replied, dozing back to sleep and coming back to his dream of his.

You didn't want to bother both of your friends in the other room, plus you don't want those two to be teased you off as the chicken of the group, so you went downstairs alone, armed with a flashlight to light your way into the dark hallways of your dorm. Normally, you are used to the eeriness of your dorm. The small creaks produced by the floor as the wind howled outside of the locked windows of your dorm didn't even bothered you but due to the fact that an entity now watches you, you became a bit scared. Every twist and turns of your head whenever you heard something ominous from afar. From the creaks below the floor boards to the falling book from the bookshelf from the hallways.

Finally, you arrived at the kitchen and felt like the atmosphere was cold; the fridge wasn't even open yet and it felt like -5 degrees within your home. You took out a pitcher and a glass to drink and all of the sudden, you heard a whisper on the left side of your ear.

"(m/c)..."

You've became startled, almost choking from the cold water you swallowed as you face the direction where the voice came from.

There's no one on your side.

You continuously drink the cold beverage when you felt something took a hold of your waist by both arms.

"So warm.... So soft...."

Out of fear, you dropped the glass, shattering it into bits of pieces and began sprinting back to your room. Your breathing quickens as you internally panic for your own safety. 'He's here!!' you mumbled to yourself. 'The ghost prince is here!!' You almost made it to your room but alas, your hand was almost cut off when the door suddenly closed in front of you locking it to prevent you from seeking protection from him.

"Darling..." It spoke, making you turn your head to face the entity. "Why are you running away from me? I just wanna see my darling dear's alright, especially when there's so many people tainting you of your innocence, a burden that needs to be obliterated like some kind of RPG monsters and I was doing my job on protecting the one person I cared and loved for." The entity stated. Your panic attack has gone of bad, you began shouting for your friends. "ACE!! DEUCE!! GRIM!! PLEASE WAKE UP!! I NEED SOME HELP!!" You shouted, pounding against the doors of the dark hallways of the dorm.

By luck, the three of them woke up from the sudden noise. "(m/c)?! What's going on-" The heartslabyul duo was about to open the door and that's when they noticed that the door was locked and closed tightly. "(m/c)?! Come on that's not funny, dude! Open the door!" Deuce spoke, ramming the door with his body in attempt to break it open. "I'm not Deuce!!" You also ram your body to the door to help them break it apart but alas, no luck.

The ghost prince watched in delight as the three of you pathetically ram each other's side of the door and sighed in pity. "There's no point in destroying that door, (m/c). If you keep on doing it, your HP's gonna decrease rapidly, especially when there a bruise forming on your elbow." You quickly stopped to see if the prince's claims were true. Rolling the sleeve of your pajama shirt, your eyes widen a bit from the surprise.

There's indeed a bruise on your elbow, it was swollen and a color of blue and violet begins to form underneath the tissue. But it doesn't stop you from helping getting your friends out from their trap. "So stubborn, so feisty as usual from my fiance." He spoke and his words makes you annoyed as he claims that you're his fiance. "I am NOT your damn fiance!! Open this door at once!!" You shouted, standing on your feet despite feeling yourself shaking from fear. The voice chuckled and every turn of your head, various objects are knocked out from it's place.

Tables are moved far from the corner, vases dropped into the floor and shattered into bits of pieces and the creaks of the floor boards has gotten worse as if many people are passing by you. "It's funny you could say that, my dear.." It replied. "You have no idea how much you drive me into the deep depths of jealousy. I hated the way those people whom you call your 'friends' glued by your side, their hands wrapped around your body and it pisses me off knowing that they touched something that belonged to me, and me alone." It sneered and many more items are thrown, either on the wall or on the floor.

"I thought that giving you that ring would make those people would stay away from you, to at least have common sense that the ring would symbolize the ghost prince's love and ownership of you but alas, I'm afraid that I wasn't that well known on your world." It sneered and it chuckled once again as he saw your figure, now sitting on the floor while your hand's still gripping on the door handle as the screaming of your friends kept on going.

"Look into the mirror, (m/c).."

You did what the entity told you and you couldn't stop yourself from shaking, your eyes began to widen in fear as you saw the creature's true form; wearing such clothes that reflected on the color of charcoal and ash, his face was pale as the blazing glow of his hair, tied in a ponytail, began to turn into blazing red from his anger. Finally, his bright yellow eyes that glows a bit from the darkness. His eyes glaring towards you but his smile says otherwise. His smile wasn't only showing his annoyance but something sinister's going to happen.

"I think it's time to wrap things up, my dear. Let's not wait for our marriage to go to waste, shall we?" You felt something that gripped both of your legs, ghostly hands forcefully dragging you away from the door as you screamed bloody murder for your friends. You felt your nails scrapping across the floor boards and your fingers began to calloused from the harsh friction of the wood. By the great seven, the door bursts open and you can see Deuce and Ace panting heavily. Their eyes widen as soon as they saw you being dragged away towards the mirror while you keep on screaming for help.

Deuce and Ace began to scramble on their feet and tries to take both of your hands, but the ghosts that accompanied the prince held them on their feet as they watched you helplessly. They will never forget the way your eyes internally screamed for their help and the last bit of your screams began to fade away, your body disappeared from the mirror bit by bit until you disappeared from their view. As soon as you're gone, the ghosts who also prevented your friends from rescuing you are released from their positions. Ace ran straight to the mirror and he viciously pounded the mirror, causing it to shatter bit by bit. Normally, Ace is the kind of friend whose chill during the ordeal but seeing you being kidnapped made his blood boil.

His fists are sore and bleeding from his strong punches as Deuce tries to stop him from landing the mirror another punch. "Ace, snap out of it! Punching the mirror won't to shit, especially when (m/c) was kidnapped by some ghosts!" Ace looked at his friend, breathing heavily, his hands are sore and bleeding from the sharp shards of the mirror. Hearing his friend's voice in an attempt to put a stop on his rampage calms him down a bit. He looked at Deuce with an angry yet vicious expression. "Gather Jack, Epel and the others. We have someone to rescue."

. ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

It's been two days since you've been captive by the ghosts.

Since your capture, you've been nothing but a nuisance not only to the prince but also to his ghostly guards and servants who tried their best to get you dressed for this special occasion. You fought hard, struggling against the restraints of the ghosts while putting on the garment which can be describe as beautiful and pearl-like. Decorated with the most beautiful pearls and laces and to top it all off with a Vail that could leave a trail behind your dress/tuxedo.

Normally, you supposedly gonna rip out the outfit but seeing the guards burn your original clothes, you have no choice but to stay within this...horrible outfit. Despite it's elegance, you still hated the fact that you'll be forcefully married to their prince. You sat on the room, alone as tears continuously blink and stare towards the wall, tears still appearing on your face.

You tried escaping but the security within the area was quite difficult for someone who doesn't have magic, let alone for the others to rescue to you.

"My lady/lord," a servant spoke, opening the once locked door as they bowed down from your presence. "The ceremony's about to begin and his majesty's ready to tie the knot with you." You are about to speak out that you'll stay within the room you are confined in until two of the guards took you by your arm and dragged you away despite your protests to let you go. You screamed and kicked but to no avail.

Carrying the bouquet of black roses by your hands, your entire body still shook in fear as you marched down the isle. Seeing Idia with a lovesick stare is making you physically sick and each march of your feet feels like you are marching to your death. Upon seeing you, Idia fell for you even harder and seeing you in such outfit is making him breathless. Every sparkle and flow of the fabric makes him quite dizzy when he saw his beloved in a wedding outfit he prepared just for you.

"You look absolutely breathtaking, my love."

After all, it was a very special outfit indeed, because it was once belonged to his mother/father ever since they got wedded years ago.

You couldn't stop crying, even after you arrived at the alter as the ghost priest carries on with the ceremony. You couldn't feel such emotions anymore other than sadness and fear. You couldn't feel the touch the prince gave you as he held your hand for the entire duration of the wedding. Ortho can sense his brother's excitement and couldn't wait for have another sibling figure in his (undead) life.

And now, the moment you've feared the most is finally here.

"Prince Idia Shroud, will you take (m/c) (l/n) to your lawfully wedded spouse? To love, cherish and protect them for all eternity?"

Idia looks at you in awe but is disappointed when he saw your solemn expression, eyes gazing downwards as if you refuse to even look at him but nonetheless smiled softly and answered the ghost in front of them.

"I do."

"And you, Lady/Lord (m/c) (l/n), will you take his majesty Idia Shroud to your lawfully wedded husband? To love, cherish and to accept him as your one and only true love?"

Silence fills the entire building, your eyes are looking straight towards the door, waiting for your friends to rescue you. You hoped and hoped that at least one of your friends rescue you from the hell of a nightmare you're trapped in. You can feel Idia's patience began to wear off as he grips your hands tightly, his expression contorted from being soft to being pissed off in just a second.

You waited and waited but to no avail.

"I do..."

You breathe and sighed sadly as you finally succumb to this deadly fate. Idia smiled at your answer as he slides a second ring and holds your hands tenderly, his eyes looking awestruck at you. "Before I joined the couple together, sould anyone here present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

......

"STOP THE WEDDING!" Epel shouted as the head of the guests turn to see who disrupted the royal wedding. From seeing your friends, a wide smile appeared on your face, shouting for your friends as thanks for rescuing you. On the other hand, the prince was beyond pissed off and angry, angry that his special day was beyond ruined, thank to those mere mortals. "We've come to make an objection that the prince forcefully married this poor human we call our friend!".

You are about to go down the isle when all of the sudden, Ortho stops you with a firm grip on your arm. His brother's hair began to shift to an angry, blazing red as the building shook on how angry their prince has felt. "How..." He spoke, arms shaking. "How DARE YOU DISRUPT MY WEDDING?! DID YOU KNOW THAT IT'S AN INSULT TO ME AND TO MY BELOVED ABOUT DISRUPTING OUR MOMENT?!"

"I'm not even your beloved nor I agree to be your spouse, let me go!" You said, struggling to be free from his brother's clutches but unfortunately, he didn't budge, not even one bit. "Your majesty!" Jack spoke. "Is there anything we could be to let our friend go? Like is there an object or an artifact we can offer to you?" The prince thought for a while then a sinister smirk formed on his face. "How about we play...a game?" Idia disappeared from their view, only to reappear right beside Ace, startling the poor student. "If you beat me in this simple game of mine, I'll let them go, return to their normal life while I return to the underworld without a spouse. Failure of answer and that resulted to (m/c) being my spouse and spend an eternity with me. Now then," He reached out his hand to seal the deal. "Do we have a deal and agree to my terms?"

The entire group contemplated for a while, making eye contact to you and seeing your distress still pushes them to accept the deal. "It's a deal then, prince." He smiled grimly as he began to walk pace by pace, shaking Deuce's hand and placing two of his hands behind his back. "Let's do a simple rock paper scissors with the score of 3. I'm curious to see what kind of tactics you guys up to..."

. ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Cold. The environment is cold and seems new to you. You couldn't help but to sink deeper into the soft mattress of the bed as the lingering smell of peppermint and lavenders invaded your senses, not to mention the gorgeous attire you put on and how light you felt throughout your whole body.

Wait.

This is quite unusual.

You didn't remember putting on such an attire, not especially when you are asleep

Unless you are married to someone else.

All of the memories that happened came rushing back as you got up from the bed, checking the environment and the room you are confined in. Each and every corner of the room was dark, bits of cobwebs can be seen and the amount of light that shines within the room. You are flabbergasted to say the least.

You got up from the bed to inspect yourself. Still on the expensive and elegant attire when you notice something very unusual about your appearance as you lift you hands in front of your face. Your skin has turned into the color of sadness and ashes. You begin to panic, scrambling to search for a mirror to see what on earth has happened to you.

Upon finding the mirror and see yourself for the first time, a scream erupted from you as you saw your newfound appearance for the first time.

From your screams, Idia came rushing from the door alongside with his younger brother. He found you, caught you in just a second after you fell on your knees due to your shock. Tears streaming from your bluish grey-like skin, continuously wrapping your hands around your face to check if you are hallucinating or not.

It turns out you didn't.

"Sweetheart!!" The ghost prince exclaimed, carrying your body towards the bed after he caught you from the fall. "Don't stand just yet my love. You aren't used yet being a ghost."

"....A ghost?"

Idia nodded, kissing your head. "Yes sweetie, a ghost. We just got married, remember? Now we belong in each other's side, ruling alongside me in the underworld as my spouse." His younger brother jumped up and down from excitement and hugged the both of you. "You look really good as a ghost, (m/c) san and I do hope that we got the time to spend some time together as my (in-law) sibling!" You on the other hand, still stiff as a wooden board, is still processing on what happened.

And you remembered it all, all the memories you remembered in the living realm before your life was taken by him.

"You cheating prick!! I didn't know you have the ability to read people's minds!!" Idia chuckled, gripping you closer towards him while the guards took them away from the two of you. "The rules didn't specify that I could use such powers to win the game? Remember?" Deuce can feel his delinquent sona began to resurface, his anger and wrath basically wrapped him like a blanket, knowing that the prince cheated from his own game.

"Now that I win the game," Idia turns to face you. "It's time for me to claim the price." His face has gotten closer and closer towards your own. You felt his excitement from his breathing alone and from the smirk he had on his face. "You may now kiss your spouse.."

"(M/C) NOOO!!"

The ghost prince kissed you in front of your friends and felt cold all of the sudden. You whispered Deuce's name for the last time, tumbling down downwards, finally closing your eyes as the beating of your heart took it's last beat before you died within their sight.

Their screams of sadness and anguish filled the entire building. Their feelings of agony and pain had turned into pure wrath. They failed to save their only friend and began to felt the guilt that they could do so much better for you. Idia reached down to your lifeless body and picked up your spirit from your physical form, carrying you in bridal style, smiling lovingly at your sleeping form. He kissed your lips for a second time before he left your body for the others to bury it.

"The kingdom awaits for you, my love. Rest well, for when you wake up, we have lots and lots of adjustment to amend to."

"Y-you..." At this point, your eyes are blown out, pushing Idia and his younger brother away from you.

"You killed me.."

"Sweetie, listen to me-"

"Dragging me here into the deep depths of this....hellish hole, stuck with you two for all eternity...."

"This is the only way for the two of us to be together!"

"And thinking that I'll be accepting with this new life of mine just because I've married and becoming a ghost like you. You are sick to think that I'll accept you as my husband!"

"I DID ALL OF THAT IS BECAUSE I'VE LOVED YOU!!"

You became quiet from the sudden outburst. Idia heaved heavily from his sudden burst of anger. Ortho came by his side to console his older brother.

"I-I am so sorry love, it's just that I've been lonely for quite sometime and seeing you for the first time is like being alive again. Can you at least open your heart a bit for us? Your newfound family?"

You scoffed and turned away from him.

"Well too bad, you will endure this kind of suffering. As long I'm married to you, I'm be making your lives a miserable one."

He just kept quiet. His eyes kept on looking at you as if he was a kicked puppy. "(m/c) I-" You swatted your hand away. "Go away and leave me alone." Ortho then tried to hug you but you just glared at the poor teenager, sending him off towards the door as tears began to appear on his face. Idia then followed pursuit, gripping the doorknob and kept on staring at you. Once again, your eyes gave a sharp and angry look towards him.

Before he left, he gave you one finale talk before he makes arrangements for your next garments to the dinner party his parents planned for welcoming you to the royal family (God forbid on how he hated attending this kind of event). "Since you're married to me, your last name is now changed into Shroud. I love you and I'll do my best to win your heart like the time I've gave you that ring back in the living realm."

You stared at the ring, still encased on your ring finger as the faint blue light still illuminated on your arm. "As if I'll ever accept you and your sick family. I hate you, I HATE YOU AND THIS HORRID PLACE!"

He sighed, closing the door behind you and locks it. He can still hear your screams of anger and paranoia from the shared bedroom, breaking his heart a bit. Down the hallway, his younger brother is waiting for him, giving him a small pat on his shoulder. "Not to fret, brother. They'll come around soon and realized that being one of us isn't bad." Idia gave him a small smile. "I hope so, Ortho. I do hope so."

And it looks like your entire life is doomed, all because you accepted the ring that could lead to the ultimatum of your once deadly fate;

To be the prince's lover and spouse.

Do not republish, edit, or repost to other websites.

Reblogs and likes are appreciated! 💕

[yeastinfectionvale]

The boat rocked gently, waves pushing it side to side.

Casey looked at the man sunbathing on his left. Enea lay on a towel, blissfully unaware of Casey's gaze. He didn't usually go for Italians, his history with them being more trouble than it's worth.

He also didn't go for men.

But Enea, he was something else. He was the feeling of warmth, tangible under Casey's fingers. He was a reminder that not everything had to be fought, instead something's were worth fighting for. So here he was, on a boat off the coast of Australia with his Italian lover. A boat trip they both looked forward to, a long list of fish they could catch together.

Casey lay down on his side, fingertips drumming against his mouth as he watched Enea stretch. He let his eyes wonder over his tanned chest, his strong thighs and shorts that covered barely anything. They were out far enough that nobody could see their boat. Just enough privacy without the fear of being lost at sea.

"Are you going to stare or come lie down with me?" Enea said, eyes still closed. Casey huffed half a chuckle, tossing his hat off his head as he strode over. Enea lay with an arm over his eyes and the other flat against the boat, open for Casey to lay his head on. Casey complied, a million thoughts flying through his head, all of them consisting on Enea beneath him panting his name. "What fish do you think we could have caught if we had poles?" Enea asked, moving his head so his nose rested against his lover's.

Casey's mind blanked, the blood from his brain rushing down to his second head. "We forgot the poles?" Enea laughed, pressing a kiss to Casey's cheekbone. "We forgot the poles, most of the food we packed and only have one towel." Casey shuffled to straddle Enea, his face tucked into the crook of his neck, "well let me make it up to you."

The waves lapped against the boat as Casey held his wrists in his hands, mouth pressed flush against Enea's warm skin. "You can catch a few different types of fish here." He said, mouth moving back on Enea's neck, leaving a bruised splodge. He dragged his lips down, pulling a whine from Enea.

"Breem." Casey said, sucking on Enea's collarbone.

"Snapper," he said into the dip of his pecs.

"Trout," Enea arched his back as Casey let go of his hands to hold his waist.

"Tuna," Casey's upper teeth tuck beneath Enea's shorts, pulling on them.

He didn't move, just looking up with his shorts between his teeth. "Do you want to hear the other fish?" Casey asked, thumbs dipping under his waistband. Enea gasped as Casey pulled his shorts down and off. "Fuck the fish," Enea said, hands in Casey's hair. "Didn't know I was named fish now." Casey said, nose tucked against the base of Enea's dick. Enea shook his head with a smile, his laugh cut short into a wobbly sigh.

He didn't take his time, spinning Enea's moan and whines into pleads. Not today, not when the sun was shining down. Not when Enea was under his fingertips, patiently waiting. There was time for that later but now, now was the time Casey wanted nothing but his pleasure. He pumped Enea, sucking on the skin where his hip connected to his thigh. Casey listened to the sharp gasps as he pressed his tongue flat against the vein on the underside of Enea's cock. He trailed up, resting his lips around his head.

Enea bucked up, back arched and off the towel as Casey tucked his hands onto his butt, pulling him back down. He dragged his hand from beneath him, resting on his hip. "Let me take care of you." Casey whispered gently, taking Enea filling into his mouth as he began to bob his head. "Oh fuck. Casey oh." Enea began, the words quickly flowing out of him. He pressed his head down, turning to the side as his head began to spin. Enea became louder, jaw slack as he pleaded and moaned, squirming under Casey as he came down his throat.

Casey swallowed, resting back on his knees as his own boner was making itself known. Enea lay still, eyes closed as small tears dotted his lashes. Casey grabbed his phone, taking a quick picture before laying down next to Enea. They both turned onto their sides, one on Casey's legs resting on Enea's thighs. Enea snaked a hand down, palm resting pressed against his balls. "What other fish can we catch?" He asked, biting softly on his earlobe. Casey hummed, thinking as Enea dragged his fingertips up.

"Mackerel is pretty common," Casey said as Enea wrapped his hand around his length. "There's Saratoga," Enea flicked his wrist faster, pressing his lips against Casey's. As he moved his hand faster, Casey groaned, Enea slipping his tongue into his open mouth. He tasted himself on his tongue, on the side of Casey's mouth and on the roof. A cloud blocked the sun, Casey's eyes screwed shut as he came, cum splattering over both their stomachs and Enea's hand.

They lay in silence, Casey pulling Enea closer, their breaths in sync as the sun came out, bathing them both in light.

[myeagleexpert]

Saudade

Contents: Yuu returns home, but the story isn't over.

Saudade is (in Portuguese folk culture) a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent, but you can only miss something real…right?

So why does Yuu wake up in the middle of the night afraid the ceiling might collapse at any moment? Sometimes she can't go back to sleep peacefully, which is why she sits on the porch and watches a black cat go by, jumping from window to window after anyone who will give him his can of tuna.

It's so weird for Yuu to “return” to normal when she knows she hasn't gone out or traveled for a long time but she feels something is off. She swears that her colleague Carter has always been a redhead, when the blonde actually wanted to dye it black. She was going to order some sweets from Trey Baker's bakery, a taste of delicious homemade food fills her mouth with saliva as she goes to the address, but when she stops in front of her destination her mouth, previously salivating, is stunned to discover that there never was a bakery like this , the neighbors have no idea who the Clover family is.

Her school friends never question her ability or knowledge.

"Why did you miss this potion? Can't you do it yourself?" “How do you not know something so simple? This is taught in primary schools” “Aaah, did you do your homework today? Let me copy"

She didn't listen to discriminatory words or conversations that she should think twice before answering, on the contrary…

“Your hair looks beautiful today, what did you do?” “Yuu, can you help me with this lesson? You are the best in this field” “Yuu dear, let me help you with these boxes” “You draw very well”

She would go to the zoo with her family and stare at the lazy lion hoping its eyes were venomous green and the hyena's laugh sounded different. Did I already mention the white wolf? He refuses to be buddy-buddy with anyone but as soon as you take your eyes off he's wagging his tail at them.

In restaurants she refused to eat the sea foods she always liked, for some reason the eels, octopus and shrimp made her want to vomit.

It's a strange feeling… have you ever felt it?

As if you haven't seen your family for years, when in fact it's only been a week?

As if she hugged someone, and in their warm, comforting arms she suddenly felt the chill of missing them?

Like you're experiencing new feelings in old things… or you feel a different excitement when trying the same route every day.

As if you live in a warm environment where you feel protected and loved for the first time.

By day, it's easy to dance between similar faces or conversations you've had before, it's easy to play a “game” you already know the rules. Yuu ignores these feelings during the day, when the sunlight keeps her warm and the youthful wind carries her carefree laughter.

But at nightfall, in her warm bed, the sheets trap her in terrible dreams where figures that are probably dear to her, “people of her heart” Yuu calls them, are people who live in her heart and, even if she has forgotten who they are, their presence is constant in her mind. Like false memories, or strange déjà vu, Yuu wonders what was real and what wasn't and keeps these turbulent thoughts to herself.

Dreams seem to know the answer. The heart people that Yuu feels she loves and values so much, weren't always heart people. The crimson tyrant carries a feeling of anxiety and cuts deep in the throat, the ambitious king stalks her like prey relishing her fear as claws dig into her arm, the merchant of the depths has a charming smile and calculated words, it would be the same as play a board game with the certainty that you would lose, after all, octopus arms control your every move. The throat tightens filling with sand when challenging the desert sorcerer, the shards of glass were the only thing that was warm as the blood spurted in a dark cold in the desert.

The beautiful queen made her eat poisoned apples and a sadistic smile appeared on her face as the deadly poison made her fragile body lose color and dark spots rotted her body. The divinity of the underworld preferred to burn the protagonist and leave her to suffer in a dark cloud, causing the torture to be prolonged. The dark king brings a sense of betrayal from a dear friend as thorns pierce his body.

Yuu falls out of bed, ironically…her fall saves her from a sad end.

A paralyzing fear invades Yuu, every shadow in her room seems to want to attack, the voices seem to get louder and louder screaming insults at her, a cloud of eyes and witnesses look for her weak points, a hurricane of emotions devours her piece by piece…

knock knock knock

“Honey, are you okay? I heard a noise”- her sweet mother's voice cuts off Yuu's panic as she opens the door

"I fell here, but I'm fine mommy"

It was just a dream.

“Would you like a glass of milk or some tea?”

It was just a dream.

"No need, I'm going back to sleep."- she tries to reassure her mother, who puts her hand on her shoulder

“If you say, good night.”- the mother despite being worried leaves the room, she is also very sleepy

The girl goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, clearing her thoughts before bed.

Is not real.

If it's not real, what are those scars on her arm and neck? Where do these octopus sucks come from? When did this happen? Where did these black spots come from, it seems that the color does not return to normal there.

Is not real.

As she checks out her legs, she sees aged scars from burns on her right leg and on her left leg you don't see the marks where the thorns tortured her skin, but when you run your hand over it, if you get close enough, you feel it's always been there. .

It was just a nightmare.

That's what Yuu tells herself before going to sleep, a peaceful night will help her forget about these problems. The sight of green fireflies dances to a familiar rhythm, which in their hums works like lullaby music. Where did these fireflies come from?

Gentle rays of sunlight wake her from her sleep, as she goes downstairs she is sure that eggs would be a great idea to start the day and go training, a strong and healthy body is synonymous with a strong and healthy mind! An apple, she eats suspiciously due to the events of the previous night, her mother appears reminding her to eat healthy meals, to apply sunscreen and moisturize the skin, a person's love.

His father, “bonjour belle famille” shouts kissing each one on the forehead, he started to learn French and lives practicing with his dear family.

The calm after the storm. The feeling. The emotion. The reason. Calm is real. The storm is real. But, what about the rain? The thunder? The wind that stun? Let's analyze.

A feeling of calm after the storm. But where does this calm come from if there was no storm in the first place?

Why do you worry so much about things that didn't happen… or did they happen?

Where does the lack of belonging come from if you've never been?

saudade is,in Portuguese folk culture, a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent, but you can only miss something real…right?