#hopefully breaking the task up and spreading it over a few days will make it easier

[spookyboywhump]

I plan on working up a new version of the master list because I feel like Google docs is just not cutting it, but I found out the hard way you can only add so many links to a tumblr post so it’ll. Have to be split up into a few different parts. Which will take me at least a few days to get done

[ultravioletrayz]

omg omg i have an ideeaaa

imagine Miguel and reader just having a lazy day together (its a Saturday) and they have a cute little cuddle/ convo moment, they decide to watch cringe movies in bed and reader orders idk i think its one of those big combo wing meals and as she’s uber eats ordering miguel gets handsy with her and it eventually leads up to some smexy time until the uber driver arrives with their food 🍗🍗

dude this made me hungry (not for food)

Pairing: miguel o’hara x f!reader

Warnings: 18+, 69ing, oral (f + m receiving), little bit of a handjob and fingering

Summary: while waiting for your uber eats to arrive, miguel becomes hungry for something different

A/N: i'm in a bit of a slump rn (in my writing and in general) so here's a filler fic to hopefully spark my motivation to finish kinktober

Word Count: 1.4k

The afternoon sun filters through the curtains, casting a warm, golden hue over the bedroom. You and Miguel lay tangled in the sheets, lethargy making it so that neither of you could even fathom leaving the comfort of bed, the remnants of last night's passion still lingering in the air. The bed is a mess of rumpled blankets and pillows, a testament to the lazy, indulgent day you both had planned, wanting nothing more than to bask in the warmth of each other's embrace and enjoy a well-deserved break.

Miguel's arm is draped over your soft middle, his fingers tracing idle patterns on your supple skin, caressing you as his sharp red eyes follow the shitty slapstick comedy on the TV beside the bed. You giggle as you watch the ridiculous antics on the screen, feeling a certain warmth spread through your chest at the sound of Miguel's soft laughter. The comforting rhythm of his breathing against your skin lulls you into a sense of peace, and you can't help but feel grateful for this moment, however mundane it may seem.

"I'm kinda hungry." You murmur, glancing up at Miguel to gauge his reaction. He merely chuckles and rolls his eyes in the most endearing way possible, giving your side a teasing squeeze.

"You're always hungry." Miguel shrugs, the sarcasm dripping in his voice, making you scoff and shove him playfully. Although even if you meant him harm, it's not as if you'd do much damage. You shoot him a dirty look as you lean over him to grab your phone, opening Uber Eats before Miguel can continue to heartily laugh at your adorable antics.

You scroll indecisively through the app for a few moments, brows furrowed in consideration, taking your choice in lunch very seriously. Miguel smiles dopily, finding your meticulous approach to the task adorable in the most lovesick way.

"Doesn't that place down the block do a 2 for 1 deal on Saturdays?" Miguel pipes up, and you immediately beam at the notion, quickly going to the website of the pizza place and putting in both of your go-to orders.

"You're so smart, baby." You coo teasingly, although you are grateful for his input at the end of the day. No way would you let him know that, though. It's all part of the banter.

Miguel just huffs and holds onto your waist when you lean over him once again to return your phone to the nightstand after ordering, your body reaching over his. Miguel's eyes dart to your tits spilling out of your top as it hangs low off your shoulders due to the action, and he licks his lips at the sight of them; so plush and plump and desperate to be massaged and kneaded until his hands leave a greedy dent in the ample flesh.

The second you flop back down onto the mattress, Miguel's hands are all over you. They dance along your throat, squeeze your breasts, ghost over your waist, grope your ass, part your thighs, cup your pussy, brush against your stomach, all while his eager lips nip at the lobe of your ear. It's incredible how quickly that switch inside of him can flip, that switch that triggers such carnal, filthy desire to taste you, his weeping cock chubbing up more and more with each soft giggle and moan that leaves your lips.

"I thought... thought you wanted pizza?" You breathe out, glazed-over eyes taking in the way Miguel's handsome face has morphed into a pouty, needy depiction of how desperate he is, thick brows knitted together as he feels your body melt into his touch, teeth digging into his bottom lip to hold back a groan at how sexy you look with your sleep shirt all bunched up and that teasing little smile on your face.

"Primero quiero disfrutar de un buen aperitivo." Miguel chuckles raspily, suddenly hurling your body atop his shoulders, making you squeal and perch your hands upon Miguel's powerful abs to stay steady, despite the iron grip he has on the meat of your thighs that straddle him. Impatiently, Miguel drags you back so that you succulent, syrupy pussy hovers above his eager mouth beneath your shirt, making your hands slide up his abdomen. That sensation of your fingers stroking his taught musculature is what pushes Miguel to the point of pure, insatiable need.

With firm, beckoning precision, Miguel's tongue flicks out to plunge between your sopping folds, lapping up the sweetness already decorating the insides of your thighs. He groans and takes deep breathes, drowning himself in your essence, large hands tilting your hips back to plop your pretty cunt right on his salivating mouth. You can't help but mewl and buck on Miguel's handsome face, his tongue rolling over your little clit the moment his plump lips suck the throbbing bud into his warm mouth, while his nose bumps against your dripping hole.

Like a depraved dog, Miguel nods and shakes his head vigorously, rubbing his wet tongue all over the heavenly plains of your pussy, his sharp red eyes rolling back in his head as your honeyed taste coats his tongue and overwhelms his senses hypnotically.

It's obvious how ravenous Miguel is, but your own hunger creeps up on you as your focus teeters between Miguel's mouth, and his weeping, swollen cockhead peeking out from the thin sheet covering his lower half. doing the best to keep your clit snugly presses against the tip of Miguel's tongue, you grab at Miguel's fat, hefty length, bobbing down to lap at his flared, girthy tip.

"Joder, cariño." Miguel groans, frustrated that you've more or less lifted yourself off of his face, but finding your kitten licks to his slit unbearably divine, unable to pull you away in order to continue feasting on your hot sex.

Your tongue teasingly scoops up the drop of precum that glistens at the tip of Miguel's dick before taking him into your mouth, your cheeks hollowing as your lips glide up and down his length in a slow, sensual rhythm. As you take him deeper into your mouth, Miguel's hips buck up off the mattress, his fingers digging into your thighs in an attempt to hold himself back. His moans grow louder and more desperate as you expertly suck and stroke his cock, relishing in the way he fills your mouth.

The weight of Miguel's dick on your tongue, the pulsing of his veins, that potent, musky taste of pre on your tongue; it's all like a drug to you. So much so, that you moan around Miguel's cock, wiggling your hips above his lips in search of relief.

Miguel, quickly thrown from one horny trance to another, immediately raises his head to kiss your puffy clit messily, releasing one of your legs to scissor your cunt open with two thick fingers, plunging them deep inside of you as his head falls back against the pillows with a moan. All disappointment regarding being unable to properly devour your cunt in this position are outshone by the sight of your tight, gummy walls swallowing Miguel's digits and dripping around them, making Miguel thrust his cock up further into the cushy warmth of your mouth.

You moan around his cock, your tongue swirling around the sensitive ridge of his tip. Miguel's breath hitches, his fingers curling inside of you as he nears his climax. As the rough pads of Miguel's digits press against your gooey sweet spot, your eyes squeeze shut and you pull off of his cock, panting and moaning as you pump his length rashly, giving into the pleasure and your fast-approaching high and sitting further back.

Miguel immediately takes over once again, his strong, skillful fingers leaving your pussy to instead push down on your ass, guiding your body to rock against his face. Miguel's tongue lashes out again to trace the folds of your cunt before thrusting deep inside, licking and teasing the walls of your soaking wet core with the roughness of his flat, velvety tongue.

"Miguel! Mig, I-" You cry out, cut off by the obnoxious ding that chimes from your phone and the simultaneous ring of the doorbell, making Miguel's movements falter as he pulls away from your cunt with a dejected sigh leaving his lips, glistening with your slick.

Your actual lunch is here.

absolutely hate this. but shady's back, bitch!

[anxiouslyfred]

A Free Wardrobe

Summary: Remus is a thief who just broke into the most empty apartment he’s ever seen. Virgil is a man just trying to break free of his family and if that means having no furniture so be it. He definitely doesn’t expect to come home to a fully furnished apartment one afternoon

/\/\

Remus had a list and he regularly changed it based on whims of the moment. He'd target recently sold apartments, waiting long enough to be sure the previous owners have moved out and new owners either moved in or furnished it in their attempts to rent it out. The next apartment on his list would have to be the last for the day and he was kind of frustrated that his van was already full enough he'd only be getting the most valuable things or breaking stuff.

It was a building he'd been keeping an eye on for ages, central to the city, fancy entrance and a guard who let anyone in a high vis vest with a clipboard through without question. He'd tested that plenty of times, just to be sure, walking out with a laptop or TV each time and the most that had happened was the guard started asking him about the collections he was doing and had even introduced himself as Toby.

Remus would never have expected to find an empty apartment once he picked the lock on the only apartment he'd seen get sold in the building. Looking around he wondered if it was just a case the new people had plans to renovate more or something, but there was a suitcase lying open on the floor and through a door a few blankets spread out as if imitating a bed. In the kitchen there were no appliances either, just the counters and sink with a few dishes in it, plastic ones only though.

The only thing he could see that was even remotely interesting even as he became more convinced someone was actually living there were the envelopes on the counter. He looked through them curiously, partially through nosiness over just who was living like this, but largely, Remus was telling himself, so he could know when to expect this place to actually be worth breaking into. After reading the empty bank statements, requests for first payments on electric and water bills as well as harsh, typed letters claiming to be from family members just wanting to stay in touch, Remus had reversed his plans in a way he'd once sworn never to do so.

“Hey Toby! You able to leave the door?” Remus called already walking through the entrance to open his van up as he caught the security guard's attention.

Toby followed, eyebrow raised not that Remus could see it. “Why? Is this a bigger collection than you're usually tasked with?”

Remus threw a grin over his shoulder, “Delivery and the guy isn't in. Left his apartment unlocked for me.”

“That's gotta be number 13. He's finally getting furniture? I'll help, just give me 2 mins.” Toby blinked momentarily stunned which only spoke over how long whoever lived in the apartment had been there with no furniture, before going over to the reception desk.

/\/\

Virgil absolutely had to get out of his family home when he did. The expectations had been leaving him curled in a ball panicking daily for months before he'd been able to use all his savings on getting his apartment, getting out.

Even empty rooms and blankets as the only furniture in there was better than being back with his family. It was basically nothing, but it was independence and freedom. He could get furniture slowly with each of his pay-checks and hopefully ignoring them for long enough would convince his parents they got the wrong address.

At least he could be certain they'd never expect him to be co-ordinating engineers and pushing numbers in an office a town away from their home. Virgil could be safe from them all there and relax while making sure his engineers were safe.

Safe definitely wasn't the feeling he got when the security guard called over to him, “Number 13! That's some good furniture you ordered. I can see why you had to wait for it to come.”

Virgil barely managed to cover his flare of panic with a tight smile and nod, hurrying to the lifts as if he couldn't hear the grumbles over how social he wasn't. Either his parents had tracked him down for certain and were trying to get some control over him back or something more unpredictable and more dangerous was going on.

At least the interaction partly prepared him to see his apartment door open and more wooden furnishings than he'd have ever afforded filling his living space. Part of Virgil just wanted to see if the sofa that had been hidden by the door was as soft and comfortable as it looked as he looked around the space before freezing looking through the bedroom door.

That a man was stood in his room trying on his clothes while folding others up was something Virgil doubted anyone could have warned him about enough to stop his reaction of yanking the first book he could out of his bag and throwing it that them.

“Hey!” The man jumped around, grinning and almost about to congratulate him before his nose scrunched when he saw the book on the floor. “Throwing things isn't nice! Especially dull fiction!”

“Neither is breaking into someone's apartment and trying on their clothes!” Virgil countered, gesturing to the outfit the man was wearing, entirely made of his things and he was kind of surprised that the sizes fit this stranger.

“I'm giving you furniture! That's a nice thing to do and your clothes are awesome! I wanted to see if a colour change to purple occasionally would suit me!” The man gestured behind Virgil, getting him to turn to see a proper bed and mattress was now in the room.

His jaw dropped at that, wondering just how much had been put into his flat while he'd been at work. “Yeah, on that point, Why? How? What the hell are you expecting me to give you for all this stuff? Who even are you?”

“Remus, your local thief at your service, and Kitten, I've never seen an apartment as empty as yours was this morning. Read your mail and decided you could do with a Robin Hood stopping by. Never tell Roman I said that.” The guy introduced, bending as if to bow but instead taking the shirt he had been wearing off and grabbing another of Virgil's shirts to put on. “And for payment, just let me carry on trying your clothes on. That's enough for me.”

Virgil really wanted to snatch his top back, but resisted the urge at Remus's suggestion. “You are literally insane. Why would you have stolen all this stuff but just give it to me for nothing?”

“Cool fashion sense, bitchy controlling parents, finding your own escape into the world? Meh, a guy can relate. You went the respectable route, I went the steal everything not built into my parents house to sell on a market then just carried on stealing from other places. It's not like I'm missing out on much money giving this to you.” Remus waved off his scepticism, already folding the top he'd just taken off and picking a shelf to put it on from a dresser Virgil was trying not to stare at. He was fairly sure that had to be worth a ton from the way it was carved. “We're like kindred spirits. You want anything else? A new laptop? TV? An oven? I can get you a good oven no problem.”

“Isn't accepting things from thieves like a big problem? Shouldn't I really be calling the police now?” Virgil muttered instead of replying, his worries over losing the freedom he'd only recently gained coming rocketing up.

Remus shrugged, moving over to collapse on the bed. “Then do that! You could even tie me to the bed right now so I can't escape while we wait for them to get here. Prison is good fun actually. Made a number of good friends there last time I had a stay.”

“Because if anyone hears about you getting arrested my parents will come barging in, insisting I'm not able to survive on my own whether I've confirmed this is where I live or not.” Virgil answered his own worries. “You just want to mess about in my wardrobe for whatever reason. I'm Virgil by the way, assuming you knew that already though since you read my mail.”

“I think Kitten suits you better actually, and the invitation's open if you wanna join me messing around in your wardrobe, clothing optional.” Remus leered up at him when Virgil moved to sit beside him on the bed.

He still hesitated to accept anything. “Promise this stuff won't get traced to me as stolen goods.”

“Don't take me for an amateur. It won't, never has and the feds don't care about furniture thefts so much as stuff they can actually make big arrests for.” Remus scoffed, one hand forcing Virgil to lay down once he was in reach.

Virgil rolled onto his side, now smirking a little. “Are you trying to seduce me to get access to my clothes?”

“Nope, trying to seduce you so I can stop you from reading books as dull as that one ever again. If I want your clothes I'll just come steal them, maybe leave some of mine in their place.” Remus laughed, never denying that it was in his mind for a second.

“The Authenticity Project is not boring, but fine, if you want to tell me you have no taste in books continue to judge.” He protested, glancing over to the book he'd only just finished reading.

Remus scoffed, “Just look at that cover. There's nothing interesting in that at all.”

“Matchmaking from a different country without ever meeting the woman, a man declaring his wife dead for years only to have her get invited to the supposed memorial party for her his new friends decide to arrange and you want to claim it's boring?”

“I'm reading that now. You're never going to get rid of me if you keep describing books like that.” Remus declared, lunging off the bed to grab the book he'd dismissed. “I didn't get you a pet for your apartment and thought it was missing one. Do you want me to be a cat or a dog?”

“Neither. I'm not into pet play and have definitely not known you long enough to begin discussing what I'm into.” Virgil dead-panned. “Are you seriously staying? I thought you'd be hurrying off as soon as you convinced me to keep everything.”

Remus glanced up from where he'd actually flipped to the first page and started reading. “Still waiting for you to ask for, like a fridge, an oven, maybe even a laptop or something. Complain about the lack of food for you to have tonight.”

“I've got pasta and sauces. Enough for both of us I guess.”

“It's a date then. That's a first, a failed theft resulting in a boyfriend. Definitely one for my stories.” Remus nodded.

Not for the first time since getting home that afternoon Virgil wondered just what on earth was going on and how he could figure it out. Either way he apparently now had furniture and a random house guest who sounded like he'd invite himself over again in the future.

[mrpenguinpants]

Xiao: String of Fate [Soulmate AU] HCs

Hey anon! Okay, I’m just gonna level with you. This request? This request right here? Probably one of my favourites. I went feral over this at 3am and my monkey brain fabricated an entire life story for Xiao when he’s not even out yet.

I sorta combined this request with my feral plot idea (which is honestly a 20k word fic at this point), but ahem, I hope you like and np^^ gotta make so many offerings so Xiao hopefully blesses me. Have a lovely day anon!!

--- Xiao Semi Series

[ Friendship ] [ Falling in Love ] [ Cuddles ] [ Protective ] [ Affection ] [ Jealously ] [ Opposites Attract ] [ Fainting ]

[Masterlist]

---

[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @thicmitten @sunnshiii @hanniejji​  @snowy224 @mayumintsu @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki @legionqueensav​ @youaskedfurret​

---

Xiao: String of Fate [Soulmate AU] HCs

The red string of fate is a concept that those who are connected by a red string are destined to meet and fall in love. Regardless of place, time, or circumstances. The red string can never be broken unless one connected passes away.

Alatus

For the past few days, Alatus would wake up early and scale the mountains of his small village to pick Qingxin flowers. The morning dew would still be on the petals before the sun came by and evaporated everything. It became a bit of a small joke that the elders used to make, that a earth spirit would appear at the break of dawn to place the flowers for harvest. Not that Alatus minded, he was grateful that whatever celestial spirt was out there made sure to replace the ones he took. Remembering to always offer a prayer of thanks and a small offering, you would scold him if he didn’t.

He quickly scaled and vaulted over the wooden beam and slipped into your room. He winced at the sound of his shoes landing on the wooden floor but you didn’t seem to stir. You were still sleeping peacefully as Alatus took the fresh flowers to add to the ones already in your small vase beside you. They were your favourite flower after all. He reminisces about when you were both children and how you would drag him to mountains and tell him all about how at the very top there was his beautiful white flower. But you were both too young with small limbs to even attempt to climb it, plus if you somehow managed to do it, it would take too long and both your parents would be worried. It never seemed to deter you as you reasoned that a wind spirit would help your journey. Come to think of it, you always put a lot of faith into celestial beings. But he goes along with your plan, never one to contain your desire to explore.

He’s suddenly snapped out of his memories when he hears a soft knock on the door. It quietly opens to reveal your mother. She gives him a small smile as he looked a bit guilty for getting caught breaking in before waving him over to hand him something. You left him with a small bamboo package that you had wanted to give on his birthday. On top of the bamboo, you had wrote a short but warming message that you were worried about him always running off outside and that he might catch a cold. He smiled softly at your words, ingraining the way your ink brush flowed down the bamboo sticks into his mind. He offer’s a small thanks as she gives him a comforting hug. Whether for him or her he doesn’t know and she leaves.

He carefully untied the brown string keeping the package together to unravel a blue, white, and gold sleeve. He silently marveled at how beautiful it was and held it up to the light, it almost seemed to shine with subtle highlights. He has no idea how you managed to create this, he had never even seen the dye of red or gold used in clothing before. Perhaps the celestial beings decided to bless you for your prayers and devotion. He gives one small squeeze of your hand as he ties the sleeve to his arm and he slips out through the same window he came from. He looks up at the mountain’s he’s scaled before setting on the tallest one. One so tall the elders say that it could reach celestia.

As he scales the mountain he can feel a taint tug on his thumb, before it slowly disappears. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, breathes in deeply, and continues upwards.

The Golden-Winged King

One of his first adepti duties was to investigate the place he once knew as his home. There had been a dream eating demon that had been spreading curses onto unsuspecting youths. Putting them into eternal sleep before they bodies finally succumbed and they passed away. It was horrible and Alatus swore he would do everything in his power to make the dream demon suffer. Unfortunely, seeing as this was his first time venturing out back into the moral world and still recovering from his trials, he was assigned to work with a senior anemo adepti. One who was well-versed in using polearms that could “show him the ropes” as mortals would say.

This other adepti was too loud and erratic for his tastes compared to the calm and peaceful friend he once knew. Always getting side-tracked and flying around Alatus like some overgrown pixie. Never taking anything serious even though the both of you were tasked to destroy evil. But he held his tongue since this was his senior, gripping his sleeve when he was especially annoyed. This only seemed to spur the other anemo adepti further and inquire about the sleeve. Naturally, Alatus was hostile and guarded. That was first time he ever raised his voice which instead of becoming offended or angry, the other adepti was impressed.

From then on the other adepti seemed to want to interact with Alatus at any given moment. From checking in with him on his latest mission or if he heard about how the delicious flowers tasted. Who even ate flowers? Either way, every instance of communication was brushed aside, he would always make some weak excuse that he needed to train. Which lead to the other challenging him. The both of you were the same element so it would be a good time to see who was the best at wielding it. Overtime he began to look forward to your weekly spars. Even finding a bit of joy out of them. Ever since he had climbed up the mountain it had been constant training and hardships but when it came to these spars. It was fun. Alatus began to open his heart a tiny bit, let’s himself relax and fall into amusement when he see’s his partner’s face pop over him as they hovered over him.

He even began to feel his locked up heart start to beat a bit faster whenever he saw his partner perk up and wave at him. Whenever you threw your arm around him he never brushed you off like he used to, just basked in your presence as you rambled about how this stuck up bird was running everyone through the ground with her demands. It was amusing for fresh adepti’s to see you both interact. The ever stoic and aloof Alatus that taught them through strict rules loosen up immediately and smile whenever your head popped up to scold him for his training methods.

It was fun. Until the day he became possessed and killed you with your own weapon.

Guardian Yaksha

Guizhong was concerned. Ever since Rex Lapis had saved the poor adepti man from his possession, he had locked himself in. He still fulfilled his duties with alarming accuracy but it seemed that he completely on auto-pilot. He could stand in the pouring rain without realizing it or he always seemed to be in such a rush. Asking to do anything that needed to be done rather than relax. He was going to end up running through his long years at this rate. She brought it up to Rex Lapis and his fellow Yaksha but none of them had the time or want to check in on him. It was a time of war after all. Except one.

You watch him stand in the rain. Any attempts from you or Guizhong to ask if he was better always failed and you didn’t want to push. But this was already past the point of simple concern. So the next time you saw him relapse you walked over and embraced him. He usually carried himself as stiff as possible but you swore you were holding one of Rex Lapis’s pillars. You braced yourself to get thrown off or at the very least be questioned but none of those things happened. He just stood there and to be honest, you weren’t sure if that was even more concerning. You both didn’t say anything even when the rain stopped until Rex Lapis had summoned you both over.

You and him never developed a close friendship but he never seemed to brush you away whenever you sat beside him ever since you hugged him in the rain. A bare acknowledgement on good days but that was alright. Just sitting in each other’s presence when the war wanted to be quiet somedays was nice. On harder days when fighting took too much of a toll on your body you would lean your head on his shoulder. He never shrugged you off or seemed bothered by it, in fact, it almost seemed as if he leaned back against you. You both never spoke during these moments, just a silent understanding looming over you both.

Then when Morax announced that Guizhong had passed away, you felt as if you somewhat understood how Xiao felt. You didn’t even register that you had walked back to the same place Xiao was standing back when he was in the rain. The war was finally over but after everything that had happened to get to this point, it was hard. You knew that a few of your other Yaksha’s were ready to return to Jueyun Karst or return to earth. You blink quickly as you feel two arms wrap around you and you realize how funny fate seems to be. You choke out some unintelligible noise that’s a mix between a laugh and a sob as you cling onto him and let your bottled up emotions pour out.

He’s the last person you see in the newly established Liyue, wishing him luck in the rest of his journey, as you return to the earth. You aren’t sure what you’ll turn into but you hope that the peaceful atmosphere you both created will remain.

Xiao

It was completely out of the blue when you asked if he wanted to come on an adventure with you. You were both sitting under the tree that held the Wangshu inn up when you suddenly sat up and pointed in some far off direction across Liyue. Asked if he wanted to come with you after the lantern festival was over. He was a bit taken aback, you were a traveler first and foremost but you never asked if he wanted to come with you. You had always assumed that he wanted to stay as a protector of Liyue but after what Morax, now Zhongli, had said and how it was time to him to step down. You decided to ask him. It didn’t have to be far, you both could go to the stone gate if he wanted, just if he wanted to come with you anywhere.

His first instinct is to decline but you end up cutting him off before he can say anything.

“I know you have your reasons and loyalties to stay as Liyue’s protector. That’s why I’m not asking for you to accompany me across Teyvat. But I don’t know when I’m going to be back and after what happened in Liyue, I thought it would be nice to just, take a break, and go anywhere. You don’t have to accompany me if you don’t want to but I think it’d be nice to wander together,” you say as you continue to look across the land from the balcony. He can’t see where you’re looking at exactly but he ponders your words.

To wander and go anywhere. Just the two of you. He’s never even considered leaving Liyue even after all the demons were replaced with weak hilichurls and slimes. He gazes up at the tree’s leaves, looks further to see celestia, and even further back to his home. Guizhong always said he needed to relax and live in the moment of now rather than running past everything but was he really ready for that? 

“Ah, sorry was that a bit too forward? I really didn’t mean anything ba-”

“Yes. Let’s go,” Xiao cuts you off as his eyes shine in a new light of determination, “Wherever you want to go, I will come with you.”

You blink once, twice, before a bright grin stretch's across your face as you quickly ask if he’s joking. He’s not, and you cheer excitedly as you list off different places you’ve wanted to explore. Perhaps the shoal? Maybe even further into the chasm? Actually wait, the electro archon has closed that area off so maybe not there. Xiao patiently listens to you ramble as he smiles softly. Your excitement is addicting and he can feel his heart flutter just a bit. How long has it been since he felt this way? He can feel a small tug on his thumb, he looks down but he can’t see anything, but there’s a comfortable weight that he’s felt has been missing for a very long time.

---

If this seems interesting and people seem to enjoy it, I can post the actual fic when Xiao banner drops as a bit of a catalyst. It’s basically the same idea.  Though it’s kinda long so I have no idea when that’s going to be finished. It might turn into a thank you gift instead. (or ahem, you know, if you wanna commission me and see it earlier there’s that haha just kidding;;).

Honestly, I took a lot of liberties. I read the lore on adepti and Xiao but most of this is my monkey brain and previous semi xiao fics (which you don’t have to read but it would be helpful to see extended parts). Phew, this took a lot of time. It’s not as cute as my other fics but hopefully you all enjoyed it^^

Actually, nevermind. I hate this. I’ll keep it up since I haven’t posted this week yet but I hate this. 

[heli0s-writes]

lights up*

A/N: Stucky (primarily Steve)/Reader. 2k words of idkwhatthisisi’msorry. There was a prompt from six months ago that I wrote this for but I lost the message and I can’t remember! All mistakes are my own, please stop reading if you are not 18+

brooklyn after dark masterlist

You wake up in scattered shock.

Knee-jerk reaction to fast hands sliding between your thighs, fingers carelessly ticking sensitive skin.

You wake up to a groggy voice, slurred with sleep and raspy-raw.

“Baby,” it croaks from between your legs, “Honey, sweetheart, sugar. Please, please, please let me eat your pussy.”

Wha—

A few disbelieving blinks as you scrabble for your bearings—can’t see shit—still dark—head throbbing.

“Oh god, I wanna sosososo bad,” and then hands are between your knees, spreading your legs apart. “So… damn... tasty. Uh-huh… Come to daddy.”

Who the fuck is—damn it, Bucky.

In the dead hour of four-something when nothing should be moving so intentionally, an unsteady moan tumbles out of him when he starts groping for your ass.

“Buck!” You whisper, kicking your leg to shake him off. Grabbing the covers with one hand, you reach under with the other, swatting his head and trying to get a firm hold on him. Slippery fucking man.

He pauses for a second before his body goes limp, half hanging off the foot of the bed and you groan at his weight. Idiot boy. Two hundred pounds of horny somnambulist dropping like an anchor on your poor legs.

Fiddling now with how to get him back up to his regular spot, you try to do it quietly, the warmth radiating next to your left shoulder a compelling incentive. Even with your wits barely about you, you know better than to wake—

“Whassit? Whas goin’ on?”

Steve. Ah.

“Nothing,” you sigh, reaching over and stroking his arm absently, one foot tapping against Bucky’s waist to urge him upward. “He’s just sleep-talking again.”

Steve makes a groggy noise of comprehension. “Sleep-talking or sleep-fucking?”

“Just sleeping now. Ugh… didn’t mean to wake you.”

He’d come in late again—meetings and paperwork keeping him well after hours. Not even able to do it from home, which would have been nice. At least here you could make sure he was eating, or drinking enough water, or at least be in the presence of good company.

Instead, you and Buck watched a movie, took a few rounds of shots (because he likes the taste and how you look dancing all over the coffee table), fooled around in the kitchen, and turned in around two—Steve nowhere in sight. Some jobs were Captain-Only, which meant you’d have to make peace with being useless.

That’s generally not a task that goes over well. The amount of untamed energy Bucky exudes without Steve’s guidance is… close to being categorized as a natural disaster and trying to stay up with him is always a double-edged sword. Lots of fun, sure, but he requires less sleep than you do and can finagle you into getting piss drunk with a single smirk.  

“Wish you’d been more responsible.” Bone-tired and Steve’s still bossy. His arm is heavy as it snakes over your tummy. “You know he needs direction.”

“Hey, I tried.”

“Issat right? That why your panties’re on the counter? Shirt in the sink, too. Come home close to four and still gotta clean up after the two of you.”

His raspy breath tickles, plump lips crushed just below your ear—enough to start a chain reaction of shudders.

“Go back to sleep,” you huff, embarrassed. It was only a few hours ago so your head’s still a bit fuzzy—vague memory of playful touches before hearing, hop up, baby, from Bucky. And you, tittering and zealous the whole way, kissing him like he’d never been kissed before.

YouTube blinking on the T.V., stuck on some ad because the streaming’s a snail’s pace from when Steve set up the internet and tried to pinch pennies at the same time. Bucky’s specially crafted “Wine, Dine, and Sixty-Nine” playlist refusing to load even half a song afterwards so neither of you could spare your neighbors from hearing all the noises.

Hopefully the laughter was loudest, and not the primal fucking, or the crashing when you slipped off the counter and knocked Bucky on his ass.  

You giggle at that. Years and years together and some nights still feel brand new.

“Have fun without me?”

There’s no real jealousy in Steve’s voice, but there is greed behind the question. A single night away and he acts like he’s never been kissed either.

Your eyes start fluttering when his fingers curl around your hipbone. Je-sus. Hell. It’s too late—early—for this.

You grumble his name, asking him to save it for a couple more hours when your brain doesn’t feel pried free, but, Captain-Only mode activated and he’s not deterred. A bloodhound on a fresh trail.

The hand on your hip turns inward and you’re suddenly aware of him pressed against your body, that hot line of him, pulsing on your upper thigh. He tilts forward, one knee rubbing up your leg. Bucky stirs a little and makes another declaration about how he’s fit for the CEO position of Eating Your Ass, but nothing more after that.

“He do you good?” Steve wonders, apparently not giving a fuck about whether Bucky’s dead or alive down there and instead only worried about repositioning you, rolling you on your side, “That why you’re so happy to get me out of the house? So you two can fool around unchecked as much as you want?”

“Steve, you know damn well—"

His hand slips around the side of your neck, four thick fingers drumming over the ridges of your throat. “Watch your mouth,” he whispers, “before you get yourself into any more trouble.”

He gets mean without enough sleep. And no one would ever guess, but other than working over some poor punching bag that’ll never see the light of day after he gets his hands on it, Captain America likes to fuck it out. You and Buck have properly come out of a few sessions barely alive, feeling like two ends of a slinky that’s taken one too many tumbles down a flight of stairs.

You squirm as he palms your bottom with his free hand, kneading the bare flesh a flimsy pair of sleeping shorts can’t cover.

“Gotta be quiet,” he tells you gently, “Can’t wake him, can we.” Christ help you. What a time to play a game. You mumble under your breath, “Do I have a choice?”

A prod at your already sore entrance, and Steve says, annoyingly convinced, “I think you’ve already made your choice.”

He stills for a second when Bucky flops around on the mattress and then he starts pressing his mouth to your back, your shoulder, other hand holding you steady with expertise. It’s Steve’s favorite position when he wants to be in charge—you, writhing and turned away, usually leaned about 50 degrees and pawing at Bucky’s chest—this morning, feebly snatching sheets instead.

It doesn’t take any buildup. He’s achingly ready; you’re willingly wet. Clothes moved just enough out of the way and his two fingers slide upward, pushing barely to spread you before he quickly replaces it with something much thicker. It’s only been a few seconds. He’s too fast for you to get a word in edgewise, your brain still muddled, body cooperative.

“Huh,” Steve mumbles, slowly feeling his way into position, “A bit fucked loose, aren’t you?”

“Steve,” you hiss in reply, clenching up reflexively the same time mortification bursts across your scrunched- up face. “Don’t say that.”

“Hush, baby.”

“I’m trying—”

“Try harder.” And he’s evil incarnate, you swear. Satan himself packaged up in the neat body of a demigod. He rolls his hips slowly until the tops of his thighs are pressed against your ass, fingers holding so tight you think he’s going to spear right into bone. “Stay still or you’re gonna knee Buck in the cheek.”

You twist your head around, instead, shaking your chin free from his hand, hoping that once he sees your pitiful expression, he’ll find it in his heart to maybe not pound you into oblivion with bells on.

Of course, Steve’s not looking anywhere but down the line of your back and further to where he’s opening you up, bottom lip tucked into his teeth.

You constantly rib him about how he’s making up for all the years he spent with the two working eyes of a mole so now he’ll break his neck to watch. Bucky’s confirmed it multiple times to Steve’s chagrin, cackling at the way Steve goes purple defending himself. You love the stories they tell and retell; you try to spend most your time making up for all those years you weren’t there to find out.

Who isn’t in this relationship? Violently horny like teenagers, the three of you, spending every idle hour mishandling for each other like it’s the first time. Excitement primeval like animals in heat, apparently instinctual enough for one of you to do it in his sleep. Years and years and it still feels brand new.

The bed’s rocking surprisingly moderately for Steve’s usual pace, and it’s a bit heartwarming to know that he’s doing it because he really doesn’t want to wake Bucky, but he ramps up his game. He starts whispering again, meaner, hotter, the damn mouth on Steve Rogers continuing to give you hell this early morning.

He pinches your nipple hard, letting you gasp at the brief sting before he goes back up to your chin, your mouth, and then he puts the entire hand over it.

“Quiet. Not another fucking word out of you. Gotta teach you how to behave this morning, don’t I?” He’s working himself up, working you over, even pulling you back on him by the hips and then wiggling you up and down on him like he’s adjusting you on a saddle. Motherfucker.

Your toes curl, knees grinding, legs folding up to get simultaneously closer and away from him and it feels—it feels so excruciatingly good—the effortless glide of his cock, the burn of friction dragging itself out the more you wriggle. Whatever indelicate sounds falling out of your mouth are getting mashed back in, Steve ramming himself into your body, shaking your brain further loose.

He’s probably louder than he intends to be—you know how he gets when he’s close— bombs could be dropping two feet away and Steve Rogers would hear nothing but the roar of his own wanting, chasing it until he crashes into bits. You’re chasing too, both hands clamped around his wrist, arching your back to near breaking.

“Yeah,” he rasps out, “That’s it, that’s good, baby. Ugnn—back up on me, stay—right there.”

More uneven jerking, he releases your face and starts rubbing your clit, saying, you like it like this? Like me givin’ it to you good like this? And you’re shaking in his arms, the both of you tipping over the edge.

-

“I wasn’t serious,” Steve says later after a few moments, lips all soft and gentle on your neck, rather than fierce like before, “Bout you bein’—” you can feel him shrugging, “Y’know… fucked loose.” He whispers the last part like it’s a sin.

You snort, “You turning decent on me? After railing me to death?”

“You sound pretty lively to me.” He pokes your side, “I just… woke up and remembered how much I missed you last night.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got both of us here—shit!”

“Steeeeeve,” and the sound of it slaps both you back to reality. Sleep-smashed, more tipsy than any alcohol could make him, Bucky’s giggles break the steady pattern of muffled conversation. His vibranium hand pats around for a new destination, undeterred by the disruption of his previous mission.

You can’t believe it. He’s still asleep.

“Steeeevie,” Bucky mewls again, “Lemme— lemme suck your dick, sweetheart.”

What a menace. Your shoulders start quivering as you poorly hold it back, pfffftppblffpt’s kickstarting Steve into a tizzy right alongside you.

Bursting laughter finally wakes him up. Bucky yelps once, twice, flailing like a cat caught unawares and rolls himself right off the goddamn bed.

Two hundred pounds of newly conscious pervert wallops the hardwood floor and you’re sure the entire apartment complex—if they didn’t hear the ruckus last night—certainly heard it this morning.

[thedummysdummy]

Little League

The result of a request from @kazuko-stuff Hopefully it’s everything you hoped for!

The sound of tiny feet pounding up and down metal bleachers and shrill blasts from coaches’ whistles formed the soundtrack of the day. Victor sat on a thin cushion with a squirming Cleo in his arms, trying his best to hold her still while her mother applied sunscreen to her already apple-y toddler cheeks. She burbled happily and reached out for her mother’s hands, grasping her fingers and shaking them vigorously. “Come on now, Lolo. You’ll end up like a lobster if we don’t get this sunscreen on you! You got your daddy’s fair skin.” 

“Don’t blame the tendency to sunburn on me,” Victor grumbled, gently pinning his daughter’s hands to her sides to allow easier access to her face. “You don’t exactly have the most tannable skin yourself. When is Little Vic’s team supposed to play, again? Are they running late?”

The girl glanced at the watch on her wrist as she finished rubbing the white lotion into the toddler’s skin. “About five more minutes. Looks like the current teams are just finishing up.” Sure enough, the baseball field was clearing out as the kids ran back to their dugouts to get treats from their coaches. Just outside the gates stood the next teams, and among the throng of children was the tall and spindly form of Victor’s eldest son. He stood with that same ramrod straight back and unapproachable expression that he had inherited from his father, though the other children did not seem to be intimidated by him in the least. In fact, they gathered around him and chatted animatedly with huge grins on their shining faces. 

Victor handed his daughter to his wife and straightened the too-small cap on his head, the one his son had so proudly handed him that morning and requested he wear to the game. Even on the largest setting it barely clung to Victor’s dark hair, but he wore it dutifully. “Ah, there they go,” he murmured as his son and his friends filed into the dugout and began rummaging through the helmets and bats in search of their favorites. 

Little Vic peered out through the chain link fencing, his cloudy eyes scanning the bleachers until they fell on the forms of his family. Those eyes lit up and he gave a small wave, smiling as he saw the cap on his father’s head. They waved back, the girl gently waving Cleo’s little arm as well. “Good luck!” she mouthed, blowing Little Vic a kiss. A soft blush spread over his cheeks and Little Vic looked around to see if any of his teammates had seen his mother being embarrassing. They all seemed engaged in their own tasks and he let out a small sigh before turning away. “Hopefully he has improved since the last game,” Victor drawled, picking up the camera at his side and snapping a few photos of his son. 

“He’s five, Victor. Give him a break! Besides, you had him practicing his pitching and batting for hours this week. How could he not have improved?” The girl placed a tender kiss on Victor’s cheek and rested her head on his shoulder, prompting him to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her in closer. He returned her gesture with a kiss on the top of her head, his lips absorbing the warmth the sun had imparted to his wife’s hair. “Just don’t push him too hard, okay? I know you expect big things of him, but I have no doubts he will make you proud in his own way. He absolutely idolizes you.” 

A frown crossed Victor’s face and he shook his head. “He doesn’t have to do anything special to make me proud of him. He is my son! I will always be proud of anything he accomplishes.” 

The girl looked up at Victor’s face and smiled softly. “You should definitely tell him that, and tell him that often. If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s the importance of having the support of those you love who love you back.” Victor met her eyes, his own narrowed slightly in thought. He nodded and gave her a squeeze, his gaze returning back to the field. 

Little boys in red and white uniforms swarmed the field, with Little Vic taking center stage on the pitcher’s mound. The cold expression had returned to his face and the little boy at bat shifted around nervously. “Well, if nothing else that expression he inherited from you helps intimidate the other team,” the girl giggled, earning an eye roll and a sigh from her husband. “What? You know it’s true! That boy is your son through and through.” 

“Better that than a dummy like his mother,” Victor teased, giving her a squeeze. She feigned offense, leaning forward out of his arms for a moment before giggling and laying back again. “Oh, here we go.” Victor’s proud eyes settled on his son as he wound up his arm and released his first pitch, sending the ball sailing directly over the plate. The little batter swung hard in a total miss. “Yes! That’s my boy!” Victor shouted, causing his wife to giggle at his enthusiasm.

“I never thought I’d see the LFG CEO cheering loudly at a little league game,” she teased, shifting their daughter to Victor’s lap so she could settle against him more comfortably. He wrapped his free arm around little Cleo, who immediately grabbed his long fingers and began chewing on his knuckle. 

Victor shrugged and ruffled Cleo’s hair softly with his breath. “I never imagined my son would choose sports over books either, but here we are.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with a little boy doing little boy things. I’m sure he’ll be just as smart as his daddy someday too. For now, let’s just let him be a child. We already saved the world, after all. There’s no reason for him to grow up as fast as we had to.” 

A sigh escaped Victor’s lips and he nodded, the lighthearted atmosphere of the tournament dampened somewhat by the turn in the conversation. Victor held his little family close and continued to watch his son, the ghost of his past superimposed with the vision of the future held in the boy’s eyes. He ruminated over his wife’s words, realizing she was right. Perhaps…it would be alright to let Little Vic stay little as long as possible. After all, who knew how long the little league tournaments, warm bear hugs from tiny arms, and badly drawn crayon pictures proudly displayed on the fridge door would last? 

The game ended and Little Vic returned to his family’s side, cookie frosting on his face and a juice box in his hand. He wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck and grabbed his father’s hand with his own sticky fingers. “I’m sorry we didn’t win, Daddy…I did everything you taught me and we still only tied. I’ll do better next time!” 

Victor shifted Cleo to his wife’s lap and sat Little Vic on his knee, running his fingers through that familiar dark hair. “Son, I’m going to give you a bit of advice that took me a long, long time to learn. Some things just can’t be won alone. Sometimes you need someone to help you, or even an entire team of someones to help you reach your goals. Do you understand what I’m saying?” The little boy shifted on his father’s knee and shrugged, his little eyes focused intently on his father’s face. Victor chuckled and planted a kiss on Little Vic’s forehead. “That’s alright. I’m proud of you, son. Someday you’ll understand. Now, how about we go to Souvenir for lunch?” 

“Can we have pudding?!” Little Vic exclaimed, jumping down from Victor’s knee and looking up with hopeful eyes. Victor sighed that helpless little sigh and nodded, taking Cleo in his arms so his wife could stand more easily. 

“I suppose so. Grab your sister’s bag and let’s go back to the car. Wipe your face while you walk!” With Cleo in one arm and his wife’s hand in his, Victor ambled across the grass with his heart bursting. He couldn’t imagine a fuller or more beautiful day than this, with the sun shining on his little family and more love surrounding him than he could ever have wished for.

[harrywritingsbyme]

Bored

Based Off Of This Ask

And This One

A/N: He’s back bitchessss🤪…and he’s filthy as fuck! And I’m sorry this one is extra extra late with a crappy ending lol...Enjoy🙃

You were finally finally getting your weekend alone with Harry. After almost two weeks of him being away for business, you were finally getting to spend some quality time with him. And it was going to be without any interruption. Since your best friend was was spending a long weekend with her boyfriend, you were going to be able to spend a long weekend with yours. You were so excited to see Harry that you had everything planned out. For starters, you had your bag packed the night before he was due home. It had all of the essentials: a couple outfits for when you two weren’t in bed having sex, two of your skimpiest sets of lingerie that you weren’t going to miss given the fact that Harry had a habit of ripping your lingerie off of you, and some toys. He had few at his house but had the funner ones that you both could play with. Now along with getting your bag packed, you also made a visit to the waxing salon you went to from time to time. Even though Harry could literally care less about whether or not you had any hair down there, you still liked to give him a little treat from time to time. So as a little welcome home present, you endured thirty minuets of someone ripping those coarse hairs away so that you could be nice and smooth upon his arrival. And to make sure that you were ready to spread your legs for him as soon as he landed, you got this done a little over two days before so that you could let your pussy rest a bit because once you were with Harry, you were going to be begging for a break. You also made sure to be right at the airport to pick him up so that you two could get your weekend together started.

Now since his flight landed in the evening and you were positive that he’d be exhausted, you weren’t expecting to do much that night. Once you two arrived home, Harry wasted no time getting himself and his bag upstairs before ridding himself of his clothes and taking a nice hot shower. Again, you knew for a fact that he was exhausted from his flight and the trip itself so you decided to let him unwind and take his shower while you unpacked his bag and got everything nice and ready for him to have a good nights sleep. After spending a good half an hour in the steamy cabin, Harry finally exited the shower and came into the bedroom where you were waiting for him.

“I take it you had a good shower.” You point out, taking in his more relaxed disposition.

“It was so good.” He hums, striding over to where you were sitting on the bed. Once in front of you, his hands go straight to your shoulders and up your neck to the sides of your face where he tilts your head back a bit so that you’re looking up at him. He then lowers his head before bringing his lips to yours. Besides the pecks you gave him in the car when you picked him up from the airport, this was the first real kiss the two of you shared in almost two weeks. You missed the feeling of his warm pillow soft lips moving against yours. Even though you missed the sex, you missed being close to Harry. You knew that you could call him whenever you needed him and he’d always answer, but you weren’t close to him the way you were in this moment.

“I love you baby.” He mumbles lowly against your lips after slightly pulling away from you.

“I love you too.” You mumble back to him before lifting your head up a bit to reconnect your lips with his for one final kiss. “Now get in bed with me!” You whine, pulling him down towards the bed. 

“Have t’get dressed.” He laughs at your eagerness. 

“Who said you needed to wear clothes to bed?” You quickly reply, leaving him no other choice but to dry himself off and hop into bed with you. “Now it’s time for your goodnight kiss.” And with that, you moved your body so that you were between his legs and you used your mouth in the best way possible to send him right to sleep. Just because you weren’t expecting to do much didn’t mean you were expecting to do nothing at all. How could you not take up the opportunity to not only pleasure him but to also help him unwind?! Not to mention the fact that you hadn’t touched him in almost two weeks.

Now even though this was supposed to be a relaxing weekend for you and Harry to spend some quality time together, Harry still managed to get holed up in his office. And even though you were fully aware and understanding of the fact that his job could be demanding at times, you still couldn’t understand why they couldn’t let him have a little bit of an extended weekend since they did have him for a straight week and a half. The one thing you did know in this entire situation is that you had to get him away from the work and into you instead. And you knew just how to do it. You checked in on him the first time right after you woke up and realized that he wasn’t in bed with you. When you did, you gave him a ton of kisses and an incentives for stepping away from the desk but he wouldn’t budge. All you got out of that was a kiss to your lips, a promise to give it to you real good later on, and the task of getting him another cup of coffee. At this point, you realized that you were going to have to make him step away from the work.

 So after you deliver his cup of coffee, you make your way upstairs to put yourself together. After you get out of the shower, you throw on the perfect outfit (or lack there of to be completely honest) to get Harry to focus on you. Pulling from the bag you packed, you went for a cute little pastel thong that barely covered anything and was just there for the appeal, along with a tight fitting crop top that had “Daddy’s Girl” written across the chest. It was prefect. If this didn’t get Harry’s attention, you don’t know what what could. After doing a little once over and twirl in the mirror, you head back downstairs to try your hand once more at getting Harry to put the work to the side. Hopefully he got something done in the hour and a half you spent upstairs because you weren’t going anywhere without getting something from him. When you walk down the hallway leading to his office, you could hear him talking to someone on the phone but that doesn’t stop you from walking right into the doorway of his office. When you first walked in he could see you out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned around to fully face you, Harry was completely dumbfounded at your appearance. There was so much to take in! 

“Daddy I’m bored.” You huff loudly, causing Harry to scramble around behind his desk, hoping that his colleague didn’t hear you through the phone. 

“M‘ gonna have to call you back.” He says abruptly before hanging up the phone, keeping his eyes right on you the entire time. He then slides his phone onto the desk and pushes his chair out a little from the desk before wagging his finger in your direction, beckoning you to come over to him. 

In an instant, you’re following his nonverbal instruction and your making your way over to him. As you’re walking over, Harry takes you in. Aside from the lack of clothing, Harry couldn’t get enough of your body. He couldn’t get enough of your figure. Your hips were perfectly rounded and full and your chest was absolutely abundant with your breasts.  When you round the desk and step in front of him, you don’t even bother to stop and wait for a direction. You just go right in and you straddle Harry before sitting yourself right in his lap. Instead of saying anything right away, you decide to wait until you’re spoken to. That’s the least you could do since you already broke two of his rules. 

“You’re so lucky I could use a good fuck right now.” He sighs, finally breaking the silence while  continuing to look your body over your body. Now that you were sitting down, he could see the string like waistband of your panties digging into you fleshy hips, and he could see your pert nipples pushing right up against the thin material of your t-shirt. 

“What would happen if you weren’t daddy?” You “innocently” inquire, lifting yourself up a bit just to move yourself but higher up on his lap before plopping yourself back down onto him. 

“Well luckily for you, I’m always in need of a good fuck from this beautiful body of yours.” He begins, removing one of his hands from your fleshy hips up to your chest to latch onto one of your ample breast’s through the thin shirt you had on. “But when I do punish you, because all brats deserve punishments, I’m gonna make sure you learn your lesson.” He says simply, continuing to fondle your breast.

“What are you gonna do to me daddy?” You press on, beginning to move yourself back and forth right against his cock. 

“Now what’s the fun in me telling you my plans? All I’m gonna say is that unless our safe word falls from that pretty mouth of yours, m’gonna use you any way I want, and m’gonna do anything I want to you.” He explains. “How does that sound?”

“Sounds amazing.” You moan, continuing to push yourself back and forth against his now completely hard cock.

“I figured you’d like the idea of being my personal fuck toy.” He chuckles smartly as you bring your face down to kiss at his neck. “But I do have to say, even though you’re such a little brat, you definitely make up for it in being the perfect little slut f’me.” 

“Mhm, just for daddy.” You hum, keeping your mouth against his skin. As you continue kissing at his neck, you continue moving your hips against him as well. You also pull his hand that was squeezing at your hip down between your legs. 

“Does my little girl want daddy’s cock?” He asks “surprisedly” when he feels you pull his hand down to touch the puffy mound between your legs.

“Yes daddy.” You moan against him when you feel his fingers poking at you through your panties. 

“I guess I can let you have your way since I’ll be spending the better part of the day teaching you a lesson.” He rations, removing his hand from your breast and using it to grip onto your throat and pull your face from his neck before lifting you up and onto the desk in front of him. He then pushes his seat back some more so that he can stand up and tower above you. He quickly clears the space on the desk behind you before swiftly removing the tight shirt from your body and returning his hand to your throat, pushing you to lay back. Instead of wasting anymore time, Harry brings a hand down to your panties that were extremely close to just snapping and just rips them off your body, leaving you completely naked in front of him. His eyes travel all the way down, from your breasts to the area between your legs, each time taking a moment to touch and feel your soft body in his hands. When he makes it to the area between your legs though, Harry immediately crouches down to be at eye level with your cunt. “Oh sweetheart” He begins, taking in your bare cunt. “Look at you.” He admires, bringing his hand back there to feel how smooth and bare you were. The area was a sticky mess since there were not curly hairs for your arousal to cling onto. Even though he loved when you had your hair down there, he couldn’t get enough of how messy it got and how good it was to really feel the plump lips of your pussy in his mouth. He also liked to lick your arousal from your thighs. After staring and petting the smooth area, Harry finally brings his mouth to your cunt and goes straight into licking up and down your folds.

“Daddy! Feels so good!” You moan incoherently, feeling him eat into you like his life depended on it. Not only would he lick into you, he’d also suck on your swollen and oh so sensitive bud, and slightly sink his teeth into your thick pussy lips.

“Oh my- you are so delicious.” Harry moans from between your legs, savoring how amazing you taste. No matter how many times he licked into you, Harry would never get over how good you tasted on his tongue. “I could eat this pussy of yours for the rest of my life!” He exclaims, continuing to eat and marvel at your cunt. “You even look perfect too.” He says, pulling his head back to stare at your mound. “It just swallows up everything it touches. Your panties, my fingers, my tongue, my cock…” He continues on, taking in how pretty and puffy your pussy was for him. He always knew how meaty and utterly delicious your cunt was, but seeing it bare and as a result being able to get a better view of you made it even better. 

After a bit more oogling at your mound a bit longer, Harry finally goes back to eating you out. He uses his fingers and mouth to drive you wild, fucking you with two fingers while he either bites into your fleshy lips, sucks on your swollen little button, or licks into you. As he continues, you are gripping onto your supple breasts and letting out the biggest moans as Harry pushes you to a release. The way he was raving about your pussy and ravenously eating you was absolutely insane and it pushed you right into your release. Your moans echoed through the room as you let go all over Harry’s tongue to which he made sure to lick up every last drop before standing back up.

“Oh my goodness doll!” He coos, looking down at your now limp body below him. “You look like you’re even more of proper little slut for daddy now.” He admires, properly taking in how loopy you were now and your heaving naked body that was spread across his desk. “Wish there was a dildo in here for you to choke on but your panties will do I guess. I’ll just fuck your mouth myself later on.” He sighs, reaching  for the ripped panties he sat on the desk moments prior before pushing them past your parted lips and stuffing them into your mouth. He then pushes his pants down his legs to reveal his rock hard cock. Without wasting anymore time simply staring at you, Harry gives his shaft a couple tugs before guiding himself into you. “Fuck princess!” He loudly groans, finally feeling your walls engulfing his cock again. “Y’cunt always swallows m’cock perfectly.” He grunts as he watches himself disappear into you. 

While Harry was losing his mind from how good your cunt was, you were a whimpering and quivering mess. He’d made you cum less than five minuets ago and he was already pushing his cock inside to fuck you. Even though you loved feeling his big cock stretch your tight walls to fit, your pussy was incredibly sensitive from his mouth. So you could already knew that you’d not only be sensitive, you’d also be sore. Which was exactly what Harry wanted. Once he was balls deep inside of you, Harry immediately began pounding into you. His eyes were trained on your breasts that were bouncing freely on your chest with every thrust of his cock down into your quivering cunt. He could feel your walls squeezing him with every thrust and he could feel himself hitting the deepest part of you over and over again, slamming himself into the pit of your stomach with every thrust.

“That’s it babydoll.” He growls, releasing one of your hips from his hand to wrap it around your throat. “Take daddy’s cock all the way up into that little tummy of yours.” He continues, keeping his eyes locked on your glassy ones. “M’gonna cum in there too. Want you t’be completely filled up by daddy.” He pants, feeling his already bubbling release begin to intensify. “Feel you squeezin’ m’cock, wanna cum again for daddy?” He questions through a pant. Since he was practically pinning your head to the desk by means of his grip on your throat, you could only give him a faint nod yes and a whimper. “C’mon then baby, cum with daddy.” He grunts, continuing to send more sharp yet staggered thrusts into you as he starts to feel wave of his release begging to overtake him. From the way he was gripping onto your body and shoving his cock deep inside of you, you weren’t able to stop yourself from squirting all over his cock and going numb from the waist down. Your seismic release from earlier doubled in size and just crashed down onto you. The same with Harry, his release crashed down onto him, resulting in rope after rope of his cum pouring into you just like he promised. 

Even though it took a little while for you guys’ weekend to get started, neither of you would have it any other way. Just based off of this round alone, you and Harry immediately knew it was going to be a very long and pleasure filled weekend.

Masterlist

[thelovelylolly]

Perfect

Summary : You were the perfect padawan and jedi knight. You had everything in line and under control, which may or may not have caused you to catch Obi-Wan Kenobi’s eye.

Warnings : None :) the only thing is the reader is depicted with having longer hair, or long enough hair to pull into a bun. (also not proofread bc im lazy)

Notes : instead of us simping, how about he simps for us? am i right guys? also the start isn’t my favorite and a lil weak. also pt 2, sorry i’ve been dead for over a month now, i havent had motivation to write that much and school is ending which meant testing :) hopefully ill get my motivation back so i can pump out more fics

Ever since you were a youngling and padawan, your master and other jedi praised you for being the perfect example of a new jedi. You got all the training forms down quickly, you were in control of your force abilities and you were always on time to everything.

It wasn’t even hard for you to do so, it was just natural for you. So that’s what stood out Obi-Wan Kenobi the most. You and him had classes together, bunked near each other and advanced around the same pace. You two were knighted around the same time as well.  

You even helped Obi-Wan out when his padawan, Anakin, caused him stress and trouble. Especially during the Clone Wars. You were a very put together general and your clone squadron was highly renowned, so you were ready to go help 501st and, if needed, the 212th. In Obi-Wan’s eyes, you were perfect 

Now, here you two were, working together again. You were on Obi-Wan’s star destroyer and the two of you, along with both of your clone squadrons, were tasked to go check in on a planet. The Republic had gotten reports of Separatist forces trying to turn the planet against the Republic. You and Obi-Wan were standing around a hologram of the planet with points highlighted where there were attacks.

“I saw we spread our forces out in order to reach all those areas quicker,” Obi-Wan commented, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

You put your hands on your hips. “I agree with General Kenobi. Cody, go tell the men our plan. Once we get on planet, we’ll split into groups then and spread out,” you replied.

Cody saluted you and left, leaving you and Obi-Wan alone. Your gaze fell on Obi-Wan, who was avoiding it. “General Kenobi,” you said, breaking the silence.

His head flicked towards yours, a little bit of blush forming on his cheeks. “Yes General L/N?”

“I’ve been sensing your emotions shifting a lot lately, is everything alright?” You asked, your head titling to the side ever so slightly. Your question made Obi-Wan’s blush increase. 

“Uh,” he paused to clear his throat and think of a excuse, “it’s nothing, just some stress with Anakin is all.”

You hummed as a reply and nodded. “Well, we should go get to the transport ships.”

-----

The trip to planet was easy and so was splitting up. Your men, along with the 212th, were assigned a area of the planet to patrol. Once everything was evenly divided, there was still a little bit of land to cover. It was a flat plain of tall grass with a few tall mountain formations in it. You and Obi-Wan both volunteered to cover it with land speeders.

A transport ship dropped you and Obi-Wan off with two land speeders, once again leaving you two alone. You two prepped your bikes and small amount of supplies you had. The sun was close to setting on the planet and you two planned on only taking a few hours. You pulled your hair into a neat bun so it wouldn’t become a mess from riding your speeder. Obi-Wan watched you and how the late day sunlight made you look as if you were a golden goddess.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked, snapping him out of his thoughts as you mounted your speeder.

“Oh, yes,” he quickly replied, following your actions. The two of you set off towards the setting sun, scanners ready and eyes peeled for any separatist action.

A little while into your patrol, you were getting tired of being quiet. Twilight was setting in at that point. “Do you wanna talk about your stress with Anakin? I know you mentioned it earlier and it seems intense, at least from what I can sense,” you said louder than usual, since you were speeding through tall grass.

“Well, um,” Obi-Wan paused to think of a excuse again, “I think him and his padawan are pulling risky moves in their missions.”

“Don’t they complete their missions successfully?”

Obi-Wan mentally slapped himself. Anakin and Ahsoka were very successful their missions, of course you’ve heard about them. “Uh, yeah, well-”

“Bandits.”

“What?”

“Bandits, coming our way on speeders,” you said, switching the gears on your speeder so you could speed away. You turned right and Obi-Wan followed you. After a few moments, you two saw the bandits still on your tail. “We have to shake them!”

“Let’s split up! I see four, we can each take two,” Obi-Wan replied. You nodded and turned right again while Obi-Wan turned left.

You were doing fine until you looked behind you and saw one of the two bandits following had their blaster rifle out and aiming at your speeder. You gasped as they shot. You jumped right as your speeder exploded. Luckily there was tall grass beside you so you weren’t that hurt from the fall. You had to act dead though, you sensed the bandits coming to check that you were.

Obi-Wan heard an explosion behind him and looked, seeing your speeder blow up. His eyes widened as he thought he worse. He quickly made a sharp turn with his speeder and turned around, causing the two bandits following him to crash into each other in confusion. 

Obi-Wan sped over to where you were, seeing the two other bandits speeding over to him. He jumped off his speeder and grabbed his lightsaber, activating it. As the two speeders were barreling towards him, Obi-Wan simply inhaled and exhaled. Then raced towards them, slicing through both of them. The bandits jumped off their destroyed speeders and hopped onto Obi-Wan’s, stealing it and riding off. Obi-Wan stood their for a moment before deactivating his lightsaber and running to find you. 

You sat yourself up and rubbed your head. Obi-Wan quickly made his way over to you and crouched beside you. “Did they take your speeder?” You asked.

“Yes, come on. I think I see a cave not to far from here. We can stay there for the night and you can contact Cody. My comm link was on my speeder,” Obi-Wan answered, helping you up. Your hair was messy now from the fight and your clothes were dirty from falling on the ground.

“My comm link is a little bit busted, but I think the tracker still works on it. We can activate that once we’re safe,” you replied, following Obi-Wan as he lead you to the cave that he had seen.

--

Obi-Wan was able to make a fire while you tried to fix your comm link’s tracker. You two sat in silence, the fire crackling every once in a while. Obi-Wan watched as you worked, so focused on what you were doing. Some of your hair had fallen out of it’s bun, framing your face. Obi-Wan smiled to himself.

“There, I think I fixed it,” you said, breaking Obi-Wan out of his trance. You pressed a button and moved over to the opening of the cave. “It may take a while to reach the ship since the signal isn’t that strong. I think setting it over here will give it a better chance to reach.”

You sighed and leaned your head against the cave wall, a wave of tiredness washing over you. 

“If you want, you can get some rest. I’ll take first watch,” Obi-Wan said, moving over to where you were so he could see outside. You smiled as a thank you then closed your eyes. 

You were making it harder for Obi-Wan to ignore his feelings for you. Attachments were forbidden by the jedi. With you being the perfect jedi, he didn’t want to be the reason you messed up. No matter how much a struggle it was for him.

Only a little bit in his watch, he felt something heavy fall on his shoulder. He looked over and saw your head there as quiet snores escaped your mouth. Obi-Wan smiled then went back to watching outside. Though, it wouldn’t be long until he got tired and leaned his against yours as he fell asleep.

--

The morning light shined through the cave entrance and woke you and Obi-Wan up. Your fire had died out a while ago, only the ashes and burnt ground left behind. Your comm link was right where you left it. You got up tiredly and picked it up to check on it. 

Obi-Wan stretched a little while you looked around outside. Moments later, you went back into the cave. “There’s a transport ship landing right now,” you said, taking Obi-Wan’s hand and leading him out.

He felt his face heat up at your touch. You didn’t let go of his hand as you two watched the transport ship land in the field below. “Obi-Wan, one last thing,” you started to say.

“What is it?” Obi-Wan replied.

You pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting go of his hand and making your way down to the transport ship. Obi-Wan smiled and touched where you kissed on his cheek. He watched as you met up with Cody in the field and started to explain what happened on your patrol together. Obi-Wan sighed happily before making his way down to you. You were so perfect to him.

[klbwriting]

Unexpected Allies - Chapter 1

Fandom: Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone

Pairing: eventually will be Kaz/female!Reader but for now nothing

Warnings: I mean, Kaz Brekker is involved, someone is getting maimed

Summary:  The Darkling won the Ravka civil war, defeating the Sun Summoner and taking command of Ravka. Then he went looking for ways to make his Grisha more powerful. Kaz Brekker knew this but took the job at the Ice Court anyway, getting himself and Jesper Fahey thrown into a Ravkan prison for his efforts. After getting broken out by the Darkling's second in command the trio has to find their way to the Permafrost and the resistance gathering there. And then Kaz has to figure out a way to get his crew out of this whole mess. But how can he get himself out of the mess of feelings he has for the Grisha with all the powers?

Note: Hello!  I am alive!  I have found motivation for something else!  As much as I loved the Shadow and Bone show I have found more love in the Six of Crows books so this fic is an AU based on both.  In this the Darkling won out over Alina and then Six of Crows happened like it does, except the Darkling showed up to ruin things as he does. Also going to address the Inej sized elephant in the room, in this Kaz’s feelings were less strong towards her because I ship the fuck out of Kaz and Inej but I also ship the shit out of Kaz and myself too and I needed some self-insert.  I hope you like it, I missed writing and I’m glad to find some inspiration again.  

Kaz Brekker was known even in prison as the guy who didn't need a reason. He wanted his infamy to spread even behind bars, the better to keep those looking for a pigeon to harass away. On his first day in this hellscape he had stolen a fork from the dining hall and used it when his cellmate attempted to take the makeshift cane that he had been provided from his hand. Now he no longer had a cellmate and his old cellmate no longer had his eyes, and word spread quick of the young man willing to kill to be left alone. That had given him the time and space to start to plan his escape.

First, get Jesper as his cellmate. That was accomplished with ease. Anyone else they put in with him would be blind or deaf or crippled within 24 hours so it came down the guards asking him straight out who he wouldn't maim. He said Jesper Fahey and they allowed it if only to have a night's peace. Jesper didn't look like he was faring well. In a cell at Hellgate Jesper would have been alright but here in a West Ravkan prison near Os Alta where his Zemeni features made him stand out he had become a target. When he entered Kaz's cell rage filled the young crime lord. Jesper was thinner than ever, dark circles under his eyes and hands fidgeting constantly, almost like he needed a drug but Kaz knew it was just because he couldn't focus his energy.

"Jesper," Kaz whispered after the guard had left and his sharpshooter sat on the cot. "What do you need?" Jesper looked at him slowly and gave half a smile.

"Just my friend, s'all ok now," he said. Kaz felt the side of his mouth twitch up just a little. "But I could also use a way out of this damned place." Kaz nodded, gripping the wooden walking stick a little tighter. He wanted to put a comforting hand on Jesper's shoulder but he could not, Jordie's body, cold and wet and dead flooded his mind, and he couldn't bring himself to reach out. He hated that this place seemed to be tearing his friend apart slowly. It was even taking a toll on him. Everyday was the same, waked up with the sun, eat a breakfast of stodgy porridge and soggy bread, washed down with possibly the grimiest coffee ever made. The prisoners were then sent outside to work on either the large farm for the prison and surrounding towns or they were forced to be target practice for the Grisha guards. Normally only the worst of the worst were reserved for practice, or those that pissed off the guards. Kaz had avoided this so far but he knew Jesper had run his mouth one day, getting snarky with the yard guard and he had almost been drowned by a Tidemaker the next morning. Lunches were non-existant most days. They were shuffled from work to 'free time' which meant sitting in the hot afternoon sun either playing cards, or, if they were lucky, sitting under one of the shady trees that scattered the yard. Evening was the only decent time at this hellhole, it was dinner, and then back to the cells. Kaz enjoyed this time, he was normally alone to plan, and now that Jesper was here they could plan together. He had the beginning, how to get out of the cell, but the rest he was still working on.

"I have been planning this since we got in here, you were the first part of my plan," Kaz said, watching as another set of guards walked by. He checked the small window above their heads. "She's coming any minute now." Jesper looked at him confused for a moment before the cell door opened and a guard told Kaz to get up. Kaz nodded and stood, Jesper rising as well.

"This one should come too, he was at the Ice Court with me on that night," Kaz said to the guard. The guard looked between them and shrugged, motioning for another guard, a Grisha Corpolaki judging from the kefta he wore. They led Kaz and Jesper out of the cells and into one of the small interrogation rooms. Kaz was familiar with the room at this point, having been there several times in the past few months speaking with the Grisha Infernei who was seated at one of the two chairs in the room. She looked up as they entered and he noticed that she seemed relieved, something she hadn't shown before.

"Are there anymore of your comrades from the Ice Court in this prison?" she asked, motioning for another chair to be brought in. Jesper sat down hard while Kaz stood still, leaning on the walking stick and once again studying the Infernei. She wore a red kefta with black stitching, something different from the others and he was still not sure why. He supposed it was because she was high in the ranks. After the Darkling defeated Alina Starkov and her followers he had gone back to using his true name, Aleksander Morosova, and became king of Ravka. He used the power that he had sucked from the Sun Summoner to control the Fold now, moving and reshaping it to whatever he needed and on the night of Kaz's jurda parem heist he apparently needed the jurda parem also. Kaz and Jesper had been taken but the others had escaped.

"No, no more of us, just we two were involved," he said. The Grisha looked between them, assessing them. Kaz took another moment to look over her while she studied Jesper. He always liked to measure who he was up against, and he didn't mind studying her. She was curvy, seeming to like waffles more than Nina did, with hair a deep auburn and eyes the color of dark chocolate. The first time he saw them they reminded him of Inej's eyes except her's were more hopeful than he had ever seen Inej. This Grisha fully believed that something good could still happen in the world. Kaz was almost jealous of this, but of course, this Grisha had seen her side win the Ravka civil war. His eyes now met hers and he saw that while he was studying her she had been doing the same to him. He could tell she knew he was lying but he didn't care. He had spent the last 4 months keeping his answers vague, giving just enough information so that she would feed him information back about the current situation at the Little Palace, now the true royal home since the Grand Palace lay in ruin. King Aleksander left it as a reminder to those who would attempt to assassinate him, bodies still left scattered around the rubble, Alina Starkov's kefta in tatters on the front steps. Kaz hadn't seen it but from the way this Grisha described it, he believed it was terrifying.

"Mr. Brekker, we both know the heist you were attempting could never be accomplished with just two people," she said, a knowing smile on her face. This seeming infatuation the Grisha had with him was a plus for Kaz. He often wondered if he could possibly seduce his way out of the situation but his mind couldn't fathom the interactions involved, so he would wait. Perhaps this woman had a inclination towards criminals, she might be seduced by anyone, Jesper could do it easily, Kaz just had to get the ball rolling so to speak.

"I don't know, I think Jesper and I can accomplish anything we put out mind to," he answered, bringing himself to nudge his partner in crime with his elbow. The Grisha nodded and opened her notebook as she did at every meeting and began to write.

Y/N had noticed the look on Kaz Brekker's face when he elbowed Jesper Fahey. She could see his hesitation, she noticed the look in his storm gray eyes. He was bracing himself for impact as if the touch would somehow hurt him. Jesper's face was surprised at the touch, and he physically turned towards Kaz with shock. She opened her notebook and pretended to jot down something important as she did every day, but she mentally notated this interaction. She had been listening to others in the prison and despite his limp Kaz never let anyone see him as weak, however, this aversion to touch was never mentioned. He hid it well out in the general population but she could see something about touch bothered him immensely, that information could be useful later. Kaz Brekker was a tough nut to crack she had to admit, but eventually she would get to where she needed to be with him, hopefully sooner rather than later. Aleksander was having a tough time buying her excuses and she had to become even more convincing for him, continuing to keep his trust after the betrayal of the Sun Summoner was an arduous task. She hoped soon she could drop her facade and begin her true purpose, breaking Kaz Brekker and his cohorts out of this prison and find the gathering resistance in the Permafrost.

"Alright Mr. Brekker, we left off yesterday with you explaining to me how you came to know about jurda parem and what the Fjerdans were doing with Bo Yul-Bayor and his son Kuwei?" she said. It had taken months for Kaz to even start explaining anything to her. She had hoped that agreeing to allow his friend to be his cellmate would open him up. Luckily the gamble had worked at their last interrogation. His answers had still been too vague to really make an impact but it was a start. She hated to make him desperate but she needed the information, something to feed to Aleksander and send him on a chase for more jurda parem. Kuwei Yol-Bo had escaped from the Ice Court and that knowledge was keeping Bo from cooperating with the Second Army. He had recreated exactly one vial of jurda parem and refused to create another until his son was returned safely to him. Kaz Brekker and Jesper Fahey had been the last people to see Kuwei alive and she needed something to tell Aleksander before he decided to come here and do the interrogations himself.

"Yes, I believe I told you that a rumor had gone around Ketterdam and that I just happened to hear it," he said, making sure he was as convincing as he could be. Once again Y/N pretended to write something down, pretending to believe his lie. He was a very good liar, she could see that in the way his eyes held truth, his body language said honest, even his pulse was calm, however, the blood in his veins moved just a milisecond faster during his falsehoods. It had taken nearly a month to figure out the tell in his body but she had done it and now she used this against him.

"Must have been quite a rumor to make you put your friends in the line of fire of Fjerdans and of King Aleksander," she said, keeping her voice light, leaning a little closer to him. She couldn't lie, she was enraptured by the young man from the Barrel of Ketterdam, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that he would ever see her as anything other than another Ravkan Grisha blindly serving her king, but she could pretend that she hoped to lure him in, get him feeling confident about her.

"Jesper will tell you, he was eager to join me to find this new drug, imagine the kruge we could make from such a thing," Kaz said, standing suddenly and poking Jesper towards Y/N with his cane. He moved towards the wall, leaning against it. Y/N watched him for a few moments before turning her attention to Jesper. He wanted to push someone else at her? Why? She could tell he liked the attention she gave him, maybe not in a way most men did, but he liked it all the same. Jesper barked a laugh.

"Eager? You came back and acted like we were going to be rolling in kruge, become kings of Kerch," Jesper said. He was also a practiced liar, following the lead of his boss as it were. Y/N smiled at Jesper then, making sure her brown eyes looked intrigued and enraptured. She noticed the Zemeni man leaned back in his chair then, clearly not interested in the attentions of a Grisha like herself. "But ya, I mean, I wanted the kruge and I was having a good run that night at the tables, felt lady luck was on my side." She saw him fidgeting near his waist, where his guns should be. She had those stored in her private quarters, along with a certain crow headed cane, waiting for the right moment. She had been watching Kaz and Jesper since they arrived, having her spies give her information on them. They were the only link she had to Kuwei and Inej Ghafa and she needed to know all she could before she continued her plan.

She tried to pry more out of the two for several minutes before one of her people, a young Squallor entered.

"The hour is late Korovsa, the king is finished waiting," she whispered. Y/N’s jaw tightened. Her eyes flashed to Kaz and she saw him take notice of the slight change in her features. Her fears were starting to come to pass. She needed to end this charade now.

"Guard, please escort Mr. Fahey back to his new cell. Mr. Brekker and I have more to discuss," she ordered. The guard grabbed Jesper's arm, hauling him from the seat. Y/N wanted to say something, tell them to lay off the guy, but knew she couldn't appear as if she cared. Once he was gone she made a motion for Kaz to sit. He still stood. "Sit, now," she insisted, hoping he heard the urgency in her voice. He eyed for another moment before he moved to sit. She leaned closer, all of her coy attitude gone.

"What's happened?" Kaz asked casually, working the top of the walking stick with his hands, the only sign of his concern. Y/N let out a breath.

"My time is up, tomorrow night expect there to be a riot, stay in your cell with Jesper, don't leave until you hear 2 bells, then leave the cell and go to your left, the door will be ajar due to the last guard through it mistakenly knocking over mop. Once you are in the corridor go right and follow it to the deserted morgue. I will join you and lead you and Jesper out, do not leave without me," she said.

"Why should I believe any of this? That you're just going to help up walk out of there?" Kaz asked, trying to read her, seeing if she was lying. She groaned annoyed. Why was it that her only hope was as distrustful as her current king?

"Because I want to see the king's body burn before he destroys all of us," she whispered, voice dripping with venom. Kaz looked a little surprised at her viciousness and he nodded. She sat back, knowing that by now the guard had returned.

"Well Mr. Brekker, you've once again been no help, tomorrow the king will be coming to personally interrogate you, I hope you are looking forward to it," she said. "Guard take him back to his cell." The guard nodded and yanked him out of the chair. "Careful, the king won't like it if he can't inflict the pain himself," she warned, more to Kaz than the guard. She hoped Kaz believed her enough, that she had shown her hand to him enough that he would do as she asked. If he didn't they were all screwed.

[cheesyficwriter]

You are amazing! Your smut is amazing! Can you please write prompt “I’m so proud of you.” with a very emotional sex scene afterwards? Bonus points if it‘s a canon setting with Hermione praising Ron for something he has done 😍 Thank you so much😘

Hi there, anon! Thanks for the compliment 😊 I hope this Ron POV drabble gives you all the feels! It's a little steamy, but hopefully mostly sweet 💜

My Gryffindor

“It’s okay, Hermione, just a dislocated shoulder. Nothing a little Skelegro couldn’t fix!”

“That’s a pretty cavalier thing to say about your life, Ron!”

Ron couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face. There was something about the way Hermione fussed over him that warmed his heart. He often loved riling her up, although he knew it didn’t always bode well for him in the end.  

He leaned even further into his girlfriend’s side, impressed by how she was, quite literally, carrying all of their weight as they took careful steps towards the sofa. Ron eased himself down onto the cushions, wincing in pain as his tender shoulder collided with the armrest. 

“Ron! You’re supposed to be taking it easy — not just throwing your body around like you’re on your broom!”

“Relax, woman, it was an accident,” Ron mumbled, making a very conscious attempt to roll his eyes in a subtle way so that she didn’t notice. One look at the expression on her face told him that she didn’t care for his comment about her relaxing — best not to pet the cat that was already hissing. 

Hermione stomped out of the room, returning only a few moments later cradling an assortment of vials in her hands. She placed them in an organized fashion on the table next to the sofa before retrieving her wand. With a swish and flick she levitated a piece of parchment over and scanned the contents of the letter. 

“You’ll be on a very strict potion regimen for a week, and the healers said that you’d need to keep your shoulder as still as possible. Which means no disapparating, no flooing, and absolutely no flying!”

Ron sighed as he watched Hermione scurry about the room for a few more minutes, busying herself with mundane tasks, before he finally called out to her. 

“Hermione, love? Come sit down, please.”

His tone wasn’t demanding, but it also wasn’t as warm as it could’ve been. However, it was enough for Hermione to pause her to-do list and make the hesitant walk over to him. She sat down on the opposite end of the sofa, giving him a wary glance. 

Ron was frustrated by the amount of distance she put between them, and wriggled himself close enough to her so that he could take her hand. “What’s really going on here?” 

Hermione’s eyes welled up with tears, and Ron was now on high alert. Although he figured she was frustrated with him over his close escape from death, he didn’t want to see her cry over it. 

He never wanted to see her cry. 

“I-I missed you so much, and when I got the Patronus—” Hermione hiccuped, burying her face into her hands as her body shook with quiet sobs. 

His gut twisted in all sorts of directions, almost making him ill. He understood exactly how she was feeling. If he ever got a Patronus that her life had been put in danger like that….he swallowed hard. It was best not to think about it, for he was sure he would go mad. 

“C’mere.”

Ron opened his one free arm, and she tucked her warm body into his in an instant. He kissed the top of her head, keeping his nose buried in her curls. She smelled like Hermione and he felt as if he could finally breathe after an intense day. “S’alright, love. I’m here now.”

Ron rubbed her shoulder, tracing a pattern of freckles that resembled a heart along her skin. They sat in deep stillness for several minutes, finding peace in each other’s arms. 

“I shouldn’t have gone into the field without back-up. I was stupid.”

Hermione lifted her head, placing a hand on his cheek forcing him to look her straight in the eye. “Don’t do that —  don’t say that about yourself. I may be so incredibly furious right now, but the emotion I’m feeling the most at the moment is pride. I am so proud of you, Ron Weasley.” 

Ron’s own eyes glistened with tears, and he blinked to dispel them. He would never tire of hearing Hermione say that she was proud of him. 

“You showed immense courage and bravery out there. And despite the huge chunk of my heart that leaves with you every time you step through that fireplace over there, I will never stop being proud of you." Hermione placed a hand over his heart, never breaking their gaze.

"A true Gryffindor. My Gryffindor.”

He was the luckiest sod on the planet. 

Ron tangled his fingers into her curls, and brought their heads closer. “I love you so much.”

Hermione nuzzled her nose against his. “I love you more than you love chocolate frogs and Quidditch combined!" 

Ron raised his eyebrows, a slow grin spreading across his lips. “Really? That much, huh?”

Hermione only nodded, and her eyes fell to his lips as he watched her tongue dart out to lick her own. 

All of the blood pumped straight to his core, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. 

Hermione must've seen the desire in his eyes, and she started shaking her head. “Ron, we can’t. The healers said—”

Ron pushed Hermione's long curls behind her shoulders, giving him free access to her neck. His lips pressed soft kisses along her skin, making Hermione roll her head back in pleasure. He knew she was caving already. 

“Fuck what the healers said. I’ll deal with any pain coming my way, but what I can’t deal with is not having you in my arms for a second longer.”

Ron's words must have lit a fire underneath her, and before Ron could even process what was happening, she swung one leg over his body to straddle his hips. 

Ron groaned at the pressure against his very evident arousal in his trousers, his possessive hands flying back to cup her bum. 

"Are you sure I'm not hurting you?" Hermione whispered as she nibbled on his ear. 

Hermione tightened her arms around his neck, and the friction between them was maddening. As his hands traveled north and south along the curves of her body, he knew he never wanted to relinquish the sensation of being consumed by her. 

Without answering, Ron sealed her mouth with a kiss, hoping that he could show her instead. 

He loved her, and she loved him, and all he wanted to do was to show her — in every single way. 

Clothes shed, and breaths intertwined, they were soon joined together. As Hermione moved on top of him, he was filled with an emotion he could only describe as bliss. 

The love he felt for the amazing witch in his arms was all-encompassing. He knew, without any doubt or a single thought of hesitation, that the ring he had hidden in his wardrobe was meant for her. 

As they let go together, and Ron spotted the passion behind her eyes, he was content, for now, knowing that he was home from his mission. 

He was home because that's where Hermione was. His Gryffindor.  

[penwieldingdreamer]

First Meetings

So, now that I have been stuck at home due to my mother's positive Covid test and watching The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for 6 days straight, inspiration struck again, thank god 🙏😅 The new center of this -maybe- series will be Lee Pace. Of course this is only a fantasy and everything only came from my imagination but with a pinch of real events happening, still it's going to be in an alternative universe.

Thanks for being my beta @fortheloveoffanfic

Hope you guys will like it. Let me know what you thought and if you like to be tagged in upcoming drabbles I have palned and will hopefully be able to continue now again.

Summary: You work as part of the Mae-Up and Hair Crew on set of the Hobbit Trilogy, where you meet many interesting people, but one has gotten more of your attention than you would have thought.

Warnings: none, except for a very long drabble 😅

Words: 1722

You had been part of the crew ever since Peter Jackson had started working on the Hobbit trilogy in 2011 and met everyone that had been essential to the movies on and off screen. Apparently Fran had seen your work first hand when you were at a competition for make - up artists and she was impressed by the end results. You hadn't won any of the prizes but you were only one against one hundred others and yet she wanted you to be part of the second historic movie trilogy PJ did in his life.

The first people you had met were of course the dwarves and Martin who was Bilbo in the movie. They all were fun to be around, especially Dean and Aiden, as well as James Nesbitt who would always greet you with jokes or a song, giving you something to look forward to during those nearly endless days of filming.

And then, at the ending of shooting the first movie of the trilogy Philippa came up to you, a very tall man following behind her. You had just gotten done with James' make-up and wanted some fresh air, with all the fumes inside the trailer you sometimes thought you might get sick, so you sat outside, watching the pair walk over to you.

"Y/N," she said in greeting, a smile breaking out on her face. "May I introduce you to our newest cast members. Lee is going to be Elvenking Thranduil and he's in need of your service." Pippa, as you called her, had always had a way with people and she was next to Fran and Pete the only one of your bosses you could be yourself with and even call family away from your own. In your former jobs you had only been the one for the make-up, the one being ordered around and not even been able to give an opinion to change should something not look right on the person. But here, you were part of the crew and they would listen to you.

"It's nice to meet you." You said, holding out your hand for the actor to shake. With a smile in return he grabbed it and you had to concentrate not to let your reaction show on your face. Holy shit, his hands were huge compared to your smaller ones.

Only your boss's voice pulled you back to the task at hand. "So, Lee needs to get into his wig and ears and we'd like to try the crowns with the wardrobe department. Let's say meeting in an hour and a half over at costumes?"

"Oh, uh, sure." you mumbled, hastily disentangling your hand from his. "I'll send him right over when I'm done."

Pippa grinned at you. "Why don't you come over, too? We wouldn't want there to be a repeat of Elrond's circlet like the last time."

A soft sigh escaped your lips, nodding your head you stepped up onto the small stairs outside the trailer. "I'll bring him over then and make sure the wig will be in one piece once you guys are done."

"Great, I'll see you guys later!" she said, clapping her hands and walking off, leaving you with the giant in human form standing in front of you.

Once he made sure she was out of ear shot, Lee turned back to you, a smile plastered onto his face. "Do I want to know what happened to that wig?"

"I don't think you want to know, it was a mess and the guys making the wigs were so angry because the circlet Hugo was wearing in the fitting got caught on the strands and ripped it in half. They had to do it all over again."

Nodding his head, the actor entered the trailer behind her. You told him to take the empty chair next to Richard, who was getting ready for his scenes and he took the time to watch you flit around in your workplace. Everything was chaotic and still in order all the same. When you had come back to your place, the prosthetic ears and wig in hand, Lee grinned at you, his dark blue eyes shining with mirth. "Well, we wouldn't want another repeat for the King of Woodland Elves."

"At least you're already in character, then." Richard mumbled next to him with a laugh trying not to interrupt the woman doing his make-up for the day, listening to the words leaving his co-stars mouth.

Watching the actor, who was Thorin in the movie series, he laughed. "I just need to get my crown and wardrobe and I'll be good to go, everything else is already perfect."

Ruckus laughter floated through the trailer and you couldn't help but admire the shape of his face. Before you could stop yourself, you had already mumbled a 'yes, perfect' and Lee's eyes turned back to you. You felt the blush creeping over your face, swiftly grabbing a comb and a few clips to prepare his own hair for the wig cap you were going to be putting on under. All had seen the flush spread out on your skin and Martin who was getting up from his chair next to you send you wink. That was a great way to make a first impression on the day of meeting a new part of the movie series. You were scolding yourself inside, making sure to only talk to Lee when he was asking something, otherwise keeping your mouth shut.

"Okay let's see the green coat again with the silver overcoat. Y/N, be a dear and bring me that one please." Ann Maskrey, one of the costume designers asked you, while Pete and Pippa watched Lee getting dressed in the green coat. You walked over to the wardrobe and took the first silver coat. "No, not that one, the one with the deep orange silk on the inside." So you took the correct one on the second try and held it out for Lee to put on. He grinned down at you, pulling the coat over his shoulders and straightening himself. It would be easier if he wasn't such a giant, but he was a handsome giant.

"Right then, that looks good. Let's try it with the smaller branch crown."

You sighed, hoping there wasn't going to be another wig fiasco when you helped putting the crown on. Weta had done an amazing job designing all the pieces for the movies, for all movies they worked on, but sometimes these things were a bitch to work with. Your comb and pins at the ready, he sat down on the chair, pulling the knee-high boots on over the leggings he wore underneath.

"I'm going to be gentle but if I should hurt you with the pin please let me know." you told him, lightly pinning the crown to the wig so it wouldn't fall off.

Lee had closed his eyes, hiding the bright blue contacts he wore for his role. "I can take my fair bit of pain, but if it's intolerable, I'll let you know. So far I can't complain about these gentle hands."

By the time they had taken pictures and you had finally calmed down again so the flush that had started to spread over your face and neck at the close proximity to Lee was controlled again, Ann had asked you to take off one crown and exchange it for the larger branch crown with red leaves.

"I think this is going to be a lot more striking for King Thranduil then the other one."

So you repeated the process, gently combing the wig while Lee sat on the chair, chewing his gum and closing his eyes. He even held the hairpins in his hand because he saw you struggle to get them out of the confines of your little bag. When he moved it closer to you to work with your finger touched his and if you didn't know better there was a tiny spark from that brush of skin.

Finishing up, you grabbed the unused pins from his hand and told him you were done, giving the tall actor a light tap on his shoulder. Just as he walked over to the small area where they viewed him in his costumes, the door opened and Martin and James walked inside.

"Sorry, you guys but we had a small, unfortunate accident." the Irish actor apologized, showing the burst seams on his pants. "We were doing our stunts and well."

Martin grinned, walking over to you and throwing his arm around your shoulders. "We also wanted to see what all the fuss was about that haughty elf king."

Giggling, you looked over at Lee who grinned at his co-stars and repeated the walk he did before.

"Just so you know, if I were a female dwarf, I'd tap that elf ass." James whispered into your left ear, your once controlled blush intensifying again while the blond actor nodded his head enthusiastically.

"He's a perfect elf, you know. Broad shoulder, tall, elegant, striking eyes. The hair." Martin spoke so only you and the dwarf actor could hear.

"The long legs." James added, nodding his head over to the American actor who strutted along the area, having thrown off the overcoat.

"That smouldering look." the Brit continued before you held up your hands.

"Enough, you." You hissed so no one would know what you had been talking about, but you knew they were only trying to rile you up. Yes, Lee was attractive, hell, he was gorgeous and Pippa and Pete did an amazing job casting him, but you knew him for less than a day. He could be a total asshole when he didn't have people to impress for his first day on set. "You guys should get to Lucy or Sam so they can stitch up those holes."

"Well, I'm going to tell you this, one day you'll end up with a guy like that and you'll remember what I told you. You deserve the best in your life, luv." James told you proudly, pulling you closer into a one armed hug. He was brother and father to you in one person and you knew that his words were going to bite you in your ass.

They always did.

Taglist(I wasn't sure who to tag, also who might want to read it, so please let me know if you don't want to see mor of this in your notifications)

@fortheloveoffanfic @ladyreapermc @toomanystoriessolittletime @meetmeinthematinee @omg-imagine @fanficsrusz @eevee-of-rivia @fics-not-tragedies @omgkatinka @fuck-yeah-hope @wholelottatiffy @axshadows​ @a-really-bi-girl @madbaddic7ed @maggiemoo1892 @pinkzsugar @agniavateira @mary-ann84 and everyone who might want to read this.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

Three’s Company

Summary: Naomi goes to lunch with the newest member of the diagnostic’s team.

A/N: Listen, I will not rest until Tobias and Ethan are friends again.

~v~

“It’s not going to be as bad as you’re making it out to be, Ethan. Above all else, Tobias Carrick is a doctor and a professional.”

Ethan resists the urge to roll his eyes at his girlfriend. This situation isn’t her fault, and it’s not like Naomi can help the fact that she’s optimistic. He still huffs under his breath though. “Being a doctor isn’t synonymous with being a professional. Trust me, Tobias is nothing of the sort.”

The news of Tobias Carrick not only coming to Edenbrook but also joining the diagnostics team hasn’t been well received. On top of a pretty tense exchange between Bloom and Ethan, Harper also made it known that she wasn’t a fan, thankfully not as outwardly as Ethan had.

Naomi however, has remained neutral. She doesn’t have history with Tobias like Harper and Ethan do, only knowing him through their biased second hand accounts. Ethan grumbled that he’s arrogant–though the same can be said about him as well–and selfish, but Naomi isn’t one to judge someone without knowing them. And besides, he pitched in to help save her last year, so for the time being, Tobias Carrick has a few brownie points with her.

“You’re being dramatic. He’s been a doctor as long as you have, he went to the same prestigious medical school that you did–”

“He graduated at number two,” Ethan interjects.

At that dig, Naomi huffs. “You’re being ridiculous. And petty, for no reason.”

“Bloom went over our heads and hired him, so I’m automatically suspicious. I apologize for not believing this wasn’t done specifically to annoy me.”

Naomi can concede to it being a bit suspicious, but she isn’t going to admit to this conspiracy of all roads leading back to Ethan. She’s not going to needlessly feed into his ego and rile him up.

The two of them continue their trek throughout the halls of Edenbrook in silence, their fingers loosely interlocked the entire way there. Naomi revels in it, because she knows it’s the calm before the storm.

Before they cross the threshold to the office, Naomi stops Ethan in his tracks. She cranes her head back so they can look each other in the eye. “Listen, like it or not, Tobias is here, and until he does something that warrants your hostility, at least be cordial. Our patients don’t deserve us at anything less than our best.”

Ethan pinches the bridge of his nose, and silently counts to three, attempting to steel himself.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” Raising their joined hands, Naomi brushes a fleeting kiss across his knuckles. “Now stop pouting, Ramsey, we have work to do.”

Ethan untangles their hands only to open the door for Naomi. Once she steps inside she’s greeted with the sight of Tobias fiddling with Ethan’s coffee maker. He looks and flashes them a sly smile. “Mornin’, lovebirds! Ready to get to diagnosing?”

Ethan flashes Naomi a quick look. This is going to be a long day indeed.

~v~

So Tobias’s first day with the team wasn’t smooth sailing like Naomi wanted. Ethan and Harper made it clear that his former friend and roommate wasn’t wanted anywhere near the team, whether it be through passive aggressive eye rolls, thinly-veiled exasperated sighs, or outright aggression via Ethan that spiraled into a tense argument. Naomi remained neutral, corralling all of the attention back to the task at hand: helping their patient.

Naomi isn’t interested in spending another day babysitting these grown adults, so hopefully day 2 is a lot more smooth.

And so far, she seems to be getting her wish. Morning tasks were distributed without a fight, and after their morning huddle, Harper went downstairs to prep for a surgery she has coming up later. The remaining 3 members of the team are all in their own little corners of the office, Ethan typing away on his laptop, Tobias lounging on the couch, and Naomi sitting at their large desk, a pile of books and printed copies of online articles all spread out in front of her.

The words are all starting to blur together, her focus slipping away with each second that ticks on. Being in the office isn’t doing anything for her creativity or brainstorming power. She needs a break.

Naomi closes her textbook and pushes out of her seat, tired of studying. She makes her way over to Ethan’s desk, observing his hunched shoulders and the deep line between his brows. She rounds his desk until she’s standing directly in his line of vision. “You know what? I think it’s time to take a break. How about you and I get out of here and get something to eat?”

Ethan tears his eyes away from his computer screen long enough to look at Naomi. He frowns softly. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to take a raincheck. On top of the actual work I have to do for this team, Leland is demanding that I put together a presentation for the board meeting at the end of the week.”

“About what?”

“About the team. Cost versus benefit, outcomes, methodology, etc. Basically, he wants me to sell the diagnostics team to him all over again.”

“Sucks to be the boss at times?”

“De facto boss,” Ethan corrects. “Remember, this team is supposed to be a democracy now. Anyway, I want to get this presentation done as quickly as I can so I can stop thinking about it.”

“I could go for some lunch,” the third person in the room speaks up. Naomi and Ethan both turn around and see Tobias staring back at them. “Oh sorry, am I interrupting the private conversation the two of you are trying to have in our communal workspace?”

“What do you want, Carrick?”

Tobias’s eyes bounce back and forth between the couple. “Naomi wants to escape these four walls and get food. You aren’t available, and I am.” He shrugs. “What are you in the mood for, Valentine? I could go for some Italian, and there’s a good place a few blocks from here.”

“She’s not going to lunch with you,” Ethan grits out possessively. 

Naomi’s head whips around faster than she can stop herself. Since when did he get to make decisions on her behalf, especially when it’s not work related?

A small smirk settles on Tobias’s face. Naomi’s physical response to Ethan’s declaration does not go unnoticed by him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know your name was also Naomi Valentine. Whatever the case, I wasn’t speaking to you.”

“Naomi doesn’t–”

“Naomi doesn’t need an advocate to speak on her behalf because she’s an adult,” Naomi interjects sharply.

Whether she wants to accept or decline Tobias’s invitation to lunch, it’s her decision to make, not Ethan’s. His tumultuous relationship with Tobias is not her burden to bear, and he’s not going to force it upon her.

And just to prove it to him, Naomi turns around, her full attention back on Tobias, eyes alight with defiance. “You know what? Italian sounds delicious.”

~v~

20 minutes later, the unlikely duo is nestled into a corner booth of the Italian restaurant Tobias suggested. It’s a nice family owned joint that is currently experiencing a lunch rush. Every inch of the place is bustling with activity, the aromatic smell of sautéed garlic fills the air, soft music playing in the background. And while Naomi has yet to try the food, the restaurant is warm and inviting, and she likes it.

“You know, I’m really shocked you decided to take me up on my offer,” Tobias says, cutting into Naomi’s silent appraisal of their surroundings.

“I wasn’t going to turn down a free meal,” Naomi responds smoothly.

“A free meal?”

“Of course. You invited yourself, so you’re paying, Dr. Carrick. I’m thinking of ordering dessert, too.”

An easygoing smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she speaks, and Tobias laughs. “I meant it because loverboy wasn’t too happy with it.”

“As much as I respect Ethan’s opinions on things, they don’t dictate my life. His issues with you have nothing to do with me, and if you think you can use me as a pawn to piss him off further, I’d advise you to think again.”

This young woman is brazen and full of sass. Tobias likes it. “It wasn’t my intention, I swear. It’s no secret that I’m not a welcomed member of the team, and you happen to be the only one who doesn’t roll your eyes or sneer whenever I speak. You are the closest thing I have to an...acquaintance, I guess.”

Naomi’s defenses deflate slightly at his shocking display of earnestness. She was expecting some display of bravado from the attending, so this has thrown her for a loop.

Tobias is nervous. She picks up on that energy almost instantly.

“Well like I said, their issues with you have nothing to do with me. I try to give everyone a fair shake.”

“I can respect that.”

“But in the interest of said fair shake, you have to answer a question for me. What are you doing here?”

“Here, in this restaurant?”

“At Edenbrook,” Naomi clarifies. “Kenmore is a level one trauma center, it was saved from getting snuffed out when it merged with Solomon, you guys stole my research candidate which brought in a lot of grant money. You had a decent gig there, so why did you come to Edenbrook? Why did you accept a position on Ethan’s team?”

Tobias shrugs. “I hit my threshold at Kenmore. I was at the top of the food chain, I had seen everything there was to see, done everything there was to do. I was...bored and restless. Edenbrook got injected with new blood, everything is new and exciting. Bloom said he wanted to take the team to new heights, and he offered me more money than I know what to do with to be a part of the vision.”

“Okay so who’s to say you’ll be satisfied just being a member of the team? How do I know you won’t attempt to stage a coup and take Ethan’s position?”

“Relax, sweetheart, I’m not gunning for your boyfriend’s spot.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart. There’s no need to be condescending.”

“I apologize. But Ethan’s spot on the team is safe. I don’t need Leland breathing down my neck and micromanaging me the way he does Ethan.”

Naomi’s eyes roam his face. He doesn’t have any tells, no eye shifting or twitching, no sudden movements with his hands or mouth, he doesn’t fidget in his seat. She has no reason to believe he’s lying, so she takes him at his word. “Okay.”

“Any other burning questions?”

“Why aren’t you and Ethan friends?”

Tobias doesn’t immediately answer, opting to take his sweet time to think on it. He pulls his lip in-between his teeth, before shrugging. “We’re too similar. Too driven, too ambitious, too stubborn. Two people can only go on the same path for so long before a collision happens.”

“It got ugly because you two wanted the same girl?”

Tobias scoffs. The faceless woman that he was adamant that he was in love with is at the bottom of his list of concerns. “She was just the tip of the iceberg.”

That manages to catch her interest. Naomi sits up in her seat and leans forward slightly. “So what happened?”

Naomi can see the exact moment that Tobias withdraws from the conversation. His posture gets stiff again and he averts his gaze.

“Okay, riddle me this, Carrick,” Naomi continues. “Ethan told me he reached out to you after you had your falling out, but you rebuffed him. Is that part true?”

“He called and asked if we could talk, I said no. I didn’t hear from him again until everything happened with Leland last year.”

“You didn’t want to make amends?”

Making amends and having his old friend back did sound nice once upon a time, but being friends with Ethan again means being in his shadow again. And that’s what led them to this whole thing in the first place. Tobias sighs and scrubs his hand across his jaw. He came here to eat a plate of ravioli and maybe annoy Ethan, not pour his heart out. What is it about Naomi Valentine and those big brown eyes of hers that makes him want to twist himself inside out and spill his guts? Is she some sort of siren?

“Making amends means I’d have to own up to my wrongdoings. I’d have to swallow the fact that I torpedoed our friendship,” Tobias confesses before he even realizes the words are out of his mouth. “Admitting fault and being vulnerable isn’t my strong suit.”

She doesn’t mean to, but Naomi giggles. And that giggle turns into a laugh. A loud one that attracts the attention of a few patrons, a hard feat to accomplish in the middle of a bustling restaurant, but she does it with ease.

“I’m sorry,” Naomi says once she finally calms down. She takes a deep breath before continuing. “God, no wonder you two were best friends. You are just as emotionally constipated as Ethan.”

“Emotionally constipated?” Tobias’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline at the blunt statement. And once the shock wears off, he laughs along with. “Touché, Valentine. Touché.”

~v~

Across the way, at the bar on the other side of the dining room, Ethan watches as his girlfriend and his former friend carry on like two bosom buddies. 

Ethan decided to follow them approximately 10 minutes after they left, sheer curiosity getting the better of him. Before he could stop himself, he was in his car and at the restaurant, seated far enough away from them so he’s out of their line of vision, but close enough to see.

Naomi is in the zone, talking excitedly and Tobias sits there, soaking it all up like what she says and does is gospel. Their friendly interaction stirs irritation in the pit of his stomach, but it’s when Naomi lets out a boisterous laugh does he reach his limit. Ethan’s grip on the small tumbler in his hand tightens, and it’s a miracle he doesn’t end up with a million tiny shards of glass in his palm.

What on earth has Tobias said to make Naomi laugh like that? And why is he laughing with her?

Ethan doesn’t like it one bit, for a multitude of reasons. He doesn’t like other men being around Naomi–it’s ridiculous and sexist of him to feel this way, but Ethan is a possessive caveman, and he makes no bones about it. Seeing her actually laughing with Carrick of all people and enjoying his company makes him want to throw the drink ware he’s currently holding.

Deciding enough is enough, Ethan slams the glass down onto the bar and stands up. After dropping a $20 bill on the counter he makes his way over to Naomi and Tobias, unadulterated jealousy and alcohol fueling every step.

Tobias notices him first, and he jerks his head in Ethan’s general direction in order to get Naomi’s attention. She turns around and her eyes go wide at the sight of Ethan.

“Ethan? What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

Now her eyes are narrowed. “You finished that big presentation you had to work on?”

Ethan sniffs haughtily. Leave it to her to throw that back in his face. “I decided that a break was okay.”

“And you coincidentally ended up at this restaurant?”

“Yup.”

Naomi stands up, muttering a quick “excuse me,” in Tobias’s direction and grabs Ethan’s hand, pulling him away. They nestle into a quiet corner of the restaurant, far away from the table, closer to the kitchen. The door constantly swings open and closed, as the waitstaff goes in and out.

Once they get a moment of quiet, Naomi glares at Ethan, the expression on her face nothing short of annoyed. “Are you spying on me? Because spying on me implies that you don’t trust me.”

“What? Of course I trust you!”

“So what are you doing here, Ethan?”

Ethan bites the inside of his cheek and rocks on the balls of his feet. “Okay, so I was spying.” Naomi opens her mouth to say something, but Ethan beats her to the punch. “It’s not because I don’t trust you! It’s him that I don’t trust.”

“Tobias has been nothing short of a gentleman,” Naomi says and Ethan snorts. “He’s acting a lot of a lot more mature than you are, I can say that much.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, what’s not fair is you treating him like he’s a criminal when he’s given you no reason to do so.”

“He’s given me plenty of reason, Naomi!”

“The last time we saw Tobias, I was near death and he helped save my life,” Naomi says, and that’s more than enough to get Ethan to shut up.

Ethan’s heart slams against his rib cage with enough force to make him think the organ is trying to leave his body. Months have passed since the assassination attempt, but the mention of it is enough to cause Ethan to go into a panic.

“And the time before that, we stole a patient right out from under him, and before that we got into a fight at a freaking hospital softball game,” Naomi continues. “You haven’t been all good, and he hasn’t been all bad, so stop pretending to have the moral high ground.”

“This past year, you made a lot of strides in your personal life. You battled a lot with your mom, but you came out of it, a more well rounded individual, so do not let Tobias’s presence cause you to backslide. I’m not saying he has to be your best friend, but I refuse to tolerate this type of nonsense past today.”

He takes a moment to digest what she’s saying, begrudgingly of course because he doesn’t really want to admit that he hasn’t been behaving like the mature, adult professional that he usually is.

Ethan nods and places a kiss on Naomi’s forehead, his lips lingering there.

“Are you listening to me?”

Ethan kisses the apples of her cheeks, inwardly smirking as he feels Naomi smile. “I promise you that I’ll keep myself in check from now on.”

“And if you don’t, I will.”

The threat causes Ethan to lose focus. She clearly doesn’t mean it in a seductive way, but he can’t help that his brain instantly goes to the gutter when she’s involved. Now he wants nothing more than to be alone with her, with any flat surface readily available.

“Yes ma’am,” Ethan murmurs before capturing her lips with his own.

Naomi doesn’t allow herself to get swept up in the kiss, because she knows Ethan is using it to distract her. She untangles herself from his grip and pulls away before he’s able to get any more leverage.

“Can we go back to the office now?” Ethan asks.

“Absolutely not. I came here to have lunch, so we’re having lunch.”

Ethan frowns. “You still want to go through with this?”

“I didn’t come here to teach you a lesson, and I’m actually enjoying Tobias’s company, so I’m staying. And you’re staying here too.”

“No.”

“You followed me here, you don’t have a choice.”

Ethan reluctantly follows Naomi back to the table, where Tobias is studying the menu. He doesn’t even look up when he hears footsteps approaching. “I’m debating on if I want the ravioli or the chicken parm, which one–” his voice falters as he sees Ethan.

“Look who’s decided to join us for lunch!” Naomi says brightly, steamrolling over the building tension. She pushes Ethan into an empty chair, not giving him a second to turn away.

Tobias opens his mouth to object, “But–”

“I’m going to head to the restroom,” Naomi says. “And one of you guys is ordering me a limoncello, because Tobias is treating.”

She flounces off, not giving either man a chance to respond or argue with her.

Tobias laughs. “Is she always like this? So bossy?”

“Naomi is unapologetically assertive,” Ethan corrects. “She makes no bones about it.”

“The scary part about it is I’m 100 percent going to order her a limoncello, because she’s not the type of person you say no to.”

This time it’s Ethan’s turn to laugh. It’s nice to know he’s not the only unsuspecting sap that cannot say no when Naomi turns on her charm.

Once the laughter tapers off, the former friends are plunged into silence. Ethan checks the time on his watch, watching the seconds stretch on. He needs Naomi to come back. Seriously, how long does it take to use the restroom? He spares a quick glance at Tobias, who’s pointedly not making eye contact with him either.

Eventually Tobias speaks up, “Look, I didn’t come to Edenbrook to cause any trouble. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that came with more money than I could count.”

“Naveen started this team with the most honorable of intentions,” Ethan says. “This was his life’s work, and he entrusted me with it. You cannot possibly understand the loyalty I have to him, so forgive me if I’m extremely protective over it and skeptical of your motives, which haven’t always been pure.”

“I’m just here to save lives, and work on the most fascinating medical cases of our generation. I know how important this team is, and I’d never intentionally disrespect Naveen like that.”

Ethan nods. That’s all he can really ask of Tobias. “Then I guess we’re good.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

Another beat of silence passes and Tobias awkwardly drums his fingers along the stem of his water glass. “So...you and Valentine?”

The question is out of left field and Ethan’s brows furrow in confusion. “Uh, yeah, me and Valentine.”

“I like her,” Tobias says definitively. When Ethan glares at him, Tobias rolls his eyes. “Not like that. Relax, I get it loud and clear that she’s off limits. Besides, I know you’re head over heels in love with her.”

A scarlet flush creeps up Ethan’s neck at Tobias’s matter of fact declaration. “Love? I’m...we don’t...I don’t–”

Tobias smirks. “Oh man. You’ve got it bad.”

That much, Ethan is willing to share. “Yeah, I do.”

“Naomi did say we’re both emotionally constipated, and that blubbering you just did proves her point,” Tobias teases. “But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

The L-word has floated around in the back of Ethan’s mind for months, but he’s always been able to squash it down, locking it away in the deepest recesses of his brain. But hearing someone else say it is something entirely different. Ethan can’t run away from the thought.

Tobias has known since last year. He suspected something when Ethan came to defense during the softball game, but it was confirmed as soon as he saw them together after the incident with the senator. He had never seen Ethan so out of sorts, not even when they competed for the affections of the same woman back in school. Naomi is different. She has the power to bring Ethan to his knees.

“I hope you know that you’re punching way above your weight with that one,” Tobias adds teasingly.

It’s something Ethan thinks about constantly. Naomi could do so much better than him, but every day she chooses him. “Absolutely.”

“And for what it’s worth, she’s just as much into you. The woman gives you heart eyes whenever you’re around. It’s disgusting, to be quite frank.”

The sentence warms Ethan from the inside out. He’ll never get over knowing Naomi wants him just as much as he wants her.

Thankfully Naomi chooses that moment to come back to the table, giving the men something else to focus their attention on. She settles into a seat next to Ethan, and he immediately wraps an arm around her, his fingertips stroking her arm. Tobias observes the fleeting moment of intimacy with a private smile.

Naomi’s eyes flicker back and forth between the men. “Everything okay over here?”

Tobias and Ethan both look at each other, a silent moment of understanding passing between them. Ethan nods. “Everything is fine.”

Naomi smiles. Maybe there’s hope for them yet. “Good. Now let’s flag down a waiter and get some food.”

~v~

Tags: @mvalentine @choicesaddict5 @professorkingslay @maurine07 @aka-calliope @bluebellot @whimsicallywayward15 @blossomanarchy @takemyopenheart @jamespotterthefirst @fanmantrashcan @whatchique @ao719 @x-kyne-x @colourmeshy @paulfwesley @the-pale-goddess @writinghereandthere @ramseyandrys @perriewinklenerdie @aworldoffandoms @thatcatlady0716 @drakewalker04 @canknot @hatescapsicum @lapisreviewsstuff @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @ethandaddyramseyx @chasingrobbie @zodiacsign1 @choices-lurker @my-heart-beats-for-ya @adrian-motherfucking-raines @riverrune @edith-eggs1 @thatysn @bellcat2010 @blainehellyes @cecilecontrera @junehiratas @choices-love-affair @openheart12 @caseyvalentineramsey @desmaranj @nazario-sayeed @aestheticartsx @ruinedbypixels @nooruleman @rookie-ramsey

[definitelynotsuzumi]

Zapped to Another World [Chapter 4}

I can finally update now that its school break! Thank you all for your patience!

[Masterlist]

Aether wiped off a stray droplet of sweat, weaving the plant fibres into the shape of a lantern. It has only been 2 days into the festival and already, he was swamped with the task of creating more lanterns to take to people who were too far from the harbour.

“Aether, Aether look! Look at this! Doesn’t it look like Paimon?” His white-haired floating fairy chattered excitedly, waving around what looked like an amber on a stick.

“What’s that, Paimon?” Aether paused in his lantern making to give the stick a once-over.

It was artfully sculpted to look like the said fairy and it smelled incredibly sweet.

“The lady said it was Karamel! I got another for you too!” Paimon excitedly fished out a star-shaped one. Cautiously, Aether gave it a lick. It tasted warm and sweet. It reminded him of home. Lumine…

“You’ve been at that lantern for the past 2 hours. C’mon, take a small break.” While Paimon may have been wrong about several things before, Aether knew that she was right on this fact.

“Alright, let’s have a break then.”

After 3 days(and night) of walking and riding on the back of wagons, you had finally reached the gates of Liyue.

Liyue looked spectacular with the lanterns adorning every corner of the street. You were in awe. You thought it looked beautiful in the game, but in the flesh…It was more than you could ever dream of.

Each lantern had its own unique design. You could hear the drums and cymbals crashing as performers danced under a giant suit that looked like the Adepti of Liyue. The scent of grilling fish and sweets wafted through the thick hair of the harbour. It felt so homely, almost like one of the carnivals you had attended.

“Woah…Ow!” You bumped into a ginger-haired man. Tartaglia.

Cold reality slapped you across your face. The Fatui is everywhere.

“Oh! Sorry, are you alright?” Concern lit his handsome features. If you were not careful…You very much wanted to pull away your hand but you hesitantly let Tartaglia pull you up. You definitely did not want the man suspecting you about anything.

“Uhm, uh yeah sorry, I wasn’t looking. This is my first time seeing all of this…” You tried to gulp down your fear of the man.

“I feel you! Hahaha, are you new here? Well, you must be. I have not seen such a pretty lady like yourself around these parts before.”  Despite your fear of the Fatui, you felt your face flush in response to his flirting.

“Yeah, very much so, I’m afraid. I’m looking for a friend of mine. About yeh high and has a white floating fairy by his side.” You gestured a rough height.

“Oh! What a small world!” Tartaglia beamed at you. He seemed so innocent as he aimed a bright and friendly smile at you, but you knew better.

“Uh…Do you know him, by any chance?”

“Know him? Well of course! I dare say that he is one of my good friends! Come, come, I’ll take you to him!”

He gestured you to follow him, and reluctantly you did so.

Tartaglia had never seen someone so shy and scared before. Is it because I am part of the Fatui?

You looked so innocent when he bumped into you at the gates. The way you gaped and looked around Liyue like you’ve never seen it before… It almost reminded him of Teucer and his sisters in Shneznaya.

“Please don’t be afraid of me. While I admit, I am not that nice of a guy, I promise I won’t do anything bad to you.” Seeing you stiffen at his words, Tartaglia felt a particularly large drop of sweat dribbling down.

Did that just backfire?

“Childe?! What are you doing here?!” A familiar high pitched voice reached your ears. You could feel her disgust all the way from your place.

Yup, that was Paimon. By her side, was Aether, with his arms akimbo.

“Relax, I mean no harm. I bumped into this cute little girlie over here and thought I’d help her out in finding you.”

“Finding us? Wait what? Who are you?” Paimon frowned.

“Uh...Uhm I’m (Y/N)…Please let me follow you on your journey!” You bowed 90 degrees, hoping you could hide the flush on your cheeks. You’ve always dreamed of this moment but now that it is in your face, you felt your tongue being weighed down by iron ore.

“What?!” The sheer shock on their faces would have been comical under other circumstances, but right now, it did not do favours for your nerves.

“If…You would let me join? I’m sorry, was that too forward of me? My dad always talks about you and I thought maybe, if I joined, he would-“

“That’s okay. Please, it would be great to celebrate the Lantern Rite with more friends.” Aether fixed you with a warm smile that felt genuine.

“How about me?” Tartaglia winked at Aether.

“No.”

Aether felt slightly apprehensive when he saw you with Tartaglia, but taking in your clothes and the lack of the Fatui insignia and signature mask on your person, he was certain that you were innocent.

“So, where are you from?” Paimon asked as your group leisurely walked through the bustling streets.

Seeing Tartaglia by your side, you decided to tell a white lie.

“Mondstadt! My dad’s an Adventurer at the guild so he’s told me all about what you did!” You definitely felt better when Aether fell in step with you, walking and talking by your side. You couldn’t help but feel bad as you realized the amount of lies you were telling was increasing.

“Wow, we’re famous!” Paimon grinned at Aether.

“Yeah! You were amazing in that battle with the Stormterror! I thought…Maybe I could grow stronger if I journeyed with you. Ah, but don’t worry, I can cook and clean-“

“You can cook?!” Paimon began to salivate.

You nodded. You were able to cook a few dishes, thanks to your Home Ec classes.

“Can we have a taste?!”

You bit your lip as you surveyed the ingredients you had. A handful of sunsettias, berries, flour, sugar, butter and half a bottle of milk. Looking at your group waiting expectantly outside of Wanmin Restaurant, you smiled.

‘Guess I’ll let them have a taste of Dorayaki.’

Xiangling had also let you borrow a little of their ingredients in case you did not have enough to feed your group. Of course, you had paid her a generous tip for lending you her ingredients.

Combining some eggs, sugar and honey that Xiangling had, you whisked it up the best you could with a fork. You carefully passed the flour through a noodle sieve into the mix. You could feel his stare piercing you from behind as you tried to focus on cooking.

Mixing it all together, you fashioned a mini ice box with your Cryo powers to rest your mix and turned to making the sweet filling. With a sharp knife, you chopped up the sunsettias and berries and sat them in a pot of sugar.

You heated the sugar and fruits together, humming a soft tune as you fished out a mandarin orange and squeezed its juices into the berry jam you had made. Sliding the jam into a clean jar, you sat it in the ice box you had made.

Taking your rested mix, you added and mixed in a tablespoon of water before readying a skillet, greasing it over with butter.

Slowly but surely, you created a stack of perfectly brown and fluffy pancakes. Taking your cool jar of sunsettia and berry jam, you spooned out equal amounts of it onto the pancakes before pressing another pancake on top.

It was done! You placed the still warm dorayaki onto 3 plates, serving it to Aether, Paimon and Tartaglia.

“Woah…It smells…Incredible!” Paimon dove into the dorayaki right away. Paimon made the dorayaki look delicious as she enthusiastically gobbled down her treat.

You noticed Xiangling’s eyes glitter as she stared down at the dorayaki. You looked down at your own share. You honestly wanted to dig in too, but seeing her doe eyes made you sigh and surrender your portion to the young female chef.

“R-Really?! I can have this?!” You nodded with a soft smile as Xiangling leapt for joy before biting down. You did not think it was possible, but the light in her eyes shone even brighter as she tasted your dish.

“Say, wanna join the Wanmin Restaurant instead?” Xiangling asked, her bright smile spreading wide across her lips and eyes.

“…I’ll have to decline, I wanna travel with Aether more!” You sheepishly turned down the offer. Aether and Tartaglia clearly enjoyed the treat as you noticed them both licking off the jam on their fingers.

“I don’t know about you, but I accept her into our travel group!” Paimon declared as Aether laughed, wiping off the last of the jam on her chin.

“Hey, how about me?” Tartaglia grinned hopefully.

“Nope.”

“Still, a no from me.”

Tartaglia then turned his attention to you, trying to use his puppy dog eyes on you.

“Hey, (Y/N), how about me?”

You silently turned away from his gaze.

“Why are you three so cruel?”

[captainrexforever]

One Unique Gift

Rating: T

Word count: ~1k

Summary: The reader convinces her riduur to sleep in a real bed for once. 

Warnings: fluff, more fluff, a couple kisses, some suggestive themes

Note: Oh, hey, this isn’t me posting a Christmas Day oneshot the day after Christmas...well, maybe. Hopefully I can you bribe you with the promise of fluffy times ahead. I hope you enjoy!

P.s. I have not yet accepted the destruction of the Razor Crest, so just assume this is set before the beginning of Season 1.

Din is nothing if not stubborn, but you have also come to learn that he can be quite the tightwad. He never spends money on something if he can get by without it. In all honesty, it’s not really that surprising, you’ve seen the tattered cloaks he wears and the bare necessities that furnish the ship. In fact, you often wonder how long it’s been since he took a proper shower with actual soap. 

So, the next time Din lands the Crest on a friendly planet, you decide to spring your latest idea on him. 

“Won’t it be nice to stay in a real bed for once?” 

Of course, the only response you receive is a muffled grunt and a tilt of his helmet. But you aren’t about to give up so easily.

“Remember when I took that knife wound for you last month, and you promised that I could ask for any favor in return?”

He just grunts a second time, but you take it as a good sign; when he’s not listening, he will refuse to make a sound at all. Eventually, you talk him into booking a place at one of the hotels that sit in the nearby city. Truthfully, it’s a little suspicious how easily he gives in to your request, but you’re definitely not about to complain. Maybe he is finally realizing that he needs to take a break every now and then. 

Now, really any hotel would have seemed fancy to you. It’s not that you don’t enjoy living on the Razor Crest, but it doesn’t even have a door on the fresher, for goodness sake. However, here’s another fact about Din, he never does anything in half measures. So after giving in to your request, he books a room at the fanciest hotel he can find. Obviously, you protest immediately, quick to point out that there are only so many credits at your disposal for personal use. Yet, he just waves off your rebuttal and instructs you to begin packing a bag for the stay. 

With a huff, you turn and head to your sleeping quarters to do just that, even though there are only a handful of items that you will need. Once that task is accomplished, it’s off to the hotel. A brilliant idea crosses your mind, maybe if you’re clever about it you can convince Din that the hotel is far enough from the ship to warrant using his jetpack. Oh, you’re definitely going to have fun with this. 

~~

It’s much later that evening that you’re lying in bed, counting the speckles on the ceiling while Din crawls underneath the covers beside you. Of course, he’s already swept the entire room for any tech and deemed it safe enough to remove his helmet and armor. You have to admit there was something about watching him prowl about the room that set off an instinctual hum inside you though. 

You have already tested the heated bath tub and the plush couch, but the bed...the bed is something else entirely. When you initially settled over top of the mattress a few moments ago, you swear it sunk down a foot. It’s impossible to resist nestling further into the soft pillows and blankets, if only to further appreciate the experience. Din finally slides beneath the covers as well, and you roll onto your side to fully face him. He is just as gorgeous as ever, but he looks a little unsure of himself, and you decide that is a problem which you must rectify immediately. 

“What’s bothering you riduur?” 

He releases a soft huff before responding. “I hope that I never...disappoint you.”

The vulnerable tone tugs at your heart strings, and you rush to correct his wayward assumptions. “You never let me down Din. Ever. And that’s final.”

He offers a soft smile at your response, and you’re humbled by how easily he allows you to ease his worries. Yet, you can’t resist teasing him just a little bit. Contrary to what you believed when you first met the Mandalorian, Din has quite the sense of humor.

“So what’s my Life Day gift?” It’s accompanied with a wiggle of your eyebrows and a cheeky grin.

He looks a little surprised at your question, wrinkles forming across his brow as he ponders a response, and the confusion that spreads across his features only encourages your humorous mood.

“You didn’t forget about Life Day, did you?”

“What gift did you get me?” He finally answers.

“You can’t answer my question with another question.”

“Yes I can.”

“No you can’t.”

He locks his gaze with yours and you huff when he goads you into a staring contest. Truthfully, you don’t have a real gift for him, just a promise of your continued love, but it suddenly feels silly to admit that sentiment aloud.

When a couple minutes have passed, and he hasn’t so much as blinked you finally give in.

“Fine. I’ll go first.” You finally blink, stalling for a second. It’s not that you haven’t already exchanged promises of love, but this time seems special. There’s something so domestic about laying in a proper bed and exchanging vows of love. “For what it’s worth, I offer you my heart.”

His breath catches as he leans in to plant a kiss on your forehead before tucking you closer to his chest. A pleased hum escapes your lips and you almost forget that he has yet to answer your previous question. Almost.

“What about my gift?”

His responding chuckle is a wonderful rumble beneath your palms. “Well you already own my heart, so I will have to get a little creative here...” He pulls away a little, only to pin you with a wicked smirk. “Let’s just say your gift involves you, me, this bed-” Then he leans in close, whispering the rest of his sentence into your ear, while his breath tickles his neck. The remainder of his words leave you a blushing, flustered mess and he pulls away with a self-satisfied smirk. You can’t decide whether or not to kiss or smack the smirk off his face, until another idea crosses your mind. In a flash, he’s pinned beneath your body as you press a heated kiss to his collarbone. His next breath hitches at the action, eyebrows shooting into his hairline while he mutters under his breath.

“I don’t like the look on your face.” Din complains. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, you love it.” It’s spoken against his neck while you suck a mark into his skin. He just releases a muffled groan, and you follow up with another kiss. 

“I fully expect you to deliver on that gift by the way.” You remind him, then move to plant a kiss to his lips. 

There is no doubt that the delicious sound which escapes him will be seared into your memory forever.

[emilia3546]

Shadowsinger Part 21 - Gwynriel

ACOSF Spoilers! Do Not read this unless you have finished ACOSF and the Azriel bonus chapter*

Masterlist with all previous chapters

*****

Gwyn shuffled on her feet, readjusting her skirt, and silently cursed it for being in the way, she could still fight, but not as well as usual, and she'd lose precious seconds reaching for the dagger sheathed at her thigh. Azriel stood beside her, his shadows nowhere to be seen, either spread out around them to be unnoticeable, or hidden in the cloak around Gwyn's shoulders, her protests that she didn't need them having fallen on deaf ears.

"You okay?" He murmured, and she nodded,

"Just a bit nervous, I'll be alright once this first contact is over," because she could still fall at the first hurdle, Evanna had warned them that they would be scrutinized before being allowed in, even if they claimed to support the Illyrian rebellion. She stifled a smile when Azriel squeezed her fingers, their joined hands hidden beneath her cloak, but it was still a risk, they weren't supposed to be in love, she was supposed to be what the Illyrian would expect of a traditional warrior's wife, and a traditional warrior would never display affection so casually, possession yes, but not affection. If he were in love with his wife, which was rare, he'd still only display affection in private, just to maintain his image, it was one of the more ridiculous customs, Gwyn never thought more of someone than when they allowed others to see their heart. The palace doors opened and Gwyn squeezed Azriel's hand back before letting go and reluctantly dropping her gaze to the floor.

"Gavin was it, of the Skybreath Illyrian camp?" A rather young-looking man shouted from the open door,

"Indeed," Azriel replied, not shouting, but clearly making himself heard, "And my wife, Amirah," Gwyn suppressed a smile at the sound of the name that Azriel's mother had chosen, what she would have named him had he been a girl.

"We have no records of others from your supposed camp," the man's tone was low, dangerous,

"That's probably because they're all pathetic cowards who fear the repercussions of standing up for our people, ask anyone you want, I can wait, I've waited long enough for this chance, don't be the reason I lose it," Azriel matched the man's tone, but without shouting, he sounded altogether more dangerous, and Gwyn almost looked up at the feel of the man's gaze on her, fighting to keep her eyes lowered, her attention on observing the guards, the way their protocols were carried out.

"Fine. If we find out that you're lying, you're dead,"

"Good luck with that," Azriel's hand warmed her lower back, "Come on, I'll see who's made it here, then I want to find a bedchamber readied for us," Gwyn forced herself to start forwards, her bones screaming out at her for pretending to be afraid of him when she nodded, but stayed beside him when a guard moved towards them, pressing into his side at the first attempt to grab at her, "What?" Gwyn kept her frightened gaze on the guard, "Get your filthy hands off my wife," he snarled, an arm wrapping around her waist, reassuring for Gwyn, she was doing well, but to anyone else it was a display of possessiveness at a threat. "She stays with me until we reach our bedchamber, I like to know where she is, who she's with." He didn't even bother to veil the threat in his eyes when Gwyn looked up, keeping the guise of fear as she pressed against him, shying away from the guards, and allowed her gaze to dart around, marking who they were, how many of them there were, where they were posted, how alert they were. She ducked her head, following Azriel as they were led through the palace. It was just as they'd expected, with no-one taking notice of Gwyn, except to occasionally ask Azriel who she was, and then to ignore her and speak only to him, allowing her to memorize the palace, its routes, its staff, all while pretending to be quiet and unassuming.

She didn't want to watch Azriel walk away once they'd reached an empty bedchamber, didn't want to see him walking towards the enemy, all it took was one Illyrian who was high enough rank to have seen him, all it took was one recognition, and they'd try and kill him. Still, she couldn't tear her gaze away, only just remembering to make it appear that she was scared for herself, and wanted his protection, not that she was worried for him. Once he'd vanished from sight, Gwyn shot one more frightened look at the guards in the corridor and bolted herself inside the room.

Right, she did have to get the room set up, no-one was coming to do that for her, but that would take maximum half an hour, it wasn't like they exactly had luggage to unload, and then, it was a little after midday now, she'd have a few hours before dinner could be expected. Still, she was stuck in this room for now at least, she could make the most of it.

The notebook tucked into her gown wasn't big enough for every detail, not if she wanted it to last long enough, but she noted down all she'd picked up on guard movements, positions, who was alert, who was bored. It wasn't enough, she'd make a point to have Azriel find some other females to 'keep her from boredom' who she could help with palace tasks, laundry, cleaning, the Illyrians made their females do the chores at home, why not here? She'd be all over the palace that way, easily able to pick up information, it'd hopefully make their stay shorter, hopefully help with preventing a full-on civil war.

*****

Azriel couldn't dare glance over his shoulder to Gwyn, where she was undoubtedly waiting by the door to their bedchamber, even with every part of him screaming not to leave her with those people, to go back to her. He listened to what the male beside him was saying, he'd seen him before at Ironcrest, from a distance, and he was probably the highest-ranking males here, being involved in training and organisation of Ironcrest's warriors, he could be a headache later.

"Where did you find her?"

"Find who?"

"That pretty little wife of yours, I must say you're a lucky male with that one, I'd love to know what she'd feel like on my-" the male didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, breaking off with a choked gasp as Azriel slammed him against the wall, a hand curling around his throat, pure death shining in his eyes. "Whoa, calm down, I'm sorry, I wasn't gonna do anything,"

"I sure as fuck hope not," Azriel snarled, still not releasing him, fighting the urge to end him then and there, unable to shake the image of the last male who'd thought such things about Gwyn. "Touch her and it'll be last thing you ever do," the smaller male paled at the threat,

"I swear, I won't, I was saying she's beautiful," she was beautiful, but the way he'd said it, it wasn't a compliment, if Azriel hadn't reacted, maybe he would have tried something, gods, maybe someone else would. He wasn't supposed to care to like that,

"She's mine, understand?" He added, covering his tracks, the reaction was supposed to just be possessiveness, not him actually caring for her wellbeing, he wasn't supposed to be worried about that.

"Yeah, I got it," the other male was still panting when Azriel released him, "Sorry, dude, I didn't mean it like that,"

"Yes, you did, but I'm a merciful male, if you never speak of her like that again, I'll let it slide, she is beautiful, but she's mine." The male nodded,

"Noted," and took a deep breath before continuing to explain the set-up, "You're the only one from Skybreath, bunch of cowards, so we'll probably attach you to another camp, for numbers' sake, those bastards do have the advantage in that department, and they have the High Lord, and 'High Lady'," he snorted at the mention of Feyre, "But we can trust the humans to help with that,"

"How? They're fucking powerful,"

"Yeah, but they're just as susceptible to ash and faebane as the rest of us, I'd wager that they're not still taking that damned antidote. Then again, the higher-ups think we could simply kidnap their son and use him to get them to give in, but I'd like a good fight anyway, and y'know someone might end up just killing the brat, then we'd be in deep shit." Oh yes, if they harmed one hair on Nyx's head, Rhys alone was likely to simply mist the entirety of their armies before any battle, and that was if he were safety returned, at the latest, the day after he was taken, if it were longer, or if Nyx were harmed, there would be no safe place in this world for those responsible.

"Probably a bad idea that," Azriel mused,

"I'd reckon you're right, the bleeding hearts want to regain our loyalty, they'll just try and obliterate us if we hurt the boy," Azriel grunted in agreement, dropping the conversation when they turned a corner, the corridor opening into a wide chamber, filled with brawling Illyrians, a temporary training ring, not bad. He ran his gaze across the crowd, there was no-one likely to recognize him, but he still wouldn't draw attention to himself, even if wearing two siphons might do just that, but he couldn't risk it with only one, not with Gwyn here as well. He nodded a quick greeting to anyone who bothered to acknowledge him, his mind still racing. He'd have to find a way to make sure that Gwyn wasn't ever left completely on her own, if just one other male had a similar thought to the one beside him, and if he wasn't there, if she couldn't get her dagger drawn in time, he didn't want to finish that thought.

The Illyrians were well organised, not to the same degree as the loyal armies back home, but they could present a threat, especially if it was true that they were to be armed with ash and faebane. The leaders eventually decided to attach 'Gavin' to one of the smaller camps, where he'd be able to adjust more easily, where, Azriel noted with a hint of satisfaction, it would be easy to gain their trust. He made his way across the room to where his new 'comrades' were taking a break,

"Hey look, looks like they've given us the latecomer," Azriel's attention snapped to the male who'd spoken, dark hair cropped close to his skull, blue eyes, that was rare for an Illyrian, he smiled and offered his hand, "Nathan," Azriel took the proffered hand,

"Gavin, from Skybreath,"

"Oh, I was wondering if anyone would bother coming from Skybreath," Nathan chuckled, "Braver than the rest then?"

"Or more stupid," Azriel chuckled, "I've been waiting a long time for this,"

"As have we all, brother," Azriel resisted the urge to snap at him not to call him that, but forced himself to smile, to join in the conversation, and to not beat the shit out of all of them when they reclaimed a spot in the training ring. "How the fuck did you get your hands on a second siphon?" Nathan's observational skills left much to be desired, but it was wishful thinking to hope that he wouldn't notice at all, especially when Azriel had just pinned him to the mats.

"I needed it,"

"Fuck. We got a powerful one here, boys," chuckles surrounded them, and Nathan rolled his eyes as one of the others drawled,

"We know, idiot! That's why you're the only one stupid enough to fight him," another male laughed,

"He's probably some high born lord, or something,"

"Are you?" Nathan's eyes were shining with curiosity, something fairly rare for Illyrians, but he did seem young, untested, perhaps he had no idea what he was getting into, but Azriel had learned the hard way not to bother with the benefit of the doubt,

"Not really, my mother died a while back, and my father was your bog-standard warrior, nothing special really, he got killed in a border dispute a few decades ago, guess I just got lucky, the Mother likes me maybe," he shrugged, "It certainly helped on the way over here, since no one else came with us, it was just me and my wife, and she's not much help with fighting, y'know," chuckled from everyone, including Nathan,

"She clipped?"

"Who do you think I am? Of course," Azriel's temper flared up again at the approving nods from around him, only Nathan looked uncomfortable,

"You did it?"

"What? No, when she was young, like everyone else, but it did mean that I had to carry her here, which was a pain,"

"Still, bet you found a good one, being all powerful and shit,"

"Yeah, I'll have to go fetch her before we leave for dinner, I left her in our bedchamber, she'll want food," each word hit him in the core, even if none of it was true, the idea that this was normal to these people made him want to scream, but he guided the conversation back to the war, to what he needed to hear, even with his mind continually drifting back to Gwyn.

*****

Footsteps outside had Gwyn shoving the notebook back into her dress,

"Amirah!" She rushed to the door, keeping her eyes down in case Azriel wasn't alone, he wasn't, and someone let out a huff,

"Shit, how the fuck did you leave her all day?" One of the males beside him chuckled, "We'll see you in a bit," Azriel nodded and stepped past Gwyn into the room,

"You okay?" She mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear, and he nodded,

"I hate this, I have to pretend that I'm not hopelessly in love with you," Gwyn's stupid, faithless heart fluttered in her chest at those words, ignoring the way Azriel's eyes were dark, tired,

"Hey," she muttered, "It's okay, I know it's not true," Azriel's head snapped towards the door,

"Shit," he muttered, "They're still there, they're listening in, they won't have heard, but," Gwyn narrowed her eyes, and her eyes widened at the realization,

"They want to listen?"

"Moan, now, or they'll think something's up," he was right,

"I don't know what to do," she whispered, a feeling of true fear descending upon her, they'd gotten in, gotten embedded and he stupid, foolish fears were going to get them discovered, gods she was really useless,

"Hey, Gwyn," Azriel tipped her chin upwards, swiping his thumb across her cheek, "Just make any sound, you can't do it wrong, we don't actually need to do anything, just make them think we are,"

"But why? I don't get it,"

"They're all horny shits, and they've seen how fucking gorgeous you are. I've been away from you all day, they'll expect me to want certain things upon reuniting with you," oh, she knew what he meant, but just one day? That was surely excessive, but she nodded, and kissed him gently,

"I don't think I can just do it on command, kiss me, and then we'll see," she looped her arms around his neck, and did moan at the first brush of his lips against her neck, her head falling backwards so that Azriel had to hold her up, she moaned again, and he groaned at the feel of her lips against his, deliberately chucking his jacket aside so it made a loud thunk on the floor. Gwyn pressed her fingers against Azriel's lips, waiting, footsteps, they were really alone now,

"I'm sorry about that," Azriel muttered,

"What are you talking about? Kissing you is wonderful,"

"But I don't want you to think that you have to, even if it's for keeping our cover,"

"I didn't, it was just a chance to kiss you, and it was helpful to convince those others, but if I didn't want to I wouldn't have," she chuckled, "Are you sure you're okay?" Azriel collapsed onto the bed, dragging her with him with a yelp,

"I'm okay, just worried,"

"Worried?"

"About you. One of the males who showed me around made a comment that I didn't appreciate, and I doubt you would have done,"

"Did he seem like he wanted to act on that comment?" Gwyn stomach churned, and she glanced around the room, marking the locked door and windows. Azriel stiffened, realizing that she immediately knew what he was referring to,

"Not once I'd dealt with him, but all takes is one, I don't want you to have to deal with that, especially when I can't be with you, you might be on your own and," he took in a deep breath, "I just worry about what could happen if someone tries somehting,"

"I'm never on my own, Az," a shadow danced around her, "If I need to, I can fight with or without my dagger, and I want to find out what the other Illyrian females are doing here, there must be others,"

"There are," Azriel admitted, "They do the chores and stuff, help making and adjusting leathers and armor,"

"I can do that," Gwyn said, "It'll give me a chance to speak to them, to learn things that the males might overlook, and to simply be in the palace, invisible. I can 'get lost' and find my way to restricted areas, the queens' offices perhaps," Azriel pursed his lips together, but she was right, she knew he was, and no matter how much he wanted her to be safe, he knew that too,

"You're right, I know that, I just wish you didn't have to do it by yourself,"

"I know, but that's going to be how we have to work here, now," she twisted in his lap, "Tell me everything you found out today."

[whatifxwereyou]

Firestorm Part 4: A Spider's Web

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021 Liu Kang x Reader

A/N: Sorry for how late I'm posting today. It's been a weeeeeek. But we're all good to go! Next week is going to be... fiery, wink wonk wink wonk. Enjoy some Lao!

The Oncoming Storm Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

The corners of your vision were dark, like a scene from an old movie. Your body wouldn’t move. You felt pinned. Inhaling sharply in panic you couldn’t exhale. Something was above you. Something dark and foul. You were terrified. Its mouth was open in a wide grin, eyes fixed on you with wicked delight. Clammy, clawed hands grasped your wrists and held you in place but you couldn’t have fought them anyway. You were frozen in terror, like someone had paralyzed you.

Cold yellow and white eyes flashed as they examined your features, scanned your face. The creature leaned closer to you and inhaled deeply, as if to smell your fear. Its breath was freezing and you managed to whimper in terror though your breath was so caught in your chest that you thought the pain might kill you before whatever this thing was did.

Its breath stunk of death and the drool that dripped from his teeth fell on your face and made you want to gag. You tried to move, tried to fight, but your body felt suspended. You managed to clasp your hand into a fist and the creature screamed in your face and grasped your wrists harder, pushing you violently down.

“You will bow!” It hissed in a horrific shriek.

That had broken the dam. You thrashed, shrieked, pulled your wrists but it grasped you tighter and harder and laughed at you the entire time. You couldn’t escape. You weren’t strong enough! Your wrists were aching.

“You will not see!” It was a hiss from all over the room. You couldn’t get away from the sound. It was in your head, rattling around. You closed your eyes tight and thrashed, fought, tried to use all you knew about martial arts to break free but nothing worked. When you opened your eyes again, the creature was gone.

You were alone, sitting upright in bed, trembling.

Your wrists were aching and you gasped greedily for breath. Then you held your head in your hands and sobbed into them. You had to take deep breaths. You were making it worse by hyperventilating. Deep breaths. You had to calm down. Your whole body was sore, like you’d spent time lifting weights far too heavy for you.

It was still raining but nowhere near as hard as it had been the night before.

Listen to the rain.

It had to have been a nightmare.

Nothing more.

Your subconscious was terrible. Shaking from head to toe, you talked yourself down. It was a bad dream. With everything going on it was your mind playing tricks on you. The drool you’d felt was actually the rain. The oppressive feeling was just the whole… god-curse thing.

You finally breathed and relaxed your grip on yourself.

Rolling your shoulders, you leaned your head back and then froze as you caught sight of the rest of your room.

Oh no.

Apparently, the last few days had been a fluke when it came to your ink.

Those sharp and deadly webs of ink had filled your room. The only space free was your bed. There wasn’t even any room on the floor next to it this time. Leaning back against the wall, you sighed. Your hands ached in remembrance of the last time this happened. Getting rid of it had left you bruised and honestly, your hands were still sore. You were tired of being sore.

Did you really have it in you to get rid of it again? It wasn’t like you had a choice. You couldn’t even consider crawling through the ink to get out of it. The only other option was to go out the window and that wasn’t an easy feat either. You didn’t feel up to either task.

In fact, you felt hungover. Once again, you got all the drama and discomfort without any of the fun. Life wasn’t fair. You just had to deal with that. If you didn’t get rid of the ink then there would be no food, no proper clothes, no cleaning up. Someone would come find you eventually and then you’d have to explain what happened.

You rubbed your hands together and kicked off your blankets then sat on your knees. To work. You weren’t quite sure what you’d done last time to make it go away. You’d just hoped that it would. So that’s what you’d do again. Hold out your hand to the ink and hope. It seemed ludicrous now that you were trying to do it again. You adjusted the oversized shirt you had worn to bed and then held your hand close to the ink. You closed your eyes, took slow breaths, and then focused on your arcana.

It was a part of you. While often it felt like the hands that had tainted you were using it against you, it was still yours. You had proven yourself capable time and again and this would be no different.

Energy, dark and twisted, all yours, surrounded you. It bent to your will with a thought. Peaking an eye open, you expected the ink to be gone but it persisted. Tangled webs still spread throughout your room, dangerous and sharp. Your fingertips were black with ink as though you could write with them. You’d try that another time.

Closing your eyes again, you focused again on the arcana you’d already spread throughout the room and trying to get rid of it. There was a pulling sensation deep inside of you, as if something was trying to tug your spine up through your chest and then like a thousand rubber bands were wrapped around your ribcage and pulling them out of place. You hunched forward in pain and then pulled your hand back with a yelp as the ink sliced at your palm.

Whining, you held your hand close and looked at the superficial cut. “Ow.” You placed your palm to your lips and sucked away the blood drawn. Still nothing. Damn. Ink was everywhere.

There was a knock at your door.

“Uhh…” You said loud enough to be heard on the other side of it.

“Y/N?” Kung Lao’s voice called to you. “You awake?”

“Umm, yes.”

“You sound weird. Why do you sound weird?”

“Well, I’m having a problem.”

“…a lady problem?”

“What? No.” You laughed in disbelief and heard Kung Lao breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m stuck.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“I’m… it’s difficult to explain. Just know that it’s true.” You covered your legs with the blanket again.

“I’m coming in.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

Kung Lao opened the door as much as he could, which wasn’t much, and stared in a surprise. His jaw dropped.

“Wow, you really are stuck. Are you practicing in here alone again? Liu told me that you were doing that, by the way.”

“Umm… no. I had a nightmare.”

“Oh. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it was just a nightmare. And I’m very stuck. I can’t seem to get rid of it… and I’m a little nervous so trying has been… well, trying.” You had to peek beneath some of the ink to get a clear view of Kung Lao and even then, you couldn’t see him properly.

“So this is how you deal with nightmares?” He tapped his hat against the ink and looked impressed by how sturdy it was. They looked frail. Thin and spun but sharp and solid.

“I don’t have any control over it, Lao! I woke up and it was like this!”

“But you can get rid of it, right? And if you pass out, I’ll just take you to the infirmary afterward.” Lao shrugged as if that were no big deal.

“I don’t know, honestly.”

“Can you at least try?”

“I already tried!”

“Well, get up and try again.”

“I’m not wearing any pants.” You pouted and he laughed.

“I’ve seen your legs before, Y/N. Come on.”

“Yeah, when I was nine.”

“Have they changed much? Should I be worried? What’s wrong with your legs, Y/N?”

“Focus, Lao!” You laughed and then climbed out from beneath your blankets and sat on your knees again. “Okay. I’m going to try.” You closed your eyes and focused again on the energy of your arcana. You could feel it swirling around you, like a warm welcoming wave. You could have reached out and grabbed ink out of thin air and made whatever you wanted with it. It was a good feeling. A warm feeling. A stark difference in comparison to the cold and clammy misery you’d woken up to.

Then you tried to will the ink away and gasped as the air was stolen right from your lungs. You fell forward on the bed, grabbing it in a panic to stay upright. Coughing, you tried to catch your breath.

Shit.

“Whoa, whoa, hey!” Kung Lao was searching through the ink as if trying to find a way through it to get to you. If you couldn’t fit then he certainly couldn’t. He was way larger than you. You held you hand up to let him know you were okay and focused on breathing. You were suddenly nauseous, lips tingling as if you’d pushed yourself way too far.

“That didn’t work.”

“I see that.” Kung Lao took off his hat and scratched his head comically. “I don’t think I can even get my hat through there to get to you.” He tried to crack the ink with the hat but instead he was repelled backwards as if striking metal. “You should try to make these when you fight.”

“Only if I want to kill somebody.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m going to try again in a second.”

“Don’t go anywhere.” Kung Lao walked away without waiting for you to respond. Like you could go anywhere. You were stuck. It was embarrassing but also kind of hilarious. You had trapped yourself in your room while you’d been sleeping! Hopefully, Kung Lao wasn’t off finding someone else to observe your shame.

“I guess I’ll just keep trying.” You would do so until it either went away or you passed out. Either would solve your problem, you supposed. Closing your eyes, you took deep, calming breaths and willed away the nausea. If you meditated for a few seconds then maybe you could harness your energy a bit better. You could do this. Your arcana was there. You knew you could create with it so why wasn’t it going away?

Then suddenly something crashed heavily on the bed behind you and you screamed, turned, and struck blindly. Kung Lao had climbed in through your window and was now slammed back against the wall laughing. “Y/N!” He laughed with wide eyes and you fell over, practically wheezing with laughter. “Wow!” He rubbed the spot on his chest where you’d struck him.

“You scared me!”

“I just climbed through your window to help you and you decked me!”

“Yeah, well I also had a nightmare about a gross man crawling over me so excuse me for my instinct to fight when some dude jumps through my window.”

“Gross man?” He frowned.

“Focus, Kung Lao.” You gestured behind you to the ink sprawled throughout your room.

“Right. One problem at a time.” Kung Lao adjusted himself on the bed and set his hat aside. “Try again?”

“Yeah, of course. I… I did it once. I just don’t know how I did it that first time and then the second time was when…”

“Yeah, when Raiden shocked you into heart failure. Hard to forget.” Kung Lao positioned himself behind you and placed his hands on your shoulders. “Lean on me if you need to.”

“Just keep me from falling over with my ass in the air, please.”

“Tempting. No promises.”

You swatted blindly behind him with a laugh then closed your eyes and cleared your throat. This was distracting. Kung Lao was distracting. You rolled your shoulders and, realizing that you had some nerves about it, Kung Lao spoke quietly in your ear.

“Inhale deeply.” He encouraged. “Exhale slowly.” You did as he guided. He helped you find your focus again. Your heart had been racing after you had decked him. “Become more energized with every breath you take. Allow your energy to grow. Encourage that energy…” You focused on Kung Lao’s words, on your arcana, and on the ink that you could visualize spread throughout your room. You were genuinely surprised that he had guided you so easily through meditation. Kung Lao wasn’t exactly the most patient guy you’d ever met.

In your mind’s eye you could see the ink emerging from your sleeping body like an explosion. At least this time it hadn’t stained everything you owned. If you could visualize it leaving your body then maybe you could visualize it returning to you too. Visualize each strand leaving the room in an explosive burst into your hands instead of your body. You didn’t want to hurt Kung Lao if you could help it and you didn’t want to become a human bruise either.

Then, as though someone had thrown bricks right at your hands, you fell back against Kung Lao. Your moment of peace was gone and replaced by aching in your hands. You hissed in agony and shook them out. Kung Lao wrapped his arms around you protectively. He was looking down at you with a wide smile, impressed. It was a goofy sort of look and you admired him from below.

“Wow, just like that, huh?”

You swatted at his arm. “That was a lot of work, okay?”

“Didn’t look like a lot of work.”

You swatted at him again and he mouthed ‘ow’ as he often did. “You’re ridiculous, Lao.” He hugged you close and pulled you against his chest. Sometimes you forgot how strong he was and you were comforted.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Thank you for helping me.”

“I’m supposed to help you train today. Are you up for that? You’re all… clammy.” He patted your bare thigh and you swatted his hand away then snatched your pillow and pulled it into your lap.

“I’m up for trying but I’ll have to take it slow.” You felt much better now that your room wasn’t filled with ink and you didn’t have to consider abandoning it and all your worldly possessions to your arcana. “Wait, do you mean like… the kind of training that Raiden wants me to do or…?”

“Combat is more my thing. We’ve gotta keep you strong. I can take it easy on you. Don’t worry.” He smirked but you were already tired thinking about it. “Ready?”

“I need pants, Lao.” You laughed and pushed him off of you and toward the edge of your bed. He sighed dramatically and placed his feet on the ground.

“Fine. If you must.” He summoned his hat back to his hand and then slipped it on his head, tucking the strap beneath his chin with a little wiggle. “Meet you out there.” He smirked and then left you alone.

You flopped back on the bed in exhaustion. Then you sat up and meditated to calm the remaining nausea. Then you got cleaned up, dressed, and grabbed food before going to meet Kung Lao. For the first time in a long time you felt uncomfortable being alone. Thankfully, you weren’t alone for long. Soon enough you were in the fight pit practicing with Kung Lao. You focused on forms and technique since you were weary. You were slow which you hated. It was difficult to get used to being so limited by your body and mind. Up until recently you’d done this everyday teaching others at every skill level. You’d never thought that you’d miss the energy you used to have.

“You’re slow today.” Kung Lao stopped you, hands folded behind his back. He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“I’m sorry. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” It was a lame attempt at a joke. Kung Lao even gave you a look of disapproval. Like he had room to talk. His jokes were terrible.

“I need you to get back to where you were, Y/N.”

“I know. I’ll get there. This isn’t me giving up, Lao.” You sat on the steps of the fight pit. The drizzle that had fallen earlier had stopped and was replaced with partially sunny skies. Dark clouds loomed in the distance, likely the last remnants of the storm that had blown through like a whirlwind. Kung Lao sat next to you with a thud.

“We done for today?”

“I don’t think I have more in me. I’m sorry. I want to do more but… I’m tired.” You smiled apologetically. “I’ll try again after I rest if you insist.

“No, it’s fine. We can do something else.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. It’s fine. Rest is important.”

“Good.” You yawned and stretched your arms over your head. “Have you seen Liu today?”

“Yeah, he’s having a long day.” Kung Lao whistled low as though he were very much not jealous of Liu’s day. “He and Raiden are trying something. He wouldn’t give me details but I didn’t ask for them either. I offered to help but Liu sent me to find you instead.”

“Oh, so you two are taking turns keeping an eye on me now, are you?” You narrowed your eyes at him. He shrugged and then averted his eyes. He stunk of guilt. You knew why now but it was still hard to be mad at Kung Lao, honestly. He was too… cute.

“It’s true he asked me to but I would have found you anyway. Who am I kidding?” Kung Lao clasped his hands together, elbows on his knees, tapping one foot. “I always seem to anyway, don’t I? Even when I didn’t realize it was you.” He smiled at you but you averted your eyes. You supposed that he did. He always had.

“Thanks for sticking with me, Lao. Even though I’m less fun than ever today.”

“I’m having fun.” He pouted his lower lip. “Are you not having fun?”

You rolled your eyes at him. He knew exactly what you were talking about.

“Oh, right, the whole gross nightmare thing.” He considered. “That’s not so fun, I suppose. And you punched me. That wasn’t fun.” You smiled. He always brought mirth to the moment, even when things were their heaviest. You were forever grateful to be reunited with your Kung Lao. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your room and we can find a way to spend the rest of the day.”

“Food, I assume?”

“How’d you know?”

“I remember you very well, Kung Lao. Even as kids you liked to eat.” You teased. You joked on your way to grab food which you brought back to your room. Then you spent the afternoon playing games and eating. It was just the afternoon you’d needed after your horrible nightmare. Kung Lao stayed until late then left to get some sleep. You weren’t sure you would be able to do the same after the morning you’d had.