#how dare those vegetables not obey me

[balkanradfem]

What I learned about growing vegetables in the last 3.5 years of doing it:

Squash: it will grow even in poor soil, summer squash will grow even in the worst conditions, winter squash needs a little more care! If you plant them far apart they will grow huge. Winter squash struggles in heat, but will generally survive it and start growing again once it's not too hot.

Peppers: They have to be watered consistently and periodically after being planted outside. Even if you don't water anything else, you have to water peppers, or they will remain small. They will also cross-pollinate and if you plant hot peppers next to non-hot peppers and try to collect the seeds, next year you will have all hot peppers.

Tomatoes: They're the biggest monster plants and they will grow so vigorously and stubbornly I actually have no clue how to stunt or stop these once they're on the open fields. You're supposed to prune them but they get out of hand so fast. If they survive the 'seedling' stage god himself can't kill them. But blight could so if the lower leaves are looking sick and yellow, cut them off.

Beans: Another thing that will grow in poor soil, the most important thing I learned is that the bush variety will produce earlier, and it's a way safer bet to plant them, because if there's a drought, or slug infestation, or whatever the hell happens, bush variety will give you the produce earlier, and you're very likely to get a harvest. Pole beans, or the climbing variety, is capable of growing so much bigger producing much more beans, but does it slower and is at more risk to be attacked or sun-damaged! So plant both, always.

Carrots: I am still not great at carrots! There are many tricks to germinating them, and I always try to sow them early in the spring, then again in the summer, and it will sometims have better results if you put a big plank over the soil after planting them, to keep them from drying out. They really need soft and well-fertilized soil. Also if you plant them in the fall, harvest before the late spring comes because they will start going to seed.

Onions and garlic: Honestly there's no effort in growing these, bulb stuff grows as long as its underground, it's more of a challenge to stop them from growing really. Even if you cut up the tops they'll regrow like some kind of zombies. Beware of onion fly tho that stuff is evil.

Sunflowers: Do Not Let the seeds fall around your garden, they Will take over your Entire Garden and you will be helpless as these monster plants devour your garden space while You feel too Guilty to tear the pretty flowers away from your space. Do Not be Deceived. That's exactly what they Want you To Think. Will stunt your beans if planted close so be careful. Zero effort in growing, will grow in any dirt.

Cabbage and Kale: They need so much fertilizing, or they will just stay sad and small, you have to give them compost, mulch, and water them with some sort of fertilizer tea (you can make that by mixing nettle with water and letting it sit in the sun for 10 days) or you will not get the gorgeous full plant that you want. Also they are frost hardy but if there's not much sun they won't grow very fast in the cold.

Leek: they do not tolerate being grown inside as seedlings, but if you direct sow them every seed will come out I Swear. Can be grown in a bunch in one place then transplanted around later. Onion fly can also mess them up but I have no idea what to do about that.

Parsley and Celery: seems to do better direct-sown than transplanted, needs a lot of seeds to be thrown in order to germinate. I've never tried the root variety but leaf varieties grow very easy.

Potatoes: They're extremely easy to grow, as long as you put the potato underground you've done it, now if you want them to do amazing, you need to plant them in spring while the soil has a lot of water content in it, and you want to keep adding soil/mulch on top of them as they grow, in oder for them to grow more potatoes. I absolutely love growing them in mulch instead of soil! If you dig a hole, put a potato in it, then cover it in hay, or dry leaves, not only it will grow, but you won't have to dig out the potatoes, you can just feel them thru the mulch! 10/10 Love growing in mulch. They still spread their roots into the soil, but the potatoes itself have a good time growing in mulch because it creates no resistance to potatoes getting bigger underneath. Also they like having decent amount of water, if planted in hot times.

Green beans: You need to put 5-6 seeds in one place in order for them to do well, they like having more of their own kind around to create shade and stability, they get easily damaged by the sun so they appreciate being around each other and protecting each other. Bush varieties do best in my climate, but I'm longing for the evasive pole green bean plants, I want to see them tall one day.

Cucumbers: I've only grown this once and all I have to report is that it was very stubborn, grew in poor soil and with no care, kept creating cucumbers long after I've expected it to call it quits, sometimes they grow bitter and it takes a Ritual to make them edible, good for canning tho.

Peas: This is one thing I suck at so don't do what I did – don't take out seeds from hybrid varieties of peas and expect them to grow next year, they will germinate at abysmal rates. I finally bought some heirloom seeds so we will see if my luck changes.

Chives: Absolutely immortal, zombie plant, grows always except when frozen, grows like grass, loves being cut, unlimited onion seasoning exists and its chives, not as sweet as green onions sadly, but I appreciate it's properties of being an endless supply, a woman needs that sometimes.

Spinach and Swiss Chard: Idk if it's just me but I Never know when these are randomly going to go to seed and it drives me Insane. Cannot be relied upon because they all just loooove going to seed whenever sun hits them in a Way. Plant in fall to have some to eat in the spring for 2 weeks until they decide they're ditching you because sunlight now exists.

Basil: Oh, oh, don't get me started, I thought, originally, this plant needs lots of sunlight to succeed and it made Sense! I mean why Not! But then for several years they did badly..? And then, then I find out, basil grows better in Shade! I find this via youtube video randomly! Really?!?! I have planted the forsaken herb in the shade and I'm Watching its Every Move. It's doing fine for now we'll see tho. =_=

[dyns33]

Apples

Flufftober 18 - Michael Addams x Reader 

After 6 months, the best lover of the world is back !

           For many people, apple was the symbol of the forbidden fruit. The fruit of knowledge. Of sin. Of temptation.

For Michael Addams, it was just a fruit, which he didn't particularly like, he more had a sweet tooth, but he had to admit that a red, shiny apple with a beautiful shape, could be tempting.

And if this apple was in the hand of his Goddess, and she was biting into it as he observed her, Michael was trembling a little with excitement at this vision of paradise, especially when the apple crunched under the teeth of his dear wife. Oh, Michael wished he was that apple.

           "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." she said jokingly, after noticing he was looking at her. "Do you want one ?"

           "Only if it's the one that you're eating now and we eat it together."

           "Silly man." Y/N sighed, still smiling. "Remind me to never eat a banana in front of you."

           "Why ?"

           "... Think Michael. I'm sure you'll get why."

He found why quickly, turning as red as the apple she continued to eat like nothing had happened, as if it wasn't driving him totally mad. Even though he longed to admire her eating a banana now, Michael knew he wouldn't survive it.

But everything she was doing always filled him with admiration and desire anyway.

So resting his head on his hands, unable to help himself and smiling stupidly, he watched as she finished her apple, reading her book on the couch.

Y/N didn't say anything. His goddess had known for a long time how he was and that there was no point in saying anything. She just let him do what he wanted, being so good to him that she allowed him to be near her and lay eyes on him.

           "You should eat more fruits and vegetables." she noticed all the same, putting the core on a small plate. "I wouldn't want you to get sick."

           "Your words are my commands. Even though the most delicious fruit in the world, with a divine nectar and a sweet smell, is between your..."

           "Michael."

           "I will eat more fruits darling."

Obeying his goddess, Michael bought several vegetables, and many apples next time he did the groceries, which he ate without wincing. It wasn't a problem for him, if it pleased Y/N.

He could very well have told her that he hardly ever fell ill, since he was the son of the devil, but then he should have thrown himself off the roof for having dared to contradict his beloved.

Also, by bringing more apples home, he had more opportunity to see her eat them.

           "I'd like to paint you eating one of those red wonders. Or take a picture of you."

           "You are starting to talk nonsense again my love."

           "Oh ! I know. You, on our bed, naked, holding an apple to your lips. What a delightful sight ! A goddess, taking God's poisoned gift and crunching it like it's nothing, for she's superior to Him ! Or you would have a yellow apple. A golden apple. Like Eris, sowing discord in my soul, in my heart, in my..."

           "Michael, breathe." Y/N sneered, stroking his arm.

           "Yes darling, excuse me. You inspire me so much."

           "I'm not going to stay naked on the bed for hours."

           "No need, I know your body perfectly, I can draw everything from memory. I'll put the painting in the living room when it's finished."

           "No, you will not."

The painting ended up in Michael's office, where no one was likely to accidentally see it. As always, his goddess was right, because while he really wanted to show off her beauty to everyone, he also didn't want anyone to see her naked, even in painting.

He should have torn the eyes of the rats after having made them admire his work. It would not have been very practical.

Like the far too many apples he kept buying and which was beginning to invade the kitchen.

As she hated waste, and was not going to eat more than two apples a day, his goddess therefore prepared apple pies and other tasty foods, which she offered to their neighbours, her parents and the Addams.

She could have punished him by not offering him anything, Michael would have understood that. He wouldn't have been upset. The simple fact of seeing her cut the fruit, prepare the dough, sing in front of the oven, with her apron, made him happy.

But he wouldn't have said no to a cake.

Fortunately for him, his goddess was not cruel. She knew him well. She knew he hadn't bought so many apples on purpose, it was his insanity that could do anything stupid and so she also made pastries just for him.

Michael Addams was truly the luckiest being in the world, for Y/N to have agreed to marry him and continue to love him tenderly and very patiently even after all this time.

           "Thank you my love." He purred as she put the apple pie in front of him, still wearing her apron and sweating a little from the heat in the kitchen.

           "My pleasure. Wait, you're going to burn yourself."

She cut a part which she put on his plate, then with a spoon, she took a bite, brought it to her lips to blow on it, before putting it in front of his mouth.

           "Open up."

Totally scarlet because of his blushing, frozen and feeling the excitement building in him, Michael still managed to obey, he savoured the piece of pie which was exquisite, then he passed out with a huge smile on his face, because everything was far too perfect.

Calmly, Y/N went to get a pillow to put it under his head, and she sat down next to him to wait for him to wake up. She was used to his husband's silliness by now.

[clareguilty]

More Liberum Vinculorum

Lady Dimitrescu/Maiden Rating: Explicit | Dubcon, blood, blood drinking, erotic horror Word Count: ~1400

“One more for me, pet,” Mistress Dimitrescu cooed. “I know you can.”

“No!” the maiden sobbed. “No please! I can’t!”

Mistress Dimitrescu pursed her lips, brow pinching ever so slightly. “Darling,” her tone was sharper this time, “Mommy just wants to take good care of you. Do as I ask, or I’ll have to punish you.”

The threat only caused the maiden to cry harder, desperate pleas and babbles spilling out between her sobs. She thrashed in her bonds, pulling against the silver shackles on her wrists that were chained to the headboard. Her legs were more tightly bound, ankles spread wide and fastened to the bedposts. She couldn’t bend her knees or even raise her legs off the bed. Mistress Dimitrescu was kneeling between her thighs in just her satin silk lingerie, one hand pinning the maiden at the hips.

It was a never ending torture. The maiden had been dragged onto the bed and shackled into place hours ago. Hours of touching and teasing. The Mistress worshipped her. It was reverent, doting.

Every touch made her pulse quicken and her skin hot. Open mouthed kisses to the most sensitive patches of skin, gentle caresses and the trailing of fingertips. It was slow, excruciating.

The Mistress teased her and praised her until she was glassy eyed and delirious with want. Only then did she dare to slip her fingers between the maiden’s legs. The lightest touch had her rolling her hips and arching her back, pulling against the chains. But even then, there was no relief.

She was brought to the very edge again and again. Toyed with. Played like an instrument. It felt wonderful, but that quickly turned to its own form of torture. Every time she found the peak of that pleasure, the Mistress would pull away, denying her any reprieve from the haze and the burning. The lust had clouded her thoughts. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t string together more than a few words that weren’t ‘please.’ Her skin was on fire, glistening in the firelight, and every muscle was pulled taut as she begged for release. Again, and again, and again.

And then she was granted her wish. “You’ve been such a good girl,” Mistress Dimitrescu kissed the corner of her mouth, smoothing her hair back as she whimpered in frustration. “Come for Mommy.”

And thus she found the next ring of Hell. If the desire and frustration of denial had been unbearable, this was so much worse. It was rapture, ecstasy, damnation.

The Mistress’s long fingers sank into her dripping, swollen pussy. This time, when she found that crest of pleasure, there was no sudden stop. The Mistress offered no escape as she forced the maiden to come around her fingers.

It was blinding. So intense that she could have sworn her heart restarted. And it wouldn’t end. The Mistress continued to curl her fingers and stroke the maiden until pleasure turned to pain too intense to bear.

The maiden forced her eyes open when Mistress Dimitrescu finally pulled away. She watched the Mistress lick and suck her dripping fingers clean, golden eyes glowing in the dim chamber. The maiden’s head fell back on the down pillow beneath her and she heaved for breath, glad that it was finally over.

The Mistress leaned in, licking up the column of the maiden’s throat and making her whole body shudder. She moaned as she inhaled the poor girl’s scent.

“You’re perfect,” she cradled her head. “Mommy’s favorite pet.”

The maiden hated how her stomach flipped at those words. She was a captive. A prisoner. Mistress Dimitrescu was a monster.

Since being rescued from the dungeons by the Lady of the castle, the maiden had exchanged a cell for the Mistress’s chambers. The heavy iron shackles of the dungeon for a shimmering silver chain and a cuff on her ankle. She was bound to the Mistress’s bed with exactly twelve paces of freedom.

She truly was kept as a pet. Leashed and collared, forced to obey Mistress Dimitrescu’s every order. Despite her captivity, she was treated like royalty. Enormous platters of delicious food were brought to her twice a day. Stews and meat and seasoned vegetables. Desserts of cold sweet cream and fruit. The Mistress washed her in a basin by the fire. Combed her hair and dressed her up as though she were some perverted doll. She was not given real clothing. Just lingerie and stockings and leather that the Mistress would coo and fawn over.

It was hard to stay strong. Hard to fight when the Mistress was so gentle and attentive, constantly reassuring her that she was safer in the castle. The chain was for her own good. Her mind was filled with promises and praise. Escape was hard to cling to, hard to believe in when she was watched so carefully and cared for so well. She drifted off night after night with her head resting on Lady Dimitrescu’s breast, fingers stroking her hair and rubbing the tension from her shoulders. She was just a pet.

Soon the fight left her. The biting and resistance and the fear. It was easier to just give in. To eat the delicious food and lean into every embrace and obey every order. She wanted to be good for her Mistress.

And it all culminated in this torture. After days and days -- there were no windows to measure the passage of time -- the Mistress had gathered the maiden in her arms. Stripped her bare and tied down and forced to come again and again at the whims of her captor.

The maiden cried out as Lady Dimitrescu thrust three fingers into her soaked, oversensitive pussy, stretching her open around her knuckles. She had already had one blinding orgasm, surely the Mistress wasn’t going to force her to come again?

But the Mistress kissed and sucked her nipples, making sure to leave marks all across her skin. She whispered encouragement as she split the poor maiden open on her fingers. Her fingers were enormous, and they curled and scissored inside of her in all the right ways to bring her apart.

“Such a sweet little darling,” her voice was breathy. “Mommy will keep you safe, make you feel good.”

The maiden whimpered but she couldn’t hide the way the words affected her. She had been conditioned to love the sound of her Mistress’s voice, to crave every kiss and murmur of praise.

She came with a loud cry. Her wrists and ankles burned from the constant pull of her restraints, but she soon found reprieve as Lady Dimitrescu unbound her legs, lifting her hips so she could bury her head between the maiden’s thighs.

And the Mistress demanded more of her, threatened to punish her if she didn’t come again over her lips. The maiden wasn’t sure if it was possible, but she had no other choice. Lady Dimitrescu licked and sucked her pussy with relentless fervor.

And somehow, another orgasm began to stir within her. Despite everything her body had been put through, she felt the pressure building. Lady Dimitrescu eagerly lapped up her arousal, paying no mind to how oversensitive her little pet was as she cried beneath her.

When she finally came, her whole body shook and sang with the intensity of the pleasure. Her thighs were firmly held apart in Lady Dimitrescu’s hands so she could continue her torture.

Despite the Mistress’s best efforts, the wave of pleasure began to subside yet again. The maiden was sure that if there was a way to extend that rapture, the Mistress would not hesitate to keep her like that for as long as she wished.

Just as her body began to relax, tension unwinding like a coil, she felt a burst of pain on the inside of her thigh. She cried out, trying to pull her leg away only to realize that the Mistress was holding her in place.

The pain was muted, throbbing, an almost welcome contrast to the prolonged ecstasy she had been forced to endure.

The Mistress moaned where her lips were pressed to the burning skin. She lapped at the wound eagerly. Had she been bitten? Cut? Scratched? There was a small trickle of blood that Lady Dimitrescu quickly kissed away.

Already dizzy from the intense pleasure, the Maiden whimpered as the fuzziness shifted to something sharper. Darkness pulled at the edges of her vision and the weightlessness of orgasm gave way to a leadened feeling. From floating to sinking.

She managed to cling to consciousness just long enough to see Lady Dimitrescu pull away, lips stained crimson as she let out a pleased sigh.

[yootaesowlwrites]

Requested: No, I dreamt this.

A/N: I had a dream and I decided to write it... I’m unsure of the location, or how it started... but I know how it ended.

Warnings: explicit language, explicit detail, fantasy, Needy/Horny!Seokjin, slight bruising, fingering, car sex, unprotected sex(please always use protection), Praise, Voyeurism, mention of being shared.

Word Count: 3,180

【 • Primary Masterlist •  Seokjin Masterlist • Jimin Masterlist • 】

(Y/n) had no idea how she ended up travelling with Jin and Jimin, but she wasn’t complaining about it, they were good company and made her laugh while also making sure that she was still all right, they were currently out buying food and supplies for the next couple of days at the hotel they were staying, she picks up a meat product and examines it when she suddenly felt a warm body press up against her from behind, hands gripping her hips and lips brushing against her earlobe, the scent filled her lungs and she quickly knew who was behind her.

“Mhm, do you know how good you look when you’re focused?” Jin whispers in her ear, a shiver runs up her spine as she puts down the meat produced and picked up another one to examine. “Makes me want to take you right here, right now.” His fingers knead the exposed skin on her hips, it had been weeks since they started travelling together and weeks since (Y/n) and Jin were intimate with each other, for the past few days Jin had grown frustrated and wanted nothing more than to be inside her, they hadn’t had a single moment alone with each other and he was growing impatient, deciding to ignore his words for the moment, she showed him the product.

“I think this one might taste the best.” (Y/n) says as she begins moving to try and get out his grasp, his fingers suddenly dig into her skin and kept her from moving away from him.

“Are you just going to ignore me now?” Jin asks in a low and rough tone, she could feel something shift inside her but kept her composure.

“We’re in public.” (Y/n) mumbles trying to not show him just how much his actions were affecting her.

“And you’re wearing a short little skirt,” Jin states, her breath gets caught up on her throat for a second.

“No, Jin, we-“ (Y/n) begins only to stop when she saw Jimin approaching them with a wide smile on his lips.

“Hey, I found some spices,” Jimin says not suspecting anything, to him, it appeared like a couple showing affection, Jin’s hands were resting on her hips and his lips were barely brushing against her earlobe, he had no reason to suspect that something was going happening.

“That’s great, now we should probably get some vegetables and fruits as well.” (Y/n) says as Jimin placed the items into the cart.

“Okay, I’ll meet you guys there,” Jimin says before making his way towards the fruit and vegetable section, once he was out of earshot (Y/n) turns her head sideways to look at Jin.

“This is a public place, you are not going to do anything right now.” (Y/n) says and begins to wiggle in his grip, not realizing the issue she was creating. “Come on, Jin we’ll be alone soon enough and then you can do whatever you want with me.” His grip eases on her hips.

“Anything?” Jin mumbles, his voice just above a whisper.

“Anything.” (Y/n) confirms, he takes a step back allowing her to move away from the fridge, she moves towards the cart and placed the meat inside.

“I’ll keep that in mind for later,” Jin says making her look at him, his eyes were clouded with lust as he stared back at her, she looks away from him and licks her lips before pushing the cart towards the fruit and vegetable section, Jin followed behind, his eyes carefully watching her as they walked, she usually never wore a skirt unless it was a warm sunny day like it was that day, he could already see it in his mind, her legs wrapped around him with her skirt still clinging to her, her panties long gone and his cock buried deep inside her, the mere thought caused blood to rush to his cock.

“Did you find anything interesting, Jimin?” (Y/n) asks as they approached him, Jimin lifted a small bag filled with kiwis.

“Yeah, I know how much you like kiwi’s and they had some,” Jimin says and placed the bag into the cart.

“Oh, thank you, that so sweet of you to think of me.” (Y/n) says and softly smiles at him, some fruits and vegetables were added to the cart before they went to pay for everything, once everything was bagged and paid for they left the store, quickly walking towards the car, they packed almost everything into the back, only two bags being placed at the backseat where (Y/n) would be occupying the space for the ride back to the hotel, Jimin climbs into the passenger side and Jin got behind the wheel, he looks at the rearview mirror and saw (Y/n) staring at him through the mirror, he could feel his cock pushing against his underwear causing him to grip the steering wheel, his knuckles quickly turning white before he begins driving them back to the hotel.

“Did we get everything?” Jimin asks, obvious to the tension growing between (Y/n) and Jin. “We didn’t forget the extra towel, right?”

“I think we got everything we needed, the towel also, but if we did forget something, we’ll just have to survive without it.” (Y/n) says, Jimin nods his head before taking out his phone and going through some apps, (Y/n) could feel Jin staring at her through the mirror causing her to shift in her seat, she could feel what was coming, he was frustrated and impatient, he had been holding back for days now and he had no idea how long he would last, but he knew it wouldn’t be long, once they arrived back at the hotel, Jin’s growing cock felt like it was going to explode if he didn’t do anything about his situation, Jimin unbuckles his seatbelt and opened his door while Jin slowly unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Jimin, why don’t you go ahead, (Y/n) and I will bring everything, we’ll be right up,” Jin says while staring at (Y/n) through the mirror, Jimin nods his head not realizing what was about to happen in the backseat, Jimin climbs out the car, closing his door before opening the back door.

“Okay, but let me at least take these two bags,” Jimin says as he took hold of the two backs, he softly smiles at (Y/n) as he pulled the bags out the car, (Y/n) returns the smile as she begins buckling her seatbelt, Jimin closes the door and made his way into the hotel.

“Don’t you dare move,” Jin demands as he pushes his door open, once outside he slams it shut before opening the door to the back and climbing in, the door was quickly shut behind him, his moving the lock on the door to shut it, he leans over (Y/n) and pushed the lock closed, he wanted to be sure nobody would disturb them by opening those two doors.

“What ar-“ (Y/n) begins to question only to be cut off by a hungry kiss from Jin, her eyes fall shut as she enjoyed the feeling of his lips moving against hers, his hands roamed over her body before slipping them underneath the dark purple crop top she wore.

“You’re such a tease,” Jin says once he pulled back from the kiss. “Wearing such a short skirt to show off those beautiful legs of yours.” The small space made it harder to move around, but he managed to remove her shirt only to discover the grey sports bra she had picked to wear, it was something he had learned about her throughout the years, she preferred wearing sports bras. “Where’s the neon pink one you had on yesterday?” She opens her eyes to look at him.

“I decided to wash it this morning.” (Y/n) softly spoke, he placed his hands on her thighs and slowly slides them upwards, his touch leaving a burning trail behind on her skin, his hands slips underneath the short black skirt and continued moving his hands higher until his fingers brushed against her panties.

“I need you,” Jin says in a low deep tone. “Badly.” She could feel wetness pooling between her legs as he spoke, she spreads her legs a little wider giving him more access, he moves her panties aside and slipped his fingers between her pussy lips, her growing wetness coated his fingers. “Mhm, I’ve got a little work to do before you’re ready for me.” His fingers slowly circled her clit, she could feel the excitement building inside her as she continued to grow wetter as he toyed with her clit, purposely brushing his fingers over her clit every few seconds, tension slowly builds up inside her and she throws her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, her lips parting as she took in a deep breath while spreading her legs wider, his fingers slowly slide towards her slit. “Mhm, that didn’t take long.” The tip of his fingers circled her slit. “Do you want this as much as I do?” His lust covered eyes watching her intensely, her chest rising up ad down as her breathing became heavier, he removes his fingers from her moist pussy causing her to lift her head to look at him, he unzips and unbuttons his jeans before shifting around as he pushed his jeans and underwear down to his knees, his hard thick cock finally free, her eyes lower to stare at his length. “Look what you caused.” His hand wraps around his cock, his hand quickly moving around his cock.

“Get rid of your panties and get on top of me,” Jin demanded, the authority in his tone made her obey his order and quickly discarded her panties before climbing on top of him, making sure to keep her head low to avoid the roof, he placed one hand on her hip while his other hand moved his cock between her pussy lips, coating himself with her wetness, she placed her hands on the seats and gripped them. “I’ve been waiting for so long.” He slides his cock towards her slit, slowly pushing the head of his cock inside her, she lays her head down on his shoulder as she felt him entering her, he unwraps his hand from his cock and placed it on her hip, his fingers digging into her skin before pushing her down onto his cock.

“Oh.” (Y/n) gasps at the pleasurable feeling of being filled and stretched by his cock.

“Look how well you’re taking me,” Jin whispers in her ear. “You wanted to do this just as much as I wanted.” The grip on her hips tightening as he lifted her before lowering her back down on his cock. “Ride me.” She quickly made sure that her knees were on the seat and that she was secured before lifting her hips, she lowers herself back down on his cock, her head staring against his shoulder as she repeated the movement. “How obedient.” His tone became husky as he spoke in her ear, she begins picking up the pace, the tinted windows quickly becoming fogged.

“Oh.” (Y/n) softly moans against his shoulder, neither of them hearing the door handle being pulled on the back door, the passenger door suddenly opens, but she was too consumed with pleasure to care at the moment, Jin’s eyes snapped to the door and saw Jimin standing outside.

“What’s taking so long?” Jimin asks before popping his head into the car, his eyes widen at the scene in the backseat. “Fuck.” He mutters while climbing into the car, closing the door once he was inside, he shifts around in his seat as he moved into a position to watch them and still be comfortable, Jin’s eyes fell on Jimin’s eyes and saw them darken with lust as he watched them have sex in the back of the car, Jimin runs his tongue over his lips as he saw Jin’s cock stretching her each time she lowered her hips, he could hear the sinful sounds from her wetness each time she lifted and lowered her hips. “Wow, she takes your cock so good.” He stared in amazement as he watched the scene in front of him, he would have never imagined that the scene in front of him would turn him on as much as it did, and he never imagined that he would want to be in Jin’s position as badly as at that moment. “That’s so hot.”

“She feels so good,” Jin says causing Jimin to lift his gaze, Jin stared at him as he could only watch, Jimin’s lips were swollen from licking them too much. “Her walls are clenching around me, milking my cock for an orgasm.” Jimin swallows as the words left Jin’s mouth.

“Mhm.” (Y/n) whimpers against Jin’s shoulder, the tension in her lower stomach growing stronger as she edged closer to her release, Jimin could see her muscles contracting and her body slowly beginning to quiver with pleasure.

“She’s so close to her release, I can feel it,” Jin says, Jimin lowers his gaze and saw Jin’s cock disappear inside her before she lifted her hips, Jin could feel her slow lying down and started helping her by lifting her hips for her, his fingers digging more into her skin, creating some bruising to the warm soft skin on her hips.

“Mhm, mhm.” (Y/n) whimpers as she squeezed her eyes.

“Cum for us, little goddess.” Jin softly spoke, warmth travelled through her body and the tension pulling in her lower stomach suddenly exploded as pleasure washed over her.

“OH, OH!” (Y/n) loudly moans and gripped the seat, Jimin could see her wetness running down the length of Jin’s cock, he could feel his blood rush towards his own cock at the sight, Jin felt his cock twitch inside her as he approached his own release.

“Sweetheart, can you grab the towel we bought?” Jin mutters in her ear, she tiredly opens her eyes as she lifted her head, her body pressed against his as she tiredly reached for the bag that contained the towel, she takes it out and pushes herself away from his body before dropping the towel next to him on the seat, she carefully climbs off him as her entire body still shook with pleasure, Jin took the towel and wrapped his hand around his cock, Jimin wasn’t sure where to look, his eyes queenly caught sight of her soaked pussy as she shifted around in her seat trying to cover herself with her skirt, he heard Jin groan in pleasure as he released himself into the towel, Jimin’s eyes move between Jin and (Y/n) before looking into (Y/n)’s eyes as she stared into his lust covered eyes, she licks her swollen lips. “Did you enjoy the show?” Jimin averts his eyes away from (Y/n) to look at Jin. “And be honest.” Jimin’s eyes moved to look at (Y/n), he could see that she was still drunk with pleasure, he looks back at Jin and slowly nods his head, unable to form any words. “Hm.” Jin folds the towel and puts it down on the seat next to him, he shifts around in his seat as he pulls his underwear and jeans back up, (Y/n) finds her shirt and pulls it back on before reaching for her panties, only for Jin to take them.

“Why don’t you hold onto these for us, Jimin?” Jin asks as he handed the panties to Jimin, it wasn’t a question, Jimin quickly takes the fabric, almost dropping them in the process, (Y/n) watched as Jimin pushed her panties into his jean’s pocket, making sure nobody would see it. “All right, let’s unload everything, we can’t stay in the car all day.” Jin unlocks the door and climbs out the car, (Y/n) tugs at her skirt before unlocking the door and carefully climbing out the car, she walks to the back of the car where Jin had already opened, Jimin climbs out the car and walked to the back of the car, he looks around the parking lot before taking a couple of bags and making his way into the hotel, he wanted to get back to the room as quickly as possible, (Y/n) and Jin gathers everything else before entering the hotel, they walk towards the elevator and step inside, Jimin being nowhere in sight, Jin presses the floor number and the doors slowly closed. “Would you mind?” (Y/n) turns her head to look at him.

“Would I mind, what?” (Y/n) softly asks.

“If I gave him permission to touch you,” Jin says. “If I shared you with him.” (Y/n) lowers her gaze to the floor, it wasn’t something she had thought about previously and now that the topic had been brought up, she had no idea how to feel about it. “If not…” Jin trails off.

“No, no.” (Y/n) says as she shifts her gaze from the floor to look at him. “It’s just, are you sure?” Jin licks his lips as he stared at her. “Are you sure you’re willing to share?” The elevator door opens.

“I trust you and I trust him,” Jin says, she nods her head as they step out from the elevator and walked down the hall to the room, Jin unlocks the door and pushed it open. “Go ahead.” She steps into the room and saw Jimin sitting at the table staring at his thighs, his skin was flushed, when he arrived in the room he sat down as his mind kept replaying the scene from the car, he grew flustered as each second passed, he knew he should’ve gone to take a cold shower, but he needed a moment to collect himself, he looks up from his thighs as the door opened and (Y/n) stepped in, she looks at him as the door closes behind Jin, Jin took the bags from her grasps and walked past her, moving deeper into the room before placing the bags down in the kitchen, he moves towards Jimin and place a hand on his shoulder before lowering down next to him. “Do you want a taste?” Jimin’s eyes never left (Y/n)’s body. “Go ahead.” Jimin turns his head to stare at Jin, his eyes were wide with shock at the suggestion. “I’m not messing around, go and have a taste.” Jimin slowly turns his gaze back to (Y/n) before standing from the dining chair, he strides towards her.

“Are you sure?” Jimin asks, he was unsure who he was asking, she nods her head not saying a word.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure,” Jin says, Jimin stops in front of her, the space between them almost none existent.

“I’ve been…” Jimin begins, her eyes stared at him innocently as she waited for him to make a move. “Fuck.” He lifted his hand and gently placed it on her cheek, his thumb softly runs over her cheek. “I’ve been waiting for so long.” He leans closer, lips almost touching. “Now it’s my turn.”

[rpd-rookie]

Pollen - Chris Redfield x Fem!Reader (NSFW)

Summary: A new type of mutamycete has been discovered in a remote region of South America. As a scientist working for Blue Umbrella, you are sent along with BSAA Captain Chris Redfield and his team to conduct research on it. Unfortunately, everything goes to hell when the infection goes out of control and start contaminating the unit ...

Author’s Notes: This is a request sent by the Queen of Headcanons (@missmamacitaoliveira​). It is basically porn with a plot and I chose to characterise it as "mild dub!con" because the sexual interaction depicted in this one shot is definitely the result of an arousal both characters (Chris and Reader) experience because of the mutamycete that contaminated them. Consent is given but the sexual act in itself is still a mix of fear and lustfulness at least at the beginning of it. Read at your own risk.

Warning: Sex Pollen / Smut / Mildly Dubious Consent / Rough Sex / Masturbation / Language 

           Golden spore-like particles were beautifully floating and dancing in the air outside the sterile plastic tent, shining like millions of innocent little fireflies but killing like a deadly swarm of wasps. They were covering the surrounding forest in yellow, from the trunks of the trees up to their tops, rotting the bark and the leaves, turning them into a thick yellowish mold capable of liquefying even the most solid of steels. A one-of-a-kind fascinating spectacle you had never thought to witness one day.   Incredible – yet scary - what this new type of fungus was capable of doing.  

Your earpiece crackled loudly in your ear, making you grimace and you dropped your leather notebook on your desk. “We’ve …sot … bit of sit…tion.” was all you could make out, the words sounding like gibberish because of the permanent interferences caused by the large cloud of mutamycete that had spread and contaminated the ambient air and the flora in the forest area by the riverside. “What kind of situation?” You asked, already removing a white Hazmat suit from a hanger. A never-ending sizzling was buzzing in your ear now, making it impossible to ear whoever was trying to communicate with you. “Hello?” You said as you adjusted the device to restore the communication. But all of a sudden, some static electricity – probably generated by the interferences - fried your earpiece in your ear, making you squeal in pain and fear and troubling your vision for a second. “Shit.” You cursed as your threw the broken earpiece to the ground, a low buzzing echoing in your head. “Why does it always happen to me?”             You quickly slipped on the rubber suit, put on some chemical overshoe boots and grabbed Umbrella’s latest air-filter helmet before heading towards the exit.             Luckily for you, you didn’t have to wander outside for too long as an officer rushed towards you, pointing at the military green tent that happened to belong to the medical unit that accompanied you on this mission. “Hurry, please.” He said with an alarmed voice that sent shivers down your spine. Something was definitely wrong.

           You ungraciously followed him to the tent, your uncomfortable get-up making it hard for you to run properly. After all, it was made to work in a lab, not play commando in a remote tropical region of South America.             Once in there, you immediately noticed two soldiers convulsing hard on their medical beds, struggling to breathe in spite of the oxygen the mechanical ventilators were providing them. Their faces were bright red, covered with pustules and blisters; their skin peeling off as if some acid had splashed on them.             “What happened?” You dared ask, your widened eyes staring in shock at the poor men whose painful screams where muffled by the masks covering their melting faces. “Unsuitable gear. Thank your corporate overlords for that.” You glanced at the man who had answered, recognizing the angry powerful husky voice in spite of the deformation caused by the gas helmet he was wearing. “Captain Redfield, I’m sure…” He waved you to shut up and you obeyed, knowing that now was not the time to start an argument with him. It would not end up well, Redfield being too impulsive and stubborn to have a calm conversation with you even in more peaceful circumstances. His reluctance to work with Umbrella Co., you supposed. “How can I help?”   “You’ve been studying this new mold, haven’t you?” Chris asked as he rushed to immobilise one of his men to allow a medic to sedate him with a syringe of morphine. “Might care to explain what’s happening?”         “I’ve only studied the infection on the nearby vegetation. I don’t know what’s happening to them.”    You mumbled, trying to keep your composure and ignore your growing concern and panic caused by the gut-churning vision before you.       “Just tell what you know!” Chris growled as he pinned his struggling teammate down on the white mattress with an incredible strength you found scarily impressive. “It’s basically the same mutamycete that we collected at the Baker’s except that it was somehow genetically modified to have a reproductive morphology similar to plants and flowers. That’s why it looks so much like pollen.”         “Make it understandable for a 5 years old, Y/LN, please.” Chris demanded with an annoyed sigh and you nodded though you didn’t really know how explain days and days of complex scientific research in a few simple sentences.     “Alright. The previous mutamycete permitted to turn dead people into Molded, sort of. This new version does the same but it can also reproduce … breed if you prefer. A simple contact with a compatible host can lead to fecundation that can ultimately lead to lots of Molded babies. But I don’t need to develop that part, do I? Everyone in this tent knows how to make babies, I believe.” You scoffed, finding a certain comfort and some safety in sarcasm. But now was not the time for humour and you understood it perfectly when Captain Redfield glared at you. “Sorry. I tend to make bad jokes when I freak out.” And you were definitely freaking out right now. “But to sum up, this new mutamycete basically mimics the primary instinct of a G- virus infectee.”     “Meaning?” Chris asked, his voice sounding an octave lower certainly because of the knot in his throat the simple mention of the G-virus had created.       “It basically has a vital need to procreate, relentlessly searching for the right host to fecundate.” “So you’re saying that my men are what … pregnant with Molded?”          He frowned and you could hear all his worries in his voice. He genuinely cared about his men. Very admirable and honourable. “I don’t know, Captain. I’m just telling you how it works on plants. Might be different for humans… I hope. Do you have an ultrasound scanner?” “ No, but we have one at the lab.” The doctor said. “ Then we need to evacuate quickly. And I …” You took some surgical pliers from a medical trolley and a test tube from your pocket. “…am going to need a sample to study all this.”

You approached one of the soldiers who was now basically dozing because of the morphine and slowly removed one of his gloves to cut one of his nails in order to later study his DNA. But as soon as your fingers touched him, he woke up with a start and jumped you, growling like a beast and grabbing you by the waist with a superhuman strength, almost digging his nails in your flesh through your clothes.         You first instinct was to scream. Not the most efficient thing to do, you agreed. But, fortunately for you, you were accompanied by men who had better first instincts and reflexes than you. Chris pushed his man away from you and pounced on him, grabbing him almost brutally by the wrists to slam him down against the bed. You put a hand over your pounding heart and stared, terrified and powerless, at the enraged man squirming to get up. His eyes were dark and hungry and fixed upon you as if he was unable to focus his attention on anything else. “What the fuck, Carter?” Chris roared as he used all his weight to keep his soldier in place. But Carter didn’t care. Carter didn’t even look human anymore. And watching those two men struggling on this bed was like watching two lions fighting on National Geographic. Except that it was terrifying. Fucking terrifying.

           Twenty-four hours later, Carter and his teammate were dead and their bodies still burning up like hot ember had been placed in the morgue section of the lab for you and your colleagues to study. But, in spite of the disgusting bloody experiments you led on them, you couldn’t take your mind out of the near-death experience you had been through at the camp. It haunted you, making it almost impossible for you to focus exclusively on your work. Those eyes. That darkness in them. That hunger that looked more and more sexual and lustful the more you thought about it. It was making you shiver in fear and discomfort. You had never seen anything like it before.       You shook your head to make the images go away and concentrated again on your researches. You had been studying fours little rats in a glass cage for hours, trying to see how their systems reacted to the new mutamycete. But for now, six hours after injection, only an unusual high body temperature could be noticed.

The automatic sliding door of your lab opened with a hiss, making you slightly jump. You briefly checked the clock on the wall. 10:38pm. You didn’t expect any visit that late especially not a visit from Chris Redfield. “Captain Redfield. What are you doing … here?” You furrowed, staring at him with concern. He didn’t look so well.     “Something’s happening to me.” His voice was cavernous and raspy and he sounded almost out of breath as if he was chocking under his black turtle neck.             You immediately got up, resisting the instinctive urge to come closer to check up on him and took a few steps back. “Alright. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong and I’ll see what …” You weren’t able to finish your sentence as Chris crumbled to the floor beneath him, growling as if he was trying to resist something, his nails dug in the grooves of the white tiles. “Oh my god, Chris.” “I feel like I’m burning up.” He struggled to say. And this time you rushed towards him. You couldn’t leave him like that. You had to do something.          

Knelt onto the floor, you grabbed his broad shoulders to help him lean his back against a lab bench. His face was scarlet red and pearls of sweat were dripping along his forehead. You wiped them away with your sleeve. They felt weirdly sticky and had a strange sour smell. But what worried you the most was the heat radiating from Chris’s body. You could feel it brushing your face. It looked like the man had been microwaved. “Don’t move. I’ll call for help.” You tried to get up but Chris’ hand caught your arm in a firm strong grip that made you wince. “You don’t… understand.” He managed to say, panting, his extremely dilated brown eyes staring at your (colour) confused ones.

Without forewarning, he placed your hand over his crotch, a gesture you found disgusting, salacious and incredibly inappropriate and that instinctively made you squeal and try to get away from Chris’ grasp. He was incredibly hard. “What the fuck?” You gasped, horrified as you tried to quickly get up. But you lost your balance and clumsily fell on your rear. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.” He confessed, suffocating. “I’ve been like this for the past hour or so.”         “The past hour?” You repeated, not knowing how to react or what to do. “Please tell me you can do something.” Chris begged, truly shamed and panicked and perfectly aware of the how indecent and degrading his behaviour must feel to you.   You stood up to focus on your breathing and regain your calm. “Okay. Everything’s going to be fine. Breathe.” You needed to have your mind clear if you wanted to help Chris. You needed your scientist mind back. “Are you … aroused?” You said, genuinely uncomfortable to ask something so intimate.           “Fuck, Y/LN!” Chris growled, glancing down at his pants. “ Isn’t it obvious? I’m freaking hard!” “Clearly.” You cleared your throat. “Don’t move.” You rushed towards your cupboard to rummage in it. “I’m going to give you GnRH antagonists. They can suppress hormones like testosterone. It should ease your pain for a while, or at least long enough to be able to find something that might help you. It’s possibly an effect linked to a long exposure to the mutamycete. Got you.” You took the vial with your trembling hands and turned around to go back to Chris. But what you didn’t realised was that Chris was just right behind you.

You bumped into his large chest and accidentally dropped the vial onto the floor. It broke into a thousand pieces as it landed on the tiles and you cursed, internally blaming yourself for your stupid clumsiness and your panic. “Please don’t tell me that’s what I needed.”       You grimaced, scared to tell him the truth as you could tell he was getting angry again. Then again, who wouldn’t?       “There might be another way.” You tried to reassure him but you knew it was vain. “Another way?” He harrumphed with a growl of pain as he leaned against your desk to breathe deeply. “What way?”     “ Well, have you tried to … you know…” You mimicked a pumping motion with your hand, not daring to say the word. “Masturbate?”         “You’re serious?” Chris’ darkened eyes widened, refusing to believe you were actually serious. “This is your medical advice? You want me to jerk off!”           “Yes, that’s what I want … I mean advise.” You corrected, probably as uncomfortable than him right now, if not more.           “Are you guys at Umbrella all dumb or is it just you? I don’t even know how I still can walk, Y/LN. I’ve never been that sensitive in my entire life. I feel like if I touch myself I will actually explode, like literally. I can’t jerk off right now!”  

There was an awkward silence that didn’t last long as Chris turned around to shout his suffering again. Though this time it was mixed with an animalistic rage whose cause was still blurry to you. Was it mad at you? At himself? At his condition? At Umbrella? … All of it?     You sighed and approached him. Hands on his back you helped him face you. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”   You told yourself.      

You put your hand over Chris’ male parts, making him wince and hiss, to blindly look for the zipper, staring away from him on purpose. “What the fuck are you doing?” He asked, slapping your hand away from him. “You got a better idea, soldier boy?!” You retorted, wishing there was another solution and that this all situation was merely a nightmare. You opened Chris’ trousers and disgustedly slid your hand in his briefs. “Ouch, easy!” He grumbled the second your fingertips touched him. His member was so sensitive and aching right now.       “This is the worse day of my life.” You admitted as you delicately took his hot swelling length, which was thicker and heavier than what you expected, in a limp grip. “Pff. I’m sure part of you enjoys it” Chris said in between two guttural moans, a sensation of both suffering and pleasure tensing his abs and clenching his jaw. “You must think it is karma for all the times I’ve been an ass to you.”             “What?” You harrumphed as you stopped moving your hand, genuinely offended. “How can you believe I’m enjoying it? You’re sick.”           “Then why are you all flushed?” He asked.

All this panic and concern for Chris had made forget about your safety and yourself in general. You touched your cheeks. They were abnormally hot and you could feel their sudden redness tickling your skin. “Embarrassment and panic.” You retorted, trying to convince yourself more than Chris. After all, wasn’t it the most plausible reason? Unless… “Or the mutamycete and in that case it’s all your fault and if I die I’ll come and kill you.” You started panting and Chris stared at you silently. “What? You think that masturbating you arouses me? Pff, you should know better than anyone right now what it means to be aroused.”         “Y/N” He called out by your first name. He had never done that before.   “What?!” You screamed, pissed at him.         “Shut the fuck up and keep going.” He ordered with a severity worthy of his military status. “Seriously?” He didn’t reply, seeing no need for an answer, and you reluctantly resumed your soft motion on his engorged cock, feeling the prominent thick veins throbbing against your palm as Chris suddenly began removing his military vest and his turtleneck “Are you kidding me?” You mumbled in between your teeth, definitely not liking this situation. “I’m burning up. I can’t stand my clothes anymore.” But soon your eyes occasionally started glancing towards Chris’ broad and hairy chest. He had a formidable body. God, what the hell were you thinking?   “Please tell me you’re gonna cum soon.” You begged but he didn’t respond. A bad sign. “Gosh, I must be doomed.”     “Perhaps if you actually put some effort in it.” Your eyes widened at him. Was it really criticizing the way you were jerking him off? “Seriously, Mister ‘Ouch I’m too sensitive’?”     “Don’t mind me. I get it. You’d rather do something else than help me right now. And I know this must feel very degrading. Well guess what? I’d rather do something else than being jerked off by you.” You stepped back. You had had enough of it. “Then go ahead.” You waved at the door. “Leave and get out of your bloody mess on your own. I don’t give a fuck. Actually you should have done that from the very beginning instead of coming to me. Why did you come here anyway?”             “I have no fucking idea, Y/N. I was in my quarters and seconds later I was here. I can’t explain it. I was like … guided here. ” You frowned, finding this honest confession extremely weird and yet not so absurd, your scientific brain making a parallel between Chris’s words and the way the mutamycete was permanently searching for a host to breed. The conclusion that Chris might want the same thing froze you to the spot, scared and apprehensive, a bit like a deer caught in headlights. Why hadn’t you thought about that earlier?  “And the more I look at you, the more I stay with you… I wanna fuck you so bad. And I hate myself for it.”

You gulped, finding yourself unable to regain control over your paralysed body as an instantaneous wet hotness formed in between your legs. You tried to repress it but Chris came closer, his darkened chocolate brown eyes staring at you the same way Agent Carter’s eyes had stared at you under that tent. It made you shake, expecting with a certain amount of fear what was bound to happen.     “Fuck! You have no fucking idea how hard it is to resist the urge to just slam you against that desk and shove my cock into you.” Your heart skipped a bit and the air got stuck in your lungs. You couldn’t breathe anymore. Terrified and yet so atrociously aroused it was making you want to hurl. A strange sensation – certainly a result of the contamination - you had never experienced in your entire life and you didn’t know how to process.     “I’m calling security.” You announced as you somehow managed to rush towards your desk. “They’re going to place you under quarantine. That’s what I should have done from the very beginning.” You tried to seize your phone but it was immediately taken away from away from you and thrown across the room before you could even push a single button.  

You trembled again when you suddenly felt Chris’s towering body press against your back, his hardened member pushing against your butt as his muscular arms were forming a caging embrace to prevent you from escaping. “Then why haven’t you?”  He whispered in you ear, his hot breath tickling your neck and making you shiver, this time more in arousal than in fear. “I don’t know.” You mumbled in a whisper, feeling your heart pounding like crazy in your chest because of the exquisite proximity between Chris’ strong body and yours. This was insane.

You moaned when you felt Chris softly grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin of your neck and then gasped with a certain apprehension when his large hand grabbed your throat to squeeze it, knowing he could choke you to death with ease right now without giving you a chance to fight back. “Tell me you want this.” He murmured, rubbing his pelvis against your rear hoping teasing you would convince you to give in to him. “I won’t touch you unless you want me to. But please, please, tell me you want me to.” You looked back at him to stare at his eyes. In their hungry darkness, you could notice that Chris was still in there, spotting his integrity slightly gleaming behind the veiled pupils. He was fighting the temptation caused by this stupid fungus. But how long could he resist? Or better question, how long could you resist judging by the wetness growing in your panties. The answer? Not long.

“Do it.” You whispered so low, hoping he would not hear you and let go of you. But he did hear you and he didn’t wait. He pulled your skirt up to your waist and ripped your panties with a swift powerful motion that made you squeal and hold on tight to your desk.     “I don’t think it’ll take long.” Chris said with a raspy voice as he dropped his trousers and briefs to his feet, finally freeing his throbbing cock that sprang erected and hard as a stone pillar. He watched it for a second, admiring it twitching and begging to be relieved. Then he stared at you, at your naked butt and your glistening red lips. “Gosh, you look delicious.” He said to himself before spitting on his finger to lube his length. Last thing he wanted was to hurt you. “You’re sure you’re up for this?” He asked again, not knowing how he would react if you said no. “I’m sure. Just fuck me, please.” You whimpered and Chris smiled as he guided himself towards your entrance. He moved briefly in between your half-closed thighs, right against your tight lips, to spread your juices along his shaft before kicking your calves to make you spread your legs for him.       Once the access granted, he finally pushed himself deep into you, sliding him member so deep it almost disappeared in you. You winced and moaned, nails dug in the wood of the desk, when you felt him stretching you, definitely not used to welcome such girth inside your pussy. “Holy shit.” You cursed, with a small tear in the corner of your eye. “You’re so big.”           “I know. Sorry.” He chuckled, his hand wandering down your back. “You’ll get used to it.” You cried out when Chris suddenly pulled out to push himself back inside of you with one single hard move. The force of his thrust made you fall flat on the desk. “You got nothing against rough sex, right baby girl?” Baby girl? The pet name made you furrow. What was next? You calling him daddy? “Cause I’m in that kind of mood right now.” He growled as he repeated the same motion, making you muffle a new loud moan in the leather notebook on which your head was resting. “Let’s get this over with.” You growled, already breathless.

Chris’ pelvis smacked loudly against your ass, making it bounce, as his heavy balls hit your swollen clit. “Fuck!” You shouted, hating the sensation as much as you were liking it. And he did this over and over. With time, you grew accustomed to the brutality and even happened to find a blissful pleasure in his roughness. Hell, you could even hear how wet your pussy was. “You like that? You want it faster?” You nodded and he grabbed your hips to pull you even closer to him and started relentlessly pounding you from behind. You screamed his name, wondering how he could still be that rough and yet that fast. His cock was literally a jackhammer hitting you hard inside, not that you minded. “Yes, just like that.” You said as you brought your fingers to your swollen clit. “Do you want to cum already?” You heard the cheekiness in his voice. He was amused.   “Aren’t you the one who said it wouldn’t last long?” You retorted with a mocking smile that he definitely noticed in the tone of your voice since he grasped a handful of your hair to pull you back against his chest. “You’re going to regret this tone, young lady.” He bit your lips, making you almost bleed and kissed you with a hunger and a ferocious passion that would certainly let your lips bruised for days.

And as he did, his fingers crawled towards the buttons of your white shirt to violently tear the clothe apart, reducing it to rags and making the small metallic buttons fly in the lab. “Let me see those boobs.” Chris ordered as his hands squeezed your breasts, feeling the hard nipples pointing through your laced bra that he ultimately removed with the same burning ardour he had shown while removing your shirt. “So perky and pretty.” He confessed in a whisper as he pinched the rosy teats between his fingers. “Do you like them?” You asked, biting your sored lips           “More than I like you. That’s for sure.” The rebuke made you sourly laugh. “I don’t like you either.”     “Good.” He turned you over to face him and pushed you against your desk to make you sit on it, throwing all your stuff to the ground before laying you down on it. You instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist but that’s apparently not what Chris wanted as he put both your feet above his left shoulder with a grunt. “And don’t move.” He commanded and his hand slapped your breasts. They reddened almost instantly but the overall sensation was exhilarating, making you clenched your walls around Chris’s cock. “Fuck, don’t squeeze me like that.” He complained and you chuckled. But your laugh was brief since Chris caught you by your legs again and resumed his previous pounding.

You head tilted to the side and a stream of OHs and AHs escaped your mouth. You were completely at Chris’ mercy, lost in an intense bliss that made you completely unaware of the world around you. There was only pleasure. Pleasure and Chris.         You toes went to feel Chris’ muscular pectorals, curling up more and more by the second. “I think I’m gonna cum.” You confessed with half-lidded eyes that you could barely keep open now. “Yeah?” You nodded. “You want me to help you?”       “Please.” You whined, desperately wanting to let the ticking bomb of pleasure between your legs explode. “Alright then.” His arms circled your waist and he hoisted you up against his chest with an incredible ease. You were certainly very light for a man as strong as Chris.         His small dark hair tickled your breasts, making you shiver and you wrapped your legs against him as well as your arms around his neck. You could feel it still inside of you and you were waiting eagerly to se how he would manage fucking you in that position which was far from easy. “Hold on tight.” He announced as he squeezed your ass to make you slide up and down his penis. The first moves were sloppy and clumsy but what followed drove you back in intense delight. The perks of being fucked by a man who had definitely been spoiled by Mother Nature.

Your body perfectly angled against Chris’, hands now holding on tight to his large shoulders, you could feel your clit rub atrociously well against the bush surrounding his member that your pussy had excessively creamed. “Chris. I’m cumming.” You shut your eyes and cradled against his body to keep yourself in place when the exhilarating moment you had been longing for finally happened.             You shouted so loud as you clenched your walls against Chris’s cock you wondered how no one rushed in your lab to see what was happening in there. “That’s it baby girl. Cum for me.” Chris hissed, his mind split between your pussy squeezing him tightly and your nails scratching his shoulders to the blood. “Fuck, Chris!” Your climax knocked you out, rendering you dizzy and limp, and you let yourself slump against Chris, head over his shoulder.             “Alright time to truly finish this.” He chuckled and knelt to the floor where he laid you hot body on the tiles. The coldness made you tremble but you were too giddy and tired to mind. Nevertheless, you sensed Chris lie on top of you, his massive body sprawled over yours almost crushing it under his weight.

His shaft found his way back in your relaxed pussy and he weaved his hand in your soft hair to pound you for the last time. Only soft almost soundless moans escaped your mouth but you could tell that the effect of your powerful orgasm was slowly fading away as your energy was slowly growing back and regaining your limbs. “I’m gonna cum in you.”         This was a terrible idea, risky even, and you knew it. But you didn’t know how – or didn’t want – to fight back, actually desiring to feel Chris’s hot sperm spurt inside of you. So instinctively, you managed to circle his waist with your legs and spur his hard rear to make him go deeper inside of you. “Eager girl. You want to take my cum so bad, don’t you?” He scoffed and kissed your lips hard as he pinned your wrists up your head to finally release his sticky white seed in your vagina with a guttural animalistic grunt that echoed in the lab. “Take it.” He growled as he kept pushing himself hard inside of you to be sure not to waist a single drop of his semen.

Chris pulled out of you and gazed at you glistening red pussy, glad to see that his cum was not oozing out of you. “That felt so good.” He admitted before allowing himself to fall next to you with a sigh of content and enjoy the coldness of the tiles against his sweaty body. “And you know what? I actually feel a lot better.” You didn’t answer, exhausted but more especially lost in your thoughts. Gosh, what have you done?           “You’re alright?” Chris asked, his voice finally back to normal. You glanced at him and noticed even his eyes had found their sweet chocolate colour back. “ Y/N”   Your name echoed in your head and you suddenly got the impression that your body was abnormally convulsing. “Y/LN! Y/N” Chris repeated as he urged to hold you. “Y/LN. Hello?” You felt your mind slowly dozing off, finding yourself unable to answer. What the hell was happening? That was the last thing that came to your mind before it completely shut off. Then everything went dark and only Chris’ voice calling your name remained. “Y/LN! Open your eyes. Wake up!”

           You woke up with a start, lost and wondering where you were, your startled eyes scanning your surroundings in search of something familiar. It took you a couple of seconds to realise you were laying on the ground and that you actually were in your tent, a the camp. “Y/LN” Your eyes met Chris’. He was staring at you with concern, his hands firmly holding your shoulders. “You’re alright?” You stared at him, still very astonished and then, you spontaneously jumped in his arms. “Chris! You’re okay!” The relief in your voice made Chis frowned and he slowly pushed you away. “Yes. You?” You nodded with a smile.   “So it was a dream?” You asked, expecting an answer from Chris which was completely absurd. “A dream?” He repeated. “Are you sure you’re okay? Did you bump your head or something? Hurt yourself?”     “No.” You shook your head, not getting why he looked so worried.         “But your ear.” He pointed at it, not daring to touch it and you brought your fingertips to it. A thick liquid was pouring out of it. It was pus and blood. You were bleeding. Why were you bleeding? “What the fuck?” You looked around you only to spot the fried earpiece on the ground next to you.           The interferences. The static electricity. It had certainly burst your eardrum and made you faint and … “It was all a dream.”

[selenacosmic]

Good day! Can I please request headcanon about a very good doctor/healer MC who is passionate about saving people x warlords (Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, Ieyasu, Kenshin and Shingen)? Or if it's too much then you can choose any warlords because I love them all. Thank you!

Of course, I liked this one! I hope you have a good day! And I am the one who should thank you for this request!

A good doctor MC.

Oda forces.

Nobunaga Oda.

After saving him from the fire, you didn’t run away, you insisted on checking up on him to see if there was any kind of injury. Nobunaga was too pride to say he got wounded back in the temple, so at first he turned you away. That until you made a good analysis on his body, concluding that everything was all right, he felt impressed by you. How did you know so many things that even he didn’t fully understand?

Soon enough, you were part of the healers at the castle, and it didn’t take long to become one of the greatest. Just with a few analysis you already knew what the person had and what it needed to get better. You were very useful in battles too, as you would take care of the wounded soldiers very fast. It was rare the times that he needed your assistance, but be sure that he would often go to see you, he would even dare to pretend to be sick, only for you to take care of him.

Sure, you always knew he was lying, but it was fun to see him and to talk to him. It was almost cute of him to do it, but you knew that there was something seriously on him, and you needed to do something about.

“Nobunaga, it’s unhealthy to have that lack of sleep, and to eat Konpeito that fast. You might get a stomachache!”

“Nonsense, I can take very good care of myself. I sleep the right amount of time, and eat the right amount of candy.”

“Who is the doctor here? Go to sleep, young man, and in the morning you will eat a vegetable soup that I will make.”

“Are you trying to command me, MC?”

“Those are the doctors orders, for your own good.”

In the end you found yourself using your lap to help him sleep, he obeyed your request. The next morning he learned to love the soup you would make him, as it was healthier than having candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

From that day on, you were his special doctor, the one that he loved most.

Ieyasu Tokugawa.

He is known to be the greatest healer in the castle, having you there was a challenge. We know that this boy is very competitive, and he hates losing. Though, as time passed, he started to see that you really were a good healer, you even knew how the insides of a body works very well, and that was... frightening.

But with that pride of his, he pretended to not care about it, he continued with his goal to be the best, the strongest of all. But he knew that he couldn’t ignore you, you were amazing at your work, extremely efficient in times of war. That until one day...

“You want to learn more about medical herbs?”

“Yes! You are so good at it that I thought you could teach me more about it!”

“Aren’t you the super great healer that can do anything? Why do you need my help?”

“Huh? Ieyasu, you are an amazing doctor, and I take inspiration from you! Teach me about medicinal herbs, please?”

“...tch, fine, but I am just doing this because you will just embarrass yourself for not knowing a thing about them.”

He became your teacher, daily teaching you about the proprieties of the herbs, how to identify a medicinal plant etc. with time, he grown closer to you, and learned to admire your own strength. If you were to be his partner, then you two were the two greatest doctors in that era, and you two would do it together!

Mitsuhide Akechi.

Mitsuhide didn’t really felt that impressed, it was just fun to tease you about finding suspicious for you to know so well about the human body. It was just that.

But he felt himself grown to you, specially when he saw you treating the people at town, people who didn’t have the condition to afford a healer’s help. You didn’t care for the money, you just wanted to help them, he missed that genuine care and kindness on a person. It was good to spend time with you, to see that justice look on your gaze.

In a funny but unnecessary way, you would always insist on taking care of him, Mitsuhide felt like he didn’t deserve your generosity. Those wounds would heal soon, it didn’t matter, but you were so insistent to the point where you would command him to sit on the tatami for you to take care of him.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with me. Take care of the ones who need you most.”

“You are the one who needs me most! And I will take care of you, now stay still, I just need to wrap it with the salve and it will be better.”

You cared about him, you genuinely cared about him. And we know that that’s enough to make him love you, to the sun and back. Mitsuhide learned to let you take care of him more often.

Uesugi-Takeda forces.

Kenshin Uesugi.

He didn’t care if he was to die in the battlefield or not, he didn’t care. Kenshin is a man who had died long ago, it doesn’t matter to him if it was to happen, all he cared about was war, and how exciting it was, how it made him actually feel alive. You didn’t like that attitude, so you would always try to make him let you take care of him.

“I don’t need your care, woman. I am the god of war, small wounds won’t stop me to achieve victory.”

“Small wounds can become bigger if not treated well, stop acting like that and sit down!”

Your demanding voice caught him off guard, he reluctantly agreed to it, and it was impressed by how fast you treated him. Kenshin started to trust you more and more, to the point where he could only trust one healer, and that was you.

It came to the point where he wanted you to treat only him and him alone, but with your help, learned to understand that you needed to take care of those in need.

Shingen Takeda.

He would often flirt with you, and it was funny to have him around, though you would always shoo him away with a “don’t flirt with the doctor.” And he would always continue, more passionately this time. He would say that you were the goddess who descended to take care of the wounded mortals, it was almost ridiculous.

But something was often off about Shingen, sometimes he would look pale, his breath would get irregular, sometimes you would see blood on his kimono, bearly visible to the others. It was time to confront that.

When you did start the conversation, asking if he was sick. Shingen tried to distract you from the issue. Saying that “I am sick in love with you, only a kiss will cure me.” But you wouldn’t let him distract you, it was with a lot of insistence that he said the true to you.

In that era, you couldn’t do much, but to contain the disease from getting worse until you two could go to the future to treat him better. The time you two spent together made you close, so you didn’t trust yourself to do the operation. But you trusted yourself to take care of him until he was better from the surgery.

Shingen might have let another person do the surgery, but he only trusted you to be his healer.

◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸

Thank you for reading! If you want to see more of my work, search for my masterlist!

[missrkl]

The Temple Chapter Three

Rachel felt the fire burning within her. A growing passion blazing like a fiery furnace. She wasn’t going to take this sitting down. Enough people had been lied to and hurt by the very same people preaching love, prosperity and peace. As the newspaper journalist once wrote about the place when placing a review on The Temple “like a bunch of quacks.” Although the journalist was talking about Adon’s Elysium language rather than the people themselves being quacks. Maybe they both meant it differently. Rachel didn’t like that. How dare the journalist make fun of Adon’s Elysium language, Tongues. It was a high privilege to learn to speak this language, in which Rachel herself was affluent in. Despite being angry about the segregation within The Temple, she was angry even more at those who dared to trash talk the place. She could trash talk the place because she came from there, but for an outsider to come in and trash the talk the place and it’s people without an ounce of understanding was just wrong. That was on a whole other level. Rachel felt the fire burning within her getting stronger. She was still here in the park with the gang, but now they were on the move. It was getting late and they needed to meet inside somewhere. Usually Ecclesiastes had a place. They followed him silently trudging through the park like a panther, voiceless, silent. This was their strength, they weren’t called The Voiceless for nothing. They trudged out of the park and walked down the road as different cars passed them by. The Temple’s meeting would have ended by now, and right by schedule the stragglers would soon be leaving the place. They always had eating after a meeting in the downstairs hall. One thing The Temple was good at was their impeccable timing. Schedules always ran on time, sermons always finished on point and in time, dance lessons, choir rehearsals always finished on time. Even the stragglers that left behind at the last moment always finished on time. Obedience to the highest degree. They were always obedient to their leaders, quick to listen and slow to speak, a trait of Adon, one that Rachel was proud of. Despite all the drama behind the scenes, there was many things Rachel knew was a divine privilege and something to thank Adon for. Like their sermons, highly theological, highly biblical and highly ethical, highly political, highly correct almost 99% of the time. Their training was also known for its highest quality that even outsiders wanted to join in but they couldn’t get in unless invited. It was rare for an outsider to make their way into their training. If there was one thing Rachel could boast about The Temple was the obedience of the people. Some people would argue that you couldn’t really blame the people, it was the leaders who made all the decisions, even in small group circles. It was very well controlled. Even friendships and social circles were highly controlled units, hence The Voiceless always remained voiceless.

They stood in the quiet darkness that shrouded The Temple as it was late. It was 930pm by now, the cleaners would be finished by 10pm. So they bided their time by sitting behind the wall, lurking in the shadows. Ecclesiastes had extra keys, they could use the downstairs hall without turning on the light, but relying on candles instead. They didn’t want to get caught. As they waited for the cleaners to leave, Rachel watched as Charles closed up. Charles was one of The Loyalists, he had been here a long time, his entire life in fact. Rachel watched Charles look around checking the place just before walking to get into his car and drive off. They waited a few minutes just in case he had forgotten something, but he didn’t come back. Ecclesiastes went up and opened the door and they all piled in as quiet as a mouse. Still silent they clambered down the stairs as silent as a cat’s furry paws hitting the carpet. They entered the lower hall and some of the gang went about taking out their candle sticks and candles and put them up in strategic places.

If there was one thing that Rachel was passionate about it was more than just about the segregation within the community, it was more and this something more was what Rachel was going to address the crowd this evening, after dinner. The people in charge of the food this evening took out their food they had stacked in their bags. Spaghetti, fried chicken, rice and beans, vegetable soup, bread and water. Something for everyone. Rachel sat on one of the chairs and tucked into her food. She wasn’t about to make small conversation just yet, she still felt the fire burning within her and it was burning so much that she knew if she didn’t speak it she herself would get burned. After dinner Rachel stood up at the front with Ecclesiastes by her side. Rachel raised her hand for the gang to become silent. Then Rachel spoke and said these words ““The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:3-8, 10-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They had the Holy Spirit, they were obedient to Him, the Spirit of Adon. Since they had the Spirit of Adon they could not remain voiceless and shouldn’t be treated like they have nothing good to say, as if they had no fire burning within them, like The Elites. Despite their hypocrisy they too had The Spirit of Adon, it was just their flesh crowding his voice out.

Rachel had paused for effect as the people listened, then she continued “ “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:12-14, 16-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They too were Adon’s children, they too were heirs to Christ, they too had their place in the kingdom and should never be treated as if they never did belong. Rachel continued ““Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:33-39‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They did belong Adon, they were created to bring him glory too, and nobody, nobody was going to push them out. As Rachel stepped down from the front of the crowd, Ecclesiastes decided to speak something and got up in front of the crowd. Ecclesiastes was also a dark skinned man, darker than Rachel, he was a black man with black hair and black roots. He was a man with strong physical structure, good solid build and muscles from all the physical training he had done growing up. This is what he said ““I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad. And people feel it. There are people, for instance, on whom God showers everything—money, property, reputation—all they ever wanted or dreamed of. And then God doesn’t let them enjoy it. Some stranger comes along and has all the fun. It’s more of what I’m calling smoke. A bad business. Whatever happens, happens. Its destiny is fixed. You can’t argue with fate. The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what’s best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭6:1-2, 10-12‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Ecclesiastes paused for effect and then continued ““A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date. You learn more at a funeral than at a feast— After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover something from it. Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart. Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games. You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage Than from the song and dance of fools. The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs Under the cooking pot. And like smoke. Brutality stupefies even the wise And destroys the strongest heart. Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Ecclesiastes was addressing all the fun and games of The Temple, they were far too focused on all of their events than they were in sharing The Gospel of Christ Jesus, or loving their neighbour like they loved themselves. No, they were far too focused on labelling people, placing them in categories that they think fits their mould. Religion, Adon Hates.

Ecclesiastes concluded ““I’ve seen it all in my brief and pointless life—here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. So don’t knock yourself out being good, and don’t go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won’t get anything out of it. But don’t press your luck by being bad, either. And don’t be reckless. Why die needlessly?”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:15-17‬ ‭MSG‬‬

The Temple was far too focused on being good and perfect all of the time. Like The Elites, everything had to be just so, they led the entire church not just in worship, but in everything. They were held at a higher standard by Adon, and Adon wasn’t happy with the effects of their overly religous behaviour on silencing and labelling people as voiceless.

Rachel felt the fire within her die down, she had spoken what Adon’s spirit had told her to say, she was obedient to him, not man. They were above the law, because they obeyed the voice of the Spirit of Adon. Rachel had a flashback to when she first encountered Ecclesiastes and he had begun training her there in the shadows, she had found a way out of this broken society and being labelled a voiceless meaningless nobody that would forever be banished by society into a pit of despair with no hope for their future but being a silent witness to everything going on within The Temple. At least she was out now she had said to Him, indeed she was. This is where she belonged, fighting to bring The Gospel of Christ Jesus back into the midst of The Temple, getting rid of all the divides within The Temple and making sure everybody loved their neighbour as they loved themselves.

[ibijau]

Deathbed Wedding pt 10

Lan Xichen learns a little more about his family, and preparations for the wedding begin (also on AO3)

News travelled fast inside Lotus Pier. Upon hearing about what had been decided, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng rushed to see Lan Xichen, curious to get more details. All three boys were clearly in great distress over what had happened. Jiang Cheng in particular felt intense guilt, since he confessed that it was while protecting him that Nie Huaisang had been fatally wounded. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji also insisted on taking their share of the blame.

The two of them had ended up trapped in that cave after everyone had escaped, they explained, forced to kill on their own the monster living there. They hadn’t thought to check whether Nie Huaisang was dead or alive until they were rescued, when they insisted his body needed to be brought home. Because of his injuries they had simply assumed the worst right away, and now felt that if they had noticed earlier that he was alive, they might have tried to heal him somehow.

Lan Xichen, at first, was angry over that mistake. Then, realising the scope of Nie Huaisang’s wounds, seeing what state the two other boys were in even after being cared for, hearing how Jiang Cheng had rushed to Lotus Pier to get help, he decided it would be unfair to blame them. They had done the best they could.

When he returned from his negotiations with Qingheng-Jun, Nie Mingjue agreed with that sentiment. He placed the blame on Qingheng-Jun for lying about the chance of changing his mind, and on Wen Chao for his badly organised hunt. The three younger boys seemed somewhat relieved to hear that, though they also did not seem to fully believe him. When Yu Ziyuan ordered Jiang Cheng to go in town and help Nie Mingjue find a pair of wedding robes and a paper effigy to take Nie Huaisang's place in the wedding, her son did not look particularly at ease. He still obeyed without questions, but seemed very nervous as he left with Nie Mingjue.

In fact, as Yu Ziyuan gave orders to everyone to hurriedly prepare for a wedding the next day, nobody dared object to anything. They all dashed away to do whatever task she’d given them, until only she and Lan Xichen, still kneeling by the bed, remained in the room where Nie Huaisang laid. Now that they were alone she looked somewhat less terrifying, and Lan Xichen thought there might even be pity in her eyes as she watched him and Nie Huaisang.

“Yu-furen, I am deeply grateful for your kindness today,” he said, letting go a moment of Nie Huaisang’s hand to bow to her. “I realise what trouble this must be causing you, and I am sorry. Whatever happens in the future, I am in your debt for what you have done. I will work hard so this doesn’t negatively impact the relationship between our sects.”

“Your father doesn’t have a tenth of the influence on Gusu Lan’s life that he thinks he has,” Yu Ziyuan retorted indifferently. “I know who really rules your sect, and after this I am still in good terms with your uncle. Qingheng-Jun’s opinion is nothing to me, or to my husband. In fact, I did this more to annoy him than to help you, boy.”

Lan Xichen couldn’t help a small gasp, which made her laugh.

“Are you really surprised?” she asked, walking closer to the bed. “I might not have been on very good terms with Yu Chenxi when we were young, and I don’t agree with what she’s done, but she still deserved better than to be locked up and forced to marry a man she didn’t like.”

Politely, Lan Xichen smiled at her, unsure what she was talking about. This, in turn, made her frown.

“You do know that your mother was from Meishan Yu, don’t you?” Yi Ziyuan asked, eliciting another gasp from him. “Pah. I shouldn’t be surprised. Your father is an idiot, your uncle holds a grudge like nobody, and you were young when she died. She’d left our sect anyway, over a disagreement that blew out of proportion. Her temper was always bad.”

Lan Xichen gaped at her. His mother was never a topic for conversation at home, and all he knew of her were those precious few moments when his brother and him were allowed to visit her. She had never spoken of her past during those visits, and Lan Xichen had never heard anyone call her anything but Madam Lan. Even her grave did not bear her name, and she had been denied a tablet in the ancestral hall out of deference for the elder she had murdered who was already honoured there. Qingheng-Jun, ashamed of an impulsive marriage that had brought him no joy, had done his best to erase his wife from everyone's memory.

Feeling tears coming again, Lan Xichen bowed once more before Madam Yu, lower than before.

“I did not know this. Thank you Yu-furen for sharing this information, I am now doubly grateful to you. I hope in the future, you will allow me to ask you about… about Yu Chenxi, if that is not too unpleasant to you.”

“Rise up, boy,” Yu Ziyuan ordered impatiently. “This isn’t some great favour I’d be doing you. But if you want to know so badly, I will tell my mother to write to you. As I’ve said I wasn’t very close to Yu Chenxi, but I can at least help you find people who were.”

Ignoring her order, Lan Xichen was about to bow again when there was a knock on the door, followed by Meng Yao coming in with a bowl on a tray. He appeared surprised to find Lan Xichen still there, and exchanged a look with Yu Ziyuan who shrugged and motioned for him to come closer to the bed.

Meng Yao obeyed, putting the tray down on the nightstand next to the bed, then taking the bowl and slowly coaxing the unconscious Nie Huaisang to drink the dark liquid inside, one spoonful at a time. Lan Xichen looked on with curiosity.

“Medicine?”

“Hm. To help with the current situation,” Meng Yao cautiously explained.

“May I… may I give it to him? I feel so useless, everyone is doing something now, while I’m just staying here. I… I want to help him.”

Meng Yao hesitated, and glanced at Yu Ziyuan who shrugged again.

“You can help him when you’re married to him,” she decided. "For now, he is still the responsibility of Qinghe Nie, so it's normal for one of its disciples to care for him."

Meng Yao relaxed and continued his task, while Lan Xichen, disappointed and unsure what else to do, took again Nie Huaisang’s hand. 

"You're not wrong about being useless," Yu Ziyuan remarked. "If you want to help this badly, go see if the kitchens need anything. They're always short on people, and I'm sure they'll find you something to do other than mope around like this." 

Although cooking wasn't something he was proficient at in any way, Lan Xichen still felt grateful to be given a task at last. He rose up and made to leave, only to change his mind and quickly come press a kiss to Nie Huaisang’s forehead. 

"I'll be back, A-Sang," he promised. "And tomorrow we'll get married."

"You certainly will," Yu Ziyuan agreed with a smirk. "And I've checked already: it'll be an auspicious day for it." 

-

There was plenty of work to be done in the kitchen, just as Yu Ziyuan had predicted, and some of it could be done even by someone as unskilled as Lan Xichen. He was given a knife, a pile of vegetables to peel, and asked to do his best if he wanted a decent wedding feast. Food was not particularly on his mind at the moment, but having something to do with his hands, and an unusual task at that, forced him to focus on what he was doing instead of worrying about what was to come. All of his anger and grief were taken out on those unfortunate vegetables.

Whenever he took a break, Lan Xichen found himself watching Jiang Yanli give orders and handle everything, helping the cooks when needed. She seemed perfectly at ease doing this, a stark contrast to the meek young woman he’d occasionally spotted during conferences, and who upon learning they might get engaged had shyly said she was sorry they were pushed together when neither of them wanted this. Lan Xichen felt deeply sorry as well that she would not get a better husband, and wondered how odd this situation might be for her, helping prepared a feast to marry her suitor to a dying person.

He must have looked at her too often. After their eyes met a few times, Jiang Yanli came to see him and asked how he was handling things.

“I fear I’m not very good at peeling carrots,” he confessed. “But I’ll continue trying, since it’s the only thing I can do.”

“You’re better at it than my brothers,” she assured him. “But I was asking more about… about this situation. I cannot imagine what this must be like.”

“I imagine your position is unpleasant as well. I am sorry that you and your family have gotten mixed up into our affairs this way.”

Jiang Yanli smiled. “If your father and my mother have their way, it seems your family affairs will be my family affairs someday. And even if that doesn’t happen, Nie gongzi protected my brother, so this concerns us, in a way. I am so glad Jiang Cheng made such a good friend.”

Lan Xichen nodded, his eyes falling to the pile of badly peeled vegetables in front of him. 

He should have been glad, perhaps, that people suddenly were taking notice of Nie Huaisang, but he couldn’t help being upset. Mostly, because apparently Nie Huaisang had had to get himself nearly killed to be really appreciated. In Lan Xichen's opinion, Nie Huaisang should have been noticed for his other qualities, the ones that were truly a part of him, rather than this recklessness he had only acquired when forced to. Lan Xichen had come to love and respect Nie Huaisang for his cleverness, his artistic skill, his good understanding of how people thought, and he wished others would have respected him for the same reasons.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to upset you,” Jiang Yanli said. “I will leave you alone. There’s a lot to be done before tomorrow, and it’s already late.”

“It is, and I am grateful for your efforts, Jiang-guniang.”

Jiang Yanli turned away, ready to go help some more.

“Jiang-guniang, wait,” Lan Xichen called. “I… I have to say something more.”

She stopped, and smiled at him with such sincere concern it almost hurt.

“I’m listening.”

Lan Xichen took a deep breath to centre himself.

“Jiang-guniang, if it does come to a marriage between us when this is over, I will do my best to be a good husband. I know you do not want me as your husband, and I am sorry you might be forced into this anyway. And so I will endeavour to make sure you are happy, as much as it is in my power to do so. I have little to offer you, except my friendship and respect, but I will gladly give you both.”

“That is more than my last fiancé was willing to give me,” Jiang Yanli replied with a strained smile. “More than many women get. I am a reasonable person, Lan gongzi, and I will satisfy myself with that, if this does happen.”

She went back to work then, leaving Lan Xichen alone with his pile of miserable carrots, to go with his miserable mood. 

He stared for a while at the vegetables, then at the knife in his hand, wondering if any of this even had a point. Rage built up within him, turned against his father who had caused such suffering around him, against his mother for starting this whole chain of event, against Nie Huaisang for not seeing that Qingheng-Jun had set him on an impossible quest. Above all, he felt a burning rage against himself for being so weak and obedient that he hadn’t seized any of the chances offered to him to set things right before it was too late.

Had he been alone, Lan Xichen might have broken into tears, or screamed, or unsheathed his sword and turned it against the room around him, just to feel in control of something.

But he was not alone, and there was much to be done.

So he picked another carrot from the pile and started peeling it.

-

When morning came, Lan Xichen had not slept. 

Even after being kicked out of the kitchen when there was no longer anything for him to do, he simply had not been able to rest. He tried to go see Nie Huaisang, but his uncle caught him on the way there and told him it would be bad luck to see his fiancé before the ceremony.

The idea that their luck could be anything but bad anyway made Lan Xichen laugh and laugh, until he ended up crying against his uncle’s shoulder. Lan Qiren allowed it for a long while, then took him to the room that had been given to Lan Wangji where a mattress had been hurriedly added for him. Yu Ziyuan had offered to give Lan Xichen his own room, but Lan Qiren had insisted such an arrangement would be better.

For this, Lan Xichen was grateful. Even though his brother was not a very talkative person, nor a very demonstrative one, his company was still appreciated. Lan Wangji, who always fell asleep at the same hour, made the effort of staying awake alongside his brother and, at Lan Xichen’s request, told him the full story of what had happened in that cave. He tried to feel proud of his lover, but above all he felt once again bitter that Nie Huaisang had thought he needed to go to such lengths.

Eventually, Lan Wangji gave in to sleep, and Lan Xichen remained alone. He tried to sleep as well, guessing the day to come would be long. He had little success in doing so, too many thoughts running through his mind. When that failed, he tried to meditate instead, with little more success. So instead he resolved to simply wait until morning, and left the room as soon as the first hints of dawn appeared in the sky.

Unsure how much he would be allowed to wander, Lan Xichen went to walk by the piers, hoping the lake would bring him some peace. All it did, though, was deepen his sorrows as he found himself thinking that Nie Huaisang would have loved the way this scenery looked in the golden light of dawn, how pleasant it would have been to watch the sun rise together. They'd done it in the Cloud Recesses sometimes, on those few times they'd had a chance to spend the night chatting together. Lan Xichen remembered those as the most colourful sunrises of his life. He wondered how dull dawn would feel in the future, without Nie Huaisang to share it with. 

His mood darkened further when, as he walked back toward the buildings of Lotus Pier, Lan Xichen found himself face to face with his father who was also out for a morning stroll. Barely keeping his anger in check, Lan Xichen tried to pass by him without acknowledging him, only for Qingheng-Jun to grab his wrist.

“You will regret this,” his father warned. “It is morbid and will bring you bad luck.”

With more force than he would have allowed himself normally, Lan Xichen pulled his wrist free and glared at his father.

“I might regret it,” he conceded. “I also might not. Right now, I think it is the right thing to do. And didn’t Yu-furen say that she checked, that today is the most auspicious day possible for a wedding?”

“Yu Ziyuan is not kind enough to help others so easily. If she’s doing this, then she must have reasons of her own.”

Lan Xichen almost smiled, remembering Yu Ziyuan stating that her motivation wasn't kindness indeed, and more of a personal dislike against Qingheng-Jun. Growing up, Lan Xichen had sometimes felt guilty for holding a grudge against his absent father. There was a certain comfort to be found in discovering that others disliked him as well.

“I don’t think you have any right to judge others’ motivations, father,” Lan Xichen calmly retorted. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get ready for my wedding. My husband is waiting.”

“Don’t come crying to me when this goes wrong!” Qingheng-Jun warned.

Lan Xichen stared at him in shock. Then, too exhausted to keep himself in check, he laughed.

“Not once in my life have I ever looked to you for comfort. Why would I start now?”

Before his father could scold him for being insolent and unfilial, Lan Xichen left. He had better things to worry about than his father's offended pride.

After all, it was his wedding day. 

[crystalwillow]

Paint By Numbers, Part Two

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Hayley McAllister (F!MC)

Word Count: 6.3K

A/N: I have included Japanese (from google translate) in this fiction, but I have put the English underneath in brackets () so that everyone can still read. I hope you all enjoy Part Two of Paint By Numbers.

Tagging: @mrs-ramsey @caseyvalentineramsey @brycelahelalover @deansmyapplepie @eleanorbloom

====================

It had been a few weeks since their last date and Ethan had been looking for a reason to take Hayley on another one, and they were in the perfect place for him to give her an early birthday present he was sure she would love. They had been in Japan for four days now, mainly just been settling into their hotel and spending time with Hayley’s Godfather, Takeshi. As Hayley was getting ready, Ethan sat on the bed in their hotel room looking over the menu to see what they could get for breakfast.

“Hayley?!” Ethan called out.

“Yeah?!” she shouted from the bathroom as she dried her hair. She looked in the mirror at Ethan as he entered the bathroom and gave her a soft smile.

“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked as he leant on the door frame.

“Um..” Hayley said thoughtfully, continuing to dry her hair. A few minutes passed in silence as Hayley thought before she finally turned the hair dryer off, placing it back on the side. “Can we go out for breakfast today?” she asked as she turned around to face Ethan who now stood up straight from the door frame and opened his arms to pull her into his embrace. She smiled as she rested her head on his chest and he kissed the crown of Hayley’s head gently, almost as if he was to add any more pressure she would break.

“Of course. Did you have a particular place in mind?” he asked with a smile. She smiled back at him as they looked at each other in the mirror lovingly. “Your beauty never ceases to blow me away.” Ethan continued, gently stroking her hair.

Hayley smiled back, a small yawn escaping her. “I thought we could go to the market and see what we could find.”

“Are you sure? You seem like you’re still a little tired.”

“I am. But I want to experience as much as possible with you whilst we’re here.”

“And I’d rather do that with a fully rested Hayley. We aren’t in Boston right now, we don’t have medical responsibilities.”

“I thought you had an important conference call tomorrow afternoon before dinner?”

“Well.... other than that.”

They shared a chuckle before reluctantly pulling away from each other to finish getting ready and head out into the streets of Japan. As they left the lobby of the hotel they held hands tightly and smiled at each other, taking in the sights as they walked past them. When they reached the market, Hayley perked up and let go of Ethan’s hand, skipping ahead to look at all the produce.

“We should cook for my family tonight.” she beamed at Ethan as he caught up and stood behind her.

“Yeah? What are we cooking?”

“Udon?”

“Yeah. I’m cool with that. What about some beef too?”

“What kind of beef?”

“Hmm. What if we made a bunch of snack foods?”

“mmm. maybe.”

“Nigiri sushi?”

“Is that what you want?”

Ethan smiled guiltily as Hayley turned to look at him. She giggled quietly and pecked his cheek before turning back to the vegetable stall they were standing at. They spent another hour wondering around the market before making their way to Takeshi’s to make them lunch and hang out for the day.

As they arrived, Takeshi was outside cleaning the hallway as he spoke to himself in Japanese.

“Fūrigan! Nani no yaku ni mo tatanai gesshi dōbutsu! Hahaoya ga manā o oshieta koto wa arimasen ka? Firushī-”

(Hooligans! Good-for-nothing rodents! Did their mother's never teach them manners?! Filthy-)

Ethan looked on with wide eyes at the empty packets of various kind and half eaten fruit that was all over the floor before turning to look at Hayley.

“Goddofāzā! Nē! Kono konran o nokoshite kudasai, īsan to watashi wa sore o katadzukemasu.-Chū ni haitte yasunde mimasen ka?” Hayley interjected as she approached Takeshi and gently placed her hands on his arms as she looked at him with a kind smile.

(Godfather! Hey! Leave this mess, Ethan and I will clear it up. Why don't you go inside and rest?)

Takeshi looked back at Hayley thankfully and gave her a hug and single nod before turning to Ethan who waved.

“Uh.. Hello.” He smiled

“Hello. Let me take those bags inside for you.” Takeshi offered.

“Oh. No, that’s okay. Thank you. I’ve got them” Ethan smiled back and followed Takeshi inside before coming back out to find Hayley picking up the mess.

“You know.. It still amazes me that you’re pretty fluent in Japanese. How come you didn’t tell me?”

Hayley smiled at him. “There was really no need. I mean... you speak English so...”

Ethan let out a hearty chuckled that rumbled slightly in the back of his throat as he held out his hand. “Let me hold open that bag. We’ll get it done quicker if we-”

“Divide the problem. I know.” She laughed, finishing his sentence.

It didn’t take them long before Ethan was tying the bag and tossing it into the outside trash bin, then heading inside with Hayley to wash his hands so they could prepare the food.

Later in the day, Hayley’s father and step-mum arrived at Takeshi’s just as dinner was in the final stretch of being prepared. Hayley welcomed them inside and lead them to the sitting room where she offered them and Takeshi a glass of wine whilst Ethan stayed in the kitchen and watched over the food.

“So dad, Annie. How has your day been today?”

“It’s been good. We went into town and browsed the market.” Hayley’s father, Alex, replied.

“We managed to find you a couple of presents for your birthday and Christmas.” Annie added cheerily.

“Are you excited for your birthday this year-” Takeshi spoke but was interrupted by a shout from the kitchen

“UH HAYLEY!” Ethan shouted, Hayley’s eyes widened in horror and she ran to the kitchen where Ethan stood watching the pan that had caught fire.

“Oh my goodness!” Hayley exclaimed as she covered the pan with its lid before she grabbed the salt and started throwing it over the fire. “Well don’t just stand there babe! Wet a large cloth!” she shrilled at Ethan, who immediately obeyed her order.

“Hayley? Is everything-” Takeshi’s voice entered the kitchen as the flames luckily died out as the towel was smothered over the flames

“Everything is under control.” Hayley answered, assurance firm in her tone.

Takeshi gave Ethan an unamused look before turning his gaze back to Hayley and nodding stiffly and heading back into the living area. Ethan hug his head as he let out a heavy sigh, clearly ashamed with how he just handled himself and the situation. Hayley turned to him with fire in her eyes, but they softened a little when she saw the expression in his face and noted his body language.

Despite the small delay in their schedule, Hayley, Ethan, Annie, Alex were all seated at the dining table, with Takeshi sitting at the head of it as always. They held hands as they shared a prayer before digging into the vast array of food Hayley and Ethan had spent the majority of their day preparing. The atmosphere between Ethan and Takeshi felt a little tense due to the earlier mishap and in turn was offsetting the whole mood of the table. Although she tried her best to smoothing things out it only ended with Ethan and Takeshi getting into an intense heated argument before Ethan stormed out, Hayley of course excusing herself and running after him. By the time she had caught up however, he was already at the end of her Godfather’s road thanks to his long legs which carried him in large strides and when he was mad he always walked fast which resulted in Hayley running to keep up with him.

“Ethan babe, wait!” she shouted, lunging herself forwards and grabbing his wrist which forced him to stop.

“I’m not going back in there.” Ethan snapped, crossing his arms like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“Would you listen to yourself for Christ’s sake! You’re a grown man and you’re acting like a 3 year old who has to share their toys. AGAIN!” Hayley screamed at him. He looked back at her with that dumbfounded look he always wore when she dared to yell at him like this. But tonight Hayley wasn’t in the mood for that. “You know what? I’m not doing this again. Not right now. If I can’t enjoy a nice meal with my family and boyfriend present, I’ll enjoy it alone. Go back to the hotel Ethan. And don’t wait up for me tonight. I’ll be checking in somewhere else.” She spat in disgust, Ethan watching her go as she turned on her heel and stomped back towards Takeshi’s house. Once she was out of sight, he sighed as his shoulders sagged low and hung his head in shame as he reluctantly slinked back towards the hotel that he was staying at.

Staying true to her word, Hayley didn’t return to the hotel room that night. It was the worst night’s sleep Ethan had endured for a while. It was cold, lonely and insufferable as the hours ticked by. Ethan stayed up until the early hours of the morning, reading one of Hayley’s books. He caught himself and what he was doing when he reached chapter six of the book, snorting at himself drivingly. What was he doing reading a romance novel? At 2 am no less. Rubbing his tired eyes he closed the book and slid down the bed, under the covers and hugging the book to his chest as his eyes slowly closed as sleep overtook him. The next day after Hayley had spent half of her morning back at Takeshi’s house, smoothing things out with him, she made her way back to the hotel and knocked on the door of the room she was staying in with Ethan. After about five minutes of him not answering she made her way to the front desk, asking for someone to come and open the door for her so that she could get inside. When it was opened the thanked the member of staff and stepped inside as they headed off back down the hall to work and slammed the door a little louder than was needed, but in the bed Ethan didn’t flinch or move a single muscle. Nor did he make any kind of sound to signify that he was in the room. Hayley then started worrying as she walked to the bedroom, but her scowl was back on her face when she saw him lying there fast asleep.

“ETHAN!” she shouted, but still he didn’t moved or make a sound.

She sat on the bed next to him and checked his pulse, which was fine. She then listened to his airways as best she could but those too, were fine. So she resorted to the last thing she could think of doing that was within reason. She stood next to his side of the bed and put all her strength into violently shaking him.

“Ethan Ramsey wake up!” she shouted

Finally, she elicited a grumble in response.

“You have that meeting today and you’re still in bed. Get UP!”

He let out a longer groan and a lowly mumble of “I don’t wanna.”

Hayley let out a frustrated growl before slapping his arm and storming out of the room and sitting on the couch in the living area of the room and turning the TV on. Fifteen minutes later Ethan sauntered in and plopped down in the space next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Though she was now super pissed off with him and pulled away which earned a look of hurt and confusion from Ethan.

“You should shower and get ready for your conference call.” she said coldly.

A little baffled but mostly hurt, Ethan rose to his feet with a sigh and made his way to the bathroom and took a shower before getting ready and sitting at his laptop waiting for his conference call as he listened to Hayley laughing at the TV. The conference call went smoothly and by the time dinner had rolled around, Hayley had already made her way downstairs to the restaurant, he changed his suit quickly and made his way down to meet her. The first half of the meal was carrying a similar tenseness to the night prior as they ate their starters and then tucked into their steaks. Sighing, Ethan swallowed his bite and looked at Hayley.

“Babe. Why are you still ignoring me? Was what I done last night really that bad?” he asked, confusion in every crease on his face as well as in his gaze as he looked at her.

“You almost set his kitchen on fire Ethan.” She answered bluntly.

“I tried to apologize.” He countered

“That’s not the point. He now thinks I’m dating an incompetent man, regardless of your position as a doctor.” Hayley finished the last sip of wine in her glass before continuing to eat her steak. The tension between them dissipated after that brief conversation and the rest of dinner passed in silence that had a sadness in it.

Ethan paid the bill after they finished their dessert and they headed back to the room in a distanced silence and Ethan watched as Hayley went to the bedroom and shut the door. Sighing he made his way to the couch and spent about two hours watching shows he couldn’t fully understand before making his way to bed, only to find Hayley curled up on her side of the bed on top of the covers and still in her dress. Pain etched on her face, and his heart broke into a thousand piece as a tortured high-pitched sound of pain escaped her lips. He carefully slipped her out of her dress and into one of his t-shirts before sitting at his laptop and finding local things to do that could cheer her up and earn her full forgiveness. He felt like he had been searching for hours when he finally stumbled upon the perfect thing.

The following week Ethan, Hayley, Alex and Annie visited Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, the shrine of a thousand doors and rode on a bullet train through the mountains. Then finally the day of Ethan’s surprise for a Hayley came around. He was up with the sunrise and got ready for the day ahead, waking Hayley up 4 hours after he got up with breakfast before making sure he has their keycard in his wallet as Hayley grabbed a shower and got ready. About an hour later they were at their destination with Hayley blindfolded as Ethan lead her through the gates.

“Okay babe?” Ethan asked

“IIIIII... am fine. But where are we?” she asked.

“That would ruin the surprise.” Ethan replied.

Hayley pouted as her grip on his hands tightened until they came to a stop.

“Okay... I’m going to remove the blindfold now. Just, don’t scream when you see where we are.” He explained. Hayley frowned at the odd request, yet smiled as she noted the hopeful excitement in his tone as he spoke to her. She blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light around them then gasped with a sharp inhale as she looked around at the foxes surrounding them.

“What? ... Why? ... Where? ... How? ... Wh- what?” she asked with a stutter as she took it all in.

“I ummm... know foxes aren’t always going to be there to help me fix everything. But this felt like something you couldn’t miss and.... there’s something else. You can... cuddle them.”

“I get to cuddle foxes?!” she asks in a quiet shrieky tone, tears of happiness glistening her eyes as she looked up at Ethan who was beaming back down at her.

“You sure do.” He said with a slight tilt of his head, still beaming at her. She jumped into his arms and hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest.

“Thank you.” She said, although her voice was muffled by the fabric of his clothes.

“You’re welcome. Happy early Birthday, Hayley.” Ethan said as he rubbed her back soothingly before she lowered herself back to the ground.

“Early birthday?” she quizzed.

“Yeah... I’ve got you gifts at home in Boston but... this felt like a special moment we could share that I couldn’t pass up and, well... It seems like a pretty great gift for you.” He explained.

Hayley giggled and shook her head lightly. “You will always include the details huh?” she questioned.

“I thought that was imperative to your knowledge of me by now Hayley McAllister.” Ethan quipped.

“It is. Maybe I just like to imperatively point out the obvious, Ethan Ramsey.” Hayley quipped back quickly, making him shake his head in bemusement as they held hands and followed a tour guide around the Zao Fox Village. After following the tour guide around an absorbing a lot of information, it was finally time for Hayley and Ethan to cuddle the foxes. Hayley was immediately in her zone and crouch down to cuddle with the adorable creatures as they surrounded her, whilst Ethan approached the tour guide.

“Excuse me. Um.. yes. Hello. Could you take a few pictures for us? But could you mainly focus on my girlfriend? I’m making an album for her final birthday present to give her and I know she’d love pictures to commemorate her time here.” He asked as he held out his phone.

“Oh! Of course!” the tour guide smiled, and Ethan smiled a thanks at him as he took the phone.

“Ethan, come and cuddle this one. She’s so soft.” Hayley cooed.

Ethan joined her and crouched down, cuddling the foxes too and Hayley watched as his facial features completely relaxed. She was in complete awe of the moment as she watched Ethan seemingly come into an element of his own, and a tear slipped down her cheek as a sudden pang of guilt entered her chest. He hadn’t looked this relaxed in a few days and it was all her fault for being so stubborn and holding a grudge against him that was petty, all to prove to him yet again she will never be taken for a fool. He looked up at her smiling, but it vanished when he saw the single tear sliding down her cheek.

“Hayley.... what’s wrong?” He asked. A deep concern etched on his face.

Hayley sniffled and chuckled a little, taking a deep breath before speaking her next words with a smile. “Nothing. I’m fine. These are... happy tears.” She wiped them from her face as Ethan’s smiled returned to his face.

“I knew you’d like this surprise. But my intention with it wasn’t to make you cry.” He half-joked with a small chuckle.

Hayley chuckled with them and they shared a kiss before cuddling with the foxes again and with permission, taking a couple of selfies to post on Pictagram later that evening.

----------------------------------------

After their visit to the Zao Fox Village, Hayley decided it was only right for Ethan and Takeshi to settle things between themselves over the kitchen incident. Afterall, it was only an accident and in reality a stupid grudge for two fully grown men to be holding against each other. So, they took a taxi over to Takeshi’s, Hayley was given a warm welcome upon arrival whereas Ethan was given a cold and distant “hello.”

Inside the house, Ethan and Takeshi argued for close to 3 hours with Hayley playing mediator and finally shouting for them to be quiet, explaining they were giving her a headache by going round in circles. Eventually the two men apologized to each other. Ethan for almost setting Takeshi’s house on fire, and Takeshi for holding the grudge longer than necessary in the first place. When they left the house and started walk back towards the hotel, everything felt a lot lighter and like it was back to normal. They were almost back at the hotel when Hayley tugged on Ethan’s hand, pulling him towards some arcades.

“Hayley. Why are you bringing us here? You know I hate loudness and crowds.”

“I do. But I also was to play some games and.. you need to win me one of those!” Hayley exclaimed with a pout as she pointed to a machine with cute plush dolphins inside it. Ethan looked between the machine and the cute face outing up at him before letting out a tired sigh, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance.

“Fine. But after this, we go back to the hotel. Yes?”

“Okay!” Hayley exclaimed and danced of father into the arcade and got some money in a little pot then started playing on some machines. Five machines and many loses later, Hayley had enough left for 3 machines. She was wondering around looking for one to play one and caught sight of Ethan across the room still trying to win her a dolphin, a smile came onto her features as she noted the concentration and determination in his eyes, was reflected in his facial features. When she turned around she gasped as she spotted the perfect machine to play on. She rushed over to the machine, which was full of plush elephants, as she looked at them she decided. She would win one for Ethan. Losing on this machine simply wasn’t an option. She inserted the money which was enough for 3 machines all into the one she was standing at and settled as she set her focus on winning an elephant.

After an agonizing 20 minutes, Hayley was down to her final go. This was it. She had to win an elephant. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and repeated to herself 3 times “I’ve won the elephant. Thank you for letting me win the elephant.” then turned to the machine, her game face now in full action as she moved the claw towards an elephant. She held her breath as the claw descended towards the plush toy and closed it’s shiny metal talons around it. Time seemed to slow as Hayley watched the claw lift the elephant higher and higher, then towards the win zone of the machine until finally, she registered the machine going off loudly as she had won the elephant.

“ohmygod...” she muttered under her breath. “...I done it. ... I DONE IT!” she shrieked as she took the toy out through the flappy door at the bottom of the machine. As she looked up after turning around she saw Ethan making his way over to her, wearing a smile of his own and his hands behind his back.

“Hey!” she greeted with a smile and bright eyes.

“Hey. Good job babe.” he smiled back as he nudged his head towards the plush elephant in her arms.

“Thanks. I-it’s ... for you.” Hayley blushed, holding it towards him.

“For me?” Ethan queried.

Hayley nodded enthusiastically with widened eyes.

“Thank you.” he murmured with a smile.

Hayley’s smile faded as she realized the irony of the situation. “I thought it was perfect for you.”

Ethan chuckled as he took it, looking it over. “An elephant? But why?”

“Because an elephant is the most observant animal in the world. Their brains are bigger than the brains of any other land animal, and the cortex has as many neurons as a human brain.” Hayley told him with a smug smile.

“Okay. Well, I’m not really sure where to put this.” he admitted.

“I mean, in your hand is pretty perfect.” Hayley noted, smiling at him as he looked at her with a rare soft and tired smile of adoration.

Ethan chuckled slightly and pulled her closer for a hug. “You’re the best girlfriend I’ve had.” He muttered into her hair, planting a kiss on the crown of her head. “Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly, pulling back from her. “I won it by the way.” He smiled, bringing his other hand from behind his back to present a baby blue dolphin.

“Ahhh!” Hayley exclaimed happily as she took it, cuddling it to her chest. “Thank you babe!” she continued snuggling into Ethan’s chest happily.

“You’re welcome. Can we go back to the hotel now?” he yawned as he rubbed Hayley’s back.

“Yeah. We can.” she nodded as they let go of each other, facing each other with a smile before heading back to the hotel hand in hand.

----------------------------

Before they knew it, their return day had arrived, and they were doing last minute checks to make sure they had packed everything they brought with the plus anything extra they brought and were taking home.

“I’m kind of sad we’re going home today.” Hayley said as she checked the drawers in the bedroom.

“You are?” Ethan asked, his hand instinctively touching the side of her face and pulling her towards him. “Do you want to stop on the way to the airport and get a cup of your favourite tea?”

“No. It’ll be okay. I’ve just had so much fun here. I don’t want to leave.”

“I know how you feel. The thought of going back to Edenbrook now scares my brain too.” He kissed the top of her head with a chuckle.

“Scary is one way of describing it.” Hayley joked, closing the final drawer.

“Everything taken out from those?”

“Yep.”

“Good. The wardrobe and bookshelf in the living area are empty of our things too.”

“Awesome. I’ll check the bathroom and then we should be clear to checkout if we have everything.” Hayley sighed with a sad smile.

------------

16 hours later, Ethan and Hayley were back in Boston sitting in the comfort of Ethan’s bed as they snuggled together and just enjoyed each other’s company as they let their phones charge on the bedside table. They were drifting off when suddenly Hayley’s phone came to life with her ringtone, scaring them both awake and sending their heart rates soaring.

“Jesus. I am so sorry Ethan.” She yawned, scrambling from the bed to retrieve her phone. “Oh. It’s Sienna, I better speak to her quickly.” Hayley smiled apologetically as she excused herself from the room and headed to the kitchen.

Ethan sighed and looked around his now lonely room when he spotted the luggage in the corner when they had left it upon arriving home, spotting their plush toys sitting atop their suitcases next to each other. With a long sigh he pulled his tired body from the comfort of his sheets and slinked over to pick up his elephant plush Hayley had won him before getting back into bed with it.

“This is ridiculous.” He muttered to himself as he got comfortable and cuddled the stuffed toy.

About an hour later Hayley came back from her call with Sienna, which  turned out to be Sienna, Elijah and Aurora. “Hey, sor-” she started to apologize but stopped herself when she saw Ethan fast asleep cuddling the plush elephant close to his chest and his hair slightly tousled from where he had moved around a little bit. Tip-toeing back to the bedside table, Hayley placed her phone back on charge and the turned to the luggage, grabbing her dolphin before snuggling in bed next the Ethan.

“Goodnight, Ethan.” She whispered as she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

Ethan smiled softly in his sleep as he scooted closer to Hayley and she smiled back, wrapping her arms around him protectively before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later after they were fully recovered from their jet lag, Hayley and Ethan returned to work looking as refreshed as the felt as they walked briskly down the halls of Edenbrook side by side towards the diagnostics office. Although when they arrived home they were dreading going back to work, they couldn’t help the matching smiles they were wearing due to feeling glad to be back. Ethan had already planned to do his dirty laundry that evening, but Hayley had agreed to meet up with her roommates at Donahue’s that night after their shifts to tell them all about her holiday to Japan with Ethan, Alex, Annie and Takeshi.

The day kept both Ethan and Hayley busy to the point where they hardly had a second to stop and only saw each other briefly for a new case that came through to the diagnostics team around mid-afternoon, when they shared a walk to the elevators.

“How are you?” Ethan asked her as they walked at a brisk pace.

“Good. Super busy.” Hayley answered as she jammed the down button on the wall.

“Are you coming back to mine after Donahue’s?”

“Oh. I was... I mean, I can. If you want me to.”

The truth was, Hayley had gotten so used to being around Ethan all the time, the thought of now leaving his side and having her double bed all to herself again felt like an impending loneliness she didn’t want to face.

“No. It’s up to you, Hayley. If you want to go home with your friends then feel free to do so.” Ethan said just as the elevator dinged.

Hayley put her hand in her coat pocket and pressed a key into Ethan’s hand. “It’s my locker key. Go into my bag and take out my apartment keys and wait for me at mine in my room. I’ll try and keep them out until at least midnight so you have a chance to do your laundry and pack an overnight bag.” Hayley spat out as the elevator emptied.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes. 100% sure.” She confirmed with a kiss and then stepped into the elevator.

“Why are you kiss me as if I’m leaving your side? I’m getting in too. Doofus.” He chuckled.

The day continued to pass in a busy hustle and bustle as doctors and nurses alike tended to their patients. Later that night just as discussed and planned, Ethan went back to his apartment to do his laundry and pack an overnight bag, whilst Hayley went to Donahue’s with her roommates plus Bryce, and kept them there for as long as possible.

“...So how long was the grudge held between Ramsey and your Godfather?” Bryce enquired.

“Longer than is acceptable by anyone’s standards?” Hayley replied before downing the last of her drink.

“But how long?” Jackie echoed

“Over a week.” Hayley answered bluntly.

“Fell free to tell me to shut up, but it seems pretty stupid to hold a grudge for that long over a fire that didn’t spread.” Aurora commented.

Hayley shrugged and stood up from her seat. “My round. Same again?” she asked and the whole table nodded and with a smile and nod back Hayley turned on her heel and headed over to the bar. “Hey Reggie. Same again please!” she exclaimed politely with a smile just as he phone started vibrating in her pocket.

Ethan ❤

FaceTime

Hayley chuckled to herself as she took a seat on a stool at the bar as she waited for her drinks and answered the call.

“I thought you hated face calls?” she quizzed straight away

Ethan scoffed mockingly. “Hello to you too babe.” He snarked with a slight smirk and Hayley laughed.

“What is it?” she asked as Reggie placed the tray of drinks in front of her.

“Which rooms is yours again? I don’t want to open the wrong door.”

“Oh my God.” She gawffed, “THAT’S why you’re facetiming me?”

Ethan stuttered as a blush visibly creeped up his neck and spread onto his face . “Uhhhhhh...”

“2 door on the right. The one right next door to the bathroom.” Hayley told him as she placed the money in Reggie’s hand and waited for the change.

Ethan walked in and turned the light on, closing the door behind him. “So.. how Donahue’s tonight?”

“The same as always. I’ve missed this place to be honest.”

“We’ll have to go together tomorrow night.” Ethan said as he dumped his bag on the floor next to Hayley’s drawers and mad himself comfy on her bed.

“Thanks Reg.” Hayley smiled as she took her changed from him and pocketed it before picking her phone back up. “What was that babe?” she asked

“I said. We’ll have to go there tomorrow night. Together.”

“Yeah. Of course.” She smiled at him but noted the sleepiness in his sapphire orbs. “Well I should go. You know how rowdy this lot can get, and, you should get ready for bed. We’ll be leaving here soon.”

Ethan sighed with a little pout.

“Ethan. You’re a grown man, we’re having one more round after this and then we’re leaving. Stop pouting at me.”

“I buy you a family trip and you’re still mean to me.” he joked behind a yawn.

Hayley chuckled and turned towards her tabled as she head someone shouting her name. “COMING!” she shouted back then turned back to her phone screen. “Look. I have to go, but I’ll be home soon okay?”

“Fineee.” Ethan huffed like a little child. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you!” Hayley chimed

“I love you too” Ethan responded, and they waved goodbye and them hung up.

Hayley returned to the table and placed everyone’s respective drinks in front of them, then took her seat.

“So. Hayley. Dr. McAllister.” Elijah stated, taking a sip of his beer. “What else did you do on your delightfully long break?”

Hayley spent the next 45 minutes talking about what she, Ethan and her family done whilst in Japan.

“And what was your favourite thing?” Sienna asked as Hayley took a sip of her drink.

“I’ll have to give you my top 3. Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, the shrine of a thousand doors. That was an amazing experience. Then we went into the heart of Kyoto and visited a bamboo forest. But Ethan is behind the thing I think I enjoyed the most. I got to cuddle with foxes at the Zao Fox Village and they were so ridiculously adorable. They even made Ethan smile after frowning for so long because of the whole feud, grudge thing.” Hayley answered.

“Wait. Dr. Ramsey smiled at foxes?” Bryce asked, stunned.

“Well yeah. He’s human not a robot Bryce.” Hayley snapped.

Bryce held his hands up and widened his eyes in surrender before finishing his drink.

--------------------------

Soon, the gang had finished their drinks and were back out walking the cold streets of Boston.

“Hayley?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah?”

“Just out of curiosity. What was your favourite thing at Fushimi Inari?”

“Hmmm...” Hayley pondered. “... Probably just getting to experience it with my family and Ethan. But you guys will see more in our little travel vlog we’re putting together. We got blessings from the high priest there to film a little bit of footage for it.”

“You got Ramsey to be in vlogs?!” Elijah exclaimed

“Elijah come on. This is Hayley we’re talking about. The woman can get anyone to do anything.” Aurora pointed out as they rounded the corner onto their street.

“That’s true. Very strong and resilient is our Hayley. Not to be taken for a fool either.” Elijah said back.

“You’ve got that right!” Hayley exclaimed and they all laughed as they headed inside, waving goodbye to Bryce who carried on towards his complex not too far away.

Inside the apartment, the roommates all gathered in the living area with glasses of water.

“Alright guys, tomorrow’s a big day with the Governor coming back to the hospital. Let’s down these and them head to bed. We’ll need all the rest we can get.” Hayley slurred slightly.

Every cheersed their water before downing it then saying goodnight and heading to bed. When Hayley entered her room, Ethan looked at her tiredly out of one eye from her bed.

“You’re home.” He whispered huskily with a tired smile.

“Yeah.” Hayley smiled. “How did your laundry night go?” she continued in a hushed tone as she changed into her pyjamas

“Good. I just need to fold it all when I get home tomorrow.” He replied, watching her intently.

“I’ll come and help you.” Hayley stated as she slid into bed next to Ethan. Cuddling into his warm chest.

“Thank you.” replied Ethan

“No problem.” Hayley yawned. “Hey. Ethan?” she asked.

“mmm?” he hummed

“I’ve been thinking. And we’re sort of doing our own paint by numbers with our relationship.”

“How so?” he quizzed, eyes closed yet ears alert and listening intently.

“Well. Our relationship is the blank canvas. And each activity, event or tragedy we’ve been through, are going through currently, or are going to go through together in the future. Is the colour we’re adding to paint our own beautiful picture of what we perceive love to be.”

A silence stretch between them and for a moment Hayley thought Ethan had fallen asleep when he suddenly spoke. “Then I want our love to make a picture that’s as beautiful as you.”

“Could it be an elephant and fox standing on a shoreline, looking out at a dolphin?” Hayley asked.

“It can be whatever you want it to be babe.” Ethan responded.

Hayley smiled into his chest and snuggled closer as Ethan pulled the covers around the securely.

“Goodnight babe.” Hayley whispered.

“Goodnight beautiful.” Ethan yawned back, wrapping his arms protectively around Hayley as they finally settled for the night.

[ssfdvbed]

I was about to lose the fruit of all my efforts at self-improvement

She had learned early on that innkeeps and taverners were more apt to tolerate her presence if it was not a frequent occurrence. “For now. We will see how well you hold it.” Stannis pointed at him. Great was the lore that raised it, and great the spells locked beneath its ice. We walk beneath one of the hinges of the world.” Melisandre gazed up at it, her breath a warm moist cloud in the air. jean coquelin“I have had some maps prepared to show the dispositions of our foes, their camps and siege lines and trebuchets. Rain, he thought. The cobbles underfoot were filthy, and there was so little space that the queen could not even walk around the puddles. No one has ever died of wet feet, she told herself. It was self-defence,—it was preventing others from murdering me,—it was justifiable, it was even praiseworthy. But now, all at once, the truth burst upon me that it was a crime. I was going to kill a young man, who had done nothing to injure me, but obey commands which he could not resist; I was about to lose the fruit of all my efforts at self-improvement, the character I had acquired, and the peace of mind which had never deserted me. Breathe out the fear. The taste was so cloying that it was all he could do to keep it down. The second cup went down easier, however.

catalog cercei aur turcia

“It was a relief to see that horn burn, my lord,” Edd said. “Just last kimono long femme grande taillenight I dreamt I was pissing off the Wall when someone decided to give the horn a toot. Is that a cyvasse set over there? Bring it out and we’ll have that game. I wouldn't say there is any "Raleigh style" per se you have the gamut of styles and it seems more dictated by age group than geography (other than weather, of course). Most workplaces here are pretty (sometimes very) casual but that's not a "Raleigh thing", it's a 2015 thing. Tech companies in particular; state government which is a big part of downtown Raleigh, is more likely to still have dress codes more like earlier decades, especially for those who

ghete galbene piele

deal with politicians.. When we talk about the Prada bags, we can found a variety of materials were used to make the luxury goods. The materials can be range from nylon, microfiber leather and leather. The Prada Trembled Blossom Bag is made with vibrant colors leather. How Mrs. Stowe, the authoress, has obtained her extremely accurate knowledge of the negroes, their character, dialect, habits, &c., is beyond my comprehension, as she never resided—as appears from the preface—in a slave state, or among slaves or negroes. But they are certainly admirably delineated. You guys crack me up. Wade has overseen 2 division titles in 3 years, and has coached the defense up to top level. This is a bad frustrating year. In spite of all that, she has an immense influence in society, so that even Count Nainsky, le superbe, mini melissa picole vidro does l’antichambre to her. So I hatched a complete plan of future action on the way. He dispatched a portion to Leathers out at Hardin’s Tower, along with three big platters of roast vegetables for Wun Wun, then ate a healthy slice himself. The Republican thus laments galeb spodnjice his hard lot:. Well, I nearly flogged the peasant to death on his wife’s account. Why are you making faces again? It disgusts you to hear about it? It revolts your noble feelings? There, there, don’t upset yourself! All that’s a thing of the past. Obviously, there is a great deal more that can be said about this topic, but this short answer provides a little insight. PPC and SEO go hand in hand. Wayne Davis Colorado Clickz 2. He listened in terror, stiff as stone, to the scuff of boots and the clanking of iron keys. No, he thought, no, please gods, not now, not now. If we reply to all this, as we do, that the possession of absolute power in a man qualified to use it right is undoubtedly calculated for the good salomon prezzi scarpe sportive of the state, but that there are so few men that know how to use it, that this form of government is not, on the whole, a safe one, then we have stated an argument that goes to overthrow slavery as much as it does a despotic sandalias doradas gioseppo government; for certainly the chances are much greater of finding one man, in the course of fifty years, who is capable of wisely using this power, than of finding thousands of men every day in our streets, who can be trusted with such power. Others were slain by those who had been their brothers-in-arms when they marched south with Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall.. “Daario would kill Hizdahr in a heartbeat if he dared,” Ser Barristan went on. “But not with poison. A few moments later the adults began to emerge from the earth. A stench came with them, the smell of jeans moda 2015 donna amazon unwashed bodies and soiled clothing, of nightsoil and urine. Let us continue the history. Then two.. It was horribly dull in his house, so I simply gave up going. He gave my father a very casual reception, too; so casual that I can’t understand why he goes there. nike black tn 001 More importantly, he doing so with a puffer jacket. Far from the Michelin Man esque monstrosities of decades past, modern puffer jackets are slim enough to look good while still keeping you toasty. In fact, they look good enough to wear on their own.. It hung in the hot, humid air, rich, rank, pervasive. On the day she had woken blind, the waif took her by the hand and led her through the vaults and tunnels of the rock on which the House of Black and White was built, up the steep stone steps into the temple proper. “Count the steps as you climb,” she had said. “Shame, shame,” sang Septa Scolera, her bell clanging. Cersei tried to walk faster, but soon came up against the backs of the Stars in front of her and had to slow her steps again. On the first session of the General Assembly, this course was most vehemently urged, by many petitions and memorials.

[merryfortune]

Day 8 / Heart

Clover and Violets 2021

Ship: Sapphireshipping | Masumi/Ruri

Universe: Arc V

Word Count: 1,627

Rating: T

Tags: Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe Elements, Surreal Elements, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Trauma

   Were it not for the fact that Masumi had seen such a gruesome thing with her own two eyes, she would have laughed. Scoffed at the thought of someone confusing a viscous tale with reality but she had seen it. And now she was the one who was the protagonist of what should only have been an urban legend.

   That XYZ Duellist - Kurosaki Shun - had eaten his own heart in front of them, just before the duel had started. Masumi watched in horror as the most peculiar thing happened. He made his speech, he declared his vows, and he clutched his chest. His fingers dug into his body, phasing through his coat and then with a sudden jerk, he ripped something from inside of himself.

   His still beating heart.

   He held it in his hand, slowly rising, like it was a skull in a shakespearean play but the only theatre of it was a theatre of pain, and then he brought it to his mouth. It throbbed in the cage of his fingers so unlike, but maybe eerily too close, the cage of his ribs. It bled. His fingers turned slick with red blood that looked so bright and acrid against the ensuing darkness that besieged the alley with the putrid, orange dusk.

   He breathed heavily and Masumi watched all too closely from afar as his lips trembled. He put his mouth to his own organ and he licked it. He closed his eyes and he relished this moment which was all but him alone as Masumi and her friends watched as gentle movements became voracity. He ate his heart. It burst with yet more blood and it smeared on his face, dripped down his fingers and he ate it to messy completion. The bits he didn’t eat, veins and calcific flecks of flesh, he returned to where it had come. His chest.

   His hunger was satiated but none of the LDS Trio quite knew what that hunger was but with it satiated, the grotesque ceremony ended and then the duel began. For real this time. No fakeouts, not taunts, just with cold, sharp eyes and a mouth smeared with blood. With soiled hands, Kurosaki duelled and with soiled hands, he won and his cruelty knew no bounds. Not unto himself and not unto his opponents either.

   In the stassis of being carded, Masumi was left with the horrifying impact of that duel. Of having seen a man eat his own heart as a bet and ritual to win and it stayed with her long after the duel ended. And long after she was returned to her own body and sense of personhood, too.

   The experience left Masumi harrowed to say the least. Traumatised if she was being more emotionally vulnerable or truthful. Blood had never made her squeamish until she was helping her mother chop vegetables for dinner and she nicked herself with a knife, across the tip of her finger on an accident and she could have cried. Instead, she only sank to her knees, crouching, trembling, sucking the wound to clean it. And that was somehow much, much worse than if she had started to bawl.

   The way her mother looked at her that evening was another dusk that Masumi would never forget and she wanted them both purged. Desiring such ends, Masumi would weaponize any means so she embraced the seeming fact that she was the sceptical protagonist of this urban legend.

   She sought out the source of her anguish but not quite. She couldn’t bring herself to interrogate or otherwise investigate Kurosaki Shun, with his eyes like a hawk and a mouth so readily primed for blood. Instead, she sought the truth and the mystery from another XYZ Duellist of Heartland, the little sister of Shun, Ruri.

   Ruri was something of an enigma at the best of times to Masumi.

   She looked so eerily similar to Yuzu and by their powers combined with another two girls, they became yet another person entirely. Her eyes were a lot like her brother’s. Avian and sharp. She had a survivor’s instinct, as well. But there was something inherently soft about how hard she actually was. She was someone who had to be taken kicking and screaming, after all but she didn’t dismiss Masumi when she came forward with questions about what Heartland was like before the war. About Shun and how he had eaten his own heart before that duel. 

   She wasn’t exactly open or direct with Masumi but she agreed to answer Masumi’s questions nonetheless but her eyes shone with such melancholy when Masumi had even asked so already, Masumi was tinged with regret as she searched to ruin herself once more on that gore. Together, they endeavoured to create another evening that would serve to nauseate Masumi.

   They cuddled up in Masumi’s room, on her bed, notebooks and pens at their side. Masumi’s parents would be home late and she had put a plastic gauze down so as to not create too much mess. She didn’t turn the light on; the last vestigates of the day, disappearing behind the city skyline was just enough to illuminate them both. Ruri looked so wrong dyed in orange but Masumi looked so right in such vivid light.

   “This is the power of Heartland,” Ruri whispered to Masumi, their gaze catching on one another at mismatched intervals, “and why it is the land of hearts at all.”

   Masumi blushed as Ruri put her hand to her chest. With a strained expression, she detached her heart from her body. Her fingers phased through her chest and through her clothes; they all became metaphysical slurry before she could finally draw out her organ with all the respect and grace due. 

   Masumi could have been sick as she watched Ruri hold her own heart in her ivory fingers. She smiled gingerly even as the blood seeped; the plastic gauze beneath them crinkling, strangely innocent, as Masumi kneaded it. She swallowed as she couldn’t help but watch everything that Ruri’s heart did. Every drip of blood; every throbbing motion that it made. It was every bit as perfect and precise as it should have been if it were an illustration in a medical textbook.

   “H-How?” Masumi asked. “How in the world is this possible?”

   Ruri shrugged, humming to herself, “It's a mystery,” she murmured, “but its not real either.”

   “I don’t understand. Explain.” Masumi demanded of her, her own heart beating quicker as blood pooled between them both, staining the plastic, staining their clothes. It was wet and sticky.

   “Come closer, put your head to my chest.” Ruri murmured.

   Masumi blushed but she obeyed. Her head brushed up against Ruri’s breast and she stilled her breathing. She waited and she heard it. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump. Masumi gawked, throwing her gaze towards the still beating heart in Ruri’s hand. The one in her chest still beat - and it beat out of pace to how the manifestation of her heart.

   Masumi tried to say something but in her confusion, confusion which made her irate, she was unable to say a thing. She ripped herself from Ruri’s side, even though she was soft and perfumed with the pleasant scents of plumeria petals and other floral notes that glistened on the senses.

   “To eat someone’s heart is the greatest insult; to eat your own is a promise of victory, but to entrust it to someone else… Even stranger things happen.” Ruri murmured. “Do you want to try?”

   “Y-You want to entrust me with your heart?” Masumi asked her with a stutter.

   “I do.” Ruri replied, affirming. “I really, truly do.”

   “Okay then, if it's alright…” Masumi worriedly told her.

   Masumi cupped her hands and Ruri placed her heart gently inside Masumi’s palms. The organ was warm and wet. It was Ruri’s and it was Ruri’s blood which dribbled down Masumi’s arms, on her sleeves and the like. It felt bizarre. And terrible and even worse when it quivered between the steady beating of Ruri’s actual breath.

   “I trust you, Masumi, with my heart, I do.” Ruri murmured but Masumi didn’t feel spoken to.

   She felt as though Ruri’s words were for her own heart. She leaned in and she kissed the tips of Masumi’s fingers stained with blood. The feeling of her lips was chaste but oddly disgusting. But the sense of trust was true. It permeated the room and it permeated the precious heart that Masumi held.

   And in her hands, it turned to sapphire and obsidian. Masumi didn’t even know if those minerals could coexist in the same foundation but here they were, doing just that in her hands as the most precious jewel she could ever be beholden to: Ruri’s heart. Blue and black but it still bled. The veins turned to mineralised canals; the convex angles became the sharp faucets of an uncut jewel. Masumi began to panic but she dared not drop this still pulsing jewel in the shape of a human heart, no matter how impossibly coloured and impossibly shining.

   “Wh-What now?” Masumi stammered. “What’s happening now?”

   Ruri giggled evasively. “I told you. Stranger things happen still to those who entrust their heart to someone else.” When she spoke, Masumi finally noticed the blood on her lips; on her pearly teeth.

   “That’s not a good enough answer,” Masumi argued back, “I want concrete data. Facts. Not myths and legends and impossible things.”

   “Then I would be flattered to be your science experiment, Masumi.” Ruri told her and she kissed Masumi’s the back of Masumi’s fingers again, even kissing on the inner of her fingers where she was most sensitive, this time feeling the cold of the jewel on her lips rather than the warmth of her own bleeding heart.

[mochilici0us]

One New Message | jjk (4)

➳ 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: angst, thriller, stalker au

➳ 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Skye realizes she has to deal with a ruthless stalker when the messages she’s constantly receiving are getting more and more threatening. A stalker that makes her recall memories of the past she swore she would never rake up again

➳ 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 2,5k

prologue, part one, part two, part three, part four

April 2013

''Skye can you pass me the milk please?'' my father kindly requests while we enjoy our breakfast. They enjoy to be exact. I can hardly take part in their conversation, my mind is away.

My eyes can't stop following her skinnier, exhausted figure moving from the kitchen to the dining haul and serving breakfast.

Something's up these days, she avoids eye contact with me at all costs, we haven't even talked properly. She's acting cold towards me just muttering a few weak goodmornings and goodnights. Yeah, those are the only words I've exchanged with my ''best friend'', not even a little talk to catch up with each other's news.

''Ruby can you fetch me some honey?'' my mother yells so that Ruby listens from the kitchen. A few seconds after she appears holding a jar of honey. Even her walk is stiff, I'm genuinely concerned about her health.

''Here you are'' I'm sure she can feel my burning gaze as she leaves the honey on the table and finally after a week our eyes meet.

Shit, she looks so pale, dark circles under her red eyes, chipped lips, I can even practically see her facial bones. To my surprise she doesn't look annoyed or angry. She just glances at me tiredly, as if she had quit living.

My piercing gaze on the other hand is anything but calm and sympathetic. She's clearly sick, something's eating her alive and instead of sharing her concerns with me she stays away?

Our eye contact lasts only for a few seconds but it's strong enough to show my restrained rage.

She realizes it immediately, averts her gaze and leaves like the coward she is.

''This weekend I'm leaving on an unexpected business trip'' my father announces and takes a sip of his coffee right after

''Again? You were on a business trip last week'' my mother fires back

''Do you think it's up to me? For your information I'd rather stay home and relax with my family''

''I don't mean it's your fault I just...''

''You make me feel terrible every time I have to tell you about a businesstrip. I can't talk to my family without restrictions anymore Christen''

''Ok I'm sorry don't get mad'' my mother lowers her eyes and apologises quickly before my father gets more angry.

Sometimes I admire my dad. He's so manipulative but not in a bossy way, he always prevails upon my mother with sensible arguments, voice laced with sweetness.

He's so diplomatic, no doubt he has built such a great career

''Darling why are you not eating?'' my mother remarks as I fiddle with the spoon. The bowl of granola cereals is untouched.

''I have no appetite. I have to go to school anyway, I'm late'' I pretendto study my watch and stand up

''Do you want me to come with you?'' my father suggests

''Nο it's ok I can walk''

''Skye are you sure everything's ok?'' I hear my mother's voice as I head towards the living room to grab my backpack.

''I'm fine mum I just didn't sleep well. See you later''

As I'm about to exit alone Ruby appears out of nowhere. Her body posture screams nervousness.

''You didn't eat your breakfast'' she speaks quietly biting her already chopped lips

She's been avoiding me for a week and now she pretends to be a thoughtful friend. She made me feel depressed, cry myself to sleep thinking what the hell I did wrong and now she plays dumb?

I just stay still without answering, my intense eyes glued to her wandering ones. She doesn't even dare to look at my eyes.

She clears her throat ''Here''she takes a fresh hand-made sandwich out of her pocket and extends her hand. I eye her hand without moving an inch.

''You can eat it instead. You look like a sceleton'' I spit my venom and walk out of my house without sparing her a glance.

It was too late when I realized what I had said.

''I love spaghetti but my mother never cooks. My dad says she cooks terrible but that's a secret'' Grace's friend Lisa whispers and pretends to seal her lips. She's so cute.

''Don't worry your secret is safe''

She nods and digs into her food again. Under other circumstances I wouldn't have cooked but today Susan picked up both Grace and Lisa so I couldn't disoblige her. Her puppy eyes gave me enough courage to get up and cook even though I'm still in a cast.

The three of us are sitting in the dining table and enjoying my home-made bolognese spaghetti. I was never good at cooking, I couldn't cook to save my life to be exact but I had to learn how for Grace. So I practiced and practiced till I reached my goal, I didn't want to become the new master chef, just learn how to cook some basic things so that Grace eats home-made food. In the beginning I would constantly fail but practice makes perfect.

''Eat your veggies as well girls'' I gesture at the bowl of salad.

They both nod like good girls and do as I say. They're so freaking adorable. Lisa has short black hair with bangs and chocolate brown eyes. She's small but taller than Grace. She comes by often, most of the times I pick her up from school as well since Grace and her are classmates.

Her favorite foods are spaghetti, steak with baby potatoes and vegetable fried rice. Let's not forget my signature fruit smoothie which I always serve with vanilla frosting cupcakes.

We always sit and eat together, exchanging news, telling jokes. I really enjoy their interactions, they look like two tiny dumplings.

"What did you do in school today?" I ask intertwining my fingers

"We drew our dream gardens, mine has a huge swimming pool" Lisa hurries to answer

"Mine has a plenty of colorful flowers and a big telescope on the center to admire the stars. And the Sky. Sky as we say Skye" Grace jokes shyly, puffing her flushed cheeks. Lisa bursts into a laughter once she gets the joke.

"Good one Grace" I wink at my little sister who resembles a puppy waiting for a praise.

After a while we're finally done with the food. I really missed cooking and eating my own food, Susan cooks pretty decently as well but I was craving so bad for some of my spaghetti.

''Did you enjoy your meal girls?'' I eye the empty plates

''Yeah!''they both cheer

''Go to play now while I prepare your fruits''

The two small kitties obey and walk towards the room wiggling their small butts. I can't help but chuckle at them.

My eyes land on the dirty dining table as I sigh disappointed, washing the dishes is definitely the worst part of cooking and eating. No matter how much I enjoy preparing food and trying new recipes, the process of cleaning after is terrible. I'm going to wash the dishes later I think and slowly proceed to my big kitchen to cut fruits for the girls, my hands holding the crutches tight.

Being on my feet isn't the best idea whatsoever but tomorrow I'm having my cast removed so my ankle is pretty much healed.

I go for strawberries, bananas and pears and also pick two colorful bowls.

As I already mentioned tomorrow I'm having my cast removed. My stomach twitches in anticipation. Will he be there? Two weeks have passed but I still find myself thinking of him before sleeping even though the picture of him is blurry and distant. Just a memory, a distant picture of him is enough to keep me up at night...

I brush away these thoughts and throw the fruits into the bowls, adding some honey on top and voila! A quick and healthy sweet fruit salad.

"Girls come on" I yell and wait for the two little ones to arrive, trying to distract my mind from unwanted thoughts.

What I know for sure is that tomorrow is a big day....

"You're finally able to walk again, I'm so happy'' Susan cheers and hugs me tight as we exit the hospital. Unfortunately I didn't have my cast removed by the pretty doctor, he didn't even appear to be exact.

Disappointed but not suprised

The young cute nurse was there though, she recognized me and even greeted me, I was THIS close to ask about him but my pride didn't allow me.

''How are you feeling?'' Her hand strokes my back

''Weird'' I respond eyeing my healed ankle ''I was used to walking on crutches''

Indeed last 2 weeks I would only walk using my crutches, they had become a part of my routine. I certainly feel better now though, well-rested,healthy, ready to return to reality.

''Let's go, I'm treating you to brunch.. There are so many things we have to catch up on after''

''W-what do you mean?'' I stutter scared because I have a feeling that I already know her answer

''Shopping therapy of course''

Oh no...

''Susan are you kidding I just removed my cast''

''Sweetheart you know I wouldn't drag you along unless I had a reason. Next Tuesday is Yoongi's birthday party, we have to get our outfits''

''Yoongi's birthday...'' I scratch my sculpt looking at her sheepishly''I totally forgot, I'm sorry''

''It's ok, you're coming anyway''

''What about-''

''Taehyung's gonna take care of your sister don't worry'' she cuts me off as if she had read my thoughts

I nod, it's rude to deny the invitation

''Yoongi's friends are really handsome and some of them are single so don't think you're getting off. We have to find a cute outfit for you as well... now let's eat'' I roll my eyes but agree rubbing my stomach that hasn't stopped rumbling and finally get in her car .

''It's stunning'' I examine the purple midi dress Susan's holding. The material is silk, it appears glamorous, expensive and the embellished straps detail completes the look.

''Should I try it on?'' she hesitates

''Of course, purple looks amazing on you'' That's true, the contrast between her ginger hair, green eyes and the purple colour is definitely unique. Purple flatters every single of her characteristics.

''Let's find something for you'' her eyes wander around the store

''I gained weight these days so I should go for something baggy''

''No Skye, you should go for something sexy yet sick that emphasizes your cleavage. Your boobs got bigger, thankfully'' she whispers the last word and rolls her eyes

''Susan'' I whisper yell covering my breasts with my hands ''Did they?'' I rethink my friend's comment. Indeed I've noticed a slight development. This whole weight gaining story had a positive result at least.

Once I realise where my hands are and how the rest of the customers look at me probably thinking I'm a horny pervert I instantly lower them and grab the first dress I lay my eyes on.

''This one is perfect yes'' Susan practically runs towards me ''It's very elegant and the lace detail makes it sensual. You're definitely trying it on''

I take a closer look at the dress I picked out on random. It's certainly cute, off shoulder, midi, black with lace but tight as hell

''Isn't it way too tight? I think it's gonna accentuate every single bloated part of my body''

''Try it out you have nothing to lose. Besides the party is in 5 days, you have plenty of time to search for a dress''

''There's no way I'm going through this again. It's either today or I'm coming wearing my Pjs'' I announce and make my way to the fitting rooms determined. I can hear Susan mumbling a few curses, probably blaming me for being grumpy and stubborn.

''Excuse me'' an assistant approaches us

''There's only one fitting room available. I'm afraid you have to wait for a while''

''No problem, Susan you go first''

''Are you sure?''

I nod and sit in the comfortable blue chair that matches the rest of the decoration and furnishings of the store.

This showroom is excellently designed, the minimal yet eccentric blue décor casts an air of originality as the majority of stores follow a consistent pattern. No wonder it's Susan's favorite showroom, modern decor, excellent service and the clothing here is feminine, figure-friendly just like the dress I'm holding.

I'm so absorbed in gaping at the interior decoration that I don't notice my friend standing in front of me.

''Hey, earth to Skye'' she wiggles her fingers in front of my face

''Sorry'' I take my time studying her figure. ''I really like it. It's ideal for your body type and the colour is gorgeous''

The violet silk dress looks perfect on her, the semi tight fit shows up her toned silhouette, the swarovski embellished spaghetti straps together with the V neck flaunt her beautiful collarbones.

''I think it looks lovely too'' the cheerful, helpful assistant comments

''Yeah I like it'' she stares at the mirror

''You can use that fitting room'' the girl gestures at an empty room smiling. How are they always so kind and happy?''It's free now''

''Thank you'' I smile back and give a long sigh standing up from the soft chair.

Reluctantly I undress myself and wear the cute midi dress. It's tight but not as much as I expected. Well it's not that bad after all, I still need Susan's opinion though and a closer look in the big mirror. A few seconds later I'm out and heading for the mirror.

''Wow'' Susan talks ''It looks... stunning''

The dress hugs my body flawlessly, emphazising my curves. The off-shoulder design is very cute but sexy at the same time because my cleavage is shown off perfectly and I'm not even wearing a push up bra. I never thought I'd look that attractive in a dress.

''It fits you like a dream. You're definitely buying it'' Susan insistsand the assistant agrees

It's elegant yet sexy. Sexy in a non provocative way since it shows off only the right places.

''I think I'm getting this one'' I finally decide and Susan winks excitedly

''Hurry up we have to go for heels as well''

''Heels? Ha''  A humorless laugh leaves my lips

''You're laughing? What are you planning to wear with this dress then?'' she crosses her arms.

Her question catches me off guard but I act cool ''Flats? I don't care, anything but heels''

She laughs sarcastic lifting a shaped eyebrow ''Flats? If you plan to wear flat shoes on my husband's party I inform you that you're not invited''

I simply pout, my eyes pleading for mercy

''Come on Skye it's a party, a bussines kinda party you don't have to walk or dance. You can deal with heels under these circumstances I'm sure''

''Okay'' I sigh defeated meeting her gaze. There's no point in agruing, she's right I need heels with the apparel I chose.

''Hurry up then'' she scolds and enters the fitting room.

Have I mentioned how much I hate shopping with my best friend?

[linderu]

a promise more powerful than hanakotoba.

characters: hanako, yashiro pairing: hanako/yashiro series: jibaku shounen hanako-kun ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041686

After their predicament with No. 4 was resolved, life for Hanako regrettably went back to normal.

Too normal, he thought, eyeing Yashiro carefully when she wasn’t watching.

Yashiro was acting as if nothing had happened. Normally, he could read her like an open book, so for her to be scrubbing away at floors and digging holes into the ground in her garden with such high levels of enthusiasm was completely throwing him for a loop.

In No 4.’s painting, she had found out about her short lifespan.

Not only that, but it was obvious Hanako had hid it from her— as well as made a valiant effort to trap her in a fake world she wanted no part of. He pretended to be Amane Yugi and acted as if he had no clue what she was talking about when she addressed him as “Hanako-kun.”

No matter his intentions, he felt nothing but guilt and concern when he thought about it. Normally, he would have thought she would yell, cry, hit him, get in his face— Yashiro was generally a very expressive girl, especially when it came down to things she felt strongly about.

So why did she seem so happy now?

As Hanako thought, he just couldn’t leave her alone.

“Ya~shi~ro!” His voice was playfully melodic as he approached her from behind, his hands latching onto her shoulders.

“Uwah!” Immediately, she jumped up with a yelp, not having heard him approach. “H-hanako-kun?! What is it?”

“Why are you plowing new rows at a time like this? Don’t you already have enough plants?” Hanako floated in midair, pouting, and leaned into Yashiro’s back as he propped his chin on her shoulder. “Hey, hey, can’t we do something together? Come oooon, I’m booooored!”

“Hanako-kun, get off of me!” She waved her plow around impatiently, attempting to shove him off. Persistent as he was, he didn’t budge. “I have to finish this before I go home! It’s really, really, really important!”

Pressing his cheek into Yashiro’s, Hanako peered over her shoulder at the garden.

“Is it really that important?” He questioned, his voice portraying his curiosity. “Isn’t it just the same as what you normally do?”

“No! It’s not, so get off already!”

“Hmmm…” Hanako hummed, deciding to obey. As much as he loved taking up Yashiro’s personal space and keeping annoyingly close, he didn’t want to piss her off too much — especially when he was on the hunt for information.

“I’m just about done plowing, and then I have to sow the seeds.” Now that she had some room to breathe, Yashiro was back to her usual, smiley self (it really was weirding him out), and she pulled a packet of seeds out to show him. “They’re flowers! Look at the picture, won’t they be super, suuuuuper pretty when they grow?! Aaaahhh, I can’t wait!”

“Flowers?” Hanako was drawing blanks. Didn’t she usually plant vegetables? “What for? Won’t those just give you more work?”

“They will, but, think about it Hanako-kun!” She jammed her plow into the ground and clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling. “What better way to confess your love than with hanakotoba?! Yes, that’s right! I, Yashiro Nene, will plant the perfect flowers to give to Minamoto-senpai!”

“Uh-huh…”

“And then he wouldn’t be able to help but fall for me!” Yashiro continued. Abruptly, she took on the manliest tone she could muster, and Hanako didn’t bother hiding his snickering. “Ah, Nene-chan, these camellias are beautiful… this one is red… could it mean... you’re in love with me?”

“Pfft! Didn’t you already give up on that guy?” He strongly felt the urge to glomp her again, if only to get her mind off confessing to some prince-charming-school-president-excorcist-guy whom she barely knew. No, he wasn’t jealous at all. “And anyway, why go through all that effort to plant them if you could just buy them from the store? Isn’t that kind of silly?”

“No, they have to be home grown or it wouldn’t mean anything!” She shook her head vehemently, squeezing the package of seeds in her hands. “I’ve never planted flowers before… and anyway, camellia shrubs bloom every year, you know? Even if I’m not here, they’ll...  they’ll grow back...“

Her voice trailed off, and her gaze fell to the ground. If Hanako had a beating heart, it surely would have stopped as he saw tears well in her eyes.

“Yashiro…” he reached a hand out slowly, but didn’t touch her— at this moment in time, for whatever reason, it felt she was extremely fragile. Like if he were to even brush her shoulder, she would shatter, and disappear from existence entirely.

He had known she wasn’t okay. It was good he came to check on her after all. But what could he do for her…? He was dead, himself, after all.

“E-even when I’m… d-dead… they’ll grow for everyone to see…!” Yashiro’s tears flowed freely now, and through her crying, she could barely get out a sentence. “S-so maybe everyone… will still remember me…! Aoi-chan... Kou-kun…”

He couldn’t stand to see her like this. His body was already physically cold from death, but watching her cry and panic about her future left him frozen.

Yashiro had always been a crybaby. He didn’t like to watch her cry under any circumstances, but this was on another level entirely. What could he possibly do? Tell her the future was wrong? Try as he might, he didn’t know that for certain. Honestly, the chances of saving her were so slim anyway, he couldn’t bear to think about it himself.

This was exactly why he wanted to keep her in No 4.’s drawing. She would have been happy. She would have lived forever.

Damn it all.

Wordlessly, he pulled her into a tight embrace, one hand moving up to smooth out her hair. Instantly, she clung on tight to him and sobbed her heart out— and it was thankful she couldn’t see his expression from how they were positioned, because he felt like he could cry, too.

“H-hanako-kun… I don’t want to die! I’m… I’m going to die, right?! R-really soon… even though I’m still so young…!”

“Yashiro… I…” he gave her a tight squeeze, continuing to pet her hair as his other hand rubbed circles into her back. “...”

“What’s going to happen to me?! What about my f-family?! I still… haven’t dated anyone yet…! And I won’t g-get to see you anymore…!”

“...” Hanako bit his lip, holding back his own crushing despair. Had he ever really cried before as a ghost? He wasn’t certain. A thought struck his mind suddenly, and he said the words without giving himself time to think about them. “... Mermaid scales…”

“Huh?” Curiosity must have gotten the best of her, because her crying calmed down some. “H-hanako-kun… what do you mean…?”

“... Ah… it’s just…” he wasn’t entirely sure. He didn’t want to lie to her, but… it was a possibility. “Y’know? The mermaid’s curse. We’re connected by a bond… it’s why we can touch each other, even though I’m not human. The curse... transcends life and death.”

“What are you saying then…?” Only sniffling now, Yashiro pulled back to look Hanako in the eye — and he immediately looked away.

“I’m going to save you, Yashiro.” He muttered, staring at the package of seeds she clenched in her hands. Carefully, he reached a hand to grasp hers, gently unraveling her fingers from the seeds and allowing the package to fall to the grass. He slowly linked their hands together. “I’ll do whatever it takes. So… I don’t want you to worry about any of this. But...”

“B-but…?”

“... if for some reason, it does come to that…” Hanako squeezed her hand, and gathered his courage before looking her straight in the eye. He wanted to show Yashiro he was serious— he didn’t know how much comfort it would bring, but if he couldn’t even look at her when making such important promises, then what good was it to even say them?

“If for some reason, your future comes true, I won’t go anywhere. You’ll still have me. We can still see each other, and spend a lot of time together… okay?” Unable to keep up the eye contact any longer, he hugged her again, burying his face in her shoulder. “I know it’s not much, but at least you won’t lose me. I’ll never let you go. So don’t cry, okay?”

“H-hanako-kun…” Yashiro whimpered.

She wasn’t talking much… of course not. As much as Hanako wanted to help, it was only expected for a human in the face of death to have this kind of reaction.

Death was death.

He’d been a school mystery for 50 years. He wouldn’t dare call it an extension of his life. This was an atonement for his sins, nothing more. Bound to the school, his existence controlled by rumors and his duties alike… this wasn’t living. He was nothing more than a cog in the school’s wheel, helping it function the way it should.

Yashiro was the best thing to happen to him in his 50 years as a ghost. Spirits only existed because they had regrets— they weren’t happy, by any means. Everyone sought release. And what came from release— from fulfilling the regrets you had when you were living— was nothing.

That was your reward. Nothing.

All he could do was comfort her, and try his best to change her future.

“Yashiro.” He murmured. Hanako was relieved to feel the girl relaxing slowly in his arms, the tension in her shoulders easing.

“... You really won’t go anywhere?” One of her hands clung to the clothing on his back. “You’ll stay with me?”

“I won’t leave you alone.” If Yashiro’s spirit stuck around the school, he would undoubtedly stay by her side. If she immediately passed on… perhaps their shared curse would keep them connected. He could only ride on that hope.

A moment of silence passed between them, before Yashiro spoke up.

“Hey, Hanako-kun.”

To his surprise, she withdrew from his embrace, and gave him a peck on the cheek before he had time to react. Hanako stared at her dumbly, his mouth agape, and though her eyes were wet and red and swollen, the smile she wore left him dazzled.

“You were worried for me, right? I’m sorry I cried like that so suddenly…” she directed her gaze to her feet, saving Hanako the trouble of hiding his embarrassment from the sudden kiss. “You’re always watching out for me… so I just… wanted to thank you.”

Quickly rebounding from his fluster, he grabbed her chin, leaned in close, and tilted her head up so their eyes met. Hanako forced a smirk, despite all of the fears and shyness and anxiety and sadness he felt, he couldn’t let himself lose his composure when he was meant to be the one comforting her — really, Yashiro, why were you so worried for him when this situation affected you the most?

“I told you before, right? That you would repay me with your body.” Seizing his opportunity to change the mood, he said what was probably the dumbest thing that came to mind, in the most sultry tone possible. Misdirection! His specialty! “Do you really think I would let you go so easily?”

“Wha—?! What are you saying?! You jerk!” She shoved him away, pouting. “And here I thought you were actually worried about me! I don’t understand you at all! Why can’t you be more like Minamoto-senpai?! Geez, you’re such a pain!”

Operation: make Yashiro think about something else — success! Well, she might be mad, but she was a lot more energetic this way.

“Ah!” Hanako made a scene of glancing up at the sky, before picking up the package of seeds she had dropped on the ground earlier. Time to send her home. “Hey, Yashiro, isn’t it already too dark outside to finish this?”

“Wah!! My flowers!” She checked the time on her phone, before whining again. “When did it get this late?! Geez!!”

Yashiro reached out to swipe her flower seeds, but he immediately floated backwards, holding them in the air above him dramatically.

“Give them back! I need to plant them!”

“Nuh-uh! No way. You don’t need these anymore.”

“But hanakotoba—”

“I’m telling you, you don’t need it.” Through the growing darkness, Hanako smirked. “If we’re changing your future, there’s no reason to plant these, is there? Just go home for the night. Your family’s gonna worry.”

“Oh.” Yashiro’s expression transitioned from surprise, to understanding, and then finally to a small, content smile. “... I guess you’re right, huh…”

“Of course I am. So stop worrying so much about it and go home already.”

“... Okay.” Her smile widened, and once again, she attempted to approach him. Hanako held the seeds even higher above his head, but allowed her to walk up to him, watching her closely for any funny business.

Though, all she did was hug him.

“Yashiro…?”

“Thank you, Hanako-kun.” She gave him a tight squeeze, before backing off. “Okay, well I think I’m going to head home now! Ahhhhh, my family will be so worried…!”

“Okay…” he watched as she headed off towards the exit. Abruptly, she stopped, turned around, and flashed him another bright smile— illuminated by the lamps lighting the pathway.

“Hanako-kun really is the best! Bye-bye, see you tomorrow!” She waved, and ran off towards her home.

[whatarubberchicken]

Lukadrinette - Part 10

Because I lost all of my bookmarks when I moved to a new computer, and because Tumblr is such a pure, good, well-functioning website, I cannot find most of my posts for this story, so I have finally decided to post it to Ao3. I will leave the original posts as they are here on Tumblr, and if you can find them, great. If not, it’s now listed under:

My Sweet Blueberry Sandwich

(ff.net link to come)

(If anyone has any suggestions for tags, I am more than willing to hear them! I still suck at tagging.)

I will post a chapter a day until we catch back up, but no promises for after that. Hopefully, NoNaWriMo will be good to me this year.

That being said, enjoy! (Nothing too explicit this time but I’m still gonna put it under the cut, and yes, I did write this chapter before “Desperada” came out, so I was laughing REALLY hard during that episode.)

........

Adrien was not pouting, thank you very much.

After all, how could he be? Here he was, with the girl of his dreams and the boy who’d made him question his sexuality, eating thick, hot soup after a day filled with fantastic sex. He was certainly not panicking internally on all the many ways he could’ve screwed this up already, or mentally listing all the things he could buy them to make them let him stay for just one more day, or—

“How long are we gonna play the silent game?” Marinette asked. Adrien’s eyes flew to her face to see her smirking at him as she tore her bread in two.

“I—uh… was too busy eating!” he said quickly, digging into his soup for another bite. “It’s really good!”

The look she and Luka gave him told him he still wasn’t fooling anyone.

“I… um… what do you wanna talk about?” he asked timidly.

“Hmm….” Marinette tapped her lips with her spoon as she pondered. Her eyes lit up. “Celebrity fantasy hook-ups! Who would you want if you could have anyone?”

Are you kidding? I’m kinda living it right now, Adrien thought silently. Out loud he answered, “You guys know I’m a celebrity, right? And that I’ve actually had celebrity hook-ups?”

“Yeah, but not fantasy celebrity hook-ups,” Marinette teased.

“This isn’t fair,” Luka complained. “You already know mine!”

“Huh?” Adrien raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. Luka grinned and pointed at him, then Marinette, and then raised his fingers to his eyes in a blatant imitation of a mask.

“Oh,” Adrien said, ducking his head so they couldn’t see him blush. He had a feeling he’d be donning some sort of Chat Noir costume in the very near future, and honestly, he wasn’t against it. It would certainly be nice to Mari in her spots again….

“Oh, come on,” Marinette pouted. “You’re telling me neither of you have even entertained thoughts of a Jagged Stone/Clara Nightingale threesome?!”

Both boys thought about it and shook their heads.

“Clara’s too perky,” Adrien said, “don’t get me wrong, her flexibility is… amazing. But no, she’d probably try to sing to me while—yeah.” He shook his head again.

Luka snickered. “Note to self, don’t try to sing to Adrien while fucking him,” he said, pretending to write on his hand. Adrien made a face and chucked a piece of bread at him, pleased when his lover caught it in his mouth.

“As for me,” Luka said, swallowing, “Jagged Stone is no-go territory, babe.”

“You were happy enough to meet him,” Marinette said, scowling.

“True. True,” Luka nodded. “He’s been my idol for as long as I can remember. But…,” he winced a bit. “When I was little, my mom… hinted heavily that he was my dad.”

“WHAT?!” Marinette and Adrien both stood up, shocked. Luka held up his hands.

“She wouldn’t confirm anything. And she left that part of my damn birth certificate blank, so there’s no way to know unless I ask him for a paternity test—which I am NOT gonna do,” he added quickly, shaking a finger in Marinette’s direction. She puffed her cheeks at him angrily.

“But—”

“Babe, I am all grown up,” he said, grabbing her hand and rubbing it soothingly. “If I ask him now, the press will catch it, and they’ll make it look like the band is trying to land some sort of favoritism angle. I’m not doing that to them. Especially not now.”

“But, Luka—” Marinette tried again.

“Besides, the test could always come up negative,” he pointed out. “Just let me dream.”

She still looked upset.

“Ugh, now I’m not gonna be able to fantasize about him either,” she pouted, sinking back into her chair.

“Are we doing something wrong, to make you want to fantasize about other guys?!” Adrien exclaimed, also sitting.

“He’s too old for you anyway,” Luka added, winking. “Unless you’ve got a daddy kink you haven’t told me about.”

“Ewww, gross!”

“NOPE!” Adrien said, loudly enough to make them both pause. He held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, guys, but that’s a hard no from me. If you guys are gonna be doing any ‘daddy’ roleplays, I can’t be a part of it. Just—no.” He shuddered.

Marinette wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, I can see why,” she said. Adrien’s hopes rose a little. If anyone could understand just how deep this ‘squick’ went, it would be her.

“Don’t worry, Adrien,” Luka said, nodding at him. “It’s a hard no from me too.”

“No daddy kinks all around,” Marinette agreed, raising her glass high. They sealed the agreement with a toast, clinking their glasses together.

“So, Adrien,” Luka said, looking thoughtful. Adrien’s pulse spiked. “If you wanna—”

“What’s that sound?” Marinette interrupted, looking around.

Adrien and Luka also fell silent, listening. Adrien felt himself flush when he realized his phone was buzzing. He dug it out of the pants Marinette had forced him and Luka to put on after they’d tried to jump her while she was cutting vegetables. (He was personally glad Ladybug’s Lucky Charms had all been innocuous objects. Mari with a weapon was scary!)

The caller ID had him groaning, though.

Erica.

How dare she call him after ghosting him last night and leaving with another man?

“Your girlfriend?” Luka guessed.

“Ex,” Adrien corrected, growling. “I don’t deal with cheaters and she knew it. We were over the moment she left the club without me.” He moved to put the phone back in his pocket.

“Answer it,” Marinette said, exchanging a wicked smirk with Luka. “Put it on speaker.” Adrien blinked at her, then obeyed, feeling a little thrill go through him when they both abandoned their seats to come stand behind him.

“Adrien?!” Erica’s shrill voice filled the air. “Oh my God, why haven’t you been answering your phone?!”

“Because I didn’t notice you called,” he said. It was a lie, he’d seen it when he’d checked his messages earlier, he just hadn’t cared enough to call her back. He gasped. Marinette had just run her fingers through his hair, with extra emphasis on the nails against his scalp.

Oh sweet Jesu! If it had been a hard no from him with those other kinks, THIS was an exultant YES!

“Sorry, sweetie!” Marinette called, to his delight. “We’ve kinda been keeping him busy!” She scratched him again, and Adrien couldn’t hold back his moan.

“Who the hell—”

“Very busy,” Luka added on his other side, deepening his voice a bit and giving Adrien’s earlobe a quick nip. Both those actions sent a jolt right down the pit of his stomach. “We’d like to thank you for letting go of someone with such stamina! We’ve had quite the day!”

On the other end, Erica had gone conspicuously silent. Adrien pulled the phone closer to himself.

“So, uh, yeah,” he said softly, “as I’m sure you already know, we’re through.”

“How dare you!” she shrieked. “After everything I’ve done for you!” Marinette snorted in derision and started massaging his shoulders.

“What?” Adrien laughed, leaning back in his chair to relax against her minstrations. Oh, this was priceless. “What exactly have you ‘done for me?’”

“I—I—”

“Besides leaving me on my own so you can fuck another dude?”

“That’s—We’re just cousins!”

“Oh, kissing cousins?” Adrien laughed again. It would’ve actually been funny if he hadn’t heard that same excuse a thousand times over from his other casual encounters. “You had your tongue pretty far down his throat before you left, babe. Try another one.” Luka chuckled in approval and swirled his tongue around Adrien’s ear.

“Like this?” He whispered. Adrien wanted to whimper.

“Fine,” Erica seethed on the other end. “Fine! Be that way! Do your new partners realize how codependent you are?! How much you cling to whoever you’re fucking?!”

Luka and Marinette’s attentions stopped and Adrien felt his breath leave him. Oh God. Oh no. Please don’t let them…. He looked up at Marinette and Luka. They both still looked amused.

“That’s okay,” Marinette called towards the phone. “I like to cuddle!” To emphasize this, she wrapped her arms around Adrien’s shoulders. Relief and warmth flooded him. If he hadn’t already been sitting, he would’ve fallen over.

“And there’s two of us, so we should be able to handle it,” Luka added, kissing the top of Adrien’s head. He wanted to cry. It felt so good. He was safe, and happy, and loved—

“Oh, you are just sick!” his ex spat. “Boys and girls? It’s—it’s unnatural!”

Adrien stared at his phone in disbelief. She’d known he was bisexual from the start! She’d never seemed to have a problem with it before!!

“Somebody sounds jealous,” Marinette drawled.

“You’re a freak!”

“And you’re,” Luka leaned over to tap on Adrien’s phone, “cancelled.” He hung up on her and grinned at Adrien. “And that, my friend, is how you take out the trash.”

“Thanks, you guys,” Adrien said, letting out a shaky breath. “Usually my break-ups require a few more shouting matches and bottles of wine.”

And more of me sobbing into my pillow, he added silently.

“Aww,” Marinette cooed, holding him tighter, “poor Adrikins.”

Adrien gave a weak laugh. “Please don’t ever call me that again.”

“Only for Chloé, huh?” she pouted, pulling away.

He shot her a wry grin. “It just sounds weird when you say it.” To his surprise, her face softened.

“All right then, kitty,” she said softly. Adrien felt his heart leap, especially when she let him go and stroked his hair again. Yes! Yes, that one will do quite nicely, thank you! “Let’s get supper cleaned up and then we can go cuddle, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered, leaning into her touch desperately.

“Why don’t you two go ahead,” Luka suggested. “I’ll clean up.” He started clearing the table.

“You sure?” Marinette asked, giving him a quick peck as he passed by.

“Yeah. You can,” he gave Adrien a suggestive smirk, “get him ready.” Adrien gulped, wondering just what they might have planned for him—

“No sex tonight,” Marinette suddenly declared.

“What?! Aww…” He and Luka made disappointed sounds.

“Nope,” she said firmly. “If we’re going to try for a real relationship here, we have to have more than just the physical. And since you two have already jumped the gun today—”

“I already apologized for that!” Luka protested.

“—then we need to have a session where everyone feels loved and accepted,” she finished, glaring at her blue-haired boyfriend. “So,” she turned on Adrien, “tonight we are going to cuddle your ‘codependent’ ass until you get some much-needed sleep.”

Adrien opened his mouth to retort, but then he closed it again. Who could argue with something like that?

[sserpente]

Mischief and Ice (Chapter 7)

Synopsis: Thanos’ cruel attempt to wipe out half of the universe failed and the titan is dead; but his actions came with grave consequences. Tears and cracks in the universe, all across space and time, formed wormholes within the nine realms and beyond, giving some old enemies a vicious opportunity to strike again. When the Jötuns invade Earth and the Avengers assemble to defend the planet once again, it is the help of none other than the former war criminal Loki they are reliant upon to drive the icy warriors back into their own realm. But then the God of Mischief encounters a young woman abandoned in the cold—your body mangled and altered with Jötun blood, a lab rat to the Frost Giants. He decides to take you with him and nurse you back to health, unable to comprehend the confusing affection he begins to harbour for you.

Find all chapters on my masterlist!

“Mr Loki…”

“What?” He spat. He had only returned less than a minute ago, his feet still sore from the cold. Now as a Frost Giant, the temperature should not bother him—it did not. It was the sudden warmth surrounding him again which made him weary. An effect he did not appreciate.

He needed time to think about what he had found out, time to figure out a new plan and strategy. Loki was always one step ahead. Until the bitter end, not even Thanos had stood a chance against his trickery.

Therefore, he was not going to tell Thor or the Avengers how his lovely encounter with his own people had gone as of yet.

“It’s… it’s about Ms (Y/L/N)…”

Instantly, he spun around, facing one of the doctors—the one who had dared contradict him a few days back.

“Is she well? What is it?”

“We believe she is… um, waking up and—“ He did not wait for him to finish his assumptions. Taking a deep breath, he rushed past him, hurrying back to your room. He could tell how you flinched when he burst through the door. You were stirring. The doctor had been right.

Ignoring, the other medical in the room, Loki hurried to your side and sat down on the stool next to your bed.

He smirked when you squinted, your tiny fists—compared to his anyway—clenching. The light in this white room was way too bright. It took you a moment to get used to it and then, as you finally opened your eyes, your sleepy gaze met his, relief and joy washing over his body unlike he had ever felt it before. You waking up was a good sign, it was a very good sign… and it made him hope that your body had defeated the vicious Jötun blood in your veins for good.

“Good morning, my dear.” He heard himself say gently.

“L-Loki?”

“Shh… don’t try to speak just yet.”

You longed to ask him what had happened, where you were and why there was a doctor standing in the corner, watching you intently. But Loki was right. Your throat was dry and itchy, burning even and your body… your body was so weak you felt it would take another few days for you to regain your strength. You were hungry though. Hungry and thirsty… your muscles were screaming for nutrition.

“Get her something to eat.” He suddenly ordered as if he had read your mind, without looking away once.

“We know the drill, Mr Loki. My colleague is on his way. Some mashed potatoes, cooked vegetables and beef is a very nurturing—“

Loki frowned. “Have you lost your minds? She cannot eat that.”

“But…” You whimpered. You wanted to. Those doctors, whoever they were, would give it to you for free, for you to get better and now Loki… Loki, the very man who had saved your life, your king, was going to take it away from you? Perhaps now that you were awake he would call in his favours for keeping you alive after all.

“No,” He replied sharply, shooting him a strict glance. “Get her soup. Something rich with vitamins and as hot as she can take it. Her stomach is not used to solid food. It will take you time to recover, little dove.” He added a little gentler when he turned his head back to you. Oh. Biting your lower lip, you forced yourself to ignore the sting of remorse in your stomach.

“Very well…” The doctor mumbled. He seemed to add something inaudible when he left the room, something which dangerously sounded like insults directed at Loki. For his sake, you hoped the God of Mischief would choose to overhear them. You would not like to witness murder or torture again this soon. Would he do it? Punish mindlessly like the other Frost Giants had done? For some reason… you thought he would not. And you did not pull away when he brought up his hand to softly stroke your hair.

“My king…”

Loki shushed you again, alas his heart skipped a beat upon being addressed like that. He could get used to it… and it scared him that he considered keeping you submissive and anxious to be able to do so.

“There will be enough time to talk, my dove. I am afraid I am not the only one who has questions for you… but not until you feel better, yes?”

Obediently, you nodded, your eyes falling shut again for a brief moment. It was only then he realised that the red tint in the colour of your irises had disappeared.

-

Loki had tried keeping your awakening a secret for the time being but of course, those absurd excuses for doctors had informed the Avengers straight away. They were itching to bombard you with their questions which you would most likely be unable to answer.

The Jötuns had not exactly sounded like they had involved you in their war plans. On the other hand, he had to admit that it was worth a try. Slaves, back on Asgard, had always known a lot more than they had let on too.

Two days after, your ability to speak properly returned fully without harming your throat. You had stopped shivering completely and thankfully accepted the warm pullover one of the doctors had brought you in Loki’s absence. The hospital gown you were forced to wear underneath, however, you were to keep on… and after all the sweating at night when Loki insisted on the use of the heating blanket, you felt disgusting—not to mention your greasy hair.

“How are you feeling?” Loki’s voice was incredibly stern when he spoke up, making you flinch slightly. He moved with such grace and so quietly you never noticed his appearance until he made you aware of it.

“A lot better, my king, thank you.” You were on the verge of finishing your soup, for he still did not allow you any solid food. You obeyed. After all, he had saved your life. He would know what was best. You… trusted him, despite your fears still residing deep within you.

Loki had promised he would not lay a hand on you. Part of you believed that. The other, anxious and terrified part that had lived a living hell with cruel Jötuns feared he might have lied to you—and that one night, he would strike. But with every day that passed… the voice telling you to run and save yourself went quieter and quieter. What grew instead was throbbing affection which made you want to be with him, day in and out. This wasn’t Stockholm Syndrome. Loki had not kidnapped you, after all. No… quite on the contrary, he had saved you from capture. The more time you spent with him, the more you longed to taste his lips, to wrap your arms around his body and seek his comfort like you had when he had carried you into the bathroom… even if he had thus far rarely spoken to let you recover properly. Today finally seemed different.

“Are you experiencing any abnormal heat? Any pain?”

“No… no, I don’t think so. I tend to get very hot at night though… I’m… really sweaty.”

“We can have a nurse come over to help you take a shower. I would also suggest a gynaecologist to check on her. I am not authorised nor trained to do it myself.” The doctor interrupted.

Your eyes widened. You did not want a stranger to look at your vagina. With Loki, it was different. He had touched you down there before. Another female doctor… how would she ever come to understand what you had been through? What if you had taken permanent damage? What if you could no longer conceive? If that was the case, you did not want to know.

“That is nothing I could not achieve with my seidr without having to penetrate her with metal tools.” Loki retorted. “As for the nurse…” His blue gaze met yours, questioningly. Slowly, you shook your head. “I believe that will not be necessary either.”

“Fine then… she is your responsibility, Mr Loki. If she dies because of some internal injuries that could have been detected and treated, her blood will be on your hands. And before I forget it… Mr Stark and the others will be paying you a visit today, Ms (Y/L/N). I believe they have some questions for you.”

With a nod, the doctor left the room, eliciting a relieved sigh from you. Slowly, Loki approached you.

“Would you like me to wash you again, my dove? As much as I dislike to admit it, the healer was right. Now that you are feeling better, I shall use a spell to make sure your birth canal is intact.” He spoke matter-of-factly. He should have thought of this earlier. There were no grave injuries, that he had made sure of already of course… but it would do no harm to check.

Loki smirked when you nodded and allowed him to remove the covers to lift you up and carry you over to the bathroom. Carefully, he removed your hospital gown, sat you into the bathtub and turned on the water faucet, his seidr immediately manipulating the temperature for you.

“Now… I will have to touch a little more intimately for this spell to work, little dove.” He warned you hoarsely. Looking up at him innocently, you nodded once more, surprised by how he was giving you a chance to object.

Hungrily, he eyed you down, his glance lingering on your breasts and your inviting cunt. Thus far, Loki truly was proud of himself, for he had kept his promise. He wanted to ravish you there and then and sheath himself deep inside you, right here in the bathtub. No. Touching you would have to suffice.

Focusing on the spell, he dipped his right hand underwater and gently parted your legs, suppressing a gasp when you let them fall open without any resistance.

“I don’t know how I could help them,” you suddenly chirped. “I know nothing. There are no questions I could answer for them. They only told me they meant to subjugate this planet and drown it in ice… and they told me that their rightful king, you, your highness, had abandoned them. Will they throw me out once they realise I am useless to them?”

“Nobody will throw you out unless they wish to go through me first.” He replied growling, making you all warm and fuzzy inside… or was it his hand resting on top of your folds, gently stroking the sensitive skin?

It felt… good, an involuntary moan escaping you when he parted your lips and began to explore your entrance all the while letting his seidr ripple through your body.

How far would he go? Would he penetrate you with his digits and feel for himself what you had to offer? Would he bring you pleasure even? Your arousal did not go unnoticed, your growing wetness covering his fingers. Almost ashamed by your intense reaction to the God of Mischief’s touches, you squeezed your eyes shut.

Was it… right to have these sensations? You had been violated so much in the past letting a man touch you again now felt both frightening and exciting. Embarrassed, you raided your mind for a distraction.

Loki withdrew his fingers disappointedly. You had some internal bruising but nothing that would not heal over time. Oh, he would have loved to have lingered a little longer and see how far he could have taken his little examination. What it would feel like to make you cum on his fingers, to have you pulse and contract around him repeatedly, your juices gushing from your entrance?

He suppressed a moan when he felt his cock stirring in his leather trousers, demanding attention. Your attention.

“M-my king?”

“Yes, my dove?” He replied absentmindedly.

“You… you told me you were not always… blue, n-not like the other Jötuns. May I… may I know why?”

Loki smiled weakly, bitterly. Whyever would he not? Perhaps you would be the first person to properly listen to his side of the story. Besides, he welcomed the distraction. Reaching for the black wash cloth to help you clean up, he took a deep breath and turned off the water faucet.

“I was adopted, little dove. Odin stole me away from Jötunheim when I was an infant. I grew up on Asgard, as a prince… the prosperity of a throne within my reach. But the Alfather never told me about my true heritage.” He began the tale. “All I ever knew was being the second-born son, living in Thor’s shadow. The day I found out I was a Frost Giant… I meant to show the man I called my father… to prove to him I was as worthy of his recognition and love as my brother.” Only now did he realise that he had never told the story out loud, to no one. “But Odin… he would hear none of it and my desperate attempts to please him resulted in the destruction of the Bifrost. That night, I welcomed death with open arms, little dove. It all came different.” Loki looked away, his mind trapped in a painful memory all the while his fingers caressed your skin, sending pleasant shivers up and down your spine.

“That… that is awful.” You whispered.

Yes, he thought. It was indeed awful. He had never described it like that, only ever accepted that fate seemed to want him to never know true love, recognition, affection… at least not until he found you, half-frozen in an abandoned cottage. Your compassion was genuine.

“How can you control your appearance?”

“For a long time I believed Odin or Frigga had cast a spell upon me. But when they both died… now it is nearly impossible to undo the spell of a dead being, yet it was not long after I realised my mother might not even be of Jötun heritage. I do not know her, nor have I ever taken it upon myself to find out. She could be anywhere within the nine realms, or beyond. If she is still alive…”

Loki’s head turned back to you abruptly when you reached for his hand both timidly and reassuring.

“I am so sorry…”

He smirked—a futile attempt to hide the pain glistening in his stunning blue eyes.

“Now… let us dry you off again.” Loki said. He stood, reaching for a soft towel; your eyes following him curiously and grazing your own dishevelled appearance in the mirror, making you gasp.

It was not the fact that Loki had used another spell to maintain your hair… but… perhaps you had only imagined it, for when you blinked, the bright red irises of the young woman returning your gaze were replaced again with the regular colour of your eyes.

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter I would be flattered if you supported me on KoFi! kofi.com/sserpente