#i think i got a cavity from exposing myself to this sweetness

[edda-blattfe]

I fully support Mal x Vil x reader/MC that's top tier. Your universe brain is blessing the fandom with that. Now I'm imagining Vil finding excuses to go to the Diasom dorm to see Mal and MC... I bet it's study sessions between the dorms initially, but Epel and Rook see the way he is with Mal and MC and know exactly what he's doing almost immediately. It's not long before they say stuff like "we understood today's lesson, you go on ahead tho" just so Vil can be more alone with them

~Ehh, thank you love!~

Ooh! I love the way your mind works!!! Mind if I go ahead and share some relationship headcanons for this trio?

Malleus x Vil x MC Pollyship Headcanons:

- A few details on this MC. Both Mal and Vil are strong willed, decisive, manipulative, and dramatic individuals with a horrid tendency to wallow in their negative emotions rather than find proactive ways of dealing with them or seeking help from others. For these reasons, I believe MC would have to be a rather laidback and open minded person. They wouldn’t have to be plain per say, but just not as dramatically flamboyant in comparison to their romantic interests. It would also be a load off of the boys if MC is honest, maybe a little blunt, and genuine; in this case, they wouldn’t feel the need to manipulate MC, being comfortable enough to let their guard down. Since the boys are lacking in emotional intelligence, it would fall to MC to pick up the slack in that department; thus they’re also gonna need to be observant enough to recognize when their boys’ are in a foul mood, be quick to analyze the situation to identify the source of their discomfort, and think of a healthy way to help them deal with those emotions. So, to summarize, this MC is: easygoing, open minded, relatively modest, honest/blunt, genuine, intelligent, observant, analytical, and tactful. Also gonna toss in curious and sharp, just for the he’ll of it. MC is in Diasomnia, because: a) that’s how Des’s scenario fits, and b) Malleus would the most difficult of the two to get close to, so earning his friendship first would be key to beginning this polyship. Moving on now.

- It didn’t take long after the first years’ arrival for Mal to notice MC, as they were already proving to be an excellent student. From what he’d gleaned from Sebek’s retelling of class, MC always paid attention and took notes during lectures, almost always answered every question pertaining to the subject of study (both from the professors and fellow students) in a clear and concise manner, and never shied away from their schoolwork. Malleus observed them from a distance, just to be sure if they were really worth his time, before finally approaching them. He was cautious in his initial introduction, not wanting to terrify the little creature too terribly with his oppressive aura. Much to his surprise, they didn’t seem all that deterred, in fact the exchange and following conversation was rather pleasant; so much so, that Mal continued to visit with them. Gradually their conversations became longer, deeper. It was easy for the draconic fae to relax around MC, since he realized that they weren’t the type to use personal information against others. In time, Malleus came to think of them as a good friend.

- Vil, on the other hand, didn’t give MC much thought for the better half of the semester. Outside of Malleus occasionally mentioning them there had never been an opportunity for them to catch his eye, especially since they didn’t really stand out in a visual sense. That changed during one of the school mock battles. This particular event required every able bodied student to group up into teams of 3-5 students all chosen by a leader. Naturally, Malleus got first dibs and chose Lilia, Vil, and MC for his team. The Pomefiore dorm leader attempted to convince his dear friend that someone a little more experienced than a first year would probably be a better choice, but Mal would hear nothing of it; Vil found out why soon enough. Just as they did in school, MC paid close attention to Mal’s strategy briefing and wasn’t afraid to ask questions or suggest alternative plans if things didn’t work out in their favor; it was impressive, even to Vil. The event went over quite well for them, the four person team overcame their opponents through mutual cooperation and tactical precision; in an odd way, the whole practice was kind of fun actually! Afterwards they went to the cafe to celebrate, there Vil and MC finally got a chance to talk. The two of them got along pretty well, and became fast friends.

- As Des said; Vil began using group study sessions to spend more time with Mal and MC...which Rook and Epel caught onto, then suggested he just go ahead by himself. Malleus was relieved at this news; not that he doesn’t like the other Pomefiore members, but he’d much rather spend time with just MC and Vil...you know, alone.

- At first the three of them mainly hung out during study sessions, which somehow evolved into training sessions, eventually makeovers and trips to Mr. S’s Mystery Shop.

- Let’s say that MC isn’t familiar with doing their hair or makeup. Vil happily designates himself as their cosmetics instructor, Mal occasionally pitching in as his assistant when he can. Despite succeeding in teaching MC their ways, both of the boys still enjoy doing it themselves.

- Mal started growing noticeably possessive of the other two, growling if someone seemed to stand too close or placed a hand on them in an all too familiar way. While Vil began fussing over their appearances, not in a nitpicky way, just fixing their hair or makeup more often; he even lent them his favorite product. None of this raised any flags for MC, who gradually became more comfortable initiating physical contact; leaning against them, laying their head on the others’ shoulders, sometimes even wrapping their arms around them.

- Like In @twistedwonderlandimagines Vil x Malleus headcanons, Mal was the first to realize that he liked the others as far more than just friends. They were in his dorm room, Mal watched as Vil brushed MC’s hair on the bed, adorably content with being there. “I love you,” Mal confessed nonchalantly. It was barely louder than mumble, but it was enough to make the others stop dead in their activity and stare at him questioningly. “Both of you, I mean.” Vil and MC glanced at each other, “Like,” MC spoke slowly, “platonically? Or...” The look on Mal’s face made the answer quite clear. Vil cleared his throat, MC shifted to view both of their companions. “Ok then. Let’s...uh, talk about this.”

- And So, they did. It was a little awkward at first, but in the end, they all agreed to try dating. At first MC and Vil thought they were just supposed to share the dragon. But, soon became very aware of their own feelings for each other, which led to more awkwardness as they attempted to sort out how that fit into the relationship dynamic. Of course, Malleus isn’t blind and, just as he did with the confession, blatantly told them he didn’t mind them dating each other too, maybe even preferred it, if it meant he didn’t have to watch their confusing little game any more. There ya go, crisis averted.

- Turns out that their relationship didn’t change all that much. They still enjoy all of the usual activities, only now there’s some intermittent cuddle sessions and kisses being exchanged. Mal has since decided to move his study time to his room, since there he can sit with both of his darlings. *debates whether or not to describe how they make out* *vetos due to excessive blood rush**maybe with a little peer pressure...*

- It’s an unspoken rule that MC is the designated comforter. Whenever zone of the boys are feeling stressed or under the weather, they’ll just latch on and soak in MC’s affection. If the third person comes in, MC will hold out an arm to welcome them; It’s very rare that this doesn’t end with all of them nodding off in a cozy pile.

- Once they’re all comfortable enough, group baths become a thing. Vil brings in his favorite shampoos and conditioner, along with sweet smelling bath oils and plushy towels. Mal loves it when MC uses their nails to gently scratch his scalp while working the shampoo into his Raven locks, particularly around the base of his horns. They all secretly enjoy pressing their cheeks to the others warm, damp shoulders...It’s just a really sweet past time.

That’s all I have for now. Feel free to add on more headcanons if y’all like!

[perzawa]

→ happy birthday!

jumin han x fem! reader

desc: after a wonderful birthday spent with your family, you think that was all the night had to offer. that is, until jumin gives you just one more surprise. 

genre: smut

warnings: degradation, pet names, squirting, very very small mention of past trauma

word count: 2.8K 

“now are you sure i can’t drive you both home? i’d love to say goodnight to my daughter in law that way,” the chairman said, kissing your hand. you didn’t oppose him dropping you guys off at home, but jumin consistently pleaded that he’d call a cab for the both of you and that was it. usually, when jumin had his mind set on something - no one could change it. so why object?

both you, and jumin, stood outside - patiently watching multiple cars pass by on the road. subconsciously, you rubbed the side of your arm, still in awe from the afternoon you spent with your family. it was your birthday, after all, so everyone decided to surprise you by taking you out. jumin originally planned to take you out alone and spend time with you himself, but mr. chairman objected, deciding everyone assumed it would be more respectful to wish you a happy birthday to your face. 

who were you to say no? 

jumin must’ve cared a lot, because he could really care less about being anywhere with his father and his new girlfriend of the year. or, for the week, he would say when he complained to you. she seemed extremely sweet, though, and was equally just as pretty. her hair was a radiant shade of blonde and her body was curved, dress exposing every corner of her figure. you could see why he’d be attracted to her in the first place. not only that, but she spoke with such elegance. words flowing smoothly anytime she opened her mouth to take a sip of her red wine. maybe you were a bit naïve, but you’d trust her with your life. 

jumin didn’t share the same thought process, sneering at her whenever she so much as asked if he wanted the salt and pepper shakers to be passed to him through the air or slid on the table. you couldn’t blame him, especially with the history he bore with his father and his unique taste in women. now, Jumin would never call you an idiot to your face, but when you didn’t have a problem with the women his father courted that particular time, he’d make a few comments under his breath about how you needed a lesson in not being a fool to obvious tricks. 

what could you say? seeing the best in people was your forte - for better or worse. that is how your relationship with jumin evolved, isn’t it?

“what’s got you so lost in thought?” he inquired, peeking over at you after a moment of checking his watch. the same one you got him last christmas.it made your heart swell to see him still wearing it. 

“oh, nothing,” you smiled back at him, rocking on your heels. “just really grateful you guys took me out. thanks, baby. i could use this.” 

he scrunched his eyebrows. “of course. it's your birthday.” 

“i know, but still.” you stared at the sidewalk with a small grin plastered on your features. you never actually celebrated your birthday. growing up, your parents were too busy to even remember most days, so you’d spend that special day cooped up in your room with your sister eating whatever you could find in the refrigerator until they arrived at home, crashing in bed as soon as they stepped foot in the house. the cycle always continued, for both you and your sister. jumin knew this. it was the first thing you told him when he tried to have fun with you on your last birthday. 

“you’re sweet.” he muttered, feigning a nonchalant attitude - when really, he was ecstatic to spend the day with the love of his life. 

“the day isn’t over yet,” he spotted the car pulling up in front of you both and held his hand out for you to take, taking your hand gently. “there’s still one thing i wanted to give you before your day is over. okay?” 

heat rose to your face, inciting you to smile wider than before. “a surprise? aw, jumin. you’re so sweet.” you lightly tapped his shoulder to showcase your gratitude, demeanor changing. the man only nodded and opened the door for you, both of you walking in together. it didn’t take long before you arrived home, jumin paying the cab before he took your hand once you both left the vehicle. he reached for his keys, slowly unlocking the door. thin arms pushed the large door open, jumin now smiling over at you once he witnessed your calm demeanor shift into a happier one. one that was more excited and a bit confused. 

you walked in slowly, your eyes watching the red lights and roses leading up the staircase. sure, it was a little cliché, but if jumin did this for you, it was special. 

“how? h-how did you have time?” you choked on your words, expression lighting up as you viewed the lights - eyes gazing over every crevice covered. 

“i paid jaehee,” he stated plainly, observing you for any other movements or hidden emotions. 

you blinked at him. you’d really have to take her on a spa trip after this to apologize. hell, if you knew it was his sadly overworked assistant, you’d just prefer to decorate the house yourself. 

“go on,” he spoke, motioning up the stairs. with patient breaths, your feet slowly stepped up each stair, different flowers on each shiny step. daisies, roses, chrysanthemums. they were so pretty - your heart swale in awe. 

“baby…” you whined, reaching the first room, your bedroom. your shaking hands twisted the handle on the door and pushed it open. now, there were candles here. they illuminated the large room, floor full of roses. heavy hands found themselves clutched over your heart. your grin widened, imagining all of the effort put into this. into pleasing you. 

you bit your bottom lip, strutting closer to the large bed you shared with your lover. there, two different toys had been placed on the sheets. you blinked at them and then blinked at Jumin, turning to face the toys again. “i-,” you trailed off, a clear understanding of what the surprise was now. you gulped, face burning in embarrassment now - eyes wider than ever. 

the tall man walked closer to you, stopping once his body was pressed against your back. he held onto your waist gently, his fingers tickling your soft skin in the dress you wore. 

“you’ve been working so hard, kitten. every single day,” he whispered in your ear. observing your shy, but welcoming reaction, he continued. “let daddy relax you.” 

you breathed out. “o-okay,” you whispered back. your body twitched at his lustful words, eyes focusing on the vibrator and purple dildo that stayed still on the sheets again. jumin held on tighter to your hips, pressing soft kisses to the sides and the back of your neck, whispering a compliment with each kiss. 

“you’re so pretty,” he whispered, kissing your earlobe. 

“and you’re all mine.” his quiet voice tickled the hairs on your skin, a quiet chuckle rumbling from his mouth. he swiped his tongue along your warm neck. 

“i want you so much. every day, i promise...”the man with raven hair admitted, voice low as he assaulted your neck, kissing the sides while he left purple bruises to blossom along your skin. a small moan fell from your lips and you leaned your head to the side - allowing him access. 

“so glad to have you. i’m so happy this is the fourth birthday i’ve spent with my baby.” 

you could feel a rush of blood speed between your legs, pussy gushing with arousal. you rubbed your legs together to abstain some type of friction on your clit, whining when his hands freed themselves from your waist. 

“i wanna see something. do you trust me to make you feel good, y/n?” even after four years together, he always made sure you were comfortable with everything taking place and you couldn’t help but respect that. this wasn’t your first time with him, but every time was always so perfect and comfortable. words couldn’t describe the type of man he was to you. you nodded eagerly, crawling on the bed as the mattress croaked. 

“wanna watch you play with yourself. would you like that, too?” his sultry tone caused your breathing to hitch, “you want that? you wanna see me stroke myself to you playing with that pussy of yours?” you caught a chill from the vulgarity of his word choice, nodding again. your body burned with lust, face just as hot as the rest of you. you grabbed both toys and positioned yourself on your back. biting your lip, you spread your legs and slid your panties down, kicking them to the floor. your dress was pulled up, exposing the heat between your legs, slick trailing down your thighs. 

“you get this wet from me barely touching you? god…” 

his words were like serums full of pleasure, causing you to gush more slick from your cavity. you’d never used a toy a day in your life, but it seemed easy. even then, you were an avid porn consumer. your diligent fingers pressed the plus sign and clicked it until the vibrations were as high as you needed them to be. jumin’s breath died in his throat as he viewed your sinful act intensely. you pushed the head of the vibrator to your aching clit, screaming from the pleasurable shock. jumin, palm pressed to his clothed cock, chuckled darkly - as he watched your innocent face contort into pure debauchery. the touch sent electricity into your body, empty hole gaping over nothing. you were quick, prodding the artificial cock against your opening to gather enough slick before pushing it in, the stretch sending you into another shock. your body arched off of the bed, eyes rolled back into your socket as you moved the vibrator around your sensitive nub, twitching with each roll of plastic on your body. after finding a good pace to fuck yourself at, you bit your lip and looked down at jumin. 

the man was almost moaning himself, palming his hardening cock, eyes lidded and pooling with lust while he watched you stuff your wet channel, wishing it were him. the overwhelming drag of the plastic against your milky walls caused your eyes to tear up, small, salty tears falling as you cried out, toes curling and uncurling the sheets beneath you. you could feel an overwhelming shock build in your stomach as you forced yourself to stare into the dark eyes of your lover - husband watching you fuck yourself. thrust after thrust, your pussy almost reached its peak - body still lustful and needy. the tears on your cheeks began to dry as the bud in your stomach snapped, walls spasming while you came over the plastic. 

jumin groaned, throwing his head back after painfully watching you have your way with your own body. he bit his lip and crawled on the bed, snatching his tie and hauling it across the room - jacket and shirt following after. your breath had died down now, body still wildly twitching, vibrator still assaulting your overused nerves. you whine, drool slipping from the corners of your mouth, stomach bubbling with pleasure again just to witness jumin watching you with such intensity. you could cum again and again just watching him watch you. 

he snatched the vibrator from your grasp, turning the toy off as he threw it on the ground. the dildo followed. 

“you’re so good, kitten. so, so good. you want daddy’s cock this time? are you ready - you okay with that?” 

still buzzed out, the most you could do was moan and nod eagerly, fingers running through your slit to gather slick on your digits, bringing them up to your husbands lips. wet eyelashes blinked up at him, tears drying a bit while newer ones still damped your cheeks. he took them into his mouth, sucking your fingers clean. with his tongue swirling over the thick liquid, jumin groaned, palming at himself from your taste alone. 

“please, jumin. hurry, i’m gonna get so wet again, please. please, please, please, i want you so much.” the words fell so easily from your lips with little to no hesitation. in such a state of babbling, you could care less about what you were saying - as long as your husband played into your blissed-out fantasy. 

wasting no time, he unbuckled his black pants - slim fingers wrapping around his thick cock. you backed into the bed frame, legs still spread wide, eyes glued to jumin’s cock. he groaned, rubbing his cock up and down your pussy to gather enough lube, wetting his dick enough to painlessly slip in. you gaped over nothing, fingers traveling down to rub your sensitive bud. jumin scooted himself closer to you, lifting your ass up in order to line himself up with your wet pussy, cock slipping in slightly. his head filled you, body heaving while you threw your arms around him. he pulled you into his lap, wrapping your legs around his waist as he replaced your spot against the bed frame. “fuck…” 

you could cum on the spot just from feeling him inside of you. just from feeling the head of his cock hit against the hilt of your pussy, walls swallowing his entire cock in an attempt to draw the man in deeper. the shocks of your stretched walls made you convulse, body shaking in pleasure and agony. 

“shit, you feel so good. so right. always,” he spoke in fragments, huffing out his breaths with each word he attempted to speak. you buried your nose into his neck, his hips thrusting upward, cock continuing its assault inside of your pussy. loud cries of antagonizing pleasure rang through the home, your nose now buried into his shoulder, grinding yourself on his lap. jumin gripped your ass, thick length working inside of you while your slick dripped to the shaft of his dick.

“jumin - god, so good. you feel so good,” you grunted, slipping your arm between you both to snake a finger down to your sensitive clit, pussy spamming around his hard length. jumin moaned, both of your pants and gasps of neediness bubbling in the air, loud enough for you both to hear each other but not high enough to receive a noise complaint. 

“kitten… fuck, your pussy’s - fuck, a mess. did I get you this wet?” he asked through strained moans and quiet grunts. 

embarrassed, your mouth instinctively stayed shut, simply rocking your heavy botty along his - meeting each quick thrust. 

“answer, good girl. go ahead. shit - know you’re embarrassed,” he pressed his moist lips to your neck, gripping your hair with one hand. you released a small moan, edging him to go on. he gripped the strands, “i know you want this. tell me who got you this way, tell me how much of a slut you are for me.”  

“jumin - please, you. you, you, you, you, you. god, fuck - i’m so fucking wet for you. feels so good inside me, gonna cum.” 

he thrust his cock into you at a faster place, the tip of his cock hitting against your g-spot. more tears rushed down your eyes and he wiped them away, whispering praises in your ear while he fucked his load into you, the branch in both of your stomachs snapping. for the first time, you’d both cum at the same time.  

jumin grunted, his hips stuttering inside of you, making sure no cum would escape. 

“gonna push this as deep as i can. make you a mommy.” you moaned at the implications that he would impregnate you, the thought causing your body to begin shaking, his quick-moving cock sparking a different feeling, an overwhelming one. you could feel the heat rush to your pussy, your body sore - but you kept fucking yourself onto him. couldn’t stop even if you tried. a warm feeling bubbled in your stomach, nails raking his pale back, marking him as yours and no one else’s. you clenched your toes, a clear liquid gushing from your pussy and onto the bed, wetting his chest in the process. You instantly fell backwards, head hitting the sheets on the bed with a loud screech.

your pussy twitched, his cock now slowly removing itself from your cavity while you laid exposed on the bed, breathing erratic and sped up. 

“squirting all over me. what a bad girl.” sweat rained down your forehead, as well as jumin’s, body paralyzed from the excessive amounts of pleasure rushing through you.

jumin pulled you off of him and was now on his knees, cock soaked in your juices. the over sensitivity made him groan before he tucked himself in. the man with raven hair leaned down into your ear, kissing your earlobes before whispering. 

“happy birthday, slut.”

[heartsofbeskar]

from the ashes

chapter 10

din djarin x fem!oc

WARNINGS: brief mention of sexual activities, graphic descriptions of injury/blood

WORDS: 5.4K

EXCERPT: The corridor, dark just a few feet ahead of them, felt like the mouth of some monster, and with each step Ten took it got closer to swallowing her whole.

Lights followed their movement, creating a bubble of illumination permanently around them. The skirt of her dress trailed gently behind her in the absence of wind, her legs occasionally breaking through the carefully placed slits. Her skin was crawling.

A/N: phew this was a bit of a beast of a chapter both in length (i think my longest chapter for this fic??) and in structure, as i was playing around with timeline inspired by bae @asta-lily (srsly check her out) — hope yall like it!!

masterlist | series masterlist

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The cold water beat down against her bare skin, goosebumps raising across the surface. Ten sighed, leaning back against the metal wall, running her hands through her hair, pulling it.

She stood directly under the stream of water, tilting back so it washed over her face, shutting her eyes. The ghost of Mando’s fingers lingered on her skin, in her— everywhere. His voice, the words he’d said to her, the noises he’d made, echoed in her head.

I want to see you come, Ten.

Maker, she liked how her name sounded from his mouth.

Pushing forward, she braced her hands on the wall in front of her, watching the droplets race down her arms, over the scars, over her tattoo. Despite the temperature of the water, warmth began to spread from her palms, energy concentrating there.

Ten hold a palm out, facing towards the ceiling. Water dripped from her fingers, but as it began to fall on its expected trajectory, towards the floor, it curved abnormally. Slowly, drop by drop, a pool of water formed in her outstretched palm. She breathed out harshly, willing it to collect together, but she could tell she was losing her grasp on it.

The feel of cold beskar under her fingertips. A rough and modulated voice close by her ear. Heavy limbs on hers, holding her to the floor, hands moving to—

The water moved together fluidly, quickly, forming a perfect sphere, hovering just an inch above her hand. It spun slowly there, the water circulating inside the shape. The refresher light refracted through it, creating patterns on the metal walls.

“Shit.”

When she finally emerged from the refresher, Mando was gone, any evidence of their encounter on the floor of the ship effectively removed. Though Ten was sure that area would burn her feet if she walked over it.

The door to the ship’s sole cabin and sleeping space slid open with a gentle hiss, lights in the small room powering up automatically in response to her movement.

She stilled when she saw the large Mandalorian occupying the cot. He was propped against the wall, halfway to laying down, arms crossed over his chest. His vambraces sat on the floor next to him, but otherwise he hadn’t removed any armour. His chest rose gently and steadily.

He was asleep, she realized with a start.

Slowly, she padded over, feet silent as she came to stand beside the cot. She knelt down, pressing onto the thin mattress with one hand, testing. When he didn’t make any indications of waking, Ten eased the rest of her body onto the mattress as well.

Her muscles cried with relief as she sunk as far as she could into the flimsy material — still, it was better than the hammocks she was used to. Turning her back to Mando, she folded her hands under her head, closing her eyes.

A moment later, she felt a rustling beside her. Looking over, Mando was stirring, uncrossing his arms with a low groan. When he made to swing a leg off of the cot, Ten grabbed his thigh, lightly. The contact sent jolts down her arm.

“I can—” he started to protest, but she cut him off.

“Just shut up and go back to sleep.”

His body sagged back against the wall, arms going back across his chest. Ten turned away from him again. The low tone of his voice cut the silence one more time.

“I’m not going to cuddle you.”

“Good.”

—

There was a short rush of air as the doors to the elevator closed, blue lights embedded in the floor illuminating the space from below.

Ten eyed the human men in front of her warily, their backs facing her, suits crisp and clean, their hairlines perfectly manicured on their necks. They began the smooth descent down, beneath the surface.

“Fiddle with the necklace if you can hear me.”

Mando’s voice was intimately nestled in her ear, the piece of metal small enough to be tucked into the cavity. Casually, she brought her hand up, fingering the matching metallic pendant that hung low, between the exposed valley of her breasts. A fashion statement, to anyone looking.

“Good. You should be there soon. I’ve still got your position on the scanner.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but a relief filtered through her body hearing it.

The elevator slowed, the lights dimming as they approached their stop. With a soft hiss, the doors opened. A long corridor laid beyond.

“Good luck, Ten.”

—

Coruscant rapidly filled the viewport, a myriad of lights and movement spread across the planet. The sight of so many people set Ten’s teeth on edge. It had been years since she’d been here, for good reason.

The man beside her sat deadly still, as he usually did, and only the clenching of his hand where it sat atop his thigh gave away any indication of how he felt.

The tension that had saturated the air of the ship for the majority of the journey seemed to reach its crescendo as Ten brought the ship in to land on the planet, in the same docking station Tosche had used months prior.

Largely they’d avoided each other for the remainder of the flight from Nevarro, no easy feat on a ship that small. A brush of shoulders passing through the cockpit doors, a barely there touch when one of them laid in the shared cot for a rest. It felt like a string being pulled impossibly taut, each of them silently daring the other to speak about what had happened between them.

As it turned out, they were both stubborn as banthas.

It wasn’t until Mando was on the verge of lowering the ramp that Ten snapped the string.

—

The corridor, dark just a few feet ahead of them, felt like the mouth of some monster, and with each step Ten took it got closer to swallowing her whole.

Lights followed their movement, creating a bubble of illumination permanently around them. The skirt of her dress trailed gently behind her in the absence of wind, her legs occasionally breaking through the carefully placed slits. Her skin was crawling.

“As I’m sure you can see, we take the utmost care to provide top security here,” one of the men boasted. Ten pictured how satisfying it would be to break his nose.

Instead, she said, “Did you build this place or find it?”

As the man prattled on about specifics of construction, Ten flexed her forearm, cupping her hand into her sleeve. The sound of the chip hitting the floor was drowned out by his voice.

Moments later, Mando’s voice. “It’s working. I’ve got the readings coming in. Looks like you’re in a tunnel about a hundred feet long connecting to the entrance.”

She couldn’t reply without lifting the necklace to her mouth, very effectively fucking them over, but she noted his words, drawing her own mental map of where she was headed.

“Now, for what you’re really here for,” the man who had been babbling on sent her what was no doubt supposed to be a flirty smirk. Nose definitely wouldn’t be enough, she had to imagine breaking the jaw too. He knelt over slightly, presenting his eye to a small scanner set into the wall at the end of the corridor.

Smoothly, they slid open.

—

Her hand grasped tightly onto his wrist. He turned to look at her, and Ten faltered for a moment under the weight of his gaze. She swallowed, shaking her head.

“I just need to make sure you’re not going to treat me any differently on this job. I can handle myself, Mandalorian.”

He peered down at her, still saying nothing. Maker, she wished he would say something — anything. The air felt like it had to be forced out of her lungs, like he had stolen it from her somehow, without even touching her skin.

Finally, he spoke. “And why would I treat you differently?”

Ten scoffed. “Don’t act dense, I know you’re smarter than that. You’re not the first person I’ve worked with that I’ve gotten … involved with at some point. Don’t make it complicated.”

“Oh, is that what you’re calling it? Getting involved?” He took a half step closer, broad frame filling her vision. She didn’t miss the teasing edge of his voice. “Any of those people you got involved with make you come like that on the floor of your ship?”

Heat flushed up her body, lighting up all her nerves along the way. Ten beat it down, doing her best to keep her face impassive. She wasn’t sure if it worked. Fucking Mandalorians with their fucking helmets to keep their fucking faces covered.

“You’re going to need to do a lot more than that to stand out,” she shot back, finally dropping his wrist from her hold. She reached around him, all but slamming the key code to lower the ramp. “Just … no protective bullshit, okay?”

—

Despite her somewhat … prickly exterior, Ten had found herself chasing beautiful things in all the spare moments that had allowed for it. Perhaps the seeds for it had been planted all those years ago on Yaim, where the sunlight filtered through the trees like stained glass, where the wildflowers bloomed twice a year with colours that seemed to get brighter with each passing day, where the air itself seemed to whisper sweet nothings into your ear. Wherever the origin, Ten found herself exploring the desolate moons and planets of the Outer Rim, always searching, hoping, of finding a peace she couldn’t even describe.

So when the doors opened on one of the most beautiful rooms Ten had ever seen, her breath caught in her throat.

The ceiling was draped in soft fabrics, gathering at the centre, and billowing across the expanse above them. Where they met the walls there was ornate crown moulding, periodically broken up with elaborate white statues of a variety of fearsome appearing creatures, all crouching in some form of attacking stance. Continuing down, the walls were covered with rich patterns embossed in shining gold, standing out starkly against the black walls. The floor stretched ahead of them, gleaming black marble with veins of white spindling in all directions.

“This way, gorgeous,” the taller man said, and Ten had to fight down the most violent of her instincts when he placed his hand just above the small of her back to guide her inside. He seemed to have a small shred of sense, as he stopped just short of actually touching her.

Her heels — ridiculous and too tight and impractical, but more practical footwear would have blown the cover — clicked against the floor as they entered. Eyes turned towards the new entrants and Ten’s skin prickled uncomfortably at the attention. Men dressed in ash grey uniforms scanned their eyes up and down her body, and she knew what they saw, how exposed she was.

It felt like a Bantha was standing on her lungs, expelling all the air. She couldn’t breathe.

“Hey,” came the rough voice in her ear. “I’m here. You aren’t alone in there, I’m here.”

It was a lie of course, he wasn’t there. At least not yet — he was still on the surface, trying to map out another point of access to the underground hub. But she leaned into the lie all the same, air slowly filtering back through her body.

I’m here. I’m here. I’m here.

—

The stench of the lower streets of Coruscant entered Din’s nose even through the protection of the helmet. Dirt and grease and urine from multiple species. He couldn’t fathom how Ten was able to stand it.

She walked beside him now, eyes roving over their surroundings, catching the movements of every figure that shifted around them. He noticed her lightsaber was now attached to her hip, sitting next to her blaster.

His mind wandered again to their … involvement, as she had adorably called it. If he was honest with himself, Din had been riding the high of having her beneath them, at his mercy on his fingers, for the remainder of the ride to Coruscant. And like any addict, he knew — he needed more.

But that was a problem for later, he reasoned.

The bar was tucked into a nearly indistinguishable alleyway, covered partially by someone’s laundry hanging above, and framed by a littering of empty crates someone had discarded over the area. He gestured to Ten with a jerk of his head, walking ahead of her through the narrow space.

A narrow brick alley gave way to a small, dark room. If Din hadn’t already known it was a bar, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to guess. The smells of the street were replaced with the thick scent of smoke inside, and several customers lounged out over the minimal seating, taking long drags on exotic looking pipes.

“The Mandalorian,” came a deep and ragged voice. A human man sat nearby at what served for the bar — a worn expanse of wood that looked too thin, with a poor stock of bottles on a shelf behind it. Din couldn’t see a bartender, but the man had a drink grasped in his hand all the same. He brushed his hair from where it hung in front of his eyes, and Din was surprised it didn’t drip with the amount of grease it seemed to have. “To what do I owe the favour?”

“A favour is exactly what I’m here to cash in on, actually, Sio.” Din stood in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest, letting his figure fill the immediate space. Ten came to stand beside the bar, lightly fingering its grimy surface. “You owe me one, if I’m not mistaken.”

Sio coughed, low and long. He looked significantly more agitated now. “Ah yes … I do recall that, vaguely. But first why don’t you introduce me to your little friend, huh? She looks like she needs someone who can really show her a good time, eh …” The man rose from his stool now, leering in closer to Ten. Din tensed, one hand going to his blaster and the other clenching into a fist. Ten appeared — at least on the surface — to be impassive, but he saw the flash of annoyance in her eyes.

He took another long drag of the pipe. “They don’t make ‘em like you ‘round these parts, that’s for sure…”

And then, like an absolute fucking idiot, Din saw his hand reach out towards Ten’s waist. Faster than he could react, she was bringing her hand up to the back of his head, and slamming him down face first into the wooden surface.

Blood ran from Sio’s nose, and he spit it out as it covered his mouth. “Well, she’s got a bit of bite there.”

Ten wiped her hand off on her pants. “Now you owe us two favours.”

—

She dropped another tracking chip in front of the ornately carved bar. A stark contrast to the tiny room they’d met Sio in, this bar spanned the entirety of one of the room’s walls, with a pristine surface inlaid with carved designs. Behind it there was an impressive stock of liquors from all over the galaxy, served by a contingent of bartending droids. One of them slid smoothly over to where she stood.

“Hello, may I offer you a drink?” Ten pondered it, fingers tracing over one of the bar’s patterns.

“No, thank you,” she politely declined. She turned back to face the room, elbows resting behind her. A man with a pinched face and white hair slowly approached, with a sneer she wanted desperately to slap off.

“You are a vision, my dear.” He held his hand out expectantly, and Ten swallowed thickly before placing hers on top of it. He brought it up to his lips, kissing her skin. She felt bile rise in her throat. “I haven’t seen you here before — allow me to introduce myself. Moff Ardellian.”

Ten forced a smile, hoping any discomfort in it would be written off as nerves. “Sola,” she lied smoothly. “I’m new to this part of the city.”

Moff Ardellian stepped closer to her, and Ten felt her muscles tense in response. She wasn’t sure if he noticed. His eyes roved greedily over her face. “Sola … that’s quite the scar you’ve got there. Such a shame to see such ugliness on such a pretty face.”

You should take that up with Moff Quell, who I’m sure you know intimately well. “I was a dancer for a time. An unfortunate gift from an … unhappy client.”

“You poor girl,” he tutted at her. “Well, I can assure you we don’t treat our beautiful ladies like that here. You’ll be safe whenever you’re in attendance. And … some girls make alternative arrangements to guarantee safety and comfort long term, as well.” When she didn’t make any move to respond to his vile insinuations, the Moff sent her a wink, starting to turn away again. “I’ll leave you to ponder that for the time being. Enjoy your night, Sola.”

Ten took a deep breath as the man walked away, clenching a fist at her side. She motioned to the bar droid again. “I changed my mind. Give me the strongest drink you can make.”

—

“This is stupid.”

Din bit back a laugh he knew would not be appreciated at the pure petulance currently on Ten’s face. And he could hardly blame her; the long and delicate drapes of fabric against her skin looked alien, so unusual to what Din had become used to her. But it would be a lie to say he didn’t appreciate it.

“This is a cover.”

She rolled her eyes, but she knew he was right.

The woman who had been crouched at the hem of the dress rose, retrieving a nearby jar filled with some kind of balm, by the look of it. She dipped her fingers into it, applying a generous amount onto the bare expanse of Ten’s chest, causing her to flinch.

“This is a scar salve,” she said in an accented voice. Din couldn’t make out the region. “It should temporarily remove the smaller scars across your chest, here. Won’t be enough for the face, unfortunately. You know, I know some great dermal regenerists in the city, if you’re interested.”

“I’m not,” was Ten’s clipped response. The woman cocked a skeptical eyebrow, returning the lid to the container.

“You’re almost all set. I’ll go get the details of the fake chain code.”

Then they were alone. Din eyes went up and down Ten’s body, and he was thankful for the cover of the helmet. The front of the dress dipped low, exposing the valley between her breasts, the skin there now smooth and pristine. Everywhere else, the black fabric clung to her, down her arms, over her hips, flowing gently around her legs. The room was uncomfortably warm.

Din walked closer to her, until he was just standing just behind her. One step closer and her back would be pressed into his armour. Their eyes met in the speckled mirror. He brought his arm around, showing her the long chain he held.

“This will provide an audio and visual feed, directly into my helmet. I’ve already wired it in.” He opened the chain, looping it around her neck, smoothly moving her hair back until it sat flush on her skin. “Should just look like a nice piece of jewelry. And this—” he pushed the hair off one of her ears, holding it back with a light hold as he hooked something small into her ear. “—is an audio receiving piece, so you can hear me. Also wired into the helmet.”

His hand lingered on the back of her neck, and he slowly trailed it down her spine, and outwards, coming to rest on her hip.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” he said in a low voice. He squeezed his hand. “We can make another plan.”

Her eyes softened slightly. “You and I both know this is the best plan we could have. It’s fine.”

Din nodded. He didn’t want to remove his hand. “I stand by what I said. I won’t let the Empire — whatever’s left of it — take you.”

Ten covered his hand with her own.

—

Ten made her way slowly around the room, dropping more of the tracking chips, making the least amount of polite conversation she possibly could get away with.

Now, she came to a small bathroom. Down a short hallway away from the main room, it was metallic and practical. She eyed herself in the mirror, unnerved by the made up appearance. She couldn’t help but wonder what the Mandalorian had thought of it.

She brought the communication piece of the necklace to her mouth. “That’s the whole room. I’m alone in the washroom now. Anything?”

“No access from the surface that I can see yet.” Damn. “Looks like that hallway extends further left, possibly some offices. If you can slip away, it’d be good to drop one down there.”

“Slipping away would be my pleasure.” She dropped the necklace back down, letting it settle between her breasts again. Lifting some of the fabric of the skirt, she ran her hands over the knives strapped around her thigh reassuringly. Smoothing the dress down again, she eased the door open, making sure the hallway was empty.

Ten slipped those damn heels off before continuing down the hallway, the opposite direction of the party. As she dropped another chip down, she noted the names etched into the doorways. It seemed like Mando had been right, these were offices.

Continuing at a slow pace, she scanned the names with mild interest, wondering how disruptive it would be to their mission to go into one at random and smash everything she could find.

Near the end of the corridor, where it split into two more, Ten saw a name that made her heart seize in her chest.

Dr. R. Dracko.

Mando’s voice broke into her ear. “There’s an access tunnel a level below you, 300 meters away, that leads right to the surface. I think I found the other end. All goes well, I’ll join you in a moment.”

Ten nodded dumbly, before realizing she couldn’t see him. She rested her hand on the handle of the door — there was no keypad or scanned entry, since they obviously assumed it was safe down here. She pushed it open. Unlocked.

It was unassuming inside, a small desk nestled in the corner, a powered down holo display. The only other furniture in the room was a sleek cabinet against the opposite wall. Curiously, she pulled open a drawer; Maker, there were actually papers inside.

She rifled through them, the familiar but almost forgotten feel of them strange on her hands. There was a wealth of folders, each labelled with a tab in Basic. Almost every one was classified ‘Project Inactive.”

Pulling open more drawers, she dug until, finally — ‘Project Active.” Not even bothering to look at its contents, she extracted the weightly folder from the drawer, heart pounding with adrenaline.

The increased heart rate wasn’t ideal when she turned and a knife was sunk smoothly into her abdomen.

She gasped, and pain seared through her as the knife twisted — it was in the hand of a man now standing in front of her. Gritting her teeth, she forced her eyes up to his face. It was Dracko, his nostrils flaring, an air of superiority falling onto his face.

“Little bitch,” he spat at her. “I know who you are, probably better than you do. You thought you could just come here and—” He was cut off as Ten raised her hand, energy coursing through her as she slammed him against the wall of the small room. A trickle of blood appeared, moving down his temple.

She groaned loudly, any thoughts to listeners out of her mind, as she sank down the wall behind her. The dress around the knife felt heavy as it became soaked with blood, which left her fingers red when she touched it.

It lit a fire inside of her, and tears came unbidden to her eyes at the burn of it.

Bunching up the skirt of the dress, she ripped a long piece of fabric off the bottom hem, wincing at the strain of her abdominal muscles. Her hands were shaking as she wrapped the knife where it stuck out from her, securing the makeshift stabilizer around her back.

A sheen of sweat covered her skin as more blood oozed out around the wound. She tried to stand, but a white hot flash of agony erupted from her side. Her body slammed back against the wall, and she panted deliriously.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside — the door to the office was still open. She grasped her leg, bloody fingerprints appearing on the skin, as she pulled the knife from the strap around her thigh. Ten knew she was growing much too weak to pull on the Force. This was what she had. She braced a hand against the wall as the footsteps approached just outside the office.

She raised her arm opposite the stab wound, knowing one good throw was all she was likely to get.

A blaster appeared first, the barrel scanning the room, and then — that damned silver helmet. Ten felt a moment of relief flood through her, muscles growing heavy as the adrenaline waned. The knife seemed to get sharper where it was settled in her flesh.

“Shit,” she breathed out. Mando scanned the room, wordlessly taking the pulse of Dracko where he lay in a crumpled heap.

“Fuck, Ten.” He approached her now, hands floating around her side, not touching. She laughed, but it was raspy and uneven.

“I look that good, huh?”

He shot her a look, and though the helmet looked the same as it always did, she got the meaning. No. You look really fucking bad, so shut up.

—

Getting back to the ship was a blur. Ten recognized the vague shape of bodies littering the hallways Mando let her down, the distant ringing of an alarm, the cool air as he brought her up and out of the long access shaft. They were lucky the lower levels of Coruscant didn’t look twice at a Mandalorian hauling a woman with a stab wound through the streets.

Her hands gripped the edges of the worn crate Mando sat her on. She was gasping, trying desperately to draw air into her lungs, but each inhale felt as if it were bathing the surrounding muscles in acid, slowing eating away at her body.

Mando was back now — where had he gone? When had he gone? — and crouching in front of her, something metallic in his hands. He slowly unravelled the fabric Ten had put to stabilize the knife, and she cried out.

“I know, I know,” he said in a low voice. Perhaps … soothing? She couldn’t put the pieces together in her mind to make out the tone. “I know it hurts, but I need you to stay still for me, okay? Grab here, hold as tight as you need.”

He raised one of her hands up until they met with something soft and warm. She wiped furiously at the wetness in and around her eyes, until his blurry helmet came into view. Her hand was wrapped around the fabric of his upper arm, she realized, his shoulder pauldron discarded on the floor nearby.

There was a gentle ripping noise, and Ten felt cool air on her skin. Looking down at the source, she saw he’d cut away the dress around the knife, just below her breast. The flesh there was red and mangled, the edge of the knife serrated. Shit.

“Mando, it’s … fuck—” Her eyes were glued to the wound, watching the edges expand and contract as she took shallow breaths. She felt a gloved hand on her face, urging it up. It was covered in a wetness that was no doubt her own blood, now smeared across her cheek. Mando dragged her eyes to his helmet.

“Don’t look at that. Focus on me. Okay?”

She nodded weakly, her brow furrowed tightly. Her own distorted reflection started back at her from the beskar chrome, body writhing of its own accord.

“I’m going to pull it out now, okay? On three.” She nodded, tensing as she felt the movement of his hand wrapping around the hilt of the weapon. “One—”

She screamed out as he gave a harsh pull, the sound echoing around the ship. Her hand cramped as she gripped his shirt tightly, as if she was trying to will the pain to travel somewhere else, anywhere else. It blinded her, and she could hear Mando speaking but couldn’t make out the words as he pressed onto her side. Wetness flowed down her body, outlining her leg, blood pooling on the floor.

The room spun around her, and Mando’s voice finally drifted back to her ears.

“—need to cauterize the internal— doing so well, okay— talk to me, Ten.”

She shook, forcing words up and out of her throat. “What the f— shit — fuck do you want me to say?”

“Tell me about the Mandalorians you knew.”

Ten almost — almost — had to laugh. He wanted to know .... about Mandalorians. Of course he did. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to pull the memories through the dense fog of pain.

“There were … two of them. Refugees like w—we all were, from the Great Purge of … of Mandalore. Fuck!” Her muscles seized anew as she felt burning; a real burning as she realized Mando was cauterizing. She grit her teeth, moans of pain slipping out as she slammed her head back against the wall.

“Keep going.”

“F—fuck, okay.” She tried to take a deep breath, though it still felt much too shallow. “They were like … they were like you. With the helmets and shit. But they … shit … they were on that moon for a long time. We all were.” She twisted her hand harder into his shirt, and she could feel the muscles straining underneath as he worked. “They were — ah — they were kind. Silya used to … used to tell me stories about Mandalore when I … when I couldn’t sleep. And Tinian … taught me how to throw a punch and not— not break my knuckles.”

Mando laughed at that. His hand came to grip her elbow, so tightly it almost hurt. The fire raging under skin was beginning to douse into a duller burn, embers of an inferno that glowed with a constant heat. “You’re doing so well, Ten. I’m almost done.”

Ten nodded, letting out a long breath. Her breaths felt more attainable now, more air drawn into her starving lungs.

“What happened to them? Silya and Tinian?” Mando was grabbing wrappings now, his hands gliding over the blazing skin of her torso, temporarily suppressing the fires they encountered.

“They’re dead.”

He didn’t ask anymore. Ten released her hand from where it was embedded in his shirt, the muscles aching as she flexed her fingers. She wiped a generous covering of sweat from her forehead. She dared a glance down again, thanking the Maker the area was now covered in a bandage, the skin around it shiny with bacta salve. Her breath came in pants.

Mando’s hands came back to her face, framing it. “You did well, Ten. You’re okay.” He pressed the forehead of his helm against the skin of hers, seemingly not caring about the blood and sweat that was likely to be deposited there. “I should get you a towel—”

“No,” Ten gasped, grabbing him by the elbows. “Just … stay. Please.”

“Okay,” he whispered.

For a moment they stayed there, Ten’s breath fogging against the front of his helmet. She closed her eyes, hands curling upwards around Mando’s biceps.

“I would cuddle you now, if you wanted.”

“Go fuck yourself, Mandalorian.”

—

A/N: what did i tell ya??? a beAST! thanks again for all those who read it, this is my baby and im excited its been gearing up for these stubborn mf'ers

taglist: @djarrex @pedrostories

[mika3451]

Macaroons and Babybones

Summary:

When monsters were freed from the underground there was a large backlash of magic that had been stored up for thousands of years, turning mages to monsters. These Changelings now live side by side with monster yet they are different.

Notes:

This idea has been bugging me ever since I saw Papyrus Enthusiast's comic on tumblr. Let me know what you think, I'm not really sure on the plot so any idea's would be great! Thanks for reading!!

Chapter one: Meeting

Annoyance that is the only thing that fills my soul at this point in time. That feeling that makes you regret climbing out of your cozy bed all because you woke up on a saturday with a craving for some Macarons. Oh but these aren't just any Macarons, these are made by that little spider monster that was freed with all the other undergrounders from Mount Ebott. And Damn if Echo flower Macarons and a cup of black tea wasn’t my souls weakness. Plus Muffet was one of the cutest damn things to walk this side of the city. It also helped that she had a one of us changelings working for her. ‘Changeling, I think snorting at the ridiculous name, what a way for humans to call us mages that suffered from the release of all that pent up magic when the undergrounders were set free. All mages were turned into monsters or gained some kind of monster aspect. Hell even that kid Frisk was changed. The kid now sports horns and looks more like their adopted mother and father. Yet out of all the Mages I knew none of their changes were as extreme as mine.’

Shaking those thoughts free I force my way through crowds of people, ignoring their loud voices, both human, and monster alike, as they swarm around me going on their merry way. The dark gray hood of my Sherpa Cloak covers my head keeping my face concealed. Scanning the room I find the giant plastic map, hurrying over to it I find the golden star that says ‘you are here’. A happy smile pulls at the corners of my mouth, looking over the list of shops I find Muffet’s.

“Aha!” I smile as my eyes find that the shop is not to far from where I stand, making a plan of action I turn only for a small body to run into my legs. A crimson red stocking hat tilts back away from my legs to reveal a small skeleton face. Their little Skull is round and chubby with holes where a humans cheeks would be, straight white teeth and large ovale sockets look up at me. A lime green and emerald striped shirt covers the baby bones small, so very small shoulders. I feel my eyes glow and widen, illuminating my face to the small child before the glow vanishes. The babybones looks away from my face over their shoulder, their fear covers their body in a way I am all too familiar with. The sound of hustling footsteps and cursing reach me through the sounds of the crowd.

The little one lets go of my pants, their body shifts in a way, signaling that they are going to run off. In an instant my black leather gloved covered hands land on their shoulders causing them to look up in confusion as two large humans come to a stop in front of me. The shadow formed by the hood of my cloak keeps my face hidden as my eyes run over the humans, disgusting creatures. They look like the stereotypical thugs in their torn jeans and dark shirts that cling to their bodies, old and beaten boats cover their feet. Both of them stand at around 5’10” to 6’ around my height of 5’8”. The one with the ugliest mug that Only a mother could love with a bald head and beady eyes glares at me then looks down to the babybones with a look that has my Soul rolling in an uncomfortable way.

‘Fucker one.’ I think glancing away from him to look at his friend. He looks close to the same only difference is if he didn't have a face so full of hate you could call him “attractive” by human standards with blonde hair and green eyes.

‘Dipshit’

“Hand over the brat!” Fucker one says in a voice that irritates my senses. Moving slightly forward I put the little one behind me as I keep one hand on their shoulder while the other rests at my hip ready to defend myself and the kid if need be.

“Yeah, Not Going to Happen.” I say as the little one grabs my pant leg, their sockets black as night look up at my shadowed face before looking back at the two thugs. A protectiveness that I haven't felt in so very, very long fills my entire being awakening parts of myself that I didn’t know fell asleep.

“You got some Major balls picking on a kid, let alone a monster one!” I chuckle out only for the ugly ones face to turn an interesting shade of red as he takes a step forward trying to be threatening.

“Listen girly, I can tell your not from around here-” Fucker one starts making my body tense up, ready for a fight.

“No shit, Sherlock.” I growl back unable to keep my teeth shut, only for Fucker one to grow redder. Dipshit reaches out and stops Fucker from taking another step forward, a smart move on his part.

“And in this city little freaks” Dipshit cuts in nodding his head in the kids direction, anger fills my chest as I feel their little body flench under my hand. Moving my hip and body just right I shield them from these disgusting creatures eyes. The humans look up from my waist to my shadowed face ignoring the signs of danger.

“Need to learn to stay out of our neighborhood and go back to that hole they crawled out of!” Fucker finishes for dipshit. Their rank breath fans across my face filling my sensitive nasal cavity as they take another step closer to me.

“Now I’ll just take-” Fucker starts to say reaching out to the babybones only for my free hand to lock around their wrist in a crushing grip that has him gasping in pain.

“Now see here is what I don’t understand.” I growl causing both humans to look up at my shadowed face.

“You obviously don’t know who you are fucking with.” I start holding fast as the man tries to pull his arm free of my hold.

“Because if you did you would have Fucked off the moment you had my attention. But I guess stupidity is to be expected from a couple of shitheads like yourselves.” Tugging on the man's arm fast and hard he crashes into my rib cage knocking my hood off of my skull exposing my scared face to the world. The two men flench back once they get a look at my face. My teeth are mostly flat except for my canines which are sharp enough to rind flesh from bone. My sockets are perfectly round almost cartoonish with wide white lights that float like lanterns in their black depths. My skull is a nice round shape with a large scar that runs from the left corner of my mouth to my jaw. I have four scars that run from the back of my skull down to the top of my right eye socket, with another one that runs across my nasal bone. All in all I looked like I’d seen some major shit, and survived.

“After all attacking a monster in such a crowded place, with all these people. You are REALLY special aren't cha.”

“Your a monster!!” The other human yells as I let go of his friend and push him away with one hand. Stumbling over his own feet, his ass falls with a heavy thud against the cold, hard, tile floor of the mall drawing the eyes and cell phone cameras of all the people around us.

“Oh sweetheart,” I say in a sickening sweet voice that has me cringing.

“You have no idea.” I laugh out only for fucker one to stand up and take a swing at me. Reacting faster than I have in years I give the kid a gentle push back before spinning around and smaking his right hand away with my open palm on my left. Spinning in a small half circle I get my right foot in behind his, with a sharp tug I knock his feet out from under him sending him onto the floor. Looking up my eye lights meet Dipshits own angry ones. With a yell he rushes me with his fist pulled back. Reaching out I grab his arm and pull, twisting my hips and sticking my thigh into his center of gravity, lifting my leg and pulling the man forward his chest twists over my back before his back lands on the floor next to his friend. Both with the air knocked out of their lungs.

“Next time you pick on a child, you better plan on someone betting your ass.” I growl as my eyes glow a deep violet. Standing up I walk over to the small child as security and other shoppers all surround the two thugs and yell at them for attacking a child. The child’s sockets are full of wide white lights that glow in their excitement.

“That was so cool!” They whisper in awe, a soft chuckle pushes out of my chest while my cheek bones light up in a soft glow of violet. Crouching down to their height in front of them a genuine smile pulls at my teeth.

“You think so huh?” I chuckle, reaching out I ruffle their crimson stocking cap. My eye lights brighten as they reach up and knock my hand away straightening their hat, a cute pouting face makes my non existent heart melt.

“Well, what do you say about finding your family?” I ask tilting my skull to the left keeping my smile in place only for their pout to fall as a sad look over takes their face.

“I’m with my nanny right now.” They whisper out looking away.

“And she didn’t notice you take off or the thugs chasing you?” I ask feeling something dark start to crawl through my chest. Shaking their head no they wipe at their eye sockets.

“Those guys had someone distract my nanny.” They whisper looking away from me, feeling my sockets narrow I reach out and pick them up by their waist. Placing them on my shoulder, I keep on hand around their Tibia and fibula to make sure they don’t fall. Looking up at their face I watch as a cute green blush covers their little cheek bones.

“Well sugar what do you say about finding your Nanny then we get some sweets huh?” I ask watching them decide before nodding in agreement. Pushing through the crowd that gathered I start to head in the direction the kid came running from. Feeling them shift their weight on my shoulder I look up at them to see that their smile pulled down in confusion.

“I noticed you ran from this direction so i figured that your Nanny was “lost” in this direction.” I answer their unspoken question.

“I’m gonna guess that they are human.” I state only for them to nod again.

“Can you tell me what they are wearing? It will make it easier for me to find them.” I state scanning the crowd looking anyone who looks like they misplaced a child.

“She is wearing a white button up shirt and a knee length yellow skirt.” The kid mumbles out.

“You don’t like them much do you?” I ask looking for this human while keeping a close eye on the little one.

“It’s not that I don’t like her, I just hate how she looks at my PaPa.” They mutter crossing their arms.

“That's normal sugar. No kid wants to share their parent.” I say looking up at them with a warm smile and a chuckle.

“Go ahead and ask sugar. I know you have a lot of questions.”

“What's your name?” They ask first, their Papa must have taught them some manners.

“Calibri, what’s yours?”

“Charakterny.” They say with pride.

“That's a cute name.  Espilly for such a cute babybones.” I chuckle

“I’m not a babybone!” They growl out crossing their arms in a pout, a full belly laugh bubbles out for my mouth as I reach up with a free hand to wipe away a tear.

“Sure you are sugar. At least to me, I’m around 35 years old by now.” I feel them shift on my shoulder as they look down at me.

“You don’t look that old. I bet my PaPa, uncle Sans, or the others are older than you.” They say causing me to smile.

“Doubt that. Is that your nanny over there?” I ask pointing to a young female human who is talking to a security guard frantically.

“Yeah that's her.” Charakterny says holding tightly to my cloaks shoulder.

“Well let's go calm her down before she has a heart attack or scares your PaPa.” I say in an easy voice walking closer catching the tail end of the conversation.

“Ma’am, I will try to help you find this monster kid but you have to understand-” The man says trying to calm the woman down, his hands rest on her arms only for her to smack them away.

“I’ll lose my job if we don’t find her!” The lady shreeks causing Charakterny to flench on my shoulder. Looking up at the kid I look back over to the two.

“Well let's get this over with.” walking over to the two I clear my non existent throat causing the two humans to look over my way.

“CHARA!” The woman shouts running over to us she reaches up to take the child off my shoulder only for my hand to wrap around her wrist. Her honey brown eyes look over to my dark sockets. I watch as her face darkens from joyful to something that reminds me of times I’d like to forget.

“And who is this? Why are you keeping me from taking my charge.” She huffs in anger.

“Didn’t look like you where watching your charge very well to me, Friend .” I growl out feeling Charakterny shift on my shoulder.

“Sounds like you were more worried about your job then the kid to me. Plus I promised to buy them some sweets at Muffets.” I shrug bouncing the kid around on my shoulder causing them to giggle.

“Well you can’t! We don’t even know you. Besides Chara is my-” They start only for me to cut her off by looking up at the kid.

“We know each other don’t we Charakterny?” They node their little skull up and down with a wide smile, looking back at the woman I see her eye twitch in irritation only for her to try to jerk her arm out of my hold.

“Let go of me and Put her down now!” She all but screams, releasing her wrist like it burn me I look up at Chara.

“Do you want down, Charakterny? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t mind.” I watch closely to every little twitch of their body, the fading of their eyelights gives me my answer. Sighing heavily I reach up and grab them around the waist before sitting them on their feet on the tile floor. Huffing the Nanny steps forward and grabs the kids hand roughly.

“Lets go Chara.” They say pulling them away from me.

“But I wanted to get some sweets with Calibri.” Charakterny says pulling on the Nannies hand with a cute pout on their face. Seeing the exasperated look on the Nannies face I decide to be the bigger person and take pity on her. Walking forward I squatted down in front of Charakterny, tapping them on the shoulder I wait as they turn their skull to face me.

“Listen Charakterny, you need to Listen to your Nanny. She’s had a very rough day with you disappearing and a strange monster that looks like they just came from a bar fight showing back up with you in tow.” I say watching as their smile falls.

“Tell you what how about I give you my number and next time you, your Nanny and I can get some sweets and drinks. Does that sound good to you?” I ask watching as they nod their skull.

“Can we get sweets with my PaPa?” They ask with such a cute face I can’t help the light blush of color to my cheek bones or the loud laugh that bursts past my teeth. Reaching out I rest my hand on top of their hat.

“Of course sweetheart.” My eyelights soften pulling my hand back I Pull out a piece of paper and a pin out of thin air and write my name and number on it. Handing it over I don’t miss how they cradle it in their little hand before tucking it away in their own pocket. Standing up my eyelights meet the grateful eyes of the Nanny.

“Thank you Miss Calibri.” She says with a tilt of her head. Reaching up and rubbing the back of my skull I smile fighting the blush on my cheek bones.

“N-no problem Miss-”

“Ava” The nanny cutes in with a soft smile and a light pink blush on her cheeks.

“Miss Ava, Have a nice day.” I say with a nod to her and a wave goodbye to the babybones. I watch their backs as they disappear into the crowd, lingering their after they are well and gone. I snap out of my daze my phone chirps at me, grabbing it and looking down I see a question mark from Sparrow.

“Right, gotta go to Muffets. Get my tea and sweets, and maybe I can get a flight.” I chuckled to myself as I turn and head back the way I came.

[palettes-and-prompts]

May I ask for some prompts for the oddly specific topic of: Character who collects teeth to survive gets in trouble with the tooth fairy equivalent of the mafia? And don't forget to stay safe.

This one was almost as weird as the corn ask I got and it was kind of hard to write for but hopefully these work for you?

Dialogue Prompts

1) "So, you going to tell me where you hid the teeth or do you want you head dunked in mouthwash gargled by an old man with gingivitis?" "Bite me."2) "I'm the fucking tooth fairy, did you really think you could get away with stealing what belongs to me?"3) "You could always hand them over. Of course if you don't you'll have to see this one here run out of oxygen. See, this floss is special, I got tired of it breaking. So I made this one very strong. Strong enough that if it was wrapped around their pretty throat it'd do the trick. But if you'd like a demonstration I'd me more than happy t-" "Wait."4) "I'll tell you where the teeth are." "See, was that so hard? If you'd just told me earlier I wouldn't have broken all those fingers." 5) "Since you want to steal my business why don't we show them what happens to those who cross the tooth fairies."6) "Don't lie to me, you little shit. You've never been good at it."7) "You stole from me. I raised you when your parents died and I taught you everything you needed to know to join the family business. But you stole from me. I don't go easy on those who cross me, you know that. You know the consequences so why would you do it?" "You always told me to test myself." 8) "They think they can steal from me, I'll fucking show them exactly who they're dealing with."9) "Think I wouldn't know you were trying to take what's mine? I can smell that spearmint toothpaste from a mile away on you. I'm /very/ good at what I do. And I do not like to be underestimated."10) "If you think just because my appearance is sweet and cute that I will be then you've got another thing coming."11) "Look around you. This, all of this can be yours. I don't have children so you're the closest thing I have to one. I want you to take over when I'm gone, but to do that you're going to have to give back the teeth you stole." "I didn't steal any teeth."12) "You're just another cavity in this place. I don't like cavities. So when I see one I have to get rid of it."13) "You know, human teeth, animal teeth. They just fall out. But fairy teeth? They're more valuable but they don't fall out, not on their own anyway. You have to use a special tool to extract them. Would you like me to show you?"14) "What did you do?" "I took a bag of teeth, I got a few things that need to be paid off and-" "Are you fucking insane? Do you know what they'll do to you if they find you?"15) "One tooth going missing? Annoying but an accident. Two? Could be something but maybe not. Three? Someone isn't looking after my teeth like they promised they would. But a whole set? Someone's up to something. So what do you need a whole set for?"16) "Stole this set from a dragon after I had it's fire gland removed, got a whole team looking after them. That dragon thought they could cross me, now I made them powerless."17) "What are we doing here?" "Stealing teeth." "Teeth?!" "Remember how I said I was part fairy?" "Yeah." "Well, that part fairy is part tooth fairy." "Tooth fairy?" "I'll explain later, we need to run."18) "Are you sure this is going to work?" "Yeah, we're just waiting on Person A with the teeth." "Teeth?" "Yeah, what'd you think, it was just gonna be abracadabra and they'd just come back with a few leaves? We need blood, teeth, some real disgusting shit to bring back a dead person."19) "Don't be mad but I stole a tooth from the tooth fairy." "I mean, it's just one tooth, we'll be--what kind of tooth was it?" "The first tooth." "You've doomed us all."20) "I can't believe I'm able to say I fist fought the tooth fairy mafia." "Weird day?" "Definitely!"

Regular Prompts

1) Person A stole teeth from the tooth fairy mafia by accident and if they stop and give them back the mafia will kill them anyway. Now they're on the run they meet a bunch of people along the way and have decided to team up with them to defeat the tooth fairy.2) Person A steals the tooth of their relative who died so they can extract DNA to bring them back. But the tooth fairy mafia don't like when what belongs to them is stolen.3) The tooth fairy mafia doesn't just collect human teeth, they also collect animal teeth and when Person A needs certain teeth for a spell the only way they can get them is if they steal from them. (Bonus if it's like a rare tooth like a dragon tooth or something.)4) When a priceless pair of teeth go missing the tooth fairy is willing to kill to get them back. Person A's friend stole them to pay off their debt but now that they've involved person A the tooth fairy thinks they're in on it so they're willing to kill them both. While on the run A and B have to come up with a plan to pay off their debt and try to keep themselves from being killed.5) While trying to build their own monster like Dr. Frankenstein they need teeth so they take a whole set from the tooth fairy mafia. They're pissed and want them back but they can't have them back until the monster dies. (Bonus if the monster is more human than some humans and they help the person who created them take down the tooth fairies.)6) Person A is hired by the enemy of the tooth fairy to steal a set of teeth just because they don't want them to have it. They offer a more than generous amount for A to do it. A soon realizes just how important these teeth are and how much danger their life is really in. 7) A accidentally pockets a tooth and when they realize no one will believe that they accidentally took the most priceless tooth in the entire building they're forced to be on the run.8) When A's pet accidentally eats a bunch of teeth belonging to the tooth fairy they tell A they're going to have to kill the creature to get them out because this particular creature can digest them. In order to save their pet A is forced to run.9) When A is suppose to inherit their tooth fairy company from the elder fairy they decide the teeth business isn't for them, snag a few bags of teeth for money, an head to the human world. When they make it their they pose as human and fit in surprisingly well, even getting a love interest. But when the tooth fairy finds them things get complicated and the tooth fairy world will be exposed to a human.10) Person A finds out they're part fairy, specifically the tooth kind which explains their obsession with clean teeth/perfect teeth/dentistry. When they steal teeth to prove to their friends they really are part tooth fairy, the mafia comes after them and they, along with their friends are forced to take them down.

If these don’t work though just let me know and I’ll see what I can come up with!

[mz-hide]

Trick of Might - Chapter 8

Aka: a Dragon Ball Z slash fic.

Chapter 8

Turles' infamous fuck-cave is revealed & the smutfest begins!

Summary: An ancient enemy makes a sudden comeback into Goku’s life. Long-suppressed memories surface again and it’s no longer possible for the young saiyan to ignore them. Warnings: Dubious Consent, (because of drug use) Ships & Pairings: Bulma/Vegeta, Goku/Vegeta, Goku/Turles, Goku/Turles/Vegeta, Turles/Vegeta, Raditz/Turles, Nappa/Turles, Nappa/Raditz/Turles Contains: Threesome - M/M/M, Group Sex, Polyamory, Aphrodisiacs, Secret Crush, Confessions, Enemies to Lovers, Love Triangles, Oral Sex, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Gay Sex, Biting, Scratching, Boners All Around, Feral Behavior, (just a tiny bit), Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Content

You can find the rest on my AO3 page (username: originalmonkeyhydes)

The renegade’s eyes were on him all the way to the tree. The Prince couldn’t tell if it was in watchful circumspection or in indiscreet appreciation. Turles hadn’t bothered putting clothes back on, so he hadn’t either. Vegeta wasn’t about to appear intimidated or sheepish in front of the man who’d allowed him to take advantage of his mouth just a few minutes before. The renegade evidently didn’t feel the least bit subdued by what had just happened either. If anything, he appeared even more smug than before, if possible. “My Ambrosia has a good smell on you, Vegeta”, he observed, bending slightly to get a whiff, appreciatively. “I’ve been wondering how you’d smell like, if I’d covered you in it…”  “Save your dirty thoughts for yourself”, the Prince rebuked with the slightest hint of amusement. “I bet you’d fuck just about anything as long as your precious drug is involved.” “You give my Ambrosia too much credit. It’s not nearly strong enough to make a saiyan loose his mind completely. It numbs inhibition, sure, but it frees the will.” “Right. It would be foolish of me to imply you wouldn’t fuck anything of your own volition.” “You wound me, Prince”, the renegade retorted, evidently picking the sardonic tone back up. “And here I thought we were going to come together…” Vegeta scoffed, choosing to ignore the joke. “Less talking, more walking.” “Impatient to see him, aren’t you?” “Careful, Turles. Now that you don’t have your lips around my cock I don’t have any reason to refrain myself from blasting you into space.” “I will have to offer you my mouth again, then. For my wellbeing.” “Whatever problem you have in the head, it’s beyond help.” “If you think I could use a helping hand, by all means…” The Prince glared at him. Not that he hadn’t thought about reaching out for the warrior’s sex before, as he was servicing him, sadly. However, he muted that urge and kept the thought for himself. It was probably the Ambrosia talking. There was nothing the dark saiyan could say that was going to change his mind on the matter. They walked around the massive tree trunk and then flew up for the most part of its height, landing among the colossal branches. The bark was riddled with cavities. Turles led him to the biggest one, a cavernous hole mostly hidden by lush foliage. The renegade seemed significantly less blithe now. So this is where he’s been hiding Kakarot. A current blew through the entrance, carrying the pungent scent of Ambrosia with it. The intoxicating fragrance had gotten even stronger, somehow. Vegeta’s nostrils twitched but he took a breath of it anyway. There was no use resisting it now that the substance was already in his system. Turles shot him one last glance before stepping across and leading him in inside the cavern. As soon as he stepped in, Vegeta realized the cavity was larger then he’d originally expected. The trunk was hollow all the way to the top, where the tree’s foliage concealed the opening from above. Inside, the space was large, almost airy. It was somehow warmer, as if the pulsing energy of the planet the plant was feeding upon coursed through the trunk, heating up the space within. The air was heavy, saturated with a familiar, intoxicating, saccharine scent. Ambrosia dripped down the wooden walls to gather into the uneven ground. Thick, blossom-covered vines cascaded into the hollow trunk from above. The dim glow of the large, plump flowers illuminated the space eerily with their soft, rose light. Vegeta’s eyes immediately went to the figure lying at the centre of the space, where the streams of ambrosia were slowly pooling. Goku was lying there, completely naked, on what seemed to be a large nest of flowers and vines. It looked like it had been arranged for the occasion with intent. The large lush petals were brimming with nectar, crimson juices flowing seeping though where the warrior’s weight rested, wetting his golden skin. The young saiyan seemed to be drenched in Ambrosia. He appeared completely intoxicated by it, his sculpted muscles glistening with tiny, pink droplets. His limbs laid heavy, abandoned at his sides, motionless. The only element in dissonance with the abandon of his body, was the still flushed stiffness of his sex. A constellation of pearl colored droplets decorated his formidable, heaving chest, irrefutable proof that the warrior had spilled on himself. A picture of ravishing, tantalizing decadence. “Perfect, isn’t he?” Vegeta’s heart sunk at the sight, nearly shaking with aversion at the purring sound of the renegade’s voice. “What have you done to him?”, the Prince inquired, his eyes looking his rival’s body over in search for injuries and -to his unspoken relief- finding none. “Nothing… yet.” The dark saiyan walked him closer until the two of them stood at the edge of the flower nest, towering over Goku. Obsidian eyes twinkled with appreciation, his hand momentarily lingering around his groin. Vegeta could tell by the soft hitch of his breath he was making use of all his restraint not to jump the Earth warrior right there and then. Though, the love bites around Goku’s neck and groin suggested something had already been done. The Prince shuddered with indignation. “That doesn’t look like nothing to me.” “He had a little too much Ambrosia, I’m afraid. I had to lend a hand to him too.” “You sick bastard…” “Don’t be jealous, my Prince. I’ve merely savored him so far. I can assure you he’s worth the wait, every minute of it… But we’re had quite enough of that now, haven’t we?” Turles had dipped his head down to husk his words right into his ear, his tail slyly coiling around his thigh, thick fur tickling him in the best of ways. His tongue brazenly traced his earlobe. Vegeta shivered, but it was not from indignation this time. “What are you going to do?”. The Prince’s hushed breath turned into a grunt once the renegade’s hand cupped his groin. “What do you want to do?” Vegeta’s eyes darted towards the sleeping saiyan laying before him just in time to see his eyes flutter open. He stiffened, watching those rich, brown irises roll around and finally focus onto him. “Had sweet dreams while I was gone, Kakarot?”, the renegade greeted the clearly disoriented saiyan, “I brought I little surprise.” The youth didn’t seem to understand what he was seeing. He blinked like he was expecting to see the naked Prince flicker and fade like a vision. But, of course, he didn’t. He was there, in the flesh. “Vegeta…?” “Kakarot…” He squirmed weakly in Turles’ arms, feeling strangely uneasy in his nakedness as he stood before his rival. It was a reflex he soon regretted not resisting. “What a moving reunion…“, the dark saiyan chuckled, amused by the sudden tension between his captives. “Aren’t you happy to see Kakarot, Vegeta?” Vegeta’s body stiffened and bronze hands gripped his elbows, leaving his nakedness completely exposed for the younger warrior to see. Rich, dark eyes widened ever so slightly. It wasn’t as if Goku hadn’t seen the image of rival like that before, but he couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that he looked just as he had appeared to him on Namek. For the longest time after that, he’d assumed it to be a trick played on him by his mind. Now that theory was harder to believe. The warrior that stood in front of him in that moment, sculpted muscles and pale scarred skin, was the same that had appeared to him under his eyelids. A sweet suspicion dawned within him as realization sunk in. “How’s this for a surprise, Kakarot? Like what you see?” “Is this what it is all about, Turles?”, the Prince sneered, “Trying to humiliate me?” “Humiliation’s got little to do with this. Though, yes, I quite enjoy seeing you embarrassed”, he renegade purred, hands soothingly caressing his arms, pulling Vegeta against him, “The young Prince, ever so stubborn, ever so prudish, so squeamish… How long has it been since you’ve had one of your own kind, Vegeta? I won’t believe for a single second you’ve never dreamt about this. I think it’s about time for a little catching up, what do you think?” With those words, the Prince was unceremoniously pushed forward. His legs failed him and he fell forward. The other saiyan that tried to catch his fall as well has his reflexes allowed him. Vegeta found himself on top of his rival, his hands were buried in the flower bed, globs of ambrosia blooming between his fingers. He looked up, finding the youth’s expression to be as astonished as his own. “Vegeta… what are you doing here?” His words sounded sluggish,  as if he’d trouble uttering them. His breath smelled sweet, alarmingly so. “What are you doing here, Kakarot?”, he hissed, “Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” “I- well…”, the younger warrior’s eyes drifted to the side, undoubtedly glancing at Turles. “The tournament is coming up in less than a month and you run around the galaxy trying to get yourself tricked into some cheap, cowardly trap like this?” Vegeta hated bringing up Cell. He was the one responsible for the mess they all had to deal with, after all. He’d tried to face him and failed miserably. He’d realized that for the first time in his life he was training because his life depended on it. And the burning awareness of how desperate his strife to increase his power enough to survive was did not help when the general panic was starting to get to him. Everyone around him was counting on Goku like he was their last beacon of hope. The Prince would never have admitted it, not even to himself, but he was too. Deep within his guts he could tell this fight might have beyond him and it made his insides churn with revulsion and self-loathing. But what infuriated him more than anything, was to bear those feelings inside his chest and then having to see Kakarot, the greatest insult his pride ever had to suffer, succumb at the hands of one such as Turles. “As much as I hate to say this, Kakarot, you’re much stronger than your birth ever gave you the right to be. Turles is just a joke. A joke I should have expected to find blown to bits by the time I got here. Now answer me just this one question, if you can muster enough cerebral prowess to do so: how come he isn’t a pile of cooling ashes scattered to the wind?” “I thought he was… I fought him before. I thought I’d killed him. I would have tried to defeat him again but… he doesn’t mean any harm this time, Vegeta”, the younger saiyan explained. Vegeta’s eyes flashed with rage. So you just let anyone run free? “I should have expected it from you”, he declared, harshly, “You’re clueless. You complete, utter fool.” The dark saiyan had enjoyed laying his dirty hands on everything that should have been his by right. That had gone on far too long. I will put an end to this. In a way or another. “That’s it!” The Prince struggled to find stability, his knees bucking and slipping into the pool of sap, as he gripped the younger warrior by the wrist. “I’m getting you out of here, Kakarot.” “I wouldn’t if I were you, Prince”, came the managing growl for behind him. The renegade was about to pounce on him, but all it took was a sharp glare from Vegeta to stop him in his tracks. “The fact that you still live and breathe is just a generous allowance on my part. And, frankly, the reason why I continue to let this be is beyond me”, Vegeta warned, eyes narrowing. “Your call, Turles. Not that you would live long enough to regret wearing my patience so thin.” He could tell the dark saiyan wasn’t happy about the turn the situation threatened to take, but prized his own life too much to dare and go against him. His pink tongue ran across his bottom lip, wetting it thoughtfully. To Vegeta’s disappointment, he looked a lot less discouraged than he would have liked. He was weighing his options. “How uncharacteristic for you to feel threatened by someone you insist to be no match for your power.”, the renegade uttered, slowly, a sly smirk treaded cautiously across his features, “What is it, Prince? Were you worried I wouldn’t have kept my word?” “While Kakarot would be foolish enough to ever believe you would keep your word, I know better than listen to traitorous scum like you.” “Are you saying… you’re looking out for me, Vegeta?” The Prince turned to Kakarot, startled, an outraged expression painted on his rapidly heating face. Despite the dazed expression, his eyes lidded somehow languorously, the slight grin pulling at the side of the younger saiyan’s mouth was looking somewhat smug. Too much so for the Prince’s liking. “What the hell are you smiling for, fool?!”, he snapped. The younger warrior wasn’t fazed in the least. If anything, his smile widened even more. “Answer me, Kakarot! Have you lost your damn mind?!” “I’ve always known you cared, Vegeta”, was the candid reply, delivered in such a terse, earnest tone it was impossible for the Prince to help the wave of heat that rose all the way up to his ears. The younger warrior always had a tendency for getting too fond and familiar with him -and far too fast at that. It was as if he instinctively knew just how to get underneath his skin. He always had. Vegeta found himself gritting his teeth. Pisses me off! “Traitorous bastard”, the Prince snarled at the dark saiyan behind him, overcome by a hot wash of embarrassment and wanting to steer the attention away from his momentary, telling, hesitation. “Was this your plan? He’s had so much he can’t think straight!” “I actually think he was quite sharp there”, Turles chuckled before catching Vegeta’s flaming eyes and adding, “But by all means, you can blame me and my cheap tricks, if it’s easier on your pride.” “You literally left him unconscious in a pool of Ambrosia!”, the Prince retorted, venomously, “I’d gladly hear what kind of excuse you can come up with for dipping him into your cheap trickery.” “He’s so oblivious of our nature and our traditions… I had to use it so that he’d understand what I’m truly here for. He is quite thick… In the head too.” He snickered. “That doesn’t mean he’s here against his will, though.” “I don’t think he’d still be here if he truly knew what was happening.” “Oh?” Despite the Prince’s clear intention of whisking his prey away, the dark saiyan appeared awfully amused, his tail wagging slightly behind him. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” There was a strange confidence about him, that the Prince wasn’t sure he liked. His was the poise of someone who knew he was about to get exactly what he wanted. Vegeta’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. He turned his head around, following Turles’ gaze, and saw Goku’s face right in front of his own. Their eyes met. And, suddenly, it was as if the sun and all the stars had stopped moving. It lasted only for an instant but it was more than enough to take all of it in. His brown, half lidded eyes, the unusual, yearning look in them, the plump, parted lips. A single breath, mingled between them, and then other’s mouth was on his own. For a long, interminable instant, he was unable to react. He’d been caught unprepared, like a deer in headlights, and could do nothing but succumb to the kiss. The younger saiyan’s lips disclosed against his own and he yielded. Then, the yielding turned to welcoming and he rejoiced the taste of his rival’s lips and the surging warmth that followed once his tongue had slipped into his mouth. He jerked away abruptly, but hesitated one instant too long before forsaking the other’s lips. “Kakarot-“ The younger saiyan had caught wind of the pulsing that stirred his core. One earnest, eager look and Goku’s mouth was on his once more. By the time his intoxicated mind had fully realized what was happening, he found himself responding to the kiss with fervor. His hold on the warrior’s wrist had loosened. Now his wrist was being held in return, large, demanding hands pulling him downwards until his chest was flush against the warrior’s, his weight resting nearly entirely on the other’s body. The pulse of the other’s heartbeat thundering over his own felt incredibly intimate. Their entwined forms fit together perfectly, he only knew just how much once his hips eased down. Then, he felt the burning length pressed against his lower stomach, where his own had stiffened once more, encased in the heat and moisture of their sweating bodies. The warrior’s sex twitched against his. That made him jolt again. He pulled away, breathless, a look of mortified bewilderment on his face. His body had betrayed him, a craving displayed. He knew he’d been seen through. Kakarot’s rich, brown eyes were on him, dreamy yet intense in a way that made him feel extremely heated. His wandering gaze scorched him and the Prince knew he could see what that was doing to him. A hot wash of embarrassment coursed through him and he turned his head away, eyes closed shut. “You two are tragic.” Turles sounded awfully amused. Vegeta turned his head just enough to glare at him. The renegade was crouching behind them, a lurid grin bending his lips. He’d been watching that whole time. He looked as if either the sight or the ambrosia had finally gotten to him. He sported a very obvious erection, framed by thick, muscular thighs. “Don’t worry, Prince,” the renegade carried on in a low voice, shooting his liege a knowing glance, “There is no moon here. Though I did see one when you bent down.” “Shut it, lowlife!”, he snarled at him through gritted teeth. The kiss had given him away and there was no turning back. He could only hope that the renegade would not run his mouth too much and that Kakarot would be dumb enough not to glean anything from his words. Turles doesn’t know any better. This bastard is just as oblivious to Earth’s culture as Kakarot is of ours… He doesn’t realize what he’s doing. Kakarot already has a mate -a wife- that black-haired harpy that’d make even a saiyan woman pale in comparison… He- His trail of thought was interrupted once he felt Kakarot’s hand on his shoulder. He looked down at him, meeting the same dreamy-eyed stare from before. Brown irises searched for his own, shining with wonder as if the warrior was seeing color for the first time. It was intoxicating, to be looked at in that way. It infuriated him. “Come on, Vegeta…” Suddenly, Turles’ voice was right behind him, closer than it had been before. “Tell him who you came for.” Vegeta felt himself flush even more. He didn’t know whether it was from arousal of anger anymore. “Vegeta… you are here for me, aren’t you?”, the young warrior underneath him murmured, his thumb squeezing his shoulder lightly. The Prince could not stand that fondness. Of course, it’s you, you insufferable fool. It’s always because of you. “I came to take you back home, Kakarot” “Vegeta…” The way his name sounded in his rival’s mouth had always bothered him, somehow. “Yes, I’m here because of you, you idiot” the Prince replied, not as harshly as he would have liked to. He couldn’t speak his anger properly with Goku’s sex standing stiff between his legs. It was hard not to focus on it. He was hard, too. “You should leave, Kakarot,” he uttered with some difficulty, his voice airy. Turles’ hand was gently pressing on his back, encouraging him to lower his hips. It was the lightest pressure but he gave in to it as if it had been as inevitable as gravity. He gasped and bit his lip. His hips had met with Goku’s once more, their sexes lined up. Holding back was grueling, his erection was getting painfully hard to ignore. “You don’t know what you’re doing…”, was the last thing he managed to articulate. He wasn’t sure to whom he was talking anymore. His head sunk down before he could elaborate any further. Kakarot’s body had surged underneath him, his powerful hips thrusting upwards against his own, lifting him like a wave. His shaft grazed alongside the Prince’s. His heart thundered in his chest, making his ears buzz. “Vegeta…” His name again. Not a plea, this time around. A demand. The Prince realized he’d closed his eyes once he found himself opening them. Goku’s hand was on the back of his neck now, pulling his head down. Their forehead touched, their noses grazed against each other, breathing each other’s breath. The young warrior’s eyes were still on him, half-lidded, intense, resolute as he’d never before seen them. Something dark had started creeping upon his countenance, something that made him look less like his usual self and more like what his nature had originally meant him to be. A warrior. A hot-blooded animal. A saiyan. “Do you want to leave?”, was the hushed inquiry, breathed softly a few inches from his mouth. A long pause of silence. Then, he finally let out, “No…”. “Then, please, trust me,” Goku whispered, cupping Vegeta’s face, “I do know some things too.” The Prince shivered. Gentle, hands ran down his neck, chest and then his sides, his warm palms sending thrills coursing across his skin, before settling on his hips. Any remark he might have had was muted by a strangled groan once the younger warrior moved underneath him once more. His sex twitched visibly against his rival’s equally straining erection. Vegeta could feel Turles’ presence behind him too. He felt the raw, carnal heat coming in waves from Kakarot’s bare body between his legs. And their hands, touching him in places one of his own hadn’t touched for years. Something chemical that had been lying dormant within every molecule of his being for far too long was sparked back to life. He felt cornered, trapped between two demanding, expectant bodies, lively shafts standing stiffly to attention, calling for his touch. He could feel his own heat spreading through his limbs like wildfire. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Don’t pretend to hate this, Vegeta”, Turles taunted, his voice like velvet. “I can feel you don’t. Me and Kakarot both.” But I do. I do hate it. I hate that he’s right, the Prince thought, unable to keep his expression from morphing into one of enjoyment, Damn him… Damn them both! “Damn it…”, he cursed under his breath, unable to keep his body from responding to the sensation anymore. “Damn it all to hell…” “Yes, Vegeta, yes,” the renegade behind him husked in his hear. “Give in to it. You know you want it. It’s yours, just take it, conquer it, own it.” The Prince ground down, coaxed by two sets of warm hands on his gently undulating hips. His back arched as he moved against his rival, feeling the other’s shaft throb against his own. The friction was made all too pleasurable by the slippery sap that had slickened the younger warrior’s skin. Vegeta was breathing harder now, his mouth agape as he moved, his hands digging in the flower bed below them. He could feel Ambrosia seeping into his system from beneath his fingernails. He paid it no mind. It was hard to care about that once his movements started eliciting gasps and whimpers from the younger warrior. He couldn’t complain, nor fight it. It felt too good to. I really hope you know what you’re doing, Kakarot. It sure feels like you do… and I don’t want this to stop. Goku was still looking at him - ever looking at him. The surprised disbelief from before was gone form his eyes. Now, there was only awe and longing… and an odd hint of lustful awareness that made Vegeta flush, though he would’ve sooner said it was from arousal than admit it was from embarrassment. He’d been seen through… or at least that’s what it felt like, to be looked at in that way. Those brown eyes spoke nothing but acceptance and a hint of something the Prince could only call relief. Vegeta couldn’t fully grasp it, just as he’d never been able to fully understand his rival. So he did what he’d learned to do when it came to him: he simply accepted him in return, wordlessly.   His attention was diverted from his trail of thoughts when Turles’ thumb trailed down his spine to rub across the pale stump that marked the place his tail used to be. He jolted slightly, feeling shivers ran up his spine as the warm pad tickled ancient, hidden nerves. The appendage might have been missing, but its collateral effect persisted. The muscles had been cut off, but the nerves were still there. “It saddens me to see you lost your tail too, my Prince. It’s quite unbecoming of you”, was the soft purr that came from behind him. Vegeta opened his mouth to speak but could only let out a soft groan when the dark saiyan’s mouth covered his scar. “But I see you’re still very sensitive here, even without it…” The renegade’s hand stroked his back, prompting the Prince to relax. So Vegeta did, unwittingly, bending down and resting his head on Goku’s ample chest, breathing in the warrior’s scent with every whimpering breath. He’d discovered he enjoyed when Bulma’s hands grazed that spot during sex but he’d never been touched in that way ever since he’d lost his tail. The tingly sensation was close to overwhelming. The renegade still hadn’t started to surprise him yet and still managed to catch him unprepared once he took his attentions further. Vegeta’s eyes shot open, feeling Turles’ tongue lick along the cleft of his rear, shamelessly prodding at his entrance. He tensed up again. Goku wrapped an arm around his shoulders, steading him. The warrior’s hand met with Turles’, still resting on the Prince’s back. Vegeta could feel their hands joining together, fingers entwining. One of his own arms wrapped around the younger warrior’s shoulder, holding him in turn as he stifled soft whimpers against his collarbone. Goku’s sturdy body anchored him as he raised his hips slightly. For the most part, he was glad the pirate’s mouth was too occupied to comment on the pleading arching of his back. Sparks flew across his vision once he felt the tongue prod deeper as Goku’s right hand slipped within their bodies, wrapping around both their erections and stroking slowly. That elicited a simultaneous, enraptured sigh from them both. The younger saiyan rested his head against his prince’s humming his appreciation softly. It was almost like the two third class had coordinated their efforts to drive him crazy. If such was their intention, they were certainly succeeding. Vegeta sucked in air through gritted teeth once the renegade’s tongue was replaced by a finger. A now sadly familiar warmth started spreading through him, he knew what suddenly sent liquid fire coursing through his nerves. “You’re opening up so nicely for me, Prince”, Turles’ velvety voice poured like honey next to his ears, “Having a change of heart about my cheap trickery now?” Vegeta turned his head, forcing himself to glare at the renegade for his insolence. From the smug grin on the dark saiyan’s face, however, it was clear his expression betrayed something other than displeasure. The treacherous sap was making it shamefully easy for the dark saiyan to stretch him out and the glide of rough fingers inside him all the more pleasurable. Every time his digits hit his prostate it sent a hot wash of pleasure through his sex too, throbbing and weeping in his rival’s grasp. His attention continued to drift back and forth between the wanton tugging at his throbbing shaft and the nimble stroke of expert digits against his prostate until there was no telling the difference between the sensations he was receiving from both ends. “You’re going to have to do a lot more to get me to change my mind about your cowardly mischief, traitor”, Vegeta breathed, forcing himself to exhale fitting disdain. “A lot more, huh?” Obsidian eyes wondered downwards, cherishing the tangle of honey and ivory shifting and stirring beneath him. A grin pulled at Turles’ lips. He spread his fingers within his Prince’s flesh and cherished the   promising tightening around them. He let the digits slip free from the other warrior’s flesh. He might have been able to sate appetites beyond his wildest hopes that night. “Maybe that’s just what I’m going to do. After all, since your presence here has changed things”, Turles husked, bending down over his Prince, “I should change my plans a little…” Vegeta caught his meaning all too well when he felt the hard length of the dark saiyan’s sex pressing against the cleft of his rear. As if the warm weight of his erection against his entrance hadn’t been eloquent enough, Turles reinforced his words by dragging his tongue along his neck. His arms had already started looping around his waist, pulling him backwards. And Vegeta felt so aching and empty that he was almost about to let the renegade steal him form his rival’s embrace. And he would have. If it hadn’t been for a second pair of strong hands gripping him at the elbows and pulling him back down. As he was forcefully yanked away from Turles’ grasp, Vegeta caught a glimpse of Goku’s eyes, a spark of that vicious light again, so uncharacteristic of him. He saw that flame, dark and hungry. Possessive. He could feel something warm coiling in the pit of his stomach. The younger warrior didn’t leave him enough time to dwell on that. Before he knew it, Vegeta’s world had turned upside down. His back hit the flowerbed, feeling the honeyed sting of Ambrosia cling to his naked skin. He looked up to see Goku’s face over his, he felt his arm around him, supporting his waist off the ground, and the heat of his erection brushing against his inner thigh. “Vegeta…”, he murmured, a quiver in his voice. His tone was apologetic. His eyes weren’t. The Prince felt a smile threatening to creep upon his face. “How cruel of you, Kakarot”, a purring voice intervened, a bronze arm locking around the warrior’s neck, pulling him backwards gently. “Stealing my prize away like this…” Turles was resting his head on Goku’s shoulder, glancing briefly downwards at Vegeta. A mauve, velvet tongue traced the younger warrior’s earlobe. “I thought I was your prize”, Goku retorted, unexpectedly sly. The renegade seemed as pleased as he was surprised. “Are you, now?”, he purred. The younger saiyan stirred, reaching backwards to bury his hand in the other’s dark mop, turned his head and kissed him. Turles let out a soft sound as he opened his mouth for him, almost meekly. His hold around the other’s neck loosened and his hand slid downwards, trailing along the elegant clavicle and further down across sculpted pecs. Vegeta watched as his rival claimed the dark saiyan’s mouth, roughly, catching glimpses of his fangs before flushed lips crashed against the other’s mouth. He couldn’t help but think there was something commanding in the way Goku held the renegade’s head still, fisting his hair. He felt something akin to pride when he heard Turles pant into the kiss, dark brows knitting briefly before he was finally let go of, eyes clouded and mouth agape. The younger warrior’s head turned to the Prince, who didn’t hesitate and wrapped his legs around the warrior’s waist, eagerly, once he felt the hand on his back pull his hips upwards, lifting them off the ground. Ambrosia tricked down his spine, dripping off his rear, but he paid it no mind. More than the intoxicating sweetness filling his lungs, what bothered him was that his rival was hesitating, still. “What now, Kakarot?”, he sneered, “Ran out of ideas? Do you have any inkling of what your doing?” “I know what I’m doing”, the warrior replied, huskily, and Vegeta had to believe him. There was hunger in his eyes, but there was forbearance too. “Then what are you waiting for?”, he growled. He squeezed his sides between his knees, meaningfully. Searching eyes delved into his in reply, dark and desirous. The Prince had never before felt so weak from just a look. He couldn’t stand to see that desperate longing. “Your word, Vegeta”, came the fervent whisper. “Just a word.”

[itssandflower]

Mischief: Part 2

Read part 1 here

Trigger warning: Extreme Gore

At this point, I opened the carrier to get Mischief’s vitals. She was a gorgeous black cat with the standard green eyes. Her left side was facing me, and I could see her left hind leg tucked under her protectively. “All right, darling, I’m just going to take a quick look at your leg, okay?” I cooed to Mischief, shifting her hind end carefully so I could see the leg. I tried to keep my face passive as I took in the wounds-- they looked very much like something had scraped its claws down her flesh, but it the wounds looked pretty old. Mischief’s mom told me then that the inside of the leg was much worse. Privately, I wanted the surgeon to take a look at it before I did. I stroked Mischief’s short black fur and tucked her leg gently back under her before I closed the carrier. I informed Mischief’s mom that I would take her back to be evaluated, then bring her right back.

The surgeon I was receiving for was not my usual one. She was a tall, dark-haired, and mildly intimidating to those around her. She wasn’t a mean person, just very blunt with an impassive face. She was an intelligent doctor, and I was confident in her treatment plans for Mischief. We called her MML. I brought Mischief back to her and explained her situation, and MML, the intern on our service, and I went through the hospital to find a place to evaluate Mischief’s gait as part of our physical exam. The radiology suite was the only place we could go with a door, in case Mischief decided to make a break for it. We closed the door and took her out of her carrier, but she just huddled in a dark, unmoving heap on the floor. We gave her a few minutes, but she still didn’t move... She didn’t even turn her head to evaluate her surroundings.

Eventually, before I could move, MML went to turn the cat over. I should have known something was drastically wrong when Mischief didn’t resist; it was a very un-catlike thing to do. My heart dropped when I took a look at her hind leg-- there was no flesh on the inside of it. I could see the muscle, but it wasn’t a healthy pink... More like a washed- out beige. I could smell the infection, and it made my stomach churn. MML quickly and carefully picked Mischief up to return her to the carrier, and immediately after went to talk to Mischief’s mom. As I waited, I typed in some triage notes on the computer, anxiously thinking about that terrible wound and wondering how it got as bad as it did.

Suddenly, MML came rushing back into the surgery prep area, urgently snapping that we needed to bandage the leg before Mischief got a hospital-borne infection. The intern grabbed Mischief’s carrier while I moved around the surgery prep area like a whirlwind, grabbing betadine and saline for cleaning the wound, cast padding, bandage tape, vet wrap, and gauze. I placed a warm towel on a free gurney and the intern carefully lifted Mischief out of her carrier. She was limp and did not resist. I laid her on her side so that the inside of her left hind leg was visible to the surgeon and the intern, but I found I didn’t even have to restrain Mischief. Still, I talked softly to her, telling her I was so sorry that this got so bad for her, and that we would do everything we could for her.

As the intern began to clean Mischief’s wound, my stomach lurched-- the skin was sloughing, meaning it came off with very little pressure. MML seemed to grow more urgent, skillfully evaluating the wound and placing a bandage over the entire leg. She informed me that this cat needed to be evaluated by our Internal Medicine service immediately, and if they couldn’t do it, our Emergency service needed to take a look at her. My heart began to race as the reality of the situation finally clicked with me; Mischief was in a lot of trouble. I asked MML what we could do for this wound, and she sighed. She said that with the way the wound looked, amputation was unlikely to be successful, as the infection could have spread to Mischief’s bones in her legs. At worst case, it could spread to her hip joint and even to her pelvis. Therefore, the options were very limited for the small black cat.

When the bandage was placed, the intern brought Mischief back into the room with her owner so I could find someone who was free to evaluate her. I set off at a brisk pace to internal medicine, informing the techs and the doctors of the severe situation. Mischief had an appointment with the Internal Medicine service, anyway, which was definitely for the best. For extra measure, I also informed ER of the possibility they may have to evaluate her. From there, I had to move on to my next appointment... But my thoughts were still on Mischief and her mom.

Mischief’s appointment was originally at 9 am, and by the time my next appointment came, it was 10 am. When I came back from my next appointment, I saw Mischief on the crash table and had a grim realization that things were getting darker for her, not lighter. I overheard that her blood pressure was extremely low, and I noticed the ER nurses placing an intravenous catheter on her so they could bolus her with fluids. Throughout it all, the little black cat did nothing to resist.

Hours passed. Other appointments finished, and I noticed Mischief’s owner in the room that I had left her in as I walked past with other clients. Every now and then, I saw the Internal Medicine specialists and nurses in there with her, undoubtedly sharing Mischief’s progress... Or lack thereof. Of the few glances I was able to catch of Mischief’s owner, I noticed her red-streaked cheeks. She had been crying...

Eventually, the day drew to an end, and Mischief was the only patient of mine that was left in the hospital. By this time, her care was taken over entirely by the Internal Medicine service. A part of me wanted to stay on her case, but I knew there was not much I could do for her. Instead, once I was able to, I approached one of the Internal Medicine nurses.

“How is Mischief?” I asked cautiously, half-dreading the answer.

The Internal Medicine nurse sighed, confirming my prediction before she spoke. “Her owner decided to euthanize. She was suffering too much.”

It was a bittersweet end. Sweet because Mischief was no longer left to exist in agony... Bitter because all I could think of was her owner; she had arrived at my hospital with a sick cat in hopes that we could fix what was unfixable. Instead, she left that night with an empty, rusted cat carrier.

. . .

I still think of Mischief and her owner. A few weeks after her death, I had a dream that a small black cat was called back to us as a “STAT triage”. When a STAT was called, the patient was critical and needed to be evaluated immediately.

In this dream, an ER nurse brought back a gray cat carrier. We opened the top of the carrier carefully and swiftly, revealing a petite black cat huddled in the very back corner. The cat looked fine, and I couldn’t see a reason this patient was labeled “critical”. I readied myself as the nurse cautiously began to lift the cat out of the carrier. The nurse slowly turned the cat until her belly was exposed to the surrounding team...

There was a large wound splitting the cat from the neck to the tail, gaping up at us like a black hole. The body cavities were completely empty-- no heart, lungs, intestines. This cat should not have been alive. I had enough time to register the horror of the scene before the cat let out an unearthly screech, kicking her back claws at her throat. Everything about the scene was... Wrong.

I woke the next day, distraught. That dream comes back to me when I see a mortally injured patient. I still see the cat’s belly, exposed to the world... But that wasn’t the worst part of the dream. The absolute worst part was, in spite of the fact that the dream cat must have been in immense suffering, the owners in the dream refused to euthanize.

I know this dream was related to my experience with Mischief. I wish I could talk to more people about how seeing Mischief’s wounds, and being utterly helpless to help her, truly affected me. But I must keep my head up; move to the next patient, be there for the next owner, and help treat the next sickness or injury. But I’ll never forget those patients that have a place in my heart now... And Mischief is one of them.

[parchmints]

JuLance Day 28 - BIRTHDAY!

Check out my thread on twitter to see all the prompts at once (the tumblr app messes with formatting so I recommend twitter if you’re using mobile)! All prompts connect together to form one overarching story!

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day 28/31 - BIRTHDAY!

Lance’s last day of his week visiting Cuba. 

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LANCE!! Here’s my bday fic for the BEST boy. Hope you all like as we get near the end of this fic! Thanks to @angst-in-space for the beta!)

Day 28: BIRTHDAY!

It’s Lance’s last full day in Cuba and there’s a knot in his stomach that just won’t go away. He knows he’ll still be able to visit while they’re on Earth, but he’s really liked spending all day with everyone. There’s a part of him--a very small part of him--that wants to take his mamá’s offer and hang up his blue helmet, stay in Cuba forever, but he can’t. He won’t.

“You’re getting all mopey again,” Marco says, snapping Lance out of his daydream. They’re side-by-side, grocery bags in hand, and walking along the pier to the path that leads to their house. Mamá had asked Marco to buy some groceries for tomorrow night (which was admittedly odd--she usually goes grocery shopping once a week and gets everything at once) and Marco had dragged Lance along. Normally, Lance would have resisted, but he’s happy to spend some time with his brother.

Being present has proven difficult, however, as Lance is constantly thinking about his departure tomorrow.

“Oh. Sorry, Marco. I’m just--”

“Sad you’re leaving?” Marco asks, his usual smirk faltering.

“Yeah…”

“Well, I mean, you’re gonna come and have dinner with us all the time, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re probably gonna have some time off too. You said it was probably gonna take a while to build the castle, so we have time.”

“No, yeah,” Lance says, frowning, “I know. I’m just...it’s been a really great week, y’know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

As Lance and Marco sink into silence on their evening walk, Lance’s cell phone vibrates in his jacket pocket. Lance slips the grocery bag handle from his hand to his wrist and fishes out his phone, already fairly certain who’s contacting him.

Keith <<5:54 PM>>

Hey, Lance. Don’t want to interrupt your time with your family, but I know you’re probably pretty bummed since it’s your last night in Cuba and I thought I’d check in on you.

<<5:54 PM>>

!!!! awww!!! babe!! that’s so sweet ur so tjoughtful <3 <3 <3

Keith <<5:55 PM>>

Ugh. Stop.

<<5:55 PM>>

BABE BABE BABE BABE BABE

Keith <<5:55 PM>>

YOU’RE THE WORST

<<5:56 PM>>

:P youll learn to like it

Keith <<5:56 PM>>

…

Keith <<5:56 PM>>

Maybe.

Keith <<5:56 PM>>

Well, I’ll let you go. Have fun. I’m excited to see you tomorrow.

<<5:57 PM>>

thnx!! me too!! love you xox

Keith <<5:57 PM>>

…

Keith <<5:56 PM>>

Love you too.

“Ugh, oh my god, stop! I can feel you being gross from over here,” Marco says, groaning. “Put the phone away before I get secondhand cavities.”

Lance’s cheeks heat from Marco calling him out, but the dopey grin that plastered itself on his face since he saw the text is still firmly in place.

“Shut up,” Lance says, slipping his phone back in his pocket, his mood ten times lighter.

“Nuh uh. Until I get myself a cute girlfriend, you’re fair grounds for teasing, bro,” Marco says, swinging his grocery bags back and forth. “But it’s going well? You and Keith?”

Lance’s eyes stray to the ground at the question, his grin fading into a smaller, softer smile. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s going well.”

In fact, it’s going very well. Kind of better than Lance’s wildest dreams, if he’s honest. It’s only been a few days since they confessed to each other, but it already feels like they’ve found something good. Something that will last.

After they got together, they both agreed Keith should stay in Arizona while Lance finished his vacation with his family. They both knew they’d distract each other and Lance still has a lot more time Keith when compared to the time he has in Cuba, so they both thought it was for the best. It’s been a little hard because now that Lance has a boyfriend he wants to see him all the time and do all the fun boyfriend stuff he gets to do now, but he reminds himself that there’s a time and place for that.

And now isn’t that time and Cuba isn’t that place.

Cuba is for family.

Lance has been spending the past couple days hanging out with everyone--facials with Veronica, early morning fishing with papá, guitar practice with Luís, practicing his French with Marise, arts and crafts with Diana, Hilario, and Ana, and of course, big family dinners every night.

He’s going to miss those the most. With everyone so busy all the time, it’s the one place they all get to be together and it’s something mamá insists upon. No matter what, the McClains eat their dinner together.

Lance has never been more grateful for that rule.

Finally, they reach home, the sun starting its descent towards the horizon and Lance feels a pang of loneliness shoot through his chest. Tonight’s his last dinner with them all for who knows how long and it weighs heavy on him.

They climb the porch steps to the front door and Marco nods for him to go ahead. Lance does so without question and opens the door.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

There’s a flash, a series of loud popping sounds, streams of color, the whir of kazoos, and Lance is very, very confused.

He blinks rapidly trying to absorb the scene in front of him, but it’s all so overwhelming.

“Oh man, look at his face!” a voice says. Pidge?

“Oh, we totally got him. We got him so good!” another voice answers. Hunk?

After a few seconds, Lance finally understands what’s happening--his entire family is in the hall with the entire team and they’re all looking at him with big smiles and mischievous eyes. In the back of the large group is Hunk and Luís holding up a large banner that says “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEANDRO!” in finger paints and Lance can tell it was made by Hilario and Ana with Diana’s supervision.

“I--it’s September!” he says, incredulous and they all laugh at him.

“Oh, we know, we know,” his mamá says with an unbothered wave, “but we missed two of your birthdays while you were in space so we wanted to make up for lost time.”

“Aww mamá, you didn’t have to do that.”

“We wanted to!” she says, coming over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, mijo.”

Lance smiles at her and then looks to his team members. “How did you guys get here? I didn’t see a Lion.”

“We all took Green and I put on cloaking while we rode in and parked far away,” Pidge says, looking smug. “I’m a genius.”

“Seriously?! Who even told you guys?”

Marco steps away and walks over to Keith, casually leaning his arm on Keith’s shoulder. “Keith and I coordinated the whole thing! We missed twice the birthdays so we need twice the people to make up for it.”

Lance beams at Keith and sends him the biggest smile he can manage, which Keith returns. He quickly looks away, however, as they haven’t told the rest of the team about their relationship yet and they don’t want it to be exposed before they’re ready to tell them themselves.

“Aww, you guys! That’s awesome, I’m so happy. It’s so cool that you’re all here,” Lance says, beaming at them.

Shiro roughly puts his hand on Lance’s shoulder and gives it a little squeeze. “We wouldn’t miss it, Lance.”

“Yes! Plus, Hunk informed us that your household’s cuisine is to be revered which I am glad to hear because so far, Earth food has been...not what I expected,” Allura says.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’ve been eating standard issue Garrison food,” Hunk says. “I’ve only ever had Lance’s mom’s home cooked empanadas the day after and man, I dreamed about those puppies for weeks.”

“Oh, Hunk, you’re so sweet,” Lance’s mamá says, blushing at the praise.

“Yeah, they’re really good,” Keith agrees.

“Alright, alright! Enough!” Veronica says with a sigh. “Let’s eat them already before they get cold.”

Dinner is...an experience. They’re all crowded onto the McClain family table, elbows bumping elbows, plates only centimeters apart, and every extra chair in the house being squeezed in. There’s so much conversation happening, Lance can hardly follow it. Hunk is talking to mamá about her family recipes, Shiro is talking to Luís and papá about his arm, Pidge and Marise are prattling away about genius stuff, and Coran has Marco, Veronica, and Allura swept up in a story about the former Paladins. Marco and Veronica listen to him with rapt attention, but based on the identical line between their brows, they’re also very confused.

Lance sits at the center of the table, talking and chiming in to as many conversations as he can, while Keith sits beside him. They’re all so squeezed in that no one notices that they’re holding hands and that Keith is gently brushing Lance’s thumb underneath the table.

And it’s a bittersweet feeling. He’s not sure if he’s ever felt happier, surrounded by both his blood family and space family, but there’s a subtle sadness to it because he’s not sure when this will ever happen again, this incredible clashing of his worlds. Soon, he’s going to have to leave one family to be with the other, but all he wants is to just live in this moment forever with all of them.

Don’t worry about that now, he thinks. Enjoy it while it lasts.

There’s cake--of course, there’s cake. Luís brings it out with a big grin and it’s probably the ugliest, greatest cake Lance has ever seen in his life. It’s two-tiered but the layers are uneven, so it slants and it’s covered in baby blue icing with little icing doodles of the Red and Blue Lions on the sides. The amount of candles on the thing is probably illegal and they’re a glittering mess of sparklers and regular wax ones. It’s a total mess, but if Luís baked it, Lance knows it’s going to be delicious.

Hilario whoops and yells, “CAKE!” as soon as he sees it and the rest of the adults “ooh” and “ahh” as it comes in. Luís places the cake right in front of Lance, squeezing himself past a long line of chairs, and Lance can feel the heat of the lit candles radiating from it.

“Alright!” Luís says, clapping Lance on the shoulders before grabbing a guitar he tucked away in the corner of the room. “Let’s sing Happy Birthday to Lancito before we burn the house down.”

Luís strums his guitar and starts the song, his full-bodied voice filling the room, and the rest all jump in. Nobody’s on pitch (as it should be) and they’re not quite in sync as Allura and Coran are learning as they go, but Lance is grinning just the same. And as awkward as being sung to may feel usually, today it just fills him up with so much happiness, so much gratefulness, so much love that a lump forms in his throat.

Oh my god, no. You are not gonna cry, you sap, he tells himself. Luckily, his body listens to him and he’s able to swallow down the emotion. He feels Keith give his hand a squeeze under the table and Lance flashes him a quick smile. Keith’s eyes are soft and sweet when they catch Lance’s and his whole torso flutters at the sight of them. When he turns back, Shiro is wearing a knowing smirk, and, embarrassed, Lance quickly looks back to Luís as he finishes the song.

Of course, Keith told Shiro, he thinks, a little annoyed, but the feeling passes quickly.

“--Happy birthday to youuu!” they all finish with hollers as Luís strums his guitar erratically. Hilario has started listing all the birthday channel additions he remembers--”and a big fat lady on channel 80! And Scooby Doo on channel two!”--and Lance’s papá pats his shoulder next to him.

They all watch Lance as he halfway stands from his seat to reach the candles and with a brief moment of introspection, Lance closes his eyes and makes a wish.

I wish...I wish that I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with these people.

Lance takes an exaggerated, cartoony inhale and with all the power his lungs can muster, he blows out the ridiculous amount of candles on the cake. The sparklers don’t go out, but all the wax ones do and from all sides of him Lance hears cheers and clapping.

He sits back down and he’s met with dozens of bright eyes and happy smiles staring back at him.

And it’s in this moment that Lance’s eyes water--he’s too overcome with the weight of his gratefulness to be here, to be surrounded by the most important people in his life, at least for one night, that his emotions get the better of him.

He’ll never forget this night--the one where he was surrounded by all the people he loves most in the world--the universe--and the people who love him back just as much.

And there’s no better birthday present than that.

[jizemderler]

Celebration “Prompt” @emilybillard : Hey! Congrats on 500+ followers! Can I have both an mood board and a prompt? 💖I followed you bc your an amazing writer and an awesome person..I have brown hair and hazel eyes. I love reading. I love photography. I’m shy and awkward until you get to know me, then I become more awkward and you wish I would shut up. People have told me I have a very kind personality and I could give people cavities bc I’m so sweet😂 I suffer from anxiety and I’m Canadian. And can that be with Tom? Thank you!!

A/N: This is the “prompt” for the lovely @emilybillard . Thank you for all the kind words, I love you, I don’t deserve you, you’re awesome!! Even though I really like this fic (I really enjoyed writing it!), I’m shit at writing prompts! I can’t keep it short dvjddj I’m trash. I hope you like it anyways! Enjoy!

“Are you ready?” he asked as the car came to a halt and layed his hand over yours. “Will we leave if I say no?” you asked and you two both knew that you were joking. This event was really important for Toms carier and you’d never leave him to deal with it on his own. He was really nervous about it and it helped him knowing that you’d always be by his side.

“We could. But we probably won’t.” he chuckled and you flashed him a smile.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

You were somewhat used to the flashing lights as soon as you both left the car and walked onto the red carpet. First they took bazillion of photos where they would yell your name constantly to get you to look over. You tried to look in every direction possible so they’d get their picture but after a few minutes you felt slightly dizzy so you tightened your grip around Toms arm which made him look down worriedly. You kept smiling and ignored his worried look but he understood and wrapped his arm around your waist to give you more stability.

After the photos it was time for the interviews. You walked alongside Tom and he did not let go of your hand. “Hello you two! Look at you! I’m so honoured to be interviewing these gorgeous love birds.” the interviewer said into his mic while looking into the camera and you looked down to your feet trying to hide your blushing cheeks. “Who are you wearing tonight?” the interviewer asked you both and you looked up at Tom so he would answer first. “Uh, you know. Probs to my dresser. She does an amazing job but never tells me “who I am wearing”. It’s an ongoing joke of hers, she finds it very funny.“ he said chuckling and you grinned to yourself. You loved her and it really was entertaining to watch Tom find new anwers everytime he was asked that question.

“Now you’re exposed. Eat that, homie!” he said into the camera and made gang signs which made you laugh. “No, I’m joking. She’ll kill me. Or not dress me well and embaress me. I depend on her. She’s a great person.” he apologized immediatly and made the interviewer laugh too.  After they talked about a few other things where you threw in little comments here and there he finally asked a question directed to you.

“So, tell me. What are you guys doing with your free time?”

“Regarding that we don’t have a lot of free time, we enjoy little things. Simple things, you know. Like watching a movie or going out to have dinner. Sometimes we have friends over and play charade.” you said sheugging your shoulders,“ And Tom is not a good loser. He is very competitive.” you added while covering the side of your mouth as if he couldn’t hear you that way. “That - ” he started to decline but as you looked up to him he let it go, “is kinda true, to a certain point.”

“What do you do when Tom is away. Like what keeps you busy?”

“Well other than college. I read a lot. Sometimes I go out with Toms little brother Harry to snap some pictures because we share the same passion for photography, you know?” you said and looked over to Tom who was watching you with a loving smile. “And Tom over here will pout if he hears about it. How dare I have fun while he is away.” you joke and Tom blushes while you laugh with the interviewer.

“Y/N! Could we have an interview!” you heared someone yell and looked over your shoulder.

“You can go if you like. I’ll finish this.” Tom encouraged you and pointed at the interviewer with his head. “Uh, sure…” you said and shook the interviewers hand as a goodbye and moved on to the next one. Tom watched you in awe how you handled the situation. You went from one interviewer to the other answering politely and having nice conversations. He saw you laugh quiet a numorous of times and he felt a little pout-y suddenly. You were really sweet and friendly with everyone and they loved you whihh was great. But Tom somehow felt left out even though he was busy himself. He liked having you by his side. Especially when you were wearing a gown like that where every guy in your presence tried to impress you.

You were talking with an interviewer about your no-goes when you felt someone wrap his arm around your waist. “I’ll have to steal her from you know.” he said and took your hand. “It was so nice talking to you!” the interviewer said and leaned in to give you a hug which you kindly accepted. “Same goes to you.”

“Thank you for your time!”

“Thank you for your time.” Tom hissed under his breath as you two walked into the bulding and you looked at him with furrowed brows. “Are you okay?” you asked and tried to look him in his eyes but he looked straight forward. “Yes.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

He didn’t make sense what so ever so you decided to let it go. You walked to your seats where Harrison and Harry were already waiting. You hugged both of them and sat down. Tom did not say a word the whole time they talked on stage and you couldn’t understand his sudden mood swing. The event itself went really well and the four of you decided to attend the after party. “I’ll have to go talk to some people. Are you okay with staying with Haz and Harry?” he asked you leaning in so you’d actually hear him. “Of course. Off you go. I’ll occupie myself.” you agreed and waved him off. He smiled thankfully and leaned in to give you a quick kiss before disappearing in the mass of people.

“Wow! You look gorgeous.” you heared someone say from behind and when you turned around your mouth dropped as you saw Robert Downey Jr standing behind you with open arms. “Uh…thank you, I guess. So do you!” you said and wanted to vanish into thin air as soon as it left your mouth. He chuckled and came closer while sipping at his glass. After you had a long conversation with Robert you talked to many other people. Celebs mostly which left you totally shook.

Tom was talking to his manager when someone approached him with a big smile on his face. “Hey Tom!” he greeted Tom and they shook hands. “Your girlfriend is the most down to earth, sweet and funny girl I have ever met. Does she have a sister or anything?” he joked and Tom forced a smile on his face. Was she talking to everyone but him tonight? Tom knew that it was douchy of him to think like that but if he was honest to himself then he would admit that he was jealous. It was great that everyone loved Y/N but he liked having you for himself. Jesus, you were nice to everyone. Too nice maybe which would bring the guys on unwanted ideas. As soon as Tom thought of that he excused himself and went to find you. As he found you, you had your head thrown back laughing along to something Chris Evans had said. He picked up his speed and was by your side in seconds.

“Hey, Tom! Nice to see you man!” Chris said and gave Tom a quick one-shouldered hug. “You too, Chris.” Tom said and Chris did not stay long after that. “Do you want to leave? I think we should leave.” Tom said suddenly and you looked up in confusion. “What’s going on Tom? You’ve been weird the whole time? Did I do something to upset you?” you asked and tried to read his emotions but he shook his head. “We should get home.” he just said and you let your shoulders sink. “Sure. Let me just grab my stuff.” you said and took off to gather your stuff.

***

Tom did not talk the whole ride home. He did hold your hand but it felt weird and this situation was bugging you. You thought you were doing great with the interviews and the press and all of that but appearently you had messed up somehow. When you finally got home you two changed into more comfortable clothes which were old T-Shirts and baggy sweatpants. You cought him staring at you with furrowed brows as you turned around after you finished changing your clothes.

“Alright. Spit it out. What did I do?” you asked finally and crossed your arms infront of your chest, feeling a little annoyed. “You still look hot.” he groaned and your eyes widened. “Pardon me?” “I don’t get it. You’re not even showing skin or anything.” he said staring at your body and you couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “What did you drink tonight? Something heavy?” you said amused and he rolled his eyes. You walked towards him and wrapped your arms around his waist. “What’s bugging you? Come on, tell me.” you encouraged him and he wrapped his arms around you too.

“It’s dumb.”

“Come on.” you said rolling your eyes and he sighed.

“You’re beeing too sweet.”

“Come again?”

“You looked smoking hot today AND you were sweet to everyone. They were literally drooling after you.” he growled and furrowed his brows. “Are you se-…You are serious oh my god!” you exclaimed and chuckled while cupping his face with your hands. “I thought something bad happened. I thought I did something wrong! You were just jealous.” you laughed and he mumbled something you didn’t understand. “No you were great. You’re so sweet you could give me cavities.” he said like a little boy and made you laugh.

“You’re so dumb!” you said and leaned in to give him a statisfying kiss. You broke the kiss after a few seconds and grinned teasingly. “I’m canadian. I can’t turn of the sweet. Thank god you have a sweet tooth!” you teased him and wiggled your brows which made him roll his eyes.

“Shut up.” he said and leaned in to kiss you again. Whomever drooled after you, at the end of the day you were only his.

[porkchop-ao3]

cop rick/fem!reader nsfw role-play, ya know what I'm sayin'???

I hope you like it :) thanks for the request!

-

It was late, and I was driving through the deader-than-usual streets of the Citadel on my way home. Of course, the streets were never completely dead, not even at three in the morning after my nightshift at the 24/7 convenience store; which sold mostly booze at this time of night. I wasn’t particularly tired, having spent the entire day sleeping like I always did before a night shift, I was ready to get home and wait up for Rick, who had been on duty tonight. He wouldn’t get off until six.

I turned down a quiet residential street, not too far from my home, and that’s when flashing blue lights caught my eye in my mirrors. It was the goddamn police, and with a short blast of the siren I was being told to pull over. I checked my speed; I hadn’t been speeding, and I was always a careful driver, I had nothing to hide. So I pulled up at the nearest convenient space, and waited as the officer got out of his own car and approached mine. I rolled down my window, expecting to see a grouchy old Rick, bored and wanting to fuck with someone. Instead, I laughed in delight, grinning up at my Rick.

“Oh, it’s you! Hi baby, I was just-”

“You didn’t use your turn signals back there.” He interrupted me, leaning both hands on the roof of my car as he bent down to peer at me through the window. His expression was unreadable, but he looked me up and down slowly.

“Didn’t I?” I blinked at him, confused. “I was sure I did, I always do.” I wracked my brains, I couldn’t specifically remember using them, but it was second nature, unconscious even.

“You, uh, y-you wanna step out the car for me, sweet- sweetheart.” He asked, pushing away from the car and taking a step back. I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out if I’d got the whole thing wrong and this actually wasn’t my Rick. I was so sure, though… after spending so much time with him I’d picked up on his mannerisms, the subtle differences in his appearance that set him aside from every other Rick on the Citadel. They were all there, it was most definitely him.

“Okay.” I said quietly, pushing the door open and climbing out, he didn’t back away, and I had to move impossibly close to him in order to close the door behind me. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and turned me around, then slid that same hand down my spine, brushing over my backside very lightly.

“I’m gonna have to s-search you. It’s just proc-pr-procedure. Arms out to the side.” He said, and I swear I could hear a grin in his voice now that I had my back to him.

“Yes, officer.” I replied, spreading my arms and legs out for him. His hands were on me, sliding down my sides, lingering on my hips and my backside. It was most definitely a less than professional search, especially when he slide both hands into the back pockets of my pants, squeezing roughly. He exhaled audibly, stepping closer and pressing his chest into my back.

“Sh-should be arresting you for this ass; it’s gotta be illegal.” He whispered, and I laughed quietly, turning my head to look at him. His eyes were hooded and lustful, and I finally realised what this was about.

“Long night, officer?” I purred, pressing my backside against him. He pulled his hands out of my pockets and pushed his groin against me, it was then I realised that he was hard; not even just getting there, but fully hard. Trailing his hands around to my front, he ghosted them over my stomach and over my chest very lightly. It almost tickled.

“Very.” He simply said, suddenly crouching and sliding his hands down each of my legs, bringing them back upwards between my thighs. He rubbed the spots right on the inner parts of my thighs, as close to my core as possible without actually touching. A shaky breath escaped me, and he moved around to my front, still crouching on the ground. I looked down at him as he moved one hand up to cup my crotch over my pants, fingers stroking back and forth with barely any pressure, enough to make me buck into his touch. Warmth flooded me from the waist down, my heart rate skyrocketing.

“Oh God.” I breathed, glancing around the empty street.

Rick broke his stoic character, humming happily and licking his lips. “I’ve been thinking about you all-all night baby. When I saw your car I could-couldn’t resist. Couldn’t wait till after my shift.” He told me, unbuttoning my pants with quick hands. I flung my hands down to stop him, my eyes scanning the area once again.

“Wait, can we… can we at least get in my car or find an alley or something?” I asked, and Rick chuckled, peering up at me.

“Depends, are you gonna ma-make a break for it as soon as I let my guard down? I-I-I still need to write you up for that little indiscretion back there. The law’s the law.” He asked, though he had a playfulness in his eye.

“No, officer. I’ll pay my dues.” I assured him. He reached a hand behind him, pulling out his cuffs and clamping them over my wrists before I had the chance to say anything, my lips parted in surprise, and he held onto the chain between the cuffs as he stood, guiding me along with it. He led us away from the cars and down the street, there was a secluded little spot down a side street lined with garages, a singular streetlight lit up the entrance, but down near the end was bathed in darkness. He took us far enough so that there was just enough light to see what we were doing, and he pinned me up against the wall.

“Maybe I need to do a cavity search, huh?” He asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the cliche. He didn’t even crack a smile, so I quickly collected myself.

“Um, if you think that’s necessary, sir.” I nodded, and he seemed to like the name I’d given him. He leaned in and kissed me, his tongue pushing past my lips, barely giving me enough time to prepare myself. His kiss was starved; needy and full of want. I moaned quietly, my bound hands moving up to grab hold of his tie. He finished what he’d started out on the street, unfastening my pants and sliding a hand inside. He slid his fingers over my slit, dipping between the folds ever so slightly and coating them in my moisture. He rolled my clit under his index and middle finger a few times before pushing a single digit inside me. He wriggled it around, breaking the kiss to look at me as he did.

“You don’t seem to be sm-smuggling anything up here, but you sure are wet. Breaking the law get- gets you off, does it?” He murmured in a dirty tone, leaning in close, barely giving me space to breathe. Not that I minded.

“Maybe it’s the getting caught that does it.” I said on an exhale, canting my hips towards him as he angled his fingers forwards and brushed over my sweet spot.

“Mmm.” He simply hummed in approval, adding a second finger and thrusting them. He brought his thumb to my clit, rubbing it quickly from side to side.

“Ohhh, mm, fuck.” I sighed, raising up onto my tiptoes and arching my back, pressing ever closer to him. I could hear slick sounds rising from between us, and it was embarrassing how wet this was making me.

“Unbutton that shirt for me, le-let me make sure you aren’t hiding anything under there.” He commanded, and I brought my shaky hands to my own chest, doing what I was told. “Arms up.” He added, and I was as obedient as ever. Rick peppered kisses over my chest, biting and sucking on the exposed parts of my breasts. Eventually he pushed my bra upwards, mouthing my nipples one by one. He swiped his tongue in circles around them, before gently nibbling with his teeth. I shuddered and suppressed a moan that managed to surface as a pathetic squeak.

He moved down my body, lips trailing sweet kisses, his tongue darting out and painting a wet stripe down my stomach as he dropped to his knees in front of me. I was panting heavily at this point, and it only got heavier when he pulled my pants and underwear down completely. Without a word his mouth met my core, those two fingers still buried inside me. His tongue played over my engorged clitoris, applying just the right amount of pressure he knew I liked, flicking it back and forth. His eyes closed in concentration, his fingers giving direct stimulation to my g-spot, working with his tongue to bring me to the brink of orgasm.

It was fast and hit me like a bullet, there was little to no warning before I was coming. My legs shook and I whimpered, rolling my head back against the wall, hands flying down to Rick’s head with a clink of chain. He moaned against me when I pushed his face harder between my legs involuntarily, only letting up the pressure when the sensitivity got too much, and I was flinching away from the assault of his tongue.

“Mmm, that’s it baby. Y-you like that? Didn’t ta-take long, did it?” He chuckled, rising to his feet. I caught my breath, staring at him with a look of need in my eyes. “You know, y-you’ve been real good for me. Maybe we can forget about your little mistake tonight. Wouldn’t that be n-nice?”

“Yes, officer. I’m a good driver, I’ve learned my lesson.” I nodded frantically, bringing my arms down to wrap around his neck, my bound wrists hanging between his shoulder blades.

“Not quite. Y-you gotta keep being a good girl f-for a lit-little while longer.” He said softly, and he reached down to unbutton his pants. He pushed them down around his ankles, exposing his leaking, flushed erection. He was desperately hard, his neglected cock jumping as he pushed his hips forward, rubbing it along my wet slit. He stuttered out incoherent words, rocking against me.

He picked me up suddenly, pinning me against the wall and prompting me to wrap my legs around him. He waited no more time before giving into his desperation and sinking into me. His shoulders hunched and he took a moment to steady himself, breaths coming out shaky and frantic. I could tell just how worked up he was, and I felt my own muscles clench involuntarily around his length in need. He cursed, lifting his head up to look at me.

“Y-you’re so perfect. So fuckin’ good babe-baby.” He told me, then began to move. He thrust into me nice and quick, no warm up needed. I gasped and clutched onto the back of his shirt for dear life, my pussy throbbing and tingling instantly with being filled so perfectly.

Rick was unrelenting yet consistently gentle, and he took the time to press kisses against my neck, sucking and nibbling here and there, whispering words of encouragement to me as he fucked me. Rick had always been a generous lover, making sure that I was enjoying myself just as much as he was regardless of the situation. He angled his hips in such a way that his pubic bone ground into my clit with his motion, and it wasn’t long before I was clenching around him, anticipating a second release.

“Cum for me, beau-beautiful, I wanna f-fe-feel it.” He grunted, picking up the pace. I bounced between him and the wall, my whole body hot and throbbing from the friction that met almost every part of me. My moans grew louder, and in that moment I couldn’t care less that we were out in public and any old Rick or Morty could walk by and hear us. His cock felt too good inside me, curving upward slightly to stimulate my g-spot so I was reduced to a shaking mess of pure, hot pleasure.

“Oh God, Rick I love- I love you.” I called out, my thighs squeezing his hips as he pushed me over the edge, and I pulsed around him through my second orgasm. A strangled groan was torn from him, and I could feel him spilling inside me. He fucked me through our orgasms, gently slowing until he stopped his thrusts completely. He kissed me, it was hungry and it stole my breath. He didn’t stop even when he pulled out of me and lowered me to the ground, bringing his hands up to cup my face.

We were both still breathless when he pulled away, his hooded eyes bored into mine and he chuckled quietly, stroking his thumbs lovingly over my cheeks. He pressed a few more single kisses over my face; the tip of my nose, the corner of my mouth, the curve of my jaw. I closed my eyes and soaked it up, I was a complete junkie for moments of affection from Rick.

“Am- am I still in trouble?” I asked, and he laughed again, pulling back from me. He shook his head and reached for my arms, lifting them up and away from around his neck. He bent down and rummaged in his discarded pant pockets for a key, unlocking the cuffs and rubbing my wrists soothingly, planting a kiss on each one.

“You never re-really were. You did nothing wrong.” He told me with a smirk as he redressed himself. I did the same, regardless of the bodily fluids dripping down my thighs; it wasn’t like I had anything to clean myself up with out here.

“I didn’t think so. I know I’m a good driver.” I smirked back. He leaned in and gave me another peck on the lips once we were both decent, and groaned in disappointment when he pulled back.

“I should probably get back to doing my j-job.” He whispered, and I nodded my head.

“Probably.” I agreed, stroking a hand over his chest. “But if you ever catch me, say, speeding, I would be quite happy for you to pull me over again.” I smiled cheekily.

“Of course. Part of my job is keep-keeping the roads safe. Can’t have y-you jeopardising that.” He smirked, taking my hand and leading us back down the alley and towards our cars. He gave me one last tender kiss, before opening my car door for me. Ever the gentleman. “I’ll see you at home.” He told me once I was settled in, tapping on the roof of the car.

“Looking forward to it.” I smiled, before starting up the car and pulling off.

[asreoninfusion]

Clack Week Day 2: Wing

My contrbution to day two of Clack week. Of course I went with wing, because I’m not about to pass up an opportunity for wing kink. xp 

This one is still, uhh, mostly SFW but with suggestive momements, I guess (no parts are touched except for the wing, but the mention of boners comes up lol). It’s mainly fluff and cuteness again. I’m going to give myself cavities at this rate with how sweet the boys are being all the time.

Zack ran his hand through Cloud’s hair as Cloud stirred. There were dim cracks of light just starting to seep in past the curtains – morning, then, but still early.

“Hey,” Zack said. “Feeling better?”

Cloud groaned quietly and buried his face into Zack’s chest. “I have a killer crick in my neck. I thought we swore off falling asleep on sofas.”

Zack chuckled. Cloud had recovered enough to regain his sarcastic sense of humour – that was a good sign. He wouldn’t even complain that Cloud had been the one using him as a pillow the whole time, and Zack’s arm felt like it would be numb for days.

Cloud gave a shuddering sigh, and his newly mutated wing twitched and stretched against the coffee table. Cloud froze.

“It’s okay,” Zack reminded him. “It’s just the same as Sephiroth and Genesis and Angeal have, remember?”

“Right,” Cloud agreed blandly.

“It’s a good thing. Probably means you have the potential to be just as powerful at them! Not everyone gets wings, after all. You’ll be promoted to First for sure.”

“I know.”

Zack cupped Cloud’s face, guiding his gaze up until their eyes met. “It doesn’t make you a monster. Never has and never will.”

Cloud flushed and looked away. After a good night’s sleep and plenty of cuddles, his meltdown the previous night seemed… a bit of an overreaction. Zack was right. The three elite Firsts all had wings, he had known it was a possibility. It had just been unexpected, to come back from the labs with an entire extra limb.

Zack peered over at the wing. It was a touch worse for wear – Cloud had thrashed quite a bit, maybe clawed at it a little in his panic.

“You feel okay, right?”

Cloud made a non-committal noise, neither confirming nor denying. “It’s… weird. I can feel it. It’s a little tender, I guess; the wing, and my shoulder too. But yeah, I’m okay.”

“Can you move it?” Zack sounded more curious than anything, now.

Cloud stretched his wing out; lifted it a little. He watched it move with fascination. “Guess so.”

“That’s a start!” Although he was trying to sound encouraging, Zack couldn’t quite stifle the yawn that made its way out. He shifted beneath Cloud’s weight. There really was a reason they’d said no more sleeping together on couches. “Well, how about we move somewhere more comfortable for a while? Then when it gets to a sensible time for existence, I’ll call Seph and see what he can tell us about wing care and shit, yeah?”

“No!” Cloud immediately flushed at his sudden outburst. “I mean—I don’t know if I want anyone else to know about this just yet.”

“Cloud… it’s okay. Seph ain’t gonna judge, Mr. One Winged Angel and all.”

Cloud made a face. “Exactly. His wing is so… majestic. This thing looks pathetic in comparison.”

“Aww, that’s not true!”

“It’s all small and runty.”

“No way. It might be smaller than Seph’s, but honestly, Seph is overcompensation city anyway. You don’t want one that size. You might think it looks all majestic and shit, but trust me, I have seen him constantly knocking stuff over with that wing.”

At least that got a wry grin out of Cloud. Zack beamed and loosely wrapped his arms around Cloud’s bare waist (the wing would make shirts difficult until Cloud would get extras properly tailored) before continuing.

“And if your wing looks a little dishevelled now, it’s just ‘cause you’ve been through a lot. It’ll look great with a bit of preening and TLC.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start with looking after something like this,” Cloud sighed.

“No problem. We can ask the others, or if you’re not up for that just yet, we can muddle through ourselves. Want me to give it a shot?”

“Now?”

“Sure, if it’ll make you feel better about the whole thing. And the guys have said it feels pretty nice as well, so win win, right?”

Cloud hesitated. He hadn’t wanted anyone touching the wing at all before, but… he’d calmed down a lot now, and this was Zack.

It only took him a moment to decide. “Okay. That sounds good.”

“Alright. Let’s move to the bedroom so you have room to stretch out.”

They both reluctantly got up, stretching out the various kinks and cramped muscles that had resulted from a night spent piled together on a couch that was distinctly too small for two adult men. As soon as Cloud got into the bedroom, he flopped stomach-first onto the bed with a sigh.

Zack fought back a smile. Cloud was cute when he was sleepy. Cute all the time, really, but especially when sleepy. His new wing stretched out over the covers – Cloud took up nearly the whole bed like that.

Zack crawled onto the bed to join him. Cloud’s wing was right in front of him… even if a few feathers were out of place, and it was a little dulled by the dried remains of mako and gods knew what other questionable liquids from the labs, the wing was still incredibly pretty. Mostly white, but with a faint silver shine to the feathers. He got the feeling they would absolutely glisten in sunlight.

He was staring; he’d always been fascinated by the wings some of the other SOLIDERs sported. He shook himself out of it.

“First things first, how about a damp washcloth to wipe that wing of yours down? It’s kinda… sticky.”

Cloud made a vaguely affirmative noise, face muffled into a pillow. Zack went to fetch the required implements. When he returned with washcloth in hand, Cloud was already half dozing.

Zack grinned to himself and got to work. He kept his touch light at first, not sure how sensitive Cloud would be. Cloud only sighed at the contact.

Wiping away the mako and gunk was the least fun part, so Zack work steadily through it. He only interrupted to get Cloud to roll onto his side and spread the wing behind him so Zack could access the underside.

“Done,” Zack announced.

Cloud’s wing gave a little shiver, as if trying to get rid of the excess water (okay, maybe Zack had got a little sloppy towards the end), and then fluffed out. Zack was delighted.

“Oh man, it looks so soft!” he said, eyes gleaming with adoration. The wing had the same kind of downy softness as Cloud’s hair, and Zack had to fight back a deeply ingrained instinct to ruffle. Ruffling would not go down well. Preening, on the other hand… “Can I touch?”

“Hnn.” It seemed to be permission.

Cloud rolled back onto his front, and Zack leaned over to gently card his fingers through Cloud’s feathers. Ohh. They really were soft.

Cloud gave another sigh, more pronounced this time, and shuddered a little at the touch. But it didn’t seem to be in a bad way. In fact, as Zack continued to work his way along Cloud’s wings, righting all the feathers and stroking them into place, Cloud seemed to melt into the mattress.

Zack’s heart swelled. Just being so close to Cloud, the casual intimacy… the fact that Cloud was already comfortable enough to let him do this, even though he’d been distraught about the wing just last night.

“Cloud… I really love you.”

Cloud cracked a sleepy eye open. “Huh? What brought that on?”

“I don’t know. Just being close to you.”

“…you’re being sappy again, aren’t you?”

Zack leaned down and blew a raspberry on the small of Cloud’s back in retribution for his sass. Cloud squirmed and gave a small yelp.

Grinning, Zack turned the raspberry into an actual kiss, working his way up Cloud’s spine. He kept preening the wing as he did so; he was learning where Cloud liked a little bit more pressure, and so far he’d found one or two spots that made Cloud moan softly when he pressed firmly against them.

“Aahh,” Cloud breathed, a noise that sounded like pleasure.

“See, that’s nice, right?” Zack said. Though he hardly needed to ask. “Like a massage.”

“Mm,” Cloud hummed in agreement.

Zack kisses turned a bit firmer when he got to the back of Cloud’s neck; he might have nibbled a little. All the while still working his fingers through those soft feathers.

“Hah… Zack.”

Zack gave him one more kiss. “Roll over onto your side again, I’ll preen the underside of the wing for you.”

Cloud didn’t respond immediately. He seemed like he was blushing a little. But then, slowly, he rolled over. The wing curled up, then flared out behind him, exposing the other side.

Zack trailed his fingertips lightly against the join where wing met flesh. He pouted, and Cloud didn’t fail to notice.

“What’s wrong?” Cloud sounded concerned.

“This is gonna make it hard for me to be the big spoon anymore,” Zack said.

Cloud snorted, his worry immediately fading. “Don’t worry, I’ll spoon you instead.”

“Shush, you. I like to have a variety of choices for spooning positions.”

“Whatever,” Cloud said, but he was smiling as he closed his eyes and went back to dozing.

Or trying to doze. It was easier to see Cloud’s face in this position, and Zack watched his boyfriend’s expression while he started carding his fingers through the feathers again. This side seemed to be a little more sensitive – Cloud twitched every so often, eyebrows knitting together and lips parting in a soft ‘oh’.

Zack might have been concerned he was hurting Cloud, but he knew that face. And it was not a face of pain.

He found a good spot to dig his fingertips against, and Cloud moaned. Zack might have bought it just being a platonic, massage type of pleasure, if he hadn’t seen the way Cloud’s hips rolled as well. There was the little bite of his lip, and that expression that Zack most commonly saw when dicks were being touched.

“So. ‘Feels good’, huh?” Zack said cheekily.

Cloud cracked an eye open again to glare half-heartedly. He glanced away, a little embarrassed but sincere. “I like it when you touch me. Wherever it is.”

“Mmhm. And the wing?”

“It’s… new. Sensitive. I don’t know. Feels nice when you preen it.”

Armed with that knowledge, Zack was hardly about to stop preening. In fact, he only redoubled his efforts.

“How sensitive?” he asked, fingers stroking firmly through Cloud’s feathers.

“Nn…”

“How hard are you right now?”

“Zack!” Cloud protested, flushing a little. “…I don’t know. Half hard, maybe. It’s not like a sex thing – it’s not, don’t look at me like that – it just feels good, and it’s you, so…”

“Do you think you could cum from it?”

“I don’t—you’re not—damnit, Zack.”

Zack kissed Cloud on the nose, grinning. It was adorable when Cloud got flustered.

“No. I don’t think I can, it’s not that intense.” Cloud paused. “It might be fun… just to spice things up a little. When we were doing other things.”

“Oh?” Zack kissed Cloud on the lips this time. He kept one hand buried in the feathers, and the other he trailed lightly down Cloud’s stomach and to his hip.

Cloud kissed Zack a few more times, but they were gentle, unhurried kisses. He took Zack’s wandering hand and pulled it away. “It’s like five a.m. You can play later.”

“Aw, Cloud.”

Cloud shot him a wry smile. “The lab said I get the day off today, what with the whole wing thing. You can probably wrangle the time off to look after me too. That means we can lie in.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Cloudy.” Lie ins were a coveted luxury in the military lifestyle.

“And if I wake up with a morning wood… you can help take care of it.”

“Done,” Zack agreed. For the time being, he simply curled up against Cloud, holding him in a loose embrace.

Cloud rested his forehead against Zack’s and sighed, melting against him. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what? The preening? ‘Cause I am more than happy to do that. Any time you want.”

Cloud huffed a laugh, then his expression turned more serious. “No. For… being here. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to, but you’ve made this whole thing a lot more bearable.”

Zack smiled, though his eyes remained serious with sincerity. “Aww, of course. I love you, Cloud.”

That wrangled a smile out of Cloud too. “You’re a dork. But I love you too.” He paused to think for a moment. “Want to see if the wing works as a blanket?”

“I would love that,” Zack said emphatically.

Cloud grinned and lightly elbowed Zack, but he lifted the wing and settled it over the top of them both anyway. It wasn’t big enough to act as a proper blanket, but Zack seem thrilled regardless.

“Ahh, it’s so soft and warm…”

“Dork,” Cloud repeated.

They kissed again, and neither of them could even tell who initiated it that time. Gradually they both dozed off, and this time Cloud slept far more restfully than his previous troubled night. He was wrapped in Zack’s arms, warm and safe in his bed, and, wing or no wing, Cloud feel asleep with a small smile on his face.

[redpandapanic8]

Little things my cat does that I love

1. She talks a lot

When we first got her she didnt talk as much but for a while I was the only one home during the week and I talk to myself A LOT. soon she would start talking with me by just merping and screaming and meowing. Amd she never stopped.

2. Apologizing

My cat has chronic sinusitus, basically her sinuses dont drain properly due to her deformed nasal cavity. So she has to take medicine for it and I often have to clean out crusties from her nose so she can breath through it. She lowkey loves it when I do these things but hates being picked up and messaed with. So every time I do either she'll wiggles and scratch me and on especially fiesty evenings bite me. When Im done I put her down and she runs off. But a minute or so later she always comes back and jumps in my lap and is super lovey dovey for a minute as if to sau "sorry I scratched thank you for helping me breath" maybe its just my interpretation.

3. Being gentle not to scratch my legs when jumping on my lap

Im an artist and I spend a lot of time sitting and drawing. Until a few months ago, I was a college student which translate to mpre sitting while reading. Our fave pass time is when Im doing work she'll sot in my lap while I do it. When I wear pants or have a blanket on my lap she has no qualms when jumping right into my lap. But when Im wear a dress or shorts and my legs are exposed, she is very cautious. She'll sit at my feet and gently paw at my shins and knees to let me know she wants on my lap and then I have to pick her up and put in my lap. Its also one of the only time she tolerates being picked up. I normally try to put a blanket on so she always has something the jump up on.

4. Getting distracted when begging for food

I feed my cat the amount reccomended on the bag. Its half a cup for her size. She baby. But she wont eat the whole thing in one setting. So I feed her a fourth cup in the morning, fourth cup in the evening. If she finishes the food really fast she try and beg for more food. How she does it is she come over, jump in my lap, and start sweet talkimg me with cuddles and rubs and kisses. But she always gets way too into the cuddles and forgets her original mission of trying to bribe me.

5. Kisses

My cat is a licker. She licks more then some dogs. Well she love just come up to me and licking my face. She tries go for my lips the most (I think because i smooch her head a lot she knows those the kisers) but I always try and redirectes to my nose. The skin's a little stronger there anyway.

6. Very cuddly

So when we first got her, my cat was not a cuddle bug at all. She was very distant at first and spent most her time wandering around and exploring. She'd occasionaly sit in a lap but not much. But then after her first or second month she got sick. Like ahe just layed in bed sleeping all day (mor then usual for a cat) sick. I was so worried she was gonna die but I also had a lot of school wprk I needed to finish. So I moved her to my lap and kept one hand on her to feel her breath while doing my work. When we got her to the vet she had a fever and ahe had basically a cold or virus. A side effect of if her sinusitus gets to bad it causes a infection and she gets sick. They put her on anibiotics ands for the next week I did the same as before. i kept her in my lap felt her breath as I did my work, so afraid Id lose her. She eventually pulled out bit because of the time I spent just keeping her warm in my lap, she started to open up and became very cuddly. She loves my lap and she loves showing her affection and its just amazing.

7. Sitting on my head when Im sleeping

She really likes to jump up into my bed, get me to roll over on my back where she will then procede to jump on my chest and back up her ass onto my face.

[seenashwrite]

A Delicate Desiccation

Status: Complete Word Count: 4.7K  Category: One-shot; Behind-the-scenes canon compliant; Melancholia; Friendship; Mystery; On-the-case Rating: Teen & Up Character(s): Dean, Sam, Cas, Reader/Female O.C. Pairing(s): inferred Warnings: None Author’s Note: 

*~* ADVISE YOU DO NOT LOOK AT THE COMMENTS PRIOR TO READING - someone accidentally spoiled the ending! Oops! *~* 

Overall Summary: The Winchesters must deal with a creature unlike one they’ve tackled before & accept some things can only be preserved in memories.

I inhaled deeply, letting my eyes close and my head rest atop my folded arms. I'm not sure how long I was like that, thinking too hard, trying to recall the scent. Never even heard the approaching footsteps.

"Stop that."

"Why?"

"Because it's creepy as hell."

"It reminds me of something. Not a perfume or a shampoo. Well, maybe shampoo, but---"

"Stop."

I did, but only briefly. "Maybe a cake recipe? Except it's not sweet..." I raised my head again, but didn't open my eyes, just tilted over the side of the bathtub, drawing in an even deeper breath. 

“Stop! Please."

The 'please' made me open my eyes and turn my head towards him but he'd already turned, too, walked off without waiting to see if I'd done as he'd asked.

I was so bad with him lately.

I gasped, snapped my fingers as it hit me. It was citrus and some cedar, sure, and I'd seen the cloves... no, cardamom. It had to have been cardamom that was tripping me up. 

I sprang to my feet and as I bounced through the bathroom doorway, stepping into the frigid motel room, grinning happily, excited to tell him, I heard the Impala's engine gun. The front left tire still needed air; it screamed as it ground into the asphalt. The setting sun was cutting through the window at just the right angle to hit my eyes, but I didn't need to blink.

That part, I remembered.  And the eating and the sleeping parts. Could not for the life of me remember the part about breathing.

Anyway. He'd return. They'd return. One of them. Someone. At some point.

So for now, I went back to sit with my body.

STEPS ONE THROUGH FOUR: 

BE ON RECEIVING END OF SIX-TO-TEN FATAL STAB WOUNDS; 

LURCH NO MORE BUT NO LESS THAN EIGHT STUMBLING STEPS TO THE LEFT, THEN THREE SMALL WOBBLES OR ONE LARGE LURCH BEHIND; 

ALLOW FORM TO FALL ATOP ALTAR, MOMENTUM BRINGING BOTH SELF AND VARIOUS ITEMS TO REST ACROSS ANCIENT ENGRAVINGS IN STONE FLOOR; 

EXSANGUINATE 40-60% TOTAL BLOOD VOLUME AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE

Those were not the first steps as detailed in the scrolls - but they were the first steps for me.

In the time it took to get back to the bunker, Sam had come through like he always did, determining what had been awakened and what had to be done. Even so, it was Castiel who would be attending to the details. But first the angel had to attend to Dean.

I'd watched as Dean argued with the both of them for hours, about why I couldn't be brought back, then why I shouldn't be pyred and fired immediately. I’d watched for another few hours as they talked the whiskey, then the gun, out of his hand.  

They'd cried. I'd cried, though they couldn't tell, and I couldn't tell that anything was hitting my cheeks. Dean tossed and turned so fiercely, his bed linens were damp with perspiration. It smelled of hundred proof.

So I'd laid by Sam that night. I was fascinated at how my presence made the breath coming from his lips look like thick clouds. I'd held my hand over his face, mesmerized at the little crystals forming in the lines of the salty tracks from his eyes, on the tips of his lashes.

I'd stopped when his breathing went shallow, jerking myself away from him so fast I shot myself clean through the wall of his bedroom. I had no concept of how long I had been there in the hallway, statue-still. I heard someone approach.

"They can't hear or see you," Castiel told me quietly, coming to stand by my side.

I looked down at my dress, my cardigan, the brown leather boots that came to my knees. The boots and the cardigan were old; the dress was brand new. I'd bought it for a special purpose, though I couldn't call up why right then. Not a crease, not a blemish, like I'd just taken it off the hanger.

I turned to my friend. "Will they, though? Because I'd like to tell them thank you. For being good friends. Make sure they know I don't blame them."

"Perhaps. If they choose to. But I can tell them."

"That's not the same."

"I'll tell them it came directly from you."

"Don't do that, Cas."

"What?"

"Play dumb about this stuff. About what guilt does to us carbon-basers."

A fraction of a tilt to the corner of his mouth and I wiggled my eyebrows, forcing the tilt into a small grin. 

"I think I may miss you," he admitted.

I sighed, turned away, brought my eyes over to stare at the wall I'd come through.

"You don't need to do that," he informed me. "Breathing, that is."

I nodded. I was distracted. But I acknowledged him.

"Oh."

STEPS FIVE THROUGH TEN:

ALL VISCERA EXCEPTING HEART AND LUNGS SHOULD BE REMOVED, SOAKED IN HOLY OIL PRIOR TO BURNING, ALLOWING FIRE TO BURN OUT FOR COMPLETE DISPOSAL;

RINSE BRAIN, SKULL, AND BODY CAVITY WITH PREPARED MIXTURE, COATING LIBERALLY, LEAVING SKULL FILLED;

INFUSE VESSELS WITH SAME, FOLLOWED BY NATRON SOLUTION UNTIL RUNNING CLEAR, LEAVING HEART CHAMBERS FILLED, CLAMPING ENTRY AND EXIT POINTS;

PACK CAVITY WITH LINEN-WRAPPED POULTICES OF NOTED FLOWERS, HERBS, SPICES AND SALTS, BLESSED AND HEXED APPROPRIATELY;

CONTINUE TO PACK ANY REMAINING SPACES AND SURROUND EXTERNALLY WITH SALTED ICE;

REPEAT EVERY 36 HOURS FOR NO MORE BUT NO LESS THAN 70 DAYS

Each time the second hand hit twelve or the calendar flipped, signalling the arrival of the next stage, I'd tag along to one of the bunker's more clinical interrogation rooms, stick around to observe Cas' doings initially, but then I'd always have to go walk, get distance, get away.

Dean never joined me, but Sam did, wouldn't hesitate to follow after, though with my irritable, dissipating nature I'd tend to sail through trees and gates, adopting a hellish pace. He'd jog along for awhile. He'd give up long before the corn.

I kept making a beeline for it, I just loved it - rows and rows of thick, swaying curtains. I would wander, swaying with it, breaking into sprints for who knew how long, daydreaming. Maybe I'd turn north, run so far as to come upon Iowan ballplayers and field a few grounders. Maybe even stumble into a cult of misfit children, give them a stern talking-to on my way back to my friends.

I got lost a few times... maybe more than a few. They would call me back to them, and it burned the same way it had when I'd gotten stabbed. Before I woke up feeling hollow. At least the burn let me not be cold for a moment or two, and that felt nice until I saw them.

They would look at me so sadly, be so frustrated, try to bind me to something else. I didn't fight it, that I know for sure. I've always been happy to do anything for them, happy to help where I could, and that was a part of myself I would never let change.

Even so - my exploring days soon met their expiration date.

I had begun to associate the sound of the nighttime talk show hosts' voices with feeling itchy and heavy and blurry and nauseous... even angry. Then I'd feel something like sleepiness, but not - more like drugged, I supposed, but I'd never been drugged so I couldn't say. Never taken them, never had cause to need painkillers, never put under for surgery. I'd always been perfectly healthy.

Some sort of spirit sun-downing, the way Castiel talked. He would explain it to me, and while he was kind and patient, I got the impression this was not even close to the first instance he'd had to repeat himself. As time was passing, more and more often it seemed that I needed to stay in the motel. Whichever motel it was; they moved my body constantly, keeping it off some sort of otherworldly radar.

I shouldn't come to the bunker anymore, I'd be reminded. I would ask why, then Castiel would show me pictures on his phone, of the damage. Once I think he showed me pictures of bruises and cuts. I can't be certain. I don't know when exactly it was that they'd started locking me into the room when they left, with their drawn lines and invisible walls that sometimes worked, sometimes not-so-much.

All I know is that when I got the idea, Castiel had looked at me skeptically just for a few moments before nodding his head. He spoke for awhile, processing the pros and the cons aloud, eventually settling on reasons that amounted to practicing so I would be convincing, if need be, to... to the... But that wasn't my reasoning.

Mine was simpler: the nightly pull might not be preventable, but I wouldn't be able to reach the bunker and cause any upset if I were back in my body.

STEPS ELEVEN THROUGH FOURTEEN:

ETCH RIBS AS OUTLINED;

INTERNAL SUMMONING GLYPHS SHOULD BE PLACED VERTICALLY ON STERNUM ONLY;

EVERY EXPOSED SURFACE SHOULD BE WRAPPED IN PRE-SOAKED LINEN STRIPS AND SECURED WITH LIGHT RESIN;

CONTINUE MANUAL MANIPULATIONS AT MINIMUM EVERY TWELVE HOURS TO ENSURE PLIANCY AND REDUCE STIFFNESS

"Why not the eyes?"

Castiel glanced from the covered jar filled with a thick, opaque, honey-like fluid sitting on the bathroom counter and over to where I stood by the bathtub.

"Why not burn them, too?"

"It will be more convincing if they can see once the body---" He cut himself off immediately.

"It's okay, Cas."

"Once they inhabit the body."

"Makes sense," I responded, though none of it did.  

I'd been hoping for something more along the Eva Perón spectrum versus Boris and Lon, but my friends’ guardian - my guardian - had truly done beautiful work. More than he'd had to, according to the scrolls. It was odd to look at myself from this perspective, odder still as the months went by and I looked less and less like me.

I finally had the cheekbones I'd wished for as a teen, those of a supermodel, high and sharp. My eye color had darkened. My skin was slowly changing, shrinking, tightening, though honestly not as much as I'd imagined it would've. I took it all in slowly, the first time I'd been able to make use of a mirror in months.

I edged out of the bathroom, stepping carefully around the large body bag left beside the door. Various apologies hit the air, someone scurried over to move it away, but I wasn't paying much mind. I was moving my neck back and forth gently, gingerly stretching my bandaged arms as I walked, concentrating on getting to the edge of the bed and sitting.

"Stiff?" asked Sam.

I opened my mouth to reply, but just a croak came out.

Castiel quickly brought one of the motel's plastic cups to my lips but it only contained a teaspoon or so of water. "Don't drink - just gargle a little, swish and spit."

I nodded, did as instructed, tried to commit the rule to my mental list:

NO DRINKING DON'T WANDER BREATHING NOT REQUIRED YOU ARE ALREADY GONE

The last one was mine. But it was the one, to me, that was most important, the one I could not forget. The one that tried to slip through the ever-widening gaps in my mind each time I saw my friends.

Even when they looked at me how they were just then - disgust, maybe awe. Hard to say. Functional eyes, yes, though still not working as well as they used to.

But I did see them. Through the window, when I would dare to peek out at my old world, once the sun had gone down. They were taking turns as my bodyguard, seeing as how I'd taken to having one again during the night.

Sam would stay awake the entire time, six-to-six, back against the passenger door, feet crossed and propped over the open-windowed driver's door, a tablet in his hands. Sometimes his knees would be pulled up and I knew a book must've been leaning against them, judging by the flashlight he'd have wedged in between tilted head and shoulder. He flipped pages quickly - that seemed familiar, him being a lightning-fast reader.

I think he may've seen me watching him once or twice. The shadows across his face, created by the small amount of light beneath it, definitely didn't do my waning vision any favors. If he did know, if it did bother him, he didn't let on. Being studied by a monster would've unnerved most anyone else.

Then there was Dean.

I suspected he was the one choosing the motels towards the end because once bodyguard duty became routine, I noticed there was always a bar nearby. He would have his fill of camping in the Impala, the restlessness coming on around eleven. By twelve I'd see him stalk off, striding out of the parking lot. 

Brought a girl back with him once, but their groping and grinding across the trunk never made it to the backseat. Not once he spotted me in the window. He shoved her away abruptly, mouth moving, gesturing apologetically, making some excuse.

I was still standing there, running an ice cube across my parched lips, watching as she made her way back across the street to the bar, when he burst through the door so suddenly that the handle punched into the wall.

"What is wrong with you?!"

He yanked hard on worn paisley curtains, enough to where I heard a seam or two pop, hurrying to cover the windows.

I slipped the dwindling ice cube into my mouth, splintering it into little shards as I shifted to face him.

I normally would've shrugged but the upper body wrappings from that morning had apparently been applied with extra grit, and I normally would've sighed out of unbroken habit but rigid lungs made that list item close to null during bodily hours.  

So I just looked at him blankly with my new dark eyes, and the dark circles I knew were under them, and the unmovable brows I knew were above them, blinking only as he shut the door quietly when he left, despite the lack of tears.

He was drunk enough not to care when he found me lying in the backseat upon his return from the bar on another night. He never locked that car. Never had, long as I'd known him, though I had no clue how long that had been. 

I’d forgotten not to wander on my futile hunts for memories.

My legs wouldn't fit onto the seat as I couldn't bend them at the knees well, so they were dangling crookedly to the side, my feet mostly on the floorboard. I was surprised when he calmly climbed in, lifting my legs and placing them in his lap. A glimpse of familiarity there, then it disappeared. 

I'd been fussing with the bandaging on my hands. The tiny bindings on my fingers were now loose and pooled around my knuckles. He noticed.

"Cas is gonna be pissed.”

I forced a few mouthfuls of air down; he watched and waited.

“Things feel strange."

"I bet."

"I mean literally." I reached to my side, ran a few fingers across the leather of the front seat.

"Tell me."

My chest pulled and ached inside with every inhalation of air. But I wanted to talk with him. I wanted to tell. So I took in as much as I could hold. "Like there's a piece of plastic wrap between my skin and... and... things. Even water. Even me."

I brought the fingers to the tip of my nose. That, and the areas around my eyes and mouth, were all that stayed uncovered. Then I brought my fingers to the ends of my hair, just below my shoulder. 

It had grown long enough to keep it in a braid, which I could manage alone, even with my bandaged, barely-bendable fingers. It was silky, due to the oily potion Castiel had to apply to my scalp. It still felt fake to me, like the synthetic hair of a doll.

An audible gulp, followed shortly by a sniffle, hit my ears and I looked up to find tear-filled, bloodshot eyes looking into mine.

"You and Sam are brothers?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I think I had a crush on one of you."

He nodded again, and a hint of a smile appeared.

"But you were mad at each other the day I died."

It vanished.

"Why?"

He hesitated for a moment before he answered. "Because one of us finally got up the guts to ask you out. We were, ah..." Dean paused, chuckled lightly, ran a hand across his face. "We were both crushing on you, too. Never told each other."

"I don't... is that why I bought a new dress?"

Another nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess."

"Oh." 

I was suddenly uncomfortable, began shifting around, and Dean started to reach out, then stopped. 

"I won't come apart."

He helped me sit up, my back now against the seat, both of us staring out the front window. It started to sprinkle. But neither of us moved.

"I'm sorry."

I turned my head to find those eyes were glassier than ever. “I remember. You've said. Both of you,” I pointed out.

He touched my lips with his, don’t know how hard or soft, and he closed his eyes but I didn't close mine. I couldn't feel a thing. I hadn't felt anything before, either, when...  

"Sam did that, too," I told him once he'd pulled away. "Last... no, not last night..." My mind drifted. "When he dropped off more salt for..."

"Must've been last week."

Dean's voice was cracking. That did trigger a memory. That it was unusual.

I touched a finger to the tip of his nose, ran it down, over his lips, then down again, over and across his chin. "You both feel like wax," I whispered.

"No, we don't," he whispered back.

STEPS FIFTEEN THROUGH TWENTY:

SOAK LINENS IN BLESSED HOLY OIL MIXTURE FOR NO LESS THAN ONE WEEK PRIOR TO PLANNED CEREMONY;

FINAL WRAPPINGS MUST BE TIGHT AROUND ALL EXTREMITIES AND CORE, USING COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RESIN ON ALL EDGES AND ATOP EXTERNALLY WRITTEN SCRIPT;

INTERNAL CAVITIES AND VESSELS MUST BE FILLED TO CAPACITY WITH MIXTURE;

ANY EXPOSED PART OF BODY UNABLE TO BE WRAPPED MUST BE COATED THOROUGHLY WITH MIXTURE;

CLEANSING FIRE SHOULD ONLY BE CAST DURING LAST QUARTER OF SUMMONING RITUAL;

CAST FIRE WITH CAUTION TO IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS

"So then we'll... like a Viking funeral..."

"No, that's mostly... but there was... ship captain..."

My hearing was all but gone, though I found the two voices drifting over from some place nearby to be soothing. My vision was nothing to speak of, either - a milky film coated my eyes. But I could make out the bright blue ones looming above me.

I liked the voice of this man, too. And he was gently adjusting various parts of me, arranging things around me. He placed something small - a wildflower bouquet, he said - on my belly and folded my hands around it. He spoke the entire time, softly, but firmly.

He kept repeating his speech over and over again, so that what was left of my brain function would concentrate on three simple things:

PLAY DEAD HOLD TIGHT LET GO

I still had pieces of what he’d told me on our way to the lake floating in my mind. The parts he said I didn’t need to bother remembering now. How the show we'd been running, the ruse I'd survived and had been convalescing somewhere, was over. 

The preservation had been taken to its limits. What could be done had been done, and now all that was left was to hope these ancient entities would fall for the trap my friends had laid. Surmise I'd finally succumbed to the damage their minions had inflicted upon my body that night over a year ago, and that a hunter's funeral awaited me.  

They would not be foolish enough to believe that between their stolen scrolls and an angel of the lord, at least some semblance of an effort to thwart them wouldn't have been undertaken by the resilient, stubborn hunters. They would recognize this funeral of mine to be an odd take on the typical tradition. They would assume measures had been taken to trap them in the fire.

They would have to be fast. And they would have to take the risk. They had no choice but to try.

All because it was my blood that flooded their carvings, my body that had lain across their altar, and my mummified shell was the only one that would do, that could serve as their earthly temple.

I'd kept trying to resurrect the memories of that night, the night I was on a first date with a friend who may've become more. This was the only thing the sky-eyed caretaker never had to repeat or remind me of - I had managed to hold on to that one memory above all. I was with the ones who had cared for me, who had fought for me, who fought for me still, even in death.

And now I was to fight with every piece of spirit I had left to keep what would soon possess my body inside when they would most certainly attempt to flee, once... once...

“Once you feel them, hold tight, just for a second,” the deepest voice ordered gruffly, as the three of them guided the small boat into the lake.

"Then you'll feel warm," said the voice coming from the largest shadow. "You can leave then - they won't come with you."

"I'll meet you after," said the caretaker as he leaned over me, one last promise before he closed my eyelids.

A few grunts along with the heaving, then a final shove and out into the water I sailed. I enjoyed the swaying. It was peaceful. As stuffed and bound as I was, there was comfort.

It didn't hurt. I wish I could've called out to them and let them know, though my filled-to-the-brim, sealed-lipped state wouldn't have allowed it. Even if I'd had the energy to spare. 

Whoever these old troublemakers were, well, maybe they were running low on energy, too. Or maybe I just had more than they'd ever had to begin with. But it didn't matter either way.

When the hunters on the shore let loose their arrows, we were all toast.

I inhaled deeply, letting my eyes close as I thought. I'm not sure how long I was like that, thinking too hard, trying to recall the last time I'd smelled that mix of hops and peanuts and cigarettes. Never even heard the approaching footsteps.

"Stop that."

"Why?"

"Because it ain't right, a face like yours not having a smile on it."

I opened my eyes, took in the cocky grin, then took the small plastic card from the outstretched hand. A glance at what was written there, then I looked up, raised an eyebrow. "This reminds me of something."

"What's that?"

"I'm gonna keep on loving you."

"Well, wow, that's a little forward."

"Is it, Kevin? Oh, sorry, Mr. Cronin."

The cocky grin faded into a sheepish one.

"Yeah, I get that a lot, see---"  

"Stop."

He did, but only briefly. "We're cousins, and my parents were set on the name, and how were they supposed to know he'd end up---"

"You know, I can tell that you are old enough to ride this ride, so I don't get why the fake I.D., but your puppy here I'm not so sure about, and I really hope he's not about to try and screw me over, too."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flirty one's taller, shaggy-haired companion immediately re-fold his wallet, casually return it to his back pocket.  

"Maybe a just a couple beers, huh? We tip real good, and then we'll be outta your---"

I frowned, feeling oddly out-of-place, my head and then my eyes drifting down, past the taps, past the edge of bar, watched as the plastic card slipped from my fingers and hit the sticky floor. My hands reflexively balled into fists and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Stop! Please."

The immediate pin-drop quiet and the echo of my 'please' made my eyes go wide. But an unfamiliar sound, something flapping, rustling, is what made my head snap up and over to my right.

Everyone and everything was frozen, ricocheting pool balls to mid-air darts, all except one trench-coated patron at the far end who was seated on a stool, calmly sipping a pilsner I hadn't poured. I walked over, felt the smile stretching across my face as I came to a stop in front of him.

"I meant to meet you sooner, my apologies for the delay," he said, nothing but sincerity in those bright baby blues.

"I couldn't tell," I answered honestly. "It's good to see you. It's good to see..."

My thoughts drifted as I glanced to my left, to where they stood. And just like that, I remembered everything, all in the time it took to turn my head back to him - but he'd already turned, too, walked off without waiting to see if I was going to say anything else. I was so bad with that - moving too slowly, not reacting quickly enough - and the thought chilled me to my core.

"Cas, are they-- are they really here?" I called after him.

Castiel paused, not but a few steps from the door, and I took the opportunity to dash out from behind the bar and rush to his side, standing in front of the door as if I could block his exit.

"Did I mess it up?"

A slight frown came across his face and he tilted his head a bit as he took in what I knew was absolute fear radiating off of me.

"I don't mean that night, I know I messed up then, not getting out of the way when those people, when those things were---"

"Stop."

I did. He brought his hands to my shoulders, gave them a reassuring squeeze. He waited til he knew he had my complete attention before he spoke.

"This place is whatever you want it to be. Whatever you choose to do. Anyone you'd like to have with you."

I nodded slowly, processing his words. Then I looked around. Some paradise I'd created - an afterlife in the bartending job from my early twenties that I'd hated with a passion. I gasped, snapped my fingers as it hit me. What it was, that scene I'd stepped away from. It was a re-enactment of the first time I'd laid eyes on the Winchester brothers. The seconds that had snowballed into years.

There'd been adventures and arguments - and laughter, to be sure - and I'd certainly seen the heartaches firsthand... all that sadness. It had to have been the sadness that was tripping me up. Why that part had to come along for the ride. And maybe Castiel had read my thoughts because he leaned in close, gave me one final reminder:

"You don't have to remember everything."

Suddenly I was bounding towards the bar again, crunching fallen peanut shells under my boots as the sounds of conversation, then the music from the jukebox, resumed. I was grinning happily, excited to tell Dean and Sam their drinks were coming right up, but with one condition. They'd owe me a story about those fake I.D.s and what had brought them to the middle-of-nowhere joint that night.

This I wanted to remember, those stories over beers, the phony ones that gradually turned into truth. The eating road food and the sleeping in motels, the hunts and the saved lives, all those parts that were pushing back in, filling up my mind. I knew how to hold on and I wasn’t letting a bit of it spill out.

Well. Mostly. Could not for the life of me hold on to the parts about dying.

Still. I knew it was only real for me, just like I knew that would eventually change. Because they'd turn up again. One of them. Both of them. At some point.

So for now, the angel went back to be with my friends.

See Nash Write : Master  /  See Nash Write : Mobile

🏷️🏷️Wanna be tagged? Hit me up! 🏷️🏷️

[seriestrash]

An Apology After The Fact

Prompt: Maya accidentally makes Riley and Lucas revisit the first few days of high school and the incident with ‘the hole’ that made Riley cry herself to sleep. Word Count: 1210

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

After school Riley and Lucas stand in the middle of the stairs, or as it’s more commonly reffered to, the hole. The loved up couple are waiting for their friends to finish up at their lockers so they can all walk to the bakery together. 

Maya approaches with a loud ‘bleh’ as she spots the couple playing with each others fingers and staring into each others eyes. 

“Peaches,” Riley greets her best friend with a tilted head as she makes her disgust known. 

“Maya,” Lucas greets her with a nod and continues to be all gooey eyed at Riley. 

“You two should come with a cavity warning,” Maya’s nose remains crinkled. 

“Because we’re so sweet?” Riley bounces on her toes. 

“Yeah, something like that,” Maya says. 

“Isn’t it good though?” Riley asks as she links her free arm with Maya, “That things have worked out this way.. We’re all happy!” 

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Maya smiles, “I mean to think six months ago we  were stuck in this hole on our first day and you cried yourself to sleep-” Maya’s eyes widen, she was just trying to make a harmless comparison but accidentally outed her friends emotional state the first week of high school in the process.

“What?” Lucas looks to Riley with hurt and confusion on his face. 

“Nothing, she meant nothing,” Riley’s face burns red with embarrassment. 

“Momentary insanity brought on by hunger,” Maya laughs nervously, “Ignore me.”

“You cried yourself to sleep?” Lucas asks ignoring everyones attempts to divert the conversation.

In that moment Farkle, Isadora and Zay approach the group.

“Riley?” Lucas persists as she remained quiet.

“Not now.” Riley says firmly, “We should be going to the bakery.”

“Are we missing something?” Zay asks noticing the awkward mood.

“No, nothing,” Riley wears an exaggerated grin, “Let’s go study.”

“No.” Lucas says firmly and folds his arms. “I’m not leaving this spot until we talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” Farkle pipes up.

“Riley cried herself to sleep after we left her in the hole,” Lucas says.

“Lucas!” Riley looks at him for exposing her feelings to everyone. Embarrassed, the brunette dashes from the stairwell.

Maya immediately chases after her but takes a moment to pause at the top of the stairs and looks down to her friends, “I really hope you see the irony in this situation.” With a scoff she jogs after Riley.

That evening  Riley sits alone again in her room after talking things over with Maya, mostly it was Riley assuring her best friend that she wasn’t upset that she accidentally told Lucas about the incident.

There’s a knock at her door.

“Come in,” Riley calls out thinking it was one of her family members.

The door swings open and Lucas is standing in the doorway, “Permission to enter?”

“You’re using the door now?” Riley raises a brow, “Is the window broken or something?”

“I wasn’t sure it’d be open,” Lucas rubs at the back of his neck.

“It’s always open… Which probably isn’t the safest thing,” Riley chuckles nervously.

“Can we talk?” Lucas asks.

“I guess,” Riley shrugs. Lucas nudges his head towards the bay window and Riley gets up from her bed and follows him to the seat.

“So, whatcha wanna to talk about?” Riley jokes as she sways in her place. 

“Riley,” Lucas gives her a look. 

“Lucas,” She says playfully, mimicking his serious look. 

“You cried yourself to sleep because of me?” Lucas frowns. 

“No,” Riley shakes her head. 

“Well, partly because of me?” Lucas rephrases. 

Riley lets out a heavy sigh, whether she liked it or not they were going to talk about this. “I cried myself to sleep because everything was different and super overwhelming. It’s high school, I’m surprised I still don’t cry myself to sleep.” 

“Don’t joke,” Lucas’ face remains in a frown. “You were upset that your friends abandoned you and I said something really mean- I was like Godzilla stomping on Rileytown.” 

“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Riley fights her giggle. 

“No,” Lucas says all huffy and continues to insist he’s made some great injustice to her. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Riley throws her head back in frustration, “Lucas, it was a big change for us all. Everyone said things they don’t mean... I told you you’d get killed on the football team, of course I didn’t believe that, I believe in you.” 

“I know,” Lucas nods, “But you said that because you were worried about me. I said that horrible thing because I was worried about myself.” 

“It’s okay. I am a handful,” Riley holds his gaze, “I know I can be too much sometimes.” 

“No, it’s not okay,” Lucas shakes his head, “You’re not too much. You’re Riley, I never want you to stop being Riley.” 

“Thank you, Lucas,” Riley smiles at him and how worked up he is. “But this happened months ago, the situation worked itself out months ago. Why are we reliving it now?”

“Because I realise I never properly apologised,” Lucas deflates.

“You don’t have to,” Riley holds his hand, “There’s nothing to apologise for.” 

“Yes there is,” Lucas pulls his hand away and waves it in the air insisting he’s in the wrong. “Riley, I feel terrible about this, I felt terrible about it then and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long-” 

Riley takes Lucas’ face with both her hands and forces his stare that has previously been wandering in his frantic rambles. “Lucas, you don’t owe me an apology. ‘I’m sorry’ are just words the real apology are your actions after the fact.”  “Do you want me to do your homework to make up for it?” Lucas lightly jokes as his face is squished between her hands. 

Riley lets out a giggle and releases him from her grip. “Countless times these past few months you’ve reassured me that being Riley is fine. I ramble on and on at the world culture fair and you tell me you like when I ramble. I have a meltdown about a complete stranger not liking me at school and you tell me that there’s not a single person in the world who wouldn’t like me once they got to know me. I say I know I can be a handful and you shut that down instantly. What I’m trying to say is, I know you didn’t mean it. That’s why I never told you about the crying, it’s why I’m happy being myself around you. You’re not the Godzilla of Rileytown,” Riley shakes her head with a laugh at how silly he is sometimes, “You’re like.. The official superhero of Rileytown. I feel safe being myself when I’m with you.” 

Lucas’ mouth curls into a smile and he starts to loosen up.

“There we go, there’s a smile,” Riley pokes at the corner of his mouth victoriously. “Does this mean the conversation is over and we can move past it?” 

“Do I get a cape?” Lucas asks sheepishly. 

“Yes you can have a cape,” Riley chuckles. “I’ll make it myself. Captain Dork.” 

Lucas’ mouth opens agape and he pretends to be offended. Riley’s punishment is a serious tickle attack and even though she’s gasping for air she’s happy that things are back to normal. 

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

End Notes: From now on I’m attaching the exact requests for each prompt at the bottom to avoid clutter at the top + I don’t want anyone thinking I’m trying to pass off their ideas as my own okay!! :) x

[dentalinfotoday]

Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

Whether it’s the work commute, driving back and forth to see a loved one in the hospital, or just a vacation drive, finding healthy snacks on the go can be a challenge. A few weeks of cavity-causing snacks could result in a lot of havoc for your teeth—including newly sensitive teeth.

Fortunately, there are more tooth-friendly options for on-the-go snacking than you might think. And if a new snacking habit has resulted in some tooth sensitivity, this article can help you locate the possible culprit.

Let’s look at the best way to keep your teeth strong and cavity-free, even on the road. But first, I’d like to share with you the moment I realized how important this was in my own life.

Krista’s Story

During many dental visits in the past, my dentist kindly warned me I was eating too much sugar and foods that weren’t good for my dental and overall health. (Basically, I was wrecking my oral microbiome…more on why that matters here.)

It wasn’t until 2009 when the doctor explained to me what was going on that I began to take my health seriously.

“Krista, you have maybe three months to live—the cancer is growing rapidly and if you don’t do something, you may be out of time.”

In that moment, I knew I needed to put up a fight and make some serious changes. I began seeing a nutritionist to expand my knowledge on plant-based nutrition and how to change my diet and support my fight against cancer.

But with a life full of hospital trips, I struggled to find healthy snacks on the go readily available. Many times, I found myself circling gas stations and convenience stores and walking out empty handed. Besides a bottle of water or an over-salted pack of almonds, I would go hungry instead of opting for something unhealthy.

The lack of access to healthy foods began to eat at me. As someone fighting a life-threatening disease at the time, it seemed impossible to stay healthy while on the go. I was forced to pack food with me, and many months I found my pantry bare because of the overwhelming hospital bills eating at my savings account.

Suffice it to say that this was an impossible situation to be in while fighting for my life.

I couldn’t help but think of all of the other people in the U.S. struggling with the same problem.

After winning my battle with cancer, I decided to do something about it. I launched a company called ESSTAR and “Krista’s Healthy On The Go” kiosks that sell healthy snack foods. I now focus on making food available in gas stations, convenience stores, hospitals, colleges and cafeterias across the U.S—some of the places where good nutrition is most needed and most ignored. (Read more about this “food desert” dilemma here and my cancer recovery story here.)

Fighting cancer or not, most of us are on-the-go all the time. But you don’t have to sacrifice healthy teeth for being busy! From cancer recovery to entrepreneurship, I’ve been busy the last several years. These experiences have led me to these four tips for preventing cavities—and staying healthy in general.

4 Tips for Healthy Snacks on the Go

Snacking on the road is problematic when it comes to dental health because teeth need a chance to remineralize. If you’re munching on sweets, sipping soda, and foregoing good brushing habits (because who hasn’t done that on vacation?), cavities can quickly form.

Find yourself struggling to find healthy snacks on the go? Here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Take a few minutes to prepare before you leave the house. When you’ve got baggies full of healthy snacks, you can cut down on the temptation to satiate your hunger with processed, sugar-rich foods.

When thinking of snacks on the road, consider things that won’t get mushy or that need to stay fresh or refrigerated.

Some of my favorite healthy snacks to pack that are great for your teeth include:

Fresh fruit: Try blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and raspberries. The water in fresh fruit makes them a tooth-friendly choice. But watch out for dried fruit—sugars in dry fruit are really concentrated and can stick to teeth just like candy.

Veggie slices: Some of the best are carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, or cherry tomatoes. Many grocery stores offer pre-sliced veggies or packs of cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas that are simple and portable.

Nuts: My favorites are almonds, cashews, or pecans. Nuts make a great buffer for sugar sticking to your teeth, so if you’re going to splurge a little with a candy bar, for instance, make sure to eat nuts, too.

Healthy trail mix: Avoid the dried fruit; it’s full of sugar!

Homemade kale chips: These are one of my favorite healthy snacks on the go. They’ve got everything you need for great nutrition—a super food, healthy fat, and portability!

Pro tip: To make a really great trail mix that your teeth will love, use the following ingredients:

Almonds

Cashews

Chocolate chips (I love this brand because they don’t use processed sugar to sweeten)

Pumpkin seeds

Dried coconut

If you’ve never tried this trail mix, you should. It’ll make you forget you’re eating healthy!

2. Check Yelp

The Yelp app has saved the day for me many times while looking for healthy snacks on the go. While traveling, I use it to locate a local juice or smoothie bar, health food store, or similar establishment. It’s fascinating to discover the creations of local artisans, and I’m often pleasantly surprised with the healthy options available in even smaller towns.

Here’s an easy way to find great, tooth-friendly food nearby. Just open the Yelp app and search for “healthy food” and then click the “Open Now” option. Voila! You’ll be able to see open restaurants advertised as healthy fare.

3. Hack Convenience Store Eating

Look for the cooler! This is where you’ll find things like:

Yogurt (watch for the sugar count here, but many yogurts are good probiotic foods)

Salads

Hard-boiled eggs (bonus points for vitamin K2-rich, grass-fed eggs)

String cheese

Fruit cups

Vegetable trays

Seaweed packs (yes, this sounds weird, but they’re actually delicious!)

Not everything in the coolers will be healthy, but many of the healthy options are found there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a gas station with a “healthy” section, that can be a great place to check out, too. Some of the better gas station snacks outside the cooler are:

Beef jerky (without soy and added sugar)

Protein bars low in sugar content

Sugar-free gum (the xylitol here is actually great for remineralizing teeth)

4. Choose Better Drinks

Instead of soda or sugar-packed juices or sweet teas, try to find something less acidic and sugar-filled. I generally advise avoiding diet drinks, although these are technically sugar-free.

Some of my favorite healthy drinks from gas stations include:

Bottled water

Unsweetened tea

Sparkling/mineral water (like La Croix, Deer Park Sparkling Water, and Topo Chico)

Kombucha (I like GT’s, which has the lowest sugar content per serving)

Sugar-free or low sugar drinks sweetened with honey, monk fruit, or stevia

Ingredients to Avoid in Snack Food

Many snack foods available today are high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, which are not only bad for teeth but can make you feel sluggish, unsatisfied, and hungrier faster. Between extending the time you’re exposing your teeth to these cavity-causing ingredients and increasing your craving for more of those foods, bad snacking can create a fast spiral.

Flavor enhancers, preservatives, sweeteners, synthetic colors, and man-made fats and chemicals often hide out in the processed foods we eat. Many of these ingredients are inflammatory and interfere with your body’s pH balance (more on how that works here).

Don’t forget—tooth decay and gum disease are both diseases. It’s easy to think of them as different than an illness elsewhere in the body, but they fall into the same category.

By eating inflammatory, acidic ingredients in food, you’re setting the stage for a body that’s less able to fight disease (in your mouth or anywhere else).

But which ingredients are actually harmful? What should you look for on a snack label on your next road trip?

The Food Babe has a great list of additives in processed foods that I (mostly) agree are great to avoid. Check out her full list here.

Best High-Protein Foods On-the-Go

The key is to make sure your healthy snacks on the go are nutritious and contain protein. Protein promotes fullness because it signals the release of appetite-suppressing hormones, slows digestion, and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

Plus, many high-protein snacks are low in ingredients that bad oral bacteria love to feed on.

Here are some high-protein snacks that are healthy and portable:

Beef jerky

Trail mix

Nut mixes

Greek yogurt

Nut butters

Hard-boiled eggs

Tuna

Protein bars

Protein shakes

When You Have a “Flex” Day on the Road

It’s unrealistic for most of us to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time—not just because there are so many different versions of “perfect” when it comes to food.

To protect your teeth from decay, here are a few ways you can offset the impact of sugary or processed sweets on your next trip:

Drink a lot of water. Water creates a buffer between your teeth and bacteria-friendly foods, so make the extra bathroom stops and opt for more water.

Try dry brushing. Toothpaste isn’t actually as big a deal as you might think. You can disorganize your biofilm just as efficiently by dry brushing—just using a toothbrush without paste. It’s a great idea to keep a travel brush in your glove box or purse for times when you need an extra brush away from your sink.

Eat “flex” foods in small spurts. The amount of time sugar and other acidic ingredients are exposed to your teeth is an important element in cavity formation. If you’re going to treat yourself with a less healthy snack option, don’t snack for hours; eat or drink your treat quickly and then buffer with water.

Plan when to “flex” and stick to your plan. Just because the occasional sugary snack probably won’t kill you isn’t a reason to toss your healthy diet altogether. Plan ahead when you’ll have a “flex” snack or meal, and stick to what you decide.

Key Takeaways: Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks On the Go

It’s easy to go for the convenient, less-healthy option when you’re looking for snacks on the go. However, there are options for eating healthy snacks on the go that won’t contribute to cavities.

My top tips for eating healthy while traveling are:

Plan ahead

Check Yelp for healthy options in the area

Hack convenience store eating

Choose better drinks

After my experience with the inaccessibility of healthy food on the go, I set out to make a change. That’s why I created ESSTAR, which supplies convenience stores with kiosks called “Krista’s Healthy On-the-Go.” I carefully choose products for those shelves that have recognizable, limited ingredient lists and that promote better health for your teeth and body.

Want to know if a gas station on your route has a Krista’s Healthy-on-the-Go station? Go to esstar.us, where you can find our locations with organic, gluten-free, vegan, paleo and allergen-free snacks.

If you would like to see healthy snack options in a store near you, please feel free to go to ESSTAR’s website and suggest a location.

read next: Vitamin K2 Foods: Top Choices for Healthy Teeth

The post Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips) appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

from Ask the Dentist https://askthedentist.com/healthy-snacks-on-the-go/

[kristinsimmons]

Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks on the Go (4 Tips)

Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

Whether it’s the work commute, driving back and forth to see a loved one in the hospital, or just a vacation drive, finding healthy snacks on the go can be a challenge. A few weeks of cavity-causing snacks could result in a lot of havoc for your teeth—including newly sensitive teeth.

Fortunately, there are more tooth-friendly options for on-the-go snacking than you might think. And if a new snacking habit has resulted in some tooth sensitivity, this article can help you locate the possible culprit.

Let’s look at the best way to keep your teeth strong and cavity-free, even on the road. But first, I’d like to share with you the moment I realized how important this was in my own life.

Krista’s Story

During many dental visits in the past, my dentist kindly warned me I was eating too much sugar and foods that weren’t good for my dental and overall health. (Basically, I was wrecking my oral microbiome…more on why that matters here.)

It wasn’t until 2009 when the doctor explained to me what was going on that I began to take my health seriously.

“Krista, you have maybe three months to live—the cancer is growing rapidly and if you don’t do something, you may be out of time.”

In that moment, I knew I needed to put up a fight and make some serious changes. I began seeing a nutritionist to expand my knowledge on plant-based nutrition and how to change my diet and support my fight against cancer.

But with a life full of hospital trips, I struggled to find healthy snacks on the go readily available. Many times, I found myself circling gas stations and convenience stores and walking out empty handed. Besides a bottle of water or an over-salted pack of almonds, I would go hungry instead of opting for something unhealthy.

The lack of access to healthy foods began to eat at me. As someone fighting a life-threatening disease at the time, it seemed impossible to stay healthy while on the go. I was forced to pack food with me, and many months I found my pantry bare because of the overwhelming hospital bills eating at my savings account.

Suffice it to say that this was an impossible situation to be in while fighting for my life.

I couldn’t help but think of all of the other people in the U.S. struggling with the same problem.

After winning my battle with cancer, I decided to do something about it. I launched a company called ESSTAR and “Krista’s Healthy On The Go” kiosks that sell healthy snack foods. I now focus on making food available in gas stations, convenience stores, hospitals, colleges and cafeterias across the U.S—some of the places where good nutrition is most needed and most ignored. (Read more about this “food desert” dilemma here and my cancer recovery story here.)

Fighting cancer or not, most of us are on-the-go all the time. But you don’t have to sacrifice healthy teeth for being busy! From cancer recovery to entrepreneurship, I’ve been busy the last several years. These experiences have led me to these four tips for preventing cavities—and staying healthy in general.

4 Tips for Healthy Snacks on the Go

Snacking on the road is problematic when it comes to dental health because teeth need a chance to remineralize. If you’re munching on sweets, sipping soda, and foregoing good brushing habits (because who hasn’t done that on vacation?), cavities can quickly form.

Find yourself struggling to find healthy snacks on the go? Here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Take a few minutes to prepare before you leave the house. When you’ve got baggies full of healthy snacks, you can cut down on the temptation to satiate your hunger with processed, sugar-rich foods.

When thinking of snacks on the road, consider things that won’t get mushy or that need to stay fresh or refrigerated.

Some of my favorite healthy snacks to pack that are great for your teeth include:

Fresh fruit: Try blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and raspberries. The water in fresh fruit makes them a tooth-friendly choice. But watch out for dried fruit—sugars in dry fruit are really concentrated and can stick to teeth just like candy.

Veggie slices: Some of the best are carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, or cherry tomatoes. Many grocery stores offer pre-sliced veggies or packs of cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas that are simple and portable.

Nuts: My favorites are almonds, cashews, or pecans. Nuts make a great buffer for sugar sticking to your teeth, so if you’re going to splurge a little with a candy bar, for instance, make sure to eat nuts, too.

Healthy trail mix: Avoid the dried fruit; it’s full of sugar!

Homemade kale chips: These are one of my favorite healthy snacks on the go. They’ve got everything you need for great nutrition—a super food, healthy fat, and portability!

Pro tip: To make a really great trail mix that your teeth will love, use the following ingredients:

Almonds

Cashews

Chocolate chips (I love this brand because they don’t use processed sugar to sweeten)

Pumpkin seeds

Dried coconut

If you’ve never tried this trail mix, you should. It’ll make you forget you’re eating healthy!

2. Check Yelp

The Yelp app has saved the day for me many times while looking for healthy snacks on the go. While traveling, I use it to locate a local juice or smoothie bar, health food store, or similar establishment. It’s fascinating to discover the creations of local artisans, and I’m often pleasantly surprised with the healthy options available in even smaller towns.

Here’s an easy way to find great, tooth-friendly food nearby. Just open the Yelp app and search for “healthy food” and then click the “Open Now” option. Voila! You’ll be able to see open restaurants advertised as healthy fare.

3. Hack Convenience Store Eating

Look for the cooler! This is where you’ll find things like:

Yogurt (watch for the sugar count here, but many yogurts are good probiotic foods)

Salads

Hard-boiled eggs (bonus points for vitamin K2-rich, grass-fed eggs)

String cheese

Fruit cups

Vegetable trays

Seaweed packs (yes, this sounds weird, but they’re actually delicious!)

Not everything in the coolers will be healthy, but many of the healthy options are found there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a gas station with a “healthy” section, that can be a great place to check out, too. Some of the better gas station snacks outside the cooler are:

Beef jerky (without soy and added sugar)

Protein bars low in sugar content

Sugar-free gum (the xylitol here is actually great for remineralizing teeth)

4. Choose Better Drinks

Instead of soda or sugar-packed juices or sweet teas, try to find something less acidic and sugar-filled. I generally advise avoiding diet drinks, although these are technically sugar-free.

Some of my favorite healthy drinks from gas stations include:

Bottled water

Unsweetened tea

Sparkling/mineral water (like La Croix, Deer Park Sparkling Water, and Topo Chico)

Kombucha (I like GT’s, which has the lowest sugar content per serving)

Sugar-free or low sugar drinks sweetened with honey, monk fruit, or stevia

Ingredients to Avoid in Snack Food

Many snack foods available today are high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, which are not only bad for teeth but can make you feel sluggish, unsatisfied, and hungrier faster. Between extending the time you’re exposing your teeth to these cavity-causing ingredients and increasing your craving for more of those foods, bad snacking can create a fast spiral.

Flavor enhancers, preservatives, sweeteners, synthetic colors, and man-made fats and chemicals often hide out in the processed foods we eat. Many of these ingredients are inflammatory and interfere with your body’s pH balance (more on how that works here).

Don’t forget—tooth decay and gum disease are both diseases. It’s easy to think of them as different than an illness elsewhere in the body, but they fall into the same category.

By eating inflammatory, acidic ingredients in food, you’re setting the stage for a body that’s less able to fight disease (in your mouth or anywhere else).

But which ingredients are actually harmful? What should you look for on a snack label on your next road trip?

The Food Babe has a great list of additives in processed foods that I (mostly) agree are great to avoid. Check out her full list here.

Best High-Protein Foods On-the-Go

The key is to make sure your healthy snacks on the go are nutritious and contain protein. Protein promotes fullness because it signals the release of appetite-suppressing hormones, slows digestion, and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

Plus, many high-protein snacks are low in ingredients that bad oral bacteria love to feed on.

Here are some high-protein snacks that are healthy and portable:

Beef jerky

Trail mix

Nut mixes

Greek yogurt

Nut butters

Hard-boiled eggs

Tuna

Protein bars

Protein shakes

When You Have a “Flex” Day on the Road

It’s unrealistic for most of us to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time—not just because there are so many different versions of “perfect” when it comes to food.

To protect your teeth from decay, here are a few ways you can offset the impact of sugary or processed sweets on your next trip:

Drink a lot of water. Water creates a buffer between your teeth and bacteria-friendly foods, so make the extra bathroom stops and opt for more water.

Try dry brushing. Toothpaste isn’t actually as big a deal as you might think. You can disorganize your biofilm just as efficiently by dry brushing—just using a toothbrush without paste. It’s a great idea to keep a travel brush in your glove box or purse for times when you need an extra brush away from your sink.

Eat “flex” foods in small spurts. The amount of time sugar and other acidic ingredients are exposed to your teeth is an important element in cavity formation. If you’re going to treat yourself with a less healthy snack option, don’t snack for hours; eat or drink your treat quickly and then buffer with water.

Plan when to “flex” and stick to your plan. Just because the occasional sugary snack probably won’t kill you isn’t a reason to toss your healthy diet altogether. Plan ahead when you’ll have a “flex” snack or meal, and stick to what you decide.

Key Takeaways: Tooth-Friendly, Healthy Snacks On the Go

It’s easy to go for the convenient, less-healthy option when you’re looking for snacks on the go. However, there are options for eating healthy snacks on the go that won’t contribute to cavities.

My top tips for eating healthy while traveling are:

Plan ahead

Check Yelp for healthy options in the area

Hack convenience store eating

Choose better drinks

After my experience with the inaccessibility of healthy food on the go, I set out to make a change. That’s why I created ESSTAR, which supplies convenience stores with kiosks called “Krista’s Healthy On-the-Go.” I carefully choose products for those shelves that have recognizable, limited ingredient lists and that promote better health for your teeth and body.

Want to know if a gas station on your route has a Krista’s Healthy-on-the-Go station? Go to esstar.us, where you can find our locations with organic, gluten-free, vegan, paleo and allergen-free snacks.

If you would like to see healthy snack options in a store near you, please feel free to go to ESSTAR’s website and suggest a location.

read next: Vitamin K2 Foods: Top Choices for Healthy Teeth

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