#i was snoozing and let me tell you my eyes flew open immediately when i heard the name widogast

[iidaonni]

Hotboi(s) at your local smut shop!!

[quixotic-writer]

Sugar Daddy

request: anon

summary: When you first met Q, you had virtually no clue who he was. After a few more pricey dates, he revealed his occupation. Showering you with gifts was his love language, you weren’t about to complain!

warning: smut ahead!

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The alarm on my phone goes off as it vibrates on my bedside table. My face was mushed into the pillow that my head was resting on, I started coming to and realizing that if I hit snooze once, it would start a cycle until noon and I would be even grumpier and sluggish. I take a deep breath in and grab my phone to turn the alarm off. As I rub my eyes and sit up, I see a text notification and my heart immediately kickstarts. It was from Bri.

B Bear: Hey baby <3 Got work today?

I smile from ear to ear as I see the message. We had been dating for a while now and I was hopelessly in love with him. He was honestly perfect to me in every way. He had a sweet and loving personality, he was super funny and always had this way of making me laugh, he was geeky in the cutest way and loved showing me all his collectibles and telling me all about them, and he was protective and super caring.

The way he shows his love to me is what melts my heart the most. His protective nature got the best of him at a bar we went to together and he ended up throwing his drink in the face of a guy that wouldn’t leave me alone. We got escorted out of the bar and he kept saying sorry that he wasn’t there sooner. Any day I'm sad or in a bit of a mood, he always goes out of his way to make me laugh or smile until I forget what I was even mad about in the first place. Lastly, he constantly showers me with gifts.

Me: Good morning! No work today. Have the day off

I texted him back with a smile as I watched the little thought bubble pop up until his next message came through.

B Bear: Dinner tonight then? Murr has been pestering me endlessly about this restaurant he and Melyssa had gone to and I think it’s about time I see what the fuss is all about

Me: Sounds good!

Just then a notification came in. Brian had sent me money, and it was not at all a small amount.

B Bear: Buy yourself a new dress for tonight then princess. It’s a little more formal wear.

B Bear: I’ll pick you up at 7. Love you

Now, when I first started dating Brian, I had no clue he was on TV or any bit famous at all. When he started treating me to more extravagant gifts and dates, that’s when I asked and he revealed all to me. I felt bad and was always trying to pay for things so he didn’t think I was using him for his money, but he always insisted on paying.

“Princess, we’ve been together for how long? I know you wouldn’t use me. Let me do this for you.” He would always say. After a while, I gave up the fight and just allowed him to treat me. Soon enough I grew a collection of gorgeous jewelry, a whole new wardrobe basically filled with a variety of name brand outfits, and if I so much as mention something I own being broken he is quick to hop on it and pay to have it fixed. At this point, I really do think he is my sugar daddy, and he wasn’t at all opposed to that label. He quite liked it.

Me: You spoil me too much. I’ll see you at 7 then B <3

I throw the covers off of me and make my way to the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of cereal before I get started on my day. What a way to wake up honestly, but I was not at all complaining. I finished up breakfast and got myself cleaned up, gathered up all my things in my purse, and was out the door and headed to the mall to go and treat myself. I often worried that maybe my closet was getting a little too full, I just couldn’t bear to part with any of my outfits. The way Brian made me feel when I wore each one of them made me feel so attached to them too, even if his way of saying I looked good in it was by having it end up on his bedroom floor.

I walked through the mall, doing a little bit of window shopping at first, scoping out the scene and feeling out what I might indulge myself in today as far as fashion went. Sundresses had caught my eye, especially one that was in the window and on display; Flowing, knee length, and white. I passed it by but made sure to take a mental picture of it. As much as I adored having a sort of allowance from Bri, I wasn’t about to abuse it. Besides, that would have been yet another thing I would have to make some kind of room for in my already overstuffed closet.

‘Maybe I could bother him for a bigger closet renovation,’ I joked to myself with a smile. I continue walking through and I see it from a distance: the lingerie store. I subtly bit my lip and was then in a mental tug of war of ‘should I?’ or ‘should I not?’ But as I got closer, the temptation took over and I found myself perusing through their cutest pieces that caught my eye. The least I could do to pay Bri back for the fancy evening, would be to give him a little bit of eye candy and a good time after the meal. Black lace, gorgeous ivory teddies, sensual cherry red garter belts, it was all so nice. After finding a few cute sets, I placed them on hold because I still had a main mission in mind that I came to the mall for in the first place.

I found the perfect dress: A wine red halter top dress. It had a gorgeous waist that hugged a little at my own to give my body some definition and gorgeously flowed down to my knees. I already knew I had the perfect pair of stilettos to go with this to truly complete this boss bitch look I had going. When I returned to the lingerie store, I already knew which set was going to be mine: black lace strapless top with matching high waist garter belt and panties to complete it all.

Me: [img attch.] picked out a cute little something, can’t wait to see you daddy ;P

I had sent him a picture of my dress, nothing more just to keep an element of surprise for the evening. I wasn’t long before I got a response,

B Bear: You look so gorgeous baby

B Bear: Can’t believe someone so beautiful is all mine

Even through text he could get me to blush.

The rest of my day was spent relaxing, catching up on some reading that I had put off for so long, catching up on a few episodes of a series Bess had gotten me sucked into, and just like that, time flew quickly. I was getting myself all dolled up for dinner, butterflies in my stomach because of the excitement I felt and giddy because I had felt so pretty tonight. It wasn’t often where my confidence and self-esteem would sky rocket like this, so I took it in and embraced as much of that energy as I could.

I heard his little knock at the door, the same rhythm as always so I knew it was him. When I swung open the door, he stood there with a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. He cleaned up super well as always.

“You. Look. Incredible.” He scooped me into his arms and littered my face with kisses and I giggled as his stubble tickled the skin on my face. When I stopped him, I connected our lips together, “Shall we get rolling then princess?” I nodded and we walked down to his car.

The restaurant was gorgeous to say the least. Dim golden lighting, waiters wearing tuxes, glimmering chandeliers dangling from the ceiling to illuminate the tables. Even the air felt expensive. I tensed while we were sitting at our table and looking through the menu, even though he’s taken me to countless luxurious locations, I still felt this sense of guilt for being there and almost an obligation to monetarily repay him somehow someway. I guess he could sense my tension because his hand had found its way to my wrist, his thumb stroking my skin gently and his eyes spoke volumes.

‘It’s okay.’ was all I could see in them. He never had to say a word and I felt my muscles relax again as we carried out with our meal.

Dinner was more perfect than I could ever imagine. Perhaps I had an untrained palette, but everything felt like an explosion of intense rhythmic flavor in my mouth. I savored each and every bite. I felt more relaxed as the meal went on, especially as Brian and I talked throughout the meal, we would occasionally break the snooty facade to share a laugh at something absolutely crude that would pop into our heads. I swear, because of how loud we were getting, I almost thought we were going to get kicked out… Which made us laugh even harder and get that much closer to that being a reality as other tables would shoot us a nasty high-class glare.

Our meal was settled away as once again Brian got a hold of the check. And once again I didn’t bother fighting and allowed him to treat me knowing in my head that I had much bigger plans for him once we got behind closed doors and had no one around but each other.

The car ride to his place was spent laughing at how disgusted people looked with our behavior.

“Nothing but sticks up their asses!” He said with his accent coming through thickly.

His hand was on my thigh the whole way there. He would snatch occasional glances of me at red lights or when traffic was pretty clear. The rough warmth of his palm was enough to start an inferno on my skin and cause me to bite my lip and shift in my seat.

We got to his place, he took my hand, and led me through the space that has grown so familiar to me.

“As much as I love that dress on you, I want it off as soon as possible.” He whispered in my ear as we made our way through the front door. His lips attached itself to whatever flesh was within reach which made me grow wetter by the second. His hands traced about my body, refamiliarizing himself with each curve, dip, and fold he craved. His hands were never rough, they smoothed over my body carefully, almost as if I was fragile, something delicate, it made me feel protected.

As we were in the bedroom, he was quick to undo the zipper to my dress and allow it to pool at my feet. The way his eyes lit up at what was now revealed to be hidden beneath my dress was a look that always drove me crazy.

“Did a little extra shopping today with the extra money, daddy.” I said as I pushed him to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, eyes full of hunger and awe.

“I need to give you more money for lingerie. You look so fucking hot.” I straddled his lap, mouths attached and moving with heated passion. His coat fell away as I began tugging at his tie and the buttons on his dress shirt. I could still taste remnants of dinner on his tongue, delectable, indulgent, and I savored it all. My mouth began to move; jawline, neck, chest, stomach. I could smell where he sprayed his cologne, and I stayed where the scent was the strongest, drunk on his scent as my desire for him grew heavier with each breath. His hands held me closer to his bare skin as he let a low hum verberate within his chest. I fell away down between his legs onto my knees. He watches carefully, already out of breath and straining in his pants. I carefully remove his belt, take the zipper down with my teeth, and shed away another layer of clothes. I rub my hand over the cloth of his boxers where his straining erection was prominent, I felt him twitch at my touch and groan.

“Let me pay you back for dinner. How does that sound?” Just like a leaf in fall, the final clothing item was shed away, leaving Brian bare before me. He sat there, arms behind him pushed into the comforter of the bed for support as he eagerly anticipated my next moves, hoping it would be one that would satisfy the lustful desire he had coursing through him.

I kiss at his thighs, leaving a few love marks to show that despite being his, he was also mine. My head and hands find their way below, down to his balls where I carefully massaged them and sucked at the sensitive skin. The groans and moans that Brian was making was enough to tell me that he was enjoying himself. I began moving myself up again, kissing up along his shaft, tracing along veins with a pointed tongue and feeling him pulse beneath me as my hands ran along his thighs that would occasionally tense when I hit just the right spot. When I reached the head, I could see the pre-cum seeping out. I gave his cock a nice pump that sent more spilling out and I was quick to lick it all up.

“Baby, no more teasing. Please.” He begged brushing my hair carefully out of the way. I looked up at him with an innocent sparkle in my eyes,

“But I know you love how it feels daddy.” With a sharp inhale and his lip caught between his teeth, I finally took the first few inches of his cock into my mouth, pulling away while sucking, only to have it pop out of my mouth. I looked up at him and he was gasping for breath and his legs were trembling. I swirled my tongue around the tip of his cock before once more taking him into my mouth, only to repeat this cycle. I just adored hearing his whines, seeing the veins in his arms pop as he gripped the sheets into a tight fist, feeling his thighs tense and squeeze slightly together anytime a shockwave of pleasure was sent through his body.

I decided he endured enough and began carefully taking more and more of him into my mouth, head bobbing in steady rhythm. “Feels… So fucking good.” He breathed out as one of his hands made its way to the back of my head. He never pushed me further than I could go, or at all. His hand just rested on my head as though he was feeling the rhythm and pace of my head bobbing. The taste of pre-cum began getting more and more consistent, the way his legs began to tremble, “Princess, so close.” I could have came myself hearing his throat raw with desperation as he said those three words. I doubled down and took him all in. His cock hit the back of my throat and the tip of my nose hit his naval until his thighs came together and he was spilling down my throat.

My eyes were watering and my nose slightly runny, but it was always rewarding to see him so pleasured all because of me. He pulled me up and his lips were once more attached to my skin, littering the delicate flesh where my neck and my shoulder met with love bites of varying hues.

“Mine,” He would grunt whenever his lips would depart from my skin and then go right back.

He laid me delicately on my back and I felt his cock – still rock hard – resting against my thigh as he kissed my forehead, “Love you,” he says before kissing my lips, “so perfect,” his fingers pushed the panties I wore aside, not even bothering to remove them which honestly made it all so much hotter, “my princess.” He slid into me easily, filling me whole as my eyes rolled back at the sensation, lips parted as humid breath left my lungs.

“Daddy.” I couldn’t let out anymore as my nerves all stood on end as he began to rock his hips steadily into mine.

“You feel so good around my cock. Something so perfect is all mine.” I wrapped my legs around him, beckoning him closer and deeper. The way his cock curved hit all my sensitive spots and it wasn’t long before I was seeing stars, the noises that wanted so badly to break free past my lips but fell stuck within my throat as I was blissed out in pleasure. My muscles tightened around his cock as I experienced pure euphoria, “god you feel even better when you cum all over my cock sweetheart.” his hips continued working and I felt overstimulated, but I absolutely loved it. “Came that hard and I didn’t even have to touch your clit.”

As my body rocked, but boobs started spilling out of the strapless bra. Brian took notice and was quick to crane his neck down and lick around my hardened nipple. He licked, sucked, and lightly bit around the sensitive buds which only added to the extreme pleasure I was experiencing as my body started building up to another orgasm. I held his head in close with a desire to be as close to him as physically possible, aching to feel every inch of his skin, wanting nothing more but for him to feel exactly what I feel: Lustful love.

His hips started working faster and faster and his rhythm was slowly losing any trace of precise tempo. His hand slipped between us, fingers working at my clit and sending me over the edge once again with a cry.

“Princess… Gonna cum again. Where?” He couldn’t even get a full sentence out as he grit his teeth and words were quickly replaced with grunts.

“Cum daddy. Just do it. Wanna make you feel good!” I said as his head was buried in my shoulder, my arms wrapped around his neck bracing for his inevitable climax. With a few more harsh thrusts, he was buried deep within me as I felt warm spurts filling me, my legs holding us close together, intertwined as we pant and catch our breaths.

“I love you so much baby. I love you.” He said with a final kiss and our foreheads pressed together.

Once he had come down from his high, he went and grabbed a towel for me and helped clean me up.

“Thank you for tonight.” I said softly as he held me close in his arms.

“Anything for you princess. You deserve the world.” He kissed the top of my head and brushed my hair out of my face. “You have amazing taste in lingerie also.”

[legoshi-plz]

Pretenses Part Five (Louis x Reader)

Summary: Louis is a spoiled prince and you are a clumsy maid. Prince! Louis x Canine!Dog! Reader.

Warning: NSFW (+18)

Despite Louis’ outwardly composed nature, inside he was in full blown panic mode.

He had just finished up yet another uneventful dinner with his father and his future bride; now it was time to return to his chambers. His chambers he hadn’t been in since this morning. His chambers where he was currently holding you hostage.

Louis stood in front of his door for who knows how long before finally opening it with great hesitation, preparing himself for your angry, perhaps even violent response. Instead he was greeted with.... silence. You were on the bed where he’d left you, sound asleep.

Louis couldn’t help the relieved flutter of his tail at the sight of your sleeping form.

You had curled under the covers, probably to keep warm in the cold air of his chambers, your form rising and falling peacefully as you snoozed. Louis approached you slowly, checking to make sure you were actually asleep before his hands flew to throw off his royal regalia.

Once free from the confines of his complex uniform, he was under the covers immediately. Bringing your snoozing figure into his arms. You didn’t move a muscle; it was evident you were a heavy sleeper. Louis already knew this from his time watching you as you took your midday naps in his chambers but he didn’t know it was to such a great extent. He shifted so that he could lay his head on your chest, arms encircling your waist. He listened to the steady rhythm of your heartbeat, his breathing slowing down to match your own.

He was asleep in minutes.

////////

You awoke to a weight on your chest and the smell of Louis’ cologne surrounding you. When you opened your eyes, the brightness assaulted your vision, making you attempt to turn away but that attempt was futile.

The Prince, who definitely wasn’t there when you fell asleep yesterday, was laying directly on top of you with his head on your chest, arms in a deadlock around your waist. You were caged beneath him, his weight pinning you down. You contemplated screaming bloody murder, hoping you could shock him into letting you go and make a run for it but decided against it. You doubted he’d remember to lock the door behind him, that could possibly be an opportunity for you to escape. You slowly began trying to pull his long arms from you when you felt his grip tighten.

“Don’t even think about it,” Louis mumbled, nuzzling further into your neck.

“My liege, please stop this indecency. As rightful heir to the thrown, a lowly maid such as myself would only sully-

“How long did you practice that one? Is that what you were doing yesterday while I was gone? Rehearsing pleas so I’d let you go?” Louis chuckled, finally opening his eyes. Sleepy amber orbs met your own irises and you couldn’t help but notice how beautiful his brown eyes looked in the morning sun. They didn’t reflect the light but instead nearly consumed it, a complete contrast to the brown of his fur.

“You must be hungry? You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, if that. I’ll call the kitchen and have them bring us something up. Breakfast in bed doesn’t sound too bad,” Louis bit his lip as his eyes drank in your form beneath him. He definitely looked hungry, yet for something other than food; his eyes were burning with barely contained lust.

“I-I have to go, my Prince. I have to perform my duties in the kitch-AH,” you were cut off when Louis sat up and brought you with him as he pulled you onto his lap to straddle him. You felt your fur prickle with embarrassment as you realized not only was he shirtless, but he also seemed to be only in his underwear, the dark blue embroided material providing a very thin barrier to the Prince’s most precious asset.

“What about your duties to me?” Louis hummed, rubbing his hands up and down the fur of your outter thighs. The top of your uniform was still very much ripped open, so you brought your arms up to cover yourself, the blankets you’d been curled under no longer providing you coverage.

“Ah ah ah, you should know better than to hide yourself from me,” Louis hummed, prying your arms from your chest. He leaned forward, his mouth capturing once of your hardened nipples. The feeling of his hot tongue on your sensitive peak sent a jolt of electricity through you.

“Pr-pr-princeee, pleaaaase,” you moaned lightly, your voice nothing more than a breathy whisper.

Louis ignored you, instead moving to the other peak while his hands found themselves back at your plush hips. He rocked upwards into you, his hard member making its presence know.

“Take these off,” Louis mumbled against your areola, tugging at your panties. When you hesitated, he simply sighed before ripping them off himself.

“My Pri-

“Shut up,” Louis groaned against your chest, the vibrations further stimulating your raised peak. Louis plunged his fingers into your arching cavern just as he had the day before. You felt your head swirl in embarrassment and arousal, the two emotions battling for dominance.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted you? How long I’ve desired you?” Louis asked, his free hand coming up to cup your jaw. His eyes burned with such passion for you, it was hard to not look away.

“That’s it, ride my hand. Just like that,” Louis grunted and you hadn’t even noticed your pelvis had begun grinding into his hand to meet the thrusts of his fingers. Your body was moving completely on its own, anything to help relieve the pressure growing in your lower belly.

Suddenly, Louis ceased his movements, lifting you up slightly with one hand while he pulled his underwear down with the other. His member sprang to life, resting against his abdomen as it stood glistening with precum. Being a stag and royalty, it was natural to assume he’d be well-endowed but nothing could have prepared you for the vision that was his impressive length.

He took your hands in his own larger ones and wrapped them around his weeping shaft. He let out a soft “fuck...” as he guided your hands up and down. He let go once you found your own rhythm, no longer needing his assistance for such a simple act.

“You’re so good at this- too good, actually. Did you touch Azuki’s mutt like this? Huh?” Louis asked breathlessly, his death grip returning to your thighs.

“I already told you yesterday, we aren’t like... that...” you grumbled, swiping your fingers over his sensitive cockhead, causing a needy groan to tear from his throat.

“Then what were you two like? You were already letting that filthy mongrel close enough to scent you, it’d be nothing for you to get on your knees for him.” Louis said angrily and you suddenly remembered exactly where you were and, more importantly, who you were with.

No amount of pretty words and declarations of desire were going to keep Louis’ true nature at bay for long. He was vile and malicious at heart. You knew this. He’d proven it to you time and time again. So when was it finally going to register in your dumb little brain?

You released his cock immediately, and climbed off his lap and out of his bed. You headed straight for the door but Louis was faster, grabbing and pinning you against the very door you’d been trying to exit from.

“Why do you keep running away from me? Can’t you see what I’m trying to do here?” Louis groaned into the nape of your neck. It sent shivers down your spine and you resisted the urge to arch into him.

“You’re trying to control me, to manipulate me”

“I’m trying to love you.” Louis craned his head back to look into your eyes. He saw no warmth in them.

“You have a peculiar way of expressing your ‘love’, my lord,” you said through gritted teeth.

“Annnnd we’re back to the incorrect formalities. Every time I feel we’ve taken one step forward, you move three spaces back. Why do you insist on fighting me so? I know you feel it, I can’t be imagining this attraction between us,” Louis finished, the grip on you wrists that previously had you pinned against the door now residing so that he could caress your forearms with the pads of his thumbs.

“I fight it because I know my place. I’m a dog, your highness. Lower than any other Herbivore commoner, and amongst the unfavorable even within Carnivore spaces. Most of the animals around here think I should be banished for even working within the castle during the day, let alone catering to you.”

“Their opinions don’t matter, they have no authority here-”

“It does matter, your highness. Because once your infatuation with me ceases, which is inevitable, you will return to your fiancé, marry her, be crowned King, and produce heirs. And all I’ll have is my life as a lowly commoner. That’s the natural order of things.” You lamented, your voice feeling thick with emotion.

“So what, you believe your future is with Azuki’s guard dog? Popping out litter after litter for him until you die? That’s no way to live, he can’t commit to you. His life already belongs to another woman and that’s Azuki.”

“You don’t think I know that? I’m fully aware of the hold our future Queen has over him. I’m just grateful for every moment he chooses to share with me. Makes my life a little less lonely...,”

“I could make your life less lonely! I could do that for you, better than he ever could!” Louis was slightly begging now, he could hear it in his own voice but he was beyond the point of caring.

“Don’t you see I feel my loneliest when I’m with you? All you’ve ever made me feel was small, and stupid, and unworthy. Legoshi doesn’t point out how I misuse words just to remind me of how uneducated I am. He doesn’t point out how unrefined my taste pallet is or force me to eat food outside of the carnivore diet. He doesn’t drag me out of bed at night to look at some stupid star a million miles away on some balcony when I’m afraid of heights. He doesn’t tell me where I can and can’t go, who I can and can’t see, just because he felt like it. He doesn’t humiliate me every chance he gets! He doesn’t boss me around just because he can!” There were hot tears streaming down your face. You had been holding this in for a long time.

“I see...,” Louis said finally breaking the silence. He released you from his grasp and took a step back. He adjusted himself, tucking his forgotten member fully back into his underwear. Though he had a beautiful body envious to those of Gods, he seemed almost shy about his lack of clothing now.

He glanced at your tattered uniform before muttering a “wait here... please...”, and walking towards one of the humongous wardrobes in his room. He pulled out a pristine, new uniform and walked back over to hand it to you.

“I kept a lot of these on hand, in case you ever wanted.... a more comfortable bed to lay your head at night...” Louis’s voice had never seemed so clouded. You silently accepted the uniform.

“You have my deepest apologies for my behavior. Such veracity was never my intention. I hereby relieve you of all obligation to me. You may return to the kitchen or to the gardens or to somewhere new if you like. Whereever you choose to go is fine, I’ll notify Stallworth of my approval. I...” Louis hesitated, finally bringing his eyes up yours.

“You’re free to go.”

/////////

A/N: I finally know how I want this story to end so hopefully they’ll only be two more parts for this series and it’ll reach it’s completion! Also thank you all again for 1K!

[garbagevanfleet]

Brightest Blue (series)

PART TWELVE

Pairing: Josh x reader Warnings: THIS CHAPTER IS 18+! Explicit sexual content Summary:  Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place.

Notes: ahh, sweet resolution. Writing this chapter made me euphorically happy. Thank you for reading! Extra thank you for liking, reblogging, or replying to this fic. I’m so happy people like it as much as I do. 

taglist: @valleyd0ll​ @satingrass-maidensfair​ @guitarfingers​ @thebohemianpenguin​ @peaceisouranthem​ @oblvions​ @hansonobsessed​ @myownparadise96​ @anditsmywholeheart​ @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies​ @bigblack-catattack​

MASTERPOST

The final week before the play was an oddly enjoyable hell. Every second felt like it flew by and dragged on for eternity simultaneously. 

You had skipped class on Thursday, just to make sure you had every costume just the way you wanted it. Your very favorite one to work on had been Alice’s dress - you put more work into it than most of your classes for the past couple of weeks, but by the time it was done, it could have been in a storybook. 

As it hung from your closet door, you took a moment to be proud of yourself, admiring the lace and the neat trimmings. 

Kate showed up around 5, and somehow you knew she would, even though she never mentioned a thing when you told her you were staying home. 

“Hi, you,” she greeted, letting herself in as she slipped past you. “Did you get it all done?”

“Well, if I had another week, I’m sure I could find more that I could work on with them, but they’re pretty great,” you agreed. “You want a glass of wine?” 

She shook her head at you. “Actually, I’m taking you shopping tonight.”

“Shopping?” 

“Yeah, have you thought about what you’re going to wear to the play?” she inquired, sounding smug like she knew you really hadn’t.

You frowned at her, unsure. “I was thinking probably something simple.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, it should be something classy, pretty,” she said. 

“And warm,” you reminded, thinking of the snow outside. 

“Sure, sure, yeah. So, are you coming?”

You gave her a sweet smile. “Let me get my coat.”

+++

“I don’t think I can wear this,” you said through a grimace as you turned this way and then that in the mirror. Kate had let herself right into the dressing room with you, her long legs taking up more space than you could afford in such a small room. “My whole vagina would freeze.”

“It’s not that short,” she giggled.

“Yeah, but it’s just an open dress. My legs are exposed!” 

“True, maybe you could wear leggings under it,” she suggested. 

“If I were going to wear leggings, I’d want a longer dress I think. Maybe something mid-calf. Then I could wear booties.”

She looked like she was considering it for a moment before nodding. “Yes, that seems like it would be super cute. What about your hair?”

“How about we find the dress first and go from there,” you teased. 

Once you were dressed again and had everything hung back on the “reject” rack, you ventured out into the store again, weaving through mannequins and lines of garments. You went to grab a hanger when you snapped your hand back in pain. 

“Damn,” you hissed. She turned to give you a concerned look. “My fingers are so sore from sewing. I’m kind of thinking they might never recover.”

You were joking, but she gave you a sympathetic look anyway. “You know this play is just as much yours as it is his, right?” 

You huffed a laugh. “Oh my god, that’s so dramatic.”

“Well, pretty damn close,” she objected, pulling a dress from the rack in front of her and laying it over her forearm. “His ass would have been grass without you.”

“We can thank Rachel for that,” you quipped, chronically annoyed by the thought of her. 

She paused what she was doing and met your eyes. “Did you figure out why she quit?”

You gave her a confused frown. Now that you were thinking about it, Josh never did tell you why. You shook your head. “Why?”

“Well, it sounds like she kinda had a thing for Josh. Like a big thing. And that’s why she signed up to work with him in the first place.”

You nodded for her to continue, your stomach feeling tight. 

“And I guess it went okay for a little while - he seemed receptive to it apparently, but she found out he had a female roommate and saw you guys eating lunch together all of the time, you know?” Kate continued carefully. 

You hummed, trying to seem casual, but you felt a little like you’d just been sucker-punched. 

“How did you hear about this?” 

“Grapevine,” she replied with a smile. “What do you think of this one?” 

She was stroking her fingers down a long dress, black with flowers in muted colors. “That would go really well with my coat actually. We have to accept the reality that I’m going to have to wear a coat the whole time.”

She smiled at you in an oddly genuine way for her. “I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but you should go for it.”

You gave her a confused look. “I have to try it on first.”

She put a hand flat on your chest. “Not the dress, you goober. Josh.”

You stared blankly at the ground until you were sure of what you wanted to say. “I don’t want to fuck this up. I can’t lose him as a friend - I’d be devastated.” 

“Why would you think you’d fuck it up? I don’t know that you could, to be honest.” You watched as she grabbed a pair of earrings, dangling off of their cardboard hanger. She started back off toward the dressing room, and you followed close behind.  

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

+++

You helped Josh get all of the costumes to the school on Friday, hanging them up on racks backstage. You took the time to make them all tags, writing the kid’s names in fancy, flowing script. 

Josh was working on getting the first set perfectly into place, so everything was ready to go for showtime the next day. Despite how clearly nervous he was, you could hear him handing out compliments and words of encouragement to the stagehands - even his constructive advice was said in a way that felt like every person in that room was his best friend. 

He had left you mostly alone to get the wardrobe ready, but when he popped back into your area, he crouched down next to where you were sat on the floor. 

“I probably won’t be home until late again tonight,” he informed with a half-frown. “There’s a lot I still have to get into place.”

You gave him an understanding smile. “Don’t worry about me, worry about you. You need a good night’s sleep for tomorrow.”

“I know,” he replied, looking thankful. “Show me some of these costumes.”

You had been oddly flattered that he had trusted you enough to have them done - and done well - by the time of the play; he hadn’t asked to see them even once until right then. 

“You can look through them, but they won’t look right until they’re on a child.”

His face lit up like that was the best news of the day. “That’s perfect because the kids should be here for dress rehearsal in about ten minutes.”

You smiled at him as he stood and helped you up with two outstretched hands. 

He ran his hands over the rack, pausing on the one you knew he would. With a perplexed look, he pulled the door mouse costume and held it up. 

“This is-” he started, but you cut him off. 

“I know, I really hope it’s okay, but I found a sheet in your room with some rough designs on it, and I really liked a lot of them,” you admitted sheepishly. 

“You were going through my stuff?” he asked with a grin.

You shook your head. “Just that. And it was when I went in to get Penny.”

His fingers slid down the tail of the costume, made from a string of peach-hued rope - just like his draft had called for. His brown eyes flicked up at you, looking like melted chocolate under the warm-colored lights. “I literally don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you for this.”

You could feel a blush rising on your cheeks, the sensation of flower petals brushing your stomach lining. “Let’s make it through the show without them falling to pieces first.” Your tone had been a teasing one, but he looked completely unaffected. 

The intensity of the moment was slowly creeping up on you - you weren’t sure if he was going to kiss you or cry. In the end, he did neither. 

“Do you want to stick around to see the kids in their outfits?” he offered, but you shook your head. 

“I’m actually really excited to see it all for the first time tomorrow,” you replied with a smile that was immediately matched by his. 

“Alright, I like that idea.” He paused a moment before speaking again. “Don’t wait up for me, okay?”

You chuckled at him, pulling your jacket on to leave. “No promises.”

+++

That evening you spent a long time in the bathtub with a bottle of wine. You had homework to do - and you tried for a couple of hours, but you just couldn’t be fucked with it, so you turned the water up as hot as it would go and rested your head on a rolled-up towel.

You felt silly about it now, but you were scared that once this was over, you would feel lost without the costumes to worry about. That moment never came for you - at least not with the costumes. 

You definitely couldn’t stop thinking about Josh.

There was this terrible feeling in the pit of your gut - a guilt, heavy like you swallowed a pile of gravel.

When you got out, you haphazardly dried off and left the wet towel on the bathroom floor. You got changed into a long-sleeved shirt and your pajama shorts and then grabbed what was left of your wine and made your way to Josh’s room. After you laid out on his bed, you rolled over onto your side and stared into the fish tank, pressing your fingers against the glass. 

Penny had been snoozing in her log decoration, but when she spotted you, she hurried out to greet your hand.

“I fucked up, Penny,” you whispered. You imagined she was making an angry face at you, but in reality, she was just floating there, probably wondering where her dinner was.

You glanced at the time on your phone. 

8:32 pm

You grabbed the little jar of flakes off of his bedside table and strained to drop a couple into the water. She gobbled them up excitedly, her safety-orange colored fins waving in the water. 

You had no idea when it happened, but you woke up to the dresser drawer by your head opening. You sat up, irregular heartbeat making you feel jittery.  

Josh turned to look at you, a warm smile on his lips, the sun illuminating his tan face. “Hey,” he greeted. 

“Oh my god, it’s light outside. What time is it?” you asked groggily.

“About 8:30. I got home at midnight and you were passed out in here, so I covered you up,” he informed, making your face run warm.

You pushed your messy hair away from your face. “I’m sorry, I was laying in here with Penny and I must have fallen asleep.” You glanced around in confusion. “I didn’t even feel you get out of bed.”

“Oh, I slept on the couch,” he replied, picking a pair of pants from his top drawer. 

You frowned, casting your eyes down to the bedsheets. He thought you didn’t want to sleep next to him, and instead of waking you up to move you, he slept out on the couch. The idea made you want to cry.

“Will you sit with me a moment?” you asked, patting the spot next to you. 

He gave you an apologetic smile. “I really want to, but I need to be over to the school in twenty minutes. I am planning on being back here around 4 to eat something quick and then get ready.”

“Okay.” You clambered out of bed as he pulled his shirt off and changed into a new one. “I think I’ll probably already be at Kate’s, but if you want to take my car you can.”

He shot you a smirk. “Really? You’re going to let me drive?”

You crossed your arms over your chest, putting on your best mom voice. “Yes, but only if you promise to be very safe.”

He put his hand over his heart. “I promise.”

“I’ll see you after the show,” you said, maybe a little too sweetly, and brushed a curl out of his eyes. It was well worth it to see the tops of his cheeks turn pink. 

+++

As Kate took you both to the theater, you couldn’t kick the nervous butterflies. She looked beautiful - you’d never seen her in anything but mom jeans, but she was dressed in a plaid skirt, tights, and a black turtleneck sweater. She had insisted on doing your makeup - sitting you down at her vanity and pulling a barstool close enough she could reach you. You had known better than to complain about the amount of time she took - besides, you had gotten over to her house so early, you had nothing but time. When she was done, you barely recognized yourself. Somehow she had made your eyes look bigger, your lashes longer and darker, and your face sharper. You were used to wearing foundation and concealer, but your face felt almost a little heavy under all she’d put on you. 

She had laid out a few extra things for you - a pair of boots and a set of green gem earrings and you gave her a thankful smile as you donned them. The truly hard part was resisting hugging her very affectionate polar bear - which was actually a dog, she informed you. You had tried once, but she scolded you, reminding you that white fur didn’t look good on black fabric.

You had whispered a promise to him that you would be back soon to give him all the love he could handle.

When she pulled up to the school, she had you get out at the doors and grab the tickets while she went to park, and to your pleasant surprise, Jake was waiting for you. He helped you out of the car with an outstretched hand. You weren’t sure what you were expecting him to wear, but it definitely wasn’t a button-up shirt with the top few buttons undone and nothing underneath. 

“You’re literally making me cold just looking at you,” you teased, wrapping your arms comfortingly around your frame. You had earned a grin from him.

“I’m wearing a coat,” he reasoned, holding up the hem of a light peacoat to prove his point.

You rolled your eyes at him. “C’mon, let’s get our tickets.”

He pulled two tickets out of said coat’s pocket and handed them to you. “You mean these?”

“Did you buy these?” you asked through a frown.

“One of them. I bought mine and Kate’s, and I think you can guess who got yours,” he responded with a genuine smile. 

You took one of the tickets wordlessly, but you couldn’t suppress a smile. 

As soon as Kate had joined you in the foyer, you took your seats. Despite it being only a college production, you were shocked at how many people had come to the opening night. There were only a handful of open spots left when they flashed the lights, and you could just imagine Josh giving the kids a pep talk backstage. 

The show started with a fun, bouncy opening music number and you leaned against Kate as you looked on at all the set pieces you’d both worked so hard on. You had thought your job was hard, but Kate had to round up a bunch of art students to help her work on the hundreds of different props.

Leave it to Josh to treat a children’s musical like a broadway show. 

The first half of the show went pretty much perfectly - everyone seemed to remember their lines, and if they didn’t, you didn’t notice. You couldn’t help but smile in pride as you watched all of your costumes appear on stage, one by one. 

During intermission, your head snapped over when you heard a soda tab opening and you shot Kate a disapproving look - you’re pretty sure you’d read a “no outside food and drink” sign at the front entrance. She gave you an unapologetic smile as she took a long sip and then handed the can over to Jake. He laughed under his breath.

The time went by too fast, and the closer it got to the closing act, the more anxious you got. The final scene was a triumphant number, exciting and big. You could tell that a lot of the audience was family members because when the curtain fell, they all began to stand. Hooting and hollering filled the huge room, and you almost cried when the curtain rose again to reveal some of the kids wearing smiles that spread all the way to their ears. It started with the minor characters - the cards, the flowers, and then the Cheshire Cat, the Hatter, the Caterpillar, the White Rabbit. Then finally, The Queen of Hearts, followed by a grinning Alice. 

They waved excitedly at the crowd, eating up the standing ovation like it was candy. You saw Kate with her hand pressed over her mouth and the biggest eyes you’d ever seen her wear - she was absolutely in love with them, as was the entire rest of the room. 

A moment or two later, Josh stepped out onto the stage. You recalled back when you had first met him and had told him you couldn’t imagine him in business casual because he was wearing a dark blue suit, a pair of black dress shoes, and a proud grin. As the kids made a spot for him in the line, he crouched down in between them and gave a couple of them a pat on the back. You saw him speak something at the girl playing Alice, and it must have been praise because she gave him a toothy smile in return. 

When the cast members had returned backstage, you had told Kate and Jake to leave when they were ready - you were going to wait for Josh. Both of them had given you knowing smiles that you brushed off easily enough, but they left all the same with a parting word of “text me” from Kate. 

You gave it enough time that most of the audience had left - all the kids joining their parents with promises of ice cream and treats - before you made your way backstage. 

After looking for him for a moment, you spotted Josh chatting with an older man excitedly by the back exit. When the older man (his professor, you assumed) laid eyes on you, he gestured toward you with a, “Please head home, we’ll see you tomorrow. You’ve done a great job.”

Josh turned to look at you and the smile melted from his lips as he nodded a haphazard acknowledgment to his professor. 

“Hey,” you greeted, only needing to speak above a whisper in the quiet area. Viewing him on stage was fine - it felt impersonal, but up close it felt like looking into the sun. “You look so handsome.”

His cheeks turned red under the tan skin as he rubbed at the back of his neck, embarrassed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said through a weak laugh, and a moment later said, “The costumes were incredible.”

“Not bad for someone who didn’t know how to sew a month ago, right?” you teased. You stared into his eyes for a long moment before crossing the room and taking his hand. “Are you ready to go?” you asked, then teasingly added, “Provided my car is still intact.”

He chuckled at you before taking a long breath. “Yeah, let’s go home.” 

The car ride home was tense, but not uncomfortable. You could sense the electricity running through him as you chatted about the production - the pride radiating from him was palpable. 

When you pulled into the apartment parking lot, it had just begun snowing, and neither of you made any moves to exit the car once it was turned off. 

After a long moment of silence, you spoke again. “We have a lot to talk about.”

He gave you a nervous look, one eyebrow quirked. “We do?”

You breathed a laugh, half-turning towards him in your seat. After a moment of collecting your thoughts, you said, “I want you to lay it all out for me. I know we haven’t been talking about it because it’s scary but I need to know exactly how you feel about me.”

He stared into your eyes for a long time, seemingly trying to predict whether this was a good idea or not. Just for assurance, you laid your hand on top of his where it rested on his knee - his fidgeting fingers pausing under your touch. 

“You know, I think I felt it for you the moment I first met you,” he admitted, casting his eyes anywhere but on yours. “I was nervous up until semi-recently that I just felt that way because I was lonely, you know? When my ex and I parted ways last spring and my roommate dropped out and moved away, I felt like I lost everyone all at once.

“I stopped going to parties and seeing my friends until I had none left. And I didn’t want to see my family - I think I had become accustomed to being alone, but you moved in and you were so kind. I’m not sure exactly when it happened - probably kind of a little bit at a time - with every interaction, you know? But I feel it for you. For real.”

He met your eyes again with a surprised frown. You watched his other hand come up, his thumb swiping under your eye, leaving a cool spot behind. “I’m sorry, don’t cry.”

You laughed weakly. “I didn���t know I was. I’m going to ruin all the makeup Kate spent an hour working on.” Before he could speak again, you took the moment. You leaned in and tugged him closer to you by the lapels of his suit jacket, pressing your lips to his. He melted into it for only a moment before pulling away with a sad smile. 

“I don’t want you to do this just because you feel bad for me,” he explained, voice uncharacteristically flat. 

You gave him a frown, taking his chin between your fingers and forcing him to look at you. “I’m not,” you promised, but he looked unconvinced. So you tried again.

“Josh, I’m so sorry about the way I’ve treated you. I fucked up. You have got to be the absolute sweetest person I’ve ever met - definitely the sweetest man - and it was fucked of me to sleep with you and then make you feel like you were wrong for wanting affection.”

He gave you a questioning look.

“It’s never going to happen again. Because - if you’ll have me - I want to give you all the affection you can handle. No weed-induced hook up’s this time.”

He was silent for a long moment, and you huffed a laugh as you visualized his brain working. 

“Oh,” he breathed as a smile started to tilt his lips up at the corners. “Well. That’s not how I expected this to go. Are we gonna fuck here - in the car?”

An abrupt laugh ripped through your chest. “I would prefer if we didn’t, this is cloth upholstery. But we could go inside?”

He nodded at you, and opening the door and stepping out, he came around to your side and gave you his hand to make sure you didn’t fall in the new snowfall. 

Inside, he toed off his dress shoes, and you bent to undo the buckles on your boots, your fingers shaking slightly in anticipation. The second you were stood again, he had you pressed back against the door with just enough force to knock the breath from your lungs. 

When he leaned in and connected your mouths, you wrapped your arms around his neck, your fingers lacing into his hair. 

He kissed a trail down your jaw and to the base of your throat, the feeling of teeth dragging across your skin giving you goosebumps. He hummed into your neck as his hands snaked around your body, his fingers tugging up the hem of your dress.

You slipped your coat off with his help once he realized what you were trying to do. As soon as it fell to the floor, you were walking him back blindly through the apartment, neither of you caring when you bumped into this or that. He turned you around when you reached his bedroom, laying you out over the covers. 

You watched as he unbuttoned his suit jacket, then the cuffs of his dress shirt. 

“You look so beautiful tonight,” he mumbled, making you blush lightly as he gestured to your form. “Did you do this for me?”

Through a smile, you replied, “Of course.”

“I don’t deserve you,” he stated confidently as he worked to open his button-down shirt. You decided that you weren’t going to let him do that alone, so you sat up, replacing his fingers with yours. 

You huffed. “Don’t say that.” The second the fabric was undone, you pressed your lips to his warm stomach, feeling the skin twitch under the touch. “You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met - candy sweet.” It was his turn to flush pink across his face, but you weren’t done yet. “I find myself thinking about you constantly.” You nipped into the trail of hair below his navel as you tugged his shirt from his dress pants. He hummed low at the slight pain. “I actually got some condoms in case you wanted to use them. Probably not all of them tonight - it’s a big pack, but you know. Over the next couple of weeks.” Your tone was teasing, forcing a breathy laugh from him. 

“Where are they?” he asked, voice a little gravelly. 

“My bedside stand.” 

As he exited the room to retrieve them, you pushed yourself up onto the bed until your head hit his pillows. You could hear him rummaging in the next room until the noise stalled for a beat as you worked off your leggings. You listened to him pad back across the hall, wearing just a smile and his dress pants when he returned. 

He crawled up the bed over you, pressing his face into your cheek as his hand lifted the hem of your dress. 

“What’s this?” he asked into your ear, pressing something cold against your thigh. You knew what it was instantly, making you suck in a surprised breath. 

You laughed, but even to your ears, it sounded nervous. He held it up so you could see.

“That would be a vibrator.”

It wasn’t anything special - just a slim, blue plastic piece, but it was the only one you’d ever had, and it had been a very good friend to you. He hovered his lips over yours as he ran the toy up your leg until the tip of it brushed your panties. 

“Is this okay?” he asked, but he sounded smug like he already knew the answer. You squirmed in anticipation and nodded. 

When he brushed it across your mound, you jolted, your fingers pressing tightly into his shoulder. He applied a little pressure to it, pressing it into the folds over the fabric. The feeling made you whine in the back of your throat.

He sat up, slipping his legs under yours, pulling your ass into his lap. Your face felt hot, so you covered your eyes with your fingers, sucking your bottom lip into your mouth. This was a lot different than hooking up with him while high. 

He played the toy over your panties until you were wet enough to have left a damp spot in the fabric. Then he hooked his fingers under them and tugged them down enough to give him full access, though the position restricted him from removing them completely. 

When the plastic pressed against your bare skin, you had to suppress a moan. You couldn’t see, so you didn’t expect it when the toy flicked to life against you, and he ran it across you lightly, just teasing. 

You stared up at the ceiling through your fingers, your mouth agape as he brushed it over your clit in circles, making your hips buck into the touch.

“Fuck,” you breathed, taking one of your hands from your eyes and running your fingers through your hair. If you tugged on the locks lightly, no one had to know but you. 

A little rougher, he deliberately pressed just the tip of it into your clit, forcing a shocked whine from the back of your throat. You made the mistake of sitting up on your elbows to watch, but instead, all you could look at was the form of his hard cock straining against his tight pants. 

You couldn’t have stopped yourself if you tried - you reached out and ran your fingers down the length of it. It twitched under your touch, but he didn’t stop what he was doing. You made a mental note to congratulate him on his dedication. Instead, he grabbed your wrist with a firm grip and laid you back down, all without taking his eyes off of his task. 

You could feel it starting to build in you as you rocked your hips into the feeling of the toy against your most sensitive part. You were positive that you looked absolutely pathetic, but when you met his eyes, he looked so entranced that it made you blush deeper - if that was even possible. 

Your fingers were flexing into his sheets as you came, a high whine ripping through your chest. When he pulled the toy away, a thread of your come was still connected to it, shimmering in the dim light of his lamp. He brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss against it, leaving his lips shiny. 

It took you a moment to collect yourself - your breathing was ragged and not at all appealing, if you had to guess. 

He gently placed your vibrator on his side table, and you watched as his fingers worked open the button on his pants, and then the zipper. When he pulled down the elastic band of his underwear, his cock popped out - rock hard. He pushed all the fabric down to his thighs and then tugged you further into his lap until your parts were flush together. 

“Did you want the condom?” you asked with a fucked-out smile. 

“Fuck it,” he replied with a grin as he rubbed his cock through your slit, making your over-sensitive skin pulse.  

You breathed a little “ah” sound as your whole lower half felt like it was hooked up to a live wire. “Are you telling me that you went all the way over there and forgot the condom?”

“First of all,” he started with a sinister laugh. “It’s just across the hall. Second of all, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

You had opened your mouth to respond but before you could, he pushed into you, his thumb holding his cock into place. 

“Fuck,” you rasped, throwing your head back into the pillow. You could feel how wet you were just by his movements. Your hands reached out until you could dig your fingernails into his forearms, his hands tight on your hips as he bottomed out in you. 

You looked up just in time to catch his tongue swipe out over his lips, his eyes half-lidded. 

He started rocking in and out of you like a tide drawn to the beach, sending little shockwaves through your core and up into your tight stomach.

To give your fingers something to do, they worked at the buttons on your dress. They only went down to the bottom of your ribcage, but it was far enough to expose your chest. He didn’t waste even a second before he moved one of his hands to your tit, squeezing it until it spilled out through his fingers. 

You were focused on that until he brushed something inside of you that made your jaw drop open. You went to moan but no sound would come out, so you sat up on your hands and pushed back against him, forcing him in deeper. His teeth were clenched as his hands found your hips again, holding you in the position you needed to be in to work yourself on him. He hummed, eyes fluttering as he met you halfway, thumbs pushed into the thin skin across your hip bones. You briefly wondered if he’d leave you little oval-shaped bruises.

He was staring into your eyes as best he could while his eyelids fluttered, so you knew when he was getting close to the edge. He pulled you up to him so you were riding his lap, his forehead against yours, the new angle putting his cock perfectly against your sweet spot as the length of him slid into you. 

You kissed him deeply as you worked yourself onto him, his breath hitching and his fingers lacing into your hair as he came. You were shockingly close behind, so when he drove you down on him harder to ride out his orgasm, you lost it too. 

You gasped into his mouth as it washed over you, leaving your senses as if you were swallowed by a wave. 

Neither of you moved for a few moments until you pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes. 

“You’re going to have come on your dress pants,” you whispered teasingly. He smirked back at you as he laid you out onto the bed. 

“Yeah, I’ll have to wash them before tomorrow night’s show,” he agreed, and the idea made your cheeks go pink. 

You were both silent as you cleaned up, and when you returned to him from the bathroom, he was already tucked under the covers in his bed. He smiled at you and held the comforter up for you as you crawled in next to him. You knew you were going to fall asleep almost instantly once you got completely situated, so it was lucky that he spoke before that happened. 

“I want you to come home with me for Christmas,” he stated, voice just above a whisper. 

You blinked over at him, a little stunned. 

“I don’t want you to be here alone - you deserve to be with a loving family,” he explained further when he saw the look on your face. 

You gave him a smile, feeling oddly sentimental post-orgasm. You could feel tears pricking at your eyes, so you buried your face in his neck. 

“I’d like that.”

[theladyofdeath]

The First Day {Oblivion}

An extension of Oblivion. It’s not necessary to read the story first, but if you’d like to, here is the masterlist: Oblivion

A series of short stories that revolve around Cassian as a single father, raising his daughter, Lily.

Fatherhood {Oblivion Masterlist} 

Exhaustion was an understatement.

When Cassian’s alarm went off at seven, he wanted to tell his phone to fuck off. Only hours before, it had been his best friend and mentor, but now? Phones were stupid. Alarms were stupid. Everything was stupid.

Everything but sleep. 

He pressed snooze.

The alarm went off again, eight minutes later.

With a muttered curse, Cassian was turning the alarm off and swinging his legs over the side of his bed.

A groan came from behind him and Cassian looked over his shoulder at Kiara, their golden retriever, who was obviously trying to get her beauty rest. She gave Cassian a look that he swore damned him. 

“I know, girl,” he grumbled, patting her head. “I’m tired, too. Lucky you, you get to keep sleeping while I have to go wake up the princess.”

In response, Kiara huffed and closed her eyes, once more.

They better get used to it, he supposed. He’d have to wake Lily up every day, at this hour, for the next thirteen years. 

The kid had never been a morning person.

Her mother hadn’t been, either.

Apparently, neither was Kiara. 

Cassian was - when he got a good night’s sleep, that is. Not when he spent the entirety of his night on YouTube. 

He padded across the hall to Lily’s room and pushed open the door, where his five-year-old was sprawled out on her bed, her golden-brown hair wild, her blankets pushed onto the floor. With a chuckle, Cassian walked to the side of her bed and plopped down on the mattress next to her. His legs hung off the end, by about a foot, and he took up most of the bed, which meant that Lily was now pushed up against the wall as she woke up, groaning.

“Daddyyyyy! You’re too big,” she cried, digging her heels into the side of his leg. “Off my bed!”

“Can’t,” Cassian said, yawning. “Time to wake up, it’s a big day. We’ve got to get ready.” 

“No,” she protested. “Tired, daddy.”

“Me too,” Cassian agreed, and had to admit that her protests were awfully compelling. “But, it’s your first day of school-.”

Lily shot up in her bed and jumped on Cassian’s stomach in excitement. He let out a grunted curse and caught his daughter before she flung herself off the bed. 

“First day of school!” she yelled, giddily. “C’mon dad!”

He let go, and Lily was running out of her room and down the hall. A minute later, he heard barking, which meant that Lily must’ve gotten Kiara wound up and they were having an early morning dance party. 

Cassian was too tired for this.

Groaning as he sat up, Cassian took himself off the pink, twin-sized bed and padded down the hall where Lily and Kiara were, indeed, jumping around. 

“I thought you were tired,” he mumbled, eyeing Kiara.

She just wagged her tail. 

“Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen for breakfast,” Cassian said, yawning. 

“Okay, daddy!” she yelled, after him. “C’mon Kiara, let’s go get dressed.” 

Cassian snorted as he padded down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. Within ten minutes, he had a plate of eggs and bacon piled high for him, and a bowl of Fruit Loops and a blueberry muffin for Lily. 

“Lil!” he called, setting it all on the breakfast nook - the same nook he had eaten at as a kid before school. “Come on, sweetheart! Breakfast is served!”

She groaned. “Coming! Patient!” 

Cassian rolled his eyes at his five-year-old’s overdramatic nature and sat at the table, starting to eat without her. A moment later, she came down the stairs, Kiara just behind her.

Cassian looked at how she dressed herself and blinked.

“Do I look pretty, daddy?” she asked, twirling around. 

She wore a pink tank top, jean shorts, and a white tutu. On her feet were red cowgirl boots. 

“Beautiful,” he said, mouth full of eggs. “I think I wore the same thing to my first day of kindergarten.” 

Lily’s hands flew over her mouth as she giggled. “No you didn’t, daddy!”

Cassian laughed as he motioned for her to sit down and eat. She didn’t protest as she sat and ate her entire bowl of cereal, and her whole muffin. Cassian was washing his plate as she finished, and once she was done, she was on her booted-feet yelling, “Let’s go!”

“Not so fast,” Cassian said, walking after her. “Upstairs. Teeth brushed. Hair brushed.”

Lily groaned, yet again, as she stomped back up the stairs, Cassian just behind her. They brushed their teeth, then Lily was ordered to sit.

“Why?” she asked, even though she did as she was told.

“Daddy’s gonna do your hair,” he said, taking a brush through her long, wavy hair. 

Lily’s brows shot up. “You can’t do hair, daddy.”

“Oh yes I can,” he said, taking some oil from the bottle on the counter to smooth her hair out, taming her waves. “Daddy stayed up late watching YouTube tutorials on how to do pretty hairstyles for school, so we’re going to try one out today.” 

Lily looked skeptical. “You don’t do hair good, daddy.”

“I do now,” he sang, starting to braid. Kiara hadn’t been having it the night before as he practiced on her fur, her tail. She kept nipping at his hands to stop. He didn’t blame her, of course. Her fur was rather short, but it was all he had, other than himself, to practice on. Which he did, too. Although, Cassian was perfectly man enough to acknowledge that he could not pull off french-braids.

At all. 

Lily looked much cuter.

He separated her hair into four half-braids, then split her hair in half and put them in pigtails. He put a little product in the bottom of her pigtails, so that her hair wouldn’t get too frizzy. After putting two little pink bows above her ponytail holders, he told her to look in the mirror. “Alright. What do you think?”

Lily’s grin was wide as she gasped. “So pretty, daddy. The Tube taught you how to braid?”

The Tube was how she referred to YouTube. Cassian never wanted to correct her. It was too cute.

“YouTube and Kiara,” Cassian said, winking. “You look very pretty, sweetheart.” 

“Thank you, daddy,” she said, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. 

Cassian watched her and his smile faltered. Those eyes, so full of joy, got him every time. Gray-blue, filled with awe.

Nesta’s eyes used to look like that when she looked at him. 

He cleared his throat. “Alright, kiddo, let’s get going, we don’t want to be late.”

Lily hopped off her stool and called for Kiara. “Kiara can come with us, right, daddy?”

Cassian nodded, his throat tight as she hurried out of the bathroom. He let her have a moment chasing Kiara as he went back into his room and pulled on a t-shirt to go with his sweatpants. He pulled his hair back to gather the mess that was on top of his head, slipped on some shoes and was hurrying downstairs. 

“Come on, Lil!” He called. “We’re gonna be late! Grab your backpack-.”

She came around the corner, her Wonder Woman backpack already on her back.

“I’m ready, daddy, I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, with a roll of her eyes. 

Cassian snorted as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed her lunchbox out of the fridge. “Here,” he said, hooking her lunchbox onto her backpack. “Pizza lunchable, carrots and ranch, orange slices, and a juice box.”

“Yummy!” She said, throwing her hands in the air. 

Cassian took her hand and whistled for Kiara to follow them as they made their way out of the house and into Cassian’s truck. He took a picture, of course, to send to Feyre and Elain. If he hadn’t, he would never hear the end of it.

 The whole way to the school, which was only a few blocks away, Lily sang to the radio at the top of her lungs and Kiara barked along with her.

Once they pulled into the parking lot, Cassian parked the truck and left Kiara in the car as he walked Lily into the building. She took his hand, and Cassian held onto her little fingers tightly. He knew there would come a day when she wouldn’t want to hold his hand any longer, so he would dwell on the days that she would. 

He walked her into the first classroom on the left, across from the school’s office, where Cassian had taken Lily on orientation night.

Mrs. Lochan’s room. Welcome kindergartners! the door read. 

“Alright,” Cassian breathed, taking a deep breath as he knelt in front of his daughter. “Go in there and make a bunch of friends and have the best day ever, yeah?” 

She rolled her eyes. “I will.”

“Alright,” he said, quietly. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you,” she said, and threw her arms around his neck. He held onto her tightly, as long as she’d let him, before letting her go. Lily kissed her dad on the cheek. “Thank you for doing my hair, daddy.”

And with that, she was off. 

He watched her hurry inside and the teacher had spotted her immediately, greeting her and making her feel welcome. Cassian gave them both a little wave before taking his leave.

Hands shoved into his pockets, he walked back to his truck and got inside. After shutting the door behind him, he sat there for a moment in silence. 

Kiara laid her head down on his lap and whined.

Cassian chuckled, wistfully. “I know, I know. Our little girl is growing up.”

Kiara huffed and sat back up, staring out the window toward the front of the school. She stayed like that until Cassian pulled out of the parking lot and back toward the house, where he and Kiara would be counting down the hours on the clock, waiting to go pick Lily up from her first day of kindergarten. 

[a-bang-for-your-bucky]

Playin' With Fire: The Morning After

Summary: Santiago and Dani deal with the fallout of their actions the night before. Dani starts preparations to leave for South America with Santiago. We get to dive more into Dani and Santi’s relationship, and Santi learns something about Dani’s past.

Warnings: 18+, Implications of smut, suggestive language, explicit language, ANGST, mentions of a car wreck and death (no descriptions), Dani does experience some anxiety and self-consciousness.

Word Count: 5,851

A/N: This whole series is a wild ride of emotions, and as I proof-read for posting, I find myself wanting to go in a whole different direction than originally planned. After this part, we start getting into the events of the movie, which is separated into three chapters. There are cameos in this chapter from another favorite show of mine. I know it’s unlikely that these characters would ever meet, but fuck it, it’s fan-fiction.

Dani’s alarm went off at 5:00am. Groaning, she reached over to press snooze. The light of her phone made her squint. She twisted the switch on the bedside table lamp, emitting a small glow across her room. “Shit,” She cursed, her body deliciously sore from the events of the night before.

She was never good at dealing with “the morning after’. She almost hoped that Santiago had snuck out while she was sleeping, but the warmth of the space beside her told her he was still there. What did I do? She thought. Guilt washed over her as she rolled over to face the man in her bed. She studied the features of his face, memories of the night before flooded her mind. Just the thoughts made heat pool in the pit of her stomach.

“Staring is rude, sweetheart.” Santiago’s words startled her, making her gasp. “Sorry, Teq.” He chuckled, his eyes still closed. How did he even know? Right, trained soldier.

“You’re still here?” She asked him, surprise thick in her voice. His eyes snapped open to look at her.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You know you were more than a one night stand.” He explained, bringing a hand up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. “In fact, I really wouldn’t mind if last night happened again.” He suggested with a smirk.

Dani was speechless, staring at his sexy, sleepy, face. “I, uh, um, I have to shower. My shift starts at seven.” She stuttered over her words, trying not to let him see the effect he was having on her. She moved to get up, only stopping because she remembered she was naked. “Could you, um, not look when I get up?” She blushed nervously, pulling the sheet tighter around her.

“Really Teq? Yeah, I won’t look.” He promised, then added, “Even though I already know you have a little birthmark that looks like a heart on your ass.” he teased her, and she smacked him with a pillow. Santiago shut his eyes and squeezed them tight.

Once she was sure he wasn’t peaking, she rushed up and over to the chair in the corner of her room, wrapping herself in her fuzzy robe. “Okay, you can open them.”

He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sight of her. Her dirty blonde hair was a mess of loose curls. If this was how she looked every morning, he wouldn’t mind waking up with her. He knew he should feel bad. If, when Frankie finds out that he slept with her, that he is taking her to South America, he’s gonna be pissed. It might just ruin their friendship, but in this moment, looking at Dani, he didn’t care.

Dani felt self-conscious under Santiago’s gaze. She pulled the robe tighter around her body, trying to cover herself more. He noticed immediately, and all but jumped off the bed toward her. “Dani, you are absolutely beautiful. You don’t have to hide from me.” He complimented her and he meant every word. He embraced her face with his hands, his thumbs, lovingly brushing over her cheeks. Slowly, Santiago lowered his lips to hers. Gently, he coaxed her lips apart with his own, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue past them.

The kiss wasn’t hurried like the previous night. He took his time, tracing the contour of her mouth, memorizing the feeling of her lips on his. The kiss gradually grew more fervent, needy. It was almost as if they separated, they would fall to pieces. Santiago released her face, moving his hands to the tie of her robe. Dani groaned as she pulled away, his hands falling to her hips, to keep her close. “I have to shower.” She said, reminding herself more than Santiago.

“I’ll join you.” He countered, fiddling with the tie again. She shook her head.

“Santi, I have to go to work. And you do, too.” She pointed out, grabbing his hands away. Their fingers laced together as he moved to place methodical kisses to her neck.

She whimpered as he nibbled her ear and he whispered, “I’ll make it quick. Let me make you feel good, querida.” How could she say no to that?

Forty-five minutes later, they exited Dani’s room and walked into the kitchen. Benny was already up, pouring a cup of coffee. “Morning,” He greeted them with a raised brow.

“Morning, Benny!” Santi beamed with a huge smile, all but telling Benny what had transpired between them. Benny tossed a knowing look at Dani.

“Don’t say anything, Benjamin.” Dani warned him with a pointed finger, “I have fifteen minutes to get to work.” She added, as she poured the liquid energy into her travel cup. Santiago handed her the creamer with a wink.

“Oh, Danika Kate, we are so talking about this later.” Benny teased, as she flew by him, grabbing her bag and keys. Santi threw Benny a ‘bye’ over his shoulder as he quickly followed behind her.

He walked her to her white Camry, opening the door for her to slide in. She started the car, rolling down the window, and closed the door.

“Can I at least get a goodbye kiss?” He pouted. All Dani could think about was biting that bottom lip. She acquiesced to his request, nodded her head ‘yes’.

He leaned into the window, giving her a sweet peck. Dani felt her stomach flutter. She knew she was in trouble. “I’ll call you later. Maybe we can grab a late dinner and talk about Colombia, yeah?” He hoped, not really wanting her to leave.

“Yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” She smiled, taking a quick glance at her watch. “Shit, I really have to go.” Santiago gave her one more quick kiss before telling her bye, and she drove away. The two of them were too caught up in each other to see Frankie’s truck stopped in the road, where he saw everything.

Dani had gotten to the hospital right on time. She barely made it through the ER doors before she was being called, “Dr. Reid.” She spotted the head nurse waving her over to the nurse’s station.

“Hey, Rebecca. How was your night?” Dani asked with a smile, sitting her stethoscope down on the counter to toss her messy hair into a bun, and then threw it back around her neck.

“It was hectic. We got slammed with a four car pile up after you left.” Rebecca sighed, handing her a tablet. “Bed four is ready to be seen. He came in with a complaint of ‘his worst headache ever’. BP is 185/100 with a long history of hypertension.” She presented to Dani as she looked over his chart.

Dani thanked her and moved toward the occupied bed. “Mr. Turner, this is your third time here this month. I thought we talked about this?” Dani chided, checking over his vital signs machine.

Mr. Turner shifted in the bed, “I know, Dr. Reid, but those meds made me feel so bad. I can’t take ‘em. Can’t you just give me something for the headache?” The patient requested.

Dani shook her head. “What good will it do you if we don’t treat the cause? Mr. Turner, your blood pressure is severely uncontrolled.” Dani paused, pinching the bridge of her nose, “If you don’t get this under control, you can die or have a stroke.” She explained to him, but could tell she was getting nowhere.

She pulled the rolling stool over to his bedside, taking a seat. “Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna treat your blood pressure first. Once we get that down, if the headache doesn’t go away, I’ll treat it. Deal?” She bargained with him. Mr. Turner grumbled an ‘okay’ knowing he wasn’t going to win. “Perfect. Rebecca or Nicole will be back with your medicine.” She patted him on the shoulder, flashing him a sweet smile.

Walking back over to the nurse’s station, she gave Nicole the medication orders. Dani made sure to tell Nicole to get her if the patient gave her any trouble. Dani liked working mornings in the ER. Usually, it was pretty slow.

She sat behind her computer, working on chart notes, when she heard a commotion in the ER lobby. “I’m looking for Dr. Reid. I’m her so-called best friend.” She knew that voice. Dani rose from her seat so fast she knocked it to the ground as she ran out of her office. She rushed around the corner to see Frankie being held by two security guards. “Fuck,” She mumbled, stomping toward him.

“Tequila!” Frankie boomed, trying to move past the guards. “Come on, Teq. Tell ‘em to let me go.” He told her as they continued their hold.

She shook her head, “Frankie, stop. Let’s go talk somewhere that isn’t in the middle of my ER” She looked around at the growing crowd as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her office. She closed the door behind them. Dani walked around her wooden desk, picking up the knocked over computer chair. “What the hell are you doing, Frankie?” She questioned him, taking a seat.

Frankie scoffed, “I could ask you the same damn thing.” Frankie sat in one of the other chairs, crossing his arms.

“I’m trying to fucking work, Fish.” She hissed at him. His nostrils flared, a quick sign that he was mad.

“I saw you and Pope.” He confessed, and Dani’s heart dropped. Thoughts raced through her mind. She wasn’t sure how to explain it. Then again, after everything Frankie has done in the last twenty-four hours, did she care?

“That’s none of your business.” She replied calmly, sitting forward in her seat. “You have no right to be upset.”

Frankie rolled his eyes, “You fucked my best friend, I think I do.” The words flew from his mouth before he could stop them. Dani’s eyes widened and she stood up.

“Get out. This conversation is over.” She demanded, pointing toward the door. Frankie didn’t move. “Get the fuck out, Morales, before I call security.” Frankie conceded, standing up, opening the door, and walked out.

Once she was sure he was gone, she let out a shaky breath, falling back into her seat. She cradled her head, thinking about how everything had gotten so messed up. Frankie had no right to be mad at her, right?

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts, and she lifted her head. “Shit, you okay Reid?” The doctor in the doorway asked.

She wiped the stray tears that had fallen and sniffled, “Yeah, I’m good, Karev. Have you seen the Chief? I need to talk to her.”

Dr. Karev studied her face for a second before answering, “Last I saw her, she was in her office. Are you sure you’re good?” He asked again, concerned. She nodded, and he went on his way.

Dani left her office, walking toward the Chief of Surgery’s. She stopped outside of the door, the sign read ‘Dr. Meredith Grey, Chief of Surgery.’ She took a deep breath to center herself before knocking on the door. A muffled ‘come in’ filtered through the wood. She opened the door and stepped inside. “Ah, Dr. Reid, just who I needed to see.” Dr. Grey welcomed, gesturing for her to have a seat, which she quickly took. This wasn’t good.

“I heard there was an incident in the ER lobby this morning. What happened?” She questioned her. Dani gulped, unsure of how to answer.

“I’m so sorry, Mere. It was my friend, Frankie.” Dani sighed. She wasn’t going to need to put in a leave, because she was going to get fired.

“Frankie, like the best friend with the coke addiction, Frankie? Why would he be screaming in the lobby?” Meredith wanted to know. Dani had talked to her some about what he had been going through, trying to get advice on how to help him.

“It’s a really long story. The short version is: He did something stupid, really stupid. And then I did something that may or may not have as equally stupid. He found out, and threw a tantrum about it.” Dani explained, realizing that maybe that wasn’t the short version. Meredith cocked an eyebrow at her, shaking her head.

“I swear, you residents are going to be the death of me. Keep your drama at home, Reid.” Meredith groused and rubbed her temples. Dani didn’t want to mention South America now, but she had to; A month would go by faster than she could blink.

“Um, there was actually something I needed to talk to you about. A friend of mine got me connected with a hospital in Colombia, South America. They offered me a position, and I really wanna take it.” Nervousness was radiating off of Dani as she finally spoke these words out loud. Meredith was the first person she had told that she was going. If she couldn’t tell her, how was she going to tell Benny and Will? How was she going to tell Frankie?

“That’s, that’s great, Dani. You should go. I will work on getting the paperwork you will need. And you will always have a spot here at Memorial.” Meredith promised her. Those words lifted a weight off of her. She quickly thanked her, and got up to leave. “Hey, why don’t you take the day off? You’ve been working a lot lately. You can’t save lives if you’re tired.” Meredith added.

“Thank you, Chief.” Dani said sincerely

before walking back to her office to gather her things. She quickly typed a text to Santiago. Hey, Grey is letting me off for the day. We need to talk, Frankie showed up at the hospital. She pressed send and exhaled sharply.

Santiago responded when she was getting into her car. Fuck, is everything okay? Do I need to come to you?

No. Just meet me at the house.

Santiago was sure he broke a hundred laws getting to the Miller house. He didn’t know what Frankie had done, but if Dani had left early from work, it couldn’t be good. She was already home when he pulled into the driveway. He was inside the house and in her room before he recognized he even got out of his truck. “Teq?” She was sitting on her bed, staring at the doorway.

“Frankie knows, Santi.” Was all she responded. Santiago cursed under his breath, moving to take a seat next to her. “He showed up at the hospital, caused a scene.” Dani continued to tell him everything.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Santiago groaned. This wasn’t how he wanted Frankie to find out. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. He turned to look at her. Her face was void of any emotion. “Are you okay?” He asked. She nodded and it wasn’t entirely a lie.

The events of the day showed her that she needed to go. That she wasn’t doing anyone any good here. She knew that if she stayed, she’d destroy herself trying to save Frankie. It wasn’t her responsibility to save someone who didn’t want to save themselves. It would break her heart, but broken hearts are easier healed than broken spirits.

“So, you’re really going with me?” Santiago’s cedar eyes bright with happiness as the words rolled off his tongue. He slung an arm around her shoulder. Pulling her into him, so she could rest her head against him.

“I’m going, Pope.” She sighed, content with her decision. “Meredith is already working on my travel papers. I”m gonna finish my shifts for the next two weeks, that way I’ll have plenty of time to pack.”

“Pack?” Will’s voice made their heads whip toward the door. “What do you mean ‘pack’?” Will asked again, widening his stance, arms crossing over his chest.

“We’re going to have to tell’em eventually, Cariño.” Santiago said, placing a kiss to her head.

Dani sat there staring at Will. He had been her rock for years. The entire Miller family had taken her in after the accident. When Will joined the army, it was her he wrote letters to. When Benny joined, it was the same way. The two men quickly took over the role of ‘older brother’ teaching her how to defend herself; Their father taught her basic car maintenance; Their mother taught her to cook.

“Okay. Someone tell me what the fuck is going on.” Will cured, “When did this happen?” He gestured between Dani and Santiago.

“You have missed a lot in the last twenty-four hours, hermano.” Santiago told him as he removed his arm from around her. Dani shifted, creating some space between her and the man beside her. Will moved further into the room, taking a seat in her corner chair.

Dani fiddled with her fingers, not even sure where to begin. Santiago noticed her nerves, offering her his hand for comfort. She accepted, lacing her fingers with his. The warmth from him flowed through her, causing her to shiver. Feeling like she could face anything holding Santiago’s hand, she took a deep breath before telling Will what happened with Frankie. By the end of the story, Will’s face had his emotions written all over it.

He was pissed. How could Frankie do that to her? How could she run away with Pope? “So, you’re just gonna leave?” He asked, voice low and gravely. “You think that’s the answer?”

She shook her head, “No, I don’t. But I’m not thinking about me. I’m thinking about the good I can do there. I’m thinking about the people I can save.” Dani put emphasis on ‘can’ to try and get her point across.

Will nodded, understanding where she was coming from. They had a similar conversation when he left for the army. “If this is truly what you want, then I support you, one hundred percent.” Will gave her his blessing. Dani launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

“Thank you, Will.” She chirped as he squeezed her tightly. She released him, straightening herself up.

“Don’t thank me yet, sweetheart. You still have to tell Benny.” Dani’s eyes widened. Benny was going to be crushed.

After the conversation, Will had left Dani and Santiago, but not before threatening that he’d hunt Santi down if Dani didn’t make it back. Santiago promised he’d protect her as if his life depended on it, which it did.

Not long after, Santiago left. His lunch break was long over and his boss was blowing up his phone. Dani used the time to herself to sit and think about everything. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she was making the right choice. She contemplated on how she was going to tell Benny. She decided to make his favorite dinner; His mom’s famous chicken pot pie. Thankfully, she had everything she needed.

Benny entered the house right as Dani pulled the meal out of the oven. “Holy shit. Tell me that’s what I think it is.” Benny grinned as he dropped his keys to the counter.

“Yep! Momma Miller’s chicken pot pie!” Dani answered him, putting the piping hot dish on the counter. “Why don’t you go clean up while it cools?”

Benny walked around the island to hug her. “You’re the best, Tequila. What did I do to deserve a best friend like you?” He questioned out loud before walking back through the house. Dani’s stomach dropped. She wasn’t ready for this.

Benny came back into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. Dani had the table set for just the two of them. “What about Will?” Benny asked at the sight of the two plates.

“Date. Probably won’t be back tonight.” Dani replied, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. She handed it to the blonde man in front of her, gesturing for him to sit.

“Alright. What’s up, Teq? I know you well enough to know when something’s wrong.” Benny called her out. The two of them have never had secrets. Will always joked that they were more like siblings than he and Benny were.

Dani told Benny all about Frankie while they ate. She explained everything that happened between her and Santiago. “Santi, he, uh. He’s asked me to go to South America with him. And I said yes.” She whispered, and Benny almost choked.

“You can’t go to South America.” Benny said in between coughs. He cleared his throat. “Teq, you can’t go. I feel like I just got you back.”

Tears welled in her eyes, “Oh, Ben. You never lost me. You are always going to be the pain in the ass brother I always wanted.” She reached across the table to him. “I’ll text and call whenever I can. I'm not gonna be gone forever.” She promised him.

Benny stood up, his chair scraping against the tile. He pulled Dani to her feet, embracing her in his arms. The hug told Dani everything she needed to know. He was silently giving her his approval. They sat back down and finished eating, Benny asking the occasional question about what she would be doing there. She honestly didn’t know, but she was excited to see where this path would take her. When they were done, Benny helped her clean up, loading the dishwasher while she put away the leftovers.

The two of them dropped to the couch, turning on a movie. Benny hit pause and turned to her. “I gotta know. Is the sex that good, that you’d follow him to another country?” He jested, his voice playful.

Dani rolled her eyes, “Wouldn’t you like to know. Looking for tips, Miller?” She chuckled, throwing him a wink. Benny huffed a laugh, sticking his tongue out at her before he un-paused the movie.

Week by week, the days seemed to pass by a little faster. As their departure date grew closer, Dani grew more nervous. Not nervous, like she was regretting her decision, but nervous like she couldn’t wait to see what the future held for her.

Although they completely supported their friend, Will and Benny tried to get her to stay. They hated that she was leaving. They even tried to get their mom to convince her to stay. Boy, did that backfire. Momma Miller was nothing but excited for her, telling Dani to take complete advantage of the wondrous opportunity.

Dani laid in her bed, sparing a glance at her phone. 6:30am. Santiago would be there soon, coming to take her to get her stuff from the hospital. She finished her last shift days ago, but put off getting her things. A piece of her wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Carolina Memorial had been her home. She experienced all of her ‘real doctor’ firsts there.

Pulling herself together, she slithered out of bed. Throwing on her robe, she tip-toed to the kitchen trying not to wake Benny. She started a pot of coffee. As if on cue, Benny shuffled into the room as the liquid began to drip. His blonde hair a mess, sleep still heavy in his eyes. “Good morning, Benjamin.” She said sweetly. He grumbled a response that she only assumed meant ‘Good morning’. Dani never understood why Benny still got up so early, even though he was not a morning person.

Luckily for Benny, Dani knew just how to perk him up. “Coffee, black, no sugar.” She said as she handed him a cup. Benny hummed in appreciation, taking the drink. Dani poured her own coffee, gazing out the kitchen window.

In true North Carolina fashion, the weather changed almost instantly. The day before had been beautiful, but today rain moved in, fog blocking out the sunshine. Dani hated days like this. Benny, who had drained his coffee, noticed Dani staring out the Window. He knew what was going through her head; He was the one who picked her up after.

“Hey.” Benny called out to her, and she turned to look at him. He didn’t need to say anything else, he just opened his arms.

“I’m gonna miss you, Benny-boy.” She spoke into his chest, and Benny chuckled at the nickname. He hadn’t been called that in years. Benny squeezed her tighter, only pulling away when loud bangs resounded through the house.

“Must be Pope.” Dani shrugged, pouring Benny another cup of coffee. Benny took it, going to open the door for him.

“Reid, I know you’re up. ¡Vamos!” Santiago yelled through the wood.

He jumped when the door swung open to reveal a very annoyed looking Benny. “What the fuck, man?” He groaned, taking a swig of his coffee.

Santiago smiled, “Sorry, Benny. I’m here to take Tequila to get her shit from the hospital.” He apologized. Benny mumbled something under his breath, moving to the side to let his friend in.

“She’s in the kitchen.” Benny said, gesturing toward it. Santiago slapped his shoulder as he passed by him, hastily making his way to her.

Santiago knew something was wrong when Dani hesitantly climbed into the cab of his red Ford. He recognized the look on her face, the anxiety. He’d worn that look many times. He didn’t press for information though. He just gave her hand a squeeze, reminding her that he was there.

As they drove along, something had dawned on Santiago. “So, we’ve known each other for what two years now?” Santiago asked Dani. She nodded in response, keeping her eyes on the road. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

She nodded again, “Santi, you’ve seen me naked. I think we are past ‘personal’.” She replied, fingers doing air quotes around personal.

Santiago bit his lip at the memory. It was only one night, but it was one of the best nights of his life. “You’ve met all of our families, right? Why haven’t we met yours?” He wondered, never recalling her even mentioning her family. Dani sucked in a breath at the question. She knew this day would come. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to tell him, it just wasn’t a pleasant memory.

“You guys are my family.” She whispered. “Well, the only family I have left. My parents died when I was seventeen, right before I was supposed to graduate. The Millers took me in, basically adopting me.” Dani paused, feeling Santi reach over to grab her hand. “I’m an only child, so Will and Benny are the big brothers I never had. No aunts, uncles, or cousins either.” She told him. The look on his face was the reason why she never told people, the look of pity.

“I’m sorry, Teq. How? If you-” He apologized, but she cut him off.

“It’s okay. They, uh, they wrecked their car. On a morning just like this. It was horrific. The hospital that they were transported to wasn’t a trauma center. They did their best to stabilize them for transfer, but it was too late.” She felt a tear drop as she sniffled.

Santiago wanted nothing more than to pull the truck over and take her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Dani. Is that, is that why you became a trauma surgeon?” His words faltered, not wanting to push for too much information. She nodded; All she ever wanted was to do her best to prevent anyone from going through what she did.

The two gathered Dani’s belongings from her office rather quickly. Dani didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Meredith had stopped by, warning Santiago that he better take care of Dani or else and gave him the glare. Once they left, he told Dani that Meredith reminded him of Medusa, icy stare and all. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt, telling him that’s what the interns called her.

Dani remembered the night she first met Santiago Garcia. She had just graduated med school, completed her internship and was looking for a hospital to complete her residency. She reached out to the Miller brothers, who she grew up with, and stayed very close to. They welcomed her into their North Carolina home with open arms.

It was her first week there and the boys mentioned that they were having a friend coming in for a visit. “Pope is a good guy, one of the best, but will flirt with anything that has a pussy.” Ben warned her. She laughed at her friend’s crudness.

“Benny, you know I can handle myself. There is a reason y’all call me Tequila.” She reminded him, and Benny just nodded. “Besides, that is the last thing I need. I have a residency to focus on.”

Friday quickly approached. Benny went to meet Santiago at the airport while Dani and Will stayed to prepare for his arrival. Dani was helping Will cook dinner, when he came in from the back yard. “So, uh, I burnt the steaks.” Will confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. Dani threw a kitchen towel at him.

“Will! I marinated those steaks all day! How did you burn them?” She asked him, laying her head on the counter. “What are we going to feed your friend now?” The words were mumbled into the granite, but Will still heard her. He walked around, rubbing her shoulders.

“Santi will be fine with burgers from Luanne’s. You don’t need to impress him.” Will assured her and she groaned, standing up straight.

“Yes, I do. Aside from me, he’s one of your oldest friends. I want to make a good impression.” Dani knew she sounded whiny, but she really did want to impress Santiago. Will just gave her a look. “Fine, I’ll go ahead and call in an order. You think Benny will want his usual?” She asked, reaching for her cell. Will nodded and asked for his usual too. Dani quickly ordered their dinner, telling Will it was on him because he fucked up the steaks. Will laughed, tossing her his card and keys.

“Go get our food, Tequila.” He said teasingly. She shot him a quick middle finger before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.

Luanne’s was packed that night, so Dani ended up waiting a lot longer than she thought she would. Will had sent her a text saying that Benny was back and Santiago was asking where the mysterious Tequila was. She replied promptly, letting him know that she was leaving the diner now and that Luanne threw in a few slices of her apple pie for the wait.

Dani pulled Will’s jeep into the driveway. She slid out of the driver’s side, walking around to get the bag of food. She walked into the house, yelling that she was back. It was like a stampede through the Miller household. Benny rounded the corner first, followed by Will. Santiago came around last, calling Benny a “fucking cheater”.

“Guys, slow down.” Dani chuckled, walking the rest of the way into the kitchen. “What are you cheating at now, Benjamin?”

“Fucker thought he could pull a quick one. That was my fucking mushroom and you know it, Benny.” Santi explained, flashing a bright smile in Dani’s direction. “So, Tequila, I presume?” He stretched out a hand, introducing himself.

“Nice to finally meet you, Santiago. I’ve heard so many things about you.” She replied, shaking his hand. She pulled her hand back, and Santi shamelessly let his eyes roam over her.

“All good things, I hope? And Please, you can call me Santi.” He flirted, tongue swiping out to wet his lips, before sucking his bottom one back between his teeth. Dani scoffed and shook her head.

“Well boys, you were right. He didn’t even last five minutes.” Dani snorted, handing out the to-go boxes.

“Let’s eat. Then I can go back to kicking your asses at MarioKart.” Benny joked, before ripping into the container and taking a bite of his burger. “God, I swear Luanne makes the best burgers.” He groaned. The four of them ate, chit-chatting comfortably. Dani was surprised at how easy she fell in with Santi. It was like they had known each other forever.

Dani smiled fondly at the memory. Her and Santi stayed in touch after that weekend. She never imagined she’d find herself here, moving to another country with the man.

Even now though, when Santi had taken up so much of her time, she found her thoughts drifting back to Frankie. She was leaving in less than 24 hours and she still hadn’t told him. Dani picked up her phone, thumb hovering over the call symbol in Frankie’s contact. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed it. The line rang once, before going straight to voicemail. You’ve reached Frankie Morales. Leave a message. “Fuck.” Dani sighed out, tossing the phone to the bed.

Maybe it's better this way, maybe I should just go. Dani knew it would be hard, not saying goodbye. So she wrote him a letter. A letter telling him she was leaving, that she was sorry, and she would see him again.

Dani and Santiago opted for a midnight flight; The airport was almost empty. "You can still stay, you know? I won't hold it against you." Santi whispered to her. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He knew leaving would be hard on her, especially after everything with Frankie.

"You're stuck with me, Pope. My name is already on the apartment lease." She smiled at him. She was more than ready to go. Ready to make peace with her past and embrace her future.

Frankie woke up and started his normal morning routine. Vanessa was already in the kitchen making coffee. "Hey, this was stuck to the door." She told him, handing him an envelope. His name in her hand writing. He ripped it open, pulling the paper out. His eyes roamed the page, reading every word.

"No. No. No." Frankie mumbled, "fuck, I have to go." Frankie grabbed his keys and rushed over to her house.

He banged on the door, not relenting until Will opened it. "Tell me she isn't gone. Tell me Dani didn't leave." Frankie cried, still gripping the letter in his hand.

Will shook his head. " I'm sorry, Fish. They flew out last night."

Frankie's heart stalled in his chest. He dropped to the concrete of Will's porch. She was gone. He never got to apologize for anything. She was gone.

Catfish,

I hope this finds you well. I tried, Frankie. I tried to call. I tried to come see you. After everything that’s happened, I figured that this way was for the best. I’m leaving , Fish. I’m going to South America with Santi. By the time you get this, I’ll already be 35,000 feet in the air.

I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m so fucking sorry. I wanted so bad to help you, to be what you needed, but I wasn’t. And that’s okay.

Frankie, when we meet again, I hope things are better. I hope you are better. I want nothing but happiness for you. You will always be my best friend.

Love always,

Tequila.

TAGS: @danniburgh @speakerforthedead0 @221bshrlocked

Translations:

Querida- dear, lover

Vamos- Let’s go

Hermano- Brother

[fan-fantasies]

Training Day

A/N: I’m sorry we’ve been so inactive but, as it turns out, adult life isn’t easier after college. -Heather

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Smut, choking, oral (m receiving)

Masterlist   Marvel Masterlist

Your hand scrambled through your sheets to find your phone that was blaring your 6 AM alarm. You hit snooze and rolled back over only to hear the screams start again. You shot up and grabbed your phone. There was a text waiting for you. 

“Nice try. Training starts in 30. Don’t make me come up there.”

You rolled your eyes at the message from Tony. You fell back into your pillows just for a moment longer but you heard the voice of the AI speak up. 

“Ms.(Y/L/N), I am to inform you that the next step is to activate the sprinkler system in your room if you do not get up within the next 30 seconds.” 

You groaned and rolled out of your nice comfy bed onto the cold floor. You made your way to the closet and pulled out some workout gear, lazily throwing it on. You didn’t understand why Tony and Steve insisted on these early morning training sessions every week. Granted you got the rest of the day off but you didn’t think it was worth it. 

Pouting- you made your way down to the gym where the rest of the team was already assembled. 

“Good morning, (Y/N),” Wanda chirped. You waved to her and stood next to Sam. He was already bouncing back on the balls of his feet ready to go. You looked around and noticed that someone was missing. Bucky hadn’t made his way down yet but that didn’t bother you any. You and the Winter Soldier never really saw eye to eye. You didn’t go out of your way to argue with him but if it happened then you weren’t one to back down either. The temperaments of the two of you didn’t mix well so you did your best to just avoid him altogether. That and the fact that he was the most gorgeous man you had ever laid eyes on. 

Speaking of the devil, he sauntered in five minutes after you were all told to be there. He took his time to set his things down and start running laps like the rest of you. 

“Was he threatened with sprinklers?” You snapped at Tony. 

“No, because I know how to get my ass out of bed,” Bucky barked as he ran past you. 

“Just not how to get it here on time apparently,” you yelled back. He shook his head as he ran faster just so that he could lap you. 

Running laps turned into stretching and weight lifting. You stationed yourself across from Barnes as you stretched. It was still too early to be moving so you were taking it slow. You ran your hands down your legs and folded yourself over, hugging your body to your knees. As you stood back up you noticed that Bucky had been staring at your backside in the mirror. 

You sighed and went over to the weight rack. You took a drink of your water while you watched him lifting his weights- the way his arms tensed when he held them, the way he grunted when he let them down, the way his brow furled and he licked his lips when he was trying to concentrate. . . 

“Earth to (Y/N)!” Natasha snapped her fingers in front of your face. “I know I’m not the mind reader on the team but I can definitely tell what you were thinking.” She smirked at you and followed your stare to Barnes who was now talking with Steve. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you mumbled as you went back to your water. 

“We can all feel the tension when the two of you are in a room together, we just never figured that it was sexual tension.”

“Can you just shush!” You snapped as quietly as possible. You looked back over to the super soldiers who shared a glance at the two of you. Your eyes shot to the floor then back up to Natasha who was just laughing at you. 

“Alright guys, time for sparring. Nat, you’re with Tony. Sam, with Wanda. I’ll be with Scott which leaves Buck and (Y/N),” Steve announced. Your heart fell to the floor and you became immediately nervous. You had never sparred with him before so you figured it was just because Steve wanted people to expand their skills by fighting someone unfamiliar. You never really got to pick your opponents in the field anyway. 

Everyone paired off and you stood across from Bucky on a mat. 

“I’m not gonna go easy on you,” he chuckled. 

“Wasn’t counting on it,” you smirked before charging at him. You caught him off guard and knocked him onto his back. He quickly recovered and swept your legs from under you. You both stood back up and dusted yourselves off. 

“Beginners luck,” he sighed. 

“I’m not a beginner, asshole,” you snapped before lunging again. You took a swing but he caught your arm and twisted it. 

“If you’re not a beginner then why do you fight like one?” He asked. You stomped back on his foot and he yelped. You elbowed him and knocked the breath out of him for a moment as you got away. You squared back up and waited for him to make a move. He looked you up and down with a glare before stalking toward you. You tried to anticipate his next move but you never expected him to grab a handful of your hair and yank you to the ground. 

“Hey, what the fuck?!” You shrieked. 

“Cheap shot for cheap shot,” he said when he let you go. 

“Guys, what’s going on?” Steve asked rushing over. 

“He’s cheating!” You shouted. 

“I figured you’d like your hair being pulled,” he winked with a cocky smile on his face. Steve slapped his shoulder and shook his head. 

“No fighting dirty, either of you,” Steve sighed. 

“Me? He pulled my hair!”

“You stomped on my foot!” He yelled back. 

“Guys! Both of you are going to stay and work this out. You’ve both earned another half hour of training. Laps. Now.” Everyone else was leaving and throwing you sympathetic glances. 

You groaned and flipped Steve off as you took off around the track. Bucky, of course, lapped you in a matter of seconds. Steve shouted that you’d be doing laps for another ten minutes before hitting the weights again. He left along with the rest of them but you knew that if you didn’t obey then Friday would alert him. 

“I hope you know that I hate you!” You shouted to Bucky who was on the other side of the track. He ran a bit faster just to catch back up with you.

“I don’t think that’s true,” he chuckled, running up next to you. 

“It’s true and this is all your fault.”

“How’s it my fault?” He asked. 

“You cheated.”

“Sweetheart, enemies don’t play fair,” he laughed. You stopped in your tracks and he slowed down and circled back to you. “What?”

“We’re sparring again. No limits,” you told him.

“You sure you wanna do that? It’ll be worse than before,” he warned. 

“Oh I’m sure,” you said. You went back over to the mat and waited. He shrugged and walked to join you. You waited for him to make the first move and he did. He rushed you and picked you up but you were ready. You brought your elbow down on his head a few times and he dropped you. You kicked him in the side with as much force as you could but he grabbed your ankle and pulled you to him. His metal hand wrapped around your throat with enough pressure to let you know he was serious. 

“Unless you’re gonna fuck me I suggest you remove your hand from my throat,” you told him. His eyes widened in surprise but he didn’t take his hand away. 

You could see Bucky debating with himself whether or not you were serious. His grip tightened on your throat as he dropped your ankle. He pulled you flush to his chest.

“I wouldn’t take it easy on you with that either,” he told you. You just looked up at him and smirked.

“Well if you fuck as terribly as you fight I don’t think I have anything to worry about.” His hand pulled away from your throat and he quickly swooped you up off your feet. He carried you over to the bench press and set you down.

“You sure you wanna do this?” He asked.

“Yes.” You looked him in the eyes to let him know you were serious.

“Then open wide, baby, and let me fuck your throat,” he smirked. He pushed his sweats down to his ankles and let his semi-hard cock free in front of your face. Your eyes widened at his impressive size. “Don’t make me ask again.”

“Technically you didn’t ask, you just told me what to do,” you answered. He grit his teeth as he stared down at you. His metal hand flew to the back of your head and grabbed a handful of hair, yanking you back.

“Open. Up.” You finally did as he said and he thrust his cock past your lips. You sucked at him eagerly and wrapped your lips around him. He started to fuck your mouth and with each thrust he went further until he hit the back of your throat. He looked down at you when you didn’t gag and you just shot him a wink. His grip on your hair tightened as his thrusts got faster.

He was letting soft grunts fall from his lips while his head was thrown back in pleasure. Your jaw began to ache and tears were welling in your eyes but you continued to suck his cock like a good girl. You felt his hips stutter and that’s when he pulled out. You sucked in a big gasp of air and tried to regulate your breathing.

Bucky didn’t give you much time, however, because he flipped you over and pressed your chest to the bench. He ripped your leggings down your thighs and simply pushed your panties to the side. His fingers found your slit and he made sure you were ready for him. He plunged two fingers into your pussy and you shrieked. He pumped them in and out of you, preparing you for his cock.

“You want my thick cock in your pussy, princess? Huh? Want me to ruin you like you deserve?” He asked as his fingers brought you to the edge. You were about to cum when he pulled his fingers from your cunt and replaced them with his cock. He didn’t slide it in slowly, inch by inch, but rather all at once, filling you in a way you never thought possible.

You were certain you saw stars as he started to fuck you senseless. Your hands held onto the edge of the bench, gripping it for dear life. His hand came down and smacked your ass. You jolted forward with a hiss. It hurt, but you craved more.

“Harder, Bucky. Please!” You begged.

“Such a dirty little girl,” he chuckled. He pulled his cock out and you whined which earned you another smack to the ass. He re-positioned you so you were on your knees on the bench facing away from him. You felt his body press to yours and he reentered you. His hand came up and wrapped around your throat as he held you against his chest. He pounded your pussy with such intensity you were sure you’d lose consciousness. He felt your walls tighten around his cock and he knew you were close. His fingers squeezed just a bit tighter and it pushed you over the edge. Your vision when white for a split second before you were brought back to reality by his cum shooting into your pussy. His moans filled the air as his cock twitched one final time. He slowly pulled out of you and you winced.

You sat there in silence, not sure what to say to the guy that just fucked you senseless, most likely ruining you for any other man. He pulled on his sweats and grabbed his towel. He came over to you and pulled your leggings back up abruptly. He picked you up and you let out a small noise. He brought you toward the door and the elevator to the living quarters.

“Not so mouthy now, are you?” He laughed. “We’ll see what you have to say after round two.”

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

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[wwitbeyondmeasure]

Summer At The Burrow - r.w. fan fiction

Previous Chapters

Introduction / Author’s Note / Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow / Chapter 2: Hidden Letters / Chapter 3: Ron’s Return

Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations 

You awoke to the sound of quiet shuffling in the corner of the room. You opened your eyes but didn't dare move. The wizarding world had become increasingly dangerous lately so you were terrified that there could be some dark wizard lurking in the darkness, ready to kidnap you. Then, you heard someone stub their toe and the sound of a muffled swear eased your fear.

"Ron?" you asked, no longer afraid of the mysterious noises in the room. You flipped over in bed so now you were facing him.

Your cheeks immediately flushed a deep shade of red. Whatever it was you were expecting to see when you turned around, it definitely wasn't a shirtless Ron.

"H-Hi. Sorry I, er, thought you were asleep," he stammered, standing frozen as if he was paralyzed.

Your brain was having an intense argument with your eyes to prevent them from dropping from Ron's face to his bare torso. Unfortunately, you were weak, so your gaze fell ever so slightly and your face got even redder. The years of Quidditch seemed to really have paid off because Ron's chest was toned. Freckles littered his shoulders and chest like constellations and you fought the urge to run your fingers over every single one of then. You tried your very best not to notice his prominent v-line leading to the waistband of his pajama bottoms.

Ron's face was the same color as his hair as he hastily threw a shirt on, to your great disappointment.

"I couldn't sleep well in normal clothes so I came up to get some pajamas...didn't mean to wake you," he muttered quietly, his eyes locked in a staring contest with the floor.

It took a second for you to snap your attention to his words when all your brain was thinking about was him half naked only a moment ago.

"S'okay," you said, matching his soft tone.

An odd silence filled the room, a silence that usually wasn't present in conversations with your best friend.

You scooted over closer to the wall, making as much room as you could in the small bed.

Ron took your silent cue and laid down next to you, folding his arms behind his neck as he leaned against the bed frame.

"Couch not treating you well?" you asked, keeping your tone light in hopes he hadn't noticed how you were ogling at him a minute ago.

He groaned, "I don't know how old that couch is, but I think my mum got it before her and Dad were even married. It's like sleeping on rocks."

"I can sleep down there if you want," you offered, feeling guilty for taking his room.

Ron was shaking his head before you even finished your sentence.

"No way, I'm a gentleman. I can't do that," he told you.

You snorted at his choice of words. "You're the furthest thing from it," you joked.

He playfully slapped your shoulder.

"It's true!" you defended yourself. "I don't think we've had one conversation at the dining hall where you're not talking with your mouth full."

His shoulders, clad in his red Chudley Cannons pajama shirt, jostled up and down with quiet laughter. You noticed there was a small hole in the middle of the shirt and you could see his pale skin moving underneath the cloth.

Forcing your eyes back up to meet his, you tried to change the subject.

"So why were you in Diagon Alley for so long?" you asked nervously, praying he hadn't noticed your eyes betraying your better judgment once again.

At this question, Ron beamed.

"They really kept the secret?" he asked, excitedly hopping out of the bed. "Nobody told you? Not even Ginny?"

Confused, you shook your head.

"I got you a present," Ron explained as he walked to the window and opened it, letting in the fresh nighttime summer air. "I asked the family to not tell you what it was, but I half expect them to anyways. But I'm glad they didn't, I wanted it to be a surprise."

You followed him out of bed, sitting next to him on the windowsill. You watched as he leaned out of the window, put his fingers to his lips, and let out a short whistle. Nothing happened, and you craned your head out the window to see what he was calling for.

The night was empty, all you could see were the rolling fields outside of the Burrow and the garden gnomes throwing rocks at one another.

You were about to pull your head back into the room, when you saw a small pink blur soaring through the air. It looked like it was getting closer and closer to the window.

"What is that?" you asked, looking to Ron for answers but were met with only his large grin.

Suddenly, the pink blur shot into the bedroom. You turned around, stunned as you saw Ron cradling it. Taking a step forward, you were delighted to see it was a creature.

"An owl?" you asked excitedly, as you stood next to Ron to see the creature closer.

It was miniature, about the size of Ron's owl Pigwidgeon, but a million times more adorable. Pink feathers surrounded large blue eyes and you noticed a black heart shaped marking on the top of its head.

"Her name's Aphrodite. I call her Dite though," Ron told you, glancing up at you from under his lashes to see your reaction.

You were beaming from ear to ear.

"She's amazing," you said.

Ron grinned. "Good, because she's yours," he said, moving closer so he could set the small creature into your hands. She reluctantly stepped off of Ron's palms, but once you gave her a small pat on the head, she nuzzled into your hands.

"I know how upset you were about Celeste, so I wanted to cheer you up. I spent days in Eeylops Owl Emporium looking for the perfect one and then one day Dite showed up. She's pretty affectionate and a fast flyer, a bit annoying really, but I thought you'd like her," Ron said. He looked at you again, biting his lip in hopes that you appreciated your gift.

Dite flew onto your shoulder as you lunged forward and wrapped Ron into a tight hug. He let out a little gasp of surprise but then wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer.

"Thank you, I love her," you said while hugging him.

"I'm glad. Now when we write letters to each other, you'll have an owl too so Pig won't get so tired making so many trips," he said.

At the mention of your letters, guilt knocked the smile off your face. You quickly pushed away from Ron.

"Ikindasortamaybelookedthroughyourpersonalbelongingsandsawtheletters," you said in one quick breath.

Ron stared at you confused. "Y/n, I didn't understand one word of that."

You swallowed nervously before stating slower, "I, er, I was curious about that box under your nightstand so I kinda...opened it. It had my name on it and I saw all my letters you kept," you said nervously. Dite reflected your emotions and shifted awkwardly from talon to talon on your shoulder.

Ron's facial expression changed slightly, and you were afraid he was going to be mad at you. Here he was, offering you a place to stay over the summer, buying you an owl, and letting you sleep in his room and how did you repay him? Oh yeah, by snooping into his personal items.

Instead of the anger you were expecting, Ron looked deeply embarrassed.

"Oh," he sighed, lowering his head and scratching the back of his neck. "Bet you think I'm weird for saving all your letters right? I dunno why I did, I just sometimes liked to reread them when I hadn't seen you in a while. I guess cause I missed you. I dunno," he said.

Again, a silence filled the room. He missed you. He missed you. Of course you missed him over the summer, both as a friend misses a friend and as someone misses their crush. You wondered which kind of missing he felt.

"I keep your letters too," you told him.

Ron finally looked back up at you. "Yeah?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

You nodded, "I reread them when you take a while to reply, sort of as a way to hold me over until the next letter. Or I reread them because your handwriting is so damn awful it takes a couple reads to actually figure out what you wrote."

He laughed, and just like that the tension was gone.

You spent the next hour or so chatting and playing with Dite. Even though Ron's watch read 2am, neither of you really cared, you just missed talking to each other. Back at Hogwarts, you would take walks along the Black Lake once a week and time seemed to matter less when you were together. You would stroll around the lake numerous times, your conversation flowing easily, and not even notice how long you had been gone until the sun would set. The same flow came into place now, and before long it was 5am.

By now, you and Ron were laying on his bed, your head leaning against his shoulder. Dite took it upon herself to sit with Pig in his cage, drinking some of the water from his water bottle as he unknowingly snoozed in the back of the cage.

A yawn escaped you as Ron sleepily spoke about the newest broomstick he saw on sale at Diagon Alley.

"It's late," he said, glancing at his watch with tired eyes

You nodded, too comfortable to move.

"Is it alright if I stay up here tonight? That couch is bloody awful," he said.

Heart soaring, you nodded again and scooted closer to the wall to give him more room. He got under the covers with you, slowly wrapping his arm around your back. Now you were cuddling next to Ron, your head on his chest as his fingers drew lazy circles on your back. People who were just friends didn't lay like this together, right?

Before long, he was snoring. You closed your eyes too. For the first time since you came to The Burrow, you drifted to sleep peaceful and warm. With Ron's arm wrapped around you, you were more comfortable than you had ever been before.

[darklymelanatedstories]

Just a dumb idea I had after watching SSJ9Ks video : Piccolo had a good day. I do not recommend that vid for Dende fans. It's weird. Not my best work but had fun with it.

I had a good ass day (ft Piccolo)

The sunlight kissed Piccolo's face good morning. It was a nice quiet morning, just how he liked it. Waking up nice and bright, in Goku's bed with the woman of the hour in his arms. He felt a smile form his lips when she rested her pretty little head on his bare chest. At that moment, everything came flooding in from that night.

His smile grew as he recalled all the things they did last night, the things he did, the things he made her say. That was a good night.

He was about to close his eyes and snuggle with her a few more hours when he remembered, he had to babysit Pan. So he crept out of the bed and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower...'cause boy, did she work him last night. He needed that shower.

After that, he came back into the room to find Chi Chi still snoozing like an angel. Guess he worked her hard too. After putting his clothes on he decided to make her a quick breakfast. He knew she'd appreciate because although he loved to make her scream, he also loved making her feel appreciated.

He quickly placed the breakfast tray next to the bed and let the aroma ease her awake. As she started waking, Piccolo took that as his cue and flew out the window before she could see him.

Landing at the large pink mansion, the Namek was quickly tackled by the little saiyan toddler. He swears she gets older everytime he sees her.

Gohan went out to apologize and gave thanks to him for babysitting before leaving with Videl. As soon as they left, a plan formed in Piccolo's mind.

"Hey kid, wanna go to the theme park? A new ride just opened."

The little Saiyan jumped up with Piccolo's finger tightly in her grip and he took that as a yes.

~

As they neared the theme park, Piccolo quickly abruptly stopped.

When Pan looked at him in confusion he just smirked and summoned the power of the clothes beam on himself to be dressed in his father's attire. The attire of Daimao. Demon King.

"Why'd you change Piccolo?",she asked innocently.

"I just wanted to take you to every ride without having to wait in line.",he responded.

~

They finally landed in the middle of the carnival and immediately all eyes were on them. Or Piccolo that is.

"It's the Demon King!!", someone yelled ending the eerie silence and causing everyone to panic.

Piccolo chuckled. Sure he could've scared them in his usual turban and cape back then but they've all grown accustomed to seeing Piccolo and knew he's a hero. Although they could never tell the difference between him and his father without the turban and with the symbol. Piccolo found that still idiotic.

Once the park was cleared he turned back to Pan who gave him a slight look of disapproval.

"What? It worked didn't it?"

Her frown turned into a smile and she skipped to the rollercoaster. A kid just being a kid.

"Come on Mr. Piccolo!"

~

After a nice no-lines day at the park, Piccolo decided to bring here back home. He changed back to his original attire and they took off.

Once they reached Gohan's house they were greeted by looks of disapproval.

"Great, it runs in the family.",he thought sorely.

Chi Chi was there too but he sent her a look that both excited her and scared her at the same time.

"Piccolo did you–"

"Nope."

"Then who was that on the news.",Gohan siad pointing to the TV that showed a laughing Piccolo in all the commotion with a toddler Pan on his shoulders to prevent the panicking people from taking her.

Piccolo shrugged. "I'm not sure. Guess my father came back from the dead."

"How, when you're he's reincarnation?",Gohan struck back using his logic.

"Dragonballs are powerful my friend.",was all Piccolo responded with.

"Impossible.",Videl added crossing her arms.

Piccolo smirked. Nothing could bring him down today. He's terrible lying even bettered by 100%.

"It always seems impossible until it's done. Do you know who said that?"

"Nelson Mandela?"

"Nope. I just did." And with that he turned to leave. As he reached the door,

"Chi Chi, do you need a ride home?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes to seem uninterested. "I suppose. Just don't drop me!",she yelled to make it more believable.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He opened the door for her and closed it behind him leaving Videl and Gohan dumbfounded by the uncharacteristic actions.

Without warning he lifted her up bridal style and took her home. She snuggle up to his chest and enjoyed the ride.

As they reached her house, he asked,

"Remember that look you gave me earlier?"

She took a moment before answering. "Yeah."

"And since when do you look at me like that?",he whispered into her ear.

It's–its just I–i d–didn't..",she stuttered.

"Y–you d–didn't what?",he teased.

The reached her house and as soon as he landed he tossed her over his shoulder a little less than gentle.

"You could've made my heart drop.",he said dramatically placing his hand on his chest. "Now I'm gonna make that ass drop."

~

Piccolo dropped on the bed, breathing heavily sweat making his body glisten.

Chi chi climbed onto him and rested her messy haired head on his chest.

"How was that?",he asked.

"That was–"

Before she could answer, a large beam of light formed in the sky. That only meant one thing.

"Goku's back."

~

Chi Chi immediately got up and ran into the bathroom. Piccolo who was uncharacteristically calm, stood and looked out the window before thinking,

"I think I'll join her."

He got into the shower with Chi Chi despite her protest but soon she stopped complaining. Heaven only knows why.

They got out of the shower and got dressed before Piccolo headed towards the Saiyan's energy. Bulma's house.

The angel and God of Destruction were stuffing their faces with Goku. Piccolo let out a breath of relief. He was kinda worried about Goku finding him with his wife. Kind of.

"Hey Piccolo!", Goku waved over to him.

"Hey Goku."

"So how was your day going?",he asked before taking another bite of food.

Piccolo shrugged with a grin. "You could say I had a good ass day."

[rallis-fatalis]

Snow

Rallis shivered in her sleep as she snoozed curled up into a tight warm ball on her bed. Her blanket coiled around her but did little to keep her cozy. Her teeth chattered from the cold, which soon woke her with a startled yelp as she bit her lip in her sleep. Rallis shuddered and tried to curl in on herself even farther. She was absolutely freezing! She could even see frost on her breath, something she had never experienced before. Why was she so cold? It was starting to make her feel sick and slow.

The door across the room opened up, letting in a pale grey light. In came an older man dressed in robes of white, the attire of a druid. His mane of white hair and beard matched his robes, though they did not sport the stains of green like that smeared across his clothing. He was carrying a stack of blankets when he noticed Rallis.

“Rallis, you are shivering! Are you sick?” He put a hand to the dragon’s forehead. She was icy to the touch, so it wasn’t a fever that ailed her.

She mumbled a quiet no. “I cold Uncle Cake.”

The druid in question, ‘Uncle Cake,’ or Kaqemeex rather, hefted the pile of blankets over to Rallis. “It is indeed cold. That is why I brought these new blankets. It is going to be much colder now that winter is here. There is even snow outside already!”

Rallis sniffled and grabbed two blankets off the pile to hide under. “What is snow?” she asked.

“You don’t know what snow is?” Kaqemeex said in surprise. “Hmm no I guess you wouldn’t seeing as how you lived underground your whole life. Snow is cold and white. It is frozen water that falls from the sky in winter. It is also very soft and fun to play with.” He added the last comment with a smile.

Rallis’ eyes grew wide in excitement over this mysterious substance she had never heard of before. “I see snow?”

“We can go outside to see. But if you are cold inside, you will be very cold outside. You need to be warm first. Let’s see if I can find you some better clothes.”

The druid searched through his drawers for something Rallis could wear. Some thick socks? No, not on those three clawed toes. His wool gloves? He’d rather not an old present be ripped at the fingers from dragon claws. Definitely not his prestigious herblore mastery cape. His spare clothes were far too big for the short thin dragon, and his extra winter wools were even bigger than his normal attire. He’d have to carry Rallis out like a pig in a blanket! Or rather a dragon in a blanket.

While Kaqemeex sifted through his clothes, Rallis was feeling much warmer now that she was under an entire mountain of blankets. She was ready to go outside and see snow, clothing or not! She took a blanket and tied it around her waist, giving her shredded robe bottom a much thicker extra layer. She did that once more and was left with a kilt of fluff. She happily curled her tail into the blanket skirt and away from the chilly air. Next she tied a third blanket around her torso in a similar manner as her robe bottom, and a fourth and final blanket around her neck like a cloak. She could hardly move with all the extra layers wrapped around her, but she was warm and ready to explore.

“Snow!” Rallis chirped.

Kaqemeex looked over from the mess he was making and laughed. “Well I suppose that’s one way to do it! Snow is very cold. You have nothing on your feet or head. If you start to feel bad, you tell me.”

“Okay!”

Rallis waddled over to the door. Kaqemeex couldn’t help but snicker. She looked so ridiculous! He held the door open for his dragon in a blanket, and Rallis couldn’t hide her wonder as she gazed upon the outside world. Taverley was a very green place, with lots of various plants and nature growing all around, even up the sides of the buildings. But now most of the green was covered with white. The dull morning rays made the white world glitter all around her. Rallis gasped in awe as she stepped outside. Immediately upon setting foot outside, something cold crunched under her foot. She yelped and jumped back. The floor was so cold!

“It’s okay,” Kaqemeex assured. “That is snow.”

Rallis looked down at the frozen white crumbling off the bottom of her foot. “Snow?” She grabbed a fistful of snow off the ground and smiled at the frozen fluff. “Snow!” The dragon screamed giddily and ran off as fast as she could.

All of Taverley was covered in snow! There was snow on the roofs! There was snow on the tree branches! There was snow everywhere! A huge pile of the stuff accumulated near Sanfew’s house, the older man undoubtedly being diligent in his endeavor to keep the walkways clear. Rallis leapt into the pile without a second thought and disappeared with a fwumph. She poked her now snow-covered head out and laughed. She burst out of the pile in an explosion of powder and ran to the river. A thin layer of ice rest on the surface of the water and snow piled along the banks before melting and floating down stream. Rallis grabbed a pile of snow and dropped it into the water to see what would happen. It slowly dissolved as it flowed away. She smiled and got a bigger pile to drop into the river. It went a little farther this time. She ran off again and shoveled an entire cape-blanket full into the water. It plopped in with a splash and shattered some of the nearby ice. She screeched with joy as she watched the ice flow away.

Kaqemeex stood under the awning of his house and watched Rallis with a wide smile. Young people didn’t usually traverse Taverley often, and the few young adults that did live in the area were rather serious, no doubt due to Sanfew’s strict training. It was a very missed sight, watching child-like wonder grace the town once more. He found himself remembering when he was younger, playing in the snow with his parents for the first time. That memory gave him an idea.

“Rallis! Come here!”

Rallis cocked her head and ran over, but not before tripping on her blanket skirt and face-planting into the slushy path. Kaqemeex winced and started to run over, but Rallis shook the muddy slushy snow off and smiled as she grabbed a wad of wet earth and held it up proudly. “Mud AND snow! Good!!!”

“Haha yes it is! Now come here!”

She bounced over excitedly. “Rallis, do you want to do something fun?”

Rallis’ eyes shone with excitement and ears perked up in joy. “Fun?!”

“Yes, fun. We need to find a lot of snow! Can you do that?”

“Lot of snow! Lot of snow! Yes, yes, lot of snow!”

The end of town closer to White Wolf Mountain was buried in a deep layer of snow. It seemed no one cared to shovel it away with how far from anyone’s home or areas of work it was. Rallis flopped onto the snow piles. “Shmow!” her muffled voice called out.

“Excellent. Now watch this.”

Rallis pulled her head out of the snow just in time to watch Kaqemeex hold his arms out and fall backwards into the snow. She watched in confusion as he flailed his arms and legs across the snow over and over until it started to pile up in a pattern around him. Soon he stood up, carefully not to step where he had been laying, brushed the snow off his robes, and held his hands out to the indent he made in the snow with pride. “It’s a snow icyene!”

Rallis admired the shape thoughtfully. “What is I-seen?”

“Oh, right, you wouldn’t know. They are humans with big feathery wings!” Kaqemeex pointed to the tiny feathered wings hiding under Rallis’ blanket cloak. “Feathery!”

She admired the angelic outline better and decided she wanted to make one of her own. She flopped down just like Kaqemeex had and flailed around. Unfortunately, she was quite a bit more messy in her execution, and when she got up to admire her work, it looked more like some warped devil than an icyene, especially with the added indentations of horns and a tail. Nevertheless, she held her arms out proudly. “I-seen!”

Kaqemeex rubbed the snow clinging to her horns. “Yes it is. Good job. Do you want to see something else?”

“Yes! Yes!” Rallis jumped up and down excitedly.

“Watch this.” Kaqemeex bent down and grabbed a wad of snow in his hands. He pressed it together into a ball shape and showed Rallis. “This is a snowball. Snow-ball.”

“Snowball,” Rallis repeated.

“They are very good for throwing,” Kaqemeex continued. “Like this!” He threw the snowball against the side of a storage shed and it exploded into a rain of white poofage. Rallis squealed happily and grabbed some snow to do the same. She threw her snow and it crumbled before impact.

“Make it tighter,” Kaqemeex instructed. “Like this.” He showed her the motions until she had made herself a perfectly round firm ball of snow. She threw it against the shed as hard as she could and it exploded into a flurry just like Kaqemeex’s. Rallis screeched happily and did it again and again and again.

Eventually, Jatix came out to see what all the commotion was about. He saw them pelting his shed with snow. “Hey! You’re making a mess over there! You better shovel all that away after!”

Rallis pouted and gripped her snowball. “Shush!” She threw her snowball straight at Jatix. It burst into a powdery explosion against his face, dyeing his brown beard white. Kaqemeex covered his mouth, both in disbelief that Rallis had just done that and also to hide the childish giggle forming in his throat. Rallis howled with laughter at her precise hit.

Jatix wiped the snow off his face and formed a snowball in kind. “Oh you think that’s funny?! Let’s see how you like it!” He threw his snowball right at Rallis, pelting her in the snout and ceasing her laughter. Rallis glared back with a smile and grabbed two snowballs to retaliate with. The first hit Jatix in the side but the second he dodged. It flew by him and hit someone else. Not far behind him, Tegid was out tearing the ice off the hang of his roof before they turned into real problems. He thought perhaps snow slid off the roof and hit his shoulder, but to his not-surprise it was Rallis with a snowball.

“Really, dragon?!” He shouted. “You trying to make my life harder?! Well then won’t you hate this when you learn--.” Tegid grabbed some snow and wedged a small definitely-not-dangerous piece of ice into the newly made snowball. “That I’m the best snowball fighter in all of Asgarnia!”

Tegid joined Jatix’s side while Kaqemeex backed up Rallis and the two began a proper snowball war. The sound of laughter and snowballs splatting against the sides of houses rang as the enlistment call for the other druids, and soon nearly the whole town was pitted against each other in a friendly battle. By the time the sun began to heat the snow and turn to either a slushy paste or a hardened crunch, most of the druids were down for the count back inside and snowballs painted the once clear walkways and house perimeters. Rallis was snuggled up on her ‘snow I-seen’ next to Kaqemeex, ready to fall asleep from both the cold and exhaustion of play. Kaqemeex went to pick Rallis up and take her back inside to sleep somewhere warm when the sound of footsteps crunching on the snow came his way. He looked over to see Sanfew, usual scowl etched across his face. His red face stood out against all the white. He looked around at the mess, the slushy walkways, the snow-pelted windows and walls, the neatly shoveled snow piles toppled over, all the hard work he had done from the night before and that morning just gone to waste. Kaqemeex could see Sanfew take a breath, a prelude to the shouting that would likely cause an avalanche. Kaqemeex grabbed Rallis and ran back to his house, slamming the door shut before Sanfew could get started.

Once the shouting began, the remaining druids lazing around in the snow scrambled up in a hurry to grab a shovel and get to work, and one could swear there was an ominous rumbling tumbling sound from the peak of White Wolf Mountain.

[aboyandhispokemon]

All You Need Is a Little Pokémon TLC

Summary: When Ash falls ill a day before Serena's performance, his Pokémon make sure that their Trainer gets the rest he needs, even if they have to be a little forceful. Ash has always taken care of his Pokémon, and his Pokémon will always take care of him. Sometimes the best cure for the flu is plenty of TLC. Takes place before Performing With Fiery Charm.

...

The morning sunlight filtered through the gap between the red curtains, rousing Pikachu from slumber. The Mouse Pokémon stretched out with a yawn, stomach rumbling in hunger. He took a fleeting glance at the clock, a puzzled sound escaping him when he discovered the time—it was late morning.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu began to shake Ash's arm, but the boy continued to snooze on. Pikachu's ears twitched, picking up on the odd, unusual rhythm of his Trainer's breathing pattern. He scampered to the right side of the bed, where Ash's head lay snug against the pillow. Pikachu's eyes widened at the red flush and sheen of sweat on Ash's face. His mouth was wide open as he breathed in and out, as he was unable to breathe through his nose.

There was no doubt about it—Ash was sick.

"Pikapi!"

His concerned call managed to rouse the boy awake. Eyes cracking open, Ash slowly sat up, wincing at the dull pound occurring in his head. "I'm up, I'm up," he said groggily. He tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness overtook him and he dropped limply back into the bed, stomach swirling. "Whoa…why's the room spinning?"

Pikachu hopped into Ash's lap and raised a paw to rest against Ash's forehead, which was warm to the touch. "Pika pika," he said worriedly.

"I'm fine," dismissed Ash, scratching Pikachu's head before gently setting him on the mattress. "Probably just hungry. I'll get dressed and we'll go downstairs for breakfast."

His stomach gave a lurch at the mere thought of food, but Ash ignored it. He once more stood up, moving cautiously across the floor towards his backpack, which rested next to the wooden dresser set. At that moment, to Pikachu's relief, there was a brief knock at the door and Clemont entered.

"Morning," he greeted with a smile. "I was wondering when you two would get up. I—" He noticed Ash wobble in place, his face flushed red, and he hurried to his friend's side. "Ash! Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, steadying the boy.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just off-balance today."

"Pikachu! Pika! Chu!" voiced Pikachu firmly. Ash was most certainly not okay, and it was his stubborn habit to pretend he was healthy when he was clearly ill.

Clemont pressed his wrist against Ash's forehead, ignoring his companion's sound of annoyance. "Yeah, you have a fever," he confirmed, leading him over to the bed and easing him down. "I'll go get Nurse Joy right away. Lie down and rest."

Ash scowled slightly as Clemont hurried from the room. "I don't need to be looked over by Nurse Joy. I said I'm fine," he grumbled. He idly swiped the back of his hand under his leaking nose. "Ugh."

Pikachu quickly went over to where a box of tissues rested on the top of the dresser. He grabbed hold of it and brought it over to Ash, who plucked a few tissues free and honked loudly into them. "Thanks, buddy," he said gratefully. "Must be allergies or something."

No, you're just sick, thought Pikachu in exasperation.

He made a noise of protest as Ash stood up again, but all he received was a reassuring pat on the head before Ash tried the trek to his backpack once more. The pajama clad boy swayed with each step, and looked close to collapsing at any moment.

I'm not going to be able to get him back to bed by myself.

Pikachu glanced towards the Poké Balls attached to Ash's belt, which was hung carefully over the back of the desk chair. "Hey, a little help?"

There were four bright flashes of white light, which caused Ash to turn around in surprise, having to grip the edge of the dresser to keep his balance. "Hey, what's up?”

"Froga." Frogadier took Ash firmly by the arm and led him to bed. "Dier."

"Cut it out, I'm telling you, I'm not—ah, ah, achoo!"

A bout of sneezing overtook the boy, cutting off his protests. He lacked his usual strength, and was not able to pull away from his Bubble Frog Pokémon. He grudgingly let himself be set on the bed, and Pikachu tugged the covers over his trembling form.

"Fine," he muttered, sinking back into his pillows. "Maybe I don't feel one-hundred percent."

"He's not going to admit he's sick, is he?" asked Frogadier, glancing at the Pokémon who had been with Ash since the very beginning.

"Nope." Pikachu shook his head. "Admitting he's sick means he's admitting he's feeling weak, and he hates that."

"That's silly," said Fletchinder, ruffling out its feathers. "Illness is natural."

"Try telling him that," muttered Pikachu.

Clemont returned with Nurse Joy at that moment, and she promptly went to Ash’s side to stuck a thermometer in his mouth, ignoring his protests. "No talking," she chided. Turning to the worried blonde, she asked, "Do you know his symptoms?"

"Well, I could tell he was sweating and he’s pretty congested," answered Clemont, adjusting his glasses. "It also looked like he was pretty dizzy. He was having trouble walking.”

"I see."

Ash's brow furrowed in annoyance, but he lay still on the bed, arms crossed loosely over his chest, the glass thermometer stuck under his tongue. His Pokémon stood at the end of the bed, watching their Trainer with intent eyes.

"All right, that should do it," declared Nurse Joy after a couple of minutes passed. She removed the thermometer and checked the result. "Yes, you have a fever. Nothing too serious, but you certainly won't be leaving this bed today."

"Aw, man," groaned Ash. "But what about Serena's performance?"

"We still have a day and a half," soothed Clemont. "If you rest up and drink lots of fluids, you should be better by then."

A soft beeping noise started emitting from the pocket of Nurse Joy's apron. "Oh dear, there's someone in the lobby needing my assistance. Will you be able to watch over him?" she addressed Clemont.

The blonde furrowed his brow. "I was supposed to pick up my sister from Serena and take her around Dendemille Town, but I'm sure she'll understand. I'll—"

"Don't—achoo—be silly," spoke up Ash, sniffling slightly. "I don't need to be looked after. I'll be fine. Serena would probably appreciate the time to practice without worrying about looking after Bonnie."

"Hawlucha, haw!" said Hawlucha firmly, forming a determined fist. "Lucha!"

Clemont looked over in surprise before smiling. "Of course, I should have realized sooner. You'll take care of him until we get back?"

"Pika!" confirmed Pikachu with a nod. "Pi pika!"

"Right, nobody listen to me," grumbled Ash.

"I'll be in the main lobby if you need me at any time," Nurse Joy informed the Pokémon. "I'll be up shortly with some medicine."

The pink-haired woman departed, and Clemont turned to Ash, who was trying to snuggle in his covers. "Do you want me to get you anything before I leave?"

"No," he replied stubbornly. "Go on. I'll see you later."

"You should at least have some water or juice."

"Pi pika pi!" spoke Pikachu.

"Right. I know you guys will take good care of him. I should stop worrying, huh?" Clemont raised his hand in farewell and started for the door. "We won't be long. Make sure he stays in bed."

Ash's Pokémon made noises of acknowledgement and the blonde left the Pokémon Center's guest room. Noibat flew up onto the edge of Ash's bed and studied him worriedly. The raven-haired boy managed to sit up and gather the young Pokémon into his lap.

"Hey, I'm okay, really," he said, gently rubbing Noibat's ears. He turned his head away and let out a series of sneezes that racked his body. He collapsed against the pillows with a soft moan, wearily reaching for another tissue.

His body trembled with shivers from his fever, and Fletchinder noticed Ash try to wrap himself tighter in the covers for warmth. It flew up onto the bed beside the boy and settled close to Ash's side, using its Flame Body to slightly heat up and give Ash some warmth. Ash almost immediately relaxed, his head falling slightly to rest against Fletchinder's feathers.

"Thanks, buddy," he murmured.

"Not too much heat," cautioned Pikachu, observing his ill best friend and fellow Pokémon from the end of the bed. "We don't want the fever to get any higher."

"I know," replied Fletchinder.

"Papa's gonna get better, right?" asked Noibat anxiously.

Hawlucha reached out and lifted the Sound Wave Pokémon up from where he rested on Ash's chest. "Of course. It’s a common illness.”

"And we want him to get better as soon as possible," spoke up Pikachu. "Hawlucha, do you think you can take Noibat and find Ash something to drink? Orange juice would be the best."

"Sure," answered Hawlucha, setting Noibat atop his head, where the young Pokémon stayed perched, large yellow eyes still locked on Ash, who was now half-asleep.

"I'll get Ash some soup from the Pokémon Center's diner," continued Pikachu. "Frogadier, can you stay here and make sure he stays in bed?"

Frogadier offered the electric Pokémon a salute. "Can do."

"We'll be back shortly!"

The three Pokémon scampered from the room, the door clicking shut to cause Ash to rouse back to full attention. He caught a glimpse of his Pokémon disappearing out into the hall. "Hey!" he tried to shout, though it came out as more of a rasp thanks to his scratchy and mildly sore throat. "Frogadier, where'd they go?"

"Froga," his Pokémon informed. "Dier."

"Well, so long as they don't wander," said Ash, rubbing at his bleary eyes. "Man, I hate being sick. You can't do anything." He scrubbed at his sweaty face, grimacing slightly. "I should at least have a shower."

"Frogadier," said Frogadier firmly, shaking his finger in a negative gesture.

Ash made a face, reaching out to playfully swat away Frogadier's hand. "I'm guessing you're not on my side either, Fletchinder."

"Fletchinder, fletch fletch," confirmed the Ember Pokémon, lightly nudging Ash's arm affectionately.

"And people say I'm the mother hen."

Frogadier reached out to feel Ash's forehead. It was still warm, and the Pokémon went in search of a cloth. Ash followed his movements in bemusement, and when Frogadier removed a white washcloth from the cupboard near the bathroom in triumph, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Seriously, I'm not like, dying. I can do that myself."

"Frogadier."

Ash rolled his eyes at Frogadier's dismissive sound, a smile on his lips. "Yeah. Stay put. I got it."

It was a minute later when the cool, drenched cloth was draped over his forehead, and Ash let out a soft sigh of contentment. He raised a hand to rub Frogadier's head, drifting it down a moment later to stroke Fletchinder's feathers.

"Thanks, guys."

It was not long before Pikachu, Hawlucha and Noibat returned, bringing with them a to-go container of soup and multiple cans of orange juice. Ash moved himself into a sitting position, warmth that had nothing to do with his illness coursing through him.

"You're the best," he said gratefully, taking the soup and spoon when Pikachu hopped into his lap. Noibat handed over a can of juice, and Ash immediately cracked it open, taking a long chug. The sweet liquid soothed his scratchy throat. Cradling the hot container in his hands, he regarded his Pokémon with a soft frown. "You guys are probably hungry, right? It is late in the morning."

Frogadier went over to Ash's backpack and proffered two cans of Pokémon food, and with Hawlucha's help removed the lids. Ash grinned as an earnest Noibat practically tackled one of the cans, only to be chided by the Wrestling Pokémon.

Satisfied that his Pokémon would be well-fed, Ash dug into his soup with the plastic spoon, taking careful sips. When he drained the last bit of soup into his mouth, Ash's stomach gave a lurch, which he tried to ignore. Though he hadn't felt like eating, he knew it was important to keep his strength up.

"Eat up, gang," he urged his Pokémon. "We want to be in top form for our seventh gym battle." He formed a fist and raised it determinedly. "That badge is going to be ours, no matter what."

"He's got a bit of a one-track mind, doesn't he?" asked Frogadier in amusement.

"You are not one to talk," scoffed Fletchinder.

Frogadier threw Fletchinder a slight glare. "You trying to say something?"

"Settle," warned Hawlucha, pointedly reaching over to pat an observing Noibat.

Pikachu snickered as the two hastily transferred into friendly chatter rather than threatening bickering. He ate his fill and then sprang up onto the bed, curling up next to Ash. The boy rubbed his ear affectionately. "All full, buddy?"

"Pika!"

As the others continued to eat, Ash idly sipped through another can and a half of orange juice, trying to subdue the rising build of nausea in his gut. When that didn't work, he clenched his teeth together, trying to focus on his breathing.

Pikachu peered up at his Trainer with concern, sensing something was wrong. "Pikapi?"

Unable to fight it any longer, Ash practically catapulted out of bed, sending Pikachu jumping to the side and the cloth that was resting on his head flying. His Pokémon jumped up as the boy raced for the bathroom, sliding across the tiles before falling into a kneeling position in front of the toilet.

His chest heaved and his throat burned as his body expelled the contents of his stomach. His hands shook and his breathing grew harsh as the uncomfortable sensation overtook him. His vision blurred, and after a moment he could feel soothing circles being rubbed into his back.

When his stomach at last settled, Ash slowly leaned backwards, turning to look over his shoulder. Frogadier and Pikachu were rubbing his back, while the others watched anxiously from the bathroom door. Once Noibat noticed that Ash had finished his retching, he burst into tears, sonic waves bursting throughout the room, and charged for his caretaker.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm fine," soothed Ash, flinching against the high-pitched noise and petting Noibat's ears. "I didn't mean to scare you."

His chest hurt and there was a terrible taste in his mouth. He slowly got to his feet, with Frogadier steadying him, and flushed the toilet. He rinsed his mouth at the sink and made his way back to bed, settling back against the pillows with a soft moan.

"That wasn't fun," he muttered, holding Noibat close to his chest. "Ugh. Have I mentioned I hate being sick?"

"Many times, and I completely agree with you," said Pikachu sympathetically, hopping onto the bed and climbing into Ash's lap.

"I thought soup was supposed to be good for humans when they're ill," voiced Frogadier, retrieving the fallen cloth.

"It is, but his stomach isn't cooperating at the moment," replied Fletchinder. "Maybe he'll be able to eat in a few hours."

"I hope so. He needs to keep up his energy, and frankly he gets cranky when he's hungry," returned Frogadier, before disappearing into the bathroom to wet the cloth once more.

Hawlucha let out a soft snort. "Yes, much unlike you," he said sarcastically, causing Fletchinder to chuckle.

Frogadier returned and handed Ash the cloth. The boy set it over his forehead and opened yet another can of orange juice. "Yeah…so…I might need more of these," he muttered, squinting at the two that still remained. "Here's hoping this manages to stay down."

Before he could take a drink, there was a knock at the door, and when Ash answered Nurse Joy entered the room, carrying a small bottle of medicine. "I'm so sorry I didn't bring this sooner," she apologized, setting it on Ash's bedside.

"It's fine," answered Ash. "Thanks a lot."

"How are you feeling?"

"Not so good," he admitted. "Pikachu brought me some soup, but it didn't want to stay in my stomach."

"The medicine will help with that," assured Nurse Joy. "You should be able to eat an hour after consumption. This will also bring down your fever. It's quite bitter, so you should take some juice with it."

"All right."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Not right now, thanks. If I need anything later, I'm sure my Pokémon will be happy to get it for me. They're not letting me do anything but rest." Ash sent a mock-glare towards his friends. "They're very boring."

Nurse Joy laughed. "I can see they're doing a great job of looking after you. You have wonderful Pokémon."

Ash smiled sincerely. "Yeah, definitely. They're the best."

"I'll be in the lobby if any of you need anything. Rest well!"

"Right, and thanks again!"

Nurse Joy departed, and Ash stared at the brown vial of medicine. "So…Hawlucha, you want to go first?"

"Lucha lu," denied Hawlucha.

"Anyone else?" asked Ash. He received more noises of refusal, though Noibat was sniffing the bottle curiously. Ash grinned and uncapped the bottle. "Trust me, buddy, you don't want this stuff."

"Does it taste bad?" asked Noibat. "It doesn't really have a smell."

"Let Ash's reaction be all the answer you need," replied Pikachu.

Ash poured some medicine into the cap and stared at it for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he quickly downed the contents and his face immediately screwed up in distaste. He gagged slightly and grabbed his orange juice, taking a mighty swig.

"Gee, they must be just as bad as sour berries," remarked Noibat.

"If not worse," agreed Fletchinder.

"All right, that's enough of that," declared Ash, flopping back against the pillows. He was rather exhausted now, and his eyes were starting to fall shut. "Who wants to take a nap?"

His Pokémon made noises of agreement and they all clustered together on the bed, burying underneath the covers. Ash shifted over to make room for Hawlucha, fondly rubbing his head. "Hey…thanks, gang. I know I can always count on you, and I really appreciate you looking after me. You know I love you, right?"

"Not as much as we love you," replied Pikachu, nuzzling Ash's hand.

"You take care of us, and of course we'll take care of you," spoke Fletchinder. "Always."

"I love Papa," said Noibat cheerfully, snuggling close.

"Ah, we'd do anything for him," agreed Hawlucha.

"You're the Trainer I always waited for. You gave me the one thing I longed for, and I will return it to you full-heartedly," said Frogadier feelingly.

Soon the group fell asleep, with Pikachu cuddled in Ash's lap, with Noibat held close to the boy's chest. Frogadier lay beside Ash on the right, one of his arms slung over the Bubble Frog Pokémon's stomach. Fletchinder was pressed against Ash's left side, and Hawlucha was snoozing against Ash's leg, and that was the sight Clemont, Serena and Bonnie returned to.

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Reiji Sakamaki (Story 15)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! I’m an amateur translator, but I hope you do enjoy it anyway!♡

Monologue

Several days have already passed since we met Socrates.

And yet we still haven’t found out a way to get out of this space.

Immediately, impatientity is sought to be beaten by low heat.

The problem of food. It began to affect not only me as human, but also the vampires and the founders.

Place: Scarlet mansion — Reiji‘s bedroom

Reiji: Kch... Haa... Haa...

Yui: (Reiji-san seems to suffer... the blood sucking impulse seems to have began to appear)

(In addition, does that mean that it’s hard for him to keep it down because I’m in the same room as he is... ?)

Choices

1) — Leave the room (black)

2) — Talk to him (white) ♡ ♡ ♡

— Leave the room

Yui: O-Oh um, I‘ll leave the room if it‘s alright.

Reiji: Do not go! What if you would be attacked by anyone?

Right now everyone is active. Even the hallway is dangerous. Please stay here.

Yui: B-But...

— Talk to him ♡

Yui: Reiji-san, would you like to drink something?

Reiji: No, I am alright... even if I drank a cup of tea now, it probably would not distract me.

Yui: Is that so...

end Choices

Yui: Reiji-san is only suffering so much because he’s in the same room as I am...

(I know that vampires are pretty sensitive to the smell of blood ...)

(Even if I’m not hurt, I still have a smell of blood flowing under your skin)

*Reiji comes closer*

Reiji: There is nothing like this. The problem is that if you go out, you may get attacked by someone.

Yui: But Reiji-san is like this because... !

Reiji: Even for me this situation is fastidious, so do not do anything unnecessary.

If someone will approach to you, you may not know what to do in this situation.

Yui: That is... right but...

(I don‘t want to see Reiji-san suffering like this any longer)

Reiji-san, don’t you want to suck my blood? It probably would be way easier for you...

Reiji: I can not. If I violate myself alone, others will flock to you from the smell as well.

If such an amount of hungry vampires sucks your blood, you will die no matter how good your condition is.

Yui: But you seem to be in so much pain... you have to put my condition aside for a moment and think about yourself.

At the end, Reiji-san might worry too much...

Reiji: My worry is useless. We will endure this much together.

So, how about you... smiling once again? This may be the only reason for me to keep going.

Yui: (Reiji-san is clearly aiming for his prey. Those blood thirsty eyes—)

(And yet he’s still patient with this condition ...)

…Understood. I'm sorry for worrying.

Reiji: No, you are forcing yourself to. I should be apologizing...

This may not be good enough as apology—

*Reiji kisses Yui*

Yui: (Just kissing makes my body warm up. But for now he can’t touch me)

(Reiji-san... Everyone, I don’t want anyone to starve anymore—)

— Your Status (White)

Place: Scarlet mansion — Living room

Yui: (This is really a horrible situation. Even if I eat something my body isn’t gaining any power or strength anymore…)

(I just wanted to drink a little water... I have to go back to Reiji-san’s room as soon as possible—)

*Yui sits down*

Yui: (No, I can’t lay down here... even if my head is spinning ...)

(I can’t fall asleep in a place like this... I need...)

*Yui closes her eyes*

Yui: Nh...

(Wow, this smell is really good ...)

Reiji: Can you stand up, Yui?

Yui: Reiji-san... ?

*Yui opens her eyes*

Reiji: When you had your eyes off, were you really snoozing like this? I am not slightly impressed.

Yui: Oh... I-I ’m sorry.

Reiji: No apology is required. You are here to decrease the amount of your meal. If you would not do so, your body would not work well.

Because I wanted to comfort the both of us, I flowed tea. Come here.

Yui: Thank you very much. I'm happy…

(This is a really soft scent... it‘s lavender)

Reiji: Is your body not fully awake? If you like, please lean on me.

Yui: Is that... okay with the blood sucking impulse?

Reiji: It might be hard to believe, but for now my body fortunately is calm.

In addiction, if I do not touch you it certainly feels like an extra urge.

So why do not you come here for me then?

Yui: If that's the case, of course ...

*Yui comes closer*

Yui: (As I thought, if I’m in Reiji-san’s arms I feel unbelievably calm...)

Reiji: After all, it will calm my body down even more when you are next to me. It seems that even a ferocious impulse can not betray my feelings for you.

Yui: Is that true? I was just thinking the same thing. When I’m besides you, I feel so calm.

Reiji: Is that so… It truly is strange. I certainly do not feel any hunger anymore.

It seems as if just touching you fills the inside of my body with something that replaces my hunger.

Yui: (Reiji-san’s hand is cold but so soft...)

Reiji: Can you drink the tea?

Yui: Y-Yes. Thank you.

... Haa... It’s really delicious

Reiji: That is relieving. It truly is a calm flavor.

Yui: Yes. It’s lavender, isn’t it? It has a nice scent...

Even if I couldn’t sleep calmly before, I could fall asleep immediately right now.

Reiji: Is that so. If I remember, the both of us drank a lot of tea in this mansion together.

Yui: Yes... I enjoy every minute I spend together with you Reiji-san.

Reiji: It honestly is a miracle that you never broke one of my cups until now.

Yui: But I was the one who broke the dishes in the living room...

Reiji: At that time, I was not myself after all. As soon as I finished the cleaning up, the living room was in a state of regret.

Yui: ... That’s right.

Reiji: Thinking back, the both of us gathered a lot of experiences in this space.

Yui: That’s true...

(When I look back at the memories that should have been mysterious, I feel kinda nostalgic)

(It’s a strange sensation. Maybe I’m not afraid of possibly dying anymore...)

(Because my heart is finally so calm ...)

Reiji: That chess board over there, it just looks exactly like we are now. Standing on a certain unknown square earth.

Yui: True... it’s just like us

Fufu, that reminded me that I dropped a chess piece when I made a mistake while we cleaned up.

If that was really us, it would’ve been really hard, don‘t you think?

Reiji: ...Dropped?

Yui: Eh? Y-Yes. The day when I was scolded by you for breaking a plate during our cleaning... ?

Don’t tell me, are you still angry ...?

Reiji: No... it is not like that. I was just thinking a little.

Yui: (Reiji-san’s atmosphere has changed. It’s just as the atmosphere when he was commanding everyone ...)

Reiji: That person who spoke to us. The one who said that this space was created as a chess board

If that is true, what would happen if we did an action that is not allowed in the rules?

Yui: Eh?

*flashback*

Socrates: As long as the last piece still remains on the board, or the rules are not broken...

This trial will never end. A miniature garden made like that. I can not release it that easily after all.

*flashback ends*

Yui: That's right... unless the rules are broken, this trial will continue to go on. That was exactly what he said.

Reiji: A piece that falls from the edges of the board. It is called “happening“. If that happens, the game can not continue anymore.

Yui: Oh, that’s true. If that happens, you can't keep trying right... ?

Reiji: Yes, exactly.

Yui: So that would mean that everyone would escape from this place!

Reiji: ... I can not promise that. The condition he presented is that he wants to see Adam and Eve’s true love bond.

For that, he said that he needed a desire to eliminate all the others who are standing between us.

Yui: Ah...

So killing everyone... that was the condition to get out of this space...

Reiji: But there certainly is another way. We just have to prove our preparedness in a different way.

Yui: Are you sure?

Reiji: This is a one to eight bets. The test will probably end once the pieces fall from the board.

However, it is not proved that this person approves the way we handled this situation.

Even if you must bet your life... do you still want to try this escaping method?

Yui: Even if I bet my life...

...I'll do it. If there’s really nothing else we can do.

Reiji: I understand. Then let's get ready to head out right away. We will leave this mansion in an instant.

Yui: But where are we going?

Reiji: This earth... the edge of the board.

Place: Outside — Cliff

Yui: Here it is... the end of this space...

(The cliff has continued for a long time. In the visible range, there is no place where it could be interrupted)

Reiji: I heard from this in the report, but it is way more overwhelming when you see it in person...

I truly can not see the ground of this cliff. This space will not let you go outside even if you flew in the sky.

Yui: This is the edge of the miniature garden.

Reiji: Yes, and also the edge of this chess board.

If an important piece slides down from here, the game should not be able to continue.

In other words, if you and I threw us down here, the test will almost certainly end.

Yui: From here, if we fall down ...

(The bottom of the cliff can’t be seen. The darkness seems to continue down there for a long time ...)

(If we fall down here normally, we will never receive any help...)

Reiji: ... Are you scared?

Yui: Yes... my legs are shrugged and they are also trembling. But—

Reiji: Will you keep believing in me then?

Yui: ...Yes

Reiji: For you to believe in me, even in such a situation truly is foolish from you.

Even though death is in front of us, a human being like you really is not scared of jumping?

Yui: But if that‘s the only way to make Socrates-sama believe in the true love bond we both share, I‘m not afraid at all.

While falling down there, I‘ll promise to just think of you Reiji-san.

Reiji: That surely is correct. I will not be able to even explain how much I am thinking of you.

It may not be ready to have us face this. If this truly is not allowed, there is no proof that we will come back.

Yui: I know. So this really is a one to eight bet.

Reiji: Yes, that is true... do you think that it is not true?

Yui: Honestly, I don't think so. I believe in Reiji-san.

In the end there’s no matter in what hand you‘ll use, I‘ll never resist to trust those hands of yours in the first place.

Reiji: Hmph… for now I will accept this as a compliment.

Now, come here. Please cling onto me until the very end.

Yui: Yes... !

*Yui hugs Reiji*

Reiji: Let us prove him our preparedness together. This is certainly the best strategy I chose.

We will always be together... Yui.

Yui: Yes, Reiji-san.

Monologue

I put my arm around Reiji-san’s neck and clenched it pretty tightly.

Once I strongly embraced him, Reiji-san jumped off the cliff.

Right into the darkness that lasted in front of us—

— Your Status (black)

Monologue

Then a few days passed. Without any progress, time just passes by.

The frustration of everyone who gradually began to crawl for blood was about to reach its limit—

Place: Scarlet mansion — Living room

Subaru: Haa... Haa... tch... I’m thirsty...

Kanato: I don’t want that anymore. How long will I be able to continue my life? It just can’t end like this.

Ayato: Shut up, don’t cry! Damn, that shit is frustrating!

*Ayato punches wall*

Laito: Stop it, it’s not only Subaru-kun... My physical strength can’t keep it up anymore either.

Haa... However, I’m already close to be at my limit...

Yui: (Everyone is starting to feel the blood sucking urge... If we keep this on, they’ll attack someone without holding back)

(It’s actually not someone, it’s me. I’m the best bait for them after all...)

Ayato: Hey, Chichinashi... Just don’t let that smell of your blood fill the entire room...

Yui: Eh?

Ayato: It’s just as if you want someone to suck your blood desperately, am I wrong?

Yui: (Uhh, Ayato-kun’s eyes are scary... it’s dangerous being around them!)

*Yui walks backwards*

Laito: Hm, just what are you doing? Haa... when you come this close to me, the smell gets even more intense than before.

Like this, I could easily dig in.

Yui: W-Wait Laito-kun! Calm down!

Kanato: Quit your nonesense, I’ve been patient for the entire time now! Give me some of your blood already.

Ayato: Stay back! Yours Truly will be the only one who gets to drink her blood!

Reiji: What exactly are you doing!!

Yui: Reiji-san... !

Ayato: Tch, it all got ruined...

Reiji: Did you forget that I have told you all to not touch this woman at any cost?

This goes for you as well. Why are you not staying in your room as I told you to!

Yui: I-I’m sorry...

Shu: Don’t be so loud... I’ve already expected your meeting will be prolonged. But I still came to check the situation.

Reiji: It still prolongs. Because we are concentrating on wisdom to overcome this situation.

Shu: There is no progress just by discussion. Isn't it just useless?

Ruki: That’s a lot of dialogue. The one who’s always sleeping finally starts to interact as well.

Yui: Ruki-kun. Hasn’t the meeting been over yet?

Ruki: ...Yes

Yui: (What kind of reply was that...? He didn’t even look at me while doing so... nh!)

(His eyes... they are as cold as the other ones. Even Ruki-kun is struggling with the blood sucking impulse?)

Reiji: Anyway, it is strictly forbidden to suck blood from her. It is inevitable that you dare to even try such things.

Ayato: As if anyone would miss this chance, everyone should be allowed to drink her blood!

Yui: ...Eh?

Subaru: That’s right... It's not a problem if we don’t drink enough for her to die.

Yui: W-Wait... everyone

(Everyone’s eyes are glowing which represents how serious they are...)

(I can't move just by looking in their eyes...)

Carla: Blood which has been already drunken from vampires disgusts me.

Laito: Don’t worry. It will surely heal your throat once you try it.

Looks like founders are suffering from this feelings as well, hm?

Carla: That is...

Kanato: Anything is fine, I can't help myself but wanting that blood.

Ayato: I’m at my limit too... hey, let me suck your blood.

Yui: Please, everyone... wait!

Reiji: Calm yourself! If everyone will suck her blood, she will not survive this!

Ruki: Not a bad idea...

Reiji: Ruki, you as well!?

Ruki: It should be possible to suck blood her blood without instantly killing her.

In order for us to survive, we will receive her blood equally. If everyone agrees, we have a deal.

Is there anything wrong with it?

Yui: It’s just like I’m treated like some sort of food…

Shu: ... Humans still are our bait. We’re just going back to that.

Yui: Shu-san... ?

Shu: No one wants to truly kill you, we’re just doing this because of the sake of our own lives.

We just need it to continue to survive together.

Reiji: It is certainly up to her if she wants to agree with it...

Shu: Reiji, calm down. You were the only who decided to not kill each other tho.

Then take responsibility for this. Take the responsibility of saving us.

Reiji: Saving you... my responsibility...

Yui: (At that time, it was us who refused to talk about Socrates. No one was killing anyone)

(Otherwise it couldn't be helped... but if I need to take responsibility for that—)

Reiji-san, it’s enough... I can’t take to see you all like this anymore...

Reiji: What is up with you!

Yui: Everyone is already fighting... Neither I want to see Reiji-san having a hard time ...

As long as I’m able to help...

Reiji: That means... you really... you really, are okay with that?

Yui: Yes...

Reiji: ... I understand. From today, Yui—

Eve, will be shared by everyone.

[fawkes-rinzler]

A Good Patient

Cross posted on AO3

Just some Skimblestrap fluff with sick Munk.

Requested by @alikokinav

Skimbleshanks first suspected something was wrong was when Syllabub, Tantomile, Jellylorum, and the other kittens showed up at the Railway station to greet him, instead of the usually tiger-striped grey tabby. Skimble greeted them all dutifully, nuzzling faces, smoothing out rogue bits of fur, and noticing that his job was taking much longer than usual. He didn’t dare ask, not yet. Syllabub was practically squirming with the desire to say something, and so he decided to wait until the information came to him

“Munkustrap’s sick!” Syllabub said at last, her eyes wide, “He doesn’t know we’re here!”

Skimble frowned, “You didn’t tell any of the adults?”

“We told Jenny!”

“While she was sleeping,” Tantomile added with a vague smirk, “If we told someone, they would have told Munkustrap, and he would have insisted on coming after us! And he’s really sick, Skimble!”

“Really really sick,” Syllabub repeated with a soft whine, “You’ll come help, won’t you?”

“Just like you help us when we’re sick?”

“Of course, kittens,” Skimbleshanks assured immediately, his mind already working as he began to lead them back to familiar territory. How sick was Munkustrap? Was it a small cold or something worse? The grey tabby was notorious for having stomach problems, but was it a case of eating the wrong thing out of the trash or was it the kind of thing that only humans could handle? Skimble worried and worried the entire walk home, so much so that he could barely pay attention to the kittens and their stories.

When they finally turned down the right alley, the kittens hesitated at Skimble’s side.

“He’s been really tired.”

“We don’t want to stress him out.”

“Come find us and tell us a story when you can!”

Skimble frowned as he looked at the three young queens ready to beat a hasty retreat. That wasn’t like the kittens, who were always eager for the chance to cuddle their favorite Protector. And Munkustrap never refused a chance to be near his kittens. But… perhaps Munk was feeling so poorly that being around the infectious high energy of the kittens overwhelmed them.   Skimble nodded, brushing Syllabub’s forehead fondly. She had a little tuft of fur that refused to go down, no matter how he and Munkustrap tried to smooth it. The kittens wandered off down the streets, off to engage in some new game, no doubt, and left Skimble alone at the end of the alley. He could see the familiar setup of crates, could make out the threadbare blankets that made up Munkustrap’s den. He padded towards it slowly, slow and careful.

“Munk?” He called out, his voice soft. A head peaked out from under the den, but not bearing the pelt of a grey tabby. Rather, it was soft white, with leopard spots.

“Hello Skimble,” Victoria whispered, sneaking out from the Den, “He’s just asleep now. Mistoffelees and I haven’t left his side except to bring him food.”

“Do you know what wrong?” 

Victoria shook her head, “He’s been coughing and breathing hard,” She murmured mournfully, “And he hasn’t eaten most of the food that we’ve brought him.”

Skimble sighed, “Sounds like it might be a respiratory infection. You and Mistoffelees can go home. Keep away from the others for a few days, just to make sure you haven’t caught it yourself. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Victoria nodded, “Mistoffelees?” She called softly, turning towards the den, “Skimble is here now. He’ll take care of Munk.”

The Tuxedo cat appeared a second later, looking very sad at having to leave, but also so relieved at seeing the ginger tom.

“He’s spending most of the day sleeping. I can’t get him to eat, no matter how hard I try,” Mistoffelees murmured, ears low, “Skimble… he sounds terrible.”

“He always does,” Skimble sighed, “This isn’t the first time Munkustrap’s gotten a respiratory infection, and it probably won’t be the last. Thank you both for taking care of him. I can take it from here,” He assured, touching their shoulders and smiling kindly, “Go get some rest. I’m sure Munkustrap will tell me what angels you were to him when he wakes up.”

Victoria gently led Mistoffelees away, the Tuxedo looking very reluctant to go. Skimble smiled after them, and once they were out of the alley, he finally crawled into the Den.

It was dark inside. Warm, but smelling distinctly of sickness and infection. It was a potent smell. The kind of scent that made Skimble’s insides turn. Instinctively, he wanted to flee the scent, but the sight that befell him made him draw closer.

Munkustrap always lost weight when he got sick, but whenever it was respiratory infections, it seemed infinitely worse. The curled up ball of dull grey fur and bones looked so pathetic, so incredibly pathetic. Skimble curled up at Munkustrap’s side and examined his face. There was a build up of gunk around his nose and eyes, and he was breathing heavily through his mouth. Skimble began to purr, hoping that it might provide a comfort for his friend as he went about using a small rag to clean his face. The movements must have stirred Munkustrap from his sleep, because he opened his eyes slowly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

“Aw, shhh Love. It’s alright,” Skimble murmured, setting the rag aside to stroke Munkustrap’s forehead and around his ears, “I sent away Victoria and Mistoffelees so they can rest. Hopefully they didn’t catch anything…” At this, Munkustrap’s ears drooped and he offered a barely audible whine, “Shh… I’m glad they were here to take care of you. Mistoffelees said you haven’t been eating, Love. Is that true?”

It had to be true. Munkustrap's spine was practically starting to show, but he waited for confirmation anyways. Munkustrap nodded slowly and curled up around himself again. Skimble sighed.

“Are you drinking, at least?”

Munkustrap gave a barely perceptible nod, which Skimble took to mean “yes, but not recently”.  Skimble made a mental note to go get some water when he could. As they fell silent, all Skimble could hear was Munkus’ rattling breath. The last time the silver Tom had a bad respiratory infection was nearly two years ago. The kittens hadn’t been around for it. Mistoffelees had, but it was always scary to the younger cats when they saw their Protector knocked off of his feet like this. And truly, Skimble always worried as well. Munkustrap wasn’t a bad patient, but symptoms always hit him hard, and there was one time, when he was a kitten, that things got bad enough that Jennyanydots had to bring the silver tabby to her owners. She yowled until they got the hint and brought Munkustrap to the people that could help him. A couple of weeks later, Munkustrap was back on the streets, skinnier than he ever had been before but definitely feeling better. Jenny said it was lucky they got him there when they did, because it was close…

Skimble didn’t often think about that time, but whenever he did, it was always when Munkustrap was sick like this. Would this be another time where only the humans could help him? He hoped not. Last time, Munkustrap had smelled strange after coming home, and had been so quiet and seemed depressed for a long while after. He had eventually gone back to his normal self, but Skimble hoped that they would never have to take Munk to the humans again, if it could be avoided.

“Ss…skimble?” Skimbleshanks glanced up to see Munkustrap staring at him. His eyes were bright red, filled with gunk.

“Yes, kitten?” Skimbleshanks crooned, nuzzling Munkustrap’s neck. 

“Talk…please?” His voice was so hoarse, so terribly pathetic sounding. Skimble nuzzled him again.

“Of course, Love,” Skimbleshanks adjusted himself so Munkustrap could lean against him, “Well, let me see… Oh, the kittens came to see me at the Train station.”

Perhaps not the best thing to say, if Munkustrap’s reaction was anything to go by. The Silver Tom’s eyes flew open and he struggled to get up. Skimble held him close, though, preventing him from moving, “Now now. They didn’t tell anyone because they figured you might react like that. Syllabub told me you weren’t feeling well. They walked me over here, but didn’t want to bother you.”

Munkustrap whined sadly, “Miss them,” He croaked.

“I’m sure you do,” Skimble cooed, “They seemed very upset at not being able to see you.”

Munkustrap adjusted himself, curling up again and letting out a rattling sigh. Skimble made a decision.

“Alright, Munk, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go to Jennys, get you some food and water, and then when I come back, I’ll tell you a story of my adventures, but you have to eat and drink for me, deal?”

Munkustrap nodded. His eyes were already closing, though, and Skimble honestly doubted that he was even heard. He got up slowly, bundled Munkustrap up in some more blankets so that he wouldn’t get cold in his absence. Then he ducked out of the Den and made his way down the alley.

“Skimble? Is Munk alright?”

Socrates, Plato, and Alonzo were laying near the edge of the alley, and Cassandra and Demeter were sitting on the wall nearby. Skimbleshanks couldn’t help but smile. No doubt the kittens had informed the rest of the clan of Skimble’s return.

“Just another respiratory infection,” Skimble sighed, “I’m sure he’ll be able to fight it off with some food, water, and a lot of rest. I’m actually off to Jenny’s now, to get him something. Keep an eye on him for me?”

“Of course.”

Skimble smiled and, content knowing he was no longer leaving Munkustrap alone, set off on his way to Jennyanydots’ house. He was glad that Munkustrap had people to watch over him, even when he wasn’t around. 

When he reached Jennyanydots window, the gumbie cat was practically waiting for him, perched on the sill with food and water ready. Victoria and Mistoffelees were laying nearby, snoozing in the evening air. Jenny winked at Skimble and hopped down beside him.

“How is he?”

“Not great,” Skimble admitted, “But its not as bad as it could be. He’s resting a lot, which is good. Now if I can get him to eat…”

Jenny chuckled, “Munk barely eats when he’s feeling well,” She pointed out, “Mistoffelees and Victoria were telling me that he’s having a bit of a hard time breathing. Do you want me to come over and take a quick look?”

“Mm, not yet,” Skimble murmured, “I tried to get him to promise me to eat first. How about tomorrow morning?”

Jenny nodded, “I can do that. I’ll bring breakfast.”

“Excellent, thank you. And how long has he been sick?”

“Mm…” Jenny considered the question, “Cassandra said that he wasn’t leaving his den about 5 days ago, which means he probably had it for a day or two with minimal symptoms. He’s probably had it for about a week now.”

Skimble nodded, “Alright then, hopefully that means he’s on the tail end of it. See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Jenny assured with a wave, and Skimble returned to the alley with food and water in hand.

Alonzo had apparently snuck his way over to the den because when Skimble returned, the cat was sitting right outside the crates, tail waving slowly. He seemed content now. Relieved, almost? Skimble regarded him with a smile and an incline of his head.

“Alright?”

“All good,” Alonzo assured, “He just made a couple noises and I wanted to check. I think he was just snoring in his sleep.”

Skimble chuckled, “Poor thing makes the worst noises when he’s like this. Thanks for checking on him, Alonzo.”

The young Tom smiled up at him before retreating back to the company of his brothers. As the moon began to rise, Cassandra and Demeter left to patrol, but Socrates, Plato, and Alonzo stayed nearby. Just in case.

Skimble ducked into the den and found Munkustrap, curled up at the center of the den, bundled in blankets, just as Skimble had left him. The Ginger Tom curled up around him, nuzzled his neck and smoothed some fur back on his head. 

“Breaks my heart that it takes something like this to finally make you rest, Munk,” Skimble whispered, holding him close and cuddling him, “But as much as I’m glad to see you resting, I can’t help but hope you get back on your feet soon.”

Skimble was loathe to wake him, but the dry breaths he was making made up his decision. He was gentle about it, petting Munkustrap’s face, gently playing with ears until tired eyes finally opened. 

“Food and water, Love, then you can go back to sleep, I promise,” Skimble murmured, nuzzling him, “Think you can do that for me?”

Munkustrap sat up slowly, and though he glared at the water with distrust, nonetheless drank. It was slow, painful, and clear to Skimble that Munkus’ throat must have been raw from breathing through his mouth.

But after a while, Munkustrap pulled away from the water, looking satisfied and a little more awake.

“I think I promised you a tale of my adventures while you ate?” Skimble murmured, and Munkustrap smiled weakly, nodding. He didn’t dare speak yet, but that was alright. Skimble wouldn’t ask him to, “Alright. Come here, love, lay here. There we are. Don’t eat too quick, you don’t want to upset your stomach. Just take it slow. And if you fall asleep, that’s alright.”

Munkustrap snuggled up against Skimble, and though his eyes were already growing heavy, he nonetheless began to eat. Chewing seemed to be effort, swallowing looked a little painful, but Skimble still had some water if he needed it, and the fact that he was eating at all was a relief.

“Alright, well, I was at the station in Edinburgh, and the train was getting ready to leave, when a young Queen comes running towards me in an absolute state. Why, she and her family had ridden the train over from Glasgow and they had lost one of their kittens! Well, I went tearing through the train at top speed looking for a little black kitten, checking every car I could find to the point where the station master was convinced I’d lost my mind. Oh my goodness, Munk, you should have been there, we may as well have been possessed with how frantically we searched. In the end, I couldn’t find the poor thing!”

Munkustrap glared up at him, ears pinned flat against his head, and though he didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to. How dare you tell me a sad story with how I’m feeling right now?!

Skimble laughed, “Oh, it’s alright, Love, the story’s not over yet. Well, the train went back to Glasgow station, and I was feeling very poorly about myself and my inability to find this kitten, but the second I step off the train, a little black fur-ball comes streaking towards me and starts crying about how he had gotten distracted and was lost and his family was in Edinburgh and please sir please I have to get back to my family! Well, imagine my relief at finding the kitten alive and well, just not in the right city. I stayed with the kitten until the next train to Edinburgh and he was reunited with his parents before the night was out. Oh, Munk, you should have seen the relief in their eyes. Didn’t care a moment that the kitten got lost because he was distracted by something, and I was on my way back home on the next Train. Oh the family tried to repay me in some way, but I said none of that. It’s just what a railway cat does, you know?”

Skimble looked down at Munk. The Silver Tabby had fallen back asleep again, but Skimble was amazed to find about half the food missing. With a smile, he kissed Munkustrap’s head. “I’m back home now, Love. I’ll take good care of you, I promise,” He whispered, “We’ll get you back on your feet again soon, rescuing kittens of your own. Sleep well, Munk.” 

[mamawolfblood]

Though he didn't know it yet Chris Mclean was in for a shocking revelation. One of the campers is not exactly just some rando kid. This camper is his kid and she is out to expose it.

Name : Iris  Escalona

Age 16

Eye color green

Caramel skin

Black hair that she keeps in a high ponytail. A Cherokee rose on the left side of the hair tie.

Iris is 5ft 8",135lb

Out fit-White tanktop with the alchemists symbol blue acid washed jean shorts black converses

Iris has a dark sense of humor. She loves horror,pranks,is resourceful. Iris is not above smashing some skulls together. She is not quick to anger but Heather pushes a lot of her buttons.

All her life she just wanted Chris to know she was alive. Her mother never gave the reason why she left. She is the oldest of seven children.

________chapter4_______

Chris: Last time on Total Drama Island, the Screaming Gophers kicked butt in the Awake-a-thon when Duncan took a snooze on the can and the Killer Bass took their second loss in a row. Harsh. Heather orchestrated the first Total Drama Island alliance by convincing Lindsay and Beth to join forces with her. Then pocketed Eva's MP3 player and sat back to watch the fireworks. Nicely played, Heather. Nicely played. Even though Eva could've pretty much kicked anyone's butt here, in the end, it was her temper that got her kicked off. She became the second camper to rock the Boat of Losers. Who will break the rules of their new alliance? Will Gwen and Iris be able to stay awake until the end of the episode? And who will take the next humiliating walk down the Dock of Shame? Stay tuned for the most dramatic campfire ceremony yet on Total. Drama. Island!

Iris helped Chef make breakfast that morning. "You are a real help sweetpea thank you." He said stering the oatmeal. "Your welcome anytime. I'm going to make some wheat toast. Is that ok?" She asked he nod. "Sweetpea you helped me clean and cook. You can make whatever you want." He said cleaning some pots. She sat in the mess with some toast and coffee when everyone walked in.

Iris pov

"Good morning " she said cheery they groaned. Duncan pulled me in his lap resting his head on my chest. "Want some coffee Duncan?" I asked "no I just want to close my eyes." I rub the back of his back as I drink my coffee.

Chis walked in "Morning everyone Duncan You look like Death, dude."  He said before Duncan mumbled "Stuff it" cuddling into me.

Courtney explained Harold was snoring keeping everyone up. Poor guys not Courtney but everyone else.

Chris *laughs*"Wow. Four nights with no sleep? How much are you hurting, dude?" He said making Duncan growl "Want me to show you. " Chris held up his hands "no no its cool go back to your pillow." Duncan rest his head against me.  Chris shook his head before looking out the door. "Hey everyone its Gwen!" The Gophers cheered. I would but don't want to get ripped apart by Duncan. "I'm so tired I can't feel my face." She said before laming her face on the table. A few moments later Courtney flings Oatmeal at Heather only to get it in Gwen's face.  Heather in a singsong voice said missed me. Honestly if someone doesn't get rid of her I will.  "Ok campers your next challenge begins in ten minutes. Oh and be prepared to bring it." He laughed I was terrified when he laughed. After breakfast we met Chris and Chef on what appeared to be a old school gym. "Your next challenge is doge ball. The rules are simple. " Chris was about to explain until Noah made a sarcastic remark. "As I was saying you get hit by a ball your out. You catch a ball the thrower is out and you bring a teammate in. Okay now Geoff, try to hit me. If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect a ball, but if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out." It was easy enough to follow but then again not sure everyone graduated fith grade. Lindsay asked what she was supposed to do when a ball comes at her. Honestly how are you even alive. Chris threw the ball "Oooh! you were supposed to dodge! "  I almost felt bad for her...Almost. "You have one minute until game time. Gophers, you'll have to sit one person out each game." When Chris said that Noah volunteered to sit out  immediately.  I grab him by the collar and throw him on the court. "Whats your damage halfbreed" He asked getting up. "My damage is you are lazy and its not happening. Gewn you should sit this one out. " she nods and sits down. "Alright guys and gals get in position. Oh and if you have to open up Noah to some pain. It will be good for him." I said tossing a ball in the air and catching it. Let the games begin.  Heather taunts them but Tyler had to be so lame. "Both teams ready? Best of five games wins! Now! Let's dodge some balls!

[whistle blows]"

So far it was easy taking the Killer bass. I mean the line up was pathetic. It was third round down to Courtney and I. "Oh this is a surprise. " I chuckled as my eyes narrow at her.  She threw her ball I catch it. She started jumping up and down thinking she won. That was until I held up mine and her ball. I threw hers knocking her over. "Hey thats not fair. I hit you your supposed to be out." She glares at Chris. "Technically she caught  it the screaming gopher's takes the point." They then made the mistake of waking up Duncan. The next round dominated us. Soon tied for victory it eas the last game. Harold and Owen were left.  "You got this Owen!" I  yelled  "Hey babe hate to break it to you but the game is ours.  I know you won't get voted off." Duncan said winking at me.  Heather smirks "I wouldn't say that lover boy." Gwen threw her boot at Heather. "I give you a boot to the Head." Making me laugh. (Please tell me someone got that reference)

Owen threw the ball and Harold looked like Neo from the matrix. He is the Alpha geek for a reason. Owen threw the last  when it made contact Harold flew back. He caught it winning the game for the Killer Bass.  "We lost because of lack of effort." He said  making everyone glare at him.

(Confessionals)

Iris

"Well it's not hard picking someone to vote off. Noah

perezoso saco de mierda. Perdimos el desafío por tu culpa. Verle caer no será nada doloroso. buena suerte en la ciudad de los perdedores.

*static*

Noah

I am voting for Iris she is fake. Just because your step dad is from spain and helped you pass spanish. Dose not mean you have to speak it on the show. Watching you walk will be a blessing. I will throw flowers as steam boat Willy takes you."

*static*

(End of Confessionals)

At the bonfire we all sat waiting for our marshmallow of 'safety'

"Campers, you've already placed your votes and made your decision. One of you will be going home. And you can't come back. Ever. When you hear me call out your name, come pick up a marshmallow. Owen. Gwen. Iris.  Cody. Trent. Heather. Beth. Justin. Leshawna. Izzy. The final marshmallow goes to... Lindsay." Chris said handing out the marshmallows. "What, are you kidding me?!

All right, see if I care! Good luck because you just voted out the only one with any brains on this team! Ow!"

"You need to learn a little thing called respect, turkey!" Leshawna said making us everyone laugh.

"You know what if you want to keep the fake spanish loser be my guest. The only reason you probably passed the class is step dad helped you." He said making me snap. I grabbed him by the collar getting in his face. "I have been speaking spanish since I came out the womb. My DAD is one of the greatest people I know. My DAD didn't run away from his responsibilities even though I am not his. He will always be my DAD because he raised me. *throws Noah to the ground.* I don't call Diego by his name or call my step dad because .HE. IS.MY.DAD." I glare down at him the shadows from the first adding  emphasis to my angry face.

Noah: Whatever, I'm outta here.

Chris "Iris tone down the scary its bad for raidings. You are all safe for now. Who will rock the boat of Losers next find out next time on Total.Drama.Island."

[creator-zee]

173

      Someone was following her. She knew it. She could hear them every so often. They were good, but not good enough. She knew they were there. But, their skill worried her. She had no idea if she could win that fight.  So, she waited, walking through the woods. Trying her best to not let her pursuer know that she was onto them. But, her hand kept brushing against the bony handles of her blades at her legs.

       Eventually, she steeled herself. She had been walking in these woods for hours (they were very large woods) and still she was being followed. Thisi had to end. She drew up a mental map in her mind. She needed an area where she would have the advantage. Her strongest skill was stealth. She just needed somewhere to disappear to. She heard water nearby and an idea popped into her head. There was a waterfall near here that was home to a dragon. It was a risk, yes. Dragon’s were extremely territorial, but all she needed was to hide better than her stalker and use the distraction of an attacking dragon to escape.

         She always had plan B if things went wrong.

        She hoped things didn’t go wrong.

        She changed her path, heard a few telltale signs that she was still being followed and continued. When the pounding sounds of water got louder she realized that she was screwed if her pursuer suddenly decided to attack because she couldn’t hear them over the roar of the water.  

       She crouched on the cliff, watching the water splash below. The defeating sound did have the advantage of masking any noise that might alert the dragon to her position. The dragon currently snoozing stretched out on a rocky shore hundreds of feet below. Bo carefully picked up a stray rock and dropped it. She watched as it dropped and hit the dragon. The dragon immediately sprang to life and she immediately sprang back. 

        She ducked behind a tree as she heard the tell tale roar and a gust of wind shook the bushes around her as the dragon flew up. She also heard the tell tale sound of leather of metal scraping as blades were drawn, probably swords if she had to guess. Her pursuer had decided to fight it seems. She smiled. Good opportunity for her to escape then.

       She began running through the woods, careful to avoid making too much noise while still moving quickly. To her surprise and horror she could still hear someone following her. How? The dragon hadn’t followed which meant someone had become its target and yet someone was still following her. Deciding enough was enough, Bo skidded to a halt in a clearing, turning as she drew both her weapons, flailing the blades open hearing a slight click and they locked in place.

      “Show yourself.” She growled, eyes scanning the woods. “Enough is enough.”

        A figure jumped down from a tree and quickly raised their hands in surrender. “No need to attack.”

       Bo didn’t relax, keeping her weapons at the ready. “Why are you following me?”

        The figure moved slowly, cautiously. “Relax, don’t attack.” They slowly pulled off their hood, revealing their face. They had golden eyes, but black hair that disappeared under their cloak. Their skin was a grayish purple and they had a thin white scar just below their left eye. 

         Bo didn’t move and don’t say anything but she had the urge to tug her own hood securely in place, but she didn’t want to let go of her weapons.

         The figure continued moving slowly, as if afraid to spook Bo. They unclasped their cloak, letting it fall to the ground, leaving them in just a shirt and pants. They had no armor, but they had several daggers strapped on. They began pulling up one sleeve and Bo watched in confusion with mixed curiosity and suspicion. 

       No saw as an intricate symbol was revealed on the stranger’s forearm. Bo recognized it at once, a soulmark. She had the same one on her own arm. The stranger was her soulmate.

       The stranger looked expectantly at Bo, but Bo couldn’t respond. Her throat was closing as she struggled to breath her test tightening. 

       She couldn’t. They couldn’t. It wasn’t right. It was wrong. She wasn’t supposed to have a soulmate. She wasn’t supposed to find someone. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. It must be a mistake.

       The stranger looked on with growing confusion, until a roar jolted them both back to reality.

        “If you’re here what did the dragon attack?” Bo asked suddenly, urgently.

        “Uh, shadow clones?” The stranger answered, shrugging.

         “Are you a fucking idiot?” Bo demanded, accidentally slipping into her native tongue, the stranger staring at her in confusion, not understanding the foreign words.

          “Dragons are highly intelligent highly powerful magical creatures. They can track magic after one use. You never use magic in a fight against a dragon. Everyone knows that. Now she can track you anywhere in the world.” Bo explained, still exasperated, but in the right language.

          “Ohhhh....” The stranger muttered. “I’ve never actually fought a dragon before. I never knew they were real.”

          Bo sighed. “You’re about to be killed by a very real one.”

          Bo could see fear in the stranger’s eyes, as they asked. “You'll help me right? You’re my soulmate?”

          Bo sighed again, and glared at the stranger, although  she doubted the stranger could see. “Stay out of the way.”

        The dragon landed in the clearing a scarce few seconds later and Bo stood firmly in front of the raging dragon, the stranger a few paces back.

        The dragon paused and stared at Bo, sniffing a few times, before giving her a look that matched most closely up with that of an older sibling who had had to deal with the younger’s shit one too many times. 

        “I should eat you.” The dragon threatened, speaking in tongue. “Why the hell did you wake me up? And why are you protecting some stranger? Why risk them finding out your secret?”

         Bo had the decency to look shamed. “I’m sorry. I just needed a way to get rid of them. They’ve been following me for hours.”

         “Fight your own battles.” The dragon growled. “If they stalked you why protect them?”

        Bo sighed. “A stupid thing called soulmates.”

         “No.” The dragon gasped, glancing at the (very confused) stranger in horror.

         Bo nodded regretfully. “I know it’s bad. But, please hold off on killing them till I can get some answers.”

         The dragon huffed. “Fine, but only for you Bo. You owe me one.”

        “Thank you. Thank you. I will pay you back. I promise.” Bo said as the dragon snorted before taking off. 

       Bo watched her adoptive sister leave before turning to deal with her impossible soulmate. Impossible as in they shouldn’t exist. 

        The stranger stared at them in confusion with a hint of awe and a bit of fear. “Who are you?”

         “Who are you?” Bo shot back, her accent unusually thick due to switching languages so quickly. 

          “My name is Star. I’m a hunter for the Northern Reach. I’m on a short break.” The stranger, Star, answered surprisingly quickly. “Now, who are you?”

          “Bo.” Bo answered plainly. 

          “How did you talk to that dragon? What language was that? Are you really my soulmate? Who are you?” The questions came pouring out of Star’s mouth.

         Bo hesitated. “I’m not answering all those. All you need to know is that for your own good you should forget this ever happened. Pretend you don’t have a soulmate. Find someone who can actually make you happy.”

         Star’s confusion only grew as she stepped forwards. “What are you talking about?”

         Bo clicked her weapons shut and strapped them to her legs, darting over to where Star’s cloak lay forgotten. She grabbed it and tossed it at Star.

          “Just forget his whole day.” She repeated.

          “How can I forget the day I met my soulmate?” Star asked, desperately as she stepped towards Bo again.

           “I can’t be your soulmate.”

Bo asserted. “It’s not possible. I’m not allowed to have one.”

          “Allowed?” Star pushed. “Everyone has a soulmate?”

           Bo shook her head, stepping back. “It’s not right. I can’t have one. I’m not supposed to.”

          Star continued to step closer. “Please just explain. Why do you think that? What’s going on? Why are you so scared?”

          Bo shook her head. “I can’t. Just forget - forget about this all.”

          Bo tried to turn and run, but Star managed to grab her wrist. 

          When Bo turned back to look at Star her eyes were red, filled with the fear of a wild animal trapped in a cage, ready to attack. Star let go. She didn’t want to hurt her soulmate. She also didn’t want to let her go, but she couldn’t bear to be the cause of such wild fear.

         Bo quickly drew her arm back, her eyes meeting Star’s before she ran away. Star was left wondering if she would ever see her again.

        Star huffed and after hesitating a split second, fastening her cloak, she started in pursuit. She was going to at least try one more time. Maybe after Bo had a chance to run her fear off.

        Turns out Bo was a lot faster and had a hell of a lot more endurance than Star. Star was panting and sweating struggling to keep track of Bo who hadn’t slowed at all. Star quickly came to a halt when she lost track of Bo’s trail. She spun around looking for any trace of her elusive soulmate.

        She gasped and stumbled back when Bo appeared right in front of her, blades drawn.

         “Why won’t you leave?” Bo growled.

          “Because I don’t think you really want to be alone.” Star said, still panting from the chase. “You never said you didn’t want a soulmate. You said you couldn’t have one. Who ever made you think that?”

         Bo was breathing slightly heavily, but not that affected. “Everyone. It’s a fact. I don’t deserve one.”

         “Deserve? What does that even mean? No one earns a soulmate. You get one. Everyone gets one. It’s the way it works.” Star argued.

          “Not me.” Bo argued back. “I don’t.”

         “How can you know that? Do you not have a mark?” Star demanded. 

         Bo considered lying, but decided not to. “I just do.”

         “Don’t you even want to try?” Star asked, more than slightly desperate. 

         “It will just fail. It’s a mistake.” Bo asserted, stubbornly.

        “You don’t know that.”

        “Yes I do.”

        “How?”

        They were only a scarce few inches apart, both of them having approached the other as the argument progressed. Star couldn’t help from realizing just how big Bo was. How was she so fast and so quiet? She was huge.

         “How?” Star repeated. “You can’t be certain. No one can tell the future. So why won’t you take the chance and give me a shot, give us a shot?”

          Bo’s automatic response of “It won’t work” was already off her tongue even as her brain processed, considering.

          “I don’t know who made you think that, but I refuse to accept that not even one grain of you wants to try.” Star asserted, meeting Bo’s unreadable gaze with her own determined one. 

           “If you really want me to leave then I will.” Star continued. “Just say it.”

          Bo hesitated slightly. “Leave.” She said, but it was weak, weaker than her previous assertions. 

         Star looked at her doubtfully. “Say it like you mean it and I will.”

        Bo tilted her head slightly in confusion. A word that Star didn’t understand escaped past her lips.

        “How am I supposed to do that?” Bo asked, surprising Star and herself.

        Star shrugged. “I don’t know, because I don’t want you to leave, and I don’t want to leave.”

        Bo sighed and stepped back. Star heard light clicks as Bo’s blades folded back up and Bo tucked them into the straps on her legs. Bo seemed to hesitate, and Star worried she was going to run again. Stat was too focused on watching for her to bolt that she almost missed the quiet words that Bo murmured.

       “Maybe not yet. But you will.” Bo slowly reached up and took a deep breath before pulling her hood down. Star stared in awe, Bo was fucking hot. She had no right to look that good after running for miles through the woods at a breakneck pace. Her bright red eyes matched her bright red hair that was cut short and tousled slightly from the hood. Pointed ears stuck out from the red locks, and her skin was tan from a lifetime in the woods.

        Star tore her eyes away from Bo’s face as she realized that Bo was waiting for something. Bo was watching her expression carefully, looking for something. What had she expected? That she would run because her soulmate was hot? And then Star saw it. Almost covered by the folded fabric of the hood, but just peeking out were bright red scales, like a dragons. Shock and confusion flitted across Star’s face even as she tried to reign in her emotions.

         Bo quickly pulled her hood up again, hiding her face in shadows. “See, that” - she gestured to Star’s forearm where her soulmark was - “means nothing when I have these.” She gestured vaguely at herself.

          “That’s not true.” Star quickly said.

          Bo snorted, but it lacked all humor. “Really? I don’t think you understand.”

         “What don’t I understand?” Star asked. “Why you refuse to give use a chance? Yeah I don’t get that. So explain. Because I just don’t understand. We’re soulmates. What could matter more than that?”

          “I’m a fucking freak.” Bo spat suddenly, and the anger in her tone barely disguised the hurt that lay deep underneath. “I’m a mistake. I’m not supposed to exist. I shouldn’t exist. I’m a monster. Monster’s don’t get soulmates.”

          “You’re not a monster.” Stat asserted, horrified at the way Bo was talking.

          “Yes I am.” Bo choked out. Hot tears were running down her face and her throat was tightening. “Dragons and humans aren’t supposed to mix.”

          “You’re not a monster.” Star repeated, even as she realized just what Bo’s words and the scales meant. She was half dragon.

           Bo couldn’t believe Star’s reaction, or rather lack of reaction. “Doesn’t it bother you? Aren’t you disgusted?”

           Star shook her head. “How could I be? It’s not like you chose to be born. Besides... red happens to be my favorite color.”

           Bo let out a weak chuckle at that. “I doubt that.”

            Star shrugged. “If it wasn’t before, it is now. So... what do you say? Willing to give us a chance?”

             Bo just nodded, unable to speak.

           Star stepped forward and pulled Bo in for a hug. Bo tensed at first before relaxing.

          “Unfortunately,” Star muttered. “My break doesn’t last forever. I do need to get back to my post.”

          Bo nodded, stepping out of the hug. “I can come with you.” She offered and then hastily added. “If that’s okay?”

          Star laughed. “Of course that’s okay. I’ve been trying to get you to do that this whole time.”

         They walked in comfortable silence for a while before Bo asked. “Why were you stalking me?”

         Star chuckled nervously. “I was, Uh, nervous that you weren’t actually my soulmate. I felt it, but I wasn’t sure. I was waiting for you to take your cloak off or something so I could double check and see if you had the mark.”

          “You were waiting for me to undress?” Bo asked.

           “What? No. That’s not. I didn’t. I just.” Star stammered before noticing Bo’s hand covering a grin. She glared at Bo.

          Bo dropped her hand. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Also you would’ve had to stalk me for weeks. I don’t have a house. I live off what I have. I don’t change. I don’t have clothes to change into. Sometimes I’ll go for a swim but...” Bu shrugged.

         Star raised an eyebrow. “You don’t bathe. What? Were you raised by animals?”

          Bo laughed, figuring that it didn’t matter what Star knew. She already knew the worst secret. “Dragons actually.”

          “What? Really?” Star stared at Bo flabbergasted, trying to see through the shadows that obscured her face. Was she joking?

           “Yes. The dragon I tried to get to kill you because I thought you were a creepy stalker was Saph’re, my sister.” Bo explained. “We aren’t that close anymore since dragons are solitary from when they come of age until they find their mates and start a new family.”

          “So that’s what language you were speaking, and why you weren’t killed on sight.” Star muttered. “Did you ask her not to kill me?”

         “Uh, I asked her to wait until I got some answers.” Bo answered honestly, if slightly ashamed.

          “Do I need to be worried about her tracking me down and trying to kill me?” Star asked, only half-joking.

         Bo shrugged. “Probably not. She probably won’t bother and as long as I’m with you she probably would at least ask me first.”

          “Well then you better not go anywhere.” Star said. 

           “I make no promises.” Bo said in a lighter tone that implied she was joking, but added in a mumble. “You might still decide to leave.”

          “I meant what I said before and I’ll say it again.” Star said, looking at Bo, trying to look her in there to really get the message across. “I don’t want to leave. I like you, dragon parts and all.”

          Bo didn’t respond, she didn’t have any words, but a fierce blush caused her face and neck to blend in with her scales. She was grateful that her hood hid her face. Star was content with leaving her hood down (and Bo certainly didn’t mind, she was attractive) but Bo preferred to keep hers up. She had worn it up for almost her whole life. She liked the secrecy it offered as the shadows hid her face and her scales.

173.1

         They had been walking for the whole day and the sun had begun to set.

          “We should set up camp for the night.” Star suggested, turning off the roads and into the woods.

         Bo followed Star silently, watching her. She wasn’t sure how much she trusted the dark elf. She had been oddly accepting and oddly kind, but Bo wasn’t quick to trust. As Star picked a spot and began clearing an area for a fire, Bo hung back, eventually muttering.

          “I’m going to get something to eat.”

           Star glanced up, but Bo was already gone. Star sighed and lit the fire with a quick spell. At least the silence gave her time to reflect on this weird day.

           Bo felt slightly guilty at leaving so quickly, but who could blame her. She rarely spent any time around people, most people didn’t want her around, she wasn’t good at small talk or talking. She settled herself in something she did know, how to hunt. She grabbed her blades, flicking them open as she crouched, silently following the tracks of a drabear. An unusual prey, but it was the first edible wild animal she had come across. Their meat wasn’t the best - a little too too ugh for her liking - but it would do. The only downside was their size. It would be way too much food for the two of them. But she wanted the thrill of the hunt. A drabear was a challenge unlike smaller prey that she could also get. Some wild animal would appreciate the free food.

         She finally got eye on the large furry creature. It was easily mistaken for a bear at first glance but the long thick ridge of fur on the top didn’t completely cover the scales that covered the rest of the creature's body. Bo checked her grip on her blades before charging at the drabear. The drabear managed to turn around and face the threat, but it wasn’t prepared to face Bo. Bo drove one blade firmly into its head using it as leverage to jump up and twist landing on the creatures back and slitting its throat. It crumpled to the ground.

         Bo sighed as she wiped her blades off on the creature's fur. She had been hoping for more of a fight. Unfortunately, the only creatures that could really put up a fight were magical and those generally weren’t good for eating. She folded her blades up with a flick of her wrist and slid them into the straps on her legs. Bo shifted the body of the drabear, shifting it into a position that would be easier to pick up. She squatted and grabbed the large creature, getting a firm grip before heaving it up with a grunt to rest across her shoulders. She took a second to adjust before heading back to the camp. 

        Star didn’t know what she was expecting Bo to come back with, but a drabear was certainly not it. It was massive. How was she carrying it so easily? Bo noticed Star’s shocked expression but ignored it as she let the drabear slid off her shoulders and into the ground.

         “How much do you think I eat?” Star asked in surprise, as Bo began to skin the drabear with quick practiced motions.

         Bo shrugged. “Closest animal.”

         “Right...” Star muttered as Bo handed her one of her blades with a chunk of meat skewered on the end. Star accepted it, but got distracted by the blade itself. “What’s this made of?”

          “Bone.” Bo answered, not realizing she had answered in the wrong language.

          “Which is...?” Star prompted.

          Bo looked up, surprised, then recognition dawned. “Sorry, bone.”

           Star looked closer. Bone was certainly not what she was expecting. She was starting to get the feeling that Bo was full of surprises. 

           The least of them certainly not being that Bo was currently eating the still raw meat with her bare hands. Her other blade remaining on her right leg. 

        Star stared at her, mouth hanging open. “What...?” She muttered.

         Bo glanced up and followed Star’s line of sight. “Sorry.” She quickly apologized, ducking her head and tossing the remains of the meat in the fire before she began wiping the blood off her face and hands.

        “Doesn’t that make you sick?” Star asked, confused.

         Bo shook her head.

         “How?” Star asked, still dumbfounded.

          “Dragons don’t have to cook their meat.” Bo answered, fists clenching and unclenching nervously. 

           Star couldn’t help her eyes from immediately glancing to where she knew Bo’s scales were even though they were hidden by her hood (which she oddly kept up while eating). That made sense she should’ve thought of that. Her own meat had cooked so she began eating it. She glanced at Bo who hadn’t grabbed any more meat. Weird, she hadn’t eaten much.

         “Are you going to eat more?” Star asked between bites. Bo glanced up, almost as if surprised. She shook her head after a short pause. 

          “But you didn’t eat very much?” Star pressed, worried that she accidentally scared her soulmate into not eating. 

          Bo didn’t respond but she did pull out her other blade and flicked it open, stabbing a piece of meat and roasting it over the fire.

          Star wished she would lower her hood. Not only to see her face, but also to be able to get a better read on her emotions. Although she did want to see her face. She was hot, and Star was gay. Star finished her own piece of meat, but decided to look over Bo’s blade. She had never seen anything like it. Bo noticed and concerned asking for it back, but she wasn’t in a hurry to mess up again tonight. But she also wanted it back. 

         “Sorry, can I - can I have my blade back?” Bo asked quietly.

          “What? Oh, sorry, here.” Star said, quickly handing it over, wondering why Bo felt the need to apologize. She seemed to do that a lot.

            Bo grabbed it and with practiced motions flicked the blade closed and shoved it in its straps. Bo’s meat was finished cooking, so she bit into it, wincing slightly at the taste. It wasn’t bad, just different. She usually didn’t bother with a fire - it left a trace that could be easily followed. Star watched, wanting to get to know her soulmate better, but not wanting to overstep.

         As Bo finished her meat, she wiped her blade off before stowing it. She looked up at Star. “Do you want more?”

        Star shook her head. Bo crouched and grabbed the remaining meat wrapped up in the hide she hefted it up awkwardly in her arms and left. Star watched her leaving, wanting to help, but unsure how. Bo returned empty-handed. She must’ve moved the food so it didn’t attract wild animals while they slept.

        “Go to sleep I can keep watch.” Bo instructed as she sat down with her back to a tree.

        “Wake me up when you want to switch.” Star said, trying to meet Bo’s eyes before laying down. Bo didn’t respond. She didn’t trust Star. She didn’t want to sleep with her around. She knew she needed sleep though. 

[jae-canikeepyou]

| marked | j.jh | ch. three

genre: superpower!au

a/n: i posted a bit late today but hope you’ll like this chapter! send me an ask for discussions, or if you’re confused :D 

the morning sun woke you up and you haven’t gotten used to the warmth you hadn’t experienced in years. the sounds of birds chirping even at winter still left you amazed. the pink curtains swayed in sync as the wind entered the room, making you stand to close it. though instead of doing that, you took notice of the other kids who played out in the snow. it had been a while since you felt joy and peace in you. right now you had a place to stay in, food to eat and people to share with. everything was provided and it came to the point where you chose to stay.

the alarm went off on the side table between your bed and mina’s. she quickly snoozed it before getting off of the bed. “good morning.” you prepared coffee at a small counter of the room.

“i gotta get dressed.” she yawned, her slurred words asked for more sleep, but you knew she couldn’t go back to sleep anyway.

your back faced her and tingled when you took a sip of coffee. you slightly danced to the music the headphone gave off. “they’re by the door.” you told mina.

“seriously y/n you can see them?” she asked as she opened it, four figures came into view— seokmin, mingyu, eunha and eunwoo.

“we thought y/n would leave the next morning so we came to check if she really did.” eunwoo waved at the both of you. “and she’s here. $20 you too!” he gestured the boys you assumed they had a bet.

“y/n! this is eunha! she’s part of our group too.” mina brought you to the rest.

“it’s finally nice to meet you.” eunha grabbed your hands and shook them, making you flinch at the sudden greeting. “we’re going to the hall. we have our morning exercises there.”

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the hall you last saw became a gymnasium. mats and equipments aligned by the walls. people began their stretches while some had already started their routine. the group brought you along the middle where it separated the boys and girls. whispers grew until they became quiet. like last night, eyes were on you. most were fascinated at your presence while others hid behind others. ‘the newbie’ they referred you.

eunha started doing stretches and as you tried to follow, you felt people crowding around you. they were curious of what else you might do. “hey y/n! take fast!” a voice in the distance behind you yelled. people squealed and ran away when an iron weight plate flew to you like a frisbee. others had their eyes closed with their hands, fearing the worst case that could happen. you took the iron plate without looking back, and when you did, bunch of ‘oohs’ escaped their lips.

while you continued to do the exercises, the hall remained silent where only sounds of equipment and sighs were heard. the door suddenly slammed open. a boy in his sleeveless hoodie came in, earning attention.

“he’s here! he’s here!”

“wow first time in the gym since forever.”

“that jerk finally showed up huh.”

after seeing him, mingyu and the other boys called your group. “y/n! there’s someone we want you to mee- hey where are you going?!”

the boy in the hoodie walked past them without a word. he didn’t stop walking. you thought he would go and do his routine but he ended in front of you. his mask was the first thing you saw before fists appeared right before your eyes.

oh boy what’s going on?

you avoided the continuous punches, hoping he would grew tired of it. he was probably one of those who wanted to challenge you like the one who threw the iron plate. this time, there were no breaks in between. “tsk.” you sighed.

though you saw his motives into at least landing attacks on you, it seemed like he knew your motives as well? he’d block or avoid your every attempt to hit him. he was strong. all kicks, punches were nothing to the both of you. neither were injured. cheers of encouragement grew until he stopped, making you do the same.

“ah just when i thought i could defeat you. my friends told me you were strong, i had to see it for myself.” he scoffed, removing his mask and hoodie. you looked at the boy who smiled before you, his dimples showed and you’d be lying if you weren’t swayed by it. he was cute. literally.

“my name’s jaehyun. i heard you’re an absolute like me.”

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“you’re crazy for doing that. she could get injured!” mina pointed fingers at jaehyun, not taking a single bite from her breakfast.

“hey i just had to double check her powers. i wasn’t convinced when the guys mentioned she’s an absolute.”

you sighed how your morning could be this noisy and energetic. window showed rays of sunlight that made the snow floor brighter, slightly blinding your eyes. you wondered what an absolute does. no one dared to tell you, even if you did read their thoughts to find an answer, it was somehow blocked. you tapped your chopsticks onto the tray, grabbing jaehyun’s attention. he immediately slid the curtains to a close. he smiled at your daydreaming state, happy to find someone like him. “i can tell you what an absolute does if you’re really curious. seems like you have no idea about your power.”

the rest of the group rolled their eyes at jaehyun’s starter for a conversation. 

“there he goes again. he knows what you’re about to say, y/n.” eunha said.

“he reads peoples’ minds like it’s a book to them. how creepy!” mina faked a clap as if to mock him.

“exactly! which is why it’s hard to keep secrets from him!” seokmin gave hi-five mina.

“correction, it’s not read. i hear your thoughts even before you say it.” jaehyun finished his waffle, turning towards you. you played with the radishes on your plate before jaehyun started to speak. “this is what an ‘absolute’ does.” he poked your hand. “they have a power that consists of skills, capabilities that’re beyond comparison than the people here.”

you raised your brow in confusion. “so you’re saying that’s the only point an absolute can have? heck, i don’t even know my own capabilities.”

“i’m aware that you know you’ve been categorized. let me name the others.” he took a sip from his milkshake. seokmin and the other had eyes on him too, like he was about to tell a nightmare story. “mina for sure told you about how we got our powers- that is near death experience.”

mina stood up and slightly banged the table. “you heard our conversation last night?? how dare-”

“shush you twerp.” mingyu pulled mina down to her seat.

“in the core, the system tells us five main power categories.” jaehyun brought out his fingers to name them. “the manipulators— those who controls or influences— that’s eunwoo with teleportation. the emitters— those who emit any matter from their palms— mina with fire/heat. the adapters— those who can quickly adapt to the environment— seokmin with resistance to cold and mingyu with aquatic. the enhanced and the supernaturals have the same qualities depending on the cases. however, the supernaturals are relatively on a higher level than the enhanced. eunha is an enhanced in synesthesia, which is why she’s on the investigation council, and was able to locate you.”

you tried to bring the new information to your head as your brain processed each and every word jaehyun said. “and those like us?” your eyes anticipated for the next, resting your chin onto your knuckles.

“the absolutes, are greater than all the categories combined. though we don’t have any emission or adaptation-related powers, we have an infinite scale of sense. strength is a bonus too. in my case, it’s hearing. and yours..” he trailed off, looking into your eyes.

“mine is vision.” you completed his sentence, a smile grew on jaehyun’s face. 

“that’s right.”

no matter the answer, this was news for you. a good type of news. yet something still bothered you; the people you unintentionally took lives from. 

the bell rang and the rest of the group decided to leave for their own training sessions and classes. they said goodbyes, leaving only you and jaehyun on the table. 

“i can’t answer that, but i know someone who does.” he blurted out, the silence between you and him ended. “since starting from now we’ll have classes together with gongchan.”

“can you ever avoid hearing my thoughts? it’s getting creepy, like others have said.” you swallowed your saliva, avoiding his gaze.

“can you ever avoid seeing my thoughts?” he retorted back, his dimples still evident. “and i know you found me cute earl-”

“agh stop!” you threw a tissue at him, he laughed as he shielded himself. “can’t blame me for seeing ten seconds into the future, can you?” 

“ah, so you found me cute even before i entered the hall.” he teased, his upper part of his ears shaded pink. “i can detect if you’re lying or not.”

“and what if i’m not?” you stuck out your tongue, later you giggled at the boy’s reaction. “your ears are really honest, aren’t they?”

jaehyun covered his ears in embarrassment. “i’ll give you an a-plus for noticing that on our first meeting. let’s go?”

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| marked — chapter three: another you |

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