#i woke up disoriented and anxious

[holmesoldfellow]

Sherlock Holmes Little Thinker Doll by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild

[bucketsofmonsters]

The Morning After

(A Sequel to Ace in the Hole)

A commission from the lovely @spoczkot :)

Cw: miscommunication, insecurity, gambling, oral sex, vaginal sex, tentacles, double penetration, sensory deprivation

male shadow monster x afab reader

Some beautiful art of our lovely shadow monster

Word count: 5k

Most days, you woke up suddenly, to an alarm or a nagging feeling that there was something you needed to do. 

You absolutely hated it. The sudden shift from sleep to the waking world. It always left you feeling anxious and restless. 

The best way to wake up in the morning was the was you were waking up now. Slowly, barely able to tell where your dreams ended and where the light, silky blankets began. You drifted slowly, softly, back into consciousness, and finally, when you were good and ready, you opened your eyes.

All you could see was black. 

You blinked, confused and disoriented, half convinced you’d just forgotten to open your eyes. 

When the darkness persisted, a spike of panic ran through you. 

You wanted to reel backwards but you didn’t know where you were or what was blocking out your vision. 

You felt a warm presence at your side and pulled away from it, sending yourself tumbling off the edge of the unfamiliar bed. 

The bed. You could see it now, sprawled across the floor, tangled up in a blanket you’d ungraciously taken with you in your panicked frenzy.

A low voice grumbled from the bed, you presumed disturbed by the newfound lack of blankets and the sound of someone falling to the floor beside him. 

You managed a sheepish smile as you gathered your bearings, the events of the night before surfacing in your mind. 

You were here, with Nocturne. 

A pitch-black face peeked over the edge of the bed as he rose from sleep more gracefully than you had. 

“You having fun down there?” he asked, his morning voice a little gravelly.

You nodded, pushing his blankets back onto the bed as you clambered to your feet. 

“Didn’t take you for that much of a clutz,” he said, a teasing lilt ever-present in his voice.

You smiled, sliding back under the covers. “I’m not really, I just don’t usually wake up blind. I feel like that’s excusable.”

He was so hard to read, his void of a presence difficult to gather coherent facial expressions from if you didn’t know what you were looking for, but you saw him tense for a moment before turning to the clock at his bedside. 

“Fuck, I’m late.”

He rose from the bed in a hurry, haphazardly grabbing clothes from his closet and throwing them on, you all but forgotten in his bed. 

You took the hint, rising beside him to grab your own things, admittedly in less of a hurry to leave than he seemed to be. 

He paused, shifting to look over his shoulder to look at you as you gathered your things, pulling your clothes on quickly. 

He shook his head. “No, you don’t have to leave. You can stay as long as you want.”

You knew he didn’t mean it, that he didn’t actually want you in his apartment on your own, but you appreciated the sentiment nonetheless, that he was at least being as gracious as he could.

You waved him off, working quickly towards making yourself scarce despite the feeling inside your chest tugging at you, pleading with you to stay. 

But you didn’t want to stay, not really. Not with him gone.  

Upon seeing that you were set on leaving he slowed, his frenzy calming seemingly to ensure he could leave with you. 

It was a considerate gesture yet still it pulled a thread of guilt tight inside you, at inconveniencing him, holding him back from whatever he had to do. 

You left at the same time, him being a perfect gentleman for you all the while, holding the door open for you and giving you a gracious nod as he headed on his way.

You spent most of your day debating whether or not you should show up at the casino that night. Would it look desperate? It probably would but to be honest, it wasn’t that far from the truth. Would he want you there? 

When you got particularly nervous you couldn’t help but imagine him turning you away, deciding he was done with you, or pretending not to know you at all. You weren’t sure which would hurt worse. 

But in the end, you couldn’t keep yourself away. It would take more self-control than you had on hand

You’d never been so nervous walking in before. It felt like everyone was looking at you. When you looked up, you saw Nocturne. His lack of features did nothing to disguise the fact he was staring at you. 

You settled at his table, and he dealt cards while looking straight at you, his face entirely unreadable. 

You had gotten no better at poker, despite his ‘lessons.’  In fact, you’d say you’d gotten much much worse. 

You lost all your chips incredibly fast, not pacing yourself like you normally did, far too frazzled for that. In about an hour, your entire budget meant for your next visit was gone. 

Part of you hoped maybe you’d be familiar enough with him soon that you wouldn’t need to come here every other week anymore. But maybe that was wishful thinking. 

Everything in you wanted to go get more chips so you could return to his table with an easy excuse but you were already running ahead of what you should have spent this week. 

So instead you waited, hoping he’d come up to you when his shift was done. 

And so you sat, with about two hours ahead of you, waiting for midnight to come and for him to get off work. 

You didn’t have much to do in the meantime. Normally you headed out as soon as you lost but part of you thought, or maybe just hoped, that he’d come talk to you. 

Even if nothing came of it, you couldn’t leave without at least talking to him. 

Not after last night. 

You were incredibly bad at looking busy, it seemed, stirring a drink you didn’t want halfheartedly as you waited. 

You tried not to feel too self-conscious. Other people were idling around you, you were far from the only loiterer, but you just felt like you were doing it wrong. 

As long as you didn’t look too out of place, you supposed it didn’t matter. 

And so there you sat, staring at the little whirlpool you’d formed in your drink as you waited, trying not to look up too much. You imagined it would only serve to make you look more nervous and flighty. 

This determination to keep your head down meant that when someone cleared their throat next to you, you almost jumped out of your skin. 

Your head jerked up to find a familiar, dark face.

He leaned back a little, looking almost sheepish. “Didn’t mean to startle you. Just wanted to say I’m sorry about this morning. I thought maybe you could come over again and I could make it up to you?”

“More lessons?” You weren’t sure if you were more excited or nervous about this turn of events. 

What did he want? Just a repeat of last time? Probably. You set yourself on being grateful for it either way. 

“Whatever you’d like.” He reached out to take your hand before clearly thinking better of it, pulling back as you followed him out of the casino and back to a familiar apartment. 

The mood was decidedly different from the night before. 

He shuffled off towards the kitchen immediately, looking back at you standing near the door. 

“Come in,” he said, beckoning you forward. “What would you like?”

“What?”

He gestured back towards the kitchen. “To eat. I’m afraid I was a terribly rude host last night, I didn’t make you anything.”

You shook your head dismissively. “You weren’t rude.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Anyways, what do you want.”

“You really don’t have to-” you tried to insist before he cut you off. 

“And yet I’m going to. You’re not going to decide anything, are you? That’s fine. Do you like pasta?”

You gave him a small nod and he immediately started pulling out pots and boxes and fresh ingredients faster than you could keep track of them.

You wanted to help but you didn’t know where to start. He moved so swiftly and fluidly through the kitchen that it felt like any attempt to assist would hinder him more than anything. 

You hesitantly moved to his side, asking a quiet, “What should I do?”

He gave you an amused glance. “Nothing. I’m making it for you, your job is just to sit back.”

You frowned, a crinkle forming between your brows. “I want to help.”

“You really don’t have to.” His voice was soft and low and you could feel your cheeks heat at the sound of it. 

“But I want to,” you said, giving him what you hoped was a winning smile. “Now what are we making?”

He let out a fond little sigh and then put you to work. It was not lost on you that he was giving you the easiest tasks but you didn’t mind, you were happy with the compromise, so long as you were being helpful. 

What made less sense to you than his insistence that you let him do most of the work was the way he made a point to stay away from you, keeping a careful distance as he moved gracefully about his tasks. Whenever you drew nearer to him he always found a convenient excuse to move to the other end of the kitchen. 

At one point you reached out to grab the handle of a pan at the exact time he did and he pulled back before your hands had a chance to meet, almost like he’d been burned. You couldn’t help but worry you’d done something to upset him and that was why he was keeping his distance. But then why would he invite you here?”

So you tested the waters, intentionally bumping into him a few times, trying to make it as casual as you could.

He seemed nervous about it more than anything, almost leaning away as you got close to him. 

You felt him go completely stiff as you brushed up next to him, your arms barely touching. 

“You should be more careful,” he said, and you pulled away, embarrassment coloring your face. 

But he hadn’t asked you to stop, he’d asked you to be more careful. Surely if he wanted you to stay away, he’d tell you as much. 

So you pressed on, brushing up against him on occasion, desperate to figure out what was clearly making him uncomfortable so you could fix it. 

The problem with touching him, which you wanted nothing more than to do, was it rendered you functionally useless. If you so much as bumped against him you were left grasping blindly for utensils and sticking your hands out in front of you to try desperately not to bump into anything. 

It made you feel like an idiot. When he had to grab your hand to avoid you smacking it right into the hot stove that you would’ve sworn was feet away, you sheepishly stepped back from him, determined to stop making a fool of yourself. 

But as soon as you both strayed far enough away from the stove you were back at his side, brushing against him again. 

Your hand shifted around, feeling for a spoon in the dark, refusing to move away from his side as he just stood there. He wasn’t pulling away for once, you weren’t about to ruin this. 

It wasn’t entirely unselfish. You wanted to touch him, you liked having him close. At least when he wasn’t desperately pulling away from you. 

You heard a low chuckle and then a voice right next to you said, “Open your mouth,” his words moving hot air over your neck. 

You did, patient and trusting, and were rewarded with a mouthful of warm food, delicious on your tongue.

“It’s amazing,” you declared, determined to show him how much you appreciated everything he was doing for you. 

“Good, I’m glad.” You could practically hear the smile in his voice. 

And then he pulled away and color bloomed back into your vision, leaving you feeling more disoriented than when it had been black.

“So what did you get up to today?” you asked, leaning back against the cold marble of the countertops.  

He shrugged. “Nothing much, mainly just working.”

“Oh.” You’d hoped he’d at least pretend to have a reason he’d rushed off this morning. 

You shouldn’t be here. You weren’t really sure why he’d invited you over at all. You’d clearly misread the situation, at least some part of it. He didn’t want to be close to you, had lied to you. All the evidence felt overwhelming. You were being a fool. There was nothing to figure out, you were taking advantage of his hospitality. He didn’t want you here, of course that was why he was pulling away. What other reason would there be?

His head cocked to the side. “What did I say? You look like a kicked puppy.”

“No, it’s fine, I can take a hint. I really didn’t mean to impose, now or this morning.”

He froze. “Oh my god, I forgot. This morning I was… I… No, you caught me, it was an excuse.”

You felt like the wind had been knocked out of you. “Right, understood. I should go.”

He reached out to grab you and then stopped, pulling back again. “Don’t go,” he settled for instead, sighing out the words with both of his hands firmly at his sides. 

You shook your head. “I really don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not. It wasn’t an excuse for me.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t… I just wanted to give you an out.”

“An out? You were the one who left, you said I could stay.”

He sighed. “Not from my apartment, from me.”

You flinched back. “I get it, I understand not wanting some stranger to stick around, I promise in the future you can just tell me that. You didn’t have to lie.”

He groaned. “No, it’s not like that. I like you, I really do. You’re sweet. I thought you’d stick around just to be kind, I didn’t want to make you think you had to stay just because we slept together.”

You started to laugh as soon as he got the words out, unable to control the instinct. He stared at you in clear confusion until you managed to force out the words between giggles. “I was thinking the same thing about you. You know, I was trying so hard to be casual, I guess I fooled you a bit too well. Why would you think I wanted to leave anyway? I was clearly crazy about you. I was there constantly fawning over you and you thought I wanted to leave?”

“It’s not that crazy. I saw how scared you were when you woke up. I know I’m not exactly a convenient person to be around. Plenty of people are attracted to me, sure, it’s cool and sexy to be stuck in the dark like that, but it’s not something people want forever. People try blindfolds on for a fun, kinky night, they don’t do it every day. You can’t hold hands with me on walks, would have to avoid touching me if you wanted to do basically anything. I’ve been here before, the novelty wears off fast and I get left behind with it. Figured it was good to give you an out. And sometimes, maybe, it’s a little easier to leave first. Hurts less that way.”

You froze for a moment, unsure what to say. You leaned forward a bit, half intent on hugging him but as you watched him tense up once again, you leaned back into the counter. 

“You know,” you began, choosing your words carefully, “I had the biggest crush on you for ages. It wasn’t just about your quick fingers and card tricks, although I have to admit, they didn’t hurt,” you said with a smile. “I first came there, to see you, because my friend said you were sweet. She said you made sure she felt safe there, that you kept a guy who was bothering her away. But more than that, you made her laugh afterwards, cheered her up. I had no idea how right she was. You always paid attention to me, made me laugh the whole time I lost, and let me hang around after.  At first, I thought it was some sort of tactic, a way to get better tips, and I didn’t mind. But you never really seemed to pay that much attention to anyone else and I thought that it was awfully considerate of you to at the very least make sure I didn’t see when you did, to try and make me feel special, because surely that was all it could be. And even that gave me butterflies. You were so sweet and funny, but it couldn’t be anything more than that. So when you decided to take me home last night I was so excited not because it was some fun fantasy, but because it was you, and because you wanted me. You’re not a blindfold, you’re a person. And I can get gloves for walks or you can help guide me or.. I don’t know, I haven’t had much time to think about it, but I’m sure we could figure something out. If you wanted to, that is, I don’t…”

And then his mouth was on yours and the words you’d been saying faded away entirely.

His hand rose to cradle your cheek, holding you close, as he pulled you with him, slowly and steadily leading you somewhere, your mouths never parting. 

The two of you fell back onto the couch and you didn’t even flinch at the movement. You trusted him, he wouldn’t let anything happen to you. 

In the position you’d fallen into, you were on top of him, pinning him to the back of the couch. 

He didn’t seem to mind, two of his tendrils snaking around your hips to pull you even closer, his hips just barely bucking up, begging for friction. 

You gave it to him, grinding down on him as his tongue grazed the seam of your lips and you opened them to allow him inside. 

He deepened the kiss eagerly, thumb stroking your cheek gently, sinking back into the couch to bring you further over him. 

And then you smelled burning. 

You pulled away from the kiss, trying to look towards the kitchen before realizing that you couldn’t. 

He rose to try and meet your lips once more, tendrils trying to pull you back towards him. 

You resisted the urge to give in to him, instead muttering a quiet, “Do you smell that?”

He flew off the couch and was in the kitchen in a second, taking the delicious food that had been basically finished and that you’d barely gotten a taste of off the stove. 

He took a quick peek inside and you could tell in an instant that it was ruined as he dropped it into the sink with a sigh.

His hands rose to cover his face as he looked back at you, sitting disheveled on the couch and you swore if he were human, he’d be a bright red right now. 

“I just wanted to make you dinner, oh my god,” he said, his voice muffled by his palms. “Some date this is.”

You perked up instantly. “This is a date?”

His fingers shifted open so he could look at you. “Maybe. If that’s alright with you.”

A delighted laugh escaped you, unbidden, before you were throwing yourself at him again, lips crashing together as you pulled his hands away from his face. 

He took it in stride, hoisting you up onto the counter, which pulled a surprised little squeak from you.

His fingers hooked into the waistband of your pants, tugging them down impatiently. You lifted yourself a little on the counter to allow him to pull them down, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of your thigh as he did.

“At last one of us should get to eat,” he muttered, nipping playfully at your thigh as you giggled, hands falling to tangle themselves in his hair. 

It really was a shame, you decided, that you couldn’t admire him like this, between your thighs. 

You whined out a quiet “please,” and he buried his face in your core in an instant, wasting no time and mercifully, making you beg no further. 

He ate you out like a man starved, hands firmly pressed into your hips, holding you close, keeping you unmoving as you tried to buck into his face. 

His tongue was longer than that of any man you’d been with before, snaking inside you before withdrawing so he could suck on your clit dutifully once more. 

He didn’t so much as come up to breathe, lapping relentlessly at you. You were sure most of his face was covered with your wetness at this point and he couldn’t seem to care less. 

You came like that, on his counter, his mouth working you over tirelessly. 

Your back arched, shifting into him even further, practically fucking his face as you came. 

Even as you came down from your orgasm he didn’t stop, tongue pressing deep inside of you as you let out whines of overstimulation. 

You tugged him back by the hair and didn’t need your vision to be able to imagine the smug little self-satisfied look that was plastered across his face, You’d seen it more than enough times. 

You shifted to move off the counter and his hands met your hips, pulling you off and making sure your feet reached the floor safely. 

You smiled at him as he led you back towards the couch and you pressed a quick kiss to his lips. 

“My turn,” you said, leaning down before a tendril wrapped around your chin and pulled you back up. 

“No, stay up here with me.”

You gave him a teasing grin. “Come on. I mean, you were supposed to feed me.

His grip on you remained unrelenting. “Please. I want to kiss you,” he said, his voice softer.

Who were you to deny him that?

Nimble fingers moved down, gentle and careful with you as they pushed inside you, and his lips met yours once more. 

He tasted of you, a little sweet, moans escaping him as you licked into his mouth, desperate to feel more of him.  

His fingers pulled out of you soon after he’d begun touching you and you couldn’t help but whine in displeasure.

Almost instantly his fingers were replaced by something thicker. He held tight to you as he pressed inside, slowly, until your hips met. 

The tendril inside you now, the one that sat right between his legs, refused to stay still, squirming around in your tight heat, pressing against you perfectly, your back arching up at the movements. 

He buried his head in your neck, his hands and tendrils alike keeping you close to him, as close together as two beings could be. 

“God, you feel so good, so good for me. My perfect girl.”

Your hips bucked up, try to get movement, to get more. 

He pressed soft kisses across your face as you hurtled towards a second orgasm, approaching much faster than the first. You were too far gone to kiss him back properly but he didn’t seem to mind. 

Everything was messy and disorienting and you couldn’t be more content in it all, gripping onto him, wanting everything he’d give you as long as he’d stay close like this. 

You were more than happy to let him do the work, to surrender to the sensations

As his hand absentmindedly stroked your lips, pressing soft kisses to your forehead, you took his fingers in your mouth, sucking on them dutifully, wanting as much of him as you could get. 

“If you wanted your mouth filled so badly you can have it, you just have to ask nicely. 

You let out a pleading noise. Talking felt impossibly hard, your thoughts moving slowly but desperately towards things that felt much more important than words, reaching for him again. 

In a moment, that was no longer an issue, a thick tentacle entering your waiting mouth, pressing down gently on your tongue, almost caressing as your mouth hung open. 

You came a second time like that, with one of his tendrils in your mouth as he thrusted in a steady rhythm inside of you. 

It was less slow and soft than the last one, hitting you suddenly and quickly, leaving you with nothing to do but hold onto him. You let out a cry and gripped him hard enough to leave bruises on any human as he fucked you through it.

The tendril currently in your mouth squirmed and you could practically feel him trying to keep it from pushing further inside, 

You moaned around it, unable to do much more than that as he thrusted hard and unforgiving into you, the rocking of his hips moving you in time with him. 

His arms held you as more and more of his tendrils snaked across your body, wanting to touch as much of you as they could, endlessly greedy. 

He grunted out the word “close” and as soon as he did, your mouth was suddenly empty again before impatient lips pressed against yours. You swallowed down his moans as he came inside you. His grip on your hips remained tight and you thought it just might leave marks. You hoped it would, wishing you could leave any on him in return. 

He pulled out of you with a little hiss and moved to walk away before your hand swiftly reached out, pulling him back toward you as quickly as you could. 

“You’re not going anywhere,” you said as you tugged him into a tight embrace. 

He chuckled. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I should clean us up.”

You leaned back into the couch with a huff before suddenly and without warning, you were being lifted. 

You sunk into his embrace, more than happy to be carried around. The sound of a tap turning on came from beside you but you ignored it, leaning into Nocturne’s chest. 

And then, unceremoniously, you were dropped onto a familiar, soft bed. 

Your vision returned for barely a moment before it was gone again, a warm cloth being stroked across your skin as he sunk into bed beside you, quietly cleaning both of you off as you snuggled into the covers. 

He tugged at your shirt and only now did you realize it was still on. It had been all but forgotten during sex but now he pulled it off indignantly, like it was a barrier too much. Like he needed to be able to touch you. He pulled it off with a little of your help, throwing it unceremoniously to the floor and burying his head in your neck. 

“No running off tomorrow morning, right?” you asked as your fingers carded through his hair. 

“Of course not,” he said, his breath tickling your skin as he spoke. “I think I owe you breakfast.”

You gave a content little hum, hoping breakfast tomorrow was at least a little more successful than dinner had been. 

Or maybe, upon reflection, you wouldn’t completely mind a repeat of tonight.

But then, you wouldn’t mind a cozy breakfast either. Wouldn’t mind eating across from him, not touching for a while so you could have the time to admire him. Wouldn’t mind eating in the dark so you could lean against him as you ate. 

No, you thought. You wouldn’t mind any of it. 

His tendrils snaked around your arms and waist to hold you close, all but trapping you against him, pulling you into a little cocoon of warmth as one grabbed the blankets and tucked them carefully around you. 

“Is this okay?”

You nodded, pressing a soft kiss into the closest one. 

He let out a quiet groan, the tendril reaching to caress your face. 

Amidst the nest of tendrils you found yourselves cuddling inside of, you felt his hand reach for yours, your fingers entwining with his. 

“Next time,” he muttered, “I’m going to make you the best dinner you’ve ever eaten, mark my words.”

You felt your heart swell, holding him tighter as he spoke. 

Next time.

[lvnleah]

Rough Flights | AWFC x reader

Summary: whilst on a flight to Australia, you become travel sick and experience the worst flight you’ve ever been on.

Pairings: Leah Williamson x reader, Steph Catley x reader, Caitlin Foord x reader. (Let’s pretend Leah went to Aus)

Word count: 1K

based on a request @wosoamazing gave me for her birthday! 💗

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Leah nudged you gently. "Hey, sleepyhead," she said, her voice soft. "Boarding's about to start."

You blinked, disoriented. How had you dozed off? You’d had a headache since the moment you’d woken up and it had now blurred your senses. you’d slumped against the hard plastic chair and fallen asleep. You mumbled a thanks before standing up.

You were currently on your way to Australia with your Arsenal teammates. An end of season friendly had been arranged and you were one of the few youngsters they were taking with. You weren’t sure if you were even going to go until yesterday morning.

Travel anxiety was always something you’d struggled with and you were anxious about getting sick on the plane. You expressed your feelings to Leah, she was like a sister to you, and she offered to travel with you. Her original plans were to stay in England, to be fit for the England camp, but after hearing how anxious you were she knew she couldn’t let you travel alone.

Boarding the plane was chaos, at one point Kyra thought she’d forgotten her passport. It turned out that Kim had it along with yours. All of the girls were taking photos with the conti cup, something you’d declined not to due to your headache. Steph walked around the plane, getting an update from everyone as she video them for the media team. Your update was boring and about how you were just going to sleep the flight away.

As you settled into your seat next to Leah, exhaustion washed over you. The hum of the engines lulled you into a deep sleep and the world around you was soon forgotten.

Three hours into the twenty-two-hour flight, you woke abruptly, your stomach churning. Nausea twisted your insides, and you clutched your stomach. You groaned into your pillow.

Leah noticed immediately. "You okay, kiddo?" she asked, her hand on your back. "Jet lag hitting you hard?"

You nodded, “I feel so sick…” you murmured, breathing out a deep breath.

"It's okay," Leah whispered. "Breathe. I’m here.”

Your nausea intensified, “I’m gonna be sick!” You exclaimed, sitting up.

Leah grabbed a sickness bag and quickly handed it to you. She climbed through the middle part and leaned down beside your seat in the aisle. Her hand comfortingly rubbed up and down your back.

“You okay, kiddo?” Steph asked, joining Leah by her side, “Travel sickness?”

Leah nodded, “She’s not used to flying, I think it could be. We’re here, y/n.”

You emptied the contents of your stomach and wiped your mouth with a tissue, feeling slightly better after emptying your stomach into the sickness bag.

“I’m so sorry…” You murmured, “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Hey, hey don’t apologise,” Steph smiles, “it’s okay, we want to be here for you.”

“Can I get you anything, kid?” Caitlin asked.

You managed a weak nod, “Some water, please,” you croaked, your throat raw from the sudden sickness. Caitlin gave a thumbs up and headed towards the cabin crew to fetch you a bottle of water.

Leah continued to rub your back, her presence a comforting constant in the chaos of your discomfort. “Just focus on breathing, in and out,” she instructed gently. You followed her advice, taking slow, deep breaths which helped settle the queasiness slightly.

The plane hummed steadily, a reminder that you were still hours away from your destination. You leaned back in your seat, closing your eyes and trying to focus on anything but the nausea. Leah stayed by your side, her hand never leaving your back.

After a few minutes, Caitlin returned with a bottle of water and a sympathetic smile. “Here you go,” she said as she handed it to you. “Small sips.”

You took the bottle with a grateful smile and sipped the cool water, feeling it soothe your throat. The rest of the flight passed in a blur of sleep and occasional bouts of nausea, but with Leah and your teammates’ support, you managed to make it through.

The rest of the flight felt like a test. You spent most of your time trying to sleep, with Leah's jacket wrapped around you due to your shivers. Every now and then, you'd wake up, either due to turbulence or another wave of nausea, but Leah was always there, ready with a comforting word or a glass of water.

In between bouts of sleep, you managed to watch your favourite movie, Notting hill but even once that was over there were still a good few hours to go.

Leah suggested listening to some music or watching another movie to distract yourself. You tried both, finding that focusing on something else helped keep the nausea at bay. You even managed to laugh at some stupid jokes Kyra was telling.

As the hours ticked by, you started to feel a bit better. The headache that had been plaguing you since morning began to fade, and with it, the nausea seemed less intense. You were even able to join in when some of your teammates started a card game.

By the time the captain announced that you were preparing for landing, you were feeling almost normal. The flight had been tough, but you'd made it through with the help of your friends and teammates. Now, you were just looking forward to getting off the plane and stretching your legs on solid ground.

The Australian sun was warm on your skin. You followed Leah like a little duckling through the airport, feeling a mix of relief and excitement to finally be on solid ground.

Customs and baggage claim went by in a blur, and before you knew it, you were on the team bus heading towards the hotel. The cityscape of Sydney passed by the windows, you tried to take in as much as you could but a dull headache stopped you from doing so.

Once at the hotel, you checked in and headed straight for your room. You were sharing with Leah. As soon as you entered your room, you headed straight for the bathroom. You took a long shower and refreshed yourself, trying to make yourself feel normal after the sickness spell you’d suffered.

In your room, Leah fussed over hou. She fluffed pillows, adjusted blankets, and tucked you in. "Rest," she said. "You need it."

You closed your eyes, the room spinning a little, before finally dozing off to sleep and forgetting the world around you.

[reallyromealone]

Title: Bonten omegaverse

Fandom: Tokyo revengers

Chapter: 5

Characters: Bonten

Fic type: story

Pairings: Bonten x reader

Warnings: male reader, reader insert, omegaverse, nsfw themes, Omega reader

Notes: woops

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

When (name) woke, he was surrounded by his alphas and decided this was a good time to scent claim the room, warding off any omegas that may try shit again.

Dragging his wrist, be began claiming this area with an almost empty expression as his eyes watched around in case anything popped up and attacked.

"Omega, come back to the nest" the alphas had been using their command tones on the other after realizing their regular voices weren't gonna work, hearing (name) grumble and walk back to the nest "good Omega, listening to his alphas so well" Koko commented as he pulled (name) gently back into the nest and into their laps " always behaving so good and making sure the area is safe but leave that to alphas ok?"

(Name) was quiet as he let the alphas scent and kiss him, a soft chirp escaping (name)s lips as he succumbed to the alphas soft touches and kisses.

"God I wish we could put a pup in ya..." Ran mumbled forlorn and (name) didn't really understand what he was saying as he tilted his head, a low growl coming from his stomach "guess we gotta get something else in ya..."

Only four Bonten men were here, Koko, ran, Sanzu and Mochi as the other four went to work albeit begrudgingly.

Sanzu got up and went to go get food only halting when (name) let out a heartbreaking cry that made them all halt "he's only getting food" Mochi tried soothing but due to the nature of this heat and now it was triggered (name) couldnt risk it...then he realized he was missing his other alphas.

"Shit..." Mochi mumbled as (name) began shaking and panicking "calm down Omega, they will be back soon!" The words did nothing as (name) went into full panic mode as his hands went into fists, the tiny claws he had digging into his skin "no no, none of that!" Koko tried prying his hands open only to get swiped at as (name) began scratching at his neck in a pitiful way to use his mating marks to try and get the other alphas to return.

"Sanzu"

"Already on it"

All (name) could hear was a soft shoooting sound and a light sting on his thigh before everything went to black.

Bonten kept (name) in their little hospital ward, sleeping his heat away as the doctors monitored him.

The doctors prescribed (name) anti anxiety and Omegan relaxent pills and hardcore scenting.

"He's going to be incredibly anxious and needy, he shouldn't be alone under any circumstances" the doctor said with urgency "it's bad enough his first heat with you all was traumatic, he can't handle thinking you all abandoned him"

The alphas took this seriously and already made plans to basically carry (name) everywhere and anywhere.

(Name) awoke to a shooting pain and a splitting headache, world hazy and slow as he tried to get himself together as the bright light of the medical ward blinded him slightly.

"Call them, hes up" a voice rang out making (name) tense up as he focused around him.

Bonten was there in less than ten minutes, practically rushing to see their mate who looked one step away from a breakdown "what a beautiful boy, hello darling" sweet words, gotta make him feel good. "What happened?" (Name) mumbled clinging to Mochi, feeling a weird panic not being near his alphas, his Omega not feeling safe by any means.

His brain couldn't shake off the feeling of a threat.

"Here's his care sheet and suppliments he will need to take daily to make up for what he lost during his heat" the doctor said as Mochi lifted (name) up "remember, he can't be alone, he's fragile right now"

(Name) let himself be carried, disoriented and unsure of what to do... All he knew is he felt betrayal and he couldn't figure out why.

"Did we...?" (Name) couldn't get the rest of the words out as he gripped Mochis jacket, awkward about the subject because if they had... He was for sure pregnant and he wasn't sure if he was ready for pups yet.

And he knew how demanding his Omega could be.

"We didn't sadly, there were... complications" Koko said moving to kiss (name) as to not have any more questions leave his lips, thankfully (name) was dealing with a post heat hangover to ask to many questions.

When they got into the penthouse, (name) was set on the plush couch, large and soft causing (name) to instinctively lay on it. His head was spinning, finding comfort in the soft material as ran crouched before him and gently pet his head "don't worry baby we will take care of you"

Sanzu put together the rotation, the criminals realising it would be unnecessary danger to let the Omega leave the house under any circumstances.

He was Bontens Omega after all, no risk was worth it if these hyper obsessed alphas bad to do anything about it.

(Name) just snuggled more into the couch, too exhausted to reply and Bonten was honestly fine with that.

Less questions the better.

(Name) looked at his wrist, realizing he had been claimed and his Omega was preening at the fact his alphas claimed him.

(Name) himself didn't know how to feel about it, he always read that when you get claimed it's the most romantic thing ever but... He doesn't really remember much of anything.

Suddenly a wave of loneliness washed over him and he shakily sat up and glanced around, seeing Mikey on a chair and (name)s inner Omega practically cried at how far the pack alpha was "alpha.." the words slipped from his lips as Mikey glanced over to him with a slight head tilt and his usual dead expression and (name) just stared at him, unsure what he wanted to say.

"Omega" Mikey's voice smooth in (name)s ears as (name) watched Mikey get into a different position and pat his thigh and (name) wasn't sure if it was him or his Omega but the speed of which he went to the other would have embarrassed the shit out of him if he wasn't so stressed and needy at the moment.

Mikey looked up at the omega in his lap who was unsure what to do "what do you want Omega?" Mikey asked softly, a blunt edge to his voice and (name) looked contemplative "can... can we perhaps go on a date?"

"A date?"

"Well you guys know so much about me and I want to get to know you guys, things are moving really fast..." Mikey stared at him almost thoughtfully as his hands rubbed the others outer thighs gently, it wasn't a crazy demand... It was actually quite reasonable.

"That's all you want?" Mikey asked and (name) nodded, the blond glancing over to takeomi "arrange dates for each member" he instructed before turning back to (name) "my compensation" he mumbled before pulling (name) into a kiss, gently gripping his throat gently as (name) made a soft sound and let the other pull him close.

"Dibs on date one!" They could hear Koko tell as Sanzu swore him out.

[strawberry-lemonade-kisses]

My Heart

It was a beautiful night out, crickets singing their lullabies to ease you into a mode of relaxation and calm. It was a welcome distraction from the events earlier in the day. Your fiancee sat next to you, head resting on your shoulder. His long hair spilled over your shoulder to rest on your chest. It was a very welcome feeling, to have him this close. It wasn’t often he came home from a long mission wanting to be with you, but what happened during his job left him needing the assurance that you were okay. He didn’t divulge the details of the mission, choosing to utter something about a ‘manipulative demon getting in my fucking head’ He was upset, disoriented from the pain meds, and in pain. His arm was in a cast, forearm snapped in half during the mission. He had gotten sent home after they treated him, strapping care instructions along from his notice of medical leave to his cast so you would see it before he had the chance to dispose of it. The whole day had been interesting after that. 

Wrestling a man made of pure muscle into bed when he adamantly refused to get even a second of rest. It wasn’t until you offered to stay with him that he agreed, Waiting patiently on the bed as you change into something lighter. It was early evening when you had stirred from your short rest, blinking wearily around the room to adjust to the low lighting. Your fiancee was still asleep, wrapped arm tucked under his pillow and out of sight. It was serene like this, knowing that he was safe, comfortable, and cared for. While he is away, no matter how long, it leaves you feeling anxious and unsure. Never quite knowing if he would return or not. This is what you knew though, it's what you agreed to understand when you accepted his courtship. You slipped out of bed as carefully as you could, stopping every few seconds to make sure your partner's eyes were still shut. With the newfound freedom you moved to the engawa, leaving the sliding door open to let in fresh air and let your partner know you were still around, just outside in case he woke up. You should make food and wake your fiancee. You can’t recover on an empty stomach, but the comfort of the crystal clear night was too endearing to move. You sat in silence, listening to the call of the animals preparing for their own night of rest, calling out to loved ones to come home. The melody was interrupted by tired grumbling and the shuffling of feet on the hardwood.

“What’re you doing?” his words were slurred, thick with sleep as he plopped next to you, head gravitating towards your shoulder as he settled back down.

“It will be winter soon. I would like to enjoy the nice warm nights I have before I shiver under all of our blankets without you. Don’t forget to remind me about making you a new scarf for keeping Kaburamaru warm now that I think about it.” Heterochromatic eyes flicked to your face, analyzing your profile as you looked into the night.

“I won’t remember, come to bed,” he said bluntly, adjusting his posture to lean more into you, intertwining one of his arms with yours. It was a rare night indeed.

“m’not tired. Do you want something to eat? More pain meds?” He huffed out a ‘no’ shaking his head so his hair tickled the bare skin of your neck.

“Just want you with me, safe”

“I’m safe as can be with you right here my heart.” He let out an unimpressed huff, disbelieving you. “Did I lie?” He sat up, sleep-riddled eyes looking at your face, looking for a sign of lying, anything that tells him you don’t believe the words you said.

“no, I’m sorry. It was-“ he let out an uneven breath. “The blood demon art was a psychedelic of sorts, they were-I-we.” He paused, eyes shaky as he looked at you “I had to kill you. They disguised themselves as you. They knew something I don’t know but it was you. 7 people were killed before I had the heart to do it” You were speechless, baffled at the confession you just heard.

“It wasn’t me my heart. I’m right here” he looked away at your words.

“She called me my dear” He looked out at the backyard, the fence that ran around your estate, hiding your home from sight. There were holes in the wood, from birds trying to build homes and find comfort somewhere. Obanai begged to have comfort right now, it was all he wanted. You sensed it. With his lack of comfort, he seemed uncomfortable in his own skin, hunched up and stiff. You placed a gentle hand over his, cautious before crowding his space. All his exhaustion was gone from his body, replaced with anxiety. “That’s how I figured it out. How I convinced myself it wasn’t you” You moved closer, wrapping your arms around his shoulders to hug him.

“My heart, I’m right here. This s actually me. You’re fiancee, your love. It’s me. I would never do that to you. Alright, feel this” You moved back, grasping his hand and placing it on your chest, right where your heart rests. “This is me, it's real. I’m safe, I’m alive. I’m right here my heart. Okay?” His eyes didn’t look up from where his hand rested, covered by your own, the small diamond ring he had gotten for you glistening in the moonlight.

“You’re here. Yeah. It’s okay” he raised a small smile. Finally meeting your eyes.

“Want to go lay back down, we can get Kaburamaru and relax, I’ll make some tea and we can elevate your arm.” He nodded, relaxing back into you, letting your hands guide him back into the bedroom and into bed.

“It’ll be alright my heart, while you recover I’ll be right here with you”

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

Drabble request (feel free to say no :) )

(Comic) due to the after events of the book, Ambrosius is in the hospital and feels horrible, physically and mentally, and the treatments they are giving him are making him sick and very anxious, so he asks ballister to visit him in hospital, and plays the whole “hopeless romantic” so that he stays and Ambrosius feels better, but ballister can see right through it, and doesn’t want to admit it, but he visits him anyways.

Yippieee!!! Loved this request as I'm working on a longer Ambrosius Hospital Fic rn \(^^)/

I currently still have one req still in the works because I'm struggling to get it started, but it is on it's way! Anyway I hope you enjoy this drabble :,)

-

Ambrosius groaned softly. He had no idea how long he'd been here. The doctors said it had been four days, but he didn't really believe that. The painkillers and heavy antibiotics– and maybe also the brain injury– made time melt together. All he ever really looked forward to were visits from Ballister. Ballister had visited him often when he was still hospitalized, but he was discharged at some point. 

Not like he had any reason to visit Ambrosius. Fuck. Everything was such dogshit. The Institution, the thing he dedicated his whole life to, was gone. The King to whom he swore allegiance was dead. Not that any of that mattered, he'd already been demoted to a grunt rank in the Institution because he fucked up at doing the only thing he was supposed to be good at. 

Nobody respected him. Nobody liked him. Certainly nobody loved him. And on top of that, he felt nothing but pain and nausea and confusion all the time. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to vomit, but he did it often. The antibiotics were tearing his guts apart. The beta blockers made him even more weak and exhausted than he was already. The painkillers disoriented him and didn't even seem to do much, and also worked together with the anticonvulsants to make him sick as a dog. He couldn't help but wish that Ballister had just left him in that facility to be disintegrated instantly.

Why did Ballister save him if he wasn't even gonna be here? Was it just to punish him? What was going to happen to him after all this? With no job, unable to walk, unable to see out of one eye, no home, he'd end up back on the streets. He was terrified and woke up crying constantly. He wanted his Ballister here. He wanted Ballister to hold his hand and kiss his forehead and tell him everything would be okay. As if he had any claim to Ballister at all. 

Eventually he couldn't take it anymore, and he weakly dialed the number in his phone.

–

Ballister had been a wreck ever since he was discharged. He felt guilty about Nimona and Ambrosius and the town and everything. He wanted to be there for Ambrosius, who at this point was all he had left, but in addition to the pain and mixed feelings he suffered whenever he was around, he feared his presence didn't even help. Whenever he sat with Ambrosius, the man looked so guilty and miserable he couldn't meet his eyes. Making Ambrosius feel like shit about himself certainly wouldn't aid in his recovery. Plus, being in hospitals was more than a little triggering for him. He didn't like to see the pain from the worst day of his life reflecting off Ambrosius's face.

But standing around this empty warehouse, without Nimona's snark or laughter, barely felt like anything either.

He jumped when his phone rang with Ambrosius's number. “Hello?” 

“Hiii…” the voice on the other end was weak. “I've missed you, darling.” 

Ballister cleared his throat. “Ambrosius, you should be resting.” 

“How can I possibly rest without you here? I'm sick and in dreadful shape, and the object of my affection isn't even here to distract me with his handsome face.” 

Blushing, Ballister looked down. More guilt, fun. Obviously he was high as a kite while also being at rock bottom. It was obvious what he was doing. He was playing it like he was being cute and flirty, but he was groveling. He was prone on the floor groveling for Ballister’s attention. For him to be there, to hold his hand.

“My darling, if only I could hear your voice and see your face, I certainly would feel better. If you're not busy, that is.” 

Ballister snorted. He never could resist Ambrosius's begging. 

He arrived at the hospital an hour later, and he swore a blue light flickered behind Ambrosius's eye when he saw him. “You came!” He smiled as broadly as he could without ripping the stitches in his cheek. 

“Of course, I couldn't leave my… my beloved gentleman caller all by himself, could I?” He smiled and took his hand. Ambrosius squeezed it.

“I'm happy you're here.” His voice was exhausted. His face said so many things his mouth couldn't.

Ballister stroked his hair. “I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to be afraid.”

“If I go to sleep, will you stay? Will you hold my hand until I wake up?” 

A lump caught in Ballister's throat. “Of course I will.”

[mingiswow]

Make a move | Jung Wooyoung

Pairing: Wooyoung x afab!reader

Words: 5,3k

Genre: Dystopian, smut, angst (just a little)

Content Warning: Mention of death, mention of food and alcohol consumption, mentions of weapons, Wooyoung is a little asshole at the beginning, reader gets a bit anxious, mentions of torture methods, not proof-read

Smut warning: reader has boobs and vagina, oral (both receiving), 69, wooyoung has sensitive nipples, nipple play, piv, unprotected sex, cumshot, multiple orgasms, soft to horny to soft sex, I lost myself writing it again lol, reader gets fucked dumb, switch behaviour from both, if I forgot anything let me know

⚠ If you’re under the age of 18 and/or don’t feel comfortable reading that type of content, I have a lot of other content here.

⚠ English is not my native language, so pardon me if there’s any mistake. And you can always tell me what’s wrong.

a/n: it took me forever but here's the newest part of my dystopian Ateez series. Hope you guys enjoy it because I had fun writing their sex scene... a lot... i got carried away. I truly think 3k it's just filth lol

The loud ringing of the bells on top of the tower in the center of the town announced that the oppositors were captured and the army won. You bit your nails, anxious, inside the bunker. The boys told you not to leave the safe bunker but the anxiety was eating you alive. 

“To worry is to let yourself be killed slowly by the men” the old man, who you thought was asleep, woke you from your thoughts. You turned to give him a sympathetic smile. “As long as they stay true to their beliefs, no harm will happen”

“But what if they got caught? Haven’t you heard the bells?” Your voice sounded more crooked than expected. 

“Have you heard of the ancient torture method of the warm water?” You denied it and sat by his side. “During even darker times there were people whose job was to torture and kill prisoners. One of these many tortures was to drip warm water on the neck of the prisoner, who was locked on all fours and blindfolded and hit the neck. The person would think the water in their neck was their own blood and die of a heart attack. These bells are the same thing. They torture us who are against them making us think we are being captured but it’s just a way to disorient us” you nodded, expecting he was right. After all, he always was. “Remember kid, our mind is our biggest weapon, both in our favor and against us. Now go rest, you haven’t slept in two days” you decided it was best to sleep, your mind and vision starting to blur from the lack of sleep and food. 

The makeshift beds were not even close to comfortable but with your body aching to rest it felt like a bed you’d only see in old princess books and movies that were saved before the apocalypse. Your eyes felt heavy, your body weighed like a thousand kilos and suddenly the blackness and silence hugged you. 

You woke up with the sound of something crashing by your side in the room, startling you.

“Fuck!” Someone you knew very well whispered cursing himself. 

“Woo? Is it you? Are you guys back?”

“Hi. Yeah. We’re back” you jumped from the bed, hugging the man tightly. “Hey, yn. What’s the matter?” 

“I thought you guys were captured when I heard the bells and… and… I was afraid I would never see you guys again” you started crying, hiding your face in his neck, the musty scent of his sweat was weirdly calming and intoxicating to you. 

“We are safe, yn. We are here safe and sound. No need to worry” he hugged you back and sighed. 

For the past months, ever since you arrived at the bunker running from your facility at the town, he was holding his feelings for you. You were just so perfect that he couldn’t help his heart to beat faster every time you did anything really. The way you talked, the way you were so nice to everyone around you even when they weren’t. You blended right away at the bunker, immediately being put in charge of the maintenance and organization of the weapons. Wooyoung was awestruck with you. 

But in his overthinking of a head, he had no chance with you. In his mind, you were not only too perfect for him but you also liked San, his best friend. So no chance he’d be a snitch and steal you from his best friend. 

On the other hand, San knew very well that you had a massive crush on Wooyoung and was trying to help you two get together. But in San’s head Wooyoung was a big loser and every time he tried to bring the you subject up he always cut him, changing the subject or even running away. Also, Wooyoung never mentioned anything about liking you, he truly didn’t understand his friend. 

“I’m glad you are back and well” you said, leaving his embrace, eyes red from crying. 

“Me too” his eyes wandered to your lips but soon left and looked somewhere else, leaving your body that was still close to his. “Hm… San and… and the boys are at the gq. I guess you wanted to see them” you nodded. “So yeah… go there… he- they’re waiting for you” 

“But-“ you were cut short by him just leaving the room. 

You left the room after him, meeting all the boys safe and talking happily with the old man. Yunho was the first one to acknowledge you, coming right at you to give you a hug. 

“You chose just the right weapons this time, rascal” he messed with your hair. 

“If it wasn’t for you, we’d be dead by now” Hongjoong was the next to speak, giving you a fist bump. “And thank goddess you made us take extra munition” you pretended to dust your shoulders and give little kisses, giggling. 

“They surrounded us with more men than expected” Yeosang, who was responsible for the spying and, alongside you, Hongjoong and Seonghwa, made the plans of attack, got into the conversation. “Apparently the mayor is recruiting people from outside the country, from places where there’s little to no opposition to the dictatorship”

“There are places where people don’t care about this shit we are living in?” You asked astonished and the man shook his head denying it. “Damn, I guess they are getting better at brainwashing ever since I left”

You guys kept talking about the mission, and how scary it was but the boys managed to leave the trap. How the troops tried to attack them during the night when they thought they were weaker. It was very intense and sometimes you wanted to go with them but every time they came telling these stories you were glad you were safe at the bunker but nonetheless worried about them. 

San pulled you aside from them in the middle of the conversation. You didn’t see but Wooyoung saw you leaving the room and felt his chest sink in sadness and jealousy. Only if he had the gut to tell you how he felt before San had. 

“We need to solve this thing between you and Woo” he said once you were far from them. 

“Hi to you too. Nice to see. Glad we are all alive” you rolled your eyes and your friend mimicked you. 

“I’m serious here. He thinks we like each other and are together”

“What? How? When? Why?” You started laughing nervously, not really knowing why. 

“Yeah. Yeosang told me, apparently he thinks we are a thing that’s why he never listens to me when I’m talking about you”

“So… he likes me back?” You asked pretty out of yourself with the news. 

“How can you be so smart and so dumb at the same time?”

“It’s called balance” he rolled his eyes again. 

“Anyways. Yes, he likes you and he is jealous of us. We have to fix that” 

“How?”

“That’s where I need you… I don’t know” you hit his shoulder. “Ouch! I just think you should go to him and tell ‘hey so just to be clear I’m single, me and San are not together, you are free to fuck me’ OUCH! Stop hitting me!”

“Then stop talking shit! What if he hears?”

“Who hears what?” The devil himself appeared in the corner. 

“Uh… you see…” you stuttered not really knowing what to say. It was easy. It was simple. But the words just got stuck in your throat. 

“If it’s about you two dating I already know” he walked past you two, knocking San slightly. 

“Have you ever thought about asking us?” Wooyoung turned around to look at his friend. Eyebrow raised. “You took your own conclusions without asking us anything” 

“And what do I have to ask? I can see” 

“Well then you need glasses because you are seeing things where there is nothing and the things you should see you keep blinding yourself” Wooyoung looked at you and you lowered your head and he realized he had fucked up something. 

“Just… don’t fight. Please” you asked, you’d kill yourself if you ever ruined their friendship. “I’m not worth it” you left them behind, going back to your room not wanting to stay there any longer. 

You shared your room with others at the bunker, but you were glad they were all in the gq talking to the ones who arrived from the trenches because it meant you could cry alone without worrying or alarming anyone. You hated to be the center of attention and you hated when people talked about you. 

It had been a while you have been crying, lying almost in a fetal position in your bed when someone opened the door. You held your cries and pretended to be asleep so you could trick the person into leaving. But it didn’t work. 

“I know you’re not sleeping yn. I heard you crying from the door” it was the last person you wanted to see at that moment. Wooyoung sat at your side in the bed and he questioned if he should touch you or not, deciding not to. “I’m here to apologize to you” he sighed and played with his fingers, eyes down with shame. “I didn’t mean to accuse you and San, but I guess I did anyway. I think my mind was clouded with jealousy”. 

You turned around and looked at him, eyes and nose red and puffy from crying. His eyes were still looking at the ground and you could see the pink tint on his cheeks. 

“What were you jealous of?” You asked, still a little overwhelmed by his confession. 

One part of you wanted him to tell you that he was jealous of you because he liked you. But this part was being silenced by the other one saying that you were delusional and thinking about things that did not have a chance of happening. This other part wanted him to say he was jealous of San, that you were stealing him from him and that he was San’s original best friend, that you ruined everything. And you were 100% sure this was the right part. 

You’ve never been good at showing your romantic feelings. With your friends was easy, you were easygoing, and you had no problem being yourself and being touchy and sentimental. However, when it came to romantic feelings you were completely blocked. You were afraid, ashamed almost. You never knew how to act, afraid anything you’d do would throw them away, would repel any types of feeling they had for you. There was this silent pressure that the woman who created you put on you and your siblings, you always had to be perfect in the eyes of possible suitors because the only way to take a step higher in the hierarchy was through marriage. And she always prepared you to be perfectly mannered to these high-class, bougie suitors. 

Wooyoung took a deep breath before finally speaking. 

“Because you are always so close and comfortable around San that I thought… I’m sorry” he looked at you, not really looking at your eyes, ashamed. 

“It’s okay, Woo, you don’t have to apologize, we all have feelings. But don’t worry, I’ll never steal San from you, he’s your best friend for a reason” you forced a smile. 

Wooyoung gave you a half smile, chuckling a little to his feet before turning to you again. His thumb gently wiped the remaining tears on your cheek but never left the touch. You closed your eyes instinctively, enjoying the feeling of calloused hands on you. He sighed once again before speaking. 

“It’s not Sannie that I’m jealous of” you locked eyes with him. What? He left his hand’s place on your cheek to hold your own. “I need to know a thing first” you nodded, enjoying the feeling of his hand in yours. He was holding your hand. If you could, you wouldn’t let it go. “Do you like San?”

“Of course, he’s a great frien-“

“Not as a friend” he cut you. “Do you like him as a lover?” you held your laugh because he could be so stupid sometimes. You denied it with your head. “Good, that’s good to know” he took a deep breath, like he was holding it while you answered. “Do you like someone else? Like… romantically speaking”

“I do but he’s too blind to realize. I’ve been giving hints for quite a while but he never seems to notice” you saw his eyes drop when you said you liked someone else and you swore to god this man was even more idiot than you expected. “Do you like someone?” 

“No. Nope. Not at all. I don’t have feelings” you held your laugh again. 

“Oh, that’s sad because I thought you liked me but I guess it is one-sided then” you said, looking at his face, trying to read his reaction. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s just me t- wait. What?” You laughed at Wooyoung’s reaction. His cheeks bright red with embarrassment, eyes widened looking at you. 

“Gosh, Wooyoung, how can you be so slow?” You decided to take the first step and leaned in, leaving a soft and quick peck on his lips. 

He blinked a few times to regain his consciousness. What was happening? So you did like him? You weren’t dating San? Did you like him all along? And you kissed him? Fuck! You kissed him! 

He finally regained his state of mind and realized what was happening, practically jumping on your lips and kissing you again, dropping you on the bed. You laughed on his lips. That was the man you fell for. 

“I’m sorry for being so blind” he said after kissing you, putting a strand of hair behind your ear. “It’s just… you were so close to San and so comfortable with him that I thought you two were flirting” you shook your head no, your hands playing with the little hairs on the nape of his neck, his eyes flickering between your eyes and lips. 

“Now that you know just don’t waste any more time” he smirked and planted his nose on your neck taking a sniff before looking again at you. 

“Oh don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t” he kissed you again, pressing you more against the mattress. 

His lips were chapped due to the dryness of the air but you couldn’t care less, to you, they felt like soft cotton balls that were made to mold perfectly to yours. Every time he moved his mouth against yours you could feel electric discharges running through your body. Your veins felt like copper wires that were charged to the max. 

He was holding his weight on one arm while the other held your waist, fingers pressed against your flesh underneath your shirt and holding you in place the best they could, thumb once in a while caressing the skin. One of his knees was between your legs and you could feel the heat emanating from it and you had to hold yourself not to reach down the thigh and rub yourself on it. 

He kept slowly kissing you until his tongue licked your lips asking for passage, which you granted gladly. Your tongues met inside your mouths and started to entangle in each other deliciously, you could taste the faint taste of the bit of alcohol he had prior at the gq with the others. He was intoxicating, your mind clouding more and more every time he would speed up and intensify the kiss and then slow down again. He was teasing you in the most delicious way. And you were enjoying every second. 

Wooyoung left a low groan in your mouth when you bit his lower lip and ran your fingers under his own shirt, leaving a faint red trail from your nails. 

“I don’t think I can hold myself any longer if you keep doing this” he confessed, forehead touching yours as he collected his breath again. 

“Who said I want you to hold yourself?” He opened his eyes to stare at you, smirk on his lips as he licked them. 

“Are you sure?” You nodded. “Because once I start I won’t stop”. You pulled him to fall more over your body, weighing you down heavenly. 

“Just fuck me already, Wooyoung”. 

“You don’t have to ask twice” he kissed you again, this time more sloppy, desperate, rushed. He was past tasting you, now he wanted to rile you up. 

He stopped kissing you and got on his knees to take his shirt off, and you did the same. You didn’t know who was most entranced by who’s chest. Your hand was the first to move and touch his chest. He wasn’t very big, more on the lean side, but his muscles were popping from being in the dry air of the desert-like weather of the town. You felt his muscles tense under your touch and you squeezed the hard skin in your fingers, earning a soft hiss of him. 

You pushed him slowly until he was the one laying on the bed, head up so he could look at you. You smirked and straddled his lap, hands still on his chest. You leaned your body and teased your lips on his but never touched, making your way to his neck. You started with soft kisses, barely touching your lips to his skin. Wooyoung was breathing heavily, his hands went straight to your legs, holding and squeezing the flesh underneath the thick fabric of your pants.

You kept with your attack on his neck, changing your soft kisses to butterfly ones, mixing with little licks, your tongue tasting the salty taste of his sweat mixed with the burnt one from the long exposure to the sun. Your hips started moving without you noticing, the need between your legs getting the best of you and seeking at least a tiny bit of release. 

“Yn… fuck! You look so hot like this” he whispered, eyes closed and his own hips seeking for yours. Low groans and moans leaving his lips. 

His reaction made you feel even more bothered but also determined to tease him. So you moved your kisses to his collarbone and the front of his neck. You grabbed his hair and pulled his head slightly back, exposing his throat, veins exposed, the pale skin waiting to be marked. Which you did, painting it shades of purple and blue with your hickeys, teeth grasping along the skin, leaving a red trail behind. 

If it was anyone else tainting him like that he’d be mad, but you had such a strong grip on him and his sanity that he didn’t mind. Quite the contrary, he enjoyed it. He was loving every single second of your teases on him. 

You moved even lower and decided to test the waters on his chest, squeezing slightly his nipple between your index and middle finger when caressing his skin. He just let the cutest and hottest whine when you did so, firing you to keep going. You licked his abs from bottom to top, moving to the side slightly and licking his left nipple on the way. He squirmed underneath you, an almost unintelligible whisper of your name coming from his mouth. 

Wooyoung was lost, he was completely given to you. You owned his pleasure now. He didn’t have the idea that you, just looking absolutely ravishing on top of him, licking his body was enough to make him almost cum on his pants untouched. 

You played with his nipples a little more, licking, pulling and biting, teasing him and making the man under you squirm like he was suffering the worst torture in his life. But soon enough you decided to stop teasing him and left his lap, earning a soft groan of why. You just chuckled at his reaction but didn’t say anything, just proceeding to open his pants and start pulling them down, he raised his hips so you could take his pants and underwear completely.

You’d be lying if you said that you hadn’t imagined how his cock would look like and to say you were impressed was like saying that 2+2=4. He wasn’t big but he was painfully thick, veins pulsing on his sides, and pre cum leaking from his head. You were 100% sure he was the biggest you’ve been with, the idea of having him stretching you after so long of having nothing but just your fingers made your thighs squeeze in need and your underwear stick to your vulva. 

“You’re so pretty, Woo” you praised him, hands caressing his thighs until they reached the base of cock, his pubic hair gently tickling your fingertips. “Your dick looks so pretty and hard for me” he nodded and whined, elbows holding his upper body so he could look at you. “I bet you taste as good as you look” you smirked at him before giving a kitten lick to his tip, salty precum awakening your taste buds. 

Most people don’t like the taste of it, and you were one of them. But something about being Wooyoung there and the way he was mesmerized by your every move made you want to taste him more and more. The best you could have. 

You decided you were done teasing him - and teasing yourself on the way - and started to put him in your mouth and, as you expected, he was a bit too big for your poor jaw, already getting painful with how wide you had to open to put just a couple of inches inside. Your teeth inevitably grazing over his soft skin and making him hiss. You let you jaw go as slack as you could and started to bob your head, hands squeezing and rubbing as far as they could to help you. Your hands needed to be put together to be able to encircle his shaft. 

Wooyoung would be a liar if he said he didn’t want t go feral and start fucking your face, but he knew he would hurt you. He was sure that if he looked for sin in a dictionary your picture sucking his dick would be under it. You looked so concentrated to make him feel good, eyes dark with pleasure and starting to tear up with the stimulation. 

“Fuck, yn, you look so good like this babe” he took a few strands away from your face and held your hair in a ponytail to help you. “So good for me, making me feel good. I wish you could see yourself like this right now, so hot and needy for my cock” you moaned at his words and started to suck him even harder, trying to put more and more in your mouth. “That’s it, baby, take my cock. Do you like sucking on it?” you nodded, squeezing his base with your hands. “Your own little popsicle, isn’t it?” you nodded again and opened your jaw even more slack, your face starting to hurt but all you wanted was to make him feel good. 

He grabbed your hair and started to move your head for you, gently fucking your face, the pain in your face and scalp so good and taunting.

“Come here, baby. I want to taste you while you take my cock” you looked at him a little confused, brain already foggy with need. “Oh, my baby is already this fucked out? Brain empty?” he took his dick out of your mouth and saliva dripped down your chin. “God, yn! You look even hotter like that. Here, take a seat” he tapped his face and smiled.

You stood up on your feet and took the rest of the clothes that were on your body. Gently you hovered over his face, your cunt dripping from pent-up arousal and your scent invading his senses. Wooyoung was intoxicated and he hadn’t even tasted you yet. He grabbed your hips and pulled you right on top of his face, a surprised yelp leaving your lips when you felt his warm tongue against your folds for the first time. 

You couldn’t even think straight, he dove right in, licking, sucking, biting, blowing on your vulva. Your clit being the main attraction. You unconsciously started to ride his face, wanting to feel more and more. You teased him for so long that you got so bothered that just a little eating and you were on the edge already, the knot in your belly incredibly tight. 

Your pleasure getting the best of you and you fell forward, weak. You saw his dick in front of you again and remembered that he wanted you to suck him off too. You put his dick back in your mouth and hollowed your cheeks, sucking him in and earning a moan against your pussy from Wooyoung. 

You gave your best to suck him, but you were a moaning and babbling mess, drooling all over his dick and riding his face reaching for your orgasm. It was when he gave a particularly harsh suck on your clit and introduced two fingers inside your hole that you came undone for the first time. His penis almost blocking your moans as you cockwarmed him inside your mouth.

“There we go, baby. You did so good. Are you tired?” he asked muffled by your pussy and you hummed. “Then I’ll let you lay down, you were so good for me so far, now it’s my turn to take care of you” you took him out your mouth with a pop and laid on the bed, chest rising and falling from the amount of exertion you had made. “Can you keep going? Or should we stop?” You denied it and tried to grab him, making grabby hands, which made him chuckle. “How can you be cute in a moment like this?”

“I’m not” you managed to answer, smiling at him. 

“If you keep looking this cute I’ll lose my cool” 

“You already lost when I licked your nipples” you smirked at him.

“Only because it’s you” he positioned between your legs and leaned to kiss you. You hugged him tight and kissed him back, mixing your own tastes inside your mouths, tongues tying. You two kissed for a while before he spoke again. “Are you sure you can keep going? I don’t want to hurt you, I didn’t prep you”

“I’ll be fine, just please stop talking and fuck me” 

“You’re so hot when you’re in charge” he gave you a peck and started to slowly slide inside of you. You moaned against his mouth when you felt the first sting of stretching. It burned. “Tell me if it’s too much or if you want me to stop” you nodded and he stopped for a while.

He analyzed your facial expressions and your reactions, trying to see when he could move again. When he felt your breathing slowing down he moved a little more, penetrating a few more centimeters inside. Your mouth opened but no sound came out. Your insides burned but it wasn’t bad. It was just new. 

The idea that you were finally with Wooyoung in such an intimate moment like this made your head spin and ease the pain. It was him. The man you’ve been dreaming about for so long. The constant protagonist of the softest and dirtiest of your dreams was finally on top of you, inside of you. His eyes never leaving yours or your face and that made you feel even more wanted. Desired. 

You pulled his face back to yours and kissed him again, gentle, deep. You wanted to make sure this was not another one of your dreams. Thankfully it was not. So you decided to be bold, you wanted him to take you fully and you wanted to do the same with him. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pushed his hips against yours, making him bottom out inside of you. The moan that left his lips was the hottest thing you heard all night. In your entire life, really.  The pain of being stretched almost to your limit was nothing compared to how fast your heart was beating, syncing with his own. 

You gave him a nod, a green light to make him move. He started slow, not taking too much out, letting you get used to the size and the movement. He was being careful and taking your pleasure as his first priority because you had no idea how hard he was holding himself. Your walls were soft, warm, wet, tight. You hugged his member viciously and he was so close to cum with just the pressure and pulsing around him. 

Wooyoung slowly started to take more and more out until he let only his head inside before bottoming out again. Your moans started to get whinier and whinier, your hips moving with his, the burn long gone and replaced with a different one. One from pleasure. He started to speed up his movements and he could feel your finger nails clawing at his back.

“Are you close?” he whispered against your ear and you nodded. “Good, because I am too and I want you to cum first. Can you do that?” you nodded, not really knowing if you could but you just wanted to give your best to him. 

He backed away from you a little, just enough to have one of his hands between your bodies and rubbing your clit. You threw your head back and arched your back with the sensation, feeling almost overstimulated. Your arms fell limp on the bed, too weak to hold on to him, but strong enough to hold the thick sheets between your fingers. 

Wooyoung kept his skillful ministrations on you and soon enough you exploded without even having time to warn him, creaming his cock with your juices. He leaned down to kiss you and whisper praises to you but you barely registered, head completely empty. He had fucked you dumb.

It didn’t take much more for him to cum, taking his member from inside of you and cumming on your pubes and belly, falling exhausted on your side. A stupid smile planted on his lips as his brain processed everything that just happened. He turned his head to look at you and you were looking at him already.

“What are you smiling at?” you asked, even completely gone by the pleasure you still had energy enough to provoke him.

“Nothing, just the love of my life” you booed him and turned to the other side.

“God, you’re so cheesy” you said but still smiled anyway, you loved his silly self. He cuddled you, nuzzling his nose on your neck and taking in your post-sex scent. 

“But you still like me like that”

“That’s exactly why I like you” you turned to face him, his arms never leaving your body. “We need to clean, I’m all sticky with your cum and sweat” you put your tongue out in disgust.

“Wait here” he left the bed, only caring to dress his underwear before leaving the room to go to the bathroom and grab a towel. 

He was almost successfully coming back to the room without meeting anyone but he was faced with a wall of your friends, arms crossed and smug smiles on their faces.

“We’re are going to let today slide but tomorrow we will annoy the hell out of you two” San was the one to speak before letting Wooyoung run back to the room and closing the door.

“They won’t let us be from now on” he spoke before he heard you laugh nervously.

There wasn't much you two could do but accept the fate of being joked on by your friends. But that was okay because now you had each other and that was all the good that mattered amidst the mess of the world. 

Masterlist | Requests and feedback

[thesithdiaries]

Don't Need Your Help (Cody Rhodes imagine)

Pairing: Cody Rhodes x female!reader

Prompts used:

Injury prompts: 18. "You saved me...? And bandaged me up? Am I dreaming?" || "Yeah, well, I wasn't going to let you die just like that..

Angry prompts: 2. "did I say I needed your help!?"

Excitement coursed through Cody's veins as he sat backstage and watched his colleagues throw each other around the ring. But as he watched, he couldn't help but feel a burning desire to get in on the action himself.

Before he knew it, Cody had leaped into the ring and was fighting with Seth. Both of them were giving it their all but he soon found himself being thrown around like a ragdoll.

Y/N, who had been watching from ringside, gasped as she saw Cody take a particularly nasty fall and cut his head. She rushed over to him, her heart pounding in her chest. 

"Cody, are you okay?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Cody groaned and tried to sit up, but the pain was too much. "I'm fine," he muttered, gritting his teeth.

Y/N could see that he was anything but fine, and she knew that he needed medical attention. "Cody, you need to let me help you. We need to call off the match," she said firmly.

But Cody shook his head stubbornly. "Did I say I needed your help!?" he hissed. "I can take care of myself."

Y/N sighed, knowing that Cody was fiercely independent and didn't like to rely on others. But she also knew that he needed medical attention as soon as possible. "Cody, I think you need to go to the hospital.” She suddenly let out a yelp as she saw his eyes roll back. The referee quickly understood, signaling for the bell to ring. The crowd was screaming but Y/N didn’t pay attention. Seth was worried as well, but he knew he couldn’t just go and check up on Cody. 

Y/N knew that Cody needed help, but the paramedics had not arrived yet. She quickly got in the ring and removed her jacket, using it to press against Cody's wound as best she could. She tried to be as gentle as possible, not wanting to cause him any more pain.

As she held it firmly, she couldn't help but worry. She had never seen him hurt like this before, and she didn't know how he would react when he woke up. But she knew that she had to do everything she could to help him.

Finally, the paramedics arrived, and Cody was rushed to the hospital. Y/N stayed by his side throughout the night, too anxious to leave him by himself.

When Cody finally woke up, he was groggy and disoriented. He looked around, confused, and then remembered what had happened. He saw Y/N sitting next to him and smiled weakly.

"You saved me...? And bandaged me up? Am I dreaming?"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to let you die just like that,” she whispered to him, softly caressing his cheek.

"Thanks for taking care of me," he said, his voice hoarse.

Y/N smiled back at him, relieved that he was okay. "Of course," she said. "I'm just glad you're going to be okay."

Cody nodded and then fell back asleep, exhausted from his ordeal. Y/N stayed by his side, watching over him and making sure he was comfortable. She knew that Cody was going to need someone helping him because he was always a little reckless but she was determined to be there for him.

[snippychicke]

Deal with the Devil Part Three!

Again, tumblr mobile.makes formtting a bit challenging, so I will spruce if up later on. For now enjoy the fluff, and hint of spice!

I did mention Iruma is a few years younger in this than in the anime/manga, right?

Near

You woke up early, only briefly disoriented to the much larger room than your own.

Despite not sleeping in your own home, your own bed, you surprisingly slept well. Back on Earth, you had always had trouble sleeping anywhere but home, but… the manor felt just as safe and familiar as your cottage.

And either the imps or Opera had somehow not only washed and dried your clothes from the day before, but had also set out a wide array of clothes that weren't from your home, yet looked like they would fit you as well as your style. You had a feeling Sullivan might have had a hand in it as well, though instead of the worry and guilt that usually nagged you anytime the demon lord tried to shower you with gifts, you felt… touched. Someone had taken note of your preferences and built a whole wardrobe from it.

Once dressed, you were anxious to check on Iruma. You had encouraged him to find you if needed through the night, and honestly had expected him to wake you. After all, you could only imagine how traumatizing the last day had been for him.

Yet a peek into the room gifted to the young boy showed him fast asleep, little more than a blue spot amongst the giant plush bed. You leaned against the doorframe, a smile on your face as you watched him sleep. There was something heartwarming in watching him sleep, looking even younger as he cuddled the stuffed animal Sullivan had grabbed from somewhere.

You couldn't help but think about how much Sullivan was going to spoil him. Anything he wanted would soon be his, if the way Sullivan treated you was any indication. And really, you had a feeling Iruma deserved to be spoiled just from talking to him yesterday. How was it that this small boy had quickly wormed his way into your heart in so few hours after meeting?

"My two favorite humans both in one place," Sullivan spoke softly as he appeared behind you, giving you little warning before his arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you against his chest as he rested his chin on the top of your head. "Oh! And look at our little boy! He just looks so adorable!"

You blushed both at his words and his touch. You had offered rather impulsively to assist Sullivan to raise Iruma, though Sullivan had eagerly accepted before you could reconsider. Yet even after having time to consider, you still wanted to. Both for Iruma's sake, and, honestly, to have more reason to be around Sullivan. No longer just a neighbor or a friend. But something… more.

It was how much more you wanted that scared you.

"You're going to be such a great mother," Sullivan continued, his voice becoming lower as he held you a fraction tighter. He cupped your chin and tilted your head to look upwards at him, making you remember acutely how tall and powerful he was as he looked down at you with a smile that wasn't quite as gentle as normal.

A smile that sent thrills shooting down your spine and pool in your lower abdomen. At least you weren’t the only one who wanted more out of this relationship.

Scribbles

You sat on the playroom floor with Iruma, both of you enjoying a break from your attempts to homeschool him and instead took time to draw.

He was too young to attend Babyls, and while there were classes for young demons, you and Sullivan agreed that it would be best at first to help Iruma adjust to his new home before he was surrounded by demons who didn't know his origins.

Or rather, Sullivan happily agreed when you said as much. And who better to explain demon customs than you who had been slowly adjusting to the world for the last few months? Things that might have been overlooked by those overly familiar with this world and not Earth.

Besides, you knew Iruma needed time to adjust to his new life before being thrown into the chaos that was school. To go from being ladened with responsibilities far too large for his wiry shoulders to being allowed to be a child was a large enough change.

Granted, he was handling it well… perhaps a little too well as he agreed to do whatever you offered. As if he was truly unable to say no.

He hadn't shed a tear either that anyone had noticed. And it worried you.

"Ma'am?" Iruma broke the silence after a moment. "May I ask a question?"

"Of course," you smiled. He was so overly polite, even to Sullivan who already had the boy calling him papa. At first it had been a bit stilted and awkward (again, raising concerns about his inability to say no) but had now grown almost natural.

"Papa said you're his special friend, what does that mean exactly?" His question caught you breath, surprising you. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice as he continued to color. "It's just, you two seem so close, but you don't want me to call you mom or anything, so…"

Your stomach twisted as you tried to swallow the sudden lump in your throat. "We are close," you agreed, remembering how Sullivan had begun to flirt with you in honesty. Those once innocent touches now anything but as they lingered. The look in his eyes when he smiled at you had a new kind of glint in them that made your heart flutter.

You yearned for more, to be honest, but were too nervous about taking that next step.

You pushed those thoughts away and focused on the boy. "It's not that I don't want you to call me mom. But, I don't want you to feel indebted to call me anything besides my name. I mean, it's been just a few days since…'' His parents sold him to a literal demon. "...since you came to live here. I know you agreed to Sullivan adopting you, but…"

If he loved his biological parents and missed them, you didn't want to step on that. You were familiar with the notion that children would love parents no matter how badly they were treated.

His blue eyes darkened slightly as he paused. "My parents sold me, you don't need to imply anything else. Honestly, when papa offered to be my dad, I figured he couldn't be any worse.” It about broke your heart to hear the child talk like that, with such lack of feeling, the dark expression in his eyes proving he was already acquainted with the darkness that you had ran from when you had made your own deal.

But as quick as it came, it changed as he smiled, darkness chased away by the happy light in his eyes. “And I was right. He's a lot better than my real dad. And you're like what I wished my mom was like."

Oh, your heart. It felt like it was being crushed to death the same time it was splitting from being so full of love and sympathy. You reached over and touched his cheek, offering him a reassuring smile. "To be honest, I couldn't imagine a child better than you. If you want to call me mom, you certainly can."

“Really, you wouldn’t mind?”

You chuckled as you ruffled his hair. “Of course not. It would be an honor, if anything.”

Later on, Iruma finished and held up his picture proudly, which made your heart skip. A little blue haired stick figure between a much taller purple figure that had to be Sullivan and one that was unmistakable as yourself, with Opera by Sullivan's otherside, and the manor in the background.

You couldn't resist. You pulled the boy into a hug much like Sullivan did, with tears in your eyes. "It's beautiful. Sul… Papa is going to be overjoyed when he sees it."

Crash

Sullivan didn't exactly mean for this to happen. After all, he was the kind of demon to have things planned out, and seducing you slowly had been working splendidly. Watching you grow flustered and acting as if you weren't affected was so amusing and attractive.

But not nearly as attractive as watching you become a mother to Iruma. He wasn't sure exactly what it was about you tending to the young boy that was so alluring, but it was. It made his chest ache in both love and yearning watching you fuss over him. The adoring smile. Reading Iruma a bedtime story before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

He mimicked your gesture, wishing the boy a good night before following you out in the hallway. He wasn't about to say anything regarding the fact you had all but moved into his home, taking a guest room not far from Iruma’s.

And not far from his own either.

"Do I get a goodnight kiss too?" He couldn't help but tease as you reached your door.

He expected you to laugh and wave him off as he tapped his cheek. Not blush and bite your lip, as if honestly thinking about the idea.

Not that he was going to complain. He closed his eyes in giddy anticipation, just imagining what it would be like to have your lips pressed against his skin, if even for a brief moment.

Nothing could have prepared him for you leaning up to cup his cheek, tilting his head just slightly before pressing your lips against his. A long soft press, but it stole his breath away and fanned the fire within him.

After a long moment that was over way too soon, you pulled away with the faintest sigh. His eyes opened to gaze into yours, heart beating rapidly at the expression he saw in them. How they contrasted so beautifully with the darkened color of your face as you blushed.

"Was that okay?" You whispered after another pause.

Was it okay? Devi, it was more than he had hoped for, but at the same time it had caused his chains of self restraint to loosen, waking his hunger.

His smile was more than a little wicked as he stroked your face, taking great delight in watching you react. "Oh, my darling," he crooned softly as he stepped closer, backing you up against the door of your room. "That was more than okay. But you should be careful with a kiss like that, or I may get the wrong idea."

You shivered beneath his touch, swallowing hard. He could see the vein in your next flutter as your heart likely pounded.

He needed to back off. His slow game was paying off, and he couldn't rush you. But you smelled so wonderful, your already delightful human scent mixed with excited arousal. He wanted to bury himself in it, in you.

While he was struggling to control himself, you licked your lips, making them glisten in the light. "And… and what if I'm giving you the right idea?"

Devi and deities, did you realize what you were doing to him by offering yourself like that?

There was no amount of restraint that could keep him from leaning down and chasing the gleam on your lips with his own. You tasted divine, and left his mind spinning in a haze of greed and lust as you leaned into his kiss, willingly opening your mouth to him.

His hands drifted to yours, his fingers lacing between your own as he pinned your hands against the door on either side of your shoulders. Pinned. Caged. But oh so willing. Eager, even, as you returned his kiss and arched into him.

Sullivan groaned against your mouth, his thoughts becoming hazier the more he kissed you. His sweet little human, so accepting of his affection and those soft little noises every time you tried to catch your breath.

He wanted more. Needed more.

A faint noise made Sullivan freeze, his eyes opening and scanning for whoever would interrupt this moment.

Only to see little Iruma, blue eyes wide in surprise before the boy turned and retreated quickly back into his room.

"The joys of having children," you groaned in fond exasperation, confirming you had seen the boy as well.

Having children. He was still overjoyed you had offered to raise the boy with him. His son, your son.

The first of his children with you.

"We should go check on him," you continued after a moment, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his lips, far different from the heated kisses from before.

Sullivan was greedy for all of them. Heated kisses, soft kisses. Little pecks on the cheek.

He had caught you, and he was not going to let you go.

Together

Sullivan was all but hovering behind you as you returned to Iruma's room. Your heart was still pounding in your chest, your face still uncomfortably warm.

Stars, you just meant to give him a quick kiss. To try and give him the same teasing treatment he had been torturing you with these last few days. All those lingering touches, that soft yet husky voice when he was talking to you.

But how could you refute his challenge? The burning desire in his eyes. "Oh, my darling," he crooned softly as he stepped closer, backing you up against the door of your room. "That was more than okay. But you should be careful with a kiss like that, or I may get the wrong idea."

There was no backing down from that. It was virtually an invitation that you could not, would not, refuse.

And you did not regret it in the least bit, even with your body humming with desire as you knocked gently on Iruma's door.

The boy opened it after a moment, those wide blue eyes so innocent.

But also worried.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I… I didn't mean to interrupt."

"There's no need to apologize, my boy," Sullivan reassured as he knelt down. "If anything I should apologize if I scared you, as it was not my intention."

You frowned, wondering what kind of look Sullivan had shot the boy while you had struggled to reign in your breathing.

"Did you want something, dear?" You asked, learning early on to ask Iruma if he wanted something and not if he needed anything. Because at the ripe age of eight, he thought he needed nothing.

The boy blushed and scratched his head nervously. "I just… there was a scary screeching noise from outside and it spooked me. That's all."

Your heart ached, knowing exactly how terrifying the noises were at night in the Netherworld. And yet he was acting as if the whole debacle was him just being silly.

Sullivan reacted before you, picking the boy up and holding him against his hip. "No need to fret, my little Iruma. Papa will protect you, promise."

Oh. To see Sullivan being doting warmed your heart. And Iruma simply melted against him, soaking in the affection and comfort as if starving for it.

Which, unfortunately, he probably was.

You stepped close and brushed his hair reassuringly. "You're safe here," you echoed Sullivan's words softly. "Between papa Sullivan and Opera, nothing will get inside these walls."

"Promise?" Iruma asked softly.

"Absolutely," you assured without hesitation. "But if it would make you feel better, you could stay with me for the night. A little sleep over?"

“You wouldn’t mind if I slept between you and papa?” he asked, making your heart stop. You couldn’t meet Sullivan’s gaze, though you felt it as he watched you intently, waiting to see how you answered.

“Not at all,” you answered almost automatically, distantly wondering why you were saying that and not correcting him. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”

Iruma nodded his head softly, resting it against Sullivan’s chest as he relaxed into the demon’s embrace. He looked so small and young at that moment, making your heart melt. Without even thinking, you looked up at Sullivan. His expression conveyed everything you felt; he cared as deeply as you did for your newly adopted son.

Yet there was a gentle smolder in his eyes as his gaze met yours, assuring you that he hadn’t forgotten earlier events. Yet, right now little Iruma took precedence.

***

Sullivan barely slept that night. Instead, he spent the hours watching you and Iruma sleep, the boy happily nestled amongst the covers between you. For part of the night, you had one arm slung over the boy almost protectively, the other stretched towards Sullivan.

He had taken your hand, relishing in the warmth of it, how small and delicate it was compared to his own.

Everything he wanted was right here at this moment, and he wasn’t going to waste a moment of it sleeping.

[pollenallergie]

Billisms

A couple of Billy Knight headcanons because I woke up two hours before my alarm was set to go off <3

If you love Billy, then you’ve also gotta love puzzles… because boy does that man love puzzles. Loves ‘em, loves ‘em, loves ‘em. Back when Jimmy kept him locked away in various hideouts, Billy really didn’t have much to do with all that time, so he kinda just did whatever he could find around the abandoned homes, buildings, and townhouses Jimmy confined him in. In one particular spot, a place in East Ham, there were heaps of puzzles left behind by the previous tenants. So, naturally, Billy took to solving those puzzles and, eventually, kind of grew to love puzzle-solving. <3

He also loves to knit. He started learning to knit while in the hospital because his therapist had recommended it to him as a way to keep his hands busy (one that doesn’t involve carving designs into wood, since the psychiatric hospital didn’t really have the tools for that). In the end, it proved to be quite effective. Plus, he also likes that it allows him to shower you with gifts, since he’s not usually able to actually buy you anything with his current lack of income. Granted, he can really only knit like three or four basic items: blankets, hats, etc. Not that you mind, you’ll take as many hats as he’s willing to make you. <3

Billy’s currently trying to get really good at knitting so that he can open his own etsy shop or something like that; anything to get him some money so that he can start helping with rent and groceries. Of course, you constantly reassure him that you’re totally fine with him not having a job, that you’re just glad to have him around, but, even so, he’d still like to be able to help you out. <3

Billy’s also astoundingly good at painting, sculpting, and drawing, in addition to wood-carving and knitting. Really, he’s just very creative. In fact, his mum used to call him her “little artist” back before she passed. <3

Billy’s oddly dexterous. In fact, he’s quite literally ambidextrous; which you’re incredibly envious of him for. He’ll often abruptly switch hands when writing just to see you scowl with jealousy, all the while something akin to awe twinkles in your eye. The way Billy sees it, he doesn’t have much going for him (you disagree wholeheartedly) and, therefore, also doesn’t have many ways to impress you. So, if being able to write legibly with both hands is the only thing that he can flaunt, then he’ll do so gladly and frequently. <3

Billy is a frequent bath-haver, he just loves baths, especially when you get in the tub with him. He loves being so close to you, feeling your soft skin against his, the relaxing warmth of the bath water, the vulnerability of partaking in such a private and personal activity with each other, and the domesticity of helping each other wash up. He even loves drying off with you after a bath, the two of you swaddled in your warm, matching bathrobes that your mum got you for christmas. Billy especially loves those times where you and him have at-home spa nights. He loves it when you two give each other facials and manicures (he even likes when you occasionally paint his nails for him, even though he usually has to take it off not long afterwards because you’re a bit sloppy and heavy handed with the nail polish). Billy also loves listening to relaxing music, drinking herbal tea or water with mint leaves in it, and snuggling up on the sofa together as you wait for your timers to go off so that you can wash the goopy masks off your face. <3

Billy hates shopping; the fluorescent lights in the stores make him dizzy, the music and the sounds of people chattering disorient him, and being surrounded by so many people makes him anxious. However, he finds that shopping is much more tolerable when he’s doing it with you. He loves that you let him hold your hand and let him remain close to you, he finds that your touch helps ground him during the overwhelming experience. Billy also finds it oddly reassuring that you hate going shopping almost as much as him and for the exact same reasons he does. Of course, he finds no joy in your mutual suffering, but it’s nice to know that he isn’t the only one who suffers from sensitive shoppers’ syndrome (your name for the fatigue, dizziness, and headache that you both often get while shopping). <3

[thesongweave]

Wake Up, Love (Or, Fight, Part 2)

Thea wakes up from her nearly fatal injuries in the Temple of Shar. Gale is anxious.

Fluff and stuff

Sorry this is a bit later than I planned, I had a lot to do at work, and then I got sick on my weekend off :/

Gale tried reading, studying his times while Alathea lay unconscious on his bedroll nearby. Tried, really, because he could not concentrate on a single written word, just the sound of her breathing.

He sat next to the elf, every now and then murmuring little bits of encouragement, or outright pleas that she wake soon. Gale would take Thea's hand, tracing idle patterns along her fingers, planting kisses on the palm.

The silence only let his mind wander. Would she still be angry when she woke?

A wince made his heart leap to his throat - or had he imagined it? No, there. The bard was finally beginning to stir.

Leaning forward, Gale brushed bits of White-blonde hair from the elfs face. Thea groaned, grimacing in pain.

"Shh, shh. You're safe, love. I've got you." Gale murmured, fingers tracing their way down the side of her face.

On instinct, Thea leaned into the warmth of Gale's touch. Slowly, Alathea did open her eyes, expression disoriented and confused. "Where--?"

"Back at camp. Karlach carried you back." There was regret in his voice - regret he wasn't there to protect his bard from what harm he could. He hadn't been there to watch her back.

Thea's gaze finally managed to focus as she oriented herself. More confusion set in, and worry as she stared at Gale, even as she covered his hand with her own.

"I...I thought you were angry with me." Her throat was dry, so the statement came out as little more than a whisper.

"I know. I am so, so sorry, love. I should not have let you leave angry. I should not have become so angry over something so inconsequential." He flinched, voice full of regret and sorrow. Gale tore his eyes away from Thea, fearing how she would look at him.

Instead of anger or rejection, he felt a small squeeze of his fingers, then a tug. With some hesitation, he forced himself to turn back.

The elf, though weak and in pain, smiled softly, if a bit sadly. "The fault is mine, too. I let this place get to me, and I lashed out. I should not have done that to you, Gale. You did not deserve that. I am sorry." As she spoke, Thea tried to push herself up to a sitting position. Gale was quick to help, easing her upwards so as to not aggravate her injuries any further.

"Gods..." his voice caught in his throat - Gale wrapped his arms around Thea, pulling the elf to him, "when the others came back with you in Karlachs arms, you were...hells, you were so still. I thought I had lost you. Healing wasn't working, not at first. And all I could think of was that we had argued, and..." he trailed off, burying his face in her hair.

Thea felt tears prick at her eyes, fingers digging into the fabric of her lovers shirt. She nuzzled against Gale's chest, eyes squeezing shut.

Gale took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly, his fingers idly carding through the elfs hair. Some of it was sticky in patches - blood, no doubt. Unfortunately, there was not much way to wash it down here...

"Gale?"

"Hm?"

Thea pulled away just enough to be able to look up at the wizard. "Are you going to be all right...?"

Gale let out a huff, mixed with something if a laugh. "I should be the one asking you that." He brought a hand up to brush his fingers across Thea's jawline. "I will be all right. Better, now that you're awake."

Thea nodded, tilting her head to press against his hand.

"Gale?"

"Yes, love?"

"....I'm hungry."

The wizard let out a chuckle, smiling. "I'll see what I can get you."

~Fin~

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

Happyapie's 2023 Sicktember Master List:

Lack of Self-Care G

With Pepper out of the country and a plethora of projects requiring his attention, Tony fails to participate in any kind of self-care. As a result, he’s overcome by a pounding headache. At some point, Peter shows up with a guilt-inducing look of harried concern.

- Hopelessly Bad at Self-Care - Pounding Headache

Don't Come Crying to Me G

In a moment of exasperation, Tony says to Peter ‘Don’t come crying to me when you get sick’. Peter takes the instructions to heart and a few months later when Tony invites him to help with a mission, he decides to keep the fact he woke up feeling awful under wraps. That goes just about as well as you would expect

- Hiding an Illness - “Wear Your Coat, You’ll Catch a Cold”

For a Friend T

Peter finds out Bucky is sick and spends his weekend at the Tower balancing between spending time with Tony and making sure his friend is taking care of himself. When it’s time for Peter to go home, he asks Tony to keep looking after Bucky. Reluctantly, Tony agrees... Of course, Peter can't stay away for long.

- “You’re a Jerk When You’re Sick” - ‘‘I shouldn’t be worried about you, but for some reason, I am’’ - Coughing Fit

Heat Below the Rubble G

Peter has a fever. And a night terror. All while asleep on the couch in Tony's lab. As Peter talks in his sleep, Tony finds out all about the fight with The vulture and the building that Peter was temporarily trapped beneath.

- Persistent Fever - Confused/Disoriented

Ned Leeds' Beginner's Guide to Faking Sick G

Peter really, really REALLY doesn't want to go on the scheduled class field trip. Ned doesn't understand why. But being the good friend that he is, Ned supports Peter's decision to be weird about it. And provides him with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to faking sick. And well- things don't exactly go as planned...

- Beginner's Guide to Faking Sick - Anxious Stomach

AutoCorrect: Teen to Todd G

While staying with Tony, Peter comes down with a common cold. Unsure of how to help with the situation, Tony turns to the internet.

Casually, he typed into his phone’s search bar, ‘How to take care of a sick teenager.’ Although the devices autocorrect, promptly updated the search to ‘How to take care of a sick toddler.’ After noticing the unwarranted correction, he looked thoughtfully at Peter. The kid was lying pathetically across the couch, staring vacantly at some weird-looking cartoon on the television. Suddenly, the new search terms didn’t feel all that far off and he thought to himself, ‘Eh. Close enough.’

- Consulting the Internet/Web MD - Forehead Kisses

Face First(aid) T

While out on patrol, Peter decided he might not be feeling all that well. Eventually he decides to swing home but his stomach is iffy, his body aches and his brain is a bit sluggish. As a result he ends up slamming face first into a billboard, creating an explosion of pain around his nose. His AI was quick to alert Mr. Stark and bring up an ETA countdown in the corner of his HUD. He can’t decide if he was annoyed or relieved.

“Hey, Kid. Does your face hurt?”

- Sick and Injured - "I could Really Use a Hug Right About Now"

Signs of Sickness G

Peter wakes up one morning feeling tired and achy. He doesn’t think too much of it until his stomach starts to hurt on the way home from school. He tries to tell Tony he doesn't feel good but after dropping his phone there’s a language barrier larger than he knows how to fill in such a harried state. But everything ends up okay. Tony and Pepper are there for him.

- Sick in an Inconvenient Place. - Terms of Endearment/Nicknames

Happy to Stay G

Tony has been out of the county, and Happy has been tasked with making sure Peter is there to greet him when he gets back. Only Happy wasn’t really expecting the kid to be sick when he picked him up from school. Nor was he expecting to have to coax said kid into admitting it. But there he was, suddenly in charge of taking care of his superhero boss’s sick superhero pseudo son. [Happy's pov!]

- "What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?" - “Did you just sneeze?” - “The only place we’re going is to the pharmacy”

On Edge T

When Peter heads out on Patrol feeling overly exhausted and a little under the weather, May asks Tony to keep an eye on him. Tony happily takes on the task and everything is going perfectly well. Until the Spider-Suit’s GPS stalls right in the middle of the Queensboro Bridge and Tony decides his best course of action is to, well- panic. Even if it isn’t necessary.

- “I should have stayed home” - “I’m so sorry”

These are all a part of the 25 fic series,  Sicktember 2021-2023

[haunted-xander]

The moment Hajime walked into the restaurant, chaos broke out. The first thing Chiaki could register was Kazuichi's shrill scream of joy that tappered off into anxious stuttering. His finger kept shaking as he pointed at Hajime, all while unsuccessfully trying to get a word out of his clattering mouth.

The other's in the room had been alerted by his scream, and all stared at Hajime and Chiaki standing at the top of the stairs. After a few seconds passed of Kazuichi stuttering, Fuyuhiko took a step forward and asked the question on everyone's minds, "...Hey, it's Hinata, right? Not Kamukura? You've got the hair but your postures all tense and shit. Not Kamukura-like at all. I'm right, aren't I?"

Hajime let out a relieved sigh and smiled warmly. "Yeah... it's me. I'm... Hajime Hinata. Nice to meet you all, for real this time." Right as he finished talking, Akane let out a happy shout and ran at him, grabbing him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "Aha! I knew it! There's no way Hinata wouldn't come back, I kept tellin' them but they wouldn't stop whining! Souda cried like a baby the whole damn time, hahaha!"

"H-hey! I didn't cry like a baby! And I had every right to be worried, there was no way for us to know if he'd still be Hinata when he woke up!"

"Yeah yeah, sure. Whatever ya say lil' guy!"

"I'm not little! I'm only 4cm shorter than you!"

"What are you talking about? I was talkin' about how weak an' skinny you are, ya got no muscle!"

"Just because I'm not an athlete like you or Nidai doesn't mean I have no muscle! I lug around metal parts all day, you got any idea how heavy those things are!?"

Chiaki smiled as she tuned out Kazuichi and Akane's bickering, happy they still managed to be so casual with each other despite everything. She turned to Sonia, who had been silently watching with a gentle smile from further back. They made eye contact and Sonia stepped closer. "I am glad to finally see you awake, Hinata-san. We have all been rather worried for you, since you took such a long time to awaken. Nanami-san in particular has been slaving over your pod restlessly as she awaited your return."

"I'm glad to be back. I... kinda figured Nanami had been watching over me a lot. She was already there when I woke up, and the relief on her face was so deep it was clear she'd been worried sick, it'd make sense for her to have kept a close eye." As he explained his analysis, Hajime's voice gained a more factual tone, like he was reading off a textbook. "...Uh, well... That's why I assumed, I mean. ...Sorry, I'm... kind of a mess right now."

"Oh, yes of course! None of us were in our best states upon waking up, it is only natural you would be disoriented and vulnerable as well. ...I imagine it to be more difficult for you due to how much has changed for you. If there is any way I can assist, please do not hesitate to ask! We are all friends, so I, as well as the rest of us, will be there to support you in whichever way you need." Sonia's voice was gentle but firm, her words genuine.

Hearing the care and kindess behind her words, Hajime smiled. "...Yeah, thanks. I'll be sure to keep it in mind. It's a lot to deal with." The others all quieted down and listened to his words carefully. "...My head feels like it's all over the place. Of course, there's everything that comes from having all those talents crammed into my brain, but also... a whole lot of memories flooding in, both new and old." His voice gradually got quieter as it began to waver. "When I underwent the procedures for the Hope Cultivation Plan, the first thing they did was remove all my memories of 'Hajime Hinata'. If I had to guess a reason, it was to prevent me from changing my mind and trying to escape, or sell them out after the procedures were done. ...I was empty. And only got emptier as they removed more and more of what made me... 'me'. My hobbies, my preferences, my emotions, my... personality. They took it all."

He let out a humorless laugh. "The only thing they couldn't remove was my curiousity. Even before I became 'Kamukura', I was the kinda guy who hated being bored, hated when things were the same as always, basic, normal, simple. Never really liked it. I just didn't go as far for entertainment as I did as 'Kamukura'."

"Wait wait wait, so you mean that whole 'thrill seeker' stuff was ALWAYS there!? Just, like, hidden...? W-what kinda stuff did you get up to!?"

"Shut the fuck up, Souda! He's not done yet."

"Sorry, sorry!"

Ignoring the sudden outburst, Hajime continued, "...I keep talking as if Kamukura is some old thing of the past, but that's not really the case. He's still... I'M still Kamukura. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe." He put his hands to his head and rubbed his temple. "Ugh. Sorry. It's hard to explain. I'm Hajime Hinata, but I'm... also Izuru Kamukura. Kinda. The part of me that was 'Kamukura' isn't gone or amything, just. Reticent? Weak? ...Not as present as the part that's 'Hinata'. But still there, sorta?"

Kazuichi and Akane both scratched their heads, not really understanding what he's talking about. "So, like, you've got two people in your brain now...? Is that what you mean...? Like a split personality deal or something?" The mechanic hesistantly posed his hypothesis as a question. "...No, not a split personality. 'Kamukura' isn't a seperate entity or consciousness from me. He's just... Ugh. I can't explain it. I'm tired. Let me eat something and maybe my brain will work enough. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully."

"Oh, of course! You just woke up, you must be starving! C'mon Hinata, time to eat 'til ya burst!" Akane dragged him further into the restaurant, forced him to sit in one of the chairs and ran off to the kitchen to presumably grab whatever food she could find and throw it on the table in front of him.

"...I'm happy to see you finally up, Hinata-kun." Chiaki hadn't noticed Makoto in the room until he spoke up. It seemed the others had completely forgotten about him -as well as Kyoko and Byakuya who were sitting besides him- too. "Ah, Naegi, I didn't notice you. ...Thanks?" Hajime was awkward as he tried to talk to Makoto, not really knowing what to say.

"Ah, that reminds me, we actually have some important stuff to talk with everyone about. Perfect timing for you to wake up just in time!" Makoto looked nervous but tried to keep his spirits up. "Let's wait until we've all finished eating first, then we'll talk."

"Sure, sounds good. Hope this important stuff doesn't require me to use my brain though because I don't think I'm in the state for that just yet."

"Haha, don't worry! It's nothing like that, you don't need to do a lot of deep thinking or anything. You just... need to make a decision, is all." At his explaination, everyone currently in the room went tense. "...A decision? What... kind of decision? Is something going on? ...Is it the Future Foundation? Did they... catch on?" Chiaki had distantly been worried about the rest of the Future Foundation getting involved in all this, but had pushed it aside for more pressing matters.

At her words, Makoto softened up a bit. "No no, it's not the Future Foundation... or well, it kinda is, but not in a way that you guys should be worried about or anything! They're not coming to this island or anything like that, don't worry! It's just... um... I-I'll explain when we talk it over properly, okay?" He stammered nervously, trying to dispell any doubts they had.

"...Okay, well, I'm hungry. I'm gonna eat." And with that, everyone started up easy conversations as they ate.

Makoto explained to them that he, Kyoko and Byakuya would soon have to return to Future Foundation headquarters to undergo a questioning from the leader. As expected, their plan had eventually leaked to the rest of the organisation and they now had to deal with the consequences.

"...But, before we leave, there's something we need you to decide. It's about those who didn't survive the Killing School Trip... those who are still sleeping in the pod room. ...What will you do about them?" Makoto's voice was unsettlingly steady as he asked the dreaded question.

"'What will we do'? We're gonna wake them all up, of course! They're all still alive, right? Then all we gotta do is make 'em wake up like we did!" Akane's voice was loud and boisterous as she raised her fists and slammed them together. "Or what, you don't think we can do it!? You were the one's who said there was a chance, right!? There's no way in hell I'm just gonna give up without even tryin'!" Her tone made it clear she was offended at the mere thought of them giving up on their sleeping friends.

"And how, exactly, do you plan to achieve that?" Byakuya's arrogant voice cut her off.

"Huh? Well, obviously we just gotta..."

"Hmph. As I thought. You have no plan whatsoever, do you? How foolish. You don't exactly have unlimited resources, you know. You can't afford to just let them stay on life support forever. At some point, you'll have to give up, regardless of how much you wish to see them again. Do you understand? Even if you try to wake them up, there's no guarantee anyone will, let alone ALL of them." His words were cutting and uncomfortable, but was nothing but facts they would have to face eventually.

"...I can't speak for everyone here, but... I think it's worth the risk. If there's a chance, even a small one, of seeing our friends again... Then we'll take it. Even if no one wakes up... or only some of them make it... then that's okay. I'll feel better knowing I tried. The others probably feel the same too." Chiaki had already thought about all the possibilities ten times over, and was prepared for whatever laid ahead. She'd be upset if it all ended up being for nothing of course, but she'd rather try than giving up before even starting.

At the very least, she's not alone now.

"Y-yeah! There's no way we'd just give up like that! What kinda friends would we be if we just let them die like that!?"

"I agree with Nanami-san and Souda-san! To give up on our dear friends without even trying would be an insult to their sacrifices! It is because of them that we are all able to move one, to live as we are, here and now! I would never slight their lives by giving in to helplessness and despair! Tanaka-san would never forgive me for treating everyones existences so crudely!"

"I want to see Peko again... The entire reason I was able to live on and not give in to despair was because of her... If there's a chance I could get her back, you bet your ass I'm gonna take it! Like hell I'm gonna let Peko stay dead without doing anything!"

"...I won't lose anyone else. As long as there's a chance of getting my friends back, then that's all I need. I won't stop until everyone is awake. We made this future together, so I'll make sure we all get to live it. No matter what, I will get everyone back. You have my word."

Everyone's resolve was solid, with no room to budge. Their friends, classmates, companions. They will get them back, no matter what. "...Heh, looks like we didn't need to worry after all. I had a feeling you wouldn't give up so easily. You didn't get her by taking the easy route, now did you?" Kyoko smiled at their response, clearly pleased with the outcome. "We'll leave the comatosed patients in your care, then. Do make sure to keep an eye on their health when they wake up, though. As you surely already know, many of them weren't exactly... kind to their own bodies during their time as Ultimate Despair."

"'When'? You say that as if them waking up is a foregone conclusion." Ever the mood-killer, Byakuya huffed in annoyance and picked at Kyoko's word choice. "Yes, 'when'. I believe in Hinata-kun and everyone's ability to awaken their comatosed friends. They've already made a miracle happen, what's another one? You could stand to be a bit more optimistic, Togami-kun."

"Hmph. I think you've spent a bit too much time with Naegi. He's rubbing off on you."

"Heh, maybe so. But is that such a bad thing?"

"Are you actually asking for my opinion, or do you just want to voice your own thoughts out loud?"

"Um, guys? You do remember I'm here too, right? I can hear you, you know..." Makoto tried to butt in on their bickering, but was promptly ignored in favour of Kyoko and Byakuya continuing to take jabs at each other. Chiaki couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Seeing them so casual and friendly was new to her, and was incredibly warming to see.

Unfortunately, she had a pressing question in mind. "...Sorry to ruin the fun mood, but... when are you guys leaving? You need to get to HQ as soon as possible, right? So shouldn't you prepare for departure soon?" At the reminded of their situation, Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya swiftly straightened back up. "Ah, yeah about that... We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"TOMORROW MORNING!? That's way too soon! Why didn't you tell us earlier!? I'm not mentally prepared!"

"Oh my god Souda SHUT THE FUCK UP! They probably just got the damn order today and was told to rush their asses back to base ASAP. It's a damn questioning, you think the boss cares about us get prepared!?"

"But still, it is rather soon... Are you sure you are all ready to depart?"

"Yeah, we're sure. We were already planning on leaving sometime soon, so it wasn't a lot we needed to get ready left..." Lightly scratching his cheek, Makoto answered sheepishly and let out an awkward laugh.

Looks like tomorrow would be a busy day.

[winemom-culture]

Hmm. I put my phone down and closed my eyes starting to feel kinda weird and anxious and finally drifted off when our dog went nuts because I guess my little brother came in for the night and after roughly 20 minutes of sleep I can confidently say I woke up feeling much more weird and disoriented so. That’s fun for me

[batrogers]

sleepy prompt: 16

[About 600 words, brief mention of food/nausea. Unspecified trauma, although the exact events referenced are in this fic here. Mind the tags!]

[Also on AO3]

It was obvious when Engie had a nightmare in their tent.

Normally Smith was the cuddly one in their group, although more nights than most Link wound up with each pressed to either side. Normally, though, Engie slept with a kind of loose-limbed carelessness and Smith was more likely to be the one who woke up with his face pressed into Link’s side.

When it was Engie doing it, Link could guess why. He politely ignored it most of the day, even as he couldn’t help but notice the symptoms linger: he was disoriented, and disinterested in food and most other things. He didn’t vanish; he tried to act normal, talking to Hateno and Smith, checking on Skyloft and Four, and Ordon’s recent injury.

Because of that, they were camped for the day and that seemed to send him into some kind of anxious spiral. It got bad enough, eventually Link asked Ordon for some food and went to sit at Engie’s side.

The other man turned, startled badly and only noticed the food in Link’s hands a long few seconds later. Link didn’t have to speak to get his point across.

Unfortunately, as he’d figured, Engie only managed a few bites before he pushed it back into his hands and fled the camp.

Ordon waved for his attention and signed, “Is he ill?”

“No. It’s fine,” Link waved it off and gave the food back to Ordon. “I can handle it.”

He wasn’t hungry anymore, either.

Night came like a curse. Engie had avoided the group since he fled eating, and only reluctantly came back to their tent that night. He sat at the door of the tent, staring at the low fire despite it not being his watch. Kokiri and Ordon had that covered; Link had begged off watch for himself and Engie. He’d tried to settle himself, writing in his journal, but that could only occupy him so long. They only had so many lights.

He’d debated asking Hateno for one of the flowers, and still might but first he set aside his writing and brought the candle in its holder to sit between him and Engie at the tent door.

Engie turned to look at him and pulled his knees up to his chest.

Link waited. There was little he could say that Engie hadn’t, once, said to him too.

There was nothing to say that Engie didn’t already know.

The nightmares would come back. Link knew he’d have his own, simply from knowing exactly which one Engie had had the night before. He’d been the one who saved him.

(A long time ago, he’d blamed himself for what happened, too.)

(He’d blamed himself because it happened because of him.)

“I’m fine,” Engie signed.

“We need to move on tomorrow,” Link retorted. “You have to at least lay down for a little while.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Would it help if we had light in here?”

To his surprise, Engie shook his head first, then stopped. “...could Hateno join us?”

Link hesitated. He didn’t enjoy others in his space, but he knew Engie needed him to be okay when he was like this. If a new person would help... (Smith was too familiar; he knew Engie had met Smith before it happened even if he hadn’t.)

He wanted Engie to sleep. And if Engie slept, maybe his dreams would be easier too.

“Let me let Kokiri know, first.”

If the other man had a problem with it, he could always sleep by the fire tonight... but Kokiri worried about Engie, too.

[jellogram]

I've alluded to my zzzquil DPH trip before but I realized I've never actually told the story. Since I can't sleep rn it seems like a good time to write it up. I'll break it up with a readmore because it's a bit long but hopefully you can enjoy laughing at me.

So here is a great story to describe my teenager stupidity + what it's actually like to trip on DPH (benadryl).

First there's three things you have to know about me:

I have chronic lifelong insomnia

I have a panic disorder that is often triggered by interruptions in my sleep schedule

I have zero impulse control

So the trouble begins when I have to get up at 7am for a literature final my freshman year of college. I was regularly sleeping til 1pm at the time. I'm not nervous for the test, but I'm FREAKING out about the wakeup time. I cannot describe how miserable I felt all week, but if you have an anxiety disorder you understand the dread.

But my campus market sells zzzquil! I can just knock myself unconscious! This is a fantastic idea that definitely won't backfire!

Get the bottle. It's bedtime. I take a dose. Hmmm, that didn't seem like enough. Take another dose. No no no, I can still hear myself think. Just chug it, it's fine. I had that little voice in my head that always yells at me when I'm doing some dumb shit, but as usual, I was too swept up in the impulse to listen. I simply did not want to be conscious for another moment longer.

I drank about half the bottle within one minute.

Look at the bottle. It's more than half gone. Immediately the anxiety takes over from the impulsiveness. I weighed about 90 pounds. Would this... kill me? Suddenly I am realizing how badly I don't want to die. I'm hyperventilating. I feel like I'm underwater. What do I do?

I go on reddit and quora and webmd. This is where I learn for the first time that a) people take this drug, DPH, recreationally and b) those people are considered freaks by the greater drug community because of how bad the high is.

Five seconds later I'm in the bathroom trying to make myself puke but it's not working. We've got to ride this out. I'm getting drowsy and it's drowning out the panic attacks, so maybe I'll just sleep through the trip.

And folks, that is when I entered the mirror dimension.

I slept fine for an hour or two. But when I woke up, I was no longer on earth. I was in purgatory. It's impossible to describe. Everything felt wrong and scary in ways I can't convey with words. It was like a nightmare. I felt like I was moving through jell-o. I could hear crowds of people whispering around me. I didn't visually hallucinate, but it was just this incredible uncanny feeling that I was in the wrong place. Like I'd been sucked from my world and dropped into a nearly identical one.

I went into the living room and curled up on the couch and I felt like I weighed a thousand pounds. I could hear busy street noise outside but I knew this wasn't real. People kept whispering. I just knew something was very very wrong, but I was too sedated to be anxious about it. So I just waited it out, shaking and confused on the couch, in the dark, listening to the shadow people talk shit about me.

Finally, the sun came up and the evil wrong feeling started to dissipate and I started to feel less high, but it's not like you just shake off an experience like that. My alarm went off. Time to go take a literature final I guess.

I walk to the test like a zombie. The girl next to me asks if I'm ready for the exam. I grumble. "Haha, not a morning person?" she jokes. "Not really," I say.

What am I supposed to say? I just spent the last 8 hours in purgatory because I'm a fucking idiot and I chugged half a bottle of sleep medication without thinking? Because I couldn't stand the anxiety of *looks at smudged writing on hand* having to wake up at 7am?

You can't just tell that to a stranger, not when you're too disoriented to even begin to answer questions.

I took my final, which involved long form essays about books I hadn't read because, as well established here, I was not a functioning human. So I bullshitted the entire thing. I was still high enough that I wasn't sure I was even awake at the moment. I could not have recollected a single thing I wrote. I walked out of that class feeling relief that it was over, anxiety about failing, and most of all embarrassment that I had even created this situation for myself.

I got an A.