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igotanidea · 1 year

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Not like them : Nikolai Lantsov x reader

idea/requests by @sublimepenguinpeach-blog : Reader is friends with Alina, met with Nikolai, who is smitten with her, but she reject al his advances since he remind her too much of the men who sexually harassed her in the past. But when reader starts flirting with Tolya, the price just could not hold it anymore.

I changed some things so they would fit the story better, but hope you'll like it :)

***

„You know he’s harmless, right? Just a bit too cocky and self-confident, but apart from that….” Alina started, taking a seat next to her friend on Volkvolny

“I know.” Y/N cut her off before the sun summoner could even finish the sentence “but those are men like him who …..” her voice broke a little.

“I’m sorry.” Alina looked down. “I never meant to remind you of the past.”

“Not your fault.” The other girl sighed deeply and looked at the ocean.

Back in the days, before she met Alina, she had her fair share of traumatic events. As if it wasn’t hard enough to be born into an esteemed Grisha family and yet, also being the only one who held no powers. Zero. Zip. Nada. Unless you count her social awkwardness and a bit of quirkiness.

And that…. well, it led to some complications, to say the least. Although no one ever said that straight to her face, she was a black sheep of the family and it was showing in every gesture, every word and every action taken towards her. She was treated condescendingly, humiliatingly and blamed for so many things that were simply beyond her control ….

One day she just couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. Made a mess. Screamed at the top of her lungs. The quiet girl who was taking all the tease became a snarky, snappy, sarcastic and quick to respond woman.

Oh, if that girl ever held any power she would be an Inferni, no doubt about it. She just seemed to have an answer for everything, was not afraid and that blunt, big mouth caused her some trouble. Let’s just say that her father did not like the attitude. Despite her being ordinary, from that day she was practically forced to participate in a straight-regime training wish Grisha just to punish and humiliate her. And her inadequacy was quickly noticed by some of the guys there.

And used.

One night after particularly extreme practice, when she was walking home alone, tired, exhausted and barely moving her legs three of them laid out for her, grabbed her from behind and dragged her into the nearest empty house on the roadside.

“Get the fuck off me!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, squirming against the tight grip, but she was too small and too weak to fight against her oppressors. “I will not…..”

“Will you just shut up?” one of the boys said, tightening the grip on her. “You were asking for it from the moment you showed up amongst us. You don’t belong here. You’re not a Grisha.”

“Well you don’t deserve that position either!” she spat and that got her a slap on the face. Oh, that boy was surely not holding back his strength. “Fuck you!” she screamed

“I think opposite.” He smirked taking a step forward “wonder if you’ll act the same when we are done with you. What do you think, gentlemen? Shall we draw lots who would be the first to play with her?”

Shit. She had to do something. Anything. But how could she possibly fight against three grown-up men? She was turning her head around frantically, using the fact that at this point her capturers started quarreling about the order of ……

And their absent-mindedness gave her a bit of leverage when she quickly wriggled herself free and started running as fast as she could. She might have been smaller but it also made her faster and due to some miracle she managed to escape. That was a relief, but her frantically beating heart, disheveled hair, torn coat and dirt on her knees was not something her parents accepted. They were disgusted by her outlook. And of course, she could never tell them what really (almost) happened. They would never believe her. Instead, she took her punishment, throwing some sarcastic comments, clenched her jaw and tried to move forward.

But the trauma stayed.

And those men got away with everything, and even worse – from that fateful evening started to harass her even more. Verbally. Throwing dirty jokes about her body, grabbing her while passing and making efforts to get her alone again, claiming that this was what she wanted.

And she snapped again. Causing a scandal, since after all she was a “no one” who dared to attack Grisha.

Since there was no one who could help her, she just escaped her hometown and were on the run since then.

And that was how she met Alina and Mal, who were probably the first people to accept her fully, never judge her and become her friends for good and for bad. They knew each other for a couple years now and there was nothing that these three wouldn’t do for each other.

Hunting for the seawhip amplifier included. And dealing with one, stupidly annoying price Nikolai Lanstov.

Y/N did not like him from the very beginning. Of course, he was annoyingly handsome with that infuriating smile and contagious laugh, with those shiny eyes that seemed to sparkle even more when he was at sea and his unruly, thick, curly hair.

But his attitude?

Just like Alina said. Cocky. Arrogant. Conceited. Sarcastic and so full of himself. This reminded her of those men from her past. And it was not a good memory. Therefore for the last weeks she has been avoiding him like a plague, trying to shield herself from the trip down memory lane. And both Mal and Alina supported her in this, while knowing where it came from. And they were never going to tell her secret.

The rest of the crew however, did not understand a thing. Especially Tamar and Tolya. They were a bit surprised that someone could have so much irony and power to make their friend Nikolai speechless. She was probably the only girl who could begin to compare with Nikolai in the field of hiding true feelings and using irony as a defense, a shield. And that boy just loved to spite her.

And speaking of the devil…..

“Are you ladies enjoying the view?” upon hearing Sturmhond voice Y/N just rolled her eyes.

“Be nice.” Alina hissed turning around towards the prince.

“nice. sure. It’s not like you were the one to punch him the second we found out his true identity.” Y/N spat back

“That was only because you are slower than me…”

“It’s not like we are on vacation.” Y/N spit before Alina managed to stop her “In case you forgot, tsarevich.”

“Not with you to remind me. You should relax a bit, sunshine.” Nikolai smirked with that characteristic face expression that made Y/N clench her fists. He was just so freaking annoying. “And since you two are clearly gossiping here, may I ask who is the subject of those gossips?”

“What makes you think it was a person?” Y/N crossed arms over her chest, eying Nikolai with the most stern expression she could produce.

“Call it instincts. So?”

“No one you would know.”

“Really? Wanna bet I can find out who’s the lucky guy? I got resources to do that.”

“Saints! Only you can start bragging out of nowhere.” The hell Y/N was going to listen to Alina’s advice to be nice.

“That’s just a casual reminder that nothing can hide from me. And definitely not that blush on you face Y/N.”

“I am not…..”

“Oh, you are. Is it because of me Y/N?”

“Pffff.” She scoffed and blew a raspberry. The fact was she was blushing, but the person who caused it was yet to approach them.

Tolya.

Even since she met him on the deck of Volkvolny he sparked something in her. Despite all her bad experiences and deeply hidden disgust and fright of men.

He was just different.

Y/n never knew a man who would recite poetry and be so … openly caring and romantic and courting and protective and ….

To say the least, she was a bit smitten by him.

Or maybe she was just deflecting.

But it was hard to hide that Tolya’s appearance immediately put a smile on her face.

“Are you ladies enjoying the trip?” he absentmindedly asked the exact same question as Nikolai

“I always enjoyed being in the open.” Y/N looked at him with glistening, bright eyes. Her answer, so different than before, got Nikolai pop his eyes and open his mouth wide. “Cat got your tongue, Nikolai?” she laughed lightly and it was his turn to blush. Once again, she got him speechless. And he hated that.

“Yes.” Tolya took a deep breath and closed his eyes a bit “That remind me of…..”

“Oh, no, please, do not recite the poetry again” Tamar chimed in, before her brother could say a word

“Just because you, my dear sister, cannot fully appreciate the beauty of the art, doesn’t mean that pretty lady Y/N cannot as well.”

“Pretty?” Y/N smirked. “isn’t that a little condescending?”

“It never meant to be.” The Shu man exhaled and his gaze focused on her “did you take it like that?”

“No. I don’t think I did. But still, I bet you tell that to every girl you meet.” She dared

“I haven’t met much girl lately. At least not since you, Y/N.”

“Oh….”

“is it just me or are those two openly flirting with each other?” Alina whispered to Tamar, who were barely holding back a chuckle

“Looks like it.” Tamar gasped “Wonder who’s gonna make the bigger fool of oneself.”

“Nikolai, I think. Just look at his face. Not so reserved anymore.”

“Wait. You don’t seriously think that he might…..”

“I know him longer than you, Alina. I think he does. Just wait and see….”

“I did however, have many adventures and many stories I can entertain you with, Y/N. If you’d like to listen, of course.”

“Of course!” she practically exclaimed “It would be such a relief to listen to someone who can talk about interesting things.”

“Y/N, you mind if I have a quick word with you beforehand?” Nikolai tried his best to act casual, but it was no use.

“Told ya.” Tamar raised an eyebrow at Alina

“Um, yes, I actually do mind” Y/N tilted her head. She just loved to dare Nikolai and push him past his boundaries.

“Too bad. “ he shrugged “I am the captain. You’re on my ship. So you will listen.”

“I am not…..”

“Now.” Nikolai commanded and that harsh attitude took everyone, Y/N included, by surprise. Sturmhond was not exactly known to lose his cool and temper.

***

“What?” Y/N spat the second he closed the door to the cabin. She was not even going to hide how furious she was at him “what on saints was so important that you just couldn’t wait a while?!”

“You.”

“Me?” she frowned “what …..?”

“I don’t understand you.” he sighed “I just don’t. And believe me, I’m trying. ”

“What the…..?” she tried again, but he didn’t let her finish, taking a step forward, making her retrieve until her back hit his desk. The intense look in his eyes made her panic slightly. Saints. She was trapped. Again. With no way to hide. Suddenly her mind took her back to the past, to that barn, reminding her of her oppressors, of the past, of what happened, of how she was alone and hurting and forced to move past her trauma. “No….” her body trembled and she completely lost contact with reality, too immersed in the past “No…. please…. not again.” tears started falling down her cheeks and she sobbed desperately.

“Y/N?” Nikolai voice became alerted in a second, his gaze softening while looking at her, so broken and vulnerable. He had no idea what he did and why she acted like that. “Y/N, what happened? Hey, please, I …..” he hesitated, not sure whether to hug her or not.

“I hate you!” she cried out

“Why?” he sounded broken

“you are just like them!”

“Like who?” this was all just too confusing for him

“Like those guys who tried to …. to…..hurt me” she shook again, hiding her face in hands and trembling again.

“Oh, love….” Now it became painfully clear and Nik could not hold back his instincts anymore, extending his arms and wrapping them around her, pulling her close, letting her cry into his chest, rubbing soothing circles on her back “I’m so sorry.” He whispered “But it’s ok. You’re safe now. No one will hurt you. Not when I’m around. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“How….how can you be like that?” she pulled back slightly, her broken gaze landing on him “How can you be so much like them with your attitude and confidence and smugness and yet, so different? I … I don’t understand it….. I ……”

“Y/N.” he smiled at her, cupping her cheek and rubbing her tears away “Look me in the eyes. Please.” she unwillingly raised her gaze and their orbs met “is that why you have been avoiding me and acting so rough and cruel? Tell me.” Nikolai said softly, not to startle her

“Yes.” She admitted, her voice shaking “that and …..”

“And what?”

“I can’t say it…..”

“Then let me.” he smiled “I fell for you. the second I saw you with your fiery eyes and sparkling eyes. The moment you slapped me down with that bad girl attitude of yours. Saints, Y/N, if I knew about…..”

“You cannot tell anyone about it!” she panicked again, struggling against his hold, but he only held her closer.

“Saints, girl! I’m telling you I love you and you keep projecting. Listen to me. Just listen.” Once again, he cupped her cheek and forced her distracted eyesight on him, the other hand resting on the small of her back. “I love you.” he simply said and somehow she knew he was telling the truth.

“You are not supposed to…..” she tried to object.

“Oh, saints!” Nikolai hissed, now completely drained of patience. He was done talking. Instead he just leaned forward and captured her lips in his. Oh, he wanted to satiate his hunger of having her, but at the same time, founding about her past made him slow down a bit. So instead of devouring her fully, he settled on moving his mouth on her slowly, softly, pouring all his feelings for her into that kiss. Trying to tell her, without using words, that whatever she may have thought about him, he cared. That he wasn’t like them. That he would never hurt her. He would protect her. He wanted her all to himself. And the sight of her flirting with Tolya turned him jealous and possessive. Hoping she would feel all that, conveyed by a kiss.

And the second he touched her, he was gone. The feel of her pressed against him, the fact that he finally, finally cold have her so close, not fighting against him, not spiting and biting and bittering was just too much for the poor boy. Prince, yes, but still, a boy in love, afraid of having his heart broken and scared of rejection, no matter how indifferent he may act.

But the way her hands immediately found a way up his arms and locked on his neck, how she moved slightly towards him, hugging and kissing him back with the same fire as he did, told him that maybe, maybe¸ those feelings were not one-sided. Saints, he could not get enough of the feeling of her lips and skin, the softness of her hair tickling his face, wishing he could just hold her like that forever, but eventually they both had to pull back for air. And when they did, he opened eyes, focusing on her beautiful face. She kept her eyes closed, breathing heavily, trying to contain everything she felt at the moment and processing it.

“Y/N….” he whispered, brushing his lips over her forehead, awaiting any words from her with his heart beating rapidly, almost out of his chest.

“I…. I think I love you too.” She gasped, almost inaudibly, but he heard those words. The most beautiful words he could ever imagine.

“Of course you do. How could you not?” he laughed, but it was different than before. Not conceited or sarcastic, much rather laced with love, care and so much relief that she reciprocated.

“Stop ruining the moment!” she hit his arm, but smiled lightly and he couldn’t help but peck her lips again.

“do you think they know?” he asked, obviously referring to the rest of the crew

“Who cares about them?”

“For once, I can agree with you” he pulled her closer again, the second kiss being more heated and passionate and she did not oppose to being showered in his attention and affection, not holding his desire back.

#nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov fluff #shadow and bone x you #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone fanfiction #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lantsov fic

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random-writing-panda · 1 year

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||•~Old Flames Part 3~•||

Jason Todd (Red Hood) x reader

Warnings: language, alcohol consumption, harassment

Word count: 2.1k

Part 1, Part 2

It’s here part 3! I’ve been so busy with work this week I am absolutely exhausted! I'm so sorry for the wait on this one! I am trying to train myself to find writing a relaxing/de-stress task but I’m not quite there yet so its still taking a bit to get motivated to write. Thank you all so so much for the support and love I’m so excited and happy that people are enjoying my writing. Thank you to all the people who asked to be tagged!

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After your argument with Red Hood you start avoiding Jason like the plague and during this time you get closer with the mysterious stranger at work. Will Jason try to win you back or lose you forever?

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You had been miserable the last week. You were second guessing every decision you had made, had you over reacted? Maybe he would have told you eventually? No, he should have told you as soon as he found you. You couldn’t back down now. If he wanted you in his life he could come back on his hands and knees with some answers, any answers really.

The turmoil inside you was showing on your body in very noticeable ways, dark circles framed your eyes from restless nights, you hadn’t been eating well and your skin looked dull. You truly couldn’t care less about what you looked like you were trying to stay calm over the fact that you had just sent your best friend away, potentially forever, because of a moment of anger, you had to keep reminding yourself you deserved better than his lies, it didn’t make it any easier.

Work was surprisingly the only thing getting you through, at least here you could keep busy, chit chat with the old ladies that came in for their tea and coffee, you could ignore the stabbing feeling in your heart for the hours you were running around the store.

“Well, you look just about as crappy as I feel.” You look up from the benchtop you were wiping down and saw the handsome man from a few weeks ago, you recognised the same gorgeous green eyes, he was right, they looked as tired as yours did.

“Having a rough week?” You let out a small chuckle at his exasperated sigh.

“You have no idea.” He stepped up to the bench leaning against it with his hip.

“Same as last time?”

This made him smile and there was a glint of mischief in his tired eyes, “You remember my order? Already?” He nods, confirmation of his order.

“You are a memorable person.” You shrugged and started brewing his coffee. “You know you still haven’t given me your name, I feel like I’m at a disadvantage!” you teased as your hand moved over your name tag.

“I don’t need that to remember your name darling, you’re quite memorable yourself. Plus, no Name just adds to my mysterious charm don’t you think?”

“Cute.” You look at him with one eyebrow raised. “But a name would be helpful, what am I supposed to put on the cup?” you joke with him almost effortlessly it felt like talking with an old friend it felt natural. It felt right.

“Fine if you need a name so bad,” he smirks, “its Ronaldo Fitzgerald”.

You roll your eyes and turn the cup to him, “Don’t know if that will fit on the cup.”

“mm” He hums in agreement nodding his head, “Well if you want a different name, you could go on a date with me some time.”

Your eyebrows raise and your lip’s part slightly, suddenly your mouth feels a little dry. You ponder his request for a moment, he was attractive enough, from the interactions you’ve had you seemed to get along pretty well. But it was still Gotham, you had to be careful. “Well, my shift finishes in a few minutes, if you stick around we can have some drinks and a little food?” you looked over to the wall, it truly had been great timing, five minutes left.

He smiled, a genuine smile, not a half smile, not his smirk, just a smile. “That sounds perfect darling, I’ll go take a seat.”

He walked over to a table while you had a quick chat with your coworker who was taking over. You quickly pack your belongings into your bag and make your way over to the table.

“I believe you owe me a name Mr..?”

“Oh, but does this count as a date?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“This is more like two friends having afternoon tea, not really romantic.”

“Is this you asking for a second date? Already? Better be careful, might start thinking you like me.” You laugh a little as your coworker places your favourite drink down on the table and you nod and thank them.

“of course, I like you.”

That took you by shock. “Why? You don’t even know me yet.”

“Well, I like what I’ve seen so far, and I’m sure I will like everything else.” There was such sincerity in his eyes it made your heart flutter ever so slightly.

“You said that I look as bad as you feel, what’s happening in your life Mr mysterious?”

He leant back in the chair his arms up resting his head back into his knotted hands. “I kinda did something stupid and really upset a friend of mine…” his tone had an amused cadence to it but his physicality showed something closer to embarrassment, his relaxed posture turning ridged and a slight blush creeping onto his face, his eyes were glued to the ground.

“How badly did you fuck up?” you were curious, intrigued by how similar your situations had turned out to be, sipping your drink you watch him lift his head and press his lips together as they formed a thin line, and he almost pouted at you, he looked like a child being scolded.

“Pretty bad…I think I might have ruined our friendship.” He looked back down to the floor, and you watch him sigh deeply, “It was so stupid too I don’t know why I didn’t just talk to them…”

“Well how long have you been friends?”

“Ah-…that’s…also complicated.” He grimaced.

“You seem like a very complicated man.” A small chuckle escapes you.

“You have no idea. Anyhow, we were friends, honestly more like family since we were little kids but when I got a bit older things got…”

“Complicated?”

You see his body jerk a little and hear a quick exhale as he tried not to laugh. “Yeah, we ended up getting closer again but then I did this stupid thing and I think I lost them…”

“Well, I don’t know what you did but if I were the friend id just want you to apologise and explain the situation.” Were you projecting? Maybe? Was it still good advice? You hoped so.

He ran his finger across the back of his neck and rubbed at it sheepishly. “Yeah, I just haven’t had the guts to face them yet, they were always pretty scary.”

This made you laugh; a full-blown belly laugh that shook your entire body, the man in front of you looked like a body builder, was six feet tall, and was decked out in a leather jacket, everything about him screamed intimidating but here he sat scared to face his friend. You felt a little bad laughing at his expense, but it was all too adorable not too. After a few moments you hear his light chuckles.

“Yeah, I suppose it sounds a little silly.”

“No, no I’m sorry, it’s just, you,” You waved your hands in front of you gesturing at his entire body. “Being scared of someone is hard to imagine. In all seriousness though you should just go talk to them, the longer you wait the worse it will be.”

“Yeah, I know you’re right. Ill talk to them.” He looked at you with those eyes, those gorgeous eyes that reminded you of some lost fondness like remembering a childhood pet, and they were filled with determination.

The two of you spent the better part of an hour chatting before exchanging numbers and parting ways, you were so glad you accepted his offer it was the best date you had been on in a long time. As you looked down at your phone now holding his contact information you realised, he still hadn’t given you his name.

∞∞

After listening about how you mystery man was going to fix his issues with his friend you felt a heaviness overcome you, there were so many emotions mixed inside you, you felt as though you could drown in them, you were angry that he was going to fix his situation but Jason couldn’t come fix yours, you felt so much guilt about being angry but more than anything you were still just sad, you missed Jason perhaps more than when you thought he was dead.

You had to do something to distract yourself, so you made your way to your favourite bar. You are about five drinks in when the bartender pipes up starting to chat with you.

“Anymore and you might drown.” He teased.

“Thatss the point!” you hadn’t realised how tipsy you were getting but your slurred words gave you some clarity, part of you knew you should stop, leave and go back to home to sleep off the emotions but the other part of you won, the part that was filled with emotions and tears and Jason, the part of you that you wanted to drown out.

“Drinking your problems won’t fix em’”.

“No but it’ll make me forget them!” you happily chirped as you took another drink.

The bartender sighed and walked away. You sat at the bar and continued nursing drinks for a few hours and as you walked out of the bar you cursed yourself out, it was hard for you to walk straight and it felt like the sidewalk was spinning like a carousel, you placed a palm on the building next to you and dragged you hand over the cool bricks and cement trying to steady yourself.

You only make it a few blocks when you hear whistles and footsteps, a group of men cross the street, their eyes set on you, you beg your brain to move your feet faster and they do but in your intoxicated state you end up stumbling over your own feet.

“Hey sweetheart what’s a pretty girl like you doin’ out so late?” one of the men shout from behind you and you can hear the others snickering.

You push yourself off the wall and start walking again, the throbbing in your temples was not helping you see straight.

“Hey! it’s not nice to ignore people little lady!” one of the men grabs you shoulder spinning you around to face them.

“I’m..jusst trying to go…home..” you stutter out and try to pull away.

“Why go home when you can have some fun with us darling?” the look on his face was downright malicious.

“Don’t call me that! jusst want to go home…please leave.” You were scared now the throbbing had turned to pounding now and there was so much pressure on your brain you thought your head might explode, this wasn’t safe but there was no way for you to get away from this.

“The lady wants to go home so why don’t you unhand her?” a new voice chimed in, it was one you recognised and as the group of men turned you saw the mystery man from the café, your date.

“How about you keep moving and mind your business, man.” One of the men stepped towards him, ready to, wanting to fight.

“Oh, you really don’t want to do that.” you café date was smirking as he shifted his stance ready to fight.

Before you knew it punches were being thrown and you were tossed to the floor by the man holding you, it didn’t help with the spinning. It was hard for you to focus on the fight all you knew was that the was a lot of cursing and groans, you catch glimpses through you spinning vision and it looks like the group of men were losing, it was incredible, a few were on the floor covered in blood and you watched as your date landed a hit right into one mans jaw, you swear you heard a crunch of broken bones. After an agonising few minutes your date was the last one standing, they had gotten a few hits in, his busted lip and bruises were already prominent as he walked over to you.

“What are you doing here…?” you slurred out as he pulled you up into his arms. “Stalking me…”

“More like saving you.” He softly grabbed you chin and moved you face left and right checking for any injuries. “Did they hurt you?”

You shake your head before you realised how bad of a decision that was the movement sends the world spinning again and you rest your forehead on his chest groaning loudly.

“Okay come on Darling lets get you home, where do you live?” when you didn’t respond he looked down and saw your closed eyes. “Oh god seriously? Fuck, fine come on then.” He groans and pulls you up into his arms as he carries you down the streets one of his arms wrapped around your back and the other tucked under your knees as he pulled you close to his chest.

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

Tag list:

General tag list~ @jasontoddslover

Old Flames tag list~ @just-lost-inbetween-worlds @princessbl0ss0m @batmanunicorns523

#batfam #batfam imagine #batman #batfam fic #batman fic #jason todd x you #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd #red hood x y/n #red hood x you #red hood x reader #red hood

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the-darkness-does-not-bargain · 1 year

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Trials 1:40-44 part 1

Well, here it finally fucking is. Part 1 of the monster that is The Hinterlands ChapterTM . I had to break it into two chapters to prevent both myself and you guys from losing our minds. I’ll post the next part soon when I’m done editing. Part 1 gives everyone some time to shine, but Lilith is a major player, so get hype for that. Link to AO3 as always :) (x)

Having signed your life away to a group of religious fanatics (nice going, Ava, you dumbass), you are immediately put to work. There are 1,001 problems that need to be solved, and most of them seem to be in the Hinterlands. Dora explains in a succinct, tactical way that the area has become the central battleground of the Mage-Templar war. This is because the region is huge, and neither side has the numbers to control it all. The rebel mages have based themselves in Redcliffe with the permission of the Arl and King Alistair, while the Templars have holed up in a fortress called Therinfal Redoubt on the opposite end. Both sides have camps and patrols spread throughout the area, harassing and even killing locals, burning down houses, and disrupting trade.

You are charged with somehow stopping all of it. Or “remedying the situation” as Mother Superion puts it. She bids you to seek out a Revered Mother named Giselle who is supposedly active in the area. Gaining her support will supposedly lend the Inquisition credibility to play nice with the Chantry and get them to maybe not excommunicate you all (not that you care, but everyone else says it would be bad, so you’re outvoted). Additionally, if you can get the rebels and Templars to back the fuck off for even a minute, it will supposedly win you massive public support. That’s a lot of supposedly’s, fuck.

But, you go. Everyone goes, actually. Beatrice makes the excellent point that the Hinterlands are so massive that no one team can possibly handle it all. So, after a day of preparations, you set out on the march with Beatrice, Mary, Lilith, Camila, and Solas in tow. Mother Superion elects to stay behind with Dora to manage things while you’re gone, but she sends a number of scouts and soldiers ahead of you to assess the situation and do reconnaissance until you get there.

You have never marched anywhere before, so this trek is more than a little difficult for you. Lilith scoffs when you get tired easily and Mary teases you when you trip over your own feet, but Beatrice helps you back up each time you stumble, and Camila does her best to boost morale as you go along.

You learn little things about each of them along the way. Camila is a kickass archer babe, but she’s also a really good singer. She makes the long walks go faster by singing an upbeat tune, and when you all camp out for the night, her voice lulls you to sleep after you collapse on your bedroll. Mary performs routine checks on her crossbow, oiling and testing all of its mechanisms before bed each night. She also enjoys wood-carving, taking any moment of sitting down to whip out a half-finished block of wood and work on it. She won’t tell you what it’s going to be, though, insisting that you’ll have to wait and find out. Lilith trains constantly. She’s always swinging at something, hacking apart some foe only she can see. It works for her, clearly, but sometimes after you slow the group down a little too long with how many breaks you need, you think the enemy she’s swinging at is you. Solas is a quiet traveling companion. He will talk, ask questions, and make observations occasionally, but overall he seems content in silence. You can feel him looking at you though, still trying to figure you out, so you avoid him more often than not.

As for Beatrice… Beatrice writes. A lot. She takes notes. On everything. You look over her shoulder one night and find her writing in detail about some fish you saw jumping out of a stream, cataloging their characteristics to determine their edibility. She writes about the weather, she inventories your provisions, and she takes extremely diligent, highly-detailed notes on any combat situations you come across.

(And you have found a few. It’s nothing crazy, but brigands hide along the roads to ambush travelers, and they don’t spare your group despite the obvious Don’t Fuck With Us energy you’re giving off. Fighting people is not the same as fighting demons. It’s harder, both because people are smarter than demons and because people are harder to kill. For you, at least. The others don’t seem to have any qualms about it. In fact, Lilith is partial to mocking you when you hesitate to strike a killing blow. The others just repeat that it will be worse when you actually get to the Hinterlands, like that settles the matter.)

Beatrice writes about all of it. And when she’s not writing, she’s reviewing. You’re starting to get a little worried about her neck with how much time she spends per day slouched over her notebook.

You think she may also be writing about you. It’s just a hunch, but sometimes you catch her looking at you too, not like Solas does, or not exactly like he does. She's also trying to figure you out, but for different reasons (you hope). Mainly, she just seems to be concerned for you, but you’ve definitely seen her reaching for her notebook out of the corner of your eye. Although you are desperate to ask, you keep quiet in present company. Lilith still watches you like you might attack them at any moment. Mary watches you too, with something like sadness in her gaze, or regret, or worry. On a bitter note, you know from listening to her story why she seems so familiar to you, but getting into that is not something you have the energy for right now.

So no, you won’t ask here. Instead, you’ll crack a joke (what do you call a pig that catches the Blight?), make up a pun, or just distract everyone by falling on your face again. Whatever works to make them look at you rather than through you.

At least your Friend treats you the same. You think She may be enjoying this time in the world. You can feel it when She focuses on something, studying it, and you can almost visualize Her looking over your shoulder and taking in the mortal plain, which must be completely bizarre to Her.

And it’s not all bad, really. It's beautiful and exciting, surprising and challenging. You’re getting to do a lot of things you never dreamed of before, like camping (hard to adjust to, but fun), eating hot food (Mary smacks your hand away from messing things up every time she and Camila cook dinner), and using magic again. To your delight, Beatrice agrees to teach you some spells, starting with basic stuff you kind of remember like barrier spells and elemental barrage spells. You ask her to teach you an immolation spell, and she agrees, but only once you reach the Hinterlands where there will be enough space to practice with it. Solas chimes in from time to time with tips and advice of his own, and he even teaches you how to dispel an enemy’s magic and protect your allies from hostile magical effects.

And as he predicted, you also learn more about the power your bond with Hope gives you. You start to recognize the feeling that comes right before you phase through an attack, and you think if you ever get a moment’s peace that you can learn to do it on purpose. You also levitate again, which is terrifying at first. A hulking brute of a guy picks you up at one point and chucks you into the air like a child's ball. You brace yourself for a painful landing only to never hit the ground. Instead, you hover two feet above it, limbs flailing, until you lose focus or something and crash down on your ass. Your bruised tailbone is healed by the time the fight ends.

At one point, you discover something entirely new. While you’re stuck battling a large group, someone jumps out of the brush to ambush you from behind. You don’t hear them sneak up, too distracted pushing another one away from Camila. They almost bury a knife in your shoulder when they are suddenly thrown backward, buffeted by a propulsive wave of energy that makes the trees behind you shake. You spin around to find them lying in a boneless heap on the ground, breathing but unmoving.

“Instinctual defense,” Solas comments, far too casually for how he’s currently grappling with a man twice his size. “Later on, we can try to harness that deliberately.” Let it never be said he isn’t an enthusiastic teacher.

Eventually, you do make it to the Hinterlands, and yes, it is worse. So much worse. You’re shocked by it, and you didn’t think you could be shocked by violence anymore. It’s horrific. The rebels and Templars tear each other apart in the smoke of burning farms while refugees starve and freeze to death in overcrowded camps, hemmed in by threats on all sides. The summary report you receive from Scout Harding doesn’t even scratch the surface.

You find Mother Giselle after cutting a bloody path to the Crossroads refugee camp, and you don’t need her to tell you how dire things are when you arrive. You listen, of course, as she explains the general situation and makes several suggestions for how you can help, even as you begin to fear that your best efforts will barely be a drop in the bucket.

You approach the task at hand via a series of delegations, per Beatrice’s suggestion. The refugees need food and blankets, the camps need watchtowers to guard against approaching threats, and the Inquisition needs horses. There are also Rifts everywhere, spewing out demons in alarming numbers. So, divide and conquer. You send Camila with a group of scouts to hunt for food and pick up supplies, and Lilith agrees to travel with some soldiers to capture several lumber yards for the watchtowers.

You, Mary, Beatrice, and Solas set out to get the horses and close any Rifts you happen to find. The horsemaster, Dennet, initially refuses to help you until you complete another series of tasks for him. You want to tell him to take his horses and fuck off, but Beatrice gently, firmly, reminds you that the Inquisition desperately needs mounts and cannot afford to piss off the man who both provides and trains them. So you go, stopping a pack of demon-controlled wolves and closing a Rift tucked inside a cave. Every time you close a Rift, you feel a little stronger. Not physically (Mary won’t stop calling you a wet noodle) but magically. It’s as if the Mark lets you take some of the Rift’s energy back into yourself, a kind of victor’s prize. It hasn’t had a noticeable impact yet, but you think if you keep closing Rifts, it might pan out somewhere down the line.

After completing all of his requests, Dennet finally agrees to give you horses, so you return to the Crossroads that night feeling pretty accomplished. Camila returns with a similar tale of success, having swept a span of several miles to procure ram’s meat and blankets aplenty. Even Lilith sits down at your cookfire with an air of satisfied smugness, talking proudly of how she reclaimed enough wood for an entire set of watchtowers.

Mother Giselle pulls you aside as your group begins to settle down. “It is exceedingly honorable, what you have done today,” she says, and unlike Duretti, you find her Orlesian accent to be quite pretty. “Where others have stood by, paralyzed by fear or apathy, you have stepped forward to be a light in darkness.”

You blush a little and rub your neck, unsure how to respond to such praise. “I’m just glad we could help,” you settle on.

“You have done more than that,” she asserts. “You have restored a spark of hope in the hearts of the people, a rare accomplishment in these dark times.” As if beckoned, your Friend is at your shoulder, regarding Mother Giselle with a thoughtful hum. “Allow me to speak plainly with you now. I have heard the Chantry’s denouncement, and I am familiar with those behind it. I won’t lie to you. Some of them are merely grandstanding, vying for favor, trying to increase their chances of becoming the next Divine. Others are simply terrified.” Grief twists at her mouth, making her seem far older than she appears. “So many good people, senselessly taken from us. I understand their fear, as it is my own.”

“What happened was awful,” you agree, though it sounds paltry leaving your mouth. “I’d be lying pretty hard if I said I wasn’t afraid too,” you admit quietly.

Giselle nods. “Fear makes us desperate, but hopefully not beyond reason. Go to them. I will send my blessing on the swiftest hawk. Go and convince the remaining clerics you are no demon to be feared.”

You balk at that, shifting nervously from foot to foot. “Yeah, I don’t know that that’s going to work, Mother. They seem pretty convinced already.”

“They have heard only frightful tales of you. Give them something else to believe,” Giselle instructs calmly.

“You really want me to try and appeal to them? ‘Cause I’ve gotta say, I wasn’t really up for having a friendly chat with them before this all started, and I’m definitely not now. No offense.”

“If I thought you were incapable, I would not have suggested it,” she says, almost smiling. “You do not need to convince them all. You just need some of them to doubt. Their power lies in their unity. Take that from them, and you will see that I am right.”

“That’s… actually pretty cunning, Mother.”

You think her eyes might twinkle, but maybe it’s just the firelight. “It never hurts to approach life with prudence and shrewdness, so long as those traits do not give way to pride or cruelty.”

“Thank you,” you say genuinely. And then, because it seems important, you add, “I honestly didn’t expect much when coming here. I didn’t think anyone still in the Chantry would give a mage a fair shake, or a non-believer.”

Mother Giselle considers these words. “I do not know if you have been touched by Fate or were sent to help us, but… I hope. Hope is what we need now. The people will listen to your rallying call. You could build the Inquisition into a force to deliver us, or destroy us. Do not fall prey to pride, my child, nor despair. You may not believe in the Maker, but I hope you will believe in the rightness of your actions today, and make it the core of your cause.” She tucks her hands behind her back, standing tall. “I will send my blessing and then go to Haven to deliver Sister Suzanne the names of those in the Chantry who would be amenable to a gathering.”

You blink in surprise. “Are you able to leave at a time like this?”

She nods certainly. “Thanks to the Inquisition, the people here are in better hands than I alone could provide. I will go now to where my two wrinkled ones can do the most good.”

She leaves you then to return to your campfire, and Beatrice looks up curiously at your return. “What did the Revered Mother have to say?”

“She’s going to Haven,” you explain. “She’s going to help us convince the Chantry to cool it on the denouncement.”

Beatrice also seems surprised by that, but uplifted. “She’ll be a great help. She’s very charismatic, and a persuasive writer.”

“How do you know that?”

Beatrice flushes, realizing her critical error and looking away from you quickly. “She’s written some treatises,” she admits shyly. “And I’ve been present for some of her services.”

“Wait…” You grin widely, seeing an opportunity you can’t pass up. “Are you a fan of hers, Beatrice?”

“I am no such thing!” She scoffs, trying to sound indignant. “I simply hold a deep respect for her good works and her faith.”

“Riiight. You know, I could go talk to her again,” you tease, sidling up next to her. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving me an autograph for you. Unless you want to ask her yourself?”

She gasps adorably, smacking your arm. “You are insufferable!”

“But yoouuu liiike it,” you sing, wiggling your eyebrows and beaming.

She rolls her eyes, declaring “I’m going to bed now,” before promptly turning her back on you and heading to her tent, still blushing.

You just laugh, feeling lighter than you have all day, and saunter off to your tent too.

On your second day in the Hinterlands, you are faced with two significantly more daunting tasks than fetching horses and blankets: 1) closing more Rifts and 2) dealing with the blood-drunk idiots currently setting the forests on fire.

Closing Rifts is fairly straightforward. You find one, kick demon ass, and wave your hand around until they stop appearing. Getting the mages and Templars to cool off and quit slaughtering civilians is not so simple. It quickly becomes apparent that negotiating or reasoning with either side is out of the question. They attack on sight and refuse to back down until dead. No matter who you encounter, you get called some variation of "Templar bastards" or "rebel scum", among other creative curses and slurs, and that simply doesn't work as an opener to productive conversations.

You hoped that the rebels would at least be more hesitant to attack, seeing a trio of their fellow mages among you, but your hopes were dashed, quickly and thoroughly, when one tried to impale you and Beatrice reduced him to char. The Templars are even worse (wow, shocking), and you can tell that Lilith feels just as discouraged as you when she sees them acting like lowlife bandits, robbing houses and stealing wedding rings. She’s not a Templar (Beatrice had briefly explained the difference to you one night as you both watched Lilith obliterate a helpless bush), but it's evident that she had hopes and expectations coming into this that were shot down just as harshly as yours.

(You catch her staring hard at a scrap of paper you find in an abandoned hunter’s camp. Her face is like stone, but she clutches the note so tightly that the fragile paper warps and crinkles irreparably. You watch her throw it on the ground and stalk off without a word to anyone. Only once she’s a safe distance away, you pick it up and find that it’s a shakily written diary entry, doubtless inked by the hunter staying here. It is a stricken account of a skirmish between the Templars and mages where several refugees were caught in the crossfire. The hunter’s horror is apparent in every word, but as you read, you think you identify the passage that drove Lilith away. “A refugee was still burning. His arm went up to a templar. The templar used his sword. It went up and down. Up and down. There were pieces of black.” The worst part, to you, comes right after that, when the hunter recounts the Templar preparing to rape a dying woman, and the very last line leaves you chilled. “I want it to go out of my head please, Maker. I been good, I want it to go out of my head.”)

You have to find the main camps for both sides and clear them out. If nothing else, this will stop the attacks on the locals, but the secondary goal is to be an assertion of the Inquisition's power, a show of force to both sides that says "We're in charge now". This is how Dora frames the situation at least, in a letter that arrives on the eve of the third day. Strictly speaking, you'll be in charge of nothing but Haven and a few refugee camps, but it's the message that counts.

There’s an argument over the fire that night about which group you should focus on first. Lilith argues (wrongly) for hunting down the mages first while you argue (correctly) for finding the Templars. Beatrice, to your surprise, agrees with Lilith, calmly explaining that the combined magic of so many volatile mages running loose is the greater threat, but Camila sides with you, pointing out that from everything you’ve found so far, the Templars are the ones doing the most harm to the innocent. Solas doesn’t comment on either position, seemingly neutral, but Mary shuts you all down while testing the tension in her crossbow string.

“We don’t know shit about where either side is camping out,” she says. “We’ve got nothing to go on. Until we do, focusing on one will just make us sloppy and give the other time to regroup. We have to be smart about this.” Since your group has an even six, she suggests splitting up, and claims authority to divide you into teams as follows: Lilith, Beatrice, and Camila on one, and you, her, and Solas on the other. Her directive after that is simple: walk around and look for shit. “But don’t even think about rushing in somewhere without getting the rest of us first.” At first you think she’s saying this to you, but she actually looks at Lilith, who rolls her eyes hard but doesn’t argue further.

You follow through with Mary’s plan the next morning after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and nut bread with jam that had been gifted to you by a merchant at the Crossroads (side note: you love eggs). You, Mary, and Solas decide to investigate north of camp, back through the Crossroads to where rocky crags and unassuming caves could hide a small force with ease. Lilith, Beatrice, and Camila head westward, where the river runs and offers many tempting spots to camp. You agree collectively to regroup at your camp on Lake Luthias at nightfall.

You have to walk carefully as you make your way through the crags. The terrain is uneven and prone to sudden dips and inclines. You nearly twist your ankle stepping on a rock concealed under moss, and you wonder idly if Solas goes barefoot in order to avoid such mishaps.

You find nothing in the crags themselves, save for the odd, tiny cave where the occasional spider or smuggler stash sits. Druffalo lumber lazily past you, seemingly quite confident that you won’t attack them, but other than that your trek is uneventful.

About four hours into your search, during which time you cover a fairly impressive amount of ground, you stop for a snack before changing course toward the small cliffs and ponds further north of the crags. Mary speculates that these might be more promising, as a consistent water supply would be important for any group settling in for an extended stay. You keep hiking well into the afternoon, trying to be as thorough as possible. The midday sun begins its descent in the west when you finally see it. Something quite bizarre. A giant pillar of ice sticks out the ground, standing some fifteen feet tall by your estimate, if not more. More accurately, it sticks out a frozen pond a little bit larger than your camp, where it is joined by several others.

Mary stops you in your tracks when she notices this too, making you duck low and move to the side, toward a cluster of large rocks overlooking the water. The three of you take cover there, peeking your heads up carefully to survey the scene.

The pond is thoroughly frozen. The ice is apparently thick enough to walk on, as eight armed men are currently walking on it with careful steps. They are armored, but they don’t bear any identifiable symbol or emblem. They appear to guard the entrance to some kind of cave nestled into the rocky wall that towers over the pond.

“Those are sellswords,” Mary says confidently.

“How do you know?”

“They’re dressed like soldiers, but there’s no consistency in their gear. Organized armies like to have all their guys wear the same stuff. These guys don’t have that. They’re mercs, mark my words.”

“Does that help or hurt our chances?”

She frowns. “Too early to say. But they don’t wear the colors of any of the well-known companies, so they’re probably just small-timers.”

The entrance to the cave is blocked by a magical barrier, warping the air and glowing bright green. At first, it doesn’t seem particularly daunting, but Solas frowns when he sees it.

"We will not be able to penetrate that barrier," he explains when you ask. "It is too powerful."

"How can that be?"

He scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Likely, they are using a talisman or rune of some kind to keep it in place, something they can activate or deactivate as necessary." He hums. “It requires a certain level of training to create, so I would hazard a guess that one of the mages inside is experienced and likely Circle-trained, if not more.”

Mary curses softly. "So how do we get inside then?"

Solas hums, looking hard at the swirling currents of the barrier, analyzing them. "A difficult problem, which may require a creative solution.”

You all puzzle over this for a time, squinting at the barrier and biting your lip.

"Well, what if I try to go through it?” You ask.

Solas tilts his head. “How so, Ava?”

"When we talked, you said that Hope could help me overcome otherwise impassable obstacles.” He begins to smile, catching on quickly to your meaning.

‘"You want to phase through it?"

You shrug. “I dunno. It’s worth a try.”

“What are you two talking about?” Mary asks, sounding a little irritated.

You turn to her, starting to feel the tiniest bit excited. “Mary, remember when we fought that huge demon at the Breach, and it almost hit me?”

Mary frowns. “Yeah, that damn near gave me a heart attack.”

“But it didn’t hit me,” you explain. “Because I phased through it. My body changed so that its claw went right through me. I can pass through things, or things can pass through me, if I phase.”

“It’s true, Mary,” Solas confirms when she looks skeptical. “And when I think about it further, I have a good feeling that Ava would be able to phase through the barrier if she tried.”

She looks at you. “And that’s one of your… things with your buddy, is it?”

You frown right back at her. “Yes, I can do it thanks to my Friend.” Mary just shakes her head. “Why not?”

“It’s dangerous, kid,” Mary says, not ungently. “You barely know anything about your whole deal with this spirit. You don’t know how volatile it could be.”

“With all due respect, Mary, I believe this is a negative overreaction,” Solas says. “Ava will not become an abomination simply by phasing through a barrier.”

“You don’t know that,” Mary insists, shutting you down before you can argue. “No, we’re scrapping that plan. No more discussions.” She tugs the back of your shirt and starts moving out from the rocks. “We’re heading back to camp to talk to the others about all this. Then, as a group, we’ll decide what to do. No back-talk,” she growls when you open your mouth. “Let’s go, we’re losing daylight.” Solas gives you a commiserating look before helping you stand and follow Mary’s footsteps.

You find the other half of your group already sitting at the fire by the time you return, talking seriously while Camila stirs together a stew.

"Any luck?" You ask Beatrice, who is the first to notice your approach.

"We found the Templar camp," Lilith says before Beatrice can utter a word. "They've claimed a section of the river running across the West Road, guarding it like brigands." There is unmasked disdain in her voice, something you have yet to hear her express when talking about the Templars. She's rubbing a rag along the blade of her sword with quick, harsh strokes, the only other sign of her anger.

"They seem to maintain a force of 50 at any given time, with the rest spreading out as we've seen." Beatrice picks up the telling from here. "A mix of knights and archers, with 1 knight-captain presiding over them."

"Nice job," you compliment as you sit down in the spot next to her. "How did you guys find the camp?" In answer, Beatrice produces a number of rolls of paper from her bag and hands it to you before accepting a bowl of stew from Camila.

You unroll the notes and read. The first thing you notice is the neatness of the handwriting. Words inked by practiced fingers talk of the "call of the Maker" and "the Just" and "righteousness". They urge all Templars to join them on the West Road. One line in particular stands out to you, twisting your stomach, making you unable to eat despite how good the stew smells. "By their rebellion, they have forfeited their right to live. They are not people, and any order that asks us to end this just and righteous battle is a lie." They are not people. They are not people.

"So they just left these for anyone to find?" You ask, swallowing against a sudden, bitter taste in your mouth. "That's kind of dumb, isn't it?"

"Arrogant," Lilith corrects, still polishing with violent strokes. "That's what they are. Arrogant and senseless. To shamelessly disobey the Lord Seeker? To dare encourage their comrades to do the same? It's unacceptable!"

Your brow furrows. Okay, what's all that about?

As if reading your question off your face, Beatrice quietly points to the second note again. You reread, and on the second pass you notice the mention of a Lord Seeker and his supposed directive to withdraw from the Hinterlands and instead gather in Val Royeaux. The reason for this order isn't stated, but the author clearly thinks it isn't worth following.

"So they're going rogue."

“In a word, yes.”

"This knight-captain," Lilith growls, finally discarding the rag and not-quite slamming the sword back into its sheath. "He will not dictate his own agenda against the order of the Seekers. I will not allow it."

"Did you guys have any luck with the mages?" Camila changes the subject while taking one of Lilith’s hands and placing a bowl in it with a smile. Surprisingly, Lilith quiets, abandoning whatever diatribe she was about to start and accepting the stew with a stilted "thank you".

"We found them," Mary confirms. "But not much else."

"What do you mean?"

"They're hiding out in a cave," you explain, moving your spoon around, hoping your appetite will return if you do it enough times. "Next to this pond northwest of the Crossroads. It doesn’t look big from the outside, but we couldn't see inside to confirm."

"Why not?" Beatrice asks.

You shrug. "Big magic barrier in the way. We think we can get around it when the time comes…” Mary glares harshly at you. “But we'll be stuck walking in blind regardless."

"They've got mercs guarding the entrance for them, though," Mary adds after watching to make sure you won’t mention your idea. "Which makes me think there aren't as many hiding out in there as it seems."

"How do you figure that?" Asks Camila, finally sitting to eat her own portion.

"If you were a group of mages, drunk on power and itching for war, would you hire sellswords to fight your battles for you if you had the numbers to do it yourself?" Mary responds, drawing head shakes from everyone. "Exactly. They're not as unified as they look, at least not this offshoot. That's not a guarantee, of course, and we still have to kill the mercs before we go anywhere, but I'd bet 5 royals that there's a lot fewer of them than they've made it seem."

You are still left with the question of who to eliminate first. You have more information on the Templars, but they might have more numbers. The mages might be less organized, but you’ll be walking into a situation with no sense for how it will play out. There’s also the how and when to consider. Mary proposes attacking at night, but if you attack the mages you’ll not only be metaphorically in the dark but literally as well.

To your surprise, Lilith completely changes her tune from your morning argument, declaring strongly that you must defeat the Templars first. You can tell by the others’ expressions that they are similarly taken off guard by this turn, all except Mary, who gazes at the Seeker with a quiet understanding.

“Okay, so we attack the Templars at night,” you say. “Wait ‘til they’re all asleep and jump them in their tents?”

Beatrice shakes her head. “If even one of them gets the space to sound the alarm, we’ll be doomed. It’s too risky.”

“That’s if we just go in, swords-swinging,” Mary contends ponderously. “If we could keep them off guard and off their game, then it won’t matter as much if they realize we’re doing it.”

“Allow me to make a suggestion,” Solas cuts in for the first time since you arrived back at camp. He stands relaxed against a large rock, stroking his chin, his empty bowl long abandoned next to him. “In my dreams, I once witnessed a battle in the Exalted Plains. A small force was able to defeat a much larger one by spreading panic and chaos among their ranks. They invaded the camp in the dead of night, dressed in dark clothing to hide from sentry torches, and carried with them small jars or oil and alcohol. These they hid throughout the camp in unassuming places near wooden crates and tents, anything flammable. They waited until the next night, and when the time came to strike, archers in their ranks struck the jars with flaming arrows.”

“Fire spreads, and suddenly it’s a free-for-all,” Mary concludes with a growing smirk. “We strike in the middle of it and pick ‘em off like sheep.”

Solas grins and inclines his head. “Indeed, Mary.”

It’s a good plan, provided you can pull it off. You’ll need supplies, time, and luck on your side. The first you should be able to acquire from the merchants at the Crossroads. The second you’ll have so long as the Templars aren’t alerted to your movements in advance. As for the third… Lilith insists that luck doesn’t determine the outcome of battles, diligent soldiers do, and just this once, you hope she’s right.

So it’s decided. The Templars go down first. You all sleep that night and head back to the Crossroads at dawn’s break. It’s even easier than you expect to convince the merchants there to give you what you need. They hand over two dozen jars of tarry black oil with barely a promise of compensation from the Inquisition. One of them, a purveyor of hard liquors chased out of his distillery by the Templars, supplies you with a score of bottles of a Ferelden favorite called Dragon Piss. Your ribs ache something fierce with the force of not laughing during the purchasing discussion, and Mary slaps you upside the head when you can’t stop making both dragon and piss jokes on the way back to camp.

The in-depth planning stage is next. Beatrice, Lilith, and Camila collaborate to map out the camp from everything they remember. Beatrice, predictably (adorably), pulls out her notebook and dictates to the other two as they attempt to draw on a roll of canvas also gifted by the merchants. They plot out the clusters of tents and the position of each campfire, making tiny X’s wherever they identify a good place for a jar. You, Mary, and Solas take charge of planning the attack itself. The soldiers in Solas’s story only had flaming arrows to rely on, but you have that and three mages too.

“Your affinity for fire will be most helpful, Ava,” Solas says. “You need no oil to set tents aflame, but you should perhaps focus on the cookfires throughout the camp. They are all centrally located, and upending them will ensure the flames spread quickly and thoroughly.”

You think back to Beatrice’s promise to teach you an immolation spell, and see her look up from her notes to nod at you. “Beatrice’s magic will help too,” you point out. “There’s not much scarier than out-of-control fire and lightning bolts raining down from the sky.”

So it’s decided. Camila, Mary, and Beatrice, deemed collectively to be the stealthiest of the group, are charged with placing the pots at midnight. It’s a risky operation, one that will require them to leave most of their armor and tools behind, but Beatrice’s observations about the Templar patrol patterns provide windows for silent infiltration.

That afternoon, Lilith and Mary travel with a band of scouts to transport the makeshift munitions. There are unoccupied stone ruins close to the camp but not within its direct line of sight. You can’t ask for a better hiding spot than that. While they’re gone, Beatrice takes you to the lakeside to teach you the spell.

“You want to picture it in your mind,” she explains, steady and calm, standing next to you as you grip your staff and call fire to your fingertips. “An eruption of flame. See it surging up from the ground. A gout. A geyser. Then, contain it. Like a lid on a boiling pot, contain the surge.” She reaches out to carefully adjust the height of your hand, her skin nearly as warm as the inferno waiting for your command. “You have to hold it tight in order to position it properly. Let it go too soon and it will ignite right under your feet.”

“Not interested in being a roast chicken,” you joke.

“You’d be the sorriest roast chicken I’ve ever seen.”

You drop your hand in shock, mana dissipating with your loss of focus, and your head whips around to stare at her. Did she really just say that? Sure enough, she’s looking at you with a tiny smirk, her eyes sparkling. You put your hands on your hips with exaggerated indignance. “Beatrice, are you implying that some snooty Orlesian chef wouldn’t want to serve this,” you wave pointedly at your figure, “up as a main course in some weird wine sauce?”

“Of course not, Ava,” she denies, but her smirk is growing. “I was implying you wouldn’t even be an appetizer.”

You gasp, clutching at imaginary pearls. “Rude! Just for that, you don’t get to eat me no matter how good the wine sauce is!”

Your choice of words registers in your brain a second too late, threatening to stop your heart as you see them register with Beatrice too. Her jaw drops, her smirk transforming into a surprised O, and heat that has nothing to do with fire magic paints her cheekbones pink.

Your own face feels like it’s being roasted. You’re sure it’s bright red as you quickly look away from her, stuttering, “Uh! I, um… Th-that came out wrong! I wasn’t implying… anything!”

You see her suck in a soft inhale out of the corner of your eye, visibly composing herself. “It’s fine,” she says, still sounding a little breathless. “Let’s… get back to the spell.”

“Great!” You squeak, hastily turning back to the lake whose water continues to swirl serenely, unaware or indifferent to how you’ve just made an ass of yourself. “So, containing it, right? Until it’s in position? Where should I aim it?”

She clears her throat loudly. “Ahem, aim for the center of the water. Then the flames won’t spread through the grass.”

“Right, got it.” You force all of your attention onto the task at hand, thinking about lids on pots harder than you’ve thought of anything before.

You raise your hand toward the lake and call your magic again. The flames come, dancing around your fingers, waiting for you to direct them. You picture them moving out from you, gliding unseen across the surface of the water until they sit just above the center. You can almost feel them tickle and spark against your palm as you hold them still in that spot, waiting, counting down from 5. At zero, you let them go, and sure enough, an enormous blaze of fire bursts from thin air as if pulled from the lake itself. It extinguishes immediately upon contact with the water, but you beam at your success, bouncing up and down on your feet. “Did you see that, Beatrice?!”

“I did,” she confirms, her familiar, gentle smile back in place. Some pink lingers in her cheeks, as you’re sure it does in your own, but the awkwardness of the previous moment has passed. “Well done, Ava. Let’s keep going.”

That’s how you spend the day until it’s time to execute the first part of the plan. The rest of you travel with the chosen infiltrators as backup should anything go wrong. Moving through the pitch darkness is fucking difficult as shit, to put it mildly, but Solas shows you how to conjure Veilfire in your palm as a makeshift torch, which makes avoiding uneven rocks and tree roots a little easier. He doesn’t have an ounce of trouble moving through the dark, you notice. Indeed, none of the others seem to either. It’s a little infuriating. You know you’re still getting used to walking again, but seriously, what’s the fucking secret?

The ruins on the West Road are about 200 yards from the camp, give or take 10 due to the various rocks and little hills that apparently break up the camp (you can’t see them, so you take Beatrice’s word for it). Camila takes the lead when you arrive. Small and quick, she sheds her extraneous items, keeping only a pair of daggers strapped to her thighs, and slinks into night. Her first responsibility is to watch the sentries patrol and signal to Mary and Beatrice when to move. You learn something else about Camila here, she’s apparently excellent at mimicking bird calls.

You wait in the ruins with Lilith and Solas, the former crouched on a worn chunk of debris, her eyes trained in the direction of the camp, unwavering, ready to charge at the first sign of something amiss. The latter pays no attention to any of this, standing serenely in the center of the ruin, where the distant, twinkling stars can be seen through shattered stone. His face is tilted toward the sky and his eyes are closed, almost like he’s listening to something. You stand next to him, looking up at the stars.

“What do you know of the constellations, Ava?” He asks softly, without opening his eyes.

You shrug. “Nothing, really. That people think they exist, I guess.”

“You do not see them, I take it?”

“Nah. You can’t make me believe that someone took those little dots and deliberately arranged them into dragons and boats for us to gawk at from down here. If they did, they were kinda shit at their job.”

“Hmm, perhaps. Still, deliberate or not, we may find valuable insights in those little dots, as you call them. Peoples both ancient and modern have gazed at the sky and found meaning in its patterns, using them for navigation as well as religion and culture. For instance, it was common practice in ancient Tevinter to create astrariums, magical tools designed to analyze each constellation in search of secrets.”

“Why?” You scoff. “Did they have their fill of secrets here on the ground? Were they so bored with their lives that they had to make up shapes out of lights they would never touch?”

Unexpectedly, this makes him smile. “You remind me of myself as a young man. You treasure the here and now, life lived from moment to moment, never wasting energy on things out of your reach.”

“Are you insulting me?”

He shakes his head. “No, merely pointing out the similarity. It is not wrong to live in the present, where our actions often have their greatest effect. These are simply the musings of an old man who spends much of his time reliving memories through dreams. Old men tend to wallow in the unchanging past while grasping feverishly for the intangible future.”

“Solas, you’re like, 40 at most.”

He laughs, a quiet, unassuming noise that blends into the sounds of the night. “You flatter me, Ava.”

The hoot of an owl interrupts the conversation. Camila’s signal. Damn, she really is good at that.

“They’re moving in,” Lilith informs the two of you. You leave Solas to his musings and join Lilith at her perch, keeping a safe distance between you as you do.

You can just barely make out Mary and Beatrice moving silently over the grass, each of them transporting a tray of tightly tied pots and bottles. You wait with baited breath, switching your grip on your staff every few minutes to wipe the sweat off your palms. Lilith and Solas may as well be statues.

It’s a long time to wait. You can’t see what’s happening, but you know it’s going to take multiple trips through the sentry lines to place all the pots without being seen. You eventually get tired of standing, sitting down with your knees tucked into your chest.

When the retreat signal sounds, it startles you. It’s not a bad signal, it actually means they succeeded and are heading back, but the pregnant silence was so heavy that its removal makes you feel unexpectedly weightless. Another minute, and you see Lilith relax ever so slightly as three shapes move toward the ruins. When they arrive, you scan their faces, looking for indication of worry or injury, but find none. Mary smirks, Camila winks at you, and Beatrice squeezes your shoulder as she passes, gracing you with a reassuring smile. They don their armor and weapons again with practiced movements, and as a group, you retreat from the ruins and head back to your camp.

There is brief discussion of how the plan went and any adjustments that had to be made, but overall the infiltration was a resounding success. You retire to your tents with Solas and Mary taking the first watch. As you shrug out of your armor and take your boots off, you see Beatrice and Lilith talking quietly by the Seeker’s tent. You can’t tell what they’re discussing, but Beatrice reaches out to touch Lilith’s elbow, her deceptively strong fingers holding the other woman steadily. Lilith’s expression twists, then opens, a flash of vulnerability elicited by whatever Beatrice just said. Whatever is happening, it’s an intensely private moment. You look away out of courtesy.

The morning arrives gray and dim. Clouds obscure the sun and put a wrinkle of tension in Beatrice’s brow at breakfast. “We should be mindful of rain.”

“Those jars are sealed,” Mary says with a shrug. “And with sparky here on our side, getting the flames going won’t be an issue.”

“But it will create mud,” Beatrice points out, setting her bowl of mushy oats and dried fruit (“Beatrice, that’s gross as fuck.” “I’m not accepting critique from girls who eat plain hardtack in water.”) aside and reaching for her notebook. “If it does, the fire may not spread effectively along the uneven slopes. And they will have an easier time putting the flames out if they can roll in mud.”

“But then they’ll be on the ground,” Camila says, shrugging. “And it will be twice as easy to shoot them.” You can all only concede to her excellent point.

It doesn’t rain, ultimately, but the mood in camp is solemn regardless. The day is spent conducting preparations. Camila and Mary inventory their arrows and bolts while Lilith checks every buckle and strap on her armor, including some you didn’t know it was possible to have. She’s silent today, not even wasting breath to make snippy remarks to you. That’s how you know the specter of the upcoming fight is really getting to her. That, and the fact that Beatrice keeps glancing in her direction with that furrow of worry ever present.

You practice your spell over the course of the morning, training until you can hit a series of increasingly distant targets almost instantly. You stop at midday to avoid exhausting your mana, turning instead to watch Mary talk strategy with the handful of Inquisition soldiers who will be fighting with you.

Dinner is a nearly silent affair. Lilith advises you all to eat light, which is fine because you still feel good from your breakfast, no matter what Beatrice says about it, and your rations at lunch included some absolutely awesome jerky. You’re settled in to eat some more when Mary suddenly frowns at you before prying one of your hands free and shoving an apple into it. “Um, thanks?” You say, bewildered. She rolls her eyes and doesn’t respond, instead sitting with her own meal while repeatedly glancing at you until you toss away the barren core.

When the time comes to move, the night air takes on a new feeling. It didn’t rain, but a chilly mist has settled over the lake, just thick enough to obscure the path ahead. Something about that feels distressingly appropriate.

Together, you are a band of 20 soon to face 50. You could have summoned more soldiers from the Crossroads, or waited for more to arrive from Haven, but the former would leave the refugees unprotected, and the latter would take too much time. Whatever happens, it has to be now, and the numbers you have, your skills, and your planning, will all have to be enough.

You reach the stone ruins where you waited the night before, and the plan commences like this. Camila and three soldiers will go first, armed with bows and daggers, to pick off what sentries they can without raising the alarm. Once they clear enough space, the archers will advance in two groups, taking positions around the camp to wait for the signal to strike. You will go with one while Beatrice goes with the other. Your team is responsible for setting the fires. Your job is to light the arrows and then target the cooking pits. Meanwhile, Beatrice and her team will wait to bring lightning and steel-tipped fury down on the Templars when they scatter. And once their ranks are broken and panicked, Lilith, Mary, and Solas will lead the final charge.

That’s how it’s supposed to work, at least.

Camila is dressed for war: bow over one shoulder, quiver full, and three pairs of knives strapped across her torso and legs. Without her usual mischievous grin in place, she looks downright fearsome, ready to hunt and kill whoever gets in her way. The three soldiers chosen to go with her are two humans, a man and woman, and a female elf, all similarly armed.

Camila approaches the five of you before joining them. She graces you with a smile as small and quick as she before saying, “Here goes nothing, I guess.”

“You’re ready, Camila,” Beatrice says, reaching out to squeeze her elbow as she did to Lilith the night before. “Maker be with you.”

“Knock ‘em dead, Cami,” Mary tells her with a smirk.

“Do stay safe,” Solas adds. “I would like to continue our discussion from earlier.” Camila’s expression brightens, making you wonder what they might have talked about.

“Eyes up,” Lilith commands, short but sincere, allowing the tension in Camila’s frame to ease minutely.

Then, she turns to you, and you struggle for the right thing to say. You’ve gotten to know Camila a fair bit over these past days, but the friendship you’re slowly building pales in comparison to the bond already well-established between her and the others. There’s a distance there, a line drawn between you and them that yet remains uncrossed.

So, in the absence of anything heartfelt or clever to say, you do what you do best. “Have a knife time, Cam. Don’t bow out before we get there.” This draws exasperated groans from everyone within earshot, but you hear Camila’s soft snort, and it makes the weight pressing on your chest a little lighter.

Two minutes later, she is gone, her trio of assassins following close behind. As with the night before, you wait anxiously for an owl’s hoot, the signal to move forward. It comes five minutes later, right when it feels like your grip on your staff can’t tighten any further.

“That’s our cue,” Beatrice tells you. “Are you ready?”

You exhale slowly. “As I’ll ever be.” Your shoulders abruptly feel warm under your pauldrons, like Your Friend is resting Her hands on them, not to hold you back, but to embolden and reassure you.

“Trust your team, Ava,” Beatrice advises, gifting you with another of her gentle grins. “We’re at your side.”

Her smile coaxes out one of your own. “Right back at ya, Bea. Let’s kick Templar ass.”

Lilith catches your arm as you’re about to leave with your team of archers. Her expression is hard but, for once, not actively hostile. “If you see the knight-captain,” she says. “Leave him. He is mine.” You are caught, momentarily, by her eyes. They are dark, lovely, and filled with a sharp-toothed determination that evokes a second of pity for the man in question. He’s fucked.

You give a nod of understanding, and she releases you. Hesitantly, she adds, “Don’t set yourself on fire.”

“...Thanks, Lilith.” It’s as good a send-off as any, you suppose.

Your squad moves on silent feet toward the camp. You can see the entrance ahead of you some 100 yards away, and you give it a wide berth, already spotting two Templars guarding it. Instead, you sneak around the side, up the small, steep hills and through the trees, passing over the bodies of sentries killed to prepare your arrival. At the top of a steep ridge standing some thirty feet above the camp, you see one of Camila’s assassins, the human woman, waving you over. She greets you with a tricky grin before turning your attention to the camp below. She points, guiding your eyes to different spots among the tents and boxes, and in each one, you can just glimpse a pot or bottle sticking out, perfectly positioned for an arrow’s strike. Once you nod your understanding, she takes her leave, disappearing into the darkness like a ghost to rejoin Camila.

You wait, scanning the rocky hill opposite yours, and sure enough, you see four figures creep into view, one of them being Beatrice. Her squad stays low but ready, waiting for the signal.

When it comes, it sounds for you. Your archers nock their arrows and hold them up for you to light. You take a breath and summon a tiny flame between your thumb and index finger. It’s big enough to get the job done without creating enough light to draw unwanted attention. They each hold their tips to the flame before stepping back and taking position on the ridge’s edge. Their arrows glow like fireflies in the distance, looking almost harmless. But then they draw their bows back and fire.

The first volley strikes quite anticlimactically. There’s the thrum of the bowstrings, the keening whish as they cut through the air, and a distinctly mundane shattering sound as they connect with the jars, like the crashing of the box Marabel dropped when you first awoke in Haven. What happens next, however, cannot be described as mundane or anticlimactic. The first flames catch, tiny at first, but then they grow and spread, adhering to wooden crates and licking at the billowing tarp of tents.

Several more arrows fly from your perch, hitting their targets with merciless precision. You can see the sparks catching in all areas of the camp, from the lowest point at the muddy banks to the highest slope where you imagine the knight-captain sleeps, unaware of Fate’s enclosing jaws.

Once all the small fires are lit, the archer next to you, a slim elven man with dark hair and bright green eyes, gives you an encouraging nudge. It’s your turn now. At this moment, you are not a girl. Instead, you are a match, an accelerant, the falling lamp that burns down the barn. Fire seeking oil. You target the cooking pit closest to your position, where two Templars sit, not yet aware of the inferno steadily building around them. The magic comes to your call like a dog, heeding the weight of your hand, and letting it go is as easy as closing your eyes.

There are shouts, shrieks, curses. Not just from the two men now writhing on the ground but from everywhere, up and down the slopes, inside the tents…

They come stumbling out in singles and pairs, these terrors that haunt your dreams. They crawl through the dirt like rats, coughing, screaming as some part of their clothing ignites and heat eats away at their flesh. You light more fires, watching them explode into existence one by one. Sparks and chips of glowing hot wood pelt any Templars who get too close, and one explosion propels an iron pot directly into a man’s face as he tries to run by.

“We’re under attack!” One of them yells from somewhere you can’t see, but no sooner do you hear the words than a bolt of lightning descends from the sky, silencing them. Beatrice has joined the fight.

It’s almost quick from there. Some of the Templars realize where this assault is coming from and attempt to move on your position, only to be pushed back by your fireballs and cut down by metallic rain. On the other side, they try to do the same with Beatrice, meeting an even swifter end. Camila signals for the charge, and the screams of the burning are overpowered by the battle cry of the Inquisition.

You see Beatrice’s team abandon their position as Lilith and the others rush the knights below. The stench of smoke, burning hair, and cooking meat floods your nose as you follow them, descending into the fray. Camila’s squad maintains the high ground while your team and Beatrice’s trade their bows for axes, cleaving savagely into the nearest Templar they can find.

You focus your energy on casting barriers and controlling the flames so they don’t hinder your side. To your left, Beatrice is battering an archer with her staff, knocking his bow aside and using the opening to push lightning into his chest with her hand. He collapses dead on the grass, and she advances to the next without missing a beat. To your right, Solas ducks deftly around a knight’s swing, using his staff to trip the man directly into a wall of flame.

In front of you, another knight prepares to stab Mary from behind. You rush him, slipping between the two just in time to catch the blow with your own body. It never lands. Instead, a pulse of golden light explodes out from you, just like before, and sends the knight crashing into a burning crate some ten yards away.

“Thanks, kid!” Mary says. “Now duck!” She shoves you down to one knee before launching a trio of crossbow bolts into a Templar charging your flank. Then, she pulls you up and turns you so you’re back-to-back, a bulwark, a fiery stockade, never to be overtaken.

It’s not a fight without losses. Although your plan was a success, you’re still facing Templars, and their superior numbers and training cannot be discounted. On all sides of you, you see Inquisition soldiers dying. Sometimes they take a Templar with them, dealing a fatal blow with their last gasp, and sometimes they never get the chance, torn apart before they can even lift their blade. Camila’s squad is eventually pushed back and forced to scatter, but not before taking down a handful more knights while retreating. They join you on the ground, trading arrows for daggers, and you cast a barrier over them to keep them safe, but the battle is reaching its most dangerous point.

You and Mary are forced to separate to avoid being hacked apart by a man with a longaxe as tall as you. Mary tries to spin and counter, but his gauntleted fist collides with her face, knocking her to the ground. You swing at his back with all your might, aiming the sickle end of your staff at his neck, but he knocks it away with a flick of his arm and grabs you by the throat.

You lose your grip on your staff, abandoning it to scrabble frantically at his icy-cold fingers. You gasp soundlessly as you are lifted off the ground and held aloft, forced to stare through the man’s helmet into his cold, cruel eyes.

“So,” he growls. His voice is gravelly from the smoke, but his tone is mocking. “A little pack of mages and their lackeys think they can defeat me and my boys?” This is the knight-captain, you realize, as your windpipe is slowly crushed. “Well, I’ll give you this, girl. The fire was a nice touch, but playtime is over now.” Phase, you need to phase out of his hold. But he’s using all of his Templar power on you, suppressing your magic until you can’t even feel it. If you can just reach your Friend, you know you can escape, but you’re starting to panic with every second your lungs beg for air. “I’ll send your unnatural soul straight to the Void. The Maker guides my hand!” Unnatural soul. Sir Francis had said the same thing while beaming with delight as she killed you.

The image of her ugly, smiling face is all it takes. Your panic turns to anger, and your desperation becomes determination. No matter what happens, you refuse to die to another Templar blade.

You draw your feet up to your chest and kick them into his breastplate, all while you visualize your neck slipping through his clenched fingers. It works. He stumbles back a step as you fall to the ground in a heap. You immediately scramble to grab your staff and stand up, but he is already lifting his axe to liberate your head from your neck.

He tenses his body to bring it down on you, but the trajectory of his swing abruptly changes, burying the axe head in the dirt several inches in front of you. You realize why a second after it happens. A chunky stone, just big enough to fit in your hand, lies on the ground, and the knight-captain is rubbing the side of his helmet. Someone hit him square in the face with a rock, saving your life in the process.

“Enough!” You know that voice. While the knight-captain is distracted, you get to your feet and put distance between you, all while your gaze searches wildly for the exclamation’s source. You find it, find her, standing tall amidst the inferno some yards away, her armor covered in ash, her sword dripping red, her black hair shining in the firelight. Lilith.

The knight-captain recovers himself, turning to face his new challenger, and he snarls upon seeing the crest of the Seekers on her chest. “So the betrayal is complete,” he spits. “For all his talk of justice and glory, the Lord Seeker is truly just a drooling Chantry dog!”

“Spare me your petty insults,” Lilith snaps. “You are the traitors here. And now you’ll pay the price.”

“You should be on our side, Seeker!” He shouts, pointing the ax-head at her. “We are the champions of the Just! Why will you not stand with us?”

“I stand where I have always stood, in the Maker’s guidance.” Your mind is cast back to the war table in Haven, where Mother Superion said those same words to Duretti. “I stand with the Seekers, and with the Inquisition.”

“The Inquisition?” He sneers. “Then you are doubly a traitor, and will be dealt with accordingly!” He grabs his longaxe with both hands, lets out a thunderous roar, and charges at Lilith, who simply takes her stance and readies her shield.

It’s breathtaking, in a way, the scene that plays out before you. You compared Lilith to a bull when she fought demons at the Breach, and that’s still true, but now you witness her true ferocity unleashed. Not a bull, but a wildcat. Not a woman, but a weapon. She moves around the knight-captain’s first strike, letting it glance harmlessly off her shield, and retaliates by slamming her pommel into his side, forcing him off balance. He knocks her blade aside when she tries to stab him through the gap in his chainmail, but she only rolls with the force, using the momentum to drive the edge of her shield into his jaw. He stumbles back, clutching at his mouth, barely able to avoid a second hit by ducking, dragging his axe along the ground and spitting out blood and teeth. Lilith is relentless. She chases him, stomping down on the axe’s shaft before he can lift it again and smacking him across the head with the flat of her sword, knocking his helmet loose. He is forced to abandon the weapon to catch her next swing with his hands, and she slams her shield into his chest to push him away, hitting him over and over until the pristine emblem of the Templars warps and dents under the merciless blows.

The battle continues to rage around you, but you can’t pay attention to it. Nothing seems capable of disturbing this moment. The knight-captain cannot withstand Lilith’s onslaught, the hurricane that she’s become. He falls backward, coughing and spluttering. She must have broken his ribs. He holds up his hands, gasping and pleading. “Please, Seeker,” he begs. “Do not do this! We fight in the Maker’s name! He would not want this!”

Lilith is unappeased. “When you greet Him, feel free to make your case. I don’t need to argue for mine.” She plants one booted foot on his chest, smearing blood, mud, and soot across the battered insignia, and buries her sword in his neck.

From there the battle ends in an unceremonious fashion. The remaining Templars are wiped out by your friends as Lilith withdraws her bloodied sword and kicks the knight-captain’s body to the side. She spares you a single glance before walking away, dropping her weapons to help one of your injured archers to their feet. You are left to stare at the man’s body, at the fatal puncture that still spurts with the last of his lifeblood, until Beatrice calls your name, and you turn away.

You don’t return to camp until after sunrise. There are wounds to bandage, bodies to count, and lingering fires to put out. Mary is bruised but alright. Solas uses his magic to freeze a wet rag for her to hold against her eye. His robes are dirty and torn, but he is unharmed. Camila took a shallow slash across her stomach and forearm. She winces as Beatrice cleans them with elfroot salve and a bottle of Dragon Piss that somehow survived the fight. Like Solas, Beatrice is uninjured, although you can’t help but scan her body repeatedly for any sign of harm or discomfort. You frequently catch her glancing over at you with the same concern, but the bruising on your neck has already faded away, and you feel fine, if exhausted.

Of the 14 soldiers who fought with you, 9 are dead, and there is no practical way you can carry them all back to the Crossroads for proper burial. They will have to stay here, carefully separated from the dead Templars, until a larger force is able to pick them up. Lilith has already ordered one of the surviving archers to place an Inquisition banner outside the entrance as a landmark. Scout Harding can bring a team with shovels and a wagon once you send word of your success. It will have to do.

You hike back to your lakeside camp at a limping pace, and it takes all of your willpower not to immediately collapse inside your tent and sleep until noon the next day. Only when Beatrice gently undoes the buckles on your armor (after watching you fail at it for nearly three minutes) and pushes you toward your bed do you finally give in, falling unconscious before your head even hits the mat.

#warrior nun #dragon age #da: inquisition #da:i #ava silva #sister beatrice #sister lilith #sister camila #shotgun mary #dragon age au #my writing #lilith fans i am holding delicious food for you in the palm of my hand #god i hope this beast pays its due and doesn't feel bloated #part 2 will come later this week probably

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dragon-hoard · 1 year

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Mine is food obsessive and can’t pace herself so she’s on a very strict schedule. OC (other cat) is a grazer and we had to get a microchip feeder for him because she kept stealing all of his food. They’re on timed feeding at 7 AM, 12 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM. He’s a little older by 2/3 yrs but is only 4, and he gets really mad when she plays with anything. He’ll bully her off of a toy or try to harass her in the litter box. We have 3 so they’re not short on them. He’s fully kept out of my room so she has space to herself since he has free reign on the rest of the apartment space. We’re on the second story and there are some birds that nest nearby, but nothing else particularly disruptive unless someone is loud in the hall; neither of them like that. I know it can take a while for them to settle in but I’m just hoping I can get the violence to tone down because I’m tired of breaking up fights :(

once again I cant give specific advice since I cant see it in person

but it sounds like he's definitely defending 'his' territory from an interloper. so I would suggest establishing your roommates (if theyre amenable to it) room as 'his' safe space and the rest of the apartment as shared space. you can do this by moving his feeder in there and his favorite toys, as well as quiet time in there. when you are gone they should both get equal treatment of being put in their respective rooms. does she have her own toys or have they all previously been his? if she has some to call 'hers' then he may not take as much offense

it would take consistent effort but some general positive reinforcement and aversion training could go a long way. if he initiates a fight you can separate them by putting him in your roommates room for a calm break for 3~5 min with no people. this would teach him "ok... I pick a fight I get time out." same for her if she initiates. for the positive reinforcement, when they are harmoniously sharing space or having positive interactions its good to give high value rewards (special treats) so they associate that shared space with tolerance

for high value rewards they need to be something rarely given but VERY tasty. regular treats are good but dont quite have that impact. those licky packets or squeeze tubes are what I would use since they take a bit to go through

ALSO ASK YOUR VET FIRST but if your cats energy levels are effecting your sleep you can see about some cat melatonin treats to promote quiet nights

#daily stuff #ONCE AGAIN #THIS IS INTERNET ADVICE OK #TAKE IT ONLY AS IT APPLIES

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koolcece22 · 2 months

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Enter Venomgirl

Ch.11

Shade’s POV

I only got one hour or two hours of sleep. Would you blame me since I have a piece of a killer in my body or have a massive load of worry on my mind? I just sat there most of the time. Play some games on my phone till the battery dies. Reading some of the books that were in the room. Mainly about spiders and their anatomy. Which didn’t surprise me. I looked around the room, noting the claw marks were almost everywhere and the wall had metal materials so who or what was here last didn’t have a good day. I continued to look around till the little A.I. woman who was usually with Miguel appeared before me.

“Good Morning. Venomgirl.” She said with a smile

“You can just call me Shade, I trust you guys a bit.”

“Ok Shade, well Miguel and Andrea are on their way to take you back to medbay. My scans show you seem in a better mood, your heart is more stable and your temperature also seems low.”

I nodded, I did notice I did feel better but Kuro had been quiet. She only does that if something is wrong with me. I wondered have she had been up all night too, to keep it at bay.

“Well, you can follow me then.”

We walked back to Medbay where Miguel and the Doctor Spider-women were there waiting for me. I couldn’t help but be annoyed. It remind me of my childhood, how I been harassed by the Doctor for endless checkups and test only after I turned 10 did they stop. Now I know the reason for all those doctor visits.

“I see you looking better.” the Doctor Spider-women said nonchalantly almost annoyed. Something tells me she one those doctors who have a hard time at her job.

“How are you feeling by the way?”

“I’m Feeling better, still tired and achy, but that is probably from my body still healing itself from the fight.”

“I’ll take a look. Have a seat at the bed.”

I walk over to the bed. As she brought some vails and devices, must be future stuff that know nothing about. She started to place them all over my body and even some on Kuro, who was about to throw a fit but I told her to stop and she did. The beeping and lighting started to irritate me. She must took note of this and so did Miguel.

“Do this before?” Miguel asked, I didn’t answer but he got his answer.

“My name is Andrea by the way.” I Heard the Spider-doctor or Andrea said. I looked up at her but she didn’t look at me. Still, look at the machine on my results.

“I should introduce more. But that my name, is going to be up to you if once you are cured from Carnage if want me to keep your info. I’m still obligated to my the doctor creed of HIPAA.”

“Deleted when you done or else,” I said with a glare didn’t mean it to come out like that but I’m really starting to be annoyed by this. So Kuro who was growling right beside me.

“We will,” Miguel said. I then remember that they need to figure out where that Carnage came from since it is not from Earth.

“Did you figure out where he came from?” I asked try to take my mind off of all this testing. He and his A.I. look at each other, guess debating on telling me or not.

“Will here the thing we can’t now,” Lyla said

“ What do you mean you can’t?! You guys are from the future!” Kuro Growled

“Here the thing, once we unthawed it symbiote remained it burst into flames.”

“Is that normal for symbiotes? Wait, if I die I’ll burst into flames?!” I said. the beeping of the machine was starting to get louder and the lights brighter. A million thoughts came to my mind everything started to be too much. Miguel put his hands on my shoulder I flinched, I was so deep on thought. I barely know anything that I am, Just now know i’m a symbiotic or something. But what Carnage said is that I’m a freak in our kind too.

“Shade. breath.”

I snap out of my train of thought and look at him realizing my tendrils have started to come out of my body without permission as it started to wrap around Miguel's leg and some were heading to Andrea. I call them back into my body realizing I was panicking from all this. Was I really that bugged by this?

“I-I’m sorry I-”

“I know it's a lot to take in. we trying to find out who is behind all this don’t worry.” He said with reassurance. I nodded, I had no choice but to trust these people.

“You don’t mind if I take some of your blood?” Andrea asked

“Sure, just make it quick I hate needles”

“Done.”

My eyes went wide “Wait what?”

She just smirked then she show me the string that was attached in my arm. string was pink from my blood as it went into the device. The string detached from me and i didn’t feel a thing.

“ Cool, how you do that?”

“Train secret, I so from what I’m getting at that carnage that was inside of you is almost gone. It was around 20% when I checked yesterday, it was down to 10%. I’m guessing it be gone by tomorrow. So just get some rest or something.” Andrea said then gave a band

“This will help monitor you but she is here another day chief,” she said as she looked at Miguel and then headed out of the room. “You all excuse me. I have to take care of dumb Peters who don’t take rest seriously.” then Andrea left me and Miguel.

“Since you staying here another day, you are allowed to explore HQ, I’ll inform everyone you are not anaomly so you don’t have to worry about anyone capturing you.” I nodded with my eyes rolling. Jeez, thanks.

“I do have some rules, 1. You can't leave the HQ. 2. When we call you come back here so we can see the carnage is completely gone from you. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“In your watch, I made so you don’t get lost, and give you a route you can walk to.

“Ok? Well, I guess I’ll explore a bit. Got nothing better to do.” I said as I headed out. It was morning the last two times I was here it was always night. Looking out the window, the city was very pretty seeing the flying kars around. Neon signs, movable walkways. Man wish I had a better first time. I head to the cafeteria to get something to eat. They were Spider that was looking at me. I try not to let bug me, but it is kind of hard too. I waited in the food line as I got up to the counter to order I was surprised to see a spider-like creature serving food.

*click click* it made a noise

“Huh?”

*click click*

“He said," What do like to eat?”

I turned to the person who was next to me, who like a little girl maybe in her early teens. She has a little spider on her shoulder.

“It takes a while to get used to his pattern of talking. I remonand the Miguel’o Burger. It really good,” she said

“Uh right… can I have 5 of those burgers,” I said not wanting to overdo it like last time.

“ Aaawww I want more than that.” Kuro groaned, the girl looked at Kuro who was on my shoulder now. I prefer her being in my body but she really likes being on my shoulder or my head. Kuro caught the girl staring at her and she hated being stared at.

“ Hey! Stop vucking staring at me!”

“Kuro, please.”

The girl waved her hand to defend “Oh, I’m sorry I stared I didn’t mean it. It rare seeing a symbiote out in the open.”

“I have been hearing that a lot. Uh, my name is Shade by the way.” I said trying to be a normal person once in my life. She smiles

“I’m Peni Parker, from earth- 14512 and this is Sp//dr.” she pointed to her spider that gave me a little wave.” I think I heard from you from Miles.”

“Really?” I was surprised she knew him, there seemed to be a lot of spider-people here.

“Yep, we're friends, want to sit with me?”

“Uh thank but I think I’ll eat by myself. I’m a bit sick.” I said in truth I don’t want to be near people. It has been forever since I talked to people so even being here in a room full of people started to get to me. I walk off and I can tell she waving at me.

“ She seems nice we should hang with her,” Kuro said as pop out to eat two of the burgers. I just ignored her. I want to, but it is safe to be away from me. I finished eating and decided to explore more. I noted that spider-people have walkways so they can walk on the ceiling similar to how Arachnidqueen is. I follow the map since he is right, I wouldn't get around like everyone else here. Before I could decide where I should go next I heard a voice.

“Hey, mate.”

I turn to see Hobie who was in a brighter mood from yesterday. He smiled and waved at me.

“I see you look better than yesterday. Hope the doc didn’t give you a hard time. She can be a hard ass, but not as hard as the big man.”

“Heh, yea. They want me to stay till tomorrow to see if the carnage is still in me, she said It is nearly gone so that's good. I-I should thank you and Gwen for helping me yesterday. If you guys didn't come I-”

“Don’t sweat it, come with me Gwen would to her your thanks.” Hobie then grabbed me by the hand and took me to where he was going. He is webbing to get us there. The room said Training room. We entered it to see a group of people who were also there. I saw Gwen, Miles, Pavitr, and Peni. but I also saw four other people I had never seen before. And a guy who wearing all black, a girl who was wearing purple and glitching, and a guy who was wearing a different mask from the usual Spiders, and there was a…cartoon pig?! Huh?!

Hobie walks over to them with me along.

“Hey guys, hope you don’t i brought a friend to join us?”

‘Friend?’

Miles, Gwen, and Pavitr look at me and Hobies

“Hey Hob! Hey Shade!” Miles said as walk up to us. “I’m glad you are joining us Shade.”

“Wait joining?”

“Wait Hobie you didn’t tell her?” Gwen said with her arm folded while Hobie shrugged, with his hands in his packet.

“I was going to tell her on the way, but I was so hyped that I completely forgot.”

“Hobie!” Gwen and Pavitr said. While Hobie gets scolded by Miles walks over.

“What Hobie was supposed to tell you, is that we want you to join us for training. Here let me do with our team.” he showed me the five that were there.

“You already met Peni. she plot a mecha-robot like the one in those animes. Do you have anime on your earth?”

“ Vuck yea, we do!” Kuro chimes in hopping on Shade’s Shoulder.

“Yea, Me, and Kuro love anime I’m more of a manga read though,” I said he pointed to the all-black dress spider

“This is Peter Parker of many. We call him Noir.” Miles said as a point to Noir. his jacket was blowing but there was no wind.

“Do…does your jacket always do that?” I asked

“Wherever I go the wind follows as crime never stops.” He said with a dramatic tone.

“ Weirdo,” Kuro said I quieted her real quick by slapping her. She just growled, trying to get people to hate us?!

Miles led me to the next one who was the talking cartoon pig that I was trying really hard not to gawk at.

“This is Peter Porker or Spider- Ham.”

Porker then walks up to shake my hand with his very wet hand, Great ones I hope it's just water.

“Just call me ham,” he said

“ We should be calling you dinner.”

I ignored Kuro to Shake his wet hand. Worse feeling in the world, I quickly shake my hands of the wetness. Then turn to the woman and the other masked guy.

“And this is Spider Byte or Margo, you probably saw her when she sent her home.”

I vaguely remember when I was being sent home when I was first here. I noted that her body reminded me of the A.I. Lyla. She must read my mind. She then showed me video of a girl with a headset on eating chips.

“My real body back at home. It's just easier to escape from my home life.” Margo said with a little bit of sadness in her voice. I didn’t dwell on it too long when I turned to the last person.

“And this handsome fellow is 42.” Miles said with a joke. 42 just folds his arms not amused by Miles's joke.

“Why am I here again?” He said, his voice distorted by the mask. unlike the rest he didn't take off his mask. wondering he have trust issue?

“Hey! you did want to train with us more. And come on you're part of the team now. We got to work together remember? We don’t need another loner here.”

“I only said I want to train with all so I can know how to fight you.” he pointed out

“Right…”

Before I can say anything we turn to see someone else enter. It was that one Spider-Man who was with Miguel the other day. He pulls down his mask to show an older man. Miles smirks with hands on his waist shakes his head

“What took you so long, Pete?” he said. Peter smiled back at the kid

“You know talk to migs and getting back from a mission. The love I get from you guys, I could have stayed in medbay to heal my broken pinky.” Peter showed us his injury pinky. The kids laughed. I couldn't help but giggle, to superpower people it was like a scratch.

“Thank you again for letting Shade join us,” Miles said, I looked at him with a confused look. I was just exploring. I know nothing about this! Peter must sense my confusion as he walks to me.

“I was the one who suggested it.”

“What? Why?” I asked

“Well. Miles told me you were having a hard time and since we might have to help your Earth out it best we first get you ready.”

“I will be fine. Once this collider thing is done I will be out your guy's hair.” I said, it came out colder then it should but I was really starting to hate all this attention as I fully I was getting now. It felt so suffocating now that I wanted to leave. I started to head out.

“You don’t have full control don’t you?”

I stopped, hearing what Peter just said. I couldn’t but glare at him. I can sense his feeling changed not to fear of me but more concern for me. Everyone did.

“It's not your or anyone's concern,” I said coldly

“Ok, that came out wrong. I mean-

“We just want to see you succeed mate,” Hobie said as he walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder to reassure me. I quickly push it away, not in the mood to be comforted, not in my state of mind. Hobie didn't seem fazed by it.

“We all had trouble controlling our powers. Besides you have us now.”

“Yeah, Shade! Give us a try!” Miles chimes in. I look at the group trying to encourage me to join them. I give.

#across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara #spidersona #symbioate sona #writing #spider man 2099 #miles morales #spider gwen #feral! miguel o'hara #atsv hobie #spiderverse pavitr #42 miles morales

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atinygoblin · 9 months

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This week has been rough.

It’s just been filled with sleepless nights and petty little arguments. Sleep ping has been rough because of my dogs and love them all so bloody much, but working nights means I have to sleep in the day and they are such little shits. They will bark at a fly farting, like there is nothing we can do to stop them. It just means that I’ve had really broken sleep. It’s exhausting not going to lie.

Having to go to work, only having broken sleep is the worse because then I’m breaking my back with no energy. Work is just stressful and gross anyways. I really hate it when I’m tired. If I’ve had a good sleep, then it’s a good shift but if not, it just sucks. Just to really top it off, whilst at work, running on no sleep, I had a massive argument with my sister.

It’s was about her being homophobic. She had this vulgar conversation with some guy and she said that the worse thing about the whole argument was the fact that she was ‘humiliated’ that he assumed that she was bisexual….what!? Not the fact that he sexually harassed her but the fact that he assumed that she was bisexual?? How does that even add up to even be an insult. So when I questioned her on that, she got super defensive about it but didn’t even want to correct herself in it. Like it’s not an insult to be assumed to be bisexual at all because there’s nothing wrong with actually being bisexual, I don’t understand why it upset her so much the the point that she felt humiliated by it????

I asked her about it but then she got rude, and since she got rude, I had to get rude back. Bare in mind, I was tired and busy at work while she was arguing with me because she felt humiliated by it. My other sisters got involved being the same as me but they have more patience then me so they were able to break it down for her, even though she stuck to her previous statement that she was humiliated with being assumed that she was bi. It’s just homophobic really isn’t it.

The day after, I had to stay awake ( an all nighter) because I had plans and had too catch the train, and even the the argument had cooled down, me and Kay still weren’t having it. She explicitly said that she apologised to my two other sisters but not me because ‘ I was rude’ brooooo she was homophobic so I agreed that neither of us were going to apologised to each other because if I did, it would be a lie. I’m not sorry in the slightest. I said what I said and I stand by that.

My weekend was good none the less, I was with my stinky and his so sweet I literally love him so much his made me feel so much better with everything going around me. I was snappy and mardy for most of the weekend but his just that perfect that he understands why and was just calm and patient with me. It’s all I really needed to be honest.

#blogstory #diary entry #diaryposting #blogs to follow #dear diary #daily diary #diary #family #tw depressing stuff #workplace #argument #sisters #homoseuxality #bisexual

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shibaraki · 3 years

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THERES ONLY YOU ┊ MIYA OSAMU

tags: FEM reader, angst to fluff, hurt/comfort, established relationship, verbal harassment and cat calling

wc: 2k

“I have a business to run, so sorry if my life doesn’t revolve around ya” He growls, frown deepening as you laugh in response.

“I am not asking that much of you, ‘Samu, and I never have!” You raise your voice to match his, though yours is shaken. “I’m asking that you spend time with me, your fiancé, once a week. One night a week! You have been ‘too busy’ for the past month and a half!”

“I have food to prep for the morning, I have employees I need to train up, I have-“

“That’s exactly why you hired more staff in the first place!” You cry. “You don’t need to be here all the time Osamu. I understand that this restaurant is your baby, and believe me I am so proud of your success. But you have other workers here now that can relieve you of all that responsibility-“

“Do you have any idea how selfish ya sound?” He fumes, cutting you off. Frustrated by his stubborn refusal to listen you groan and put your head in your hands, gripping at the roots of your hair. This had been happening for a few weeks now - you never brought it up because you wanted to be considerate of his work. You didn't want to add more stress to his plate. But you couldn't help but think all it did was make him think his behaviour was fine.

Both your voices were bouncing off the walls of the kitchen for a while now, somehow the dull metal counters and dimmed lights made the argument feel all the more suffocating. Just an hour ago you had been waiting at home for him to get back, dressed and patient, glancing at the clock every five minutes. But he never arrived. So like a tense thread that finally snapped, you grabbed your coat and marched to Onigiri Miya where you knew you would find your soon to be husband.

Low and behold, he had been in his office still in his work clothes. He had completely forgotten your plans, something you always forgave but this was the fifth time in a row and you were so tired. And hurt.

Hurt because even after you confronted him, he made this a problem about you and not the relationship. Why is it you should give him all the understanding and patience while receiving none of those qualities from him?

There is no point in trying to hide the fact that you’re crying, now. It feels hopeless, perhaps you should’ve saved the conversation for a different time. But you’d been telling yourself that for months.

“We can’t keep being like this, Osamu,” you choke. “What will it be like when we’re married? If we have children?”

Throwing his hands up in defeat he sighs, turning to walk back to his office. He doesn't seem to have an adequate answer to your question, instead slamming the door shut and effectively ending the argument.

God.

You knew how much all of this meant to him. You'd supported him wholeheartedly from the start in getting his restaurant running. You had spent the last month battling your own feelings of guilt over how upset it made you that he was absent. And now this.

There was no reason for you to be standing here any longer, and it was clear that the conversation was over for Osamu too. You clutch your hand to your chest and scurry out the restaurant exit, a few tears slipping down your cheeks.

The cold air bites at your skin while you speed walk away from the restaurant with your arms shielding your chest from the wind. The night is clear, cloudless and the street is much brighter thanks to the glow of the moon. Remaining vigilant you continue to flicker your eyes, observing the streets ahead and occasionally looking over your shoulder.

Quickly crossing an intersection you see a group of men gathered together outside a bar socialising with each other. You curse under your breath and tuck your chin into your coat, praying that they don't notice you but you know the sound of your heels will catch their attention.

"Hello there, beautiful!" You hear a menacing voice call from their direction, words a little slurred. You pretend you haven't heard them and continue walking on the edge of the pavement, keeping yourself away from alley entrances.

"Oi!"

It's a different voice, angry and closer than before. You can make out the sound of multiple other men chatting amongst themselves behind you, their footsteps falling in unison.

"It's rude to ignore people, you know! Why don't you stop and we can start again, fresh slate hm?"

Your nails dig painfully into the palm of your hand, fighting back the urge to tremble. To your immense relief there is a 24 hour petrol station and store at the end of the road which is lit up with big neon signs, all you have to do is make it there.

"Listen here you ignorant little bitch-"

A hand lands on your shoulder, yanking you back violently. Fighting the urge to freeze you throw your arm out, elbow colliding with the mans face. He yelps and stumbles backwards, his nose begins bleeding profusely.

Heart hammering against your chest you turn and run, mind blank in panic. A heel gets stuck in the crack of the pavement and you lose your footing momentarily, choosing to kick them off before sprinting to the store with laboured breathing.

The cashier startles when you crash through the automatic doors, wide eyed and pale with fright, trying to catch your breath. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

Opening your mouth to respond you find yourself flinching at the realisation that they have chased you and are now approaching the station, a few of them yelling insults into the night air.

The cashier bites his lip and seems to understand. Beckoning you behind the counter, he ushers you in to the back room. "You sit in here until it's safe. Do you have anyone you can contact?"

You thrust your hand into your pocket and clasp your fingers around your phone, shivering still while your heart palpitates. "Y-yes," you reply hoarsely. The employee smiles tightly and nods, eyes apologetic as he steps back out to the front of the shop.

Staring down at your screen teary eyed, a picture you'd taken of 'Samu laughing stares right back at you. Would he even look at your texts after that argument? You might be better off messaging someone else tonight. But you don't want someone else, you need him. You need him to take you in his arms and hold you together before you crumble.

You:

Baby I know we’re fighting but can you please come and get me? A group of men are following me. {Location sent}

To your surprise, as quickly as the message is delivered the status is changed to 'read'. Placing your phone in your lap you lean back into the staff chair, giving yourself the chance to take in your surroundings. The room is pretty small, just two cushioned chairs a sink and a fridge. As you begin to warm up you can feel the soles of your feet stinging, remembering that you had abandoned your shoes. Upon inspection you find they're covered in dirt and cuts.

Not much time passes before you start hearing shouting through the walls and you curl into yourself. The staff door inches open slightly and the same employee pokes his head through. You hold your breath.

"Ma'am, do you know a man named Osamu?"

Relief floods through you, your body going lax and almost slipping off the chair. Nodding frantically the worker turns and widens the door, stepping aside.

Osamu is behind him, his face contorted in anger and worry. As soon as his eyes fall on you they widen and the frown falls away as he rushes over to you and pulls you against his chest. He wraps you in his arms tightly and presses a kiss to your hair.

"Are ya ok? Did they hurt ya baby?" He stammers, rubbing a large warm hand up and down the back of your coat. You shake your head against his chest.

"It's alright sweetheart," he murmurs shakily, tucking his head into your neck and cradling the back of yours. "M'here now. So sorry I let ya walk out, I'm so fucking mad at maself. Ya could've been seriously hurt-"

You hush him and slip your hands around his waist, grasping the material of his shirt in your fists. "Not your fault, 'Samu. I shouldn't have attempted to go home alone. Just didn't wan'a fight anymore, thought you wanted me to leave-"

"Never," he breathes. "Sweetheart, no matter how much we might fight sometimes, I never want you to leave. Yer my future, yer everythin' to me. I'm so sorry I've been doing a shitty job a' showing it".

Lifting your head to see him, you now notice his red rimmed eyes and wet cheeks. You cup his jaw gently and wipe the damp away from his skin with your thumb before guiding him into a slow, tender kiss. His hand falls to the back of your neck and lightly squeezes, grounding you.

Still aware of where you both stand and who might be outside, you pull away reluctantly and notice he has something tucked in his arm. It's your shoes.

He notices your questioning look and grimaces. "Found em' after I locked up and was making my way home. Scared the hell outta me, I thought you'd been snatched up, but ya texted me shortly after that".

You reach out to take them so you can slip them back on but he holds them above your head. "Ah ah, aint no way am letting ya walk home in heels with yer feet all messed up like that. M'gonna carry ya".

You have no room to argue as he sweeps you up into a bridal carry, laughing when you yelp and loop your arms around his neck for support. You hit him lightly upside the head, "idiot".

He bumps your foreheads together playfully, "Not a very nice thing ta' say to yer future husband, soon I'll be carrying ya like this across the threshold as my wife" he teases, grin softening into a small affectionate smile.

"Lets get ya home, love".

#i love u husband samu #im sorry this didnt end up GN :(((#it’s so bad too LMAO #miya osamu x reader #haikyuu x reader

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elias-code · 3 years

Text

How to Kiss (with fangs)

Characters: c!Techno x gn!reader

~Ask Link~

Summary: You and Technoblade are childhood friends and an innocuous visit to his cabin ended up trapping you with him for a week straight. While trying to annoy him, you asked how he kissed with his fangs, and you soon got a first-hand look at how it's done.

Warnings: None (it's fluff :3)

----------- This was for an ask! I hope you enjoy anon!! -----------

You set out on what was supposed to be a weekend trip, there to see Techno and get up to some mischief like old times. As kids, you’d ransack Phil’s house and harass Will together. No matter what happened, you two always ended up in some sort of trouble and Phil would have to come to rescue you.

You came to the cabin, partly out of boredom, at the worst time possible. The blizzard hit the night you arrived, trapping you in the house with Techno for a week. You were sure the storm had to let up soon, but every morning, the house was dark. The snow still piling up outside while you two huddled together for warmth, not that he needed it.

Eventually, he got tired of talking. He was never much for small talk, but especially now since you’d run out of even remotely interesting things to talk about. He tried to read to you, but you were restless.

“Hey!”

“I told you if you didn’t move, I’d just pretend you weren’t there.”

Earlier, trying to get his attention, you’d sat on the ottoman of his armchair, where he usually rested his feet while he read. You thought it’d bother him, but after asking you to move multiple times, he just decided to best you and he swung his legs onto your lap, trapping you there.

“Well, now I’m just going to annoy you until you move your legs.”

“Feel free,” He said, reaching for the book on the table next to him. He always looked studious with his reading glasses on, the little fangs poking out of his mouth being especially cute when he focused.

“Weather’s pretty crazy, huh?” You said for the second time that day, you know it got on his nerves, and so you made a point to asking as often as possible.

“Are you going to do this all night?”

“Until you let me get up.”

“You’re just going to annoy me somewhere else. At least here you’re predictable.”

He was right, you thought, but you might as well make the most of it. “Where’d you get these boots?”

“You know I make my own clothes.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you make stuff.” You poked his foot, pretending to look at the stitching. “I remember when I accidentally ripped your cape and you had to stitch it up.”

“Still mad about that.”

“Sorry,” You flicked the toe of the boot, “I mean, it was the first time I’d seen you sew. I didn’t know you knew how.”

“Mhm.”

This was getting nowhere. You huffed, looking at the fire that was roaring a minute ago, now only crackling away over a pile of ash. You’d have to add another log to the fire soon, but he wasn’t letting his feet up anytime soon. You were already getting cold.

“The fire’s dying.”

“Yep, thank god we’re both nether-dwellers,” He looked up sarcastically, “Oh wait, you’re not.”

“Techno,” You whined, kicking your feet against the foot of his chair.

“What?”

“Let me up, I want to stoke the fire,” You looked at him, pretending to shiver, “I’m already cold!”

“In a minute.”

Alright, well now it was back to your old tactics. If he wouldn’t respond to annoyance or pouting, you’d have to bring out the big guns.

“Remember when Phil caught you putting ice in Will’s pillowcase?”

“Yes, I do.”

“He deserved it,” You said, “But he brought you out in front of Will and made you apologize.”

“And then he made me apologize to you for pinning it on you.”

“I remember. Maybe I should put ice in your pillowcase for trying to pull one over on me.”

“I don’t keep ice in my house, you’d have to get from some outside,” He looked briefly at you, “And you’re already dying in here.”

So much for that plan. Maybe it wasn’t embarrassing enough, you had to dig deeper. “What about…” You drew a blank.

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever kissed anyone?”

His eyes looked up from his book, squinting at you, trying to read your expression.

“You know I haven’t,”

“I mean I dunno, you must keep some secrets from me…”

“But you have a habit of knowing everything about everyone, you’d probably somehow know before I did.”

“Good point.”

There was a pause, your train of thought got away from you, now you were just thinking about kissing him.

“How’d you think you’d kiss someone?”

He took a deep breath, “What do you mean?” “Like, with your fangs, how would you, ya know…” You made some elaborate hand gestures, which confused him more, “With the fangs and all…”

“Um, I guess I’d be really careful.”

“But how? Show me.”

His face went bright pink, ears nearly red. You hit the sweet spot. He moved his legs off of you, tucking them onto his chair, propping up his book. Victory. You stood, grabbing a log for the fire. You slowly brought the flames back to life, blowing lightly on the embers, igniting the driest bits of bark.

“No, but seriously,” You walked over to his armchair and put your head on the top of the chair, tilting your head to look at him.

“Seriously what?” His face was still slightly flushed.

“How do you kiss with the fangs? I’m actually curious.”

“I don’t know if I could describe it.”

“Well, I mean we’ve got time to waste.”

His eyes darted to you and then back to the book, taking mental note of the page number so he could come back to it.

“What are you saying?” He turned his body to face yours, getting awkwardly close. You backed up and his head followed you to the front of the chair, expression never changing.

“I mean,” You poked one of his fangs, testing its sharpness, “That could hurt someone,”

“You’re pretty tough,”

Now you had each other turning pink. You wanted to hide your face, but that would mean he’d be winning. Besides, you wanted to see if he actually had the guts to kiss you.

“Then do it,” you taunted.

He rolled his eyes and leaned in, inviting you to do the same. Am I really doing this? Am I kissing my best friend? You leaned in. He put his hand on your cheek to steady you, any wrong move would mean you’d have a tooth in your face.

You got close enough to see the details on the rims of his glasses, and you could make out tiny trios of skulls engraved in gold. Your lips were practically touching, and you whispered, “Careful, I don’t want to have to explain to Phil why my lip is busted,”

He pulled away ever so slightly, “Wait, how do I actually do this?”

You laughed. He didn’t think he’d get that far, he was just trying to psych you out, secretly hoping you’d go for it.

“Let's just try, we can figure it out as we go,”

He went back in, tilting his head, trying to get purchase on your bottom lip. “No, that's not right,”

“You got this, Techno.”

This time, you managed to get one, mouths closed.

“Alright, just let me,” You blurted, holding his face.

You went for it, full force, slightly startling Techno. You forced his lips open with your tongue, freeing his bottom lip of his fangs. From there he got the hang of it.

You both sat there for a while, exploring each other’s mouths. All things considered, he wasn’t a bad kisser. Something inside of you stirred, a long-buried crush on Techno reawakening at that moment.

You smiled into the kiss and put your arms around his neck. You swirled your tongue around his fangs, testing their sharpness, daring him to bite down. He didn’t, he was being cautious, almost like he sincerely enjoyed it.

You both parted for air, staring at each other for a while afterwards, basking in the moment.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” You mocked, your face still burned bright pink and you felt hot to the touch.

“We should do this again sometime,”

“Maybe during a blizzard or something…”

#eli fangs #c!techno x reader #c!technoblade x reader #technoblade #techno x reader #technoblade x reader #mcyt x reader #dsmp #dsmp x reader #oml my first ask i am shaking in my boots #i hope this is what you wanted Ilysm #its a joke about 'how to sex' by tommy #Elias original

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gotnofucks · 4 years

Text

What’s Your Escape

Pairing: dark!Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Summary: Sherlock could never resist a mystery, especially not one as deliciously wrapped as you.

Words: 4.5k

Warnings: Non-con/dub-con, smut, harassment, jealousy, 18+ ONLY

A/N: Spoilers for Enola Holmes

MASTERLIST

+++++

It was your duty to make sure that the young miss could escape quietly. You put extra padding on her shoes and made sure the mud outside the window was spongy. She would need something strong and long to climb down from here, so you sew together a few old curtains to make a rope and put them in the chest in her room. If she follows the plan, she will leave, and none will be the wiser. You hoped she would make it back before noon, or you’d have to answer the masters of the house why their sister was missing.

You liked living here before the brothers returned. Things used to be fun at the Holmes ancestral manor before Mycroft and Sherlock returned after their mother’s disappearance. You would have thought they will leave after bringing back Enola under their roof, but they seemed to have reconnected with their roots and to your displeasure stayed.

Eudoria Holmes had hired you as a second housekeeper after Mrs. Lane started getting up in the years. Or well, that’s the story she told everyone else. Eudoria had rescued you from a life of abject poverty, brought you to her estate and given you a roof and work. She saw in you a fire that she claimed would light the way for many women to come. You had trained with Enola since childhood under her mother’s direction, but you were more mentally skilled. While Enola could jujitsu her way out of a situation, you could read a person, manipulate them into letting you go. Together, you both made the best team.

Everything changed when Eudoria disappeared. You knew one of you had to stay here to keep an eye on the Holmes brothers, so you helped Enola escape while you stayed. You didn’t think anyone would suspect you had a hand in her daring getaway, but then you hadn’t met Sherlock Holmes before. Since the morning Enola was missing, his eyes followed you like a bloodhound’s to meat. You could feel them, the weight of his gaze heavy on you. If you would look up and catch him, he would get an irritable look on his face, like he’s stuck trying to undo a knot for a while.

You were glad when he left the Holmes Manor for London to search for his sister soon enough. His looks made you antsy and you had to bite your tongue on various occasions to set him straight. For years you had lived unrestrained with Eudoria, and suddenly being thrust back into your duties as a housekeeper proved to be more difficult than ever. More so now that Enola was back as Sherlock’s ward.

Things could have gone back to normal for it seemed Sherlock was more liberal than Mycroft when it came to their sister. Yet, he was a man of society. Intelligent as he may think her to be, he was still of the mind that she must marry a suitable gentleman, after which she could frolic wherever she wished. It fell on you to help Enola escape the Manor, to go away for a few precious hours at night to spread her wings and breath freely. You’d been doing so for nearly a month and every night your exploits had gone without a hitch.

You’d just seen her down the curtain rope, waving to her from the window as she climbed atop her bicycle and rode away into the dark. You sighed, wishing you could perhaps go too. But you owed a great debt to both the Holmes woman, and you would continue to serve them as long as they would desire.

“Would you like me to help you climb down?” Said a voice behind you and you turned suddenly, clutching the windowsill to support yourself. Sherlock leaned against the doorframe, his curls slightly mussed.

“Mr. Holmes” You breathed, heart hammering unevenly in your chest. Your first thought was that your secret was out, and Enola would be made to marry a stupid man while you’ll be thrown on the streets. He walked languidly towards you, wearing a robe that stretched over his bulky frame. For a man so huge, he carried himself with a lot of grace. Stopping a few feet from you, his eyes followed the rope that dangled out the window and a smile tugged at his lips.

“I’d wondered why she looked so tired every day, and why you spent so much time doing her laundry. The mud must be difficult to get off, hmm?” He asked, his hand pulling out his pipe from his pocket that he deftly lit and popped in his mouth.

You didn’t answer him, watching him, deciphering him. He was a mystery to you because he was so open. Unlike others he didn’t wear a mask of polite diplomacy, his disdain for things was expressed in no uncertain terms and he rarely bothered hiding his true thoughts. While you could outsmart a liar, talk a stupid person into doing what you want without them realizing, you had a hard time reading Sherlock Holmes. He had little need to lie unless it was for a case and he was certainly not stupid.

He stared at you for a long time, smoke drifting from his pipe while you refused to cower under his gaze. His lips twitched in amusement, eyes raking over your form before finding yours and he took a step forward.

“You are good at hiding I must say. Almost perfect in fact, but these eyes, they give you away. Your tongue drips with honey while your eyes burn with fire and ice. If someone knows where to look, your game will be over before it begins.”

“And what are you looking for Mr. Holmes?” You asked.

He set his pipe down before coming close enough to brush his front against yours. You stiffened slightly, feeling his hand going around your waist.

“I’m looking for a reason.” He whispered, his hand catching hold of the rope behind you as he started pulling. You stayed between him and the window ledge, staring into his eyes, his knuckles grazing your back occasionally until he pulled in the entire rope. Letting it fall on the ground, he almost bumped into you when he leaned forward to shut the windowpanes behind you. His breath was on your face and you resisted the urge to dash away from him.

“You need to leave” You said at last. Sherlock shook his head, arms resting on either side of you now. He breathed deeply, taking you in. His blue eyes, one with the slightest tinge of brown gleamed at you. Only a faint light came from the candlestand in the corner now that the windows were closed, and you saw reflected in his eyes an emotion you were entirely unfamiliar with. Desire.

He leaned forward, his one errant curl tickling your forehead and you felt his breath on your mouth. Your hands shot out, pushing against his chest.

“Leave, now.” You said, sharp and commanding.

“Make me”

You gulped, the intimacy of a man not something you were used to. He was too large to even think of physically getting away. You must, like he said, make him go away.

“I can’t get you to leave, but if you stand at the end of the hall, I can convince you to come to me.”

His eyes lit with intrigue, a most sensual smile tugging at his lips. You were doing what he loved the most. Playing a game.

“And what if you cannot?” He asked. You met his eyes head on, not an ounce of fear in yours.

“Then you can have what you so clearly want.”

You could almost call his grin boyish, an excitement taking over his features as he finally pushed away from you. He cocked his head at you, appraising you as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. He nodded, turned around and walked out of the door and stood at the end of the hall. He spread his arms as if to say, your move.

Your feet carried you across the room, measured stride that gave away nothing.

“I think the deal was for you to make me come to you.” Sherlock remarked as he saw you walking forward.

“It is” You stated before quickly taking hold of the door and pulling it shut. You had a brief glimpse of the shock on his face, then heard his feet thundering as he ran towards you but by then you had locked the door and rested against it.

His fists hit the wood and for a moment you were convinced he would break it down. But then you heard his chuckle, like he was proud to have been played as such.

“I’ll come back for you” He said aloud, and his feet retreated while you sank down on the floor. Your heart was loud in your ears and hands slightly trembling. Maybe its time you brushed up on your jujitsu.

+++++

Sherlock let Enola leave every night, giving no impression he knew what she was up to during the day. She was far too happy (and sleepy) to give it much thought and the days went by as normal. Or well, maybe not for you.

If you thought he was looking at you before, it was nothing as compared to now. He was everywhere, watching you from the corners when you cooked and cleaned. You were glad for other people’s presence in the Manor, for you feared being alone with him. Each night, the moment Enola climbed down you would shut the door to her room, sleeping there. You couldn’t risk making the journey across to your own chambers. That was a risk you weren’t willing to take.

“Mr. Kennedy would be over for dinner tonight. Make the necessary arrangements” Mycroft told you at breakfast. You nodded, dreading the extra hours of cooking you’ll have to do. Thank god Mrs. Lane was still well enough to bear most of the burden. Sherlock’s eyes as usual were on you and you wondered how no one noticed.

“Do you still have mother’s favorite infusion?” He asked you and you nodded. Eudoria will not be happy with them taking liberties with her stuff, but you weren’t about to argue. “Get me some, please.”

“Of course, Mr. Holmes” You sped away, grateful to be away from his company. You always loved the storeroom where Eudoria kept her infusions. A sweet smell of herbs along with polish permeated the air and it warmed you from within. You tinkered with the numerous jars that littered the shelves, dust coating them for they haven’t been touched in months. You were rummaging in one of the upper shelves when you heard the door behind you shut and you turned to see Sherlock turning the key to lock it.

“Are you done running away from me?” He asked, putting the key in his jacket. The room was just a small storeroom, crammed with different knickknacks everywhere. Sherlock’s body seemed to take all the space in the room, and you felt claustrophobic. He only needed to take another step to close the distance between you and you stumbled into the shelf behind you, jars clinking against each other.

“What do you want?” You asked, feeling both irritated and anxious.

“You’re smart enough to figure that out by now.” He said and took that step forward, bringing you chest to chest. You wished you’d worn a corset which would have provided an extra layer of protection. All your training with Eudoria had not prepared you for her son. He smelled like the pipe he smoked and the rich musk of ink and parchment. You tried not to breath too deeply.

“Mr. Holmes, this is most inappropriate.” You chided and he breathed out a laugh. His face neared yours and his eyes held yours in a way that you couldn’t look away if you wanted to.

“You intrigue me like no other. The restraint you have…You’re a burning match and I keep creeping closer and though you threaten to burn me you’d much rather smother your flame. Why?”

His words heated you, a tingling starting in your belly as you shook from the force of him. His finger raised slowly, very slowly to your cheek and you turned your face right before he could touch.

“How will you get out this time? What’s your escape?”

He was so smug and amused you very nearly growled at him. Your eyes took in the room, trying to see how you can get out of here. He was blocking the only exit with the key in his jacket. As established previously, physically fighting him was not an option. You thought about it and finally turned to look at him.

“I propose a challenge” You said, and he grinned like it was just what he was waiting for. “You hide that key anywhere in this room while I shut my eyes. If I find it, you let me leave.”

He leaned even closer, close enough for his nose to graze your head.

“And what if you don’t?”

“Then you can have what you so clearly want.”

He pulled back and produced a handkerchief from his pocket that he offered to tie on your eyes. You took it and did it yourself. You’d rather he not touch you at all. You could hear the shuffling of his feat, slight movements to your left and then the clinking sound of metal hitting an object. He gave you the go ahead and you took off the blindfold.

You looked around carefully, examining every surface and box and jar. Your keen eyes judging what was moved from its position. One glass jar to the far right caught your eye and you almost went to pick it up before you stopped. You titled your head, looking at Sherlock who seemed to be observing you most intently. To his surprise, you stepped towards him and placed a hand on his chest, moving it until you reached the pocket in the inner lining of his jacket and found the key.

His eyes were wide, both aroused and impressed.

“How?” He asked and you smiled a little at his fascination.

“I almost went for the jar, that was the only one with fingerprints marking the dust layer. But then I noticed your jacket which had dust stain too. You dropped the key in there but put it back in your pocket, not wiping your dusty hands.” You explained.

His arms caged you before you could blink, holding your body to his and mouth at your ear.

“No, you said you’d let me leave!” You protested. His warmth was seeping inside you, smell overpowering your nostrils and you pushed.

“I have never wanted a woman more in my life. I’ll let you leave, but only because I know I will have you. Go now before I am tempted more than ever.” He released you and you unlocked the door, stumbling outside and running away without looking back.

+++++

Two months, that’s how long you held him off with the power of your brain alone. He would corner you and you would play a game of wits. Every time you had escaped, sometimes narrowly, but it all changed this night.

You didn’t know what was happening until Sherlock almost drove his fork into the tabletop. He was positively seething, eyes glaring at Mycroft’s colleague who was over for dinner. It was not until he turned those eyes on you did you understand what had him on edge. Mr. Shephardson had referred to you as ‘my dear’ and ‘sweet girl’ multiple times now, and with each new endearment Sherlock’s fist clenched harder until you worried he’ll dig his fingers in his own palm.

You shrugged away his glare and continued serving, smiling at the man old enough to be your father. It was not like you cloud go, just turn away and leave, it was your job to be kind and serve the guests. It was one of the longest dinners of your life, one that left you utterly uncomfortable and confused. The guests departed and you were left alone to clean the table. You had just started stacking the plates together when Sherlock marched towards you, a frown marring his handsome face.

“Ten minutes, my room. Don’t make me drag you” He warned and went away as quickly as he had come. You shivered slightly and moved your hands faster, collecting the dishes, and putting them in the kitchen for a wash. You had no idea what he wanted, but he was angry enough that you wouldn’t push his boundaries. You wiped the table next, legs jittery as you knew time was running out. Finally, you rearranged the chairs and put away your apron before climbing the stairs to make you way towards Sherlock’s room. You were halfway up when he came thundering down himself, almost colliding with you.

“I was just –” You started speaking but he cut you off by lifting you in his arms and making his way up. You bounced in his arms as he climbed the steps, his jaw clenched in anger.

“I told you I’ll drag you myself if you don’t make it on time.” He snarled and you were too shocked to make a noise until you were in his rooms and the door was shut and locked behind you. You had to admit you were afraid of him then, his chest heaving in anger as a vein pulsed in his temple. He stalked towards you, removing his jacket as he came and you nervously moved back.

“Mr. Holmes please –”

He cut you off again, voice sharp and so commanding your knees knocked together.

“Say my name. Now”

You gaped at him, unsure what was happening. Here you thought it would be another tedious game between you two, but the mischievous glint had disappeared from his eyes. They were dark like a thundering sky, boiling over with rolling clouds.

“Say my fucking name now!”

“Sherlock!” You yelped, your eyes wildly looking for a way out. He was not himself. This is not the man you wanted to be left alone with for even a minute. But he had different ideas and he crowded you against the wall, assuming his favorite position in front of you with his arms acting as a cage.

“Say it again.” He ordered right in your face, voice dark and slow.

“Sherlock” You whispered and saw some of his anger leave him. One of his hands reach out to tangle in your hair and pulled you forward, your lips a hairsbreadth away from his when you started struggling. “No, no Sherlock. Please don’t” you pleaded.

He was so close you could make out every detail of his face, you could taste his breath on your tongue.

“You had a jolly time smiling at that man tonight, yes?” He seethed and you shook your head. You didn’t know he’d get so angry and jealous.

“It is my job” You argued and his arm tightened around you, squeezing until you were sure you’d be bruised tomorrow.

“I am your job!” He said and pushed away from you. “Name your challenge. Tell me how you’ll escape from me today.”

From the look on his face, you didn’t think he’d let you leave anywhere. Your eyes shifted from one place to another, wondering what you could do to get away from here. Fear permeated the air, making you lightheaded. You finally spotted his small safe hidden in the corner of the room.

“If I can open that safe you let me leave.”

“And if you don’t?”

You gulped audibly before answering. It was a question frequently asked and just as frequently answered.

“Then you can have what you so clearly want”

He smiled a satisfactory smile, moving away to sit on his bed. You forced your legs to move, inspecting every inch of the safe. It was small in size, golden in colour and had a very distinctive keyhole. You surmised that the key must also be golden, small going by the size of the safe and if you looked at the keyhole carefully, it must be sleek too to fit inside.

You made a mental tally of where he could keep the key in the room. But before that, you thought about what Sherlock Holmes would keep in a safe. It must be very valuable going by how expensive the safe itself looked, and if it were valuable then he would not just leave the key laying around in his room. He had only just returned to the manor after a long absence, things had changed behind him. He was once again living with his brother who he hardly trusted. There was only one logical place he would keep the key then.

“Please stand up” You said to him and he did, coming to stand before you. You tried not to look in his eyes as you scanned his body, thinking where he might have put the key because you were sure it was on his person. He had removed his jacket, leaving him in his shirt and pants. You took in every part of him and finally plucked the pen from his pocket. On its cap was a golden clip that you broke away and took with triumph towards the safe.

You inserted the clip into the keyhole, and it entered smoothly and your grin widened. You threw a smug look at Sherlock over your shoulder and turned it, but it didn’t move. Frowning, you put more force into it and tried to turn it. It stayed stuck.

His laughter made you freeze, and you let the clip fall from your hands. You faced him ashen faced, eyes wide and fearful. He took his time coming to you, victory sparking in his eyes. You corrected your posture, hoping you have wiped away every ounce of fear from your face. You weren’t about to let him gloat over you.

“I’ve told you before, you can hide very well but your eyes are your undoing. You can’t hide your heart from me when it shines so bright from behind your eyes.”

His hand took yours and slowly slid it down his chest until it rested on his buckle.

“Right before your eyes, had you been daring enough to see.” He said and you saw on his belt buckle a golden key. You looked at him and saw heat in his eyes, heat and desire that scared you more than anything. You left behind your rational thinking and made a run for it, rattling his door before he came behind you and hauled you up by your waist, throwing your body on his bed.

“You can’t break the rules of the game. When you won, I let you leave, now that I won, I’ll take what I want.”

He climbed over you, straddling your lower half as his hands sank in your hair and finally pulled you into a kiss. His lips folded over yours, kneading yours gently before his tongue probed inside to taste you. You wiggled in his hold, his passion burning you as you tried to come to terms with the situation. He was not brutal in his ministrations and coaxed a response from you, your lips moving against his on their own. You let out a soft moan, which made him sag against you.

“I’ve waited so long to have you, to have you burn me in your fire. Tell me why, for I can’t figure it out. Tell me why you suppress the storm that I know howls inside you.”

His eyes were open, urging you to talk about a part of you that you buried under layers. His let his fingers massage your head, and you sobbed. Even pinned under him, held down with his weight, his words were heavier to bear. He wanted a reason. Your reason. Right now, in the position you were in, with your heart thumping away in your chest, you couldn’t keep it in.

“If I go out to live my life, your sister can’t live hers. I owe everything to her and Eudoria, and if I have to sacrifice all my dreams to make hers come true, I’ll do it over and over again.”

His lips were on yours before you were even done, hands working to rid you of your dress. You resisted, a protest on your tongue.

“Please, don’t. I can’t, not this way.” You beg and he pulls away but only to discard his own shirt.

“I will not wait any longer. I will make you mine, I’ll have you tonight. No questions asked.”

How he managed to remove the dress from your squirming body you didn’t know but you lay before him more exposed than any man or even woman had ever seen you. Parts of you hidden under layers of cloth for years had become bare before his gaze and he revered them with his hands and mouth. Your back arched once his mouth sucked on your nipple, causing a deep heat to pool between your thighs. You squeezed your legs closed but he pried them apart, his already huge body looking ginormous as he nestled between them.

“I am going to taste you and I will claim you. It will happen, no matter what.”

He made good on his promise, bringing you incomprehensible pleasure with his tongue on your most sensitive region, making slurping noises that could make a street woman blush. You don’t remember when you ceased struggling, when your hands pulled instead of pushed. You panted for him, ached for him.

When he entered you, it was a pain the likes of which you had never experienced before. The stretch was uncomfortable, your legs trembling as you cried. Sherlock shushed you, promising it will be better soon. With every thrust the pain lessened and when he started teasing the nub between your legs you finally moved past the pain to focus on the pleasure. You were sobbing in need, begging him for something you didn’t even know what. He knew. He saw in your eyes what your mouth couldn’t say and gave you what your body desired.

You shattered below him, falling apart in a million pieces and he gathered you back into his arms, putting you together one kiss at a time. He was nearing his limit, hips pumping into you and your eyes rolled.

“After tonight, no more escaping. You’ll be mine, completely.” He vowed and you felt the warmth of his seed fill you. You lay beneath him, sweaty and battered, tear stained face anguished at what just happened.

Sherlock pressed kisses along your throat and chest, marking you.

“You never have to smother your flames from now one. You can burn as bright as you want, you can soar as high as you want. I will make all your dreams come true. You won’t just be a housekeeper. You’ll be the mistress of this Manor. I’m going to keep you, forever.”

+++++

taglist :

@shooting-star-love @what-is-your-wish @stanmysoul @sweeterthanthis

#dark!sherlock x reader #sherlock holmes x reader #dark!sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock x reader #enola holmes #henry cavill x reader #dark!henry cavill x reader

2K notes · View notes

waddlenut · 3 years

Text

Masterlist of the masterlist - Marvel

I HAVE WRITTEN NONE OF THESE FANFICS, CREDITS TO THE WRITERS!

This is a masterlist of my reblogs :)

AVENGERS

Fluff -

Being a teenage Avengers who’s bubbly and cheerful, and picking up Thor’s hammer one day

Angst -

Finding hope (Y/N has been having a hard time coping. TW - triggers for self harm, mentions of suicide and depression)

Feeling okay? (fav. Avengers cast. TW - low blood pressure and fainting)

PETER PARKER

Fluff -

Wheezy (Peter is the only one who can tease you about your asthma)

Paranoid (your Criminal Minds obsession gets you paranoid about crime in your neighborhood)

Isn't he lovely (Peter and his s/o go into labor and meet their firstborn)

Excuse me (fav. Peter gets his molar taken out and is high on anaesthesia, and all he wants is to touch Y/N her boobs)

Gummy bears (you’re on your period. And your boyfreind, Peter is cute but he can be dumb sometimes. TW - mentions of sex and language)

Pretty (Peter sees you shirtless for the first time. TW - boobies, making out, mentions of sex and May being a cockblock)

Hand on boob (”why is your hand on my boob”)

Sticky boy (Peter stickers to you at the worst moment possible. TW - suggestive themes, mature language, making out and boobies)

Paradise (there’s a beautiful girl talking to the plants around the bakc of the compound. Peter doesn’t know much about love, but he thinks he’s well on his way towards it)

The spectrum (autistic!reader. You join the Avengers and get off on the wrong foot)

She’s just tired (aunt May finds the reader asleep on Peters chest)

Your mess (Peter is drunk and horney, and you have to take care of him. TW - talks of sex, smutty scenes, underage drinking, kisses get heated and Peter almost mentally scars Tony)

Waterproof (Peter sees a joke tiktok about boobs being able to come off, and you try to see how far the joke can go)

Cool kids (fav. You walk in on some domestic bliss between Peter and your little brother)

Huh!? (Peter finds something he wish he didn’t in your backpack)

Spiderman band-aid (Peter wants a nap. You want a kiss. Things get out of hand and you end up sitting in your bathroom with a Spiderman band-aid taped to your lip)

Sleepover (fav. You stay the night at Peter’s house for the first time since you both started dating. May isn’t home and Peter is nervouw. TW - boobies and peter being cute and horny)

Angst -

Dummy (fav. Peter is the only one of the Avengers who doesn’t tease you for being a little slow)

Breathe (the reader grew up with the Avengers, she doesn’t know how to talk to them about somet things. TW - panic attacks)

See, peter! I’m fine! (the reader has been feeling sick and ends up fainting. TW - vomiting and fainting)

Cuddle (Peter has been bottling up his emotions for a while and has a breakdown)

Smut -

Shower (Peter takes to long in the shower and you are getting late for school. So, you come up with a solution which causes a problem for Peter. TW - light smut, flustered!Peter and nuditiy)

Lay me down (fav. soft smut)

Cupcakes (Peter gets easily flustered and you love teasing him)

BUCKY BARNES

Fluff -

Warm (you accidentally took a freezing shower, how convenient is it that your boyfriend is a super soldier with a hot body)

Doubts (the reader doesn’t tell Bucky about her cybernetic leg because she doubts he won’t want to date her anymore. TW - implied smut)

Nutella (late at night, you turn on the kitchen light to find a stranger bleeding on our floor and eating your Nutella)

Fatigue (Y/N isn’t feeling well and still goes out to train. That wasn’t a good idea)

Drugged (just cuddly Bucky)

Shark week (Bucky gets a crueal awakening to womanhood. TW - mentions of periods)

Acne (TW - self love issues, insecure reader, soft!Bucky and implied smut at the end)

Shining armor (Bucky saves you from attempted assault. TW - language, attempted assault, Bucky saves the day)

You’re a ladies man (Bucky said he didn’t like cats, but was that the truth? TW - language)

Safe in your arms (against a drinking game with Thor, you inevitably lose and find yourself on Bucky’s floor)

Night time wanderer (for months you’ve had struggled sleeping, and one night Bucky can’t help but intervene)

Insecurities (Bucky x chubby reader. TW - swear words, insecurities about weight and fluffy Bucky)

Two of a kind (fav. Bucky becomes enticed by a ballerina who he’s more alike than he may think)

Not admirable (fav. Baby sitting your neightbour’s kid and meeting Bucky in the smithsonian)

You were a no show (you and Bucky have liked each other for quite some time, and when he finally has the guts to ask you out, he stands you up at the last minute bevasue he gets scared. TW - self doub/hate but fluffy ending)

Elements and emotions (Bucky rescues you from a hostage situation, only to find you have the ability to control elements by your emotionsleaving him wanting to know more about you)

Life saver (fav. Bucky saves you from embarrassment by making sure no one sees your period stain)

Inseparable, literally (Peters new webbing is highly effective. Something you learn the hard way as you’re forced to be stuck with Bucky for anentire day with no way out)

There’s always another dance (you and Bucky are supposed to go dancing together, but you get really sick and Bucky looks after you. TW - vomiting, nothing to graphic)

Thunderstorms (it turns out your ex-assassin boyfriend is afraid of thunderstorms. You help to comfort him with fluff, cuddleing and singing)

Bath bombs (fav. you introduce Bucky to bath bombs and things take a pleasant turn)

Your protector (fav. You’re a shy person but the best at your job on Stark’s tech team. A certain soldier joins the team and you stick close to him)

Stealing clothes (you are always borrowing Bucky’s clothes. He pretends he doesn’t like it but that blush on his cheeks gives him away)

A spilled secret (You’ve just had your wisdom teeth out and you are still loopy. He wasn’t expecting you to mistake him from someone else) part 2

Exhausted (you and Bucky live across form each other and have a morning ritual of getting coffee together. One day you aren’t at the place you were supposed to and Bucky freaks out)

Bucky takes care of you when you are drunk (TW - mentions of smut)

Blood stain (asking Bucky to do you an uncomfortable favor. TW - awkwardness)

Pretty dresses (Bucky, you, and the way you love your dresses throughout the seasons. TW - soms angst, mentions of death and major fluff)

Flirt (fav. Bucky always flirts with you. Being shy, you misinterpret his intentions)

Loathing (TW - swearing)

Saving her (TW - swearing, violence and protective!Bucky)

Cookies and cuddles (after your period ruins a date, you rush home upset. Bucky goes to comfort you, and make you feel better about yourself. TW - mentions of periods)

Comfortable (you buy some new lingerie as a suprise for Bucky, but he doesn’t react the way you thought he would. TW - alludes to sex)

Saving the day (on your way back home someone starts following you, when your eyes fall on the most impressive and handsome Avengers, you don’t think twice and find yourself a fake boyfriend. TW - mention of stress harassement)

Soft touch (Bucky slowly but surely learns again that physical contact doesn’t have to be painful. TW - some smuttish parts)

Bucky’s little secret (Bucky has a crush on you)

My sweet girl (40s!Bucky. After WWII, James finds you and resues you from the rest of the world. TW - swearing, violence and a mental illness)

Purr love (fav. Bucky meets your cat and discovers that she has no basic knowledge of personal spance)

Fair play (after a rough mission, you and the team go to Coney Island. Still injured, you can’t go on the rollercoaster with the others so Bucky descides to keep you company)

Shopping misadventures (you go out for shopping and find yourself being harased by a group of guys. Thankfully enough, your knigh in shining armor is never far away. TW - harassment, catcalling and protective!Bucky)

Magic touch (when Bucky’s arm becomes too heavy to carry, he finds help where he didn’t expect it)

That’s my girl! (The team knows you as Bucky’s quiet girlfriend, however that all changes when Sam challenges you to spar. TW - swearing and fighting)

Cotton clouds (plus!size reader gets insecure. TW - body shaming, insecurities, bullying, asshole agents, protective!Bucky and Steve, language, broken noses)

Dating Bucky would include

Wisdom (Bucky goes with you to the dentist when you get your wisdom teeth pulled out)

Bucky dating a short and petite reader would include

Angst -

Envious (a fire forms in Bucky when a recurring nightmare sends him over the edge. TW - major angst, swearing and an angry Bucky)

Please don’t leave me (a one night stand occurs and you get hurt badly during a mission. Maybe it was a bit more than just a one night stand? TW - mentions of sex and wee bit of angst)

Camera view (while triggered into winter soldier mode, Bucky nearly kills the reader. TW - swearing, near death and strangulation)

Within the smoke (firefighter!bucky. After rescuing a girl form a terrible fire, she insists on rescuing her cat from among the flames. Bucky cannot resist her tear-filled eyes)

Not him (training with Bucky, but one day something doesn’t quite go to plan. TW - some swearing)

Memories (Bucky is triggered into winter soldier mode. TW - violence)

You got me (when Bucky comes back after the Blip, it takes you by surpirse. TW - mention of death)

A battle between mentality (you’re struggling iwth PTSD after the events of endgame and Bucky is there to help comfort you. TW - endgame spoilers and mentions of PTSD)

Unsavory situations (Bucky comes home to find reader having a panic attack. TW - panic attack)

Fireworks (Bucky doesn’t do crowds. He certainly doesn’t do fireworks. But he’d follow you just about anywhere. TW - PTSD symptoms, panic attack and a very sweet Bucky)

The safest place in NYC (a stranger comes to your rescua when you find yourself held at knifepoint, alone in an alleyway, by a man demanding your money. TW - mugging, some pshysical violence and Bucky being a badass but also soft)

Soldat (when a HYDRA agent finds a way to hack into FRIDAY’s system to trigger Bucky into the witner soldier, he nearly kills you. TW - wintersoldier!Bucky, self hate, physical fight and lots of comfort)

Obsession (targeted after your complicated relationship with Bucky ends up on every news channel in the city, your stalker takes things into his own hands to ensure that you belong to him. TW - stalking, kidnapping, mild torture/violence and people being assholes to Bucky)

Just focus on me, okay? (TW - drowning and CPR)

Instinct (reader gets badly hurt by HYDRA) part 2

Panic (reader has a panic attack, Bucky is cute)

Trigger (Bucky beats himself up after attacking you when he was triggerd during a mission. Angst w/ fluffy ending)

Wrong side of the bed (fav. Bucky is in a bad mood and snaps at the reader. TW - language, Bucky snaps under pressure)

Comfort (Bucky helps you remember what it’s like to feel again. TW - trauma and mentions of blood and gore)

Cold (the reader falls into really cold water durigna mission, and later at the Avengers tower she gets so sick she faints, but Bucky is there to take care of her)

You’ll get there (Bucky is Y/N’s safe place)

Smut -

Paperwork (after a long mission comees lots of paperwork, what else comes with it? TW - smut, dirty talk, rough sex and fingering)

I’ll always be with you, my love (Y/N and Bucky have both been taking by HYRDA but now you are save with the Avengers. TW - mentions of torture, angst and smut)

The bad days (you and Bucky weren’t supposed to be together, not acording to the cruel voice in the back of your mind. TW - angst, smut, body image insecurities and soft!Bucky)

Cold, cold water (fav. While on a stakeout in the heart of Russia, Bucky learns that touch can bring something more than pain and he will willingly give himself over to the ice if it means keeping you alive. TW - some violence, near drowning, hypothermia)

Dominantion (sub!Bucky x dom!reader. TW - vibrators)

A twice broken man (knowing what will happen if Hydra ever captures him again, Bucky asks the impossible of you. TW - smut, canon level violence, mentions of torture, PTSD symptomes, suicidal thoughts and trauma recovery)

On the inside (Y/N has gained some weight and is afraid that Bucky might not find her attractive anymore, but he does and doesn’t mind showing her. TW - self esteem issues, language, Bucky worshipping your body, immplied smut and semi smut)

Grind on me lke you grinded that pillow (TW - swearing, no penetration, horny!Bucky, half-nakedness, dirty talk and kink af)

Help (TW - swearing, dry humping, sexual themes)

Woods of chaos (TW - panic attack, NSFW gif)

On your knees, little girl - masterlist (TW - daddy kink, ageplay)

Alarm clock

Boxer!Bucky

STEVE ROGERS

Fluff -

Always be my baby (dad!steve. The baby is milk drunk and Steve is in love)

Don’t underestimate a woman, Barnes (TW - some language)

Mission (Steve and Y/N like eachother but won’t tell that they love eachother. Bucky gets fed up about this and sets up a plan to get them together)

Accidents happen (plus size!reader)

Just breathe (you get an asthma attack. TW - asthma attack and swearing)

Disoriented (reader has a seizure and is comforted. TW - seizure/epilepsy)

Angst -

Accidental confession (Y/N gets shot on a mission and passes out from blood loss. TW - bullets, blood loss and near death experience)

Smut -

Nice & tight (Mobster!Steve x virgin!reader. TW - smut and age gap)

BUCKY BARNES + STEVE ROGERS + READER

Fluff -

Shaken up (Bucky and Steve find the reader passed out. TW - passing out and physical illnes)

As long as I have you (Bucky has an nightmare and accidentally attacks the reader so Steve stops him. TW - physical violence, brainwashing, nightmare and mentions of sex)

Angst -

Lavender blue (Bucky still suffers from his nightmares, and tonight was the worst one yet. TW - nightmares, mentions of abandomment, fluff ending)

Breathe in deep (Y/N gets an asthma attack. TW - severe asthma attack and slight panic attack)

I forgive you (reader gets seriously hurt during the cival war battle)

Alive (reader has a traumatic nightmare)

You touch them again and I’ll kill you! (Protective Bucky. TW - physical abuse, near-death experience)

Don’t let me drown (Steve and Bucky both fear the cold but the reader almost drowns (TW - drowning, PTSD and physical violence)

Blame (Bucky is triggerd into being the winter soldier and hurts the reader)

Not so safe haven (someone breaks into Stark tower and uses the reader as a hostage. TW - gun violence, hostage, threatening with a weapon and physical violence)

On the ropes (reader is on the train infiltration with the hwoling commandos and almost falls off. TW - gun violence)

Nothing (reader has an eating disorder and nobody realises until it effects her mid-mission. TW - anorexia nervose, passing out, collapsing, mentions of physical violence and mild arguing)

The 4 times they didn’t notice and the one time they did (the team tease the reader about her height but it becomes too much. TW - mentions of violence, mentions of terrorism, unconsciousness, teasing comments about short heigt and mild bullying about height)

Unseen (reader gets hit mid-mission but nobody realises until after it’s over. TW - physical violence, blood, bullet wound and unconsciousness)

Fucked up (fav. Tony yells at the reader, triggering her PTSD of an abusive past. TW - arguing, mentions of abusive past, physical violence, PTSD and panic attack)

Capable (the reader has a huge fight with Bucky and Steve and they say something they instantly regret. TW - verbal argument with partners, insult, mentions of blood and fighting and mentions of suicide)

Breathing is overrated anyway (fav. Whoever knew that stress could be so dangerous. TW - small injuries)

LOKI LAUFEYSON

Smut -

Interesting dream (when he catches you dreaming about him, Loki gives you something to remember. TW - multipe orgasms, sex dream)

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Fluff -

Heartbreak central (Kinda mum!Natasha. After having your heart broken for the first timme, Natasha recruits the team to lift your spirits)

PIETRO MAXIMOFF

Angst -

Can’t help falling (fav. the reader gets frequent dizzy spells and she falls over only to find herself in Pietro’s arms)

Hanging on (while fighting on top of the Avengers tower you get pushed off the top)

TONY STARK

Fluff -

Beautiful (you want a tummy tuck behind Tony’s back but you don’t have enough money so you use Tony’s card not knowing that he can see what you’re buying)

BRUCE BANNER

Fluff -

“You need to see a doctor”

Smut -

You don’t scare me (Bruce is scared that he will hurt you)

#marvel masterlist #peter parker masterlist #bucky barnes masterlist #steve rogers masterlist #natasha romanoff masterlist

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todomochi-uwu · 4 years

Text

Of Unspoken Troubles & Sudden Worries (2/3)

Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x reader

Warnings: Angst

Author’s Notes: Finally! The amount of time this took is stupid, but I hope you enjoy it :) Also I´m trying to cope with Jongdae leaving, so please stream “Hello” to understand my pain.

“Hey Crybaby.”

Previous Part: First Next: Second&Half Third

The same eyes who found were now expecting an answer out of you, they were comforting, soothing but also serious and demanding; words simply didn´t come out of your mouth and you avoided looking at him, choosing to focus on the scratches on your hands and knees.

“Know I won’t tell anyone what just happened, I just want to be able to help you.” He said.

Your voice was trapped in your throat; how ridiculous would you sound if you told him your boyfriend was a piece of shit?

“Did anyone hurt? Is someone harassing you?” He tried again.

This time you shook your head.

“Okay, then did you fight with your team?” You stayed silent this team. “I see, maybe we could try talking to your captain? You are from Shiratorizawa, so your captain is Ushijima, right? Let me just…” When he turned around in an attempt to grab his phone you quickly held onto his jacket sleeve, preventing him from going any further.

To this, he gave you a confused look, “Okay now you need to tell me what´s going on.” He was firm, his tone had changed drastically and his tone was lower.

Sigh, “I made something stupid, and now I can’t face them.”

“And what exactly is something “stupid”?” He air-quoted.

You knew you just had to tell him at this point.

…

Kuroo had his head in between his hands, trying to understand what you were trying to say. “Manager not girlfriend, what the fuck does that even mean?” He mumbled.

“So you managed to catch Ushiwaka’s attention, and even though HE was the one to ask you out, he’s being a fucking asshole.” You simply nodded, “Okay, it’s good to know he’s bad at something, to be honest.”

“Wakatoshi is not the monster everyone makes him look, he’s just weird.”

Kuroo giggled, “Well let me tell you he does have the kind of face that says ‘I’m going to punch if you so much look my way’ You know?” To this you giggled, “Would you like at that? Crybaby can actually smile.”

“Stop it, I’m not in the mood.”

“I know, just trying to cheer you up.” He sighed, before looking at you straight in the eyes, “Do you want my advice or were you just looking for someone to bent?”

“Apparently my rational thinking is not good, because I just keep going to back to him.”

“Because you are not being rational, you are just thinking about how much you love him and how much you wish for him to change, even though he´s not going to.” He was direct, no tenderness, making you flinch “Thinking rational would be to tell you to dump him, he’s not worth it. You are here trying to make it work while he´s just establishing rules as if it was a business contract.” Small tears threaten to come out of your eyes, another knot forming at the bottom of your stomach, “But… I completely understand what you are going through, so you are not letting him go that easily. So I’m going to do something that worked for me in the past, okay?”

You nodded.

“Have you tried talking to him?” Yes. “Did things change in some way?” No. “Okay. Has it been getting worse?” Yes. “Do you sometimes question his love?” Yes. “Are you genuinely happy?” No. “Is this what you thought it would be?” No.

Kuroo sighed, before taking your face in between his hands “Is he’s not loving you the way he should; if he’s not cherishing you; if he’s not trying his best for you; if he´s not fulfilling the compromise he made to you. Then it’s not there. There´s no other way to put it.”

A loud sob escaped your lips, things you already knew were now coming out of someone else’s mouth, making it seem real, making it hurt even worse.

“However, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say his intention is not that, he’s not trying to hurt you, he’s just… an idiot.” He looked away, “But everything and everyone has their limit, including you, no matter how much you love him.”

There was nothing much you could say, he was right, you love Ushijima, but it was becoming too much.

“So tonight we are going to go sleep because my god am I tired from trying to block his fucking spikes, I know you say he´s not a monster, but he sure does spike-like one.” You giggled, “Tomorrow you will fulfil your duties as a manager, but nothing else. You will take notes, refill water bottles and give out towels, what you normally do as a manager. No cheering him, no lovey-dovey looks, no midnight escapades, no girlfriend stuff. If he wants you to act like a manager you will, but he will also experiment what losing someone who loves you feels like.”

“Why are you doing this?” You questioned, you knew he didn´t have any malice intentions, but still, you were the crazy person who appeared crying in front of the gym at one a.m.

“Because I know exactly what it feels like to give out love and receive absolutely nothing, and I’m not letting you continue this destructive cycle; it’s what I wish someone had done for me.”

You didn´t ask any further questions, believing every word he said. You turned around to leave, needing to catch some sleep.

“Hey, Crybaby. You forgot something.”

…

It was now morning, your eyes felt heavy and were swollen, fingers bleeding from all the biting and your body kept trembling from the anxiety, but you had to reaffirm yourself, put yourself first.

And so, you made your way into the kitchen, getting ready to prepare breakfast along with the others managers, who could only give you a sympathy smile and a pat in the back, clearly having heard you cry.

Before you even noticed, the teams were already making their way into the cafeteria, the noise filling the entire building. You started serving plates, placing them in the table for the boys to come and collect them.

“Hey, manager-chan.” A familiar voice said. Tendou.

“Hey, Sato. Did you get a good sleep? You need to be prepared to be able to block some of those quick attacks from Karasuno” You smiled, taking him by surprise.

“Yeah… Um, I didn´t know you got along with Nekoma?” His eyes were looking straight into the piece of clothing in which you were currently drowning in.

“Oh yeah, their captain was nice and gave it to me, he said I looked cold.” Shit, you completely forgot about that. Well, fake it ‘till you make it.

“Okay…” He said while returning to his table, Ushijima was already sitting there looking over the notes from yesterday’s practice. “Hey, Wakatoshi-kun?”

“Yes, Tendou?”

“Have we ever had any other training camp with Nekoma?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Huh.” Tendou was confused but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. There was no need to worry just for a silly thing, right?

It wasn´t until he turned around to have another look at you did he notice your eyes were positioned on another table, another team, Nekoma. Then Tendou noticed their captain looking directly at you, intensely and without even blinking, before he gave you his signature smirk and a quick wink, then sitting down next to his libero.

Tendou´s eyes once again returned to you, and this time it shook him, the peachy pink in your cheeks and the shy look in your eyes incriminating you.

…

Tendou didn´t like it one bit, not when you and Ushijima had something, but after last night´s events, he didn’t know what to think, were you two still together, or was that the final straw?

He saw it during breakfast, he saw during their practice match, he saw it during breaks, Kuroo and you, looking at each other, laughing, talking, a relationship he had never seen before.

When in the fuck had you met Kuroo Tetsurou? And what in the fuck had happened for you to look at him that way?

…

“Wakatoshi-kun” He whispered, careful of not raising anyone´s attention.

He hummed in response.

“Are you and Y/N still together?”

“Tendou, I already told you…”

“No, Ushijima. This time I´m serious, are you and her still together?

Ushijima´s eyebrows were furrowed, there was no point in denying it any more, he guessed. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because for one, she´s wearing Nekoma’s jacket, two she hasn´t even bother looking your way, which I don´t blame her after what you did last night, and third the looks Kuroo has been giving her aren´t exactly friendly.”

“What do you mean?”

Goddammit are you fucking blunt, Ushijima, “I mean, she disappears for the entire night, no one in the team knows where she is, and all of a sudden she is friends with Kuroo?”

“I don´t get your point.”

“What I mean…” He raised his voice, clearly exasperated, he tries again calming himself. “What I mean is, this morning she was wearing his jacket, she has spent all of her breaks with him and she hasn´t even come to greet you.” He hoped this would wake up something in Ushijima, but he simply stared at him, clearly not connecting the dots.

Well, fuck.

This time, Tendou pointed your way, Ushijima was confused, what was so bad? And then, everything made sense.

Kuroo had taken your phone away, keeping it at a height impossible for you to reach, you were jumping trying to get it back, it wasn´t long before his arm was around your waist hugging you while laughing, you pouting.

And to this Ushijima couldn´t help but wonder.

What was this strange feeling? And why did he all of a sudden had the urge to punch Kuroo Tetsurou?

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reidsmemory · 4 years

Text

Echo

Spencer Reid

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Y/N is abducted while working a case and the team has to find her before it’s too late.

Genre: Fluff with a touch of angst

Warnings: Mention of death of minor character, torture

not my gif!

The team had been looking into case that had targeted girls with Y/H/C hair and Y/E/C eyes. All had looks strikingly similar to you and if anyone were to see either one of the victims in a room with you, they would say you were related. You all had been on the case for about a week now and you were still no where close to catching this guy.

“Agent Y/L/N,” a voice called as you whipped your head to face them, “these came in for you,” the officer was holding a bouquet of red roses with a small white card on the top of it.

“Do you know who these are from?” you asked as he shook his head and walked away.

“What does the note say?” Emily asked as the whole team had watched the interaction.

You opened the envelope and read the note as you furrowed your brows, “echo.” The team looked at each other with puzzled faces, “what the hell is that suppose to mean? Have we already dealt with this unsub?” The rest of team began theorizing as the same officer walked up to you again.

“Agent, we’ve got someone that say he needs to speak to you.”

“Can’t they come here?” Hotch asked, getting defensive.

“He says that he won’t go into a place of justice, whatever that means,” the officer began to lead you as the rest of the team followed. You began walking towards the entrance of the station as the officer looked around for the mystery man. “He was just here,” the man spoke.

“Spence,” you spoke out as your boyfriend looked to you before you collapsed on the ground. You head hit the flooring as a ringing sounded in your ears as well as their being two of everything. Two Spencer’s holding your head, two Hotch’s yelling and pointing fingers, two lights blinding you from seeing anything.

What felt like hours later you were being lifted onto a bed. Two men had arrived with an ambulance as shouting and yelling was all that was heard. “Are you family, sir?” the first responder asked as Spencer opened him mouth and closed it again, “I didn’t think so, you all can follow in cars.” The man said as his colleague gave him as weird look as the both of them lifted you into the ambulance as the rest of the team rushed to get their keys and get into the SUVs.

The ambulance sped off as the sirens wailed and your team rushed to the cars. “What in the fresh hell?” Derek said as he looked at the tires on one of the SUVs. “My tires are popped, what about you, Hotch?”

“Same here,” the raven haired man said.

“It’s a set up,” Reid spoke as fear flooded his face.

***

You awoke in a cabin where you had been tired to a chair and had a gag on your mouth. Your vision still hazy and your thoughts even hazier.

“Oh good, you’re up,” a male voice said from the corner of the room. You tried to get a good look at him, but he stayed in the shadows. “Ben Cyrus,” he said as you furrowed your eyebrows. The name sounded so familiar, but you couldn’t quite remember where you had heard it before.

“Who are you?” you asked as the man chuckled. “Let me go, I’ll talk to my team and we can work this out.” He scoffed at your words and began to walk towards you.

“Ben Cyrus. He ran the greatest church known to man and you,” his face was hardened and his eyes had a crazed look in them, “took away our faith!” He struck his hand across your face as a burning sensation filled your cheek.

It all rushed back to you. A few year back you, Prentiss, and Reid had all gone undercover in a cult-like church. The leader, Benjamin Cyrus, had been suspected of child abuse and sexual harassment and the government had wanted the BAU to get involved.

“I remember,” you said as the man smiled.

“Good, Agent,” he grabbed a chair from the side of the room and brought it over to sit across from you. “Now,” he started again, “you might not know me. My name is Joey Cyrus and I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I’d be lyin’,” he studied you as you did the same.

“What do you want, Joey?”

“Well my daddy would be nice for one, but I don’t believe you have the power to do that. So you’ll do just fine,” he got up from his chair and walked over to the bag that you had seen from the corner of your eye. He dumped the contents on the ground in front of you and a spill of tools came out. A hammer, pliers, a baseball bat, a few knives, and other things that could do damage. “Let’s get to know each other.”

***

Back at the station, Spencer was frantically trying to figure out who had taken you and why. The note on the roses had been laced with a medicinal herb that had knocked you out and the ambulance had been found in a ditch on the highway with all but one of the first responders on it. The medics had been killed in a brutal way that even made Spencer sick to his stomach as he thought about what this guy was doing to you.

“Reid,” Hotch’s voice broke his train of thought as he met eyes with the older man. “Go ahead, Garcia.”

“Alright. Our mystery medic is Joseph Mulgrew , he moved to Utah just a few years ago and before that he has been off the map,” Garcia told the team. “This guy, he’s like a ghost. No records of his name anywhere else and no former address of any kind.”

“Did you say Mulgrew?” Spencer said as the team looked at him.

“Yes I did Doctor, what about it?”

“Look up Joseph Cyrus,” Spencer told her as they heard the taps of Garcia’s keyboard. The team looked at him for an explanation, “Benjamin Cyrus, he was an unsub we had.”

“Yeah,” Emily started, “he was that guy that ran that church and...” she trailed off as the team got the gist of what she was saying.

“He was Charles Mulgrew before he made a come back at the church. It could be possible that he has unknown family, considering what he was really doing all those years,” Spencer explained, “Garcia, how old is Joseph?”

“He is 27 years of age and the good doctor is right. Joey here changed his name like dear old dad and oh...” Penny trailed off.

“Penny?” JJ asked.

“Joseph has been in and out of jail and juvie for as long as I can see. Charged with assault, petty theft, and oh my. Domestic abuse filed by his ex-wife who looks a lot like our Y/N,” a sounding on their tablets was heard as they opened it and saw a woman very similar to you.

“But Spencer and I went undercover too, why would he pick Y/N?” Emily said as she immediately started to solve the puzzle, “you think it’s because of the looks of the ex-wife?”

“I think so,” Rossi mumbled, “Penelope pull up the most current address to Joe and anything that could be used to store Y/N.”

“I’ve got a home address and a storage unit and they have all been sent to your phones! Go crime fighters and get our princess back!” Penelope told them.

“Thanks, Baby Girl,” Morgan hung up the phone.

“Reid with me and JJ. Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss take the storage. We’ll have to use squad cars until the SUVs are fixed so lets go get Y/L/N,” Hotch ordered as they all nodded ad went to the parking lot.

***

You muffled your screams and grunts as Joey had began to carve into your stomach. He laughed as you clenched your teeth and held your hands in fists, surely four crescent shaped cuts were to be found on the inside of your palms if you opened them. “You son of a bitch,” you struggled to get out as Joey wiped the knife off on your pants.

“Don’t you talk about my mama that way, girl. I’ll make sure you regret it.” You received at blow to the side of your face. You spit out the blood that formed in your mouth as Joey began to take the other tools out from his collection. “These look nice, don’t they, girl?” He held up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as he popped one in his mouth.

“Those things kill,” you said remembering Spencer tell you countless facts about the ‘cancer sticks’ as both of you had nicknamed them. “On second thought, why don’t you just keep smoking them.”

He laughed, “you are a firecracker. My daddy always said the young ones are.” He stroked your hair as you tried to move back.

��“Your dad was sick in the head and you are too,” you spoke with such tenacity.

He looked at you blankly, “I thought I said you don’t speak of my family like that,” he took the cigarette from his mouth and stuck it on your exposed collar bone.

You grunted as he held your face in free hand. He leaned into your ear and whispered, “I want to hear those screams, girl.” He press the cigarette into your skin further, finally inciting a small scream to slip past your lips. “Good.”

***

The team had arrived at both locations and there was no sign that you were there. Spencer paced around with his hands in is hair as the rest of the team was now even more worried than before, if that was possible. The team had no idea where you could be and if you were even alive. It had been at least 13 hours since you had dropped in the lobby and it was eating Spencer and the team alive.

“You have nothing?” JJ asked Garcia over the phone,.

“No, i’m sorry. I’ll keep looking and-” she was cut off by Spencer who had just had a revelation.

“Garcia, make sure the jet is ready. I think I know where Y/N is.”

***

On the jet Spencer had explained the note and how it read ‘echo’ as saying that Joey might want to recreate the explosion at the church and now the team had touched down in Colorado where they got in SUVs to go to the church’s location.

A swat team followed them along the dirt roads that were bumpy and the night sky that was dark. The sun was starting to rise in the distance. Spencer remembered you always saying, ‘the same beams but a new day,’ and that made him the tiniest bit hopeful that they would find you in this new day.

The church came into view as they could see it was now a smaller wooden building. “What the hell,” Morgan said from the drivers seat as he say the building, “this guy built up a whole new structure to what? Avenge his father’s death?” The car came to a stop as the team hopped out of the car and Hotch began to go over the plan with the others.

“From the front-” he was cut off by a ear piercing scream that came from no one other than you. Spencer looked at his boss in worry as Hotch returned the look and started again, “let’s go.”

Joey drove a knife into your stomach as you screamed loudly. He left it in your body and quickly grabbed another knife from the ground. “You have got to work out your daddy issues another way,” you told him as he dragged the new knife down the side of your face as it cut into your skin.

“You wanna try something different, girl?” You immediately regretted your words and recalled Spence always telling you that your smart mouth was going to get you in trouble some day. He began to unbutton the top of his flannel, but quickly stopped as he heard footsteps in the distance. You heard them too.

“Spencer!” you yelled as loud as you could as Joey came over to you and cut the ropes on your ankles and arms as he quickly grabbed you and put a knife to your neck.

From the front of the house Spencer could hear your cries as his ears perked up as his heart rate grew faster and Hotch nodded as Morgan kicked the door down. The team moved through the structure and finally Spencer came face to face with you, “Y/N,” he said as you locked eyes with your boyfriend and smiled lightly, despite the situation at hand.

“Joseph, put the knife down,” Hotch told the man as the knife just dug deeper into your skin.

“I don’t think so,” he took grip on you and made it tighter. “You killed my family. He never did anything but help people in need of his guidance.”

“Your father ruined the lives of young girls,” Spencer said matter-o-factly.

“No! He did them a favor, he gave them the greatest gift he could,” Joey said as he began to move his hand without the knife a bit more. You furrowed your eyebrows as you tried see what he was hold and finally saw a small remote concealed in his hand.

You moved your eyes to Hotch’s and blinked rapidly. You just hoped he would pick up on the Morse Code and get everyone out of the building.

“Let’s just talk this out, Joey,” Hotch started, “JJ get everyone out, I want to talk to Joey alone.” JJ furrowed her eyebrows at the man but he gave he a stern look as she understood and began to move the team out.

“No! Bring them back!” Joey yelled, “or she dies.” Spencer looked at JJ as she tried to get him to leave the building, but he refused to move so she quickly called Morgan who grabbed Reid as he struggled against him.

“I can’t leave her!” he told them and Morgan ignored his pleas and called a couple SWAT members to help him with the genius.

“As much as I like her, I’ll do it,” Joey said as he continued to watch the men and women exist the building. “Bring them back!” Joey yelled as his grip on you faltered for a second which you took advantage of as you got out from his grasp and struggled to take the device from his hand.

“Go!” you yelled at Hotch but he jumped in and started to help you as the three of you wrestled and quickly the device was flung across the doorway to another room. You all freezed before you grabbed Hotch’s hand and dragged him towards the back of the building.

The team waited outside for Hotch and you as Reid screamed at Morgan, “you have to let me go back in there!”

“You can’t Kid, you heard Hotch!” Morgan yelled back as the rest of the team cringed at the fight. “I know all of us want to go back in there, but we can’t! You gotta understand that, Kid!”

“No! You don’t understand!” Spencer screamed, “she’s all I have! I didn’t even get to tell her that I love her! That I have been in love with her since that stupid dinner at that Thai restaurant in California!”

“That was two years ago...” JJ mumbled.

“Yeah! Two years! I’ve only been with with her for a couple months now and I haven’t even told her!” Everyone’s hearts pained as they heard Spencer’s cries and saw the liquid that dripped down his cheeks. “I can’t-”

All head turned as the house exploded a safe distance away from them. The orange flames roared as the team had their mouths’ open in shock.

“No,” Rossi and JJ whispered at the same time.

Morgan’s grip on Reid was gone as he watched the flames and turned to Emily who had had disbelief and horror over her face.

Spencer’s mind raced a mile every second and now his mind was completely blank of everything but you. Your face, your smile, your eyes, your lips, your laugh, your touch, your everything. Spencer ran towards the flames as the team yelled after him.

“Spencer,” JJ’s voice breaking as she leaned into Rossi’s embrace.

“Kid. Come on, don’t do this,” Morgan called as Emily just watched in disbelief with a gaping mouth and teary eyes.

Spencer didn’t care about their calls, he needed to find you. He scanned the firery rubble for any sign of you or Hotch, but there wasn’t any. Just ash and fallen wood covered in sweltering heat. “Y/N!” he yelled out, “Y/N! Hotch!” Spence continued to look through the wall of intense heat and for a second he saw a delicate hand reach up through the burning wood. “Y/N,” he whispered to himself as he began to walk through the blazing fire that threatened to burn his body and ruin his lungs.

He moved a piece of wood off of where he saw your hand and saw you and Hotch laying side by side. “Guys!” he screamed at his friends, “help!” The team gave each other confused faces before coming over to Spencer. JJ gasped as she saw your form next to Hotch’s as tears of joy spilled from her faces. Her and Emily joined hands as they worked to get the wood off of you.

“Medic!” Rossi yelled as people began to rush over to help.

Morgan and Reid worked to get a big piece of debris off of the two of you. Hotch’s eyes opened and he immediately looked to his side where you had been, holding his hand tightly. He coughed violently as the medics lifted him up and brought him to the ambulance. You blinked a few times and saw Spencer standing over you.

“Hey, can you hear me?” he asked as you gave him a thumbs up and he laughed at the simple gesture. He brought you up for and embrace as you struggled to keep your eyes open. The medic came over to you and began to carry you away as Spencer and the team followed you and Hotch to the ambulance.

“Can I?” he asked one of the nurses as she nodded and he climbed into the ambulance and held your hand as you drifted off to sleep.

***

When you woke up, blinding lights had been the first thing you saw. The second was Spencer who was asleep in a chair next to your bed, his head resting on the bed and his fingers interlaced with your own. You blinked a few times and saw the rest of the team in the room with you. Hotch was in bed identical to yours, but he was up and had his eye focused on the TV in front of him. By his side was JJ and Morgan as the conversed with each other in hushed voices. Penny was writing in a card with a sparkling pink pen as she handed it off to Rossi who smiled lightly at her. Emily was just outside your room as you saw her talking with a nurse or doctor; rather it looked more like arguing.

Derek glanced over to you briefly as he then turned back to JJ and then back to you. “You’re up,” he said quietly, a contrast to his usual booming voice. Everyone looked to you as you smiled.

“You gave us quite a scare, Y/L/N,” Hotch said as you laughed quietly which then turned into a cough.

“Em! Get a nurse or doctor!” Penny exclaimed as Emily rushed and called a nurse in the hallway. JJ got up from her seat and made her way over to your bed.

She examined your face before hugging you tightly. “God, you can never do that to us again,” she chuckled as you rubbed her back. You felt a few tears fall on your shoulders as JJ pulled away and wiped her cheeks. “He’ll be happy to see you,” she gestured to Spencer.

“Glad to have you back, kiddo,” Rossi told you with a smile, “you need anything?” As soon as he said that a doctor walked into your room and started to go over your condition.

“You are very lucky, Agent Y/L/N” she started, “you have a mild concussion and that wound on your abdomen will take some time to heal over. You received first and second degree burns all over your legs, arms, and torso, just like Agent Hotchner. Your eardrums are very fragile and I recommend no flying for at least 3 weeks. Your face has some minor bruising and cuts that should heal over time.” She set her chart down. “The both of you should be able to leave in a few days time, but for now just relax.”

“Thank you,” you said as she smiled.

“Dinner will be up in a few minutes,” with that she left and Morgan was seen grinning widely.

“What?” you said.

“She didn’t mention one thing.” You furrowed your brows at his words and he started to rub his head which just made you more confused.

“I have a concussion, you’re going to have to actually say it.” He laughed at your words.

“Do you think pretty boy will like the new haircut?” he asked as it finally clicked and you ran your fingers through your hair.

“Oh my, God,” you said as everyone laughed. “Oh my, God!” you repeated as Emily handed you a mirror and as you brought it up to your face your jaw dropped. Your hair was cut in jagged parts, but none shorter than your chin. The team laughed as you continued to gape at your reflection.

“Some of your hair ended up burning off, just a bit,” Emily said as you looked at her with wide eyes. She laughed as you began to laugh too and soon everyone joined in as you all smiled at your stupidly, funny haircut.

Spencer rubbed his eyes as he saw your smiling face and immediately hugged you tightly. “Thank Goodness,” he whispered as he pulled back from the embrace. “Why are we laughing?” he asked as you gestured towards your hair and smiled widely at the tall man.

“Is this gonna be a deal breaker, babe?” his cheeks flushed at the nickname.

He laughed a bit, “no, I still love you,” he said as the team froze at what he said as did he.

“Awh, I love you more, Spence,” you told him without skipping a beat as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Even if you do kinda look like David Bowie,” he said as you opened your mouth and smacked his arm playfully.

“Spencer Reid!”

4K notes · View notes

ratmonky · 3 years

Text

Dividing a Plaything

Word Count: 9.2k

Warnings: dub-con, cheating, gaslighting, manipulation, dacryphilia, unhealthy relationships

AO3 Link

A gift to my two lovely friends, @bacterialheaven & @anti-interesting

With the holidays coming up, the train station was more crowded than it usually was. You didn’t mind hearing the loud and continuous chatter of the people around you, it made you feel less lonely and more included as you waited for the arrival of the train your boyfriend’s brother had taken.

Your boyfriend, Todo had invited his brother over to his place for a simple dinner where the two of you would be meeting for the first time. You couldn’t hide your excitement because Todo spoke highly of his brother, telling you how they spent years of their life and endured so many hardships together.

Todo had been having a rough time at work and seeing a familiar face could cheer him up. He didn’t have anyone other than you and his brother after all. He needed to be with people he treasured.

You had only recently moved in with him after a year of dating because his line of work prevented him from visiting you. Although you were fine with seeing him once in a while whenever he wasn’t busy, he wanted to spend every second of his life with you.

He had convinced you rather easily, telling you about how a woman your age shouldn’t live alone in the city. He told you how your life would be easier if the two of you lived together, shared a bed together, enjoyed meals together, bathed together, and of course, paid the bills together.

In the end, he was right, life was easier when you were together. You liked how much you could trust him and how protective he was when it came to you. When the two of you first met, it had been at a rescheduled Takada-chan concert when the previous one was canceled due to heavy rain. You had gone to the show after winning a ticket in a giveaway and halfway through the concert found yourself being harassed by some creep.

It was then, you heard a clap that was louder than any other clap at the concert and found yourself on the other side of the show. Dumbfounded, your eyes had scouted the entire room to see a muscular-built guy drag the creep who had been harassing you out.

You followed them out, thank this mysterious guy, and asked him if you could show your gratitude by buying him some Takada-chan merchandise.

The rest? History.

“Tokyo Train C arriving at Kyoto B.”

Quickly getting up from your seat, you headed towards the gate Todo’s brother would be arriving from.

You didn’t know what Yuuji looked like but Todo had told you that his brother knew exactly what you looked like from the pictures he would send him. Somehow, you could guess Yuuji’s appearance. Since he was Todo’s younger brother, he probably looked like a copy of him, perhaps shorter and had a smaller build and-

“Ah.” Some pink-haired guy stood in front of you. “You’re Todo’s girlfriend, right?”

There was a moment of silence as you stared up and down at him. “Yuuji Todo?”

He looked nothing like your Todo.

“Nuh-uh,” he chuckled. “It’s Yuuji Itadori.”

Again, silence.

“You’re not his brother?” you hesitantly asked.

“No,” he said, looking at you with the same confused expression that was plastered on your face. “Did he tell you I was his brother?”

“Yeah,” you sighed, shaking your head slightly with a blush. “I’m sorry about the-”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s like a brother to me anyway. He introduces me as his brother to everyone.” Yuuji offered you a gorgeous smile before reaching his hand out to you. “Let’s take it from the beginning.”

You took his hand and mirrored his smile. “I’m (name), Aoi’s girlfriend.”

“Yuuji Itadori, Todo’s brother.” A chuckle.

The two of you shared a laugh and continued shaking hands but it didn’t feel awkward. His grip on your hand was gentle and soft, you didn’t even notice his thumb caressing your skin.

“I hope you’re hungry,” you said, finally retrieving your hand and turning around on your heels to lead the way.

“You can’t imagine, I’m so tired too.” Yuuji stretched his arms over his head as he matched your steps.

Only then you noticed the huge backpack he had with him. Todo had told you that Yuuji was only coming over for dinner and hopefully that was true. Nevertheless, you regretted not cleaning the place more thoroughly.

~~~

As soon as you opened the door to your apartment and stepped inside, Todo appeared out of nowhere to greet you. A quick kiss on your forehead and then walking past you, he grabbed Yuuji’s hand with a loud clap. The two of them hugged and were busy talking while you made your way to the kitchen to lift the aluminum foil you had put over the dishes to keep them warm.

“Aaah, Fushiguro got a girlfriend? That speechless guy too? I guess it’s only you left now.” Todo was practically yelling when he walked inside the living room. “I heard Mechamaru, no, Kokichi got a girl too.”

“Woah, I wonder how he managed to get a girlfriend.” Yuuji sounded astonished.

“Um, dinner-”

“Probably one of those sorcerer dating websites.” Todo sat on the couch and redirected his attention towards the television.

“Wait, there are websites for that?” Yuuji plopped down onto the couch next to Todo, ignoring you as well. “Is that how you met, (name)?”

“Aoi?” Your meek voice went unheard.

“No, we met at a Takada-chan concert.”

“Takada-chan has fangirls too?” Yuuji snorted, “I didn’t know.”

“(name) had won a ticket through a giveaway, she wasn’t exactly a fan but she joins me whenever I go to Takada-chan’s shows or meet and greets.” Todo smiled to himself, he was such a lucky guy to have an amenable girlfriend like you.

“Does she even like Takada-chan?”

“Not one bit,” Todo replied. “But she likes me.”

Indeed you liked him, he was your hero after all. He had saved you from a creep and as your first-ever boyfriend, Todo was perfect.

He bought you clothes he knew you would like because he had seen Takada-chan wearing them in his favorite photoshoots and he took you everywhere with him. At Takada-chan concerts he kept you close, close enough to be able to hump you while watching Takada-chan and hide it from anyone else’s view.

You were happy to be with him and give him the affection he needed. Although at times he could make you flustered with the way he groped you in public when other guys looked at you, you knew it was just because he loved you so much. He simply couldn’t keep his hands to himself and he was possessive. That was all.

“Aoi.” You tried calling out to him again to no avail. You knew they weren’t going to hear your voice so you walked around the counter and into the living room. Putting your hand on Todo’s shoulder you cut his sentence midway through.

“Yes?” he asked, turning to look at you with a warm smile that never failed to make you flustered.

“D-dinner.”

The two of them had forgotten all about dinner but with your reminder, they got up from the couch to follow you into the kitchen.

Dinner was more than the same, Todo and Yuuji chatted while you listened.

“So what grade sorcerer are you, (name)?” Yuuji asked, reaching for a glass of water.

Both you and Todo looked at each other and laughed. “I’m not a sorcerer,” you said. “I’m just a civilian.”

“She can see curses though,” Todo elaborated.

“I thought you told him about this since you said you talk about me with him all the time.” You were giggling as you took a napkin to pat on your mouth.

“We never had the chance.” Todo put down his cutlery and grabbed his plate before leaving the table to get seconds.

“Yeah.”

“Then what sorta stuff did you guys talk about me?” you asked, still a joyful smile plastered on your lips.

The other two, on the other hand, stopped smiling. They looked at each other and Todo was the one to give you an answer.

“Just about how much I love you.” He was back on his seat and pressed a kiss on your forehead.

You blushed faintly, “You’re lying~”

The mood between the two guys changed after that.

After dinner, while you were rolling up the sleeves of your shirt to do the dishes, Yuuji offered to help. You rinsed the dishes and he placed them in the dishwasher until only the large bowls were left. You were planning to wash them by hand since they wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher.

“How did you and Aoi become such good friends?” you asked while he closed the dishwasher.

“We bonded over our love for the same type of women.” Leaning back on the counter, Yuuji watched you wash the rest of the dishes by hand.

“So, Takada-chan?” you chuckled.

“I wouldn’t say her specifically.” He was about to say something else when Todo draped an arm over his shoulder.

“Yuuji and I have the same taste in women.” Todo grinned, his eyes went in between you and Yuuji a couple of times before he said something that made both of you blush. “That’s why he’s probably attracted to you.”

“Aoi!”

“Todo!”

Both of you yelled at Todo in unison and your boyfriend pouted, raising a brow slowly. “I was just saying!”

Rolling your eyes, you returned your attention to washing the rest of the dishes.

“Oh, Yuuji is staying over so I came here to ask about the clean sheets, where did you put them?” Todo asked the thing you knew he would. You kind of wished he had told you Yuuji would be staying over the night a couple of days ago, the whole apartment was dirty.

“They’re inside the vacuum sealer bags under the bed,” you replied and quickly added. “Uhh, take the green ones though! The white ones are too thick for this time of the year.”

“Yeah, I figured!” Todo left Yuuji’s side and walked past you with a quick pat on your back, thanking you for the dinner.

“I’m sorry for crashing here,” Yuuji said suddenly.

You shook your head softly, “It’s not my house, and don’t apologize please, it makes me happy to see Aoi happy. He doesn’t have many friends.”

“He doesn’t?”

“I’ve been to his class reunions and his classmates weren’t quite fond of him.” You frowned at the thought of the unpleasant memories of Todo’s classmates treating him like he wasn’t there.

Yuuji hummed in thought, “I’d say they’re hard to get along with, they don’t like me either. Todo and I didn’t get along at first either, you can’t make friends with him unless you actually try to make friends with him.”

At that moment, you understood why Todo called Yuuji his brother. Their bond was stronger than blood.

Finally done with the dishes, you patted your hands dry and turned to face Yuuji completely.

“What’s Aoi’s type of woman?” You were hesitant about asking this, perhaps the description was the complete opposite of you. “What kind of woman does he like?”

“Tall women with big ass,” Yuuji didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Oh,” you forced out a chuckle. “I don’t think I exactly fit the description.”

“Maybe,” he said but then offered you a gentle smile. “But having a type doesn’t mean he’d only be attracted to those kinda women. I mean, you’re pretty and I’m sure you’re more than his type. I’d call you his perfect match, not many people can tolerate him you know.”

You were about to thank him for trying to consult you but Todo appeared between the two of you after a loud clap.

“Brother,” Todo sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s the one for me.”

Blushing at the way your boyfriend emphasized the words, you jokingly hit him on the chest. “You’re too much.”

“Shall we go to the living room?” Todo suggested as he grabbed beers from the fridge. “It’s way too cramped in here.”

Nodding, Yuuji followed after Todo and walked past you but not without pressing himself against you. It could have been an accident but the pause was too long, his hand as he walked past you caressed your waist and back as well.

No, you were overreacting. You didn’t want to upset Todo. You were definitely overthinking this.

In the living room, the two of them were talking when you sat beside Todo. You tried joining their conversation whenever you managed to follow the topic but most of the time you were sitting quietly, leaning against your boyfriend while sipping on a beer.

It wasn’t long until you got a little too bored and excused yourself to bed.

After you left, silence fell in the living room for half an hour or longer. At least it was long enough for them to be sure you weren’t awake.

“She’s prettier than the pictures,” Yuuji said, chugging the last bit of his beer. “She’s also cuter than you described her to be.”

“You should see her when she’s talking about stuff she likes, she gets all excited and it’s adorable.” Todo reached for the remote control and turned the volume up enough to suppress their voices.

“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind.” Yuuji put his empty beer bottle on the table.

Todo grabbed both of their beer bottles and went to the kitchen to get more beer. “So, what do you think, brother?” he asked after plopping down on the couch next to him.

Yuuji took the beer he was holding out to him and nodded languidly as if trying to consider his words. “She’s… she’s really my type.”

Todo clinked his beer bottle with his best friend’s and chuckled softly, “I told you we had the same taste in women.”

~~~

In the morning, you woke up earlier than your boyfriend and spent a longer time than usual trying to escape from his strong embrace. Eventually, you slipped out of his arms. Although if it was any other day, you would enjoy cuddling with him until it was all toasty in bed, you had a guest in your home.

Changing your clothes, you opened the door of your room as quietly as you could to make your way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. You tried peeking into the living room to see if Yuuji was still sleeping but the delicious smell of coffee gave you the answer.

You walked into the kitchen to find Yuuji cooking breakfast. He didn’t notice your presence continued rolling the omelet to make it thicker.

“G-good morning,” you said, wrapping your arms around yourself.

Yuuji whipped his head around and flashed you a gorgeous smile. “Good morning! Sorry, if I woke you up.”

“N-no.” You blushed faintly at the intensity of his stare. “I woke up myself.”

“Ah, I hope you don’t mind me using your kitchen. Todo said it was fine but-”

“I don’t mind it!” you said hurriedly, “I don’t wake up to prepared breakfast that often so I can’t complain.”

He returned his attention to the thick omelet and nodded. “Hopefully, my cooking will be to your liking then.”

“I’m sure it is!” You put your hands on the counter and jumped at the same time as you hoisted yourself up to sit on the counter. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

There was a comfortable silence between the two of you after that. You quietly watched him cook, the way his biceps would tighten each time he shook the pan to fold the omelet and his focused eyes were hypnotizing.

He was glancing at you at times when he did something impressive, smiling. You found it a little weird but didn’t say anything regarding his behavior.

“Good morning!”

Todo entered the kitchen, yawning and with messy hair.

Both of you said it back.

He gave you a peck on the lips before grabbing a coffee mug. “What should we do tonight?”

You gave yourself a moment to think. Perhaps you could eat takeout today, it had been a while since you had a lazy night with Todo. Or perhaps drink wine and get in the tub together. You opened your mouth to give your answer but Yuuji spoke instead of you.

“I was thinking of eating beef and watching tonight’s football match.”

Todo smiled, humming happily as he took a sip from his coffee. “Sounds great.” Noticing your stare, he raised a brow. “You don’t want beef?”

You shook your head, not wanting to say anything while Yuuji was there but as expected of your considerate boyfriend, he leaned forward so you could whisper in his ear.

Hesitantly you spoke. “I thought Itadori was only staying the night.”

“Oh, no. Brother is staying over for the whole week. We’re gonna investigate a curse together.”

Your eyes widened, he hadn’t mentioned anything about this to you. However, you could never say anything against it.

~~~

“This one’s my favorite,” Todo said, showing a picture of you to Yuuji. “She’s wearing Takada-chan’s limited edition dress here.”

“Yeah, you sent this to me a long time ago.” In the picture, you were hiking the skirt of the dress up to reveal your bare thighs and pussy with a blushed face.

“Did I?” Todo stared at his phone and smiled at the picture dreamily. “I send so many pictures of her to you that I sometimes forget which ones I haven’t sent yet.”

“Well, I don’t mind receiving them twice.” Yuuji took out his phone to check his own photo gallery. He scrolled down to the album folders and opened the hidden file. He was greeted by a ton of pictures of you, mostly taken by yourself. Each one of them you were awkwardly posing to show off your naked body. In some pictures you had lingerie but those weren’t quite his favorite.

“Look.” Todo pointed at his own phone. On the screen, there was another picture of you. In the picture, you were on top of your boyfriend, it was possibly taken mid-sex. Your bare chest was illuminated by the flash of the camera and your eyes were closed as you were balancing yourself on your hands that were resting on Todo’s stomach, you looked lost in pleasure.

“I don’t have that one.” Yuuji immediately could tell he hadn’t gotten this specific picture.

“Ah, I’ll send it to you.”

~~~

“She likes it when you…”

~~~

“Oh, her weak point is…”

~~~

“You know,” Todo started, wrapping his arms around you once you changed out of your work clothes and into a Takada-chan merch shirt. “I think Yuuji likes you.”

The guy mentioned was running a last-minute errand downtown, the two of you were alone in your room.

You let out an awkward laugh and leaned back on his chest. “Well, I like him too since he’s your closest friend.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he whispered into your ear, lips brushing against the skin.

“W-what?” You turned your head away from his lips but he leaned down to kiss your neck, not letting you escape.

“I told you we have the same taste in women. He definitely is attracted to you, I can tell.” He pressed his lips on your pulse point, giving you enticing kisses.

You couldn’t hear his words, too focused on his lips instead.

Smiling into your skin, Todo slid his hands up your sides to cup your tits over your shirt. He gave them an encouraging squeeze and you immediately arched into his touch, pressing your ass onto him. “I think you’re attracted to him too, hmm?”

You didn’t answer.

“(name),” he uttered oh so softly before lolling his tongue out of his mouth to drag the wet muscle up from your neck to your jaw. He pressed his lips on the shell of your ear, his hot breath hitting on your skin. “You like Yuuji.”

“Yes.” You could feel him grow larger behind you, he was in the mood.

When you finally gave him the response he had been waiting for, Todo lifted you up to carry you towards the end of the bed.

A moan escaped your lips when he pushed you face down onto the mattress and pulled your shorts down along with your panties.

“You’re so cute, you know that?” He pushed two fingers inside of you, with how wet you were, his thick digits easily went inside. Twirling them around, he smiled to himself as he pulled them back to thrust inside softly, dragging the pads on his fingers in a specific way to drive you crazy.

Clutching on the bedsheets, you lifted your ass up, begging for more. “Aoi…”

“What is it?” He could tease you all day.

Wiggling your hips, you groaned in frustration while he continued moving his fingers agonizingly slowly inside your wet pussy.

“Use your words.”

You flushed, “I want you.”

“You want what?” He added another finger to the mix, thrusting inside sluggishly despite how wildly your walls were pulsating around his digits. It took him a great among of self-restraint to not pounce on you right now, fucking you frenziedly to feel your insides throb like that around him.

“I want your…” Ah, so embarrassing. “I want your dick.”

Luckily, Todo was more than willing to provide.

He pulled down the front of his pants with one hand while continuing to move his fingers. When he finally pulled out his fingers and pressed the tip of his cock on your entrance you were mewling him to hurry up.

Snapping his hips forward, Todo gave you what you wanted. He was only halfway inside but you were already screaming into the mattress. You could never get used to his size. He was too big for you.

Todo proceeded to push his hips forward slowly until his entire length was inside your pussy. He stilled momentarily to let you get used to his size as usual before tentatively pulling his hips back to surge them forward in a sudden motion.

You moaned audibly, clutching the bedsheets tighter.

He pulled back and thrust in your pussy with a loud clap continuously, the pace didn’t falter once but it was the force of his thrusts that made your eyes tear up and punched the air out of your lungs.

Todo grabbed you by your hips to pull you towards his hips at the same time he was snapping them forward. Moaning at the sounds of your skins clapping on each other, he put his foot on the bed to put more strength behind his thrusts.

His balls were slapping against your skin harshly and he could go a lot deeper in this position. It wasn’t long until his cock throbbed because of your gummy walls clenching around him.

Pulling out of you, Todo flipped you over and held his cock over your face. “Open your mouth.”

Obediently you lifted yourself up from the bed using your elbows to take the tip of his cock inside your mouth.

Todo’s hand around his cock moved faster than your eyes could follow and when his cock started twitching he groaned softly. Soon after you felt him releasing his seed into your mouth.

You swallowed his cum and gently licked the tip to clean it.

“Can’t you try sucking it for once?” he asked sheepishly, eyes hazy with lust as he was looking down at you.

“It’s too big.” Was your reply. It was mostly, you weren’t confident enough to take his cock in your mouth but it wasn’t impossible.

“Won’t you try it?” He placed his hand on your cheek, thumb caressing the skin.

How could you say no to that…

You were about to get in a comfortable position when the doorbell chimed, making both of you jolt.

Yuuji was back.

“Brother,” he sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly, “Why did you have to arrive just as things were getting good?”

“We’ll do it once he leaves Kyoto,” you said, smiling. “I promise.”

Todo smiled down at you and leaned down to kiss you. “You better keep your promise.”

The moment he kissed you, the doorbell chimed once again but this time repeatedly. Giving you a small peck on your lips, Todo tucked himself back in his pants as he walked out of the bedroom to open the door for Yuuji.

You joined them only after you managed to catch your breath.

The dinner was uneventful, the boys cooked the beef and you made some garnish.

After dinner, you prepared some snacks for them to watch during the football match and although you were planning to go take a bath to leave them alone, Todo insisted that you stayed.

That was how you ended up on the couch, staring at the television with a blank expression. You didn’t understand much from the football match they were watching but it didn’t stop you from settling to Todo’s side with his arm over your shoulder.

Feeling his warmth was enough to lull you to sleep if it wasn’t for the narrator’s mundane voices or Yuuji’s excited voice explaining Todo about the opposite team’s players and some other stuff you couldn’t keep up. As your eyelids got heavier and it was impossible to keep them open anymore, you felt your boyfriend’s hand going inside the front of your shirt to cup your tit.

Your eyes immediately snapped open as you jolted awake, eyes wide and in panic.

Todo glanced down at you momentarily with a smirk before returning his attention to Yuuji who was still busy explaining to him about one of the goalkeepers. You gasped and wanted to tell him that his friend was going to see what he was doing but he shut you up once he gave your tit a generous squeeze.

Flushing, you covered your face with a hand, hoping that the guy next to your boyfriend wouldn’t see you like this.

“I’m gonna grab another beer,” Yuuji said, getting up from the couch. “You guys want anything-” His eyes landed on your blushing face and then to the large hand that was groping your tit under the shirt. His own cheeks flushed slightly as he averted his gaze.

“I don’t need anything,” Todo said, the smile in his voice was noticeable. “Do you want anything, (name)?”

You shook your head slowly, you were getting dizzy from embarrassment and also from excitement of being seen like this by Yuuji.

Yuuji nodded and went to the kitchen to grab a beer for himself. When he came back he continued his explanation about the opposite team to Todo, ignoring your mewls and gasps whenever your boyfriend rolled your nipple between his knuckles or pinched them.

Todo pulled his hand away only after the football match had ended, by that time you were a total mess.

“We should go to bed,” Todo said, lifting you up. “(name) doesn’t feel well.”

Yuuji didn’t comment on anything as Todo carried you back to your room, wishing his friend goodnight.

In the bedroom, Todo didn’t waste any seconds to strip you out of your clothes, the excitement of knowing that his friend could be jerking off in the living room was enough to make him cum in his pants but he held back.

“You’re the worst,” you whimpered but it broke into a moan when he took your sensitive nipple in his mouth. Wrapping your arms around his head, you pulled him towards yourself, wanting more. “I hate you.”

He bit your nipple, making you writhe in pain. “Do you mean that?” he asked as he pulled himself away from you.

“Nooo~” you whined. “I love you.”

“You must love Yuuji too,” he said, pushing his fingers inside your pussy. “You’ve gotten so wet. It was because he was watching, right?”

“I don’t know.” You wanted to deny it but he was telling the truth, he had to be. Todo knew you the best, better than you knew yourself. “M-maybe.”

The strings that were holding Todo back snapped one by one. "You were being so loud, you might as well have just gotten on your knees and begged for his attention. You should've moaned his name and begged him to fuck you like a whore on that couch."

“Don’t say that!”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” He pulled his pants down and flipped you over to your stomach to shove his entire length inside you impatiently. “Be more honest, will you?”

You shamelessly moaned out loud, arching your back.

“You want Yuuji to fuck you like this, don’t you?” He snapped his hips forward punching the air out of your lungs.

This time without any hesitation. “Yes!”

~~~

“Why don’t you fuck her already?” Sukuna scoffed. “She was sitting there like a bitch in heat, begging to be fucked.”

“Stop talking vulgarly about her like that,” Yuuji pulled his pants down, ignoring Sukuna and focusing on your loud moans instead.

“You should be a man and show her that you want her.” Sukuna wouldn’t shut up though.

Yuuji spat in his palm and wrapped his hand around his cock, “Be quiet, will you?”

“You want her to be yours right?”

It became silent for a moment. The only sounds were your moans mixed up with skin clapping on skin coming from the other room.

“If you don’t act dominant, you’ll never get to have a woman for yourself. Do you always wanna have someone else’s seconds?”

Satisfied the way he got to him, Sukuna disappeared from Yuuji’s cheek, leaving the latter all alone with his thoughts.

Todo was coming home late today. Meaning that you were alone with Yuuji for the time being.

You were cooking dinner for the two of you while he was in the living room watching television

Since this morning, you had been unable to look him in the eye. Things that happened yesterday wouldn’t leave your mind for a mere moment, you were embarrassed and ashamed but Yuuji seemed indifferent.

Perhaps these sorts of stuff were normal between guy friends. You didn’t know. Todo was your first boyfriend ever and this was the first time you were meeting one of his closest friends.

It could be.

“Do you need help with anything?”

You jolted in surprise and glanced over your shoulder towards him. “Um, no but thank you!”

“Hmm, okay.” Yuuji leaned back on the counter, watching you intently instead of going back to the living room.

Although you returned your attention to the food you were cooking, you could sense his stare on your body. His stare was intense, whether it was your sixth sense or not, you could tell exactly where he might be looking at your body from the way your muscles stiffened.

You didn’t want to say anything, freaking out that it might upset Todo if you confronted Yuuji. What if you became that ‘crazy girlfriend’ for Todo and he broke up with you just because you were acting like a prude?

Ignore his staring. That was all you had to do. As long as you kept your distance, you would be fine.

Argh! Last night was too much, you were going insane. This was all Todo’s fault and-

“You’re wearing something that’s similar to Takada-chan’s outfit right?” he suddenly asked.

“Y-yeah.” Oh, as always you were being paranoid for nothing. He was just staring at your dress. “Todo likes it when I wear them because-”

“And he probably only fucks you from behind.”

You dropped the spoon you were holding but Yuuji continued.

“Bull’s eye, huh?” He had a blank expression on his face. “He’s probably imagining Takada-chan since from the back he can’t see your face. Only the flashy pink and red clothes. And I can bet he makes you do your hair like hers too, I guess it looks good from the back as well.”

Dead silence filled the kitchen, you didn’t dare to lean down to pick up the spoon or turn off the stoves.

“But I guess you know about all that,” Yuuji sighed, taking a step forward towards you. “You want him to love you no matter what. Even if it means he’ll fantasize about some idol.” He took another step, you mirrored his movements and took a step back. “You’re pathetically in love with him.”

“Stop,” you pleaded, covering your ears like a kid. “Stop it!”

Yuuji turned off the stoves and gently grabbed your wrists to pull them down. “It’s not a bad thing,” he said. “Loving someone to the point you devote your entire presence to them, it’s admirable.” His eyes had this gentle look in them and you could feel the empathy through them. He had been in this position before. He knew your pain. “You love him even though he uses you for his own fantasies but Todo loves you too. I know he does because I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

Fall for it.

Your eyes teared up, lower lip trembling. “I can’t… We can’t-”

Fall for the bait.

“Todo and I have the same taste in women. He wants us to get along.”

“This isn’t how two friends get along…”

Yuuji pulled you closer to himself looking deep into your eyes. “Todo told me it was okay. He said he wanted to share you with me. He wants someone to love you as much as you love him, so won’t you let me?”

You were trembling in front of him, your glossy eyes and pouting lips were too much for him.

“Itadori-”

“Yuuji,” he said, lifting his hand to caress your cheek hesitantly. “Call me Yuuji.”

“Y-Yuuji.” You tested out his name, smiling sheepishly when he pressed his forehead against yours.

“(name),” he whispered, impatient of all this waiting because he had been yearning to have you for himself for so long. So long. “Won’t you let me kiss you already? I won’t think about anyone else, I will kiss you .”

You couldn’t say anything, your hands went to clutch on his shirt and you nodded falteringly.

He leaned down, closing the distance between your faces until his lips met yours. There were butterflies in your stomach, your heart fluttered in joy, and for the first time ever, even though he had closed his eyes, you knew Yuuji wasn’t thinking of someone else while kissing you.

His lips moved against yours experimentally, testing the waters to see what you liked. He caressed your cheek using one hand and used his other hand to press on the small of your back to bring you closer to him.

You moaned into the kiss and parted your lips.

Just as Todo said you would.

Yuuji was hungrily kissing you, pushing his tongue into your mouth to twirl it around yours and savor your taste. He softly caressed your cheek with his thumb as he moaned encouragingly to get you to kiss him back with the same enthusiasm.

However, you were too timid, barely moving your lips or kissing him back. He slid his hand from the small of your back to under the skirt of your dress to grope the supple flesh of your ass hard enough to make you moan into the kiss again.

This time you opened your mouth fully, shyly letting your tongue move with his as your grip on his shirt tightened.

Smiling into the kiss, Yuuji lifted you up with the same hand that was groping your ass and you instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck as he carried you to the living room.

The way he was holding you so tightly even when he sat on the couch with you on his lap, it was all so tender. He was holding you like you meant the world to him, fragile yet passionate.

Yuuji was feeling this way about you. Only you. Nobody else.

Your heart fluttered but your chest clenched as you hungrily kissed him back. You tasted your tears in the kiss, how pathetic. All that just from him telling you he loved you? Pathetic. Pathetic. You were so pathetic. You wondered if he found how desperately you wanted to feel loved pathetic too.

He didn’t seem to overthink like you, his hands were on your hips, pressing you against his growing bulge and kissing you with the same eagerness you kissed Todo with.

Todo.

Something within your mind revived itself, you pulled back from the kiss while more tears spilled down to your cheeks. Your hands were on his chest as you pushed yourself away from him. “No, I can’t do this. I love Todo.”

Todo?

Wasn’t he Aoi to you?

“Todo said you loved me too.” One of his hands went under your skirt and he pressed his fingers against your clothed cunt. You had completely soaked your panties and were still trying to deny the fact that you didn’t want this.

Adorable.

You whimpered when he drew a tight circle over your clothed nub. “Yuuji, please.”

“Please what?” he raised a brow, face inanimate. “Do you really want me to stop? It’s just the two of us in here, you can be honest with me.”

A blush colored your cheeks and you looked away from him instead of giving him an answer.

He took it as a yes.

Pulling your panties to the side, he let two of his digits slide inside your slick heat. Moaning at the sensation, you covered your mouth in shame, eyes finally returning to Yuuji.

He flashed you a stunning smile. “You’re gorgeous.”

You covered your face with a hand, embarrassed out of your mind as he curled his fingers inside of you, rubbing the pad of his fingers on a sensitive spot he knew about. Your hips bucked against his hand and you whined in surprise.

Only Todo could make you feel this good. Right?

What if you stopped loving Todo because Yuuji made you feel good like him?

An enormous wave of panic washed over you.

“I-I-I changed my mind.”

“Did you?” Yuuji abruptly used the strength of his entire arm to finger fuck you.

Your mouth opened in a silent scream, both hands pressing on Yuuji’s shoulders to balance yourself as he was messing you up. “Yuuji, no!”

It was too late, you could feel the incoming wave of pleasure, your pussy was sucking his fingers deeper inside and clenching around them greedily. You were begging for something bigger and thicker.

Yuuji continued thrusting his fingers inside your cunt and started rubbing his palm against your clit for extra friction for you.

You were getting closer, the overwhelming wave of pleasure was growing bigger, threatening to leave you trembling and whimpering once he was done with you.

Then the familiar sound of a door being unlocked echoed inside the apartment.

The feeling of shame and guilt returned but you didn’t get to push yourself away from Yuuji.

“Stop,” you begged in tears, whimpering. However, your whimper soon turned into a shameless moan when you felt a tongue take a skillful lick against your folds before taking your clit in its mouth.

You looked down at Yuuji and he looked right back at you.

Your eyes landed on the hand that was fucking you. There was something, lapping at your cunt. It was a tongue. You could feel it zealously licking you.

Yuuji didn’t look aware of anything, his fingers moved all the same but what made you break down and lose the strength of your legs was the mouth embedded on his palm.

You met eyes with Todo who had just walked into the living room as your entire body shook uncontrollably and the heavenly euphoric feeling took over your senses. It was impossible to tear your eyes away from him, the sense of guilt was forgotten, you were pretending it was Todo who made you cum, not Yuuji or that thing in his hand.

Yuuji pulled his hand back and you actually caught a glimpse of a grinning mouth slowly disappearing into his skin.

No this wasn’t the time. Todo had… he had seen you like this. He was going to misunderstand.

“Aoi,” you whispered, trying to regain your strength to stand up on your legs. “Aoi, this is-” You nearly fell off from the couch but Yuuji caught you. In tears, you pushed him away and stood up, walking over to your boyfriend. “Aoi, I’m sorry he… he was the one-”

"I knew you liked Yuuji, but I didn't think you'd be this needy for him…” Todo slapped a hand on his face and dragged it down slowly, hiding his grin but keeping a serious expression. “What kind of girl are you really? You came on his fingers as soon as I walked in. Do you like being watched, is that it? Do you like messing with guys who aren't your boyfriend?”

“No!” you sobbed, hands desperately reaching out to hold his hand. “I love you, I only love you. H-he tried to use my love for you against me… It wasn’t my fault, I swear… Aoi, please, it wasn’t me. He kissed me first.”

“It wasn’t you?” Todo raised a brow, pulling his hand away. “Are you going to accuse my brother like that when you told me you loved him? DIdn’t you say you wanted to be fucked by him? You know me and Yuuji have the same type yet you still teased him with the clothes you wear around the apartment, and you let yourself get fondled in front of him mewling like a helpless kitten. What was he supposed to think?”

“I-I only love you, I swear!” You gripped onto his shirt. “Aoi, please, please, please!”

“You know our walls are thin but you still moaned and screamed all night knowing Yuuji was in the room next door." Todo’s brows furrowed, he pointed a finger at your face. "Wasn’t this what you wanted? You said you loved Yuuji, you said you wanted to be fucked by Yuuji and now you're mad because what? He kissed you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Your face was stained with tears, crying helplessly, begging for forgiveness from your boyfriend.

“Don’t apologize to me,” Todo sighed. “You need to apologize to my best friend and find a way to make it up to him."

“It’s alright, Todo,” Yuuji said, appearing behind you. “She’s right, I went overboard. Maybe I should leave and stay at a hotel for the rest of the week. I don’t wanna be a burden or cause any problems between the two of you.”

If he left now, Todo was going to hate you. He was going to break up with you for accusing his best friend- weren’t you telling the truth- no! You were accusing him.

“No, please, Yuuji.” You turned your head towards him, begging him with teary eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, please, it was all my fault. Please, I’m sorry.” Hysterically crying, you buried your face to Todo’s chest. “Please, please forgive me. Please!”

The two guys nodded at the same time and almost laughed at how your voice was breaking. Almost.

Todo put a hand on the back of your dress and pulled you away from him by gripping the fabric. “Well, I'm glad you could cry out somewhat of an apology but I told you to find a way to make it up to him."

"How am I supposed to-"

Todo abruptly leaned down, staring at you with an intimidatingly blank look on his face. “How would Takada-chan apologize?”

Your shoulders stiffened, your limbs turned to stone but you still were able to shake your head hesitantly.

“What?” Todo’s face had gotten closer. “You’re not sorry, Takada-chan? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Stop it,” you whimpered, fresh tears forming in your eyes. “I’m not Takada-chan.”

“Hey,” Yuuji said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “She said she’s sorry, I’m not hurt or anything. Don’t make her cry like that. I went overboard, I thought she liked me like you said so I should be the one to apologize.”

Todo’s features softened and he shook his head slightly as he turned to face his friend, “Ahh, I’m sorry too. It’s just that… I was sure you two would get along but she went and blew it up.”

“I’ll get along with him,” you promised, wiping your tears, smiling in despair. “Please, Aoi. I’ll even love Yuuji as much as I love you. Please. Just don’t… please don’t leave me.”

Todo let out an audible sigh, he looked distraught, shoulders shaking from what you thought was sadness but he was simply trying to hold back his laughter. “Prove it to me.”

You lifted your head, eyes wide. “Prove what? I’ll do anything you ask me to do-”

Cutting your sentence short, Todo reached out his hand to you and his other hand to his friend. Without hesitation, you put your hand in his and Yuuji did the same. Slowly, Todo brought his hands together and made the two of you hold hands. “Prove that you love Yuuji."

“I can’t let him have my body,” you said, voice breaking after getting an image of what he was implying. “My heart and body belong to you.”

“What about your mouth? My best friend likes the same things I like... and you can't make the same excuses with him that you do with me.”

Oh.

He perhaps knew the reason why you didn’t want to suck him off.

You were terrified of him looking at you, scared that he would dump you if he fucked you even once while looking at you. Although you wanted him to have eyes only for you, it wasn’t possible when his heart didn’t belong to you.

Maybe, only maybe… If both of you started being more honest with each other, you could be the person in his heart, sharing it with Yuuji rather than his favorite idol.

Todo placed a hand on your back and pushed you forward towards your bedroom. You knew what to do.

The walk to your room was awkward and silent. Yuuji’s hand was sweaty and calloused as you dragged him to the bedroom but your trembling hand fit perfectly in his hand. The two of you were a match made in heaven.

Todo followed you inside the bedroom, watched the two of you climb on the bed. You reached to the front of Yuuji’s sweats, pulling them down by hooking your fingers under the waistband.

You were so focused on your task that you hadn’t realized how badly you were shaking.

“(name),” Yuuji said softly, putting his hand over yours. “Do you remember what I said to you?”

You stared up at him for an answer.

“Todo wants someone to love you as much as you love him. Will you let me do that?” Despite your previous hysterical crying, you managed to blush at his words, the pressure on your shoulders disappeared and you got lost within his kind smile that was directed at you.

Nodding, you got on all fours while Yuuji leaned back on the mattress as you hooked a finger underneath the waistband of his boxers to peel them off to release his aching cock. Once his cock bounced free, you were distantly aware of the mattress dipping behind you.

It was Todo. After settling behind you, he hiked your skirt up and pulled your panties down.

“Focus on me,” a voice said, his warm hand lovingly caressed your cheek.

You looked at Yuuji through your clumped lashes, he was pumping his cock sluggishly while looking at you intently. All of his attention was on you, he wasn’t looking through you like Todo. He was looking at you. Only you.

In response, you leaned further down to take the tip of his cock in your mouth. He retrieved his hand from his cock and you wrapped your own hand around the base, moving it along the length with a nice firm pressure.

Bobbing your head, you took more than half of his cock in your mouth, hollowing your cheeks as you moved up and closer towards the pink tip.

“That feels good,” Yuuji groaned softly, he put a hand on the top of your head, petting it to praise you. “You’re amazing at this.”

His kind tone encouraged you to bob your head and you tried taking him deeper inside your mouth.

“Ahh, you’re so into this…” Yuuji grew harder inside of your mouth and pulled you towards him by your head, his hips bucking up in a desperate attempt to hit the back of your throat.

Behind you, Todo was dragging the tip of his cock between your folds, he was oddly quiet, possibly still upset but you still arched your back for him. You needed to prove to him how good you could make him feel. Only you could make him feel this good. Nobody else. He needed to know that.

Todo pushed the tip of his cock inside and surged his hips forward until his entire length was inside you with a low groan. You moaned around Yuuji’s cock, the vibrations coming from your throat were enough to make him grab a chunk of your hair to steady himself.

Suddenly Yuuji forced you down onto his cock until your nose was touching his pinkish pubes. With Yuuji being deep down in your throat and Todo’s cock completely stretching you out, you had thought you were being stuffed to your limit. It was all too much. You gagged and planted your hands on Yuuji’s thighs to push yourself away from his cock.

You didn’t get the chance though.

Clap.

Your jaw relaxed and your pussy clenched around nothing for barely a second but then abruptly you felt your jaw forcefully open wider around the cock in your mouth. Tearing up, you gagged roughly. The girth was thicker than before and you barely managed to blink when a large hand landed on top of your head to card his fingers through your hair.

“No teeth,” Todo warned.

Eyes widening, you stared up at your boyfriend through your lashes in panic as a pair of hands gripped your hips tightly.

“Ahh, you’re so tight,” Yuuji groaned, tentatively pulling his hips back to snap them forward.

They had switched places.

You were confused but it didn’t take you long to put the pieces together to realize it was Todo’s whatever sorcery was the cause of this.

Glaring up at Todo, you attempted to move your hips away from Yuuji but they both had you trapped between them.

Without a warning, your boyfriend started bucking his hips up into your mouth. As upset as you were, there was no way you were going to let this one slip. There was no possible way.-

“You look cuter than Takada-chan like this,” Todo whispered with a gentle smile on his lips. He was telling the truth, having your luscious lips wrapped around his cock with your tear-stained face and furrowed brows that were looking at him with anger… it was purely erotic. “Can you keep your promise for me?”

Your heart fluttered with joy, anger past forgotten, you bobbed your head. Todo hissed through his teeth, letting you move however you pleased.

Yuuji on the other hand was losing more of his composure every passing second. His hands that were gripping your sides were shaking as he decided to move again. Your walls were clamping on his cock, threatening to milk him dry each time he pulled out and thrust inside your pulsating cunt.

As he was trying to find a rhythm he liked, his instincts took over. Yuuji snapped his hips forward, balls slapping against your skin with a loud clap. His pace was irregular yet merciless. Incredibly vigorous, each thrust deep and penetrating. He let out a growl as your tight walls clenched around him after your boyfriend’s cock grazed the back of your throat.

Yuuji’s nails dug into your skin and he started fucking you almost frantically. With each snap of his hips, you took more of Todo’s cock down your throat. Tears streamed down your cheeks but pleasuring your boyfriend was more important. The pain was nothing compared to keeping your promise to Todo.

“Good girl,” he praised, wiping your tears with his thumbs, “My girl.”

Your pussy clenched at his words, making Yuuji lose himself completely at the sensation. He slammed into your cunt with amazing vigor, forcing you to take the entire length of Todo’s cock in your mouth as the tip of his cock pressed against your cervix at the same time your nose brushed against Todo’s pubes.

Both of the guys moaned while your eyes rolled back to the back of your head. You were getting completely lost in the sweet ecstasy of Yuuji’s cock ravishing your pussy and Todo’s cock was stretching your throat simultaneously.

They were both about to cum.

You felt Yuuji’s cock twitch inside of you as Todo held his hands up and waited before slowly clapping them together.

Clap!

Your jaw relaxed once again but then your walls stretched to the point of your legs giving up under you. Yuuji took Todo’s place in your mouth and came down your throat with an audible grumble. He pulled out rather quickly, letting you take a breath to swallow his cum down.

Todo slouched forward to mount you completely and grunted into your ear as he picked up from where his best friend left. He reached one of his hands under you to toy with your clit, drawing tight circles around the nub. He snapped his hips forward, nosing some of your hair out of the way to grunt into your ear. “You’re enjoying this more than I thought. I think I know why... I think you like being shared, don’t you?"

“Yes, yes, yes!” You nodded rapidly, screaming out his name.

“You love Yuuji and you love me.”

“Yes!”

“You like being shared.”

“I… I-I do!” You weren’t sure if you were saying all of these to satisfy him or you actually wanted them but it didn’t matter. You were ready to do anything and everything to keep Todo happy.

He couldn’t hold back any longer, his cock throbbed, thick spurts of his cum filled your womb and overflowed into your pussy.

Breathless, you desperately held onto Yuuji’s thighs as Todo continued fucking his cum deep inside of you. “Why’d you switch?” Yuuji asked almost like a kid that was about to throw a tantrum.

“I can’t let you cum inside her, she’s still my girl at the end of the day.” Todo’s voice was mischievous, the grin in his voice was also present.

“I was gonna pull out,” he protested.

“I’ll let you do it next time if she’s up to it.” Todo pulled out and retrieved his hands from your hips. As soon as the only thing holding you up disappeared, your body went limp like a ragdoll on the mattress. “What do you say, (name)?”

His cum oozed out from your gaping hole and onto the sheets. You opened your mouth to stutter a single word Todo wanted to hear, “O-okay.”

#todo aoi x reader #yuuji itadori x reader #two bros gaslighting biches togetha #yeahh mannnn #pls leave a comment lol

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