#i’ve already added it in some places but absolutely nowhere near finished

[gaydexvocaloid]

piko wip 2 ,, the detail in his design is making me weep 💖

[xtinyaurora]

hi can I request a reaction with ateez? how would they back hug their s/o? can you please make it detailed and super fluffy 🥺 thank you

Ateez reaction: Back hugs with Y/N

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➼ requested?: yes

➼ genre: fluff

➼ pairing: Ateez x neutral!reader

➼ Word-count: 2,2k+

➼ Warnings: none? Maybe pet names, neck / cheek kisses and playing with your tummy, idk. 💀 If there are any more, please let me know!

➼ Note: This is not based on their real behavior or meant to represent real life. This is simply a fan fiction and is only for the purposes of fun, it’s a hobby. Read at your own risk!

➼ A/N note: Sorry for not posting in a longer time, my metal state gets worse from day to day but I will try and give my best to update more often now. Please motivate me by giving me some feedback! 🥴 Let me know if any of you wants to be in or excluded to my taglist!

➼ Taglist: @teeztheflag @darkstarlights

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Park Seonghwa

You two were out for a date. After finishing your dinner, both of you went out to the balcony of the noble restaurant you were eating at. You had a perfect view of the city, all the shining lights adding a magical feeling to it. Seonghwa was hugging you from behind, taking in the smell of your shampoo. „It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” A smile creeped on your face. „It is. Thank you for bringing me here, Hwa.” Now he was the one smiling. „Of course, honey.” He now placed a few kisses on your cheek. It felt so good, you didn’t wanted this moment to end. „Thank you, Y/N.” You slightly turned your head in his direction, wondering what he could be thankful for. „For what?” He chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. „Thank you for being here with me. I’ve never been this happy before.” Your face lit up within a second, eyes shining bright. He’s so cute! „You have no idea how much I love you, Hwa.” Another smile creeped on his face. He was about to kiss you but got interrupted by one of the waiters. „Sir, I will leave the bill on the front desk at the entrance, if that’s ok?” Both of you turned around to face him, then quacking out into a laugher. The waiter seemed confused, so Seonghwa was fast to speak. „Yes, that’s totally fine, thank you.” The waiter gave you a quick nod and left. You looked at each other again, grinning. „He really ruined the moment, ha?” You nodded. „I thought this only happens in movies.”

Kim Hongjoong

A slow song was silently playing in the background. Hongjoong and you lightly swung from side to side, him pressing your back against his chest. It was late at night and you two were finally having a romantic date together. The atmosphere was so relaxing, neither of you wanting this moment to end. Hongjoongs head rested in the crook of your neck, him placing a few kisses on your soft skin every now and then. Now, an hour has passed yet you two didn’t move nor said anything. Honestly, you didn’t had to. You don’t know how but you two communicated through out your minds. Slowly, both of you got tiered. Hongjoong raised his head up and took your hand in his to pull you into your shared bedroom. You two laid down and stared at each other in the eyes. Oh, how you got lost in this this men’s eyes. But it was not only you, Joong felt the same way. He loved your eyes, it was one of his favorite things about you. Reaching up his hand to stroke your cheek, a smile appearing on your face, signaling him that you were thankful for that. Well, you were grateful for everything he has done for you, most importantly for having him in your live. Yet another time at this lovely evening, none of you had to open your mouths to let the other know how much you loved and appreciated each other.

Jeong Yunho

You felt how two arms clung around your waist, while you were washing the dishes. The person behind you then placed a kiss on top of your head and pulled you closer on his body, a smile taking place on your face. „What’s wrong puppy?” You knew that the tall male behind you blushed at that, this happening a lot of times now. „Nothing, I just missed your touch.” You pulled one of your eyebrows up. „Oh? We had a whole cuddle session just a few minutes ago.” Now a laugh left your mouth, Yunho joining you in the process. „That wasn’t enough, I need some more. Now please beautiful human creature, hurry up so I can cage you in my arms for the rest of our lives.” You felt how a bright smile was still plastered on his face, even after speaking. Shaking your head, you cleaned the last few dishes, before turning around and looking straight into the eyes of the smiling boy. Honestly, every time you were with Yunho, you were too happy. Of course you sometimes were scared for loving him so much but you knew that he would never hurt you. Yunho is some that makes sure to show his loved ones, how much he cares for them. He slowly got near your face, making you close your eyes and wait for the kiss to finally appear. When you didn’t felt his lips, you opened your eyes again and started to pout, knowing it was one of Yunhos weaknesses. So, the tall male couldn’t hold back and gave in. Taking your head in his hands, he gave you a long and loving kiss.

Kang Yeosang

After a long and exhausting day, you entered your shared apartment and made your way straight into the living room. Yeosang was laying on the couch, watching TV and eating some snacks. Both of you stared at each other without saying a word. Short after, Yeosang broke the silence. „Hey. Rough day?” You nodded your head. When he opened his arms, you jumped strait in them. Finally getting comfy, you asked if you two could watch a movie. You didn’t had to ask twice, Yeosang immediately opened Netflix and searched for a movie to watch. Once he found one, he got up to get some food. Once he returned, he pressed play and went back to his spot. He tucked you in between his arms and legs, your back pressing against his muscular body. He randomly started to play with the hem of your shirt, now a finger tracing up and down your belly. You lead yourself further into Yeosang and closed your eyes right after, not really caring about the movie anymore. It felt extremely comfortable to lay in his arms that you drifted off to sleep almost immediately. A low chuckle left him when he realized what has happened. „You are really too cute for you own good, Y/N.”

Choi San

You were running as fast as you could, your boyfriend not that far behind. All nine of you kept on shooting each other with water. It was Mingi who suggested to play this game. It was a hot summer day, so why not play around with water guns outside? „Hey, that’s not fair! You can’t protect each other!” Yelled Wooyoung, pointing at you two. „Leave us alone!” Did you yell back, while trying to splash him. He was mad because you escaped from everyone. San made a hand sign to the annoyed boy, no one really getting it except him of course. I guess it’s a Woosan thing... Anyways, Wooyoung seemed happy with whatever San was signaling him and kept on playing. At some point, your protector was nowhere to be found. You tried to look for him while you run away from the rest but then realized that not only he was missing but Woo too. „Oh no, this can’t mean something good...” You whisper to yourself. Out of nowhere, your boyfriend tightly grabbed you from behind. „Got you! Wooyoung, now!” You didn’t really made out on what was happening, you only saw how Wooyoung appeared from behind a tree next to you and aimed his water gun on you. „Goodbye, Y/N-ah.” With a grin, he splashed all of the water at you. Once he was done, San let go of you and gave his accomplices a high five. „San! What are you doing, I thought we are a team?!” You were kinda annoyed, both of them bursting out into laugher. You stormed off to the rest of the group, who seemed to have given up already. „What’s wrong Y/N?” Hongjoong noticed that your mood has fallen. „San ditched me for that brat.” Everyone busted out into laugher, you included. When the other two approached, you immediately stopped. Wooyoung stuck out his tongue, while San sat behind you and gave you a tight hug. „Don’t touch me cheater!” Again, everyone started laughing. „Come on, don’t be mad at me, baby. I will buy you some ice cream, okay?” A smirked appeared on your face. Revenge is sweet Sanie... „Guys! Free ice cream for everyone!”

Song Mingi

„Mingi, I can’t breathe.” You squeaked out while he tightly hugged you from behind. „I can’t help it, I just missed you so much!” You chuckled while rolling your eyes. „It’s been two hours since we last saw each other.” The boy looked at you with his cute googly eyes, mouth lightly agape. „So what? That’s two hours too much! This is absolutely not okay, so let me hug you please!” You gave in, knowing that he will either put on more pressure or start to cry and since you wanted neither of these things to happen, you kept quiet. You don’t really know how long it has been since you two stood outside the garden of your shared home but it was getting dark and the air started to cool off. „Mingi, can you let go now, please? I think that’s enough for today.” He snuggled himself closer on you, not letting go. „Just five more minutes, okay? I wanna enjoy sunset with you. Look, it’s so pretty!” A laugh left your mouth. He’s just too cute and pure for this world. You did watch, until the sun completely disappeared. When it was completely dark outsides, you forced the giant boy into your house, him still clinging on you. Once you reached your kitchen, you asked him to leave you alone so you could prepare dinner. „I don’t want to let go, Y/N. Please keep cuddling me! You’re so comfy!” You finally turned around and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. „I promise I will cuddle you as much as you want once I finished cooking, okay? Now go and search for a movie that we can watch while eating, puppy.” You noticed the light tint of pink on his cheeks. Another one that gets flustered when being called pet names. Mingi obediently nodded his head and turned around to complete the task you gave him, patiently waiting for you to finish.

Jung Wooyoung

He was trying to teach you how to play a game on his ps4 and to his surprise, you were extremely good. „Whoa! How are you so good at this, Y/N?!” He asked surprised, raising his time a bit in the process. You turned your head around to wink at him, a smirk forming on your lips. You then payed your attention back on the TV and kept on playing. For the whole time, your boyfriend cheered for you. His arms were still tightly around you tho. At some point he leaned back, since you didn’t wanted to stop playing. Of course he pulled you down with him, you now laying on top him but still having a good view at the game. He started to get bored so he closed his eyes while softly stroking your belly. When he stopped, you looked back at him, finding him sleeping. You couldn’t help but smile at him. You finished the last round of the game and turned the TV off. Since you didn’t wanted to wake him up, you just snuggled yourself on Woo and pulled the blanket on your lap higher. Closing your eyes, you tried to sleep but opened them again when you felt his hand caressed your head. You tried to look at him but he stopped you by pressing you head on his chest. „Sleep. It’s late and you promised that we will go to the amusement park tomorrow.” You scoffed with a smile on your face and gave him an okay. It didn’t take long until both of you fell asleep.

Choi Jongho

„I mean, I’ve putted so much effort in this! I really don’t know why it didn’t work out. This is so unfair, like I-“ „Pshh I know Y/N, I know. Clam down. It’s not worth it to get upset about this, things like that can happen but still you can be proud of yourself because it’s such a big step to even get it done so far. It might doesn’t look like the one you wanted to creat but it’s still extremely pretty. It’s just the left arm side that’s a bit messed up but nothing too tragic, so chill. You can only do a good job when you’re relaxed and free, so take a break, okay?” You nodded your head in agreement, thank him by smiling. He then moved closer to you and hugged you from behind, the dress you were working on standing in front of you two. You worked so many hours on that dress, it costed you so much effort and yet you still messed up. It was only one damn cut. Jongho pulled you out of your working room, you still between his strong arms. „Put your shoes on. I think it’s better to go out for a walk, to get some fresh air.” You actually didn’t wanted to but I guess you have to because he sure won’t let go of you anytime soon. „Can you let go till I put them on then?” He smirkingly shook his head. „Nope, I won’t let go of you.” You rolled your eyes, trying to put your shoes on. Once you were done, the male grabbed your waist and legs, now carrying you out of your shared apartment. Oh this boy...

[imgoingtofreakoutnow]

An old friend - Part 3

Summary: The picnic has come and so the time to face Anthony on what you discovered, but will everything go as planned?

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x Fem!reader

Other characters: Hyachint Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington

Words: 3.0k+

Warnings: slight angst (?), fluff, again some yearning

A/n: This has been quite difficult to finish, I had different ends in mind but none seemed to fit well the flow... I hope you’ll like this! Also, I may post other parts in the future but for now, count this as the final one. ENJOY!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Gif's not mine, credit to the rightful owner

When the time came to attend the picnic in Hyde Park, the day was nothing but perfect: the sun, for the special gathering, had decided to come out of the clouds to honor everyone with its presence and a warm breeze enveloped every figure walking through the gardens or simply resting on the grass with its embrace. Even the London sky didn’t look like its normal self, with no grey clouds all over; just a few white stripes painting the bright blue canva. In other words, the epitome of a summer day.

However, sat under the gazebo playing cards with Hyacinth, Eloise and Penelope, you felt much worse than a rabbit caught under the wheel of a carriage.

"Miss Y/N/L". You turned towards Hyacinth, who was pointing at the cards. "It's your turn"

"Very well..." you sighed, throwing in the space between the four of you the first card that came in your hand. Winning the game was the least of your problems.

You had spent all night rolling from one side of your bed to the other, playing and replaying every possible scenario in your head, looking for the right way to ask Anthony what you wanted to know without sounding too accusatory. Nevertheless, it was hard to face the man when he was nowhere to be found!

He had just a moment to greet you with a quick kiss on your hand - which, you couldn't help, had made your heartbeat rise as a river during a flood - before being taken hostage first of many beautiful debutants, second of their meddlesome mothers and lastly of some old friends from boarding school.

Right now he was somewhere in the park with them, possibly reminiscing of that one time they put black ink in the professor's shoes... or something similar to that, you imagined. You weren't so sure of what sort of jests could boys come up with.

"Miss Y/N/L". Hyacinth's voice reached you again through the bubble of your thoughts. You put down another card. It took you a second after that to realize that Eloise had no cards in her hands anymore, thus making her the winner.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry" you apologised, putting your left cards back in the deck. "I hope you didn't ask me anything while I was lost in my mind"

"Just if you were alright, miss" explained Penelope. "Did you sleep well last night? You look quite tired"

You sighed. There was no sense in keeping that a secret. "Not quite. Some matters just seemed to be stuck in my head and decided not to leave for the night"

Eloise's eyes sparked in interest. "What kind of matters?" she asked, eating a strawberry.

"Nothing relevant at all" you assured with a smile, but from the look on Eloise's face, you knew she wasn't finished asking.

"No irrelevant matter could keep anyone awake for an entire night" she pointed out. "But I know what matters could..."

Penelope sighed. "Eloise..."

"Family matters" she started, raising her index, "and heart matters". She bent slightly towards you with the Bridgertons' signature smile on. "Which does apply to you?"

You scoffed. "Neither, of course". As you lowered your gaze to the messy deck, the rays of the sun felt suddenly more focused on your face than on anyone else's.

"Heart matters, that is!" Eloise exclaimed with a single clap, her eyes smiling brighter than her grin. "Do we know the lucky gentleman who caught your eye? Or perhaps he is from the countryside? Don’t tell me: are you two secretly engaged?"

Before your cheeks became the same shade of wine, a deep voice intruded the conversation: "You shouldn't badger our guest with your inquisitiveness, Eloise"

Your head shot up to meet Anthony's gaze. Even though your feelings towards him were mixed at the moment, seeing him washed you over with a warm, soothing sensation, as the need of his touch grew within you.

Eloise huffed, standing up from her seat, immediately followed by miss Featherington. "You are a bore, dear brother. I have nothing else to say on this matter". Then, taking Penelope's arm in hers, she walked away, already whispering in her best friend's ear.

"Anthony, do you want to play with us?" asked Hyacinth, already preparing the deck for another round.

Anthony smiled gently at her. "Maybe later" he said, pinching lightly her cheek. "Why don't you go play with Gregory now? I've heard he wanted to see if he could find rabbits near the bushes... or perhaps even goblins"

Hyacinth gasped. "Without me?!". She quickly and clumsily got up in her dress and, after a small curtsey to you, she was running on the grass to who-knows-where.

Now that the cover was clear, Anthony laid down next to you, pointing his elbow on the ground to keep himself up. After adjusting in a comfortable position, he sighed, looking in the direction in which Hyacinth ran off.

"Should you think she'd be angry to find out I lied to her?"

You smirked, taking a card from the deck and fidgeting it in your hands. "About Gregory or the goblins?"

Anthony turned to you, raising his eyebrows. "Both?"

You shook your head, giggling ever so slightly. "You, Lord Bridgerton, are incorrigible: lying like this to your youngest sister... what a rascal"

A corner of his lips tilted upwards. "You should not talk like this to a viscount, miss Y/L/N" he murmured. His hand moved to your arm, his fingers stroking your bare skin, lighter than a feather touch and equally tingling. "I would say it was quite improper"

At this words you moved away from him, just enough so that his fingers could only touch the empty space between you. He searched your face but you were still staring at your card.

"I believe we should talk, my lord” you said, your voice still and steady more than what you expected. “However...", you looked at Benedict and Colin, who had just appeared in your sight and were directed towards the gazebo, "...maybe a walk would be best suited for such matters"

Even with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Anthony nodded, standing up again and offering his hand to help you. You gently accepted and he pulled you up. Nonetheless your feet got caught in the cover, making you lose your balance and ending up in his arms.

"I-I'm terribly sorry" you muttered, raising your gaze to his and finding him already staring at you. The warmth of his hands, steadying you, got past your gloves terribly easily and you found that being there, pressed against his chest, so near to his heart, was the only place were you wanted to be.

You took a couple of steps back, smoothing your wrinkled dress and taking a deep breath in. His closeness was like opium to you: even the slightest hint and you lost your mind; and unfortunately right now, you had to be present.

He cleared his voice, handing politely his arm to you. "Shall we go?". You nodded joining your arms and moved with him on the beaten pathway.

A few minutes passed in complete silence, as you tried to find the right words to start. Apart from sporadic pairs walking the opposite direction, you were the only ones strolling in the park at that time of the day, when the sun shines so bright it could make the blood in your veins boil; only birds kept uninterrupted their concert.

"Are you upset because I didn’t honor you with my presence all morning?" guessed Anthony, raising his eyebrows. “Trust me, I would’ve gladly spent more time with you than with any of my other acquaintances”

You shook your head, a smile gracing your face. "Certainly not, my lord: your family was very kind to me in your absence" you assured him. "Besides I'm not upset... I just want answers to what I've heard"

"And what, pray tell, have you heard?"

You moved your gaze from his; there was no way to sweeten the pot. "I've heard that, in certain circles, you are considered a rake; and" you added, before he could stop you, "that you've been spending time with various women last season, opera singers from what these rumours told me"

"And you believe these rumours, miss Y/L/N?". His voice didn't show any emotions but his muscles were tense as an arp string.

"That is why I'm asking you, my lord. I wish to believe it a lie, but your actions yesterday, as appreciated, had boldness in them... quite like Sir Feversham's"

Anthony stopped in the middle of the path, his jaw clenched. "Don't compare him to me, I am nothing like him”. His dark eyes seemed coal ready to be set on fire. “I would've never forced you into anything-"

"I know". You squeezed gently his arm against your side. "I know that, Anthony. Nonetheless, I’ve been wondering since last night if you consider me just as one of those opera singers and you’ll leave me alone like you did to them: my honor undermined and a broken heart to fix..."

"Do you really think I would do something like that?"

You raised your eyes to meet his. The lump in your throat, seeing the hurt look on his face, triplicated. "Haven't you done it before?"

Anthony clenched his jaw again, avoiding your gaze. Many emotions crossed his eyes before he closed them for a moment. Then, after giving a quick look all around, he started guiding you towards an almost hidden path through the hedges.

"Where are you taking me?" you asked, confused and slightly frightened by the sudden change of course.

He glanced towards you with his lips curved. "You did want answers, didn't you?". When you nodded, Anthony slid his hand in yours. "Then there is absolutely no need to worry, miss Y/L/N, I can assure you that" he whispered, preceding you in that natural maze.

As you followed him, jumping over ponds of mud, protruding roots and avoiding overhanging branches, it felt for a moment like you were back in one of the fantasies you two came up with as kids, exploring the deep amazonian jungle in search of a lost civilisation or a hidden temple behind a waterfall; you couldn't believe they belonged to such a long time ago...

The hedges surrounding you ended abrubtly, opening on a clearing that looked like an illustration from a storybook: the grass, kept perfectly cut in the rest of the park, reached knee height there and, in between the stems, flowers popped out in the vivid green, their bright colours catching your eye.

However what left you mouth agape was the modest pavilion in the centre. Its classic columns, with ivy crawling around them, had almost invisible cracks on their surface, and the marble, if once polished, was now covered with a thick layer of dust and dead leaves. Still, even so neglected, its ruined beauty left you speechless.

"How... how did you manage to find this place?" you asked in a whisper, your fingers caressing the tall grass as you approached the pavilion.

"In the most common and simple way”. At your confused glance, he smiled mischievously. “Hiding from my mother"

“You even hid from your mother, my lord?” you smirked.

“Everything to escape her matchmaking schemes” Anthony laughed before a sad smile appeared on his lips. “Nevertheless, it was years ago, when I was still allowed to act as a foolish young man, from time to time”. He left your hand and started unbuttoning his tailcoat.

As he took it off to put it on the marble bench, your gaze wandered on his shoulders and down his arms, framed by his tight waistcoat and usually concealed under that thick layer of blue velvet.

"Shall we start?" he asked, gesturing for you to sit next to him.

You took a seat and noticed how Anthony was wringing his hands, his body again all tensed up. Without uttering a word - it was his time to speak - you took his hand in yours, stroking your gloved thumbs on his skin.

"I must say" he started, "that the market’s gossip is quite accurate... but still not enough to be a reliable source” - then, after a sigh - “because yes, I am a rake - or at least I can be consirered one - and yes, I spent most of last season at the opera house. However, unlike what those women told you, my only company was one beautiful and indipendent lady, whose name I’d rather keep unknown"

He looked at you, almost asking for your permission. "Of course, my lord, I understand". Anthony nodded thankfully before letting his tongue on the loose.

He told you everything you needed to know, his gaze fixed on nothing, eyes lost in memories that you could only try to picture in your head. Every emotion he’d felt in the past crossed his face as he spoke of every step of the affair, from their first meeting to their very last goodbye. You saw how difficult was for him to remember that latter part, even though months had passed since then. After all, no love can ever be truly forgotten.

"Looking back, I’ve realized only recently that she broke my heart just as much as I broke hers" he admitted, his gaze falling on your joined hands. “She deserved much better than the transitory pleasure I was able to give her... I still slightly regret what we could’ve been, but there’s no use in mourning the past”. He stroked gently the palm of your hand. “I’ve found the present to be an unexpected and more appreciated bearer of happiness”

You blushed as his eyes set on you, a welcome sincerity lighting them. However, there was still something, in a deep corner of your mind, that wouldn't let you enjoy the moment completely.

"Thank you for telling me all about it, Anthony" you said, watching him trace abstract figures on your hand. "But I do have one last question"

He moved your hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on your covered wrist and lingering with his lips on that small spot. "You can ask me anything, Y/N"

After a deep breath, you fixed your eyes in his. "What am I to you?"

He furrowed his brows, confused. "I beg your pardon?"

"I do believe you fancy me" you started, looking away and fidgeting your hands as you spoke, "but I can't quite understand if your intentions with me are honorable or if you're simply using my company to your likings"

Anthony shook his head. “That’s nonsense, I would never-”

"Then do you intend to propose to me?" you asked, a rush of boldness flowing in your veins. “You know me, more deeply than any man I’ve ever met, and I found myself drawn to you in a way I’ve never experienced before... and I believe you feel the same”. He stared at you in silence. "I thought you wanted to marry as soon as you found a suitable lady..." you added, his stillness making your heart ache. "Am I not enough to be your wife?"

"Don't". Anthony cupped your face, his hands warm on your skin. "Do not say something like that ever again. You are not only more than enough, but more than I could've ever hoped to find... your intelligence astounds me just as much as your beauty hypnotizes me and I do believe you shall become one of the most accomplished Viscountess of Bridgerton that ever walked this Earth"

As his words beat in your mind ritmically with the pounding of your heart, you held your breath. "...but?"

"But I've rushed things in the past and burned everything I'd built to the ground, myself included. I don't want to make any mistakes with you, and if that means doing things properly, then be it". He stroked your cheek gently and you unconsciously leaned in his touch. "I've lost you once and I surely shall not make the same mistake twice"

You smiled, tears menacing to roll down your cheeks at any moment.

"Don't cry" he whispered, leaving a light kiss on your forehead and you laughed. His lips were as soft as you pictured them in your dreams.

"Don't mind my wet eyes... I'm just- I've never felt this happy before"

He smiled, placing one hand on yours. "Let's hope this will never change then". You nodded, smiling even wider.

So, as the sun went down and the wind kept blowing, you stayed there, talking, laughing, making up for all the lost time, in that little clearing out of time, and you wished you could stay there forever...

“We should go now” Anthony got up from its place. “It’s getting dark”

Making your way back in the reality it felt like waking up from a long, sweet dream, one that makes you wish you could sleep forever.

Your carriage was already waiting you at the edge of the park. Anthony helped you get into it as the gentleman he was. “Goodnight, miss Y/L/N”

“Goodnight, Lord Bridgerton” you smiled down at him, your hand still in his. “And thank you for the wonderful day”

He smirked and kissed your knuckles lightly, lingering again on the same spot where he kissed you for the first time. “The pleasure was all mine, my lady. I shall see you soon”

“Of course” you whispered not capable of even breathing. Anthony smiled, letting go of your hand as a footboy closed the door of the carriage. Then the coachman incited the horses and you were off in the night.

Resting on the soft pillows inside, you sighed, your eyes fixed on the stars outside the window. “Until next time”

Tag list: @lady1505 @truly-insatiable @littlemissbridgerton @anthonybridgertonsmistress​ @chaoticgirl04 @xceafh @latekate1807 @peoniarose @bridg-09 @michael-loves-chickens​ @beckachicago3​ (tell me if you want to be added or removed💗)

[nerdypanda3126]

Paper Anniversary

Happy anniversary to the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge!

The rules are three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for light editing, including adding more writing to smooth transitions. On this one I took 4 sprints and kinda freehanded from there to get to the ending.

And the prompt I used was: Anniversary

Read on Ao3

Marinette woke up only slightly disappointed that Luka wasn’t there next to her. 

Well, maybe more than slightly. It was their first anniversary, after all, and part of her had hoped he’d pull some crazy stunt to get home in time but—

It was fine. Really. There’d be plenty of other anniversaries when he wasn’t out there making a name for himself. 

She sighed as she rolled over to grab his pillow, intending to snuggle it and hoping that his scent was still lingering on it, but something crinkled under her hand and she was instantly more awake. When she sat up and looked she was holding a slightly crumpled paper crane with what looked like Luka’s handwriting on the wings. But how…?

 Her head snapped up to swivel around the room. It was definitely still empty, and when she wandered through the apartment it was still empty, too. A smile started to creep across her face as she gently pried the crane open to reveal his note. 

Good morning, gorgeous. Happy anniversary. Did you know the first wedding anniversary is traditionally the paper anniversary? There’s plenty more surprises in store today, so get up and get ready and you’ll find the next one waiting for you in the closet. All my love, Luka

The closet? But there wasn’t anything there last night… 

In a daze, she walked back to their closet and opened it to find a delicately folded flower on top of a neatly folded pink dress. Scarcely believing it, she picked up the lotus flower and admired the skill it was made with before she unfolded it. 

Couldn’t wait, huh? The note read. She could almost hear his self-satisfied smirk within the words. I’m glad you’re excited but I know you’ll want to look your best today. Get ready and get dressed, love, your next clue is on the way. Love, Luka

Next clue? 

How on earth had he managed to set this up? He was halfway across the world by now touring with Jagged and he’d apologized to her—repeatedly—that he couldn’t make it back. She’d assured him it was fine and she understood, which she did. She really did. But then how were these notes appearing like this? Maybe—

Maybe she shouldn’t think about how a Couffaine was accomplishing something like this and do as his note read. 

So she did. And she had just slipped on the dress he’d apparently picked out for her and hadn’t even had time to admire the black flowers embroidered around the waist of the gauzy pink fabric before her doorbell rang.

When she opened the door she found a delivery person from her favorite café holding a to-go cup of coffee and a bag. Breakfast. Luka had gotten her breakfast. She could only gape at the poor man trying to transfer everything into her hands. 

“Oh, and this,” he said then, drawing an origami box out of his apron pocket that was unmistakably another of Luka’s notes. He smiled and waved before he turned and left her alone to open it. 

Somehow she managed to sit at their table before opening the paper box. Inside was a plastic-wrapped chocolate truffle, but no note. At least there wasn’t until she checked the inside of the lid she was still holding. 

I have to admit I cheated on this one a bit. But I wanted to make sure you had your favorite breakfast today, plus a little something sweet. When you’ve finished eating (and please eat, my beautiful melody) go to your parents’ house and tell them ‘hi’ from me. Love, Luka 

Her smile was going to be permanently stuck on her face after this, she could feel it. As she ate and sipped her coffee, barely registering what it tasted like although it was definitely all of her favorites, she felt almost like he was sitting across from her. He’d be sipping his own coffee and glancing up at her now and then, smiling like he always did when she was eating something she enjoyed. Apparently she had a happy dance, although she’d never noticed doing it. He always did, though. 

That was probably the point of this, she realized as she reached across to touch his empty spot. He couldn’t be here, but he wanted to make sure she knew he was thinking of her, wherever he was. 

When she’d finished and made her way to the bakery, her dad nearly broke the door bursting through it to greet her with a bear hug. Her mom came out a moment later smiling and holding a bouquet and a note folded into a heart. Marinette barely registered the sweet smelling flowers before she was tearing into the note. 

Remember our wedding day? You had plum blossoms in your bouquet for your mom and roses for your dad. And baby’s breath for the future, but we’ll get there eventually, love. There’s one more stop today and then I want you to enjoy the day however makes you happiest. You remember where I proposed? All my love, Luka

She looked up at her parents and they were both grinning. Although her dad was barely holding back happy tears. It reminded her so strongly of the day he walked her down the aisle that she stretched up to press a quick kiss to his cheek before she hugged them both and turned to run for the bridge, her heart pounding, scarcely daring to hope that maybe the last stop, the last surprise, would be her husband waiting for her to wrap her arms around him. 

But when she got there, out of breath from the run, the flowers on her arm shaken within an inch of their life, no one was there. The water lapped gently against the embankments and reflected off the underside of the bridge. It was so quiet, and that’s why Luka liked it there. It was his favorite place and when he’d proposed, he’d told her that he’d found a new favorite place by her side. That he wanted to be next to her for the rest of his life if she’d let him. 

He said where he’d proposed. There couldn’t possibly be anywhere else—

She gasped when she realized what he meant. Not his official proposal, but the first time he’d told her he’d be happy spending his life with her. A grin stretched across her face before she could stop it. With everything but a ring he’d offered everything he had and she’d kissed him until she couldn’t breathe anymore. 

She made her way—slower this time—towards the tree they’d sat under that day. As she did, it all came back to her. How calm and beautiful it had been that day, with a bright blue sky and big fluffy clouds floating by on the breeze. How they’d been lying side by side on their blanket with her head on his shoulder as they pointed out shapes to each other. And how, out of nowhere, he’d turned those eyes on her, as blue as the sky above, so serious, so soft, and told her he wanted this. Just this. With her. For the rest of his life. 

As she neared the tree, she didn’t know what to expect and she didn’t want to get her hopes up. But there was a blanket laid out under the tree and a picnic basket. And leaning against the tree was a familiar tall figure. A figure that shrugged off the tree and stood at attention as soon as she came into view. An unmistakable figure with a shock of blue hair stuck up in all the familiar ways. 

She was running again before she knew it. The flowers were dropped on the blanket as she flew into Luka’s waiting arms. He was laughing as he hugged her back just as tightly and pressed a kiss to her hair. 

“Surprise,” he said quietly, although his voice still rumbled through his chest. She pulled away to look at him, only to bury her face in his shoulder again. He smelled like the stale air of an airplane and hotel soap. But underneath that was his smell. Something she would never be able to describe but would be able to identify in a heartbeat. 

When she had finally convinced herself he was real, she pulled away again and swatted his shoulder. “You jerk! I thought you weren’t coming!” 

“I wasn’t,” he admitted, still laughing as he pretended to cringe away from her hands. “I had it all set up to take care of you while I was gone, and then Penny pulled some strings and, well, long story short, we have a few hours to kill before I have to get back on another plane.” 

He gestured to his set up, and for the first time she noticed a branch of plum blossoms laid on top of the picnic basket. Out of all his origami designs she’d seen that day, this was by far the most elaborate. She bent down to pick it up and examine it more closely, taking his hand as she did and imagining his long fingers making the delicate folds. 

"Show me," she said, pushing it into his hands. He seemed stunned for a moment and let out a disbelieving laugh. 

"We only have a few hours together on our anniversary and you want me to teach you origami?" 

"You're the one who got me all dressed up and brought me somewhere public," she teased him back, stretching to press a kiss to his cheek. She stayed there and tugged him down to whisper in his ear. "And I've been thinking about your hands all day." As she pulled away, she raised her eyebrows suggestively and took an expectant seat next to the picnic basket. 

"Please show me?" 

He relaxed as understanding dawned on him and he smiled as he took a seat close to her, already unfolding the paper so he could show her how it worked. And as she curled her hand around his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, listening to his voice and watching his movements, she couldn't help but sigh in absolute contentment.

Just like he’d said that day. All she wanted was this, with him, for the rest of her life, too. And as she looked down at the rings glinting on both of their hands, she couldn’t be happier that this was the first of what she hoped were many anniversaries to come.

[harrytpotter]

It’s cuddles inside, baby — James Potter x Reader Request.

Requested by @prettysatan: “Hehe I saw requests. James Potter x reader where it’s cold outside and James keeps putting his cold hands underneath reader’s shirt”.

Pairing: James Potter x Reader.

Word Count: 1,6K

Warnings: None, it’s basically pure fluff.

A/N: It’s not the greatest, since it’s insanely hot here in my city it’s kinda despairing thinking about the amazing feeling of a cold weather hahaha. Hope you like it, tho! <3 (also, i’m the absolute WORST when it comes to titles).

The winter was falling hard upon Hogwarts. The days were slowly becoming shorter whilst the nights were becoming longer; it was officially sweaters and cuddles by the fireplace season and the latter was on at full force among the students. Today was the perfect day to do so, the snow was falling brutally outside, whitening the entire landscape that surrounded the majestic old castle that posed as the headquarters for the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

You let your head fall heavily into your arms – which were crossed above the table – and heaved a deep and audible sigh as you frowned in despair, mentally cursing yourself for taking Advanced Arithmancy Studies as an elective class instead of having a free period. Which was definitely something you could use right now to try and keep yourself warm; preferably with the help of your very smart boyfriend who had wisely chosen to have this time free for himself in the beginning of the school year.

“Just go,” Lily mumbled to you, leaning a little so you could hear her, her gaze never leaving the Professor.

You lifted your head a little so you could face her, a confused frown taking over your face as you blinked repeatedly, slowly coming back to reality after being lost inside your thoughts for the past hour or so.

“You look like a damn popsicle shivering and gritting your teeth,” she rolled her eyes at you. “Besides I know you’re thinking about how much you wanted a warming-up session with Potter right now,” she added with a lopsided grin.

Your cheeks acquired a crimson tone as you hissed embarrassed at Lily, “I’m not!”

“Yeah, as if I didn’t know you,” she mocked. “Go, I’ll cover for you.”

Glancing at the Professor – who had his back turned to the class as he waved his wand to the blackboard, writing something you did not care about – and then at the door, you shrugged, still a little hesitant, “I might take you up on that offer.”

“Go get cosy and warm with that twat boyfriend of yours already,” Lily rolled her eyes playfully, grinning at you.

“Thank you, Lils! You’re the absolute best!” You planted an excited kiss on her cheek whilst wrapping your arm on her shoulders before discreetly gathering your parchments and quill and tossing it inside your bag.

“Cuddles by the fireplace, here I come!” You wiggled your brows amusedly as you sang your excitement to your best friend, who chuckled and shook her head at your behaviour.

With a last expression of your gratitude towards the redhead, you sneaked out of class and almost ran along the corridors, desperately wanting to arrive at the Gryffindor Tower.

The temperature had significantly dropped since you had first walked to class, which made you pull your clothes tightly around your body in a desperate attempt to keep your body warm as the chilly windy currents flogged your skin. You couldn’t see a single soul wandering through the castle as the few students who weren’t in their Common Rooms, were shivering inside of classrooms.

“Oi! Pad!” You shouted at the familiar raven-haired boy as your eyes spotted him near the Tower on the seventh floor.

Sirius halted and turned on his heels, a warm smile spreading across his face as his grey irises focused on you.

“Is James inside?” You asked excitedly, getting closer to the boy and nodding in the direction of the Fat Lady portrait.

“I’m fine, thanks! How are you doing?” He teased with a grin.

“Feeling needy today, are we?” You hit back, smirking as you rolled your eyes.

“Always,” the boy winked at you. “I wouldn’t know that, sorry love. I was about to go in when I got a really important message,” he churned a scented piece of parchment in front of your face, a lustful look in his eyes.

“Why do I have the feeling that I wouldn’t want to know what it says?” You playfully crossed your arms in front of your chest, quirking your brows.

“Because these words are way too dirty for your precious eyes and ears, my pure little angel,” he lifted a brow teasingly.

“You rightful prick!” You bumped your fist on his shoulder with a laugh.

“Go find that whipped man of yours, last I saw him he couldn’t stop rambling about how much he wanted you in his arms; Remus almost strangled him because he wouldn’t let him read,” he shrugged with a grin before walking away.

Smiling, you made your way to the Fat Lady and whispered the password rather quickly. When the portrait swung open, you instantly ran inside and scanned the nearly empty room with your eyes, your smile quickly fading once you realised James was nowhere to be seen.

Heaving a sigh, you decided to try his dorm and motioned to the stairs that led to it, eagerly climbing up the steps as a hopeful smile slowly returned to your face.

Closing your fingers around the handle, you opened the door of the Marauders room with a poignant urgency, only to be left down at the sight of Remus Lupin reading a book under his blankets and a snoring Peter Pettigrew sleeping heavily in his own bed.

“Nice to see you too,” the brown-haired boy with kind chocolate eyes said, a lopsided grin on his face as he noticed your apparent annoyance.

“Sorry, Moony,” you sighed, plopping yourself down on Sirius’ bed, which was next to Remus’. “I just thought I’d find James here.”

“I had to kick him out so I could finish my book because he wouldn’t stop talking about how much he hated that you had a class when he wanted to cuddle,” Remus shrugged apologetically.

“So I’ve heard,” you chuckled. “Do you happen to know where he went?”

“I assumed he went after you,” he smiled sweetly amidst a frown. “Sorry, Y/N.”

“He didn’t,” you pouted, feeling defeated as you hopped off Sirius’ bed. “Anyway, thanks Moony. I might as well go take a hot bath and change into warmer clothes then,” you added, taking off your robes and holding it whilst walking towards the door.

The walk to your dorm felt disappointing, the cold air frustrating you even more. You had ditched class exclusively to warm yourself up with your boyfriend and not only were you still cold and shaking like a jelly as you also didn’t have James’ strong hold around your body.

However, once you entered the room you shared with other three Gryffindors, a nice surprise awaited for you: James’ figure was laying on your bed, one arm behind his head and another holding the picture you had on your nightstand of the two of you.

“You’re here!” You exclaimed happily at your boyfriend, who snapped his head towards the door at the sound of your voice, placing the picture back where it belonged.

“Where else would I be, love?” He got up and opened his arms pleadingly, a smile on his lips.

You tossed your robes on the floor, ran to James and hugged him tightly, almost knocking him off on the bed.

“Someone’s happy to see me,” he chuckled and placed a kiss on your temple, his arms enveloping your waist.

“Very much, indeed,” you quirked a brow with a smile before giving him a peck on the lips and wrapping your arms around his neck.

“You’re so warm,” he smiled at the welcoming and soothing feeling of your skin against his cold body, pulling you even closer to him and resting his head in the crook of you neck.

You and James stayed glued in this position for what seemed like forever before an unsettling ice-cold feeling hit your lower back, causing you to jump.

“Take those cold hands off my skin!” you slapped his arm as you felt as if your spine was freezing.

“Sorry, babe,” he chuckled, raising his arms apologetically.

“Don’t you dare do that again, your hands are as cold as ice cubs!” You threatened him with what you thought to be your deadliest glare.

“Have I already told you how adorable you look when you’re pissed?” He smiled devilishly at you as he once again slid his cold hands under your shirt.

“Seriously James?” You groaned, rolling your eyes, annoyed, and getting off his embrace.

“Come on, love,” he pouted, amused. “It’s not my fault that my girlfriend is bloody hot and can warm me up like nobody else.”

“You’re infuriating some times,” you rolled your eyes once again, starting to walk in the direction of the bathroom.

“Come here,” he whined, holding you gently by your wrist. “I’m sorry,” he added once you were looking at him again, pulling his sleeves up so his hands were covered.

“What are you doing?” You frowned confusedly, although you were still annoyed.

“Making sure you’re not mad at me,” he said before cupping your cheeks with his covered hands and place kisses all through your face.

“That’s not fair!” You groaned, but he could feel the smile on your lips.

James smiled before pulling you into a passionate and yet gentle kiss, filled with the sweetest love you felt for one another.

“I love you,” he whispered into your ear after you both pulled apart, once again sliding his bare hands underneath your shirt. However, unlike before, this time you didn’t care; despite his cold hands on your lower back, a warm wave was spreading inside of you.

[voltagesmutter]

Mr love Queen’s Choice: Gavin - “Why sit on Santa’s lap when you can sit on mine?”.

Fandom: Mr Love Queen’s choice Pairing: Gavin x MC (F) Prompt: “Why sit on Santa’s lap when you can sit on mine?” - Day 6 from @voltage-vixen​ christmas list.  Warning: Jealousy, drinking, bit of rough birdcop, hand-cuffs. Notes: For my fourth raffle winner @starry-starry-night24​ - Thank you for entering.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One!”

A round of cheers filled the table, four shot glasses clinking on the side of each other as the four girls downed their contents. All of them hissing at the burn of tequila, eyes shutting and teeth gritted. 

“Another!” Willow already handing out another round.

“I can’t!” Kiki whined, “I need a break!” She almost gagged at the clear shot in front of her, pushing it away and into the center, she was always the light weight.

“Come on Kiki, we’re celebrating! Work finished for Christmas and thanks to a certain someone, we got a very nice bonus from good old Mr. Li!” Anna throwing a wink to their other friend who blushed in response.

“Shut up you!” She laughed, waving her hand in the air to brush off her comment, “Hard work, determination and teamwork got us that bonus. Now let’s please enjoy it,”.

The four of them swayed to the music of the club in their booth, throwing back shots and drinks like they were water. The lead up to Christmas had been a long and hard road, sleepless nights, endless meetings and a grinch of a CEO ready to cancel Christmas. A night out was more than deserved, Willow taking them to a club some friends had recommended. Only what Willow hadn’t told them, was it this club for some adult entertainment.

-

“So I heard someone’s been a naughty girl?” A rather handsome man dressed in only a red pair of velvet shorts with a white trimmed fur along the bottom. His eyes scanned the table, all four girls giggling slightly, red faced and blushing. Until they looked with hers, his eyes brows raising and waggling at her. “Looks like I’ve found my bad girl.”

“Me?” Her face was going redder, both from the alcohol and the way he stared at her. Although it was hard to keep focus on his face when his ripped muscles were glinting under the reflection of the light. He was toned, but compared nowhere near as toned as her boyfriend, Gavin. Now he was the definition of a chiselled body. 

“Go on girl!” Willow who sat next to her pushed forward as the guy drew up a chair, sitting on it and patting his thigh. The girls have her a few whistles of encouragement as they egged her on, regardless of her protests. A squeal of embarrassment followed by a flood of giggles left her as he pulled her onto his lap, her hands sprawling across his chest to keep balance. Him holding her waist as he playfully ground against her to the beat of the song that began to play. “Say cheese!” Willow called out, snapping a photo of her sat on his lap with her hands on him, flushed face but with a laughing smile. And when Willow posted it to her private moments, forgetting Gavin had been added to it a few months ago, she didn’t realise she had sealed the girls fate for when she got home.

-

Gavin's amber eyes narrowed as she came home. She was giggling, kicking her kitten heels off at the door. A taxi dropped her off at the door, and he heard the vague calls of equally tipsy Willow and Kiki. Jealousy was not something he liked feeling, but she bought it out so easily. Especially to see her sat upon a stripper’s lap with her eyes sparkling and that oh so innocent blush she always donned.

"Come here."

"Gavin!" She squeaked before giggling a bit. "I didn't know you were going to be home early." She expected his mission to last at least another day.

"I came home early. Now, come here." The sharp command and the alcohol in her system made her shiver, unable to help but obey. Her steps were a bit off--stumbling a tiny bit, but when she was close enough, Gavin pulled her roughly onto his lap. His grasp on her hips made her blood turn hot. "Why sit on Santa's lap when you can sit on mine?" His voice was low. "When you have me here, all to yourself."

“Santa told me I was a naughty girl.” She bit her bottom lip as she messed with his exposed collarbone. - Tight fitted t-shirts were a blessing on this man. “Do you think I’ve been a bad girl officer?” Her voice teasing, struggling to hold back the giggle. She knew how possessive Gavin got when he was jealous, how if she pushed his buttons just enough he would portray all his emotions with his actions. And Gavin roughly fucking her into a passed out bliss was something she definitely needed right now. 

“I think you’ve been a very bad girl.” Gavin leaned in to kiss her but swiftly moved, his tongue darting out to lick the shell of her ear. “And bad girls need to be punished.” He accentuated his words by biting her earlobe and giving a sharp slap to her behind making her jolt in hold. Her thighs trembling in anticipation as she fisted his black top. 

“Then punish me, officer.” She purred, gasping softly to feel his lips buried against her neck pressing heated kisses over her pulse. The previous love-bites he placed there before he left on his mission had faded, his need to re-mark her urging as his teeth nipped and sucked at her skin. “Gavin!” His name leaving her mouth in a sigh, unable to stop herself grinding against his lap. He’d been gone too long this time, his physical presence being enough to make her panties already be slicked with arousal. 

“Did I give you permission to touch me, miss?” Keeping up with his authoritative role. Her grinding stopped but her hands continued to grip his shirt. Lips parting in a silent moan as the white of his teeth continued their trail down to her collarbone. 

-

“Oh, fuck-fuck!” A frustrating cry left her lips, thighs tensing and squeezing Gavin’s to feel his hand pull away once more. “Please!”

Her lips were swollen, although Gavin had still yet to kiss her. Instead taking her bottom lip between his teeth, sucking it, biting it gently before releasing it with a wet pop. Her dress was tossed onto the floor somewhere unknown, her bra discarded with it and her panties hooked off one ankle. Her nipples were pert into the air, soft red marks danced around them making Gavin grin internally, his mark once again was upon her. Wet marks of sloppy kisses lingered over her skin, Gavin ensuring to press his lips against every exposed inch of her body. Although his sternness had grown softer as he pulled her hands up to his mouth, tongue gliding over each finger before kissing her knuckles. As if he was trying to remove where she had touched the Santa stripper, that the only touch on her skin should be his.

“Gavin.. Gavin please!” She whined, tears pooling in her eyes at the sheer ache between her thighs. Her hands bound behind her back in handcuffs, an absolutely mouth watering sight for Gavin.

“How long did the song last?” Her bra unclipped and falling off her shoulders, Gavin leaning down to capture her nipple as he sucked it until it pebbled in his mouth.

“I-I don’t know!” Eye’s shutting as a small moan left her part lips, unable to think straight as two fingers had dipped below her panties and continued their assault on her clit in a tight circling motion.

“Oh I think you do.” His teeth enclosing on the flesh, tugging sharply sending her bucking against his hand. The longer she took to reply, the slower his hand worked her. The wetness ruining the silk between her legs and pressed a spot beginning to puddle onto his trouser leg. “This is punishment shall I remind you.” His nose tracing the contour of her chest, up her neck before gliding over her face and darkly chuckling in her ear, “You seem to be enjoying this too much.” 

“Four!” She gasped, his fingers speeding up making her eyes widen. Knowing the punishment would be worse if she refused to tell him. “Four minutes.”

“Four.” A smug grin fell over his face, one that rarely fell on Gavin’s face. He held out her arms to guide her bra off and tossed it away, “Put them behind your back.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of metal cuffs watching as her eyes sparkled at them - she knew when the cuffs came out to brace herself, she was in for a long, rough night. Holding her hands together her back, he slid one hand followed by the other and clicked the metal, securing her hands behind her back.

And four times he edged her.

He made a show to take off his shirt, he worked tirelessly for his body but nothing felt as rewarding as she practically drooled over it. Another frustrated whine and the sound of metal shaking, her hands desperate to feel the thick set of muscles pulsing to be touched. He patted her thigh once as a signal to lift, a new flood of heated wetness rushed between her thighs as he unzipped his trousers enough to let his cock spring free. Deep red it throbbed and twitched, the faintest trail of precum leaking as he was at limit of teasing, the need to be buried deep inside her was too much.

Holding her waist with an iron grip, he lined her over him and buried himself to the hilt inside her as he pulled her down onto his lap. She came instantly as he held her down against him, jaw slacked and an audible moan rolling from the depths within her - a far too close for Gavin’s comfort neighbour would be sure to make a comment about his interrupted sleep during their next encounter in the hallway. 

“Good girl,” He whispered a few inches apart from her lips, letting his hands ghost up her sides and leaving goosebumps forming in their wake. Her thighs trembled as her high rolled across her body, Gavin tightening his hold as he began thrusting up, keeping her still. A long string of curses left her mouth as all she could do was let Gavin pound harshly upwards, hitting every spot deep inside her. And for the first time that night he kissed her, a sloppy kiss met with teeth and tongue. 

Pure concentration was written over his face, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead and running down his abdomen as his muscles flexed with each thrust up. His relentless pace sent her head first into another release, her head thrown back as she jerked in his hold. Hips spasming as her walls gripped tightly around his cock, threatening to make him spill already. The metal of chains jingled as her hands twisted in what little they could, crescent moons digging into her palms in the desperate attempt to seek something to hold. All shame had left as she roared out, a fat tear followed by another rolling down her cheeks from the overwhelming pleasure within her. 

This time Gavin let her ride out her high, shallowly thrusting as she collapsed against his chest. If it had not been for his hold on her waist she would have fell side away, dizzy and disorientated from pleasure.

“Shh, it’s okay, I got you.” Gavin cooed softly, letting her once more slide all the down his length as he held her close. His hands running soothingly up her back, unchaining the cuffs as he pressed feather like kisses to her skin. Soft praises of “you did so well.” and reassuring love was whispered, his voice silky as fleeting kisses pressed to her lips. Her hands and shoulders rolled a few times before she pressed them to his chest, hand pressed flat against his rapid heartbeat. 

She looked exhausted, she felt exhausted and for a moment Gavin feared he had gone too far. But his guilt was pushed aside from the lopsided, blissed out smile on her face, chest still heaving as she panted out, “That was… amazing.”

He chuckled softly, brushing her hair out of her face and placing a kiss to her temple. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“Not yet!” She protested, grabbing gently onto his forearm as he went to lift her off him. He was still solid inside her, having indulged in her pleasure instead of his own. 

“Baby I-“ Not wanting to push her further than how she was. Her walls already so tightly gripping him, it wouldn’t take much for his release to be found. She shushed him a kiss, using the last remaining strength and energy she could muster to rock in his lap. The chair squeaked, giving away their passion as moans were captured into each other’s mouths. 

Gavin had come home from this mission with no new marks or scars, a first, but as he spilled inside her. The throb of his head brought another climax for her, one that sent white bursting across her vision with her whole body trembling. She clawed at his chest, leaving his favourite kind of mark upon him, red angry lines to capture the intensity of their time together. A reminder for days to come of just how good he made her feel.

By the time they had finished, she had passed out asleep in his embrace. Gavin carried her to bed, cleaning her thighs with a blush on his cheeks. A small kiss placed to her forehead as climbed bedside her, her small frame automatically snuggling up against him. 

She didn’t need a Santa, when all she wanted was her Gavin.

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[ace-oreos]

I know its impossible for it to have happened but I would like to see some Alpha vs Darth Maul. Like Maul would be like 'oh your one of kenobi's' and Alpha would be like 'i just work for the man but i will absolutely fight you'

I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it one last time here: anon, you were so very patient and I can’t thank you enough for waiting all these months for me to finish this. 

I can safely say the funniest part of writing this was trying to figure out how to put together Maul’s Drama™ and... Alpha’s penchant for avoiding drama by any means necessary. It made writing the dialogue VERY fun XD

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added!): @dudewhynotthis @merspots @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @delta-the-mando @or-te-ka-ra @huitzilinthebudgie3 @a-lil-perspective

By all accounts, the Sith isn’t supposed to be here.

Just my luck, Alpha thinks, and sighs when he remembers Fordo offered to take this one off his hands. It wasn’t worth committing the full strength of Fordo’s squad to this assignment - or so he initially thought. They hadn’t gotten word of hostile Force-users until Alpha reported his findings. 

He’d been unpleasantly surprised, to say the least.

Maul and Kenobi have history, if he remembers correctly. Kenobi hasn’t told him the half of it and Alpha really doesn’t care one way or another. He wouldn’t, if he had already devised his own method for killing someone who can very likely predict his every movement. 

Really, the only way to get one over on Maul would be to cut off his connection to the Force. There’s no way of doing that, as far as Alpha knows, so this op will require a fair share of ingenuity and a healthy disregard for conventional means of warfare. Some more time wouldn’t go amiss either, but Alpha will have to work with what he has. 

So he lets Maul find him. Draws him out now rather than exert energy that could very well be the deciding factor later. He can’t say for sure that Maul is surprised, exactly, but whatever flickers across his face doesn’t look like anger just yet. 

“I wasn’t expecting you,” the Sith says slowly, all acid sibilants. 

“I suppose you were hoping for Kenobi,” Alpha dismisses. “Tough luck.” 

Alpha can put up just as much of a fight as any Jetii, but letting Maul underestimate him could work to his advantage if he plays his cards right. If Kenobi’s teachings are true, the Sith use their anger to guide them. Alpha intends to use that against him.

“So he sent you in his place, is that it?” 

“The general couldn’t be bothered with the likes of you,” Alpha is more than happy to inform him. “He’s beaten you once already. Why waste energy proving it again?” 

That strikes a nerve. The Force might not be part of Alpha’s arsenal, but he can read the rage in Maul’s expression all the same. Better to tread cautiously now; provoke Maul too soon, and the force of his anger will be too much for Alpha to redirect.

The Sith is examining him closely. “You must be one of Kenobi’s, then.”

Alpha shrugs. “Not exactly, but for our purposes - you could say so.”

“You feel no loyalty to him?” Maul asks slyly like that will get under Alpha’s skin.

“Depends on the day.” Alpha lets his hand drift casually to his blaster. “If you’re looking for a fight, I’d be happy to fill in. Like I said, Kenobi couldn’t care less about - ”

True to his intuition, Maul’s first attack isn’t based in the Force. He’s faster than Alpha anticipated, but he manages to dodge the headlong strike. Maul pivots, and a double-bladed lightsaber appears in his hands.

Maul is fast - Alpha just has to be faster. 

Evasion isn’t Alpha’s usual style, but he recognizes the necessity given the threat he’s facing. It’s no use trying to get a round past Maul’s saber; it would likely be deflected back at him anyways. 

And there’s no way Alpha can pull this off if he and the Sith are on equal footing. But if he can make the environment work to his advantage - if he can force Maul onto the wrong foot and seize that opportunity when it arises - he just might have a chance. 

Still, Maul isn’t sloppy enough that an opening will appear without some coaxing on Alpha’s end. It’ll mean sacrificing discipline for whatever works in the moment, but he decides it’s justifiable given the payoff. 

Even as he stays in motion he’s careful not to expend more energy than is strictly necessary. It’s just as well Jango was never one for fancy footwork; Alpha doesn’t get caught up in anything of the sort now. Eventually, however, Maul catches on and pulls back, eyeing him. 

“Kenobi’s lessons weren’t lost on you, I see.”

Alpha lets him talk, mind racing all the while. The compound’s labyrinthine layout could give him an edge - he’ll just have to do what he can to avoid getting crossed up along the way. But there’ll be risks no matter what; it’s just a matter of choosing the approach that will leave him the most room to adapt.

Just as Maul begins another pass with his saber, Alpha sends a few well-placed shots towards the Sith's feet and makes a break for a doorway just off Maul’s left shoulder.

Something collides with the wall dangerously close to his head, aided by the Force. Alpha ducks away instinctively but doesn’t look back. The first corridor is narrow; the second opens up to a catwalk that overlooks a wide hangar several meters below. 

He doesn’t have time to plant charges around the doorframe. It’s a shame, really - even the Force wouldn’t reveal detonators. But no use lamenting what he can’t have; Maul isn’t far behind. 

Alpha doesn’t much like the thought of getting caught on the catwalk, either, but there’s no other route out of this section of the compound. At least it’s stable; he doesn’t like to think what could happen if he didn’t have secure footing. 

He’s nearly halfway across, just starting to think he might’ve pulled this off when something slams into him from behind and he’s plunging towards the hangar floor in an uncontrolled fall, fighting blind panic. 

It’s sheer dumb luck that his rappel line catches something solid. He clutches at the taut line, muscles shaking with exertion and a fresh wave of adrenaline. Regaining a clearheaded state of mind is a conscious effort made all the more difficult by the realization that for all the Sith underestimated him, it’s painfully clear that Alpha badly underestimated Maul. 

With the catwalk no longer an option - he’ll only be walking straight into the onslaught - Alpha draws a steadying breath and lets himself fall. The breath is knocked from his lungs when he hits the ground, but he manages to roll with the impact. 

One glance towards the catwalk confirms Maul intends to follow him. Before the Sith’s feet hit the floor, Alpha fires. Maul is nowhere near defenseless, but splitting his concentration between fending off Alpha’s attack and manipulating the Force is the closest he’ll get.

The first shot clips Maul’s shoulder; the second hits home center mass. Knocked back by the force of impact, Maul’s landing is graceless and uncoordinated. Alpha presses his advantage, aiming for vulnerable joints.

Another round sears Maul’s arm. He snarls and switches his blade to his other hand. Despite Alpha’s best efforts, a few more steps and he’ll be too close for comfort. 

Alpha risks a glance at the catwalk. After Maul’s attack, it’s unlikely it’ll hold up under additional strain. He still has a few detonators on hand, and given their positioning…

The explosion rocks the hangar. Shards of metal pepper the hangar floor, and the catwalk begins to buckle. Sheets of metal tear away and plummet to the ground.

Alpha throws himself aside, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Maul isn’t so lucky. Another section of the catwalk crashes down, and the Sith disappears beneath the metal. 

The hangar is oddly silent now; the ragged gasps seizing Alpha’s chest are suddenly deafening. He half expects Maul to explode out of the wreckage, enraged, but there’s no sign of movement. 

Time to pull out. 

Traveling to the nearest Republic outpost will take the better part of a day, but they’ve got reinforcements and his ride out of here. And if the rumors are to be believed, Fordo and his squad are just a star system away. Navigating through Separatist-infested territory will no doubt be slow going, but if he has to he can hold out until - 

And suddenly a vice tightens around his throat and he claws at his neck instinctively, his free hand scrabbling for a hold on his knife, lungs aching as he struggles to breathe, and Maul proves to be very much alive, looming over Alpha, lightsaber in hand once again.

Even as Alpha’s vision threatens to fade - he can’t breathe - it registers distantly that Maul is within arm’s length. There’s a knife sheathed on Alpha’s belt - there’s a slim chance he can - if he could just -

Maul steps closer. 

Alpha drives his knife up and in and doesn’t let go until it sinks to the hilt. Maul is howling, the hangar echoing with the animalistic scream, and the blur of red at the edge of Alpha’s vision streaks closer - 

And then the pressure on his neck abruptly loosens. He curls into himself instinctively, coughing as he struggles to draw air into his lungs. The telltale hum of lightsabers drowns out Maul’s snarling; Alpha can’t help thinking that at least if he dies here, he’ll die on his feet. Not the death he’d have preferred, but -

“Easy, Captain.” A gentle pressure on his shoulder accompanies the familiar voice, and Kenobi’s face comes into view. He’s smiling, somehow, as though he couldn’t be bothered with the ongoing duel behind him. Of course Skywalker is here too; where his Master goes, he goes. 

There’s a story behind that, no doubt, but Alpha has a feeling everything will be divulged in due time.

_____________

“Well, you certainly took your time, General,” Alpha grumbles with a halfhearted attempt at exasperation after Kenobi is done detailing exactly how he and his Padawan ended up here when they were expected at the Temple.

“We made a few detours along the way,” Kenobi answers, flashing his Padawan a wry look that suggests those detours were likely not by their design. 

Skywalker decidedly ignores his Master’s remark and instead says, “So now what?” 

Alpha sighs. “Maul escaped, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“And?”

“And you’re not going after him,” Kenobi declares, correctly interpreting the look on Skywalker’s face and the set of his shoulders.

“We don’t know what kind of reinforcements he might have,” Alpha points out. “Or where he is now, for that matter.”

“And some of us need medical attention,” Kenobi adds with a pointed look at Alpha. 

“It’s nothing serious,” Alpha says, more out of habit than anything as he knows full well his protests fall on deaf ears.

“Alpha...”

“I’ve had worse,” he insists. “Sir.”

“Humor me,” Kenobi says with enough of an edge to his voice that Alpha understands the words are not open for interpretation. “I’m sure this won’t be the last we see of him.”

“Do me a favor, then, General.”

“Oh?”

“Next time you run into him, knock his shebs to haran and back.”

Kenobi smiles. “I’ll see what I can do, Captain.”

[kerikaaria]

If I Never Met You: Chapter 39

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader - Revealed this chapter!

Genre: (PG13) Fluff

WC: 1.7k

Warnings: None

Series Masterlist

Chapter 38 | Chapter 39 | Chapter 40

A/N -  Sorry for the extended wait on this one. I had more things to do than I expected when it came to arranging things for my shop and had other things I needed to take care of in my personal life. But yeah, the wait is finally over!

Also, apologies that it's a little shorter than my usual chapters. I'll do my best to make the next ones a bit longer, but I really didn't have anything else to add for this one that would flow with it.

You sat in the living room, Taehyung having helped you out of bed, feeling strangely nervous with the woman smiling at you from across the small table.

“How are you doing, dear?” she asked.

“I-I’m fine, eomeoni,” you replied.

“You’re not hurt or anything?” You could feel her eyes roaming over your body, trying to check for injuries.

“No. Only some minor bruises and scrapes, nothing serious,” you assured her. “They did an x-ray and everything so we know my legs are fine.”

“Good, I’m glad those brats didn’t cause you any extra trouble than they already have,” she said, standing up. “I’m assuming you haven’t eaten yet?”

“Oh. No, I guess I haven’t.”

She walked to your kitchen, opening up one of the bags that she had brought with her. “I brought plenty of side dishes, and I can cook up some rice and meat. Shouldn’t take too long to get some dinner ready.”

“Thank you,” you said with a soft smile.

“How long are you planning on staying?” Taehyung asked.

“Probably about two weeks, if that’s alright with Y/n,” she replied.

“Two weeks?” Tae repeated. “That’s a long time. You sure you don’t need to go back home sooner?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were unhappy to see me.”

“No, that’s not it,” Tae said. “I am just surprised, is all. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“Because I wanted to surprise you,” she replied. “Is it too much for a mother to expect her son to be happy to see her?”

“I am happy!” Taehyung replied, shuffling quickly into the kitchen to hug his mother. He had her arms restrained in his grip, stopping her from getting out ingredients to cook with while he smothered her. “I missed you,” he singsonged, elongating the last syllable for emphasis. “I love you, eomma!” Tae loudly smacked a kiss to her cheek, making her laugh.

“Okay, okay,” she said, patting his arm in an effort to get him to loosen his grip. “Let me make you food.”

Tae made a whining noise. “You didn’t say it back.”

Mrs. Kim sighed, chuckling. “I love you too, Taehyung. Now can I have my arms back please?”

Tae smiled widely as he let her get back to what she was doing, and walked back into the living room to keep out of the way.

The whole exchange had you smiling, unable to not be endeared by the cute sight. But as she resumed getting ingredients ready you couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you want to stay for that long, eomeoni?”

“I’ll only stay that long if it’s okay with you, sweetheart,” she said. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome, but I figured it might be nice for you to have a mother’s touch around here while you’re healing. And of course the company.” She turned to you to smile sweetly.

While you couldn’t help but to feel nervous with the knowledge that the mother of the boy you’d been crushing on for longer than you’d like to admit was going to be staying with you that long, you also couldn’t deny that that did sound nice.

“If you want me to leave sooner, that’s perfectly okay,” Mrs. Kim said when you took a moment to respond. “I won’t be offended.”

“No, it’s fine,” you assured her. “You’re not wrong. It does get a bit lonely sometimes.”

You could practically hear the frown on Tae’s face, it was so deep. “I’m sorry, noona. I wish we could spend more time with you.”

“Stop apologizing,” you said. “You guys have a job to do. Don’t feel bad for something that you can’t help.”

As Mrs. Kim made dinner, which was smelling more and more delicious by the minute, she caught up with Taehyung. She told him stories about his siblings—how well his sister was doing in school, the crazy stories his brother had come up with recently—and other things he’d missed from home since the last time they saw each other.

Despite it not being long at all since the last time you saw your own mother, you couldn’t help but miss your family as you heard them talk. But more than that, you smiled as you listened, Mrs. Kim’s frequent looks in your direction as she talked a queue that she was okay with you being included in the conversation. You knew that Taehyung, as well as the other members, missed their families a lot so it was really nice to see him get to spend some time with his mother.

As if summoned by the presence of food, not one moment after Taehyung’s mother announced that dinner was ready was your door opened and the rest of the boys walked in.

“You said your mom is here?” Jimin asked Taehyung.

“Yup, she just finished making dinner,” he confirmed.

“Eomeoni!” Jin called brightly, walking into the kitchen. “Let me help you with that.” He took one of the plates of food from her to carry back to the table.

“Thank you, Seokjin,” she said. “I was just about to ask Taehyung to call you guys over to eat. Good timing.”

The others all greeted her as they helped set up the table before sitting down to eat.

Dinner was, just as you assumed by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, really delicious. Taehyung particularly looked incredibly happy to be eating his mother’s cooking again, and the table was filled with praise from everyone about how amazing it was.

“I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about a mother’s cooking,” Hoseok said as he cleaned the last bits of rice from his bowl. “So delicious.”

“You can say that again,” Namjoon agreed. “I don’t think I’ve felt this satisfied after a meal since the last time noona cooked for us.”

Your brows furrowed, going over the interaction in your head again. “I’m not a mother, though. If that’s the standard you’re talking about, then why my cooking...?”

“We already covered this, noona,” Jungkook said. “You and Sejin-hyung are our parents.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Not to mention, you’re surprisingly good at making Korean food,” Jin added. “Even better than me, really.”

“Well thank you, but I’m sure that you can agree I am absolutely nowhere near this level,” you said. “Thank you so much for dinner, eomeoni. It was really delicious.”

“You’re all very welcome,” Mrs. Kim responded, starting to stack dishes.

“Leave that to me,” Taehyung said, taking them from her hands and taking them into the kitchen. “Those who cook don’t do the dishes.”

“Well, that’s new,” his mom said, sounding surprised. “Thank you, Taehyung.”

After Taehyung and Jimin did the dishes together, you ushered everyone back to their own house. They had a bunch of fan sign events the next few days, so you didn’t want them staying up too late when they needed all the energy they could get.

Before leaving, Namjoon realized Tae’s mother would need to know how to get you in and out of your chair if she were to be helping you, so he helped show her how to do it properly, and someone else had thought to bring some blankets and pillows for her as well while you were busy with that.

Once that was all done and everyone else left, you couldn’t help but feel nervous with the fact that it was just the two of you left in your house. You had yet to be alone with her, and while you weren’t entirely sure why you felt nervous you had an inkling it had something to do with the fact that you had more than platonic feelings toward her son.

She quickly eased those nerves when she broke the silence between you. “I haven’t gotten a chance to thank you yet.”

You looked at her curiously. “Thank me? For what?”

“For what you did for my son,” she clarified. “He’s been telling me so much about you ever since you became their manager, so I already knew you were a good person. But not everyone would have done what you did that day.”

The compliment in that statement left you feeling shy. “It was really nothing,” you said, voice quiet. “Part of my job is to make sure nothing happens to them. That they’re safe.”

Mrs. Kim hummed. “That may be true, but I’m sure that doesn’t usually include jumping in the middle of danger for them. You’re not a security guard. And even then, most people wouldn’t go that far. The natural reaction to something like that is to either freeze from shock, or protect yourself. And there’s no shame in that. But it really speaks volumes about who you are as a person that you only considered his well-being in a split moment like that.”

You had no idea what you could say to that. You understood what she was saying, and it was true that your own personal safety wasn’t even in the smallest corner of your mind until you were already hurt. But how do you take a compliment, a praise, like that casually?

When you stayed silent, she reached out to place her hand on top of where yours rested in your lap. “Taehyung has had nothing but great things to say about you ever since you met. That boy could just look at someone and then suddenly they’re friends. But even then, I can tell who he really considers important, who he is closest to. You’re definitely one of those people for him. And I’m really glad to know that his group has you, seeing the testament to what you’re willing to do for them. But at the same time, I do hope you don’t forget to take care of yourself and your own safety first from now on, too. Okay?”

Still feeling as though your vocal chords suddenly froze up and stopped working, the only thing you could do was nod in response.

Taehyung’s mother smiled brightly—that smile was most definitely genetic—at your confirmation that you’d be more careful, patting your hand before helping you get into bed for the night.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 38 | Chapter 39 | Chapter 40

Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope @misohime @netflix-batman-sleep @smallbaby-cat @leitholdwithlove @ramyagovindraj @rjsmochii @overtherainbow35 @leesalts @whobuiltthemoon

Send me a message or ask if you want tagged! And also feel free to leave comments or send asks to just talk to me!

Also, if you’d like to donate to my Ko-fi, feel free! Absolutely no pressure though :)

[httpbread]

Hey there again!! I was wondering if I could request another dialogue prompt scenario with Hanako x Fem!Reader again with #33 "I only ever thought there were two kinds of love: The kind you would kill for, and the kind you would die for... but for you, my darling, you are the kind of love I would live for" and #34 "I want you. All of you, and not just half-heartedly, wholly. And maybe that's selfish, but I don't care." It can be past Hanako or present, your choice! Thank you again!! 👻👻👻

Pairing: Hanako x reader

Words: 7048 (mistakes have been made)

T/W: death mention, injury mention,a bit angsty but with a happy ending

On god I’ve written more than 10k for this bad boy with the amount that i have  edited and cut and rewritten but i have finally finished it. sorry it took so long!!

-

“Kisses can’t fix everything you know."

This was exactly why she found herself sitting on the floor of the third-floor girl’s bathroom, the door locked and a first aid kit spread out before her.

"Amane-"

"Please."

The alcohol-soaked cotton ball falters in her fingers at the desperation in his soft voice.

"Can’t we just talk about something else?"

She peers up at him under her lashes briefly. Lucky or unlucky, the boy refused to return the gesture, staring stubbornly off, a crinkle in his brow and a weight in his lips.

(Y/n) looks back down at her work, but not without muttering, "Only when you stop bringing me all these cuts and bruises..."

She knows he’s going to huff and puff, so she interrupts before he can, hoping a change of topic might put him in a better mood, "Because of you, I talked to someone about medical school today."

Amane utters immediately, "Huh?"

"Tsuchigomori-san thinks I should look into becoming a doctor," she keeps her gaze fixed on the cut she was treating, delicately dabbing it clean with the cotton ball, "I’m inclined to believe him."

Her friend is quiet and so is she, working methodically as ever.

"You’re good at what you do..." he mumbles, scarcely loud enough for her to hear over the unending silence of the afternoon bathroom.

"I know," she responds, adding pointedly, "You give me plenty of practice."

Glancing up, she catches his sour look with her small, sly smile. Sour, sour, sour those eyes were. Like two little lemons glaring back at her. Not intimidating in the slightest.

"That’s low," he enlightens her, making her snort under her breath.

Was it really considered a low blow to point out the truth staring them both in the face?

She lets out a long breath, the air slipping slowly from her lips as she returns her focus to the task at her hands.

"It’s only because of you," she reaches over for the antibiotic ointment, muttering, "If it were anyone else, I never would’ve taken any interest in first aid."

Squeezing the small tube so it oozes the gel onto her finger, she then brings it to the back of his hand, ever so gently smearing it onto the cut, "I would’ve never even thought twice about what I was doing."

She never would’ve been so careful.

After all, she’d grown up always having to be cutthroat and serious to get things done. She never had time to just slow down and look at things. There were a million things she had to strikeout. She was meant to act better than a machine, quick, efficient, and perfect.

And yet...

Even if it didn’t come naturally to (Y/n), Amane showed her that there was a need in the world for that kind of softness she all too often crushed and buried away.

Unknowingly, he had taught her many things over the course of their sometimes rocky friendship, but most of all... He taught her that she couldn't get through all her life constantly acting sharp and rigid.

Her wandering thoughts fizzle with the feeling of his eyes trained on her.

"Because we’re friends...?"

For a moment, she forgets herself. She’d gotten lost in her thoughts.

The words left a bittersweet taste in her mouth regardless... Soft on him because they were friends... How peachy.

She avoids his gaze, retrieving a bandaid for the last of his injuries, "Because I care about you, Amane. I don’t want to hurt you, so it’s made me slow down and think more."

While her words were no lie, they were nowhere near the whole truth, either.

However...

A subtle curve tugs at her lips.

"And..."

She can’t help but tease him.

"I realized that every time I help some hurt stranger... that they’re just like you."

He scoffs lightly, those narrowed amber eyes snapping up to meet hers, "In what way? You’re saying every stranger and I are the same to you?"

She shakes her head with a small laugh at his flare of thinly veiled jealousy. Geez. Someone was feeling a little defensive today.

"No. They just remind me of you," she admits, gazing down at his hand for a moment, her own absently stilled, "and then I know that someone out there is probably worried sick about their idiot."

She knew she was always worried about him, at least.

"Oh..."

She brushes over this matter with a new one.

"I’ll be in school for a really long time," she comments, busying herself with unwrapping the bandaid crinkling noisily between her fingers.

"And...?" He trails off, waiting.

"No. That’s all," she carefully slides the bandage out and places it over the cut on his hand, ever so lightly smoothing it out, "I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it."

Despite whatever thoughts and situations faced them, they were childhood friends after all. It made sense that she would care about his opinion... but maybe not as much as she ultimately did.

"Well, I think..." he’s quiet for a moment, searching for words, "I think you’d make a great doctor."

This makes the smile on her lips grow as she looks up at him, watching him gaze down at their hands, a thoughtful look marking his handsome features.

"You’re already good at scolding."

This makes her pause.

‘Bastard.’ She wants to huff at him.

And yet, instead, she pulls his hand up, (e/c) eyes flicking up to meet his quickly narrowing golden ones. She pays no mind to the suspecting look on his face and places an ever so soft kiss the bandaid she had just applied.

(Y/n) watches in silent delight as that familiar rose color blossoms across his pale cheeks.

She slowly sets his hand back down, though not releasing it from hers, muttering finally, "I suppose so."

She then gives his hand a squeeze, smirking a little, "Maybe I’ll even learn how to get my scolding through especially thick skulls like yours."

She couldn’t just let him slander her like that and get off completely scot-free.

"Okay, now you’re just being mean," he decides, stealing his hand away from her to cross his arms over his chest. Which, he was right, but only a little.

She only continues to smirk at him, undeterred.

"Says you," she notes, amusement lingering in her lowered tone, "You want away from me so bad you’re skipping planets."

"The moon is not a planet," he utters, scandalized by her words, his eyes sparkling a little with the way they widen incredulously, only allowing more light in their golden-colored depths.

She waves her hand dismissively, biting back her teasing smile, "Ah, right, right. Dwarf planet, yeah?"

(Y/n) turns her head away, adding the sprinkles to the top of her deceit before he can hastily protest, "Well, I guess since you’re kicking me to the curb, maybe I should find some rich husband to keep me company during my studies. Someone new I can take care of."

"Absolutely not!" Amane declares.

He was right, of course, but she was more than happy to let him think so highly of her. Her sharp tongue would never allow such a thing.

"Why not? Can’t you see it now?" She tilts her head at him, bringing a pointer finger to each corner of her lips and drawing them up in an award-winning smile, "Me, a trophy wife, a trophy husband, both fabulously rich. Three dogs. Maybe a kid."

He wears a look on his face that’s quite the opposite of hers, "Of course I can."

The sudden admission makes her falter in surprise.

"I just don’t want to," his eyes avoided hers.

She slowly lowers her hands, before setting them back in her lap.

"Then you need to get your eyes checked," she retorts bluntly, "The day I find someone who can tolerate me is the day hell freezes over."

Her eyes calmly find the amber ones now trying to burn holes in her.

"You, on the other hand..."

She can’t help her adoring smile.

"You’re going places, Amane."

She laughs a little to hide the slight embarrassment gripping her, eyes drawing to the window, "I mean, more than just the moon. I could see you going anywhere you put your mind to..."

The sun looks like it’s beginning to set, casting brilliant shades of oranges and yellows through the window to make the bathroom.

Yet, the sunset puts no hurry in her unmoving feet. She was sure Amane would walk her home, dark or not. He may be stubborn, and they did argue a lot, but he was loyal.

"Not without you."

She blinks.

"I’m not going anywhere without you, (Y/n)."

She turns to look at him, feeling almost incredulous.

"That’s a funny thing to say," she utters, cupping her cheek, trying to play it off to soothe her beating heart, "I know we’ve been friends for a long time, Amane, but..."

Her face softens with a teasing little smile at him, "Aren’t you tired of me yet?"

However, he doesn’t smile back, almost glaring at her like she’s said something stupid- sort of like when she muddled facts about the moon, except missing that shock factor, now replaced with something more firm.

"No."

He looks down at his hands as she blinks twice.

"I want you."

Her lungs abruptly come to a silent halt.

"All of you, (Y/n)."

Especially when he’s suddenly moving closer, taking her face in his kind hands, "Not just half-heartedly, but wholly."

For once, no protests come tumbling past her lips. She couldn’t even think of any. She almost wasn’t sure she had any.

He swallows, giving away his nerves, but doing nothing to stop those big beautiful eyes from burning bright.

"And maybe- maybe that’s selfish, but I don’t care."

She forces her lungs to work again, almost robotically evicting the breath from her chest.

But she can’t look away from him.

Or keep the big smile from curving at her lips as she leans forward, ignoring her nervous heart as she places her hands on either side of his face.

"(Y/n)...?" He whispers, voice quiet but his pitch is higher than usual, giving away his fear if she didn’t see the obvious terror glittering in his eyes.

"Oh, Amane..." she closes her eyes, leaning her forehead against his, "You’re an idiot."

The slight hitch of his breath makes her audibly clue him in.

"I’m already yours," she won’t bite her tongue now. He opened up to her, and she’d be damned if she didn’t meet him halfway- if not further. "I’ve been yours for a long time now."

She pulls away- but only a little. Just so she can look at him again.

He still hasn’t seemed to have closed those eyes of his, trained on her unwaveringly, surprise dancing in their shimmering depths.

They meet hers, and her heart feels full.

"I’m not sure if I should be hurt that you just called me an idiot when I’m vulnerable..." he elucidates, making her grin further, "Or just be happy that you feel the same."

"Well, I’d say..." she slides her arms past his neck, coiling around him and drawing him in close like the snake she is, "Take what you can get."

He responds by pulling her just as near with a light tug on her uniform, tilting his head a little to seal their words with a warm kiss- and (Y/n) couldn't be happier to follow.

Neither of them could have ever guessed what had lied in store for them, however.

They were both so bright and ready to take on the world by each other’s side, with hands held and fingers intertwined.

Neither of them ever thought that the future would be three graves sitting in a neat little row next to each other, not even two weeks later.

Everything had slipped between their fingers in an instant. They were a snap- two fingers slipping past each other, perfect at first until the friction caught up to them. With just a single little bang, they were far apart once again, as though they had never met in the first place.

No fairytale wedding on the moon. No handing out lollipops to patients. No graduating. No nothing.

Every inkling of a dream they had built came crashing down abruptly, leaving nothing but carnage and broken hearts.

—-

(Y/n) tugged at the bandage.

"Oi!"

"Oi!" She mocks in a higher pitch.

The blond mean mugs her.

She spits his look right back at him.

"Baby," she comments tartly, looking back down at her work, "If you want to start making complaints, stop getting hurt, why don’t you?"

Just about every day this kid kept coming back to her!

Sure, she knew he was an exorcist and all that and a cherry on top, but she also knew one boy wasn’t getting into all of this trouble by himself.

Almost made her want to march right up to that bathroom and give that mystery a piece of her mind.

Mystery number seven...

That damned boy.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"My bad," she quickly removes her hands.

Yeah. Okay. That time was actually her bad. That bandage was looking a teensy bit tight.

"Distracted, doc?"

Doc.

"No."

She looks down at his wrist, gently loosening the bandage on it.

(Y/n) (L/n) was not a doctor, nor would she ever become one.

However, the school had a funny way of taunting her, withholding her as the rumored mystery number eight- the medical mystery, it so happened.

Mostly, her job consisted of patrolling around and taking care of the living idiots. Fixing them up, popping a sucker in their mouth to shut them up, before she was on her way again.

The rest of her official job as a mystery consisted of gathering... specific- er, well, exotic goods, like mermaid scales for example, and things of that nature.

It wasn’t much, but it tended to keep her busy.

Well, that was a lie. Her job was all she had. Not to mention it wasn’t an easy one either. Sticking with the previous example, Mermaids weren’t exactly jumping all over the idea of showering her with their lovely little scales. Despite being a healer, her line of work got her into more fights than not.

"So... do I still get a sucker...?"

She blinks, looking up at the blond, realizing she was zoning out again.

"Hah?"

He smiles at her, nonetheless, a smile much like the sun, in the way that it makes her squint and look away.

"Yeah, whatever," she huffs, reaching into her apron.

She retrieves a handful.

"What flavor?" She shoves it at him, not at all intending to help him choose or find said flavor.

Okay, so maybe the candy wasn’t a required part of her job, but hey, a little bribery never hurt.

She’d much rather be rumored as the helpful little medic with the candy than the crazed doctor butcherer or something.

"Wh- Oi! Only one!" She slaps his hand away, glaring venomously as he laughs.

"Please, (L/n)-san!" He beams at her, bright as ever, not exactly begging, "The mokke are hungry too."

She looks down, not at all surprised at the gathering of pink bunny-like creatures at her feet.

"Right, right. Sorry."

She then promptly offers them the biggest smile she can muster, hoping to display just how sorrowful she was for them.

"Maybe I should start practicing my veterinary skills too!"

And just like that, they’re running for the hills, no more pink creatures crowding her, not even within her sights. It’s almost impressive.

She drops the smile along with the rest of the lollipops back into her frilly ivory apron in exchange for her usual deadpan expression, "Thought so."

But she notices there’s one particular annoyance left standing.

"What do you want, boy?" She drops a hand on her hip and her head to the side, (e/c) eyes narrowing "Got some internal bleeding or something I’m not seeing?"

He gives his head a shake, sending his spiky blonde locks bouncing.

"No. I was just thinking."

She comments immediately, "Well, I’m not into studying therapy either. Move along."

However, he only chuckles at this, amused as though she didn’t completely mean it.

"Aren’t doctors supposed to be nice?"

She looks up at the boy, and contrary to him, she is further unamused.

He only continues to smile at her, undeterred as ever, blue eyes bright with life.

"Maybe," she offers him a shrug, "I’m not a doctor."

(Y/n) decides she likes the way his whole face scrunches up when she pokes his nose, like she pressed some kind of button, "The only thing I am, is dead."

"Well, I think you’re very kind," he says, arguing his own point.

She flashes him a funny look. He was the one who implied she wasn’t nice. She just confirmed that theory. She agreed with him! So, why the hell did he feel the need to continue arguing with her? ... himself? She wasn’t even sure. What a weirdo this one was.

"You just show you’re kind in the way that you’re really mean and you nag a lot."

For a moment, the words make her falter.

For a moment, all she can see is loving amber eyes framed by long dark lashes and darker choppy locks.

For a moment.... they sound so much like something he would say to her...

"It just means you care! And you have a big repressed heart under all those sour looks!"

There’s a finger in her face, snapping her from those melancholy memories. She promptly brushes it away to reveal the scowl marking her lips.

"Yeah? Then explain why I don’t care, then."

But he’s on his feet now, waving away this idea as he grabs his bag, "You do. That’s why you help me all the time!"

No.

That was mostly so Teru didn’t exorcise that idiot no. 7. If he saw all the cuts and bruises Kou got from working under him...

Well, not that she cared about that idiot either.

As far as she was concerned, all these boys were idiots- and she was just going to calmly stay in her lane, away from them all!

That number seven boy was nothing to her except a poor excuse for a boss and distant memories.

The other blond was just a slightly taller menace.

And this smiling idiot was nothing but that. An idiot.

...

......

And… maybe just a little bit of a friend as well...

She waves to him.

"Don’t come back," she says to him.

Yet, he responds cheerfully, waving excitedly, "I’ll see you tomorrow, (L/n)-san!"

-

Tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes.

Week in. Week out.

It was all the same to her.

She did her job. She helped students. She got what she needed. She finished her work.

She kept herself busy and never glanced his way.

That was how it was.

That’s how it was supposed to be.

That’s how it always was.

"Long time no see, (N/n)-chan!"

But that familiar voice shattered any vague sense of order she had gathered over the fifty years since she had last heard it.

There’s a black patch on his cheek now, but changing the cover of a book didn’t change its wicked contents.

Nor did it remove the pages stained with her blood.

"You look well," he tells her, voice high with a giggle, "How old are you now? Sixty? Seventy?"

(Y/n) flinches as his lithe fingers brush her cheeks with unseen stains coating them, but she can’t move away. Her feet have sunken into the concrete below, holding her in place as her chest seizes, ever nerve lighting on fire with the need to disappear.

"You really don’t look it!" He tells her, and she can only watch as his lips pull up to reveal his sharp fangs, "Nope, nope! You don’t look a day past your last living one."

Her lips part almost desperately, but there’s a weight on her tongue and a knot in her throat that squanders any attempt for the words she already lacks.

"Or- well, your second to last day."

His fingers brush past her face to trace through her (h/l) (h/c) locks, a thoughtful hum trickling into her ears "You weren’t much to look at in your last moments, were you?"

As he pulls back his hand, her knees wobble, threatening to slip out from under her.

"Or should I say there wasn’t much left of you to look at?"

"T-Tsukasa-" It’s only one word but it leaves her nearly gasping, the weight on her chest more than paralyzing.

"Hmm~?"

She meets his eyes and finds her scarcely gathered will crumbling instantly.

Those big honey-hued eyes that could so quickly go from looking like someone she loved so dearly to narrowing, squinting as though he needed glasses, reminding her they belonged to something, someone different that was much more sinister.

"(N/n)-chan..." He says suddenly.

His voice is no longer light and airy.

It’s cold, detached, and the exact sound of all her hopes of coming out of this unscathed shattering at once.

"You know why I’m here, don’t you?"

-

"(L/n)-san!"

Kou wears a big smile as he marches into the elusive number eight’s boundary.

He was going to show her today!

Because today, Kou did not have a single bruise on him!

The second he finished up with Hanako and found his feet pulling him instinctively back to the apparition’s boundary, the realization hit him like a train.

Knowing he was perfectly fine, for once, he found himself practically racing to get to her boundary, ready to rub it in her pretty face that he could take care of himself! She’d know now that he was cool and didn’t always need her to baby him.

"(L/n)-san, you’ll never guess!" He throws back another patient’s curtain.

Only to once again reveal nothing but an empty hospital bed.

However, with half of the nurse’s office still unexplored, there was still plenty of possibility for the apparition to appear.

That’s what he told himself.

But deep down, a strange feeling was cuddling in his stomach.

(L/n) was always in her boundary right now.

She’d never admit it, but he knew it was so she could be here to patch him up after his duties with Hanako.

And sure, they didn’t always stay in the office when she fixed him back up, but they always met here.

So, throwing back the last curtain...

"(L/n)-san?"

His brows are knitted together as he asks the air around him.

Where the hell was she?

-

"I’m telling you! She’s missing! Vanished! Disappeared! Gone!"

Hanako draws a card from the deck sitting between him and the mokke in the third-floor bathroom’s window sill.

He places it down with the collection of cards littered in the space before him.

"Your move," he comments quietly.

"Hanako!"

He swallows.

Hanako should have known better.

He should have kept the boy away from her just as he kept himself away from her.

When Kou had first come to him about the pretty spirit he had stumbled upon- he had almost hit the nail right on the head, killing what could come from such an introduction instantly.

But he didn’t.

Because deep down, Hanako couldn’t keep away from her.

He needed some kind of tie- some measly form of connection to her- he longed for it, ached for it, craved it...

Until it came to him in the form of Kou, and his friendship with the medical mystery.

Kou was an open book. Especially when it came to (Y/n). One little question and he was rambling about the spirit. How she seemed, what she had scolded him about that day, how mean she was, how kind she was, how beautiful she was.

Jealousy would stick to his lungs like tar, making him feel sicker with longing than any cigarette would. The boy would talk about her like she put the stars in the sky- and would wonder to him just how she did it, a question he had been asking himself for over fifty years.

But on the other hand, hearing about her was refreshing. It was like a drop of water a second away from dying in a desert. He couldn't ever get enough of her. She was an addiction he could never quite get his fix of but sure as hell couldn’t get rid of either.

"Are you even listening to me?"

He was.

"I told you! She’s gone, Hanako!"

She was. She had been gone for fifty damned years.

Fifty years and he still didn’t have a single solid idea of what to do about it now.

"What if she’s in danger, or she needs help, or-"

"She’s dead."

The words leave a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. He’s not talking to the boy.

But he responds, none the wiser.

"And?"

His eyes flicker over to the blond.

Kou stands tall as ever, his fists curled tightly at his sides, a burning emotion in his icy eyes that he didn’t even want to unpack.

"Dead or not, she could still need help."

He couldn’t even help her the first time she needed it.

What was he supposed to do now?

"Please, Hanako," Kou pleads, voice low with despair, "If something happened to her I would never forgive myself."

Hanako sighs at this.

Something had already happened to her once and Hanako still hadn’t forgiven himself.

He pushes to his feet.

"Only a quick look."

-

(Y/n) choked on her own breath, shoes slamming hard against the linoleum floor she’d known her whole life. The hall she’d walk to her classes in, linger in with old friends before everything hit the fan. The halls that once only held the danger of being late due to bustling crowds.

Burning liquid seeped between her trembling fingers as she pressed them firmer over her wound, a sharp gasp pushing past her already parted lips.

She just had to make it to the nurse’s office, her boundary.

Tsukasa couldn’t kill her there. Not as easily anyways.

The staircase was within sight.

She struggled to wedge a glance over her shoulder, fingers slipping from her wound slightly, making her grip her shoulder tighter.

Tsukasa only gazed after her blankly, dull eyes looking black, narrowed as he advanced, efficient and deadly in the way that he moved along after her.

A cry caught in her throat as she whipped her head back around.

The staircase! That was-

Oh god.

A dirty shoelace caught under a frantic foot.

The staircase greeted her greedily, peppering her face with kisses as it yanked her into its arms despite her protesting choked scream, wet hand slipping right off her injury as she desperately searched for something to hold, something to grab, something to save her as she came tumbling down.

But nothing could save her.

Nothing could ever save (Y/n).

She slammed roughly against where the stairs met the wall and turned, thrusting her hands out instinctively to claw at the wall in hopes of stopping only to accidentally shove herself down the rest of the depths.

Her butt met the stairs first this time when she hit, and she could only watch in blurry horror when suddenly her feet were soaring over her head- the next moment managing to slam her face against the floor again.

Fate was cruel.

Her head was spinning as she fought the earthquakes consuming her, forcing herself up on her hands and knees to stare down at a bloody floor. She needed to get a grip and she needed to get one fast.

Yet- her movements were painfully slow as she sat up and back on her knees, blinking the clouds from her eyes as she tried to look up, past the ringing in her ears.

Tsukasa descended the stairs in a much calmer fashion, grinning as he hopped down the last two- or four if her vision was anything to go by.

However, in truth, there was nothing to be done.

Her pounding head had been clogged with honey. Her limbs felt tingly from blood loss and the revenants of adrenaline. She was struggling just to blink in place.

Tsukasa smiled at her almost sweetly.

"Are you done?"

But they both knew the answer to that.

This story unraveling between them has already been written before.

She lifted her hands up to the crouched boy.

His smile curled into a grin as he grew ever closer to devour her as a whole.

But (Y/n)’s hands stopped at his chest and so did he.

She pressed. Pushing him.

Away. Away. Away.

It’s all her foggy brain could come up with in that moment.

His chest vibrates under her blood stained fingertips with a warm laugh.

It’s burning.

Scalding. Scalding. Scalding.

"Oh, (N/n)-chan... is that it?"

A labored breath falls past her lips.

"Is that all you’ve got?"

She squints up at him under the harsh lights above, fighting to give him the nasty look she so longed to give him- along with a piece of her mind.

She forces her lips apart, taking in a shaky breath.

"(L/n)-san!"

Tsukasa hums, mirroring her surprise at the sudden interruption.

"Now you’ve done it," he tells her with a bored sigh, "You’ve gotten us both caught."

If he didn’t want to get caught, then maybe he shouldn’t always be trying to kill her.

That’s what she wants to snap at him.

But her face twists, body erupting into flame thinly veiled by the adrenaline rushing back into her veins as the cruel boy drags her up onto her unable feet.

"What did you do to her?!"

Adrenaline or not- she feels like screaming out as he pulls her bad arm around his shoulders, draping her like some kind of shawl, his other arm coiled around her waist with a vice-like grip.

"Oh, nothing much really!" His singsong voice makes her head ache, "Nothing compared to what I want to."

"Can’t you at least lie?" She hisses through her clenched teeth, wincing too hard to even look at him as she desperately tries to will the pain away.

"Lying is bad, (N/n)-chan!" He huffs and she doesn’t even need to lift her head to see his sour pout.

"So is being mean to girls."

Tsukasa and herself have very different reactions to this voice.

"AMANE!"

She blinks her eyes harshly, not able to catch herself from looking up for him.

The blur dissolves from her gaze, leaving her with the sight of an all too familiar boy.

Amane stands in the wake, cape flowing out behind him. Those short choppy black locks tucked under his cap, amber eyes almost glowing as they peer under the brim. They’re almost narrowed as sharp as the kitchen knife clutched in his hand, knuckles tinted white with effort.

She realizes then that she hasn’t caught such a glimpse of him in a while now.

Of course, the way their shattered connection- or lack of to be more precise- that wasn’t an odd occurrence at all. It was expected.

But she remained like a broken record player, the stylus still catching at the old cracks in her heart.

Even more knowing that this situation was almost all too familiar.

"Aren’t you the one who was always saying (N/n)-chan was special?" She flinches in surprise, snapped right out of her thoughts as a hand grips her face, fingers digging into the soft squish of her cheeks, turning her head. She blinks rapidly, meeting those inquisitive golden eyes. "So- she’s not just any girl."

A scowl makes its way to her lips as she tries to tug her face away from his unbudging hand.

"Let her go, Tsukasa. This isn’t about her and you know it."

Tsukasa looks away from her at this, releasing her head, "Oh, Amane. That’s rich."

His arm around her waist squeezes warningly, "(N/n)-chan and I are friends too, y’know! You should learn to share!"

What a damned hypocrite.

"Friends don’t hurt each other!"

She almost wishes her fun road trip down the stairs had fully knocked her out.

Swaying useless on her feet, pounding head victim to the yelling around her- it was almost more hellish than the stab wound in her shoulder and that was saying something.

"Don’t you listen, boy?" Tsukasa sighs as she lifts her hand, trying to be subtle.

Her shitty plan was to try and push him away again.

But he only snatched it up, before it could even reach him halfway, giving it a squeeze.

"(N/n)-chan and I share a special bond!"

Yeah, it’s called ‘death’- which is what all murderers and their victims shared.

She tries to wiggle her fingers free from him but he turns to her with an unsettling grin, "Isn’t that right?"

She does reply.

"Get off me." 

It’s just not the one he’s looking for.

Tsukasa sighs, shaking his head with a pout.

She didn’t actually expect her request to work though.

But her head slamming back against the ground again is a sure-fire sign that he had let her go.

"Whoopsie daisy," he chirps as her vision swims.

She can vaguely make out his figure, towering over her.

But those eyes glaring down at her are unmistakable.

For a moment, staring up at him like this, panic stirs in her heart.

The sight was a carbon copy of the one as she was met with as she took her last breath fifty years ago.

The only difference this time was that she was already dead before her heavy lids sank shut.

-

It’s almost homely what greets her as she creeps away from oblivion.

Though, not what most would consider homely.

After all, the stinging smell of antiseptic and the blinding lights unavoidable even behind closed eyes were as impersonal as impersonal things could get.

But they were something (Y/n) knew well.

So, she wasn’t at all surprised when she finally willed herself to crack open her eyelids only to find a shitty poster staring back at her.

It was the kitten one.

‘Don’t forget to wash your paws!’.

(Y/n) is glaring at it miserably when she hears it.

"You’re awake."

"No shit," she croaks, but people always said she was ambitious- which is why she closes her eyes in hopes of falling back unconscious.

Anything to escape the shitshow she had escaped the first time by doing so.

Speaking of which...

"What happened?"

She almost doesn’t want to know.

He answers.

"That should be the least of your worries right now."

It’s not the answer she wants.

Her eye twitches, but she fights to keep them closed, still hanging onto the idea of sleep.

"You do realize when you tell someone not to worry they do exactly that?"

"I didn’t tell you not to worry. I just said that shouldn’t be your biggest worry."

She doesn’t respond.

He jabs.

"I don’t think you’ve ever stopped worrying for a second of your life."

She opens her eyes at this.

But not very much due to her glare which she turns her head to the side to give him.

Amane sits at her bedside, a chair dragged up next to her. He’s got his arms crossed resting on the mattress, his head nestled atop them.

Those eyes catch her own.

She looks away, a tired sigh slipping from her lips.

She looks for something to fill the silence.

Anything, really.

She just doesn’t want to be left alone with him. Left alone with her thoughts.

Left alone with thoughts of him.

"Who did this chop job?"

She finds conversation in the bandages wrapped around her arm/shoulder where Tsukasa had stabbed her. She sure they had never even so much as watched one of those stupid hot doctor shows before playing doctor on her.

"Me."

She looks up at him again, surprise pricking her.

She blinks at him as he holds her gaze again.

"You used to patch me up all the time... I must have picked up a thing or two."

"No, you didn’t," she squints at him, a scowl pulling at her lips, "This is the worst dressing I’ve ever seen- and I’m self-taught."

Her words linger in the air but are smothered by the silence after them.

They only gaze at each other for the longest time.

Before she watches the corners of Amane’s lips uncontrollably tug upward.

He quickly looks away.

"Really? I saved you and that’s the first thing you tell me?"

"Do better then," she turns away too, sticking her nose up as she utters, "Maybe open your ears and listen for once and I wouldn’t always have to scold you."

But she’s stunned, staring off as his soft chuckle sneaks into her ears.

When was the last time she had heard him laugh...?

She’s still as her hand is lifted.

Squeezed lightly.

"How do you feel? Can I get you anything?"

She can’t help but turn back to him.

She must look as sad as she feels because his face falls.

(Y/n) swallows, speaking up before he can.

"No. I’m fine."

But he still holds her hand in his.

Watching her.

Waiting.

But for what?

She was waiting too. Gazing right back. But she didn’t know either.

"I’m sorry."

She did know this wasn’t what she wanted, however.

He wears a deep frown, a vulnerable sparkle in his honey shaded depths as he looks down, holding her hand tighter.

"I knew he was back," he’s almost mumbling. If they were even an inch further apart she was sure she wouldn’t be able to hear him. "I just... I didn’t think he would find you so soon."

Her heart weighs.

She sighs, squeezing his hand.

"Amane, I’ve told you already."

She gazes down at their hands, telling him again.

"It’s not your fault. It’s not your job to protect me."

He never stays quiet after these words.

"It is. You should never have gotten hurt in the first place. I should’ve-"

She interrupts tiredly, "-Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. It’s been fifty years."

"You might be able to change the future- but the past is the past," (Y/n) reaches out with her other hand, gently hooking her fingers under his chin to get him to look up at her, "Amane."

He reluctantly shifts his eyes up to find her (e/c) ones gazing deeply.

"There’s nothing to be done. Let it go."

She watches his brows pull together.

"I don’t want to let it go," he says firmly, lacing his fingers with hers, "I don’t want to let you go."

She lets out a quiet breath, "I’m already gone."

He winces.

She’s unhesitating as she tells him, "But you weren’t supposed to be. You were supposed to live."

This was the part where he snapped at her. This was the part where they usually began to fight.

This was the part where they fought, got mad at each other, and then proceeded to avoid each other for the next ten years.

"Back then..."

His voice is low, tentative.

"I only ever thought there were two kinds of love."

She looks down, watching as his thumb runs along hers, listening to his careful words.

"The kind you would kill for," she immediately jerks her eyes back up to meet his, but he avoids her eyes, still looking down, "and the kind you would die for."

Well...

She guesses that was understandable to think given the rocky road of what their relationship had been.

"But I realize now... for you..."

He finally looks up at her, eyes gentle as they greet hers.

"You are the kind of love I would live for."

His words stun her.

So much that she’s genuinely speechless for the first time in a long, long while.

Amane seems to grow a little nervous with her silence, now looking down again, toying with her hand limp in his.

"Well..." she finally finds her voice.

And a scolding as she reaches forward to knock her fist atop his hat.

"It’s a little too late for that!" She tells him sternly, almost exasperatedly, "Fifty years? Couldn’t you have thought of that before you died?"

"Wh- Hey! Don’t be mean!" He glowers, trying to brush her whacking hands away.

But she leans forward just as quickly, yanking him ruthlessly into a hug.

"You idiot!" She huffs at him, despite the way she squeezes him tight.

It’s like a breath of fresh air- acting on age-old cravings like this.

Sometimes when you wanted something and found yourself longing for it- it sounded way better than what it actually was.

But this was exactly as she remembered it.

A big smile breaks out onto her lips, which she’s able to bury in the crook of his neck again, just like she once had. She melts like putty as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her close.

"I know," he grumbles sourly, admitting defeat, "I’m sorry."

"You better be," she says, uncaring that her words are muffled.

"If I say I’m stupid will you forgive me...?"

She pulls away from him after carefully masking her smile.

He blinks at her stony expression, worries instantly finding him.

She can’t help but give into temptation.

"You know, I’m pretty sure I read in one of my biology textbooks that kisses make everything better."

His anxieties melt right off his face- leaving him almost offended for a moment that she was teasing him now of all times.

But he smiles, running his hand up along her back to cradle the back of her neck.

"Oh?" He pulls her in close, and she can feel his breath tickle her upturning lips, "Well- I may suck at bandages, but I’m actually pretty great at kissing."

"Yeah?" Her eyes flicker up to meet his under her lashes.

He responds by closing the minuscule gap between them, his movements almost too sweet as she melts into them.

He was right. He was pretty great at kissing.

[kiatheinsomniac]

I’m the CEO of showing up late to everything. Here’s a modern AU fic I wrote on wattpad for Arno’s birthday last year :)

Bon Anniversaire

(Y/n) looked down at her lover in awe as she balanced the tray in her hands, settling it on the edge of the bed before sitting daintily on the edge and leaning down to cup Arno's face with one of her hands, pressing a soft yet firm kiss to his lips, fingertips caressing his jaw as she peppered the corner of his mouth in kisses and left lingering ones on his soft lips.

He groaned slightly before kissing her back, waking up. His hands went to the sides of her neck, thumbs caressing her jaw as she slowly pulled away and gently brushed some disarrayed hair away from his face.

"Morning, birthday boy." She spoke with a teasing grin as she sat upright. Arno pushed himself up so that he was leaning against the headboard. She placed the tray on his lap and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I made you breakfast."

He smiled warmly at her as she crossed her legs on the mattress. She hadn't dressed yet thus she wore one of his shirts with little else underneath. However, her (h/c) hair was nearly done into a bun with a light grey scrunchie from where she had made his morning meal and didn't want it in the way. He reached for her hand, rubbing circles on the back of her palm with his thumb in an appreciative gesture.

"You're too sweet." He cooed.

"Hey, it's your birthday, I get to spoil you. Now eat up before it gets cold then get dressed, I'm taking you out." She piped up before leaving to get ready herself, knowing that she took a lot longer than he did.

Arno watched as she reached into the wardrobe and picked out an outfit before turning her back to him to dress. He had seen her naked countless times but she was always shy nonetheless.

As she pulled off his shirt, revealing that she wore nothing else underneath, he let out a whistle. She laughed at this and looked over her shoulder to where he was staring and her nude ass.

"Hey, focus on your food else you'll choke." She scolded as she pulled on a pair of pants and clipped a bra into place, a matching set of pale pink lace with tiny little jewels stuck to them that caught the light when she moved. They were very see-through and left little to the imagination.

She pulled on a pair of beige pants and tossed on a thin white shirt to go with it. She tucked this into the trousers before doing up the belt and then pulled on a pair of socks before sitting to do her hair and makeup.

By the time she had finished her eyebrows, Arno was done and walked over to the mirror where he sat down on the floor beside her.

(Y/n) did own a vanity but it got used as more of a desk, a space where she would write or paint and stuffed all her pencils and paints into the drawers that had been intended for makeup alongside skin and hair products. However, she never grew out of the habit of sitting on the floor in front of a full-length mirror.

"You're stealing all the mirror space again." Arno pouted playfully as he kneeled behind her in order to be able to see what he was doing. (Y/n) giggled playfully as she curled her lashes and put a pair of dangling pink heart earrings on. She threw on a pale pink lace choker and a golden floral necklace before tipping her head back to get an upside-down view of her lover.

"Can I do your hair?" She smiled as he looked down at her.

"That depends, are we going out?" He replied with a question.

"Yes."

"Then absolutely not." He glanced down to see her pout and furrow her brows, glossy bottom lip jutting out.

"Please? I'll give you like 20 pretty bonus points." She grinned giddily.

"Bonus points?" Arno quizzed as he took a seat.

"Well, yeah, because you're already a god. This will just add to it." She made her way behind him and took the hairbrush from his hands, gently untangling his long hair.

"A god, huh?" He quoted amusedly.

"Eros wants what you have, chéri (darling). Apollo could never." She hummed as she parted his hair with the end of a comb. She set one half aside to add a twist to the other before gathering it all at the nape of his neck. She put her hand out to signal that she needed a hairband and Arno placed one into her expecting palm. She expertly tied it into his usual ponytail before parting it above the band and slipping it through itself to create another little twist to it. "Ok, I'll let you add your ribbon because I can never get the bow right." She spoke as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head beside his and admiring him in the mirror. "Please don't ever cut your hair short, I adore it." She added with a kiss to his temple before pulling back to grab her purse, keys and phone to throw into her light blue bag. She shoved her feet into a pair of grey trainers while Arno dressed.

He put on a pair of light grey trousers with a Louis Vuitton belt and a white shirt that showed off his defined torso underneath. He tossed a denim jacket onto his shoulders and sat down to put on a pair of black boots.

"Do you want to know where we're going?" (Y/n) hummed as she leaned on the doorframe to their room.

"Sure." He stole a glance in her direction.

"Only your favourite museum." (Y/n) smiled. Arno had taken her there so many times that she had lost count. She adored it but not as much as he did. She delighted in watching his face light up as he told her all his knowledge on the exhibits and related historical topics. Arno was very proud of his country's history and many of the countless books which he owned were dedicated to it. He was a lover of classical culture and Baroque society. He adored music and art and literature and the like, valuing the beauty and knowledge it all had to offer.

That's what really made them click.

"The Louvre. . ." He spoke, drawling out his French accent that lit up a fire in her no matter how many times she heard it. It was a very touristy location but that didn't put him off from the history which it had to offer. "As much as I adore it, my favourite piece of it is in fact not an exhibit but it's a memory."

"And what would that memory be?" She prompted with a knowing smile.

"The first time I saw you, admiring the renaissance art. You looked gorgeous admiring it. Though, I can't remember what the painting was, I can recall you telling me all about Adonis and Aphrodite and red roses." He mused as he made his way towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close in a loving embrace, "And you could tell me something about the context of each painting while I followed you around. I'd never met someone so enthusiastic about historical art before. Especially not someone so adorable. . . Two complete strangers lavishing in the knowledge and company of the other in the closing hours of the museum."

"I was sure I'd half-bored you to death and you'd never call the number that I gave you." She giggled, "I was just as surprised to find someone as interested as I am, let alone someone so handsome." She reached up onto his toes to give him a sweet kiss, her hands running up his chest. "But let's go hop on the train, I've got a lot planned for today."

"Oh? You do?" The Frenchman smiled as she took his hand, intertwining their fingers as she led him outside of their home above Arno's historic café theâtré.

"Indeed, I do." She hummed as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, standing on her toes to plant a kiss on his lips. When she fell back into her feet, Arno wrapped an arm around her waist, the two of them making their way to the metro.

Paying their fare, they waited on the platform in the blistering heat of the metro. It was rush hour so it was a difficulty to squeeze in with all the other passengers. Luckily, they managed to get into a carriage with fewer people than most. Arno held onto the support above his head while the other arm made its way around (Y/n)'s waist, holding her close to make sure she didn't lose her balance.

She warmly rested her hands against him as her head leaned on his chest. He pressed little kisses to the top of her head, coaxing her to look up so that he could give her a much more tender kiss on her lips.

She quickly pulled away, hiding her hot cheeks against his neck. Arno cooed at her lovingly and amusedly, giving her (b/t) waist a squeeze. Arno adored showing his affection for her in public but (Y/n) was always shy about it. To begin with, she wouldn't even hold his hand in public but she eventually grew comfortable with his hand holding hers or his arm slung over her shoulders or around her waist. He had been trying to warm her up to kisses in public too but it was a process and, clearly, she was still far too shy.

A few stops later, they were getting off at the nearest station. As soon as they had climbed the stairs, the whoosh of cold air was a relief in comparison to the hot, humid and stuffy air that was underground. It was enough to make one feel lightheaded, especially in the August heat.

The next few minutes were a blur as all (Y/n) could focus on was Arno's smile. That smile was so rare that she couldn't help but stare whenever it came out, she couldn't bear to miss a second of its presence on his handsome features.

She was only snapped out of her daze once they were inside and admiring all the exhibits they had seen before and many which were new.

The entire time, Arno kept an arm around her waist. They paused in front of a baroque painting, (Y/n) snuggling against Arno's chest as they admired the art together. He looked down at her briefly, smiling at the contact, before turning back to the painting.

"I can imagine you modelling for a painting." Arno hummed, the two of them enjoying having the particular room to themselves.

"Really?" (Y/n) questioned, amusement in her tone.

"Oui (yes). . . But it would do you no justice. The painting would be breathtaking but nowhere near your true beauty. It wouldn't be able to capture you well enough and you cannot convey such intellect and personality into a picture."

"What's with the flattery, hmm?" She teased. "All the same could apply to you, why am I getting the spotlight on your birthday? Let me spoil you for once." She poked his chest almost accusingly as she smiled up at him.

"Mon ange (my angel). . ." He sighed with a tone of 'you-should-know-this-by-now' in his voice, "You cannot expect me to simply turn off my adoration for a day, can you?"

"Stop it! I'm treating you today!" She pouted, making Arno laugh heartily, hand trailing to the back of her head and gently tangling in her hair, caressing the silky locks there.

They continued around the museum, telling each other things they both already knew but told one another anyway, delighting in hearing the enjoyment of the other sharing what they knew.

♡♡♡

A few hours later, they were thoroughly done with the museum and all its exhibits, therefore, (Y/n) led him outside and back down to the metro.

"Where are we heading to now then, mon amour (my love)?" He quizzed as he watched her body sway with the train.

"I'm treating you to lunch." She winked, adoring the ghost of a smile that he flashed her. He knew that she wasn't too keen on leaving the house so the fact that she had arranged everything for today just meant all the more to him.

"Oh? Where?" He prompted.

"That fancy place where you took me for our fifth date." She stood up proudly as his face dropped.

"(Y/n), that's far too expensive!" He exclaimed.

"Not for someone who's been saving since New Year's and certainly not for a couple with a reservation in half an hour." She spoke cheekily. Arno wasn't sure what to think: on one hand, he was flattered that she'd gone to such an extent but on the other, he felt a little bad that she was spending so much money on him.

"Fine. As long as the presents aren't too expensive." He said.

"No promises there, love." The (e/c)-eyed female muttered under her breath.

Arno was about to protest when the train stopped and a group of guys got on, standing between them. (Y/n) averted her eyes away from them, looking up at the adverts inside the carriage instead.

After one stop, one of them was standing too close for (Y/n)'s comfort. He had more than enough room, so why was he brushing shoulders with her? She shied away, not wanting to fuel him by giving him any form of her attention. It only took another thirty seconds for her breath to hitch in her throat as an unfamiliar hand rested on her hip and glided down to her ass.

She was so shocked and scared that she lost her words altogether, shooting Arno a distressed look instead. As soon as he caught her gaze, he knew something was wrong and pushed his way through the group of men to wrap his arm around (Y/n), pushing her behind him.

"Hey, what's going on here?" He narrowed his honey-brown eyes at the man who had been standing far too close for comfort. He had a thick brown beard and wore a blue and white striped shirt.

"Nothing. Is something happening that I'm not aware of?" He retorted, depending on (Y/n)'s obvious quiet nature to enforce his lie.

"Arno, come on, there's no need to make a big deal out of it. I'm used to stuff like this happening." She spoke softly, hoping to ease his clearly growing anger.

"All the more reason to make a big deal out of it." He never once took his eyes off the man, "Keep your hands to yourself." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine, I didn't know she had a boyfriend." He held up his hands in defence. By now, other people on the train were watching the scene unfold.

"That's no excuse!" Arno exclaimed, "You can't just go around-" the doors opened and (Y/n) tugged on his sleeve strongly.

"Arno, come on. Let's get the next train. Please, for my sake." She negotiated. Arno shot a hateful glare towards the man as he stepped onto the platform and the train went off.

"We'll catch the next train, love." (Y/n) rubbed her hand up his arm to ease him but he remained tense.

"Does this happen often?" He furrowed his brows.

"That's a talk for tomorrow, don't let this ruin your day." She soothed, him agreeing that it should be left for later and letting go of it, storing it away to be dealt with at a later time.

♡♡♡

Fully satisfied with their meal and a day of roaming Paris's parks, Arno and (Y/n) returned back to the café theâtré.

She was a mess of excited smiles and giggles as she dragged him up to their shared bedroom which was illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun. She grabbed his shoulders and playfully forced him down onto the thick, fluffy rug in front of the fireplace which had been lit by a maid (him having a lot of money came with its perks).

He watched his lover, both curious and excited as she reached into the wardrobe to collect a few wrapped gifts, sitting down opposite him with the presents in the middle.

"(Y/n). . ." He looked up to meet her eyes gratefully yet guiltily, "How much did you spend on today?"

"I spent my money on what I wanted to. . . And that happened to be you so: enjoy." She smiled adoringly as she placed the first gift in his hands. He looked up at her, wanting to scold her for splashing all her money on him and yet he couldn't deny her that smile or the spark of delight in her eyes. "Come on!" She exclaimed, bouncing on the spot impatiently, her grin widening. The Frenchman gave in, reflecting her smile as he opened the first gift, pulling the ribbon on the gift bag in order to get inside.

He reached inside it and pulled out a black trench coat, peering at the label to spot the designer branding. He looked over it and shot his smiling girlfriend an appreciative glance, letting it fall to his lap so that he could reach out for her hand.

"You know exactly what I like, don't you?" He spoke.

"You spoke about wanting it in the store around two months ago. . ." She shrugged, "So I ordered it online and hid it in the loft until now." He raised a brow as he picked up the next gift, a wrapped box. He tore off the shiny teal paper to reveal a box of his favourite cologne. That was something they both had done since they started to date: she bought his colognes and he bought her perfumes. He smiled at her again, placing it beside him on top of his coat.

"I'm going to have to go broke by the time your birthday comes around." He joked.

"Hey, stop thinking about the money." She poked his leg as she leaned towards him.

"Ok, ok," he gave in, holding up his hands in surrender, "I just feel bad because—"

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, her smile not faltering, "I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you!" She got up onto her knees to lean into him, over the small pile of gifts, "I don't care how much money I spend on you! I adore you! I adore the way you smile when you open them." A kiss was planted on his cheek while her hand cupped his jaw. "C'mon, next one." She placed it in his hands.

It was a small gift and when he tore off the paper, he was holding a velvet drawstring bag in his hands. He gave (Y/n) a curious look before opening it up and tipping out the contents inside.

A beaded bracelet fell onto his palm — all-black beads with one red bead. It seemed somewhat familiar and he glanced to her left wrist where she wore an identical one.

"The card explains what they are." She said, "Dedication bracelets. It's kind of silly, I know. But. . ." She shrugged, "I thought that the idea of it was sweet." He slipped it onto his wrist and leaned forward to cup her face in his large hands, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.

"It's not silly." He hummed when he pulled away, keeping their faces close, "It's cute of you." She let out a little giggle, cheeks heating with a blush, and ran her hands over his shoulders.

"Ok. For the last gift, you have to close your eyes." She chuckled. Arno, albeit suspiciously, closed his eyes and relied on his hearing to piece together what was going on. He could hear shuffling in front of him before he felt a warmth and weight on his lap. Her hands caressed his chest as he hovered her lips by his ear. "Open." She whispered.

He opened his eyes and his hands found her waist. She wore only the pale pink undergarments that he had so briefly spotted that morning. He admired the way the softly coloured lace complimented her (s/t) skin tone and the way it hugged her beautiful (b/t) figure. It had little gems that shone in the light of the fire with the rise and fall of her chest.

Her lips grazed his when she spoke:

"Let me spoil you one last time before the day's over."

[dhwty-writes]

I've had 'Just give me a reason' by pink stuck in my head all day lol, I humbly offer it as a song prompt if it sparks anything :D

“If it sparks anything”... Fam, I just astralprojected back to 2013 and my first kiss! I had a lot of fun with it (although I got a bit distracted midway through, I’m sorry!)

I also couldn’t decide whether I wanted to do a post-mountain fix-it fic or a modern AU, so you’ll get both! Here’s the angsty one (that’s way longer than expected) :)

Read on AO3

The unfairness of it all as he staggered down the steep mountainside was overwhelming. Twenty years of his life for... what exactly? For nothing at all!

Over half of his measly human life he'd spent trailing after that grumpy... horse's arse of a witcher. He poured his heart and soul into a song cycle just to change Geralt's undeserved horrible reputation! (And to get rich, of course, but that was neither here nor there.) By rights he should claim ten percent of Geralt's income, but did he? No, of course not!

He'd never asked anything in return. Nothing but company, a friend, a tiny bit of affection even. Not love, of course. He might be delusional and a hopeless romantic, but not that much of an imbecile.

He knew Geralt loved Yennefer and that the affection was mutual. It was pretty much obvious for about anyone who saw them together. And Jaskier wasn't just anyone. He and the witcher shared just about anything — food, coin, clothes, beds sometimes, when it was cold or there was only one room left. And, though the witcher denied that fervently, Geralt talked in his sleep sometimes.

Jaskier had discovered that one freezing night in a tavern in Kovir, when he'd woken up because he was uncomfortably warm. Additionally, to the heap of quilted blankets they laid under, Geralt had draped himself over him, too, clutching him tight against his chest. 'Cute,' Jaskier had thought, 'Geralt's a cuddler.'

But then he had started talking, and it had been torture of the most exquisite kind. Most of his ramblings were unintelligible, but those he could understand were unbearably sweet. "Don't go," Geralt would say whenever Jaskier tried to move away. Or "C'mere" and tug him closer to his chest. There were plenty of "Y'smell good"s and, on one memorable occasion an "I love you". None of them were meant for him, of course. But, oh, how he wanted them to be.

Jaskier had fallen for Geralt the moment he'd spotted him in that tavern, grumpily nursing his tankard of ale. He'd been absolutely smitten as soon as they walked free from Filavandrel and Geralt smiled at his "Respect doesn't make history" nonsense, thinking he wouldn't see. They had travelled together for the better part of a month, before destiny had parted them again. At an inn at the crossroads Jaskier had stolen a pretty lad's virginity and Geralt had ridden off into the sunset, not knowing he had stolen Jaskier's heart in turn. 'Good old days.'

Only that they weren't good anymore. Jaskier heaved a sigh that sounded more like a sob than anything else. What had previously been a rose-and-gold-coloured fantasy of a memory, seemed now rather dull, truth be told.

After a few weeks going their separate way, Jaskier had heard of a witcher near Hagge and gone to seek him out. They had travelled again, on and off. Most of the time it had been him, who had actively looked for Geralt, tracking down rumours about white-haired monster hunters. But not always.

Right before the whole child surprise ordeal, it had been him performing in a tavern and Geralt barrelling inside, interrupting him mid-song. "Jaskier!" the witcher had shouted. "There you are. I've got a contract, come with me?"

Or that other time in early fall. He'd gotten himself a comfortable place for the winter in the home of some noble lady, who he'd been entertaining with music, poems and other uses of his silver tongue alike, when one early evening a servant knocked on their door, quite adamantly insisting there was a visitor for the troubadour. His host had been none too pleased when he'd gotten up and dressed to greet a witcher of all people. "What the fuck were you thinking, bard," Geralt had growled, "not showing up all summer. I thought you were dead."

All in all, Jaskier had thought that his affection was, at least to some extent, reciprocated. And now this.

After twenty years the moment he'd dreaded had finally come. Twenty years of lavishing Geralt with love. Geralt, the person who'd been told he couldn't feel, mustn't feel. Twenty years of shouting his adoration to the heavens, to finally be told that it was unwanted.

To borrow Geralt's words: "Fuck." He needed a drink.

~*~

Geralt of Rivia was an idiot and he knew it. The revelation had dawned on him almost instantly after his foolish outbreak. Well, not entirely instantly. He had a feeling, at the very least, although he hadn't expected the bard to take his words literally. 

He hadn't been able to get rid of him with his gruff exterior before, so he hadn't thought he would now. The realisation that Jaskier was truly gone dawned on him, when he reached the base of the mountain a few days later and the bard was nowhere to be found.

Roach was still there, as were Geralt's bags. Their content wasn't. After twenty years of carrying frivolous outfits, chewed-on quills tattered notebooks that smelled of lavender, they were uncomfortably light.

"Fuck," Geralt said quietly. He didn't know why, but some part of him had hoped to find Jaskier there. 'Where he belongs,' his brain supplied unhelpfully. He frowned deeply, trying to rid himself of that thought. Jaskier wasn't some kind of possession to be owned.

But when he settled down for the night that evening, the forest devoid of any melodic chattering, of joyful laughter, of life, he knew it was true. Jaskier might not belong to him, he mused as he crawled into his bedroll. 'But he belongs to my side all the same.'

Somewhere along the twenty years of companionship — gods, was it truly twenty years? It was nothing for him, but such a long time for humans, who aged so fast — Jaskier had managed to firmly worm himself under Geralt's skin, to the point where there was something missing now that he was truly gone.

Geralt slept terribly that night. When the sun rose the next morning, he set out on another hunt. Not for a monster, that time, but the best thing destiny had ever given to him, that he had chased away with his brashness.

The scavenger hunt led him halfway across the continent, until he stumbled into another tavern on the coast of Temeria. Jaskier's trail hadn't been too hard to follow. Apparently, his friend had been fucking and drinking his way through three kingdoms.

And the bard looked as if he was doing a good job of adding a fourth one. He was more than just a little tipsy, sitting rather than standing on the stage. An agonised look passed over his face when he saw Geralt. He wanted to rush over and pull him into a hug, but then Jaskier started singing and the witcher was just frozen in place. It was the most heart-wrenching ballad yet. It took him only about three lines to realise who it was about. 'Fuck,' he thought.

All his instincts told him to flee. He wasn't prepared for this. He couldn't do this. But Jaskier had seen him already. No getting out of it now.

So, he shouldered his way through the crowd Jaskier always attracted and tried to hide in some secluded corner of the tavern. It took incredibly long for the bard to finally finish his set, and even then he made no attempt to seek Geralt out. Instead, he languidly leaned onto the bar, flirting with the barmaid behind it.

He barely suppressed a growl. 'Fine,' he thought and got up to confront his mistakes. He slammed his tankard down next to Jaskier, scaring the barmaid off in the process. "Jaskier," he greeted him.

"Oh, great," he sneered in response. "There goes my bed for the night."

"Hmm," he answered and ducked his head. "I'm sorry."

"What, for chasing off my newest conquest? I fucking hope you are!"

"No, Jaskier," he answered honenstly. "I'm sorry for what I said to you."

"Hmph, you need to do a lot better than that," he said and reached over the bar for a bottle of strong-smelling liquor. He poured himself a glass and knocked it back. Without pause he continued: "Because you know what? I'm fucking angry, Geralt."

"Do we have to do this here?" he hissed. They were attracting glares. Never a good thing for a witcher.

"No," Jaskier admitted and stood up. Bottle in hand he walked towards the stairs. "You're paying for the room."

"Sure," he grumbled and flagged down the innkeep. By the time he had managed to acquire a key, Jaskier had already dragged himself upstairs and drained a good portion of the bottle.

Geralt snorted and unlocked the door, but didn't comment on it. "What I've been trying to say-" he began, and was promptly interrupted:

"How about trying to shut up?" Jaskier hissed and kicked the door shut. "How about trying to listen to me after twenty fucking years?!"

"Jaskier, what I said-"

"This isn't about what you said! Don't you understand? What you said is only the tip of the figurative dragon mountain. I thought you actually liked me! I thought we were friends."

'Shit,' Geralt thought and ground his teeth. "Hmm."

Jaskier laughed hoarsely. "Oh, great. That same old story again. Why am I even bothering...?" He drank straight from the bottle, swaying a bit on his feet.

"You're drunk," he tried to say as neutrally as possible.

"And you're shutting me out again," he countered. Neither of them were wrong.

"I don't know what to say," Geralt tried.

Jaskier wasn't impressed: "Evidently." He made no attempt to follow that up with anything.

After a few moments of silence, Geralt realised that it was his turn to try and fix this mess with words of all things. "I can't sleep," he tried. "Not since you left."

"Poor you," Jaskier mocked cruelly. "I can't either."

"I can't sleep without you," he tried again. "It's cold. I'm dreaming. And when I wake up I'm alone. Roach is a horrible conversationalist and my camps are too big."

Jaskier put the bottle down slowly, gaping at him.

"I walked the path for decades without you and it was fine. It's not anymore. I can't do it any longer. And I guess... I guess I was scared." The words weren't any less intimidating once he'd finally said them. "You said I talk in my sleep?"

"You do."

"I don't. It's been beaten out of me in Kaer Morhen."

"So?"

He closed his eyes as tightly as he could. It was stupid, he knew. Childish, even. But he couldn't look at Jaskier for this. "So, I meant it. Every word of it."

No reaction.

"Please, Jaskier, I need you to forgive me."

"Give me one reason and I just might." He could hear him come closer. "Say it," he demanded. "Look me in the eye and say it."

It took him every ounce of his discipline to open his eyes and look at Jaskier, barely two feet away from him. "I love you," he said quietly.

"Louder."

"I love you. I've loved you for years, and it scared me, so I couldn't let you know. Witchers aren't supposed to be scared, and that scared me even more, and-"

The rest of his words was silenced by Jaskier's lips. The bard practically leapt at him, snaking his arms around his neck and pulling him close. "You're an idiot," he said when he pulled away. "A fool, a nitwit, an absolute imbecile. The stupidest man alive!"

"I am," he agreed, looping his arms around his waist.

"Why, oh why, do I have to love you of all people?"

"You love me?"

He laughed a teary laugh. "I do, I do. For years and years. How didn't you notice?"

"Because I'm a fool," Geralt said and kissed him again. He just couldn't resist.

"I'm still angry," Jaskier informed him.

"That's alright. But you don't hate me?"

"Far from it."

"And when I wake up on the morrow, you'll be there?"

"Yes," Jaskier promised with another kiss.

Geralt couldn't help but grin. "Good."

[zigtheeortega]

unrequited [part 3]

✿ pairing: bryce x mc

✿ word count: 6327

✿ warnings: innuendos, mention of drugs

✿ author’s note: well, this took a lot longer to finish than i expected (lmaooo). i kind of lost interest in open heart after seeing how horribly characters were sidelined, including my fav surgeon. i’ve worked on this on and off since april after i posted part 2, so this is like 4 ish months in the making. this series means the absolute world to me because it was the first time i was really confident in my writing. not as confident in the conclusion, but it’s been weighing on me for months, so i felt obligated to finish it! i hope you all enjoy it!

added my tags to the end bc there’s quite a few, so i’m sorry if i tagged you and you didn’t want to be – i’m going off of who asked to be tagged/asked for a part 3 months ago!

[read part 1 and part 2 here]

•─────────✦✿✦────────•

She slumped into the seat in the deserted waiting room, her joints popping as she stretched, her deep sigh echoing off of the tile. She was exhausted.

She could usually push through the worst of her shifts, but fatigue settled into her bones, a lethargy she’d never experienced entrapping her like a net, and she couldn’t fight her way out of it this time.

“Hey, Spence. What’s wrong?”

She glanced at the door, expecting to see his arm pressed against the frame of the door, slouched casually like he hadn’t a care in the world. Instead, Bryce was unusually close to her, standing right next to her chair, like he’d appeared out of nowhere.

“I’m just so… tired. It feels like I’m trying to sprint underwater right now and I don’t know why. I can’t explain it,” she watched him, gauging his reaction, but something was off.

“C’mon, I think I know exactly what you need right now,” his smile was Bryce’s, but the familiar twinkle of mischief and flirtiness in his eye wasn’t there.

He turned wordlessly, walking out of the door and down the hallway, which was a lot longer than she’d remembered.

She shook it off and trailed behind him, heart beating soundly in her chest. Was he bringing her to the on call room? To the supply closet? Maybe to an unattended office?

“So, where are you taking me?” She asked playfully, reaching out to link her finger in his, but she fell short, even though he was right in front of her.

He either didn’t hear her, or ignored her, walking straight ahead at the same pace. “Bryce, did you hear me?”

He didn’t pick up his pace, but she fell behind, trying to keep up, – to no avail. She looked down, thinking maybe – crazily – that she’d stepped into cement, slowing her pace to a crawl, or something else that was explainable.

But she was fine.

She pushed herself harder as she fell farther and farther back, Bryce’s stride never breaking.

She pumped her arms, leaning forward, trying desperately to swim through the thick atmosphere, practically pedaling against the ground to gain some type of momentum.

“Bryce? Bryce! Hello?” She yelled, as his figure got smaller and smaller, the hall literally stretching to accommodate the distance between them.

She watched as the wall space stretched, new door frames popping up, the number of rooms multiplying by the second.

He turned back for the first time as she clawed her way towards him, making no progress. “You gotta try a little harder for me, Spence.”

He smiled, not sinisterly, but just wide enough, lacking just the right amount of his effortless charm, that she got chills.

She jolted awake, the sound of her alarm interrupting her R.E.M. She snatched her phone off the dresser and tapped her screen, met with a brief silence before the distant noise of traffic – engines rumbling, and horns blaring below – filled her room.

She sat up, panting, her back slick with cooled sweat, the thin fabric of her top clinging to her skin. She breathed deeply, calming her quick pulse, until a muffled sound broke her concentration.

Her phone laid face down on her comforter, slivers of light peeking out of the sides. She flipped it, and her eyes widened in horror after reading Bryce’s name at the top of the screen, but even more so after watching the numbers tick higher and higher.

It wasn’t an alarm – he’d called her at 3 a.m.

“Hello?”

“Hey, you okay? You picked up but I didn’t hear anything besides heavy breathing.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You just woke me up.”

“Right. Sorry.” He was silent long enough that she almost asked if he’d muted her. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

“About what? You’re freaking me out a little bit,” she laughed once, but it came out as a scoff, and she kicked herself internally.

She didn’t want him to think she was mad. If anything, she’d been craving any time she could get with him.

They’d maintained a semblance of normality after the party, speaking to each other in the hallways, hanging out in groups, but they never unpacked their past conversation further.

She knew she’d said some profoundly batshit things while she was drunk, and vaguely remembered professing her feelings to him, but he never brought it up.

When she surprised the group with tickets to a music festival, she had ulterior motives. She wanted to get him as alone as she could in a sea of thousands. She wanted to make things right. But because Bryce was wholly intoxicating, she couldn’t do anything but live in their moment, the tough conversations – though inevitable – a million miles away.

They danced, they kissed, and she was enraptured by him. The way her hand fit into his own, the way his warm palm felt against her lower back, the way the cool tones of the stage lights bounced off of his bronzed skin, the way the smooth bass of his voice sounded as his full lips were nearly pressed against her ear, the way his smile was just crooked enough to be a smoulder and a smirk at the same time, and it was insufferable, but she adored it… Everything about Bryce was everything she’d ever wanted.

And she thought she was close to getting it back. She thought that’d be the end of it. They made up, and they could move forward. She wanted him, and he wanted her, finally.

But nothing came of it. He never avoided her, but he never stayed around long enough for her to bring up the night of the party.

The seed of hope in her chest blossomed, budding slowly every instance they spent enough time together to make it feel like when they were interns, the exhilarating sensation of hooking up freely a nostalgia she craved. She’d worked up enough courage to treat her situation dramatically – like in a movie – showing up at his apartment, wine in hand, ready to have make up sex and lay it all on the table while they were both sober.

The hope bloomed, coming to fruition when she surprised him, only to find that he’d been hiding his personal problems. It explained why he’d been avoiding her, she thought.

Bryce Lahela was a prideful bastard – one who couldn’t admit he needed a lifesaver until he was already sinking. He was in over his head, drowning underneath the pressure of fostering his kid sister, whom he had virtually no relationship with, all the while balancing residency – as well as… whatever was happening between them.

When she planned to spend her whole life making it up to him, she wasn’t bluffing. So when she saw the opportunity to salvage and strengthen the siblings’ relationship with something as simple as cooking pasta, she dove in headfirst, hand outstretched, eagerly pulling him to safety.

“Keiki’s gone,” he sighed, and she could feel his anxiety and overwhelming dread through that one deep breath.

“Gone? What do you mean ‘gone’? Did she go back to Maui?” She asked frantically, throwing her covers back, and began pacing the room.

“For all I know, she could be at the airport or across state lines by now,” he chuckled humorlessly.

“Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve thrown her a going away party or something. Or at least given her a card,” she huffed, kicking at a dirty shirt she’d left on the ground.

“Well, it was kind of, uh, sudden.”

“That implies that it was out of nowhere. So she just bolted? Unprovoked?”

“I mean, it was a little provoked.” He said under his breath, just above a whisper.

“Bryce… what are you not telling me?” She asked, uneasy. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear his answer.

“We got into a fight –”

“And she ran away.” She finished for him.

“... And she ran away.” He said.

She could sense his shame through the phone, his voice getting weaker with every word. She slipped out from under the covers, and tiptoed to her closet, throwing on the first shirt and pair of pants she touched.

“You can explain why later, but right now we need to go find her. We can meet at the subway stop closest to your place. You can start by retracing her steps. Are there any corner stores she liked? Maybe a skate park? She seems like she’d be into that kind of stuff –”

“Spence.”

“Yeah?” “You don’t have to help me. I know things have been kind of weird lately. Don’t feel obligated to help me. This is my fuck up, not yours.”

“We can talk about ‘us’ later, Bryce. Even if we were on bad terms, you know I’d drop anything to help you and Keiki. I know you don’t have anyone to lean on.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath that she could barely hear over the slight static of the phone. “Thank you.” “You can thank me after we find her.”

––––

As soon as she stepped off the subway, Spencer hit a near sprint, trying to get to their designated meeting spot. The Boston weather was as unforgiving as ever, the chilled wind stinging her cheeks.

She ran towards the hole in the wall pizza joint that Keiki had told her about offhandedly the night they’d cooked together.

As soon as she saw Bryce’s form, she slowed to a jog, nearly breathless, both by the physical exertion and how awful he looked. His features mirrored the one she’d seen in the supply closet, his defeated expression a painful memory she’d worked hard to bury.

She’d never seen him cry before, but from the way his red-rimmed eyes nearly sagged, nose rubbed raw, lips tight, she felt emotionally spared by not being there whilst the tears fell.

“Bryce?”

“Hey, Spencer,” He smiled weakly, sniffling and rubbing his nose on the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Did you go inside and ask the owners if she stopped by?” “Yeah, they said she was here an hour ago. She stopped for a slice but didn’t stay long,” he said, shaking his head as he pulled his phone from his pocket, before tapping on his screen.

“Okay, that’s great news! She couldn’t have gotten far,” she said, before swivelling back towards where she came from. “C’mon, I hope you have your monthly pass. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

“Where to next?” He joked, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“First thing’s first, did you check to see if her location was on?”

“She never had it on in the first place. I guess she thought I’d show up and embarrass her or something,” he shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

They stepped onto the dingy subway car, nearly empty except for one other person who was slumped over in their seat, asleep.

“I doubt it. She has a soft spot for you, Bry,” she sat down, readjusting her loose sweatpants before doing so.

“If she did, then she doesn’t anymore. I think I really fucked up this time,” he said, more to himself than her.

He ended it there, so she decided to nudge him a little. “You don’t have to tell me, but it might help if I had some context.”

“No, no, I… want to. I trust you,” he glanced over to her, holding her eye for the first time that night. He inched his hand over to hers, cautiously, debating, she thought, before settling on rubbing his thumb up and down her pinky finger.

The dying bud in her chest bloomed once again, warmth spreading throughout her limbs at his touch, his soft gesture quenching the thirst her heart so desperately pined for. 

She blinked, eyes trained on his mouth, unable to tear her gaze away from his lips. He didn’t seem to notice, or he was good at hiding it.

“I said and did some things I shouldn’t have. Some things that might’ve reminded her of our parents,” he started.

She waited for him to continue, watching his chest shake as he tried to find the words between the deep breaths he took to calm himself.

“She’s taking after me, and I don’t like it. Not me, like Dr. Lahela, one of the best surgeons this world has ever seen –” a hint of a smirk curled the corner of his lip – “but like the rebellious, angry, reckless teen Bryce who just wanted… attention. From anyone.”

“So… why don’t you give her that?”

He blew out a sharp huff of air. “I don’t get her. And I’m trying really hard to. But there’s only so many hours in the day, and I don't think she felt like I was trying hard enough.”

“You got wrapped up in work like your parents did, huh?” She asked softly, placing her other hand on top of his, quietly lacing her fingers through his.

“Yeah,” he said, remorseful. “I just wish I could’ve kept my fucking mouth shut for once –”

“Hey, hey, stop that. You can feel as guilty as you want after we find her, but we have to stay positive right now,” she said, a bit sternly, covering his hand with her own, gripping it tightly.

He watched her face, searching for something. Maybe a crack in her sincerity? Ulterior motives? She wasn’t sure if he trusted people or not, and it perplexed her to think about it – she’d known Bryce for over a year and couldn’t name a single person that she knew he definitively trusted.

“Thanks, Spence. I really mean it,” he said finally, a little more relaxed than he was seconds before.

He checked his phone every couple of seconds, clicking the lock screen to check the time, before locking it again, just to repeat the cycle incessantly.

“Can I be honest about something?” He asked, staring straight ahead, brows furrowed.

“Of course.”

“I… ignored her. Just like they ignored me when I started acting out. I…” He shook his head. “I said I’d never be like them.”

“You aren’t, Bryce,” she affirmed, rubbing his shoulder blade in soft circles. “The fact that you’re out here searching for her says so much about who you are.”

“It doesn’t say enough.”

“What do you mean?” “Running away from home means nothing if I’m not better than them. Thousands of miles of distance and I turned out just like them,” he scoffed. “The fucking cycle repeats itself.”

“Bryce…” she shifted her body, facing him completely, while he stared ahead, not meeting her eye.

“Just because you’re not good with coping with all of this doesn’t mean you’re a bad brother.”

He turned towards her finally, attentive.

“Yeah, you tend to bottle things up until they blow up, but you didn’t ask for this. You’re not her parent – you’re her brother, first and foremost. You can’t put those expectations on yourself because you’re not them. You’re doing the best you can as her brother, not her parent.”

She laced her fingers over his, squeezing the hand she’d been holding. “You can’t fault yourself for making mistakes. This is new territory for you. You’re learning and she is, too.”

The doors opened in front of them, the only indicator that they’d made it to the next stop. They were both so engrossed that they hadn’t noticed.

“We should probably get out here,” she said, standing. She didn’t check to see if he followed suit, missing the way he watched her as he walked behind her.

They clopped up the stairs again, Spencer shivering despite her cozy getup.

“Do you want my headband?” He asked, digging into his pocket. “It’s really warm.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks,” she took it, pulling the thick band over her hair, snug against her ears, but comfortable.

“No problem,” he said, watching her adjust it, his eyes trained on the way she pursed her lips when she couldn’t get all of her hairs to lay down just right.

“We can split up,” she started, pointing down the main street across from the subway. “I’ll check the restaurants that are open down this way, and you can go the opposite way. I’ll text you when I head back –”

“I don’t want you walking alone, Spence,” he said, shutting her down immediately.

“We’re gonna cover more ground if we split up. I can handle myself. Don’t worry about me,” she shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t handle the idea of you getting hurt while helping me look for my sister. Please,” he pleaded, eyes soft.

“Fine,” she sighed.

They checked a handful of diners, breakfast places, and even a bar, but with no luck. Even when Bryce flashed a photo from Keiki’s Instagram, no one’s eyes lit up in recognition.

He looked more and more defeated with each subway stop, his posture slumping, his lips set in a thin line.

She could feel herself deflating as well, but she couldn’t bear to show him she was quickly losing hope, too. No one was going to support Bryce the way he needed, except for her.

“Let’s stop by that skatepark. If she’s not there, there’s bound to be someone who’s seen her,” Spencer nodded resolutely, absentmindedly grasping Bryce’s hand and tugging him towards the stop.

“It’s no use,” he whispered, and she whipped around at the sound of his voice, his body grounded, like his feet were nailed to the ground.

“What’s no use?”

“This,” he gestured with both hands, tugging his chilled hands from her grip. “She doesn’t want to be in Boston. It’s my fault she hasn’t adjusted. I haven’t exactly been the best welcoming committee.”

She shook her head vigorously. “Bryce, she could care less where you live. She came here for you.”

His brows furrowed, his face contorting, his features scrunching like he was in physical pain. When he covered his face with his hand, without hesitation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, pulling him down to rest his face in the crook of her shoulder.

She whispered words of affirmation in his ear as he sobbed into her jacket, and she rubbed small soothing circles, doing her best to comfort him.

He’d never been this vulnerable in front of her. It was hard to decipher how he felt about things going wrong, his killer smile usually a convincing mask.

He pulled away after a while, his tear streaked face glimmering in the light. “Sorry. That was embarrassing,” he laughed shakily, flashing his teeth, just on the cusp of being a signature Bryce smile.

“Oh, shut up. I’ve cried in front of you before –”

“And it was embarrassing,” he teased, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

A laugh bubbled from her before she could stop it. A body aching, chest heaving, breath stealing guttural laugh that shook her to her core because of how unexpected it was. That type of joy was nearly lost on her. It was so foreign compared to the past couple weeks, and it felt good.

He cackled with her, more so at the involuntary snort that ripped from her nose, less at his not-so-subtle roast. He grasped at his chest with one hand, gasping for air. “God, I’d willingly do appendectomies for a month straight if I could get a video of that snort. I’d snap everybody.”

Her eyes widened, his words triggering a memory.

“Oh my god,” she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. She quickly opened her phone, navigating to the app she needed. “What? Is it bad?”

“No, I just realized she added me on Snapchat, so her location might be on,” she smiled to herself, opening up the geolocation map, seeing Keiki’s Bitmoji pop up – in the city. “Oh my god, Bryce, she’s still in Boston! Look, it’s her!” She hugged her phone to her chest. “She’s a couple of stops down but not that far away from us.”

He watched her with a confused expression, a little hurt, almost.

“What’s wrong?”

“... She never added me on Snap,” he nearly pouted.

She cackled again, covering her mouth with her hand, shoulders shaking – real laughter. Another fleeting moment of pure joy was the eye of the storm, and she gladly basked in it. 

“I didn’t know you two were so close,” His mouth lifted at the corner, a knowing smile forming.

“Well, I got her phone number and snap in case she wanted me to show her around Boston, y’know, if you were busy,” she said between breaths, still coming down from her fit. “Or if she ever got tired of you,” she teased, the feeling of normality settling between them like there wasn’t a massive elephant in the room.

“How could you ever get tired of this face, though? I’m adorable,” he grinned, flashing her favorite 1000-watt smile that made her stomach flutter. “Nah, but really. Thank you. I don’t really know where I’d be right now without you.”

His eyes softened, the debonair facade parting just long enough for her to see what was undoubtedly her favorite side of him.

He laid his hand on her jaw, the warmth of his palm comforting, a striking contrast to the nipping cold of the night air. Both his touch and the temperature differences elicited a reflexive shiver from her, goosebumps raising on her arms underneath her jacket.

Part of her wanted to admit she’d shuddered solely because of his warm skin, because she didn’t want to inflate his ego – but there was no denying it. A single touch from Bryce was all it took to make her putty in his hands.

His gaze flickered to her lips, and he stretched his thumb to lightly drag the pad of it over her bottom lip, parted in awe. “Spencer…”

The tension thickened, their anticipation making it difficult to breathe. God, there was nothing she wanted more in that moment than to grab his face and taste him again. As much as she wanted to kiss him, it wasn’t right.

“Bryce,” she whispered, eyelids fluttering as she watched his tongue flick out to wet his lips. “You can kiss me after we find her.”

––––

The skatepark was nearly empty, the streetlights casting long shadows from the ramps onto the concrete.

“You’re sure she’s here?” He asked, wispy streams leaving his mouth as he spoke.

“Unless she dropped her phone here, she should be close by,” she nodded towards where a few scraggly teenagers were standing around, pungent smoke in the air.

“Keiki shouldn’t be out here with those dumbasses smoking weed out in the open like that,” he huffed, eyeing them as they walked towards the back, the grassy area coming into focus.

“Relax. I doubt she’s out here to smoke. You say that like you didn’t smoke too,” she raised a brow at him, challenging.

He pursed his lips. “Oh, so it’s like that.”

“What? You can’t go all dad mode and expect me not to play devil’s advocate,” she quipped, shrugging.

Before he could form a retort, Bryce held her arm back, stopping her in her tracks.

On the steps leading down to the grass, sat Keiki, headphones in her ears, tapping her foot as she dug into a bag of chips, crunching loudly.

Bryce looked absolutely helpless, like he had no clue what to do next – so Spencer stepped forward without a second thought, trying her best not to startle her.

When she was in her line of sight, Keiki’s eyes bulged from her head, and she nearly choked on her soda. “Jesus fucking christ, you scared me,” she coughed into the crook of her elbow. “What are you doing here? Did he tell you I left?” “I was worried about you,” Spencer said, evading the last question, trying to play it cool. Keiki hadn’t noticed Bryce at the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, but how’d you find me?” She popped a chip in her mouth.

“If you wanna be harder to find, you gotta try a little harder than that,” she said, plopping down on the concrete stair next to her. “Snap maps.”

“I wasn’t trying to go off the grid or whatever. I just wanted some space. It’s no big deal,” Keiki huffed, scooting away from Spencer.

“Maybe so, but you can’t leave after a fight with no explanation. You’re too young to be out here alone this late.”

“You act like I haven’t been through worse,” she muttered.

“I know you have. But you can’t just walk out like that. Bryce is all you’ve got out here.”

“Oh, so you didn’t come alone,” she rolled her eyes. “He begged you to come, didn’t he? Did he not feel like coming himself? Did he have work or something?”

Spencer winced at Keiki’s tone of voice, simultaneously laced with seething rage and hurt. “No, he’s here. You need to talk it out.”

She set her mouth into a thin line, whipping her head around to gaze up at the top of the stairs, flipping him off.. “Go away.”

She gently grasped her wrist, pulling her hand down. “Please, Keiki. There’s a lot of things he won’t say to you, but I’ve heard them. If he didn’t regret what he said to you, I wouldn’t be helping him,” she pleaded, squeezing her wrist comfortingly.

Keiki glanced away, then back to her eyes, then back to the ground, unable to hold her gaze. “Okay.”

Spencer stood up, motioning for Bryce to come towards her. He met her halfway down the stairs, his gaze soft and admiring. “I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” she smiled, reaching out to rub a hand against his arm. “Go work things out with your sister.”

He leaned in, surprising her with a soft peck on the corner of her upturned lips. “Thanks.” He winked and took the rest of the stairs two at a time, a spring in his step.

She watched as he bent down to sit next to her hunched form, nearly dwarfing her. Over the next twenty minutes, she focused on their backs, heads bobbing as they discussed and argued. They gradually relaxed, Kekei’s body unfurling from her condensed form, Bryce draping an arm on the step behind her.

And when they arose to walk towards Spencer’s place at the top of the stairs, they were both laughing, flashing the same grin.

God they were so similar – and didn’t even know it.

“I’m gonna wait over there while you two makeout,” Keiki grimaced, frowning as soon as her joke dawned on her. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Glad you’re back,” she called, but she was already throwing up a peace sign, back turned, probably not registering what she’d said.

The second they were alone, the nerves hit, the heat of his body next to hers already stifling. While she debated whether or not to meet his eye, he spoke.

“You wanna cash in on that kiss now?”

She glanced up, breath hitching in her throat when she realized how close his face was to her own. Her half lidded gaze was trained on his bottom lip, caught between his teeth. As soon as a quiet “yes” fell from her lips, he captured them in a searing kiss.

For a few blissful moments, the only sound between them were their soft sighs of contentment. She couldn’t remember if Bryce always kissed like this – so passionate and so enthusiastic, yet so cool, so suave.

Every methodical movement of his jaw was so practiced, so refined, she felt like underneath the flickering streetlight, in Bryce’s strong grip, she was the one he operated on, her chest reopened, her heart exposed. Everything she had to give was laid out on the metaphorical operating table, and as cheesy as it sounded, there was a chance he could save her.

The kiss was a reawakening for her. She knew what she had to do. She’d never been more sure of anything before.

She pulled back, their noses touching, as she whispered four words she knew he wouldn’t expect to hear. Maybe he’d forgotten what he asked her the moment it left his lips, but she was determined to mend what she’d broken.

“Ask me to choose.”

“Huh?” He panted, running a thumb across her jawline.

“Just ask me.”

“What do you choose?” He laughed, clearly confused.

“You. Always,” she breathed, tugging him forward by the collar of his jacket, sealing her promise with a kiss.

––––

On the ride home, Spencer sat cuddled up next to him, their fingers tightly wound – like they were afraid if the other let go, it wouldn’t be real. 

“Did I say anything… big to you while I was drunk?” She asked, breaking the silence.

Bryce chuckled softly, trying not to wake a sleeping Keiki, curled up next to him, somehow lulled to sleep by the loud, aggressive music blaring from her headphones.

“Yeah, you did.”

“Shit, I really thought I’d made that up,” she shook her head, covering her face with her other hand.

“Nah, you definitely dropped a bomb on me that night.”

“Bryce,” she whined. “Can’t you just tell me? I’m already embarrassed enough.”

“Glad I’ve got you hot and bothered,” he grinned, teasing. “Well… you said, and I quote ‘I think I love you’.”

Her cheeks warmed, and she turned, burying her head in the crook of his neck. “Did I really?” “I said it back.”

She looked up from her place against his shoulder, mouth agape as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Do you think or do you know?” She whispered, unsure if she wanted the answer.

“After tonight, I’m more sure than I ever have been,” he shook his head. “Probably more sure of this than anything else in my life right now.”

He used his free hand to cup her face, kissing her lips tenderly. She couldn’t remember a time he’d kissed her with that much care.

“So are you gonna say it first, or am I gonna have to?” He murmured against her lips, earning a surprised laugh from her.

“I’ve done a lot of your dirty work tonight,” she joked.

“Not the kind of dirty I’d prefer, but I’ll give you the credit you deserve,” he laughed as she swatted his chest. He pulled back, holding her gaze with no ounce of fear in his deep brown eyes.

“I love you, Spencer,” he said, his voice taking the most candid tone she’d heard from him.

“I love you, too, Bryce. I always have,” she said, feeling her throat constrict, voice cracking. “I should’ve told you sooner how I felt.”

“I think it happened at the right time. I wanted a lot from you when I didn’t even have my own shit together,” he shrugged, still cupping her face in his calloused palm. “I couldn’t even give what I wanted to receive, ya know?”

“Wow… that’s profound,” she said, in all seriousness.

“Oh, you’re making fun of the meathead for being smart now, huh?” He cackled. Keiki didn’t even stir next to him, despite his booming laugh reverberating throughout the empty car.

“No, no, I’m serious. That’s the most self reflection I’ve ever heard from you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my mistakes.”

“Me, too. But… we can work through that stuff if you want to talk it out,” she offered, cuddling up to him for warmth again.

“Is therapy your side hustle or something, Spence? Is there something you need to tell me?” He teased, tickling her ribs with his freehand.

She let out an ear piercing shriek, completely caught off guard. “Bryce! Stop it! Please,” she said between laughs, noting the way he smoothly slid his arm around her waist, so that when he stopped, they were closer than before.

“Can you two shut up? I’m trying to sleep,” Keiki grumbled, taking them out of their moment.

“Oh, so you’re exhausted from scaring the shit out of me. By all means, get your beauty sleep,” he said, taking the headband Spencer borrowed from him, slingshotting it directly at Keiki’s forehead.

“That’s it!” Keiki shouted, leaping up on the bench and grabbing Bryce in a headlock, scuffling with him while he most definitely let her win.

Spencer was thankful their car was empty as chaos ensued but she couldn’t help herself from smiling at the fight in front of her – they’d never done typical sibling things like that before. They were robbed of normality from such a young age, and a playful fight was a step in the right direction.

“Uncle, uncle!” Bryce called out convincingly, winking at Spencer. Keiki’s fingers were tangled in his hair, one of his arms trapped in the crook of her elbow. He swatted at her face, trying to get her to let him go.

“We don’t have any uncles,” Keiki said, chomping down on his hand.

“Ow! You little shit – I need these for work –” He hissed.

“Yeah, you didn’t think I was gonna go for the kill? Serves you right for underestimating me,” she huffed, hopping off of him and back into her spot on the bench.

“I won’t do that again,” he smiled softly, reaching over to tousle her hair.

The doors slid open, startling them all.

“I’ll go ahead so you can talk to your girlfriend. Bye, Spence,” Keiki said, waving, strutting out towards the stairs without a second glance.

Her heart swelled at the younger Lahela sibling’s use of the nickname Bryce coined for her.

“So…” She said, as they stepped out into the chill night air for the last time, the first rays of sunlight peeking over the tops of the buildings. “What do we do now?”

“What, after this thrilling conclusion to our months of back and forth?”

“Bryce,” she rolled her eyes, barely holding back a smile. “We barely even talked any of this out. I mean like… where do we go from here?”

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re clean slating it.”

“You don’t wanna talk about that stuff at the party? Or in the supply closet?” She winced. “Maybe when we wanna tackle that, but as of right now, I’m just happy to have you all to myself,” he grinned, snaking his arms around her hips, leaning in to press another kiss on her bottom lip.

“You don’t know how fucking badly I wanna bring you back home right now,” he murmured against her lips.

She groaned, lacing her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. “God, me too.”

“Soon as I spend some time with Keiki and can get some time set aside for us, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he smirked, eliciting a shudder from her.

“I guess we’re dating now, huh?” She raised her brows, quirking her mouth to the side. “Don’t tell your roommates yet, please. I wanna see how long it takes them to put two and two together,” he said, a mischievous look in his eye.

“As long as you don’t tell yours,” she teased.

“Keiki’s definitely gonna notice we’re a thing if you keep showing up and leaving with wobbly legs,” he said, and raised a brow at her.

“Shit, you’re really flirty today,” she giggled, her face flushing because of both the Boston air and his innuendos.

“I’m making up for lost time, baby,” he grinned, pulling her in for what seemed like the hundredth kiss that night, but it felt just as incredible as their first supply closet makeout.

Although they had to part ways that night, both of them were rejuvenated in a way they hadn’t been in months – since they were noncommittally hooking up, secretly hoping the other made some kind of move to solidify what was between them.

And although it took way too fucking long for her to come around, Spencer was finally giving him what he deserved. Every single part of her. No distractions, no restraints, no excuses.

Every quip, every embrace, every kiss they shared that night nourished the flora of her heart, quenching her desperate thirst for his validation like a gentle summer rain, and she basked in it, head upturned like a silent thank you to the universe for giving her the chance to mend what she’d broken.

The vines that’d once had her heart in a constricting hold made way for the blossoming flowers; they’d both never forget their past mistakes, passion-fueled arguments, or the pain they’d endured at the hands of each other, but amidst those heated moments, amidst the beautiful disaster, their garden of love budded, a harmonious existence.

––––

tags: @beccadavenport ; @senatorraines ; @felix-hauville ; @messofakind ; @violinet ; @hudush ; @altairadtaz ; @agentdumortain ; @drsobemoji ; @levineseth ; @omgjasminesimone ; @lahellacute ; @doctorsurferbro ; @eleanorbloom ; @tarajoyful ; @bobbysmckenzie ; @raleiighcarrera ; @pixeljazzy 

[alovesongshewrote]

Swords and Stab Wounds | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot:  You had moved to Arcadia to avoid participating in world ending cataclysms, but fate had something else in mind.  Now you’re helping stop the Eternal Night in some unconventional ways.  [Hisirdoux Casperan x StronglyHintedtobeaDemigodorOtherMagicalCreature!Gender Neutral!Reader]

Word Count:  2,364 approx.

Warnings:  Stabbing, minor mentions of blood, a wee bit of angst, swearing, Archie doesn’t like you (it’s because of the stabbing,)

masterlist

This wasn’t happening.

Nope, nope, nopenopenopenopenopenopenopenope, not today.

You were not okay with this, so you had elected to ignore it.  But that never works, does it?

So, now you were face to face with a great monster beyond comprehension.  The sky was orange, monsters and men were fighting everywhere, and some lady in golden armor was pretty clearly trying to take over the world.  And you had moved to Arcadia to avoid this kind of thing.

You sighed.  This demonic creature of sin wouldn’t wait for you to process everything that had happened today.  It was time for action.  You looked around for something to defend yourself with. There wasn’t much.  Just a few sticks and a fast-food cup.  You wished you had a sword.  Any sword.  There were no swords.  You turned back to the awful horrible abomination advanced above the human mind.  It was advancing.  That wasn’t good.

Before you could decide whether to run, fight, or give up, a boy emerged from absolutely nowhere and struck the thing with a guitar, killing it instantly.  This did not phase you, stranger things have, in fact, happened.

“You alright darling?”

Oh shit, he was talking to you.  And he had an accent.  Nice.

“Uh, yeah, I’m good,”

The boy gave you a thumbs up and ran back into the fray.  You should’ve probably gotten in there too, but also nyeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no thank you.

As if it had heard your hesitation, the universe decided to make this worse for everyone involved and blow up some various objects.  You couldn���t tell what it was, you just saw fire and smoke.  And then you heard the screams.  As done with war and fighting as you were, you couldn’t stand by and let innocent people suffer.

It was time to go find a sword.

--

Finding a sword was not as hard as it sounded.  There were a lot of them lying on the ground, just none in the spot where you’d been attacked.  T’was inconvenient.  As you fought, you realized that these were probably weapons of the deceased.  You could mourn later, now was the time to- DUCK.

You maneuvered around one of the regular bad monsters (not the colossal tower of pure malice that you’d been saved from earlier,) finding an opening and striking.  Fighting came to you as easy as breathing.  Since you were a child you’d been fighting.  Fighting for your family, your friends, your home.  And now you were fighting again, for the innocent.  When would the forces of evil take a nap?

‘Probably never,’ you thought as you slid under a sword, turning on your knees to slice the back of the creature’s knees.  

Maybe it’s good that some things never change.  Evil always wants to fight, and knees are always a weak point.

You stood, taking a deep breath as you looked at the carnage around you.  Most of it was actually caused by you.  You were very good with a sword.

“Woah,” a voice came from behind you.  You spun around, pointing the tip of your blade at the new opponent, but instead of another rock-thing, you found the boy who had saved you earlier.

You lowered your blade, “Hey,”

The boy walked towards you, taking in the field of rock at your feet, “This is-”

“Different?”

“Nuclear!  Maybe you didn’t need my help after all,”

“Oh, no, I totally did.  I had no weapon and no hope,”

The boy seemed taken aback by your words.  Arcadians probably weren’t this blunt, at least under normal circumstances.  You weren’t sure, you had only lived here a week.

“Alright then, do you-”

“DOUXIE, LOOK OUT!!”  a voice called.  You had no idea where it came from, but you didn’t care.  A monster had appeared behind the boy, and it was ready to strike.  You had five seconds to do something.

And in those five seconds, you did what anyone else would do and you ran them both through with your sword.  It was super effective.

The boy cried out in pain, because, you know, he’d just been stabbed, and the monster crumbled to stone behind him.  Good.  Now all that was left was to take care of the boy.

You withdrew your sword from his abdomen, earning a groan of pain, “You-you stabbed me,”

“Yes, you’re very observant, now let me see it,”

You put your weapon on the ground, not super jazzed about his blood coating the blade.  Oh well, sometimes sacrifices must be made.

You helped the boy lie on the ground and moved your hands above his wound.  You were ready to go, but then a dragon attacked you.

It wasn’t a big dragon.  In fact, it was about the size of a cat.  However, size doesn't really matter when it comes to damage dealt, and this cat-dragon was dealing a lot of damage.

“What the fu-”

“STAY AWAY FROM HIM,”  Oh, so this was an angry cat-dragon.  Probably the boy’s.

“Okay, dude, calm down, I can’t help if you don’t let me,”

“You’ve helped enough!”  Cat-dragon was still not pleased with you.  And was still attacking, so you moved your hands, stopping the creature in mid-air, grabbing it from where it flew.

“Okay, look,”  you sighed,  “I am sorry I stabbed your friend, but if you don’t let me heal him, he will die,”

“Ughhh, thanks for that,”  you wondered if the boy was always this funny, or if it was just the stab wound talking.

The cat-dragon fixed you with a terrifying glare, one that would have turned you to stone if you didn’t have work to do, “I will let you help him, but if you try anything you’ll be burned to a crisp before your body hits the ground,”

It was an impressive threat, especially from such a small creature.  

“Don’t worry,” you said, setting the cat-dragon down, “I won’t hurt him anymore,”

The cat-dragon then turned into an actual cat, curling up next to the boy’s head.  It was then you realized that the creature was wearing some really nice glasses.  You had several questions but now was not the time.

Wasting no more time, you shut your eyes and took a deep breath.  Silently, you placed your hands upon the boy’s stab wound, wincing slightly at the feeling of his blood covering your skin.  You felt bad about it.  There were probably better ways to kill that monster, but you couldn’t focus on that right now.  You had to focus.

And so you did.  And the magic flowed through you.  It was soft and warm, and bright.  You relaxed, letting the spell numb you, calming your nerves, and mending your broken skin.  It felt like a soft fire, lighting your soul ablaze, and taking everything else with it.  And then you felt numb.  The magic was burning through you, and burning out.  Exhaustion began to claw at you, but you bit your lip and persisted.  You were nowhere near finished.

Now it was the boy's turn.  Raising your hands, you let the spell drip from you and onto him.  Hopefully, the magic had taken enough energy from you to spare him from the numb fatigue that tore into you.  God knows you’d already caused him enough pain.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the magic to heal him.  A few minutes went by and his breathing returned to normal.  He would be okay.

And with your positive diagnosis, you let the spell go, releasing the energy into the universe and knocking you over.  You elected to remain on the ground, groaning.  You could hear the cat-dragon-cat talking to the boy.  You should probably say something too.

 “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for that,”

You waited for a moment.  Something else blew up nearby, but you needed a minute before you had the energy to care about it.

“I’m sorry I stabbed you.  I really couldn’t think of another way,”

“Why not let the troll attack me, and if I got hurt you could heal me then?”

“I couldn’t know how bad it would hurt you.  I don’t know very much about what’s going on here.  But I do know that I can heal a stab wound.  A… what did you say troll?  A troll attack I don’t know if I could manage,”

“That’s… fair?”

“Thanks,” you nodded, even though he probably couldn’t see you.  There was more silence, another explosion.  You really wanted a nap.

“So, your cat-dragon talks?”

“Uh, yeah, he’s a shapeshifter, actually.  My familiar,”

“Dope,”

“My name is Archie, however, you may not address me at all, much less by my name,”

“That’s fair,” you said, closing your eyes.  There was a rock digging into your side.  You couldn’t nap here, “I did almost kill your guy,”

“My name is Douxie,”

“Cool, cool, cool, I’m (Y/N),”  you sat up and turned to face him, letting yourself take him in for the first time.  

He was definitely cute.  He was tall with a very nice face and hazel eyes that stunned you for a moment.  His black was dyed blue at the ends, and the ends themselves were so long that they hung in his face.  He had an aesthetic going for him for sure, a black hoodie, skull necklace.  What would that be, cryptidcore?  Dark academia?  Punk?  The metal cuff on his wrist definitely added to the confusion, but it probably didn’t matter too much what aesthetic this guy subscribed too.  Maybe, if one day fate was kind enough to let him forgive you for stabbing him you could ask.

For now, there were more pressing questions,  “So, what’s your deal?  You have a familiar, so you’re either a witch or a wizard,”

“Wizard.  What about you?  Not everyone in this town can run a man through with a sword and heal him immediately after,”

“Good to know.  In short, I’m a healer witch with a sword.  In long-form I was a child soldier sent into a war that I never should have been a part of because of who my parents were,”

“Oh...  (Y/N) I’m... I’m sorry-”

“It’s not your fault, it was a long time ago,”

“A long time?”  Douxie sat up, “So you-”

“Yeah, I’ve been around for a while,”

There was another second of silence while you both tried to figure out what to say next, but that stopped being a problem almost instantly.

“Douxie, I don’t want to stop you from bonding with the witch who stabbed you,” Archie said in a way that made it 100% clear that he absolutely wanted to stop Douxie from bonding with the witch who stabbed him, “But there is still a battle going on,”

“Right,” the wizard stood up now, without any sign that he’d been dying a moment before.  You’d done well healing him. 

“Well, (Y/N), I guess I’ll see you on the other side,”  he extended a hand to you.

You looked up at him.  Maybe this was the start of forgiveness.  That would be nice.

You took his hand and stood.

“See you on the other side, wizard,”  you took a moment, debating whether or not this next move would be a good idea.  It was a bad one, but you went for it anyway, “Bye Archie. I like your glasses,”

You ran off before the cat could threaten your life again.

--

It had been, like, a week, since Morgana and the rock squad had tried to bring Night Eternal to Arcadia, and you were settling in pretty well.

You had finally unpacked all of your things, including your decently sized sword collection, now with the addition of a Gumm-Gumm sword (not the same one that you’d nearly killed Douxie with.  You still felt guilty about that and you’d decided to pick up a new one.)

Now, you were out for a walk near a bookstore.  It looked interesting enough, so you decided to look into the front window, only to jump out of your skin when you saw Douxie on the inside, sweeping away at the floor.  Unfortunately, he also saw you.  So you decided to run.

You didn’t get very far.  The wizard caught up to you almost immediately without having to run.  It was your fault though.  You had run into a dead-end alleyway.  

“(Y/N)!  Hey!  How’ve you been?  I haven’t seen you since-”

“Since I stabbed you.  I’m sorry about that by the way,”

“I mean… I wasn’t going to say that, but you are forgiven,”

“Great!  Now if you excuse me, I’m just gonna,”  You began to walk to the end of the alley, planning on climbing over the wall to get out of this awkward situation, but once again, you did not get far.

“Would you like to get coffee sometime?”

You froze with one leg already on the wall.  Slowly, you turned to face him. “I’m sorry, but did I not stab you a week ago?”

“Well, yes, but I don’t see how that interferes with coffee,”

“Why-what-how do you,”

“Are you okay, love?”

“Why don’t you hate me!?”

Douxie blinked and then smiled at you.  Your knees felt weak.  Was that a wizard thing?  Was he doing that?

“You weren’t trying to hurt me, you were just doing what you thought was right.  You have a weird way of doing things, but I respect it.  Archie on the other hand-”

“Will your familiar kill me if I get coffee with you?”

Douxie put a hand to his chin, “He might try, but I won’t let him,”

You laughed at that, just a little, “Good.  In that case, I’d love to get coffee sometime,”

“Brilliant!  Now, do you want to get out of this alleyway?”

“Yes,”

“Okay, let’s go,”

And from there, the two of you had a very nice conversation on the way back to the bookstore where Archie tried to burn you alive.

It was a nice walk though, despite the singed edges on your clothing from the familiar at your destination.  From the sounds of things, you’d get to know what aesthetic the wizard subscribed to very soon.  And for the first time in a long time, you actually looked forward to something.

[i-write-sometimes-blog]

Detention (Dark Rey x Reader High School AU)

Summary: A new girl arrives to make Reader's time in Highschool way more difficult.

Words: 2,693 (think this is the longest so far)

A/N: Alright some notes, this is based on my High School AU with Rey and things are pretty much the same except for Rey, we have a rather bad woman instead but Reader it's still a Solo. I wanted to write this for a while and well I finally finished it. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!

You were late for class. Again. Didn't hear the irritating beeping alarm and its constant try to tear your from your sleep. And your older brother wasn't kind enough to wake you up.

Running through the maze of halls you hoped to make it on time to the class before the teacher, you knew she wouldn't be happy to see you arriving late to her class once again.

Just when you reached the last turn to the classroom you collided with a body you weren't expecting that almost sent you directly to the floor.

"Shit, sorry." you said.

"Look where you're going, idiot!" a very angry voice said and you observed hypnotized the girl yelling at you.

Dark wavy hair falling over her delicate skin and hazel eyes gazing threatening at you while she kept telling you not to cross her way again. A mischievous grin curving her lips and the leather jacket only made her seem way more mysterious. You felt terribly attracted to this mean girl and yet you hated how rude she was over this little accident.

And as fast as you encountered her she was gone letting you alone in the desert hall.

Who was that girl?

The bell ringing reminded you how late for the morning lesson you were so you rushed the final steps to the classroom.

"Late again, Solo" were the teacher's first words when she saw you silently reaching your place, trying your best not to be noticed.

"Sorry, Miss Holdo" you said. Your friends, Poe and Finn laughed in silence and you glared at them for a moment.

“If you keep arriving this late I’m afraid I’d have to send you to detention” She said.

“Won’t happen again.” you assured her. With a smile she went back to her lesson, she knew you since you were a kid, she was a family friend and you assumed that was why she hadn’t send you to detention already.

“Where’s Rose?” you murmured looking at the empty spot next to you.

“Paige said she’s sick” Finn mumbled. 

“Finn, quiet” Miss Holdo said making your friend flinch for a moment. You smiled before really paying attention to today’s lesson.

Lost taking notes and scribbling stars in the little notebook you almost didn’t hear the knock in the door, ignored the sudden murmur between your classmates but you heard her.

"I was told this is was history class." you knew that voice and recognized her jaw, her slim figure.

Not you, you thought

"It is.” the teacher told her with a sympathetic smile “Principal mentioned a new student, what's your name?"

"Rey" she said. Oh, she even had a nice name, great.

"Welcome, Rey. Please, take a seat.”

She eyed the class carefully as if she was examining her new empire about to rise, then her golden eyes found yours and that malicious grin she had when you met her on the hall was back on her face.

Rey walked across the room with everybody watching her every move but she kept staring at you.

“Is this seat taken?” she said pointing at the chair where Rose usually sat, now only occupied by your bag.

“Well... yes“ you barely said when she pushed your things out of the chair.

“Not anymore” she said without giving an actual damn about the angry way you stared at her.

First the hallway, now this, oh this girl was really rude and you felt like you were really starting to hate her. Huffing you picked up your fallen bag, you were grateful most of the things stayed inside but there was a few things that landed very away from you to reach, nor Finn or Poe could, only her.

While the class kept its regular course you watched at the little notebook on the floor hoping to get it back as soon as the class was over but you weren’t the only one watching it, Rey followed your constant gazes and soon the little journal was on her power.

“What do we have here?” she said playing with it in her hands. “Seems like the little nerd has a journal.”

“Give it to me.” you murmured.

She gave you a short daring glance before she opened it and proceeded to pass some of the pages.

"Stop. Give it back!" You told her.

"Whatever" she said tossing it at you "nothing interesting anyways."

Just in that moment the bell rumbled through the air marking the end of the class.

"See you later, nerd" she said already on her way out of the place leaving you all pissed and unable to say a word.

"What was all that with the evil witch?" Poe asked in the hall, the small group walking to the next lesson.

"I don't know" you said still a bit confused "but I have a really bad feeling about her."

And you were right. Not only she proclaimed herself as the new baddie of the school that nobody would dare to even look at her the wrong way, she was even feared by you own brother who used to be the big bad guy always intimidating people. But she dedicated her time to make your life impossible, making jokes about you, pushing you in the corridor.

Often you found yourself cornered by her in the main hallways when nobody else was there to help you giving her whatever she would want, sometimes it was money and some days she had taken your homework to deliver (? It as hers. And as much as you wanted you couldn't do anything but stare at her, which only made the wicked smirk on her lips grow wider.

And the constant question in your head was why? What did you do to this girl to treat you this bad? But the months passed and the question was still unanswered.

Certain day you were just picking a few things from your locker while happily chatting with Rose, it was one of that lucky days the girl who was always pushing you around like if you were kindergartens was nowhere to be seen, you felt somehow relax when she was not near. But oh no, there she was, dressed in dark clothes as always, ready to make someone’s life miserable.

You caught her figure walking confident through the place and you prayed she would not noticed you and at first you thought so when she passed by your side as if you were no there.

Then Rose hitted the floor.

All the students in the corridor saw how Rey pushed your good friend making her stumble backwards, but nobody said a thing, nobody even dared to look at the scene for too long they all were used to that, all of them were afraid of Rey.

The evil lady kept walking as if nothing had happened but looking over her shoulder to dedicate you a satisfied grin.

“Rose, are you okay?” you offered a helping hand to your friend who took it glad you were there.

“Yeah, I’m fine” she murmured when she was back on her feet.

It had to stop. Rey made your days in school miserable but you never said nothing about it. She could insult you as much as she wanted, after all this time there were no more words she could use to make you feel bad, she could push you all she wanted but you wouldn’t allowed her to touch your friends.

“Hey!” you yelled and surprisingly she stopped, as well as all the people in the hall, curious to hear what you had to said to the one and only evil queen. “You owe her an apology.” you stared at her.

“Oh, I don’t think so, darling.” Rey said “The one that should be apologizing is her, for getting in my way.”

“Bullshit, Rey!” you scoffed “We all saw what happened.”

“Oh, somebody’s cranky.” she mocked as she walked in your direction, her steps echoing as she got closer, arms crossed.

“Somebody needs to shut up.” you raged which actually made her flinch for a matter of second and you saw the students around you trying hide the smiles forming on their faces.

“Y/N, forget it” Rose said grabbing your arm “It’s not worthy your time”

“It is, Rose” you assured her. Leaving her side you approached Rey more than you would usually do, you wanted to make sure she hear what you had to say. “I’ve had enough of your stupidity walking around the school as if you own it” you hissed “You can do whatever you want to me but I’m warning you, do not mess with my friends.” There was a strange mix of emotions on her face, not the confident smile on her lips, she looked rather confused, surprised.  “Now, Rey. Apologize”

“No.” she said. “Why you even defend her, Y/N. Is she your little girlfriend?”

“No, but what if she was?” you told her now getting closer to her. “What if, huh? would you have a problem with that too?” she gave no answer “Well at least I’d have a fantastic girl but you? No, you are going to end alone, because nobody wants an asshole like you and I assure you I wouldn’t date you even if you were the last person in the world. You don't deserve to be loved, Rey"

Rey's fist collided with the side of your face making you dizzy for a moment. There was a collective gasps.

"You really shouldn't have done that" you murmured before sending a punch to her face and it didn't take long for her to respond with a new punch.

Both blinded by the fury and lost in the fight didn't hear the people cheering around you.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd screamed but you ignored them, the only thing you care about was dodge Rey's merciless hits. 

A pair of arms wrapped around you and pulled you from Rey's grasp, you heard Ben’s voice telling you to stop, only then you realized not only that at least half of the school was there watching the scene but you found Miss Holdo's disappointed face.

*****

"This behavior is absolutely unacceptable" Miss Holdo said way angrier than you had ever seen her. "Be thankful you're just getting a few days of detention. Do you realized you could have been expelled?"

Holdo's gaze travel from Rey to you and stayed gazing at you for a few seconds. 

"I have to talk with your parents. I want you two to think of your actions while I'm gone" the teacher said "Try not to kill each other while I'm not around." She added and before taking a last look at you she left you alone with Rey.

The first minutes you stayed in an awkward silence, watching at the clock hanging on the wall as it marked the slow pass of the time at the rhythm of the tick tock. It was going to be a really long detention.

The girl sitting a few feet away from you didn't make it any easier, the constant tapping of her pencil against the wood surface of the table was really stressing you out.

"Can you stop?" You finally broke the silence.

"Am I bothering the little princess?" She mocked.

"You're stressing the hell out of me" you told her.

"And what are you going to do? Punch me? Look where that took us." she said.

"You started it, Rey" giving her a cold stare you told her. Then both went silent again but the tapping didn't stop.

Unable to ignore the way she was drumming with the small pencil you stood up your seat.

"I said stop" you said taking away the pencil from her hand. Next moment Rey was also in her feet dangerously close to you as she used to do to intimidate you, but that power was not hers anymore.

"Careful, Solo" she murmured "You may have found some guts to speak up in front of people but right now it's just you and me alone and you don't know what I'm capable of" she glanced at you with fury on her hazel eyes. "So don't dare me."

She backed away and turned to her seat. She was right, there were just she and you in the detention room, no one else. It was time to get answers.

"Rey, why you treat me like this?" You asked.

"Because I hate you" she said carefree.

"But why? Since the first day we met you've been nothing but mean to me" you said "You didn't even know me and still you decided you hate me?"

"I hate losers and your the biggest one around here" Rey added.

"That doesn't makes sense" you took a step closer to her "I'm tired of just bear you pushing me and treating me like garbage"

"You are garbage, Y/N"

"See? this is what I mean" you said "You attack me again and again but why? Why me? What did I do to you to deserve being treated like this?"

"You wanna know? Fine" she said "but don't go crying with your brother after this."

"Go ahead" you murmured serious.

"You’re scum, Y/N.” she started “I know who you are, playing dumb all the time, being ‘dad and mommy’s perfect daughter’ but I think you’re quite the opposite, surrounded by a bunch of losers.”

“So you’re problem is that I have good friends? a family that cares for me?” you chuckled “I guess you don’t have that yourself and you’re just jealous that I have people who care for me.”

She stared at you with a killer gaze, that certainly made her angry and sure it was why she preferred to attack you when you were alone, so you would feel as alone and helpless as hers. But there was something else that she was still holding.

“What else, Rey?” you added “There’s something you’re not telling me, I know you just enough to know that.” 

You saw the big bad empress of the school doubting for a moment, almost fearing the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"I hate the way you look at the other girls because I know you will never look at me the same way, the only times I get to be close to you you look at me with so much hate" Rey said a little too fast and too angry, frustration lying over her face while she was slowly getting closer to you "And I hate it that you're right, I don't deserve to be loved, but I hate it more that I fell for you anyways perfectly knowing I didn't have a chance to be with you"

There was a moment when the only thing you did was stare at each other, both of your not exactly knowing what to say, what to do.

Rey rushed in your direction “She’s gonna kick me again” you thought, bu she did something very different that you expected.

Carefully, Rey pulled you closer, crushing her lips against yours to lead a rough, desperate kiss. Her lips were surprisingly softer than you had expected, unexpectedly sweeter compared with the bittersweet words that often came from her mouth. You found yourself not pulling away immediately but rather intrigued by the way she kissed you, even enjoying it for a brief moment, forgetting whose lips were softly caressing yours. Until she pulled away.

Breathless, flushed and inches away from your face Rey examined your astonished features, her eyes scanning so desperately your face, wanting for a reaction maybe, waiting for a new fight maybe, but she only found you in conflict. 

“Fuck, I hate you!” she hissed. Rey rushed to grab her things and let the room as fast as she could, the slight pink adorning her face and you could swear you noticed a crystal tear running down her face though she was already far gone.

You sighed taking your place back on the seat, processing just how much of a crazy day it had been.

This was going to be one hell of a month.

Tagging: @1-800-depressedlesbian , @xgaygremlinx

(In case you want to be tagged for specific things or everything I write, just let me know)

[illfoandillfie]

“#god his fucking arms... #imagine handcuffing him #tying him to the bed and watching his muscles flex as he tried to wriggle out” you genius! Or even knowing that if he really wanted to, he could get out, but he doesn’t use his full strength bc he wants (needs) you to be in control. Maybe even... like biting on the vein a little bit...👀👀👀 (@queenmylovely)

lauren oh my god here i am trying to write soft 70s boyfriend rog and you gotta go and send me absolutely feral for ben…rude…i love you.

anyway here’s a little something. Wrote part of it at like 7 in the morning and then the rest at midnight so I hope it makes sense lmao (under a cut cause its nearly 2k and also smut)

Thehandcuffs had been a gift, intended for you to wear. The pink fluff around themto keep you comfortable while Ben had you locked in position, playing outwhichever evil scheme he’d decided you’d both enjoy most. Your friend, evercheeky, caught one glimpse of Ben’s toned chest and overheard one tipsy joke youmade about being pushed to your knees and decided you’d get some use out ofthem. They weren’t the best handcuffs ever, cheap and flimsy, but they did thejob well enough. Perhaps not the job your friend had been hinting at but howwas she to know Ben was the one who preferred being tied up. One day you’d haveto upgrade, find something a little larger and a little more durable. Ben hadcome close to snapping the chain once or twice and the day was bound to comewhen he’d succeed. Until then though, they’d suffice.

Bencertainly enjoyed them, probably more than you did which was saying somethingconsidering seeing Ben restrained was one of your favourite sights in theworld. It was the vision that swam to the forefront of your mind when you wokeup one morning, Ben’s side of the bed empty and cold. There was a note on yourbedside table explaining he’d gone to the gym and you couldn’t help but thinkyou wouldn’t have to wake up alone if you kept him chained to the bed. It wastempting to stay in the cozy covers and follow the thought to its naturalconclusion, but instead you managed to talk yourself into getting up and goingthrough your morning routine.

Benwalked through the door an hour or so later, wearing a tank top with SunsOut Guns Out emblazoned on the front and a grin at the sight of you. It wasa fitting choice of shirt, his muscles bulging as he pulled you into a hug.

“Morningbabe,” he said, wrapping his arms tightly around you and dropping a kiss toyour shoulder.You squealed as you felt the damp from his sweat stained shirt transfer to yourown, “Benny you’re all sweaty,” you half whined, trying to wriggle free.

“That’swhat happens when you spend all morning lifting weights,” he mumbled into yourneck, squeezing you tighter, “glad you’re up now though. You have any idea howhard it was to drag myself out of bed knowing you were still there in yourskimpy little PJs?”

Youlaughed and pried his fingers from you so you could move back a little, “me andmy skimpy PJs missed you this morning,”

“Didyou now?”

“Bigtime,” you dragged a finger along his shoulder and down his arm, following themuscles that had been worked out that morning.

“Well…‘m here now and…”

“Andwhat Bub?”

“Andif you cuffed me to the bed I wouldn’t be able to leave again,”

“Greatminds think alike,” you said through a grin.

Itdidn’t take long for Ben to strip to his underwear and lie down, arms above hishead, so practiced at getting into position. You straddled his stomach,clicking the cuffs into place.

“AllGood?”

“Mmhmm,”

“Nottoo tight?”

“Onlya little tight, just the normal amount.”

Youdouble checked the slightly too small cuffs were properly secured before youshuffled back, deliberately grinding against his crotch just to hear his sharpbreath.  

“Tease,”he muttered when you came to a stop again.

“Ihaven’t even begun to tease, Benny,” you pulled your own shirt off, adding itto the pile of clothes Ben had left in the middle of the floor, leaning down toquickly kiss him before you pushed yourself from his hips and took off the restof your clothes too.

Ben’sfingers twitched as you reclaimed your place on his lap, the chain of thehandcuffs rattling slightly with the movement. You rewarded him by rolling yourhips, feeling the smooth material of his underwear sliding against your folds.

“Fuck,”he said softly, realization of what you were planning dawning on him as youcontinued to grind against him, able to feel him getting harder beneath you.

Itdidn’t take long for you to find the perfect rhythm, the perfect angle, yourclit dragging against his hardened cock over his underwear. Soft whines werefalling from Ben’s lips, his arms tensing and relaxing and tensing againwhenever you varied the pressure with which you pressed down onto him. Your ownbreaths were coming in pants, small moans escaping between them.

“GodI’m close,” Ben suddenly said, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his headback against the pillow. A vein stuck out in his neck and you shivered at thesight.

Youstopped your movements, “Already? Jesus Benny, for a big strong boy you don’thave much will power do you?”

“Ido,”

“AllI’ve done is hump you and you’re whinging about being close. And I’m nowherenear done with you yet.”

“Y/N,please,”

“Youknow the rules.”

“Iknow,” he panted, trying to calm himself down enough, “I don’t cum until youdo,”

“Good.Now show me you have enough will power to not cum in your pants. I’m going tocount to five and then I’m going to keep going whether you think you’re readyor not. And you’re going to hold it.”

Benjust nodded, eyes still closed as he fought to relax.  

Youcounted down out loud, watching Ben closely. His lips moved though no soundcame out, as if he were speaking to himself, and his arms were tense in therestraints. But when you reached one and began to find your rhythm againhe didn’t complain.

“Goodboy,” you purred, leaning down to trail your lips over his chest. A thin sheenof sweat already clung to him, left over from his morning workout as well aswhat you’d been putting him though, salty on your tongue as you dragged yourmouth towards his neck.

“Christ,”he whimpered, voice breaking a little when you sucked at his pulse point,making you laugh.

Slowly,you moved your mouth across to his shoulder. Another love bite, another soft whine.You could feel his muscles move, his arms flexing in the restraints as youfollowed a vein with your tongue. Ben swore, hips bucking up towards you, whenyou sunk your teeth into the skin around the vein, sucking until you were surethere’d be a mark. You pulled back for a second, watching to see if he’d make aproper effort to break loose, whether this would be the day he’d actuallyachieve it. He didn’t and it wasn’t.

“Maybeyou do have some willpower after all,”

“Y-yes,”he stuttered, “why?”

“You’rebeing very good trying so hard not to tug on the cuffs too much. I know youcould get out if you wanted.”

“Idon- don’t want to,”

Yougave him a reprieve, pausing your grinding as you captured his lips in a bruisingkiss. He kissed you back, needily, trying to follow your lips when you brokeaway.

“Howclose are you?”

“S-sofucking close,”

“Thinkyou could hold on a little longer if I was riding you?”

Hisbreath hitched, “Not sure. But I’ll try to hold it, promise.”

“Loveyou,” you whispered against his lips, sinking into another kiss before you backedoff to pull his undies down, a large wet patch decorating the front where you’dbeen rubbing yourself.

Onanother day you might have teased him even longer, made him beg as you wrappedyour hand or your lips around him, but it seemed unfair to keep him waiting. Asit was, he hissed when you did take hold of his cock, lining him up with yourentrance. You paused for a second but he didn’t even have the chance to ask youto hurry up before you were sinking down on him, slowly, letting yourselfadjust. You kissed him as you began to ride him, bracing your hands on hisshoulders to give yourself a little more support and control. He bucked hiships up, pushing his cock deeper and making you gasp against his lips.

“S-sorry,”

Youshook your head, “Do it again,”

Hesmiled and did as you asked, repeating the movement.

“FuckBen,” you panted against his lips, trying to match him thrust for thrust.  

Hisbrows were knitted together with the effort of holding back his orgasm, a beadof sweat rolling down the side of his face. You weren’t kissing any longer,though you remained close enough to, rough breaths mingling in the spacebetween, both of you too concerned with your impending orgasm to worry aboutwhat your lips were doing.

“Pleasete-tell me you’re clos-se,” he said, gritting his teeth as he desperately triedto follow your rule.

Youjust nodded, curling your fingers around one of his biceps as you shimmied yourother hand between you, towards your clit. It only took a few firm circlesuntil you were cumming, squeezing his arm and crying out.

“CanI?” he gasped as you rode your orgasm out, tightening around his cock, almostmaking him break.  

“Godyes, cum for me Ben,”

Itwas all he needed to hear, letting go before you’d even finished talking.

Yourhand was still on his bicep, fingertips digging into him, and you felt themuscles flex again as he coated your walls, pretty moans dripping from his lipsto be swallowed by you.

Youcollapsed against his chest, small shockwaves still making you twitch as you felthis racing heart and every heavy breath he took.

“Hey,babe?”

“Yeah?”“Can you uncuff me?”

“Shit,yeah, sorry,” you carefully pushed yourself up and let him slip from you,wincing slightly with the sensitivity, once again resting against his stomachwhile you fiddled with the clasps of the cuffs, “does it hurt?”

“No,nothing like that. Just, if you’re going to lie on me like that I’d like to beable to cuddle you back, y’know.”

“Goshyou’re cute,”

“Ihave been told that before,”

Youtook one of his hands before he could wrap them around you, and then the other,checking his wrist for any potential broken skin, but aside from a few smallindents that disappeared as you rubbed the area there were no marks.

“Toldyou it was fine,”

“Iknow, but I wanted to make sure,”

“Nowwho’s the cute one?”

Youlaughed as he did what he’d been wanting to do almost since the moment you’dfirst cuffed him, pulling you down into his arms, “Still you.”

“Agree to disagreethen,” he said softly, loosening his arms just enough to let you shuffle into acomfortable position before he wrapped you up again. His skin felt hot and stickywith sweat, but you didn’t even consider changing position. For one thing, youcouldn’t imagine you were in a much better state, and for another, being heldby him, surrounded by his soft skin and firm muscles, felt too nice. No one cuddledas well as Ben did. You decided that losing him to the gym a few times a weekwas a small price to pay for such a comfort.

[murfeelee]

Weekend! Updates! Replies!

Happy July 4th, everybody!

(WTF did Tumblr do NOW? At least X-kit’s still active, thank god.)

I’m still cooped up inside not getting any sleep (effing fireworks) and melting my eyeballs as I try to finish my thesis. I’m nowhere near done yet, this is insanity; I’m scared I won’t be done by September at all. If I do, it’ll be because I rushed through it and did the bare effing minimum. But I might have to at this point, I’m exhausted.

And my next summer class starts next week, and the professor sent us the syllabus and WHAT THE EFF, LADY!? 😠 This is a dinky little summer elective, not a frikkin dissertation, wench, DANG!! 😡🤬

I just wanted something light, so I could coast on through and get my last credits GGEZ & bounce; I’m tired of this place. No, this heifer has to send us a whole TERM full of course material. I am too upset.

I just want my effing degree already. Not that it matters, cuz the economy’s even WORSE now--schools, libraries, museums, galleries, non-profits, etc. all got slammed cuz of quarantine, and they’ll all be busy letting people GO, not hiring. U_U And that’s MY EFFING SECTOR. 😫 I want to WORK. I don’t wanna be stuck in school wasting ANOTHER 5+ years getting some PhD--the pay is peanuts, and I hate school! But if there’s no jobs I’ll do it, at least PhD programs pay YOU to go to school. XD

I’m calling it now: I’ll be reporting to y’all live this time next year working on a effing doctorate, just to have SOME money in my pocket, jfc. 😤

ANYWAY, so that’s me right now.

Sorry for the rant -- I’ve been so angry and fed up with absolutely everything lately.

And I’m really sorry for not being active AT ALL lately; Tumblr & Simblr in particular are my biggest distractions, and if I even take a peek on my dash I’ll get sucked in and get zero work done on this stupid paper.

But trust! In my spare time I’ve been working on new CC & new gameplay! I am so excited to share it with y’all; I’ve been planning this for months, it’s based on one of my alltime favorites. ^_^

REPLIES

descendantdragfi replied to your photoset “3 Favorites Tag!  Rules: A person’s favorite color, favorite animal,...”

Love your favourites! Peacock is magnificent 🦚😁                    

Thanks again for tagging me! ^_^ Oh wow, I didn’t know there was a peacock   emoji; you mean I could’ve been spamming it this whole time!? 🦚 🦚 🦚 🦚

andantezen replied to your photoset “3 Favorites Tag!  Rules: A person’s favorite color, favorite animal,...”

Your love for peacocks is contagious... Since playing with the magnificent CC you made of them, have read more about these birds' symbolism in several cultures... and decided to turn them into an actual character of the story :) thank you!                    

Thank YOU! *hugs* 🦚 Yes, I’m obsessed with peacocks, they’re my favorite animal on earth (dragons are my favorite fanciful creatures). Every time I go to the zoo I’m SO tempted to just steal one; they let them roam around freely, and I just wanna scoop up one of the babies and parkour myself over a fence or something. XD  🦚 I mean look at these frikkin things! 🦚

😍 🦚  😍 🦚 😍 🦚

darkccfinds replied to your photoset “SAKURA - BLΛƆKPIИK INSPIRED BLACKPINK! 지금 내가 걸어가는 거린 BLACKPINK 4...”

Sakura in its purest form!!.. as it should be in black and pink. I love everything about this photo set🤩

*high fives!* :D Thanks so much! Yup, I had to do it. Sakura would totally dye all her money pink and buy a sequins-covered bedazzled military tank, why wouldn’t she? XD Plus, I just LOVE Blackpink’s music videos & songs, so it was a perfect fit, really.

ashuriphoenix replied to your post “Chinese Creatures INSP”

*furiously mashes download button*

I want to make a lot more Pets CC and kemonomini CC, and get back to playing in Green Isle; that was the most fun I’ve had in months!

solori replied to your photoset “Pride 2020: Bartros & Nagron at the LGBT+ Community Center “History...”

♥ ♥

pitheinfinite replied to your photoset “Pride 2020: Bartros & Nagron at the LGBT+ Community Center “History...”

Love how you presented this theme with this positive energy!

If you don’t smile you’ll burst into tears, is how I see it. I needed something bright and colorful and loving, and my Spartacus-inspired gameplay always brings a smile to my face; I love my Nagron & Bartros babies. :3

ohsimtastic reblogged your post and added:

IM SCREAMING !!!!!

Speaking of babies! :D

Happy simming, y’all!

🦚