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gallusrostromegalus · 4 months

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AEIWAM ask: if my Kenpachi Count is correct, Gosuke Kiganjo might have been the previous captain of the 11th that Zaraki killed to get his job. Is that the case? How many problems did losing that co-conspirator cause for Aizen? And how much of a grudge did he hold for the big unkillable brute?

(With Reference to This Post and This One) It started with a pair of oranges.

---

It was Monday, November 11th, and like every November 11th, there was a ruckus coming from the 11th division. It was a faint noise largely obscured by distance and the windows that had been closed against the early winter cold, but it was still present as Now-Captain Sosuke Aizen reorganized Former Captain Hirako's office into his own.

He was luxuriating in the task. It was something he'd looked forward to for a long time- getting rid of the complex musical speakers that droned the worst assemblage of noises that apparently qualified as music, and finally installing a proper filing system in it's place was filling Aizen with a profound satisfaction that he assumed was an overture to his inevitable victory.

The way everyone was pointedly referring to him as Captain Aizen because they were trying to memorize the title tickled him a bit too. Perhaps it was vain of him to enjoy it so much but... well, the little theatrical dance of pretending to pretend he wasn't grimacing and playing up the act of Putting On A Brave Face, only for whoever was speaking to try to reassure him that everything would work out, that he was being so brave, and you don't have to do this yourself-

"Oh no, I don't think I could stand leaving it to anyone else!" He'd respond, and the whispers of how Brave and Dutiful and Humble he was slithered through the division...

...An actor can hardly be faulted for enjoying the adulation of the crowd.

"Hey Bos- uh, Captain!" A boy's voice called behind him.

Of course, it helped that Aizen had been blessed with such a stellar supporting actor.

"Can you help me?" now-Lieutenant Gin Ichimaru asked, tugging on Aizen's Haori for his attention like a normal child, something the boy had learned was enormously charming of him. "-I can't get this thing to stay on my arm." he explained, holding up Aizen's old Lieutenant's badge, the slightly oversized sleeves of his Kosode falling back to reveal his toothpick-thin arms.

"Oh dear. That' won't fit you for a few years yet, will it Gin?" Aizen smiled, patting the boys head and kneeling down, tying it one way, failing, trying another, failing again, giving an enormously defeated sigh, going over to Hira- No, HIS desk now! his desk and rifling through the drawers, and came back with a Safety Pin to hold the badge in place.

"...There!" he beamed, patting Gin's shoulder when the badge didn't slide off his scrawny arm. "-Just don't tell Yamamoto-sama!"

Aizen then turned to look over his shoulder down the hall, where no fewer than a dozen faces peeking out of doors and around corners to watch the scene, and held a finger up to his lips with a small wink. The heads vanished with small gasps, charmed chuckles and a few high-pitched teakettle-like outbursts Gin had once aptly described as "Squeeing".

Scene over and Audience satisfied, Aizen closed the figurative curtains and literal door. Suigetsu pinged softly, Illusion activating- anyone listening in wouldn't quite be able to make out the words, but walk away confident that they were only discussing Division Business.

"You're in a good mood!" Gin grinned up at him, noting Suigetsu's call and the invitation to speak freely. "Though I guess it's not a surprise. It's been a very successful week for you!"

Aizen shrugged, just a little bit smug. "I am allowed to enjoy my laurels once in a while, I think."

Gin laughed, and hopped up to sit on the desk, kicking his feet over the footwell as he fished some oranges he'd taken from the commisary out of his pockets. "Speaking of people who have had very... intense weeks, where's old blind bones?"

"Captain Tousen actually insisted on attending the 11th Division Tryouts, even though both Ukitake and Kyorako offered to go in his place so he could rest!" Aizen said, taking one orange for now and another for later- he'd like to have to work through lunch, he was now so burdened with responsibility, a fun little scene he was workshopping in the back of his head. "...I suppose the poor bastard still regards Kiganjo as his responsibility."

"Hm." Gin nodded, mouth full of orange, spiral peel on the desk beside him. Aizen nodded at the peel and pointed at the trash can behind the boy.

"Sorry, Lord Aizen. That might be-' he swallowed, and tossed the peel over his shoulder and into the bin. '-but it could also be tactical. Unohana-taicho attends every year and within arm's reach of her might be the safest place for him right now. Be a shame if he had a turn, you know?"

"It's a damn shame that Kiganjo hasn't had one." Aizen grumbled.

"Yeah I was sure the Menos invasion would be enough to do him and the Loud Idiot from the tenth in." Gin sulked. "Oh well, I suppose it's good we had a trial run- now we know we gotta really ramp up production of Menos."

"Fortune was on our side in that respect." Aizen agreed, examining his first orange for the best place to begin peeling. There was an art to it, and the practice helped maintain his skills. "Maybe fortune will smile upon us again and Kiganjo will fall to some idiot at the tryouts."

He had just found the perfect place to begin when the ambient reiatsu of the Seireitei suddenly shuddered and bowed, like he was standing inside a rubber balloon and could make out the silhouette of someone approaching with a hatpin. Aizen reflexively jammed the orange in his pocket with it's companion as his head swiveled north like an owl. The incoming sharp point of reiatsu approached at an alarming speed-

BANG!

Whatever it was met the outer wall of the Seireitei. To Aizen's Horror, did not slow down. It was however now accompanied by successive crashes that seemed to be getting closer-

BANG!

THUNK!

Aizen ran out the door, and slid a bit on the wood floors as whatever it was suddenly flew over the 5th division and made impact deep into the relatively soft earth of the training grounds.

"What the-?" He asked glasses askew not with practiced effort but genuine bewilderment. It took a moment to recognize the massive object now embedded upside-down in the middle of the courtyard, because Aizen had only ever seen it rightside up, and firmly bolted in place. "-Is. Is that the North Gate?" he sputtered, the feeling of surprise now turning into something bordering on Genuine alarm.

"I think that's Fortune's idea of a smile." Gin winced. "We uh... We should probably hoof it to the 11th."

"What?" Aizen repeated, genuinely surprised. "Why?"

Gin pointed in the direction of the 11th, and Aizen sluggishly followed his gesture-

CRACK!!

The outburst of reiatsu was so explosive it generated it's own superbolt of lightning- though whether it was the result of ionization down from the clouds, or worse- came up from the ground, he wasn't sure.

"...Oh." He paled, then steeled himself, clenching fists and inhaling. "LISTEN UP!" he barked to be heard over the growing din of alarm. "Our first priority is to keep the city from falling to chaos until we're told otherwise! Seated officers! Each of you take a dozen men and head to the Emergency rally points! Keep civilians calm, and direct them away from the 11th! Gin, you're with me!"

"SIR! YES SIR!" the assembled Shinigami shouted, and quickly fell in as he and Gin took off with Shun-po towards the scene of the catastrophe.

"You've got speed on me Gin, go scout ahead!" He called and the boy vanished in a silver flash of light ahead of him. He could make out other approaching officers- Kuchiki, his lieutenant with the fancy sunglasses and his grandson from the sixth and Lieutenant Yamada and an emergency troop from the fourth.

Another flash- bright red-orange for the instant it was visible- and he realized Yamamoto himself had deployed to the scene.

"Why does every woman turn into a huge bitch when you ask her to smile?" Aizen groaned.

Even with Shun-po it still took him a few minutes to actually arrive, just ahead of the Kuchiki detachment, and landed beside Gin where he was standing on the roof of the 11th. "How is it?" he panted.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" Gin grimaced as more people arrived behind them-

"Holy FUCK!" Yelped Captain Ukitake, a man who was so careful with his language he kept a division swear jar.

"What the hell made that?" Echoed Captain Kyoraku, voice trembling.

Below them, the Dueling arena in the courtyard of the 11th had been cleft in twain. As had the rest of the Courtyard. And the ground below. And the Sewers below that- even from up here he couldn't see how deep the cut went- it had to be at least a hundred feet deep, which made it... deeper than it was wide, a terrifying thought.

"Just give me the news, Gin." He said, trying to sound like a Captain in control of the situation, but his voice cracked for the first time since puberty. Aizen shuddered as he realized that all was left of Kiganjo were the splashes of red on either side of The Hole's median.

"Well uh, the good news is that the thing that made that hole was only mad at Kiganjo specifically, and has peacefully accepted the commission as Captain of the 11th." Gin explained.

"Oh thank god!" Ukitake exhaled with relief.

"...What's the Bad news?" Kyoraku asked.

"...The bad news is the The Thing That Made That Hole is now captain of the 11th." Gin winced, pointing him out in the surprisingly calm crowd. "...Also, I think he already knows Captain Unohana because he was awful polite without her threatening him at all, and unless I'm mistaken, I think he knows Tousen too."

Aizen followed Gin's lead with great alarm for the second time in under ten minutes, and barely managed to pick out Tousen's garish orange scarf in the crowd. Mostly because of the Giant man in about half of a ratty Yukata and mostly bandages was standing next to Tousen, hand on the captain's shoulder and grin so broad it was visible even from up here. The man had long, unkempt black hair that came down to the middle of his back and some kind of bundle on his shoulder.

"...I guess we go make our introductions?" Ukitake mumbled, and the other two captains shrugged, then jumped down.

Tousen's expressions were hard to read on a good day, and right now he looked so stunned he might have been hit by that lighting bolt.

"-See, I never forget a face!" The giant was saying cheerfully. "Even if it's in a pho- whatsit. The paintings that come out of a box." The giant was an ugly beast of a man, at least seven feet tall, standing barefoot, and had a strangely long and angular face, with dark, sunken eyes.

"A Photograph Ken-Chan?" the bundle asked, and Aizen realized that the thing draped over his shoulder was the little pink-haired girl Tousen had smuggled in and out of the Captain's meeting yesterday.

Uh-oh.

"Thems." The giant nodded. "You alright Kaname? You look like yer about to keel over."

"I- I'm-" he started to speak and Aizen snapped Suigetsu open to flash the assembled crowd and hopefully catch the giant in the illusion before Kaname could speak and blow the whole operation-

"-PUT THAT THING AWAY!" The Giant roared, glaring at Aizen over his shoulder ...Through an eyepatch? Aizen paused, startled.

"You look like sheep when you run up on 'em at the road at night." The Giant chuckled at him. "Keep yer panties on, it's all done and dusted."

"Really Sosuke!" Ukitake huffed, chopping him on the shoulder to make him sheathe Suigetsu again.

"My apologies for my friend, it's literally his first day on the job." Kyoraku waved apologetically. "I'm 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, the silver fox is 13th Division Captain Jushiro Ukitake, and that's appointed-yesterday 5th Division Captain Sosuke Aizen."

"You certainly know how to make an entrance, Captain-?" Ukitake asked brightly, attempting to distract the giant from Aizen.

"Kenpachi Zaraki." The Giant leered down at them. The other eye was sunken and gaunt and an unpleasant shade of yellow as Zaraki studied them in a way that made Aizen's skin crawl, like without suigetsu's Illusion, Zaraki could somehow see him naked. Yep. That's an eyepatch... But why do I have the feeling he can see right through it? Right through me?

"My apologies, Captain Zaraki-" Aizen sputtered, closing the distance and putting his hand on Kaname's other shoulder. "-Kaname is a very dear friend of mine and it's alarming to see a stranger touching him." he explained, digging the heel of his palm into the Silence character carved into Tousen's shoulder.

Tousen made a faint clicking noise in his throat as he involuntarily swallowed the shriek of pain under the Curse's command, and nodded in agreement. There- if I can't conceal Tousen from this brute, I can at least force him to remain silent. The illusion is safe.

"...That so?" Zaraki asked, the yellow eye fixed on Aizen's hand, and Aizen let go before he realized what he was doing. What? Why am I flinching? Who is this guy?

"You've taken to your title quickly!" Aizen smiled up at him, feigning cheerful interest.

"Title Schmitle, it's been my Name since before you were a wiggle in yer Da's nutsack." Zaraki grunted.

Aizen felt his glasses slipping off his face without his permission again. I didn't think there was an expression worse than Hirako's 'since you were kickin' in your momma'...

"Ah, here's trouble- WHAT TOOK YOU ASSHOLES SO LONG?" Zaraki roared cheerfully at two men who appeared on the 11th's roof, panting and enraged.

"HI YUYU! HI BALDY!" Yachiru waved cheerfully!

"Yachiru darling! I'm so glad you're safe!" the lithe, effeminate one waved back before jumping down to meet them.

"FUCK YOU!" howled the bald, muscular one.

"FUCK ME YOURSELF YOU COWARD!" Zaraki called back, grinning as they approached. "Come look who I found-!

Fuck! Aizen suddenly realized that when he'd let go of Tousen, Zaraki had not, and was now herding him away from Aizen, his huge and terrible body between them.

"OH MY GOD! IS THAT KAKIYO'S BROTHER?" the fop shrieked with excitement, sprinting over and grabbing Kaname's hand. "Yumichika Aseyagawa- oh this is DELIGHTFUL! I've heard so much about you!"

"Holy shit! You're the guy that burned down that shitass Daimyo's compound down, right?" the bald, clownish one grinned, shaking Kaname's whole arm. "Ikkaku Maderame, it's such an honor to meet you!"

THEY KNEW KAKIYO!? FUCK!! Aizen paled.

"-Burned what down?" Kyoraku asked.

"Shut up cueball, they acquitted him." Zaraki grunted, flicking Madarame's forehead. "Speaking of- I haven't heard form Kakiyo in Donkey's years, how is she? Running one of these divisions, right?"

"Gin!" Aizen hissed, searching the crowd for his Lieutenant. "Do something!"

"...She's dead." Kaname said flatly, still dazed with the... the everything probably.

Zaraki's shock rippled through the ambient reiatsu like being dunked in cold water. There's no sign of Gin, and no way to silence Tousen-

"What? How?" Aseyagawa demanded, the other two equally horrified.

"She was murdered." Kaname's voice was small, weak and he was starting to sway- the effort of resisting the curse was about to make him collapse.

Zaraki slowly crouched down, perched on his toes so he could pull Kaname close, face to face

"Who." It wasn't a request.

With a shaking arm, Tousen pointed to the remains of the Arena.

SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCK!! Aizen felt his heart racing.

"I- I'm sorry. I tried to, but- I can't- I can't I'm not strong enough-" Tousen stammered, trying to speak through the pain.

"It's alright. I am." Zaraki said, voice suddenly strangely gentle, touching his forehead to Kaname's. He sat down, pulling Kaname down with him, half in Zaraki's lap so he couldn't be easily pulled away. "Tell me the details later, ya look like yer about to drop dead. Y'all got anything he can eat?" He glared at the other captains.

Ukitake immediately produced a large bag of candy and Kyoraku a flask that smelled like you could use it's contents for eye surgery. Aizen made a show of patting his coat, and suddenly remembered the two oranges Gin had handed him earlier.

"Uh, I have these..?" Aizen offered the fruits, mentally preparing to skin Gin.

"Good to see one of you is an adult." Zaraki chuffed, taking one of the oranges and handing it to Kaname, who pointed his face at it blankly. "You don't mind if I take the other? I sprinted here from North 69 on an empty stomach."

Tousen shook his head, still silent.

"Good man, you'll be alright. Ta." Zaraki said, taking the second orange from Aizen with a nod of gratitude.

... and then casually bit halfway into it like an apple and chewed, rind and all.

Aizen stood there, dial tone echoing between his ears. Gradually he became aware his left eye was twitching.

"Did. Did you just bite straight into that orange?" Kaname frowned.

Zaraki, to Aizen's horror, swallowed. "Yeh, what's wrong with that?"

"...Nothing at all." Aizen smiled, checking out of this scene. "Excuse me, I seem to have misplaced my lieutenant..." he mumbled, turning on his heel and wandering away from them.

---

Kaname felt Zaraki arch his back slightly, watching Aizen go.

"...Uh-huh." he said, smirk audible. "Alright lads, you got marchin' orders."

The other two men snapped to attention.

"Yumichika- There's a woman, beautiful and terrible as the dawn, with a coat like this 'cept it's got a four on the back. Go tell her Kaname's had a turn and whatever she says you say 'Yes Sir' and do it." he said, tugging on Kaname's haori.

"Sure, that's definitely a description I can follo- oh. Nevermind, I see what you mean!" Yumichika said, catching sight of Unohana. "On it, Boss."

"Er, It might help if I'm there to make Introductions..." Kyoraku offered, jogging after Yumichika.

"Ikkaku." he spoke as soon as Yumichika was out of earshot. "There's a man who's older than dirt who looks like he could set you on fire just lookin' at you, 'cos he can. He's got the Employee Handbook, can you go grab that?"

"...What Employee Handbook?" Ikkaku frowned. "Don't tell me you're quittin' the house? Madame won't like that."

"Madame sent me here today on purpose." Zaraki waved. "-But seein' as I just did a homicide right in front of everybody, the old man offered me a choice. Take Kiganjo's old job runnin' the 11th, or get burnt to ash right there, and I can't take care'a Yachiru if I'm charcoal."

"So... you're a shinigami Captain now?" Ikkaku asked, sounding more intrigued than anything.

"Seems so." Zaraki shrugged. "Funny thing- the Lieutenant and Third-in-command's seats are up for grabs too."

Ikkaku cackled. "Be right back, Captain!" he grinned and took off towards the center of the city.

"Oh, shit-!" Ukitake muttered, looking up from where he had been transfixed by the sight of Yachiru devouring the bag of candy. "Er- Yama-Ji can be a bit tetchy with strangers, I should probably go with him..." he winced, sprinting after apparently-Lieutenant Madarame.

Zaraki chuckled, weight shifting and turning his attention back to Kaname. "...You want some help with that, Little bat?"

Kaname nodded, too dazed to protest as Zaraki took the orange from him.

"That Aizen's a creep, ain't he?" he asked.

"Yeah! Kaname-kun told me to stay away from him, even more than I needed to stay away from Kiganjo!" Yachiru nodded, mouth still full of candy.

"Thought so." Zaraki hummed, fiddling with the orange. "You know what's great about first Impressions?"

Kaname shook his head, just relieved Zaraki was here to keep him from collapsing straight onto the pavement.

"They Stick." Zaraki said voice low and conspiratorial. "-No matter what Aizen sees me do from now on, no matter what anyone tells him, he will believe, at his core, that I'm an idiot."

-And with that, he pressed a perfectly peeled and clean segment of orange into Kaname's hand.

Kaname blinked a few times, turning the fruit over in his hands as he sluggishly connected the dots and, despite everything, slowly broke into a genuine smile.

"Kakiyo always said you were a clever bastard." Zaraki grinned, "Eat yer orange."

---

Aizen finally located Gin, hiding under the narrow gap under one of the stone storehouses in the less-used section of the 11th.

"What the HELL are you doing?" Aizen hissed at him.

"That thing ain't human." Gin whimpered. "I dunno what it is, but it ain't right."

"I agree he looks like a carcass that's too stupid to know it's dead but that's because he's a MORON." Aizen groaned, reaching under the porch and pulling the boy out by the scruff of his neck. "You should see how he eats oranges."

"I'm not kidding!" Gin pleaded, grabbing Aizen's sleeve. "He's got- I don't know, but when he looked at us? It was like he could see right through me!"

"Yes, yes-" Aizen waved. "-but even if he could, I promise, he hasn't got the brains to understand what he's seeing."

"He's gonna eat me." Gin muttered, hiding behind Aizen, peering out behind him in the general direction of courtyard.

"What's gotten into you?" Aizen huffed. "You've never been spooked before-?"

"I'm telling you!" Gin pleaded up at him, eyes very nearly open with alarm. "There's something deeply fucked up about that guy! He's dangerous! He's gonna find me and grab me and eat me!"

Aizen sighed, put his hand on Gin's shoulder, glanced around for witnesses, and finding them alone, backhanded Gin as hard as he could.

"Get ahold of yourself!" he snarled, and Gin flinched. He softened his voice, fingertips under Gin's chin, tipping his head up. "I'm sorry- it's easy to forget you're just a boy sometimes- but we can't lose our heads now, not when we've come so far. I'll deal with Zaraki, alright? I need you to keep Tousen in line- I've gotten him to shut up for now, but it's VITAL that he not speak to that brute until I've gotten him and his two clowns under The Illusion, got it?"

Gin nodded, sniffling, cheekbone turning slightly pink.

"Good boy." Aizen smirked. "I'll leave it to you then."

Gin vanished with a flash to carry out his orders, and Aizen sighed, taking off his glasses to clean them.

"-How do these things constantly get filthy?" he muttered.

"Most of the filth on glasses is the grease from the skin of the wearer. If they're constantly filthy, it may be that you're just slime." someone spoke up behind him and Aizen yelped, nearly dropping his glasses as he fumbled them onto his face.

"-Good heavens! How DO you do that?" He laughed nervously to suddenly be in close proximity to the massive frame of Yamamoto's pet third seat that he'd just assigned to the Seventh Division. No saftey pins needed to keep the Lieutenant's badge on the tree-trunk arms of Sajin Komamura.

The narrow gap in the helmet stared impassively down at him, and for the second time that morning, Aizen was struck by the feeling he was nearly being seen through.

"I didn't quite catch all that, but I did hear the sound of someone being slapped before I see you, holding your lieutenant like that, and he sprints away with a fresh bruise on his face." Komamura rumbled ominously.

"I'm quite sure I don't know what you mean." Aizen glared back.

"I'm glad to hear that. I should hope that I merely misunderstood what I saw, and that there's no cause for alarm." Komamura leaned forward, and Aizen thought there was the briefest flash of the same yellow as Zaraki's working eye in there. "-There are very few deviances the captain-general won't tolerate, but the lines in the sand do very much exist."

"Sajin-" Aizen scoffed, turning away from the menacing hulk of a shinigami. "You may be Yamamoto's Golden Boy, but you ought to mind what you go sticking your nose into, lest somebody cut it off."

There was no reply.

"Glad you underst- really?" Aizen groaned at the empty corner of the 11th Division. "How the HELL does he do that? It's like being stalked by an animal... Whatever, it's fine- Sajin still has his uses, and he'll forget it by tomorrow morning, won't he?" Aizen smirked, affectionately rubbing Suigetsu's hilt, the Zanpakuto purring at the attention.

"Now, let's go deal with that orange-mangling moron." he smiled as he stalked back into the remains of the 11th's courtyard.

#AEIWAM #An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy #Bleach #Bleach Fanfic #4K under the cut #sosuke aizen #kenpachi zaraki #kaname tosen #gin ichimaru #sajin komamura #Zaraki Is much better if he is impulsive and manic and a bit of a dunce but also CUNNING as hell

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biteofcherry · 1 year

Text

Sweet Thrill - part 2

Sweet thrill

mafia!Ari Levinson x female reader; mob boss Ari Levinson x female reader

summary: Many would consider your job as a dancer at Lloyd Hansen’s exclusive night club to be exciting or scary, but honestly you see it as predictable and stable. It’s mostly a routine. That’s until Ari Levinson enters the club. You draw his attention and he installs himself in your space, bringing fear and thrill along with him.

warnings for this part: pet play; Master/pet play; fear kink; bdsm undertones; power imbalance; dominant Ari Levinson; fingering; oral; sex; light anal play; pet names; collaring; subtle degradation and humiliation (nothing hardcore); light dumbification

word count: 6k

Main Masterlist

Ari Levinson Masterlist

Sweet Thrill series: | Part One |

It shouldn’t surprise you that Ari became bolder, since he laid a claim on you. A claim to which you agreed, accepting his collar and first simple rules he declared. Still, as you swayed upside down between silk curtains, ending your private dance for him on a late Friday evening, your heart jumped up when Ari moved from his spot on the velvet couch and approached you.

He stood right there at the edge of the platform, his shadow looming over your vulnerable, displayed body. He traced his fingers along the shimmering gold of the collar around your neck then up and along your jaw.

“Open, Kitten,” Ari tapped your lips with a single finger.

You swallowed nervously, but complied. Your lips parted and you made a conscious effort to force yourself to open your mouth wider, knowing that’s what he wanted.

A single digit drew around your mouth then slid inside. You weren’t sure if you’re supposed to just let him explore, or if you should suck on his finger.

Ari’s low chuckle made you look up at his face, your brows furrowing. He touched your head with his other hand, a sort of a patronizing pat.

“I don’t need you making up decisions on what to do.” He said, dipping his finger back and forth over your tongue. “I asked you to open your mouth and you did it beautifully, pet. No need for you to be thinking about anything besides my commands.”

A second finger joined in, filling your mouth and spurting more saliva to pool in. The hand on top of your head brushed slow, soft strokes along your tied hair.

“If I want you to suck it, I’ll tell you to do so.” Ari instructed, lips curved in a smirk. “Until I demand it, you don’t need to be thinking of what to do. Don’t need to be thinking at all.”

Once again with his implications about having your brain turned off. When you thought of it in the safety of your apartment, far from the dark, irresistible seduction of his, you felt annoyed with it.

After all, you grind your ass between sheets of silk to be able to get a degree, to be able to support yourself through university where you actively participated in seminars and discussions. Where your brain was appreciated.

Though it is nice to stop thinking once in a while, a voice in your head delighted.

Ari withdrew his fingers and crooked them, pointing at you to straighten and get off the platform. His hand was steady below your forearm, assisting you as you jumped down.

Again, his blue eyes sparked with satisfaction as he took in the bejeweled mark of his claim - the collar and adorning chains wrapped around your body. He’ll love it even more once there’s not a scrap of lace covering your body and it’s only your exquisite skin on display for him.

“I’ve got a meeting to attend.” Ari reminded you, running his hands up and down your bare arms. “Wait for me in the dressing room.”

“I’ve arranged for strawberries and champagne to be delivered there for you, I hope other dancers will leave some of it for you to taste.” He laughed quietly.

It was a new kind of feeling that Ari’s gesture evoked. An almost romantic type of spoiling, which no other patron ever did for you. The fact he also knew other girls may nibble on the snacks and didn’t mind it, made you soften for him some more.

For a brief moment it gave you reprieve from exhilarating thoughts about going home with Ari tonight.

Outside the private VIP room two of Ari’s bodyguards waited. One went with Ari who left for the meeting in Lloyd’s private offices (after squeezing your ass possessively). The other trailed behind you as you walked to the dressing rooms.

That was new. Unexpected. Made you feel a little caged in.

But you wouldn’t make a fuss about it for now. Especially since the man stood outside of the dressing room once you got there, not trying to squeeze inside into private space that belonged to the other dancers as much as it belonged to you.

Like Ari had predicted, a few of your friends were already munching on strawberries. There was a whole bowl of them and a few smaller bowls filled with whipped cream.

“I knew your silk aerial will benefit us all someday.” Violet grinned, tilting her glass of champagne your way in a salute.

Laughing, you joined the girls and accepted a flute of champagne with a curtsy.

Some of them saw the new jewelry adorning your neck earlier, but a few noticed it only now. You tried to shrug it off nonchalantly, saying it’s Mr Levinson’s eccentricity and you don’t mind wearing it for him.

You didn’t reveal that you tried it on at home, when you were alone, looking at yourself in the mirror and feeling all sorts of thrilled.

Though he wasn’t there, the moment you put the collar on it felt as if Ari’s hand wrapped around your neck. You stared at your reflection, shivering at the thought of what else he’d do to you.

You donned on a pair of jeans and a soft, baby blue cardigan with tiny buttons. Since you were to spend more time with Ari, you didn’t take the collar off.

You had a feeling he wouldn’t like it.

He definitely wouldn’t, considering he mentioned he wants to teach you to wear it daily.

When an hour and a half later a knock came on the door and it opened, revealing Ari Levinson standing there with hands on his hips flanked by two of his men, your heart jumped to your throat. Then settled back in your chest, fluttering wildly.

It was time.

The look in Ari’s eyes and the pinch of his intensity you got to experience so far, spoke of a weekend of sensations new and scary. And the most shattering.

You picked up your bag - stacked with necessities like a change of underwear and a clean t-shirt, as well a moisturizer and body cream. You didn’t mind using whatever generic, 32in1 body wash Ari had, but your skin was so sensitive it would crack and rash, if you didn’t moisturize it properly.

Shadows fell across Ari’s face, sharpening his features and adding depth to his already lethal vibe. His blue eyes held unyielding ruthlessness - perhaps a darkness remaining from the meeting he just had, or maybe a drop of hardness he’ll subject you to as well.

You wondered, if a man like Ari carried demons he unleashed on his enemies over to the plush coziness of the bedroom.

Would he conquer you with the same unbending will?

Ari took the bag from your hand and trapped your fingers within his hold. A surprisingly warm, though possessive gesture. Flanked by two bodyguards, you left the club. A sleek, black car awaited right at the front.

He went in after you, pushing you to the far side of the backseats and cornering you against the side door. Your eyes grew big, your pulse quickening.

Ari held you trapped beneath his huge form, eyes glinting danger and mischief. He made no other move, however. Only watched your breath turn raspy, puffing through your parted lips, a vein in your neck pulsing.

“Ah, already so many thoughts.” Ari chuckled, shaking his head.

He kissed your forehead then backed away. He sat down properly and smiled at you all charmingly as the car drove away.

You stared at him, your heart hammering and your brain whirring up with even more thoughts. Not terrified, but stirred and shaking in anticipation of what his next move may be.

You gulped nervously when you arrived at his place and you stepped out of the car - Ari waiting for you by the door, his hand stretched out for you to take. It was a huge mansion, partly modern, partly classic stone. Dark wood interior softened by all the light. It had to look even prettier in the day, with sunlight spilling through the huge windows.

“Are you hungry, Kitten?” Ari’s hand moved up your back, resting on your nape.

Its heavy warmth brought an unexpected sense of security, even though you knew it was a reflection of his instrumental possessiveness.

“No, thank you.” You replied, your voice weaker than you wanted it to sound.

You were no longer in the safety of the club, no longer in the surroundings which you knew and felt more or less comfortable at. It was a lion’s den and the door just closed behind you, trapping you with a big predator inside.

“Okay then.” He smiled at you, sincerity transforming into sinister satisfaction.

Fingers around the back of your neck tightened slightly.

You realized your mistake then. Ari gave you a chance to sink into the situation slowly, entertain you with some small talk over some food to help you relax, even though both of you knew where this was all going anyway.

Skipping that step meant you straight away offered yourself on a silver platter to his entertainment.

It was something you battled with yourself over the few days of reprieve you had. You weren’t naive, you expected sex to happen. Why else would Ari take you for a whole weekend? Still, you wanted to know the boundaries.

If Ari allowed any.

Licking your lips, you gathered the courage to look up at him. At the man who had half the coast under his thumb and whose offers no one dared to refuse.

“What if I say no?” You asked, trying to maintain confidence, but not challenging him.

“To the, uh-” heat unfurled in your belly even as you spit out the words- “pet play.”

Ari merely cocked his head to the side, his hold on your neck not relenting, but also not tightening. Crinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes at your shy stumble with the word.

“What if I say no to any sex?” Which would be a lie. You knew it that evening when he put his hands on you and made you come on his fingers alone, that you wanted more.

But you had to ask nonetheless. To know for sure how screwed you were, how carefully you needed to trade with him.

Ari Levinson wasn’t a client whose offer extended to extra payment for a one time sex. He was a feared mobster, who didn’t take lightly to messing with his plans. His interest in you meant being tied with an unspoken agreement on belonging to him, fully, for whatever time he wished, and abiding to his rules.

“Then you say no.” Ari said easily, as if it was the simplest truth.

Just like that. No longer pause to consider your words, or to wage on his reply.

“And you’ll respect that?” You blurted, truly surprised.

Ari’s eyes narrowed, as if he warned you to not accuse him of something he didn’t attempt to do. He may not take No for an answer when it came to his empire of power and influence, but sex was never something he had to force anyone into.

That wasn’t a spice he liked to add to his sex life.

“Of course.” He assured you, his tone lowering into a velvety dark timbre.

Ari’s hand circled to the front of your neck, fingers squeezing lightly as he pushed you two steps back.

Your back met a wall, a tiny whimper escaping your mouth.

He towered over you, catching one of your wrists in his other hand and holding it above your head like in a shackle. He lowered his head, hot breath tickling your skin as his lips moved across your cheek.

“But, will you really say no to having my fingers in your tight pussy again?” Ari asked, voice tinted with dark amusement. “Making her weep for me and flutter?”

“Will you say no to my mouth on you, licking and sucking and drinking up your honey?” He flicked his tongue against your lip.

“Will you say no to my cock splitting your little cunt? Driving into you to the root, until you cream all over me and milk me dry?”

His words made your thighs clench, a jolt of arousal piercing straight to your clit. You let out an involuntary, breathless moan.

“Mhmm, thought so.” Ari chuckled triumphantly.

“As for the pet play.” His gaze caught yours. Thumb on your neck slipped beneath the collar, rubbing over your wicked pulse. “I know you’re curious, Kitten.”

“Bet your sweet head kept thinking and imagining what it would be like. Did you browse the web? Did you get your pretty head to overthink about it?” He was sure you did exactly that.

He knew you spent time, hours maybe, looking up pet play on the internet; getting yourself turned on and scared of the images you saw. Of collars and leashes and cages; tails attached through harnesses or plugs; people on their hands and knees; big teary eyes looking up from bowls they were forced to drink from.

He felt sick satisfaction at the thought of you being frightened of how hardcore he’ll push the pet play for you.

Truthfully, he wouldn’t go to extremes. Ari preferred the playful, controlling side of it only. But he enjoyed your reactions to the thrill of having such limits crossed.

“There’s only one way to find out how it feels to be a good little pet for me.” Ari murmured, teasing your lips with the brush of his own.

Then he pulled back, released your wrist and your neck.

“But, it’s all up to you.” He said, tilting his chin up and simply waiting for your reaction.

It was manipulative, you were aware of that. You could walk away just to prove a point, but it wasn’t what you wanted. You wanted to stay, to have Ari’s hands on you, to see what more he’d do. To get that, however, you had to admit that you needed it.

Saying it’s your desire presented Ari as a man who simply catered to the lady’s wishes. Even if he was the serpent that tempted you to look at the forbidden fruit and crave its taste.

Slowly, you took a tentative step towards Ari. Maiming your bottom lip between your teeth, you looked nervously around before gathering the courage to look him in the eye.

“I want it.” You confessed, only slightly embarrassed.

He smiled at you, his eyes warming. He cupped the side of your face in his big hand.

“That’s my brave Kitten.” Lightness and warmth bloomed in your chest at Ari’s praise.

His hand slid down your arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. His fingers circled your wrist and he gave a gentle tug, pulling you along with him. Ari led you further into the house and into the master bedroom hidden behind double doors.

He dropped your bag in the corner and pushed you forward, stopping inches from the big bed placed in the center of the room.

“Let’s undress you, Kitten.” Tender warmth still remained in Ari’s eyes and the way his lips were curved, but as he started unbuttoning your cardigan it melted into rich, dark desire.

With each revealed fragment of your skin, especially once the golden chains of your collar were fully visible, Ari’s eyes darkened.

He wanted you and knowing it made you all the more hot. More eager to please him.

He folded your sweater neatly and put it aside. Waited for you to shimmy out of your jeans, which he too folded.

Fingertips trailed over your body as Ari leaned down to kiss you. A deep, thorough kiss that captured all your attention. He got you so hooked on his mouth you didn’t even notice him unclasping your bra. Until he pulled away and slid it off your body.

Ari’s hot breath ghosted over your body, causing you to quiver, as he crouched down and dragged your panties down your legs. He stayed on his knees a moment longer, gaze on your mound and breath tickling the trimmed thatch of hair.

Panties clutched in his hand, Ari licked a wide stripe from the spot right above your clit up to your belly button. Your belly muscles tensed, lips parting on a loud gasp.

Ari stretched to his full height, huge frame nearly swallowing yours. For a long moment he just looked you over. Piercing, intense gaze sliding over every inch of your body. He wasn’t even touching you at the moment and yet your nipples hardened into stiff points.

Ari dipped one of his hands into his pocket. When he withdrew it, there was a bundle of something shiny within his palm. He brought his hand up to your face, so you could see it as he opened his palm.

A heavy drop of gold swished down. It took you a moment to realize it was a chain.

Thicker than delicate fragments of your collar, but similar in pattern it was weaved. A braid of gold that had a link on one end and a looped leather strap on the other.

It confused you at first. Until Ari took the link between his fingers and clipped it on the diamond ring in your collar. Then it became apparent.

It caused you to hold your breath in.

A leash.

Judging by the construction of it and your collar, it was a matching set.

Ari had it all planned out. Every single detail. It made you wonder if there were other items to this fancy pet gear. What other bonds, or devices he could put on you. In you.

It evoked a hot wave, stretching out to the very tips of your fingers. A mere thought of having something more done to your body made you choke on a really pitiful sound.

“I see that you like it.” Ari’s eyes glinted with satisfaction.

He wrapped the leather loop around his hand and tugged on the leash, pulling you closer.

“Get on the bed, Kitten. On your back, please.”

You hesitated only a second then climbed the bed as gracefully as you could. The leash dragged between your legs as you crawled forward and you had to tug it so as to not lay on it when you laid down on your back.

Soft covers and springy mattress dipped beneath you, a wide spread of shadows danced in the dimmed light across the ceiling above you.

There you were, naked on Ari Levinson’s bed, wearing his collar and a leash. It was so hard not to tense like a strained cord, awaiting what next that man would do, but you tried your best to relax.

Ari’s hands slid up your legs, drawing your attention. Your gaze snapped to him, watching as he gripped your legs under your knees and pushed them apart.

“Play with yourself, Kitten.” His voice remained soft, but you understood it was a command.

Fingers slightly trembling, you placed one of your hands on your breast and slid the other one down your belly. It was humiliating how wet you already were; and he hasn’t even touched you properly yet.

The game he played with your mind, however, was turning all the right switches for you.

You rubbed your nipple, treating yourself gently, though in your head you imagined Ari pinching it, making you mewl. Fingers between your folds traded slowly, avoiding direct contact with your clit as you feared of making ungodly sounds for him so soon.

All the while you watched Ari, your eyes following his every move, hungry for his attention.

He started unbuttoning his shirt, not rushing as he did so. He draped it over the back of an armchair then sat down in it and began unlacing his shoes.

His attention wasn’t even fully on you. He wasn’t devouring you as you obeyed his command to touch yourself. Ari was simply going about his undressing as if he just got back from work and was going through routine motions.

As if you were merely a house cat stretched on the Master’s bed.

Like you were a pet.

Oh my fucking God, realization struck you. Instead of a flash of outrage, you felt yourself melting, your body writhing to draw Ari’s focus as you played with your pussy.

You circled your clit, knowing well the zing of sensation will make you moan and arch. Your hips bucked, head pushing back into the pillows. You slipped your fingers lower.

“No, Kitten.” Ari’s voice was a calm reprimand, stopping you right as you were about to push a finger inside your aching cunt.

Barefoot, his shoes neatly arranged under the armchair, Ari stood up. Still, he wasn’t looking directly at you. And yet it seemed he was aware of everything you were doing.

“You’re not stretching yourself on anything that doesn’t come from me.” He declared, unbuckling his wristwatch and placing it in a top drawer of his closet.

“But you can give yourself a pat from me.” He turned around and slowly started unzipping his pants.

“Come on, pat your sweet clit.” This time his eyes were on you and their intensity made your cunt clench around nothing.

Your thighs shook as you tried your damndest not to close them. Breath quickening, you bit your lip and lifted your hand a few inches above your mound. You dropped it down with a little squeak.

“Harder, Kitten.” Ari’s eyes narrowed. “Or I’ll do it for you.”

“Fuck.” A needy sound slipped from your mouth, causing Ari to smirk.

For a moment you forgot what you were about to do, as your eyes glued to the glorious cock that bobbed up when Ari pushed his pants past his hips. Slightly curved and with girth surpassing any of your toys. The crown of it an angry red, shiny with precum.

Your hand dropped atop your pussy, wet smack resounding along your loud moan. The sting of it made you squirm, your thighs involuntarily closing around your hand. It was nothing to how sore his cock would make you feel, you suspected.

“Good girl.” Ari’s praise washed over you, made you crane your neck and wiggle your butt.

He approached you in steady steps, one hand around his cock, stroking lazily.

He stopped at the foot of the bed. Fingers still wrapped around his girth, Ari reached his other hand forward and grabbed the end of your leash.

“Up, Kitten. On your hands and knees for me.” He rolled the leash around his hand as you crawled forward, until he had you on a short chain, your mouth so close to his leaking tip.

“I want your sweet mouth on me.” Ari tugged on the leash, bumping his cock against your lips.

Precum smeared on your lips and you flicked your tongue out, licking it off, teasing his tip in the process as well. You looked up at Ari, unexpected playfulness making you tilt your chin defiantly.

“Cats like to scratch and bite, you know.” You mused aloud, tipping your face forward and rubbing your cheek along Ari’s cock.

“Try doing that. See what happens.” Ari lifted a brow, challenge a dark gleam in his eyes.

You weren’t really planning on doing anything remotely close to that. At least not for now, when everything was still so new and unknown. Perhaps later, if Ari kept your arrangement going for longer, you’d become secure and bold enough to really tease him.

See what happens to bad kittens.

For now you wanted to be good for Ari. You hoped he’d be good to you too, even if he planned to do some bad things to you.

You dropped your gaze, eyelashes fluttering against your cheeks. You took a breath in and slowly stretched your lips around Ari’s cock. You wiggled your tongue against the underside of him, feeling a faint pulse throb in a vein that curved there.

Hollowing your cheeks, you bobbed your head, taking more of him each time. Taking him whole was impossible, so you paused a few times to lick his length and his sack to compensate for that.

When you swallowed his cock again, resuming your previous rhythm, Ari pulled on the leash. Harshly.

It forced you to move forward, more of his dick filling your mouth and poking at the back of your throat. You choked around him, saliva pooling by the corners of your mouth. You lifted your teary eyes up at Ari, panicking and silently begging.

Ari held your gaze, unwavering, just like he held the leash in a steady grip.

You made a pitiful sound, your throat constricting and more drool bubbling around your mouth and his cock.

He released you when a tear pearled on your lashes. You coughed as his cock slipped out of your mouth, that single tear dropping down. Ari cupped your chin in his hand, wiping the drool smeared on it with his thumb.

“We’ll train you in time, pretty pet.” He said, eyes crinkling in silent laugh at your scrunched nose.

“Back on your back with you.” Ari pushed your shoulders and climbed onto the bed after you.

Eyes widening in thrill, you scooted backwards until Ari’s fingers wrapped around your ankle. You stayed propped on your hands, chest rising in ragged breath as you watched Ari clamp his other hand on your other ankle.

He pushed your legs wide apart then laid down between them, his eyes holding your gaze as he lowered his head. With a curse you dropped onto your back, hands clenching the sheets.

Ari’s mouth on you was as torturously slow as each of his moves so far, but equally strong as the whole of him. His tongue swept widely between your folds, lips closing around your clit and sucking so hard you nearly jumped off the bed.

You chanted Ari’s name until it transformed into one, long cry as you spasmed, your thighs shaking.

He didn’t relent, switching from sucking to licking and mouthing at your sopping cunt. A pressure of a single digit slowly forcing its way inside of you made you groan and arch.

Fuck, but Ari’s one finger felt the size of two of yours. It was longer, too. More coarse and brutal, even though he kept stretching you slowly, tongue lapping over your clit.

You almost cried Can’t when he thrust a second finger in, but you remembered what happened the last time. Ari did fit a second finger in, despite your protests, and ordered you to stop thinking. Just to feel.

So you did so now, as well.

One of your hands let go of the sheets, instead fisting a handful of Ari’s hair. He didn’t seem to mind. He hoisted your leg over his shoulder, quickening the pace of his fingers as he locked his mouth around your clit again.

Your climax buzzed in your head with white noise, your breathing turned hard and you sputtered little moans as Ari prolonged your rush.

When he withdrew his fingers an embarrassingly wet squelch followed. You were too lost in the humming in your head to pay it much attention.

“All fucked out already?” Ari chuckled, patting your cheek with his slick fingers.

“Mhm, pretty much.” Your laugh was breathless and your eyes glazed over as you looked up at him.

“You’re able to talk, so not yet.” Ari’s eyes were even darker than before, a stormy blue that heralded destruction.

He slapped your cheek harder, then squished both of your cheeks with his one, big hand, making your lips pucker and your eyes widen in shock.

“I want you completely out of your head, Kitten.” He growled. “Dumb and drooling, that’s how I want my pet to be.”

Still holding your face squeezed, Ari kissed your pouty lips. He bit your bottom lip before releasing you.

Next thing you knew, he was rolling you onto your stomach and pulling your hips up. You obediently followed, getting up on your hands and knees. Ari nudged your knees wider apart.

He ran his knuckles along your slick folds, turned his palm up and slapped your aching pussy.

You squeaked, body instinctively jolting forward, but Ari’s hands gripped your hips. Your flesh spilling between his fingers that held you so tightly you were sure to sport some bruises later. He let you go only for a moment, short enough to line his cock with your entrance.

Then he was pushing in. A loud, lewd moan spilled from your lips, your eyes clenching shut and hands fisting the covers.

Ari was big. His cock forced your cunt to stretch wider than it was used to. A merciless stroke that had you aching. It also made you wetter; caused your nipples to stiffen without direct stimulation.

Your arms gave out when he bottomed out - it felt as if he pushed straight into your belly and the ache of it made you fall forward.

One of Ari’s hands yanked on your hair, forcing your head up as he pulled back and slammed right back in.

“You’re doing so good for me, Kitten.” Ari’s voice sounded raspier, as if the feeling of you stole his own breath. “Taking all of me into your tight, sweet pussy.”

You shuddered at the praise, your walls fluttering around him.

“Ah, you liked that.” You couldn’t see Ari’s satisfied grin, but you heard it in his voice. Like a shark that smelled blood of a victim.

“You like being praised, Kitten? Like being told you’re being a good pet for your Master?”

“I-I like it.” You gasped, hips pushing back against Ari’s merciless pace.

“Say it then.” He yanked on your hair again, snapping his hips into you roughly.

“I like being a good pet for you.” If it wasn’t for Ari’s grip keeping your head high, you’d hide your face in the pillows.

A smack on your ass made you cry out, your pussy clenching around Ari’s dick.

He draped himself over you, lips brushing your ear, though he didn’t even falter in the way his hips rocked into you.

“No I, Kitten.” Ari’s voice poured pure darkness over you, locking you in a velvet cage of scary yet overwhelming sensation. “You’re a pet. My kitten. Say it properly. Say it for your Master.”

Your mouth opened, though for a moment you were unable to utter anything. Your brain tried to fight the humiliation of what was asked of you, at the same time your body melted in delight at the power Ari had over you.

His cock was driving deep into you, his collar marked your neck, a single touch of his ignited your body into inferno. He had all the power. And you wanted nothing more at that moment than to be for him what he demanded.

You were his pet.

“Kitten likes being good for her Master.” You whined the words out, feeling the slightly degrading admission push you closer to the edge.

It also made your brain switch off.

“Good girl.” Ari licked your earlobe then pulled back.

He let go of your hair, grabbing your hips in an iron grip and slamming into you even rougher. You fell forward, arms flat on the mattress and face buried in a pillow. You only turned your head to the side enough to be able to breathe as your body jolted with each snap of Ari’s hips.

You shattered, crying out; teeth biting into the pillowcase.

Ari gave you no reprieve. When the clenching of your soft walls eased, he sneaked a hand between your thighs, fingers finding your swollen clit.

Your mouth opened on a moan that turned into a wet cry as he tormented you into another orgasm. Sounds you were making as your body bounced to his rhythm were incoherent, occasionally taking the shape of Ari’s name.

Not even a thought of protest ignited in your mind, you were only set on feeling. A receptive to sensations and Ari’s pleasure, nothing else.

Drool soaked the pillow where your mouth laid open; your fingers splayed weakly, no longer able to even clutch at the covers.

“That’s it.” Ari growled, his pleasure peaking at the sight of you mindless and lax beneath him. “Pretty, dumb pet serving her Master.”

He dipped his fingers deeper between your folds, coating his digits in your slick.

“You’re gonna give me more, Kitten.” He placed one of his hands close to your nape, pressing you down into the mattress and holding you in place.

Then the fingers slicked with your juices slid between your buttocks. A single finger probed at your rim. You gurgled a moan, your body tensing beneath Ari, but unable to move away from his onslaught. He muttered obscenities about you taking all of it like a good pet should.

Ari pushed a single finger in, humming in delight at your loud whine. He got it in to the second knuckle when you clenched in a soundless orgasm, eyes shiny and blank, breath lost in your chest.

“Fuck, Kitten.” He groaned, hips stuttering as your walls milked his cock with a crushing force.

A few sharp, deep thrusts and he came with a roar, cock twitching and filling you with hot cum. The feeling of it spilling made you moan.

Soft whispers were murmured against your back, Ari’s lips gently kissing your shoulders as he spoiled you with praises that didn’t even fully reach your mind that was overloaded with sensations.

He stretched your body on the covers, after pulling out; left you for a moment only to return with a warm, wet cloth with which he cleaned you up. He rolled you onto your back and unclipped the leash. Bent down his head to kiss you on the lips, sweetly and with reverence.

You were slowly regaining your consciousness as Ari laid beside you, pulling your body close. He draped a fresh-smelling blanket over your bodies, pulling it up nearly to your nose and securing you whole in a soft, safe cocoon.

A ruthless mobster wouldn't show such care, perhaps not even for a casual sex partner. However, a mindful Master would show it for his pet.

You curled at Ari's side, clasped hands beneath your chin as you rested your cheek on his broad chest. Ari's fingers brushed tender strokes along your back, his other hand squeezing your buttock.

"Do you run warm or cold?" His voice sounded soft and relaxed, almost purring like a big lazy cat.

"I'm quite warm now, thank you." You sighed contentedly.

Ari chuckled, his chest shaking slightly under your cheek.

"No, Kitten. I mean if you get cold easily." He explained. "I've set the heating in the house higher to make sure you'd be comfortable, but if it's needed I'll change it. The floor is heated too, though I expect my pet to mostly rest on soft surfaces."

Your eyebrows drew into a frown. What he spoke of was very thoughtful, but you couldn't shake off the feeling that there was another meaning to this.

"When in my house, you're going to stay naked, Kitten."

Heat burst in your chest, your shock coming out in a sputter that came out of your mouth. Your head rose, eyes looking at Ari warily.

"We're alone here, pet. Unless I have guests over, in which case you'll dress accordingly, you can prance around naked. Nothing beside the collar, or other kitty traits which we'll discuss later."

"Not even underwear?" You gulped.

You surprised yourself with a lack of defense against his decree, only considering negotiating its details.

"Why would I want anything getting in the way, if I felt like petting my pet?" Ari's fingers dug deeper into the softness of your thigh.

"We can negotiate very limited exceptions." He said, his tone holding unyielding strength. "Adjust my rules to when you're on your period, or when you're sick. But don't think, Kitten, that there won't be consequences for dismissing my orders."

"I encourage you to be yourself and be playful, but scratch me too hard and I'll effectively clip your nails. Understood, Kitten?"

It was a warning not only of a Master that's not lenient, but a mob boss who could burn your world to the ground.

"Yes, Ari." You assured him, gaze dropping down submissively.

"You please me, Kitten. There's no need to worry, I'll treat you well." He leaned toward you, sealing his promise with a kiss.

#Ari Levinson x reader #Ari Levinson x female reader #Ari Levinson x you #mafia!Ari Levinson #mafia!Ari Levinson x reader #Ari Levinson imagine #mob boss Ari Levinson #sweet thrill #my writing #mafia ari levinson x reader

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rainforestakiie · 1 month

Text

Priest Adam x Devil/King of Hell Lucifer part 03

The Imp

hi everyone! i am back with the third instalment of @inubaki’s request! ahhh i really love this haha thank you for all the artwork you and your friend made inubaki! I truly hope you will like the new part!

‘A Priest observing that one of fathers in his charge seems to be heavily distracted by something no one else can see. Father Adam had come to them young, an unwanted fourth child to a Nobel family hoping to gain the church’s favor. Life is hard for Adam whim continues to wait for his family to return for him, growing into despair until one day he suddenly improves. He claims he’s spoken to an angel. And, to his credit, does give information far beyond what any child should know. But the older Adam gets, the more distracted he becomes. More happy, but conflicted. Till one day he disappears.'

The Imp (Priest Adam x Devil/King of Hell Lucifer) = Part 01. Part 02. Part 03.

Steve was so pretty.

At the age of fifthteen, Adam’s thoughts still swirled endlessly, drawing him deeper into an almost hypnotic trance. His apple-green eyes gleamed like rare gems, their light reflected in the dim room as he watched the older boy from his shadowed perch. He knew he shouldn’t be this close to the window—shouldn’t let the sun’s deadly rays creep too near—but he couldn’t help himself. Kneeling just beyond the reach of the light, shrouded by heavy, dark curtains, he couldn’t tear his gaze away. Steve was... exquisite. The sun kissed his skin in a way that made him glow, the soft light rendering his freckles as constellations across his cheeks. Adam wanted so badly to trace them all, to memorise their patterns like secret codes only he could decipher.

A breathy, wistful sigh escaped Adam’s lips, his heart all but melting as he watched Steve helping a younger child to their feet after a clumsy tumble. The older boy’s kindness was as radiant as the sun that bathed him, bending to the child's level, his voice low and gentle, like a lullaby meant to soothe all fears. Adam’s chest fluttered, warm and tender.

"Steve would make a wonderful father," Adam murmured dreamily, his cheeks flushing as the thought wrapped itself around his mind like a delicate vine.

It was a bit childish, Adam thought, a flicker of embarrassment settling in his chest. After all, he was nearly sixteen—too old, perhaps, for such whims of fancy. And yet, here he was, allowing himself to drift into a world of impossible dreams. He let out a quiet sigh, tearing his gaze from the fogged window and curling himself tighter behind the heavy drapes, as if their shadowy folds could cloak him from the outside world.

In his lap, a few worn sheets of paper rested, supported by the weight of an old textbook. Though Adam had never been particularly skilled at drawing, he found comfort in it. Sister Emily had once taught him how, before her sight had been stolen by the creeping darkness that now clouded her eyes. It was one of the few things they had shared before the world dimmed for her.

His fingers brushed softly over the rough paper as he sketched, his strokes delicate, almost reverent. Tonight, his heart betrayed him, and he found himself sketching an image that lived only in the recesses of his mind—a portrait of him and Steve, their faces softened by affection, surrounded by the ghostly outlines of two, maybe three children.

Steve was beautiful in a way that made Adam’s heart ache. The way he smiled, so effortlessly sweet, like a secret whispered in the dead of night. Adam couldn’t help but give in to the tender pull of his imagination. He let it wrap around him like a blanket, warm and bittersweet.

Oh, how he would love for that dream to be real. To be a family. To belong somewhere, with Steve by his side, and the laughter of children filling the empty spaces around them.

He shifted slightly, leaning against the wall where it curved into the window, and returned his eyes to Steve. His thoughts began to wander, drawing up images and possibilities that made his body tense with a peculiar mix of yearning and nervous excitement. A dreamy smile tugged at his lips, a deep sigh spilling from his chest like a whisper meant only for the shadows.

Would Steve ever even consider...with him?

“To get married and have children…” he whispered shyly, a touch of a dreamer smile lighting up his lips. “With Ste-”

The sudden, jarring crash of a door slamming behind him made Adam jolt, his heart leaping into his throat. He whirled around, eyes narrowing as they tried to pierce through the dim room. Has someone crept in behind him? Was this another prank from the church kids, trying to frighten him with their mischievous tricks? His pulse raced, but the room appeared empty, still cloaked in its usual shadowy stillness.

Adam pouted, shrugging off the unease as he let the thick curtain slip from his fingers. He turned back to the window, his heart instantly skipping a beat as his gaze locked, wide-eyed, with Steve’s. Heat flooded his face, a small, startled sound—almost a squeak—escaping his lips as Steve grinned and waved at him. Adam’s first instinct was to return the gesture, to raise his hand in a shy, almost desperate wave. But when he tried, he couldn’t.

Something was holding his hand down.

His breath hitched as his brow furrowed in confusion. Slowly, he lowered his gaze to his hand. There was nothing there, no visible force pinning him in place, yet he could feel it—the unmistakable pressure of fingers intertwined with his own. Cold. Unseen. His pulse quickened as he bit down on his bottom lip, his skin crawling with a mixture of fear and something darker, something strangely sweet.

But the invisible hand did not let go.

Adam’s breath caught in his throat as his wide eyes darted back to Steve. He wanted to scream, to beg the older boy to come to his rescue, to tear him away from the unseen force that gripped him in its cold, spectral hold. But his voice refused to come. He could only watch as Steve smiled at him through the glass, so warm and gentle, blissfully unaware of the creeping dread filling the air. The older boy waved again, the gesture as sweet and kind as ever, a picture of innocence framed by the sun.

But then the window shuddered, an unnatural tremor that sent a chill racing down Adam’s spine. Before he could process it, a sharp, echoing crack erupted across the glass. The sound was so loud, so sudden, it tore a startled cry from Adam’s lips. He shot backward in a blind panic, his legs slipping out from under him as he scrambled away from the window, heart thudding wildly in his chest.

The cracks multiplied with terrifying speed, crawling outward like the limbs of a great spider, their jagged lines stretching not just across the window, but creeping up the walls around it, spreading like a dark web of shattered reality. The light from the outside seemed to warp, bending unnaturally as the fractures claimed more of the wall, pulling shadows into their depths.

Adam’s pulse raced, every fibre of his being screaming for him to run, to hide, to escape the sinister web that seemed to tighten around him. Yet, amidst the chaos, his gaze flickered back to Steve, still standing there, still smiling, still so impossibly unaware of the nightmare unravelling before them.

It was as if the world had splintered around Adam, yet Steve remained untouched, suspended in a moment of sunlit perfection while Adam was dragged himself deeper into the darkness.

Powerful rumbles coursed through the room, the sound reverberating like the growl of a hidden beast. The cracks clawed their way further, creeping up the walls and spreading like dark veins overhead. Adam’s body trembled, his muscles locking in place as dread settled deep in his gut. He hunched over, pulling his knees tightly to his chest, his arms folding protectively over his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the inevitable—the ceiling giving way, burying him beneath a rain of jagged debris.

But instead of the crushing weight of collapse, he felt something else—a hand. Solid. Firm. Resting on his shoulder.

Adam’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest as a sharp yelp escaped his lips. His mind spun with confusion, his stomach twisted into painful knots. He jerked around, expecting to see the worst. Yet, there crouched beside him was... Steve.

The older boy’s soft, warm gaze met Adam’s wide, frantic eyes, his concern palpable as his hand rested gently on Adam’s trembling shoulder. Steve’s voice was as soothing as a breeze in the summer sun.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, his tone filled with care, like he was coaxing a frightened animal out of hiding.

Adam’s breath came in shallow, wheezing gasps as he blinked away the confusion clouding his vision. His gaze darted around the room, expecting the cracks to still be there, the walls to be crumbling, the chaos to remain. But everything was as it had been before. The window was whole, the air calm, the floor solid beneath him. No cracks. No dust. No falling ceiling. Just the quiet, dimly lit room and Steve's comforting presence.

A soft whimper escaped Adam’s throat, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as his bottom lip trembled. It had all felt so real—so terrifyingly real. He could still feel the echo of the rumbling in his bones, still see the image of the fractured walls crawling across his mind.

“Adam?” Steve’s voice was more urgent now, filled with worry as he rubbed comforting circles on Adam’s back.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did I scare you? I didn’t mean to... You looked so frightened. I got worried and came to find you."

Steve’s words washed over him like a balm, but Adam’s mind couldn’t fully grasp them, not yet. The confusion, the fear—it still lingered, lurking in the shadows of his mind. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, wasn’t sure if it had been a trick of his mind or something darker, something otherworldly that had toyed with him. All he knew was that Steve was here now, real and solid, grounding him in this strange and eerie moment.

Adam's eyes flickered nervously toward the window, the remnants of terror still coursing through him. His throat tightened as he swallowed, his whole body trembling as if it could collapse at any moment. The crack remained etched into the glass, jagged and unnatural, exactly where Steve had been standing just moments ago. It hadn’t vanished like the others. It was real.

"Come on, Adam," Steve’s voice was a gentle murmur in his ear, steady and warm. Adam felt Steve’s arms slip beneath his own, lifting him up with ease. Under any other circumstance, Adam might have grumbled, his pride wounded by needing to be held like this. But now, he didn’t resist. Not with the lingering fear still clutching at his chest. Steve held him close, his presence as comforting as it was grounding.

"I think you need to lay down," Steve continued softly, his voice a soft tether pulling Adam back from the edge of panic. "Sister Sera told me about your condition with the sun. You weren't standing in the sunlight too long, were you?"

Adam’s mind raced as Steve’s words cut through the haze. No... there were no burns. His skin wasn’t blistered, his flesh wasn’t melting under the relentless burn of the sun’s touch. But... had he been in the sun’s light longer than he thought? His condition made him sick, left his skin raw and ruined if he was exposed too long... but this wasn’t that. Or was it? The crack in the window... could he have caused it?

No. No, that wasn’t possible. His hand still tingled from something else, from the cold, inhuman touch that had bound him. The pressure, the weight of those unseen fingers—he hadn’t imagined that. Had he?

"It’ll be alright, Adam," Steve chirped, his tone almost too bright, a beacon in the darkness of Adam’s confusion. Steve led him out of the classroom, the halls of the old building feeling even darker now, colder. "It’ll be alright."

Adam continued to stare back over his shoulder as they left the room, his gaze fixed on the spot where the crack had shattered his world. Even when the window disappeared from sight, his eyes remained glued to the void behind him, waiting—hoping—to catch a glimpse of something. He always saw something, didn’t he? The strange, the inexplicable, the things that lurked just beyond the edges of reality.

But this time... there was nothing.

The silence in his mind was louder than any crackling glass, more oppressive than any shadow. He felt safer with Steve’s hand holding his…

His drawings had mysteriously disappeared…

~#~

“There,” Steve exhaled with satisfaction, stepping back from the wardrobe with his hands on his hips. “Now nothing can get out during the night.”

Adam’s lips twitched in the faintest of smiles as he lay curled on his side, tightly cocooned within his blankets. His gaze lingered on the old pink skipping rope Steve had used to tie the wardrobe doors shut, a flimsy but sweet attempt at protection.

“Don’t tell Eve I swiped her skipping rope,” Steve added with a playful grin, spinning on his toes with a lightness that made Adam’s heart flutter. He practically skipped to his bed, his clear blue eyes twinkling mischievously. “But seriously, if you can’t sleep or have another nightmare, just crawl into my bed. You don’t have to wake me up.”

Adam gave a meek nod, feeling a strange warmth bloom in his chest. His heart did a tiny, giddy dance at Steve’s words. The kindness made his face burn with embarrassment, and he quickly pulled the quilt up over his head, hiding from the older boy’s clear gaze. His cheeks were flaming, and he was sure his blush was as obvious as the daylight he dreaded.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Steve asked softly, his tone growing quieter, laced with concern. “You’ve been shaky ever since this morning.”

Adam hesitated before poking a hand out from beneath the covers, offering a weak thumbs up. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard Steve chuckle in response. That sound—so light and free—was like a balm for his anxious soul. He peeked out from his blanket fortress, watching Steve’s blue eyes sparkle with amusement. The grin that tugged at Steve’s cherry-red lips only deepened, his dimples carving into his cheeks in the most charming way.

Ah, Steve was just so... cute.

“Well, if you say so~” Steve whistled cheerfully, tossing himself onto his bed with a dramatic flop.

Adam bit his lip, holding back the laugh that bubbled up inside him. He wasn’t sure how to let it out, how to release that strange mix of joy and unease swirling inside him. Instead, his gaze drifted back to the wardrobe. His heart quickened as his eyes locked onto the pink skipping rope, tightly wrapped around the handles. Would it really hold? Could something as fragile as a skipping rope keep that... thing... inside?

His stomach twisted in fear as he recalled the black silhouette that always lurked within the wardrobe’s depths, emerging only at night. It was there every time the room fell into shadow, a dark figure that terrified him to his core. It growled and writhed behind the doors, furious when Adam would crawl into Steve’s bed for safety, as if it resented the comfort he found there. Steve had never seen it. Steve never heard the growling, never felt the cold presence hovering just beyond the threshold of that fragile pink rope.

Adam’s heart trembled with fear, even as he lay curled beneath the safety of his blankets. He hoped, desperately, that tonight would be different—that the rope would hold, that the silhouette would remain locked away, where it couldn’t reach him. But in the silence that followed Steve’s soft breathing, Adam’s gaze lingered on the wardrobe, waiting, fearing, knowing deep down that it was only a matter of time before the thing inside stirred once more.

Adam couldn’t recall when he drifted into sleep, but as swiftly as a rubber band snaps, his eyes jerked open. His vision was a foggy swirl of shadows, distorting reality and sending an aching pulse through the bridge of his nose. Slowly, cautiously, he sat up, pressing his palms hard into his eyes as if to wipe away the heaviness lingering in them.

Everything felt...off again. Uncanny. Wrong. An uneasy whine rose from his throat, and he forced his tired gaze to the cross above his bed. It was upside down, mocking him in its eerie defiance, because of course it was. He groaned softly as his sore legs protested when he stood, reaching up to set the cross right again.

His body sagged against the wall, feeling the coolness seeping into him like a whispered warning. His head lolled slightly as he glanced toward the wardrobe—it was still tied shut, securely bound, as if whatever lurked within hadn't stirred. Relief washed over him, and he let his forehead rest against the cold plaster, the contrast to his own feverish warmth almost comforting.

He stood there, unmoving, the chill of the wall seeping deeper into his skin. His eyelids began to grow heavy again, dragging him toward that perilous edge of sleep. But no, he wouldn’t let himself succumb. Not standing like this, not in this place. He was about to surrender to the blankets, retreat into their cocoon, when something caught his attention—a slight draft or perhaps just a shift in the darkness.

He blinked. The bedroom door was open.

Had Steve left it ajar? Adam turned his head, eyes searching for the older boy who slept soundly in the bed across the room, blissfully unaware of the creeping darkness that surrounded them. The church felt hollow, its silence heavier than it should be. Adam’s gaze returned to the doorway, his throat tightening as a sharp taste of fear swirled in his mouth. He bit his bottom lip until it stung.

There, directly in the centre of the threshold, sat a candle. A solitary, ominous candle that sent an icy tremor skittering down his spine. He inhaled sharply, his lips thinning as a shiver locked his muscles in place. He knew that candle. He had seen it before—years ago, in a memory that clawed at the corners of his mind like something too dark to fully remember.

A black candle with a flame that flickers white and purple. The sight of it tightened his chest, dredging up old, buried nightmares. His fingers curled into the blankets, knuckles white with tension, his nose twitching as fear gripped him. He could hardly tear his eyes from the flame, watching it dance inside its ancient silver holder. If he looked closer, he could make out delicate carvings—small apple-like shapes etched into the tarnished metal, winding around the base where the handle twisted upward in an elegant curve.

But Adam didn't dare step closer. The past was too close now, breathing down his neck, reminding him of that time...the time he was placed on that altar...

Adam’s breath hitched, a jagged edge catching in his throat. He pulled his knees tightly to his chest, curling inward as his eyes darted around the room. Everything seemed the same, yet an invisible tension lingered in the air, whispering of something unseen but waiting. Nothing appeared out of place... but that feeling of wrongness clung to him like a shadow, refusing to be shaken off.

Slowly, hesitantly, he pushed the heavy quilts away, their warmth slipping from his skin as he moved to stand. His knees buckled beneath him, nearly sending him to the floor. He steadied himself with a shaky hand, the tremors in his body growing more pronounced as he crept toward the candle. It sat there so innocently, yet the flickering of the white and purple flame was anything but comforting. It seemed to beckon him, to draw him closer with its strange and hypnotic glow.

Adam poked his head out into the hallway, his heart racing as his eyes scanned the shadows that stretched out on either side. There was nothing. Just the emptiness of the night and the eerie quiet of the old church. His lips pressed into a thin line, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth as he pulled his head back inside and returned his gaze to the candle.

Its flame flickered softly, casting strange, dancing shadows against the walls. Adam hesitated, a cold sweat gathering at the nape of his neck as he bent down toward the strange light. His hands shook violently, but he forced them forward, fingers curling around the handle of the silver holder. The metal was cool to the touch, the carvings beneath his fingertips smooth and strange. As he straightened up, lifting the candle from the floor, his eyes remained locked on the flame—unable to look away, as though something deeper than fear compelled him to keep watching it.

The flame danced as if it knew something he didn’t. Something dark and ancient.

Adam inhaled deeply, his breath shaky, his hand trembling as he gripped the cool handle of the candle holder. His eyes were locked on the flickering flame, its white and purple light swirling hypnotically, refusing to release him from its spell. It danced with an almost mischievous life of its own, teasing the edges of his thoughts.

What should he do? Where had this candle even come from? A cold unease twisted inside him. Maybe… maybe he should wake Steve. Steve would know what to do; Steve always knew what to do. Over the past year, Steve had been endlessly patient with him, a constant source of warmth in Adam’s otherwise haunted nights. That thought sent a flutter through his chest—sweet and soft, a rare comfort in this place of shadows. Steve had stayed by his side, soothing him through the long, sleepless nights, even allowing him to slip into his bed when the thing in the wardrobe refused to let Adam rest. Those moments meant more than Adam could ever express.

But then, out of nowhere, a sound—a faint, childish giggle—broke through the silence from somewhere to his left. Adam’s breath hitched sharply. His body stiffened, and he whipped around, just in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of something small and fast darting past the end of the corridor. His eyes widened in alarm. The figure was too quick, too blurry to make out which child it was. But his heart raced at the thought—if Sister Sera caught them, they’d be sent to the Bobo Box.

Adam’s face scrunched in worry, torn between waking Steve and following the mysterious figure. He cast one last glance toward Steve’s sleeping form, then, with his heart pounding in his chest, cautiously started down the corridor.

The air inside the church clung with an unnatural chill, far colder than it should have been. Adam shivered violently, his lips tinged a deep blue. He hunched his small frame, clutching at the oversized sweater draped over him. It was Steve’s, a gift surrendered when Adam had been caught admiring it. Though it hung baggy and awkward on him, it offered a peculiar comfort. He slowed to a halt, lifting his gaze to the towering grandfather clock looming above. Its hands jittered and spun as though they were caught in some unseen frenzy, their movements unsettlingly erratic. Adam’s brow furrowed in confusion. He had never seen the clock behave like this before. Sister Sera had mentioned Father Michael had crafted it many years ago. It was a relic, ancient and cherished by the church.

A lump formed in Adam’s throat as he squinted at the clock's glass, straining to focus on the reflection staring back at him. A shadowy figure loomed there, silently watching from the doorway that led into the parlor. Adam’s heart thundered, freezing for a beat before surging into a frantic rhythm. He spun around, his breath catching as the dim light flickered unnervingly. A soft, eerie giggle echoed through the still air—a sound that sent a shiver racing down Adam’s spine.

The figure was small and childlike, but there was something wrong about it. Another eerie laugh escaped its lips before it turned abruptly and bolted deeper into the church, its form darting far too fast for Adam to truly make out its features. Despite the icy dread coiling in his chest, Adam’s feet betrayed him, propelling him forward in pursuit of the mysterious child.

His lips twitched as if trying to call out, but no sound came. His voice was trapped in his throat, silenced by fear. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat so strong it echoed in his ears. Adam gasped for breath, a stifled sob escaping him as he pressed on. His legs trembled, heavy with exhaustion, yet he couldn't stop running. He had never raced through the church like this before, knowing full well that such disobedience would earn him sharp strikes to the hands.

The ancient floorboards groaned beneath his feet as if whispering secrets long forgotten. Above him, the ceiling creaked with the sound of countless tiny footsteps, as though an army of unseen children scampered about. The flickering light bulbs overhead swayed back and forth, casting ominous shadows that danced mockingly around him.

Adam turned in a frantic circle, his eyes locked on the trembling ceiling above him, where the sound of countless small feet scurried in a maddening loop. It was as if unseen children were racing overhead, encircling him in an eerie dance. His breath caught in his throat, a sharp, panicked whimper escaping his lips as he twisted on his bare feet. He stumbled, nearly collapsing to the ground but managed to catch himself just in time.

He bolted into the dining room, the largest and most foreboding space in the church. The walls loomed with cold, grey stone bricks, their rough surfaces jagged and unkind. Adam hated the floor, sharp-edged stone that had cut more than one careless child’s foot. The arched windows, small and narrow, were lined with black, prison-like bars of iron. They cast dark shadows on the room’s interior, making the space feel more like a dungeon than a place for gathering.

The room was ancient, older than anything else in the church, and its age seemed to seep into the very air, thick and heavy with forgotten time. A single long, weathered wooden table stretched across the centre, rarely filled despite the church being crammed with orphans, nuns, and priests. When Adam stepped inside, his skin crawled with a sudden, visceral dread.

He froze, his bare feet pressing painfully into the unforgiving stone. A sharp sting radiated from his left foot, but he barely noticed. His wide, apple-green eyes stretched in shock as the breath caught in his chest, his heart squeezing so tightly it felt like his ribs might snap under the pressure.

The dining room had transformed into something out of a nightmare. Red candles covered every surface, their twisted wax forms flickering with strange black flames that burned coldly against the darkness. The table was draped in a deep crimson cloth, rich and velvety. But what made Adam's blood run cold were the children. Every stool at the table was occupied by pale, porcelain-faced children, their eyes impossibly large and glossy, black as endless voids. They weren’t human eyes. They gleamed with a soulless, alien shine. Their skin was smooth and polished like fine china, unnervingly perfect, and Adam felt a shiver skitter down his spine as he heard soft clicks and whirs when they tilted their heads in unison, just like fragile, wind-up dolls.

They were pristine, flawless in every detail. Their hair, ranging from golden blonde to deep brown, was meticulously groomed, and they wore clothing of finely tailored black, white, and red. Every movement was deliberate, too precise, as if they were posed, waiting for something. The air hung thick with tension as Adam took a hesitant step forward, and in that instant, the doors behind him slammed shut with a thunderous bang.

Adam let out a scream, spinning on his heel to face the doors. He lunged for the handles, yanking with all his strength, but they refused to budge, as though sealed by some invisible force. His heart hammered wildly in his chest as he turned back to the room, sweat beading on his forehead.

The sound of laughter—a chorus of eerie, high-pitched giggles—filled the air, but it was far from playful. It was ghostly, distorted, as if thousands of children were laughing in some dark, twisted harmony. Adam’s stomach churned violently. His eyes darted back to the children, their painted lips now curled into sweet, yet sinister smiles.

His gaze drifted to the chair at the head of the table, the one closest to him. It was newer than the rest, the wood a deep, blood-red hue with plush black cushions sewn into it. It didn’t belong here—certainly not where Sister Sera usually sat. As Adam stared at it, he felt an icy tingle creep across his skin, a dark shadow pooling in the farthest corner of the room where the light refused to reach.

The porcelain children never broke their gaze, their smiles never faltering. Suddenly, a little china girl sitting at the far end of the table rose to her feet with a soft clink of her joints, bowing deeply, her red-tinted cheeks gleaming like polished glass. Across from her, a china boy stood up with a sharp, mechanical movement, his bow so deep his head nearly brushed the floor. They moved with a strange fluidity, their limbs clicking like clockwork dolls, each motion accompanied by that unnerving sound.

Together, they tugged the chair out from the table, their eyes never leaving Adam as they gestured for him to sit. He hesitated, his gaze flicking between the two doll-like figures. Their painted smiles stretched wider as they gestured again, more insistent this time, urging him closer.

With a racing heart and no other choice, Adam inched toward the chair. His foot throbbed from the cut, but the pain felt distant, swallowed by the suffocating fear that gripped him. His wide eyes darted between the children, unable to comprehend how they moved so fluidly, as if alive. He lowered himself into the chair, the cushion soft beneath him.

The moment he sat, the two doll-children pressed their small hands to the back of the chair, pushing him in closer to the table before silently returning to their seats. Adam’s heart raced, his breath shallow and quick, as the room seemed to close in around him. And still, those wide, black eyes watched him, unblinking, waiting.

Nervously, Adam gnawed at his bottom lip until the sting of pain shot through him. His shoulders hunched in tight, a small tremor running through his fingers as he crossed them protectively over his stomach. His gaze flickered meekly over the children seated around the table. They appeared no older than four or five, but there was something deeply unsettling in the way their glassy eyes tracked his every movement.

Without warning, the silence shattered. The children erupted into joyful cheers, their voices shrill and almost too sweet. Party poppers exploded in their tiny hands, sending colourful streams of confetti spiralling through the air. Adam's eyes widened in shock, watching as the dining room was suddenly bathed in a warm, golden glow. It seemed almost festive now, but despite the change, Adam instinctively shrank back, his mind swirling with confusion and unease.

Across the table, a pair of red and golden eyes gleamed through the shifting light, pinning him in place. Adam gasped, his breath catching in his throat as he straightened, startled. There, seated casually at the far end of the table, was Luci, his sharp grin cutting through the room like a blade. Its arrow-tipped tail swished lazily behind it, the movement almost hypnotic. A crisp white top hat perched atop its head, casting shadows over its face, but leaving those unnaturally beautiful eyes to glow vividly in the dimness.

"Mama’s home!" the china children chorused in unison, their mechanical voices high-pitched and eerie as they bounced excitedly on their stools. Their arms flailed in a strange imitation of joy, and above the Imp, a banner unfurled with a soft flutter.

It was stained a deep, rusty red, the words scrawled across it reading, "Mummy’s come home!"

Adam’s breath hitched painfully in his chest, each inhale trembling as his lungs struggled to keep pace with his panic.

"M-Mummy?" he stammered, the word barely escaping his lips, as if his voice had been trapped somewhere deep inside.

The Imp’s grin widened—impossibly wide—its cheeks flushed a deep crimson that seemed to glow against the pale skin. Its gleaming eyes never left Adam, staring straight into him, through him, as if the creature could read every desperate thought racing through his mind. But Adam’s attention was abruptly diverted by movement at his side.

One of the china children had waddled up to him, its porcelain limbs clicking softly as it carried a large, rolled-up piece of paper. It released the scroll with a careful flick, allowing it to unfurl in front of Adam. His heart nearly stopped as the image was revealed. It was a sketch, eerily familiar, but larger and far more detailed than the one Adam had once drawn in secret. Only now, Steve was gone, completely erased, and in his place stood Luci, looming proudly. They were surrounded by children—each one smiling with wide, jagged grins that mirrored the Imp’s sinister expression.

Adam swallowed hard, his throat tightening painfully as his gaze lingered on the twisted smiles. They stared back at him from the paper, their sharp teeth gleaming like tiny, hungry blades. A sickening chill crawled up his spine, making his stomach churn. His pulse raced, pounding in his ears as he fought to tear his eyes away from the unnerving scene.

Luci’s voice echoed softly in the back of his mind, almost a whisper, but it carried a weight that made Adam’s blood run cold.

"Y-Y-You..." Adam stammered, licking his dry lips as his gaze flickered nervously to the Imp’s piercing eyes. He swallowed hard, barely able to form the words as they trembled on the edge of his tongue. "You... built... me a family?"

The Imp, Luci, responded with a slow, prideful nod, his eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction. His lips curled into a sharp, knowing grin as Adam hesitantly pointed a trembling finger toward himself.

"And..." Adam’s voice shook, barely audible as he struggled to comprehend the nightmare unfolding around him. "...I’m the M-M... Mama?"

The room was suddenly filled with the sound of eerie giggles, the china children kicking their feet with uncontainable glee. Their glassy eyes never wavered from Adam, their joy unsettling in its falseness. Luci tilted his head ever so slightly, his eyes gleaming brighter as he gave a deliberate, luring nod, his grin widening as if this revelation was a game he had long been waiting for Adam to understand.

Adam inhaled deeply, his lips twitching involuntarily as his mind wrestled with the horror before him. He looked back at Luci, his fingers twitching uncontrollably. A family. A make-believe family, created from some twisted fantasy. It was terrifying—every child seated around the table had an unsettling, doll-like quality that sent shivers down his spine. Yet... there was something else. A strange, warped sense of being touched. Luci, his Imp, had pieced together a family for him. A grotesque, chilling gesture, but a gesture nonetheless.

"And... and..." Adam struggled to find his voice, his thoughts spiralling as he grasped for clarity.

Before he could finish, Luci leaned forward, his movements fluid and predatory. He propped his elbows on the table, his long claws threading together like pieces of a delicate puzzle. His sharp teeth glittered in the dim light, and his eyes... they swirled with an enchanting, dangerous allure that made Adam’s pulse quicken. He couldn't tear his gaze away, as if Luci’s eyes had woven some dark spell around his mind.

"I’m the Mama... and you’re the Papa?" Adam finally whispered, the words barely escaping his lips, trembling with both fear and an unsettling sense of acceptance.

The china doll children erupted into another round of gleeful squeals, their delicate bodies shaking with excitement as they bounced on their stools. The sound was unnerving, yet Adam couldn't look away from Luci’s intense gaze, his heart pounding faster in his chest with each passing second.

Suddenly, Luci rose to his feet, his movements swift and effortless. He climbed onto the table with an unsettling grace, his clawed feet clicking against the wood as he revealed a lavish red and gold throne behind him. It had been there all along, hidden in plain sight, and Adam felt a chill run down his spine as he realised the throne had been the Imp’s rightful seat.

His eyes fell to Luci’s goat-like hooves as the Imp began to walk slowly down the centre of the table, the candles flickering in his wake. Luci's figure loomed larger and larger until he stood directly over Adam, casting a dark shadow that enveloped him entirely. Adam’s heart raced wildly, his breath coming in short, rapid bursts as Luci’s glowing eyes bore into his very soul.

This was no ordinary family. It was a nightmare wrapped in velvet, a macabre creation crafted from the darkest parts of his imagination. And yet, Luci stood before him, offering it all with a grin that promised so much more than Adam could ever understand.

….but…Adam smiled.

Luci held out a black claw and Adam took it.

#fanfic #hazbin hotel #adamsapple #lucifer x adam #au #guitarduck #fanficiton #horror #horrible story

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britany1997 · 1 year

Text

Fate Yields For No One

Chapter Three

Hey besties! I hope y’all enjoy the next installment of this series!!! This one is gonna have a lot more lore, and plot developing so I hope you like learning a bit more of how things work in this AU:) Thanks for all y’all’s support on this fic!

Poly Lost Boys x Fem Vampire Reader

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Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two

California, 1986

Paul’s eyes widened as he realized who you were to him. You wished you could have stopped the word that fell from his lips.

“Mine.”

No.

‘This can’t be happening,’ you thought to yourself as you fought your instincts to keep the same word Paul has uttered to you from bursting out of your own mouth.

Even if you could ignore the fact that this man had been hitting on Maria not five seconds ago, this wasn’t what you wanted for your life.

All the big choices in your unlife had been largely dictated by some dude with a god complex. How could this guy be any different?

You refused to trade one captor for another.

The handsome blond man stared at you in shock, seemingly surprised as you were at the sudden twist of fate that had brought you two together.

Though as his shock wore off his lips seemed to curve into a smile and his hand moved to touch your cheek.

You panicked.

You recoiled sharply from his outstretched palm “Oh my god I totally forgot I have to go stock things in the back, so nice to meet you, bye!” you rambled quickly as you raced to escape from behind the desk.

“What?” Paul’s brow furrowed in confusion. He moved to stand in front of the swinging door, your only escape from behind the desk.

You glared at him, “you’re in my way…”

“What?!” he repeated with more frustration than confusion, “but we’re…I mean we-”

“I know what we are,” you told him, “and I don’t care. So can you please move aside so I can do my job.”

Paul’s jaw dropped.

You sighed and pushed passed him.

“Hey!” he called after you.

You ignored him and kept walking, desperate to be anywhere but next to him.

“This isn’t over you know,” he promised you.

You scoffed as you pulled at the door to the back room, “seems like it is.”

You slid in, slamming the door behind you and pinching the bridge of your nose between your thumb and forefinger.

Despite what you’d said to Paul, you knew you hadn't seen the last of him.

You were determined not to breathe a word to Max about anything that had transpired that night.

He’d never really told you anything about mates, you suspected because he’d never found his own. You couldn't predict how he'd react, and you wouldn’t let him force you into anything else.

Which meant you'd have to figure this out on your own.

As the sun rose and Max went to bed for the day, you scoured the shelves of his home library for anything that could give you more information.

You slunk away to your bedroom with a mountain of books. You secured your black out curtains, preparing to stay up all day researching.

What you found terrified you.

Humans swooned over the idea of soulmates, they spent their lives searching for someone who’d complete them, one person who was perfectly suited for them.

But this wasn’t an original human creation. They’d stolen the idea of soulmates from vampires.

Many scholars thought when a human transformed into a vampire, they lost their soul.

From what you could gather, this was a myth. Instead, when a human became a vampire, their soul wasn’t taken from them, but tethered to another of their kind.

You read this was a facet of vampirism that had developed over time out of a necessity for more vampires. Great.

You’d also read that, as bats had multiple partners, vampires could have more than one mate. You didn’t even want to think about that possibility.

When you’d read the first text from cover to cover, you picked up a new one.

You found that the mates aspect of vampirism was inherently instinctual, which is why Paul had called you his, and why you’d almost done the same. He couldn’t help it.

You read, to your dismay, that your soul was intimately tied to his in a way that could never be severed. Your entire beings belonged to each other.

This was bad.

You continued to the next book, cringing as you read that from this point on every denial of your connection would only hurt you. Without Paul, a part of you would always feel empty.

Now that you knew you were “meant for each other,” every moment without him would hurt just a little bit. You could not exist the same way without him. He was yours, you were his.

Fuck that shit.

You didn’t need anyone to give your life meaning. You belonged to yourself and no one else.

You pushed the stack of books aside in a huff. They tumbled to the ground but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

You would fight to be the master of your own fate, whatever it took.

You were apprehensive to return for your shift the next day for fear that you'd be confronted by the persistent blond vampire.

However after two days with no sign of Paul, you began to relax. And after two weeks had passed without a trace, you had pushed the whole ordeal out of your mind entirely.

Instead, you turned your focus to Maria.

The two of you were constantly scheduled together as Max could never find anyone else to work the night shifts. You spent almost every waking minute with the girl that had quickly become very important to you.

And once Max had seen you'd connected with Maria, he felt the urge to supervise you less and less. It wasn't long before you were permitted to work your shifts without his imposing presence.

But work was a term used pretty loosely as you always seemed to do more talking than working. It wasn't like you had tons of customers, who even needed to rent movies at three AM anyway?

Besides, you were all too eager to spend each night hearing every seemingly insignificant detail of Maria's life.

Every good grade she'd gotten at school, every party she attended on the weekends, every fight she had with one of her siblings that always ultimately ended in apologies and hugs, you wanted to know it all. You were content to listen to the sound of her voice ramble on for hours.

She was just as eager to know you, and though you couldn't tell her everything, you could tell her enough.

Maria listened intently, wide eyed and hanging on every word as you related stories from your time in New York city.

Five siblings meant Maria's family didn’t get to travel much. You gasped when she admitted she'd never even ventured from the state of California.

"We'll go together one day," you promised her, "I'll take you everywhere, I know the city like the back of my hand!"

Her laugh rang through the store, prompting your lips to turn up into a bright smile, her joy was contagious. "What a dream that would be," she sighed wistfully, you could almost see the stars in her eyes.

"I mean it," you said seriously, "you and me, together in New York."

Her smile grew, "you and me."

As the work week came to a close, you shoved the last VHS back into place, moving to wipe down the counters as Maria flipped the switch to turn off the neon "OPEN" sign that hung on the front of the store.

You checked your watch as it flashed 6:00AM, sunrise was fast approaching and you were cutting it close.

"Damn you're working late," you realized as you wiped down the counters, "I thought I was by myself tonight."

Maria smiled sheepishly and you barely caught sight of the blush that rose to her cheeks, "you were."

Your eyes widened, "you stayed late for me? you didn't have to do that..."

"I wanted to," she replied as she bit her lip.

You dropped the rag and spray bottle, walking to stand in front of her from across the counter, "why?"

She blushed once more before her eyes fell to the ground, "I don't know, I just..." she looked up, "I like being around you."

As you stared into the eyes of the beautiful woman before you, you were presented with an opportunity. An opportunity to choose for yourself, to take control of your own destiny.

You didn't choose to be cursed with an eternity of seperation from the souls of your family, you didn't choose to be a vampire, you didn't choose Paul and you certainly didn't chose Max. But you could choose Maria.

"Maria," you whispered, leaning in till your noses were almost touching, "can I kiss you?"

She beamed before caressing your cheek with the back of her hand, "I thought you'd never ask."

You leaned in and her soft lips met yours.

Note: I promise the next chapter is going to be focused on all the boys, thanks for being patient I promise it’ll be worth it😌

FYFNO Taglist❤️:

@6lostgirl6 @misslavenderlady @bloodywickedvamp @pixielostboy @solobagginses @anna1306 @dwaynedelight @flower-crowned-lady @feardot-com @its-freaking-bats @kurt-nightcrawler @ria-coolgirl @vampirefilmlover @vampirefruitpunch @vxarak @arbesa-mind @lostboys1987girl @dwaynesluscioushair @gothamslostboy @arenpath @people-are-strange-87 @peachpixiesstuff @consuming-karma @mickkmaiden333 @bitchyexpertprincess @welcome-to-the-hole @warrior-616 @softchonk @simplyreading96 @fraudfrog @blenna3967 @pookiesnatcher @rynsfandomsfun @walmartfairy69 @jamie-poopoo @sad-ghost-of-garbage @mad-is-sad @christinesdemoness1958 @memphiscity69 @buzzybee-26 @simpingforthe80s @itsyoboysparkel @smut-religiously777 @dragonsrequiem @ilikechocolatemilkh @cocopuffs1450 @sarcastic-sourwolf @drascilla @the-lonely-abyss @jezabella8 @kristel1990

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azure-cherie · 2 years

Text

PAC : General messages for you

Hello loves , i hope you are doing well 🥰❤️ , choose with your intuition, take what resonates and leave the rest since this is a general pac , you can choose multiple and choose another if one doesn't resonate with you . Hope it helps 😉

⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ 🔮⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ 🔮⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ ⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 🔮𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ ⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 🔮𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ ⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 🔮𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ ⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳ 𓂃 ⴰ ࣭͘ 🔮⭑ุ 𝁼 ✷⭑ࣶࣸ ֺ✦⸼࣪⸳

Pile 1.

You are going to face some challenges soon however you should know that you're fully capable to face each one of them i feel the challenges are either financial or educational , you need faith the most this time and it will be provided by someone close to you , there is a chance of unexpected help coming to you , be mindful and beware you are manifesting great things , it's just the tower moment before the star arrives , keep pushing through you're almost their . Don't let your ego drive through this situation, listen to someone whom you can trust or listen to your own inner intuition. Your intellect is tested here , practice as much as you can , practice will give you everything, i think this pile also has people who have competitive exams soon , i keep hearing pomodoro technique, recapitulation etc , i also feel really sleep be mindful of your body sleep more , you can remember more that way , don't put so much pressure onto yourself. I feel some people here have been too protective with their resources it's like they never want to share what they have , spirit is telling you to be generous, the more you give the more you get . Like being a miser right now may lead to some financial instability later as a karma i feel, so like to use it correctly. For the other bunch of people i feel there's someone who is coming to aid your financial problems and give you support in that area . I get the message that some people here must change the layout of their door decoration like the elements i suppose , you can install some money attraction signs i feel , change your curtains and also your purse . Gift chocolates to your loved ones and consume walnuts . A deer symbolism is coming through as well . All the best loves.

Pile 2 :

As i start the pile i get the song lyric in my head " I am laughing on the outside crying on the inside coz I'm so in love with you " , i feel recently you have gone through a heartbreak or a breakdown of some kind like something has really shattered for you , however know that this ends here , you have a period of love and stability beyond but it starts with self love first , you will have to work on yourself and heal yourself then only the spirits will send someone to be in your vibration and stay with you or else you are going to attract energy vampires . You will soon earn a reward probably a promotion or a medal or trophy of some kind , it's all a result of your hardwork you deserve it love , you also should work on your mindset a bit , you have great things to receive don't block it by overthinking everything. You could get a new best friend they will be your ride or die and help you in every situation they are wiser and will fight anyone who tries to harm you . They could also be a familiar spirit or someone in the astral realm . Beware of infidel people , okay one second i feel though this friend of yours is coming in your life , in the astral realm it could also invite people who are into mischief and pretend to be your friend, you have to be careful of them , like be mindful who you are inviting, use your discernment, you need it now . Try doing some protection for yourself. There's so much celebration around like promotions, spiritual upgrades, even a birth of a child in your family ( i feel they could be the rebirth of some ancestor of yours ) . Btw your lashes are looking great and your skin needs some nourishment. You will be blessed with greater intuition and many great opportunities are coming your way for you to grab them hehe so happy for you .

Pile 3:

New opportunities are coming for you soon , some of you may buy a new house or restaurant , move to a new place or a new college i feel . For some of you a guru is coming to help you , maybe in your spiritual path you have met some weird people and that's why you have lost your faith in gurus however the next person is divinely sent and is here to help you , it could be an archangel as well . If you are waiting for initiation into a spiritual field you will be getting it soon , there could be shamanic experience for you in about 8 months to a year. Look at you getting the rewards for your hardwork look at your smiling face you deserve it all , i think your past good actions will be rewarded soon , your rewards were delayed or are being delayed because of your limiting beliefs , let them go and see it coming through. There's someone who is going to reconcile with you after a long time , i think you should stay away from them , they are just adding upto your busy life , you should be focused on your goals for now , i mean you can still let them in but are you ready to take the burden they bring. Pay attention to your dreams maintain a journal , they are so important to you right now , people have been communicating to you but because you have been kind of distracted you haven't been receiving the messages, take some time to immerse yourself into transcendental meditation i feel it will help . You are going to completely transform yourself it's going to be so good for you love . You're coming out of the period of stagnation and giving yourselves the world and wait wait you could get a partner as well , loves around the corner babes !!!!!! You could get married if you're also looking for it :) . Love love love for you.

Pile 4 :

Things have been chaotic for you lately and yes i feel someone has been trying to do magic on you for your downfall could be a young women who is really jealous of your success or your beauty, in the past you may have someone whom you both used to love and now they chose you over them so they are doing this to be resentful against you this also could be someone who is very jealous of your wealth. Some people around you feel you have let the success around you get to your head , you might have lost some friends you were genuine, you should ground yourself now . Good things are coming for you as well like new projects and investments . Something about jewellery youll be gifted soon, you can start a jewellery making business it will be successful i feel so . Even though the other person has been trying so hard to see you fall , the universe is saying you must learn to protect yourself, don't be unbothered do something about it soon it will help really , your hope is the way through, you will get through this , there are some losses and they are unavoidable, it's a rock bottom thing you have to reach in some sphere of your life , for example: your career field could flourish but the other fields are going to be in a low state , it could differ from person to person. You will go through minor conflicts, you really need protection, whoever is doing this against you wtf they're nasty as hell , they have a lot of power but idk why are they using it against you coz I feel this is affecting you in ways you don't even understand, you feel as if it's your karma but it's not it's actually ulterior forces . Surrender to the spirit and ask your guides or the gods you pray to for help , you could do some protection spells as well so it ASAP . The good thing here is after this ends , you will go through a major change in your life for the better , you will become a better person and will establish yourself more . I get you might buy a car soon , some of you could also get famous for your strength and for having a beautiful body like a modelling contract i guess . Sending hugs .

Thank you for reading 🧡 have a great day/night ahead ✨✨✨

#pick a card tarot #pick a photo #pick a card reading #pick a picture #pick a pile #pick a card #pac reading #pac readings #tarot card reading #tarot reading

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starcursedluvrs · 2 months

Text

Part II of “TALK”:

“REFINED”

I suguru x pregnant!reader

“So I’ll try to talk

Refined

for fear that you’d find out…”

summary: read part I here! a continuation of the first part of Talk! this installment focuses more on the development of suguru and reader’s relationship, as well as some cute little plot complications that are thrown in their way (sorry not sorry for the angst) <3

A/N: heyyy!! guys i’m so sorry for how delayed this is. i just started a new job and life has been ✨hectic✨ to say the least. there will be a part III and IV, and at least part III will (hopefully) be ready by the time i have to move back to uni. regardless, i’m still very excited to share this and i hope y’all enjoy. (again, likes, reblogs, and comments are highly appreciated <3).

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED.

warnings!: SPOILERS FOR GOJO’S PAST ARC. THIS IS A PREGNANCY FIC! 18+. nsfw. f!reader. suguru and reader are over the age of 18. explicit sexual content. unprotected sex/oral (f!receiving). breeding kink. fingering. creampie. pregnancy. unplanned pregnancy. lactation kink. lots of angst (and comfort). there’s some more blood in this. gore (it isn’t too in depth). mentions of child abuse. the twins make a few appearances. cute domestic fluff hehe.

wc: 12k

tag list: @username23345 @chilichopsticks @pjofics @tazuduck @sakui1

“Now, cup your hands and support his head,” cooed your mother,” Yes, just like that.”

You were 11, and it was your first time holding a baby. You were afraid to hold something so small and so fragile in your hands. But, what you didn’t expect was the intense, overwhelming feeling of love that engulfed you. You pressed a kiss to his forehead, and caught a whiff of that precious newborn scent. It smelled like heaven.

From then on, you were basically Norotoshi’s second mother. You loved that kid - he made your dark world brighter.

You loved to play with him, kiss his boo boos better. It was your job as the older sibling; you had to protect him. So, you gave him the love and adoration of which you wish you had as a child.

Sure, your mother was attentive, but the moment it was found that you possessed Blood Manipulation, your time with her was restricted. She was seen as a distraction, which is why you greatly appreciated the arrival of your baby brother.

One of your favorite memories of him was when you tried to teach him to play hide and seek. As a 2 year old, he didn’t really understand the concept, so every time finished counting and pretended like you couldn’t see his chubby little legs peeking out from behind a curtain, he would run out from the window and tackle you in the tiniest, but strongest, bear hug.

He's the reason you wanted children so badly. Surely, if they’re all like your sweet Norotoshi, they can’t be that bad for the world.

…

January, 2008 (30 weeks)

Norotoshi stood in the doorway of you and Suguru’s shared suite, drenched in a scarlet substance. Suguru immediately excused himself to make sure there’d was no other lurking threat in the house.

“Norotoshi, sweetheart, are you okay? Are you hurt? Is this your blood? Where’s Kaachan? Why are you here al-”

“NEE-CHAN,” your little brother cut you off and ran to your leg, blood dripping all over the floor as he went.

The emotions of the moment overwhelmed you, and tears began to flow down your face. You slowly sunk to the ground to reach his level. You and your brother sobbed into each other's arms for a moment.

As you did when he was a baby, you pressed kisses into his forehead, not caring whether or not you got blood on your lips. Even if you did, you would be able to use your technique to wipe it away.

“Toshi, look at me for a second, are you hurt?” You asked as you finally collected yourself.

“Deep breaths, it’s okay, you’re safe now.”

“T-they said you,” Norotoshi took a deep sniffle, snot starting to drip down his nose, “They said you were bad. And I said no my nee-chan isn’t bad. But they told me something bad would happen if I didn’t talk to you.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” You asked, a little more panicked. “What exactly did they tell you?”

“The clan leader. And Oto-San. They told me about a deal, and if you say yes, you can come back home.”

It had been years since you had been home, before your time at Jujutsu Tech. You didn’t even consider that place your home. It’s just the shell that houses you and Norotoshi, the person you actually thought of as home. However, your home was with Suguru now.

“They also said you can see Kaachan again. She can move back home if you come!” Norotoshi looked quite hopeful.

It had also been years since you had seen your mother. Four to be exact. She was sent away on Norotoshi’s third birthday - something about getting in the way of training.

Norotoshi was a very intelligent boy. As soon as he was born, you knew he was going to be the next heir and clan leader. After all, your father’s actual wife hadn’t produced any children with the family technique. Your mother was a concubine, there to preoccupy your father and fulfill his need for an heir. Sure, you and Norotoshi had other half-siblings, but they despised you, as you and your brother were the only ones born with the blood manipulation technique.

When you were four, you found yourself with a deep cut on your knees following an unsuccessful attempt to climb a tree. When you went to the infirmary on the campus of the Kamo estate, you willed your leg to stop the bleeding. And it did. The blood on your knee cap hardened, and it was declared that you possessed blood manipulation.

That was the first interaction with your father that you could remember. But, you knew you would never be allowed to be a clan head, regardless of the power you posessed. You were female. Deep down, you knew they would never let a woman run the clan. Besides, you were already a disgrace to your family.

What did they want now?

“Norotoshi, what did they say?” you pressed.

“You’re having a baby right?” Norotoshi asked, pointing to your belly.

“Sweetheart, first of all, I taught you that it’s rude to point. Second, yes, me and Suguru are having a baby,” you said with a soft smile, taking Norotoshi’s tiny hand and placing it on your belly.

“Oto-san told me to tell you that if you come home, you and Sugu will be protected by the clan. All of the charges will be dropped against you two, and you can live in peace,”

Suspicious. You knew it was bogus that the charges would be dropped against you. Your clan was powerful, but not that powerful.

“Oto-san also said that if you come home, we can see Kaachan again! She can move back and help you with the baby. The only thing is…” Norotoshi got quiet again and his cheeks went a little red, and not from the blood staining his cheeks.

“What’s the only thing?”

“Oto-san wants to be the baby’s dad and adopt it. And the baby’s family name will be Kamo, so that if it gets Sugu’s technique…”

“… it will become a hereditary Kamo technique,” you finished, realization dawning upon you.

“Yeah.”

“Wow.

You knew your father was a power-drunk misogynistic scumbag who thinks all you were good for was passing Blood Manipulation down to offspring, but you never thought he would actually go this far. He wanted to take your child from you. He was probably planning on killing Suguru the moment you stepped foot on the estate, and kept you prisoner somewhere until the baby was born. Then, he would turn you over and get the reward money.

However, more questions arose.

How did he know you were pregnant?

How did he know where you lived?

Did he come here alone?”

He knew the risk of sending his heir into the vipers den with a special grade.

“DOLL, IT'S A TRAP,” Suguru screamed from somewhere down the hall.

“I’m sorry, nee-chan. They threatened to out right kill you if I didn’t do it,” Norotoshi started crying again. You didn’t know what to do, so you just wrapped him in your arms again.

“Shhh, Toshi, I know. It’s okay, that must have been so scary, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left.”

“Toshi, I have your nee-chan, it’s going to be okay. They won’t try anything while you’re in here, you’re too precious to them,” Suguru sounded exhausted as his frame appeared in the doorway, blood soaking through his socks and zori. “I need you to do something if you want to save your sister. Can you go to the bathroom for me and freshen up? There’s some hair products and face wash if you want to take a shower, okay?” Suguru continued, his smooth tone not at all matching his appearance.

Nototoshi shook in your arms before slowly nodding as you led him to the bathroom, telling him everything was going to be okay. Once you put him in the bathroom and showed him where all of the fancy bath salts were, you whispered, “I love you,” into his ear and wrapped him into a final bear hug before closing the door softly.

“We need to move,” Suguru whispered, “I found the sorcerer who put up a veil,” One of my followers undercover. That's how they knew. We have to move fast.”

“Where are the girls?”

“Larue left with them already, they’re at one of the safe houses. I sent them out as soon as I killed the barricade of sorcerers outside. And my ex-follower. It’s only a matter of time before they realize what happened.”

Suguru then summoned that pink curse again, the very one you used the last time you had to make a quick getaway. Suguru helped you on, leading your arm as you sat down and immediately took off, leaving one of your homes behind.

Guilt gnawed through your brain as you remembered that you had two homes; one with Suguru, and your old one, with Norotoshi. The same Norotoshi who you practically raised. The same Norotoshi who was so innocent and sweet, now tainted with the poison that is clan politics. It’s your fault he was going to become clan leader. It’s your fault he had to go through all of this. If only you had taken him with you that night.

Because you only had two people in your life to call home, the loss of one felt like someone was pressing on your chest, squeezing the air out of you. You sobbed so hard, nothing came out. Your shallow breaths filled the night sky, Suguru whispering apologies into your ear, wrapping his warm, safe arms around you.

…

By the time you got to the new safe house, a villa in Okinawa, you had cried yourself to sleep against Suguru. Suguru gently lifted you off of the pink alien-looking curse and carried you into the tiny safe house.

It was a cute two bedroom house, secluded behind a canopy of trees, fog from the sea, and the far off mountains of Okinawa. It was modern in style, but luxurious nonetheless.

Suguru opened the western-style carved wooden door to the cozy house and carried you inside, bridal style. His soft steps echoed up the sleek white stairs as he brought you upstairs to your new shared room.

Suguru turned left down the small hallway and opened the door to your room.

“Hey doll, we’re home. Can I help you get changed? You’ll feel better in the morning if we get you cleaned up right now.”

You slowly stirred from your slumber, the baby grounding you back to reality by giving your stomach a strong kick.

“Gimme a sec, your baby is trying to bruise my ribs it seems.” You took Suguru’s hand and placed it over your dirty robes where the baby was moving.

A tired smile crossed his face as little kicks pressed into his large, heavy hands. It was truly amazing how such a strong, powerful, and dangerous man was reduced to nothing but a dopey, wonder-filled expression from such a tiny, unborn human.

“Wait, love. Mimi, Nana, we have to check on them, they don’t like sleeping in new place-”

“My love, they’re safe and okay. They’re sleeping soundly at the other end of the hall. There’s a veil around us, so only us four are allowed in the house. We can go check on them after we get the both of us clean, okay?”

“Okay.”

He helped you up, which was becoming increasingly more difficult with your growing belly. After pressing a kiss to the top of your hand, he led you into the cramped, but cozy bathroom.

Suguru had you sit on the toilet cover as he turned the faucet on and pressed his fingers into the stream of liquid to check the temperature. He started humming a soft, melodic tune as he went about his business. He seemed to be deep in thought about something else.

You almost fell asleep, until you felt his strong, warm hands going to unzip your coat and get you out of your blood-stained clothes. He did the same for himself, and helped you into the tub. His mind still seemed to be elsewhere.

The water felt like a warm embrace against your back and aching hips. You let out a sigh as Suguru entered the tub behind you, causing the water to splash and ripple around you. The bathroom already seemed to be fully stocked with all of your favorite products. Suguru picked up a pink loofah, squeezed some body soap onto it, and began to rub small circles at your back. The only sound in the room was the water dripping down from the loofah into the water below.

“Doll?” Suguru spoke after a while. You knew that face; he needed a question answered.

“Yes, love?” You responded.

“Do you remember that western myth Yaga taught us as second years? Eurydice and Orpheus?”

Yes. You remembered very well. Yaga was attempting to teach a lesson in death and humility; how sometimes, you have to let your partners go no matter how painful it was. That was just the life of a Jujutsu Sorcerer. You always had to prepare yourself for death.

After Yaga taught that lesson, You, Suguru, and Satoru got into an argument over whether or not Orpheus was stupid for turning around to see if Eurydice was really there. You did not think he was an idiot. Satoru and Suguru did.

“Yes, why? That’s such a random memory to bring up now,” you half-heartedly chuckled.

“Well, today scared me a lot. I’ve been having a lot of anxiety and fear about if something happened to you. Or the girls. I don’t care about anyone else; you’re my world. I just want to keep you safe.”

More silence followed as you took in his words. Suguru continued on to cleaning your arms.

“I’m sorry about today, Sugu. I-,”

“Why are you apologizing? That’s not what I wanted out of telling you that.”

“Then what did you want?”

“Do you remember the argument me, you, and Satoru had after?” He continued.

“Of course.”

“If anything ever happened to you, or baby, I think I would become that dumbass Orpheus,” Suguru stated. He sounded so distraught.

“Love, what do you mean?” You turned your body as best you could and smiled at him, shaking you head.

“If I ever lost you or baby, I don’t know if I would be able to pull myself together. I would turn around. I would crawl into a hole like the night we defected. Except, that night, I only stopped after killing a few people. Bad people, who deserved to die. There was reason, and logic, and a point to that too. But still, if something happened I would probably claw my way darker into a hole where I wouldn’t be able to see the light anymore. I’m scared I would hurt myself and other people. Without reason. That’s what I mean by turning around.”

It took a moment but you turned your body around awkwardly in the tub to face him. It was the first time you really got a clear look at his face in the light that day. Suguru seemed to be on the verge of tears. His eye bags were back, and he looked pale.

You took one of your hands to cup his face, and he snuggled into it.

“Love, as long as you’re protecting me and I still have my technique, we’re not going anywhere. I’m sorry today scared you, it scared me too.”

You pressed a kiss to his lips, forehead, and then rested the top of your head against his.

“But I don’t believe you would go that far. There is good in you Suguru, even if you don’t believe in it. I believe it. Sure, we both do questionable things sometimes, but you have a good heart.”

“Thank you for listening, doll. I’m sorry if this got dark.”

“No, stop apologiz-“

“I thought I told you to stop apologizing first.”

You playfully splashed Suguru with some of the water and kissed him.

“How about for a change, you let me take care of you, and I will make the four of us a crepe feast tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

“That sounds delicious,” he responded, in between sweet kisses.

You sat like that for a while; intertwined in each other's arms, kissing, soaking in what little moments of normalcy your new life had to offer.

…

February 3rd, 2008 (32 weeks)

“Suguru, she’s not late yet.”

You were standing in the kitchen, helping Suguru to clean up the nice brunch you had for Suguru’s 20th birthday. Suguru was scrubbing dishes, while you were drying them and putting them away. Mimiko and Nanako were in the living room, painting with a new water color set Suguru had bought for them.

“But this is her birthday present to me, don’t you think she should be on time? You know what, maybe I shouldn’t have given her the exact location. What if she sold us out?” Suguru handed you a plate.

“Love, I don’t think Shoko would tell anyone. She’s my best friend, we’re safe. I don’t trust anyone else to deliver the baby right now.” You punctuated your point by setting the plate down in its correct cabinet.

“Maybe an actual doctor?” Suguru said under his breath. If looks could kill, Suguru would be a dead man. You shot that idea down immediately with your sour expression.

“Yes, sure, let me just have my magical child in a place that’s known to be a madhouse for attracting cursed spirits, not to mention, Jujutsu Sorcerers along with it.” You grabbed another plate from his hand, and set it down as gently as you could, given your heightened emotions. This was a constant subject of bickering in your household. You understood where Suguru was coming from, but after what happened with Norotoshi at the Monastery, you were scared of someone coming to hurt your family.

You had told Shoko the location of the new safe house and asked her to come and check on the baby, as you were too afraid to ask anyone else. You still had the portable ultrasound machine that she had given you in Shinjuku, but you wanted someone that knew more about this than you. Besides, if anything was wrong, Shoko could just heal it with her reverse curse technique.

“Are you sure you altered the veil to let Shoko inside?”

“I think so, but I can check quickly,” Suguru replied, handing you the last dish and heading toward the entrance of your home.

Suguru opened the impeccably crafted door to see Shoko, standing where the veil met the rest of the world. Even from 50 feet away, you could see she was pissed. When Suguru recast the spell to allow Shoko inside, she ran full force at Suguru, knocking him over, and began hitting him with her purse.

“YOU. PROMISED. TO. TAKE. CARE. OF. HER. YOU. BIRTHDAY. BITCH. AND. THIS. IS. WHAT. HAPPENS,” Shoko screamed as she punctuated every word with a flick of her brown handbag. “SUGURU, THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT THERE.”

“KOKO STOP, ITS OKAY, I’M OKAY,” you yelled back at her, waddling down the steps as best you could.

Shoko quickly healed the marks on Suguru’s face and ran to embrace you in a hug.

“Ha, I know, I just wanted to mess with him. I am a little mad though. What happened with Noritoshi shouldn’t have happened. I missed you.” And she wrapped you in a tight bear hug.

“Hey, doll, can we maybe find a doctor that doesn’t punch the father-to-be to death?” Suguru retorted, rubbing his neck as he walked up to the both of you.

“It was totally in my right to beat you up like that. I never got to punch you before for getting her pregnant. That payment was overdue, with accumulated interest. But, hi, I guess. And happy birthday too.”

The two didn’t hug. In fact, Shoko kept her distance from Suguru, and they shared a curious head nod. Something was up. You’d bother her about it later.

“Ok, I don’t have a ton of time, I got permission to leave campus for a few hours, but I have to be back by tonight. Let’s get inside.”

With that, Suguru helped you up the stairs to the door and led Shoko into the house. You entered the living room, and immediately the girls had questions. You hadn’t let anyone into your house in a few weeks, so Shoko was a rare treat for them.

“Mama Geto, who’s that lady?” Nanako said a little too loudly.

“What- did- did you have 2 more babies in the 4 or so months I haven’t seen you?” Shoko whispered into your ear.

“I’ll explain later, just play along. Me and Sugu are fostering them.”

Shoko rolled her eyes a little and shook her head, laughing in disbelief.

“Mimiko, Nanako. This is Auntie Shoko. She’s one of my best friends, and she’s just here to check up on the baby,” You told them.

“Woah, can I watch?” Mimiko asked.

“Can I watch too?” Nanako spoke over her sister.

“Yes, girls, but you have to give Mama and Auntie Shoko some space, okay? Remember when we talked about the importance of personal space?” Suguru cut in.

“Okay,” Nanako responded. She looked a little sad as she said it.

The five of you all sat in the small living room, you on the couch, and Shoko on the coffee table. There was one other chair in the room, which was set to the left of the coffee table, next to the couch, which the twins shared. Suguru positioned himself next to you, holding your thigh for comfort.

Shoko produced another portable ultrasound out of her bag, complete with a bulky screen. Next, she took out some of the cold, clear gel.

“Can you lift your shirt so I can put the gel on?” Shoko asked.

You did so wordlessly as Shoko spread the cool substance over your protruding belly.

Suguru’s hold on your thigh grew tighter, his breaths less frequent.

Anxiety pooled in your gut alongside your unborn, somersaulting child, who thought it was a spectacular time to showcase their gymnastic feats.

You took a deep breath and braced for the scanning instrument to make contact with your taut skin, placing your hand atop of Suguru’s in reassurance.

“You drank water before, right?” Shoko questioned.

“Suguru made me chug at least 3 cups before you showed up,” you giggled.

“Well, at least he’s good for something,” Shoko joked right back, easing some of the thick tension in the room.

“Ok, I’m gonna go ahead and scan you now,” Shoko confirmed. The doctor-in-training gently pressed the instrument to the cold gel, and a loud thumping sound began to play back on the screen.

An image also appeared. Cloudy, gray, and black at first, but it slowly shifted into a picture of your baby.

Holy shit.

These past few weeks haven’t felt real; your clan using your sweet brother against you, moving to a new place away from the life you knew.

But this.

This small, pulsing little thing on the camera screen made it all worth it. Tears welled up in your eyes.

Shoko hummed and scanned around your stomach for a few minutes, and the tension resumed its build.

All was quiet until Shoko cracked one of her rare smiles and asked, “Do you want to know the sex?”

“You can tell?” Nanako piped up.

“Yes,” Shoko had to fight back a giggle of excitement.

“Do you want to find out?” Suguru whispered softly.

“Well, it’s your birthday,” you responded, your voice barely coming out of your throat.

“Then, yes, please.” You’d never seen your fiancé look so timid.

“Well…you have a healthy baby girl!”

“You were right, Sugu,” you smiled brightly as tears trickled down your face.

“I usually am,” he joked, a smoldering grin plastered across his mouth.

You rolled your eyes and kissed him, deeply.

“Ewwww,” Nanako made a disgusted face.

“The kids’ right, get a room,” Shoko snorted.

“Can we dress her up?” Mimiko got right to asking the important questions.

“Oooh Mama Geto, you have makeup, right?” Her blonde twin added, jumping up from the chair in excitement.

“Hey, I want in too. As Auntie, it’s my duty to teach her to chug a beer, or light a cig-“

“OKAYyyyy that’s enough Auntie Shoko,” you said as you fake smiled through your teeth.

“Hahaha the Auntie lady said doo-ty” Nanako toppled over in a fit of laughter.

“Nanako, that’s not even funny. What’s a beer Mama?” Mimiko asked without skipping a beat.

You sighed. “It’s a grown-up drink, Mimi.”

“Girls, I have an idea. Why don’t you start gathering all the ingredients for the birthday cake, and we can all bake together! Just give me, Mama, and Auntie Shoko a few minutes, okay?” Suguru was born to be a parent. He was so good at making every little task for the girls into a game - a happy, go lucky childhood that you desperately wished for your child. And Suguru was there to deliver.

The girls ventured off to the kitchen, leaving the three of you alone to talk.

“So, it’s a healthy girl,” Shoko spoke, breaking the silence.

“But I’m a little worried about you, Y/N.”

“Why?”

“What’s wrong with her?” Suguru’s face was grave.

“Nothing’s wrong right now, per say. But your blood pressure is a little high for my taste. I’m going to give you some labetalol to help with that. But, you need to take it easy. Nothing exciting for the next few weeks. I’ll come back and check on you again soon. Right now, we should make a plan for when the baby comes,” Shoko explained.

“Shoko’s right, doll. We need a birth plan,” Suguru chimed in.

“And we should figure out who should come and stand guard outside. I suggest Mei Mei, she won’t care as long as you pa-“

“Stop. Talking. Everyone. Please.” You took a deep breath. “This is just… a lot.”

You were so overstimulated.

“Please, can we talk about this later? I just want to bake the cake and celebrate Suguru’s birthday. This isn’t helping to lower my blood pressure at all,” you exhaled.

Lip trembling, you felt yourself on the verge of tears.

“Oh, no sweetie, I’m sorry,” Shoko cooed

“Doll, we didn’t mean to overwhelm you-“

“I know you didn’t mean to, but it’s still a lot. My life is just so different than it was seven, eight months ago. Sometimes I just wish we were back at school. It was just so… simple. I- I try to be strong for you, Sugu, and the girls, but I- just- I-“ you buried your face in your hands and sobbed.

Norotoshi. That first night with the girls. You and Suguru laying in the soft grass by Jujutsu High.

You felt like you were watching your life through a screen. For a moment, you looked outside the window. It was a little hard to tell with the veil, but it appeared as if it was pouring rain, making mud out of the earthy ground below.

“Hey, Suguru, can you give us a minute? I think the girls will burn down the house if they don’t have adult supervision soon,” Shoko half joked.

Suguru looked a bit pained at the suggestion. He wanted to be with you, especially in a stressful moment like this. Shoko pulled Suguru aside, closer towards the shoji door separating the living room from the kitchen.

Shoko didn’t get emotional very often, she was rather accomplished at hiding what she was feeling behind a mask of sarcasm and attitude. But, for a moment, Suguru could read her. She was upset. More than upset. She was angry.

“Look, I haven’t had a conversation with her that wasn’t about the baby since before you took her away,” Shoko snapped.

Suguru’s eyes got wide in offense to Shoko’s comment.

“She came with me of her own will, Shoko. No one made her do anything, or took her anywhere-”

“No, you did. You did. Your selfish, dumbass didn’t use protection. Do you think she would actually still be attached to you if she wasn’t carrying your child?”

“Aren’t you sick of being used as a tool by the Jujutsu elders?”

“Save your bullshit for your cultish followers. We’re not friends anymore, Geto. I’m not friends with murderers. I’m here for her and that is all.”

“Yet, you’re still friends with Satoru. How many people has he murdered?”

Shoko swallowed, pondering Suguru’s comment.

“He has done it for the greater good.”

“Oh, really? What’s the greater good? I just got word that there’s a child who was born with a powerful curse technique. However, he has a heavenly restriction that paralyzes him from the neck down. He is allergic to sunlight, even moonlight can burn his skin. Yet, the elders keep him alive and have him suffer because his technique is ‘too valuable to lose.’ Is that the greater good that Satoru kills for? The greater good that I kill for is one where my children do not have to live in fear of being controlled or used as a weapon. People have already tried to come for Y/N and our child because they see her as a weapon. She’s not even born yet. And all they see is a weapon. I will not allow any of my daughters to be used like we were.” A vein was sticking out Suguru’s forehead

Shoko took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts.

“We were the strongest. You, me, Y/N, and Satoru. No one hates the elders more than me and Satoru. But you’re going about it the wrong way. This isn’t the answer, and I hope both of you see that.”

Shoko turned on her heel to walk out through the kitchen. You and Suguru both followed her to the door. Suguru walked with the intention of escorting her out; you with the intention of keeping her close to you.

“Shoko, please don’t leave yet, we- we have cake…” you begged.

Shoko faced you once more, placing a kiss on your forehead.

“I’m not leaving you; it’s your house I’m leaving. I’ll send you a secure location to meet in the next few weeks. I’ll bring Mei Mei for muscle, just in case. Tell Geto he is not allowed. Goodbye, Y/N,” she said, stepping out under the veil surrounding the building.

As soon as she reached the edge of the veil, she was drenched by the thick droplets that fell from the sky.

Shoko was just thankful that you wouldn’t be able to make out the tears falling down her face alone with the rain.

…

Beginning of March, 2008 (35 weeks)

35 weeks had come and gone, and you felt absolutely disgusting. You heard a rumor that pregnancy was supposed to have you glowing, but you think whoever said that was just trying to come up with some wild propaganda to help the aging population of Japan.

Nothing fit you anymore, not even the nice robes Suguru bought for you. You sat on the floor of your closet, inspecting yourself in front of the mirror in nothing but a clean pair of underwear. Stretch marks decorated the sides of your tummy and breasts, the little tiger stripes making a pattern down your body. Your hips had them as well, and you couldn’t even see past your belly anymore. It had been a week since you and Suguru had found some time for sex and intimacy; you were both so exhausted.

So, you just cried, pushing your head into your hands, mourning for your changing body. Muffled footsteps started up the stairs, alerting you that your boyfriend was home.

“Doll, I ended the meeting early today, I was thinking we could do something just the two of us. Maybe dinner? A movie? You name it.”

You could feel Suguru searching for your through your shared room. He was going to find you here pathetically crying to yourself eventually, so, you cleaned yourself up as best you could, but you were unsuccessful in hiding your sniffles. Suguru opened the door to your closet to you, crying, wearing nothing but your panties.

“My love, what are you doing down there?”

You don’t know what came over you, but that made you sob even harder.

“Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. What’s up, do you just need to cry?”

You nodded your head as you attempted to cover your body in embarrassment. Taking note of your body language, Suguru took a step back from you. However, his eyes were on you as he realized you were wearing nothing but your underwear.

He thought you were the most beautiful thing he had ever set his eyes on. Sure you were absolutely gorgeous before he got you pregnant, but now, gods, he didn’t have words to describe your beauty. Suguru Geto was rarely speechless, and your beauty rendered him as such.

He loved how your body had grown and changed to accommodate your child, physical proof of your love. He didn’t think it was possible, but he was even more attracted to you than ever before. The last week had been hard on him, and no sex had been even harder. Nothing offered him the same emotional release than when you were sobbing on his cock, telling you how much he loved you and would always protect you.

After a few minutes of you sobbing, and Suguru staring, you finally opened up.

“I feel disgusting,”

“Doll, no, you’re so beau-“

“-You’re just saying that because you have to,” you looked up and away from him in an attempt to keep more tears from spilling. “I’m so huge, none of my clothes fit. My skin is ruined. And you haven’t touched me in a week. Is that what it’s attributed to?” You squeaked out, your voice hardly above a whisper.

“Doll, look at me,” Suguru crouched down to your level and took your face in his hands, holding on to your chin.

“Even if you were 100 years old and your face was lined with wrinkles, I would think you were the most beautiful woman I had ever set my eyes on. You know why?”

“No.” You just wanted him to make you feel better already.

“Because these lines and marks are all reminders that you are alive and safe, and what is more beautiful than that? Aging is a privilege; having this child with you is a privilege, as is getting to watch you two grow. And, honestly, I’ve never been more sexually attracted to you than I am right now. Your skin isn’t ruined; it’s fine art to me. Like someone took a magical brush and painted proof of our love for each other on your body. I haven’t touched you in a week because you seemed exhausted and I didn’t want to stress you or baby.“

Suguru began to kiss your tears away, making his way to your mouth.

He captured your lips in a sweet, salty kiss.

“And I love your belly. It means the baby is healthy,” he whispered, continuing down to your breasts. “It also means you’re full of me. Everyone knows we belong to each other because I fucked my baby into you.”

You knew he wasn’t lying; you could see the very obvious tent in his pants. You could also feel yourself dampening your panties. Gods, you needed this so badly.

Suguru took one of your full, heavy tits into his hand, and brushed against your nipple, making you whine. He moved in back of you so you could see the two of you in the mirror.

“Look at these. So sensitive. So pretty.” Suguru latched himself to your neck, leaving a little love bite, and smoothing it over with his tongue when he was done. “Can’t wait till these start dripping milk,” he admitted, moving to the other nipple to give it the same treatment. You were absolutely drenched at this point.

“Let’s move to the bed, I don’t want to ruin the carpet-“ you panicked.

“-So? If it gets ruined, it gets ruined. I’ll buy a new one. Right now, I need to show you how much I love and adore you. The only thing you need to worry about is the number of times you’re gonna fall apart on my mouth, fingers, and cock tonight.”

You let a whimper escape your throat as his hands moved to the inside of your thighs, rubbing tantalizingly close to your core.

“Also, I forgot one thing, doll,” Suguru continued.

“Whaaa,” you half asked, half moaned.

“If you don’t follow my instructions exactly, you don’t get to cum. Can you do that for me, gorgeous?” His fingers ghosted over your clit and swiveled over your dripping entrance instead, making you shiver.

You nodded your head in response.

“Need a verbal answer, doll,” Suguru cooed, a sly grin forming on his lips.

“Yes, I ca-AHHH-“ as soon as the word “yes,” left your mouth, Suguru sunk one of his thick fingers into your waiting cunt, his thumb slowly rubbing your clit. The stimulation was so intense, you had to close your eyes.

“Be a good girl and open your eyes for me. I need you to see how absolutely breathtaking you look right now, spread open on my fingers, taking me so well.”

You complied and opened your eyes, taking in the state of you. Your legs were thrown to either side of you and placed over Suguru’s thighs to allow him easier access. Your pussy was so wet that your arousal started to drip on the carpet beneath you. Your hair was disheveled, your pupils blown with lust. Your cheeks had the softest touch of pink added to them. The image in front of you looked so lewd, as were the accompanying squelches coming from your core. You couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Just as you tilted your head down in shame, Suguru took the hand that was not currently buried inside your cunt and grabbed your chin to tilt upwards.

“None of that, or you won’t get to cum. Look how beautiful you come apart f’me,” you opened your eyes again and noticed that his breathing started getting more shallow. “Now, I know your fingers aren’t as long as mine, so I’ll keep them where they are. I need you to start rubbing here,” he took the hand on your chin to cup your breast and tweak your nipple. You gasped at the contact.

You did as he said, and began to rub small, soft circles into your nipples. You thought you were going to cum right then and there. “Good Girl. Wish I could keep you all stuffed and round like that forever.”

“Sugu- I’m gonna- please,”

“How could I say no to that? Let go, doll,” and with that, you reached your high for the first time that night, juices leaking everywhere.

Suguru helped you through your orgasm, then slipped his fingers out and sucked them clean.

“Look at your little hole, clenching around nothing. Tell me, did you try to get yourself off at all this week when I wasn’t there? Be honest.” Suguru said in a condescending tone.

“I. I…tried too, but my fingers aren’t big enough. And I get so tired so easily,” you replied breathlessly, still recuperating from your climax.

“What a dirty girl,” Suguru smirked into your shoulder. “I had no time to, but the past few hours, all I could think about was your body wrapped around mine, sucking me dry-“

“I can’t believe how pent up we both are after just one week,” You cut in.

“I can. Like I said, I’ve never been more attracted to you than I am right now. Now, on your hands and knees, my love. I’m gonna fill you right up. That's it, what a good girl. My girl.”

You struggled a bit, but eventually got yourself on all fours. You looked a mess. Stray baby hairs were sticking to your face from the sweat. You watched in the mirror as Suguru stripped his crew neck and sweats as fast as he possibly could.

No matter how many times you had seen it and had it inside of you, his thick cock both impressed and intimidated you. Suguru put on a little show, and gave his dick a few pumps before disappearing behind you to line up with your pussy. When he sunk in, you both gritted your teeth and gasped at the contact.

“I’m- I’m gonna scoop you up and put you on my lap, okay? I’ll swing your legs over mine once we get settled to make it easier for you.” Suguru was already breathless, and he had barely done anything.

“Ahhh- Sugu-“

“Shhh, I got you. You don’t have to do anything, just let me do the work for right now, and you watch yourself in the mirror.”

He pulled you up and back on to his lap, allowing him to bottom out in one fell swoop.

“Sugu-“

“Hold on, don't move, I-I might cum if you do.”

You felt delirious. So full. You missed him so much.

“You feel how hard I am inside of you? This is all you, love,” Suguru moaned, cupping your lower belly gently. He parted your legs more, so that they went over his muscular thighs. The new position pushed him even deeper. Suguru kept his hands at the apex of your thighs, both to restrain and tease you some more.

“Suguru ple- please move or I wuhhh-“

Suguru’s hands tensed where they were, effectively keeping you in place. Then, Suguru lost control and bucked up into your warmth, hitting your sweet spot with precision, as if he had memorized it. You started circling your hips, allowing his dick to continue to kiss that area that brought you immense pleasure.

“That’s it baby, use me for your own pleasure. Doing so- uh- so good,” he grunted. “My girl,” Suguru said, moving one of his hands on your thigh to your throat.

“Eyes up here,” he commanded. “Look so good with this necklace, huh? You’re all mine, love. All mine, and everyone knows because I fucked my baby into you.”

You whined, drool starting to slip out of the corner of your mouth. You looked ruined, body covered in a mix of sweat, spit, and cum. “Whenever you’re ready, give it to me,” Suguru purred, dizzy with his own pleasure.

“Clit-“ you choked out. Suguru brought down the other large hand that was on your thigh to play with the swollen nub. “Gonna cum, Sugu, Gon-“ you chanted like a prayer as you came for the second time. Suguru kept rubbing through your high, occasionally bucking up into you.

“Shhh, I got you. My girl. My beautiful, lovely girl. I love you so much.” Your orgasm hit you hard. It was glorious, exhilarating even, but exhausting all in one.

When you came to, you realized that Suguru still hadn’t cum.

“My love, use me to cum,” you pleaded to the inky haired man in back of you.

“I can take care of myself if you’re too tir-“

“Suguru. Get. Inside me. Now,”

“Are you sure?”

“Suguru. Geto.”

“Fine. You asked for it.”

Suguru went back into the main bedroom quickly and returned with pillows in hand.

“For your arms and knees, love. I wanna go slow and deep.”

You climbed on top of the soft pillows, placing them beneath you like a makeshift mattress. Suguru gave himself a few pumps again and rubbed at the fat of your ass.

“Look at you. So beautiful.”

You peaked in the mirror at the state of yourself once again, as if to see if Suguru was bluffing. Yet, Suguru looked at you as if you were the only person in the world.

One of his hands moved to rub the underside of your stomach. The other lined his cock up to your hold and entered with no resistance. Suguru released a pitiful whimper. You were so immersed in the pleasure, a soundless moan was ripped from your body.

“I told you this cute tummy would be full of my babies one day,” he purred, voice straining as he began to plunge deep inside of you.

Each thrust of his hips was calculated, yet frantic. Your walls felt heavenly around his thick length, fluttering and threatening to swallow him whole. He was going to cum soon.

“You’re mine. Say you’re mine, Y/N,” he spat, guiding his hand to lightly wrap your throat.

“Y-Yours. All yours. I love you.” As if you were standing with your back to the ocean and the ferocious waves that flowed through them, your orgasm snuck up on you and pulled you under the riptide that was your climax. Your pussy milked Suguru for all he was worth, coaxing him to finish as well.

“And I’m all yours. Yours,” he chanted a few times before bucking up deep inside of you and finding his release. The familiar warm feeling spread throughout your insides, allowing you to feel light, calm even. Suguru caught you before your legs gave out and hit the floor, manhandling you to lean back on him as he pressed kisses into your collarbone.

You stayed like that on the floor of the closet for a while, taking in the presence of one another. Feeling possessive, Suguru held you in his arms, as if to protect you from the self destructive and self loathing thoughts that attacked you from your own mind.

After a few moments, Suguru peered deep into your eyes, appearing puzzled.

“What’s wrong, love?” you questioned.

“I never officially asked the question, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.” You smile sweetly.

“Okay…

Marry me?”

“I’ll think about it,” you said, teasing him. Suddenly, you felt very uncomfortable. The wet, cold fluids that covered your body did not make for a very pleasant afterglow experience.

“Maybe if you draw me a bath with that lavender salt, I’ll be persuaded,” you added.

“Anything for you, Mrs. Geto,” he smirked, slowly moving his body off of the floor.

“I’m so lucky to have you, Suguru.”

“And I, you.”

He arose and turned to the closet door, looking back at you as he held himself against the door frame.

“Doll, if you ever have those thoughts again, please tell me so I can fuck them out of you,” he bent down, placed a quick kiss on your cheek and ran away before you could move your swollen body to turn and protest.

A tired, blissful smile creeped over your lips.

And then you remembered his promise.

“I’d end the world for you.”

…

February, 2008 (36 and a half weeks)

Suguru tried to spend as much time with you and the girls, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to hold on to his followers without his dangerous presence to encourage cooperation.

So, more often than not, you found yourself alone with the girls.

It was an overcast, gloomy, and overall, miserable February day.

This also happened to be the best time to venture out to the beaches, as there weren’t many people about.

You fed the girls breakfast, dressed them in matching blue and yellow long sleeve swimsuits, and left the safety of your home in lieu of not going completely stir crazy. You adorned yourself in a simple navy sundress with gold buttons. It reminded you of your old life, all of those months ago at school. Before leaving the house, you recast a veil to assure no one would be able to find your safe haven. In case your fiancé came home early, you left a note explaining your whereabouts on the kitchen counter. Mimiko stood on your left, and Nanako to your right. You took their adorable 6 year old hands and led them out into the fresh air.

The girls were ecstatic to leave the house, as this was a rare treat for them. Suguru probably wouldn’t condone you having an outing, but you felt yourself starting to lose your sanity after 4 continuous weeks inside. You needed this just as much as the girls.

Besides, your blood was literally poison to others. If anything happened to you, you had your technique to keep you safe.

The three of you made your way through the mile of thick trees, frequently stopping for you to rest. The twins collected sticks, made mud potions, and discovered little ant kingdoms. They were having the time of their lives, just as normal children should. You couldn’t wait to give your unborn daughter a childhood too, something you or Suguru never really got the chance to experience. Giggles and singing filled the air as you walked, leaving your heart lighter than when you had awoken that morning.

Eventually, you reached the small main road that led to the beachfront. The street featured a small strip of shops and restaurants, one of these establishments being a convenience store.

“Mama, do you remember when we first met you and you tooked us to 7/11?” Nanako asked, bright eyes looking up at you.

“Nanako, it’s took. Tooked isn’t a word.” Mimiko snorted at her sister.

“How do you know? You’re also 6.” Nanako retorted.

“Yeah but I’m older by a minute, so I know mor-“

“Mimiko.” You gave her a knowing glance. Mimiko intended to push every button of her sister until she broke.

“Sorry, Nanako.” Mimiko grumbled.

“Nanako, what were you saying about the 7/11?”

“Remember when you took us there and you got us snacks and ice cream?” Nanako asked sweetly.

“Yes, I’ll buy you two ice cream,” you chuckled.

“REALLY?!” the twins shouted in delight.

“Of course, it’s a special day. We rarely get to go outside,” you beamed at the girls.

“Can the baby have ice cream too?” Mimiko asked.

“I guess the baby could have some ice cream,” you laughed. You loved those girls like they were your own. You couldn’t wait for your daughter to join them.

You led the two of them into the small convenience store. Actually, it was more like the twins led you inside and made a b-line for the ice cream section.

Once their treats were chosen, you allowed them to pick out a few snacks for the beach as well.

You approached the cashier with the goodies as the girls trailed happily behind.

“Are you three having a picnic? It’s honestly an awesome day to have one, not many people out on the beach today,” the cashier smiled at the three of you.

“No, we’re having a princess tea party, actually,” Nanako explained to the friendly man.

The kind man at the counter couldn’t have been much older than yourself. He probably had a normal life. Went to university, had a stable group of friends. Didn’t become a fugitive at the ripe age of 19…

Mimiko’s insistent tugging on your purse is what dragged your mind away from such thoughts.

“Mama, you have to pay,” Mimiko reminded you, her tugging only stopping when you responded.

“Oh, sorry, let me grab my card.” You reached into your wallet, grabbing for the hefty black card hidden inside.

You handed the cashier the card with two hands, nodding your head in apology for the wait.

He simply smiled at you, and took the card from your hands.

“Would you like a bag?” He glanced down at your protruding belly and reconsidered his offer. “Actually, I can help you ladies carry the snacks to the beach if you would like. It’s not far, and I go on break in a minute,” the cashier offered.

“That would be so wonderful and helpful! Thank you,” You bowed your head in appreciation.

“It’s the least I could do,” the man responded.

So, you took the girls by the hands again and led them out of the store, the man trailing behind you with your snacks.

After walking through a small clearing of trees, the four of you made it to the beachfront. You settled down in front of a tree, so that you would have the support of the bark against you tired, aching back. The cashier then set the bag of food down next to you.

“Thank you so much again, sir. What is your name by the way? I never asked, I apologize.”

“You can call me Heibara,” he responded.

Like Haibara, you thought.

Haibara was such a sweet boy, much like the cashier helping you out. You hadn’t thought about him in a good minute.

“Thank you, Haibara-san. My name is Geto-san, and these two are my daughters,” you beamed at the girls, who had started building a sand castle and were immediately arguing over who was going to be the princess.

“Daughters? I thought they were your little sisters!” He joked. You let out a small laugh, feeling at ease talking to someone so, normal.

“Well, enjoy your beach day with your girls,” Heibara responded.

“You enjoy your day too! Your kindness has made my week. Thank you, Heibara-san.”

You bowed again as he left.

You sat in the lukewarm sand as the girls continued to play and laugh, relishing in the small bit of freedom you afforded yourself.

You felt like a normal mother with her normal daughters. You absentmindedly rubbed your bump, letting out a peaceful sigh. This was how you wanted to live your life and raise your family.

About an hour or so of this heavenly normalcy passed before Heibara returned.

“Hey!” He yelled from the thick canopy of trees. “You forgot your credit card! I totally forgot to give it t-“

Your peace was short lived as a curse shot out from behind the poor cashier, decapitating him in an instant.

Your first instinct was to gather the girls and run, but something stopped you from this fight or flight response.

Your fiancé’s gojo-kesa flowed in the back of where the decapitated man once stood.

Suguru ran towards you, relief flashing over his face. He pulled you in for a hug as he spoke. You didn’t hug him back.

“Doll, thank goodness, I thought I was going to lose you agai-“

“Suguru. What the actual fuck.”

The last time you had seen someone killed, point-blank in front of you, you were 16 years old. And you were standing in front of Reiko Amanai.

You clutched your stomach protectively, backing up from Suguru.

You knew what he did to put food on your table and a roof over your head. You knew what he did to his followers if they disobeyed. You didn’t need to see his actions to believe that it was happening.

Yet, you didn’t put two and two together until that moment.

Suguru was a murderer. But he didn’t just kill Heibara. He had brutally ended the lives of hundreds of people at this point.

Whether it was deserved or not, Suguru had still taken those lives away.

“What?” Suguru looked so genuinely confused.

The girls ran from their sandcastle, excited to see their father figure.

“Papa!!!” Nanako shouted.

“Hi girls!! Did you have fun with Mama today?”

“Yes, so much!” Mimiko answered.

“I think it’s time to go home. Don’t you Suguru? Girls, please go pick up your toys, maybe there will be some extra ice cream after dinner tonight,” you put on the fakest smile you could muster.

“Whoever picks up more stuff doesn't have to do chores tonight,” Suguru added.

“Out of my way Mimi,” Nanako ran to the spot they were playing at.

You turned to your fiancé, face grim and full of anger.

“You have 2 minutes to explain what the fuck just happened, Suguru.”

“What happened with me, darling? You are 36 and a half weeks pregnant. You can barely walk down the stairs without help. What do you think you were doing, bringing the girls out here by yourself?”

“You just killed an innocent man. For no reason. In front of your children.”

“They didn’t even see. Besides, I had a curse devour the remnants,” he responded, as if it would make the situation any better.

“I don’t want to talk about this in front of the girls. Take us home. We’ll talk there,” you finished as the twins came rushing up to you, their hands full of toys.

“MAMA I PICKED UP MORE TOYS THAN NANA,” Mimiko squealed with delight.

“Since you girls picked up so many toys, I don’t think either of you need to help with dishes tonight! Great job!” Suguru beamed at the girls.

“Yeah! We’re gonna go home and eat dinner now.” You added, still out of it.

The four of you boarded that same pink curse you used for transportation. If you were a typical family, in another life, perhaps that curse would have been traded for a minivan.

“Don’t think we’re done talking,” you whispered in Suguru’s ear.

Once you got home, you ushered the girls upstairs into your room to let them watch a movie while you and Suguru made dinner.

You breaded the chicken, as Suguru set up the rice cooker and started to wash the white grains.

Silently, you popped the chicken in the oven to cook just as Suguru finished with the rice.

The tension between you two was so thick, you weren’t even sure a cursed tool would cut through it.

Finally, Suguru broke the silence.

“Y/N.” Suguru spoke sternly. He hadn’t ever taken this tone with you before.

“Wh-What if something had happened? What if that man was a non-sorcerer combatant? You know about Toji Zen’in. You know about Q and the Star Religious Group. How could you be so careless?”

“But what if he wasn’t Suguru. You had NO proof and NO right. You had no right to take his life. He was kind to me and the girls. He helped me carry things because I’m pregnan-“

“Or because you’re vulnerab-“

“Let me finish my thought. What if he had a family? I think I left my card at the store. Does no good deed go unpunished? I understand that you kill when there is a point, but WHAT was the point of that?”

“The point, darling, was that he was a non-sorcerer monkey who got too close to you. He could have been a real threat. What if I had come there and found the three of you dead like Amanai.”

“YOU ARE OUT OF LINE,”

“AND YOU ARE NOT USING LOGIC. Did you forget that your own brother turned on you? You can’t trust anyone.”

“Suguru. He’s seven. He had NO choice.”

Your eyes met his. The normal soft, lilac of his eyes was nowhere to be seen. At first glance, they were a more sinister purple. But you knew him better than that.

He was afraid.

“I don’t even know who you are anymore, Suguru. I turn a blind eye to what you do with your followers because you say it has a point. And I trusted you to keep us safe. But this fear has driven you mad.”

“What fear?”

“Your fear of losing me like you lost Amanai, and Haibara, and even Shoko and Gojo’s friendship.”

Silence.

“How many people did you kill in that village Suguru?” You never actually asked him. You had just assumed he had killed the man and woman holding the twins hostage in that horrible house.

“I- how is that relevant right now?”

“You know exactly why it is relevant, Geto Suguru. Or is that even who you are anymore?”

“Y/N. This is the only way I can keep you safe. A world free of non-sorcerers. So our daughter can grow up in a world better than the one we did.”

“But how exactly will the world be better if you killed people to get there?”

“Please, love. I just need to keep you safe. I can’t. I can’t lose you too. I can’t. I feel like I’m losing you here. My Eurydice. I’ve become Orpheus, following you. Help me. Please.”

Your usually unshakable, charming fiancé was reduced to a puddle, weeping into your arms. He stood and cried into your shoulder for a good five minutes before calming down enough to explain more.

“I killed 112 people. I started with the ones that hurt Mimiko and Nanako the most. Then I moved to the bystanders, which just happened to be the rest of the village. I remember every single one of their names. How could you knowingly let a child, much less two, suffer the way they did?”

You took a deep breath as tears filled your eyes.

The scary thing was that you still loved him so very much.

“Please say something, love,” Suguru pleaded.

“I honestly don’t even know what to say.”

“Anything. Yell at me again, or tell me to fuck off. Something.”

“I would never use those words towards you, Suguru. You are the love of my life. I’m sorry I raised my voice. This is just…”

A lot, you thought.

More silence.

“I love you so much, Suguru. I don’t think any part of me can ever stop loving you. But, I’m scared. I don’t know if I’m scared for or of you,” you explained, not meeting his violet eyes.

“I would never, ever intentionally hurt or lay a finger on you, love. But I also understand why you would be scared of a monster like me.”

For a moment, all you saw was that scared shitless, 16-year-old boy who was used for nothing more than his abilities. Who tried so hard to be a friend to others. The strongest, who protected the weak. Suguru who always put on a confident, charming face to the outside world, but you knew him better than that. Your run in with Toji Zen’in really messed with both of your minds.

“I’ve become the monsters I consume.”

“You had no other choice. So many of the things in our lives we did not get to choose. We didn’t choose to become weapons for a power-hungry conglomerate. We didn’t choose to watch the pointless cycle of suffering that is the Jujutsu world. We did what we had to do to survive. For both of us, for our future. The one choice I have made that I will always stick by is you. I will always stand by you. I will always love you. And I don’t think you’re a monster. I think you’re just someone who cares so deeply for his family. Does saving two little girls from an abusive situation and then raising and loving them like your own sound like something a monster would do? No. No it does not. The world is not and does not have to be black and white, Suguru.”

You pressed your forehead to his as you took a few deep breaths together.

Eventually, Suguru pressed a sweet kiss to your forehead.

You stayed like that for a moment, locked in each other's embrace. It felt warm. It felt like home.

A small fluttering feeling sparked to life in your stomach, and you immediately grabbed Suguru’s hand and placed it there.

You stared into each other’s eyes and smiled. Suguru’s eyes lingered in yours longer than the baby’s kicks lasted.

“Suguru, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You’re just so… wise. And intelligent. And kind. And beautiful,” he stated, matter-of-factly.

“It’s only because I’m so in love with you,” you teased, a smirk on your face.

“No,” he chuckled, “It’s only because I’m so in love with you,” he joked back.

“So,” you began, voice dripping with sarcasm, “Your love for me has blinded you?”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” responded Suguru, smiling and playfully rolling his eyes.

“But it’s probably true,” you giggled as Suguru began to slowly kiss down your neck.“Then what do you mean?” Suguru lifted you up and placed you on the counter, as if you were as delicate as a butterfly wing.

“Let me show you. Let me show you how much I love you”

“Suguru, we can’t - the girls-“

He shushed you with a chaste kiss to your lips.

“The girls are watching a movie. In all honesty, they’re probably passed out from today.”

“I’ll be fast…” he continued, his hands beginning to slide up your thighs.

Gods, he’s so persistent.

“Suguru, be so honest with yourself right now. Your insatiable sexual appetite cannot be sated by one mere quickie.”

“It’s not my sexual appetite I’m concerned with. I’ll get just as much pleasure from eating you out as I would being inside of you. I just wanna make you feel good, doll.”

His fingers ventured further, ghosting over your now drenched pussy.

His face was less than an inch away from yours, sweet, hot breath fanning your face.

The hands you were using to hold yourself upright on the counter, suddenly wrapping themselves in inky hair, pulling Suguru closer to you.

When he kissed you, it was messy, but full of passion.

“Please, baby,” he whispered as both of your breaths picked up in pace.

Your core burned with need. It was borderline painful.

“You’ve left me with such a problem now, Suguru. You better take care of it,” you slurred.

“Yes, love.”

Suguru obediently complied with your demand, bunching up the long skirt of your dress to your hips, revealing your large bump and comfy panties. Your underwear was one you frequently used to wear when you were on your period. They were cotton hipsters, decorated with cherries and a little bow on top.

“Sorry I dressed for comfort, not you eating me out,” you joked, making fun of yourself before Suguru had the chance to.

“Why are you embarrassed about that? I think they’re adorable.”

He kissed you again, slowly making his way from your mouth, to your jaw, to your tummy.

“I love this sweet belly,” Suguru smiled into your stomach before inching lower, towards your cherry covered panties.

He mouthed over your warmth, pressing open mouthed kisses to the wet patch that had dispersed throughout the material.

You let out a soft moan, unashamed of how sensitive your pussy had become.

Then, Suguru bit on the top of the underwear, right where the little bow was. He slowly pulled your panties down with his teeth, nose skimming over your clit as he continued downward. You jumped in pleasure, covering your mouth with one of your hands as not to frighten the girls.

“Good boy, Sugu,” you’d never taken charge like that before, using more dominant language.

Apparently, you needed to do it more often, because Suguru let a deep moan escape from the depths of his chest, resulting in a vibrating sensation around your mound. He licked a long stripe from your core to your clit, circling around the numb a few times before diving into the area around your folds.

“Ah- Sugu- So good,” you moaned, giving into the pleasure.

Lewd sucks and squelches were left in Suguru’s wake, his face quickly becoming covered in your essence.

Slowly, a finger entered your weeping hole. You clenched greedily around it, glad to be fed something to help satisfy the hunger of your desire.

He slowly started rocking his finger back and forth, pistoning in and out of your pussy. You felt every callous, every knotty joint and muscle as he filled you. Soon, one finger became two, and he started scissoring you open, all while his mouth stayed glued to your clit.

The pleasure was immense. Suguru’s pleasure seemed to be immense as well. The man was so full of want and desire that he started rocking his hips into the cabinets just to get some friction.

“Feel so- so good baby. Just like that, I got you,” Suguru moaned after a particularly hard thrust into the cabinet. “Love, you look so good like this. All spread out above me,” he slurred through half lidded eyes. His legs were tense, body visibly shaking. All the tell-tale signs that an orgasam was approaching. That, and the fact that there was a dark stain accompanying the erection in his pants.

You reached down to his hair again, pulling on it so that he would be forced to look into your eyes.

“Suguru, are you going to cum?”

“Yes, doll,” he bit his lip and whined.

“You don’t get to c-cum until I do,” you stated, feeling your own climax approaching.

His fingers dove into your pussy again, this time landing on the little spongy spot inside that had you seeing stars. Suguru also continued to swirl his tongue and mouth around your clit as if your life depended on it.

“Cu-“ you didn’t even get the entire word out as your release coarsed through your body. You felt like you were flying, all of that tension and built up stress leaving your body as you came down from your high.

Suguru followed not very long after, cumming in his pants. He then shakily stood up and half collapsed in your arms, half against the cabinet again. He gently placed his head on your swollen belly.

You kissed his forehead, wiping away the sweat with your sleeve.

“I love you, Y/N.”

As a response, you pulled him into a sweet kiss. You could still taste yourself on his tongue.

“I love you more, Suguru.”

“I love you most. I’d end the world for you.”

You stared at each other for a moment, just basking in each other’s presence, and the afterglow of sex.

Then, your tummy started to complain with growling noises.

“Dinner should be ready in 5. Why don’t you go get the girls? I’ll freshen up,” Suguru suggested, matter of fact.

“Okay. I love you,” and with that, you placed a kiss on his still moist cheek before carefully walking up the stairs, cupping your belly as you walked. Suguru stood there like an idiot, as if he were dumbstruck by the fact that you actually existed.

The sound of his cell phone ringing pulled Suguru out of his trance.

He flipped open the phone. No caller ID. Weird.

He didn’t recognize the number on the tiny, pixelated screen.

Slowly, he pulled it up to his ear to answer.

“Hello,” he said.

“Suguru?” A voice called from the other line.

A voice he would know anywhere.

“Satoru?”

…

end of part II

dividers by @bunnysrph

#geto suguru x reader #jjk #geto suguru #jujutsu kaisen #suguru smut #suguru geto smut #suguru x you #geto suguru x you #jjk spoilers #shoko ieiri #fem reader #gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen fic #jjk suguru #jjk geto #jjk x reader

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natsukishinomiyaswife · 5 months

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⋆ 𝓐𝔃𝓾𝓵 𝓐𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸: 𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮 ⋆

Please note: This is a repost from my old blog, @sugarcookiesheep!

The Reader and Azul are married in this, and the Mostro Lounge in this is not the one at NRC but one he opened as a main location once graduating from there! ♡

⋆ Being with Azul you knew how hard he worked. How much time, thought, and effort he put into everything he did, especially when it came to his business. It was one of the things you loved about him, how dedicated he was. You supported him however you could, whether it be helping out at the lounge, testing new menu items, or even being a sounding board for any ideas he had. His dreams became your dreams, the Mostro Lounge being regarded as both yours and his. You still remember the first time Azul referred to the lounge as being “ours” instead of “his”, the happiness you felt as you realized Azul considered the lounge to belong to you both. It made you think about the future, the idea of the Mostro Lounge being a family business, passing it down to any future children you had. You wondered if Azul was thinking of it the same way, sharing his business with you being the start of his future plans. You couldn’t help how the thought caused your heart to race, finding yourself falling for him even more.

⋆ Though you love his dedication, you know how easy it is for him to overwork himself. He keeps wanting to grow, to do more, unwilling to quit once something is started. He’ll send you a text, letting you know he’ll be coming home late, returning home in the early morning or falling asleep at his desk. You’re not afraid to step in during these moments, going to the lounge to take him home. If he won’t come home (insisting there’s work to be done) you make sure he’s taking care of himself, making sure he eats and gets some rest. You’d even stay at the lounge with him, both of you falling asleep on the couch in his office when you insist he’s done enough for the day. It was one of the things Azul loves about you, how nurturing you were. He can’t help but think of how lucky he is to have married you, to have someone as kind as you love him.

⋆ Sometimes things get to be too much, the day stressful and upsetting. Whenever Azul is feeling this way you always notice, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. If you were at home you would make a blanket fort for him, either in the living room or the bedroom. A place for him to relax, cozy and warm as you cuddle each other. You wouldn’t pry, letting him know you were there if he wanted to talk. For times when you couldn’t be there (like when he was working), he would sit under his desk. You had made a safe space for him, setting up fairy lights and installing a small curtain to help him hide away. He’d sit down there and breathe, gradually calming down and relaxing. Sometimes he would call you, wanting to hear your voice. You never judge him, not about his emotions or insecurities. He trusts you so much, loves you so much, that he allows himself to be vulnerable with you. It’s something that you can’t help but cherish.

⋆ Azul can’t hide his surprise when he enters his office to find the curtain drawn under his desk, hearing the faint sounds of you quietly crying to yourself. Your day had been bad, nothing seeming to have gone right. You were waiting for Azul to come home but felt overwhelmingly lonely, the house feeling too empty with just you there. So you went to the Mostro Lounge to visit him while he was working, only to find he had left earlier that day to attend a business meeting. Not wanting to go home and not wanting to sit out in the lounge, you decided to wait for him in the safe space you had created, everything getting to be too much. Azul gently says your name, sitting in front of the curtain as he asks if you’re alright. You draw the curtain back, moving out from under the desk to wrap your arms around him. He holds you as you cry, whispering sweet words to you as he rubs his hand down your back, trying to sooth you. You stay like that for a while, Azul holding you close as your crying slowly ceases. When you begin to calm down Azul tells you it’s time to go home, informing Jade and Floyd that he’ll be leaving early.

⋆ Once at home he begins pampering you, drawing a bath for you to enjoy. You sit in the water, relaxing as Azul sits behind you, holding you close. You rest your head back against him, the stress you experienced today leaving you exhausted. He takes the time to wash you, giving you a nice scalp massage when he washes your hair. Before you could fall asleep he gets you out of the tub and dressed, leaving you in the bedroom before heading to the kitchen to make dinner. He makes your comfort food, getting trays so that you could eat in bed. You cuddle close together as you eat, watching your favorite show/movie. You go to sleep wrapped in Azul’s arms, feeling loved and treasured as he kisses you goodnight ♡

Originally posted: December 10th, 2023

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾! ♡

#♡.sheep writes #♡.twst #♡.azul ashengrotto #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #azul x reader

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spookyserenades · 2 years

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Trouvaille - Chapter Two

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Word Count; 20.8k

Trouvaille Masterlist

Trouvaille playlist

Updates on the 7th of each month

Hi everyone, Dana here again! Welcome to Chapter Two, and thank you for reading and sending lovely responses to Chapter One. In this chapter, you'll meet more members, and the plot will continue to thicken in the coming installments. If you have any questions or comments about this fic, I'd love to hear from you. Again, if you'd like to be added to the taglist for Trouvaille, just let me know! Please enjoy this update, and thank you for your support :)

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Two hours of sleep revived Y/N enough to wake up feeling somewhat alive again, a nice, hot shower rinsing the scent of bruise cream down the drain. Wiping condensation from her mirror, she tightened the towel wrapped around her body before hastily slapping jasmine lotion on her skin. Though it was the end of August, late afternoons had started to become breezy with the bite of autumn in the air, a gentle draft floating in from the rickety window in her bathroom.

Fresh with a new pair of waffle-knit cream sweatpants, fuzzy socks, and a soft gray long sleeve tee, she reveled in wearing loungewear in the middle of the day for once – no more itchy scrubs! Satisfied with her comfortable clothing, Y/N scooped up her laptop off of her crowded desk, humming a tune while heading out to check on Seokjin again. She wondered where the other two were and if they decided to take a nap as well, or if they were wandering around the house. There were many nooks and crannies she hadn’t included in her tour, opting to show them just the bedrooms and living spaces. That way, they had more things to explore themselves.

Tiptoeing into the entryway of the green room, she nearly dropped her laptop in surprise. Seokjin was sitting upright, head turned to look out the only window unobscured by the drawn curtains. His ear flickered, picking up on Y/N’s sharp intake of breath, and gripped the water bottle he was holding tightly as his head swiveled to look in her direction.

It was the first time she got a good look at his face, full lips dropped open in shock, wide vibrant orange eyes rimmed with black lashes, sharp jawline set bracingly. His coloring seemed to be back to normal, but she wanted to get closer to make sure the fever was on its way out. Although, now that Seokjin was awake, Y/N wasn’t really sure what to say to him.

“Hi, sorry I startled you,” Y/N broke the ice, Seokjin twisting the material of the Good Charlotte shirt in his hand nervously. Tentatively, she placed her laptop on the table in the hall next to a vase. “Can I come in?”

Seokjin cleared his throat after attempting to croak out a response, beginning to move from the bed, something Y/N wished he wouldn’t do so soon.

“Y-yes…” he hoarsely replied, face screwing up in discomfort as he tried to swing his legs out from under the comforter. Y/N hurried into the room, holding her hands out in alarm.

“Oh please, don’t get up just yet! I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” Y/N exclaimed, rushing to the side of his bed while he halted his movements. She noticed how he froze as she got closer, so she refrained from getting too near at first.

“I… don’t even remember getting here,” Seokjin confessed, continuing to wind the shirt in his fist.

“You fell asleep on the ride back, Hoseok and Jimin helped you in and out of the van. I think you might have gotten a fever from having to shift suddenly when you changed at the shelter. I’m sorry, that was foolish of me to ask of you,” Y/N hung her head low, busying her hands by collecting the used facecloths on the nightstand.

“No! I mean, um, it's alright. It’s actually pretty uncomfortable to be shifted into animal form for extended periods of time,” Seokjin assured her quickly, his hand shooting out to touch her wrist briefly so she could lift her head, features melting into a sheepish expression. Shellshocked by the contact, her skin tingled where his gentle fingers had brushed for a split second before they were gone. Y/N searched his eyes, watching as he averted her gaze distractedly, focusing his attention on the window outside once more. His expression was still melancholic as he watched the breeze rustle the foliage in the backyard, eyes far away.

“How’s your side?” Y/N asked gently, tossing the face cloths in the hamper by the door. Ear twitching again, Seokjin’s lips turned downwards into a frown. Not exactly the reaction she was looking for.

Seokjin, fingers trembling, lifted the bottom of his shirt, exposing the patch of gauze, a little gasp falling from his mouth. The gauze was clean, bleeding stopped, and Y/N was proud of herself for cleaning up the site so well, her nerves dissipated a degree.

“You– did you do this?” Seokjin’s fingers grazed the gauze, shoulders sagging as his hands stopped shaking at once.

“Uh… yes, I did. Again, I’m sorry, I don’t usually touch people without their permission, but I wanted to make sure infection didn’t set in so you could heal quickly,” Y/N felt like sticking her head in sand with the flow of the conversation.

Seokjin shook his head quickly, back to fidgeting with the shirt. “Oh, I’m never any good at saying what I mean, I’m grateful that you fixed it… thank you,” he scolded himself under his breath, Y/N’s eyebrows pulling together in confusion. It was instances like this that made her desperate for a little background information on the hybrid’s history, so she could understand why three out of seven so far seemed guilty for receiving kindness of any sort.

“Seokjin, how are you feeling, fever-wise? Do you need some Advil, are you hungry?” Y/N inquired, setting a new bottle of water on his nightstand. He eyed the bottle as she spoke, seemingly neither here nor there.

“I’m better, I think, the chills are gone. Really, I don’t want to trouble you with cooking for me,” Seokjin mumbled, cheeks going pink. Y/N scoffed watching the shadow of doubt cross over his face.

“And I don’t want you to worry about something silly like that. Before I saw that you were awake, I was going to check on you and make some lunch for all of us,” Y/N explained, watching the wheels turn in his head. “I’ll bring your’s to you in a bit.”

Seokjin pushed the comforter off of himself, growing antsy. Anxiety rolled off of him in tangible waves, etched in his features.

“Should I help?” Seokjin tried very hard to keep discomfort off of his face as he twisted to get off the bed once more, stubbornness in his personality becoming apparent to Y/N. It was endearing, if anything. She stopped him by dragging the comforter back over his legs, and before thinking too much about it, placed a light hand on his shoulder to ease him back against the pillows. His ears twitched in reaction to the touch, small protests coming from him as she uncapped the fresh bottle of water and placed it in his hands to replace the empty one.

“While I appreciate the offer, you should rest for a little while longer. How about this, instead of bringing lunch in here, I can help you out into the kitchen when it’s done, and you can eat with us all,” Y/N compromised, knowing that eating alone can be alienating for some. Besides, being cooped up all day was likely making him feel stir-crazy in an unfamiliar home.

Seokjin brightened a little with her offer, the corner of his mouth curling upwards shakily, shimming downwards into the bed a few inches. Obediently, he took a few swigs of the water.

“Alright, I can do that,” Seokjin conceded. Giving him a bright smile, she walked over to the bookcase in search of something to keep him busy.

“By the way, sorry about your shirt. I had to fish out one of my old concert tees after patching you up, the other one had gotten stained…” Y/N scanned the bookshelf, plucking the one she was searching for off of the middle shelf. “How about a book while you wait for lunch?”

Turning back to him, Seokjin was pulling the shirt away from him so he could examine the print, an odd look on his face as he read the text. Back at his side, she presented him with the embossed copy of The Fellowship of the Ring. He took it carefully, palm sliding over the gilded cover. Y/N switched the lamp on beside him so he could read.

“Thank you…” Seokjin cracked the book open, bringing it up close to his face so he could stare at the illustrated map of Middle Earth. His eyes were clouded with something she couldn’t place; something between nostalgia and grief. “I’ve heard of these movies, before.”

“I have the extended version box set on DVD. We could watch it, sometime,” Y/N grinned, Seokjin’s cheeks rounding out as he broke out into something adjacent to hope.

“I’d like that,” he replied quietly, Adam’s apple bobbing, eyes downcast.

The last thing Y/N wanted was to make Seokjin cry, though she had no idea why he had reacted to the subject of Lord of the Rings the way he did. There was no way she was prying, but it almost seemed like he was flipping through a scrapbook of memories from the past rather than a novel.

Sticking around felt strange, and Seokjin was absorbed in the map still, so Y/N decided to take her leave. Inching towards the door, she wondered how, or if, she could avoid provoking such a melancholy reaction from Seokjin in the future.

“I’ll come and get you in a bit!” Y/N called, leaving the door open. Retrieving her laptop from the table, she resumed her journey to the kitchen. Along the way, she kept her eyes peeled for Jimin or Hoseok; the basement door was left partially open, but there was no sign of the fox hybrid. The hallway and foyer were empty, so she assumed the two were still in their rooms.

In the kitchen, she set up her laptop for later. She wasn’t quite sure what to make for lunch, as it had been a while since she had gone to the grocery store. On the island, there was a large loaf of Italian bread and some lovely heirloom tomatoes her mother dropped off two days prior. Y/N was fairly sure she had some more ingredients to make sandwiches out of the bread, if she cut it lengthwise and then into four.

Checking out the sad state of the fridge, shelves empty but a few bottles of condiments and cartons of fruit, she groaned. While working at the hospital, she often got pizza locally or ate with her parents – and her cabinets reflected it. Spotting a package of mozzarella and a little jar of pesto, she pulled them from the fridge, humming as her stomach growled uncomfortably. It had been hours since she had eaten, herself.

After laying down a thick layer of pesto on the bread, layering mozzarella slices with the tomato, she seasoned everything with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil before separating the loaf into four even sandwiches. She stuck the sandwiches on a baking tray to crispen up in the oven, and emptied a large bag of kettle-cooked potato chips into a bowl, placing it on the breakfast nook table for everyone to help themselves. Getting plates out from the cupboard, Y/N sliced a few peaches from the fruit basket and arranged them on the plates and set the table with napkins, silverware, glasses and a pitcher of water.

With the sandwiches in the oven for fifteen minutes, she had enough time to prioritize items on her list on her laptop. The most important: calling her family, Ben, and the bank, which she’d tackle after lunch. Second, was ordering the phones and at least a week’s worth of clothes for all seven hybrids. She would make the haircut appointments last, and maybe even poke around on hybrid databases to see if she could get more information about her hybrids.

There was a website that hybrid owners could plug in the specific number that gets mailed to them shortly after adoption along with the official papers, not unlike a social security number. Once plugging in the number to the database, medical history becomes available to the owner, as well as information relating to the hybrid’s past, and upbringing. Of course, she would have to wait at least a week for the official adoption papers to come in the mail, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t check out some of the other features of the databases.

Contemplating on whether or not to draft up a script to read to Ben simply to get through the phone call later on, she passed a hand over her face. She had never kept a secret from him, and though it was only several hours after the adoptions, making a major life decision without consulting him even once made her feel rotten. Besides, she hadn’t called to check in on how Daisy was faring, which made her feel even worse. Talking to her parents was a whole other ordeal – her mother, she predicted, would be thrilled that Y/N decided to adopt a hybrid. However, the fact that there were seven of them, and they were all men, might temper her excitement. Her father, as she could only guess of his reaction considering he ran hot and cold most of the time; would either call her crazy or ask if any of them needed a heart check-up. Groaning, she dreaded both phone calls equally.

The scent of basil and toasted bread began to perfume the air, alerting her of the perfect time to round up the hybrids for lunch. Pushing herself off the barstool, she headed to Jimin’s room first. Past the closed door of her grandfather’s old office, the late afternoon light illuminating the house from the sunroom at the end of the hallway, the door to Jimin’s room was sandwiched between the two. It was the part of the house that got the most sun, perhaps why Jimin had chosen the blue room in the first place.

Stopping in front of the door, Y/N took a deep breath in, hoping she wouldn’t be waking him from a nap, and knocked twice.

“Jimin? Lunch is just about ready,” Y/N called, blinking as she waited for a response. Seconds passed, before she heard a scuffle against the floor and the closing of the bathroom door within his room. The door opened, the scent of lavender shampoo smacking her in the face, Jimin’s serene face appearing in the doorframe nearly making her swoon. He’d showered, judging by the wet strands of sandy hair that were slicked back, allowing Y/N to get an unobstructed view of his sculpted face. She was at a loss for words, Jimin placing the towel around his neck on the door handle to dry as he stepped out into the hallway.

“It smells good, what did you make?” Jimin asked, giving her that same intense eye contact he had in the van as he stared down at her. Gulping, Y/N recovered by tearing her eyes from him, picking imaginary dust off of her shirt.

“Caprese sandwiches! I have a bit of grocery shopping to do, the fridge is looking a little depressing. I’m thinking of ordering everything online, but in that case we can’t pick our own produce. Then again, we could go to the farmer’s market tomorrow,” Y/N babbled while Jimin made a noise of approval, trying her best not to walk stiffly next to him on their way down the hall. She was rambling, the way she always did when she was nervous, but it was hard to calm down with such a handsome man clinging on to every word she spoke.

Jimin followed her towards the basement in tandem, a sort of bow-legged shape to his stride, hands clasped behind his back. It was a shame he had to put the clothes he traveled in back on after his shower, Y/N hoped that she could overnight some other options for everyone.

“I heard Hoseok in the kitchen earlier, getting water, so he should be awake,” Jimin informed her, studying the way she lifted her hand to knock on the door with minor amusement. “He’ll hear you if you call.”

“Um, okay,” Y/N laughed shakily, not entirely comfortable with both yelling down to Hoseok and the way Jimin watched her so closely, like she was some kind of colorful lizard. Wedging the basement door open a bit more, she called, “Hoseok, come get some lunch!” Cringing at the sound of her voice echoing down the stairs, she swore she heard a light snicker from Jimin, but didn’t dare turn to blind herself with his megawatt smile to confirm.

The sound of Hoseok’s light footsteps bounded up the stairs two at a time, and Y/N figured she should go ahead and get Seokjin. Hoseok’s flushed face appeared from the top of the stairs, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, and Y/N wondered if he was the first one to make use of the gym.

“I’m gonna go get Seok–” Y/N started, turning on her heel, before squeaking in surprise at the sight of the very hybrid she was about to fetch leaning against the staircase landing. Sleek black tail flicking back and forth lazily, he regarded the three of them with an expression that almost read smug.

“H-how long was he standing there?” Y/N murmured to Jimin, who looked like he was biting back a shit-eating grin. So this was how it was going to be.

“The whole time,” Jimin answered, Hoseok cracking up behind her. Face scarlet, Y/N felt a little foolish for babying Seokjin so hard when he could clearly get up and about, and was even more embarrassed she hadn’t even realized him standing there in the first place. Too busy trying not to trip under Jimin’s gaze, she supposed. Regardless, she was slightly humiliated.

“I’m okay now, I swear,” Seokjin assured, speaking directly to Y/N. Standing on his own two feet, Seokjin was tall and even broader than she originally thought, the material of her old shirt pulling against his shoulders and across his pecs. Overwhelmed, Y/N nodded dumbly, a shock of electricity shooting through her as Hoseok brushed past her, his hand briefly steadying her shoulder as he went. Hell.

“With the way you were passed out in the car, I thought you were on the precipice of death,” Hoseok clapped a hand over Seokjin’s back, the latter’s tail swishing in an agitated manner contrary to his amicable expression.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky I didn’t puke on you,” Seokjin pushed Hoseok away, trailing after him in the direction of the kitchen.

“Actually, it was Jimin who was cradling your top half, Jin. Try again,” Hoseok sang, reaching back to grasp his tail so Seokjin wouldn’t get a hold of it and yank. Stunned at the spectacle, Y/N peered up at Jimin curiously, who was politely waiting for her to lead the way. Finally unfreezing, she hurried to the kitchen.

“Jin?” She whispered to Jimin, who stooped to hear her. A strand of his damp hair fell forward, brushing the side of her neck.

“Those two arrived at the shelter together. They were one of the first ones of us there, took a liking to each other,” Jimin spoke softly in her ear, husky voice making her shiver. It was relieving that the three hybrids that she had brought home first all got along well, but it did concern her that she’d potentially be disturbing the easy peace so soon by bringing home others. She’d pick their brains later that night to get a sense of the others, considering Jimin, Hoseok, and Seokjin didn’t have a problem interacting with her.

In the kitchen, she showed them where to sit at the breakfast nook while she pulled the sandwiches out of the oven. They were perfectly toasted, and the scent alone triggered a loud grumble from her stomach, which she was positive the hybrids could hear. Hurriedly, she placed the baking tray on the island, using a spatula to slide the sandwiches on the plates with the peaches. They were chatting, too quiet for her to hear, but she adored the way the kitchen was already filled with life, loneliness be damned.

Balancing three plates in her hands at once, she carefully made her way to the booth, putting a plate in front of each hybrid, excited for them to finally get some food in their stomachs. Hoseok whistled again, a particular tune becoming familiar to her already, and she dashed to retrieve her own plate and settle down next to Seokjin. Pouring herself some water, she wiggled in her seat happily as she reached for some chips for her plate. Napkin in her lap, she paused, noticing the sudden silence around her, and lack of chewing. Looking up from her plate, she frowned.

“Something wrong? Does it smell funky?” Y/N sniffed the sandwich, wondering if the cheese had gone bad, but it smelled heavenly. Jimin ducked his head, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“No, no, we were just waiting for you to start first…” Hoseok fiddled with the stem of his water glass, face closed off a tad. Frowning further, Y/N recalled this habit from her father’s friend’s hybrid, who would never begin eating until he did. It was something they were trained to do as children in labs, she was told by her father, which always made her stomach turn – and she couldn’t believe she forgot.

“Oh, God. You don’t have to do that, ever, dig in while it’s hot! Please,” Y/N pleaded, already hating when people watched her eat, and wanting to sink into the floor. Glancing at each other sideways, they hesitantly began to help themselves to chips, Jimin spearing a peach on his fork slowly. Deciding to speed up the process, Y/N took a larger-than-normal bite of her sandwich, trying not to moan from the flavors melting on her taste buds. The last thing she remembered eating was a sad hummus wrap during her lunch break yesterday, so the cheesy sandwich was exactly what she needed to soak up any gin left in her body.

Seokjin’s elbow kept brushing her side as he ate his sandwich, cheeks filled with food as he ate with gusto. In fact, the three of them ate with such speed, Y/N found herself the last to finish her own sandwich, Hoseok batting Seokjin’s hand away for the last few salt and vinegar chips. She giggled at Seokjin’s offended expression, eyes blown comically wide, Hoseok shooting her a wink. Thankfully, she had swallowed the peach she had been chewing, because she definitely would have choked with that whole exchange.

“That was delicious. Ah, I forgot how good tomatoes can be,” Hoseok sighed in satisfaction, passing a hand over his stomach as he leaned back on the cushy booth. Y/N caught Jimin catching a drop of peach juice dripping down his fingertip with his tongue, averting her gaze quickly before he could realize he was being watched.

“Our neighbors grew them in their garden. The Robinsons, I’ll introduce you to them, they’re very kind. Mrs. Robinson is my mother’s closest friend,” Y/N informed them, chewing on her last peach slice thoughtfully. She had been meaning to go over to her neighbor’s for a few weeks for tips on starting a garden next spring, and how to go about restoring the rusted greenhouse towards the back of her property. It would definitely be a fun project to include the hybrids in, gardening was rewarding and would be very convenient to be able to pick an abundance of produce for the growing number of mouths to feed in the house.

“So, you’re close with your parents,” Hoseok said this like a confirmation of a fact, rather than a question, but it didn’t bother Y/N. The assumption he made was correct, her parents were ever-present in her life and constant support, and even thinking about them briefly made her feel uncomfortable for not consulting them about the adoptions. She nodded, collecting plates and utensils from the hybrids.

“Yeah, we’re pretty close. They come around here frequently, so I ought to beat them to the punch and pay them a visit before they surprise us,” Seokjin handed her his plate, thanking her quietly as she stood to take them to the sink. Spinning back to the fridge, she opened up the freezer, the suspicion that she had chocolate coated ice cream bars under a bag of frozen dumplings confirmed. “Ice cream, anyone?”

The hybrids were by her side as soon as the words left her mouth. Apparently, these were the magic words, and she tucked that information away for later.

Handing each of them a wrapped bar as they loitered around the kitchen island, she got to work on rinsing the plates and shoving everything in the dishwasher. Seokjin sunk into a barstool across from her, memorizing the details of the kitchen appliances and the way she loaded dishes into the machine. Meanwhile, the other two began to bring leftover items from the breakfast table to the dishwasher, ice cream coating their lips as they bickered back and forth. Cleanup went a lot faster with a few additional hands, even if they were preoccupied with enjoying their frozen treats, and it felt like they had enjoyed hundreds of meals together before.

“Y/N, can we take Jin on the tour of the place?” Hoseok asked suddenly, after tossing his popsicle stick in the garbage drawer Y/N was scraping chip crumbs into. Brightening, Y/N saw this as the perfect opportunity to slip away and make her phone calls. Now behind Seokjin still slouched on the barstool, Hoseok playfully rubbed his shoulders, the former blushing and attempting to peel Hoseok’s hands away from him. “Now that he can walk, of course.”

“Oh, go ahead! You can pick a bedroom you like, just like they did, too – you don’t have to stay in my old childhood bedroom,” Y/N dried her hands on a kitchen towel, promising herself she would clean out that old wardrobe as soon as Seokjin moved out of the green room. Stumbling to his feet, Seokjin tried to catch Hoseok by his ear, hobbling after him. The men started to head towards the hall, Jimin pausing next to Y/N while Hoseok’s lively laugh echoed in the foyer.

“Are you coming?” Jimin asked, head cocking curiously. Shaking her head, she pocketed her phone, which was practically burning a hole in her thigh.

“I have to make a couple of calls, I trust you and Hoseok to show Seokjin around just as well as I could,” she assured, leading him out into the foyer. Jimin scratched the back of his neck, Y/N smiling fondly at the sound of Hoseok’s bright laughter as Seokjin pushed him around. Jimin joined the others, Hoseok eagerly ushering Seokjin down into the basement and waiting for the coyote hybrid to follow.

Sighing, Y/N dragged her feet to the patio, deciding she might as well get comfortable if she was in for an earful. Calling Ben, first, was likely her wisest option, considering he would definitely be the more disapproving between him and her parents. She groaned as she unlocked her phone, four messages since last night left unread.

Ben Alpin: Morning, granny! Someone is settling in nicely~

The first message had an attached image of Daisy seated at Ben’s glass dining room table, a comically tall stack of fluffy pancakes in front of her. She had on a pair of Disney princess pajamas Roy had picked out on a trip he had gone on with Ben months ago on a whim – talk about foresight.

Ben Alpin: You must be hungover, huh? Give me a call so we can check in, we want to see you Sunday for brunch!

Ben Alpin: Y/N, are you okay??

Ben Alpin: Call me!!!

She could put off the call no longer, she had a feeling if any more time passed, Ben would end up on her lawn. Settling on a lounge chair, noticing the sun starting to set sooner now that the summer was coming to a close, she took a deep breath and let the line ring. He picked up on the second ring.

“Jesus! Did you just wake up? How many episodes of Hell’s Kitchen did you watch while polishing off that bottle of Hendrick’s last night?” Ben bypassed hellos, the sound of a tinkling baby xylophone and childish giggles coming through the receiver.

“No, no! I’ve just been a little busy today, I’m sorry for making you worry,” Y/N breathed, wondering how the hell she would even breach the subject of her last 12 hours. “How’s Daisy?”

“Y/N, she’s an angel, I swear. Did you get that picture? I actually cooked this morning, can you believe it? Roy almost died from shock,” Ben gushed, and Y/N couldn’t remember the last time he sounded so joyful.

“Those pancakes looked delicious. I can’t believe those pajamas fit her so perfectly, too,” Y/N stalled, smacking herself in the face. She had to just bite the bullet.

“Roy’s out shopping for her clothes now. I wasn’t allowed to come, he said I’d go over budget,” Ben chuckled, saying something unintelligible to Daisy while leaning away from the receiver.

“Uh… Ben, I have to tell you something,” Y/N rushed out, biting down on her lip hard.

“What? Do you need Roy to swing by and fix something?”

“No, that’s not it. Listen, it’s about last night at the shelter.”

“...What about it?” Ben asked slowly, the sound of him walking into another room making her even more nervous.

“Well, I wandered off while you two were meeting Daisy, remember? I didn’t go to the bathroom, I found another room in the back. Hybrids were in there,” Y/N murmured into the phone, eyes squeezed shut. Ben was quiet on the other line for a moment, waiting for her to continue.

“There were more hybrids,” Ben confirmed, sounding confused. “The shopkeeper said they only had one, Daisy.”

“The room was sectioned off for aggressives and exotics, and the shopkeeper already had a potential buyer. I looked into the room, and saw them all in their shifted forms, I saw an injured jaguar, there was a wolf…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Why didn’t you say anything last night? Why do I have the feeling you did something very, very stupid?” Ben exclaimed, alarmed. Y/N swallowed, bracing herself.

“Don’t be mad, please! I had to do something, the man picking them up was going to use them for hunting,” Y/N whined, curling in on herself on the lounge chair.

“Did you adopt them?” Ben’s voice pitched upwards in surprise, however, he didn’t seem to sound angered.

“Yes,” Y/N whispered back, almost tearing a hole in her lip.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe it. I’m almost proud you did something without making a pros and cons list and presenting it to me first. But still, Y/N, this is crazy. Are they with you now? You said a wolf and a jaguar?” Shocked by his reaction, Y/N breathed out heavily in relief.

“I took three of them home today. I have to go back for the others,” Y/N answered, relaxing back on her chair.

“Three? The others?” Ben repeated, astonished.

“Actually, there’s seven of them. I adopted seven,” Y/N rubbed her temples, realizing that saying this out loud sounded a lot more insane than it did in her head.

“Seven!? You adopted seven hybrids?” Ben hollered through the phone, cursing as he shut himself into a room, likely to yell at her away from Daisy’s ears. “What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how much responsibility and work comes with taking care of that many hybrids?”

Chastised, Y/N sucked her teeth, not liking the tone of condescension threading his voice. She was optimistic, not stupid, and knew that she had her share of difficulties ahead of her.

“Of course I know. I couldn’t just let them get shipped off to their deaths, Ben. Especially when I have the means to care for them,” Y/N ground out through her teeth.

“I get that, Y/N, and I’m aware that you have space for them in that house, but I’m just worried for you, that’s all. I don’t think you’d be too thrilled with me if I informed you I had just adopted seven aggressive hybrids out of the blue,” Ben drove home, a stab of annoyance jolting through her as she reluctantly agreed with him.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t be. But Ben, I promise you, it’s been so far so good today. The three here with me now are nothing but sweet,” Y/N sighed, hoping she could wrap up the conversation before the sun went down.

“I don’t know, Y/N. Part of me is happy for you, but I’m still concerned about how you’ll manage to juggle this. You just quit your job, for Christ’s sake! Can I come by this week to meet them?” The sound of Ben scratching his beard anxiously crackled through the phone.

Meeting the hybrids would likely set Ben’s mind at ease, and Y/N was hoping her friends would welcome them into their circle down the line anyways. Besides, Ben would never stop badgering her about making a half-cocked decision until he sized them up, confirming they were no threat to her. Y/N’s main concern was the wolf hybrid, who had regarded her with hostility; convincing Ben that he was harmless would be no easy feat when she didn’t even know that herself yet.

“Why don’t you come by on Friday with Roy. We can have our end-of-the-summer cookout. I think it would be nice for the hybrids to meet you and enjoy themselves. It’ll give them some time to get acclimated here before then, too.”

Ben exhaled slowly, and Y/N could picture him shaking his head disapprovingly. She picked at her fingernails waiting for his response.

“I forgot about our cookout, of course we’ll come. You have to call Laura and Alice, though. I won’t be the messenger for this bombshell,” Ben warned, though a hint of a smile came through his voice. Relieved, Y/N fist-bumped the air, the worst of the scolding over with.

“Can you bring those special cupcakes again?” Y/N requested cheekily, mouth already watering over lavender cake and s’mores flavored cupcakes – Ben always bought an array.

“I’ll put the order in today. I’m going to have to order about a hundred for the additional mouths, aren’t I?” Ben switched to speaker mode, fingers tapping away at presumably the bakery’s website order form.

“Get extra strawberry ones! Also, bring Daisy along to the cookout. Laura will be bringing Kai, maybe they can be friends,” Y/N offered, hoping to cut some additional tension. Ben chuckled.

“Brilliant idea, Kai’s only a year or so younger than Daisy, and at that age children learn from each other. We’ll be there. Listen, Y/N – I gotta fly. I think Roy is home,” Ben rushed, Roy’s voice floating through the townhouse looking for him. “Be safe. And call me if anything happens.”

“I will. Talk to you tomorrow,” Y/N bid goodbye, Ben calling out to Roy before hanging up. A significant weight lifted off of her shoulders, and her newfound excitement for the cookout next week had her itching to break out her cookbooks.

Every year since she was a kid, her grandparents hosted an end-of-summer cookout at the house. Ben had been attending the cookout for as long as she had, when they were young her grandparent’s friends, her parents, and neighbors filled the backyard with music, good food, and a toasty bonfire. As her grandparents got older, the cookouts became smaller, between Ben, her parents and perhaps a few neighbors, before the event stopped when her grandparents moved out. When Y/N moved into the house a year ago, she and Ben had decided to continue the tradition again, something her parents adored, and neighbors appreciated. Everyone brought something to contribute to the meal, and it was a memorable event Y/N was eager to share with the hybrids. Easing into plans for the cookout seemed to be the way to go when calling her parents, before telling them about the new additional guests.

Standing, Y/N stretched her arms, making her way to the long picnic dining table by the largest willow in the backyard. It could comfortably seat about 30 people, made years ago by her grandfather’s close woodshop hobbyist friend, and was as good a place as any to sit and talk to her parents. Putting the phone on speaker, she brushed a few leaves from the table and noted that it needed a good scrub.

“Honey? How are you?” Her mother picked up her father’s phone, the two always together since his semi-retirement.

“Hi mom! I’m great, is dad with you?”

“Yes, he’s right here! We’re out on the balcony having some tea, autumn is in the air, honey!” Her mother exclaimed, a huge fan of the seasonal holidays.

“Hey, sweetheart! What are you up to? Are you going to host our cookout next week?” Her father piped up, sounding somewhat far away.

“I’m sitting at the cookout table now, dad! How’s Friday looking? That’s when I’m planning on having it,” Y/N shouted like she was trying to reach someone on Mars, her father a bit hard of hearing.

“Friday’s good, honey! Full moon that night, I’ll bring some cards,” her mother crooned. Her mother was a pagan, and often liked to include others in moon rituals when she could; it was very fun growing up.

“Okay, good,” Y/N chuckled, pushing hair from her face.

“Your dad will make the famous mac and cheese! And we’ll bring all of the buns, too, and your mother’s black bean burgers,” her father shouted, his throat hoarse.

“About that… Could you make some extra? There’s going to be a few more people than last year,” Y/N braced herself, hoping that they’d take the news better than Ben.

“Sure, honey, who else will be there? Did you invite your ex-coworkers?” Her mother asked, slurping her tea noisily.

“No, actually. I have some new housemates,” Y/N replied, hiding behind her hands like her parents could see her.

“Oh that’s wonderful, Y/N! Where did you meet them?” Her father exclaimed, joy coloring his voice.

“Well, to tell you the truth, they’re hybrids. I’ve made some adoptions.”

Her mother gasped delightedly, the sound of a teacup clattering onto a saucer making Y/N’s ears ring.

“You did? Oh, darling, didn’t I tell you she would? Didn’t I?” Her mother gushed to her father, who was laughing heartily. That was definitely not the reaction she was expecting, but her mother had been known to have her random premonitions.

“You’re not mad?” Y/N confirmed, eyebrows up in her hairline.

“Of course not, honey! How many are there? We’ll make enough for everybody. I’m signing them up for my book club too! When can I see you for all the details?” Her mother rambled like Y/N did, a habit passed down.

“Seven. I’ll swing by at some point this week and bring them along,” Y/N promised, her father asking her mother loudly how many pounds of pasta he should make. She had severely underestimated her parent’s attitudes towards the adoptions, and had a suspicion they were talking amongst themselves about her solitude behind her back.

“Seven! My goodness, I’ll have to make some more bean burgers and get them in the freezer. Make sure you do some shopping, honey, your fridge is barren. Absolutely barren!”

“Yes, mom. I’m working on it, I’m hoping to get to the store tomorrow,” Y/N rolled her eyes with amusement, swatting a mosquito away from her wrist.

The sun had sunk behind the trees, it must have been close to 4:30, and Y/N’s to-do list was still stretching on and on. With the coming of evening, she started to get even more antsy for the upcoming morning return to the shelter. She wondered who would come back with her, and she hoped they all would.

“I should get going, you guys. I’m going to order some takeout and make a few online orders, the hybrids need a few sets of clothes between now and when we go to the shopping center,” Y/N dragged herself off of the bench, noticing a few lights on on the second floor of the house. The sight warmed her heart, and she was ready to return to the three hybrids waiting for her. They must have finished their tour by now.

“Alright, honey. Give us a call sometime in the next few days, we’re looking forward to seeing you and your new friends! Love you,” her father made a kissy sound through the phone, voice muffled as her mother fumbled for the phone.

“Love you both!” Y/N sang, laughing as her father hung up before her mother could steal her attention for twenty more minutes.

With the phone calls out of the way, Y/N felt like she had climbed a mountain. Crickets began to chirp pleasantly in the uncut lawn, dusk quickly approaching, and Y/N made her way back to the kitchen door and into the warmly lit kitchen. Rummaging through the “junk drawer” under the coffee maker, Y/N grasped the takeout pamphlet for her favorite Thai restaurant in town, thanking the sky for their speedy late-night deliveries. She felt like treating the hybrids to a cozy movie night with some yummy food, curled up in the cushy parlor room browsing menswear on her laptop, before getting a good night’s sleep to prepare for the morning.

Making her way out into the hall, she followed the sound of Jimin’s rugged accent to the sunroom, which was soaking up the height of the evening’s sunset. The red brick flooring cast terracotta about the place, houseplants turning the glass room into something like a cozy treehouse. Seokjin was actually misting a plant with the little glass bottle she had left on the wooden coffee table, Jimin explaining something to do with horse training to Hoseok. The three hadn’t noticed her standing in the doorway, watching as they stood around the spider plant.

Clearing her throat, three pairs of ears twitched right on cue, Seokjin immediately setting the mister down and meeting Y/N halfway across the room. For some reason that surprised her, Seokjin seemed to like having close proximity to her already despite his initial anxiety. His eyes were trained on the pamphlet she was holding.

“I was thinking about watching a couple of movies tonight and ordering out, if you guys want to join me? This Thai place is one of my favorites, it's right in the center of town,” Y/N gave the pamphlet to Seokjin, who brushed his fingers over her’s accidentally, electricity zapping through the skin once again. He hummed looking at the delicious plate of pad see ew on the front of the menu, evidently not noticing the effect his casual touches had on Y/N’s already frazzled nerves.

“Yeah, that sounds really nice,” Jimin confirmed, trying to peer over Seokjin’s broad shoulders at the pamphlet he was holding. “I’ve never had Thai food.”

“Me neither,” Seokjin murmured while he flipped through the menu, quickly handing it to Jimin so he could follow Y/N making her way to the flatscreen in the other room. Hoseok was telling Jimin to get some khao soi, trying to steal away the menu, and Jimin wasn’t having it as he tried to step on Hoseok’s light foot.

The four headed into the parlor room noisily, the large velvety sofa stacked with plenty of cozy knitted throws and fluffy pillows and simply begging to be sunk into. Y/N chose the leather recliner next to the sofa to comfortably surf the web without disrupting the others, pulling a throw over her legs and listening to Hoseok recommend dishes to everybody. Seokjin awkwardly perched himself at the end of the couch closest to Y/N’s recliner, flinching as Hoseok tossed a blanket over his lap for him.

“So jumpy,” Hoseok remarked, wasting no time getting comfortable in the center of the sofa, feet propped up on the upholstered ottoman. Jimin, distractedly lowering himself at the far end of the couch away from Hoseok, continued to flip through the Thai menu with a torn expression – Y/N has been there before trying to pick from the 100 menu items.

She stretched for the remote on the side table beside her and switched the television on. Suddenly, she had that feeling when she was watching something with her parents, saddled with the task of putting something on that everyone could enjoy, and she had no idea what that could be at the moment.

“Uh… what should we watch?” Y/N mumbled, embarrassed. Flicking through her movie library slowly, she noticed that she had been on a crappy 90’s sci fi binge for the past few months, mortification washing over her.

“Anything but that,” Hoseok gasped, lip curled in disgust, pointing at the thumbnail of The Bride of Chucky. Jimin shuddered as he looked up to see what Hoseok was referring to. Pity.

“Okay, so no dolls. Or horror? How about Harry Potter?” Y/N wondered aloud, scrolling to the series’ page. Seokjin shifted beside her, curling his legs underneath him and adjusting the chunky knit throw tighter around his body.

“I’ve only seen bits and pieces of one of them as a kid. Why not?” Hoseok finally tore the menu from Jimin, who was fluffing a pillow next to him to burrow into.

“I’ll watch anything, we didn’t watch much other than local news at the ranch,” Jimin added, reaching to fiddle with the silver hoop in his left ear. Y/N wondered if hybrids could hear from both their animal and human sets of ears, but decided to look it up later rather than ask them.

“Sound good, Seokjin?” Y/N leaned towards him, his sunset eyes darting over the summary of the film on the screen. Ears fluttering, he nodded, offering her a small half-smile.

“Okay! There’s a lot of them, so we can probably get through two of them tonight,” Y/N queued up the movie, readying her laptop as well. “I’ll order the food in like an hour?”

Hoseok gave her a thumbs up, another throw blanket pulled up to his chin like a little burrito with fox ears. There was a pad of paper and pen on her side table, and she passed it to Seokjin to write down his order.

“Put down whatever you’d like here for the order, don’t worry about ordering too much because believe me, I can eat a bottomless amount of Thai food,” Y/N joked, hoping it would inspire them to try whatever they wanted and alleviate Jimin’s indecision written across his face.

With that, Y/N started the movie, kicking up the footrest of her recliner. The hybrids settled into silence, Seokjin hastily scribbling his order down so he could focus on the opening scene with rapt attention.

While the sandwiches were in the oven earlier, with a little research, Y/N had discovered she could simply request the hybrid credit cards using the bank website, saving her from a third lengthy phone call after lunch. Logging onto the website for her local bank, she followed a link to hybrid finances, where a form popped up requesting her to link her account to the applications, as well as the names for the intended hybrids to be printed on the card. At the shelter that morning, Y/N wrote down all of the hybrid’s names in a notes app, so she diligently plugged in all of the necessary information on the forms, picked a reasonable limit for the cards, and selected an emerald green color for the plastic. Double checking all of the spelling and details before submitting the form, Y/N happily checked off one of her to-do’s while making a reminder to be on the lookout for the parcel of cards in the mail over the next couple of days.

Next were the phones. She could get a really great discount ordering seven at once through her grandfather’s company, which was how she got her own phone, plan, and upgrades. Company phones certainly came with perks, but she often found one of her cousins would steal her upgrade – unluckily for them, this time around Y/N would be stealing all of their upgrades for the next few years. Ordering the latest version of the phone she had herself, she figured the hybrids could customize their phones with cases later on rather than picking ones for them. Eyes glazing over at the price even with the company discounts and data plan fee subtracted, she worried at her lip over finding another job as soon as possible.

The phones were to arrive as soon as Monday. Y/N hummed along to the tune playing while Harry and the other first-years crossed the lake into Hogwarts in boats, the soundtrack as familiar as breathing, while googling for a good hybrid menswear website. After a few clicks, she found a site with quality fabrics and next-day shipping, perfect for what she was looking for. Along with the hybrid’s names, she had copied down their measurements and sizes so she could get them things that fit well.

Hoseok, perhaps subconsciously, began to whistle along with Y/N’s humming to the movie. Already, Y/N felt much better having the three hybrids with her – there was something so comforting about the presence of others in the home with her, making the atmosphere feel safe and cozy. Tucking away the warm and fuzzy feeling for later, she got down to business picking out some basic outfits. It was nice to have Jimin, Hoseok, and Seokjin physically there, so she could take their colorings into account when picking out shades for garments, but she found herself wishing she knew what the other four looked like. She’d stick to neutrals for them, maybe picking one or two bright items for fun.

Her cart filled up quickly. For all of them, she selected a pack of socks, undershirts, and underwear to last them for about a week, as well as three sets of checked pajama pants and soft sleep shirts. Keeping in mind the current climate, which was the last gasp of a humid and sweltering summer, she avoided sweaters and thick trousers, as hard as it was to pass up a maroon sweater that would look perfect on Hoseok. She was sure that they would end up picking up fall attire of their own choosing later on, however, Y/N was surprised that it was so difficult to suppress her urge to pick out entire wardrobes for them in one go.

A pair of jeans for each hybrid in a classic wash seemed appropriate, as well as two pairs of shorts, another pair of sweatpants, and some linen pants to beat the heat. Moving onto shirts, Y/N picked out three basic tees each, a hoodie, and one long sleeve heavy cotton shirt per hybrid. For Seokjin, she added a lavender v-neck that would complement his fiery eye color, a rustic looking beige linen button down for Jimin, and a sage green thin thermal for Hoseok. She randomly picked other shirts that caught her eye for the remaining four in their sizes, hoping that the colors weren’t ones they despised, and added some basic slides for each of them for kicking around the house. Before she could go too crazy, she checked out and made sure the order would be on the doorstep come morning.

“Who’s that?” Jimin vocalized suddenly, confusion dripping from his tone. Y/N peeked up at the screen, shooting a glance at the three sprawled on the couch, Hoseok tsking at Jimin.

“That’s Dumbledore, from the beginning, remember? He’s the headmaster,” Seokjin replied, not even sparing the coyote hybrid a glance. Y/N snorted softly, Jimin’s eyebrows still pulling together in perplexion. Seokjin, it seemed, was trying very hard to analyze every detail of the movie as if he was going to be quizzed on it.

“Yeah, Jimin, get with the program,” Hoseok chided, elbowing him in the rib and joining Y/N in her snickers of amusement.

“Should I order the food now?” Y/N checked her watch, it was half past eight, and her stomach was already starting to rumble again. She was also dying for a Saturday night cocktail.

“Sure – Jin, give her the paper,” Hoseok lobbed the pad of paper at Seokjin’s shoulder, crossing his legs so he could tuck them under himself. Lip curling with annoyance at Hoseok, Seokjin leaned down to pluck the paper that had floated to the floor and offered it to Y/N, eyes wandering curiously over her laptop.

“Thank you, Seokjin,” Y/N murmured, careful not to touch his skin again. The last thing she needed was another round of flustering emotions coursing through her.

Skimming the list of orders written in three unique hands, Y/N hid a small smile behind her laptop at the items they had picked. Some of them were her favorites, others she hadn’t had the chance to try yet, and they had picked out a pretty decent spread. She would definitely sneak in a few more appetizers and a dessert as a treat, bringing up the ordering website and filling out the delivery instructions. It would take a little less than an hour for everything to arrive, and Y/N was feeling thirsty, so she set her laptop aside and got up from her chair to skip over to the bar cart by the TV.

“Do you guys drink?” Y/N wondered aloud, assessing the dwindling supply of liquor she had left. She had felt Jimin’s stare boring into her back as soon as she approached the bar cart, hoping that he’d be brave enough to speak up if he wanted a drink.

“What do you have?” Jumping at Hoseok’s voice beside her, like he had materialized out of thin air, she pressed a hand to her chest as he winked apologetically. Recovering, Y/N kneeled, sifting through the bottles of bitters and mixers.

“Hmm… I have some vodka, a little gin, and there’s some whiskey back here, too. I might have a few stray bottles of beer in the fridge, maybe a bottle of wine as well?” Y/N was repelled by the gin from her adventures the previous night, selecting the vodka and cranberry seltzer for herself. Hoseok was examining a highball glass, offering Y/N a hand getting up while she struggled with the two bottles. He took the handle of vodka, firmly grasping her hand and pulling her up.

“I’ll have what you’re having,” Hoseok’s warm hand slid from her’s, turning to look back at the couch. “Jimin, let me guess. Whiskey,” Jimin looked like he wanted to throw a pillow at the fox hybrid, cheeks red. Y/N assumed Hoseok had guessed correctly.

“I’ll get some ice,” Y/N began to move towards the kitchen before Hoseok grabbed her by the hand again. Whirling, Y/N wondered how long she could take Hoseok’s cheeky winking.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go get it,” Hoseok stopped her, swiftly disappearing down the hall. Stunned, she tried to shake off the way stars seemed to dance in his warm eyes whenever he caught her off guard.

He returned almost as quickly as he left, somehow locating the ice bucket she stashed away under the sink, and with the chilled bottle of pinot grigio tucked under his arm. Thanking him, she plunked ice into three small tumblers, pouring a generous amount of whiskey for Jimin and mixing the cocktail for herself and Hoseok. The latter wordlessly poured a nice glass of wine into a glass from the back of the cart, ambling over to Seokjin.

“For you, Jinnie,” Hoseok extended the glass to him, trying his best not to block Seokjin’s view of the movie. Hesitantly, he accepted the drink, shooting Hoseok another dirty look at the nickname.

“Don’t call me that. It’s horrendous,” Seokjin scolded, taking a sip and pushing Hoseok away with his foot. Ducking under the screen, Y/N delivered Jimin and Hoseok their drinks, Jimin gratefully taking the glass with another blinding smile.

After returning to her chair with her drink, Y/N sighed happily, keeping her laptop powered down. Her eyes were starting to cross from staring at it for too long, and she wanted to enjoy the most exciting part of the movie. Sipping her drink, she tapped out a quick email on her phone to the local salon, inquiring about stylists available for seven cuts next week, effectively accomplishing all she had set out to do that day.

Curling up, Y/N cradled her drink as she focused back on the movie. She stole a few glances at the three on the couch, light from the TV illuminating the perfect upturned slope of Hoseok’s nose and Seokjin’s dark lashes. They looked very cozy, blankets and pillows strewn about and cheeks rosy from their drinks.

Y/N couldn’t believe how well things were going so far. A tiny part of her was set on edge, preparing for something to go wrong – perhaps her saying something to offend or a fight between the hybrids themselves. Trying to push away thoughts that had little evidence to support their outcome, Y/N instead began to think about the four hybrids back at the shelter. Guilt still festered within her that they had to stay another night, but she would have felt worse if she had forced them all to come with her right off the bat. In fact, she counted herself lucky that three with her currently seemed to like her already, which was infinitely better than the forced toleration she thought she was going to receive. She was trying to find the words she would use later on to ask them about the others in the shelter, without ruining the comfortable ambience they had built up.

Onscreen was Harry facing off Professor Quirrell in the climax of the film, the only sounds coming from the dialogue and Hoseok graciously pouring Seokjin another glass of wine. Their dynamic was interesting; Seokjin seemed to regard Hoseok as an overactive little brother, while the fox hybrid definitely enjoyed pushing the jaguar’s buttons and catering to him at the same time. Jimin, at the other end of the couch, still looked lost trying to keep up with the movie plot, his wrist dangling over the armrest swirling whiskey around in his glass contemplatively. His butterscotch eyes were narrowed, a pointer finger tracing over his lower lip slowly while bright lights of the onscreen magic cast beautifully over him no matter the color.

Moments later the heavy brass clanging of the knocker affixed to the front door made Seokjin cringe out of his seat, panic settling over his smooth features and miraculously not spilling the glass of wine in his hand. Alarmed, Y/N stood, assessing the frightened flicker of his tail and the way his ears pressed flat against his skull, the other two alert from the source of the sound but watching Seokjin with concern.

“Seokjin, honey, that’s the Thai food,” Y/N said gently, a tentative hand on his upper arm as she offered him a small smile. He uttered a small oh, hastily putting his glass down, expression still scandalized. The sudden loud noise triggered a response within him that Y/N had seen before in animals she had treated, usually ones that came from zoos that had trick shows. Tabling the issue, and not wanting to make assumptions, Y/N gave his arm a final pat, heading to the front of the house to relieve the delivery man.

“H-hold on, I’ll help,” Seokjin hurried after her, shaking his head quickly as if to compose himself.

Feeling him at her heels, Y/N hummed a tune, swinging the heavy front door open. To her surprise, the delivery man had left the two large paper bags stuffed with containers, as well as a small plastic bag filled with freebies, right on the porch. Before she could move, Seokjin darted out to the porch, scooping up the two paper bags and blowing his overgrown wavy bangs out of his eyes. Giggling, Y/N thanked the universe he had recovered from his fright almost as quickly as it happened, waiting for her in the threshold as she scooped up the bag of sauces, chopsticks, and free mango sticky rice the restaurant owners generously added to her large order.

Holding the door open for her, Seokjin closed it after she hopped into the foyer with his hip. Back in the living room, she had him set the bags on the table, her mouth salivating as the scent of lemongrass filled the room. Unpacking the containers one by one, she admired the spread: pad thai, tom kha kai, pad see ew, a few containers of khao pad, two curries, three orders of spring rolls and the mango sticky rice. Y/N had no idea where to start, figuring they could all have bites of everything, and sat directly on the floor in front of the coffee table.

The second Harry Potter movie was already queued up, Y/N dialing the volume down while they ate so she could finally fish around for information about the remaining four at the shelter. Seokjin eased himself down next to Y/N, his tail curling around the foot of the coffee table. Jimin, in a similar fashion, dropped to the floor on the other side of Y/N, back to the movie. Grinning to herself, she concluded that he had given up on following the plot.

A strong hand placed her drink down in front of her, refilled and even containing a straw. Looming over her was Hoseok, enjoying his own beverage, humming in acknowledgement of Y/N’s surprised thank you. With him sitting across from her, she motioned for them to dig in, taking a nice sip of her drink while watching Jimin inspect a crispy spring roll. Hoseok made the cocktail taste leagues better than she ever could, somehow.

Munching on a bean sprout from the pad thai in front of her, Seokjin broke apart his wooden chopsticks and accepted the container khao pad Jimin passed to him. Minutes passed of the four exchanging boxes of food and little cups of sauce amicably, Hoseok going straight for the mango sticky rice before anything else.

“Guys, can I ask you a few questions about the others back at the shelter?” Y/N swiped a spring roll in the carton by Seokjin, trying to look as nonchalant as she could. Jimin made a noise as he chewed on a mouthful of rice, nodding while Hoseok surreptitiously shoveled a giant clump of noodles past his lips, ducking his head.

“Well, I only got to the shelter a little over a week ago. Seokjin and Hoseok were already there, and I think that Yoongi has been there the longest…” Jimin recalled, staring up at the ceiling in an attempt to remember the sequence of events. “I like Yoongi, he’s the only one who would actually talk to me, apart from Hoseok and Seokjin, of course,” he finished, taking a long sip of whiskey.

“Yoongi’s alright. Doesn’t get my jokes, though,” Hoseok added, pushing a sprig of cilantro around on a takeout lid.

“How about Taehyung?” Y/N pressed, setting her chopsticks down.

“He was brought in on the same day as Jeongguk– the elk– on Monday. He hasn’t spoken a word, even when he shifted a few times and I asked where he was from,” Jimin answered, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Y/N poured him a new glass of whiskey, hoping she wasn’t liquoring them up too much.

“That kid is strange. Like, more bizarre than Jin,” Hoseok stressed, face screwed up in over-dramatic seriousness. Seokjin threw a napkin in his face.

“Maybe he just doesn’t trust you, nasty fox,” Seokjin scolded, clearing away a polished off container of spring rolls into one of the paper bags, ignoring the genuinely insulted expression on Hoseok’s face.

“Alright, enough of that, you two,” Y/N warned, turning to Jimin for the more detailed answers to her questions. “The shopkeeper didn’t seem to like Taehyung very much. In fact, he didn’t want to be within ten feet of him, any idea why?”

“I’m not sure why. He did show up with some bloody clothes, though, maybe he got in a fight on the street. The humans couldn’t have seen the blood, I think it was probably still on the black jacket he was wearing, but we all could smell it. Human blood,” Jimin grimaced, leaning back on his palms. Seokjin shifted next to Y/N uncomfortably.

“Well, since we don’t know what happened, I wouldn’t race to any conclusions. For all we know, he could have been defending himself,” Y/N encouraged cheerily, Hoseok shaking his head while stabbing a piece of mango with his chopsticks.

“As for Jeongguk… what little he has said, well, I’m not about to repeat in front of a woman,” Jimin sighed, watching Seokjin continue to busy himself with cleaning up the coffee table. Y/N scoffed, not having the heart to tell him she swore like an 18th century sailor.

“Jeongguk is definitely an angry son of a bitch. He and Yoongi had a spat the day Jeongguk arrived,” Hoseok voiced, downing his drink and pulling his eyebrows together at the bitter vodka floating at the bottom of the glass. Jimin frowned at Hoseok’s cursing, but chose to hold his tongue.

“About?” Y/N wondered, helping Seokjin pick scraps off of the table.

“Who knows? I was in the bathroom when they started hissing at each other. Yoongi is pretty mild-tempered, so it must have been over something personal. Jeongguk makes a lot of assumptions, when he does open his mouth,” Hoseok waved his hand, Jimin nodding in agreement.

“I was pretty out of it, even then. Jeongguk said something about Yoongi being pampered, which is rich considering Yoongi looks like he hasn’t had a square meal in months,” Seokjin added surprisingly, a dark look crossing over his face. So, Jeongguk was not well liked.

Considering this, Y/N stirred her drink, savoring the last of Hoseok’s creation. She could handle bickering, but often got herself in trouble by being unable to back down from confronting bullies. The last thing she wanted was to get on the bad side of any of the hybrids, but she wouldn’t allow them to tear each other to pieces, verbally and physically – she foresaw some altercations between herself and the elk hybrid already. As for Taehyung, the little information she got wasn’t entirely helpful at the current moment, but certainly triggered her curiosity. She was set at ease by the hybrid’s insistence that Yoongi was amicable, at least.

“Then there’s Namjoon,” Seokjin reminded her quietly, eyeing Hoseok, who was suddenly immersed in the movie on the screen, ears angled to the television. Namjoon, the wolf hybrid, the one Y/N was most nervous to bring up. Noticing the way she clumsily dumped some bean sprouts from a takeout lid on the floor at the mention of the wolf hybrid’s name, Seokjin reached back, offering her a sip of his wine by bringing the glass close to her face. Humming, Y/N took the glass without thinking too much about it, the cool sweetness of the wine braving her.

“I don’t think he likes me,” Y/N lamented, giving Seokjin his glass back. Chuckling, Seokjin took the last sip of the wine, his thick lips wrapping around the same spot her’s had touched seconds before. Tips of her ears burning, she stole some mango from Hoseok while he studied the movie a little too hard.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t like anybody,” Seokjin assured her, pouring yet more wine for himself.

“He was the last of us to get to the shelter. They brought him in Thursday morning, the day before you came in,” Jimin recounted, stretching his arms out languidly. “Brought him in as a wolf, which was pretty bizarre. The rest of us were shifted when we first came in, but Namjoon hasn’t shifted at all since he got to the shelter. Don’t even know what he looks like, honestly, I thought he was just an actual wolf, at first.”

Hoseok was stiff as a board, his usual lax posture replaced with a rigid spine and white knuckles gripping his empty glass. Y/N blindly reached for the vodka handle on the bar cart, wordlessly pouring a heavy handed shot into his glass across the table. Forcing a tight smile on his face, Hoseok basically poured the liquor down his throat, remaining silent.

“So, you guys know about as much as I do about him, then,” Y/N tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone.

“All I can say is, he definitely behaves like a wild wolf that I’ve seen at Yellowstone. Ornery and distrustful,” Jimin rubbed his eye, stifling a yawn. It had gotten pretty late, but Y/N was feeling wired, armed with a few new bits of information to ready her for the morning. Hoseok’s silence on the topic of Namjoon had also given her an inkling that the two had an instance of bad blood, but he was sufficiently clammed up and wouldn’t even make eye contact with her as they all began to return to their previous seats on the furniture.

Once the conversation surrounding the hybrids back in the shelter had ceased, Hoseok slowly unthawed, cracking a few more jokes at Seokjin’s expense as the jaguar hybrid’s eyes began to slip closed periodically even as he tried very hard to follow the rest of the movie. When the credits rolled, Hoseok carted the used drink glasses to the kitchen and washed them while Jimin arranged the bottles of booze back on the bar cart.

“What time do you want to head out in the morning?” Hoseok asked Y/N upon his return to the parlor, his flushed face sleepy and softened. Balancing a wobbling tower of leftovers, Y/N calculated travel time with traffic.

“I think seven will give us plenty of time to get there when the shelter opens, I’ll meet you by the front door,” she replied, wanting to push away the stray lock of hair over his eye.

“Sounds good. You should get some more sleep, now,” Hoseok steadied her for what seemed the thirtieth time that day, his solid grip on her waist preventing her from crashing into the coffee table. Sheepishly, she ducked her head, agreeing, and pondered if she should take up yoga again so she would stop wobbling all over the place like a lunatic.

“You too. Goodnight, Hoseok,” she smiled, Hoseok returning the sentiment, before disappearing in the direction of the basement. Jimin, in a similar manner, bade her a good night and thanked her for the delicious dinner, promising to write a list of necessities for the morning trip to the drugstore upon her request. His eyes were almost shut completely as he stumbled his way out of the parlor, taking a wrong turn down the hall before correcting himself in the opposite direction.

Seokjin stayed behind, carrying the garbage to the kitchen while Y/N stacked the leftovers in the fridge. Beside her, Seokjin slid the near-empty bottle of wine into the fridge, his hip accidentally bumping her into the shelf door. He was tipsy, apologizing profusely and giggling uncontrollably all the while. Y/N tossed him a bottle of water, which he caught against all odds, leaning back against the stove while he uncapped the bottle. She was still bothered by Hoseok’s sudden change in demeanor earlier, considering he was the one who kept things upbeat the whole day. Seokjin, under the influence and apparently eager to assist, was the perfect candidate to squeeze out a reason at the moment– his closeness with Hoseok the cherry on top.

“So… what was with Hoseok when you brought up Namjoon?” Y/N asked, only feeling partly guilty for taking advantage of Seokjin’s relaxed demeanor. Fiery eyes narrowing as he processed the question, Seokjin considered while peering into the foyer to ensure the basement door was closed. Slyly, he put a finger to his lips, motioning her closer with the same finger. Curiously, Y/N approached him as he stooped down to whisper to her, hand on on her shoulder to keep her put.

“Hoseok… he’s terrified of wolves.”

In the snow, Y/N could hardly see a foot in front of her as she ran, sharp shards of ice raining down from the sky paving her precarious path and stinging her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks hotly, chest tight as she tried her best to dash away, away, but her legs were never fast enough. At least, not fast enough to make an escape, to outrun her pursuer, and he was hot on her heels. As she turned back to gauge his distance through the withered trees, a furious roar from inches away wracked a sob from deep within her. Her foot got caught in an exposed root as she desperately tried to get away, a sickening crunch and agonized scream ripped from her throat as she dropped like a rock. Her ankle bone had broken through the skin grotesquely, the tendons raw and exposed piercing through her flesh. As blood pooled around her trembling form, her vision grew blurry, hot breath by her neck as her pursuer closed in on her, saliva dripping from blood-tipped fangs. Tearfully, she knew this was the end, the creature snapping its jaw, tasting her blood as it soaked the snow around her. In her final moment, she wanted to look her executioner in the eye; the last glimpse of the golden sun held within them.

Gasping, Y/N shot up in bed, heart pounding as she pressed a shaky hand to her chest. With the other, she tore off her quilt and examined her right ankle, which was very much still intact. A horrifying nightmare to say the least, Y/N pressed both hands to the back of her cold-sweat soaked neck shakily. She hadn’t had a nightmare like that in years, catching her off guard completely. Blinking rapidly, Y/N pulled her quilt up around her shoulders, scanning the room to calm herself down. Returning to sleep was not an option after all of that, but luckily a drizzly dawn had begun to trickle through her curtains. It was a hell of a way to start the day, especially with her itinerary, but the silver lining was more time to prepare herself for the morning.

Showering off the nightmare seemed like her wisest choice, inhaling the calming scent of eucalyptus hanging from her showerhead as she boiled her skin under steamy water. For some reason, she could tangibly feel the blizzard from her dream sinking into her bones, her subconscious torturing her for late-night drinking two days in a row, presumably.

Drawing her curtains open to peek at the sky, inky clouds hovered above the treeline, light rain falling. Gingerly, she sat on her bed in her towel as she applied her lotion, hearing a soft thump from the basement. Her heart began to race again before she remembered Hoseok, who was probably getting ready himself, and cursed herself for being so jumpy. In the mirror over her dresser, dark circles and a pallor to her complexion reflected her jarring wake-up call. Mumbling, she rubbed some blush onto her cheeks and dotted concealer under her eyes to mask the evidence, throwing on a thin hooded sweater and jeans.

Yawning as she left her bedroom to find some sneakers to slip on, Y/N tried her best to tip-toe past Seokjin’s closed door, not wanting to disturb him at the early hour. Before she and Hoseok left, she wanted to leave out something for the other two hybrids to have for breakfast. Blindly, she searched the cabinets in the kitchen for anything worthwhile, coming up with a jar of granola. Setting it on the bar with dismay, she wrote a note using a sticky pad, noting that there were eggs and a stray tub of vanilla yogurt in the fridge they could help themselves to. Maybe they could make a parfait with the fruit left in the bowl next to the sink, or a few scrambled eggs with toast in the breadbox. She turned on the coffeemaker so they could have some hot coffee when they woke up, hoping it would make up for her and Hoseok making a Dunkin’ run without them.

Y/N heard the basement door gently close, quickly dashing into the hallway to meet the fox hybrid. Standing by the front door, Hoseok had a lock of hair sticking straight up on the back of his head, rubbing his eyes with his fists.

“Good morning,” Y/N whispered, peering down the hallway to make sure she hadn’t woken Jimin. Hoseok yawned, tail stiff as he stretched his arms behind his head sleepily.

“Morning, you were up early,” Hoseok remarked in a sleep-thickened voice, watching her skitter away from his searching eyes to grab her car keys off the peg by the door. Grimacing, Y/N grasped a couple of umbrellas, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Mm. I guess I’m still used to my morning routine from work,” Y/N answered softly, unlatching the front door and letting Hoseok out. He made a small noise of surprise on the porch, pointing at the ginormous box sitting on the stoop. That would be their clothes, right on time.

“Oh! I should probably bring this in, I don’t want it to get wet,” Y/N eyed the rain leaking in from the weathered slats of the porch roof. The box was cumbersome, Hoseok shaking his head and chuckling at her as she attempted to heave it over the stoop.

“Are you going to let me help you, or should I watch you struggle?” Snapping her head up, she shot Hoseok a look somewhere between disbelief and a scowl, his arms crossed while leaning against one of the porch beams. A smirk danced upon his lips, eyes teasingly squinted.

“Help. Please,” she hung her head in exasperation when she saw the fox hybrid wasn’t budging upon her silence.

Clearing his throat lightly, he was at her side in an instant, bending down to lift the box with her into the entrance of the house. A sharp grunt coming from the back of his throat, lean muscle strained the sleeves of his tee as he lowered the box on the floor, careful not to drop it on Y/N’s foot.

Gravel crunched wetly under Y/N’s sneakers trudging to her car, still reeling from Hoseok’s shameless provocation. It had been an embarrassingly long time since Y/N had interacted with men apart from Ben, Roy, and her father; she had lost her ability to engage in flirtatious banter, if that was what that was. Hoseok was heartbreakingly beautiful and clever as a whip, in comparison to her bumbling rambling and clumsiness Y/N was downright disappointed in herself. What happened to the girl in undergrad who threw caution to the wind and slipped sexy bartenders her number, who challenged herself to charm the subject of her desire into putty in her hands? Was she really that out of touch with her romantic skills? Rain soaked through her hood, dampening her mood further as she considered listening to a god-awful podcast for flirting tips in the future. The thought made her miserable.

She led Hoseok to her car, a powder blue 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser that belonged to her father, which had a rear window that would not open and a dented fender. Y/N preferred the look of older car models, more like works of art rather than gray lumps of chrome, and her dad’s old car was free. It made her feel like she was in an old storm chasing movie from the 80’s every time she went for a drive, which was a fun bonus. Unlocking the doors, Y/N slid into the cigarette scented leather seats, the worn material soft and comforting. Hoseok climbed in next to her, twisting around to check out the back seat, empty besides a stray serape blanket for her occasional picnics.

“Wonder who will come with us today… probably Yoongi. I don’t know what was with the pouting yesterday, he could have eaten something other than a ham sandwich Gerry threw at us twice a day,” Hoseok fastened his seatbelt, bringing an ankle up to cross over his knee.

“Are you serious? That’s all you got?” Appalled, Y/N turned the engine over, jaw hanging loose. She felt like running Gerry over with her Land Cruiser. “What the fuck is wrong with that guy? He ought to be shot.”

Hoseok made a startled noise in the back of his throat, studiously looking out the window as he appeared to be holding back a laugh with his ears turned down. Away from Jimin, she felt she could swear freely again without him clutching his pearls– though he’d hear them soon enough, she predicted. Starting down the road with rain pelting the windshield, the wipers dragged through the water sluggishly, needing a replacement.

“Well, I’m sure Jeongguk would agree with that sentiment. He’s missed a few sandwiches for telling Gerry to pound sand up his ass.”

“I’m liking Jeongguk a bit more now.”

“Oh yeah? Hopefully you won’t have to eat those words,” Hoseok raised an eyebrow playfully, Y/N rolling her eyes as she passed through the town center.

“I grew up with a lot of male cousins, a lot of them talked trash constantly. I can handle a brat,” Y/N responded, recalling her eldest male cousin’s jabs directed precisely on her insecurities. Her skin was thicker because of it, at least.

“Brat is a generous word for Jeongguk. Dick suits him just fine,” Hoseok mused, expression thoughtful.

“We’ll see, maybe he’ll have a fit or two and get it out of his system. I can hope, at least,” Y/N sighed, giving Jeongguk the benefit of the doubt until she spoke to him herself. Hoseok fell quiet, checking out a paperback book Y/N had left on the floor by his feet. She wasn’t sure what book it was, she prayed it wasn’t a trashy romance novel recommended to her by the internet.

The best part of the morning was the promise of not having to deal with Murphy and his precarious driving skills now that she was driving in with her own transportation. There was enough space for the remaining four hybrids to sit in the back of the car, thankfully. She’d rather chew glass than ask Gerry for any more favors; he’d be lucky if he had teeth by the time she finished business with him.

“Oh, this is from Jimin. He brought this down to me late last night,” Hoseok pulled a folded piece of paper from his sweatpants pocket, placing it in the cupholder. “All he wrote was ‘toothbrush and toothpaste’, humble cowboy.”

“We’ll stop by CVS on the way back for toiletries, I should get some more gauze for Seokjin. I’m sure you need some things as well, Hoseok,” Y/N grinned, noticing his ear twitching out of the corner of her eye. Chortling, Y/N shook her head, halting at a red light and gesturing to the glove box.“I have some CDs in there, wanna pick one?”

Curiously, Hoseok leafed through the plastic cases, the clacking sound of him rapidly searching through the albums making her wonder which ones she still had in her car. Hopefully not just Christmas and midwestern emo music. The light turned green, and she was forced to tear her eyes from Hoseok’s contemplative profile.

“Metallica, Dio, Black Sabbath… What year were you born, again?” Y/N winced, feeling like she was in high school band class again with Beatles snobs.

“Listen. Sometimes you just need to blow off steam screaming to War Pigs after a bad shift!” Snorting, Hoseok continued to sort through the CDs while Y/N drove on.

“I suppose, if you’re a father of three in the eighties,” Hoseok murmured, flipping over the back of an unlabeled mixed tape.

Moments later he slid a CD into the player, tucking the case under his leg. Trying to peek at what he picked out, she squeaked as his palm came up next to her face, blocking her view.

“Eyes on the road, darling, it’s a surprise!” Hoseok exclaimed, fingers punching buttons on the radio and jacking up the volume. He was lucky she didn’t drive off of the road with that remark, her face so hot she had to roll the window down, not caring if rain soaked her to her bones. Hoseok didn’t seem to notice her fluster as she leaned out of the window, nearly swerving off of the highway as a motorcycle zoomed by and startled her. The Beach Boys began to play sunnily through the old speakers, a smile spreading across her face as the rain ran down her cheeks, cooling the flesh.

“Good choice,” Y/N praised, unable to look him in the eye yet. Pretending to focus on navigating the highway into Boston, she hummed along to the opening track.

“Since summer’s almost over, it was only right.”

“Is summer your favorite?”

“Of course! Who doesn’t like more sun, longer days, and fruit?” Considering this, Y/N agreed with him, however partial she was to autumn.

“You have a point, you’d get along well with my dad for those reasons alone,” Y/N pulled off the ramp into Chinatown, only minutes away from their destination. She started to get antsy in her seat with anticipation. Hoseok drummed his fingers against the door to the tune of the music, apparently satisfied with the amount of teasing he doled out.

Before she knew it, they were parked in front of the shelter, Y/N nervously straightening out her sweater. Hoseok stared at the weathered shop sign with disgust, grip on one of the umbrellas tightening and untightening.

“Shall we?” Y/N cracked her door open, Hoseok giving her a tight nod before exiting the vehicle with the umbrella.

The shop was open already, the door propped open with a wooden wedge and Gerry stocking boxes of shoes into the cubbies by the window. Hoseok slowly entered the building behind her, sticking close to her proximity. A loud football game played on the tiny TV mounted to the wall, Gerry grumbling at it when he spotted Y/N and Hoseok.

“Ah! My new favorite customer,” Gerry exclaimed as they floundered near the register, palpable anxiety radiating from Hoseok. “I see youse brought one back, how’s he holdin’ up for you?” Gerry looked Hoseok up and down with a suspicious glint in his eye, Y/N grinding her teeth as she bit back a curse directed at the bastardly old man.

“He’s great, thank you,” Y/N managed.

“Go on and ‘ead to the back. Need me to call up Murph again?” Gerry asked eagerly, reaching for his phone on the desk. Y/N shook her head, jabbing her thumb towards her car parked outside.

“I have my own transport, from now on,” Y/N began towards the back room, carefully watching Hoseok drag his feet next to her. Gerry shrugged and remained in the front of the store, shouting at the TV.

The door to the four remaining hybrids was already open, keys to the cells handing tantalizingly from the knob. Hoseok ran a hand through his mahogany locks as he looked to the ceiling like he was praying for an angel’s protection, and Y/N was reminded of Seokjin’s words from the night before; Hoseok… he’s terrified of wolves. Pocketing the keys, Y/N pushed her way into the room, butterflies rattling around in her stomach for both herself and the fox hybrid.

“Hate to say I told you so after all your bitching, Jeongguk. She even came back with Hoseok alive,” a gravelly, unfamiliar voice chided to her left, Y/N seeking the owner of the voice straight away.

On the bed, a lithe figure leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, a long spotted tail flicking languidly like a satisfied cat. Probing hazel-green narrowed eyes watched her with an arched brow, a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. His ears were similarly spotted to his tail, blending into the long black tresses framing his face, and he was fully dressed in the outfit Y/N had picked out the day before.

“Yoongi, why would I be dead? Does she really look like a murderer to you?” Hoseok pulled his eyebrows together incredulously, cocking his head. Yoongi stood, nodding to his right.

“No, but he said you all were off to the chop shop,” Yoongi leaned against his cell door, veined hands coming through the bars to clasp together on the outside. Floored, Y/N stepped out from behind Hoseok, wanting to get a look at the elk hybrid and ask what about her read Freddy Kruger.

Sitting on the edge of his bed was Jeongguk, a man about the same age as Y/N. Most notably as far as his appearance went was the pair of elegant velvet antlers encircling his head like an esoteric crown amongst layered mixed chestnut hair. Heavily tattooed elbows leaning on his knees, Jeongguk was shaking his head at the floor, a deep scowl darkening his face. Backtracking on her confrontation, noticing the ring hugging his lower lip, Y/N inched closer to Hoseok, who peered down at her curiously.

“Hardly. What, do you think we’re living in a James Wan film, Jeongguk?” Hoseok’s hands landed on his hips, tutting at the elk hybrid. Finally snapping his head up to curl his nose into a snarl at Hoseok, Y/N caught the glint of a barbell threaded through the arch of Jeongguk’s left eyebrow.

“I’m not one to be as trusting of a fool as you, fox,” Jeongguk bit back, midnight eyes boring a hole into Hoseok’s face. His sight landed on Y/N, tugging on the hem of her sweater, uncomfortable with the clear distaste written all over his face while assessing her. “How am I supposed to know the motivations behind a girl so injudicious as to adopt seven male hybrids without even meeting them first?”

Blood draining from her face, Y/N took a step backwards at the venom dripping from his tone. So, her few hours conflict-free had ended, and she was in the line of fire. Stiffening, Hoseok cast a look back at her, offering her a soft half-smile; hopefully you won’t have to eat those words.

“Oh, just shut up, would you rather be running in the woods from some asshole in a polo shirt with an automatic rifle?” Yoongi groaned, running a wiry hand through his hair tiredly. Jeongguk cursed at Yoongi under his breath, then fell back into silence. Swallowing hard, Y/N tried to piece together the fragments of her courage, seeking out the other two hybrids behind her.

Watching the spectacle unfold quietly was Taehyung on the bed in his corner cell, laying on his back with his hands clasped on his stomach. His expression was placid as he twiddled his thumbs, cocking his head as his eyes caught Y/N’s. Roaming over her, he absently wet his lips with a sliver of tongue, his strange red-brown irises soulful and deep. Y/N recalled that he hadn’t spoken at all during his time spent at the shelter, so she was highly doubtful that he would chime in on Jeongguk’s verbal evaluation of her, though it looked like he had questions burning in his eyes.

“Yoongi, how long do you plan on staying here? Are you coming today?” Hoseok spoke up, tapping a foot on the concrete floor. Y/N nodded once in hello to Taehyung, who blinked at her stoically, blowing a piece of dark hair from his eyes.

“Well, she seems persistent; I thought for sure she’d be back by late afternoon yesterday to dump you all back here. Now that you’re here and breathing… I can’t choke down one more of those sandwiches,” Yoongi complained, although not confirming he was to join them outright.

Y/N stalked off to the far corner of the room, mustering up the confidence to say hello to Namjoon, equally as silent as Taehyung and out of view. Stopping short, she squeaked, noticing the neatly folded pile of clothes and shoe box still sitting outside of his cell, untouched. Disappointment sunk in her stomach, peering into Namjoon’s cell, where he was curled up in a ball, facing away from the center of the room. She knew he was awake, the exchanges between everyone not exactly whispers, so he was actively ignoring them. Still in his wolf form, Y/N wondered how long he could sustain himself, Seokjin’s confession that hybrids staying in their animal form for too long became uncomfortable popping up in her subconscious. Shuffling her feet, Y/N tried not to look crestfallen, returning to Hoseok’s side.

“So, will you come with us, Yoongi?” Y/N asked hopefully, pushing away the possibility that she may have to return to the shelter for several days to come. She wasn’t sure what she could do to win enough trust from Namjoon to at least look at her, let alone shift, but she was beginning to worry for him. If he had arrived on Thursday, he would have been living as a wolf for two whole days already, and possibly longer.

Yoongi considered for a moment, casting a look around his cell, before shrugging.

“Might as well,” he conceded, hands diving into his sweatpants pockets. Smiling as brightly as she could, she retrieved the keys to his cell from her own pocket, freeing him from the space, watching him stroll out lazily. With narrowed eyes, he looked down at her, kaleidoscope eyes taking in her likely poorly masked worry.

“You said it’s Y/N, right?” He confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That’s right,” she shifted her weight, the hollowness of his cheeks making her heart clench. Clearing her throat, she gazed past him, reading the expectant look on Jeongguk’s face.

“How about you, Jeongguk? I can see you’re not a fan of me, but at least you can get out of here,” she stated bravely, proud that she could keep her voice from wavering. An eyebrow arched with her words, Jeongguk rose to his feet, studying her head to toe once more.

“Fine,” was all he said, after a deep sigh. Tentatively, she unlocked his door as well, letting him push the iron bars towards her. He was even more intimidating inches away, muscular and imposing, making his way to the mouth of the door leading out. Hoseok patted her back awkwardly, as if to congratulate her on her bravery. She was extremely grateful to have him with her at that moment.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N shook off her nerves, making her way back to Taehyung, who was standing by his door with his graceful fingers wrapped around the bars.

“You too?” She exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. Blinking at her again, he gestured to the lock, which she hastily made short work of with the keys. Hoseok was snorting with laughter, saying something to Yoongi about making up a sign language to interact with the bear hybrid.

Taehyung quickly left his cell, expression relieved as he walked into the open area of the room, but kept his distance from everybody. Y/N could hardly see his rounded ears atop his head, hiding amongst a cloud of curly black hair, and if it weren’t for the day before seeing him in his other form she would have written him off as fully human immediately.

“Good luck with him,” Yoongi nodded towards Namjoon, looking pointedly at the stack of clothes outside of his cell. Gritting her teeth, she stood a little taller, preparing to give another speech to someone who couldn’t (and wouldn’t) respond. Fishing around in her pocket, she grasped a hold of her car keys, approaching Hoseok.

“Here, Hoseok. Do you mind starting up the car for me? I’ll be out in just a minute,” Y/N sighed, the fox hybrid examining her face with an ounce of concern. He took the keys from her hand without a word, and she offered Yoongi the umbrella she was holding. Yoongi stared at her incredulously, gaze shifting from her to Hoseok suspiciously, tucking the damp umbrella under his arm.

“The asshole who runs this dump has some of my stuff in a bag in his office,” Jeongguk spoke from the door suddenly, eyes trained on the door down the hall. “He’s got everything we all had when we got here.”

Astounded, Y/N curled her hands into fists, so ready to beat an old man it wasn’t even funny.

“Jesus Christ, that guy. That would have been good to know,” Y/N muttered. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll grab the bag before I meet you in the car,” Y/N promised, ignoring the yeah, right look on his face.

“Come on, let’s go,” Hoseok pushed Yoongi to the door, Jeongguk already disappearing from her sight. Taehyung followed suit slowly, gazing down at his shoes. The room suddenly filled with deafening silence, Y/N returned to Namjoon’s cell.

“Namjoon,” she started, the wolf’s ear turning towards her but otherwise remaining rooted to the corner of his space. “I’m going to have to keep coming back here until you agree to return with me. I don’t mind, but Seokjin told me that it can be uncomfortable to stay shifted for so long– that worries me. I can’t stand Gerry, this shelter is terrible, and I want to get you out of here, so I guess you’ll have to put up with me bothering you every morning until you decide to trust me a little.”

Namjoon lifted his head, turning it to lock eyes with Y/N, her breath caught in her throat. He was truly a beautiful wolf, dark with amber honey eyes, a small chunk of his left ear missing that she had not noticed before. He wasn’t growling at her, but his face was certainly guarded and calculating, which made her grow quite hot in the chilly cinderblock room.

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning, Namjoon,” Y/N sighed softly, accepting that today wasn’t his day. He watched her as she went, shutting the door to the room behind her with a solemn clang.

Returning to the storefront where Gerry was stuffing a Subway sandwich in his face, Y/N leaned against the register with her mouth screwed up to prevent expletives from falling out.

“They’re still there,” Gerry said through a mouthful of salami. “Pretty bold of youse to trust a fox with car keys.”

“Hoseok is trustworthy,” Y/N insisted harshly, slapping her hands on the tinny table. Startled, Gerry put his sandwich down. “Give me the bag of their belongings, please.”

The rusty wheels in Gerry’s brain turned slowly, appearing to not understand, before grumbling and retreating to his office. He came back with a large half-filled black garbage bag of items, thrusting it into her arms. Disgusted with the treatment of the hybrids, she all but spit on the floor, heading to the exit.

“Don’t forget the wolf, tomorrow. I’m tired of feeding ‘im,” Gerry called, jacking up the volume to his football game.

Aggravated, Y/N stomped through the rain to her car parked on the street, yanking the trunk open and sliding the bag gingerly next to her spare tire. Rain soaking her hair, the precipitation much heavier since she and Hoseok arrived, she finally indulged her desire and spat on the sidewalk by the entrance of the shelter. Rounding the front of the car, she climbed in, the heat turned on blast and The Beach Boys playing once again. Aware of Hoseok eyeing her in the passenger seat, she hastily buckled in, wet hair sticking to the back of her neck. In the rearview mirror, the backseat was crammed with the other three hybrids, Yoongi squished in the middle seat while Taehyung and Jeongguk flanked either side, both of them trying their best to glue themselves to the doors to get some space.

“I got your stuff, bastard put it all in a trash bag,” Y/N huffed, backing out of her space, twisting around to look out the back window. Jeongguk was rolling his eyes, chin resting in his palm, his white tee shirt soaked with rain. Yoongi, tucking a long strand of inky hair behind his ear, was attempting to warm himself up by sticking close to the vent blowing hot air into the cab.

“Let’s stop at Dunkin�� before we head to the drugstore,” Y/N pulled out into the street, anxious to get some food into Yoongi as soon as possible. Tension was palpable in the car, with Taehyung’s silence, and Yoongi and Jeongguk’s tangible strain between them. Again, she was grateful for Hoseok, with his sunny, encouraging smile and whistling to the CD playing softly.

One didn’t have to drive very far to find a Dunkin’ in Boston; they were practically on every block. The one she chose shared a parking lot with a Chinese restaurant and a drugstore, and she was attempting to find a spot closest to the doors. Once stopped, she rifled through the center console for her wallet, tucking it into her pocket with Jimin’s list and rubbing her eyes– itching for some caffeine.

“Okay, time for some breakfast,” Hoseok spoke suddenly, clapping his hands together. He headed out into the parking lot, followed by Taehyung pushing his way out of the car, arms over his head to shield his face from the rain. Watching Yoongi slink out of the backseat, Y/N scrambled to catch up with everyone, locking up the car after Jeongguk begrudgingly trudged behind her. She felt a little awkward with the atmosphere, Jeongguk clearly unimpressed and Taehyung stone-cold, and was hoping Hoseok could work his magic to lighten up the mood once in the coffee shop.

Confectioners sugar and toasty coffee perfumed the thick air inside of the Dunkin’, the scent bringing her back to pre-class breakfast runs. Jeongguk plopped down on a chair by the door, arms leaning on the coffee-stained table, watching Y/N suspiciously as she set her umbrella down next to him. Deciding to kill him with kindness, she flashed him her best shit-eating grin, joining Yoongi and Taehyung by the menu signs while Jeongguk gaped after her.

“What are we getting?” Y/N pondered, knowing that she was going to dive in on the hash browns. Additionally, she planned on getting a half dozen donuts for Jimin and Seokjin waiting at home. Yoongi hummed, arms coming around to hug his midsection.

“How’s the matcha latte?” Hoseok inquired from behind Y/N, his voice right next to her ear.

“Mmm. Not that great,” Y/N grimaced, Yoongi snickering next to her. After a few moments, she had Hoseok and Yoongi’s order, sending the fox hybrid over to Jeongguk to get his as well. Turning to Taehyung, who was smiling softly at a little kid eating munchkins with his parents nearby, Y/N said his name a couple of times before he realized she was trying to get his attention.

“What would you like?” Y/N asked, assuming he would point at the menu. His angular face turned thoughtful as he considered the menu once more, surprising Y/N by opening his mouth to speak.

“Sausage, egg and cheese on a croissant and a macchiato, please,” the deep timbre of his voice shook her to her core, nearly keeling over as soon as he spoke. Nodding dumbly, Taehyung gave her a curious glance and made his way to the table the others were sitting at.

Standing at the window, Y/N made the lengthy order, the cashier exasperated as she continued to add items to the tab. She handed Y/N the beverage tray of assorted hot and iced drinks, Y/N taking an indulgent sip of her sweet iced coffee and sighing happily. Making her way to the table, she dished out the drinks; a boring black coffee for grumpy Jeongguk, a fruity Coolatta for Hoseok, Yoongi’s iced americano, and Taehyung’s macchiato. She lowered herself down next to the latter, wondering if he’d begin to join in on conversation or lapse back into silence as he stirred his coffee.

“So, what exactly made you want to adopt seven hybrids?” Yoongi deadpanned after a moment, Y/N choking on her sip of coffee and pounding her chest to clear the liquid from her lungs. She wasn’t expecting to be asked a question like that in broad daylight, that soon. Hoseok cleared his throat, looking extremely uncomfortable with Yoongi’s directness, while both Jeongguk and Taehyung read bored and absorbed in their drinks.

“Uh… to be honest with you, I’ve been looking for roommates for about a year now. I haven’t had much luck; most of my friends have either moved states after college or started families of their own. Everyone else I’ve met from placing internet ads claims my house is either too old or ‘seems haunted’,” Y/N made air quote motions with her fingers, Hoseok snorting softly. “I thought of the off-chance of seeing you all in the shelter that night as a lucky find,” fiddling with her straw, Y/N cringed at her choice of words, unable to come up with anything else.

With narrowed eyes, Yoongi considered her explanation, appearing to not wholly believe it. Thankfully, before he could respond, the cashier was calling out her order number. Jumping up, a nonplussed sound coming from Taehyung at her clumsy movement tripping over the chair, Y/N made haste for the food. On her way back to the table, she caught Hoseok reaching across the table to smack Yoongi’s arm, teeth gritted.

Setting the box of donuts for Jimin and Seokjin down, Y/N began rattling off the various sandwiches in search of each respective owner, grateful for the temporary pause of difficult inquiries. Placing the bag of hash browns in the middle for everyone, Y/N got to work on unwrapping her sandwich.

“Why would people think your house is haunted?” Taehyung spoke again, Y/N halting her chewing and throwing him a sideways glance. In the harsh lighting of the room, the shades of carmine in his eyes became more pronounced. Yoongi and Hoseok exchanged a look of utter disbelief at the sound of Taehyung’s voice, a hashbrown hanging limply from the leopard hybrid’s mouth in shock.

“Christ, he speaks,” Jeongguk muttered through a mouthful of bacon. Ignoring him, Y/N set her sandwich down.

“It’s an old house, I’ve been restoring it but it still needs a fair bit of work. The yard is all overgrown, and it’s at the end of a dead-end street…” Y/N sipped her coffee thoughtfully. “Besides, it’s filled with my grandmother’s old antiques. You can get lost in some of the back hallways, and there’s the occasional odd noise with no known source every now and again. I suppose there’s a number of reasons people think it’s haunted,” she answered truthfully, Taehyung chewing lightly on his straw with pointed cuspids while she spoke.

“Shit. Maybe we are living in a James Wan film now,” Yoongi joked, wiping grease from his fingertips on a stray napkin. Hoseok frowned, his thunder stolen as Y/N giggled at Yoongi’s amused gummy smile. “Have you ever seen a ghost in the house?”

“Well, no, not recently at least,” Y/N’s eyes glazed over, memories from her childhood locked away in the darker recesses of her mind coming to the surface. “When I was a kid I thought I saw spirits, but that could have just been childish imagination.”

She was aware of Jeongguk staring at her now, suddenly interested in the turn of conversation. Still holding a grudge about the way he spoke about her in the shelter earlier, she refused to give him the satisfaction of looking embarrassed with his examination of her side profile.

“The bar I used to work in was haunted as hell,” Yoongi volunteered, sitting back in his chair. Curiosity piqued, Y/N leaned forward, wondering if she had ever been to that bar during a paranormal tour in college. As Yoongi looked out the window, she got a good look at him; there was something familiar about his face, but she doubted that she had ever met him before as the amount of bars in Boston was astronomical and the chances were slim. Even drunk, she believed that she would have remembered someone as strikingly unique looking as Yoongi.

“Ah, so you worked at a bar? Did you know Jimin was working as one of those National Park hybrid rangers? All the way in Montana, too. I keep trying to ask him how he ended up all the way here, but he won’t tell me,” Hoseok pouted, slurping his Coolatta noisily. Taehyung’s hand crept across the table comically slow to grab a bag of hash browns, eyes flickering between everyone as if he was stealing from somebody.

“That’s why he’s weird. He’s one of those guys,” Yoongi’s eyes were wide, Y/N missing the piece of information that caused understanding to wash over everybody else’s features.

“I’m sorry. What do you mean?” Furrowing her eyebrows, Y/N gathered up trash from Jeongguk, who was rolling his eyes at her again.

“Hm. You don’t know about the hybrid rangers, huh?” Yoongi tossed his sandwich wrapper in a high arc across the table, somehow perfectly landing in the trash can beside Hoseok. “Something like fifty years ago they passed a law that hybrids can be employed in National Parks with a bunch of perks. I’m sure you know hybrids cannot work as humans do, unless they sneak around and find under-the-table type situations– like me. At the moment, being a hybrid ranger is the only legal form of employment a hybrid can take up; and you’re pretty much born into it. My guess, Jimin’s family is all back in Montana, living in a cozy little cabin paid for by the U.S. government. Why he left, that’s beyond me. Most hybrids would kill to be one of those rangers,” Yoongi muttered the last part of this statement, eyes downcast.

In her limited research of hybrids over the past years thanks to Ben’s interest in adoption and at her father’s insistence of reading interesting articles, Y/N hadn’t come across the law Yoongi was referring to. When it came to the many government legislations regarding hybrids, it was unsurprising that Y/N had not a clue about a legal employment option for them. She did know about illegal hybrid labor in corners of the country, which often made front-page news, as well as laws stating unadopted hybrids roaming the street would be brought back to shelters once discovered.

“Hence why he’s ‘weird’. He wasn’t raised in labs like the rest of us likely were; he acts more human than hybrid,” Hoseok added helpfully. Y/N hadn’t really had the same thought process– her brief time with Jimin wasn’t enough to make an accurate judgment on his behavior compared to the other hybrids.

With the food finished by now, she noticed Jeongguk getting fidgety, she figured it was a good time as any to move onto their drugstore run. Hoseok gathered up all of the trash as Y/N stood, feeling sluggish after the greasy and sugary breakfast, scooping up the box of donuts for Seokjin and Jimin. Tossing her empty coffee cup, she felt Taehyung looming behind her like an apparition, shuffling his feet against the scuffed floor. Hoseok held the door open for everybody, Jeongguk muttering ‘kiss ass’ the whole way out into the rain and through the doors to the pharmacy.

The blinding lights of the pharmacy had spots appearing in Y/N’s vision after being in the grayness of the rainstorm, the medicinal smell of VapoRub making her feel slightly ill. Handing out baskets to the hybrids, she told them to get what they needed, Hoseok trailing after Yoongi down the shampoo aisle and Jeongguk disappearing to the back of the store where the vitamins were. Taehyung remained by her side, and shrugging, she pulled out Jimin’s scant list and started towards the direction of dental care.

Humming, she examined the toothpaste options, selecting the best one and plopping two in her basket. She would have to shop for Seokjin, as well– and upon further consideration, she added a third tube for Namjoon. Taehyung was quiet beside her once more, watching her pick out a pack of charcoal toothbrushes, hardly placing anything in his own basket he had set on a display of paper towels. Seeing his disinterest in filling up his basket, unlike Hoseok who zoomed by to pull a mouthwash off the shelf in a flash, Y/N sighed and turned to the bear hybrid with a fourth tube of toothpaste.

“Taehyung, is this toothpaste okay for you? I think it’s probably the best one, the all-natural brand tastes terrible,” Y/N waved the tube around, Taehyung now leaning against the display with his hands buried in his pockets.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Floss too?” Taehyung suddenly lurched forward on the balls of his feet, the movement graceful, hand skimming past her face and plucking a pack of floss off of the shelf. Dropping the item into her basket, Taehyung peered into it, before grabbing a wooden-handled toothbrush for himself and adding that as well. Blinking rapidly at the speed at which he could move at the drop of a hat, Y/N eyed his side profile with awe.

“Hmm. What else should we get? Jimin didn’t write as detailed of a list as I would’ve liked…” frowning, Y/N looked to Taehyung for advice; she wasn’t sure what sort of things the men would need right away.

“Body wash. Maybe some lotion, deodorant. Razors and shaving cream,” Taehyung spoke very slowly, ticking off items on his long fingertips as he rattled them off. Grateful for his input, Y/N nodded enthusiastically, waving him to follow as she weaved through the aisles to retrieve everything.

He pointed out the best brands for items such as the razors and shaving creams, which she would have been puzzled over for minutes pondering over the sheer selection. Balancing the basket on her hip, she filled it with several bottles of body wash from the top shelf, nearly dropping it while trying to juggle the box of donuts she was still holding. Taehyung gently took the basket from her, slinging it over his forearm, and reached the last bottle she couldn’t grasp.

“Thanks, it’s not too heavy?” Y/N gestured towards the basket, feeling flustered all over again under Taehyung’s stoic stare. He shook his head, one of his ears twitching as a loud peal of Hoseok’s laughter came from the next aisle over. Grinning at the sound, Y/N set off to find him, hoping that everyone had gotten what they needed.

Yoongi was deliberating between two different hair brushes with Hoseok, who was insisting on a boar-bristle.

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying about oil distribution or whatever, Foxy, but the plastic brush is literally half the price. I just need it to work,” Yoongi was insisting, plopping a little plastic brush into his half-filled basket.

“Hi, guys! How’re you making out?” Y/N asked, Hoseok releasing the brush hanging on a hook he was checking out upon hearing her voice.

“I think I’ve got everything I need, just trying to help Yoongi out with proper hair care,” Hoseok squinted at Yoongi’s long hair with distaste.

“More like trying to lord over my choices,” Yoongi murmured, organizing the things in his basket gingerly.

“Where’s Jeongguk?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, not having seen the elk hybrid since they arrived. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to look over the shelves for any sign of antlers peeking out from an aisle.

“By the counter already,” Yoongi pointed, expression turning disdainful.

At the register, the three hybrids bumbling after her, Y/N felt relief wash over her when she spotted Jeongguk with his basket already up on the counter. While she didn’t believe that he truly would have ditched them, she was still nervous around him and the thought did cross her mind at least fleetingly. In his basket was the bare minimum, a bottle of saline like Y/N used for her new cartilage piercing, allergy tablets, a stick of deodorant, a package of BIC lighters. He was staring at the shelf behind the register with longing, Y/N following his gaze curiously as the teenage boy at the register began to ring all of the items through.

“What brand?” Y/N asked slyly, eyes roaming over the shelf of cigarette cartons. Stiffening, Jeongguk shot a sideways look down at her in surprise.

“Marlboro. Reds,” he answered, biting down on the ring hugging his lip.

“Three packs of the reds, please,” Y/N asked the young boy, who dropped them into a plastic bag and handed it to Jeongguk. As soon as Y/N stuck her credit card into the reader for everything, Jeongguk was gone, his silhouette visible through the window as he broke into one of the packs and his new lighters. Y/N would have loved to enjoy a cigarette at that moment, but wouldn’t dare ask for one from Jeongguk after his almost frantic dash to the sidewalk.

Taehyung hefted six bags onto his arms himself, leaving only two for Yoongi and Hoseok to grab before Y/N could reach for one. She followed after them heading to the exit, doing her best to shield the donut box from the rain with her arms. Cigarette smoke from Jeongguk wafted in a cloud as soon as she got out onto the sidewalk, rain soaking his hair and face as he cupped his hands to light what she presumed to be his second.

“You guys wait here, I’ll pull the car around,” Y/N shouted over a clap of thunder, Hoseok catching her by the hem of her sweater before she could dash out into the parking lot. Puzzled, she stared at him with wide eyes, him slotting one of the open umbrellas under her arm to keep her dry. Throwing him an appreciative, embarrassed smile, she stepped directly into an ankle-deep puddle, getting away as quickly as possible before he could laugh at her.

Stashing the donuts away, Y/N pulled up to the curb to the hybrids waiting under the awning of the Chinese restaurant. This time, before Hoseok could reach the passenger door, Taehyung beat him to the punch and clambered in next to Y/N, Hoseok whining behind him. With a tight-lipped smile, Taehyung shut the door in his face, brushing droplets of rain off his arms and stowing the bags he was carrying by his feet.

“Fucker,” Hoseok muttered acidically, sliding into the back seat next to Yoongi. Trying not to look amused at Hoseok’s bitterness, Y/N peered into the backseat through the rearview mirror, making sure everyone was present. Jeongguk looked significantly more relaxed than he had earlier in the morning, however, a thin veil of annoyance still blanketed his features as he fumbled with one of the packs of cigarettes in his hand.

“Alright, let’s head home,” Y/N murmured, mostly to herself, the rain getting heavier and more difficult to navigate through.

“Your wipers need a change,” Taehyung commented, leaning forward to squint at the way they uselessly flung small amounts of water off of the windshield. “I know how to do that,” he added.

“Really? I’d need to get the parts, though,” Y/N raised her eyebrows, wondering how she would find wipers for a car from 1986.

“You’ll find them in a junkyard, if there’s one around here,” Taehyung informed her, as if he had read her mind. Tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, she made a mental note to call up the junkyard in her town later on to save herself a trip if they didn’t have the wipers she needed.

Traffic was slow as she tried her best to see out of the windshield, rolling down her window to poke her head out occasionally to get a better view of the road. It seemed others on the road were taking precautions in the downpour by crawling on the highway, Y/N impatiently squirming in her seat. She started to feel bad for leaving Jimin and Seokjin alone, especially without many groceries in the house.

Y/N desperately needed to get to the supermarket; she had no idea what to make for lunch, let alone dinner. With the weather, the last thing Y/N wanted to do was lug paper bags back and forth to her car, but they couldn’t live on takeout forever– she thought for some ridiculous reason the hybrids would think she was incapable of feeding herself, and therefore themselves. Maybe one more night of pizza delivery before she could stock up wouldn’t be the worst, but it was the less than ideal option for her.

By the time they had made it about halfway home, Y/N’s phone began to ring, making her curse under her breath as she blindly grasped for it in the cupholder.

“Hello?” She breathlessly answered, not able to check the caller ID due to her focus on the road.

“Honey, it’s me!” Her mother replied, urgency lacing her tone. Y/N could hear her tinkering with what sounded like metal bowls.

“Hey mom, what’s up?” Y/N brightened her tone, switching to a slower lane to get off the highway shortly.

“I’m just letting you know, I’m coming over to the house in an hour or so. I went to the farmer’s market this morning to buy you some groceries and I packed up some meals for your freezer,” her mother said breathlessly, the snapping sound of plastic tupperware coming through the receiver.

“What!?” Y/N squawked, alarmed that she’d have to introduce her to the hybrids so soon. Running an anxious hand through her hair, she felt Taehyung jump next to her at her outburst, Yoongi and Hoseok making noises of confusion.

“I knew you weren’t going to make it to the store in the next few days. I could hear it in your voice. Honey, you can’t live on calzones, much less expect your new friends to eat takeaway every night,” her mother explained calmly, Y/N’s face becoming hot as she realized the hybrids could probably hear every word her mother was saying.

“A little head’s up would have been nice,” Y/N spit through her teeth, humiliated. Her mother laughed, the sound mirthful and easy.

“That’s what this is! Anyways, I’ll see you soon. I’ll even send you a message before we walk over.”

“We?” Y/N squeaked, mortification flooding into her even more quickly by now.

“Honey, are you becoming hard of hearing like your father? He’s coming with me, I need some help carrying the containers of bean burgers,” her mother sighed, tutting at her.

“Uh. Um, okay… I-I need to focus on driving, here, please text me before you leave,” Y/N rushed, on a new mission to get home as quickly as possible. Her mother said goodbye, promptly hanging up, Y/N stiffly placing her phone back in the cupholder.

“What was that all about?” Hoseok asked from the back seat, though she knew he could hear every word of the conversation through the phone. Grimacing, Y/N sped up the car, tapping her left foot against the carpeted car floor impatiently.

“Looks like you’ll all get to meet my parents today.”

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