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bluebeary-jay · 1 year

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How easy you are to need

Joel Miller x f!Reader

Summary: Joel notices that the peaceful life in Jackson has its consequences. he is not happy about it (based on this wonderful ask!)

Tags: TONS OF ANGST, but also FLUFF, established relationship, ahh intrusive thoughts (how much i hate them), Joel is probably ooc but i don't care anymore, also he's soft and insecure and vulnerable

Warnings: body dismorphia and lots of self-loathing on Joel's side, at one (two?) points borderline on smut ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) hihihi, swearing, drinking (just mentioned), suggestive stuff bc apparently i can't help myself 😌

Word count: 8K ! (8028 specifically woah)

A/N: the next fic will definitely be shorter bc i really need to start caring less about the quality of my work, it takes way too long for my liking. buuut anyway as always 🎶i hope yall will like it🎶 this is my birthday gift for you guys 💕

Joel looked at himself in the mirror with furrowed brows.

He pulled in his stomach and tried to zip his pants. It still fit, but barely. He undid the zip, turned to the side and looked at his reflection again, just to make sure.

Yeah. This pair was definitely loose until a while ago.

He glanced at the door, but didn’t hear you coming, so he sighed and looked in the mirror again. Joel was never particularly muscular, but he could no longer see those thin lines which accentuated his torso before. There was also a bit of fat above the hem of his jeans, and his frame seemed somehow heavier…

Good thing his left ear was directed to the door, because he heard the moment the water in the shower stopped running, which meant you were coming back from the bathroom. Joel spared himself one last wary look and zipped up his pants before turning around to your shared bed where his shirt lay discarded.

He was putting his arms into the sleeves when you entered. A couple of light steps, and then Joel smiled when he felt your arms wrapping around his torso. He glanced over his shoulder at you.

“You took your sweet time in the shower,” he pointed out, and he could feel your smile when you pressed your face to his back.

“We finally have hot water, so I’m gonna use it every chance I get.”

“You left some for me?”

You huffed a laugh and went around him, moving his hands away and starting to button his shirt yourself.

“There would be, if you took a shower with me.”

“Next time, sweetheart,” he chuckled and leaned in to kiss your forehead softly, combing his fingers through your wet hair. He hummed. “Your hair smells nice.”

“It’s that shampoo Ellie didn’t want.” You shook your head with a smile. “I have no idea why, it’s fantastic.”

You buttoned up the last button and smoothed your palms over his chest and down, lastly resting them on his waist. Internally Joel furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if he could always feel this fold when you put your hands in that place.

“You look handsome,” you whispered, looking up at him with twinkling eyes and such a soft, love-struck expression on your face that Joel felt his throat constricting. Everything but the sight of you faded from his mind, and he joined his hands behind your back, pulling you closer into his chest and basking in this precious smile you blessed him with. “Especially with the bed hair.”

“It’s your doin’, you know,” he murmured in response, nudging your nose with his and reminiscing how you tugged and raked your nails through his hair the night before. “You gotta be careful with it, sweet girl. If you continue doin’ it, m’gonna go bald soon.”

You hummed noncommittally and leaned against his chest, standing on your tip-toes. “I’ll take it under consideration. No promises, though.”

Joel lifted his hand to the back of your neck and kissed you slowly, reveling in the soft sigh that left your lips. You rested your palm above his heart, leaning forward to the point that you would fall over if he wasn’t supporting your weight.

But Joel held you tight and close to his body, gladly steadying you as you deepened the kiss, once again tugging on his graying hair in that way he adored. He wanted to tease you about it, but his thoughts strayed to the image of his body again when you lowered your hand from his chest to his side.

“You remember that tonight is this party?” you asked suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. Joel gave up pondering about his physique and sighed heavily at your question, pressing his forehead to yours.

“Yeah, I remember. Regrettably.”

“I don’t want to go, either,” you whispered with guilt, as if someone would hear you both. “But Tommy really wanted us to come and… Just don’t make me go alone.”

“Hey, darlin’.” Joel took your face in his hands and looked deeply into your eyes. “I promised, didn’t I? M’not gonna leave you there on your own.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, smiling against them. “And mind you, I gotta make sure no one will try to seduce and steal you away from me.”

You giggled, and you were standing so close that Joel could feel your eyelashes tickling his skin. He held you close when you tried to take a step back, and your lips collided again.

“That is the one thing you don’t need to ever worry about,” you murmured quietly into the space between you two. “How could I even look at other people when I have you all to myself?”

Joel’s reflection in the mirror flashed across his mind again and a small wave of uncertainty rippled through him, but it quickly disappeared when you opened your eyes and looked at him with this raw love radiating from them. Your every word, every affectionate gesture only confirmed his conviction that you meant every word you said.

So why did he still feel so uncertain?

*****

Life in Jackson was perfect. Considering the state of the world right now, living here was like winning a lottery.

Joel had a lot to be thankful for, he was well aware of that. No longer had he any fears or sense of guilt about going to sleep and leaving you and Ellie defenseless if something were to happen. He didn’t have to count rations anymore, worrying that the kid would be forced to march all day hungry. There was now no need to keep a watchful eye for new clothes if someone’s worn off, ripped or got soaked from walking in the rain, posing a threat of you or Ellie catching a cold.

Back in Boston it wasn’t much different, though he and you had at least a bed to sleep in, as uncomfortable as it was. But there was never enough food for all those people Fedra kept there, and the winters were cold as hell, leaving at least one of you a bit sick every year.

None of those things were keeping him awake at night anymore. The only people he had to take care of – you and Ellie – were safe and comfortable. None of you had to starve or freeze, and you all didn’t have to continue walking across the country for days and days without end, struggling to survive.

Maybe that was the problem.

Joel wasn’t stupid. He knew that those luxuries he had an access to now were at the root of his problem. Before you all settled in Jackson, you were constantly on the move, fighting for your lives in one way or another, so of course he was… leaner and more fit back then. It was never something he paid attention to, though, never something he concerned himself with.

But now you three were living here, surrounded by more people than Joel could count, and he couldn’t help but… notice things about them.

Especially about all those men and women who looked at you in a different way.

Due to the nature of the party Tommy invited them to – mainly consisting of dancing and talking in the biggest bar in Jackson – Joel had a lot of time to ponder about his situation, all while nursing his drink and looking at you from across the room with his elbows resting on the table.

You were chatting with one of your friends near the counter, laughing and smiling so beautifully. No matter where Joel’s eyes strayed, they always came back to your person, as if you were the moon against the pitch black sky, reflecting some imperceptible light.

Some guy he knew by sight – Chuck? Bart? – walked up and tapped you on the shoulder, and from what Joel could tell, he was offering you a drink. He was standing way too close, though, and you took a step closer to your friend, shaking your head. Chuck – or Bart – persisted for another half a minute, but eventually shrugged and shuffled off, his movements tense.

Joel didn’t move. He knew from experience that you’d let him know if you needed his help.

As if sensing his gaze, you turned your head and sent him a radiant smile. He mirrored it, lifting his glass slightly like he was toasting you, which made you do the same before resuming the conversation with your friend.

His smile disappeared as soon as you stopped looking at him. Joel sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers, feeling a headache coming from the dull lights and loud chatter all around.

It were moments like this when it hit him just how old he was compared to you.

You were a sweet, young thing. Funny, sharp, drop-dead gorgeous… No wonder some people were seeking your attention. That guy was just one of the half a dozen he saw or heard about since you moved to Jackson.

Joel knew you were a loyal sort – God, he knew that, he knew you for so long now – but every time he saw you talking to someone else, his treacherous mind started to wonder if he wasn’t somehow keeping you chained to his person.

It was probably alcohol talking, but Lord, if he wasn’t reminded of how old he was compared to you every time he saw you next to your peers. You still had so much life ahead of you, and he was pushing sixty, for fuck’s sake. Before long he’ll be old and decrepit, unable to bring something useful to the table or help you in any way, and you’d still be as pretty as ever, trapped in a relationship with an old man.

For example, that guy – Chuck, or whomever – was way closer to your age, had handsome features, and Joel knew for a fact he was working at tree felling, so he had to be muscular, too.

Joel was once, too. Once.

He subtly ran his hand across his stomach under the jacket, his brows furrowed, and leaned back on the bench to get rid of those damned fat folds.

He sighed and downed the rest of the liquor in his glass, trying very hard not to think about it, not to put himself down like that and let those cruel thoughts fester in his mind, but no matter what, he couldn’t stop comparing himself to this guy, and also… how you looked next to him.

Shit. What if he was doing you more harm than good by continuing to stay with you?

“I could pickpocket you and you wouldn’t notice.”

Joel looked up, abruptly pulled out of his thoughts. You were standing over his table with your head tilted and still that beaming smile on your face.

“What are you thinking about, handsome?”

He opened his mouth, glanced in the direction of the bar, and closed it. There was no sign of any of the people you just talked with.

“Nothin’,” he replied, maybe a little too dryly, so he quickly changed the subject. “You havin’ fun?”

“Yeah, it’s nicer than I thought.” You looked around and then spotted the empty glass on the table in front of him. “Do you want me to bring you another one?”

“No, there’s no need,” he grumbled, but you had already put your drink down and sent him a wink.

“I'll be right back, baby.”

Joel hissed your name but you just looked over your shoulder with a smirk, swinging your hips provocatively to the music and ignoring him completely. He sighed heavily, slumping in his seat.

He needed to get his shit together. Fuck his insecurities, he didn’t want to take his frustration out on you when you were nothing but a ray of sunshine in his life, always so good and affectionate.

Joel’s thoughts came to a sudden stop when he searched for you in the crowd and noticed another man, this time one he didn’t know, swinging his arm over your shoulders while you waited at the bar. He tried to read your body language from here, but you didn’t seem particularly uncomfortable with the man’s actions. Joel furrowed his brows, a pit of uncertainty forming in his stomach again... but then you threw the man’s heavy limb off your shoulders and went back to Joel’s table as soon as you got the drink.

“Thanks, darlin’,” he murmured, taking a large gulp despite telling himself earlier that he was done drinking for today. “Were you okay back there?” He pointed his chin towards the bar.

You sat down next to him and smiled innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”

Joel knew you long enough to recognize when you were teasing him, and he smirked despite the doubts swirling in his mind.

“Was that guy givin’ you any trouble?” he asked lazily, deciding to play along.

“Would you beat the shit out of him if I said yes?” you asked with your eyebrows raised, and Joel shrugged, acting nonchalant.

“Probably.”

You giggled and bumped his shoulder with yours playfully.

“Then no. Peter’s a good guy. Just a little,” you seemed to be looking for the right word, “uhm, persistent.” When Joel sent you a dubious look, you rolled your eyes and made a face. “He’s politely hitting on me, but doesn’t get that I’m not interested. He works at the same place I do.”

“If he keeps makin’ you uncomfortable, that’s not very polite.” You squinted at him and Joel lifted his hands in fake surrender. “M’not sayin’ anythin’. You can take care of yourself, I know that.”

You hummed melodically and glanced at the bar, then back at Joel. Then back at the bar again where that Peter guy stood. Joel noticed you biting the inside of your cheek, so he gently nudged your knee with his.

“What’s on your mind, sweet girl?”

“Maybe you could help me make it clear that I’m taken?” you blurted out quickly, making him crack a smile and chuckle under his breath.

It was so very easy to forget about all the problems in the world when you were there, sitting right next to him and warming his soul and body with your mere presence.

“Come ‘ere,” he breathed and tugged you gently to sit on his lap. You faltered, but he gave your hand another light tug, and finally you let him guide you, putting one arm around his shoulders and making yourself comfortable.

Joel’s hand mindlessly went to rest on your thigh and he rubbed it comfortingly. That Peter guy, as he noted with satisfaction, was staring right back at you, eyeing the way your body was pressed flush against Joel’s with a twisted face.

Once the eyes of the both men met, Joel leaned in and kissed your neck, keeping eye contact the entire time. Peter turned away, taking a large swig from his glass.

Joel felt your muscles relaxing, and you giggled adorably next to his ear at his antics, hiding your neck between your shoulders when he nibbled at your skin lightly. Then your hand covered his, the one lying on your thigh, and stroked his skin lovingly.

Maybe Joel was keeping you chained somehow. Then again, he was but a selfish creature after all. He didn’t know if he could bring himself to ever truly let you go.

*****

The next few days – which then turned into weeks – Joel spent wondering. Mostly about what to do with his predicaments.

He had a couple of them.

The first problem was the nights. They became more difficult since he noticed… details about himself that weren’t there before, and which bothered him more and more with each day.

Joel used to love the nightfall, especially since you all settled in Jackson. In those evening hours no one bothered him, he could finally relax, spend some time alone with you, and later collapse on the bed to get a good-night sleep.

Well, not anymore.

The bedtime unexpectedly became the most stressful one for him. He was so fucking mad at himself, because laying down and having a chance to hold you in his arms was something he treasured for the longest time, but now his own insecurities stood in a way of it.

You loved cuddling and being close to him in your sleep, and Joel was never bothered by it – hell, he initiated those moments more often than not. But now he started noticing more and more how this layer of fat on his stomach moved and looked like when you draped your arm around him or snuggled closer to his chest, and it became all he could think about.

It bothered Joel so much that he started wearing a t-shirt to bed, even though he hated it with all his passion. When you asked about it, he lied that he’s cold, but in reality he was always sweaty by morning. It didn’t seem to make any difference to you, though, and you didn’t shy away from pressing your body close to his, and even slipping your hands under his shirt when you were spooning him. Some days Joel was waking up with you lying on his chest or having your arm slung across his belly, and every time it caused a lump in his throat.

He knew you didn’t mean anything bad by it – for God’s sake, you probably didn’t even have any idea that he had a problem with himself – but what once was a wonderful start of the day, now became a bitter reminder of all those things he was insecure about.

Recently he built a habit of waking up before you – he did it often before, but he always stayed in bed and waited for you to open your eyes, too – and carefully disentangling himself from your embrace. It wasn’t like it didn’t feel wonderful to be enveloped by you in this way, but once he stirred awake, lying still was a herculean task. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, his skin was itching and buzzing, he was sweating from nerves and a lot of horrible, self-depriving thoughts were flooding his mind.

So once he woke up, he’d go take a shower, trying to be a little bit louder than necessary in hopes that you’d already be awake when he gets back – so that he wouldn’t feel so guilty about not laying back down next to you.

The second of his problems was that you began to watch him more closely.

He didn’t know when it started happening, but in hindsight he realized it was just a matter of time – he was acting weird, after all, and you knew him too well not to notice anything.

A couple of times in the last few days only, Joel caught you staring at him in silence. Your eyes were solemn and your forehead sad, though you were quick to smile and act like nothing was amiss as soon as he turned your way.

You must have known something was wrong, but Joel didn’t ask about it. Honestly, with all that was happening in his own head, he didn’t want to know.

But at the same time it was as if nothing odd was happening. You were your usual self, a blessing in Joel’s life, and you still sought to be close to him and spend as much time together as possible. You still told him you loved him, surprised him with unexpected gestures of affection…

Just like today – you hugged him from behind while he was dressing up, started kissing his shoulders so tenderly and murmuring sweet nothings into his skin… In those moments Joel could almost forget about everything that was nagging him. It was easy to believe that you still liked the way he looked, that he was deserving of you, when you treated him with nothing but overwhelming love.

But the itch in the back of his mind never really disappeared. Even though he wanted it to.

Those thoughts filled his mind while you were sitting on his lap, telling him some story from work in a soft voice. You two were at Tommy’s, waiting for him to get back from helping his wife with something, and the day was so beautiful that you all went out onto the patio in front of the house to enjoy the unusually warm weather for this time of the year.

Joel’s hand was on your thigh, stroking it absentmindedly, while he nodded to whatever you were saying, but for the life of him, he could not focus.

Has your physique changed as well? Joel didn’t care about those things, of course, and in his eyes you were as breathtaking as ever – maybe even more, since so many of your worries disappeared and he got to see your smile more often. And you still felt perfect under his hands when he was holding you at night, still looked like a goddess every time he got to admire your naked body.

But even though he wouldn’t have cared either way if you gained some weight or looked any different, his body still bothered him.

You rested your head on his shoulder, and Joel fixed his attention to the wind-blown tree crowns in the distance.

Maybe he should start exercising.

Joel never liked the idea of waking up early and running down the streets in a sweat-soaked t-shirt, or going to the gym where everyone seems to stare and judge you, but it was never necessary.

With how much traveling, heavy-lifting and working he had to do, he never concerned himself with the way he looked. Hell, these things are the last on your mind when you’re fighting for your life in this god-forsaken world. But here, in Jackson, it was different. Life was good, and you were happy. And as stupid as it sounded for him, Joel wanted to look good for you.

Maybe he should ask Maria to assign him to extra patrols. He already volunteered for the morning ones, but perhaps…

“You’re quiet.”

Joel didn’t realize you stopped telling your story. He pressed his lips together and his hand on your thigh stilled.

“Sorry.”

“No need for that,” you reassured him quickly. Then you cupped his cheeks and lifted his head gently. “I don’t mean ‘now’, though, I mean… lately, in general.” Your eyes were flickering across his face, like you were hoping to read the answer from his features. “Is there something you wanna talk about?”

No. Hell no. It was bad enough that Joel himself was aware of his issue, he didn’t want to make it even more noticeable by pointing it out to you.

Which reminded him – he moved his torso away from you only a few millimeters.

“No, babygirl,” he answered. He brushed some hair behind your ear, smiling softly even though inside he despised himself for lying to you. “Everythin’s fine.”

You didn’t seem convinced and still were studying his face with concern. Joel resumed petting your thigh, wanting to put you at ease. He could worry about himself, but he didn’t need to concern you with his problems, too.

“I promise,” he added. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

That look in your eyes didn’t disappear, but you hummed and dropped your hands. It didn’t take a genius to know you didn’t believe him.

“If you say so,” you answered at last, and then covered his hand on your leg with your own. “But remember you can talk to me whenever you want. About anything.”

Jesus, your kindness was only confirming his concerns if he was the right person for you. Joel shook his head with a crooked smile.

“You’re gettin’ sappy.”

“It’s because I’m worried,” you shot back without skipping a beat, swatting at his chest with the back of your hand. “And you’re not making it any easier.”

“There’s nothin’ for you to worry about,” he repeated, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. But he failed.

You pressed your lips together and then made a move to get up from his lap without a word. Joel held onto you delicately, not letting you stand up.

“Wait, darlin’,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “Didn’t mean to say it that way. I just… feel tired. Sorry.”

Your eyes softened when you took in the regret and weariness on his face. Joel felt your fingertips on his jaw, but before you could question him further, Tommy returned from the inside of the house with a grin.

“Age is a heavy burden, eh, ol’ dog?” he teased, apparently having heard the last bit of their conversation. The younger Miller placed three bottles of beer on the table, and winked at you. “That’s just how it is for us now. Enjoy your youth while you still can, punk.”

Joel felt a sharp jab in his ribs, not unlike being stabbed. He couldn’t find it in himself to look at his brother, less alone laugh at his teasing.

Of course Tommy didn’t mean anything bad by it, but his words were just a bitter reminder of the ever-present pit of Joel’s stomach.

The weight of you on his lap suddenly felt a lot lighter, and he himself felt so, so very heavy and tired.

Old.

Joel could feel your eyes boring into his face, but a second later you turned to Tommy, taking the burden of filling the uncomfortable silence.

“It’s already started for me. Sometimes I feel like my bones want to kill me prematurely.”

“M’sure Joel won’t let that happen. He’d fight your skeleton if you said it’s botherin’ you.”

You snorted and shook your head, but your smile faltered when you turned to Joel again. He almost broke down right then and there from the guilt and tightness in his chest.

And the dark feeling inside him just grew when your eyes stayed sad and concerned for the rest of the day.

*****

It had to end.

Joel could no longer pretend everything was alright like he wasn’t dying on the inside every time you did as much as hold his hand. He felt horrible about lying, avoiding spending time together and denying you affection he knew you so loved receiving.

If he was being honest with himself, he wanted this affection, too. Undisturbed with self-doubts and guilt.

He fucking craved it.

Those last few weeks, his evenings were mostly spent away from you and the warmth of your shared home. The nights, on the other hand, when he would sneak in and quietly lay down next to you (but just a little further away), became full of intrusive thoughts and wallowing in self-loathing.

No matter what excuse he came up with, you were persistent in holding and being close to him during the night, and Joel discovered that the only way to prevent you from doing it was to come to bed after you’ve already fallen asleep.

But it was a damn torture.

The worst part was when he was coming home to the sight of you lying amongst the tangled sheets and blankets in his bed. No matter if you were drooling or a pillow has imprinted itself on your cheek, every time this sight made Joel weak in the knees. You looked like a gorgeous, priceless painting, and it pained him to disrupt your rest with his arrival.

He tried to volunteer for evening patrols, because then he’d have a real reason to come home late, but not only Maria didn’t want to pair him with anyone during those hours – she also suspended him from all patrols whatsoever. Joel was understandably furious, but the damn woman threatened to tell Tommy about it if he kept being ‘a stubborn pain in her ass’. She sent him back home, murmuring something about spending more time with you, which he tried to pretend he hadn’t heard.

Joel sighed, sitting up on the edge of the bed and hiding his face in his hand.

If Maria of all people could see that there were some problems in your and Joel’s relationship, then you had to notice, too.

Christ, he was the worst.

Joel didn’t want to push you away, of course not. He wanted to stay with you more than anything, but that desire did nothing to diminish the guilt suffocating him. For some time, he felt like the luckiest man alive, having the privilege to call you his and every day come home to you. But now with all those little things he started to notice, he felt like a fraud.

It wasn’t even about him not deserving you anymore – it was that you didn’t deserve this fucking treatment he was giving you these past few weeks.

Fuck, he had to tell you the truth. About the patrols, sneaking out, distancing himself, all of it. He couldn’t bear lying to you a day longer.

Joel stood up and pulled his sweaty t-shirt over his head. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and patted himself under his armpits and on the back, then reached for a clean one.

He’ll figure it out. He just needed some time to come up with a way to–

“Morning, handsome.”

Joel flinched and turned around quickly, not having realized you were awake, but whatever excuse he had in mind, it fell dead on his lips.

You stretched with a groan, reaching one arm high above your head and rubbing your eyes with the other hand. A sleepy smile danced on your lips when you looked back at him with sparkles in your slightly puffy eyes, and Joel didn’t have any other word to describe you than ‘ethereal’.

“What are you doing?” you asked groggily, relaxing against the pillow and looking him up and down.

“Uhmm…” he hesitated, clutching the t-shirt that was in need of washing close to his chest. His gaze was drawn to the window. “Goin’ out, actually. I’ve got some work…”

“No, you don’t,” you interrupted him and swung off the covers from his side of the bed. “Get back here.”

Joel looked at you with surprise.

“What?”

“You heard me, Miller. Get your ass back on the bed.”

He crumpled the shirt in his hands, hesitating, but his eyes softened as soon as he looked back at you and your raised eyebrows – like you were challenging him to just try and refuse you.

But how could he, when you looked so pretty lying in his bed and demanding to have him close to you? How could he ever deny you anything?

With a defeated sigh, Joel started putting the t-shirt back on, but the sound of you humming in protest stopped him. Your face was grumpy when he glanced up.

“Nah. No shirt.” You extended your hand in his direction, making a grabbing motion. “Come here.”

Joel didn’t move. “Why?”

You rolled your eyes and dramatically flopped down onto the pillows, looking up at him with an adorable pout.

“Because it’s been a long time since I got a chance to admire my handsome, sexy man,” you answered with sincerity, and then grinned. “Now come here. If you ditch your shirt, I’ll consider ditching mine.”

He still didn’t move. You were patient, but when it became clear that he wasn’t going to do anything, you sent him a small, sweet smile. “If you get cold again, I promise to do something about it, love.”

Joel physically felt his heart softening at your words and at the sight of you.

With a silent sigh – and only a split second of hesitation – he took off the t-shirt and quickly laid down on his back next to you. He felt a bile rise in his throat, though he had no idea why, and it became almost choking when you shifted closer to him, putting one hand on his chest.

“You’ve deprived me of this beautiful view for too long,” you whispered, kissing the place below his collarbone, and then going up to the base of his neck. “I missed seeing you like this.”

“There’s nothin’ to miss,” Joel muttered, not moving a single muscle. He had his hands entwined on his stomach and to look in your direction was the biggest effort anyone could demand from him now. “We sleep next to each other every night, sweetheart.”

“You know what I mean,” you breathed into his neck, leaving love bites wherever your lips strayed. “You’re going out so early these days. And you work late.”

“Patrols,” Joel grunted with gritted teeth, his muscles tense and breathing ragged as your warm palm caressed his waist. “Sorry.”

“You work too hard, love.” You sat up and swung one of your legs over his lap. Joel actually shivered when you took his hands in your own and placed them on your hips. “Let me help you relax.”

Oh, fuck.

Jesus fucking Christ, Joel was sure he was going to drop dead at any second now.

“Darlin��…” he began, but you made a noise in your throat and leaned in to kiss him deeply, pressing your body to his. Joel loved when you initiated those moments between you two, and you looked so fucking hot sitting on top of him – but for the life of him, he could not relax.

“It hits me every once in a while how lucky I am to have you,” you whispered in such a sweet, adoring voice, like you didn’t hear him. You pressed your lips against his stubble again, igniting every inch of his skin with your touch. “Let me enjoy you. I love you so much, you know that?”

“I…”

I love you, too.

Lord, he loved you so much. Why was it so hard to return your affections, then? Why did he feel like the biggest crook by letting you love him?

Joel let out a shuddering sigh he didn’t know he was holding when you pressed your lips to the edge of his jaw, before capturing his mouth in a kiss. It was sweet, but heated at the same time and, without even thinking about it, he found himself wrapping his strong arms around you, bringing you closer to his chest. You smiled against his lips and murmured something he didn’t quite catch.

A groan escaped him when you bit his lower lip lightly, your soft palm going down, from his chest, to his stomach, down…

He couldn’t do it.

Joel abruptly rose to the sitting position and grabbed your wrist, his eyes sad and painful.

“I’m sorry, baby” he said with furrowed brows, gently setting you aside and off his lap, before standing up quickly. “I’m so sorry, babygirl, I love you, I promise, but I can’t… I don’t feel good today. I’m sorry.”

“Joel…” you started, but he shook his head, putting his t-shirt back on and turning away from you not to let you see the absolute wrecked expression on his face and wetness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he kept saying, feeling like he’s about to throw up from the nerves and the burning shame. He cursed himself internally, wanting to turn around, to take your face in his hands and kiss you deeply, but he… he... “I’m so…”

All strength left him in a blink of an eye and suddenly he slumped on the bed, hiding his face in his hands. Joel desperately tried to get a grip on himself, but his chest felt so tight, and all the worry, all the guilt and fear, and self-loathing came crashing down on him all at once.

“M’sorry, darlin’,” he whispered hoarsely, his lips trembling and that damn muscle in his cheek pulsing when he felt the mattress dipping and your tentative touch on his face.

“No, no, baby, it’s alright,” you started saying quietly, trying to take his cheeks in your hands, but he didn’t let you. “Oh, Joel… Come here.”

You gently pulled him into your arms, guiding his head to rest in the crook of your neck. Joel hid his face in your skin, realizing with dread that his own shoulders were shaking.

For God’s sake, he needed to stop, he needed to put himself together and not show any weakness–

But it was you. It was your warm embrace and your loving hands brushing his hair, and your quiet whispers while you held him. It was your kindness and understanding, and stubbornness coming from love. You weren’t someone he had to hide from.

So he let you in. He let you hold him.

“Joel, please. Talk to me,” you spoke up after some time, and though your tone was soft, it somehow sounded too loud in the silence of the room. “I need to know what’s going on with you, you’re worrying me.”

“Nothin’ is goin’ on,” he answered out of habit, not even moving a muscle. “I just… fuck, sorry.”

“Stop apologizing and talk to me.” Joel pursed his lips, while you massaged his back gently. “Whatever it is, we’re gonna get through it together, okay? It’s gonna be okay, love, I promise.”

He planned on telling you. He wanted to tell you and get it off his chest, but… he wasn’t ready. Not now. Not when he broke down in front of you, for fuck’s sake.

But you deserved to know. If not to help him, then at least to make you aware of what you’ve gotten yourself into. It wasn’t fair to keep you in the dark and at arm’s length because of his absurd fears.

He wetted his lips and inhaled softly, but no words came out.

You gently lifted his head and Joel immediately squeezed his eyes shut, knowing there was no way he’d be able to say anything if he looked at you.

“You can tell me, baby,” you whispered sadly, touching the side of his face. “Anything. I promise everything will be alright.”

Joel was silent for a couple of moments, before he swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm down his pounding heart.

“I don’t have any extra work,” he started very quietly, so his voice wouldn’t break. “I was lyin’ to you, and I… I’m so sorry about that. I don’t get sent on any patrols now, actually…”

He shook his head and sighed heavily, faltering. He knew that wasn’t the problem, and although lying to you was one of the things he was guilty of, it wasn’t what started all of it. And you must’ve known it, too, because you kept looking at him, not saying anything.

“The thin’ is, I… God dammit,” he murmured, turning his head away from you and hiding his face in his hands, still keeping his eyes closed. “I can’t… I don’t– I have a problem with myself,” he finally blurted out, not even caring now if you understood his muffled words. “I keep…”

Fuck, man, just say it.

“I’m… I’m not as fit as I used to be,” he murmured, not moving an inch in fear that you’ll spot the wetness on his eyelashes. “I don’t want to do you harm, darlin’, keepin’ you from… Jesus, I don’t know. From livin’ your life, happily and to the fullest.”

“Joel…” You whispered with pain in your voice. “Is this what it is about?”

Joel shook his head, letting out a shuddering breath, still as quietly as he could.

“I’m old,” he said with tiredness he didn’t know he had in himself. “And you… You’re so pretty and young, I…” He lowered his forehead onto his hand, rubbing his temple. “I would like nothin’ more than to spend the rest of my life with you, darlin’. But I’m afraid I’m not… not good for you. You could do so much better–”

“Hey. Hey, none of that.” You forced his hands away from his face by cradling it in your own palms. “There’s no one else I’d rather share my days with.”

Joel just shut his eyes tighter, trying to contain the tears that started to gather in them.

“I know, sweetheart,” he whispered. “But in a couple of years I’ll be… God, I’ll be fuckin’ sixty, and you–”

“Do you really think I care about that?” you asked softly, brushing your thumbs under his eyes, but he shook his head, like you didn’t understand. “Joel, I love you more than anything in this world. And I know you love me.” He heard the faintest smile in your voice, and it made him feel so, so terrible with himself – that you were trying to make him feel better when you shouldn’t have, he shouldn’t have been another one of your worries… “So where’s the problem? I want to be with you. Only you.”

Joel pressed his lips together and before he could stop himself, he draped his arms over his lap, like he was trying to hide the evidence of his insecurities from you, even though his torso was already covered by the t-shirt.

“You’re young and beautiful,” he repeated, still unable to find strength in himself to look you in the eye. “And I’m anythin’ but. I just don’t wanna…”

Joel didn’t know what else to say.

He didn’t want you to leave. He didn’t want to spend another night apart from you. He didn’t want to push you away.

“Just don’t want you to be unhappy,” he finally murmured.

You let out something between a short chuckle and a stifled sob, and your fingers found Joel’s, still wrapped around his stomach.

“Do I look unhappy to you?” you asked, almost in disbelief. Joel finally willed himself to glance at you, if only to see for himself – which turned out to be a mistake. Your eyes were sad and teary, but not full of hurt or distaste like he feared, and you still had this faint smile on your face. He quickly turned his head away and you must’ve realized how you looked because your hold on his fingers tightened slightly. “Not right now. In general, did I ever do something to make you think I’m not happy with you?”

“No,” he answered quietly, not even having to think about it. “But it doesn’t…”

“I told you before, how can I even look at anyone else when I have you?” you spoke up when he faltered. “You’re beautiful to me, Joel, even if you don’t believe me right now. You’re amazing and kind, you’re fucking hot, and yeah, maybe you’re stubborn at times, but I love you so much, and every day I find another reason to fall for you all over again.”

Joel met your eyes again, looking for any hesitation or deceit – but he didn’t find any. As always, you were sincere in everything you said.

He realized, with another wave of tears threatening to roll down his cheeks, how much he missed your affection that he alone deprived himself from. How much he longed for this intimacy that once came so easily to him.

“M’sorry,” he muttered at last, lifting his hand to your face and trying to ignore those damn tears spilling from behind his eyelids. “Never doubted you, babygirl, but I just didn’t know how… how to tell you.”

“It’s okay, Joel,” you nuzzled your cheek into his palm, planting a kiss on the inside of his hand. “It’s alright, c’mon here.”

Not letting go of his hand, you tugged him gently and leaned back on the pillows. With great effort he refrained from fighting you, and instead let you pull him down, laying his head on your chest.

And in an instant, everything was alright again. The moment Joel heard your heartbeat under his ear and felt your gentle hands on the nape of his neck and his back… it was like coming home. This feeling of warmth spreading across his limbs made him feel safe for the first time in weeks.

It was so long since he fully let you hold him.

Maybe that’s what he’s been missing.

“I adore you, Joel Miller,” you whispered into the top of his head, holding him close to your heart. “All of you, and just the way you are.”

Joel couldn’t help it – a small smile crept onto his lips.

“Called it,” he murmured. “You’re gettin’ sappy.”

You snorted and kissed his hairline. “I think you need it, handsome.”

“Maybe I do,” he conceded, not moving his head from your chest, and sighed tiredly. “Dammit, missed holdin’ you like this, babygirl. M’so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you countered, but he continued.

“I just didn’t know how to talk about it… How to tell you that I feel bad. About… the way I look.”

Joel felt your hands on his cheeks, and although he really didn’t want to move from the position he was in, he let you lift his head.

“I love the way you look,” you said quietly, in a tone that made Joel’s old heart flutter. “And our bodies change, there’s nothing wrong with that. If anything, I’m really happy that both of us can enjoy this kind of life.” You leaned in and nudged Joel’s nose with yours, closing your eyes. “Every change of our bodies is a sign that we’re finally safe after all we’ve been through.

“But you look gorgeous as ever, sweet girl.”

“M’glad to hear it, Mr Miller,” you teased, but then your smile turned wistful. “But you know, I was insecure about my looks, too, not sure if you noticed. My stomach and thighs, and,” you rolled your eyes, “well, my butt.”

Normally Joel would throw a playful remark, or try to make you giggle, but this time he stayed silent. He just listened to your soft voice, drinking in your features.

“It worried me for some time. But you still put your hand on my leg when I was sitting with you, and you never shied away from telling and showing me,” you stressed this word, a teasing note in your tone, “how much you like my body.”

“‘Course I do,” he murmured quietly, lifting himself on his elbows and leaning over you despite your huffs and efforts to keep him in place.

“So I thought that maybe you didn’t care about this extra weight, or even didn’t–”

The rest of your words were swallowed by Joel’s lips when he kissed you deeply and hungrily. So many strong emotions were swirling inside his chest, he didn’t know anymore what to do with himself. At first you tried to continue your train of thought, but soon gave up, erupting into giggles when Joel latched his lips onto your neck and wrapped his arms around you in an attempt to bring you in even closer.

“I didn’t care,” he was whispering into your skin, leaving a trail of wet kisses in his wake. “I don’t.”

“Then you see– Joel, stop it!” You squealed when he carried on with his assault, not giving you a second to gather your thoughts.

“M’so lucky to have you,” he whispered while peppering your face in soft kisses. “Thank you, babygirl.”

You finally managed to free your arms, and you cupped his face in your hands with a huge grin that Joel decided he wanted to see every day. Another adorable giggle escaped you when he snuggled his scratchy cheek into your palm.

“I know it will take time,” you said gently, but firmly, looking deep into his eyes. “But no matter how long it’ll take, I will make you understand how incredibly attracted I am to you.” Joel hung his head low to hide a bashful snigger, and your smile grew. “Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. Understood, ma’am.”

“Good.” You pulled him closer to plant a slow kiss on his lips, and asked seductively: “I can start right now, if you’d want to. I don’t want my handsome man to feel insecure about any part of him.”

God, he loved you so much.

Joel hid his face in the crook of your neck again, his heart squeezing with adoration and disbelief at how it came that he’d been blessed with someone like you.

“Y’know what, sweetheart? I think it’d do me good.”

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us #joel miller #joel miller x y/n #joel tlou #i will actually be taking a break because i have uni stuff to do which i REALLY neglected on behalf of this fic #i really got carried away with this one and the final scene took me so long to write omg #i really tried to approach this topic with respect and understanding and i very much hope it's alright #soft joel miller #joel miller fluff #the last of us fic

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frvnkcastles · 2 months

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I just know Frank would feel a different type of pride if reader got her nails done and got the color he suggested.😌☝🏼 He’s like “damn she actually took my opinion into consideration”

YOU PUT MY HEAD IN SUCH A FLURRY ➵ F. CASTLE

Summary: You involve Frank in getting your nails done, much to his surprise and delight.

Warnings: Implied sexual content, mostly just fluff, feminine nicknames, language

Word count: 1k

Author’s note: Okay this was supposed to be just a drabble but it kinda got away from me. Anon, you’re absolutely right, he would be so invested and he’d think about it nonstop for days. This was such a wholesome idea, I hope I made it justice <3

He thought it was so silly that you would ask for his opinion on the matter. You getting your nails done in itself wasn’t silly in the slightest — in fact, he enjoyed seeing you get all dolled up and more importantly, he loved how confident you seemed afterwards. It was obviously important to you, and he went out of his way to encourage it, either by driving you to your appointments or even paying for the whole thing.

But asking for his thoughts? He didn’t know what to say, stunned speechless as you stared at him sweetly and expectantly, genuinely curious as to what he was going to answer. He wasn’t stylish or fashionable at all, and he definitely didn’t understand the first thing about color-coding nor did he stay on top of the latest trends. So, when you wondered what he thought your next nail color should be, he struggled to come up with a response.

”Uh… I dunno, darlin’. Don’t wanna give you the wrong answer”, he replied while scratching the back of his neck, his current task of cooking for you on hold as he watched you smile up at him from across the kitchen counter. He knew exactly what your favorite color was, but he supposed that would have been the obvious, no-effort choice.

You chuckled softly, a little amused by his hesitation. ”There’s no right or wrong answer, baby. I just think it’d be nice to have something you picked for me”, you shrugged, insisting that it was just a very casual thing and not something he needed to start sweating over.

A sheepish smile crossed his lips. He was a big fan of your every-day outfits, the way you did your make-up, and yes, also your nails. He knew it mattered to you, so it meant a lot to him that you wanted to involve him in the process.

”Aight, uh, I’mma go with red. Y’know I fuckin’ love seein’ you in red”, he huffed, riled up at the mere thought. It was true — there was no color he didn’t appreciate on you, but whenever you were dressed in red especially, something in him just came to life in a whole new way. He had shown you his admiration multiple times, occasionally resulting in you being late to wherever you were headed just because he couldn’t keep his hands off of you.

You blushed and nodded, receptive to the idea. ”Red it is. Think you can handle it, Frankie?” you teased, very aware of the effect it would have on him. He played it cool, though.

”Guess we’ll have to see, sweetheart”, he challenged you, grinning in that charming way that made your head spin every time.

After the lunch he had been making for you, it was time for your appointment and he made it his responsibility to drive you there, his hand on your thigh as he steered the car. And when you walked in the salon, he held your hand all the way until he couldn’t anymore, giving a look to your go-to nail artist.

”Take good care of my girl, yeah?” he requested, half-joking even if the look in his eyes was grave. You couldn’t hold back a smile, butterflies in your stomach all thanks to his protectiveness over you.

He spent the whole appointment seated in the small waiting area, and the sight of him was so endearing. He wouldn’t touch any of the magazines available, just sat there with his hands folded in front of him and his eyes scanning the area over and over again. Every now and then his alert stare would land on you, and it cracked his stoic expression each time, a small smile tugging on his lips as he watched you ramble to your nail artist about your week.

When you were finally done, you pranced over to Frank, smiling widely and waving your hands in the air with excitement. His heart swelled at your joy, and he tilted his head at you curiously, waiting to see what kind of a look you ended up with.

When he saw the red on your nails, surprise dawned on his face and his smile dropped — not because he didn’t like it, but because he was just that amazed you had taken his opinion into consideration.

”You went with red?” he asked, eyes wide as he met your gaze, so kind and soft. You didn’t really understand what the big deal was, and a little laugh escaped you.

”Of course, I did. That’s what you said, silly”, you reminded, and nodding to confirm, Frank chuckled quietly.

”Yeah, yeah, I did. Just didn’t think… I dunno, just a lil surprised you thought my opinion was that important”, he tried explaining his own surprise, his eyebrows knitted together as he observed the nails, his hand gently grasping yours. You let him take it all in, tilting your hands back and forth to fully appreciate the shine and the details, and it boosted your ego beyond belief. Your nails were a big part of your appearance, and it felt good that Frank always showed love for them, even if he didn’t entirely get it.

”Your opinion is the most important. And now, every time I look at my nails, I’ll think of you”, you explained shyly. Truly touched by your consideration of him, he looked into your eyes and closed the distance between your lips. The kiss was short and sweet, appropriate for being in public, but he hoped it conveyed just how special this moment was to him. And in case it wasn’t, he was already decided on kissing you a lot more at home.

”I’preciate it, sweetheart. Looks real good”, he praised, taking one last look at your nails. Pride surged in his chest — he would have never wanted to take your independence from you, but he liked feeling like he had some kind of claim you. A part of him was with you now, and while it wasn’t permanent, it was enough for him to feel particularly cocky. He had the best girl by his side, after all.

”My gorgeous girl, goddamn”, he muttered under his breath, finding the red incredibly attractive, and it made you grin.

Surely, he was going to show you just how much he liked it later tonight. And he definitely was going to ride this high for days.

#frank castle #frank castle fanfiction #frank castle x reader #the punisher #the punisher x reader

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whateverisbeautiful · 20 days

Text

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#47: The Lovebirds & The Snake (1.05)

gif cred: @taiturner

Up to this point we'd been having such a nice time with our little lovebirds...and then there comes a snake in their midst. 😪

But one of the things on my internal TOWL wishlist was Michonne having the chance to finally confront Jadis and tear her up...and well, TOWL yet again said 'wish granted.' 😌🧞‍♀️...

Outside of Richonne’s cozy cabin of love, we’re given our first indicator of how the world will soon be back to screaming at them when we see none other than trifling Jadis ominously making her way to the cabin. 😒

gif cred: @nerd4music

But before Jadis confronts Richonne, there’s a flashback to three years ago when Jadis first met up with Father Gabriel for the start of their annual tea times. 🙃

Now, I tend to want to fast-forward most of these Jadis/Father Gabriel scenes during a rewatch since they’re a little dragged out to me. But there is one particular thing that I very much loved hearing during their meetups. We'll talk about it later.👌🏽

Also, let me just say that this revelation that Jadis had been visiting Father Gabriel annually had me side-eying both of them hard. 😒

You mean to tell me, for years Jadis got to look forward to her little meetups with Gabe while knowing she’s the reason Rick doesn’t even get to know if his wife and daughter are okay or get to see them ever again??? Jadis isn't just trifling, she's evil. 😤

And as for that man Father Gabriel…😑. Seeing his involvement in these secret meetups had me like...

I was truly looking at Father Gabriel like SIR, if you would have let Michonne know that Jadis - who disappeared around the same time as Rick - meets up with you and she has a whole helicopter, I just know Michonne would have put two and two together very quickly.

Like Daryl is an elite tracker and he was never able to trace down Rick almost as if Rick, idk, just disappeared into the sky or something. If Michonne and Daryl knew about Jadis and her helicopter I just know they’d tell Father Gabriel to expect some company during his next annual meeting with that snake. Because they’d want to come along and ambush Jadis to try and get some potential answers about Rick's whereabouts.

And I would've been in full support of Michonne and Daryl's tea-time ambush, like...

When chatting with Father Gabriel, Jadis acts like she doesn’t know anything when he says Rick died on that bridge and again - Jadis, you beast.

I feel like these flashbacks were intended to humanize Jadis but a lot of it just made me think about how heartless and selfish she is by seeking her own moments of personal connection with Gabriel while keeping Rick from his family. Had me looking at Jadis like...

So then they cut to Rick and Michonne looking precious and serene while they sleep in that tiny bed. ☺️

Seeing them like this made me so happy because, after years of going to bed alone, they finally get to fall asleep in each other's arms again, where they’re most meant to be. You just know this is some of the best sleep they’ve got in years. 👌🏽😌

gif cred: @nat111love

And, it's only seen for a split second, but I love how Rick is holding Michonne with his bandaged arm and she has her arm over his. Like I'm just so glad that Rick gets to go from experiencing the wild, lonely, and traumatizing day he chopped off his hand to now having that very arm held by the love of his life while they peacefully sleep. 🥹

And clearly, whatever they were up to the night before had Richonne knocked out, because Jadis is fully in the room with guns aimed at them and they don't even wake up until she actually speaks.

gif cred: @taiturner

I admit I did like hearing Richonne be called 'lovebirds' as Jadis greets them saying, “Morning, lovebirds.” 🤭 But at the same time, Jadis has always taken an odd and intrusive interest in Richonne's relationship so it was annoying hearing this come from her as well 😑

And this moment is very much giving similar vibes to Richonne’s canon ep in season 6 when they’re fast asleep and Jesus pulls up on them and startles them awake.

(Side note: I was thinking about how Jesus walked in on them in 6.10 and he really was too bold for that. 🙈 Like not only does Paul enter their house in the wee hours, he enters their bedroom. 🙃 And then even seeing that Rick is asleep and naked in bed with someone, he's still like psst we need to talk. And with what he had to talk about...it was important but it wasn't 'roll up on you and your woman in bed' urgent, so he could have waited a minute. 😅 But Paul's bold self barging in made for an iconic moment so I'll take it, even tho he definitely tried it lol.)

Both in the season 6 moment and this episode 5 moment Richonne immediately hops out of bed and grabs weapons and I love how in TOWL there’s sort of a weapon reversal with Michonne grabbing the ax and Rick grabbing a sword.

Two things about Richonne: they sleep very well after a night together & they're also instantly ready to be in fight mode if need be.

And, I love the little detail of having Michonne in Rick’s boxers. 😊 Also the body = ☕️, of course. 💅🏽

gif cred: @nat111love

Jadis tells Michonne to tie Rick to the bed and sit down. They know they’re kinda cornered so Rick drops his weapon. And you just know Rick is extra pissed because he had every intention of starting their morning more like this...

And then I like how Michonne lingers a little bit and just stares Jadis down before dropping her weapon. Baddest 👏🏽 Chick 👏🏽 In 👏🏽 The 👏🏽 Game 👏🏽.

gif cred: @tangerineprettygreen

Once again, if looks could kill Michonne’s stare would have Jadis dropping dead right then and there. I had been very eager for Michonne to have a chance to tear Jadis up after everything she’s done and Michonne looks like she wants to do exactly that now that they’re finally face to face. 💯

So Michonne ties Rick to the bed and then they prove that a couple that death stares together stays together the way they both look at Jadis like it’s about to be her last day on earth.

gif cred: @figmentof

Michonne calmly asks Rick, “You think she’s alone?” And never one to miss an opportunity to call Jadis out, Rick answers, “She’s alone. And I bet nobody knows she’s here.” He knows Jadis acts in self-interest so she’s probably trying to handle this solo to keep the truth about Rick and Michonne from linking back to her.

gif cred: @figmentof

Jadis says, “That’s just rude,” and then y’all, we get more um shall we say 'insight?' into Richonne as a couple when Rick pretty effortlessly tightens Michonne’s zip ties with his teeth. As many have noted, this felt a little too natural to be a first-time thing for them lol. 🤭

gif cred: @figmentof

I love how they so easily operate like a well-oiled machine doing this, and again they seem more inconvenienced than threatened by this snake in front of them.

One of the many things Michonne and Rick have in common is they aren't afraid to be a little petty with an opp every now and then, so once again Michonne is just talking to Rick like Jadis isn’t even in the room when she asks, “How do you think she found us?”

Michonne's letting Jadis know girl, you don't even deserve to be addressed directly.

gif cred: @figmentof

Jadis realizes this petty couple is probably gonna keep ignoring her unless she interjects, so she says she’s just gonna jump in. And then she explains how she found them. She was suspicious of the circumstances surrounding their disappearance and when she went to the wreck she noticed a missing yellow truck.

As Jadis goes on and on about following their breadcrumbs on the route to Virginia, Rick again doesn’t address Jadis as he tells Michonne, “Nobody knows she’s here.” He’s over this serpent.

And Michonne confidently responds, “She missed her chance. She should’ve killed us while we were sleeping.” Richonne's energy here was really giving 'anyway...back to the conversation.'

Also, Rick and Michonne truly are cut from the same cloth because Michonne saying what Jadis should have done to them in this scene reminded me of Rick in the season 6 premiere when he finds that shady Alexandrian, Carter, going behind his back and he tells Carter how he would have done things if he was in his shoes lol.

Also, I love how within a span of 24 hours, Richonne has had guns pointed at them twice and both times they act like the one with the gun is the one in danger. And they’re correct. 👌🏽

It was fun seeing Richonne operate in the spirit of petty and unbothered together lol. They’re fed up with Jadis and y'all...

Jadis says she didn’t kill them because she previously left things unsaid between a confidante and didn’t want to do that before killing both of them.

Rick accurately tells Jadis about herself when he accuses her of just playing games and not really caring about the army or the city. She really does just play games in this franchise - putting the Anne in shenanigans for years and years. 😪

And Rick calling her Anne seems to get under Jadis' skin as she insists that she does care about the CRM and their mission and she’s not that woman she used to be in TWD. Also - the way Richonne is looking at her while she talks, it’s giving lethal lovebirds. 😌

Despite Jadis’ yapping about who she is now and why she’s doing this, Rick still is adamant that she’s doing this for her. Jadis says if she let Rick and Michonne go home then her important work would end if another officer found them.

And then the snake tries to pull her reoccurring line to Rick by looking at him and saying, “I saved your life.”

Jadis has spent years trying to force that 'life-saving' narrative on Rick but see, this time it goes a little different because now Michonne is here to set the record all the way straight.

gif cred: @taiturner

I appreciate that the second Michonne hears Jadis say she saved Rick's life, she immediately shuts that down and addresses Jadis directly for the first time to remind her, “You took it. You took it from him. You took it from me. You took it from our children.” 👏🏽💯

Exactly.

I love how Michonne is so fiercely defending her family and how she phrases it in a way that makes it clear that Jadis taking Rick took life from him and it took life from each of the members of his immediate family. Their family is their life and in keeping them from each other Jadis really did take so much from them. 😔

And now that Michonne knows Rick had been living while dead with the CRM, she really does mean it when she says Jadis took his life. (Also again, hearing Michonne or Rick say “our children” never gets old.)

Michonne continues, passionately saying, “All those years they grew up without their father. All those years I didn’t know if he was alive or dead.” I’m so glad Michonne got a chance to go off about this because truly these things she's talking about are a big part of why what Jadis did is so appalling.

Judas really forced kids to be without their father for years, and she knew it too. She might not have known about RJ (even tho who knows what Father Gabriel might've told her during one of their meetups) but she knew Rick had a young daughter. She knew he had a wife. And yet she still used Rick as leverage to 'upgrade' her life. So to Jadis I forever say...

And Rick is ready to match the energy and cosign everything Michonne is saying when he declares, “You stole our family, Anne.”

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Richonne letting this snake finally know the truth of the matter, truly had me like...

But of course, Jadis acts like she doesn’t care and is unmoved by the damage she caused to the Grimes family. 😒

She explains why she didn’t kill Rick and Michonne in their sleep, saying she needed to thank them.

Jadis states, “By dying here today, Alexandria will remain safe and your children will have a better world.” What kind of screwed-up logic has her thinking Judith and RJ will have a better world without their parents in it??? The CRM has people losing their everloving minds. 😑

Once again the subject of 'choices' comes up when Jadis says, “You could have made other choices, but you didn’t lose here. You won a different way. It’s the end of your story. Let that be your peace.”

I don’t exactly know everything that Jadis’ work entailed with the CRM since I think it was explored more in spin-offs which I didn’t watch, but I can tell that she clearly is used to these assassinations going her way. However, baby, this is Richonne so of course they are not about to go out like this.

The second Judas shoots at them, Rick and Michonne quickly get out of dodge. Rick tosses the bed on her and then Michonne is able to get in a much-deserved swipe at Jadis with RJ's ax which feels poetic somehow. 👏🏽 Like after Bowlcut played a big role in RJ not having his dad in his life for the first 7 years, now her time is getting cut short by the very weapon his parents got for him. Idk I just like to think of it as Michonne & RJ getting their lick back. 😋

Jadis scurries away and Michonne is ready to end her asap when she tries to shoot at her but Rick stops her. And the way Michonne says Rick's name, the woman is seeing red when it comes to killing Jadis. And same here, cuz I was yelling at Jadis like...

Rick says they need to go cuz they have to stop her. So Michonne breaks her zip ties as they then head off for a little car chase action where Michonne will remind Rick of exactly why Jadis has gots to go today. 👌🏽😌

#richonne #towl #reveling in richonne #1.05 #RIR (47)#the ones who live #twd towl #michonne grimes #rick grimes #rick x michonne #twol #michonne #rick and michonne #twd: the ones who live #twd #richonnefandom

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forever-rogue · 1 year

Note

Bee you’re so amazing and sweet and kind and I hope you know what a beautiful positive impact you’re on this site 💙

I saw you’re accepting Steven Grant requests and my heart is singing cause I miss him so much!!! Might I suggest sweet and shy Steven finding every excuse available to go see you at work but never working up the courage to ask you out until one day he thinks someone else will ask you on a date and he finds his courage to do it first?

AN | I’ve missed him! He’s the best and I’m glad he’s back😌

Pairing | Steven Grant x Fem!Reader

Warnings | None

Word Count | 2.9k

Masterlist | Main, Moon Knight

── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

"Your friend is here again," Cameron's voice caused you to look up from the espresso machine. You looked around the cafe in confusion, "well, your favorite customer."

"My favorite customer?" You echoed as Cameron laughed. There were a lot of people who came in on a regular basis so you had no clue as to who they could be referring to, "umm…who?"

"I think his name is Steven?" At the sound of his name your entire face lit up. Alright, maybe you did have a favorite customer, "so I was right!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," you lied, your entire face flushing with warmth, "he's just like anyone else. He just happens to be extra nice."

"He's been walking around outside for like ten minutes now," you peeked past Cameron and looked outside, indeed finding him pacing around. You couldn't help but giggle at him, "wonder if he'll actually come in."

"I'm sure he will," you certainly hoped so anyway, "maybe he's just waiting for a call or something."

"Or maybe his favorite barista is making him nervous and he's trying to get his act together," Cameron suggested as you shrugged innocently, "he's finally going to ask you out!"

“Oh my - stop!” you were laughing nervously and trying to hide your flaming face. You were definitely trying not to imagine him actually asking you on a date. It was a scenario you had imagined and daydreamed of about a thousand times before. But never once had you allowed yourself to believe that it might actually come true. And yet…you shook your head to yourself as you aggressively scrubbed a spot on the counter that you hoped was burnt chocolate and not anything else. You could feel Cameron’s eyes focused on you, “listen. I-I’m not going to flatter myself and think that he might actually like me.”

“And just why not, miss ma’am?” they asked as you shrugged, mumbling something under your breath. They were still waiting for your answer as you turned around and groaned loudly, “I’m telling you, and I would never lie to you, that is something is definitely there between the two of you. Like a spark or something.”

“Cam-” you cast another look outside and found Steven still there. Utter panic and confusion was etched onto his handsome face and you made a small sound of concern. You hoped that nothing was wrong, “he’s like a friend at best.”

“But he could be more if you’d both stop being such weenies,” and yeah, you couldn’t deny that they weren’t necessarily wrong.

“I’m just…I’m gonna go and make sure he’s okay,” you whipped off your apron and tossed it on the counter before walking past the counter and outside the small patio area. At the sound of the bell twinkling over the door, Steven turned around and looked and was immediately surprised to see you standing there. You smiled softly and held up your hand in a small wave, “hey Steven.”

“H-hi,” he stammered nervously, cheeks immediately darkening as he took you in. The reality was that he’d been trying to work up the courage to come in and see you, and hopefully not make a fool of himself. It seemed like every time he saw, his brain turned to absolute mush and he wasn’t able to form even a single coherent sentence. A part of him that had hoped that by now he’d be able to actually hold a conversation with you but that seemed like an impossible challenge.

“Is everything alright?” you asked softly and his eyes widened in panic, “I-I don’t mean to pry it was just that we noticed you pacing around. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Yes, of course,” he wasn’t sure if he was more embarrassed by the fact that you’d noticed him pacing, or more touched by the idea that you cared enough to go and check on him. Both…definitely both. You visibly relaxed at the small smile on his face, “I was just…thinking.”

“Oh! Well, we’ve all been there,” the temptation to ask what he was thinking about was almost too great, but you held your tongue. You weren’t sure if he had actually planned on coming inside or if he was going to leave now, but you weren’t ready to part from him, “do you want to come in and I can make you a tea? We’ve just finished baking some fresh biscuits if you’d care to sample.”

“You want me to come in?” he pointed at himself, almost in disbelief and wanting to make sure you were sure. He wouldn’t flatter himself with the idea that you wanted to spend time with him. But what if…

“Yes, silly! Who else?” you put your hand on his arm and gently motioned for him to follow you. Once reality caught up with him, he smiled and eagerly followed into the warm, cozy cafe. He’d learned to love spending time here, especially whenever his schedule coincided with yours, “c’mon!”

“Right behind you,” he promised gently. He was at the point where he was pretty sure that he’d already follow you whenever you went. And that realization was both exciting and terrifying, “right behind you.”

── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

Steven, sweet, shy Steven had grown very fond of you. Or in love with you as Marc liked to put. He didn’t necessarily agree or disagree on that account. He often came in when you were working if his schedule coincided with yours. He’d more or less memorized the days and times you worked but in truth it had been accidental. He was keenly aware of a lot of things and you had just become such a regular part of his life and he had become very attuned to you.

It was a dreary afternoon when Steven got off work, and on a weekend on top of it, he decided he could do with a warm afternoon pick-me-up. And he’d get to see you, which was a definite pick-me-up on its own. There was a definite spring to his step as he made his way over to your little cafe, and he even allowed himself to daydream of asking you on a date. It was something that he’d thought about often, more than he ever dared to admit, but he just couldn’t manage to turn into a reality.

Marc had even tried to coach him on it, encouraging him to finally ask you instead of just talking about it. Steven had almost even felt ready to do it, but then he just…couldn’t. He’d see your pretty face and that sugar sweet smile and he’d practically melt into a puddle. A puddle that couldn’t do much more than stare longingly at times.

But today felt different. Today felt like the day he might actually have the courage in his bones to ask you. Maybe it was an overinflated sense of self or something in the air but it all just felt so right. Feeling extra bold, he even allowed himself to stop at one of the small street vendors and purchase a small bouquet of flowers. You’d mentioned it once in passing that you liked daisies more than anything and once he spotted them he knew he was going to grab them for you.

By the time he made his way into the cafe, his eyes were already scanning the place for you. When he spotted you, he grew delighted and was ready to rush over. When he realized the current situation you were in, he stopped in his tracks and inhaled sharply.

You were standing at the counter, leaning on your elbows as you chatted away with some customer. A very handsome customer from what Steven could discern from only seeing his backside. His heart practically dropped into his stomach at the sweet expression on your face. You were clearly invested into the conversation and that made him take a few steps back and contemplate running out the door.

As thought you had some kind of sixth sense for him, you looked up and locked eyes with him. His big, brown eyes softened but the expression on his face was nothing short of panic as you waved cheerily at him. He held up the flowers in return as your curiosity piqued - who were the flowers for? You, a part of your heart secretly wished.

“Hi Steven!” you excused yourself from the other - a friend maybe? - and went over to him, “fancy meeting you here.”

“I could say the same to you,” he managed to tease in return, heart beating wildly inside his chest. You always managed to make him nervous, butterflies exploding in his stomach and heart practically stopping. He felt more like a boy rather than a grown man, but it was a feeling he still managed to love and crave. He looked down at the flowers in his hands and back at your inquisitive eyes before deciding to just do it. It was now or never, “t-these are for you.”

“For me?” and yeah. He instantly knew he’d made the right decision as soon as the simple question escaped your lips. He nodded shyly before handing them over to you, “oh my goodness. They’re daisies! I love them - Steven, I…thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he stammered over his words and found it almost impossible to meet your eyes. He was sure he would have melted into a puddle then and there, “I should umm… I can see-”

“Come on,” you were almost pleading with him. And honestly, who was he to say no to you? You almost skipped behind the counter, grabbing a large pitch and filling it with cool water before putting your new flowers into it. Each step was done with gentle reference before you turned back to him, “what can I make you?”

“Oh, you don’t have to-” he leaned against the counter and tried to play you off, but you weren’t having it. You put your hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze, and his heart almost stopped.

“Don’t even try that on me, Steven,” you insisted and he just made a small sound in response, “your regular or can I try something new and surprise you?”

“Surprise me,” he squeaked as you busied yourself with making him something special. You continually surprised him and it was one of the things he was coming to adore about you. He decided to be bold and push his luck and see if he could get a little information about the man that you had been chatting to. Just you know…out of sheer curiosity. For science…or something like that,�� “busy day?”

“Oh you know, just the usual,” you waved your hand around, brow furrowed in concentration and tongue peeking out of your mouth, “average weekend afternoon. Lots of tourists and all that. What about you?”

“There’s a new exhibit on the old kingdom of Egypt at the museum,” he tried to contain his excitement; he loved talking about his job and he knew you liked hearing about it but he didn’t want to bore you either. He was still trying to figure out where the line was, “so lots of crowds, but they all seemed excited, which makes it worthwhile.”

“That’s great,” you smiled at it, handing him the beverage you had made specially for him, “I’d love to see sometime! I’ll have to come by sometime when you’re working, and you can give me the tour. If you’d like…”

“I’d love that,” his entire face lit up as you made up your mind that you would see him as soon as got an afternoon off when he was working, “there’s so much I could show you.”

“I’m sure you could,” you agreed as you went to grab him a fresh pastry, “Steven, I-”

Before you could manage to say anything else, you heard your name being called from the back. You sighed softly and gave Steven an apologetic look before turning towards the kitchen, “sorry, duty calls - I’ll talk to you later, alright?”

“Of course, yes, definitely,” his entire face was falling as he watched you walk away. Realistically he knew that you were at work and had to attend to your job but it still wished you could stay. There was something so magnetic about you that continued to draw him in. You were like a warm, sweet hot chocolate on a rainy afternoon, or a gentle, soft breeze on a perfect spring day, “bye…”

Alright, he was really ging to need to do something and either ask you out finally or just let this all go and move on. But being stuck in this odd limbo of sorts was only to make things worse or continue to break his heart. And, he wagered with himself, if he asked you out and you said no, he’d know where he stood. But…it would still break his heart a little if you only wanted to be friends.

What a dilemma indeed.

Marc was going to kick his ass later for not asking you out today when he had the perfect opportunity to say so.

Heck.

-── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

Steven kept his distance for a few days, which you definitely noticed. You were sure that he was busy with work and life and tried not to let it bother you but you definitely missed his presence. It was hard not to notice the absence of the sunshine he brought in all the time.

Steven, meanwhile, had been trying to work up the nerve to come and see you. He had promised himself (and Marc) that the next time he saw you he was going to ask you out. There were no if ands or buts at this point. Unless, you know, there was an emergency or something…then it would just be rude. Anyway -

He made his way to the cafe and came inside without allowing himself to have any second thoughts. To his dismay and chagrin, he found the same customer from the other day chatting you up again. Talk about bad timing. He waited until the man left and made a beeline over to you.

“Hey there!” you looked at him with starry eyes and a bright smile, “I’ve missed you!”

“Hi, I - wait. You’ve missed me?” he asked softly as you nodded, “it’s been a busy few days.”

“You don’t have to explain to me,” you insisted, “just know that whenever I get to see you I’m happy.”

“Will you go out with me?” he blurted his question out before he could take it back or have any second thoughts. You blinked at him owlishly a few times, trying to make sure that you’d heard him correctly. When you saw the pretty pink blush creeping into his neck and cheeks you were positive you’d heard him correctly.

“Like on a date?” you asked, you know, just to clarify.

“Y-yeah,” he answered nervously as you inhaled sharply, a sound of excitement, “I-I am. Unless you’re dating someone already! Like-like that guy you were talking to earlier.”

“James?” you made a sound of amusement before waving off the idea that you had anything romantic with him, “he’s my cousin! He’s been here visiting, that’s all.”

“Oh,” his embarrassment was quickly overshadowed by his excitement and nerves. That meant…, “oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” you teased lightly, “but umm…if the offer still stands, then I’d love to take you up on it.”

“You want to go on a date?” he pointed at himself as you giggled, unable to stop yourself from the incredulous look on his face, “with me?”

“Yes!” you hoped that he could understand just how much you wanted this too. The idea of asking him out had crossed your mind several times and you had almost done it yourself but the right situation just hadn’t come up, “I’d really like that.”

“Right, yeah, me too,” he seemed almost like he was incredibly surprised by your eagerness, “so then it’s a date.”

“It’s a date,” you confirmed, a saccharine silence falling over the two of you. You swallowed the nervous lump in your throat, “how does tonight work? I’m off in about an hour.”

“Tonight?!” you hoped he wasn’t getting cold feet now that the reality of an actual date hit him. You shrugged sheepishly before nodding, “yeah…tonight works. That’d be…great.”

“Good,” you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, “do you want to wait or meet me back here later?”

“I’ll wait,” he touched the spot on his cheek that had been blessed by your lips, a starry look on his face, “maybe with a tea in the meantime?”

“I can do that,” yeah, you liked this guy a lot. And you were excited to see where it could all go, “that sounds perfect.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “perfect.”

#steven grant #steven grant x reader #steven grant x fem!reader #steven grant x you #steven grant imagine #steven grant one shot #moon knight #oscar isaac

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verbenaa · 8 days

Text

to eden | chapter 8

𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: “You spoil me darling, really. But I am simple man—” Rin stops him off with a look of admonishment, cutting off his sentence to start her own.

“A simple show for a simple man, then.”She hopes her emphasis on the words will speak loudly enough for him to understand the meaning of them as she mockingly bows towards him.

“I take offense to that assessment, you know.” Astarion huffs with a frown, casting his head aside to instead take a sip of his errant goblet of wine, already forgotten beside him.

𝓅𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔: Astarion/F!Tav

𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: E, 18+

𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉: 14.8k 😮‍💨

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: mentions of torture/abuse, mild descriptions of blood/gore, striptease (?), fingering, cunnilingus, vampire bites (duh), handjobs, piv sex, multiple orgasms, Soft Dom Astarion returns 😌

𝒶/𝓃: hellooooo, sorry it's taken so long for me to get this written and posted! but it's here now and I very much hope you enjoy! let me know your thoughts about the chapter, too!

ao3

masterlist

MDNI, 18+ CONTENT

The air is quiet, the ever-present darkness lingering around them like a stagnant weight. Rin finds that she quite hates it, no matter how lovely the promise the warmth of Last Light Inn and its alcohol is to be.

Her fingers are poised on one of the delicate strings of her lyre as she strums it lightly, a low hum reverberating out from the instrument that fills the air with what she hopes will be something that sounds effortless, beautiful, ethereal.

She frowns at the sound of it from where she leans against a conveniently placed rock near the fire, the note falling flat as it dies in the silence of the dark night.

“You’re off.” A familiar voice echoes out from above, the sound of it supercilious and downright annoying, as she huffs out a breath in minute agitation.

With a turn of her head, Rin sends Astarion a withering look from where he lounges, imperious, on the rock right above her; a book held in his hand as he reads by the light of the roaring fire.

“And so is your stitching, but you don’t hear me calling you out on it, now do you?”

His stitching wasn’t, of course. It was always practiced, perfect, and near precise—Astarion as good with a needle as he was with a knife or an arrow.

But, as always, he didn’t have to know that. He has enough of an ego as it is and Rin has no intentions of adding to it unnecessarily.

Astarion flips the page with unnecessary force, his obvious agitation dragging a secret smile to her lips that she hides into the strings of her lyre.

He really made it far too easy to tease him, sometimes.

Astarion hmphs into the nighttime air, looking astutely back down at the book in his lap in an attempt to ignore her as she bites back a laugh that threatens to break free.

Rin turns her attention back to the instrument in her hands, fingers running down the carved edge of it as her mind wanders aimlessly in the silence and she stares out at the utterly boring landscape.

It was pretty, she supposes, if one cared for a setting devoid of most kinds of life. Ultimately, there was just not terribly much for her to look at, leaving her with nothing but the amusement of her own thoughts, much to her frustration.

There wasn’t much left for her to do but think, it seemed.

Rin had already eaten dinner while conversing with Gale; engaged in some gossip over a glass of wine with Shadowheart; discussed the merits of carnivorous fauna with Halsin; indulged Lae’zel in a practice sparring session (which she lost quite terribly, much to Astarion’s joy and Lae’zel’s disappointment at Rin’s apparent lack of skill); shared a nice pint from the inn with Karlach; and then watched on as Astarion drained poor Wyll dry of some gold in a game of cards (she’ll have to try to figure out how to get him his money back, one way or another).

She would probably have to beg Astarion to do it—something she was not eager to do, but would for the sake of Wyll and all his noble, princely goodness.

Perhaps she should try to steal it off of him, instead. It certainly would make for a good challenge, at the very least, provided she didn’t get caught doing it. Rin has no doubt the cost for that particular crime would be steep, one that she doesn’t know if she can afford to pay for.

Astarion already spent enough time in her thoughts as it was, the price nothing more than that of her precious yet dwindling sanity. She already feels as though she is slowly losing her mind every time she replays the events of the other night over in her head, no longer than a mere week ago.

She and Astarion had both quite politely ignored the events of that night, the memory of the closeness of their lips and the things she had said settling into the recesses of her mind as if they were nothing more than a dream, one that haunts her when she lays down her head onto her sad excuse for a pillow.

It was a lapse in judgment, at the very least. The klauthgrass had clearly addled her mind more than she thought when she looks back on it. It’s the only logical reason she would ever had said the things she did—whether spoken from her lips or written down in a letter never to be sent.

She also still needed to burn the damn letter, but that was neither here nor there.

What mattered was that they had settled back into their usual camaraderie, trading cutting words and sly smiles back and forth with one another as they had always done despite a brand new, gently simmering tension that now lay just underneath the surface.

But it was fine.

Rin was nothing if not an expert at ignoring the things that were bothering her, was she not? Their little…situation was simply that.

A situation.

One that was easily forgettable once she set her mind to actually forgetting about it.

Rin trades that particular line of thinking out with a deep exhale, shoving it back into a conveniently placed box in a corner of her mind and instead sets to retuning the instrument in her hands, worn pine both familiar and comforting as its weight rests against her.

Her wonderful, familiar lyre that had been with her for years now, through both thick and thin. It hadn’t helped her make terribly much gold, but it had been a better friend to her than any person had over the years.

She turns the pegs on the back of it little by little, tiny twists of her fingers adjusting the strings in a way she hopes will make her next attempt at song better and not worse.

The night flows by as she sits in the warmth of the fire, the soft crackles of the logs soothing as Rin retunes the instrument until she’s finally happy with what she hopes will be a drastic improvement to the earlier noise it had made.

With a satisfied sigh, Rin moves to strum at her lyre, fingers just about to touch the strings when a biting voice interrupts her.

“I do hope you didn’t make it worse. My poor ears can’t take much more abuse.”

Rin ignores the jab with a serene blink before deigning not to answer as her raised hand closes into a fist, nails biting into her palm as she prays to anyone listening for an ounce of patience.

In lieu of violence—despite him deserving it—she sees a perfect opportunity to turn the conversation from another of her apparent failures onto one of his instead.

She turns to look at him with a sly look, fixing him with clever eyes alight with mischief.

“You know, Astarion, I happened to read something quite interesting in one of the books I found at The Waning Moon.”

Astarion turns another page in his book as he feigns disinterest, but his eyes don’t scan the rows of elvish decorating the page in neatly printed rows. “Oh? Do tell, then. Was it something violent? Gory? Scandalous?”

“Scandalous, certainly. I seem to have come across a small little volume that contained a list,” Rin’s brows waggle conspiratorially. “A list of banned patrons.”

Astarion’s interest is firmly piqued as soon as she says the words, finally looking up from the tome in his lap to focus on her, indifference giving way to a fiendish gleam in his eye.

“You should have said so from the start. Tell me more, darling, what are the offenses? Give me all the sordid details.”

He leans in closer from his seat above her, Astarion and his flair for the dramatic never failing to amuse her and she can’t help the equally wicked smile that spreads across her lips in response.

“Most of them were ordinary—you know, the standard. Bar fights, skipping the bill, unnecessary wanton activity with a pickle. But there was one that really stuck out to me, quite a striking description frankly. I think it said something along the lines of ‘a pale elf with a snide mouth’ that apparently insulted someone of particular importance. Sound familiar?”

“Well, whoever they are sounds like they had a fantastic time to me.” His smile is devious as he smirks. “In fact, I’d say that whoever it was deserved such words.”

“Oh, I have no doubt. I’m sure the insults thrown were of the highest calibre, as well.”

Astarion grin is a roguish one that looks terribly handsome on his features but something heavy intercedes over the amusement in his eyes as the deeper meaning behind that seemingly small and unimportant notation sinks in.

The smirk falls slowly from Astarion’s lips, a slight darkness settling across the features of his face as the corners of his mouth turn down ever so slightly.

Ah. Of course.

“You have no memory of ever coming here, do you?” She softens her voice, only slightly, but she has no doubt Astarion notices the change regardless.

“No. I’ve already told you I don’t have many memories from my life before Cazador,” He snaps. “But clearly I’ve here before. Obviously.”

Rin had given some thought to the presumed Astarion of before in the rare moments of peace that were few and far in between, when her mind was free to wander before sleep overtook her.

The Astarion that existed before the tadpole, before Cazador. Back when his heart still beat and his skin was flushed with life. Astarion, with not-red eyes, wearing finely tailored silks and wools, drinking the richest of wines; for he was sure to have been wealthy.

She had spent many years watching the upper echelons of Baldur’s Gate from her place on the streets, staring up into their windows at twilight to watch them swoon and twirl in their finery, and Astarion moved like the best of them—graceful and elegant, proud and arrogant.

He had been a magistrate, or so he had said.

She could only trust so many of the words that come from his lips, but somehow the image of Astarion in ostentatious robes handing down whatever judgement he deemed worthy is far too easy for her to envision for her to entirely disbelieve the notion.

But he must have had a family, surely.

Parents, siblings, friends—perhaps even a lover or two. Or three, knowing him.

Gods forbid he had sired any children.

But the implication remains all the same. So many questions, almost all of which he may never know the answers to.

“You should be proud, Astarion.” Rin attempts a tiny bit of levity, though it doesn’t seem to help. “An annoyance both alive and undead. Not many could ever hope to achieve such a thing.”

“Well,” he sniffs with an air of put-on pride, smile weak. “It’s nice to know I’m consistent, at least.”

“You did get thrown out of a tavern last time you were here. Perhaps this trip to sweet, little Reithwin is faring much better than the one prior. Your last visit didn’t have me present, after all.”

“My last visit was probably still more peaceful, I’d wager. I doubt I was busy being vexed by a senseless blonde bard all the while having a worm buried in my head.” His voice raises a few octaves as he narrows his eyes at her.

She would rather have his ire than his sorrow, it’s a much better sight than the mournful look beginning to creep over his features.

“Presumably weren’t being vexed by a senseless blonde bard.” Rin shoots Astarion a small smile. “Maybe you have a type.”

He only gives a mirthless laugh in response.

“I am sorry, Astarion. I wish you were able to remember more.”

Astarion sighs, uncharacteristically defeated and the sound of it has her chest tightening.

“Yet another thing I can add to the unending list of things that Cazador took from me. From us.”

“Us?” Rin muses over the word, the answer to a question she had long considered but never managed to ask, not amongst the seemingly never-ending amount of things that popped up on their list to be taken care of. “So, you aren’t the only one, then? Of Cazador’s spawn, I mean.”

She briefly worries she’s overstepped an invisible boundary, that Astarion will shut her down and storm away without another word, leaving her with no answer to the question.

Her curiosity about him grows with every passing day and she simply wants to know more about him.

Not the charming, surface level vanity he would normally put forward for her, but the real Astarion.

The one who tells her and only her small stories about himself and his life, the one who responds to her silly little letters, the one who had thanked her, with actual gratitude, drawing of his scars in hand.

The Astarion who—for some unfathomable reason—no matter how much he may complain or insult her, still chooses her above all others to spend his time with.

Rin turns to look up at him, the straightening of his spine obvious even in the darkness of the camp. Astarion, for his part, takes her question in stride, though there’s a telltale tightness around his mouth that signals his ever-present bitterness at Cazador’s mention.

He nods, the motion stiff as Rin’s brows draw together into a frown.

“There were seven of us, in all. Brothers and sisters, as he liked to call us. Quite the family.” Astarion lets out a derisive laugh, words acrimonious as he spits them out.

Ruby red eyes look ahead, his gaze catching on nothing in particular as he stares at the barren world on the other side of the water, the landscape as bleak as his expression.

“But I was one of his first. He was a monster to us all. Tortured us. Carved the same thing into my back as he did into all of theirs. But Cazador took a special pleasure in my pain. In my screams. He said my screams sounded sweetest.”

And oh, how her heart twists to hear the fragile timbre of his voice as his breath hitches, an undercurrent of agony flowing so readily and truthful from him.

Rin averts her eyes as his voice breaks on the last few words, settling her vision on one of the red ferns flowing in the ever-present breeze in an attempt to let him keep some of his suffering to himself, to leave some of his dignity in tact.

It’s the least she can do.

“And now that I’m gone…I don’t know. I pity the other six.” Astarion takes a deep, bracing breath, his sorrow palpable, and Rin’s chest aches again.

She doesn’t have anything to say, and how could she?

Oh, terribly sorry you spent two centuries being tortured unendingly. That must have been awful. You didn’t deserve it, Astarion.

No, any words of consolation she has only seem to fall flat in the face of his misery. He doesn’t need her to tell him about how horrible it is, how neither he nor his siblings deserved the pain, the anguish, the endless torture that Cazador dished out on a whim to bend and break them all to his will.

The only thing Rin can think to give him is her own paltry attempt at comfort as she leans in towards him slowly until her head rests just against the side of his leg in silent consolation.

He doesn’t like to be touched at the best of times, but somehow she knows he would hate the inevitable pity he would choose to find in her words much worse.

Astarion freezes, muscles tensing as if in wait for something, sending a sharp look down at the messily braided head now resting against his knee. But when nothing other than the presence of her subtle weight leaning against him ever comes, the only movement she makes the easy in and out of her breathing, he relaxes slightly.

Rin doesn’t dare to look up at him, instead returning her attention back to the lyre still in her arms. With a careful hand, her fingers come up to strum at a string, followed by another and another and another; music flowing out from the instrument in a slow, soft melody.

It’s nothing in particular that the plays; no well-known song or tune, only a series of notes and chords she pieces together with minimal thought that somehow manages to sound more lovely than anything she’s had luck playing the past week.

Eventually, she hears the soft rustle of a page being flipped once more as Astarion returns to his book, no words spoken to break the silence between them as Rin keeps her head resting just against him, playing her song just for him.

✧· · ─── ·✧· ─── · ·✧

She should know better, by now, than to ever be surprised by the horrors they come across—and yet, as she had walked into the operating theatre of the so-called House of Healing, her footsteps quiet over the dark, ornate, and rotting woodwork, she still managed to be shocked by what she beheld as she had peeked over the railing.

She had noticed the man first. It was impossible to not have when his blood, a bright red incarnadine, was splattered across the walls and dripping onto the floors in sickly streams. She followed the trail of it to the source, taking in the carnage of his body; eyes no more than bloodied pits and mouth opened in silent scream as he writhes on the table, somehow still alive despite the butchering of his body.

A moment later, her eyes drifted over to Doctor Malus Thorm in all his horror; elbow deep in his victim’s innards with hands that were no longer quite hands, digits turned instead into some sort of mechanical claws as he lectures aloud to the sightless nurses who stood uselessly around the body.

She had stepped into that theatre expecting a battle, her own blood to be added to all that had already been spilled and soaked into the grooves in the wood over the many years.

Instead, she managed something quite different. Something possibly worse.

She hadn’t assumed that she would be able to kill him with only her words, not when the menace of him spelled violence and promised pain, a Shar devotee to the bitter end.

And yet, it was with words that she had convinced him to sacrifice himself to his nurses, a dark turn of events that somehow seemed to fit the narrative of this terrible place all too well.

She blames the power she feels when his body finally gives its last, miserable breath on the shadow curse, on the innate darkness of this place, on the tadpole.

Any excuse works, so long as it covers up the fact that she had liked it.

It was the very same power she had felt when the other two Thorms fell; silvered words falling off her tongue to bend them to her will and end them both without her having to lift a single, gloved finger.

It had only been a small inconvenience to finish off the remaining Sisters of Mercy after they had done Rin’s dirty work for her, their trepans and bonesaws no match for her rapier, Karlach’s axe, Shadowheart’s spells, and Astarion’s blood thirst.

Her heart still beats too quick, the sound of it loud in her ears as she stands stock still on a bated breath—in fear, in anxiety, in a strange and twisted excitement.

It’s both thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.

Rin wants nothing to do with it.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Shadowheart remarks quietly with a laugh from beside her, breaking the silence of the aftermath. There’s a new awe present in the cleric’s voice that Rin hates the sound of.

Rin looks at her friend with a small smile. “So long as you don’t get in the way of me and a good time, we’ll be dandy.”

“I wouldn’t dare after that performance.” Shadowheart laughs, a twinkling little sound, and it breaks up a bit of the nerves that had settled in her chest.

“Well. That was positively sickening. Who knew there would be so much fun to be found here?” Astarion sheathes his dagger with a twist of his wrist, the added flourish elegant as blood flicks off the blade and splatters onto the ground. “Though I do wish for a more satisfying kill. I’m in desperate need of a snack.”

Karlach claps a hand on Astarion’s shoulder with enough force that he only just manages to keep his footing. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can find something else alive for you to sink your fangs into.”

“Does all that blood not quite do it for you, Astarion?” Shadowheart gestures with a raised brow to the drops of blood still dripping off of the surgical table, a nauseating mixture of both the man's and Thorm’s blending together.

“Hardly.” Astarion crinkles his nose at the thick, dark ichor. “I’ve had worse, but it smells terrible and I can’t imagine it tastes much better.”

Rin glances up at Astarion beside her, taking in his somehow paler than normal complexion and a thought hits her, her brow furrowing in consideration.

When was the last time he had fed?

And what on?

He had been subsisting on a diet of—well, mostly her, honestly; along with the occasional forest creature.

Astarion certainly hadn’t tasted her since their last night on the Mountain Pass, longer than he’s ever gone without her blood since his first feed from her all those moons ago.

Rin had become so used to his little visits, popping into her tent during the evening to have his fill of her—blood and more. The absence of them since has felt surprisingly stark, a loss she didn’t realize she would mourn in the wake of the palpable tension that had settled between them no matter how hard they each attempted to ignore it.

For just as surely as he hadn’t drank from her neck, he had not come to taste the rest of her either; their nights spent instead trading remarks back and forth by the fire.

Not that she was complaining.

Quite the contrary.

She had found herself growing quite fond of this new aspect of their relationship that they had eased into; trading stories and anecdotes with each other over a bottle of wine or a game of cards, he reading his books while she plays her music, Astarion working on his stitching as she looks on and inevitably bothers him with her presence.

It was…nice. Normal, almost.

Or whatever their version of nice and normal was.

Rin snaps herself out of her thoughts with a blink and turns to her companions with a nod, hoping the daze she was in doesn’t show on her face. “Right then. Let’s loot, shall we?”

They meander their way about the rest of the room, navigating their way around the bodies and books scattered about the floor, some of the thin pages now soaked with the blood of the fallen. They don’t find terribly much, some gold here or an interesting text there.

But mostly, it’s all useless.

Rin thinks that at one time, the quatrefoil tiles lining the floors of this place must have been beautiful—crisp, clean white contrasting against vibrant blue.

Now, though, they are covered in long streaks of dark, sticky blood, the ichor long staining tile and grout alike; the corners of them chipping as they step over them on their way out of the long hallway at the entry of the building.

Rin falls back beside Astarion as they make their way onto the uneven cobblestones of Reithwin, gnarled roots threatening to trip her as they grow up in between the grooves. With a small smile and nod, she gestures for Shadowheart to take the lead, the cleric walking ahead as her long braid bounces behind her.

She falls into step with him easily, matching his pace as she keeps her eyes ahead, always on the lookout for what the next danger to jump out at them will be.

“Have you been hunting recently?” It’s a casual question, no accusation in her tone as she stretches her arms behind her back.

Astarion casts a surreptitious glance her way, eyes wandering across her profile as she stays looking ahead. “There’s precious little living here, my dear.”

“Then why haven’t you come to me? You’ve never cared about bothering me before when you would pop into my tent unannounced.”

“I-” Astarion looks away from her for a moment before returning his gaze to her. “I assumed you needed a break to…replenish your sources."

His non-answer has one of Rin’s brows drawing up in skepticism, which he readily ignores. However, the thought of him perhaps not coming to her for her own health is almost sweet, if believable.

If.

She’s not so sure that it’s the truth, but she will take it at face value, for now.

“Astarion,” she leans towards him to give him a slight nudge with her elbow, the touch light. “I think my ‘sources’ have been thoroughly replenished. You can feed on me tonight, if you’d like.”

It would be careless of her, as a leader, to let him continue to starve himself. She’s only doing the most responsible thing by offering herself up to him again. It’s for the better of their entire party and Faerûn at large, wasn’t it? The Absolute wasn’t going to just disappear into thin air, after all.

And if it happened to mean she got to spend a little extra time with him—well, that would be nothing more than luck on her part.

“Well, if you’re offering, sweet thing,” His lips curl up in a smirk, eyes alight with a predator’s gleam at the promise of her blood. “Come find me in my tent tonight, darling, and we shall feast.”

“Feast? Shall there be something there for me then, as well?” Rin releases a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and glances up at him with a small, secret smile that has a corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk.

“Only the best for my favorite little treat.”

“Careful, you’ll spoil me.” If only, she thinks, and the thought is terribly traitorous as she bites down on a corner of her lip in hopes of stopping the pink that threatens to rise to her cheeks.

But from the answering smirk on Astarion’s face as they venture further into the into the crushing darkness of Reithwin’s destroyed streets she thinks he must able to glean the thought on his own.

“We can’t have that, now can we?”

✧· · ─── ·✧· ─── · ·✧

Rin steels herself outside the flap of Astarion’s tent, readying herself for whatever waits for her inside. She isn’t sure why she’s so nervous. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fed from her before.

Or slept with her, for that matter.

There’s no flickering flame to be seen from the outside of his tent, nothing to give her any sort of hint of what possibly awaits her inside aside from him, his silhouette undecipherable in the darkness.

With a deep breath, she pulls the flap to the side and steps forward, a familiar scent—rich brandy curling together with earthy rosemary and fresh bergamot—swirling in the air as her eyes land on the vampire in question.

“Well,” Astarion lounges casually against his bedroll as his eyes find her own, leaning back on his elbows with enviable ease as a silver goblet rests beside him. “Hello there, darling.”

Her eyes are drawn to the exposed skin of his chest, the sight of him waiting for her shirtless so reminiscent to that first night together that she pulls up short.

It felt like eons ago, now; her traipsing through the forest outside of the Emerald Grove to find him waiting in a picturesque clearing for her and her alone. While there was no soft grass with charming little flowers to decorate the ground and no glittering moonlight to beam down upon them and highlight their skin as they moved together—she feels just as out of her depth now as she did then, when she had discovered him with his shirt already off and honeyed words just waiting to fall from his lips.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long again.” Rin snatches her eyes up from his chest to meet his own, a smirk already decorating his lips at her momentary distraction.

“Oh, I’ll always wait for you, beautiful.” Her eyes roll despite herself as she lets out a huff at such trite words.

“Did you need a nibble or should I see myself out?” She points behind herself to the exit of his tent for emphasis, brow arched.

“Let’s not be hasty, shall we?” Astarion answers a touch too quickly as he sits up a little higher, body tensing as if ready to jump up in the event she were to actually leave. “I would so hate to see you go.”

He must be hungry, then, if he’s so desperate for her presence.

Rin smiles at him as she looks around the tent expectantly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she spies not a single treat aside from an empty goblet she presumes to be for her. “You know, I recall you promising me a feast.”

Astarion has the audacity to not look even the tiniest bit sheepish as her eyes narrow and her bottom lip juts out into a pout, a noise of frustration escaping from her lips. She should have known better than to trust a vampire when it came to procuring treats.

“I’m short on baked goods, pet, but I can promise you something else delicious instead.” His intent is obvious as he sends her a decidedly suggestive look. “Won’t you give me a show first, though?”

“I didn’t realize you were in need of entertainment, Astarion. I could always bring Volo in to recite some poetry while you dine, if you’d like.”

“A charming idea, to be sure.” Astarion rolls his eyes. “But I was thinking of something a little more…intimate.”

Astarion eyes her form tip to toe as she stands in front of him, but it lacks the casual closeness she’s come to expect from him, something in the forced insincerity of the gesture grating.

“Make yourself comfortable. Stay awhile,” He gestures passively with a wave of his hand through the air towards where she stands as he continues. “Get yourself out of those wretched clothes, for example. You look much prettier without them on, anyways.”

Irritation sparks along the line of her mouth, emerald eyes sharpening as she stares at him. Weeks ago, the words would have had her blushing and the beginnings of desire kindling in her belly; but now they fall lifeless upon her ears, none of the ease and familiarity she has come to enjoy during their little interludes present in them.

The words are merely mechanic—as calculated and practiced as they were on that very first night.

Worse, it doesn’t even seem like he enjoys saying the words, the sound of them hollow as they leave his mouth and the smirk pasted on his lips halfhearted.

It feels utterly obvious once she realizes what he’s trying to do and she can see through his ill-prepared idea with ease, this little power play of his nothing more than a paltry attempt to control their situation, some sort of damage control after the other night.

They’ve both given too much of themselves now to return to the shallow, impersonal relationship they once had whether he likes it or not, and Rin will be damned if she lets him call the shots and force them back to the beginning.

But, if Astarion wants to play a game—well, she’s never been one to turn down an opportunity to win.

Rin looks down at her clothes with a pointed look and while they were perhaps nothing fancy—the oversized linen and worn leather may be simple but they were far from wretched.

“Well. I’d hate to offend your delicate sensibilities.” Her smile is an inch too wide to be believable, betraying her irritation. “Shall I do a twirl for you as well? Or perhaps you would like a little trick?”

Rin holds up her hand, ready to ignis the damned tent if necessary to illustrate her point. Nothing that a few gold and a trip to dear Withers couldn’t fix if she accidentally managed to char him in the process.

“You spoil me darling, really. But I am simple man—” Rin stops him off with a look of admonishment, cutting off his sentence to start her own.

“A simple show for a simple man, then.” She hopes her emphasis on the words will speak loudly enough for him to understand the meaning of them as she mockingly bows towards him.

“I take offense to that assessment, you know.” Astarion huffs with a frown, casting his head aside to instead take a sip of his errant goblet of wine, already forgotten beside him.

His eyes are drawn quickly back to the center of his tent when he hears the soft rustle of fabric, returning to Rin just in time to catch a glimpse of her hands running down the front of her blouse. “It’s a perfectly reasonable one, if you ask me.”

Astarion frowns, opening his mouth to protest before quickly shutting it as her hands reach the waistband of her pants, fingers dipping just beneath the worn leather. Rin raises her brow, a teasing smile forming on her lips now that she has his attention.

Any irritation she feels is tempered by the thrill of Astarion’s gaze so set on her, his complete focus hers and hers alone as honest interest finally sparks to life in those red eyes of his.

With little flourish she begins to pull her leggings down her legs, peeling the pants away from her skin with less grace than she would prefer, but it would have to do. She kicks them to the side once she frees herself from them, uncaring where they land as she adjusts to the cool air of the night against newly bared skin that Astarion’s eyes rove.

“Do you think I should take this off next?” She thumbs at the hem of her shirt, examining the fraying stitching at the hem in desperate need of a mend. She’d have to ask Astarion to do it for her, damn it. “Since you find it so offensive and all that.”

“Be my guest, darling.” He gestures with a hand towards the garment, a corner of his mouth lifting. “I’ll even do you a favor and burn it for you for later.”

“How kind of you to go through all the trouble.”

Rin’s smile is wry as she grabs the hem of her plain tunic and deftly lifts it over her head before dropping it.

It drifts to the ground, fluttering down softly to fall in a graceless heap beside her bare legs, Astarion’s eyes darkening ever so slightly at the sight of her in nothing more than an unadorned corset and plain underwear, upping her confidence tenfold as she lets a corner of her mouth lift.

“I suppose you’ll want to burn this too?” She runs her fingers teasingly across the top edge of the corset, her touch light as she brushes against the cotton and the plush of her breasts where they spill out above the garment.

She hadn’t worn it with the intent of being admired, but when Astarion’s eyes follow every brush of her fingers against her breasts she’s suddenly quite grateful that she had chosen to wear it tonight instead of opting to go without as she normally would have, if only for it to act as a different kind of armor—one last layer to bolster her defenses in a battle she will surely lose.

Astarion swallows, legs shifting slightly as his eyes caress over her curves. “We can negotiate the corset.”

“Your kindness truly knows no bounds.” Her fingers hover over the looped bow that sits at her breasts, tied in a hurry earlier after she had changed out of her armor.

The corset itself was nothing more than a plain ivory cotton—no expensive satin or fine boning—but when she pulls at the laces keeping the pretty little bow tied at the center of her cleavage, the tiniest bit of her full breasts exposed with the motion, the look in Astarion’s eyes could fool her into thinking it was the finest thing he had ever seen.

Little by little, she pulls every cross of the laces, freeing more and more of herself with every delicate yank of her fingers as Astarion’s eyes obediently follow every inch of skin exposed until she reaches the last one, tugging it gently to loosen the final cross.

It hangs loose around her form, the curve of her breasts just visible with the line of skin exposed down her chest. Rin wills her hands to steady under Astarion’s study as she brings them up to the straps on her shoulders, pushing each one off so she can shrug out of the garment.

With one last push, the corset falls to the ground at her feet and she steps out of the circle of it before sending it aside with a soft kick.

Rin’s breasts pebble in the cool air, heat beginning to curl deep in her stomach under Astarion’s watchful gaze. She keeps her limbs loose, relaxed; her face at ease as she meets his eyes.

“You aren’t quite finished yet, my sweet.” Astarion’s voice is tight as he gestures with a brief nod towards her nearly naked form, gaze moving from her bare breasts and down lower to linger on her still-clothed center.

“You know, I think I’ve grown tired of being your entertainment,” She cocks her head to the side, unbound waves of darkened wheat—the color barely discernible in the darkness of his tent—cascading with the movement. “If you want them off so badly, do it yourself.”

He raises a brow in question but obliges her nonetheless, moving from where he had been so indolently reclined against his bedroll as he watches her with keen eyes.

With slow, careful steps Astarion makes his way towards where she stands before him and she is helpless but to admire the way his muscles shift on his lithe form, the grace with which he moves as he stalks closer to her that of a predator on the hunt for his prey.

And what was she, she supposes, if not his prey? It was why she had come here tonight, after all—to let him drink his fill of her blood with his lips at her neck, sucking down her life’s essence to his heart’s content.

She certainly feels like his prey, at least. How could she feel anything but when he moves around her in a slow circle, eyes brushing over her bared skin like a lover’s caress, knowing and intimate.

Astarion moves around her in another perfect circle before he finishes his perusal, stopping to stand behind her close enough to touch, his bare chest almost brushing against her spine. Familiar hands come to her waist as his head lowers to rest upon her shoulder, thumbs rubbing light circles into the skin.

His lips press a featherlight kiss to her jaw that has her catching a breath. “Who said you were in charge here, my dear?”

His touch is electric against her skin, and Rin resists the urge to lean back into him, to press against the coolness of his chest and relish the feeling of his skin on hers. His mouth is terribly distracting where he adorns her with little kisses across the curve of her jaw and down the line of her neck, and she briefly wonders if he means to bite her just like this, held tight in the circle of his arms.

“Whoever said that you were?” Rin counters back with a glance out of the corner of her eye to where his cheek rests against her shoulder, ignoring the wetness that has begun to pool between her thighs.

She has no intention of giving into his every want and demand, or at least not yet.

The hands bracketing her waist begin to move despite his protests, sliding down over her hips with frustrating slowness until he reaches the hem of her embarrassingly simple underwear.

“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” Astarion sighs dramatically against the column of her throat. “Must you be so difficult?"

There’s an unexpected fondness in his voice, an affection that she can’t remember if she’s ever heard so openly from him before that has the air around them changing; shifting from something practiced and performative to familiar and lovely and absolutely perfect.

The sound of it has a shred of something warm blossoming in Rin’s chest—unknown but not entirely unwelcome, she decides.

He plays at the edge of her panties, fingers toying with the thin cotton where it rests against her skin on either hip, his touch sending another wave of heat straight to her core as she bites back a sigh at the sensation.

“You should be aware by now that listening has never been one of my strong suits.”

“Yes, well,” Astarion’s fingers hook into both sides of her underwear before beginning to pull, the garment sliding down over her hips and bottom as Astarion sinks down with it. “You seem to remember how to follow my instructions when it counts, dearest.”

He drops silently to his knees behind Rin, dragging her underwear down her legs as he goes, each slide of the fabric against her skin only serving to heighten the heat kindling inside her. She gingerly steps out of each leg, desperately wishing she could see what he must look like lowered behind her in such a manner—the sight of him on his knees surely one that she has seen in her dreams of him.

But before she can make up her mind to steal a glance or even just turn, Astarion is gliding back up her body, hands glancing against her skin as he goes, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.

“You know, I thought I came here for you to feed on.” It’s an effort to keep her voice steady as his arms wrap back around her waist, touch cool against her skin.

His head lowers back to her ear, lips brushing against the shell as a shiver of anticipation runs down her spine. “Oh, you did. But I don’t see why we can’t have a little fun as well. It’s been awhile, darling, and I’ve missed you.”

A hand traces down her stomach in a teasing touch; long, sweeping lines of his fingertips back and forth across her skin brushing down until he reaches the apex of her thighs.

Astarion moves at a glacial pace as his fingers dip lower and lower until they find their way to her center, swiping through her folds to spread her essence on the tips of them as Rin’s head falls back onto his shoulder, a sigh escaping her lips as he explores.

“Miss my blood or miss me?” Rin’s lashes flutter shut as he runs his fingers up and down her, careful to avoid the two places she wants him to touch most as she flushes at the evidence of her arousal he finds.

“Can’t it be both?” His fingers finally find her entrance, tracing around the edge in slow circles as she sharply inhales.

She’s not ready to admit how much she wants to believe him that he had missed her, had missed this—the easy intimacy they had been building together bit by bit. It’s a dizzying thought, one that has her heart skipping a beat that he surely can hear this close.

“With you? Unlikely.”

“Why, you think so little of me, darling.” Astarion punctuates his words with the press of a finger slowly in; and were it any other time, the mock outrage coloring his voice would draw a laugh from her.

This time, however, he draws a moan from her instead as he pushes deeper, seating his finger inside her before slowly withdrawing.

“Give me more to think about, then.” Rin sighs, lips opened as she tries to still her hips.

“Only if you ask nicely.” He smiles into her skin, lips brushing against the column of her throat as he pushes back in, sliding home to the knuckle.

Her mind ceases to a halt on whatever clever words she had been preparing when a hand draws up to her breast and cups it, Astarion’s touch a balm against her over-warm skin as he runs his thumb over the hardened peak.

Astarion’s finger moves only barely inside her, but it’s enough for Rin to feel it, friction building in her core with the simple motion. She should be embarrassed by how quickly he has worked her up, her ire so easily forgotten when wrapped in his arms and at the mercy of his skilled hands.

He’s lucky that she likes him, for she would never allow anyone else such lenience. Though, she would never allow anyone else the opportunity to get quite so close to her, either—a thought that borders on terrifying if she thinks too long about it.

A second finger joins the first, and she welcomes the slight stretch as he finally begins to pump them while he mouths at her neck, moving in a steady rhythm that has a fire burning deep in her core as she moans in relief.

Astarion’s pace is easy and unconcerned as he thrusts in and out lazily, slowly building her up higher and higher with every press forward. Her curls pillow against his pale skin as she sighs at the pleasure coursing through her, that welcome heat billowing deep inside her. His thumb finds her clit and rolls against it in soft circles as her lips open in a low moan, limbs tightening at the added touch.

The hand cupping her breast runs back down to her waist to wrap around the circle of it, fingertips stroking her skin as he secures her closer to him and the outline of his cock presses hard against her ass.

Rin can feel the grin he hides in her neck as he breathes in the scent of her and his fingers curl, searching for the place to make her fall apart under his hands. He moves them just right, finding that one spot, and she cries out as her hips buck into his palm.

“Ah, Astarion!”

“Yes, darling?” He curls his fingers again and she practically melts in his hold, the arm he has wrapped around her waist squeezing tighter to keep her upright. “Did you have something you wanted to say?”

He could finish her off so easily, the bastard; only a few more presses of his fingers and she would be done for, but Rin doubts that Astarion has plans to let her off so easily.

Astarion has never outright denied her the release she craves, but he certainly likes to make her work for it.

“Only that I don’t want you to stop.” The words come out sounding more wanting than she would prefer, but she’s beyond the point of summoning up a care.

Astarion tsks, and as if on cue his fingers slow to a stop before pulling them from her body. Rin whines in protest as she lifts her head to glare at him, narrowed eyes meeting amused ones as he simply smirks back at her.

“Sorry, dear, I didn’t catch that.”

Astarion spins her around in his hold, her breasts pressing against his own bare chest as his hands run up and down her waist. A quick glance down and she can see the evidence of his own arousal, his cock pushing urgently against her stomach, still hidden by pants that she needs to rid him of preferably sooner rather than later.

“Liar. You heard me just fine.” Rin’s arms wrap around his shoulders as she leans in closer to him.

“It’s neither here nor there.” Astarion begins to walk her back, the two of them stepping together as he leads her towards his bedroll. “There’s no need to rush. Now, lay down.”

Rin arches her brow at his bossiness, but doesn’t argue as she lowers herself to the ground and spreads herself out on his bedroll. She frowns when she sits, the surface not nearly as soft as it should be, an unfamiliar hardness beneath her.

“Astarion, what in the hells is it that I am sitting on?” She shifts to peek underneath the blankets, spying some sort of wooden thing underneath her.

“Are you really going to ruin the mood to ask me about something so stupid? You are truly impossible.” Astarion looks down on her with a pointed scowl as he moves to kneel down before her, his lithe muscles shifting as he crawls over to her in smooth movements.

“I’m not the one sleeping on a plank of wood every night. Have you no standards for good night’s trance? No wonder you’re so touchy all the time.”

He’s upon her in mere moments, an elegant hand finding the space just below her collar bone as he only answers her with a stern look. This thumb runs along the line of it, brushing against the skin as his eyes follow the motion.

Rin looks down at the hand poised on her chest, so pale against the sun-warmed gold of her own, and brings her own up to run fingertips down the back of his. She swears she can see him shiver at the touch, a barely noticeable intake of his breath as her hand rests on top of his.

Astarion’s eyes cut up to hers, and with a raise of his brow, he pushes her backwards.

Rin lets him do it, lowering herself back with the help of his little push until her head hits his pillow, a rush of his scent surrounding her as she lays. His hand still rests on the skin of her chest, the weight of it like a scorching brand as she stares up at Astarion as he cages himself above her.

She doesn’t know what he sees when he looks down upon her, hair most likely curling in an unruly halo around her head and cheeks undoubtedly colored an unbecoming shade of pink, but his eyes run over what feels like every inch of her face before his hand begins to move, tracing a featherlight line down her skin.

Her stomach jumps underneath the drag of his fingertips as his touch stops low, their eyes meeting together in a heated glance as Rin waits with bated breath.

Astarion’s head lowers towards her, and her heart beats a little faster at the thought of his lips meeting hers, the want she has been blatantly ignoring the past week begging to break free from its confines safe in the corner of her mind.

But instead, Astarion’s lips find her neck, placing a kiss on the two pinprick scars that decorate the column of it before running them across her skin—kissing over her collar, upon the peak of her breast, down her ribs one by one.

She gasps at the feeling as he drags his lips down her body, her skin flushed with desire.

He’s kissing the sensitive skin just below her stomach with teasing presses of his lips when she speaks, breathless and wanting. “Astarion, don’t you want to feed?”

Cool hands travel down the curve of her waist and over her hips before reaching her soft skin of her thighs, palms running over the tops of them as he settles himself in between her legs.

“Oh, I do.” Astarion makes to spread her thighs further, pushing them wide. “Don’t you worry, my dear, I’ll get my fill.”

Rin’s cheeks fill with heat as he moves his gaze to her bare center, running claret eyes over her as she sucks in a breath. With little ceremony, his head moves forward and his tongue glides along her center, lapping at her wetness.

Her hips buck up into Astarion’s face as she reaches down to grab at his soft, downy curls as he circles the pearl at the top of her sex, the tip of his tongue light as he traces shapes along it.

He laps at her clit as she tries to quiet her mouth, holding back her moans and cries as best she can as he works her up ever higher. With a last circle, Astarion’s tongue ventures further down, abandoning her clit to instead run through her folds, groaning at the taste of her before exploring the wetness that has collected at her entrance.

“Asta—” Rin gasps sharply as his tongue traces around the edge of her, so like he had with his finger earlier—ever teasing. He dips in her entrance, the tip of it whorling against her before pushing deeper.

Her hands scrabble for purchase in his hair as he licks inside her, eating her out in earnest as her thighs tremble around his head. She swears that she can feel him chuckle against her as he tastes, tongue curling inside her as she grasps his soft curls harder between her fingers.

He thrusts his tongue deep and she keens, back arching off the bedroll as her hips roll against his mouth, chasing the heat coiling deep inside her with every press of his tongue. It’s a different sensation than that of his fingers, but no less welcome or wonderful as the feeling in her belly tightens more and more.

She’s terribly close when his mouth leaves her, and she mourns the loss of his tongue for mere seconds before he fills her with fingers that press urgently, curling just right as his lips kiss their way to her thigh.

“Do it.” She spreads wider for him, and she can hear his satisfied hum against her skin before he opens his mouth and sinks his teeth in the tender flesh of her inner thigh.

The familiar ice of his bite hurts far too good, the frosty pain warring against the heat surging through her limbs as he drinks from her, blood running in scarlet rivulets down her thigh to stain the worn blanket beneath her.

Astarion’s messy as he drinks, her hips writhing in time with the fingers still artfully working inside her. Her back arches as she tries to quiet her cry, a fist curling into the threadbare blanket below her.

The metallic scent of iron tinges the air of the tent as he drinks and Rin can’t help the moan that falls from her open mouth at the feeling of his lips on her skin, sucking and licking and—gods, kissing.

“There, please.” His fingers hit perfectly, over and over again, and her thighs tremble. “Please don’t stop.”

Astarion sucks hard at the bite as she begs, fingers keeping pace with the movement of her hips as he drinks down another surge of her blood. With only a few more presses of his fingers, curving just right to hit exactly where she needs him, Rin comes.

A hand unclenches from the blanket to cover her mouth as she muffles her moan into her palm, back arching as precious heat courses through her limbs and her hips writhe.

Pleasure whites out her thoughts as Astarion fucks her through her orgasm with his fingers; lips and mouth still pullings sips of her blood from her thigh all the while.

She comes back to herself as his fingers slow and he peppers kisses to her leg, lapping up any stray drops as they fall from the wound. Astarion pulls his fingers from her gently, another hum of satisfaction breaking free as he brings them to his mouth and sucks, tongue licking her come clean from the digits.

She’s still floating in a euphoric haze when Astarion finally rises from between her thighs, appetite sated and pale skin flushed with the slightest hint of pink from the blood that once belonged to her now flowing through his veins.

His mouth is glistening with her—her blood, her arousal, her scent. She’s entranced by the sight of it as Astarion licks his rouged lips, tongue swiping at a small drop of blood at the corner of his mouth that threatens to roll down his chin.

“Did I taste as good as you had hoped?” Rin’s chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath in the aftermath, the words no more than a whisper.

A corner of Astarion’s mouth lifts upward as he runs his eyes over her; from his mark on her thigh, over her sex, and up her flushed form beneath him until he meets her eyes. “Better.”

Rin’s breath hitches as he kisses his way back up her body with warmed lips, leaving a trail of red upon her skin with every touch of his lips, small blooms of her crimson blood like stains of watercolor.

He kisses up the valley between her breasts before turning his head, lips running over the plump curve of one before capturing her nipple, sucking at it before flicking his tongue against the bud. Rin’s back arches at the unexpected touch, more heat already kindling as he gives it a hard suck.

Astarion pops off her breast to kiss towards its twin, her hands burying back in his hair as he sucks at her other nipple, laving it with his tongue as a whine breaks free from her lips before she urges him higher, fingertips running through his curls.

He obliges, placing one last kiss upon the tip of her breast before moving to bury his head in her neck, licking a line up the column of her throat, the very tip of his tongue tracing a thrumming vein.

Rin wraps her arms around his shoulders, hands running over the corded muscle as he slots himself between her legs, his still-clothed erection brushing against the too-sensitive skin of her thighs.

It simply wouldn’t do, she decides.

“Let me touch you. Please,” she runs her hands down his chest to dance over his skin until she reaches the waistband of his pants, his cock painfully hard as it strains against the fabric. “I want to touch you, Astarion.”

She’s taking a chance by asking, but it’s one she’s willing to try her luck for.

Despite how many times she’s enjoyed the feeling of him inside her or how well he’s come to learn her body, he’s never quite allowed her the same opportunity to touch or taste him.

She knows enough of his past—he’s told her plenty of the many different people he had taken for Cazador against his will and under duress, his body used without the ability and choice to say no.

“I want to make you feel good too, Astarion.” Rin peers up into his eyes, fingers no longer trailing along him as she pauses, waiting patiently for a real answer. “Do you trust me?”

His gaze is intense as it meets her own, the heated desire in his eyes tempering for a moment to give way to a tentative vulnerability that crosses over them as he considers her words.

“I-” Astarion speaks softer than she had expected as he breaks off, gaze intent on hers as the weight of the implication that he has a choice—one that is his and his only to make—bears down on him. “—I do.”

“Only if you want me to. You have to promise me that you want it.” She urges, hands flattening on his abdomen as excitement stirs in her chest.

“Fine. I promise that I want it.” Astarion snaps, but his words lack any real bite as a corner of his lips quirk up into a crooked smile. “Show me what you’ve got, then, if you’re so eager.”

Rin moves slow as her hand slides back down his pants and over the curve of his hardened length, caressing him over the fabric as she feels him, cupping his length softly before flitting back up to join the other still at the waist of his pants.

Astarion’s breath catches at her touch before on his own hands comes down to help as she pushes the barrier down, freeing his length from the confines of his clothes. In a smooth motion, his pants and underwear are down his legs and off, baring his erection.

Precome shines at the tip of his cock as she runs her fingers down him in a barely there caress from top to bottom, his length twitching with the motion as Astarion draws in a harsh breath.

Her eyes stay on his as she grazes the soft skin again, watching for any sign she should stop as she runs her fingers along a prominent vein that runs along the side of him.

He’s velvet soft under her palm as she wraps her fingers around his shaft, giving him an experimental pump of her hand, touch gentle as she revels in the feel of him.

“Is this alright?” Rin looks up at him from under lowered lashes.

Her hand glides up, brushing over the head of him as she collects the precome leaking from his slit, running her fingers over it before caressing down to the base once more.

“By all means, please continue.” Rin knows he means for the words to be casual and unaffected, but there’s already a telling breathiness to Astarion’s words that has her smirking.

The weight of him in her hand is nothing short of perfect as she gently wraps her fist around him, stroking him. Astarion moans and it’s the easily one of the most beautiful things Rin’s ever heard, the sound of it sending a spike of heat to her core.

She brings her other hand to her mouth, running her tongue over her palm before it joins the other around his cock and the added bit of glide has Astarion gasping as his hips jump.

His head falls heavy onto her shoulder as she works him, careful pumps of his length bringing him closer to the edge far faster than she ever thought possible with only her touch.

His cock weeps as Rin glides her fingers over the crown of him again, collecting more of the precome that glistens at the tip. Her hands move together, one carefully massaging the head of his cock while the other strokes at the base, the breathy moans leaving Astarion’s lips only serving to spur her on further as she works him closer to the edge.

“Does this feel good, Astarion?”

“Gods, yes.” He shudders in response, lips open against her skin as he presses a messy kiss into her shoulder.

Her palms move faster, intent on his undoing, his pleasure at her hands nothing short of exhilarating.

Gods, she would let him come wherever he wanted. Onto her stomach, across her breasts, down her throat—the thought is enough to send another spark of electricity to her empty core.

“Ah, darling,” Astarion’s voice is tight as he buries his face deeper into her neck, hips bucking into her hand as she works him from the crown of his cock to the base, his breathing getting harder with every stroke. “Much more and you’ll spoil the main event.”

“I’ll stop, if that’s what you want.” Rin slows her motions as he catches his breath against the column of her throat, so close to his own completion she can practically feel it in the way his body shakes above her own, muscles quivering with the want of release. “But would it be so awful if you were to come like this? On my hands, all over my skin?”

Astarion raises his head from her neck, pupils blown wide and hair thoroughly disheveled as he pants. “Decidedly not, but I think I want to fill that sweet cunt of yours tonight instead.”

“If you say so.” She brings one of the hands that had been stroking him to her mouth, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her lips to lap at a shining string of precome still sticking to her skin, savoring the flavor of him for the very first time.

Astarion swallows hard, eyes fixated on the pink of her tongue as she wraps her mouth around the tip, sucking lightly. She smiles sweetly around it, lips pink and plush, as she sends him a wink.

With a soft pop, she pulls her finger out of her mouth before moving to twine her arms around his neck, running through the soft curls at his nape. “I wouldn’t mind getting to taste more of you, either, if you’d let me.”

“Salacious girl. Whatever am I supposed to do with you?” That same fondness from earlier sneaks back into his words as she gazes up at him with as much innocence as she can muster.

“Hmm,” Rin muses, pretending to think through her answer as her fingers toy with his hair. “Whatever you want, I suppose.”

“Whatever I want?” Astarion’s brows raise in mock surprise. “You might come to regret those words, darling.”

“I find that sometimes I don’t mind being at your mercy.”

“Your self-preservation instincts need some reevaluating, my dear.”

“Is that what you think?” She laughs as her fingertips abandon his wild curls to dance absentmindedly across the lines of his shoulders.

“What I think is that these wandering hands of yours are trouble.” Astarion leans down to whisper into her ear, a smirk decorating his lips as they brush against the point of them. “It’s a pity I don’t have any pretty ribbon at my disposal to tie them up with.”

Nimble fingers move to find and circle her wrists with surprising delicacy as he removes them from around his neck to instead guide her arms up to rest around her head.

Desire pools deep in her belly at the mere mention and she doesn’t even try to fight against Astarion’s hold, not when there’s nothing she wants more than to be at the mercy of his hands.

“So, you’ll just have to be a good girl and keep these up here for me.” His hands encircle her wrists so very easily as he applies the slightest bit of pressure on them to illustrate his point. “Can you do that? I know you have a very hard time following directions.”

“I’ll try my hardest, but I make no promises.”

His hands slide down from her own where he left them resting above her head as he rises back to his knees, running over her breasts to anchor at her waist before he takes in the sight of her—warm skin and eyes bright and utterly alive.

He fits perfectly between her thighs as he moves his hips to slide his length through her folds, her slick coating him with every pass.

“No touching,” Astarion tuts. “Don’t forget.”

“Like I said, no promises. But I’ll give it a fair shot.” Rin grinds her hips against his erection, still gliding up and down her slit.

Astarion’s only response is a raise of his brow as he positions himself at her entrance, the head of his cock barely pressing against her as he smirks, moving his hips away every time she tries to move hers forward.

Teasing. Always, always teasing.

Rin rolls her hips against his own as Astarion finally pushes forward, hilting himself inside her warmth in a smooth thrust, twin moans escaping from their lips at the feeling as he fills her completely.

His hands caress down to her thighs where they open for him, thumbs running up and down soft skin marred only by the red of his own bite, the marks smeared with still drying blood.

Astarion’s hips finally move, pulling away from hers only to push forward again until he bottoms out, burying himself deep. Rin relishes the feel of him moving inside her with a soft moan as she throws her head back against his pillow, back arching as he settles his hands on her hips to pull her deeper onto his cock.

His thumbs grip into her skin as he thrusts into her, hips meeting her own with long, deep strokes that have her trying and failing to hold back the little noises of pleasure that loose from her lips.

She yearns to move her hands from where they still rest above her head—yearns to drag her fingers across his skin or wrap her arms around his neck to draw him closer to her—but she resists the temptation, settling on moving her hips instead.

Rin grinds against his cock buried deep inside her as she moves her hips to match his own, thrust for thrust, the slide of him achingly flawless as they move together.

“Gods, you’re absolutely perfect.” The words slip out of Astarion’s lips, murmured low on a hard thrust. She tightens around him as the praise washes over her, lips opened on a barely restrained whimper as her lashes lower.

He’s more than beautiful in the darkness as he throws his head back on a moan, the drag of his cock smooth as he hits deep and she craves more—more closeness, more of his touch, more of his lips.

“Kiss me,” she gasps and instantly regrets the words and the desperation of them as her hands still lay obediently above her head, her back arching with every thrust.

Astarion’s hips stutter, losing their rhythm as he looks down at her, fixating on the petal pink of her lips, and Rin’s heart practically stops at what she sees when he looks at her.

A hand traces its way up from her hip to grab hold of her chin, touch firm as Astarion’s eyes move away from her lips to stare into her own, searching for something in the verdant depths of them. His gaze is alight with a precious heat that threatens to burn every inch of her—the fire she’s secretly dreamed of seeing there in his eyes when he looks at her.

His lips crash into hers with no words or preamble, meeting her half way as she surges her head up and their lips press together. Her arms lift, leaving their resting place above her head to wrap around his neck as Astarion’s tongue runs against the seam of her lips in askance, her own parting eagerly for him.

She can taste the remnants of herself on his lips, both the richness of her cunt and the metallic tang of her blood; and it’s heady, it’s divine as his lips chase after her own as they kiss and kiss and kiss, his hips still joined with hers all the while.

The hand that had been poised on her chin strokes upward, running over the plane of her cheek in a barely there touch that has her heart stuttering as their lips move.

Gods, she’d been wishing for the feeling of his lips on hers, and if the only way she can get it is when he fucks her, then so be it.

It’s not the only kind of kiss she wants from him but it’s the kiss she will take, desperate despite her every wish otherwise.

She’s gasping when Astarion finally breaks the kiss, taking in precious breaths of air as his lips lift only just away from hers. His hips slow and Rin looks questioningly up at Astarion, arms still twined tightly around his neck.

A small burst of panic bubbles up in her chest as she feels him slide out her, hips pulling away from hers to leave her empty; and worry that she had perhaps done something wrong or said something she shouldn’t have fills her mind.

“Astarion? Is everything alright? Did I—” she cuts herself off as the hand at her cheek brushes a stray lock of hair behind her ear while its twin travels up her thigh to curve around her waist, urging her body upwards with a gentle pull.

“Let’s try something a little different, hm? Now, up.”

His hold is tight—secure—as they both shift to sitting, Astarion helping her along the way until she is upright in his lap, knees on either side of his thighs as she hovers.

“Now, tell me, sweet thing. Have you ever been fucked like this before?” His eyes pierce into her own as a hand curls around the back of her head, fingers tangling in her curls.

“No.” Rin shakes her head from side to side, biting her lip as his length finds her entrance once more, pushing with the barest hint of pressure against her.

“Good.”

With a swift thrust, Astarion sheathes himself inside of her as his lips capture hers, swallowing her answering moan as Rin arches against his chest. The hand wrapped around her waist travels down, fingertips squeezing into the flesh of her ass to help guide her hips up and down his cock.

They’re on equal footing like this, noses brushing against each other’s as their bodies work, Rin’s hips meeting Astarion’s own in a smooth cadence. The closeness—the intimacy of it—is intoxicating as their lips meet again and again, arms wrapped around each other as their fingertips dig into each other’s skin.

It’s not as fast or as hard as she’s used to, but somehow it’s better—the lack of quick thrusts is made up for instead by hard rolls of their hips, Astarion reaching the deepest part of her core as they hold each other close, not an bit of space between them.

His length brushes against what feels like every inch of her walls, sending sparks through her body as the heat coiling in her stomach rises higher with every move they make.

Rin is only mildly aware of the marks he left on her thigh breaking open once more, tiny drops of her blood leaving ruby red smears against both her and Astarion’s flesh as her hands map the planes of his face and their lips press.

Any other time, she would be blushing at the noise of their bodies moving together, the wet glide of his length driving in and out of her and the sound of skin on skin audible in the confines of Astarion’s tent; but instead she’s unabashed as she moves up and down his cock and he thrusts up to meet her, moans falling freely from both of their mouths as their kiss breaks.

She’s getting closer and she can tell he is too, the intensity of his thrusts only getting harder and deeper as every roll of his hips has his length brushing against her sweet spot as she loses her rhythm against him as her body begins to quake.

“Eyes on me.” Astarion’s forehead presses into hers as her lashes flutter, the height of her pleasure curling around her, ephemeral and just out of reach.

The heat burning inside her reaches a crescendo, his name whispered from her lips on a broken gasp as her hold on him tightens, fingertips digging into his skin.

She’s tremulous as she tightens around him and he kisses her moans from her, quieting the sound of them as her hands grasp for purchase around his shoulders and he pumps his cock, hitting the very same spot that never fails to have her falling apart in his arms.

Rin sees stars behind her eyes as she tumbles over the edge of the crest, constricting hard on him as she comes on a near silent cry. Her hips writhe as Astarion holds her steady despite the ragged moan that falls from his lips as he watches her fall apart with half-lidded eyes.

She’s clinging to him as she rides out the rest of her orgasm on the hardened length still thrusting inside her, Astarion working her through the waves of pleasure that suffuse through her limbs.

A dreamy, hazy euphoria descends over her like a fog as she finally comes back to herself, her first thought to press another kiss to the pair of lips that still brush against hers.

Rin takes a lungful of air on a deep breath, beginning to move her hips against his once more despite the contented exhaustion blanketing her as she speaks with a soft, teasing lilt. “I thought you were going to come in my sweet cunt, Astarion.”

“Still the plan, darling.” Astarion’s lost in his own pleasure as he speaks, eyes fixated on her own as his hips snap hard into hers.

The hand on her ass tightens, fingertips near bruising as Astarion’s thrusts begin lose their rhythm in the wake her orgasm, the feeling of her cunt spasming around his length as she had come only serving to drive him closer to his own completion.

Her fingertips run down his cheek as he looks at her, his control breaking on every push of his hips that she meets readily.

“Then do it,” She whispers. “Please come for me, Astarion.”

Rin presses her mouth to his in a hard kiss, gasping as he changes the angle of his thrusts to hit the very end of her cunt.

At her words, Astarion follows her over the edge, moaning his ecstasy into her lips as he comes. His hips rut frantically against hers, spilling himself inside her with unrestrained thrusts.

Rin grasps him tighter as his orgasm rushes through him, taking each and every sound that falls from him as he works through the waves of pleasure coursing through his limbs.

Finally, Astarion’s hips slow to a halt as their chests heave, still locked in their embrace, the haze of the aftermath floating around them. His lips press against hers one last time before he ducks his head to fit against her neck, breathing in the scent of her.

Rin’s not sure how long they stay like that, both catching their breath as her arms hang loose around him, Astarion’s face still buried in her neck as his fingers grip around waist.

Eventually, it’s Astarion who moves first, gently pulling his softened cock from her as he lifts his head and leans back towards his bedroll, taking her down with him.

They lay next to each other on the ruined blanket, a light sheen of sweat sticking to their skin.

“That was—” Astarion starts, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to push it out of his face.

Rin finishes the sentence for him, her heart still beating in a staccato rhythm. “Amazing? Fantastic? The best sex you’ve ever had?”

“Well, you think quite highly of yourself, don’t you?” Astarion turns his head to face her, brow raised.

Rin leans in, bumping their foreheads together in a light touch before whispering her reply on a smile. “That wasn’t a no.”

Astarion rolls her eyes and she laughs, and she swears she can see the slightest hint of pink coloring his cheeks, no doubt from the help of her blood still running through him.

He sits up, stretching his arms above his head, the muscles in his back shifting and Rin lets out an appreciative hum at the sight.

“Oh, and Astarion.” Rin smiles as she rolls her shoulders, settling further into the blanket. “If you burn my shirt, I will be forced to take action. Possibly with a knife. Just so we’re clear.”

His head whips back to glance at her, a wicked look in his eye. “Flirting again already? Give me a moment to recover, dearest.”

Astarion’s eyes skate down her naked form, still lying in a boneless heap upon his bedroll.

“Gods, look at you. You’re an absolute mess.” She can feel the blood drying on her thighs and on the spots where he had left bloodied kisses up her body, his come threatening to spill out of her with even the slightest movement. “Get ahold of yourself, darling.”

“An absolute mess that you made.” Rin peeks down to look at herself, skin still flushed and dotted with red marks in the vague shape of his lips.

“I’d gladly make it again, too.” Astarion turns back to the side, reaching for a spare decanter of presumably water and grabbing a piece of soft cloth.

“I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.”

She takes in the bloodied blanket beneath her as she hazards a stretch, reaching her arms above her head as her feet point, back arching as she comes up to her elbows.

“Has anyone ever told you that your bedroll is absolutely awful? How you manage to sleep on something so hard is beyond my ability to imagine. We should steal you a new one.”

Even with the awful plank beneath her, it would be so easy to stay on a night like tonight. Too easy to imagine settling into his side, the now familiar contours of his body beside her own as they rested together, limbs tangling. She’s never slept in anyone’s arms before that she can remember, and she wonders how it must feel to spend hours simply wrapped in Astarion’s embrace and then to wake up next to him at first light.

Please ask me to stay.

The words come from a deep, dark part of her mind unbidden; but the wanting they bring with them threatens to ruin her as her heart beats harder.

“Or you could always come share mine, I guess. I promise I’ll keep you nice and warm.” It’s a risk speaking those kind of words, Rin crossing a line they’ve never dared to before.

Astarion’s body tenses slightly, the line of his shoulders stiffening.

He dips the mouth of the decanter over onto a spare cloth to wet it before turning back to her, expression strangely blank. The sight of it puts her ill at ease, as if the warm intimacy they had shared had been snuffed out like a candle’s flame.

Astarion runs the cloth over her form, erasing any evidence of him from her skin. His spend, the blood on her thighs, the messy kisses up her chest—all of it gone with a simple brush of water on cloth.

She nods her thanks, her heart sinking as regret burns in her throat.

“Well, it’s been lovely. You’re always such a treat.” Astarion summons a veil across his eyes, an empty smirk on his lips as he sets the cloth to the side. “You should go get some sleep, darling. Who knows who else you’ll need to convince to kill themselves tomorrow.”

It’s like a slap to the cheek—cold water to wake her from the warm embrace of a dream. It wasn’t the first time he had said such words to her, but this is the first time she realizes that she hates them with every fibre of her being.

“Oh.” She bites her lip, hoping she hides her disappointment well enough; but from the way Astarion averts his gaze to focus on an invisible point on other side of the tent, she doesn’t need to worry much. “I suppose you do need your beauty sleep, don’t you? Far be it from me to get in the way.”

Rin doesn’t want to hear what he has to say, she decides, as she pulls herself up to sitting beside him. She’s not certain she can look at him either, not at the cool and aloof expression that seems to have taken residence across his features.

He hadn’t looked like that when he kissed her.

No, he had looked the exact opposite, his expression mirroring the longing she knows had been etched onto her own as their lips had met.

Without a word, Rin stands and walks over the blankets heaped along the floor to where her clothes lay discarded in a heap, her footsteps soft against the ground.

Silently, she redresses, not bothering with the corset as she leaves it unlaced at her feet and pulls the rest of her clothes back on with perfunctory ease. Her tunic is partially over her head when she dares a look back at Astarion, the collar floating down to rest against her skin as she turns her head.

His face is imperceptible as he watches her, sitting still as stone. She forces a small smile, hoping that the dejection she feels doesn’t come across as she speaks to him one last time for the evening.

“Sleep well, Astarion.”

Astarion nods his head, a clear dismissal if she’s ever seen one. “Until the morning, darling.”

Until the morning, indeed.

Until the morning, where they’ll pretend everything is fine and nothing has changed as they play around each other in some sort of tiring, endless game.

And maybe Astarion can. Maybe, for him, nothing ever did change.

Rin doesn’t know quite what it is that they are building towards; but between the little bits of their lives shared with one another, the tiny little secrets that bare ragged pieces of their souls, the long evenings spent by the side of the fire laughing and talking and playing games, between the kisses and caresses and the meeting of their eyes—it feels like something.

Something more than simply being bedmates.

With a single, deep breath she reaches down to grab her corset, collecting it in hand as she turns and walks out the front flap of his tent without another look back, unable to promise she can keep her expression even in the face of his seemingly cold indifference.

Rin keeps her eyes ahead as she walks by the campfire, Gale politely looking the other way, not commenting on how she must look or what he must have heard—her hair is undoubtedly a mess, corset rumpled in hand, lips still too swollen to be confused with being anything other than readily kissed.

She withholds the sigh that threatens to break free as she makes her way towards her tent, and she’s grateful that at least there is no one else by the fire to witness the utterly pathetic sight of her as she keeps her eyes straight forward.

“I hope you know what you are doing.” Gale’s voice stops her before she can step into her tent, and she freezes, shifting the corset in hand in hopes of hiding it better, though she knows it’s useless. “I say this with the utmost respect, you understand. As your friend.”

Rin can hear the slightest bit of judgment in the words despite the kindness of them but she shakes it off. She probably deserves his judgment, in the end.

She pastes a weak smile on her face, squeezing the corset tighter in her hand as she turns to look at the wizard where he sits by the fire, a familiar spell book in hand.

“It’s all good Gale, nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“I trust your judgement, then. Sleep well, my friend.” Gale gives her a polite nod, but the look on his face says that he’s thoroughly unconvinced by her words.

Such aspiring confidence her companions have in her, it seems.

Rin certainly doesn’t blame him for it.

She can barely convince herself of the fact, after all.

With one last sigh she walks through the flap of her tent, letting it flutter shut behind her as she steps inside the familiar surroundings she now calls home.

It smells like it always does, jasmine and honey hanging in the air, and not a one of her possessions is out of place—however few of them she has.

But as she drops the corset on the ground, she can’t help but feel that something is missing.

Hands come up to cover her eyes as she presses the heel of her palms into them, hoping to rid her mind of such thoughts, however there’s no comfort to be found as shapes swirl on the back of her eyelids.

If she had any sense at all, she would quit while she was still ahead and could leave somewhat unscathed from whatever this thing growing between them is.

But she knows herself better than that.

She knows that, instead of stopping this and sparing herself the almost inevitable promise of pain that their little affair will bring, she will pull herself back together just in time to face the darkness of the morning and pretend that everything is just fine—all the while knowing deep down that she will keep making the same mistake over and over again and relish it every single time.

#this chapter wrecked me lmao it's so goddamn long #but I hope you all enjoy it!!#astarion x tav #astarion x f!tav #astarion x female tav #astarion bg3 #astarion fanfiction #astarion smut #verbenaa writes things!

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iamknicole · 2 months

Text

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: I doubled back for yall! This chapter flowed more easily than the previous one so I got it done quicker! Pay attention when you're reading😌 ⭐LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG & SHARE⭐ Enjoy!

Warnings: Cussing, 18+ ONLY MINORS DNI

DO NOT REPOST MY WRITING ANYWHERE AND CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN!

Masterlist

Chapter Thirteen

When Hassan brought Nadine home to meet his parents and little sister he was nervous. His palms sweated profusely no matter how many times he wiped them on his pants, they never dried. His stomach twisted into knots as he walked her through the home to the living room to meet them. But today standing on his sister’s front porch he didn’t feel any of those things. His nervousness was replaced with giddiness, his palms didn’t sweat and his stomach remained neutral. Internally realized no matter how he once felt about Nadine that she was not the woman he should have been with all those years, it was the woman whose hand he held, whose hand he gently caressed as they waited. The door opened and Gabi flung herself at her older brother, hugging him tightly around the neck saying how glad she was to see him as Tamara discreetly pulled her hand from his to give them room. There was a smile on her face as she watched them.

“I missed you too, Gabi. You act like you ain’t seen me in months,” he laughed, squeezing her back just as tightly. “Alright, alright, let me go.”

Gabi squeezed him one more time before letting go. “Its been like two weeks since I’ve seen you and you know that hasn’t happened since you moved back here from Texas.”

He glanced to his right at Tamara then back at his sister. “I been busy but Ima do better. I don’t want you cryin’ to Mama.”

Gabi’s brow raised looking between him and Tamara. “And I know exactly what and who you’ve been busy with. Nice to finally meet you, I’m Gabi.”

Tamara stuck her hand out but was pulled into a tight, brief hug. “I’m Tamara,” she laughed after being let go. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh girl, I know who you are. My brother tells me about you all the time but the pictures he showed me did not do you justice. You’re even prettier in person.”

At that Tamara turned to stare at Hassan. “Pictures? What pictures?”

“Don’t worry,” Gabi laughed, pulling them both into the house. “They were good ones. I mean he is an artist after all. He has never taken a bad picture of anyone. Not even that witch Na,” she was cut off by him clearing his throat.

“Be nice, Gabriella. I keep telling you that.” He warned playfully.

“You’ve been telling me for years to be nice and hasn’t worked yet. Oh … before I forget there’s something I need to tell you two.”

“What did you do?” He asked in an accusatory tone.

She shook her head. “No, no, it wasn’t me. It was your nephews and their big mouths that they definitely got from their father.”

“What could they have possibly told?” He asked, sure there was nothing they could have told Nadine. They didn’t like her and even if they did, he had made sure not to tell Gabi that he was taking Tamara to meet his ex-wife because of her big mouth. He watched her fidget for a second. “What is it?”

“Weeeell they may have spilled that you were bringing Tamara over to meet us.” She said quickly, making Tamara laugh.

“To whom, baby sister?"

Immediately Hassan’s eyes moved from his sister to the direction the other voices came from. He couldn’t help the chuckle that passed his lips.Their parents were there and there was no doubt as soon as Shirley DeBreaux found out about this impending visit she got up right then and made Rome DeBreaux drive her two hours from Columbus to Atlanta to be a part of it Hassan reached out for his girlfriend’s hand.

“It’s okay, Gabi. It saves me a trip,” he admitted with a shrug. “You’re gonna meet my parents as well. They’ll like you but Mama can be a bit much. It’s where Gabi gets it from. If that’s not okay, if you not ready I can take you home. They’ll understand.”

Tamara smiled up at him, her brows creasing a bit. “I don’t why you think I scare so easily but I’m okay. I’m happy to meet everybody, I want to.”

Gabi grinned, grabbing her hand from Hassan, pulling her along leaving him to follow behind them. “See I knew I liked you. You’re way better than that ole raggedy witch Nadine.”

“Gabriella,” Hassan called out over their laughter. “Don’t laugh, Tam. She know that ain’t nice.”

As soon as they entered the living room, Shirley’s reaction to Tamara undoubtedly ended all other conversations. With her hands to her face, she approached Tamara with a wide, genuine smile on her face.

“Oh my goodness. Girl, look at you,” she gushed loudly, taking one of Tamara’s hands to spin her around. “Aren’t you just the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid eyes on.”

“Thank you,” she responded softly. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. DeBreaux.”

With a playful swat to her leg, Shirley pulled her into a tight hug, rocking them back and forth. “You quit all that ‘mrs’ stuff out, you will call me mama just like the rest of my children.”

“Yes ma’am. You’re so pretty and I love your hair. I kind of feel like I know you already. San talks about you and his dad all the time,” Tamara admitted taking a peak around her to everyone else.

Shirley moved to hug her son then swatted his arm. “Yeah well my son didn’t mention you to me. If Malcolm and Monte didn’t tell me, I would have never gotten to meet you.”

“Mama, I was gonna bring her to meet you and dad. I was just starting with Gabi and her crew first. They live here.” He assured her with a smile.

“I’m only two hours away, see how quickly I got here and I didn’t find out until about four hours ago,” she continued on as she brought Tamara further into the living room. “Alright now this is Hassan’s father, Rome and believe you me they are just alike. It’s almost like he spit him out they act so much alike.”

Rome stood, wrapping her in a warm hug. “It’s very nice to meet you, young lady. How’s my son treating you?”

“Very good. I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t, Mr. DeBreaux,” she shrugged playfully.

“Please call me Dad or Rome. You’re family or I assume you will be soon,” he hinted more to his son than to Tamara before sitting back down. Hassan chuckled softly in response as he rubbed lazily through his beard.

Pulling her away from her mother, Gabi turned Tamara’s attention to her husband and kids. “This is my husband, Tyler Scott and our twins, Malcolm and Monte. Boys, this is Tamara. Remember the nice lady I told you about.”

Tyler stood briefly to shake her hand, offering her a bright smile. “Nice to meet you, Tamara. I’m really glad you’re finally here, Gabi has been talking our heads off about you coming.”

“Yeah and making us clean,” Monte mumbled loud enough for the adults to hear. Tyler pinched his son’s arm. “Ow! She did though. She woke us up to that old music and we all know what that means.”

“Right and she only supposed to do that two Saturdays out the month and today ain’t saturday.” Malcolm added with a similar mug to his brothers.

Tamara laughed, reaching to give both boys hugs. “Well I’m sorry she had you up cleaning early. How old are you two?”

“Thirteen,” they answered simultaneously.

“Uncle San, she gon be our new auntie?” Monte asked loudly.

Hassan slowly approached them, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I think that’s up to her, boys. We’ll see how she feels by the end of the night.”

Malcolm groaned. “You never give us real answers, Unc. When Rye comin to visit? She always got the answers.”

Hassan jumped at them playfully, laughing when they jumped back. “Yall gon sell me out for Rye so I ain’t telling yall. How bout that?”

The boys soon started to nag him, trying to jump all over him which he gave right back to them. Soon they were slap boxing with each other. Gabi grabbed her mother and Tamara’s attention, telling them to follow her to the kitchen. She grabbed the open bottle of wine from her refrigerator pouring three glasses.

“Gabi told me that Hassan really liked you while we were waiting and forgiving me if I was a bit skeptical considering Nadine,” Shirley took a small sip of her wine. “He really liked her too or he claimed to. I tried to tell him not to keep being with that girl but he was young, did what he wanted to do.” Tamara sipped from her wine, acknowledging the older woman with a nod. “But once I saw you and him together, I saw what Gabi had been telling me. He loves you. I can see it.”

“Like.” Tamara corrected.

“Oh no, baby.” She laughed with a shake of her head. “I said what I meant. I raised him, I know when my babies are in love.”

Feeling that the conversation may have gotten unintentionally heavy, Gabi butted in to save Tamara from any heat. “You’ve met his babygirl, right?”

Slowly, Tamara tore her gaze away from Shirley, settling on Gabi. “I did. I actually met them both at the same time. I approached him in the mall in Orlando and she was with him. And I’ve talked to her on the phone quite a few times since him and I have been dating. She’s a sweet girl.”

“She is. Thankfully nothing like her mama,” Gabi mumbled, earning a pointed look from her mother. “I’m just saying, Mama. You know I’m right.”

Shirley sighed, sitting her glass down. “Have you met Nadine yet?”

“No ma’am but she knows about me,” she glanced at Gabi, who was smiling. “And She knows that I know about her.”

“You just be careful with her and whenever you cross paths with her. That girl,” Shirley’s voice trails off for a moment, “She got some kinda evil in her. A demon if I ever seen one before.”

“Now, Mama,” Gabi laughed, “She is a terrible person but she not a demon though.”

“The hell you preach. That girl is a demon. The way that she treated my son and his baby. Tuh, lucifer must have placed her on Trenice’s porch cause I know she didn’t raise her that way.”

This is the most honest opinion Tamara’s heard about Nadine so she leaned into the conversation. Although she was in shape or form worried about clashing with her it was important to Tamara to really know what she was dealing with. When her and Hassan discussed his ex-wife, he was still very polite and honest to a point. He never told her the extent of things that she had done to Moriah because he didn’t want to share her business without her permission. The only thing he did tell her about was the abortion during one of their late night talks. When he spoke to her about Angel, he cried like it was still fresh. The loss of his first grandchild and the pain that it caused his only child hurt him and what hurt more is that he wasn’t there to stop it from happening. From what he confided in her, that was the first time he really regretted leaving Texas and not making Moriah come with him. Guilt still ate him up. He wished that he would have just disregarded what Moriah said she wanted and forced her to come to Atlanta with him.

For once, Gia was nowhere to be found in the performance center. From what Bronco heard she had some family emergency so she would be gone for a few days and wouldn’t see them talking to Trick. After the friends decided that they were going to put Trick onto her, they took a couple days to plan out how they were going to do it and now were satisfied.

On a break from their workout, the two approached Trick who was doing curls. They sat on the floor near the bench he sat on prompting him to sit the dumbbell down and remove his earbud from his ear. He eyed them carefully.

“Yall look like yall up to some shit. What yall got goin on?” He asked picking the dumbbell back up.

“We ain’t up to shit.” Zilla laughed. “We just wanted to holla at you real quick.”

He nodded for them to go on.

“We know you been tryna settle down so we wanted to help you out cause ya game is clearly nonexistent,” Bronco joked.

He sucked his teeth. “I got game, just ain’t been tryin. That’s all.”

Zilla lifted his hands in surrender. “Aye, mane, whatever you say. But look, we know you want somebody that understand this wrestlin shit and you travelin all the time so we found you somebody.”

“And we heard she think you kinda cute. So all you gotta do is use that nonexistent ass game and ask her out,” Bronco added.

Trick stared at them clearly contemplating continuing with his curls. “Who is it that yall think yall found for me?”

“Gia.”

Trick stared at them, recalling Gia in his mind. “Green eyed girl that do the backstage interviews?” The two men nodded making him smile. “Oh word? She is kinda cute and she be givin me them bedroom eyes from time to time.”

Zilla clapped his hands excitedly.“Aight so when she come back, ask her out on a date.”

“Bet Ima do that. Preciate yall for lookin out.”

The two left him, going back to the locker room to have their conversation in private. To be honest neither of them were a hundred percent sure that Gia would even go for it but they have witnessed Trick talk to enough girls that he at least got a first date. No matter what they planned to stay informed with how their relationship would go.

“You think that shit gon work out?”

Zilla huffed loudly, taking a seat on one of the benches. “Shit, I hope so. If it don’t and she keep this shit up, Fat gon whoop her ass. I told you what she asked me Tuesday?”

“Nah. What sis say?”

“Her exact words were ‘did that bitch have her hands on you tonight?’ And shit, it caught me off guard so I’m like who,” he recounted bringing the memory back to the forefront of his mind, “And she was like that frog eyed bitch. So I’m like nah and she basically told me if she don’t stop, she gon beat Gia ass.”

Busting out laughing, Bronco took a seat on the bench opposite of Zilla. His dislike of Gia was mutual among them all so anytime he heard Moriah or Toni dogging her ass out, he was going to enjoy it.

“Yoooo sis is wild. She called her a frog eyed bitch? You deadass?” He asked through his laughter.

“Deadass, bro. She meant that shit too.”

Bronco went from laughing to scrunching his face at his friend. “Why you smilin like that, fool?”

He shook his head. “It ain’t nothin.”

Bronco watched him until it clicked. “Ayye! My boy! I know what that smile mean! That’s why yall ducked outta there!”

“Hell yeah. I’m surprised Toni ain’t trip about it.”

He waved him off. “Nah, she wasn’t goin to. She was too busy gettin on my ass.”

That admittance made Zilla’s nosey ass ears perk up. He didn’t want to know so he could tell anyone, he simply just liked to be in their business. To him that’s what friends do.

“What you do?”

“She was upset cause Javi was at home by himself but I told her he was straight, he did it all the time before me and her started.” Bronco shrugged. “And he usually with her on Tuesdays but you know she workin nights this week and I was workin so.”

“Oh damn. But Javi like 13 or 14. Ain’t it?”

“Yeah, he 13 but you know T worry so much cause of her job. I told her she hadda relax.”

Zilla stared at him. “You told her to relax? Last time I told Rye to relax she bit my damn head off. Cussed me out for like two hours.”

He laughed. Yeah, she was about to but yall walked back in so shit … saved by the bell. I did have to hear that shit when she got off though. She came straight to my house, made Javi breakfast then yelled at me while I was in the shower.”

“That’s what your ass get,” he laughed while checking his phone. “Shit, I gotta reschedule my therapy session.”

“Rye told you to do that shit two weeks ago. Ima tell.”

“Man,” he laughed, “I been busy. Ima do it though. Remind me when we leave her.”

“Nope, hell nah cause if I do or don’t and you don’t do it you gon throw my ass under the bus right along with you.”

The pediatric floor was quiet for the moment. The children that were on the floor were either sleep or medicated enough that they were in no pain. Dr. Miller took this time to get caught up on paperwork hoping to leave on time and not a minute after 7. This floor was what he always dreamed of, Dr. Harris made it even better for the last six years the older doctor had taken him under his wings and always encouraged him to do the same for others who were newly pinned. While Dr. Miller enjoyed doing this when he could, he did not enjoy one medical student in particular.

“Dr. Miller, you got a second?”

A sigh escaped him. “Only if it does not interrupt my paperwork, Gardner. I need to be outta here on time, I have family matters to attend to.”

A wide smile stretched across Thomas’ face. “Nah, it won’t take long and won’t take your focus away.”

“I’m listening.”

“A few weeks ago I assisted Dr. Harris with a hernia surgery on a five year old and he told me that the mom called because what she thinks is complications from the surgery,” Thomas explained leaning against the desk.

“Okay,” Dr. Miller drug out impatiently. “What do you want me to do with that?”

“He assured her that it would pass but I … I think something might be wrong.”

The pen fell from Dr. Miller’s hand as he turned to give the younger man his undivided attention. “You think or you know? And be very sure with your answer.”

He shrugged. “I think, I can’t be completely sure.”

“Did you do something wrong that Dr. Harris didn’t catch?”

“If somebody did do something wrong and you think it could cause said complications. What would you do?”

Dr. Miller sighed, from the moment Thomas got to pediatrics he knew the young male would be an issue. It was at this moment he vowed to never take another student or newbie under his wing again, He didn’t give a damn what his mentor would say. Thomas had spoiled it for everyone that would come after him.

“Is it something that can pass or be fixed externally or is it something that needs to be handled internally?”

“Umm I’m sure it can be fixed externally.”

Another sigh. “Is it life threatening for said five year old?”

“It can be, yes.”

“Then you need to tell Dr. Harris what you did or I will. You have tomorrow afternoon.” Dr. Miller ordered turning back to his paperwork.

Thomas’ eyes went wide with panic. “Wait, no. It wasn’t me that did it.”

“Then who did it? And what did they do?” The doctor asked, now irritated.

“It uh it was a nurse. She may have caused an infection.” He spat his lie out quicker than he could stop it.

“Which nurse?”

Praying internally that this would all work out for the better with Nadine’s plan, Thomas utter Moriah’s name quietly. Dr. Miller’s head shot up, his eyes on Thomas not believing a word that was said.

“You know what, I’ll look into it. Don’t worry about telling Dr. Harris. I got it.”

“Are … are you sure? I can tell him.” He stuttered. “It’s probably nothing.”

Dr. Miller shrugged. “It probably is but I’ll check anyway. Unless there’s some reason that I shouldn’t.” He was giving Thomas the chance to backtrack and take ownership for whatever he was sure the man had done. When he shook his head the doctor gave him a final nod. “Okay then it’s out of your hands and into mine. Leave it be. Understand?”

“Yes sir but can you keep me updated?”

‘I’ll see what I can do. Gardner.”

One thing Dr. Miller learned during the time he worked with Moriah on pediatrics, he learned that she was very meticulous and followed the rules down to every period and comma. He knew there was no way it was her that did anything reckless to harm this young patient and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Thomas got the hint that the conversation was over, he grabbed his bag to leave the floor for the day praying that none of this came back to bite him in the ass. After finishing his paperwork Dr. Miller moved over to one of the computers accessing the files. He searched for a few minutes before he found the file he was looking for and picked up the receiver beside him to call the parents.

“Hi, this is Dr. Miller from Lakeland General. I’m looking for the parents of Nia Jones.” He paused. “Yes, I heard that she was having issues … Yes ma’am … Yes ma’am … I’ll be in tomorrow morning for a little while and can see her then … Yes, 8 is fine. I’ll see her in the emergency department … Okay, see you all then. Have a good night.”

Something wasn’t clean in the water and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Now that he sat up an appointment, he moved on to his next step. Getting to the ED, he texted his family group chat to let them know that he had to change his fight out for the next day instead of later tonight while he waited on Toni.

“Dr. Miller, what can I do for you?” She called out as she walked in the door.

He chuckled, going to hold the door of their breakroom for her. “How’d you know I wanted something ?” He asked, following her inside.

“Because you only ever come to the ED if you want something from me? So what’s up? I got fifteen minutes before my shift starts and I wanna use ten of those to call my mama.”

Dr. Miller helped her put her things in her locker. “You remember the hernia surgery Nurse DeBreaux helped with some weeks ago?”

“Yeah,” she answered slowly, “That was her first surgery. Why? Did something happen to that little girl?”

“No, no, no,” he said immediately, “Not yet at least.He goes on explaining to her the conversation he and Thomas had and what he had done. “Can you please stay a little longer in the morning to do the check up with me? I would ask Nurse DeBreaux.”

She nodded, finishing his thought, “But you don’t want it to look like a coverup just in case there is actually a complication from surgery. I got it, I’ll stay.”

“Thank you, I owe you. And I know I don’t need to say this but for now lets keep this between us. Don’t even tell DeBreaux.”

“Ooh I know. If I tell her that he’s tryna blame her for his negligence, she’ll kill em. She takes her work very seriously.”

“Trust me I know and I know he does to which is why I can’t understand why he would even try to put this on her.” Dr. Miller admitted.

Toni pulled out her ringing phone. “Trust me you don’t wanna know. I gotta take this, it’s my mama. I’ll see you in the morning.” She said quickly. “Oh and I’m sorry about your auntie.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. See ya.”

“I don’t know how we managed to stay away from each other for so long,” Nadine laughed, adjusting the covers over her nude body. “It’s always so much fun when we’re together.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know. You like to play coy with me and luckily for you, I like it.”

Dewayne pulled her across the bed to him, moving a few of her drop curls from her face. It wasn’t often that he felt this stress free and calm, it was only when he was in her presence. No matter how many times she turned him down for something more serious, he couldn’t let go of her. When he met Hassan, he could see how much their affair affected him but Dewayne was honest with himself–no matter how much pain it would cause, he wouldn’t stop. The Nadine he knew and the Nadine everyone else were two different people to him. They needed to dig beyond that tough exterior, the armor she wore to the rest of the world and see the sweet, loving, brilliant woman on the inside.

“I do not play coy with you.” She argued, meeting his gaze.

“You do so. Ducking my calls and texts, only responding when you want to. Youtube me up on my offer to go to dinner every once in a while and then nothing.”

She shrugged. “As you said that’s what you like about me. I’m just giving you what you want, DJ.”

He tickled her sides until she was out of breath and gasping for him to stop. “What I want is for you to stop playing coy with me and just be with me.”

“You’re married.” She answered softly.

“And so were you once upon a time. I keep telling you that all you have to do is say those magic words and she’s gone,” he reiterated, caressing her cheek softly. “I remember the first day I met you. Ava was what five had gone through so many appointments with therapists and shit until finally her doctor sent me to you. You remember that?”

She snorted. “How could I forget? You stormed into my office and demanded for her to be seen right then, instead of ten minutes later. And still ended up waiting the ten minutes because we argued back and forth.”

“I was tired of being jerked around from place to place,” he chuckled, “But you got your way anyway. I was so drawn to that fierceness that I would make her double appointments every week.”

“Mmhm and then after a month you finally asked me out.”

“And you told me it would never happen, that you were a married woman.” He recounted. “That didn’t stop me though. I always get what I want.”

She moved closer to him, resting her head on his arm. “Hmm not always.”

“I’ll get it eventually. Now,” he sighed, “It’s been two days. Are you ready to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“It’s Moriah.”

“What’s going on with her? I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. She usually calls when you haven’t been home.”

“She’s not in Texas anymore. She moved to Florida with that boyfriend of hers.”

He smiled. “The doctor? Alright, that’s great. Why don’t you sound happy? Isn’t that what you wanted for her?”

“No, not with the doctor. She’s with your cousin or whatever he is to you.” At that Dewayne frowned. The cousins he had in Florida he was sure were all married or taken in some fashion. “Isayah. Eddie’s son.”

“He’s out of jail?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, he’s been out for two almost three years now. You really don’t keep up with your family. Do you?”

“Not all of them, no. Do you know how many of them there are?” He asked with a chuckle. “But wow … I thought the doctor boy was gonna propose and everything.”

“He was and he did but she turned him down. She was and still is stuck on that jailbird boy.”

He kissed her head bringing her close for a quick hug, his laughter vibrating through his body and hers. “Listen, I know how badly you wanted her with someone else but sometimes as parents we have to let our kids make their own choices.”

“But she’s making the wrong ones and she’s mad at me because I’m trying to help her. Call herself not talking to me. I haven’t talked to her since Thanksgiving.”

“And by trying to help her, you mean trying to make the choice for her. Right?”

“Yes, but–,”

“No buts if she’s happy let her be. This is not that serious for you and her to have gone almost a year without talking, Nadine. I know you miss her and she misses you.”

There were lots of things Nadine neglected to tell Dewayne about, she didn’t want him to judge her the way her loved ones had done. While he knew about the small things Moriah did and how she was punished, Nadine never uttered a word to him about the pregnancy and the things she did because of it. The abortion, Moriah’s and hers, alone would be enough to push him over the edge knowing that he is a die hard pro-lifer. And that was just not a risk she was willing to take.

“I don’t know about her missing me but I do miss her.”

“See? So why don’t you put the need for control in the backseat and put your love for your daughter in the front?” He suggested kissing her neck.

“You mean stop trying to get her to break up with him and let them be together? Even if I know she’s gonna regret it later.”

He chucked, still kissing her neck. “Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Can you do that? If not for Moriah then do it for me. Please, beautiful?”

She stewed over the thought for a few minutes with her thoughts going fuzzy every few seconds because of his ministrations. “Fine, DJ, fine. I’ll lay off.”

“Good,” he cheered, moving to smile widely at her, “Now let me show you just how proud of you I am.”

The next morning as promised Toni waited for Dr. Miller. She stood beside him as he checked the little girl and went over her x-rays with the parents. The only thing he had yet to receive were the results from her blood work.

“Has she been feeling woozy or tired lately? Fever? Vomiting?” Dr. Miller asked, still checking nia.

Her mom spoke up first with a worried glance. “Not woozy but more tired than usual. Fever comes and goes and so does the vomiting.”

“How long after the surgery did this start?”

The parents looked at each other lost for an answer for a moment. “Umm,” the father stuttered trying to think, “Maybe a week or so after. But it started to get worse a few days ago.”

Dr. Miller nodded, giving the little girl a quick smile. “So it sounds like it could just be an after effects from the surgery and all the medicine she was on but just in case it is an infection, I’m gonna prescribe her some antibiotics.”

“How are we gonna know if it is an infection?”

He gives the mother a reassuring smile. “Her blood work should be back by noon today. If there is anything suspicious in there Dr. Harris will give you a call immediately.”

“Okay, thank you so much. Really, thank you.”

“Just doing my job. Gotta make sure babygirl is able to eat her spaghetti and meatballs,” he joked, lightly pinching Nia’s cheek.

As they left the room Toni and Dr. Miller made eye contact and moved to an unoccupied area of the ED. He folded his arms across his chest waiting to hear her thoughts.

“I’m no doctor but I think she has an infection. Miller.”

“I am a doctor and I’m quite sure she does too. But I think it was caught in enough time to cure it.”

“Don’t you think Dr. Harris is gonna wanna know why he has bloodwork for her after he already told her it would be fine.”

He nodded, huffing. “Yes and I’m about to go take care of that. He’s always here early, I’m gonna go talk to him now before I leave.”

Toni nodded, still feeling uneasy. “I’ll let you know if anything happens while you’re gone. But you know I’m gonna have to tell Rye.”

“I know, just please keep her from trying to kill him until we can sort this shit out.”

Toni threw her hands up. “I make no promises but I will try.”

After only getting three hours of sleep, Moriah was awakened by her boyfriend asking her to bring him his gym bag that he’d forgotten. Declining his favor was on the tip of her tongue from being so tired but she knew he would have done it for her so she begrudgingly agreed. The performance center wasn’t as busy as it usually was and for that she was grateful. Less people see her with a messy ponytail, Zilla’s shirt and biker shorts—aka as a bum. She wandered around the center for her boyfriend, figuring he was busy since he wasn’t answering her calls or texts. About to give up and leave it in the nearest, safest spot she spotted Josh and called out to him. With their distance, she couldn’t hear him suck his teeth as he turned to face him.

“Hey! What are you doing here? Zay didn’t tell me you were in town.” She hugged him quickly, still not realizing he didn’t really hug her back.

“Workin. Came to help out.” He muttered. “Why you here? I thought you was a nurse.”

She laughed, realizing he asked because of the bag. “Oh, I do. I actually should be at home, just got off a few hours ago. Zay forgot his bag so here I am.”

“Mmm. I’ll give it to him.” He told her going to reach for the bag. “You can go back home.”

“Actually, I kinda wanted to see him since I was here. I been working nights so we been missing each other. Can I go with you?”

Josh’s lip turned up a bit at the thought of her staying any longer but he didn’t wanna make a scene so he told her to follow him. Moriah had to almost jog to keep up with him with how fast he was walking which she chalked up to his long legs. They stood in the doorway where the practice rings were located.

“Awe, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him practice. I used to go all the time in Texas.” She gushed keeping her eyes on him.

Josh had no desire to hear her go on about a relationship he didn’t agree with so since the both of them were here without any interruptions, he would speak his mind.

“You ever thought that maybe what yall got goin on ran its course?” He asked softly.

“Um huh?” She was extremely confused by his question. It was weird to her to say the least.

He shrugged. “You know like high school sweetheart shit where you been together so long that yall start to hate each other. Start bein malicious and shit.”

“Oh,” she giggled, “No, Josh. We argue here and there but we’re good.”

“You say that now. Being with a wrestler ain’t easy, Ma. Soon enough he gon be on main roster, traveling city to city without you. It gets real lonely for some of them, so lonely that they start to stray while you at home thinking they faithful,” he explained, keeping his eyes on Zilla in the ring. “And then you start to get bitter cause he’d rather be with them ring rats than you. And the more bitter you get, the more vindictive you get. Take his house, take his kids and treat them kids like shit because you so damn mad at him when you should have left years ago.”

Moriah turned her body to face him, shock and anger on her face. She knew he was alluding got more than just Zilla. He was comparing them to her parents.

“I know that my mother isn’t a great person but I am not her. And my daddy never cheated on my mama,” she spat seething.

To her words, Josh chuckled. “Your daddy may not have cheated but that doesn’t make any of it better. It makes it worse actually.”

“What? What are you talking about, Josh?”

“Your daddy ain’t cheat so he was being a good ass husband to your mama and she still dogged his ass out which included treating you like shit.”

She rubbed her face out of frustration. “Just spit whatever it is you’re tryna say out.”

He shrugged, “It’s simple. I don’t like you and I don’t want you with my cousin. Shit was cute when yall was kids but it ain’t cute no more. I’m tryna save my cousin from unnecessary hurt.”

“You … you think that I would do any of the shit my mama did?”

“Apples don’t be fallin too far from the tree, ma.You say you love em so love em enough to save him from your bitter, destructive ass genes.”

Not waiting to hear her response, he walked off towards the ring with the gym bag in tow. Feeling herself about to cry Moriah rushed away ready to leave, when she walked out of the front doors she ran face first into Bronco, almost knocking him down.

“Damn where the fire at, sis?” He joked, helping her find her balance. When she lifted her head his smile dropped. “The fuck you cryin’ for, sis? What Zay do? I’ll beat his ass for you, friend or not.” She shook her head frantically at his words. “No don’t beat his ass or no it wasn’t him?”

“It wasn’t him,” she croaked.

“Then what’s goin on? What is it?”

She broke down right as she opened her mouth to explain it to him. He wrapped her in a comforting hug, rocking her gently. “Tell me whats up? Big bruh can’t fix what you won’t tell me.”

“Its his cousin. He hates me.” She cried.

Bronco pulled back from the hug so he could see her face. “You talkin about Josh? Zay just told you that?”

Again she shook her head. “No, Josh just told me. I came to bring Zay’s bag and he basically told me I’m just like my mom and to save Zay some hurt and leave him. I’m not like her, I’ve never acted like her. I don’t know why he thinks that.”

Bronco used his shirt to wipe her face then hugged her again. “Listen, don’t worry about his ass. You put him in the category with ya mom of people who don’t exist to you. That whole family love you, ya pops love you, me and T old ass love you,” he chuckled along with her, “And most importantly Zay love you. Aight? If he don’t, fuck em. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” she answered softly. “Thank you, B.”

“Ain’t nothin,” he shrugged, smiling down at her, “That’s what big bruhs do but if you really, really wanna thank me you can make some dinner before you go to work tonight. Ima be over there with Javi and you know his ass can’t cook for shit.”

She laughed, punching him in the arm. “He tries but okay, I’ll make dinner. Thank you again and please don’t tell Zay.”

“Oh I ain’t. He’ll take that man head off about you in here. But just know he gon catch that man at some point and I hope I’m there to help.”

Parting ways, they hugged and he kissed her head once more before she left. She headed for Target instead of going home to get what she needed to put together an easy dinner for the boys while Bronco went inside, headed for the practice rings. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Josh, not saying a word to him. He knew the older man could feel the animosity rolling off him and that’s exactly what he wanted.

“What’s up, Uce?” Josh greeted respectfully.

Bronco shrugged. “Nada.”

Getting the hint Josh went back to silently watching the squabble until it was done. When Zila approached them Josh offered his bag to him almost as a peace offering then moved in to hug him which the younger cousin accepted.

“Fat still here?” He asked, slapping hands with Bronco.

“Nah. She gave me the bag and left.”

Bronco stared at his audacity. He was really about to sit here and lie but he remained quiet after his promises to Moriah.

“She ain’t say shit? You ain’t say shit to her, did you?” Zilla questioned as he unblocked his phone and went through his messages.

Josh shook his head. “Just that she wanted to talk to you since yall been missing each other cause of yall schedules and then something about being tired.”

Zilla nodded even though he was skeptical. “You straight, B? You look like somebody pissed you off?”

“I’m straight, man. People just got a lot of audacity these days. I ran into sis on her way out,” he offered up staring at Josh. “She must really miss you man. She was damn near in tears.”

“Damn, prolly do.” He agreed, missing the stare down. “Me and her ain’t actually seen each other and had a conversation since Tuesday night. Thank God she only got two more days overnight.”

“Right, I just had to remind her that you love her and ain’t shit gon change about that. Not working overnight or nothing else.”

“I appreciate tha–bruh what the fuck is this?” he exclaimed loudly trying to cut the loud video playing from his phone off. His outburst broke Bronco and Josh’s stare. “This shit, man.” They moved to stand on either side of him so they could see his phone. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

Bronco sucked his teeth. “I know that ain’t who I think it is.”

“Yeah its her ass.”

“Her who?” Josh asked, unable to tell from what he could see of the video.

Zilla sucked his teeth. “You bet not say shit about it to nobody or ima beat yo ass, mane. I’m serious.”

“I ain’t, uce. Who is it?”

“Its Gia delusional ass.”

“How you know it’s her? All you can see is titties and her pussy. Her face ain’t in it.” Josh asked, genuinely confused. Zilla exited the video then went to the messages she sent along with it, Josh read them aloud. “Missing you so much. Wish you were here. This is what you do to me. The hell?”

“And then her ass gon say it was a accident,” Bronco scoffed reading further down. “That shit wasn’t no fucking accident. You gotta tell, sis.”

“Man, don’t tell her shit.” Josh countered earning a stare from Bronco. “Look, if you tell her that it’s only gonna cause more problems. She gonna wanna know how the girl got your number, why she feel comfortable sending that shit, and a bunch of other shit. You wanna keep her ass so damn bad for whatever reason so just delete that shit and act like you never saw it.”

“Aye what you mean for whatever reason, bruh? They in love, that’s why he wanna keep my sis around,” Bronco barked.

“Whether I agree with the shit or not, he know I’m right. Delete that shit or you gon see Nadine ass come outta her quick as hell.”

Zilla pushed his cousin off reflex. He had been being cordial for the simple fact that he was at work and they were family. “Say, bruh. I already told you bout that shit. Watch your mouth about her.”

“Okay and I’m tryna help yo ass, uce, regardless of how I feel about the shit. I’m not tryna steer you wrong,” Josh reiterated, pushing his little cousin’s hands off of him. “Delete that shit and move on so you and her can stay in lalaland for a little longer.”

Knowing his friend, Bronco quickly stepped between them pushing Zilla back. As much as Bronco wanted to beat Josh’s ass, he knew better than to do it at work and with so many witnesses.

“Look, don’t listen to him. Tell Rye the truth then we’ll go from there. Even if we gotta get Toni to keep her from beat that delusional bitch ass.”

Josh threw his hands up. “Who you gon listen to him or your big uce? I’m telling you delete that shit and keep it movin.”

Booker calling out for all three of them for something unrelated breaks up the back and forth. They act like everything is okay to get through their very long day of practice.

While Dewayne slept, Nadine snuck out of the bedroom to the bathroom to call Thomas. She weighed her options with Dewayne’s help and decided she would give everything a rest. It was starting to drain her anyway.

“I’m glad you called, I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Uhn uhn, whatever it is can wait,” she whispered.

“No, I promise it’s important, Ms. Nadine. I promise.” He pleaded.

She shushed him, waiting until he was completely quiet to talk. “I’m gonna take a step back from everything and think about things. I sincerely appreciate you for helping me out with this. And I know what you’re thinking I’m not giving up, just taking a well needed break,” she explained softly. “You take a break too. You focus on finishing the rest of your last year. Okay?”

“But I think you should hear this.”

“I don’t, Thomas, It’s okay, I'm not upset, just in need of a break. I’ll talk to you later.” She ended their call ignoring him calling her name. Pausing things felt almost right to her, made her feel a little better about things. Now all she needed to do was get things in order and make a trip or two to the east coast.

Thomas stood frozen in the middle of the aisle in Target, staring at his phone. He knew he fucked up and when Nadine found out about it she was going to hurt him. A cart hitting his brought him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry,” the person haphazardly threw out. Her voice startled him but he smiled nonetheless.

“It’s alright, Moriah. Its actually good I ran into you.’

She turned to glare at him. “If I would have known it was you I wouldn’t have bothered to apologize. Leave me alone.”

“Don’t be like that. I just need a few seconds,” he called out following her to the next aisle. “Please, Moriah.”

“First, I told you to only talk to me at work if you had to. Second, I told you to call me Nurse DeBreaux. Third, I know Zay and Bronco made it very clear that you are to stay your ass far away from me,” she spat not in the mood. With her emotions till all over the place from her interaction with Josh, she didn't need this shit with Thomas to add onto it.

He abandoned his cart, going to stand in front of hers. “Listen, it’s serious. It's about the little girl who had hernia surgery. Both of our careers could be in jeopardy.”

“What?” She snapped. “Spit it the hell out.”

“I think she developed an infection from something we did.”

She laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard in her life, tears ran down her face.

“What’s … what’s so funny?”

“You!” She laughed. “Don’t you dare try to put me in anything that you did, Thomas. I did everything just how Dr. Harris asked me to. You were the one doing things when he turned away.”

“I did not,” he argued.

She glared at him. “You hear what I said. And if you try to bring me into this, whatever Zay promised to do to you is gonna seem like a walk in the fucking park when I’m through with you. Now, move!”

Moriah pushed her cart past him lightly grazing his toes when he moved. She was regretting ever getting back out of bed to take Zilla his bag because then her head wouldn’t be pounding, her feelings wouldn’t be hurt and she would be resting like she wanted. Her mind wondered if it was all really with the trouble, she knew it was though she was just in her feelings. One thing she was sure of was that her and Zilla needed to have two conversations. One about Thomas and the other about their relationship and keeping his cousin out of it.

#aao #zilla fatu #Zilla & Moriah #the bloodline #the samoan dynasty

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hp-hcs · 11 months

Text

😜💖 friendship is magic 😌✨ (Chapter Four of The Doll) — slytherin boys x gn! ‘the boy’ (2016)! reader

❕new addition of Regulus Black❕

tws: dolls, obviously; reader referred to as ‘it’ (presumed inanimate); mentions of past child character death(s); mentions of a house fire—implied arson; violence; & murder

based entirely off of the 2016 film ‘the boy’. just slow plot shit this chapter, i’m afraid

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Determined to find the source of the leak, Blaise tromps back out to the hall to find wherever the L/Ns stashed their pole hook to open the attic. Tucked away in a dusty corner is where Blaise finds it, and he carries it back into Y/N’s room with a pleased expression.

This was going to be a piece of cake. If Blaise could find the leak and patch it up, maybe the L/Ns would put in a good word with the courts and shorten their sentences. Or his, anyway.

Slowly raising the pole hook up towards the ring handing from the attic ladder, Blaise missed multiple times, the ring bouncing off of the hook.

“Hey.”

“Holy fucking-” Blaise startles and drops the pole hook, taking a step back. The figure standing in the doorway of Y/N’s room waves awkwardly.

“Sorry- I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Regulus? Er- Regulus Black? I’m the grocery boy for the L/Ns.” He trails off, motioning to the milk crate he held against one hip that was practically overflowing with produce and wrapped butcher’s packages.

“Oh! Yes, yeah, sorry. Uh, house just has me on edge is all,” Blaise rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Do you need help with the groceries?”

Regulus’ eyebrows raise and he smiles. “That would be fantastic, actually,” he turns on his heel, already starting down the stairs.

Blaise has to jog to catch up, following the spry boy ahead of him down to the kitchen. Regulus is maybe a year younger than him, but has far too much energy for five in the morning.

“So why are you lot here? The L/Ns aren’t exactly known for their warmth and welcoming-ness. If you’ll excuse my bluntness, they don’t really have a propensity for entertaining guests.”

“They’re on vacation. Uh, we’re here as part of a…community service punishment,” he winces as he skates around the truth.

“Ah, nice,” Regulus seems unruffled as he puts away a carton of eggs. “What are they making you do? House-sitting?”

“Uh, babysitting.”

Regulus hums. “Ah, really? They didn’t take Y/N with them? That’s pretty surprising.”

Blaise startles. “Please tell me you don’t also think it’s…”

“Alive? ‘Course not. But it’s better to just humor them. Mrs. L/N gets awfully upset if you mention anything about it being inanimate, and this job pays too well for me to want to piss off my employers.”

Blaise laughs. “That’s fair. So…was there really an Y/N? Like, an actual one?”

Regulus nods, handing him a stack of cans and motioning towards the cabinet they belonged in. “Mhm. We were never allowed to play with them when we were kids. My older brother always called them freakish. And Mr. L/N only ever described them—the one time I asked, back when I very first started working for them—as odd.”

Blaise pauses halfway through stacking apples in the fruit bowl. “You knew them? Like, you were the same age?”

“They were a year or two older than me, but yeah,” Regulus accepts the mug of coffee Blaise offers with a quiet thanks, sitting down with him at the kitchen table.

“Anyway, story goes that they were playing out in the woods with Brahms—he was their only friend, that I know of—and they got in an argument or something… Mr. Heelshire—that’s Brahms’ dad—found ‘im by the river, skull all smashed up. The police chief wanted to question Y/N, you know, just to cover all the bases, but nobody could find ‘em and then-”

Regulus makes a fwoosh noise, setting down his mug to spread his hands out as if to imitate an dramatic explosion.

“Boom! The L/Ns’ house completely burned down. The only person inside? Y/N L/N.”

Regulus takes a sip of his coffee before speaking again. “Look, I’m not saying they’re connected, but…”

Blaise shivers, cracking his knuckles anxiously. “How long ago was this?”

“Oh, a while. Happened when I was real young. I think Y/N was…eight or nine. Should be just about a decade since then.”

“So why the doll?”

“Nobody knows,” Regulus shrugs. “They rebuilt the house after the fire, and then the doll just showed up one day. It’s creepy as fuck, I’m aware.”

“Just a bit,” Blaise drawls.

Regulus laughs. “You seem cool, man. D’you wanna come hang out with me sometime? I could take you to the good restaurants in town for like, lunch or something. Lord knows you gotta get outta this house.”

“Sounds great,” Blaise grins. “Would be nice to hang out with literally anyone other than those guys. I love ‘em, but y’know.”

“Well, if you’re not busy, how ‘bout today? There’s this awesome old-school diner that makes the best onion rings-”

Regulus chatters on, promising to pick Blaise up at noon for lunch. Blaise smiles, actually smiles, and tells him he can’t wait. After walking him out to his car, Regulus calls from the window, in a sing-song voice,

“See you soon, Blaisey-Waisey!”

Merlin, he’d get along great with Pansy, Blaise muses as he walks back towards the house.

188 notes · View notes

syluscore · 1 year

Text

I’m Your Prize

~sub! Leon Kennedy x Gender Neutral! Reader~

Word Count: 2555

This is my writing for @trevor-belmonts-whip ‘s ask that I have copied below:

Ghosty, darling, you don't know me but I also VERY MUCH enjoy the Leon S Kennedy man and I have an idea... a request, if you will. This idea came to me recently when I played pool for the first time, and I thought to myself "damn, playing pool involves a lot of bending full over a roughly waist-height table." So. Possibly. RE2 Leon, in a no zombies scenario, he's a police officer man and after a long shift, he's hits the bar downtown him and the other stations boys frequent. He's having a drink, and he locks eyes with a sweetheart down on the other end of the bar (omg it's us, it's Y/N). You two hit it off, and you play a little bit of pool together. Maybe you're new to the game, he teaches you some stuff, but your a natural as it turns out, and maybe you have a friendly little bet. And you know what? I feel like you've got the rest, you can take it from there. I'll leave this prompt in your highly capable hands, do what you will with it 😌.

Content warnings: drinking alcohol, flirtatious teasing, submissive leon, dominant reader, blowjob, praise, sharing cum while kissing

!!!!!!!MINORS DNI! GHOSTKENNEDY IS STRICTLY 18+!!!!!!!

It was a ritual at the Racoon City Police Department; they always brought the rookie out to your bar and made an absolute fucking scene. It was super obnoxious, but it’d been a long time since they’d gotten a new recruit. You watched silently as nearly the entire police force filed in through the doors and you were so thankful it was your co-owner running the bar tonight. You were merely here because your job had honestly become your entire life, so of course you hung around here after hours. There was always some sort of work to do, something to clean, some networking to do.

You couldn’t complain too much about it though, they bought so much alcohol and tipped really well and it’s all business at the end of the day. You wondered what kind of prematurely balding, fresh out of the academy, egotistical maniac rookie you’d spend the night hoping didn’t try and make a move on you. They always did. Wanted to show off for their department and bang the hot bar owner. Marvin never warned them that it would never happen, you two had a running joke on what sort of things they would try to get into your pants.

“Marvin! It’s been forever, fresh meat for us finally?” you asked as the older man walked over to your stool at the bar and gave you a side hug, squeezing your shoulder.

He laughed before speaking quietly for just you to hear, “You’re gonna love this one.” He looked around the crowd before spotting who he’d been searching for, “Hey rookie! Get over here!” A man with a dirty blonde fringe, wide blue eyes, dressed in light wash blue jeans, a blue button up, and a big jacket over top made his way over to you two. “Alright rookie, this is Y/N. Y/N this is rookie. They own half this bar so you’d better be real nice to them,” Marvin introduced you two, patting the rookie on the shoulder before stalking his way back over to the other officers.

“Rookie, is it? Big coincidence on the name or?” you asked him, raising your eyebrows while smirking at him. You noticed the light blush sneak up on his cheeks.

He laughed softly as he shook his head, “I’m Leon Kennedy. It’s nice to meet you.” He held eye contact for a whopping five seconds, before he shyly averted his gaze. You couldn’t help but find him adorable. You’d like to believe you were big and intimidating, but deep down you knew it’s probably just the way he was.

“So, what are your plans for the evening, big boy? Get piss drunk and make a fool of yourself?” you asked him, trying to make some small talk.

“Uh, not really. I was probably just gonna play some pool and then head out when everyone else is too drunk to notice. You play?” he asked, clearly trying to invite you to play pool with him. You couldn’t deny that you found him so pretty, just down right attractive. His innocent personality is definitely doing something for you, you’d never admit it though.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you asked, toying with him further. You felt accomplished with yourself when he blushed even more. “I’m just fucking with you. I’m shit at it, but I’ll give it a go for the brand new rookie of course,” you took the last swig of your drink before grabbing his hand and leading him back to the pool tables.

You grabbed two cue sticks and handed one over to Leon. The last people who played on this table must have been raised with good manners because everything was already set up and ready to go for a game of 8-ball, which is fucking rare around here.

“You wanna go first?” Leon asked, gesturing you towards the table.

You rolled your eyes and gestured towards the table, “Not a chance, rookies go first.” He laughed, but didn’t argue. He bent over and positioned himself, hitting the cue ball and breaking the balls apart. You weren’t really paying attention to his movement, more focused on the way his cute little ass was sticking out.

None of the balls made it into the pockets, so Leon turned to you, “Solids or stripes? Make sure you think long and hard about this, it is a life changing decision.” You pretended to think super intensely about it, squinting your eyes and running your hand down your face. You ultimately chose stripes.

Hours go by and you two definitely play the game wrong, but Leon doesn’t mind you making up rules in the middle of the game, he finds you endearing. You’d ordered random drinks on the house for the two of you. No matter how many times he insisted he should pay for himself, you weren’t having it. You two weren’t anywhere near drunk, but Leon was definitely tipsy and had loosened up quite a bit.

“I wager you a bet, rookie,” you told him, causing him to raise his eyebrows. “If I win, I get a prize of my choice and if you win, you get a prize of your choice.”

“Isn’t the bar closing in like,” Leon looked down at his watch, “5 minutes?”

“Leon, I own the mother fucker. I can keep you here as long as I want. Agree to a bet or I’ll never forgive you,” you said, pouting at the man.

“We can’t have that,” he said, throwing his hand over his chest, “what do you want if you win?” You hummed in response as you set the game back up.

You turned to him, “You stay here with me as long as I want and I get to keep you at my disposal.” You wiggled your eyebrows at him suggestively and he couldn’t stop himself from blushing yet again. You’d gotten him to blush over and over again since he’d first arrived.

“Alright,” he said, avoiding your gaze, “I’m not sure what I want as a prize.”

“You won’t win, so it’s not necessary for you to pick anyway.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Fine. Your prize can be me,” his heart skipped a beat. His mouth fell slightly open as he stared at you, waiting for you to tell him you were fucking with him again. “I’m a prize, dammit! You don’t think I’m a prize?”

“Um, well, of course I do, I just,” he became more flustered as he watched you bend over, clearly sticking your ass out for him overdramatically, as you got ready to break the triangle of pool balls. “Fuck it, okay. I agree to your terms.”

“Atta boy.”

Your coworker had finished cleaning the place up and had headed out a while ago. The game was so intense, both of you taking it super seriously, both wanting your prize. You were lined up, the only ball left to sink in the pocket being the 8-ball. You were head to head, Leon leaned over right next to you, watching you line up with the cue ball intensely. Right as you went to shoot, his hand suddenly stuck out and poked into your side while he made a loud sound, causing you to jump and mess up your shot.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” you whipped your head to look at him as he was laughing like a maniac. “You mother fucker! You’re disqualified for cheating,” you narrowed your eyes at him and he shrugged.

“I’m okay with that, worth it,” he said leaning back against the pool table, arms braced on either side of him as he smiled over at you.

You slowly walked up to him, leaning over him, causing him to lean back over the table as your hands covered his. “Then I get my prize, right?” you asked. He gulped nervously, slowly nodding his head as he stared into your eyes.

You ran your hand up his arm and to his collarbone, lightly dragging your fingers over the sensitive area, pulling a shudder out of Leon. Happy with his reaction, you slowly ran your fingers down his stomach, feeling it tense beneath your touch. Your hand grazed over his belt, fingers ghosting over his quickly hardening dick. He bit his lip to hold back a whimper.

You brought your fingers up to the top button on his shirt and looked into his eyes, “Is this okay?” Leon couldn’t find the words, his mouth gone completely dry. He quickly nodded as you undid one button. “Talk to me, Leon. I need you to tell me what you want,” you continued slowly undoing the buttons until they were all done, pulling it open to expose the white t-shirt he wore beneath.

“Fuck,” Leon whispered, clearing his throat before trying to speak again, “I’ll take whatever you wanna give me.” His voice was so sweet and so needy, it sent a thrill straight to your lower stomach. You smirked at him before pulling his button up off his shoulders and down his arms. You could see his little abs through the thin, white fabric and he looked fucking delectable.

Your fingers went down to his belt buckle, slowly running them along it and looking up at Leon. Raising an eyebrow, silently asking for permission. “Please,” he said in that same tone of voice that had you wanting to throw him back on the table and devour him. Your patience was wearing thin as you quickly loosened his belt and undid his jeans. You pulled the pants down, getting them out of the way so that you had a perfect view of his dick pressing up in his boxers.

You brought your hand to his dick and palmed him firmly through his boxers, causing him to buck his hips up into your hand and a moan to slip through his lips. “You’re such a good boy for me. Do you want me to suck your cock? Think you deserve it?” you asked him as you dropped to your knees before him.

“Please,” he looked down at you with big, watery eyes. He really was putty beneath you.

“Please, what? What do you want?”

“Please, suck my cock. I wanna feel your mouth so badly,” he said, reaching his hand out and running it through your hair. How could you tell him no when he looked so hot like this?

You slipped his boxers down just enough for his cock to spring free and sit perfectly before you. You couldn’t help but stare at his pretty cock. He was so big, so long and had a perfect thickness to it. The tip was leaking precum, it looked so good that you couldn’t stop yourself from reaching out and running your thumb over the slit. This caused Leon to buck up again, he was losing control and leaving himself entirely at your disposal. Just as you wanted him.

You brought your hand down to his base and slowly, but firmly pumped him, his precum acting as lube. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, but he forced himself to keep them open. He didn’t dare miss a second of your pretty face just inches from his cock, your hands wrapped firmly around him perfectly.

You stuck your tongue out, slowly running it up the underside, from the base to the tip. You made a big show of rolling your eyes into the back of your head and moaning. Leon could’ve come just at the sight of you alone, he’d never seen something so erotic in his life. A whine left his lips as more precum slowly pooled at the tip of his cock.

“Please,” he pleaded with you as you looked up into his eyes. A tear spilled out of one of his eyes and you almost laughed to yourself, thinking how easy it’d be to ruin him completely. The thought quickly passed as your eyes went back to his cock. Your mouth was watering at the sight and you couldn’t wait any longer to taste him. Plus, he was begging so nicely, of course you needed to reward him.

You ran your tongue over his slit, letting the taste of his precum envelop over your tongue. He tasted almost as good as he looked. Although, you weren’t sure anything could taste as good as Leon looks.

You finally wrapped your lips around the tip of his cock, gently sucking it. Leon threw his head back, a loud moan escaping his plump lips. You started to bob your head up and down his length. Leon couldn’t stop whimpering and whining as you sucked him deeper each time you slid your mouth back down his cock. If your jaw would allow you to, you could suck him all day. He was so hot like this, the taste amplifying his appeal even further.

You grasped his length with your hand and pumped him in time with your mouth. Drool was spilling past your lips and soaking his pubes. Everytime you pulled your mouth up his length, you’d give a hard suck on his tip, before moving your mouth back down. Each time, his cock hit the back of your throat and you fought the need to gag as tears poured out of your eyes, adding to the sloppiness of the blowjob.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum, if you don’t stop I won’t be able to stop it,” Leon rushed out, he was so fucking close. Another few seconds of your movements and he’d be a goner. You hummed in response, speeding up your motions. “Is that okay? Can I cum?” he asked before he bit his lip hard, trying to hold himself back. You replied with an “mhm” as you looked up at him.

His eyes met yours and with one more firm suck on his tip, he was cumming hard. His loud moans were borderline whines as he filled up your mouth. You watched his mouth fall open, his wet lips panting, drool slightly spilling out, eyebrows scrunched together, and his eyes closed tightly as he came. It was hands down, the hottest thing you’d ever seen.

You pulled your mouth off of him, standing back up and looking at him as he struggled to catch his breath. Once he opened his eyes to look at you, you were wrapping your hand around the back of his neck and pulling his mouth to yours. His mouth instantly fell open for you since he was so out of breath and you pushed his cum into his mouth with your tongue.

After he came, you hadn’t swallowed it, but rather held it inside of your mouth so that he could see how good he tastes. He moaned as his cum flooded his mouth, slipping back and forth between your mouths, before you pulled away from him and you each swallowed some of his release.

You ran your thumb over his bottom lip as he lazily wrapped his arms around your waist. “What do we say?” you asked him.

“Thank-thank you,” he stuttered out as he stared at you.

You ran your thumbs over his cheeks, wiping away the tears he’d shed during his orgasm. You brought your thumbs to his mouth and forced it open, his lips instinctively wrapping around them. “Good boy."

~masterlist~

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bruisedboys · 11 months

Note

Your characterization of the marauders is spot on for all of them!! Ok, here are my insane thoughts about Remus in no particular order:

- he’s obviously insecure about his scars, but nothing makes him feel better or more loved than when you trace them softly or kiss along one of them because you think he’s beautiful no matter what and you need him to know that

- he’d be the perfect boyfriend around the holidays, helping with baking and taking you around to see the lights and always making sure you have a warm drink and letting you borrow his sweaters because you just look so beautiful in them and doing a gift exchange where he gives you the most thoughtful gift ever because he always listens and always remembers every little thing you say

- he’s a great chef and he’ll never let the boys know, and as much as he loves taking you out and showing you off, his favorite dates are at home where he cooks a nice meal and you cuddle up to watch a movie after or he’ll read to you (omg his voice would be all soft and a little scratchy ahh)

- bookstore dates are the best, and you’ll go and pick out a book for him and he’ll pick one out for you and if it’s nice you’ll go read in the park or on your back porch but if it’s cold (like it is now) you’ll curl up on the couch together and read for the whole afternoon, just enjoying being near each other

- lately I can’t stop thinking about dad!Remus, he’d be so great while you’re pregnant and he’d read all the baby books and he’d baby proof your apartment and he’d get you whatever you needed or wanted at any hour of the day all while being stressed beyond belief but he’d never let you know that when you have much more important things to worry about and once the baby comes, she’s got him wrapped around her tiny little fingers (because he’s obviously a girl dad) and just imagine this tiny little baby being held so gently by this tall, deceptively strong man

- also I have some very detailed thoughts about book store reader x single dad Remus if you’d like to hear…

omg so many good thoughts thank you angel!!!! I will be thinking about all of these for the next 2-5 business days…..

- ok firstly YES. bf is very insecure about his scars but you tell him they’re pretty and make him look really handsome and he just loses it!!!!! the second you kiss or even just caress one of his scars he melts. also if you’re ever insecure about your own scars/stretch marks/other marks on your body he’ll show you his and be like but look :))) we’re matching babe :))))

- yes he is so christmas boyfriend!!!!! he’s such a good gift giver because he remembers everything about you and yes his gifts are always so thoughtful!! I feel like he’s very into handmade gifts too! I’m imagining a handmade clay vase or something like that. or a wooden jewellery box. omg!!

- real!!!! he cooks the best homey meals (domestic!remus 😵‍💫) like pasta dishes, soups, homemade bread. omg bread is definitely his speciality and he’ll make it fresh for you at the drop of a hat if you’re craving it <3

- bookstore dates!!! stop I am literally swooning. you and him will do a little game where you don’t let the other person see what book you’re getting until you’re out of the store and then you present it to them once you’re out!! he has the best taste in books so you always know it’ll be good 😌 and then when you read together he’s always gotta be touching you, your legs in his lap or his hand on your thigh, sometimes he’ll even lay in your lap!!!

- dad!remus will actually be the death of me. for some reason the idea of any of my favourite characters being dads just awakens something feral inside of me. he’s definitely the best ever when you’re pregnant!!! you better believe he’s doing everything for you, you’re not allowed to lift a finger babe. he’s very protective of you too, very gentle with you and aware of anything and everything that could hurt you or the baby even a tiny bit. if you’re emotional or sick or just having a really rough time he always holds it together for you, never losing his patience and always reminding you that you’re incredible and strong and he loves you!!! also also he loves his friends but he doesn’t let them rub your tummy or talk to the baby for too long, that’s his baby thank you very much 😇

oh em gee I’d love your thoughts on bookstore reader x single dad!remus 🤭 all of your thoughts so far were soooo good and fuelled my brainrot successfully

#I love you sweet angel anon!!!!!!#remus lupin #remus lupin oneshot #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin thoughts #remus lupin hc #remus lupin headcanon #remus lupin headcanons #remus lupin imagines #remus lupin thought #remus lupin drabbles #remus lupin drabble #remus lupin fic #remus lupin x reader fluff #remus lupin x y/n #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin fanfic #remus lupin fanfiction

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fan-goddess · 1 year

Note

I AM HERE!!!!! ugh that kinktober list made me so feral bestie, I cannot WAIT to see what masterpieces you come up with!

I would like to send my own request in (if that’s okay) 😌 you already know >>>> Aegon ii x fem!reader with the sex pollen AU (and maybe even the breeding kink + public sex) I wasn’t sure if I could request other kinks from the list, if you only want to focus on the one tho just the sex pollen please 🥹

ilysm 💋💋💋💋

- @lovelykhaleesiii xoxoxo

Authors Note: Hi bestie! Yeah you could request more than one I’m glad to take on the challenge!!! I’ll definitely enjoy encorporating them all!

Warnings: P in v sex, breeding kink, aphrodisiac, public sex, dirty talk, infertility is mentioned in for form of Aegon joking without any thinking, (if I miss any let me know),

Taglist: @humanpurposes, @lovelykhaleesiii, @valeskafics, @sofiyathecunt, @marvelgirl123, @sylasthegrim, @mochi-rose, @watercolorskyy, @amiraisgoingthruit , @f4ll-for-you

Your husband Aegon ii Targaryen, the eldest prince of the realm, whilst you loved him deeply yes was easily the most insufferable man you had ever met.

After the insistence of him for you to join him on one of his escapades to fleabottom, and the bribery of him getting something nice for you from one of the many stalls you two liked to visit, to your dismay you found yourself following him blindly and trusting him fully.

A mistake you’ll soon find that out to be…

“Come on my love! The stall I saw yesterday should be right around here…” He says, dragging you along with his hand gripping firmly on your wrist whilst you shake your own head in amusement. “AHA! Here it is! What do you think my love?”

Even you had to admit that this certainly made up for Aegons recent behaviour. The stall held an arrangement of flowers, varying in all shapes, colours and sizes. From where you were standing it looked as if it could barely contain its own stock. Which surprised you considering the almost exotic looking beauty of it all. Though you suppose in fleabottom, not many could afford such beauty.

“So? Which would you like to take home to display my love?” Aegon spoke as he rubbed a thumb on you wrist, effectively bringing you from your thoughts.

“I have no idea nuha zaldrīzes,” You sigh as your eyes dart across the stall. “There’s so many beautiful options I fear I may stay here all day deciding…”

“If I may princess!” A voice all of a sudden brings your attention and when you turn to it, you immediately lock eyes with a beautiful woman. “I may have an idea for the type of flower you both may need. If that is you are willing to allow me to choose for you?”

“Oh please do my lady otherwise as I said earlier, I’ll end up losing my mind choosing!”

“Very well! This my dear, is a flower from my very own home land. I think it would look marvellous in comparison to other flowers, and it would surely start a conversation in one of your lady groups?”

You didn’t dare deny the woman and say she was wrong, as it really was a thing of beauty. The petals were that of a soft purple and it deepened as it got closer to the edge.

When you tilted your head closer to it to sniff at it, you were surprised to feel a strange sort of breeze hit you when you adjust the petal to look closer, yet the thought quickly drifted away as the unique scent hits you.

It smelt like the salt of your skin after you made love to Aegon, mixed with the smell of your favourite fresh strawberries…

“Aegon my love, smell this please.” You beg. When you push the flower closer for him to smell, and he takes a small sniff, you can see his eyes widen slightly and look at the flower in confusion. If the moment wasn’t as confusing as it was to you, you probably would’ve laughed at his face.

Still, after you successfully purchase the flower for some silver coins, and begin the journey home, the sudden tightening grip of Aegons fingers on your wrist brings you from your thoughts.

“Aegon what is it?” You ask. It’s a surprise to the both of you on how breathless you sound. Yet it’s quickly pushed down to make room for the sudden feeling of arousal that enters your system, and the sudden shock you feel when Aegon pushes you into a vacant alleyway.

“A-Aegon what are you doing?!” You shout as he pushes so close to you, he’s effectively trapping you between himself and the wall. You hate to admit it, but as surprised as you are by the sudden turn of events, the ache you feel between your legs seems to take first place in regards to attention.

“You smell so fucking good…” He groans, almost animalistic in his words and his actions to reveal your somehow already sweat covered skin to him.

You should’ve been horrified by his sudden onslaught of lust. You should’ve been acting like a respected wife and begun pushing him off you and insisting this sort of behaviour should happen only in the privacy of yours and his’ chambers. Yet that all seems to wash away as you find yourself gushing more into the soaked fabric of your underclothes the more revealing you become.

All you could think about in that moment though was Aegon fucking you into oblivion, and by the looks of his eyes as they dilate to a deep purple, it was all Aegon could think about too.

“Gonna be my good little wife yes? My good little breeding whore?”

“Yes husband yes!” You whine as Aegon wastes no time in pushing his trousers down enough before sliding your damp underclothes to the side, and pushing his cock as deep as he could inside of you as you wrap your legs round his waist.

Preparation was always usually needed before Aegon fucked you, due to his larger than average size. Yet as he’s currently fucking you into oblivion, impaling you over and over again with his cock as your visible skin is roughly dragged against the wall, the dull ache from him only seemed to heighten your pleasure.

“Oh shit” You whine. Somehow, your orgasm is already steadily approaching quick and fast as Aegons cock bullies your sweet spot already.

Maybe it’s the sudden feeling of Aegon pinching your clit, or maybe it’s the sudden pain you feel of something digging into your bare shoulder? But all you know is that all of a sudden your cunt is clenching down tightly on Aegons cock, milking his cock for what all he has as you cum loudly around him.

It’s a filthy thing, you think, as you feel the conjoined liquids of yours and Aegons dripping slightly down the skin of your thigh. But it’s an even filthier thing to realise that Aegon is still somehow hard inside of you, and that your still feeling aroused than ever.

“Ready for another round dear wife? Who knows… maybe this’ll be where we finally conceive our heir… in a filthy street around the corner from the brothels.” Aegon teases as he nips the skin of your bare shoulder between his teeth, leaving small indents there to distract you whilst he thrusts slowly into your dripping heat over again with a light groan.

“Please Aegon, don’t tease me! I need more!” A wanton sound is released from your mouth as all you can think about it what Aegon said. Maybe you would become pregnant from this. In some dreary common place alley where anyone could walk past and see the both of you… it sends a thrill up your spine like no other.

“Fine! If my wife wishes to be bred like a common woman, then she’ll be bred like some common woman, with my seed dripping down her thighs!”

You don’t know how it happens, but the next thing you know Aegon is using all his energy to keep you pushed against the wall as he thrusts himself as deep as he can inside of you. Maybe it was just in the moment, but you swore you could feel Aegon practically entering your womb at that moment.

Yet the idea of the pain excites you, frightens you even at this sudden rush of arousal hits you.

It also frightens you how you and Aegons sudden thirst for each others bodies are not quenched even after that second round against the wall. Not even a third round satisfies the two you.

The first time Aegons cock finally softens inside of you, is after the fifth round of fucking.

It’s so satisfactory to feel as a whole, yet when the tender aftercare moment is over, the fatigue hits the two of you like a heavy stone over the head.

“What the fuck just happened…” You exclaim as you giggle into the depth of Aegons shoulder.

“I don’t know… but I’m not exactly complaining right now dear wife. Also, I wasn’t lying earlier.”

“Hmm? Lying about what?” You murmur halfheartedly as you attempt to make yourself look presentable as you could. The skin of your back feels raw from the rough friction of the wall, and your legs feel like they’re about to buckle under the stress.

“I wasn’t lying about conceiving our child in this alleyway. Though after that excellent yet unexplainable performance my love, I don’t think we’ll have issue with it. If we did, then one of us has to be barren I swear on the seven!” Aegons swears as he buckles up his trousers and pushes his hair back before moving to help you look presentable.

Much to your amusement though, Aegons hair didn’t look any different to how it looked before the lust took over your systems.

As you begin to giggle from what may or may not be drowsiness, your eyes look over to the discarded flower Aegon bought you that had fallen to the floor seemingly in the hassle. It’s petals still held that soft purple hue, yet the inner pistil seems to have engorged slightly as they spill from the inner part.

Much to your inner amusement though, the sight of two common rats seemingly fucking makes you realise just exactly what brought on this sudden onslaught of lust. Who knows, maybe you’ll visit the lady again sometime soon for some more flowers…

#house of the dragon #aegon ii targaryen #hotd aegon #aegon targaryen imagine #aegon targaryen one shot #aegon smut #my k!nktober #aegon ii #aegon targaryen x you #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen smut #aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon x reader #aegon targaryen ii #aegon ii fic #aegon targaryen x y/n #aegon the elder #my works

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imnotsimpingyouare · 1 year

Text

ENAMORED (II)

Modern Hantengu clones X Reader

Featuring:

"Pissed Cubicle Worker" Sekido

"Depressed Programmer" Aizetsu

"That Guy in the Alley" Karaku

"Unfunny YouTube Prankster" Urogi

"Disappointed Grandpa" Hantengu

"Delinquent Middle Schooler" Zohakuten

"Possibly a Criminal" Akaza

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

You will NOT be shipped with Zohakuten or Hantengu because:

A.) One is an old man

B.) One is a young boy

Ty for your time 😌

fem!Y/N goes for her last job with Murata's Service Emporium 😢 but gets an interesting offer due to her *OUTSTANDING* work.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Hantengu.

You've heard of that household. They order some sort of cleaning service every month or so. Only, it's never been you that has gone before, so how exactly do you know about their service requests?

BECAUSE APPARENTLY THEY'RE FUCKING INSANE.

Some of the other employees have literally returned from the job crying.

WHICH INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO TERRY THE GARDENER! A TALL, BUFF MAN!

WHAT DEMON IN THAT HOUSE IS MAKING A GROWN MAN CRY LIKE THAT? WHY DOES YOUR BOSS HATE YOU? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST CURL UP IN A BALL AND FOSSILIZE.

You sigh. A big sigh. A really, really long sigh.

If you had the heart to, you would've quit the moment your boss revealed he was going to fire you, only.. you knew it was like him to try and withhold your paycheck for the week if you did. Obviously, he can't do that if you've done your job on schedule for any amount of time, but you're not gonna jump through flaming hoops just to stick it to the guy.

Easier to just get this over with.

You grab your supplies and load your car.

Yes, they make you use your own transport for this job. No, they don't pay for gas.

Maybe losing this job won't be so bad after all.

Starting up the map on your phone, you type in the adress of this demon house and get ready to be very fucking miserable for however long you spend there.

The clouds are grey this morning, as they are every morning, but this morning is different. Maybe it's because you fell down two flights of stairs. Maybe it's because you held some handsome guy's hand this morning when he helped you up. Maybe it's because you literally just got fired like 10 minutes ago. But something is different.

○○○○○

Unbeknownst to you, in the opposite lane of traffic, Sekido is screaming at the cars infront of him.

Nevermind, it's not just Sekido. In some strange sort of... brotherly bonding ritual, both Sekido and Zohakuten are screaming at the car infront of them (which is going the speed limit).

"WHY WON'T YOU PRESS YOUR DAMN GAS? THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT HERE WITH JOBS AND SHITHEADS WITH SCHOOL! 20 ABOVE THE LIMIT NEVER KILLED ANYBODY!"

"...Sekido, I think 20 above the limit has killed people. BUT THOSE PEOPLE WERE GOING TOO DAMN SLOW!"

Sekido's grey minivan pulled up to the school. Zohakuten grabbed his bag and opened the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"...Zohakuten."

Red eyes met his, and he felt slightly uncomfortable at how calm Sekido was managing to be.

"....what."

"....one day."

"wha–"

"One day without doing some stupid shit to get sent home or to the principal's office. If you do, I'll... I don't fucking know, have the gods come down and kiss you on the nose one by one. Just be good. Ok?" He said, almost in a... defeated tone.

Zohakuten, for a moment, was dumbfounded. Had Aizetsu taken over Sekido's body? Was this some sort or trick? Who did he think he was? It's not his fault he'll never use this crap again. Nor is it his fault that some of the kids are little shitheads.

Instead of saying all this, out of respect for Sekido's effort to be *nice*

(Literally, beads of sweat were beginning to form on Sekido's face, and he looked constipated)

....he nodded.

"Okay. I want ice cream after school."

And shut the car door.

Sekido was left by himself, face immediately breaking back into that scowl he wore so well.

"Fucking ice cream. I might as well get him a horse and a spaceship while I'm servicing His Majesty. Seriously, how hard is it not to throw desks?"

○○○○○

Your car stopped infront of a mansion.

Maybe not a mansion, but.. it was something.

A three story house with 2 vehicles in front (AND A MOTORCYCLE?). However, the only decorations in front were a little knome and a set of windchimes. You could also faintly hear "Barbie Girl" playing from somewhere in the home.

At the very least, it was... a flattering home. The outside didn't look too bad, but you were at least slightly concerned about the inside.

You knocked on the door, cleaning supplies in hand.

"Murata's Service Emporium!"

The door creaked open slightly, before opening to reveal a rather handsome, dark-skinned man in nothing but a towel and.... a face mask and hair curlers.

His eyes were a deep emerald green, a complete contrast from his skin that you were HERE FOR.

He looked you up and down, before turning his attention back into the house. "Aizetsu! Your escort is here!"

Immediately your face turned red. "Wha- did you not hear what I said when I knocked!?"

He raised a brow at you.

"Service Emporium?"

Oh.

That actually sounds pretty bad when taken out of context.

"...okay, but why would I be holding all of these cleaning supplies?"

He looked down at you again.

"I don't know what freaky stuff Aizetsu's into, okay? Are you coming in or not?" He huffed.

You reluctantly waddled in and set your things down.

Oh my.

It was a disaster.

The dishes were piled sky-high, the floor SEVERELY UN-VACUUMED... you had work to do.

Another man, almost identical to the one who opened the door, approached you in a rush. His eyes, though, were blue, and significantly more lifeless than the guy before him.

"I'm sorry.. I am Aizetsu. As you can see, our house is a disaster... sorry."

And he walked away.

THAT WAS ALL HE HAD TO SAY?

WAS HE EVEN GOING TO PAY YOU?

HE'S JUST GONNA LEAVE?

You were starting to understand the struggle.

○○○○○

The camera lens was clean. The audio was crisp. In his browser "solt jasz musuc backgriund" was playing.

Everything was perfect.

And now, out of his room once again, was the legendary, the one and only, greatest failed theater kid of all time..

Urogi!

And he was ready. Ready to bamboozle this busy, strangely attractive woman that wandered her way into his home. Ready. But she wasn't.

Which is what made it good content.

And good content -> motorcycle upgrades.

Which he wanted.

Very badly.

So there he was, creeping up behind you, four cans of silly string in one hand, a camera in the other.

You, on the other hand, were almost finished up here. You cleaned in and out, over and under, anywhere you could. The dishes were dried and put away, and everything was soon to be in order. The only task you had left was to sweep the kitchen. A relatively easy job. After that, you could get out of here, and... you didn't have a job to go to.

Hadn't thought of that in a while.

But there wasn't any time to think about it when you heard something being set on the counter behind you. You turned around, only to be met with a man leaping at you.

Naturally, you dodged out of the way, dropping the broom and hooking your attacker around the neck, locking him in a chokehold. All was well until a flurry of colors came flying toward you into your hair and eyes.

Immediately you were overpowered, your key sense being obstructed. You were pushed over near the sofa, being sprayed relentlessly with some sort of squishy string-like material.

You were quick to recover, and reached up to what you assumed to be the sofa, taking off one of the pillows and swinging wildly at your attacker. Terrifying laughter was heard from above you, and you overturned them until you had them in prime suffocating position. Moments into your retaliation, you pulled some of the strange material off of your face, only to see the face of both people you met earlier. Except this one had yellow eyes.

You paused in your struggle with him, both of you huffing and puffing like you were about to blow someone's house away.

He stared up at you, and you stared down at him, before your gaze flickered up to the counter, only to see a camera placed there and aimed directly at the two of you.

Footsteps distracted you from this realization.

"Aizetsu? Your escort got loose. I think she got confused. Did you not tell her about being a quad?" It was the green-eyed man, back with his bunny slippers and some actual clothes, but no hair curlers or face masks.

"IM NOT A PROSTITUTE!" You snapped at him, smacking the man under you again with the pillow for good measure.

"Why the hell is there a woman on top of Urogi? Why are you just watching, Karaku? You sick fuck.."

Another voice was heard, deeper and more gruff than the rest. You looked up, and saw another man identical to all three of the others! Unlike his counterparts, this one had blood-red eyes.

"What's going on? Are you all siblings?" You said, before mentally face-pamling. Of course they're all siblings. What else would they be?

"Of course we're siblings. What else would we be? Idiot." The red-eyed man growled, before hanging his keys and stomping off to who knows where.

The man under you tapped on your forehead.

"...can I get up?"

You rolled your eyes at him, delivering another smack with the pillow before getting off of him. "You don't just sneak up on some unsuspecting person like that!" You scolded, but he didn't listen. He was already busy fiddling with his camera.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, mumbling a slew of curses before going to pick up the broom.

"So clean, so clean! It looks like this house is brand new! Where are they? The cleaner? Where are they?" A labored, weak voice sounded from the hallway. An old man appeared, and hobbled toward you. You tried backing away, but it was no use, as he grabbed your face to examine you.

"Lovely girl, lovely girl! Cleaned up everything perfectly! You're the angel who cleans up my grandsons' mess every month, are you? Lovely girl!" His voice was trembling, as were his hands.

He must be talking about the company. But before you have time to explain, he cuts you off.

"I wish to hire you, lovely girl! Lovely girl! You can live in my home, in the spare room! You can clean up and teach my grandsons how to behave! Will you? Don't leave an old man like me helpless. Their mother isn't around to teach them to behave, will you? Lovely girl?"

Your eyes widened at the offer. "..hire? Like, for money?"

The old man laughed. Well, he tried, but it came out as a cough. "For housing? Food? Anything you'd like?"

"....and for money?"

"...yes, I'll pay you weekly."

You needed time to recollect your thoughts! Living here, with unknown people? Cleaning! More cleaning!

But at least you'd have a roof over your head, and food, and 'whatever you'd like' whatever that was. And you'd even have your own money on the side. Maybe you could save for a house? To go back to school?

At that point, only Karaku and the old man were left in the room, eyes trained on you. Karaku's lips broke into a smile. He knew what your answer was going to be.

"..I'll do it."

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seenoversundown · 2 months

Text

For Death Or Glory : Chapter Eleven

Jake Kiszka x Charlotte (Fem OC)

Warnings: MORE FLUFF, a bit of anxiety (good & bad) , intrusive thoughts, a little flirting, and Jacob is smooth as HELL this chapter folks. (I simply don't have a lot of warnings for you this week but we are RAPIDLY approaching the chapters that will have warnings do not fret, my loves!)

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Charlotte battles her silly little brain about what happened, deciding to confide in one of our favorite people. They help her rationalize a little and boy does that pan out nicely for Miss Charlotte.

Author's Note: I love them, I love them, I love them. I was kicking my feet and blushing while writing this chapter, honestly! They are so so cute together and we are getting into the fun part of the story and I'm excited for you guys to enjoy it with me 🤭💕

You're Not Special, Babe - Orla Gartland "Some people don't stick around, But, don't let yourself down. Find the ones that get you, Stick to them like hot glue."

Bzzt.

I can hear my phone vibrating in the other room as I make my coffee. Who would be texting me this early? Well, other than Jacob, he seemingly just never sleeps. I grab the mug carefully, taking little sips as I head back to my couch to continue getting some work done.

Quinn: Gooooooooodmorning Charmander!

Quinn: Is there something I should know?

Quinn: I just got to the boy’s apartment to surprise Josh and Jake is smiling like the Cheshire Cat at his coffee 😌

I feel my smile start to sneak out; that’s so cute. My thumbs hesitate to tell them everything. I mean, if you don’t tell them, I’m sure Josh will.

Charlotte: lol um well 🫣

Quinn: hang on

Before I have time even to think, my phone is ringing.

“Hi there,” I answer, chuckling at how fast they managed to call.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” they whisper yell into the phone. “I just ran out of the apartment for this; you better spill.”

The thought of them running right past Jacob to call me makes it even funnier.

“Okay, fine,” I start. “I may have kissed him.” My hand flies up to cover my mouth because I didn’t hear it until just now.

“OH MY GOD,” they practically yelp into the phone, “AHHHHH.”

My face is absolutely beat red by this point, and I manage to squeak out a little, “I know.”

“How was it? What happened? I need to know EVERYTHING.”

My mind races back to the moment I decided to go for it. His sweet face only lit up from the street lamps, the way his thumb was rubbing the back of my hand, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how soft his lips looked. Remembering my promise to Cass that I would give it a shot if I found a long-haired, soft, nerdy boy. I couldn’t restrain myself anymore when I leaned in, just kissing the corner of his mouth, hoping it would be enough for him to know that I also wanted it. I had caught him looking at my mouth enough the last couple of hours; I knew he had been thinking about it.

The look on his face when I pulled back, his eyes darting back and forth between mine, and I swear he could hear my thoughts screaming, “Please kiss me, for the love of god.” His soft voice asked if it was okay before he finally went for it. I’d never felt such a relief. The second his lips pressed into mine, it was like nothing mattered. Breathing him in, the feeling of his hands holding my jaw, his fucking smile when we couldn’t figure out how to stop. His kiss was better than anything I could have imagined. I don’t know what happened in that moment, honestly. I felt like I could have kissed him for hours, but it wouldn’t have been enough. He held onto me like I was made of porcelain, so gentle but like he couldn’t let go, or I’d break. It’s hard to believe that he hasn’t spent much time in relationships or with someone in general with the way he knows what he’s doing.

If it wasn’t the way his lips were moving, it was the placement of his hands—the subtle, soothing feeling of his thumbs rubbing my cheekbones. His voice really was lethal at the moment. All he said was, “So.. uh,” and I already felt myself melting back into him; I couldn’t resist the smile when I went back for more.

The butterflies in my stomach when he needed one more kiss before I could leave. There’s something about him that makes my head spin when I’m around him, and I wish I could figure it out.

“Why do I want to cry?” Quinn finally says, after my long-winded explanation of the night before.

“It was really so cute,” I join in.

“How do you feel about it?”

Scared. Not good. Unwell. BAD.

I hesitate, “I uh-” I don’t know what to say about it.

“Charlotte, it’s okay if you enjoyed it.”

I can’t find words to say, so I just wait for them to continue.

“I just mean- don’t overthink it! Which I feel like you’re doing with how quiet you are.”

I finally spit out, “What if it was just like .. heat of the moment? I don’t know.”

They laugh quietly, “I don't think Jake would still be giggling like a little girl if it was just a momentary thing.”

“It was a good kiss..” I admit, but my face still feels hot.

“I bet it was! I’ve always wondered if he kisses the same way as Josh because they’re–”

“QUINN!”

“IT’S JUST THE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, LOTTIE,”

I feel my phone vibrate against me; a notification drops down: another email from my boss. I don’t want to open that. Hopefully, for your sake, he’s not mad. I have no self-control when it comes to working, though, so I put Quinn on speaker so I can read the email quickly.

‘Charlotte, How are things going? I know we discussed you working remotely temporarily, but I’m just following up on how long you think you’ll need to be out of the office. This really isn’t something we’re supposed to be doing, but you’ve been keeping up with your work, so I’m not going to say anything. Please let me know what your timeline is looking like so we can discuss how to continue further.

Breathing out a sigh quietly, I’ll deal with that later. I’m still battling the urge to tell him that I’m grieving and that he’s being insensitive to that. Especially given that I’ve never needed more than a day or two off of work for any other reason.

They pull me back to reality and say, “Maybe you just need to see how you feel the next time you see him.”

“Maybe,” I breathe out. It’s just a job, it’s just a job, it’s just a job.

“You can debunk the fluke concept you have floating around in that pretty head of yours. Because for as much as I know Jake, he wouldn’t do anything unless there was some emotion behind it. He’s not a one-night stand type of boy, I can tell you that.”

My heart beats harder in my chest, listening to them talk about him, “I’m inclined to believe you. He doesn’t strike me as one.”

“No, he’s the definition of a hopeless romantic if I’ve ever met one.”

I don’t know if that helps, but it definitely makes me want to see him tonight.

My brain moves faster than my mouth can, “Do you know if Mel is working tonight?”

“I can ask, hold on.”

I listen to the sounds of them making their way back into the apartment, the door shutting, before listening to their conversation.

‘Hey, Jack Sparrow, is Mel working tonight?’

‘Uhh, yes, I think Josh is training her for a bit. She won’t be in long, though.’

‘Oooo okay..’

‘Why?’

‘Willa and I are getting together, and we were gonna see if she wanted to join us, and you’re a psycho who’s already awake, so saving myself the hassle, okaaaaay thank you.’

The door creaks again as they whisper, “Okay, did you hear that or-”

“I did,” I laugh quietly.

“So, are you going to test some theories tonight?” they ask, and I can see the smile on their face.

“I think I just might.” ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The drive to the bar is torture. My mind raced the entire way there.

Well, maybe I should just see what happens. I’m going to be around him tonight, so maybe he’ll try to make another move or something.

I still don’t understand why we’re doing this.

Because Cassie would want me to just not listen to you in this scenario.

Okay, but if you’re hesitant, maybe just.. Don’t.

I have always been hesitant, and this is the only way I’m going to get over it.

Shouldn’t your job be more important than him?

My heart aches at the thought. The flash of Cass’s face in my mind, ‘it’s just a job, babe.’ I tried to fight it then, and my brain is trying to fight it now.

Maybe she is right; it’s just a job. I need to live.

It’s a good job that you worked incredibly hard for, though.

I shake my head, trying to stop the negative thoughts from winning; I reach over and turn my music up louder to drown them out.

Walking into the bar, my stress is high, and there is no way someone won’t pick up on it. I wave at Josh and Melody as I walk through the bar. Both of them are focused on whoever they’re talking to, but they shoot me a smile as I come in. I point to Jacob’s office a few times, and Josh nods quickly.

My shoulders feel like they’re at least up to my ears; as I get to his office, the door is open as usual. Leaning into the doorframe, I quietly knock.

“Hey you, can I leave my-“ I start, but I’m taken aback when he turns around from his desk. It felt like time had slowed down as his long hair flowed in the self-created wind from turning around. His brown eyes instantly met mine, lighting up like a little kid on Christmas. His smile grew in a second from his natural state to a big, toothy grin. He immediately became attentive when he heard my voice, which was wild to witness. My shoulders slowly drop from their heightened state, and my chest feels lighter, like all the tension melted away. “Uh- my bag in here?” I ask.

“Hi,” he finally says. “Of course you can.” Holding his hand out, I slide my bag off and take the little notebook out before handing it to him.

“I know Mel’s not here for too much longer tonight, but I figured we could get through some while we had the chance,” I tell him. I don’t know why I’m explaining myself so thoroughly; he knows it’s the only reason I'm here.

“Sounds wonderful,” he says. “Just let me know if you need me.” The softness of his voice makes me feel warm like being wrapped in a hug. I take a second to look at him before turning out of his office. I think I want to kiss him again. Oh no. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

It’s another night of watching Mel do a great job, knowing I don’t need to be here. I explain little things to her in between watching her mix drinks. Jacob really is lucky to have her here; she’s a natural at this.

“I know you haven’t been here long,” Mel says, “but I need to leave in like ten minutes if that’s okay?”

“Oh, that’s completely fine. I had nothing going on, so I figured we’d get more taken care of while I had the time,” I told her as if I would be doing anything else besides answering emails. She wanders off to clean and take a few more orders before needing to leave.

Jacob, finally emerging from his office, carefully walks behind Josh while saying ‘hello’ to some of the regulars who sat at the bar. He’s just in a regular t-shirt today, and something about being able to see his bare arms folded across him as he talks to them has me in a chokehold. The flex of his forearms made my mouth run dry.

“How are we doing, Red?” He asks as he sauntered over to me.

“I can’t complain,” I say, unable to hold back a smile as he looks at me. The moment of him smiling after kissing me plays in my head as he stands there. “How are you?”

He pauses, looking at my lips not so subtly, before saying, “Never been better.” He turns to Melody, leaning close to her ear as she pours a beer, and she just nods in response.

“Are you gonna hang out for a little bit?” He asks, glancing over at me as he pours a beer for someone.

“I can,” I say, leaning forward and resting into my hand. “If you want me to,”

The cute little smirk on his face was really enough of an answer, but still, he says, “I think you should.”

No, I definitely want to kiss him again. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

I sat there for a while, watching him work while he found excuses to stay near where I was sitting. We were casually talking about whatever we could. It felt like we were friends when we got to just talk to each other, which is crazy because we just met, but I also didn’t want to stop talking to him.

“What have you been reading?” he asks, wiping the already clean bar top in front of me.

Remembering the few books sitting on my coffee table, and they’re all romance.

“Oh, just a little romance, nothing crazy,” I try to spit out rather quickly. His smile is torture enough; I can see the small laugh he barely lets come out as his chest vibrates a little.

“I feel like I need to read one since you seem to like them so much,” he says, making my body feel hot when he does. Why was that..? Also, the last thing I need is for him to get more ideas.

My uncomfortable laugh escapes me before I can stop it, “Maybe you should.” WHAT DID I JUST SAY?

“If you bring me one, I’ll do it.”

I quite literally can not do this to myself, but also, why is he doing THIS to ME?

His eye contact doesn’t falter as I ask him, “Are you sure?”

He slowly nods once before letting out a quiet, “Very.” ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Naturally, when it was late enough, and I forced myself to stand up from the barstool I was sitting in, he refused to let me walk to my car alone. Any excuse to get him alone, I’ll take it.

“Do you have any wild plans since Mel is off tomorrow?”

I let out one good laugh, “I’m not much of a ‘wild plans’ kind of girl.”

“I can't really argue that,” he chuckles, “I’m not either.”

“Unless ‘wild’ is being in the bar, then you may be the craziest person I know,” I tease.

He stops walking, and his jaw slacks as I turn around, making me laugh.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic!”

He just stands there, arms folded across his chest as he pouts. I take a few steps towards him, watching him fight the smile that’s so close to coming out.

“Jacob,” I whine, “come oooonnnnn.” Walking right up to him, his eyes on me the entire time. I grab his arms and pull them down from his chest, sliding my hands into his. My

“Please,” I whisper, leaning into his chest a bit and pouting my lip at him.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he whispers back, leaning his forehead against mine for a second. Only letting go of one hand before walking again, he tugs me along with him. I need him to kiss me.

My stomach turns as we get closer to my car; I don’t know why I’m so nervous this time. He hasn’t let go of my hand even though we’re within steps of my car, and I can feel my heart rate start to speed up. What if he doesn’t kiss me? Am I stupid for thinking maybe it wasn’t just a fluke?

He stops at the door, his hand reaching for the handle but hesitating. He looks down for a second, and all I can focus on is him. Turning to face me, he backed up and leaned against my car; wow, he’s really so hot. He pulls me to him, and his free hand grabs the nape of my neck as he leans in. Our lips crashed together, feverish as we both needed it; it felt desperate. I can’t stop grabbing his shirt, wanting to be closer to him.

He pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against mine. The only sound is our heavy breathing, his lips curling up into a smile as he looks at me.

He whispers, “You’ll let me know when you make it home?”

“Mhm,” I hum quickly. My hands find the sides of his face, pulling him back in, not ready to be done. We fall into the same situation as last night, giggling and pressing small pecks into each other because neither of us knows how to stop. Or want to stop. He starts trailing kisses to my jaw, placing one underneath my ear that sends chills through my body.

“Jake!” I yelp between laughs as he’s practically curled into my neck. I can feel his smile against my skin. His arms tighten around me, and my heart flutters as he lets a little ‘mmm’ slip out against my neck.

“I’m sorry. I’ll let you get home.” His hand reached back and opened my door for me. I move around him, sitting in the driver's seat and tossing my bag onto the floor. My hand found his quickly, pulling him towards me. He leans down, and I can’t stop myself from grabbing his face, pressing my lips into him again, feeling the butterflies in my stomach as he giggles into me.

He manages to mumble between kisses, “Drive safe, hun.”

“I’ll try,” I say before he kisses my cheek and stands up before I try to get the last one.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

If I thought the drive to the bar was terrible, I had no idea how much worse the drive home would be.

I pull into the driveway, sitting there for a second before convincing myself to go inside. I pulled out my phone as I walked through the door, knowing I had a few things I needed to do now that I was home.

Me: I made it ☺️

Texting him first so he knows I’m home and safe it’s what I would want people to do for me. I debate whether I should pull the trigger on the next text I’m considering.

Me: ummm… are you awake?

Quinn: obviously 👀

It’s okay to confide in people. Cass isn’t physically here anymore, so I need to let people in.

Me: let’s just say- the results are in.. it wasn’t a fluke. 🤭

Quinn: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

Quinn: WAIT- I know some people that will be SO excited about this

What do they mean by “some people” will be excited? When a new group message pops up with Quinn, Melody, and an unknown number.

Quinn: LAID EASE-

Unknown: what now Q

Ohhh- it’s Willa, okay.

Melody: 👀

Quinn: first of all, say hi to Charlotte. She comes bearing piping hot TEAAAAA.

Me: hi 😳

Willa: CHARLOTTE. I AM SAT GIRL.

Melody: I feel like I know where this is going 🤭

Me: Well umm so I may have kissed Jacob 🫣

Willa: STOP OMFG

Mel: I KNEW HE WAS UP TO SOMETHING WHEN HE WANTED YOU TO STAY LONGER.

Quinn: I TOLD YALL IT WAS GOOD !!

Willa: well now we need the details!

Me: from the first one?

Melody: FIRST?

Willa: HOW MANY KISSES WERE THERE?

Me: I just mean-

Me: A lot.. but just the past two days.

Quinn: we got all night Lottie go on

I quickly recap the other two on what I’ve already told Quinn. While giggling while recounting the many kisses I’ve shared with Jacob tonight, he texts me back.

Jacob: oh good even if I’m a bit bummed about it.

Me: lol why are you sad I made it home?!

Jacob: well, making out with a beautiful girl makes for a way better night than pouring beer for old men

My face heats up at his reply, unprepared for him to be so forward. A little flirting doesn’t hurt, though. I’ve already kissed him, so I may as well have a little fun.

Me: Missing me already? 🥰

Jacob: enough that I’ve been debating on FaceTiming you

Me: I wouldn’t say no

He’s so cute. My heart swells at the thought. Not even a minute goes by before my phone lights up to his call.

“Well, hello again,” I say, curling up in the corner of the couch.

“How was your drive home?” He asks.

Painful.

“Felt like forever,” I mindlessly let out, why did I do that? My face feels warm, and I quickly try to recover. “Aren’t you working?”

“I was,” he sighs, walking up the stairs to his apartment, “but Josh had it covered, and this sounded better.” His little smirk as he says it makes my stomach turn.

“Oh?” my hand covers my mouth, knowing that I’m definitely making it worse.

He lets out a small ‘mhm’ as he’s unlocking his door. I find myself staring at him quietly for a moment, admiring his features as he looks through his kitchen for food. I don’t know what I’m doing. I haven’t even talked to anybody long enough to develop feelings for them in years. Let alone whatever THIS is.

I pull up my texts and click on the group chat, hoping they can help.

Me: I’m on FaceTime with him SOS

Willa: Of course you are

Quinn: CUTIES

Me: No really, I have no idea what i’m doing please help

Quinn: with what?

Me: I don’t know how to flirt with someone! Especially when I’m sober!!

Willa: I don’t think you’d need to say much to get him flustered

Willa: Poor guy practically has cobwebs on him with the lack of action he’s gotten

Quinn: She’s not wrong

Quinn: what is he saying 👀

“What are you gonna make tonight?” I ask to break the silence.

He lets out a small sigh, “I’m not sure. I’m tempted to steal Josh’s food again, but he may quit me if I do that.” He just shuts the fridge door, leaning onto the counter in front of wherever he’s propped up his phone. “I may just starve at this rate.”

“Oh we’re just being dramatic tonight, huh?” I tease. Because he’s so calm and seemingly level-headed about most things, watching him have his moments of over-dramaticamatic is fun for me.

He chuckles before squinting at me, “Could just be me, but I think you’re enjoying it.” His damn eyebrow pops up as he looks at me. I like it a lot, actually.

“It’s cute.”

Me: He’s just being dramatic and goofy right now

Quinn: JAKE? DRAMATIC? SINCE WHEN?

I audibly laugh at their response, forgetting I’m on Facetime with him right now.

His eyebrows pull in as he looks at me, almost like he wants to ask why.

“Sorry, Quinn texted me,” I giggled, trying to recover smoothly. “They’re a little too funny sometimes.”

“They’re practically an extension of my brother, so you have gained yourself a yapper,” he giggles through the end of it.

It warms my heart knowing that Quinn is like that; since Cass doesn’t blow up my phone anymore, it might be nice. “That’s okay with me.”

“I’m glad you two get along,” he says, “They’re definitely a bit more tame than Josh, so if you can handle my brother, you’ll be fine.”

“I think Josh is sweet!”

“Well, of course. He’s sweet to you but a menace to me.”

I laugh at the thought of their brotherly banter, imagining it must be ridiculous given how much of their lives they have spent and currently spend together. They must get sick of each other? I don’t think I could live with a sibling AND work with them.

“Can I say something? It might sound weird, though,” he timidly asks, bringing my attention back to him.

I nod at him, “Of course.”

“I wish I could see you tomorrow,” he mumbles, avoiding eye contact. All you have to do is ask. The little bit of pink creeping into his cheeks, selling him out. How I wish I could kiss every inch of his face right now.

My heartbeat feels loud when I whisper, “Me too.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter Ten

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whateverisbeautiful · 9 days

Text

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#58: The Fearless (1.06)

gif cred: @nerd4music

What Rick and Michonne are about to do is super risky, and yet they aren't scared to take this on. And as Michonne will make clear, their fearlessness has everything to do with how safe Richonne makes each other feel 🥰...

So first, Pearl shows up to Rick’s room to see if he’s there and does she knock? Of course not. 🙃 She again just walks right in and then, seeing that Rick left his prosthetic in his room when he’s usually never without it, Pearl starts putting some pieces together.

Rick leaving his prosthetic behind made me think about Rick and Michonne's final handhold in TWD. In TWD 9.03, Rick has his hand balled up in a fist when they get bad news. Then, Michonne slides her hand into his as he tightly holds her hand.

I've always felt that was a nice illustration of how Michonne is the one who can always get Rick to release his frustration and how being with her helps him feel like he’s never in this alone. They’re always held by each other's love and can recenter on that even amid frustrating or fear-inducing circumstances.

...But then Rick is taken from Michonne, he chops his hand off to get back to her, and what is he given as a replacement? A permanent fist. Almost like it represents how now Rick has to live with this cemented enduring sense of frustration.

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And then when Michonne re-enters his life and brings that man back in mind, heart, and soul, what does Pearl see? That fist extension left behind. Why? Because even Rick’s “permanent” fist can be replaced by the embrace of Michonne’s love, just like in their final irl TWD moment together. 👌🏽

So next, CRM soldiers start taking their seats and Rick and Michonne enter a tent to finish out their plan. I know some felt this plan was all too easy, but to me...

Rick doesn’t technically have to be incognito at all since he’s actually supposed to be a part of this CRM gathering and Michonne has a red-striped uniform so she’s not likely to be questioned either which explains why they’re able to maneuver throughout the space fairly smoothly.

As Richonne discreetly sets up the bombs, Pearl watches from a window as CRM soldiers gather for CRMchella before they horribly go and commit mass destruction on innocent people. 😣

But this military won’t get the chance to fulfill their operation because Rick and Michonne are in the middle of prepping to cause some mass destruction of their own.

gif cred: @taiturner

I love the shot with Michonne’s wedding ring on her finger as she sets up the bombs. Our girl is wifed up, y’all. 🥹 I mean she has been for a long while, but still, I gotta celebrate it every time. 🥳

Also, I like how the contrast of the wedding ring and the bombs really hammers home the uniqueness of this epic apocalyptic love story. And it’ll always give me life seeing that Rick finally got to give her that ring like he dreamt about and that Michonne now gets to wear a ring of her own. 😌

As they walk back up to each other, Rick says, “This is it.” and Michonne says “Yeah.” And then Rick gets more specific about what he means when he says, “This is the last we’re apart.” Love it. 🥰 Spoken like a true magnet. 🧲😌

And Rick saying this just made it crystal clear that Rick and Michonne are about to be healthily attached at the hip from here on out. They’re not leaving each others side for anything anymore.

I know the finale being called The Last Time had some worried because it sounded so final and even ominous but y’all, I’m convinced it’s called 'The Last Time' because it’s the last time Richonne ever willingly part for longer than five minutes. 😋

gif cred: @nat111love

And it’s also super sweet that Rick says this because I got the sense that throughout this finale one of his least favorite parts of the plan was that he and Michonne would have to briefly separate again. So you know he’s happy they’re nearly done so that they don’t have to part anymore.

Rick saying that was already nice, but then the moment gets even better as Michonne looks into Rick’s eyes and tells him, “I should be scared. Just standing here, I should be scared, but I’m not. Because of you.” The best. 😭😭

gif cred: @coolpartytimefan

I adore the way this reemphasizes her sentiment that the only time she feels safe is when she’s with him. She really means that, and I love how she looks at Rick and has that subtle smile as she says it, knowing her husband is her truest safe space.

It's so meaningful how she's aware that the reason she's not scared right now is not just because she's a capable person who only envisions winning, but because she's with Rick, her other half who she trusts wholeheartedly. I love that Michonne always wants Rick to know that he makes her feel so secure even in the face of very dangerous circumstances. 🥹

And it’s really refreshing that this time around Rick is clearly responsive to hearing this from Michonne. When she told him that being with him is the only time she feels safe in episode 4, he felt he had to mask how he really feels about that - but here you can tell even in his subtle expression that his wife feeling this way means something special to him.

gif cred: @nat111love

Especially knowing how he started this show with loved ones who doubted his ability to keep people safe, Rick has to feel so uplifted knowing Michonne never doubts if she's safe when he's around.

I love how Rick and Michonne's love makes them both feel fearless. 🥲 For a time, their love made Rick riddled with fear of what could happen to Michonne. But, now that they’re back to fully believing the two of them can do anything, they’re back to operating in their fearless love. 😌

And then because gift-giving is truly one of Rick’s favorite ways to show his love, he says, “I forgot. I have something for you.” and gifts Beale’s sword to Michonne.

gif cred: @nat111love

Ok first of all - Man of the Year every year. No one is taking that title from Rick Grimes. 💯

Second of all; That is just the sweetest thing that Rick made sure to not leave Beale's sword behind because he thought it would make a good gift for his wife. 🥰 What a mighty good man. And mighty fine too.

I’ve long been convinced that Rick’s first thought when he sees most items is 'How can I turn this into a gift for Michonne.?' and TOWL just confirmed that lol. 👌🏽

Also, Rick really killed Beale in that briefing room, and before he left said...

Third of all; I like how this sword was so important to Beale and the CRM, it’s what thousands of soldiers swore on, for all of them it symbolized the power to kill and give life, it has a whole history...but then Rick decided what this sword is first and foremost is a nice little gift for Michonne until she gets her katana back. 😋

And Michonne might not even know exactly the significance of that sword because her and Beale didn’t really cross paths, but I know Rick knows that he’s giving this ‘life-giving’ sword to the woman that gives him life.

Michonne’s smile at Rick is so sweet and appreciative as she accepts the sword. 🥲 Again, I adore that it’s always so clear that Michonne loves all the ways Rick shows his love.

And only Richonne can have such an adorable and heartwarming husband and wife moment while surrounded by tons of bombs and chlorine gas pods. 🤭

gif cred: @nat111love

So then they resume the set up, operating in sync of course. And the POV shot of them both lifting out a walker from the crate is great. 👏🏽We truly got us a couple that can do the lovers aspect and the lethal aspect to perfection. 🤩

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Pearl is standing at another window looking reflective and the puzzle pieces finally come together for her as she thinks back to several moments where it was clear Rick was actually probably in love with Dana Bethune.

Pearl recalls Rick urgently persuading her to convince the CRM that Dana is a B, Rick following Dana’s lead instead of hers after Pearl stuck her neck out for them, Rick proving to have a good poker face during their game of poker, and lastly she recalls Rick saying “She’s not gone” as Pearl officially realizes that not only is the someone Rick loves out there not gone, honey, she was all up in the CRM breaking kill records and doing Pearl’s job better than Pearl. 💅🏽

Pearl heads off with this new realization as it has to be hitting her that the one family member she thought she had here, she actually didn’t know at all. Because if she had known Rick even a little bit better, she’d have noticed a lot sooner that Rick had changed the second Dana showed up.

This is a man who previously was shut down to the point of being basically dead and now his eyes light up every time he talks about this new consignee...the writing was on the wall about who Rick and Michonne were to each other.

But I won’t go in on Pearl too much because I also know a thing or two about being late to the party when it comes to Richonne - even tho I also should have been way more aware that Richonne was endgame from the jump. To this day I'm like how blind could I have been back then? 😅 But those blind days are long gone.

Always one to find a practical use for walkers, Michonne and Rick attach wire to Walker Beale and the elevator solider so that they can set off the bombs and Richonne can escape in time.

As Michonne leads Beale out of the tent while wearing his sword on her back, Beale was giving us MJ Thriller realness as a walker lol. 🧟‍♂️😋

And then Rick and Michonne exit the tent and quickly reunite after leading their walkers in opposite directions. And seeing this part always makes me smile because I was like 'wait...is this what Rick meant when he said ‘this is the last we’re apart’ - the 30 seconds they’d be apart to lead the walkers away?' Oh that confirmed even more that Richonne really is about to be attached at the hip from now on. 🤭

But also I get it, because even if it was just a few seconds spent apart, it was a dangerous few seconds considering the circumstances. So I’m sure Rick is glad to have that part over with and be back together.

gif cred: @taiturner

Rick and Michonne make a run for it and then right on cue, Pearl shows up with her gun aimed at them. I was like now Pearl, you can be late to the party realizing who Richonne are to each other but you gotta be right on time right now?? Figures. 😪

gif cred: @sowhumpful

Pearl demands to know where Beale is and says she knows Rick lied to her. Pearl asks, “What did you do? Rick? Dana?” Rick tries to talk to her but she tells them to take off their helmets and she shoots at Rick’s feet to make it clear she’s not playing around.

I definitely see a lot of understandable hurt on Pearl’s face as it just becomes crystal clear that Rick was not her family…he was Dana’s.

In that regard, I do feel for Pearl because she needed something to believe in after being dealt a tough pair of cards. She wanted to believe in the mission she was given from Okafor and then the mission she was given from Beale, and she wanted to believe she found family in Rick. So I can see how that would be painful for her to realize so much of what she believed in no longer exists and maybe even never did.

All that being said, I still need Thorne to stop pointing guns at my babies tho. 🥊🙂

gif cred: @sowhumpful

Next, Pearl tells them they’re going to go back into the tent and undo whatever they did and then Rick and Michonne share a nod before turning around. Once again it comes in handy that Richonne are capable of communicating with each other without talking because they seem to quickly be on the same page as they walk toward the tent.

Pearl says they’re going to regret this when she finds Beale but I was like - ma'am...do you not see Beale’s sword on Dana’s back? When you find Beale he’s gonna be a 'creature crawling in search of blood to terrorize y’all’s neighborhood.' 😅

As Rick and Michonne walk toward the tent with their hands up, Rick demonstrates that being held at gunpoint is temporary but being a loverboy is forever as he still finds a way to make this moment romantic. He takes Michonne’s hand while they walk and this was a super heartwarming moment. 🥹

I love that Rick wants to use the one hand he's got left to comfortingly take his wife's hand and once again offer Michonne some sense of safety. And taking her hand is a comfort for him too.

Knowing that they’re very much between a rock and a hard place - with Pearl aiming a gun at them on one side & a tent full of bombs that are about to blow on the other - this handhold was Richonne letting each other know that no matter what they're in this together. 🥲

gif cred: @sowhumpful

I’m sure seeing Rick hold Michonne’s hand had to be another blow to Pearl as she sees that Rick found the someone he loves out there while she had to give up on ever finding hers.

As Richonne stays holding hands, Michonne says, “It never died. It won’t stop. It can’t stop.” And unless I’m mistaken, I think the 'it' she’s talking about is their love and connection. And if so, I love that. 🥰

gif cred: @sowhumpful

Both she and Rick have expressed how they view their love as endless, undeniable, and unstoppable. And it’s sweet that that’s what Michonne acknowledges here because, even in this predicament, she's confident they’ll find a way since Richonne doesn't get denied.

Michonne knows nothing has stopped the two of them together yet and it won’t start now. And as always...she’s exactly right. 😌👌🏽

#richonne #towl #reveling in richonne #1.06 #RIR (58)#the ones who live #twd towl #michonne grimes #rick grimes #rick x michonne #twol #michonne #rick and michonne #twd: the ones who live #twd #richonnefandom

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nevernonline · 11 months

Text

✧.* svt as songs from 1989 (taylors vrs)

happy 1989 day to all my bbs celebrating!! xoxo. idk whose but one of these will prob end up being a full fic vv soon give me a suggestion lol im indecisive 🩵😌

seungcheol: i wish you would.

"2 AM, here we are see your face, hear my voice in the dark. we're a crooked love in a straight line down. makes you wanna run and hide but it made us turn right back around. i wish you would come back, wish i never hung up the phone like i did, i wish you knew that I'd never forget you as long as i live and i wish you were right here, right now, it's all good i wish you would."

jeonghan: is it over now?

"was it over when she laid down on your couch? was it over when he unbuttoned my blouse? "come here," i whispered in your ear in your dream as you passed out, baby. was it over then? and is it over now?"

joshua: new romantics.

" 'Cause baby, I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me. and every day is like a battle but every night with us is like a dream. baby, we're the new romantics, come along with me. heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly. we are too busy dancin' to get knocked off our feet. baby, we're the new romantics the best people in life are free"

junhui: wonderland.

"flashin' lights and we took a wrong turn and we fell down a rabbit hole. you held on tight to me ’cause nothing's as it seems and spinning out of control. didn't they tell us, "don’t rush into things"? didn't you flash your green eyes at me? haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds? oh, didn't it all seem new and exciting? i felt your arms twisting around me, i should have slept with one eye open at night. we found wonderland, you and i got lost in it"

soonyoung: how you get the girl.

"stand there like a ghost, shakin' from the rain. she'll open up the door and say, "are you insane?"say, "it's been a long six months" and you were too afraid to tell her what you want. and that's how it works that's how you get the girl and then, you say i want you for worse or for better i would wait forever and ever. broke your heart, i'll put it back together, i would wait forever and ever and that's how it works. that's how you get the girl."

wonwoo: blank space.

"nice to meet you, where you been? i could show you incredible things. magic, madness, heaven, sin saw you there and I thought "oh, my god, look at that face. you look like my next mistake love's a game, wanna play?" new money, suit and tie i can read you like a magazine. ain't it funny? rumors fly and i know you heard about me. so, hey, let's be friends i'm dyin' to see how this one ends, grab your passport and my hand i can make the bad guys good for a weekend."

jihoon: you are in love.

"morning, his place burnt toast, sunday, you keep his shirt, he keeps his word and for once, you let go of your fears and your ghosts. one step, not much, but it said enough. you kiss on sidewalks, you fight and you talk one night, he wakes strange look on his face pauses, then says "you're my best friend" and you knew what it was, he is in love."

dokyeom: suburban legends.

"i didn't come here to make friends we were born to be suburban legends. when you hold me, it holds me together and you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever. i know that you still remember we were born to be national treasures. when you told me we'd get back together and you kissed me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever."

mingyu: wildest dreams.

"he's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad, but he does it so well and when we've had our very last kiss, my last request it this. say you'll remember me standin' in a nice dress starin' at the sunset, babe. red lips and rosy cheeks say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams."

minghao: i know places.

"you stand with your hand on my waistline it's a scene and we're out here in plain sight, i can hear them whisper as we pass by. it's a bad sign, bad sign. somethin' happens when everybody finds out, see the vultures circlin', dark clouds. love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out. 'cause they got the cages, they got the boxes and guns. they are the hunters, we are the foxes and we run baby, i know places we won't be found and they'll be chasing their tails tryin' to track us down. 'cause i know places we can hide"

seungkwan: sweeter than fiction.

"seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees, seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade. wish i could make it better, someday you won't remember this pain you thought would last forever and ever there you'll stand, ten feet tall i will say, "i knew it all along" your eyes are wider than distance this life is sweeter than fiction"

vernon: now that we don't talk.

"you grew your hair long you got new icons and from the outside it looks like you're tryin' lives on i miss the old ways. you didn't have to change, but i guess i don't have a say now that we don't talk. i call my mom, she said that it was for the best remind myself the morе i gave, you'd want me less i cannot bе your friend, so i pay the price of what i lost and what it cost, now that we don't talk."

chan: slut!

"send the code, he's waitin' there the sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air. everyone wants him, that was my crime, the wrong place at the right time and i break down, then he's pullin' me in. in a world of boys, he's a gentleman."

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cardierreh15 · 1 year

Text

Goddess of the Moon

A lil sumn, sumn for Kinktober. (No, I have no special list lol I’m just doing whatever tickles my brain) I hope y’all enjoy! 🧡🤎

***I do not give anyone permission to repost or copy my work!!!

Warnings 18+: Death , Gore , Blood , Monster Fucking 😌 , Cunnilingus , Doggy Style , Size Kink (kind of? He’s pretty fucking massive) , Breeding Kink , Cursing .

Pairing: Werewolf!Walter Marshall x Selene/Goddess (Black!Plus Size Female)

Description: Selene goes on a trip to Minnesota with her friends when something life changing happens.

Word Count: 4.1K

One Shot

She sat in the cold interrogation room, bouncing her knee vigorously as her arms were folded across her chest. She was gently rocking back and forward, her body riddled with goosebumps as she tried to warm up.

Her head snapped up at the door to see two gentlemen walking through. It was then when she felt a strange shift in the room. A different kind of aura. One that reminded her of the horrors of last night.

One of the men was bald and wore glasses. A clean shaven face. He wasn’t as tall and stocky as the other. He looked regular and mundane. But he was decently handsome.

The other stranger was tall with thick messy curls that rested atop his head. He donned a thick beard that seemed to hide the beauty of his features but also, it enhanced them too. He had broad shoulders with big and sturdy arms to match.

‘I-I’m sorry… you said that I could leave Mr. Harper.’

‘I know. And I do apologize just.. hear me out alright?’

Afraid that they’d tell her that she had to stay a little while longer, she held her breath; digging her own nails into her flesh.

‘This is Detective Marshall. He is here to hear your story.’

Just as she thought, she scoffed as tears brimmed her eyes in frustration. ‘I told you guys my story 3 times already! Is this what you do to people?! Continue to torture and traumatize them until there’s nothing left?!’

Detective Marshall glanced over at Commissioner Harper as he tried to piece and put his words together accordingly.

‘I understand Ms. Carson. But we are all under the impression that there is a dangerous murderer around and—‘

‘Wh-Did you not listen to me?!’ Her voice began to crack, ‘There’s no murderer! Just a big…’ she waved her hands around; trying to exaggerate the size of the beast, ‘Humanoid wolf running around killing people! I know what I saw OK? I’m not crazy!’

Commissioner Harper let out a gentle sigh and nodded, ‘You’re right honey. You aren’t. Just let my Detective do his job ok? He is the best at what he does. He just wants to listen.’

Her reddish eyes stung vigorously as she looked over at Detective Marshall before he gave her a gentle nod. His bright cobalt blue eyes were somehow… familiar.

‘Al-alright. I suppose it’s okay.’

Harper let out a silent breath in relief and pat his Detective on the shoulder, ‘Go easy on her.’ He mumbled before walking out of the room.

The room was quiet for a few moments after Harper left the room. He’d placed the clipboard down on the cool metal table and sat down in his seat.

He looked over at her, noticing little details about her that somehow made her familiar to him. The beauty mark above her full lips and another on her left cheek. Then there were her hazel eyes. Deep and dark crevices and patterns made them so unique… and again… very fucking familiar.

He finally spoke up, blinking away ‘I know this is a rough time for you. But you have to tell me what’s going on so I can help you. What is your name?’

She reached over and grabbed a Kleenex tissue and blew her nose. ‘Selene Carson.’

‘Well, it’s nice to meet you Selene. I am dreadfully sorry that it’s under these circumstances. My name is Walter. I understand that you’re not from here, is that correct?’

She nodded slowly as he began to write down on the clipboard. ‘Yes.’

‘OK. What state, City are you from?’

‘Atlanta, Georgia.’ She mumbled as she began to chew the inside of her lip again. A thing she did when she was anxious. Her eyes fell to his hand that gripped the pen as he wrote on the paper.

‘And why’d you come?’

Selene let out a gentle yet shaky sigh as she looked up at the ceiling. She was just so tired of these questions. ‘Year vacation. Every year around my birthday we go somewhere and disconnect. Try to enjoy the little things in life and Mother Nature. It was my idea. To come here.. they didn’t even wanna come here! They—‘ she whipped her tears with her thumb, ‘They wanted to go to Wyoming again. God I should’ve listened.’

Walter looked up at her and a great deal of grief shrouded him. It was like he was going through what she was going through. Feeling her feelings. Something he never experienced before. Not even with his ex-wife.

‘It’s alright, Selene. We’re going to get to the bottom of this I promise.’

She nodded as she sobbed into her tissue.

‘Alright. The stupid questions are over… tell me what happened.’

Selene swallowed her sticky spit in her mouth and sighed, ‘Well…’

***

The girls were sitting around the fire, snuggled up in their thick winter coats as they roasted some marshmallows.

It was quiet for a little moment; they’d just finished a conversation about how things were when they were little girls. All the shit they use to get into and damn near give their parents heart attacks. Now they are all grown up.

Heather was about to marry her boyfriend of 3 years. Adaline had just started her dream career of being a computer Engineer. Kelly had just got a hefty raise at her job and Selene had finally bought her dream house back home in Atlanta.

The girls were literally living their dream lives. And they all had one another…

But soon it’ll be taken away from them.

‘Girls… I know we all had a busy year. And our money has been going elsewhere. But I want y’all to know that I am so grateful that we all made the time to take this trip together.’ Selene smiled softly.

‘Of course girl! You’re our best friend!’ Said Kelly.

‘And it’s your birthday! Just because we’ve taken upon big changes in our lives doesn’t mean that we still can’t make time for one another.’ Adaline added as she reached over and gave her friend a pat on the shoulder.

‘I know. Just —can we all promise.. that we’ll never stop doing this together? That all our traveling will be done within this group?’

The four girls laughed in sync before Heather put her fist out, extending her thumb and pinkie. ‘That’s a promise I can get behind!’

The other three girls extended their right hands and did just the same, wrapping their pinkies into the thumbs of their friends.

After a little while longer of snacking on s’mores and singing silly childhood songs, they all agreed that it was time to hit the sack. They had plans to see the mountains tomorrow at Whale Lake. It was sure to be packed with how gorgeous the weather was going to be.

3 hours later…

Selene was having trouble sleeping. She didn’t know if it was because of the excitement that pumped through her like adrenaline or simply because she never came down from that sugar high.

So she sat up in her tent, checked her phone to see that it along with her AirPods were fully charged.

‘How about a little walk? Maybe one of the girls wants to go with me?’ She said to herself.

Pulling her boots onto her feet, jacket over her back and gloves over her hands, she unzipped her tent and stepped outside.

She was immediately met with the silvery brightness of the moon. ‘Luna… my you are such a beauty tonight.’ She said softly as she placed her hand over her heart. Selene could never understand why she always had this pull towards the moon or anything night related. Other than the fact that she was born at night, nothing else truly made sense.

After sharing such an intimate moment with Luna, she quietly crept over to each tent. And each one had their own snoring song. The girls were out for the count.

‘Well, guess I’m on my own.’ She shrugged as she shoved her AirPods in her ears and ventured into the woods.

Selene walked for what seemed to be hours. She caught pictures of nocturnal animals. Bunnies, some doe and bucks, frogs and just the aesthetic of the woods. With all of the nature walks she’s been on, this was all the basic stuff. She wanted something that would stand out to her! Something she could brag about at brunch tomorrow.

Suddenly, she tripped and fell over a rock as she tried to adjust the brightness on her camera.

‘Oof!’

Luckily, she was able to save herself without injury but not so much her camera. ‘Awwww no!’ She whimpered as she began to scramble up the broken pieces. She kissed her teeth, ‘Dammit! And there goes $3,000. Fuck.’

As she picked up her trash, the glistening snow caught her attention. A pair of large paw prints made a statement in the snow.

The sheer size of it made her heart sink. She saw wolves up close in Colorado at the rehabilitation center. Their paws were owned by pups compared to this monster.

Turning on her phone’s light to help her combat the darkness, a dozen more paw prints circled her. The image made her sick to her stomach. It was here! It was stalking her like prey. Or so she thought.

Her heart began to race in her chest, slowly backing up as she did her best to pull herself together. ‘OK Selene. We’re just going to head back to camp. Pretend like none of this had happened.’

She inhaled and exhaled slowly to help calm herself down. But that’ll mean nothing pretty soon.

Doing her best to clear her mind of the troubling thoughts that she’d seen, Selene walked back towards the camp in a hurry. Her headphones were away for the sake of her own safety.

Suddenly, blood curdling screams echoed through the woods.

Selene dropped the destroyed camera and dashed down the abandoned path in a hurry.

‘HEATHER!’ She called out as she pushed and fought the twigs, and bushes that dared to stand in her way. ‘KELLY! ADALINE!’ No answer.

No matter how fast she ran, she felt as if she wasn’t running fast enough. Because soon enough, the screaming and wailing had come to an eerie stop.

Damn near tumbling down a steep hill, she balanced herself before she fell at the base of it. But she didn’t let that stop her. She pulled herself up and continued to run.

‘KELLY! ADA! HEATHER!! Fuck!’ She cursed as the cool air burned at her lungs and throat. She could barely breathe but she kept fighting.

The brightness of the coals had illuminated the area. And she saw things she never thought she’d witness.

The tents were clawed, splattered and painted with blood and gore.

‘Oh my god…’ she placed a hand on her stomach as her knees grew weak. Tears filled her eyes as they landed on torn pieces of body parts and insides. The cool autumn air smelled of pure iron and blood.

It was then when her insides betrayed her and her stomach began to feel queasy.

Squatting down, she threw up everything she ate and drank. Her palms gripped at the snow as her vile stained it.

***

Selene bounced her knee once again as tears just fell down her face like waterfalls. She kept her eyes away from him, unable to look anyone in the eyes because she just felt so shameful. ‘I—I—…’

‘It’s alright… take your time.’ Walter reassured her. ‘Can you tell me what else happened?’

It was then when she looked over at him. The goosebumps had returned once again when she thought about the events that came afterwards. She then glanced down at the paper, noticing how he’d written just about everything. There was no way anyone would believe this story. Let alone the next part. So she did her best to spare the next part.

But he persisted.��

Walter looked down at the paper and then back up at her, ‘I don’t have to write down the next part if you don’t want me to.’

Selene sat there silently before looking away once again.

‘Selene… I promise you can trust me. What you say now, will stay between us.’

Her sad eyes glanced back over at him then, the double sided mirror before she looked at him again. ‘You swear.’

‘Hope to die.’

She swallowed her spit and sat up straight, lacing her cold hands together before resting her upper body atop the table. ‘It didn’t stop there.’

***

Selene slowly picked herself up off the ground, sobbing as she did her best to find her footing. But she just collapsed once again before Heather’s mangled body. ‘He—Heather?! Please!’ She called out for her friend as she gripped at her corpse.

‘HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE! HELP ME!’ She wailed before a soul crushing, realm bending scream erupted from her body. But little did she know… it was more of a call.

She was too busy trying to process the deaths of her beloved friends to notice the rattling of the trees and the stirring of the wind.

When she was able to pull herself together, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to see that it was cracked. ‘Shit.’ She whimpered before tossing it to the side. She then stood up and began to rummage around in their tents to find their phones. Fortunately for her, all of the phones were in great shape… but there was no service.

‘GOD-DAMMIT!’ She screamed as slammed all three of the working phones into the snow. Allowing her anger, sadness and blame take hold, she stomped on the electronics. Damn near turning them into confetti pieces.

‘Oooh this is all my fault! I’m so sorry girls.’ She sobbed. ‘We weren’t even supposed to be here, this is all my fault.’ She cried and sniffed.

After moments to allow herself to grieve, a shift of energy breezed through the air. It caused even her hairs to stand up on her skin beneath her coat. She didn’t feel safe.

Shortly after came a low hungry growl. Then, she felt a hot breath on the back of her neck. She remained still in her spot like a statue.

Her lips trembled as more tears filled her eyes and fell down her icy cheeks. She then closed her eyes as she prepared to meet her maker. But like a fool, she took off running and immediately regretted the idea of doing so.

The beast howled behind her before it began to chase her down. And it didn’t take long! He swiped at her ankles which caused her to fall face front.

Trying to scurry to her feet, the beast grabbed her ankles and yanked her back towards him.

‘NO! NO! PLEASE! NO!’ She hollered as she tried to find anything to hold for leverage. But nothing. Just the snow and the leaves.

When the beast quickly flipped her over, she laid there trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. But she did take in this opportunity to take in all of its details to the best of her ability. Though she couldn’t see the figure clearly, the moon graced him with a silhouette. It had jet black fur, bright blue eyes and an elongated snout. It growled down at her, revealing its large canine teeth before its frightening tongue licked at his grill.

A wolf. If she’d ever seen one. But this wasn’t an ordinary wolf.

Staring up at the creature in fear, she immediately snapped her head away as it leaned in to capture her scent. It’s wet nose tickled her cheek and ear. Then, it nestled itself in her curls.

When the beast pulled away, it howled at the moon. Shivering, she slowly looked up at it once again. Ironic enough, the creature probably has to be the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Suddenly, something about it made her feel… safe. Like it wasn’t there to bring her harm.

The wolf then rests its snout on her lower belly, letting out small songs of howls onto her. It caused her entire body to vibrate. And all she could do was watch until she build up the courage to speak.

‘What— what are you doing?’

Then he began to let out little whimpers as if he were trying to speak. He kept doing this until something distorted rumbled in his chest.

‘Heat. Imprint. Heeeat.’

He began to pant as he placed his paw onto her chest and pressed his weight into her.

‘Unnff! Can’t. Breathe.’ She choked out before he removed his paw and split her coat down the middle with a single claw.

‘Why are you doing this? Please stop this!’

And he clawed at her shirt, revealing her sports bra that held her perky breasts. Then, the tips of his talons grazed all the way down to the middle part of her cargo pants.

‘Heat. Breed. Imprint. Heat.’

He croaked out once again. But, the word breed was off putting. It caused her eyes to grow before she quickly tried to roll over and crawl away. But he used his free hand to grab her wrists and pinned her down.

‘Don’t. move.’

She nodded slowly as he easily shredded her pants to pieces. Then, he nuzzled his snout between her warm thighs. She wanted to kick away but that would just piss him off. So she just laid there, allowing him to do whatever it was that he wanted until this nightmare was all over.

‘So. Warm.’ He growled, ‘Need. Taste.’

Selene began to squirm a little as he spread her thighs and snapped the core of her panties, exposing her delicious flower.

The beast leaned in, huffing and sniffing as her pheromones caused his nerves to tingle. He couldn’t wait any longer. The beast finally rested it’s long tongue against her slit and licked up to her clit. It was a taste test. He wanted to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

She tasted better.

Selene let out a generous moan as the creature went to work on her pussy. Curling, folding and flicking its tongue for her. ‘Ooh.’ She shuddered out. With the warmth of ecstasy and the being’s body heat, she felt nice and cozy.

Her heart raced in her chest as her mind tried to understand what the hell was going on and why her body just gave in so easily to this being. Her body began to tense up and her toes began to curl as he flicked his massive tongue sloppily against her womanhood.

Her eyebrows tugged into one and her eyes drifted crossed. ‘Aah! Oh my go—‘ The poor girl was so close already. It was as if he knew her body! The things that drove her wild, ‘YES!!’ She cried out, her clit throbbing at the blissful orgasm and abuse. Her small hands clawing at the air above her.

Satisfied with her taste, the beast licked her sticky nectar off of his snout and let out another howl, this time shorter than before. It caused her to jump at the sudden call. Then, he began panting again. He was in dire need.

He released his tight grip on her wrists. Now she was able to see him clearly. He had to be twice her size! He was burly and prodigious as if he were probably the King or a pack leader. Thick dark hair donned his shoulders, arms with a thick patch across his chest. Selene’s eyes roamed from his chest to his abdomen that resembled the torso of a human. It had trapezius and toned muscles. So defined and detailed even in the darkness of the night. Then she noticed the ripped, bloodied shorts he wore. There was no way she was looking at one of the most infamous beasts of all time.

A Werewolf.

He licked along her cheek before pressing his snout into her there. She couldn’t help the giggle that left her lips before she looked over at him.

‘What is your name?’ She asked softly.

He growled before flipping her over on her stomach in a hurry before pulling her up to her knees, snatching off the remaining of the torn fabrics that she wore. ‘Ooh!’ She gasped at the sudden movement.

Looking behind her, she watched as his heavy paws stumped around her. ‘What’s wrong?’ It was then when she noticed his big bushy tail wagging excitedly behind him. ‘How fucking cute!?’ She thought.

He said nothing, just let out a loud huff before his wet nose pressed against the back of her thigh. Behind her, she could hear the tear of thick fabric then a warm heavy member rested on her rump.

‘Smell. Good.’

His nose sniffed along her warm, sepia brown skin. Her scent clouded his brain like a drug. He began to whimper softly as he licked at her shoulder.

No longer frightened to death, Selene closed her eyes as she pressed her back against him. Begging him without using her words. It was strange. She felt like she’d ingested a bunch of Tequila. It made her feel carefree and sexy. What did he do to her?

‘Selene.’

Her eyes flashed open at the sound of her name but before she could react further, he’d began to sink his thick shaft into her pussy. A sharp inhale left her lips as he stretched her to fit himself in. She began to grip the snow beneath her once more, ‘UGH!’ He was massive!

He began to huff and growl once again until he finally nestled within the home inside of her, bottoming out completely. Her toes curled as a familiar numbness shrouded her body. Her nipples hardened, her clit erect and throbbing.

‘Uhhh!’ She wailed as she quickly got adjusted to his enormous size. A few strokes and he was sending her to pound town! Using her body as he saw fit and she was having a damn good time.

Selene’s face grew warm, her eyes rolling back as she took his monstrous cock. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ She mewed out as his large hands held onto her waist tightly, ramming his member into her warm abyss.

She reached behind him, placing her small hand against his lower abdomen. He was so warm, so strong. If she were to end up like her friends after this, what a beautiful death it would be. His sharp claws gently stabbing into her smooth, brown skin. Careful enough not to puncture and rip her to pieces.

At this point, Selene completely forgot about the fact that he actually knew her name.

But that much didn’t matter when such a beauty of a beast was using you like a personal flesh light.

He let out hungry grunts as drool fell from his lips upon her back. ‘Breed. Goddess. Breed. Selene.’

‘Oooh my fucking god yes! Uh huh! Fuck me!’ She begged as he began to pump his hips harder and faster. Her sweet, innocent moans were no more. Instead they were turned into filthy cursing and carnal screams as she came over and over again like a desperate little whore.

Soon enough, his whimpers and grunts became constant and his thrusts became demanding and rugged. He let out an animalistic bark before he settled his dick deep inside of her. Coating her soft, spongy cervix and walls with his cum. He howled as she began to throw her ass back against him. Milking him for every drop.

Finally, when he pulled out his member, he collapsed into the snowy ground, exhausted. But he whispered, ‘Imprint. Breed.’

Trying to catch her own breath, she collapsed right next to him. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Partly because he was truly the most magnificent thing she’d ever seen (even though he did murder her friends…) but she couldn’t understand these codes. What was he saying to her?

‘No name… Selene. Imprint.’

***

‘Look you’ve got to believe me OK? Throw me on the damn Lie Detector test! It really happened!’

Walter sat across the room, his eyes glazed over with shock and disbelief. He couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her. In fact, he believed her probably more than anyone else.

‘Uhm… you said he didn’t have a name? Did he say anything else about himself?’

She pressed her lips together, shaking her head, ‘No. Just he kept saying “Breed. Imprint.”. I kept asking what it meant but he just couldn’t seem to put the words together?’

He couldn’t believe his ears. Was it really her?! His Goddess?! Was she really his soulmate, his imprintee? A lot of nights he couldn’t remember things but he remembered this one clear as day!

Walter blinked and looked down as he could hear her moans, begging and pleading in his ears. He cleared his throat before glanced back up at her.

‘Did he— did he say anything else?’

Selene looked over at him, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She grew defensive, ‘Why?! Ain’t like you’re gonna believe me anyway.’ She looked down into her lap, a somber look upon her gorgeous features.

He looked back up at her and let out a gentle sigh. ‘Selene, I probably believe you more than you believe it yourself.’

It grew quiet for a few more moments before he spoke up again. He had to confirm it for himself. ‘What did he say?’

She bit into her bottom lip before she left out a huff. ‘Mine.’

‘Mine. My Selene.’

It was probably safe to say that Walter was not only spooked but grateful. It was unfortunate what happened to her friends. They were in the way. But he’d never tell her that.

Trying to piece together the words, his heart answered before his mind could.

‘It’s you.’

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