#just realizing now that he made queen a safe space for me before I even knew how badly I needed that safe space

[gothedrals]

been missing freddie mercury a lot lately

[aglaias-blog]

"Sleep well, my Queen"

Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Author's note: This is pure smut. Porn without a plot. MDNI!!!

I felt inspired by this post, found on @hamatoanne 's blog, made me want to write again. Please be gentle with me, it's been a while 😭 anyway, have fun!

TW: afab!reader, corruption kink if you squint, somnophilia, just porn basically

Summary: Aemond wakes one morning, needing you badly. But you are fast asleep. What is he to do?

“Fuck”, he cursed under his breath, as he turned on his back, hiding his face from the sun under his arm. You were still sleeping next to him on your side, your soft body naked under the covers.

The sun rays playing on his face were the first thing that woke him up. The light that was reflecting on his sapphire eye drew colourful patterns on the wall. The warmth was pleasant, the blinding light – not so much. And then came the crushing realization that it was all a dream.

It was a dream that made him wake up with his cock already leaking precum. The dream being a continuation of what happened last night, when you gave yourself to him completely, allowing him to take control. Your body writhing beneath his, no way to escape. And yet you looked so content, so in your own blissful space, so vulnerable, so pure, so open with him - submitting yourself to him, knowing that you were completely safe…

He groaned at the thought, and he couldn’t help himself as his hand travelled down, over his chest, his abdomen and down to his cock that was laying hard on his belly. His fingers wrapped around it, hard, trying to give himself some form of relief as quickly as possible. He kept yanking at it almost angrily, but it wasn’t enough – it wasn’t enough! Fuck!

 It never was enough when he tried to pleasure himself, he always ended up frustrated! It was as if he betrayed his own body, knowing that he needed you, but still trying to find release by himself.

The exasperation was clearly written on his face. His lower lip began to swell slowly as it was trapped between his teeth and he bit down on it hard, his brow furrowed in desperation and his cheeks flushed. It was clear that this wouldn’t do, it wouldn’t do, he needed more, he needed you, he needed-

He snapped around the moment he heard the moan. The moan that he was sure left your mouth. He wasn’t imagining things now, was he? He turned on his side hastily, laying one hand on your upper arm gently. Were- were you awake?

“My love?”, he tried, now slowly tracing your spine with his fingers.

No response. Just another one of those damned soft moans that he usually loved, but now he was sure they were going to drive him mad. If only you knew how badly he wanted you right now.

“Don’t do this to me…”, almost sounding pained, he threw himself back on his back, rubbing his hands over his face.

He was suffering at your hands, and you didn’t even know it! The situation was ridiculous, if he wasn’t so frustrated, he would laugh at it. Running his hand through his loose hair roughly, he tugged at the strands, his other hand buried in the sheets with his knuckles turning white.

Your soft breathing continued, but the quiet moans that kept coming from you made him wonder if you were having the same dream that he had not long ago. He remembered slowly that you two had talked about situations like this - but until now the opportunity had never presented itself, he always had to be somewhere, he always was required by somebody early in the morning, but now…If he had any doubt about taking action, the soft whine that left your body made sure to make any resolve falter. He couldn’t fight the storm that was raging inside him any longer.

“Gods”, he murmured. Turning back on his side, he brought his hand up to your shoulders and traced them gently, before moving down to let his hand slide down your sides, and over your hip. Goosebumps rose on your skin, but there was no change in your breathing pattern, no sign that you were going to wake up. And no sign that you knew what was happening. His heart was beating brutally in his chest - never had he thought that he would find this so arousing. But when his fingers finally found their way to your cunt, every thought was wiped from his mind. He bit back a moan when he realized how wet you were, your wetness already smeared between your upper thighs. It was clear now what kind of dream you were having.

His mouth found its way to your shoulder, pressing open-mouthed kisses there. He easily slid a finger inside, then two, groaning into your shoulder at the obscene wet sound. Pumping them in and out of you slowly, he quickly knew that you were more than prepared.

If he wasn’t so frustrated, he would be embarrassed about how desperately he wanted to be inside you. But his precum had already formed a wet spot on the bed linen and his mind was foggy with the need for you, for anything you could give him. Any thoughts about his dignity and virtues like patience were left for later. And so, not wasting anymore time, he lined himself up with you quickly, grabbing your hip gently. He couldn’t help the guttural moan that tore from his throat as he finally, finally, was sheathed deep inside you. Your wet, hot core enveloping him completely. He stayed still for a while, doing other wise would have surely made him cum embarrassingly quickly.

He fought the urge to rut into you savagely, trying to keep some form of dignity, trying to hold back, trying to prove to himself that he wasn’t doing any of this selfishly – but there was no denying it. You made him lose control. And the worst part was that you didn’t even know it. You weren’t even aware of the kind of effect you had on him.

Slowly, his hand found its place on your breast, tracing slow circles around your nipple, feeling it harden. He squeezed it hard, the flesh spilling over between his fingers. Then, his fingers slowly ran between your breasts, down over your soft stomach, further down, down, until he finally reached your clit.

He tried to be gentle when he pulled out slowly and pushed himself to the hilt inside of you again. But there was no use, the moment he felt your heat and wetness again, he couldn’t hold himself back. It was addicting.

So he slammed himself into you, over and over again, whimpering into you shoulder, praising you, although he knew that you weren’t even awake.

The moment he touched it, he felt you clench around him. Hard. And he couldn’t hold back his pathetic moan at the sensation. He wanted to feel it again and again, so, encouraged, he rubbed lazy circles around it, circles that quickly became more urgent, the more he felt you squeeze around him.

..................................................................

You awoke with your body spasming, not knowing what was happening. The hot, white pleasure you felt was almost akin to the one you felt in your dream – but this one felt so much more real. A desperate moan tore from your throat before you could realize why it even formed, and you felt him inside. Instinctively you knew it was him. Only he could reach that spot deep inside you, only he could make you shiver and tremble like this. You felt his warmth, his tall body behind you, moving in and out of you ruthlessly, his moans falling freely from his lips, his hot breath on your shoulder…

And then your orgasm crashed over you like a wave, unforeseen. It completely overwhelmed you, your body trembling so hard you thought he would slip out of you, your body searching for the sensation he gave you, but at the same time trying to escape it, it was too much, too much…

“Aemond!”, you gasped out, your hand blindly reaching for him behind you.

He heard your unsaid plea and held you close, grabbing your hips in a bruising grip and stilling his movements, so that he could feel you completely, holding you in place. His angel, his only salvation, spasming on his cock; the only innocent being in his life was having no part in his doing and he almost felt guilty, like you were losing more of your innocence the more time you spent with him.

“Oh, Gods”, you heard him groan through gritted teeth, only now did you realize what was truly happening. The fogginess of sleep had left you now, the confusion you had in the beginning making place for giddiness. You had fantasized about mornings like this, but now that it was happening, you couldn’t believe it. The thrill you felt went through your body like an electric shock.

He knew now that you were awake, if your reaction and the way you held his hand in a tight grip was any indication. Your moans became louder the moment he picked up his merciless pace again, touching that sensitive spot inside you over and over and over again.

“My love – fuck, you’re going – you’re going to make me cum- please”, you heard him moan behind you, as if you were the one in control. He was the one who had his arm wrapped tightly around your torso, while his other hand now had your throat in a tight grip – and yet it felt like he gave himself over to you.

Your moans turned into desperate sobs, the moment he lost control. You were so close to the edge again, your senses heightened to the max. You felt him trembling behind you, drawing one shuddering breath after the other, trying to restrain himself, trying to keep some form of control, but his thrusts grew rougher and rougher and when he felt you clench around him, he couldn’t help himself. He came inside you with a growl, his hips thrust up into you involuntarily, spilling everything inside you, while sinking his teeth into your shoulder, trying to stifle his helpless moans. He felt you clenching down on him hard, your own whimpers and moans spilling from your mouth. His jaw went slack, engrossed in the sensation, he pressed you down on his cock to feel every squeeze of your peak, not allowing you to escape his bruising thrusts.

“Gods, you feel so good, you’re being so good for me”, praises fell from his lips, as he kept you close to his body, littering little kisses on your shoulder. “So, so good for me, princess.”

His frantic breathing slowly calmed down; he was still reveling in the aftershocks of your second orgasm.

“Holy Seven”, he groaned behind you, coming down from his high. His grip on your relaxed slowly, and he began to gently stroke your side with one hand, the other caressing your chest. You relaxed in his embrace, the weight of sleep on your eyelids.

“You did so well, my love”, he murmured, “I’m so proud of you.”

You only hummed in return, your sleepiness catching up to you. But when he tried to pull out of you, your hips chased his to not let him slip out. You heard him chuckle lightly. “Alright, alright…”, he said, and if you only turned around, you’d have seen a cocky grin on his face.

He pulled you close by your hips again, his hand caressing them lazily.

“Sleep well, my Queen”, he whispered in your ear, before drifting off to sleep himself.

[strawurberries]

Injury drabble <3

Summary: You're injured—not from a fight, don't you worry that little head of yours—and Vash is a little bit of a baby about it. Just some random thought collected into one, small post.

Authors Note: This isn't proofread and I'm writing this on my phone right before I go to bed because I'm a masochist apparently. Anyways, enjoy :)!

Warnings: Mentions of injuries (nothing specific).

If you got injured, in some way shape or form that wasn't related to combat, Vash would be less terrified (mind no longer screaming at him about how pathetic he is, how he cannot even keep his loved ones safe) but still definitely nervous and overbearing. He'd probably be the one panicking more than you (of course, the panic would set in after he deemed the situation as a non-emergency. Though, he wouldn't lie, anytime your injured is a bit of an emergency to him)—

"Are you okay?!?" he scrambled to your side, helping you get off the old wooden stairs you had tripped on. Hands gentle, yet steady and strong, pulling you up to your feet. His touch lingered, warmth seeping into your very soul.

"I'm fine," you smiled and dusted yourself off with a slight cringe, "jus' fell." Embarrassment overpowered the slight, dull pain that had dug its way into your lower back—that, you knew, would leave a nasty bruise.

"People die from falling you know!" He circled you like a predator, eyes observing you with the fever of a devoted man, someone who cared only for the object of their faith, their affection. After a moment he stopped before you, sighing quietly.

"Do I look dead to you??" You pushed past him with a small grin, "drama queen."

"You never know!!" he yelled after you, running at your heels.

And (this isn't because I just popped my knee outta place 💀) if you had to wear some sort of brace, he'd be hovering over you like a saint. Actually, he'd just be next to you in general. This man has separation anxiety that will even unnerve even the most callous of men. He thinks of other things besides you of course, but worry not, you're always somewhere in the back of his mind—a lingering touch, a silent kiss, a whisper of love, or a glance of divinity. You're always with him, and he's always with you. Though, that is also a literal meaning as much as it is metaphorical one.

You felt a shiver behind your neck, a tickle of something holy that hovered over warm flesh—safety, it said, you are safe. Without even turning, you knew who it was. The light whisps of his touch along your back, too scared to fully commit to contact—whether that be because he didn't wish to harm you, or was too lost in thought to realize what he's doing.

"Vash?" you tilted your head and grinned, "I'm not made of glass." Even though the brace around your wound made you itch and groan, you still were capable of doing many things—cleaning? You had done that while Vash ran to the doctor to get more pain medication. Reading? You quite after several minutes, the whistling wind and laughing children too loud to focus (but it stills counts, you think, regardless of how long you did a task). Go outside? Er—well, you tried but were swiftly stopped and hauled back to the room. You didn't complain, though now you felt like you should've.

"Hm?" his head settled on your shoulder, not paying attention to your previous words, "need anything?" Hot tangles of warm breath seeped into the air, dancing like the Faries of the night—the stars that waltzed across the sky in that cosmic sort of play that never seemed to end.

"Maybe some personal space," you mused. You didn't mean it—or maybe you did, who knows? Right now, you weren't sure what you needed—and he whined, as if he fell for your words blindly like gospel.

He huffed. "What if you need help?!"

Ah, you thought, a valid concern.

You shrugged, "this room is about ten feet wide, I'm sure you can run across to me in no time."

"But those three seconds could be life or death!"

You nuzzled into his cheek and sighed. There's was no way to win this, was there? So, instead of bickering or pinching his cheek—he always got embarrassed when you did that—you simple laughed lightly, and let your chest fall with the sunset and rise with the night. "Drama queen," you muttered.

"Hey!"

[rosanna-writer]

a simple name and everything has changed (2/?)

Summary: we said hello and your eyes look like coming home, Rhys POV chapters Or: Rhys's slow realization that he's mated to Prythian's most chaotic human (and how much he loves her for it) Warnings: implied/referenced sexual assault, discussion of food insecurity and disordered eating Word Count: ~3.4k

This is Rhys's POV of ch. thirteen: stay stay stay, which is the first morning back in the Night Court after getting out from Under the Mountain. Please note: I added an additional content warning for discussion of food insecurity and disordered eating for this chapter.

You can find it below the readmore or read the whole thing here on AO3.

Feyre was hungry. It wasn't the first time I felt hunger pangs clawing at her, and I still didn't understand how she ignored them as if they were nothing. Otherwise, her side of the bond was calm, and that was the only thing keeping the last remnants of my sanity intact.

Even flying didn't make me feel better, not like it used to. The trip from the townhouse to the House of Wind had never been difficult before, but the muscles in my shoulders were barking in pain by the time I landed on the balcony, even though it had only been a few short minutes.

Then suddenly none of that mattered because Feyre was waiting for me in clothes that couldn't possibly look more classically Night Court.

I hadn't known what she'd worn the last time she'd been in Velaris; I'd gotten glimpses out her eyes before she'd learned to shield, but Feyre didn't spend much time looking at herself. The matching peach pants and top were obviously hers—they fit too well to have been borrowed. The color suited her, bringing out the pink in her cheeks.

She looked healthy. Comfortable. Beautiful. Like she belonged here and always had, the Queen of Night in her rightful place in the House of Wind. I thought I'd only see it in my wildest dreams, but this was real.

Before the silence could become awkward, I said, "Night Court attire suits you." It might have been the biggest understatement of my life.

Her smile was hesitant, but it was there, the last piece falling into place. "All things considered, it would be strange if it didn't," she said, "but thank you, though."

It made me feel better, enough to remember my manners and that she was famished. I pulled out a chair and indicated for her to sit, then used magic to conjure up food from the kitchen. Feyre, by some miracle, didn't fight me, just immediately dug into breakfast with a fervor I hadn't seen anyone display since Cassian had been a youngling.

Feyre had never said it, but she didn't need to. There had clearly been long stretches of time in the mortal lands when she hadn't had enough to eat.

It was a relief to see her finally get a proper meal. She didn't seem to notice me staring, but I poured tea anyway just to have something to do with my hands. There was no point in talking until she was full.

When it seemed safe, I said, "Why did you leave?" There was no point in beating around the bush.

I braced myself for the answer while Feyre took her time choosing her words. Each second seemed to stretch into an eternity, but eventually she said, "It seemed presumptuous to stay."

Presumptuous. I couldn't fathom what could possibly have made her feel that way. "If it was something I—"

"You haven't done anything wrong. Really."

She sounded earnest, but something was clearly wrong or we wouldn't be having this conversation. "You climbed ten thousand steps yesterday."

For a long moment, she wouldn't look at me. I said nothing else, just gave her time and resisted the urge to find a crack in her shields and find out what she was thinking.

Voice soft, she said, "I just...thought you'd want space, now that you can finally have it."

My insides twisted with the realization that she'd done this for my benefit. The fact that she thought I'd want that, after everything…it made me feel like a failure. Feyre deserved to feel wanted.

"Not from you," I said, sighing and running a hand through my hair.

She moved closer and pressed her face to my shoulder, and at the contact, the bond uncoiled in my chest. I wrapped an arm around her, and it felt good to give into the instinct to pull her closer.

"I think I needed to hear you say that," she whispered.

With her face against my shoulder, she didn't see the way I pressed my eyes shut for a moment, careful not to let her feel my shame. I'd felt overwhelmed at setting foot in Velaris again, but I shouldn't have lost focus enough for her to even consider the possibility that I'd want her anywhere but at my side.

But there were other things I couldn't leave unsaid, and they'd be easier to get out when she wasn't looking at me. I forced myself to say, "Feyre, you're under no obligation to stay here, and of course I'll take you back across the Wall if that's what you want. I know you didn't understand what was happening when you accepted the bond. That said, as far as I'm concerned, the townhouse is yours, too. And even if it wasn't, I thought after everything you were at least comfortable enough to stay in my guest room for a night."

If Feyre wanted to return to the mortal lands and never see a faerie again, I wouldn't blame her. I didn't know much about what her life had been like before coming to Prythian, but if she wanted, she deserved to be able to return to it. And I needed to make it explicitly clear that the mating bond didn't mean I had any sort of claim over her.

Her choice. Always.

To my relief, she didn't move. "I was just trying to do right by you," she said, the words a bit muffled against my shirt.

That made two of us. I kissed the top of her head, the only part of her I could reach without shrugging her off of me, and hoped it was enough to show her that we were in this together. The situation was delicate and confusing, but…we'd figure it out.

"And I want to do the same for you. Apparently it's not nearly as simple as it sounds," I said. Her stomach was still churning; when I felt another hunger pang from her, I gently nudged her away and added, "Finish eating. It's been weeks since you've had a proper meal."

And because Feyre was nothing if not completely impossible, she just glared at my eggs until I took a bite. I resisted the urge to point out that I wasn't the one who'd fought the Middengard Wyrm on a mostly-empty stomach and then gone to bed without bothering to eat dinner. The look in her eyes was becoming familiar, the one that told me she'd have my head if I balked at what she wanted.

I could guess, though, what she'd experienced to make her grow into the sort of person who ignored their own gnawing hunger with practiced ease, all while pushing someone else to finish what was on their plate.

"For what it's worth," she said eventually, "I don't want to go back across the Wall, at least not permanently. I want to see for myself that my family is safe, but there's nothing left for me there."

Feyre wanted to stay in the Night Court. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise, considering how at home she looked here, but the relief was strong enough that if I'd been standing, my knees probably would have gone weak.

But that wasn't the point, so I did my best not to look too obvious about it. Feyre had family out there somewhere, and the Mother only knew what lie Tamlin had spun when he'd ripped her from them. They probably thought she was dead.

And in a way, I supposed they were my family now, too. Azriel had likely already taken care of it—even if Feyre hadn't realized, accepting the bond had made her human family Night Court royalty by the laws of Prythian—but I made a mental note to confirm with him that they were under our protection.

"Then we'll go today," I said.

She stared at me in shock, which was strange. Tamlin had kidnapped her—of course making sure she reunited with her family was a priority.

"We don't have to. I don't want to pull you from Velaris when you've only just gotten back," she said.

And there it was again, that tricky matter of doing right by each other. It wasn't a concern, but…I understood why she'd think it was.

"I wouldn't begrudge you a reunion with you family after having one with mine last night." It was true, but it wasn't everything—the look she gave me made it obvious she knew that. If I'd been having this conversation with anyone else, I would have left things there, this was Feyre. It was safe to be honest with her. "There's quite a lot of work to do after the balance of power shifted and our…performance yesterday. The rest of the Inner Circle is handling it to spare me having to work so soon after returning. And...I don't know how to be around them just yet."

"Did something with them not go well last night?" she said after a moment.

I couldn't tell her what a mess I'd been; I wouldn't risk her feeling responsible for scaring me when she'd left. But I wouldn't lie, either. "Nothing like that, but last night we were all so relieved we didn't really talk. We're all furious with each other, and I'm not looking forward to facing it."

"We'll go to the mortal lands another day, when you don't look dead on your feet." I winced—Cauldron, I hadn't realized I'd looked that bad. It had been a sleepless night, though. Feyre must have misunderstood because she continued, "We don't get along. It's…complicated."

That was hardly a surprise, something I'd suspected was true since that first conversation in her cell Under the Mountain. The morning after Calanmai, I'd written it off as healthy suspicion of a faerie claiming to be her mate after what must have been an incredibly strange night, but even then, Feyre had clearly struggled to believe someone else might be in her corner. It had probably kept her safe. But…people from happy families didn't think like that.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do try to stay out of your head. I don't even know how many siblings you have." It was the truth, but she wouldn't be the first person to accuse me of sneaking past mental shields to poke around for information. I wasn't above prying if it were someone else, but I'd never do that to her.

She seemed to believe me, at least. And then somehow we found ourselves in the middle of a conversation about our sisters, chatting as if we'd always eaten breakfast together. I'd dreamed about being here with her, about things being this comfortable and easy, but it had always been just a dream, a pleasant imagining to get lost in and forget about being Under the Mountain for a while.

But now it was a reality, and I let myself slip into it.

It only lasted so long, though. The exhaustion of two nights without sleep was bound to catch up to me, and from the way Feyre was stretching, I could tell she was sore from her fight with the Wyrm. I wanted to get her off her feet and resting again.

"Let's get you back to the townhouse so you can sleep," she said.

"I'm not sure I can." I needed it, but I wasn't sure I could relax enough to manage.

"You're going to collapse if you don't." The words came out a bit sharp, and she must have realized it because she spoke more softly as she added, "Try falling asleep on me. My scent helps, doesn't it?"

"You don't have to do that." There was nothing more soothing than Feyre's lilac-and-pear scent, but after what she'd just told me about her family, I didn't want to be another person depending on her. Feyre was only nineteen, but she'd already done more than enough caretaking to last a lifetime.

She stepped closer, taking both of my hands, and I had a sudden urge to pull her flush against me. Cauldron, it was as if the mating bond wouldn't let up.

"Now that I've eaten, I'm taken care of. It's your turn. We'll get back to the townhouse, and I promise once you're asleep I'll stay so you don't wake up alone."

I started to say something else to reassure her that I wouldn't be be another burden for her shoulder, but before I could, she'd closed the distance between us and kissed me. I lost my train of thought. At least, though, I wasn't the only one who'd wanted to be closer.

But as she pulled away, the realization that I wouldn't be able to fly her down to the street hit me like a punch to the gut. "My wings…I can't— I barely made it up here. I'm not strong enough to carry someone down, not anymore." I hadn't thought that far ahead when I told her I'd come to the House of Wind, and it had been a stupid oversight.

Some emotion I couldn't quite read flashed across Feyre's face for a moment. It was gone before I could ask, replaced by a smile I knew better than to point out that I could tell was forced.

"Then another day we'll see if you have the softest landings to go with the biggest wingspan."

I stilled, not sure I'd heard her correctly for a moment. It had been a very long time since I'd heard anyone make a joke about wingspan size. And to hear it come from the mouth of my human mate of all people…Mother above, who'd explained the significance of that to her?

I was suddenly very afraid to find out what my family had told her about me after she'd learned to shield.

But it was hard to be worried about anything with Feyre grinning at me, blue-grey eyes bright with mischief. She'd known exactly what she'd been doing. My heart squeezed as I let her tug me towards the stairs.

I'd never really enjoyed taking the stairs in the House of Wind, but it wasn't nearly as awful with Feyre there. I fought exhaustion the whole way, mostly making conversation to keep myself awake. I wasn't sure I'd survive the humiliation of passing out and being carried the rest of the way down.

The last thing I remember before sleep finally claimed me was her scent and her fingers running through my hair. I don't think I'd ever felt more safe.

But it was hard to stay asleep. Even though I probably could have passed out for a day—and needed it—I was stirring only a few hours later. Her scent was there again, still in my nose.

Just like it had been when I'd woken up from dreams of her Under the Mountain.

There was warm skin against my face. Perhaps…perhaps it had all been a dream and that skin belonged to—

No. No, it wasn't that bitch—the smell was coming from whoever's stomach my nose was resting against. I was still asleep on Feyre. Not a dream, then. She was still sitting here and had been for quite a while.

"Feyre?" I said. "You're still here."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said.

I sat up, a bit more alert now. Feyre brushed my cheek with her thumb, and I pressed my face against her hand, letting the feel of her skin on mine ground me in reality. "Your scent was in my dreams before I even met you. For a moment, I thought this might be a dream again."

"We made it out," she said, soft but insistent.

I nodded, repeating those words in my head and wondering when it wouldn't be so hard to believe them. Feyre pulled her hand away, and my eyes dropped to her tattoo.

I'd known about it, of course. I'd even seen it out of her eyes once or twice. She'd been glamoured Under the Mountain, and over breakfast I'd been too preoccupied with other things to really look closely. But now I did.

High Lady of the Night Court.

It wasn't her title yet, but it would be. I knew deep down in my bones that the design would be filled in the rest of the way one day. But there was still something miraculous about the tangible evidence before me that I wasn't just a lovestruck fool for thinking Feyre was nothing less than a queen.

The Night Court itself agreed with me.

There wasn't time to dwell on that. I'd rest more later—I wanted to check in with the rest of the Inner Circle and make sure that there hadn't been any new emergencies. I stood, unfurling my wings and smoothing out my tunic.

"I have to debrief with the Inner Circle this evening, and you should be present for that," I said, surprising even myself with how composed I sounded.

Feyre shot me another look. "Is it at all related to the dinner plans Azriel mentioned while you were asleep?"

"Ideally no, but it will be a working dinner if necessary."

She nodded, though she still looked hesitant, as if she were bracing herself for something before she said, "If someone's coming here from the House of Wind, then would they be able to bring my things?"

Feyre wanted to stay with me. Not just in the Night Court, but here. In the townhouse. She'd looked unsure of something, so I was careful not to overwhelm her by letting it show how utterly relieved and elated I was.

It did beg the question of who'd be sleeping where, though. And I wasn't ready to have the conversation. She'd already run off once, and I didn't want to presume she wanted to share a bed—and even if she did, I wasn't sure how she'd feel about my hands turning to talons when I had nightmares.

"You'll find them in the room across the hall from mine," I said, reaching out with my magic to move everything. It was so easy now that I was back to my full power.

As I left to wash up, I caught sight of a report from Azriel on the end table. That must have been why he'd dropped by, then. I reached out and found his mind, and at the first scrape of a talon, he let me in.

All is well, before you ask.

I gripped the edge of the sink, momentarily overwhelmed at the feeling of my brother's mind and the sound of his voice in my head again. It had been so long. I'd missed him.

Is it?

Yes. Sentries have been posted around the Archeron estate, and wards are in place. They're safe, and so is the Night Court. We'll see you at dinner.

Thank you.

I have one thing to show you, though.

There was a slight shift in Azriel's mind, a door opening to let me into a memory. I stepped through.

From Azriel's perspective, I saw myself asleep on the sofa earlier today, my head in Feyre's lap. The dark circles under my eyes were more prominent than I'd realized, and I'd spent so much time unable to look at myself Under the Mountain that I'd forgotten how pale I'd become—no wonder Feyre had seemed so worried this morning.

A warm feeling washed over Azriel at the sight of me resting and Feyre comfortable as she stroked my hair. Like everyone else, he'd been worried when she'd run off last night. It wasn't Azriel's business…but he'd been concerned about where Feyre and I stood all the same.

"He just got to sleep," Feyre was saying, low and threatening, "so if you're here to talk to him, it had better be urgent. Come back later if it's not."

The memory faded after that. As Azriel put his shields back up, he said, Make her happy, Rhys. She deserves it.

I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but Feyre—a human who'd only learned to properly throw a punch two months ago—had nearly picked a fight with one of the most powerful Illyrian warriors in history. All because she thought I needed rest.

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to kiss her again.

By some miracle, an underfed human teenager had appointed herself the protector of the High Lord of the Night Court. And I don't think I could have been in better hands.

I just stood there for a moment, blinking at my reflection and overwhelmed by how much I loved Feyre Archeron.

[riseofamoonycake]

Dreams of Days, Whispers of Nights ☀️🌕 Night ⁓ Earth

🌲Characters: Sakata Kintoki; Musa of Parthia (OC); Buddha

🌲Pairing: Kintoki x Musa (implied Buddha x Musa)

🌲Warnings: very light mention of abuses (not from the Ror characters or Musa!), trauma, hurt/comfort, implied sex

🌲Notes: Musa is the OC of @yellolbruhsstuff, who gave me the permission to write about her. For now, very little is known about Kintoki, but I tried to not make him too OOC (based on what we saw)

🌲

Musa of Parthia is the Night itself: beautiful, seductive, velvety… unpredictable. Looking at her is like staring into a deep well trying to catch sight of its bottom, only to then realize that it is not possible to do so, even if she wanted to: there is too much that moves behind her gaze, among dreams and desires, aspirations and all that that queen of men manages to hide, that the energies are not enough to face the test.

Musa of Parthia is also the Daylight: intense, sparkling and unstoppable, she drags along those she meets on her way and does not allow any escape, planting her large blue eyes in those of her victim and shaking her long brown braids like a child, the freckles that look like tiny gems in the sun and as she purses her mouth in a frown, while keeping at bay what must not be revealed…

Something, however, occasionally emerges of its own accord.

«SAKATA KINTOKI! Is it possible to know where you were? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Is this how you behave with a queen? AND THERE IS ALSO BUDDHA! OY, YOU TWO, DON’T PRETEND YOU DIDN’T HEAR ME!»

Buddha remains motionless for a moment, then smiles at hearing the voice clawing at his shoulders and, not at all disturbed or frightened, closes his eyes to better enjoy the night air which is reaching that peaceful place where no one, in theory, should arrive. Especially at that time of night.

At his side, Kintoki gives a slight smile in turn and raises the head towards the young woman, who is marching towards them and meanwhile looks at both terribly, her face flushed and made almost supernatural in the light that radiates from the roman lamp that she holds out in front of her, her free hand clenched into a fist. «So? Are you going to spend the rest of the night just like two amoebas, or are you going to apologize for leaving me alone?»

«Actually it was you who kicked us out of bed because you wanted to sleep», comments Buddha, rubbing his back against the grass of the hillock and grinning slightly, before opening one eye and looking at the queen with a sly expression, «or you don’t remember it anymore, Musa-chan?» The god takes a better look at her, then sits up and his smirk fades a little as he watches Musa’s contracted posture and the quivering of her skin. «Are you feeling cold? We can―»

«I’m fine.» Musa’s dry and peremptory tone silences the other; instead Kintoki moves, leaving space for the queen to sit next to him: a warm, discreet and safe place, which retains his smell and the feeling of calm that up to that moment dwelt there. «Come here», the warrior murmurs, gently tapping the grass, «and forgive us for disappearing like this.»

The young woman just snorts ― apology fully accepted ―, then she lets herself fall where Kintoki sat before, crosses her arms and legs and closes her eyes, leaving out them and all the darkness that surrounds her. What she has inside is already enough.

«Hmmmm, I think I’ll go to sleep, since now the bed is free! Enjoy the night, you two!», finally comments Buddha, jumping up and disappearing with a last look and smile, leaving the two humans alone; and at that point Sakata can turn completely to Musa, reaching out to stroke her arm without breaking the silence. The queen, however, moves away even before she can feel the contact, making a grimace that resembles an expression of pain, as if she had just been burned. «No, don’t touch me.» A hesitation, and the voice drops. «… Not now.»

Sakata nods into the night, yet he moves a little closer to her. «A nightmare?», he murmurs as if to reveal a secret to her, without expecting an answer. «A feeling, just that.» This comes anyway, and they both stop commenting, letting the words fall where they will, unnecessarily. Sakata has known Musa for years and years, though never enough; but he soon learned how dense, sneaky and sharp as daggers the queen’s shadows are, and how they should be tackled slowly, without pretending to shoot them all down at once. He wouldn’t have decided to stay by her side, otherwise… nor would she have chosen him.

«Who was the winner this time?»

Musa tightens her arms even more on her chest, then bows her head. The lamp, placed on the grass between them, casts its light right on her contracted face. «That bastard. That bastard won.» Here it is, what Musa never accepted; here is that part of the past that still hurts, which is as far away as it is close, which has not yet given up and wants to hurt, to humiliate. A stubborn and mean ghost who never gives up.

… But they don’t either. «And what better prey to attack and try to bring down, than a queen like you?»

The young woman sighs loudly, then unties her arms and touches the handle of the lamp, bringing it closer to her as if to seek comfort in it. «Well, I’m tired of all this. I just wish I didn’t think about that monster anymore, about those days of slavery… but sometimes, I don’t know why, I still hear him laughing at me. That he got what he deserved never seems to be enough.»

Kintoki smiles softly, and the darkness opens a little in front of him. «And why don’t you laugh louder than him? You are perfectly capable of doing that.»

Musa purses her lips slightly in a grin, then pats Kintoki’s arm lightly. «In this you are even better than me!»

«Then you should just let me do it. All the power and importance you give to that tyrant who is no longer nothing, why don’t you give it to me?»

«Down, puppy! Here I am the queen, the power is all mine!»

At this point the warrior bursts out laughing, then tends to stroke Musa’s pinky. This time, she doesn’t flinch or complain. «And here she is, Musa has come to her senses…» 

She waits a moment, perfectly still, then turns off the lamp and, without warning, leaps onto Kintoki’s belly, pinning him under her with all the weight and digging her hands into his, feeling the large, warm, welcoming palms react with your own while their fingers intertwine in a safe and sweet grip at the same time. Home, love. «You know, you should never have escaped from my bed together with your friend… even if I kicked you two out, I didn’t give you the permission to leave! And even though I’ve forgiven you, you still deserve punishment⁓»

«Hmmm… let’s see if I can escape my fate by worshiping and spoiling my fortune a bit…», Kintoki replies, releasing his grip only to hug Musa and kiss her cheeks and lips, before starting to do the same with the chest and devote himself to her whole body in a more profound way, chasing away every trace of cold and discomfort from her.

The queen rests her head on top of his and wraps the arms around his back, closing the eyes and smiling, then nuzzles the nose against his hair and only lets out a sob.

«Is it better now?»

«Hmm… yes, a bit.»

Kintoki smiles, then leaves another trail of kisses on her breasts. «I think we can start from here, then.»

They won again.

[bluebellhairpin]

Erwin Smith X Fem!Reader X Miche Zacharias

Summary: Now sovereign ruler, you have to prepare to say goodbye to your family for good. But with the weakness you find in yourself during this time, you also find strength in your new guards.

Warnings: Misogyny. Funeral setting. A single Panic Attack occurrence + recovery. Reader pronouns used are she/her. (Described wearing dresses; called 'queen' as a title.)

Listening to: 'Unshaken' by D'Angelo - "May I stand unshaken amid, amidst a crashing world."

Series Masterlist

Masterlist || Ko-fi || The Safe Space Writing Collab

Long cut short, the fabric lay bare; 

Thread of blue and white, together it can repair; 

Long cut short, whisper the lord’s prayer.

You’d thought your heart was a heavy burden to bear, but it weighed nothing compared to the crown upon your head. 

The crown that, not even a few days ago, had been stained red with your elder brother's blood. They were quick to clean up the mess. 

It was a heavy metal set with too many jewels, and didn't suit the much smaller ceremony that had been held so recently for the same occasion. Your coronation had been tainted with a taste of bitter iron and grief, more a memorial than a time for celebration. An official announcement would be made at dawn tomorrow, just like the announcement made that morning of your family's deaths. 

Their funeral procession would be in a week, and it was your very first responsibility as Queen to make sure everything was to run smoothly. Unlike your brothers, who would've been the visit to the king's guard. 

Your visit, as Queen, was much smaller. Quieter. Pixis, thinking it the best option, brought to you the best he'd ever taught and told you to choose from the finest he had to offer. 

“Your safety is of the most concern, second only to that of your niece and nephew.” Pixis explained as he guided you through the halls to where a smaller selection of guards were waiting. “For now you will have two main guards, instead of one. Therefore we believe you need the best two, two who work best as a team, not just the two who work best on their own.”

“And do you also think so, or do I need to consult these others who belong with the ‘we’ you speak of?” you asked. His body turned inwards as he walked, and you saw the skin next to his eyes crinkle like wrapping paper as he smiled. 

“I can assure you I believe it to be best also.” 

“Then it shall be.” you said, voice quiet as you both came to a stop just outside the courtyard of waiting knights and guards. “I’m putting my life in your hands, I wish you to choose for me since you know these men best. For it I will be eternally in your debt.” 

“You believe so?” he asked. You nodded, surely.

“My father trusted you for so long and he fared just fine. His death wasn't because you were found lacking. I have no reason to doubt you.” 

They were all knights. Fresh faces willing to offer themselves from a place in the field to one in the castle - it was what they’d work up to, the main goal of a pageboy, to serve the king as a knight so directly. It was obvious that’s what most of them were expecting. 

A king. 

Instead they got you, and they made a horrible job at hiding their preference. You were, admittedly, met with the proper respect, however the looks in some of those men’s eyes had you wishing to run away. You almost pulled Pixis aside just to tell him which ones you didn’t want. 

Before you worked up the courage to do so - something that came with the realization that as Queen you needed to do more quickly - he called out two names. Two knights stepped forward. 

Your breath caught in your throat, not just because of the handsomeness of their features, but also the familiarity. 

They were older, but still had that blond hair and blue eyes that haunted your childhood. One bigger and the other more conventionally attractive. 

“Erwin Smith and Miche Zacharias, ma’am.” Pixis said, “They’re in the top three candidates. These two word together so well we often call them -”

“- Brothers.” you finished, looking at Pixis before back at the men. “I see why, at least.” 

“If I may, your majesty,” one of them, Erwin, said, bowing his head low with a hand over his heart, “How are you today?” Your head tilted, wondering why the inquiry, before his hand moved back down and sent a waft of air your way. 

Spiced frankincense, you smelt, and it made sense. 

“I am well,” you said, swallowing harshly yet mustering a smile, “Considering.” 

Your eyes tore from Erwin to look at Miche, standing stoically at attention. He offered a knowing smile when your eyes met and you felt a fluttering in your stomach. 

Pixis went on to explain more, and within an hour you’d seen both other candidates, and Erwin and Miche demonstrate their abilities on the other knights, as well as a show of their general knowledge. You walked back out of the courtyard with a decision made. 

Tomorrow would be their first day as your guards. 

You didn’t notice much about the funeral garb that your handmaidens had stuffed you into. In fact all you really paid attention to aside from it’s color of morning was the veil fastened over your face and how the corset lost it’s usual supportive nature. Now it was rather suffocating, whether due to the day's prospects or because it was simply put on wrong. 

The girl now by your side, new and fresh-faced with hair of harvested wheat and large doe eyes, fixed the hem of your veil. She caught your eyes, and you could tell by her reaction that your gaze was far too harsh for what she deserved. Her glow wilted, and it only made the sour of your heart worse. 

“What’s your name?” you asked.

“Historia, ma’am.” she replied, shyly fiddling with her fingers. 

“That’s a pretty name.” you said lightly, only loud enough for her to hear, and she visibly preened under your words. A beat of silence passed before you spoke again, now taking your turn to fiddle with your fingers. “I think I need a ring, will you choose one for me Historia?” 

She nodded with a hum, turning to the dresser with a jewelry box on it to fuss with its contents. You turned away, facing the door where both Erwin and Miche stood guard. 

They’d been around for a few days now, and while it took a day to get used to them being here rather than your singular old one - who was now who knows where - you had to admit you did take to them rather quickly. 

No doubt your made-up memories of them from your youth was the cause of that. 

But over the short course of time you’d managed to note a few things about them. When two people are around so much, when you have so little to do, observing the only company you have would come easily. 

You saw that Erwin’s hair had changed, longer so that the few times it didn’t stick back it’d obscure his eyes. You noted how his right arm was weak, overhearing on one cold morning how it was a result of an old injury in war. In one conversation you dove into his eyes, so deep and blue, you thought they were the sea you’d drown in before you’d again start paying attention to his words instead. 

He was all muscle, chorded strength like a thickly braided rope and the waves of the seas crashing into cliff sides. He was stubbornness and power and determination, but he was also patience. 

And you could tell all that from a few days. 

Miche was more difficult to read. He took longer to observe. But the times when they’d meet you and you’d still have wet cheeks and red eyes, Miche was the one to offer his aid first. For someone so stoic, he had his heart on his sleeve. A quiet being with zero hesitation to keep those around him safe. 

He had a warmth in his hands that told you everything was going to be okay when he handed you his handkerchief, and a fire in his eyes that warmed your soul like a hearth. 

His hair had also grown, more often than not he’d be brushing it back off his face - he needed to tie it back or cut it. He often abandoned his armor while in the castle, he ran hot with how well his body stored its reserves - clearly seen in how much bigger he was compared to Erwin, and Erwin was by no means a mediocre size man. 

Pixis was right in choosing them. If it were anyone else you knew you wouldn’t have warmed up to them so quickly. Eggshells would still be walked on by both them and you - but with Erwin and Miche, that was not the case. 

Historia returned, offering her hand so she could slide a ring onto a finger on your right hand. You looked down to see your father's signet ring. You supposed, thinking, that just like everything else it was now it was yours. 

She was looking at you expectantly, and although you were still in a mood akin to being rather sour, you offered her the kindest smile you could muster while running a hand down her arm in thanks. 

She scuttled off, returning again with a thick cloak of wool and satin and fur to keep you warm while the snow fell outside, and the funeral pyres of your family burned bright. 

It was already dusk, the pyres had wilted down to smoldering embers, and most of the kingdom who came to pay their respects had already come and gone. 

You’d stayed. A thin layer of snow covered your entire body, and from how still you were in spite of the cold could have anyone fooled into thinking you were a statured relic. 

“You’re Majesty,” Miche’s deep rumble had your head finally turning away from your family. “I know you wish to say, but we must go. It’s not good for a person to be out here any longer.” 

You looked past him to Erwin, standing a ways off in the same ceremonial armor and furs as Miche was. He’d sent his friend to get you, knowing Miche would be softer about gathering you back to the castle. 

But your eyes prickled, the cold stung, you couldn’t feel your fingers and you couldn’t breathe. Like a tree had been fell upon you, your corset was far too tight, too suffocating, you needed it off and you needed to breathe. 

Turning away with a quiet sob, your arms flung to you back under you cloak to attempt at tearing at the chords and ribbon fastening your ribs shut. You weren’t handling this as well as you’d thought at all - and you knew you weren’t handling it well to begin with. 

Miche’s hands flung out to steady you as your legs wobbled in your mild hysteria. 

He could tell you were trying to hear him - but you’d been sent into a panic, you needed something and you weren’t able to convey it properly. A particularly cold chill went down his spine at the thought of you going mad - not an entirely unreasonable thing, considering - but he genuinely liked you. He’d rather give up a pound of his own flesh then watch you descend into emotions you would never recover from. 

Nothing was getting through to you, and Miche knew it wasn’t quite proper - but propriety be damned, you needed help. 

Only when his fingers ghosted each side of your face did you regain some clarity. Your cheeks were ghostly cold. 

“Hey, look at me -” he tried, and even though your eyes were glossed with tears, they still met his own, “- you’re going to be okay. Tell me what you need.” 

Your mouth opened and closed, your voice only procured a croak the first few tries - he was doing his best to soothe you, watching as a tear broke from your lashes and left an icey trial across his finger. 

“Let me help you.” Watching your mouth shut, he thought he said the wrong thing. But then you spoke, wet and quiet and he almost missed it over the wind. 

“I - I need my corset loosened.” He looked in your eyes and saw how you started to not meet them over a wave of embarrassment at your confession. 

Then, ashamed, he noticed how quick your breaths were - that indeed you were having a rough time in that regard - how he should’ve noticed sooner, and why couldn’t he be a little bit more like Erwin without losing so much humanity. But you needed help, and - while he couldn’t admit to undoing a lot of them in his time - your corset wasn’t one that you could undo yourself. 

Miche’s hands moved. His fingers usually weren’t so clumsy, but the cold had been biting at them for hours. In his peripherals he saw Erwin step forward in concern - undressing the Queen, how dare he. A quick look telling him he’ll have it all explained later left him not intervening, but still weary. 

After pulling at your overcoat, dress, and corset, you’d finally calmed. However he could see you were visibly tired, and you’d taken to clutching to a space of fabric at his wrist like it was your lifeline. 

Erwin was concerned - even after they’d taken you inside and your handmaidens had bundled you up to try and get you warm again. 

He knew it wasn’t his place - he hadn’t grown up with royal politics, rather war strategies - but you hadn’t had either. He knew you’d get adviser for those things, you hadn't yet, but he felt in his gut that he wouldn’t like whatever man the court would give you. You hadn’t been genuinely cared for your whole life - only survived so far out of duty and privilege. You were unprepared. 

True, he wasn’t always the best friend anyone could ask for, but he could read rooms as easily as his father could read through books. 

Very early on he could tell no one cared for you, and now he realized how much of a problem that could be. You were so young, and lost so much. You needed friends now more than ever, and yet now more than ever fake, leeches of friends would offer themselves willingly. 

He knew he had a job, a duty that he was to value more than his own life, but maybe keeping you safe in this way was part of his duty. Befriending you, helping you find good people to keep close, and keeping those with ill intent away. 

After you were deemed warm enough, he and Miche were allowed into your room. He walked in second, seeing you tucked into bed - your upper body propped up and sinking into a dozen pillows - and a thick layer of blankets pulled up under your arms as you slowly sipped on a mug of something warm. 

It was late, the fire was going strong and candles were lit across the room. Everyone else had left since you didn’t need them anymore. Them both being allowed in wasn’t actually an accurate statement - they let themselves in because no one was around to stop them. 

The small smile you greeted them with told them you didn’t mind their sudden company. 

You gestured to the end of your bed, telling them quietly that they were welcomed to sit, and Erwin took the invitation gladly. It was a large bed, made you look comically small, so there was plenty of space for the two of them to sit without disrupting you. 

“Are you feeling a little better now, your majesty?” Miche asked, and Erwin watched you intently as you watched the content of your mug swirl around before procuring a reply. 

“Yes, a little.” you said. With your eyes still downcast, and with them both still waiting in case you wanted to continue, you kept going, “I guess I just didn’t want to say goodbye.” 

For some reason Erwin understood. 

Your family didn’t treat you the best - often taking you for granted or leaving you in a corner unnoticed - but they were still your family. They were gone, and you’d still miss them. You still had a right to miss them. 

“Everyone’s grieving.” he heard Miche say quietly, “We’ll miss them too.” 

You finally looked up at them, smiling sadly at Miche before casting a glance over at Erwin. He realized, in that moment, that this was the first time you’d all been left completely alone. 

“I remember you. Both of you.” you admitted quietly, fiddling with your fingers around your mug. “I think it was you, when we were younger.” 

“Near the wisteria vines,” Erwin said, recalling that day he first met the little Princess - now Queen. 

In his mind's eye he could see how you changed - a maturity to your face, and parts of you that slimmed from baby-fat and parts that had filled out. Times were simpler when you were younger - them skimping from training and you simply running away to the gardens for the sake of stirring up trouble. 

“We spent the whole day together.” 

“Ate nectarines from the tree in the secret place you took us to.” Miche said. “My hands were still sticky when I went to bed that night.” That brought a quiet giggle from you - the first of its kind that Erwin had ever heard come from your grown lungs. 

This is a good topic, he thought. 

“Is it still there?” he asked, “The place you showed us?” 

“It is.” You nodded, raising your mug to your lips and taking a large mouthful. “Though now there’s a door, it freezes shut during winter. If you’d want to go you’d have to wait for the thaw.” 

“You’ll have to show us, wouldn’t be the same without you anyway.” Erwin felt himself smile as he watched you fluster. He looked over at Miche, who had a fondness in his appearance that only usually showed around people he’d known for years. 

He supposed, technically, he had known you for years.

You were very grateful about how understanding Miche and Erwin were yesterday. 

You deeply hoped you’d never have to deal with anything like it again - but things like that are never set in stone. At least, you thought that you’d likely have them with you if it were to happen again. 

Very grateful indeed. 

Lying in bed, clutching a too-fluffed pillow to your chest, you looked out the window and watched as the hot red glow of the sunrise dulled to a yellow behind a half dozen clouds. 

Greedily you hoped that they’d get more chances to save you, not just from yourself and your own mind, but other things too - however you dreaded the thought of them getting hurt in return. You could romanticize it all you wanted, but as nice as it was to dream you knew reality could be much more harsh. 

In reality, they were incredibly lucky to still be standing on two feet with beating hearts. Too many others weren’t so fortunate. Time and circumstance kills all, you’ve found, and yet it can also keep people alive. 

You know you want to repay them both. Your knights deserved something good, and you convinced yourself they would keep on deserving. 

Now, just after the cusp of the coldest day the year had seen, you were planning what to do with them that coming summer. Nectarines and honey, with juice running down your fingers and the uncomfortable feeling of the flesh near the seed getting stuck between your teeth. 

It’d be a sunny day with a cool breeze, and it’d be just you three.

Even if your duties got in the way for the rest of your life, you were determined to spare a few hours to yourself with them for this. 

[offsidekineticist]

Sorry it's been so long, everyone. I hit my head while playing hockey last weekend, so everything slowed down while I was supposed to avoid screens and rest. In any case, I'm feeling better now, and I managed to sit down and write today! So here's the next chapter of the breakup arc.

CW: burning alive, microaggressions (racism), burns, attempted suicide, Theo is sad

Take Me To Hell

You wake up in the hold of a boat. You know because of the dark and the dank and the smell of the sea. You are a halfling who has never had a home. You learned early that superstitious captains will give you food and shelter during a voyage because you are a halfling, and halflings are good luck on ship's. You never took to life at sea--you get seasick and hate eating hardtack riddled with maggots--but you've escaped starvation and arrest by leveraging your alleged luck often enough that you recognize your surroundings easily.

You're in a hammock, pressed against someone else's body. That's a bit odd--you've never met a captain so hard up for space that he couldn't find a private corner for Lucky (they always called you that on the ships). You open your eyes to find Thay, sound asleep, curled into your side. You've never seen him asleep before.

Someone clears their throat. You startle, rocking the hammock, at the sight of Qweck sitting cross-legged at the other end of the hammock, glaring at you. And all at once you realize there's something wrong here. You lost control. You were stabbed and dying and lost control, and She came out. You should have woken in a desolate, scorched field with nothing but charred corpses as company. It should have been like last time.

"What happened?" you ask, and you're almost afraid of the answer.

"I should be the one asking you that," Qweck snaps. "Since when do you wield hellfire?"

"None of your fucking busisness," you snap.

"Oh, it is very much my business, considering your hellfire almost consumed me and Theo and did consume several paladins."

You go cold at that, and your gaze flickers towards the sleeping gnome by your side. You notice bandages on his face covering what you could have sworn had been healthy skin before you were stabbed, and his lips are a dark, burned shade. 

You burned Thay.

You close your eyes and sigh. "Since I was fifteen. I was stupid and got myself tied up in some shit." You open your eyes and force yourself to hold Qweck's gaze. "How are you alive?"

"Theo did some kind of ritual to stop you.  I don't know how it worked. Just one second you were floating, shooting fire at people, the next you were unconscious on the ground."

Of course it was Thay. Because of course he would be the one saving you after you fucked up trying to save him. 

Gods, you're pathetic.

"Where's the ship headed?"

"Kintargo. They're independent - for now - so we should be safe there."

That sets off alarm bells. You don't know much about what's been going on in Kintargo (unsurprisingly, Queen Abby and her lackeys were doing their best to keep the whole thing quiet), but you do know this: hell does not lose. If Kintargo is trying to escape hell's grasp, then a reckoning is coming, one you do not want to be around to see.

"No. We need to keep moving."

"We don't have the money to keep moving. And besides that, there is no 'we.' I hired you for a job, and that job is over. If you want to keep moving, be my guest, but you're not responsible for us after this point."

She's right. Of course she's right. As far as she knows, you've never met Thay before this job, and you only took the gig because–uh–well, you're not sure why she thinks you took the gig. Sure as hell wasn't the pay. She certainly doesn't think it's out of loyalty to Thay, though. Even if she did, looking at what you did to him, you can't blame her for chasing you off. You're made of fire. The best way to survive you is to avoid you. 

So when the ship docks at Kintargo, you leave. You leave before Thay - who has spent the voyage sleeping - can wake, or before Qweck can pay you. Taking her money would be stealing food out of Thay's mouth, but you don't know how to explain that without also admitting that you've known Thay for decades, so instead you just leave. 

Shipping is a bit of a mess in Kintargo right now. The pompous Thrune in charge of the city (until the magnificent bastards calling themselves the Silver Ravens got to him) imposed a litany of bizarre restrictions, and the instability of the city certainly hasn't invited trade. You can probably find passage out - you are a halfling, after all - but if you want to pick a specific destination you will have to wait. But you still have to eat while you wait, which means you need to pull a job.

There's no thieves guild in Kintargo, just a couple of small-time gangs hoping they can wipe out the others and take over the city's criminal enterprises. That makes things both easier and harder. Easier because thieves guilds can be a bitch to deal with, harder because the good ones will usually have jobs for freelancers. As it is, you're probably best off with an old-fashioned burglary.

It only takes a cursory reading of the list families in the Council of Coin to find your target: House Jhaltero. Slavery is frowned upon in Kintargo, but Jhaltero's wealth comes from silver mines and stone quarries far from the city. It's not hard to guess who works in those mines and quarries. You won't lose any sleep over emptying their vault.

Most of your haul from the Jhaltero mansion is in valuables: fine silverware, a golden goblet, a tarnished candlestick that you’re fairly sure from the weight must be solid silver–the sort of stuff that’s useless without a fence, and you don’t have the connections in Kintargo to fence the goods safely. You’ll have to wait until you get to Varisia–you have contacts there. You did manage to pinch a few silver pieces you found (you weren’t able to get into the main vault, but the children seem rather lackadaisical about misplacing their spending money), though, which will be enough to keep you fed until you can get settled in Kaer Maga. You have enough to afford an inn, too, but you’ve always found the beds in those places too soft, and felt too exposed sleeping with large groups of strangers.

You take shelter in yet another abandoned temple. You’re not foolish enough to think the now sacked temple of Asmodeus is entirely stripped of unholy power, but the temple has a basement, and the broken lock on the trap door leading down there tells you the local gangs have already had their run of the place. From the smashed crates and spilled rancid grain, you figure this was where the priests stored their mundane supplies, which makes you feel better about not accidentally falling prey to infernal curses.

Taking shelter in the house of Asmodeus after taking over a dozen souls for me? Good boy. Maybe you are a hound, after all.

You freeze at the burning at your chest. It doesn’t hurt like it does when she’s displeased. For now it’s just unpleasantly hot. Glad you’re happy. It's a lie, but she knows that.

When did I say I was happy? The burning in your chest turns even hotter–still not hot enough to make you reconsider whether she was displeased, but enough to make a point. Don’t assume you’ve done well. You left Andoran without consulting me. No more Aasimars, then? I don’t remember there being nearly so many in Varisia.

You are suddenly extremely aware of your breath. Probably because you might be about to take your last one. No more anything. I’m done.

There’s a brief moment of stillness. Nothing happens. No sound, no sight, no feelings. And then you feel your chest burn, and not as it did the last time you spoke, but as it did the first time you met, when her stone melted its way through your chest into your heart.

No. This is worse.

YOU ARE DONE WHEN I SAY YOU ARE DONE.

You were standing when she first spoke. Now you are on your hands and knees. The top of your head is resting on the blessedly cool floor while your chest burns. And oh, you want to give in. You want to beg for her forgiveness. You want to promise to bring her more souls, to say whatever the fuck you need to say to get this to fucking stop.

But you can’t. You won’t. You already decided: no more. Thay is safe. The job is done. You don’t have any reason to keep this up except to save your own skin, and you won’t do that anymore. You can never be as good as Thay, you know that, but you can do this. You can cut to the fucking chase.

Then take me to hell. 

You have so much more you want to say, but you can’t fucking get your thoughts together enough to say it. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to even if you didn’t have a fucking rock in your chest burning you from the inside out. You might not have the words. That’s ok. You don’t need words. She doesn’t have to understand. You understand, and that’s all you need.

The fire spreads from your chest to your belly, your shoulders and arms, up your throat and into your mouth and nose. She is burning you up from the inside out. They will find you down here, days from now. You will still look like a person, still like yourself, because there was nothing left to rot. When they touch you they will watch the thin layer of skin crumble away, because everything inside burned away into ash, leaving nothing but a thin shell.

And then, all it once, the burning stops. You are sweating, gasping for breath, lying on the floor, but you are alive, and from the way your heart races and lungs heave and your stomach turns, you’re pretty sure your internal organs are mostly intact.

Foolish fly. I don’t need to take you to hell. Hell is coming to Kintargo, and you will be here to welcome it.

She is gone. You know she is gone. You don’t know when she will be back, but you know she will be, and she will make you do something terrible, something that will hurt the whole city. You are out of time.

You don’t sleep that night. By the time pale beams of light slip into your hiding place between the floorboards, you know what you will do. You don’t have your dagger–it was left in Rivad–but for all your experience with boats, you never learned to swim. You are made of fire, but even the hottest of fires dies in the sea.

You walk the streets, making your way from Temple Hill towards the Yolubilis River. You don’t mean to find your way to the bridge–it doesn’t matter where you enter the water, after all–but you do. You look over the side and wonder briefly if there’s a way to climb down. You’ve never liked heights. You don’t want to fall and die by hitting the water, to feel your bones break and spend your last moments drowning and in pain.

(It shouldn’t matter. You are here. You can die. You should do it now, before someone–before she–can stop you. What does it matter if it hurts? You’ll be dead soon anyway.)

You never apologized to Thay.

It hits you all at once: you never apologized for throwing the hat at him, for telling him to have a nice life alone–and oh, that was especially cruel, knowing what he’s told you about his youth. Never told him how sorry you were for making him your accomplice. Hell, you never even made sure he knew you didn’t turn him in. Does he know? He must know–why would you turn on him and then rescue him?

You can’t die now. Not without saying goodbye. Not without saying sorry. So you back away from the edge of the bridge and cross back the way you came, moving towards the poorest neighborhoods of Kintargo–the only places where Thay and Qweck could afford an apartment. You don’t know where they decided to live, but Thay stands out even among gnomes. He won’t be hard to find.

(It takes you two days)

Qweck answers the door of the cramped, single room apartment they’ve bought for themselves on top of what is practically a pile of other cramped apartments in Redroof. She looks exhausted.

“What do you want?” she snaps. “If you’re here for the money, we don’t have it anymore. You left without any sign you’d come back, so we spent it on the apartment.”

“I’m just…” It takes you a minute to find the words. “I’m about to ship out,” you say, and it’s only half a lie. “I wanted to stop in and say goodbye since we probably won’t–”

“Gilly?”

His voice is thin and weak–hoarse and exhausted. You lean to the side so you can see past Qweck’s shoulder into the apartment. He’s forcing himself out of the ragged human-sized cot that probably came with the apartment. His legs buckle and he slips onto his knees, but he manages to steady himself with an arm still on the bed. He’s staring at you with wide, charcoal gray eyes, even though you know that without his glasses he probably can’t make out much more than a black and brown blob behind Qweck’s tan and green.

Qweck rushes to his side. “Careful! You still need to sleep–”

“Gilly,” he repeats, staring at you. You cross the room, almost in a trance. You stop in front of him, and then you crouch down so you’re at eye level with him.

“Hey, Thay,” you say. “I came to say goodb–”

He wraps his arms around you, practically hanging on your neck. You fight to keep your balance as he starts weeping into your shoulder.

“Don’t leave me again,” he sobs. “Please don’t leave me again.”

You should say no. He would want you to say no–if he knew why you had to go, if he wasn’t fucked in the head from Rivad, if he wasn't so obviously exhausted he would want you to go. He would want you to gently pry him off your neck and tell him you’re sorry and that he’s better off this way because you're made of fire and–and that you love him. Because you don’t really care if he loves you back, you just need him to know, before you die, that you meant what you said all those months ago, that you love him.

But that’s the problem. You love him. You would damn all of Golarion a thousand times over before you leave him like this.

You take him in your arms and hold him close. He must truly be exhausted because he’s asleep within minutes, cheeks still wet with tears. You look up at Qweck. She’s staring at you with an unreadable look, her lips together into a thin line. “I, uh…I guess I’m canceling that trip.”

“I guess you are,” she says flatly. “I guess you are.”

[reader6898]

The Wolfpack Queen

Pairing: OC Talia x Commander Wolffe

Series Summary: Talia joins the Wolfpack as their new medic. Wolffe doesn't understand why everyone likes her. What happens when opposites attract? Sparks will fly between two people who didn't know they needed each other

Warning: 18+ (no minors allowed), violence, assault and attempted assault (not descriptive), slavery and mentions of slavery, mentions of prostitution (not descriptive), ptsd, slow burn, angst, eventual smut

Additional tags: future chapters will have chapter warnings because both Wolffe and Talia go through it 😭

Chapter summary: Wolffe makes his appearance 🐺

Chapter 2

“We don’t have time”. “The air is getting a bit stale, sir.” “We’re just clones.” “No one is coming for us.” “We’re expendable.” Wolffe woke up from the nightmare he was having and for a moment forgot where he was before he realized he was in his new quarters. He was safe. Safe and alive. Wolffe quickly got up and sat on the edge of the bed as he caught his breath. Every time he had the same dream Wolffe tried his best to not let it affect him. He was the commander of the 104th. He had to stay strong for his men so he buried his feelings but when he was alone Wolffe lived through that day over and over again. The memory and trauma of losing most of his entire battalion will stick with him for the rest of his life. Wolffe ran a hand over his face and through his hair before standing up to put the armor he took off back on. As he was finishing up there was a bang on his door and a voice screaming at him from the other side. “Wolffe, wake up!” Wolffe rolled his eyes as he went over and opened the door. Boost and Sinker were on the other side waiting for him and he scowled at them. “The kriff you want?” “Just wanted to make sure you were up”, Sinker says. Wolffe adjusted his belt and walked out with Boost and Sinker following behind him. “Well I’m up.” Sinker and Boost looked at one another but didn’t say anything as they continued to follow Wolffe to the command center. “Is everyone on board?” Sinker joined Wolffe. “Yes, sir. We’re just waiting for your command to take off.” Wolffe nodded in acknowledgement. “Very good. Comm Zero and tell him to take off.” “Yes, sir.” Boost and Sinker went their separate ways and Wolffe joined up with the general as he walked into the command center. The kel dor looked up and acknowledged Wolffe when he saluted him. “General.” “At ease, commander. I assume that everything is in order?” “Yes, sir. We should be taking off momentarily.” Plo Koon nodded his head and went back to studying something on the screen. “Anything else, sir?” “That is all, Wolffe. You may go now.” Wolffe saluted once more. “Yes, general.” The kel dor had always been a mystery to Wolffe and with him being a Jedi it made him even more mysterious but that didn’t stop them from fighting alongside one another. Wolffe walked over to the controls to make sure everything was under control then watched through the viewing window and watched as they launched into space.

Once they were on their way to the next planet Wolffe joined Sinker in the hangar where his men were waiting. All of them stood at attention when he entered and stood still as Wolffe walked up to the group. “Welcome to the 104th battalion. My name is Commander Wolffe and right here is Sergeant Sinker. Later on you will also be meeting the general but for now you will be dealing with us. During your time here you will report to either me or Sergeant Sinker and you will do as we say. Now, I won’t waste your time or mine so get to work.” The men saluted Wolffe and Sinker. A bunch of yes sir were shouted and the men went their separate ways. Wolffe then turned to Sinker. “Keep an eye on them. I don’t want the shinies fucking anything up.” “Got it Commander.” Wolffe looks back at his men for a moment before walking away and going about his day.

You woke up with a start when there was a sudden knock on your door. You grabbed the vibro blade you kept on your leg and quietly approached the door. “Who is it?”, you asked with a cautious tone. “It’s me. Jax.” You let out a sigh of relief and put your blade back before opening the door. Jax stood there with a tray of what you assumed was food from the mess hall. “You missed dinner so I figured I would bring you this.” You looked at him with a shocked look. “Wha-What time is it?” “0900.” You rubbed the rest of your sleep out of your eyes and took the tray. “Thanks. I didn’t miss anything important did I?” Jax nodded his head. “You’re all good. Have a good rest of your night. Oh, and I expect to see you in the medbay tomorrow. Gotta perform some physicals on the new guys.” “Yeah. I’ll uh..see you tomorrow then.” Jax walks away and you slide your door closed before sitting down. You take a bite of your food and while it wasn’t great it was better than what you had been served in the past. You eat the rest of your food and set the tray to the side. You then unpack your things and after you put everything away you get ready for bed. After you finish you climb into bed and go on your holopad for a while before setting it to the side. You turn off your light and lie down. You lie there for a while before you close your eyes and right back into a deep sleep.

Tagging: @anxiouspineapple99 @starrylothcat @sev-on-kamino @moonlightwarriorqueen @wizardofrozz @multi-fan-dom-madness @wings-and-beskar @sinfulsalutations @dystopicjumpsuit @523rdrebel

[dawninlatin]

Queen of Peace, chapter 16

A manorian high school AU 

Words: 3,5k

AO3 Link

Masterlist

Summary: Manon Blackbeak is flawless, untouchable. From the outside at least. Her grandmother pushes her to achieve greatness, and she doesn’t let anyone get too close in fear of being hurt. How can anyone love her when not even her parents could?

Dorian Havilliard has always felt safe and confident around his friends. He might not have the greatest of families, but with Aelin and Chaol by his side, nothing can go wrong. That is until he tries keeping his greatest secret from them.

What will happen when Dorian and Manon gets to know one another? Can two lost souls find their way back together?

TRIGGER WARNING: References homophobia from previous chapter, emotional abuse, alcoholism

Gone are the days of begging

The days of theft

No more gasping for a breath

The air has filled me head to toe

-Florence + The Machine, Between Two Lungs

When Manon had fallen asleep, she and Dorian had been resting side by side, their shoulders barely brushing against each other, but their hands intertwined. 

Now, as she slowly woke up, she was lying on her side, a pair of arms wrapped around her middle. Dorian had to be asleep, still, because she could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back.

Twisting around, Manon allowed herself to shamelessly study his face. He looked so peaceful, such a contrast from the pain and panic she’d seen in him last night.

What his parents had said and done… It filled her with such rage she wanted to scream, but that wasn’t what Dorian needed right now, so she pushed it down.

Even if it had felt like a punch in the gut when he’d told her how his mother had just stood there, doing nothing, while his father kicked him out. It felt too close to her own situation. Was Asterin just as hurt by how Manon had done nothing? Right now, however, it wasn’t about her, so she wouldn’t think about it.

Instead, Manon lifted her hand, gently brushing a finger against Dorian’s lips. They were so soft, and something within her stirred at the thought of kissing them.

The featherlight touch was enough to stir Dorian awake too, though, and his eyes fluttered for a moment, before blinking open. They were still slightly red and puffy, along with his cheeks, Manon now noticed, but Dorian gave her a lazy smile as he found her studying him.

«Hi,» he said in a raspy voice.

«Hey,» Manon answered, her own voice just as raw.

For a long moment they just stared at each other, neither of them saying anything. They had too much to talk about, too little time to stay in this bubble they had created.

One of Dorian’s hands, which were still wrapped around Manon, began stroking up and down her back in soothing motions.

«How did you sleep?» 

The way Dorian winced was answer enough on its own, along with the dark circles under his eyes, but he said, «Better than I thought I would.»

Manon could see the exact moment he decided to cover up the gravity of the situation with his usual teasing and swagger, and his smirk wasn’t fully convincing, but she played along. They could talk later.

«I would have slept much better if you didn’t snore so loudly though.»

Manon gasped, clutching her non-existent pearls. «I do not snore! That you would even suggest such a thing-»

But she smiled, feeling a little lighter, and she could glimpse the usual humor in Dorian’s eyes.

«Why do you think Abraxos left in the middle of the night?»

Throwing a glance at the foot of the bed, Manon confirmed it was indeed empty. She hadn’t even realized her cat wasn’t in the bed with them anymore. Oops…

«He probably left because you take up all the space.»

Dorian scoffed. «What?! That is absurd. Outrageous. Absolute tomfoolery-»

That made Manon snort with laughter, and Dorian soon joined her. They were both grinning now.

«You’re pretty cute when you sleep, though. Even if you snore…»

He still smiled, but his eyes bored into her with a sudden intensity. One that made butterflies appear in her stomach.

«I told you I don’t snore, so I don’t know who you slept with last night,» Manon claimed, fluttering her eyelashes for emphasis.

Raising one eyebrow, Dorian said, «Are you trying to tell me you get possessed by a seventy-year-old man every night? Because that’s actually what you sound like.»

«Oh shut up!»

«Make me.»

So Manon did, by crashing her lips against his.

-

A while later, they were both standing in the kitchen, Manon watching as Dorian made scrambled eggs, Abraxos snaking himself against their legs in hope of getting a treat. It was almost 11 already, but seeing that it was a Sunday, they had all the time in the world to avoid talking about everything.

Or at least until Monday, when they both had school and Manon’s grandmother came back.

As if sensing her thoughts, Dorian turned away from the eggs, asking, «Your grandmother was coming back tomorrow, right?»

And just like that, their bubble was burst.

«Yeah…» Manon looked down as she spoke, unable to meet his eyes. They both knew he couldn’t stay here forever, but Manon felt awful for it. He’d just been kicked out of his own home, for fuck’s sake. 

«I want to let you stay, I really do, but my grandmother-» Before she could continue, Dorian stepped closer, cupping her face.

«I know. You’ve already done so much for me, Manon. Don’t feel bad.»

Manon placed her hands over his, getting lost in his blue eyes.

«I’ll call Chaol or Aelin later today. I can stay with one of them for a while, until I figure out what to do.» It amazed her how he managed to sound so certain, so reassured, after yesterday’s events, so she told him as much.

«You’re amazing, you know that?»

Dorian beamed at her, but then the moment was interrupted when a phone started ringing in the distance.

«Shit, that’s mine,» Dorian said, but he didn’t pull away. 

Pressing a quick kiss to his lips, Manon urged him, «Go. I’ll finish breakfast for us.»

Dorian obeyed, disappearing down the hallway, and Manon shifted her attention to the forgotten eggs on the stove, which were moments away from burning.

It didn’t take long before Dorian returned to the kitchen, ringing phone in hand and a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

«It’s my mom.»

-

Dorian just stared at his phone, letting it ring for what seemed like forever, before it finally went silent. He hadn’t believed it at first, when he’d seen who was calling, but it was his mother. He couldn’t even remember the last time she’d called him.

A moment passed, and then it started again, the display still reading Mom. Dorian was frozen, fearing what would happen if he answered.

«Hey,» Manon said in a soft voice, having walked over to him without his notice. «If you don’t like what she has to say, you can just hang up.»

Her words gave him the courage to press answer before it stopped ringing again.

With shaking hands, he lifted the phone to his ear, but he didn’t say anything. 

«Dorian?» The voice on the other sounded like his mom’s, but also not. It was too present, too caring.

He nodded at first, but then realized she couldn’t actually see him, and forced out a quiet «Yeah?»

Manon took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

His mother went silent for a little while, but then he heard her sniffle, as if she was crying, before she said, «Are you far away?»

Dorian wasn’t sure what was happening right now. His mother didn’t call to ask where he was. His mother was too deep in her wine glass to care about anything. His mother had just sat there last night while his father basically disowned him simply for being bisexual.

Except she hadn’t.

Dorian remembered now, how she’d tried to stop him. And it hit him, all of a sudden, that it hadn’t been to avoid an argument during family dinner. No, the intensity, the alertness in those eyes…that had been a mother desperately trying to protect her child.

That moment of action didn’t undo all the other times when she’d remained silent during his father’s constant berating, but it mattered.

To Dorian, it mattered.

«No.»

His heart was still hammering, but he managed short, simple answers.

«I-, I would like to talk to you, to apologize.»

«Okay.»

«But maybe it’s best in person?»

«Yeah.»

«Do you think you could come home? When you’re ready?»

«Mom-»

«Your dad isn’t here….He left last night. I’ll explain later.»

That got his attention. What the fuck had happened after he’d been thrown out? 

«What?»

«I’ll explain in person. I promise, Dorian.»

He looked to Manon, who’d remained by his side this whole time, breakfast forgotten. He still held her hand, as if it was a lifeline, but when she gave him a fierce look, along with a nod of encouragement, he knew what he had to do, even if it scared him.

Taking a deep breath, Dorian finally answered, «Okay. Give me an hour.»

Then he hung up.

-

An hour later, Dorian was walking up to his house with no idea what to expect. Did he even live here, still?

He refused to get his hopes up, for his own sake, refused to believe his mom would finally start being…well, a mom.

Not even 24 hours ago, he’d stood in this very spot, feeling empty and alone, betrayed, thinking he’d just lost his home.

Now, he was just as shocked, but his time with Manon had left him with a little more courage.

After he’d hung up, he’d shared a quiet breakfast with Manon. She’d offered to go with him, and he’d wanted to say yes, but deep down he knew he had to do this on his own. 

So they’d finished their breakfast, and after a long embrace (and a few kisses), he’d left, Manon wishing him good luck and telling him to call at any moment if he needed to.

What would meet him inside that house, no one knew, but it couldn’t get much worse than last night, and he’d survived that, so he could survive this too.

Dorian gave himself one more minute to try and calm down, then he stepped through the front door.

At first, there was nothing but silence, but then his mother rushed into the hallway, coming to a halt a few feet away from him. Hollin came in after her, still in his pajamas, and stopped to hide behind her legs.

Standing there, Dorian looked at his mom, not sure what he was seeing. She seemed more awake, more present, than she had in years, glad to see him whole by the way she smiled, but also nervous by the way her hands shook.

Then she spoke, the words so shocking that for a moment, Dorian believed his mother had actually been abducted by aliens, and this was the impostor they’d sent to take her place.

«Do you want pancakes?»

Dorian just blinked, and he must have looked as clueless as he felt, because his mother/alien-impostor explained, «Pancakes. Hollin and I made them for breakfast.» As she said the last part, she reached out to stroke Hollin’s hair.

Shaking his head, Dorian stammered, «I- Uh…I just had breakfast…actually.»

«Oh, okay.» His mom gestured towards the kitchen. «Would you like to sit down, so we can talk?»

«Yeah,» Dorian breathed, then he followed her into the kitchen.

He sat down by the small table, nothing like the huge, too-formal one in the dining room. Dorian couldn’t help but feel relieved they weren’t having this conversation there. Throwing a nervous glance at the room, it seemed like the mess from last night had been cleaned up.

«Just give me a moment,» his mom said, then she led Hollin into the living room. The way she spoke to him, so gentle and caring, baffled him.

«Why don’t you watch a movie while me and Dorian have a chat? We’ll be right in the kitchen if you need anything, alright? You can come and get me at any moment.»

Dorian could vaguely recall a time when his mother had been this soft and gentle person, but the few good years had easily been overshadowed by the later years, when she’d been distant and drunk most of the time.

Those early years had been good years, though, Dorian thought. He remembered being a pretty happy child, feeling safe and loved. His father had been gone a lot of the time, either at work or traveling, but he’d had his mom and her family.

Then something had changed, seemingly out of the blue. His dad became more controlling, his mom more distant. Their relatives stopped visiting. Then Hollin had been born, and things had gotten even worse.

Lost in thought, Dorian didn’t notice that his mother was back until the noise of a chair scraping against the floor filled the otherwise quiet room.

She sat down across from him, and to his great shock, yet again, she was cupping not a glass of wine, but a mug of coffee. It was into said cup she stared as she spoke. «I don’t even know where to start.»

Not knowing either, Dorian just asked the question he needed the answer to the most: «Where’s dad?»

«I told him to leave last night, so he did.»

His mother finally looked him in the eyes, then, her expression so awake, despite the dark circles. She looked like she’d slept just as little as him.

It sounded so simple, but he knew there was no way it could have been. A million possible replies went through Dorian’s head, but in the end he chose to go with «How?»

She took a long sip of her coffee, before she started explaining.

«As soon as you’d closed the door last night, Hollin completely lost it. He flung himself to the floor and started screaming, hands covering his head. Your dad told me to deal with it, then shut himself inside his office. It took forever to calm your brother down, and I swear I have never seen anyone so terrified…the look on his face-»

His mother stopped for a moment, as if lost in thought, but Dorian didn’t say anything, only waited for her to continue.

«After he’d calmed down in his room, and I’d assured him you were okay, I went to talk to your father, told him I wanted him gone immediately. He just laughed it off at first, but then I reminded him that I actually own this house, that he was nothing before me, that he would still be nothing without me, and it seemed to resonate with him, if only a little.»

Dorian was too stunned to speak. He knew that his mother came from a rich family, and that his father absolutely didn’t, but this-

«Then, I threatened to call the police if he didn’t get out of my house. I don’t think he would have been charged with anything, but it would have damaged his reputation greatly, so he packed a few bags and took off like the coward he is.»

There was no remorse in her voice, no fear, only steely resolve.

«What if he comes back?» Dorian found himself whispering.

«Then he’ll be met with a locked door. I’ll even get a restraining order if I need to.»

Dorian needed a moment to reconcile this woman sitting in front of him with the mother he knew. It was too good to be true. She couldn’t have just decided she wanted to try from now on. It couldn’t be that easy.

«What changed?»

She swallowed. «I’m not sure you’re aware of it, but you looked at me last night, as if begging me to do something, say something, and then when I didn’t, the disappointment in your eyes…as if you knew I wouldn’t act, yet you hoped-»

A tear escaped, then another. «I have never felt so ashamed of myself. Someone was hurting my child, and I just sat there and did nothing. Then it hit me, how I barely even know you anymore. You’ve grown into a wonderful, bright young man, and I can take no credit for it.»

Dorian felt tears of his own fall down his cheeks, and as he sniffled, his mom reached out to grab his hand.

«I’m so sorry, Dorian. For last night, for all the other nights, for the previous years-»

The tears kept falling, but he let them.

«It also hit me that while it might be too late for me to be the mom you deserve, it’s not too late for Hollin. He’s still so young-»

«It’s not too late,» Dorian managed to choke out. 

His mom let out a sob at that, and for a while, they just sat there, crying together over everything they’d lost.

«I can’t promise you things will be perfect, but I’m gonna try, Dorian. For you and Hollin, I’m gonna try.»

Dorian nodded.

«I’m seeing a therapist on Tuesday, already, and I’ve made an appointment with a divorce lawyer.»

He’d promised himself he wouldn’t, but her words filled him with such hope. Maybe things would actually change for the better.

«I also spent a few hours on the phone last night, with your aunt Philippa. Do you remember her?»

Nodding once more, Dorian recalled the image of his aunt. His mother had lost touch with her sister several years ago, but they’d been close when he was little. She was a few years younger than his mom, and as far as he knew, still unmarried with no kids. He’d liked aunt Philippa.

«She’s coming to stay for a while,» his mom said, smiling faintly now. Things really were changing.

Her smile quickly fell, though, at what she said next. «I’ll also start attending AA-meetings.» She looked down. «I know I have a problem, but I’ll try my best to get better.» Dorian looked over her shoulder, towards the wine rack hanging on the wall, but it was empty.

Squeezing his mother’s hand, Dorian whispered, «That sounds like a good idea.»

They talked some more, having a lot to work through, but then his mom asked, «Did you stay with Chaol last night? Or Aelin? You are still friends with them, right?»

Dorian let out a chuckle. «Yeah, I am.» Then his face went warm as he thought of how he’d woken up this morning, the body he’d been pressed against. «I stayed with Manon, though.»

«Is she your girlfriend?»

Dorian quickly shook his head, slightly mortified.

«But she’s more than a friend?» his mom pried, raising an eyebrow.

Was he that obvious?

As if reading his mind, she said, «Your whole face changed when you said her name. In a good way, though.»

That made him blush even more, and he mumbled something about them not labeling anything.

«As long as she makes you happy. Though I always thought you would end up with Chaol.»

Her words didn’t register at first, but when they did, he burst into tears once more. After last night-

It was such a subtle, casual way to let him know she fully accepted his sexuality, and it meant the world to Dorian. He hadn’t known how much he needed this.

As he sobbed, his mom stood up and came around to his side of the table, pulling him into a tight hug. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged his mom.

And as she whispered «My brave, beautiful boy. I love you so much», he finally believed everything would be alright.

-

A while later, Dorian entered the living room, where Hollin was sprawled on the couch, hypnotized by what seemed to be a Cars movie.

The seven-year-old was so transfixed he didn’t even notice when Dorian sat down next to him. 

«Is that the one with the spies?»

Hollin nodded absentmindedly. 

«Awesome! I love that one.»

That seemed to catch his attention, because the kid twisted his entire body, frowning at Dorian. «Really?»

«Yeah,» Dorian shrugged. In fact, he’d watched it with Chaol and Aelin just a few weeks ago. Their movie night may or may not have also involved alcohol, but it had still been hilarious.

Hollin stared at him for a long moment, before he flung himself at him. Dorian was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly returned the embrace.

«I’m glad you’re still my brother,» Hollin mumbled into his chest, burrowing even closer.

His words broke Dorian’s heart, and he held back a fresh wave of tears as he said, «I’ll always be your brother, dude.»

Then they both settled on the couch, Hollin snuggling against Dorian’s side, to watch the rest of the movie. All throughout, Hollin excitedly told Dorian about which cars were his favorites and why.

Dorian’s phone buzzed once, and he picked it up to find a text from Manon:

Manon: How did it go? Are you okay?

His heart warmed at her concern, and he found himself smiling at his phone.

Dorian: We’re all good for now

Dorian: Had a really long talk

Dorian: I’ll call you later tonight

Dorian: Thank you, btw, for yesterday<3

Dorian: And this morning<3<3

Manon: <3<3

A/N: An uncommon Georgina W? What is this?

I would just like to say that getting out of an abusive marriage is rarely as easy as portrayed here, but this fic is about Dorian, not Georgina, and he deserved some love and healing for once<3

Stay safe guys<3<3

Taglist: @fireheartfaery @bookishwitchling @gwynethhberdara @darklingswhxore @onfma @ireallyshouldsleeprn @sayosdreams @rowaelinismyotp @rainbowcheetah512 @mirubyjane @zoyalovesbooks​ @wishfulimaginings​

[chaos-has-theories]

Ich habe 6.192 Mal im Jahr 2022 etwas gepostet

Das sind 5.090 more posts als 2021!

101 Einträge erstellt (2%)

6.091 Einträge gerebloggt (98%)

Blogs, die ich am häufigsten gerebloggt habe:

@heyitsmeep

@urcrookedneighbor

@into-september

@sabertoothwalrus

@mayasaura

Ich habe 5.369 meiner Einträge im Jahr 2022 getaggt

Nur 13% meiner Einträge hatten keine Tags

#the locked tomb – 970 Einträge

#miraculous ladybug – 813 Einträge

#writing – 203 Einträge

#septimus heap – 187 Einträge

#lgbtq – 178 Einträge

#nona the ninth – 170 Einträge

#reminder – 133 Einträge

#stories – 128 Einträge

#dracula – 118 Einträge

#prompts – 117 Einträge

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#but actually we had alot of old czech/german production that i loved a lot - die märchenbraut and saxana and luzie der schrecken der straße

Meine Top-Einträge im Jahr 2022:

#5

I have just realized that technically, intertextually, analysing-the-themes-ically, Marcia is Jenna's evil stepmother.

I mean - Jenna is Snow White, yeah? Princess, black hair, mother dies, lost in the forest, pursued by a hunter; gets taken in by a family defined by having seven little people living in a very enclosed space.

And then there's Marcia - who marries her father, who takes her appearance very seriously, who we're even told has a sentient magic mirror within a paragraph of meeting her.

She even almost plays into her role... for about one chapter. She arrives at the Princess' new home, plying her with jewelry, and tries to take her away, much to the chagrin of both her and her family.

Except Marcia just isn't evil. She takes Jenna with her to keep her safe and gives her fuzzy purple socks and then they all jump down a rubbish chute, and the next time the books remember that they were kind of about Snow White once upon a time is during Queste Physik, when the real Evil Queen appears (who also uses a magic mirror, who wants to be young forever, who is willing to kill her own daughter over it).

Anyway I'm obsessed with how these books do and do not use fairy tale motifs but I definitely hadn't noticed Marcia's role in it before today but now that I do I'm going to make fun of her forever (affectionate)

120 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 4. Juni 2022

#4

I just realized that technically this is an accurate synopsis of my fic for the Septimus Heap Big Bang

138 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 11. Juli 2022

#3

I am currently rereading the Septimus Heap books. Because those always fascinated me, I'm paying special attention to the clothes - who wears what colors, etc, since that's such an important part of those books.

Anyway I get to this part:

"Hanseatic"? I wonder if that word means anything. Or is it something to do with the other countries in that world? Let's google.

Vollständigen Eintrag ansehen

158 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 5. Juni 2022

#2

Reasons why Harry Clown and Gabriel Agreste are or were or should be boyfriends, in no particular order:

- “ma poule”

- they were clearly besties when they were younger. I must assume that Gabriel made that costume as a favour, long before Audrey ever discovered him. Maybe Gabe pretends to be tough now, but he still has a soft spot for Harry. He just does.

- Gabriel thinks he agreed to Harry’s plan for Shadowmoth reasons. He is wrong. Harry went into the meeting with way to much confidence for him not to know exactly how to deal with the Gabe. Which is very important. Someone has to do it.

- Adrien deserves a parent like Harry. He has emotions! He also has a terrible sense of humor that Adrien can be upset (affectionate) about

- When hanging out with Marinette, Harry had perfect weird uncle energy. He is not her uncle. But he could be her weird step-father-in-law.

- He can balance out Gabriel “block of stone” Agreste. Imagine Harry going somewhere with the Agreste Tablet (TM). Nobody would be intimidated ever again.

- Harry?? Knows about Gabriel being Shadowmoth? Yes I know that’s probably not what they meant to say with this episode but neither did they mean to say that Gabriel is bi, shhhh. But if Harry knows, he’s clearly not particularly upset about it. He can stand behind Gabriel who is stoically attending fashion galas, or behind Shadowmoth dramatically monologuing, and his only reaction would be “you’re doing amazing sweetie!”

- “ma poule”

414 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 30. Januar 2022

Meine #1 des Jahres 2022

If Adrien had a penny for every time one of his parents was hiding a serious Miraculous-related illness or injury from him, he'd have three pennies.

Which is honestly too many pennies. Adrien, sweetie, I am so sorry.

828 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 20. Oktober 2022

Hol dir deinen Tumblr-Jahresrückblick 2022 →

[beyondspaceandstars]

The Sleeping Situation

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: minor mentions of blood, minor (non-descriptive) violence Summary: You finally convince Bucky to sleep with you in the bed, as opposed to the floor, but you find it doesn't exactly go as smoothly as you had hoped it would, leading to some taunting emotions and revelations. A/N: This one went over pretty well on ao3 so fingers-crossed y’all enjoy too! idk how different audiences are - i just like sharing my work :)

Masterlist

You had finally convinced him. After weeks of hints and attempting, he had finally placed himself beneath the duvet, snuggled up right next to your body. 
It was something close to a miracle. Bucky had been sleeping on the floor for as long as you could remember. It had become really something you accepted — like clockwork, after watching a show or movie in the bed, he’d let you doze off then untangle himself to go to the living room.

When you first moved in, he didn’t think you really noticed. He’d always be up before you anyways, nothing seeming out of place but as if you possessed some sixth sense, you could always feel Bucky’s arms leave your waist as he went to retire in the living room.

During attempts at bringing up the bed, Bucky would dismiss it, saying he just hated how soft it was. He couldn’t get comfortable. He wasn’t used to it at all. And while you didn’t doubt this for a second, you still felt something deeper worries had been brewing.

You had decided to start small by having Bucky stay cuddling after your nightly movie viewing. You two would lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, mindlessly talking about whatever was going on with your days. He seemed at peace with this until your eyes started drooping. Within seconds, the grip on your waist would vanish and he was heading out.

It was fine, though, since you had your moment together and he had found some way to relax in the bed. While you never wanted to push him, you wanted him at least content.

The next level was napping. After work, nearly every day, you’d announce you were laying down for a nap and ask Bucky if he was tired. Usually, he’d just shake his head. But one day he looked absolutely spent and wordlessly followed you into the room. A thrown arm around you loosely, he was able to get some shut-eye…for about 15 minutes. Soon he was uncomfortable and placing a kiss on your cheek, following it with a recoil of his touch. Still, you were taking the win and slowly but surely, the time spent napping would go up. Days bast but eventually he was up to an hour in the bed, napping peacefully.

When he finally decided to take the step to join you for a full eight hours in the queen-sized bed, you were quite shocked but easily overwhelmed with joy.

The movie had just ended and you were closing the laptop when Bucky left the bed. You frowned, watching his figure disappear to the bathroom, worried he was already backing out before cuddles and pillow talk. But you didn’t say anything and instead got comfortable on your side (well — the whole thing could’ve been your side at this point).

As you drifted off, a heavy arm snaked its way around you as you felt the other side of the bed dip. Blinking your eyes opened, you looked over your shoulder and was greeted by a nervous-looking Bucky staring back at you.

You turned to face him and asked, "Everything okay, honey?"

He nodded, "I- I’m going to try- try sleeping here if that’s okay."

Your eyes beamed as a smile you couldn’t suppress made its way to your face. "Of course," you said and placed a good night kiss on his lips. "Sleep well."

"You too, doll," Bucky mumbled and placed another kiss on your forehead. You curled up into him, feeling that he got more relaxed and his heartbeat went steady, drifting off to sleep.

***

Shaking. You were disrupted by something…shaking. Violently. Your first thought as you blinked, waking yourself out of your dazed sleep, was that a spontaneous earthquake was happening.

Except once your mind adjusted, it didn’t take very long to realize the mattress was the only thing shaking — and was the result of Bucky twisting and turning in fear next to you, lost in a nightmare. At some point, he must’ve untangled your cuddling bodies but thankfully that allowed you to sit up quickly, not trapped under whatever was happening.

You watched him, quite stunned to see Bucky thrashing around uncontrollably as whatever images and scenarios took over his brain. You didn’t really know what to do. All your brain could focus on was getting him out of his own thought. You needed him to calm down and know he was perfectly safe.

"Bucky?" You mumbled, your voice scratchy from the tears and fears creeping up. He didn’t react, only whispered some words to himself that you didn’t understand.

You hesitantly reached out for him, placing an experimental touch on his shoulder. He didn’t react at first so you called out his name again and tried shaking him. That was apparently not the right move because the next thing you knew, you were being flung off the bed, the side of your face against your bedside table on your way down. You landed ungracefully on your side, groaning at the unexpected pain.

The fall must’ve been loud enough because the next thing you could comprehend was watching the bed and seeing a very confused and dazed Bucky sit up. He was looking around the dark room, sweaty and anxious. When your eyes met, any color left in him faded. You could practically see the gears turning as he realized what he had done. You on the other hand were still quite surprised by the incident, simply choosing to stare at your boyfriend, watching him scramble off the bed and kneel at your side.

"Doll?" Bucky asked right beside you but his voice sounded so far away.

Taking some deep breaths, your shaky hand came up to your cheek as you felt something wet. Looking at your fingers, it was a sad mix of tears and blood.

A hand being placed on your shoulder made you snap back. You jerked away, turning towards your boyfriend. Bucky was practically frozen watching you, hands in the air, as you rushed to put space between you two.

Realizing the consequences of your actions, your heart sunk and you began apologizing. "Sorry, sorry," you mumbled, trying to furiously wipe away the tears and blood. "I- What happened? Are you okay?" You situated yourself to sit criss-cross in front of him.

"Am I okay?" Bucky shook his head in disbelief. "Are you okay? I- I’m sorry. God, I don’t even know how to apologize for this I am- I am so sorry, doll, I didn’t mean it. It wasn’t me, I swear, it- I had a nightmare and I just- I don’t know what happened." He was rambling, body shaking as he didn’t know what to do. Where to begin. How to explain. His mind was torn as a part of him wanted to hold you… And the other part wanted to leave you forever, utterly terrified of himself.

"Yeah, you seemed a bit upset," you mumbled, trying to hold your hand to your scraped cheek. Bucky saw your struggle and darted to the bathroom to get a washcloth, offering all he could as his words were failing. He handed it to you then took his seat again on the floor.

You dabbed your skin, checking the cloth as the bleeding slowed down. You weren’t sure what to say, either.

"I didn’t know what to do," you finally whispered, looking down at the carpet beneath you. "You were shaking and tossing and- and I just wanted you to wake up. To know you were fine. You seemed so scared-,"

"Alright, alright," Bucky mumbled, cutting you off as he saw you beginning to get worked up. Your body was shaking now as you recalled the last few minutes. The pure suddenness and terror that took over the room. He placed an experimental touch on your knee and, thankfully, you didn’t jump away. "You were fine, doll. This isn’t your fault. I- I knew I wasn’t ready to sleep with anyone and I got ahead of myself and now… Look what happened. God, what have I done?"

His jaw clenched as he spat out the words. You jumped slightly.

"Bucky, you didn’t mean to-,"

"But I did it," he said. "I hurt you and now I think maybe this just isn’t…" He faded off, his hand leaving your knee. He turned towards the bed as you tried searching him for anything, any answer.

"James, don’t." You shook your head. Bucky’s head whipped back to you as he heard the anger, the seriousness, in your voice. "Don’t say whatever you’re going to say. Let’s just go back to sleep and we can figure stuff out in the morning."

Bucky bit his tongue. He just nodded at your request, seriously not trusting his words anymore. He had half the mind to walk out, disappear into the world without you, all in the name of keeping you safe. And like the mind-reader you could be, you knew it. You saw it in his entire demeanor. He was practically planning an escape route at that very moment.

You two finally stood up from the floor. After disregarding the washcloth, you found your way back under the duvet. Bucky wordlessly gathered a blanket and left for the living room, knowing very well this bed was going to be the last place he fell asleep for a long time.

"Bucky," you called out as you were turned away from him. He stopped in the doorway. "To talk in the morning you have to actually be here."

He didn’t respond and instead just nodded his head as if you could see it. Then he promptly exited the room.

While the bleeding had stopped, the tears weren’t as you only heard the sound of Bucky walking to the living room.

***

Bucky was there in the morning and you talked — you. Only you could formulate words as difficult as it was while Bucky sat across from you. The guilt, shame, the exhaustion, all of it was painted on his normally sweet face.

You had told him you were fine, were feeling better. You were going to be okay. You understood the bed situation and wouldn’t pressure him into sleeping anywhere he was uncomfortable. You just desperately wanted him to be okay, to feel safe and happy in this space with you. Bucky just nodded along as you began attempting to write out a plan in case that had happened again. Nothing seemed to bring a true conclusion but there was at least the idea that there’d be no more touching of either person in their sleep, at least for the time being. It crushed you both, but neither of you commented.

He didn’t really offer much input besides agreeing with your points. Every other word out of his mouth was "sorry" so much so to the point you had to beg him to stop it.

He mostly just listened which you generally would enjoy from any man but in this case, you knew it gave his brain time to wander. Probably still planning how he would get himself out of his. But you didn’t want him gone. He was practically the perfect significant other in every sense. No one had ever treated you with such kindness and respect. Showered you with romance and kisses. Surprised you with date nights and flowers. You were just at a bump in the road and you didn’t want to get stuck behind it so easily.

Few days had passed and stuff seemed to be edging back towards normal. He had begun even holding your hand again, just a gentle touch to work his way up, reminding you greatly of when you first started dating, but you were welcoming it all with great patience.

You were standing at the kitchen counter cutting up vegetables for dinner when Bucky came home. He had a therapy appointment that day and usually emotions could be all over the place when he came home. Some days were good, some days everything would get under his skin.

Today, though, he seemed just… fine. He came in quietly and planted a quick kiss on your cheek before grabbing a beer from the fridge. He asked if you needed any help and when you shook your head, he went over to sit on the couch, watching whatever reality show you had mindlessly playing.

Moments passed and you had just begun sautéing the cut-up veggies when Bucky spoke, cutting through the silence quite surprisingly.

"I told her what happened," Bucky said softly. You froze, eyes trained on the skillet in front of you. His therapist. He had told her.

"Oh?" You asked, silently cringing at your stupid response. Neither of you had exactly brought up the incident since that morning after. And if anyone was going to resurface it, you had assumed it’d be you, so hear him so casual was making your heart pound.

"Mhm," he hummed. "I told her my first reaction was to leave."

"Bucky-,"

Footsteps started towards you, stopping at the little kitchen bar. You could feel him watching you as you tried focusing on the cooking produce. Your breath started to get caught in your throat, so much worry and concern washing over you.

"She wanted you to come in one session," Bucky tapped his fingers on the counter. "So we can talk."

You frowned and finally turned towards him. Worry was splashed everywhere on his face. Your heart practically sobbed. "Bucky, we did talk about it."

He shook his head profusely. "No, you talked," A beat. "I stood there like a statue, thinking of ways to leave you. Ways to get out of this so I’d never had to see that scared, upset look on your face ever again. So I’d never have to cause you any more pain than I already have. But I’ve come to realize I can’t do that because I love you too much and I- I can’t run away from you or anything. I’m going to try… No, I will make it right."

Your heart sank at his confessions. He loved you — a word he had never explicitly said before. A four-letter word he had never stood there and outwardly said. You let out a light sob and went around the kitchen counter, throwing your arms around his neck. He was shocked at first, maybe even a bit unsure, but you weren’t letting go, he realized, until he held you back.

"I love you, too," you eventually mumbled between the tears. You pulled away slightly, keeping your hands on his arms while his hands rested comfortably at your waist. Just feeling his touch had you melting all over again. "We’re going to be okay, Buck. It’s going to be fine."

He nodded, his eyes searching over your face as the scrape on your cheek was just still barely visible. It was going away fast but he didn’t think he could ever unsee it. "You’re right, doll, we’ll be okay. I’m working on it."

You gave a small smile. "You can’t be perfect, Bucky."

"Maybe not," Bucky shrugged as his hand found its way to your face, caressing your unharmed cheek. "But I at least gotta try to be perfect for you."

You sighed, leaning into the loving touch. Looking in his eyes you could kind of see that it truly was going to be okay. He looked so passionate and dedicated when he stared at you like you were it in the world. The only thing there. It made your soul sing and you hoped he saw it in you, too. "You are, honey. You already are."

[luvr-bunnyy]

[here’s a little blurb/teaser from my oncoming tasm!series w/ a black cat inspired reader,

enjoy !! -yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´- ]

© luvr-bunnyy pls don't use my headers or writing without permission

Counting off the stacks of money, you placed each one into your backpack. Once you were done, you shut the safe and zipped up your bag, placing it over your shoulders.

Satisfied with your work, you placed the queen of hearts card onto the desk and snickered before slipping out the open window.

The sudden sounds of sirens almost made you lose balance from your place atop the fire escape railing.

“Shit…that damn silent alarm.” You jumped from the railing to the fire escape on the next building, climbing up the latter.

The wind blew violently at the top of the building, had you not had enhanced senses, the air whipping around your ears would’ve been deafening.

“You know, if I were you, I’d do more research on the places your hitting. Silent alarm just got you caught.”

You smirked, pressing on the voice modulator placed in the underside of your jaw, just below your ear.

“Who says I got caught?” You asked coyly, turning around to face the masked vigilante.

“Me, because I just caught you.” He answered, amused tone of voice irritating you.

“Really? Cause I’m right here.” You took a subtle step back. “And you’re right there.” Another step. “There’s like-“ You held your hands apart. “This much space between us.”

Another step.

“Well, we’re on a roof. You have no mode of transportation. You have nowhere to run.”

Another step.

“Really? Well, Spider boy-“

“It’s Spider Man!”

“Mhmm. Sure it is.” You licked your lips. “Well Spider Man, nice chatting with you but I have places to be, things to steal. Ya’ know, the usual.” Now standing on the ledge of the building. You grinned. “Maybe we’ll meet again.” And with that, you let yourself free fall backwards.

“Oh no you don’t.” Peter muttered. Raising his arms and shooting two webs. The feeling of the sticky substance in your body made you grimace. Letting him pull you towards him. “See. Caught.”

Using the momentum he caused, against him. You lifted your knee and hit him in the chest while simultaneously cutting the webs with your nails.

The force of the momentum plus your super strength, that he wasn’t expecting, sent him flying a ways from you. “Whoah!” He grunted, very impressed by what just happened.

As he stood up, he realized his back was turned to you and his spidey-sense was going berserk. Turning around, he just missed your right hook to his face.

He got a few hits in but your agility was hard to compete with. Throwing another punch, his eyes widened when you gripped his wrist and flipped him over you. Slamming his back into the hard concrete.

You flipped away from him but he couldn’t let you get away so he raised his hand, aimed, and- what? He frantically moved his wrist but no webs. He was also tipped off by you just standing. Watching.

“What happened? Cat got your tongue?” Before he could respond or react, his own webs were sticking him down against the roof. “See ya’, Bug boy.” You tossed the web shooter down next to him and disappeared into the night.

“Mother hubbard…” He grumbled, throwing his head back against the concrete with a heavy sigh.

next morning

“Morning Parker!” Peter’s head snapped up, no longer resting on his arms, at the sound of your sweet voice.

“H-Hey! Morning (Y/n).” He smiled as you sat on the stool next to him, smile falling as you winced. Hand flying to your side. “Are you okay?” He whispered, turning on the spinning lab stool.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I fell off my bed this morning. No big deal.”

He left it alone but as you pulled your lab notebook out, he noticed the slight discoloration of your knuckles.

“What happened to your hand?”

“Huh? Oh! I didn’t even notice.” His spidey-sense was ringing big loud alarm bells in his head. “Must have happened while I was riding my bike.” You pulled your crewneck sleeve down to cover your knuckles.

You were hiding something…

[kookieskiwi]

𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Pairing: Shuntaro Chishiya x Fem!Reader x Suguru Niragi

Summary: The borderlands were already dark, they made you numb to death so long as you survived. When you become the object of desire for two psychopathic and sociopathic men, one of which is your ex lover, you find it harder to drown out the emotions you’re feeling and demons you're facing. Do you give into the dark desires and madness? But...aren’t we all already mad here?

Warnings: Explicit language, sexual situations, murder, death, manipulation, psychoanalyses, drugs, alcohol, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, more to be added as I write.

Genre: Alice in Borderland, very dark romance, angst, smut, a little fluff if you squint

Rating: Whoever is mature enough to handle the warnings above but recommended to ages 15 and older. DO NOT read if you are triggered by any of the things listed above.

Word Count: 5k

[Taglist] @bonnyskies @mylifeisafxingmess @kasaikawa @mercipourleslivres @dragoneye01 @bubb1ee-gum@nocturne181 @somegirl29 @pajerita19 @ddaenysus @imagine-t-h-a-ttt @queentorresstuff @rebirth-of-destruction @celestiacq @ryreads @beeissleepy

A note from your author — I’m so sorry this took so long, I just got out for summer vacation after an extremely stressful year so I’ll be way more active now. I have decided (with much hype from @imagine-t-h-a-ttt ) to post this in parts so I could give y’all something in appreciation for dealing with me. Expect more soon!! (It might not be AiB exclusively but I will be writing more)

The borderlands was a place where anyone and everyone was alone for themselves when it came to survival. “It’s every man for themselves,” you’d often tell yourself after a game since you walked away, sometimes alone, and others didn’t. After participating in your first heart’s game you learned that, and it was forever engraved into your mind. When you were cruelly taken from the real world you were alone in your room after your nightly shift as an SDF officer. All of a sudden the lights went out whilst you were changing out of your uniform before a shower which you never got to take. Deciding to investigate the outage, you threw your uniform back on and unbuttoned the jacket revealing your black sleeveless undershirt while keeping your green cargo style uniform pants and combat boots on. After grabbing your knife and placing it into your thigh holster, you explored your neighborhood to find that everyone was gone, cars were randomly in the street as if they had been stopped out of nowhere, and you were in fact alone.

“What the fuck is this?” You whispered to yourself as you were pulling out your phone to contact your friends only to see that it was dead. “Fantastic,” you grumbled, rolling your neck to the side to crack it and relieve the tension. Venturing back to your home you thought over what this could possibly be; an evacuation drill? Maybe a nightmare? Were you daydreaming again? No, this was too real and too strange to be any of those things. You needed to get out of this area, inspect and observe other parts of Tokyo to see what was going on. You thought you could find answers before it turned dark since it was only morning so you rushed home to pack a few things before heading out.

While at home, you grabbed your backpack and in it you put; a change of clothes, three water bottles, pain pills and a few snacks as well as your phone and charger in case you could figure out a way for it to work. In a haste you also threw on your side holster which held your nine millimeter handgun and two packs of ammo for extra precautions. After that, you set out on your search of the city. The first thing you thought of was to get in one of those abandoned vehicles however even though they were full of fuel, they wouldn’t start. “So phones and vehicles don’t work, neither does anything powered by electricity. Great.”

With that newly found information, you stepped out of the vehicle and began the long walk across Tokyo. Along the way you inspected stores, homes and even government buildings but found no trace of anyone but yourself. Where did everyone go? It looked so desolate without the constant buzz of people around walking, the tourists, the neon billboards. Everything was...dead. You spent the entire day walking further into the abandoned city which was once lively yet found nothing other than a restaurant with food which you took the liberty to eat at.

Upon nightfall, you were looking for a place to stay when a billboard lit up drawing your attention to it immediately. “This way to the game arena,” it read with an arrow pointing to the left. Turning your head in that direction you saw an area in the distance brightened by lights while everything else was still surrounded in darkness. “Game arena?” You whispered in confusion. Looking around at your surroundings you didn’t see any other lights other than that building which looked to be about three blocks away. You followed the arrows leading you to the designated arena which looked to be a botanical tea garden from a distance. You slowly approached the building while keeping your hand close to the blade strapped on your thigh in case someone or something appeared. As soon as you stepped across the final set of stairs leading up to the entrance, a line of red lasers appeared and quickly turned blue when a sound similar to that of a confirmation resonated in the area. “What is this?”

“It’s the threshold of the arena.” Turning in the direction of the voice, you saw a familiar face step next to you with the same sound chiming at her entry. “Holyn? How did you get here? Are you okay?” You asked quickly before hugging her out of relife, you were more than happy to see a familiar face in this apocalyptic place. She was your childhood best friend, the only reason you hadn’t seen or heard from her in a while was because of both of your working lives.She hugged you back even tighter as she was feeling the same way you were, scared, alone and confused. When the two of you released each other she began explaining everything she knew to you as the both of you started walking into the garden.

“I got here a few days ago and since then, I’ve asked around to see what others know about whatever the hell is going on. No one knows how we got here or what exactly this place is but everyone is made to participate in games of survival. You must participate or you’ll die. After winning a game, you keep the phone you had and you’ll be supplied with a visa. The visa tells you how long you have until you’re out of time here which is why you have to participate in games to renew it before it runs out. You must win each game, there is no other way to survive if you don’t. Do everything it takes so you live and move on. Anything with an electric circuit board or IC chip does not work whereas analog equipment like radios work and so do older vehicles.” She explained quickly as more people came into view. Your mind fogged with all of the new information, it was so much to take in. Then you realized you were just thrown into a game of survival and like she said; you HAD to win to survive. “But-” you had just begun when she silenced you, “pretend you’ve been here and done this. I know you’re confused and probably scared shitless but just pretend.” She instructed as you both entered the arena and quickly added one thing, “I don’t want to continue playing after this, I killed someone Y/n.” But before you could respond she shook her head and you did as she said, silencing yourself and putting on the facade you had mastered over the years.

Upon entry, you almost immediately noticed the two groups of people to the right each containing about six people and consisting of both males and females and the other group of six men. Gauging their distance to and from each other you could conclude the individuals in each group had played together previously and probably had strategies to compete with. As you and Holyn approached the area the others stood around, you glanced down to the table in front of all of you. ‘One per person’ the sign read with approximately twenty phones laid out beside it. Each of you grabbed a random phone and stepped away from the table into your own spaces, you and Holyn sticking closely together. If everything with a circuit board was destroyed, then why did these phones work? In the middle of your questioning the phone screen lit up with the text ‘facial recognition in progress’ before switching to another screen as you looked at the others subtly to see they were looking around as well.

“Registration has closed,” the phone chimed causing each of you to glance down at the small screen. “There are twenty participants. Game: Queen of cards.”

“Rules,” the automated voice said, “After putting on the designated collars you will be divided into two teams, one team will be the Jacks while the other is the Queen of Hearts. Find the Queen of Hearts, take her phone and find the safe zone. If the Queen is not found, it is game over for the Jacks. If the Queen is found, it is game over for her.”

“Does this mean it’s one girl against the rest of us?” Holyn asked with a small crack in her voice, making hit her as a sign to be quiet and do exactly what she told you to do. The two of you grabbed the collars they had laid out on the table, placing them on your neck after close inspection. You needed to seem like you had done this before, the last thing you needed was to be seen as the weaklings or newbies. “It’s a Hearts game, of course that’s what it means. We are supposed to turn on each other and play with others minds. It makes sense.” A male with his arms crossed over his chest said. He had played before, you could tell. The group of men he came with looked like they had been here for a while based on their appearance and calmness towards the situation.

“What do you mean ‘It’s a heart's game’?” A girl who looked to be about seventeen asked. It was obvious she was new to this like you, however, you weren’t letting anyone know that. “When you see the game card, you know the type of game and the difficulty of it. Heart games are those of psychological torture and betrayal where you mess with your opponents or friends minds and emotions. Diamond games are ones of minds and intelligence, often including solving riddles or puzzles. Clubs are by far the safest there is given they are teamwork and unity games. Spade games are physical, they test your stamina and endurance. The number of the cards tell you the difficulty levels; one being the easiest and ten being the hardest.” Another man explained to the girls. You listened attentively while looking down at your phone noticing this was a six of hearts game. Hearts. There had to be a way to do this without betrayal. But before you could think of anything further you were interrupted by the phone which spoke once more.

“The Queen will have one minute to hide before Jack's time starts, but she wont know she is the Queen until Jack's time begins.” The feminine AI voice instructed once more. The girls were to be hunted by the boys and even if they weren’t the Queen the males wouldn’t know. Even if it was a best friend. You noticed when the others came to the same realization as you as one guy started profusely apologizing to a girl who was shaking. This is a game of survival. “So that means-”

“You girls better run.” It came from one of the men and said with a sinister smirk. All the guys had to do to ensure survival was take our phones and get to the undisclosed safezone. However this was more than that. You saw the weapons on a board in the distance and you knew you weren’t the only one who did. Without a second thought, you grabbed Holyn’s hand and ran as fast as you could to get the farthest from any other person, vividly aware of the knife you still had on your thigh. She quickly followed behind although she didn’t have much of a choice with your iron-like grip on her wrist. After running a sufficient distance from the others you ducked into the shrubbery and crawled towards a dark corner to hide from anyone’s sight. She sat across from you as you both tried to calm your breathing while keeping yourselves hidden from anyone who might pass by. The phone chimed again, “Hiding time is up,” the voice said while a new timer appeared on your phone. “Ten minutes,” it read. An alarm sounded throughout the arena echoing off the walls of the indoor tea garden. “The game will now commence,” you heard just before seeing your screen turn balck temporarily with your role on it.

“Thank goodness, I’m a Jack. You are too right?” Holyn asked as you turned off your phone and looked at her with a smile as her voice echoed in your mind, “you must win each game, there’s no other way to survive,” so you pushed away the dread in your chest and replied “me too.”

No. You were the Queen.

The two of you sat still for about five minutes listening to the shouts and screams of the others until you heard sets of footsteps coming in your direction causing the two of you to duck down onto your stomachs out of fear. In the distance you heard a feminine scream echo off the glass walls followed by shattering sounds and more screams of “I’m not her” or “It’s not me” followed by the sounds of struggles. “Come out come out wherever you are,” one of the men closer to you called. You could tell he was near and if you two didn’t move, he'd find you.”We found the safe zone but none of the girls were queens,” you heard one say, “damnit, if they were still alive they could help us,’ the other commented making your stomach drop. “We need to run,” who whispered to Holyn knowing those men would have no issue killing you to survive. “Three minutes remaining,” the time was announced but you could hardly hear it due to your pulse thudding in your ears.

“Now,” you called quietly queuing the both of you to jump up and run, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the men. “There they are!” One shouted followed by the heavy stomps of footsteps behind you as they set in on the chase. “It’s only the two of you, just give us the phone and you’ll live.” You ignored him and kept sprinting towards the place you knew there were weapons. Without another thought you grabbed two weapons and handed one to Holyn to defend yourselves with until she came to the realization you loathed. “You’ve been the queen this entire time!?” She shouted at you as the stomping sound got closer and closer. “I’m sorry! You said to do anything it takes to survive.” You responded with tears clouding your vision. Never in your life would you have thought you’d be choosing your life over your best friend’s, not when the two of you had gone through everything together. “Two minutes remaining,” the voice announced reminding you of your impending fate. Holyn looked at you with emotions you couldn’t decipher, but you saw the way she relaxed even if it was slight. Why was she glad you chose yourself over her?

“Come on, let’s hide.” She said grabbing your hand and this time, she was the one dragging you along. She veered off to the right pulling you behind a fountain and kept running until the two of you collapsed onto the ground. “Remember when you turned fifteen and we decided to sneak out?” she reminisced laying between your legs against your chest. “Yeah, our parents almost killed us, we were grounded for months.” you giggled despite the tears falling from your eyes. As memories of you both flooded your mind you acted without control and shouted, “Over he--” to let the men know your location but you were interrupted by her hand clasping over your mouth tightly to silence you as she yanked you backwards into the shadows. “Shh,” she whispered, calming you while you sobbed into her hand, “I want you to live on for me, okay? Beat this game, we both know you are the only one who can. I know you can. I’ll be helping you from above if I can.” She soothed laying her head on top of yours.

“One minute remaining”

The tears wouldn’t stop as you moved to hug her tightly, never wanting to let go. “I’m so sorry.” you choked out in between gasps for air. Everything was too much, too loud, time was moving too quickly, you heard the men rapidly shouting and searching for you two as you clung to your best friend. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly, the seconds flew by while you were holding the only person you had left before she was to die. “I’m not. Thank you Y/n, I wouldn’t have made it any further anyways, I’m glad I can help you move forward. Don’t let me die in vain.” She told you kissing the top of your head before roughly pushing you off to get you away from her. “Holyn!” You shouted trying to latch back onto her when suddenly the collar around her neck exploded and her blood splattered everywhere. Your eyes and mouth opened wide in shock at what you had just seen. You could feel the specks of blood all over your face and body while you stared at her now decapitated one lying in front of you. She had just died, and it was because of you, because you were selfish and confused all while being scared.

You didn’t know how long you stayed there in total silence until you just collapsed onto the cold, hard floor beneath your feet. The silence was interrupted by your blood curdling scream of pure agony that echoed throughout the enclosed building. Your head came into contact with the ground when you curled over your knees and screamed once again while grabbing at your hair and banging your forehead against the cement. Tears flowed out of both your eyes as you cried out in horror, unable to rid your mind of the events that just occurred. You screamed until your throat was raw and your voice hoarse, you could feel the clumps of hair you pulled out of your scalp as your fingers dug deeper into your skull and worst of all, you knew you were alone now.

For days, you were numb. Five days to be exact. You didn’t do much but sleep, cry, eat, walk aimlessly to a new location and then repeat it all again the next day. You couldn’t shake the immense feeling of guilt you felt when you woke each morning knowing Holyn wouldn’t because of you. It wasn’t until you played your next game, an eight of spades, that you snapped out of the haze your emotions put you in. During the game, you had to climb a tree fast enough to avoid the arrows being shot at you from below as the height the arrows were shot increased each minute as you ascended the tree. You were ahead of the others until one man decided to start pulling at your ankles to hold you back which eventually turned into him trying to make you lose your grip and fall. In the moment he yanked your body down, you almost completely lost your grip on the branch keeping you from falling. It was then that you realized you weren’t going to let Holyn die in vain, you’d survive and push through everything to honor her memory.

After that, the “acquaintances” you made between or during games never meant much to you because in the end, you could only count on and rely on yourself to ensure your survival. You stopped moping around and became the version of yourself you had always wanted to become, the one that allowed you to turn off your emotions and step away from your chaotic thoughts. You now lived for yourself and yourself only, but even then, you never killed anyone intentionally.

A few days passed by but you couldn’t tell exactly how long you had been in this hell hole. You only played games when it was necessary which was only about two days before your visa expired. After overhearing someone in a two of Spades game talk about a place called “the Beach” and the people there “knowing how to get out here,” you started observing those who played games when you didn’t. It only took a few nights to see the connection between the group of people who entered games with tag numbers on their wrists being the ones who walked out. After you played a couple games with people with the tags on their wrists, you were convinced they knew something about the strategy of the games. Lingering in the shadows, you watched the participants of the game walk out of the arena and head down the street while you quietly followed behind. You must’ve walked for five minutes before you noticed where exactly the group was headed; a vehicle. “But I thought..” you whispered to yourself in confusion seeing them jump into the four seater 1970 cadillac while you stood still in your hidden position wondering what they were doing. Upon hearing the ignition of the engine you remembered Holyn telling you only older modeled vehicles were able to work here, but where did they find fuel? Not once had you seen an operable fuel station. “There must be fuel at the beach, there has to be,” you thought to yourself, watching as they drove off which only made you more determined to find this place and get the answers to your questions. And with that thought in mind, you set out on a journey to find this so-called “beach.”

As the vehicle drove further from your sight, you started jogging in order to tail them to their location while still keeping yourself out of sight. You ran for around fifteen minutes before you saw a building in the distance, a building which had power unlike everything else in the city. Seeing the destination, you stopped running and took a while to slow your breathing and regain your energy. “So this is the Beach,” you sighed observing the structure and its surroundings. The building itself seemed to be four stories tall and included a large pool in front where people partied as if they weren’t fighting for their lives everyday. You approached a fence which seemed to outline the perimeter of the area and carefully leaned over it as if you were watching a child’s game. You saw the vast amounts of people give into the pleasures of ignorance while deafening music thrummed in the background, even from the great distance you were, you could slightly feel the vibrations of the bass in your chest.

“Ah who's this?” you heard a cynical voice ask rhetorically from behind you. At the sudden and unexpected presence you jumped, turning around and swinging your fist to punch whoever it was out of instinct. When your right hand came in contact with a face your left twisted to grab the knife you still carried on your thigh in a holster. Just as you grasped ahold of the handle one of the two people delivered a knockout-blow to the side of your head just behind your temple which caused you to instantly lose consciousness.

When you awoke you were sitting in a chair with your hands tied loosely behind your back onto the chair with what felt like a burlap bag over your head. You let out a small groan of discomfort feeling your head pulse due to your new injury, one you would have to repay later on. Upon hearing your groan, the bag was swiftly removed from your head allowing the bright lights of the room to flood your vision which hadn’t adjusted making you shut your eyes with a silent wince. After blinking a few times you get adjusted, you were finally able to scan your surroundings. In front of you stood a man with shoulder-length hair, blsck sunglasses, an open kimono and red swim trunks, to his left stood a man with buzzed hair, a black muscle shirt and green military pants who you instantly recognized.

“Aguni?” You asked with confusion seeing the man you used to work with. He was here too? You weren’t surprised he was still alive, the man was invincible when you worked with him. And just like back then, he was silent, he only gave a small nod of his head to you as a response before reassuming his statue-like stance. To his right was a man with silver hair, a white Nike hoodie and blue swim shorts who looked at you in an inquisitive manner with tired yet sharp eyes. Two women who had black hair were standing to his right and a man covered in tattoos stood further off to the side holding a sword long in length, possibly a katana. A few other people were staggered around the room but none of them seemed to be as ‘important’ as the few that you noticed immediately.

“Aguni-san? You know her?” The man in the kimono asked the latter with creased brows showing obvious confusion. “We worked at the SDF together. She was my partner before we were assigned to different segments, she’d be a good addition to the executives or militants.” He responded while putting in a good word for you. “Someone like her? An SDF officer? If you hadn’t told me, Aguni-san, I would have never known.” The man remarked crossing his arms over his chest while walking over to a desk which he leaned on. “What’s that supposed to mean?” You questioned with a scowl in his direction as your fingers fiddled with the ropes binding your wrists. You would be able to get out of them in a matter of minutes if no one noticed what you were trying to do, but it seemed the man in the white hoodie already noticed as he raised his brow in your direction with an impressed smirk on his stoic face. “A pretty, small woman like yourself...I would’ve thought you’d be tagging along with someone and not alone. Actually I would’ve thought you’d be dead by now, much less an SDF officer.” He commented with a wry smile fanning out all your cards which contradicted his statement.

“If my cards tell you anything, you should know you’re wrong,” you hummed, resuming your attempt to loosen the ropes. “Ah yes your cards,” he began while pushing himself off the desk and slowly pacing around the room, “we want you to become a resident at the Beach after seeing the cards you’ve gathered. And after learning of your pastime, you would be a great addition to the team either way.” Of course he would want you once he saw the games you had played, you were good at surviving meaning you’d also be efficient in getting him the rest of the cards. “And if I don’t want to become a resident?” You questioned poking the inside of your cheek with your tongue out of habit. You were doing just fine on your own and definitely did not need this place, however, it seemed like they needed you. Or they needed your cards more so than yourself.

“Well if you choose to stay, you’ll be able to get out of this game quicker. We have a theory that once we collect all the playing cards, one person will be able to go back to the normal world. And if you choose not to stay, well, you can walk away from here but we will keep your cards. We have gathered all the weapons in the city, we regularly gather rain water and food which the game makers seem to replenish once a week, you’ll be taken care of here.” He explained pausing directly in front of you waiting for a response. Did no one else see the problem with him? How he was manipulating everyone to get the cards under the false security that they’d get to leave too? Or was everyone here really THAT ignorant? “It seems like you take my cards either way hm?” You suggested in a hum cocking your head to the right slightly in question. “You’re correct. However, now you would be higher in the rankings and an executive after making such a great contribution and having the skill set you supposedly possess.” He told you in an attempt to persuade you into staying while adding a bit of sweetness to the word ‘contribution’. When you simply looked at him with a bored gaze, he sighed and continued speaking.

“If you decide to stay there are only three rules. 1) "always wear a bathing suit". This is to be sure no one is hiding any weapons which is why our militants don’t have to wear them if chosen to do so. Rule 2) "be free to live your life exactly as you wish including alcohol, drugs and sex" and the third and last rule: "death to traitors".” He enlightened you on the standards they lived by to help you make your decision. It didn’t seem like it would be a bad choice if you chose to stay here, you’d have food, shelter, and people you didn’t know in case you had to play another game of hearts.

“I’ll stay but I want my knife back, if I have to wear a bathing suit you’ll be able to see it anytime since I wear it on my thigh.” You compromised whilst completely freeing your hands from their bound position but still holding the rope to hide suspicions. You hated the fact you’d have to wear a swimsuit because your scars would be visible but if it meant you could have your knife, you’d be more than willing. Hearing a few chuckles resonate around the room at your demand you brought your attention to one of the men in the back of the room who had a bandage on his cheek and a black eye. It was easy to come to the conclusion that he was the one you punched earlier, and the thought of that made you smile with pride while looking at him.

“You are in no position to make demands, sweetheart,” he practically snarled at you. You hated being called sweetheart, it not only made you cringe but it infuriated you beyond measure. With a deadly glare, you let go of the rope and stood from the chair in a swift motion and threw the ropes at him without a word which said everything you needed to. However, just as he caught the ropes you could hear the door being slammed open followed by a voice which was all too familiar.

“The traitors are dead,” the unknown man announced in a tone of pride, kicking the door closed behind him. His voice instantly brought back memory after memory causing you to turn your head in shock in order to make sure you were hearing things correctly. The man you were looking at looked nothing like the one you once knew. This one had piercings on his nose and eyebrow while he sported an automatic rifle on his shoulder and a psychotic smile on his face. “Niragi?” You whispered in shock, still unable to believe your eyes. Was this the same boy you stood up for in high school? He looked so....different. What exactly happened to the sweet, shy boy you once fell in love with? “Y/N?” He questioned letting his mouth fall open the slightest but before he regained his composure. It was him, Suguru Niragi, the first and only man you’ve ever truly fallen in love with, but also the man who disappeared without a trace three years ago. You knew he had left you, it wasn’t hard to figure that much out, but you never knew why and quite frankly, you didn’t care anymore. You had moved on.

“Fantastic! Another one of our own knows this charming young woman, this will make things a lot easier. Niragi, you may take her to the locker rooms so she can change into some fitting attire then you can get her an ID bracelet and take her to her room.” The man who you noticed had a bracelet tagged 001, exclaimed with a clap of his hands as he was instructing Niragi to get you settled in. “She can do it on her own,” Niragi scoffed with a roll of his eyes which had you throwing your head back in a sarcastic chuckle. “I’ll take her,” someone insisted from the side. Glancing in the direction the voice resounded you noticed the short pale man with the silver hair stepping out towards you. He seemed oddly familiar as well but you couldn’t quite place it.

“That’s settled then. Now, my knife?” You quipped raising a brow at the ‘leader’ in the kimono just before someone came from behind you pressing a cold piece of metal to your throat while their other arm was holding your arms in place by your waist. The room went silent as everyone watched what was about to unfold in front of them, Aguni simply rolled his eyes with a sigh knowing what was about to happen. “You mean this knife?” The man teased, his voice was one you recognized from one of the two men that brought you to this place and all you wanted in that moment was to stab him for that. So, naturally, you settled for the next best thing. Pushing your head forward a little while trying not to move your neck, you watched Niragi’s expression as you threw your head backwards with all your force resulting in hitting the unknown man’s nose.

When the back of your skull came into contact with his face he immediately lessened his grip on you which allowed you to slip out of his grasp and take your knife from his hand. With your knife in hand, you grabbed his wrist, twisting it and bending his arm behind his back while your other arm placed him in a chokehold. You leaned in close to his ear as he was fighting your hold before pulling him back harshly, putting pressure on his windpipe, “Never, and I mean NEVER, touch my knife again. Got it?” You growled and if you were being honest, you would’ve intimidated yourself. You didn’t wait for a response as you pushed him forward only to watch him fall onto the ground with a soft thud. “Now,” you sighed looking up with a smile which could’ve been seen as both innocent or sinister, “let’s go,” you said slipping your knife into the holster on your thigh. The man with the white hair stepped forward with his hands in his pockets and came to your side, briefly looking at Niragi before turning his attention to you. “Let’s go, shall we?”

[evacado3]

Hey 😃 can I request about Vasco with s/o who taller than him? Thanks 🏃🏻‍♀️

Ngl, was kinda surprised when I received this. Me myself is not very tall sooo it might be a little confusing, I’ll still try but don’t judge too hard 😅

hcs

To him it doesn’t matter, nope

Though Jace kinda sees you as a threat

You might have been mistaken for the leader instead

Will try the hair pulling thingy again with you after seeing little Daniel succeed

Will challenge you to touching the door frame

Wanna teach you how to fight, but respects your hobbies

Jace thanks you cause Vasco's not crying for girls no more, and you actually drilled some common sense in him

If your Tabasco's girlfriend, unfortunately you are officially burn knuckles' queen

So don't too surprised if a group of tattooed guys follow you every where, come on they're only checking if you're safe

Uses BURN KNUCKLES SECRET MOVE [INVINCIBLE CHARIOT] for you

Be aware of the ceiling though, will kneel with their head down if you ever get hurt

Burn knuckles will not need a order from Vasco if anyone tries to hurt you, all of them will go berserk

Shopping havoc

Word count: 1213 one-shot

It's been a month of dating the head of burn knuckles, and you're still convinced that he likes kangaroos more than you. No he really made plans to adopt a kangaroo when you agreed to date him.

The scene was basically you blushing after accepting his confession, but only to hear his dreams of having that large animal when he gets married, leaving you very flustered in public.

Though what embarrassed you more, ever since you were young, was the fact that you are taller than the young man before you. You could see he doesn't give it a single shit about that, but insecurities don't leave after a day.

For the last month, every time you made a comment about your height, he'd make a baffled face. "I think it's cool, what are you talking about your height is perfect." No he really doesn't understand why you have it hard on yourself.

Did you fall in love, obviously, yes. Though Vasco doesn't comprehend the reason behind you're insecurities, he assures that not only is it normal, it's beautiful, you're beautiful. Some height ain't gonna scare homeboy away!

So that's why today you wanted to take your relationship on to the next level, the 'normal' level.

I know, the 'normal' level is very correct. Come on does Tabasco really understand the concept of kissing?

Yes, he might have given his umbrella to you on a rainy day, he might have pinned you to the wall just to ask "You do want McDonald’s or KFC?"

Obviously you knew he doesn't have any experience, so fine, you waited. But after another two weeks it came to you that if you don't bring it up to him, he will never figure that out.

So what better to do than teach him on a date? You've planned out all the possibilities and the events that might occur, it took days to work up the nerve to ask him on a date, alone.

Ok, alone. Not with some big group of guys following you, you even begged Jace to make it clear. Alone. He said yes after seeing your desperation, using his detective skills straightforwardly.

"Good luck on that, you might have to even show him a video on how to kiss."

Fine don't ask what video you chose. Anything to open up his eyes to this current problem.

So you weren't sure why, along with your boyfriend who showed up in a nice loose tee and jeans, you felt seven more pairs of eyes following you.

Are you kidding me?

"Hey Vasco, how you doing today?" you asked faintly, despite your height, you're a softie at heart.

"Hey, I'm great, so we going to get some clothes? I could use some new pants."

Yes he does, have yall seen him running around in pajamas?

You tried hard to ignore those guys at the back, what happened to Jace's promise? They all gave out a suspicious aura, everyone was basically looking. And it's whatever if they walked far behind, they're literally stuck to their leader's ass, not even leaving one meter of space.

You could say the date proceeded well on Vasco's side, it was a regular date and you even picked out some nice pants for him. But on your side? Uh... not too great.

Every time you tried to make a move, there just has to be something that stopped you.

"So babe, umm I was wonder-"

"Mister, we are having a sale this month, would you like to pick out another pair to get 30% off?"

As if that wasn't enough, the boys would send you looks of encouragement at the back like it would soothe your embarrassment.

Sighing, you stepped into the final store you wanted to go in.

"I'm gonna pick out some clothes for you too ok? Wait here." he said with enthusiasm, already running off without hearing out your response. Obviously you couldn't trust his choices, but let the boy have fun.

So you minded your own business waiting for him to come back, but why did the receptionist look at you like that. Wait, she turned back to her friend while pointing your way. What's going on?

You could see them giggling after exchanging some words. They both spun your way, one of them making her way to you and the other one just laughed trying to woe her back.

"Hello, yes you over there. How tall are you?" she snickered.

It was almost as if she was the one over towering you when she stared at you curiously. "Uh... I-I'm not too sure." you replied softly, wishing she'd leave you alone.

"Hey no need to lie, damn your voice doesn't suit you at all. I thought you'd sound like a man! You must be at least 180 miss girl!" she exclaimed, though everyone who heard knew, that was spoken disrespectfully.

But you could only nod and fidget a little, not wanting to cause a scene. There was already a few people looking over to you, but shooting glares at the clerk. You were happy that they knew she was the one trying to disturb you.

"Your little boyfriend over there, isn't he bothered? If it was me I definitely would be disgusted. Are you sure he isn't just playing? Oh, do you play basketball?" her ranting agitated the customer, but still showed no signs of stopping.

Your blood ran cold as she kept speaking, what did she say? Isn't Vasco bothered with me?

What if the reason that he hasn't shown me affection was because he was disgusted?

On the verge of tears, you muttered out, "please stop."

"What?"

"Stop, I do not feel comfortable with you speaking to me like this." you expressed clearly.

She scoffed when she recovered from shock, "hey lady, I asked-"

"I'm not." Vasco stated, popping out by your side. You flinched in surprise, but immediately blushing after he gently wrapped his arm around you.

"I heard what you said, and I'm saying I'm not disgusted or bothered by her." He said with a hint of anger. "Please return and do your job, my girlfriend will not like to speak with a girl like you."

Honestly, no words can express how happy that made you, your man stood up for your insecurities while being respectful. How did I end up with such a good man like this?

The girl gasp with an offended look, but looked down after meeting Vasco's eyes. She stuttered out a weak 'sorry' then fast-walked back to the counter.

Ignoring the cheers of other customers, he walked you out of the store. You were still dazed, eyes focused on the man whose eyes where ahead. Maybe the date was good after all.

But before he kept walking, an unexpected sweet peck landed on your cheek. Your face now resembles a tomato.

"Huh?"

Wait, what was that

THAT WAS SO CUTE

You saw in the between those guys, Jace sent you a sneaky wink.

"Was that ok?" Vasco asked, he doesn't look shy at all. Does he even realize what that means?

"Wait Vasco, continue no more, the queen is heating up!"

"The queen is all red!"

"Vasco you killed someone!"

Guess who got assorted out the mall today.

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

Forgive me for putting this in two parts and releasing it so late, I was busy memorizing the periodic table 😀

[emilia3546]

My Queen - Poppy x Casteel x Kieran NSFW

Poppy and Casteel knew that the joining might lead to something more involving Kieran, but months down the line, he's still sharing their bed, and is more than willing to help when Poppy wants to take control a bit more.

Or, 4500 words of smut

*****

Poppy twirled her wrist, the dagger's blade flashing in the candlelight, but Casteel merely grinned at her,

"So violent," he murmured against her neck, the slight scrape of his teeth sending heat flooding through her,

"You know you like it," she teased, and stepped forwards, pushing him back towards the bed, ignoring Kieran's chuckle from behind her when Casteel crashed into the blankets. He was still grinning up at her, those stupid dimples making her heart do flips in her chest as she slid into his lap, placing the dagger aside, and hauled his mouth to hers, tugging on his hair as he lifted her slightly, one arm around her waist, the other holding her head against him. She couldn't breathe through the kiss, the way he was practically devouring her, his tongue slipping into her mouth at the first desperate breath she took, but everything, breathing included, became secondary to him. Casteel nipped gently at her bottom lip, giving Poppy one more breath before she opened fully and his mouth was back on hers, his arm around her waist tightening. She ground against him, losing herself in the feel of his body against hers, the hardness in his lap, the taste of him on her tongue.

She panted when he leaned back onto his elbows, looking up at her with undisguised awe, his lips already slightly swollen, and Poppy couldn't help the rush of satisfaction, she had done that, she had been the one to make him switch from the King their people knew and loved to the man who would give her anything she asked for, who made her scream almost every night, but not tonight. Tonight she was going to make him scream. She moved against him again, sighing and tipping her head to the side when he pushed her robe off her shoulders, and she thanked the gods that she'd already gotten his pants off. She lifted herself off him, letting him slide backwards onto the bed properly, but yelped when he sat up and dragged her towards him, collapsing back onto the bed when she swatted him off,

"Uh-uh, don't try any of that tonight, it's my turn." Casteel grinned again, and raised his hands, his eyes widening when she reached back for the dagger, "Is this okay?"

"Gods yes," he groaned, his hands falling onto her hips when she nudged his head back, the point of the dagger resting just beneath his chin, "Poppy," he groaned, but Poppy didn't move, not even when his hands tightened on her hips,

"Ah, patience, Your majesty," she chuckled, turning the dagger to slightly press the blade against his throat, leaving space for him to talk, but just enough pressure for him to feel it there as she slowly sank down onto his cock, moaning herself as he filled her. She paused once he was fully seated inside her, and glanced down to check he was still okay, "Cas?"

"Fuck," he muttered, "Poppy, move, please," his eyes were pools of molten gold as he gazed up at her,

"What was that?" She crooned, chuckling at the way he groaned at the slow roll of her hips,

"I should never have taught you that," he complained, "C'mon, please," Poppy just raised an eyebrow, "Poppy," she still refused to react, and smirked at the flash of realization in his eyes, "My Queen," he said, his voice already breathless, his chest rising and falling along with his quickly speeding breathing, "My Queen," he repeated, "Please,"

"Please what?" Poppy teased, laughing at the way Casteel's eyes were blown with lust, but savored the chocolate covered strawberry flavor filling the air around them, coming not only from her husband,

"Please move, please," Casteel gasped, but Poppy just laughed,

"I don't know," she brushed his hair out of his face with her free hand, "You look rather pretty like this, what do you think, Kieran?" She turned to lock eyes with the wolven behind her,

"Oh, you've got to really make him beg if you want to get even for last night," Poppy flushed at the memory of both of them moving inside her, Casteel in her mouth, and Kieran fucking into her from behind. Kieran had crossed the room, and he now tipped her chin up, "You looked rather pretty like that, you know, My Queen," Poppy narrowed her eyes at the joking tone,

"Back off, I get to be in charge, that was the deal,"

"True, but not of me, you're in charge of him, not me," she narrowed her eyes, and turned back to Casteel, gripping his hair in her hand, and tugging his head back, trailing the dagger down his chest as she kissed her way along his jaw, and down his neck.

"Poppy," he complained, and groaned in protest when Kieran pulled his hands off Poppy's hips, pulling them up above his head, "Oh, fuck off, that's not fair," Poppy just smirked while Kieran pulled a length of rope out of a bedside drawer, binding Casteel's wrists to the headboard. Poppy finally obliged him, rocking back and forth slowly, the dagger pressed back against his throat, then, looking him straight in the eyes, she lifted off him. She laughed at his little groan of complaint that changed into a moan when she lowered herself back onto him, and then again, and again, "Fuck," he muttered, and Poppy laughed to herself, switching the hand holding the dagger to allow Kieran to pull her robe off, leaving her fully bare. Casteel groaned at the sight of her bare body, her breasts, and tugged against the ropes binding his hands, but Kieran had bound them too well, not giving him any more room than was needed to be safe.

"Give me the dagger," Poppy considered saying no, but she was well aware that tonight could quickly switch from Casteel being the one who was tied up and being denied to her, or both of them. She handed over the dagger.

Kieran chuckled, grinning a Poppy as he held the dagger against Casteel's throat, sitting behind his head, giving himself a perfect view of Poppy,

"What are you waiting for, Poppy? I want him begging for release," Poppy grinned,

"He is pretty when he begs,"

"I'll  remind you of that tomorrow," Casteel gasped, his eyes flickering shut when Poppy placed both hands on his chest and began a torturously slow roll of her hips. Casteel was right, for his own sanity, he should never had taught her that, told her how if affected him, especially as he moaned her name, straining to try and reach her. "Poppy, please, gods," she laughed at the incoherent words falling from his lips, glad that, for once, it wasn't her on the brink of fully begging, even if he'd definitely take revenge tomorrow, maybe even as soon as she let him up. "You're a fucking goddess," he groaned, "Just a bit more, please," so close, he was so close, and Poppy lifted herself up, allowing gravity to pull her back down onto him, rolling her hips immediately once he was back inside her,

"Like that?"

"Yes," he gasped, "More, please, please," there it was, that loss of control she so often found, the trust she had in him and Kieran mirrored in Casteel's face as his eyes closed again, a deep moan filling the air.

"Can we let him come?" Poppy panted, a little nervous of giving him permission to do so without asking Kieran first,

"Well that would be bad manners, he should make you come first, shouldn't he?" Poppy nodded, her vision fracturing when Casteel slammed his hips up on an off beat, making her hands slip so that she collapsed onto him, letting out a cry of pleasure when he did it again. She scrambled to get her balance back, meeting Casteel's every move with one of her own, holding his gaze as the pleasant tightness in her muscles, the tightness that was increasing every second,

"Kieran," she managed, "I want-" she didn't finish the thought before he nodded, and that tension released all at once, so powerfully that Poppy wasn't sure if she was screaming Casteel's name, or just screaming, she wasn't even sure that she was the one screaming. Someone murmured something, and Poppy squealed again at the feel of Casteel's release, the sound of his cries of pleasure, repeating her name like a prayer. She managed to catch her breath just to find Casteel panting beneath her, his hair all over the place, and Poppy brushed it out of his face, running her hand along his jaw. He leaned into her touch, and she laughed to herself,

"What?"

"You. You're just, just perfect," she murmured, leaning down to kiss him again, "I love you," he answered with a nip at her bottom lip, making her open again, melting into him, no, she was in charge. She sat up,

"I love you," Casteel said, and she smiled, but still didn't let him sneak back control,

"Oh no, you don't," she nodded at Kieran, who moved from his position leaning against the headboard to pull her off Casteel, settling her so that she was leaning back against him,

"No," Casteel complained, "Poppy, come back here," he tugged on the ropes again, "You ass, Kieran!" Poppy stifled a laugh at the way Kieran grinned, guiding her head back onto his shoulder, one arm around her waist, the other dipping down her body, rubbing circles on her stomach, but never lower, allowing her time to breathe, to recover. She turned her head to kiss his collarbone, and he brushed a thumb across her cheek, ignoring Casteel's desperate groans on the bed,

"You tell me who's better okay, Poppy?" Poppy nodded, not quite realizing what he meant until his hand started to drift down towards her sex, she let her head fall limp on Kieran's shoulder, her eyes closing in bliss. She held on to the arm around her waist as he slipped on finger inside her, then another, curling them both together, moving slowly, too slowly, but didn't speed up when Poppy tugged at his wrist,

"Kieran, please, more," she whimpered,

"Who's better?"

"Currently, Cas," she snapped, "He actually made me climax," Kieran chuckled, and nipped at her ear,

"We'll see," he muttered, and Poppy turned her head to glare at him, but didn't speak again, she knew she would never be able to say anything remotely polite, and she didn't want to give Kieran an excuse to tie her up as well, she quite liked seeing Casteel like this, being the one in control. She liked the glimmer in his eyes now, the same as when she'd asked him if they could switch roles, now that she was comfortable with what she liked, what he liked, she wanted to try something a bit different, and gods was it brilliant. She rocked her hips against Kieran's hand, moaning out his name each time her struck that spot inside her that made her gasp in delight.

"Poppy," Casteel groaned, "Poppy, please," she grinned, and ground harder against Kieran,

"Yeah, Cas, you can wait, it's my turn," he teased, and Poppy laughed,

"What if I want to tie you both up and have my way with you?"

"Then I would say that you're the only woman in Atlantia who could achieve such a thing," Kieran murmured, his voice low, the same as when he spoke to her while she was screaming his name, or when he and Casteel decided to make her squirm in public, knowing full well that she was awful at hiding her arousal. "But I think you'll enjoy what I've got planned, and I can't do it tied up," she nodded,

"Another night then," she managed before Kieran pushed a third finger into her, curling them all at the same time as he pressed down with his thumb on her clit. "Kieran," she gasped,

"Nope," he muttered,

"But," she shuddered, "Please,"

"I said no," she gasped again, trembling with the effort of staying on the edge while her body tried to climax. She squealed, trying to pull away, but Kieran clamped down that arm around her waist, leaving her wriggling in his grasp, but unable to escape the pleasure, the desperate need to climax,

"Cas, please, make him let me," she cried, sobbing when Kieran pulled his fingers out of her and pushed them into her mouth. She coughed, but relaxed her throat, moaning at the taste of herself until he pulled away, his fingers clean.

"You okay?" He murmured, and she nodded,

"You're being mean though," she complained,

"Awwww, too bad," Kieran laughed, nudging her forwards so that she leaned onto her elbows, lifting her ass, and wiggled it when Kieran made no move to touch her. "So desperate, both of you," Kieran lifted Poppy's chin so that she was staring straight at Casteel. She took the moment that he let go to wriggle forwards, holding on to Casteel so that she could at least touch him if Kieran insisted on further denying her. She wrapped a hand around him, pumping him slowly, speeding up when Kieran gripped her hips, "You ready?"

"Yes! Fuck. Me." she snapped, not caring that she wasn't really in charge of Kieran tonight, but he didn't seem to mind, both he and Casteel seemed to like it when she had a bit of an attitude. She panted as he slowly, too slowly pushed into her, leaving her pushing her hips backwards in demand. Kieran laughed, pulling all the way out, but slammed back in one go, and Poppy squealed, redoubling her efforts as she stroked Casteel harder, then let go, leaning onto him as she slipped the head of him into her mouth, humming around him at the twin moans around her. She had Casteel right where she wanted him, gasping out and screaming her name at every move she made, and she had Kieran's self-control slowly shredding, even if she hadn't quite wrestled control from him just yet.

Casteel thrust upwards into her mouth, and Poppy pulled up a bit, drawing in a breath through her nose before forcing her throat to relax as she took him as deep as she could. Kieran was groaning behind her, his thrusts harder now, and he rubbed her back as she bobbed her head up and down Casteel's cock.

"Poppy," Kieran groaned, and she reached back to squeeze his hand, tipping her hips back to allow him deeper, moaning around Casteel when Kieran somehow slammed deeper inside her, shouting out her name as he released into her. Poppy stilled, letting Casteel show her what he needed while Kieran eased her slowly down to the bed, rubbing her shoulders and her back as she pulled her mouth off Casteel, swiping her tongue along the length of him,

"Untie him," she panted, not waiting to see if Kieran obeyed before her attention snapped back to Casteel. She groaned when his hands threaded through her hair, pulling it out of her face, and she nodded as much as she could, moaning loudly when he fucked up into her, and again. She let herself fall still, giving Casteel freedom to find his pleasure the way he needed. She shuddered when he released into her mouth, swallowing around him, and squealed when Kieran appeared behind her again, a light brush against her clit all she needed to push her over the edge again. Casteel lifted her into his arms while she shook with the force of the aftershocks of her climax, kissing her gently,

"Are you done?" He murmured,

"No way in hell," Poppy grinned, and yelped when Casteel flipped her underneath him, sharing a look with Kieran, a look that meant trouble. She was about to lose control, but she didn't mind, not if Casteel wanted to swap back to their usual roles to finish one last time, she liked having control, but she definitely liked trusting him enough to let go of control and follow his lead. She could never get enough of that look on his face, the way he was staring down at her, she closed her eyes moments before his lips met hers, her hands immediately sliding into his hair, tugging him closer, closer, until she really couldn't tell where she ended and he began. She let her head drop back, still gripping Casteel's hair tight as he peppered kisses across her face, a slight scrape of his fangs at her throat dragging out another moan, another plea. He hovered just above her, straining slightly to resist the way she was trying to pull his face back towards her. He dropped to his elbows above her, and Poppy whined in frustration when he refused to move, to give her what she wanted, what she knew he wanted. She furrowed her brows, and made to complain when Casteel pried her hands away from his face, but the words died when he interlaced their fingers, pressing her hands against the bed. She wriggled, lifting her hips in demand, but Casteel just chuckled,

"Patience, My Queen," she huffed at the change of tone from earlier, light and teasing, another switch had been flipped, it was her turn to beg for more. She stopped wriggling, allowing her body to sink into the mattress, slightly lowering her lashes as she tipped her head sideways, gazing up at him, "Fuck, Poppy, you're so gorgeous," he laughed, "So fucking sexy," she flushed at that, no matter how many times he said it, the idea that he found her beautiful, sexy still shocked her. He had absolutely no idea how much it meant when each time he did say it. She scrunched her face up when he flicked her nose, chuckling to himself, but his gaze softened when Poppy opened her eyes again, and she sighed happily, it didn't matter how many times she looked into his eyes, how many times she fell asleep or woke up in his arms, it would always be home, he would always be home.

Casteel pressed his forehead against hers, and she closed her eyes, content with the feel of him against her as he gently nudged her legs back apart with almost heartbreaking softness, as if he was worried he'd break the moment. Poppy opened her eyes, holding Casteel's gaze as he slowly pushed into her, and she murmured his name, again and again,

"I love you," she said once he was fully seated inside her, and he kissed the words away, murmuring them back to her before starting to move. Poppy gasped out his name at each slow, measured thrust, but squeezed his hands, a plea in her eyes as she murmured, "More, Cas please, more," she didn't have to ask twice before he obliged her, kissing along her jaw as he strengthened his thrusts, his hips snapping against hers as she mumbled something unintelligible, drawing twin chuckles from both men, and she locked eyes with Kieran over Casteel's shoulder, suddenly feeling bad for leaving him out, "Cas, what about-" Casteel nipped at her skin and Poppy broke off with a moan,

"Don't worry about him, he'll be getting his fill of pleasure in a moment," Poppy made to question how, but her eyes widened at the bottle of lubricant in Kieran's hand, oh.

"Is he going to fuck you?"

"That's exactly what he's going to do," Casteel chuckled, "You're not the only one who enjoys having two partners at once," Poppy flushed at his words, despite having already had both of them inside her that evening, "Beautiful," Casteel murmured again, but dropped his face into Poppy's neck when Kieran climbed onto the bed behind him, coating his fingers in the lubricant. Poppy watched as he grinned, staring straight at her as he slowly pushed one finger into her husband, earning a low moan from where Casteel's face was still hidden in Poppy's neck.

"Have you done this before?" She panted, struggling for words, but her curiosity got the better of her,

"Oh yes," Kieran moved his hand, doing something that made Casteel whimper and push his hips back, only for Kieran to push him back towards the bed, back into Poppy, and she gasped out at the doubled force of that thrust, "Your husband used to be quite the little whore for me you know, Poppy. Isn't that right, Cas?" Poppy tugged Casteel's head up, and kissed his jaw,

"Are you going to answer?" She teased,

"Yes," he gasped,

"There was a time when he'd be ass up on my bed every night,"

"Only when you ended up on your knees as well," Casteel moaned, trying to sound teasing, but the way he was panting, letting out little moans with each of Kieran's movements, rather ruined the effect. Poppy snapped her hips upwards when Kieran pulled his hand back, rising to his knees and lining up his slicked cock with Casteel's ass. At a subtle motion from Kieran, she fell still, and Kieran gripped Casteel's hips to stop him from moving, making him whimper, actually whimper, in desperation, "Please," he whined, trying to push his hips back, then back down, but Poppy refused to help, and Kieran wouldn't let him move. She tried to pull a hand free, but Casteel tightened his grip, "If I have to wait, so do you," he managed, and she pulled a face, waiting, but he didn't relent,

"Kieran," she complained, "He's not letting me touch him,"

"Probably because he knows that you'll just shove him right to the edge if he does, and he wants to be able to climax at that point," Kieran was right, she wanted to hear him begging her again, but she wasn't that predictable, right? "Oh alright," Kieran murmured after Casteel let out another rather pathetic whimper, slowly pushing into him, before pulling almost all the way out and slamming home in one go, shoving Casteel deeper into Poppy, leaving them both moaning in pleasure. Kieran kept a hold of Casteel's hips, dictating the pace for both of them, just too slow for Poppy to climax, Casteel could climax just from being inside her at this pace, but she needed a little more, and sure enough, Casteel's eyes were drooping closed, that look of pure bliss crossing his face,

"Kieran, please, Cas is gonna come, I want to," she whined, and Kieran just smiled,

"You will, but first he's gotta make come," Casteel screamed both of their names as he spilled himself inside Poppy, trying to pull out, but found himself trapped between the two of them as Kieran thrust back into him. Kieran pinned him still forcing him to stay inside Poppy, forcing him to harden again, and climax again before shoving him particularly hard into Poppy so that she squealed and came with him on the third climax, her head still tipped sideways where he'd nudged it as he'd buried his face in her neck after his first climax had faded. She panted as Kieran groaned, finally pulling out and allowing them both a reprieve. She panted on the bed, still pinned in place with Casteel above her.

"Cas," she muttered, "You okay?" He nodded, blinking his eyes open, his breathing still heavy and fast as he recovered from the force of those final climaxes,

"Gods," he muttered, "I don't think I've ever come that hard," Poppy chuckled, and kissed his brow, reaching out a hand for Kieran when Casteel released her hands to hold her against him as he flopped sideways onto the bed. She snuggled into his chest, smiling when another body pressed into her from behind, arms wrapping around her. Kieran brushed Casteel's hair back, then ran a hand down Poppy's side, resting it on her hip,

"Are you both sure you're feeling okay? Can I get you anything?"

"A bath would be nice," Poppy murmured, "I'll help you in a minute,"

"Not a chance," Kieran laughed, "I'm not the one who just got fucked into oblivion," Poppy still made to sit up, but Casteel held on to her,

"Let him do it, he needs to look after you, us, now. That's how he recovers,"

"But you usually do that for me,"

"I know, but I'm usually in his role, if I've not been the once in charge I need cuddles just like you do," he pulled her fully onto his chest, a hand rubbing down her back as she settled in his arms "But I like cuddles anyway, especially with you," Poppy sighed, resting her cheek against his chest, his heart thundering under her ear, in time with her own. She closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them she was in Casteel's arms, halfway across the room to the bathroom where Kieran was dumping a bunch of different bath salts into the steamy water. This bathtub, room really, was incredible, she'd never seen one like it before moving in, it filled most of the room, leaving plenty of space for all three of them to stretch out without touching if they wanted to.

She sighed again when Casteel slowly lowered her into the water, her sore muscles relaxing in the warm water. She leaned back against the side of the bathtub, and waited for Casteel to join her, splashing him as he got in, quickly starting a full-on splash war with both men once Kieran had joined them, ending in a swift defeat once she'd taken one too many facefulls of water,

"I surrender," she gasped, blinking the water out of her eyes, but couldn't resist one last splash, managing to angle it so that she got both Casteel and Kieran in the face. She readied herself to retaliate when Casteel floated across to her, but he made no move to splash her, just slipping behind her, his hands diving into her hair, and she melted under his touch. Still, Poppy remained poised to attack until he grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the side, massaging it through her hair while she groaned at Kieran's touch, starting at her feet, and working his way up, easing the soreness from her muscles with each stroke of his fingers. She groaned when Casteel flipped her round so that she was facing him, giving Kieran access to her back, letting him find a sore spot, and concentrate his efforts until the tension eased.

"Head back," Casteel murmured, and she leaned back into the water, letting Kieran work the shampoo out of her hair before passing her a bar of soap, she could easily just give it back to him, but she wanted to do it herself. She must have fallen asleep again, leaning against one of them because she once she woke up, she was back in the bed, wearing her favorite nightgown, her hair brushed through, snuggled between Casteel and Kieran, she let her eyes fall shut again, "Night, Princess," Casteel murmured, and Poppy snuggled her face into him a little more,

"Nah-nuh," she mumbled, his chuckles still sounding in her ears when she slipped back to sleep.

[handsomelyhiddleston]

Stormy Sleepover - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

I haven’t written in like, years. I previously wrote for Colby Brock at @colbybrocksmolder and someone asked me to write for Tom so I figured I’d give it a shot. 

I hope you enjoy! 

_________________________

“Did you hear there was a storm coming?” one of your PA’s, Andi, asked you. You were in charge of making sure the cast all had assistants and that their life on set ran smoothly. You’d been working with these guys since the very first Thor movie.

“I got a notification on my phone a few hours ago, but this building is so big I doubt we’d know if it had actually hit yet.” You pulled up your weather app and clicked on the “!” checking to see what the “alert” was. “Oh god” you said, shocked to read that most of the county was already out of power.

“I told you, call me Chris.” Behind you, Hemsworth was chuckling leaning over to read what you were looking at on your phone.

“Ha, ha.” You laughed at his cheesy joke. “But seriously, has anyone been outside in the last few hours?”

Looking at your phone, Hemsworth shrugged and headed towards one of the truck bays.

In front of you, you watched Evans and Tom training with each other. There were various scenes in this movie involving water and a big thing the trainers had been working with them on was safely landing in water. It sounds funny, but you can break bones or knock yourself unconscious if you land wrong.

“Bad news” Hemsworth yelled out, getting everyone’s attention. “This building has been running on generators. There’s no power in the whole lot.” He dramatically shook his arms, flinging rain water on you and Andi.

“No wonder this water has gotten so cold” Evans added, shivering. “It’s usually warmed, but It’s ice right now.”

You sent a text to the director who was in a meeting with the writers. You received a text back fairly quickly. “Let everyone know we’ve got 6 more rooms at the Hyatt Hotel a few towns over for those who don’t have trailers on the lot. Tell everyone else that it looks like the power won’t be fixed until tomorrow afternoon. There’s a whole line of downed power lines that they can’t get to until the storm stops. The generators only run lights and a few outlets and it looks like they’re going to die soon too. The 16 seater van is outside with a driver to take people to the hotel.”

“Looks like we’re done for the day.” You said mostly to yourself, with Hemsworth and Andi hearing you.

“Everybody in.” Hemsworth hollered out so you wouldn’t have to yell.

“Thanks.” You shot him a smile.

“Any time” he replied, flinging his long wet hair towards you.

“I take it back.” You laughed, moving to stand on your chair.

“I know that not everyone has a trailer in the lot yet as we haven’t actually started filming, so for anyone that doesn’t have a home here there’s a van outside that will take to you the hotel that has power nearby. It’s already super chilly in here, so I imagine it’s freezing outside.” You spoke so everyone could hear you.

“Can confirm.” Hemsworth said, starting to shiver a bit.

“There’s umbrellas near the catering tables and there’s a bunch of old hoodies and jackets in the extras costume bay. Make sure you’re warm and dry before you head to the van.”

Everyone that didn’t have a trailer on set left once they had their instructions.

“As for the rest of us, we have to hunker down in our trailers until this passes. I have solar power and full solar batteries on my trailer so all of you are more than welcome to come crash with me if your trailer is too cold or you need electricity for anything.”

You, Hemsworth, Evans, Tom, and Scarlett were the only ones on set that had trailers so far.

“It can’t be THAT cold” Evans joked, grabbing his bag and heading towards the door.

“Scarlett went to her trailer a few hours ago” Tom shared. “I only got here last night so I don’t even have my trailer set up. Are you sure you’re okay if I go grab my bag and come steal some of your space?”

“Absolutely” you smiled at him. “And if I know Scarlett, she’s already in my trailer. I don’t think her trailer was even hooked up to power yet. Her’s was the newest one on the lot.”

“Thank you, darling. I’ll go grab my bag and check Scarlett’s trailer on my way to yours.” Tom replied and then jogged towards the door.

Andi left to catch the van once you passed your notes from the day on to her. “Be safe. Don’t worry about making it back tomorrow. I will email you any further updates I have for assignments.”

“I’m going to head back to my trailer and see if I have any cell services.” Hemsworth shared after everyone else had started leaving. “I know my wife probably has all of the weather and accident alerts on for the whole county and she’s probably worried.”

“Be safe.” You said, taking his offered hand so you could step off of your chair safely. “I’ll grab the satellite phone in the emergency kit and take it to my trailer just in case we need it.”

“It looks like you may have a full house tonight.” Hemsworth Joked.

“You’re welcome to join the insanity.” You teased, throwing your hoodie on and grabbing the satellite phone.

When you made it to your trailer, you were pretty soaked. Even with the umbrella, the rain was insane.

“Thank God you didn’t leave.” Scarlett startled you.

“I knew you’d already be in here.” You laughed. “Tom is on his way. His trailer is like yours. We didn’t even get a chance to get them hooked up before this crazy storm hit.”

“Oooo Lover boy is coming.” She teased.

“Oh, shut it. We’re friends, Scar. That’s it. We’ve never been more than friends.” You started stripping out of your wet clothes and slipped on a pair of soft black sweatpants and your favorite hoodie. It was dark green with “Mischief” written across the front. There were gold horns painted on the hood.

“I’ve known your friend almost as long as you have and the way he looks at you…I’m just saying. I think there’s something there.” She teased, gathering your wet clothes and putting them in a laundry bin that was tucked under one of the beds.

You both turned to the door hearing what sounded like a woman screaming bloody murder. “Let me in” Evans yelled, banging on the door.

Scarlett opened the door while you grabbed a towel. She laughed at him, seeing him drenched head to toe. “It was unlocked, tough guy.”

“You hit an octave I don’t think I can even reach, Cap” you teased, throwing him the towel and going back into your PJ drawer for an oversized t shirt and a baggy pair of sweats.

“I was wrong. I was so wrong. It’s fucking freezing in my trailer and I didn’t realize that the water would be cold because the power has been out for so long.” Evan’s teeth were chattering as he stripped out of his clothes, trying to dry off.

“I think I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen you naked, Evans.” Scarlett laughed, handing him the clothes you picked out for him.

“Thank god you aren’t seeing the front. It’s so cold I think my manhood has retreated fully into my body” Evans replied, throwing the clothes on and drying his hair with the towel.

Both of you laughed. You started brewing a pot of coffee and turned your water kettle on for tea. “Well, Scarlett already claimed the couch.” You mentioned. “Why don’t you take the regular bed so that if Hemsworth joins, you two can bunk together. It’s queen size so it should fit you both comfortably.”

Evans crawled into bed, wrapping himself in the blankets and trying to warm up. “Where will you sleep?”

“The dining room table and benches turn into a bed.” You replied. “It’s a full size, so almost as big as the one you’re in.”

“Did you hear that?” Evans perked up, trying to look out the tiny window he could still see through from the bed.

You and Scarlett quieted down. Getting louder you could hear Hemsworth yelling “NO, I AM THE GOD OF THUNDER!” every time lighting would strike and the sky would boom.

“Looks like it’s going to be a full house tonight.” Scarlett laughed, opening the door. “Get your godly ass in here, you crazy Australian.”

“He’s clearly the superior Chris” Evans joked. “Are you fucking crazy?” he asked as Hemsworth stepped into the trailer.

“Possibly. Probably.” Hemsworth laughed, trying not to get water all over the floor.

Scarlett grabbed the towel Evans had used to dry off and put it down on the floor by the door. “Here you go.”

“Much appreciated.” Hemsworth replied, dropping his duffle bag. “Can I change in your bathroom?”

“It’s all yours” you said. “Do you need clothes or did you bring some dry ones?”

“I brought some. I also brought some fun. I’ll show you after I get out of my sopping clothes.” He answered, leaving his shoes by the door and stepping into the bathroom.

When the bathroom door clicked, you heard a knock on the door. “Tom, come in” you hollered.

Tom was wearing a long poncho with an umbrella. He had a large bag with him and when he got inside he kicked his shoes off, putting them by Hemsworth’s shoes. You grabbed his bag from him, putting it by the second bed you had just finished setting up. He closed the umbrella and pulled his poncho off, his black sweatpants and black hoodie bone dry.

“You make the other two look like heathens.” Scarlett laughed. “They showed up soaking wet and screaming.”

“He is a gentleman.” You gave him a smirk, causing his cheeks to blush ever so slightly.

“Is there even room for all 5 of us?” he cleared his throat and laughed.

“Absolutely” you ushered him towards you. “Evans and Hemsworth are sharing that bed. Scarlett has the couch. I just set up the extra bed right here, for you.”

“For us” he replied with a stern look. “I know you too well, darling” he smirked. “You’re going to offer to sleep on the floor by the couch and I won’t have any of it.”

“Tom, it’s fine. I have a sleeping bag and…” You tried to ensure him you’d be okay, but he interrupted you.

“If you try to sleep on this floor I will walk back to my freezing trailer so you can have the bed to yourself.” The stern look softened as he pulled you into a tight hug. “You know you don’t always have to be the one to make the sacrifice. Plus, I promise I don’t talk in my sleep or have crazy dreams. I’ve even been told I’m quite comfy to cuddle with.” He dropped his eyes to yours, smirking.

“Oh, if I must.” You teased him, kissing his cheek as Hemsworth finally came out of the bathroom. “Scarlett knows where the laundry bin is.” You pointed him towards the hamper full of wet clothes.

“Do I smell coffee?” Evans sat up in bed, looking towards you. “Come cuddle, buddy” he laughed opening his arms for Hemsworth who let all of his body weight drop on Evans. “Jesus Christ, you’re a brick.”

You laughed, pulling down mugs from the cabinets and making everyone coffee. “Coffee or Tea, Tom?” you looked over at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed you two would share.

“Tea, my sweet. But let me help you.” He stood and started grabbing sugars for everyone’s coffee, asking how many they normally added.

“There’s pasta in the crock-pot as well if anyone is hungry.” You announced.

“Food?” Hemsworth’s head shot up and he crawled off of Evans.

“God, men are so simple.” Scarlett laughed, grabbing the coffee you handed her.

“You are not wrong.” Evans added, asking if he could help with anything now that he wasn’t freezing to death.

“I think we’re good.” You replied, dishing up some pasta for Hemsworth and Evans and passing them off to the boys. “Scarlett?” you offered her food, as well.

“Actually, I’m craving something sweet.” She answered.

“I’ve prepared for this one” Tom answered, going to the large bag he brought with him. “It took me so long to get here because I walked to the catering room to grab some snacks. I’ve got a whole tub of cookie dough that probably needs to go in the refrigerator soon, a tub of sour sweets, and what looks like a large cherry pie.”

“Pass the cookie dough this way” Scarlett answered. “This man has his priorities straight”, she laughed.

After everyone had sat back on their beds, dug into their food, and warmed up with their coffee or tea, Hemsworth remembered his bag. “Since we are most likely going to be stuck in this trailer until tomorrow afternoon, I brought a different kind of treat.” He picked up his bag and started pulling out bottles of alcohol and putting them on the counter. “Anyone opposed?” he asked.

“What a G!” Evans laughed, crawling out of the bed to help Hemsworth make drinks. “What kind of mixers do you have, Y/n?”

“There’s some cans of soda, some energy drinks…there’s some juice…and then we’ve got coffee for that Bailey’s I see” you answered.

Tom was smirking next to you as the Chrises started making a make-shift bar out of what they had available to them.

“We’ve got to get this started with a bang” Hemsworth said, handing everyone two shots each. “The first one is to us having a great night reunited with our make-shift family.” He smiled at everyone and downed the first shot, everyone else following suit.

Evans spoke up after. “The second one goes to our incredible, gracious, and always prepared host. To Y/n!” He downed the second shot, everyone following his lead. Except for Tom.

You shivered as the second shot went down your throat and looked over at Tom who was still holding his full shot glass, sitting next to you on the bed. He had a small smile, giving you a look you couldn’t place. Quietly he spoke to you “I’d like to add a few things to his toast, but I think it may take a few more drinks to find the right words.” He downed the shot and took a sip of his tea to wash it down.

“Who wants what?” Evans asked, making everyone a strong drink.

For the first few drinks, everyone just talked and caught up. It had been a while since the group had been on a press run or a film set together.

“Y/n!” Evans spoke up.

“Yes, Cap?” you answered, starting to feel the alcohol course through you.

“Truth or Dare?” He smirked. His eyebrow raised like he was challenging you.

“Truth.” You answered, staring him down.

“Hmmm…Have you dated anyone working on any of these movies? Cast or crew?” He asked, finishing off his drink and standing to make another.

“I haven’t” you answered truthfully.

“Wait, let’s not do truth or dare, lets do truth or shot.” Scarlett suggested, wanting to get a few answers out of you and Tom.

“I like it.” Evans said, grabbing everyone’s shot glasses back and filling them so he could hand them out as needed.

“I answered, so I’m in the clear. Hemsworth has a higher alcohol tolerance than we do so I need him to catch up. Who is an actor in the MCU you hope you never have to work with again?” You asked, hearing Tom chuckle next to you.

“I can’t answer that!” he laughed, taking the shot Evans handed him.

“That’s the point.” You laughed.

He laughed, handing the empty shot glass back to Evans. “Fine, fine. Tom. In our last interview panel together, they kept asking you if you were seeing someone and you answered no. You then said that you were interested in someone, but that you hadn’t done anything about it. Who is she?”

“Oh no.” Tom laughed, feeling the alcohol a bit himself. “I think I need to take a shot. Are all of these going to be so hard?” He grabbed the shot that Evans passed off to him.

“I think you guys just need to not be pussies and answer the damn questions” Scarlett laughed, shooting you a look.

“Right?” Evans laughed, taking the empty shot glass from Tom.

Tom scooted a bit closer to you when he handed off his shot glass. “Okay, Evans. If you had to marry one of your on screen romantic co-stars, who would it be?”

“Oh, come on! It’s gotta be Scar Jo! The one and only.” Evans laughed, putting his hands over his heart and giving Scarlett a loving look. “We’ve been in movies together damn near my whole career.”

“We would annoy the hell out of each other.” Scarlett laughed.

“It’s true. We’re practically siblings. Okay, Y/n” Evans rubbed his hands together like he was plotting. “Favorite actor you’ve been able to work with ever.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a very specific question you want to ask, but instead you’re asking questions trying to fluster me?” you shot him a look, trying not to blush.

“Hey, I’m just playing the game.” Evans laughed, picking up a shot to let me know I didn’t have to answer.

“Keep your shot. I’ll answer this one. It’s definitely Mr. Mischief himself over here.” You pointed your thumb to your side at Tom, trying not to blush.

“No, there has to be someone cooler than me.” Tom blushed, hiding his glee by taking a sip of his tea.

You looked at him, summoning the strength of the drinks you’ve been throwing back. “You should give yourself more credit. You’re amazing.”

You stayed in the moment for a few seconds, just smiling at each other. “I think it’s your turn”, Tom said, putting his arm around your shoulders.

You blushed, realizing you had just been staring at him. Leaning into his side, you asked “Okay, Evans. Have you slept with any of your MCU co-stars?”

“Oh shit!” Scarlett laughed, standing up and handing Evans one of the shots.

“Yeah, yeah.” He laughed, downing the shot. “I’ll pick on someone else this time.” He filled up everyone’s drinks while thinking of his next question. “Okay, Scar. Who is the most attractive man in the current MCU?”

“Oooh, good question.” Scarlett thought about it, going through the movies outside of the Avengers. “I have a few different answers.”

“Explain.” Hemsworth replied.

“Well, There are a few people I find attractive for different reasons, I guess.” She answered.

“How about you share this list and we decide if you still need to drink for not picking one person?” You laughed.

“Well, Hemsworth is an amazing dad. Like, you look your happiest when you’re in the messiest, most chaotic situations with your kids. Most dads are the opposite. They’re trying to escape that.” Scarlett explained her first answer.

“Valid points made so far” Evans agreed, leaning against the counter.

“Hiddleston is the fucking epitome of a gentleman. You’re literally everything women want.” Scarlett turned towards tom, making him blush.

You quietly spoke “She’s not wrong” in Tom’s ear, feeling him pull you tighter to his side in response.

“You’re too kind”, Tom answered to her, downing the rest of his drink.  

Scarlett looked to Evans. “I think I have to go with…Idris Elba.”

“I want to be mad that I didn’t make your list, but that man is truly a god.” Evans responded.

The game started to wind down as it got later into the night. Seeing everyone kind of calm down and get settled, you walked around making sure everyone had what they needed.

“Anyone want water so you don’t wake up hungover?” you laughed, pulling some water out of the fridge.

“Here!” “Please!” you handed water bottles out to everyone.

“I’m not setting an alarm for the morning. It’s super late and I doubt anyone is going to be back on the lot before dinner time anyways.” You said, grabbing you and Tom each a water bottle before turning off the main light.

You turned on the small light above your bed so you could sort out your sleeping arrangements. You grabbed your toiletries bag and pulled out a make-up wipe, trying to clean your face since you didn’t really get to do your nightly routine.

“Can I use one of those?” Tom asked, realizing he hadn’t been able to wash his face either.

“Come here” you said, scooting against Tom so you could run the damp cloth over his face. He watched your gentle movements, feeling you run the cool cloth across his skin.

“Thank you” he said, kissing the back of your hand before scooting back in the bed and laying down.

You put your bag back and drank some of your water before crawling fully into the bed and turning off the light. “Are you good?” you asked, turning to face Tom in the dark. You could feel his hand reach out and settle on your arm.

“I am” he answered, running his hand down your arm, to rest on your hip. “I want to finish your toast” he whispered, scooting his pillow closer to yours. “What Evans said was true, but you’re so much more, y/n. You’re beautiful and incredibly intelligent and there is not a single person I look forward to seeing more than you.”

“I think you’re drunk” you replied, knowing that if the light was on your face would be bright red.

“I am” Tom chuckled. “I still stand by what I said.”

You reached forward and ran your hand up Tom’s chest until you felt your fingers graze the side of his face. “I’m going to have to thank Hemsworth for getting you tipsy” you laughed, teasing Tom. You scooted closer to him, feeling him wrap his arm around your back and hold you against him.

“I couldn’t have waited much longer to tell you anyways” Tom replied. “I was just nervous you didn’t feel the same. We’ve been such good friends for so long…”

You interrupted him, capturing his lips in a kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that for years” you said, connecting your lips in a second kiss.

“Oh, thank god.” Tom said, a little louder than intended. “Can I call you mine?”

You laughed, trying to stay quiet. “Please, do.” You answered reconnecting your lips.

Tom rolled to hover over you, deepening the kiss.

“Fucking finally!” you heard Scarlett call out, making Tom collapse on top of you in laughter.

“Right?” Evans added. “It’s been ages.”

“Fair warning, I am telling this story at your wedding” Hemsworth said.

“I think our friends are happy for us” Tom said in a much quieter voice, flipping the two of you so that you were laying against his chest.

“I mean, I’m pretty happy for us” you replied, snuggling into his warm chest.

“Me too, love. Get some sleep” he said, running his hand up and down your back as he felt your breaths even out.