#let alone nearing triples!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

k i thiiiiink i'm gonna close my inbox for a Bit bc there is... so much in there... and more gets buried with each new ask & i Want to get to them all! but there are ninety-five (95!) asks in that box rn. and i know from experience that if i don't take care of it that number will build to ungodly levels, and then it'll get so overwhelming i won't be able to get myself to answer Any <3

[indecisivemuch]

The Pact

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Reader

Summary: Seeing you yearn for a relationship and dejected over the lack of one, Luke Castellan proposes a dating pact. Little did you know, he was going to do more than just wait until the day the pact could happen (friends-to-lovers, fluff, pining, a lot of longing, lowkey jealous luke).

Note: Sort of inspired by Monica and Chandler's pact thing from Friends.

Word count: 3.4k

You were spending some time alone near the lake, trying to enjoy mid summer sunlight as well as the silence from the lack of campers and couples around. For some strange reason, the number of people dating at least tripled in the last three weeks. If you were honest, the sight of happy couples was starting to irritate you.

Your eyes glided through the lines in the novel you were reading, though you could barely get past a few pages before a degree of bitterness seeped through. You set the book down and sighed. Your head leaned against the tree behind you while shutting your eyes and furrowing your eyebrows. 

Oh, if only someone could love you the same way love was portrayed in books.

Before the scowl could grow permanent on your face, you felt light finger tips setting on the crease between your eyebrows. Instead of getting scared, you remained calm. You knew immediately who it was because there was only one person who would do that. The person sat down next to you and you turned to see them already smiling at you. 

To most, Luke Castellan was just the Hermes cabin counselor and best swordsman. But to you, he was a close friend and confidante. He has made it a habit to press softly against your scrunched eyebrows to prevent you from scowling further. It was somewhat sweet to you.

“What’s got you so bothered?” Luke asked, peering at you while tilting his head in a boyish manner. The look alone somehow made you blush. There was no denying that Luke was cute. You knew at least a handful of people at camp who would agree. It honestly surprised you that he was still single. Though you were somewhat relieved at that. For about a year now, you have had a little crush on the Hermes cabin counselor. It was not hard falling for his kind words and sweet actions.

“This is going to sound so stupid…” You let out a deep sigh.

“Oh, come on, since when have I judged you for being stupid?”

“Oh, so you do admit I’m stupid sometimes?”

“Yes, but is that really a problem, considering I find it endearing?” You hope he did not see the way your face heated up at his words. 

Little did you know, Luke did notice it, just like he has always noticed little details about you. Knowing he was the reason behind your pink-tinted cheeks filled his heart with joy. In fact, throughout the last year, it got to the point where he would grow very bold with his flirty jokes, disguising his feelings in between them. Honestly, he was surprised you had not caught up to the truth yet. 

“Okay, well, so many people have gotten together lately, and it’s got me a little bit annoyed.”

“Why?” Luke questioned.

“Because, I want that experience, you know? The teenage love thing. We already have a strange life, fighting creatures and going on quests that could kill us. I just want to at least experience an aspect of a normal teenage life,” you watched him nod and digest your words. “I didn’t want it, want it. But seeing everybody else experiencing it makes me wonder when it will be my turn, you know?” You sighed before adding, “To make matters worse, it seems like nobody is interested in me that way, so…”

Luke almost let out a chuckle of disbelief at your last remark. Oh, many Demigods found you cute. But if only you knew to look right under your nose. He has always been here. If only you could see him how he wanted you to and give him a chance.

Ever since the day Luke Castellan met you, he became a dreamer. During the night, every dream would be of you, while in the morning, he’d daydream of you until he would see you next. You filled in every thought, walking in his mind like it was your home. But even if it wasn’t your place, he’d still give you the keys without hesitation.

“So…you just want to experience teenage love?”

“Well, that, and ideally, to be loved too. I don’t just want some casual teenage love, but at the same time, I’m tired of waiting around.”

A lightbulb practically lit up inside Luke’s head as an idea popped up. The logical part of his mind was yelling that this was a bad idea, though the more chaotic side was pushing him to just give it a shot. Though, he spent little time contemplating.

“What if we make a pact? By the end of summer - so maybe in about a month - if you haven’t started dating anybody…let’s date each other,” Luke blurted out before his mind could talk him into backing out. It was stupid, and he knew it. But if that was one way to potentially date you, then so be it. 

Luke’s heart squeezed when he saw you completely frozen. He started panicking. Maybe he made it too obvious, and perhaps you didn’t like him in that way and were trying to find a way to back out. 

“I mean—just so the both of us could experience teenage love, you know? I think it will be great. We already get along well. We’re good friends. What could go wrong?” Luke tried in a more casual voice.

A lot could go wrong — you thought. A possible thing that could go wrong is that you would fall harder for Luke, and that feeling would absolutely destroy you when you two break up because he finally becomes genuinely interested in another girl. Or, it has you so hung up that you would confess to him, only for him to say that whatever you two had was just a pact. But Gods, your heart must actually be a fool to whisper to your brain, ‘I mean…at least you would no longer have to imagine how it would feel like to be his.’

“Sure,” you said before you could think twice about it. “Deal,” you grabbed his hand and shook it.

“Deal.”

Now…Luke just needed to do a couple more things in the meantime.

During the first week, you asked Clarisse to set you up with somebody. She introduced you to one of her friends, Dean. However, when you mentioned Dean to Luke, he clicked his tongue before warning you.

“I just think you deserve better, Y/N. I’ve known him for five years and have never seen him bring one person on a date twice. Last week alone, he went on a date with five people.” Since then, you haven’t spoken to Dean again, deciding that you don’t want to try and date a playboy.

Two weeks later, you asked this guy on a date. He came to the picnic you had set up with a bouquet of flowers. However, your smile faltered slightly when you realized they were the type of flowers you disliked. You shook the negative thoughts away. After all, it’s the effort that counts.

Things quickly went downhill as the guy started sneezing…a lot. His eyes were watering, and it seemed like he was borderline getting sick. You noticed him trying to stop sneezing. You could feel the guy trying—you really did. But the last straw broke when he turned away to sneeze mid-sentence but didn’t do it fast enough. 

Three days before the day that marked the day the pact would be able to begin, you attended a party hosted by the Hermes cabin. You were honestly done with trying to find someone to date. Perhaps, this pact thing was not such a bad idea after all, even if Luke might not like you as much as you like him. But at least you knew he would treat you well.

However, your numbers must have turned because somebody had walked up to you and struck up a conversation. With similar humor, your jokes bounced off each other’s, and you almost started crying from laughing at one point.

The sound of your laughter caught the attention of the Hermes cabin counselor. Luke could feel his lips slowly curling up into a smile at the sound of your giggles and laughter. He has always found the sound so endearing.

However, when he turned his gaze over at you, his eyebrows scrunched at the sight of you conversing with another Hermes boy — Oscar, who was also one of his friends. Luke was no longer paying attention to the conversation in his circle right now. His ears were busy trying to make out what that boy was saying to make you laugh like that. However, he almost left his friends when you touched Oscar’s arm while giggling at another one of his jokes.

You always tend to physically react to Luke’s jokes, from small touches while laughing to you playfully slapping his arm at his cheekier jokes. They never fail to make the tip of his ears grow red while his cheeks match the same color. Though Luke swore he had never seen you this way with anybody else. Hence, he was less than enthusiastic at the sight of you doing the same with another guy right now. 

You continued talking to Oscar, but your conversation stopped when somebody bumped into Oscar and spilled their drink onto him. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to trip…” the guy who bumped into Oscar apologized.

“Chris, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Oscar said, though a sigh quickly followed his words. “I’ll just go and wash the drink off, but I’ll talk to you in a bit, though?” Oscar looked at you. He smiled when you gave him a sweet nod.

“Sorry again, man,” Chris said before watching Oscar exit the cabin. He turned to you now. “So, how are you? Are you enjoying the party?” You answered Chris and started catching up with him. You and Chris met through Luke, though as the years went on you two became friends as well.

With your focus now on Chris, you did not notice the figure of the Hermes cabin counselor zooming past you two and outside, following a certain someone. However, your conversation with Chris didn’t last long because Clarisse swooped in and borrowed you from Chris. 

“So, I saw you talking to Oscar. Give me the details,” she said, dragging you down to sit beside her.

“He’s great! It’s so easy to talk to him and be around him.”

“Easier than with Luke?” you gave her a warning glare. You might have told her about your little crush on Luke, though you confessed that to her out of the belief that nothing would ever happen and that it would pass soon. Fast-forward to a year later, your feelings have not changed. 

“...No, but—”

“I’m telling you, Luke’s the best one for you.”

“He doesn’t like me like that.”

“If he doesn’t like you like that, he would have never made that pact with you." When you didn’t reply to her, Clarisse decided to bring something else up. “Alright, let’s move on and talk about something else then…another candidate. Dean told me you didn’t show up.”

“Show up to what?”

“He wrote you a note asking you to meet him?” the look on your face must have told Clarisse you had no idea what she was talking about. “He wanted to ask you out on a date in person after that talk you two had three weeks ago.”

“Where did he leave the note?”

“Apparently, he was planning to get me to give it to you, but he passed Luke on his way to me, who offered to give it to you.”

“Well, I never got the note. I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Luke told me he’s quite a player.” Clarisse pondered on the information you just provided her. Dean was in no way a player. She knew he has only been on one date with another person at camp. However, the puzzle pieces quickly clicked for Clarisse and she leaned back with a smirk. 

Before you could question the look on Clarisse's face, Oscar came back to the party. 

“Well, if you don't mind, Oscar is back and I have a good feeling about him. So I'm going to go and talk to him,” you left Clarisse, walking in the direction Oscar did. Meanwhile, Clarisse only silently chuckled. She knew exactly what Luke was up to and it made her shook her head in amusement.

“Hey,” you touched Oscar’s arm, though the cheery grin on your face fell when he slightly flinched and shrugged your hand off. “Uhm, it’s good you got that stain off your shirt,” your eyebrows furrowed when you realized Oscar was not even making eye contact with you.

“So, tell me more about that quest you went on last year?” you asked, hoping to start a conversation again. However, Oscar quickly broke out the truth.

“Listen, you seem very lovely, but I don’t want to put myself in the middle of anything. I don’t want to cause any drama.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not the type of guy to steal girls my friends are talking to or having a thing with,” you scrunch your eyebrow in confusion. Just as you were going to question what Oscar was referring to, his eyes betrayed him and looked at someone. You followed his eyesight only to see Luke already looking at you while glancing between you and Oscar. Though realizing he had been caught, Luke looked away and back to his friends.

That was when everything made sense.

“Uh oh…” Chris’s voice snapped Luke from whatever his friends were saying. He followed his gaze to where Chris was looking, only to see you storming over.

“We need to talk,” Luke tried not to think too much about the way your hand felt on his wrist as you pulled him through the crowd and outside. As always, he blindly followed you to wherever you were taking him. 

You released Luke from your grip and stood with hands on your hips. You took a deep breath. 

“Are you kidding me? Have you been sabotaging me? You told me Dean plays around, but apparently he doesn’t. He also gave you a note to give to me, but you never did it. Then, Oscar, who I was getting along with, came back acting weird, wouldn’t even look me in the eye, and then told me we have a thing going on?”

Oh, Gods, you found out about what he has been doing.

“Listen…” Luke started off while rubbing his neck, though he was unsure what to say next because he was indeed guilty of every accusation you were throwing towards him. But how was he meant to trust fate that you would still be single by the time the pact would be able to come true?

So, he intervened in his own way. That included throwing away Dean’s note, having Chris spill a drink on Oscar to get the boy away from you so Luke could have a talk with him. He might have also suggested your date two weeks ago to get you flowers, despite knowing that the boy was allergic to flowers.

All he wanted to do was to make sure the pact could happen.

“Luke…why? You know I wanted this. I wanted to experience things and date someone.” You weren’t mad, but you were slightly disappointed and confused. You didn’t understand Luke’s intentions behind his actions.

However, Luke misinterpreted the look on your face. He thought you were genuinely upset, and that alone pinched Luke’s heart. He gulped at the idea that he might have disappointed you or made you sad. Screw waiting until the pact happens before confessing. What use would that be when you might somehow start hating him?

“...Maybe I wanted it to be me,” Luke confessed, watching your eyes widen. “You told me you wanted to experience teenage love and feel loved, and you’re tired of waiting until it’s your turn. But I have never told you what I want.” Luke took a step closer to you before starting.

“I want to be the one to take you on dates and give you your favorite flowers every single time. I want to be your personal hype man and be your shoulder to cry on if you ever need one. I want to sit with you by the lake while you read. I also want to read the books you read and those little annotations you make. I want to learn about the things you love and the things you don’t. I want to do things you love. I want to show and tell you just how amazing you are every single day. I want to let the feelings I have right now grow cause I really like the idea of loving you, and I want to get there someday.”

You stood there shell-shocked. This felt almost surreal, like something you read from one of your novels. You have always wished to have someone who practically walked out of a romance novel.

“I want you.”

And here he was, standing in front of you, begging for a chance to be yours.

“And I know you just want teenage love, and I could offer you that. But just know I’m also offering so much more, even if you don’t treat the pact the same way as I do and will only view it as a casual relationship. But I suggested that pact and chased all those guys away because I like you a lot, Y/N. And in hindsight, it was stupid and selfish. But I did it because I felt like it was the only way I could have you.”

“I like you too, Luke,” the words slipped out so easily like they were always meant to be said. “I want you to be my teenage love. I want you too.” You’ve been walking around asking when it would be your turn. If only you had paid attention and looked closer instead, you might have noticed he felt the same way. You wanted everything he has spoken of and be just the same for him — to be there for him and learn to love the things he does.

“And I look forward to every single one of the things you’ve told me, and be the same for you. I really can’t wait for it. However, there is one thing I really want right now,” you said as you walked closer to him, one hand taking his own into yours.

“What?” Luke rasped out, looking so tentatively at you. Gods, whatever wish that spills from your lips this second will have him scour the world for it—whatever guarantees your happiness.

“I want you to kiss me.”

Oh, you could ask him for a thousand kisses, and he would give you a million.

Luke’s cheeks grew rosy at your request. He stepped closer, tucking your hair behind your ear without breaking eye contact. 

“Can I?” He whispered in a honey-like tone, and you knew right then that if he kept talking to you in that voice, you’d do absolutely anything he asked.

“Mhm,” your quiet hum granted Luke permission to his next addiction. Without hesitation, Luke attached your lips together with both hands caressing your face tenderly. In return, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pulled you both closer until your bodies were flushed against one another. Slowly but surely, you also tangled your fingers in his curls. Luke almost immediately melted against your touch, sighing in contentment against the kiss.

Luke was convinced this was now his new favorite thing to do. He wondered if you could taste it through the kiss—his feelings and borderline infatuation for you. Either way, he intended on making every kiss like this: wholeheartedly and as if it would be your last. 

Now, if you were to ask Luke Castellan how to get the person of your dreams, here’s what he’d advise you:

Step 1. Be stupid and propose a dating pact (tick).

Step 2. Chase away every other potential candidate (tick).

Step 3. Confess (tick).

Step 4. Fulfill all those promises you have made about loving the person (To be continued...But, he’s intending to do this for as long as you’ll let him).

-------------------------

masterlist

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[luna-lovegreat]

Triple Threat Time

The Terror Trio

Legend, Hyrule, and Wild are known as the Triple Threat and I love them.

@breannasfluff for you, m'lady

Legend and Wild

These two are the most over looked.

And from the very beginning, we have a ton of examples of them just. Being. Near each other.

Like magnets

We can trace back to the moment these two really connected and spent more time with each other... which was of COURSE over girlfriend trauma

That's one of our first Legend being soft moments, showing true empathy. And Wild found that Legend could be understanding of his hurt- this is where they connected beyond just being closer than most

The main point in the plot with Legend and Wild is when they split off into groups

They went together, and this interaction shows that with these three, Legend is the common sense filter that keeps the other two from falling off of cliffs

Wild: I wanted to climb the mountain!

Leg: there is literally a cliff to fall off of right there

One of the things I love most about about Legend and Wild is they understand each other

We have multiple examples of them literally stating facts about the other in coversation.

"I know you love to tease" "you break everything" "you're not usually impressed"

They just state facts about each other because they get each other and understand

Wild and Hyrule

Ah yes. The two that have so many similarities in which they give the rest of the chain heart attacks

They both have the insecurity about knighthood. Hyrule because he's never felt adequate, and Wild feels like he only used to be.

They both hate maps (who needs them, right? *promptly gets lost*)

They do not care about injury at all. "I can walk off a broken leg for sure it'll be fine"

When left alone these two nearly die. Like every time. Love them.

Here's a lot of them hanging out:

Legend and Hyrule

The downfall duo

These two are from the same timeline, the downfall timeline, and there are certain connections coming from the same world. I think that their world made them have a similar fighting style because of how it's developed.

They are around each other mostly

And they always fight together

Here's my take on these two: Legends more confident because he's done so much. Hyrule's less confident because he didn't have such an insane number of adventures.

Legend's been through enough to know this is ganon's fault, not his. Hyrule's been through little enough (even with insanely hard adventures) that he has much more insecurity.

These two are quite possibly the most skilled in survival, because of no formal knight training. Instead of having perfect swordsmanship, they have tools (legend) and spells (hyrule) to fight in a world that was so much harder.

Which of course relates to wild who woke up in a cave, found a sword and winged it.

That's their relationships two on two

Legend and wild: power team, overlooked but so so close

Wild and Hyrule: do not let them near fire

Legend and Hyrule (downfall duo): They fight together and they are a pair

Combined these three make a Triple Threat

They also have dynamics with all three of them combined

Bestest moments of them:

When turned into a bunny, Legend mentioned both Hyrule and Wild as the ones he was worried about seeing him that way

In both scenes of Wild breaking swords Legend or Hyrule was there

When Wild was injured, they both somehow lost their senses and freaked out about him being dead (lol)

But with all of them they understand each other

Wild and Hyrule know Legend is grumpy and rude- they don't care, he's their brother. As the one who appreciates maps, he keeps both from getting even closer to dying

Hyrule: he feels accepted. These two make him feel like he has a place and is valuable to those with similarities.

Hyrule and Legend don't care about Wild's odd traits, they know that he breaks stuff and gets hurt often.

Proof

!!!! Looking at their scenes (in my screenshots above too), this is clear: all three of them have more examples than most of them being next to or near the others

Plus all the adventures and scenes of them- they fight and wander together- they are on this journey with each other

Because they understand each other, they spend time with each other. With nine people in the chain, when a few are around each other this much rather than the others, it makes it very clear how close they are, since they simply want to be near each other.

Here's my very favourite picture that perfectly sums up the three of them:

Legend: grrrr

Hyrule: excited

Wild: still can't put his hands on his hips properly

And these three combined... we've got constantly injured, set fire to everything, get lost a ton, snarky rudeness galore, plus swords and tools and magic, and that makes them a threat

(one thing I want to point out. you can see this by looking at the screenshots in this post. with the chain, much of figuring out who is close is simply who is near each other. looking at their interactions and the times they are hanging out as a group, Four is most often near and hanging out with these three rather than the others, so I think he is also very close to them and feels comfortable with them. do with that what you will.)

Yeah! Terror Trio.

:)

[gunnerfc]

Change of Plans | Lia Wälti x Arsenal!Reader (18+) [Friday]

Summary: A teammate in need of a pick-me-up forces you to abandon the hookup date you had planned but leads to something more with a different teammate

Warnings: r is packing, bottom lia, top reader, strap use (lia receiving), oral (lia receiving) fingering (lia receiving), overstimulation, r calling lia ‘princess’ 

WC: 2.2k

Night After Night masterlist

You slipped your shoes on in a slight hurry before heading out the door to your car. You pulled your phone from your pocket to tell the woman you were meeting that you were leaving your place and would be there soon. You had a bit of a reputation for sleeping around, though it didn’t seem to bother you.

You slipped your phone back into the pocket of your sweatpants, you hadn’t made too much of an effort knowing your clothes would be on the floor most of the night. Just as you got comfortable in the driver’s seat, your phone dinged three times. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion as to why your ‘date’ would be triple-texting you.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket once more and instead of your date’s number greeting you, it was a smaller group chat with a few of your teammates. You huffed slightly when you read Leah’s text asking for a movie night to help cheer her up. You wanted to be there for your friend but had someone waiting for you. You hesitated to respond because you knew the replies you would get from your teammates if you told no and why.

Before you could answer, everyone else had agreed and told Leah they would be there shortly. You cursed softly to yourself as you texted the woman that something come up last minute and you would have to reschedule. You texted the group chat you were on your way before tossing your phone into the passenger seat. You readjust yourself in the seat, forcing you to remember the strap on beneath your sweatpants.

You contemplated going back inside to change but you figured it wouldn’t be too noticeable. With a small sigh, you put the car in drive and headed the short distance to Leah’s place, ready to offer a comforting shoulder despite how needy you were feeling. You would just have to get through the movies before you could come home and take care of yourself.

You were the first to arrive at Leah's since you were already in the car when she texted. You waited outside her door for her to answer for a moment before the door swung open and an upset-looking Leah appeared. Seeing the blonde visibly sad instantly made you regret feeling upset at her initial text. You didn’t say anything as she let you inside and you pulled her into a small hug once the door closed. 

You two weren’t alone long before Lia, Steph, Beth, and Viv arrived. The only person missing was Jen but due to her recent move to America, she’d have to miss out on movie night. After quick hugs, everyone made themselves comfortable with snacks in Leah’s living room. Lia was the last to take a seat and due to the lack of space, the midfielder was seated right next to you with little space between you.

“Is this alright, y/n/n,” Lia whispered when the movie started, her thigh resting very close to yours.

You nodded your head with a small smile as you tried to focus on the screen in front of you. With your still present desire and Lia being so close to you, your thoughts were elsewhere. You and Lia had a very back-and-forth relationship after her breakup with Caitlin. Neither of you wanted to make the first move but that didn’t stop your thoughts from racing every time she was near you.

Throughout the movie, you kept rearranging yourself and each time you moved, the toy between your legs bumped your clit. You lost focus on the movie entirely, your sole focus was controlling yourself. You were thankful when the movie was paused to get more snacks, taking the opportunity to go to the bathroom. 

You groaned softly as you leaned against the sink, your breath heavy as you shook your head to rid your thoughts of your teammate. You turned the sink on and threw some water on your face, hoping it would help calm you down. You took a deep breath before opening the door, stopping in your tracks when you were face to face with Lia.

“Sorry, didn’t know you were out here,” your voice wavering slightly as you avoided her eyes.

“Are you okay,” the concern lacing her voice was evident as she stuck a hand out to hold your bicep.

You swallowed lightly at the feeling of her hands on your body and quicking nodded your head. You moved out of her way to let her into the bathroom so you could head back into the living room. Everyone waited while she was in the bathroom, small talk about the upcoming game filled the room. 

When Lia returned, she took her seat next to you but this time her thigh was pressed tightly against yours. Your eyes dropped to her thigh as Beth hit play, though you didn’t care. Lia turned her head slightly when she felt you staring at her, sending you a small smile as she patted your thigh.

The midfielder’s hand froze when she felt the strap on resting beneath your pants. You locked eyes with her as both of your breathing picked up. Your eyes dropped slightly to her lips and you licked your at the thought of kissing her. A loud bang from the TV forced your attention off Lia, though your thoughts were still racing when she had yet to move her hand.

The movie seemed to drag on for ages before the end credits started rolling and you mentally cheered at the thought of going home. You stood from the couch, making a lame excuse for not staying for more than one movie, and quickly hugged your teammates. When your arms wrapped around Lia, your breath hitched when she placed a small kiss on the side of your neck.

You yelled one last goodnight before stepping out the door, the cold London air hitting your face. You stood there for a moment before slowly starting to your car and before you could open your car door, Leah’s front door opened again. You watched Lia make her way toward you, a smile on her face as she did so. 

“You’re not staying,” you questioned with a raised eyebrow, your eyes falling to her lips once more when she was close to you.

“Figured you needed the company,” Lia teased as she stepped close to you, your faces inches from each other.

Lia leaned in first, her lips brushing yours lightly before you wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her as close as possible. Your lips easily dominated hers, Lia moaning into the kiss as she held your arm tightly. “My place,” you asked when you broke the kiss, though you moved to place light kisses along her jaw.

“I’ll um.. I’ll meet you there,” she nodded, gulping as you moved down her neck, sucking lightly.

You pulled back with a small nod, letting go of her waist and watching as she headed to her car. You quickly hopped in your car, not wanting to wait another second. You made it back to your place in record time and Lia wasn’t far behind you. You offered her a hand once she was out of her car and next to you, pulling her to your door. 

You quickly unlocked your door and pushed it open, pulling Lia through the threshold with you. You closed the door with your foot, dropping your keys by the table by your door and kicking your shoes off. Lia followed your actions and as soon as her shoes were off, her back was pressed against your door. Her hand tangled in your hair as your lips met hers once more, your hands gripping her waist tightly. 

You stayed in your spot for a moment as your lips fought each other, hands running over Lia’s body and pulling at her clothes. With your lips still locked, you guided her toward your bedroom, your hands pulling her shirt from her body as you moved. By the time you made it to your bedroom, both of you were without your shirts.

You pulled your lips away from Lia’s to remove her bra, throwing it to the floor aimlessly. Your eyes drop to her bare chest, leaning down to place a light kiss in between her breasts. Your hands dropped to the drawstring of the shorts she was wearing, pulling them loose and pushing them and her underwear down her legs. Your eyes scanned her bare body, licking your lips as you took in every inch of her body. 

You moved her toward your bed letting her lay down as you stripped your remaining clothes. Lia’s eyes fell to the strap between your legs, her thighs clenching as she felt herself grow wetter. You ran a hand from her calf to her thighs, pushing her legs open for you to lay between them. You placed kisses along her pelvic bone and the inside one of her thighs, earning a quiet moan from Lia.

You placed small kisses near her clit before kissing the sensitive bud softly. Lia’s thighs tried to close around you but you pushed one of her legs out to spread her out even more. A small whine of your name followed by ‘fuck’’ fell from her lips as her hips bucked up for more.

You could feel yourself growing wetter as you licked through her dripping folds, your nose hitting her clit as you licked up. You hook your hands around her thighs as you push closer to her, Lia’s back arching off the mattress as her eyes fall shut. Lia could feel herself close to coming, her hands tangling in your hair as she bucked her hips to meet the thrust of your tongue.

With a loud moan, Lia’s back arched off the bed as she let go, coming all over your mouth. You kept your movements going, bringing her close to a second orgasm before pulling away before she could cum again. You kissed up her body before your lips met hers, Lia moaning at the taste of herself on your lips. While your lips moved against each other, you moved a hand to grab the toy between your legs, lining it up with Lia’s cunt.

Lia pulled away from the kiss as her head fell back against your pillows when you pushed the strap on into her. You moved your arms to rest on either side of her head as she wrapped a leg around your waist. You moved your lips to her neck, sucking harshly to leave hickies along her skin. The midfielder arched her back once more, her chest hitting yours as you roughly fucked her.

Lia moved her hands to your back, her nails leaving indents from how tightly she was holding onto you. She was already close to a second orgasm so it didn’t take long for her to cum again. Your name fell from her lips in a broken chant mixed with her begging you to not stop.

“You’re taking me so well, princess,” you mumbled against her skin after a rough thrust. Lia whined at the praise, her eyes screwing shut as she let go once more.

You didn’t slow your hips as you fucked her, helping through her high while also bringing her closer to a third. You propped your hands next to her head as you snapped your hips, the base of the strap on offering you some relief as you fucked her. Your hips stuttered as you felt yourself close to the edge but you kept fucking her, wanting to make her cum as many times as you could.

“I’m gonna cum,” she whined as you thrust into her, her nails digging into your skin as she held you close.

“Cum for me princess,” you grunted, your own orgasm hitting you as you drilled into her. 

Lia came for the third time, her loud moans echoing off your bedroom walls. You panted above her as you calmed down from your orgasm, swallowing lightly as you caught your breath. You pulled the strap on out of her, a small whimper falling from her lips at the loss of contact.

You traced a hand down her torso, your fingers running through her soaked folds. “One more, princess,” you smirked, your fingers easily pushing into her. Lia whined softly, tears pricking her eyes from the immense amount of pleasure she was receiving. 

You pumped your fingers into her quickly, easily making her cum for the fourth time that evening. You pulled your fingers out of her, bringing them to your mouth to suck them clean as Lia lay beneath you with a fucked out expression gracing her face.

“You did so well, princess,” you cooed softly as you placed soft kisses all over her face. Lia whimpered softly at your praise, her mind foggy from how well you fucked her.

You removed the strap on from your hips, tossing it to the floor to be dealt with in the morning. “Get some rest,” you whispered against her hairline as she curled into you.

“What about you,” she sighed tiredly, exhaustion hitting her hard.

“Next time,” you whispered as her breathing evened out as sleep took over.

You two would have to talk about what this meant for the two of you but for now, you were content to just hold her as she slept. Your evening might not have gone how you originally planned but you were grateful you had to cancel on your date.

[mikaswannabe]

OVERACHIEVING MOUTH

— ❣︎✰︎☮︎ — "let's see how else you can use this overachieving mouth." — ☮︎✰︎❣︎ —

IN WHICH a class project brings two senior students together as an unlikely pair.

content includes: hotnerd!reader, studypartner!eren, athlete!eren, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, possessiveness, slow burn but not too slow, small bit of angst, dom!eren, fingering, a lot of penetration, cunnilingus, slight breeding kink.

"I've done a randomization on who will work with who on this project, so that conflicts will be less likely."

When your film teacher gave that disclaimer, your eyes instantly widened. You don't talk to anybody in this period anymore, and she was likely enforcing this because of you.

With the last project, you allowed a girl who you got along with in this class to work with you, but you found out that she was an inconsiderate freeloader, so yes you gave her a piece of your mind! Maybe you blew it out of proportion, but you couldn't see any wrong in it.

But now this was the outcome, and you were wishing you were calmer about it now. Your teacher went over to her laptop, and on the board, she showed the pairings.

Some people hit a 777, but meanwhile, you were thinking that this lottery was a scam, because how the hell did you get Eren Jaeger?!

You're a girl at the top of your class, most of your grades being in the triple digits and you had already accepted a full-ride scholarship to an prestigious college three hours out of the city. It's your senior year, and this was just one of your electives, but you liked this class, and you like to give everything your all.

So how could the stars have possibly aligned you with Eren? This pretty-boy athlete. You've had a few other classes with him in these 4 years, but never a conversation. You just recognized that his handsome face only pops up in these classes every once in a blue moon.

He was sitting on the opposite side of the room from you. Your head was leaning on your hand, and you glanced over to him from across the classroom. He always sat with his legs spread. Slutty and Obnoxious. He was sitting up straight in his chair with his arms crossed, and then you saw those dark hues of green in his eyes go to you. That's when you looked away, looking down at your phone as if something super interesting was going on in it.

People started to move around to go sit with their partners, so he took the liberty to come up to you. Huge feet made their way under your vision, so that's when you looked up from your phone. Looking through your rectangle frames, you saw his stoic face looking down at you, his hands in his pockets and his crotch uncomfortably near your face.

"Hey."

That deep voice is what you're gonna have to tolerate until the due date next week. But not if you could help it.

"Excuse me." You stood up and moved past him. You went over to Miss Sullivan's desk, and she slowly turned her head to acknowledge you after you said her name. She knew that it was always most likely to be bullshit coming out of your overachieving mouth.

"Yes?"

"Is it alright if I work alone?"

She glanced over to your desk, where Eren had pulled a chair up and sat on the side of it. Then, those judgy eyes moved back over to you. "Go sit down, Miss Johnson."

Your mouth fell open in offense, but you wiped your arrogant expression off. "Can I go use the bathroom, though?"

She picked up a pre-written pass and handed it to you between two fingers. You really did have to pee, and you also just needed a minute to cope.

When you got back, you guys — particularly you — spent the rest of that period organizing what to do with the project. He recognized that you just kept talking, and talking, and talking. He felt like his head was spinning.

"How do you even know so much stuff?"

The fact that he practically cut you off irritated you. "Hm?"

"Like, how could you pay attention to the movie this much? I fell asleep on it."

It was a crime-based movie. It kept you probed. You weren't surprised that he fell asleep though. "It was interesting."

You were a very pretty girl, makeup always on point and displaying personality, even though you had a mysterious aura surrounding you since you didn't talk to too many people here. You had a nose stud and a septum, and the blue evil eye charm layered over your other necklaces stood out. Your locs were platinum blond at the top and went to being hot pink at the bottom, and your bold hairstyles always struck you a compliment that you would smile and give a soft thanks to.

All of this, and no one would think you were such a nerd. Even with your cute glasses.

"Hm. Well, at least I'll see you in homeroom. Can we rewatch it in there?"

Eren Jaeger. Y/N Johnson. It's been four years that you've had to be in a homeroom with him because of how your last names are matched up. But still, to his response, all you could think of was Who is we? "Um..."

You had tightened your lips, but he needed them open so he could get an answer. "What's wrong?"

You scratched the back of your head, "You can't just research it on your own time?"

"You know so much about it though. It would be really helpful."

Was he trying to butter you up? You were really just trying to get this 100. "Uh-"

"Oh, bell rings in 5 minutes." He closed his Chromebook that he had barely been doing work on and put it in his bag. "I'll see you later."

He picked up his bag and walked back over to his seat, just as everyone else who had rearranged did under Miss Sullivan instructions.

You spent the next period dreading what was gonna be after it. Your homeroom took place in the theater. The drama teacher was your homeroom teacher, so after he would call roll, everyone would go to doing their own thing.

You took your usual seat at the end of a row, about 10 rows away from the stage with your bookbag in the seat next to you. Everyone else was usually spaced out, and there were small clusters of groups getting along in their own areas.

For example, the white boys would always banter on the stage, either playing with the props, doing something else foolish, or just laying there talking or on their phones.

Eren was always a part of this group, but after the roll was called today, he easily hopped off of the stage with those long legs of his and moseyed his way on over to you.

Instead of just saying excuse me like a regular human being, he walked over the seat in the row in front of your bookbag's seat, forcing you to look up from your phone at this bizarre act. When he completed that step, he moved your bookbag onto the floor and sat down.

"Hey."

You didn't say anything, just staring at him. He took the liberty to start again. "So, I left my Chromebook up there. Hope yours is charged."

You gave him a few slow blinks, and then you reached past his knee to unzip your bag and take the laptop out. Of course it was charged. You started typing into your browser, but he was confused. "What streaming service are we gonna watch it on?"

This was the third sentence he's said, and this one was gonna be the first to incite a response out of you...

Or was it? Why the fuck were you taking so long to open that overachieving mouth and give him an answer?

"I was just gonna try Soap2Day." Your voice was small and shy, even though he had a feeling you were far from shy. He just wanted to get it out of you, though.

"What's that?"

He saw the website you stated as you pulled it up on the computer, and you began typing in the name of the movie that was the subject of the presentation.

"Ohhh, you bootleg shit. Cool. I'm gonna use this."

When you pulled up the movie tab, there was porn on the side of the screen, and he held in a laugh as you rushed to put the videoplayer in full-screen.

Five minutes into the movie, he was engrossed, but you couldn't tell with how he made the move to put his arm around your shoulder. Even though you were shutting that shit down real quick, he savored the feeling of your soft hand on his when you grabbed him and gently put his arm back where it belonged.

"No?" He asked to confirm his rejection.

"No." You repeated.

He was actually interested in the movie, and he kept pausing it and asking you questions. "So you're telling me she pushed her friend off the bridge? Why?"

If he watched the first time, he would know why. But his entertainment was amusing. "Just keep watching."

About 30 minutes into watching, Eren was completely focused. Then, a certain buzzcut boy made his way down the walkway to you two. "Yo, Jaeger!"

Connie Springer. Don't know why the fuck he was in here, but he was here. You weren't complaining, though. His attractiveness was something you couldn't deny. Sexy ass Columbian basketball player with undeniable charm and a pretty ass smile. You had your head rested on your hand, watching him in adoration as Eren paused the movie to dap his homeboy up.

"What's up, Con. You skipping again?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was never even here, bro. What y'all over here doing, though?"

"We got paired together for a project in film, so I forced her to stay with me to watch the movie again."

Connie laughed. "Working with him hasn't killed you yet, huh Y/N?"

It's been four years that you've been around this man and you haven't had any significant interaction with him. So you grinned when you heard that he knew your name. "It's probably coming soon."

Eren gave a nasty sneer. He's been bending over backwards all day to try to get along with you, but how come you showed that pretty smile to Connie before you could show it to him?

"Whatever. Connie you don't have anywhere else you could be that doesn't involve bullying me?"

Connie's face showed shock to Eren's audacity, "I'm a bully? Tuh. Actually, my next stop is the snack lady, and I'ma go bully my way into a free honeybun."

He dapped Eren up one more time, "See you at practice." Directing a smile to you, he waved and began to walk away.

You thought it would be best to go straight back to the movie, and that's why you directed your hand towards the space bar, but Eren had something to offer. "You wanna go to the snack lady with me? I'm hungry."

"I have food." You moved your laptop off of your lap and onto his. Partially leaning over his knee again, you pulled a purple bag of sweet and salty flavored popcorn out of your bag.

Crazy. You had other things in your bag besides books. He put his hand out, but you just gave him a side eye and looked back at the computer, pressing play before putting a handful in your mouth.

He was looking at you in disbelief, and it was 30 seconds of his glare poking through the side of your head, but you continued to stoically watch the movie. That was until he smashed the space bar. You slowly turned your head to have your eyes on him.

"Why do you hate me? Seriously, have I done something to you that I don't remember, or what?"

Now you kind of felt bad. "You just seem like bad news."

"How? You don't even know me like that. And you're not even trying to get to know anything good about me. Meanwhile, I'm ready to tear my head off from tolerating your stingy ass all morning."

Your mouth fell open in offense. "If you wanna tear your head off, do it. I wanna do it since I'm paired with you. You just don't seem like the type to commit to an assignment the way that I do."

"Once again: You don't know me. And I gotta admit, you're probably right. I'm not as much of a nerd as you."

You showed offense to the term he used as if he wasn't accurate. "What? I don't mean it offensively. You're like, really smart. I just have a lot of other things to focus on. Sports are more fun than fuckass assignments to me, but I do try to get it done."

"Football season's been over." You stated. With this fact, sports couldn't have had him too busy.

But he was ready to disprove you. "I do baseball and track, too. Since you know every fucking thing."

Your mouth fell open. Maybe you did overstep. "Sorry then... What do you do in track?"

You didn't know anything about baseball, but track & field was interesting to watch. "Long jump, pole vault, long distance, and sprints."

He saw your eyes round with intrigue. "Are you any good?"

You saw the corner of his mouth pull up in a curve. "Come to my track meet tomorrow and find out."

Your glossy lips poked out in decision. "Hmm."

"Come on. After, I can take you back to my house and we can work on the project."

That's where you were out. "Umm, I don't even know you like that."

"Yeah, and that's the problem."

"My mom don't even know your mom or nothing."

"You're 18, right?" You nodded to his question. "And you still have to ask your mom to go places after school?"

He's made your mouth fall open so much in offense that you're surprised a bug hasn't flown in it. You picked up your phone and started typing.

you mama this boy asked me to hangout with him after school tomorrow.

mama dearest Thank God. 🙏

you ???

i don't even know him like that though.

mama dearest If you could tolerate talking to him long enough where he got to the point of asking you out, then get to know him like that.

you omg????

say no!!!!

mama dearest I'll say no to you asking me to say no. 🤷‍♀️

you mama?!!!

what if i'm out having sex doing drugs robbing cars?

mama dearest You a punk!!!

you PLEASE

mama dearest Live outside of academics for a minute please.

In fact, if you come home before sundown today I'm taking your keys away.

you i rode the bus today anyway!!! look in the driveway she broke down again hater 😪

Eren was looking all in your phone, laughing mad hard. "Our mom's funny as fuck, huh?"

You hit his obnoxious ass on his shoulder. "Shut up."

"So, where you wanna meet up after school?"

"Who said I was agreeing?"

"Don't go sit in a library until sundown like the nerd you are."

You pouted, "I was gonna go to Chick-Fil-A, actually."

"If you don't wanna tell me where you'll be at, that's fine. I'm gonna track you down though."

"You scaring me. This why I didn't wanna be around you."

His grinning teeth showed as he looked at you, "Not my fault you're doing this the hard way."

You rolled your eyes, "Meet me at 500 hall's exit 10 minutes after the bell, then."

"The one that goes out towards the bus ramp?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. You should give me your number, in case things get mixed up."

Your eyelashes went up, then down, and every time they did that, he would still be looking at you as serious as ever. Instead of letting those sassy lips say something that would piss him off, he just snatched your phone and swiped to the right of your lockscreen. You tried to reach for your phone back, but he was snapping pictures of him and you, even if it was chaotic as he posed and you hid your face and struggled.

"Boom. Now you got a nice selection for a contact picture. You gotta get my number first though."

"Not happening."

He nodded his head as if he was accepting defeat, but then he directed your phone towards your face with reflexes of a cheetah. "Too bad you're not smart enough to close your eyes." Now your phone was unlocked and you were practically at his mercy.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you going through my phone? What if you find something you don't wanna see?"

Your phone was Hello Kitty themed, and he had to make his way through the pink ocean to get to the phone app. "I'm just trying to put my number in your phone. I feel like in here I'll only find the cure to cancer, or a text from your boyfriend or something."

"Who told you I had a boyfriend?"

He shrugged, "I was just assuming. Smart, pretty, sassy as fuck. Somebody must be crawling after you."

He called you pretty? "...No, I don't fool with nobody like that."

Either you were bullshitting, or you saw him smirk a little as he heard that. He typed his contact name in as "bestieboo eren" with a plethora of hearts and outrageous emojis behind it.

"Eren, please."

"Don't change it, either."

Who did this white man think he was telling you what to do like this? "Or what?"

"Or I'll show you how it is when I'm really scaring someone." He handed your phone back to you, his green eyes staring into you with a layer of cockiness over his face. You took it while your gaze swirled into his. "Got it?"

This was the first time he got a smirk out of you, and your eyes narrowed as you answered him with, "Okay then."

You picked your laptop back up and woke it up from its nap of inactivity, and then you two resumed the movie. He laid his head on your shoulder like he was slick. You pushed his head away, but he laughed and kept his head near. "Come on, let me lay down. The computer's on your lap. It makes everything easier for me."

You just rolled your eyes and complied, and he laid down as he continued to watch, even eating some of the popcorn that you had a change of heart over.

During your last period, he texted you.

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 hi best friend

you please

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 already begging for me i knew it was real

you what the hell do you need?

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 sorry to interrupt you during ur very important class

but i just remembered

i have practice after school

so i can't meet up w you immediately

you thank goodness. 🙏🏾

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 tf you think this is

you're not getting away from me that easily bestie

you 😧

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 u could send me ur addy and i'll pick u up after i'm out

you absolutely not.

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 or u could wait for me here until i get out of practice

you BAHHAA ur hilarious.😭

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 i don't want u riding that dingy ass bus tho

just wait for me stink

you i am not tems no waiting will be done.

how about we dead this me going over to your house idea.

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 here u go again being negative

now i gotta go back to square one

you ?

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 tracking u tf down

you sir???

scary ass individual.

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 yeah ik where you are right now be prepared to see me

you be prepared to NOT see me tf. bye.

bestieboo eren 💕💕🫦🫦🫶🏾🫶🏾😚😚 no byes see u in 15 minutes

You were the first one to walk out your classroom door, so that means that everyone else behind you saw when you got snatched by your arm from the side of the door. Eren was your abductor. He was really serious about it, and now he had his hand on your lower back and a grip around your wrist as he led you away.

"Eren, let me go!" You didn't like causing a scene, but the halls were already crowded and loud with people as soon as the bell rang.

He didn't give you a response, but you could feel the amusement radiating off him. He dragged you to a hall that led to the office. People were still walking through it, but it was much clearer than the hall you two came from.

"What is wrong with you?!" You reprimanded as you snatched yourself away from his grasp.

"Hey. How's your day been without me?" With a smile on his face, he was acting so casual as if he didn't just manhandle you.

"Bye. My bus is first wave."

When you tried to walk away, he snatched your bookbag and easily pulled you back to him. "Let me get this off of you."

You must've softened up, because you allowed him to take your bag off of your shoulders. "How did you know where I was?"

"Your friend Ashyra was in my class. I don't know how she feels about me taking her best friend position, but she'll be okay."

You were instantly ready to beat your actual best friend's ass seeing as she reported your location to this opp. "Eren, I don't wanna stay after school. Why would I wanna be here any longer than I already am?"

"To stay with your best friend, duh."

Not a smile grazed your face as you tilted your head to the side. He tilted his back with sass to match your energy. No matter how bad you thought you could intimidate him, he was gonna double back.

"Whatever. I'll walk to the café across the street, since you want me here so bad."

"And do. If you wanna get something, I'll Venmo you."

"No, you don't have to do that."

"Well I don't have cash on me right now, so that's the only way this'll work."

"Well I kind of didn't ask for money anyway."

"Nevermind on Venmo, accept the Apple Pay I just sent you."

"White boy, stop treating me like a charity case."

"What? I'm not. You're changing your schedule and staying after school just because of me. This is the least I could do. It's just $15. Text me when you get over there, or I'ma blow up your phone, alright?"

You didn't respond, but you had a smirk on as you grabbed your bag back from him turned around. He grabbed your hand and spun you back, "You deaf? Text me when you get over there."

"Eren, okaaay. I will."

"Okay, can I get a hug?"

You laughed, "See you in an hour."

"Come on, I'm gonna get a hug out of you today. Would you rather it be now, or after practice when I'm all sweaty and gross?"

"Never-"

"Isn't an option. Come here, mama."

He knew that when you rolled your eyes, he got you. Usually you would roll your eyes or give him a smirk, one or the other, separate not together. This time he got both as he pulled you in, swinging you side to side as your arms wrapped around his firm and fit torso.

"Okay, I'll see you later, Eren."

"Yeah, see you later."

One thing you learned about Eren today is that he was gonna stand behind his words. He really did blow up your phone 15 minutes later! It took a five minute phone call for you to get him to shut up, and at 4:45, he called you again and told you he was driving over.

He found you sitting in a booth at the McDonald's. Your laptop was open in front of you but you were on your phone.

"You texting somebody that's not me?"

"Or me?"

Two separate voices that both know how to grind your gears. You looked up to see Eren sliding into the booth with your best friend Ashyra sliding in on the other side of him. "Not both of y'all here to torcher me."

"You finally met my favorite white boy! Didn't I tell you he cool people?"

"Yeah, but I been knew you was a liar, too, Shy."

Her mouth fell open, and then an order came out. "Eren, kick her."

You shrieked as you tried to avoid his gruesome, manly feet, but he got your ass. "Ow! I hate that y'all know each other. Y'all are gonna make my life hell."

"You know it. Did you get anything?"

"Nah."

Fed up with you, he rolled his eyes with a "Stand up."

Ashyra got up and allowed him to get up too, but you were still sitting there. "What?"

"What do you want? A cookie? Fries?"

"She has a sweet tooth. Can you get me a caramel frappe?"

"Bet."

"Shy." You called reprimandingly.

"What? He's offering, I'm taking. You smart, but that's something else you can learn."

Eren leaned down, his hand placed on the table. You didn't expect it, and that's why you were looking so directly at him when his face got closer to yours. "What do you want me to get you?"

His voice was so much calmer than it's been before, but it was still commanding. "Can you get me a cookie... and a McFlurry."

"Oreo?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. You wanna stand in line with us?"

"No, I'ma stay right here and pack my bag."

His face lifted from yours, and you allowed yourself to breathe again. "Okay."

For him to have been fresh out of practice, he didn't smell bad. It was a natural musk. Did he hit the showers before he came over here? You would hope so. You're gonna be in a whole car ride with him.

You were thinking all of this through as you put your laptop and binder in your bag, but then, you recognized. You were thinking. About a different person. A boy, at that. You tried to just abort from that, but your homegirl came over ready to put it back in your mind.

"So, you gon' fuck him?"

Chin propped up on her hands, her nosey ass had a cheesy grin on as she looked at you.

"Girl, no. What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you? You playin' hard to get with that fine ass boy. He cheesin' you up, paying for your stuff. Be nicer to him, please."

"I'm really just tryna get a good grade."

"Fuck a good grade. Get a D, for once."

Your mouth fell open, and you kicked her from under the table. Then, Eren came over, holding the frappe and an ice cream cone both in one hand, with four bags with individual cookies in the other hand. He put the cookies down in front of you, grabbing one bag and passing it to 'Shy, and keeping one for himself.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Oop, my brother outside. I gotta go before he start honking." Shy said as she picked up her bags.

"Okay, I'll go say hi to him." When you got up, you tried to pick up your own bag, but Eren did that instead. You and Eren waved to Ashyra's brother as she got in his car that had music blasting out of it, and then he walked you to his dark grey Silverado.

In the car ride, you and Eren didn't talk much. His music just played, and if you knew a song, you would tap your foot and keep looking out the window as he hummed. He would speak, and you would respond, but you didn't initiate any of the conversations.

In a gated community is when you knew that the ride was coming closer to an end. Every house looked similar to the one next to it, and they all looked spacious and nice. Just like his. He pulled into one of the spots of his three car garage, and then he got out and opened the door for you. Even with holding his sports bag and his own bookbag, he still put in the effort to hold yours.

"Where's your parents?" You questioned, looking around the nicely decorated suburban home when you got inside. He took his shoes off by the door, and you followed.

"Dad's at work."

He was about to walk up the stairs, but you stayed right where you stood, "W-Wait. We're going to your bedroom?"

He sighed, and then he descended from the two stairs he walked up and went over to the dining room. He flicked the light switch up, but nothing changed in the scenery. "Last light bulb went out last night. He's going to get a new box after he gets off."

"Oh, what about your couch, though?"

"My room has a desk. I thought it would be in your nerd rulebook to have good posture when you work."

He saw you considering your dilemma as he walked closer to you. "You still scared of me, or what?"

His deep and husky voice intimidated you, but you wouldn't admit that. You didn't even wanna show it, so you straightened your posture and tried to show a brave face. "I'm not scared."

"Really? 'Cause you've been shaking like a leaf, tough girl."

He was towering over you, so he had a clear view of your two-toned lips falling apart in offense and your eyes narrowing. He laughed, "I'm kidding with you. We can work on the couch."

"No. We can go up to your room."

"Nah, better TV view. I gotta finish watching the movie, anyway." He put all the bags down behind the couch, and made way to the kitchen, "Get comfortable. You want snacks? I'm nicer than you, so I actually plan on sharing."

A scoff left your mouth, "Sure."

He was on one couch cushion, you were on the one next to him. A good amount of space was between you two, and he was still invested in this movie as he munched on some Sour Patch Kids.

Meanwhile, you were struggling to keep your head up and your eyes open. He gave you some chips, but the bag was tilting in your hands, going the same way that your head was going. Down.

It was when the chips started spilling that you jumped up, making even more chips fly out the bag. It made Eren jump too. "Shit, are you alright? You can't do stuff like that when we're watching a thriller."

You started picking the chips up, "Yeah, my bad."

"Oh, are you tired?" Eren paused the movie, and he put a hand out to stop you from picking up the chips, taking that task for his own. "Grab that pillow. Lay down if you're sleepy."

You shook your head, "No, I'm okay. Thank you, though."

He stopped moving, and you saw him looking at you with an unenthusiastic straight face. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You know what I'm talking about." He said as he continued picking up the chips, "You wanna lay on me instead?"

You didn't respond, even though you wanted to say something. A hum, a one-word answer —anything would suffice. But you couldn't get anything out. He put the bag to the side of him when he finished cleaning up your mess, and then he put his arm around your shoulders. "Come on."

You were on auto-pilot, and you leaned into him, winding up with your head on his lap and his hand on your back, slowly rubbing it up and down. It was so soothing to hear his heartbeat as you dozed off, and when you woke back up, Eren was patting you on your back and calling your name softly.

"Yeah? Did you finish the movie?" Your hazy voice questioned as you sat up, moving your glasses to rub your eyes. You saw that the sun was barely lighting the sky anymore through the windows.

"I did. It pissed me off."

You grinned, "Yeah, it pissed me off too. But it was good though."

"Yeah, the ending was a really big plot twist." You and Eren continued to talk about the movie, until your mouth opened and nothing came out since the sound of the door opening paused you.

A matured man with round glasses, stubble, and his straight brown hair neatly running down his back came in. "What's up, Dad?" Eren called.

"Hey, Eren. How was your day?"

"It was nice."

Grisha walked through the foyer, and he saw you sitting next to his son when he entered the living room. You could see the shock on his face to the sight of an unexpected guest, but it subsided after a second. "You have a friend over?"

"Yeah, this is Y/N."

The smile you gave him was probably crooked with nerves, and you waved as you gave him a small, "Hi."

He gave you a tight-lipped smile as he waved back, "Nice to meet you."

He handed a drugstore bag with a box of lightbulbs in it to Eren. "Go ahead and put these in. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"I know." Eren replied as he put the bulbs to the side of him.

"Wow, you weren't lying."

"You thought I was?"

"Mmm, maybe just a little."

He scoffed out a laugh, "Yeah. I totally just turned a breaker off for the dining room just to not have to sit there with you."

You shrugged, "Doesn't even sound too extreme. It's smart, if anything."

You saw his teeth as he laughed at you, "Thanks. I'll use that next time you come over. Force your scary ass to come up to my room."

He stood up off the couch, and he grabbed you by your hands and pulled you up too. "How am I scary?"

"W-wait! W-we're going up to your— your b-bedroom?" He mocked as he walked over to the dining room.

"I did not sound like that. And it's valid! My first time coming over here and you want me in your bedroom."

"Okay. When should I wait until? Third time? Fourth?"

"How about never?"

Another cocky chuckle came from him, "Second it is, then."

"You wish."

"You're right." He opened the box as you stood and watched him as he stood on a chair, focused as he unscrewed one light bulb and put the next in, the room slowly filling with light as he repeated the process four times.

He got down and dusted his hands off on his pants. "You wanna work on the project now?"

"Okay, we can."

You two sat on the couch, barely an inch of space between you two as you sat on your knees, him having his laptop on his lap. "Do you think this Google Slides template is nice? I like it."

You looked at the one he recommended. "It doesn't fit what we're talking about."

"Yeah, but it's cute."

"Yeah, but the movie is about fraud, scheming, and murder. How cute is that?"

He shrugged, "Depends on who you're asking."

You rolled your eyes, "Let me see." You typed 'crime' in on the website's search bar, and immediately saw a few that you liked. "See? Isn't this one more accurate?"

His face was scary unenthusiastic as you looked at him. "I see why that girl fell out with you after y'all did that project together."

You didn't see where this was coming from. "What? Why?"

"Don't take all the fun out of this with trying to control everything."

Your eyebrows sink down a little bit. "It was just constructive criticism."

"Mmm, okay."

You didn't say anything else after that. He kind of made you feel bad with that line, but maybe he was right. You didn't like that it gave you something to think about, though.

A few minutes passed before Eren's dad came downstairs. "Eren. When you take her home, can you go pick up some food I just ordered?"

"Sure. What did you order?"

"Chinese."

"Bet. Y/N, you ready to go?"

You closed your own laptop, getting ready to put it in your bag. "Sure."

During the car ride, you were silent as he listened to his music. You knew the songs, but you didn't sing along with him. Not a hum or a tap of the foot.

"Come inside with me." He said when he pulled up to the restaurant.

"No, I'll stay out here."

He didn't respond, just tightening his lips as he turned off the engine and got out. Instead of walking into the restaurant, he walked over to your door, and you had to catch yourself as he opened it.

"I said come inside with me." He unbuckled your seatbelt and grabbed your hand, helping you down from the truck even though you seethed with frustration.

You let his hand go when you got down, but he grabbed you by your belt as you two crossed the parking lot. When a car was passing, he pulled you closer to him to make you stop.

"Stop handling me like I'm a ragdoll."

"So your silly ass can get hit? No. You'll be okay."

You had your arms crossed as you and Eren waited for the food. He walked closer to you, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

He knew that was bullshit. "You still tired? Is that why you wanted to stay in the car so bad?"

You shook your head, "I'm fine."

"You know why I couldn't leave you in the car. If I went back and someone had taken you or something I would have to burn the whole city down."

You almost cracked a smile, but he saw you try to keep it back. "Are you mad at me because I pulled you in the parking lot?"

You didn't answer as you looked up at him. "How would you think I would feel if I watched that Dodge Ram squish you like a pancake?"

"Order for Jaeger?" The waitress called. Eren thanked her and took the bag. Then, he grabbed your jacket again.

"To answer my own question, it would not feel good. But if you keep giving me an attitude, I'll be the one to push you in front of the next truck."

In the car, he opened his plate up excitedly. He picked up a fork and picked up some orange chicken, holding it towards you. "Here. Taste this."

Another shake of your head, "I don't want any."

"It's so good. Blow it, because I know you don't want me to do it."

It hovered in front of you for another few seconds before you started blowing it. Before you could put it in your mouth, Eren redirected towards himself and ate it. The obnoxious hums and moans that he exuded as he chewed on the food pissed you off. You sucked your teeth and leaned against the door, looking out the window.

"Okay, okay. I was just playing with you. Here. I'll get a different fork and actually give you a piece."

"No, I don't want it. Drive me home."

"Oou, fiesty again. You're probably just hangry. Eat this."

He held the fork out to you again, and this time you grabbed the fork out of his hand and ate it yourself. "It's good, isn't it?"

"Mmhmm." You answered as you kept chewing. You two ate a little bit more, before he closed the container and started driving you to your house.

When he pulled into your driveway, he got out the car first and opened the door for you, picking up your bookbag. He closed the door behind you when you got out, leaving you standing in front of him. You tried to grab your bookbag back, but he wouldn't give it to you.

"Tell me. What's really the matter?"

"I told you, Eren. Nothing's wrong."

"I'm not buying that. What is it? Did I do something? Again?"

You didn't say anything, only tilting your head to the side.

"It's because I told you about yourself with that project, isn't it?"

You sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just not good with group projects."

"Nah, from what I learned, you're good at just about everything. Everything but being nice to people."

Your lips poked out in a pout. "I'm trying my best, Eren."

"And I'm trying my best to get along with you too. So I'm sorry for hurting your feelings."

"It's fine. I could be less rude, I guess."

He chuckled, then handing you your bookbag. "I'm just asking you to try to get along with me more. If you do that, maybe you won't hate me when this is all over."

You took your bookbag with a grin, "Maybe I won't."

He walked you to your doorstep, and he gave you a nice hug before you walked inside. You were honestly cheesed up when you got through that door, but to see your birthgiver sitting right on the couch and looking at you made you freeze.

"Sit. I need to hear about this young colonizer."

When you got to film class the next day, you and Eren actually made a little bit of positive progress on the project, but you two did more talking than working. He spent most of the time making sure you would be at his track meet later that day.

And to the track meet you went. You walked in probably 3 events in, holding an icee that you bought from concessions in your hand as you walked over to your school's section.

You heard the aluminum stairs clanging with fast footsteps as you walked over, and you chuckled as you watched Ashyra speed down the steps towards you. "Y/N!"

She jumped on you in a hug, "Hey Shy. I told you I was coming."

"I didn't think you really meant it. Oh my gosh, the hermit really left her Hello Kitty room! I'm so proud!"

"Tch, girl." You began walking up the stairs, "When's your race?"

"I gotta go down there in like 5 minutes. I was 'bout ready to shit myself getting ready for this 200 but you popping out made me feel better."

You laughed, and as you walked up the steps, a handsome buzzcut boy called out your name and walked over to you from his row. "Hey pretty, what's up? I rarely see you come out and support."

He gave you a side hug, and it shocked you and flattered you altogether. "I come out sometimes to see Shy, but I usually leave after she's finished."

"You gonna stay the whole thing today?"

"Yeah, she will." A masculine voice that you've grown fond of called. You were looking for Eren as you walked up, but so many people came to see you before you could see him. So he came to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders in a hug. "You really came."

"I did. I didn't wanna find out what your annoying ass would do to me if I didn't." You told him as you hugged his torso in return.

He chuckled, "Come on. Sit with me."

He led you up the stairs, and you two were sitting in a row behind a bunch of a boys on the team. They would occasionally turn around and look at you both, and while Eren was talking to you, you couldn't even pay attention to him.

You beckoned him closer with your hand, and he brought his head closer to yours so you could whisper to him. "Why do your homeboys keep turning around and looking at us?"

"Why do you think they're looking at us?" He asked at a normal volume as he pulled away from you.

You shrugged, "I don't know. That's why I asked you."

He chuckled, "Probably just because I'm sitting with one of the prettiest girls in this school."

You tried to hide your incoming smirk by drinking from your icee. "What events do you have today?"

"Just long jump and pole vault today. 12'6 is the highest."

"Oh? Twelve feet is high."

"Yeah. You think I got it?"

You smirked, "You know I gotta see what you 'bout, first."

"Mmhmm, you'll see what I'm about."

"Why you not doing any running today?"

"I do not feel like doing any bullshit races. Pole vault is already not for the weak."

"Yeah, you got it, though."

He smiled, "Why you think so? You haven't even seen what I can do yet."

With him wearing his track uniform, his strong, muscular arms showed with the sleeveless shirt he wore. And these shorts were pretty tight. They gripped onto his strong thighs and something else that you liked to see.

You didn't even catch yourself looking him up and down. "No reason. Just predicting."

He clearly saw you checking him out, and it made him laugh. You were gonna ask him why he was laughing, but Ashyra came and gave you a hug, "Wish me luck! I'm about to go down to the field."

You turned around and gave her a full hug, wishing her the luck she asked for even though she didn't need it. Shy was the type of girl to tell the girls next to her at the line that she's nervous, and wish them luck. And then she hits a clean walkover into the blocks.

When that gun went off, Shy was gone. Just about everyone repping your school was stood at the front of the bleachers, leaning on the fence to cheer her on.

After they got past the curve, there was only one girl in front of her. The walk-down that Ashyra gave her probably made her feel wind as she flew by. The race felt like it went by so fast, because Shy made it past that finish line in what had to be a record.

When Shy came back up, she received daps and hugs from all over. Then she came up and sat by you as you sat alone. "Eren went to the field already?"

"Yeah, only like five minutes ago."

She looked through the field for him, and she pointed to him standing by a tent and stretching with some guy from a different school to the side of him who he was chatting with. "There he go right there. I bet I can tell you what his ass is saying right now."

"What?" You asked.

"Girl, he be going down there and telling the people he goes up against that he's new and it's his first year doing this. He is sick."

You laughed at that information, "Are you kidding? So he's good?"

"Bitch, he's great. He grunt like a bear when he run. That's how you know it's serious. Hold on, come close." She lowered her tone as she pointed towards a ginger boy who was sitting a few rows in front of you two. "You see him?"

"That's Floch, right? I can't stand his ass, and he kept turning around and looking at me and Eren."

"Girl, when Eren chooses not to do the 4-by-4, that leprechaun motherfucker right there is the reason we don't make the podium."

"Just taking up space." You were trying to make sure your laughs wouldn't be too loud, in case he would turn around and look at you again. But Ashyra didn't tone shit down, and he looked at y'all anyway.

That's when Shy cocked her neck at him. "Hello? Fuck are you looking at, Floch?"

He turned his ass back around, and you had to turn away as you laughed so hard that no sound came out of your throat until 20 seconds later.

When it got time for the pole vault, you, Shy, and many other people went up to the fence, leaning on it as you all watched Eren's event. When it was his turn, he did the 10' and the 10'6" like it wasn't there, only a few other guys struggling with that one. On his first 11'6", he knocked the pole down, and then he went clean over it on the next attempt.

Once it got higher you all could see that the first few guys who went for the 12' must've been having a bad day. Multiple knocked the pole down on their first attempt, then some doing better on the next attempts. One guy broke the bar and his pole in his attempts. The guy who went right before Eren was pretty good, barely grazing the pole when he went over it on the 12'.

When it got to the 12', Eren was doing high knee stretches before he picked up his pole. On the first attempt, he knocked the pole down, and when he was on the mat, you all could see him cursing as he stood back up.

"You got it, Eren!" A girl who was standing on the other side of you yelled. Others clapped and cheered him on too, but you stayed quiet and just clapped.

With his second attempt, everybody could just feel inside of them that it was gonna be better. Connie was standing to the side of the pole vault lane, watching up close as he and others waited for the men's 4-by-4, and he dapped him up and cheered him on.

As he ran with the pole, his form was absolutely beautiful, being completely upside-down when the pole was at it's straightest height, then not even touching the bar when he went over it.

Everyone watching this who was repping the school was clapping and cheering him on, and him and Connie dapped each other up again and again, so hard their hands were probably stinging when they finished.

"Do that shit again, Eren!" Shy shouted.

Now it was the 12'6". The last one and the highest one. You all saw Eren take a deep breath before he started running. His strides were clean and long, and he repeated the same thing that he did on his last attempt. Same lovely form, just going a necessary 9 inches higher.

Everyone was hype, clapping, and cheering after seeing Eren clear out his first attempt on the highest one like that. Your cheeks were hurting from how hard you were smiling as Shy shook you by your shoulders.

In the next 15 minutes, he was at long jump.  If you listened close enough, you could hear Eren's grunts as he ran. He made it look easy, going so damn far when he jumped that people who weren't even repping your school were paying attention as his feet landed only around a foot away from the end of the pit.

"EREN THAT'S A RECORD! THAT'S A FUCKING RECORD!" Eren instantly jumped up from the sand pit, hype as fuck and matching Connie's energy. Your school section was too gassed at Eren eating this meet the hell up.

"He gotta have a lil' nigga in him." Shy said.

"I'm saying!" You proclaimed. Connie was pushing limits staying and watching Eren's events so long like he wasn't the first leg in the 4-by-4 that was about to start very soon. He had to dash to the line and catch his breath with the time he had, but when the gun shot, he was out of those blocks like that gun was being shot straight at him.

"You better run like they coming to send you back to South America, Con!" Shy yelled, and that's exactly what he did. He got around the track before all the other guys, and the hand-off with Floch could've been better, but it wasn't terrible. Floch was in fourth when he got around the second curve, but he was able to walk one guy down by the next hand-off.

"Okay, leprechaun didn't do terrible." Ashyra commented. The guy who ran the third leg got your school back to second, by the fourth leg, this tall boy who you knew to be called Berthdolt was going stride for stride with a guy from another school.

"RUN LIKE A NIGGA FINNA SHOOT YOU IN YOUR FOOT, BERT!" The whole crowd was loud as everybody cheered for their school. You knew that Berthdolt was quiet, but when it came to sports, he would be locked the fuck in. And that's why with the last 100 meters, he absolutely dusted the guy who he was running against.

That 400 knocks motherfuckers out. After Berthdolt got past the line, he fell off to the side and laid down on the grass next to where Connie had been since he finished his lap. Your section stayed lit way after the race was over, and a bunch of the runners stayed sprawled out way after the race was over.

"Are those niggas ever gonna get up?" You questioned, seeing Eren squirt water into his teammates' mouths from the second bottle he's had to bring.

"Girl, you don't understand the pain."

When all those boys finally did get up and come back to the bleachers, they were receiving daps and congratulations from all over. You and Shy were sitting back down, and it took so long for Eren to get from the bottom of the steps to where you guys were.

"Good job, best!" Shy said as she dapped him up.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Good job, Eren." You'd been waiting for him to get up to you for so long. For some reason you wanted to say more, but that was the only thing that would make sense at the time.

While he was down there, he had put some sweatpants on. He looked calm and tired as he looked at you, and you were surprised as he pulled you up by your arm and embraced you in a big bear hug, balancing his weight out on you.

Your giggles warmed his heart, "Eren, you're too heavy for this!"

"Just let it happen." He said as he rocked you back and forth, feeling your arms wrap around his torso.

When he let you go, he reached into his sports bag and grabbed some money. "Shy, you want anything from concessions?"

"Can you get me a pickle?"

"Okay. Come on, Y/N."

He walked down the stairs with you, and Connie said, "He's taking our good luck charm away, y'all."

You chuckled in flattery as he said that, but Eren kept looking forward. "You know Connie's feeling you, right?" He told you as you both walked to concessions.

"Yeah I can tell. But I also know another guy who's feeling me too." You teased.

"Really? What's this one like?"

"Well, he's a little annoying. But I found out today that he's really good on the field."

Eren chuckled as you two stood in line, "What do you wanna get?"

"Umm, some nachos."

"Okay. Do you get yours with jalapeños on them?"

"No, not usually."

"Oh. Loser."

You hit him on his arm, "Stop it."

"I'm kidding. I'll get my own, since you don't know what life is about."

"Yeah. I wasn't gonna let your hungry ass share with me anyway."

He scoffed, "Why?"

"Because, after all the events you just did? That tray would be more yours than mine."

"Yeah, I showed you what I'm about. How you feel now?"

"I already told you you did a good job, Eren."

"That's not enough. Were you cheering for me?"

"Well, I was definitely clapping."

"I know you hear all the fangirls I have in those stands. How you gonna outdo them?"

"I'm not your fangirl, Eren."

He was very close to you, and you liked the way he looked at you from above. "What do you wanna be to me, then?"

You didn't say anything, and he saw your shock as your mouth fell open. The lady at the counter called out "Next!" It pulled you two out of your moment, and you two moved up in the line and Eren gave the woman your order.

"Okay. The nachos will be ready in a minute." You and Eren stood off to the side to wait, him holding Shy's pickle, and then a matured but fit man walked up and acknowledged him.

"Jaeger, right?"

You and him both shared some skepticism. "Who's asking?"

The man chuckled, "A guy who's glad he came to this meet today. Look, I'm a recruit from Harvard. The name's Dean Washington."

Eren's eyes widened and he firmly shook the man's hand. "Oh, yeah. I'm Eren Jaeger. Nice to meet you."

"I can't believe this. I mean, we've had our eyes on you since your sophomore year. A tri-athlete that gets better every time he hits any field, and today you broke two of your school's records."

"Wait, I broke a pole vault record too?"

"Hell yeah! You're a force, and you'll definitely hear from Harvard soon. Here, take my card."

Eren took the business card that the recruit handed to him, and with a few more polite exchanges and another handshake, the man was on his way.

"Okay, big shot. Is that the first scholarship you've been offered?"

"Nah. The one's I've been considering have been the full-rides from LSU and Notre Dame."

Your eyes were the size of golf balls, "And those aren't the only ones?"

"No. The other ones haven't pulled me enough. LSU's been begging."

"Well that's a good pick for football."

"Yeah, you're right. But Harvard? This is crazy." He said, picking up his tray of nacho's from the concession counter.

"It gives you a lot to think about." You two began walking back to the seats.

"You're smart. Have you gotten any scholarship offers?"

"Well I've taken a lot of merit scholarships, but I did get a full ride that's gonna take me to a nice tech school."

"Where?"

"Umm, MIT." The only reason you sounded shaky when giving him this answer his because this school was in the same city as Harvard.

He smiled, as you expected him to. "Well that's gonna make me consider Harvard more. You still don't wanna be my fangirl?"

You stopped walking, and he turned around and stopped with you. You looked him in his eyes when you said, "You're the best, Eren."

He held his smile back while he poked his tongue through his cheek, staring at you for a while and looking you in your sultry, adoring eyes. His eyes traveled your body up and down, before he grabbed your free hand and said "Come on."

You two got back up to Shy, and you guys ate your snacks, bantered with each other and others who came over, and watched the remaining races. When it was time for awards to be given at the end of the track meet, Eren and Shy just told you to come down to the field with them.

"The highest score comes from the phenomenal Paradis High! Both of today's MVP's come from this team as well. Ashyra Ross for her performance in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4-by-1 races, and Eren Jaeger who broke two of his school's records in long jump and pole vaulting." A commentator announced over the speakers.

Everyone who was still here was clapping as Eren and Shy went up and got their medals, taking the picture that represented the school.

Your mom was the one who dropped you off today, and when you told him that, he took the liberty of commanding you to let him drive you home. "But before that, we're going out to eat."

"Oh, so we're not gonna go over to your house and work on the project anymore?"

"Hell no. We're gonna go to Chipotle and fuck up burritos. Shit, I could eat a quesadilla too."

The next day came, and Eren didn't seem too ecstatic at school for him to have been one of the most-valued D-1 athletes walking through this campus. He didn't seem necessarily sad, but he wasn't smiling as much or being as annoying during film. And he was actually working at some minutes, and then the next minute you would find him with his head in the clouds. You didn't say anything about it, but during homeroom, you called it out.

"Eren, are you good?"

He was on his phone but just staring at it before you said something, and your voice calling his name seemed to pull him out of his trance. "Y-Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you just seem like you're in your own world. You sure everything's alright?"

He hesitated, but then he answered with, "I'm fine, Y/N. Thanks for asking, though."

You weren't sure he was being complete with you, but you didn't wanna push it. "Okay."

Thursday came, and you didn't see him pop up in first period.

you wya?

mvp sorry i'm busy today

you wow

day before due date too?

mvp you can still come over to my house later tho if it's that serious

you fine then

Your mom pulled off once he let you inside the house. He was wearing a hoodie and some sweat shorts, and his hair was out of it's usual bun, those brown tresses of his grazing his shoulders.

"We're working in my room today."

"Why? The couch has been fine."

"I'm not working on shit if I'm not in my bed."

With proper study skills being considered, that didn't make sense to you, but you didn't wanna question him. His room wasn't bad. It was spacious, and there was a bunch of stylish art, memorable photos, & decor on his dark grey walls. But it was still the room of a teenage boy, so you couldn't help but recognize the unmade bed and the junk food wrappers & empty dishes that were around and on his bed.

"So, where were you today?" You asked him as you opened your laptop while sitting at his desk, him comfy under the blankets of his mattress with his laptop open on his lap.

"I told you. I was busy."

"That's not what I- Nevermind."

About half of a minute passed before he gave you a proper answer. "I was at a dinner."

"Wow. I was listening to Miss Sullivan run her mouth and you were dining away."

"Yeah, lucky me then." His voice was drained of any warmth, and you just decided that it would be best for you to not talk to him unless necessary today.

About 20 minutes passed before you two shared any words. Then, you broke the silence. "When are you gonna add pictures to your slides?"

Looking through the slides, they were good and accurate, proper spelling and capitalization too. That's something you could appreciate in a partner, but the issue with the pictures was the only one you had.

"I'm gonna do it soon."

"Well... Can you do it now? So we can be done."

He sighed, "You're doing it again."

"Doing what, Eren?"

"That control freak in you is coming out." He answered, still nonchalantly scrolling through his phone.

"Well if being a control freak might get you to act like you care then I'll be that."

"It's just like five pictures."

"Exactly. It's just like five pictures. Quick and easy."

"Exactly. That's why you can wait."

"Do you want me to do it for you? Because I'm fine with that since you seem to be in such a bad mood."

"I'll do the goddamn work. Fuck. Just be quiet."

You turned around completely in the chair, "Who the fuck are you talking to? You invited me over here."

"Yeah. We can both probably see why I'm regretting that today."

Your laptop was loud when you slammed it shut, not wasting any time to put it in your bookbag. "Right. So I'll be downstairs waiting for my ride, since you wanna talk to me like you weren't raised right."

"Fuck did you just say to me?" Eren closed his laptop too, moving his comforter and getting out of his bed.

"You wanna talk to me like that, talk to your fucking mama like that, hoe." You would tell that line to any person who got out of line with you, but this seemed to push a button of his.

It took only a few long strides for him to beat you to the door. You had swung your bag over your shoulder, and as you were opening his bedroom door to leave, he was slamming it shut with one hand as he looked down on you.

"My mom's fucking dead, Y/N."

His voice was deep and husky, but it also shook when he said that. Your hard exterior instantly softened, "Eren..."

He took a shuddering breath, and then he turned around and slowly began walking back to his bed. "Why do you think I wasn't there today? I was at a damn memorial dinner."

You put your bag back down, "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." He sat down on his bed, legs spread and arms hung to the sides of them, "You can go now."

You approached him slowly with ease. Sitting down by him on his comfortable mattress, the touch of your hand on him lightened his temper. You ran your hand through his hair, showing his face to you more.

"You're sad. Why would you make time for me if you're feeling like this today?"

"I've been sad for a while. Nothing new."

Your hand traveled down to the back of his neck, rubbing his nape soothingly. "What's wrong today, then?"

He took a second, and then he ran his own hand through his hair before he answered you. "Today makes seven years. It's just different."

"I'm sorry, again."

"No reason to be. You're not Lupus."

"I was giving you a hard time. That's why I'm sorry."

You just wanted to be there for him, especially after being so rude earlier. He turned to look at you, and his eyes were glossy and flooded, and that made your eyes fill up with tears too.

Sad boy or not, he was still strong as hell. So when he wrapped his arm around your torso and pulled you in for a hug, your whole body shifted over to him, and you straddled his lap to be comfortable.

"It's okay. It's your thing to give me a hard time."

You kept running your nails through his hair, and he adored the feeling. He stayed with his face buried in your chest, loving the feeling, loving the smell, loving the care, loving the comfort.

He lifted his face up, his chin nuzzled in your chest as he looked up at you. "I did really good at the track meet the other day."

You saw the damp tracks of his salty tears spread under his eyes. You placed both hands on the sides of his face, "You did."

"Guess who else reached out."

You tilted your head, softly asking, "Who?"

"UCLA."

"Oh. Another D-1?"

A meek close-lipped grin showed as he nodded. You used each thumb to wipe his tears. "I told you you're the best."

He gave you a real grin this time, then laying the side of his face on your chest. "She can't see it, though."

You began rubbing his head again. "You think she's not watching you?"

"I want her to be there watching me. I wish she could— I just—"

You quietly shushed him, holding him close. "She would be proud of you, baby."

He looked up at you. "You think so?"

"I know so... If it helps, I'm proud of you."

His lips were slightly parted as he looked at you, and then he was only looking at your lips. The next thing he knew, his lips were on yours. Slow, soft. He didn't wanna stop. He couldn't be off of you.

He was so gentle, just as you were with him. Your body curved into his, and his hand trailed under your hoodie, slowly running his palm up the middle of your back and keeping you close to him while you subconsciously grinded down on him.

When he pulled his lips away, his hand was unbuckling your bra as you felt him growing under you. "Eren."

His lips were occupied kissing your neck, but he put in the effort to answer you. "What?"

"Are you sure this is what you need right now?"

"I'm sure that what I need right now is you."

He kissed your lips again, and a string of saliva connected between your lips and his when he pulled away. Picking you up so easy, he changed your positions, you being laid on your back as he hovered over you now. "Can I have you?"

"Are you gonna even take no for an answer?"

He smirked, and then he shook his head no.

"Then you already got me, baby."

Your hoodie was off. His hoodie was off. His shorts were getting pulled down. Your jeans were on the floor. The door was locked. His hair was tied up. Your glasses were on the nightstand.

All you saw was his chiseled abs, his defined V-line, and that huge print showing through his briefs, and all he saw was your pretty half-naked self laying on his sheets under him.

You lifted your arms up so he could take your bra off, and then your pretty tits jiggled as they laid out under him. He whispered a curse as he threw your bra to the side. He leaned down and kissed your neck, and you felt shivers trickle up your thighs as his fingers met the sensations in the middle.

"You came here wearing a matching set for me." He grazed his fingers past the pink lace that made the panties of this matching set.

"I didn't think this was gonna happen." Every word coming from your overachieving mouth would be soft and shy, shyer than he knew you to be. He liked that he made you get like this as your pussy twitched under his fingers.

"Mmm, you were ready for me though." He slid your panties to the side, and your back arched off the bed when he drove his fingers in you. You let out a shriek that would've been a moan if you didn't hold back.

It sounded like ocean sounds were playing as he filled you up with his two digits, pulling them out, then jutting them back in again and again. His lips were wrapped around your chocolate areola, his tongue swirling around it like the delectable desert that it was to him.

Your back was arching off the bed, and he just kept hitting a spot deep inside that would turn your moans into whines. He looked up into your eyes from where he lay, and you were looking down at his hand going in and out of you at a dangerous speed. He pulled his mouth away and hovered over your face, and he began guiding you through your high.

"Like that, baby?"

"Yeah, like that."

"You look so damn pretty. So pretty when you're cumming on my fucking fingers."

You wrapped an arm around his neck, holding onto him tight and your back hovering off the bed as he hit that spot again, and again, and one more time before—

"Fuck! Eren!" You flooded his fingers and his wrist, and your hips kept grinding onto his hand as you rode out your high.

"That's it, pretty girl. Keep cumming for me."

When he pulled his hand out, you fell down onto the mattress. Your legs instantly closed, just like your eyelids as you caught your breath with the back of your forehead. He kissed your jawline and rubbed his hand up and down your body, taking your panties off then bringing his kisses down low and reopening your legs, kissing on the warm wetness of your clit.

"Eren." You cooed, and you called his name again but more hastily when he slid a broad lick across your sensitive slit.

He changed positions but left you where you were, now propped up in between your legs and his hands reopening them. He pulled you by your thighs closer to him, leaning to the side to reach in his nightstand and pull out a condom.

Your fat pussy was pressed up against his thick, clothed bulge. He whipped it out, and your shock was evident when seeing his long dick out of the clothes. "Oh."

He laid it on you as he unwrapped the condom, and the tip went all the way to your belly button. "You okay?"

You sat up partially to get a better view of this monster that he was planning on putting inside of you. "Y-Yeah."

He breathed out a laugh at your nerves, sliding the rubber onto his hard length. "You think you got it?"

"Umm, we'll see."

He aligned his tip with your hole, slapping it on your clit a few times. You and him both watched as he began to slowly push inside of you, until you couldn't watch anymore. Your eyes filled with tears and you had to squeeze them shut as you cursed.

"Fuck, are you a virgin? You're tight as hell."

"No, you're just big!"

You could cry and whine all you wanted. Unless you said something, he was gonna do his best to fit his thick cock in your tight hole. He grabbed the ankle of one of your legs that were thrown over his shoulder, rubbing it and pecking it with kisses as he slid inside of you.

"Relax, mama. I need this pussy to stop squeezing me so tight."

You had your toes curled and one hand gripping his sheets, the other holding your breast like it was a stress ball. When he kept pushing inch after inch in, you let your head fall back on the sheets. You hadn't fucked in a while. It hurt, but it hurt so good.

"There you go, gorgeous. I know you can take me." It wasn't all of him. There was about an inch of his shaft that couldn't go in anymore, but his tip was pressed in as deep as it could go.

You let out the cutest, shuddering moan when he started thrusting slowly in and out of you. Everytime that he would go in, he could see the imprint of his dick poking through the pudge of your stomach.

You were leaving a creamy layer of your juices on the condom as he fucked your sweet hole, "All this 's for me, right baby?"

"Yesss. It's all yours."

He held your face in his hand, "Open those pretty eyes and look at me."

You did as he said, caressing his hand with yours and leaning into him. Looking into his green eyes so innocently, yet he knew you were far from that by the way you were taking him. You were so smart. Smart enough to recognize that when you moaned the way that you did, needily called his name the way you did, grinded your hips onto his cock the way you did, that you had him wrapped around your finger.

Your lips parted more as he jutted his hips in deep. A guttural moan from your throat came out as he hit your spot purposely rougher this time. You couldn't help it, especially with the way that he looked so sexy when he looked down at you like this. His thick brows were furrowed, hanging over desiring dark eyes that were hazy with lust. His skin was damp with sweat. His soft lips were hanging open, letting his groans out as your pussy milked him.

"Eren, come closer baby. I need to feel you." You were spiraling with passion, and he was entwining in pleasure from finally satisfying his craving that was you. He leaned down and kissed you, enjoying how sloppy and erotic it was.

"You wanna feel me even more than you already are?"

"I needed..."

Your hand was roaming, holding him close by rubbing at his nape. "Your skin..."

Then his shoulder, "I wanted it on me." then his arm, squeezing him tight with your nails digging into his arm.

"Shit." The low growl that came from him as you left your marks made your whole body shiver. You just repeated the coo of the word "Baby" over and over again, the speed of it mounting as he kept going.

"I know, ma. I know. I'm... Close... Too."

You came first, you releasing a high-pitched moan with your juices that wet him up as his thrusts got more sporadic, yet still giving all his force.

"Ah, fuck." You felt his breath on your face as he pushed out his last few movements of his hips. You both were breathing gently on each other, him holding your face in his hand while you ran your hands through his hair, giving each other wet, soft kisses on each other's lips.

When he lifted up, the condom was filled with a fat heap of his nut before he pulled it off, tying it up and taking a tired walk to the trash can to throw it away.

You were still laying down when he got back over, just propped up on your elbows as you watched him.

He stood in front of you, rubbing your legs. "Were you just looking at my ass?"

You were feeling extremely relaxed, and your laugh represented that. "I was looking at everything, baby."

Even the fresh scars you left on his shoulders and arms. The way his body flexed with every movement, a different muscle being highlighted with every step. His sexy mannerisms, like the way he walked, the way he ran his hands through his hair, or the way he would look back at you. Damn. He was so fine for you.

And he was looking at everything you did. Your eyes were on his, so they were watching as he trailed down your body, looking at your full breasts, the texture of your warm brown skin, and the way that your plump ass still was visible even while you were laid down like this.

"You're so damn sexy."

"Mmm." You lifted up, running your hands up his chiseled body until they got to his pecks, "Let me hear that again."

He chuckled, "You're a slut, too. How did I not know that?"

Craning down, he pecked your smirking lips. "Yeah, I wanna hear that again too."

He bagged not just a beautiful genius, but a perfectly lewd freak. He held you by the back of your neck to give you another sweet kiss.

"Do you think your dad heard us?"

"Hmm, if so, it's a hard day. I'm sure he'll understand."

You grinned as you looked up at him, and he did the same as he towered down on you. You both could tell what was going on behind each other's eyes.

"Do you have any more condoms?"

Laid on your side. He would slow it down then speed it up, harassing that pussy like it wronged his whole bloodline. One hand was under your bent knees, and the other hand traveled from your ass to your neck, gripping your throat and holding you steady when he filled you up with the length of his cock.

You were wise, but you learned more and more everyday. Something you observed from Eren is that he's a feen for a fat ass. That's why the third condom you two were on broke when he was hitting it from the back.

And something that he learned about you was that you craved the feeling of his touch and his warm skin on your own. So when he slowed his pace down with the next trial from the back, he pulled you by your neck closer to him, your back centimeters away from his chest in this steamy room as he caressed your breasts and kissed your shoulders.

And when you slutted him out while riding? He was trying to match your energy first, bucking his hips up while you were slamming yours down. The headboard was rocking into the wall so much that one time it might've been his dad knocking on the door to make sure you two were okay.

He couldn't hear that though, especially over your moans and his combining in harmony. His moans were dragging out of him, exhausted rambles leaving his mouth as he held you close, his face rubbing against your titties as you went up and down on him, leaving a creamy mess between you two.

The last nut from the night didn't need a condom. You were hovered over his face, but then he just pulled you down and put that tongue to work as he jerked himself off, receiving help from you when you could move your body accordingly to your mind, which was almost broken with the persistence of Eren eating you out.

He kept going on for what was probably a whole hour. You weren't sure. He just said that you weren't moving until he was done eating, but when he freed you from his hold, you laid your ass down.

You woke up in a haze in this dark room, a ringing sound filling your ears. Eren was laid on your ass like it was a cushion, and you could hear his soft snoring.

"Fuck, what time is it?"

You had to put your glasses on, and you saw that his digital clock read 1:37. Your phone was ringing, and it was your mom.

"Shit, shit, shit."

Eren was waking up, but his head plopped onto the mattress when you — his human pillow — hastily moved.

"Hey baby. You alright? I've been calling you, it's late."

"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry mama. I just fell asleep." Eren tapped back into consciousness when you turned his lamp on as you talked on the phone and hastily tried to collect your clothes at the same time.

"It's okay if you were doing unspeakable things, honey. As long as you were being responsible."

You sighed, "I love you, mom. Thank you for being chill."

"Yeah, I'm chill, but I'm still a worried mother. I'm parked outside of his house. Get down here, because I'm not letting you go to school in the same clothes two days in a row or a boy's. Bye."

She hung up the phone, so you put it down as you kept getting changed. He rubbed his eyes and sat up on the bed and watched you.

"That's my sock."

You cursed, almost having a white and a black sock on.

"The hoodie's inside out."

You sighed, pulling it off and reversing it.

He got up and put his briefs on, covering his dick up in time to catch your next mistake.

"Jeans on and no panties? Fuck, just stop moving. Calm down."

He helped you get your jeans back off, picking up your panties and allowing you to step into them. Then he helped you jump into your jeans, slapping your ass when you finished that task.

"Stop." You slapped his hand away from your butt.

"Uptight again like you weren't about to break my dick off like three, four hours ago. Okay."

"Quit it." You slid into your crocs and picked up your bag, "Okay, I'll finish the last few details of the slideshow. I'll see you tomorrow— I mean, today, okay?"

"Mmhmm." Despite this tired response that you expected to be the end of the interaction, he grabbed you by your hood and spun you back around, planting a warm kiss on your lips that almost paused all of your panic.

And when you pulled away, it almost came back, until he started talking. "I'll finish the slideshow right now, okay? Go home and lay down, you overachiever."

You breathed in through your nose, "Okay. Make it look pretty, alright?"

"I will, baby."

One more kiss, before you turned around and walked out of the door.

"See you later." He told you.

"Yeah, see you later, love."

You tried to get downstairs quietly, not sure if Mr. Grisha would be down there or not. When you thought you were in the clear, you were proved wrong.

"Have a nice night, Y/N." He was sitting in a living chair, and you couldn't tell how you didn't see him. He shot you a warm smile as he looked up from the book he was reading, and the one you gave him back was probably crooked.

"You too, Mr. J."

You cursed at yourself in your head as you turned away from him and rushed your way out.

In the morning, Eren did most of the presenting since you were the main worker. The presentation was actually fun. Eren kept comically teasing you, but you weren't opposed to it. It actually surprised the people in your class when seeing you smile.

When walking out of the class, Eren held your hand and spun you around for the direction he was walking in. "You told me you have Miss Russé next. She'll be okay if you're a few minutes late."

You grinned and chuckled, "Where you taking me?"

"Just somewhere where I can talk to you." He led you through the front exit passing by the office, just so you two could sit at the empty benches that are out there.

"Do you know how tempted I was to slap your ass when you were sitting back down?"

"Still severely horny, huh?"

Grabbing your jean pocket, he pulled you closer to him and wrapped his arm around your shoulder, "After last night? Of course I am."

He placed his hand on your jaw as he locked his lips with yours, him leading the kiss. When he pulled away, you had your hands on his chest, "Yeah, I actually wanted to talk about that."

His head tilted, eyes narrowing too, "Yeah?"

"Um, I think— I think it was us getting carried away."

The look on his face wasn't neutral, although others might think that if not knowing the context. But you saw his jaw clench as he swallowed, and his eyebrows slowly furrowing over his darkening green eyes.

"I was in between your legs like, what, nine  hours ago. And now you think it was a mistake?"

"No, no. Not a mistake. I just looked back on it and I was thinking, maybe sex wasn't what you needed at the time."

The way he was looking at you made you feel so small. "Did I not make you feel good? Be honest."

"No, that's not it. You made me feel great."

"I could tell. So what the fuck is the problem?"

"Eren, you heard me. You were very sad and then we just had sex like that fixed everything. That's what's not making me feel good."

He stood up, and at this point you felt like you were buried into the ground, your head being the only thing above the surface so you could look at him. "Why the fuck are you doing this to me?"

"Eren, I'm not doing this to you. I was just saying it! I still adore you."

"Really? I can't tell." He picked his bag up and walked away from you, but not into the building. He walked out into the parking lot, and you walked back in the building before you could see where he was off too.

You didn't cry. No. You just felt like you were crying inside though. This was weird. You haven't thought about boys like this in forever. Then all of a sudden, one charms you on a Monday, and by the end of the week he's rearranged your guts.

At homeroom, you didn't see him. There was a possibility he was just going in his car to cool off earlier, and then there was the possibility that he drove home. He did the latter, and you were kind of relieved. Him ignoring you while being in the same room as you would've made you want to bury yourself in a hole.

Then the day went on. You got home, and you still wanted to sink into the ground. Not because of the reason from earlier. It changed into something else. You were craving him. You didn't care how awkward it would be, or how mad he could get, or how much he would yell at you. You wanted your body on his. You wanted to be around him. You wanted to be laughing with him, cumming with him.

You were obsessed with little shame about it, and that's why he got multiple rings on his doorbell and knocks on his from door at 7 in the evening.

"Wow. You came to see your mistake."

You were wearing another one of your hoodies, and this time a patterned pair of flair pants. Your slides were plush. Probably not the best choice for the rain that was just starting. But you still looked cute to Eren, and that made him even more frustrated.

"I never said that." Your pleading voice was so cute, and he was trying to make sure his dick wouldn't get hard as he looked at your doe brown eyes looking at him.

"Tch, come inside before it starts pouring."

You walked inside, turning around to face him once he closed and locked the door behind him. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a black tank top. He had his hands in his pockets, and before looking at his face, you were looking at his toned muscles and the print showing through his pants.

You were looking at him, and he was looking at you. You saw his Adam's Apple bob as he took a deep breath and got ready to talk. "Well, you drove your raggedy ass car to come see me. What do you have to say?"

You were standing with your hands behind your back, and a courage-building inhale preluded your sentence. "I'm sorry. I do mean what I said, but the delivery could've been better. Especially since it made you think that I don't want you, and I do want you. A lot. I was just thinking about it, and I don't regret what we did at all, but what led to it is what I was thinking about.

"But we can't change what was done. And I don't wanna change what was done, at all. I would sound like a hypocrite if I let on that I did, because a lot of the things that I said last night wouldn't elude that. Like when I said you're the best, I meant that. I mean, you're the best I've had, considering I've only had one other perso— Can you accept my apology already?"

He was smiling at you so hard that his cheeks were hurting. "C'mere."

You took the embrace that he was offering, him rocking you side to side as he laughed. You wanted your hands wrapped around him like this as long as possible, along with the feeling of him rocking you back and forth.

"Who was this other guy you fucked?" He asked you in the hug.

You lifted your face from his chest and looked up at him. "You in my business right now?"

"Yeah. You owe me."

"Why?"

"Because, I didn't say I accepted your apology. After how you made me feel earlier, I deserve something generous from you."

"Really?"

"Really." His hands went down to your ass, and you loved the way he touched on you, rubbing and massaging it. "Answer the question. Who took your virginity?"

"It was my boyfriend from sophomore year."

"Oh, yeah. I used to see you walking around with him. He's a loser."

Your mouth fell open, "Eren, be nice. He wasn't bad."

"Mmhmm." His mouth went down to your ear, "This ass isn't for him though, yeah?"

"N-No. It isn't."

"Neither is that pretty pussy though, right?"

"Right, baby."

"Who does it belong to?"

You looked up into his eyes, your hands on his chest. "It belongs to you, Eren."

"That's right. You belong to me. Don't ever try to fucking leave me or pull the shit you pulled earlier again, alright?"

Your lashes batted, but you still looked at him with adoration. "Okay, baby. I won't."

"Good girl." Gripping your ass cheeks, he shook one in his hold before he told you, "Get on your knees."

You did what he said, and he held your locs in his hand as you looked up at him. "What about your dad, though?"

"He's a surgeon. Working overtime tonight. Now, go ahead and pull it out. Let's see how else you can use this overachieving mouth."

He was right. You tried to overachieve in everything that you did. Even sucking dick. When you pulled his already hard dick out of his pants, you kissed the tip, using his drops of pre-cum as an extra layer of lip gloss.

You jerked him off with both hands, using your saliva from the licks you placed up his shaft as lubricant. Your hand ran up his torso, and you only had your eyes on his dick as you kissed it and slapped it against your lips.

When you actually started taking it in your mouth is when he got more vocal. You would hum every time you would slowly bob your head back and forth, taking more and more of his length everytime, until his whole shaft was in your mouth and you had your hand placed on the back of his waist to keep it there.

You pulled away and caught your breath, looking up at his hazy teal orbs that were looking straight back down at you in awe. "How many times have you fucked?"

All you gave to that question was a smirk, caressing his dick in your palm and using your wet lips to kiss and suck his fat balls. You practically gargled them in your spitty mouth while you sped up the pace of pumping his thick dick in your hand.

"Fuuuuuck." His groan was low and raspy as he took your throat as his own personal belonging.

You took his length back into your mouth, and the more of a mess you made increased to how much he was turned on. He felt every time his inches would go past your plump lips into your warm mouth. Your tongue kept licking that big vein that ran down the middle of his cock.

"Shit, I accept your apology. It's okay, it's okay baby. Fuck."

Your eyes shut and you stopped moving after he said that, and you took a deep breath and wiped your mouth. "I didn't— I didn't cum yet."

"I know that. I was paying you back what I owed." You got off of your knees and walked past him, "You were being really mean, though. Now I feel like I'm owed something. Come on."

You scurried up the stairs, and he didn't even tuck his dick back in to follow you. You were ahead of him, but him skipping stairs when he walked helped close the distance.

"I owe you?" He asked when he met you in his bedroom.

"Yeah. You do." He didn't expect it, and that's why it was so easy for you to push him on his bed. He sat up on his elbows as he watched you pull your pants down.

"Hold on, I don't want you to take your panties off y—"

"Eren, you don't get a say right now, baby. I'm sorry to break it to you."

His eyebrow furrowed, him looking like he was in complete disbelief. "What?"

"You heard me." Your juicy pussy was nude and aligned with his wet and hard cock as you took off your hoodie, then your bra, unleashing your yummy breasts right in his face.

But he couldn't touch them, or even lift up and suck them, because after you helped him take his shirt off, you pinned his hands down to the bed with your own, even humming in sadistic satisfaction when you did it. You used one hand to put him inside of you, and you moaned so sexily that he could've came right there.

But he didn't, he tried to push through. Even when you started bouncing that ass up and down on him ruthlessly, clapping sounds filling the room.

"So good, baby. You feel so fucking good." Your pussy was waiting for him, missing him desperately after last night. You didn't waste a second when on top of him.

You watched as his face scrunched up while you were milking the soul out of him through his dick. He was looking to the side, repeating, "Oh my god." with his deep moans.

He should've known you were gonna double back. Two strong-willed people having sex with each other just seems to lead to it lasting all night. But riding him like this right after sucking him so good and not letting him cum was just cruel.

That's why it took less than two minutes for him to give you the warning, forcing out an, "I'm— cumming." You got off of him, and watched as his spurts of cum came out like a fountain. It got all over his chest and yours, mixing in with the hair from his happy trail and dripping down from your tits to your stomach.

Your hand was on the bottom of his shaft, and you were gently pumping him as he came, so you loved the feeling of his dick pulsating as he emptied his balls. Once he was finished, you dragged your hand up his shaft, and he watched as you licked the cum off your fingers.

"Shit, come here."

You laid down on your stomach next to him and kissed him. "You're such a fucking freak." He told you, intertwining his fingers with your soft locs.

"And you aren't?"

"I never said I wasn't. That's why I like fucking you so much."

After a few minutes of you two making out, a struggle for dominance ensued. He quickly won it though, with him gripping your ass helping him get on top of you.

To your surprise, his dick was still hard, and he laid it over your stomach. "You're crazy, y'know? Fucking me like that without a condom."

"It felt better that way. And, I'm on birth control anyway."

"Hmm, good. Because we ran out of condoms last night."

"Oh."

"So, you okay if I fill you up?" He slid inside as he asked you this, and that familiar imprint in your stomach came back. "Make you mine?"

"Y-Yeah. Fill me up baby."

Eren loved hickeys, but not during the school year. He's literally always involved with a sport, so unless it's a winter practice, they're gonna be seen on him. But thankfully, he loved giving them too. So he took the liberty to grab your legs and fold you in half, allowing himself to lean down and kiss you as he gave you those magnificent thrusts. Those kisses went lower, and his mouth stayed in spots on your neck as his groans easily traveled to your ears.

When he sat back up, his pace got brutal, and you felt every last thrust hit so deep inside of you. "It's deep, Eren. So fucking deep."

Your breathy whimpers turned him on so much. He was focused on trying to make your pussy remember his shape fondly down to every last vein, hoping that he could make every one of his eight inches get in there.

He had a goal, and that's why he was being so relentless. You put your hand on his chest, whining and whimpering, but he moved it away. When he moved his hand back, he decided to hold your hands and your legs in his holds together.

"Fuck! Baby, slow downnn."

He was gonna keep plowing into you, even faster now that you said something. "Take it. You got it, ma."

"Eren, Eren! Fuck!" Your eyes were rolling back, and he was glad to see that he could make your eyes roll back in another way than you having sass.

You started repeating a slur of yeses when you were cumming, and as your body shook with your orgasm, you left a milky puddle of your cream under you.

Now is when he slowed down, to ride out his own high. He kept holding you where you were as his eyes shut, groaning and moaning while he filled you up, as he said he would do.

When he pulled out, the creamy concoction that was left on him was falling out of you. "Come here, mama."

He picked you up, and you held onto him tight as he rubbed your back up and down. "You're mine, baby."

You were mindfucked and hazy, but you still responded with, "I'm yours."

"All fucking mine."

[rileyglas]

The List ~Pt. 7 - Condemnation~

Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) x Reader

Summary: As you try to cope with Alastor's absence, you find solace with the King of Hell, who presents an interesting offer. However, some unexpected news from Husk forces you to rethink your plans.

Themes: The usual angst, mystery (Alastor), sassiness, cursing, fluff, eventual smut, actual plot, Lucifer is a cunning shit, slow burn, Husk is going to be in trouble, and of course 18+

3.2k Words

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven (You're on it!) Part Seven.A

**sentences in italics are internal thoughts of the reader

The last few days (weeks?) have been a blur. It was a weird switch going from sleeping terribly because you longed to be near him - to sleeping constantly so you didn’t have to feel your body long from him. Anyone who came to your door was just told you weren’t feeling good. “Just caught a stomach bug, don’t come in! I would hate for you to catch it.”

Today you decided it’s time to finally leave your room. Charlie needs help and there are things around the hotel that need to be done before her meeting with Heaven. You aren’t one to let others down just because of your own emotional baggage.

You throw some makeup on to try to brighten your face. Usually, you wouldn’t be bothered but all the crying significantly darkened your eyes. I’d rather not let them see me like this. The less questions the better. Plastering a smile on your face, you head down to the lobby to get the list of ‘to-dos’ from Charlie. Surprisingly she isn’t there when you arrive, so you take a seat next to Angel on the floor. You lean your head against his leg as a silent ‘hello’.

“Hey toots, how ya feeling?” he says without looking up from his phone. “Better, thanks.” You say cheerfully.

“Good! Guess you and Smiles must have shared cooties ‘cause he ain’t been seen or heard from since Lucifer’s visit.” A pang hits your chest, but you try to brush it off. He’s probably just pissed off.

Charlie rushes down the stairs and scoops you into a lung crushing hug, “So so so soooooooo glad you’re feeling better! I didn’t realize how much you did around here! Could you do me a huge favor and go pick up a few things from the city and take them to my dad? He said he can meet you at this address. I have to go pack - Thank you!” Just as quickly as she came down the stairs, she hurries back, leaving you with a short list and an address.

For the first time in weeks, you leave the hotel without Alastor or his shadow close by. It’s not that you’re afraid of going out alone, but you realize you enjoyed his company more than you thought. You glance up at the radio tower as you walk away from the hotel and can make out a dark figure with glowing red eyes staring down from the window. Well at least that’s confirmation he’s still around.

You pick up the few things from a local shop and walk across the city to the address Charlie gave you. This doesn’t look right. The building you walk up to is more of an abandoned warehouse for a drug deal rather than a cozy meetup with the King of Hell. Cautiously you walk through the door which looked like it had been kicked in already. Just as expected, it’s an empty building with piles of trash scattered about. Graffiti and posters plaster the inner walls. You triple check the address on the small paper and it matches.

Sooo now what?

After waiting and pacing for a few minutes, you hear someone call out to you. You turn to see Lucifer standing outside a portal in the middle of the building.

“You didn’t actually think I stayed within the city, did you?” he chuckles as he motions for you to enter into the portal with him. Once inside you look around to see a large open room filled with…ducks? And this guy was trying to give me a hard time?

“Is – is this your office, sir?”

He boots a few ducks out of his path. “Yes, this is where I work on – important – matters. Also, no need for formalities, Lucifer is fine. Those bags for me?”

You almost forgot why you were even standing in the King’s office. All the piles of rubber ducks grabbed your attention and now you wanted to look through them out of pure curiosity. Handing over the bags, you keep scanning around the room. Lucifer notices your curious glances, “Would you – like to see my most recent project?” he asks nervously. You feel your face light up at the offer and he can’t help but mirror your excitement.

He starts to show you all the ducks he’s created, their names, what they can do. His eyes glimmer excitedly every time you display even the slightest interest in one. What feels like a mere fifteen minutes ends up becoming a couple hours. As he shows you the last of his collection, a solemn look crosses his face.

“Thank you for this. I don’t get a lot of visitors and haven’t really been able to share my work since Charlie…grew up. Plus, it’s nice to see you smile, especially after our first encounter.”

Your breath catches at the memory of that night. Not so much the crying in the arms of the devil part - rather the grief you felt shortly after. “Oh – thank you for taking the time to show me. Truthfully, I haven’t had much reason to smile lately so it’s a lovely change.”

His smile drops. There's a long pause as he fights with himself to find the right words, “Did he…Alastor I mean…hurt you that night? You can tell me. I know Charlie is close with him, so you probably don’t feel comfortable -”

“He didn’t hurt me. At least not in the physical sense.” Frowning, you curse at yourself for being too honest. You can’t help but feel at ease in his presence. He was Lucifer, King of Hell and easily the most powerful in all the seven rings. What ulterior motives could he possibly have or need? He has no reason to be anything other than genuine in his worry for you. He made it all too easy to tell him anything. Rule #1 Never trust another Overlord/Demon

He looks at you pitifully. I hate when someone looks at me like that. “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.” You force a smile then hang your head towards the floor to hide the truth. The wounds were too fresh. The last thing you want is another breakdown in front of him. He’s seen enough tears from me. 

Two fingers pull your chin up to his gaze, “Your eyes tell me a much different story. Tell me, does he know of your power?” he asks delicately.

Weird, Alastor never really asked me to show him what I could do. He always just said he could ‘sense’ it. Your brows gather at the realization, “Not exactly. He knows I have it, just not what I can do fully.”

He lets go of you with a sigh of relief, “Probably for the best.”

“Wait, do you – “

“I do not know, though I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little curious. You must have something special to survive down here.” He flashes a devilish grin that makes heat rise to your cheeks.

Rule #2 Never tell a soul what (or how much) power you have. Can’t hurt for the King to know, right? “Well you were gracious enough to show me your special collection. Let me show you something that’s special to me in return.”

Taking his hand, you lead him to his chair and motion for him to sit down. “Do you have anything sharp?” you ask. He hesitates slightly before grabbing a small knife from his workbench.

“So - I don’t know how this will work with the whole ‘fallen angel’ thing but...trust me?”

His worried eyes are surpassed by a warm smile, nodding for you to continue. You kneel in front of him and take his hand palm side up, “Sorry, this might hurt a little.” He flinches as you slice into his skin and golden fluid gushes from the wound. I didn’t know angelic blood was so beautiful.

Flipping his hand over, you press your lips to his knuckles. A hiss leaves your throat from the sting as the cut heals and blood disappears. Lucifer pulls his hand away to inspect his palm. “Wow…that is…..definitely something,” he breathed in amazement. His hands find yours as he stands to help you up from the floor, but he doesn't let go. Eyes widened in curiosity, “Do you feel anything when it happens?”  

You shrug, “Depends on the wound. Stuff like that just stings. Other times it feels like my body is getting ripped apart.”

Lucifer hums, drawing nervous little circles in your palms with his thumbs, “The gift of healing is something truly amazing.” He seems to lose himself in thought but continues to ghost across your skin. The light touch from his tracing sends you into full body chills.

“You're beautiful.” he whispers under his breath.

You catch his attention to pull him out of his own mind. “I’m sorry?”

“IT’S beautiful - the gift. I mean you’re beautiful too I just - I mean …” You try to hide your giggles as he continues to stammer like a schoolboy. It was refreshing to see him flustered like this, vulnerable and unsure of himself. He stops to take a breath and recollect his thoughts, “I'm sorry I’m just trying to figure out what you, of all people, could possibly want or need from that…demon.” His voice sharpened bitterly at the word. He really likes to poke the sore subjects doesn’t he.

“I didn’t need anything. And I wanted…it doesn’t matter what I wanted. He made his intentions clear that night that I was only some tool for him. He never cared. And I knew better but yet here I am - “

“Heartbroken…?” 

Tears swell in your eyes as he said the word. Uhg not again…Rule #4 Never let your weaknesses show. 

Lucifer wraps his hands around your waist and pulls you against him. He softly presses a kiss to your forehead then to each cheek, taking your fallen tears with his lips. Your body freezes at the sudden affection. This feels wrong…

“Look, I know things are getting bad out there, but I can promise you safety - true safety. You can stay here. Away from the sinners, the exorcists, him…you can be here with me and away from all the evil that floods the streets –“ “No!” you interject louder than you mean to. He cocks his head at your sudden outburst, looking offended but softens when he sees tears continue down your face. “I see why Charlie likes you so much my dear. You both try so hard to see the best in everyone and want to help. It’s unfortunate such kind souls like yours are taken advantage of far too often.” You feel his grip tighten at your waist as he presses a hand to your cheek. This feels so very wrong…Rule #3 Never bring anyone too close

You grab his wrists, not to move them away but rather to make sure they don’t travel your body any further, “I have ways of keeping myself safe, Lucifer. I appreciate your offer but I can’t…I won’t…hide away. I refuse to be caged when there are people out there that need help.”

He lets out a low chuckle and rests his forehead on yours. His eyes close as he sighs, “Your determination and stubbornness remind me so much of her…”

“Who?” you whisper.

His lips hover above yours, “Lillith.”

This IS wrong. “Luci –“

Before you can say anything else his lips interrupt yours. His kiss is gentle yet unwavering. Your body aches from how tense your body has become. Any other sinner would kill to be in your position right now, but your mind is only focused on one person – and it isn’t the one kissing you. I hate this...

Like a saving grace, Lucifer’s phone begins ringing with Charlie’s adorable baby picture lighting up the screen. He pulls away and answers it reluctantly, “Heeeey you! How’d the m – oh? Yes, we will be right there.” He hangs up with a groan and intertwines his fingers with yours, “We will have to put this to the side for now. Apparently, the meeting with Heaven didn’t go well. Charlie needs us back at the hotel.” With his free hand he opens a portal into the hotel lobby and pulls you alongside him. 

Stepping into the lobby, his hand keeps a firm grip on yours. You walk in just in time to see Charlie bursting into tears and running upstairs with Vaggie and Alastor trailing close behind her.

“Charlie wait – “ Vaggie tries to stop her but halts at the banister, knowing she is far too upset to talk right now. Lucifer finally lets go of you and rushes to follow his daughter, shoving Alastor to the side as he makes his way up the stairs.

His face twists into a snarl at the King’s boorishness. Realizing he wasn’t alone Alastor glances over his shoulder to see you staring. A strange mixture of hurt and relief fills your body seeing him for the first time since that night. He didn’t look like his usually pristine self. He looked…tired? Disheveled? Why does he look like he’s been worse off than me? As if he’s suffered just as much? You notice his smile falter as he looks back at you before turning to see Lucifer making his way back down the stairs.

“She seems to need some time alone.” Lucifer announces with a hint of hurt in his voice. Ignoring Alastor, he walks over to you and takes your hips forcefully, making you flinch at his grip. “I think it’s best I take my leave for now. Promise you’ll at least consider my offer, please? I’d hate for you to..” he glares back at Alastor to ensure he was watching, “…get hurt in any way. You’re worth protecting my dear.” He places a long kiss to your forehead and vanishes in a stream of red ribbon. 

You rub your sides where he had grabbed you to take away the sting. Your face contorts uncomfortably at the remnants of his touch and kiss. Alastor takes a step towards you almost unconsciously. You snap to his eyes, silently begging for him not to come closer. You want nothing more than to run to him, to feel his touch, his warmth, his safety but you know it'd just hurt more. He stops, offering a nod as he dissipates into his shadow without a word.

Vaggie fills you in on what happened in the meeting with Heaven. Your stomach turns at the idea of the Exorcists targeting the hotel and your friends. You know you’re going to be needed more than ever come that day. I need to be stronger; they’ll need all the help they can get.

You lay down for the evening hoping sleep would come easy but find your eyes only burning into the ceiling. The Extermination, Lucifer’s offer, Alastor…Your mind didn’t know what problem to try and figure out first. After lying awake for a couple hours, you give up and decide to go for a walk to clear your thoughts. As you walk through the lobby you give a quick smile to Husk who was closing up the bar for the night.

“And where are you off to so late?” he hollers, making you jump from the sudden break in silence. 

“Just need to clear my head, Husk. Have a good evening.” you continue walking towards the front doors. He quickly catches up and puts a paw on your shoulder, “Mind if I join? Some fresh air sounds pretty good right now.” You shake your head and step to the side for him to lead the way. 

The two of you walk in a comfortable silence around the small path circling the building. Distant yells and car horns fill the air from the city below. “Quite an exit from the King this afternoon. Sure got Al riled up.” Husk says casually. You stop dead in your tracks at the comment, “What do you mean?”

“If Al comes for a drink, it’s just that. A single drink. Tonight you would have thought he was trying to drown himself.” “If you came along to try to guilt trip me, don’t bother. He did this to himself.” you bite, continuing down the path in hopes he would drop the subject. 

Husk stops you again, “I ain’t trying to get in between whatever messed up relationship you two have, but as someone who is usually at the brunt of his bad moods, he hasn’t once bitten my head off since you came around. You have an…interesting…effect on that evil bastard.”

You shake off his hand, frustrated at the continued prodding. “That’s exactly what he is. Nothing more than a selfish, heartless -”

“He can’t be too heartless considering...” Husk stops himself seeing your head whip around. You walk back towards him, keeping your voice low, “Considering?”

He rubs the back of his neck nervously and takes a deep breath, “Look he never confides in me. I mean he barely speaks to me other than when he needs something. The liquor really did a number -”

You grab his shoulders to stop his rambling, “What did he say?”

“I - I didn’t even know he had the word in his vocabulary -”

“HUSK!?”

“He said…he loves you.”

If it wasn’t pounding so loudly in your ears, you could have sworn your heart stopped. Any air in your lungs felt as though it was sucked out, “What…”

“That was all he said before leaving for the radio tower. It about broke him seeing Lucifer with you. I never thought he’d say something like that out loud.” Husk says quietly, as if afraid someone else would hear the confession. You stare at him for a while, trying to process what he was saying. Your head starts to spin. Is he just trying to lie his way back to me? Why would he even tell Husk anything? Did he really lose his tongue from the liquor? “I - I need to s-sit down.” your knees buckle but Husk grabs you before you hit the ground.

“Woahh - alright yeah let’s get you inside.”

He helps you inside and sits you on the lounge chair in the lobby, “You okay kid?” 

You finally catch your breath and rest your head in your hands, “Yeah, just a lot to take in today. Thanks Husk. I’ll be good.” He takes the hint that you need a few minutes to yourself and starts to head to his room. 

“Actually wait - mind pouring me a double real quick?” you try to ask but it sounds more like a demand. Husk reluctantly walks back to the bar to pour your usual, “You uh - sure this is a good idea?”

No but fuck it.  

“Yes, it’s fine. Thank you again.” you slam back the drink, not letting a drop go to waste. You needed to feel the burn to ground yourself and prepare for what you were about to do. 

Husk leaves you in the lobby. You wait a few moments to allow the liquid courage to burn through your veins, then make your way to Alastor’s radio tower.

Here we go.

Tag List (Let me know if you would like to be added!)

@rl800 @fairyv-ice @looking1016 @martinys-world @sirens-and-moonflowers @alastorssimp @alastorsgirl48 @mysterisumone @phamtasic @ohnah2022 

[kisses4lao]

Could I request kung lao who can't take his eyes off from!reader? Like she has thick thighs and tits that are super hard to cover. I'm totally not self projecting here👀 thanks!!!!!

Girl the way I relate to you so hard 😭 these triple D's make my life so much worse I swear

Tw/cw: Kung Lao being extremely horny, kind of pre established relationship??? Idk, Liu Kang being able to hear his horny thoughts and getting fed up with it, Raidens fed up with it too tho DW, Bi Han is also a simp for reader but Kung Lao is cooler, readers THICCC in the tits and thighs department, cursing, takes place before Bi Han became grandmaster because we all know he wouldn't let a woman NEAR the Lin Kuei

Not proofread

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I said this once and I'll say it again, Kung Lao is a certified thigh man. Any thighs, small, big, muscular, soft n squishy, he loves them all.

So when you showed up as a new Lin Kuei recruit member, much to the dismay of Bi Han, Kung Lao was head over heels for you.

You needed to get a uniform tailored specifically for you. Considering you were one of the first female recruits, you couldn't take a man's uniform, according to Bi Han, at least. Not only that, but you needed a uniform to cover up.. well, everything. You had incredibly thiccc thighs and awfully big breasts, both being very hard to cover up.

You were able to persuade Bi Han to make you a uniform that had a turtle neck long sleeve shirt with bell bottom jeans (that's what I'd want at least smh). Bi Han was quick to have someone get your measurements as well as making the actual uniform.

Truth be told, you could tell Bi Han had a small soft spot for you. Which is why he was always more than happy to help you out. When you finally got your uniform, you were confused as to why it was so tight if you got your measurements taken. It had hugged every curve you had perfectly and made your thighs and bust accentuated.

Other than the fact it was revealing without having anything showing, you enjoyed your new uniform and wore it out to train. You could feel your colleagues eyes on you, especially Kung Laos. God did he love how your thighs looked in your new uniform, he couldn't take his eyes off of you.

He'd often times try and spar you, being completely mesmerized by the way your breasts would move in your uniform. He'd purposefully lose that way he could rematch you.

Other times he'd just stare. The other men training would too, but they had the decency to at least look away after a few seconds. Not Kung Lao though. He'd stare at your body for minutes at a time. Raiden would have to genuinely slap him before he got the hint.

He wasn't objectifying you, or at least, not on purpose. He genuinely did have a lot of respect for you as a fighter, he just couldn't help but think about you in the most perverted ways possible.

If you guys were ever next to each other, whether it be at dinner, during training, or something else, he'd spare small glances at you. He'd take in every part of you, your luscious hair, eyelashes, a side profile he deemed perfect.

He'd stare at your lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss them, touch them, have them wrapped around his cock. Same with your thighs and breasts, he'd wonder what it would be like to touch them, to kiss them, make small hickeys on them. He'd love to know what they'd look like bare, or maybe with his cum painted on them.

Sometimes Liu Kang would just look him dead in the eyes while he's thinking about these perverted things and give him the stankest look. Like he'd look at him like a disappointed father.

Raiden is also getting fed up with how much he talks about you but never WITH you. Raiden thought you were gorgeous, both mind and body, and he just wanted what was best for his friend. That, however, did not include Kung Laos endless rambling about you. He had gotten so sick of it that he ended up confessing for him.

Raiden waited until you were alone to approach you. You guys were pretty good friends, so this wasn't out of the ordinary. He'd mentioned Kung Lao once and could see how your eyes lit up at the thought of him. He told you about how he had the biggest crush on you and set you guys up on a date.

Kung Lao wasn't thrilled to find out Raiden told you for him. He wasn't happy about it at all actually, but he'll be damned if he missed this opportunity with you.

The amount of times he's fucked his hands, or wrapped a pillow around his cock just to simulate what you could feel like was too many times to count. The date was at a fancy restaurant, he had picked you up and you were wearing a low cut dress that left nothing to the imagination. You had to keep pulling the dress down because of how often it rode up your thighs, and every time you did, Kung Lao felt like he was in heaven.

You were so beautiful to him, and finding out more about you as a person just made him even more attracted to you. He'd asked you so much about yourself that by the end of the night you'd known nothing about him. So when you asked him for another date, he was ecstatic.

He absolutely went home and masturbated so much that night he felt like his dick was gonna fall off. He's probably into that tho

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/n: do you guys think Kung Laos into drinking breast milk. I do. I think he'd be all up in those titties fr

[knightmareaceblue]

The Amazonian Amethyst.

Since being stolen from its rightful owners by the tyrannical Queen Empress, no one has seen this legendary gemstone. Rumor has it that the Amethyst, like many lost treasures, was taken by the Queen Empress to her tomb, the Red Pyramid, from which no one had ever returned alive.

It'd make the perfect anniversary gift. When Charles of all people presents this plan to his partners, Henry and Ellie are completely on board. An anniversary adventure suits the Triple Threat more than some dinner date, anyways.

And nothing could possibly go wrong… right?

--------------------

Deep in the heart of an ancient jungle, far away from the modern comforts and conveniences of the human world, all was calm. The animals scurried and scattered about, out to hunt or gather for their next meal. The roaring rapids of a nearby river echoed through the tangle of trees, calling to creatures near and far to take their fair share of its fresh water and plump schools of fish. The songs of birds in the upper canopy competing to attract a mate completed the natural soundtrack of this ancient, majestic place.

Then, quite suddenly, the sharp mechanical buzzing of helicopter blades sliced through the melody of environment, causing the animals to scatter in fear of this strange new sound. At least one thousand feet above these scared grounds, three people, oblivious to their disruption, chattered excitedly amongst themselves.

“Man, doesn’t this bring you back?” Spoke the sole female of the group, a red-head named Ellie, who stared out at the jungle with a fond smile, her eyes soft with nostalgia. “Our first mission as the Triple Threat, flying over the Dogobogo Jungle to mess up the Toppat Clan’s day and send their rocket flying off into the sun.”

“Well, actually, Hen sent it to the Wall? But, you know, close enough.” Responded the pilot, one Mister Charles Calvin, who glanced back at her for only the briefest of moments before returning his focus to the wheel. His eyes scanned the canopy, searching for their destination, and a wide grin stretched across his face when he finally found it. “Whoa! Guys, you gotta check this out!!”

Henry, the final and most quiet member of the trio, raced over to Charles’ side first, Ellie hot on their trail. Their crimson eyes scanned the horizon, until they widened when they landed on the group’s destination: a gigantic pyramid, covered from top to bottom in green foliage as nature fought to overtake the ancient structure.

“There she is.” Ellie murmured, entranced by the sight, “The Imperial Tomb of the Queen Empress.”

“Exactly where my contact said it would be.” Declared the pilot, flicking switches and checking gauges as he prepared to descend. “According to him, the Amazonian Amethyst should be buried inside, along with the Empress. But everyone who’s ever gone searching for the tomb’s hidden treasure has mysteriously vanished~” The change of tone from Charles was accompanied by an amused smirk, almost as if daring fate to try and do the same to them. “So no one’s ever found the amethyst hidden inside. Which means it’s all ours for the taking.”

With a sharp squeal, Henry’s arms wrapped tightly around Charles’ shoulders, and they nuzzled their head into the side of Charles’. “This is the best anniversary gift ever.” Henry declared, and Charles felt his heart flutter.

When accepting the Airship mission so long ago, Charles hadn’t expected to fall in love with a criminal mastermind, let alone two of them. But exactly one year ago today, under the gentle light of the moon, Henry had taken both their hands and proclaimed their love to the heavens. The year that had followed had been the adventure of a lifetime; it hadn’t been without its challenges, but ultimately Charles had never been happier. The two standing behind him were his heart and soul made manifest. Of that, Charles was certain.

Of course, Charles’ love didn’t equate to ignorance of who, exactly, he was dating. By the time the government had picked them up for the Airship mission, Henry had become somewhat infamous for their prison break and theft of the Tunisian Diamond, and Ellie was in a similar position, living an outlaw’s life for various crimes she’d committed with a previous gang. And while they’d turned over a new leaf, partially for the benefits but mostly for Charles, it was clear that the transition to a clean cut lifestyle was… difficult, to say the least.

Thankfully the majority of what they craved, the action and adventure and excitement, was quelled by the missions they went on to save the world from whatever bad guy of the week dared to think they could stand up to the Triple Threat. However, the other addictive quality of their criminal lives – the material gains, the glitz and glamour of wealth that people like them could only get through illicit activities – that was another story entirely. Charles couldn’t count the number of times he’d had to drag Henry away from a display of shiny jewelry, or watch Ellie gaze longingly at the security trucks stores used to transport cash. He knew the two of them would never go behind his back to return to their old ways – he trusted them. But it was obvious even to him that they still missed it.

So, when their anniversary began to approach, Charles devised a plan. He’d preemptively gotten them a full two week’s vacation, scoured the dredges of the library and uncovered a lost treasure: The Amazonian Amethyst. A rare, large, and highly valuable purple gemstone that was said to have been stolen from its rightful owners by the very Queen Empress who was buried below them. She had taken many treasures with her to the grave, and for their anniversary, Charles had made all the arrangements necessary for them to go hunt it down. He’d rented a non-government helicopter (none of the bells and whistles he was used to, but the leather seats were a hell of a lot more comfortable than the ones from his usual bird), made sure they had all their paperwork and supplies, and took his two loves deep into the heart of the jungle on a death defying adventure to technically-not-steal a large amethyst from a long dead tyrant.

Maybe not entirely on the up and up, as far as legality went, but seeing the looks on Henry and Ellie’s faces when he told them his plan was totally worth the huge risk.

As their helicopter descended, Ellie scurried about, grabbing any last minute supplies she could get her hands on and tossing them into her personal inventory for later use. Simultaneously, Henry yanked open the door to the helicopter and hopped out as it landed, surveying the area with experienced precision. A practiced hand signal alerted their partners that the coast was clear, and Charles and Ellie soon hopped out after them. Inventories fully equipped, limbs stretched, and helicopter secured, the infamous Triple Threat made their way into the maw of the pyramid, eagerly chasing the adventure it promised.

Behind them, the song of the jungle stilled too suddenly, leaving only the increasingly loud crunch, crunch, crunch of plants being crushed.

--------------------

“Yo, check this place out!” Charles exclaimed as the trio stepped into the main hall. The smile on his face stretched from ear to ear, and Henry could practically see the stars in his eyes as he shook his fists in excitement.

Not that Henry could fault his sunshiny enthusiasm. The main hall was adorned with very ornate murals, each one portraying the Queen Empress throughout her life. From her miraculous birth, with light shining down on her from the heavens; to her childhood of objectively being better than everyone; to the worship of her citizens, despite the blood lust that lead her to raid and pillage and steal from weaker kingdoms near and far. The blatant narcissism on display was staggering. The shiny gems that were used in place of her pupils, however, made Henry’s fingers twitch.

Of course, they wouldn’t settle for those little pebbles. Charles had picked a gem especially for them. Henry was going to get their hands on it if it killed them.

“According to the notes from the last expedition…” Ellie flipped through her notebook pages casually, even as she sidled up to one of the murals and plucked out a shiny blue stone. Unlike Henry, she didn’t mind easy pickings. “In the 1950s, geez… this first area is relatively safe. It’s where the Queen’s followers were expected to bring offerings of food and drink to their Eternal Queen.” Ellie’s eyes, full and bright like the full moon, scanned over the entire room. “Given how open this place was, though, it was probably all eaten by animals.”

Henry openly scoffed. “Wanna bet the people in charge used the missing food as ‘proof’ that the Empress really was there?”

In response, Ellie only shook her head. The trio walked along, making light conversation up until they reached the end of the hallway. The doorway between the Offerings Hall and the rest of the tomb contained a final masterpiece: the Queen Empress, in all her regal glory, being called into heaven by the gods themselves in the same radiant light that had shone upon her at birth. It’d be poetic, if Henry didn’t find it so nauseatingly self-serving. Whoever the woman was, she tried incredibly too hard to portray herself as a literal gift from the gods.

More importantly, the entrance to the tomb was stuck shut. “Notes said it was sealed after the last expedition,” Ellie explained, shutting the book in her hands. “Probably so no more idiots would get themselves killed trying to get that big treasure.”

“Well, they clearly hadn’t counted on these idiots!” Charles proclaimed, pulling the two of them close so he could point his fingers down at the trio, as if that was supposed to be a compliment. Still, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Idiots though the three may be, this wouldn’t even be close to the toughest thing they’d tackled. The three of them? They got this. First they just had to find a world in which they got this stupid door open.

Should they Force it open? No, that probably wasn’t a good idea. Ellie’s powers were strong, sure, but they could be too strong at times. Using just the right amount of Force would require extreme concentration. Henry could see the future play out before their very eyes; Ellie’s powers would pry the heavy door away from the wall bit by bit, pulling at the melted welding keeping it in place until it finally broke free. They’d celebrate for a moment, just a second, before the door would hit all three of them, knocking them back and out. Apparently, there was such a thing as too much force. Who knew?

So that was a no go.

What about some controlled demolition, then? Somehow that seemed like an even worse idea. They would manage to knock down the wall surrounding the door, sure. It was just a matter of applying enough force to remove the stones. Then the whole ceiling would crash down around their ears, their universe ending in a single cosmic crunch. Of course it would. Henry had the luck of a black cat zooming underneath a row of ladders while crushing mirrors underneath its claws. And besides, it was Remodeling 101: You never destroy a load-baring structure.

“You know, we could always just teleport past it.” Ellie teased with a quirk of her lip. This caused an instinctual full body shutter from Henry at just the thought of that infernal contraption. Though they’d never used the device in their own world line, the aches and pains of its future malfunctions still radiated across their skin, a phantom pain from a wound that never was and always had been.

Future sight was a real bitch sometimes.

With an annoyed pout, they scolded her, “Don’t even joke about that.” Henry could see the amusement on Charles’ face as he joined Ellie with an elbow propped on her shoulder, and tried not to scowl. Ellie and Charles took their concerns seriously – Neither of them had ever doubted their future sight even once– but the two weren’t above teasing their beloved about the borderline paranoid raving they could go on. “In fact, new rule from now on: No more bringing the teleporter. It always backfires.”

“So that means we won’t get to see you make that cute pouty face whenever you pull it out of your bag anymore?” Teased the pilot, a grin as bright as the sun stretching along his face. He didn’t even look a little sad at the idea of Henry no longer being burdened by the infernal plaything of cruel fate that was the Teleporter.

“What a shame.” Ellie joked right alongside him. In terms of acting, she was a little better, in that she managed to look a little disappointed at the thought. But her eyes shone like the moonlight, letting her true feelings be known to those who could read her.

All the annoyance melted away at their expressions, and Henry tried not to let this show as they rolled their eyes and spun around to dig through their inventory. “Yeah, yeah. Give me a moment, I think I have something here… aha!”

Henry triumphantly pulled their prize from their inventory’s storage: a blowtorch, which Henry immediately lit up before their red-headed girlfriend dropped a protective mask down over their face. Pausing only to give her a brief thumbs up before going to town, they traced the outlines of the sealed metal entrance and slowly but surely began to destroy the fused sections between door and wall, allowing for the door to be effortlessly removed. Henry turned around and bowed to their sun and their moon, gesturing dramatically to guide them through the newly created hole in the ruin. Ellie, proper woman that she was, bowed back as she passed, her eyes reflecting the mirth Henry felt. And Charles, ray of sunshine that he was, gentle tapped Henry’s nose with a soft boop before all but skipping through the doorway.

They could be walking into death, sure. After all, no one had seen the interior of the pyramid and survived. Despite these terrible odds, Henry couldn’t help but feel at ease. After all, they were already capable of the impossible alone. With Ellie and Charles by their side, they were all but invincible.

Behind them, an ominous shadow shadow spread across the stone cold floor.

--------------------

The Triple Threat were greeted by a long, long hallway on the other side of the sealed doorway. It stretched onward and onward, shadows obscuring the pathway and all its secrets. The only lights came from the dull blue luminescence of the blue spheres embedded into the walls. There were more murals, Henry was certain, but their pictures were obscured by the darkness the entire corridor was draped in.

A darkness that was suddenly slashed through by a beam of light, courtesy of Charles. Now they could make out the plain, cold stone floor, the elaborate detailing on the wall portraying some myth long since lost to the age, the arches on the ceiling that provided the support needed for the heavy stone structure. There were no traps to be seen; no buttons, no spikes, no glowing eyed accursed beast doomed to wander these twisted hallways forever. It looked perfectly safe.

Naturally, Henry didn’t trust it.

Apparently Charles didn’t share this suspicious sentiment, because with a chipper, “Welp, let’s get moving!” He bound forward a few steps, and Ellie and Henry grabbed him and pulled him back just in time to avoid a long and dangerous drop down a pit of spikes.

“Watch your step, dumbass.” Ellie scolded, her hand tight around Charles’. In the meanwhile, Henry quickly checked him over. They’d been quick enough to catch him in this world (Future sight was a bitch), but better safe than sorry when it comes to mysterious ancient ruins and their many traps. And tetanus.

For his part, Charles seemed more embarrassed than scared. “Whoops.” He chuckled nervously as Ellie and Henry, now that they were done making sure he was really okay, crossed their arms and shot him matching glares, flat and unimpressed. “My bad. Sorry, guys.”

“Sheesh.” Ellie uncrossed her arms. On the outside she looked calm and composed, but Henry knew her well enough to see the slight tension in her face, or the way eyes kept darting to view the area behind Charles, as if expected another trap to jump out of nowhere and blot out the sun. “You’re going to be the death of us, I swear.”

With Charles’ near death experience out of the way, Ellie picked up a small pile of loose stones near the side of the passageway and began tossing them, one after the other. With each stone tossed, a section of the floor collapsed underneath the weight, revealing a pitfall that went down for meters. At the bottom, cascading off the floor, were subtle buttons that could only barely be made out in the dark, and entirely less subtle rows of spikes. A ghastly smell rose as the floor fell: a noxious fume of decay and rot that told them, even before Charles’ torch revealed the scatterings of bones both human and otherwise, the fates of all those whom had entered beforehand. An ominous rattling echoed up through the chamber as the light awoke various species of serpents lying in slumber in between the spikes, scattering quickly to hide around the buttons with their tails resonating dangerous warnings about disturbing them further. As the light continued to travel upward, the trio could make out tiny little holes in the walls, just large enough for any number of potentially poisonous instruments to fly or jut out, all the way from the bottom of the pit to the very top of the ceiling.

Now, if this had just been Henry, then they’d use a grappling hook to fly across the chasm, no problem. Or maybe create a platform with something nearby. But it was more than just Henry they were worried about today, and the ceiling was far too old and decrepit to hold all of them if they swung across. And the ruins were far too precarious to support the weight of three people. They’d collapse into the pit, get impaled on the spikes, and that would be the end of the Triple Threat’s story.

Despite the impending death of their loved ones, it struck Henry as more lame than terrifying.

What Henry forgot, of course, was that they were flanked by two equally competent (and equally crazy) partners, and Charles’ face suddenly lit up as he pushed his two partners behind him. “Don’t worry,” He smirked back at them confidentially, “I got this.”

Ellie and Henry were, naturally, extremely worried.

Without any further warning, Charles bolted forward. Henry’s panicked attempt to grab him and pull him back to safety was narrowly dodged, and Ellie’s call to halt was similarly ignored. Upon reaching the edge of the pit, Charles bent his legs down and sprung over it with an admittedly impressive leap, but one with nowhere near enough force or air to make it to the other side of the hazardous chasm.

Ellie gaped like a fish, her eyes following Charles with all the horror of witnessing an impending wreck. Henry winced and somehow managed not to look away.

Just as he reached the peak of his jump, Charles tossed a grenade down into the pit trap. The explosion was instantaneous, almost completely silent, and… purple? A cushion of purple gelatin arose from the torturous trenches, and Charles landed perfectly in it’s center with a boi-oing that echoed through the pyramid. And he bounced. Once. Twice. Each time a joyous laugh escaped Charles, loud and carefree despite the precarious perils underneath him.

A few bounces later – to test the durability of the gelatin or just for his own amusement, Henry couldn’t say – Charles leapt forward again and launched another grenade. He bounced off the cushion it produced and threw another, and another, until there was purple, bouncy path to the other side of the hazardous chasm. He finally, finally landed on the solid ground of the other side, and as he steadied along with Henry’s heartbeat, Charles turned around and tossed his partners a double thumbs up.

Henry stared after him, slack jawed. Words failed them completely.

Ellie, who had always managed to find the words that eluded Henry, commented, “That dumbass is going to get us killed one of these days.” Her voice was steady and strong, but a slight twitch of the eye betrayed her inner anxiety.

“Well? Come on!” Charles, whose ability to read the room was about on par with his risk assessment skills, called across the chasm, “The Amazonian Amethyst ain’t gonna come to you, slowpokes!”

Despite themselves, a grin stretched across Henry’s face. Now that the initial scare had passed, they found themselves more amused than upset. None of the Triple Threat were the cautious type to begin with – cautious types wouldn’t rob tombs, after all – and the heart attacks weren’t anything new, especially in their profession. So, only pausing to shrug at Ellie, Henry followed in Charles’ footsteps and leapt down into the pit of spikes.

They hit the mass of purple dead center, and was surprised to find that it was not at all sticky or mushy, as would be expected of gelatin. Instead it was soft and smooth, the same texture as a rubber exercise ball, with enough strength to hold their weight while standing firm against the spikes. An almost childlike joy came over Henry as they bounced up and down with loud, echoing boings, flipping and posing like they’d seen trampoline artists on the television do, before finally moving forward on the playful path Charles had created for them.

Behind them, Henry could hear Ellie bounce along as well. Her squeals were surprised and nervous at first, but quickly faded into the more melodious sounds of delight and enjoyment. A million ways to tease their moonlight popped into Henry’s head, but for the moment they simply enjoyed the sound of her unrestrained elation and focused on bouncing from one cushion of violet gelatin to the next, putting their signature style into every leap.

Henry hit the ground next to Charles hard, face first. Ellie landed much more gracefully, on one foot and one knee. She was up before Henry could even get to their knees, and by the time they were back on their feet she’d reached Charles and socked him in the arm. Not hard enough to hurt him, but not quite soft enough to be playful, either.

“Hey!” Charles flinched back a little, rubbing his arm. “What was that for?”

Ellie raised a brow at him. “You mean besides the heart attack you gave us when you jumped into a pit of spikes?”

Comprehension dawned on Charles’ sweet, stupid little face. “Oooh… yeah, I can see what you mean. Uh… whoops?” This earned him another hit, slightly more playful this time. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry, alright? I just wanted to show off for you guys.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Ellie muttered with a glower, but no force in the world could stand up to Charles’ puppy dog eyes, so it wasn’t long before she was fighting a smile as he pouted up at her. “Okay, I forgive you. Just… no more throwing yourself into death pits please?”

“I won’t.” Charles promised, rewarding Ellie’s mercy with a sweet nuzzle and a gentle kiss. “’M sorry.”

Henry watched the tender moment play out between them, transfixed on their two loves from the sidelines, when Charles’ arm suddenly stretched the distance between them. It didn’t reach all the way to Henry, didn’t so much as brush against their skin, but Charles’ hand was open, invitation clear for Henry to accept at their leisure.

“I scared you too, didn’t I?” Asked the pilot, almost rhetorically. “Sorry, Hen.”

Affection flooded Henry’s heart, filling it full enough to burst, as they reached across the distance between them and took Charles’ hand. This was why he was their sunshine; Charles didn’t always have enough awareness to recognize his screw ups (and Henry had the phantom scars of worlds never lived to prove it), but when he did, he always approached them with complete compassion and understanding. He gave them each what they needed; Ellie a laugh to calm her nerves, and Henry the choice of contact and comfort, instead of startling them with a sudden touch they weren’t ready for. Henry relished in his light, the same light that brought the hope of daybreak to the hearts of two darkened criminals.

Instead of voicing their appreciation aloud, Henry accepted the unspoken invitation and allowed Charles to pull them close, peppering their faces with sweet little kisses, causing them to giggle. With his apologies accepted, Charles released his partners and the three turned around to face their next challenge, together.

Another door. Stone this time, a dark and heavy slab that sealed them off from the interior of the pyramid.

“Something tells me we’re not going to blowtorch our way through this one.” Ellie mused, then smiled as she added, in a light, airy voice, “Oh, if only we had some sort of device that could displace us through space and time to get us past this impossible obstacle!” She dramatically flung her hand over her forehead.

Charles tittered dramatically as he played along. “What a shame. Looks like we’ll have to go home without the Amethyst.”

“Knock it off.” Henry scolded, unamused. “Besides, who needs a Teleporter when you’ve got a…” They ruffled through their inventory until they found their prize, and triumphantly pulled out a... “Tire Jack!”

“Tire jack?” Echoed Ellie and Charles behind them, identical looks of confusion adorning their faces.

“Tire Jack.” Henry repeated one final time without elaboration, before dropping to their knees in front of the door. This little baby was a thief’s dream – unassuming, easy to carry, and absolutely perfect for doing things like prying open doors, or… whatever else a tire jack was used for. Henry fitted it to the stone slab, then pumped down once… twice… three times… and managed to create a crack just large enough for the three of them to squeeze through, one at a time.

Ellie nodded in understanding. “Ah. Tire jack.”

“Ooh, ooh! Me first!” Charles called as he ran at door. Henry managed to jump back just in time to avoid being bowled over by Charles’ power slide as he launched himself underneath the door’s crack.

All poor Henry and Ellie could do was gape after him, before Ellie shook her head and mumbled, “Going to be the death of us,” before following suit. Henry crawled underneath the door after them, leaving the chamber in silence.

…

Boing. Boing.

--------------------

Somehow, the chamber they entered after crawling under the door was even darker than what came before. None of the rooms allowed for any sunlight to penetrate the densely packed stones, but at least the previous chambers had the dim glow of the luminescent blue stones on the walls to provide a little bit of light. In this room, however, even that minuscule bit of illumination was absent, leaving Henry and their partners shrouded in complete darkness.

“Eugh, I can’t see a thing.” Ellie summarized, her voice echoing just enough to let Henry know that this was a large, spacious chamber. Her call acted as a beacon, drawing both partners’ attention over to the little corner of the dark expanse where she must have been. “Charles, a little light, sweetheart?”

“Huh?” Either to preserve battery life or to keep from smacking anyone in the eyes with the beam of his torch, Charles had shut it off at some point. The reminder from Ellie, however, caused him to audible scramble to pull it back out. “Oh, right, yeah! I’m on it-!”

The clacking of plastic against stone echoed through the chamber once, twice, three times as the torch hit the ground and bounced away. Then silence.

“…” Henry couldn’t see a damned thing, but they could practically feel Charles wince. “Uh, Yeaah… I’ll, uh, I’ll just…” Shuffling fabric could be heard, followed by a repetition of slap, slap, slap against the cold stone floor as Charles fumbled around. “I’m sure it’s, uh, around here somewhere… Hehe…”

Then, stone sliding against stone. Followed by a painfully loud click.

Henry only had a brief moment to brace themselves for whatever barrage of arrows or spikes or fire was about to kill them dead. Instead, an explosion of white began searing their retinas, forcing their eyes closed and their arms up to defend against the sudden barrage. To their side, Henry could hear Ellie grunt in pain, and the sounds of Charles crawling around had disappeared entirely. Time eased the burden of their pain, their eyes adjusted, and Henry lowered their arms and gazed out into the now lit room.

What greeted their eyes was a circular chamber, far larger than the entrance or connecting chambers behind them, with sunlight pouring through the rooftop. Like the entrance, the walls were painted with spectacular images, icons that had long since forgotten their meanings and portraits of divine beings with names lost to time. Three tables – or, more likely, altars – were set up around the chamber, one underneath each grand portrait of the gods. The grandest of all, however, was that of the Queen Empress, recognizable even to Henry’s history ignorant mind. She was encircled by heavenly light while, to each of her sides, the Gods shifted their gazes unto her.

“Whoa!” Charles, having found the flashlight not three feet in front of him, quickly picked it up and got back to his feet.

“These are amazing!” Ellie gushed, eyes lighting up as she took in the ancient murals. Her aesthetic sense was certainly different from Henry’s – a little flashier, a little more on the romantic side – but her eye for art was second to none. “I wish I had a camera.”

Without even thinking, Henry pulled a disposable camera from their bag and held it up in front of Ellie’s face. It’s primary function was for note-taking and placing identical photos of crime scenes in front of security cameras, but even though they were technically done committing crimes, Henry had never removed it from their inventory.

“Oh.” Ellie blinked, then took the camera. “Thank you.”

“Is this the burial chamber?” Charles asked, then, as if that was a definite yes, excitedly changed the question to, “Is the Amethyst here?”

“I don’t think so.” Ellie responded as she took more and more pictures. The film in that thing wasn’t unlimited, but she’d probably document all she wanted to long before it ran out. “Given that there’s no actual tomb or body here, this is probably a temple of some sort, to honour the gods rather than her.”

To that, Charles and Henry exchanged a glance before gazing up at the image of the Queen Empress, who was larger and grander than any of the divine beings on the wall. “I’m, uh, not a theologist.” Charles said as he quirked an eyebrow at her. “But isn’t imagery like this, like, umm… what the word I’m looking for?”

“Blasphemous?” Henry suggested.

Apparently that was correct, because Charles nodded. “Yeah, that.”

To that, Ellie only shrugged. “Eh, who knows? Maybe having the gods revere you was an old form of worship?”

As they spoke, Henry surveyed the temple. Beyond the portraits and the skylight, the round temple was decorated with ornate columns and intricately carved altars, each adorned with various symbols that had lost their meanings to the flow of time. Their eyes went from mural to mural, from wall to wall, and as they scanned each corner of the chamber a cold feeling sank to the bottom of their stomach.

“Uh, guys?” Henry interrupted, getting Ellie and Charles’ attention. “There’s no exit.”

Indeed, the walls had many things painted on them, but none of them had a door of any sort beyond the entrance.

“Oh. That’s a problem.” Charles mumbled as he too began to look around. “Uh, are you sure this isn’t the burial chamber then?”

“Do you see a body anywhere?” Ellie retorted, then kicked at the ground. The interior of the temple, in the open area just underneath the skylight, was a large circular stone slab inlaid in the floor, again adorned with a symbol Henry didn’t understand. “We entered around the center of the pyramid. The burial chamber and treasure chamber are probably below us somewhere.” Ellie scratched her chin, gazing around, “Which means… to proceed we’ll have to…”

“Dig!’ Charles interrupted, triumphantly pulling a shovel from his inventory. Grinning, he posed to strike down at the stone ground, only to have the shovel nabbed away from him by Ellie.

She spun it in her hand as she shook her head. “Not exactly. There’s probably some mechanism in the room that opens the floor, the same way that button you found opened the skylight. We just have to figure out where it is.” She tossed the twirling shovel into the air, allowing it to whirl before she caught it with ease. “So, let’s start by investigating the room. Charles, see if you can find any more buttons on the floor. Henry, check out the pillars and walls. I’ll take a look at the altars.”

With their tasks divided up, the Triple Threat went about exploring the chamber. Charles dropped to his hands and feet, crawling about the floor like a hound dog sniffing for clues. Henry couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculously serious display before turning to the walls. Like the entrance, the iconography seemed to tell a story. A trickster, a mysterious being cloaked in shadows with a crooked smile, stealing from the gods and causing them to turn their wrath on each other. A divine clash breaking out, a battle of apocalyptic proportions with the trickster caught in the middle. A god of the sky defeated with a necklace, a god of the ocean defeated with song, a god of the mountains defeated with a seed. And the spirits, the innocent bystanders who had perished in the clash, being escorted by the trickster to a new paradise.

Huh. What an odd story.

Henry didn’t have much time to take it all in, however, as a sudden and triumphant, “Aha!” from Charles caught their attention. They turned to find him in front of one of the altars, grinning and rubbing his hands. “Found the button!”

Ellie had been investigating the altar on the other side of the room, but she somehow managed to reach Charles’ side before Henry had. The three of them started down at the button for a long time, contemplating the many, many ways this thing could kill them, before a shrug from Ellie gave Charles the go ahead. It gave a soft click as it depressed all the way.

The Triple Threat tensed, got into formation, and waited for the trap to spring.

And waited.

And… waited…

And there was no trap. Not even a little one. Henry almost felt disappointed.

“Huh.” Ellie mused, getting out of formation and pressing the button down with her foot. Again, nothing happened. “Okay, that’s strange… but maybe…” Ellie stroked her chin as she walked away to the next altar, testing the ground in front of it with her foot until she found what she was looking for and smirked triumphantly. “Ah ha!”

With the same cool confidence as always, Ellie let her foot fall onto another hidden button. It crumbled under her mighty strength, clicking into place neatly.

Henry could sense a pattern here. They quickly walked over to the other side of the room, to the unattended altar, and stared down at where they were certain, based on where Charles and Ellie were standing, that the final button would be. Should they press it? Do they dare risk their life on the mere chance that this button would open the passageway forward?

...Eh, screw it. Henry stamped down on the button hard.

A final click echoed through the chamber. All was silent for one moment, then two, then three. The silence was broken by a rumbling, small at first but then, gradually, getting louder and louder until the whole chamber was shaking. Shadows began to stretch and grow across the floor as stone eclipsed the skylight, slowly, steadily, until nothing but darkness remained.

Henry’s fingers itched. Their every muscle tingled, phantom pains from a world soon to be echoing across their skin, screaming at them to move, move, move-!

Fire burst forth from the symbol on the altar, giving Henry mere seconds to dodge out of the way before the gods could scorch them with divine retribution. Behind them, Henry could hear Ellie gasp as something heavy slammed down way too close to where they knew she was standing, and on their other side, sputtering and coughing and what sounded like a geyser.

Before they could even thinking of running to their partners’ aid, another pillar of fire sprouted up just next to Henry, setting the room alight with a dangerous orange glow. Then another. And another. For now Henry could dodge them, but the streams of fire were going off faster than faster. This was not a matter of if they got burned to a crisp, but when.

In the glow of the firelight, Henry could make out Charles, soaked head to toe, struggling to push against a strong spray of water that had him pinned. Ellie, on the other side, was only narrowly dodging giant stone pillars raining down on her.

“What kind of trap is this?” Henry snapped in frustration. “There wasn’t anything on the walls!” There couldn’t have been, not with those portraits. A button would stand out far too much.

As Charles was too busy battling a barrage of water, it was Ellie who replied. “I have no clue! The way the buttons were positioned – I thought it made sense-”

She sounded genuinely distressed, and that made Henry’s heart ache worse than anything. Ellie was their moon, their constant anchor in an ever-changing world, and they felt her distress as if it were their own. “Hey- hey- it’s okay.” Henry consoled. “If it helps, this is less stupid then, say, jumping out of a bag and directly into an alarm.”

“Yeah!” Charles had managed to keep the extreme stream of water at bay enough to finally contribute – or maybe he was just powering through it. Hard to say with him. “It’s just a little water… and fire… and some rocks… we got this! We’ll just, uh- um…”

As their sunshine rambled on, Henry could see something click in Ellie’s head. Her eyes widened, shimmering with reflected firelight. “Water… fire… and rocks- no, earth…” Ellie’s gaze traveled upward, to the eclipsed skylight. “Henry!” Her force powers kept the crushing stone pillars at bay while she pointed towards the tip top of the ceiling. “I need to get up there!”

Henry rolled out of the way of an incoming stream of fire. They didn’t have a lot of time. Inside their bag were a few things that could get Ellie away from the rocks and up towards the skylight, but what?

There was a pair of boots in Henry’s inventory that would allow for a super jump – just bend your knees and boom! Up you go. Of course, there were way too many ways for that to end horrifically. The flames that were one wrong dodge away from ending Henry were not the greatest source of light. All it took was too much force and Ellie’s head would crack like an egg against the tough stone ceiling. Or too little force, perhaps, and she would fall into one of the various traps spread across the chamber. It was unwise to leap before one could look, after all.

There was a wooden pole stashed away in there as well. One of those nice collapsible ones. Henry could toss it javelin style to Ellie and of course she’d catch it, she’s Ellie, and once she had it she’d go vaulting over the stone crushers keeping her trapped. The wood was very flexible after all, so it wouldn’t be a-

Wait, no. It was made of wood. Which meant, with Henry’s luck, they’d toss it to Ellie only for the trio to watch it be burnt to ash mid-flight. That would be a terrible way for the Triple Threat to burn out.

So, something that wouldn’t be destroyed by the fire, and something that she’d be able to control even under these poor lighting conditions. That left…

A silver chain glistened in the firelight, strong and fierce and far, far more fireproof then the wooden pole. The primary purpose of this thing was to lift and pull, and Henry couldn’t use it for much else. Ellie, however, was far more versatile, and that showed in her shining eyes as she caught the chain in midair, not even looking back at Henry as she did.

Ellie smirked, and Henry knew they were in for a good time.

She whipped the silver chain over her head and out to one of the many decorative protrusions on the rounded ceiling. It stuck firmly in place, and just before a crushing pillar could flatten her into pancake, Ellie launched into a wide swing. Fire licked at her feet and clothing as she came around to Henry’s side of the chamber, but she didn’t so much as flinch. Instead, she held one arm out wide to catch her partner as she swung past, and Henry gripped her hand for all it was worth. They continued their arc around the chamber, and Henry didn’t even need to be told to hold on to Ellie with one arm as they approached where the strong geyser of water had Charles pinned. Henry grabbed him by the collar and held him tight as the soaked pilot got his grip on Ellie.

“You guys okay?” Ellie called down to them, and Charles nodded while Henry gave her a thumbs up. “Awesome! Hang on tight, we’re going up!”

The arc of their swing widened and quickened, spinning them around the room again and again until they built up enough speed for Ellie to launch them towards the spot where the skylight would be. The air rushed past them as they flew upward. Ellie released one hand from her chain, reaching towards the stone covering. They inched closer, and closer…

And something clicked as Ellie’s outstretched hand pushed in the final button.

Below them, the traps disappeared as quickly as they had activated. The fire stopped. The stone crushing pillars retreated back to their spots hidden in the ceiling. The stream of water sputtered to a halt. The trio landed back on solid ground just as the skylight began to open again, illuminating the temple with sparkling sunlight. Just behind them, the ground rumbled and shook before opening up to reveal a spiral staircase into the unknown depths.

“Woo-hoo!” Charles cheered. The fabric of his clothing was drenched and worn from the pressure of the water that had trapped him earlier, but Charles hardly paid it any mind as he threw his arms around his partner. “Way to go Els!”

“That was so cool!” Henry gushed, piling into her from the other side to keep her sandwiched between them. With her two loves surrounding her, Ellie was able to wind down a little, her shoulders relaxing and her smile widening to expose cute dimples on each side of her mouth.

Ellie giggled in response to their compliments. One of her arms snaked around Henry’s waist while the other latched around Charles’ shoulders. “It wasn’t a big deal.” She shrugged, mock bashfulness on her face even as she reveled in their praise. “I just figured, once Charles said that thing about fire and water and stone, that the traps were based on the elements, and from there it wasn’t hard to figure out that there was another button on the skylight.”

“Still! That was AWESOME!” Charles eyes practically sparkled with delight. “The way you tossed that hook and just-” Charles paused to lift both Ellie and Henry off the ground. He was strong enough to do so, but only barely, leaving Ellie squealing and Henry clinging on for dear life. Charles spun as he continued to recount the events that they’d just lived through, thank you very much.

When Charles finally put them down, Henry took the opportunity to link their fingers with Ellie’s, bringing a softer expression to her face. “Seriously. You were amazing.”

Ellie met their eyes. Those purple orbs seemed to glow softly in the sunlight, reflecting every feeling she couldn’t say. All her worry, her joy, her excitement, her pride, her love… she could spill it out in a thousand words like Charles, but that was never her style. She showed her love in her actions, in her worried fussing, in the look in her eyes as she watched after the two of them.

Henry squeezed her hand a little tighter, relishing in her tender gaze.

“-and then you landed perfectly!” Having finished his little tirade, Charles gazed back at the two of them, and his entire demeanor seemed to soften when he noticed their intertwined hands. “So, yeah. That was super cool.”

“It was.” Ellie agreed finally. She gave Henry’s hand a final squeeze before pulling away to jog lazily towards the newly revealed stairwell. “Now come on! We’re so close to the amethyst I can practically taste it!” Charles chased after her, laughing, and Henry followed suit down the long set of spiral stairs. Darkness waited below, but for now they had the beam of light from the opening directly overhead, granting them safe passage. As they descended, the air cooled; from Henry’s limited experience, the jungle was never anything but unpleasantly humid, so it was a nice change of pace. They zoned out as they walked: listening to Ellie and Charles discuss what might lie ahead, feeling the cool air grant their skin sweet relief from the awful heat, seeing the shadows grow across the ground below them, smelling the old musk of trapped air rise-

Henry blinked and looked back down at the ground below the skylight. The rays hit the ground uninterrupted, illuminating the old stones for the first time in centuries. They then looked upward at the skylight, seeing it clearly, without any sort of obstacle that could cast a shadow. But Henry could have sworn…

No, it was just their paranoia acting up again. Henry exhaled deeply and continued onward.

--------------------

The spiral staircase went down a long, long way, extending past what Henry thought would be the bottom of the pyramid. When they finally reached the end, the Triple Threat found the passageway as dark and foreboding as the ones upstairs before the skylight. They had Charles’ torch, but even its beam could only extend so far. Down below the surface the air was cooler but stale, and the walls, while thick and beautifully crafted, had no more stories to tell. Instead a pattern of intricate molding and paneling lead their way to the depths of the tomb.

The silence between them was deafening as each member of the Triple Threat prepared, in their own way, for whatever traps might lay ahead. As it turned out though, the largest trap they had to worry about was the architecture. Each pathway ended with a split in two directions. All it took was two turns for Henry to realize just how lost they could get in this convoluted maze. Luckily, their partners had a solution.

“It’s the same system we use when gaming together.” Charles explained as he scribbled on a piece of notebook paper. “We’ll make a map as we go, and mark shapes into the walls so we don’t get turned around.” As if to demonstrate, Ellie marked an o with a line through it right next to a clear dead end, and Charles made a corresponding mark on the map. “I don’t mean to ah, brag or anything, but we’re basically professional cartographers at this point.”

As if to demonstrate their prowess, Charles turned and proudly presented the map, which was just a jumble of lines with random symbols on it to Henry. Still, they gave the two an approving thumbs up.

So the trio marched on. This section of the pyramid wasn’t necessarily difficult, given that the traps were all laughably easy to dodge, but it did drag on a bit. The labyrinth was designed to confuse and entrap any enterprising thieves, and perhaps it would have successfully diverted one on their own.

Good thing these thieves came in a set of three.

At some point they reached a long sloping hallway, stretching so far forward that Charles’ flashlight could not even illuminate the far wall. The scent of upcoming danger wafted in the air, causing a mixture of anxiety and excitement in the trio. Charles got the privilege of leading the way due to his incredible skill of remembering to bring a torch, but Ellie and Henry were not far behind.

“Keep a sharp eye out.” Ellie warned as they crept down the long, long passageway. “There could be traps everywhere. Be prepared for anything-”

Click.

Henry looked down at their foot, and the slight indent in the floor from where they’d managed to step on a button. Whoops.

“What did I literally just say?” Ellie scolded, looking more annoyed than genuinely panicked. All Henry could muster in response was a sheepish grin.

The whole pyramid shook underneath their feet. Ellie and Charles, somehow, kept their balance, but Henry could not, and it was only after they’d fallen to the floor and were forced to look up that they saw the giant boulder cascading down towards them. They were up and running in an instant, and the screaming behind them told Henry their sunshine and moonlight were trailing behind them.

“Ah, Henry?” Charles called. His voice held a hint of nervousness – just a small touch – as he somehow managed to keep pace with the two thieves. “Now might be a good time for one of your tricks. You know, like that earthbending thing you can sometimes do-” Wouldn’t work. Henry’s skills weren’t strong enough to stop something that big in it’s tracks. They’d create a ramp to launch the blasted thing just above their heads and end up managing to crush the trio like a batch of gross pancakes. “-or maybe one of those Gizmo Gabe things you’re always carrying around-” Nah, Henry didn’t even need future sight to see where that would go wrong. Gadget Gabe (Charles never could get that name right) meant well, but their devices were… well, half-baked. The Float-O-Matic in their pack might get them away from the boulder, but it might also get them stuck to the ceiling with no hope of escape. No thank you.

“Or, you know,” Ellie yelled over the rumbling. Her voice was a little stressed, but also a little teasing, “We could teleport away from it!”

“Get bent!” Henry snapped back at her. “We don’t need that thing! It ALWAYS backfires!”

With that, Henry pulled out a sheet of paper, a canvas about the size of their body, and spun around to face the boulder head on. Ellie and Charles called out behind them, but Henry was singularly focused on the rock speeding at them at high speeds. The paper in their arms crinkled loudly as Henry waved it with both arms, as if airing out a towel, before dramatically bringing it up over their head. They waited for the boulder to get in to place.

Waiting…

Waiting….

Waiting… now!

The paper tore the boulder into tiny little shreds, sending shrapnel flying all around. Henry paid it no mind, driving the giant sheet of paper down further and further. It ground down the boulder until nothing but dust remained.

“See?” Henry looked back, speaking between deep breaths. Using that much force really took a lot out of a person. “We don’t need the teleporter.”

Ellie blinked stupidly at the display in front of her. “What- but- how did you-?!”

Dearest Charles, the only sympathetic party to her confusion, patted her gently on the back as he explained: “Paper beats rock. That’s just logic.”

“That only works in rock, paper, scissors!” Ellie cried out, frustrated. “That’s not how-”

She was shushed gently, and treated to one of Charles’ sunshiny smiles. “It’s Henry.” He said plainly, as if this explained what she’d just seen. “Don’t question it.”

As Henry passed her, listening to her frustrated grunting, they couldn’t help but smile. Mere moments after they disappeared into the darkness, the crackling and crunching of stone debris could be heard behind them.

--------------------

Finally, after long hours of trekking, after all the falls and traps and near death experiences that had protected the treasure within, the Triple Threat arrived at the grand entrance to the tomb. Before them stood a door at least as tall as the three stacked up. It was engraved with the Queen Empress’ visage, grand and imposing as she stared down at the mighty rats who dared steal from her precious tomb. Never one to do things by halves, the Mighty Empress had the door’s framing made of shining gold, which had Henry and Ellie salivating and Charles rolling his eyes. The torches that once illuminated the path to her final place of resting had been damp and cold far longer than any of them had been alive.

“You know,” Ellie looked up at the humongous image of the woman, as grand as she was tall, with crossed arms and thin lips, “I think this might be the burial chamber. Not sure why, but I just get that vibe, you know?”

Charles snorted. “I dunno, we’ve seen a lot of this woman plastered everywhere.”

“Good point.” Ellie agreed.

While they bickered and quipped, Henry took a good look at the grand entrance and stroked their chin thoughtfully. They pushed at the door and, to no one’s surprise, it didn’t budge. So they’d have to pull it open. A difficult task, without handles on a door more than twice Henry’s size, but Henry was a master of work smarter, not harder.

Except for that one time with the bank.

Or that other time with the prison.

Or… you know what? Henry was just going to drop this line of thought before they embarrassed themselves further.

Instead, Henry pulled a crowbar out of their inventory and wedged it carefully between the giant stone doors. Its lodging gave Henry the leverage needed to pry the door open, and the task was made easier when Charles and Ellie finally broke away from their banter to lend their strength. Together they succeeded, as they always did, and the door to the crypt opened with a gust of wind and a pungent odor. Rot and decay caused the trio’s eyes and noses to burn, but they pressed onward. Ellie, in a moment of practical brilliance, handed out air fresheners she’d stolen from the helicopter rental place. The scent of pine was too faint to completely block out the stench, but it provided a little relief.

The entire interior of the chamber was bathed in green light, illuminated by lines of shimmering green stone on the ground. Made from the same glowing material as the murals upstairs, it did such a good job of lighting up the joint that Charles was able to give his poor, overworked torch a well deserved rest. The lines ran up the walls, across the floor, in circles and in straight dashes across dark stone, revealing a room about as large as the temple above, and… largely empty. A few altars were placed in each corner beneath a mural, and in the center of the room was an unremarkable stone box which must have contained the queen’s body.

Charles echoed Henry’s thoughts exactly. “Wait, is this it?”

“Not seeing a lot of treasure here, Charlie.” Ellie remarked. She waltzed ahead to the stone casket, frowning as she mulled it over.

“No, wait, no!” Almost frantically, their poor pilot began zipping around the room, at this point uncaring of any traps he might uncover. “There has to be more! There’s no way this isn’t the place! Unless… they didn’t bury her with it? But that wouldn’t make any sense…!”

Henry idly pat Charles on the back while he spiraled over the misinformation. They were just about to tell him something along the lines of ‘It’s about the journey, not the destination’ (a useless platitude, but one that might make him feel better) when their eyes drifted to the wall behind one of the altars, to the large portrait of a god surrounded by mountains. The divine being’s eyes were blank, painted without pupils, but the rest of their body language – their stance, their expression, the scowl on their face – suggested pure, unbridled rage. Scanning the rest of the room, Henry found two more familiar figures along the walls near the other altars. The Ocean God and the Sky God, each gazing into the room with the same fury as the Mountain God.

Henry had seen this before.

While the fire and water and giant stones had been a very good distraction from what Henry had assumed was just a common legend immortalized upon the walls, they had still managed to take a good look before they’d been forced to move on. Three altars for three gods that had needed to be placated by a trickster.

Just as Ellie had made her way over to join them in comforting Charles, Henry left his side and made their way over to the Mountain God’s altar. How had the mural gone again?

A god of the mountains defeated with a seed. All Henry had on them that could satisfy that condition was some sunflower seeds that Charles had packed for snacking. Taking a breath and praying this wouldn’t get them all killed in some horrible way, Henry took one seed from the packet and dropped it on the altar.

The glowing lines on the floor suddenly shifted, spinning as the mural changed before their eyes. The angry god smiled down happily at the seedling on their altar, placated by the promise of new plants spreading across the mountains. Sounds of awe came from Ellie and Charles, but Henry paid their partners no mind as they struggled to recall the next image. The god of the sky, with storm clouds flooding the air around them and lightning a their fingertips, had been placated with a… piece of jewelry? A ring? No, that wasn’t right… a necklace…? Yeah, that was it.

While Henry had more than their fair share of fine accessories, they weren’t in the habit of bringing those accessories with them, on account of potentially losing them, or breaking them, or being electrocuted when the metal catches lightning or something. So instead of a nice, fancy necklace like in the mural above ground, all they could offer to the sky god was their employee badge from work, a little lanyard with a picture of Henry and a bar-code on it. Nothing like the ornate piece that was offered in the mural, but the sky god accepted it anyways. As before, the lines on the floor changed, transforming the image instead to that a pleased god with calm skies and a sunny smile.

That just left the final mural. The god of the oceans, vast and temperamental, plagued with storms and swells alike, glared down at Henry in clear rage. The last god was soothed with a song, Henry recalled. So how should they proceed?

Henry already knew singing was out of the question. Their throat was already sore from a day of mere conversational talking, and even beyond that Henry’s musical gifts did… not extend to their vocal chords. Breaking out into song would only shatter all their heads like glass. Hitting the high note was not among Henry’s many talents; Their B sharp would only fall flat.

So, instead, Henry produced a long out of date mp3 player from their inventory. How long had that thing been in there? Five years? Ten? However long it took for the once widespread piece of musical tech to become completely irrelevant. Of course, somehow, it still had a charge on it, and Henry’s grin only widened as a familiar hip hop tune, popular in whatever decade Henry had last bothered to update the thing, began thumping out, echoing sweetly in the large chamber.

Charles’ face lit up immediately, “Ooh, I remember this! Aw man, I used to sing this all the time when I was a kid!” As if to prove his point, Charles joined in with the next line. Much like Charles himself, the singing was a little clumsy, a little off note, but so sweet and so enthusiastic that you couldn’t help but bask in the warmth.

Ellie laughed along, reflecting Charles’ enthusiasm with her own uniquely charming mirth, and joined in on the singing. Her voice was elegant and refined, carrying the tune of the song far more easily than Charles’. Ellie would have never sung like this even a year ago, when they’d first started dating, too concerned with proving herself cool and reliable to her new comrades, even if she let her true self slip through once in a while. Now she was unafraid to really let her hair down, matching Charles’s silliness with unrestrained enthusiasm.

And, of course, they’d never leave Henry out. For even though Henry couldn’t sing, they were quite the dancer, and all it took was the gentlest pull of their sun and moon’s gravity for Henry to be sucked into their orbit. They spun and twirled and danced to the beat of the song, Henry guiding their partners through the motions of the rhythm. None of the Triple Threat paid any mind to the change in the green lines, or the appearance of a fourth mural as the beaming trickster appeared to create a fourth line of green luminescent light. It was only at the end of the song, when the trio were exhausted and laughing on the floor, did they catch the tail end of the changes in the room as the lid of the coffin retracted.

Henry exchange a look with their partners before approaching the open tomb. They expected a collection of withered bones and tattered clothes to be laid before them as they peered into the grave, but to their surprise what instead met their eyes was one final staircase.

“So this was a false burial chamber.” Ellie mused from behind them. “Sneaky. Verrrrry sneaky.”

“Hah!” Charles cheered, pumping an arm in celebration. “I knew there had to be more to it! No way my information was wrong!” The melancholy of his earlier disappointment had completely flipped on its head, leaving fierce determination in its place. “That treasure’s gotta be just up ahead! Come on, team! Final stretch!”

He extended out a hand, and it was almost without thought that Henry reached out to place their own atop it, followed swiftly by Ellie. Their eyes met, green and red and violet sparkling with the emerald light of the glowing stone lines surrounding them, and the Triple Threat nodded as they broke their huddle by launching their hands to the ceiling in one final show of commitment to their quest before charging down the secret stairs, energy renewed.

All the while unaware of the silhouetted form shadowing them, silently darkening the space behind them. The figure halted, watching and listening, before descending down after them with slow, tenacious steps.

--------------------

Darkness crept upward as the Triple Threat crept down. The ray of Charles’ torch, now beginning to fade in intensity after several hours of use, was the only source of light in the dank, shadowy crypt. Almost as unnerving as the darkness was the silence, the complete and utter cessation of any sounds other than their echoing footsteps. Tingling sensations traveled along Henry’s spine with each stride downward they took, muscles tensed as they awaited the next trap, the next emergency, the next big bad thing that would jump out from the pitch black nothing stretching ahead of them and their partners.

What instead greeted them was the sound of rushing water.

Each member of the team immediately jolted to a halt as their tired minds finally processed the sound, and once they did Henry spared a glance to first Ellie, right behind them with eyes blown wide, then Charles, whose jaw dropped so low it was practically on the floor. Caution thrown to the wind, the Triple Threat redoubled their pace, going as fast as they dared until they reached the end of the final descent. The bottom of the stairs lead to a hallway only a few meters long, its exit beckoning them with a rainbow of illuminated stones. Charles’ torch clicked off, but the light in the room didn’t diminish enough to hamper the quickened steps of the suddenly elated adventurers. Henry’s heart pounded harder, disbelief buzzing over their bones as hope built in their chest. Was this it? Did they make it?

The end of the hallway opened up, and Charles’ sharp gasp of shock and awe did more to express Henry’s feelings in that moment than anything they could have put into words.

The Queen Empress had built her final resting place atop an underground spring full of crystal clear water carving its way through the spacious cavern. Its forks and twists created small islands, upon each of which was a small mountain of captured treasures for the Empress to take into her next life. It felt like something out of a cheesy movie; piles of glittering gold coins and cups and whatever else the tyrant had managed to snatch away from their rightful owners, stretching so tall one almost couldn’t see over them to the rocky edges of the naturally formed cave. Henry took a few stunned steps forward, only noting the possibility of more traps after failing to be hit by any. A quick glance to their six showed that their partners were in similar states of awe, Charles oohing and ahhing and Ellie practically salivating over the piles of treasure.

With this much moolah, the Triple Threat would never have to work again… they could live in the lap of luxury, servants at their beck and call, all their wishes and desires fulfilled with only a snap of the fingers… diamond jewelry and name-brand furniture and private chefs and golden toilet seats and-!

“Aw man, this is so cool!” Charles chirped up behind Henry, knocking them out of their daydreams, wading across the one of the streams with a carefree swagger. “It must’ve taken years to get all this down here! How do you think they got it all down those stairs?”

Of course. Damned logistics. Well, Henry was certain they could get at least a good chunk outta here before their vacation was up. After they found their prize, of course.

At the center of the spring, surrounded by waterfalls and luscious cave flowers, was the Queen Empress’ sarcophagus. It was delicately carved, much more ornate and intricate than the fake sarcophagus upstairs, which made Henry feel silly for ever thinking that slab of lazily slapped together stone was the real tomb of such an egomaniac. And hovering above her coffin, the centerpiece of a grand chandelier dangling from the ceiling, was the Amazonian Amethyst, shimmering stunningly as light from the glowing stones that decorated the tomb reflected off of its brilliant surface.

“Beautiful…” Ellie whispered, walking ahead of Henry almost as if in a trance. Henry themselves hadn’t even realized they’d paused in a stupor until she overtook them, and then, well, it became a race. They playfully, not too hard, shoved Ellie to the side and bolted ahead, and of course she ran after them and shoved back even harder.

Somewhere behind them, Charles laughed. “Play nice, you two!” He called forward, no doubt fully aware that his demand would go unheeded.

The impromptu race took Ellie and Henry swiftly across the pathway through the spring, up the staircase and finally halting just underneath the chandelier. Now, how to lower it? Henry could just jump up and try to pull the gigantic gemstone loose, but something told them that they’d take the whole chandelier – and part of the stalactite it was dangling from – down with it, crushing both themselves and Ellie. Not the kind of bringing down the roof they were fond of. They could try and poke it loose with a stick or something, but it looked pretty wedged in there. It wouldn’t budge for quite a while, and them and Ellie would poke harder, and harder, until they’d used enough force to launch it into the air, where it’d fly up and up and then down and down and then hit their pilot in the head, knocking him out cold. Some anniversary present, eh Charles?

It was while Henry was skimming through their options that the sudden sound of metal clanking and clacking startled them into a jump. Their gaze darted around until it finally rested on Ellie, carefully lowering the chandelier on the opposite side of the sarcophagus with a smile and, once her eye caught Henry’s, a playful wink.

God, they loved this woman.

The chandelier came to rest atop the coffin. Henry and Ellie stood above it, and Henry didn’t need to look over at their moonlight to know that her eyes reflected the excitement as their own. They didn’t even need to speak; Henry pressed down on the chandelier with the full weight of their body while Ellie hopped atop the structure to pull at the amethyst.

“Come on,” She muttered to the gemstone stuck in the structure,” Come to mama.”

Her arms were quivering with the effort it took, but unlike Henry Ellie was strong, so with each pull it came a little more loose, then a little more… then more…

Until, with a pop, it was finally free. Ellie had been using so much force that she toppled off the chandelier and into Henry’s waiting arms.

She looked down at the gem, as if she couldn’t quite believe it was there in her hands, and then back up at Henry to begin laughing in sheer astonishment. “We found it,” She forced out between chuckles. Henry sauntered over to place their own hands underneath the gigantic gem, helping Ellie to support its weight. “We actually found it! Charles! Hey Charles!” Their guy, who had been distracted combing over the mountain of treasures, looked up at them and immediately his eyes popped out of their sockets. The expression had Ellie laughing even harder. “Aw, man, I can’t believe-”

Her mirthful tone was cut short by a bang.

Its echos thundered across the cavern, piercing Henry’s eardrums and stilling them instantly. There was no mistaking that sound, not for a trio of experienced adventurers like them. The sharp gasp that followed, however, was far scarier.

Henry and Ellie whipped their heads down to watch their partner gasp and stumble back, clutching at his leg, Without a second to spare Ellie dropped the gem and began sprinting back, and Henry followed swiftly after. They only halted when Charles’ fall to the ground was interrupted by a pair of large hands grabbing him and forcing him back on his feet. Streaks of red began running down Charles’ leg, staining his clothes, and as painful as it must have been for him to stand on his wounded leg, Charles’ only response was to bite his lip and glare up, past the muzzle of the gun shoved in his face, at the assailant now holding him hostage.

There was something familiar about this man, something that had a name dancing on the edge of Henry’s brain, but in their panic they couldn’t quite grasp it. Rather than try, Henry squared their shoulders and took a defensive stance, eyes darting around as they looked for options.

So far, nothing that wouldn’t get Charles killed.

“I don’t know who the hell you are,” Ellie addressed the attacker with a near business-like seriousness, only a hint of the rage Henry was sure she had bubbling within her lacing the words, “But if you drop the pilot now and begin running, I’ll give you five minutes to get out of here.” Swift as a hurricane gale, the sidearm Ellie always carried was in her hands, drawn and pointed at the assailant. She wouldn’t actually fire it, of course. She’d never risk hitting Charles-

(Which was why Henry hadn’t drawn theirs. With their bad luck, it’d misfire and put a hole clear through his skull.)

-but the attacker didn’t know that. Probably.

“Feh.” He scoffed, his red mustache twitching as his lips curled in disgust. “Ya don’ bother talkin’ about us, Henry?” The sheer resentment in his tone tickled something in Henry’s mind – a life they hadn’t lived, an alliance they hadn’t made, broken by a man they’d never met. If only they could put a name to the face…

Henry forced themselves to snap back to reality. Charles’ needed them in the now, they couldn’t afford to get lost in a life not lived.

“Or do you two actually not remembah me?” This time his embittered query was directed at Charles, which sparked an increasingly familiar protective fury in Henry’s chest, “Ya took everything I had, ruined my life, and ya can’t even be bothered ta remembah?!” As he went on, his voice got louder, his wrath colouring his words more and more, until he was screaming in Charles’ ear. Credit to their partner, Charles didn’t so much as flinch, the stern military composure that he almost never displayed finally being put to use.

That didn’t make it any easier to watch.

“If you’re so ticked about us forgetting,” Ellie quipped, the only clue that she shared Henry’s fear and fury hidden in the tenseness of her shoulders, “Then why don’t you remind us?

The call-out caused the bristling man to cool, at least somewhat. “Tch. It don’t actually matter a lick if ya know why ya need to die.” He pressed the muzzle of his gun into Charles’ neck, and their pilot, their sunshine, only grew colder and stonier in response. “Just that you do.”

He forced Charles to take a step backward, and in response to Ellie’s call of, “Wait, stop!”, he only aimed his gun at Henry and Ellie, forcing them to stop. His grip around Charles’ tightened to prevent escape in lieu of the gun threat; even if he hadn’t, the shot to the leg would’ve kept Charles’ from running.

“Oh, no, you two ain’t goin’ anywhere.” Growled the assailant. “This ol’ tomb is yours now. You’ll both die in this place. Not ‘im though.” Again, the gun’s tip rested against Charles’ skin. “’E’s my ticket to my next target. Can’t kill ‘em ‘til I get my ‘ands on that ringleader o’ yours.”

That one puzzled Henry a bit, but Ellie picked up on the clues faster. “You’re after the General.” She accused.

“Him,” The assailant proclaimed, and for just a moment Henry could see a flicker of red mechanical? light in one of his eyes, “’Is subordinates, ‘is witnesses… everyone who ‘ad a hand in bringing us down. I’m gonna get a little payback.”

Echoes of a voice across a timeline, a fight that never occurred, a betrayal from a man he never met… “Time fer a little payback!”

Without even thinking, Henry’s mind found the name amongst the fractures of futures that never were, and they whispered, “Right Hand Man.”

“So ya do remembah me.” He snipped. In this world, Henry had only really seen the man on the news, back when the Toppats were first being arrested, but he’d changed since then. His hair had grown far longer, his body thin from a diet of delicious prison slop, and his hat didn’t quite match up with the ex-con’s memories. But Henry felt stupid for forgetting what the man looked like, considering his impact in the alternate futures Henry had seen. “How flattering.”

“Know this guy, Hen?” Ellie asked, her brows furrowing at her partner. Henry tried not to think about what that could mean, or, with their mind fractured between timelines, how easily she could pull up memories from a world they weren’t as friendly in.

All they could manage was one word. “Toppats.”

“That’s what this is about?!” Charles exploded, breaking his stoic mask to glare at his captor. Henry’s silent prayers for him to shut up went unanswered, proving once again how the universe hated them, “Dude, we took down the Toppats, like, three years ago or something! You seriously couldn’t have found another clan to-?!”

Apparently this was what it took to offend the Right Hand Man, because he shifted his hold to grab at Charles’ hair and yank hard, causing a flinch of pain that made Henry’s arm hair stiffen. “I may need ya alive fer now,” He spat, “But if ya wanna keep that waggin’ tongue of yers, I suggest puttin’ a sock in it.”

Charles, thankfully, took that advice, even as he was forced to walk backwards on his injured leg. Everything in Henry was telling them to run after the Toppat cretin, to take back their Charles and make him pay for the damage he’d caused, but the gun barrel pointed at Charles’ face kept both them and Ellie painfully still. All they could do was watch as their sunlight was dragged away from them, leaving the duo stuck in the dark of the cavern.

“Dammit,” Ellie growled under her breath, We’ve got to-”

Once again, she was rudely cut off with a bang, this one much grander in scale. The cavern began to shake with the force of a small explosion set off from the very exit Charles and the Right Hand Man had just taken. Rocks began falling from the ceiling and, with growing horror, Henry realized that the Right Hand Man had intended to keep his promise: The exit was being sealed off. They would die here.

Ellie’s voice cut through the air with a sharp, “Henry, move!”

The exit seemed so far away, and the rocks were falling so fast. They wouldn’t make it. Not at the speed they were running at. Henry’s gut sank, and their mind raced as they peered desperately into the future.

A power slide wouldn’t get them enough speed. They’d make it just close enough for their foot to be crushed underneath the falling debris. Miles away from a home run.

Ultra speed shoes would make them go too fast, overshooting their target and burrowing through the staircase on the other side. That would cave in on top of them just as painfully as standing in the entrance would. And them without any power rings.

Time was slipping away. Fast. Soon the clock would run out, and they’d be trapped, and Charles would be- Charles would-

There was one other option. A change for escape that was just fast enough to get one of them out before the passage was sealed off. Without warning Henry grabbed Ellie’s hand, ignoring her sharp shriek as they spun around once, twice, three times… before tossing her like a hammer. Ellie barely had enough time to brace herself as she flew just underneath the falling the rubble, making it to safety on the other side before the final stones fell, sealing off the tomb completely.

A sigh of relief escaped Henry.

From behind the pillar of rubble, Ellie’s voice cried out. “Henry?! Henry!! Henry, are you there?!”

“I’m here!” They called, moving more swiftly towards the barrier between them and the outside. “I’m okay, I promise! Now get out of here!”

“What?! But you-!”

“Have air and water.” Henry cut her off. “I’ll be find until you can send for help. But Charles is alone with that psychopath. He needs you far more than I do right now.”

There was a pause from the other side, but no sound of Ellie moving away, so Henry kept silent until they finally heard her, “I’m coming back for you.” She promised, her voice carrying a rare sense of desperate seriousness. “I promise, I’m not going to abandon you here. No matter what happens.”

Ah, of course. Their Rose, their shimmering light in the dark, had been chewed up and left for the cops by some previous associates. If there was one thing she’d never joke about, it was betrayal. “I know.” They told her with all the trust in their heart, and they hoped that was enough for her. “Now go get our boy and show that Toppat jerk just who he’s messed with.”

“Okay.” Ellie agreed, her footsteps audible even through the debris. Then they fell silent. “I love you.” Her voice called back, and before Henry could respond Ellie was sprinting off into the distance.

Though their was no way their quiet voice could reach her, Henry whispered back, “Love you too, Moonlight.”

They continued listening through the rubble, Ellie’s footsteps becoming quieter and quieter until, finally, the only sound remaining was the babbling of the underground river, slowly flowing by. With no way to follow after their two loves, all Henry could do was drop to the ground, releasing the tension within them into a heavy sigh.

There was nothing they more they could do at this point. As well stocked as they kept their inventory, they’d somehow failed to think they’d need to bring any sort of mining equipment. Forcing their way out was out of the question. And while they could follow the underwater streams, there was no way of knowing how far the channel traveled before emptying itself outside – if it did at all. There was just as likely a chance of Henry finding a flooded cavern, and while they could swim reasonably well, they were far from a seasoned diver. The safest option was to wait for Ellie to save Charles and return to rescue them.

If she managed to catch them at all, a traitorous part of their brain whispered. Henry swallowed thickly around the familiar dryness in their throat.

Instead of dwelling on the what ifs and the fight no doubt going on above, Henry tried instead to focus on the positives, what few they could find. Right Hand Man’s explosion had only been large enough to cave in the entrance; the rest of the burial chamber, sans some debris and a few displaced pieces of treasure, was entirely intact, with little chance of caving in on Henry’s head. Glancing around the cavern, they could also see algae and moss growing along the sides of the river. With luck, that meant fish, so they were not likely to starve before help arrived either. Sushi was far from their preferred meal of choice, but they were used to working with what little they had.

Continuing their observation of the burial chamber, Henry’s eyes were quickly drawn to something out of place; a splotch of bright red in a room otherwise filled with muted blues and greens and golds. A gym bag, made of a rough modern fabric with a dark zipper, sat unassumingly not far from where the bloodstain of Charles’ shooting marred the ground. Alarm bells went off in Henry’s head the second they registered what they were looking at. Bags like this were typically used in the case of an inventory being exceeded, but the only tool the Right Hand Man had used was their gun, a pistol that lacked the equipment requirements to necessitate that much gear, and the explosives that had blown up the cavern. And why leave the bag behind?

Henry forced themselves to stand, an uneasy weight shifting in their gut as they moved. The bag was zipped shut. Henry’s fingers were slowly and shaky as they pulled the zipper up, over, and down…

Exposing the bomb left instead the bag. A much larger explosive with a much bigger yield. Henry’s experience with this particular brand of bomb was minimal, but they knew enough to know that it could easily level the entire pyramid.

The bastard had promised that Henry would die, after all. Of course he wouldn’t leave it to chance.

There was no clock on the bomb, no sign that it would just explode at random. That didn’t mean it wasn’t on a timer, of course, but given how spiteful the Right Hand Man had been so far, Henry had a feeling it would go off at his whim. Either way, however, time was short for Henry Stickmin. They had to find a way out of the mess, and fast.

Attempting to disarm the explosive was a possibility, of course, but Henry didn’t know diddly squat about bomb disposal. Any attempt to cut the wires would just set the bomb off. All the wires might as well be the red one when you have no idea what you’re doing, after all.

Their next thought was to attempt an escape through the river, but their previous logic gave them pause. If the stream emptied out into a completely submerged cavern, then Henry would either have to swim for freedom and hope they could find an exit or… drown. And there was no guarantee a bomb with this kind of yield wouldn’t cause a cave in that could leave Henry trapped without air. Of the many, many ways they’d seen themselves die, suffocating to death tended to be some of the worst, primarily because suffocating was slow. The worst deaths were always the slow ones.

Sighing heavily, Henry plopped themselves down next to the bag. Their eyes scanned it over when they noticed something… underneath the bomb.

No way. The Right Hand Man was NOT stupid enough to leave anything else inside that bag… right?

Very carefully, so as not to set off a premature explosion, Henry inched the bomb aside and took a gander at the contents underneath. Indeed, the Right Hand Man had left other things inside along with the bomb… mostly his trash. Old wrappers, what may have been a shopping list before water damage got to it, a photograph of Henry and their partners littered with cigarette burns that was absolutely not chilling in any way, thank you very much. Growling a little, Henry continued to shuffle things around, hoping that something in this trash might be a little useful. A manual for the explosive was probably too optimistic to ask, but maybe there was some gum they could use to gunk up the interior, or an old radio that could be used to jam the activation frequency, or… or…

Henry’s mind ground to a halt as they reached the bottom of the bag, staring down at the final piece of garbage with their mouth agape. For the first time since bidding Ellie adieu, they spoke.

“You have GOT to be kidding me!”

--------------------

For the second time in a single day, a thousand years of peaceful rest for the dead was disturbed by a barrage of footsteps. The first time Ellie traversed these halls, her steps carried caution, nervousness, excitement, and determination that damped the sounds of her and her partners’ (and their stalker’s) traversal through the tomb. Now, however, those same sounds were louder, stronger, more frequent as they bounced off the walls and amplified ten times over. Just as loud was the steady, heavy breathing that escaped from her gasping mouth as she raced backwards through the pyramid.

Louder still was the beating of her heart in her chest.

Ellie couldn’t’ let herself think. If she did, all her worries and fears, the danger her boys were in, would overwhelm her in an instant. All she could do was keep pace, keep looking forward. Follow her map through the labyrinth protecting the burial chamber and try not to think of the silly look on Charles’ face as he focused on making it. Climb the staircase into the temple and don’t think of Henry’s confident smile as they danced their way through the false burial chamber. By this point the purple jelly… rubber… things had dissolved or something, so Ellie had to use Henry’s metal chain to swing across the pit of deadly spikes and potentially less deadly snakes and not think about whether or not the kidnapper got Charles across unscathed.

At last she reached the exit, the light at the end of the tunnel. Exhaustion was seeping into her bones, but Ellie did her best not to heed it any mind. She ignored the searing pain of fresh sunlight piercing her sensitive retinas as she returned to the land of the living. Ellie’s gaze darted around the jungle, searching for her targets with the same discerning eye that once picked originals out of fakes. In mere moments she found her boy struggling against the grip of his attacker at the very edge of the treeline.

Ellie couldn’t waste a second. She skipped the stairs and slid down the side of the pyramid instead, coming to a halt at the very bottom. She didn’t pause to so much as catch her breath. Instead she flew forward, her lungs burning at the sight of Charles stuck in that bastard’s grip, his pistol at Charles’ temple, and without so much as a cry of warning she shot her pistol with pin perfect accuracy. Her mark, the tree immediately to the left of the captor and hostage, had a smoking hole clear through the center ring, at the same height of the red-headed bitch’s face. A singular warning of just what kind of force he was messing with before things got ugly.

(And if there was so much as a scratch on her Charles… oh, would things get ugly.)

Though she hardly needed to make the demand aloud, Ellie called out to the Toppat, “I’ll give you one more chance. Release the pilot, now.”

The Toppat – what had Henry called him? The Right Something? - took one look at her, at the smoking tip of the gun in her hand, and had the utter audacity to smirk at the sight of it. “Heh. You all by your lonesome, girly?”

Let it be known that Ellie’s boys could never keep a secret from her, and even through his military bravado Ellie could see the truth in Charles’ eyes. The initial wave of relief when her shot rang out, noting her safety, followed by a stunned sense of fear and panic. His eyes met her, the unspoken question broadcasted plainly in the crinkle of his brow, the way his lips pressed tight. Though he dared not speak aloud, Charles was all but begging for the truth.

Never one to let a dramatic moment go to waste, Ellie answered the questions of both men with a smirk. “What, you mean to imply your little firecracker did any actual damage? Hardly.” Charles’ shoulders relaxed just a fraction in response to Ellie’s answer, and her grin widened. “They’re a little caught up though, so I’m sure they won’t mind me having all the fun.”

The Right Hand Whatever’s smug expression only got smugger. Something sour coiled in Ellie’s gut, an alarm bell signaling trouble on the horizon, but despite her suspicions Ellie couldn’t back down. Not when all the chips were on the table, when Charles was clearly struggling on his injured leg. Not when her opponent clearly had an ace up his sleeve, while her cleverly disguised hand was an utter train wreck waiting to happen. All she could do was shore up her grin and keep her poker face strong.

For her Charles, who was hurt and scared and had a gun pointed at his face. For her Henry, who was trapped and alone and waiting for her to return. She needed to find out what this son of a bitch had planned.

“That right?” The Right Something or Other asked cheekily. “You should know something, girl. I was Right ‘and Man of the Toppat Clan. Second in command of the entire brigade. The enforcer to our leader’s brains. I ‘andled every threat that would ever cross ‘is desk.” His one hand, the one that had Charles’ arm in a death grip, began moving up, fingers dancing on Charles’ sleeve, until they reached his shoulders, where they tapped, tapped, tapped away. Ellie could see Charles’ brow wrinkle as he tried not to show his discomfort with the action. “I nevah missed a mark. Even when I did, I didn’t. Because I always, always ‘ad a backup plan.”

Ellie’s very mind went numb as a bone chilling dread set in.

And then, behind her, the pyramid exploded.

The force of the explosion was enough to very nearly knock Ellie off her feet. All she could bring herself to do was stare back at what remained of the ruins. Every thought in her head came to a grinding, crashing halt as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. Henry, her gemstone, her partner in crime, her best fucking friend was in there. Ellie left them there, and had promised to come back, and didn’t. And now they’re gone. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream.

All she could do was stand there and stare, like the idiot who’d let herself be betrayed all those years ago.

Charles did the reacting for her, calling out, “Henry!!” In a bone-chillingly horrified cry that, momentarily, drew Ellie out of her stupor. She spun back around just in time to see the Right Hand Man’s grip around Charles shift so that his arm was wrapped around their sweetheart’s throat, not quite tight enough to completely cut off air but tight enough to choke and hurt, and a new terror grew in her when she saw Charles struggling to break free. Their eyes met.

The hope that had ignited in Charles when Ellie had appeared was entirely gone now, replaced with a darkness Ellie couldn’t quite place in her normally optimistic partner. The tears in his eyes broke free every few seconds, leaving a scorching trail down his face. Ellie felt the sight trigger a burning in her own eyes and bit her lip to try and keep it in. She already knew that was a losing battle.

Then, Charles’ escape attempts redoubled as he shouted, “Shoot him!”

Stunned, Ellie’s eyes briefly darted to her gun, the sidearm she hadn’t lowered once throughout the entire exchange, before returning to Charles, “What?!”

“Shoot him!” Repeated the pilot. His lack of resistance to his captor so far, combined with his injury, must have left the Right Hand Murderer complacent, because he was genuinely struggling to get Charles under control again with only one arm, “Fucking kill him-! Make him pay, he can’t get away with this, he can’t-!”

“But-” Half of Ellie’s remaining strength was channeled into her hands, trying to prevent them from shaking. Her vision was too blurry with building tears to tell how successful she was, “I can’t- he’ll shoot you-” The Right Hand Monster’s weapon had been drawn away a little, but it was still pointed at Charles’ head. He could still very easily get a shot off before Ellie could finish pulling the trigger.

The utter rage in Charles’ voice only made Ellie’s shaking worse, “I don’t care, I don’t fucking care! He needs to die! He needs to suffer for what he did-!”

The murderer was yelling something at Charles, but it flew over Ellie’s head as she swallowed past the heavy lump in her throat. Her eyes burned, her vision blurring so badly she could only barely tell her boyfriend apart from that monster. The pressure of all that had happened in the past two minutes began to crush her lungs, leaving her gasping for air.

Henry was dead. They were gone and dead because of that man, that monster who hurt her partners and if she were a better agent, a stronger person, she could take the shot, take him out and avenge her gemstone but- but Charles was right there. All it would take was one misfire, one mistake, one twitch of her shaking hands and then she’d have lost both her partners.

She couldn’t breath. Her lungs were burning, Every gulp of air she took only fed the fire, suffocating her faster in a smoky haze of grief and terror.

Then, for what must have been the fourth time that day, Ellie was blinded by light.

This burst of light, however, was far more short lived, only blinding the three for a few key seconds. Just long enough for Henry’s fist to collide with the Right Bastard’s face. He flew back from the force of it, head colliding with the trunk of a nearby tree. That accursed gun was launched into the distance and lost amongst the natural chaos of the rain forest. Ellie frantically wiped at her face, desperate to clear her clouded sight and prove this wasn’t a trick of the eyes.

Once she could see, Ellie was treated to a vision of absolute beauty. Her partner, her gemstone, standing tall and proud above the Right Hand Loser, breathing heavily. His one hand was balled into a fist. His other kept hold of a painfully familiar device, and the sight of it nearly brought Ellie to tears of laughter.

“Never bring the teleporter!” Henry scolded the old man with all the fierceness of the drill instructors Ellie overheard back at base. They tossed the offending device far off into the distance, utter disgust written on their face. “It always backfires!”

“Henry…!” Charles called out, having been knocked aside in the chaos. As Henry’s attention was directed to their partner, Ellie noted the Right Hand What’s His Face darting towards the jungle and immediately turned her gaze in his direction. Her hands still, her vision clear, Ellie aimed true and hit the hat clean off his head.

This knocked the Right Hand Bastard off balance, which gave Ellie just enough time to rush him with all the force she could muster. Compounded with the strength of her force power, it was more than enough to knock the monster off his feet and onto the ground.

Her follow-up blow was blocked by his elbow, and when their gazes met Ellie could feel the resentment in his sneer. There was something below the hate, below the anger that brought them to this point, but now that her two lovers were safe Ellie let the full force of her rage out, throwing her fists and her feet into the man’s body wherever she could manage. His arms, his stomach, his head, his legs… wherever her hits could land, they landed with precision and force. Ellie barely felt the blows she got back in return, the punches to her stomach and head and chest that she knew she’d feel tomorrow. She didn’t care. She couldn’t care.

All she cared about was unleashing her pain on this sick, sick bastard.

An explosion of force suddenly hit Ellie’s stomach, propelling her back and away from the target of her wrath. For a moment nausea and vertigo overwhelmed her, just enough that the Right Hand Man managed to get back on his feet and start hurriedly limping towards the jungle.

Gritting her teeth, Ellie twisted herself around to launch herself again, feeling the rocks on the ground dig into her palms, feeling the heat of the jungle sun on her back. She could leap like a lion, could tackle him to the ground and beat him bloody before he even knew what hit him-

“Ellie!”

Henry’s voice gave the once thief pause, and she turned her gaze around to see Henry sat on the ground, Charles’ limp form cradled in their arms. The sight of the bloody bandages hastily wrapped around his leg caused her stomach to start spinning all over again.

Cursing her own stupidity for letting the Right Hand Whatever distract her for so long, Ellie pushed herself up and limped over to help Henry. Looking her partner over, Ellie could tell Henry had escaped by the skin of their teeth yet again. Their clothes were filthy, covered in soot and damaged from the rocks. Their hands, wrapped around Charles and holding him close, were stained with blood. Ellie briefly wondered if all of it was Charles, then immediately shut that thought down. She couldn’t handle any more worries right now.

Henry’s mouth opened and shut in a few false starts as their overly stressed brain struggled to put words in their mouth. Eventually they managed to spit out, “Help. For Charles.”

“Help for Charles.” Ellie agreed. Hopefully Henry remembered more from Charles’ on the fly piloting lessons than she did, because otherwise it was going to be a very long, very dangerous flight back.

--------------------

Ellie awoke to fingers at her face, pushing in her cheeks. Not forceful enough to hurt, but definitely enough to be annoying.

“Henry?” She grumbled, clumsily pushing their hand away from her. Despite their mutual agreement to get some sleep while their partner was being treated, Henry barely looked any better. They’d changed clothes at least, wearing some cheap t-shirt and sweatpants that the hospital had kindly provided, but dark shadows still highlighted their eyes.

But there was a shiny happiness in those ruby red orbs that brought any complaints Ellie had to a grinding halt. Their hands, stiff from soreness, moved slower than normal as they signed to her, “Charles is awake.”

That woke her up more thoroughly than any coffee could have.

Sure enough, sitting up on the bed at the end of the room was their pilot, their sweethearted ray of sunshine, who was too focused on picking the crust off his provided sandwich to notice the two approach at first. But Ellie could see the moment he spotted them, how his excited grin grew so wide it brightened the entire room.

“Yo, Els!” Charles greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“I think I should be asking you that.” She responded, keeping her tone light and playful despite the nerves wriggling within her. “Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Don’t worry, they got me hooked up on some good stuff.” Charles assured her, then hesitated, and something in Ellie went cold. Was something wrong? Had she missed something snoozing away?

Before her thoughts could get away from her, a warmth enveloped Ellie’s hand as Charles took it in his own. The light in his eyes was dim, morose, and it only made her want to hold him tight and never let go. The urge to follow up on that impulse, however, was halted by a single pair of words.

“I’m sorry.”

For a moment, Ellie hadn't been sure she’d heard him right. “You’re… sorry?” At his affirmative nod, she asked, “Sorry for what?” A thought occurred to her, and Ellie scowled, “If you’re blaming yourself for getting shot-”

“No, no, that’s not it.” Charles paused a second, “I mean, I should have been paying more attention-” Whatever he was about to say was interrupted with a light jab from Henry’s elbow into his side “Ah!” He shot a glance at Henry, who merely stared back at him, silent, expressionless. With a sigh, Charles proceeded along his original train of thought. “But I’m talking about what happened when- when Henry-” The words seemed to get caught in Charles throat, so again he redirected, “Uh, when the pyramid blew up, I said some… really aggressive things.”

Ellie forced her face into something neutral. She knew what Charles was talking about. She was trying not to dwell on it, on that unfamiliar rage in his eyes, on the sickening feeling that she was going to lose everything in one single, horrible day. If she looked as bad as she felt even remembering that moment, Ellie was certain she’d only make Charles feel worse.

But her skill at maintaining a poker face must have been out of practice, because Ellie could see the hurt in his eyes anyways.

“And- And I know I made you feel awful. I’m so sorry.” Charles buried his face in his hands and leaned back, allowing Henry to hold him as he continued. “I was just so mad… I thought Henry was- was gone, and I thought it was his fault, and- and- I just wanted him to pay for it. I didn’t care what happened to me, as long as he suffered. But- but that wasn’t fair to you.” Charles sighed, and Henry’s fingers began coming through his hair soothingly. “I’m really, really sorry, Els.”

Ellie exhaled deeply, feeling the tension in her body begin to relax a little. “I get it.” She said, approaching Charles’ bedside and sitting next to him. Curled up into Henry’s side, Charles looked incredibly small, and it made her heart leap. Ellie slipped her hand onto Charles’ knee, rubbing it comfortingly. “When the pyramid exploded, and Henry was still inside… I was angry too. I still am.” Ellie looked down at her bruised knuckles. She wondered if she’d managed to hurt that insufferable bastard. She hoped so. “If I thought for a second he’d have been the only one hurt, I would’ve taken the shot. Hell, if I were in your place…” Ellie could feel Charles’ muscles tense under her hand at the mere thought, and leaned over to lay her head on his shoulder. “I’d have probably done the same thing.”

“Are you sure?” Charles asked, uncertain. “Because you’re supposed to be smarter than me. You remember that, right?”

Henry snorted, drawing both of their attention upward. “If you thought that explosion could take me down,” They signed, grinning smugly, “Then both of you are idiots.”

“Rude.” Ellie snapped back with no bite. One of Charles’ hands came to rest on hers, and she brushed their fingers gently together, hoping the sensation was as soothing to Charles as it was to her. Judging from the pleasant sigh her partner let out, she was right on the money. On Charles’ other side, Henry had taken a seat on the bed and seemed content to have Charles’ weight pressed into their own, eyes a shimmer with fondness as Charles nuzzled into their side.

All was peaceful. All was calm. So, naturally, the government had to step in to ruin it.

More precisely, a small procession of soldiers came through the door with barely an announcement, causing the Triple Threat to scramble to attention, practically throwing themselves away from each other to sit up straight and look semi-professional. They inspected each corner of the room, clearing it inch by inch, before lining up at the doorway and saluting professionally.

When Galeforce walked into the room and dismissed the procession to play guard in the hall, Ellie felt her muscles all simultaneously slump into an awkward half-laying, half-sitting position. She was so done with surprises today. Any more and her heart would burst, Ellie was sure of it.

Once they were alone, Galeforce quickly reached their bedside with long, purposeful strides. “I’d just gotten word through my contacts that you’d been rushed in with a gun wound. Glad to see you’re all alright,” The old man admitted, an unusual softness in his voice. When working, Galeforce endeavored to remain professional in his interactions with his men, but it was not much of a secret that he had a weakness for the little orphan pilot that could. His attention turned to Henry and Ellie, both now recovered enough to sit casually by Charles’ side. “But what happened? I didn’t receive any reports of organized criminal activity in this area- at least, not anyone who would’ve known who you three are.”

“Toppat scum.” Henry signed at their commander. Just those two words had them looking like they’d swallowed something sour.

Galeforce’s sign language skills weren’t quite at Charles and Ellie’s level, but he recognized at least the important word and his shoulders went rigged. “Dammit.” Swore the general. “You all have my sincerest apologies. I should have warned you sooner.”

“Warned us?” Ellie asked, her tone sharpening at the implications.

The General sighed heavily, barely managing to keep his shoulders square with the weight of his guilt on his back. “Just after your vacation started, I’d gotten word that the leader of the Toppat Clan, Reginald Copperbottom, had been assassinated in prison.”

Ellie felt her eyes go wide, and she could feel Charles stiffen in surprise as well. Glancing across the hospital bed at Henry, Ellie found them staring up at the general aimlessly. She’d seen this lost look in their eyes before, when they were gazing into futures that would never happen, and wondered, not for the first time, how they managed with such a heavy burden on their shoulders. Seeing the future was a curse Henry bore mostly with silence, but her and Charles had been learning to pick up on the cues. Ellie’s arm wrapped around Charles, gripping Henry’s hand with just enough strength to anchor them to the present, and a moment later she felt them squeeze it back in recognition.

They’d explain later, most likely. For now, though, the General’s explanation kept their attention.

“Some prison guard had a family history with one of the chief’s predecessors. I won’t bore you with the details.” Galeforce sat on the empty bed nearby, leaning forward with his hands folded in front of his face. “But that very same night Reginald’s Right Hand Man, the second in command of the entire clan, escaped from prison. We’re still not sure how he even knew about Reginald’s death, but he managed to kill the assassin and grab his leader’s corpse on the way out. I thought he’d be more focused on resurrecting the clan than anything else, and with your vacation being out of the country, I decided to bring you into the loop once you got back.” Regret and frustration shone in the General’s eyes as he spoke, his gaze downcast to avoid looking at any of the trio. “I have no idea how he even managed to find you three, let alone pull off something like this. He has nothing; no resources, no allies, not even a penny to his name. I didn’t think-” The old man sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I don’t know how I can even begin making this up to you.”

Ellie took a moment to breath. Her first reaction was the familiar sting of hurt and betrayal, and at one point she may have gotten up in Galeforce’s face to really give him a piece of her mind. Years of unconditional support from her partners, however, gave her the patience to wait out that initial wave and follow up with a much more logical response of understanding. They were on vacation, out in the middle of nowhere with minimal ways to track them down. It wouldn’t have occurred to Galeforce that the bastard would even know where they are, let actually finding them and making them suffer. It would have been nice to have warning, but at the end of the day it wasn’t really his fault.

Henry stared off into space, their eyes clouded with conflict as they struggled between the frustration they were no doubt riddled with and the same logical conclusion Ellie came to. Charles sat slumped in the hospital bed, gazing down as he fiddled his thumbs. Charles had known Galeforce longer than either of them, and the bond of trust they’d built as subordinate and commander was hard to break, but she had no doubt her sweetheart was still upset.

So Ellie took the lead, smiling cheekily at the General, “Well, a few more weeks of vacation would be nice.”

Two pairs of eyes instantly hit the back of Ellie’s head, and she struggled not to turn around and face them. But hearing Ellie let the General off easy must have helped them make up their minds, because soon she felt Charles leaning against her back, his smile tickling the skin on her shoulder as he agreed, “And maybe a bit of overtime? I mean, we did technically face off against an enemy of the state…”

Galeforce chuckled at their responses, the weight on his shoulders lightening up bit by bit. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Henry pushed away from the wall, drawing enough attention to them so they could sign, “I can come up with a trap for the guy.” Their signing was more fluid, more playfully bouncy, and Ellie felt a little more of her worry edge away, “All we need is a few miles of rope, a pool of pudding, the Tunisian Diamond…”

“Now you’re pushing it.” The General joked back, standing with a smile. He seemed lighter on his feet than when he first entered. “I’ll arrange for transport back to base once Charlie is feeling a little better, and you’ll be under guard until further notice. For now, though, just focus on getting some rest. We’ve got protection duty taken care of.” The General began walking back towards the door, only to pause and look back, tipping his hat. “Oh. And happy anniversary.”

Silence rang loudly between them as Galeforce stepped out, quietly opening and closing the door behind him. The moment hung in the air and stretched the seconds into hours.

Finally, at last, Charles broke through the quiet with his usual blunt charm, clumsily destroying the remaining tension in the air with his joking snort. “Some anniversary.” He declared, crossing his arms. “We almost died, an ancient marvel of the lost world got blown up, and we have nothing to show for it!” He huffed, pouted, and then loudly declared, “Whoever planned this trip deserves to get shot.”

And despite all of it, Ellie couldn’t help but burst into laughs.

“It is a shame,” She agreed, wistfully recounting the weight of the amethyst in her hands. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Henry stand, but paid them no mind for the moment. “Still, up until that Toppat clown showed up it was pretty fun.”

“Yeah.” Charles agreed. “Like when you swung over those traps to pull our sorry butts out of the fire? Heh, that was pretty cool.” The stars shimmering in his eyes suggested he remembered the event being way more than cool, and Ellie couldn’t help but puff up a little in pride. It hadn’t been hard – she’d done way crazier back in her criminal days – but something about Charles’ earnest, enthusiastic reactions made her feel like the tallest person in the world. Henry (standing weirdly close, with a weird grin spread across their face) called him their sunshine for a reason, and as much as the two liked to tease them about their choice of nicknames, Ellie had to admit they were right on the money with that one.

“Or how you created a path of freakin’ bouncy balls to get across that weird spike pit.” Ellie recounted. At the time she’d felt her blood pressure spike with each bounce, but now, in hindsight, it had been both impressive and hilarious.

Charles laughed along, as full and bright as himself, and nodded eagerly. “Or- or how Henry broke out into a random dance and that somehow opened the way to the real tomb?” The memory of their dance across the false burial site only caused Ellie to laugh harder, a deep blush growing across her face. How could she have ever wanted to be a serious criminal, when being silly with these two idiots was so much more fun?

The fluttering laughter came to a slow halt as Ellie suddenly noticed Henry’s arms outstretched between her and Charles. More specifically, the gigantic purple gem nestled in their hands, reflecting the harsh light of the hospital to shine brighter than it had in the dim catacombs of the tomb. Ellie’s eyes trailed up Henry’s arms, across their shoulder, all the way up to that stupid smug grin on their face.

The cheeky bastard. When had they even had time to grab that thing?

“You clever little sneak!” Charles yelled out, recovering from the shock of seeing their hard won prize much faster than Ellie. His arms reached out, grabbing for his two partners, and Ellie and Henry reached back without hesitation. Any thought of the Right Hand Whatever, of the dangers past and dangers to come, of anything that could stand in the way of the Triple Threat floated to the very edge of Ellie’s mind, leaving her clear to focus on what was really important.

As far as anniversaries went, Ellie supposed this could have gone a lot worse.

--------------------

As the sun set over the city, a single man sat on a lone rooftop. His gaze was as piercing as the setting sun, matching it’s blinding glare with equal fierceness.

Feh, of course they bloody survived. Nothing could go right for the prior Right Hand Man lately.

Unwilling to let himself drown in his thoughts, the once Right Hand Man removed a crumpled piece of paper from his inventory, directing his ire down at the paper as if it was what had offended him, and not the myriad of names listed upon it.

Dozens upon dozens of people would have found their names upon that list. A small number were crossed out. A worthless avenger, a couple of gossiping jail guards, an old judge with a bad hair cut; a mere handful, compared to the number of names remaining. A thief, a pilot, and, more recently, an ex-gang runner. A general, his personal guard, a witness pulled from the airship’s brig. Turncoats and traitors to the clan, selling out their brothers for a scrap of leniency. Anyone and everyone even remotely involved in the fall of the Toppat Clan and the death of it’s leader were listed on this single scrap of paper.

“Don’ you worry a bit, Reg.” Murmured the enforcer, running his finger down the list like he was running a knife across some traitor’s skin. “I’ll make ‘em pay. Every last one of ‘em fuckers ‘at destroyed our clan. ‘Ey’ll all pay for wot they did. And once ‘ey do…”

His finger finally paused on the list’s final name, the ultimate victim of his revenge spree. The one who’s failure had lead to the destruction of everything the once Right Hand Man held dear.

“...I’ll be comin’ for ya, Reg. Save a spot in ‘ell fer me, would ya?”

--------------------

Aw, yes! More Polythreat!

I'm sorry for kind of being AWOL. I've been active on Tumblr, but was afflicted with some nasty writer's block. It took me a whole year to write this, believe it or not. I'd hoped to get it done by my birthday, but I'm just happy to have it done. Merry Christmas, everybody!

The events surrounding RHM and Reginald are depicted in a comic here on my tumblr: Atychiphobia - Fear of Failure. You can probably find it pretty easily. Neither RHM nor Copperright have been tagged, though. To preserve the surprise. Tags do kind of give away something going down, but it happens.

Thank you for reading! Hopefully I'll come up with something else to write soon.

[homelanderbutbig]

His Very Own All-Star Chef (G/T Homelander x Reader)

810 words. Pure fluff. Homelander is 8 feet tall. Reader is non-descriptive. Established relationship.

You made soup and he likes soup.

It's been a quiet evening for you, cooking dinner alone in Homelander's penthouse. You have the day off today, so you thought you'd try making a new recipe, something special. You are thankful Homelander put the large pot on the stovetop for you before he left for work this morning, as it's far too heavy for you to lift by yourself.

You've had a peaceful day by yourself preparing a hearty beef and vegetable soup, making triple the recipe called for as you are aware of how much Homelander can eat. Regardless of having a state-of-the-art custom kitchen, you know for a fact he's never cooked a day in his life, preferring to have his food catered by the Vought chefs and brought up to him. But he is deeply touched by you taking the time to cook homemade meals for him, even though during the first instance you didn't make nearly enough to satiate his hunger. You've since learned to adjust the recipe sizes to make sure he always has enough to eat, and in turn he always makes sure to shower his very own all-star chef with his most fervent praises.

Standing up on a set of steps, as Homelander's kitchen is too tall for you to reach on just your feet, you add in the final seasonings to the soup as it nears completion. You're enjoying the relaxing ambience, listening to the soup bubble as you stir on autopilot, hoping that your dinner tastes as good as it smells.

Suddenly, you jump as you are startled by what feels like a brick wall behind you. There is a laugh coming from above you as the 'brick wall' expands and contracts from the jest. You sigh as you look straight up, seeing Homelander grinning as he gazes down at you, although his face is slightly obscured by his pecs.

"How many times have I asked you not to sneak up on me like that?" you attempt to scold him, even though you can't hide the smile forming on your face. As annoying as he can be sometimes, you are always happy to see him when he comes home from work.

"I couldn't help myself," he chuckles, as he rests his big ungloved hand on your shoulder. "You're so cute when I scare you". You place your hand on top of his, wrapping it around his fingers. Away from his penthouse, he very rarely takes his gloves off as he prefers not to touch the undeserving outside world. But when he is alone with you, he adores feeling your gentle touches on his hands, and returning his affections by caressing every inch of your face.

"And what do we have here?" Homelander asks, leaning down a bit closer to you. He is all smiles as he smells the air, closing his eyes while he takes in your hard day's work. Your efforts that were all for him.

"It's a beef and veggie soup," you tell him, still stirring the pot with your other hand. "It's a new recipe, I've been busy chopping all day. I'm not sure how good it turned out though."

"Well, it smells great," he says as he moves his hand from your shoulder to your thighs, lifting you up to his chest. You weigh absolutely nothing to him, but he loves to feel your body cradled in his arm with your head up close to his own.

"Hey!" you squeal as you are abruptly brought up into the air, giving him a playful swat on his pecs. "I can't finish cooking from up here!". He cannot help but laugh. He is so fond of how you do such simple things to remind him of his humanity, how easily you bring him back down to earth after a gruelling day of being Vought’s supe poster boy.

"I think it's done babe," he smirks. "Here, let me see". He reaches down and grabs the pot with his free hand, completely unfazed from the strong heat on his bare skin. After one last smell, he brings the pot up to his mouth to take an ample sip. He tilts his head back as he swallows, his eyes closed while he licks his lips, savouring the soup you made special just for him.

"Is it good?" you question, even though you're pretty sure you already know the answer. Opening his eyes, you spot the sly expression on his face as he brings you in for a kiss. Homelander kisses you so warmly and softly, letting you taste the soup on his lips. When he finally parts, your noses are still touching allowing you to feel his deep breaths dance across your face. You can see how dilated his pupils are, his fluttering eyes solely focused on you, on how much he loves you.

You take that as a yes.

[itsabouttimex2]

Hi can I get your thoughts on the rise turtles being affected by the primal moon moon au please 🙏 love to hear your thoughts will their act the same or would their personalities be way different 👀

would Raph be like his savage self

Would Donnie act more villainy

would Leo be gaslighting, girl bossing his darling

mikey is a interesting one especially since his has different personals (Dr delicate touch , dr feeling and dr rude ?)

or would he be the same but different in a way ? Would their all act the same but more eerie to them 👀👀👀 love to hear your thoughts ^^

Primal Moon Turtles

I thought for a while as to what instincts and behavior Raphael has to be amplified by be the Primal Moon, and I though- the big guy is pretty doting, isn’t he? He definitely adores all his siblings, trying his best to keep them all safe and healthy. He even has a baby voice he uses with them. (I love this guy so much.)

So, when viridescence plagues him and strips away all inhibitions, his nurturing traits are boosted by damn near triple. Raph goes from reasonably worried about his loved ones to being outright paranoid.

Forget “you can’t go on a mission alone”, he shifts to “Is that a knife, Y/N?! In your hand?! Put it down before you cut all your fingers off!” very quickly. (It was a butter knife.)

As an alligator snapping turtle, Raph also gains a serious fondness for soaking underwater and burying himself in mud, constantly submerging himself for longer and longer periods of time. Eventually, the family sends you out to coax him back onto land, offering cuts of meat and cuddles to get him to stop nearly drowning himself.

Sitting behind him as he eats, scrubbing newly grown algae off his shell with one of those bristle brushes as he squirms around happily.

Leonardo’s desire to establish himself as someone worthy of attention and admiration takes a notably nasty turn, leading him to grow outright aggressive. Often tries to pick fights, especially with people who interact with Y/N.

Instead of merely showing off, now he stalks through the corridors of the sewers picking fights with anything that passes by. (Boy is out here throwing hands with driftwood.)

It usually falls to Raph to drag the red-eared slider back home, resorting to physical restraints and taped on headphones with soothing music to try and keep him from lashing out violently.

And then he wakes up covered in bruises and cuts from his fights, praying that he didn’t try to attack his family this time, too.

Horrible situation, all around.

Out of every mutant and yōkai in ROTTMNT, Donatello is one who hates the Primal Moon the most. For him, every cycle heaps him with a massive dose of genuine insecurity and self-hatred, feeling pathetic and stupid.

His faculties sort of… regress? But his personality stays the same, bearing a genuine desire to make and create. Instead of machinery or tech, though… he’s sitting cross-legged on the ground, grinding rocks into spearheads and binding them to long sticks.

Softshell turtles are hunters, after all.

Donnie’s diet switches almost entirely to fish he’s personally caught, and he starts to bed on sand and sunbathe for warmth. Also, lots of swimming.

Y/N and Mikey are the only two people who can reliably get close to him during one of his ‘hunting moods’, anyone else receiving a sharp snap of his jaws.

Of course, being able to draw near that doesn’t that he’s going to let you pull away.

Poor boy gets emotional, and big time. Given that Ornate Box Turtles are pretty docile and placid, Michelangelo has the least trouble during the Primal Moon’s rising. It also means that he’s the most lucid, capable of remembering each and every moment of trouble and fighting, verbal or physical.

Mikey often bunks down with Y/N through the week, relying entirely on them for support and comfort. He can’t do much but shudder in their arms, pretending that he can’t hear his brothers fighting or hunting.

This boy needs you so damn bad that it hurts. He’ll cling tight, arms and legs wrapped tightly around you to prevent your removal from his side. It’s not that he’s trying to be possessive- Mikey just wants you to stay out of the trouble and danger that his brothers are getting into.

His dietary preferences switch to be much more in line with his turtle half, eating grass and berries and squirmy pests. Donnie also supplies the younger turtle with cuts of freshly hunted fish. Doesn’t have much of a love for water, and actually prefers to move around on dry land.

The easiest to deal with, bar none.

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

(Yandere) Marc Spector headcanons part 2

Whenever you're walking alone Marc always silently follows you, making sure you reach your destination safely.

He's (over)protective, if he heard about something has happened near them or at the city you two are in he will insist that you stay with him until it's safe.

Marc let's you train with his guns, knives, whatever you're fancy with. But he will unload every single bullet so you won't accidentally hurt yourself. Your safety has top priority after all. :)

Marc knows he's scary if he wants to be, which makes it alot easier to protect you. If you two take a walk together nobody would be stupid enough to pick up a fight with him.

He is your one man army. :)

If someone chooses to pick up on you he will gently shove you out of the way and deal with that rude Person.

"Honey, do me a favor and go buy yourself a drink." *slips money into your hand* "I'll teach that prick you're mine."

If someone had hurt you he will go on a hunt for them 100 times more determined than John Wick himself.

He's stubborn sometimes, so he will likely not admit it that seeing you around other men will make him jealous.

Loves having you near him. <3

He thinks he doesn't deserve you, but on the other side his obsession with you kind of blinds him and he thinks he does. He's a mixed bag I guess?

You're a gamer?? Marc is too and he's played almost every triple A game before you. He knows he could easily crush you in some rounds but he let's you win sometimes, only to beat you again the next round. :)

Whenever Marc's on a mission he will triple-check the house/apartment to ensure the security is enabled before leaving.

If Khonshu says something about you Marc will tell that old pigeon to shut up immediately.

"You know if you wouldn't be thinking about y/n the whole time you'd be--"

"Shut it old bird, who's doing the Mission? You or me?"

Once Marc is back from his missions you better be prepared for some cuddles.

If he finds you dozed off on the couch or his bed he will tuck you in and give you company.

Marc may look like a tough to crack guy but with you he is the sweetest, most caring, protective guy you could ever wish for.

Loves watching action movies with you. One night you two were watching Deadpool and you compared him to Marc. Marc said he could beat him easily.

"Looking forward to you two dishing out insults at eachother, haha!"

"Atleast I'm not looking like a cheap version of Freddy Krueger. He looks like the offspring of Freddy Krueger and Pinhead after they had the most sadistic orgy ever in hell."

*Your jaw drops and you give him the most flabbergasted look*

*Marc just grins at you like the cheshire cat himself*

Marc doesn't tell you, but he likes it when you tease him. That just gives him a reason to get his revenge on you later. >:)

He loves telling you how safe only he could make you feel, how nobody else could protect you as he could. That's kind of a turn on for him...

[xjustakay]

(8/14) prompt: hockey — 868 words (figure skater Reg/hockey player James) @jegulus-microfic

Regulus wasn’t a fan of early mornings until he realized that’s the only way he gets a proper moment of peace at the rink. No cousins there to compete with for perfection, no mother barking insults disguised as coaching. Just him and the ice; the smooth familiarity of his skates, the cold biting against his cheeks, and some time to focus on something that’s not the whirlwind in his mind.

He’s a little bit sore today, in ways not entirely regular for him, but he’s pointedly ignoring the why. Honestly, he’s grateful he asked for early access to the rink prior to his official practice. Saves him from wincing through his stretches in front of an audience when the gently throbbing ache in his hips and lower back hit him. He’s doing a great job at focusing on anything but these reminders while out on the ice.

That is, until there’s the loud clang of a door banging open and then shut, just as he’s landing his triple lutz.

Regulus huffs irritably and lowers his outstretched leg to join the other foot so he can whip around toward the source of the noise. At first it’s just the vague silhouette of someone; could be one of the opening staff members (he knows in his heart that it isn’t). As the person nears the outside of the rink at the opposite end, his inner suspicions are confirmed.

With a scoff, he skates familiarly in another half-lap around the rink. Regulus made sure that he would have plenty of time before the official opening, before any scheduled private practices for the day.

Which means James Potter absolutely should not be here. The hockey practices are in the afternoons and evenings anyway, so it doesn’t make sense for him to be around this early.

Except…

Regulus purposely takes his time to make his way over to him (and if he makes it a point to land another triple along the way just to show off, that’s no one’s business). When Regulus finally lets the glide of his dwindling speed carry him a short distance from the edge of the rink where James is leaning on his forearms, there’s a lazy grin on James’ face.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Regulus says by way of greeting.

“Good morning to you, too, sunshine,” James’ eyes drag down in an all too obvious once-over before returning to Regulus’ face.

He purses his lips tightly, arms folding over his chest. “It’s not open hours yet.”

“Good thing I own the rink, huh?” James toys.

“Your parents own the rink.” Regulus rolls his eyes.

“Semantics.” James waves a hand and stands up so only his hands rest on the wall. “Funny thing happened this morning, you know.”

Grey eyes shift to the side as Regulus sniffs shortly. “I don’t care.”

James is unfazed, laughing lightly at his dismissal. “Didn’t expect to find myself alone in bed when I woke up after what happened last night.”

It’s a good thing Regulus’ cheeks are already tinted pink from his skate, it makes the way that he unfortunately blushes less apparent.

“Or that my hockey jersey is missing, for that matter,” James adds. Regulus’ focus snaps back toward him, finding dark brows lifted and a smug smirk curling at James’ lips. “I know you slept in it and all, but I’m gonna need that back from you, love.”

“I can’t stand you,” Regulus huffs; deflecting.

“Oh, is that why you let me lay you out like that?” James’ grin widens, turns dangerous and dazzling with the flash of his teeth and mirth in his hazel eyes, when Regulus’ mouth falls open with a soft exhale.

Lifting a hand, James beckons him nearer. Regulus doesn’t think his brain and his legs are connected currently, because he moves, closing the couple feet gap to stand directly at the boards in front of him. Without easing back at all, James stays encroached in his space in a way that shouldn’t feel as welcome as it does. There’s warmth coming off of him that Regulus could sink into, if he let himself, and it’s tempting. Just like last night, it’s so fucking tempting.

He hadn’t been good at self-restraint then, either.

James circles a hand around Regulus’ wrist where he holds onto the wall, his thumb sliding beneath the cuff of Regulus’ long sleeve to rub in circles over the knob of bone. Regulus toys his lower lip between his teeth, blinking slowly as his gaze flickers over James’ face so close.

“I’ve got a game tonight,” James says, quieter now.

“I don’t care,” Regulus repeats, but the vague breathlessness of his tone suggests otherwise.

“Mm, I bet.” James squeezes at his wrist once, his lips twitching. “Bring me my jersey then stay to watch me play.”

Regulus leans carefully into the wall between them, his own dark curls brushing James’ forehead briefly. “Not interested in hockey.”

“Maybe not,” James muses. He slides both hands up Regulus’ forearms to his elbows then down again, settling over the back of his cold hands and warming them. “You are interested in me, though.”

And, well. Regulus doesn’t have a solid enough denial for that.

[siempre-bucky]

If possible, could we please do "B feeling shy in swimwear and A hyping them up" for our man Bob Floyd? But can Bob be "B" because we know he would be hesitant to take his shirt off, as seen with the beach scene and he just deserves a partner/reader who's like "nah you're hot as hell, take it off"

Bob Floyd x Reader

Summary: You know Bob's reserved, his favorite yellow shirt was his comfort source at the beach, but you just want to see his beautiful body underneath it. So naturally, you pin him to the side of the Jeep and tell him he's hot.

a/n: thank you so much for requesting this! I loved being able to do both sides of this prompt! Also, Bob has one of those slutty little waists people have been talking about and I will not be taking any criticism at this time.

It was unrealistically less crowded at the beach on a Saturday afternoon. “Can’t believe we get to park in the front row,” you marveled as Bob pulled into the parking lot, the palm trees lining the street blowing gently in the breeze. 

“Breathe it in, baby, this will never be happening again,” Bob joked from the diver's seat, using his free hand to slide his aviators up the bridge of his nose. You tapped his thigh as he put it in park, your eyes scanning for the rest of the squadron. Most of them were already warming up near the water, two footballs being thrown across the sand. 

The two of you hopped out and opened the back doors to grab your things. You took off your Navy shirt and readjusted your sports bra and high-waisted shorts, humming in delight as the warm sun hit your skin. Your eyes looked over at your husband and how he triple-checked the items in your bag and even quadruple checking for the sunscreen. “Ready?” he asked, his thin lips forming a small smile. 

You weren’t ready until Bob took off his comfort beach t-shirt. You ignored his question and shut the door before walking over to him and placing your hand on the side of the door. He watched as you eyed him up and down, “Are you?” you asked in return. 

He nodded simply, “Yeah?” 

You shook your head, “You still have your shirt on, Bobby,” you pouted, leaning against the door. 

“I know,” he said with a nervous chuckle, “I’ll get less burnt that way.” 

You knew that you married the reserved one, the one who only let his true feelings show when he was alone with you. He’d rarely shown his body to anyone else, hell, he even swims with his shirt on. You understood his character and knew very well he looked good in that shirt. You rarely ever asked him to step outside his comfort zone, but there was just something about today that really made you want to see his body. Always a shame he kept it so hidden, he looked like a God in your eyes. Robert Floyd was breathtakingly beautiful. 

“Bobby,” you said his name with a slight rasp in your voice and through his transitioning lenses, he could see how your pupils were getting wider with lust. 

“Darlin’,” he countered, taking a step back, and his back collided with the cloth seat. You sauntered forward and put your hands on the sides of his waist, gently squeezing to feel the muscles he had there. 

Your face was close enough to count the little freckles that were kissed onto his face, beautiful blue eyes staring back at yours. “Why won't you take it off?” you asked, a question you never really asked directly. Bob took his hands and placed them underneath your forearms, his fingertips stroking your skin. 

Bob turned to look at the guys on the beach through the space between the open door and the body of the Jeep, Hangman and Coyote were doing pushups in the sand, their glistening biceps on full display. “I don’t- I don't look like them. I’m not ashamed of how I look but I know I’m not up to standard,” he told you, his eyes avoiding your glare until you used your thumb and pointer finger to grab his chin and made him look at you. 

“To whose standard, Bob?” you questioned, slotting yourself between his legs. 

He cocked his head, “I don-” 

“I married you, Bob. You are the most handsome man I have ever seen… and can I tell you something?” You dragged your fingers down his neck, ghosting over his Adam's apple and all the way down his torso. Your lips hovered his slightly parted ones, you could even see the rosy blush on his cheeks. 

“W-what?” he croaked. 

“You’re hot, Lieutenant,” you mumbled with a desperate whine. Your hands slid underneath his shirt and let your nails rake down his goosebump-ridden skin. “You are so fucking hot,” you growled before crashing your lips into his. 

Bob’s eyes opened wide in surprise but they slowly closed while he put his hand on the back of your neck to pull you closer. “Is that how you really feel, baby?” he panted as he pulled you away. You bit your bottom lip and nodded. He moved his arms and quickly took off his shirt before the rational side of his brain could take over, tossing it onto the seat. 

You took the opportunity and looked at his toned torso: his biceps were well defined and he had that beautiful line down the valley of his defined pecs. “You’re not flexing are you?” you purred. Bob grinned and shook his head. 

“I can if you want me to,” he chuckled. 

You tsked and shook your head, “If you did we might as well go back to bed.” He laughed as you wiggled your eyebrows, intertwining your fingers and grabbing his backpack with his free hand. 

Once you got to the edge of the sand Bob stopped and gently squeezed your hand to get your attention. “Will you say what you told me again?” he asked as he motioned to his chest. 

You giggled and put your chin on his shoulder, looking up at him lovingly. “You’re hot as fuck, Lieutenant Floyd.” 

He smiled brightly and kissed your forehead, “Thank you, baby.”

[kcrossvine-art]

whats crackling? whats snackling? in the near future, possibly YOU! This next one might be good for those of yall who dont have big kitchens. Today on our cooking review revue is Golden Hill pears from the Redwall Cookbook- 

(for crackling and snackling purposes you can find the original recipe at the bottom to follow along)-

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes in to Golden Hill Pears?” YOU MIGHT ASK

sugar

water

4 medium pears (peeled, halved, cored)

ground allspice

As you can guess by the ingredients, golden hill pears are just caramelized pears. Am a huge fuckin fan of caramelized stone fruits- peaches, pears, plums,- but contrary to my normal method of using an oven to achieve the desired syrupy goodness, this recipe calls only for a little sauce-pot and lid! 

AND, “what does Golden Hill Pears taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASK

If you've had caramelized fruit before you'll get the gist, however, these are on the higher end in terms of taste 100%

The allspice is such a brush of warmth and comfort

Tastes like cuddling the person you love in front of the fire

Caramel taste is even throughout

Would be so so so good paired with a nice pulled pork stew

And warm apple cider would be perfectionx2

A fulfilling end to a fall season that passed too fast

. Where pear halves called for, strained and used canned pear slices (0% added juice) . Where sugar called for, used fine granulated sugar . Tripled cooking time for initial caramelization

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go fucking hogwild with the allspice honestly, i used about 2 soup-spoonfuls of it and couldve still probably done more. its up to personal preference but its damn good.

Also; cooked way more evenly than youd think. Once the initial caramelization was done each 'batch' of pears cooked pretty quick.

SO, it took me about 3 tries to get this right as the book describes itself. My first mistake was letting it get to a golden brown color, as the book says you should, because by the time the sugar and water is that color alone in the pan, it is already way too late and is going to burn by the time you add the pears in. You need to add the pears in a bit earlier than whats going to feel right- when the mixture becomes a strong yellow-ish color id say?

The second time, because the first try had burnt, i tried lowering the heat/going against the books advice and stirring throughout. In all previous times ive caramelized something it was good to get some motion in there, so i figured if it burnt before maybe the issue was too much heat and no movement. This didnt work. This instead somehow created massive sugar crystals which over the period of about 30 seconds (once reaching temp and adding to the pan) quickly hardened and had to be chipped away until it broke off the spoon and the pot. Im not a scientist i have no fucking idea.

It mightve tasted good and been a cool cake topper but at this point we were 40 minutes in with no delicious pears so we werent wasting time with tasters.

Third attempt; corrected from previous mistakes. Watched the saucepot like a fuckin HAWK, didnt stir or disturb the pan, had it on medium heat for about 21 minutes until it started turning yellow, added the pears and allspice in immediately, covered and simmered it. I had 2 cans of pears that i strained and patted dry of excess fluid, so with 2 seperate batches for the one pot. I think the second batch came out richer but there wasnt too much a difference. Both came out lovely to eat with the syrup drizzled over top.

All in all, from deciding to make them to having them in my belly, and subtracting failed attempts, id estimate it took about 30 minutes? It would be longer if you prepared the pears yourselves, along with the cooktime for them probably, but its not neccesary for this recipe.

It tastes fuckin good and would be excellent in living situation where all you have available is a portable hot-top. I could see myself making it again now that i know what visual cues to look for.

I give this recipe a solid 8/10 (with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.)

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sugar

4 medium pears, peeled, halved lengthwise and cored

Generous pinch ground allspice

Method:

Put the sugar in the bottom of a heavy saucepan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over it. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the mixture reaches a golden brown caramel, about 7 minutes. (Swirl the pan if the caramel colors unevenly).

Standing back, pour in 1/4 cup of water, taking care as it will spit.

Add the pears and allspice to the pan, cover and simmer until the pears are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears to a serving dish. Raise the heat and boil the syrup vigourously for 1 minute.

Pour the syrup over the pears and serve immediately, or let cool and then chill before serving.

[all-risejd]

A New Judgment Chapter 2: Two Offers and a Smack (Poly Judgment Day Fic)

Written by Scarletxraine who can’t seem to remember to post to this godforsaken hellsite so has me post here for your enjoyment!

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7.

The men of the Judgement Day share a confused look. "Well, that makes things more interesting." Damien comments once Triple H and Nessa were gone.

"Dom, did you know she was going to be here?" Finn asks, stepping over to Dominik and helping him off the exam bed. Dominik doesn't answer, just looks down at his hand that is clasping the bracelet.

"Dom are you ok man?" Damien asks, starting to worry about his young partner. "Hey what's going on in your head..." He messes with Dominik's hair.

"I gave her this on our anniversary last year. It was tantamount to a proposal how much it meant that I gave it to her." "What do you mean? You broke off an engagement to join us?" Finn asks confused and ready to slap the young man upside the head.

"Not exactly. My grandmother wanted me to give it to the woman I wanted to marry, it wasn't a proposal but more of an intent to propose," He explains "Ow! What the fuck man!" His hand goes to his head that Finn just slapped.

"She seems damn near perfect why would you leave her? You know you could have just joined us as a teammate and not romantic partner, or you both could have joined as our partners?" Damien chides.

"My dad got in my head talking about how mom suffered, and I remembered him never being there for major moments but bringing me in for shock factor when it suited him. I was never around, and I didn't want her to suffer like that and have to see a story of me and someone else. I ended it to protect her, she deserves better than what I can give. Plus, I don't know if she would be ok with that. She gets jealous and territorial." Dominik shrugs.

"Let me get this right," Finn starts and takes a breath, "The girl you apparently wanted to marry and still apparently want to, who is in healthcare like your mum and understands and supports you unconditionally... You break up with her to protect her feelings and in the process break her heart and she still loves and supports you." Finn slaps him upside the head again. "You are a fucking idiot you know that Dom, you fucked up big time."

"Yeah, and I want to fix it at least be friends with her. I want her in my life as selfish as that sounds..." Dominik looks at his partners like a kicked puppy.

"Well, we were texting Mami and agreed that if she wants to join our relationship, she can, we just have to negotiate. If that is something you want of course it has to be a unanimous decision. Or you can get with her again and we all just remain friends too." Damien offers knowing what Dominik's answer will be.

"I don't want to leave you guys either, I don't know." Dom almost whines.

"Well going off her response when we told her she seems receptive enough to maybe broach the subject if you make things right with her." Finn analyzes the conversation from earlier as they head to their locker room.

"We can help, you are not in this alone." Damien offers and Dominik smiles and nods in agreement.

"Right so here is what we will do..." Finn starts.

Nessa and Triple H only walk for a few minutes until they reach his office. He holds the door open for her and holds out a chair for her before he goes and sits behind his desk. A thick stack of papers conspicuously sitting in front of him. "Without realizing it you cut some excellent promos. You made people conflicted about the match and got people on your side." He explains and shows her tweets of people supporting her and the hashtag #justicefornessa trending.

"To be honest I didn't even want to come but Mr. Gutierrez insisted, begged even and to be honest I am hurt about why he did it." Nessa eyes the stack of papers.

"To be honest with you I knew he was bringing you and he worked some things out. He wants to help his son and you. Even with the betrayal he still loves him. He didn't mean to hurt you or really manipulate him." He looks at her sympathetic. "Rey wants to help Dominik, in both his personal life and his career and he asked me to give you a job. It was brought to my attention that you applied to be part of our medical not long after Dominik joined the company. I would like to extend a formal offer. It would be a dual contract. Less than normal talent but more than traditional medical and probably more than you make now." He smiles proud that they came up with this plan.

Nessa looks confused but not surprised, "What do you mean sir?"

"You are a nurse, right?" He asks.

"Yeah, a charge nurse on the Peds Unit."

"Well, we want you to be part of our medical team of doctors and nurses that travel alongside the talent and shows both taped and un-taped. And to be a talent, part of the story and potentially getting physically involved with a potential of matches in the future if both parties agree." He explains and she is intrigued.

"I can't just up and leave my job, I'm under contract and don't want to risk the children's lives." She explains.

"We can buy out your contract, we contacted the facility where you work to put a plan in place only if you agree so there is coverage on short notice." He doesn't even look sheepish.

"So, you and Rey planned this? Why?" She levels a soft glare at him.

"Rey thinks you both can get closure or back together if you had a chance to talk and wants to make sure both of you are happy and taken care of as I said, even though Dom has a grudge against his dad at the moment. Made the story that much easier since it is true." He gives a sheepish smile.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll look over the contract and have my lawyer do the same. When would you like an answer by?" Is her response as she holds out her hands for the stack of papers.

"We would like an answer by Wednesday so we can bring you on at Smackdown and get you some training, which you will continue with your team and an assigned trainer, and safety tests if you are ok getting physical." He answers leaning back in his chair.

"You also have some control over what direction your story goes with them, we are thinking a triangle between you Dom, and Rhea or a "relationship" between you and Damien going by how you two reacted to each other after the match." He adds on.

"What about their true dynamic?" She asks trying.

"We are unsure about unveiling that to the public, they barely accept LGBTQ people and subtext, we don't know how they would handle that." He shrugs, at least honest.

"It would be an interesting thing to explore and explains their dynamic better." She offers and thinking more to herself.

"That is true and something we might explore if the opportunity presents itself. I do hope you decide to join us, Miss Klein." He stands up offering his hand to shake again.

"Thank you for the offer, sir, and please call me Nessa." She gets up and shakes his hand.

"Then call me Paul," He answers, adding, "I look forward to your answer either way Wednesday." He gestures to the door his assistant standing there.

"Rhea wanted to see me, could I go talk to her before I leave?" She stops at the door and asks.

"Yeah, Heather, please show her where Rhea is." He orders, and Heather nods and leads the way. Once there she knocks on the pole before pulling the curtain aside revealing Rhea stretching. She sees Nessa enter and walks over, placing her arm around Nessa's shoulders.

"Finally, I was beginning to think you left mini-me."

"I was going to. Just because I am happy, he has you doesn't mean I want to see it." She shrugs out of Rhea's arm not wanting to be caught in a compromising position in case anyone comes in.

"What's that you got there luv?" Rhea gestures to the stack of papers in Nessa's hand. Nessa looks down and hugs it to her chest.

"Oh, uh nothing to worry about. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes doll, come sit let's talk before the boys join us and I have to go to my match." Rhea gestures to the couch. "I wanted to make sure to tell you Dominik never cheated on you. He started as just a wrestling partner. He didn't join our romantic dynamic until weeks after he left you. We even gave him the option of bringing you in on the dynamic if you consented. I don't want you to think he cheated on you." Rhea explains and puts a comforting hand on Nessa's thigh, an intimate gesture she doesn't shake off.

"I don't think that, I figured it was something like that. I don't hold it against you as long as he is happy and safe, I'm happy for him." Nessa places her hand on Rheas and squeezes it before continuing.

"That just means he doesn't want to be with me, that I wasn't enough, which hurts more and makes me wonder what is wrong with me." Nessa word-vomits, and Rhea looks dismayed and places her hand on Nessa's cheek gently directing her to meet her gaze.

"Hey no, stop that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. From what I've seen and heard from Dom you are an angel. I'm sure there was a reason in his idiot mind, you know how men are never thinking through their decisions until after. Did he even ask you about the dynamic before leaving you?" Rhea consoles, rubbing Nessa's back. Nessa shakes her head no, trying to keep from crying.

"I don't know why I'm spilling all this to you, and now I've been offered a job to add to the drama and join the medical team and I don't know what to do..." Nessa sniffles.

"Well sweetheart you preach about wanting Dom Dom to be happy, but what about you? You need to do what makes you happy too. Now it looks like you need a hug." Rhea advises and stands up holding her arms out for a hug. Nessa gets up and hugs her finding a strong sense of comfort in Rhea's arms her eyes closed.

She processes the conversation, and her eyes fly open and steps back from Rhea. "Wait you said something about me joining your relationship?!"

Rhea looks sheepish and nervous and glances at the ground. "Well yeah, if that is something you would like we are open to the idea." She answers.

Nessa stands shocked, unsure how to answer when the boys fling open the curtain and walk in, stopping in their tracks when they see Nessa.

"Hey Mamita, you are still here?" Damien exclaims throwing his arm over her shoulder which shocks her out of her thoughts.

"Uh yeah, Rhea wanted to talk to me."

"Oh yeah when we're alone you can call me Demi," Rhea smiles kindly trying to not make it weirder.

"I'm Luis if you didn't know." Damien gives her a half hug before plopping on the couch.

"You can still call me Finn." Finn chimes in and Dominik is having a staring contest with the ground. Finn and Damien share a look and smile seeing the stack of papers in Nessa's hand.

"Demi, thank you for your honesty and being so kind, I really appreciate it. I value honesty a lot." Nessa smiles a real smile at her and goes over and gives her one more hug to show she doesn't feel weird about the conversation. "It is a lot to process, maybe we'll talk later. Get my number from Dominik if he still remembers it." Nessa adds, throwing a dig at Dom who won't meet her eyes and mumbles sorry under his breath. Finn snickers and nudges the young man.

"Can we all get your number mariposa?" Damien asks winking at Nessa who can't control the blush that creeps up her face as she nods her head. Rhea tries to hide her smile and ends up smirking.

Nessa clears her throat. "Uh could someone show me the way out, I have to work tomorrow morning and want to go to bed. I've had enough excitement for tonight." She asks, and Dominik looks up for the first time.

"Yeah, reinita I'll show you." He steps towards her, but Damien stops him after seeing Nessa's expression.

"You just had a rough match, you need to rest. I'll show mamita out." Damien offers holding out his elbow and Nessa takes it mouthing thanks.

"Hey, I hope we see you again soon!" Finn waves goodbye and Nessa smiles back at him as she walks out of the room with Damien who makes conversation.

"So mamita, I need to ask how do you feel about what you learned today. Are you ok? He pats her hand that is still resting on her elbow.

"Honestly yes, I myself am more flexible with my sexuality, I am proudly pansexual and have no issue with the thought of polyamory. It is more so the fact I am jealous by nature and don't know how I myself could handle it so I am not sure it is for me." She answers honestly but doesn't add on what she was thinking that she is open to try.

"I'm glad you are handling this well, you say you are jealous by nature, but I see no jealousy or being territorial from you regarding Dom."

"Because it has been months and I have begun to accept that he doesn't want to be with me, and as I have said multiple times, I just want him happy I just wish I could be the one to do it." She smiles sadly as they reach the exit door for talent.

"Hey, you made him happy it wasn't your fault he did what he did. I think he freaked out and made a mistake and doesn't know how to fix it. Hopefully, I see you around mamita." He opens the door for her, and she rolls her eyes because she knows what he has been calling her all night.

"That's not my name!" She calls out smiling as she walks out the door, the contract clutched tightly in her hands.

[rileyglas]

The List ~Pt. 7 - Condemnation~ (Sneak Peek)

Out here kicking my feet like Alastor - Got part 7 queued for Friday then MAYBE part 8 next week (if ya'll like it enough) 💜 Need to catch up? Masterlist

The last few days (weeks?) have been a blur. It was a weird switch going from sleeping terribly because you longed to be near him - to sleeping constantly so you didn’t have to feel your body long from him. Anyone who came to your door was just told you weren’t feeling good. “Just caught a stomach bug, don’t come in! I would hate for you to catch it.”

Today you decided it’s time to finally leave your room. Charlie needs help and there are things around the hotel that need to be done before her meeting with Heaven. You aren’t one to let others down just because of your own emotional baggage.

You throw some makeup on to try to brighten your face. Usually, you wouldn’t be bothered but all the crying significantly darkened your eyes. I’d rather not let them see me like this. The less questions the better. Plastering a smile on your face, you head down to the lobby to get the list of ‘to-dos’ from Charlie. Surprisingly she isn’t there when you arrive, so you take a seat next to Angel on the floor. You lean your head against his leg as a silent ‘hello’.

“Hey toots, how ya feeling?” he says without looking up from his phone. “Better, thanks.” You say cheerfully.

“Good! Guess you and Smiles must have shared cooties ‘cause he ain’t been seen or heard from since Lucifer’s visit.” A pang hits your chest, but you try to brush it off. He’s probably just pissed off.

Charlie rushes down the stairs and scoops you into a lung crushing hug, “So so so soooooooo glad you’re feeling better! I didn’t realize how much you did around here! Could you do me a huge favor and go pick up a few things from the city and take them to my dad? He said he can meet you at this address. I have to go pack - Thank you!” Just as quickly as she came down the stairs, she hurries back, leaving you with a short list and an address.

For the first time in weeks, you leave the hotel without Alastor or his shadow close by. It’s not that you’re afraid of going out alone, but you realize you enjoyed his company more than you thought. You glance up at the radio tower as you walk away from the hotel and can make out a dark figure with glowing red eyes staring down from the window. Well at least that’s confirmation he’s still around.

You pick up the few things from a local shop and walk across the city to the address Charlie gave you. This doesn’t look right. The building you walk up to is more of an abandoned warehouse for a drug deal rather than a cozy meetup with the King of Hell. Cautiously you walk through the door which looked like it had been kicked in already. Just as expected, it’s an empty building with piles of trash scattered about. Graffiti and posters plaster the inner walls. You triple check the address on the small paper and it matches.

Sooo now what?

After waiting and pacing for a few minutes, you hear someone call out to you. You turn to see Lucifer standing outside a portal in the middle of the building.

“You didn’t actually think I stayed within the city, did you?” he chuckles as he motions for you to enter into the portal with him. Once inside you look around to see a large open room filled with…ducks? And this guy was trying to give me a hard time?

“Is – is this your office, sir?”

He boots a few ducks out of his path. “Yes, this is where I work on – important – matters. Also, no need for formalities, Lucifer is fine. Those bags for me?”

You almost forgot why you were even standing in the King’s office. All the piles of rubber ducks grabbed your attention and now you wanted to look through them out of pure curiosity. Handing over the bags, you keep scanning around the room. Lucifer notices your curious glances, “Would you – like to see my most recent project?” he asks nervously. You feel your face light up at the offer and he can’t help but mirror your excitement.

He starts to show you all the ducks he’s created, their names, what they can do. His eyes glimmer excitedly every time you display even the slightest interest in one. What feels like a mere fifteen minutes ends up becoming a couple hours. As he shows you the last of his collection, a solemn look crosses his face.

“Thank you for this. I don’t get a lot of visitors and haven’t really been able to share my work since Charlie…grew up. Plus, it’s nice to see you smile, especially after our first encounter.”

Your breath catches at the memory of that night. Not so much the crying in the arms of the devil part - rather the grief you felt shortly after. “Oh – thank you for taking the time to show me. Truthfully, I haven’t had much reason to smile lately so it’s a lovely change.”

His smile drops. There's a long pause as he fights with himself to find the right words, “Did he…Alastor I mean…hurt you that night? You can tell me. I know Charlie is close with him, so you probably don’t feel comfortable -”

“He didn’t hurt me. At least not in the physical sense.” Frowning, you curse at yourself for being too honest. You can’t help but feel at ease in his presence. He was Lucifer, King of Hell and easily the most powerful in all the seven rings. What ulterior motives could he possibly have or need? He has no reason to be anything other than genuine in his worry for you. He made it all too easy to tell him anything.