#made the mistake of bringing up an obscure play i liked back in the day and misremembered a fact about a cast member

[sunflowervoltwentyeight]

Happy 28th! Here is my August 2024 fic rec, organized by word count, from longest to shortest. You can view my other fic recs here. Enjoy!

With The Strength To Carry On by lovelarry10, therogueskimo (113k)

The American British Doctoral Exchange Program was the best thing that ever happened to Louis. It gave him a chance to start over and make a real difference in the world. He could focus on work and not be distracted by anything or anyone. When Harry Styles shows up as the new intern, he turns Louis' world upside down. ~ Harry Styles had one passion in life, and that was helping sick children feel better. Putting smiles on their faces made Harry feel like he was making up for past mistakes and losses. When he gets accepted to the American British Doctoral Exchange Program, he treats it as the chance of a lifetime to make a difference internationally. He didn't expect to fall for his mentor along the way.

... or the one where Louis and Harry are doctors, and things happen.

Stranger Than Larry Fiction by Larrysmomfics / @larrysmomfics (90k)

It's been twelve years since Harry met Louis on TXF, became best mates with him, eventually falling head over heels in love with him. Six years post One Direction deciding to go on hiatus and now everyone is doing their own thing. All the boys have solo careers, some are touring, and with their busy lives in play, Harry and Louis have sort of grown apart. Harry's been filling the Louis void by devouring Larry fanfics, giving himself a chance to love Louis from afar in his own way. So far it's worked for him and he's content with his love of Louis being of the unrequited variety.

That all changes, however, when Harry reads a particularly emotional and classic fic in the fandom, and he simply can't help but call Louis despite his sobs to tell him all about it, inadvertently sending Louis down the Larry fic rabbit hole as well.

OR

A canon-divergent AU where Louis and Harry read Larry Stylinson fanfiction.

Can’t Hide It, You Might As Well Embrace It by supernope (67k)

Together since they were teenagers, Harry and Louis are professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They may also secretly be married.

Someone to Fly Home To by kingsofeverything / @kingsofeverything (34k)

Louis. 55 year old pilot who wants someone to fly home to.

Harry swipes right. Or Louis and Harry’s marriage ended more than a decade ago, but fate keeps bringing them back together.

You Are Half of Me (and I Am All for You) by angelichl / @angelichl (24k)

One Direction, an obscure indie rock band, is about to embark on their first cross-country tour, living out of Louis' beloved van named Patricia.

Harry is in love, and Louis is oblivious. Or is he?

Featuring skinny-dipping in Texas waterfalls, getting lost in the desert, stargazing under the New Mexico sky, performing in front of crowds that grow in size each night, and falling in love on the road during the greatest summer of their lives.

Just a Minute More by kingofthefridaynight (6k)

“Look,” Harry said now, tapping Louis repeatedly on his thigh. There it was, the proud beam on Harry’s face, as he showed off a piece of fabric in a wooden circle. The bright yarn in the middle vaguely resembled a flower. Either way, Louis smiled, “It’s beautiful, angel.” “You recognise it?” Harry asked with a teasing smirk, wagging the hoop a little into Louis’ direction. “Or are you just being nice?” Harry knew him too well. He could read him like a book. That’s what marriage is about though, Louis figured, as he tried to squint at the flower to see what it was supposed to resemble. “I’m sorry, love,” Louis confessed after a second. “Tell me, though?”

Or, a rainy day in bed, where all they do is enjoy each other’s company.

[alittle-toosilly]

I made a small cotl Narinder ficlet. It's my first one, so let me know if I make any slip ups or mistakes. Please enjoy :)

Summary:Narinder receives a gift. Self doubt is annoying and there's a crap ton of fluff. Idk what else to put here.

(Ficlet under the cut)

Children.

A lot of things were children at some point. Narinder himself was a child. And just like any child, so full of curiosity and wonder about this strange world he was brought into. Questions as well. Children ask an awful lot of questions. Maybe too many.

Why do did that bird fly away from me? Why is the sky blue? Where does the moon go in the daytime? Why are plants green? Why did hurt when I fell? What do clouds look like? Why does my tummy hurt? Why won't you play with me? Why are there black things under your eyes? Why this? Why that? Why? Why?

Why.

Many children ask why. Many adults ask why. Everyone asks questions. It's how we come to know about things, after all. 

Today was a day Narinder asked "Why?" A lot.

It all started midday. Narinder was busy farming, pulling roots from the earth, picking berries off bushes, digging mushrooms out of the ground, only to replant them for the next time. Monotonous cycle, wasn't it? Monotony was very common in mortal day-to-day life. Washing dishes for breakfast tomorrow, washing clothes for next week, washing bones for this month's ritual. (He somehow always ended up with the washing jobs.) Maybe routine would be a better word. Monotonous seems to have too harsh a connotation. He doesn't hate every part of his day, not all of it, no-

"Excuse me, mister?"

Narinder looks up. It's a small child. 7 or 8, maybe? Most likely the child of that deer follower. They do look quite similar, maybe a little too similar.

His face softens. This is a child, a sweet innocent soul.

He cannot be irritatable or standoffish, lest he try to explain why he made a kid cry.

"Yes?" He responds. He hopes he doesn't look too annoyed, his face has a habit of doing that. Not ideal for socializing with children.

The kid fidgets with something behind their back.

"Uhm...I uh...made this. For you."

They bring their arms forward, revealing a crudely made flower crown. It's made of many wildflowers they must've picked from the meadows not too far from this here farm. He can identify a few. Daffodils, orange pansies, bluebells, purple crocuses, and some camellias (That were probably stolen from the farm, he thinks. Camellias don't really grow wild here. And some of these flowers probably aren't in season, either.) All in a repeating pattern of lightest to darkest. Simple, but very pretty.

He tilts his head. The child keeps on nervously rambling while their fingers curl around the crown slightly.

"It's for you, uhm...mommy said yellow and orange make red stand out and your eyes are red and uh-" they stammer, looking away frequently.

He places a hand on the flower crown. They let go of it, staring at him with wide eyes. He holds it in his hand gently, careful not to crush it.

"It's beautiful, thank you." He says, a soft smile on his face.

The kid's eyes light up brighter than the night sky, their smile stretching wider than any road ever built. Pure joy is on their face. Pure joy on anyone's face is a wonderful sight, especially if you are the reason it is there.

"Really!?! I kinda smashed a few, so I dunno-" they exclaim, rambling again

Narinder chuckles "Yes, it is. Even the smashed bits. Tell your mother that she was right about the colors for me, okay?"

The child closes nods and scampers off, shouting for their mother. Narinder sighs and shakes his head, a dumb grin plastered in his face.

"Heh, kids."

He stares at the crown, before putting down his trowel and placing it upon his head. It's a little too large, so it slides down a little too close to his eyes, partially obscuring his vision, not to mention the stems and leaves that stick out and make his face itch. But he can't care less. Somebody, a child, had made this for him for no other reason than to be nice. And he would wear this fantastic gift with honor, no matter how silly he may look. (He in fact, looked very silly.) It is a god's...er...ex-god's duty to accept each offering with grace and respect, especially the homemade ones. It would be cruel and stupid not to do so, wouldn't it?

He goes back to harvesting crops, the grin threatening to stay on his face long overdue. Hell, he might actually cry. Because dammit, wasn't this the sweetest thing he's ever been a part of? A child, a sweet innocent soul decided to give him a homemade gift out of the kindness of their heart. No manipulation, no strings attached, no mockery. Just a simple kind gesture to make his day better. They even felt the need to specify how they didn't mean to smush a few flowers, as if the quality of this fine gift mattered to him. He's seen much worse than a flattened dandelion, but he'll humor this child. He needed that today, this kindness.

But why him? Self doubt and hatred are brutal, more brutal than any type of disease (For him in this moment, at least. Whether or not internal conflict is worse than vomitting or stuffed noses is for the philosophers of the future to discuss.)

Did he even deserve this gift? Even after everything he's done? Thousands of sins committed, Millions slaughtered in his name or because of him, a mother separated from her children to curb his own self-infliceted loneliness. He's done terrible, unforgivable things. He's deplorable. His words have often been pejorative and vile. He attempted to use his vessel for his own gain. This mortal body is a prison, right? Why did he get this gift, then? Why did that child deem him worthy of such an exquisite gift, such a meaningful act of kindness?

Why can't his mind just be silent for once?

He huffs, wipes a small bit of moisture from his eyes, and goes back to his duties. Their mother was right, the yellow and orange make the red in his robes pop, and the blue and purple provides nice contrast.

He claws at the earth for crops once more. 

At least somebody's thought of him.

[marmie-noir]

Bar Top Goodbyes

I struggled with this and idk why. This scene was what inspired the whole thing in my brain while watching the show the first time. I've given up on editing and double checking, so I am throwing this out and running away. If there are mistakes please forgive me!

TW: Smut. MxF smut, no protection, dirty talk, Mitch Keller.

“M’sorry, could you say that again darlin’?” Mitch asked, half asleep next to me at the small kitchen table. He was cute like this, sleep clinging to him like a warm blanket, making his movements a little slower and his voice full of that gravel that made butterflies go crazy in my lower stomach. His hair was still a bit mussed as well, falling over his forehead instead of held back by his usual hat. 

“I wanna say goodbye to the bar today.” I repeated, watching him slowly process what I was saying. 

He blinked before scratching his jaw, his other hand wrapped around a steaming cup of fresh coffee that he apparently badly needed. “Sunny,” He hummed, a little amused. “The bar isn’t going anywhere.” 

“No,” I agreed, giving a little one shoulder shrug as he sipped at his coffee. “The building isn’t. But after the renovation it’s going to be different. Which isn’t bad, but I wanna say goodbye to it before men with sledgehammers go at her. Plus, we need to grab our pictures.” Last night at closing Mitch had informed everyone that Bred-2-Buck was going to be temporarily closed for renovations. He wasn’t sure how long, but he intended to pay everyone’s salary still, and our jobs would still be there upon the bar’s reopening. 

Unlike the others I knew the bar wasn’t just closing for the renovations, that this went far deeper than slapping a new coat of paint on the walls and fixing that leaky faucet that drove us all crazy. That motorcycle gang was getting antsy, it was escalating, and Mitch wasn’t going to risk anyone getting hurt in any crossfire. 

He let out another little hum, finishing off his coffee, the caffeine ever so slowly brightening his eyes and making him perk up. He worked late so it wasn’t a surprise that he wasn’t exactly a morning person, but I did appreciate how long it took him to actually wake up. 

“That is a good idea, better grab some stuff before we forget.” He said, deep voice rumbling in the kitchen. “We can swing by Maureen’s Diner on the way home and get more of those muffins you like.” “A perfect plan.” I grinned, pressing a kiss to his temple as I got up to go check on Pops and get ready for the day. 

A little over an hour later Mitch was unlocking the back door to the bar, keeping his truck parked out back so it couldn’t be seen from the road. The large sign out front stated in big bold letters that it was closed for renovations, not another soul around. 

I went towards the front as Mitch ducked into his office, flicking the lights on as he did so. I had the jukebox start playing on shuffle, wanting a little background noise, the volume low and the crooning of old country stars comforting with how familiar these songs had become since I started working here. 

Busying myself with collecting our pictures and newspaper clippings I made a neat little pile on the bartop, not wanting to damage any memories. They would go back up after the reno, Mitch had promised as much. 

In truth I had another reason for asking Mitch to bring me to the bar this morning. I hadn’t lied, I wanted to say goodbye to the place that had changed my life, but probably not in the way Mitch thought. 

Tucking teh photos away into an envelope I pulled myself up to perch on the bar, glancing at my own reflection in the back wall mirror, the rows of liquor bottles not really obscuring anything. Because I wasn’t working I had opted to wear the other sundress I had bought while shopping with Ann but hadn’t had a chance to wear yet. This one was a cream color with a lilac print, delicate spaghetti straps holding it up, the skirt landing about mid-thigh. It made me feel pretty, and I need the boost of confidence. 

Smoothing the soft fabric over my thighs I steeled myself. Yes, I had come to say goodbye to the bar, but I had also come here to finally seduce Mitch in the very spot we first met. 

It wasn’t as though we didn’t know one another intimately at this point, but we had never gotten around to actual sex. At first I felt self conscious about that fact. Did he not want to, had I done something wrong? 

Ann had been the one to reassure me. “Sugar, the way that man looks at you? I don’t think you could do something wrong. He’s a patient man, probably wants to make sure you are sure.” 

And god was I sure. Since I met Mitch all I could do was fall more and more in love with him every single day. I had boyfriends before, even an ex-fiance under my belt, but no one even came close to making me feel how I did around him. No one could touch how happy I was falling asleep and waking up in his arms, cuddled up together all cozy and warm. Not to mention the way he touched me. 

Mitch Keller touched me with a reverence that made me almost shy. His big hands on my skin while praise left his sinful lips. Pretty girl, good girl, his girl. So good for him, so perfect. 

He rarely let me focus on his pleasure either, insisting on making me fall apart under him, on his lap, touching me in a way that made me see stars and had every thought flying out of my head. I was more than ready for this, my want for him bleeding more into a need weeks ago. 

Shifting slightly where I was perched, already a little hot and bothered, I smoothed my hair one last time before deciding to just go for it. Pushing down the little anxious demon whispering in the back of my mind that there was a reason we hadn’t had sex yet I cleared my throat before calling out to him. “Mitch, could you come here please?” With only the jukebox quietly playing I knew he could hear me, reassured at the sound of his bots on the floor drawing closer. He appeared around the corner and flashed me a smile that I couldn’t help but return. He was carrying a box which he sat on the bartop, walking over to stand directly in front of me instead. 

Mitch looked as handsome as ever, in one of those back t-shirts that hugged his biceps just right and showed off his broad shoulders. He had on dark jeans with his usual large belt buckle and boots. 

He seemed to be in a good mood. I was worried maybe being in the bar would have made his nostalgic and a little sad but he seemed eager to upgrade the bar. With a familiar shine in his dark blue eyes his hands rested on my knees before sliding up the sides of my thighs, stopping just below the edge of my panties and rubbing reassuring little circles against the skin there. 

“Have I mentioned how pretty you look in this dress?” He asked, leaning in and looking down at me with an obvious appreciation. 

I tilted my chin up to meet his eyes, grinning. “Just nine times in the last hour.” I teased even though I probably wasn’t far off on the count. The moment I had stepped out of our room in the dress he had started to lay it on, giving me a little whistle. “Mm, can’t have that. Better make it a good, even number.” Mitch said with that little half smile on his lips, leaning down and brushing a few kisses down my neck before pulling back just enough to meet my eyes once more. “My girl, so pretty.” I was blushing but my grin never fell. Reaching out I hooked my index fingers into his belt loops and pulled him closer, chin tilted up in an obvious ask for kisses.He let me pull him closer, my legs parting to let him slot between my thighs. Giving me a teasing look with a raised brow Mitch didn’t say anything. He did reach up though, one of his big hands weaving into my hair and giving it a gentle tug, making me tilt my head up just a bit more before capturing my lips in a heated kiss. 

Apparently he was taking advantage of our alone time, leaning into me a bit more as he kissed me breathless. His free hand slid from my thigh to my lower back, pushing gently to bring me completely to the edge of the bar, pressing our bodies together with a pleased hum in his throat. He felt so good, warm and solid, the smell of his cologne and tobacco making me whimper. 

Breaking the kiss we looked at one another, both a little breathless. His hand in my hair moved down to cup the back of my neck, his thumb slowly brushing against the sensitive skin there. 

“Did my pretty girl need something?” He asked in that honey tone, a ghost of a smile on his lips when he saw how much the kiss had gotten to me.  

I blinked up at him for a few moments just taking in the way the low bar lights made him look. I had known meeting Mitch at this very spot not that long ago that he would become special, I just hadn’t been sure how. My fingers unhooked from his belt loops and instead a few of them brushed against that big silver belt buckle he always wore, one from when he used to ride. Glancing down at it a moment I wet my lower lip. 

“I need you.” I said quietly, chin tipping back up to meet his gaze head on. 

There was a moment of surprise before it melted into a heated satisfaction. “Me, honey?” He asked, voice low, head ducking down to brush our noses together as his lips ghosted over mine. “You need me?”

I nodded, eyes fluttering closed as I felt his lips trail along my jaw. The brush of his facial hair and his warm lips was a mix that had me sighing happily, one of my hands sliding under his t-shirt to brush my fingertips against the dark trail of hair that disappeared into his pants. “Please, Mitch.” “How can I say no when you ask so pretty?” He murmured against my skin, his teeth grazing over my jumping pulse as he’d now made it down the side of my neck. His hands came up, looping under the thin straps of my dress and slowly sliding them off my shoulders, the dress falling to expose more cleavage but not falling away entirely. He made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, duck lower still as his lips and teeth found my collarbone. 

I leaned back slightly, one hand behind me on the bar to steady myself while the other grabbed his hat, setting it aside on the bar top before returning to weave into his hair. He liked that, sucking a mark on my upper breast as he continued to trail further and further down until he hit the fabric of where my dress was still covering me. 

“Been thinkin’ about this, pretty girl?” He hummed, pulling the dress gently. The one small tug was enough to have the fabric pooling around my waist, leaving my upper body bare before him. Mitch didn’t wait for my response, ducking his head and capturing one of my nipples in his warm mouth. I gasped, thighs squeezing his hips and his nipped and sucked at my breasts, his hands sliding back up my sides to cup them and squeeze gently. “Mhm.” I whined out, biting at my bottom lip as I tightened my hand in his hair. Mitch continued to kiss down my stomach towards where my dress was pooled, his hands sliding up my thighs now to push the skirts up. I pulled on his hair, hard enough that he lifted his head, surprise clear in his eyes as I’d rarely stopped him from going down on me.  

“Everything okay, darlin’?” He asked, leaning up to steal a few chaste kisses from my lips. “Don’t want your mouth, Mitch.” I murmured, nipping at his bottom lip. My hands worked on undoing his belt as I lured him in for more sweet kisses, one working on sliding the leather through the buckle and the other palming him over the top of his pants. He was half hard already, the press of him against the denim and my hand making me smile against his lips. “What do you want?” Mitch asked between teasing kisses, both of us tasting one another, his hips pressing forward as I touched him. “I want you to fuck me on top of the bar.” 

He groaned at my blunt words, his hands that had been slipping up my thighs grabbing at the sides of my panties. “Up.” I stopped touching him a moment to have both my palms flat on the bar top, using the leverage to lift my hips so he could pull my underwear off and into his pocket per usual. Immediately his hand was on me, two thick fingers pressing into me without any warning. I gasped, arms shaking, eyes going wide as I looked up at him. He gave me that heart stopping smile, thumb finding my clit and circling as his fingers pumped in and out of me slowly. The cool press of his rings against me had me gasping, back arching slightly at the mix of sensations. “So wet already.” He murmured, leaning down to kiss me again. I moaned against his lips, my own hands moving back to his waist. His belt finally was undone, the jingle of the buckle loud between us. It was hard to think when he was knuckle deep inside of me, those thick fingers curling just right, pulling out and thrusting back in with wet noises that would be embarrassing if I had enough brain cells functioning to form thoughts. But every push, every time his thumb circled my clit, had the new thoughts flying from me until all I could think of was Mitch. My hands were clumsy but I was determined. I undid his pants and he made no move to stop me, his tongue sweeping into my mouth and sliding against mine. He tasted like sugary sweets from breakfast and minty toothpaste, a combination that had my hands pausing for just a moment before I was working his zipper down. I didn’t even tease, feeling a little desperate at this point. My hand slid into his boxers, wrapping around his cock and giving him a firm stroke. He moaned, low and quiet against my lips, and the sound had a shiver racing down my spine. My thighs tightened around his hips, heels pressing to his lower back, trying to pull him closer with a whimper as I slowly stroked him from blunt head to thick base. “Please.” I asked against his lips, the two of us stealing the other’s breath. His hand never paused between my legs, instead he sped up, forehead pressing to mine. “I need you to cum before I can fuck you, pretty girl. You are so fucking tight, don’t wanna hurt you.” I had no words, a desperate noise leaving me as the wet sound of his fingers fuckign into me filled the space around us, the low tones of the jukebox melting away as I looked up into his pretty blue eyes. My hand paused on his cock but he didn’t care. His pupils had nearly swallowed the iris, his hair a little messy from my hands early, lips parted as he watched me. 

“C’mon baby, just one, and then I’ll fuck you on the bartop. You asked so nice.” He said, voice low and honeyed, making me tighten around him. Mitch knew I liked when he talked, the rumble of his words over my skin was the best. “Such a good girl for me, c’mon.” His thumb rubbed at my clit a little faster and I was done for. 

I cried out as I came on his fingers, thighs shaking against his hips, my hands finding purchase against his shirt. He made a pleased humming sound, leaning down to press kisses against my neck and cheeks, pulsing around his index and middle finger with breathless moans and whimpers.  

When I blinked my eyes open I found my back against the bar, looking up at the old ceiling tiles and panting. Mitch was leaned over me slightly, pressing kisses to my chest and throat, murmuring praise as I came back. My hands lifted to weave into his hair and he let out a quiet laugh that was pure male satisfaction.

“You okay, darlin’?” He asked, looking up at me with a little smile. 

I pushed myself up, albeit a little shaky. Mitch didn’t poke fun, instead he helped, a large hand spanning my mid-back and helping me. I looped an arm around his neck, my other hand tugging at his shirt. “Off.” “Yes, ma’am.” He said, his smile immediate. I took my hands off him as he pulled his shirt off, leaving him in a pair of unzipped jeans, the imprint of his hard cock obvious against his boxers. I bit my bottom lip, excitement and impatience mixing with my blood. I looked up at him, legs hooked around his hips, pulling him closer in an obvious ask. 

“I know darlin’, I know, I’ve got you.” He said, his hands pushing the skirt of my dress up so it was pooled around my waist and looking down at where I was wet for him. He kept one hand on my thigh, grabbing hard enough that my skin was indented slightly between his fingers, his other hand reaching down to push his boxers down. 

Mitch Keller had a pretty cock. There was no other way to say it. Long enough to make my mouth water, thick with veins that I knew I would be able to feel. My lips parted, eyes lifting up to find him watching my expression. He moved me closer, perching me right on the edge of the bar, my legs around him. He rocked his hips, the length of him grinding against me and making me gasp, grabbing at his upper arms to steady myself. “Oh my god.” “You okay?” He asked, hand tightening on my thigh as he rolled his hips once more before pausing, giving me a moment to let my brain come back online. My lips parted when he moved but I took a deep breath when he paused, gathering myself before giving a small nod. “M’sure. Please, don’t stop.” I said, looking up at him. 

Mitch leaned down and captured my lips in another kiss. This one seemed needier, as if my plea did something to him, his kisses almost hungry now. At the same time his hips pulled back, no longer grinding against me, instead lining himself up to slowly thrust into me. I gasped against his lips as he pushed forward, pushing in, the stretch more than his fingers even with how wet I was and how he had prepped me. 

He took advantage of my gasp and kissed me deeper, sinking deeper at the same time, every thick inch stretching me in a way that had me clinging to him. Mitch kissed me like I was the air he needed, teeth and tongue tasting and teasing me, his breath warm and his lips soft. I felt his hands slide around my body to reach down and grab my ass, his chest pushing me further down on the bar top as he pulled out only to thrust back in hard enough to make me moan. 

“Fuuuuck, my perfect fucking girl.” He ground out, teeth finding me neck as he started to fuck me against the bar, body half pinning me down, completely in control of every movement we made 

All I could do was hang on and take it. One of my hands remained woven into his hair and my other found his back, nails biting into the warm skin of his shoulder blade as we both panted against one another. His own hands remained on my ass, tilting my pelvis slightly, ensuring he slid as deep as possible. I felt like I could taste him on the back of my tongue, my legs wrapping around his hips, heels pressing against his lower back as I felt each thrust hit deeper and deeper as I saw stars. 

The wet sound of skin on skin filled the bar and I moaned, back arching off the cold hardwood, my dress stuck around my waist as his hips kept up their relentless pace. “Mitch- fuck, oh fuck please.” “There we go, I’ve got you honey.” He gritted out, voice taking a growly undertone that did something to me. Mitch saw that, he noticed every little reaction my body had, adjusting his angle slightly to ensure the blunt head of his cock hit my g-spot while his pelvis ground against my clit every time he bottomed out. “That’s it. Perfect fucking pussy, perfect fucking girl.” 

He pulled back slightly to look down at me, his eyes dark with lust and unspoken affection, each thrust and his hips slamming into mine making my body jump slightly on the waxed surface. But he kept a firm hold of me, possessive even, hands tightening to the point of near pain that mixed with the pleasure and had me whimpering and moaning. 

I knew I wasn’t going to last long, already sensitive from when he got me off with his fingers. My noises grew in pitch, eyes growing wide as I looked up at him. “M-mitch-” “Gonna cum? Good girl, give it to me. Wanna feel you.” Mitch’s voice nearly a growl at me, looking down the lines of my bodies where his cock disappeared inside of me, each thrust having the most desperate noises fly from my mouth. It was one of the most sinful things I’d ever seen in my life, the image burned into my brain for the rest of my life. One of his hands shifted to my thigh and then under my knee, pushing my leg up a bit more to adjust the position, pushing deeper. 

He leaned back down and kissed along my jaw, unbothered as my nails bit into his back or when my hand tightened in his hair. “Where do you want me, Sunny?” My lips parted in a moan, balancing on the blade’s edge of an orgasm. My brain felt stuffed with cotton, skin warm and the feeling of our sweat slicked bodies moving together almost overwhelming with how good it was. I blinked up at him, eyes hazed, and he repeated his question with a deep grind, my thighs shaking around his hips. “Inside, please. Please, fuck please.” I gasped, the idea of him pulling out sounding like the worst possible thing I could ever imagine at this moment. 

He apparently liked that answer, his pace picking up, the slap of skin on skin and our panting breaths mixing together. It didn’t take much longer before I cried out, face pressing to the crook of his neck as I reached my peak. 

It felt like someone had set off sparklers under my skin, the pleasure a wave of tingling euphoria that had me moaning against his skin as I clung to him. Mitch was true to his word though, he had me, his chest against mine as he leaned over me and smothered my neck and jaw with kisses as he fucked me through it with soft praise on his lips. 

“So good, sweet girl, I’ve got you- that’s it.” All of his words sounded far off but still comforting as I clenched around him, thighs shaking against his hips and back bowed off the bartop. 

He wasn’t far behind either, his pace picking up a bit before going sloppy, each thrust grinding deep and making me gasp. “So. Fucking. Perfect.” Mitch groaned, each word punctuated with a thrust, his hands tightening on my body to hold me in place until I felt his cock twitch inside of me, a warmth blooming deep inside. He moaned, low and sinful, his forehead resting on my shoulder as he came, grinding deep in a way that had us both gasping. 

The come down was warm, his body hot against mine as he relaxed and put a little more weight on me. His hand holding my leg up gently hooked it around his hip instead, rubbing at the joint to make sure any ache I felt wasn’t permanent. It was the brush of his facial hair against my jaw though that had me humming, arms looping lazily around his neck as I cuddled against him. 

His arms wrapped around my middle to keep me as close as possible, skin to skin comforting as we both worked on catching our breaths. I made a content little sound and nuzzled against his neck. “You okay?” He asked, voice low and a little breathless, but sounding warm and pleased. I nodded, knowing he’d get me some water in a little bit. “Mhmm.” I hummed, feeling a little boneless. “All according to plan.” I said, voice a little dreamy as I pressed a kiss to his pulse. 

Mitch let out a surprised laugh, leaning back and taking me with him. I didn’t tense up, trusting him as he lifted me up off the hard bar top, one arm around my middle and the other grabbing my thigh to make sure I wasn’t going anywhere. “C’mon darlin’, let’s get you cleaned up and take a quick nap on the couch in the office and then we will go get those muffins from the diner you like.” 

I looked up at him as he carried me towards the office, taking in his flushed cheeks and mussed hair. I was sweaty and sticky and satiated, and the idea of a nap sounded like heaven right now. I didn’t respond but did lean up, pressing my lips to his for a soft kiss, pleased that my plan had worked.  

More Sunny and Mitch here!

[mk-writes-stuff]

OC Questionnaire

Rules: answer the questions as an OC or OCs, then come up with new questions for the next people

Thank you @kaylinalexanderbooks and @illarian-rambling for the tags! I’m going to guest star Stellaris again because I love him

How do you make decisions? Long deliberation or impulse? Logic or emotion?

Belladonna: “I deliberate carefully and make the decision that seems the best. I try to consider all possibilities.”

Cassie: “I make whatever decision feels right.”

Nellie: “I try to think carefully, but sometimes I make impulsive decisions if the moment feels right.”

Stellaris: “I consider the options carefully. Rash decisions are a bad idea.”

What is the best thing that could happen within five minutes of waking up? Does it signal that the entire day will be good?

Belladonna: “Waking up not hungry is always good. It means I’ll have a productive day.”

Cassie: “When nobody fucking disturbs me. Waking up to Belladonna already being awake is the fucking worst.”

Nellie: “The mindsplit cravings have started getting a bit less terrible in the mornings. I think that’s a really good sign.”

Stellaris: “When Cassiopeia is gone! That always means a good day.”

Is there anything you find difficult that you feel should be easy?

Belladonna: “Being pretty feels like it should be easier than this.”

Cassie: “Everyone else seems to be way better at putting up with bullshit than I am.”

Nellie: “Blending in. I seem to keep drawing attention no matter what I do.”

Stellaris: “Talking to people. And being normal in general, I guess.”

How would you get away with murder?

Belladonna: “I don’t want to murder anyone. But if I was forced, I’d frame someone else for it or make it look like an accident.”

Cassie: “Beam cutter to the head, body out the airlock.”

Nellie: “If I had to, I’d poison their food. Nobody ever pays attention to who worked on their food.”

Stellaris: “I don’t think I could. I could probably bring myself to do it if I had to but I don’t think I physically could do it. I’m not very strong.”

What is the stupidest mistake you’ve ever made?

Belladonna: “The utter awe I reacted to meeting Cassiopeia with when her fiancé was right there. Thankfully, they both forgave me.”

Cassie: “Getting my arm irradiated, probably.”

Nellie: “I think I got a bit too comfortable on Seventh Station for a bit and forgot that some nobles are terrible, regardless of station.”

Stellaris: “I was asked to prepare a speech for my debut party and I prepared one on the history of the Old World. My parents were so angry.”

What’s on your typical grocery list?

Belladonna: “I’m not in charge of purchasing groceries, but, if I was, I’d choose a lot of vegetables.”

Cassie: “Back when I bought my own groceries, it was mostly nutrient cubes and a few frozen things when I could fit it in my budget.”

Nellie: “Whenever I ask the supply managers for things, it’s always new fruits and vegetables to try to get Lady Belladonna to eat more.”

Stellaris: “I’m not in charge of what gets bought or made.”

I hope y’all enjoyed!

@elsie-writes @nebula--nix @somethingclevermahogony want to play? Your questions are:

Do you like to play any sports or games?

What do you think is important for children to learn?

What is your most obscure skill?

[mimiwrites2000]

Red Eyes See Grey World

CHAPTER One / TWO

Archive of Our Own

He realized that he knew the ocean long ago. When he first looked into her eyes. She held the ocean and the sky in them, colliding and harmonizing to the waves. If only he knew, he would’ve held the ocean in his hands, never letting it go. But she was slipping away from him, Away she drifted, far from him. Wars never held happy endings. But the universes shifted and clashed. The constellations reformed in the sky, and life was reborn again. And maybe, just maybe, he might be able to fullfil his promise to her, in another life, in another universe.

Blue Sky and White Earth

Armin, I am so sorry, I know you need some time alone, but me and Eren and worried sick about you, you can’t just keep ignoring us like that, please, pick up your phone.

Armin poured the steaming hot coffee in his cold-resistance steel cup, closing the lid tightly, and placing it on the kitchen’s table beside his phone, which was playing voice messages.

Bleep! The phone said, indicating a new message, Hi, uh, Armin, I know Mikasa already reached to you, but, I also want to reach out to you, uh, can you please pick up the phone? I know you’re not alright, I know that, but please, let us talk to you, and what are those dreams you are having? Armin, I care for you, please, you need to see someone about this—

Armin pressed the red button that stops the voice messages, put on his thick winter coat, picked up his coffee cup, his black backpack, and headed outside.

Armin lived close to the university campus he went to, it was a ten minutes walk, but sometimes, he would go for a walk a little bit earlier than the start of his lecture. He would walk around, sometimes he would get a sandwich or a coffee, and some other times he would meet up with Mikasa, or Eren, or both, but he preferred spending his mornings alone.

That day, Armin walked a little bit further than his usual routine. He had some time to waste, even though he hated to waste time, because he could compensate for anything in life, except for time. He could never relive one wasted second, he could never bring back one passing moment.

The blue sky looked down at him, it was that kind of a proud bright blue right after a horrendous snow storm, the mercy the sky had after it unleashed its wrath. The pure white clouds obscured the harsh sun rays from him, protecting him. Even though he had a thick coat on, the mere sight of small heaps of snow on the sidewalk made the tips of his fingers freeze with coldness, and he didn’t have to look in a mirror to know how red his nose was.

He usually enjoyed winter, mainly because the streets seemed to fall into a quiet slumber, and people preferred their warm homes rather than the crisp cold air outside.

Which left the streets empty for him to wander around them.

But that day, Armin didn’t wander the streets alone, he roamed them with a troubled heart and frantic thoughts in his head.

He needed some place to sit and think, and maybe write down his thoughts. There was a coffee house right across the corner, and unconsciously, despite the coffee cup in his hand, Armin’s feet led him there.

He had been there many times before, he knew there would be a line waiting for him.

What are those dreams you are having? Eren’s voice echoed in Armin’s head.

They’re not… dreams, Armin argued with the voice inside his head, but he wouldn’t dare saying it out loud to his childhood friends, because it was a mistake to mention those dreams in the first place.

He shouldn’t have told them.

He knew they would never understand, he knew they would brush it off and tell him he was overreacting, that he was stressed from university and that he should give himself a break.

But, no.

They weren’t dreams.

Because humans would see dreams in their sleep, after they closed their eyes. Dreams weren’t felt and seen and lived everyday. Dreams weren’t a ghost that would haunt him everywhere he went.

Dreams weren’t a red sky and grey earth.

Dreams weren’t screams and cries and wails for help.

Dreams weren’t cold kisses and pain pain pain.

Dreams weren’t a person dying in his arms every time he blinked.

How could someone die that many times?

“Are you going to order?” The barista asked, eyeing the coffee in his hand.

Armin blinked.

“Sir,” Someone behind him said, “you’re holding up the line.”

Armin blinked again, turning his head—

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

Blue

Blonde—

“Alright, sir, step to the side,” the barista said again, “let me know when you make up your mind, next!”

Someone pushed past Armin, forcing him to step aside, the same person who told him he was holding up the line.

“Just black, medium please,” she said, fixing a brown scarf around her neck.

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

Blue

Blonde—

“So you don’t just hold up lines, but also stare at people?” She asked him, turning her head and looking straight into his eyes.

“I— I no no, I, I don’t, I don’t, of course, I don’t,” Armin stammered, then he cleared his throat and stepped back; a vague dizziness coated his vision, and he had to rely on something, but there was nothing around, so he rubbed his forehead.

“Are you ok?” She asked him again, her eyebrows meeting in the middle.

Armin removed his hand off of his forehead, he wanted to tell her no, he wasn’t fine, how would he be fine? When was he ever fine?

Armin nodded, before he walked off, away and out of that coffee place, but he didn’t walk far off, he just crouched down at the corner of the building, away from sight.

Armin took deep breaths in, but his chest hurt, it hurt so bad that he took off his coat. The cold crisp air swathed over his whole body, and his skin turned into a ragged road of irritated red skin.

But Armin only focused on the pain in his chest.

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

Blue

Blonde—

She walked past him, right across the corner he was hiding behind, and Armin lurched forward, calling out for her.

“Excuse me!” He almost shouted.

She halted in her tracks and turned around.

“I’m— I’m sorry,” Armin stammered again, he puffed out his chest, trying to calm his breathing, because her blue eyes pierced right through him, and her scent, her scent was too familiar, a little bit foggy with a concoction of iron and ash, but it was there, beneath all those layers. "Do I know you?"

She blinked, "I don't know, do you know me?"

"I just…" awkwardness crept up his neck, and only then did he realize that he had no idea what to say. "I feel like I know you."

"I don't know you," she told him, "if that would make you feel any better… or worse."

"R-right," Armin stuttered, sheepishly rubbing his neck, "I'm sorry, I guess you look like someone I used to know."

"Well," she said, fixing the bag on her shoulder, the steaming hot black coffee in her hand, "good luck," she said, then walked away, her knee length dark skirt swaying, the coat over her shoulders almost reaching the rim of the skirt, and her heeled boots click-clacked down the sidewalk.

His eyes didn't leave her figure until she turned a corner, vanishing from his sight.

~~~~

The next morning, Armin made sure to leave his apartment early enough to camp at that coffee place, and wait for her.

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

He knew that face, he knew that hair, he knew those blue eyes, and he dared… he dared to know those lips.

It all felt like the cheer moment of finding an old wallet in the crevices of a couch. The small humble victory of finding a lost photo in the storage room; he always knew it was there, he was sure of that, but the memory was behind a veil of frustrating fogginess.

He waited for her in that coffee shop, patiently tapping his foot as he occupied a far small table in the corner. He brought his notebooks and pens, mainly to look like he was there for a reason, but he didn't read nor write a single word in any of the notebooks. Instead, he scrolled through his phone, reading his friends texts that he didn’t reply to in over a week. He sighed, he didn’t have any energy to convince them of what he was seeing, how could he make them believe the red sky he saw? The dark black earth drenched in the fresh blood of thousands and thousands of people? How could he make them believe that when the most danger they ever been in was missing the school bus? How would they understand something they had never seen? Never felt? Never lived?

He kept the door of the coffee shop in the corner of his eye, watching it open and close as more people responded to their morning call for caffeine, but she wasn't yet to show up.

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

Blue

Blonde

And a brown scarf

His heart beat in his chest faster, because he felt the familiar presence of her, then his heart beat even faster as the familiar scent of her wafted closer, the same sweet scent under coats of the omnious scent of blood, and then the door opened.

And there she was again.

Click clack, click clack.

She had the same brown skirt and sweater from the day before, the same coat engulfed her figure, but maybe it was a shade brighter than the one she had before, or maybe it was the same, but the white snow swathing the place made it glow.

She is familiar, she is too familiar. 

She glanced at his table, and their eyes met for a fraction of a second, but she walked to the bar and ordered her coffee, a black one, Armin heard her say.

He should look away, he knew he should look away, but all he did was just gaze at her figure, her fingers wrapping around the cup, and instead of walking out the door, she walked towards him.

She caught his eyes as she stepped closer and closer, and he was caught red handed, and it was too late for him to act like it was an accident.

She picked the vacant chair on his table, and sat in front of him, placing her bag on the floor.

“So,” she said.

“Hello,” he answered, greeting an old friend, greeting someone he knew for too long… way too long…

“Do you usually come here?” She asked him.

“On occasion,” he answered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

“Right…” she retorted, taking a sip from her steaming hot coffee. She pressed her lips together and crossed her legs, “It’s your turn to ask a question.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Alright,” Armin placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, “how do I know you?”

She smiled, “How do you know me?”

He sighed, and shook his head, he wasn’t going to tell her about… all of that.

“I… I don’t know,” he lied. “It’s… complicated.”

She paused for a second before she said, “And if I tell you that I feel like I know you as well?”

Fourteen words were enough to get his heart racing in his chest once again, he sat at the edge of his seat, his eyebrows met in the middle; in a question, a question he didn’t dare ask out loud because he didn’t trust his voice at that moment.

“I do,” she confirmed his questioning stare, “you look… familiar? But I am sure I have never seen you before, have I?”

Armin laughed, a short laugh that unknotted his tangled tongue, “Now you’re asking me?”

She shook her head and pressed her lips together, “It’s weird.”

“It really is,” Armin agreed, because it really was weird.

“So,” she cleared her throat, “you go to the university close by?”

“I do,” he said, “I assume you don’t.”

“You’re correct,” she answered, “do you live around?”

“I lived my whole life in this town,” he answered.

“Oh… how come I never saw you?” She asked him, “I never left this town either.”

Armin pressed his lips together; the town only had two highschools, and even though she looked a couple of years older than him, still, he would've at least seen her face before.

“That’s weird,” then she picked her coffee up, except she held it from the lid.

Armin saw it; saw the cup staggering, the lid not closed correctly.

“Hey don’t—”

But it was too late, the cup fell from the lid, falling on the table, and spilling.

She cursed under her breath as she instinctively stood up, but luckily, most of the cup spilled on the table and the floor, but her fingers reddened; the coffee was extremely hot after all.

Armin stood as well, reaching out for her, his eyes on her fingers as he said, “It’s alright, you’re alright, you’ll just heal it.”

“Yes, yes,” she said, inspecting her fingers, “it’ll… it will heal.”

Armin got closer to her, held her wrist, the thick sleeve of her wool sweater a barrier between their skin, then he observed the wound.

She watched his face, his eyes, his nose, eyebrows, lashes— lips.

Her heart raced in her chest.

You’ll just heal it.

“I will just heal it?” She asked him.

And he blinked, once, twice, then turned to look in her eyes.

Where did that come from? Where did he get the idea that she would just… heal it?

It felt… from another time.

From another… life.

His fingers shifted, the tiniest bit, just enough for the tip of his fingers to touch the inside of her palm.

In one instant, a name rang in Armin's head.

Clear.

Loud.

Annie

“Armin,” she called his name, her eyebrows scrunching in the middle, then they raised up her forehead, “Armin,” she sighed his name again, finding the light in the end of the tunnel.

Of course, Annie, of course her name is Annie, it was that simple, that easy, that familiar.

Annie

Annie

Annie

She closed her eyes and shook her head, taking a step backwards, “You’re… Armin? You’re him?”

But he didn’t answer her, because threads weaved from those thoughts in his head and connected it all together, and it just… made sense, it all made sense.

She took a deep breath, then she inched closer to him and held his face in her hands, forcing him to look straight into her eyes.

“Armin?” She called his name.

And he was no longer looking at a stranger.

He was no longer looking at someone who was familiar.

He was looking at Annie.

He was looking into Annie’s blue eyes.

It all came rushing back to him in shivers that coated his skin, his fingers trembled and his toes suddenly turned into bricks of heavy ice. His chest heaved with labored breath and the edges of his eyes burnt.

Armin’s throat was closing up as his fingers brushed the skin of her hand.

“Annie…” he breathed out her name, his tongue naturally bending and saying the name, so easily, a mantra that danced on his tongue for the entirety of a life before.

His last life.

“Oh, Annie,” his fingers clenched around her hands, wrapping around her fingers and bringing them up to his lips. His lips placed a kiss on each of her knuckles on both of her hands, until they reached the reddened fingers, then his kisses became sloppy with the salt from his tears, falling down on their joined hands.

“Armin, oh Armin,” She said, tilting her head to the side and watching his face, then words came out choking her, “it’s alright, we can talk now, we can talk now.”

“You remember? Annie? You do?” Not believing his eyes, not believing his ears.

She nodded, “Yes, yes of course, yes, I do, yes,” she assured him, “do you?”

He nodded promptly, “I remember it more than anything ever, I don’t know… I don’t know how I forgot it.”

She hummed, then she was about to open her mouth to say something, but the barista interrupted, “What happened here?”

Armin and Annie spun their heads towards the barista, and she was standing there, her mouth agape; a coffee cup spilled on the floor, and two adults holding hands and crying. 

Then Armin noticed that every eye in the coffee house was turned towards them.

“Sorry,” Annie said, pulling Armin's hand down beside her, “we will leave, sorry.”

And that was all Armin had to hear; he grabbed Annie’s hand even tighter and almost sprinted towards the exit, pulling her behind him, he heard some gasps from the people, but he didn’t care, he pushed the door open, and walked outside onto the cold snowy winter, ignoring the barista's warnings about their abandoned items on the table.

He needed to be alone with her, he had to be alone with her, he waited a whole life for that moment, but waiting for one more minute… he couldn’t wait.

He kept walking, then he picked up the speed, then in no time he was running, and Annie was sprinting behind him, until he reached a small alleyway, he turned into it, pulling Annie behind him.

Then he caught his breath, turning to watch Annie’s face. White breath came out of her mouth as she took her breath as well, but he didn’t wait any longer, he wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her.

She hugged him, even more tightly, wrapping her arms around his back and bringing his body close to her, so so so close.

He buried his face in her neck, rubbing his forehead against her skin, then he took in a deep breath, “Gosh… Annie.”

“I know,” she said, “I know.”

“You’re alive, oh Gosh, you’re alive,” Armin muttered, his voice muffled against her.

“You were gone after me?” Annie asked him, “you died?”

Armin’s head spun on his shoulder, the weight of memories rushing back to him like an avalanche squishing him under tons and tons of heavy snow, and there was a speck of ridiculousness on top of it all; who would ask someone if they died or not?

“I don’t know,” Armin said, “I mean, last thing I remember… was you, and you died,” Armin pulled away enough to look into her eyes, his arms steady around her, scared that the wind would blow her away from his reach.

“I didn’t heal, I couldn’t heal,” Annie told him, one of her hands went up to hold his face, “I really tried, but I don’t know why I just…”

“It was the same for me,” Armin reassured her, “I… I am scared to think of it.”

“It’s Eren, right?” Annie said the words he was dancing around, “he did something, with the founder—”

“He did, yes,” Armin sighed, shaking his head, “oh, Eren.”

Then Annie’s thumb rubbed circles on Armin’s cheek, and she said, “Where have you been?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did it take you so long to find me?”

Armin smiled, pulling her close to himself again, hugging her, “I don’t know, I couldn’t even know if any of it was true, I just… I thought I was going crazy.”

“Me as well,” Annie closed her eyes, as she relied her weight on him, her knees no longer able to hold her up.

Armin pulled away, just enough to tilt his head and capture her lips with his, and he kissed her.

He closed his eyes, and inhaled against her lips, taking a deep breath, blowing life into his veins, and it felt like it was his very first breath, the first time air penetrated his lungs.

Annie pulled him closer and kissed him back, and it was like that time he kissed her, but without the scent of pungent blood in the air, without the darkness of smoke and ashes, without the red angry sky and the black earth.

She kissed him, and it was like her life didn’t start before that, like her life had been put on hold, running in the same spot, and only then, only when she touched his lips, only when she moved against his lips, did her life resume.

The stars aligned, and the two universes crashed together in a moment of time, in a kiss.

Armin sighed against her lips, because he waited a whole life for this, he waited a whole life to hold her in his arms, he waited a whole life to be with her.

But he wanted more, he needed more

“Annie,” he muttered her name against her lips, then he pulled away and held her face in his hands, “I lost you twice, I don’t want to lose you again.”

Annie nodded, because she couldn’t find words, her tongue tangled in her mouth.

“Come home with me.”

~~~~~

The ride to his home was nothing but a quick blur; he took Annie’s hand and walked out of that alleyway, then he gestured to a taxi, because he couldn’t tolerate the wasted time on walking.

His fingers shook as he unlocked his door, and in one moment after they passed the threshold, their clothes started coming off, one piece after another, until they no longer had a thread of modesty on them as they reached Armin’s bed. Despite the accumulated snow outside, the temperature in his room rose way above what his body could tolerate, his skin burnt, and it brought more memories to the front of his head.

But she was there, in front of him, in another life, yes, but it was her; Annie, and there was only one Annie in all of universes and lives and cosmos that he would be with.

Annie.

Blonde hair, and blue eyes.

His mouth didn’t leave an inch of skin without kissing it, from her lips, down to her neck, collarbone, lingering a little bit longer at her chest, then at her abdomen, thighs, knees, and her feet.

He breathed her name, over and over again, because he was still in disbelief. The last time he saw her was a whole life before, but it felt like yesterday, it was so fresh in his mind, so close.

Her dead weight in his arms, her eyes losing their light…

It was all so fresh in his mind.

So he got up from her feet, hovered over her and looked straight into her eyes, “I missed you, I missed you, so much.”

She wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders, watching his face, her eyes going down, observing all of his body, then back up again to gaze into the ocean of his eyes.

“I always felt the absence of you,” she told him, “but now I don’t know if my heart can handle the presence of you.”

Armin smiled, and leaned closer to kiss her lips, “I have dreamt of you, days and nights, in this life, and in that life.”

She kissed his lips.

“I had always wanted to be with you,” he continued, saying his words against her lips, “I have been waiting for this… for so long.”

“So did I,” she told him, caressing his face, his cheeks, his eyebrows, his lips, then his cheeks again, wiping cascading tears away with her fingers.

“I…” Armin started saying, but he hesitated, “have you been with anyone?”

She shook her head, “No, no, you? Have you? Has anyone touched you before?”

He smiled, a sheepish smile on his face, “Annie, my dearest Annie, how could I?”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“How could I even be with anyone else? Anyone other than you?”

“So you knew? About me?” Annie asked.

Armin sat up, gesturing for Annie to come closer to him, so she did, then he pulled her on his lap, running his hand up and down her sides.

“I felt like I knew about you,” he told her, as she wrapped one arm over his shoulder, the other brushing his bangs from his forehead and running through his hair. “I felt like… I was missing a piece of myself, and, now that I know, now that I remember… I don’t know how I was alive before.”

Annie kissed his lips, “I’m… happy,” she told him, “I’m so happy, I’m the happiest.”

Armin laid her down again on the bed, her hair fanned out under her head, and her cheeks dusted with a rosy red, her chest glistening with sweat and heaving with anticipation.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he said.

“We will, after this, we will.”

“Tell me to stop,” Armin muttered, laying his weight on his elbows on the sides of her head. “Tell me to stop, any time, and I will.”

She nodded, her heart beating in her chest, and her hand laid flat on his chest, the spot right over his heart, and relief washed over her to know his heart thrashed in his chest just like her own.

It didn’t take them long to get going, to get tangled in a heap of moans and groans and sighs. It didn’t take Annie long to run her fingers over his back, leaving traces of scratches, and he paid her back with rough kisses on her neck, on her collarbone, and chest.

She called out his name, the letters dancing on her tongue, a name she had long desired to say, and it fell on Armin’s ear like sweet sweet honey, for her to moan his name and stutter it out as he moved them and touched her, frantic and urgent and yet slow and prudent.

He gazed at her face, watching her expression turn into colorful charades of a pleasure he was causing her, then his sight blurred as his throat tightened, and she caressed his cheeks, wiping the tears off of his face.

“Please,” she whispered, “don’t cry, please.”

But he couldn’t stop himself, he couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t help but remember the last time he held her, her body shaking with her last breath.

But this time, this time he spread life into every part of her body, and every inch of her muscles shook, but for other reasons, and he had to remind himself that this was another life, this was another time.

So he wrapped his arms around her body and held her up. Their motions became frantic, hectic, sloppy, and unrhythmic, because both had tears running down their faces, and the memories became very clear with every passing moment of their skin touching, the memories came to life again, and they played in front of their eyes, vivid.

He held tighter onto her, his hands promising to never let go of her again, and his lips muttering her name at every moment a moan left her mouth.

They didn’t stop until they reached their destination, everything rushed at them in one explosive instant, and the next moment they knew, they were holding each other, their chests inflating with the air of a new life, the fresh air of a newborn's breath.

Armin wrapped his arms around her sweaty skin, then he pulled the blanket up to their chests as they cooled down and the temperature started to decrease.

Annie looked in his eyes, watching his face, and he did the same, as his arms kept their hold on her under the blanket. He kept checking her eyes, full of life and a specific pleasure that he had never seen in someone’s eyes before.

“You’re safe,” he told her, and told himself as well.

“I know,” she said, her eyelids covering her blue eyes, “I know…”

“I am safe with you,” he continued, “we are safe here.”

“We are,” then she closed her eyes, exhaustion taking over her, and soon enough, she fell into a sweet light slumber, under the warmth of the blanket, and the comfort of his body next to her.

He didn’t sleep, he merely watched her face, pondering over his life, his current life, and his past one.

Maybe it was all connected to some sort of a titan’s Legend, or maybe it was the universe’s way of unfair fairness.

Or maybe it was just them.

Or maybe… maybe it was something else.

Then, Armin realized, that on that day, he became the same exact age as when he died in his past life, it was the same day he walked under red sky and on black earth.

Maybe… he had a second chance to redeem himself, maybe his promise to her had obliged the universe to obey his wish. Maybe the universe had another reason…

Armin didn’t know, and a part of him didn’t care, all he cared about was her, asleep, safe, in his arms.

He didn’t care about the universe, he didn’t care about past lives, all he cared about was the world he held in his arms, all he cared about was her.

~~~~~

“Why is he not answering?”

“Mikasa, do I look like I know?”

“I’m worried…”

“It’s alright, don’t be worried, he’s probably just… studying.”

Those voices stirred Armin out of his sleep, he barely had any energy to open his eyes, he tried to clear his throat, then he stopped himself; the warmth in his arms reminded him that he wasn’t alone.

He opened his eyes, and there she was, just like he remembered.

“Listen I actually have the spare key.”

At that, Armin’s eyes opened wide. He got up, making sure the blanket covered Annie, then put on the first pajamas he saw.

The key clacked in the door, and just as Armin stepped out of his bedroom and closed the door, his childhood friends walked into his apartment.

“Oh there you are!” Eren said, looking Armin’s disheveled status up and down.

“Sorry, I was… sleeping,” Armin excused.

“For a whole week?” Eren asked, inviting himself into Armin’s apartment and sitting on the couch.

“We don’t want to push you,” Mikasa said, “but we got so worried.”

“Ah, yes,” Armin said, trying to comb down his hair, while standing in front of the bedroom’s door, as if protecting it, “I… sorry, it’s a little bit… hectic.”

“So what are those dreams?” Eren asked.

“Hey! We said we will take it easy on him!” Mikasa objected.

“Well,” Eren shrugged, “he looks fine to me.”

“He is stressed, we should not—”

Shuffling from the bedroom froze them all, Armin almost put his hand on the handle of the door, but it flung open before he did.

A very disheveled Annie walked out, and Armin was ready to jump in front of her, but luckily, she was dressed.

In one of his pajamas.

“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes, “I didn’t know what to wear,” then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed Armin’s cheek.

Armin swallowed; for one, his friends were in his house, for two, her hair down and her puffy eyes reminded him of days from their past lives, when they were cadets.

“Well,” Eren said, getting up, “you really could’ve just told us you have company.”

“It’s… it’s not that…” Armin’s cheeks reddened.

“Armin you scared us, you really could’ve just told us,” Mikasa sighed, walking towards the door with Eren.

As they opened the door to leave, Armin said, “Hey maybe call before you come in!”

“We’ve been trying!” Eren said, and before he closed the door he said, “you were too busy!”

Armin rubbed his forehead, his whole face warmed up, but then he heard a sweet, quiet laugh.

“They don’t remember shit do they?” Annie said, wrapping her arms around Armin’s waist, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him.

“It doesn’t look like they do…” He answered, then he wrapped his arms around her as well, “I don’t understand anything.”

“I don’t either,” Annie said, then she yawned, “all I know is that I’m so tired.”

Armin smiled, “Go sleep.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I just want to stay with you,” she told him, “I feel like I could wake up at any second now and find out that this is all just a dream.”

He leaned towards her and kissed her lips, “It’s not a dream, I promise.”

“How could you know?”

Armin laughed, leading Annie to the bedroom, “It really is not a dream.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“I am hungry,” Annie said, sitting on his bed.

Armin laughed, “I’ll get us food, how about you wait for me here?”

She nodded, and before he left, she kissed him one more kiss, then she said against his lips, “Thank you.”

“For what?” He asked.

“For finding me in this life,” Annie said, “I always felt like a piece was missing, and finally, I found it.”

Armin pressed his lips together, “You’re making leaving this bed quite hard.”

“Then don’t leave it,” she shrugged.

So, he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her down on the bed with him.

It might have taken them a whole life, decades, and eras. It might have taken them the constellations to shift and reform. It might have taken them a whole universe to be created.

But they had one ending.

And that ending was to be in each other’s arms.

A promise was a promise, and it seeped through universes and lives and eternities, until it was made real, until it was proven.

~~~~

Author’s note:

It took me… 798 days, or 2 years and 2 month and 7 days, to write the second chapter to this fic, and oh God, it turned into everything I didn’t expect. I had a whole different idea for this chapter when I wrote the first chapter, but then… i don’t know what happened, but, here we are Thank you so much for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed this! It was fun and very emotional to write uwu Feedback is always appreciated! Love you, take care!

[atherix]

Hi guys have a little ficlet? I decided it didn’t fit into the main story so it’s going onto tumblr exclusive status hehe Also I’m lowkey sick right now and I can’t think to write today thanks

CW? I guess? Because some of this comes across as pretty Religious Talk so

--

“Grandfather?”

The King doesn’t look down at the child standing next to him, instead gazing out across the realm, all the way to the sea and what lies beyond. Scar looks up up up at him- distant and so far away, untouchable and cold.

“Yes, my Grandson?” the King speaks, voice soft and flat. 

Scar fidgets with his hands, turning back to look through the balcony railings. “What am I?” he asks after a moment of hesitation, the question echoing oddly around.

There is a moment of silence from the King, and Scar’s heart races.

“You are a Prince,” the King says simply.

“One of the healers you bring here says I should not be,” Scar says carefully, hesitantly. “They say I am not even Fae.”

The King finally looks at him, though Scar doesn’t dare look up. “Yet I, the Fae King, am saying you are a Prince, and you are Fae. Would you take the word of a healer over the word of your Grandfather and King?”

“No!” Scar says quickly, looking up at him. “No, but- is being Human really so bad? That- that some Fae won’t even see me as Fae?”

Despite the suns resting across from one another in the sky, lighting up the world around them, Scar can’t make out the expression on his grandfather’s face. It’s like a shadow is being cast, obscuring him from sight even as he pulls away from the rail, kneeling down in front of Scar. Even nearly on his knees, he’s taller than Scar can ever imagine being.

He reaches out and brushes the loose, wispy strands of Scar’s hair away from his face, almost gentle as he traces the braids. They’re tight, and the ribbons and vines woven through them, tied to a veil in the back, hide just how short his hair is right now. Scar can’t help but lean into his grandfather’s touch despite how cool his skin is.

“You,” the King says, “are you. You are Fae and you are Human. You are both of these at the same time. You are the proof that our world is changing.” The King moves his hand away, setting it on Scar’s shoulder now. Scar watches him quietly. “The Pantheons have a plan for you.”

“How can they have a plan for me?” Scar asks, tilting his head. “How can they have a plan for me when I probably won’t even grow up?”

“Everyone has a role to play,” the King says. “The gods give us these roles. Nothing happens when nothing is done- we cannot stand idly by and wait for it to change. We must act to make the change and fulfill the plan.” He pauses, studying Scar from behind the shadows in his face, and Scar can’t bring himself to ask about his own role. “There are no mistakes in this world. Everything that happens has always been planned. Your birth, your existence is neither accident nor mistake. You have a role to play in this world. It is the role of your family to see you grow, safe and strong, to take on your role. One day, everything will be made clear.”

The King turns away, towards the horizon again. Scar glances over, seeing the suns lowering towards the sea. They cast the world in orange and gold, glimmering and burning.

“Regardless what any person might say to you,” the King says softly, “you are Fae. You are a Prince. You are Human. You are all of these things, and one day you shall be even more.” He looks back at Scar, and for one brief moment Scar sees fire. “All you have to do is wait.”

“Wait?” Scar frowns. “But didn’t you just say...”

The King tilts his head. His smile is cool and distant, but it settles something in Scar’s chest- like comfort, like love, like everything will be just fine.

“One day your waiting will come to an end,” he says. “One day will come the time to stop waiting. Just watch for the signs. You’ll find your place when the time is right. Until then...”

He moves his hand from Scar’s shoulder and stands, gaze back on the horizon and the everything beyond. “Be patient and learn. The answers will present themselves, but you must look for them. Watch and wait until you know your next step, and then...”

“... Act.”

[cryo-lily]

For the ~couple questions~! How about 1, 14, & 24 for whoever feels like answering! 😁

Thank you thank you for the ask @shynmighty! Gunna answer these for Issie & Lana as they are the SWTOR brain rot currently infecting my brain lately ^-^

These two will be the death of me one of these days, and I would die happy.

1. What do they think of each other's family? And how does the family feel?

Well with what little is known about Lana's parents, I can only hope they would at least respect Isadola if not like her. In the very least from Isadola's side of things she would respect them, but probably not trust them completely as they were highly respected entrepreneurs (and how they got to be such being up in the air, that detail would be key tho), and until she got to know them better she wouldn't know what to feel about them depending on the kind of relationship Lana had with them, assuming they were still alive.

On the flip side of things, Tilera (assuming she was still alive) would love Lana. She would probably hit it off with her and love seeing how happy Lana makes Issie. It wouldn't out of the picture for Tilera to just immediately accept Lana into the family. And on the other hand I think Lana in the very least would respect Tilera, and the woman she is/was. Lana would also probably even hit it off with her as well, as each of their own ways of a Sith aren't totally different and would easily talk philosophy if given the chance.

Now Issie's father, Donovan, on the hand... He just views his errant daughter as a mistake & complication that needs to be "fixed" or taken out of the picture. He doesn't like Lana in the slightest and the feeling is mutual. With what little Lana knows of the whole situation, and as she learns more, it's matter of when she tries to kill Donovan, for everything he has put Issie through and continues to put her through as time goes on as he eventually comes back into the picture later. And Lana now being in the picture, it complicates his plans in trying to remove his daughter from the picture as he tried & failed to do years ago.

So all in all... just... complicated all around 😅

14. What little things remind them of each other?

For Lana, certain types of musics & crystals always remind her of Isadola. She has caught Issie more than once just lost in her Artifice crafting humming or singing to herself to some obscure music not typically played in most cantinas they've passed or been in amongst their travels. Whether it's how the certain shine or glow from some crystals that always seems to light Isadola's face up whenever she sees one, seemingly always captivated by them. Or how pleasantly lost in her music Issie gets when she's alone always brings a certain lightness to Lana's heart whenever she encounters her in such situations. Reminded of all the lighter moments of Isadola being unburdened by her responsibilities, allowing herself to let the facade and walls she's built up drop, being able to see the real woman underneath that very few beyond Lana herself have seen.

As for Isadola, she was never one for poetry or poetic literature but seeing how Lana sometimes unwinds with it, and being able to see how calming it can be for her made Issie develop an appreciation for it even if it still isn't a favorite form of literature for her personally. And even when Isadola away from Odessen/home, away on a mission or away from Lana, Issie always takes with her some poetry to read, to keep her mind occupied in any downtime she may find herself in. No matter the subject matter her mind can't help but drift off sometimes to moments she's seen of the softer, more serene side of Lana that she only allows Isadola to see in her moments alone or in private.

24. How did they fall for eachother?

For either Isadola or Lana, both truly fell for eachother back when they began to grow closer on Rishi years ago, despite being drawn to eachother since their first meeting.

In Lana's case, seeing & getting to know Issie beyond the Jedi titles that drew her into the Revanite plot they each found themselves in, is what really made Lana fall for her. Seeing how fiercely Issie cares for others, for better or worse, even those she doesn't know, and strives to do what she believes is right despite the possible cost to herself most of the time. But never failing to take a step back and thinking pragmatically about things before acting on situations without knowing as much as she could. Even if it means taking lives for a greater good, seeing Issie not as bound to the Jedi code that most other Jedi she's run across.

As for Isadola, Lana turned out to be not like any other Sith she's encountered or heard about, but getting to know her more as they worked together really struck something in Issie down to her core. Though not always agreeing on things, something that really caused her to fall for Lana was having a similar or like mind to talk to when trying to figure out anything or a problem out. Also easily working together to save both sides from worse machinations, not to further one's personal gains, but just because it was right. And just working together helped Issie break through the binary definitions of things drilled into her by the Republic & Jedi when growing up. Isadola could possibly spend the rest of her life trying to list the reasons she fell for Lana.

Thank you thank you for the ask again! Sorry it took me a bit to answer!

[rebuke-me]

my deere playlist and the lyrics that made me put them on there (but half my music taste is incredibly obscure)

you belong with me - taylor swift

but she wears short skirts, i wear t-shirts // she’s cheer captain and i’m on the bleachers!

boy who has everything - annika bennett

sometimes i’m so cynical and self-conscious // and sometimes i see that i’m bringing him down // i stand in the mirror, hands in empty pockets // and wonder why he even wants me around 

bishounen - cepheid & ethan song

it’s funny when you’re nervous and you look away // you stutter when i laugh and give yourself away 

dream - tessa violet

you saw me clear as glass // i thought you bold as brass // never knew how lovely love could be

wish you were gay - claud

i wish you were gay so you could just hold me // call me your babe instead of your homie

heather - conan gray

why would you ever kiss me // i’m not even half as pretty // you gave her sweater, it’s just polyester // but you like her better // i wish i were heather 

jason - bonnie parker

jason, i’ll be cheering for you as you win the big game // i look to you with glassy eyes as you rejoice in the fame // jason, why so sad? it’s as if we are one in the same // watch those pretty eyes roll back, i left after you came

i kissed a boy - jupither

i kissed a boy just to try it // i hope my girlfriend don’t mind it

first time he kissed a boy - kadie elder

feeling stuck // set him free // out of luck // on his knees // first time he kissed a boy

i don’t dance - high school musical 2

i just. i dont have lyrics for this one just watch the scene again and tell me i’m wrong. i dare you.

something after all - starry

i’ve spent years building up walls, playing it safe // standing in line when i should run // run for my life // before it’s gone // you’ve turned my world around // and no, it wasn’t a mistake

get this right (outtake) - frozen 

i wanna make you swoon, baby // i wanna rock you with my righteous romance

get used to it - ricky montgomery

used to go to university // used to be the head of varsity // used to be inside this box with everyone noticin’ me // i used to leave the evenin’ feelin’ right // i’ll be with you each and every night

ordinary - joriah kwame & allie grace

and what’s the point of falling when i know i’m only stalling // cause i have to go back home // where i’m just one in the herd, tripping over my words // trying hard to go with the grain

honeydew - small talks

you’re an endless summer and i’m a winter you don’t like // you see my early sunsets and i see your shine // but every time we get too close

stupid for you - waterparks 

the best is hard to grip when everybody wants you // and everybody wants you // you’re playin’ ring round my head // i’ll wear you like a halo // you’re a symphony, i’m just a sour note 

teenager in love - neon trees 

there was a point of no return // and i never looked back til i was holding your hand // and i’m socially absurd // but who cares

god in jeans - ryan beatty

god is real, he was sleeping in my bed last night // we were naked with the radio on // played him my favourite song 

venus as a boy - bjork

he believes in a beauty // he’s venus as a boy

house a habit - we are the guests 

and tell me all your secrets // i’ll tell you what i know // just bare with me tomorrow

washing machine heart - mitski

baby, though i’ve closed my eyes // i know who you pretend i am

kissaphobic - make out monday 

 your fingers are quivering // except when you’re shivering // i wanna hold your hand

hot - avril lavigne

and i can make you say everything // that you’ve never said // and i will let you do anything // that you’ve never said

still into you - paramore

it’s not a walk in the park to love each other // but when our fingers interlock // can’t deny, can’t deny you’re worth it

backseat serenade - all time low 

backseat serenade, dizzy hurricane // god, i’m sick of sleeping alone // you’re salty like a summer day

[box-dwelling]

I have once again interacted with theatre kids

Never again

Never again

[ladyartemesia]

The Kiss

◐ PART VIII of THE ALPHA ◐

◐ Series Masterlist ◐

◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Part IV ◐ Part V ◐ Part VI ◐ Part VII ◐

Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader

Rating: Hard Mature 18+ (for this installment)

Warnings: this one is a little darker, descriptions of violence, ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming, strong sexual innuendo, discussion of violence relating to ritual combat, possessive behavior, injuries and discussion of injuries, lots of people have, use and are threatened by knives, kidnapping and drugging, its not as bad as it sounds, but it is definitely a bit darker…

Word Count: 4250

Author’s Note: I said it before but it bears repeating...You have no idea what your support has meant to me. Truly your asks and your messages and comments…they made me so happy. You made me believe that people wouldn’t forget about this story. I am so grateful you were able to wait. As many of you know I faced a medical emergency recently and you were all so lovely. The best followers on this site and I MEAN that. As always, my angels @ppersonna @xjoonchildx and  @untaemedqueen​  were (and continue to be) the best betas and the best friends anyone could ask for. My thanks to ALL of you for helping me bring this story to life! I don’t know what I would do without your daily encouragement and your daily support. You guys are the heartbeat of this story. It wouldn’t be here without you.

——◐——

Two Years Ago 

——◐——

Centuries ago the moon goddess stumbled across her human soulmate while he was sleeping. Struck by his beauty, but reluctant to reveal her identity, the goddess began to visit him in his dreams where she could hide her true form and appear before him as a mortal woman. 

In the world of dreams their love flourished and from that blessed union the packs were born…

The wolf nations celebrated this sacred romance every ten years during the Festival of the Lover’s Moon…

The day of the festival was spent eating and drinking and dancing at large parties, but when the sun went down… well—

That’s when things got really interesting. 

On the night of Lover’s Moon the young unmated wolves of the pack were permitted to commemorate this legendary love story in a decidedly scandalous manner. 

The unmated men assumed the role of the goddess’s sleeping lover—they were blindfolded (to represent slumber) and led into a large sectioned off area of the dark forest to ‘wait and dream.’

Unmated she-wolves over the age of maturity (eighteen) took herbal scent suppressors and ventured out into that very same forest in order to anonymously ‘visit’ the young men ‘in their dreams’...

The rules for what exactly that meant were pretty fast and loose which was why Min Yoongi was thanking the goddess and every other deity he could think of that Yunli was still seventeen. 

“But I will be eighteen in two days! Please can’t I just—“

“No. Absolutely not under any circumstances ever.”

“But Yoonji is going!”

“Ji-ah is nearly nineteen and has never been interested in any of the snotty little man-pups of our pack.” He snorted. “She’s probably going out just so she can shove a bunch of them in the lake.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Yunli mumbled irritably. 

Kim Taehyung yawned idly and snuggled into the cozy little pallet he prepared at the base of his favorite tree. The blindfold he and all the other unmated ‘lovers’  wore was made from witchcloth and could not be removed while the sun was down—so he had snuck into the forest earlier to set everything up. 

Now all he had to do was wait until—

“H-Hi Taehyung.”

Oh sh—

“Uh. Hello...Miss.”

Taehyung didn’t recognize the owner of that voice, but he knew for sure who it wasn’t. 

“I was hoping to find you tonight.”

This is not good. 

“Well I’m—I’m flattered… naturally but—”

She touched his hand and he squeaked. 

“I was thinking you and I might get to know each other a little bet—eep!”

The sharp point of a custom blade pressed directly into the unfortunate young beta girl’s pulse point. 

“Are you lost, puppy?”

A heavy cloak obscured the newcomer’s features, but there was no mistaking her meaning. 

Taehyung bit his lip to keep from snorting as the poor she-wolf scrambled away. 

“Ji-ah,” he tsked with feigned disapproval, “that wasn’t very nice.”

Min Yoonji grinned as she sheathed her wicked looking dagger and slid languidly into his arms. 

“You don’t like nice girls, Kim Taehyung.”

“I like you,” he whispered breathlessly against her lips. “Nice or not—it doesn't matter to me…” His hands slid greedily over her soft curves—pulling her closer till he felt the beat of her heart against his own. “I’ll like anything as long as it’s you.” 

This was the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. 

Jimin huffed as he struggled to find a comfortable position against the giant boulder he’d chosen as his perch.

Why did I let Taehyung talk me into this?

He could be at home—in bed—comfortably sleeping off the all-day feast he’d indulged in. 

Instead he was out in the middle of the forest sitting blindfolded on a rock in the off chance that one of the she-wolves was out looking for him. 

Not bloody likely. 

Not when prime targets like Namjoon, Hoseok, Jungkook—and countless others—were scattered throughout the woods. 

“Park Jimin?”

Every hair on Jimin’s body stood on end. 

It was a soft whisper—the speaker clearly didn’t want her voice to be recognized, yet something about the sound sent a curious frisson of interest down his spine. 

He gulped. 

“Yes… that’s me. But if you’re looking for Hoseok he’s just a little deeper in. You probably caught his scent downwind so—”

“I’m not looking for Hoseok.”

Jimin licked his lips and the sight of it sparked a odd curl of heat in the pit of your belly. 

“I don’t know where anyone else is…”

“That’s quite alright.” A muted shuffle of movement reached his ears as you settled down beside him. “I was looking for you.” 

“Oh…” He rubbed the back of his neck idly. “Are you sure?”

Laughter like fairy bells whispered through the air and Jimin felt his heart clench.

Don’t get your hopes up. 

“Who are you?”

You were silent for a long time and then—

“I am someone who owes you a debt. One I have never been able to repay.”

Jimin’s head tilted curiously as he considered your words. 

“I’m sorry, miss… you must be mistaken. There isn’t—“

“You don’t remember.” 

It was a statement—not a question. Your voice was nearer now. He could feel the warmth of your body close to his—though not quite touching. “It was your wolf that saved me. But you had not gone through the Change yet.”

Familiar shame spiked sharply in his chest.

“I’m seven years past the Change...Why have you never mentioned this before?”

“Circumstances prevented me from doing so.” 

There was a cold finality to your pronouncement—which of course did nothing but further inflame his curiosity. 

“Then why come to me now?”

“I’ve come to repay you.”

Jimin’s mouth dropped open. 

Were you trying to—?!

“Oh—no please that-that’s not necessary—I could never take advantage of—”

You giggled again.  

“I am not offering my body, Park Jimin.”

Jimin breathed a heavy sigh of relief then shook his head with a wry chuckle. 

“Well considering the circumstances I can hardly be blamed for assuming you might be. And honestly most men would jump at the chance to—”

“You...are not most men.” 

Jimin’s eyes narrowed beneath his blindfold. 

“Little she-wolf—I may not be wrestling bears for fun or bare knuckle boxing in the town square, but I am still an alpha.”

The weight of his command poured over your body as he spoke the last word. There was no order or intent—he had simply given you a taste of his power. 

Aside from your direct blood relatives, no alpha had ever dared unleash their compel in your presence—therefore you were utterly unprepared for the effect it had on you—

Utterly unprepared for the strange surge of want so potent and profound that it stole the breath from your body. 

It was primal—invigorating—

Sensual.

You and your wolf may not have been entirely connected yet, but she was suddenly quite vocal about her desire to fully bask in Park Jimin’s attention.

A wicked grin played over his lips as he leaned in closer and you could almost feel the soft brush of his lips against your cheek. 

“Did you think I would not desire the touch of a beautiful woman in the moonlight?” he whispered. 

Please touch me, Alpha. 

Your eyes widened. 

Dear goddess. Your inner wolf was turning out to be a shameless hussy. 

“You might desire it, but you are far too  honorable to accept it as payment for a debt.”

Jimin drew back warily. 

You were correct of course. After all he had refused you when he believed that was your intent but—

“How could you know that?”

Evade. Evade now. 

“Well... how could you know I was beautiful? You’re blindfolded.”

He shrugged and your wolf took careful note of the way it made all the pretty muscles in his back and shoulders ripple. 

He will give us such strong—

Oh boy. 

He will do no such thing. Please calm down. 

“Not everything must be seen with your eyes.”

Is that how you found me? All those years ago...

Questions churned chaotically beneath your consciousness but you dared not give voice to them. 

Focus.

“I must repay this debt. Ask for what you want and—if it is in my power—I swear it will be yours.”

Jimin smiled again, but this time it was somehow softer. For a moment he looked almost…

Sad. 

“I’m afraid that the only thing I have ever wanted is not within your power to give...and I dare not ask you or anyone else for it.”

For her. 

He sighed and drew even farther away from you—in fact it seemed like he was preparing to leave. 

No. 

Your hand reached out almost of it's its own accord and wrapped tightly around his wrist. The contact sent a shock of searing heat through his veins and he froze. 

“Please alpha. It is not acceptable for someone like me—” a leader, a Luna, “—to owe another my life and offer nothing in return. You must let me pay my debt.”

Omega, his wolf growled, sweet perfect omega. 

Suppressors may have hidden your scent, but the siren song of an omega pleading prettily in his ear was unmistakable—irresistible…

“What if all I want is your name?”

You sighed deeply. 

“I cannot give you that. My name is… not mine to offer.”

Jimin laughed. 

“A woman I cannot remember with a name I cannot know and whose face I cannot see.” He shook his head. “Perhaps you are just a figment of my imagination.”

It was hard to explain what happened next...For whatever reason his words cut you deeply and you were overcome with the desire—no need—to refute them somehow. 

“I’m real enough,” you whispered, bringing his hand to your cheek. 

Jimin was genuinely beginning to wonder if you were a witch as well as a she-wolf. Being close to you was intoxicating and the urge to draw you in was steadily overpowering every other thought.

“Could I ask you for a kiss, then?”

“You—...You saved my life and all you want... is a kiss?”

The air grew heavier as the strange magnetic pull between you swelled to a silent inescapable crescendo. 

“In Seoul I often searched for someone who could ease my loneliness, yet each time I walked away emptier than before.” His thumb brushed gently over your lips and your eyes fluttered shut. “I have never had a kiss that meant anything to me.”

But yours might. 

It was unclear who moved first, whether he pulled you to him or you surged forward but when your bodies aligned and your lips met his for the first time it was as if you had never been separate from one another. 

As if you had always been deeply—intimately —together. 

The indescribable feel of him lit over your senses like a struck match. It was an ignition in the purest sense of the word— a fiery visceral awakening fueled by a consuming flood of desire. 

Yes, Alpha. 

He might never see your face or hear your name, but Jimin knew he would remember the taste of you for the rest of his life. It was hot and bright like liquid sunshine— a pure relentless light flowing through him where there was once only darkness. 

A soft needy moan rose up from your chest and he growled in primal satisfaction as you melted against him. 

Your fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt of their own accord, desperately trying to bring him closer until he wrapped his arms around you in a heated embrace. 

“Please,” he begged breathlessly against your mouth. “Please tell me who you are.”

The words crashed over you like a bucket of ice —dousing the hazy pleasure of his kiss with a cold bite of reality. Suddenly you were wrenching yourself away from him and your wolf whimpered in misery at the loss of his touch. 

“I can’t,” you whispered. 

And then you were gone. 

“Did someone hurt you?”

You looked up to find Jin taking in your tears with cold fury. 

Twin knives were already gleaming dangerously in his hands and he appeared ready to filet whichever bastard was foolish enough to make you cry. 

“No,” you sniffed—well aware of how pitiful you were at the moment—crying in the corner of your cousin’s kitchen. “I got myself into this mess without any help—as usual.”

Jin sighed and slid down next to you. 

“Tell me.”

“Something happened that I…I didn’t intend.”

“Oh I knew that already. The Luna isn’t supposed to be running around on the night of Lover’s Moon in a forest full of blind horny wolves—“

You snorted and shook your head. 

“You’re absolutely right. I should have stayed away.”

Jin’s eyes narrowed and he wondered if perhaps you had caught Kim Namjoon with another omega. Nothing would be official until after the Change of course, but your bond with him was basically a foregone conclusion at this point. 

“You went looking for someone...didn’t you.”

You nodded miserably—all but confirming his fears. He made a mental note to push Namjoon in the swamp at the next available opportunity. 

“You know... the stories say that a Luna is powerfully drawn to her mate under the Lover’s Moon—that her wolf can sense him even before the Change.”  He reached over and gently began to brush the tears from your eyes. “So it’s not surprising that you sought him out, but it’s not really fair to hold whatever it is you saw against him. There is no relationship between you yet and…” he chuckled, “kisses beneath festival moonlight don’t really mean anything anyways.”

It was clear that Jin had somehow gotten the entirely wrong impression, but perhaps that was for the best. 

No one knew of your connection to Jimin and no one had seen what passed between you. 

Still…

Something about his assessment stung you. 

“You really believe that? ...That a kiss exchanged tonight means nothing?”

“I do.” Jin spoke with conviction. “There’s ancient magic at play in those woods. You can’t always trust what you see—or what you feel.”

“Oh I...I didn’t know…”

After a moment you laid your head against his shoulder and let the last of your tears run silently down your cheek. 

“Jin-ah have you ever wanted something you knew you couldn’t have?”

“Yes.” He sighed heavily and pulled you in to snuggle a bit closer. “When I was younger I dreamed of having a mate just like everyone else…”

The words were so softly spoken—almost wistful. Your heart splintered just hearing them. 

“But… she could be out there—your mate.”

Jin shook his head. 

“When is the last time you heard of a female alpha?”

Fresh tears welled up in your eyes. 

“Jin…”

“Hey,” he whispered, “don’t waste your crying on me. I’ve long since come to terms with who and what I am.”

“You’re not sad anymore?”

“Well… maybe sometimes I am… but I had to accept that people like us are not like everyone else. Our destinies were written long before we were born.”

“And you believe you’re destined to be alone?”

“Wolves in a pack are never really alone.”

“Yes...but they can be lonely,” you whispered thinking back to Jimin’s words. 

For a moment Jin’s eyes were the saddest you had ever seen them. 

“Well...I suppose they can.”  Then he chuckled and gave your nose an affectionate little tap. “But you don’t need to worry about that. When the time comes Namjoon will take his place at your side and the two of you will build a wonderful life together... Isn’t that what you want?”

Isn’t it?

Your treacherous thoughts drifted back to the boy in the moonlight—to the way your body sang when he touched you and the strange insatiable desire to know him and be known by him in return.

“Please...Tell me who you are.”

A heavy ache settled in your heart. 

You were the Luna of the mountain nations. A true born moon princess. 

You could never be the woman who kissed Park Jimin underneath the stars. 

You were not like everybody else. 

“...Yes. That is what I want.”

——◐——

Now 

——◐——

Jimin’s heart pounded as he tore through the dark paths of the wood with Taehyung, Yoongi, and Jungkook close behind. 

He had never led an attack—had never been trained to command wolves in battle. 

It was his first true test of leadership and he hadn’t even been a leader for twenty-four hours. 

Yet the fears and anxieties that might have normally clouded his mind were notably absent. 

There was only you.

Ironically Jimin owed Namjoon yet another debt—this time for explaining what exactly someone like him was capable of. 

The alpha Jin captured had given up their plan and position after being exposed to Jimin’s unique gifting, so he had a concrete target in his mind… He suspected however, that your captors had taken precautions after leaving some of their men behind. They had shifted their camp. 

But it wouldn’t be enough to save them. 

Jimin didn’t need your location to find you. 

He spent years refusing to look at you, and even then he always knew exactly where you were. He could sense you in any crowd—hear your voice in a thousand.

Once it had tormented him cruelly to be so aware of you. 

Now it was the only thing keeping him sane. 

He followed the connection between his heart and yours like a lifeline and it guided him as surely as the stars. 

The alphas followed him without question. 

If any of them harbored lingering doubts before, they were firmly laid to rest after what they saw at the cottage. No ordinary wolf could do what he had done. 

The Alpha would bring back their Luna and retribution would be swift indeed. 

The drugs in your system kept swinging you in and out of lucidity like a nightmarish pendulum. You tried to shift after the initial nausea faded, but whatever they gave you kept your wolf caged beneath your skin. 

Jimin

The longing you felt for your mate was the only thing tethering you to reality. You could almost hear him echoing in the far corners of your mind—  

I’m coming Omega—hold on. 

I’ll find you. 

Part of you recognized that his voice was likely nothing more than the wistful creation of your drug-addled mind, still you clung to it like the last shred of hope while the minutes (or hours) flew past.

Chaos clouded your thoughts even in clearer moments as many unavoidable concerns forced their way through the haze. 

Jin was at the house with you when they broke in. You had no way of knowing if he survived. 

The men who took you were crass and irreverent. Their eyes followed your form with too much interest and too little respect. 

It was starting to get cold and (due to you nearly dismembering a high council member and needing to be compelled unconscious) you were still wearing a thin white ceremonial dress which offered very little protection from the elements. 

You wondered idly if your idiot captors would let you freeze to death before they accomplished whatever it was they took you for. They clearly needed you for something or you would have been long dead by now. 

None of them struck you as particularly brilliant planners so the mastermind must be somewhere else... 

Frankly the entire situation was as puzzling as it was troubling. Iron Claw had always gotten along well with your pack. 

Technically they were (almost) what the human governments called a vassal state. The presence of a Luna determined the dominant pack in a region and the Luna of the mountain nations had been born into Silver Fang—your pack—for the last thousand years or so. 

Why would they challenge us now? 

The birth of a Luna indicated that the goddess had chosen that pack to lead. Their willingness—not only to kidnap you—but to go against the dominant pack by doing so was alarming to say the least. 

A sudden explosion of movement and sound interrupted your contemplation. Motion erupted all around you—boots pounding on the ground, men falling into their wolf forms, knives being drawn… 

You lifted your head—straining forward to see the source of the commotion—and nearly collapsed in relief when you finally did. 

Alpha

Your mate stood at the edge of the camp flanked by two enormous black wolves. 

A deadly looking jingum sword gleamed dangerously in his right hand. You recognized it immediately as your great-grandfather’s combat blade—the thousand year-old weapon of the Silver Fang Alphas. 

Relief flooded your chest all over again at the sight of it. Only Jin could have given him that sword—which meant he was still alive. 

The black wolves—Yoongi and Jungkook—snarled viciously but made no move to attack. 

Your captors were still scrambling into some sort of combat formation when Jimin finally spoke. 

“You have violated our sacred laws, trespassed in sovereign pack lands, kidnapped a Luna under the protection of our goddess, abducted the mate of the Silver Fang Alpha, and risked open war between our peoples.” He took a single step forward. “Surrender now and I will be merciful.”

The biggest of your captors—a man you recognized as the de facto leader—spat viciously on the ground. 

“You are not my Alpha,” he growled.

A cold—almost cruel—smile twisted over Jimin’s lips.

“Very well.”

Then he dropped to one knee and a massive grey wolf—Taehyung—leapt over his head and tore out the defiant leader’s throat before he even hit the ground. 

Your mouth dropped open. 

Bangtan formation.

Yoongi and Jungkook lunged forward in opposite directions, tackling their targets to the forest floor in a bloody clash of teeth and claws. 

One of the larger Iron Claw alphas half-shifted and charged Jimin but his arm shot out lightning fast, catching his attacker by the throat to send him flying through the air into a tree. 

The next several minutes could only be described as terrifyingly beautiful.

It was immediately clear that Jimin had been holding back when he fought Namjoon. 

He dispatched his opponents with such elegant savagery it was almost art.

You were so mesmerized watching Jimin sensually sword dance his way through a dozen alphas nearly twice his size that you almost missed Taehyung’s wolf rushing over with a dagger clenched between his teeth. 

Luna are you okay? 

You grinned and held up your rope-bound wrists. 

“I’ll be better once you pass me that knife.”

Taehyung nodded once and dropped the blade at your feet before tackling another wolf that was tearing towards the two of you. 

You sawed through the ties around your ankle first then twisted your arms to try and slice through the restraints on your wrist. 

The Iron Claw wolves were clearly no match for Jimin and his alphas. 

Jungkook and Yoongi chased after the few who were trying to run while Taehyung half-shifted to subdue the handful of wolves left alive as prisoners. Only Jimin continued to fight as the last three of your captors still standing took turns being slammed into the dirt by his strikes. 

He was clearly capable of dispatching them, but you were fairly convinced that you would die if you had to stay away from him for another second. The ropes, however, were surprisingly thick and the angle you were cutting them at wasn’t the best. If only—

You were almost free when you saw it. 

One of your captors had pulled a hunting javelin from their supply wagon. He must have hid himself at the onset of the fight, but now he was comfortably concealed by the shadows—and taking aim at Jimin. 

Your heart dropped into your stomach. 

The attacker appeared to handle the weapon with familiarity. He was too far back—too well hidden—Jimin would never see him in time—

The last cord around your wrist snapped and you were on your feet, pushing through the combined haze of fury and sedatives to charge the wolf who dared attack your mate. 

By the time he saw you it was far too late. 

Under the effects of the drug your aim was a little skewed but you weren’t Kim Seokjin’s cousin for nothing. 

One clean flick of your wrist and the dagger shot through the air, burying itself between the brute’s shoulder blades—all the way to the hilt. 

His body fell to the ground just as Jimin sent the last of your captors careening into a pile of previously defeated foes. 

For a moment all was quiet. 

Then your eyes locked across the distance and everything around you sharpened to a single whispered word. 

“Jimin.”

He had run non-stop for miles and torn apart a dozen wolves to get to your side—no amount of space between you now was tolerable. 

The sword clattered to the forest floor as he moved toward you—desperate to feel you—to wrap himself around you and know that you were safe. 

What happened next was as natural as breathing.

You opened to him and he lifted you into his arms, taking your lips in a hot unrepentant kiss. 

Fire exploded across your senses, burning away everything but the touch and taste of him. Every part of you was at once fiercely and gloriously alive. Desperate moans passed between you as he licked into your mouth—a dark primal promise of the pleasure he would take between your thighs. 

“Alpha,” you whimpered, too delirious with want to manage anything else. 

Suddenly Jimin’s eyes shot open. His hands flew to cup your face, searching it with a mixture of realization and disbelief.

“You… It was you.”

If you are already on the taglist, then I will automatically tag you for the next part! If you would like to be added to the taglist, please let me know.

Please tell me what you thought of this update! I am really excited to hear your thoughts! Feedback really does fuel my writing and hearing from you means a lot to me! On days that its hard to write, I go back and I read your lovely words and it makes me want to keep going! I cannot overstate its value in my heart! Seriously this story keeps going because you guys have been so supportive and wonderful. You have no idea how much just a few word can brighten my world and fire up my muse. 

[astaroth1357]

IT'S RAINING (DEMON) MEN!!!

I asked my sister for a prompt to get my creativity going. She played this song. Nuff said.

Intro:

It's been two months since the MC went back to the human world, and the demon boys are getting desperate to see their human… How desperate are we talking? Desperate enough to try their hands at some questionable sanctioned magic to get themselves to the human world... Good news is, they'll get there!

Just probably not in the way they expected. 🤷‍♀️🤭

Lucifer

He is going to KILL Mammon the next time he gets a hold of him…

He had no intention of taking an impromptu trip to the human world. He actually has clearance to go there when he needs to, thank you, so he didn't need to use any underhanded tricks to go between realms...

But he had made the mistake of walking too carelessly into Mammon's room while looking for a book he stole and stepped on a sigil half-obscured by an old pizza box…

...which is how he ended up falling from the Devildom to the human world at an unimaginable speed. It was like someone was yanking him to the Earth by the goddamn foot!

The unsuspecting MC was just out window shopping when suddenly an empty parked car across the street was utterly decimated by his falling body…

Of course, HE was fine, but that poor car never stood a chance… 😣 They had to help Lucifer pry himself out from the caved-in metal…

While he watched the MC fuss and try to brush all the broken glass off of him, Lucifer had only three things in mind:

(1) They look so cute when they're worried about him for practically no reason...

(2) Since he's already here, he may as well keep them company for… oh, a couple days at least?; and

(3) He was going to punish Mammon slightly less brutally than usual this time… May just fling him into a car too and leave it at that. 😌

Mammon

Okay, Mammon isn't stupid. He can do magic, he swears!!

He's just… rusty. Yeah. That. 🙄

That's the only reason the sigil that he haphazardly drew in his bedroom flung him to the human world like a catapult instead of neatly teleporting him like it was supposed to...

When the MC woke up that morning, they heard something familiar… Sad, pitiful little cries for help from outside their bedroom window….

Really only one person sprang right to their mind.

When they ran out to check, they indeed found Mammon tangled up in a tree like a wooden spider's web... He wasn't even facing upright!

It took them a half hour to detangle their poor demon from the tree… They almost gave up halfway through and had to call the fire department to pull him out like a trapped kitten... 🤦‍♀️

To say that Mammon was pretty clingy after they got him down hardly covers it. They were now his savior! (Yet again)

They had better not have any plans for the next day or two because he's going to want to spend every second he can with them… 

Or at least until Lucifer finds him and drags him back home by the back of the neck… 😰 (Hope they don't mind housing this figurative fugitive for a while…)

Leviathan

So in his defense, he didn't actually think the "Return to Lover" spell he saw on TSL would work, but he got so desperate to see MC again that he half-jokingly tried it one night...

Unfortunately for him, he also forgot that Simeon tends to use a lot of real-world influences in his writing, so… 😥

He hadn't wanted to be dragged to the human world quite so violently, and let's say he is NOT a graceful faller (arm flailing, girly screaming, spinning all over the place, etc.). 

Only when the smell of beach sand and sea salt hit his nose did he begin to calm down a little and get a good look at the surroundings he was hurtling towards… The ocean!

Video game logic dictates that if you land in water, you should be fine, right?? (Well, that's not how it works in real life, but when you're in a super sturdy demon body, there can be expectations 🤷‍♀️)

The MC was not expecting someone to splash down into the water next to them like they fell out of Heaven, nor for them to enter the water with the poise of an Olympic high diver…

They REALLY weren't expecting to see Levi surface beside them, demon form in the all it's sea serpent-y glory, totally stoked that the stupid thought he had actually brought him to them!

… Of course, he also has no idea how to get back, but who actually cares about that?? Lucifer will figure out he's not in his room eventually. For now, there wasn't anything in the ocean or beyond that could separate the MC from their adorkable otaku… 🤭

Satan

Okay. Teleportation magic is hard. Very, very hard. It basically requires bypassing several different physical laws by breaking down one's essence into a transmigrational-uh...

Whatever, the point is it's difficult, and mistakes happen even to the best of us.

Satan genuinely thought he triple-checked the symbols on his sigil… He must have made a crooked stroke or forgot a step in completing the seal properly… Either way, the spell he intended to bring him right to MC might have made a… slight miscalculation.

Rather than effortlessly stepping out beside them, he found himself hurtling towards the human world like a falling comet… If he hadn't known a few spells that could slow down his fall, he'd have had a pretty nasty meet with the ground... 😣

The MC was visiting a local park when pretty much everyone in their vicinity heard the sound of trees rapidly snapping nearby. At first, they were concerned it was a large animal… and then Satan stumbled out covered in twigs and leaves!

They, of course, ran over to see if he was alright, and the cheeky bastard just denied that anything had gone wrong. "Apparently," this was all according to plan… 

(Truthfully, he'd rather call Mammon some unsung genius than admit that he got the spell wrong, even if it was complex… 🙄)

Truthfully, Satan wasn't going to try making a return sigil for a while, so at least he and MC could be together for a time! Do they know if there were any cat cafes nearby??

Asmodeus

Asmo was PISSED at Solomon, furious even because he wouldn't help him sneak away to go see his beloved human! Didn't he know how hard the distance was on him?? The nerve!!! 😤

So, to him, it only seemed fair to steal some of the sorcerer's tomes and equipment… If he wouldn't help him in person, he could at least (unknowingly) do so in spirit!

… He just wasn't expecting the spells to be that difficult. Asmo is decent enough at magic, but some of those explanations were honestly beyond him… They bordered well into Satan or even Lucifer territory...

He tried his best, he really did, but the gentle teleportation that he was after actually flung him to the human world like he had been shot out of a cannon…! And while it was raining in the human world too!! 😫

The MC was walking home in the rain, umbrella and everything, when they heard screaming from the sky...

Thankfully, Asmo remembered just enough magic to cushion his fall… But that didn't save him from landing right into a massive puddle right next to the MC, effectively soaking them both.

On any other day, he'd have been angry that his expensive clothes were covered in rainwater, but that day? The second he saw the MC was there (and also tastefully soaked in water 😏), he just flung himself at them with a squeal of delight!

The MC had to convince him to let them get inside before they got too cold, but every step of the way was full of laughter and cuddles between the two of them...

Asmo would have to call Solomon to fess up to his theft, but hey, he got to see MC out of it! The bruised tailbone and ruined clothes were more than worth a treat like that.

Beelzebub

Beel genuinely wasn't intending to go to the human world; he really wasn't. He hated the distance like everyone else, but he knew better than to mess with magic that dangerous…

What happened was that he was walking by Satan's room one day and he smelt something inside… apples. A lot of them. He just couldn't help himself…

He didn't know that Satan was using those apples as test subjects for his teleportation magic… Unfortunately, the first fruit that he grabbed actually put him right smack dab in the middle of an incomplete sigil…

Beel kind of blacked out for whatever happened during the next part, it happened really fast, but it was the smell of more apples that woke him back up… and pears, peaches, pineapples, plums-

It's a farmer's market. Beel fell into the apple stand of a farmer's market….

The MC was out shopping there when they heard two things: the screams of shock and horror from the end of the market and a familiar voice shouting, "I'M HUNGRY!!!"

Of course they ran towards the screaming, defying all survival instincts (because who else are we talking about here?) and found Beel, mid-rampage, eating every scrap of food he could get his hands on…

But he actually stopped when he heard them shout his name. That's right, he stopped eating right then and there to turn and see them in the crowd... Oh, the smile that popped up on his face could have reignited a sun!

Beel had no idea how he got there and even less idea of getting back, so the MC had to eventually call Lucifer. They did get to spend the day with their gentle giant, though! (Just don't mention the massive bill for all the fruit he ate… 😣)

Belphegor

So here's the story. Belphie was sleeping in the library, as he sometimes does, and the next thing he knew, he was free-falling through the sky.

No, he didn't know what happened either. Maybe he rolled onto a stray sigil Satan left behind. Perhaps he was accidentally summoned to the human world. Mayhaps he even dreamed about MC so hard that it broke a rift in space-time to try and bring the two together... 

Who the hell knows? His more pressing concern was less how he got up there and more where he would end up.

Unfortunately for him, all he could see below him was a human residential area, and even worse yet, it looked like he was hurtling towards someone's roof… The MC's roof, to be exact!

MC was incredibly lucky to have already been up and starting their morning routine when the seventh-born came crashing onto their bed. Who knows how much damage he could have done if he had landed on them...??

That didn't change their shock to see Belphie, covered in plaster and wood fragments, sitting himself up while looking more annoyed to have been woken up than that he… you know... crashed through their roof...

He was grateful to have popped up close to them because it would have been pretty awkward to land in some random human's room. The MC was… less enthused that they now had some significant repairs to do.

Smooth-talker he is, Belphie not only managed to convince them that Lucifer would take care of the payment (which he would) but also not to call him just yet. Not until he could get himself cleaned off and maybe have a nap or two… Say, they weren't going anywhere today, right? Good. 😏

Check out my Masterlist for more wacky ideas.

[draconic-ichor]

Love-Struck

Part 3

Matilda/Lír fluff

Warnings: strong language, sexual themes

Summary: Matilda and Lír spend some time together off the clock.

Feedback appreciated, 18+

Matilda and Lír started crossing paths more frequently, the knight accompanying the princess on walks throughout the gardens.

Matilda looked forward to those moments, this day being no different. She padded up to Lír, excited as she asked, “Are you busy, Sir?”

“Oh, I am off duty, my Lady.” he informed, “Was just going to get into something more comfortable now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Matilda blushed, backing away.

“It’s quite alright.” He shrugged, reaching up and pulling his helm free of his head. Mahogany colored curls tumbled free, misshapen from the confines of the helm.

Matilda had to squint at him a bit, cheeks reddening as she caught more details.

He smiled at her brightly, almond skin complementing those clear amber eyes that haunted her dreams. He was even better than all her late night imaginings. Matilda realized she must have been staring when he gave a chuckle.

She pulled back, hiding once more behind her long bangs.

“I must look a sight.” He tucked his helm under his arm, “Been wearing that bloody thing for hours.” After a moment of silence he continued, ever palatable, “I was just heading down to The Twisted Root for a drink.”

She knew of that place: it was a tavern in the more notable part of the capitol, named after the Erdtree root that grew through the building's center not long after construction.

Lír’s eyes suddenly lit up with a thought, asking genuinely, “My Lady, would you like to join me?”

Matilda was taken back, heart thumping harder at the question.

She’d never been asked to accompany a man before.

Was this a date? Oh by the gods, what if it was?

Mistaking her shyness for misgivings Lír added, “They have the most splendid meat pies there, and it’s very close by.”

“I-I've never been to a tavern before.” She admitted.

“It’s very respectable.” He assured; “There’s nothing to fear, and besides…I’ll protect you.” His words fluttered about her head, filling her gut with butterflies. Catching himself he quickly added, “Only if my Lady wishes too, of course.”

Not wanting to miss this opportunity Matilda hurriedly accepted, bringing a brighter smile to the man’s face.

“Wait for me near the front gates?” He asked softly.

“O-okay.” She nodded, watching him quickly walk away. He already began pulling at the many straps securing his armor as he went.

Once alone Matilda almost burst. She started preening herself self-consciously, attempting to smooth down her ruffled wings.

~

She waited exactly where he requested, worry growing the longer she was alone. She focused on listening to the servants going about the duties or the far off sounds of birdsong.

Just as her mind started to convince herself that she had been stood up, Lír popped up beside her. He wore common men’s robes in a deep green. It was very odd to see him in everyday attire. He looked much less bulky without all the armor.

“My apologies, my Lady.” Lír offered out his arm, something he did during all their walks.

Matilda took it, murmuring, “It’s quite alright.”

They made their way off the castle grounds, the farther they traveled the more the way became obscured to Matilda. After spending her whole life around the castle she had a mental map of sorts, able to easily navigate despite her poor vision. But here, everything was a fog of mystery. She held onto Lír like a lifeline, the knight ever patient and kind. He slowed his steps for her.

Finally, he paused. “We’re here.” He announced, carefully leading the princess through the doorway.

The tavern was alive with sound: the murmuring of patrons, clicking of mugs, and the strumming of a lute played pleasantly. The smells of spiced meats, fragrant herb bread, and mead caught her nose. It was all quite overwhelming.

Matilda was pulled back to the present by a soft touch to the arm. Lír led her to a table far back in the corner, quieter.

“My Lady.” He pulled a chair free for her.

She thanked him as she sat down. This place felt warm, inviting, soothing her nerves.

“It’s a lot to take in.” He commented, “Especially for your first time in a tavern, my Lady.”

“Please call me Matilda.” She requested.

Lír rubbed the back of his neck, admitting, “I've never addressed a lady by her first name…please forgive me. The formalities will be a tough habit to break.”

“At least when you are off duty?” She offered.

Levity returned to his form, “That is most agreeable.”

He ordered two mugs of Golden Rowa mead and a cheese board. They fell into quiet conversation as they waited, telling each other about their duties throughout the day. Lír had a great respect for her work, listening intently to even the most mundane details of paperwork.

A waitress brought them over their refreshments. Lír placed the cheese board between them, then handed her the second mug. She took it, giving it a sniff: it smelled of honey with a fruity sweetness. She took a tentative sip, finding it quite nice. Lír smiled at her enjoying herself.

Humans can not stomach the rowa fruit in its entirety, but the berries do offer a particular tart sweetness to many drinks and sauces when reduced down. Adding the fruit to mead was very common around the capital.

“Like it, my-Matilda?” He asked before taking a bite of cheese.

She nodded, “It’s very good!”

They fell back into conversation, things becoming more personal as their mugs emptied. The soft blanket of alcohol chasing away their awkwardness.

“What made you want to become a knight?” She asked.

“Ah…it was something I worked towards since I was very young.” He looked down into his mostly empty mug, “My family was quite adamant, in fact.”

Matilda tilted her head, “It sounds as if it was not a want at all.”

Lír didn’t answer, his gaze flicking up to meet her for a moment. He shifted the subject slightly, “I am extremely proud of my knighthood, working in the castle is a respected position.”

She nodded, reading between the unspoken lines. “I studied for my position since childhood as well.” She murmured, “Being so close brings my parents peace.”

Lír’s lips curled softly, a knowing look crossing his face. They felt a warmth bloom between them, a gentle understanding forming. As the sky outside darkened they found their chairs pushed ever so slightly closer, voices dipped down into whispers.

Matilda giggled, nose wrinkling cutely after Lír told a joke to her. A sound silenced her in a moment, the chiming of the large clock in the city center. It rang out at least ten times.

Sobering instantly, she asked worriedly, “Is it that late already?”

“I suppose so.” He nodded, straightening in his chair.

“I should get back home…” she reluctantly informed.

Lír placed a few runes as a tip on the table before standing. “I’ll walk you.” He offered out his arm.

A blush dusted her cheek as she accepted.

~

They walked together back to the castle grounds, conversing softly. Once safely back within the high stone walls, Lír paused. Matilda turned to him, feeling her stomach knot with all the hopes that fluttered about.

Just as the knight was going to act he suddenly froze.

“Is that your father?” Lír looked past her, face paling a bit.

Matilda spun around, concentrating on listening. Sure enough she could hear the slight rattle that was a telltale of her father’s breathing. He seemed to be a ways off, she could just imagine his looming shape darkening the garden. Matilda let out a sigh, “It is…”

She turned back to Lír, murmuring, “Thank you, for everything tonight. I had a very good time.”

“It was a pleasure I look forward to repeating, if it would be agreeable.” He smiled.

“It would be.” She agreed, heart jumping into her throat as he softly took her hand.

Lír dropped a light kiss to her knuckles before stepping away, “Goodnight, my Lady.”

She pulled her hand away, face flushed, “Goodnight, Sir Lír…”

She listened to him walk away for a moment before retreating towards her waiting father.

Morgott leaned heavily in his cane, Matilda could feel the tension radiating off him in waves. She paused, waiting for him to speak.

“Thou stayed away quite late.” He informed.

“Yes?” She challenged.

She heard him huff, “Thy mother and I worried after thee.”

She deflated a bit, murmuring, “I’m sorry…”

Morgott looked past her, to where the knight had made his leave, “Do you fancy that human?”

“He’s a friend!” She answered quickly, bristling as she flushed from embarrassment.

“Mhm..” Morgott didn’t sound convinced, turning to add, “Come, my wee flower, thou must be tired.”

[stressedoutcanary]

Hold On - Jason Todd x Batgirl!Reader [PART 3]

What this includes: Violence, a combo of angst and fluff, and just to be on the safe side I’d say language.

Word count: 3.1k

A/N😋: I am so glad it’s finally finished, now it won’t be sitting in my drafts staring at me all day. Also forgive me for any mistakes, half of it is written at 3 AM

Part 1 , Part 2

•°•°•°•°

“This is it”, you breathed out, stopping your bike near a bush making sure that place was obscure enough. You placed the helmet on the handle and hopped off the bike. After taking a few steps forward and scouting the area, you clicked your comms back on.

“O care to give me the layout of what I am getting myself into, ‘cause we all know the last time didn’t go so well”

“Nightwing said you might call me for backup and now I owe him 20 uggh! Anyways onto the problem at hand, I’m picking up a few heat signatures from the basement area and the schematics of the building indicate a vent on the other side which might help you get in.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

There was no reply on the other end and you assumed she was looking into it. To your bad luck, it was far from it. You heard an all too familiar grunt and mentally cursed yourself for forgetting that it was an open line.

“(Y/N), I thought I made myself clear”, Bruce’s modulated voice came through which low-key made you want to strangle him with your bare hands.

“Oh come on B! Didn’t Alfred teach you that listening in on other people’s conversations is bad manners”

“We are 10 minutes out you will not be going in till we get there”

‘Like Hell I won’t’

“Hello? B? Your voice is breaking up. I can’t hear you! there is some interference in the signal. Batman?”

“Don’t- ” you clicked the comms off before he could finish his sentence and breathed a sigh of relief. ”Note to self after what you just did, avoid showing your face to anyone in the fam for at least a week.”

Snooping around, you came across the vent Babs told you about and you smirked to yourself, “Bless those idiots who decided to make an excess amount of vents throughout Gotham, plus no dumbass to shoot open the lock on any door, huh I’d say it’s going pretty good for me.”

After going through a very, very dusty vent, you silently dropped down to floor behind a goon and cleared your throat to draw his attention. As soon as he turned around, his jaw was met with your right hook, making him plummet to the ground. Grabbing him by the collar you inched closer to his face, which was yet again fully covered by a white mask.

“Alright no-face, tell me where Pyg is right now”, you made use of your deep modulated voice, making the man dart his eyes towards the far right corner of the room. You knew what that meant and without wasting any more time, you knocked him out and scurried over, finding a heavy door at the end. Somehow managing to push open the door, you were faced with a circular stairwell leading down.

“Well Oracle did say she got heat signatures down in the basement.”, you sighed and started taking calculated steps, making sure to check for any traps. ‘Why keep only one person to guard your supersecret creep-house? Either Lazlo is way too overconfident or way too crazy... Probably both.’, you thought, wheels turning in your head, hoping to make sense of the situation. As you went down, you could catch a faint sound of music. ‘Is that Opera?! Well at least it fits his M.O.’

The end of the stairwell opened into a large room. You hid behind one of wooden crates as your mind swiftly accessed the grim ambience; Pyg was sharpening his knife swaying along with opera music playing in the background but Jason was nowhere to be found. Your breath hitched and your blood ran cold, it felt as if the world around you was spinning.

‘What if... what if it’s too late’  Crouching down on the ground with your back to the crate your took in several deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You couldn’t think like that, not when you’re so close. You wiped the stray tear which escaped the tightness of your cowl and had trailed down your cheek. You tried to focus instead of jumping to conclusions.

You frowned upon noticing something odd on the wall in front of you, placing your palms on it, you gave it a slight push. To your surprise it paved way for an attached corridor which clearly didn’t come up in the schematics Oracle told you about. You slipped into the corridor, making sure that nobody saw you. Your feet froze for a slight second on the sight you were met with; cages like prison cells lined up in a row with people inside of them.

“The people who went missing”, you whispered to yourself, still reeling in the shock of it all. Upon hearing a familiar groan you sprinted across the pathway to the source, eyes scanning every inch of the person you found, the person you were here to rescue. You fumbled with the lock for a while, muttering curses under your breath until it clicked open. You dashed to his side and took a batarang out to cut the binds he was in.

“Jay if you die on me again, I swear I will kill you.”

“Been there, done that princess and honestly not a fan of it”, Jason croaked out, his reply came out weaker and voice barely above a whisper. It made your heart clench in a way it hasn’t in a long, long time. You lifted your head up, you gave him a soft smile, gently brushing off the matted hair on his forehead, 

“Jason I..”

‘Just tell him you love him you coward, It’s really not that hard’

“Jason I’m glad you’re okay”, you blurted out in way which was far from normal but he seemed way too tired to noticed. 

‘COWARD’

“How did you get free?”, he inquired, thankfully interrupting your internal yelling.

“I didn’t? I literally just walked in here to get you out.”

“But I thought-”, Jason looked utterly confused as he rubbed his wrists to ease the pain caused by the rope.

“Well long story short. You got captured. I was saved by Harley and Ivy, had a nice chat with them, and then I might have been responsible for Batman’s high blood pressure, and then I emotionally blackmailed Nightwing into giving me your location and then here I am”

“Wha...Yeah I will just pretend I totally understand whatever the hell you just said.”, Jason sighed, he tried to stand up but his feet wobbled and if it wasn’t for you catching him on time h would’ve staggered to the ground.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Mmhmm”, he hummed lightly leaning his weight on you. “Just a little dizzy, probably from the dehydration, It could also be because of the blood loss from the stab wound I got”

“The WHAT?!”, you looked at him like he was crazy.  

“Oh yeah I think I kinda forgot to tell you that the creepy dude tried to cut me open but my armor got in the way so he stabbed me instead and went away saying he had to sharpen his knife or something like that”, he started to slur and you knew you had to get him back to the cave as quickly as possible. You helped him get up on his feet, slinging one of his arms over your shoulders and wrapping one of your arms around his waist.

“Oh my God! Jay, you don’t just bring this sort of thing up in casual conversation!”, you shook your head and started taking small steps with him towards the way you came from. Suddenly a loud crash was heard followed by a couple of screams making the both of you share a nervous glance.

“What was that?”

“Only one way to find out”, you said as you walked through the door back into the large room. 

It was pure chaos, more like a free-for-all. Nightwing jogged up to you. 

“We did say we were 10 minutes out didn’t we?”, he gave you a bright smile and swung Jason’s free arm over his shoulder to help you support him better.

“Good, now since you are here, hold him”, you shifted Jason’s weight towards Dick.

“Hey-”

“Don’t even”, he glared daggers at his elder brother, “What are you even doing? I feel like a baby being passed around”

You ignored Jason’s whining in the background and fixed your gaze on the one person in the room who would soon face your wrath. The rest had already cleared up the goons and Pyg was the only one left. You narrowed your eyes and cracked your knuckles, making your way over to him.

By the time you reached Pyg he was already backing away from Batman and one murderous looking Robin, turning around he tried to make a run for it but was ultimately met with your fist, a sickening crack was heard and no one was quite sure whether it was from his mask, his jaw or both. Pyg was out cold and you shrugged at the duo in front of you while Dick and Jason made their way over.

“Remind me never to get on her bad side ever again.”, Jason whispered as both the boys looked completely terrified of you. You walked over to Bruce and held out your hand. He didn’t seem to catch the drift, for being the world’s greatest detective, he was quite dumb sometimes.

“The keys to the batmobile, unless you want Mr. surprise-I-got-stabbed over here to bleed out.”

After placing Jason into the passenger seat you hopped into the driving one. 

“Also there are people in the back, you know, the missing ones, so good luck with the clean up I guess.”, you called out before before closing the hood of the batmobile. 

You were on the road heading straight for the cave when you realized Jason wasn’t answering your questions anymore.

“Jason?”, you stole a glance at him and he was as pale as a ghost, “Shit!”, you yelled as you jammed your foot on the accelerator. 

•°•°

Jason woke up to the dull beeping of multiple monitors and by the looks of the place, he concluded he was in fact in the batcave. As he regained some control over his senses, he saw you sitting on a chair beside his bed. You were sound asleep but he could see worry etched on your face even in your slumber. Looking at you, Jason wished he had the courage to say what his heart felt instead he just went ahead taking your hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. You stirred awake at that.

“Hey! You’re up!”, you stood up abruptly and hugged him tightly. To him it felt as if you were actually afraid of what might happen if you let go of him.

“I told you I don’t do dying anymore. It sucks.”

You finally pulled away from him, a smile tugging at your lips. Jason glanced at your hand, taking it in his once again, he ran his thumb over your bruised knuckles.

“I knew you had a mean right hook, guess I just forgot how mean”, Jason said smirking at you. You didn’t pull away from him as he had expected in his head instead you just scoffed at the statement. 

“The next time you forget that, allow me to give you a reminder by demonstration Bird-Brain”, you called him by the name you often used back then. At first it was to annoy your very annoying best friend but then it stuck around but hadn’t used that nickname ever since he came back. You both realized that. A silence fell over the once playful conversation, his eyes found the celling and yours found your lap. After a while you cleared you throat to get his attention and he looked at you, his expressions were borderline unreadable.

“Jason I-I should go now, but don't worry I’ll get Alfred back here”, You got up and moved towards the door of the med-bay, scrunching your eyes shut you released a shaky breath.

‘It’s now or never (Y/N)’ 

“Jason when you get better, there is this place I have been meaning to take you to, with me of course.”

“Sure I’ll go”

“So tomorrow sounds good?”

“Tomorrow sounds good”, he repeated after you breaking into a grin. Your cheeks flushed and you had to take a sharp turn to hide the blush on your face. You mentally smacked yourself for behaving like a teen asking her crush out on a date for the first time. 

•°•°

The next night Jason met you on the roof of the Wayne tower.

“Please tell me this isn’t the place you wanted to see with me”, he chuckled behind you and you turned around to give him a quick hug.

“It’s not that bad of a place, plus I can throw you off here too if you get on my nerves”, you laughed at his faux scandalised face.

“You wound me”

“In case you forgot you are already wounded, drama queen, plus its your lucky day, this is not where we will be spending our evening. Just follow me and don’t get lost on the way”, you winked and jumped off the edge, him following the suit.

When you both reached the place you had in mind, the place Jason cherished when he was Robin, the expression on his face was priceless. It was like a mixture of awe and surprise with a hint of sadness.

“How did you find out about this?”, Jason inquired after a while of reminiscing. 

“Gee how indeed, ‘cause it cannot be the fact that I am detective who’s life is influenced by at least a dozen detectives and it’s most definitely not the fact that for me, you aren’t that difficult to figure out”

“Touché”

Jason chuckled at your usual playful sarcasm, his eyes were twinkling with something which felt more than just momental adoration and you couldn’t help but crack a small smile of your own. You made your way over to him, looking at the visible skyline for a brief moment, Jason watched as you sat down on the ledge with your legs dangling off, patting the space beside you gestured him to join you. 

“I have a feeling we’re gonna be here for a while, so might as well sit down and get comfortable”, you shrugged as he nodded and sat down beside you, placing his elbow on his bent knee. You both enjoyed the few minutes of comfortable silence, watching cars pass by below and the moon lit starry sky above.

“I am starting to see why you liked it here”

“Yeah...”

“Alfred told me”

“Huh?”, Jason looked at you dumbfounded, trying to process your words.

“After you...were gone, Alfred told me, he told me that this was your happy place, though I still can’t believe you had a favorite gargoyle”, stifling a laugh you somehow managed to continue, “Anyway so as I saying, ever since I found out about it, I used to come here every night when I got free from patrol, come to think of it I still do, sometimes”

You could feel his heavy gaze boring into you making you immediately regret bringing up this conversation. 

“Why?”, he finally inquired. You didn’t know whether to feel relived or be tense, but it was now or never, releasing a shallow breath you glanced at him, words flowing out on their own accord. 

“Even back then I knew everyone dies at some point and all we can do is try and find some meaning in it, in the memories they leave behind and I guess me wanting to be here, it was a part of me trying to do that and it made me feel somewhat connected to you so I kept doing it; Coming here, spending any time I could spare and leaving before the crack of dawn and before I knew it, it had become a habit.”

“So you did miss me”, he gave you a sad smile and wrapped his hand around your shoulder, giving you a light squeeze. 

“Of course I did you dumbass, I was best friend.”, you gave him a nudge and leaned your cheek on his chest, sighing deeply.

“The reason I avoided you after you came back was because I was scared”, you whispered, hoping it would sound less real that way. Jason pulled back a bit to take in your features and you could hear the strain in his voice, a hint of sadness in it.

“Scared of me?”

“Jason I wasn’t scared of you, I can never be, I was scared for you. I was afraid of losing you again. Every time you come back I lose you all over again and I am honestly tired of it and I thought that maybe if I kept my distance I--”

“Won’t get hurt again?”

“Yeah, something like that”

A moment passed where no one spoke anything, both of you running the scenarios of what might happen next in your brains. An idea clicked in your head and you abruptly got to your feet startling Jason in the process. Offering him your hand and a sheepish smile, you got him to his feet.

“I am tired of being scared Jason. I want this. I want us and for that I am willing to take a chance, are you?”, he stepped closer to you, his scent invading your senses.  

“For you (Y/N), anything. You should know that by now, plus I feel the same way, I have for a while now”, Jason breathed out as he pulled you in for a deep kiss leaving you dizzy for a while after you pulled away for air. Placing your foreheads together, you found yourselves grinning like idiots yet again in the two successive nights. Jason’s stomach growled, sending you into a fit of laughter.

“Hungry?”

“You really gotta ask?”, raising an eyebrow, he tried to look offended but ultimately melted against you as you pressed your lips on his for a brief moment.

“I know a place”, you murmured, lips brushing against his and before he could register what was happening you already had a grapnel gun in your hands, smirking as you jumped off the ledge.

“Last one there is a rotten egg hoodie!!”

“Hey! But I don’t even know where it is!”

“Not my fault Bird-Brain!”

Jason jumped on after you, smiling to himself. Both of you were thinking the same thing ‘maybe this was finally the start of a new chapter; something new, something scary and something beautiful altogether’

°•°•°•°•

Tags: @ladyperceval

[sekceesimps]

A Rose Made of Chains Ch 4

a/n hey all, thanks for 125 followers! Publishing Ch 5 tomorrow night. Might be a delay for Chapters 6 and 7 because of classes and depression. Hopefully I’ll be able to get that out soon. 

This part will lack Kurapika and dive more into reader’s relationship with Chrollo as well as the Phantom Troupe. Hope you all enjoy! 

sincerely Coffee

Kurapika x Reader x Chrollo - Soulmate AU

Part 1:   Teaser,    Ch 1,     Ch 2,     Ch 3  

Part 2:  teaser,   Ch 5,    Ch 6,   Ch 7

Weeks. It had been weeks of you being left here in the dark damp room. After your initial failed escape plan, the man who came and hurt you everyday, whom you later learned was named Feitan, had begun to bring you a small piece of the morning newspaper. It was your only source of entertainment as well as knowledge about the outside world. Nothing significant ever happened, you just looked at the date and tried to distract your mind with the light read. 

It was getting colder too. You could feel the chill of the outside in your room. There was always a bite in the air that you felt in your bones whenever the door opened and Feitan came in. The nice man named Chrollo had offered you a real blanket once. You had shrugged him off, trying to hold onto your last shreds of free will. Your sensible side always got angry and screamed at you to accept the heat. 

Chrollo came almost everyday and repeated his offer to you. Everytime you would say no, but he would still stay. He was the only form of comfort in the cold darkness so naturally you clung onto it, quite literally sometimes. 

Some days he would stay silently by the door and read. This could be silently or out loud to you, it would vary. He always came in with a different book, always mentioning the importance of reading whenever you asked about it. Other days he would ask you about your life and in turn he would answer perhaps one question that you asked about his favorite things. You deduced that he was probably incredibly disinterested in topics regarding himself. You didn’t mind, he had a smooth voice and you had missed having conversations. Once he had even brought you a set of chess for the two of you to play. You could tell that he enjoyed spending some time with you. 

There was another time when you had visibly shivered due to the cold right in front of him. He let out a little grin and hugged you, simply saying that his warm body could easily give you more heat than your clothes. You had clung onto him for what felt like hours all while he whispered sweet nothings into your ear. 

It was one day you were feeling resistant when you asked about his past that he had seemed incredibly off-put. You made the stupid mistake of pressing further and asking about what would happen to you if you kept saying no to his offers. It fueled you to edge him on even if you knew it could lead to your demise. His eyes had held a dull fire as he left and slammed the door shut behind him. Perhaps your taunting had been a little too much.  

He didn’t come back for a week. When he was gone Feitan also stopped bringing the med kit. This made your wounds more aggravated and the torture much more painful. It was slowly breaking down your body and will. The food given to you also was much less nutritious. It was clear that these people, if you could even call them that, no longer cared for your well being. So they’ve decided that they no longer need me, huh, I really am going to die here. 

Surprisingly you were okay with this. The pain was numbing and prevented you from really thinking about anything else. When your injuries had been lighter, you still had the ability to think of rescue and your friends. Now even the thought of your soulmate sent lightning hot flashes of pain through your body. Looking at your soulmark made you want to throw up, since you would have to see the mark of the 12-legged spider right next to it. You sigh and curl up onto the icy floor. Your clothes were damp and bloody, making the chill in your bones even greater. At least when Chrollo came he would allow you to get a new shirt if it had gotten too bloody. You wouldn’t even get to die with your dignity now. 

He had come in rather uneventfully. Quietly closing the door behind him. He came to your room and opened his book. Silent, more silent than usually. It confirmed your suspicion that they were finally going to get rid of you once and for all. 

“Yes,” you voice out weakly. You refused to say more. Your will had given out, but you knew in your soul that if you stayed here any longer then you would die, either from the neglect or from your wounds and the sickness you knew was growing within them. This man could make the excruciating pain go away and all you wanted to do was hope that he would keep his word. Hope was something you had gone dry of. 

He turns back, raven locks slightly obscuring his gleaming eyes. He had the faintest smile on his face, “I’m glad.” He walked towards you slowly, as if you were a wounded animal, which in all honesty you probably looked like right now. He leaned down at your level and gave you a hug. His warmth and smell invade every part of your body. You didn’t mind because now you might survive, “Let me take you to your new room,” his smile grew larger and now more sincere as took your hand, hoisting you up. 

You tried to move, but your legs didn’t seem to listen to your brain and you promptly fell down. You scrunch your eyes close and expect your face to get smashed onto the ground, a final embarrassment. Surprisingly, Chrollo had caught you. You suppose that he decided that you wouldn’t be able to walk on your own so he carried you bridal style. How his lean frame managed to support your entire body weight surprised you. His mellow scent slowly eased you to sleep in his arms. This would be the first night's sleep in a while where you felt genuinely secure. 

»»————-　　————-«« 

Waking up in this new room was bliss. You don’t remember being in as much ease and comfort before. The bed was empty but a window allowed for a single ray of light to come in. You hadn’t been around true sunlight in so long. Your mind briefly wandered to where you could possibly be but that thought was pushed away with a loud growl of your stomach. Oh right, you think, I need to eat something. You got up slowly from the bed and started walking towards the door. You turned the knob slowly, expecting to get electrocuted or something.   

You opened it and padded slowly down the hall hoping to run into Chrollo or at least get to a kitchen-like area on your own. He had probably changed you in your sleep as you were now wearing real clothes in the form of sweatpants and a huge shirt. It was a huge step up from your tattering bloody rags. You kept trudging on and eventually found yourself in what looked to be a common room area. The hallways so far seemed to indicate that this place was an old hotel or maybe a dorm room. You weren’t too sure, honestly you didn’t even know if you were still in York New City. 

The air here smelled damp and sour, like people who sweat and had just exercised lay down on the couches and let their stink stay permanently. I hope I don’t smell like that you thought briefly before you made a left and found yourself in a kitchen. 

Maybe I should have waited for Chrollo, you scolded yourself as you look through the pantry for something good to eat. You had been starved for weeks after all. As you finally reach for a bag of pop tarts on the shelves you hear someone walk in. You quickly grab it and attempt to make yourself as small and non threatening as possible. You take in the appearance of the people who had come into the kitchen, a familiar pink haired woman as well as a short haired blonde woman who had an interesting form of clothing. The pink haired one only chuckled at your meek demeanor and gave you a hand with the food. 

“Paku, this is Y/N, our newest and most gorgeous recruit” she announced lightly and moved to heat up your pop tarts. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” her calming voice was directed at you. You smiled loopily at the blonde, she was hot you think to yourself.  

“All done! Time to go to the meeting,” she called out to you and handed you a plate of your steaming breakfast. Lightly patting your head, trying not to startle you too much. They’re both so hot, you continue thinking. Their stares make you feel overwhelmed, you don’t remember ever being around such beautiful people. 

“Meeting?” you ask weakly as you take a bite. The sugary flavor explodes in your mouth making you let out a soft moan from the happiness of it. 

She and Paku share a smile before saying, “The leader called a few of us to a meeting, just some basic introductions is all.”  you only nod and continue eating. When you finish you hurriedly clean your space and let Paku and the pink haired woman named Machi lead you expertly through the halls of this new home.  

You come across a large empty space with some rubble and chairs where Paku lets you sit in between her and Machi. They had made pleasant small talk with you through the walk and gave you a vague idea of the layout of the area. You were definitely going to get lost but they had put you in so much ease that you felt safe with them leading the way. You had been the first to arrive and sat together in a peaceful atmosphere. 

As time goes by, some people start trickling into the meeting space. You take note of a person wrapped up in bandages as well as a girl with glasses in a cute black turtleneck. A very large man with strange looking ears had come in last. They had greeted your companions and had largely ignored you before sitting down. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that your savior had come in looking quite different. He seemed quieter and more serious, but his entire look had changed. His normally loose raven locks were now slicked back on his head. He seemed less human this way, but if he was really the boss then it didn’t surprise you too much that he looked the way he did. His entire aura simply radiated authority, but in a subtle way. You had noticed how everyone in the room had perked up and stood at attention when he had come in. Even the aloof looking girl in glasses was paying attention.

“Good morning,” he remarked in that familiar smooth voice. You crooned on the inside just hearing it. “As you all know we have our newest potential member here to perhaps take spot number 11,” he stopped briefly as everyone in the room nodded their heads slightly, “and to make sure that she is fit to take that place, I want her to go on her very first mission as a sort of recruitment exercise. It will be a perfect way to test her skills and get her comfortable with the rest of us,” he didn’t look at you but at this point everyone in the room was beginning to glance your way, trying to see what kind of reaction those words would elicit. You remained unmoved by his words, trying to keep a stoic demeanor. “It’s going to be a difficult mission that will only require one other member. Their job is to just assist, but not lead, I want Y/N to do that,” he finished as he looked at you for the first time since he came in the room. His eyes held pride, you knew that he believed you would pass this test. Your lips curved into the smallest and softest of smiles. He continued, “I don’t plan on assigning anybody, so whoever wants to go can just volunteer.”

Machi raised her hand swiftly. She smiled at you and announced, “I’ll go with Y/N,”

Chrollo nodded at her and replied, “Very well, everyone else may leave and go about their business for the day. Machi and Y/N, stay so I can tell you what I want from you two.” With that the rest of the group made their way out of the room. Paku waved at you before also turning and leaving. 

“There’s going to be a museum showing some of the rarest objects in the hunter world. It’s nothing like the auction as these items are more private and are owned by famous pro-hunters. In turn the museum only allows pro-hunters in. I desire one of the rarest nen blades that’s currently being shown off for about 5 billion Jenny. I have the utmost faith in the two of you,” he grinned and left. Your stomach filled with dread, having no idea how you were supposed to complete this task. Machi grins at you too and pats your shoulder. 

“Good Luck, Y/N!” she laughs, “I’ll meet you back in your room in about an hour to discuss plans on entering tonight. I really like you so I hope for your sake that you can get the blade.” she leaves you to your worried deliberations. So this was the life of a thief huh? 

a/n sorry it took so long to get this out, we reached 100 followers much faster than anticipated. Thank you all so much for that we love every single one of you! However, we have gotten some rude comments regarding how long it has taken to publish this series. We assure you that we are trying our best to get this out to you (we're glad you're liking it •u•) but leaving rude comments was unnecessary. Again thank you so much for the support <3!

[karasunology]

⸙ ˚₊ ➷ MIYA ATSUMU BEING A DAD HEADCANONS ! ❞

✎ . . . all those dad headcanons are making me so SOFT 🥺✨🥺 do you think you could make some for kuroo, akaashi and atsumu as dads if u haven’t done them already??

❝ ― submitted by @ nonnie <3 ❞

-ˏˋ ➶ character(s) ━ miya atsumu <3

[ trigger warnings ━ slight manga spoilers !! ]

✎ . . . DAD HEADCANONS.

[ SUGAWARA KOUSHI & OIKAWA VERSION. ] [ BOKUTO KOUTARO VERSION. ] [ KUROO TETSUROU & KOZUME KENMA VERSION. ] [ IWAIZUMI HAJIME. ]

-ˏˋ playing soleil's tape ˊˎ-

[ 📼 ] . . . hi bubs!! hopefully you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing them at 12 am <3 kuroo's will be uploaded tomorrow along with kenma, while akaashi's the day day after; hope it's alright with you👉👈

MIYA ATSUMU.

➜ atsumu was scared, he really was; he already had his life planned out for him; getting into a good division 1 volleyball team, a good relationship with his brother and a great girlfriend that has supported him though and through ─ especially at volleyball.

➜ but getting you pregnant at the ripe age of 24 was not part of his plans

➜ don't get him wrong, mf loves you ─ like a lot, but atsumu was well, terrified

➜ he really should have wrapped his willy

➜ he wasn't even the best boyfriend, how could he even be a good father ? but nevertheless, he wanted to start a family with you; even if it was unexpected.

➜ he was a perfectionist, it could be seen with how badly he exhausted and beats himself up with his tosses ─ but atsumu would never let him treat his children like they're a mistake

➜ getting through your first pregnancy had a rough start for the journey, atsumu doesn't know  s h i t  about being pregnant

➜ all he knows is HOW you got pregnant um chile😳🔞

➜ but of course, being a loving boyfriend he is, he tried learning the basics as fast as he can just to show his support to you ─ he'd go out every night just to buy something to satisfy your obscure cravings, would try and message your ankles whenever it would get swolen & he even asks for hinata's help because sure enough, bb boy's got a lot of knowledge after taking care of natsu

➜ but of course ─ we're all just humans anyway, every now and then, he'd get doubtful ─ was he even going to be a good dad? will he even be able to support his children even if he has volleyball work to be done?

➜ just like the first person he talked to after finding out that you're pregnant, he once again talked his feelings out to osamu

“ and to think that i thought that i will have a better and happier life than yo ─ ah! ”

“ ─ don't say that as if y/n being pregnant is a burden, are you fucking dumb because i will literally shove this freshly hot onigiri DOWN your pants. ” osamu hits atsumu on the back of his head before continuing.

“ you may not have the best circumstances right now, but i know you'll be a good father. ”

➜ and so he did, he really became a good father. right after your twins ─ aito and akio were born, atsumu would always have a schedule on his day to be with you guys

➜ promising to himself that he would always be apart of his sons' life

➜ he bathes them, he would always create weird depictions of a shark with bubbles on top of aito's hair and a deformed volleyball on akio's

➜ he'd also feed them and they would always fall for the airplane trick ─ though, they actually prefered you feeding them as they are a mama's boys

➜ they got his dad's adoration towards you, so the three would usually fighting for you; but of course if you picked anyone from them, the other two would be upset

“ aito baby of course it's you ” your were guilty, victimized by his glossy puppy eyes as the two other boys puffed out their cheeks, eyebrows furrowed

➜ atsumu & akio : soMEBODY LIED TO HIM SEVERAL TIMES AND TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS FLY, HOT, SEXY AND BEAUTIFUL BUT HE'S NOTHING LIKE THAT, HE'S NOTHING OF THAT SORT😡👊

➜ he loves his sons and all, but he would never let him hand you over to them

➜ he also doesn't take care of their diapers, mama that is all on YOU

➜ and right after your twin boys turned two, he decided he wanted another one

➜ having strong genes, he got you pregnant in an INSTANT ─ but with twin daughters this time 🤪

➜ after bringing nari and natsuki to the world, you bet they got atsumu wrapped around their little chubby fingers

➜ while aito was a sweet, animal loving son that rarely cried when he was a baby, akio was a picky yet bright child ─ a smartass, you would like to say, always finding ways on being a little sly mf

➜ the two resembling a bit more of you yet has their father's hair and eyes

➜ on the other hand with your twin daughters, nari had both inherited his dad's attitude and a bit of her uncle aswell. and with natsuki, she was a very peaceful child as well, prefers you over her dad while nari prefers her dad

➜ the two, taking in more of their dad's appearance but have your hair

➜ atsumu would ALWAYS try and dress up your kids the same style he used to pair with osamu, would either pair by twin, or girl and boy.

➜ reminds him of the 'old days'

➜ sir, you're barely even thirty, sit DOWN

➜ after a few months on giving birth to your daughters, you guys got married with both your daughters as flower girls and your two sons as wing bearers

➜ the afterparty was WILD

➜ hinata running around with akio on his shoulder, osamu having a staring competition with nari because?? why dafuq does uncle look so much like dad and why do i kinda look like him??

➜ sakusa taking a liking towards aito as they LOWKEY TALK SHlT ABOUT HIS FATHER LMAO

➜ natsuki being in your arms because bb girl just loves you a lot and not to say you have favourites but ,,

➜ by the end of the afterparty, nari almost drank her father's wine, akio and aito were dead asleep in their father's arms while natsuki was still side awake wondering wtf happened

➜ the type of father that curses around his kids and would always be the first suspect whenever you hear nari and akio repeat them countless of times

“ fuck ” your head whipped around to scold atsumu for saying such language in front of your kids, but got caught off by nari saying it as well

“ hngg fuck! ” your daughter giggled saying it countless of times as you watched in horror when she made akio do it as well

“ oh my god nari, honey, no ─ ”

“ uhh . . fuck?" akio looked at his baby sister, raising an eyebrow as atsumu was dying of laughter nodding his head as you keep hitting his shoulder

“ yes, fuck ” making them laugh as they thought they really did something

➜ as i said it in my older brother headcanons, atsumu is actually kinda good at baking; while osamu's speciality was at cooking

➜ being a daddy's girl and apprentice, if she wasn't trying to learn volleyball from her dad, nari would always be baking in the kitchen with atsumu ─ fascinated with everything her dad does, nodding intently at everything he says as they bith wear matching aprons that say “bad bitches bake”

➜ they make the BEST GOODS Y'ALL, their chocolate cookies were impeccable along with their brownies

➜ the four kids would usually play volleyball with their dad whenever he wasn't busy, atsumu would teach them all how to do an arm breaking serve to akio and nari since they both wanted to be an ace, setting to natsuki and receiving with aito since he stated he wanted to be a libero because their uniforms hit different LMAOO

➜ of course they're not the same words he used though

➜ also if they ever played volleyball, expect to have another kid in the backyard because as osamu said; atsumu's mental age drops down to 5 years old while on the court

➜ NGL HE'D GET COMPETITIVE WITH NATSUKI BECAUSE YOU KNOW, SETTER TINGZ✨😍

➜ and he knew damn well natsuki just wanted to gain your attention and praises

➜ atsumu is the type of father that would be so proud if one of his children ever memorizes one of niki minaj's rap

➜ like imagine walking into your husband, trying to teach his kids one of the lines from STARSHIPS by niki??? LMAOO

➜ HE'D BEAT BOX ALONG WITH THEM

➜ as they grew up, their bond has never been more stronger, weekly volleyball practices with their dad & occasionally with his team, while you also sometimes joined in

➜ school was natsuki and aito's top priority though while to nari and akio was volleyball

➜ sometimes nari and natsuki really present their dad whenever they get too hard on themselves, either on studying, or volleyball

➜ also going to their father's games & probably half of the time skip school?? HAPPENS MORE THAN YOU THINK SHHJKTSA

➜ anyways, overall, even if your first pregnancy was a total shock to both you and atsumu ─ unexpected and all, but you guys wouldn't want anything else from the world, as you guys believed it all happened for a reason and your beliefs did not falter when you guys saw how everything just falls right back onto the right places in the end

[jasmine-iroh]

Reflections

Pairing: Sokka x f!reader

WC: 1.5K

Summary: for the first time ever, Zuko gives his younger sister good advice. Inspired by the song I Wish I Was The Moon by Neko Case

☽ 〇 ☾

(Y/N) sat quietly with one leg dangling over the edge of the main level of the Western Air Temple, her chin propped up on her other knee. She stared up at the growing sliver of moon visible, a sigh falling past her lips for what must’ve been the hundredth time that night.

She heard the sound of a boot scuffing on the gravel littered around an instant before a warm shoulder brushed against her own as her brother joined her. She knew he made noise only so that his sudden appearance didn’t startle her at the edge of the cliff face; after all, they’d both been trained to move around silently from a young age.

“He’s pestering me about why you left in the middle of his epic tale,” Zuko informed his younger sister quietly, his quiet sarcasm about Sokka’s story telling pulling her lips into the briefest of smiles.

“I wish I was the moon sometimes,” (Y/N) replied, not sparing a glance to Zuko. She knew what she’d see on his face; his moon silvered scar pulled taut in a silent question as he turned to observe her.

The weight of his gaze pulled an explanation from her quicker than any pestering Azula put her through could. A humorless laugh slipped past her lips as she shook her head and turned fully to Zuko.

“That’s the reason I left, Zu. We’re firebenders, we’re supposed to reflect the sun. How could I ever compete with the moon when that’s the opposite of who I am?”

“Well, your first mistake was comparing yourself to a space rock,” he hummed in response while trying to scrounge around his brain for scraps of something Uncle would say to bring (Y/N) inner balance.

Balance.

He grunted as he felt the impact of her elbow in his ribs at his stupid reply.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, jerk,” (Y/N) grumbled and turned to leave and find a different, idiot free, place to brood when she felt Zuko’s hand grip her arm and coax her back to her seat.

“You’re so sensitive when you’re being angsty,” Zuko huffed, before bumping her shoulder with his own. “I’ve never seen you so twisted up over a guy and his space rock ex,” he teased and laughed as (Y/N) glared at him and shoved him away.

“Stop being a jerk, or I’ll tell Katara to hose you off this cliff,” she threatened him and smirked as he flushed at the Water Tribe girl’s name. Two could play this game, she thought to herself.

“You’re the one being difficult! You know, it’s a crime to assault your Crown Prince,” Zuko crowed dramatically before dragging (Y/N) to lay down with him and stare at the moon.

“Exiled Crown Prince,” she pointed out spitefully, in true bratty younger sister fashion.

“Whatever, Princess. As I was trying to say before being assaulted by an enemy of the Crown, Uncle used to talk a lot about balance while I was banished.” Zuko told her, speaking slowly to make sure his thoughts were collected properly so she couldn’t mock him for fumbling one of Iroh’s proverbs.

“Banished the first time? Or this time?” (Y/N) snickered, earning a smack from her brother.

“Stop. I’m trying to make you feel better, remember?” He groused, before continuing. “Anyways, Uncle always said that the Sun and Moon are reflections of each other, two sides of the same coin. He always said ‘Without the night, there cannot be a new day. Without the day, there would not be any peace in the night.’ Why would you want to be something that has already played out, when you could be your own fresh start?” Zuko asked, staring up at the sky as a cloud floated in front of the moon, obscuring it’s intoxicating glow from the Temple.

(Y/N) closed her eyes as it’s silver glow fell away from her skin, rolling over and pulling Zuko in for a hug.

“You’re pretty smart for an idiot,” she mumbled into his shoulder before standing and walking back towards the fire where the rest of the group still were.

Zuko sighed, knowing that was as close to a thank you as he’d ever get from (Y/N). The moon reemerged from behind the cloud and he smiled faintly up to it.

“A new day,” he murmured to himself, before standing and brushing himself off as he returned to the campfire to take a seat beside Toph, gazing at Katara from across the circle.

☽ 〇 ☾

“Hey, why’d you leave the fire last night? I thought fires were supposed to be your thing,” Sokka questioned (Y/N) the next morning as they were cleaning up from breakfast, trying to erase the tension souring the air between them from the night before.

“I, uh, I just needed to get some air,” (Y/N) tried lamely, avoiding looking up into his pleading ocean eyes. For someone from such a small village, he had an uncanny ability to read her like a book.

“Uh huh,” he grunted, sparing a vaguely pleading glance to Zuko, who was failing miserably at trying not to look like he was eavesdropping with Katara a few feet away. As they made eye contact, Zuko only shrugged, a thinly veiled look of annoyance in his eyes as his gaze settled on his younger sister.

In the moment it took for their silent exchange to take place, (Y/N) had tried to make a swift exit, only to hear a familiar light tread following her to her quarters. Without turning, she stopped and rested against the threshold.

“What, Sokka?” She asked, only to feel his hand tugging her own to get her to turn and face him. His other hand came up and tilted her chin to force her gaze to meet his, an imploring blue gaze meeting her distant amber stare.

“Talk to me,” he pleaded, his voice low and rough in the small space between them. “I need to know what’s on your mind.”

“I wish I was the moon,” she whispered, her voice faltering at the last word, “but I can’t ever be anything but the sun.”

A single tear made its way down her cheek, slicing a hot trail through a warm blush.

Sokka made a strangled noise low in his throat and pulled her into his chest, his wiry arms wrapping around her shoulders and keeping her close as she cried into his chest.

“I’m so tired. I wish I was the moon,” she sobbed, feeling his fingers tilt her head up and press her heated forehead to his own cool skin.

“How can you be the moon when you’re meant to be the sun in the sky?” He soothed her as he wiped her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “The moon only reflects the sun’s light, y’know; that’s why the moon comes and goes while the sun is constant.”

At his words, (Y/N) sniffled and offered him a watery smile, wrapping her own arms around his body and anchoring them together.

“‘M sorry that me talking about Yue upset you last night. She was the first girl I ever felt strongly about, and I can’t let her story be lost to her sacrifice,” he explained, his nose lightly brushing against (Y/N)’s as he spoke. “But that doesn’t mean my story ends with her. There’s always a day after the night, y’know,” he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear him imitating Zuko’s impression of Iroh in his last sentence.

“You heard that?” (Y/N) asked, reeling back a few inches in shock to stare openly at Sokka, who had the audacity to look humored at her reaction.

“Well duh, you ran off without any explanation. I’m no knight, but I know a damsel in distress when I see one,” he joked lamely, laughing when she lightly slapped his shoulder.

“I’m no damsel,” (Y/N) grumbled, letting Sokka pull her back into his chest with a small chuckle.

“Maybe not, but you were in distress,” he pointed out, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear as it fell out of her bun. “And I am nothing if not chivalrous,” Sokka whispered as he bent down to capture her lips with his own.

He felt her laugh against his lips before returning his kiss, her fingers making quick work of his top knot. Burying her fingers in his loose hair, she used it to pull him closer and deepen the kiss, feeling her back press against the wall of the temple. Sokka bit down on her lower lip gently with a quiet groan in response to the feeling of (Y/N)’s fingers in his hair, pressing even closer to her.

Before they could take the kiss any further, they heard a shocked gasp followed by Zuko’s voice ringing down the hallway.

“What the hell? You were supposed to make up, not make out,” he shouted, causing the pair to jump apart.

“Run,” (Y/N) whispered urgently to Sokka, taking his hand and tearing off deeper into the temple with him as their laughter and Zuko’s footsteps sounded behind them.