#man just wants to get his life back but he's stuck helping weird people find maps and sell health tonics

[arthursfuckinghat]

John Marston and Sombra 𑁦𓃥𑁦 RDR1

[feeder86]

Tommy's Two Hundred

From the moment Tommy had joined the gay dating app, he’d spotted that the closest person to him geographically was a catfish. It was obvious from the little thumbnail picture that no one with a body that good could live so close by and him not know about it. The picture, showing the massive pecs and toned six pack were guaranteed to have been stolen from some straight bodybuilder somewhere in the world; but definitely not anyone who lived within at least two hundred miles of this backwards town in the middle of nowhere. The guy was probably some lonely, middle aged man seeking some attention that he did not deserve; attention that Tommy had no intention of bestowing upon him.

With his good looks and average height, Tommy soon found himself on a couple of dates with guys from the app. Some a little older; a couple still in college. He always got himself so excited before each one, having enjoyed endless kinky exchanges beforehand, back and forth. He liked it when the guys led the conversation with their horny talk, getting most aroused when they spoke about dominating him and tying him up. He gave these virtual suitors a deep, authorative voice in his head as he read out their messages, imagining the ways they’d seek their pleasure from him. In these fantasies, he built an entire persona for his dates; the way they spoke, the way they acted; the things they would do to him after getting back. He was his own worst enemy. No one could live up to such expectations. Despite being bold and brave behind the keyboard of their cell phones, the guys were never as Tommy pictured them in real life. They were polite and friendly; a little kinky perhaps, but only behind closed doors. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Tommy’s bubble to burst, leaving him stuck on a dull date with another boring Mr Average. 

As Valentine’s Day rolled around once more, Tommy felt the sting of still being single at the age of twenty-four. Friends, who thought they were being helpful, lamented about how difficult it was to understand why a guy so good looking and successful was still on the shelf. Tommy, however, knew that he just wasn’t being plain enough with people about what he was really after. He’d wasted more than a couple of years of his time on guys who were never going to please him in the ways he most wanted. If he was going to find the man of his dreams, he would need to start his dating profile from scratch.

Stripping his shirt and binding his hands with rope, Tommy posed for his new profile picture. He updated his username to include his submissive nature. Then, it was finally time to work on the profile itself. He stripped it bare of the mundane details about his favourite hobbies and movies, his education and aspirations. In their place, he went to town about his kinky interests and desires. He wanted to submit himself to someone entirely, openly and without reservations. Like a form of cosmic ordering, he outlined in great detail the sort of kinky, dominant guy he was on the lookout for, and ended by posting a further picture of his toned, naked body, wrists and ankles bound with handcuffs.

With breathless excitement, Tommy saved his changes and waited with fizzing excitement for his first messages. 

Nothing. Sure, his profile had had lots of views, but no one had felt compelled enough by it to reach out. 

Days went by. Tommy began to feel that he had made a mistake; that he had exposed himself and his kinks too openly on the app. Perhaps, rather than being turned on by his pictures and words, they were laughing at him instead; his extreme submissive fantasies, too weird and niche for anyone to actually want to meet him. Maybe the man of his horny dreams didn’t actually exist.

By the end of the second week, Tommy had made up his mind to delete the account. He gave his profile one final read, cringing as he tried to imagine it from another person’s perspective, then he stormed onto the app settings and found the exact link he needed to erase it entirely.

Just as he did so, Tommy saw a message pop up on the screen: 

‘Nice profile.’ 

Assuming sarcasm, Tommy skeptically tapped his way into his inbox and rolled his eyes when he saw that the message had actually come from the catfish profile of the guy who supposedly lived right here in town. 

‘Thanks,’ he typed back, determined that he would never be rude enough to ignore anyone who messaged him.

‘If you’re really as submissive as you claim, I’d be very interested in meeting you,’ came the next response.

Again, Tommy rolled his eyes at the fake profile picture. However, given that in five minutes time he would be deleting the app for good anyway, why not just click on the profile and take a look?

What Tommy saw next altered his perspective entirely. He didn’t care if the profile picture was a fake; a guy who could write like that, so erotically, about his desires to dominate, could look however they wanted to in real life. Tommy needed to meet them.

What followed over the next couple of hours was a kinky exchange where Tommy literally poured his heart and soul out to the mystery man on the other end. No one had ever shown such an interest in his kinks, nor drawn them out of him with such precision. So, when the offer of a meet at the coffee house in town came up, he didn’t think twice.

Sitting with his back to the door, Tommy waited patiently, but with a realistic mindset that a guy with a fake profile picture was unlikely to ever actually show up. Then, suddenly, he felt a large, warm hand land on his shoulder and a deep, masculine voice rumble into his ear. “Tommy?”

Tommy didn’t turn his head. He wanted to preserve that catfished image of the man he had been messaging for just a few moments longer. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw that very same man appear in the flesh. Tall, strapping, muscular and handsome; it was as if a beautiful, mid-twenties Greek god had just arrived in his hometown; from out of absolutely nowhere. 

“I’m Hunter,” the guy smiled, reaching out his large hand to shake.

Tommy couldn’t help admitting to the fact that he hadn’t believed Hunter’s profile pictures to be real, and Hunter nodded, saying that he had been told the same thing many times. He seemed pleased by Tommy’s appearance too, stroking his knee gently under the table as they settled into their first real conversation.

A few moments later, Hunter was up and ordering coffees for them both. Tommy turned to catch the guy from behind as he stood at the counter: so tall, with such perfect glutes and that broad back adorned with muscular shoulders. Was this really Tommy’s lunchtime date?

Hunter soon returned carrying a tray with coffees and, surprisingly, a large slice of triple chocolate cake, which he placed in front of Tommy. 

Politely, Tommy thanked him for it, even though he had not asked for something to eat and actually felt a little awkward picking at it when Hunter did not have anything himself.

“I wanted to discuss our sexual interests,” Hunter stated next, steering the conversation when Tommy seemed to be taking it down a more mundane path. “The domination and submission.”

Tommy felt his cheeks getting hot. There were another two couples close by; probably within earshot. But Hunter didn’t seem to care in the slightest. 

“What do you want to know?” Tommy replied excitedly.

“Actually, I think it's time that you listened to me instead,” Hunter replied sternly, putting Tommy in his place perfectly. “It’s lucky that I saw your profile as I don’t use that app much for meeting guys.”

“Where do you usually meet guys?” Tommy asked, sensing that Hunter had paused for him to ask just such a question.

“A few places,” Hunter shrugged, flicking through his cell phone. “These are some of my previous subs,” he offered, holding up his phone and swiping through pictures of himself next to other guys in various forms of submission to him: on their knees, bound and gagged, you name it. “Do you notice anything in particular about the guys I sleep with?” Hunter asked next. His tone was serious and it was obvious that he wanted Tommy to respond in much the same way.

The answer came to Tommy immediately, but he squirmed as he tried to think of a way to reply to Hunter, without seeming rude. “Well, you’re so…” he mumbled, gesturing towards Hunter’s powerful body and chest. “And yet, these guys here… there’re a bit…”

“They’re fatties,” Hunter stated for him; obviously not one to dress his language up. “I need you to just come out with it in the future when I ask you questions,” he stated frankly. “That’s the way I work. No bullshit.”

Tommy nodded, feeling turned on by how direct Hunter could be. Having discussed in such detail what his dream dominant would be, it was almost as if Hunter was slotting perfectly into place. 

“Why fatties?” Tommy asked, hoping that mirroring Hunter’s language would please him.

“Because fatties turn me on,” Hunter replied plainly. “I work hard to build my body up. So when I fuck a sub, I need him to be soft and doughy for me.” He reached over to the plate of half eaten cake in front of Tommy and gave it a gentle nudge. 

Tommy’s eyes bulged. Hunter wasn’t kidding when he said he didn’t like to bullshit. His meaning couldn’t have been clearer. “So, you bought me the cake because…” he mumbled. He considered leaving it there and posing it as a question to Hunter, but he got the sense that the dominant hunk in front of him wanted him to just say what he believed to be true. “You bought me the cake to… soften me up.”

Hunter smiled for the first time in a few minutes and he leaned in, putting his giant hand back on Tommy’s knee. “That’s right,” he nodded, seeming to be genuinely delighted that Tommy had been frank with him. “Submission for me, is more than just slipping on a pair of handcuffs during sex. Submission is a lifestyle. It should be your entire body. You should wear it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”

Feeling his heart beating faster and his palms sweating simply from hearing Hunter’s deep voice speaking at such a volume about things, without a care in the world, Tommy nodded. “I agree,” he answered. “Submission should be a lifestyle.”

“I’m glad you said that,” Hunter nodded again, his eyes now fixed on the still half eaten cake.

“Oh,” Tommy shook himself, picking up his fork again and popping the next bit of cake into his mouth. Instinctively, he apologised and Hunter did not correct him for it.

“I’m not going to lie,” Hunter stated, nodding subtly with approval. “I think this could work between us.”

“You do?” Tommy shot back with so much delight that he immediately wanted to punch himself in the face for it. “That’s cool,” he nodded, trying to seem more relaxed.

“We’ll meet at my place next time,” Hunter told him, draining his coffee as if this interview was already over. “I’ll message you on the app.”

“Okay,” Tommy replied, surprised by how fast the date was over with. 

Hunter leaned in. “And make sure you finish that cake,” he whispered into his ear. “Every last crumb.”

Having Hunter so close sent exciting electrical pulses through Tommy’s brain: the smell of his delicious aftershave, those perfect lips so near to his face. “I will,” he replied sincerely, turning to look Hunter in the face in the hope that they may end with a kiss.

Hunter held Tommy’s gaze, studying him. But Tommy knew better than to be the one to initiate a kiss. “I know you will,” the hunk replied after a few seconds. “You’ll be a good boy,” he chuckled, then turned and walked away without a second glance.

Tommy raced home feeling more elated after a date than ever before. Finally, he had found someone who seemed to relate to him on a level that no one had before. And, unbelievably, the guy was hotter than anyone else he had ever dared to dream of.

Of course, there was the one part of the date that he was less sure about. He hadn’t come across someone so into domination that they had insisted their date consume cake for them. But just because it was a little different, didn’t mean that he had to view it negatively. After all, he’d got quite a kick out of complying, hadn’t he?

“Come on in,” smiled Hunter a few days later, opening the door to his apartment. 

Just as he had stated in his messages, Hunter had not long got in from the gym and still looked a little sweaty, dressed in tight, and particularly short, shorts, together with a well-fitted compression top that showed off every detail of his exquisite body. He was even taller than Tommy realised, making him feel so insignificant standing next to him. He tried not to faint, right there on the spot.

“Rule number one,” Hunter began. “When you come here, you take your clothes off as soon as you get inside.”

Tommy stared up at Hunter, wondering if he was serious. But as the pause continued, Tommy realised that Hunter was waiting for him to comply. He fumbled for a second, then began unbuttoning his shirt, feeling more than a little embarrassed to be doing this straight away. He’d taken so long to pick out his outfit for their second date. What a waste of time that was!

“Come on, quickly!” Hunter prodded him impatiently.

Tommy kicked off his shoes, removing his pants and underwear in one go, knowing that his dick was going to be pathetically hard already. He stood there after awkwardly removing his socks, not knowing whether to cover his hardness, or act like this was normal.

Hunter nodded with approval. He reached down into the pile of discarded clothes and pulled out Tommy’s underwear, holding them up as if for inspection, and gripping the small waist between his fingers. “Cute,” he chuckled to himself, seeming to find them highly amusing.

But Hunter did not throw them back onto the floor. He carried them as he turned into the apartment, clearly expecting the naked Tommy to do the same.

Following the jock inside and admiring those fine, muscular glutes just ahead of him, Tommy had never felt so turned on in his life. It had been immediate, from the moment he stepped inside. He felt, at that moment, that he would have eaten an entire mountain of chocolate cake if Hunter had told him to.

Hunter led him to the kitchen area, where Tommy was surprised to see that the big man was busy preparing a meal for them both, despite not having even showered yet. A good meal was clearly more important to him.

“Smells delicious,” Tommy chirped politely, still unsure whether to cover his boner with his hand as he trotted in.

Hunter raised his eyebrows in recognition of his comment, but did not reply. Instead, he pulled out a chair at his table and pointed for Tommy to sit whilst he went back to stirring and serving it out. 

There was something so sexy about a man in the kitchen. There were so many things on the go and yet Hunter did not seem in the least bit flustered. Everything was under complete control. But as Tommy watched, he noticed that it was all being served onto separate, single plates; not distributed between the two of them as he had expected.

At last, Hunter pulled out a chair and positioned it directly in front of Tommy. Then he sat, spreading his strong legs and looking at his guest seriously. “I enjoyed our date, Tommy. I really did. I think you’re a nice guy and I believe that you would make a great sub for me.”

Tommy smiled back, pleased; feeling the need to tuck his hardness between his thighs whilst Hunter was being so friendly.

“But if I’m going to spend some real time with you, I need to know what you can do. I also need you to see the type of man I really am. You may not like any of what I have planned tonight. You may want to leave. And that’s fine. But at least we'll both know where we stand, and neither of us will get our hopes up, thinking that this is more than what it is.”

Tommy looked from the gorgeous man to the piles of steaming food still on the counter. He knew that Hunter would want him to think for himself and be direct. “You want me to eat this for you, don’t you?” he asked, realising that the chocolate cake slice of their first date had just been the start of whatever kinky play Hunter was into.

Hunter simply nodded. “I want to see how far you’re willing to go for me.” 

The stud sat back, lifted his arms and removed the tight compression shirt he was wearing, revealing his remarkable torso to Tommy for the first time. 

Chuckling slightly at the obviously smitten expression on Tommy’s face, the large guy leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. “Are you ready to do this for me?” he whispered into his guest’s ear, before picking Tommy’s small hands up and placing them on his strapping chest.

The hot, sweet breath on Tommy’s neck, combined with the musky scent of the jock’s body, so firm and strong, made him want to climax there and then. “Yes,” he replied obediently.

Hunter sat back again with a smirk, making Tommy’s hands fall back down. He knew exactly the effect he was having upon the boy. He reached down to the guy’s stomach and, with the back of one finger, he stroked across the light six pack that showed there. “Goodbye, little buddy,” he teased wickedly. Then he stood up, seeming to loom larger than ever without his shirt on, and brought the plates and bowls to the table. 

Armed with only a fork and a spoon, Tommy was expected to feast on all of it.

Luck was on Tommy’s side; he hadn’t eaten since lunchtime. Plus, Hunter was watching him, rubbing his back sweetly and advising him on what to eat next; taking him back and forth from one dish to another. But something seemed to happen about thirty minutes in. Hunter changed slightly. He’d had a laid back attitude the entire time that Tommy had been there, as if he wouldn’t have been bothered if Tommy cancelled the date and took himself home instead. Maybe he was used to that. But now he was actively supporting; up and about, fetching the furthest plates so that Tommy did not need to reach. The man’s breathing had altered as well, with deeper, more rapid intakes of breath as he watched Tommy eat. Then, with a small glance down, Tommy saw that the thickest hardness had swollen down one side of Hunter’s gym shorts. How incredible! Had Tommy really excited the dominant man that much?

“You’re doing well,” Hunter praised him; his voice deeper and more gravely than Tommy had heard it before. “I’m impressed.”

Tommy’s stretched out stomach began to really hurt about forty minutes in, yet he continued to push himself as far as he could. Some plates were clean now, which Hunter got up and replaced with some dessert items. Tommy had always enjoyed switching back and forth between sweet and savory items, so the additions to the table were more of a help than a hindrance.

Eventually, the time came when Tommy knew he would have to stop. His pace had slowed and he started selecting those easier, lighter items to make the remaining plates look at least a little emptier. “That’s it. I’m done!” he whimpered, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his painfully distended stomach.

Despite expecting cries or protests from Hunter ordering him to finish the pathically small amount of pasta he had left, or gulp down the last few melting scoops of ice cream, Hunter simply sat there, surveying the destruction on the table. “Where did you learn to eat like that?” he asked, seemingly flabbergasted.

Tommy quietly dredged up a burp to relieve some of the pressure and shook his head. “Don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’ve always had a pretty good appetite.”

Hunter still seemed unable to comprehend what he had witnessed. “I’ve seen some seriously fucking fat boys eat less than half of what you just put away.”

Tommy burped again and found some pleasant relief; more than he was expecting. He knew how expensive the ice cream that Hunter had served him was, and decided to finish it off after all, not wanting to see it go to waste. He could see Hunter staring at him in amazement. “I don’t know what to tell you,” he shrugged, a little embarrassed. “I’ve always had a very fast metabolism.”

“I can soon destroy that,” Hunter growled, giving away just how horny he was. “Natural greed like this… It's incredible. And very rare!” 

“Thanks,” Tommy smiled,unsure what else to say. 

“Why don’t you stay here tonight?” Hunter asked next, wrapping a big arm over Tommy’s shoulders, like a snake about to suffocate its prey. “I know you don’t have work in the morning. I can make you breakfast.”

A mixture of relief and arousal swept over Tommy. He’d made such an effort to eat, he’d all but forgotten the fact that he’d need to catch the bus home later.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” Hunter teased, as if Tommy needed persuading. He reached for a tiny bottle of lubricant in his shorts and tipped a small amount of it onto his fingertips, before gently massaging the head of Tommy’s hardness.

Tommy gasped and grabbed for the sides of his seat, as if the floor was about to cave in. Hunter was so good at this. All that eating made the oxygen catch in his chest and it took him a few seconds to get his breathing into a rhythmn as Hunter took the reins of pleasuring him. He nodded his head, not wanting to use his voice in that moment for fear of how pathetically weak and needy it might sound.

“Come on Greedy Boy,” Hunter teased him. “Let’s go take a shower together…”

“I can’t come next weekend,” Tommy grinned, addressing his coworkers six weeks later. “I’m away with my boyfriend.” 

As predicted, the whistles of delight sounded in the air as they all made a fuss at the news that their colleague was dating at last. Tommy wasted no time in sharing a picture of the two of them together, sitting in his parents’ lounge. 

“He’s hot!” blasted one of them straight away.

“He looks like he should be on a catwalk!” squeaked another.

Tommy smirked to himself. He loved the reactions he got to pictures of Hunter. Sure, people might have thought he was punching quite significantly above his weight, but he was still the one who got to be fucked by such a hunk, and not them. However, behind that handsome smile and perfect ‘boy next door’ act Hunter laid on astonishingly thick for all of Tommy’s family and friends, lay the kinkiest, most dominant lover he could have ever wished for. The things they got upto in the bedroom satisfied him completely. After years of dating boring guys, Hunter seemed to swoop in and make Tommy fall hopelessly in love with him in only a matter of days. Tommy was utterly devoted to him. And the best part was, Hunter knew it.

“You haven’t really told me much about these friends of yours we’re going to meet this weekend,” Tommy pondered, sitting in the passenger seat and noting how far out into the country they had gone on his online map.

“Well, why bother? You got along with all my other friends,” Hunter chuckled, obviously keeping something from Tommy about this trip.

Tommy sighed. “Yeah, but they were all co-workers and old school buddies. They don’t know… all the sides of your personality,” he replied diplomatically.

“Well, let’s just say, this weekend will be good for us,” Hunter smiled, leaning back and driving smoothly. “These guys are sexy as fuck, and we all like to play together. I’ve been excited to show you off to them since we first started going out. ”

“Show me off?” Tommy asked. “How so?”

“Just you wait and see,” Hunter laughed, adjusting the developing boner he was getting in his crotch. Something about this was exciting him very much. Then he reached his hand across to stroke Tommy’s thigh and brushed off some of the many wrappers from the drive-thru they had stopped at a good few miles back.

The location, when they finally arrived about two hours later, was nothing short of breathtaking. The house was set in the most charming of spots, overlooking the hills; with eight bedrooms, a pool, and the largest hot tub Tommy had ever seen. They entered, Hunter leading the way, only to see several shirtless men all standing around in the kitchen. They cheered when they saw Hunter and came over to greet him with a hug.

Tommy stood back awkwardly. He’d been so stupid in how he had imagined these men in his head. They were not at all as he had envisioned them; all of them round bellied and at varying levels of obesity; not the types of guys that someone in Hunter’s extreme, peak physical condition would have been expected to associate with. But, then again, Hunter had always said that he preferred fat guys.

“And this is my new boyfriend, Tommy,” Hunter finally stated, pulling Tommy forward to greet them all.

There was a look of surprise on all the guys’ faces. One of them furrowed their eyebrows, as if about to ask whether Hunter was being serious. Then, the first one stepped forward and shook his hand warmly; followed by the rest of them, one by one.

“That was a little weird,” Tommy whispered as the pair of them went up to the bedroom that had been assigned to them: thre master suite no less. “Did they not know that you’re dating?”

“No, they knew,” Hunter smirked, undressing himself and slipping on his tiny swim shorts to head out to the pool. “I date fat guys, remember. I’ve fucked and dominated every one of them in my time,” he continued, checking his perfect hair in the mirror. “So when I told them I was dating the fucking greediest, sexiest guy I’d ever met, they’d probably assumed you were a lot larger.”

“Wait. So do they know that you…” Tommy asked.

“These guys know everything. That’s why I was so excited for this weekend. We can just relax and be ourselves, without having to worry. I can cook mountains of food for you, just like normal, then bring you up here, tie you up and fuck you all night long,” he grinned, striding over to Tommy and kissing him. “Now, get changed,” he ordered, throwing some swim shorts at him.

“Looking good!” growled one of the men as Hunter led the way down the stairs. “I’ve never seen you looking so chiselled.”

Hunter stood and soaked in all of their comments, comically flexing and posing for them all. Then he smirked and tapped one of the guys on his gut. “I could say the same to you, buddy,” he nodded. “This overhang has really gotten a lot bigger since the last time I saw you.”

Tommy inhaled slightly with shock at Hunter’s rudeness. He looked for signs of offense, until he saw that the man instead looked mightily pleased with himself. “Paul has been feeding me a big tub of ice cream before bed every night,” he pointed over at another large bellied guy in the corner, who was obviously his partner. 

“Well, it’s really working,” Hunter smiled at him, giving him a deep, horny kiss. “I’m doing the same with this little guy,” he continued, pulling Tommy closer to him. “He was still living with his parents when I met him, but I’ve got him with me most of the time these days. That’s making things easier. Ice cream before bed is one of the things I started him on straight away,” he stated proudly.

The eyes of the men studied Tommy’s body in his swim shorts.

“I’m having to break down his incredibly fast metabolism. It’s not ideal. But if I turn him around, you can see,” Hunter explained, spinning a light and clueless Tommy around and bending him down so that his small butt faced the men instead. “There’s a little more softness forming around his lower back and…” he continued, dropping Tommy’s swim shorts slightly so that his butt cheeks showed, “...his glutes and thighs are filling up a lot more than when I first met him.”

Hunter tapped Tommy’s butt, creating a short ripple.

“Do you see it?” he asked them all.

With his head down, facing away from them, Tommy didn’t know if the guys had nodded in agreement. 

“Do you think he’s going to be quite bottom heavy then?” another of the men asked, clearly feeling that Tommy’s butt was wothy of discussion.

“Possibly,” Hunter agreed. “It’s a bit too early to tell. There aren’t many fatties in his family for me to get a good idea of how he might develop. That was one of the first things I checked. But he’s quit the gym to spend more time with me, so that should speed things up a little.”

Tommy felt his swim shorts getting pulled back up and a sweet kiss being placed on his forehead by his boyfriend. Then he was spun back to face the others, just as they all started chuckling with amusement to themselves, noticing the hardness that had developed in Tommy’s crotch during their conversation about him.

Hunter soon noticed as well and joined in the laughing, patting Tommy on his butt proudly. “He’s a kinky little fucker too!” he smirked, repositioning himself behind Tommy, rolling his big strong arms around the smaller guy’s shoulders and gently rubbing his crotch into his lover’s rear.

“I take it he’s a sub?” Paul asked from the corner.

“Of course,” Hunter shot back, gently nibbling Tommy’s ear. “One of the most obedient I’ve ever had,” he whispered. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you Tommy?” he teased, reaching one arm down to stroke the hardness in Tommy’s shorts, even with all the other guys there.

Tommy’s head flopped back against Hunter’s shoulder. In this situation, he felt so crazily out of control, yet it was arousing him in ways he could not explain.

“Anyway, come on, Piggy,” Hunter finally ordered, pulling his large hand out from Tommy’s crotch. “Let’s go try out the pool.” He tapped his lover on his butt, admiring the slight flutter that spread into the guy’s thighs. “But remember, not too much exercise for you. I don’t want you to spoil all the fast food calories I bought you earlier.”

Dinner was served a couple of hours later: a vast spread of multiple dishes, prepared by the varying couples in attendance. They sat in the shade, all of them in their swim shorts, and some of the men spilling out of the tight patio chairs that the rental property had for its guests.

“You finished already, Danny?” Hunter asked the significantly overweight man across the table. “Tommy will be nowhere near finished. He’s got at least another twenty minutes in him,” he boasted.

“It is extraordinary,” one of the others nodded in agreement, seeing how easily Tommy was packing it all in. “Is this how he usually is?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Hunter nodded, reaching over and spooning on another large serving of cheesy pasta, as if he was psychically linked to his boyfriend and knew exactly what he wanted. “He can go like this for every meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner… He’s also a great little snacker as well. I need to eat frequently throughout the day to keep this physique up,” he explained, tensing his large biceps. “So it’s easy to get this one eating with me, and it still never spoils his appetite when dinner time rolls around.”

“How are his family feeling about him dating a feeder?” Danny asked, eyes still on Tommy as he continued to consume.

“It’s still early days,” Hunter replied. “He’s not really started to fatten up properly yet and take shape. Plus, they absolutely love me. I have his mom eating out of the palm of my hand! I’m sure the idea that I’m fattening their son won’t cross their minds for some time yet.”

“What’s his recovery time like?” Danny’s slightly slimmer husband asked next.

“Pretty good,” Hunter nodded again. “After he’s done here, I’ll take him upstairs, jack him off and then let him sleep for a couple of hours. Then he’ll be back up and ready for something else before bed,” he laughed, rubbing his boy’s back sweetly.

Tommy listened to it all as he continued to eat. Below the table, his hardness was weeping into his swim trunks. It wasn’t at all how he anticipated the life of a submissive, but it was still absolutely perfect, hearing Hunter boast about his control over him to all his friends.

“Are you struggling there, Fat Boy?” Hunter grinned as he watched the enormous Jack trying to repack his suitcase in the middle of the lounge that Sunday.

Tommy could tell that Jack was Hunter’s favourite of all the fat guys; most likely because was the softest of them all; partly due to his shorter height, making him rounder and more spherical than the others. Tommy had been with his boyfriend long enough to know when Hunter was getting horny and he sensed the spark of arousal within him each time Jack waddled on by, dressed only in his swim trunks all weekend.

Jack wiped his brow and nodded. “I’m not as sprightly as I used to be.”

Hunter chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Harry has done an awesome job on you. All that fresh fat in that big gut…” He growled in approval, admiring it all. His hardness was getting too much for him and he pulled Tommy gently down into his crotch to pleasure him whilst they spoke.

“I think you’ve got a good one there too,” Jack nodded over at Tommy, sucking away, as ordered.

Hunter sighed with pride and slapped Tommy on his butt, as he crouched across the sofa. “He will be. He just needs time to get into my ways.”

“He looks pretty obedient to me,” Jack chuckled.

“Oh, definitely! Like I said, he’s one of the best subs I’ve ever had. Decent blow job skills too,” he sighed, really starting to feel Tommy’s work now. “I just need to take down this metabolism of his.” He gazed down at the back of Tommy’s head bobbing up and down in his crotch. “I need every part of him to submit to me.”

Jack nodded knowingly, trotting over and rubbing Tommy’s butt as well. “Don’t worry, Hunter. I know you. You’ll have him under control very soon now...”

Over the next few weeks, Tommy felt a creeping tightness in his workpants. He stared in the mirror, hardly believing that the swollen glutes and thicker thighs were actually his. In his constantly bloated state, he hadn’t noticed the disappearance of his light six pack, as a thickening layer of fat began to spread itself around his waist. In fact, it was only as he jumped down from his office chair after finding something on the top shelf of a cupboard, that he noticed the first flutter of that fat, especially in his chest. But after that day, everything seemed to spiral.

“Hunter, I need you to come to my work,” Tommy whispered down the phone.

“Why?” Hunter asked, clearly in the middle of a training session with one of his clients at his gym.

“I bent down to pick up my pen and…”

“You ripped your pants,” Hunter finished for him. “About time. Did anyone see?”

“No,” Tommy replied with relief.

“That’s a shame,” Hunter sighed in disappointment. “And now you want me to drop everything and head over to deliver some larger pants for you?”

“Yes, please!” Tommy begged, knowing that his dominant boyfriend might actually get quite a kick out of leaving him in his ripped pants all day long.

A long, excruciating two hours later, Hunter arrived at the office. Many of the female employees rushed from their desks to greet him, and Hunter flirted sweetly with them, knowing exactly what sort of effect he had on them. It was strangely arousing to see him in action, pretending to take an interest in Melissa’s honeymoon or Fran’s new grandchildren; this charming character that he portrayed with ease.

“Well, I must go, ladies,” he smiled, walking towards Tommy’s office as some of them continued to bleat on. He closed the door behind him and comically put his body against it as if to stop anyone following him in. Then he locked it, just in case. “How do you put up with such boring people?” he sighed, looking straight at Tommy.

“They absolutely adore you,” Tommy reminded him.

“I know. But they’re still fucking boring,” Hunter smirked, checking the blinds were closed properly before striding over to his chubby lover who rose from his chair to greet him with an embrace.

Immediately, Hunter seized the opportunity in those moments of weakness; his strong hands sliding down to the tear in Tommy’s pants, mercilessly ripping them open further.

Tommy’s hands slipped back surveying the damage. Now, even his underwear had been compromised as he felt cool air against his increasingly fleshy glutes. “Please tell me you brought my new pants,” he blasted in panic.

“I did,” Hunter nodded, rifling through his backpack and showing them briefly. “But it’s going to cost you,” he sniggered, now pulling out his hardness from his shorts and nodding for Tommy to lie himself on the table.

“But I’m in work!” Tommy shot back.

“All the more reason for you to stop complaining and get a move on then,” the man laughed back, stroking his thick hardness to warm it up for Tommy’s softening butt.

Tommy lay himself down, realising that one of his most kinky work fantasies was about to come true, despite feeling no less worried that there would be a knock on his door at any moment. He spread his legs, making the tear even more pronounced, then heard the thud of a supermarket cheesecake being dropped by his head and then slid underneath his nose: Hunter’s latest fascination, watching him gorge on something extremely fattening whilst fucking him.

Both of them set to work, Hunter pounding him so forcefully that the cheesecake smeared itself over Tommy’s nose and under his chin as he tried to eat it at the same time. It was clear that he needed to eat fast, save getting it on his white shirt and ending up in exactly the same sartorial predicament again. His tongue came into play, scooping it all up and then pushing whatever didn’t need chewing straight down. Hunter didn’t take long to finish, but the sweat on his brow gave away just how much he had really gone for it. He threw Tommy a pack of cleaning wipes for his face and unfolded the new pants, presenting them like a prize to his lover.

A minute later, Hunter insisted on being walked out of the office; both of them stopped on the way multiple times.

“Yes, we’d love to come over for dinner sometime, Christine,” Hunter smiled politely, both he and Tommy knowing full well that it would never happen. Hunter wouldn’t waste his free time socialising with any of these people, unless there was something in it for him.

“Whart a nice boy he is!” Christine marvelled, standing at the main entrance of the office block, watching Hunter drive off. “So polite and gentle!”

Swishing his tongue around his mouth and still tasting nothing but cheesecake, Tommy nodded in agreement. “He’s the best.”

It felt very festive, turning up at the picturesque rental cottage covered in snow. Unlike last time, Tommy knew exactly what he would be walking into as Hunter’s friends arranged their next meet up. Being from up north, renting these houses was the best way for them to meet up with Hunter, who they all found just as fascinating and intoxicating as Tommy did. 

“Someone has been eating well!” the men chuckled, seeing Tommy for the first time in almost six months.

Tommy nodded, taking his big jacket off. In the last couple of months, his cheeks had blown up in a way that was not too dissimilar to a hamster stuffing itself with seeds. Fat had spread under his chin and into his neck, always visible now that Hunter insisted that he stayed clean shaven. Hunter kissed him proudly, always delighted whenever anyone mentioned his boyfriend’s gains.

“I’m guessing you defeated that fast metabolism of his?” Danny laughed, seeing more and more of Tommy’s shape as he removed the layers of winter clothing.

“Did you ever doubt me?” Hunter smirked back, grabbing both of their bags to take them upstairs; never wanting Tommy to burn any calories unnecessarily.

“What do you weigh now?” Paul jumped in after Tommy and Hunter came back downstairs after settling into their room.

Tommy looked to Hunter, knowing that he would want to be the one to tell them all.

“We’re up 70lbs since you last saw him,” Hunter beamed, draping his big arm over Tommy’s shoulders. “I bet you can hardly recognise him with these chubby cheeks, huh boys?”

“I suppose the sweatpants come in handy these days?” Eddie asked, nodding at Tommy’s casual attire as he stood beside his muscular boyfriend.

“Um, I guess so,” Hunter pondered. “To be honest, I don’t let him wear clothes when he’s at home. Do I?” he asked Tommy in an attempt to include him, even a little, in this discussion about him.

Tommy shook his head.

“As you can probably see, his tits are starting to come in real nicely,” Hunter continued, lifting Tommy’s shirt for the boys to see. “Lovehandles are fully in shape now, and the back fat,” he rambled on, spinning Tommy around for their viewing pleasure. “I’ve had to rescue him twice in work now after he’s split his pants,” he laughed, rolling the sweatpants down so that the guys could see the transformation that had taken place in Tommy’s glutes. “And, best of all…” he went on, rapidly spinning Tommy like a ragdoll again to face them once more, “Check this out…”

The boys marvelled in unison as Hunter grabbed a thick wedge of fat that had amassed at the top of Tommy’s groin. 

“It’s hard to believe how much fat there is here, considering he’s only 220lbs at the moment,” Hunter grinned. “It’s incredible!”

“Well, we can help add to that this weekend,” Danny smiled. “It’s your first holiday season as a fatty,” he nodded at Tommy. “That’s got to be quite exciting?”

“It’s also our first one together,” Tommy replied, falling back into Hunter’s large chest.

“What are you guys doing for the big day?” Eddie asked next.

“Well, we told Tommy’s parents that we were going to my family. And then we said the exact opposite to my parents. So, basically…” Hunter smirked, pulling his lover into a cute sideways cuddle, “...this little piggy is going to be spending the day sitting on my cock whilst I feed him absolutely everything I’ve been preparing for him for the last month.”

The guys all looked at each other, clearly astounded and secretly aroused by the idea.

“Have you had much backlash from Tommy’s family now he’s getting so overweight?” Danny questioned them later, sitting at the table, waiting for Tommy to finish his meal.

“Not so much,” Hunter replied. “Now his face has started to balloon, people are certainly a lot more aware of it. But his parents aren’t as switched on as mine. My dad pulled me to the side a couple of weeks ago and told me to start going easy on Tommy.” He straightened up, about to do an impression of his father and put on a dull, stuck-up voice. “Your mother and I know exactly what you’re doing,” he began at a fast pace, poking his finger out like a school teacher. “You’ve always been forceful about getting your own way; always the bully we used to get complaints about when you were in high school. But Tommy is a nice boy; the nicest you’ve ever brought home, and you’ve got to start getting your kicks some other way. One that doesn’t involve him getting so out of shape!”

The men all laughed in unison.

“I just tell them I’m going to set up a diet plan for Tommy in the New Year,” he chuckled; setting the rest of them off. 

“Well, I can imagine exactly what sort of ‘diet plan’ you’ll have for him,” Danny smirked, knowing his friend all too well.

Hunter nodded and laughed along with them. “Yeah, this fat boy is so fucking screwed!”

Their conversation rolled on. All the while, Tommy continued to eat.

“Good boy!” Hunter sang moments later as Tommy finally put his knife and fork down; his plate cleared. “Was that tasty? That lamb dish is one of Eddie’s most fattening recipes. I should know. I taught him how to make it.”

Tommy nodded his head; utterly stuffed.

“Do you want me to take you upstairs for your pleasure time?” he asked the blubbery boy. “It’s part of his routine,” he explained to the guys. “Or would you rather have it here, so that the other fat boys can see you?”

Tommy looked around at the faces staring at him. All of the men were shirtless and some of them, like him, had come to the table wearing nothing at all. His initial thought was to go back upstairs. However, that seemed like such an effort in his stuffed state. He looked over at a cosy chair by the fireplace and nodded; “Over there.”

Initially, the other kinky guys had pretended to busy themselves whilst Hunter took Tommy over to the chair and began to rub his hardness up and down. However, their curiosity and arousal was soon gettng the better of them, one-by-one, coming to sit on the other chairs or stand nearby watching Hunter controlling his sub.

“Are you a good piggy for me?” Hunter whispered into his ear, making Tommy moan and nod. “You’ve put on so much fat for me this year. Did you see how shocked the guys were earlier? They’re all looking at you now.”

Tommy opened his eyes and looked around. What would he have said a year ago, had he imagined a scenario that was anything like this?

A curious and horny Eddie licked his thumb and began rubbing it over Tommy’s pointed nipple.

Hunter looked across with approval. “Piggy loves that now his tits have come in. He can’t get over how sensitive they are.

Danny licked his thumb and began playing with the other nipple, before Paul came along and grabbed a wedge of Tommy’s stomach fat, as if hardly believing how quickly it had developed.

“You see, you’re the star of the show, Piggy!” Hunter whispered into his lover’s ear.

Tommy’s breathing became a lot heavier as he felt his climax building.

“It’s alright, Piggy,” Hunter continued. “Don’t hold back. You can show them what I taught you to do when you climax.”

Tommy looked into Hunter’s eyes. Was it really okay to let himself go like this? But the orgasm was coming so fast and the urge to do it was becoming too much for him to resist. He gasped, letting go of his inhibition, then snorted, loud and clear, just like a pig, mimicking the tones that Hunter had taught him exactly. Jets flowed across the coffee table in the middle of the room and Tommy shut his eyes, calm at last..

As the New Year came and went, Tommy realised that his weight had spiked at an alarmingly fast rate over the holidays. Hunter had declared, looking at the vast new size of Tommy’s glutes, that it had been the best gift he had ever received. The gains did eventually slow down, but never stagnated. And so, by their first anniversary of getting together, Tommy stood next to his gorgeous boyfriend with over one hundred and ten pounds of added fat on him.

Hunter was more pleased with his own body than ever before as well. He’d spent the last few months bulking his shoulders and glutes, so that even he was outgrowing his clothes. Seeing Tommy swell so fast had given him the motivation he needed to make a real push with his weight training, and he spent much of that summer without a shirt on, both inside and outside of the apartment. He’d inherited a decent amount of money from a great uncle he had never even met, spending most of it on a new convertible and a designer watch that helped to inflate his ego even further. Their kitchen had been the epicentre of it all, with Hunter cooking himself up vast amounts of high protein meals, whilst simultaneously pouring in the butter, oils and grease into everything he made for Tommy.

Hunter’s bulking had also created the perfect excuse for Tommy’s ever swelling stomach. Hunter made no secret of how much he had to consume in order to keep up the strapping muscle on his body. “Most evenings, I’m cooking up food and portioning it out for myself for the next day,” he explained to Tommy’s aunt during their next visit. “But I think the smell of it makes Tommy hungry, and when I go to bed, I hear him rummaging around in the kitchen for hours.”

“Oh, Tommy!” his aunt tutted with disappointment. “No wonder you’ve gained so much weight then. You need to exercise some self control.”

Hunter nodded in agreement, rubbing Tommy’s back supportively; as if this was all one great big intervention, aimed at helping him. The lies just rolled off the hunk’s tongue with such ease and he’d soon be laughing in the car at how easily they all swallowed them. “Come on, Fatty,” he whispered whilst still smiling and waving at Tommy’s extended family as they reversed off the driveway. “Look at their faces,” he laughed. “They really think you’re going to turn things around this time.”

“My aunt spoke to me a minute ago, before we left,” Tommy explained from the passenger seat. “She told me that you’re the fitness expert and that I just need to do whatever you say.”

Hunter laughed victoriously. “Good old Auntie Paula!” he roared, waving one final time to her in particular. “In that case, your fitness expert is taking you home to sit my dick while I feed you your disgustingly oversized dinner. I heard that chair squeaking when you sat on it earlier. Next time we go to see them, I’m going to make sure your fat ass destroys it!”

The summer was coming to an end, but not before the pair of them drove up in Hunter’s new car to yet another rental place for a weekend with the boys.

“I’ve got a surprise for everyone later,” Hunter joked, shirtless and with a strong arm draped over his flabby, newly 300lb boyfriend.”

“Another one?” the boys joked, having just spoken at length about their shock at seeing the swell of Tommy’s chest and underarm fat in particular.

Hunter kept them all waiting keenly. They ate their dinner, recharged and then settled down to some beers in the large lounge. “Want to see something super cute?” he finally asked them, grinning with excitement.

“Is this our surprise?” Jack immediately replied, ready to be entertained.

Hunter nodded. “Look at these!” he cooed, suddenly holding up a tiny pair of underwear he’d been hiding behind a cushion.

The boys laughed. “Awh!” they all sang back. In their world, no one wore underwear that small; even Hunter with his giant glutes and muscular thighs needed a large, or even an extra-large in many cases.

“These belonged to Tommy when he came over to my apartment for the first time,” Hunter laughed wickedly, spinning them around and holding them by the very ends of his fingertips as if to further emphasise how petite they were. “I’ve not even washed them since.”

At this, all the guys began laughing in much the same way. They passed them around, each of them marvelling at their tiny size.

“Your butt used to be so small!” Paul bellowed, draping the underwear over his large gut to show how minute they were in comparison.

Tommy stared at them, suddenly remembering how Hunter had walked off with his underwear on that first date at their now shared apartment. His perspective really had been skewed, hardly believing now that he ever wore clothes that small.

“That was only seventeen months ago, boys!” Hunter shouted, raising his arms up in the air for the admiration he was owed. “That’s how it’s done, my friends! That’s how a real feeder takes control and fattens his piggy!”

The boys all cheered in complete agreement. The transformation, the sheer speed of it all; it was breathtaking.

“He’d never get them on these days,” Eddie laughed. “Not with the amount of fat he carries on his thighs, and that huge butt of his.”

Hunter pretended to ponder the idea; theatrically raising his thumb to his chin and rubbing. “Hmm, do you really think so?” he asked, barely holding back his laughter. “I think we may need to test that hypothesis, don’t you, boys?” he called out, rousing the crowd of fat men into a chorus of cheers. 

Within seconds, Hunter had stood up and moved clear so that the other men could move in and do his bidding. Tommy was being lifed and forced out of his current underwear, feeling delighted pats of approval from some of the guys as his big, fat, doughy glutes came on show. The coffee table had been removed from the room, the music turned way down, and he was pushed into the middle of a now cleared space, with all the large, occupied chairs and sofas imprisoning it. 

Suddenly, the mood changed. Unlike the others, Hunter was standing, blocking the only path out of the room; his giant arms folded intimidatingly across his immensely powerful, shirtless chest; an inpenetrable wall; a ringleader, ready to entertain.

Even before he started, Tommy could hear little hoots of laughter all around him. He looked up at Hunter’s stern expression and his hardness throbbed uncontrollably.

“As you all remember,” Hunter began, “a short while ago, I started dating a very handsome, a very athletic, and in fact, a very pretty-looking guy…” 

His tone was so playful and full of mockery; making the other guys laugh; every single one of them. Then he reached out and took the tiny underwear from the person who had them. Although only a few feet away from him, Tommy looked up at his lover as if the giant man was standing high upon a towering pedestal. The way those cold eyes stared down at him aroused him more than anything else.

“The pride and joy of his parents…” Hunter sang, holding Tommy’s old underwear for them all to see again, “...college graduate, all round nice guy. He told me that he wanted to meet me. Practically begged me!”

Again, the other guys all laughed at that. Tommy’s first foolish mistake.

“He told me that I was the sexiest guy he had ever seen in his life,” Hunter smirked, emphasising the language and slipping a finger up into the crotch of the old unerwear, showing where Tommy’s little erection would have once pushed against them. That got him one of the biggest laughs. “And he promised me one thing…” Hunter went on. “...That he would do absolutely anything that I wanted him to.”

The guys all turned from looking at Hunter, to gazing with awe at Tommy’s fattened body: the rolls and blubber, stretch marks and sag. His complete submission was right there, before their very eyes. Hunter’s will, made flesh.

“What you’re about to see, boys, is my now disgustingly gluttonous, obese boyfriend, trying to put on a pair of underwear that he last wore the second time he met me,” Hunter declared, throwing the tiny material down at Tommy’s feet, filling his large chest with air and folding those enormous arms once more. 

Again, the fat men all laughed to themselves, some reaching in again to poke Tommy’s fleshy stomach, or tap his naked, under-exercised butt.

“Taking them off was one of his first acts of submission to me. And now,” Hunter continued, “this greedy, fat hog is about to try and put them back on for us.” He stared hard at Tommy, making him hornier still.

Tommy nodded slowly, hardly believing that this was all happening so fast. Two minutes ago, he had been snuggled into Hunter on the couch, oblivious that any of this was coming.

“Are you ready, boys?” Hunter roared at them all; rousing another cheer of excitement. He was made for this. Showmanship was in his blood. “Count the fat fucker into it for me…” he shouted at an alarming volume.

Tommy glanced at the ridiculously small underwear; his heart beating at quite the pace. He could feel the huge ring of fat under his chin as he looked down and tried to envision how best to do it.

“Three…two… ONE!” the boys all sang with the boisterous Hunter; lifting their bottles of beer up high; eyes wide and excited to see how this would all go down.

With a slight grunt from all that he had eaten earlier, Tommy bent down to pick up the underwear. There were cheers of amusement as his butt crack opened to those standing behind him. Then, turning the underwear in his hands, he lifted one leg to begin to put them on. He stumbled, feeling the fat in his butt and love handles quiver with the force he had to throw his foot down, just to keep his balance.

“Take your time, Piggy. Get it right,” Hunter reminded him in his stern tone. This show was important. These were his friends, and he had brought Tommy here to entertain them.

Tommy nodded. He started again, slipping one foot into the tiny hole and raised the material to his ankles. Now came the trickier part. He grunted, raising his other leg and miraculously slipped that inside as well. The big moment had arrived. 

Grabbing onto the tiny waistband, Tommy sucked in his stomach and heaved them up. They began soaring up his legs and then slowed dramatically. just above his knees. They were so narrow, he felt like he needed to spread his legs more to get them up; but there was no room. He pulled at them again, hearing howls of laughter all around him. The effort was almost unbelievable, and yet the underwear raised barely more than a couple of inches. Never mind his giant butt, it was his blubbery thighs that were the problem. 

On he struggled, feeling the waistband at last touching the lower part of his doughy rear. He lifted the front part easier, just managing to squish a little of his excited erection inside and then he looked up at Hunter. Had he done enough?

Hunter simply raised an eyebrow and smirked, the guys’ laughter suddenly becoming too infectious for even him to ignore. His smile spread and he laughed too, throwing his arms out and then pumping his muscular chest. Some of the men reached their congratulatory hands out to the feeder for him to shake as he walked around the space where Tommy stood. His victory lap.

“Thank you. You’re right,” he replied to their comments. “Twenty five years old, and look at it now!”

Finally, he came to stand in front of Tommy again, suddenly becoming falsely affectionate and stroking his submissive’s large, chubby cheek. “I’m so glad I met you,” he told Tommy, speaking as much to the other men who were listening in.

“I’m glad I met you too,” Tommy replied, full of love and arousal for his dominant lover.

The men all laughed at Tommy’s words and Hunter looked around at them with devilment dancing in his eyes. His perfect white teeth glistened as the widest smile grew on his face. He knew exactly what they were all thinking. Obesity was beginning to take a vice-like grip on Tommy’s body, and yet the twenty-five year old was still hopelessly under the spell of his wicked boyfriend.

“Good. I’m very glad,” Hunter nodded, lovingly tucking Tommy’s overgrown, sweaty hair behind his ears. He could never resist stroking the extensive chin fat with the back of his finger at the same time; the broad, fat face, freshly shaven as Hunter always insisted upon. “You realise that you’re going to be fatter than everybody here soon, don’t you?” he continued, explaining it to the fat boy like it was an exciting adventure they were embarking upon.

Tommy nodded.

“And that’s okay is it, Piggy?” Hunter asked, playing up to the crowds.

“Yes,” Tommy nodded again. Compliance was so easy.; submission so arousing. And this situation he was in now, so exhilarating and undenyably thrilling. Everything he never knew he needed.

Delving further into the three hundred pound zone was every bit as strange and transformative as the guys had warned Tommy as he left that weekend. Everything jiggled. Everything made him sweat. He had to accept how severely overweight he was now. It was the first thing people noticed when they met him and it was the one factor that influenced how people treated him most. He noted their tones of disapproval and impatience; their blunt answers to his questions and their indignation whenever they saw the gorgeous Hunter kissing him. He stared at pictures of the two of them at his sister’s wedding: his large, bulbous, doughy belly spreading out of his jacket and barely contained within his enormous shirt. He looked at the beautiful Hunter standing behind him, grinning proudly; no one there realising that he was laughing at them all, showing off what he had done to one of their own.

“I think it’s time you considered a new job. One where you can work from home,” Hunter declared, getting up after having fucked one of his new favourite places on his lover’s evolving body: the fat roll encompassing Tommy’s deep belly button.

Tommy nodded. “That would certainly save me a lot of time,” he agreed.

“It would also save you a lot of calories,” Hunter sighed impatiently. “I get so frustrated thinking of you burning off all my delicious breakfasts, trotting that giant ass of your back and forth to the photocopier.”

“But the girls in my office would miss seeing you though,” Tommy joked.

Hunter rolled his eyes. “Another good reason to quit,” he grumbled, chugging down one of his protein shakes and drying off his sweaty body with the towel they left under the bed.

“They actually asked me to apply for a job at another one of our branches the other day,” Tommy considered, remembering how little he had considered it at the time. “Two days in the office, three at home.”

“Where?” Hunter asked with surprising interest.

“North. We’d have to move. At least we’d be closer to Paul, Eddie, and the other guys. But then, it means uprooting your life as well.”

Hunter furrowed his eyebrows in disagreement. “Look at me!” he cried. “I could get a job at any fitness place I wanted. A move away is exactly the sort of thing that we need.”

“It is?” Tommy asked, having never heard Hunter even consider the idea of moving before.

Hunter came over to Tommy, who was still sticky and sprawled out on the bed. The guy’s immense, muscular body made the bed sink slightly as Hunter sat next to him, making the fat in Tommy’s tummy jiggle and lean towards the powerful lover, as if attracted by him. “Listen. You’re now a very fat man. By this time next week, I’ll have you at over 350lbs,” Hunter explained. “But people around here don't see that. All they see is that skinny little dweeb they used to know. That handsome guy with a six pack and no ass, who couldn’t admit that being dominated would make him so fucking horny.”

Tommy chuckled. Hunter’s descriptions were blunt, but always very accurate.

“It’s time we went somewhere new. Where people don’t know about how slim you used to be. Where they will see you the way that I do: just another fat, disgustingly overfed piggy.”

Tommy exhaled deeply, feeling himself getting aroused hearing Hunter using so many of the trigger words that he usually deployed when he was getting pleasured. He nodded. Perhaps Hunter was right. Maybe it was time for a change.

“You make sure that you look after him, won’t you?” Tommy’s mother sobbed, speaking to Hunter as the pair of them stopped to pick up the last of their things and load them into the truck.

“Don’t worry, Angela. He’s in good hands with me,” Hunter smiled back. Now that Tommy had grown wide enough, the big muscular man could rub his boyfriend’s disgustingly overgrown glutes the entire time he spoke to the guy’s mother, without anyone even noticing. “Your boy will be well taken care of.”

They all hugged, with Tommy’s parents telling him how proud they were about his big promotion, as well as how much they would miss him.

“Do you think they know? Even on some level?” Hunter asked as the pair of them got back into the truck. “They have to, surely? No one is that fucking stupid, watching their son get into a relationship and suddenly gaining over two hundred pounds in just over two years!” he sniggered, surprised that no one had mentioned Tommy’s weight today; even with the daringly tight t-shirt he had made him wear.

“Perhaps, on some level,” Tommy considered. At barely average height, his 370lbs was sitting more and more on his stomach these days.  Only a few moments ago, Hunter had needed to push against his wide, overgrown butt, in full view of his parents, in order to get him back into the high removal truck they had hired for the journey. “But, if I’m honest, I don’t think they really know what’s going on.”

“So fucking stupid! It’s unbelieveable!” Hunter sighed, turning the volume way up on the stereo and pulling off his shirt as the air conditioning blasted into life. As much as he enjoyed playing the innocent boyfriend, Hunter also longed for recognition, in whatever form it came.

“Goodbye,” Tommy waved to his parents as they started pulling away. He knew they couldn’t hear him. The music was far too loud.

“Goodbye,” Hunter joined in bitterly as he started to steer. “I’ll look after your son. I’m turning him into a big fat pig, y’know!” he shouted loud and clear, although he would never be heard. “I’ll have the fat fucker at 400lbs by the time you see him this Christmas! Goodbye, idiots!”

Hunter laughed with delight at himself as they rolled down the street. He slipped on his sunglasses and opened his window, just a crack, to let in a bit of fresh air.

“Still think this is the right thing?” Hunter asked moments later, reaching for Tommy’s chubby little fingers and holding them sweetly. His question was so ambiguous, with so many different possible meanings, and an infinite amount of responses. Not that any of that mattered to Tommy. For him, there was only one possible answer to any of those questions.

“Yes,” he smiled with certainty. “Two hundred percent, yes!”

[gremlinmodetweeker]

Big Guy Big Belly

König is a big man, and with a big man comes a big appetite. We’re talking about a 6’10 man constantly maintaining his peak physique. He needs to be consuming as many calories and as much protein, carbs, fats, fiber and more to keep himself in fit and fighting shape.

At the canteen, he’s a nightmare. I bet that people rush to the cafeteria just to make sure they get something to eat before the big man on base rolls up. He’ll clear out the bins if he gets a chance. There’s a rumour on base that the reason König fought so hard to climb the ranks so quickly was just to be able to eat more and get away with it. Little do they know that they’re absolutely right, but König will never say that out loud. Ever. There’s some secrets you take to your grave. 

Either way, König is a menace in the canteen. He’ll pile his plate as high as he can when he gets a chance. He’s packing away all he can get in the shortest amount of time he can, and everyone has to suffer for it. The worst part is that everyone has to rush to get to the caf before König, and König knows exactly what others are doing, so he’s in a daily race against the entire base to eat his fill. It’s always a photo-finish to see who gets to the cafeteria first.  König currently has been slacking, so he’s not been eating like he normally has. Is he mad? Not really. He’ll clean out the snack cart later. 

He’s a monster late at night. Everyone knows that you need to leave the big man to his snacks, lest you face the wrath of the colossus on base. Well, wrath in a peculiar way. He just gets quiet and angry, but it’s still not a fun experience to try and fight him for a sandwich. If you take the last egg salad sandwich you’ll be at the top of his shit list for the next week. Don’t even think he won’t track you down. He’ll throw around his rank just to get his hands on the poor bastard. Nobody is safe, either.

Stiletto only once took the last pudding cup. Once. She never made that mistake again. For a week he was giving her dirty looks over a cold shoulder as he bumbled down the hall. She eventually had to give in and sacrifice a desert to be able to get back in his good graces. She still thinks he’s a massive bitch because of it. And you know what? She’s right. Everybody knows she’s right, König included, but he’ll keep going after whoever ‘steals’ ‘his’ snacks. They get along a bit better now that they’ve both advanced in rank and worked together, but there was a good period of time where Stiletto had to sleep with one eye open.

It gets a bit better for everyone when König finally finds a partner and doesn’t stay on base so often. Everyone takes a moment to pray for the poor soul who has to cook for König whenever he gets home from deployment.

See, during deployment, König can’t be such a massive bitch about food. He gets his rations, and that’s that. He can’t steal from anybody else, so he gets stuck with these pitiful MREs that barely fill him up. It’s miserable, and he’s losing weight like crazy when on the field. He’s running on fumes and burning calories like crazy as he’s risking his life out there. It’s gotten to a point where König has taken to eating with hostages post-rescue to ‘help them feel safer’ (read: get more food into his gullet). Thankfully, he puts his best foot forward when dealing with victims of trauma and ensures that he has somebody else do all the socializing while he plays with the kids after dinner. Apparently, after the inevitable shower of tears whenever kids have to face König, he becomes pretty popular. They love to use him as a jungle gym (and make fun of him) and he’s just happy to get more to eat. He’ll take being called ‘bigger than even my dad!’, being told ‘you’re weird’ or being asked ‘why are you so big and scary all the time?’ any day for a little extra to eat. He can tolerate a few kids. He won’t ever admit that hanging around them makes him want some kids of his own, or at least not to Horangi, who’s already teasing König about being a surrogate father to the kids. König tells him to keep it to himself, but Horangi is already buying things for the baby shower.

Once König finally comes home, that’s when all Hell breaks loose. This man has been starving and he needs food NOW. He won’t take no for an answer. If you don’t have something prepared, he’ll be ordering a massive order of takeout the likes of which you’ve never seen before in your life. He’ll hit multiple places on his way back to your place if he doesn’t think you’ve been able to get something together for him. If you can’t cook, he won’t even bother telling you to cook for him and just focus on getting a whole banquet of junk food ready for when he arrives home. He brings the pizzas in the door before he even brings in his own bags. You’ll have to go out and grab his bag as he sets up his personal buffet table. The worst part is despite how much he can shove down, he always buys more than he can eat, so you’ve got a couple of days worth of food to shove in the fridge at the end of the night.

If you can cook, this is a multi-day experience. Is it rewarding? Absolutely. Is it painful? Abso-fucking-lutely. He’s got you slaving for hours a day just to get him a nice home cooked meal. You’ll be going all out to get him a big enough meal. We’re thinking a tray of mac and cheese, a whole roast chicken, easily a handful of loaded baked potatoes. If you have something from your traditional cuisine, he’s not picky, he’ll gobble it up in a heartbeat. Knowing you made it for him is more than enough for him. Food is the way to a man’s heart, some say, and König will never let you go if you treat him like the king he is.

The good thing about cooking König such a big meal is that he gives back. He’s not a fan of cooking, but for the next few days he’ll take over cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. It’s just an easy way for him to give back, you know? He can’t thank you enough with words, so why not with actions?

But the best part of König giving back is that he’s an excellent cook. He cooks mostly traditional food from his culture, but he’s down for some french or italian cooking if you’re into it. He can make a mean lasagne. He does not skimp on the cheese, this man. No he’s a cheese fiend. If you’re lactose intolerant, you’ve got another thing coming for you. He will hand feed you lactaid just for the meal. If you have a dietary restriction, he’ll learn how to cook your types of meals in abundance. He’s perfect that way. Vegetarian, vegan, keto, no matter what, he’s got your back. He’s learned how to make an excellent spread for a dinner party, and part of learning to cater to others is to work around other people’s diets; his mother drilled that rule into his little head as a kid. He does it without complaint, too. For at least a week after coming home, he’s just so happy to be around food in abundance again. He’s absolutely thriving in the kitchen before the thrill wears off and he’s back to avoiding cooking like the plague again.

He loves to eat, but usually hates to cook. He’ll mostly eat takeout until he actually has to eat a nutritious meal again for a change. It’s not that cooking is awful, it’s just that he hates doing the dishes. He’d be far more inclined if he didn’t have to do the dishes afterwards. If you take over dishes, he’ll definitely step up his game for the both of you.

All in all, König loves to eat. He’s a big man with a bigger appetite, as hard as that is to believe. Once he retires he has to learn to cut back a fair bit, but he never loses his taste for sweets and snacks. It’s just something you’ll have to learn to live with.

[chocsra]

✧ "MY KIND OF WOMAN"

☆ summary ↺: finding out that your crush, chuuya nakahara's type is the complete opposite of you, his close friend.

☆ content ↺: small oneshot, fluff, highschool au, other mentions of bsd chars (+gin, tachihara, hirotsu & dazai)

☆ song ↺: my kind of woman by mac demarco <3

☆ w/c ↺: 2k

sometimes, you felt unsure of yourself.

your parents and the people around you assured that there will be someone—no, plenty of people that would love you and your personality. you were rowdy, energetic and outspoken. very honestly yelling about cringe phrases in public. loved ones around you such as friends, would often shush you or swear you're going to be the death of them.

no—you weren't really weird, just humourous, mischevious and cheeky. yes, sometimes, it affected your love life. nonetheless, the people in your life always said there is someone out there who wants someone exactly like you. you are the ideal in someone's heart.

it made you wonder if others accepted their partner's flaws because they love them, or love your significant other for their flaws.

"man, i don't know."

your eyes roll at the guy beside you, sweating in his basketball uniform and adjusting his sports headband as you two sat at the foot of the bleachers. "very helpful, chuuya."

he was wearing red.

his uniform was red, his hair a colour of copper—but in sunlight he could be mistaken for ginger. and he had this look in his eyes, a look you can't but admire. it was full of passion, but he always suppressed his emotions. chuuya never expressed his emotions well.

and that's how chuuya nakahara was, a complete idiot. you were talked your ear off back then by him geeking out over a girl he likes but can't seem to express it well. though you get teased by him for keeping your head deep in the books when it comes to romance, you found yourself comforting him at 3am when he can't get his mind off another girl, who probably broke his heart.

that was the past when you were both new to highschool, of course he wanted a girlfriend. which was especially difficult since he was best friends with the basketcase of the school—dazai osamu. well, even he had girls liking him, which was surprising since he's not exactly friends with this thing called deodorant.

"well, why would you see flaws in somebody you love and think it's something to be changed?" the boy inquires, chugging his waterbottle. "when you don't love them, flaws shouldn't matter, and when you do love them, their flaws should be part of the reason you do."

cute, you thought.

"that's how it should be!" — you pause, waving your hands all over the place trying to express yourself, "but not everyone thinks like that, y'know?"

he chuckles, "well, unlucky for you, some people's flaws can be unbearable." you shoot a glare at your friend, "the hell is 'unlucky for you' supposed to mean?"

chuuya snickers, "nothing." he looks up at the gym's ceiling, eyebrows scrunching when he sees the numerous dodgeballs stuck up there. how did that get up there? he thinks for a second. you wrinkle your nose in distaste, "—asshole." he quickly averts his gaze from the ceiling, to your scrunched up face.

"hey!"

after settling down from trying to flick each other's foreheads for an extended period of time, you squish your cheek onto your palm. "since we were on the topic of relationships, what is your type in a girl?" you ask casually, the usual hustle and bustle of basketball boys and their friends watching screaming in the gym. "my type in a girl?.."

he thinks for a second, finger tapping on his chin.

"i like elegant girls, girls who are super classy." he smirks, closing his eyes with confidence in his answer.

your eyes widen a bit,

—you were nothing like any of those things.

"well, my type is tall guys." you quickly retort, the redhead almost pouts, before refraining it to a scoff.

"chuuya, we need you on the court, man!" a firm call back runs from one of his teammates, "oh shit," the redhead quickly gets up, setting his waterbottle.

"see ya later, idiot." his lips curve up in a slight smile, ruffling your hair gently before returning to court.

this day sucked already.

"i've been good today.. i burnt 15 ants instead of the usual 30."

chuuya felt is eye twitch, standing near the incinerator with his childhood friend, dazai osamu. "i really fuckin' wish we weren't neighbours."

he remembers back then when his mother would tell the boy to play with his neighbour, dazai. unfortunately, he managed to stick with him forever and ever.

the brunette ruffles his wavy brown hair, crouching down to fiddle with a few new ants. "so what's new, midget?" chuuya almost swears he throws his lit lighter onto the kid right there, before scoffing, "don't call me that, bastard." the bandaged student looks at him blankly, as if he knew the redhead was bothered.

chuuya sighs, "okay, well, [y/n]'s been kinda off lately, and she won't tell me why."

dazai sighs, letting go of the ant he's been holding. "what did you do this time? if a woman is acting off, it's 100% your fault." the ginger scoffs in response, "well, our last conversation was at the bleachers. she asked me what my type was and i responded with elegant and classy girls, and she hasn't been the same since. she even said after her type was tall guys!"

the brunette smirks again, snickering devilshly for a good hot minute. "what the hell? cut it out, man. you're scarin' me!" chuuya protests, before dazai asks him:"you told [y/n] that you like elegant girls, and you have a crush on her?"

the redhead pauses and thinks about that statement for a while, "yeah, what's wrong with that?" he tilts his head in confusion. "you're so inconsiderate, chuuya." dazai hums, "[y/n]'s the polar opposite of elegant and classy."

it suddenly hits chuuya like a brick — but he still rummages to work against that statement.

"dude, you're wrong! she's got a super classy smile, and really elegant hands. even the way she moves is elegant. and—" dazai shoves a bandaged hand in his face, "please, i don't wanna hear it."

"if you want her to actually like you back, tell her that she's your type, and whatever you just said right now." dazai gets up, patting the dirt off his ass. "or, be like me, and invite her to a double suicide date."

chuuya closes his eyes in disdain, "kill yourself." the teenager smirks, "you don't have to tell me twice, slug."

"you don't understaaannndddd!!" you whine, playing the flute despondently at band practice. the girl beside you purses her lips, before writing in her pocket notebook — it's just his type. and i think you're elegant in your own way.

you pout at reading that, before sluggishly getting up. "thanks, gin..." you thank, before another redhead flashily enters band practice. "sorry for being late, mr. hirotsu, somethin' came up." your band teacher nods, before tachihara, an outspoken second year, strides up to you and gin.

"what's up with her?" the boy asks, before sitting down and fiddling with his trumphet. gin writes down — [y/n] found out chuuya's type was the complete opposite of her. tachihara looks for a moment, before laughing: "pfft.."

gin, a super pretty but androgynous second year then tells him to shut up by smacking his shoulder, earning a yelp from tachihara. "eek! well, listen, that guy is total shit anyway.. besides his super cool motorcycle, and killer smile, and his super cool motorcycle.. damn, wish i could get somethin' like that."

"shut up, tachihara." you mumble, as he scoffs dramatically, adjusting the bandage on his nose. "shouldn't you just continue talking to him? him having a type doesn't mean he doesn't like you." the redhead reasons, before reading the sheet music. "yeah but, now i think of all the girls he used to like.. and i'm nothing like them." you frown, slumping again onto the desk.

"y'know what they say.. the past is past, like how i thought gin was a boy." tachihara shrugs, frowning when he sees the middle finger she shoots at him, "i'm telling your brother you did that to me." he quips, before gin clears her throat, her silky raven hair tied back in a ponytail. "he'll beat your sorry ass." she says in the girliest voice possible.

tachihara yelps before your band teacher, mr. hirotsu reprimands you three for slacking off, frowning as you guys apologize, tachihara whispers: "point is, just talk to him." the boy says, as gin nods. "—unless you told him that you liked tall guys after, that would send him into cardiac arrest." he concluded, you gulped in slight guilt.

gin whispered in a gentle tone, "did you actually?.." you don't respond and frown even more.

"damn, you suck." tachihara finishes, yelping as the teacher yells at him again. "sorry, sir!"

it was another day, well, end of the day.

most students already went home, but you decided to stay at school to study for a bit. unbeknownst to your knowledge, it was raining heavily, and luckily for you, you had no umbrella. you sigh, jamming your earbuds in before walking out of the roof you covered yourself in.

except, upon your first step outside, you still felt no rain.

then, you saw chuuya's umbrella covering you. "hm?" you turn to him, surprised. "hey, you shouldn't get sick before my game, idiot." he chuckles as you two walked in the rain, under the same umbrella. "no way!" you smile.

an awkward silence came over you two. "uhm, about the other day," the boy starts off as you immediately flush — of course he noticed that you were upset. "hey! it's nothing serious, i—" chuuya shushes you by successfully flicking your head. you yelp, "ow.." rubbing your forehead. the boy swallows thickly, "i wanted to correct myself, actually."

raindrops. they moved at a steady pace, falling onto his black umbrella above you two, onto the pavement, and onto the cars passing by. you looked over at chuuya, who never followed dress-code, who had his button-up and tie neatly ironed. he strangely followed the dress-code perfectly today. "elegant and classy's not my type, actually."

you pause, thinking for a second. "then what is?"

"good question, actually." chuuya quips, adjusting his tie. he was completely confident when speaking, but you couldn't help but stare at the nervous quivering of his slender hands. "y'know that question you asked about flaws? it made me think that somewhere out there, every person is who someone has been exactly looking for. everyone in the world is someone's ideal type." he explained, inhaling sharply.

"—and i, uh," chuuya's words strained his throat, his cheeks are blazing and he has an odd coordination when walking. "you're my— ugh,"

cute, you thought, before internally slapping yourself.

"you're my kind of, mm, seriously?" the redhead stutters, rubbing two fingers against his temple, exhaling sharply. "you're my kind of girl, and—"

you felt a raindrop hit your cheek, it was cold and quick. but this feeling, it was slow and cherishing. warm, like a sunny day in a field of flowers, or another resting day of keeping your head in the books. after moping around for days, maybe tachihara was right. the whole ordeal was stupid, just like chuuya.

"—i like you too." you cut him off.

chuuya almost drops his umbrella in shock, as an abundance of rain water splashes onto you two. "shit!" he curses, feeling shitty for ruining the moment, but you laugh, extending out your hand to his, smiling brightly.

his lips curve into a smile, "okay, maybe this isn't that bad." chuuya quips, intertwining your fingers into his, before pressing a gentle kiss to the spot on your forehead he flicked earlier.

today, it felt like running through a field of flowers on a sunny day, even though it was raining and you got sick the next day. but it only felt that way because you had him next to you the entire time.

—in truth, he was your type too, and no, tall men were never your type.

✧ chocsra™

[kinopio-writes]

A/N: Decided to answer these two in one go. Screenshotted, lol. 3rd POV and the reader is referred to as they/it like last time. Also, I’m gonna be honest with you, after the last Adam post, I started to find his relationship with Sera and Lute intriguing. They both make an appearance (separately).

I just found out. Apparently, Sera and Emily are sisters (just with huge age gaps)? Well, I never viewed them as actual mother and daughter, but I was leaning more towards motherly-figure Sera. Kept it vague.

Words: 1,404 (not including the bullet points)

Warnings: Swearing (surprisingly not as vulgar as pt.1)

———

More Adam w/ a Child!Reader

• to solidify my statement that Adam wouldn’t just give the child away to someone else—along with the points I said in the previous Adam post—is because he didn’t want to seem incapable and, God forbid, ask for help?

• uh-uh. No way

• also, I don’t really see their first word being “papa”

• because of Adam, the kid cursing as their first word seems pretty on-brand

• not to mention that I don’t think they were with many people other than Adam, Lute, possibly Sera, and maybe his friends, too

• if he even has any

• and this isn’t even slander (when Charlie said, haven’t you had a night of drinking with friends after a rough night, he neither confirmed nor denied it. Not exactly the most reliable proof, but I take whatever I get)

• so, yeah, they were stuck with Adam’s vocabulary, unfortunately

• but for the sake of it, I’ll do “papa” as their first word (“fafa”, actually. You’ll get it when you read it)

Also, uh, heavily focused on Adam. Again. I mean, you can’t really do much with a child!reader in regards to personality, so.

———

Adam sat comfortably on his chair outside his balcony, his hand carrying Adam Jr. while the other was mindlessly plucking at his wings’ loose feathers. He would let them fall onto the floor after collecting a pile of them on his lap, finding that to be the only source of entertainment he could do without his kid crying.

Before he was going to push his feathers off his lap, a gust of wind blew them off for him and they flew over the edge of his balcony. All of his previous feathers slipped through the railing’s gaps as well.

His hand lingered mid-air as he looked up to see Sera land next to him. “Holy shit.” He instantly became more animated, a grin forming on his face as he stood up. “Y’know, I keep forgetting that anyone can just waltz in here.”

“Good evening to you, too, Adam.”

He bit back from replying rudely, instead choosing to place his hand on his hip while he held Adam Jr. closer to him. “Yeah, whatever.”

Sera then went on to dramatically stare down at the scenery above the city of Heaven, hands folded in front of her as Adam waited for her to say something. He got impatient after a few seconds.

“What’s up your ass?”

She turned her head to face him and furrowed her brows. He only rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching downward into a grimace as he slightly turned his head away from the head seraphim. Her attention was instantly directed to the baby in his arms. “Do you mind if I hold it?”

Adam jerked back at the sudden ask. “Uh, weird request…but you do you.” When he didn’t attempt to move, Sera leaned down and took the sleeping child from his secured arms, standing back to her height as she observed their peaceful slumber.

Quite a surprise, frankly. She didn’t think Adam was capable of handling something so fragile as life for more than a day, let alone a whole year.

The feeling of a baby in her arms made her reminisce about the time when Emily was just as little.

“The concept of birth is astonishing…”

“ʼKay…?”

“Having a child is one of God’s greatest blessings...”

“Uh-huh.”

“You must be very proud…”

“Uh, yeah…sure…”

“It even has your wings.”

“Y’know, this is starting to feel a little one-sided right now.”

“What I’m trying to say is—” Sera seemed to have gotten out of her sentimental trance and narrowed her eyes at the man below her, “—you are fortunate to have this child, Adam.” She slowly returned the child to its father and watched as Adam held them back securely in his arms. “Children grow up faster than you think. Spend your time wisely. It’s not as if you’ll get any older yourself.”

“Mhm, yeah, got it.” The seraphim only hardened her gaze. “Okay! Fatherhood is the best thing ever, time is faster than the speed of light blah blah blah.” He swayed his head from side to side to emphasize each word, shoulders slumped. “Sheesh. Don’t have to be so sensitive over a kid that isn’t yours.”

Sera tightly shut her already parted lips and deeply breathed out through her nose, turning her back on the man and pushing the hair that strayed on her face. She didn’t say anything more and simply stared at the view on his balcony again.

Adam only raised a brow at her unusual behavior.

“So, not that I care or anything, or about your weird touchy-feely icky vibes, but you never told me why you’re here, so, if you could just tell me what I need to know and leave, that’ll be really great—”

“Adam.”

“Okay. Fine.” He held up a hand and lifted his shoulders. “Wallow in your melancholic—whatever this is. It totes ruined my vibes. I’mma dip.” Adam flapped his wings to get himself on the railings as the head seraphim watched him gently fly down with his child.

Sera speculated he would most likely come back after ten minutes. That would hopefully be enough time for her to have a composed mind to have a discussion with the first man.

———

“Say, ‘fuck’.”

He was told that it was smart to teach his kid how to start speaking at this age with pictures and shit. Adam, however, went with his method and sat Adam Jr. and himself on the carpet floor, repeatedly saying what he wanted it to say. He’d been like this for half an hour.

“Fafa!”

He blinked.

“That’s not what I fucking wanted you to say, but, close enough.” He shrugged. “Now say, ‘di—”

•••

It was only after Lute came over that he realized what his kid just said.

“Yeah, so my kid just called me his dad. First words,” Adam spoke with drawled-out speech, inspecting his lack of nails. “Pretty dope,” he accentuated the ‘p’ in ‘dope’

“That’s not what we were talking about, Sir.” Lute had her hands on the edge of the table as they both sat on the carpet floor.

“Uh, does it look like I care?” He had his kid on his lap, playing with it by holding its hands in his and making them punch thin air. “ʼSides, we still have a week to finish this shit.”

Lute only deadpanned at her leader going off-topic to talk about his kid but said nothing more, deciding it was best to let him run out of things to say so they could get some work done without interruption.

———

“Yeah, you little piece of shit, slash ʼem!” Adam’s maniacal and obnoxious laughter bounced around his living room space as Adam Jr. punctured the heads of hand-made figures of sinners with their fake angelic spear (he couldn’t get a real one, unfortunately. They’re only obtainable during the extermination).

Lute happened to walk in on the scene. Adam always left his balcony door open. His neighbors, despite being come-and-goers, continually complained about his loud guitar sequences. He always responded with something about how he was being generous and that they should be happy—heck, blessed that they were getting a free concert without having to pay.

He hasn’t had those arguments lately, though.

She observed him sitting on the cardboard-littered floor with his HolyPhone in hand, assumably recording his child slaughtering the wretched sinners.

He had the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his mask.

“Sir, what are you doing?”

“AH!” he released a guttural yell as he snapped his head over to the source of the voice. “Jeez, Lute—what does it look like I’m doing?”

The lieutenant immediately answered, “Playing with your offspring, Sir.”

“I’m not playing! I had tons of cardboard lying around from my fan mail, and throwing them all away’s a bother.” he defensively retorted. “And, ew, don’t call it offspring. It’s Adam Jr. now. Check it.” Adam clumsily messed with his phone, muttering curses until he found the video he was looking for in his endless album of blurry photos. He showed the screen to Lute, not realizing it wasn’t even playing. “This kid will grow up to be such a badass!”

“But it isn’t meant to be an exterminator, Sir.”

“Uh, so what?” He placed his hands on his hips.

Lute missed a beat when countering, “Sera won’t allow it.”

“Pftt, what? No.” Adam refuted with a wave of his hand. “She so would. I have the proof.” He lifted his phone and shook it for emphasis. “And it’s my extermination, so I do whatever the fuck I want.”

Lute turned her head away momentarily before perking back up. “When it grows up eventually, it’s a possibility.”

“Ah, what? I can’t wait that loooong,” he whined, slumping onto the floor. “Bummer. I mean, imagine a tiny cunt-born exorcist! How cool is that? The first in history!”

She nodded. “With it under your wing, I know that it can learn our ways just as quickly as we slaughter those wretched sinners.”

Adam tapped a finger on his chin, face scrunched in thought before he placed his hands on his hips as he kneeled on the floor. “Hmm, yeah.” He spread out his wings, too lazy to stand up on his own two feet. He then plucked Adam Jr. from the floor by their armpits, deciding to bring them along without much thought. “Let’s go pitch the idea to Sera. And let’s get takeout on the way.”

“Right beside you, Sir.”

[authenticyuri]

Listen I know I know, referring to Laios’s party as found family isn’t breaking new grounds but like. Can I talk about how literally everyone in the main cast has been ostracized or othered throughout their life and how they can form connections with each other despite their differences and how they don’t belong anywhere else but they actively want to stick together?

The Touden twins have never belonged in their family or with their peers. Laios’s fascination with monsters and low people skills are obviously the main traits that lead people to find him and his interests weird and creepy and cause them to have inaccurate and exaggerated views of how he acts in their head. Whenever people don’t outright tell him how weird he is they always pretend to be his friends while secretly hating him and acting passive aggressively towards him. Even when his knowledge and skills are put on full display and are actively useful, people are still on the fence about him as a whole and don’t take any time to understand him, constantly insisting he’s a freak and an idiot.

Falin was never understood by her parents because of her magical abilities and didn’t fit in at all at her academy. Others always saw her as the weird, muddy, quiet, irresponsible girl in their class, and while she never payed much attention to how others perceived her, it still left her completely isolated from others, until she met Marcille.

Chilchuck faces discrimination from other races constantly looking down on him (in more ways than one) and seeing him as literally disposable. He developed trust issues around others and tried to overcompensate by acting dryly and being as profesional as possible, but it does nothing to deter people from seeing him as a child and underestimating him.

Marcille’s huge age gap and irregular aging from others has made her feel completely isolated from everyone around her since her childhood. She is looked down upon by high and mighty elves who don’t see her as an equal due to being a mixed race. Her interests in ancient magic actively creep out her party members and everyone else who can only see it as the illegal and dangerous “dark arts.” She’s never been able to meet anyone else like her and feels isolated due to no one else having to bear and therefore never being able to understand her situation and frustrations.

Senshi was seen as an inconvenience in the original party he was a part of. Out of the main cast, he probably suffered the most traumatic circumstances and hasn’t been able to overcome that lingering dread in the back of his mind for years. He explored the dungeon in complete solitude for many years while never going out of his way to meet new people until he met Laios’s party. He is someone who uses his interests to try and connect with the people around him but people are unable to see that due to just finding him a weird man who lives in the dungeon and is obsessed with cooking.

Izutsumi never being properly raised and given love by anybody and seen as a freak because of her curse to be a beastkin, to the point she convinced herself that getting rid of her curse is the one thing that would finally make her happy. She’s never formed a close genuine connection with anyone and understood the concept of relationships as give and take.

Many or all of the preconceived biases each individual character faced are still present when it comes to how they view each other, and yet, despite it all, they are still sticking around, regardless of how many opportunities they had to leave. It’s how Chilchuck put himself in harms way despite not being strong and how he finally opened himself up to these people. How Senshi always stuck around to provide food for the others and help them along their journey, and come to accept different ways of doing things or understanding the world because of them. How Marcille ate every single meal she was served despite constantly showing hesitation, and she kept going despite how many times it seemed like they would never make it out or accomplish their goal. How Izutsumi learned that sometimes it’s necessary to do things you don’t like for the sake of other people, and she stuck around cause she knew they needed her, despite her not needing them. How Laios did gain a positive outlook on humanity and betrayed his instincts to save and protect the people he cares about. And about how Falin, after years of eating all by herself, was finally able to share a delicious meal with other people.

[macabremadness]

fiddleford mcgucket is so AUUUUGHFHSHSGFJ like he is crazy he is a silly goose. just a guy from tennessee who knows how to build literally anything and wanted to make tech to improve peoples lives first like mf built the first portable laptop and cell phone and got NO credit. he wanted to make robot legs cuz he didn't wanna walk but imagine if he was able to actually make some as mobility aid anyways i think about that a lot

that one time ford suggested to gather the cute little living minerals to help them lead them out the cave tunnels while fiddleford instead just picked them up and banged them together to relight the lantern and they all just scattered and one bit ford. he's so smart <3

weird cows producing weird milk that might be dangerous for human consumption? fidds fuckin drank that shit straight out the bucket. and i think he took it with him the rest of the way cuz he dramatically spit it out upon seeing cso

hes like a chihuahua to me he just stands there and pathetically shakes but then he also gets really feisty and bites. he canonically growls as an old man

how many gifts has fiddleford given ford at this point? like hes given him an axolotl, handmade gloves, a handmade snow globe, a custom laptop, squash with a human face, essentially his life. "hey what is the universe was a hologram" had the trajectory of his life changed forever. LIKE BEFORE BACKUPSMORE HE NEVER EVEN DRANK COFFEE and then ford is just "oh yeah i gave him like 15 cups or something"

AUGH THE GLOVES AND THE SNOW GLOBE..... "gee ford how come you get TWO presents" says emma may with nothing. LIKE HIM AND FORD HAD SUCH A GREAT CHRISTMAS AFTER THE KRAMPUS THING BUT LIKE I FEEL BAD FOR TATE MAN AND YALL ALREADY KNOW MCGUCKET CARES ABOUT HIS SON SO GODDAMN MUCH

(violently cries)

his ass is NOT afraid to use the memory gun on people like hes made people build the portal and the bunker for free and wiped their memories and hasnt been afraid to wipe ford's too like damn man. hes a little too trigger happy. he also made an entire cult because of it and then forgot he made an entire cult

he made the bunker security room. he decided it would be a good idea to crush intruders to death. not to mention all the destructive robots hes made in his crazy old man era. i love him at his best and his worst your honor

we salute 45th president mcgucket, gave out free robot spiders. and he prevented the entire covid pandemic. it's so funny to me cuz he took over northwest manor first and then the white house. i would be fine if the whole world had one ruler and it was mcgucket and you know he would find a way to turn himself into an immortal robot he will NEVER die

he's married to a racoon. has not even questioned his marriage once. that racoon is tate's step mom and i don't even think he questions it at this point either. we salute first lady of the united states raccoon wife

also give it up for parallel fiddleford!! literally from the canon "everything went right" au. portal wouldn't exist without our fidds and the quantum destabilizer wouldn't exist without parallel fidds give it up for all two canon fiddlefords carrying ford 🙏 anyways where's all the au content of that specific universe—

not to mention mcgucket's entire story arc which i really cannot put into words rn in this dumb post because its so AAUUUGH you feel me?

anyways yeah. this post is absolutely not coherent but i just think fiddleford mcgucket is neat and underrated (and as much as i love fiddauthor/fiddleauthor/fordsquared/fordford/banjoportal/etc. i feel like he's getting stuck solely in shipping LET HIM BE HIS OWN GUY PLEASE). also thank you book of bill for existing because it made me remember gravity falls was a thing i was obsessed with as a kid and looking back at everything as an adult is CRAZYYY

okay peace out love you mcgucket stans

[fushipurro]

Red Lights Red Flags

Chapter 10 - Haunting

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☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, mentions of past assault, foreplay (f. receiving)

☆ Word Count: 4.6k

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Toji’s sudden appearance startles you, and slowly, you turn to his position with a coy smile. The disappointment is more than apparent through his features. His arms are crossed, and he has that same disgruntled look as he had yesterday and the day before when he caught you exactly like this ─ sweeping away.

“You know you should be resting,” he says, and you know in your heart he’s right, but you don’t want to admit it.

“I know.” You sigh as you lean your chin over the top of the broom’s handle. “I am trying, but it doesn’t feel right for me to sit around and do nothing.” After spending nearly your entire life doing chores or familial duties, you can’t help but feel antsy the moment you get some peace to yourself.

He shrugs, arguing, “This place is abandoned, no one will care about a little dust.”

“I care.” You frown at the man, narrowing your eyes. “Shrines are a place of worship, and if we’re going to be here for a while, then I want to show that respect and appreciation.”

“Even if it’s going to be dirtied the moment we leave?”

“Even then,” you say with determination, although in Toji’s eyes ─ it’s stubbornness. Either way, he doesn’t seem all that appeased by your response judging by how his brows crinkle more than before, but really, you feel fine for the most part.

You won’t lie, it’s not the most comforting of tasks for your healing bones, but compared to the labor Toji’s been putting in, sweeping is nothing. Every day, he’s out there hunting, always coming back with fresh game and whatever ripened fruit he can find. Out here, far from any village, it’s given you the feeling that you and Toji are all that make up the world. It’s peaceful, even if this shrine can be… creepy.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Your voice is quiet as you ask, already afraid from how odd of a question it is to ask out of the blue. You don’t look him in the eyes as you wait, sparing yourself from whatever look he may have for you now.

“What makes you say that?” He responds, almost sounding more concerned than anything if you had to guess, and hopefully not for the reasons you’re already assuming.

“It’s probably nothing,” you say.

“Or it could be something,” Toji says without missing a beat. He moves to lean his back against one of the walls, his arms still crossed into his sleeves. “Just tell me what’s on your mind.”

If it were that easy, you would’ve brought it up the first time it happened, but here you are mulling over what you’ll say next in your head. Crazy isn’t exactly the best look to have.

“It’s just… ever since we got here, I’ve– had a weird feeling is all,” you tell him, now anxiously tapping away against the broom’s wooden handle.

“A feeling?”

“Okay,” you drawl like you’re sighing. “Maybe some things have been happening that I can’t quite explain.”

“Like what?” he asks, mirroring your tone.

It’s obvious he wants you to get on with it, despite the better part of you that believes it’s all in your head. But you may as well stop trying to hold back; at least if it does turn out you’re crazy, you’re in a shrine along with a dozen strange tools lying around in waiting. One of them must be used for exorcisms, right?

“Well for starters, remember that pile of bones we found in sanctuary?”

A pile is putting it lightly.

What you found on your second day here was akin to a hill with a throne stuck on top. You and Toji had been exploring the shrine to see what supplies you could scrounge up, neither of you expecting to find a sight so unsettling. It was obvious ─ even to you ─ where most of those bones had originated from. That is ─ people.

And that was only the beginning of the strange happenings.

He huffs, making light of it the memory with an air of amusement. “How could I forget?”

“Well, I was doing some cleaning in that room, and when I touched one of the bones…” You pause, looking down at your hands. “I saw… something ─ almost like a memory. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it happened so fast that I don’t remember much of anything except red.”

“Red?” he deadpans.

“See?” You sigh. “It’s probably my imagination is all, or I’m going crazy…” Your words shrink by the end along with your form.

“Stop that,” he scolds in a low, warning tone. “If what you say happened, then I believe you. You’re not going insane, but I do think you need to rest more.”

“It’s hard though,” you whine. “Every time I close my eyes, I swear I see those same four red eyes watching me.”

Toji’s reply falls flat in his throat, so you take it upon yourself to continue, hoping to alleviate the pressure.

“I feel like the more I keep myself busy, the less frightening it is at night?” you muse out loud. You’ve begun telling yourself that those eyes belong to the spirit of the shrine itself, or whatever it was built to enshrine. The more you take care of its domain, the more it’ll leave you alone ─ a give and take sort of relationship with this unknown being.

It doesn’t help your mind when on the same day you discovered the bone pile, you also had uncovered a library full of scrolls depicting “curses” and other fantastical elements you’d find only in folk tales and myth.

Of the ones you read, they appear more like the ramblings of cultists or crazies rather than priests of the common practice. Nothing so much as close to resembling the bedtime stories you grew up with.

“I don’t know… do you think this place could be haunted maybe?” you ask.

Toji suddenly steals the broom right out of from under your hands. You go to reach for it back, but he stops you using his free hand, raising the broom higher than you’re able to reach.

“I think you need to go and take a breather while I do the rest of the cleaning,” he declares.

“But Toji–“

“Aht aht, don’t argue,” he says, pointing his finger in front of your face. “There’s fresh fruit in the kitchen, so go eat and then find somewhere to lay down.”

“Fine, but don’t forget–“

“To water all the plants before the sun gets too high; I’ve got it,” he drones, giving you that cocky smile that takes all your frustrations away.

You take your leave, but not without stealing a few ─ or several ─ glances at Toji. He’s right in that you need this time to heal and move forward, especially with how close you came to crumbling the day you both arrived here. It won’t be an easy recovery, and all the labor you find yourself doing has helped you to not think about it. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to have face your trauma head on to come out on top. And at the end of the day, there’s one key factor that remains.

You’re free now.

There’s no one here to hurt you, to punish, or leave you at their mercy. You have the world again ─ more now than ever thanks to Toji. He was your friend first and now your savior, and where you go from here is up to you to decide.

It’s clear when you arrive at the kitchen that Toji’s hunt must’ve gone well. Seeing the abundance of fruit ─ some already cut and prepared ─ you throw a few pieces into your mouth, savoring the flavors while putting together a second plate. This one will be given as an offering to whatever spirits inhabit this shrine, in hopes the kind gesture rewards you with some peace of mind.

Maybe then, you’ll be able to sleep for an entire night or walk alone in the halls without hearing what sounds like men and women crying out in agony.

…you left Toji in the dark on that detail.

The evening hours are when the shrine is at its best ─ when the setting sun filters between leaves, bringing out the rich red tones of the architecture. The cherry blossoms take on an orange hue, resonating with the fire-like atmosphere. After nearly being burned alive, this is the closest you’ve been able to get to an actual flame without reliving the fear you had felt. That day and those red eyes are all you’ve been able to see, haunting you even in your sleep.

Right now, you’re on your way to a hot spring formation near the back of the shrine.

It sits in a lovely spot away from it all, hidden behind trees and bamboo alike. The view from it overlooks what feels like the whole of Japan. It’s a breathtaking sight, one that reminds you how small your existence is compared to the world around you.

Following the rocky pathway up to the spring, you immediately spot Toji resting inside, his back leaning against the edge. He turns his head at your arrival, a smirk playing across his lips.

“I was wonderin’ where you were, you get lost on the way here?”

After finishing dinner together earlier, you had planned on being the first to bathe, with Toji following up after. It appears your golden hour scenic route lasted longer than you anticipated if he made it here first.

“Sorry, I can come back later,” you offer, but he shakes his head.

“Nonsense, the bath’s big enough for two or… fifty, at least,” he muses, and rightfully so. It’s a spa big enough for the mightiest king to bask in, or even the gods themselves.

Toji turns his head away, giving you the privacy to slip from your robe and undo each of your bandages. You start with dipping your toes into the water first, feeling a shiver come over you from the vast difference in warmth from the surrounding air. But as you try to step further down, you lose your footing on one of the rocks, unable to register fast enough what’s happening as the world spins around you.

“Easy there,” Toji says, and only then do you realize he caught you from falling. His arms rest on either side of yours, steadying you as he sets you down into the water at his side. “These rocks are slippery as hell.”

You wish he said something earlier, but better late than never, you guess.

Hopefully he didn’t see much either of your form, but the likelihood of that is almost nonexistent.

“Thanks…” you mutter, taking a seat close to him, with an audible sound of pain as you get comfortable.

“How’s your chest?” he asks, your head snapping to the side.

“My chest!?” you respond with more eagerness than intended ─ to which, he smiles, with that typical smug expression.

“Your ribs,” he corrects. “How are your injuries lookin’?”

“O-oh.” You sink deeper into the spring to hide your vivid flush, the warmth doing wonders already for your wounds. “Well, everything’s still sore, but it’s not as bad as when we got here,” you tell him.

“You’d feel better if you rested more and quit acting like some servant,” he says, teasing as much as he is scolding.

“I like to clean, thank you very much.” He rolls his eyes at your playful reply. “As scary as this place is, it’s still a shrine and a beautiful one at that.”

The art, the view, the incredible poetry you found in the master bedroom…

There’s beauty in the madness of it all once you look past the rough, boney exterior. Even if you’re only here for a short time, you want to do your part in preserving its unique history.

“You’ve always been that way, haven’t you?” Toji comments.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying, that when we met, I was nothing but a cold, bratty kid and yet you still came running.”

“I didn’t think you were mean,” you argue, his negativity making you frown. “You let me play with your sword and hung out with me those other times. I never thought of you as anything but nice.”

Toji scoffs amusingly. “You’re still referring to my training as play?”

“Well, we were just two kids playing together in a park.”

“And now we’re two adults sitting naked in a bath together,” he chuckles, “Time’s changed, hasn’t it?”

The silence that overtakes is nearly deafening, a reminder of the situation you’re in ─ both naked, and with only a foot of distance to spare. While it’s frightening to you, you can’t help butfeel nervous among other feelings stirred up from the heat.

You remind yourself in your head that this is Toji.

Toji, the man you’ve always felt safe to be around, even in your most vulnerable state. He’s the same person who has never sought to harm you on purpose, or for pleasure. The same person you trust your life to with all your heart.

He saved you, didn’t he? Freed you from your shackles, whisked you off into a land unknown… You’ve never had to doubt your safety so long as he’s at your side.

With all that in mind, you don’t feel afraid when you ask, “Have you cleaned yourself yet?” You glance back and forth between his side and moon’s reflection in the spring as you do.

Its height in the sky shows just how long it’s been since you entered, making the water appear as though it’s ablaze with silvery light among droplets of a thousand stars. Their brilliance is no longer clouded by iron bars or a red lantern’s glow.

An annoying grin creeps up over his face, the kind you know aims to tease. “Why, you offering?” He asks, lowering his head until he’s the only object within your view.

“Maybe I am,” you tell him, watching as that same smile widens at your declaration.

“Had you shown up sooner, I might’ve let you ─ but I’m already clean.” He stretches his arm back, reaching into a bucket resting along the edge of the spring. From it, he pulls out a white cloth, one with fragments of herbs rubbed into the fibers. “So why don’t you let me help you instead?”

Toji wets the cloth before bringing it to your face, gently smoothing the fabric across your cheeks and down to your chin. You wonder in the moment if it’s truly just the water making you feel so heated. But with nowhere else to look but his face, you let yourself become mesmerized by the subtle green hues, and the same silvery light of the moon reflecting back.

Would things have turned out differently had you recognized him sooner?

It’s one question you have that you’ll never know the answer to.

For all you know, he could’ve saved you the night you met, but die trying to escape. Or perhaps you did manage to escape, only to later find out your family paid the price. Your greatest fear of Hanami’s revenge, a reality in that path. In a way, the fire that ravaged the district could almost be described as a blessing as much as a curse.

It left your existence a question, one buried beneath layers of ash and rubble. All the pain and self-sacrifice that eventually ended in flames became the start for something entirely new, like seeds sprouting from a forest ravaged in an inferno.

He moves the cloth down your neck, his touch soft as ever, as if any harshness would cause you to crack. One hand steadies the opposite side, cradling your head and with the slightest back and forth motion of his thumb that does little to calm the familiar heat building in your core.

Your eyes drift to the scar marring his lip, the one difference in his face from the Toji you knew before.

“When did that happen?” You feel the hand holding your head tense, the glow in his eyes seeming to fade as they narrow into a look of scorn. A look that makes you regret bringing it up. “Sorry, I shouldn’t ha–“

“It’s fine,” he interrupts, softening his stare as he moves the cloth back under the water, wetting it once more to clean your arms now. For a while, his eyes focus only on the task in front of him, a silence hovering all the same as before. The emotions felt now however, are that much different.

“My family.” He stops himself short, kissing his teeth. “The Zenin Clan–” he corrects, “are the reason for this, years ago.”

A memory comes to you of one snowy day in particular ─ the last time you had seen Toji before your life went to hell.

“Was that why you wouldn’t let me look at you?”

“Smart girl,” he praises, with the makings of a smile heard in his voice, something you can tell despite your back now turned to him. You feel his hands gliding down your spine and across your shoulders.

“It was time for me to man up and stop fooling around,” he starts, a spiteful flare to his words. “’We’re a family of proud warriors, so act like one,’ was what they told me, and the next thing I knew, I was on the battlefield fighting to survive.”

You know of the war he’s referring to ─ one from around that wintery time when the Shogun, Saga Tsukumo, had risen to power. The battle took many lives, with the Zenin clan taking pride in the victory they claimed was their doing.

Now you know why.

“Toji, I’m so sorry.”

“I guess we both share similar scars now.” As he speaks, you feel the cloth trailing down your side, hovering over the same ribs Jinichi had fractured. Then suddenly, his arms ─ wrapping tight above your chest ─ pull you flush against his body.

“’m sorry,” he muffles against your shoulder alongside a whisper of your name. “I never wanted you to get hurt, ever,” he says, those last words laced with pain and regret. You’ve never seen Toji act so vulnerable in your life before, but for good reasoning.

This freedom you found together is as much of his as it is yours. For you, it’s freedom from suffering in a life you never asked to be a part of. For him, it’s freedom from the family that never asked for him, wanting no parts of him in their life anymore.

You lift your hands up, placing them over his wrists. A quiet response, one that hopefully shows him that it’s okay, and that you want him here, close to you. It’s obvious now you aren’t the only one with those questions in mind ─ about how life would be if the past were done different. As agonizing as it was to live through, you managed to make it out in one piece, together.

“Toji…” You turn your head to the side, your nose brushing up against strands of his hair. “I could never blame you for what happened to me, never. I trusted you then, now, and even when I had no idea it was you at my side again.”

A quiet moment goes by before you raise your voice again, “Why didn’t you tell me it was you?”

“I was scared,” he tells you. He feels foolish for even saying such meek words. A once infamous samurai of noble birth, reducing himself to feelings of fright. On any battlefield, such words are grounds for a knife in your stomach, and a sword at your neck. “You already didn’t recognize me; I didn’t want you see me as anything other than the boy you once knew.”

A monster is what he wants to say. That or the other namesakes he’s been called since birth. Titles and epithets you’ve always looked beyond with childish glee. But even now as an adult, you still look at him with the same stars in your eyes.

“I think we’re a little past that, aren’t we?” Your comment has Toji raising his eyes ─ lightly glossed over ─ to meet yours, attempting to decipher the meaning behind your words.

It soon dawns on him the moment your gaze falls to his lips, this time with a new emotion. He doesn’t have to ask to know what’s on your mind now, with the thought of that New Year’s night coming back to him all the same.

“You’re right,” he mumbles, closing the gap between your faces that much more. “How could I have almost forgot?”

That smug expression of his is felt even when his lips are on yours, his eyes closing to savor the moment and the taste of you on his tongue. Your body flutters, spiking your arousal like the turning of a knob on an oil lantern. The fire of your heart’s desire flickering in full, dancing to the beat of his own.

Only he can make you feel this way ─ so heightened with desire, and a longing to be close. Here at this shrine, there’s no mystery, no need to be silent to avoid being found. It’s just you and Toji, in your own corner of the world. That’s why you find it easy to sink into his touch, showing him with fervent grace that this is everything you want, when it’s obvious he’s still holding back.

He’s playing it safe by moving with caution, all to ensure you’re comfortable with the escalating situation. It’s unlike those who have harmed you, deriving their pleasure without a care for your own consent, but as always ─ this is Toji.

It’s your choice if you want this to continue, and you don’t think you’ve ever had a more easier decision to make. With the way your body is angled to meet his lips, it’s all too easy to slide one hand down his chest, inching closer to–

“Don’t,” he warns, breaking from the kiss with half-lidded eyes.

“But–“

“You can have at it another time,” he says, cutting you off. “Let me take care of you tonight, okay? Would you like that?”

“Please, Toji.”

That’s all he needed to hear before lifting your body up and onto one of his thighs, using the thickness of it to keep your legs parted.

“That’s it,” he murmurs against your ear as you relax against his body, one hand firm around your torso in the valley your chest, and the other ─ gliding along your inner thigh. “Just relax and I’ll make you feel real good, hun.”

The sensation of his fingers between your folds has you gasping, and no sooner are his lips on you again, swallowing every sound made when he pushes inside with one finger to start. The rough, calloused texture can be felt even with the water distorting your senses.

You move to grasp his body as a means of steadying yourself. Fingers curling inwards, scratching at his arms to relieve the rising pressure in your body.

He moves to add a second finger, and that alone has you feeling the burning stretch of it. On instinct you try and close your legs, but Toji won’t allow it. He bounces his leg up, reminding you that it’s there to keep you widened for his hand.

As he breaks from the kiss he chuckles. “Don’t go getting all shy on me now.” He compliments his teasing words by curling his fingers from the inside.

“Toji!” Your attempt to scold him comes off as moaning cry instead, but with the way you’re squirming, he knows it’s merely a faux frustration.

“Fuck,” he groans, kissing you with a bit more roughness to it. “If I knew my name sounded so pretty coming from this mouth of yours, I’d have told you it the day we first met.”

He returns to kissing you, lips traveling from your face to the side of your neck. This way, you’re free to shout his name as the palm of his hand comes over your clit. It has same calloused texture as his fingertips, providing everything your body needs right now.

These hands seeking to pleasure you are a stark contrast from the same hands that have killed in your name. It doesn’t matter that world paints him to be a monster, because all you’ve ever seen was and is Toji himself.

And even as he pushes you to your high ─ he remains gentle as could be, holding you perfectly so no pain can be felt. His fingers continue to press against all those sweet spots that have you seeing stars different from the ones hanging overhead.

“Let go for me,” he says along with your name; a whisper that pushes you over the edge of glory. Waves of euphoria crash over you, twisting your mind and body as much as you can handle to completion.

You don’t remember a time you’ve ever felt so good in this depraved state, even while coming off your high. Feeling Toji’s sultry breath against your neck is almost enough to have you ready for more, if only you weren’t so dizzy all at once.

Your name is a blur against your ear as you shut your eyes to the feeling, your body falling slack in his arms. A coldness then settles over you a moment after, stirring you from that darkening feeling.

“…Toji?” Your voice is a murmur clouded with exhaustion.

“Shh, I got you,” he says back to you. You fight your eyes weighing heavy to keep them open, realizing now that you’re cradled in his arms on route back to the shrine.

“What happened?” you quietly ask, bringing a trembling hand to your forehead.

“Spent a little too long in the spring, I’d say. How’re feelin’?”

“Okay, I guess,” you reply breathlessly.

“Just okay?” He clicks his tongue a few times, showing off a toothy grin. “I think I kept my word; don’t you agree?”

You smile, although it’s weak as you reply, “Yes ─ yes you did,” chuckling in between.

Putting aside how it ended, this was a night you’ll never forget for as long as you live, and it certainly won’t be the last of moments like these.

Toji brings you into the same servant room you’ve been sleeping in together since your arrival. The idea of taking over the master bedroom was appealing at first, but something deep down told you it wouldn’t be a good idea, and thankfully, Toji agreed.

As he places you down under the covers of the futon, you find yourself no longer caring over the lack of clothing before him. After what all just went down, your previous nerves are no longer there, replaced by your trust in him.

“How about I get you some fruit, huh? That’ll fix you right up,” he offers, turning to leave.

“Sure,” you respond, but before he gets too far, you remember the offering you laid aside. “Oh, but don’t touch the plate I left to the side, please.”

He turns halfway out the door with a look of confusion. “You savin’ it for later or something?”

“It’s for the ghosts,” you tell him, too out of it to mind your words, no matter how odd it sounds.

Toji lets out an amused sound before sliding the door shut. In truth, he doesn’t know what all to think or say for the experiences you’ve had.

He’s certain that if there was something nearby, he’d know about it and would have it taken care of without you noticing… but there’s nothing. It’s only been you and him since the day you arrived.

And yet, that still doesn’t explain why he finds the offering dish without any trace of fruit.

☆ Notes: question is, are these really ghosts or something more? We’ve reached a turning point with everything, so enjoy it while it lasts tehe. I hope the smut was worth it though, I’m worried it was too short but do you really need a lot for a fingering scene? Idfk

☆ Taglist: @fandomtrash5092 @catmania-choco @tojisfantasy

[nonotnolan]

Summer Break Dullahans

I can’t say that I was expecting to respond to somebody’s cry for help at three in the afternoon.  The student dorms were already pretty empty, since only one of the three buildings would be open for summer classes, and most people were at home until the summer semester officially started.  So when I heard a faint cry of “Can anybody hear me?  I need help!” it was easy for me to believe that the guy had been yelling in vain for quite awhile.  I wasn’t sure what I expected-- a Freshman who managed to get pinned between the bed and the wall, maybe?  I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see Ben’s detached head sitting on a couch pillow.

No wonder he was yelling for help, he was literally just a head!  I walked over and picked him up off the couch, grabbing him on either side of his ears.  I thought for sure this was just an optical illusion somehow, but... no, I was holding his entire head in my hands.  “Put me down, jackass,” he shouted, trying and failing to wiggle out of my grip.  “I don’t need help from you.”

I wasn’t expecting to feel the muscles in his jaw move as he spoke, and I’m a bit ashamed to admit I actually dropped him in surprise.  He landed on the couch, at least, but it couldn’t have felt good to land nose-first from that far up.  “I’m so sorry, Ben,” I said, as I rotated him back to an upright position.  “What happened to you, anyway?”

“You know damn well what happened-- your fucking roommate happened, that’s what,” he said, glaring at me.  “I was just watching some Netflix when Grant barges into my room with a goddamn sword.  Next thing I know I’m stuck on the couch, and he’s taking away my headless body!  He already told me about your plan to steal bodies away from other guys, don’t you fucking dare pretend to feel bad.”  Well, that was news to me, but Ben refused to believe a word I said.  Not knowing what else to do, I turned on the TV on for him, and leaved the door open so that the next person might be able to find him a bit easier.  

Pulling out my phone, I discovered that I’d missed a few text messages from Grant.  He said he was waiting for me downstairs in the parking garage with a surprise that I’d have to see to believe.  Which... yeah, if I hadn’t managed to stumble across Ben’s detached head, I don’t think that I ever would have expected to see a muscular Grant.  He was a great roommate and all, but the dude was maybe 120 pounds on a good day.  Given that I was easily twice his weight, the two of us definitely had a weird dynamic going.

Or, we used to, at any rate.  The new Grant was almost certainly a lot more muscular than he had ever been before in his entire life.  It was hard to imagine the guy who stayed up every night with me to grind rank in League of Legends being able to earn a physique like that.  And there was something about seeing his pale head resting on top of Ben’s tanned body that was just far too comical.

“What, is that the only reaction I’m going to get?” he asked, frowning slightly.  “Fuckin’ look at me, bro.  I’m like some sort of Alpha Male now.  You wish you could be a man like me!”  He started flexing his arms, causing veins to appear in places I didn’t even know they existed.  “It’s okay to be jealous, Eric.  You don’t gotta act so modest on my account.  I know you’re gay, it’s okay if you suddenly want a piece of this.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.  “Sorry if you were expecting me to be completely losing it right now,” I said.  “I already ran into Ben upstairs, and he told me... well, what’s left of him told me about what you did.  Nice sword, by the way.”

“Well, fuck,” he said, letting his shoulders drop.  There was something about seeing him stand there, slouched over, that made him look so much more like the real Grant.  “Probably should have slapped his head onto my old body before leaving.  I guess on the plus side, I won’t have to work very hard to convince you that this sword is magic somehow.  And anyway, I still have another surprise up my sleeve.”  He snapped his fingers, and gestured toward a figure who had been standing off in the shadows.  Well, most of a figure, at any rate.  A headless body, absolutely stacked with muscles, stepped forward into the lights.

“Did you... is that for me?” I asked, trying to make sense of the surge of emotions I felt.  Desire.  Longing.  Lust.  Holy hell, I wanted that body to be mine.  The shoulders, the pecs, the abs... healthy, vibrant, everything that my current pale and flabby body could never be.  Not without more work than I would ever be willing to do.  A primal, animalistic Need.  And, if I had to be honest, a slight amount of guilt.  I’d already saw what Grant had done to Ben.  If I made this body mine, I would be stealing it from someone else.

I was utterly entranced.  I found myself tracing the ridges of its chest with my fingers, my head utterly swimming in hormones as my manhood rose to its paltry four inches underneath my cargo shorts.  “Grant, who did... where did you find him?”

“Nuh-uh,” Grant said, shaking his head at me.  “I know you, Eric.  You think too much.  If I tell you his name, you’re gonna feel bad and you’re gonna try to make it up to him.  Fuck that shit.  This is all or nothing.  You want this body, you don’t get to know whose it was.”

He knew me far too well.  I looked back and forth between Grant and the headless muscle hunk that he had procured for me.  Did I want it that badly?  Would I be able to live with myself afterward?  My head tried to argue ethics, but my heart already knew my answer.  

I dropped down onto my knees, giving Grant easier access to my neck.  He lifted the sword up high into the air, striking down with a massive swing.  I felt a sudden lurch as I fell several feet to the ground.  I tried to use my arms to prevent myself from hitting the ground, only I didn’t have arms anymore-- my old body was completely unresponsive.

“Hey, wanna know what your new body is gonna smell like?”  I tried to protest, but I was unable to stop Grant from lifting up my new body’s arm and shoving my head right into its armpit.  The coarse hair brushed up against my nose and lips as the sweaty musk filled my nostrils.  “Yeah, you like that, don’t you,” he said, laughing at me.  I wanted to be mad, but... he was absolutely right.

“Just shut up and attach my head,” I said, trying not to let him know how much it was turning me on.  If I didn’t have an armpit fetish before, I did now.  Grant lowered my head into place, and suddenly I had full control over my new, muscular body.

I practically sprinted back inside to find a bathroom with a good mirror.  Can you blame me?  You could still see the difference between my head’s pale skin and my body’s bronze tan, but I think maybe a lot of people would  just assume that I had used tanning spray.  Hell, for all I know, my prior body really had used a tanning spray.

A few months from now, the rest of my friends would return from summer break, and I would have to try and convince everyone that I had gained this body naturally.  No one would ever believe that I had lost 100 pounds at the same time that my roommate gained 100 pounds.  Although... if Grant was planning to keep the sword, maybe he would be willing to hook up my friends with a new body as well?

[dairy-farmer]

Hmm Jason having some weird oedipal feelings where he wants to kill Bruce and make Tim his mommy...

!!!!!!!!!!!!! yesssssssss!!! i love the idea of jason sort of harboring maternalistic attachment for tim. before jason debuts as red hood, when he's still stalking bruce and staking out gotham and learning everything he can about the new robin. that's when jason finds out about how bruce and his new little robin are fucking.

little timmy drake is sleeping with bruce wayne and they think no one knows. it makes sense why they think it, they're good at covering their tracks and acting somewhat normal around each other when people are around. but jason has figured them out and its because he happened to stumble across them in some hidden little rooftop they thought was far enough away from patrol no one would notice. jason has seen bruce press some button in his gauntlet, likely for it to temporarily lock their location in one place before grappling to a distant rooftop and climbing in the top floor of a department store. when jason had first spotted them he'd thought it was some cache they were stopping in to resupply. only for him to grapple down and peek in the windows and be greeted by the sight of bruce bending his robin over a dusty wooden crate. the top level of the uptown department store was apparently meant for storage twenty years ago. it housed mannequins, crates where merchandise was shipped and heavy floor furniture to be shipped out to homes of customers. but then a fire had broken out one night. it hadn't spread but the damage to the top floor had been done and so the owners of the entire building had just decided to board up all doors and staircases leading to the top floor, allowing it to collect dust. however, they hadn't considered the rooftop access as being the one way two vigilantes looking to fuck could break in.

so unlike the others, jason is aware that bruce and tim's relationship isn't all 'wholesome' as the rest of the family would like to believe. and it could be such prime blackmail. it would be perfect as something to use against bruce while jason enacts his plan to ruin his life.

but...something stops him. and jason knows what it is.

jason has always had these weird....feelings about all those socialites, models, and women bruce would bring home. jason is...WEIRD about the women bruce sleeps with. that whole thing jason had with talia was evidence enough because she hadn't even been jason's type but he'd fucked her anyway, if only because bruce had had her first. and for awhile after he'd been resurrected jason had sort of had some weird emotions about her, an odd...clinginess because he'd been stuck on her lowering him into the pit, helping breath life into him again like the waters of the lazarus pit had been the water of her womb...

it's clear jason is a little fucked in the head about women. he's got mommy issues galore and a disturbing attachment to people bruce has fucked. at least he's not like dick who is still in denial about HIS psycho sexual issues despite the fact that dick only ever wants to hookup with girls that remind him of bruce.

so tim fucking bruce...even though that should have alarm bells ringing given tim's age because jason would never find it acceptable for any other creepy old man to shove their dick into teen pussy and given the fact that bruce sleeping with his kid is all kinds of fucked up...still...jason never says anything. he just buckles down when he gets an alert about the little tripwire he set up to alert him of bruce and tim going back to that little attic of theirs. at first jason's obsession stemmed from wanting to be closer to bruce by sharing a partner, wanting to deepen their connection by fucking the same hole. but...then something shifted.

as jason watched, the more he listened, the closer attention he paid to little timmy drake. something...something about him just held so much more potential. talia wasn't the kind of mother jason wanted. selina was too in her own head and got all kinds of uncomfortable about kids. jason's pool was limited but...tim. there was just something so right about him, so fitting. and the longer jason watched the more he wanted.

but bruce doesn't share. he isn't very willing to part with a tight little hole that takes his cock so good while gasping into his mouth.

but....god does jason want this. he wants warm hands carding through his hair and stroking his back while he fucks into a pink, puffy, sloppy little hole while praises get pressed to his cheek. it's what he deserves.

and if bruce is what is standing in the way of it...then maybe jason should amend his plans.

[phoenixyfriend]

Star Wars Omegaverse Recs

Here's a couple solid omegaverse fics. This list is shorter than most of the ones I write but Meh.

Stars are for my favorites.

⭐ The Rain Fell Already by @loosingmoreletters: variation on Jedi Indentured AU containing omegaverse. Xanatos is omega Qui-Gon's bio kid but nothing changes, depressing but poignant

House Call by @elthadriel: two idiots knot while on medication that requires no knotting because it can get stuck for literal hours. Kix has to help and he is very annoyed about it

Status Quo by @captainkirkk: (G-rated) Anakin responds to Obi-Wan in a "you are my dad" way and the clones are surprised pikachu about it

⭐ Temporary Like Achilles by @intermundia: standard-ish fuck-or-die scenario where both sides are like "I can't take advantage of you/I just took advantage of you" because of course they are. (This author has a lot of solid Obikin, but they have me blocked (no I don't know why) so I can't tag them.)

⭐ He Said Yes by @threebea: (G-rated) B!Quinlan and O!Obi-Wan get mated for Obi-Wan's safety, the nature of their relationship is unclear to basically everyone (romantic? qp? other? unclear)

venus flytrap by IntoThineHands: Sith!Obi, role reversal of trope standard (omega deliberately takes advantage of an alpha)

Bite of Caramel by @thewriterowl: A!Jango needs a date to the family reunion, asks O!Obi-Wan to accompany him

⭐ good things in threes by @galateagalvanized: Codywan accidental pregnancy after O!Obi-Wan's implant gets nullified by an overpowered EMP (along with Cody's brain chip)

all my roads lead back to you by @tennessoui: idiots to lovers comedy (modern au, Obi-Wan got pregnant in a one-night stand across the country with a bartender who kind of looked like Anakin, because he's in love with his roommate but can't come clean and so hooks up with guys who look like him, and Anakin is in love with Obi-Wan enough that he's decided to be the Dad Who Stepped Up to this kid because anything Obi-Wan makes is part of Obi-Wan and obviously deserving of adoration)

The Theory of Letting Go by @ifonlyweknewwhatiwasdoing: never a Jedi!Anakin, Padme dead of uterine rupture, Obi-Wan hormonally addled and insistent on taking care of the twins like they're his own

The Swan Serenade by @shatouto: heavily AU, Mando!Anakin and Jedi-but-more-like-real-world-monks!Obi. (Has the most adorable art in the end of chapter notes, btw)

For Safekeeping by @glimmerglanger: Sith O!Obi-Wan feels safe because of the army of clones, which is the first time he's felt safe enough to have a heat, ends up fucked by his army of betas

when the snow falls we will wrap ourselves in furs by @hornet394: the fic I reread that had me going "I want Rex with O!Anakin but being in character" because this is one of the few omegaverse Rexwalkers that hits that button for me (though it's technically Anakin/501st poly stuff)

⭐ Find a little stranger by @obimanletkenobi: Villain!Obidala, both alphas, find Anakin at an omega auction, decide to ask him to play surrogate for their child since they can't do it themselves (with the offer to drop him off on a random planet with a wiped memory and enough cash to start a new life as a free man if he doesn't want to get pregnant), followed by smut

Belonging by IronCannon: this is the OTHER solid omegaverse Rexwalker

⭐ Conceal Me by @himboskywalker: longfic that is VERY good imo and builds the tension incredibly. Anakin is an omega pretending to be an alpha (literally the only people alive that know he's omega are his mother and the midwife). Senator Obi-Wan is an alpha pretending to be a beta (for weird reasons relating to his parents being kind of insane). They get married for politics, suggested by Palpatine because he found out about Obi-Wan being an alpha but not about Anakin, and decided a forced alpha/alpha marriage was going to self-destruct and help destabilize the Republic further.

Both by @obimanletkenobi: Anakin is the omegaverse equivalent of intersex and this explores the ways he's fetishized and discriminated against by the culture around him.

Peachy the Series by @the-writing-mill: IDK what to say, if you want 15k of O!Obi-Wan getting absolutely railed by two alphas, this is the fic for you

⭐ Packed Together Like Test Tubes also by @the-writing-mill: Jangobi, forced on both sides. Neither of them wants to mate, but the Kaminoans are forcing the issue with synthetic pheromones. It takes several weeks to get to that point and they are both fighting it with every ounce of willpower they have.

⭐ [Only] Think of Me by @inferior-fairy: Empress Amidala and Emperor Kenobi need Anakin to not go off the rails again, but they need a reason for him to want to stay because they love him too much to force the issue (and make him hate them) with chains or the like. So they give him Babies.

⭐ unfortunately it seems I have written more by @gaily-daily: Look at me. LOOK at me. This is fucked up and ugly and horrible and awful and messy and triggering and so incredibly well written as a dawning horror situation. Dead Dove at its finest. It is incredibly good as a story, but it is also really bad, and you need to go in accepting that. Without details, it's messy/triggering in the GoT sense.

⭐ terribly inconvenient and incredibly terrific by @tennessoui: A classic "Anakin wants to do something he is in no way qualified for and then suffers the consequences for his idiocy" plot, very fun.

I can fill those places in your heart no else can by @pontah: modern au post-breakup revenge sex I guess???

Ba’jurir by @mockingjay34: Rex/Fives, explores the intersection of anti-clone bigotry and anti-omega sexism.

Out in the Corner of the Dark with You by kazmir: a 5+1 fic about Anakin giving Obi-Wan a bunch of soft things as courting gifts

instincts by amidnightlove: just some fun and funky 'cycles make people go a little feral' stuff

EDIT: I missed a bunch so there's a Part Two!

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

A/N: Oops, this wasn't supposed to be so long. I've been working on it for the last couple of days, trying to get Steve’s family background just right.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Eddie's POV

Eddie sat up in bed with a start and looked at the clock on his bedside table. Oh, fuck he was going to be late. He had spent worrying about how things were going to go that he didn't get very much sleep last night. He had spent that time trying to pick out an outfit, which was stupid because it wasn't like it was a date. The idea of them dating wasn't totally weird though. He knew that three people could date, but the idea that both of them wanted him at the same time. . .it was absurd. Besides, it was clear to see that Steve had eyes for Nancy Wheeler. Not that Eddie could blame him for it, and he certainly couldn't blame Nancy for looking back at him. Eddie tried to get out of bed, but his legs got tangled in the sheets, and he fell out instead.

"I'm fucking cursed," Eddie groaned.

"I keep telling you that you probably pissed off Mother Nature at some point when you were little. Right little terror, you are," Wayne called from the kitchen.

"Ha fucking ha, Uncle Wayne, you're so funny," Eddie growled as he stomped into the kitchen and stole a sip of Wayne's coffee.

"What's got your panties in a bunch, son?" Wayne asked.

"I'm going to hang out with a couple of friends of mine. I woke up late," Eddie said.

"New friends?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah, uh, Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler," Eddie replied.

"Harrington? He ain't kin to Otis Harrington, is he?" Wayne asked.

"I think Steve mentioned something about his grandfather's name being Otis," he said. "We're supposed to go through his grandfather's salon today. I volunteered to help him."

"He thinking about reopening it?" Wayne asked.

"I think so. His parents don't really want him to. I met his mom. She's a real. . . bitch," Eddie said.

"Knew his grandfather back when he had the salon open. He was a great man. Did real good on my hair. It was such a shame when he had to close it, and then when he passed," Wayne said. "It's nice that Steve wants to do that and it was real nice that you offered to help."

"Well, it's nothing," Eddie shrugged and pressed an obnoxious kiss to his bald spot. "I'm going to get ready, old man. See you later."

"Boy! I hate it when you do that!"

"No, you don't!"

A moment later, Eddie came out freshly showered wearing his nicest pair of black jean shorts and a new Dio tank top.

"That's a nice shirt. Is it new?" Wayne asked, looking at him knowingly.

"Shut it," Eddie said.

"I was just pointing it out. Your hair is all up in a bun. . .that's nice. Oh, I see you have a fresh coat of black paint on your nails," Wayne said.

"Stop pointing things out! I'm leaving now!" Eddie exclaimed as he slipped on his vest.

"Which one of them are you interested in, son?" Wayne asked with a chortle.

"Leaving!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Don't come back pregnant. It's bad enough I spoil you, I don't need a grand baby to back up those goddamn cow eyes of yours," Wayne laughed affectionately.

Eddie rolled his eyes, huffed, and walked out the door. He popped his head back in a moment later.

"You're lucky I love you, old man," Eddie said and flipped him off.

Eddie cackled as he walked to his van. He loved him even if he could be such an embarrassing dad sometimes, which Eddie wouldn't admit that he loved. Wayne was always there for him, but he picked up a lot of parental moves once his dad officially walked out of his life. He's always been pretty supportive of everything he's done, even if he didn't like it himself, like showing up to his talent show and listening to him play and on his days off he'd sneak into the Hideout to watch him. It wasn't his kind of music, but he loved being there for Eddie. When he came out to his uncle as bisexual, he had been the most supportive he had ever been. He had been relieved that nothing changed between them.

"You're still my boy, Eds," Wayne had put it so simply but somehow managed to say everything that needed to be said.

"Don't come back pregnant. . .asshole," Eddie scowled as he climbed into his van. "He knows that if people say shit, I'm going to picture it in my head."

He waved the image of his swollen body cuddled between Nancy and Steve away with a loud huff, erasing it away like it was a chalkboard. He followed the directions that Steve told him to follow. He pulled up to the salon, which was a few doors down away from Melvald's. To his surprise, Steve and Nancy weren't there yet. He was the first to arrive? Or maybe they waited so long that they went ahead and investigated without him. He got out of the van and went to the door and tried peering inside, but the windows were too dirty to see anything. He vaguely heard the sound of a car pulling up, but he ignored it. He leaned back, his hands on his hips, and frowned. HONK! Eddie screamed and jumped. Someone had laid on their horn, someone really close. He turned around to find Steve sitting in his car, laughing his ass off while Nancy hit him as she struggled not to laugh either. Steve got out, still laughing, and Eddie glared at him.

"That wasn't funny, dick," Eddie said.

"I beg to differ," Steve snickered and pulled a carton out of a paper bag from Scoops Ahoy. "Will your favorite ice cream help you ease the pain?"

"Hmm, strawberry with extra sprinkles? Hmm. . . It will suffice. . .for now," Eddie said as he opened it and started digging into it with the plastic spoon. "Hmm, yummy. What was I annoyed about before?"

He was well into eating and licking his ice cream when he realized that he was being watched with interest. His eyebrows furrowed when he noticed that Steve and Nancy's eyes were following his every little movement with his ice cream. Did they both find him attractive? Eddie couldn't help but blush as his mind went back to that moment in the freezer when Steve kissed him. No, it was a pity kiss, that's all. He was seeing things that he wanted to see.

"Uh, don't you guys have ice creams of your own?" Eddie asked.

"Yes!" Steve and Nancy exclaimed.

Eddie leaned against his van as they enjoyed their ice cream. He could feel Steve’s eyes on him again.

"Those are some nice legs - shorts! Those are some nice shorts!" Steve exclaimed.

"What the fuck are legs shorts?" Eddie asked.

"Nothing!" Steve said quickly.

"Right. . ."

Eddie was hearing things he wanted to hear now, too, because he was pretty sure Steve Harrington just commented on his legs. He watched Nancy lean against Steve and giggle. He had noticed that they seemed a little more carefree than before, a lot less weighed down, but they still held a story behind their eyes. Eddie wasn't too keen on getting in between whatever new was growing between them. He could at least admire their beauty and imagine what could be between the three of them. For now, he was excited for their growing friendship. They finished off their ice cream, and Steve tossed the remains in the nearest trashcan. He fished out his keys and unlocked the door to the salon. They immediately inhaled some dust. It seemed like someone hadn't been here in a few years. Steve propped open the door with a brick to air it out.

"It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be," Eddie admitted as he looked around the place. "If you ever think about reopening, Wayne said he would love to help. Had good things to say about your gramps."

"Yeah, I'm starting to hear about that from other people, too. I mean, I loved my grandpa, but I didn't know that other people loved him too. It's weird because other people really hate my parents, and they've really tarnished the family name," Steve grumbled. "It's all I ever here is how much my father is an asshole."

"I'm not surprised. But I figure that if anyone can untarnish the family name, it'd be you," Eddie said.

"You think so?" He asked.

"Well, if you are able to put up with your unbearable mother, I figured you can do anything, big boy," Eddie said, clapping him on the back.

He watched his cheeks turn pink, and he laughed in amusement. Eddie looked around the room. It was exactly what you would expect a barber shop to look like and then some. With its red checkered floors and comfortable chairs that stood in front of dust covered mirrors. Although it was a lot more home-y than Eddie expected it to be. It felt more like a cross between someone's living room and a barber shop. Rat eaten, moldy couches were tucked up on either side of the room. Magazines with their covers bitten into lay on intricate looking coffee tables. They looked hand-made. What surprised him the most were the wooden varnished animals worked into the walls itself. Tiny wolves, deers, rabbits, and birds were sticking out of carved trees that were also worked into the wall. Plastic leaves had once hung on the trees, but it looked like they had fallen off. It was the coolest thing that Eddie had ever seen.

"Wow," Eddie gazed at in wonder. "This is so fucking metal."

"Yeah, my Grandma, who died before I was born, had a mutal friend with Grandpa, and they both surprised Grandpa Otis with this," Steve said. "My Grandpa didn't talk about him a lot. Whenever I asked about him, he always got really secretive. He talked about him a lot near the end, though. Him and an old war buddy of his, Steven. As well as my Gran, I thought it was sweet whenever he called her his best friend, and he always did even in the end."

"Wait, he had a war buddy named Steven?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa named me after him," Steve replied.

"Your grandpa named you? Not your parents?" Nancy asked.

"Well, my grandpa practically raised me the first few years of my life," Steve said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"Uh, where were your parents?" Eddie asked.

"In and out like always. It was a busy time for my father's company," Steve said. "He built it from the ground up, you know. I also think there was a scandal at the time. I don't know what it was. My dad wasn't always loaded. Anyway, my grandpa's things are in the apartment above us."

Steve entered through a torn curtain, flipping on lights. There was a thick wooden staircase that led to a small hallway, and turning left, there was a door. Steve unlocked it and turned on the lights. Inside was a modest two bedroom apartment. Eddie could tell that the second bedroom had been added on. A wall had been put up as a way to devide the once one room apartment. Both bedrooms were filled with boxes, and the furniture was covered with sheets.

"It's nice," Nancy said. "Very home-y."

"Unlike my house, you mean?" Steve snorted. "Anyway, this was my bedroom."

"Your bedroom?" Nancy asked.

"When I lived with my grandpa, the first few years of my life. A couple of years later, he started getting sick, and he had to close the store. Then, we had to move into the house. Honestly, I wasn't even sure they were my parents. My Grandpa mainly told stories about when my dad was a kid and my mom wasn't around a lot for him to get to know," Steve shrugged again.

It was taking everything in Eddie not to burst into tears and not hug the stuffing out of this guy. The way he talked about it so casually. . . Like it was the weather and not the fact that his parents abandoned him, then used his life like a revolving door. Eddie breathed in deep and then exhaled, stuffing his hands into his pockets, clenching his fists. He shared a look with Nancy, and she looked just as shocked as he was.

"How come you never told me about any of this stuff before?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know. You never asked," Steve shrugged, his back to her.

Eddie knew it wasn't supposed to be a slap in the face, but judging by the look on Nancy's face, it had been. She looked so guilty. Maybe if Steve hadn't been so casual about it like he was used to people not actually being interested in the real Steve Harrington. He knew his fucking parents were the cause of that. Eddie nudged Nancy gently, letting her know that she wasn't alone in making assumptions about Steve in the past. There were more layers to this guy than they both ever knew, and they were all about to find out more. He didn't know what went on with them, but he hoped it all worked out.

"Hey! My stuff!" Steve exclaimed as he walked into his bedroom, and he looked at the boxes.

"Your stuff?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, the toys, clothes, and blankets my parents gave away to the church," Steve said.

"Did they at least ask you first?" Eddie asked.

"No!" Steve said as he dug through the box happily. "The teddy bear my Grandma made when she found my mom was pregnant with me. She stitched this together herself. Made it from Dad's old baby clothes. I used to sleep with this thing every night, and then my mom said I was too old to sleep with a stuffed animal. Said I looked stupid. Sir Snuggsalot because he's so snuggly."

Eddie's heart swelled in his chest at the sight of Steve cuddling the bear. It suddenly turned to anger. He pulled Nancy off to the side.

"Okay, we lie in wait for his parents to come home then me and you. . . We kill them," Eddie said. "It needs to look like an accident."

"I have been reading up on poisons," Nancy said.

"Hmm. . .it can't be quick. They don't deserve a quick death," Eddie said.

"Hmm. Agreed. Rusty pair of gardening sheers?" Nancy asked.

"Nobody will believe they garden," he scoffed.

"That's why they're rusty. He does sleep around a lot," Nancy said. "Maybe she finally snapped."

"Yes! Murder suicide. I like the way you think, Wheeler," Eddie said.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Steve asked.

"Nothing!" Eddie and Nancy exclaimed.

"Anyway, there's a note. Pastor Young, who used to babysit me here, recognized these things and dug them out of the donation box. He must have brought them here right before he died," Steve said, shaking his head fondly. "Miss that old man."

"Fuck it," Eddie muttered.

He walked over to Steve and slipped his arms around his waist, pulling into a tight side hug. Eddie squeezed him.

"Uh, what's going on?" Steve asked.

Nancy copied Eddie and joined Steve on his other side, hugging him tightly as well.

"Okay, I don't know what this is, but it's nice," Steve said.

Once they dug through his childhood things, they moved over to his grandfather's boxes. They pulled out photographs and metals as well as several pieces of artwork that Steve did for Otis as a child. There were several photos of him and Steve when Steve was little. Eddie cooed at every single one of them. There were several more photos of Otis when he was younger with Steve’s Grandma, Irene.

"You have his eyes, Steve," Nancy noted as she gazed at a picture of young Otis in his uniform.

"I do?" Steve asked and looked over Nancy's shoulder. "Oh yeah."

Eddie joined Nancy at her other side to look at the photo.

"Yeah, definitely. You have his shoulders too," Eddie said.

"And his hair," Nancy added.

Eddie grinned as he watched Steve preen as he realized he had more in common with his grandfather than he thought he did. Eddie dug through the box and pulled out a picture frame. It was Otis in his uniform with his arm wrapped around a handsome man with rather curly thick hair and dark eyes. His face was littered with freckles. They were gazing at each other, and Eddie didn't think it looked all that platonic.

"Oh, hey, that's Steven," Steve said, looking over at Eddie's shoulder. "According to the date, it was about the time he and Gran got engaged."

"There's something wedged in the back," Eddie said. "I'll fix it."

He opened up the back, and another photo slipped out. Steve caught and read the back.

"Thanks for letting me take this picture. You gentlemen are lovely together. One day, you'll be able to show everyone your love, and they'll accept you as I do. Love always, your best friend, Irene," Steve read off the back and flipped the picture over. "Oh, wow."

Eddie scurried to look over his shoulder, as did Nancy. Otis and Steven's arms were wrapped around each other as they locked lips.

"Okay, there has to be journals around here that have more information," Eddie said with wide eyes. "I need to know more about them. I mean, if you don't mind."

"I think he wouldn't mind at all. He would probably be happy to know that there were more people like him learning about his story and his struggles," Steve said.

"Especially his grandson," Eddie said with a grin as he nudged him.

The three of them started to dig around the room, trying to find anything with journals in it. It was Nancy who found a box under the bed. When she opened it, they discovered tons of journals. They eagerly started to dig through them, each taking turns to read them as they learned more about Otis Harrington. It helped that it was written more like a novel.

Before Otis had gotten drafted, he had worked in his father's barber shop in Hawkins. Irene Callahan was his best friend in the world, and their parents were sure they were going to get married. Of course, they weren't at all aware of Otis's secret: He was gay. Women held no interest for him, not even Irene. Turns out, though, Irene was more than okay with that because there wasn't a single man or woman alive who held any interest for her, and she had doubted that it would ever happen. They eventually agreed that they would get married. . . It was safer that way, and Irene didn't want to get stuck with someone she couldn't stand. And even though it was a marriage without romantic love and sexual attraction, it was a marriage built on love. And they were happy.

"That's cool, though, that they had a marriage like that. Just like a friendship marriage. And that Irene could be like that," Steve said. "My grandparents were awesome."

"That they were. You know, my best friend, Ronnie, is a lot like your grandma. She's at NYU studying to become a lawyer," Eddie said.

"For the longest time, I thought I was like that. I wasn't really interested in anyone or in dating. I mean, besides that tiny crush on Tom Cruise. Until Steve came along, I wasn't sure I could like anyone," Nancy said.

"Hmm, maybe you're pansexual," Eddie said.

"Pansexual?" Nancy asked.

"It's like where it doesn't matter what gender someone is. You're like attracted to what's inside a person," Eddie said.

"Like their fluids and stuff?" Steve asked.

"No!" Eddie snorted with laughter. "You're like attracted to people and not what's on the outside. While bisexuality focuses more on gender and neither sexuality is wrong. Look, I was confused about my own sexuality for years, I'm not sure if I can explain someone else's. It's whatever feels comfortable with you. Hell, you don't even need to have a label if you don't want to. I'll take you guys up to Indie, and I will take you to this place my friend took me. I think exploring your sexuality is something that you need to do for yourself."

"So, you're not going to guide me like a queer Yoda?" Nancy asked, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"A Quoda!" Steve exclaimed, and Nancy giggled.

"I hate you guys," Eddie said, grinning as he swiped the journal from Steve’s hands.

Before Otis and Irene had even gotten engaged, however, a man had moved into town to open up his own diner. He had stumbled upon the town of Hawkins and decided to move to this quaint, quiet town. He had come from the large noisy city of New York, and he was looking for some small town charm.

"Small town charm? What they don't tell you about small towns could fill a book," Eddie said, causing Steve and Nancy to snort while sharing a look. "Or a TV show."

When Steven Jones stepped foot into the barber shop, Otis had been smitten with him almost immediately. They became fast friends, all three of them, and from that moment on, it felt like they had always been friends. They were inseparable. That summer was the best time for all of them. Otis and Steve fell in love while Irene had the pleasure of watching unfold. She even helped keep it a secret. Wartime soon fell upon them like dark clouds on the cusp of a great big storm. And when rumors started popping up, it was Irene's idea to get married, treating it as a celebration of their friendship. While she was married to Otis in the spirit of friendship, she knew the romantic marriage was between Otis and Steven. She had a secret ring made for Steven to wear around his neck. So while Irene and Otis had a huge church wedding with Steven standing beside Otis, they had a secret wedding for Steven and Otis in this very apartment with Irene officiating. Steven had deemed it a coin marriage, both with different sides and both of equal value. One side was romantic, one side platonic.

"A fucking coin marriage," Eddie said. "Your grandparents were brilliant."

It all came crashing down when both Otis and Steven had gotten drafted, leaving Irene to look after the salon with Otis's father. Letters between the three of them were stuck between the pages of the book. They were filled with longing and fear, all three of them separated by war. The last letter spoke of Steven and Otis meeting on the same battlefield, finally together again. Eddie's shakily turned the page.

"Otis had returned home, to the joy of his father and his wife, but Steven. . . Steven would never come home again. And when Otis stood in front of his wife, he placed Steven's necklace in her palm as he drew her into a kiss. To anyone else, he was greeting his wife with a loving kiss, but they knew differently. Salty tears from both sides, it was a kiss filled with sadness. . .two lips clinging to each other in a comforting hug as they mourned for the loss for the man they loved so differently and completely. . . The man who loved with every fiber of his being and who couldn't carry hate in his heart for anyone even when he was fighting on the battlefield. He showed his love through food, and taking care of people was like his special language. Hawkins would be a lot less brighter with one less star, and Otis would always be missing a piece of his heart. . . "

Eddie put the journal down, sniffling as he wiped his eyes. He let out a choked sob, trying to ignore Steve and Nancy's own sniffles. They took a moment to collect themselves, and Nancy took the journal from him. The journal had skipped ahead several months later, with Otis addressing it to his beloved. . .to Steven. Otis and Irene were discussing ways they could possibly have a child. There was really only one way they could. . . With a turkey baster. They had talked about it in depth, trying to figure out if they were trying to fill the hole in their lives. After a lot of talking, they figured out that it was something that they really wanted. Several months later, they welcomed a baby boy and named him Jonathan after Irene's father, who had passed during the beginning stages of her pregnancy. As he grew, John was a happy boy who loved both of his parents. He was witty and sharp, but as the years went by, he started befriending the more popular kids who were very arrogant. They didn't believe in people who strayed far from the path, who stood out. John had firmly believed that his parents' marriage were like everyone else's, a little silly perhaps but did not stray too far from the path. Otis had decided that John had been old enough to learn the truth, and he had trusted him to be able to handle it. That had been a mistake.

" . . . Watching the love fade from my son's eyes had been hard to watch, and seeing it be replaced with disgust had been even harder. I'm looking at him now, even though he's right next to me, and I miss him. I wish I never told him at all. . . "

Nancy paused, her bottom lip trembling as she gazed at Steve.

"Fuck," Eddie and Steve cursed.

"Continue," Steve said, swallowing thickly.

" . . . It would be my fault for whatever comes next with him. I've always ignored it when other people spewed hateful things, and I never felt ashamed for being who I am until the hate started coming from my own son. My father had died and left the salon to me, but he died knowing who I was. He accepted and loved me all the same even if he didn't understand it himself. The worst part was when we would go out in public, and John wanted to keep the image up of us being a happy family. I always tried to make sure that he knew he came from love, created with love even though it wasn't the conventional way. All he felt was betrayal, and I couldn't help but feel like it was all my fault. . . "

"That's bullshit! It's not his fault. He was just being honest about who he is and my father . . . Well, if he hasn't learned by now that he's the asshole in this situation, then he's probably never going to," Steve scowled.

"Steve. . . ," Nancy said softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe after. Let's just finish," Steve said and took the journal from her.

As the years went by, John argued with his parents about getting help. . .about needing to be fixed. It always ended the same way, with John being kicked out, leaving his parents to cry over their son and wishing Steven was still with them. He still tried to keep up with visiting his parents, and eventually, he dropped the subject, but he always looked at them funny. Instead, he talked about the insurance company he was building with his friends and bragged about how well it was going, making jabs about how Otis was still a barber. When he turned his insults to Irene, it had been the last straw and kicked John out. He had been planning on giving the house to John, but after disowning him for a time, he sold it to someone else. Irene and Otis moved into the apartment above the salon. The next time that they had talked to their son, he announced he was married to a wonderful woman. They could tell that he didn't even love her, not even platonically. She was desperate for his love, though, and was willing to give him anything even children to keep up the image of the importance of family. She hated kids, though. Steve paused and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You okay?" Eddie asked softly.

"I just - I always suspected that this is why my mother had me, but I had hoped that there was some part of her. . . Some part of her that loved me," Steve said as he struggled not to cry.

"Steve. . .," Nancy said and reached out to touch his knee.

"Let's just . . . Get on with this," Steve said.

When Margaret had announced her pregnancy, Otis and Irene tried to focus on the fact that there would be a grand baby on the way. They didn't want to think about how Margaret looked sour during the announcement and that John had looked happy about it for all the wrong reasons. It was just a means to end for him, another piece to maintain the image that he was on the right path. Irene spent all of her time working on making a teddy bear for the baby, making it out of John's clothes and putting all of her love into it. Just after finishing it, Irene's heart gave out. There was too much damage, and he sat with her on her deathbed with John nowhere to be found. He had been too busy at work, too busy to say goodbye to his own mother, and Otis knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"I'll give Steven my love. I'll leave some for you and John to give to the baby," she had smiled weakly. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if they named the baby Steven? It's such a lovely name."

They had been her last words, and Otis had been distraught as she slipped away even more so after she was gone. He had never felt more alone in his life. John and Margaret had stood at the back of the funeral. When John did approach him later, he didn't say anything, but he did look regretful. For the first time in a while, Otis was looking through the eyes of his son. He should have known that it was too good to last. They hadn't called him when Margaret had gone into labor. John had shown up with the baby in his arms and gave the bundle to him. He declared that he didn't have time to take care of him, and Margaret didn't want anything to do with the baby. Though Otis had felt sad for the baby in his arms, he also felt love and joy. He had come up with the perfect name. Steven Ira Harrington.

"Your middle name is Ira?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah," Steve said. "Problem?"

"No, Ira-really like it," Eddie said with a cheesy grin.

"That was so stupid," Nancy giggled, and Steve laughed in agreement.

The next few years of his life had been busy. The divider had been built by James Hopper Sr and his son, Jimmy. It was a name only Otis was allowed to call him. Occasionally, Jimmy would come into help with the wall but would also help look after baby Steve. Tucked in between the pages was a picture of young Hopper bouncing baby Steve in his lap while Steve laughed and reached for his face. It wasn't long after that Jimmy had gotten married and left for New York. Raising Steve had kept Otis busy for the next few years, and when he got sick, he started to write less. When he lost the use of his hands, he stopped writing all together. He did manage to write one more thing.

"Steve, if you find these journals, please don't think less of me. . . And Steven. . .oh, Steven. . . He may not be yours by blood, but somehow, he managed to inherit your heart. . . . "

"If anything, I think more of you," Steve whispered and then paused. "He never talked about that friend of his who did that piece of artwork downstairs."

"Well, I think there might be a couple of journals missing, judging by the dates," Nancy said.

"Pastor Young probably took them when he dropped off my things," Steve said.

"Or maybe Pastor Young did the artwork," Eddie said, and then he gasped. "Maybe Pastor Young was Otis's lover."

"Maybe that's why he took the notebooks. He didn't want anyone to know," Nancy said.

"That would explain why he was so involved in my life," Steve said. "And why he had a key. Now that I think about it, he did sleep over a lot, and he never slept on the couch. Jesus, it was right there in front of me. I mean, he was there even until the end. Although, after Grandpa died, he didn't come around a lot, and then he died. My father probably told him to stay away if he figured out what he was to my grandfather. My fucking parents. . . "

Eddie watched his face flash through several mixed emotions. His own father was an asshole who breezed in and out of his life. He was finally out of it for good.

"I know what it's like," Eddie blurted out.

"What?" Steve asked.

"To have a parent come in and out of your life, not caring about you. I spent so many years trying to catch my father's attention only to realize he wasn't going to care about me. I did have someone who always did, who I took for granted. My uncle was always the dad that I needed in my life. He was the one who taught me how to care. You had not one, not two but three grandparents. Even though two of them never got to meet you, it seems they left their love behind in Otis which he passed onto you," Eddie said.

"And you've passed it onto me and to the kids. They communicate it through their actions, especially Dustin, who takes care of you as much as you do him," Nancy said. "And you taught Max that she could stand up for herself. You gave them an example of what a good older brother should be, just like your grandfather showed you what a good parent is supposed to be. You showed them that love can look differently to many people, and it doesn't have to be romantic. And even if they don't say, they show it. . .they love you, and I think they do that by making sure that you never feel alone ever again. They do that even by filling up your house with noise and dirt. They chose to be a part of your life. And I know you love them that just as much as they love you."

Steve burst into tears, his body shaking with sobs. Eddie immediately wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. He turned to Nancy and pulled her into the middle of them. Eddie and Nancy hugged him tightly, unknowingly solidifying their bond even further into a deeper and more permanent one.

Chapter Eight

[halsteadlover]

𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤

*Gif not mine credits to the owner*

• Pairing: Adam Ruzek x Female!Reader.

• Requested: no.

• Summary: one of your worst nightmares becomes reality when you find yourself stuck on a ferris wheel. And what makes everything worse, with the person you hate most… Or at least that's what you thought.

• Warnings: maybe few curse words

• Word count: 3,7K.

• A/N: hope you enjoy it! Comment, reblogs and likes are highly appreciated, I love you all <3

A thousand thoughts ran through your brain but all of them ended the same way.

How the hell did I end up in this situation?

Fate must’ve played some tricks, you must’ve committed some crime in your past life because there must’ve been a serious reason why you had found yourself stuck on a damn Ferris wheel. Suspended in the air.

There had to be a reason, because what were the odds that the Ferris wheel would stuck in mid-air just when it was your turn to take a ride.

And there had to be an equally precise reason why, among so many people, it was Adam Ruzek you were stuck with.

God probably hated you, there was no other explanation, he wanted to take revenge for some wrong things you had done and make atonement for your sins.

Why the fuck did you let yourself be convinced to get in that damned killing machine? Whose brilliant idea was it? And why with Adam among everyone?

That evening you had decided to go to a fair with your friends and some of your colleagues including Adam, Jay, Vanessa, Kim and Hailey, a good opportunity to spend time together without there being any robbery or murder to solve.

The atmosphere was light, the fair was overflowing with people who couldn't wait to try all the attractions there. Somehow you managed to avoid everything that required going ‘up’ but couldn’t escape the damn Ferris wheel.

The queue was very long and you had tried several times to escape but the words of your friends convinced you to at least make an attempt since it was quiet and the ride wouldn't last more than five minutes.

The entire Ferris wheel consisted of five small cabins that could accommodate a maximum of two people at a time and you couldn’t even ask to any of them, that the pairs had already been formed and you and Adam found yourselves exchanging annoyed glances, both being the only ones left.

You didn't ignore the giggles and looks your friends sent to both of you, making you realize they had deliberately done it to let you and Adam be alone.

Your relationship with him was, well… Weird, to say at least.

The bickering between you two was the order of the day, there was nothing you said that he didn't laugh at, making fun of you at every chance he got. That man could zap every single nerve in your body and drive you crazy with just one word and you hated him for that.

And the fact you were tremendously attracted to him despite this didn't work in your favor.

He was equally attracted to you, which is why one night – dead drunk – you ended up in his bed and woke up the next day with feelings of guilt and shame and pretended you didn't even know each other. This however didn’t last long as he wasted no time in returning to bother you and argue, making your life at work a living hell.

Adam drove you crazy, he always managed to confuse you, especially when he went from wanting to argue to making sexual jokes and flirting with you and then go back to arguing in a small amount of time.

You hated him, you hated how he made you feel and you hated yourself even more because despite this you couldn't help but be deeply attracted to him, to the point that everyone – both colleagues and your friends – did nothing but tease you and do everything to get you and Adam together, claiming to stop acting stupid because you both clearly wanted each other.

And that's how you ended up stuck on a damn Ferris wheel with the person you most wanted to be away from, about to have a panic attack.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you muttered to yourself when everything stopped suddenly. You looked around, realizing with horror you were several meters above the ground, suspended in mid-air in a cabin that continued to oscillate with every slightest gust of wind.

You pressed your back against the seat, closing your eyes and taking deep breaths, feeling the panic starting to build up inside you.

Saying you were absolutely terrified of heights was an understatement.

Adam, however, remained impassive, only huffing at the annoyance of having to be stuck there and rolled his eyes when he noticed your eyes were closed and you refused to open them. “Oh don't be dramatic now. It’s just a stupid Ferris wheel, we’ll get down soon.”

“Adam just shut the fuck up if you don't have anything smart to say,” you spat through clenched teeth, a mix of emotions between pure terror and anger coursing through you.

Adam chuckled, clearly amused by the situation. “Our little detective is afraid of heights isn't she?”.

He looked at you carefully and saw you open your eyelids as you looked up at the ceiling and continued to take deep breaths. You didn't answer him, that's why he decided continuing to tease you was great idea.

“Stop being a pussy and enjoy the view instead. Don't think I like the idea of being stuck with you either.”

Adam didn't really mean it, he wasn't really mad at you, he just madly loved making you angry and teasing you until you’d explode. You were so hot and sexy when you were angry and all worked up, he couldn't help himself even though he was aware he was being an asshole 99% of the time.

He ignored the part of his conscience that told him this was just a way to get you to stay away from him because he didn't have the strength to do it, because for some absurd reason you attracted him like a moth was attracted to the light.

He tried to convince himself it was just physical attraction, although he knew full well what he felt for you was deeper than that.

But this time you didn't respond to any of his taunts, your fear too strong to even think about what he said.

Adam continued to look at you and noticed the way your chest rose and fell quickly, your breathing was frantic, your hands continued to shake despite being clenched into fists, your gaze fixed on the ceiling. The smirk he had plastered on his face slowly disappeared when he realized it wasn't just a little fear, you were completely terrified.

“You okay?” He tried to ask you stupidly. It was clear you weren’t okay at all.

Anxiety was hardly twisting your stomach you feared you’d vomit on his shoes at any moment. Nausea was paralyzing you and the dizziness made your head spin so much you thought you’d pass out right then and there.

You didn't know why you were so afraid of heights, why the fear paralyzed you to the point you couldn't move a muscle and made your heart beat so fast it almost stopped. You just wanted to go down and put your feet on dry land and kill whoever had convinced you to get on that thing.

“Y/n. You hear me?!” Adam's urgent voice brought you back to reality for a moment. You shook your head, tears pricking your eyes which you kept opening and closing in an attempt to calm yourself a bit.

Adam realized you were about to have a panic attack so without even thinking twice, he knelt down in front of you and placed his hands on your knees, worried. “Hey look at me.”

But you couldn't seem to hear him, your body was there but your mind had flown away.

“Y/n look at me please,” he continued, but kept his voice calm so as not to make the situation worse. You opened your eyes and looked at him, too anxious and terrified to realize what he was doing. His eyes shone as they looked at you with concern, making you think for a few seconds how rare that way of looking at you was.

“Breathe with me okay?” He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Let's do this together, breathe with me. Breathe in…” he said “C’mon, you can do it angel. I’m here with you.”

Your eyes let out some tears and he raised a hand, gently wiping them away and making you lose your mind even more.

“It's okay, you're not alone. I'm right here.”

Was this man really Adam Ruzek? The same Adam who made your life impossible? The same obnoxious Adam?

You couldn’t believe it but you were too scared to react.

“C’mon, breathe with me,” he smiled faintly to encourage you and you nodded, starting to inhale deeply and following him, letting the air out of your lungs.

Your eyes never left each other for a second as he stayed there with you making you take deep breaths, slowly getting your breathing back to a normal pace.

“You're doing great, just keep going,” he murmured as he continued to look at you and smile comfortingly. His thumbs caressed your knees and for some strange, absurd reason this gesture comforted you more than the breathing exercises you had done up until that moment.

“Everything will be fine you hear me? They'll start this piece of junk again and we'll get out of here before you know it. Nothing will happen, you’re safe,” he spoke as his eyes scanned your facial features carefully. He tried to ignore how beautiful you were under those lights, you were so breathtaking and he couldn't stop looking at you. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

What the hell?

I won't let anything happen to you? Really Adam?

You remained silent for a few moments as your blurry eyes got lost in his. You wanted so much to be able to read inside him, to know what he thought, how he felt as he looked at you but you couldn't. God, that man was such a mystery.

You knew he was telling you those things just to make you calm down but you couldn't help but wonder if deep down he really meant those words. For an instant you convinced yourself he did, your heart wanted to think for just a second he had feelings for you.

Adam swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to stop the thoughts that tortured his mind at the moment. His expression seemed calm, but an exhausting battle between was taking place inside him.

He struggled between the desire to have you, to just kiss you right there, and the desire to stay away from you because you truly were the most annoying person on the planet sometimes.

He looked away as he sat next to you on that narrow seat no longer able to maintain eye-contact without fear of doing or saying something stupid.

A sudden gust of wind made the small cabin sway considerably, plunging you into complete panic again and almost making your heart stop beating.

A scream of terror escaped you and before you even realized it, you threw yourself into Adam's arms, looking for some kind of protection.

Adam was a little taken aback at first, not expecting this in any way but he returned that hug, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and holding you tightly to him as his fingers caressed you in an attempt to calm you down.

“Shh it's okay, it was just a little wind. We're fine,” he whispered to you, mentally praying you couldn't hear how hard his heart was beating. That was the first time you had hugged in the years you had known each other and he was about to lose his mind.

“Adam, p-please… I want to get off…” you muttered desperately, your face pressed against his chest as you trembled like a leaf.

His heart sank at the sight. You had always been so strong and brave in his eyes, as if nothing could affect you, so seeing you in that state caused him a sensation he hated, and that he was sure he’d never want to feel again in his life.

“Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here okay? You’ll be fine, they’re all working to get us all down. I promise it’ll be over soon,” he whispered, stroking your arms and tightening his grip around you even more. “Talk to me, don't shut yourself down.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“Anything you want, just focus on me.”

You thought about it for a second and told him the first thing that came to mind. “At one point I thought about throwing you off this damn Ferris wheel.”

His chest vibrated as he laughed and you found yourself smiling back, turning serious right back when you realized what you were doing.

Your mind had decided to turn itself off when you realized what was happening: you were hugging Adam and the thing shocked you the most was that you felt really good in his arms. In other moments you probably would’ve walked away but right then you didn't want to think about it, he managed to calm you down and you needed it.

Adam leaned his head against yours, the skin of his cheek slightly pinched by your hair as he involuntarily inhaled the scent of it.

God what am I doing?

What are you doing to me Y/n?

“Well, now is a good time if you want.”

“Don't tempt me, I could actually do it and plead insanity.”

You then took a deep breath as your heartbeat returned to a normal pace and the agitation slowly passed. For the first time since you'd met, you and Adam were able to have a conversation where neither of you let out insults or threatened to put a bullet in the other's foot.

You couldn't understand how much time had passed since the Ferris wheel had stopped but thanks to Adam you managed not to think about it as he talked to you the whole time to keep you distracted.

“Can I ask you a question?” You dared to ask after a small moment of silence. You were still sitting next to each other, his arms around you and your head resting on his chest and you were almost afraid to move, fearing he’d let you go if you did.

“Hmm,” he hummed positively as his eyes looked around the cabin.

“Why do you hate me?” You asked in a voice so low you feared he hadn't heard you, your breath caught in your throat.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“I don't hate you... Well yes, but I hate you because you hate me and because you’ve been an asshole since the first day I joined the team.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic. C’mon...”

“Adam,” you interrupted him with firm tone.

He chuckled. “Okay, okay, maybe just a little bit.”

“And why? I don't think I've ever done anything to you.”

Silence reigned supreme for a few seconds while he reflected on your words, his eyes observing the metallic ceiling.

Why did he hate you?

He had asked himself this many times but he had never been able to give himself an answer. He didn't know the real reason, you were right, you had never done anything to him, you had always been kind to everyone from the first moment. But then why?

Maybe because it easier, maybe because he knew from the very beginning you were going to mess up his whole life so hating you was the best thing he could do to keep you away, to not let himself fall for you.

But however, this inevitably happened against the odds and his will.

You took courage and raised your head slightly to look at him and at that same moment his eyes met yours. You were incredibly close, closer than you ever would’ve been even if you were drunk.

His breath tickled your lips as his eyes looked at you with so much intensity so felt like a thousand-volt electrical discharge went though your body, as if he was somehow trying to read your soul.

What the hell are you thinking about Adam?

His eyes were so hard to read, so enigmatic. They were like a puzzle and you struggled to find the necessary pieces to be able to complete it and understand what he was thinking and feeling.

He moved his gaze between your eyes and your lips, trying to maintain a neutral expression even if every cell in his body screamed to close that little gap and press his lips to yours.

But he couldn't, especially not at that moment.

And, above all, why did he think ‘not at that moment’? Did this mean he actually wanted to kiss you?

It was a question he didn't even try to answer, his mind was too clouded to think logically.

One of his hands moved to your face and with a gentleness you struggled to recognize he caressed your cheek, fixing some small, messy locks of hair. Your breathing stopped and your heart started wildly pounding again, this time not because of the dizziness and the fear of falling down.

You were paralyzed under his intense and magnetic gaze, you wanted so much to be able to say something, to break that deafening silence but the words inevitably died in your throat.

He continued to alternate his gaze between your eyes and your lips, you actually unaware of the internal battle he was eagerly fighting.

Anyone who saw you two would think this was just a romantic moment that a couple in love was sharing, anyone could see the way you both looked at each other and no one would’ve doubted you actually hated each other.

Or at least that's what you thought.

You thought you hated him.

You forced yourself to do it, as if to reciprocate his hatred, because of the way he treated you.

But you didn't hate him, not as much as you wanted to. Sure, he made your blood boil in your veins like very few other people in the world did, there were countless times when you would’ve punched him in the face after some of his pranks, but you couldn't deny how much you desired that man just as intensely.

“What are you thinking about?” He whispered as he continued to covertly caress your face. Suddenly, however, he moved his hand away, making you instantly feel the feeling of emptiness and cold that his touch had left. His fingers trailed down to your hand, still clenched into a fist without realizing it.

“What are you thinking?” You whispered back as you saw his lips part slightly. His fingers lightly caressed your skin, almost as imperceptibly as he had done to your cheek and you relaxed almost instantly, making you subconsciously hate yourself for the way your body responded so easily to him.

“Don't answer a question with another question.” His lips lifted into a small smirk and your heart simultaneously came out of your rib cage and crashed onto the asphalt.

His fingers played with yours for a while, his fingertips dragging over your skin, as if studying every feature and little imperfection. Your stomach twisted on itself as he intertwined his fingers with yours and squeezed your hand, drawing little imaginary circles on it with his thumb.

“Says the one who still haven't answered my initial question,” you replied in the same mischievous tone.

“Touché,” he chuckled “I guess… I just think it was easier.”

You frowned a little bit and he refrained himself from kiss it away.

“Easier?”.

He didn't answer this question, leaving it still hanging in the air. But the he leaned even closer to you, almost imperceptibly but when his lips lightly brushed yours, you forgot what that question was and even your damn name. “Push me away angel.”

You didn't do it even though you knew you had to.

Your brain was aware of it but your body couldn't move, instead it continued to crave his touch, his mouth on yours.

“Why?” you whispered as you brushed your lips against his again, and again, until every part of you exploded in desire and passion.

Were you going to regret it? Probably yes, but in that moment you couldn't care less, you were too caught up and overwhelmed by the hurricane that was Adam Ruzek to be able to think rationally.

“Because I might do something stupid…” he breathed out, having a hard time to keep control of himself, his hands tightening their grip on you. “Fuck… You drive me crazy.”

His lips continued brushing yours, this time in such a way you felt like you were being swallowed up by a hurricane and spat out and then thrown forcefully against a truck. Only a millimeter was missing, just a single one for the kiss you were both waiting and desiring so intensely.

You were both waiting for one of you to pull back, to realize the stupid thing you were about to do but neither of you did, even though you both knew if you crossed this line there would be no turning back. You had already crossed this line, sure, but you actually didn't remember a thing from the night you ended up in his bed.

There would be no alcohol or liquor to blame this time, just your stupid minds and bodies that didn't want to be apart from each other.

However a sudden thud made you literally jump and suddenly move away from him, panic starting to take over again as you feared your time had come. Nevertheless as soon as you realized the Ferris wheel was finally unblocked and it had started to rotate again, you let out a sigh of relief.

When you finally reached the ground, you came out of that cabin at the speed of light, almost bursting into tears when you realized it was really over.

Your gaze followed Adam for a moment, who started talking and laughing with Jay and Kim as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't been about to kiss you until a few moments before.

Your friends were talking to you and asking how you were but your mind was completely elsewhere, still stuck in the moment when you were so close to him and about to kiss.

His eyes met yours for a moment. He looked at you with such intensity that your knees almost buckled, a little smirk on his lips making your heart drop with anticipation and that was probably the first time you were able to understand his unspoken words.

Whatever happened up there wasn't over.

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TBB S3 E14 Reaction

Gosh. I really don’t want this all to be over 😭 (at the same time, I kind of need the stress to be over 💀). I was white-knuckled by the end of this episode, I’ll tell you that.

- They really just out here hanging out upside down

- This ship is definitely like the one Cross and Omega escaped on

- Wow my boys look good in black 🖤

- “At least listen to him!!” 🤣

- So Echo is straight up wearing Star Wars jeans now - @ladyzirkonia 😏 - andddd wearing brown leather pouches…remind you of anyone 🥹

- Oh no. Of course Hemlock was going to find out they were coming *sigh*. I guess it makes sense. That lieutenant would have filed a complaint the second he woke up.

- Hunterrrr whipping that ship around like it weighs nothing

- These clouds look perfect

- “Hang on” Hunter you’re starting to sound like your brother

- “Your concern for the specimens is showing” Emerie don’t leave them with *her*!!!

- HE PEEK

- Crosshair looks really nice in this outlined armor even though I miss the softness of the grey and red

- So Hunter has his own drift and slide move, huh? 👀 🥵

- They are literally plummeting to the surface right now dear lord

- Yeah I don’t think Hunter can call Tech or Phee out for reckless flying ever again 💀

- “You don’t want to know” — Narrator: he did, in fact, very much not want to know 🤣

- The seat folding back like he did for Batcher needing to get out in episode 3–he’s come such a long way

- Rampart

- Screaming

- Like

- A

- Girl coward 😆

- Let’s be honest though I’m terrified of heights in a directly physiological way so I honestly can’t blame the man AT all

- Meanwhile Wrecker having the time of his life lol

- Rampart. Honey. Maybe don’t LET GO of the cable you’re hanging onto for dear life with one hand just to make a talking point

- Oh no. Echo be careful!

- The landscape of Tantiss in this episode and the lighting and the sky and the trees and the river are just 🤩🤩🤩 STUNNING

- Atta boyyy using the storm trooper armor to blend in (his scomp looks so weird poking out of the vambrace though!)

- “I’d rather not do either” my baby boy 😭😭😭 I hate that they’re making him go back!

- They did the Spider-Man standoff 🤣🤣🤣

- “Unfortunately yes” lmaooooo

- “We’ll take our chances” that is giving callbacks to a parallel I do not want to make (Jyn’s speech in Rogue One—“we’ll take our chances until they’re spent.”

- It’s still just wild to me that Rampart is with them for this

- Oooh why did Echo’s scomp get stuck??

- “Thanks for the hand” Echo you and your dry sass 🤣

- You know, I’m just realizing—part of the point of the clone troopers was that they were identical. That included size. At first I thought “oh course Echo would fit best into stormtrooper gear bc he’s a reg” but—stormtroopers are supposed to be all kinds of random people. How are they all the same size?? How are they producing gear en masse to accommodate different people’s body types? Why do they all look the same height and weight on screen? Space opera plot hole I guess

- Jax’s hair sticking up

- These precious babies don’t know what “cover me” and stalling means! Shows how Omega has led such a different life

- Man they are just shoving Rampart all over the place. I meannn he deserves it but also it’s just going to piss him off

- Rampart just said the quiet part out loud. About himself. He doesn’t understand Crosshair in the slightest. He’s only seen a tiny sliver of who Crosshair is and he thinks it was the true version. It was not. And yet Crosshair has gained so much confidence in himself that he doesn’t even need to argue back with Rampart at all. Just a simple “I’ve changed” THAT’S MY BOY

- “Sure you have” what the HELL does that mean?? Why does it sound like foreshadowing 😭👀

- Echo can just take the hand off 💀

- Yep, told ya, Rampsrt is getting mad. Calling him dead weight doesn’t really help matters either

- ….yeah let’s just go lean against the nearest fluffy, warm, GIANT wall of flesh in the nearest vicinity and not realize it’s a creature 🤣

- Rampart’s face here is priceless

- Lovely. Now the scary blind hedgehog hyena bear is looking for lunch

- Okay yeah maybe you guys really should be running

- Wrecker 😭😭😭

- The boys helping him up 😭

- Rampart you clown. Pull yourself together man

- Oh man. He’s totally going to be a problem next episode isn’t he

- Crosshair takes babysitting duty very seriously

- The babes don’t know how to stall very well but 10/10 for effort. Dr. Scalder just keeps living up to her name with the callous burns too

- Omega girlie pop you better get back soon

- 😱😱😱

- SHE’S BACKKK

- I repeat

- THE ZILLO BEAST HAS RETURNED

- My love for Metamorphosis in season 2 is being so validated right now you have no idea 😁

- How dare Hemlock torture that beautiful creature like this I hate it

- Seriously Omega get back down there now

- Phew

- Oh my

- She knows his name?? Emerie recognized Echo?? And from Omega telling her about her (their) brothers you’ve got to be kidding me 😭😭😭

- Ohhh Echo is not happy to see her 🤣👀

- Ohhhh Emerie. Her facial expressions look so much like Omega here. The guilt is just oozing out of her

- Ohhhhh. The helmet came off. The neural brace is gone. Okay, so when Echo first started eyeing that stormtrooper to take his gear, the first thing I thought was “but your head brace won’t fit under that kind of helmet!” And sure enough, they had him leave it behind. I repeat—Echo left his entire kit of armor AND the gear that most likely keeps his modifications running smoothly, helps decrypt and smooth out the sensory jumble of the neural implants put in him by the Techno Union, the one thing we’ve never seen him without since TCW, that most likely is not easily replaced—Echo left it behind, most likely never to retrieve it. For Omega. For his brothers. The lengths these boys will go to I just can’t 😭

- C’mon Emerie, put your loyalty where it belongs—with your family!

- “What children” poor boy almost had a heart attack. That man is never frazzled and he almost dropped his hand in shock 😅

- Atta girl 😱🤗 Emerie Echo rescue duo let’s goooo

[awkwardgtace]

Meeting Through Dreams

Day 8 leggo

Today we have borrower Mira starting dreams that should bring her to her perfect partner, but she doesn't exactly want that to happen...

Meeting Through Dreams

Mira groaned, her birthday had been a total disaster. The human she lived with was home and checking everything so she couldn’t get the fruit she wanted. Kaya wasn’t able to visit because of the recent storms. Then the human woman was talking about getting pets on the phone. Giant rat things from what the other person said. She didn’t want to meet ferrets. The only option was to move.

She collapsed onto her fabric pile. The worst part of all of this were the dreams that would start tonight. She wasn’t interested in some fated perfect partner even if it was usually right. There were too many stories of people who were fated to be with someone on the other side of the city. A place that she could barely reach unless Kaya chose to help. They would, but she didn’t want that. There was so much pressure for the relationships to work.

Mira looked around her small home. There was so much she had planned. The fabrics that she collected for the walls. Piles of things she could put together into something interesting. All of it would be left behind when she moved. It was more painful this time; this was the first place she thought might become a home. Leaving home was meant to make it easier, to ease the concern everyone had about forest predators. Now she was tempted to have Kaya help her go back. A place where she wasn’t constantly worried she would have to leave in the dead of night.

Mira closed her eyes, imagining the home she almost made. Some tables of things she’d been planning to steal. Fabrics hanging on the walls instead of the dreary insulation and brick. Anything she wanted to keep. The image stayed until she fell into a deep sleep.

Mira’s eyes opened to the exact place she imagined. She ran a hand over the fabrics, a perfect replication of the ones in her mind. It was just a dream. Not just any dream, the dream, and she already hated it. None of this would be there when she woke up. The worst part of it all, someone else would be privy to the wishes she hid in her heart. She slipped out of the room to a world too real for her.

All around were towering chairs and tables humans used. It was likely the other person lived among humans too. That would make things easier, at least they’d understand the life she leads. Mira wandered around in the large empty space. If no one showed up she’d take it as a blessing.

“Hey!” a masculine voice shouted. She bit back a sigh. She looked around trying to find a way to avoid the person. She’d rather not meet them directly. Unfortunately it was too late.

 A man with black hair and piercing blue eyes ran up from behind one of the chair legs. He was taller than her, an average build. He had pale skin, although there was a tint that made her doubt his living in a human house. Mira turned away from him, she had more important things to do. Like figuring out where this man was supposed to live so she could make sure she never went near him.

As she walked away his steps easily reached her. Something about them was off. Almost too heavy. It had to just be this stupid dream. Dreams had never stuck with her in her waking life. Plenty of things were going to be different that she’d never once considered. She pointedly ignored the steps closing in behind her and continued on her path. She’d learn what she needed and move on. Just like always.

“Hey,” he said as he grabbed her shoulder. “Do you know what’s going on? All of this looks weird.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. Mira bit her tongue as soon as the words left her. She didn’t want to interact with him. If he knew her voice he could know her, although her hair color made that easy enough to accomplish. “This should be normal to you.”

“I mean, I guess I recognize some stuff, but it looks nothing like where I live.” The carefree smile on his face annoyed her. She sighed, there was no point in ignoring it then. This world must have been built on mostly her knowledge. She’d heard of that before, but it was rare. It usually meant one person’s dream world was stronger than the other’s. A sign that often made people separate.

“This is the dream world.” That was all he should need to know. Mira started to walk away again. This man would just get in her way.

“What do you mean the dream world?” He ran up next to her, he was taller. A lot taller, maybe a full inch. That only made her more annoyed.

“Don’t you know anything?” She glared up at him, but he just looked confused. It actually hurt her to see it. She knew sometimes no one knew about the dreams, but it would mean he’d been on his own for a long time. It would mean his parents were gone. “It’s the world where you’re supposed to meet your perfect partner. I guess humans killed your parents before they told you about it?”

“Humans killed them…” The man tilted his head and his brow furrowed.

That told her enough. As sad as it was, there was no reason to hang around. No one in her area had been seen or hurt by humans in a long time. He’d have to be somewhere far from her. Far enough she could end this once he’d recovered from the memories she’d forced to the front.

Mira left him to think. She just had to be sure. Eventually she’d find one of the trees he probably lived in and know where he was from. Then they could be done with this and both go back to their normal lives. His weirdly heavy steps followed her. She tried to stop herself from grinding her teeth.

“What?!” she shouted. He’d already followed her for a while without saying anything. She spun around, honestly shocked to see his eyes bright. She just brought up what killed his parents, how was he happy?

“Uh… well I still don’t get it, but humans didn’t kill my parents,” he laughed. How could he laugh? He didn’t know anything about this and he was just laughing. “I’m Corus, nice to meet you.”

Mira turned away. She wasn’t interested in this anymore. She had to find a sign of who and where this man was so she could make sure they never met. The strange footsteps caught up to her and he kept pace. The idea to start sprinting grew tempting.

“Ok, not getting your name that’s fine,” he said. She glared at him, but kept walking. “Well why did you think humans would kill my parents? I mean you said it like you aren’t human yourself.”

“Oh nature preserve me, you’re one of those aren’t you?” she sighed. This made everything worse. He’d probably avoid accepting they didn’t work until she admitted humans weren’t bad.

“One of who?”

“One of the borrowers who think humans aren’t that bad.” She stormed forward letting him jog to keep up. She was sick of this. “Let me guess next you’re going to tell me how just because they’re bigger than us doesn’t mean we aren’t the same?”

“I, uh-”

“Oh and that I should just give them a chance, humans won’t hurt us. Of course they won’t, they won’t keep us as toys or pets either. Or sell us to whoever pays the most.”

“You… you really think all humans would do that?”

“Please, I know the borrowers like you love to pretend humans would treat us as equals.” She walked up to a table leg that had some handholds in it. One deep breath and she started climbing. “I’ve been caught more than once. The human I live with now is planning to either get pest control or weird furry snake things to try and catch the ‘mouse’ in her walls.”

“Did you try to let her know that you’re a person? That you aren’t a mouse?”

Mira stayed quiet and focused on climbing for a few minutes. Sure it definitely wouldn’t end badly for her to go reveal herself and all of their kind to a human that she’s watched happily kill bugs and small animals. It would just be a death sentence. Of course the universe would think someone like this belongs with her.

“You haven’t, have you? Why don’t you at least try?” he called. That pissed her off. She turned back, the ground wasn’t too far. Jumping, she rolled to protect herself then stood and glared at Corus. Stomping up to him she pressed a finger into his chest, he was sturdier than she expected.

“Right I should go walk up and say ‘Hi I live in your walls and take things from you to survive please don’t kill me or tell anyone about me!’ That would totally work,” she seethed. Corus looked away from her. “Oh or better yet, I’ll just walk right under her foot so she can kill me first!”

Corus didn’t say anything and Mira took the chance to walk away. His steps never sounded behind her. It wasn’t long before she was opening her eyes and staring at her empty walls. Hopefully tonight her dream would be empty, or at least someone easier to deal with. 

That day she snuck out while the human she lived with ranted on the phone. She was always talking about the man who lived next door. The house Mira would visit next. The things her current human said made her nervous about that house. A history of anger issues, broken walls, things like that. She’d probably have to move again before long.

She managed to gather some crumbs of food the woman missed. This human had grown too cautious. She would need to focus on gathering tools and making her current food last. Maybe a month before she’d move, a month of ever changing dreams she hoped. In an attempt to avoid Corus she stayed later than usual breaking into boxes that the human had secured. Mira had enough experience to break through mouse protections when given enough time. Today she had time.

Hours later she meandered into her home. Just as empty and lonely. She dropped her full bag on the floor and fell into her fabrics. If he was an outdoor borrower he should be awake during the day, she should have a peaceful rest now. Closing her eyes she wondered if the next person would at least show her something interesting.

“Hey!” Mira jumped as she heard Corus’s voice next to her. Snapping her eyes open she found the man standing over her, a worried look on his face. “I was worried you wouldn’t show up. I mean, I don’t really know how these dreams work, but I figured you were supposed to come back.”

“Ugh,” she groaned as she sat up. “Why are you still asleep? Aren’t you an outdoor borrower, you should be out getting supplies this early in the day.”

“Oh, uh… I go out at night?” The question at the end made her curious. How would she know what he does? It didn’t matter somehow she’d get him to go away. She’d make the universe leave her on her own, just like she wanted.

“Whatever.”

Mira started on her trek through the dreamscape. There was no telling what strange thing she’d find now. Maybe a sign of where this human loving borrower was from. His steps followed her, still weirdly heavy. It had to be from how sturdy he felt when she poked him. Everyone she grew up with had a light build, almost like a bird.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday,” he said. Mira rolled her eyes. “Like I said, I’m Corus. I’m pretty new to this whole dream thing we have here, but I would like to get to know you.”

“Why?” she growled. This was the part that she was dreading. The thing everyone talked about. The two would be able to have kids, it was what the others had been excited about her dreams to reveal. The ways her strange looks could contribute to the next generation. It was her job to keep their kind alive. It was her duty. She hated it. 

“Well, you seem interesting and kind of beautiful if I’m being honest. The way you climbed that table leg was pretty amazing and-” She turned around and stopped just before hitting his face.

“One more false flattery to get me to like you and I will hit you.” The smile he gave her actually made her heart pound. 

“I wasn’t lying, but I will stop. I just… think you’d be fun to talk to.”

“Well we talked there you go. Leave me alone.”

Mira spun on her heel. This match of hers was insane so all she could do was hope this place was secretly interesting. She walked up to a table and started to climb. It was nice, free climbing like this. There were never safe times like this in the real world. She’d need her hook for the speed. She was pulled from her thoughts by a loud crash below her.

Mira looked down to find Corus lying on his back. His eyes were blown wide. As much as she knew nothing here could kill her, a fall like that would still hurt. She climbed down and crouched over him, staring into his eyes.

“You make that look easy,” he said. Another eye roll, of course it was easy.

“Because it is easy. Not my fault you’re out of practice.”

“Can you teach me?” 

Mira studied him for a moment, “Climb halfway on your own and I’ll teach you how to climb like me.”

“Deal!”

Corus jumped to his feet startling her. She barely caught herself from falling backwards. He gave her a smirk, but immediately started trying to climb. He could barely make it off the ground before he was struggling. She felt bad for him. Climbing was important for most borrowers. Even ones that had heavier bones. He fell a lot that night, but he did make it halfway.

“I did it!” he cheered. Mira watched as he looked down, seeing the exact moment his grip loosened. He plummeted like a stone to the ground she stood on. It shook the world like a human falling more than a borrower. Another strange effect of dreams. Making their world notice them.

“Fine, tomorrow I’ll help you learn how to climb. Even someone built like you should know the basics,” she sighed. He groaned for a bit before giving her a glare. It wasn’t real, she could already see the smile.

“What do you mean built like me? I mean I do work out, but...” He even wiggled his eyebrows. She had to bite back a laugh at his actions.

Mira crouched and poked his chest. “You’re firmer. It’s the best way to say it. Like you have heavier bones. It would make climbing more of a struggle.”

Corus reached out and grabbed her arm. A part of her panicked, she didn’t want that. He let go quickly, putting the same hand across his eyes. “I guess you’re right. You feel like a bird.” 

Mira stood and walked away before he could do more. Before he could make her pulse race again. Maybe Corus wasn’t all that bad. He’d move on though and so would she. She would never trust humans and he’d likely bring it up again soon. They wouldn’t work.

“Mira,” Kaya’s voice echoed in her mind. Corus faded almost instantly as she blinked away the dream meeting reality again. She was a little sad to see it end. “Sorry I couldn’t come by on your birthday!”

“Kaya?” Mira asked. She rubbed her eyes, finding them walking into her empty home. They had something behind their back. “You know it’s fine. All that was special about the day was that the dreams might start….” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you hiding?”

They looked surprised for a second before pulling a strange object from behind them. It was small enough they could hold it in two hands and made of metal. On it was an image of a butterfly with wings the color of Mira’s hair. She had no words to explain how looking at it felt. Butterflies were always special to her, their freedom was something to envy.

“I found it on my way back and I thought of you. It would be perfect to put on a wall here,” they whispered. Mira nodded, but a slam from the human of the house reminded her what was happening soon.

“Hang on to it for me?” Mira smiled, Kaya’s face dropped. They knew what it meant when she said that.

“You’re moving again? It’s only been a few months here.”

“This human was more observant, I’ll try the house next door this time. It’s a human man living alone. All the others said those are the best to borrow from.”

“You could come back…” 

Mira shook her head, that wasn’t an option. “Kaya we both know that won’t work. My hair puts too much risk on everyone if I’m outside. I made the choice to leave and I’m standing by it. Let’s just talk about something else, ok?”

Kaya frowned, but Mira could see them bouncing on their feet. Something happened that they wanted to talk about. Something exciting, but somehow not enough to make their way here in the middle of the night. She waited, crossing her arms and egging them on. Finally they relented, setting the metal butterfly down.

“Fine!” they sighed. She smirked. 

Kaya sat on the fabric bed Mira hadn’t left yet. They leaned their head on her shoulder for a few minutes. The two of them took in the period of silence. It wasn’t often that the human wasn’t making some crazy noise. Kaya wrapped their arms around one of Mira’s. Times like this were the ones that made Mira actually consider returning.

“My dreams started,” they finally whispered. Mira smiled, Kaya wanted their dreams. To find a partner that would love who they were. A long time ago the two talked about if they dreamt of each other. The plan had always been to take Kaya’s squirrel and run. Escape the expectations it would place on them. Together they could have children and neither wanted the life that would lock them in.

“Sounds like good news then?” she asked. Kaya’s weight against her grew followed by the slightest of nods. “What are they like?”

“He’s weird. His name is Zeke and he had no idea about the dreams. He didn’t recognize anything around us either, it was mostly from me I think. His hair was a reddish color. I think he’s a mole borrower.”

“What’s that?”

“According to some of the scout records there were other types of borrowers before. Ones that only lived on the ground and if they wanted to go higher they used stairs like humans. The ones around us left generations ago. Everyone thinks they died out.”

“I guess that’s what he is too…” Mira spoke without thinking. Kaya jumped up, absolutely vibrating while staring into her eyes.

“Wait! Does that mean your dreams started too?” 

Mira fell back on the fabric, Kaya falling back with her. The two sat in the silence until she finally spoke up. Letting them know about Corus and what the dreams had been. Kaya shared their own experiences. A world made of only wood and trees that towered more than the ones they grew up under. Apparently the large blocks of wood were from Zeke’s memories. That made Mira wonder what was from Corus in their dream.

The two shared stories the entire day. The human woman started to slam things and make noise prompting Kaya to leave. Mira was left alone in the hole she almost considered a home. It had been promising at first. A distracted human woman with plenty of things easy to break into. If only the woman hadn’t been so terrified, spiteful might be the better term, towards small creatures. Then this could have worked. Mira fell asleep to loud bangs and muffled shouts of ‘that damn mouse was back’.

The shaking world pulled Mira awake. The place she started was exactly where she’d left earlier. A quick swivel of her head revealed Corus slowly standing while rubbing his back. It dawned on her that the world shakes because he saw it that way. His falls were tremendous and world shattering for someone who never tried to climb before. She started to wish she had her hook, the aid would be an easier way to teach him.

Corus looked around, stopping with his eyes on her. He started to run towards her the second she moved. The only person that was ever excited to see her was Kaya, Corus was a nice change. He had his arms out, pausing just before reaching her. It made her smile how the sturdy borrower shifted to awkwardly hold his arms at his sides instead.

“Mira,” he smiled. Once he knew how to climb this set up would be gone. He’d go back to pushing humans and she’d eventually threaten him if he didn’t accept they wouldn’t work. When he moved to point at her she grew defensive. “What’s that? A fishing hook?”

Mira jumped and looked at her hip. There was her hook, pristine like when she found it on her first trip outside with her father. She pulled it from its place beside her, inspecting it and finding none of the nicks it had received over the years. “It’s my hook…”

“You have a hook? What for?” Normally the question would annoy her, but she was lost in the quality. There was no sign of the human who almost caught her with a mouse trap or the one who tried to step on her. The strange bend from the time a human managed to slam a door as she was trying to climb the door frame. None of the horrors she faced existed here…

“It’s for climbing.” Her voice echoed in the silence. It was wrong, but somehow felt right. She was safe here. There was no need to be afraid right now. “It would be easier to learn on this…”

“Is something wrong?” His voice was soft and kind. A hand on her shoulder that didn’t make her angry. A kind feeling spread from him. The hook in her hands flashed for a second, showing the truth of reality. Tears almost fell from her eyes.

“It’s perfect, like when I found it. Nothing that the humans have done shows on it here. Like they never existed… like we’re safe.”

Corus pulled her against him. The strange solid build of his was comforting. She was starting not to hate these dreams. To hate the man tied to her. Maybe she could accept this. He leaned his head against her shoulder, “You’ll always be safe with me. I won’t let anything hurt you, even other humans.”

She pushed him away. That phrasing reminded her why this would never work. He thought they were humans, that those giants would see borrowers the same way. She walked over to the table he’d been climbing, spun her hook, and threw it to the top. A few tugs and she knew it was sturdy. A much better way to teach him.

“Let’s just get to climbing,” she said.

Corus didn’t say anything else. He walked right up to her rope, holding it between two hands. Instead of climbing he stared at it with awe. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, opting to clear her throat to remind him. He looked at her with a faint blush before holding it in a way that she thought was for climbing.

“That’s completely wrong,” she said. Mira took the rope from him, holding it how she was taught. Hands about one grip apart and the excess between her legs. “Use your core to climb, don’t rely on your arms.”

Mira climbed a few steps up before jumping down. Corus had shining eyes as he stared at her. Ignoring the way her heart skipped she forced the rope in his hands. It took a few tries to get him to understand the way to hold it. His climbing form would slip after a bit. It was actually a fun experience.

When Mira woke up to her empty room she was lonely. The hook left in the corner was painful to look at. She wanted to miss all the things that had happened. Forget them and only remember the night with Corus. That wasn’t something she could do. She spent the day in the walls, closing up paths and gathering water. She would need to be ready to leave as soon as possible.

The next few nights were the same. Teaching Corus the best forms and watching him struggle. He was improving and the bright smile sent her way was making her melt. A few times her cheeks even grew warm. She liked these dreams. It made the reality of her situation bearable. She wouldn’t mind these being all she ever had with him too, in fact she’d prefer it.

One night it changed. He was able to climb all the way on the rope. She followed up quickly, getting pulled into another hug. Her whole body felt warm under his touch. A warmth she quickly realized she liked. When he let go she had no idea what to say. He sat on the edge of the table and she joined him.

“Mira,” he said. She hummed in response. “Is this really what you see all the time? It’s amazing.”

“I’ve seen something better,” she smiled. 

No one ever believed her about this. He looked at her with bright eyes. After what happened with the hook she decided to see if she could do it again. A wish for this view to be what she remembered from the top of a tree. In seconds her memory painted the world. A beautiful thing she never thought she’d see again.

“Where is this?” 

The awe in his voice matched the awe she felt. That day she felt huge. The human houses were small to her, she couldn’t even see her home. It had taken over a day, but she made it to the top of a tree. Something she was always told she made up, something she would never regret.

“The top of a tree, I managed to climb it once,” she smiled. 

“How?” Corus was staring at her with amazement. Not only did he believe her, he was seeing what she saw. Something no borrower could ever create or understand. Something that made humans and animals feel like they weren’t a threat.

“My colony had these sharp bits of metal. I stole some and some fabric we’d collected. I wrapped it around my hands and feet with the metal sticking out.” 

As she spoke the image around them changed. A much younger version of herself sitting in the tall grass. A cloak hiding the lavender color of her hair. The cloak was too big for her back then. The younger her proudly made her climbing gear. Standing with pride as she started her climb. The ones on her feet attached near her toes. The younger Mira sticking the metal into bark and starting her climb.

“It took a long time, maybe more than a day. I rested on branches as I reached them.” The image changed to her climbing and hiding among branches. “I was going to prove I could do it. That I could avoid any predators that might see me too. I’ve never forgotten the feeling when I made it. For just a little while I thought… I thought the world was made for us too.”

“It is made for you. For both of us. You don’t have to climb a tree to see that. Not every human would hurt you or trap you if they saw you.” 

Mira climbed to her feet. The moment had passed and she was done with this. Quickly grabbing her hook she started to wrap it up to place it back on her hip. Corus would never stop having faith in humans, she needed this to stop. All her life she never wanted this and now… now she had someone she almost wanted to meet who thought humans were worth it.

“Mira why won’t you even consider-”

“Consider what!” She turned as she shouted, her hook changing to the damaged version she knew. “That I wasn’t almost crushed in a door that bent my hook!? That I wasn’t almost crushed by a mouse trap, with this being all that saved me. That a human didn’t try to step on me once.”

“None of them knew what you were! They all thought you were some random animal if you only told them-”

“If I told them and they still didn't kill me then what? They try to protect me.” She spat the words, storming forward in her anger. Corus backed away as she neared him. Her body was on fire, her heart racing. The fear that he never learned was strong in her heart. “Then they trap me ‘for my own good’. Keep me caged or in a box where I can do nothing for myself anymore. I have to rely on them taking care of me and choosing to let me have things. Rely on a human’s whims to keep me alive!”

Another step towards him caused a change. He fell when he stepped back. She ran forward in fear as he plummeted towards the ground. On her knees she saw him slam into the ground. A crater formed around him with cracks in the ground leading out for dozens of feet. The world shook the worst she’d ever felt. Mira was thrown from the perch she had. All she could do was close her eyes and brace for impact.

The ground didn’t meet her. Instead she landed in something that felt like a hand. She opened her eyes to see Corus staring at her, his arms beneath her. The feeling of a hand faded as soon as she saw him. He pulled her close to his chest. She could hear his racing heart as loudly as her own. His face was coming closer. Just before he reached her she was back in reality.

That day she was nervous. All her trips had her taking extra precautions. Ones that she wouldn’t normally use. The feeling of a hand beneath her body. She knew it well. There were more times she’d been grabbed than she’d like to admit. Although this time it actually felt… safe. She stayed out well into the next day grabbing even crumbs that she thought could be useful.

There were a number of times she paused and watched the human woman. Steps that were heavy and shook the world if they came close. A sneer if she noticed any trace of Mira’s existence. This human would certainly kill her, but she’d met one that wanted to trap her too. Honestly she had no idea which fate was worse.

Eventually she returned home. She collapsed into her fabrics to stare at the ‘ceiling’. The emptiness of the walls that she lived in. Corus wouldn’t be there this time, she knew it. It had been long enough for him to sleep and wake up. She had gone almost a week without sleep before. Two days was nothing. Slowly she closed her eyes hoping to wake up from a dreamless sleep. The world would realize she belonged alone.

Mira’s next feeling was someone petting her head. It wasn’t Kaya. The hand felt wrong. She opened her eyes, squeaking when she met Corus’s blue eyes. He was smiling softly at her. She tried to squirm away, but he grabbed her arm. His grip was strong enough she felt nervous trying to escape it. Like he’d break her… like a human had grabbed her.

“Mira, please… I’m sorry,” he whispered.  She released the tension in her body slightly. “I get it, I went too far. I won’t try to change your mind about humans. I just… don’t want to stop seeing you.”

“What if I never want to meet you?” she asked. Her voice came out quietly, but still managed to echo in their shared dream. Corus let her arm go and returned to petting her head. Every inch of her wanted to run, but the smallest part wanted his answer. Hoped it would be one that let this continue.

“Then we never meet.”

Mira turned away from him, “I don’t believe you.”

“Mira. You’re beautiful, smart, independent, funny, honestly I’d list things forever, but I’m pretty sure you’d hit me.” That made her smile, he wasn’t exactly wrong. She’d already threatened it once. “If we never meet I don’t care. I just want this to keep going. I want to keep knowing you. To learn about all the things you’ve seen in your life.”

“I… think I’d be ok with that.”

Corus pulled her into a tight hug. The firm body around her was reassuring. She didn’t believe that he would be happy with this forever. Someday he’d push for more. If he took the leap she’d let it happen, but only if they agreed not to stay near humans. She wouldn’t risk his hope getting him killed or trapped. A part of her didn’t want to see it shattered.

The entire night they sat together like that. Just Corus holding her tightly. She enjoyed hearing his heart, something about it was different. Louder. So much of what made him strange made her happy too. By the time she woke up she was starting to miss the feeling of his arms. That night she’d let him know she was moving the next one, it wouldn’t be good for him to worry.

“Mira!” Kaya’s voice made her jump. She quickly stood and grabbed one of her bags, just in case. They ran in with a smile and she relaxed immediately. “Zeke and I are meeting!”

“What?” she gasped. A smile spread on her face as she pulled Kaya into a hug. They wanted this and she wanted it for them. “That’s amazing! When?”

“Tomorrow night. I showed him the park where I met my squirrel and he recognized it. He lives nearby. We picked the tree where my squirrel lived to meet. It’s going to be late so no humans will be around just in case.”

Mira smiled and did everything she could to hide her worry. Kaya wouldn’t be able to help her move. That should be fine, they never helped before. Something this time made her think they should. She couldn’t explain it. Maybe she was just more interested in making sure she’d survive.

“Go, that’s a two day trip even with your squirrel. You can’t be late. Bring him to meet me ok?” she grinned. Kaya nodded and ran from her home. She waited a few minutes before heading out to get the last of the supplies she would need.

That day was harder. The human was wandering around doing more than normal. It made her nervous. It seemed like it would be useful to hold off her move until Kaya came back. Just a few days wouldn’t make a change. The furry snakes weren’t arriving yet. A ringing phone gave her the chance to steal some of the paper towels the woman had left out for once.

“Oh that’s great to hear! My new babies will be here the day after tomorrow!” the human woman shouted. Mira paled. She didn’t have a choice left.

The rest of the day Mira ran between her paths. She was closing them and making sure to fill them so those snake things couldn’t use them. She wouldn’t risk those things escaping if this woman loved them. The sun was rising by the time she collapsed in her fabrics. She’d wake up just before sunset and gather the last of her things. For now she could try to enjoy her dreams.

As soon as her eyes closed she was opening them again. Corus was there smiling at her. She slowly sat up before offering her own smile. Things started a bit normally. Today he tried free climbing again, he fell a lot. On one of his later falls she decided to lie down next to him and stare at the sky. It was empty like the one she always saw.

“I wish I could see the stars more,” she whispered. In seconds the sky changed, stars like she’d never seen them covered it. She sat up on her elbows to look at Corus. “Did you do that?”

“I was practicing while I waited for you this time,” he grinned. Her heart skipped. “I want to show you things I see like you show me.”

Mira fell back and stared at the strange sky. “I’m moving tonight. I won’t be asleep for at least two days. Maybe more.”

“Where are you moving? Can you show me?” A part of her didn’t want to. If she did he could find her, but at the same time these stars proved he couldn’t be close by.

“I’ll try.” She tried to picture the two human houses. The one she was leaving and the one she was aiming for. Corus sat up when the houses finished forming. “I’m going from the white one to the blue one.”

“I live near you.” His voice was quiet. She sat up to look at him, fear in her heart.

“Are you going to look for me?” He shook his head. “Thank you. I’d probably run if you did.”

“You’d get away no problem. I still can’t climb like you. Maybe I’d set a trap for you.” He laughed and she laughed along.

“It would have to be a good trap.”

“Only the best would have a chance to catch you. I can already tell.” He stared warmly at her. She felt her body heat up. “Maybe I’ll give it a shot.”

“If it’s good enough I might stick around to talk to you.” A smirk played on her lips. Corus looked excited, he might actually try. The thought didn’t terrify her like she thought it would. “I’m nervous about this move.”

“Why?” Corus scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Mira leaned against him, he was the only one she told about her nerves. The only one safe to tell.

“The woman I live with talks about the man who lives in the house I’m going to.” The dreams responded to her. The human woman she knew and a shadowy figure of the man she’d begun to imagine. She saw his legs once and that was all that was defined in the dream. “She says he replaced an older couple. That the couple would talk about him. He breaks things and gets angry. If he finds me…”

“Maybe he’s not the type of human to hurt someone for no reason.” Corus’s arm around her tightened. A part of her wanted to be angry, but this wasn’t like before. He sounded different, like he needed her to believe him. “Maybe this human lives there because he got his anger under control and the couple were proud of him.”

“It almost sounds like you know him. Do you already live in his walls?” She laughed because that had to be wrong. If he was there she wouldn’t know what to do.

“No, I don’t live in his walls.”

Something was wrong. She couldn’t explain it. The way he spoke about this human and how he answered. It all made something in her scared, scared that he had something important she should know. Something he hadn’t told her, that he purposely hid from her. She’d worry about that later, for now she knew it was time to wake up. To pack and start on her move.

“I have to go,” she muttered. He put a hand on her cheek and turned her to face him. He leaned his forehead against her.

“I’ll be sleeping in case you need me. Tell me if you’re in trouble. I’ll find you, I promise. I already promised you’d be safe if I was around you,” he said. The conviction in his voice added to her fear. 

“I promise.” 

Corus leaned closer once the whisper left her. He pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was sweet and warm. Something that made her feel like she was at the top of the tree again. Her entire body burned and she didn’t want it to end. Mira closed her eyes, but that ended the dream. She was left cold and alone. That didn’t matter, she was used to being alone. Now she had to move.

Mira packed the blanket her parents gave her first. The food she gathered went in the bag with that. Her hook was set on her hip and the water she collected on the other side. She took one last look around, noticing Kaya had left the metal butterfly. Mira knew it was stupid to take it. She had to travel light and Kaya would stop here first. She couldn’t just ignore it though. She grabbed one of the fabrics she planned to abandon. Wrapped the butterfly with it then tied it around her waist. 

With one last look at her barren home she ducked out. She kicked out the supports from her home leading to the rest of the house. If and when Kaya came back there would be no risk from the furry snakes. She went to the entrance she had to the outside world. There she waited until the sun set. Once it was low she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and dipped outside. 

Once outside Mira watched for the moon to rise over the trees. She planned her route while waiting. There were two dangerous positions she had to worry about. The empty patch of grass from the woman’s home to a bush. Then the bush to the man’s house. The bush would be the easy part. Mira took a deep breath, each section would have dangers of course. The emptiness was the worst. Predators and humans would see her.

The moon peeked over the trees and she ran. At this time humans were scarce. The woman didn’t go out and the predators didn’t like the houses. She just had to make it to the bush. It felt like hours she spent running to reach her goal, the real time was hard to determine. All she knew was when the moon had passed the highest point in the sky she was at the bush. Mira smiled, the easy part was reached.

Ducking under low leaves she entered the darkness of the bush. She rushed forward, itching to return to her dreams. She wanted an answer to what Corus hid. The safety each night was promising. Most importantly the warmth of knowing there was someone beside her. Someone she showed her worst to and still wanted more of her. She wanted to show her home, her friends, her life and learn about him.

Those thoughts died as she knocked a branch. She backed away, but something caught her. She tried to pull away and failed. Her whole body was stuck. She managed to slip off her pack, but that didn’t free her arm. She looked around and saw the danger she was in. A spider’s web. Fear surged through her, she tried to grab her hook, but the fabric holding the butterfly had locked it against her back… against the web. Each twitch she made told the spider she was there. She wouldn’t survive tonight. She did the only thing she could think of, try to sleep and see Corus one last time.

“Mira? Are you ok? Why are you here!?” his worried voice made tears fall from her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her. The frantic and loud beat of his heart was reassuring. She knew death would be next to her when she woke up.

“Corus… I think this is the last time you’ll see me,” she cried. His strangely sturdy arms tightened. It made her cry more. “I-I got caught in a web. I can’t reach my hook because of something I wrapped around my waist. I can’t get away. It’ll find me by morning.”

Corus pulled back and held her face between his hands. A focused look, determined and promising, met her. “Show me where you are. I’ll find you. A spider isn’t going to kill you.”

She shook her head, “Corus it’ll kill you too. I can’t do that to you. I… Can’t we stay like this until I’m gone.”

“Mira. I’m begging you to trust me. I will save you, show me where you are.”

Mira closed her eyes, angry he wouldn’t give her this. At the same time he’d see she was dead by the time he arrived. She focused on the bush between the houses. She opened her eyes as the dream changed. Corus pulled her against him again, petting her head like before. It made her cry, honestly and truly cry. She was terrified that she’d die and so would Corus by trying to save her.

“I see the houses, but where are you Mira?” he asked. Stern, serious, and nothing like she knew. It almost echoed like a human’s. She didn’t want him to die, but the hope he’d succeed won. Corus had pressed her face to his chest, she couldn’t see the change. His heartbeat told her he knew. “The bush? I see it. I can see you.”

Corus pulled her from his hold and cupped her face in his hands. The blue eyes she had started to love looked terrified. It wasn’t a fear she knew. He brought her close and kissed her. It was deep, hungry, and final. He was afraid of this ending, but it didn’t seem like he expected death to be why.

“I’ll save you, just wait for me.”

That was all she heard before she was thrust back into her cruel reality. The spider had finally noticed her. She saw the massive fanged creature’s eyes assessing her. Corus would be too late. No borrower could reach her in time. To make matters worse the steps of a human started to shake the web. Mira gave up her fake acceptance and started to struggle. She’d rather die to a spider than in the hand of a human.

That determination didn’t matter. The spider grew cautious because of the steps. She wasn’t a meal worth it. The human steps didn’t stop until a shadow covered what little light entered through the bush leaves. Now Corus would find the remains of a web and destroyed bush because of a human. He might even try to find her in one of the houses. He would die or be trapped all because of her. 

The bush above her was pulled apart. She struggled desperately to pull herself free. She grabbed her stuck arm, but the web beneath it caught her hand. She wasn’t making this any better. The spider retreated as the bush continued to be destroyed. 

Finally a shadowed figure sat above her. It felt like the dream she created of the man from the house. How did he even know she was here? Had Corus sold her out? Was that the secret she could see in his eyes? Did he live as this man’s pet?!

Hands descended into the bush. She tried again to get herself free, but the human hands surrounded her. Fingers curled around her until she was trapped in towering trunks of flesh. Despite her struggles the human pulled her free in an instant. Mira wasn’t the type to give up, biting at the skin around her. Anything to get free.

The hand was lifted up and up and up until it pressed her against a chest. It felt familiar somehow. Kind of like Corus, the loud heartbeat beneath the skin reminded her of him too. She’d never forgive him for selling her out. What if Kaya met the same fate? Zeke might be just as bad. Mira forced her tears back. Betrayal stung, but she would never let a human see her cry.

“I made it,” the human whispered. The voice was loud, masculine, and familiar. So familiar she couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her. The efforts she put out to escape dwindled. She wasn’t sold out… she gave the human exactly where she was. “Please tell me I didn’t hurt you and that’s why you stopped fighting me.”

Mira wouldn’t give the human an answer. No humans deserved anything from her, least of all the one who tricked her. The hand around her shifted so she was trapped against a palm and his chest. All she could do was wait. The human would drop her in a cage under the guise of kindness. Claiming to love her or something and keep her safe.

The slamming door made her jump. He hadn’t spoken since he changed his hold. She hated the racing heartbeat. The warmth around her. How it made her remember that single time she felt a palm around her in the dream… and how she liked it. If she hadn’t brought the butterfly she would have walked into a trap. It would have been better that way, she’d have escape routes prepared then.

“I might as well show you the trap I left before you run,” his voice shook through her bones. In a way it felt nice, relaxing, but she couldn’t allow that. She couldn’t let those nights in the dream paint her reality. This was a human and she… she was trapped. 

The fingers around her returned to press her against the palm. She bit at them halfheartedly. Her teeth weren’t sharp enough to damage human skin. If she’d left the butterfly her hook would be free, she could fight. The hand flew through the air and she was let out. It took a few precious seconds to regain her balance. The seconds the human needed to trap her with his arms and crouch down to face her.

Mira was body to face with the massive being now. Blue eyes, black hair, pale skin, and all the things that she knew meant the borrower from her dreams. The things that meant Corus. It was horrible. She’d sold herself to a human. In fear and panic she gave in, told him her exact location, and now she was trapped. She reached to the fabric she tied, letting the butterfly fall and pulling free her hook. She brandished it the way she was taught, prepared for his hand to come back.

“I guess my secret’s out now,” he laughed. It was an awkward and loud sound. It made her glare at him, she wanted to stomp up and yell at him. This was something he should have said in the beginning. That should have never happened anyway. This was how borrowers met their perfect partner. It couldn’t be a human. The universe made a mistake for her, she was just begging it hadn’t done the same to Kaya. “So like the first night. Right I get it. I still mean it, we don’t have to ever see each other again Mira.”

“Oh so you’ll do me the kindness and kill me right now?” she sneered. Corus actually recoiled at the venom in her voice. She wasn’t expecting it either. He sighed, his breath washing over her. It made her shiver, he was built differently because he was human.

“Of course not.” The massive eyes closed, she could see subtle changes. He was annoyed. Angry even. She’d see the anger she was worried about. “I know what you think about humans. What you think about me. I don’t care, I wouldn’t have gone near you if you weren’t in danger Mira. I do want to know you, show you things I think you haven’t seen before. I’ll walk away as soon as I show you that trap we joked about.”

“Do you even need it? You win I can’t get away from a human. Go ahead lock me in a cage for my protection, whatever it is you plan to do to me. I’ll-”

“Mira!” 

Corus’s voice was loud. It almost hurt her ears. She stumbled back, dropping her hook. She wasn’t expecting that. He was a human. She had to be careful or she’d die. If he trapped her or something she could get away. Corus stared at her, deflating quickly. He let out another sigh that managed to knock her off her feet. She was terrified.

“I’m sorry. I just… Mira look, please,” Corus pointed to the right. She was terrified to refuse, turning to see a pile of food. “I spent one of the days you weren’t around exploring. I got as much as I could together.”

Corus moved the food away and she saw something completely unexpected. A small room that even had a ceiling. Inside were the fabrics she had imagined hanging. A leaf that he must have pulled from a tree outside. A small bed and a table. A pile of thumbtacks and other bobbles she’d collected before. All things in her room from the dream. All things she was planning to abandon. 

Almost on autopilot she walked even closer. There she could see the ceiling. The stars she didn’t recognize were on it. They were glowing just a little. It was breathtaking.

“What…?” she whispered. Corus moved to stand. She was forced to stare up at the tall human, the form that terrified her. The fear had started to fade away as his warm eyes followed her. The same eyes that watched her climb. The eyes that were terrified to lose her, but wanted to save her. The eyes… the eyes that she was horrified to never see again.

“I had been putting it together for a while. Honestly I thought you weren’t real, but if I was wrong and we ever met I wanted you to have a room here. When you told me you were moving here I did something else too.”

She watched the human walk over to one of the cabinets. With a strength that no borrower could ever have he moved it back, only a little. Now she could see a crudely formed entrance to the wall, one that would quickly be filled to avoid suspicion. It made her smile.

“I made an entrance, or I tried. I don’t think it looks as good as the ones in that dream world,” he smiled at her. He was treating her like a person. Just the day before she’d woken up so cold and alone. A human was here offering her something she never imagined. A promise of safety and love. A promise that she was starting to hope Kaya shared. “I’ll leave now. Do what you have to. I guess, I’ll see you in our dreams. If you’ll keep going, I don’t know what makes them work. I hope you’ll still be there.”

Mira watched him turn. Felt the heavy step of the human. The familiar step. It was the first time he walked away from her. She hated it.

“Wait!” she called. All the instincts she had told her to stop. All the things she experienced were screaming in her mind. Yet she walked forward and met those hopeful eyes. She wanted to feel the palm holding her when she wasn’t afraid. Play with his hair, hear his heartbeat. Feel a kiss from those giant lips against her small body. The universe might not have been wrong. “Where does my room go?”

Corus smiled, “I thought maybe my room. There’s other places if you’d rather not be that close.”

“Let’s start there… if that’s ok?” The beaming smile melted away the ice of fear that coated her. Corus wanted to learn about her world, he wasn’t a dangerous human. He was right, they weren’t all bad.

He walked closer to her and carefully lifted her room from the counter. It made her heart pound in a way she didn’t fully understand. There was a moment of hesitation before he set a hand down next to her. He had an idea of how small it felt, he knew what she’d thought. He already wanted to be better. She climbed on, feeling safe in the palm.

As he walked she spoke up, “You don’t happen to know a human named Zeke with reddish hair do you?”

“My best friend’s name is that. I’m pretty sure his hair would be considered red too,” he smiled. The walk to his room was short, he was rushing. He set the room down next to his massive bed. His hand was moved next to his heart as he sat down. “Why do you ask?”

“I think you should contact him… Something tells me you two have something in common you didn’t know.”

Corus raised her to his eyes and gave her a suspicious look. She made a face, she wouldn’t say more now. Suddenly his eyes changed, a hungry look that made her shiver. He moved his hand across from his lips and brought her within a twitch. She touched his lips hoping that told him enough. 

It was more than enough for him. He rushed forward pressing her fragile body against his warm, sturdy palm. His lips were plush and soft. The kiss was delicate and hungry. She kissed back and it only made him press harder against her. She couldn’t breathe and she didn’t care. A human held her, loved her, and was kissing her. The fear and bitterness she held was torn away by his actions. Tomorrow she might change, but tonight he saved her and she probably loved him.

Corus pulled away, warm loving eyes staring at her. She felt her body heat up under his gaze. Instead of setting her down he moved to lie on his bed. She was placed on his pillow with one of his massive palms pressing on her like a blanket. She stared at him, unsure what to do.

“Just for tonight,” he whispered. Each word made her shiver as it ran through her bones. “Can I be selfish and hold you here? Tomorrow and every day after will be your choice.”

Mira made a move she never thought she would. Gently she kissed a spot she knew she’d bitten before, then nipped it again. She laughed when he jumped, she wasn’t sure if he jumped because he saw or felt her.

“I’ll let you tonight, but I might want it tomorrow too,” she smiled. Corus leaned forward and rested his forehead against her. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”

“I won’t ever give up on you. Even if tomorrow you decide to leave and hate me. I’ll keep waiting in those dreams for you to give me a chance there at least.”

“Even if I leave… I wouldn’t want our dreams to end.”

[jhilsara]

I Can See You

Pt. 1/ Pt. 2/ Pt. 3/ Pt. 4/ Pt. 5/pt. 6/Pt. 7/Pt. 8/Pt. 9/ Pt. 10/

Pt. 11/ Pt.12/Pt.13/Pt. 14/Pt.15/Pt.16/Pt.17/END

Mariana Jimenez-Watson or MJ works in a normal pub living life paycheck to paycheck. Nothing exciting happens to her except the occasional drunk getting thrown out. She's 24 working away and finds a wrench thrown into her very boring life. His name is Hobie and she thinks maybe, a little excitement isn't awful. In fact she might start to crave some change for once.

Small moments of Hobie meeting his world's MJ. AKA I made an MJ variant and I think she's neat.

Chapter 4

MJ is stuck in an alleyway, hiding around a corner, cursing herself for her rotten luck and timing. She doesn’t know what god or other worldly being she has pissed off recently, but she's getting tired of it quickly.

She can still see the street from her hiding spot and it's erupted in chaos. People scatter about trying to escape, screams piercing her ears. There's a busted sewer crate in the middle of the road, coating the street in water. In the dead center of it all is Spider-Man fighting a giant, lizard, crocodile-like person. The giant lizard trying to throw the much smaller man off of it's back. 

She’s watching them from her somewhat safe spot, wondering how the one day she just wanted to shop, immediately is ruined by another strange run in with Spider-Man.

She sighs, to be fair, it wasn’t his fault insane mutated people were running amuck in the city.

She’s watching him struggle with the giant lizard. The vigilante being flung around like he weighs nothing. It vaguely reminds her of those mechanical bull machines, but much more deadly. She knows she needs to leg it while she has an opening. The safest option would be to just run back to her flat.

She flinches as she sees the spider crash into the ground, cement cracking underneath him. It's easier said then done to leave when she’s watching Spider-Man get flung around like a wet rag. It’s equal parts sad and rage inducing. She looks away with every intention of getting out, but her eyes land on the ice cream shop across the way.

An idea rushes into her head. She books it into the store and she freezes upon seeing it completely empty. She let's out a sigh of relief. She was hoping it was empty. She rushes around the counter and swings open the door to the back. Her eyes are frantically scanning over the room looking at what her options are. There's the basic ice cream supplies; cones, scoops, bowls, disposable spoons. Nothing of which can immediately help the masked hero.

If this villain is like a real lizard, in theory, she just needs to lower the reptiles body temperature enough so that he could freeze. It’s not cold enough outside, especially not in August, but she knows this shop does a weird gimmick with their ice cream that involves liquid nitrogen. She looks up and finds the doors to the freezers and crosses her fingers what she needs is in there. She props the door open and the frigid breeze of ice hits her face. She shivers for a moment before looking through the boxes. It doesn't take but a couple of seconds to find what she’s looking for. Her face breaks into a  bright smile. She steps out of the freezer to grab a basket and finds some safety gloves, so she can handle the cans. She grabs what she can, which is about a handful of small canisters, loading up her basket. 

She doesn't waste anytime and rushes back out into the street. Spider-Man is still standing and the fight has started migrating closer to her than she finds herself comfortable with. She doesn’t know what she’s doing or why she feels compelled to help, maybe she feels indebted to him... she just knows she wants to help. 

Spider-Man is facing her and she sees his masks eyes widen at her presence on the street. To be fair, the street was totally empty besides him and the lizard. She just gives him a sheepish smile and holds one of the canisters up for him to see. 

He pauses for a brief moment turning to see the giant lizard barreling at him, he quickly raises his hand up ready to catch.

She grins and tosses the canister in the air and he quickly shoots a web to catch the canister and throws in down at the reptiles feet. It sends the lizard back for a moment blinking in shock. The reptiles frozen for a moment.

MJ takes a shaky breath, “Holy shit that worked.” She murmurs to herself.

The giant lizards head twists quickly to look at her, and much like a horror movie, he sprints, crawling at her on all fours.

She doesn’t hesitate to throw another canister up and Spider-Man again grabs it and throws it down, this time on the lizards back. It doesn’t stop the monster from trying to chase her. He’s considerably slower, but his predatory eyes are on her.

“No, no, big guy, fight fair here!” Spider-Man shouts. He webs him and pulls him back, almost like a horse reign. It works well enough for him to raise his hand to MJ asking for another canister.

She only has two left and she hopes it’s enough. She chucks it and what happens feels like it's in slow motion for her.

Spider-Man catches it and shoves the canister into the giant reptile’s mouth.  Without a second thought the lizard bites down, giant sharp teeth breaking through the canister. The spider jumps back, as the liquid nitrogen wraps around the lizard, freezing him from the inside out. 

The lizard thrashes about in a frenzy, but he quickly starts to slow down until he’s not moving at all.

Spider-Man is taking deep breathes, circling the giant thing, until he knows he isn’t moving. He turns back to MJ, who’s whole body is shaking and she desperately clutches the last canister in her hands.

He jogs over to her, “Quick wits about ya. That was wicked smart.” He says with a breathy laugh.

He looks her over, seeing if she’s injured.

“Something like that,” She says voice shaking and hands over the last liquid nitrogen canister. “Just in case.”

He shakes his head in disbelief, “That’s twice you’ve assisted me.” He tells her. The tone mock accusatory. 

She looks at him in confusion before he immediately adds, “Brick to the Vulture’s head? Ring a bell?” he taps the canister to his temple.

“What? No.” She guffaws and rolls her eyes, “I’m just…” She looks down a little embarrassed.

“Defending your neighborhood spider?” He questions bending down dangerously close to her face with a soft chuckle.

Her face heats up, “Oh piss off…” she mumbles, he’s definitely teasing her.

He backs up and looks her over once more, “You should get out of here before the lizard gets a good look at the civilian who outsmarted him.”

She shrugs but doesn’t disagree, “You would have seen the ice cream shop eventually.”

He pauses to think before giving a deadpan response, “I woulda knocked the big fella into the shop and the it woulda hit… so probably for the better.”

“What? Destroying a storefront not punk enough for ya?” she jokes snickering, her shoulders shaking as she tries to contain her laughter.

“Not when it’s locally run by the cutest elderly couple in Old York!” He says defensively in a light tone.

She feels herself falling easily into the back and forth and she bites her tongue, “Mmmhmm, good. Supporting small business by not destroying it is pretty punk rock.” She says giggling.

He rolls his head back exaggeratedly and she knows this banter is doing something for him too. He clicks his tongue like he's about to say something back with his quick wit, but a rustle distracts them. Their moment is cut short by a small movement from the reptile, and it brings them back down. He turns and sighs.

“Why can’t they just stay down?” He puts a hand on his hip and shakes his head disapprovingly. “Better use this now and get him outta here.” He says looking back to her.

He turns and gives her his full attention, “Not that the assist wasn’t nice, but uh, let’s not make it a habit yea?” he says his voice still light and playful but she knows he’s serious.

She just shrugs it off, “Right place, right time.” She replies taking a few steps back to leave.

He shakes his head, “Wrong place, wrong time.” He tells her.

“I know what I said. Catch ya later spider boy.” She gives a small wave before she jogs off smiling to herself.

The next day at the pub MJ is working as usual and Hobie is waiting for her to finish with another customer. He’s scrolling his phone and he snorts to himself in disbelief.

She leans over after she finishes with her customer, “What you lookin’ at?” she asks with a laugh.

He lazily draws his gaze to her shaking his head. He shows her his phone.

She looks at it confused for only a moment before she realizes what it is. It’s a news article talking about the Spider-Man event from the day before and there are blurry photos. One of them is unmistakably her throwing a canister in the distance. She skims the article and it mentions some ‘brave girl’ helping Spider-Man.

Her face flushes a deep shade in embarrassment.

“Ya got a new side gig and didn’t tell me?” he asks jokingly.

She shoves his phone back into his hands and rolls her eyes, “Ya havin’ a laugh yeah?” she accuses batting her rag at him. He catches it easily and keeps laughing.

“Maybe just a little. Seriously though, you didn’t tell me you were a little sidekick the other day.” He raises a brow at her.

She shakes her head, “Don’t get used to it. I just got stuck in an alley and- don’t look at me like that Hobie.” She sighs shooting him a look, “I’m not looking for trouble every time I go out!” she exclaims.

“Lookin’ at you like what?” he asks feigning dumb, a lazily grin on his face.

“Like I’m lying! I really was stuck in an alley…” she says laughing.

“I don’t think your lying about that. You’re lying about not lookin’ for trouble.” He says face unamused.

She rolls her eyes at the accusation and goes to open her mouth, “Don’t be thick MJ. That’s what? Three different times you’ve been in trouble. In what? Less than two months?” he states.

She slams her mouth closed, collecting her thoughts. “I, that’s…” She starts.

“Uh-huh?” he presses giving her a knowing smirk.

She sighs, “Whatever. It’s just bad things come in threes or something right? Murphy’s law or whatever.” She waves her hand dismissively.

“Yea… or something.” He says slowly. His tone his light but his face is a little too serious for her.

“Hobie,” she sighs leaning onto the bar top closer to him, “I’m not looking to chase after some vigilante alright? Promise I’ve just had a weird few weeks.” She tells him looking at him softly.

He reaches out to nudge her shoulder, “I know, I’m just teasing.” He says nonchalantly.

She rolls her eyes at him but a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. She doesn’t press him anymore but she knows he’s not just teasing.