#might be a wild stab in the dark but | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mangoisms · 8 months

Text

circle k (back to you)

summary: in which you're just the graveyard shift employee at circle k bombarded by vigilantes.

━ chapter nine: i want to make it right | read chapter eight

━ pairing: tim drake x f!reader

━ word count: 5k

━ warnings: none

━ masterlist

Finally, for one last time, you surface.

Your senses are muddled, everything feeling hazy as you crack your eyes open. A gross taste lingers in your dry mouth and you try to swallow past it. Stiffness lingers in your belly and when you shift, it sends a piercing ache through you, so you stop moving, letting out a slow breath as you try to get your bearings.

The throb in your belly lingers even as you still. That, at least, hits you quickly. You were stabbed. Great. And here you thought nearly dying during the earthquake and losing your parents was the last time Gotham would hurt you. Looks like that’s not the case—you get to have your collection of scars just like anyone else.

The memories of what happened are fuzzy but… still in reach. Before you can focus on that, though…

Reaching up to rub the sleep from your eyes—you go for your left hand first, which tugs at the IV in the back of it, so you switch to your right hand, gingerly dropping your left back into your lap—you take stock of your surroundings.

You’re in a hospital room, of course. The blinds over the window tell you it’s dark outside. The light inside your room are dim, emanating from somewhere behind the bed you’re in, warm yellow unobtrusive to your tired eyes but still allowing you to see your surroundings.

The first thing your eyes catch are the sleeping figures in your room.

In a small cot in the corner is Steph, curled up beneath a blanket, golden hair spread out on the pillow. Her soft snores are easily audible over the mechanical hiss of the various equipment you’re hooked up to. Near her and a little bit closer to you is—

A man, asleep, whom you have never seen in your entire life.

But then, you look again, and you realize… That shock of red hair and tan skin looks awfully familiar. Handsome—not in a way that is attractive to you specifically per se, but an observation you can objectively make quite easily—and… familiar. So, so familiar.

You keep looking at him, slowly waking up more and more with each minute that passes.

Flash was here.

You know that. You heard his voice. His and someone else’s. A woman’s. His friend?

Is this… is this him?

The red hair feels like an easy enough tell but it’s the eyes, you think. It’s the eyes you need. You know Flash’s hair is red. A wild mop of it, windswept and ruffled most of the time—the same here. You know his eyes, too. Grass-green, twinkling with mischief or mirth or both, waiting to spring a joke on you. Visible with the type of cowl he has, one that reveals his hair, eyes, and lower half of his face. One might think it too much but considering that even you hesitate now to make that connection, you can conclude it does enough of a good job. To be fair, thought, the hard part—for you—is consolidating his presence, that he would be here—for you, unmasked and vulnerable. That… that’s something.

But still. Ignoring that, those implications… something inside you, something deep in your bones, is telling you that this is him. This is the Flash unmasked.

But you won’t know unless he wakes up. So, you move on to your last visitor.

On the other side of the bed, crammed into an uncomfortable-looking chair, is Tim.

Asleep, his head lolls at an angle that makes you grimace. Even in sleep, his eyebrows are furrowed. He’s closer to you, so you can see the circles under his eyes.

You watch him for a while, too, everything starting to come back to you.

The way he fought off that man. His interaction with Steph as Spoiler. The conversation you heard while asleep—conversations that are still blurry around the edges; the argument between him and Maybe-Flash is the clearest one, just because of the tension, their voices.

You take a deep breath.

Okay.

Your best friend, Stephanie Brown, is Spoiler.

It explains a lot. Odd disappearances, reoccurring tardiness, odd bruises and cuts, old aches and pains.

Those incidents weren’t isolated to just her, though.

God.

Of course.

Red Robin started visiting you around the same time Tim started avoiding you. When he kept saying he was too busy to hang out.

You’d put it together, if you’d continued to encounter both of them. But his avoidance distracted you from looking too closely at Red Robin. And of course, since you weren’t actively seeing him, it was even harder to put it all together.

You swallow, staring at Tim, hurt piercing your chest.

You just don’t understand why.

But in that next moment, you think you might be able to get your answer as he rouses, sighing, straightening his head.

You watch with bated breath as he rubs his eyes, then one hand goes to his neck, rubbing at the crick that no doubt formed from the angle.

Then he lifts his head and his eyes meet yours.

It’s been so long, you realize. So long since you’ve seen him, face to face. Last night (was it last night? God, you have no idea how long you’ve been out) doesn’t count. Neither does the day before, at the ice cream parlor.

But here he is.

Dark hair falling over his forehead, messier than usual, like he’s run his hand through it constantly, circles under his eyes, long, dark lashes fluttering as he blinks at you, lips parting in surprise.

Finally.

It’s contradicting, the way the sight of him makes you want to pull him close but also makes you ache, reminding you of the hurt, of all that he’s done.

How he lied to you and you can’t find anything that would justify that.

The entire time.

The emotions surge inside you, uncontrollable.

Your eyes sting, vision blurring with tears, and all you can choke out is, “Why? Why did you lie? Why did you do that?”

Your tears spill over. You’re too caught up to feel embarrassed.

His face crumples. “I don’t know,” he whispers, voice cracking on the last word. “I just. I don’t know. You were avoiding me and I…”

“Thought it was a good idea to see me as Red Robin?” you ask, voice thick. “How does that make any sense, Tim?”

He opens his mouth, then closes it. Hesitating.

What, mulling over another lie to feed you?

The thought is acerbic and mean and unfamiliar—a way you’ve never quite felt towards him and that realization hurts, too.

“Tell me the truth.”

He looks away, hands clenched in his lap. The knuckles of his right hand are bruised, red and swollen.

“It was… it was easier to talk to you that way…”

“What?”

Something cracks inside of you.

“You’re joking.”

Your head whips to the side.

Your other visitor, the one who may be Flash but also maybe not, is awake, sitting up, grass-green eyes narrowed in on Tim and oh, yeah, that’s Flash alright. You know his eyes, you know his hair, you know his face, and you know the anger sitting in his body, tension tight—you recognize it, from when the two of you talked and he was bothered about everything that’d happened to you.

But even with that, the animosity in him—on your behalf—surprises you. The air in the room thickens with something… odd, fine hairs on your arms standing on-end and you could’ve sworn the light behind you just flickered.

“Flash?” Your voice cracks on the word.

His eyes meet yours, softening considerably. “Hey, kiddo.”

It is him.

His eyes slide back to Tim and the anger returns. “Tell the truth, Tim. Stop digging yourself deeper.”

“I…” The way he trails off snags your attention again. Still hesitating. No, refusing. But…

“What do you even mean by that?” you ask, voice trembling, looking at Tim.

He doesn’t look at you, opening and closing his mouth a couple times, eyes darting around anxiously.

Did he…?

Did he figure it out?

It was easier to talk to you that way.

Humiliation bubbles hot in your chest. You squeeze your eyes shut, bringing your hands to your face as more tears spill over.

You can’t do this.

Tim whispers your name, sounding so pained, so agonized, it tears at you. But what does he have to be hurt about?

“J-Just get out.”

Silence.

“What?” he croaks.

“Just get out!” Your voice raises. In the corner, Steph jerks awake. You ignore her, you ignore Flash’s arm sliding around you, his quiet murmur to Take it easy, kiddo, you’re gonna hurt yourself.

You look at Tim. He looks back at you.

“Haven’t you humiliated me enough? If—if you were uncomfortable with my feelings, you should’ve said something! Not—do that! I messed up, too, I know that but—dammit…” you stop, turning away again.

“That’s not why,” Tim whispers.

You shake your head, burying your face in Flash’s chest. You don’t want to hear it, you don’t want to hear why he felt it was easier to talk to you as Red Robin, a vigilante you previously had no interactions with, rather than himself. Tim Drake, your best friend for over two years.

He whispers your name. “I did it… because of my own feelings.”

Your breathing stutters. The room falls so silent, you can hear a dog barking somewhere outside and the familiar sound of a wailing ambulance making its way through the city.

Slowly, you turn back to him. Flash keeps an arm around you, though, fingers tight in the material of your hospital gown.

The look on Tim’s face is unfamiliar.

Mostly because Tim Drake is not desperate. No. Never. And yet, the way he looks at you…

“I didn’t know how to deal with it,” he continues, talking faster, rambling, as if everything inside him is spilling out in this moment. “I-I didn’t want to mess with our friendship. I was worried that you were avoiding me and Red Robin could reach you when I couldn’t but then you started talking to me again and I kept coming back because with the mask, it was easier. I could do things Tim Drake couldn’t.”

He pauses to suck in a breath. He looks unusually pale, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. But the desperation in his gaze doesn’t change.

“But then it got out of hand. I was lying to you. But I knew if I tried to come to you, you—you would want an explanation and that’s—that’s fine, that’s what you deserve, but that would mean telling you how I felt and I—”

He chokes on his next words.

“What?” you ask quietly.

“I didn’t want to lose you,” he breathes, agonized. “I-I can’t. Please don’t—”

He stops again, squeezing his eyes shut with a groan.

After a moment, he composes himself, looking at you again, so earnestly, it makes your throat ache.

“I’m sorry. For everything. I’m so sorry.”

You swallow at the sharp turn this conversation has taken.

It still hurts, though.

All of it does.

Even the fact that he—he feels the same as you do… it assuages only a small part of the ache.

And you…

“Okay.”

He swallows audibly, looking torn between hope and agony. “O-Okay?”

“I need… space. Just… I need space.”

Too raw. Too open. The wound is still bleeding. You need it to scab before you can see him again, before you can talk about what all of this means.

You need time to forgive him.

And with that…

“I’m sorry, too, though. For what it’s worth.”

His eyes are glossy. He blinks a few times, looking away. “You… have nothing to apologize for.”

“Yes, I do,” you whisper. “We both do. And we did. But I think what we need now is some space. Not—not forever, just…”

“I know,” he whispers.

The two of you look at each other for a long moment.

You’re still hurt. Aching with it. But another part of you still wants to reach for him. Wants to be held. Wants to hold him.

His eyes are full of the same pain you’re feeling but also full of an open want, a longing, the kind that makes your heart skip a beat.

But you can’t.

Neither of you can.

Not right now.

“Just tell me when,” he murmurs. “I’ll wait.”

“Okay,” you whisper.

Your throat tightens painfully, eyes stinging once again with oncoming tears as he slowly, reluctantly, turns to leave.

It’s so obvious he doesn’t want to and one part of you, a big part of you, doesn’t want him to, either.

But this has to happen.

Once the door shuts behind him, you start crying again. Flash pulls you into his arms again. Steph is right there, too, sidling up on your other side.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Flash doesn’t say anything.

He just holds you.

Later, in the morning, after getting a couple more hours of rest and some breakfast, you finally learn Flash’s name.

Well, it’s only after…

“Linda?”

You blink at the familiar sight of your old regular from Keystone City. Linda Park-West.

She closes the door behind her, dark eyes sliding to Flash, arching a brow.

“Oh, yeah!”

You look at him and he grins at you, a little apologetic. In the corner, nursing a big cup of coffee, Steph snorts a laugh.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he says, holding out a hand, giving you a wide smile. “Wally West, at your service.”

Oh.

“You’re married to her?”

Steph bursts out laughing. Linda does, too.

Flash—Wally, you remind yourself; it fits, it really does—doesn’t take offense. He laughs, too.

“I got lucky,” he informs you ruefully.

“We both did,” Linda amends, sending him a look that is so soft, you have to look away.

Your eyes catch Steph’s. She pretends to gag. You suppress a smile.

“How are you feeling?” Linda asks, taking the seat by your bed. The one Tim was in.

You close that thought out quickly. Thinking too much about it is going to make you cry and you don’t want to do that right now. You need a distraction. Anything, anyone.

“Not as bad as I thought I would feel,” you admit.

Barring the more emotional side of it, of course.

There is the fact that the nurse had come in not too long ago to give you another dose of pain medication but after sleeping for a little while longer, upon waking up, even without the immediate relief of pain meds, you felt… okay. Not great but not bad, either. It’s a little strange.

Linda and Wally share a look.

“Well, that’s good—”

A knock on the door cuts her off. She stands, going over to it.

Someone says something you can’t hear.

“Oh,” she says. “Really?”

More murmurs.

Steph stands, putting her coffee to the side and joining Linda at the door as the two of them accept something. Multiple somethings. Wally stands, too, going over to help them with… four vases of flowers. What?

“Who is that from?” you ask, bewildered.

One is from the Garricks, who Wally and Linda somehow know personally, one is from… the Pied Piper who didn’t sign off with that, but with his real name, Hartley (Wally has to clear up your confusion by informing you of that connection). Then one from your two regulars, those of which Steph also, apparently, knows personally.

“Babs—Barbara—is a friend slash mentor. And Jean-Paul is, uh, friends with her.”

There seems to be more going on with that but you don’t pry. Neither do Wally or Linda.

The last vase doesn’t have a name—not a full one, anyway. It is simply signed off with H.

“That’s… nice of her,” you murmur. Surprised but not put-off. Especially after what she did for following the confrontation with Batman, taking time out of her patrol to sit with you and talk.

Wally frowns, a tad suspicious. “Who—?”

“Huntress,” Steph says. “Tim’s close with her.”

This is news to you. But maybe it shouldn’t be, since she and him as Red Robin seemed so familiar.

It’s thoughtful—all of this. If not a tiny bit confusing, particularly the stuff from the Garricks and Pied Piper—Hartley.

“I told Jay and Joan what happened,” Wally tells you. “Barely managed to convince them to stay behind.”

“You… know them?”

“It’s a long story.”

“And… Hartley? I mean, he didn’t—he doesn’t—”

Still struggling to wrap your head around the fact that he gave his identity up just like that.

“Hartley likes you,” Wally says in the next minute. “Pretty fond of you, actually. We all are.”

“But… but I’m…”

You don’t know. You.

Just some kid from Gotham. You’re no one special.

You shake your head, evading Wally’s eyebrow raise. “Anyway, what about the Garricks were you talking about?”

Wally tells you. Just like Linda was his wife and started coming around to Circle K because of him, the Garricks did the same. But it’s not just because of that—Jay Garrick is a Flash. The first of them, actually.

“Uh,” Steph says, unsure. “Should I still be here?”

“Are you going to snitch?” Wally asks.

“Of course not,” she huffs. “I have a secret of my own, too.”

“Then we’re fine.”

“Right…”

“We aren’t Batman,” he says dryly. “I mean, discretion is key, yes, but you have the bonus of being a vigilante and being her friend. So, it’s fine for you to know this stuff.”

“Oh.” She seems lost on that prospect of trust. “Thank you.”

Wally sighs, looking at her, then at Linda. “I swear, even when he’s not within five miles of me, he’s still pissing me off.”

Oh.

It all comes back to Batman, it seems.

Linda sits back down, rolling her eyes. “I know. He’s a… real piece of work.”

Steph snorts. “Oh, yeah.”

You look at Linda. “So, then, Linda, can I ask why you’re here? You—I mean, I don’t mind! It’s just… the kids… and I’m sure you have better things to be doing…”

As you say that, you realize that her kids—the twins, Jai and Iris, then baby Wade—are also Wally’s kids.

God, today is so insane.

Linda gives you an evaluating look. “I wanted to be here.”

“It’s true,” Wally adds. “Threatened to hop onto a plane if I didn’t bring her here.”

She nods proudly when you look at her. Steph muffles a laugh into her fist.

You smile, too, shaking your head.

“And the twins are staying with the Garricks right now,” Wally adds. “So is Wade. They’re alright. Though we might bring Wade over here, depending on how long it takes you to recover.”

You frown. “What do you mean?”

Steph stretches her arms above her head. “And with that… good luck with this one, you two. I’m gonna head downstairs for some breakfast.”

“Bring me back a cookie,” Wally calls.

“No,” she says, then slips out.

You ignore that, looking at Linda, who gazes at you patiently, then at Wally, who grimaces a little.

“What was she talking about?”

Wally looks at Linda and takes a deep breath.

“We’re staying. Just for a little while.”

“Why? What about Keystone? And Central?”

“There’s Jay,” Linda says. “And Flash and Kid Flash. They’ve got it handled.”

Wally nods in agreement.

“Okay… but why?”

He sighs, looking at you. “So, we can stay to help take care of you while you recover.”

It takes a second.

But when it does…

“No.”

He says your name.

You shake your head. “No, no, no, I-I can take care of myself. I can—I mean, Steph—”

“She wanted to, initially,” Linda informs you. “She and her mother. But she has her internship and her mother is a nurse. Wally isn’t currently working—”

“Excuse you. I’m a stay-at-home dad,” he interjects.

“My apologies. He’s doing that,” Linda says diplomatically, though you can see the amusement twinkling in her eyes. “As for me, I’m working on finishing a book right now. With the kids out, if only for a brief period of time, we’re free.”

“But I can take care of myself, I mean, it’s not—”

“That bad?” Wally asks, cutting in a bit sharply. “You were stabbed. A few inches to the left and it would’ve hit your kidney. You got lucky, kid.”

“And what are you?” you snap. “My dad?”

Silence.

Tears of humiliation burn in your eyes. You squeeze them shut, reaching up to press the heels of your hands into your eyes.

“Sorry,” you whisper. “Sorry.”

“I’m not your dad,” Wally says quietly. “That’s not what we’re trying to do here. We—I—care about you. Let’s just leave it at that.”

You sniffle, dropping your hands from your eyes. “Okay. I get it. Sorry.”

He sighs. “I know it’s hard. I know you’ve been taking care of yourself on your own for a while. But you don’t have to anymore. Alright? This isn’t—it’s not some kind of moral obligation I’m fulfilling. If you don’t want anything to do with me, because of the whole… superhero thing, that’s fine. But I’m doing this ‘cause I want to.”

“We want to,” Linda amends.

Your next words choke you, lodging in your throat with the honesty of them, the vulnerability.

But you have to say it. Knowing why Wally wants to, just because he cares and nothing else to it… he has to know. He has to know that—

“It’s not like that for me,” you mutter. “The risk, I don’t care about the risk. I don’t care about any of that.”

“It’s okay if you do,” he says gently.

“The trade-off, if I did, is not worth it. I would lose too much and I can’t. I can’t…”

Not after your parents. Not when you finally have people who want you, who are choosing to be here once again.

Steph. Wally. Linda. Tim. All of them.

You don’t care about that.

You know what it’s like to have nothing. And maybe your chances of losing them are higher now, knowing what you know about them, but the chances of them being able to protect themselves are higher, too. Whatever happens to you because of it is a mere afterthought to you.

So, you would rather have them with the chance of danger than nothing at all.

“Aw, kid,” he mutters, rising from his chair at the same time that you sit up. He wraps his arms around in the next second. He’s warm, so very warm, and smells like sunscreen and coffee. Linda sets a hand on your leg, squeezing gently.

His heart beats steadily against your ear. You release a shuddery breath.

You can’t ever let this go.

You can’t.

But the way Wally holds you tell you he isn’t going to let you go, either, and it’s a promise.

Steph returns with a couple cookies for Wally, and with Crystal in tow. She doesn’t work at this hospital—University Medical—and she wasn’t able to get here until her shift was over. Though she sheds no tears, you can tell she was worried.

You nervously introduce her to Wally and Linda. They both easily come up with a cover story about knowing you from Keystone. You can tell she thinks it’s all a bit fishy but she doesn’t say anything.

You understand why when Wally and Linda step out to take some calls.

“So, you found out, huh?” she asks, eyebrow raising, eyes flickering to Steph, who smiles sheepishly.

It takes a second for you to understand.

“Wait, you know?”

She gives you an affronted look. “Of course I know. I’ve known since she was a teen. Didn’t like her doing it back then but she obviously never listened.”

“I listened!” she protests.

Crystal gives her a look.

She chuckles nervously and amends, “I listened a little.”

“A little,” Crystal says dryly. “Then you were right back in it again. No matter. Can’t change it, especially since she’s over eighteen and well, she’s got some good people looking out for her.”

Your eyes shoot to Steph’s. Does she know…?

A subtle shake of the head. Ah. Well, you suppose Steph doesn’t need to give away identities to assure her mother she is okay. Hanging with the likes of the Bats and the Batman himself, it gives an undeniable kind of credibility.

“Yeah,” you say. “Guess she does.”

Crystal’s eyes catch the flowers. “That’s sweet. Who are those from?”

“Old friends from Keystone. Wally and Linda kinda spread the word among the regulars. Old regulars, I mean.”

“Nice of them.” A cursory look around the room. A frown. “Has Tim visited?”

Your heart squeezes painfully, your breathing stuttering.

“He did,” Steph says quickly. “Earlier, this morning. He had to fly out of the city, though, for some WE stuff in California.”

“He couldn’t have cancelled?” she asks, peeved.

“It’s okay,” you say, clearing your throat. “It was a really important meeting, I think. He said he would, um, call and stuff.”

She huffs. “Well, the least he could do is send some flowers, too.”

“You know Timothy, Mom. Not that great with the ladies or gentlemen.”

You laugh, surprising yourself. Steph beams.

Crystal smiles, too, shaking her head. “I suppose so.”

She and Steph stay for a little while longer before they have to leave. Crystal to go home and rest and Steph for work.

“Tell me what the doctor says,” she says to you. “And let me know if you need anything. And I mean anything. My supervisor can suck it.”

“No, Steph, she cannot. You need this work.”

She pouts. “I guess.”

“Don’t fret,” you say dryly. “You aren’t the only hero coddling me.”

“True!” She leans forward to hug you and you go easily.

She presses her nose to your hair, sighing. “I’m glad you’re okay, you know that, right?”

“I know, Stephie.”

“And…” she pulls away to look at you, guilt in her blue eyes. “I’m sorry. I was… indrectly lying to you, too. I knew what Tim was doing and I never—”

“Hey,” you say softly, cutting her off. “It’s okay. I mean I… yeah, I would’ve liked to know, just ‘cause we’ve been friends for so long…”

“I was going to tell you,” she confesses. “In June, actually, but then Tim started acting like an idiot and it just got so…”

You crack a smile. “Complicated?”

“Complicated,” she agrees, smiling, too. “But still. I’m sorry.”

“I know. Thank you.”

She kisses your head. “Get some rest. I’ll swing by later, if you aren’t already discharged.”

“Okay.”

She steps out and Wally and Linda both step back in.

Seems like they both went downstairs to the cafeteria. The former has another handful of cookies in hand.

“Want one?” he asks around a mouthful.

“It’s nine in the morning.”

“So?”

“I’d take it,” Linda says. “It’s a rare privilege for him to share food.”

“I share food with you,” he protests. “And the kids. And Hartley and Dick and—”

“Yes,” she says dryly. “That’s the point. Only with people you love.”

“Oh.” He looks at you. “That’s true.”

“I’ll take the cookie,” you quickly say, if only not to think about what that means.

He gives you the cookie.

You’re unwrapping it when your doctor pops in. Dr. Scott is a kind, if not harried, woman. Working at a Gotham hospital does that to you, you suppose. She tells you the scans they did came out fine, showing not too much internal damage, nothing you can’t come back from and that they weren’t able to fix, and that they gave you a booster against potential infection from the knife. She says you’ll be discharged at the end of the day, too.

That’s a relief, though you’re still not looking forward to the hospital bill.

When you mention that, they both tell you it’s being taken care of.

“Wait a second—”

“Not us,” Linda says. “We did offer but Tim said he would take care of it. It’s not quite better, we feel, since there are… others who might owe you that much—”

“No kidding,” Wally mutters.

“But he insisted,” she finishes.

“No,” you say. “No way, that’s—that’s too much—”

“You can’t afford it, though,” Wally points out a bit ruthlessly. “Just let the kid do it. He’s got the money for it.”

“But—”

“You can bring it up with him,” Linda cuts in. “But for now, it’s taken care of.”

Maybe you shouldn’t be surprised. Tim… isn’t exactly ostentatious about the money he comes from. Not in the way some of other rich boys of the city can be. But he does things like this sometimes. Back during your internship with Quickstart Enterprises, he flew both himself and Steph out for Thanksgiving break. Not to celebrate the accursed holiday, no way, but because you had the time off, time they would gladly monopolize to help you relax some and finally enjoy yourself.

In that time, he got all of you a room at the Four Seasons in Central, saying, for one, the three of them couldn’t fit into your tiny studio. You pointed out they could just stay at a hotel nearby. But they both wanted all of you to be together. And of course, you couldn’t just go for the nearest Holiday Inn, it was the freakin’ Four Seasons.

Obviously, you don’t begrudge him for it. It was fun and it was nice sleeping on a proper mattress with thousand-count sheets and having them within reach.

He just… he does things like that. You had to take a summer class last year, after failing it the semester before, but your degree plan didn’t allow for any re-takes, not unless you wanted to throw your schedule way off course. He paid for it.

Steph understands your wariness about it. Crystal doesn’t make loads of money on a nurse’s salary.

It’s hard, she once said to you, because it feels like you’re being judged, right? For not having the means to do it yourself? But really, for Tim, that doesn’t even cross his mind. He just… he takes care of his friends. It’s really as simple as that. I know it’s still hard, though, so… handle it how you see fit.

Handling it, for you, meant paying for snacks and tickets every time the two of you went to the movies. He let you, understanding why. Not without reiterating that you didn’t have to pay him back, that he did it to help you, because you’re friends, but still.

Back then, even with that, things were so much simpler.

You sigh, leaning back against the bed, heeding Wally’s advice to take a nap.

Things won’t be like that ever again but… you hope you can achieve some semblance of it.

With time, you think you can.

reblogs are appreciated!

taglist: @peachesona @knoxx-seresinbradshaw @kikis-writing-service @sweetistic @soundsfunbutno @ginevraxrogers @fridaenpina @skcj24 @bath1lda @omfg-its-tay @laughydaphne @fhrjrirj @iamthesimpmother @alittlelateforstars @thaliadoesthings @scarlett13 @zelabee @coffee-love-alltheabove @benstormy @sad-girl09 @lockofspades @thereallchristine @thatonecroc @1lellykins @jelsafan0 @hearttjason @kno-way-home @moniverse05 @bat-h-tic @ghostindeath @escapism-r-us @plnkbees @gabrielle-tia @a-candle-maker

[ask to be tagged! either here or my inbox <3]

#tim drake x reader #red robin x reader #dc comics imagine #tim drake imagine #red robin imagine #dc comics x reader #tim drake x y/n #tim drake x you #red robin x you #red robin x y/n #batfam x you #batfam x reader #batfam x y/n

288 notes · View notes

spacebarbarianweird · 24 days

Text

Sleepy

Summary: Tiriel persuades Astarion to drink the sleeping potion.

Technically it's just Astarion being very sleepy and Tiriel taking advantage on that.

Pairing: Astarion x OC (Tiriel)

Tags: fluff, post-game, named Tav, established relationship.

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

"Astarion!" Tiriel calls out for her vampire husband. "Are you there?"

The battle is over and Tiriel, feeling dizzy after taking at least two hits in the head, is looking around.

Two dead ogres. Three orcs. A gnoll that was too drunk to realize a raging barbarian wasn’t a good target to bite.

"Only my man can bite me," she pushes the body aside.

But Astarion is nowhere to be seen. He usually hides in the shadows protecting Tiriel from damage, but the moment it's over he comes back to her, hot with blood.

It's been like that for sixty years.

"Astarion!"

No response.

Maybe he's gone too far in the caves? But Astarion has a sharp hearing, he must have heard her.

She looks down and notices a bag probably stolen from an unfortunate victim. Tiriel kneels to open it and sees bottles filled with potion.

Three are broken and the fabric is soaked in a liquid of unknown properties.

And the fourth one...

Tiriel carefully takes it in her hands.

Angelic Sleep Potion!

The only potion that puts an elf to real sleep. It looks like molten gold and the bottle has two wings.

Then Tiriel sees him.

He stands in the middle of the field, silent and motionless. Tiriel can't see his face and she thinks he might be looking for something in the dark.

"Astarion, love!" She calls him. "Are you all right?"

No response again.

His armor is in rags, hair is covered in dry blood. He doesn't have any wounds – not anymore, at least, thanks to vampiric regeneration, but it seems he's received a lot of damage.

"Astarion?" Tiriel feels a knot in her stomach. There was a period when Astarion was such a mental wreck, she even doubted her devotion to him. But he got better with the years, setbacks became rare and now Astarion sometimes even forgets he lived those awful centuries of slavery.

Astarion makes a grunting sound as if something has stabbed him, before collapsing on his knees.

And then he yells.

His voice echoes through the caves. His yells become cries and then he just sobs grabbing fistfuls of his hair.

Tiriel sits beside Astarion and caresses his back.

"I am here, love, I am here," she plants a kiss on the nape of his neck and only then he stops trembling.

"I am sorry," he mutters, finally collecting himself. "Just... too much..."

"I see, you received too much damage, huh? Come on, you need rest."

Astarion needs help to stand up and then he just leans on Tiriel, unable to move by himself.

"Just... I don't know... it was like a flood. The ogre hit me three or four times and I felt like I was going back to the dungeons, back to... whatever I was before..."

Tiriel tugs him closer.

It takes them the whole night to return back to Backford Crossing – a small town close to Luskan that became their home twenty years ago, after they'd left Daggerlake. It was nice to come back to the Sword Coast and besides Tiriel got her own adventuring guild. These are wild territories that are close to the Icewind Dale, and winters here are merciless.

Tiriel suspects many of her subordinates know too well Astarion is a vampire, but they are people who have a lot of secrets, too. Don't want to be interrogated about your questionable past in the Underdark? Don't try to learn if Astarion is a vampire or not. Besides, thanks to his age and satiation he perfectly imitates a mortal elf. Even his fangs aren't that visible.

By the time Tiriel closes the doors of their house, Astarion leans against the wall and she sees tears flowing down his cheeks.

"How bad was it?" She asks, helping him to undress.

"It broke my bones. As they mended in a moment, they were broken again. Cazador's favorite torture, " he manages to say.

It's the first time in decades since Astarion mentioned his master's name.

Astarion sits on the bed. He needs to meditate to recover but Tiriel knows he is afraid.

Trance will bring more horrors. Forcing him to relive his distant past.

Tiriel puts the potion on the bed table.

"I want you to drink it," she says. "I found it in the alchemist’s bag – its owner was eaten, I am afraid."

"No!" Astarion scutters aside, and Tiriel is afraid he will break the bottle. "I am not going to drink it!"

"Sleep will make you feel better! Trust me, non-elves renew themselves in sleep, it helps to forget horrors of the past day!"

"I am not a non-elf! My mind brings me horrors anyway and I know a lot about those uncontrolled, crazy dreams you have! No. Don't make me!"

Tiriel sighs, helping him to put off his trousers. Astarion is absolutely helpless and Tiriel has a funny flashback of undressing their daughter when she was little.

They look alike, Astarion and Alethaine. And Tiriel takes care of them both even when they are in their killing mood.

"Please, Astarion, don't be such a baby. It will make you feel better. You will just sleep."

"And what if I see nightmares?"

"You will wake up. And you will know they weren't real."

Astarion hesitates but then gets under the blanket and takes the bottle.

"Tiriel."

"Hm?"

"I will do it, but so you know, darling, I do it only because you ask! And I have a condition."

"What is it?"

"You stay here. All the time. Just don't go. I- I need you to be there when I am, in these...whatever."

"I am too tired to go anywhere. I will be here for you, don't worry," Tiriel kisses him and feels his hand on her back.

"You know, everyone who would see us would think we are supposed to grow tired of each other, not be these lovestruck fools we are.'' Tiriel giggles.

"You haven't gotten any colder, my darling, still as warm as you were when I drank your blood for the first time," he pulls away and opens the lid of the bottle.

"Hm, that first time when you drank my blood and then almost came in your pants?"

"Exactly that," he smiles while drinking the full bottle. His sight immediately gets sleepy. "And it wasn't nice of you to withhold the fact you saw me in the woods with no trousers on.''

Tiriel pushes Astarion down on the pillow, making him comfortable in the soft bed. He still needs a source of warmth and she plans to burn the fireplace and also sleep beside him for the whole day.

"My head is heavy," he complains.

"You are falling asleep, it happens to me every day. Sleep well."

"What do non-elves do when others... fall asleep...?" He closes his eyes allowing the potion to take control of his body.

"Leave them alone. Or sing them a lullaby."

"Can you...?" His tongue turns twisted.

Tiriel caresses his cheek and starts humming. She often sang this lullaby to Alethaine and there were a few months when the dhampir absolutely refused to go to sleep without hearing it. Though Alethaine is technically an elf, she still can’t meditate and sleeps like any non-elf, including her mother.

It's a song of a mother dragon who waits till her children hatch. She is ready to wait patiently for decades till it happens and before that, the little dragons can sleep comfortably in their eggs.

A pretty sad song if one thinks about it – because the dragon shall never see her children hatch, for she will be slayed by a warrior. Alethaine finally realized this after about four months, when she was five, burst into tears, and cried so loud Astarion heard it from the surface part of the town and they both spent the next few hours trying to cheer their daughter up. In the end, they all agreed Alethaine would grow up to slay dragon slayers and save little dragons – and with that, she finally agreed to go to bed.

Who knew Alethaine would have such a sensitive heart?

Tiriel caresses Astarion's cheek and sees he's asleep. She carefully undresses so as not to wake him up and gets under two thick blankets to preserve the heat.

Then, she hugs Astarion from behind pressing his back to her breasts and feels like falling asleep, too.

As she loses control of her thoughts Tiriel remembers the bite moment in every little detail. The fear that woke him up, a scared and embarrassed Astarion who appeared to be a vampire, begging her to let him draw her blood. She pitied him – all thanks to the tadpole that showed her all the misery Astarion's life was.

Another wave of fear as she realized Astarion wasn’t stopping. Tiriel violently kicked him, forcing him to let her go. His attempt to show his honest gratitude. How he then went to the woods, she thought, to hunt for more.

Tiriel felt the call of nature sometime later and left the camp only to catch a glimpse of Astarion leaning against a tree without his trousers and doing very clear movements with his hand.

For some reason, it didn't disgust her – more like intrigued. The very idea that the vampire fed on her and got that aroused somehow made her feel much better about herself.

The sentient blood made Astarion's body function properly. It made him desire things. It made him want her. At first, as a means to an end. Later, as someone much more than just a partner and a donor.

Tiriel plants a kiss on his shoulder. It was sixty years ago. Six decades.

Her thoughts wander further, to the night on the clearance. Astarion was so beautiful in the moonlight she jumped on him wanting him to become her first one. He never disappointed her, but Astarion still resents their first night – she can’t get into his head, but she knows his intentions and thoughts were far from pleasant that night.

It wasn't him. Not the real him. The real Astarion – the one buried deep under the trauma, violence, degeneration, torture, and rapes – woke up in the morning full of feelings he didn't know he could still have.

And Tiriel has loved this real person ever since.

Tiriel drifts away in her sleep still holding her husband in her arms.

Waking up is difficult – she's a heavy sleeper – and she realizes it's almost evening. She still feels too lazy and too comfortable to move.

Astarion is still in her arms.

She elbows up and sees that Astarion’s eyes are open. He is half-awake, in this dizzy state of mind when you can't make yourself get up, and time passes fast.

"Hello, darling," Tiriel kisses his lips as he answers her.

"Hmm," he mutters something and stretches his hands only to close his eyes.

She giggles. He is so much like Alethaine right now – their daughter is a heavy sleeper and Tiriel sometimes needs a lot of effort to make her get up.

But there was nothing sweeter than kissing a sleepy dhampir whose mind woke up but her will to fight didn't. So Tiriel would just smooch and hug Alethaine as much as possible before the dhampir finally got enough of that.

Tiriel starts kissing Astarion forcing him to murmur something. Then she hugs him, caressing his back and shoulders. She knows he is conscious but he has no strength and will to resist her.

And he is so beautiful.

Astarion's hair is messy. His body is relaxed, his mouth is half open and his face is a bit puffy.

"Such a sweet beautiful elf you are," she intertwines her fingers in his hair. "I am so lucky to have you."

He mutters something again and Tiriel kisses his neck. Then she traces it right to his jawline and puts two fingers on his lips.

Astarion’s eyelids get heavy again and he slips away back to dreams.

Well, it's his first time.

And when it's his first time he takes it fully.

Blood drinking? Tiriel almost died from blood loss. Sex with a loved person? She couldn't close her legs after that, and she had to take a bath to wash out the graveyard dirt. Freedom? Astarion stopped walking only when Tiriel was unable to go further without a rest. Marriage and relationship? Tiriel is the happiest woman in the world – when they lived in Daggerlake and raised their daughter other women would come to Tiriel half-joking about wanting to know where exactly she found Astarion. Fatherhood? Astarion spent every minute with Alethaine, making sure the dhampir was loved and protected.

When it's sunset, Tiriel comes to Astarion again and starts playing with his hair, waking him up.

"Hello darling," he mutters.

"Hello, my heart," she answers.

He sits up unable to focus his sight.

"Do you want food or a bath?" She asks.

"And what do you usually want after... such… a prolonged rest?"

Tiriel laughs.

"Usually I want to pee after being asleep for so long."

"My digestive system died with my heart and lungs."

"Well, then bath. I don’t know how it works for you, but no one can eat right after waking up"

"Aletaine can.'' He notices.

"Alethaine is a little half-undead monster I carried in my womb. For someone who is five feet tall and weighs eighty-eight pounds, she devours an ungodly amount of food. No wonder I felt so bad when I was pregnant."

"What did you expect?"Astarion stretches his arms and yawns. “You got pregnant by a vampire.”

"I didn't expect anything! You are the smart one, you were supposed to know!" Tiriel takes his hand and pulls him to the bathroom, turning on the pipe with hot water. "And now, I catch myself thinking, what if something bad happens to my daughter? And then, if something bad happened to her I wouldn't know that! Because who knows where she is right now! It makes me anxious and every time she comes back to us I want to lock her down and never let her go!"

Astarion submerges his legs into the water and smiles, baring his fangs. "Our daughter is a dhampir and a necromancer. Every dhampir we've met so far told us she is a very dangerous person to be enemies with."

Tiriel laughs adding some cold water to be able to withstand the heat. Then she gets inside too and takes the sponge to wash herself and Astarion.

"How was it?" she finally asks. "Your first sleep."

"It was nice, but I don't want to do this again. It was like being beaten with a heavy pillow and I couldn't get myself out of this slumber. It was nice and I feel much better but this is... still unnatural to me. Elves sleep only when drugged or severely beaten. Or when they are traumatized so much they can't trance anymore. And considering I still can, I don't want to know what elves are supposed to go through.”

"You are just a very strong person, Astarion, don't sell yourself too short.”

They spend hours in the bath, talking and washing and only then Tiriel finally makes herself get out – someone needs to deliver news that the poor alchemist was killed by ogres.

"I will prepare you dinner," Astarion assures her – another skill he learned over the years, even though he can never say if what he makes is edible or not.

Tiriel tries to do everything quickly. Deliver the news, assign the task to beat the shit out of the ogre tribe to the newest members of the guild, and then come back home to whatever Astarion is making for her.

When she approaches her home, she catches the delicious smell and her body immediately responds by making her move faster.

She is fucking starving.

But once she opens the door she hears a loud laughter.

"Alethaine!" Tiriel gasps entering the kitchen.

The silver-curled dhampir smiles wide, baring her fangs.

"I am moving to Fireshear," she explains. "Decided to pay a visit on my way there. And to pick up my old books."

Tiriel hugs her daughter and can't resist rubbing her ear. Alethaine is so delicate and thin but there is a dark strength in her, the power of dhampirism and necromancy. The young woman leans in, allowing Tiriel to show her motherly love.

Astarion puts the plates in front of his wife and daughter. It seems like Alethaine has been at home for some time – she wears a black dress Astarion always insists on keeping ironed and clean in case his princess comes to stay.

"I told your mother not to worry about you," he smiles. "You know that you should stab first."

"Are you staying for long, kitten?"

"I was thinking about a month or two, and then I sail north."

"Maybe three?' Astarion suggests. "I don't think it really matters when you get to this hellishly cold place."

Tiriel smiles. Alethaine was born in Uktar, the last month of winter — and should she stay for three months, they can celebrate her fortieth birthday.

Alethaine makes a weird sound that substitutes "sigh" for her – the dhampir doesn't breathe, almost like a vampire.

"Rather generous offer, how can I say no," Alethaine chuckles.

"Wake up, kitten," Tiriel enters her daughter's room the next day. "You've slept for fifteen hours!"

Alethaine makes a disgruntled noise from a heap of blankets she’s buried herself in.

The room is uncomfortably hot due to the fireplace and Tiriel can't understand how it's possible to sleep in such a warm place.

Especially considering Alethaine doesn’t have a vampire to hug.

"Alethaine, time to get up," she pulls the blankets away. The dhampir immediately curls in the fetal position trying to keep warm.

Tiriel caresses her cheek and kisses her. Alethaine is seepy like a cat – absolutely unable to do anything against Tiriel.

Tiriel makes her sit up and then hugs her. The young dhampir tries to get back to bed but her mother is adamant - too much sleep is as bad as too little of it.

Finally, Alethaine puts her feet on the floor. Tiriel giggles seeing her bed hair – the always composed dhampir looks like a drunk dryad.

“I am waking up, mum,” she mutters.

"So, how difficult was it?" Astarion asks, sitting on the front porch. The ledge protects him from the sunlight and allows the vampire to enjoy the day as much as possible.

"You know, that's kinda funny. She is almost forty – don't tell me she is a child by elven standards, you were a magistrate at her age – but I can't stop thinking that she hasn't changed much since she was four!"

"She didn't," Astarion smiles. "She is our baby princess and always will be. No matter how many armies of the dead she can resurrect."

Tiriel leans on astarion and receives a kiss.

She is happy.

No matter what the future holds for Tiriel the Barbarian, she will always be happy.

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars @marina-and-the-memes @waking-electric @ayselluna @connorsui @asterordinary @darkarchangel96 @locallegume @brainfullofhotsauce @coffeeanddonutscafe @my-queen-rhaenyra-targaryen @queenofthespacesquids @ednaaa-04 @dajeong @herdarkestnightelegance

62 notes · View notes

fantasylandbitch · 5 months

Text

Summary: While Sam lets everyone know it's time for bed she seeks you out in the bathroom wanting to know where you’d like to sleep that night not knowing that you’re in danger. The next day you find yourself being looked after by Tara, Mindy, and Ethan will he take his opportunity to take you and the girls out?

Warning: Long Chapter, Hallucinations, 18+ A Little Spicy 18+, Cussing, Wild Mean Billy Appears, and Super Creepy Ethan.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

In your frozen state, you try to rationalize how Ghost Face can be in the bathroom with you because you can’t imagine that Sam and the others would have seen him climb through either the window or walk through the front door and not bat an eye at him. But as you stand in front of the mirror trying to rationalize his point of entry, you watch him step out of the shower one foot after the other. But as you stop thinking and start being present in your body you run for the door not even looking back to see how close he is to you in the bathroom. When your hand reaches for the door you find yourself fumbling with the door handle trying to lock and unlock it but it isn’t budging, you start to feel Ghost Face’s presence behind you making your skin crawl and your muscles tense up.

On the other side of the door, Sam can hear you struggling with the door handle, and at first, she was going to chuckle to herself almost finding it funny if it weren’t for how fast the door handle was moving, so she walked up to the bathroom door quickly. “Y/n are you okay?” she asks you through the bathroom door in a tone that is similar to a yell but is low like a whisper. But you don’t respond to her question so Sam starts to get worried while trying to keep her cool, trying not to alarm her family in the living room.

Then Mindy walks by the hallway to get a drink of water when she catches Sam playing with the bathroom door handle.“Everything okay Sam?” Mindy asks her, seeing how Sam looks like she’s almost struggling with the door handle or perhaps pulling a prank on you which she believes is highly unlikely.

As calmly as possible Sam looks over at Mindy and nods at her “Yeah sort of….I-I think Y/n is stuck in the bathroom” she says to her with a distressed look on her face a little similar to when Tara wouldn’t respond to her texts on her whereabouts.

“Oh…OH shit okay” Mindy says to Sam realizing it’s a bit urgent before she quickly walks over to Danny’s bedroom “Hey boy next door. Sam needs your help with the bathroom it’s not opening,” she says as Danny looks up from his bed with a look of concern before getting up to walk over to the bathroom.

“Sam, Samantha what’s wrong?” Danny asks Sam while walking down the hallway but Sam isn’t paying attention to him at the moment because she’s worried about you and he can see that now as he gets closer. He can tell that Sam is worried about what you might be thinking after suffering a traumatic event the other day so he turns around to quickly get his small tool kit from his bedroom so that you can get out and so that Sam doesn’t work herself into a nightmare late at night.

While in the bathroom you eventually turn your back on the door, now sweating and looking at Ghost Face as he takes a step forward and you can feel your heart beating in your ears all the while your breath picks up. You’re starting to think that this is the end for you as you stare back at Ghost Face knowing that you are currently in no condition to be fighting until you remember that he disappeared in the dark in your dream. The thought makes you look death straight in the face before looking at the corner of the mirror and the light switch near the sink. Then you ran over to turn the lights off and before Ghost Face could stab you it was lights out. It’s dark and you are breathing more heavily now, you don’t seem to hear any movement from Ghost Face who was in the bathroom with you a moment ago but that doesn’t mean your fear has lessened. Amid your fearful state, you eventually attempt to pull yourself up from the ground but a sharp pain runs up the left side of your stomach which prevents you from getting up fully. “Damn it,” you say to yourself feeling frustrated that you're unable to pick yourself up until you stop to the sound of the doorknob dropping onto the bathroom floor and then Sam shoving the door open.

“Y/n are you alright?” Sam asks you as she looks around the bathroom for the light switch before spotting it while she snakes her right arm around your waist and then with her left-hand reaches up to switch the light on.

“Yeah I’m fine just panicked a little that's all,” you say to Sam trying to brush off your feelings as she helps you up so that she doesn’t have to worry even though your voice came out shaky and a little aggravated when you went to look up at her in the now-lit bathroom.

All Sam could do was nod in your direction before pulling you closer to her body with her left arm to fully embrace you. Then turning her head she looked over at Danny who was gathering what little tools he used for the door “Sorry about your bathroom door Danny” Sam apologized to her confidant and best friend.

Danny looks up from packing his tools and then smiles at Sam and you, fully accepting his role in Sam’s life before saying “Don’t be I don’t own the apartment. I would be sorry however about not having privacy anymore” he says with a big smile making Sam chuckle a little before packing up the doorknob and making his way back to his room.

But Sam knows when her thoughts bring her back to focus on you. Sam knows better, she knows you didn’t ‘panic a little’ because she heard how your voice was. She saw how frantic you shook the doorknob like you were trying to run away from something and god would she have done anything to get to you quicker as she began to hug you.

“Are you okay?” you ask Sam as you pull away from her to scan her features while seeing those beautiful brows of hers furrow together with worry as her eyes look back at your own. But Sam didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned her face down to kiss you before taking her tongue and dragging it up your lips catching you off guard.

A quiet gasp leaves your mouth as you feel the texture of Sam’s tongue instead of her lips making you lean back to get a good look at her. You watch as Sam starts to smile, you two stay close to each other until you both hear Mindy walking down the hallway while calling your name, and as her footsteps drew closer you and Sam separated from each other.

“Hey Y/n, are you okay?” Mindy asks as she stops to look into the bathroom to see you taking a deep breath before looking over at Sam who had lifted herself up to sit on the bathroom counter making Mindy briefly look down at her water before looking at you.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine. I just-...panicked because the door wouldn’t open but I’m fine now. Thanks for asking.” You say nodding at her as Mindy smiles at you before looking over at Sam and then back at you again as a smirk tugged at her lips.

“Yeah, no problem. If you need a chaperone to the bathroom you know who to call” Mindy jokes causing you to laugh as you held your side while she watched Sam from the corner of her eye smile at your joyful face before walking back to the living room.

After Mindy left and your laughter died down you wiped your eyes before looking over at Sam as you tried to calm down “So” you start as you take a breath “What was the purpose of teasing me? Because that was rude” you told Sam.

“That was for teasing me the other night,” she says smiling at you, giving you a nod before looking at her hands as her smile sort of dropped.

“What?” you questioned “I don’t remember teaseing you the other day” you falsely admitted as you watched Sam’s brows furrow together while looking at her hands still as you walk up to the sink standing between her legs. “Unless you mean…when I did this to you?” you questioned her before sliding your hands over Sam’s jeaned thighs and sliding her closer to the edge of the bathroom counter, biting your lip a little as you did so. Sam let out a shaky breath as you slid her closer to yourself making her clasp her hands over yours. With a smile pulling at your lips there is a small voice at the back of your head telling you something. ‘It’s a little too soon to be this bold around her don’t you think? You don’t want to look desperate for her, do you?’ it says trying to upset you.

The voice almost wins as it makes you hesitate for a second before you follow through. You look up only to find Sam staring at you with a sultry gaze, a look you never thought you would ever find yourself getting from the taller brunette as the voice in your head disappears. Sam is looking down at you not only with a lustful gaze that would have you slowly undressing in front of her if Ghost Face wasn’t on the loose but with something much darker looking back at you on the surface of her pupils. Whatever it is it certainly looks back into your own and it has you in a trance.

Sam looks into your eyes and sees desire and love all at the same time but she can also sense something in your pupils as well. Because much like her own, the dark figure looking out the windows of her soul she can see a figure hiding in the far back of yours. It seems shy or maybe it’s still manifesting or perhaps it just isn’t ready to show itself yet but it certainly dares itself to look up, making Sam a little wanderlust as she slowly leans her head down. However, before Sam could capture your lips her gaze quickly moves to the hallway like a predator sensing danger as she sees something move behind the wall in the living room before closing the bathroom door with her foot.

After the door is shut Sam finds herself in a heated kiss with you except this time it's in Danny’s apartment where you are safe in her care and she has you all to herself. Sam slowly removes her hands from your own and then runs her fingers through your hair massaging your scalp before pulling your face closer to hers as she kisses you feverishly eventually getting off the counter and backing you into the wall. You let out a light whine making Sam stop for a second before you shook your head pulling her body closer into your own and saying in between kisses “I’m fine.”

Then you stretch your hand to retrieve a rag from the towel rack as Sam starts turning your back to the counter as she kisses down your jawline lightly pulling your waist into her body again. The action makes you giggle as you stuff the hole where the doorknob used to be for what little privacy you both can get before you get up on the bathroom counter where you start to feel Sam kissing down your neck. She makes you moan lightly the sound reaching her ears as you wrap your right leg around her backside, keeping her close, your right hand carding through her hair while your left hand roams her back as you stay upright. She can’t help but kiss your neck and then your shoulder more aggressively as she closes her eyes in her attempt to refrain from wanting to desperately mark you as hers to let Ethan know who you belong to in this mess of hers with Ghost Face.

Because Sam had noticed before all of this. Before Ghost Face decided to rear his ugly head. Before she saw you differently as you softly broke down her walls turning them slowly but quietly into barriers for her to use. For Sam, it was one thing to notice that you weren’t necessarily a threat to her and her family but it was most certainly another thing that after meeting you once that the next time she saw you, Ethan and Quinn were seemingly all over you. Like moths to a flame. Sam couldn’t care less about Quinn coming on to you because Quinn is a gleefully hedonistic person, looking to experience and enjoy herself as much as she can while you on the other hand seems more like someone who values knowing the deeper aspects of a person and therefore more reserved to which Sam knows first hand. She knows Quinn would be quite overwhelming for someone like you.

But when Ethan would talk to you, she would notice. She would notice how awkward he is around you but can still talk to you in small doses while his eyes would sometimes linger a little too long at your e/c ones or your lips on occasion. She remembers trying to engage you in an innocent conversation about what you would like from Dunkin and caught him staring for too long at your lips or how he watched your eyes as he flexed what little muscles he gained at the gym to try to swoon you. But Sam saw you, she saw that you would look away from him because prolonged eye contact made you uncomfortable or how you would innocently lift up the sleeve of your t-shirt to compare your gains and not bat a single eye at his muscles, but on the off chance that you did, she would know it was out of admiration, not interest.

“Ah, Sam fuc-” were the words that fell out of your mouth, pulling Sam from her thoughts as she realized that while ruminating her right hand traveled to your inner thigh rubbing your pussy through your pants with her middle and ring finger while her left hand stayed on your left thigh playing with the fabric. Sam felt like she was being overly possessive as she peered at you, she kept rubbing and hearing the muffled lewd sounds that dripped from your lips as you buried your face in her shoulder. As much as Sam wanted to take you right there in the bathroom this wasn’t how she wanted your first time with her to be, no, she wanted you in her room healed up and screaming her name as she whispered sweet praises into your ear from how well you're taking her.

“Hate to break it to you sweetheart but now isn’t the time to be caught with your pants down” Sam heard a familiar deep voice as she instinctively bit into your shoulder causing you to groan before she opened her eyes to look at the mirror. There standing in the mirror was him, her father, Billy Loomis.

Sam at first tries to pay him no mind as she removes her hands from your thighs and crotch before placing them at your sides so she can lean the side of her face against yours feeling the heated skin that she created. Then she heard you starting to laugh against her.

“Why’d you stop?” you whined softly into her ear as you tried to cool down and catch your breath, you felt Sam’s skin rubbing against your own as your brain slowly caught on to the question you asked her.

“It’s because of Ghos-” Sam started before you interrupted her, feeling your face move against hers as she saw you nod while your noses touched before she looked into your eyes like you two were the only people in the apartment. For a moment she feels at ease knowing that you haven’t been able to recall what you went through the night before because she can still hear your screams from the video he sent her, how your voice echoed with pain because you were wounded, and how the utter regret reverberated in her ears a reminder of the last conversation you shared with her. Sam hates that when someone she loves or she’s involved with in some way gets hurt by Ghost Face, she immediately blames herself. The thought brings up the old feelings of her wanting to run away from what's good for her and it almost makes her want to retreat into herself but you stop her.

If this was any other day you would know to give her time before you ask if she was hungry or if she needed extra time alone or ask her to text you when she was ready but this was different. You can tell she is starting to fall into the pool of lies you can only imagine what Sam tells herself the morning she wakes up and the moment she goes to sleep. With your hands you reach for Sam’s face “Look at me” you tell her as she looks up at you just an inch her hair falling just a little bit into her face “You are not your thoughts” you voice, as you move her hair out of the way and behind her ear. “You are not the lies that the media portray you as,” you say to her as you rub her cheekbones with the pads of your thumbs as you stare at her lips “And..” you trail off trying to find your next words.

Sam watches you as she feels the pads of your thumbs gently touch the skin of her cheekbones rubbing them still in your distracted state as she can’t help but look at your eyes and then at your perfect lips.

“You are Samantha first,” you say to her in a whisper hoping she doesn’t see how stupid in love you are with her before you feel Sam lean in to give you a slow and deep kiss similar to when she first kissed you outside by your car earlier. Then you feel her hands cup your jawline her thumbs placed just before your ears as she leans more into your body just a tad making you clasp your hands over hers as you both love each other in silence.

“To think the homos of today would be this dramatic” Sam hears her father’s voice in the background and she can’t help but spite him by kissing you just a little bit longer than she planned to but it wasn’t like you were complaining. She could tell that you were addicted to her because every time she wanted to pull away your lips were pursuing hers like she would disappear. The thought made her heart ache just a little before you slowly pulled your lips away from her own and she almost gave in to you, your lips, she wanted to chase your lips but instead, her lips hovered over your own.

“Where do you want to sleep tonight?” Sam asked you in a whisper as her lips continued to hover over the pillows of your own having a craving for them but with her father’s presence in the background she felt a bit mad and a little vulnerable. But she doesn’t want to tell you about her feelings just yet because as much as she cares for you she isn’t ready to tell you about her father.

‘Your bed’ you thought to yourself feeling a little drunk from kissing Sam before you removed your hands from hers and got off the counter with her help. Then you smiled up at her as you started to rub her stomach with your hand eventually getting lost underneath her shirt “If it's okay with you can I take the couch? Because I think I might have trouble getting off the floor” you asked Sam.

She shivers at your fingertips lightly touching her stomach and then slowly nods “You don’t need to ask but that would also make sense for you because of your….” she trailed off as she looked down at your left side. “I’ll see you in the living room,” Sam says to you smiling before kissing your forehead making you lean into her lips, closing your eyes in the process, and then Sam watched as you opened the door to leave. She takes a deep breath feeling a little lightheaded from kissing you as she smiles to herself alone before she hears her father clear his throat making her clench her teeth.

“Sam I think you need to start getting your head right,” Billy says annoyed that his daughter is so in love at the moment before seeing her walk over to the mirror with a scowl. “Don’t look at me like that, if you want to protect your new toy and your family you're going to have to think straight if you can even do that.”

Sam scoffed at the mirror “Y/N IS NOT….a toy” Sam says lowering her voice just in case her family is asleep and that you don’t go looking for her in the bathroom. She sighs thinking about everything that has happened so far between Ghost Face attacking her and her sister at the bodega, the attack at the apartment almost losing Anika, almost losing Gale, and nearly losing you right after. Sam rubs her face in frustration before placing her hands on the counter thinking something is amiss like a word that is at the tip of her tongue or a phrase but neither is coming to the surface.

Billy notices this. He notices his daughter’s thoughts and it gets him thinking as he looks down at her zeroing in on her skull then it dawns on him at the same time as Sam causing her to look up. “That's right Sam use that brain of yours,” he says as he starts to nod a smirk slowly developing across his face “Based on your conversation with Y/n…really think about who the killer might be in your group and then…Take.Them.Out” and the moment he said those three words Sam gave Billy a stare half of it was her being a Loomis determined to kill and the other the Sam you told her to put first.

Then Sam walks out of the bathroom, turns off the lights, and then walks down the hallway to the living room fixing her top as she goes. As she gets closer to the living room she finds everyone sleeping in their usual spots. The boys Ethan and Chad are sleeping near the window, Mindy is sleeping at one end of the couch, Tara is sleeping not far from Mindy, and then you, the new addition to the couch, are sleeping. But before Sam could join you and her family in the living room Sam did her usual routine.

She made sure all of the windows were locked picking them up to make sure they wouldn’t open before walking over to the front door to make sure that the locks were secured enough that it wouldn’t open suddenly while everyone was asleep. After making sure everything was secured Sam finally enters the living room fully, hearing soft snores and slight hums of those asleep before finding the sweetest scene. There lay Tara and Mindy with their hands linked to your own as you lay comfortably across the couch your wounded side to the ceiling with your shirt slightly lifted from moving in your sleep and the sight made Sam get her phone so that she can take a photo of you three. Soon after, Sam puts her phone as well as your own on a charger before laying down next to her sister but not before she turns off the mini light near Mindy’s head “Goodnight guys” Sam says in a whisper making sure to kiss yours and Tara's foreheads before lights out.

The next morning you wake up to the sound of Babadook playing on the TV screen and along with it the sound of someone beginning to sit down in front of you. You had felt their hair tickle your face before it was quickly removed almost making you sneeze as you moved your hand to press the tip of your nose to prevent yourself from spreading germs. But you also got a whiff of something sweet and nutty with a hint of vanilla a subtle shampoo scent that you knew belonged to Tara. “Deranged women who worship the Baba that dooks. What possessed you to watch that movie in my presence?” you asked in an old raspy woman voice that made your best friend laugh so hard that you were afraid that she might just need her inhaler or worse a rush to the hospital.

But soon you hear Tara’s laugh slowly turn into giggles, a sound you haven’t heard in a while since your friendship started to dissolve the moment she first took a shot in front of you before you hear her take a deep breath in. “I wasn’t possessed to watch Babadook doofus, you should know that better than anyone,” Tara says to you as she adjusts her seating position on the floor in front of you before she asks you a question. “Y/n could you pass me two pillows?” before she heard you make a humming sound in agreement as your hand searched for the two pillows she asked for.

“Where is everyone by the way?” you asked Tara as you gave her one pillow for her to sit on while looking around the room when you spotted Ethan in the kitchen making a sandwich on the island. You watched how he was holding the kitchen knife cutting a tomato slow and deliberately and how something about the way he was cutting seemed oddly familiar to you causing you to furrow your bows in question. Then you found another pillow for Tara to lean her back on “Lean forward for me?” you asked Tara as you saw your best friend lean forward so you could place the pillow down behind her back. “I thought you would have gone with your sister considering…well everything you both are going through at the moment,” you say with careful consideration as you look at the back of Tara’s head before trying to get up from the couch without help.

“Well, Sam, Danny, and Chad went out to get food from the store leaving me, Mindy, and Ethan to watch over you. Here’s the sticky note…even though she could have just texted me” Tara says with a huff as you hum again before she turns around to give you the sticky note for evidence and for you to read yourself. Upon reading the note you find it to be a little odd considering that Ghost Face is a crafty bastard. But knowing that Danny has an apartment full of people residing in it, it would make sense that they would go out as a group to go shopping for food and to be extra safe.

You sigh after reading the sticky note that Tara gave you as you give yourself time to let the words settle before looking over at your best friend. “At least she left a note of her whereabouts Tara because communication is key plus she's not alone in going grocery shopping she has Chad and Danny with her like you said. We’re stronger in numbers you know” you tell her before you watch Tara release a heavy sigh and then get up to leave the room “Wait where are you going?” you ask.

“I’M GOING TO THE BATHROOM” Tara yelled back at you as she walked down the hallway “GOD MINDY” you hear Tara yell at Mindy through the bathroom door as you tried to refrain from laughing not wanting to rip your stitches open as you hear Mindy say something back to her but its muffled and you can clearly hear water running in the background.

While all of this is happening, you trying your best to refrain from laughing, Tara waiting to use the bathroom, and Mindy just taking a shower, you don’t notice that Ethan is staring at you from the island. He watches intently at how your body reacts to laughing and listens to the sounds of your laughter before his eyes catch the bite on your shoulder. With the knife in his hand, he cuts open a piece of bread next to him but he cuts it slowly so as to not draw attention to himself as he could only imagine how you got the bite mark the night before.

His grip on the knife tightens as he remembers how he watched you glide your hands slowly over Sam’s thighs pulling her closer to the edge of the counter and how the action left a smile on your face. ‘How bold of you’ he thought to himself as he licked his lips behind the wall and felt himself get a little hard at the sight of your hands and thinking of what you could possibly do to him. Then he saw how Sam looked down at you like a starved animal ready to consume, a feeling he knows all too well while looking at you sometimes until he hid behind the wall before coming back to reality when the knife cut his thumb.

Then he heard you get up slowly from the couch hearing you groan, making him look up at you before he quickly looked down at what he was doing. In his peripherals, he saw that you stopped to watch Tara probably enter the bathroom because he heard Mindy grant her access before he watched you from the corner of his eye enter the kitchen making him look up as he licked his thumb while checking you out.

When you walked into the kitchen you felt like someone was watching you so you turned to look and you saw Ethan looking down at the sandwich he was making so you gave him a quick look over. After that you walk around him to get the package of bread beside his arm and then a knife from the drawer behind him. But as you did so you felt yourself getting anxious so you tried to calm yourself down with some breathing exercises and took your time to walk over to your counter not far from him until you felt your skin crawl and your body start to tense up.

Behind you, Ethan takes a quiet step back from the island with the kitchen knife in his right hand as he studies your body, licking his lips as he quietly takes a step forward toward you. ‘It's too bad Y/n, we could have made a killer couple’ he thought to himself, a smile growing on his face as he got excited to try and hurt you for the second time, except this time.

This time he’s really going to stab you.

Ethan brings his right hand up ready to stab you in the back hoping to get the same fearful reaction from you like last time but he was so wrong. When he brought the knife down on you, you quickly turned around with a frightened expression on your face briefly before anger suddenly washed over you, becoming someone else in front of him. You brought your hand up to catch the wrist that holds the knife. Then you use your other hand holding the knife you were going to use for your breakfast, shoving it up and forward toward Ethan’s oblique but he caught your hand moving just in time to catch your right wrist with his left hand.

His eyes widened for a second before he smiled wildly in front of you because he didn’t realize how the file his overseer showed him pertaining to you was true and he loved how you had the look of a potential serial killer in your eyes. He was in love with the way you looked, angry and lustful to spill his blood. But as much as he loved the way you looked at him, he did take offense at your attempt to return the favor of trying to stab him back so he dropped the knife that he was holding in his right hand and reached down to grab your wrist. After doing so, he slides his left leg back throwing you to the floor behind him causing you to grunt in slight pain, and as you go to get up Ethan approaches you from behind to stab you with the knife that was already in your hand. A struggle ensues Ethan is pulling the knife in your hand and forcing it backward the blade aiming for your throat but he doesn’t get very far because you end up head-butting him causing the knife to nick the right side of your jawline.

Ethan staggers back onto the counter before watching you slowly get up from the ground even though he loves the sight in front of him, watching you as you stretch your back just a little bit before turning around to face him. He doesn’t anticipate you throwing the knife at his crotch causing him to hop onto the counter at the last second as he let out an evil chuckle, closing his eyes for a moment. ‘I love it when my prey wants to play with me. If only you can play with me in other ways Y/n’ Ethan thought to himself. That was his mistake because when he opened his eyes next, you had the kitchen knife in your hand and you sliced upward cutting part of his stomach and his chest causing him to slide off the counter. He hit the floor as he groaned in pain. You slowly turn to your right to face Ethan on the ground, tilting your head just a tad, your eyes and face devoid of any emotion as you watch him struggle to get up from the floor. You watch as Ethan reaches for the island, slowly pulling himself up, you give him a chance to taste a bit of hope before thinking about snuffing it out. When Ethan is on his two feet he turns around to face you and even though he has some height on you and strength he’s now concerned for his safety as you approach him.

“Y/n let's talk about this,” Ethan says with a shaky voice trying to break you out of your emotionless state but he can’t, your eyes were on him like a dog locked on their prey ready to tear them apart so it caught him by surprised once again when you lunged at him with the kitchen knife. You aimed for his chest but he caught your wrists before you could do any more damage to him so now you both struggle against one another's strength even though Ethan can see the knife getting closer to his chest. Unknowest to you however Ethan hears the sound of keys going into the door causing him to smile as he stalls for a moment trying to make work of his own strength against your own for a little while longer. Then as he heard the door open and saw Chad about to walk through the door, Ethan directs the knife in your hand to cut his right forearm before screaming and falling to the living room floor.

Ethan’s scream catches Chad’s attention as he looks up briefly to look at you not seeing the knife before pushing the door open “WHOAH WHOAH!” he says aloud as he runs into the apartment causing Sam to push past Danny to see what is happening putting the grocery bags down on the island before walking over to you.

“Y/N? What happened?” Sam asked you as she walked in front of the island trying to get your attention, then she caught sight of the kitchen knife in your hand before looking over at Ethan seeing blood on his chest and forearm. But the lacerations even though they were big, they weren't big enough for her to care at the moment as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“What the fuck happened?” Mindy says standing at the entrance of the hallway fully clothed with Tara walking up beside her as both girls looked at the scene in front of them seeing Sam near you, Chad hunched over Ethan, and Danny near the couch with whatever medical supplies he had in the apartment.

“I wasn’t even in the bathroom for that long. What exactly happened while I was away?” Tara questions aloud before walking over to Sam with Mindy trailing behind her and as she got closer to her older sister she looked over to see Chad getting up before becoming confrontational.

“Chad wait!” Sam yells at Chad as she quickly walks in front of you to shield you while Tara and Mindy step in front of her to stop Chad in his tracks. The confrontation causes Sam to give Chad the sternest stare while you back up into the counter behind you, eyes focused on Ethan.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU Y/N?” Chad yells at you as he puffs up his chest stopping in his tracks near Tara and Mindy “First you hit him over the head at your apartment and now attempted murder?!” he spewed at you.

The accusation made Sam speak up “We don’t know that yet Chad now back off” Sam said sternly as she gave Danny a look to keep Chad at bay before turning her back to check on you but when she turned around she saw that you were backed up into the corner of the kitchen like a scared animal starting to tear up and visibly shaking in front of her. “Y/n, hand me the knife,” she asked you calmly as she slowly walked over to you with her hands up letting you know that she meant no harm to you but you shook your head as you stared at Ethan.

“Ethan. Explain yourself, what happened here?” Mindy asks him as she let her arms down for a minute before looking at her brother, briefly pointing at him, “Not a single word out of you” she says with an equally stern look occpanied by her stong voice.

“You can’t be serious!” he says exasperated as he slowly gets up from the floor with Chad’s help while looking at Mindy “I was making a sandwich on the island cutting up some vegetables and then after Tara left to go use the bathroom Y/n walked over to the counter to make herself a sandwich.” He says with tears in his eyes as he looks almost frightened “Then Y/n grabbed the bag of bread from the island and when I went to grab it back she tried to kill me” he says next as he wipes his eyes before staring at you causing Mindy to snap her fingers at him to focus on her.

After Ethan explained what he thought happened, Sam still kept her eyes on you not even looking back to acknowledge what Ethan was saying because she wanted to stay focused on you. You had gone through such a traumatic experience not that long ago and just like her little sister she wants to make sure that you are okay, even though her father's voice is telling her to keep you at arm's length when her heart is telling her to keep you close. But Sam shook her head before stepping into your view, blocking you from seeing Ethan as she watched your breathing go from erratic and slow to a calming breathing pace “That’s it Y/n, you’re doing great” she encouraged you in a whisper. Then Sam brought her hand slowly over your own that is holding the knife seeing as you grabbed the knife so tightly that your knuckles had turned white as she tried to further coax you out of letting the knife go. “Y/n, I need you to look at me. You are safe, now please let the knife go” Sam says to you in a low voice that causes you to look up at her brown orbs, and for a moment she sees you take a slow sigh of relief as you let go of the knife.

After Sam took the knife from you, you closed your eyes as soon as you felt Sam start to wipe the tears from your eyes before placing the knife on the side of the sink and wetting a napkin to use to clean the wound on your jawline. “Mmm,” you hummed in pain as you tried to move your face away from Sam’s hand before stopping yourself and sucking it up so that she can quickly clean up the blood on the side of your face. But at some point Sam stopped and then walked over to Danny’s junk drawer for a pack of band-aids so she could put one on you and when she did you looked away from her.

“What’s your story Y/n?” Sam asked you as she took the plastic wings off the sides of the bandaid that would stick to your skin as she gently placed the bandaid on your face before gently tapping the bandaid to make sure it was secured before asking you again “What happened while I was away?”

“I-” you started as your eyes started to drift to Ethan’s figure making Sam step into your view again and she watched as you took a deep breath while wringing your hands together “I don’t know. One moment I was in the kitchen trying to make a sandwich and the next..” You got quiet for a moment thinking about what had happened, something Sam took a mental note of as she saw the cogs in your head moving, watching your brows furrow in thought. “I was holding the kitchen knife and he was on the floor screaming,” you told Sam and she nodded at your answer before she noticed that you were staring at her eyes a little while longer.

From the look of your eyes, Sam could tell that you were leaving details out or at the very least trying to let her know that you did in fact remember something that happened to you two nights ago. Because Sam knows that you don’t like making eye contact for long periods of time with the exception of her and her family so she places her hands over your own in awareness. “Let’s talk somewhere privately after, okay?” Sam says to you at a volume that only you can hear before squeezing your hand.

You squeeze her hand back as a silent agreement before your hands part from one another. The lack of contact makes Sam take a deep breath as she turns around to walk into the living room until she catches a knife sticking out of one of the spare cabinets that Danny has. Sam quickly bent down to get the knife but she had to give it a few tugs before it came out so when she fully had the mini knife in her hand she looked at it before looking at Ethan. ‘What exactly did you do?’ She thought to herself before placing the knife down on the island before proceeding to walk into the living room making Tara and Mindy turn their heads eventually having a group conversation.

You on the other hand kept your distance from your friends who occupied the living room except for Danny as he made his way over to the kitchen in front of you. “I’m sorry about the cabinet Danny” you apologize to him in a soft voice but he just shakes his head before clearing his throat.

“As long as you are safe like everyone else..minus perhaps um that Ethan boy behind me” he says the last part in a whisper trying to lighten the mood for you before nodding his head gently with a smile “I wouldn’t worry about the cabinet door Y/n.” He reassures you before picking up the mini knife, bringing it over to the sink and then gently nudging you with his shoulder making you smile before cleaning some dishes.

Then you catch something moving to the right of your peripherals making you look past Danny and near the front door. Your eyes widen at the sight, your mouth agape.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

Stay in my mentions: @daddy-jareau @lummaland @screechcat @stickydefenderpersona @actavias-next-meat-bite @werewolfbansheelove @fanboy7794 @grandpatrolnut @alphawolfstabs @rainbowmess823 @womenofmarvellover @inactivecabbage @msboucles

Scream 6 : A Love so Understanding Playlist

I want to thank a few people in my life who helped me with the knife scene. My dad for trying to show me how to defend myself against someone who has a knife and my little brother for being a weapon nut and choreographing the knife fight with me scene in our kitchen on Thanksgiving. I would also like to thank @alkivm and my older sister for helping me figure out how to reword and better describe the different values and personalities between Quinn and Y/n.

If anyone was offended in any way by the previous version of the paragraph I do apologize for it and that I take full responsibility it was never the intent to write that paragraph that way.

#sam carpenter x reader #sam carpenter #sam carpenter x y/n #san carpenter imagine #core four #a fantasylandbitch presents a story: scream6 #autistic!reader

109 notes · View notes

ghost-mantis · 10 days

Text

Headcanon that Skrall as a species are essentially doomed on Spherus Magna.

Even though they are warriors of the highest caliber, 100,000 years of war, starvation, and the loss of every female of their species leads to a slow, inevitable decline.

Ruthlessly culling any member of their species that wasn't a high-class warrior meant that there was no investment in education or skilled labor. The only way their society functioned was to rely on pillaging and slave labor to obtain food, medicine, and essentially everything that didn't involve stabbing.

Given their very rigid social system, it didn't seem like female Skrall had much say or power in their society. On Bara Manga, the second they did get mental powers they were considered a threat and banished to the wilds. Canonically, the male and female Skrall also separated into two societies on Bota Manga.

After that point, the population replacement rate was 0 and the male Skrall were in an endless war with the Agori for resources. While they never really lost fights, that didn't mean that they weren't losing people to disease, injury, and old age.

And then Mata Nui came along and curb-stomped the only leader-cast member of their species they had left. The remaining male Skrall dispersed into smaller groups led by named Skrall or high-tier casts.

And then Teridax came along.

A huge portion of their remaining population was atomized when Teridax blasted their home in the Black Spike Mountains. The remaining groups decided to join the free-for-all fight between the Agori, Toa, Rahkshi, and Skakdi.

And even as amazing warriors in a normal fight, there's no way the Skrall did anything but get their shit kicked in against armies of beings with ranged supernatural powers. A sword is great, but not much use when all your opponents can do things like suck the oxygen from your lungs, or summon a mountant to crush you without breaking a sweat.

Plus, every Agori and Glatorian hates their guts and wouldn't hesitate to gut any Skrull injured or trapped by the absolute free-for-all that was Bara Magna.

Anyone who survived the bloodbath and subsequent reformation of Spherus Magna, including adding Bota Magna Skrull to their ranks, is still looking at a very grim future.

The Skrall are now outclassed by almost every sentient species (and most wildlife) on the planet in terms of power and resources. Their home and leader cast are gone, and they have no slaves left (all killed or emancipated by Toa) to produce goods or labor. Their species is still split into two societies by gender and getting together long enough to have kids probably isn't in the cards.

A few Skrall are hired on by the Dark Hunters, but given their lack of powers, they would be best as cannon fodder, or as combat trainers to beings with greater powers.

Every other remaining male Skrall group is going to have their shit kicked in by every other group the second they try to cause trouble. And the Baterra are probably still picking off warriors whenever and wherever they find them.

Their population has plummeted over the last 100,000 years and the remaining members of the species are essentially the last generation.

The best hope their species has is that the female Skrall, being less militant and having no mental powers left, join with Agori or Glatorian society. They might be closely related enough that they can have children with the Glatorian or Agori.

If so, any future Skrall are at most 50-50 genetically split with another species. Subsequent generations will have thinner and thinner Skrall genetics, and they'll be extinct as an individual species.

Given that they were absolute bastards as a species and society in-canon, that might be for the best. Banishing every member of your society that can have children, and then going to endless war with every one of your neighbors forever is essentially biological suicide.

#bionicle #headcanon #Skrall #Agori #Glatorian #Toa #Makuta #Teridax #Mata Nui #seriously the Skrall are dumb as hell #their entire society is like Sparta on cocaine #everyone ask them why they're not having kids #like millenials and gen z #it ain't the economy per say #it's that they have no economy #or powers #or ability to have kids

63 notes · View notes

tempestuous-lush · 2 years

Text

toss a coin

summary: you run into an old friend, geralt of rivia, while you are on the run. he offers you a safe refuge at kaer morhen, among other things.

warnings: unprotected sex, biting, fingering, i guess technically public sex (?), some small notes of violence. 18+ only, MINORS DNI

I am slightly nervous. My first time really fiddling with Geralt and I haven't written for a few weeks really so I feel a bit rusty. Hope fully we like this. I wanna dedicate it to @sweetieswiftie.

The cold was not something to which you were accustomed.

Toussaint had always been wonderful weather.

You thought longingly of the wine and food that could be found there, even as the barkeep in Creyden sat your food down before you. It was some sort of salted meat. He poured a foul-smelling mead into a cup to accompany it. Peering up towards him, you smiled. Your lips were full and a deep red, bringing forth the beautiful white of your smile, your green eyes half hidden beneath your thick heavy lashes from that angle. You knew the effect you had even before the man stammered a “your welcome miss.” After all, it was the look you had about you that had allowed you to get so close the emperor of Nilfgaard.

Angrily, you considered your failings at assassination that had caused you to flee so far up North. After all, anywhere near home and the hefty bounty on your head might become your undoing. Granted, a few had followed in your path to try and bring you back…or at the very least your head. You massacred them. There were few things you were as good at as killing. Though, everyone always underestimated you.

You stabbed a hunk of the salted meat with your fork and tore a piece off with your teeth before chasing it with the mead. A sense of comfort washed over you. The food and drink here, at least in the harsh winter, was meant to warm you…not impress you, and you respected it for that much, at least.

Though, as the doors opened and a gust of cold blew inside, your eyes automatically drew to the source. Green eyes landed on a witcher. Not just any witcher. Geralt of Rivia…the Butcher of Blaviken. Before his eyes landed on you, your hands drew your hood up, effectively shielding you from view, mouth the only thing visible in the shadows it cast.

You could tell by the way people reacted; he was as welcomed here as many of the places he visited. You quickly finished up the food and drink you had before slipped out and back into the night. The furs that lined the inside of your cloak did what the could to keep you warm, the heavy velvet of your hood doing the same. As you walked through the snow, boots managing to stay atop most of the depth, a voice drifted from the darkness, “Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you, little blade of Toussaint?”

Reacting physically before you could process, your hand unleashed a dagger that was sheathed against your hip, coated in a poison for which only you had the antidote. Geralt expected as much. He knew what you attempted, and he knew you weren’t going to speak with ease or trust when he saw you. Even still, he only barely managed to dodge the blade, the sound of it sinking into the wood behind him unmistakable.

You heard a sigh escape him, before he spoke again, “What are you doing this far North? No one closer to home willing to hide you from the emperor?”

“They’re too scared…or too greedy. What are you, witcher? Feeling greedy as well?” With a grace that was unmistakable you unsheathed your sword, and held yourself at the ready, hood falling away to reveal your features, “Because I won’t surrender easily…and I’m feeling untrusting.”

Geralt smirked a bit, the whiteness of his hair a sharp contrast to the wild darkness of yours. He spoke up, “Well, little blade, I’m definitely not feeling scared. Not of you.”

With a steadfast resolve you swiftly threw another dagger and used that as a means to move in, Geralt barely getting his own blade out. The sound of the metal clashing would have drawn attention had it not been too cold for people to venture outside. As he deflected your attack, you side stepped and pulled the dagger from the wood that you first threw. Even as you moved in for another attack, he regained his footing and pulled back. It was then that you realized he wasn’t on the attack. In attempt to feel him out, you swung high with your sword and as he blocked, you sliced at the skin of his thigh with the dagger.

Geralt let out a hiss of pain. The effect of the poison would be instantaneous. His movement was already slowed. Satisfied that he was subdued, you looked at him with skepticism, “Why…why did you follow me out here, Geralt? If not to take me in for the bounty, then what?”

His face was twisted as he answered, “To offer you a safe place to hide at Kaer Morhen.”

“Why? There is nothing that you owe me. There is no reason for you to offer refuge.” He had fallen onto one knee. You slowly walked towards him, sliding the tip of you blade beneath his chin, forcing him to look up at you. His features were rough, but those eyes still held your attention. They had all those years ago when you had crossed his path in Toussaint.

His eyes stared into your own, and he so wanted to see the green of them. The darkness hid them, though. He huffed before answering you, “There is no reason for you to die for what you tried. The emperor won’t lift the bounty until he knows you’re dead. So come with me, where you’ll be safe. Come on little blade.”

You pulled the blade back, “Fine. But the dagger I cut you with, there is a poison laced on it that would even effect you. I have the antidote. Let me patch you up. Trust me, you’d rather me do that first.”

“…fuck.”

“Relax, Geralt. You’ll be fine. Come on.”

It was slow going but you found a clearing lit up by the moonlight and had him sit down in the snow, but only after you removed your cloak and laid it out for the two of you to sit upon. You quickly ripped back the cloth of his leg, the flesh of the wound turning a nasty purple tinged with blue. A shiver raced through you as your fingers swiftly applied the antidote, until your fingertips shook violently, before finishing the application.

Forcing your way through the cold, you finished your work and fell to the ground, hands catching you but barely. A smile before you managed to shakily get out, “I’m afraid I don’t handle the cold very well.”

Geralt struggled to get to his feet, even though his body readily took the antidote and began to work. Stepping back, he looked down at you, “I have a way for you to warm up, little blade, if you like. Can’t have you half frozen by the time we reach Kaer Morhen. Come on.”

He helped you stand before throwing the cloak back over your shoulders, the warmth you received from that feeling minimal now. Reluctantly, you followed him to where he had left Roach. He helped you up first before climbing up after you. His body heat against your back felt nice, though you knew once the horse started moving the cold would bite at your face. Not to mention…what about your things back at the Inn? Geralt interrupted you as soon as you started to speak up, “I can come back.”

Of course, he already knew what one of your objections were. You pulled your hood around your face as Geralt led Roach further out into the wilderness, teeth chattering as you asked, “What makes you think I would be safe at Kaer Morhen?”

“Because the only ones who know the location are fellow witchers…and a few others that we trust implicitly.” He leaned down so that he whispered in your ear, “Still don’t trust me, do you?”

A smile spread upon your lips before you responded, “It’s the only way I’m still alive Geralt.”

Next thing you knew, Roach stopped at a clearing. You could see steam rising from a pool before you. A hot spring. Your bones nearly melted at the idea. Geralt swung down before helping you, though he knew you didn’t need it. You walked to the edge of the pool and reached down to feel it with your bared fingers. You wanted to cry at just how good that felt. You swiftly made short work of your cloak, outerwear, and boots before turning to Geralt, “You could join me if you like. The heat would help speed up the healing process. And after the bath house in Toussaint, a hot spring can’t be much different.”

With that, you stripped off the cotton tunic, leather pants and woolen socks. Geralt stole glances of your form as you slipped under the water, looking at the pile of your clothes and back towards you. He thought of the bath house in Toussaint and slowly followed you. As you turned around in the water, your dark hair trailing behind you, you saw Geralt stalking towards you before coming up short, “Why’d you do it, risk your life for an impossible task?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

A smile hinted at your lips as the two of you stood there, steam from the hot spring swirling between you. His face was unreadable, as usual, but the question implied some sort of worry, “Geralt, I watched the emperor order his soldiers to slay my entire family, just for him to return to his throne and eat his meal and drink his wine as if nothing had occurred. And I’m not the only one. Not to mention the countless wars fought in his name that have killed hundreds of thousands. And for what? A bigger kingdom? A grab for power? He is vile…evil. Evil shouldn’t get to live, let alone prosper. I would do it again if I could.”

Geralt’s hand reached behind you and grabbed at your hair, yanking your head back, exposing your neck. Holding you there, his eyes looked you over, “It’s rare to find someone so brave, and so stupid.”

Your teeth bit at your lower lip to suppress your laughter, even as your hand splayed out across his chest, his muscles firm and unyielding beneath your touch. The two of you stayed like this for some time, observing the other, until slowly your hand began to slip lower, disappearing beneath the water. You nearly moaned when your fingers wrapped around his cock, only half hard but already so big.

At the contact, something in Geralt snapped and his mouth came crashing down over yours, that hand of his still fisting your hair. You readily let his tongue into your mouth, the taste of him as good as you remembered. His hand free of your hair fell down your back before wrapping around the meat of your thigh and pulling up so that you wrapped your legs around him, breaking the kiss.

You leaned back, arching your chest so that he could lean over you.

His mouth fell hot on you, tongue lapping at the peaked nipples, lips closing and sucking them. Just as you grew used to the sensation, he would drag his tongue and teeth across your sternum and begin again. He hummed appreciatively, “Just as soft and beautiful as I remember, little blade.”

Freeing his hand from your hair, Geralt instead rested it on your upper back, right over the only scar you had. The only reason he knew it was there was because he put it there. You thought you could best him the last time you had met, and he proved otherwise.

“Tell me”- Geralt released his hold on you, allowing you to dip back in the water, his hand traveling between your legs before a finger edged at your folds – “does this still taste as sweet as I remember?”

Just as you went to answer your voice faltered, the thickness of his fingers pushing inside of you. His finger began moving, coaxing softly, and your nails dug deeper into his skin. You barely managed to reply, “H-how would I know that, Geralt?”

“You’re forgetting, I’ve seen you pleasuring yourself, fingers covered in your slick, and you licked them clean. If my little blade is a creature of habit, it wasn’t the first nor the last.” Geralt was groaning and speaking in hushed tones in your ear. It wasn’t to try and keep quiet either. No, while he spoke, he had slipped in a second finger and the sounds that escaped you were loud and incoherent and went straight to his cock.

He slipped his fingers out of you, which left you mewling for him, until he turned you around, ass towards him. The sounds of desperation died in your throat at the feeling of his hard cock pressed against you and his fingers dipping between your legs again, but this time for your clit. Geralt’s other hand palmed one of your breasts, twisting and pinching the nipple occasionally as his fingers circled your clit, aching for him to touch. Until finally, his fingers entered you again, this time his palm pressing against you. Every motion of his fingers caused his palm to rub against your clit and had you gasping and crying out, “Please, G-Geralt, please, give me all of you. Please.”

“Hmmm, guess I will have plenty of time to reacquaint myself when we get to Kaer Morhen.” And at that, Geralt turned you back around to face him. You quickly reached your arms around his neck and at the same time he stood to his full height, your legs wrapping around his waist.

He held onto both legs as he lowered you onto him. Geralt moaned as the head of his cock speared you, your pussy taking him in eagerly. You lapped up the water beads along his chest before sinking your teeth into the flesh of his shoulder. At that, he began moving you up and down, your pussy wet and ready. The way he stretched you open, just brushing your cervix with the tip, was delicious. Hands still holding onto him, you leaned your head back again.

The sound of skin hitting skin was intoxicating and you never wanted it to end.

Geralt remembered a few things about you. One in particular was that you enjoyed a bit of pain. So, as you leaned back, one of his arms held your lower back and he bit into the skin of your neck as he continued thrusting into you before dragging his tongue over the same spot. If your cry wasn’t enough of a sign, the way your pussy tightened around him was also plenty enough to tell. He continued biting and licking along your exposed skin, the way it felt along the sensitive skin of your chest, combined with the feeling of him driving into you. You were so close to a release. Something you hadn’t had in months and didn’t realize you so desperately craved. You felt your back beginning to tighten as he held you there, the warmth of the water relaxing your muscles even as they tightened, and you pleaded, “P-please Geralt. M’so close.”

With a grunt Geralt pushed you off of him and before you could so much as protest, he had you pushed up against the deeper side of the spring, your hands fumbling for a moment before finding rock to hold onto. Spreading your legs, he rutted into you the same time his fingers found your clit, biting your shoulder just as you had done to him earlier.

His pace was brutal, and suddenly your vision grew hot, and breath grew nearly feral until you were cumming hard and fast. Instead of pausing to work you down gently, he kept fucking you until you were truly wrecked. Your body was his in this moment. He took his hand from your clit and grabbed a handful of hair to yank your head back. His breath fell against your ear as he murmured, “Mmmm, look at you. You still feel so good to me. Let’s get you so satisfied you sleep the whole way to Kaer Morhen.”

Soon, he lived up to his words, and had you crying out half formed words as you tried to find them. The sound of the water sloshing about as he kept up his brutal pace. You had already cum once, and you were about to again. His large hand slid from your hair to your throat and pulled him close to you. All that you could focus on was the way he felt stretching you, filling you. Until, suddenly, your second orgasm hit you hard and fast and as you came, he slowed his thrusts, and you could feel him filling you with his cum.

As he let you go, he stared at you, those yellow eyes feeling as though they pierced your soul.

Instead of focusing on them, you gave a good laugh.

His head tilted to the side, “What’s so funny?”

“You know when I first heard it, I wasn’t sure, but I get it now. I really, really wish I had a spare coin to toss.”

He gave his stereotypical grunt before following up with, “I’m going to kill him.”

You watched as Geralt stepped out of the hot spring across the way before pulling a blanket from his pack to use to dry off. You were convinced you could see this at any time, and it wouldn’t be an unwelcome sight. A bit absentmindedly you noted, “Your leg already looks better, witcher.”

“Blood flow always helps.”

Not sure why, a blush spread across your face.

You boldly followed behind him and felt the cold hitting your skin before you were all the way out. Quickly you stole the blanket and began to dry off, desperately wanting the warmth of your cloak. By the time you were bundled up, Geralt was sitting proud atop Roach. He extended a hand and helped you up, making sure you were sitting in front of him. At that, Geralt gave a click with his tongue and a slight tap of his heel and Roach was off at a leisurely pace.

Surprising yourself, but not Geralt, you slowly drifted off to sleep until the brightness of the morning sun slowly wakened you. Off in the distance was what you were assuming was Kaer Morhen. Geralt felt you stir beneath him and he leaned down, “Welcome to your new home…however long you need it.”

#geralt of rivia #geralt x reader #geralt smut #geralt x you #geralt fanfic #witcher fanfiction #why am i nervous?#please enjoy!

1K notes · View notes

trancylovecraft · 9 months

Text

(KNY) YANDERE PLATONIC! KOKUSHIBO x SISTER READER: You, Shibou. I, Kokoro (CHAPTER THREE)

Previous Chapter ☆♡☆ Masterlist ☆♡☆ Next Chapter

AO3 link

CHAPTER THREE: "Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, jump now. You are absent of cause or excuse. So self-indulgent and self-referential, No audience could ever want you"

Aomori is called one of the snowiest places in the world, Often having a twenty two foot snowfall every year.

Snow can represent a lot of things such as youth or innocence but more often than not symbolises death, Snow being often considered an omen of such in some cultures.

Winds rushed and hit against the girls face like the aftermath of a levelled dam, Pieces of snow slamming into her face as she travelled through the blizzard. Tree's hit against each other in the wind, Fighting and bashing into the other within the forest.

Another nightmare, Just like the one last night. [F/N] sighed through her shaky jaw, Letting cold mist blow out into the hailing gale.

Forward, Place. It felt like the thick layer of snow she trudged in was trying to pull her down and swallow her whole, Clinging onto her foot as she put it down once again.

[F/N] wondered how far she'd get this time, How far she would get until her knees gave up on her and signal her end. Maybe she'd find an exit this time, A way to stop the dream entirely.

As she placed another foot however, Her knees buckled making her topple over into the snow.

She hit the white with a thud, Imbedding and enveloping her entire body into the cold freezing slush.

[F/N] cried out. No matter how many times she hit the ground it never got any less painful, It never stopped the frostbite sinking into her skin and reaching her organs.

She now laid in the snow unmoving, She knew it was useless to try and escape, The snow wouldn't let her go no matter how much she might of tried.

[F/N] closed her eyes, Waiting for the darkness to fade in fro-

"GET OUT!"

[F/N] flinched, A voice ringing throughout the clearing she was in. But that was impossible, The dreams never strayed from their pa-

"GET OUT, [F/N]! YOU NEED TO RUN!"

She opened her eyes, So wide that they were almost bulging out of their sockets.

With great effort she lifted her head, Pointing it in the direction of the voice. From beyond the treeline, Shrouded by the snow's mist, Was a dark figure.

"WE CAN'T STAY HERE, WE NEED TO RUN" It screamed, It's voice shrill and hoarse like it hadn't drunken in years. [F/N] tried to squint her eyes and get a better look, Heart racing at the new development.

"DON'T LET HIM CATCH US, [F/N]. DON'T LET HIM FIND US!" The figure hollered once more and suddenly the mist cleared away, Blowing off with the wind. [F/N] focused her eyes once more, Finally getting a good look at the figure.

[F/N] felt her heartbeat stutter and stop.

It was her.

A copy of [F/N] stood within the treeline. She stood in a fighting stance like she was preparing for impact, Hair and haori whipping around in the blizzard. Her face was wild and panicked.. She was terrified.

She was an exact replica, It was her in every physical way.. Except two.

The first was the markings on her face. Ones similar to the ones she'd see on her mask decorated the pained expression on her like a porcelain doll.

In the middle of her chest was a large stab wound, Blood still hot trickling out of it and oozing down to stain her kimono. [F/N] couldn't take her eyes off of it, Like a hypnotists watch swinging back and forth she felt like she was in a trance.

"WE CAN'T LET HIM CATCH US, HE'S NOT THE SAME. WE NEED TO RUN OR ELSE WE'LL NEVER GET AWAY, PLEASE [F/N] LISTEN TO US!" Her copy cried, Sobbing and breaking down now like a young child.

"W-Who.. Who is he..?" [F/N] tried to ask but it only came out as a strained whisper.

However that question was already answered by the shadow looming over her. [F/N] snapped her head up and came into view with the man in the purple kimono, Tall figure hanging over her.

She could see his face now. His face, His damn face..

[F/N] opened her mouth and screamed.

Six golden eyes pierced her, Six sharp bloodshot pupils honing in on her fallen form, All looking down at her like she was a piece of meat to consume. [F/N] tried to get away, She tried moving out from under the snow but it was useless.

His mouth was open to reveal a row of sharp teeth lain out like a collection of knives, Vampiric canines ready to lunge and gnaw into her arm as his own reached out to her, Trying to grasp whatever he could of her.

[F/N] screamed out for help as he tugged on her arm, Digging his two canines into her forearm. Blood burst out from the wound, Splattering all over her arm and his face as he bit into her muscle.

She cried hard, Red was everywhere as she felt him tug his head back. A sick ripping sound ech-

"[F/N]-SAMA!"

[F/N] shot up from her futon with a yelp, Waking up with a cold sweat dripping down her face. She was breathing like she ran a marathon and needed to grip the frame of the futon to steady her shaking.

"..[F/N]-sama? Are you alright?" [F/N] looked up to the doorway to see one of the handmaidens shuffling around awkwardly, Seemingly concerned.

[F/N] inhaled and exhaled, Trying to recollect her breath and thoughts as she tried to find a response amongst her scattered brain.

"..Another nightmare.. I apologise if I woke you up with any noise.." [F/N] said, Wiping off the excess sweat.

The handmaiden stopped, Then slowly nodded.

"I see.. You didn't disturb anyone if that's any consolation. I came because I we have a few more visitors to the shrine and I thought it would be of importance to alert you.." The girl who [F/N] recognised as Seijun, An older handmaiden, explained to her.

[F/N] sighed.

"Yes.. Alright. Go on." She said, Dusting off the stray hairs on her.

"Okay.. Well first of all two more slayers have decided to reside here for the time being along with Kamado Tanjiro and Nezuko, Himejima Gyomei and his tsuguko's. Their names are Hashibira Inosuke and Agatsuma Zenitsu, Both of Tsuchinoto ranking." Seijun explained, A cordial tone in her voice.

"..Really? More slayers..?" [F/N] groaned lightly

Seijun tilted her head lightly to which [F/N] noticed

"No. No..! Don't get me wrong, It's fine if they want to stay here I've just not been in the mood lately to deal with that sort of stuff right now.. Cause of, You know..?" [F/N] said, Adding the question at the end to gauge if she was aware of her other identity.

Seijun nodded.

"Yes, Your 'retirement'." She confirmed [F/N]'s suspicion. "I can bring you some tea to soothe your nightmare if that would please you, [F/N]-sama" Seijun offered.

[F/N] hummed.

"..That would be great, Thank you Seijun. But I would prefer if you could bring it to the desk in the library, I'll be heading there soon." [F/N] said, Swinging her legs over the side of her futon to get up.

Seijun nodded.

"I can do that, Do you need anything else from me?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine for now. Thank you, Seijun, You're dismissed.." [F/N] said, Smiling gently.

Seijun smiled back and bowed lowly before leaving the room, Closing the door behind her lightly with a click.

Then once again [F/N] was left alone to her own company, The silence so loud it felt like it was draining the life out of her.

She sighed before pushing herself up off the bed, Rubbing whatever sleep she had left in her eyes she made her way over to the shoji windows and pulled them open to let in the days light.

"Hm..?" [F/N] hummed. While the light had came in she had realised that it wasn't morning at all, It was in fact late evening when the sun was setting over the faraway mountaintops. Casting a dark shadow in the opposite direction.

[F/N] groaned as she felt the light breeze hit her face from the way in, She had only gotten at most two hours of sleep. It was going to be a nightmare on its own to go back to sleep.

The nightmare. [F/N] shivered both from the thought and the cold hitting her skin, Another reminder of what happened. The meaning of her vision evaded her, For months it had continued on and on without change. So why now did it deviate? Especially in the way it did.

"GET OUT, [F/N]! YOU NEED TO RUN!"

Her doubles words echoed around in her skull like a disturbed bat in a cavern. The wild inhuman look in her eyes appeared every time [F/N] shut her own, A haunting apparition. But what disturbed her the most was the man- No, It was a demon.

It had to be. [F/N] couldn't mistake those eyes for a second, All six of them jabbing into her while his maws ripped into her flesh, Tearing away the bloody meat from her bones and digging in like a pouncing lion to a zebras hind.

Her fingers twitched, Itching to get away from the imaginary threat.

She shut the window doors a little quicker than she should of, Trying to focus on her breathing to pacify her racing heart. It was fine, It was just a dream, Yet it felt so real.. It was just a dream right?

Even if it was just a dream, This wasn't something she could ignore. Something inside her resonated, Something screaming at her not to let this go, Telling her to run.

[F/N] decided she'd go down and pray at the Haiden later, After she had finished what she meant to do and consult Inari on what this meant.

Another throb came from within her chest once she took another breath in, Great. The pain in her chest hadn't subsided. Remembering the position of the sun and estimating the mountain height, Maika must not be back. It takes a lot of time to descend the mountain and get to the village, Especially in winter.

[F/N] coughed out another block in her chest with an ache, Yet decided to suffer through.

She moved quickly over to the closet and got ready. Slipping off her nightwear into puddle in the ground she hastily fastened over the obi on her kimono and tying it into a neat bow at the back, Her dragon blue haori hanging off her shoulders completing the outfit.

[F/N] finished it off by slipping on her blocked okobo sandals, Of which added a good few extra inches to her height.

She checked her form in the mirror, Running over every careful choice in outfit before deciding it was presentable enough.

With that she went over to the door and swung it open, Moving out down into the hallway.

Her sandals clacked against the wooden floorboards echoing out down the passage, As she moved she nodded and greeted several Kakushi, Quick hello's and how are yous as she went by. Small talk.

As the sun slowly set the Kakushi got more and more frequent.

Activity in the base starting to resurrect from the night before as she made her way through winding hallways, Passing tapestry after tapestry and doing the exact same over and over again.

Nearly at the library she turned a corner once more, Head turned away as she said hello before her body slammed into another.

Stumbling back like a new-born fawn she tried to catch her balance, The surprise of the connection dazing her.

"Ah! Apologies, I wasn't watching where I.." [F/N] trailed off, Finally looking up at the person she bumped into with a wide eyed stare.

"Ngh.. You were going, I know" The boy in front of her finished. He was young, Only around fourteen years old and an inch smaller than [F/N] herself.

"I.. Uhm.." [F/N] stuttered looking down at him. His unruly fluffy hair that was tied into small braid, His wide owl-looking eyes and face full of freckles. [F/N] recognised him, The one person she dreaded the most to run into.

She felt her chest throb, But not from her ailment.

"Ne.. Do you have anything to say or.. are you just gonna stand there..?" He drawled slightly, A slightly bothered yet innocent tone in his voice. [F/N]'s eyes darted all over him, examining every point of him before she realised his slayer uniform's top button was slightly undone.

"I.. You're top button is undone, Here let me.." [F/N] exclaimed, Reaching for his top collar before he backed away on an instinct.

"Ngh.. Please, Do not touch me. The feeling of most things disturb me greatly.." He said rather bluntly, Making small noises in between sentances. [F/N] bowed rather quickly in response.

"A-Apologies! I'll keep that in mind if we ever meet again.." [F/N] chuckled, Trying and failing to hide the awkwardness tinting her voice. The boy in front of her didn't particularly care though, Only staring back at her.

"..Ne, I am rather sure we will.. You are the head shrine-maiden and I expect my master will be wanting to greet you soon.." He spoke in a monotone lilt.

"Your master.. Right, Himejima-san. You are one of his Tsuguko.. Your memory is rather good.." [F/N] sighed.

"Yes, It is. Thank you." He replied.

The two stood in silence, Staring back into one and other. [F/N] watching the boy carefully, Like he was a explosive she was about to defuse while he looked back at her without a single care in the world.

"Ne.. Bye then.." He broke the silence before moving around her, Trailing off down the hallway.

"Wait, Hold on!" [F/N] exclaimed, Turning around to him.

He stopped in his tracks and lazily gazed back at her, Tilting a brow.

"Do.. you know my name?" [F/N] asked through a thick tone of hesitation in her voice. Though she was frowning her eyes glinted with a shine, Like she was expecting something great just out of her grasp.

He blinked, Only once.

"No. I was never informed."

[F/N] felt the light in her eyes extinguish, The burning embers of hope being put out by his single flow of words.

"Ah.. I.. I see.." She mumbled "..My name is [F/N].. If it means anything." She added on once more, Bowing down in respect.

He only gazed back at her and nodded curtly.

"Ngh.. I'll remember it.. Since its respectful.. I'll give you mine in return.. My name is Shizuko Himejima" Shizuko respectfully replied, lowering his head once more to her own.

And with that, He was off. [F/N] didn't try to stop him again, Only watched as he walked off down the now empty hallway. [F/N] pleaded to herself, Begging that he'd turn back and say something.

But he didn't look back, And soon enough he was gone.

☆♡☆

Snow danced lightly in the wind like swaying ribbons in gentle breeze. Maika slowly walked through the light layer of snow covering the ground as she searched for a market stall, A Kakushi trailing a few feet behind her.

The village was a few miles away from the shrine, Not too far yet enough distance as to keep it private from the residents who resided here.

Maika tugged her thick fashioned haori over her uniform a little tighter, The cold kept away by the warmth it brought her. She wondered how long it had been since she had left the shrine and descended the mountain.

She needed to get back soon, It was just about night-time and she didn't want to stay out long in case of a demon attack. Not to mention getting the medicine for [F/N]. Even if she was a new shrine-maiden it felt as if she needed to make up for her cowering out on being a slayer.

Getting the medicine for her boss was the least she could do to help out, If only a little bit anyways.

"It seems like they're selling herbs over there, Heihachiro-san." The Kakushi called out from behind her, Casually pointing out a rather crowded stall from within the street.

Maika gasped

"Ah! G-Great eye!" She exclaimed. Despite her chattering jaw, The soft smile gracing her face never left as she finally found what she was looking for.

"It looks rather crowded though.. Maybe we can find another stall the other way?" The Kakushi suggested, Eyeing the crowd hesitantly. Maika shook her head dismissively

"No, No! We're already here.. Come on, Lets go!" Maika didn't wait for a response as she was already off, Leaving the Kakushi back behind her.

"Wait up!" The Kakushi called out. Running after her as she finally reached the back of the small crowd, Where she tried to go on her tip toes to peer over the crowd.

Maika hummed, Trying to find a way through the crowd without disturbing anyone.

The Kakushi finally caught up to her and unlike Maika, Didn't particularly care about the crowd as he started pushing through them, Maika's arm in tow.

"Ah! S-Sorry.. Apologies! Uhm.." Maika stuttered, Trying to apologise to the disturbed crowd for her peer's ignorance as she was pulled along by the arm towards the front.

"Excuse me, Sorry. But we need these herbs here, Do you have them? It's for the shrine a little bit up north so please understand the importance." The Kakushi stated, Letting go of Maika's forearm and slamming his hands on the market desk.

"I-If you could sell us them, That is.." Maika added on.

The old merchant looked back at him, A little annoyed from the intrusion but when the shrine was mentioned his face had brightened.

"Ah right, That old 'Okami' shrine.. Heard you lot exported a lot from here.." The merchant said, Lazily rubbing his chin in thought.

"Yes, We do. Now can you please sell us what we need?" The Kakushi's exasperated breaths shown in the winter air, Quickly pointing at a heap of turmeric impatient to get back to the warmth of the shrine.

The merchant chuckled lightly.

"I suppose I could.. But it would cost you more" He said.

"What?!" The kakushi exclaimed.

"Yep, You type's tend to have a little extra cash on ya' and seeing as you just interrupted my business you wouldn't mind paying a lil' more for it?" The merchant said, Gesturing around to the crowd surrounding the two.

"No way! The price here says 1702 yen for a few clovers turmeric and that's what I'm gonna pay." The Kakushi argued, Pulling out a good few notes of roughly 1702 yen and holding out for the merchant to take.

Instead, He shook his head.

"Going to need at least 3800 yen for it." He said adamantly, Folding his arms over his chest.

"3800?! You've gotta be kidding me..!" The Kakushi exclaimed. But Maika couldn't hear the rest of the argument as she slowly backed away from the crowd, All viewing the ongoing spat like a dog on dog fight.

Maika stumbled out of the crowd, She didn't want to be apart of this. Maybe she should of listened to the Kakushi when he said to go to another stall, The seller here seemed rather.. Unpleasant.

By now the late evening had turned into an early night, Stars already starting to show themselves over the valley the village sat in.

She backed up further into her heavy haori, Asking why she ever decided to work in such an unbearably cold environment.

The argument by the seller stand had started to ironically heat up, Making the majority of the crowd sigh and give up trying to get anything and just go home to enjoy their slipping state of consciousness.

As several people walked past her out into the rest of the village she breathed in, Trying to puff up her chest and build the confidence to step into end the fight.

Maika put her foot forward but the snow she had been expecting to hit never came, Instead it was the feeling of a cold palm wrapping around her wrist and yanking her back.

"AH-" Her yell was quickly silenced by another hand slamming over her mouth.

"If you wanna keep your pathetic little life then you're going to shut the hell up, You hear?" Her assailant hissed lowly into her ear from behind, His voice boyish and full of sadistic joy as his inhuman strength held Maika in place.

She flailed around in the mans arms letting out muffled cries as she felt his claws digging into her skin. His presence was unmistakable.

This was a demon, She was being held hostage by a demon.

She wailed at the realisation. Tears already started to fall down from her eyes, Especially once the demon trailed a talon along her bottom eyelid, Lightly digging in as she squealed about.

"That includes struggling, Hold still!" He laughed akin to a young hyena, High pitched laughs lacing every crack in his voice like he was one too.

Maika instantly stilled in his hold at the drop of his command, Her breathing becoming ragged as if all the oxygen in the world was taken away from her. Who was he? If he was a demon why didn't he already bite into her and tear her limbs apart like his nature would suggest?

"Now here is how this is gonna go.. You're with that Kakushi over there right?" He questioned. Feeling the eyes burn into the back of her head she nodded feverishly in hopes of pleasing him.

"Good! Then you must be with the slayers then…" His sentence was cut off by another burst of manic laughter, Making Maika yelp "This is great..! Only I could've got such a good catch.." He chittered to himself.

Maika felt her heart stop, He was fishing for information. Her breathing picked up, Was he going to torture her? Kill her? She couldn't be here, She couldn't believe it. There was no way.

Yet the feeling of claws circling her neck said otherwise.

"P-Please.." She whispered out through his hand, Voice pleading, Begging to be let go. She watched the Kakushi from the alleyway. It seemed like he had gotten the turmeric and had realised her absence, Calling out her name and looking around.

"Don't make a sound" He threatened.

No.. Maika's stare burned into the Kakushi, To peer into the alleyway, Begging to Inari for him to notice her state and get help.

But he never looked her way, Lightly stumbling in another direction.

She felt her hope shatter into a thousand pieces, He couldn't see her, Not from the alleyway. Maika knew that even if she complied with the demon- No. This monster's demands then he wouldn't let her go, She'd make for a quick meal.

Maika would be forgotten. What had she even done in life? Only finally pass final selection just to cower out and reserve herself to a shrine, If she died here, Nothing would change. Would anyone even mourn?

His claws pressed further into her neck, He'd kill her. He'd kill her no matter what she said.

Maika took a deep breath in. If that was the case, Then she knew that she had to at least try, To try and live another day.

She suddenly unsheathed her Kaiken from her hakama trousers.

Kaigaku didn't even have time to react as it punctured his neck.

"Ack!" He choked out, A spray of blood erupting from his neck as the maiden slipped from his grasp in the split moment he let go.

"OVER HERE!" Maika screamed out as she dashed into the wide open street. The kakushi turned around to see her running frantically towards him.

"Gr.. Ah!" Kaigaku hissed as he grabbed the Kaiken, Yanking it out of his neck.

"Demon attack, There's a demon! We've gotta go, NOW!" Maika yelled at the Kakushi, Who stood their wide eyed. Grabbing him by the wrist they both started running down the rocky pathway.

"You bitch!" Kaigaku yelled after her, Stepping out into the moonlight of the pathway and watching them go.

Maika kept running through the empty streets, The Kakushi quickly in tow. She didn't know how powerful this demon was as she didn't get a good look at it, She wouldn't get one now, She couldn't bare to look back at it.

"We need to hurry, Get back to the shrine and alert a slay-"

In a flash of black lightning Maika tumbled down to the floor, The snow barely cushioning her fall as she yelled out in pain, A skin-deep sword slash cutting open the back of her kosobe.

"Heihachiro-san!" The Kakushi called out, Stopping only a few metres away as he looked out at the scene.

Kaigaku stood over her, His sword drawn as he pressed a foot down into the peak of her back. His face was contorted into a scowl as he glared at the girl, Quite literally an ant under his shoe.

"You little bitch..!" He growled. Maika was winded, The breath completely taken away from her as she turned around to finally look at her assailant.

Her eyes widened, He was only a boy.. Could of only been in his teenage years yet the black whites of his eyes said he was a demon.

But what really disturbed her was two things entirely, The first was his slayer uniform. He use to be a slayer, One of them.. He use to be one of them.

But his eyes were the most terrifying.. Lightning blue irises with the kanji 'Upper Six' ingrained deep into them, Making Maika's heart feel like it was choking up her throat.

This was Uppermoon six.

"Ballsy move there.. But did you really think that pathetic little blade could stop me? Come on! Wound's all gone now anyways, See?"

Kaigaku said. Gesturing up at his neck to find that the puncture had already disappeared, Not even a speck of blood remaining.

"P-Please.. Just let us g- AH!" Maika was cut off by a sharp kick to her side, Making her scream out in pain.

"Shut up!" Kaigaku hissed, Leaning down to her level he showed off his row of sharp, tigerish teeth. Sadism near radiated from him in that moment when he lowered his clawed hands to her eye.

But then he jumped back in order to avoid the swinging nichirin blade, Neigh slicing at his neck.

The Kakushi stood in front of Maika in a defensive stance. He was terrified, Maika could tell as his knees almost buckled under him from the shaking. Yet he still held up his sword to the upper rank anyways.

Kaigaku finally took notice of him, Seemingly too invested in getting back at the maiden who put a hole through his neck before even realising he was there at all.

"Ah, The Kakushi! There you are.." Kaigaku exclaimed.

"Heihachiro-san.. Run.. Get out of here, I'll handle this!" The Kakushi proclaimed, Yet his voice was as shaky as the hold on his sword. He wouldn't take his eyes off of the demon in front of him while motioning for her to go.

"B-But you.." Maika stuttered.

"Just go!" The Kakushi said, Finally taking a quick glance at her. His stare was the finality.

Maika only nodded as she scrambled to get up from the frozen pavement, The wound on her back starting to bleed only a little as she quickly caught her balance, All before taking off in a mad dash towards the start of the mountain pathway.

"Oh no you don't! You're not getting away from me!" Kaigaku yelled after her. Swiftly drawing his sword once more but was stopped by the Kakushi, Who took another slice at him down the middle. Once more Kaigaku dodged, An easy task for him.

"My duty as a demon slayer, I won't let you get to her.. E-Even if it costs me my life" The Kakushi said, The dawning realisation of his imminent death finally coming upon him as tears started to dust his eyes.

Kaigaku grinned, Wide and toothy.

"You said it, Not me!" He laughed, Charging at the man with his unsheathed nichirin.

He didn't even realise that his arm was lobbed off until his body hit the ground, A wide spray of blood coating the pavement like paint.

The Kakushi screamed, A loud primal noise erupting from the deepest chords in his throat as he watched his tendons and ligaments be torn from its sockets. Blood still spurting out from the wound as he cried out into the night.

He writhed around on the ground, Screaming out in pain as he kicked and flailed about. Kaigaku laughed at the sight, As he slowly approached the man once more.

"Not so high and mighty, Are you? You thought you could protect that pathetic girl and.." Kaigaku paused.

The girl.

He quickly snapped his head up, Looking back and forth to try and find where she had ran off to, Yet it was no use, She was nowhere to be found.

Kaigaku let the realisation hit him before yelling out in rage.

Completely ignoring the maimed Kakushi on the ground in favour of breaking a group of barrels, Letting the pieces break and shatter into a thousand pieces on the floor.

"Damnit.. DAMNIT!" He cursed, Stomping the last of the pieces of wood under his sandals with several hefty thuds as he gripped his hair, Almost ripping it out from his scalp.

His breathing was heavier than his anger in that moment, His body rapidly trying to calm himself down. How could he let an insignificant, Cowardly little shrine-maiden get away? It was unfathomable. How could the cat let the mouse slip through its paws?

He needed to chase after her, She couldn't get away! It would be a disgrace to him, An absolute embarrassment.

He was brought back to reality by another groan of pain from the Kakushi, Who was trying to crawl away with what arm he had left. Kaigaku felt his heartbeat start to steady, The rapid pace mellowing down into a slow thump.

It didn't matter, He got what he came for. The Kakushi would of had more information than some nobody anyways, There was no reason to chase after her. After all, The Kakushi had the information to lead him to wherever she went. Two birds with a single limb.

☆♡☆

The sound of lead scribbling away at paper seemed to fill the room, Such a miniscule sound yet it felt so loud within the confines of the library.

[F/N] groaned. Putting down her quill and grabbing the paper she scrunched it up in her hands and tossed it aside with all the other ones.

She placed her face inside her palms and started to massage her temple. The irritation inside her started to build like bacteria multiplying with the illness of it peaking into frustration.

The library was rather empty. The walls and rows of books stretching to the ceilings were only walked past once or twice, Either by the odd handmaiden or [F/N] herself, Going on a walk to try and calm her nerves.

She tried once more, Picking up the warm cup of sake-infused tea Seijun made and taking another quick sip. [F/N] felt the warm liquid go down her throat, The tea doing nothing to soothe herself but instead remind her of the state of her chest as she lightly coughed.

Setting the tea down [F/N] chided herself for feeling like this. She didn't know why she felt the way she did. Was it the nightmare? Was it the chest pains? Or could it be Shizuko.. The sudden meeting still fresh in her mind, Clear as day.

Maybe it was all of them. A combined effort of built up inconveniences that left such a sour aftertaste in her mouth, Tea doing nothing to wash it down.

[F/N] looked down at the desk she was writing at. The library was large, Probably the biggest room other than the haiden in the entire shrine. While it mostly consisted of tall ceilings and open shelves for people to pick out a book, [F/N] sat in a little nook tucked away at the very back of the library home to only a desk and a candlestick to illuminate her writing.

It was something she had been meaning to do for a few weeks now, A single piece of paper she had been meaning to write yet had put off like a chore. Even when she started to write down the first few letters the meaning would muffle, Causing her to get annoyed and scrunch the paper up and throw into the ever-growing pile.

[F/N] pulled out another blank sheet and placed it out in front of her. She sighed, Trying to gather her thoughts of what to say.

She needed to get this just right. She couldn't be too emotional but she couldn't exactly be too uptight either, There was a sweet spot she was hoping to hit, A perfect balance for her to write with.

This was stupid, She thought. Why was she even doing this in the first place? Maybe it would be better if she just didn't write anything at all. It would be easier for her anyways, But if she left things unspoken then how could there be any closure?

No. She needed to do this. Maybe not for her or not actually for the closure but there was an explanation that needed to be said, Something she at least owed to her. Ironically she didn't think she could live with herself if she didn't say something.

Picking up her quill once more she lowered it towards the paper. She knew she needed to say something, But what? There was so much yet so little at the same time, Where would she start? How would she say it?

Thoughts rushed in her mind and circled around her head like storm clouds. Everything from earlier still striking with them inside her. Shizuko.. How would he feel about this? Would he be disappointed in her?

If he actually knew, That is.

[F/N] paused the movement of her quill.

She shouldn't be thinking about him, Not after all this time. He doesn't even remember who she is.

[F/N] placed the tip of the ink dipped quill onto the paper and began to write once more. No thought went into the strokes and the lows of the quill, Just mindless word spill as it danced in her hands.

It was the culmination of the past few hours, Days, Months to years. Everything she had been wanting to say overflowed on that single sheet, Every word thoughtless yet held such weight to it as it finally got spoken.

The quill circled, The final period written down.

[F/N] picked up the piece of paper lightly, Bringing it up to the candle to read over her writing. Her eyes softly examined every word, Every letter and paragraph was carefully read over.

She set the paper down.

It was good, Good as it will ever get.

[F/N] took the piece of paper and a tea-stained envelope. Folding it up delicately she placed the paper inside of the envelope, Licking it and folding it with care she took the candle holder from the side of the desk.

She grabbed the candle and tilted it slightly, Letting the wax drip onto the core of the envelope.

Once she was satisfied she pushed it down with a little fox stamper, Creating the wax seal and completing the letter.

She tucked it away in an embedded pocket of her haori, Neatly settling it inside. She had finished. A sudden hit of serenity washed over her, A calm peacefulness finally filled the oxygen around her, A kind of feeling that was few and far between.

Picking up her half-drunken cup of tea she placed it up to her lips, Intending to finish it as reward for her work.

She let her mind drift off as she tasted the sugar and sake mix together on her tongue, A bittersweet taste ruminating as it went down her throat and fill her stomach with a comforting warmth. However it didn't last long as a sudden coughing fit interrupted her, Making her spit out the tea in her mouth.

She coughed harder, Placing her head into the inside of her forearm she set down her tea. The pain in her chest had kicked up without warning, Making the tea in her throat go out the other way.

She grabbed a tea towel and wiped her mouth with it, Finally getting the last of the residue out of her throat. The annoyance finally rising up inside her once more.

It reminded her, Where was Maika? Looking at the little pocket watch sat on her desk it had been two hours since she had woken up, Making it exactly five hours she had been out. While the mountain was hard to traverse it surely wouldn't take this long, Would it?

It was winter, Maybe the markets had a low stock and she had to search longer for a stall actually selling herbs. Maybe it was a little snowier than usual and they had to be a little more careful.

[F/N]'s brow quirked. Even though there was a myriad of reasons why she could be taking longer than usual, She still couldn't shake off the bad feeling underlying it all. A feeling that made her feel like she was drowning..

She finished off her tea, Sipping down the last of it and setting it down.

As it didn't before, It couldn't calm her nerves.

She could only hope that Maika was alright.

☆♡☆

Run. Just keep running. That's what Maika told herself as she rushed throughout the snow like a madwoman, Desperate and begging to reach her destination.

Her lungs burned from exhaustion yet she kept on going. The slash made at her back had cut open her kosobe leaving her vulnerable to the elements, The cold seeping inside of every pore on her body and soaking up every little bit of the frostbite.

The wound itself wasn't as skin-deep as she thought since she could feel the droplets of blood coming up and running down her back She supposed she was lucky however, If it was any deeper she doubted she'd of been able to make it this far.

Traversing through the forest was something she did often, Just not in the winter. In the summer it was a common activity for the handmaidens to run around and pick the local produce: Nuts, Berries, Flowers. They did it so much that the layout of the entire forest was ingrained deep into Maika's memory.

Though she couldn't deny the difficulty in the winter. The frost had made it slippery, Making it a task in of itself not to trip over and bash her head in on a rock. The light fog concealed her vision too, Only a good few metres in front of her being perceived at all.

She pleaded to Inari, Begging that the Kakushi she had left behind would be alright. That he would somehow survive, Be in one piece at the very least. But she knew in the back of her mind, By the number in that demons eye she knew what would become of him.

Maika kept going, Stumbling only a little as the mountains terrain got a little rockier, Just a little steeper as she kept going. The fog got a little thicker as she went along too, Eventually to the point where it was neigh impossible to see.

By the time she knew she was lost her legs felt numb, Cold to the touch.

But she kept going anyways, Determined in her goal.

☆♡☆

The dark hallway of the inn was only illuminated by the dim embers of the candles lining it in holsters.

Heavy thumps of both footsteps and the dragging of the Kakushi's body was the only noise in earshot, The rest as silent as a killer.

The Kakushi was barely conscious, His vision a messy blur as he felt so much lighter than before. His mind was in pieces too, Barely registering objects he bumped into and the tiny light from the candles seemed blinding to him, Making him writhe around.

Kaigaku had a firm hold on the mans neck, Claws itching to wring it but refrained from the sheer opportunity he held in his hands. A crudely made bandage stopping the bleeding going any further.

Kaigaku stopped in his tracks once he reached the end of the hallway, Standing face to face with a door not unlike any other they had passed. Just a simple, Mahogany wood door.

But Kaigaku took in a deep breath, Interrupted by nervous jitters. He looked himself up and down adjusting both his uniform and his hair just before reaching a clawed hand out and lightly knocking.

Knock

…

"Come in."

The voice called out from behind the door. Kaigaku took one more breath in before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

It revealed a wide open bedroom, An expensive one that the inn owner would only rent out to high-paying customers. Though it would be impossible now as her mangled corpse lay on the table, Limbs spread out like a religious painting.

"M-Master!" Kaigaku called out. His previous arrogant and cocky demeanour now washed away into a nervous and skittish behaviour as he cowered in the doorframe, Looking back at the other man. A complete switch in a single second.

Kokushibo sat at the table on his knees. The corners of his lips smudged with red as he held the inn owners leg in his hands, A large chunk already gorged out from the bone and down the gullet of her killer.

"What do you want, Tsuguko?" Kokushibo asked. His deep voice as stoic as ever, Even while holding the severed arm of his meal it never wavered in the slightest.

"I-I apologise for interrupting you sir but-!" Kaigaku didn't finish, Just hung up the maimed body of the Kakushi like meat on a hook. Grinning with nervous joy, Pleased at his catch.

Kokushibo stared dead eyed at the incapacitated body of the Kakushi, Watching him loll his head to the side and squirm around in his Tsuguko's iron grip.

Kaigaku looked back at his master, His grin however pleased it was still shook at points. Feeling his heart throb in his chest he could only wait.

Finally, Kokushibo put down the severed leg of the inn owner to be absorbed later. He got up from the tatami mat and dusted off his kimono, All six of his eyes never leaving the body for a second.

Kaigaku watched him walk over to them both. The Kakushi, Despite his head and his body in pieces was somehow acutely aware of the shift in the air, Seemingly going still in Kaigaku's grasp as Kokushibo now stood only about a foot away from him.

His hand reached out, The Kakushi barely recognising the clawed hand examining his uniform. Tugging and feeling the consistency of the fabric.

He hummed. A deep gravelly kind of reverberation came from his throat, Reminiscent of what an animal would make while cornered.

"A Kakushi.. This is good work… I congratulate you on your efforts, Tsuguko.." Kokushibo said, The tension finally broken Kaigaku deflated. Shoulders slumping as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, All in favour of smiling like a madman at the praise.

The Kakushi groaned at the sudden speech as he lightly tugged his head up, Only to come face to face with six blurry golden eyes staring him down.

"Ggh-!" The Kakushi yelped, Only to be cut off by a sputter of coughs and gags like something was lodged inbetween his throat, Which was now squeezed tightly in between a single palm.

Kaigaku let go of the Kakushi and let Kokushibo handle it now, Watching as he was raised to reach his masters own towering height. The Kakushi quickly blinked his eyes as he continued to cough, The fuzz in his vision clearing away.

Kokushibo's terrifying visage was now on full display to the man so unfortunate to gaze upon it. Six eyes, Six golden bloodshot eyes pierced and stung at his skin like a thousand wasps as he widened his own.

Uppermoon one.

This was Uppermoon one.

The Kakushi couldn't look away from the kanji in his eyes, Like a horrible wreck he was faced with he couldn't bare to take his eyes off him for a single second. Even as he felt the demons talons dig into the skin of his neck he never felt a single bit of it.

"And you found him doing..?" Kokushibo queried, Drawling out every little syllable.

"B-Buying stuff from a merchant." Kaigaku responded.

"And in his uniform.. Interesting." Kokushibo mumbled under his breath, Seemingly lost in thought.

Suddenly his claws jagged in a little deeper to the Kakushi's neck, Making him groan out in pain as he felt blood start to trickle down the demon's fingers.

"He is conscious… You can hear what I am saying, Yes?" Kokushibo asked.

The Kakushi nodded slightly. The undertone of the demons voice contained a low threat, A small warning. A warning for what he might do to him if he didn't answer him back with what he wanted.

Kokushibo brought the man down.

"Good.. Then you will be able to answer as well.." Kokushibo said. Kokushibo suddenly reached to the side of his waist and gripped his sword hilt. The Kakushi finally pried his eyes away from the demons only to see the sharp of a flesh forged blade, Pointed straight at his jugular.

The Kakushi cried out as he started to flail around in Kokushibo's grasp, Desperate to get away from the blade.

"Now.. I understand that you slayers are not very.. Compliant with us." Kokushibo started.

He pressed the tip of his sword just a little further into his neck.

"So to act as a bit of encouragement.. I highly suggest that you start talking.. Otherwise it wont just be an arm you'll lose.."

☆♡☆

"Thank you again.. [F/N]-san. There are no words I could say to appreciate your generosity and kindness.."

The room sat high on the second floor of the shrine, One of the bigger ones housed within the walls. It had tall ceilings and a wide open floor plan, The only furniture was a simple large tatami mat and hanging tapestries depicting Shinto lore.

It gave the room a long kind of look. The tapestries were overlain like paint on a portrait making the room seem wider than it really was, Not a bad look. Just mildly clustered.

Gyomei sat along one side of the room, The one with the door. Behind him sat a menagerie of different people, All of them slayers.

Some of them [F/N] recognised. Genya sat beside Gyomei, Sitting appropriately on his knees and intently listening in to the conversation. The other she recognised was Tanjiro, Who sat a little behind the Hashira with another girl she didn't quite recognise.

There were a few others too that she didn't know of. A boy with a boar head struggled to stay still on the tatami mat while another boy with canary coloured hair held his head low, Not looking up at all.

And then there was Shizuko, Who sat to the other side of Gyomei. His wide eyed stare was ever there, Examining the entire room top to bottom to commit it to memory.

[F/N] tried her hardest not to look at him for too long.

"It's alright. We here have opened up our shrine to you slayers for a reason, You are completely free to come and go as you like.. As long as you stay respectful to the integrity of this place, That is." [F/N] said, Her soft tone matching her smile as she thanked the Hashira.

[F/N] sat at the opposite end of the room facing the group of slayers, Seijun sat beside her. She had tried to avoid Gyomei all throughout the day yet she supposed that it was bound to happen eventually. Gyomei, As much as she rather disliked him, Was always a cordial and respectful man. So it basically threaded in fate that he would want to thank her.

Gyomei rattled his beads

"Thank you.. [F/N]-san. However I must apologise for my college, Fujimori.. I've been searching for him around the shrine but I am unable to locate his whereabouts. So I would like to thank you on his behalf and apologise for his disrespect.." Gyomei said, Bowing his head lightly.

[F/N] felt herself let out a tiny relieved sigh, Despite his impeccable senses he was completely unaware of her little Jekyll and Hyde charade. She lightly thanked Inari under her breath.

"Ah, It's fine.. I honestly don't mind, It's not a necessity to thank us for our hospitality but I do appreciate the effort. I'm sure Fujimori is thankful" [F/N] said, Bowing her head straight back to him.

"Even so.. It would of been more respectful to your shrine if he did offer thanks." Gyomei replied, Silently crying over the disrespect from Fujimori, Assumedly at least. It was always hard to tell.

"No, No. Really, It's nothing that I- Ack!" [F/N] keeled over, A sudden coughing fit burst out from within her throat.

Seijun quickly got up from her position behind [F/N] and to her side.

"[F/N]-sama.." Seijun said, Lightly patting the centre of her back as [F/N]'s sputters died down into low wheezes. Gyomei was already across the room in a second, Now kneeling down in front of the two.

"[F/N]-san.. Are you alright?" Gyomei asked.

"Y-Yes.. I'm fine. My chest is just a bit painful right now.." [F/N] said however strained her voice was.

"How long has it lasted?" Seijun asked, Using her hands to examine the low of her back to the peak of her neck for any damage.

"Since a few hours ago.. We were out of anything to use as a remedy so I sent a shrine-maiden down to the village to buy some more.. But.. She hasn't come back yet." [F/N] replied. She warily lifted her head towards the clock.

"About five hours and thirty two minutes ago to be exact.." [F/N] said.

"That is.. Not normal.." Gyomei replied.

"Correct, She should of been back by now.. I would've gone to check on her but with both my duties and my chest pain I'm not fit to." [F/N] explained.

It was true, The speck of worry she had felt before only grew into bigger and bigger every time she was reminded of her pain. Maika should of been back by now. She was a shrine-maiden and had most likely committed the mountain's layout to memory, It was a given. But with the winter it could of been made tricky.

What if she had dismissed [F/N]'s orders of wearing warmer clothes? What if she didn't find a Kakushi to help escort her? [F/N] bit her tongue, She didn't want to know what could've happened to her.

While they were never that close, The shrine-maidens here were one thing of three that she cared for dearly. She didn't want them to die, Not any one of them.

"If you desire, I will go and search for the shrine-maiden." Gyomei offered, His ever-sombre voice breaking [F/N] out of her thoughts.

She smiled lightly.

"If you could, That would be amazing, Himejima-san." [F/N] nodded. It was good, Gyomei despite his blindness was rather extraordinary at tracking down people, But more often than not it was demon's.

Gyomei nodded.

"H-Hey!"

A voice called out from the group of slayers. [F/N] peered over Gyomei's shoulder to see the younger canary haired kid. He was rather short and wore a nervous expression that never seemed to fade, Something that [F/N] noted.

"If you're gonna go down the mountain.. I'd like to come along, No offense but this place is pretty creepy.." The boy said. He was eyeing a specific tapestry depicting several creatures with rather ugly expressions. He shivered like a wet cat while looking at it.

An irrational coward to an unbelievable degree, Something [F/N] also picked up about him. The tapestries were everywhere around the shrine and if he was uneasy by one of the smaller ones then [F/N] could only imagine what happened when he saw the others.

"Not for me! These demons don't scare me in the slightest!" The boar headed kid beside him suddenly yelled and jumped up onto the soles of his feet.

"I could take any of them on easily, Especially that one! It's no match for Inosuke, God of the mountains!" Inosuke yelled once more, Pointing towards some unknown point in the tapestries.

"It's just a banner! It's not real, Inosuke!" Tanjiro called out to him.

"Heh?! Of course they're real! Why else would they be made into hides?" Inosuke retorted, Which seemed to start a full on argument across the room as the other kids joined in.

[F/N] watched over them and groaned, Pinching her temples.

"Listen, Himejima-san. Thank you so much for doing this, Just get the slayers who want to come along with you and try to find her." [F/N] spoke, Returning the conversation to the two adults as the argument went on in the background.

"Alright.. Do you have any description of what this maiden looks like?" Gyomei asked.

[F/N] hummed.

"Her name is Heihachiro, Maika. She's pretty small, around 5'3.. Erm.. Blonde hair and dark eyes. She's assumedly wearing the shrine-maiden uniform.. With ribbons in her hair too." [F/N] said, Trying to give as much details as possible.

"Understood. I'll try to recover her as soon as possible." Gyomei got up from his kneeling position and bowed in front of her. [F/N] returned the gesture, A genuine display of gratitude.

"Thank you. Stay safe, Okay?"

☆♡☆

Splatters of red crimson painted the corner the Kakushi's body was slumped in. His limbs numb, So numb. It felt as if they weren't even there anymore, Like that they were torn from the sockets and were laying on his lap on display.

But that wasn't true, Was it? What time was it, He didn't know. Where was he, As well? It was so dark where he was that couldn't even see a foot in front of him, Only feeling it severed from his ankle.

He was so tired, As if the weight of the entire world was collapsing on top of him, Unable to carry it no longer. He couldn't even feel the tears in his skin, Thousands of them adorning his skin like papercuts bleeding him dry.

The tilt of his head, The feeling of a flesh forged blade titling his head up to meet the face of his assailant.

He wanted it to end, His life. He couldn't go on anymore, He didn't care. The pain was too much for him to bare that he just wished the curtains could close and never open up again. Everything hurt so much, Everything.

"Now.. Are you ready to tell us..?" His assailant asked. The shine of his eyes like lighthouses in a storm-ridden night, Looking down at the broken wreck of a man in front of him.

The Kakushi opened his mouth, Saliva mixing with iron he finally spoke out in a raspy whisper.

"F-Fine.."

☆♡☆

Candles lit up. Small embers growing from the wax as they met with the other creating a dim yet comforting light in the haiden.

Baskets of weaved straw bustled around the entire hall. All of them were filled with some sort of offering: Flowers, Fruit, Bottles of Sake and rice grains. All in favour of pleasing the deity enshrined here.

[F/N] walked slowly along the long drawn carpet. Moving past the lit candles, Hanging tapestries and woven baskets as she finally reached the altar.

It was the heart of the haiden, The pandemonium of the entire shrine.

The offerings grew heavier here with candles sprinkled in between the cracks, Ever burning bright in the dark shadows of the hall.

She dusted off her kimono and settled herself down in front of the altar, Making sure to get comfortable on her knees as she knelt before the wooden haiden. She took in a deep breath, Ready to speak The nightmares, The thing she had came to ask about. [F/N] had prayed to Inari before about them, Mostly praying for them to stop during ceremonies or on her own personal time.

They never did stop however. [F/N] often wondered if Inari was listening at all, If her prayers really were getting heard.

Or maybe it was because her nightmares were meant to happen. It wasn't exactly unheard of people getting prophetic visions through their dreams, It was actually a rather common story among demon slayers.

Insight of a past life, Views into future events. It was all rumours spread around the metaphorical water-cooler, Tales of visions spread through dreams. While [F/N] was rather sceptical of these claims she knew how the kami were said to work, She supposed it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

And now as she knelt at the altar she had supposed that maybe they were true after all.

But still, The newest dream still fresh in her mind ate away at her bit by bit. If they were visions, They were rather subtle before. Maybe not even serving a higher purpose but remembering the primal scream of the voice and the raw look of terror in her double's eyes made her stifle her breath.

She couldn't make sense of it, Not in the slightest.

Letting out the deep breath she was holding she clasped her hands up into prayer. Closing her eyes she prepared to ask.

"Ō-Inari.. Please, Hear my call."

☆♡☆

The crunching of snow came out from under his sandals, Heavy thumps making their way through the endless gale as he ascended upwards.

Kokushibo marched forward, The cold being nothing but an annoyance coming in from around him. His eyes narrowed as he felt something else crawl up his spine, A reminiscent emotion. One he hadn't felt in centuries as Kaigaku followed him close behind.

The Kakushi had finally given up information to the two, All in exchange for his torment to finally end. Kokushibo thought it was pathetic, Such a weak little human he was. Both in strength and in mind.

He had spoke of a Kakushi base, The place where the majority of slayer operations originated from. It was good information, One of the best leads any of them had had in years.

"T-The Kakushi said that it was somewhere up here?" Kaigaku asked.

The chilling temperatures didn't bother him either as he stood strong with his sword drawn. He had hoped to hell and back that the Kakushi didn't give them false information, If so then it would be impossible to interrogate him once more.

Kokushibo just kept moving, Not acknowledging his Tsuguko's attempts of conversation as he kept going.

That feeling, That feeling once more crawled up the dip of his back. He couldn't recognise it despite how oh so familiar it felt. His eyes finally targeted on an object through the mist, A dark shape settled within the cold mist.

Kokushibo squinted his eyes to try and get a better look at it.

Kaigaku gulped as he started to fiddle with his thumbs, The worry of misinformation starting to come up once more.

"What if.. What if he gave us wrong info? What if-" Kaigaku stopped mid-sentence as he saw Kokushibo pause.

His steady stride through the snow had halted all of sudden. If Kaigaku didn't know better then he could of sworn he saw a jolt go through him, Like a static shock making him still in place.

"M-Master..?" Kaigaku muttered as he moved around to Kokushibo's side to get a better look at him.

All three sets of Kokushibo's eyes were wide open, Stretched to their very limits. His mouth was left slack open. A complete visage of what could only be described as shocked horror as he stared forward.

In front of him, Was a stone lantern.

There was absolutely nothing special about this lantern in particular. Just a wide stone block with a small carved roof on top of it. It was not unlike any kind of lantern he's seen before yet it finally clicked in his mind once he saw it.

It was a shrine lantern.

No.. Not just a shrine lantern..

It was the shrine lanterns used in his sister's shrine.

The air shifted around him in this realisation. As if he had suddenly became of the entire atmosphere, Every tree and every rock he was now acutely aware of as he glared down at this lantern.

It wasn't just the lantern.. It was everywhere, He recognised it now. This was where his sister's shrine is…

"M-Master…?" Kaigaku whispered, Reaching out for his masters shoulder.

As soon as it was connected, Kaigaku's arm was lobbed off from his shoulder making him yelp out in surprise as he backed away.

"Do not touch me.." He hissed, Finally coming back to his senses. Kaigaku nodded quickly as he stumbled a few steps further away from the man.

"We are here.. Go.. Go find another entrance to attack from.. It will be harder to defend from two sides.." Kokushibo commanded, His voice was firm. Borderline irritated as he watched Kaigaku quickly rush away in another direction, Quick to follow his orders.

He paid no more attention to him however as he took a few strides forward and kneeled down in front of the lantern.

It was lit. A small spark of ember had been lit between the barks of wood placed in it. The little flame was fighting against the blizzard to stay alive, And it held on. It had been recently lit.

Kokushibo felt anger rise up inside him like a boiling pot. He traced the stone of the lantern with his hands. This was [F/N]'s shrine, No doubt.. And if what the Kakushi had given the right information then.. They were using her shrine as the Kakushi base..

The boiling pot overflowed, The stone he was tracing with his hand was now crushed within his grasp and crumbled down like it was absolutely nothing to him. Even after the crushed particles of stone fell down into the slush below he wasn't done, As he swiftly levelled the rest of it with a single sway of his hand.

For all these centuries he couldn't bare to go back to her shrine, The lost memories of her life played out every time he even dared to think about it. It felt like a fist squeezing out the bloody juices from inside his heart, It was painful, He could never go back, Never..

At least not to the real thing anyways.

But that feeling inside him, The one that felt like his heart was about to burst was now replaced with absolute, Concentrated rage. In the time that he had left and abandoned [F/N]'s shrine the slayers had infested it like mice and claimed it as their own.

His teeth clenched. Canines and molars grinding against one and other as he cursed out the slayers under his breath.

It was just like that night. That awful night, One of the worst days of his life as he remembered the feeling of holding her frozen over corpse in his arms. The warmth left her body, Never to return.

Her dried tears.. The stab wound through her back.. She was covered head to toe in her own blood. She had tried to find help, She was fighting to survive in her last moments and he was too late to be there for her.

The memories of that night went through him. He had thought of them before, He had never stopped. Every waking moment he would be called back to that one stupid little night yet now as he knelt in the exact same place she had perished it felt so, so much worse.

But within the flurry of emotions he felt it was anger that came on top. The slayers had desecrated her shrine, His sisters shrine. They had turned it into a base without any respect given to her while he was gone.

It was unacceptable, It was truly down to the very last bone in his body a disgrace. The only remnant left of her and they ruined it.

Getting up from his kneeling position he rested a firm hand on his sword. The tears starting to speckle his eyes were quickly shook off.

He wasn't going to let them get away with it. They'd pay, Not for him but for his late-sisters sake.

How would she feel about this? About her precious shrine turned into nothing but business operations for the group that slew her? She'd be horrified, Disgusted too. He imagined it in his head, Her reaction to the news of what happened played out so clear it was if she was standing in front of him.

She'd cry as she listened to the tale of what happened to it, She'd hug him in search of comfort and he'd try his best to provide it. He imagined it happening..

All as if she was still alive.

"Don't worry, [F/N].. Michi-Nii will deal with this.."

☆♡☆

"I don't understand, Inari.. I don't know what it means.."

[F/N] sat rambling off to the shrine. She had done the proper incantations and rituals to perform her prayers, Now all that was left was to consult them. See if they answer and if they do, She'd finally get her closure.

"The snow.. The man and those words. I don't understand it, Inari. Please, If you want to give me a message I beg of you, Be more direct with me.." [F/N] pleaded, Her hands still were clasped in that same prayer position just a little more desperately this time.

"For months I've been given these dreams, Either by you or by something else that's wrong with me. I know you are listening, That I do not doubt.." [F/N] continued as she lowered her head, Now bowing down to the altar.

"I just want to know.. What do they mean?" She said, A finality in her voice as she went silent. Waiting on eagerly for a response. It was quiet, Deafeningly so. Nothing made a single sound, No echoes travelled around the honden like they usually would.

[F/N] felt her hands clench up, Her body tense as she waiting for something. Anything.

Suddenly the candles flickered, The flames stuttering on and off.

[F/N] sensed it and raised her head, Watching as they moved about in a swaying motion.

"W-What th-"

BOOM!

An explosion of noise erupted from behind her like a dam being broken down by a raging tsunami. A rapid gush of wind and cold air hit her like the strormsurge as she yelped out in surprise.

She fell over, Holding onto one of the wooden pillars for support so she wouldn't be knocked over once more. The entire shrine's structure seemed to shake at the force of some unknown cause.

As the wind finally settled and she could lift her head. From outside the honden she could hear yelling and screaming of several groups of people, Panicked frenzied noises muffled by the shaken walls.

But what really caught her attention was the noise of the Kasugai crows coming out from their aviary on the third floor. It sounded like they were coming out in flocks, Croaking and screaming one single phrase over and over again.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ATTACK! ATTACK! THE KAKUSHI BASE IS UNDER ATTACK! CALLING FOR ALL NEARBY SLAYERS!"

Next Chapter

156 notes · View notes

qulrikkek · 1 year

Text

I have to admit that they pulled off Din's capturing well enough that it doesn't feel like a "character assassination".

I can already see why.

Jon and Dave would like to maximize drama in the last episode, and this is one way of doing so; so that they will get a scene where Din will be stripped off his helmet. Probably in front of Bo, when she tries to rescue him.

I still think that to balance out the power dynamics between them, should have been by Bo getting captured (since this will be the 4th time she rescues him), but if the writers can pull it off as greatly as they did with episode 7, then I'm not going to complain.

I hope neither gets killed off, although mind wiping on Din might happen. That would be a tragic scene where he wouldn't recognize Bo especially after finally pledging himself to her only recently.

And expanding on that... Moff Gideon might mind program Din to fight Bo? I hope not, but again if you're going for drama as Dave and Jon like to do... You might dare to do it.

And since Bo would not be willing to kill Din, because she has feelings for him, she might end up being stabbed by the Dark saber somehow? (Uh oh chills are running down my spine, I don't want to have to watch another "Satine-like death"!)

But even if they go down this route, I hope she doesn't die, but gets healed by Grogu maybe?

(Sorry my writer's mind is running wild at the moment of the many possibilities, as to how this season will end.)

Anyway, episode 7 was an excellent one! It's a pity that they didn't provide this kind of quality throughout the whole season. (And it wouldn't have taken much, just small gap fillings, but that's only my opinion.)

Loved the scene where Bo finally reveals how she lost the Dark saber.

It reveals her true (selfless) character, which then leads Din to pledge himself to her...

And Katee's acting is just pure delight to watch, as to how Bo takes this in.

Love is just so apparent on her face...

#dinbo #bodin #din djarin #bo katan kryze #bo katan #bo katan x din #din x bo #star wars #the mandalorian season 3 #the mandalorian spoilers

362 notes · View notes

simmerandwrite · 1 year

Text

Sink Into Me - 03 - mob!Steve Rogers x plus size! reader

Summary: You were simply doing a good deed, pulling the handsome stranger out of the way when a car jumped the curb. Little did you know that the life you saved belonged to Steve Rogers, the Army veteran turned art dealer with connections to the Brooklyn crime syndicate.

Steve Rogers, who won’t stop calling you his guardian angel.

Steve Rogers, whose new goal in life just might be repaying his debt to you.

Steve Rogers, who isn’t shy until it comes to his feelings and will stop at nothing to keep you safe.

Chapters: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Wordcount: 6.5k

Warnings: canon level violence (series), body image issues (series), smut (series)

Notes: Hey! This is coming out later than I wanted but life is busy these days so this story is taking a back seat. Thank you to everyone who has read so far - I appreciate all the interest! While I also appreciate every single ‘like’ on the chapters, a comment or reblog goes a long way to let me know how you are enjoying the story :) Trust me when I say a nice comment or reaction gif can really make a writer’s day and I would love to hear from you all! ( if you see me in the wild, i’m @simmerandcry)

----

The weeks of your life following the event at your apartment felt like a blur.

A lot of positives had unintentionally come from the whole experience. First, you had crossed into a friendship zone with Steve. If that’s what you wanted to call it. You both seemed to toe the line between friendly and flirty and you had no idea what it meant. Sometimes you simply traded thoughts sparingly during the day and other times there were almost-cheeky messages after the sun went down.

He had graciously supplied you with a new phone to replace yours and even put you in touch with a dog daycare in the neighbourhood that a friend of his operated, in case you wanted to look into it for Hercules.

Outside of all the positives though came the heavy downside to your entire experience. It felt like you barely slept anymore. Steve had very kindly returned back to your apartment the next day and even communicated with your landlord about repairing your door and window, and when a security camera was installed one day, you figured Steve had a hand in that too.

It didn’t stop you from feeling paranoid anytime you were there alone. You rushed home from work most days and crashed while the sun was still up, but once the darkness rolled in, every single noise outside made you feel nervous. Although you believed Steve when he said he would ‘take care’ of things, you couldn’t help but feel less and less secure as you grew more and more sleep deprived.

It was just another reason to break your lease and move on, but the idea of apartment shopping and moving was both a financial burden and a huge stressor added onto your life. Instead, you just powered through and hoped your fears would eventually subside, even if that felt impossible.

At least when you weren’t home, you were less anxious about everything.

“You look more exhausted everytime I see you,” Claire had nearly begged you to meet her for brunch on your day off while she was in between shifts. “Did things escalate with Steve the mobster?”

You rolled your eyes, stabbing your fork into the syrupy waffles sitting in front of you. “No, no. We talk sometimes but..” You tried to hide the excitement on your face when you saw a message come in from him. Not that you had been anxiously waiting for a reply from him or anything.

You [11:31AM]: dropped off Hercules for his trial at daycare today! Thanks again for the rec :) Steve Rogers [11:50AM]: Happy to help the little guy out, sweetheart. Kate will take good care of him, I promise Steve Rogers [11:51AM]: Let me know how it goes!

Fuck, it was those petnames that got you. It had to be flirting if he was calling you sweetheart, right?

Sweetheart, honey, baby, doll..

Not that you wanted to admit it, but it had been a long time since you had felt any kind of emotional reaction to another person like this. Your last situationship had been with a coworker months ago and it had not gone well for you when it crashed and burned. This kind of twist in your heart when you talked to Steve was scary. Almost scarier than the idea of your apartment being broken into, really. To feel wanted by another person, romantically or physically or both, was intimidating and hard to believe.

But the more you got to know Steve, the more worth it the risk seemed.

You shook your head of those thoughts and caught Claire’s cheeky smile as you put your phone away.

“Was that him now?”

“Yes, it was but-”

“Ahhh. I knew it. You have the anxious glow of someone in the early stages of crushing.”

You sighed and rolled your eyes. “Claire, it’s not like that.”

“Are you sure? Because honestly if any man is giving you his time and communicating and making you check your phone obsessively…” She gave you a look when you checked on your buzzing phone again. “Having feelings for another person isn’t a bad thing, you know.”

Maybe it was the fatigue, maybe it was the pull in your heart. Either way, you trusted Claire and without even meaning to, your insecurities spilled out. “Claire, he’s way out of my league. He’s a 10 and at my best I’m sure I’m not the type usually on his radar. Our lifestyles are so vastly different, I’m guessing all his kindness is to remedy the guilt he feels over my saving his life. Whatever this is..” you grabbed your phone and waved it around. “..is bound to fizzle out when he loses interest or thinks he has put in enough time. It’s just how these things work.”

You hadn’t even realized your eyes were squeezed shut but when you opened them, Claire was staring you down as if you had two heads.

“You just gave me like half a dozen reasons why you think this guy wouldn’t be into you. But has he told you otherwise?”

You paused. No, it hadn’t been explicitly clear what Steve’s intentions were. Maybe he was just kind, maybe he thought you were friends. Or maybe he was interested in more.

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask, babe.” Claire took a sip of her coffee cup and her eyes widened. “You should make a move.”

“What? Like asking him out? Absolutely not.”

“Just dial up the flirtatious chatter. Send him a late night selfie, something a little bit sexy.”

“Claire. I can’t.”

“Uhm, you totally can. You told me you sent some pretty risky things to that idiot from your work last year sooooo take the leap.” She clapped her hands together before raising her fists in a mock cheer. “Leap of faith, leap of faith!”

“Okay, okay.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you tried to quiet her across the table. “I will try the photo thing. But if he rejects me and I get sad about it, you’re in charge of my emotional repair. Deal?”

“Deal.”

---

Steve tried very hard to keep a clear line between his work and personal life. When he was meeting with a client or getting his hands messy taking care of less than legal business, he was in work mode. It helped that he was an independent person, keeping his personal attachments to a minimum as best as he could.

But with you, his lines were starting to blur. It hadn’t made much of an impact yet but when your name showed up on his phone or your face crossed his mind, he tried to dismiss it until he could give you all his attention.

The ‘No Phone’ policy at Billy Russo’s poker game helped that, thankfully. The game was really less of a formality now, another opportunity to discuss business behind closed doors. And once the cards were piled up and every chip was cashed out and accounted for, that’s when the important conversations took place.

The backroom of Russo’s newest warehouse served as a perfect backdrop for them - with subtle tinted windows looking out towards the Hudson. The high ceilings echoed with their idle chatter. Sam had moved away from the table to flirt with the bartender, leaving Steve and Bucky with Russo and his own partner in crime, Frank Castle. But despite the gameplay and niceties, Steve had an agenda.

“To answer your question,” Russo set down his crystalline glass and leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised as a smirk grew on his face. “Of course Rumlow came to chat. I humoured the man but can you blame me?”

“He wants storage space,” Castle added in, answering the question before Steve or Bucky could even wonder.

Steve nodded. It wasn’t a secret that the docks, operated by Castle and Russo, had notorious clientele in the darkness of night. But Steve was their biggest partner and their working relationship had been ongoing for nearly a decade.

“Which we won’t give him, of course. I’m not an idiot. I know the rules.” Russo shrugged. “But I gotta tell you, Rogers - he’s getting pushy.”

To Steve’s left, Bucky grumbled. “If I see one of his guys out there with that new shit again, I’m finishing this. Discussion over.”

“Hey.” Steve reached his hand out to rest on Bucky’s shoulder. “One step at a time.”

“Becca said she heard about another kid, you know. Hospitalized because of that new shit.”

Steve’s lips tightened into a line. His biggest rule for anyone crossing his boundaries - no targeting the high schools. And this new stuff Rumlow had introduced, some unstable, addictive upper - it had already been making a mess. Steve knew he couldn’t control the movement of drugs and hey, why would he want to? It was lucrative for him. A twenty percent cut across the board kept his bank accounts padded. But the way Rumlow had started bleeding in, against Steve’s rules, it was getting out of hand.

“At least what you did to Walker scared him off for the time being,” Castle laughed, getting up to get a refill of his whisky. “What I wouldn’t give to see that guy’s smashed up face.”

Bucky smirked. “It wasn’t pretty.”

“He made his bed, sending that driver after my property. Then showing up to scare a witness who has no connection to this? He’s a bastard. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” Steve tilted his head. “I think we’ve been clear enough for the time being. Just let me know if you see Rumlow again. Because if there is a next time, I'll deal with it myself.”

Russo stood up as Steve did, extending a gracious hand as a thank you. “So - to the club? I’m looking for an unforgettable evening.”

Steve laughed, extending his arm over the man’s shoulder. “Oh, I can promise you one.”

“Should I call up Meredith? Let her know she can come meet us?”

Steve politely ignored Russo’s bait. It had been an ongoing thing for months now - with Billy trying desperately to arrange a relationship between his sister and Steve. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing. Sure, Meredith Russo was a beautiful girl but Steve had decided a long time ago that if he was ever going to settle down with someone, it had to be genuine and not for the long term sake of a business relationship.

As they headed towards Shield , with Rumlow and Russo driving ahead while Steve and Bucky got into their awaiting car with Katy at the wheel, Steve finally checked his phone. How could he even humor the idea of Russo’s sister when there you were, sending him a few late night messages. And when he realized you had sent a photo…

You [11:45PM]: best method to tire yourself out before bed? You [11:51PM]: I’ve tried everything. currently I’ve decided to just bake cookies instead You [11:52PM]: (IMG-6521)

“Please tell me you’re pursuing that.”

Steve rolled his eyes when he saw Bucky leaning over to look at his phone screen. “Eyes to yourself, punk.” He sent his elbow across the backseat and nudged Bucky in the ribs.

As much as Steve knew he had to be rational before letting you further into his life, damnit - how could he think with his upstairs brain when you were sending him photos like that? Because even in the fluorescent lights of your tiny apartment kitchen, you were a sight to be reckoned with. From your casually messy hair to your revealing tank top to the way you were biting your lip… The tight feeling in his pants was another important reason to try and focus on his rational brain, the one who did things correctly to win you over.

But he wasn’t sure how much longer this type of talking was going to work for him. Sure, he wanted to get to know you better but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to get his hands all over you, too. He had a feeling you and him would go together so well.

He took in a deep breath and finally formulated a reply.

S Rogers [12:29AM]: I can think of a few ways to tire you out before bed, baby S Rogers [12:29AM]: and what I’d give to taste whatever you’re making S Rogers [12:34AM]: I won’t invite myself over but when can I see you? I need to see you. are you free tomorrow?

---

You nearly threw up when Steve asked you out. And as the minutes ticked by Sunday morning before you were to meet him for lunch, your nerves were getting the best of you.

I need to see you.

That meant he was interested, right? You had left a series of frantic voice messages for Claire, praying that she’d enjoy them on her morning break and true to her nature, she had calmed you down with a few positive affirmations and some advice for the sudden date.

You could do this. He wanted to see you. What was the issue?

The issue, perhaps, was your lack of sleep and how exhaustion was slowly creeping up on you. Maybe this was all a weird dream and you’d be showing up to lunch alone.

I need to see you.

Dressed in your favourite date outfit, which toed the line between casual and trying too hard, you headed towards the little lunch spot Steve had suggested. When you found him outside waiting for you, a wave of relief settled in your chest. There he was.

God, he was handsome. The mustard yellow striped shirt he was wearing hugged his chest perfectly, accentuating his biceps - which you suddenly had an urge to squeeze. You weren’t sure anyone else could pull off such a look paired with black slacks and dress shoes, but Steve managed it. Maybe it had something to do with his confident energy.

When he noticed you down the block, the grin on his face grew.

God, he was handsome.

You remained as composed as possible while he greeted you with a hug, not before pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. With a squeeze of your hand, he led you inside and immediately the server placed you both at a small table near the window.

You thought it might be awkward - the next part. The gradual move into ‘get to know you’ type of questions, but with Steve, it felt easy. Way easier than you could have anticipated. He casually ordered for you both once he confirmed your choice and cradled your hand in his across the table as you chatted.

The details in his face were so obvious in this setting - the golden blonde in his beard, the crinkles beside his eyes when he laughed, the shine of his blue eyes. You had a hard time looking away, because you felt so captured by him. And you didn’t want to jinx it, but you had a feeling that maybe he felt the same way too.

“I don’t know.” With your lip trapped between your lips, you scanned his face and held back a smile. “I think you’re lying. I find it really hard to believe that The English Patient is your favourite movie.”

“Oh, come on,” Steve laughed, pausing to take a sip of his coffee cup as he narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

“Gut feeling,” you replied with a shrug, tipping your head from side to side. “And I cannot imagine you deciding to put on a movie to relax and picking that.”

He pursed his lips for a moment then finally, his shoulders sunk down. “Okay, you caught me. My favourite movie is Singing in the Rain.”

You couldn’t help but let out an excited laugh, smile wide as you watched him. “Amazing. Unexpected, really, but somehow that feels just right.”

“What’s amazing is you saw right through me. I promise I’ll never lie to you again,” Steve crossed over his heart with his index finger before reaching his hand out again and tugging yours away from the edge of your water glass. “And now to be very honest about something - this , you and me, it somehow feels just right, too.”

You couldn’t get over his bold words but thank god he said it. What was this mysterious feeling that seemed to be sucking you both in, head first? You squeezed his hand and did everything in your power not to pinch yourself.

You could just feel it, enveloping you without hesitation - you were falling hard, already. It was a risk but you tried to remind yourself of what Claire had said: stop playing it safe, take the leap..

Steve barely humoured you when you offered to pay for the meal once the cheque arrived at the table. He spared you a quick glance over the billfold then took care of it with a swift flick of his wrist, sending the server away without another word.

Steve’s voice brought you back to the present, after momentarily losing yourself in him again. Your eyes had been fixated on the small area of skin on display above the buttons of his shirt, showing off just a hint of both chest hair and the ink of tattoos that were hiding beneath his gold chain.

With a small smile, you finally looked up and met his grin. “Sorry to stare. I was just trying to figure out your tattoos.” You watched as he swallowed hard, as if trying to contain his response.

Steve cleared his throat, motioning to the door as you both stood up. “Do you have any?” Using his closest hand, he splayed his palm against your lower back as you headed outside together.

You paused once you were back on the sidewalk, accepting the suggestion as Steve offered to walk you home. “I have one lonely tattoo.”

“And where is that hiding?”

“That is a secret.” You turned and looked at him over your shoulder as you started in the direction of your apartment.

Within a few strides, he caught up and reached for your hand. Jesus Christ, you were holding hands. How were you supposed to keep your composure?

Steve carried on, with no intention to skip over the tattoo topic. “At least tell me what the tattoo is of?”

“Just a song lyric that reminds me of my mom. I know that’s a bit silly.”

“I think that’s sweet. You’re close with her?”

“Oh yeah. She’s my best friend. I wish I could see her more but she refuses to move back to the city. She has a good circle out in Albany though so I try not to worry about her.”

“And your dad?”

“Uhm, non-existent.” You glossed over that quickly, tugging Steve along as you ventured through a crowd at the crosswalk. “What about you and nurse Sarah?”

“My ma - she’s whole heart. I almost lost her once and..” he trailed off, as if experiencing a jolt of unwelcome pain. “She’s the most important woman in my life.”

Once you got back to your apartment, you had a feeling Steve didn’t want things to come to an end yet. And truthfully, you didn’t either. Maybe inviting him in was too soon, especially in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, but he happily agreed to join you as you took Hercules for a walk.

You regaled Steve with the dramatic story about how you adopted Hercules (“He was my first attempt at fostering a dog and I immediately fell in love.”)

Steve told you about how he enlisted with Bucky and Sam after college. You traded stories about figuring your lives out in the city after your careers got started.

Before you realized it, you had looped around the block numerous times until finally, Steve remorsefully shared that he had some work things to take care of and he had to get going.

“I wish we could just keep going with whatever this is,” he insisted with a sad smile. Slowly, he reached his hand out and cradled your cheek. “Can I see you again? Dinner this week?”

“You want to see m-” You cut yourself off. Was now really the time to be filling your mind with self doubt? You were already putty in his hands, if it wasn’t obvious enough. “Yes, I’d love that.” It pained you but you knew your work week ahead was a bit intense. “Wednesday?”

Steve tipped his head back and groaned, very dramatically. “I guess I can wait until Wednesday.” He dragged his tongue across his lips, his hand travelling from your cheek towards your neck. “But in the meantime, I don’t think I’ll be able to wait until then to do this..” He met your eyes for an extra moment, waiting for your permission.

You had barely nodded your head before Steve tipped his head down and pressed his lips to yours. To describe Steve as eager would have been a disservice - but damn, the man was hungry. His lips moved in a way that seemed both calculated and feverish, leaving you catching your breath and Steve letting out a quiet growl for more.

The strap of Hercules’ leash dropped from your hand and before you realized it, Steve had caught it with his free hand, pulling away from you with a coy grin.

“Wednesday,” you whispered out the words, happily taking the leash back from Steve. “We should do more of that Wednesday.”

---

You [4:01PM]: crisis alert - Steve kissed me after our date You [4:01PM]: and it was so good. SO GOOD. Wanda [4:02PM]: !!!!! Wanda [4:03PM]: why is this a crisis? You [4:05PM]: I need to be grounded in reality Maria [4:05PM]: don’t worry, I’m always here to burst your bubble about some average man Claire [4:06PM]: let’s hope he’s above average Claire [4:07PM]: girl, get it. the real crisis is your underwear drawer, probably You [4:08PM]: wow, ouch You [4:08PM]: you’re probably right Maria [4:08PM]: booooooo

---

Steve was trying so hard to do this correctly. He could take any girl to dinner then back to his bed, but with you, he was strategizing. The extended lunch date had been step one. And leaving you with just a kiss, despite his undying desire for all of you, he was trying to establish this was important to him.

You were important to him.

Just getting to know you and seeing your smile, and God, hearing you laugh - he was done for. He hadn’t felt this way before and he didn’t want to fuck it up. It wasn’t lost on him how rare this flood of feelings were - when was the last time he anxiously paced around his office, half-assing his check-ins, delegating more than he normally would, daydreaming about you, counting down the minutes until he picked you up?

It didn’t help that you two had spent the last few nights on the phone, talking way later than either of you probably needed to be awake. But it seemed you couldn’t help yourselves.

When you messaged him about working late then picking up Hercules late and that you were running behind, he frowned.

You [5:57PM]: I’m really sorry Steve [5:57PM]: It’s okay, I had just gotten to my car You [5:58PM]: Well, if you want to head over now - if you don’t mind waiting, you can come in and hang with Herc :)

You greeted him at the door, already apologizing profusely for not being ready on time. How could he be mad when he got to see this side of you - in between outfits and still smiling so nervously?

“I pushed the reservation,” Steve assured you with a wave of his hand, resisting the urge to push you against the closest wall and pick up where you left off earlier that week. “Take your time.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” you offered him another nervous smile before turning, heading back towards your bathroom. “I’ve been taking naps after work the last few weeks but working late today has just thrown me off. I swear I’m usually not like this..”

“It's okay, you’re giving me time to befriend Hercules anyway.” Steve took a seat on your couch, happy to spend the next few minutes playing with your dog while you got ready.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but something about your energy seemed off. Maybe it was nerves, but after things had ended so positively following your lunch date, he hoped it was good nerves, at least. Positive energy, if possible. The connection between you had struck him so furiously, he supposed it made sense to look at it from a realistic perspective too, but he wanted you to be excited, not anxious.

As he leaned back into the cushions, he felt something poke into his back. Curious, he leaned forward again and twisted, eyebrows raising as he found a small cast iron frying pan lodged between your pillows.

Steve considered himself a very intuitive person. Once he took a half second to analyze your space, he was coming to a conclusion he hoped wasn’t true. Tipping his head to the side, he scanned the doorway. The landlord had quickly removed the broken door and replaced it with something more secure, thanks to a strongly worded phone call and thinly veiled threat from Steve. And yet, you kept a spare dining chair propped up behind it.

Behind him, the window above your couch had also been replaced - and you had left the protective plastic on the new pane, plus added an extra blanket to cover it up.

He stood up and took a few paces further into your apartment, sparing a glance into the kitchen. You had moved your knife block closer to the edge of the counter.

“Do you think those guys are going to show up again? At my apartment?”

Steve let out a quiet sigh, desperate to keep a rational mind as he called out your name.

“I’m almost ready!” You called back through the bathroom door, opening it slowly to find Steve’s concerned face. Your bathroom was tiny and even in the doorway, it seemed as if Steve was already inside the room with you. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded, barely. Steve sucked in a breath, dragging a hand across his jaw as he flicked his gaze down to watch you through the mirror. Fuck, he just had to ask. “I think so... But why did I just find a frying pan behind your couch cushions?”

Slowly, you brought your hand back down and rested it on the sink, meeting Steve’s eyes in the mirror. “Oh, uh.. I must have forgotten it there..”

He could see your immediate distress, the way you held your breath and gripped the edge of the countertop. “I mean, I know you have a small kitchen but if you are using your couch for storage..” Steve said your name, confidently calling your bluff as he searched for the explanation. He reached his hand out and rested it on your shoulder. “Hey, talk to me.”

You closed your eyes. “I can’t really explain..” You swallowed hard, head moving side to side in a curt shake. “I understand if you want to leave.”

His head shook slowly, one eyebrow drawing upwards in concern. “What? Why would I do that?”

“I could think of a dozen reasons why you’d want to bail now.”

“And I can think of a dozen reasons to stay.” He lifted his hand and cradled your chin, encouraging you to look in his direction. “Sweetheart, tell me what’s going on. Just try and explain it, please. I’m listening.”

Maybe you were tired, maybe you had nothing to lose. Taking a deep breath, everything just spilled out. “Fine. I.. I can’t sleep anymore. I’m scared here all the time and I don’t know what to do. I can’t afford to even think about looking for a new place so I’m hoping this’ll just go away and, well, I know this is a lot. Too much, probably. I’m too much - it’s okay if you don’t want to deal with it.” You choked out a laugh. “It’s not like I’d be able to attack someone if they broke in again! I mean, look at me - what kind of insane person hides wannabe weapons around her home, just in case? What am I going to do - attack some gun wielding idiot with a frying pan? I just.. it’s a dumb precaution I guess.” You shook your head, tearing your eyes away from Steve. “I’m scared. And tired, so tired.”

Steve took in a deep breath, then leaned in to press a kiss to the top of your head. With a few quiet words and his guidance, you were suddenly sitting on the closed toilet seat while he crouched in front of you.

“You’re not too much.” He rested his hands on your knees, thumbs swooping in circles against your skin. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

You shrugged, letting out a deflated laugh. “We met like five minutes ago. I don’t do this sort of thing-” You motioned between yourself and Steve, “-often and I’m worried I’m screwing it all up. Having irrational fears about living in my own home - you don’t want to deal with that.”

Steve sighed. If anyone was going to screw up, he knew it wouldn’t be you. “Contrary to what you might think, I don’t do this much either.” He motioned between you both the same way. “So, let's try and deal with this ‘scared to sleep’ thing together.” He offered you a small smile. “First thing - how about a nap?” He was confident that your door and window were secure though he was determined to check on those things later, too.

“But you made reservations and-”

He waved his hand, dismissing your argument. “C’mon. Do you think you’ll sleep better if I’m watching guard from the living room?”

A frown returned to your face. “I guess. But I bet I would have the most success if you were.. in bed beside me.”

Steve laughed, brushing his tongue over his lips to focus his thoughts. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, sweetheart.”

“We’ll keep it PG..” You stifled a yawn. “I promise.”

---

You half expected Steve to be gone when you finally stirred from your sleep. Even if he had crawled into the bed beside you and draped his arm over you, with one cautious hand rubbing your back as you drifted asleep.

But when you woke up, he was still on the bed. He had shifted slightly to sit up against the headboard, typing on his phone. The glow of his screen and your bedside table lamp cast a glow across his stoic features.

When he noticed you stirring, he turned his gaze in your direction. “Hey you.”

“Hi,” you replied quietly, propping yourself up onto your elbows. “Hope I didn’t sleep too long.”

“About an hour,” Steve answered, reaching his hand over slowly and brushing his thumb across your cheek. “Seems like you needed it though. The pillow drool is evidence.”

“Nooo,” you pushed his hand away and tried to hide under the blankets. “Let’s pretend you didn’t see that. Drool is for third dates, at the earliest.”

“Wanna come somewhere with me? I know it’s not the date we had planned but I need to check out one of my buildings.” Steve reached over and tugged down the blanket. “What do you say? We can bring Hercules too.”

You could already hear your excited pup getting up from his perch on the hallway floor outside your room, excited to be included in whatever the plan was. You appreciated Steve’s ongoing inclusion of your son. “Sure. I’m sorry I turned our evening into this.”

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for, sweetheart.”

You were quick to get ready again, although with a bit less attention to detail since your fancy dinner reservations had gone out the window. By the time you put yourself together and headed to Steve’s car, you couldn’t hide your loud, hungry stomach.

And instead of letting you dismiss your hunger, Steve doubled down and insisted he take you by his favourite pizza place on the way to his property. You laughed when he claimed it was a Brooklyn institution, deserving of every single pizza award in existence. You didn’t have the heart to tell him it was fine and your own preferred spot was way better. It probably wasn’t the right time to have a playful argument with him while he was greeted so warmly by the owners of the pizza shop.

One thing you appreciated immensely about Steve already was how much he seemed to care about Hercules and how he was a part of your life. Steve didn’t even hesitate to let him into his very fancy car and even mentioned that moving forward he’d try to bring a bigger vehicle to better accommodate your son.

Although you couldn’t be certain, from the way he discussed it, Steve clearly owned multiple properties of varying purposes. The building he eventually parked in front of was what looked like a refurbished apartment building. It was on a quiet street just a few blocks from Steve’s own apartment.

“Wow,” your commentary spilled out when you got out of the car, guiding Hercules along too. “You sure he can come in here?”

Steve grabbed your free hand and nodded. “Of course, this is a pet friendly building. Actually, it even has a mini dog park off the left side beyond the community room.”

You followed where he motioned beside the building, craning your neck to see a tall fence beside the far wall. “You’re kidding. Dang, a real luxury building, Herc. What a dream.”

“You have no idea,” Steve joked, pausing outside the door before someone appeared to let you in. “Thanks, Barton.” Steve turned and introduced you to the man as you walked in.

“Nice to meet you,” you said to Clint, who Steve described as a ‘jack of all trades’ property manager who helped maintain all of Steve’s buildings. “This place seems amazing.”

“You know how that phrase goes, right?” Clint threw up his elbow to nudge at Steve as you all headed to the elevator. “Jack of all trades, master of none?”

“Hey, you’re a master of a lot of stuff, I know. You should see this guy play darts,” Steve shot you a small glance and winked.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Rogers. Let me show you that newly vacated unit - third floor.”

You weren’t sure what the weird non-talking was that seemed to be going on between Steve and his friend, but you figured it wasn’t your place to ask. It seemed as if everything Clint was saying and explaining to you, he needed Steve’s approval for it.

By the time you got to your destination, Clint had gone through a thorough list of amenities about the building. You weren’t sure why he was doing that either - you figured Steve must already know about the building since he owned it but it was nice to hear about. Beyond the dog park, there was a small coffee shop being added to the lobby, plus there was a full gym and rooftop deck area for all tenants to use at their leisure. Full time doorman, co-working space, parcel delivery, basement storage, bike storage, garbage pickup.. It was beyond luxury.

Clint flipped through his keychain and let you and Steve into one of the units on the corner, then excused himself on a phone call.

“This building is amazing. Wait, I already said that. Incredible, there we go.” You took a few more steps in, taking in the bright lights and clean lines of the one bedroom apartment. “Wow.” While the bar for what you considered a decent apartment was low, this place was still impressive.

It wasn’t much bigger than your own place but the layout made way more sense and it was clearly recently renovated, with a small kitchen full of new cabinetry on the left wall that opened up into the main living room space. And god, the windows were huge - giving a nice view into the streets of Brooklyn. And shit - what was a dishwasher?

You looked back at Steve, who was watching you from his little pose leaning against the door. “Did you just need to see the unit to make sure it was all clean for the next person?” Truthfully, that didn’t make much sense but you seriously could not pinpoint why Steve had any interest in checking out the apartment.

He shook his head, a growing grin on his face as he pushed off from his pose. “Did you see the in-unit laundry?” In a few strides he pulled open a closet door to reveal a stackable washer and dryer unit. “Big closet in the bedroom too.”

You followed him into the bedroom, which shared the same view as the living room with windows that reached the ceiling. “It’s so nice. Whoever moves in next better appreciate it.” Your eyebrow raised up, curious when Steve started wringing his hands together, nervous. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yes,” he hesitated, tipping his head side to side before he took a step closer to you near the window. “I’m just trying to figure out how to approach this right. This apartment.. I want to offer it to you.” He pointed his fingers out through his clasped hands, waiting for your reaction. “What do you think?”

You laughed at the idea, unable to even take him seriously. “There is no way I can afford this place, Steve. Thank you but..”

“Don’t let the price be an issue.”

You scrunched up your face, keeping a firm grip on Hercules’ leash. “You can’t just give me an apartment.”

“I’m not,” He smiled, soft and honest. “I mean, I would but.. I’ll match your current rent. No deposit, no extra fees. You’ve got to let me give you back your sense of security. It’s killing me knowing you’ve lost that.” Though your resistance was wavering, he tried to reassure you. “Just think about it, okay? I promise I don’t have any ulterior motives. I just.. your safety is important to me. And I told you - a thousand favours.”

You closed your eyes, juggling both the uncertainty and excitement of possibility in your mind. “Steve, an apartment is worth a lot of favours, I think.”

“Do you know the exact exchange rate of rental property to favours? We could start a spreadsheet maybe..” His cheeky grin was practically spilling off his face. “You deserve to feel safe in your own home, sweetheart. Hercules too.”

With a gentle poke you tapped against his chest. “Just let me think about this one?”

“Okay, okay. Whenever you decide, whatever you decide, you let me know and we’ll get things sorted with Clint.” Steve took another step closer and slowly brought his hands up to your cheeks again, nibbling his own lip as he took you in. “Now, how about a sleepover tonight? I think we have some unfinished business from our last date.”

---

< Chapter 02 - Chapter 04 >

Notes: Up next: like our queen Miss Taylor sang in Labyrinth: ‘oh no, i’m falling in loveeee’ and maybe… some smut and danger and a peek into Steve’s business side. I’d love to know what you think so far! thank you for reading :)

#steve rogers x reader #mob boss steve rogers #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x plus size reader #mob boss steve rogers x you #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #mob au #simmerandcry #simmerandwrite #story: sink into me #simmer and write

459 notes · View notes

carnivorousyandeere · 3 months

Note

College Group 1 + Horror post made me think.... College Group + slasher darling... 😳

GOD THAT’S SO HOT. Thank you Anon 😩🤌✨

CW: blood, gore, murder, attempted murder, knives, hammers

Elena: Elena could smell others’ blood on you from a mile away. There’s something about the scent on you that’s like an incredibly sexy cologne. Mixed with your natural scent, it makes the hairs on her arms and neck stand, goosebumps rising in their wake. She hasn’t felt so intrigued by anyone, felt so alive, in many decades… probably since she was turned. Elena turns the charm up to an eleven, flirting with you, letting her fingers trail up your arm, dark eyes peering up at you through her fluttering lashes. ‘Easy prey,’ you think… until you stab Elena and she barely flinches, pulling out the knife and licking her own sickly, undead blood from it, finishing with a sly laugh. “So forward, mi vida… no foreplay? I was so hoping to pretend to run from you, like a scared little mouse…”

Wisteria: overheard somebody flirting with you, got jealous, and stalked you on your ‘date’ with them. Imagine Wisteria’s shock when you act like you’re going in for a kiss, only to thrust your knife into the other person’s abdomen and twist, gutting them for the crime of getting on your nerves. She watches with awe, reverence, fingers turning white as she grips the corner of the building she’s peeking out from. You’re just like her. Wisteria daydreams constantly about killing with you. Maybe she’d pretend not to know how to wield a knife, just so you’d wrap your arms around her, sliding your hand over hers, to guide her. You begin to receive gifts from a “secret admirer.” Weapons she thinks you’ll like… trophies from her own victims.

Penny: gags every time you come home drenched in blood. “You know I love you, sweetie, but we’ve talked about this! You need to throw your clothes in the brick oven outside and wash in the pool shed before you come in…” She sighs. “I’ll never understand why you insist on being so… hands-on. It makes life so much more difficult than it has to be.” You grin, more blood staining your teeth. Penny’s stomach flips at the sight, repulsion and attraction mixing uncomfortably in her gut. “You know I love a challenge, Pen. And it’s not like you complain about my hands-on approach the rest of the time…” Penny blushes and swats at you with a dish towel as you try to reach for her hips to pull her closer. “G-go take a shower first!”

Thorn: even before she knows you/knows you’re the killer, Thorn constantly jokes about hoping the killer roaming campus will take her out in one way or the other. Starts putting up copies of articles about you on her wall, especially anything that claims to be a picture of you. It’s usually the blurriest, grainiest security camera screenshots you’ve ever seen, to the point you can barely tell it’s even a person in the photos. But it’s enough for Thorn. She lets her imagination run wild, thinking about being hunted by you, being spared by you, not being spared by you. Her mind had run through each and every scenario. Well, almost. She hadn’t imagined bashing some would-be final girl’s skull in with a hammer at some stupid party, but then there she was, covered in gore and standing over you with a hammer. You push the body off you and stand, staring at Thorn inscrutably, and she blushes so hard she thinks she might die then and there.

#mail 📬#oc Elena #oc Wisteria #oc Penny #oc Thorn #my thoughts #yandere #yandere oc #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere x darling #yandere x you #yandere x reader #yandere cw #slasher darling

53 notes · View notes

baziutawrites · 1 year

Text

Reminder

Jealous!Xavier Thorpe x Fem OC smut

WARNING! If you are under 18 yrs old, do not read this piece. I do not take responsibility for anything if you proceed.

Masterlist

Val didn't think she could get that angry over something that stupid and yet, there she was, screaming in the middle of the packed courtyard during the lunch break. She felt the boiling rush of fury shooting through her veins, burning her eyes and mouth as if she got a face full of fire and when she realized what it meant, it was too late to even try to control it. She had enough of this thick-headed werewolf pestering her since the Rave'N.

"Enough of this bullshit, Adam!"

She saw Xavier in her field of vision, stopping near some other group of guys, watching her as her face contorted into her true form, features elongating, sharpening, hollowing her cheeks as she shouted.

The anger overtook her.

Her pupils momentarily dissolved, covering her eyeballs in absolute blackness, dark and bottomless with rage. She felt her other set of teeth force their way out of her gums painfully because of their sharpness, protruding for a second before snapping back in, leaving a coppery taste of blood on her tongue.

"Leave. Me. Alone."

She panted, trying to regain composure and desperately not to let panic overcome her. This was the very first time she let her true form show publicly. Since no-one - except her group of friends from the Nightshades - knew about her being a nixie, a rusalka, a water demonic entity, they most definitely knew now. But even her friends never saw her in this form.

She closed her eyes, praying they would come back to normal when she opened them back again. She heard the footsteps of the Adam guy fade away and a small hand appeared on her shoulder.

Enid.

"Wow. Just, wow." She squealed into her ear. "That was bad-ass, girl. Totes bad bitch energy!"

She heard the rest of the group agree, Kent even whistled in approval.

Val's body twitched slightly as she slowly felt the tension subsiding, only now realizing how stiff she was, how hard she gritted her teeth, afraid the other set might snap back out again. She didn't expect their reaction to be positive at all and she felt warmth form in her chest. She couldn't believe she had such wonderful people around her. It made her feel accepted.

Xavier stood there, the image of his girlfriend in the form he only saw in an old musty book he found in the Nightshades' Library still fresh before his eyes. He watched the dude Val was just screeching at stop at the group of werewolves from his wing. He knew they were a bunch of knuckleheads, not very bright, always talking about how many girls they pulled every night, when the truth was they were just getting high and drunk every weekend with no single girl in sight. And then he heard the Adam guy saying the words he least expected in his situation.

"...I would definitely tame that little demon bitch, dude. Like, did you see her sharp dirty little mouth? How sick she looked?"

They all laughed and howled, making Xavier's face heat up with anger.

"Ow man, her kind fucks dudes to death!" More laughter ensued.

"Wild."

"Yea, but she's deffo all bite and scratch until you, y'kno, stuff your cock in her little cun–"

He couldn't stand this anymore. Anxiety and anger stabbed through his chest, constricting his lungs. His expression turned sour and he started towards Val, fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. He wouldn't have that.

His sudden movement startled the group and he was glad he got their attention, hoping they were shocked to see him appearing in such close proximity to them. Everyone knew he was dating her but some apparently needed a reminder.

He would show them who she really belonged to.

He stomped through the yard, closing the distance in a few, long strides and slung his lanky arms around Val's waist, pressing his body flush against her back, making her jump.

"Hey baby," he murmured into her ear, his voice audibly grumpy, his hot breath on her skin making her shiver slightly. He tugged at her collar, loosening her tie and pulling the material open just enough for the hickeys he left yesterday on her neck and collarbones to be visible, while hugging her close and gliding his lips over the other side of her neck. His eyes bore into the faces of the group of werewolves the entire time, relishing in the way they shifted uncomfortably. They realized he heard them.

Val melted into his touch, resting the back of her head on his shoulder. A sigh escaped her lips, the tension subsiding at the warmth of his body.

"Hey," she breathed, focusing on the feeling of his hair pressed against her cheek, trying not to moan at the wonderful sensation his mouth left with those sloppy kisses he was an expert at. Her back arched involuntarily and she pressed her butt against his thighs, earning a small grunt from him.

"Yea, hey to you too, Xavier," Divina piped up, a playful exasperation in her voice. "It's so nice to see you."

"Oh, we are good, thank you so much for asking." Yoko continued with an eye roll clear in her voice and the group snickered.

There was a snap of a picture being taken and a loud squeal, followed by rapid tapping on the phone screen. Enid would definitely update her blog tonight and Xavier knew he and his girlfriend would be the main topic for the next week, considering everything that happened. He grinned viciously against Val's skin, still not letting go of the material of her shirt. He hoped the purple marks were very clear in the photo.

The sound of Enid's excitement brought Val back to full alert.

"Xav, what are you doing?" She laughed at him, slapping his hand away from her neckline.

He only grumbled in response and angrily kissed her neck again. His eyes shifted towards that group once more, training on Adam, who gave him a middle finger before rushing out of the courtyard, whispering animatedly with his friends and shooting Xavier nasty looks over their shoulders.

Bianca threw her hands up in the air this time.

"Are we see-through?" She joked. "Gosh, at least get a room, you two."

Val pushed his arms off of her, giggling and turning around to quickly peck him on the lips, and before he could pull her in for another one, she sat down between Ajax and Enid. They immediately swept her into a conversation about the werewolf guy, asking what was that all about, since she didn't say that much about his borderline stalkerish behaviour before.

"What's the deal with that guy?" Ajax asked, frowning at the disappearing backs of the werewolves.

Before Val could respond however, Enid couldn't hold down her excitement anymore.

"You said he tried to ask you out at last year's Rave'N but you've turned him down, no?" She blurted out the question so fast it was almost unintelligible. "And he kept coming back. Like, several times. Every month. For a year!"

Everyone stared at her, including Val. She did not share that much info with anyone.

"How do you…?"

"I have my sources." She blinked at them innocently. "So, tell us more! We want to know everything!"

"Yea, for example, why didn't you tell me about it when it started?" Xavier grumbled, toying with a button of his uniform. His shoulders were stiff, he was obviously uncomfortable.

"Maybe because we weren't together at the Rave'N? Why would I tell you details about my love life back then?"

He winced, his lips forming a thin line as he hung his head low, nodding slightly. Memories of the dance came back to him - how he felt when he saw her with Cameron, her vampire guy friend, dancing to a slow tune, heads together, laughing at each others jokes. How he longed to be the one holding her in his arms but instead, his stupid ass convinced himself it was impossible and forced himself to pin over Wednesday, telling himself he liked her more than a friend, unknowingly pushing Val further away. And then, this fucking Adam dude came around.

"Touché." Bianca clicked her tongue.

"Wait, Enid said he kept pestering you after you rejected him at the dance, right?" Divina shifted her body to look Val in the eyes while Enid nodded frantically.

"Why didn't you tell us at all, tell Xavier when you actually started dating? Girl, it has been almost a fucking year, don't you think he went a little overboard?"

"Because it was stupid. Is stupid."

"I didn't find the way he kept trying to touch you stupid." Wednesday's deadpan voice startled them, as she popped up next to Enid. Her unblinking stare bore into Valerye's head. "I think he deserves to have his limbs cut off. To set an example."

"He touched you?" Yoko froze, just as Xavier's head snapped back up.

"I mean, he tried." Valet out a dark chuckle. "But after I broke his fingers during swimming practice, he turned to spamming my Insta, and trying to pick me up by telling some gross shit sometimes. And those god awful gifts, like those fucking sex dice." She shuddered.

"How about ripping out his tongue now?"

"Wednesday!" Enid shushed her girlfriend, frantically trying to diffuse the tension forming in their circle.

"Or we could sew his mouth shut," Bianca mused and smiled at Wednesday when she gave her an approving look.

"Guys, I appreciate it, really, but it's nothing. Seriously!" Val insisted when Kent and Divina both shook their heads, Ajax leaning back on the bench with his eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared underneath his beanie. "He probably will lose interest soon."

The entire group didn't look convinced, however. Xavier included.

He felt twinges of anxiety in his chest again, which didn't leave him for the rest of the day. He followed closely behind Val for the entire time he physically could - and thankfully for him, their timetables didn't differ from one another much - a scowl was twisting his features every time they passed Adam or one of his stupid werewolf friends in the halls.

He made sure his hands or lips were present on his girlfriend's body when the werewolves were around, getting bolder and bolder with each hour as they shot daggers at one another. Val sensed a change in his behaviour and slowly started to get miffed at this increasingly obvious cockfight. This was getting ridiculous.

It got to a breaking point when he forced her deskmate out of their chair for the sixth time today, only to sit there with a grumpy expression thinning his lips and his hands traveling up her thighs so far up it almost brushed against her panties.

"Are you mad?" She hissed at him, swatting his hand away and ironing out her skirt, trying not to bring the teacher's attention onto them.

Usually, his antics would make her eager to get some action but combined with his unfocused, anxiety ridden stare and his pissy, twisted features it only made her want to shake him out of this weird state he was in.

"Come." She dragged him out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. He followed obediently, his mind trained at the feeling of her hand inside his and her skirt swishing around her swaying hips as she walked in front, leading the way.

They stopped at the quiet corner, near the rarely used bathrooms at the very end of the hall. She pushed him against the wall and jabbed a finger into his chest, looking up at him.

"What in the fucking hell is up with you?"

He wasted no time, snatching her and pulling her body into his, his large hands sliding underneath her shirt. He kissed her, hungrily and possessively, almost as if he was about to lose her, forcing his tongue into her mouth with a whimper.

"Those fucking werewolf guys… They were talking shit… about you."

She pushed him off, rolling her eyes at his explanation.

"Xavi, do you realize people do talk about other people all the time, right? It's called gossip–"

"They say they would fuck you," he gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles clenching, accentuating his sharp features. "They said they would 'tame that little demon bitch', Val. I heard that alright."

"You think they can?" She chuckled and shook her head.

He avoided her eyes but his face showed everything, how pissed he was at a mere thought of her being in bed with some other dude. At the very idea of another man daring to want her in his bed. It dawned on her.

He was jealous. And for some fucking reason, insecure.

She sighed with exasperation.

"Xavier. Look at me."

His eyes darted down towards hers, a sort of worry deeply etched in the way he looked at her.

"Do I really need to remind you, who fucks me almost every night?"

A smile twitched his now flushed cheeks, a warm sensation in his chest, trickling down to his crotch.

"You seriously want me to say it?" She laughed. He looked at her, sheepish.

"Yea", he murmured quietly, smiling stupidly down at her. His breath quickened at the anticipation he was flooded with and licked his lips, shivers traveling down his body.

"Do you remember, who eats me out until I squirt all over their face? Who fingers me so good I lose my fucking mind after minutes of it? Whose entire fucking fist was stuffed inside me not that long ago, baby?"

He groaned quietly, pressing himself into her, grinding his erection against her abdomen and burying his face into her neck. He was hot to the touch, veins on his neck protruding.

"Any ideas, who stuffs his fat cock inside my dripping cunt and fucks me senseless and makes me cum all around it, hm? Because I think I know who that is, Xavier."

He moaned into her mouth as he lunged for a kiss, pushing his thigh in between her knees and she immediately pressed her wet cunt against his lanky leg, rocking her hips on top of him. Pride swell in his chest, making him feel lightheaded. Her hands went straight towards his bulge, palming him through the material, she was relishing in the little sounds he made thanks to her.

"Enlighten me." He pleaded, wide green eyes filled with need. He gripped her hips, helping her move against him, feeling the material of his pants getting moist where she rubbed herself onto it.

"So, in case you didn't notice who rails me raw almost every day, Thorpe, it is you. It's your dick that I love to ride, it is your face that I love to grind my wet pussy on. It is you, and only you, you absolute idiot."

He inhaled sharply when she squeezed his erect cock through his pants with a groan on her end as she felt how incredibly hard he was. Praise always got him all hot and bothered.

"Please, baby." His voice now low and raspy, his fingers dancing at the hem of her skirt. He wanted to see her underneath him, to hear her moan his name while she writhed with his cock plunged deep inside her. She was his and only his. Not some Adam guy's, not any other guy's. His.

And yet, he still felt as if this was just a dream, an incredibly lewd and unreal dream. He needed to feel her, to prove he wasn't imagining things.

"Please what?" She teased, his lower lip now between her teeth as she pulled it and swiftly followed with a messy kiss. Soft moans mixed together while their tongues intertwined once again, caressing each other, saliva dripping at the corners of their mouths. Her hands found their way into his hair, messing up his bun completely while scratching his scalp.

Xavier groaned and dug his fingers into her hips, growing desperate with each passing second. His pant leg was drenched by now, her wetness seeping through the material and onto his skin.

"Let me fuck you." He looked at her with his pleading puppy dog eyes, leading her backwards towards the men's bathroom. "I want you. I need you. I have to feel you. Please."

"You are unbelievable." She breathed as she felt her back pushing the door open, her mouth busy on Xavier's neck.

It wasn't long before she was sat at the countertop where the sinks were, her back against the cool glass of the mirror behind her. Her tie discarded, her uniform a mess, with her skirt pushed up, material pooling around her waist, exposing her thighs which were immediately pushed open by Xavier. His big palms glided over her sensitive skin, making her shiver when his long fingers got close to her covered pussy.

A loud, long moan escaped her when he slid his fingertips across the soaked material of her panties, gasping at the sensation. He then slowly peeled the material off of her.

"God, Val," his voice cracking at the sight of the inside of the material completely covered in translucent, thick liquid, strands of it stretching towards her swollen pussy lips. They too were covered in her juices entirely, her perky clit peeking from underneath it's hood, glistening in the fluorescent light of the bathroom. "You're so fucking wet."

"It's all your fault, Xavier." She groaned, moving her hips expectantly. A few new droplets appeared at her slit when she shifted and he went feral. Yanking the underwear down, he latched his mouth onto her clit, his tongue lapping her up. Stifled throaty moans erupted from his chest as her pussy flooded his mouth, the taste shocking him every time at how delicious it was. She bucked her hips against his face, smearing her wetness all over his chin despite the strong grip he had on her hips. Her loud, needy moans combined with his hair being tugged at, prompted him to focus all of his attention on her hardened clit.

He sucked and licked her as if his life depended on it, making her cry out.

"Babe, oh god slowdownplea-aah," she pleaded, trying and failing to push his head away. "So intense, go-ohnna wet myself–"

Her words made him jolt, a newfound determination flooding his mind and body, making his cock strain painfully against the material of his pants, desperate to feel her heat. His grunts sent vibrations deep into her cunt and he resumed pleasuring her even more intensely than before, his tongue repeatedly rubbing her sensitive nub while he sucked on it with all his might.

He watched with a dazed expression, how she arched her back, chest heaving, trying feebly to escape his lips. Feverish sounds of her wails filled the bathroom but this wasn't enough for his ego.

Three of his long, skillful fingers plunged inside her dripping hole, making her cry out in pleasure again. He stretched her almost painfully, filling her up nearly as good as his dick always did. But when he curled them upwards, pressing all three of them against her g spot and began absolutely assaulting it, setting a pace so fast it made her mind go blank, only the overwhelming pleasure present in her head, she felt her body give into him. Her senses were of fire. His mouth never leaving her clit, making the electrifying sensations unbearable, she positively wailed as if she was possessed.

And then she felt it - the overbearing sensation of fiery stinging in her inner thighs and cunt, telling her she was doomed. She tensed up, her legs shaking and she stopped breathing, her eyes boring into Xavier's. He knew it too.

The way her face was flushed, eyes glazed over, pure pleasure contorting her features, her skin burning his arm that was looped around her thigh, stopping her from closing them - he devoured the sight. He wanted every drop of what was to come to be his.

"Yes," came his muffled voice, "yes baby, do it, squirt on me."

Before he finished the sentence, he felt it. The burning hot liquid flooded his chin and neck, seeping into his collar, dripping down his chest. Her voice, almost unrecognizable, guttural, reverberated between the tiled walls as her eyes rolled backwards. He felt as if he was about to cum in his pants.

But he didn't stop pleasuring her, his mouth firm on her sopping, soft cunt, his arm still moving fast, bringing her close to the wet release again, mere seconds after the previous one. This time, he let go of her clit and opened his mouth, trying to catch all of her liquids when she squirted on him again. This was absolute heaven.

With his face dripping, he stood up from the floor, eyes roaming over Val's body sprawled before him on the counter. Her cunt was dripping with her juices, droplets sliding down her asscheeks and falling onto the floor. He needed to feel her on his dick, he was desperate at this point.

He fumbled with his belt when his phone let out a "ding". Val waved at him to check it.

"I need a breather." She panted, eyes closed, her mind swimming. He chuckled, self-satisfied at the sight in front of him, and pulled out his phone.

Jaxxo

Whr u at

Class started 30 mins ago

Xav

Busy 🤫

Won't make it tell'em I got sick or sth pls

Jaxxo

Ookay

Val with u? 😏

Wait don't answer I don't wanna know lol

Btw that dumbfuck still on abt ur girl

Adam Welsh or what he called

Says val secretly likes him like bro 💀

Stop it's embarrassing

An idea popped into Xavier's mind - an insane one for sure and Val would absolutely dismember him afterwards… but the venomous snakes coiling in his chest at the very mention of that fucker made him want to show him who is in on top. And, oh, he will show him alright.

A vicious grin adorned his features as he tapped on his phone quickly.

Xav

Got an idea

And need ur help with it

Tell that fucker u heard val is waiting for him

In the men's bathroom on the end of the 3rd

The one no one uses basically

Maybe seeing sth will get the idea out of his thick fucking head

Jaxxo

What

Why

Oooooh

Oooh wait

Bro 😶

U sure

Well shit alright

But don't tell val I had anything to do wit it okay

I don't wanna be dead lol

Will attend ur funeral tho promise 🙏

"What you grinning at?" Val smiled and eyed Xavier's expression as he put away the phone next to them. Her hands were busy with his zipper, clearly ready to take him now.

"Nothin'." He answered a bit too quickly for it to be actually nothing so he tried to distract her by gliding his palm underneath her shirt, squeezing her breasts. "Just our sweet Ajax worrying about us and all."

He sighed, feeling her taste on his tongue and her palm now working on his erect length on full display now. He was twitching, anticipation building up in his chest and groin. He purred, feeling the delicious friction he longed for so badly and bucked into her hand, covering it with precum.

"You ready for me, baby?" Val breathed, pulling him towards her. "I feel so empty without you inside me."

Xavier groaned, all thoughts about the werewolf guy fleeting from his mind as he felt his tip glide against her dripping folds.

"Always," he breathed, their mouths connecting as he pushed his throbbing dick inside her with a pleasured groan, mixing with her whimpers.

From the corner of her eye, Val saw Xavier's phone screen lit up with a message from Ajax saying 'on it chief'. But her boyfriend grabbed her thighs and pushed them towards her chest, leaning onto them and started thrusting and every single rational thought she had disappeared, only to be replaced by the overwhelming waves of pleasure that sent sparks through her body each time Xavier’s cock pushed deep into her fluttering cunt. The pace he set was fast but not too much, leaving her wanting more of him, more of this. His name falling from her lips made his hips stutter. He thirstily drank it from her mouth as they sloppily caressed each other with their open mouthed kisses. He put her ankles at the both sides of his face, leaving his hands free to hungrily roam her body writhing underneath his weight.

It wasn't long before she grew hot to the touch.

"Xavi, god baby, I'm close." Her whining made his hips lose their rhythm for a second, and she desperately lifted her butt up to meet his thrusts faster. "You feel so good, so thick, filling me up like that."

She was lost in pleasure, babbling sweet nonsense, trying to grab his hips, scratching at his arms. The sounds of their voices, mixed with the lewd, wet sounds of his cock being repeatedly swallowed by her pussy, skin slapping against skin, filled every corner of the bathroom. She was so close, so cockdrunk, she didn't hear the bathroom door open and a voice calling out.

"Hey, sexay, you waiting for m‐‐"

Adam strutted into the bathroom she was supposedly waiting for him at, only to stop dead in his tracks the second he saw the scene unfold before his eyes.

Xavier Thorpe was balls deep inside Valerye's wet cunt, with her legs up against his chest, writhing under his repeated, fast thrusts, her voice throaty as she moaned her boyfriend's name into his mouth.

"Fuck, Xavier, Xavier, oh yes, I'm cumming, god I'm cumming, Xavi don't stop, please, make me cum, make me…"

Her eyes suddenly grew wide as her body strained upwards, mouth in a silent 'o' as she pressed her damp forehead against Xavier's, nails digging into his arms. He would definitely have scratch marks and it made him proud as fuck. His flushed cheeks got even redder as he felt her body heat up like she was about to catch fire. He watched her eyes go unfocused, seeing and feeling her spasming as her orgasm tore through her.

"Xavier, Xavier, Xavi–" The rest of her wails turned into an incoherent garble, as she threw her head back, eyes rolling to the back of her head. She felt as if her mind disconnected from her body for a few seconds when Xavier groaned her own name.

"Fuck, Valerye. Fuck." His cock swell and with erratic thrusts, he spilled inside her, pumping her cunt to the brim with his seed. His body then rested on top of hers, both exhausted, yet she still rocked herself down from her high, his softening dick still inside her.

As if she was underwater, she thought she heard Xavier's voice. It was filled with pure malice.

"Like to watch, furry? Or looking for something - or someone, huh?" A vengeful, wide, seething smile contorted his features as he raised his eyebrows at the dumbstruck werewolf still standing in the bathroom, watching them with wide, unblinking eyes.

"What?" Val rubbed her eyes and turned her head to the side, only to see the back of Adam's uniform disappear in the doorway of the room. "...what?!"

She sprung to her feet, pushing Xavier off of her only to feel his arms around her waist a second after she was off the counter. Her knees gave out, legs shaky, and she would fall flat on her face if it wasn't for his quick reflexes.

"What the fuck was that?" She gestured wildly towards the door.

"No idea," he said with the most ingenuine innocence plastered across his face. His voice, however, gave it all away - a cocky sort of pride mixed with self satisfaction clearly audible in those two words made her look at him incredulously. He quickly glanced at his phone, still on the counter and grinned stupidly, looking at her from underneath his eyelashes.

"NO, you did not." Her eyes bulged out at him in shock, she was feeling faint.

"The entire Academy is going to know! About… abouth this!" She waved her hands around in between them and leaned over the sink.

"Don't think so." Xavier turned on the faucet and wet some paper towels. She looked at him but before she could berate him some more, he continued. "I think he's not gonna say a single word about that."

Val felt the damp paper on her inner thighs and she shivered at the sensation. He peppered her butt with tiny kisses while cleaning her of his mess that dripped out of her.

"I think he's way too embarrassed now to admit he was thinking you might be into him. Not to mention he saw you cum around my cock, moaning my name while you did that."

"He saw that…?" Val breathed, frozen in utter disbelief, hand pressed against her forehead. Xavier noded, a vicious grin once again stretching his lips.

"I guess he needed to see and find out for himself, poor thing." He mused, feigning concern. "Since, you know, you nearly biting his head off during lunch break did absolutely nothing to get the fact that you are not interested through that thick skull of his."

"I just… thought I'd give him a little hint, y'kno? Help a bro out."

"I can't believe you." A heat of embarrassment crept up her cheeks as she turned around to face him, fixing her uniform. He sported his signature smirk as he zipped his pants up and went to tie his hair again, since it was completely disheveled. A light pink tint was present on his chiseled cheeks and jawline, his full lips even plumper from all the work they've done, still stretched into this fucking prideful grin.

She grabbed his loosened, damp tie and pulled him down to her level, crashing her lips with his, surprising him enough to make him drop the hair tie.

"Thorpe, you are so lucky I actually like you." She murmured against his lips, making him laugh as he pulled her closer to him. "Otherwise you would be dead by now."

#xavier thorpe smut #xavier thorpe #xavier thorpe fanfic #xavier smut #xavier thorpe x oc #jealous!xavier thorpe

490 notes · View notes

ashintheairlikesnow · 9 days

Text

WIP - The Cry of Distress Rings

I haven't written anything worthwhile in longer than I'd like. But here is a little bit of what I managed to work on this morning!

“The rabbit is excellent tonight, I think,” Guilford Wentworth said, taking a sip from his wine glass and then swirling the dark liquid inside. He smiled, and his teeth seemed stained slightly red. Kira fought back the way her stomach flipped and bile seemed to rise in her throat, fighting to find its way out.

Behind him, from the display against the window, there was a whimper half-suppressed.

Kira didn’t dare look.

There was a building fury inside her that she feared would burn the entire house to the ground around her if she raised her eyes and set it free.

Instead, she focused on her plate. She kept her eyes down and forced herself to look at the pale ivory ceramic with its lovely swirling blue, images of men and women with parasols and bowties strolling through a wooded area alongside a stream.

Her fingers kept tingling, as if there were sparks and embers burning just beneath the tips. She kept thinking about the silver melting in her hand before, the singed handprints on the wall of the bedroom she'd been held in.

The siren's soft insistence on wild magic - not something that belonged to the fey creatures and monsters alone, but something a human might wield, too.

Something she might wield.

She didn't look up.

But gods above and below, why did the rabbit have to be covered in a berry-sauce that was so dark and rich and thick and red?

She chose a particular bit of rabbit flesh and stabbed her own fork into it as she would have if she held a knife and Guilford himself was at the other end.

As if he felt the tines, the siren groaned.

She couldn’t help it. She dropped the fork and it clattered against the plate, the sound far too loud in a room where the heavy silence had been broken only by Guilford Wentworth's rambling.

"Make her look," Guilford said, in a low voice.

The siren sang.

His voice was broken by the pain, hushed and cracking, but there was still enough power in it that Kira felt her chin lifting against her will, her eyes moving to meet Areyto's as his pain washed into her and commanded she see.

Strung up like a tormented saint, the siren’s arms were up over his head so his back was arched and his muscles stretched, body lean and long. The length of him was framed by the yellowed evening light coming through the window, making of the siren’s agony a near-silhouette, the suggestion of an endless darkness ringed in a terrible light.

Kira’s fingers tightened around her fork as the siren’s head turned to the side. Heavy cuffs with chains that went up to the beams in the ceiling kept his wrists up above him, spikes on the inside buried deeply into his skin. Kira could see rivulets of blood running downwards, the siren's muscles shifting and twitching as the lines worked through way into the crook of his elbow and towards his shoulder.

The same red droplets ran down his chest thanks to the spikes inside the metal collar he wore now as well. From his ankles, blood dripped onto the ground.

Naked, the markings that kept him in this terrible slavery were on full and total display. Kira’s heart beat faster than the rabbit on her plate had ever been able to run.

Areyto's eyes had gone blank and empty except for the pain. There was no one there, only a statue staring back at her while it bled.

Areyto would bleed and never die from the blood loss. He no longer had the option to die unless his master wanted him to.

What a terrible cruelty.

What a hopeless captivity

Kira’s stomach kept turning. She set the bite of rabbit back down again.

Her fingerprints were burned into the fork she had been holding.

#whump #work in progress #wip #captivity #blood tw #restraints tw #bleeding tw #siren whump #magical whump #nonhuman whumpee #defiant whumpee #kira I love youuuuu #bones in the ocean

38 notes · View notes

onomatopagu-et-cie · 11 months

Text

HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY & some other notes on DGM!

I'm a little late but HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY!!!! Time flies fast and this series accompanied my thoughts and heart for almost two decades now!

This first preface will stay a long time in my thoughts. Thank you for letting us join in on your wonderful journey, Hoshino ⋆｡°✩

I recently listened again to Blue Moon sung by Ella Fitzgerald and ... it's giving me Mana, Allen and Neah (or the whole cast haha) feelings ;;

I had some other notes I wanted to share since the previous post, so here it goes!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH247!!!!)

▶ Innocence & Akuma and Timcampy Innocence is attracted by Akuma, as though they once formed a whole together:

(the imagery here haunts me, especially with a heart in the background and the cross in the middle!!)

-> the story insists on informing us Innocence and Akuma balance each other and hold equal power over each other -> at the Asian branch, Allen’s Innocence reactivates only once he saw an Akuma ; the 3rd generations arm and Allen’s Innocence activated on their own when they were close -> the Innocence takes the shape of a bust deprived of head, arms and legs, but it has wings (and the recent chapters mainly represent Innocence with wings eg. Mugen, Apocryphos and Allen) ; the Akuma egg is a head in itself -> the Innocence’s mark on the exorcists looks like a cross but also the stigma on the Noah’s forehead -> both evolve in the same fashion. However, Akuma seem to me visually more ‘complete’ than the Innocence (eg. in Phantom G ark, even the children, the Prioress and Emilia thought a Level 4 was an angel): some are seen with more defined human features, wings, halo, tail, horns altogether. It’s curious how Level 4 Akuma (and Alma also) are designed with a halo, which is generally a symbol of holiness in art.

-> Skull use what looks like ladybug to create their barriers (which can prevent anyone except Akuma from entering, nullify Allen’s left eye power and his ability to summon the Ark).

In some cultures and languages, ladybugs are often seen as a good-luck charm and are linked to heaven and God. For example, in french, we call them ‘bêtes à bon Dieu’ (something like God’s creature) since the Middle Age. Its name can even be associated with the Virgin Mary (ladybug/bird or in german, Marienkäfer means Mary’s beetle). In japanese, the word for ladybug is 天道虫, ‘tentou-mushi’ which literally means 'Heaven Path bug'. It can also be written with the kanji for 'red' and 'girl' respectively, 紅娘.

Now, this is a wild reach which might lead nowhere (surely like the others 8D), but the Crows are the only ones described by their red silhouettes (you would expect their costumes to be jet black, by their title) and the two red dots on their forehead. There are also many black ladybug species with two red spots on their wings eg. the twice-stabbed lady beetle.

-> Just another wild speculation but if the song heard when the Dark Boots crystallized itself around Lenalee was the lullaby (the only song mentioned in the story along with Lala’s and Maria’s), what to make of it?

While the Innocence only affected non-exorcists (supposedly because its will is overwhelming to them, according to Bookman), Level 4 Akuma seem to have the same head-crushing cry and it incapacitates exorcists, to the point that they struggle to synchronize.

Only the dead like Maria seems to remain unaffected. However, in ch147, Link was still able to move to save Allen from the collapse.

-> The only instances Akuma and Innocence use each other’s attributes are Akuma 4 (wings) and Fallen Ones’ (halo) designs.

-> The Earl is determined to keep the Akuma’s true nature hidden from the Heart, because there’s something in there it could use as an advantage. It suggests something could directly be done by the Heart if it knew that piece of information eg. control both Innocence and Akuma or turn Akuma into Innocence or vice versa? Idek anymore haha

-> Timcampy is the only character to have both the Innocence and the Akuma/Earl attributes, wings and horns. And we also had THIS cover (the second picture, I never saw it colored before I re-read DGM and idk if this was established it was Timcampy):

Not to mention Timcampy’s weird deus ex machina entrance to motivate Allen again in ch53 (when he was giving up on saving Suman)?

▶ The Chang, Akuma, Skulls and Link A detail I forgot to mention in the first post was that Link’s tattoo, as expected, share the same motif with the ones inked on the Chang to link them to Fō as it’s shown in volume 21. Similar tattoos were on Alma’s arms and belly since that magic was also used on him.

Level 4 Akuma and Skulls also share the same marks?????

Fô’s head ‘accessory’ looks like the Akuma egg’s design:

Skulls (the katakana highlighted in green on the screenshots), like the Chang family, are also sorcerers. The manga introduces them in japanese with the title 守化縷 (the kanji highlighted in yellow on the screenshots), which literally can be translated as ‘guard(ian) of the thread’.

Now what's a synonym of thread?

… It’s Link!!!! The coincidence goes even further with Link’s last name, Howard. According to wikipedia’s entry:

????????? I don’t know what to make of this, but this sure isn’t pure coincidence. This and the way Apocryphos and Lavi called Link ‘watchdog’ as well as Kanda ‘Luberrier’s dog’ insists on his role as a guard. But whose? Allen’s? Luberrier’s? Somebody/thing else?

-> According to his profile in volume 20, Edgar Chang Martin, part of a secondary Chang branch, was related to a great sorcerer involved with the Order. The sorcerer was german. Link is also german (like Kiredori, Tewaku, Goushi, Madarao and Tokusa), I don’t believe we have other german profiles in the story nor blondes like him, Bak’s father and Bak himself (oh, and I forgot ofc our girl Miranda!!). Link could be related to that great german sorcerer and thus be an heir of Atuuda, unbeknownst to Zuu (but I wonder how that would be groundbreaking for the story?)

-> the spells the Chang use could be related to/even originate from the Skull’s (given how the manga hints at how ancient Skull’s sorcery is). The operation to bestow the power to cast magic to the Crows could be similar to how the Skull tinkered with the scientists’ head in volume 15.

-> heck, dude could even be linked to Timcampy, they’re both gold (I’m half-joking at this point idek anymore 8D) and Timcampy uses the same sanskrit-inspired magic as the Skulls (eg. when Tim destroys the barrier to save Allen during his battle against Alma and Kanda). Hoshino also emphasizes the importance of the gold color in the manga (the Noah’s eyes, Timcampy, Allen getting hungry over this color, the Campbell mansion’s landscape, …) just as the silver/gray color, so there might be something? Also, Cornelia’s wood can destroy Timcampy. Cornelia derivates from the latin cornix, which means crow…………… Please e x p l a i n

Also, what is this ‘thread’ the Skulls have the duty to protect? Their main duty is to protect the Akuma egg?

Now three things will keep bothering me until we get answers in the manga:

2) These pages following each other (and the last two are literally back to back, it’s more visible when you read the physical copy + it’s Link’s right hand and Allen’s left):

(Of course I know Atuuda acted up once Link subconsciously shook when he thought of Apocryphos and this is a smooth way to have a transition to Neah’s pov, but the panelling is still interesting here)

3) What Zuu really meant to say to Link before he was interrupted by Luberrier (and I don’t think it was the whole ’becoming the 14th’s ally’ because Luberrier was clear on that in front of Link only some pages later)?????

▶ Cross and his mask Hoshino hinted that both Lavi’s eyepatch and Cross’s mask are mysteries to be unveiled. The mark on his mask looks like the Innocence and the Noah’s stigma. It also looks like Mana’s Pierrot makeup, or even the Pillar mentioned in volume 27:

The shape of his mask looks like a coffin? (It could also be a visual recall of Grave of Maria, but who knows!)

It reminds me of the "La" + "Vi" cover and the 'box' protecting the egg also looks like a coffin:

▶ Road We now know Road was even able to manipulate Allen/Neah’s dreams without even interacting with them (unlike with Lavi). She even invited Cross’ dreamy-whatever-consciousness in it (because I’m sure Cross himself was conscious of it to some extent and was able to give some hints to Allen even though he was used by Road), which persuaded Allen to go to the Campbell mansion. Could it be that she also tampered with Lenalee and Allen’s nightmares after she met them (or at the very least Allen, since the manga shows how the dream strongly motivated him to reactivate his Innocence)?

I find it even more curious she’s named like that when one of Allen’s elements of crisis over his identity is following a road already traced by somebody else.

Road might have something to do with the Heart (that and also the fact her iconic door is heart-shaped, with a checked pattern and a crown on top?)?

▶ Apocryphos Ch247 finally established the link between the Cube’s prophecies and Apocryphos: the Cube is regarded by the Order as the official « text » on the Innocence and the three days of doom, the Heart is mentioned but there is no trace of Apocryphos in there. Just as the truth on the 3 days of doom the Noah claim to exist. Also just as the Heart is capable to create dupes to escape the Earl. Apocryphos is a literal reference to the apocrypha, texts deemed unauthentic by religious authorities. According to the Cambridge dictionary, « an apocryphal story is probably not true although it is often told and believed by some people to have happened. » The one the most tricked so far in the story seems to be the Order.

▶ Cross in volume 17

In volume 17, Cross asks Allen « What if I told you that when you become the 14th you will have to kill the people (or someone) you care about? ». To which Allen answers: « What do you mean I have to kill the people (or someone) I care about?! »

In the original version, Cross uses « daijina ningen (人間) » for ‘the people (or someone) you care about’ ; Allen uses « daijina hito (人) ».

Which is curious for Cross because hito (人) would generally be used here: both mean human, but while 人 refers to ‘human’ as a person, 人間 refers to ‘human’ as the species in a taxonomic classification. Is it to highlight the true nature of Neah as a Noah apart from the humans Allen came to care about along his way? Does Cross also set himself apart from the humanity as a 3rd party?

▶ Funny how Link and Mana can be associated in the manga: -> ch137, « Orphan and Clown », introduces Link to Allen when he’s still trying to figure out why the Ark’s partition uses the signs Mana taught him and is questioned by Link about it. It is later revealed in the manga Link was an orphan before joining the Crow. -> in ch183, Allen inadvertently voices his memories of Mana to Link -> in ch212, « Searching for A.W.: Calling You », as Allen loses consciousness, fighting Neah’s awakening, he calls out to Link but instead is greeted by a vision of a young Mana, calling out to Neah. This chapter also introduces the importance of Allen’s name to save him from Neah’s dreams. The original version for ‘Calling You’ is ‘’君を呼ぶ ‘ (kimi wo yobu). ‘Kimi’ is the pronoun both Mana and Link use in the manga ; past!Allen also seemed to use it with Neah. Johnny and Kanda both use omae for Allen.

EDIT: Allen also uses 'kimi' so the chapter's title works both ways (in French, the title was translated as "Écoute ma voix" which is "Listen to my voice", I like the way the calling works interchangeably!)!

-> in ch213, Link faces a mirror shirtless like Mana does later in volume 25:

-> in ch220, « Searching for A.W.: He Closes His Eyes Tighter in a Vortex », Neah recalls the Earl he’s Mana but remains in denial and Link admits being conflicted over Allen and Neah

Link, Neah and Cross share similar positions and the panelling adds to this parallel:

-> Link was given the order to aid Neah but hopes that Allen overcomes his fate as his host.

-> Neah awakens years later and faces the Earl, struggling with Mana’s memory ; he’s determined to destroy him even if he holds him dear.

-> Cross had to witness Mana's struggle against the Earl. Yet he still had to carry on his mission even when the Earl possessed Mana. Then he had to watch Allen being slowly taken over by Neah. Cross's message in ch173 hits even harder given his link with Mana and Neah: "You may not want to listen to someone like me who carries the will of the Fourteenth… But if you think either of us is forcing you to walk a certain path… I want you to know that’s not true. A path forms behind you as you walk. The earth you step on is compressed, leaving a print. You’re the only one who can make your path. So stop wearing Mana’s mask. Walk in your own if you haven’t given up." Perhaps he even said similar words to an anguished Mana (or he wished to have said them). He had to watch them go, one after the other, helplessly.

▶ The moon, D. and C.

Are the D and the C just stylized in Mana and Luberrier’s names? At least for Mana’s and Neah’s, the D. could hold some meaning since it even was ch218’s title. Hoshino dreamed to become an astronaut, loves the moon and the stars (they’re even part of her name and her own mascot) and used it a lot in her previous works.

In DGM, the moon is seen in its different phases at important moments. It mainly signals the passing of time (eg. how long has Allen been on the run) or gives atmospheric context to the scenes, but sometimes it holds a symbolic meaning:

-> The first Noah reunion shows the moon phases on each chair

-> It is part of the Musician's Score's lyrics (from the french official translation): « Tu étincelles, toi, l’enfant né sous une tremblante lune d’argent. » which could be « You shine, the child born underneath a trembling silver moon ».

-> It frames a romantic scene between Crowley and Eliade:

-> The moon and the stars are used in chapter titles eg. ch129, « Black and white, 0° » (a reference to the new moon) and ch144 « Black star, red star »

-> It’s foreboding in Lenalee & Allen’s nightmares and Allen’s prophecy as the Destroyer of time:

-> The full moon appears when two characters reunite: in astronomy, a syzygy is a « situation that occurs when the sun, the moon (or a planet), and the earth are in a straight line. This occurs when the moon (or planet) is at conjunction (new moon) or opposition (full moon) ». Syzygy comes from the ancient greek συζυγία which means junction, reunion.

Mana and Red’s first meeting, as Mana sings the lullaby:

Allen and the Earl’s ‘first’ meeting:

Allen and Link reunite:

As for the D and the C, when the moon waxes it is shaped like a D, and when wanes it appears as a C. Could this be a coincidence? The C in Luberrier could also be Campbell, but for now the mystery surrounding his family is far from being revealed.

▶ Timothy and Allen In ch183, « Wash your face and you’ll be alright », Timothy and the Prioress face the sunset the same way Mana and Red did as later revealed in ch238:

Have a nice week!

#dgm spoilers #dgm meta #d gray man #allen walker #road kamelot #cross marian #mana walker #link howard #neah campbell

216 notes · View notes