#morel mackernasey x reader

[bovine-providence]

A New Addition, Part 0: A Good Feeling

Spending an evening on Morel’s boat quickly becomes heated.

[CWs: established relationship, sex, conception.]

Morel had put a lot of work into making his boat as homely as possible, in order to be comfortable for the stretches of time he’d be away from land. It was something you appreciated now, as you stood in pajama bottoms and a large loose sweater while perusing his personal library. Unsurprisingly, the majority of books were practical for seafaring, from navigation charts to wind currents and almanacs. But you were preoccupied with the fictional stories; the spines of the books boasted titles from the classics to adventure, with the occasional fantasy.

“Bored already?”

You giggled as you turned to look at Morel, who looked quite comfortable laying back in his recliner.

“Nah, I just figured that we could read something together while the evening winds down was all.” You pulled out the book that had interested you most before padding over to Morel. He reached out to hold your waist to keep you steady as you straddled him and got comfortable on his lap. Glancing at the book you brought over, he smiled.

“Nice choice. Want me to read it to you?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

You snuggled against his chest as you felt his arm wrap around you, and once you were settled, Morel began to read aloud, his rich voice filling the room as he read the words on the pages.

———

Morel had paused his reading an hour in so you could get up and use the bathroom. As you washed your hands, eager to return to your husband, the thought of his warm body beneath yours raised a flash of heat through you. Mmm… maybe you could have some fun.

———

Morel glanced up as he saw movement, realizing it was you. His words died in his throat as you leaned against the wall, smiling slightly as you wore nothing more than the oversized sweater. It hung loosely over your body as the hem rested high up on your thighs, threatening to ride up further if you weren’t careful about your next move.

“That’s a good look on you,” Morel breathed, feeling his cock twitch in interest.

“Thank you, handsome,” you returned, slinking over to him. You were careful to straddle him again, ensuring the sweater didn’t ride up. Morel reached over, putting the book on the sidetable before returning his attention fully to you, grinning as he rested his hands on your thighs.

“Any reason for the change in wardrobe?”

“Nah, not really,” you shrugged. “Was just feeling a little needy.”

“I can get behind that,” Morel agreed. His hands smoothed over your thighs, inching up beneath your sweater before he stopped. “Just the sweater?”

“It’s comfy,” you explained, biting your lip as Morel raised the hem of the sweater, revealing your bare pussy. A thumb reached over to rub circles over your clit as the other hand brought fingers down to probe at your entrance. You sighed and leaned forward, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Just like that,” you moaned, rocking your hips against his hands. He tilted his head, sucking on your neck to leave a hickey. He loved hearing you whine when he left his marks on you.

“Wanna make love,” you whimpered. “Right now.”

“Here?” Morel asked. You nodded frantically, rocking your hips along his covered, hardened length. He pecked a kiss to your cheek as he withdrew his hands from your center, making a whine leave you.

“Give me a moment, pretty girl,” he muttered hoarsely as he shifted, just enough to lower his pants and boxers. His cock sprang free, hitting your dripping pussy.

You looked down at him, eyes half-lidded, as you rocked your hips again, dragging your pussy along the length of his cock. He groaned at the feel, placing his hands on your hips.

“You control the pace,” he assured as you reached down, wrapping a hand around his thick member to guide it to your pussy. You nodded, carefully lining his tip up with your entrance before lowering yourself.

Morel hadn’t been sure you were properly prepared to take him right now, but you seemed to be enjoying the stretch of his cock filling your pussy. He watched your face carefully for any signs of discomfort as you lowered yourself, but all he could see was pleasure cross your face as you eased yourself down his member.

Finally your hips joined his. With a sigh, you leaned forward to rest against his broad chest, nuzzling your face against his neck. You felt so full. You shifted your hips, feeling Morel’s cock move inside you.

“You’re so tight around me,” Morel hissed, wrapping an arm around your back to keep you pressed against him. He experimentally thrusted up, relishing in your cute gasp at the sensation. He languidly began to roll his hips, enjoying the feel of your pussy clenching around him with each thrust.

“Nngh, feels so good,” you whined against his neck, squeezing your thighs against his hips. You reached a hand down to start rubbing your clit again, adding to your pleasure as Morel sought his own.

Morel pulled away from you, and when you lifted your head, he leaned in close once more, hungrily kissing you.

“Mmm,” you moaned into his mouth happily.

Morel allowed himself to speed up, thrusting into your tight wet heat faster. You gasped, but didn’t tell him to stop.

“Need help?” At your frantic nod, Morel replaced your fingers on your clit with his own, pressing in at just the right pressure that you could feel your orgasm fast approaching.

“I’m getting close,” you whined against his lips. Morel smiled, continuing his actions. It wasn’t long after that you shuddered above him, your pussy clenching around his thick member as you came. Morel released at the feeling, his seed flooding your womb as he tossed his head back, enjoying the moment.

The small cabin filled with panting as you and your husband came down from your highs. Deep within you, sperm raced to find the egg waiting to be fertilized in your fallopian tubes.

You locked eyes with Morel, and giggled.

“That felt good.”

“Yeah, it did.” Morel gazed up at you lovingly, careful to remove his softening cock from your pussy to ensure you didn’t spill his cum.

“We should get cleaned up.” You sighed and moved to get up, but your legs were wobbly from the tucked-in position they had been in.

“Careful,” Morel chuckled as he helped steady you before tucking his cock back into his boxers. He smiled down at you. “Why don’t you wait here and I’ll clean us up?”

“Alright,” you agreed, taking his spot on the recliner. Morel was quick to get a washcloth from the bathroom, returning to you and gently cleaning you up.

“Do you think it’ll take this time?” you murmured. Morel glanced up at you.

“If it happens, it happens, honey. But I have a good feeling about tonight.” As Morel finished cleaning you off and planted a kiss to your lips, a sperm cell successfully reached your egg, triggering it to begin its descent into your womb.

Though you didn’t know any of this, you agreed with Morel; you had a good feeling about tonight.

[crusty-chronicles]

HxH Men Throwing Down with their S/O's Plushies

Synopsis: How hxh men react to your plushie collection, and if they'd fight them when you're not there.

An: I'm tired of all the fine men being ignored in the HxH fandom. Here's a Valentine's Day special of some of my favorites who are always overlooked for the most white bread, cardboard personality, toxic men.*cough cough* adult trio* cough cough*

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

Leorio 🩺

100% fights your plushies

Without a doubt he throws down with them when you're not there. Even when you're in the room he's throwing hands.

And it is personal 😤

You've caught him on several occasions saying- "Think you can sleep next to my girl/man and get away with it?!? You homewrecker!!!!”

It's honestly really funny to see him put one of your giant bears in a headlock.

But you have to stop him before he tears it because those things are expensive goddamit.

“Leave him alone. I've had him for about ten years and I doubt you could find me another one. So drop him,” you lecture.

And he begrudgingly drops your big teddy bear. But not before complaining that you love it more than him.

All pouty and upset until you kiss his cheek and reassure him.

“Babe, they're not alive. You have absolutely no competition for my heart.”

He knows that, but they're everywhere. Watching him with their beady little eyes from their place on your bed.

Which reminds me-

He piledrives your little plushies when you're not in the room.

If he had it his way, they'd all be locked away somewhere.

But because he loves you with his whole heart, he moves them away from your side of the bed to his.

What? Those little bastards thought they'd get to sleep next to you when he's home? Not a chance!

He hates them for the attention you give them, but he also contributes to your collection.

Whenever he's got funds to spare, he'll bring you home a new addition.

With the condition that you give him twice as many cuddles ☝️

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

Ging 🎣

He's a little less aggressive than Leorio, but he still fights your plushies.

And he fights with the intent to win.

Which more often than not leads them to getting ruined.

Tackles the absolute hell out of your big plushies. Then he'll jab it's stomach a few times.

“Getting a little too comfortable on my side, Jeremiah?”

If they're on the bed, they're on the floor when you get back.

Doesn't really do it for jealousy, but because he thinks your reaction is funny.

He'll throw one of the smaller ones off and you let out the most offended gasp.

“You stop that right now! You're gonna get him dirty! And I can't put him in the washer!”

He comes up with excuses too, just to see how much you'll let him get away with.

“That one was looking at me funny.” “You've got a place on your bed for each and every one of those little shittlings, but absolutely no room for me. It's not fair.” “I didn't get you that one, so it's under the bed where it belongs.”

The answer: you let him get away with a lot. You secretly think it's cute, but it's annoying how filthy he gets them.

He also steals them from time to time.

Totally not because he likes having something of you when he's away. What? You're crazy 🙄🙄🙄

He'll complain, but he'll always get you replacements for the ones he damages. He'll even get you the jumbo versions of the little ones.

Just because he loves you, despite his lackluster way of showing it.

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

Morel 🚬

He's pretty respectful about it

Does not fight them.

But, every man has his weakness.

So there are times when he'll pick one of the smaller ones up and inspect it. Right before he squeezes it completely in his hand.

Why does he do it? Just because.

They're like little stress balls

And it's during one of these moments of weakness that you catch him.

“You're choking out my poor frog! Let him go before his eye pops out!”

And he laughs. He thinks it's sweet how much you love these things.

Even if you've got them on shelves and they stare into his soul at night.

He makes it a habit not to smoke or use his ability in front of them.

They hold too much sentimental value to you. And the last thing he wants is for you to get upset.

But the squishing? It doesn't stop.

It's like they're begging to be smooshed.

And you never fail to get after him every time.

“Quit abusing my babies!” You scold before taking back your stuffed rabbit.

He lets you have another bed to put all your plushies on.

He's a big man 😤😤😤 He can't afford space to share with them. He also likes to sleep next to his partner undisturbed, thank you 😤.

Also contributes to your collection.

And we're not talking every once and a while.

He's got that hunter money, so if you see something you want, it's yours

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

Knov 👔

Arguably the most mature of the bunch

Your precious little babies are safe from him

It doesn't even cross his mind to fight them

That being said, your plushies aren't allowed on the bed at all ☹️

“I refuse to have my sleeping space occupied by that thing.” He said, gesturing to a very well loved seal plush. One of its eyes missing.

“What’s wrong with Samuel?”

“Look at it. The poor thing's traumatized. And you're gonna end up choking on its stuffing.”

They aren't even allowed in the bedroom on shelves.

However☝️, he does end up doing something special for you because of how much you adore your plushies.

He lets you dedicate one entire room to your collection. Buy a little bed for you to put them on. Even gets special shelves installed for you.

That's their room and theirs alone.

Also encourages you to get more now that you have ample space for them.

Every trip/mission he leaves for, he always makes sure to bring you something back.

Whether it be one of the huge bears or a little keychain plush, he gets it for you.

Definitely not a man afraid to spend on his S/O and their interest.

He also doesn't bat an eye at the attention you give them.

They mean a lot to you, but so does he judging by the way you're always ready to compromise

That and the way you cuddle closer to him at night and say-

“You're a whole lot better than even my softest of plushies.”

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

Knuckle 🐕

On a bad day, it's on sight.

Always the bigger ones too

“What're you looking at?” And then he'll wrestle whatever poor plush caught his eye first.

But he feels incredibly bad about it afterwards

Picking up your little dinosaur nugget plush with tears in his eyes.

“I'm so sorry. You're mother's/father's gonna kill me for this.”

Even goes as far as to stitch up any little holes if he damaged them.

What can I say? He's a total softie

Like many of the men on here, he does contribute to your collection.

But you also inadvertently make him start his own 💀

You'll buy one for yourself and because it needs a friend, you buy another.

Only to gift it to him because ‘They’re dating like us.’ 🥺

That's how it starts.

You start buying plushies in pairs.

One for you and one for him.

It never fails to make Knuckle cry.

“Babe really? You didn't have to.”

And he's cradling the little dog plush you got him with such care. Like it's the most delicate thing in the world.

He, of course, makes sure to get another set to pay you back.

Plushies in the bed?

100%

No complaints here.

Even memorizes the names of all of them.

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

Kurapika ⛓️

He simply does not have the energy to fight your plushies

He comes home tired and drained, understandably. And the first thing he does is collapse on the bed, right on top of them.

Doesn't think twice about it. In fact, he likes the extra cushion they provide.

And you don't mind all that much either. Kurapika does a lot. He's been through a lot.

If he wants to rest right on top of your plushies, he's more than welcome.

However, when he's not completely exhausted, he's mean to them ☹️

He'll push off the ones on his side of the bed to make space for himself. And he will not pick them up

Or he'll hide the one you usually snuggle with at night so he can cuddle you himself.

He just wants your warmth after a long day. Is that so much to ask for?

“Kurapika, have you seen my octopus plush anywhere?”

And he'll look away guiltily before mumbling a ‘No. Can't say that I have.’

But he always puts it back when he knows he'll be gone for a while.

He knows it brings you comfort, and who is he to take that away from you.

He does get pouty when you give them extra attention.

“I've been gone for a month and you're too busy cleaning that thing to greet me.” He complains.

Only for you to get up and wrap your arms around him. Giving his cheek a smooch before saying-

“You know you're precious to me. But I wouldn't be so busy cleaning my baby if you'd stop leaving him on the floor.”

He makes it up to you everytime by getting you another one.

He always makes sure to pick you something up when he comes back from searching for his clan's eyes.

A little thank you for always waiting for him and giving endless patience.

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

Kite 🪁

Another man whom your plushies are safe from

He's supportive of your collection, but all he asks is that they don't take up the entire bed.

If they do, he's a little mean about it and organizes them all on your side.

That's about as far as he goes with messing with them.

He definitely builds you shelves to keep them in

Again, the less of them in the bed, the more space you two have.

He thinks it's cute how much you care about them, and likes to indulge you by asking how you got them.

He listens to each and every story you have and why each plush is special to you.

Safe to say, this man does not get jealous

A piece of fluff with stuffing is the last thing he's worried about

That being said, he contributes less frequently to your collection than the other men on this list

He limits them to special occasions like your birthday or an anniversary.

Why?

He wants to make sure each one is attached to a special moment so you hold them just as dear as your other ones.

An import memory that you're able to hold onto

He's also careful around your plushies.

He doesn't wanna get them dirty or accidentally tear them because of how much they mean to you.

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

Wing 👓

This man right here is a 10/10

The absolute sweetest man

The thought doesn't even cross his mind to throw down with your plushies

In fact, he prides himself on taking care of them while you're out

Dusting them off, reorganizing them, stitching up any little holes he sees

Also someone who goes out of his way to memorize all their names.

Knows each one by heart because he always listens intently when you talk about them

Your big dinosaur?

That's Chungus.

The little raccoon?

Sylvester.

You want the plushies in bed?

Of course! Each one has their own special place. And he makes sure there's enough space for the both of you.

If he's got money to spare, he's definitely gonna get you something.

You don't even have to ask, he's already bringing you home a little duck plush that Zushi thought you'd like. What can he say? The kid adores you

This man doesn't get jealous whatsoever

In fact, you're the one who ends up getting pouty because he's taking fantastic care of your plushies.

“Honey, I want cuddles.” You whine.

And he's cleaning off one of your bears with a damp rag.

“In a minute, dearest. You got him dirty last night.”

But as soon as he's done, you've got his full attention

He just knows how much you love those things and wants you to be able to cherish them for as long as possible.

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

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 💕💕💕💕

[callmerainman]

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 | 𝐊𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

fandom. Hunter X Hunter

pairing. Knuckle Bine x hunter!fem!Reader

spoilers!. huge Chimera Ant Arc spoilers

plot. the night before the final fight against King Meruem in the palace of East Gorteau, you decide it’s time to confess your love to none other than your friend and Hunter companion, the oblivious Knuckle Bine. Because you can’t sleep, and cause maybe you’ll never have another chance to tell him. But instead, Knuckle makes you promise something: to put the World before him tomorrow. Will you respect his wishes?

word count. 3,6k

prompts. Chimera Ant Arc, aftermath of the Chimera Ant Arc final battle, Reader is also a Hunter and Morel apprentice, secretly in love, love confessions, awkward romance, Knuckle is dense, kissing, making out, getting together.

You like many things about Knuckle.

In the beginning he didn't give you a good impression. You both got close to each other after you got taken under the protective wing of Morel, who instructed you along with Shoot. Shoot is a quieter type, really silent, but getting along with him was smooth and easy. With Knuckle it was a whole other story. During your first missions together he always raised doubts about the tactics you proposed, on the other hand you did the same with him. If you said A, he would say B. If he wanted to go right, you wanted to go left. And this would always end up in yelling, staring contests and headbutting. You understood some things about Knuckle: he was hot-headed, impulsive, loud and a braggart. But he was also kind. No matter how many times he shouted against you, he never did it for personal hatred. It was for genuine interest in helping people in need, and to make sure that the mission was successful. He never insulted you with more than a superficial "idiot", and from his eyes you always understood that he didn't really mean it and that he didn't want to offend your intelligence. Even Knuckle soon realized how kind you were, and how much you took care of things and people you cared about. He respected it. You two learned how to trust one another and make a better team, much to Shoot's and Morel's relief, who honestly couldn't take it anymore. Your fights decreased, replaced by an unconditional affection and a unbreakable loyalty. And from your part, even love. People would often ask if you and Knuckle were a couple. And every time both you and him would answer with a ferocious "OF COURSE NOT!". Knuckle's cheeks and ears would get hot, and you would feel your stomach erupt in warmth from embarrassment. You couldn't look at each other in the face.

His hair, first of all. They were his trademark. Always styled in a pompadour, they were really popular between high school thugs. Knuckle told you that he even formed a gang when he was a student, and that it was the most feared inside the school. To be honest, you were really sure that it was just a very normal group of friends who loved to slack off, and that he told you that just to sound tough. You like the stress lines under his eyes, which give him a serious look just how he wanted it. And you appreciate his ears, which become red and hot when he loses his shit or when he's embarrassed, two moods he constantly swings between.He has a pretty body, toned and muscular thanks to his intensive workouts and his inclination towards the art and use of Nen.And you like that he takes care of stray dogs, and the way he cries so easily out of sympathy and emotion. He's a sweet guy who gets moved to tears so often even though he hides it behind a tough-guy armor. You like more things about him than you can count.

One time, while patrolling alone with Morel and Shoot during a mission, you dared to question them about all of this.

"I wonder why people always ask me and Knuckle if we're a couple. For example, why not me and you, Shoot?"

If only Shoot had eyebrows, he would have raised them all the way up his hairline. So his hooded eyes were just comically wide. Morel, on the other hand, erupted in a loud, gigantic laugh that made you jump in surprise. A laugh so hard that he had to hold onto his pipe. You stopped, putting your hands on your hips.

"C'mon, what are you laughing at!" you pouted.

"Are you really asking why people think that you and that idiot are couple?!" Morel choked between laughter "you with the shiny eyes every time you stare at him? Who drools when he takes off his jacket during combat? Who plays with her hair like schoolgirl when we get out for drinks and he offers you a beer? You gotta be kidding me!"

And he proceeded to keep laughing again. Meanwhile, your face caught on fire. You smacked both hands on your mouth, shaking your head vigorously.

"I never stared at him!" you tried to object.

"If I may intrude" Shoot intervened, shyly "you stare at him a lot"

"That's not possible..." you whispered.

You wanted to threaten your own mentor to stop laughing, because what Morel said wasn't true at all. You didn't like Knuckle that way. But you just couldn't protest. Morel was right. You did really like Knuckle that way!

"Fuck, I like Knuckle! How could it be...and most importantly, what do I do!" you exclaimed, fisting your hair in your hands out of panic.

Morel sighed, puffing some smoke in the process. Then, he showed off one of the big grins of his.

"Boys are complicated, dearie, so I suggest we all get drunk tonight"

"Sounds like a great idea" you replied.

The step from liking to loving was really short. It was so easy to fall in love with Knuckle once you understood that you had feelings for him. Even though you kept fighting now and then, and you still called each other idiots. He cared about immensly, and you cared about him. Everything culminated one night after you promised to protect each other with your own lives. Morel took you out to drink as usual, and maybe you and him were a bit drunk.

"If the situation ever requires it, I'll give up my life for you, (Y/N)" Knuckle said.

Yeah, you did drink, and you were waiting for a taxi outside the bar you usually spent your free time in. But the way his eyes looked into you as he said that was so damn serious. And you, to such a determined and kind gaze, could answer with a stare just as serious.

"And I'll do the same for you, Knuckle"

Night before the selection

It's a quiet night. Clear, silent. You and your teammates would appreciate it more if only there wasn't this uneasiness in the air. Tomorrow the King of Chimera Ants, Meruem, will begin the selection, which will kill millions of people in no time. You, Knuckle, Morel and Shoot were selected to go to the NGL region to get rid of the menace. It's, without the shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous mission you've ever dealt with, you understood it during your fights against the Ants. And facing the Royal Guards will be way worse. Both you and Knuckle risked a lot, and if you ever had to die one day, you feel like it would be tomorrow. And you still didn't tell Knuckle that you love him. What if this is the last good moment to tell him? Tomorrow you won't have time for sure, and maybe not even after, because you're not sure that there'll be an after tomorrow. The thought creeps you out and prevents you from sleeping and gathering energies. You tried to sleep on the floor of the small abandoned chalet where you and and your squad are resting. But the fact that Gon and Killua keep doing push-ups doesn't really help. With a nervous sigh, you get up. You exit the chalet, taking a big breath of fresh air. You were feeling like suffocating before. The air is cold just right. And stars are really beautiful in NGL, without any artificial light the night sky is a whole other story. This could be your last chance to see so many pretty stars, because you're pretty sure that tomorrow you won't have any time to raise your nose up. An imperceptible sound of chattering makes his way towards your ears. You turn around to see if you have company, but there's no one. A small leaf lands on your nose, and you look upwards. Shoot and Knuckle are discussing something on top of a tall tree, you can't hear what they're saying but the concern in their voices is evident. Knowing that you aren't the only one uncomfortable relieves you, so you decide to climb up the tree and reach them.

"Trouble sleeping?"

As soon as Knuckle sees you, he jumps. And Shoot flushes red in a matter of seconds, sweating profusely. You raise a curious brow.

"What's going on? Did I interrupt something?" you ask, concerned.

Even Knuckle's cheeks become a blushing mess, his lips pressed tightly against each other and his muscular body stiff under his white jacket.

"No it's just..." Knuckle says, almost stuttering "y-you...YOU HAVE SOME NASTY EYEBAGS!"

Knuckle points a finger right to your face, and Shoot covers his face with his hand.

You're absolutely not convincing...he thinks.

But Knuckle still manages to make you mad as fuck, and you grit your teeth.

"That ain't true! It's just that I can't sleep tonight!" you protest, raising two fists in front of the Beast Hunter.

"I think I'll leave you two alone" Shoot whispers, and with only a jump he gets down the tall tree.

"Shoot, wait!" you exclaim.

Having his company would have reassured you, since he was just as anxious as you. You're always surrounded by impulsive Hunters without any sense of danger, who understands you better than him?

"But for real, are you okay?"

It was Knuckle who talked, who's voice got softer. He's looking at you with apprehension, the stress lines under his eyes frowning. You relax your gaze too as you meet his eyes.

"Not really" you sigh, and you sit right next to him on the tree branch, your feet swinging in the darkness beneath it.

"Nervous for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we went on so many missions before this one without loosing once. But we aren't invincible, and this is a really big menace. I'm worried that we might not make it"

You were so scared of never getting to tell him that you love him. Maybe you should do it now. Knuckle doesn't say anything. It's true, by this hour tomorrow he could have already lost you. The thought terrifies him. He had already faced 5000 battles without losing one, but nothing can guarantee him that you'll be with him after tomorrow. He presses his lips together and looks down. You can't stand his eyes either.

"You're right, this time we can't be so certain" he murmures "I'm sorry, (Y/N), I can't make you feel better"

You have to tell him now.

"Knuckle, there's something I have to sa-"

"Wait, (Y/N), I have to tell you something too" Knuckle interrupts you. He has never done this, he always respected your words, even when he didn't agree.

You hold your breath, gripping your clothes between your fingers.

"What?" you ask with half a voice.

Knuckle finally looks at you, serious. He reaches for you with his hand and softly grazes your face so that you can look at him. You hope he doesn't feel it getting warmer under his touch, because you feel that way in response of his unexpected gesture. You just know that your pupils are dilated now. You're drowning in his eyes, always so furious yet kind. After making sure that you're looking in his eyes, he lets his hand fall from your face slowly.

"I..." Knuckle opens his mouth, but it seems like words are stuck in his throat. He never had trouble talking, why now?

For a moment it seems like Knuckle's stumbling on his own words.

"I..." ha takes a deep breath, before shaking his head "made you a promise, one night in front of our bar"

You look at him intently.

"And I know that I was very drunk, but I always took it seriously. And I know you did the same"

You didn't expect him to talk about your promise. Instinctively, you scoot closer to him making your body scratch against the bark of the branch.

"Of course I took it seriously" you say.

"But I gotta ask you to break it”

You spread your eyes open. Knuckle gets close to you too and lays his hand on your shoulder. A shiver goes down your spine.

"Knuckle I can't"

"But you have to, because this isn't just a mission, you just said it yourself. This is about saving the world, and promises can't count anymore. Except for this one"

"Which one?"

Slowly your hand trailed up your own shoulder to touch Knuckle's, caressing his fingers. Usually the embarrassment would be too much to handle. Your physical touch was always playful or angry, never intimate. But you don't have time to be embarrassed.

"Tomorrow you have to prioritize the mission, not me. Even if I'll be on the verge of death, you have to put our duty first, not me. I know that this goes against what we always said to each other, but please respect it. If the situation ever requires it, put the world before me"

Your fingers tighten around his hand harder. You feel yourself tearing up but you repress them. You grit your teeth and tremble. You start to really fear how you'll feel tomorrow if this is your reaction at just the idea of losing Knuckle. Would you ever take it?

"Alright, I'll do it"

Knuckle is surprised, but pleasantly. He really didn't want to fight with you tonight.

"But only if you'll do the same with me. If the situation requires it, choose the world and not me"

Knuckle holds your hand on your shoulders. He frowns. He always does it when he's conflicted. Then, he nods with determination in front of your eyes.

"Alright, I promise"

"Then I promise too"

Too focused on holding your hands, none of you noticed the free ones crossing their fingers behind your backs.

Dawn after the fight of East Gorteau

You broke your promise with Knuckle and Knuckle did the same for you. You woke up next to Ikalgo in a warehouse under East Gorteau's palace, where Meruem lived. The octopus explained to you that it was over, that the King was poisoned and was spending his last moments with Komugi, the girl you had in custody hours ago. You won. You're covered in wounds, but still able to stand up. You ended up like this while fighting against Youpi, throwing yourself in defense of Knuckle who fell in his trap. Your weapons were reduced to dust by the Royal Guard, but you were able to blind some of his eyes. However, the fight made both you and your Nen unable to fight. Your Nen was proven really effective against Royal Guards, so giving it up was a loss for your team and for the chances of saving humanity. You broke your promise. Knuckle did the same for you when Youpi threatened not only to kill Morel, but also yourself if he didn't deactivate Potclean. And so Knuckle did. You both broke the promise that you never intended to keep. After the fight you collapsed from tiredness and loss of blood. You had a brief and confused memory of Knuckle taking you in his arms before laying you down in a safe place. When you woke up, Ikalgo was next to you and told you the news.

"Where's Knuckle? Is he okay?!" you blurt out.

Ikalgo nods "The King knocked him out along with Meleoron, but he's fine. He should still be at one of the palaces towers"

Using your last energies, you stand up. Ikalgo cured all your wounds but scratches and cuts are still visible. Some scars will never go away.

"(Y/N)! Are you sure?" Ikalgo asks, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll go get him. Can you take me to him? There are some things that still haven't said to him and I thought I would never be able to"

Ikalgo, seeing your sincere and tired smile, nods. He takes you under one of his tentacles, supporting your body until you arrive in front of the room where Knuckle was laying down unconscious. You stand in the room. Sunlight beams through the window and delicately touch his sculpted body, his face still frowned in determination despite his loss of senses. You smile again, calm, before looking at Ikalgo. You exchange looks of understanding, then he trots towards Meleoron and takes away his sleeping but unscathed body.

It's just you and Knuckle now.

You get close to his body slowly, ruins crankling under your feet. You crouch down in front of him, sitting on your legs. You reach for his hair and start caressing them slowly. You almost don't want to wake him up, even though it's a tormented sleep caused by violence.

"Knuckle, it's me, (Y/N)"

His back rises as if he had been underwater for so long. He groans deeply before using all his energy to roll on his back. Now he's facing upwards, his gaze looking up at your calm and sweet smile. Knuckle squeezes and opens his eyes slowly, welcomed by your face. A small smile extends on his own face in response.

"(Y/N)..." he slurs, his voice raspy "you're alive...did we win?"

Carefully, you take Knuckle's head between your hands and slowly place it on your lap. He lets you do so without daring to protest.

"Yeah, we won. The King was poisoned and is spending his last hours in peace. It's over" you answer.

You gently start to caress his pompadour, now messy. Your delicate strokes go in tandem with your tired breaths.

"Great, but...I broke the promise" Knuckle goes on, a bit mortified.

"I did it too, it doesn't matter, I would do it again" you reply as you keep touching him.

You never had such an intimate moment, such a gentle touch under sun rays. You've never been so happy to see the sun rising.

"Knuckle, there's something I have to tell yo-"

"I'm in love with you"

You jump in surprise and spread your eyes open. For a moment you believe that he's just being delirious because of tiredness. But then you get lost in his gaze. Knuckle's face, always so angry and tough, completely melted in a tender and meek smile, kissed by the sun, pacified. You stop stroking his hair for a sec.

"What?"

"I'm in love with you, I really mean it. Tonight I realized how precarious the world is and that I couldn't afford to just not tell you" Knuckle says, in a whisper.

Your eyebrows arch upwards and a moved smile sprawls across your wounded face.

"I love you too, Knuckle"

Knuckle's reaction is similar to yours. Mouth slightly parted, a small inhale of surprise. It's really sweet. He didn't expect you to reciprocate, he didn't expect nothing from you in fact.

"(Y/N)..."

"I love you even though I always fight with you, even if you're hot-headed, stubborn, a braggart and with a weird haircut. But I love the way you care about others even when you deny it, and the way you cry for them. I love your haircut too, by the way. I just want to give you back the kindness you give to me and other people"

Your hands touches him again, this time caressing his cheek. Knuckle doesn't know what to say, words dying in his throat. You get lost in his eyes once again, then you snap out of it and your cheeks get hot.

"Ah-ehm, sorry...um...I wanted to say these things last night on the tree but I chickened out " you stutter awkwardly.

Knuckle breaks the silence with a laugh that echoes through the chamber.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" you ask, scowling.

"It's funny, I wanted to confess too last night. Me and Shoot were talking about that, and that's why you scared us when you appeared out of nowhere. Ah, I don't even know why I told him!"

You chuckle "Maybe because you care about him a lot"

"That's not true, take that back!" Knuckle shouts, pointing a finger in your face.

Knuckle's face becomes a blushing mess, and you let yourself go in a laugh because Knuckle is always the same. Incapable of hiding his kindness and his affection towards other people. The finger aiming at your face touches your cheek, then under the eye, next thing you know his entire hand is encapsulating your cheek.

"Come over here..."

Without even realising it, you bend over Knuckle and you kiss. You often asked youself how kissing Knuckle would feel like, and this exactly corresponds to the idea. So delicate, but passionate. Knuckle's lips move on yours and you reciprocate immediately, closing your eyes. You press your mouth against his, it's warm like a hug of someone coming back from war. Warm like someone who couldn't wait anymore to say I love you. When you rise up you press your lips together, trying to suppress a smile, but unsuccessfully. You're sure that your face is a mess, just like Knuckle's which is really hot red.

"Wow..." you whisper.

"Yeah, wow..." Knuckle murmurs, dumbfounded.

You look down at him again "What do you say if we wait for Morel and Shoot to get better, then we all go out to get drunk to celebrate, then we go make love in my apartment?"

"Hell yeah"

Knuckle gathers some energies to hoist himself on his elbows and sit up. You help him stand up, but you have to support each other under your arms because both of you are too tired. You start to walk out the room.

"And after that you'll be my girlfriend?" Knuckle asks.

"I'm pretty sure that I already am"

Suddenly, you hear some sniffling echoing through the empty palace alley. You turn around.

"Are you seriously crying right now? For real?" you ask, startled.

"Shut up! I'm not!'

"Yeah you are, idiot!"

"Don't you dare tell this to anyone, or..."

"Or?"

"I don't know, I can't do anything to you you're my girlfriend now!"

[queens-of-spirits]

So I’m obsessed with Morel from Hunter x Hunter and wrote a reader-insert fic about him called The Scent of Smoke and the Sea. I’m linking it here so that other fans of his can check it out if they want.

[ging-pegger]

juat a current wip list so i can keep track and also so yall can know what to expect hopefully soon!!!

- ging freecss x reader during the election arc. (the reader is gon's mother) COMPLETE!!

- cigarettes after sex ; morel mackernasey x reader pt. 2

- & last but not least a kite x reader ficlet

plus hopefully some more art to come ive been experimenting with a diff style recently

let this also serve as a reminder requests are still open and heavily encouraged !

[animerina]

All I Want, All I Need

Morel Mackernasey x F!Reader

Support me with Ko-Fi

Summary: The reader works as a glorified housekeeper for the Hunter Association, catering to different Hunters when they come in from the field for new assignments. Infatuated with the Sea Hunter, Morel Mackernasey, she decides to finally act on her desires.

NOTE: 18+, Minors DNI! This is incredibly self-indulgent because I am absolute TRASH for Pipe Daddy/Morel MackerNASTY. I apologize in advance for the overuse of pet names, but something about Morel calling me Princess, Sweetheart, and Pretty Girl does things to me.

Late! She was running so late today. Her trip to the store had taken much longer than she anticipated forcing her to rush back to the guest house owned by the Hunter Association. They had many in the area so Hunters being called in for debriefings and work could be housed without much difficulty. She was lucky she had decided to change out all the sheets and towels yesterday or else she’d really be in a pickle today. It wasn’t that big of a deal considering it was only Morel staying this time, but she still hated being late.

Nearly an hour past the time she was supposed to arrive, she found herself in front of the light blue house. Struggling to grab the key out of her bag, she managed to open the door while knocking to announce herself.

“Morel?” She called in through the front door, balancing the bags of groceries in her other hand. “Are you here?”

His gruff voice responded from the bedroom.

“Yeah, just puttin’ my stuff away. They still running you around for me?”

“Well, you can’t be without food,” she laughed, glad he didn’t comment on her tardiness and made her way into the kitchen. She set the two brown bags down and began pulling out the groceries she had retrieved for him. “I brought some stuff for you. I’ll just put it away and then head out-let you get settled in.”

“Aww,” he whined finally walking into the kitchen to join her. “Don’t wanna keep me company? Am I that boring?”

Luckily his eyes were covered by his glasses or she would have seen how they widened as he finally saw her. Her sun-kissed skin was exposed in a flimsy, little top and the shortest shorts he had ever seen. Another laugh from her distracted him as she continuing to sort through the groceries.

“We both know just how not-boring you are, but I figured you’d be tired and just want to relax tonight. I have to stop by tomorrow anyway to deliver dinner.”

“I’m not that tired, plus I wouldn’t mind the company. I’ve been with Knov all day.”

“Oh you poor thing,” she cooed in feigned sympathy. “How ever did you cope?”

He didn’t respond other than with his own laugh. Reaching for a couple cans to help her out, he was surprised when she slapped it away.

“None of that,” she scolded. “You just relax and let me finish up.”

She moved to open the fridge, noting his favorite beer already settled in, and started storing the food she’d picked up. Grabbing some boxed items, she bent over to place them in the bottom cabinet next to the fridge, Morel’s eyes falling to the curve of her ass. He clenched his fists tightly.

‘If her shorts were any shorter-.’ He shook thought and then chided himself for being so perverse. The Hunter huffed, ignoring her request and grabbed the cans, coming directly behind her to place them in the cabinet above the countertop. His pelvis was level with her rear in those cheeky shorts and he fought the urge to grind himself against her not wanting to scare her away. He was grossly infatuated, but refused to admit it. She hadn’t even noticed him yet, too focused on her task and for that he was grateful. Before he could take a step back, however, she stood up, her back all but colliding with his chest, startling her.

“Morel!” She screeched as she practically jumped.

“Just helping,” he chimed as he put his hands up in surrender. “But I can see I’m not wanted.”

“Oh shut it,” she smirked in an attempt to hide her flustered appearance. “Go watch TV or something.”

When she realized he was right behind her, her breath hitched. He had been so close and so warm she had almost revealed her little secret. She’d been harboring a crush on the sea Hunter for nearly two years, but never had the courage to act upon it. For one, he was away most of the time, only coming in when called for big jobs so she rarely saw him. He had been so sweet the first time they met it was hard not to fall for him, but she figured her little crush would fade after he left again. But he had wanted to keep in contact, saying he had really enjoyed their little talks while she helped around the guest house he had been given. Her feelings never left, only growing each time he came into town.

Now she was on the brink of ruining whatever friendship they had. She was so very in love with him, but he hadn’t shown any interest in her other than playful banter. Today she had worn minimal clothing, not just because it was ridiculously hot outside, but because she was trying to bait him into action. Even if it was only for a quick fuck, she could at least sate her desire for him. She could live with it as long as she had him once.

Morel settled on the couch, picking up the remote and flipping through the channels. She watched him for a moment before finishing up in the kitchen.

“Can you bring me something to drink?” He called out suddenly, his voice interrupting her thoughts.

“Sure,” she looked through the fridge. “What do you want?”

“Surprise me, sweetheart.”

Her breath hitched once more at the pet name. Surprise him? Was that an invitation? She really hoped it was and decided almost immediately to act on it knowing she could play it off as a joke if he rejected her. Biting her lip, she grabbed a bottle of beer and crossed her fingers she wouldn’t make a fool of herself. Popping the top, she walked towards the couch, standing aside it for a moment while she found the nerve. Morel quirked his brow as he watched her move slowly towards him. He reached for the bottle in her hands, a thanks on his lips, but froze when she suddenly straddled his lap quite casually. With the bottle settled between them, her other hand wrapped around his tie, pulling his face towards hers.

“How’s that for a surprise?” Her voice was soft, a little deeper than she intended, but she couldn’t be bothered. She had done it, now she waited for him to make a move.

Morel was silent for a moment, her nerves returning and making her feel embarrassed. She was about to tell him it was only a joke, when his arm wrapped around her waist caging her in place. His other hand trailed down to grope and squeezed her ass forcing her to rock forward creating friction on her core. Not expecting him to act so brazenly, she let out a moan in surprise at the feeling, the obscene sound filling the room.

“Fuck,” he cursed beneath her. “You’re too much, pretty girl. These shorts are killin’ me.” It felt so good to finally admit it, almost freeing in a way. He was a grown man. He shouldn’t have felt it necessary to hide his interest, but he had. Curse his soft heart.

“Ah,” she sighed as her hips kept moving against his own no longer needing him to guide her. “You wanna take them off?”

“Later,” he huffed. “Just come here.”

He grabbed the bottle in her hands, placing it on the side table before pulling her into a deep kiss. They both moaned then. His tongue invaded her mouth not even giving her a chance to prepare. She didn’t seem to mind though, her breathy sighs evidence of her growing arousal. Morel was guilty of it too, but his growing problem lay in his lap. He was getting hard like a teenager again, having missed the feel of a woman, especially one as pretty as her.

“You know,” he said as he pulled away. “I was thinking of where I could eat out tonight. Mind if I try here?”

His fingers found the front of her shorts and pressed the rough material against her core. She bit her lip and held back the gasp threatening to escape. His thick fingers kept prodding, eventually settling on rubbing back and forth. Her eyes rolled back, the feeling both too much and not enough.

“You can’t say things like that,” she chided breathlessly.

“Well you shouldn’t sit in my lap like that,” he said giving her ass a slap.

“Fuck, Morel!” She cried. “Again.”

“You like that?” He slapped her once more.

“Yeah,” she gasped. “When it’s you, I like it.”

“So about what I was askin’?” He murmured into her neck.

“Be my guest.”

She was quickly hoisted up, her upper body covering the back of the couch as he slid under her. He only stopped when his bottom hit the floor, his head nestled between her thighs as he held her steady over him. Though it was difficult from that angle, he managed to undo her shorts and slide her bottoms off, giving her some room to slip them off her legs before he tossed them across the room. His hands then pulled her hips flush against his mouth savoring her, the taste pulling a groan from deep in his chest.

She squealed and tensed at the sensation of his tongue delving between her folds. Self-conscious, she tried to hold herself up, afraid of smothering him, but Morel was persistent. He kept pulling her down possessively, his grip sure to leave bruises, his mouth latching onto her like she was his lifeline. She was reduced to a moaning mess, trapped between begging him to stop and praying he would keep going. Never in her life had she felt so good.

So lost in the haze of her impending end, she barely recognized the sound of his belt coming undone and the slick sound of of skin on skin. She turned her head and saw he had his hand wrapped around his semi-hard cock and was fisting himself eagerly. Her back arched at the sight knowing he was enjoying this just as much as she was. He was pleasuring himself to her and she nearly came at the realization.

“Yeah sweetheart,” he gasped. “Ride my face. Don’t be shy.”

Listening to the Sea Hunter, she began grinding herself against his tongue, ignoring her momentary embarrassment, and chased her end. She came with a call of his name, her body slumping over the back of the couch. There was an uncomfortable wetness dripping down her thighs-a mix of her release and his saliva.

“Please,” she was begging again. “Oh fuck, please don’t tell me it’s over.”

He laughed, moving the two of them around until her legs were spread, anchored on his shoulders. He had moved to face her, fingers reaching for her sopping womanhood. They were thick, the stretch from two of them was almost uncomfortable, but she let him keep touching knowing this was just a warm up of what was to come.

Morel was content watching her as she shuddered beneath his touch, her hips shifting on their own to ride his fingers. He smirked down at her, admiring just how beautiful she was. He hadn’t been able to finish, but he knew he would get the chance soon. Besides, he didn’t want to rush this dream come true, and making her come undone was all the motivation he needed to take it easy.

“Take off your shirt, pretty girl.”

She whined. “Then I’ll be the only one naked.”

“Embarrassed?”

She hummed lazily as if in thought and looked through her lashes at him. “I guess not.”

Reaching for the hem of her tank top, she pulled it off before undoing her bra and letting it fall off her, the straps catching on her arms as it did. She was absolutely gorgeous, Morel decided as he eyed her like a lecher. His free hand moved to cup one of her breasts, squeezing appreciatively, the thumb circling her hardened nipple. She was so soft and he leaned forward to kiss his way across one mound to the other.

———

Somehow, after she had come again, they made their way into the bedroom, Morel undressing as he followed her leaving a trail of clothes behind. Making his way to sit against the headboard, he relished in the sight of her crawling over the mattress onto him. She eyed him hungrily, wanting to feel every inch of him, but before she could settle on his lap once more, he stopped her.

“I don’t have a condom,” he admitted sounding disappointed. He didn’t mind using their hands and mouths to get off, but he would miss the feel of her around him. Though he wanted it, he wasn’t going to force her if she was opposed. He cared way too much for her to pressure her into sex, especially unprotected.

“I don’t mind,” she said shaking her head. “I trust you.” When he didn’t move right away, she continued. “There’s a pill I can take after if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Morel shook his head. “Sweetheart, I’m not worried about that. Just don’t want you to feel like you have to,” he grumbled not liking how vulnerable he sounded. “Don’t wanna pressure you into doing something you’ll regret.”

“I would never regret you,” she lay her forehead against his. “I promise. I want to feel all of you.”

His heart clenching at her words, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a breath taking kiss full of teeth and tongue. She savored it as much as he could before he pulled away leaving a trail of saliva between the two.

“Turn around for me,” he said and she immediately obliged. With her back to him, his much larger hands held her hips, lifting her up on her knees and laid her back against his chest. Unbelieving that this was actually going to happen, she whimpered making him pause.

“All good, pretty girl?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled shyly as she felt the heat of his length against her core. “Just slowly, okay? You’re really big.”

“‘Course,” he replied with a chuckle. “We’ll take it nice and slow. Gonna stretch you out good, alright?” One of his hands trailed down to her core, rubbing small circles as he let her sink down on him at her own pace.

Choked whimpers and gasps escaped her as she slid ever slowly down his sizable length, the pain of the stretch not nearly as great as the pleasant fullness she was experiencing.

“Atta girl,” the hunter praised. “Just like that.” He sighed deeply, loving how tight she felt. Her warm walls pulsed around him and he had to restrain himself from slamming her down to meet his hips. No, Morel was true to his word and made sure they didn’t move too fast though he wanted her badly. Even when her hips starting bucking, he held her tight not wanting her to rush just yet. He wanted her pleasure just as badly as his own and even if it took all night, he was going to get it.

He groaned again as her hips settled snuggly against his lap, her chest heaving, body feeling fuller than she’d ever felt. She wasn’t a virgin, but Morel was built bigger than most men-far bigger than any she’d slept with before. When she had first felt him, though it had been over their clothes, she had tensed at its size. She expected big, but he was monstrous and though anxious, she had wanted to know just how he would feel inside her. Now she knew, and she was loving it.

She rolled her head back to peer up at him, her eyes blown wide with lust. His brow was furrowed and he was also breathing deeply. He looked divine. Meeting her gaze, he leaned down to kiss her, open mouthed and sloppy, his hands trailing up to toy with her chest. That made her moan, and with her hips now free, she rocked herself on him in an attempt to spur him on.

“That’s dangerous,” he growled playfully while nibbling her bottom lip.

“I like danger,” she sighed in reply, her normal confidence returning. “Wanna feel it all, Morel. Please?”

She continued rocking despite his lack of an answer. He felt so good inside her she didn’t want to stop. She wouldn’t lie and say she hadn’t dreamt of this before. All of the times he’d visited for work and she’d come to set up the guest house, she’d often imagine him bending her over the nearest surface and fucking her until she couldn’t walk. But he was a gentleman, and he had bid his time, but she wanted a taste of him so badly it physically pained her. Now, or rather soon, she would be sated.

“Well,” Morel said pinching her nipples harshly causing her to yelp and cease her movement. He soothed them with the pads of his thumbs in apology. “Who am I to deny you when you beg so nicely?”

The first thrust of his hips shocked her. She gasped for air the moment it happened but it was soon followed by thrust after thrust as she was held against his chest. The stamina of a Hunter was incredible. Morel didn’t seem to tire even when she could no longer hold herself up, instead he lifted her by her knees like a rag doll. His pace was relentless, the constant slap of his skin on hers throwing her closer and closer toward her end. Her hands wound up behind her, tangled in his white locks.

“M-Morel,” she stuttered. “More! Please, please, please-,” she continued begging feeling lightheaded.

“Greedy little thing,” he huffed before slowing his pace making his pretty girl whine. “You want more? Fine, sweetheart. I’ll give you what you want.”

She suddenly found herself face down on the fresh sheets, the coolness a stark contrast to her burning skin. She could barely hold herself up, but she didn’t need to. Morel was already behind her, hands holding her hips steady making her back arch like a feline stretching. His thumb stroked her fluttering hole, the muscles clenching around air as he chuckled at the sight.

“Ah sweetheart, ain’t that a fuckin’ sight,” he teased. His cock slipped back in and she squealed into the sheets below her, fists clenching the material. He was so big and she was starving for him, the burn he caused quickly becoming addictive.

The angle allowed him deeper into her core, the fullness of him setting her nerves ablaze. He pulled back achingly slow only to slam forward harshly, rocking both her body and the bed forward. He relished in every cry she made as he found his rhythm, every thrust hitting something deep inside that made her beg for more. She was in heaven as he took her, her mind reeling as she imagined just how sore she was going to be after. It was deliciously brutal, but she found the strength to rock herself back to meet his thrusts as she chased her release.

He was being too rough, he knew, but he couldn’t control himself anymore-not when she made those cute, desperate little sounds. She was gorgeous beneath him, just like he imagined. Morel had always been friendly with the so-called errand girl of the Hunter Association, but he’d always wanted to be a little more than just friends, though he had thought it unlikely. It’d been a long time since anyone had shown interest in him, but over the past couple visits, he had an inkling she wanted a bite. He had let her toe the line of flirting and friendliness, watched as she opened herself up to him, and then let her make the first move. Morel had loved it. It had made him feel desired, something he hadn’t felt in a long while.

He was hardly around, always sailing about on his ship, but he wouldn’t mind coming home to this-coming home to her. He gave another rough thrust followed by a light slap to her ass. She practically preened at the sting. Maybe he would just take her with him.

The Hunter was quickly reaching his end, and though he was dying to stay buried in her tight heat, he didn’t want to take anymore risks than necessary. A few more thrusts and he had pulled out, stroking himself until he released on her swollen and thoroughly fucked cunt. He watched as it dribbled down onto the sheets beneath her, her hips struggling to stay upright once her had released his hold. She collapsed into a heap of boneless pleasure, her chest heaving after such rough play.

“I don’t think I can walk,” she murmured sleepily.

Chuckling, he admired his work, a whisper of “What a messy girl,” falling from his lips. Morel pulled her into his arms ignoring the mess, already cuddling her into his broad chest. She looked smaller now all curled up and content.

“I think you better stay here,” he suggested.

“No,” she said and turned into his warmth. “I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute and I’ll be out of your hair.” She said it as a joke, but really hoped he wouldn’t make her leave.

“Pretty girl,” he said as a frown formed on his face. His tone was suddenly serious. “Do you wanna leave?”

“If you want me to go-.”

He kissed her again to silence her.

“I don’t want you to go anywhere, princess.”

“Kiss me again.”

“With pleasure,” he said with a grin.

Tag list: @lulanight

[evilzoldyck]

2x+4y = Who Cares

Sometimes you couldn’t believe that you’re actually here. Sitting at an expansive lecture hall at eight in the morning, listening to the Professor explaining the mechanics of a… drawing with numbers on it? You couldn’t really tell. If you were held at a gunpoint and had to explain what your major even was, you’d find yourself to be non-existent in a matter of seconds.

And it wasn’t you who was surprised that you’ll be enrolling to one of the most prestigious university in the country, your friends initially thought you were just taking the piss.

A month ago you were just coming back from a short trip from the coast after your friend graciously invited you all to party on his yacht, a form of celebration after acquiring his boating license. Then when you got home, your parents sat you down for a little talk. Apparently your parents were unsatisfied with your current lack of prestige contributions to the family name. They had a problem having an only child with no real ambitions. It turns out having an aspiration for being an influencer wasn’t good enough for the highbrows.

Obsessed with upholding the family name and keeping up with the high society, they wanted you to become academically accomplished like the other children. You thought it was a bit weird. Your parents never cared for your grades. It was all about lining up the foreign cars in front of the mansion, purchasing the nth second home in another country and building up connections by going to charity galas.

Now that the trend does not involve materialistic matters, they were at a loss. It was unfair but they had a strong image to maintain. Using their extensive influence with the board of directors and under the table payment for your enrolment, they handed your acceptance letter like a golden ticket.

Out of all the degrees they picked out for you, they picked the most competitive yet nuanced one. Engineering. Hell- even the units doesn’t even make sense to you. Engineering Hydrology? Experimental Robotics? Numerical Reservoir Simulation? Math??

Now you had a sense of understanding of how exhausting it is for your parents to conform, but you had never felt true exhaustion once you’d step foot on campus. Every day your timetable was filled to the brim, your cute tote bag now poorly stretched by all the heavy required books, your desk was piled with homework and assessments you can’t even comprehend.

What were you even doing here?

You barely go to your classes and when you do you gained nothing. However you were notified just last week if you weren’t keeping up with your attendance your place here would be compromised. Looking around you saw students actually participating and being eager to learn. They’d always come in to every lectures, tutorials and labs with their laptop always typing away and making notes of every word the Professor says. 

You felt like an imposter.

You knew your place here wasn’t earned. And after learning what a competitive program you’re currently in, you knew you had cheated someone else out of their placement here that was rightfully theirs. Someone that was actually competent and worked hard to achieve their dreams. 

Now you loved your parents, but it was just about time that they realise university just wasn’t for you.

Not even half a semester had passed and you were already failing. With every test that comes back to you was marked with a red zero, your Professors’ feedback longer than your actual answers. At this rate your academic progression status was nearing an exclusion.

You hadn’t even realised the lecture had ended when your last test paper was handed in front of you by another student.

“Thank you,” you commented in small. You cursed at yourself for sitting at the far back because it was it was you whose paper was handed in last and now the guy that handed them wouldn’t come back to his seat.

“The test was crazy hard wasn’t it?” He remarked, taking a seat next to you once you made eye contact with him again. You gave him a brief smile and a hum in reply, hoping he would get the hint that you didn’t really want to talk right now.

“I studied all week for this… I can’t believe he deducted marks on this que… I’m just glad I passed… -bout you?” You zoned out from his prattle you didn’t realise he asked you a question.

“Hm?” You questioned him to repeat again.

“What about you? How did you go with the test?” He still kept an enthusiastic smile, keeping the one-sided conversation lively. Hesitantly you flipped your paper over to reveal a zero out of forty five mark on the top with red ink.

Damn, this was crushing your self-esteem more than an influencer party at Yorknew City.

“Oh..” He bit his lip regretfully.

“Yeah,” you shoved your paper into your bag and stood up to leave the hall. “Look I got to go, see you.”

He called you out to wait as you walked down the stairs. Frantically grabbing his laptop and bag as he rushed down to meet you at the bottom. “Hey you wanna study together at the library sometime? I mean not that you need it- but I mean I’ve been told to be a great tutor from time to time- but it’s not like I expect you to pay me-”

His ramblings were cute, you could see the hopeful desperation in his eyes. And though you couldn’t tell an aquifer from a humidifier, you could tell if a guy is interested. This was not unprecedented, with a class demographic of predominantly guys you were bound to be approached by one of them, plus it didn’t help that you always wore outfits that these guys might’ve not been accustomed to seeing.

“- I mean I’ll buy you coffee too if you’d like?”

You were just at the verge of accepting an offer from a guy whose name slipped your mind when Professor Mackernasey cut your conversations short.

“I believe my you’ve mistaken my hall for a common room, don’t you have classes to go to now?” The white haired man chided.

The both of you were ready to finally leave but he stopped you just as when you were at the threshold of the door by calling out your name. “Mind staying back a bit?” You looked back at the man leaning up against the desk and cringed with what you presume to be your past papers in his hand.

“This might take a while, you best be off now.” Morel added when he sensed the young boy linger at the door way.

“Sir.” He acquiesced and let the automatic door behind him close, leaving you and the burly professor alone in the room.

“I assumed you had a look at your mark?” Though he carried an airy untroubled tone, his question made you look down in humiliation. Meekly you nodded whilst keeping your eyes away from his line of sight. “It’s not good,” he sucked in his teeth as you shuffled your feet together.

“I know,” you softly replied.

“I found it quite amusing that you’ve also somehow mixed up the wrong information for this test. You’ve written the wrong unit code for Engineering Hydrology, gave Professor Kite quite the confusion.”

“… Who?”

Morel raised his brows at you before continuing, “your unit coordinator for Experimental Robotics?”

Right, the unit you stopped showing up to labs for. “Oh yes, doctor robot, umm- May I please be excused? I actually have plans-“

“Now hold on just a second,” his demeanour turned hard at the mention of your hastiness to leave. “You don’t get to enrol to my class only to fail at every single given assessment. I expect an explanation for this.” Morel crossed his arms and scrutinised your shrinking figure behind his dark sunglasses.

No other man had talked to you like this, commanding a demand while exuding confidence and authority. It honestly made you want to cry.

“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” you sighed. “My parents-“ you paused as to prevent a sob from tearing your voice. “My parents wanted me to be here but I can’t- I can’t do it.” You furiously wiped a stray tear from your eyes.

Damn it, now you were crying in front of him.

“I don’t understand anything, I’m so stupid-“ His voice cut you off as to stop you from degrading yourself further. You feel him pull you in for a comforting hug as he offered you a tissue from the desk. You wallowed in your self-pity, focusing on trying to calm down your chokes from your soft cries that you missed how close you actually were to the huge man before you.

Morel stroked your hair gently, basking in your clinginess to his front as he towered over you. He found himself smiling at the situation, loving the amount of attention you gave him albeit in a skewed sense. When you absentmindedly pushed yourself against him, he had a death grip on the edge of the desk that was enough to make the wooden board creak from the stress.

He patiently waited for the moment he could corner and crowd you like this. When you first walked into his class he thought it was too good to be true. A girl as cute as you waltzing into his lecture every Tuesday, gracing him with a smile each time he caught your eyes. A privileged airhead that was just too fucking nice and pretty and just perfect for him.

“Hey, no more tears now,” he soothed as he rubbed the tears from your hot cheeks. You were too busy trying to keep your cries at bay you failed to take account just how borderline inappropriate this was.

“I’ll withdraw from all my units today-“

“No.” Morel vehemently rejected, pushing you slightly away so that you could look up at him properly. “No,” he repeated in a tone gentler from the last. “You don’t want to disappoint your parents now would you? After all the work they did to get you here?”

“Of course not,” you whispered back as you rubbed the blurriness from your eyes with the edge of your hands. “But.. do I even deserve to be here in the first place? I can’t do the work that’s expected, I’ll just waste everybody’s time.”

“Well you got me now, sweetheart.”  A sweet, sympathetic smile graced his lips as he tucked a strand of hair that stuck to your cheeks from your crying. “You’re my student aren’t you? I’ll help you throughout your studies here.”

“Just relax, I’m gonna take care of you.”

Something tells you he’s willing to do more than that. With the way he’s holding you so closely with his tree trunk arms caging you in and the way he’s practically coaxing you to melt into his body made you do a double take at your conscience. 

You weren’t just imagining it after all when you gave him the benefit of the doubt. The small tell-tale signs of his interest in you suddenly came rushing to you all at once.

Overwhelmed by the sudden reality hitting you, you pushed slightly at his muscular chest to make space between the two of you. Was this really happening? From what you knew, he wasn’t married nor were you aware he had any other significant partner in his life. You’ve surely entertained men much older than you a couple of times but those were different. Your past experiences with them were just a brief beneficial transaction that wasn’t taken too seriously.

However, this was a Professor you were dealing with. You’ve already been enrolled through bribery and if you were ever caught that you’re now sleeping with a Professor you’ll be paying the tabloid editors’ rent for months.

Morel frowned at your conflicted contemplation but it quickly dissipated when you looked back at him with a coy grin. “Like a private lesson?”

‘Now you’re getting it,’ he thought.

“Exactly,” Morel confirmed enthusiastically and you giggled in response. God you were just too cute, he couldn’t wait to finally get you under him. The experienced teacher could already imagine the passionate trysts the both of you would have. Whether it be in his office, a hotel room, his place or car he’s going to love you all the same. And though it might seem like a senseless agreement to you, Morel meant every word he said when he said that would take care of you.

“You really wanna be in my class?” His words reverberated against your chest as he turned your head up close towards his. “You wanna learn?”

You nodded in response as he tugged your plump bottom lip before resting his unto it. He tasted of smoke and salt as he ardently moulded his lips against yours. Large hands briefly caressed your breasts before working your thin blouse open. You rested your hands around his neck, allowing him to taste you as you yielded yourself before him.

Morel slowly pulled away, wanting to drag the blissful moment to eternity if he could. Meanwhile you played with the buttons of his pants in eager as he chuckled at your overzealousness. Morel planned to take you into the safety of his office but seeing just how anxious you were for him, he was tempted to take you on his desk right there and then knowing anyone could bust through the door at any second.

All you ever knew was an easy life, if you had to jerk some Professor’s dick to make your parents proud then consequences be damned.

But unfortunately like many others you weren’t given the benefit of hindsight. If you had truly understood the depth of his promise, you would quickly learn how constricting his vice was on you, how painful his jealousy was and how easily he could keep you in the dark and conceal you in a cloud of smoke.

You just hoped that the elated smile on your parents’ face brought upon by the high distinctions on your record was enough to pull you through this nightmare.

[uvobreakmylegs]

Trust the Process

witness protection with Morel

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, gore, torture, death, manipulation, kidnapping

Word Count: 11k

The moth was back again.

How it had gotten into the boat in the first place you weren't sure, but it was fluttering over your head again, circling over you for a few moments before it moved on to hover around one of the lights in the ceiling. The thing had been here for a while now, and you frequently found it on the ceiling of your room. At first it had worried you a bit as you knew moths went for particular fibers in clothes, and you really didn't want to wake up one morning to find holes in your clothing. Nothing like that ever happened though, and Morel didn't seem too concerned about it, so you left it alone. Although if you'd been at home, you might've made an attempt to catch the thing and release it outside.

But you weren't home, and you also knew by now that if you opened the door to go topside, you'd get scolded for going out when the boat was so close to land.

Even if you did manage to catch it and set it loose, it seemed mean to release it out on the ocean. Even if it was just a bug.

So you ignored it, your eyes going back to the book before you as the boat you were in gently rocked from side to side, idly wondering when Morel would be back.

Almost immediately after having that thought, the sound of the door opening had you pausing in your reading, and you looked up from where you sat on the couch as you waited to hear for the footsteps that would be coming down the stairs shortly.

You anticipated it being Morel, as he was the only one who had access to this place – it was his boat, after all, and the chances of anyone else entering were slim to none.

But the chances of someone else finding you did still exist. So you waited to see if you would hear familiar footsteps entering that you had heard a million times before, or if for once, it would be someone new and you would need to find someplace to hide.

It was Morel, and you let out a small sigh of relief as you heard his voice when he called out to you before he descended the stairs. As expected.

You set your book to the side as you stood to greet him, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey,” he said as he saw you.

“Hey,” you replied, giving a small smile in response to the one he gave you. He was carrying what looked to be grocery bags, and they appeared to have food in them. Hopefully that meant you'd get to eat something other than seafood for a bit.

“Anything happen?” you asked.

“Not really,” he answered as he headed over to the kitchen. You followed behind him, intending to help him put away the groceries once he set the bags down. You perked back up when you heard him speak again.

“You expecting something to happen?” he asked you.

“Not really. Just wanna know what's going on in the world.”

He nodded when you said that.

“I get that. But the area we're currently in is pretty quiet, so there isn't much to say,” he said.

“Mm.”

As he set the bags down and began to sort through the groceries, you felt the urge to ask him where exactly the two of you were. But you held your tongue as you knew that the answer would be that he couldn't tell you. Instead, you walked over to where he'd placed the bags and began to empty them as well, putting the items in their proper place in either the fridge or the cabinets before returning to the bags to repeat the process.

When you got to the last bag, you were a bit surprised when you looked inside and found that the bag held a few books instead of food.

“Those are for you,” Morel said, “I noticed that you've gone through all of the books in my library. Thought you might like some new material.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

You pulled the books out and inspected the covers of each, trying to discern the genre of each one. A horror story, a few murder mysteries, a historical fiction, a fantasy. Morel had seemed to have grabbed a mixed bag for you so you could have a diverse selection.

And when you pulled out the last one, you found it to be a romance novel.

A very mixed bag.

“I tried to pick out ones that I thought you would like,” he said, “hope they're okay.”

“I'm sure they are. Thank you,” you said again.

New books were nice. During the time you had spent on his boat, you had read through every piece of reading material that he had on board, just as he'd said, reading a few of them twice before switching over to various manuals and what appeared to be a few tourist guidebooks that you suspected he had meant to throw out at some point, based on the condition they were in and the way that you'd found them stuffed and forgotten in odd places. You didn't particularly care, just as long as you got something new to read, some other thing to distract you from your time on the boat.

“If you need anything else, just let me know,” Morel said.

Anything else?

You bit your lip as your fingers fiddled with the edge of the book you were currently holding. There was something you wanted, but it was something that you'd asked for a few times now, and the answer had always been the same.

But maybe it would be different this time. Maybe it was safer now.

“Morel,” you began, “do you think... Would it be okay if I called my family?”

You glanced back up to Morel and immediately felt guilty when his expression became more serious.

“Unfortunately that's still a no-go,” he answered, sighing as he continued “it seems as though your family is still being monitored. Although it hasn't been confirmed for certain, it's better to not risk them being in danger.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“No, I'm the one who's sorry. I wish I could get you that phone call, but it's just not safe for you or them.”

You believed him when he told you that he was sorry. Every time he denied you from contacting your family, you saw the guilt in his expression. He didn't want to tell you 'no'. That much was clear.

If he said it still wasn't safe, then it still wasn't safe.

Still, the mood had dropped, and you tried to distract yourself by looking over the books he'd gotten you again. But you looked back over when he said your name.

He reached out towards you, and for a moment it looked as though he was reaching out to caress your cheek. But instead he placed it on your shoulder, patting you softly as he reassured you.

“Things won't be bad forever, alright?”

“.... Yeah.”

The response you gave him sounded weak, but you were trying to sound cheerful. And he seemed to be able to tell that you were at least trying, as he smiled at you while he rubbed your shoulder.

When he pulled his hand away, he asked you “want to help me make dinner?”

“Sure. I'll just put these away first,” you said.

He nodded and turned away to ready whatever he needed in the kitchen for the meal while you collected the books and made your way back over to the area that served as your room. It was a small space within the boat, about the same size as a walk-in closet. You were pretty sure it was a storage space that had been converted into a bedroom just for you and while it wasn't ideal, it was better than sleeping on the couch. Still, Morel must have felt bad for the accommodations as he had offered for you to take his room several times by now but you had always refused. For one thing, it was his boat and it felt wrong to kick him out of the bedroom and force him into a space that would most likely be cramped and uncomfortable for him.

And somehow, the idea of moving into the actual bedroom felt wrong in a way. Like taking that space would indicate that your residence on the boat was something that was going to last a long time, or worse, something that would be permanent.

Though you liked Morel, you didn't want to stay on the boat for the rest of your life. A lot of the time you were left feeling useless and like you were leeching off of Morel's hospitality as there was little you could do to repay him for all of his kindness. Although you were certain that he was getting paid to house you, it was still a lot to ask someone to keep a person within their home for an undetermined amount of time. And by now, it had been months since you had first come here.

Morel's words came back to mind as you dropped the books off onto your bed. This wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, the danger would pass and you'd be able to contact your family again. And even if it was still too risky for you to return to your old life and you needed to live out the rest of your days in witness protection, you'd feel better once you'd settled down in an area where you'd be allowed to live a bit more normally.

But until the Hunter Association caught that woman, this was where you'd be.

Hearing Morel setting things up for dinner spurred you to return to the kitchen, and you helped him out a bit with the cooking before you went about setting the table for the two of you.

At least it was nice to spend time with Morel. Talking and having meals with him brought a certain sense of normalcy that had been largely missing since you'd come to live on his boat. Morel was always happy to speak and spend time with you whenever he wasn't busy, and despite the concerns you had about your presence being a nuisance, you never got the sense that he felt that way about you.

That sense of normalcy continued through dinner. Even though the constant tilting of the boat on the water reminded you of where you were, it was easy enough to ignore it when you got lost in the stories of Morel's exploits. With how long he'd been traveling the oceans as a sea hunter, he had a lot of them; from ancient underwater cities that had been lost to time to monsters within the water that resembled giant octopuses but had eyes all over their heads and hands at the end of their tentacles. You were mesmerized and sometimes a little scared of the things he would tell you about.

Nothing you ever talked about was nearly as exciting, but he enjoyed the things you spoke of regardless.

Though you couldn't not feel guilty for how long you'd been here now, you were glad that Morel had taken you in. If it had been someone else, someone who was more rigid and only interested in guarding you and nothing more, you probably would've lost it by now.

You felt lucky that it was him.

With the meal concluded and the dishes cleaned and put away, you and Morel spent a bit more time together playing a few card games while having some drinks. Just a little something fun to do before you went to sleep. Eventually Morel headed back up top to finish up some stuff up there and you went back to your room.

But as soon as you went off to bed, your anxieties returned. Thoughts of the act of murder you had witnessed and the very real fear that you could end up just like the guy you had seen be killed.

You tried to push those thoughts out of your head, desperate to get to sleep, but that was much easier said than done.

Just remember that you're with Morel, you told yourself. Turning over onto your side, you closed your eyes as you repeated that thought in your head.

You're with Morel. And if you're with Morel, then you're safe.

Though you hadn't seen much of his ability first-hand, you felt like if that woman did somehow find you, Morel would be able to handle her.

At least that was one small thing to make you feel a bit better.

Above you, the moth had returned, although you couldn't see it in the darkness within the small space. This time it stayed still, sitting on the ceiling. And it watched as you struggled over the next half-hour to try and get to sleep before you were able to find success.

“Heading out today?”

You asked that as you eyed the large pipe he was carrying. Morel only brought that out when he was going out for a mission or anything else to do with his Hunter work.

He confirmed your suspicions when he told you “yeah. There's something weird going on with the ocean not too far from where we are, so I'm gonna check it out. Unfortunately I can't say how long I'll be gone for.”

“Not treasure hunting this time?” you asked.

“Doesn't look like it,” he said, “something's affecting the sea life in the area, so I want to check out what it is and see if I can do anything about it.”

You nodded in understanding.

“Just as a precaution, I'm gonna leave one of my smoke soldiers behind up top,” he told you.

“Just in case?” you asked.

“Yeah, just in case,” said Morel, who then added “we aren't near any land masses at the moment, so you're free to go up on deck if you want. Just make sure you head back down if they signal for you to do that.”

You nodded again before you followed him to the stairs.

“Be safe,” you told him.

“I will,” he assured you, smiling as he said “see you.”

“Bye.”

With that, Morel ascended the stairs, closing the door at the top shut behind him. And you could hear his footsteps up there for a few moments or so before they stopped.

He was gone now. Going into the ocean waters that he loved so much.

With him away, you were left with time on your hands. Time that could be longer than usual as he'd said that he wasn't sure when he'd get back. It was good timing on his part to get you those new books.

Heading back to your room and picking one of them at random – it ended up being the fantasy – you went back to the area that served as a living room, intending to read on the couch.

You noticed the moth again, sitting still on the wall just above the couch, although you didn't pay it much mind other than to acknowledge it was there again.

You sat there for some time, becoming engrossed in the story while the waves slowly tilted the boat back and forth. This time the moth was content to stay where it was on the wall, and you didn't hear any noise coming from Morel's creation that he'd left on deck.

After making it through the first four chapters, you decided it was time to put it down so you could work your legs a little bit, feeling quite stiff after sitting in the same place for so long.

Some fresh air might also be nice, you decided.

When you ascended the stairs yourself and walked out onto the deck, you immediately looked for Morel's smoke creation, just to have an internal account of their whereabouts. They were standing at the bow, looking over in your direction when they sensed you coming up. There wasn't any sign of them telling you to head back down, so you headed off towards the back of the boat, standing at the railing that lined the deck as you looked out at the ocean.

Morel was careful around you when it came to his creations. The first time he'd shown you his abilities you had a bad reaction, and he still felt badly for that as he made a point to keep those soldiers of his as far as he could given the small size of the boat. You did feel that you were slowly becoming better with being around them, though you appreciated Morel taking your discomfort into account.

With your mind going back to Morel as you looked out to the waters, it occurred to you that you weren't sure what exactly he used to go around the ocean for those missions of his. Since you were now onboard, he was making an effort to leave his boat behind for the purpose of keeping you safe. So he'd be using something else to head out to those areas, right? Yet you'd never seen anything like that on deck, no sort of smaller boat or raft he could use, and he always seemed to leave pretty quick once he got up top. Almost like he was jumping straight into the ocean to get to where he needed to be.

….. That couldn't be right. Maybe it was something else to do with what he called 'nen'. You'd need to ask him when he got back.

You spent a few more moments at that spot when the smoke soldier approached you, announcing themselves with the way they knocked against the house of the boat. Once they had your attention, they indicated for you to go back downstairs. You realized why when you glanced over to the other side of the boat and saw a ship in the distance. Too far away to make out any details, but close enough that it was better for you to stay out of sight.

They left when you nodded, going back to their spot at the front of the boat. Most likely in an effort to give you space again, so you didn't need to get close while you headed back below deck. Morel's doing, no doubt, but you wondered if his smoke creations were able to tell that you were nervous around them.

You gave one more glance in their direction before you headed down.

They still reminded you a lot of what you had seen. And although you were more comfortable with them by now, dread came over you again as the sight of them turned away from you triggered an unpleasant memory.

Being back in the police station made you nervous. Although you'd anticipated that it might happen just so you could go over your story for them again, in case there were any details that you'd missed when you'd been brought in the day of that murder.

But a part of you feared that they were able to tell that you hadn't been entirely truthful in that first interview, and that they'd be determined to get the complete truth out of you.

Something that you didn't really want to do as you were certain if you told them the whole truth, they would think you were crazy.

It was bad enough to be involved in some poor guy's murder; you didn't want to end up in a psychiatric ward because the investigators determined that the thing you'd witnessed had caused you to have a mental break.

At least the interrogation room you'd been left in was a bit nicer than the first one you'd been in. This one had a carpet, and the paint that was on the walls wasn't chipping away in places as had been the case in the other one.

The door opened then, and a man you hadn't seen before entered the room.

“Hey there,” he said to you, “I'm Morel.”

You stood and took the hand that he offered you in your own, giving him a polite handshake as you introduced yourself as well.

“So, uh,” you began, “you're also working on this case?”

Your eyes went to the large item he was carrying with him. Whatever it was, you couldn't say as it was wrapped in cloth. It was also just as tall as you were, if not taller.

“No, I'm a Hunter.”

Hearing that didn't ease your nervousness. If anything, it made it worse. While you didn't know a lot about Hunters, you knew enough to know that it couldn't have been good that he had come in to speak with you. Hunters generally operated outside of the law, and from what you heard, it was almost impossible to hold them accountable when it came to crimes that were committed by them.

What sort of trouble were you in if someone like that was here?

“The Hunter Association has been called in for this?” you asked.

“No,” said Morel, “I know Arvind, and he asked me to come and help him out as a favor.”

Arvind. That was the name the one detective had given you the other day. He had been generally polite and patient with you, but you got the sense that he could tell that you were lying.

At the time you had told yourself that wasn't the case, but clearly you were wrong.

“Help him out with what?” you tentatively asked.

“Certain things about the murder itself,” he continued, “come on. Let's sit down.”

You did as he said, sitting back down in the chair while he took the chair that sat on the adjacent side of the table. He still held whatever it was underneath the cloth, and you kept glancing over to it, anticipating that there would be some sort of explanation for it at some point.

“Where's Arvind?” you asked.

“He needed to take care of something first; he'll be here in a sec,” said Morel, “I figured it'd be best if I came in ahead of him so we can talk.”

“.... Talk about what?”

“What you saw when that guy got killed.”

“What I saw?”

She threw acid at him. That was what you had told them earlier. You couldn't deviate from that, otherwise they'd become suspicious of you.

“If it's not too difficult for you to recall it, can you tell me how that man died?” Morel asked gently.

“She threw acid at him,” you said. You wondered how obvious it was that the line had been practiced.

The smile he gave you was sympathetic. He wasn't upset with you, but he didn't believe you.

Pretty obvious, then.

You worried that he was going to start pushing you harder in his goal to get to the truth, and you could feel the anxiety building up in you, worried that you would crumble the second he stopped being so nice in order to force you to tell him what you had seen.

Because of that, what he actually ended up doing was unexpected.

“Can I show you something?” he asked.

“Like what?”

You had no idea where this was going and you were more on edge than ever.

“Something that you'd probably consider to be impossible,” said Morel, “but I hope that after you see it, you can trust me enough to tell the truth about what happened.”

He grabbed at the object with the cloth wrapped around it, and you watched as he pulled the cloth off of it. It turned out to be the biggest tobacco pipe you had ever seen, and while you sat there wondering why the hell anyone would need a pipe that large, he put the end of the pipe to his lips before exhaling out smoke.

Instead of spreading out through the room, the smoke molded together and began to take shape. And suddenly there was another figure standing in the room, a man made out of smoke that stood there staring at you.

The pointed tip of the hat, the slightly elongated fingers and the blank eyes that stared at you were what stood out the most.

It reminded you just a little too much of the creature you had seen before.

It felt like time had stopped for a few moments, and you stayed that way, sitting and staring at it until you felt Morel gently shaking you as he asked you what was wrong. He was concerned when you looked over to him, and it was only then that you realized you had begun to cry, the tears filling up in your eyes and blurring your vision.

“Hang on, let me get you something.”

Morel left the room briefly to retrieve a box of tissues for you. As he left, the smoke creature disappeared.

The next few minutes passed with you pressing a tissue to your eyes while Morel did his best to calm you down, having moved his chair closer to you so he could keep a hand on your shoulder.

“I'm sorry,” you eventually got out.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I should've given you more of a warning,” said Morel.

After a few more moments, you were able to compose yourself enough to ask “how did you do that?”

“It's something called nen,” he explained gently, “certain people are able to tap into their life energy and use it for abilities that are specific to them.”

“So... That guy was your ability?”

“Part of it, yeah,” he said.

“And you came to talk to me because...?”

“Because it seems like the murder you witnessed has something to do with nen.”

“Ah.”

So he came to show you proof that you weren't crazy, so you could give them the real story.

“.... Is anything gonna happen to me because I lied?” you asked him.

“I wouldn't think so,” Morel said, “it makes sense that you would come up with something else if you were worried about being called crazy, right?”

You'd only met him a few minutes ago, but you felt like you could trust Morel, and that you were safe with him.

He was just so nice.

Arvind entered the room shortly after, and seemed a bit taken aback when he saw the evidence of your breakdown.

“What happened?” he asked Morel.

“I messed up,” Morel admitted, “didn't give 'em any warning with what I was gonna show them.”

Arvind looked back to you, asking if you were alright.

You nodded.

“Maybe we should do this another day,” he then said, “you go home and take some time for yourself.”

Morel agreed with him, saying that you could try again tomorrow.

But you shook your head.

“No. I can do it,” you said, “I was lying about what I said the other day.”

You were still nervous, largely because both men were watching as you spoke, but you felt comforted with Morel's hand that was still on your shoulder. And so you recounted what had actually happened that day.

You'd been walking back to your home in Dole Harbor, and since you were worried about how dark it was getting, had decided to take a shortcut through an area between some buildings.

A massive mistake on your part.

Because when you turned the corner, you witnessed something.

Two figures, a man and a woman, were in the middle of the walkway. What was alarming was that the man was on the ground, begging the woman for his life. The reason why he wasn't running became apparent when you saw that one of his legs appeared to be broken.

The woman was facing away from you, so you couldn't see her face. Just the tattered gray clothing she wore that shifted when she lifted up her arm and pulled down her sleeve.

There was a mass of boils on her arm, bubbles that were a putrid shade of white surrounded by red that dotted nearly all of the skin of her arm, and as you watched, one of them fell away from her skin and began to grow larger after it hit the ground. And as it got bigger and the skin became more translucent, you could see that there was something inside of it.

A creature emerged from it and leapt between the woman and the man, colored in the same sickly shade of white with a pointed head and long arms, at it's full height it only reached a little past the woman's waist.

The man screamed when he saw it. He scrambled backwards as he attempted to get up despite his leg.

The creature gave chase, first jumping onto him and using its claws to slice his throat so he could no longer scream for help.

And when it opened its wide mouth, its tongue resembled that of an insect's proboscis.

Using that, the creature then began to spit a substance on him.

A substance that turned out to be acid as you watched the man's body begin to dissolve.

The man was writhing around in agony before the woman while the creature continued to torture him, the less dense part of his body, like his hands and feet, dissolving quickly and turning into melted, bloody stumps. It was disgusting, and when the smell hit you, you felt like you could've thrown up.

You should've run.

But you couldn't.

You knew it was dangerous – and incredibly stupid – to just stand there like you were. You knew that you needed to run and get help before this woman summoned more of those things. You knew that there was a very high chance that you could die if you stayed here any longer.

But you couldn't. Your legs were like lead and nothing within you could get you to move.

Shock had kept you petrified, and you watched the man's final twitches as the acid made it to his skull and brain. Finally, he was dead.

The woman still wasn't moving, and that creature was still on top of his body.

And then it looked at you.

The sickly white eyes that were the same shade as the rest of its body landed on you, yet you swore you could feel its murderous intent as it looked you over.

And even then, you still couldn't move.

But before anything happened, the creature melted away, turning into a pale puddle that mixed in with the blood and whatever else of the man that had ended up liquefied and spreading out onto the walkway.

It was just you and the woman now.

In what must've been an act of divine mercy, she hadn't turned around. The woman walked forward, stepping over what remained of the man without even looking at him, just going along her way like what had happened was normal and not horrifying at all.

It was only when you were certain that she was gone that you were able to break out of your stupor and contact emergency services. It was when you were in the middle of that call that you realized no one would believe your story of what really happened, and from there, you decided that you needed to lie.

Despite your horrible account of what happened, it felt better to be telling the truth. When you finished giving them the real version of the events you'd witnessed, both men had grim expressions on their faces.

“The Hunter Association wouldn't allow someone like that to join them, would they?” Arvind asked Morel.

“There's all sorts in the association,” Morel answered, “but I can't say I've heard of a Hunter with an ability like that.”

“Maybe we can prosecute this one,” Arvind said, some bitterness clear in his tone.

“Maybe. If you can figure out a way to hold someone like that,” Morel countered.

The detective nodded before turning his attention back to you.

“Thank you for telling us what happened. In cases like these, it's important we know what someone like that can do so we know what we're up against,” he said.

“Sorry for not telling you before,” you mumbled, still clutching the tissue.

“It's alright. I understand why you didn't,” he assured you. It didn't seem like he was being disingenuous when he said that, so you took that as a good sign.

There wasn't much else for you to do after that, so you ended up being escorted out of the building by Morel.

When you got to the outside of the building, you had assumed that would be the end of it; you'd head back to your place and Morel would go wherever he needed to be. But he asked if you wouldn't mind if he walked you back, just to make sure you made it home safe.

You had said yes.

“You wanna come up?”

It'd been a few days since Morel's last excursion, where he'd been gone a full 24 hours before he returned to the boat, looking quite tired when he arrived, but seemed happy to see you when you went to check if he was okay.

The two of you had just finished dinner, and Morel asked as you that question as you were finishing putting away the last of the plates. It caught you off-guard, and your mind blanked for a moment as you tried to come up with a response.

“Up on deck?” you asked.

“Yeah.”

“For what?”

He grinned as he told you “that's a surprise.”

That answer was rather cryptic for Morel, but even if it made you a bit uncertain as to what this was about, it wasn't enough to make you refuse.

“Yeah, I'd like that. I'll just – let me....”

“Take your time,” said Morel, pointing to the stairs with his thumb as he continued with “I'll be up top. Come up whenever you're ready.”

With that, he made his way towards the stairs, giving you a reassuring smile before heading up.

One of the rules you needed to follow while living here was that you weren't allowed up on deck if the boat was too close to land for fear of someone spotting you, so you could only go up if the boat was out on the water. And while Morel generally preferred that you wait to go up while he was on board, he seemed to understand just how restless you were becoming by being stuck in the boat all day and gave you permission to head up top when he was on one of his assignments with the understanding that you would head down if any other boats or ships were getting too close.

As you slipped your shoes on, something you would wonder about periodically came to mind: would that woman really go that far just to get to you? Was it really worth it to hunt you down and end your life?

…. It must've been, because otherwise Morel wouldn't be making such a big deal about keeping you hidden away.

So it was surprising when you got up to the deck and saw a beach in the distance. Weren't you a little too close to be up here? But Morel didn't say anything when you looked over to him. He'd been waiting for you with his pipe in hand, and when you reached the deck he motioned for come closer.

You chose not to say anything and watched as he put the pipe to his lips.

You were curious as to what he was going to make with it. Things seemed alright at the moment, so you didn't know what sort of smoke creature he'd need to make or why he would need to use his pipe.

Taking in a breath from the pipe, Morel first created one of the smoke soldiers. They landed on the deck and went to take to take their place at the front again. Morel was already starting to create something else. He turned, facing down towards the water and blew out. The smoke that left his mouth stopped just above the water, spreading out until it formed a large circle.

Assuming there would be an explanation, you stayed quiet as Morel swung the pipe so it was resting against his shoulder while he stood at the opening in the railing.

….. It looked like he was going to jump out.

But he wouldn't do that, right? He couldn't. If he did that he'd fall straight into the water.

Morel proved you wrong by jumping down.

He landed on the circle of smoke. Somehow, it was able to hold him, keeping him from hitting the water beneath.

Morel turned back to you and held out his hand.

“Jump down,” he said.

“..... What.”

“Jump down,” he said again, “don't worry; you won't fall in.”

…. You should believe him. You were literally looking at him standing on the smoke. It was able to carry him above the waves, and if he was encouraging you to join him, then it must've been safe for you to jump down as well.

But you looked again to what he was standing on and......

That was smoke. Smoke isn't a solid surface; you'd fall through and hit the water. No matter how much you assured yourself that it'd be fine, you couldn't bring yourself to copy what he'd done.

Morel saying your name brought you out of your thoughts.

“You'll be okay; I won't let you fall,” he said, “and if you need to, you can hold onto me.”

“Hold onto you?”

“If that's what you need to feel safe.”

“.... Okay.”

Despite how incredibly uncertain you were about all of this, you chose to trust Morel. You walked up to the opening in the railing just as he had done and then looked down. If you did manage to end up in the water, at least the boat was right there.

Morel was there, too.

Taking in a deep breath, you reached out to take the hand that he'd offered you, and you hopped off the edge.

Your feet were touching something solid when you landed, but you refused to look down, like looking at the smoke you were standing on would make something go wrong and you'd fall through like your fears had told you. He pulled you in closer, at which point you wrapped your arms around him.

In your efforts to not look down, you ended up pushing your face against his chest while you clung to him.

Morel chuckled as he wrapped an arm around you.

“See? Not that bad,” he said.

You nodded, though you still wouldn't look down.

You felt as Morel's smoke raft began to move and heard as the noises of the waves hitting the boat became more distant. That answered your question of how Morel got around.

“Where are we going?” you asked, although your voice was rather muffled.

“You should've been able to see from the deck,” Morel replied.

From the deck?

But that would've been.....

The shore?

Turning your head, you saw the beach you had spotted earlier becoming larger as you were brought closer to it.

…. The last time you'd been on solid land was the day you were brought aboard Morel's boat. When Morel and Arvind arrived at your apartment and told you that you were in danger. Which was a while ago by now. You'd spent months out on the water for fear of your safety. Had something changed? Was it safe now? No..... If that was the case Morel would've told you outright. So this was something else.

As much as you wanted to ask him, you didn't want to annoy him with too many questions, so you stayed quiet as his raft continued to approach the shore. You glanced back at the boat you had left behind and were surprised to see how far away it was now. The smoke soldier he'd created was still in view, standing at the bow of the ship as they watched the two of you.

The smoke Morel had used to create the raft dissipated once the two of you stepped onto the beach, and you would've become confused again as to how exactly that worked if Morel hadn't started speaking.

“Sorry for how abrupt this was,” he began, “I brought you out here as an apology.”

You blinked in surprise.

“An apology? For what?” you asked.

“For how long you've needed to stay cooped up on the boat,” he explained, “staying in a confined space like that can mess with you, and I'm sorry that there hasn't been an end to it.”

Oh.....

You shook your head.

“I should be the one apologizing. You're the one who needs to put up with a stranger in your living space for months on end. I feel like I have to be such a nuisance for you,” you said.

“You aren't a nuisance,” said Morel, “I wanted to help you out.”

“So I figured,” he continued, “while it still isn't a good idea for you to go to any place that's too populated, you deserve to have a little bit of time off the boat. I know there isn't a lot to do around here, but I figure it's better than nothing.”

He wasn't wrong in saying that there wasn't a lot to do. Looking over the beach again, it was just that: beach, with some greenery further inland.

Still, it had been a while since you were standing on a surface that wasn't constantly rocking back and forth, so just that had you feeling grateful to him.

And you reminded yourself: Morel didn't need to do this for you.

“It's great. Thank you, Morel,” you said, hoping your gratitude was showing through to him.

Based on the way he smiled back at you, it seemed like it was.

The two of you walked along the beach, taking in the sight of the waves that lapped at the shore and the boat that floated out in the distance. But although Morel appeared to be relaxed and casual about the way he had his pipe resting on his shoulder, you sensed a bit of tension within him. And while it was a fair distance away from you, whenever you looked towards the smoke soldier still on the boat, you would see them periodically looking about in all directions. Keeping watch, it seemed.

Even though you didn't want to head back yet, you needed to make sure that you weren't causing too much trouble for Morel with this, asking if this was really okay.

You felt better when he assured you that it was.

Sitting down on some boulders, you looked out past the boat and to the open ocean. You couldn't see anything else in the water, nor could you spot any other land masses off in the distance. When you looked around the beach, there was no sign of anyone else having been here.

“Where are we?” you asked.

“An island that's technically off-limits,” he said.

“Off-limits? Should we even be here, then?”

“Don't worry; I've got my license on me. If anyone spots us all I need to do is show that to them and we'll be fine.”

“Besides,” he added, “we aren't going to do anything bad. As long as we leave the beach the same way it was when we arrived, there's no harm in us staying here for a bit.”

“Ah. Okay.”

While you were nervous about possibly getting in trouble for the trespassing, you still didn't want to go back to the boat yet.

Besides, Morel had said it would be fine.

So you trusted him.

Hours managed to pass, although it hadn't felt quite that long to you. The both of you talked as you walked about the bit of land, though Morel didn't think it was wise to leave the area of the beach. Instead of letting you explore, he showed off more of his smoke creations for you. These ones you were far more comfortable with, as he formed creatures that ranged from birds that flew over the two of you to small rabbits that could sit in your hand.

“It feels like I'm holding the real thing,” you said, looking down at the rabbit that you had cupped in your hands.

“First the raft and now this. I still don't get how they feel solid,” you added.

“What, you thought the things I made were purely for show?” he asked, teasing you a bit.

“I don't know. Just still seems weird to me,” you answered.

Looking back to the boat, you could still see the white form of the smoke person on the deck. Motioning over to them, you asked “so they could fight if you really needed them to?”

“Well, against another skilled nen user, they might not do too much,” Morel admitted, “but they're a lot stronger than the average person.”

“Huh. You said that this can eat up a lot of your energy, right?”

“Yeah, it can.”

“You've had that one on the boat for a while now. You aren't wearing yourself out doing that, are you?” you asked.

“That's nothing. I'm able to maintain over 200 of those guys at a time,” he said, laughing as he continued “so don't worry. It'd take a lot more than that to wear me out.”

You looked back to the figure on the boat again before turning your gaze over to him once more. 200 was a lot.

“Are you strong for a Hunter?” you asked.

“Pretty strong,” he answered, “though I can't say that I'm the best Hunter the association has ever seen or anything, but they don't give out the single star rank to just anyone.”

“So a single star is a big deal?”

“Mm. Not as impressive as some others, but it's not insignificant.”

“Well, it sounds impressive to me,” you told him, “I'm really lucky that I have you watching over me.”

Morel didn't respond verbally, but from the way he smiled and how you saw the way his chest seemed to puff up slightly, he was happy with your compliment.

Looking back at the rabbit that you held, you asked him “so do you usually use your creations just for combat?”

“Sometimes just combat, sometimes I use them to scout ahead if an area looks dangerous,” he explained, “it all depends on the situation.”

You nodded at his explanation as you set the rabbit down on the sand, where it immediately ran off, sprinting across the sand.

A new question was brought to mind.

“Can you talk with them?”

“I can give them commands and they listen, but you're not going to get a conversation out of them.”

“But they can speak to you? Like when they get back to you from scouting through an area and they tell you if it's safe or not?” you continued.

“Something like that,” he said, “though I guess it's more like there's a mental link since they were made from my nen. But again, they aren't made for conversation.”

“Ah.”

The sun had fallen lower in the sky, signaling the coming of night. The smoke rabbits had disappeared by now, the invisible force that had molded them into those shapes releasing and allowing the smoke to drift off into the air. There wasn't much left to do, and as you looked again towards the boat that had become your home – temporary home, you reminded yourself – you got the sense that you'd need to head back soon.

Morel confirmed that when he spoke next, telling you “we should probably head off.”

You nodded and accompanied him back down to the shoreline. Just like before, he used his smoke to form a raft and stepped onto it, holding out a hand for you after.

Despite all that he'd shown you, it still felt weird to be standing on smoke, and you were once again clinging to him and pressing your face against him as he stood at the center of the raft. He didn't mind, and he wrapped an arm around you while giving you a reassuring squeeze as the two of you began to float back to the boat.

While still nervous about standing on the smoke, your mind wasn't quite so frazzled with worry this time around, and therefore your thoughts were allowed to go to different places this time.

Such as how nice it felt to have Morel hold you.

At first you wondered if that was a strange thought to have. But then again, you hadn't seen anyone else in months, and though Morel was around you a lot, you kept your distance because of your fears of being a burden on him.

But when you thought about it.... Damn. It really had been a while since you'd had significant physical contact like this, huh?

But that was because it would be weird to ask the guy who was protecting you to hug you. It was too likely that he'd get the wrong idea and then things would be awkward between the two of you. And as he was the only person around you, creating a tension like that was a bad idea. You'd counted yourself lucky that it was Morel looking after you; you didn't want to lose the friendship that you had with him over you being an idiot.

While you told yourself to get thoughts like that out of your head, you focused on what you felt of his form beneath his shirt and found that Morel was surprisingly muscular.

Though just looking at him made it clear that Morel wasn't out of shape by any means, but the shirts you usually saw him wearing appeared to hide just how toned he was. You found yourself wanting to see him with his shirt off just so you could see what he looked like underneath.

The heat went to your cheeks at the thought of that.

A request like that would definitely be taken the wrong way.

Morel seemed to have noticed your state as he asked if you were alright. You just nodded, worried that if you opened your mouth you might say something stupid.

Despite your desire for physical contact, you were happy when you got back to the boat as it allowed you to escape from that potentially awkward situation in the making. At least you were able to use the time that Morel took to get back on deck to compose yourself enough to thank him once again for that little outing.

“It was no problem,” he told you, “I'm glad I did it; you seem a lot happier now.”

Oh. Was your mood that obvious?

“Don't feel bad,” Morel said to you, “and don't be afraid to come to me for anything. Obviously certain things are out of my power, but if there's anything I can do to make this better for you, let me know, okay?”

He smiled at you, and you could tell he was being sincere.

“Okay,” you said, nodding at him before adding “thank you, Morel.”

“Anytime.”

Morel groaned as the ringing of his cellphone took him out of sleep, forcing him to push himself up one one hand while the other blindly reached for the phone. When he brought the screen up to his face he checked the time and found that it was ridiculously early in the morning. That was annoying.

When he saw that the person calling him was Arvind, he frowned..

Though he had half a mind to reject the call and go back to sleep, it seemed like a better idea to take the call in the event that it was something important. Laying back down on the bed, he hit the 'accept' button as he put the phone up to his ear.

“Hey,” he said. At the moment, he wasn't able to do much about how tired he sounded.

“Morel,” said Arvind on the other end, “they won't go after her. They closed the case.”

“Won't go after who?”

“The Hunter. The one who killed that man.”

“Ah. That one.”

Morel had heard her name a few times by now, but for some reason he couldn't remember exactly what it was. Amelia or Annalise or something along those lines.

“You aren't concerned?” Arvind asked. He sounded frustrated.

“No, it's not that,” said Morel, “but as soon as it turned out that she was a Hunter I figured this would be the outcome. She did claim it was self-defense.”

“That wasn't self-defense. That was torture.”

“I agree. But even without her Hunter status, the guy she killed was a criminal with a history of violence, especially when it came to women, right?”

“Are you trying to justify it?”

“I'm not. I'm just saying I get why they won't do anything further.”

He heard Arvind huff on the other end.

“Morel, you're good friends with the chairman, right? Can't you talk to him?” Arvind then asked.

“I can't,” Morel answered, “the chairman doesn't care about things like this.”

“What about the witness she killed? Can't you tell him about that?”

Arvind spoke your name, continuing with “they're dead. They were murdered and I know that woman is responsible.”

Morel took a moment before he answered, saying “I thought that death was an accident.”

“That's what they ruled it, but I don't believe it. The only witness of the crime ending up dead a month after by drowning at the docks? It's too much of a coincidence.”

Arvind continued when he didn't hear Morel reply.

“Morel, please. You can talk to the chairman and keep this from being swept under the rug.”

“I really can't. And I really think you're wrong about what happened to the witness.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because if that Hunter was properly trained, she was aware that the witness was present before she even began her attack. If she killed that guy in the way she did but left the witness alive, then she didn't care about being seen. It makes no sense that she'd wait a month to get rid of them when she had a better opportunity to do that at the scene of the actual murder.”

Arvind was silent.

Then he sighed.

“I promised their family that I would find out what actually happened to them,” he said. Then he hung up.

The mention of your family made Morel frown, and he placed the phone back onto the bedside table before pinching the bridge of his nose.

It wasn't one of Morel's proudest moments, the way he'd gone about faking your death.

Experience had taught him that it helped to have friends in lots of different places, and while he generally avoided the criminal underworld side of things, he'd happened to get on good terms with a conjurer who specialized in creating corpses.

They generally made them for those who wanted to fake their deaths and start fresh elsewhere; a lot of the time the bodies they made were so their customers could collect their own life insurance. But to make a realistic human body with all of the organs and bones in the event that they went through autopsy, a lot of information was required as part of the conjurer's conditions for creating their copies. Birth date, blood type and a complete medical history, among other things. For others it likely wasn't too much of a hassle to get that sort of information in order, but as he needed to get all of your information without your knowledge, it was a bit harder for him.

Morel took a few weeks to gather all of it and make sure everything he had was correct, by which time the investigators at Dole Harbor found out that the murder suspect was indeed a Hunter, and it became obvious to most that there likely wouldn't be a conviction, though clearly Arvind had been trying hard to fight for one.

And during all that time, you had been trying to continue with your life as normal and hadn't made any attempts to ask about how the case was going, clearly eager to forget what you had seen.

It worked out well for him since you weren't keeping up on the case and didn't learn about that development.

The night he had taken you, he was able to convince you to go with him with the help of his hatsu, creating a copy of Arvind out of the smoke. With the two of them there telling you that it was dangerous and you needed to leave, it was enough to make you believe that what you were being told was true: the woman you'd seen murder the man was now after you.

He took you under the cover of night, and “Arvind” saw you off, waving at you from the dock as you went below deck. The clone dissipated the second you went into the boat, and while you were distracted and looking at your new surroundings, Morel picked up his pipe again, this time creating a clone of himself.

His clone went down to give you a tour while he left the boat, carrying the carefully made conjured copy of you.

Morel had been careful in making sure he'd covered everything when it came to faking your death: making another smoke clone, this time of you, and having it walk from your apartment down to the docks so there would be witnesses that would say they had seen you heading towards the water. Then when the clone had served its purpose, he placed the conjured copy of your body on the oldest looking dock, and using his smoke, he broke apart the beams that supported the dock, and it went crashing into the water, taking the body in with it.

The conjured body ended up trapped beneath the debris. And as he had specified that the death would be by way of drowning, water would quickly fill up within the copy's lungs, ensuring that your “death” was an unfortunate accident. You'd simply been on the old dock when it collapsed and had been pinned beneath the rubble, causing you to drown.

You hadn't suspected anything when he returned to his boat; when his clone left the room and disappeared, to you it just looked like he had walked out for a moment before returning.

Morel did feel badly for your friends and family, however. He could imagine how upset those who had been around you would be once they heard about the accident. But he felt it was better than taking you and leaving no trace behind. This way, your friends and family would have some sort of explanation for your death and would find their closure in one way or another. They wouldn't need to live through the rest of their lives having unanswered questions about what had happened to you if he had just up and kidnapped you.

It was still cruel, and he knew that the things he'd done to get you here weren't right, but in his mind it was justified.

He needed to protect you.

After seeing just how vulnerable you were that day in the police station and the thoughts of the things that could've happened before he'd met you – like that Hunter killing you as well or the man that had been killed running into you instead of her – an urge to keep you safe had bloomed inside of him, which in then turned into feelings of love for you.

None of this was something he was proud of, but he continued with the hope that the ends would justify the means. You had some form of affection for him, he was certain, but it was a matter of getting you comfortable around him for you to return those feelings.

When you reciprocated his feelings would be when he'd ease off on the 'witness protection' bit. It was a big lie to maintain, but with his abilities, Morel could pull it off. Create a clone with the voice of one of your parents so you could get the phone call that you wanted, maybe even in the future create a proper clone that looked like them so you could have visits with them. To keep you happy so you didn't feel like you were a prisoner.

But you needed to love him first.

And since you would likely feel cornered if he confronted you with those feelings outright, it seemed like a better idea to have you come to him.

And with everyone else thinking that you were dead while you believed that you were being hidden away in order to protect your life, he had as much time as he needed.

While it wasn't outrageously early, it was still earlier than the time he would usually get out of bed. But the phone call had messed up his sleep schedule and he doubted that there was much chance that he'd be able to manage to fall asleep again before the time he meant to get up.

Morel checked in on you then, seeing if you were still asleep or if you were also in a state of restlessness like he was.

The moth that he'd created from his smoke that was currently sitting in the corner of one of the walls, watching you. And through it, Morel could see you as well.

After seeing how uneasy you were around his smoke soldiers and worried what you might think if he made a point to have one of his creations watching you at all times but still wanting to keep an eye on you, he made the moth so he could watch you without arousing much suspicion.

You didn't think it was anything other than a pest that had managed to get inside, and after that first time you had told him about it and he let you know that it wasn't a big deal, you pretty much stopped caring about it.

While yesterday he had shown you a bit more of what his nen was capable of, Morel had made sure not to give away certain things: like how his creations could look like the actual thing and not just smoke versions of them, or just how small he could make them, choosing to stick with the small rabbits that you had been amused by.

If he tipped his hand too much, you might become suspicious. And if that happened and you began to question some of the things he'd told you, all of the work he had put into getting you to trust him would be for nothing.

Looking through the eyes of the moth, Morel could see that you were awake, too, tossing and turning as you tried to get back to sleep. You didn't appear to be upset, so he hoped that you being awake wasn't the result of a nightmare and that you had just happened to wake up early that morning.

After staying in bed for a few more moments, he got up, figuring that if you were both awake, there wasn't much point in wasting time laying in bed for no reason.

Dressed only in his sleep pants, he had been about to grab a shirt when a thought came to mind: you had seemed rather flustered after he had held you against him. While part of his focus was on maintaining the raft he'd created so the two of you didn't end up in the water, every other part of him was focusing on the feeling of you pressed up against him. To the point that he hadn't noticed your reaction to it until you were back on the boat.

There needed to be some physical attraction there.

Maybe he could entice you further if he showed you what you were missing out on.

Heading over to your room, he knocked on the door. Through the moth, he saw the way you jumped when you heard him before turning on the light and brushing some hair out of the way so you didn't look quite as much of a mess. That made him a little happy: that you wanted to make sure you looked presentable for him. It was cute.

“You can open the door,” you said.

You were caught off-guard when he slid open the door and you saw him standing in the doorway without a shirt, and you quickly averted your eyes.

He acted like he hadn't noticed your reaction as he leaned against the frame of the door, asking you “can't sleep?”

You shook your head, glancing up briefly after before averting your eyes again. It looked like you were getting flustered again.

He found it equally cute how embarrassed you became over that, and it was also flattering to know that he was correct in his suspicions about you yesterday.

“Same here,” he said, “wanna have an early breakfast?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” you said, nodding along quickly as you clearly hoped to move things along and avoid embarrassing yourself.

“Anything you want?” he asked.

“Not really,” you answered, “surprise me.”

Morel nodded, and was about to head over to the kitchen when you spoke again.

“Are you heading out today?” you asked him.

“No, I'm taking a break today. So I'll be here with you,” said Morel.

“Unless you want me gone,” he added jokingly.

You smiled as you shook your head.

“No, spending the day with you sounds really good,” you said.

“Glad to hear it.”

Morel was smiling to himself as he went over to the kitchen, leaving you in your room to get yourself ready. And as he checked on you through the moth once again, he found that you were still sitting in the bed, looking down at the sheets with a far-off expression and a small smile on your lips.

Morel took that as a good sign. That things were falling into place as he wanted them, and soon you would truly be his.

[simping-i-guess]

Some hxh characterxreader headcanons, but the characters that I feel don’t get enough love.

Uvogin

I feel like despite Uvogin’s violent tendencies and rather large personality, you could have a healthy long-term relationship with him.

Because like, I think he’s self aware enough to know what shit would break the relationship, and he loves you and wouldn’t want that. You’re special.

As soon as you start dating, he will brag to every member of the troupe individually. It doesn’t matter if you’ve met them, he’ll just say “Hey, guess who found THIS cutie?” and he’d show them a picture on his phone.

Just as he can be incredibly violent, I think he can be incredibly affectionate. I’d go as far to say, of all the Phantom Troupe members, he’d probably be the most physically affectionate.

As many have also said, he’d have all sorts of names to call you, mostly the normal shit. ‘Sweet-cheeks’, ‘babe/baby’, ‘honey’, ect.

Ask him to carry you. He will.

I can’t see Uvo as being too gentle in anything, but I do think he’d tone any intimate roughness down until he knew what you were able to handle. He’d be scared to kill you accidentally.

Pakunoda

I absolutely believe she would be very reserved until you got to know her. Once she’s comfy though, I think she’d be super fun to be around.

PDA depends on her mood, but I see her being one to be content holding your hand or kissing you on the cheek in public. She doesn’t care too much if people notice but she isn’t going to try and be flashy or anything.

Would probably buy you flowers.

Also, would be really appreciative of any gifts you got her. I think she’d really hold on to any act of kindness you did, I doubt she got too much of it from anyone outside the Troupe.

If she could, she’d introduce you to her family. Albiet, I think she’d be a bit shy to, and absolutely would get Chrollo’s permission before even TELLING you about them. That’d be after a long while of being together.

Whole Troupe will tease her a bit but they’ll all be really happy for her.

Morel

Does Morel have a canon age? I always saw him as being around 40 or so.

That said, I think he’s probably been so focused on his hunter duties, any dating past age 30 has probably been minimal. He just, stopped actively looking.

I think if you showed interested he’d be back on the dating train though.

Gentlemanly, but not overly-so. I’d think he’s pretty casual, he’s too old to be totally into lovey show-off stuff.

He’ll still give you flowers on valentines day and make you dinner on your birthday though. And he’s very polite.

He’s pretty affectionate. Casual PDA is fine, but he prefers to do most things in private. As soon as he gets you alone, he’ll happily sit down and cuddle with you.

Very open with you, especially about his feelings. Absolutely will cry in your lap if he needs to get anything out, and will appreciate any comfort you offer greatly.

Has no problem with you crying either, he’d probably see it as endearing. He’s happy to hold you or give you space when needed.

Knuckle

Knuckle is a bit like Morel, but way less experienced. Once again unsure of age, but I’d pit him at around 25~30.

He’s been on a few dates, but nothing felt right. He focused more on his personal goals.

So when he found you, he was kind of taken aback.

Absolutely a gentleman. Like overly so. He’ll open doors for you, buy you flowers, INSISTS on buying you dinner, all that stuff. it’s very genuine- he really just feels like that’s the best way for him to treat you.

Once you start offically going steady, he’ll calm down some of the more excessive gentlemanly actions if you ask him to. He’ll still hold doors open for you though.

This man does not give a fuck what anyone thinks, he will kiss and hug and cuddle you in public all he wants- so long as you’re okay with it.

He just wants to hold you all the time- the BIGGEST cuddler. Will big spoon, but really enjoys being the little spoon, even if he’s way bigger than you.

If you cry, he’ll cry. Doesn’t matter why. Seeing you sad makes him so distraught, it’s just a reflex.

[bovine-providence]

Make Me Yours, Part 2

[CWs: PIV sex, a/b/o heat/rut, biting/marking, reader isn’t thinking completely straight]

——— nuzzled against Morel as he brought her back to her room and placed her on the bed. She couldn’t get enough of his delicious scent as he soothed her, rubbing her sides gently as he gazed down at her in concern.

“Are you sure about this?” He checked. ——— nodded.

“Yes, Mor, I swear I’m sure,” she insisted, before pulling her sleep shirt off, baring her chest to him.

If she was in her right state of mind, she would’ve wanted her first time with her long-time crush to be more romantic. But as it stood, she barely noticed how she rushed in removing the offending articles of clothing that prevented her from getting to him.

Morel was more deliberate, but only barely. He tossed both his and her clothing into the corner, before turning back to the omega that looked at him with a sweet mix of desire and vulnerability.

If he was being honest with himself, this would have been a dream come true to finally have his pretty little omega naked before him, but the situation had made it feel strange. He still didn’t know if he should be doing this, but as she winced and clutched her belly, he firmed his resolve. Hovering over ———, the large man chuckled lightly as the omega bucked her hips, unsuccessfully attempting to catch his thick girth.

“Easy, pretty girl,” he murmured, tilting her head to kiss him. She melted against his lips, the physical contact helping to briefly alleviate the pain of her heat.

“I want you, Mor,” she murmured softly. It was all he needed to begin gently pressing his cock inside her soaked heat.

——— whimpered in relief as Morel carefully slid his cock into her, clutching at his shoulders. He was careful to watch her expression for any discomfort, aware that his size could hurt. But she was so wet from her heat that it posed no issue.

“Feels so good,” she breathed as he hilted into her. Looking up at him, she gave him a bashful smile.

Morel had to fight not to lose himself to her tight heat, her addicting scent. Her heat had pushed him into a rut, and he himself was unused to feeling its full effects after using his own suppressants.

He gave her an experimental buck of his hips, and was pleased to hear her excited gasp.

“I’m gonna start,” he warned. As she nodded, he began to thrust into her.

——— had dreamed of this moment for so long, and even in her heat-clouded mind she found the reality greatly exceeded those fantasies. His thick girth stretched her wonderfully as his scent surrounded her, encouraging her to be a good omega and please her alpha. Mmm… her alpha. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. She nuzzled against Morel’s neck, encouraging the scent glands just beneath to release more of his basil and ocean scent.

Morel growled at her actions, finding them incredibly arousing as he continued to thrust into her. He wanted to keep it slow, be mindful of her needs on top of his own. This was their first time together, and though it had an unorthodox start to coupling, he wanted it to still be a proper lovemaking session. He nipped lightly at her neck, grinning as she keened and held herself against him.

“I want more,” she begged.

That was enough for Morel to press into her harder, and attack her neck with gusto, practically tasting her orange and honey scent as he nibbled at the source. He was playing a dangerous game, practically biting where he could leave a permanent mark and single her out as his. But god, was it so good to have an opportunity to finally have her under him like this. It was a chance he wouldn’t waste.

They continued like this, holding each other close as their minds blurred from their respective heat and rut, not wanting it to end.

“Morel, I’m close,” ——— whimpered, lowering her hand to help bring herself to the final push she needed.

“So am I, princess,” he muttered, feeling his knot beginning to grow. Fuck, it all felt so good.

“Wanna finish together, please? Wanna feel you finish with me,” she begged, wrapping her legs around him.

The words made something inside him snap. Sure, he was a Hunter, he was known for his self-control, but he was still a man. With a growl, he sped up, returning his mouth to her neck.

That was all she needed to finish. ——— cried out, pressing herself against him as her orgasm hit full-force. As her heat throbbed around his member, Morel found his knot holding him in place as he finished deep inside her, and his jaw clenched down, biting down into her shoulder.

Panting filled the room as the two came down from their highs. ——— felt exhausted, the sharp pain in her shoulder indicating a successful mating as Morel’s knot filled her clenching pussy. She could hardly think about that though, when the pain from her heat had cleared for the time being and she felt so sleepy. Leaning up, she gave Morel a gentle kiss, one he reciprocated tiredly, before quickly falling asleep beneath him.

[dreamilymagicalhideout]

Morel

You

After all the tradition and ceremony you both have done, you finally sit inside your hotel room, you wiped all the make up in front of a big mirror and throw the cotton on a trashbin. You pulled out the hairpin in your hair and put it down on the table. It seems like no matter how much you pulled out the hairpins is still there. When you finally get all of it out of your hair, you tried to straightening your hair, you comb it slowly with your fingers. You can feel the roughness of your hair, it is stiff and you feel like if you keep combing it your hair would break. So you stop, damn the hairspray.

You still on your gown sitting in front of a mirror while your hand rest on the table, you put your palm on your cheek and examining your reflection on the mirror. Now all the make up are gone, your hair is messy and you look tired. 'I look ugly now' you thought.

You waited for Morel to come out of the shower, while sitting there alone. You don't feel like checking your phone, and then the bathroom door opened. Morel huge body come out of it with the towel circled under he waist. "It's always been like this, the robe doesn't fit me, I've been at so many hotels, but none of them have a robe my size" Morel said as he walking to the drawers, searching for his clothes, you averted your gaze, pretend to be busy with something on your hair.

"Well, remember me to bring your own robe next time" You said then quickly got in to the bathroom, not ready to see him naked.

You turn on the shower and let the water streamed down start from the top of your hair, cascaded down to your chest, and end up on your feet. You wash your hair, put conditioner on it, wash your body. After you done, you take your time. You already shaved, you put on a lotion, body mist, put your face routine, like all of them, mask, moisturizer, toner, all of them. You are too nervous because this is your first night with Morel. You don't even care how much time you spend in the bathroom, you feel like you spend long enough because your hair is now half dry.

You gasped when you heard Morel is knocking at the bathroom door "are you okay there?"

"Yes, I'll be done in a minute"

"Alright"

You comb your hair, put on your nightgown, it's a white satin gown with some root pattern on its v neck with short sleeves, the gown is short, it just reached your thigh. You braced yourself and finally made it to get out of the bathroom. You see Morel is laying on his back with his hand at the back of his head while watching television.

He looks at you instantly when he heard the bathroom door opened. He couldn't contain his smile upon seeing you in your thin and short nightgown. "Ahh finally"

You smiled shyly at him and climbing into the bed, you get into the cover slowly, careful not to make your gown got higher. 'no, it's not the time yet' you said to yourself and laid down beside him. He pulled you closer to him and now your head is on his chest and your hand circled around his waist. His hand is in your back, hugging you. "You smell nice"

"Thank you, so do you"

"Are you tired?" He asked while looking at you

"A little"

"Why are you still wearing your glasses?" You asked and take off his glasses, setting it on the night stand beside you. Now you see him without his glasses on. You just see him without his glasses on once, when you accidentally walked in when he is asleep.

"Do I look weird without my glasses?" He asked you, his face is now in front of you, you never see him this close, you can see his big nose, thin lips and the wrinkles on both side of his eyes, he has a lighter share around his eyes because he always wear glasses.

"No, you look pretty"

He kissed you, his body is now looming over you, you can feel his warmth covering every inch of your body. You put your hands on his shoulder, and break the kissed to gasped for air, he looks at you and you look at him, smiling. He dips his head in your neck, you craned your neck to give him more access, but after a while nothing happened. You wondered what's wrong, then you feel something wet on your neck, you know it's not tongue, then you called his name "Morel?"

Then you hear a sob, you moved to see his face and he is crying now. "What's wrong?" You asked him, then slowly get up and hold his face, wiping his tears that flowing from his eyes down to his cheek.

He continued crying and you look at him quizically, still wondering what makes him crying, but he looks so sad until you did not realize that you started crying. Everyone always said that you and Morel is a match made in heaven because both of your soft heart. You never found someone as crybaby as you other than him, of course after that you meet Knuckle, buy Morel suits you better.

He keeps crying and you decided not to ask further as you hug his body, you cradled him and he cries into you. His face is on your neck, making your neck damp with his tears, then it hits you. What if he is crying because he regretted marrying you? The realization makes you cry harder as you sobbed. He seems to realize that you cry harder and looks up to see your face.

"Why are you crying?" You asked first before he ask you. "I am too happy right now. I can't believe I marry you"

You blinked, then cry harder "I thought you regretted marrying me"

"Oh no, of course not, why would you even think like that?"

"I don't know" You said as you palmed your face, covering it because you are embarassed. He hugs you then put your head on his shoulder as you cried there.

"Please stop crying, if you keep crying none of us would sleep tonight" he said with a little laugh laced on his words. "Now I feel exuberant that I marry you"

You and him are now crying of happiness, you both facing each other, you wiped his tears and he wiped your tears. "I love you" you said with your eyes looking at his two orbs which also watching you. "I love you more"

"So bold of you to think you love me more than I love you" you said and he can't help to curved his lips, smirking. "What makes you think you love me more?"

"I can't say no to you" you said as you wiped down his tears.

"I choose you over smoking" you laughed despite the tears that keep streaming down your face. You couldn't imagine Morel without smoking, without his big pipe that he always bring along everywhere.

"I don't trust that" you said and both of you keep saying pick up lines to each other and of course, both of you crying while doing that.

[queens-of-spirits]

Read your Morel fic and I have been blessed 🥲 Thank you for doing the lord’s work 🙏🏻

Awww! Thanks so much! This is my first attempt at wiring anything remotely like this (I.e. spicy) so I’m really glad you enjoyed it! Especially considering I enjoyed your Morel fic!

[ging-pegger]

cigarettes after sex - morel mackernasey x reader

warnings: mild smut, smoking, possible spoilers, afab reader, reader had a previous relationship with kite word count: 1,069 part 1 / ? (depends on response)

hitched breath, damp skin, the scent of tobacco flooding the air.

a large hand trailed up your back, supporting you as you moved your body with his. you straddled him, his large member filling your insides

you could feel his appendage stretching you out as you thrusted down onto him, your hands gripped his chest, which was chiseled by defined muscle, your nails dug into his flesh gripping for anything.

your senses were overwhelmed, you felt a tingling sensation stemming from your feet, it travelled up to your head, your thoughts were foggy, all you could think about was the sex. how good it felt, how good he felt inside you.

you didn't want it to end, but you knew it was inevitable as you felt his cock twitching inside you, your vaginal walls clamping down around him.

a low groan erupted from morel's throat as his hands fell to and gripped your hips.

"i'm close..." his voice was low and raspy, almost as if he were sharing his best kept secret.

you whimpered in acknowledgement, continuing to ride him, hoping to milk him of every last drop of his cum.

soon you felt yourself begin to tighten around him, your leg muscles spasming, your body began to shake. you could feel his hot viscous ejaculate filling the inside of your body.

you pulled off from him, his dick becoming flaccid, twitching as it dripped a small amount of cum onto his stomach, his cum dripping out from you as you straddled his midsection and collapsed against his flesh.

you could feel his chest rise and fall as he reached to the bedside stand and grabbed a pack of cigarettes, with a click it had been lit and he took a drag.

you turned your head to the side, getting a good look at the cigarette you brought his hand down, taking a puff from it , playfully blowing the smoke into his face as you lifted yourself off from his body and collapsed beside him.

there was a thought that plagued both of your minds. the chimera ants.

truth be told, you were fucking to forget. fucking to distract yourself, however temporary it may be.

it may have felt good in the moment, but a wave of guilt rushed through your body, you should have been doing something to help, but instead you were having sex. you should have been trying to help kite.

though, however guilty you felt, you still couldn't help but feel the urge to do it again, it was the only thing that had managed to make you feel good in months.

your mind was constantly plagued by the thought of what could have been happening to him, or what had happened to him. what the ants were doing. you just needed to feel something other than dread, you wanted to feel good for once.

you rested your left hand on his chest, curled up against his side, watching it rise and fall with every breath he took.

your eyes trailed up to see him taking long drags from the cigarette in hand, flicking ashes onto the floor. you could tell he was thinking about the exact same thing.

you knew kite was no longer himself, that his body was just being used for the enemy, but it still felt wrong. you were in denial that he had died, but you still knew it was the truth.

you felt sick suddenly, thinking about the slim chance that he would have been still alive, and if he had found out... what would you do?

you closed your eyes, and tried to clear your mind.

morel looked down, he could read you like an open book, seeing you like this only confirmed his worry that you hadn't been ready to have intercourse with someone else, of course he felt bad, but he had asked if you were certain you wanted it before proceeding.

"do you... regret this?" morel shifted uncomfortably, putting the cigarette out on the nightstand.

your eyes shot open, "what, i," you blinked a few times and looked away. it wasn't that you regretted it, you just were conflicted. "of course not, i just.. have alot on my mind."

he nodded, "i see..." his large arm wrapped around you, pulling you close. he wanted to plant a kiss on your head, but felt he'd be overstepping his boundaries.

morel really cared for you, he had for quite some time, and as such he had never told you, he wanted to avoid hurting you or losing you. when you had proposed sleeping together to keep yourselves distracted, he nearly choked.

he knew you should have been keeping things professional, but he couldn't help indulging in you, he wanted you so desperately to be his.

you suddenly sat up, warranting a confused look from morel.

"i'm sorry," you sighed, reaching out to take his hand. "i probably just made you feel... really bad."

morel shook his head, "nonono, i completely understand. my head is swarming with things too- everything right now is so complicated."

you nodded and squeezed his hand. "the sex was great though-" you laughed, though you were being honest.

morel flushed a bright pink, and stammered trying to figure out what to say in response.

"thanks...?" he looked away, embarassed.

"would you be interested in doing this again some time?" you inquired.

"well, i'm obviously not opposed to the idea..." his hand trailed up your thigh, stroking it with his thumb.

you flashed a pearly smile at him, "i'll hold you to that... this was nice... it was something that left me feeling good for once, yknow?" You sighed, and placed your hand over his. "i really needed this."

"i think i did too if i'm being honest..." morel admitted, his heart fluttering at the feeling of your hand resting on top of his.

he propped himself up, gesturing for you to come closer.

you moved back to the spot you had previously occupied, leaning on his shoulder, in a moment of impulse you leaned in, sucking gently on his neck, leaving a small hickey.

you felt oddly proud of the act the two of you had just indulged in, once you had gotten over your initial guilt, it was exciting and promiscuous.

it gave you something to look forward to, it made your heart pound just thinking about hooking up with him again.

[imagineanime2022]

Hunters

Headcannon

You Kill A Friend (Hisoka, Illumi, Chrollo)

You Get Kidnapped (Hisoka, Illumi, Chrollo)

Leah (OC) General Headcannons (Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka, Illumi, Chrollo)

Kianna (OC) W/ Zoldyck Family (Killua, Illumi, Milluki, Kalluto, Alluka) *Part 2* (Silva, Kikyo, Zeno)

Kianna Coming Back W/ Nagito (Killua, Illumi, Milluki, Kalluto, Alluka, Silva, Kikyo, Zeno) *Part 2*

Gon Freecss

Gon's Older Sister/Brother

Here To Help (Sister Reader)

Sister Friend (Platonic)

Killua Zoldyck

Killua's Older Sibling

Sister Friend (Platonic)

The Girl I’ll Marry

Leorio Paradinight

Leorio's Older Siblings

Kurapika Kurta

Kurapika's Older Sibling

Your Boy Friend *Part 1* *Part 2* *Part 3* *Part 4* *Part 5* (Ft Hisoka Morrow)

Hisoka Morrow

Hisoka's Younger Sibling

Shadow *Part 1* *Part 2* *Part 3* *Part 4*

Kite

Kite’s Twin

Protect Each Other

Morel Mackernasey

Knov

Knuckle Bine

Knuckle’s Younger Sibling

Shoot McMahon

Shoot’s Younger Sibling

Back To Hunter X Hunter

[uvobreakmylegs]

Haze

i saw a meme and it made me want to write a Morel piece. then @ramwrites​ suggested making him a banshee and i loved it

i have definitely bastardized banshee lore but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for a story

Warnings: manipulation, mentions of death

A hiking trip up to a nearby mountain trail had been on a list of things to do for you and your friend group for a while. Your friend Denali had suggested it, and she assured you all that it wouldn't be anything too difficult; it was just a beginner's trail that would consist of a few hours of walking up the trail and back. And then maybe you all could grab some food after.

You were pretty excited for it, as the idea sounded refreshing to you. Another thing that added to the anticipation of the hike was the fact that it had also been a little while since everyone in the friend group had been able to hang out together.

Or more accurately, it had been a while since you were able to make it to one of these friend meetups.

Some kind of bad luck had been plaguing you recently; the last few times an outing for the four of you had been planned, something unexpected came up for you and you needed to cancel last minute. Be it work obligations, family emergencies or just you getting sick the night before, it had been a while since you hung out with them like you once had.

Aiden, Denali and Colton all seemed to take it well, but you swore you could sense a growing annoyance in them. They seemed to be shorter with you in texts, and there had been a few times now that you'd sent a picture or said something in the group chat and it had been ignored. You worried that they were starting to think you were making up excuses instead of genuinely being unable to see them, but every time you tried to talk with them privately, they told you that there wasn't anything wrong and that you were just overreacting.

That hadn't made you feel any better. You just felt like a bad friend.

But today would be different.

You made a point to ensure that you had the day completely cleared for the hike, getting the day off from your work well in advance and doing your best to stay away from anything that might make you sick. The morning of your friends had all confirmed that it was still on, and after a little while they were going to rendezvous at your place to pick you up before you all headed out to the trail.

Things were going to be different today, and you were excited for it.

And things were different.

But maybe not in a way that you had expected.

You didn't notice the second car that had pulled up behind Denali's initially when they stopped outside your place. You only noticed that something was different when you approached Denali's car and noticed that one of the seats in the back had been taken up by a pile of backpacks, leaving no room for you.

When Aiden stepped out of the first car as you came out to greet him, he explained the situation. Without your knowledge, Aiden had invited someone from his work, a woman named Fawn. Evidently during those times when you couldn't make it, your friends had been hanging out with her a lot, and they had figured that she should be invited on this trip as well.

That they were hanging out with other people didn't upset you; they had every right to spend their time with people that were able to show up. But you felt slightly hurt that you hadn't been asked or even given a heads-up that this was happening. You had been anticipating spending time with your old friend group for this trip and instead you would be trying to reconnect while also navigating a new group dynamic.

But you decided not to say anything about it. You just nodded and smiled when Aiden told you that you'd be riding with Fawn in her car. Although it was unexpected, you told yourself that new people wasn't necessarily a bad thing. You could probably make good friends with her while also berating yourself for your first reaction to her being disappointment. That sort of attitude was no good.

Despite all of that, you quickly came to feel that you didn't like Fawn very much.

For one thing, the woman was one of the most reckless drivers you had ever come across. Virtually blowing through stop signs, running several lights and swerving around drivers that she felt weren't going fast enough, there were several times during the trip that you felt she was going to cause an accident. She also passed by Denali's car for some reason, and when you asked her why, she said she thought it would be fun to see who could get to the mountain first. You didn't agree, but there was literally nothing you could do but hold onto the inside of the passenger side door for dear life. The motion sickness you'd gotten was so bad that by the time you made it to the parking lot next to the hiking trail, you'd needed to lean against the side of her car and take in deep breaths in an attempt to not throw up your breakfast.

At least she seemed pretty apologetic when she saw you like that, and she offered you a bottle of water which you gladly took. But the second Denali's car pulled up she seemed to switch her focus to that completely, going up to the rest of the group to greet them. She had something of a one-track mind, it seemed. It didn't make her a bad person, but you still wanted a bit of distance for now.

After recovering and making sure you had everything you needed in your backpack, you approached Aiden while the others were getting ready.

“Hey,” you said, “you think you and I could switch places for the car ride back?”

“Oh c'mon, it couldn't have been that bad,” he said, “you'll hurt her feelings if you do that. She really wants to know you.”

Fawn walked up right after, and since you weren't willing to criticize her driving right in front of her, you dropped it.

Meanwhile the mountain loomed above all of you. Tall and imposing with a rather dense white fog that almost obscured the very top of it. There were parts that were heavily forested, and you briefly wondered if you would need to worry about anything like bears or some other kind of large wild animal.

“How far up are we going?” you asked Denali.

“Not too far. We'll be sticking to the marked trail; there's a cool little observation deck at the end of it,” she told you, “I figure we'll head towards that and then come back the same way.”

You nodded, but before you could give any real response Colton called her over for something, and she left to help him. Aiden and Fawn were chatting about something, so you stood silent and at the ready, looking up once more at the mountain.

Despite the distance, you swore you saw something moving. You wanted to say it was some large kind of four-legged creature, though it was impossible to tell what exactly it was.

“Are there bears on the mountain?” you asked aloud.

“Nah.”

That was all the response you got.

For about ten minutes after the hike started, Fawn had stayed at the back with you, asking you some basic questions about yourself that you would in turn ask her once you had answered. You hoped that the interaction wasn't as awkward as it had felt to you. Maybe it was but she also didn't want to say anything about it.

Then when your group came across an old, crumbling well, Fawn had run up towards Aiden to get some better pictures of the structure, and when the group began to move again, she chose to stay there next to him.

Denali had taken the lead with Colton right behind. They were talking, though what they were talking about you couldn't be sure as you only caught bits and pieces of the conversation. A few steps behind them were Aiden and Fawn, talking about something that was going on at their workplace. And a few steps behind those two was you, trailing behind the group and unable to join either conversation. Although Aiden had said that Fawn wanted to know you, she hadn't said much of substance to you before she turned her attention back to him. Although maybe that was your fault. Maybe it really was obvious that you didn't care for her much. You thought that you were doing a decent job at being polite, but maybe she could tell that you were still a bit annoyed about her driving earlier.

Or maybe she just wanted to talk to Aiden right now and you were overreacting again.

You weren't sure.

It just felt like you were being excluded.

Of course. The first time in forever that you were able to make it to a meet-up with them, and it felt like you weren't wanted.

You sighed to yourself as you walked behind silently, trying to tell yourself that it was unreasonable to be thinking like that and that you wouldn't have been invited if they didn't want you there. The hike had just started; you couldn't decide that the whole thing would be bad just because of a rough beginning.

At least for now you could enjoy the scenery, and you looked about the woods as you walked along the trail, noting the different types of trees and plants and just how many of them surrounded you as you walked by on the trail. You stopped now and then to take a few pictures with your phone. Although you could hear the distinct chirping of birds in the distance, you didn't manage to see any, and despite the movement you thought you had seen while in the parking lot, it didn't seem like there were any other animals in the area. Denali had said this was an easy trail; maybe people frequented it enough that most animals avoided any areas close to it. That was too bad, but not that big of a deal. At least you were still getting nice pictures of the forest.

Your group came across a wide set of wooden stairs with a wooden barrier on either side after a bit, beginning a steeper ascent towards the higher parts of the mountain. Nothing had really changed within the group, though you noted that the conversations had mostly died down in an effort to appreciate the nature around you. Colton was also frequently looking behind to make sure everyone was still there. The two of you managed to lock eyes at one point, and you smiled at him. He gave back something of a half-smile before looking back in front of him. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but you noted that he didn't look back after that.

The walk continued, and all of you were quiet now, looking about the scenery. Some of them occasionally made remarks whenever they spotted something unusual, like an oddly shaped tree trunk or rock. You stayed silent, though, remembering your messages that had gone ignored and worried that if you said anything, that would be ignored as well.

Were you being too anxious about this? Probably. You sighed to yourself again as you tried to keep those kinds of thoughts from running amok.

Just distract yourself by looking around, you told yourself.

You paused when you glanced over to your right.

It looked like there was some sort of stone pillar standing in the distance. The dark rock was covered in moss and vines, but the shape was such that it couldn't have been a natural formation. Someone human had put it there some time ago. It also looked as though there was similar wreckage behind the pillar, and you wondered if it may have once been some kind of building.

Taking out your phone and pulling up the camera, you zoomed in on the the ruined structure. You briefly glanced over to your friends as you did, making sure they weren't leaving you too far behind.

But when you looked back to the phone, you let out a small sound of surprise.

There was a man standing by the pillar.

Your eyes immediately went back to the pillar as you wondered where this guy had come from.

The shadows over in that area made things a bit darker, but you were able to see a general shape that looked like a person. You squinted slightly as you looked at him, trying to make out any details. But strangely, you couldn't. It was just the shape of a rather broad man, and as you continued to look, you found that it looked almost wispy, like a few pieces of cloud had floated down and arranged themselves to imitate what a person might look like.

…. Why did it feel like it was looking back at you?

“What are you doing?”

Aiden's voice called to you, and you snapped out of your stupor to find that the whole group was standing there waiting on you.

Your mouth fell open to try and offer some explanation, to tell them about what you were looking at, but when you glanced back to where the shape had been-

He wasn't there.

And when you looked back to the camera, you found he was gone from there as well.

Had you imagined it?

The entire thing had happened within mere seconds. The pillar wasn't large enough that he could be hiding behind it, and no one could move that fast without making some bit of noise. Looking between the view from your camera and the pillar a few more times, you decided that you had imagined it. Though you were certain you had seen something standing there, there was no way that could have actually been the case. Maybe a shadow just looked weird within the lighting at that moment?

Aiden called out to you again.

“Sorry!” you called out, putting the phone away as you hurried up the stairs to rejoin them.

“What you were looking at?” Fawn asked you.

“Something back there,” you explained, “ it looked like there were some ruins of a building.”

“Oh, did you get a picture? Can I see?”

“Ah, sorry, I didn't.”

Fawn pouted, asking “why not?”

“I thought I saw someone.”

They both looked at you strangely.

“You couldn't get a picture because you thought you saw someone?” Aiden asked.

“I don't know. It was just weird,” you said, getting a bit flustered as you continued “I thought I saw a guy for a second – or something that looked like a guy – but then he was gone.”

“... 'Something' that 'looked' like a guy,” Aiden repeated.

“Oh wow, I didn't know you could see ghosts!” Fawn exclaimed, giggling a little, “we've got a coworker who swears that the printer room is haunted. Maybe we should bring her here and see if she also sees something.”

…. You weren't sure if she was making fun of you or not, so you stayed silent. Aiden was still looking at you like you had two heads while Fawn was pulling out her own phone, preparing to walk back down to take a look at the ruins herself. Then Denali called out to the three of you, asking what the hold-up was. That was enough to spur you to begin walking again.

“Aw, I wanted to get a picture,” Fawn said as you began climbing the stairs once more.

Fawn then looked to Aiden as he said to her “we can always snap a picture on the way back.”

“That's true.”

“And did Nell say that the printer room was haunted? I thought she said it was the third floor bathroom,” Aiden then said.

“It could've been both. According to her a lot of places are haunted. Something about weird energies,” Fawn responded.

They were talking about something from their work again, and since you still had no way to join in, you walked behind them in silence. As your group continued the ascent, you glanced behind to see if there was anything weird with the pillar from this angle. There was a nagging feeling at the back of your mind, and you felt as if there was someone watching you.

There was nothing, and though the feeling wasn't going away, you told yourself to forget about it.

Time passed as the clouds parted some to show how the sun had moved higher in the sky, and your group came to a wooden platform with benches and tables that were clearly meant as a rest stop for any hikers. The others decided that it was a good time to have lunch and settled themselves at a table. You, on the other hand, were still feeling some side effects from Fawn's driving earlier, and as you really didn't want to get sick in the middle of the hike, you opted not to eat. You sat with them at first, but when you once again felt like you couldn't contribute to the conversation, you stood up, the amateur photographer in you feeling fulfilled somewhat as you snapped a few more pictures of the scenery.

You wandered over to a different part of the platform, leaning your elbows on the wooden fencing as you looked out at the forest.

At the beginning of your trip it had been fairly overcast, and only after you had started this excursion had the clouds thinned and allowed the sun to shine through. But just as the weather started to clear up, it seemed to be turning overcast again as a mist began to fall, seemingly sliding from the top of the mountain and through the thick forest of trees. Was rain a possibility? Maybe, and of course you hadn't brought anything with you if that did happen. You had made a point to bring a first aid kit in case either you or someone else got hurt, but nothing to protect you in case the weather turned bad.

A flash of white caught your eye while you were caught up in your thoughts.

Glancing to your left, you found yourself staring at a white rabbit.

It was nice to finally see some wildlife for the first time since this hike had started and at first glance it seemed perfectly normal. But the more you looked at it, the more.... Odd it seemed.

It was sitting upright facing away from you, not moving at all. That didn't seem quite normal, since you thought most rabbits were inclined to hunker down and try to blend in with their surroundings if they encountered something they thought was a threat. This one didn't seem to be hiding, it just sat still, and the more you looked, the more it didn't seem like it was even breathing. It also seemed strange to find a pure white rabbit up in the mountains. The color was striking against the earthly tones of the forest, and presumably that should've meant that it would have been easy prey for any natural predators that roamed the area. In fact, it didn't look the slightest bit dirty, making you wonder if it was someone's pet that had escaped.

And the more you looked at it, the more something about it just seemed to be off. Like it had some kind of weird energy to it.

And yet you felt an urge to get closer to it.

The instant you moved closer it reacted by twisting it's head around to face you, and you saw it's face for the first time.

Or rather, it's lack of one.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth, no sort of features whatsoever. It's face, and the rest of it for that matter, was completely blank, and it seemed less and less like a living creature the longer you looked at it.

You stared at it, unsure of how you were supposed to react to such a thing.

“The rabbit doesn't have a face,” you said aloud.

Your friends didn't hear you. In their defense, you hadn't spoken all that loudly.

When you moved again it bolted, vanishing behind surrounding tree trunks.

Follow it

Maybe it was because of the shock you felt at seeing that thing that you didn't even question the thought. You just climbed over the fencing and headed out in the same direction you had seen it run off to.

It wasn't long before you caught sight of it again, and once more you were struck by how odd this thing was. It was sitting up again, staring at you. Almost like it was waiting for you.

Did you really want to follow a faceless rabbit into the woods? Apparently you did, because when you got close again it ran off, and the process repeated itself as it began to lead you through the forest, taking you further and further away from the hiking trail and down an unmarked path. The rabbit never got too far before it would stop and wait for you to catch up, and it stayed still during the few times that you would pause for a break. It really was waiting for you, and somehow, it didn't seem like it was running in any random direction. More like it was leading you somewhere.

A haze had seemed to form in your mind. Somehow, none of this seemed questionable to you, that you were running off in pursuit of a white rabbit like a heroine from a Lewis Carroll book. Or at least some darker version of that tale given the rabbit's lack of a face which you still weren't able to make sense of. There was no reason for you to be running off of the trail like this, into terrain that you weren't familiar with, but every time you caught sight of the rabbit, something inside you told you that you needed to go after it.

You did just that for some time until the haze finally broke.

In the midst of your pursuit, you happened to step on a hollow, rotted log, and the wood was weak enough that when you put your weight on it, your foot went right through. You shrieked, stumbling forward as you desperately pulled your foot out. To add to your panic, there had been a fair amount of bugs living inside of the log, some of which had attached themselves to your shoe, and you kicked your foot out rapidly to get them off of you. They scattered, and you stumbled back before landing awkwardly on your ankle. Pain shot through you, and you fell against the trunk of a tree where you sank to the forest floor, one hand steadying yourself while the other was over your chest as you tried to calm yourself down.

What the hell am I doing?

The thought struck you. Why had you gone off the trail like this? And for some weird rabbit creature, of all things? What was the point of this excursion? What if you got hurt?

You put some weight on the foot that had gone through the log and you hissed as another sharp bolt of pain hit you.

Scratch that. You'd already managed to hurt yourself.

It seemed like your ankle was sprained. Clearly you had landed on it wrong after getting your foot out of the log.

Ah, this was the worst.

You gingerly removed your shoe and tried to get a look at the damage. It didn't look too bad yet, but there was definitely something wrong with it as you only felt pain every time you moved it. How fast does the swelling set in? At least you'd had the forethought of bringing a few rolls of elastic bandage wraps, though you felt like you'd need some help to get it properly wrapped.

Which meant you'd need to find your way back to your friends.

How far away were you from the trail by now? You weren't even sure how much time had passed since you had left them. It was all so strange, that you had gotten such extreme tunnel vision like that and had run off. And because of that, you had gotten hurt and would have a hard time making your way back, or else they would need to come in to find you.

They'd be upset with you, wouldn't they?

You probably wouldn't be able to continue the hike, and you were sure there'd be some resentment if this outing was cut short because of you. Maybe you could just wait at the rest area? They'd be coming down the same path when they came back, so maybe they could continue the hike and you could rest up and join them on the return trip. It'd be boring for you but then at least the trip wouldn't be a waste for them.

You sighed as you began to shimmy your shoe back onto your foot. Today was a bust. First the thing with Fawn, then the way it seemed like you were being ignored, and now this.

They hadn't even said anything when you jumped the fence to chase after the rabbit, had they? Not that you'd really been paying attention, so maybe they had, but they sure hadn't gone after you.

… Not that it was on them to look after you. You were an adult and therefore not their responsibility. It was wrong to think like that.

You sighed again.

Everything that had happened today really had been your own fault, huh? It was all you could do to hope nothing else bad would happen.

You remembered some old superstitious saying about bad things happening in threes. If that was true, then maybe your bad luck was over for the day.

Trying to get off of that particular train of thought, you looked about for something that could work as a walking stick, something strong enough to hold your weight for when you made your way back to the path.

A voice called out from far away, and when you paused to listen, you heard the voices of your friends calling out your name.

That was actually really good.

A new creeping fear was that you would be lost in the woods and have a hard time finding the path, but as long as they were calling out to you, you could use the sounds of their voices to find your way back. As you were about to push yourself to your feet, you allowed yourself to be a little hopeful, feeling that the bad things were done for the day.

You heard something then, as though something had dropped onto the ground next to you.

In an automatic response, you turned your head towards the sound and found a pipe laying atop the dirt and fallen leaves.

Had that been there earlier?

It was moderately sized, a black stem with a little bit of intricate gold detailing on either end, while the bowl at the end of the pipe was more of a darker bronze.

Wouldn't you have noticed this earlier? Or had you been that distracted when you'd been desperately shaking all of the bugs off of your foot?

Without really thinking about why you reached out to grab it as you wondered to yourself if there were still people these days who smoked using pipes.

It was warm when your fingers made contact, and as you raised it up to inspect it more, you noted how clean it was. If it had been out here for a day or so there would've been more dirt on it, but with the state it was in, someone must have dropped it not too long ago.

At least it gave you some comfort knowing that you weren't the only one who had wandered off the trail, though you were probably still one of the dumbest to do so since you had gone off in chase of a freaky rabbit.

Should you take the pipe with you? Was there some sort of lost and found box down at the parking lot? Would the person who lost it even still be looking for it, or would they have already accepted that it was gone forever?

With those thoughts swirling around your head, you didn't notice the sound of footsteps that came closer until they stopped right next to you.

“Are you alright?”

A man's voice broke you from your thoughts, and when you turned your gaze upwards, you found an older man standing above you, leaning an arm against the same tree trunk you were resting against. White hair, a gray dress shirt with a red tie and wearing black sunglasses despite the clouds overhead, he looked down at you with a clear look of concern on his face.

“Ah – yes! Well, mostly,” you said once you realized he was waiting for an answer.

“Mostly?”

“I think I sprained my ankle.”

He knelt down next to you, asking “may I?” as he motioned to your aforementioned ankle. You nodded, and he inspected your ankle. He was gentle with you, looking over the injured area carefully and apologizing any time he caused you some discomfort.

“How bad is it?” you asked him after a moment.

“I'd say you were right. It looks sprained.”

You groaned a little, disappointed that you were correct.

“Do you have anything to wrap it with?” he asked.

“Yeah, in my backpack,” you answered, “I was gonna get my friends to help me with it once I got back to them.”

“Where are they?”

“Back by the path, I think. It sounded like they were looking for me just now.”

However, you could no longer hear them. In fact, the whole forest seemed oddly silent now, the only exception being the wind that would at times whistle through the trees. And had it gotten darker?

“That's weird,” you said more to yourself, “I know I heard them.”

The man who sat patiently before you, with your ankle still in his care, looked about for any sign of your friends before he spoke again.

“Well, I'm here now,” he told you, “care if I patch you up instead?”

“Um, as long as it isn't too much trouble?”

He smiled at you.

“It's no trouble at all.”

Saying that it would be easier for him to work on you, the man carefully picked you up and moved you so that you sat on a nearby boulder, kneeling down in front of you again as he waited for you to fish out the bandages from your pack.

“I'm Morel, by the way.”

You gave him a small smile in return, introducing yourself as well as you handed off the bandages.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked as he began to wrap up your ankle.

“Hiking with friends.”

“I figured that much,” he said, grinning a little, “but the trail is a good distance from here. How did you end up off of it?”

“Ah....”

Despite the pain in your ankle and the circumstances between you and your friends, it hadn't been lost on you that Morel was pretty handsome. A bit rugged, but in a good way. And though you knew nothing about this man – for all you knew he had a wife and child at home waiting for him – you didn't want to say something that might make him think you were an idiot. Telling him that you had gone chasing after a rabbit would definitely make him think you were an idiot.

And you didn't want to mention that you thought it had no face. Then he'd think you were crazy.

“I saw some ruins down at the base of the mountain; thought it'd be cool if I went exploring and see if I could find some more,” you lied.

“Unfortunately, any ruins would be down at the bottom. Nobody would've built anything this far up,” Morel explained.

“Ah, I see.”

You stayed quiet a moment, looking back in the direction where you'd heard your friends calling. You still couldn't hear them, and it worried you that something may have happened.

There was also that white mist from earlier that had grown thicker while Morel wrapped your ankle, slowly settling down around you and making the scene around you look more ethereal.

“Why did you wander out on your own? One of them should've come with you,” Morel said suddenly.

“Oh.... I kinda, um, ran off without telling them anything.”

So much for not sounding like an idiot.

Morel paused, glancing back up at you as he asked “did something happen?”

“... Not really? I mean, kind of, but...” you trailed off for a moment, “it's mostly my fault. I'm the one who isn't trying hard enough to talk it out with them. Ah, I really hope I haven't ruined this trip.”

“I doubt you running off could've ruined it.”

“I hope not. But still, I'll need to apologize, maybe take all of them out for a meal after to make up for it,” you said.

There was a sad expression on Morel's face when he looked up at you after you said that. Something in the way he frowned and his brows furrowed at your words made it seem like he knew something you didn't.

You didn't get a chance to question him on it as he finished up wrapping your ankle, handing the remaining bandages back to you as he announced “all done.”

“Ah – Thank you.”

He seemed a bit more cheerful now, though he looked off in the direction you had been looking in.

“Those friends of your still on the trail?” he asked.

“I'm not sure? It really did sound like they were looking for me earlier.”

“I see. Then if they're looking for you maybe we should stay put. Wait for them to get to us. It won't do any good if we all get lost trying to find each other.”

That made sense, and you nodded.

Morel sat down next to you, the boulder being large enough to fit both of you, though he did need to squeeze in a bit closer than you would normally be comfortable with a complete stranger. You found that you didn't mind much, though. Although for the sake of your friend group you wanted to be found soon, you didn't dislike the idea of spending more time alone with Morel. He seemed trustworthy, and being in such close contact more than made up for all the stuff from earlier.

…. Good lord. Were you really this weak for a random guy you found attractive?

The mist seemed to be growing thicker, but you could still make out most of the trees that surrounded you.

“What are you doing up here, Morel?” you asked, “it doesn't look like you're dressed for hiking.”

“I live here.”

“Really? On the mountain?”

He nodded.

“Wow. I didn't know anybody lived up here. Is it just you or are there others?”

“There's a few of us up here, though my neighbors tend to keep to themselves,” he told you, “a lot of them just want to be left alone.”

It seemed surprising to you that there was more than one person who lived up on a mountain like this. Especially since you had been under the impression that the area was part of a park. Maybe his place had been built beforehand and he was grandfathered in somehow?

The more you thought about it, the more you felt that didn't make a lot of sense. But before you could voice that opinion, it was like the thought was forcibly torn from your mind, and something within you encouraged you to try and learn more about him.

“Are you one who wants to be left alone?” you asked him instead.

“For the most part,” he answered, “but I don't mind people on occasion. My neighbors, not so much.”

“Would they have gotten mad at me?”

“Definitely.”

“Guess I'm lucky you found me and not them,” you said.

He smiled at that, but didn't say anything, and you continued.

“Although if your neighbors want isolation, isn't it inconvenient that the trail's been set up here? Don't you have to worry about people trespassing?”

“Most people know not to go off the path,” Morel said, “though I guess you're not one of them.”

“It wasn't my fault!” you insisted, “there was a rabbit, and I just - I don't know, needed to follow it.”

Why had you done that again? You'd been questioning it before Morel found you but you'd gotten distracted. It was strange. And did the rabbit really have no face? Maybe your mind was just tired and had made it up or something and you just ran off because you were an idiot.

Where had it even gone, anyway?

Morel tilted his head, smirking at you.

“I thought you said you were looking for more ruins? You mean you were actually chasing after rabbits?” he asked.

….. You forgot that you lied.

Your fingers fiddled with the hem of your shirt while you looked away in embarrassment.

“.... I didn't want you to think I was stupid,” you mumbled.

He laughed at that, and you felt worse about your lie, turning your head away further as you made a point to not look at him.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it,” he said, one of his hands coming up to playfully tousle your hair. You glanced back at him then, and the sour look on your face lessened a little when you saw how he smiled at you.

“I've also gone off wandering after random things,” he continued, “I've hurt myself a few times, too, so don't feel bad.”

That made you feel a bit better, and you relaxed a little more.

“What kind of things have you gone wandering after?” you asked him.

“Things that you probably wouldn't believe if I told you.”

That answer was oddly cryptic, though you supposed that made two of you, since you were still too nervous to divulge the fact about the rabbit lacking a face. Maybe Morel had seen freakier things up here. But since he didn't seem to want to go into that, maybe it'd be better to steer the conversation away from the potentially supernatural.

“Were you wandering after something when you found me?” was your next question.

“No, not today. I was in the middle of looking for something I had lost.”

“Oh. Sorry,” you said.

“For what?”

“Distracting you, and making you wait here with me.”

“It's not that important,” Morel said, “and what kind of guy would I be if I left you out here by yourself? Especially with that fog that's settling in.”

“I'd probably be okay. Oh. Unless there's bears. Then I might not be.”

You remembered the shape you had seen when you had first arrived, and you asked him “are there bears on this mountain?”

“I've never seen any.”

You hummed at that, thinking again about what you had seen and trying to figure out what it was.

“Did you see one?” asked Morel.

“I don't know. I saw something weird when I was in the parking lot, and I'm still not sure what it was,” you explained, “I've seen some other stuff, too. Some a bit more freaky than a bear.”

“Like what?”

“.... Do you promise not to laugh at me?”

“I promise, I'm done laughing at you,” Morel said, grinning a little.

Despite being unsure if you could trust him in that regard, you decided to speak anyway.

“So, the rabbit that I saw earlier – I'm not really sure why I followed it, but I noticed it back at the rest area. It seemed kinda weird when I saw it, because it didn't look like it was breathing? And when I got closer, I swear, it didn't have a face. No features at all. It was just blank.”

You prepared yourself for him to laugh at you again. When he didn't say anything, you looked back to him.

Morel looked surprisingly neutral.

“That does sound strange,” was his reply.

“.... Do you believe me?”

Morel looked away from you, leaning back on his hands as his gaze seemed to go to the cloudy sky above the trees that surrounded the two of you.

“You know, I think I do. Living up here, I've had my fair share of strange occurrences. Not quite like that, but maybe I just haven't encountered that before.”

It was a relief to hear that he wasn't mocking you, and it was even more of a relief that he actually believed you, as you had been worried that his reaction might resemble what had happened earlier with Aiden and Fawn. Him believing you spurred you to speak more.

“I saw something before, too,” you said, “down near the ruins, at one point I thought I saw a man standing next to them. But when I looked up from my camera he was gone.”

“What did he look like?”

“Not sure. I saw him, but I somehow didn't really see him? Or I just saw his general shape,” you continued, “the others were joking that it was a ghost.”

“Could've been,” said Morel, “this is ancient land with a lot of older things attached to it. There are probably more than a few wayward souls that have found a home here.”

“..... Do you think they could be dangerous?” you asked him.

“Maybe some of them. But most people should be safe if they stay on the path.”

He grinned again when he looked back at you.

“Who knows. You could've come across something bad,” he said jokingly.

“Don't you and your neighbors live up here? It can't be all that bad if that's the case,” you responded, “though I think I'll try to keep from chasing after anymore weird rabbits.”

“Probably a good idea.”

A comfortable silence settled over the two of you. The mist had expanded as you continued to wait for your friends, who you hadn't heard in some time now. It should've worried you more that you couldn't hear them – they hadn't given up on you, had they? Even if they were really annoyed with you they surely wouldn't go that far. Yet you found yourself thinking even if that was the case, it would be okay. Morel was so nice, he wouldn't just leave you here if they didn't show up, right? At the very least, he'd take you back to the trail.

If your friends had bailed on you, then maybe you should repay him by taking him out to dinner.

The tops of the trees were slowly becoming more obscured as the fog continued to drift down, and all you could think was that it looked pretty.

“Is it nice living up here?” you asked him.

“Yeah, pretty nice. Lots of good scenery.”

He seemed to be thinking about something, and you noticed that his shoulders sagged slightly.

“Being completely alone can get to you, though.”

There was a sadness in his voice. He did say that him wanting to be alone was just 'for the most part'. Unless that was a lie. What sort of circumstance could drive him to be living alone in the wilderness if he didn't actually want to be here? You wanted to know, but worried that might be crossing a boundary of some sort, and that made you hesitate to question him further.

“Do you not want to be here?” you asked him softly.

“No, I do,” said Morel, “but I also liked being around people. It just became hard to be around them after a while.”

“Hard to be around them?” you repeated.

“Yeah. It's.... It's just tough to explain,” he said.

“Sorry.”

He shook his head.

“Don't worry about it.”

It confused you, and while you wanted to ask a few more questions, you got a sense that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

You found yourself wondering if Morel suffered from some extreme form of anxiety or agoraphobia. He seemed like a pretty calm person, but maybe that was only because he was in an environment where he was comfortable. That could have made sense, although you mentally berated yourself shortly after for jumping to conclusions like that just because he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe you should try to move the topic to something else.

“Does anyone come up to visit you?” you asked.

“No.”

Ah. Okay then.

“Then...” you trailed off briefly as you tried to find the right words, “ as long as it isn't too hard to be around me, would you care if I came back to visit you? I could repay you with all you've done for me with a dinner. Maybe bring it by next week or something like that?”

Morel smiled at that, and yet to you it seemed forced. You got another sense that he knew something that you didn't, and that he was intentionally keeping that information from you.

What would he know that he'd be keeping from you?

The thought left your head just as quickly as it entered when he spoke again.

“I guess I could handle having you stop by,” he said jokingly, “you're pretty tolerable.”

“Ah, that's good. Glad to know I can at least be tolerated,” you answered back in a similar joking manner.

He chuckled at that.

“All jokes aside, it'll be nice to have some company up here,” he said softly.

It felt good that he accepted you so easily. Maybe he accepted you a little too easily given the short amount of time he had known you, but if he was living up here all by himself maybe he was just that desperate.

And the argument could also be made that you were similarly being too trusting of him. It was possible that this was just a facade of his that would drop the instant you were vulnerable. That'd probably be what Colton would tell you if he knew the thoughts going around your head.

Although you were already pretty vulnerable, weren't you? Alone in the wilderness with a man you just met and a sprained ankle, so you weren't even able to run if you needed to. Even with your friends that were hopefully close by, with Morel's size it would've been easy enough for him to drag you off if he wanted. Helping you, sitting down and waiting with you for your friends just to gain your trust seemed to be a bit too much effort if his ultimate goal was to take you away.

You forced down those silly, anxious thoughts of yours. Morel wouldn't hurt you, you were certain of it.

The mist around the two of you was growing thicker still, but you didn't pay it much mind as you looked back down to your lap.

Something was sticking out of the front pocket of your jacket, and then you remembered that you still had that pipe you had found this whole time, having absentmindedly stuck it into your pocket when Morel moved you earlier. A thought then occurred to you as you looked at it again.

“This wouldn't be yours, would it?” you asked him as you pulled it out to show him.

Looking down at it, you noted that he didn't seem too surprised as he said to you “it would, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That's what I was looking for when I came across you,” Morel said.

“Huh. That's some weird coincidence,” you said as you extended your hand out to give him the pipe.

“It happens,” he said. He thanked you as he took it from you, pocketing it before his hands went back to where they had been before.

There was no urgency within you as you continued to sit with Morel, the mist still swirling and settling around the two of you. The more the mist grew, the more the thoughts of your friends and the worries within you began to slip away.

You had nothing to worry about.

Had you been paying more attention to him, you would've seen Morel stiffen ever so slightly, maybe even heard him curse under his breath as he sensed something that was now in the general vicinity. But you only noticed when he stood up suddenly, hands on his hips as he turned to face you.

“Hate to say it, but this fog'll probably only get worse. I'm not sure it's a good idea to keep waiting here,” he told you.

It had seemed to become exponentially worse as soon as he spoke those words, the fog that had been fairly moderate now surprisingly thick, to the point that you had a hard time making out the trees that were closest to you. Somehow you hadn't noticed just how bad it was until now.

“Ah. Yeah, you're right,” you said, “I think I remember which direction the trail is in. I should be able to make it back on my own.”

“What – no, that's not...”

Morel was rather flustered now, a hand running through his hair as he continued “even if you can make it back there, I doubt you'll have an easy time going down those stairs with your ankle like that. And with how hard it is to see right now, there's a 100% chance that you'll end up falling.”

You nodded, though you weren't certain where he was going. It seemed like a lot to ask him to walk you back in such circumstances, and far, far too much to have him take you back down the mountain.

“Since we're not sure what happened with your friends, I think the best thing I can do is take you back to my place for the time being.”

That hadn't been what you were expecting, and you opened your mouth to second-guess that idea until he spoke again.

“Just until the fog clears,” he assured you, “and this way you can get some actual rest inside instead of sitting out in the cold like this.”

… Morel's proposal seemed a lot nicer, you had to admit.

“I guess,” you began, “as long as you're sure it isn't too much trouble.”

He smiled at you as he said “I promise, it isn't.”

Any worries that this may be overstepping some kind of boundary faded from your mind after his reassurance, and you looked about the forest again.

“I guess we should try to find something for me to use as a walking stick,” you said, squinting your eyes when the fog proved to be too thick to see clearly, “unless you're okay with me leaning on you.”

“I've got a better idea.”

With that, Morel turned around and knelt down, his arms stretched out behind his back as he said “I'll carry you.”

After assuring you that this way would be faster, it didn't take much for you to take him up on his offer. After you made sure not to put any weight on your ankle while you climbed onto his back, Morel slowly lifted you up after he had your legs secured around his waist and you loosely held on around his neck.

With the sensation of you being pressed against him, of your warmth and virtually feeling the way your heart was steadily beating against his back, Morel let out a quiet, relieved sigh as he began the trek back to his home. He was grateful that you hadn't questioned him or tried to insist that he take you back to the trail anyway. If he hadn't been able to convince you, he'd need to take you by force. Such a thing would have been easy for him to do, and it was probably more common for those like him to take their captured humans while they kicked and screamed.

But he didn't want to traumatize you during the journey to your new home.

Luckily his aura that had been slowly engulfing you was able to influence you enough that you weren't questioning him on much, so the trip would be a peaceful one, although it was marred by how dishonest he was being about all of this.

If only he could just sit you down and explain everything, why he was doing this. But he knew you wouldn't believe him.

No reasonable person would believe him if he told them he was a banshee.

Saying that would only make you feel unsafe, maybe try to run from him, and then you'd end up even more injured in the process, and even more upset when you found that you could no longer leave the mountain.

But even that would be better than the alternative.

Morel just didn't like seeing people die.

The role of a banshee was to warn when death was coming. To let out that unearthly wail so the human marked for death could prepare and make peace with their fate. For Morel, when he saw someone who was marked to die, it looked like a cloud had settled around them. An aura that grew darker and darker as the human came closer to the time of their death until the aura had blackened completely. Then Death came to collect that unfortunate's soul.

And Morel was unable to do anything but give a heads up.

It was depressing. Being part of that cycle, watching as human after human had that cloud around them turn black and vanish as it left their lifeless bodies behind. And during the last years he had spent in the heavily populated areas, he found that more and more people were panicking when they heard his warning as a fear of death had grown stronger as time had gone by. The people who feared for their lives did everything in their power to try and prevent their deaths, and more often than not their attempts to thwart death ended up being what caused it. All because they had heard his warning.

It began to feel as though he was the one responsible for those who had died that way, and that felt even more depressing, to know that they had died because of him. By the end, Morel had grown tired of it all.

So he left.

He left the areas that were overrun with humans and found a home on an ancient mountainside. And for a while, he found some peace.

But time moved forward as it always did, and evidently, people forgot what areas were meant to stay sacred when they put together the hiking trail. It had angered many of his neighbors, but most were compelled to stay away from it and leave the humans alone as long as they stayed on the path.

And yet some of them couldn't do that, and on occasion the ones that strayed would run into some of the more malevolent spirits that resided on the mountain alongside him. He could usually tell when someone would die to the supernatural. The aura about them just had a certain feel to it, but Morel chose to stay out of it completely, not wanting to cause problems with his neighbors.

Even after trying to get away, he was still forced to see that cloud of death.

It was no different when he saw you after you first arrived.

Morel had happened to be at the base of the mountain when he saw you, the death cloud around you one shade off of completely black. You'd be dead before the end of the day. Perhaps during your trip in the woods, he had thought to himself. Yet as he observed you more, he felt that wouldn't be the case. Something told him that you would make it through this hiking trip of yours, but you would die almost immediately after. You seemed pretty healthy, so illness didn't appear to be the cause. An accident, then? That would be more likely. While he couldn't determine what exactly was going to happen, whatever it was would be sudden and violent.

Looking at the rest of your group, he found that none of them were marked for death like you were. Whatever happened after you all left, you would be the only one to die.

Something compelled Morel to keep watch over you, and so he followed behind, listening in on the conversations your friends were having and waiting for you to speak up.

You weren't saying much, however, and when he moved off the trail to walk beside you so he could get a better look at your face, he was taken aback by how dejected you seemed.

Something was eating at you, but you were keeping quiet about it as you continued to follow behind, almost unnoticed by the others in your group.

Your last hours of life were going to be spent with you feeling ignored and lonely, and that depression Morel felt when it came to these things returned. You shouldn't need to die today; you should've had years left of your life, not a scant few hours. It wasn't right, but there was nothing he could do.

Or was there?

An idea came to Morel, and he became lost in his own thoughts as he found himself walking away from the trail as your group came closer to the stairs. He made his way towards what had been a chapel for some long-forgotten deity, mulling over the thought in his head.

There was something he could do to alter your fate, both him and the magic still in the mountain powerful enough to allow him to lay a claim on you. But was it worth angering Death itself to keep you safe?

As he contemplated what to do, he looked back to you.

You had taken your phone out, holding it in a way that made it clear you were aiming to get a picture of the ruins he just so happened to be standing next to.

It took less than a second for him to realize what had happened when you blinked in surprise and took your eyes off of your phone.

You could see him.

You may not have been aware of it, but your eyes met his in that moment. Based off how you looked him over, you weren't able to see him all that clearly, but he could still tell when your eyes met again as you tried to make out any features of his face.

Then one of the people from your group called out and you looked away, and Morel made himself vanish. The confusion was clear when your head turned back and found him to be gone, and you ended up following your group again with your brows furrowed.

It was something that happened on occasion with certain people, another confirmation that you were close to death: as your final hour drew near, the barrier between you and the spiritual realm was thinning and you were beginning to see things that you weren't meant to.

When you looked back one more time, you managed to look in the exact spot where he had been standing, though this time he made sure you couldn't see him. He felt the way your eyes met his again before you turned your head back, that black cloud of death still engulfing you.

Something about your situation and that sight made Morel snap.

Screw fate. He needed to save you.

As he made his decision and began to follow you in earnest, a part of him was aware that saving you wouldn't do anything for the countless people that died every day, but he felt that if he could save at least one person from an unfair and untimely death, he could live better with himself. If he could keep you alive and happy, it was worth it.

He'd been worried that luring you away with the rabbit wouldn't work. You were far enough along that you could see it for what it really was: a creation that he'd made out of mist and smoke. Yet during the time you had spent getting up to the rest area, he had expanded his aura around you for long enough that any reservations you may have had about the slightly horrifying thing before you were easily pushed to the side as he compelled you to go after his creation, to get you further into the woods and by yourself.

He hadn't planned on you getting injured in the process, and when he heard your friends calling for you sooner than he expected he threw his pipe next to you in an act of desperation and just hoped that you would grab it. As long as you picked up something that belonged to him of your own free will, then you would belong to him.

You had done just that. And therefore, he was now free to do whatever he pleased with you.

“Is there a reason why we need to get to your place fast?” you asked him as he carried you back.

“You see how thick the fog is, right? I need to get us there before I lose my way,” Morel said, “can't embarrass myself like that, can I?”

Actually he just wanted to get out of there because of the other being that had been approaching the two of you. As much as he was able to hold influence over you, you would no doubt panic if you saw a headless woman sitting astride a horse casually come up to you.

“That makes sense,” you said. Then you giggled a little to yourself.

“I'm still mad that you laughed at me earlier,” you told him, “so if you do get lost, then I'm allowed to laugh at you.”

“Fair enough. If I get us lost you can laugh at me,” he agreed.

You laughed a little bit more.

“I won't actually do that. If we do get lost I'll probably be more concerned with trying to keep calm.”

“Don't worry; I know this mountain like the back of my hand,” he assured you.

If you had really been thinking about it, you might have questioned him on that. If he knew his way around that well, why couldn't he take you back to the trail? Why was he insisting on taking you back to his home?

But with the way his aura was enveloping you completely, no such thoughts came to mind, and you instead softly rested your head against him, feeling content.

You were rather easy to influence, and that fact made Morel feel badly for manipulating you the way he was.

He'd make it up to you, he told himself. He'd done good by wrapping up your ankle, and now he'd take care of you.

Glancing back at you, he felt satisfied to see that the black cloud of death had vanished. You no longer needed to fear anything like that.

You belonged to him now, and Morel would keep you safe for the rest of eternity.

[bovine-providence]

Make Me Yours, Part 1

Morel Mackernasey x Reader

My first time posting in way too long and it’s a/b/o Pipe Daddy smut. Welp.

[CWs: a/b/o, heats, alpha/omega, dubcon (reader isn’t thinking too straight)]

It had been a weird week, and ——— was pretty certain that her heat suppressants were acting up. How else could she explain why she felt somewhat out of it whenever she passed a stronger-scented alpha? Or how she was forced to take frequent breaks to cool off, drinking copious amounts of water. She’d need to see her doctor about the prescription. But today took the cake in how bad things were going, that she had to call into work to take a day off.

As she idly scrolled through her phone, ——— felt a cramp tighten deep within her belly. She winced, rubbing the spot. It was worse than the previous symptoms.

Fuck… was her heat starting?! Her suppressants were supposed to keep that at bay! When was she in her heat cycle anyways? Oh no…

——— curled up on her bed in agony, hoping she could will it away, but of course she couldn’t.

She was lost in the haze, that she barely heard the knock at the door of her apartment.

——— carefully crept out of her bedroom, willing herself forward. Who could possibly be at her door? This was awful timing!

“———? Are you in there? I heard you felt ill.”

Fuck, why was Morel of all people here?!

Ordinarily, ——— would be thrilled to see the handsome Sea Hunter, but not today of all days! Her suppressants weren’t working, and she was afraid what would happen if the alpha caught her scent.

“Morel! Y-yeah, I’m in,” ——— admitted as she reached the door.

Oh fuck… now that she was just on the other side of the door, she could take a deep inhale of his scent. Basil, with a hint of the ocean. Now that her suppressants weren’t dampening her sense of smell, she was almost lightheaded with his scent, and he smelled good.

“…———.”

She moaned as his voice came through the door once more, this time deeper and smoother.

“Yeah, Morel?”

She leaned against the door, wanting to get more of him.

“Could you let me in?”

Oh god… with how she was able to smell him, she must be overpowering to him in her heat. Fuck.

“A-are you sure? I mean, I don’t know if it’s a good idea…”

“Let me in,” he pressed lightly. “Let me at least make sure you’re alright.”

“…Okay.”

Morel was a gentleman, ——— figured. And he was a Hunter. He could withstand this, right?

She unlocked the door.

Morel was instantly overwhelmed by the scent of oranges and honey as the pretty omega opened the door of the apartment. He had wanted to check in on the woman when he’d heard she called out of work, concerned for his crush and wanting to help if able. But when he approached the familiar apartment, he caught a whiff of an omega in heat. He had tried to ignore it, continue to ———‘s apartment, only to realize the scent grew stronger as he approached.

Oh.

That made the alpha’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. He wanted to protect and care for his omega, even if she wasn’t technically his in any sense. He knew she wasn’t really his, but with how sweet she was towards him, how she giggled at his jokes, how she acted towards him, it was sometimes difficult to remind his more primal side that he hadn’t even courted her yet.

But now…

He stepped into her apartment and locked the door behind him, then ——— was immediately wrapping herself around him in a needy embrace.

“Hey, hey,” he chided gently, pulling away to look at her flushed face. “What’s going on, ———? The air is practically soaked in your scent, it’s so… strong…”

“It hurts,” she whined against him, nuzzling her face against his neck and getting more of his delightful musk. “Suppressants stopped working.”

Morel growled as she pressed herself against him, practically hitting all the buttons for his rut to kick in.

“You’re lucky it’s me that got to you,” he huffed. “Your scent wasn’t hard to follow.” He wrapped an arm around her, willing himself to exert some self-control. She preened under his touch and looked up at him, her focus hazy.

“Could you help me, then?”

Her words hung in the air, and Morel had to imagine that her heat was affecting her judgment.

“Not like that, sweetheart,” he explained reluctantly.

It ached to see her whine at his rejection.

“But it, it hurts,” she cried. A sudden gasp, and Morel had to brace her before she collapsed, clutching her stomach.

Another whiff, and Morel caught the turmoil she was in. Fear, along with the vulnerability inherent to omegas’ heats.

Fuck.

As she clutched at him, struggling to stand, he made a decision.

“———, look at me.”

The woman looked up at him, her brow furrowed as she bit her lip.

“Do you want me to help you through your heat?”

The words made her eyes widen, and she nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, Morel, please! Please help me.”

It was all the confirmation he needed to pick her up within his arms and carry her to her room.