#ooc: IT'S BABY STEPS SHE'S SCARED 2 REACH OUT

[icarusignite]

An Eye for an Eye (part 1)

Pairing: Aemond x OC! Daenys Varyon-Targaryen

Summary: Daenys Velaryon-Targaryen is the oldest child of Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon, but she shares the same true lineage as her brothers Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. Having grown up beside Aemond Targaryen, she has become a friend, a companion, and eventually a beloved wife to him. But when the man she loves commits an unforgivable crime, she must choose between her beloved and her family.

parts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 /  5 / 6 / 7 / Future parts: MASTERLIST

A/N: I have seen so many edits of the scene where Vhagar chomps down on poor baby Lucerys and Aemond looks shaken and it got me in my feels so I thought I'd try my hand at my first fanfiction. Aemond is probably a bit OOC but I was craving regretful soft Aemond so here we are. This is also pretty canon divergent lol. This fic is also available on AO3

Word count: 1837

Daenys Targaryen walked the halls of the castle lost in thought. The past few days had been quite strenuous, with the death of her grandfather and the crowning of Queen Alicents son Aegon. Daenys yearned to return to Dragonstone to her mother, the rightful heir, and support her true claim. However, her access to the dragon pit had been forbidden and she was barely ever allowed to leave the castle unchaperoned. Someone was always watching her every move and she was beginning to feel stifled. Perhaps, she thought, a part of her stayed to try and convince her husband to join her mother's cause. It was a laughable thought really, because how could she of all people ever get Aemond to turn his back on his family?

They had been friends since childhood and when he had asked his father, the late King Viserys, to offer for her hand in marriage, Daenys was more than happy to accept, even if her mother was a little reluctant. Even her relationship with the Queen had once been one of companionship and tenderness, but the recent crowning of Aegon had placed a strain on their relationship. Daenys had once been Alicient's favourite of all of Rhaenyra's children, so much so that she had been the one to convince Rhaenyra regarding her betrothal to Aemond, speaking of alliances and powerful unions. It certainly helped that Daneys looked the part of a true Targaryen, unlike her beloved brothers whose parentage was always put into question. Perhaps, Alicent had taken advantage of Daenys's fondness for Aemond to keep her in King's Landing for a while longer as opposed to running off to Dragonstone to her mother. The royal family needed to present a united front during such a time of chaos. 

As she reached the throne room, Daenys heard a commotion. There was yelling, a frustrated sigh, and then furious whispering. Daenys could barely make out the words but she could swear her name being said, along with her brother Lucerys's. Why would he be here, she wondered, but her heart raced with anticipation. Perhaps her mother had sent for her. The Hightowers couldn't very well keep her here if her mother officially summoned her and sent her brother to bring her back to Dragonstone.

With a skip in her step, she entered the throne room. However, her brother was nowhere to be seen and she was greeted by a strange scene. Otto Hightower and the dowager queen were engaged in heated whispers while Aegon sat on the iron throne laughing. Her eyes scanned the room and eventually landed on her husband. Aemond Targaryen looked lost. His eyepatch was missing, his eyes were wide in what looked like equal parts of disbelief and horror. His hair was mussed like he had just been out riding Vhagar. Something must have disturbed him while he was out, though Daenys couldn't think of a single thing that would possibly scare the mighty Aemond Targaryen. Worry gnawed at her either way as she rushed to his side to take his trembling hands in her own.

Her entrance silenced the entire room. Even Aegon halted his maniacal laughter. When the queen's eyes landed on her, they softened immediately. Aemond on the other hand froze and went pale. He refused to meet her eyes and pulled his hands away.

"Aemond are you alright?" she spoke gently, trying not to startle him further, "what's going on?"

At the sound of her voice, Aemond flinched. Aegon smirked.

"Tell her what happened. Go ahead. It is the best news I've heard in a long time," he crowed with pleasure.

At the sound of everyone's silence, Aegon laughed even louder.

"Daenys my dear, pay Aegon no mind. His majesty simply has too much on his mind. 'Tis nothing," Alicent said gently, coming over to put her hand comfortingly on Daenys's shoulder.

"Oh for God's sake, stop being such cowards. Tell her the truth. Why don't you tell her brother?" Aegon turned to Aemond. "Tell your beloved what you did to her brother!"

Daenys froze. Her brother? Is that why they were talking about him earlier? Had something happened to him? Her heart twisted as she tried to meet Aemond's eyes. Eyes that remained glued to the floor.

"My dear there's been an accident..." Alicent tried again before Aegon interrupted.

"Why let mother fight your battles against your lady wife Aemond? You seemed perfectly capable of fighting for yourself against that Strong Bastard. An eye for an eye was it then?"

Daenys's jaw dropped as she whirled towards Aemond with fury in her eyes.

"You fought with my brother? Why would you do that? Was that the accident then? Did you hurt him? Where is he now?"

"At the bottom of the..." Aegon stopped with a scowl as Aemond glared daggers at him.

"Your brother...uh he... he had an accident and unfortunately he didn't make it," Alicent whispered.

Oh.

Oh.

All the fire went out inside of her and Daenys slumped to her knees on the floor. Aemond tried to approach her, speaking for the first time since she entered the room.

"Daenys, listen..."

She flinched away from his touch as he reached for her.

"Don't," she whispered, her eyes filling with unshed tears.

"Daenys please," he pleaded.

Aegon was clearly enjoying this. He grinned at his brother.

"We shall have a grand feast for you, Kinslayer. Finally rid of that bastard. As king perhaps I shall gift you the Driftmark seat. You may rule the seas you earned with your lady love," he winked.

Aemond's eyes remain fixed on Daenys as she slowly turned towards him.

"How... how did it..." she could barely get the words out.

"It was an accident, I swear it. I tried to stop Vhagar but she wouldn't listen. I promise it was an accident," Aemond insisted, still trying to reach for her, even as she pulled farther away.

"Oh quit being modest brother. Tell her how you earned the name Kinslayer. Finally going after the bastard who took your eye. You were even kind enough to give him the choice of carving out his own eye. A courtesy I remember he did not offer you. It was only after he so rudely denied you your repayment that you went after him. As king, I declare it to be a fair game to be sure," Aegon winked at Daenys, recounting the entire tale of how Aemond gave chase to Lucerys and his dragon in Storm's End. His grin grew wider as her expression grew more horrified. 

"If you are too upset with my brother to warm his bed, you know where to find me, don't you? After all, it was his dragon that took a nice big bite out of your brother."

A strangled cry of horror and disbelief escaped Daenys's lips as she glared at Aemond. 

"You are still on about that? After all these years, you still haven't let it go?"

"He took my eye!" Aemond protested.

"He was 5! A child!"

“And what of me? I was a child too. A child who lost his eye and had to live with this hideous disfigurement for the rest of my life!”

“I'm sorry for that. Truly I am. I even offered you my eye as retribution for what my brother did. He was a child and didn’t know better. That still didn’t give you the right to take his life.”

"I... I'm telling you it was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen like that. I just got angry and wanted to teach him a lesson. I gave chase only as a prank, to scare him a little. I didn't mean for him to get hurt."

"He was still a child Aemond! You chased my little brother and his baby dragon across Storm's End on that monstrosity you ride. What did you expect?" Daenys sobbed, tears now streaming down her face. "You killed him. You and your stupid giant brute of a dragon killed my baby brother!"

"Daenys, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen," Aemond pleaded. He knelt next to her and tried to take her into his arms as her entire body seemed to vibrate with grief and rage. 

It hurt him to see her this way, coming apart at the seams. She pulled away from him violently, taking deep shuddering breaths. 

"Stay the hell away from me!" she shrieked. 

Aemond lowered his hands, chest aching. He looked at his mother beseechingly until she knelt beside Daenys. 

"Shhhh my darling. It's going to be ok. I'm sorry. He's sorry. We're sorry," Alicent soothed.

"NO!" Daenys screamed. "It won't be alright. My brother is dead. My brother is dead!"

Daenys doubled over, her insides burning. She pressed her forehead against the cool marble of the throne room and willed it to swallow her. Great sobs wracked her body and she pushed away the multitudes of arms that tried to hold her, to pull her up and carry her away. Then it became hard to breathe and when she started choking on her own frenzied cries, she allowed herself to slip into the darkness that hovered just at the edge of her consciousness.

Alicent looked at the girl who lay slumped on the floor in pity. First, by crowning Aegon as King and now by killing one of Rhaenyra's sons, her family had officially broken any and all bonds with Rhaenyra’s. This meant war to be sure. She did feel sorry for Daenys though. She cared for the girl more than she cared to admit. She was the only one of the ladies at court who didn't give her son Aemond a hard time over his missing eye, who wouldn't look at him with fear or disgust. She had always been kind to him, and Alicent knew her son's heart belonged wholly to the girl. It was a pity that it had come to this. While the girl herself posed no real threat to Alicent or the crown, especially as Aemond's bride, her family did. 

"Take your wife up to your room Aemond. She needs to rest, the poor girl has worn herself out," Alicent gestured to Daenys's limp body that lay at their feet.

Aemond gathered her up in his arms as carefully as he could and made his way to their shared room. He looked at her with eyes full of remorse. He never meant to hurt her like this. He supposed the cruel part of him wanted to hurt Lucerys, but the part of him that loved Daenys was far greater and so all he was left with was a feeling of emptiness and self-loathing. He wondered if they could ever come back from this. If she would ever forgive him for this crime. He wondered if he even deserved her forgiveness. 

As he gently tucked her into bed, he couldn't resist placing a gentle kiss upon her troubled brow. She whimpered in her slumber.

"I'm sorry Daenys."

[ellieisaflower]

Could you write a Daryl dixon/ little! Reader where the reader is trapped by a walker and is screaming for daryl and trying to kill it and he saves her and babies her the rest of the day n night? Thanks!!!

Daddy's got you ´ˎ˗

3-14-23 | Main Masterlist | The walking dead masterlist

୨୧ ┊Pairing: Daddy!Daryl Dixon x little!Fem!reader

୨୧ ┊Characters: Daryl Dixon, Reader

୨୧ ┊Genre: fluff, angsty, Age regression (NOT KINK!!), oneshot

୨୧ ┊Summery: Reader gets lost while wondering off in the forest and gets trapped by a walker. When Daryl realizes she's gone and hears her screaming he comes to her aid immediately.

୨୧ ┊Warnings: Reader gets trapped by walker, screaming, crying, reader is scared, Daryl curses a few times, might be more, Daryl calls reader Babygirl, baby and Darling (highlighted orange), not proofread, Daryl's ooc

୨୧ ┊Note: I am so, so sorry that this took so long for me to write and publish! I've been very busy with school and I just moved across the country so I just got around to it!

୨୧ ┊word count: 1,515

Third person (you, your) pov

As you and Daryl walked into the apartment building he looked over at you to make sure you we were still there and following. The look he gave you meant 'stay with me, don't wonder off'.

Daryl Heald his bow up at eye level, ready to shoot anything that threatened to hurt either of you.

So far there was nothing, no sound, no walkers, nothing. The building was silent. To someone who hadn't been out in the actual world since the apocalypse began, they would think it was safe.

But Daryl knew better then that.

You and Daryl had been out almost the whole day, since the sun came up and it was now later in the day, maybe 3 or 4pm. Your legs were tired and you felt s little fuzzy but you tried your best to stay in big space so you didn't put yourself or Daryl in danger.

You had been in the building for a little over 30 minutes and you had just climbed up a whole set of stairs, which didn't help the tiredness you felt.

"Stay here. Don't wonder off', okay?" Daryl said as the two of you had got to a door that was closed all the way. You nodded and stepped a little farther away from the door just to be safe. As soon as Daryl saw your nod he got ready and opened the door.

When Daryl became out of eye view you started to look further down the hallway. There were a bunch of things in the hallway, mostly trash, but something caught your attention. 2 doors down the hallway there were a bunch of children's toys.

Your mind got a little fuzzier and you started to walk towards the door, completely forgetting that Daryl had told you to stay put.

When you got to the door you crouched down to examine the toys - A lot of them were broken, most likely from being trampled over. The ones that weren't broken though didn't seem too fun to play with so you'd stood back up.

The door to this apartment was cracked open and there was a small bit of light coming through. You quietly pushed open the door and when It was open enough for you to fit through with trampling over things you stepped in.

There were a few more toys right in the entrance, but again, a lot of them were broken.

You looked around for a bit, being as quiet as possible until you found a room that belonged to a child.

The room was filled with toys and books and stuffed animals. A smile lot up your face and your brain got much more fuzzy - you were slipping much faster now.

You were happily looking around the room and grabbing things that you wanted. There was a cute backpack you found in the room that you were stuffing everything into.

As you were going to grab a stuffed animal you froze.

When you looked up you saw a walker coming into the room. Your eyes widened and your heart pace picked up. As quickly as you could you scrambled over to the closet and slipped inside.

You went to reach for the door but the walker was there quicker. You started to scream and scream and call out for your daddy, your eyes began to fill with tears and your breath quickened.

The walked fell to it's knees and crawled closer, teeth snapping open and close. You grabbed your knife and went to stab it but you missed it's head so you tried again and the knife got stuck. You put your hands out in an attempt to stop the walker from getting to you but it was much stronger and it was pushing your arms in and getting closer.

You turned your head to the side and pushed yourself as much into the wall as you could, "DADDY! HELP!" You screamed.

Your arms were about to buckle when the walker was pulled off you and you heard a thud across the room.

You didn't open your eyes, instead you brought your knees up to your chest and stuck your face into them, wrapping your arms around yourself.

After a second the gurgling of the walker stopped.

Your sobs where the only sound in the room. Daryl ran toward you and bent down Infront of you.

"Hey, babygirl, it's okay, daddy's here. Shh shh" he whispered. You lifted your head from your knees and look up at your daddy. The sight of you broke him, Your face was red and there were tears stains running down your cheeks. You had a runny nose and your eyes were bright red.

"Daddy- I- I'm sorry" you whispered out, voice cracking a bit. "Shh baby, it's okay", he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief (a clean one, which he kept just for you). He started to clean up your face, whip the tears away and clean your nose.

He lifted your shirt from your shoulder a bit to check for any sign that you had gotten bit or scratched but you had no injuries.

"come 'ere" he opened his arms and let you crawls into his lap and cry into his chest. "It's okay Daddy's here babygirl, daddy's here, shh" he shook you in his lap lightly.

After a few minutes of him rocking you back and forth, whispering sweet nothings to you and rubbing your back he went to stand up, picking you up with him.

"Was there somethin' you wanted in here darlin'?" He asked. You lifted you head and went to run your eyes with out hand and then you pointed to the bag with the other. "Dat".

Daryl walked over to where you had placed the bag and he picked it up. "M' wants day Bunny too daddy" you mumbled as you pointed to the stuffie you were staying to get earlier.

He bent down and picked it up for you. When he placed it in your arms you smiled and became distracted while he quickly got you out of the room, so you didn't have to the see the walker again.

"Come on, let's get back home and then we can play with your new toys and put on a movie, whatcha think about that babygirl?"

You looked up at your daddy and smiled, "Yeah, yeah!" You babbled then looked back down at the stuffie.

When you two got closer to Alexandria Daryl put you down for a second. Not everyone knew that you regressed and you didn't want everyone to know so he was making sure something that might give away your regression was showing.

He shoved the bag of toys you grabbed in his bag, trying to get in to pit and then he looked over at you.

You were ducking on a paci and playing with your stuffie. "Baby", you looked up at him, "can I please have you paci and stuffie for a while? I don't want anyone to be mean to ya".

Your frowned a little but popped the paci out of your mouth and handed them to your daddy. "Thank baby".

He shoved those in his backpack, making sure none of it was gonna fall out and then he picked you up again.

When Abraham saw the two of you coming towards the gate he called out for someone to open it. Glenn opened the gate and Daryl walked through.

"Is she okay?" Glenn asked. "She'll be okay, jus' twisted her ankle" Daryl answered, seeing as there were people who didn't know about your regression in ear shot.

When Daryl got the both of you back home and safe inside your house he set you down and let you run into your playroom.

Daryl took off his shoes and then followed you up there. He got the tv ready and put in a disc and let it play.

You were sat at the table with a coloring book and crayons and a few toys. Daryl brought the bag and sat it on his chair and grabbed your bag out of it and brought it over to you, placing it on the table.

Your face lit up and you opened the bag, taking out one thing at a time and showing it to your daddy.

Daryl watched you with a smile and everytime you would tell him about s new toy he would nodd and hum and sometimes saw a little something about them.

He made sure you forgot all about what happened earlier and made the rest of the day all about you.

He colored with you for awhile until you got too bored and the tv got more interesting. Daryl sat down on his chair and you sat on his lap and you snuggled up to him. You two watched the rest of the movie together and when it was over you were fast asleep in your daddy's arms.

Daryl look down at you and smiled. "Goodnight darlin', I love you" and be placed a kiss on your forehead.

Tags ´ˎ˗

[nanaminokanojo]

BLOOM | Sukuna X You | Part 2/3

CHARACTERS: Sukuna X You | Gojo Satoru | Geto Suguru | Shoko Ieiri | Maki | Fushiguro Toji | Baby Megumi | Megumi's Mom (OC) CHAPTER COUNT: 2/3 WORD COUNT: 8600+ GENRE: romance | fluff | slight angst | (eventual) smut | ooc sukuna | female reader | modern au CHAPTER TRIGGER WARNING: profanity/strong language | alcohol use | age gap | some mentions of death | mild sexual content SPOILERS: N/A

collection masterlist

one two three | Bloom Masterlist

You got up really early despite staying up late and only getting five hours of sleep max, but once you woke up, you knew you wouldn’t be able to get back to bed so you prepared for the day, waiting for Sukuna’s call. You went to the patio which faced the backyard, carried a small blanket and brought your battered copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s prose collection with you.

A few hour later, you heard stirring in the house and it wasn’t long before Satoru found you. He sat on the lounge chair opposite yours and just stared at you through sleepy eyes. He looked all disheveled, eyes bloodshot and yawning several times. He really couldn’t handle his alcohol and when he wakes up after drinking more than he could take, he always ends up befuddled and unable to make sense of his surroundings, not to mention irritable.

When he just sat there without saying anything and staring at you, you snapped your book close. “What is it?”

He snapped out of a seeming trance. “Oh. You have a guest.”

“Huh?”

“Ieiri said it’s Howard.” He yawned again, stretching his arms.

“Sukuna?”

“Yes, him.”

You scrambled off the lounge chair, nearly knocking it to the side with your weight as you half crawled, half-ran towards the door, suddenly remembering your agreement the previous night. You were mentally slapping yourself as you made your way into the hallway, planning to go up to your room to have a change of clothes. You weren’t sure what he wanted to do because he did not exactly specify that bit.

However, your plans did not come into fruition when you passed by the lattice wood and glass partition between the kitchen and the hallway and saw him.

“Y/N!” Ieiri pretty much yelled your name out, calling your attention and making you jump, startled. “Howard’s here.”

Sukuna glanced at her momentarily, probably catching the name she referred to him with.

The protest died in your throat when you saw Sukuna standing by the counter, looking so out of place in such a domestic setting although he was dressed casually in a black tee with a wide collar that exposed his collarbones for the world to see and faded jeans, similar to the one he wore that time he came to your school.

You grimaced at the realization that you were just standing there like an oaf, checking him out. It was evident in the way his smile morphed into a shy one as he bit his lower lip while Ieiri and Suguru grinned evilly at you. Feigning ignorance to their reactions, you entered the kitchen, brows knit together, shooting Ieiri an inquisitorial look after nodding at Sukuna’s direction. It was a dumb way of greeting people, but that was about what you could manage with the way your brain was being fried at the mere sight of him.

“I didn’t know we received guests in the kitchen now,” you commented, noticing the number of grocery bags on the counter. “You did the shopping?”

“I did,” Sukuna answered you. “I told you I was going to do something for you.”

“'You' being the technical term,” you said with a smirk when you realized what he was planning. “So you’re gonna cook for me?”

“Yes.”

You eyed your two friends who were eyeing Sukuna in anticipation. “Just me?”

“Stingy,” Ieiri commented, pouting.

Woman, you thought, eyeing her sternly in case she had plans to say something embarrassing. You spoke before she could say more, approaching Sukuna who was suddenly just looking at you, your eyes in particular. Out of a sudden, he reached out and touched the spot just under your left eye, making you step back at the sudden contact. He was touchy, you knew that, but you weren’t expecting him to be so candid in front of your friends on such a setting.

“Your eyes are swollen. Is something the matter?”

You smiled at him then, shaking your head. “I didn’t sleep enough last night.” You busied yourself by checking the things he bought. “So…” You looked at his pretty hands then at him. “The Spring God can cook?”

He gave you a funny look at the nickname you gave him. “Watch the Kitchen God work!” He chuckled then turned his attention to Ieiri. “I was just asking Ieiri if I could borrow the kitchen.”

“It’s more Suguru’s kitchen than hers,” you sniped at her who was now sitting on the counter, chin on the heel of her palm as she looked at the pair of you as if she was watching a really cheesy romance drama.

“Then it’s settled. I have to cook for them, too.” He ruffled your hair then. “Mind helping me?”

“I’ll leave you kids then,” she said sounding like a mom, leaving the kitchen and blocking Satoru’s progress when he was about to enter, leading him out into the living room much to the latter’s annoyance.

You shook your head, snickering. You really couldn’t wrap yourself around the fact that Sukuna could cook. “Should I get you an apron, chef?” you asked, meaning to taunt him, but then he took out a rolled-out piece of black cloth from a black case he brought along with the groceries and said, “I brought my own.”

Knowing that you can’t say anything else to annoy him about cooking, you started sorting out the things he brought, taking them out of the bags and fixing them in an organized way on the counter while he proceeded to take the foodstuff to the sink. All the while, you were watching him as he cleaned everything, his dexterous hands moving with precision and unmistakable expertise.

After fixing everything and putting away the bags, you stood beside him on the sink. “You do this a lot?”

“Pretty much.”

It was fascinating to watch him work so you didn’t say anything else until he took the case again and produced a professional-looking set of knives with customized handles. “Okay, now I’m scared.” You arched a brow at him. “Why the hell do you have a knife set?”

“I love to cook,” he answered, laughing slightly without taking his eyes from what he was doing.

“I figured, but I thought, you know just cooking at home, following online recipes and stuff like that.”

At that, he laughed. “Those recipes don’t work half the time.”

“Oh, okay,” you said sarcastically, rolling your eyes at his sentiment but then you saw how he was cutting the ingredients on the chopping board like a pro. “I’ll be damned.”

“What?”

“Now I mind assisting you. I refuse.” You felt a bit miffed about his mad skills in the kitchen, and you knew it would be foolish to even question how his dish, or dishes rather, was going to turn out. It got you thinking about every other thing he can possibly do, and you found yourself falling deeper. “I’m shit in the kitchen. You can have Suguru to help you.”

“But I already asked him for help yesterday to plan all this.”

“Did you now?” Your eyes flicked over to the counter that divided the kitchen and the living room and glared at your friend, remembering your conversation with him. He threw you a rueful smile.

Sukuna pouted. “You can’t take it back. Surely, you can chop onions.”

“I guess.” You took out a knife from the rack and grabbed an onion. “How do you like it?”

“Minced.”

“Okay.” You started chopping the thing rather slowly, trying to be precise, but since you were taking too long, your eyes started watering before you could even get it halfway done. “Ah, shit!” you grumbled, putting the knife down rather harshly.

Sukuna laughed, turning you around so you were facing him. “Are you okay?” he asked in between laughter, wiping your tears away with some paper towels. “You were too slow.”

You screwed your eyes shut, still feeling the sting behind your eyelids. “Well, I don’t cook.” When you opened your eyes, you almost stopped breathing when you saw those dark orbs of his directly in front of you.

“Oh no, sweetheart, you’re crying,” he cooed.

“Onion…” You took the paper towel from him and started wiping your eyes yourself, turning away from him when you saw the teasing beam on his face. “Shut up.”

“You’re cute.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “You’re so annoying.”

“I’m cooking for you, and I’m annoying? Let’s see how that opinion changes once you taste this masterpiece.”

You did not say anything about the matter anymore and instead watched him work, handing him this and that and doing as he tells you. Sukuna was kinda scary to work with since he obviously had a fixed process about how things should be done, but at the same time, you found yourself mesmerized by his fluidity as he moved around as if he had been in the kitchen his whole life.

“What are you making anyway?” you asked as you were putting away the things he didn’t need anymore.

He looked over his shoulder as he stirred whatever he was making. “That’s a secret.”

You shrugged, looking into the pot. “Just tell me already.”

He placed his free arm around your waist, pulling you to his side, seemingly oblivious to the three pairs of eyes which looked towards the direction of the kitchen every so often, spying on the two of you. “Patience, sweetheart. You’re gonna spoil the surprise.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you whined.

He planted a quick kiss on your forehead. “You’ll see.”

By the time Sukuna was done, your dining room looked more like a five-star restaurant than that of one owned by four university students. Well, the table did. You weren’t really familiar with the dishes he prepared since he won’t tell you what they were. You only recognized the lobster thermidor, but all the others were a mystery.

Your friends were thrilled when they saw the table and you were just stunned. You pretty much just watched Sukuna, but he didn’t let you see what he was doing in the dining room, making you promise to sit down in the pantry while he prepared. He went overboard, but you loved it, too.

“I feel like I’m going to pay with all the contents of my bank account after this meal,” Suguru said as he sat down at the edge of the table, making Sukuna laugh.

You sat to his left while the chef sat beside you, explaining the dishes to you and the three other people with you with such technical terms, half of which you didn’t really understand. Suguru did though. Sukuna plated the first dish and offered it to them.

“I hope you would find them to your liking,” he said.

“Y/N’s grandpa would be super impressed if he was here to see this,” Ieiri asked.

You snorted. “Oh my god, Ieri, what are you being such a pain for?” You turned to Sukuna then who looked at you questioningly, but you pretended not to notice. “And you, chill and eat. They can get their own food.” He grinned at you but instead of serving food for himself, he started putting food on your plate. You watched him pointedly. “I can do that myself. Eat!”

“In a bit.” He finished by placing sauce on the lobster then smiled your way before getting food for himself.

“This is phenomenal cooking, man,” Satoru commented delightedly at the first bite, seemingly forgetting about his headache, and Suguru made a sound of approval, eating with gusto. “Will you cook for us every day?”

“Suguru!” you protested.

Sukuna laughed at that. “Maybe not every day.”

You shot him an annoyed look but ate as well. They were right. His cooking was beyond good. “On second thoughts, I don’t mind you cooking for us every day, too. This is totally great!”

“Told you.”

The meal was rather pleasant with your pals engaging Sukuna, obviously taken by him. The deal was sealed where he was concerned. You knew it had nothing to do with the food. They just liked him. He mostly conversed with them while you just pitched in once in a while, too busy eating. Besides, you wanted them to get to know him, too, and you were more than glad that Sukuna was making the effort to be acquainted to them.

After lunch, Suguru and Satoru volunteered to do the dishes, in a very good mood after the magical meal while Ieiri tidied up, leaving you and Sukuna alone. You decided to tour him around the house although there was nothing much to see, leading him into the upstairs hallways. Your house was quite big for only the four of you, but not stately or anything. It was just a normal house with too few inhabitants and too many rooms.

You walked towards the west hall. “Those are all guest rooms and those at the end of the hallway are Satoru and Suguru’s rooms.”

“Where’s yours?” he asked.

You cocked your head towards the east hallway, beckoning him to follow you as you led the way to said room, pointing out the other rooms you passed by, just three of them until you reached the last door. You pushed the door open and gestured for him to enter.

“Huge space,” he commented as he looked appraisingly around, his feet leading him to the large, framed posters of your favorite book-based films and games. “You are a nerd.”

You just watched him, leaning against one of your bookshelves as he ran a finger over your "Harry Potter" movie poster. “Guilty.”

Sukuna then went look at your book collection. “It’s not bad.”

“I’m a literature major. I think it makes sense.”

“Books and more books. How many of these have you actually read?” he asked, taking your volume of "Twelfth Night."

“All of them.”

He eyed you, evidently impressed. “Shakespeare?”

“Yeah. That’s basic in my field.”

“You’re amazing, Y/N.” He reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear. “Beautiful, cultured and smart. I like it.”

You snorted, shaking your head. “Shut up.”

“It’s true.” He returned the book on its place. “So, apart from literature, what else are you interested in?” He glanced at the glass case at the opposite end of the room where your scale-model figures and rows upon rows of console games were. “Well, apart from action figures and video games.”

“Hmm.” You pretended to be brooding over it. “Well, recently, I’ve just been interested in one thing.”

“And what is that?”

“You.”

He chuckled, pulling you towards him, the warmth of his hands burning through the fabric of your shirt, making you all giddy. “Alright, sweetheart. Your brutal frankness is really scaring me.”

“Door’s wide open. You can run.”

“You won’t chase after me?” he asked.

“You’re gonna wanna see me after anyway, so no.”

“Hey, that’s mean!” But then, he seemed to have thought of something. “Why does Ieiri call me ‘Howard’?”

You retreated from him and slumped down one of the beanbags while he sat on your swivel chair, turning it a hundred and eighty degrees repeatedly. “You caught that, huh?” You couldn’t suppress the laughter that bubbled from your throat at his question. “I didn’t know your name the night we met but Satoru told them about you and I kinda just used the name to refer to you. You know, from the book I was reading at Maki’s.”

“The architect.”

“That one.”

“I see. I don’t mind then since you told me you’re in love with the character.” He winked at you. “But yeah, I was wondering if you enjoyed the meal at all. You haven’t said anything.”

“That speaks volumes of how much I enjoyed it.”

“I’m not really good at this whole impressing anybody thing, but I wanted to make the effort for you and your friends.” Sukuna sighed in relief. “I’ve only ever had one girlfriend after all, and I didn’t really do much in the relationship. And I never really went out with other women after that either save for some casual dates.” He smiled sheepishly at you, but he was confused at your reaction.

You just stared at him quizzically and in disbelief. There was no way you will ever believe that he only dated steadily once and didn’t go out that much to paint the town red. It was inconceivable for the obvious fact that he was so beautiful it was inhuman along with that great personality he has. Women will be lining up for him for sure.

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true.”

You shook your head, looking dubiously at him. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Nope.” He shook his head as if to punctuate his statement.

“Everywhere we go, girls look at you and you expect me to believe that crap?” Hell, you wanted to pounce on him more often than not.

His expressions turned smug. “You care enough to notice, I see.”

It was unbelievable but you had to take his word for it. “You don’t sleep around either?”

“No. It just isn’t my thing.”

You just stared at him, your lower lip jutting out, not in disbelief anymore but in wonder. He’s a sensitive soul, you’ve figured that out, but you didn’t know it ran deeper than what you’ve seen so far.

“Don’t look so sad there.”

“I’m not. I really just don’t see it happening.”

“Should I be flattered?” he asked, but before you could answer, he said, “How about you?”

You swallowed hard, suddenly thinking hard about what you’re going to say to him. You didn’t really have a good track record where dating seriously was concerned. It was just not your cup of tea. “I’ve never had an exclusive relationship...” you began, eyeing him cautiously, “…ever.”

“Never?” He seemed to be having difficulty processing that.

You shook your head, your gaze guarded as you tried to gauge his reaction to your revelation. Somehow, you did not expect him to ask about the matter, and when he did, you didn’t really have a clue as to how you would address it. You realized just how different you were from him on that department. He seemed to value the emotions that come with engaging in physical intimacy while you just didn’t care enough for anyone to notice it.

“Now you’re shitting me.”

“I’m telling you the truth.” You frowned. “I think I mentioned this to you in passing the second time we met. I don’t date, at least not steadily.”

Sukuna obviously couldn’t wrap his head around the thought. “So you haven’t had a steady commitment with anyone?”

Again with the negative response. “Uh-uh.”

“Is it a matter of choice or is it a matter incapability, this I-don’t-date thing?”

“Both?” You shrugged, trying to think of a way to explain it to him. “I don’t for the reason that I don’t want to make a steady commitment. I just don’t see myself being invested with such intensity in anyone in a romantic way.”

“And why can’t you?”

“I get sick of people I’m involved with. In that manner, at least.” You chuckled humorlessly. “So…yeah.”

“But you’ve dated, right?”

You nodded. “Openly, yes, but I don’t stay long enough to really get into the whole relationship thing.” Talking about it was excruciating. It wasn’t something you discussed even with your friends. Suguru thought of it as you playing the field, but really, you had issues with the prospect of staying in an established bond with one person for a long period of time. You didn’t really know what to do with the information although you understood the mechanics.

He frowned then, looking deeply troubled. “So, you don’t date?”

“I did not date.” You made sure to emphasize on the past tense, knowing well what he would be assuming. “'Did not' being the operative term.”

“And now?” he asked, standing up when you did, too.

You stepped towards him. “What do you want it to be? It doesn’t just depend on me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he said patiently, coming to meet you halfway and cupping your face as he tilted his head down to look at you squarely in the eyes. “But I do want you for the long run.”

“For now, it’s just that you’re slowly changing my views about it,” you returned. “But I like you, Sukuna. And I care about you. A hell lot. Does that answer your question?”

He nodded.

You reached up, touching his face, running your finger over his jawline. “Can we work with that?”

He pressed his lips onto your forehead, wrapping his arms around you. “Count on it.”

***

"How do I look?" you asked as you walked into the living room in the black, long-sleeved, backless, lace mini cocktail dress that Ieiri chose for you, your pencil heels of the same color clacking on the tiled flooring. You found your three friends lined up on the couch like expectant parents who were sending off their daughter to her first dance, making you laugh.

"Stunning!" Satoru complimented without hesitation, jumping up the couch to make his way to you. "Our daughter's grown up, Suguru."

"Last time I checked, I'm the only one who was raising her," the other male replied.

"You did a good job."

"I did a good job," Ieiri chimed in.

You shook your head, checking the contents of your clutch. It was hopeless trying to get a proper answer from them, but you needed their output since you were new to the whole dressing-up for dinner thing because you never really allowed anyone to wine-and-dine you; never wasted time and resources on anybody you knew you weren’t exactly interested in for the long run. Still, you were more than happy to say yes to Sukuna when he said he'll be taking you to dinner after your exams.

He's been hanging around you almost every day since he cooked lunch at your place, making good on his words to you where the status of your relationship was involved. He would either come see you in the morning before he went to work or meet you at night for a quick drink at Maki's pub. At times, he'd be dropping by at your school during his breaks. And on the previous weekend, he came over, satisfying himself by sitting quietly on the couch with you leaning against his chest while you studied, even going through lengths of helping you out. At some point, you gave up cause he was distracting you, telling you about his plans while playing with your hair.

"You're gonna cook for me," you assumed.

"No. I'm taking you to that fancy restaurant in town."

You agreed without protests even when he refused after you suggested to split the bill knowing how expensive the place could be. You didn’t want him to think you were mooching off him just because he was older and you’re a broke university student. He seemed excited about the whole thing, so you didn't argue further.

Just then, you heard the sound of a car stopping in front of the house, and you made your way to the door despite Ieiri's tirade about you supposedly making the man walk to your door and ringing the bell, probably make him wait, too. Knowing Sukuna, he'll do just that but you didn't want them to pull their antics while that cliché scene by the doorstep unfolded. But she beat you to it, running a lot faster than you to open the door when you were halfway through the short hallway. Just as you were afraid of, Satoru and Suguru were also standing at the other end of the hallway.

"Guys!" you growled.

"We just wanna see you off," Suguru whined just as Ieiri said, "Hi, Howard."

"Hi," Sukuna returned the greeting, even waving at the boys behind you, looking debonair in a smart-casual charcoal grey ensemble over black, collarless button-downs.

Your annoyance died down at the sight of him and you felt yourself melting when your eyes finally met and he beamed brightly as he took in your appearance, looking like he was seeing color for the first time.

"Ready?" he asked and you nodded, stepping around Ieiri. "We're going" you told your friends, shooting them all warning looks before breaking into a nervous smile anyway as Sukuna led you away.

He opened the door to the passenger side of his... "Where's your Jeep?" you asked him, noticing the matte black sports car for the first time.

"At home," he told you. "I thought I'd switch it up for the occasion."

You shook your head as you climbed in, not really expecting him to go to that extent. You appreciated it but you weren't really high maintenance nor did you want the finer things. "So you just happened to have a Porsche 911 lying around?" you asked him when he finally made it to the driver's seat.

He nodded innocently. "I got it on a whim last year, but I decided it's too flashy so I had it stored at an exclusive garage and only took it out whenever I felt like it. I think this is a good time to take it for a spin."

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He reached out to caress your cheek. "You're a vision, by the way."

You felt heat suffuse your cheeks at his gentle touch, but you held his hand in place as you faced him. "I could say the same for you."

"I always wear suits though," he said.

"Well, you're much too impatient with your blazers and you get rid of them when we meet," you began, "And you don't wear those for me."

He flashed you a cheeky grin. "Oh, so you want your men to dress for you?"

"Man, Sukuna. Singular."

It was his turn to blush. "I'm the only one, huh?"

You tilted your head to the side, smirking. "You wanna add someone else into the mix? I didn’t know you were into that."

He was flustered. "No?"

"If you have an exact replica, I wouldn't mind."

Sukuna burst out laughing. "You're crazy."

"It's your fault for hijacking my brain all the time."

Dinner had been great with the both of you pretty much making fun of the numerous silverware before you and making up stories of the haughty guests who came into the same fancy restaurant, some of whom were looking towards your direction.

"That one's a trophy wife," you told him, furtively glancing at the couple that entered. "She's all iced up but look at how her husband is interacting with the waitress."

"You can tell just by that?" he asked.

"I'm guessing they're regulars here and the waitress is one of those he is having an extramarital affair with just judging by the way she looked at him and how she's being all cozy with him." You chuckled. "Ah, now Mrs. X is unhappy. Pretty and bejeweled but very unhappy."

"What about that man there?" He mimicked the way you looked at the couple earlier, this time referring to that one by the glass walls at the corner.

"Oh that one? He's that demanding type who only wants to sit on his usual spot. He's hypochondriac. He's been wiping all the silverware."

Sukuna was obviously amused. "You observe people like this all the time?"

"I aspire to be a novelist if not a literature professor. I watch people to come up with stories, so it doesn't always mean what I'm saying about them is true. I just make it up as I go." You laughed. "But Suguru is a better writer than I am."

"Is he now?"

You nodded, eyes scanning the area. "That old lady is a rich widow who is keeping tradition alive."

He followed your line of vision. "Because she's wearing traditional garb?"

You shook your head. "Because she is alone with that sorrowful look on her face, and she has an extra serving of a meal across her which had been untouched since she ordered in. She's on a date with her dead husband. The empty seat is for him. It's their anniversary." You cocked your head towards the empty chair. "She placed that blazer on the backrest which is obviously not hers, and she just opened a wrapped-up present and made a show of presenting it to whoever should be seated there. Looked like men’s watch to me."

That same old woman stood by your table later in the evening to say, "You are a lovely couple. Cherish each other." And she also paid for a bottle of expensive wine which Sukuna asked to be wrapped for the two of you to take home.

"Looks like you're right about that one," he said as he drove you back to his place.

You nodded, smiling to yourself. "She was right, too," you murmured.

He blinked then looked at you. "Did you say something?"

"Nope."

If you were impressed with the Porsche, his place was even more amazing. The whole place was in scales of black, white and gray but nothing was monotonous about the space. He toured you around the house and it looked uninhabited if it weren't for the signs of life around. But what caught your eye was the shelf full of music, all in vinyl with his gramophone plugged in to a modern sound system. He liked old stuff, his collection ranging from 1903s music to more modern ones here and there.

His living room was strategically placed by the glass walls, providing a view of the cityscape where you found yourself standing, in awe of the sights before you. Just then, the familiar bars of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" started playing in the background.

You were about to whirl around, but you felt him behind you, wrapping his arm around you as he made you face him. He extended a hand towards you then. You took it without hesitation although you didn't know what he was up to, surprised when he placed your arms on his shoulder while he held onto your waist.

"Dance with me," he said in a low tone as he pulled you closer.

You giggled at that, letting him slowly sway you to the beat while you just looked up at him, drowning in his eyes, his warmth and everything that was him. "I love this song."

He arched a brow at you. "You know Ben E. King?"

"I grew up listening to old music," you told him, nodding as you smiled fondly. "The perks of being a grandpa's girl. You get exposed to great music."

"The movie is my favorite, too."

Your eyes widened. "Really?"

He threw his head back in mock annoyance. "Let me guess. It's your favorite, too?"

"Yes!" you squealed excitedly.

Sukuna clucked his tongue. "You make it hard for me to resist you when you have great music and movie tastes, too."

You looked away, swearing you were beet red now. You playfully smacked him on the chest. "Don't say things like that with a straight face."

His laughter reverberated on his chest when you leaned your forehead against it, hiding your face from him. "Now, you're getting all shy around me?" he teased.

"Shut up," you mumbled, pouting at him but having a hard time as you fought the smile that played at the corners of your mouth.

"Seriously though, Y/N, you don't run out of surprises for me." He leaned his forehead against yours. "Every time, you put something new on the list of things I like about you."

"You have a list?"

He nodded. "It's getting hard to keep up with how long it has become."

"Where does it begin?" you asked out of curiosity.

He raised a hand, his finger tracing the point between your eyebrows. "Your brows furrow just around here when you're concentrating. Just like that time I met you at Maki's."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "It's impressive how you're caught in a world of your own even in such a busy, crowded place."

"I’m just good at ignoring people. But stopped reading the moment you sat beside me." You snickered. "You make it hard to focus, it's an insult to the author when her characters are all beyond just interesting."

"How was I even distracting you? You weren’t even looking at me."

"That's what you thought." You shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It's your hair at first, but then you also smelled too good to be true. That did it for me. And before I knew it, every word on the page I was reading became Cyrillic or something."

You didn't even realize that you've both come to a standstill, chuckling as you met his gaze again, only to feel his hand sliding behind your head, his fingers tangling with your hair as he dipped down and seized your lips, tilting his head slightly. It was a gentle kiss, his skilled lips light on yours, introducing his rhythm and flavor of mint mixed with the faint flavor of the wine you've both been drinking as you moved in sync with him.

It drove you crazy how his scent and taste filled every crevice of your being, desensitizing you while also pushing your senses on overdrive at the same time. The feel of his large hands as they secured you to him while his mouth did all the magic made your blood grow hot, the rush you felt inside consuming you. You visibly wobbled when he let go of you, making him look at you in amusement.

"Stay the night?" he asked, breaking into a grin. "I have a copy of our favorite movie. We can finish the wine that kind old lady gave us, and I'll make you pizza."

"You had me at our favorite movie," you said, still a bit dazed and drunk from the taste of him. "I'll stay."

**

Sukuna stood at the foot of his bed as he neatly placed everything you might need on it, running out of his unit to get stuff for you at the nearby convenience store. He glanced over at the door of the adjoining shower, smiling when he heard you humming. Well, he couldn't stop smiling all night seeing how beautiful you were in that black dress. He marveled at how you managed to be even more gorgeous when you were already driving him insane even when you wore sweats to school.

He found beauty in every little thing you did, feeling himself being overwhelmed with amazement even when you were just sitting there reading to how you spoke eloquently about things you were passionate about, the way you told the stories you made up despite how they leaned towards sad things. He found it attractive how you lacked complications and always gave him your honest opinions, how you tell him what was going on inside your mind without bars held.

He loved how kind and loving you are to your friends. It wasn't outward affection but he did notice the small things you did. How one word – "breathe" – would calm Satoru down, how one reassuring squeeze of the hand would pacify Ieiri and how a single look would convey your thoughts to Suguru. He would be jealous of it given any other circumstances, but you did so much more for him by just smiling and cheering him up when you sensed how tired he was from work which was often.

You were sensitive like that, appeared stronger and more resilient than you looked, but he and your friends couldn't help it but dote on you. It was kinda funny how they all referred to you as their daughter at first but when he found out they were doing that because they're the only family you had, he understood why. He understood why you tended to look at things the way you did. It only strengthened his urge to take care of you and protect you at all costs.

“Don’t give me that look,” you’ve told him then when he found out your grandfather, your only guardian and family, passed away three years ago, and you’ve only been living on the small fortune he bequeathed to you upon his death. Your parents were long dead, too, and you were basically alone in life.

He found it amazing that you could talk about the matter without being uncomfortable when he couldn’t even imagine how his life would be if he lost his mother at his age. He understood your independent nature, how you would give him funny looks whenever he volunteered to do something for you and why you were always so insistent on splitting the bill when you went out.

Still, when you said you didn't date steadily, it got him worried. Apart from the possibility that you might not stay with him for as long as he imagined – which made him afraid to breathe at times – he thought you might have issues from being alone too much; that maybe, the reason why you didn’t want to commit was because you didn’t want to open up only to be left alone again when things don’t work out. The way you spoke about the old woman at the restaurant and the way sadness crossed your features as you told him the story you’ve just made up sort of solidified his notions.

That’s exactly the reason why he was happy you weren’t pushing him away or refusing to stay with him. When you said you’ll stay the night, although he found joy in all the times you’ve been around him, he still felt unbelievably happy. Perhaps you were giving him a chance, giving whatever it is that’s between you the opportunity to blossom and just going with wherever and whatever it brings you. He liked that thought.

You came out of his room just as he was taking out the pizza he made, dressed in that oversized, white shirt he brought out for you, the collar askew on your shoulders. You walked into the kitchen running a towel on your hair, leaning on the counter. He almost dropped the pizza when he saw that you’ve forgone the sweats he’d given you, your legs bare from halfway down your thighs.

“I gave you pants, you know.”

You laughed at his words. “They’re too big for me. I returned them in your closet.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Go wait in the living room. I’ll be finished here in a bit.”

You did as you were told, much to his relief but still went to the extent of getting you a blanket in case you wanted to cover up, not that he minded looking at your legs. Nevertheless, he preferred not to with all the thoughts running amok in his head. He wanted to take things slow with you even if you were proving to be his kryptonite. You thanked him for it, happily munching on the pizza he made as the movie started.

“I can’t believe that woman gave us this expensive wine,” you said as you took a sip from your glass.

“I can’t believe we’re having pizza with it,” he said as he sat at the other end of the couch. The two of you laughed at that, but then he stopped when you did, noticing how you were looking at him with a confused look on your face. “What is it?”

“Why are sitting so far away from me?” you demanded, but instead of him moving towards you, you crawled on the sofa closer to him.

Sukuna reveled in how naturally you took his arm and placed it on your shoulder, leaning against him before adjusting your position and covering the two of you with the blanket. He was glad your guard was down where he was concerned, the fact that you smelled like his shampoo and were wearing his clothes making him all warm and fuzzy inside. He pulled you closer to him, eyes trained on his massive flat screen.

“Sukuna…” you said a few moments later.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You’re too stiff.” You looked up at him, snickering. “I won’t steal your virtue if that’s what you’re scared of.”

He just laughed but it was taking everything he had in him not to do anything when you were tempting him in the most sinful ways, but he forgot all about that when your head lolled against his chest and found you sound asleep. You looked so serene that instead of taking you to bed, he sat there, cradling your form until the movie finished, his fingers playing with your hair.

Sukuna looked down at you, feeling like his chest was about to explode as he breathed in, realizing the depth of how much he felt for you, and although you couldn’t hear it, he said, “I’m in love with you, Y/N.”

***

The crisp morning air blew past the open balcony doors, into the bedroom, rustling the white sheets on his bed that momentarily served as the sanctuary of a tangle of limbs and blankets, cradled by the softness of the mattress and feather-filled pillows. Even breaths rose and fell in sync, filling the wide room. Languid fingers twined with the silkiness of long locks of hair and smooth, bare skin. The bed creaks and Sukuna’s eyes open to the brightness of daylight.

He took in his surroundings, and the first thing he noticed was the pressure on his leg, his left arm just by his shoulder and his chest along with the warmth that was coming from his side. His eyes wandered down to his body to the sheets barely reaching his waist, until finally he found the source of it all.

On his left side was none other than you, pressed to his side with no quantifiable distance separating your bodies but the measly fabric of the shirt you wore. Your hair fell on the pillows and his shoulder which was cushioning your head, your leg crooked across his thighs while your hand lay on his chest in a stagnant caress that suddenly made his whole body burn from the inside. Peering down, he noticed how your brows knit together in an unconscious frown while your thick lashes cast shadows below your closed eyes. Your long, lean legs were exposed to him up to your milky thighs as his shirt which you were wearing rode up, and he could only pray that you won’t move that limb any further or else…

Cursing at himself, he diverted his gaze and realized how his left hand had been running up and down your back. The feel of your warmth against the pads of his fingers sent him to the edge while your scent intoxicated him until he felt sweat beading on his forehead. He knew he was being shallow, but he couldn’t help it either. He was still human. Still, a smile made its way across his mouth. He was only able to think of the moment and how he wished to wake up to it every single morning of his existence. He decided to stay still and hold onto it while it lasted.

“Why are you so pretty?” he whispered, then pulled you closer while he closed his eyes, meaning to go back to sleep, but it wasn’t long before he felt you stir against him, your leg moving upwards. In the process, said limb swept higher, touching that particular spot between his legs. The weight of your leg didn’t help with the carnal thoughts that were already running amok in his mind.

You suddenly moved, groaning as you shifted, the drawn-out sound doing things to him.

Sukuna’s eyes remained shut, fearing what might come next after you discover the compromising position you were in, but it didn’t come. Instead, you just very slightly distanced yourself from him, remaining within reach, but he was startled when he suddenly felt cold fingers brush across the skin just below his lower lip.

“If I were an artists, I would have painted you,” you said quietly while your fingers travelled lower. “Just look at that jaw line.”

Sukuna felt himself shiver when your other hand began working its way from his collarbones, going all the way down to where his chiseled stomach was. The titillating sensation filled his brain and before he knew it, his eyes were half open while his hand had already grabbed you by the wrist. His other arm worked to topple you over, back to the comfort of the pillows, while he rolled on top of you, staying still while completely rendering you motionless by pinning your arm down.

The reverberation of your chest against his whilst you chuckled albeit his weight sent him to the edge, almost falling off, but he held still and stopped himself from doing anything.

“Ryomen Sukuna,” you whispered, tapping his back slightly.

He wondered whether you liked being there with him, too, or what. “L/N Y/N…What’s with the formality?” What, indeed? The two of you were in a very intimate position and yet he addressed you that way, sounding agonized even to himself. “Don’t do that.”

You scoffed good-naturedly. “Am I giving you strange feelings?” you questioned, ridiculing him early in the morning. “I knew you were pretending to be asleep. Men just can’t say no to a woman’s touch, huh?”

He supported his weight with his arm and drew himself up, the rest of his weight pushing down lower against you. He smirked then. “So you were also awake.”

“Yeah.”

“And you let me hold you anyway?” he murmured, his face almost closing in on yours.

You ignored the tone in which he spoke and its implications. “I was just too lazy to move. Besides, I thought you were a pillow. You’re so warm.”

“That sounds fishy, Y/N.”

“And what’s fishy about that?”

He broke into that crooked grin, feeling his evil streak resurfacing. “Hmm. The fact that you’re liking this as much as I am.”

You removed your hand from his grip and lightly slid it down his inked rib, going lower as you traced the patterns of his tattoo, your eyes remaining on him, a sultry smile swathed across your lips.

A moan nearly escaped his parted mouth, but he wasn’t able to hold back the sudden closing of his eyes and slight parting of his mouth as your hand reached halfway down. “S-stop…”

Your hand stopped where his pelvis was, but your fingers continued to draw circles on his skin. “Are you sure you want me to stop?”

Sukuna panted and nodded at you feeling his hot blood rushing southward.

“Yeah?” You laughed softly, your eyes widening a bit in amusement while your leg kicked faintly underneath him, feeling something stiffen against your thigh. “Something else tells me you don’t,” you purred into his ear.

Sukuna bit his lower lip, peeking at you through half-lidded eyes. He knew you felt that and he was getting embarrassed with every second he stayed there. He knew your effect on him and you were more than just aware of it. You were even going to the extent of toying with him, making him feel like a goddamn teenager with raging hormones.

“You’re baiting me,” he played along, brushing your hair off of your neck and twirling the strands with his finger.

You smirked. “Am I?” you said slowly, hand sliding on the garter of his sweats. You withdrew your hand and rolled the two of you over despite his weight, turning tables on him. You touched the tip of his nose, taking in the disappointed look on his face all to your amusement before getting off.

“You’re funny, Sukuna.”

Your leg wasn’t even halfway off of him from where you were sitting astride his torso when Sukuna decided he was going to take his chances with making you succumb to him somehow and he finalized that by stopping you. Grabbing your waist, he rolled you over once more and without second thoughts, dipped his mouth against your, just pecking you on the mouth at first to see what you would do.

Too stunned to react, you were only able to stare at him, but Sukuna didn’t just stop there. He pressed his mouth against your sensuous lips in numerous fleeting touches until he felt you respond to it in the same gentle manner. Those small gestures, along with the closing of your eyes, ignited the fire that had been coursing through him until he thought he would explode if he didn’t comfort himself with the feel of you against him.

Unable to hold back anymore, he crashed your lips together in an urgent, scorching and passionate kiss, nibbling on your lower lip. You responded in kind, possessively holding onto his taut shoulders as he lifted you both in a sitting position so you were kneeling astride his lap. Sukuna pushed his fingers into your hair, holding you against him while his mouth moved downwards to your neck, seductively biting on your collarbone, marking his trail of fire up the columns of your throat before returning to your mouth.

Opposite to his aim to escalate the heat and passion, you placed both of your hands on either side of his head, cupping his cheeks with gentle hands and pulled away slightly, still with your foreheads against each other, hands intact on his shoulders and your waist, both panting for air.

You flashed him an apologetic smile, swallowing hard as you pulled back and sat down on the bed, looking down at your hands which you were wringing. Silence fell over the room and when you came to your senses again, you met his gaze.

His eyes rounded at the realization of what he just did. “I’m sorry, I don’t what came over me.”

“It’s fine. Don’t apologize.” You shook your head. “Sukuna, I…I shouldn’t have…”

He smiled at you then and pulled you close, giving you a soft peck on the forehead, eventually taking you into his arms, soothing your back as he embraced you. “That’s not it, sweetheart. I can’t keep my hands to myself even when you’re not doing anything.”

“I’m sorry…”

He looked at you at arm’s length. “Don’t be.” You diverted your gaze, but Sukuna lifted your head with a finger, making you look at him, holding you in his gaze “I’m willing to take it slow if that’s what makes you comfortable.”

“Look, I just want to be sure about how I feel. I don’t want to be doing this half-baked because I don’t want to hurt you –”

He placed a finger against your lips, still raw from his kisses. He didn’t want to hear what you had to say just yet but he smiled slowly at you. “I’m willing to give you time, and for now, I just want us to stay like this. Is that okay?”

You nodded, swallowing hard.

You found yourselves lying in bed until the sun was high in the sky and it was just too warm to stay there. Endless talks led to teasing which eventually led to laughter. He was glad that you were back to your carefree self again, even happier that you were considering his feelings.

“Should we get something to eat?” you suggested to him.

“Are you hungry?” Sukuna asked.

“Yeah. Aren’t you?”

Sukuna chuckled. “Starving.” He stood up first and pulled you with him, leading you out of the room with a happy grin on his face. “Let’s make breakfast together?”

“Sure…” You beamed at him. “I’d like that.”

-end of part 2-

Additional notes are available in the masterlist, particularly on the reasons why I wrote some things the way I did.

Thank you so much for reading. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it.

© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY GEGE AKUTAMI'S JUJUTSU KAISEN. [20210623]

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART SOURCES FULLY CREDITED TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

[nova-shadowtail]

Burn The Letters Like You Burned My Heart

Wow! Two long stories in one night! You’re on a roll Jay! I know. I know. I probably shouldn’t post 2 in a row but I CAN’T JUST IGNORE THE INSPIRATION.

This one is based off a song. Most of my fics come from song inspiration so...

This one is based off of this song: https://youtu.be/gYqaUybOUqI

A lot of you probably know that song. Again, just like last time, I changed some of the lyrics and some of this story might be ooc but idc.

I hope you enjoy :)

He told you he went on vacation to take photos before the big end of the year party. He told you he would only be gone a few weeks. He told you to trust him. And you did.

5 months. He had been gone for 5 months before you finally started to doubt he was on vacation. You glanced at Lucy playing in the backyard and back at the letter in your hand. Something was wrong.

In yesterday’s letter, he told you he was in London taking pictures of the monuments. Today he said he was already in France. It didn’t add up. He couldn’t have gotten there that fast. And he never switches places that quickly.

You tried to convince yourself that he was just taking a lot of pictures and finding new ideas. That’s why he’s taking so long. But no matter how many times you told yourself everything was fine, the uneasy feeling never left.

You finally gave in and asked Saeyoung to check on him when your daughter ran up to you and asked when Daddy would be home.

She had come up to you after chasing butterflied in the backyard and looked at you with teary eyes.

“What’s wrong princess?” You asked her, “Are you hurt?”

She shook  her head as a tear fell down her face, “I miss Daddy. When is he coming home? Is he okay?”

Your heart broke. V had been gone for so kong that even Lucy was starting to realize something was off.

You lifted her up onto your lap and hugged her, “I miss him too. I don’t know when he’s coming back, baby. I’m sorry.”

That night, after you put Lucy to bed, you called Saeyoung and asked him to locate V. He assured you that V was probably just really busy and promised he’d find him.

You thanked him and went to bed. You clutched one of his letters to your chest and cried yourself to sleep.

The next morning you woke up to texts from Saeyoung.

Saeyoung: I’m so sorry MC

Saeyoung: I wish this was fake

Saeyoung: I wish this wasn’t him but….it is

Saeyoung sent a video

You opened it and saw it was a security feed. You watched as Rika came into view, sitting at a table with a book and looking around like she was waiting for something. Or someone.

You watched as V came into view and sat down next to Rika, putting his arm around her and kidding her forehead. Tears ran down your face as you watched them talk. And laugh. And flirt.

You thanked Saeyoung for finding him and opened up Vs contact. You had to get him home right now.

MC: V! Lucy is sick and she’s been coughing up blood and idk what to do. Please come home. I’m scared something’s really wrong.

V: Take her to the hospital. I’m really busy.

MC: Please V. She’s been asking for you. I know you’ve been super busy taking pictures but please. Do it for Lucy. Come home for her. We need you.

V: Alright. I’ll be home tonight.

You smiled sadly and went to go wake Lucy up for school.

You put Lucy to bed early that night, promising you’d do something fun in the morning, and grabbed all of Vs letters to bring to the living room.

You quietly sat down in front of the fire and lit it, watching as the flame danced. You picked up the first letter and held it above the fire, watching it burn slowly. You did that to the next letter. And the next. And the next. Until you heard the door open and close.

You didn’t even have to look. You knew it was V.

“I saved every letter you wrote me,” You explained, putting another letter in the fire, “From the moment I saw you I knew you were mine. You said you were mine.”

You looked at him and at that moment he knew you knew he was seeing Rika behind your back. You stood up and smiled sadly at him.

“I thought you were mine.”

Tears pooled in his eyes and he quietly set his suitcase down. You threw your phone at him and he caught it. Looking at it, he saw the security feed of him talking to Rika. His arm around her. He looked at you and opened his mouth but you snatched the phone away and spoke before he could.

“Do you know what Saeyoung said when we found out what you’ve done?” You asked.

He looked at you with fear and worry and sorrow in his beautiful mint eyes.

“He said… “You’ve married an Icarus. He’s flown too close to the sun.”” You picked up another letter and dropped it into the fire.

Tears fell down Vs face as he watched you slowly burn the letters. He looked at the coffee table and saw the torn pictures of the two of you and more tears fell down his face.

He tried to walk towards you. To explain. To hug you. To comfort you. But you held up a hand and stopped him.

“Don’t take another step in my direction. I can’t be trusted around you,” You crossed your arms over your chest and turned away from him, “Don’t think you can talk your way into my arms.”

He tried to say something, but no words came as he watched you shove more letters into the fire. Along with some torn pictures of the two of you.

“I’m burning the letters you wrote me,” You gestured to him, “You can stand over there if you want. I don’t know who you are. I have so much to learn.”

You grabbed a letter and read a paragraph of it before ripping it in half and throwing it into the fire, “I’m rereading your letters and watching them burn.”

You took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart and the anger threatening to spill over, “You told them the things that she did you to. You told the whole world how you forgave her and by clearing her name you have ruined our lives.”

You walked over to him and he took a small step back at the sheer anger radiating off of you. You put your hands on his shoulders and shoved him against the wall, sticking your finger in his face.

“Heaven forbid someone whisper “he’s part of some scheme.” Your enemy whispers so you have to scream!” You lowered your finger and stepped away from him.

“I know about whispers,” You said, turning away from him again, “I see how you look at that woman.”

He reached out his hand and grabbed your shoulder, trying to turn you around. But before he could you whipped around and grabbed his wrist. Tighter than he thought you could.

“Don’t.” You growled, backing away, “I’m not naive. I have seen her around you.”

He brought his hand away from you like he’d been burned and cradled it against his chest as he watched you sob.

“Don’t think I don’t see how you fall for her charms.” Your words were bitter and cold.

V took a deep breath and tried to walk forward and say something but you turned away from him and walked back towards the fire, which was now bigger than originally and full of ashes.

“I’m erasing myself from the narrative,” you said, grabbing your phone and throwing it to him yet again, “Let the entire RFA know how MC reacted when you broke her heart.”

He looked at the screen and saw the chatroom exploding with angry texts screaming at V for cheating on you. They were all pissed, even Seven and Jumin.

“And when the time comes...explain to Lucy the pain and embarrassment you put her mother through,” Your words weren’t cold anymore. But they were hot and fiery like the very thing destroying his letters. He flinched when you mentioned Lucy and you smirked in satisfaction.

“She is your legacy,” You spat, “We are your legacy.”

You took your phone back and brushed passed him, walking down the hall towards your room.

“If you thought you were mine…” You trailed off.

He rushed after you, trying to grab you before you locked yourself away. He wanted to explain, to fix what he had broken. He didn’t want you to leave like this. He was about to wrap his arms around you when you spun and gripped his wrists again. This time it hurt. Almost as bad as the pain in his heart.

“Don’t,” You whispered, “It’s over.”

And then you were gone. You rushed into the master bedroom and locked the door behind you. You jumped onto the bed and cried your eyes out.

V stood where you left him. Wrists red and heart aching. He slowly walked towards the bedroom door and placed his hand against it. He tried to apologize, to say something, but he couldn’t.

He placed his forehead against the wood and said, “I love you.”

The only thing he could say. And he didn’t even think you heard it, but you did, and it broke your heart even more. You knew he wasn’t trying to hurt you. You knew he loved you. But this had to be done.

He sighed when he didn’t get a response and walked into Lucy’s room. Tears pooled in his eyes as he looked at his daughter. He quietly walked to her bedside and kissed her forehead.

“I love you, princess.” He said softly.

He left the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked back to the living room and saw the rest of the letters and pictures on the coffee table. He carefully picked them up and neatly stacked them before turning towards the door. He took one last look around the house before grabbing his suitcase and leaving.

+

1 week later Saeyoung was standing outside your front door, demanding ou answer him. You hadn’t been on the messenger since the night V came home and after 2 days you had sent Lucy to go stay with Saeyoung. Everyone was worried about you but Saeyoung was the only one who would actually go talk to you.

So here he was. He’d asked Saeran and Zen to watch after Lucy for a bit while he came to talk to you. He wiped away his tears before carefully knocking on the door.

“MC, please, I know you’re in there,” He said, loud enough for you to hear.

You heard the crack in his voice and stood up from the couch, walking to the front door. Instead of opening it, you just sat down on the floor and placed your back against it.

“Everyone’s asking where you’ve been,” He said, tears falling down his face.

“Jumin said to have patience, and I’m trying to, I’m right out here for you, just let me in.” He placed his hand on the doorknob and tried to open it, but it was still locked.

“I know you’re hurt because of what V did, but please let us help you. It’s going to be okay.”

You sighed and stood up, wrapping your blanket around your shoulders more as you unlocked the door.

Saeyoung heard the soft click of the lock and immediately opened the door. He came face to face with you, in a long nightgown and a blanket around your shoulders. You looked like you had been crying for days and you’re hair was all tangled and greasy.

“MC…” Saeyoung whispered and brought you into his arms.

You hugged him tightly and, for the 100th time in the past week, started sobbing. Saeyoung used one arm to shut the door before picking you up and walking to the couch.

He sat you in his lap and hugged you tightly. The letters and pictures were still on the table. Some pictures were taped together and some of the letters were a little burned as if you changed your mind.

“I miss him,” You cried into Saeyoungs chest.

“I know,” He whispered, he kissed the top of your head and rested his cheek there, “Has he tried to contact you?”

You nodded, “He’s spammed me with texts and calls. I’m too scared to answer.”

Saeyoung made a noise and asked you where your phone was. You told him and he grabbed it quickly before coming back and holding you again.

“We’ll look together okay?” He smiled slightly at you and you nodded, taking the phone from him.

You took a deep breath and opened the messages.

V: Love, I’m sorry.

V: I promise it wasn’t what it looked like.

V: I would never cheat on you.

V: The doctors told me she was struggling a lot and I thought that if she saw me it would help her.

V: Please believe me.

V: I love you, MC

V: I always have. You’re my one and only. My one true love.

V: I regret ever seeing her. I regret lying to you and Lucy. I regret not being back when I promised.

V: I miss you, MC.

V: Please answer

V: Yoosung said you haven’t been on the messenger in a few days. Are you okay?

V: What am I saying, of course you’re not…

V: Are you alive at least? And safe?

V: Please answer me

V: At least see these texts

V: Please

You took a deep breath and tried to stop the tears from falling again. He was so worried about you. And, even though you shouldn’t after what he did, you believed him when he said he would never cheat. That he was just trying to help. You knew he was a good person who wanted to help people. You understood.

“Well?” Saeyoung asked.

Your only answer was a text sent to V.

MC: V… I’m sorry I worried you. I’m alive. And safe.

V answered instantly.

V: Thank god. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t….

MC: Sorry for worrying you

V: It’s alright. Is Lucy okay?

You bit your lip and looked at Saeyoung.

“Lucy is fine. I promise I’ve been taking good care of her. She’s been asking for you but I told her you’re just taking a little trip.”

“Thank you Saeyoung,” You whispered.

MC: She’s staying with Saeyoung right now but he said she’s fine.

Saeyoung stopped you before you hit send, “Should you tell him that she’s with me?”

You sighed, “It’s fine.”

You hit send.

V: Why’s she with Saeyoung? Are you okay? Did something happen?

MC: I didn’t want her to see me like this.

V: Oh...I’m sorry. I’m glad she’s alright.

MC: She’s fine…

V: I’m so sorry for everything

MC: I know. I accept your apology.

V: Really?

MC: Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I know you’d never cheat on me. I should’ve known there was more to the story.

V: It’s not your fault. I should’ve been honest with you about what I was doing

V: So...are we okay now?

MC: Yes…

V: Good

MC: Do you wanna come over?

V: Of course. I’ll be there in an hour.

You looked at Saeyoung and he smiled at you. You smiled back and hugged him, “Thank you.”

He hugged you tightly, “Anytime, MC.”

Saeyoung left a few minutes later. He told you to shower and text after you and V talked and he would bring Lucy back. You thanked him again before going to shower.

You dried your hair and tried to make it look like you’ve been fine. You were in the middle of figuring out how to hide the bags under your eyes when there was a knock at the door.

You took a deep breath and opened the door. V was there, looking the same as always. He smiled at you and you smiled back. You wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his neck. He hugged you back, doing the same.

“I’m so sorry,” He said, voice thick with tears.

“I’m sorry too,” You cried into his chest.

Let’s just say things were perfectly fine after that. Lucy was happy to see her dad again and V swore to never lie to you about anything ever again. You logged back onto the RFA that dad and told everyone you and V made up, and they were super supportive. After V explained everything everyone was super happy and things went back to normal.

Sorry if the ending seemed sloppy. My friend wanted a happy end and I wanted to finish it quickly cause I wanna go to bed

PS: Read the tags lolol

[ladysarahsakura]

Stein’s daughter

My apologise if you believe Professor Stein is OOC in this story.  Also like many of my posts, this is an OG character I created to immerse myself into the world Soul Eater. If you’d like to see X Reader stories they will come I promise. Obviously, I don’t own Soul Eater I only own the characters I created to represent me and my weapons. Love you all!  

   Dr Franken Stein had a rough childhood. Combining the issues he had with his longing to dissect with how doctors who tried to ‘fix him’ would poke and prod him, it’s safe to say he wasn’t too happy with the way his childhood turned out. He was slightly jealous when he found out his ex-weapon partner-Spirit Albarn- was not only getting married but having a child on the way as well. Stein had many concerns about having a child and getting married: could he have found anyone to deal with him and his oddities? What about the madness within him that causes the need for dissecting, would he pass it on to his children? What if one day he did something to the child? Or his partner? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did. One way to fill the small void he had since he was scared to father a child and be a spouse was to choose one or two days a week to go to Death City’s orphanage where he would teach the older children- the younger ones, around 4 or so years old feared him- about animals he’s dissected or told stories of his old missions when he was at the DWMA as a student. These children looked past his stitches, his scars, and the screw/bolt protruding from the side of his head, and saw a scientist that made teaching fun for them. A couple of nurses that cared for said children were a bit unsure of Stein but the children adored him. One nurse, who oversaw new babies from a couple of months to 3 years, formed a friendship with Stein and he assisted her in preparing the food and formulas for the infants and toddlers at the Orphanage. On a sunny day in August, Stein’s life was about to change. The morning of the 27th of August in 1998, the orphanage welcomed its first-week old baby in 10 years. The small baby girl had been left on the doorstep at about 2 AM and the head nurse rushed to the door upon hearing the rapid knocking. They immediately fed the girl bottled formula, weighted her, took her temperature and swaddled her. Upon the infant nurse returning for her shift at around 5 AM, she immediately began round the clock care for the baby after the head nurse told her everything and even had the assistance of a pair of fraternal twins- Rocky and Roxy Takahashi, four-year-old, black-haired, green-eyed cuties who lost their parents to a kishin, took turns keeping an eye on baby girl, reading to her, and keeping watch on her as she slept soundly during naptime. On this day during his weekly visit is when Stein first sees the small infant, only 6 pounds but very healthy, wispy blond hairs already on her head, sleeping soundly in her crib in a light purple sleeper, Stein attempts to not wake the baby up as he converses with her nurse on her health and how she came to be in the orphanage this day. Rocky and Roxy also decided to move into the room with the baby to keep an eye on her at night, attaching themselves to her quickly, treating her like they would their own baby sister and Stein smiled slightly at the sight of the twins playing with the baby girl. Nearly a month passed and the baby girl was growing steadily, was happy and healthy, babbling happily to her friends and caregiver, and had still somehow had not been named. The twin children argued back an forth over what to name the infant girl, the caregiver just chuckled before ushering the rowdy 4-year-olds out for the baby’s nap and they stopped upon seeing Stein watching them interact again with the baby as the nurse slowly put her to bed. To stop the twins bickering, Stein suggested a simple name for the baby girl that he felt the twins would agree on: Sarah, Hebrew for lady, princess, and noblewoman. The baby had been such a sweet baby since she came to the orphanage she deserved a name as such since the twins called her their Princess anyway, also it was a name Stein liked. The girl just seemed like a Sarah. They immediately loved it and made certain to tell the baby her name once she awoke.Over a course of eight months, Sarah began to crawl, tugging herself up at times on her crib, a pants leg, or with the helping hand of her caregiver and the twins. She was slowly learning to walk with the help of Roxy and Rocky holding her hands and walking behind her. Aside from her being a little small, she was exactly where she should be in development. Overall, she was a happy, cheerful, sweet baby girl. By June 1999, she was walking even better, holding herself on the wall or holding onto her caregiver’s pants leg and waddling beside her around her room- they didn’t let her explore much except her room and the hallway outside it- and Stein still watched the baby girl develop from a distance, worried his appearance would scare her as it did the other younger children. He didn’t understand why he was drawn to the infant and worked so hard to make sure she was developing properly, conversing with the caregiver when she would get sick or have a rash or wouldn’t eat some foods. Stein knew better than to believe he could adopt a child, to care for and father them, what if he scared them once they saw his tendencies? What if he snapped and hurt them? He had a couple of friends that would assist him in raising a child for he had spoken about it many times to them, wanting an outsiders opinion on if he would ever be a decent father. Marie Mjolnir and Sid Barrett both said they would assist him when he needed them to. A young Sid was already partially caring for a baby boy named Black☆Star who had been found by him on a mission almost a year prior and he said several times how if Stein adopted the girl how sweet it would be if she and Black☆Star would be friends later in life. Stein had to admit, he did find himself drawn to the small child even after years of saying he wouldn’t be good enough to be a father. He tried to converse with her caregiver about her progress and the two adults remained unaware of the infant waddling slightly back from her spot from the corner of the hallway where her twin friends were attempting to get her to walk towards them. Sarah caught sight of Stein and proceeded to waddle towards the stranger she saw many times but never really met. The twins watched as the blonde, little girl waddled her way up to be near Stein, her summer dress swished slightly with every uneven step she took with her chubby baby legs towards her desired destination which was towards the person she knew of but never saw who conversed still with her caregiver unknowing of the baby they spoke of waddling/walking straight towards them. Her caregiver noticed Sarah first but pretended to not notice as she waddled closer to Stein, Roxy and Rocky giggling from the end of the hall. Stein still talked for a moment before feeling a soft tug on his lab coat. Looking down, he met the baby browns of the child he had been meaning to avoid in fear of scaring her as he did all other young children. His green-grey eyes widened and he stiffened, waiting patiently for baby Sarah to begin crying or wailing at his stitches, his bolt/screw, or his towering height but what he got next shocked him more than anything. Sarah reached up with her chubby baby arms and made grabby hands, a sign she wanted to be picked up...by Stein. He slowly relaxed and slid down to the floor, hesitantly, before she surprised him again by clamouring onto his lap and grasped onto his shirt. Her baby hands examined his own, his clothes and his face and hair as she did with everyone she found interesting and she didn't know it but Stein’s heart began to melt. She touched his mouth, his chin, his nose, his glasses- which he then took off to keep them from accidentally being broken- then her hands made their pathway towards his hair. Again, he braced for a scream or crying, instead, he found baby Sarah place a small hand on the screw/bolt and cocked her head to the side at it. Stein smiled softly and reached up to turn it and Sarah grinned and clapped at hearing a slight click click click from the turning. She grinned and babbled cutely, showing her newly grown bottom teeth and she too tried turning the bolt only to find her baby hands weren’t strong enough. Noticing her confused head tilt again, Stein reached up to twist it again and her face lit up. To get her mind off the screw/bolt, Stein held out his hand to her to examine and she happily did so. She continued to play with his hands, his jacket, she’d trace her fingers around his nose, eyes, scar, and babble happily, even speaking a few real words here and there she had been learning. Stein smiled softly at the baby in his arms, relaxing as she continued memorising him. He continued to talk to her caregiver who had sat beside him and was joined by the twins. She grinned when Sarah began to cuddle into Stein’s shirt as he held her in a large hand as she gripped his finger tightly. He completely relaxed and smoothed her hair away from her closed eyes and she mumbled quietly, did she just say, papa? Soon she was sound asleep, snuggling into his shirt and mumbling softly. Her nurse chuckled, “ You’re really great with her. And she seems awfully attached to you. Have you made up your mind about adopting her?” Stein gaped at the woman, “Me? Adopt her? No, no I couldn’t. Not only is my lab completely unsafe for a baby or a kid in general but I doubt I would be a very good father.” His face fell slightly, imagining all the bad things that could happen to the innocent child. Sarah’s caregiver placed a tender hand on his shoulder, “ Come now, Stein. You’d be an amazing father. Look at everything you’ve done for the older children- teaching them, getting them interested in science and animals- also everything you’ve done for Sarah. You’ve helped with formula’s when she wasn’t liking the previous one, you helped make a salve for her diaper rash since store bought didn’t work on her, you’re attached to this baby and I can tell she’s attached to you.” “ But what if something happens? I mean, I would never intentionally hurt her, but my mind…” The caregiver softly smiled. “Then bring in a trusted friend. Caring for a child could be an experiment for you two as caring for any child would be. You can baby proof a certain section of your home for solely her and not let her past that area and have your friends assist you in helping care for her. The choice is entirely yours but,” she glanced down at the little baby, “ I believe someone already made up her own mind.” She chuckled at the infant resting happily in the scientist's hand. He pondered on for a bit on the what ifs. What if he did adopt this girl? Would he be a good parent? Could he provide a happy home for her? A safe home? Could he really be able to do it so simply? Study how to raise a child and asking Sid and Marie for help? What if something went wrong? What if he couldn’t keep his dissecting thoughts from her? Or worse what if he completely lost it. Soon he chose to go home, after unlatching the infant from her strong grip on his finger and shirt, he phoned Marie and Sid to come over for a talk to weigh the pros and cons for raising her or any child. During their meeting, Marie offered to stay with Stein for a bit to help him raise the child if he chose to adopt her and Sid offered to take her to school with Black☆Star, have play dates and such to assist in her development. Both friends swore to assist Stein in his choices no matter what. On that note, Stein wrote a list of pros and cons which by the end the pros outweighed the cons and he finally made up his mind. With Sid and Marie’s help, the babyproofed a section of the Patchwork Lab: every doorknob, corner, outlet, put a big lock on is lab and cleared out three side rooms for her beside his bedroom. Each room was baby proofed and he labelled each room for different things such as her bedroom, a playroom, and a library/study. Stein, with Sid’s help since he was assisting in raising a baby Black☆Star, helped create a feeding chart and Stein made a chart for when she would get older so she would have a routine she could adapt to in case he was called on a mission- which was rare but could still happen and would ease whoever kept an eye on her then. Marie went out and bought everything a baby would need: diapers, clothes, changing pad, blankets, burp cloths, a new crib, a playpen, a carrier, towels, baby bottles, a stroller, and many many stuffies and toys to amuse Sarah. By the next morning, Stein began the long path to adopting the baby girl filled with home studies and paperwork. He would go visit Sarah every day and personally assist her in learning to balance herself, helping her with her words, he even quit smoking to get the better chance of her actually being adopted by him. This went on for three whole months until all the paperwork and home studies were done. By the end of September, Stein had a daughter. Upon entering her new home, Stein and her caregiver agreed to a trial period. He had one week to see if he could handle a one-year-old and if he couldn’t, his would giver her back to the orphanage and gift all he and Marie had purchased to her to keep. The twins were saddened by not being able to see their younger friend but they were happy when Stein told them he or Marie would come to get them every weekend to bond with Sarah that way she would never forget them. Stein had given the baby girl a few gifts that were more scientific, like a stuffed frog she could “dissect” by taking apart the velcro straps on its torso and insides, he had hand knitted sweaters for her and a few blankets, even stitched little doll figures that looked like her, Stein, Sid, Marie, Rocky, Roxy, and her caregiver. Her favourite was the one that resembled Stein and she slept with it in her new crib in her new home beside her new papa who had set up a cot in her room to keep watch on her first few nights. Sarah slept soundly in her new home and grew steadily. By her fourth birthday, they found out she was a meister and that the twins were weapons. Around the same age, she had begun to question why she didn’t look like her papa and Stein had told her the truth, “ Yes, darling. We don’t look a bit alike, do we? But that doesn’t matter, little one. Because you chose me to be your papa that day when you were a baby and I knew you were my darling daughter. Nothing and no one will ever change that. Stein didn’t enrol Sarah into school instead Marie came and would teach her and she trained with Sid and Stein to get physically and stronger on her own before she became meister to a weapon partner. Sarah grew into a loving both the normal things any child would as well as having a growing curiosity about life to the point of her assisting her papa in his scientific studies. Miss Marie would take her to meet with Sid and Black☆Star where he boasted several times about wanting to surpass Lord Death and stated that when Sarah finally joined the DWMA with him, he’d challenge her to their first duel. By the time Sarah became of age to bond with a weapon, she bonded with both Rocky and Roxy which explains why they bonded so quickly at the orphanage. Poor Stein had to get Marie to help the year prior when Sarah got her first period and he didn’t want to embarrass her by having that whole talk. By age fourteen, the trio had gone on many missions to collect Kishin souls as requested by Lord Death even if they weren’t students of the DWMA yet. Sarah chose to postpone her studies at the DWMA for a little while longer since she was learning about her papa’s evils and he confessed to only feeling calm with her or Marie home with him. Marie still taught Sarah and she learned to bend her own wavelength to heal as well as having papa’s ability to use it as a defence without a weapon and learned that the twins had multiple weapon forms which Sarah could easily wield. She made tremendous progress and not once did she lose her love of life and sense of freedom. Stein couldn’t have been a prouder father, however; he was scared for when she would enrol into the DWMA which was now also a college for older children who wished to have further teachings. Would she be ridiculed for being his child even if it wasn’t biologically? Would she be ashamed? Would she still be happy? There was one way to find out. Byt the morning before her next mission, he enrolled her into the DWMA at the age of nineteen. When she returned home she would be a student. 

[kismetrpg]

the basics

Name: Caiden Burgess

FC: Colin Ford

Age: 22 years old

Species: Werewolf

Pronouns and Gender: He/Him & Cis-Male

Occupation: 

Affiliated Group: Black Moon Pack

Neighborhood: Westbank

background

Five days after Caiden was born, his parents’ house in Labadieville was broken into, ransacked, and had most if not all of their valuables stolen. However, the most precious thing that they lost on that spring evening was their son. The thieves stole Caiden from his crib, gone before his parents realized what was going on, and he was never seen again. At least, not by them. This, was an unfortunate mistake on the part of the individuals who broke into the house in the first place. They had no idea at the time, that the bundled up blanket they stole having believed it to be an antique harbored a newborn inside of it. Caiden was so small after birth that he hardly weighed over six pounds, thus it wasn’t noticeable in the haste what the crooks had done. Once word got out that a child went missing, they would be in a lot more trouble than they originally anticipated, if they got caught. They realized immediately that the only thing to do would be to ditch the baby as fast as they could. So, they drove as fast as they could and at the first opportunity, dropped the kid off on a doorstep before hopping back into their car and speeding off. Not yet a week old, Caiden found himself in New Orleans, taken in by the older couple that lived at the house of his arrival.

Despite having this burden placed upon them, the couple raised Caiden as their own, and never once complained. Having failed to ever conceive a child on their own, they believed that this baby was a gift given to them, and that they had the responsibility of raising this little boy to be a fine young man. Knowing the dangers that were lurking in New Orleans, they did their very best to make sure that Caiden remained safe, at all costs, never wanting their precious gift to be harmed. However, a parent’s love can only protect you for so long. One day, when Caiden was twelve years old, he noticed a strangely large dog watching him from afar while outside playing in his yard. He thought nothing much of this incident, passing it off as nothing frighteningly peculiar. This, was his first mistake. Whenever his mother would take him out around town he would always seem to see this same unusually large dog like creature watching him, as if he were following the boys every move. The more often he saw the animal, the more scarier it looked, and the less doglike, and much more like a wolf. His parents had always warned him that there were dangerous creatures that used to live in New Orleans and cause a lot of violence, but they never really told him what kinds of creatures once roamed these streets, in their attempts to protect him. This ignorance, however, eventually lead to mistake number 2.

On Caiden’s thirteenth birthday, after having a quiet celebration at home with family and a few friends, the boy lay awake at night in his bed, staring out the window at the bright full moon. That was when he heard it. A sound, terrifyingly loud, as if it were coming straight from outside his window. Scared that something might be out there, Caiden crept out from under the covers, slowly slinking along the floor until he reached the window, ducked underneath the ledge. His fingers curled over the windowsill, and slowly he brought himself up, to peek outside. Nothing was there. A sense of relief washed over him, and he fell back a bit, turning to crawl back into bed, until the sound of nails scratching at the back door caught his attention. His parents were sound asleep, and as he saw nothing outside his window, he was certain his mind was playing tricks on him. Just to be sure, he grabbed a sweatshirt from his closet, pulling it on, and made his way over to the back door, turning the knob slowly. Stepping out onto the back patio, Caiden saw nothing, and just as he was about to turn to go back, a large dark figure sprang from the bushes of his mother’s garden, and tackled him. Caiden screamed as loud as he could over the growling, snapping of the creature’s jaw, and howls from somewhere close by. Inside the house the lights were turning on quickly and someone was rushing to his aid. However, before his dad made it out of the house, the creature latched itself onto Caiden’s arm, teeth sinking into his skin. The sharp pain he felt caused him to kick the beast as hard as he could, which was surprisingly easier than he thought, though the wolf seemed to have given up and not put up a fight. Caiden’s father rushed him inside, explained what had happened to his worried wife, and they immediately took him to a hospital.

Luckily, Caiden survived the attack, but he would no longer belong to the household of his parents. Scared that he would hurt the people he loved most, he fled one night on a whim while the full moon was approaching once again, and ran into another fellow werewolf who, upon sensing the signs of change coming from the young boy, took him aside and explained what his life would be like now that he had been bitten. There is no cure for the bit from a werewolf, to which Caiden’s parents were forced to explain to him all about the creatures of New Orleans, and what could possibly happen to him when he returned home. The truth not only about New Orleans came out at this time, but also the truth about who his real family was. Or, rather, who his real family wasn’t, as they never found out where Caiden actually came from. The wolf who found him before his first change became something of a brotherly figure to Caiden, and offered to take him in as part of the Black Moon Pack, where they would look after him and make sure he remained safe. Now, nine years later, Caiden still finds sanctuary and refuge in the Black Moon Pack, and though he still visits his parents, he stays in Westbank with members of his pack, as his loyalty is to them, above anything else. He is currently unaware who the wolf that bit him is, and is actively researching his birth parents in hopes to reclaim the identity he lost as a baby. The pack believes that something other than coincidence landed Caiden in New Orleans, and he is determined to find out if they’re right.

personality

Caiden grew up in a loving household, and seeing as how 50% of personality is often made up of how you were raised, it is no wonder that his heart is pure and his kindness stretches beyond that of a normal twenty two year old. Being as selfless as he is, Caiden would most certainly be the type of person to give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it more than he did, and chances are, he’ll argue that you do either way. He can be a little unsure of things at times, due to his nervous nature from growing up, but that doesn’t normally stop him from exploring the world. He’s just more careful, when he does it. There’s a very slim chance that he’ll ever leave to go somewhere without being over prepared, as he is a very firm believer in Murphy’s law. After finding out at a young age that his parents were actually not his biological family, Caiden lost a bit of his sense of belonging, which is another reason he tends to remain with the Black Moon Pack. He feels lost at times, and has an even harder time than the other wolves with trusting outsiders. Sometimes when angered or upset he lashes out, not violently but emotionally, as he feels there is a part of his identity that he has not discovered, which pains him to think about. Because a lot of his past is murky, he enjoys listening to others talk more than talking about himself, and often will focus on caring for others instead of himself.

ooc information: taken by allura - she/her - est