#plot drop: ch. 1
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hihihihi i literally love ur writing smmmm like i actually need it sb. any time you post ik itâs gonna be peak literature đââď¸
anyhowwww, i wanted to request an arcane fic with a university au viktor x reader where viktor and reader are like academic rivals or wtv and theyâre always bickering but viktor rlly wants to be her friend and doesnât want to be rivals. sooo he tries like anything he can and as reader eventually warms up to him another guy comes along (maybe jayce or smth idk? or it can just be a random) and becomes their friend like almost instantly and viktor is JEALOUSSSS and envious and just ufhfhhffhhfghhf i need that sb.
it can be nsfw or sfw i literally do not care i just need that plot paired with your writing and ik itâs gonna be an absolute masterpiece.
Hey, love! You know what I'm gonna say, right? Sorry for the long wait. This will have 3 chapters, like for real, not like the other one that now is looking more like 5. I'm gonna say a few things got changed here, because I forgot the essence of the request while writing, but the general message is: Viktor is bad at flirting.

Tightrope - Ch. 1.
viktorxfemale!reader mature (overall explicit), frenemies/academic rivals to lovers, modern university AU
Ch.2. | Ch.3.
word count: 5,9K
tag: #tightrope
summary: You and Viktor are tethering the line between friendship and rivalry, Jayce being one amongst the few common factors you both acknowledge (of course more is there but for the smart people you are, you tend to be very stupid about things). Oh, and you have to do a project together.
author's note: I have a very poor name vocabulary sorry. Here's another Joe, this time he's a dude :v thank you @rennethen for beta reading and bearing through my shit with such grace. One trick pony here we go!
also the artist behind art is here!
Cross-posted on AO3
â
You squint as your eyes scan the list of projects for Heimerdingerâs class. And since the professor is just and fair, like a nice old man who has seen it all, you already know what to expect. But you check anyway.
He wouldnât pair youâthe almost top-of-the-class student, fighting desperately with your feet and elbows to stay thereâwith someone undeserving. This little annoying thing in the back of your head called hope still glows faintly, last embers about to die as youâve read through almost all names known to you except for yours.
And as a bucket of cold water gets thrown over the ashen pieces of coal, you find it. And ohâ
Of course. Next to it, your least favourite name. Of course, just⌠great. This is great. This is fine.
The last time you worked together, it ended with a lot of papercuts, pencils flying, and Jayce using notebooks and blackboards as shieldsânot to mention a tiny explosion because neither of you could agree on proportions.
So, like the responsible classmate you are, you make one final, desperate attempt to convince the nice little man to change your partner. For the sake of public safety and the well-being of everyone who steps foot on Academy grounds.
You are also nice and well-behaved, so even though the door to the classroom is open, you knock on the doorframe before disturbing the professor.
âAh! I would lie if I said I wasnât expecting you to show up. Please, come in!â he exclaims, and you have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes in sheer existential pain. If he already knows what you want, you already know how this is going to go.
Still, you press forward, stepping inside and clasping your hands behind your back in what you hope is a diplomatic stance. âProfessor, I was wondering ifâby any chance, purely hypotheticallyâthereâs a possibility to switch partners for the project?â
Heimerdinger folds his arms behind his back, looking up at you with the kind of patient amusement that makes you feel like a child asking for extra dessert before finishing dinner. âAh, yes. I was almost certain youâd ask that,â he says, nodding sagely. âAnd before you say anything else, I do hope you wonât drop out of my class if I say no.â
You open your mouth, ready to assure him that you would never be so dramaticâexcept thatâs exactly what you were about to say, just in different words.
Before you can recover, Heimerdinger raises a hand and continues. âThis project is worth thirty percent of your final mark,â he states, his voice gentle but firm. âI am, of course, aware of the... tension between you and Viktor.â His moustache twitches slightly, betraying a hint of amusement. âHowever, I must ensure fairness in all assignments. There will be no one riding on someone elseâs back in my class.â
You exhale sharply through your nose. âProfessor, with all due respect, we nearly set a classroom on fire last timeââ
âThe most beautiful diamonds,â he interjects, tilting his head with a knowing smile, âare shaped under pressure.â
You stare at him, jaw tight. He stares back, completely at ease.
Fantastic. Just fantastic.
âIââ you gulp on air, searching for words. Finally, a breath of surrender escapes you and you deflate completely, saying only, âThank you for your time.â
Seeing your sagged chest and fingers grasping the edge of your notebook tightly, Heimerdinger offers you a consolation. âI know I seem ancient to you, child. But trust me when I say, I do remember what itâs like to be young, and a little bit of friendly rivalry can be transformed into something truly groundbreaking. Think Newton and Hooke! Tesla and Edison! Bohr and Einstein! All of them were in quandaries that led to further discoveries!â
While Heimerdinger lists off pairs of rival geniuses, completely different names surface in your mind, unspoken but undeniable. Verlaine and Rimbaud. Love and Cobain. Sid and Nancy. Bonnie and Clyde. You are convinced those are the dynamics that loom over you and Viktorâjust without all the feelings, of course.
And if only you were just competitors, like Bohr and Einstein, things would be so much simpler.
From the very first meeting, Viktor had been cold and reserved, his sharp tongue laced with enough venom to wither anyone foolish enough to challenge him. But if there was one thing you had to do to stay afloat in this sea of STEM sausages, it was dare. And challenge.
You still remember that moment vividly. How you almost stumbled when Jayce introduced youâbecause gods, he was gorgeous. An angular face that looked carved from marble, warm amber eyes framed by a fall of auburn hair. A boy so unfairly pretty that, had you met him a few years earlier, you would have fallen hard.
Your eyes swept him from head to toe before you slipped your hand into his, and for a single, traitorous moment, something fluttered in your chest. A rush of warmth, unexpected and unfamiliar.
Then you blurted out your name with an embarrassing stutterâ
And the magic shattered the second Viktor opened his sweet mouth.
"Charmed," he drawled, but the dryness in his voice suggested the opposite. His gaze flicked over you in a quick, assessing glance before he tilted his head towards Jayce. "Is she another one of your projects, or does she actually know what sheâs doing?"
The warmth in your chest evaporated instantly, replaced by a sharp spike of irritation.
Oh. Oh. So thatâs how this was going to go.
With a weak smile, you thank Professor Heimerdinger, and your mind is so out of it that you almost curtsyâwhich you hastily disguise as an awkward bow. Nearly stumbling over your own feet, you literally fall out of the classroom, colliding with something big and solid.
âCareful there! Hi, ohââ A surprised voice reaches your ears, followed by a strong arm steadying you. âHi there. Hi, um. You alright?â
Either heâs a halfwit or completely smitten with you, because his articulation leaves much to be desired. Not that you're one to judge, given your current coordination.
âHi, sorry. Just a small⌠miscalculation.â You smile sheepishly and extend your hand out of habit, instinctively introducing yourself to your unexpected saviour. After all, thatâs how you met Jayce.
âIâm Joe,â he says in one breath, your much smaller hand completely disappearing in his massive palm. âItâs nice to meet you.â He chuckles, a blush blooming across his cheeksâso unabashed, his eyes glintingâand oh.
Nice, you catch yourself thinking in the most obscene, ludicrous way as you zero in on his chest, the tight team T-shirt clinging to it.
âEh, itâs nice to meet you too.â You grin, nodding, and blink stupidly, batting your eyelashes, not entirely sure whatâs happening.
Before you get a chance to unglue the dumbfounded smile from your face and actually say something more, Jayceâs voice rings through the corridor, your name echoing off the walls.
âThere you are! Oops! Making new friends? Donât mind her, this is her love language.â
Jayceâthe oblivious Jayce, a man so naĂŻve it would never cross his mind what he is doing to someone you literally just met thirty seconds ago. Mortification is too weak a word to describe what you feel inside.
âJayce!â You smack his chest and shake your head in disbelief. âDonât mind him, heâs an ass.â
And as if poor Joe doesnât have enough on his plate already, another voice bombards him, and youâre certain heâs beginning to regret ever catching you.
âHello. Are you a new face in Heimerdingerâs class?â Viktor asks, wearing that redundant smirk, his voice stretching into a deliberate, chewy, gross thing that makes you scowl. Just outright cruel.
âHeh, no, I just happened to catch your friend,â Joe answers without missing a beat. âAnd⌠I was hoping I could get her number.â
And that just. Does it.
You nod faster than you think, already reaching for his phone, clumping your number in there with sticky, shaky fingers and a stupid blush creeping up your neck. You avoid Jayceâs and Viktorâs eyes, but oh boy, you can feel both pairs drilling into you almost viscerally. Viktorâs especiallyâthose fucking yellow embers burning right through you from under furrowed brows.
You flash Joe one last smile and a very awkward, very hurried, âCall me,â not knowing what has gotten into you. Then you let Jayce sweep you away toward your usual route to the cafeteria, while Viktor strolls behind, full of graceful disdain.
âSo, I saw the tables, andâŚâ Jayce clears his throat, chattering into your ear. âIâve seen the pairs! We can share a lab, Iâm paired with Sky!â
âYeah, I know.â You sigh and pat his shoulderâa touch saying more than a thousand words. Words that say how much you canât wait for another round of throwing objects at Viktor, while Jayce scrambles to catch anything that might hurt Sky.
âOh, are you not happy about the distribution of projects?â Viktor asks, a small smile playing at his lips.
âThe project is fine. The distribution⌠Iâm sure you understand.â You throw him an acidic smirk, your eyes empty of any emotion save for one slow blink. Neural Interface for Prosthetics is actually an incredibly good projectâHeimerdinger got you there, and you couldnât be more grateful. Well, maybe you could be just a little more grateful had he paired you with Jayce or Sky.
âEh, you will forgive me, but I do not.â Viktor pauses and looks at youâchallenging you. And you really hate it, because it works. âI do not wish to have the project jeopardized by something silly, as the topic itself aligns with my interests.â
âIâm sure the feeling is mutual, Viktor. Can we please eat? I am about to eat one of you if we donât go to the cafeteria right now,â you sigh, exasperated, and your stomach growls to support your claim.
âYou can eat me!â Jayce lands face down between your bickering, and you just laugh, completely disarmed.
Once you finally sit down, Viktor simply opens a book next to his tray, ignoring both you and Jayce completelyâobviously sulking about something. Jayce, on the other hand, takes massive bites of his sandwich, staring at you intensely, as if willing you to spill the tea. When that doesnât work, he speaks.
âSo⌠whoâs the new guy?â he elbows you playfully and you can barely understand him with his mouth full. But his eyes say it allâhe is dying to know.
"Jayce, youâre so transparent I almost canât see you. Where are you, Jayce? Where did you go?" You wave your hands around dramatically. He almost chokes. Viktor scoffs, unimpressed, barely glancing up from his book as he stirs sweetmilk into his coffee.
Once the immediate hazard of death by choking is under control, Jayce flashes one of those earnest grinsâone that practically screams what a good person he is, full of pure intentions. "Oh, shut up. He seems nice, and Iâm curious."
"Heâs just a guy, nothing more," you hum, taking a sip of your coffee. And even though you have no idea if that little encounter will go anywhere, you canât resist adding a pin. "Yet."
Viktor looks like he is holding back a scoff, so he just turns the page in his book with a violent sweep.
"Well⌠do you like him?" Jayce presses, oblivious to the tension at the table. Heâs just such a gossip girl.
You let out an incredulous laugh. "Are you alright? Why are you so interested?"
Jayce shrugs. "I donât know, I always thought youâd end up with someone of equal⌠interests?" Intelligence is what he really means. But that would be cruel. Just because a guy plays rugby doesnât mean heâs brain damaged. Surely.
"Oh please, I hate STEM bros." You lean back in your chair, crossing your arms with an air of finality, as if that settles the matter. You do hate STEM bros. They are full of themselves, have no respect for women and look down on you.
Jayce raises an eyebrow, a slow, knowing grin spreading across his face. "Erm⌠you are a STEM bro."
Viktor finally looks up from his book, watching you with the barest flicker of amusement in his eyes.
You gasp, pressing a hand to your chest as if mortally offended. "Jayce Talis! I am a lady! Not a bro!"
That is Viktorâs cue. âI donât think that lack of testicles classifies you as a lady instantly,â he says in a deadpan voice.
And you donât know what pushes your stupid mind to say it. Is it just muscle memoryâyour tongue snapping back whenever you talk to Viktorâor an actual intention to say something mean to him? You really donât know. In one breath, you say, voice equally dead to his, âOf course not. If that were the case, youâd classify as a lady as well,â and watch the chaos unravel.
None of that happens, though. The underwhelming events carry on in painfully slow motionâJayceâs eyes widening so much thereâs a real threat they might never close again, while Viktor gulps his coffee with an agonisingly slow bob of his Adamâs apple. Itâs only when heâs done that you realise he was fighting not to choke on itâbecause the next moment, he bursts into laughter, covering his face with his hand.
Jayce exhales the breath he was holding and laughs as wellâyouâre not sure if itâs at your joke or simply at the sight of Viktor laughing so openly, an event so rare it shouldnât go uncherished. Despite yourself, you grin. Indeed, Viktorâs faceâhis eyes squeezed shut to the point of a tear slipping from beneath his long lashes, smile lines filling out his hollowed cheeks, his teeth bared in an uninhibited cackleâis a sight to behold.
The stupid thing in your chest stutters, as Viktor wheezes and lowers his hand to rest on yours. âRemind me to never cross you again. Merciless is an understatement,â he says, barely, with a really warm smile and you find yourself blushing again, for the second time in a mere hour. Because of two different boys.
And as any moment made of pure magic in the history of magical moments, this one doesnât last either. It gets violently interrupted by a buzz of your phone on the table.
If you wanna take a stroll, I have a free period now :) We can meet by the fountain. Joe, in case you wonder who this is :)
And your blush deepens. You calculate options in your mind and soon decide on the what the hell one. âIâm gonna scram boys. See you in the lab after class?â
âYes. Please bring the less⌠distracted version of yourself if you can,â Viktor states and all the warmth evaporates from him at once. Back to the usual version of himselfâsharp wit, balancing on the verge of cutting.
As you mumble an absent, âIâll do my best,â and wave them goodbye, Jayce returns to his sandwich and sighs knowingly.
âYou know⌠wouldnât kill you to be a little bit nicer,â Jayce says, leaning forward on his elbows. His voice is casual, but thereâs an edge of curiosity beneath it, like heâs prodding at something fragile just to see if it will break.
âThis is me being nice,â Viktor replies in a neutral tone, lifting his coffee to his lips. The steam curls around his face as he takes a slow sip, his expression unmoving. He is being nice. He is trying to be nice. Itâs just sometimes completely impossible to be nice to you when you get like this. Distracted. He scoffs to himself. Itâs a strange friendship you have there, but itâs a friendship neverthelessâor so he likes to think.
Jayce studies him, his gaze sharp despite the lazy way heâs chewing the inside of his cheek. âNo, that is just you being⌠well, you,â he says bluntly, tilting his head as if heâs considering whether to push further. âBeing a dick is not a way to a ladyâs heart.â
Viktor arches a brow, unimpressed. âExcuse me, but have we experienced the same scene? I was the one being offended and laughed it off like a gentleman, thank you.â He gestures vaguely with his cup, his fingers tightening just slightly around the ceramic.
Jayce narrows his eyes. âThen why are you so annoyed in the first place?â
âI am not annoyed,â Viktor states flatly, setting his coffee down with a little more force than necessary. He smooths his hands over his sweater as he rises from his seat, already turning away before Jayce can open his mouth again. âI am great. I am so great, in fact, that I will go and start working on that project. See you, Jayce.â
And then he just strides off, his cane tapping against the floor, leaving Jayce mid-sentence with his mouth open, eyes blinking slowly.
Of course, he is not annoyed. Maybe only slightlyâand only because youâve somehow managed to gain another distraction in your life right before you were about to start working on the biggest project of the year. And itâs just, well, fucking annoying.
***
When you glance at your watch, you yelp and press a hand to your forehead. âFucking hell,â you mutter under your breath before breaking into a sprint toward the lab.
Viktor is going to kill youâespecially since thereâs no way to prove you were caught up in something important.
Because, well, you werenât. It was Joe who took up all your time this afternoon. And he is⌠surprisingly nice. And smart.
You hadnât expected that.
What started as a casual conversation somehow stretched into something far longer, the minutes slipping away unnoticed. He had opinions on filmsâactual opinions, not just generic statements about âliking action movies.â He had read some of the same books as you and even suggested a few you begrudgingly admitted sounded interesting. Sports came up, of course, but he spoke about them with a self-awareness that made it bearable. And when the conversation dipped into politics, he didnât say anything that made you want to throw your coffee in his face. That alone was impressive.
It was⌠weirdly comfortable. Easy, even. Even when he lingered.
Joeâs gaze held onto you a second longer than necessary, like he was memorising the way you looked when you laughed. And when he hugged you goodbye, his arms stayed around you for just a breath too many. The slow way he untangled himself from you made it clear that if you hadnât pulled away first, he wouldnât have been the one to let go.
Shaking off the last remnants of Joe from your thoughts, you push through the heavy lab doors with a hurried stumble, your breath still uneven from the rush.
âSorry, Iâm late, guysââ The words die in your throat as you take in the empty room.
Only Viktor.
He stands at the workbench, sleeves pushed up, hands meticulously adjusting the placement of various tools and notes. At the sound of your voice, he pauses but doesnât turn around immediately. The rhythmic ticking of the clock fills the silence, marking the seconds you take to process the situation.
No Jayce. No Sky. Just Viktor, and the sharp scent of metal and oil clinging to the air.
âGlad you could make it,â he remarks, finally turning his head just enough to glance at you. His voice is even, but something about it feels... off. You canât tell if heâs irritated or merely stating a fact. Maybe both.
âSorry,â you sigh, setting your things down with a thud. âI lost track of time.â
âWith your new himbo.â It isnât a question.
You hesitate for a fraction of a second. âYes. And his name is Joe, Viktor, not a new himbo.â
Viktor humsâa short, unimpressed soundâand resumes his work, carefully aligning a set of blueprints. Somehow, his silence feels louder than an argument.
âOkay,â you say hesitantly, more to yourself than to him, or rather into the empty space between you and Viktor, which seems to be expanding with each passing second.
âAnd where are Jayce and Sky?â
âThey managed to sketch out the roadmap for themselves in the time you spent with Joe and decided they needed the library for further planning,â Viktor replies flatly, still not looking at you. The way he deliberately keeps his gaze averted only emphasises how much has been accomplished in your presumably very long moment of indulgence. How nice.
âAlright, would you like me to crucify myself, or do you want the honours?â Impatience gets the better of you, and you fold your arms tightly across your chest.
At that, Viktorâs hands still over the workbench. His head tilts ever so slightly in your direction, though his gaze remains fixed on the floor, as if acknowledging you fully would be a waste of effort.
âI am merely stating a fact,â he says, his voice low, clipped. âThis is more important than some affairs, Iâll have you know.â
âOh, really, Viktor?â You let out a sharp laugh, shaking your head. âAnd here I thought thirty percent of my grade was worth sacrificing for some sloppy making outâbut thank you so much for finally making me see the error of my ways.â
That makes him look.
And he is angry.
His head snaps up, eyes narrowing, gears visibly grinding in his mind as he weighs whether youâre just riling him up orâGod forbidâwhether you actually have made out with Joe.
His jaw tightens. âJust get to work already, will you?â
You say nothing, only flash him an acrid smile before reaching for your goggles on the workbench.
The two of you work in almost deafening silence, broken only by the occasional exchange of necessary questions and answers. You retrieve materials while Viktor arranges the workspace, and you scribble down the general plan on the blackboard, the tension in the air palpable.
Each time the chalk screeches against the surface, Viktor visibly winces, hissing under his breath and sinking his head between his shoulders in an exaggerated display of agony.
You roll your eyes but say nothing.
âCould you maybe try a little harder to make it less cacographic?â he mutters, irritation creeping into his voice.
The suddenness of it startles you just as youâre making another stroke, and the chalk lets out a bone-chilling whine against the board.
Viktor flinches violently, covering his ears. âFor fuckâs sake,â he grumbles, voice muffled behind his palms. âLet me do it.â He steps forward, reaching for the chalk without hesitation.
You anticipate the move, tucking your arm behind your back in defiance. A childish gesture, maybe, but if heâs going to be an ass about it, youâre not about to make it easy for him.
He doesnât stop. He closes the distance between you in a few sharp steps, his expression taut with frustration. Before you can react, his fingers wrap around your wristâtight, unrelenting. He pries your hand forward and gives a firm shake, forcing your fingers to unclench until the chalk drops neatly into his waiting palm.
A sharp twinge shoots up your arm. Itâs not painful exactly, but itâs close enough to make you wince.
Snatching your hand back, you massage your wrist, eyes narrowing. âWhat the hell is wrong with you?â
For a brief second, something flickers across Viktorâs faceâregret, maybe. But itâs gone as quickly as it came, buried beneath the same rigid composure he always wears like armour. He doesnât apologise. Doesnât even acknowledge it. Instead, he turns to the board and begins writing, his tone stripped of anything resembling warmth.
âI want to wrap this up before tomorrow,â he says flatly, chalk gliding across the surface with sharp, efficient strokes. âAnd you are being thoroughly incompetent. I told you to bring yourself not distracted.â
You let out a sharp scoff. âOkay, I am so sorry I was late. Iâll stay longer and finish up whatever we donât get done in time. But you are outdoing yourself in being a complete twat today.â
You donât wait for a response. Instead, you march over to the workbench, hands immediately finding the prototype components. If you focus on the task, maybe you wonât be tempted to launch something at Viktorâs insufferable head.
âOh please, I do not trust anything you do without supervision,â Viktor says, scribbling quietly on the board, somehow making a point out of it.
âViktor, are you serious right now? We literally have the same grades,â you huff, leaning over the table to pick up the components you need. You do your best to tune him outâhis bickering is only distracting, and you need to rewire the prototype from the previous project.
Overall, the task is simple enough. The device is built around an EEG-based neural interfaceâa system that reads electrical activity in the brain and translates it into signals that can control a mechanical limb. In practical terms, the user wears a headband fitted with electrodes that detect neural impulses associated with movement. These signals then travel through a processing unit, which refines the input before transmitting it to the prosthetic itself.
Thatâs the easy part. The rest, well.
The prototype youâre working on today is a refinement of an earlier model. The previous iteration had suffered from signal lag and inconsistent responsivenessâissues youâre hoping to correct by integrating a new set of circuits and refining the algorithm for noise reduction.
You grab the headband from the pile of equipment, turning it over in your hands. It should work just fine if you tweak the wiring to accommodate the new design. Without thinking too much about it, you start securing the circuits, fingers working on autopilot as you weave the delicate wires through the correct channels.
Or at least, you think theyâre correctâuntil Viktorâs voice cuts through your focus again.
âAre you even listening to me? What are you doing?â His tone is sharp, irritatedâlike heâs already asked this more than once.
Your expression tightens as he strides over to the bench, clearly unimpressed. âI just rewired it. Nothing too complex,â you mutter, adjusting a loose wire before reaching for the power switch.
Viktor doesnât look convinced. He picks up the headband, turning it over in his hands with a scrutinising gaze. âNothing too complex,â he repeats dryly. âYes, because neural interfaces are famously simple. Iâd rather be sure. Show me.â
You roll your eyes but oblige, reaching over and flipping the switch.
The reaction is instant.
A sharp jolt cracks through the air, followed by a strangled, almost undignified yelp as Viktor jerks back, dropping the headband as if it has burned him. His entire body stiffens, fingers twitching violently for a brief second before he stumbles, gripping the workbench for support, blinking rapidly.
Your mouth falls open. âOhâshitâViktorââ
He exhales sharply, pressing a hand to his chest, his face twisted in a grimace. âWonderful,â he grits out. âSo thatâs what you rewired.â
âGod, Iâm so sorry,â you mumble, rushing to him, ignoring the sharpness of his tone. Your hands instinctively cup his face as you lean in. He blinks, startled, his mouth parting at the sudden concernâyour brows furrowed, eyes searching his face for any sign of lingering pain, thumbs brushing over his cheekbones. âAre you okay?â
âNo,â he says flatly. âYouâve electrocuted me.â His hands move to seize your wrists, but you twist away before he can. Your palms return to his face, fingers framing him gently, and Viktorâs breath hitches.
âI didnât mean to,â you whisper, voice genuine. You are truly sorry, the worry overriding all the anger you had for him mere seconds ago. And Viktor has no idea how to react to this. He stands there, breath unsteady, before muttering, âIâm fine.â
You blink, straightening, and Viktor is almost ready to exhale in reliefâuntil your hands shift again, this time pressing against his chest and back, cradling his heart between your palms. You stand beside him, hands firm but careful, instinct guiding you more than knowledge. You donât even know if this is what youâre supposed to do for someone whoâs been electrocuted, but itâs the only thing that comes to mind.
His heart thunders beneath your touch. The silence is so heavy you can hear yourself gulp on the lump in your throat. You donât hate him that much, and you hope he knows it.
Finally, Viktor speaks, his breath still rattling. âWell, would you look at that. So there is kindness in your touch after all.â He tries to sound wicked, but there is no venom in his voice.
âViktor, you bastard. When have I not been kind to you?â you respond playfully, your hands still pressed against him.
âAh, well. When you implied my alleged castration is the first that comes to mind. But rest assured, my testicles are good and well. Iâd show you, but Iâm afraid someone has already filled this position in your life,â he trails off, slipping back into his seemingly unbothered attitude.
âYouâve got to be kidding me,â you groan, rolling your eyes. Still, your fingers linger, as if trying to determine whether his heartbeat is elevated from the shock or something else entirely. Or is it always like this? You donât dare to ask.
Viktor tilts his head, watching you. âWhat about?â
âAny of it. You make me fucking gag,â you scoff, finally sliding your hands off him.
âNot yetâbut I could.â
You barely have time to register the shift before he catches your hand, his thumb pressing against your palm. A slight twitch makes your fingers curl around his.
âYou could what?â
âMake you gag.â The words slip out just as a smirk blooms on his face, faster than he can think to stop either. He canât tell if he regrets them immediately.
The figurative pin drops. A high-pitched whine rings in your ears. Viktorâs gaze is drilled into you, thumb still pressing into your palm.
Your eyes widen, but you donât miss a beat. âWell, would you look at that. So there is kindness in you after all,â you murmur.
âAh, for you. Only kindness, nothing else,â Viktor hums, his voice a low purr as his thumb idly circles the centre of your palm. His grip is loose enough that you could pull away, yet you donât. His eyes flicker with something unreadableâsomething that makes your breath catch before you force yourself to scoff.
âYeah, right.â
His smirk deepens. âWhen have I not been kind to you?â
âLike⌠ever?â You raise a brow, tilting your head as if youâre genuinely considering it. âYou mock me. You think Iâm outright stupid and donât deserve my spot in class. You constantly correct me and fight me over solutions. You hate working with me, scoff at me, and laugh me out in front of Jayce. And Sky.â
Viktor clicks his tongue, his fingers squeezing yours ever so slightly. âSuch is my love language.â
You huff and roll your eyes. âOh, forget it.â You finally try to pull your hand away, but Viktor doesnât let go just yet, his grip tightening for half a second before he releases youâonly for his cane to hook lightly around your wrist, stopping you mid-motion.
âWait.â His voice is softer now, coaxing. When you glance at him, thereâs something else in his gaze, something warmer, but itâs masked beneath that ever-present air of a prank. âI almost died, you shouldnât leave me.â
You gape at him. âViktorââ
âAlright, alright! I surrender.â He chuckles, but thereâs something breathless in it. His fingers twitch against his cane. âWait. Please.â
The sudden plea stills you. Your heart stumbles over itself before you swallow and straighten your posture, crossing your arms in an attempt to shake the feeling off.
Viktor exhales, dragging a hand through his hair before returning his gaze to you. âI do not mock you or laugh you out. I simply jestâI do that with Jayce all the time. You should have noticed by now.â
You purse your lips, unimpressed.
âI do not correct you,â he continues, his voice lilting, as if this is all some grand performance. âI offer you my point of view. And I do not fight youâI simply enjoy some intellectual sparring. Not many can provide one that satisfies me.â
Your fingers twitch, nerves sparking beneath your skin at the way he says satisfies, but you ignore it. Instead, you level him with a flat stare.
âYouâre just gaslighting me at this point, Viktor. At least give me a head start before you snap my neck with this thing one day.â You tap the end of his cane with a pointed look.
Viktor grinsâslow, wicked. His weight shifts, allowing the cane to rest a little heavier against your wrist, his fingers curling just slightly around the handle.
âOh, come now. That would be far too merciful.â
Your stomach flips, and you hate that it does.
âAre you going to be good to me now?â Viktor asks, his voice so low you barely hear it, but the weight of it settles deep in your chest.
He takes a step closer, and your breath catches when you feel itâhis exhale, warm against your skin, ghosting over your lips. His fingers brush against your wrist, the same one he had seized not long ago. A touch that lingers.
âYou have almost killed me, after all.â You watch his lips twisted in a smile youâve never seen before. And it scares you for some reason.
âStop this,â you say, firmer than you expected, yanking your hand away. You clutch it to your chest like a wound, like something fragile he might pry apart if given the chance.
Viktor tilts his head, eyes sharp with curiosity. âWhy?â
Your throat tightens. âYou know goddamn well why.â You take a step back, shaking your head, something bitter curling in your gut. âI am not your project, you dick.â
Viktorâs expression shiftsâhis smirk falters, lips parting slightly as if caught off guard. âHey, that is not what I meantââ
But you donât let him finish. You pivot on your heel, retreating towards the door, your pulse hammering in your ears. You need distance. The lab suddenly feels too small, the air too thick, charged with something neither of you were prepared for.
Behind you, Viktorâs voice follows, just a step behind. âWaitââ
You donât.
The door swings shut behind you, and Viktor is left standing in the empty lab, staring after where you had just been.
A long exhale leaves him, and he runs a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath,
âWell, damn. That backfired.â
He frowns to himself, rolling his jaw as if trying to make sense of what just happenedâof what he just did.
And for the first time in a long while, Viktor realises he doesnât have a formula for this.
#viktor arcane#viktor x reader#viktor fanfic#viktor x reader smut#viktor x f!reader#arcane#viktor smut#arcane fanfic#my writing#ao3#ao3 fanfic#viktor x oc#viktor nation#requests#tightrope
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â Only a vampire can love you forever | CH 4

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ęą
CW : dark!sevika, age gap, private school, toxic, forbidden love, mentions of blood, hopeless lesbians, TEACHER X STUDENT, porn with plot, oral sex, reader is a virgin, innocent reader, theres like a 500 year age gap, courruption, masturbation
A/N : what the sigma
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
"Caitlyn! I'm sorry!" Sevika called, striding after her down the hallway.
Caitlyn didnât stop. She didnât even acknowledge her, just turned the corner sharply, her posture rigid with anger.
"Caitlyn!" Sevika tried again.
This time, Caitlyn halted so suddenly that Sevika nearly ran into her. Then, she spun around, eyes blazing.
"My family didnât help you get a job at my school just so you could seduce my best friend," Caitlyn snapped, jabbing a finger into Sevikaâs chest.
Sevika exhaled sharply. "Listenâit wasnât planned. I just... I went too long without fresh blood, and sheâshe made me lose myself."
There was something raw in Sevikaâs voice, something that made Caitlyn hesitate, her brows furrowing.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I understand," she admitted, "but that doesnât explain you two sleeping together."
Her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Sevika hesitated, avoiding her gaze.
Caitlyn sucked in another breath, pinching the bridge of her nose, clearly debating her next move.
"I'm not gonna tell my parents," she finally said, crossing her arms. "Because I know how she feels about you."
Sevikaâs jaw tensed, but she stayed silent.
"But listen to me, Sevika." Caitlyn stepped closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Do not feed from her again. And donât even think about turning her."
She jabbed Sevikaâs chest once more for emphasis before pushing past her, making her way back to the lounge without another word.
Caitlyn stepped back into the lounge, quietly closing the door behind her.
You were sitting on the couch now, underwear back on, legs tucked under you, arms wrapped tightly around yourself. The silence was heavier than it had been before, and you didnât look up when she entered.
Caitlyn approached slowly, her heels barely making a sound on the polished floor. She sat beside you, careful not to startle you.
âHey,â she said gently.
You didnât respond at first, just kept your gaze fixed on a spot in the carpet.
âIâm not mad at you,â Caitlyn continued, her voice calm and careful. âBut I think⌠I think itâs best if you stay away from Sevika.â
You finally looked up, eyes glassy.
âSheâs not safe for you, Y/N. Not like this.â
You nodded quickly, almost too quickly. âOkay.â
But your voice was small. And your eyesâyour eyes said something else entirely.
Caitlyn noticed. She always noticed. Her shoulders softened, and she gave your hand a gentle squeeze.
âI just want you to be okay.â
âI know,â you whispered.
And though you said yes, and though you nodded like the good, obedient girl she knew you could beâyour heart was somewhere else. Still aching for someone whoâd already made you bleed.
And Caitlyn didnât say it out loud, but deep down, she knew⌠You werenât done with Sevika yet.
The ball was over. The masks were off, the polished smiles gone, and the eerie elegance of the Kiramman estate had faded into memoryâat least for now.
You stood barefoot in Caitlynâs room, the rich velvet of your borrowed cloak crumpled in the corner, replaced by a borrowed hoodie and your favorite pair of ripped jeans. Your neck still ached a little, but youâd brushed your hair over it to hide the puncture marks, even though Caitlyn already knew they were there.
âAre you sure youâre up for this?â Caitlyn asked, rifling through her closet for a jacket. She was already halfway out of her formal gown, in a tank top and plaid skirt, her hair tied back loosely.
âYeah,â you said, sitting on the edge of her bed and tapping your knee anxiously. âI could use something⌠normal.â
Caitlyn glanced over her shoulder and offered a soft smile. âWell, normal is definitely not what Iâd call a high school party. But itâs human. Loud. Probably sticky. Lots of bad decisions.â
You laughed softly. âPerfect.â
Caitlyn pulled out a cropped leather jacket and tossed it your way. âHere, that hoodie is killing the vibe.â
You caught it and slipped it on, admiring the way it hugged your frame in the mirror. âI look hot.â
âYou always do,â Caitlyn said without hesitation, applying a touch of gloss in the mirror before leaning over to spritz perfume on both your wrists. âThere. Now you smell expensive.â
You caught your reflection for a moment, the flicker of sadness still in your eyes, the memory of Sevikaâs hands on your skin not quite faded.
Caitlyn noticed, of course. She didnât say anything, but she brushed her pinky against yours.
âTonight,â she said, âwe drink cheap beer, complain about the music, and avoid any creepy upperclassmen trying to grind on us.â
You smiled, small but real. âDeal.â
As the two of you walked out the door and into the buzzing world of teen chaos, you told yourself this was good. This was better. Normal.
And maybe, for one night, that would be enough.

The house was massiveânothing compared to the Kiramman estate, sure, but still outrageously big for a high school party. It had marble floors, a winding staircase, a chandelier that probably cost more than your tuition, and speakers in every room thumping with bass-heavy music.
âThis place is insane,â you muttered as you and Caitlyn stepped through the front doors, already surrounded by clusters of people in designer fits and knock-off confidence.
âRight?â Caitlyn smirked, taking in the scene like sheâd walked into a familiar routine. âItâs one of those houses where the parents are âon a cruiseâ and somehow forgot they had teenagers.â
You followed her past a group shotgunning energy drinks and vodka, down a hallway lit with purple LEDs. The smell of cologne, weed, and perfume clung to everything.
It was chaotic. It was human. And for a second, you could almost pretend you werenât marked by something⌠other.
âLetâs grab drinks before people get weird,â Caitlyn said, already leading the way to the kitchen.
You nodded, trailing after her. The kitchen island was covered in half-empty bottles of every kind of liquor imaginable, red Solo cups stacked high, a bowl of questionable punch swirling at the center.
Caitlyn poured something clear into a cup and handed it to you. âDonât ask what it is. Just drink it fast enough you wonât care.â
You took a sip and made a face. âTastes like regret.â
âThatâs the theme of the night.â
You both leaned against the counter, sipping in sync, watching the party start to spiral. Music grew louder, someone screamed âcannonball!â from upstairs, and two guys were already arguing over aux.
But then Caitlyn glanced at youâtoo long. Too careful.
âYou havenât said anything about what I told you,â she said suddenly, her tone shifting just enough to make your stomach flip.
You blinked. âAbout what?â
âAbout Sevika.â
You stiffened, eyes flicking down to your drink. âWe already talked about that.â
âYeah, and then you got that look in your eyes like you were gonna run right back to her.â
You set your cup down, your expression hardening. âI told you Iâd stay away.â
âBut you didnât mean it,â Caitlyn said, arms crossed. âYou looked heartbroken, not convinced.â
âI didnât know I needed your approval to feel something!â you snapped, your voice rising just enough to make the music feel quieter.
Caitlyn opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say got swallowed in your frustration. You grabbed your cup and turned away.
âIâm getting a refill.â
And with that, you stormed off, weaving through the crowd, heart pounding harder than the bass.
You were in the middle of refilling your drinkâcarefully tipping a bottle of something pink and probably dangerous into your cupâwhen a voice behind you made your whole body tense.
âWell, if it isnât Miss Piggy.â
You froze.
Turning your head slowly, your eyes landed on Bellaâsame cruel smile, same designer top hugging her perfectly flat stomach, same girl who threw a paper ball at your head the first week of school and made the whole class laugh.
She hadnât changed. But you had.
âWhat do you want?â you asked flatly, not even looking at her as you continued pouring.
âOh, nothing. Just wondering how many favors you had to cash in to even get invited here,â she said with a tilt of her head. âOr waitâwas it your new girlfriend who got you in?â
You blinked. âWhat?â
âYou know, Sevika?â Bella scoffed. âThe teacher everyoneâs suddenly whispering about? Kinda weird how youâre always around her. Like, are you trying to fail your way into her lap or what?â
You slammed the bottle down, the liquid inside sloshing dangerously. âWatch your mouth.â
Bella smirked, clearly getting the reaction she wanted. âOr what? Youâll cry into your little hoodie again? Newsflash, Y/Nâjust because one person pays attention to you doesnât mean you matter.â
Your face burned.
âAt least I donât walk around like I own everyone,â you snapped. âHowâs it feel knowing no one actually likes you, theyâre just scared to be on your bad side?â
Bellaâs expression twisted. âYou really think Sevika likes you? Please. Youâre just entertainment for her.â
You pushed her.
It wasnât hard, just enough to make her stumble a step back. But it was enough.
The crowd shifted. Phones came out.
âCat fight!â someone shouted, half-laughing.
Bellaâs eyes sparkled with satisfactionâshe wanted this. Wanted a scene.
She shoved you back, harder. Your drink splashed against your shirt.
And just like that, everything boiled upâCaitlynâs warning, the blood, the lies, Sevika, all of it.
You werenât the same girl who cried after class anymore.
You werenât going to let her win this time.
Your chest heaved. Everything felt too loudâthe music, the laughter, the pounding of your heart. You could feel the heat rising up your neck, your pulse thudding wildly beneath the still-healing bite.
Bella shoved you again. âPoor little freak,â she sneered. âGo cry to your mommy.â
You didnât think.
You didnât even blink.
Your hand shot out, grabbed the empty vodka bottle from the counterâcold, slick, heavier than it lookedâ and you swung.
A sickening crack echoed through the kitchen as glass connected with the side of Bellaâs head.
She dropped instantly.
The bottle shattered in your hand, shards spilling to the floor with a soft, glittering clatter.
Blood started seeping from her scalp. She let out a choked sob, one hand pressed to her temple, the other groping blindly at the tile.
âStopâstop, I didnât even meanââ she whimpered, tears already mixing with the blood on her face.
You stood there, frozen.
Holding the jagged neck of the broken bottle, your hand trembling, little cuts already forming on your palm.
The party had gone dead silent.
All eyes were on you.
And thenâ
âHoly shit.â
Caitlyn pushed her way through the circle forming around you and came to a full stop, eyes wide, taking in the scene. Her gaze locked on the blood, the glass, your shaking hands.
âY/N⌠what did you do?â
You didnât answer. You just stared down at Bella, who was crying nowâbloody and broken on the floorâ and for the first time in your lifeâŚ
You felt dangerous.
The ride home was dead quiet, except for the soft hum of Caitlynâs luxury car and the distant thump of bass still echoing from the mansion behind you.
You sat in the passenger seat, stiff, hands still trembling in your lap. The blood on your fingers had started to dry, crusting against your skin and under your nails. You hadn't said a word since Caitlyn dragged you out the back door and into her car, barely managing to push through the panicking crowd.
Caitlyn kept glancing over, one hand white-knuckling the steering wheel.
"Y/NâŚ" she started gently, voice tight, "Iâll talk to my parents. Theyâll know what to do. Weâll keep it quiet. No police, no chargesâBellaâs family wonât say a word if mine are involved."
You didnât respond.
You just stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused, jaw locked tight.
Caitlyn swallowed. She hated when you went quiet like thisâwhen you shut down.
"You didnât mean to hurt her. You just snapped. It was the stress, the biteâwhateverâs happening to you, weâll figure it out. But youâre not a bad person, Y/N.â
Still, nothing.
You sat there, unmoving, staring into the dark road ahead like if you blinked, it would all come back. The crunch of glass. The blood. The sound Bella made when she fell.
Caitlyn looked over again, her voice softer now.
âJust⌠say something. Please.â
But you couldnât.
Because deep down, you werenât sure if she was wrong.
Caitlynâs estate was cold and quiet when you arrived. The staff had gone home for the night, and her parents were away on one of their business tripsâsome hush-hush âdiplomatic retreatâ that you were never allowed to ask about.
You trailed silently behind her through the marble halls, still in the clothes from the party, your limbs heavy with exhaustion and something else you couldnât name.
Caitlyn had offered the guest room without question. She didnât try to talk anymore. Just handed you a pair of clean sleep shorts and a T-shirt, then gave you a tight hug at the doorway and whispered, âLock the door if it makes you feel safer.â
You nodded. Said nothing.
Now you lay in the wide, soft bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was dim, moonlight filtering in through gauzy curtains. The sheets were cool against your skin, and the silence pressed in around you.
But your thoughts werenât quiet.
They flickered constantly. Not to Bella, not to the blood, not even to Caitlyn.
To her.
To Sevika.
You hated it. The way her voice lingered in your head. The way her hand felt on your skin. The way your body responded before your mind could stop it.
You shifted under the covers, pressing your thighs together.
Images flooded your mindâthe way she had hovered over you on the couch, how her mouth had felt against your neck, how close she always seemed, how hungry her eyes looked when she stared at you like you were something meant to be devoured.
Your breath hitched. You swallowed hard.
You knew it was wrong.
But that didnât stop the warmth from blooming low in your stomach.
Didnât stop your hand from sliding slowly beneath the waistband of Caitlynâs borrowed sleep shorts.
Didnât stop you from whispering her name like a secretâ
âSevikaâŚâ
Your fingers brushed lightly over your skin, hesitating for a momentâalmost like you were waiting for someone to stop you. But no one would. No one could.
Not here. Not now.
You let out a shaky breath as your hand slipped further down, into the warmth between your thighs. The fabric of your borrowed sleep shorts offered just enough friction to make your pulse quicken.
You closed your eyes.
In your mind, it wasnât your hand.
It was hers.
Rough, calloused, deliberate. Sevika never touched you like you were fragile. She looked at you like she wanted to ruin youâslowly, completely. And god, you wanted to let her.
Your hips shifted as your fingers moved in slow circles, barely teasing yourself, drawing out the tension that had been building since that night on the couch. Since her mouth had been on your neck, her breath in your ear, calling you her sweet girl.
The memory made your back arch slightly, your breath catching as you pressed a little harder, the heat building rapidly now.
You whispered her name again, softer this time, like it hurt to admit.
âSevikaâŚâ
A tiny whimper escaped your lips as your fingers moved faster, hips rocking gently against your own touch. You could almost hear her voiceâlow and commanding in your ear.
âGood girl. Just like that.â
The way sheâd looked at you, after feedingâeyes dark, lips red, still hungry. You imagined her pinning you to the bed, her hand wrapped around your throat, her mouth hot and wet between your thighs.
Your legs tensed, muscles coiling tight, your body aching for release. You bit your lip to keep from moaning too loud, your fingers moving faster, chasing the edge with desperation you couldnât hide anymore.
And when it finally hitâ
You gasped, sharp and breathless, back arching as pleasure rolled through you in waves.
It left you trembling. Empty.
But not satisfied.
Not really.
Because when you opened your eyes again, the room was still dark. Still quiet.
And Sevika was still nowhere near you.

The clinking of silverware on fine china was the only sound filling the grand dining room that morning.
Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, making the white tablecloth practically glow. You sat stiffly at the long table, a delicate porcelain plate in front of you, eggs untouched.
Across from you sat Cassandra Kiramman, perfectly composed in her silk robe, not a single brown-greyish hair out of place. Her husband, Tobias Kiramman, sat beside her in a crisp button-down, reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he scrolled through something on a sleek tablet.
Caitlyn sat to your right. Quiet. Still in pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt, sipping her tea like it was the only thing anchoring her to the room.
You didnât belong here. Not in this house, not at this table, not after what happened last night.
But Cassandra spoke before you could spiral further.
âY/N,â she began calmly, folding her hands in front of her. âLetâs talk about what happened.â
You shifted uncomfortably, your thighs sticking slightly to the leather dining chair. âI⌠I know what it looked like, butââ
âWeâre not accusing you,â Tobias cut in, voice firm but not unkind. âWe simply want to help. And to do that, we need the full truth.â
Your eyes flicked to Caitlyn, but she didnât look at you.
âY/N,â Cassandra continued, watching you closely, âwe can ensure this doesnât follow you. Bellaâs family isââ she paused delicately, âcooperative, when necessary. But theyâll want answers. And so will the school.â
You licked your lips, your mouth suddenly dry.
âI donât⌠I donât know what happened,â you said truthfully. âOne moment she was laughing in my face, and the next she was on the floor.â
Tobias raised an eyebrow slightly. âYou donât remember hitting her?â
âI didnât mean to,â you added quickly. âI just⌠blacked out, I guess.â
A long pause followed. Cassandra tapped one manicured nail against the rim of her coffee cup.
âYouâve never had an episode like that before?â she asked, her tone unreadable.
âNo,â you liedâwell, half lied. You hadnât blacked out. Not really. But it had felt like someone else had taken over. Something inside you cracked, and the next thing you knew, there was blood on your hands.
Caitlyn finally spoke, quietly. âShe was overwhelmed. Bellaâs been tormenting her since the start of the semester. The school knows that.â
Cassandra exchanged a glance with Tobias. Something silent passed between them.
Tobias finally nodded. âAlright. Weâll handle the necessary damage control. Youâll remain enrolled, but this stays off the official record. No police. No expulsion.â
Cassandraâs gaze lingered on you. âBut we expect you to be honest with us, moving forward. No more surprises.â
You nodded slowly, but you felt their eyes on you like a weight.
You knew too much. And they had no idea.
Caitlynâs bedroom door shut with a soft click, but the moment it did, she was pacing.
Back and forth.
One hand tangled in her hair, the other wrapped around her waist as if trying to hold herself together.
You sat on the edge of her bed, fingers twisted in the hem of your borrowed sleep shirt, watching her silently.
âThis isnât normal,â she muttered, more to herself than to you. âYou shouldnât have blacked out. Bite side effects donât work like that. Not unlessâŚâ
âUnless what?â you asked quietly.
Caitlyn froze, then turned to look at you. Her face was paleâmore than usualâand her blue eyes were wide with panic barely restrained.
âUnless somethingâs wrong, Y/N.â She started pacing again. âGod, what if the bite affected your brain chemistry? What if it triggered something dormant in your bloodline? What if you were compatibleâwhat if my parents find out and think weâve been hiding itââ
âCaitlyn.â
She didnât hear you.
âThey already think somethingâs off. My mom was watching you like a hawk at breakfast. And if they find out Sevika bit youâif they find out you knowâthen we are all so royally fucked.â
âCaitlyn.â
âWhat if the Kiramman Council finds out? What if they call a vote? What ifââ
âCaitlyn!â
She stopped dead in her tracks, chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
You looked up at her, voice softer now. âI'm still me. Okay? A little... off, maybe. But I donât feel like Iâm turning into anything. I donât want blood or power or to sprout wings or whatever it is youâre imagining.â
Caitlyn stared at you. âBut something is happening, isnât it?â
You looked down at the bite mark, hidden beneath your collar. It throbbed faintly, like it remembered what happened even when you tried to forget.
âI donât know,â you admitted. âI just know Iâve felt weird since she bit me. Like Iâm on edge. Like everythingâs too loud. Like Iâm too aware of everything.â
Caitlyn didnât respond. She just slowly sat down beside you, staring at the floor.
âIf my parents find out Sevika fed on you, they wonât stop at just firing her,â she whispered. âTheyâll tear her apart.â
You swallowed hard, unsure what that did to youâscared you⌠or something else entirely.
Caitlyn let out a long sigh and sank into the chair at her desk, spinning it slightly back and forth as she stared out the window. You sat quietly on the edge of her bed, fingers fidgeting with a loose thread on your sleeve, your mind racing.
âWe canât go to a hospital. We canât tell my parents. And I doubt Sevikaâs gonna give us a straight answer,â Caitlyn muttered. âI feel like weâre backed into a corner here.â
You were quiet for a moment, then suddenly sat up straighter.
âWhat if we went to the public library?â you said.
Caitlyn turned to look at you, brow raised. âThe library?â
âYeah,â you nodded. âThe one downtown. Itâs oldâlike, really old. Thereâs gotta be stuff there that doesnât show up online. Books, records, weird mythology sections. Maybe something that talks about bite effects or⌠supernatural conditions that arenât completely made up.â
Caitlyn looked thoughtful, the gears turning in her head. âMy mom always said that place was a waste of taxpayer money. That means thereâs definitely something useful in it.â
You laughed softly, and for a second, the tension eased between you.
âAlright,â she said, standing. âWeâll hit the library. Sunday hours are until six, and if we go soon, weâll beat the evening crowd of old men and overachieving middle schoolers.â
You slid off the bed, already pulling your hoodie on. âPerfect. Let me grab my bag.â
Caitlyn was already slipping on her boots. âLetâs go figure out whatâs happening to you.â
And as you both headed for the door, something in your chest stirredâanxious, scared, but just the slightest bit hopeful.
The townâs public library smelled like dust, old paper, and the faintest hint of lemon-scented cleaner. It was quiet insideâalmost unnaturally so, the kind of silence that made every page turn sound like a thunderclap.
You and Caitlyn walked side-by-side past rows of bookshelves, your footsteps muffled against the worn carpet. It was colder inside than you expected.
Caitlyn looked around and leaned in slightly. âWe should avoid the computers. If we search anything weird, the system might flag it. Letâs stick to the old-school stuff.â
You nodded, and the two of you split off, weaving through the aisles.
After a few minutes, you found a dusty, mostly-abandoned corner labeled Folklore, Mythology, and the Occult. Jackpot.
Caitlyn joined you, arms already full of oversized hardcovers. âThese were literally buried behind a shelf of forgotten cookbooks.â She set them down on the nearest table with a dramatic thud.
You slid into a seat beside her, pulling a yellowed volume toward you. âObscure European Folklore: Blood Magic and Binding,â you read aloud. âSounds promising.â
Caitlyn opened another. âTransmutation, Transformation, and Myths of the Body.â She raised an eyebrow. âLight reading.â
For a while, the only sounds were the soft flipping of pages, the occasional scribble of notes, and the distant squeak of a cart being wheeled somewhere out of sight.
âHere,â Caitlyn said after a while, tapping a passage with her finger. âListen to this: âThose who survive an incomplete vampire binding may exhibit altered temperaments, dissociation, heightened awareness, and loss of memory in states of emotional distress.ââ
Your eyes flicked to her. âLoss of memory⌠like blacking out?â
She nodded grimly. âExactly.â
You looked down at your hands, your heart sinking.
You had survived the bite. But what if it didnât just leave a scarâwhat if it changed you?
Across from you, Caitlyn was flipping to another page. âOkay, this says something about recovery. âStrong emotional anchors can reverse early symptoms. Time, distance, and purification through willpower may restore the host to baseline.ââ
You raised an eyebrow. âTranslation: donât have feelings, donât see Sevika, and hope for the best?â
Caitlyn gave a half-smile. âPretty much.â
You leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling. âThis doesnât feel like me anymore.â
She looked at you, quiet for a beat. âThen letâs figure out how to make you feel like you again.â
The sun had dipped lower by the time you and Caitlyn returned to the estate. The sky outside was awash in dusky gold and pink, casting long shadows through the arched windows. You felt heavier nowânot just from what youâd read, but from the quiet realization that something real was happening to you.
Caitlyn unlocked the door, pushing it open with a sigh. âLetâs get you something to eat, and then maybe we can go through those notes again.â
You stepped inside behind herâ
âand froze.
There, sitting calmly on the living room couch, was Sevika.
Your breath caught.
She was leaned back, ankle crossed over her knee, speaking in low tones with Cassandra and Tobias Kiramman, both seated across from her like this was some kind of scheduled business meeting.
Caitlyn stopped dead beside you. âWhat the hell is she doing here?â she hissed under her breath.
Sevika looked over the moment the door shut. Her eyes met yoursâsharp, unreadable.
But something shifted in your chest.
Pain.
A sharp, piercing pain erupted behind your eyes, so sudden and blinding it knocked the breath out of you. You stumbled backward, clutching your temples.
âY/N?â Caitlyn reached for you, alarmed.
You gasped, vision swimming.
The lights seemed too bright. Sevikaâs voice sounded warped, echoing like it was underwater. You took another shaky step back, the pain splitting across your skull like someone was driving nails into your brain.
âY/N!â Sevika stood suddenly, concern flickering across her faceâ
But everything went black before she could reach you.
Your legs gave out, and you collapsed to the floor.

The guest room had been converted into a makeshift infirmary by the time the vampire doctors arrivedâtwo tall, pale figures in sleek black suits, their movements eerily precise, their presence unnervingly quiet. They didnât ask questions. They simply got to work, examining you with instruments that looked more magical than medical, murmuring things in a language you didnât recognize.
You were still unconscious.
In the hallway just outside the room, the real storm was brewing.
âShe couldâve died!â Caitlyn shouted, her voice echoing off the marble walls. She stood between her parents and Sevika, visibly shaking, hands balled into fists at her sides. âDo you even get that? Sheâs a human, Sevika. What the hell did you do to her?â
âI didnât mean for this to happen,â Sevika growled, jaw clenched, her metal hand flexing at her side. âShe begged meââ
âDonât,â Caitlyn snapped, stepping forward. âDonât even try to blame her for this. Youâre the one with the fangs, the power, the responsibility. You knew better.â
Tobias Kiramman raised a hand between them, trying to play mediator. âCaitlynâplease. This isnât helping.â
âNo, whatâs not helping is you both standing there like this is just another boardroom meeting!â she shouted, spinning to face her parents. âSheâs in thereâbleeding, shaking, faintingâand you're acting like this is normal! Why aren't you doing something?!â
Cassandra, ever composed, gave Caitlyn a measured look. âBecause weâve known this might happen for a while now.â
The hallway went quiet.
Caitlyn blinked. âWhat?â Her voice dropped, brittle with disbelief. âYou knew?â
âWe didnât know it would be her,â Tobias said carefully. âBut⌠yes. Weâve seen it before. Rare cases. When a vampireâs bite doesnât follow the normal course. When it reacts with something in a human's blood. Itâs been documented, though not publicly.â
âAnd you didnât think to warn me?!â Caitlynâs voice cracked with betrayal. âYouâve been letting me get closer and closer to her while knowing she mightâwhat, change?â
âWe were monitoring the situation,â Cassandra said calmly. âThe moment symptoms began, we brought in the doctors. Itâs under control.â
Caitlyn laughed, but it was hollow. Bitter. âRight. Of course. You were just waiting to see if sheâd turn into a science experiment first.â
Sevika remained quiet, her gaze locked on the closed door down the hall.
She wasnât thinking about policies or protocols or damage control.
She was thinking about the way you looked before you fellâafraid, in pain, and worse⌠like you didnât trust her anymore.
The first thing you felt when you woke up was the cold.
Not on your skinâinside your bones. A chill that didnât belong, crawling beneath your ribs, whispering down your spine.
Your eyes blinked open slowly. The room was dim, the curtains drawn, and a soft hum came from some kind of device by the bed. You tried to sit up, but your head spun so hard you immediately collapsed back against the pillows.
Nausea. Pressure behind your eyes. And a faint, rhythmic pulsing deep in your chest that didnât feel like your heartbeat.
Something was wrong.
Outside, you could hear muffled voicesâCaitlyn, angry. Sevika, quiet. And then another voiceâsmooth, clinical. The vampire doctor.
ââŚSheâs awake now,â the doctor said, stepping out into the hallway. His hands were folded behind his back, pale and composed. âBut sheâs not stable. And likely wonât be for some time.â
Caitlyn straightened immediately. âWhat the hell is happening to her?â
The doctor adjusted his cuffs, then looked between Tobias and Cassandra. âYou were correct in suspecting a partial bond. The bite didnât last long enough to turn herâbut it lasted just long enough to change her.â
Caitlynâs brows furrowed. âChange her how?â
âSheâs phasing,â he said flatly. âStuck between human and vampire. The body is confused. Itâs not a clean conversion, nor a clean rejection. The bond created a link that never finished forming⌠and now, sheâs paying the price.â
Caitlynâs stomach sank. âWhat kind of price?â
âSheâs experiencing the unstable side effects of a failed transition. Nausea. Headaches. Disorientation. Blackouts. Emotional instability. Heightened aggression.â
âSheâs suffering,â Caitlyn whispered.
The doctor gave a small, slow nod. âYes.â
âWhat about Sevika?â Tobias asked, arms crossed tightly.
âShe is, unfortunately, receiving the benefits of the bond. A psychic tether was formed. She can hear the girlâs heartbeat when distressed. She can read thoughtsâthough the bonded subjectâs mind is the strongest, loudest, and most accessible. And most critically, Sevikaâs body now relies on her. She canât go too long without being near the bonded subject, or sheâll begin to weaken from blood deprivation.â
âSheâs feeding off her, and she didnât even turn her?â Caitlyn spat.
The doctor turned calmly to Sevika. âIn theory, if you had bitten her a few seconds longer, the change would have completed. But you pulled away. Just enough.â
Sevikaâs jaw tensed, her eyes shadowed. âI didnât want to turn her.â
âBut now youâve tethered yourself to her. Permanently.â The doctorâs voice dropped. âThat bond will not fade on its own. Not unless one of you dies.â
The hallway went silent.
Inside the room, you stared at the ceiling, heart poundingâand you knew, without even hearing the words, that Sevika could feel it.
âI said no,â Caitlyn snapped, blocking the hallway.
âSheâs mine, Caitlyn,â Sevika growled, her voice low and barely restrained.
âSheâs notââ Caitlyn faltered, jaw clenched. âSheâs sick. She needs space. She needs peace.â
Sevikaâs eyes glinted in the low light, the usual sharpness dulled by something far more desperate. âI can feel her.â She placed a hand against her chest, just over her heart. âSheâs hurting. And if I can feel it, that means itâs bad.â
Before Caitlyn could respond, Sevika brushed past her, the air between them electric with tension.
You heard the door creak open, but you didnât turn your head. You already knew who it was.
The shift in the air. The static crawling over your skin. The way your heartbeat kicked upânot from fear, but something else.
Sevika stepped inside quietly, closing the door behind her. You were curled beneath the sheets, pale, barely holding it together, your fingers gripping the edge of the blanket like it might keep you anchored to reality.
âHey,â she said softly, her voice a rasp, like she hadnât spoken in hours. Maybe she hadnât.
You didnât respond right away. Just watched her as she moved closer to the bed, her eyes never leaving yours.
âYou shouldnât be here,â you whispered, though your voice lacked conviction.
âI know,â she murmured, sitting at the edge of the bed. âBut I had to see you.â
You didnât pull away when she reached out, her warm, calloused hand brushing your cheek. The touch made your breath hitch.
Your skin burned where her fingers touched it.
âYour heartâs racing,â she said, almost to herself.
âYou can feel that now,â you whispered.
âI can feel everything,â Sevika breathed. âEvery time you flinch. Every time you cry. Every time you think of me.â
Your throat tightened, and the silence between you grew heavier, soaked with the weight of things left unsaid.
Her thumb traced your bottom lip. Not forceful. Just enough.
âI didnât mean to do this to you,â she said. âBut I donât think I can let you go either.â
Your eyes locked with hers. There was a hunger thereânot just for blood. For you. For the way you looked at her, even now. For the way you hadnât told her to leave.
She leaned in slowly, her forehead brushing yours, her breath warm against your lips.
âI dream about biting you again,â she confessed. âNot to feed. Just to feel you like that again. Yours. Mine.â
Your breath trembled.
Her hand slid to your waist, just resting there, like she was grounding herself.
âYouâre warm,â she whispered.
âI feel cold,â you admitted.
Sevika pulled the covers down a bit and slid beside you, one arm curling around your middle.
You didnât stop her.
You let her pull you into her chest, into that heat, into that soft place between wrong and inevitable. Her mouth hovered at your jaw, never quite kissing, but close enough that your whole body thrummed with anticipation.
It wasnât sex. Not yet.
But your body knew. Hers did too.
This was the edge of something.
And neither of you were ready to step back.
The sun filtering through the stained-glass windows of Valemont Private Academy did nothing to ease the knot in your stomach. The polished floors gleamed beneath your shoes, and every click of your steps echoed a little too loudly through the halls.
Caitlyn walked beside you, shoulder close to yours, her brow furrowed with concern.
âYou really donât have to do this,â she murmured for the fifth time, clutching her books tighter. âYou couldâve stayed home. My parents wouldâve made the school excuse it.â
âIâm fine,â you said, your voice soft but steady. A lie, maybeâbut a necessary one.
âY/NâŚâ
âIâm fine, Caitlyn.â
She didnât believe you. But she didnât press. Not here.
You approached your first classâEnglish, of courseâand just as Caitlyn reached for the door, you grabbed her wrist and stopped.
She looked back, eyes scanning your face.
âDo I look like Iâm gonna pass out?â you asked.
She smiled weakly. âYou look like you could kill someone with a pencil.â
âCool. Iâll take it.â
The two of you stepped inside.
The classroom went dead silent.
Every head turned. Whispering stopped mid-sentence. It was like someone had pressed pause on a scene.
Eyes widened. A few mouths parted like they might say something. A boy in the back leaned in to whisper something to his friend but stopped when Caitlyn shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood.
You didnât need vampire senses to hear what they were thinking.
Thatâs the girl who snapped. She hit Bella with a bottle. Did you hear she Like, lost it?
You moved to your seat like it didnât faze youâlike your skin wasnât prickling under every stare, like your headache wasnât slowly building again behind your eyes.
Caitlyn sat beside you, tense and silent, her jaw tight.
The teacher cleared his throat awkwardly at the front of the room, pretending to flip through papers. âLetâs⌠get started.â
But no one was really paying attention.
They were all still watching you.
You were no longer invisible. Not after Saturday night. Not after Sevika. Not after everything.
you werenât sure if that scared you or excited you more.
The lunchroom was too loud. The kind of loud that made your head pulse and your stomach twist. You hadnât eatenâagain. Every time you tried, your nausea flared, and now you just sat at the edge of the table next to Caitlyn, pretending the lukewarm pasta on your tray didnât exist.
Then you felt it.
That pullâlow and warm in your chest. Your heart skipping a beat in a way that didnât feel entirely yours.
You turned just in time to see Sevika at the far end of the hallway, framed in the glass of her classroom door.
She didnât motion for you. She didnât need to.
You were already on your feet.
The classroom was empty, dark except for the soft sunlight spilling in through the blinds. The air was cooler in here. Still.
You shut the door behind you.
Sevika didnât say a word. She stood near her desk, arms tense at her sides, her breath visibly shallower than usual. When she turned to face you, you froze.
Her eyes were bright red. Not glowing faintlyâburning.
âSevikaâŚâ you whispered.
She moved without speaking, crossing the room in seconds, and before you could react, your back hit the wall with a soft thud.
Her hands caged you in, planted on either side of your shoulders, her body a breath away from yours. She leaned in close, her lips nearly brushing your cheek, her nose brushing the curve of your neck.
The moment her breath hit your skin, your knees nearly buckled.
You tilted your head without thinking.
âPlease,â you whispered, voice trembling. âPlease, Sevika. Just do it.â
Her jaw clenched. You could feel the heat of her mouth hovering over your pulse. You wanted the bite. You ached for it.
Her fangs dropped. You could feel the sharp tips just barely graze your skin.
But thenâshe pulled away.
Just an inch. Then two. Then all the way.
Her hand brushed against your cheek as she wiped away a tear you didnât even know had escaped.
âIâm sorry, sweetheart,â she said quietly, her voice thick, as if it physically hurt her to speak. âI didnât mean to scare you.â
You blinked, breathless, chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. âYou didnât.â
Sevika gave you a look that said she didnât believe you.
She stepped back, rubbing at her jaw, her fangs still visible but retreating.
âI canât do thisânot while youâre like this. Itâs already too much. If I touch you again like that, I wonât stop.â
You stayed against the wall, heart hammering, your body still humming from the nearness. âThen donât stop.â
Sevika turned away quickly, shaking her head like she was trying to break a spell. âDonât say that.â
âBut I mean it.â
She looked over her shoulder at youâhaunted, hungry, tethered.
And then she whispered, âThatâs what scares me.â

Comment to be added to the taglist!!
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Feral Fears, Ch. 1
Human x Transformers fic
MTMTE/Lost Light, First Contact AU
Rating: M
Word Count: 1,004
Desc: After needing to stop off for more supplies, the Lost Light gets a strange, displeased, new passenger.
AN: Hi hi hello I hope you like this! This was the poll winner, maybe I'll do another chapter soon. If you like it let me know! I enjoy reading tags and comments on my things a lot. This one's short to kinda get me back into the swing of writing.
[Next]
âHow in the pit have we gone through this much energon so quicklyâŚ?â Yellow servos tapped rapidly against the owner's desk, glaring at the report from Ultra Magnus.Â
âIf you bothered to pay attention, you would have heard me when I said the breach in the ship had us LOSE much of our stock, as well as how quick we went through our repair supplies... We can refuel and pick up more once we hit the next stop off, but we may be stationed at the outpost longer than you'd like.â
The prime sighed. âLonger as in a few vorns or-â
âCycles. We have to wait for them to get us what we want if they don't have it.â
âSlag. Well⌠Damn. Okay, I guess we don't really have a choice- Set a course for the nearest outpost, tell the crew they're getting a⌠surprise few days of tourism to go run around and do whatever it is they please.â
â...That's not-â Ultra Magnus sighed. âThat's bound to lead to trouble.â
âYou wanna explain to everyone they're grounded to their rooms while we're parked and picking up supplies?â
Ultra Magnus sighed. âNoâŚâ
âThat's what I thought. Plot a course! Let's get moving, the ship isn't gonna fuel itself!â
â---
Legs carried them desperately, ducking and weaving along unshipped cargo and barrels of fuel.
They had to keep moving. Keep moving, keep quiet, keep running. Your lungs burned, feeling like hot embers were popping in your bronchial tubes, making them hiss and whine quietly as they flex, their feet thumping quietly, trying to run on the balls of their feet as they scurried through the shipping bay.
They had to keep moving. Keep moving, keep running, keep pushing and going, it can't stop, if they stop they're FUCKED so utterly fucked-
ââ ď¸ÂŁÂ°âŞď¸Â¤#%ÂĄÂĄÂż ~Ă&%ęĽËęŚęˇęˇďšÂĄÂĄâ
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck-
They ducked down between two shipping containers that barely had enough space that they could squeeze between, cutting down the row and looking around.
Where to go. They had to hide, running wasn't going to work, they were so much bigger, so much stronger and faster and smarter- but they could be crafty. Ohoho and could be sneaky.
âŚ.I mean they couldn't see shit but. Well. That would just be an obstacle to work past.
The organic looked around, squinting while leaning back against a crate⌠and stumbled some, feeling the massive box's frame was warped. Frowning, it looked up, and noticed a small, dark spot waaay up at the lid.
âŚ.Hole. That had a hole.
Hopefully, a hole the human could wedge itself into.
To the right, they spotted some metal palletsâŚand started climbing, grunting and huffing with effort. The makeshift knapsack weighed them down some, but they kept moving, desperate for an escape, for freedom. The fleshy's hands slip at one point and they drop, letting out a pain-filled wheeze and hearing a nasty, wet crack.
Don't think about it. Don't think about it, don't do it. Barely even slowing down, the human heaves themself up, panting. Their free hand reaches overâŚand they whine as they clench the break, sliding the bone intoâŚrelative place. It lookedâŚokay. Perfectly fine. Yes.
Absolutely. Couldn't even tell it had a staircase break.
âŚ.Time to climb again.
The human sighed and began scrabbling up, wincing and trying to ignore the obvious injury it had. They didn't have time to worry about that, and they needed to get to safety-
â^^âĄââŠâ°°°âŞď¸Â°%â
Fuck. Those fucking robots were close.
One pallet, two, three, four, six, eight-
When the organic reached the top of the pallets stack, they looked over to that crate, judged the little distance you could outâŚ
And leapt across the gap, purposefully overshooting the edge so it wouldn't miss but stumbled and landed hard, cracking their already damaged arm, letting out a yelp of pain.
â!#$â¤â¤âĄâĄÂ°â˘Â°ÂĄÂĄâ
Time to hurry. That sounded very aggressive.
Feeling along the edge of the crate, they finally found the hole⌠and blindly smushed themselves inside, falling a small distance onto a pile ofâŚsomething.
Cabling? It felt like cables, it had the outer layer of rubbery plastic��
Geez it was dark.
âŚâŚGeez it was really dark.
They heard metallic footsteps storm closer, and the little organic being covered their mouth, taking slow breaths to try and stifle the sounds of being⌠well, alive.
They stayed that way for what felt like hours, the dark slowly pressing more and more in on you, stifling and terrifying but at the same time a sanctuary, a safety net. They listened as those pedes paced about, searching, scouring, seeking them out. They heard the strange âVrr wrr chtcht chitter krr bzrtkr krrrzstâ that was their strange natural language. Aggressive tones. Still mad. They heardâŚ
âŚ.
They heard beeping. Something is getting closer, beeping is getting louder. Heard new footsteps, old ones fleeing once the shouting began. Heard the beep directly outside their cable sanctuary.
And then⌠felt movement. The crate jostled and shook, and you held your breath, waiting for the lid to be ripped off and you to be foundâŚ.
ButâŚthat didn't happen. InsteadâŚ. the crate moved. And you were moving along with it, whether you wanted to or not.
There was chatter, again. Lots of chatter. Then there was an obnoxiously loud beep near one side of the crate, another more.. blippy-beep next to that spotâŚAnd the crate moved once more, rattling a bit, before there was a hiss, a soft thud and the sound of pedes leaving.
The little human stayed in that crate. Stayed in it for hours.Â
And then there was a new noise. A louder noise. A deep, thrumming, hum, that evolved into a bone and brain rattling roar, of impossible machinery kicking in, engines revving, turbines whirling, and a feeling like, for a brief moment, their soul was pulled from their body.
When they felt relatively normal again, the human slowly peeked out from the hole in the crate, and squinted.
They had a feeling they were on another stupid ship.
#transformers x human#transformers x reader#reader insert#tf x human#tf x reader#first contact au#first contact#maccadam#squibs writes
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To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 7

Title: Hard Goodbyes and Favourite Colours
Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader
Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Mild Royalty AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn
Summary:��Nel flies home, Yuri flies back, Jungkook can't stop thinking about the other night. And you? Gods, don't even get me started.
Warnings: T, language, fluff (?), angst, reader is ~not~ okay for a chunk of this, bye bye Nel! it was nice to meet you, Yuri being the bestie she is, playful antagonism, JK thinking a lot, some photography technical words but nothing scary, reader is painting again, shocker.
Word Count:Â 4,463
Release Date: July 9, 2024. 2:00PM
A/N 1: Hi this was supposed to be released like a month and a half ago but then i went to europe and my brain was anywhere but near electronics. Anywhooo here she is, as always thanks for waiting and I'll try to be more consistent now that post vacation depression has kicked in.
Series: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six
Sometimes life works out incredibly conveniently for you, like when Nelâs flight leaves a half hour before Yuriâs gets in at the same airport.Â
But then it sucks again as your week with Nel flies by so quickly it feels like youâve had no time at all while also having so much because of all the new memories youâve both made.Â
Currently in a rideshare and airport bound, because you will be in no way okay to drive back, your grip on Nelâs hand is strangling as you take in every last second of time you can get with him. He keeps giving kisses to your forehead, nose, cheeks, mouth; anywhere he can get access to really.Â
He doesn't want this week to end just as much as you donât. Fuck this fucking sucks so much.
The driver pulls up to the terminal drop off, and you both exit. Nel grabs his bag from the trunk, now filled with little mementos from your week as well as his clothes. A pressed flower from the greenhouse, museum postcards, a doodle you did for him while he was sketching, and more, all tucked away for safekeeping. All the only physical things he can hold onto until he sees you next.Â
Walking into the airport, you make your way up to the check in desk, paperwork already in hand. Nel checks in and you request an escort pass, determined to spend every last moment together.Â
Thereâs a lump forming in your throat that youâre trying to swallow. Itâs thick, like a ball of unending peanut butter you canât get down. And your chest feels like a black hole has opened inside of it, right where your heart is supposed to be. Every second that ticks away allowing another drop of the warmth you have with him to be sucked right out of your sternum.
Painful doesnât even begin to describe this feeling.Â
As beautiful as your week was, the reality of the present is setting in, and the closer you get to his gate, the closer you are to tears. Youâre trying your best to blink them away, but you wonât be seeing him until winter break, and even then, thatâll only be for a day or two at most before you have to wait till summer to see him again. So it might as well be goodbye for those full 6 months.
It hurts. It hurts so bad to have to go through this over and over again, to have this separation from the one you love, even if itâs only temporary. Funny how temporary can sometimes feel like forever when youâre in the middle of it.Â
Funny how the concept of temporary doesnât make the gash in your heart open any less.
You donât want him to go, but you know he has too. The faster he goes, the faster he can come back to you.Â
You hate that he has to go in the first place. You just want him to stay. Please, just stay.
But he canât.Â
You reach his gate and before you know it, his flightâs being called to board and your tears refuse to stay inside any longer, the lump succeeding in its plot of victory. They spill down your cheeks in silent rivers, wet splotches on the neckline of your shirt forming as they flow.Â
Maybe theyâll create a little lake in the hole heâs leaving you with. Thereâs certainly enough of them to fill it. Something to fill the void a little until you can see him again.
Nel takes one look before scooping you into a crushing hug, a desperate echo of the one from a week ago. His own tears now staining.
âI love you so much,â he says. You donât see his eyes squeeze shut, nor do you see him memorizing your smell, as he kisses the top of your head. And his voice wobbles as he whispers, âItâs not forever, itâs just for now.âÂ
He says those words every time you two part, whether it was for a day or a year. Never goodbye or so long. Never see you later.Â
Theyâve always been a small comfort in otherwise shitty situations.Â
âJust for now,â you get out through quiet sobs, gripping onto him even tighter as you shake.Â
It takes you a couple deep breaths before you can say anything without breaking. âI love you too. Please be safe, message me when you land, and do well on your final exams.â
He smiles at that last bit, and your tears free themselves again. Youâre going to miss seeing that smile in person.
Nel pulls you in once more, tighter. âItâs always harder when my good luck charm is halfway across the world, but Iâll manage.â Your sobs stutter with a broken laugh, and youâre pretty sure his sweater is going to have tear stains on it. âI promise Iâll message as soon as I can. And Iâd wish you luck but you never need it. You always do well.â
The announcement for final boarding calls and both of you freeze in each other's arms. You donât want him to go. He doesnât want to go.
But he has too.Â
You separate only enough to kiss. Itâs messy and wet and gross, but you donât care. Itâs the last one youâll have for a while and you never want it to end.Â
But it does.Â
Nel pulls away, and you reluctantly let him. He grabs his bag with one hand, the other holding onto both of yours as he backs away until he can no longer reach. Your arms drop to your sides with the traces of his warmth on your skin.
You watch as the boarding crew welcomes him on, and he takes one look back at you.Â
You wave, mouthing âI love you.â
He mouths âI love youâ right back, and turns the corner.
You waited for Yuri at her terminal after dropping off Nel and taking fiveâokay tenâminutes to violently sob in the bathroom.Â
She took one look at your half smile and puffy eyes and smothered you in a hug. Smelling like sunshine and ocean water, it was exactly what you needed.Â
âItâs okay Sweets, youâll see him again before you know it. This year will pass by so fast, just you see,â she tells you through your whimpers, the tears having returned the second her arms were around you.
They dry sometime on the way home. It was a thirty minute ride back to school, and they fell silently for a solid twenty before you even got in.
You hate goodbyes.Â
But Yuriâs seen this three times now, and she always knew that a warm drink and junk food were in your immediate shared futures when she did. Screw healthy coping methods. It may be 9:30pm on a Sunday night, but that wonât stop you from downing a pint as you drown your sorrows in sweet, sweet cookies n cream.Â
Yuri also knows you need a distraction, so she doesnât hold back on telling you every detail of her vacation.Â
The duke from a few weeks ago had been a dud. âShit personality and even shittier sexâ according to Yuri. No consultation needed.Â
But this new guy from the Ilcalos Islands sounds promising. Heâs a Count of something she canât remember but in her words, âbig heart and even bigger dick.âÂ
That makes you giggle. And youâre happy for her.Â
âBitch, the second night he did this thing with his tongue and an ice cube and oh. my. god. I think Iâm in love. That man could do whatever he wanted to me and Iâd still say thank you afterwards,â sheâs rambling at this point and youâre mentally apologizing to the driver for having to hear all of it.Â
You, on the other hand, donât mind at all; gladly welcome it actually. You want your mind anywhere other than the present right now.Â
You donât want to start crying all over again. By the morning youâll be fine, youâll have let out everything you needed too. But between then and now, itâs a matter of mentioning the wrong words or seeing an intriguingly designed building that could trigger those pesky tear ducts.
So you listen to Yuri go on and on about this guy, all his techniques and what she hasnât been able to stop thinking about since she last saw him. His number is already saved in her phone under a very inappropriate name, but you expect nothing less from her.Â
You love her for it. For this.Â
For knowing what you need to stay afloat right now and not allowing you to throw the anchor overboard with your leg chained to the end.
You really fucking hate goodbyes.Â
Youâre staring at him.Â
Like, full on, no bars held, staring at him.Â
And Jungkookâs pretending he doesnât notice.
Youâre sitting in your chair and heâs back in his beside you at greenhouse cafe. Your half done painting of pink flowers sits in front of you, his laptop screenâs filled with this week's newly assigned âStudio Portrait Techniques 1â homework.Â
His half finished coffee on his table. An empty pastry bag on yours.
His hands on his keyboard, yours gripping a brush.
And youâre staring at him.Â
Heâs hoping itâs because this is the first time youâve seen him since Nel left.Â
But itâs probably to do with the fact that he hasnât looked at you once today. Or the fact that heâs barely spoken at all when he usually canât seem to shut up when itâs been more than 48 hours since he last saw you.Â
Because itâs also the first time heâs seen you since he was with Adaline, imaging she wasnât Adaline.
âYouâre acting weird,â you say.
âNo Iâm not,â he responds a little too quickly, eyes still focused on his computer.
Yes he is. He really, totally is.Â
âYes you are, you won't look at me and youâve barely said two words since I got here.â Well your knack for observancy is still intact.
Normally that's a good thing, but right now?
âDid I do something wrong?â
No. No you didnât.
He did.
He let his emotions get the best of him in a moment of weakness. He let himself become so overwhelmed with feelings he isnât allowed to have. He let them win for a single night.
And now if he isnât paying the goddamned consequences.Â
After that night with Adaline, Jungkook had woken up filled with regret. Heâd crossed a line he didnât even know he should have drawn in very dark, very permanent ink.
For letting himself, just for one moment, imagine what it would be like to be withâŚ
And things are harder than ever to shove down now. He canât look even look at you without thinking about it. About what he did. What he wanted.Â
Wants.
Fuck, heâs in over his head.
Jungkook forces himself to look at you, putting his years of social training and emotional masking to good use. It sure as hell came in handy during times like this.
Because you can never know.Â
He canât lose you because he's unable to get his shit together. Itâs not your fault he feels like this.Â
So he lies. Both to you and to himself, hoping it might help him believe it.
âNothingâs wrong Dali, just focused on my work is all. We got assigned a big project on Monday and Iâm planning out all my shoots.â
You look hesitant, like you can see right through his bullshit excuse that was only a half excuse because this project is massive.Â
âIf you say so,â your tone implying you donât believe him, but thankfully, you let it go and lean closer to him to see. He pretends his breathing doesnât hitch, âWhatâs the project?â
âItâs my final assignment for a class, I have to do a series of five portraits. Each one with a different style, capturing a different emotion, and they all have to be of the same subject to show the true versatility of my work. Itâs easy to make things look different when itâs different people being photographed,â he explains.
Therefore, this assignment, and all of its working parts, is huge. Heâs glad itâs due in the middle of December because itâs going to take him almost a month of planning to get it all together; backdrops, concepts, costumes, previsualization, focal lengths, props, equipment, lighting setups, etc. And then when the planning is over: to shoot, narrow down and edit.Â
But thatâs the point of it. To have the students demonstrate they know how to effectively expand on the definition of a âportraitâ instead of having one concept in mind and sticking to it.Â
âTo broaden your creative approaches to seemingly simple constructs,â as his professor would say.
He loves the way this professor does assignments. How she layers them so that not only does he learn how to shoot multi-concept ideas for the same project type, allowing him to add to his creative portfolio, but they also force him to break out of the expected conclusions for an idea and think outside the box.Â
âOh wow, that is a lot,â you say. Because you understand long running projects. 50 hour paintings donât just happen in a day. âDo you have any ideas yet?â
âYeah! I have them all already, actually,â he turns his computer towards you and you see a point by point list of summarized ideas.
- Bright and bold - happy, bright smile, colourful gels - Black and white, soft light: gel or bounce? Silk diffuser - profile with water falling on face - relieved - Focused on passion - candid, regular colour. Diffuser? Or silk flag? - Normal colour profile, stark lighting - serious, front facing body, profile facing left, no visible clothing, âregalâ _|(_*-*)>_. Flag. - Mysterious - black background, white smoke, barely visible model, lower half of face painted black, upper half white, striking purple eyes (contacts?). Flags. Gels?Â
âIâm really excited for this project,â he says, âitâs just the prep thatâs going to take a while. Getting it all mapped and planned out. Itâs mostly concepts right now.â
You nod, understanding once again. Though very different mediums, visual arts and photography are similar in many ways.Â
âAdaline going to be your model?â
It doesnât surprise him you think that, but he has no intentions of ever using Adaline for assignments or homework.Â
âActually, I⌠uhhâŚâ he trails off. Jungkookâs trying to get the words out, he is. But theyâre surprisingly difficult for some reason, and getting caught in his throat.Â
Which makes his earlier anxious state come back in full force.Â
It shouldn't be this difficult. It wonât be the first, second or fifth time heâs asked you.
Get the words out Jeon. Put on your professional face, this is nothing new.
He fails, instead, his voice comes out barely above a whisper as he says, âI was going to ask you if you would.â
You somehow hear him.Â
âMe?â you look dumbfounded.Â
âYes, you.â Heâs always used you for homework assignments before, so heâs not sure why all of a sudden this is surprising. Maybe because itâs a final assignment versus a weekly one? The effort will be greater?Â
âBut you have Adaline? I assumed that she would take up the position of model when you guys started going out.â
Oh. That makes more sense.Â
But that is one mistake he wonât be making again, because he did ask Adaline.Â
Once.
It was recent, Nel was still here and he didnât want to disturb you because of that. Plus Jungkook was just trying to get a jump on his upcoming assignments anyway, taking a page from your book.
So he asked Adaline. And she leapt at the opportunity, like he expected.
What he didnât expect, was when she essentially directed, staged, lit and posed every. single. shot. so that she would look her best.Â
All he did was click the capture image button when she said too.Â
And after the shoot, before he could even think to look at the pictures, Adaline was already there, holding his camera, going through them and deleting any picture she deemed âugly.â
He was left with less than 20 images from the shoot where he was ordered to take over 200. And she even made him switch out one of the three he narrowed down for one she liked better.Â
So no, he would not be asking Adaline to model.Â
Ever again.
âNah. Youâre a lot easier to work with because you don't care how the pictures turn out, and let me do my thing. Adaline cares a bit too much, and has to have approval on all of them before I submit.â
You snort. âSeriously? Is she that self absorbed?â a quirked brow places itself on your face to match the smirk now on your mouth.
Thatâs new.
Your tone towards Adaline has always been neutral, if not a bit sharp when he talks about her.Â
But this one? Itâs like you know her, and knew she was like that, but didnât know it was this severe.Â
Adaline is very popular...maybe you two met and it didn't go well?
It certainly sounds like you donât like her, if those six words were anything to go by. Which, he guesses they shouldnât, but he knows you well enough by now to know the difference.
And if heâs honest, that wouldnât shock him in the slightest. You two are nothing alike, and thank god for that.Â
He covers for Adaline, like any boyfriend would. Though it stings a little bit.
âSheâs just careful about what images could be leaked to the press. Canât really blame her for that.â
Your face changes minutely, as if a second of understanding passes through before you turn to go back to your painting, and mutter, âno, you canât,â placing a splash of pink on a flower.Â
He returns to his work as well, switching the portrait assignment out for a different one. He needs to get his mind off it for a while before circling back.Â
And the fact that you didnât answer him.Â
Deciding on a Design and Visual Culture assignment due next week, he dives in head first, resuming his earlier state of focus and avoidance.
Jungkookâs editing a picture when you stretch.Â
You often hunch over your work, so you try to stretch every 30 minutes or so. Your arms are in the air and he catches a peek at the nearly finished floral study.Â
Theyâre some kind of vibrant pink dangling flowers, and youâve captured the likeness of them quite well, to no surprise of his, so he goes to compliment it but you beat him to the punch.
âShots blurry.â
Jungkook does a double take at his laptop screen. Heâd spent the better part of 40 minutes editing the image and hadnât noticed that.
Because itâs not. Itâs perfectly crisp and clear.
When he looks back to you, you have a shit eating grin on your face.Â
Ah, he knows that look.Â
You love to tease him about little things like that, giving him mini heart attacks. âPay back for that first day,â you claim.Â
WellâŚ
Two can play this game, so he plays off your comment.
âOh, you're right. Thanks,â and he switches to another image.Â
Your grin falters but you recover quickly.
âNo problem.â
See, while you know how to playfully harass him about his pictures, Jungkook knows howâŚparticular you are about your colours. How they need to be labelled correctly instead of by their umbrella terms like âblueâ or âred.â Because blue or red could mean any one of the dozens of âsub colours.â
âItâs not blue, itâs cerulean,â youâd remark.Â
âThatâs not red, itâs burgundy,â youâd correct him.
Youâre always correcting him, and it makes his pants tighten a little bit every time. But thatâs on the other side of the line he does not cross anymore. A nice, big, fat, permanent, protective line.Â
Jungkook settles for a more subtle method of attack. Using this little fact and your ridiculously extensive knowledge of flowers against you.Â
He never thought the defense and attack lessons his father put him through would come in handy like this. But heâs glad for them now. It was the only time he could ever outsmart you.
He gestures to your canvas. âThose pink flowers are pretty, what are they called?âÂ
âTheir common name is Ladyâs Eardrop. And theyâre magenta.â
Hook, line, sinker.Â
He doesnât even have to try, you walk right into it every time.
âLadyâs eardrop? Thatâs a weird nameâŚdo they come in other colours besides pink?â
You donât look up as you reply.Â
âMagenta, and yeah. Some are plum and magenta, some are a buttery white and magenta, and then some have this like, almost dark tangerine hue, but theyâre a different type, longer. Not the same as those,â you point with the end of your brush to the greenhouse, where the fully magenta ladyâs eardrop sits in the window.Â
âAnd are these pink ones your favourite?â heâs really trying his best to keep a straight face as yours contorts with an eye twitch at every use of the word.
âTheyâre. Magenta. And sure, but the plum ones are pretty too.â
âNoted, the pink lady's eardrop are your favourite among eardrops.â
You break, turning to him, voice raising in minor annoyance. Jungkook bites his cheeks to keep a smile at bay.
âThey are magenta. Not pink. Pink entails a lighter hue, thereâs more titanium white in pink. That,â you point again, âis very clearly, magenta.â
He has to.Â
He canât help it.Â
Youâre sexy when you're assertive, he thinks. Tip toeing on that nice, big line.
But also hilarious.Â
âSame difference.â
He can see the fire in your eyes blaze.
âNo, not âsame difference,â theyâre magenta!â
Heâs leaning in. âPink,â eyeing your lips as you speak.Â
You lean in too, enunciating every syllable to prove your point. âMa-gen-ta.â
Your noses are mere inches from touching.Â
âTheyâre pink, Van Gogh,â he backs off before he does something stupid that heâll regret, âDonât get so invested.â
You back off too, sass still very evident when you reply, âTheyâre fucking magenta, asshat. Two completely different colours and youâll label them as such around me.â
Youâve always had a mouth on you. One you arenât scared to use when necessary, especially around him. So he doesnât push any farther, knowing heâs already gotten what he wanted and then some.Â
But also because sitting has become slightly uncomfortable. There was a stiff breeze, he tells himself.
Thank god for baggy, oversized hoodies.Â
Returning once again to his work, he puts an elbow on the table and places his hand on the left side of his face to hide the massive smile thatâs trying its best to turn into a smothered laugh.
Unfortunately for him, he lets his Princely guard down around you and so he forgets to force it down to an uncomfortable degree like he would at the palace. His laugh slipping out as a strangled noise and he quickly turns it into a cough, hoping you don't notice.Â
But you do, because itâs you. Of course you do.
And the look on your face is priceless.
âYou did that on purpose!â
âWhat?â he says way too high pitched. âNooo, I would never, one hundred percent intentionally, say pink just to get back at you for pointing out the non-existent blur in my perfectly clear picture.â
He can see you trying to control your features, can see you failing and giving up by facing your canvas again, smiling to yourself.
âI was wondering how many times I could get you to say it. I think that was somewhere around ten? Gotta be a new record.â
You roll your eyes at him, but your quirked mouth remains.Â
âYouâre such a dick,â you quip.
âYet, you like me anyways.â
You mumble something incoherent.
âWhat was that?â
âNothing.â
âAwe, câmon now. Fess up.â
A pause, before, âI said I just remembered I donât know your favourite colour.â
No you most certainly did not, but heâll let it slide.
âBlack.â
âUgh, boring.â
âWhat?â
âBoring,â you say again with absolutely no hesitation and proceed to grace his eyes with your own. âAnd technically not a colour. Blackâs a shade.â
Jungkook offers up a non-smothered chuckle, saving his throat from further shenanigans.
âWhatever, Seurat, itâs still black. What about you? Whatâs Miss High and Mighty All Knowing of Coloursâ favorite?â
âItâs still a shade,â you repeat.
âItâs still my favourite. Answer the question,â he presses.Â
You give him an unimpressed stare.Â
âViolet. Royal violet. The one your dad wears a lot,â your expression softens to one of wonder as you continue. Like you didn't just refer to the King of the nation you live in as âhis dadâ so casually. âAnd when itâs not that, itâs this bright yellow. Like sunflowers or daffodils. Or the colour leaves turn in the fall when the light hits them from above just right.â
Itâs Jungkook's turn to stare now. You look lost in your own head, envisioning the colours you describe, seeing them dancing in your eyes. And he canât help himself, you glow when you speak about something you're passionate about.
âWhy two?âÂ
âWhy not?â you answer, still dreaming, colours swimming in oceans of thought. Your voice is almost whimsical. âDonât you get bored of one colour for too long? Itâs nice to switch things up every now and then.â
His reply brings you back down to earth, albeit slowly.
âRed.â
âHmm?â you touch ground.
âIf you wonât accept black, then red. The rich dark one, like blood.â He chose the first colour that came into mind, not really caring which one.Â
He did like red. Red looked good in many ways. On cars, clothes, lips...
But he chose the first one that popped into mind because after hearing your favourite colours and the reasons why, he started to like them more than all the others too.
âRedâs a great choice, strong,â you say, allowing him the blanket term just this once.
âThanks.â
Thereâs a moment of comfortable quiet between you before you break it.
âWhen do you need me for the shoot?â
Jungkookâs eyebrows find his hairline.Â
That was a yes, right? Youâre saying yes?
âUhmâŚsoon, Iâll let you know the specifics when I do.â
âSounds good.â
He was going to leave it at that, but adds, âThanks, Y/N.â
He hasnât said your name since the assembly.Â
Always nicknames when talking to you. Always.Â
Never your name.Â
Not once in two months. Almost three.
Youâ
An inhale.
YouâŚlike it.
The way it sounds coming from his lips.
Exhale.
Chapter Eight: Photo Shoots and Blasphemous Discoveries
A/N 2: She's shorter but chapter 8 is like 11k so far, so I hope that makes up for it!
A/N 3: As always, Thank you for reading, loves. Xoxo - Yoon <3
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#jungkook smut#jungkook x reader#jungkook x you#jungkook x oc#jeongguk#jeon jeongguk#jungkook au#jungkook college au#jungkook fanfic#jeon jungkook#bts#bts imagines#jungkook imagine#bts fic#jungkook x y/n#bts jungkook#jungkook scenario#bts au#bts smut#bts x reader#bts x you#jungkook fluff#jungkook angst#bts fanfic#jeon jungkook x you#jeon jungkook x reader#jeon jungkook x oc#jeon jungkook x y/n#yoon writes#TWWWBAATTA
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found you - ch. 6 (part II)

pairing: gojo satoru x female oc (ara natsuna)
tropes: psycho! rival! athlete! yandere! gojo x introvert! smart! rbf! oc
warnings: 18+ only, stalking/possessive themes, profanity, coercion, pet names (kitten, baby), sexual themes, gruesome/violence, physical assault, thereâs probably more but i canât think of it all at the top of my headâjust be warned & pls if thereâs anything that makes u even slightly uncomfortable pls do not proceed truly
word count/plot: [16.5k!] ara catches gojoâs attention when news breaks that she is the top academically ranked student in their grade. he is ranked second. he tries to befriend her but she ignores him. despite her obvious disinterest, his obsession beginsâŚ
a/n: hiii sorry for the delay folks but part 2 is out now ;) happy reading
ch. 1 , ch. 2 [ part 1 | part 2 ] , ch. 3 , ch. 4 , ch. 5 [ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 ], chapter 6 [ part 1 I part 2 ]

The pain was blinding. Black spots lined his vision. Blood dripped down his brow as he attempted to open his eyes. His vision blurred as he tried to focus on his surroundings.
He grunted, trying to straighten his back only to realize he was tied to a chair. His wrists tied to the armrests and his ankles tied to the chair legs.
He could barely react, everything hurt. His head was pounding.
âOh! Youâre up.â
He glanced around and realized he was in Araâs room. He couldnât find the owner of the voice but he spotted a bloody pipe wrench on her desk. His pipe wrench that he kept in the garage.
Suddenly a tall, built boy entered his line of sight. He was dressed in all black, down to his black gloves. He was pale with the lightest hair heâd ever seenâit was nearly white. His eyes were quite the brilliant blue, it was unnatural how they seemed to glimmer like crystals in the dark.
He tilted his head, âRemember me?â
His head throbbed, causing him to groan. The side of his head hurt so bad it felt like the pointed edge of a metal cube was trying to embed itself into the left side of his skull.
He spit out blood as he replied through a gasp, âFuck are you?â
The boy frowned, âAw, I was hoping you remembered. Ara told me you once did but-â he tapped his own temple, â-your heads probably all messed up right now so I canât blame ya.â
He groaned as another painful throb passed through his head.
The boy appeared unbothered, merely gazing around the room withâŚlonging, was it?
Whatâs wrong with this piece of shit? Whatâs he want with me?
The boy was staring at Araâs bed when he yelled, âThe FUCK DO YA WANT FROM ME?â
The boy laughed boisterously, tilting his head back as he did so, âSo loud. Donât you wanna know who I am first?â
He glared, only to wince when his head pounded once more. It hurt so bad. He felt warm blood trickling down his neck as he heaved.
âNo?â The boy smiled, âAlright then, you can answer my questions first.â
The pain was making it hard for him to think. He dropped his head, trying to focus on evening out his breath so he could do something to get outta here but Christ he just wanted to close his eyesâŚ
The boy grabbed his chin and forced his head back up, âAht, aht. Chin up.â
âFuck you.â he hissed.
âThis is your daughterâs room, isnât it? Have you even been in here since she left? Looks the same.â
âSheâs missing.â he spat.
âWell she left you before that.â
âExcuse me?â he growled.
The boy picked up a picture frame on her nightstand. It was a picture of him holding Ara when she was a baby, her mother had taken the photo. âDid you leave everything as it was hoping sheâd be back?â
He was feeling too much pain to respond. All he could do was watch the boy stare at the photo before gently setting it back down.
âI was the same,â A grin broke out across his lips, âtil I crashed out.â
Whyâs he acting like he knew my daughter?
He picked up Araâs only stuffed toy, a small battered sheep that was once fluffy but had gone through the washing machine too many times.
âDo you even know where she went when she left?â
According to the cops, sheâd lived with one of her high school friends. A boyfriend, at that. Heâd been so disappointed that he hadnât even bothered to ask who. His daughter had become a whore.
The boy tossed the sheep back onto the bed. He clenched his teeth, he hated that he was touching his daughters things.
His bright blue eyes snapped to his, âDo you?â
There was something so off about the look in the boyâs eyes he decided to answer, âShe lived with someâsome boy.â He spat out some blood that had trickled down his lips, âStupid whore.â
Suddenly the boy was directly in front of him, his hand shoving back the top rail of the chair, making the chair tilt backward. The abrupt action wasnât good for his head.
âShe's not a whore.â If heâd thought there was something wrong with his look earlier, it was nothing compared to now. There was a feral glint to his eyes that was downright psychotic despite the cold sense of control in his words.
He let go of the chair, causing it to fall forward and make his head bob as the chair fell back in place. The rough action made his head pound in pain, he felt more hot blood spill down his cheek. He made a choked sound as black spots clouded his vision.
The boy stood behind him. His voice came from somewhere above his right ear as he outstretched an arm to point at Araâs bed, âI took her virginity on that bedâright under your nose.â
Red hot anger pulsed through him but before he could speak his head was yanked back by a fistful of his hair, making him yell in pain.
He spoke into his temple, âShe only put out for me, cuz sheâs mine.â
He went on, âShe was a good girl, and a good daughter.â
His head was suddenly shoved forward. His wound throbbed, he felt more blood gushing down his scalp. The pain was making him dizzy.
Through his hazy vision he spotted the boy circle around him, âAnd you hit her anyway..â
The boy tapped his bound hand, his index finger skimming his knuckles, â..with these hands..â
â..these legs.â Suddenly he viciously kicked one of the chair legs, sending the chair reeling. He was certain it was going to fall over but somehow it managed to stay upright. His head had swung around so harshly he was going to puke from pain.
âF-fuck!â he cried out.
The boy looked him up and down, âYouâre making such a big mess.â
There was a trail of blood on the floor, in the places that his chair had been swung around.
âLetâs go somewhere else.â He grabbed the back rim of the chair and swiftly began to drag him out of the room.
He yelled, the tilted angle and rough movement of being dragged around only made the pounding in his head worse. He couldnât keep his head still.
Finally the chair was pulled still, making him sigh in reliefâuntil he was kicked down the stairs.
He screamed, the pain of bouncing down each step was brutal in its intensity. It felt like a bullet piercing through his skull with each jerk of his head.
He was certain he was going to die when the floor by the bottom steps was inches away from his face only to be yanked still.
He gasped, turning back to see a menacing grin on the boyâs face. He was holding the back rim of the chair with one hand, âNot yet, old man.â
He dragged the chair to the kitchen, only to spot the array of kitchen knives neatly spread out on the counter. The toolbox that he kept in the garage was there as well, including his drill.
Fear exploded in his gut.
The boy precariously tossed the bloody pipe wrench in the air before setting it down alongside the arranged tools and knives.
âShe cared about you a lot, yâknow.â
His fear almost made him forget who he was talking about. He watched the boy pace around, overlooking the laid out tools.
He picked up the mini cordless electric chainsaw.
His throat instantly went dry.
The boy wasnât looking at him as he spoke, merely testing the weight of the saw in his hand, âShe drove by here to check up on you.â
His blue eyes zoned in on him, âEven though you beat the shit out of her.â
Dread rushed through him, louder than the pain. If he was going to die, so be it. But he wasnât going to let this shithead tell him what to do with his daughter. Yet the longer he looked at him, a sense of familiarity brewed within himâŚ
âI only hit her when she deserved it.â he seethed.
For the first time he saw true anger spark in the boyâs eyes, âOh yeah? What did she do the night she ran away from you then?â
âShe liedâjust like her fuckinâ mother. She lied about there being a fucking robber the night I got busted up so I had to show her what happens to liarsââ
In the blink of an eye the boy was right in front of him, his hand squeezing the life out of his throat, âNo. You had a breakdown because of your ugly fucking face and chose to lash out on her.â
âYou knew she wouldnât fight back..â He squeezed his neck harder, âcuz she never fights back with you.â
His eyelids twitched. He felt the air leave his body and began to thrash. Choked noises left him as he tried to swing his neck out of his grasp. Just before his vision went black, the boy let go.
The boy leaned towards him, placing his hand on the back rim of the chair, âDo you remember who the robber was?â
âThere was a no fucking robbber.â he spat hoarsely, âIt was you.â
A bright smile bloomed across his lips, âThatâs right.â
He let go of the chair and took a step back. He turned the saw on and held it close to his face.
He screeched, jutting back and sending the chair flying backwards. He groaned as his head hit the floor. The pain thundered through his skull..
The sound of the saw turned off and all that filled the house was the sound of his bright boyish laughter.
Once he blinked away the spots in his eyes, he looked up to see the boy standing over him. The boy's face looked upside down from his view.
âI shouldâve fucked your face up more.â
Suddenly his foot was on his face, pressing down so hard he had to scream. The pain was excruciatingâ
âAHHHH!!!â
He began to grind the heel of his foot until a disgusting âcrunchâ resounded under his shoe.
âOh?â
He raised his foot to see the manâs nose had combusted. Pieces of bone could be seen within the mush of blood.
He smiled, âThere we go.â
He pulled the chair back upright. The man coughed out blood, his eyes struggling to regain focus through the pain.
âF-fuck you.â he gurgled out.
He patted his shoulder, âYou wouldâve died that night if she didnât stop me.â
He sauntered in front of him, âYou also wouldâve died the night she came crying to my doorstep.â
A chuckle suddenly escaped him, âWhyâs death always involved every time I wanna see you?â
He couldnât answer, merely heaving from pain as blood spilled down his face. His mouth was full of blood.
The boyâs back was to him as he faced the kitchen counter. He watched his arms move as if picking things up and setting them down, âI helped her put on lotion every night cuz she was so worried about her skin scarring.â
He turned around with a drill in his hands, âBut what about the ape who gave her those scars?â
He shook his head, âYou were barely twenty minutes away but I couldnât do shit cuz she would get mad at me.â
He shrugged, âLooks like sheâs not around to stop me anymore.â He took a step towards him.
His eyes widened, âWait! Wait-â he sputtered through the mess on the face.
âWait what.â he snapped as he stood before him.
He watched the old man cough out clumps of blood with disgust, âI didnât want us to meet like this either.â
âI always thought Iâd meet you sometime before I put a ring on her. I wanted to pretend to ask for your blessing and then rub in your face how happy I would make her.â
He used the tip of the drill to tilt his chin up, âI wanted to send you the wedding video, so you could watch her smile and laugh and cry happy tearsâand feel like the fat fucking loser you are.â
Her Dad shook his head, making more blood pour from his nose, âP-please-h-hold on, youââ he breathed haggardly, âyou want to marry my daughter?â
He felt a low thrum in his chest as he swallowed. He answered flatly, âYes.â
âS-she wants to?â Another chunk of nose slid down his face, âMarry you?â
He grinned bitterly, âI didnât get the chance to ask.â
It was hard to tell with all the blood on his face, but he seemed to be confused, âI-I donât get it. Where is she then? She didnât send you?â
âNo.â his voice was crisp, âI came here myself. The last time I saw her was at graduation, just like you.â
The old man appeared zoned out.
He went on, âYou left after her speech. Why?â
âC-cuz I thought she was talkinâ about meâŚshe was all donât ever let anyone tell you what to do and I thought she was shittinâ on me.â
He couldnât help but laugh, âYou donât know your daughter at all, do you?â
He tilted his head, âShe never said a single bad word about you, not one. Not until the day you almost beat her to death and even that I had to force outta her.â
He pressed the drill to his throat, âThatâs how much she cared.â
There was a moment of silence before tears began to shine in the old manâs eyes. He shook his head, sobbing.
It was a low, broken soundâhis sobs. One that the old man never let anyone else hear. His shoulders sagged, the tip of the drill digging into his neck.
As the man sobbed, he couldnât help but smile smugly. It was the first emotion heâd seen on the oldie that wasnât anger.
âLetâs hope she still cares enough to show up to your funeral or else you died for nothing but my enjoyment.â
The drill turned on.

It was vile.
The body hung from the living room ceiling fan. The tightly knit rope made the 47 year old manâs neck deep purple from blood loss. His neck was also bent at an odd angle, one that shouldnât be naturally possible unless your head snapped.
He was shirtless, his stomach and chest marked with various colored bruises and deep cuts. It was obvious the murderer used the neatly arranged house tools/utensils left on the counter to beat this guyâand all of them were caked in blood.
His limbs were cut off-both of his arms from elbow down, as well as his legs from knee down. The wounds were cut at a jagged angle and left a copious amount of dark purplish red blood on the floor. He could only pray that the murderer cut off his limbs after he was dead.
Upon a closer inspection, the manâs eyes were drilled in, leaving ground out, chunks of blood on his face where his eyes shouldâve been. The manâs nose appeared crushed in, the white bone of his nose was visible through the crusted blood surrounding it.
There was a wound on the side of the manâs head that looked absolutely lethal. One side of his skull was caved in, completely ravaging his ear. The blood that had seeped from the wound seemed to cover the entire left side of his body. It mightâve been the final blow, if the old man was lucky.
The manâs back was a sight to see. Atop the rainbow of harsh, wide-spread bruises was letters. Letters that were burnt into his skin by a fireplace poker that was left carelessly within the puddle of blood on the ground. The words carved into his back statedâ
Last words: Iâm sorry Ara.
His mind couldnât even formulate the right questions due to how struck he was by the sight before him. Grotesque would be too light of a word.
Vile. The person who did this had to be vile.
âDetective.â He glanced over to see his partner, Inanna, approach him. âThey found remnants of his arms and legs in the fireplace.â
She stopped beside him, assessing him for a moment, âYou okay?â
Sheâd told him the scene was gory but this gory? It didnât feel right at all. Yes, a person could hate someone but this, this was hatred to an atrocious degree. If it was even hatred at all that fueled thisâŚ
He was certain this stench was going to stay with him for a while.
He ran a hand over his mouth. He needed to focus.
âAra is his daughter right?â
âYes, sheâs been missing for about 9 months now.â
He remembered how widespread the search for her had been. Itâd reached national news at a point due to a rich government related backer. They hadnât let go of her case for months. And yet there was still no sign of her.
Heâd been a detective for about 26 years now, not much scared him in life but this⌠this entire thing felt ominous. Heâd barely dipped his toe into the case and yet the energy of this house, the murder felt off to an almost demonic degree.
He could smell the media and conspiracy theorists from a mile away.
Whoever was in this room, torturing this man had enjoyed it. It was clear from the way the homely tools turned weapons were laid out nearly upon the counter. It was as if heâd arranged them like that because he/they wanted to use them allâlike a little experiment and he had.
There was no regard of keeping anything hidden either. The fireplace poker was left in plain sight, leading them straight to the victims limbs.
It wasnât a first time killer either. Not from the way Mr.Natsunaâs home surveillance cameras were all jammed and the data from them all cleanly deleted and removed. There was no sign of forced entry.
It was oddâthe combination of carelessness yet thoroughness. But out of all of this, one thing was clear.
This killer wasnât scared.

Quite a bit of people showed up to his funeral, to Gojoâs surprise. It probably had to do with the media attention on the case versus actual care for the guy.
Most of the attendees were just work colleagues that the old man didnât even have in his phone contacts. Yet theyâd all told the media their account of him, none of them strayed far from âgrumpy, kept to himself old manâ some even mentioned stories of him talking lovingly about his daughter which he couldnât help but doubt.
Regardless, the media coverage was perfect especially if it reached the target audience.
He sat a good distance away on a bench in the cemetery, watching the preceding. It was a whole bunch of old people, paying respects and pretending to care. Media outlets sat outside the cemetery fence, snapping pictures and waiting for a chance to talk to the attendees.
The media was just dying for a crumb about the case, but little did they know none of those old head co-workers knew a single thing about Mr.Natsunaâs true nature.
He watched the funeral attendees disperse and head on and home, the media following soon after. It was laughable how enraptured the public was by the case. Everyone found it so mysterious.
His favorite theory on the internet was that Ara came back and killed her father.Â
She most certainly shouldâve.
The sky was beginning to darken, itâd been hours since the funeral ended. Many people had come and gone since then, leaving flowers at loved ones gravesites and yet no one stopped at Mr. Natsunaâs grave.
It was getting colder. A cloudy fog slowly wafting over the tombstones. The hum of harsh winds passing making leaves and trees rustle in the distance.
He knew he should leave but he didnât want to. He had a few more ice cream bars in his coat pocket to keep him company.
As well as a thousand ghosts.
It should be eerie, he supposed, to reside in a graveyard for so long but he felt nothing. The silence felt comforting, even in the presence of so much death. He almost respected it.
A stronger gust of wind howled past him, making his hat fly off and hair ruffle up with the wind.
Just as he stood to retrieve his hat he spotted someone approaching Mr.Natsunaâs grave. It was a smaller figure, with a bouquet of white flowers in their hand. It was hard to tell who it was due to the black mesh fascinator hat they wore.
Everything was similar. The height, the gait, the lengthy hair. His pulse thrummed with hope.
He circled around her from a distance, trying to assess her completely as she bent down to place the flowers beside his tombstone.
Then suddenly she fell to her knees and began to cry. The sound of her cries was so similar to Araâs he nearly froze in place.
As he silently approached from behind her, he noticed something was off. The woman was older, he could tell from the skin of her hands flat against the ground. The veins and slightly wrinkled skin was unlike Araâs smooth hands.
âAre you okay, Miss?â
She quickly turned her head up, and the similarities nearly made him gape.
It was Araâs mother. Heâd seen pictures of her when she was younger but goddamn she was pretty as hell. Ara was nearly her carbon copy.
Heâd told James to keep tabs on her for a while now. James would update him whenever she travelled to different countries, just for the sake of potentially finding Ara but it seemed James didnât know she was back in America.
Last he heard, she was in Germany.
She blinked away her tears, âYes, Iâm sorry. I didnât realizeâŚâ she stood up while delicately dabbing at her face with a handkerchief, âanyone else was here.â
He shook his head, âI didnât mean to interrupt.â
âYouâre fine, dear.â She barely looked old enough to be calling him âdearâ unlike her husband. She looked 35 at most.
She glanced over at him and he couldnât find it in himself to break his stare. Is this how Ara is gonna look like at 35? Am I ever gonna be able to see that?
It hit him like a truck when he realized how badly he wanted to see that. How badly he wanted to grow older with her. How badly he wanted to see her at every stage of life. How badly he wanted to change with her.
He didnât want to be without her.
She blinked, her long lashes flutteringâAraâs eyes had the same exact shape, âDid you know him?â
He belatedly realized she was referring to her husband. He briefly glanced at his tombstone, âNo.â he lied, âI was actually visiting someone else.â
âOh.â
He watched her stare at the old manâs grave more somberly than before.
âWho is he to you?â he asked, as if he didnât know.
âMy husband,â she responded before adding, âMy first husband.â
âOh.â James hadnât updated him at all apparently.
âI got remarried a year ago, to a school friend but⌠I never got the chance to properly say goodbye to him.â
She spoke confidently despite the waver in her voice. The regret was evident in her eyes. Her eyes were just the slightest bit lighter than Araâs.
âIâm sorry.â
She shook her head, âDonât be. I did this to myself.â
A small pained smile appeared on her lips, âItâs not a lie when they say you canât run away from your problems, but thatâs all I ever did.â
âWhy?â
She glanced over at him, silently assessing him for a moment before responding with a touch of forlornness, âIt felt like the safest option for me at the time.â
Her eyes dropped somewhere low, âBut I neglected someone I shouldnât have.â
There was something about the way she spoke that was inexplicably compelling. Something about her composure felt almost⌠tranquil, as if sheâd already endured all the hardships of life.
âWho?â
âMy daughter.â
âWhatâs her name?â he wanted to hear her say it.
âAra.â
âThatâs a pretty name.â
She nodded, âShe wouldâve been about your age now.â
He hesitated, âDid she.. also pass?â
She shook her head abruptly, âNo, sheâs missing.â
She suddenly turned to him, her gloved fingertips hovering over her lips, âOh I shouldnât be oversharing like this-â
âNo, please. Donât stop. I need a distraction,â he insisted, âPlease.â
A slight laugh left her, âI hardly think talking about my family will be a happy distraction.â
âIâm not looking for happy, I just wanna hear something honest.â
She appeared stricken before her gaze softened, âIâm not sure what else I could tell you.â
âTell me about your daughter.â
A little sad smile flickered across her lips, the expression reminded him so much of Ara it hurt.
âI wish I could.â she responded gently, âbut I barely knew her myself, I was too absorbed in my own head to care about her the way I shouldâve. I pushed her away when she needed me the most.â
She blinked away the tears collecting in her eyes, âMotherhood isnât something that came naturally to me. I was married but I wasnât ready to have her. We both werenât.â
She glanced at the tombstone, voice soft, âI didnât protect her.â
His jaw clenched. His voice came out flat, âWhy?â
âBecause I was weak.â she admitted, before shaking her head, âEven she was stronger than me. She knew I wasnât okay, she begged me⌠to do what I needed to do. She was even ready to drop out of school and work to keep us afloat but I-I wasnât ready. I was too scared, too heartbroken. I had to act on my own.â
âShe was the smartest girl.â She pressed a gloved hand to her brows, âI donât know how she was mine.â
He was zoned out.
She gracefully wiped away her tears, âOf course I realized this all too late. I just hope sheâs free now.â
âFree?â
âYes, free.â
He took in her side profile. Her puffy under-eyes, her fatigued gaze, the undeniable set of resilience to her jaw. It was the look of a mother who believed in her daughter, despite all odds.
He wondered if his mother ever believed in him this much. If she were alive, would she regret her actions too?
âIf you could say something to her nowâŚwhat would you say?â
A fresh stream of tears glistened in her eyes, âI would tell her so much. I would tell her everything I shouldâve told her before. I would hold her-God,â she broke down in tears, âWhat I would do just to hold her.â
She sobbed, âI just want to hold her and never let go.â
Me too.
As she struggled to compose herself, she reached into her purse. He assumed she was going to get another handkerchief or such but instead she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
She handed it to him.
âThatâs her.â
He stared at her missing poster. The poster that heâd posted everywhere in California, even personally handed out to countless people at a point.
She pointed at her picture.
âIf you see her, report it immediately.â her voice sounded distant.
He stared at her picture, as if he didnât pick it.
âDonât forget it.â her tone firm.
âI wonât.â
I canât.

She sets down the coffee cup, looking at the screen as she does so.
âOrder 43!â
Suddenly she feels a hand clasp over hers, making her gasp.
She glances over to see a tall, white-haired male. Heâs rather pale and has the sharpest jaw sheâs ever seen. Thereâs a shadow of darkness under his eyes and hard set to his lips.
Despite his unearthly looks, it wasnât that that made her gasp. It was how cold his hand was.
She immediately slides her hand off of the cup, unable to formulate any words.
Heâs staring at her. His eyes the most riveting shade of blue, it almost feels as though heâs compelling her. Thereâs something brewing in his eyes, she can tell he wants somethingâalmost ruthlessly so.
But then his gaze wavers, something akin to dismay flashes through his eyes. He glances away.
âDĂŠsolĂŠ.â he mutters in French but she hears the touch of an American accent in his tone.
He takes a hold of his coffee and turns around. She watches him stalk out the cafe, his trench coat fluttering in his wake.
Once heâs out of sight, she turns around and presses a hand to her chest. Her heart rate was spiraling out of control.
Her co-worker touches her shoulder, âTu vas bien?â
She quickly faces her, âVous avez vu ça?â
âOui... c'ĂŠtait bizarre.â
She canât shake the ominous feeling whispering along her skin, âC'ĂŠtait.â
(a/n: pls feel free to use DeepL or google translate to translate the french to english)

He throws the coffee cup into the trashâa little too viciously, it seems, since a nearby passerby flinches.
He glances down at his hand that touched the baristaâs hand with a frown. It wasnât her. It wasnât her. Their sparkless touch confirmed it.
But why did she have to look so much like her?
He raked a hand through his disheveled hair. Suddenly his mind blanksâ
âHere.â She set a mug on his desk.
He glances up from his laptop before reaching towards her just as sheâs about to walk away. He tugs her onto his lap.
âWhatâs this?â
Her familiar scent wafts over him as she flips her hair over her shoulder. âI made you a coffee.â
He keeps a hand on her waist while reaching over for the mug, âReally?â he asks, elated.
âYeah, I made too much.â she mutters.
He takes a sip before his eyes widen, âItâs sweet.â
âI added more creamer in yours.â
The corner of his lips curl before he tugs her smaller frame tight against his chest. He nuzzles the crook of her neck, âYou love me.â
She squirms as he peppers a trail of kisses down her neck to her shoulder. Her laughter makes his heart pound faster.
She cups his face in her hands, âStop.â She was always too ticklish to take his kisses.
âYou love me.â he repeated with a satisfied smile.
Her eyes narrow as she searched his face. She couldnât deny it. Not after her confession last week. He couldnât stop thinking about it. She loved him.
Everytime he thought about it he felt high. This beautiful girl in his arms loved him. After everything theyâd been through together, it felt so right. It felt more than right. It felt perfect.
She sighed, âHow do you manage to fit that into every conversation.â
âBecauseeee itâs true.â
âDid I ever say it wasnât?â
He pouted, âNo.â
âThen stop embarrassing me.â
âHowâs it embarrassing?â
âBecauseâŚâ she reddens, shifting on his lap, âIt just is.â
He presses his forehead to hers, âLoving your boyfriend isnât embarrassing.â
âI-I know butâŚâ
âBut what?â
Sheâs not meeting his eyes, merely staring down at her hands on his chest. A light flush on her cheeks.
âBut nothing.â she mumbles.
His hand tightens around her nape, tilting her head up to face him, âI thought you were over being embarrassed about us.â he deadpans.
Her eyes widened, âI am! Itâsânot that.â
âThen?â
âI justâIâve never said that to anyone before and you keep bringing it up. It makes me-â her flush deepens as she hesitates, âIt makes me shy! Okay?â
He grins before slipping his hands under her shoulders and picking her up so that sheâs now facing him, with her thighs straddling him.
He places his hands on her hips, his fingers sneakily slipping under the hem of her shirt as he stares up at her.
He licks his lips as he looks her up and down, âI still make you shy?â
She looks like an affronted kitten and he can't help but grin wider.
Just as she attempts to shuffle off his lap he uses his hands on her hips to keep her in place. He leans forward, speaking against her neck, âIâve never said it to anyone else either, you know.â
He feels her go still in his arms. She slowly backs away to stare down at him. Her dark eyes assess him silently and he canât help but feel his heart thrum in his chest. There isnât one emotion on her face.
Suddenly her hand fists the hair at the back of his head, yanking him back, âGood.â she hissed, âbecause if you did, it was a lie. Youâll never love anyone the way you love me.â
Her hands slide around his neck, âI own you.â Her nails dig into his skin.
Her teeth nip at his lower lip, âIâm gonna haunt you til the day you die.â
She kissed the corner of his lip, âIâm gonna ruin you.â
He squeezed her waist, âRuin me.â he begged as he leaned forward, chasing her lips as she backed away.Â
âIâm gonna rip your heart out.â
âDo it.â He captured her lips and kissed her so hard that his lips hurt.
âHa~â a dry scoff escapes him. The memory was so hilarious he couldnât even find it in himself to laugh. Especially not as he remembered how heâd had her in every single position he could on his desk after that.
Sheâd meant every word she said and all he could think about was the feel of her in his hands. How much he missed it. How every single time he touched her bare skin it felt like his hands were born to be there. How each touch between them made his body and soul gripe with such visceral needâhe had no choice but to listen to his instincts.
And one touch from that barista hadnât made him feel a thing.

He hears a feminine giggle from Suguruâs room as he passes. A fleeting sense of pride flows through him.
If high school had been his playground, university was definitely Suguruâs.
He quickly makes his way down the steps and passes the kitchenâonly to freeze when he notices the candy bowl on the counter is full. Suguru mustâve refilled it.
Heâs about to poke through to find something he likes only to find that itâs all things he likes. All of the candy was various kinds of his favorites.
He picks out two gold wrapped Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Just as he pops one in his mouth he hears Suguru.
âYo! Satoru.â
He glances over to see him padding down the stairs. Suguru gives him a brief once-over.
âWhere are you going?â Suguru asks.
âOut.â
He raises a thin dark brow, âDonât tell me you're getting on that jet again, are you?â
He supposed there was no point in avoiding it, âI am.â
The disappointment on Suguruâs face is evident, âWhat? No, you canât miss Sudaâs birthday party.â
âItâs fine.â he replies while tossing the balled up wrapper in the trash. He doesnât miss.
âI told you days ago to keep tonight free.â
He slides his car keys off the hook, âYeah, sorry.â
âWhat is goinâ on with you?â
âSheâs your girl, what difference does it make if Iâm there or not?â
He stops at the door, awaiting Suguruâs answer only to be met with silence. He decides to look over his shoulder.
Suguru appears stricken until he frowns, âFine.â
âCool.â he swings open the door and leaves.

He removed the dog treats out of his pocket. The dog immediately noticed, it went still in its pursuit of rolling around in the grass. It shot up straight and glanced around before spotting him. The dog ran towards him.
âLucky!â she yelled but the dog didnât listen.
The dog stopped before him, planting its tiny paws on his shoes before circling around his feet. Itâs tongue stuck out in excitement.
He lowered himself to one knee, feeding the dog treats out of his hand. He pet it with his free hand.
âIâm sorry.â
He glanced up to see the dogâs owner. His heart panged in recognition, even their voices sounded similar. If Ara had decided to go vanilla blonde that was exactly how she wouldâve looked like.
He pulled down his hood, watching her expression carefully as he did so. Her eyes seemed to widen before she glanced away.
He tilted his head before rising to his feet. She was an inch taller than Ara but itâd been quite some time. She couldâve grown some height or maybe her platform sneakers were giving her a boost.
âNo worries.â he responded calmly, âI like dogs. I keep treats on me just in case.â
That was a lie. Heâd read her file and he knew she took daily walks in the park with her dog at this exact time.
She was so pretty it was making his heartache. Her yoga pants fit her legs rather nicely. Her thin jacket fit her waist snugly as well. Just looking at her made him feel less hollow.
She twirled her ponytail around her hand. A nervous gesture? He couldnât be sure.
She was avoiding his gaze and it piqued his curiosity more than she knew. He tried not to get his hopes up anymore but could it really beâŚ
âAra.â
Her eyes darted to his, genuine confusion marking her countenance. ��Huh?â
It wasnât her. Ara wasnât that much of an actress to be able to hide a reaction to her name. This girl wasnât afraid of him either. But just to be sureâ
He grabbed her hand.
Not her.
He didnât feel a thing. The pull wasnât there. His Ara wasnât there.
He placed the dog treats in her palm before letting go. He chuckled airily, âSorry, donât mind me.â
He gestured towards the extra dog treats in her hand, âYou can have those. There isnât a dog on the planet that doesnât love em.â
âWhoâs Ara?â
The question took him by surprise. Heâd just been on the verge of turning away but his feet froze at the mention of her name.
Who is Ara? Would I even be able to recognize her if I saw her? Does she still think about me? Is she in college like me? Does she still like art? Is she majoring in art?
Everything he knew about Ara was old. He didnât know anything about her now. He didn't know if sheâd changed in any way. He didnât know what new experiences sheâd gone thoughâwhat new things sheâd discovered. If sheâd found another hobby to occupy her time like she always would or if sheâd gotten to explore her style like she wanted to.
It bothered him. Everything about it bothered him.
He didnât even know if she was alive.Â
âAre you okay?â She reached out to gently touch his arm.
He instinctively avoided her touch a second before she could reach him.
âSorry. Iââ she dropped her hand, âItâs none of my business.â
âYouâre good,â he subtly shook his head, âIâm the one whoâs more sensitive than a baby apparently.â
She laughed lightly.
He didnât miss the concern in her eyes as she asked, âAre you okay though? You seem..â she trailed off.
He raised a brow, urging her to continue.
âKinda down.â she finished.
He took a moment to assess her before responding, âIs that right?â
âYeah.â
âDamn. I really look that busted, huh?â
This time a real laugh escaped her, âNo but I justâI know that.â
âKnow what?â
She hesitates before replying, âI know what itâs like to be going through it.â
Heâs quiet.
She goes on, âIâve been there.. group therapy helped me.â
He laughs while tilting his head up towards the sky.
âIâm serious. It did!â
âEveryone would think Iâm crazy.â
âThatâs what I thought too but sometimes sharing your problems makes the load feel lighter, no matter how absurd it is. We people have more in common with one another than differences, yâknow.â
A humorless smirk slowly spread across his lips. His hands slipped into his pockets before he faced her.
âYou really are a psych major, huh?â
She froze. He saw the exact second the sympathy in her eyes transformed into fear, âHow did you know that?â
âI guessed.â He lied.
She was still for a moment before a low laugh slipped out of her, âI just try to help people when I can.â
âThatâs real nice of you.â
She blinked before squinting slightly in doubt. The expression reminded him so much of Ara-it felt like a shard of glass had pierced straight through his chest.
His knuckles lightly grazed her cheekbone, âI mean it.â
For a second he imagined her to be his Ara, âWe need more people in the world like you.â
He withdrew his hand. It was then he noticed another male heading their way in the distance.
She glanced down, scratching the back of her neck, âThank you.â
âStay safe.â he muttered with a little smile before walking off.
Just as he turned away, the approaching male stopped beside her. According to her file, that guy was her current boyfriend. He worked at the cafe she regularly visited.
He overheard their conversation as he walked away.
âWho was that?â he asked. The fresh coat of jealousy in his tone made him grin faintly.
âJustâsome guy,â she paused, âI think he needed help.â
âWith what?â
âIâm not sure..â

She stepped out of the comedy club. The crowd from the show filled the streets before her. Everyone seemed to be discussing the comedian in high spirits.
âPrim, how are you getting home?â
âI can walk, remember? I literally live 5 minutes away from here.â
âOh yeah!â Lucy let out a short laugh before freezing, âWait but still. Arenât you a little tipsy?â
âNah nah. Iâm all good.â
âYou swear?â
Prim spotted Owenâs car pull up in front of them, âYeah, I swear.â
Before Lucy could go on she playfully shoved her towards the car, âDonât worry. I promise, now go. Owenâs right thereââ
ââbut waitââ
âGo, go, go.â
She hustled Lucy towards Owenâs car before waving them off. She raised the strap of her shoulder bag from the crook of her arm before walking down the sidewalk.
He walked in stride a couple feet behind her.
Her miniskirt was catching the eyes of all the wrong men and he happened to be one of them.
Her legs were distracting. Her long boots went well with her look. All heâd need to do is bend her over and the little piece of fabric would lift up to show his favorite place.
A subtle breeze passed and her lengthy hair rippled along the wind. The chatter of the crowd from the comedy show fading into the distance.
She momentarily bent down, shuffling around for something in her shoulder bag before lifting up a mini hand-held mirror. She was in the midst of reapplying her lip gloss until she spotted him.
He knew heâd been spotted the second her confident stride faltered. He was right in the mirrorâs line of sight.
But she didnât stop. She continued to walk at the same pace.
Smart girl.
He picked up the pace.
She mustâve felt it somehow because her pace quickened as well.
She glanced over her shoulder and a rush of exhilaration sprawled from his core.
She began to walk faster, with less subtlety.
He sped up right along with her. It didnât take much time. She stood only three feet before him now.
She turned a corner and he turned a moment after her. This time she was blatantly glancing back as she walked. Looks like sheâd given up being indiscreet.
She quickly shot out her hand and he instinctively gripped her wrist. Heâd gripped her wrist hard enough to send her pepper spray clattering onto the ground.
Her eyes widened in fear and his chest surged with satisfaction.
But those arenât her eyes.
Araâs eyes werenât ever that clear-ever that readable. Ara was always thinking ahead-always thinking one thing, yet doing another.Â
This girlâs fear left her paralyzedâas malleable as paper.
Barely stronger than a feather.
Her wrist felt entirely too fragile when she flinched at the firm pressure his fingers applied.
âWhy are you following me?â her voice cracked.
She was beautiful-that red lip was entirely too enticing. Ara never wore a red lip.
He released her wrist, his fingers lingering longer than necessary.
âYou look like someone Iâm looking for.â
âI do?â She was terrified, attempting to put on a brave face. It was so obvious he could almost feel her fearâher struggle.
He took a step towards her, her feet remained rooted in spot. Her pupils dilating in fear.
He saw her neck bob as she swallowed, her eyes never leaving his.
He nodded, âSheâs missing.â
Her eyes briefly dropped to his chest before returning back to his.
When she spoke her voice had this quality to it that made him wonder if she was losing her voice, âReally..â
âSheâs been missing for two years.â
He tilted his head as he watched her lower lip quiver.
âIs she even alive?â her voice was barely above a whisper.
âI donât know.â he replied just as quietly.
Her gaze dropped to his chest once-more.
He leaned towards her, âIâve been looking for her ever since.â
He lightly nudged her chin upward with his knuckles, âShe was my sun.. my stars.â
Her eyes were glossy.
âWhat happens to the world when the sun disappears?â he murmured.
Her eyes were brimming with tears. He was viciously reminded of how Ara would look so incredibly beautiful when she criedâit was odd how such an emotion could captivate him but.. it only felt just to find her attractive during her highs as well as her lows.
âAnswer me.â he urged softly.
Maybe the girl was scared because she knew she couldnât outrun him. The heels of her sexy boots would never allow itâregardless it wasnât like she had a chance.
Her only meager attempt at harming him failed.
Her jaw trembled under his touch, âI- I donât know.â
He slipped his hands into his pockets, âOh come on, you gotta have a theory. We all took our basic science classes didnât we?â
âItâs not possible-â
âBut if it was.â
âThe world would be completely dark, wouldnât it? The planets wouldnât have anything to orbit around and humans-plants-all life would eventually die off.â
she rushed out.
He was still, for what mustâve felt like a long while to her because her countenance fell. Her eyes darted between his, as if contemplating whether or not sheâd said the wrong thing.
He cupped her elbow, grinning, âRelax, you're right.â
She moved her arm back but his grip only tightened, âWhat does this have to do with me?â her voice shook.
âOh it has everything to do with you, sweetheart.â He swung her around, pressing her small back against his chest.
He nuzzled her cheekbone, âSo impatient.â
He squeezed her arms, âJust bear with me..â
They were so similar in height, just holding her against himself like this brought back memories. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, sliding his arms around her waist. If he closed his eyes maybe he could pretendâŚ
but she didnât smell like her. She didnât even come close. There was nothing about her scent that made his body rush with that irresistible magnetism that overwhelmed him whenever she was in his vicinity. It was maddening.
His tongue swiped her neck, making her jolt. She didnât taste like her. Her skin didnât taste like a dangerously potent elixir had been poured all over her skin just for him.
She struggled against him, âWait-stop. Let go. Stop!â
He cupped her mouth with one hand, sighing, âShhh, baby.â
He felt a tear touch his palm over her mouth and immediately glanced at itâbefore instinctively leaning close to lick it.
Her tears didnât taste the same. Araâs tears were less bitter, more salty. More addictive.
He squeezed her jaw, aggravated. Heâd wanted to hold her for a moment, reminisce but all he seemed to do was note their differences.
But that was good, wasn't it? He still remembered. He remembered her scent, her feel, her taste.
It was impossible to forget but with this girl, the differences were blatantly clear. Each difference evoked a different emotionâigniting his already desperate longing.
He just wanted her image to stay in the forefront of his mind longerâŚ
Each memory of her was a high in and of itself but he was running out. He was running out of memories to replay in his mind and that scared him. He couldnât lose her. Heâd already lost her physically but to lose her in his mind? He wasnât ready to live without her.
Suddenly his mind flashed with another memory.
He was blinking away his dreariness when she yanked at his hand in hers. The next thing he knew they were running.
He ran out of the backyard with her leading the way.
âWhy are we running?!â
âJust wait.â she yelled back.
She stopped abruptly, making him nearly crash into her until he spotted the folded silk sheet at their feet. There was a cake atop itâspecifically a white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake.
His motherâs favorite.
Today was his motherâs birthday. Heâd been thinking about it all day and yet he hadnât said a word about it. He didnât plan to either.
He slowly met Araâs gaze, astonished, âH-how did you..â
She gently tugged his arm, âCome, letâs sit.â
She lowered him to sit atop the silk sheet. Just as she moved to sit beside him, he instantly yanked her onto his lap.
She smiled softly, shaking her head.
He stared at the candlelit cheesecake before them, still stunned.
âWho told you?â
âDo you think youâre the only one paying attention?â
Her small hand slid up his nape, her fingers raking through his hair, âYouâve been quiet all day.â
The candlelight seemed to reflect in her eyes as she went on, "Do you know how weird that is? When your quiet?"
He exhaled in humor-only to freeze when she gently kissed his cheek.
âLetâs celebrate her.â she murmured.
His eyes were stuck on her as she glanced towards the cake. He watched her pull the cake closer before her lips made a little âoâ. It seemed one of the candles went out.
She quickly pulled out a lighter from her pocket and-it took a couple (several) tries-but she relit it. She faced him.
The hint of embarrassment in her eyes faded the second she searched his face, "Satoru."
Did she know? Did she know every year on her birthday he'd visit her grave and have a slice of this cake? Did she know his mother loved having picnics in this very backyard with him as a kid? Did she know his mother would always joke that he could only be tamed by a smart girl that never let him get his way?
I found her, Mom.
He pressed his forehead to hers, unable to respond.
Her hand cupped his jaw, her thumb stroking his cheek, âSatoru.â her voice cracked.
I wish you stuck around to meet her.
Her eyes watered right alongside his and he decided right in that moment he never loved anyone more.
His head dropped to her neck and she drew her slender arms around his shoulders, trying to hold him. He silently cried against her, squeezing her tight.
She kissed his head, her hand in his hair caressing his messy strands comfortingly. Her hand on his back gripping him tight.
âItâs okay.â she whispered as he shook. His tears unable to hide themselves, âIâm here.â
âIâm here.â she repeated, as if she knew how much that meant to him.
âI love you.â she whispered.
âI love you.â he muttered back, only to realize heâd spoken out loud. His arms tight around the Ara look-a-like, tears stinging his eyes.
He blinked away the tears when he realized the girl in his arms was shaking.
âPlease, please let me go.â she begged.
He was still for one long moment, selfishly continuing to keep her close as he whispered in her ear, âIs that what you want?â
She nodded.
He eyed the side of her tear stained face, âAre you sure?â
âI- I am.â
He didnât move, merely pressing his lips to her templeâinhaling her. He almost thought he could smell her scent if he held his breath long enough.
âLet me go.â her voice wavered.
He closed his eyes, memorizing the feeling of holding her one last time before letting go.
He watched her book it down the street, her heels echoing against the asphalt as she ran.
It would be easy to chase her. He wouldnât even lose his breath trying.
Heâd catch her and she would scream. Nothing close to that pretty little laugh thatâd escape Araâs lips when sheâd run and get caught. Sheâd always tilt her head up to look at him after, her chest heaving and eyes alight with exhilaration.
No⌠it wouldnât be like that.
There would only be fear, short-lived satisfaction and then silence. Endless, hollow silence.

He unlocked his phone, tapping open the photos app before letting his thumb hover over a photo album. An album dedicated to pictures of her. He used to go through this album daily.
He opened the album, swiping through. A cold billowing sensation curling in his gut with each picture he swiped through. Some pictures were blurry from trying to snap a picture of her true smile in time, sheâd always manage to evade itâexcept for this once.
They were at an aquarium and after a lot of deliberation she finally decided on a favorite fish.Â
Just as she pointed at one and faced him, he managed to capture her smile on camera in time. Her smile was so bright, wide and enrapturing when turned up at its full potential like this. And she didnât have a damn clue.
He stared at the picture, it felt like heâd taken it yesterday but now here he was at 20, staring at a picture of a 17 year old girl.
How did time pass so fast⌠and still feel so dreadfully slow.
He exhaled derisively before swiping to the next picture. His heart stopped.
She was in a bikini set with side tie bottoms. Heâd taken this picture of her off guard, when sheâd just been relaxing in the pool with him. And he was damn sure glad he took it.
Her tits were spilling out the sides of the bikini top, the little cloth barely able to contain her full tits. Just the silhouette of her sexy little waist made him run his teeth over his bottom lip. Countless memories of him gripping that tiny fucking waist and thrusting into her clouded his mind.
Going from fucking her anywhere, anytime to not being able to touch her at all had been the harshest withdrawal.
He was hardâglaringly so. It pressed awkwardly against his belt, throbbing for attention.
The doorknob turned and he slipped the phone back into his pocket.
A woman emerged from the door, clad in barely any clothes. The lingerie set was inky black, yet see through in all the right places. The garter belt hanging from her hips accentuated her hips perfectly. She walked with the strut of a model.
The womanâs hair was long and wavy, just like Araâsâeven the way her smile spread across her face was reminiscent of her. If Ara was a couple inches taller, had smaller tits and fully tapped into her sensuousness, she wouldâve looked just like this.
Which was solely why he paid for a night with her.
Ciara was her name. She was Slovenian and her prostitute name was Kitty. Ha.
Was it a coincidence or fate that kitties needed to entertain him?
He watched her slowly walk towards him, truly cat-like in her gait. Her heels not making a sound against the floor as she made her way to the pole in the center of the room.
He leaned back against the cushions, watching her.
She didnât break eye-contact, merely twirling around the pole rather measuredly, as if to give him a full view of what he was working with.
His eyes dropped to her little ass peeking out her thin panties. He grit his teeth.
She let go of the pole and sauntered towards him. Her eyes dropped to the tent in his pants.
âYou look like you need a little help.â she murmured sultrily, before lowering to her knees.
She placed her long nailed hands on his knees and slid them up his thighs. She leaned forward, pressing her breasts against his bulge as she looked up at him.
She fluttered her eyelashes before leaning back to undo his belt and the zipper of his pants. He kept his arms spread atop the cushionâs backrest.
A short breath of relief escaped his clenched jaw the second his cock was free from the constraints of his zipper. The only constraint left was his boxers, which were struggling to keep his twisting cock inside.
He watched her eyes widen at the sight, âYouâre so big, daddy.â A subtle whine to her voice.
She licked her lips as she whispered, âI canât wait to fit all of you inside me.â
She jutted her chin aside, casually flipping her long locks over her shoulder before reaching for his cock.
He grabbed her throat a second before her fingers wrapped around him. She jolted in surprise.
His grip on her throat kept her in place as he bent low to press a kiss to her lips. The second their lips met she had no choice but to cave to him. His kiss was so invasive and consuming. Each subtle scrape of his teeth against her lips licked up the flames inside her body. His tongue intruding her mouth nearly felt as sensual as being fucked. There was an unfathomable sense of control in his actions that sheâd never felt beforeâit was dizzying. His rigor was stronger than hunger, darker than mania. She felt compelled to submit to him.
Suddenly his hand on her throat pushed her back. She gasped as she landed harshly on her elbows. She could already feel the bruises forming.
She watched him stand with his belt in one hand. His eyes glacial in their coldness, dissonant to the unfeeling set of his lips.
âYouâre not her.â
He stepped over her, leaving her heart racing and ego smaller than a speck of dust.
One year later
The chauffeur opened the car door and he stepped out. He smoothed down the front of his suit and glanced over when he felt a hand on his back.
His Uncle stood beside him, a small smile on his lips. It didnât reach his eyes.
His uncle was a few inches shorter than him now. His ice blue eyes surrounded by wrinkles. His white hair was gelled back, minus for one strand hovering over his forehead.
Heâd seen that face more than he wouldâve preferred to during the past year. Heâd observed his antics, motives and character to an in-depth degree and learned that his Uncle was more than just conniving. His Uncle was lethal in his business pursuits. Steadfast in business dealings and a genius at making money.
All skills that were easy to replicate, skills he could easily advance.
Which was why his Uncle didnât like it much when heâd let Gojo take charge of the company for a week only for stocks to double, investments to quadruple and their worth to jump upwards by a couple billion. He also didnât like it when their investors began to contact him regarding business dealings.
He was supposed to remain CEO for a month but his Uncle quickly did away with that after a week when he noticed his progress. He supposed he didnât want his position to get unseated that quickly. He wasnât dead yet.
His uncle patted his shoulder, âGo on, boy.â
Gojo grinned subtly before walking ahead. He entered the buzzing art gallery with an air of boredom.
A server passed by with a tray of drinks and he took one. He handed it over to his Uncle.
His Uncle took it before frowning, âYou know I donât like champagne.â
He shrugged before greeting one of their investors as she approached them. It didnât take long for other familiar faces to pop up and greet them.
Small talk. Small talk and more small talk.
He was bored of it all. It was all too menial for him so the first chance he got, he slipped away. He was planning on heading out but then the art gallery owner caught him.
âPlease, Mr. Gojo.â she touched his arm, the elderly woman had quite a flirtatious laugh, âJust take a look around before you leave, wonât you?â
He tilted his head, âSince you asked so nicely, Ms. Brahms.â
She smiled, showcasing her perfect teeth, âI really think thereâs some pieces you might like.â
Another male approached her just as he turned away. He supposed checking out the art couldnât hurt.
The theme was âemotionsâ so the art displayed was supposed to brew up feelings within the viewer. Ms.Brahms insisted on clarifying that he should wallow in what the art makes him feel versus trying to interpret what emotions the artist is trying to convey.
He slowly walked around the less chatty area of the gallery. Perusing the fresh pieces, some with familiar names, some completely new.
None of the art was particularly notable, which was unsurprising. He hadnât felt much as of lateâwell, for a while now.
He stared at an art piece that showed a red moon casting a red light over a black & white city. It was an interesting vibe, sure but not the kind to make him feel a sort of way.
He walked over to the next wall. His gaze gravitated towards a canvas with a human laying on a hospital bed, attached to several wires. The wires were all white but upon closer inspection you could see that they were all very lightly colored pastels.
Everything else in the picture was gray and white, shaded in areas to show depth. The unsettling part about the art piece was that there seemed to be one-sided windows into the patient's room. There were other onlookers peering into the patientâs room, pictured as black, blurry human-like figures.
Then there was the most odd part, the patient on the tableâs eyes were wide open. Their mouth was covered due to some sort of contraption covering it.
It was intriguing how the eyes of the patient strapped to the bed were so expressive. The paranoia in their gaze was clear, but so was the effect of the drugs. It made the fear in the patientâs eyes almost hazy, dream-like. The entire piece was captivating.
The details-the subtlety, the onlookers, the helplessness. He was intrigued.
He looked at the canvas beside it. This one looked like it took place in a vault with walls of black mirror, there were stacks and stacks of treasure, towering atop each other. The stacks of treasure surrounding a willowy girl.
She was dressed in a modern style, floor-length dress and hair done in a neat updo. She looked classy, elegant in a way that felt similar to a swan.
She was dancing, despite being attached to a shiny silver string that was attached to each of her limbs from somewhere above.
She was barefootâher feet up to her ankles were covered in this red liquid he could only identify as blood. It was everywhere on the floor of the vault. It even stained parts of her gossamer white dress. The only place blood seemed to seep from was her eyesâupon closer inspection he realized her eyes were sewn shut and yet there was a smile on her lips.
It was then he realized the willowy woman was dead-from her sunken cheeks, slightly hanging posture, to the subtle gray sheen in her skin. She must be dead-or at least close to it. She was only able to dance because the silver strings attached to her were making her dance. Someone from above, off-the-canvas was controlling her.
It was quite the compelling piece. Heâd never seen anything like it.
He glanced below the two canvases heâd just seen to one more below it. It seemed to take place in a long hallway, the hallway becoming darker & darker the further it went on. There seemed to be a small rectangle of light to potentially signify an exit to this hallway.
But the walls of this hallway were covered with eye-balls. They were peering in, staring every which way. There were even eyes on the ceiling. The only area that didnât have eyeballs was the shiny white tiled floor.
The eyeballs were bloodshot and the irises were a familiar shade of bright, electric blue.
An odd sensation bloomed in his gut.
He tilted his head, staring at the picture as if it could tell him more. The detail in the eyes was quite realistic, it looked as if they were growing from the walls.
It was obvious what this piece was trying to convey. In fact it perfectly encapsulated it.
The feeling of being watched.
He motioned one of the gallery workerâs over. She compliantly came forward.
âYes, sir?â
âTell me about this artist.â
She smiled, in a way that was almost coy-as if she was unsurprised these art pieces caught his attention.
She motioned towards the name-plate below the pieces, which heâd already taken note of. âThis artist goes by the pseudonym, Anonymous. They went viral for their art piece titled âLoveâ 3 years ago, Iâm sure youâve seen it.â
âI havenât actually.â
âOh! Well, everyone in the art world knows of it. It was the most expensive rookie art piece sold in a while-â
âHow much?â
â40K.â
He merely nodded.
âTheyâve been relevant in the art industry ever since.â She pointed at the canvas with the several blue eyes, âThis is their most recent piece and itâs been getting quite popular. The artist actually didnât even want to release it but their team convinced them to.â
âHow do you know that?â
She pushed her glasses up her nose, âItâs mentioned on their website. They always write a little blurb about each art piece they drop on their blog.â
He watches her examine the art almost fondly, as if sheâd stared at the pieces several times before.
âThereâs just⌠so much detail and layers in each piece. The color play as well-of course, thereâs so much black & white but the shading brings out a certain.. depth and the little bit of color that is used is almost emphasized due to the darkness of everything else.â
âI feel like the more you stare at it the more you find.â she paused, before facing him, âDoesnât each piece feel like a glimpse into a nightmare?â
He was silent. He couldnât help but find her words.. the best way to put it. Each piece was quite creepyâin a way that almost didnât feel intentional. There was certainly a dreamlike quality in each work but the darker themes felt almost purposefully masked in or glamorized. As if there was a pretense of normalcy someone who merely glanced at the art wouldnât notice but if you actually took a moment, it was blatantly clear.
She went on, pointing at the bottom right corner of each canvas, âIf you notice the artist doesnât have a signature either, instead they use a white hibiscus as their signature-â
âWhat?â
He mustâve spoken too sharply because she nearly jumped. She glanced up at him with a bit of confusion, âA hibiscus-the flower? Thatâs the artist's signature. If you look closely at each canvas you can find a hibiscus placed somewhere in their art. A lot of our visitors have fun trying to find it in each piece.â
Now that she mentioned it⌠he peered closely at each piece. He pointed out the white hibiscus flower in each canvas, it was rather subtle and small in the art but it was there.
âWow.â the gallery worker-Charlotte, according to her badge-spoke with a slight laugh, âYou found them quite fast.â
âWhatâs the artist's real name?â
âI donât know.â
He sharply faced her and her eyes widened.
âN-no one knows,â she quickly added, âThey go by a pseudonym, remember?â
âHow can I get in contact with them then?â
âYou would have to reach out to their agent. Thatâs what Ms.Brahms did-â
âGet me the agentâs contact. Now.â
She blinked, taking a step back, âUh, sure. Iâll go speak with Ms.Brahms.â
He watched her walk off with a nagging impatience brewing in his gut. He faced the art with narrow eyes. There was⌠something here.
There had to be.
He felt it, like an itch needing to be scratched except it was more potent. Way more potent.
No. A quiet, cool voice whispered in his mind. Donât get your hopes up. Weâve been disappointed so many times beforeâŚ
He grit his teeth, hastily rubbing his chin before pulling his phone out from his pocket. He snapped a few pictures of the art before sending it to his private investigator.
James responded not even a millisecond later.
J: Whatâs this?
G: I need you to find the artist. Send me everything about them asap.
J: On it.

He took a puff of his cigarette in one hand while scrolling through his phone with the other.
He found the image he was looking for. The artistâs breakthrough piece.
The backdrop was black. At its center was a cake stand but instead of a cake at its center, it was a heart. An actual human heart.
It was incredibly realistic. Each part of it anatomically correct but⌠the heart was stuck with thin, shiny needles, at almost every single point. The silver of the needles the only color on the entire canvas. Everything else was black and white.
Once again, the art had this almost dream-like quality to it that made it hard to look away.Â
It was a simple piece, and yet it felt heavy with symbolism. Especially because of the title, âLoveâ.
Maybe it was because the shiny glint the tiny needles gave off or how compactly the needles were pierced upon the organ but he swore he felt a twinge in his own heart.
It was the only romance related piece amongst the artistâs artwork. He supposed even they understood the woes of heartbreak.
And if the artist was who he thought it wasâŚ
The car door pulled open, Ijichi stood beside it, âWeâve arrived, sir.â
He stepped out of the car, tossing the cigarette on the ground without a glance.
Just as he was about to walk, he stopped. He turned around, his eyes dead set on Ijichiâs cautious expression.
âDo you remember Ara?â
He paused, âO-of course, sir.â
âDo you think about her?â
He watched Ijichi grow anxious under his stare.
He looked Ijichi up and down before reaching inside his coat for another cigarette, âItâs a simple question.â
âSometimes.â Ijichi admitted.
He placed the cigarette between his lips just as a slight laugh escaped him.
He shook his head, âShe was pretty, right?â
Ijichi watched him light the cigarette with unease, âYeah..â
âReally pretty,â he muttered to himself before taking a puff. He faced Ijichi, âWhat if I told you she was here, in New York, right now?â
His eyebrows skyrocketed, âShe is?â
âI donât know, Iâm just guessing but.. if she was, then what?â
âI wouldâŚâ Ijichi seemed unsure of what to say, âI would be happy for you.â
âYou would?â
He nodded.
âWhy?â
âBecause you would be happy to see her.â
He raised a brow before a dry chuckle slipped out of him, âShould I be mean to her or nice to her?â
At the obvious confusion on Ijichiâs face, he added, âIf I see her again.â
Ijichiâs brows furrowed.
He leaned against the car, âI have the right to be mean, yâknow. She left me.â
âShe went missing.â Ijichi corrected, as if that meant anything.
âI think of her now and I just want to hold her but⌠back then I woulda wanted to make her cry.â
He chuckled again, âI liked seeing her cry.â
Ijichi frowned, âYou shouldnât make women cry.â
He turned to Ijichi with a smile on his lips, âThatâs right.â
A moment later he asked, âHave you ever been in love, Ijichi?â
He seemed to redden at the question. He scratched the back of his neck, âI-Iâm not sure.â
âYou havenât.â
Ijichi blinks.
He goes on, âItâs not the kinda thing you get confused about. Itâs a curse, makes you all kinds of twistedâfor one reason only.â
âFor what?â
âLove.â

He stared out of the tall glass walls, at the rain pouring against the windows. He raised his glass to his lips. It was this newfound apple cranberry iced tea heâd found a liking for.
He felt a piece of ice go down his throat as he stared at the view. The penthouse was completely soundproof, one would not be able to guess his building was in the heart of New York City. All of Central Park and Manhattan could be seen from his windows.
His phone buzzed. He set his glass down before slipping his phone out his pocket.
He raised his phone to his ear, âJames.â
âYes, Mr.Gojo. I gathered info on that artist. Iâm sending it over now.â
He pressed his phone on speaker and tossed it on the coffee table. He sat back on the recliner, crossing his long legs over one another, âTell me.â
âHer name is Sade West. Sheâs twenty one years old. 5 feet 5 inches in height. She was born in Orange County, California. Her father is unknown and her mother passed away 7 years ago. Her mother was a homeless, drug addict who surrendered her to foster care early on.â
James continued, âShe grew up in foster care, switching from home to home all over Southern California. She was a good kid, didnât get in trouble much except for a bit of tardiness in high school. She was an average student but did well on her SATs so she was able to get into the School of Visual Arts in NYC.â
âShe had enough saved up from her part-time jobs to move to New York but mainly took loans to cover her school expenses. She graduated last spring.â
âDuring her time at the School of Arts she was discovered by Lynelle Ivo-â his brows furrowed at the familiar name, â-a very experienced art curator, she basically took Sade under her wing.â
âApparently sometime during her intern years with Ivo she requested that her art be released through a pseudonym-â
âDo we know why?â
âUnclear but Ivo agreed and the pseudonym decided was âAnonymousâ.â
He tilted his head as James went on, âA year after releasing art as âAnonymousâ her piece titled âLoveâ went viral on social media-specifically Tik Tok and X. The physical piece got sold for 44K.â
âWho bought it?â
âJohnny Depp.â
Gojo merely grinned, âGo on.â
âShortly after she graduated Chroma Atelier, a high quality paint company, reached out to her. She has a 3 year sponsorship deal with them. She hired on a management team of two people after that, a publicist and a manager. She currently utilizes Reese Heimâs art studios as her workplace. They have a working agreement that whatever art she creates in his studio gets showcased at his galleries.â
Heâd heard of Reese Heimâs before. He was pretty sure his assistant had bought one of his pieces for his office. It was worth a pretty penny.
âAnd you wonât even have to book a flight to see her.â
He sat up in his seat, snatching up his phone. He opened up her picture just as James said, âIt looks just like her, that Ara youâre looking for.â
It did. It truly did. Not one feature was off. Her eyes were the same. Her nose was the same. Her lips were the same. Sade looked just like her.
âWhy didnât you start with that?â
âSorry, I thought you knew.â James replied.
Gojo didnât respond, his brows drawn as he swiped past the copy of her ID to look for more pictures of her. He swiped past her birth certificate, social security card, passport, high school transcripts, college diploma. He barely skimmed her resume. James had collected everything and more, from her vaccinations down to her aerial silk yoga class receipts. Thatâs what he liked about him, no information was ever too much information.
âHer hair looks different.â James added, sounding unnerved by his silence.
âShe dyed it.â
âIs it her?â he asked.
The corner of his lip twitched as he stared at her ID photo, âIs this the only picture you got?â
âYeah, thatâs all I could find. She doesnât have any pictures of herself on her social media or any professional pictures. Rather odd, really.â
âNot odd for someone on the run.â
âDo you really think itâs her?â
He paused, staring at her somewhat blurry passport picture-which was the colored version of her ID photo. She barely looked older, but her alluring eyes held this gaze that could only come from age, âThis is all sheâs ever wanted⌠to pursue art. Being an artist was her dream.â
His knuckles skimmed his chin, âWhere is she?â
âHer apartments in Lower East Side, barely a few miles from you. She lives with three rooââ
âWhatâs her address.â

He stared up at her apartment building. It was a simple off-white brick building with black trim windows. There seemed to be a balcony on each floor, as well as a fire escape.
âAgh! What the fuck!â
He glanced over to see a girl near his age staring back at an older man who was fast-walking away. Her groceries were all over the wet side-walk.
He blinked and realized he recognized the girl. Her name was Priya, one of Sadeâs roommates. She was a software developer at Google. According to James notes sheâd met Ara through mutual friends in college.
She was still glaring at the older man when he approached.
âAre you okay?â he asked.
âThat asshole just ran into me.â
She shook her head in frustration before double-taking when she saw him. Her hazel eyes widened. He smiled faintly.
Her black hair was pasted to her face from the rain. He pulled up his hood before handing her his umbrella.Â
âHere.â
âThanks.â
He bent down and picked up her reusable bag from the ground before placing her fallen goods within.
He stood up and handed the packed bag to her, only to freeze when he saw she was already holding a bag and was clutching the umbrella-rather tightly-in the other.
âIf you want I can carry your groceries wherever you need me to? Iâm in no rush.â
âReally?â
âYeah.â
âYou sure?â
He grinned slightly, âYeah.â
âMy buildingâs actually right there.â she pointed at Sadeâs building, âbut I live on the fourth floor-â I know â-and we donât have an elevator so.. itâs a bit of a workout.â
âYou trying to scare me away?â
She laughed, âI just want you to know what you're in for.â

She unlocked the apartment door and immediately dropped her bag by the door. She was panting.
âOh my god.â she gestured for him to follow her inside and he did.
She closed the door behind him, âHow are you not out of breath? I swear those four flights of steps get me everytime.â
He chuckled as he picked up the bag sheâd set down and put it on her kitchen counter, alongside the one heâd been carrying.
âYou're a model, arenât you?â she asked him as she hung up her coat.
âIâm not actually.â
She walked around him, âYou have the height for it.â
He grinned, âI know.â
She returned his grin and pointed at the stool beside the kitchen island.
âWhy donât you have a seat and Iâll get you some water before you head out. Consider it my thanks.â
He perked up, âReally?â
âYeah, really,â She opened the fridge, âDo you want juice? We got apple, cranberry, orange-â
He slipped into the seat, âOrange is perfect.â
âGreat.â
He glanced around. It was a cute place, it was clear that girls lived here from the way everything was stocked and decorated. The line up of empty alcohol bottles atop the fridge reminded him of college.
âYou mind if I use your bathroom?â
She barely glanced over her shoulder as she struggled to open the orange juice, âItâs at the end of the hall to your right.â
âThanks.â
He stood up and walked down the hall. He turned on the light to the bathroom but didnât step in when he closed the bathroom door shut. He glanced back at the end of the hall to make sure Priya wasnât looking before looking at the four bedroom doors in the hallway. Lucky for him, the doors were labeled.
He approached the door with Sadeâs name. The door was already open so it was easy to slip inside.
No one was there.
He glanced around the room. It was well decorated. Her desk was scattered with sketches and her silver Macbook was covered with stickers of Kuromi. She had an extra clothing rack since it seemed her closet didnât have enough space.
He nearly stepped on her fluffy slippers before glancing at her nightstand. It seemed she was currently reading âThe Five People you Meet in Heavenâ by Mitch Albom. He briefly remembered reading that book in middle school.
There were printed pictures on her wall. They all seemed to be taken from the same kind of digital camera. There were several pictures of her friends, cafes, restaurants, aesthetic New York City shots but none of her.
Heâd never been in the room before but there was this odd sense of familiarity. He couldnât tell how or why but he knew, he knew he was in the right place but he just needed to confirm it.
He needed to confirm it was her.
He slowly reached for her pillow and held it up to his face.
Ara.
He hadnât even inhaled yet and his nostrils were filled with the scent of her, it was incapacitating in its intensity.
My Ara.
His heart thudded wildly in his chest.
Ara was here.
His eyes snapped open.
Itâd been so long⌠since heâd felt this alive.
His gut tightened as he began to eye the room with a newfound vigor. This was the little room his kitten was living in without him? This was the little life she created for herself? Her new home?
Did you think I would never see this?
He grinned.
He dropped the pillow back on her bed, he was tempted to keep it but there would be no need. The owner of that scent was going to be in his arms by the end of the hour.
He walked out of the room with a wide grin on his lips. His mind racing.
She was here. She was here. She was here.
He wiped the smile off of his lips when he returned to the kitchen. Priya was still struggling with the orange juice.
He slid beside her, chuckling, âI got it.â
He opened the orange juice container in one try and she groaned.
âI swear I can do that myself.â
âMhm.â
She gave him a look and he smiled. Her gaze immediately got stuck on his lips. He had one of those smiles that belonged in a romance movie.
âWhatâs your name?â
âPriya.â
âHow long you been in the city?â
âFive years now. You?â
âA few months.â
âStill fresh then, hm? Are you in college?â
âNah, I graduated two years ago.â
âHow old are you?â
â21. I graduated early.â
âOooo.â she teased.
The corner of his lip curled subtly, âWhat about you? You in school?â
âI graduated last May. I just got my first post-college job.â
âWhere?â
âAt Google.â
âOoooo.â He mocked her earlier teasing.
She smiled. âYeah, itâs nice as hell honestly. The benefits are-â she proceeded to do a chefâs kiss.Â
His eyes glimmered with amusement, âYeah? What are the benefits?â
âWe get..â
He tuned her out, sipping at his orange juice as he sauntered about the kitchen. He looked around, discreetly scanning the place for anything of Araâs when his eyes landed on a picture pinned to the fridge.
It was a picture of four girls-her three roommates and her. There she was, in a little fitted dress and a stunning wide smile on her lips.
âAra.â he nearly gasped.
âWhat?â Priya stopped mid-spiel. He was too in his head to realize heâd spoken out loud.
He took off the picture from the fridge, running his thumb over her face. Her hair was still long, just a slightly lighter shade. She was wearing red lipstick and her eyesâŚthey were glittering. She looked beautiful.
âMy Ara.â he murmured. He hadnât seen her in so long...Â
Priya lightly touched his arm as she sidled next to him, drawing him out of his reverie.
âAra?â she questioned before her eyes dropped to where he was looking. âThatâs not Ara, thatâs Sade.â
Right. Sade. Her new identity.
He feigned innocence, âSade? You sure?â
âYeah, weâve been friends since college. We took that photo at a bar the night of graduation.â
âA bar?â
âYeah, she doesnât usually go out but that night we dragged her out.â
He grinned faintly, âThat sounds like her.â
âSheâs starting to come out more often though.â
âIs she.â
Priya nodded.
He spoke quietly, âThereâs a girl I used to know.. that looks just like her. Her name was Ara butâshe was my best friend. We lost contact after high school but Iâve been looking for her ever since.â
âOh..â she sounded apologetic, âWhereâd you go to high school?â
âIn California.â
Her eyes widened. She must know Sade is also from California.
âWhatâs your name?â she asked.
âGojo.â he answered before tilting his head, âHas she mentioned me?â
She pursed her lips in thought, âI donât think so?â
He slipped his phone out, pulling up a selfie of him and Ara to show her. She gasped.
âOh my god,â She leaned towards him to peer at the photo more closely, âShe looks so young..â
He swiped again to another photo of them. Ara was hugging him in this one.
Her gaze softened, âAww yall look so cute.â
He swiped to another picture of her. It was an off-guard picture of her attempting to play the piano back at the estate.
She frowned, âThat⌠really does look like her.â
âI need to talk to her.â
Priya looked up at him, searching his face. She mustâve found something because suddenly her eyes poured with sympathy.
âPlease.â he added, uncaring of how desperate he sounded.
The sympathy in her gaze turned conflicted, âI donât think I can give you her number..â
âThatâs fine, just give me anything. Anything that gets me to her.â
âYou can leave your number for her? Iâll tell her you came by-â
âNo.â he grasped Priya by the arms, âI need to see her now. Pleaseâplease tell me where she is.â
She swallowed.
He shook his head, âYou donât know how long Iâve been looking for her, please... I-I miss her.â
âWhat if itâs not her?â
The corner of his lip twitched, it was a valid question. Heâd seen enough lookalikes to know pictures werenât the end all but⌠her smell. Who could replicate her smell? Her ideal career path? Her favorite flower as her signature?
âItâs her.â
She glanced at the clock on the wall before looking back at him, concern etched in her expression, âSheâs about to get out of work, if you go now maybe youâll catch her.â
âWhere?â
âReese Heimâs Gallery, on the corner of Belford and 63rd.â
âThank you.â He let go of her arms before stepping back, âThank you.â
He turned around and then bolted out of the apartment.

It was a nice building. Its architecture was anything but basic, clearly designed by someone with an artistic eye. It looked quite futuristic with the dreary rainy weather reflected in its mirrored surfaces.
The lower floors of the building made up the gallery while the upper levels were the studios and offices. And in one of those studios was his Ara.
There were multiple entrances so getting in would be easy but finding her, that would be a taskâas it always wasâbut she must be on her way out of the building right now, so he planned to utilize that.
Thunderstruck the skies, making him briefly glance up. A bolt of lightning appeared through the rain clouds before disappearing in an instantâand oddly enough, something felt changed.
His eyes zipped back to the gallery across the street and spotted one of the doors opening.
She stepped out.
She was wearing a sleek black trench coat with a tote bag over her shoulder. Her hair was in a neat braid, her pretty face on full display. She held an umbrella in one hand and had her phone raised to her ear in the other.
She looked distraught-whoever she was speaking was upsetting her. Priya. It must be Priya. She must be telling her I came by.
She suddenly froze in her steps as if struck.
He grinned.
He watched her slowly look around before growing frantic in her search. She whipped her neck around, scanning her surroundings, looking for no one else⌠but him.
Until she did.
Her eyes met his.
And recognition cut through him like a bullet.
Any doubt he had about Sade was ripped to shreds in milliseconds. It was her.
I found her.
It was explosive, the satisfaction he was feeling. He felt it in every point of his being. It was sharp and ambitious in its intensity.Â
Heâd always known this day would come.
Her face fell and he couldnât help but grin wider. Her eyes were wide with such fear, it was exhilarating.
He always knew it would be like this, that she wouldnât be able to hide her fear once she saw him. Theyâd shared too much. She knew too much.
She knew full well that if he ever found her again, it would never be the same.
He reached up to pull down his hood, wanting to make his presence just as clear as hers. Her expression was priceless.
So much fear.
It was unreasonable how even fear on her face made him feel so greedy, so eager to see all the faces she could makeâjust like he had before. Her good, her bad, her uglyâhe wanted it all. He wanted to burn through their old memories with new ones.
And he would.
Suddenly cars zoomed between them, he didnât realize the streetlight had turned green. It truly felt like time had stopped.
He watched her turn and bolt down the street. He laughedâit was hilarious really. It was already too late.
He followed her from his side of the street. It didnât take much effort, just a bit of fast walking and she was still in his sight until her speed picked up.
Her adrenaline mustâve hit because she was running faster than he expected from her petite frame. Which bothered him because now she was running with no regard for herself, just trying to get away from him. He needed her to be carefulâ
He crossed the street in a blink of an eye, causing the oncoming car he passed by a millisecond to honk deliriously but Ara, Ara was being careless.
He was running now, half a minute away from catching up to her. He watched her run across the street when the streetlight was still green. A car was approaching, ready to make a turn at full speed as she ran.
âARA!!â he yelled with all his chest.
His vision went white. The image of her body colliding with the car and dropping dead filling his mind, nearly making him cripple with shock.
He was not going to lose her like this, not after he just got her back.
But he wasnât going to make it in time, he wasnât close enough.
No.
He didnât think, he ran so fast he didnât see anything but her. He closed the distance between them in half a secondâshoving her ahead with the force of his whole body.
The car touched him by a hairs breath as he made it to the other side of the street. He didnât glance back as the car made a terrible screeching sound as it skidded in attempt to belatedly slow downâonly to get rear-ended by the car behind him.
The surrounding people gasped but his eyes were fixed on her. Through the heavy rain he grabbed her waist, pulling her upright seconds before she catapulted face first into the asphalt from his shove.
But she shoved him, hard enough to make him let go.
âAra.â he hissed as she tried to run away from him.
Only to end up half stumbling/half walking down the street. Her speed nothing to what it was before.
He followed her, readying himself for her fall since he knew it was coming. It seemed her adrenaline had left her, maybe he pushed her too hard.
But he had to, or else she would be dead right now. His heartbeat was still ringing in his ears at the idea.
She would rather die, than get caught by himâwas that it? A cruel smile found its way upon his lips.
She tripped over her own feet, stumbling into an alley. The heavy downpour was only making her more disbalanced.
He instinctively reached a hand out to try steady her but she was scurrying up ahead, âAra.â
She didnât turn around, instead her hand went to the brick wall beside her as she coughedâcoughed loud enough to be heard over the pounding rain.
Her legs wobbled and she collapsed to her knees. Her coughs racking her entire body. Sheâd overworked herself, hadnât she?
He stopped a little behind her, watching her body shake from the weight of her coughs.
He lowered himself beside her, his eyes never leaving her as he grabbed her chin and shoved her against the wall.
Her eyes flickered upto his and everything heâd forced himself to numb came rushing back.
It was her.
Ara.
Right in front of him⌠after all this time.
He forgot how to breathe.
Four years later and sheâd only gotten prettier. That picture hadnât done her justice. The lighter shade of hair complimented her too well, somehow enhancing her skin and drawing attention to her alluring eyes. Her cheekbones had a glass like sheen that made her look unreal. And her lipsâŚthey were the same, as pouty and inviting as ever.
Her lashes had grown out and her face features had tightened up with time. There were hollows in her cheeks that werenât there before, her smooth jaw more defined. There were freckles on her nose, whether they were drawn on or not he didnât know but it didnât matter. He liked it, all of it.
She was beautiful enough to defile right then and there.
Her eyes watered and he wondered if sheâd read his mind.
His fingers tightened around her chin, âFound you.â
âNo.â her voice came out choked. It was her voice. The voice heâd replayed so much in his mind and craved to hear in his dreams. Another cold shot of victory ran up his spine.
He felt her chin move in his hand but he kept her in place.
She tried to push herself up but failed. It seemed she was too weak too.
He watched the tears pour from her eyes, mixing in with the raindrops atop her skin. She must be realizing all her struggle was useless, all her struggle to get away from him then and all of her struggle now. There was nothing she could do.Â
âNo.â she rasped, weakly.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
He watched another tear slip out the corner of her eye, âYou cryinâ?â he asked softly, despite the cacophony of emotions roaring inside him, âYou cryinâ cause you missed me?â
He should be angry, watching her cry should infuriate him. He felt hints of itâthe deep betrayal that consumed him in the early months when she left but.. looking at her now, he just wanted to bask in her. He wanted to hold her, feel her, taste her.
And break her, all at the same time.
It was pathetic how weak he was when it came to her. Just watching her cry made him ache. Her wet tears got caught in her lashes, just like they would before, and her lower lip trembled ever so slightly with each cry. The turmoil in her glossy eyesâFuck, why does she have to look so pretty when she cries?
It shouldnât be this easy but hell he missed her so much.
He sighed, aggravated, âStill such a pretty fuckinâ crier, sânot fair.â
âStop.â she cried, shaking her head as the rain continued to pour atop them. She pushed at his chest, âStop.â
His skin tingled where she touched him. He caught her wrist before she could lift her hand away. He moved his hand on her chin to catch one of her tears with his thumb. He felt the warmth of her tear seep into his skin.
âI missed this.â he spoke quietly, âI missed this so much.â
Her chest shook from the sob she let out.
He leaned towards her, his forehead almost touching hers. Just being close to her was addictive, all he could smell was the rain but his hands on herâhis hand on her wrist, on her chin. His skin thrummed with life at the contact. He hadnât felt this way in so long.
She was so close to him now. Just millimeters away. Four years of deprivation about to come to a reprieve. The future never felt so ripe with possibilities.
It felt so right.
âI missed you.â
âNo you donât.â she cried, shaking her head wildly before trying to stand once more. âYou donât!â
âI do.â
Just as she stood, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against himself. Her head against his chest, his arms around her smaller frame. His skin warmed under their contact, the familiarity of it making his gut churn with a deeper need.
âNo-!â she scrambled up but he grabbed her pretty little plait and dragged her back against him.
You're not getting away from me that soon, kitten.
He withdrew a handkerchief from the inside of his coat and cupped it over her mouth. It was doused with a liquid that would temporarily make her lose consciousness.
He watched her eyes widen as she stared up at him. Her small body thrashing in his arms. He fought to hide his smile, her little body mustâve gotten stronger cuz he felt more force in her actions than she was ever able to produce before, but it was like paper to a rock. Her eyes finally fluttered close, her body going limp.
He removed the handkerchief from her mouth. He turned it over and wiped the raindrops from her face.
He gazed down at her. She looked peaceful. It would probably be the only time she looked that way, for a while, at least.
He pressed his lips to her forehead for a moment, before whispering against her skin, âI found you.â

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saw a tiktok on pinterest (because I donât have tiktok lol) about how annoyed someone was that Rory had given up all her hopes and dreams âbecause of one comment from a manâ. and I know this was meant as a joke but honestly I wonder if this is how a lot of people view this plot line. Iâve seen so many people talking about Roryâs âdownfallâ and how she was so unable to handle criticism/that she fell apart from a single comment etc.. and I just honestly canât see how people continue to view it this way.
I think there are honestly a lot of factors that influenced Roryâs breakdown after Mitchumâs comment, but first of all I quickly want to say that (I know this is controversial but I genuinely do not care) I donât think her leaving Yale was a bad thing!!! It was treated as this ultimate sin, (maybe this is for another post idk) but honestly I think Rory made the right decision. I donât think the right decision was obviously her giving in to the lifestyle Emily wanted for her/joining the dar and so on, but actually taking a break from formal education I think could have been positive, all through season 4 we see how much of a toll college is taking on Rory, and I think taking a year out if she knew she was going back and using that year to rest and learn more about herself could have been really beneficial.
anyway sorry for the tangent, okay so the first thing is that a lot of people seem to view Roryâs conversation with Mitchum as a single interaction which caused her âdownfallâ, and everything was a domino effect from then on, instead of looking at it as the straw that broke the camels back. like I said, Rory was not in a good place at Yale even during s4, she had a terrible breakdown when she was slipping in her grades, and the impact of having to drop a single class was huge for her, she was desperately anxious about disappointing especially her grandfatherâs expectations, but she was also at risk of at least somewhat disappointing all her immediate family. In season 2 (in my beloved car scene in teach me tonight) we can see hints of it too! Jess is just chatting casually when he says he didnât expect her to dream about becoming an overseas correspondent, but this immediately rattles Rory, with direct dialogue being:
âwell, it's not a little too rough for me. I hope it's not a little too rough for me, I've been talking about this forever. I mean, I don't even know what I would do if Â-â
and this is in response to a comment from a friend.
the prospect of failing at her goal but also very importantly what Rory has âtalked about foreverâ is incredibly frightening. I think itâs so interesting that she doesnât say âIâve wanted this foreverâ, but rather implies that the expectations of those who have watched her grow up, who have heard her talk about this for so long, would be shattered because she has shared this with them. so much of Rory as a character is someone who is afraid to disappoint in every way possible, I think that is such a core element of her personality, and as the child prodigy who was (to some extent) raised to achieve what lorelai couldnât, the pressure she is under not to disappoint is massive.
anyway, back to Mitchum. I think honestly to some degree it could have been anyone to criticise Roryâs capability and she would be considerably affected, seen not just when talking to Jess but even in season 1 after getting lower grades when she transferred to Chilton - Rory immediately questions whether she is even good enough to be at private school, whether she could just be disappointing those around her if she stays.
The fact that itâs Mitchum Huntzberger who says she âdoesnât have itâ in my opinion is kind of just the icing on the cake. Whether or not Rory had even taken the internship I think the pressure of it all would have led to a larger breakdown at some point or other, this was really just the final straw for what Rory could take at the time. Imagine one of the most successful people in the world in your chosen field telling you that everything youâve worked for isnât enough, that in three short words every expectation youâve set for yourself (and more importantly every expectation everyone around you has held you accountable to) has been torn apart. Imagine believing you had let down everyone who had sacrificed something for you, who had put their faith in you, and tell me you could just bounce back from that.
Anyway the tiktok was not that serious but my thoughts just kind of spun out from there so if you read all of this I love you <3 and also I love you later season Rory youâre flawed and youâre lovely<33
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ch 3
part 1, part 2 warning: smut (18+) sesbian lex, overstim if you squint
You donât know how she managed to tangle herself between your limbs but the two of you sat on the couch, watching a movie you picked out after having finished the pasta you brought over, leftovers tucked neatly away in the fridge.
The movie wasnât one of your favourites but it was an easy watch, nothing too crazy, just something nice and silly to pass the time.
You groaned as you rolled your eyes âI canât belive she just did that to her, itâs not her fault shes poorâ and that joke was lame as fuck,â you grumbled.
One of the main antagonists had just humiliated the main character at a party she held. In a game within a small group the bully jokes about what it must feel like to only be able to buy a few pieces of clothing once per year. Asking if itâs some sort of hippie trend going on for reduced waste.Â
The main character, (frustratingly) laughs it off saying she's not all that interested in clothing.Â
You didnât notice it, but Vi was not paying attention to the movie at all. Your lips were moving but she couldn't hear anything. She pursed her lips together as she wondered, has she always been this pretty?
Vi tried to focus on the movie that had you all worked up, but her eyes kept trailing back to your face. Back to the way you scrunched your nose in annoyance, the way your eyes were the most expressive feature on your face, how your lashes tickled below your eyebrow each time you rolled your eyes.Â
You turned to look at her when you noticed she's been giving you half responses, you frowned âDo you not like the movie? We can put something else on..â
She tucked a stray piece of hair neatly behind your ear, âNo, itâs okay we can do whatever you like,â giving you a small smile.
You halted at the unexpected touch, and the calm expression on her face steeled into one of sheer embarrassment.She yanked her hand away trying to hide the heat she knew was painfully rushing up to the tips of her ears.Â
You awkwardly shifted as well trying to brush off the gesture.
As the movie went on you leaned into her a bit more, your warmth printing into her body. Her body was soft against yours, her arm rested comfortably around your shoulder.Â
After getting bored with the same plot being overused with the same trope you've suddenly become more interested in each detail of her face.Â
You knew she might have eventually caught you but you couldn't help yourself. So, when you thought she wasnât paying attention, your eyes would wander a bit. Around her big blue doe-like eyes, and to her stupidly long lashes.
Over the freckles that decorated the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. The bold of her eyebrows, and the scar that bridged through it. The ring that glinted in her nose. Her liâ
You forced your eyes away, huffing in an attempt to ground yourself. She's my friend. You remind yourself.Â
But she laughs and your eyes are on her face again. Drawn unconsciously to the vibrant colour of her lips. The bright whites of her teeth and the overwhelming warmth you feel just by being near her.Â
You couldnât wait around any longer.Â
âVi,â you called out to her.Â
She turned her head to fully face you, responding with a soft, âHm?â
And with the fear that clawed at every reasonable part of your brain, telling you, you were going to make a mistake; one you could never undo, your desire for something more drowned it out. In abandoning all reason you kissed vi.Â
Her lips were soft against yours, you could feel the plushness of them, the scar on her lip that felt a bit rough but also her hesitation. The hesitation that confirmed you had just ruined everything. The hesitation that made you want to pull away, apologize and go home.Â
But from the way she grabbed the nape of your neck and moved her face closer to yours, you had reason to believe she silenced her fear as well.Â
Vi knelt between your legs, completely devouring you. Her tongue lapped along your folds, not letting a single drop go to waste. The fatigue from your orgasm was catching up to you but she didnât care.Â
You made such pretty noises and she wanted to do everything she could to keep hearing them. Your hole spasmed against her tongue, your lungs stuttered against your ribcage, trying to keep up with her pace. She was touching you everywhere, cupping at your breasts, kissing up your inner thigh, biting at your ankles, her warm touch felt like fire against your feverish skin.
Every noise she pulled out of you grew her confidence and would only encourage her to stimulate you differently like lightly biting at your inner thigh or gently flicking at your clit with her tongue. Each time she did, your muscles would tense up as your voice hitched in your throat as you tried to grapple between the overwhelming pleasure and the slight discomfort from the oversensitivity.
Her eyes shimmered with amusement whenever she looked up at you from between your legs.
Yes you were close friends but thatâs all she ever thought you guys would be. It made no sense to continuously yearn after something you couldnât have, but she was beyond ecstatic to be doing this with you. Her eagerness fueled by her desire to make up for all the times she declined your offer to grab something to eat, not knowing you wanted her the same way she wanted you.
A curse slipped past your lips as her tongue teasingly dipped into your hole forcing your attention onto her.Â
âYou taste so good,â she murmured.
Her firm hands sunk into your upper thighs keeping you in place, glossy eyes locked onto yours as she flattened her tongue, slowly licking up your folds dragging her tongue against your wetness. Her nose briefly meeting your clit.Â
Your brows drew together as you watched her slow and deliberate movements. She was looking at you so intensely you almost came from her gaze alone. Your body was heating up more than you thought was humanly possible.Â
She blew lightly on your cunt causing a small whimper to escape from your lips as your eyes fluttered shut. Impatience making you squirm from underneath her touch.
Vi loved how your chest heaved as it rose up and down, the way your nipples twitched against the cool air, how your hazy eyes hid behind your thick lashes as you looked down at her, how the marks she adorned stood out on your skin illuminated by the low lights in her room.
âYou're so pretty,â she whispered.
Warmth bloomed in your face as you suddenly felt so exposed in front of her, and her saying that didnât help at all. It felt like she was trying to make you feel embarrassed, your thighs pulled themselves together almost instinctively.
Vi dug the pads of her fingers into your thighs keeping them open. She pressed a soft kiss at your inner thigh, black hair tickling your thigh as she rested her head against your thigh. clouded eyes looking up to meet yours, âIs it too much for you?âÂ
Her thumb absentmindedly drew small circles on your other thigh, so innocently as if what she was asking was like asking what your favourite colour was. âWe can stop if you want me to.âÂ
âFuck..â you muttered.Â
She sounded so sincere asking you that it made your mind rotate. especially given her lewd appearance. A mixture of your cum and her spit was all over the sides of her cheek, her chin and her mouth.Â
You swallowed hard at the sight, before you quickly shook your head. âI donât want you to stop Vi,â you whispered.
She moved her head from your thigh to kiss at your inner thigh before swirling her tongue against a spot she knew you were particularly sensitive. Her teeth latched onto the soft skin as she softly bit you. You let out a low hiss, as she looked up at you before giving you a small smile.
She placed a small kiss on your clit before effortlessly sliding her middle and ring finger into your soaking cunt with an audible squelch.Â
âMmngh, f-fuckâ you moaned out, pressing your eyes shut.
She bit her lower lip as she watched how your cunt swallowed them whole. She pumped her fingers in and out, watching in awe as you squirmed from the oversensitivity.
âMmghhhâ ah!"
The wet sounds coming from your cunt and swollen lips only encouraged her to curl her fingers and work at your hole even more. Her thumb rubbed small circles on your swollen clit.
Countless moans tumbled past your lips as the sensations made it so hard for you to form a coherent sentence.Â
Her lips parted slightly as she watched you, her own face growing redder and redder by the second. Vi wanted to put her hands all over you, she wanted you entirely, but she also didn't want to scare you away.Â
You unconsciously rolled your hips against her palm, chasing after more you knew you could handle.
She lowered her face down in between your legs removing her thumb as she softly wrapped her lips around your swollen pearl. Still fucking you with her fingers, she began peppering soft kisses on your clit, before she teasingly flicked at it with her tongue.
You screamed out her name as tears began to prick at your eyes, your hands rushing to grip at her strands. Bridging oversensitivity and bliss, your eyes threatened to roll into the back of your skull as your thighs trembled with each motion of her tongue.Â
An overwhelming warmth began to build in your stomach as your walls spasmed against Viâs fingers. âHnnn fuck Iâm so close Im gonnaâ ah!âÂ
Back arching against the tangled sheets. Your fingers threaded through her hair as you pulled her impossibly closer into you.
You were growing dizzy with the overstimulation. She smiled into you from the way your cunt squeezed around her fingers.Â
âCum then.â She removed her mouth from your clit as she effortlessly slipped a third finger in and the heat in your stomach spilled over and onto her palm, your heart battered furiously in your ears ecstasy blocking out the volume of your own pleasure, the entirety of your body light on fire.
She brushed a loose lock of hair out of your face, bringing your gaze back onto herself as she pulled away and brought her fingers to her mouth. She swirled her tongue around them, licking them clean.Â
Upon noticing the tears that streamed down your face, concern etched into each corner of her face, âShit. I'm sorry, was it too much? Are you okay?â She brought up her hand to cup your cheek, softly swiping away the partly dried tear with the pad of her thumb.Â
You weakly shook your head no, a feeble smile finding its way onto your lips, âYou were amazing.â
Her face tilted downwards with a slight bashfulness, âOh..â she said, letting out a nervous laugh, âI'm glad you liked it.â
You took in her visuals, trying to catch your breath, but it was so difficult when someone as gorgeous as Vi was watching you come down from your high. You were fully naked but her eyes darted across your bare skin like she was itching to undress you.Â
You hooked a finger beneath her chin and brought her gaze up to your eyes, bringing your lips to hers.Â
Your lips moved against each other, seamlessly falling into a comfortable rhythm. You took Viâs lower lip between your teeth, pulling a soft moan from her in the process. Taking advantage of her parted lips, you slipped your tongue into her mouth, meeting hers. You let out a soft whine at the taste of yourself on her lips.Â
Vi kisses from down your lips, to your jawline, nibbling and biting at the skin, kissing lower to the base of your neck. suckling and peppering kisses that will definitely leave marks.
Your hands moved from her hair, to her neck, sliding down her shoulders, tracing down her arms where they trailed down to rest on her hips. Playing with the waistband of her pants, she pulled away from your neck.
Her lips were swollen, eyes shiny with pupils blown out to the rim. You note her eyes widened when you slipped your hands past them, tracing soft circles with the tips of your fingers against the bare skin on her hips.Â
You taunted her with a soft, âMay I?â
The next morning Vi woke up feeling oddly good about herself. Feeling as though whatever she dreamt of last night mustâve been fairly important. She propped herself up on her elbows desperately trying to piece together what it was she dreamt of.Â
To the sound of sheets ruffling you groggily stirred awake. Rubbing your eyes as you rested on your shoulder, covers dipping low enough to reveal your bare skin along with the harsh kisses she left at your skin.Â
And the heat in her face painfully reminded her that last night was very much real.
cross posted on ao3 with the same userr <3
#vi arcane#lesbian#wlw#arcane smut#vi x reader#league of legends x reader#x reader#arcane x reader#vi x fem reader
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Yearling - Ch. 38: Reckoning
You form a connection with an unlikely companion while Joel searches for you. A continuation of Yearling ch. 1-37 found on Tumblr here.
Pairing:Â Joel Miller x Female Reader
Warnings: Canon-typical violence and several steps beyond that. Fairly graphic torture. Attempted rape. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ OnlyÂ
Length:Â 17.6k
A/N: As with recent chaptesr, I want to state, real quick, that Bambi is NOT going to be sexually assaulted again. This is a highly triggering subject and, given the situation she's in, I understand if folks are bracing for it. That's not going to happen. Things are going to look really dicey this chapter but it does not happen.
We are into the final arc of Yearling and we are going to see some TLOU 2 OVERLAP again. There isn't any this chapter but there will be in this arc and here's how: a character from that game will be mentioned as will the spoiler-y incident from a few chapters ago. What happens plot wise in this arc is completely separate from the game and entirely original content BUT there is that character overlap and more specific mentions of the incident and the motives behind it. This character is in THIS CHAPTER. If you're trying to go in blind to season 2, it might be wise to step back. Feel free to send me a DM, I'm happy to answer any and all questions!
AO3Â |Â Chapter One | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
She was a girl. Just a girl.Â
You couldnât seem to move past just how young she looked, her face twisted into a hateful snarl. There was something gaunt about her features now that you didnât remember there being before but then, your memory of that day was twisted. Youâd been so focused on saving Joel - and suffering from losing blood yourself - that things were hazy. But you were almost certain sheâd been more imposing then, a golf club in her grip as she stood over your husbandâs broken body.Â
âYouâre with them?â She spat. âFucking figures, should have known youâd be just as fucking bad as himâŚâÂ
You cocked your head at her a little, trying to puzzle her out before releasing your hold on your chain and tugging your pant leg up enough that she could see it wrapped around your ankle. It was already rubbing your flesh raw, blood starting to cling to the metal.Â
âDoes it look like Iâm with them?â You asked, brows raised. You kept your injured hand cradled to your chest, the throbbing pain where your fingers used to be oddly muddled with the ghost of a feeling of the flesh and bone still there. You kept absently trying to flex them, expecting to feel the tension in the muscle when you moved. Your mind hadnât quite processed that it wasnât coming.Â
The girl - just a girl - clenched her jaw, shaking her head and looking away from you. You dropped your pant leg and pressed yourself tight against the wall at your back, holding your damaged hand with your intact one. It didnât make it hurt any less but it was still a comfort, to shield that vulnerability.Â
âWhat are you doing here.âÂ
The girl said it more than asked it, still not looking at you.Â
âSame as you, I imagine,â you said, your stomach churning at that, knowing what had probably just been done to this girl. Knowing what was waiting for you. She looked at you then, a darkness in her eyes that you knew well. You clenched your jaw and nodded slowly. âYou OK?âÂ
She scoffed.Â
âDonât act like you care,â she snapped. âIâm sure youâd love exactly what theyâre fucking doing to me, what theyâve been doing to me -âÂ
âNo,â you cut her off, tightening your hold on your wrist. âI donât. Iâve been here before. I know what they do. I donât wish that shit on anybody.âÂ
She looked at you again, skeptical now.Â
âThat how you met him?â She spat the word, like referring to Joel at all left a foul taste in her mouth. Â
âKind of,â you said. âHe found me after I got out, saved me from bleeding to death in the snow.âÂ
âBullshit.âÂ
âItâs not,â you said, watching her, your chest tight. Joel had told you that his raider days were far behind him and you believed him but you couldnât think of another reason why this girl would want to hate him in particular. âI owe him my life.âÂ
âSo heâs alive then?â She asked, gathering her knees into her chest.
You considered lying for a moment but you didnât see much point in it. Chances were, neither of you were making it out of this alive, anyway.Â
âYes,â you said. âHe is.âÂ
She just looked at you for a moment and you wondered, for a second, if she heard you. But then, her eyes brimmed with tears and her lip quivered, her breath quickening.Â
âOf course he is,â her voice shook before she slammed her fist back against the wall, hard enough that the sound made you jump. âOf fucking course he is! Do you know what I fucking did to get that far? What I fucking sacrificed!âÂ
She screamed and brought her fist down on the sagging mattress again and again until she was sobbing, the kind of choking almost strangled sobs that made you feel like you were going to suffocate when you were in them. It took her a moment to calm down enough to speak again.Â
âThatâs how these fucking assholes caught me,â she said, still taking deep, shaky breaths. âI was looking for some sign of him, of him or of your fucking people. I hoped Iâd be able to find out that he died, that I fucking killed him, that I could actually fucking breathe again. Instead, these fuckers got me. Because I hadnât lost enough to Joel fucking Miller.âÂ
She knew his name. That fact made your breath hitch. It hadnât been something random or even something from a chance encounter, she knew him in some way. You just didnât know how.
âWhy,â it was your turn to say more than ask. If you were trapped here with this girl, you needed to know if she was going to turn on you. But, more than that, you needed to understand.Â
You had survived a lot of terrible things since the outbreak but the days you thought you might have lost Joel were some of the worst of your life. Youâd trade years of enduring everything Mitchum and his men had put you through if it meant youâd never have to see Joel like that again. You needed to understand what made this girl hate him that much and you needed to know if there was anyone else who would come for him that way. Not that there was much you could do about it here, chained to a wall and in Mitchumâs grasp, but you needed to know that he was safe. That he would continue on and take care of your daughters without this threat hanging over him. You needed that comfort.Â
âWhy do you want him dead.âÂ
âWhy should I fucking tell you?â She didnât seem to say anything without biting it out, like she was made up of rage. You didnât much blame her. It didnât take long surviving like this before every other emotion was impossible and, before too long, rage was gone, too.Â
âBecause Iâm your best hope of getting out of here,â you said. âIâve done it before, I can do it again. And I meant what I said, I wouldnât wish this on anyone. Even you. But if it comes down to your life or my husbandâs? Iâll kill you. Wouldnât even lose sleep over it. So you need to tell me why you want him dead because Iâd rather not kill you. We can get out of this together but I need to know that youâre not going to kill him when we do.âÂ
âHusband?â She looked at you and laughed once, darkly. âFucking⌠You married a monster, you know. A fucking animal.âÂ
âWhy.âÂ
âIf he hasnât told you about the shit heâs doneâŚâÂ
âI know what heâs done,â you cut her off.Â
âAnd you still married him?â She shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. âThen youâre a monster, too.âÂ
âI can be the monster who saves you or the monster who kills you,â you replied. âHow much do you want this grudge to destroy your life?âÂ
âGrudge?â She asked, brows raised. âThatâs what you think this is? Like he called me names on the playground? He killed my fucking dad!âÂ
 Your chest got tight.Â
âPeople kill other people every day,â you said after a moment. âIt could have been anyone, itâŚâÂ
âYou know a lot of other guys who slaughter an entire hospital of people in cold blood?â She spat. âPeople who were just trying to save the fucking world?âÂ
Your face fell and she huffed.Â
âYeah. Thatâs what I thought.âÂ
Youâd thought - or maybe hoped - that her rage was a result of something that happened on patrol. That the blame could be comfortably placed somewhere else, that it was something that Joel could maybe even regret having done.Â
Instead, it was the one thing you knew he would never even apologize for, not in a million years. If it had kept Ellie safe, it wasnât something he could make amends for. And you didnât want him to.Â
âYou donât understandâŚâÂ
âNo, I understand perfectly,â she cut you off. âHe murdered my fatherâŚâ
âNo,â you shook your head.
ââŚand ruined every shot the world had at a fucking cure!âÂ
âThatâs not what happened,â you said, straining to keep calm but starting to fail.Â
âItâs not?â She seethed. âThen tell me! Tell me what fucking happened, give me one goddamn reason why anyone wouldâŚâ
âHe saved our daughter!â You all but yelled it, eyes wide, begging her to understand.Â
She sat back, laughing darkly once.
âNo,â She shook her head. âNo, he decided one life was worth more than every other life on the planetâŚâÂ
âSo!âÂ
âSO?â She gaped at you. âThatâs⌠thatâs psychotic, thatâsâŚâÂ
âDo you think your father would have done anything different if it was you?â You asked. âYou think heâd have just let them kill you?âÂ
âIf it meant saving the world?â She asked.
âIf it meant anything at all,â you said. âDo you really think he would have let them kill you.âÂ
âHeâŚâÂ
âYouâve done how much to avenge him?â You asked. âThink that means he wasnât a piece of shit.âÂ
âHe was amazing,â she snapped. âWhole hell of a lot better than that fuckingâŚâÂ
âDo you really think your amazing father would have let them kill you,â you asked. âBe honest with yourself. Would he have let them kill you or would he have done the exact same thing as Joel.âÂ
âHe wouldnât have become a mass fucking murderer!âÂ
âWouldnât he?â You asked. âYouâre not a parent, you donât know what youâd do for your kidsâŚâÂ
âI know thereâs a fucking limit!â She cut you off.Â
âNo, thereâs not!â You yelled. âI have two daughters, Iâd do anything for themâŚâÂ
âEven that?â She asked, incredulous.Â
âIâm only here right now because of them!â You said before forcing yourself to calm down. âIâve been here before. I barely survived. Some days, I didnât want to survive but I did and I escaped. But they took my daughters and they wanted me to trade myself for them and I did it without a second thought. Theyâre my children. Iâd do anything for them. And your dad would have, too.âÂ
She just looked at you for a moment and it was like you could see her deflate.Â
âWhen itâs your kid, there is no such thing as too far,â you said. âIâm sorry your dad died for that. I am. But Iâm not sorry that my kid lived and Iâd have killed anyone to make sure that happened, too. I ainât sorry for that part, either.âÂ
âThen youâre as much of a monster as him.âÂ
You just shook your head a little, turning your attention to your injured hand.Â
Curiosity got the better of you, even though you knew you should leave it alone. You carefully unwound the cloth theyâd put around your wounds where your fingers once were. The burned flesh, at least, had stopped bleeding and was just weeping where blisters were forming. The skin was ragged and the bone was splintered and it was surreal, realizing that part of you had been cut away.Â
âJesus,â the girl said and you looked over to her. Youâd been so lost in your own pain for a moment, youâd almost forgotten she was there. âThat⌠shit.âÂ
You looked back at your hand and flexed your remaining fingers, staring at where the two should be.Â
âIf you wanted to try to kill me, now would be the time,â you said. âIâm still down a lot of blood, youâd win this round.âÂ
âI donât want to kill you,â she snapped.Â
You took a last look at your injury before wrapping it back up slowly, carefully.Â
âIf Iâm a monster thenâŚâÂ
âDonât give me a reason to kill you and I wonât,â she said.
You looked up at her, bandage half around your wound.Â
âSame to you.âÂ
You went back to wrapping your injured hand, wincing at the pressure put on the cuts. You could feel the girlâs eyes on you as you worked and you cradled your hand to your chest again when you were done, something about holding it to yourself feeling more secure.Â
âI think we should work together,â the girl said eventually. You looked at her, brows raised. âWeâre both stuck here. We both want the same thing. I know what youâre capable of and you apparently know these assholes. You said you got out of here before?âÂ
You nodded slowly.Â
âI did.âÂ
âThen you know where to start,â she said. âIâve been here for⌠I donât know how long. A few weeks, I think. If you help me, Iâll help you.âÂ
You considered her for a moment.Â
âWhatâs your name?âÂ
She considered you back, like she was trying to puzzle you out.Â
âAbby,â she said eventually. âYours?âÂ
âBambi,â you said. She raised her eyebrows. âThatâs what everyone calls me, anyway.âÂ
âStupid fucking name,â she said.Â
You snorted.Â
âI donât really disagree with you,â you said. âAbby, if I help you, I need to know youâre not going to try to kill my husband the second weâre out of here.âÂ
âAre you serious?â She gaped at you before laughing darkly. âJesusâŚâÂ
âIâd rather us both die in here than get out and lose him,â you said. âThatâs the deal. You leave us alone, we leave you alone.âÂ
âYeah, because heâd just let me liveâŚâÂ
âWe havenât exactly hunted you down before now, have we?â You said. âThatâs the offer on the table. We help each other and we go our separate ways.âÂ
She looked at you, her jaw clenched tight.Â
âDo you think your dad would want you stuck here, in a place like this, so you could kill someone in his name?â You asked. âBecause I wouldnât want that for my kids. I wouldnât want them to kill anyone for me at all.âÂ
She ground her teeth, watching you closely.
âFine,â she said eventually. âWe make it out of here, I wonât go looking for him. And if I ever do run into him⌠Heâll leave alive.âÂ
âThank you,â you said, relaxing back into the wall.Â
âWhat do we do now?â She asked. âYouâre the expert.âÂ
âWatch each otherâs backs,â you sighed. âIâm in no shape to get us anywhere and I donât think youâre doing so hot right now, either. When was the last time you got a full nightâs rest?âÂ
She scoffed.Â
âLike these fuckers leave me alone long enough for that.âÂ
âThey will now,â you said.Â
âRight,â she said. âBecause youâre magically going to make them back off.âÂ
âNothing magic about it,â you said. âI just know what Iâm worth to their boss. They wonât go through me to get to you, heâd kill them if they did. You can take a breath.âÂ
She looked skeptical but she also looked exhausted. After a moment, she lay down on the mattress, her back against the wall and her arms crossed tight over her chest.Â
âDonât make me regret this,â she said before closing her eyes.Â
âYeah,â you said. âYou too.âÂ
***
Joel rode with one hand resting over your fingers in his pocket.Â
They were a comfort to him, his heart beating more steadily when he could feel the parts of you there.Â
He tried not to think about why he found them so comforting. The truth of it nagged at the back of his mind but he tried to leave it tucked away. He wasnât equipped to face that. Not now.Â
But the truth of it was, if he couldnât get you back, he needed to have some part of you he could put in the ground. He wouldnât be able to bury an empty box so he had somewhere to lie when what was left of the world became unbearable and had a place to go when his time came, too. He had something he could honor and be close to if he lost you now.Â
âJoel,â Tommy said. He wasnât sure how long theyâd been riding. âWe need to rest the horses, we canât keep pushinâ âem like thisâŚâÂ
âThey can rest when we find her.âÂ
âJoel,â he said again, and he actually turned to face his brother, his hand still on your fingers in his pocket. He could feel the metal ring of your wedding band beneath his palm.Â
I promise to protect you. Promise to never let anything hurt you.
âThe horses wonât be in any shape to get her out of there if we push âem too far right now. We need to rest them, for her sake. We need to rest ourselves, too. Canât fight if weâre exhausted, itâll just get us all killed. Please, Joel.âÂ
Joel clenched his jaw. Tommy was right. He knew he was. But it didnât feel right. He didnât want to sleep or eat or let another hour pass without knowing you were alive.Â
âLetâs get to the stream,â Joel said, nodding toward where he knew there would be some water coming up. âThen we can take a break.âÂ
It didnât take long, the three of them making it to the water almost too quickly for Joelâs liking. But he stopped all the same, dismounting his horse and giving him a chance to drink. Ellie and Tommy did the same, Ellie pacing for a moment before stopping, staring at the water.Â
âBe back in a minute,â she said. âNeed to use the restroom.âÂ
âDonât go far,â Joel cautioned. She didnât respond, just stalking into the brush.Â
Joel stared at the water, too, shifting his weight from foot to foot, adjusting his back as his body settled into a different position than it had been in on the back of a horse.Â
âJoel,â Tommy said, coming up alongside him. He kept his eyes on the water. âLook man, I canât pretend to know what it is youâre goinâ through right now. Donât know that Iâd be doing any better in your shoes but⌠Jesus, man. Ellieâs a kidâŚâÂ
âOld enough to patrol.âÂ
âPatrol,â he repeated. âNot do the shit we used to do. Thereâs a difference.âÂ
âShe wants to know how to protect what she loves,â he said. âYou know as well as me the kind of world we live inâŚâÂ
âDonât mean she needs to be doinâ that,â Tommy cut him off. âYou really want her to live with that shit in her head the rest of her life? Knowinâ what sheâs capable of doing to a person?â
Joel didnât respond. He just crossed his arms a little tighter.Â
âShe wouldnât want that for her,â Tommy said after a minute. âBambi loves that girl. She wouldnât want her torturinâ someone in her name.âÂ
âWell sheâs not here to put a stop to it, is she?â Joel asked, finally looking his brother in the eye. Tommy didnât say anything. âEllieâs an adult. Iâm not gonna pretend like sheâs not grown enough to make her own choices. If she wants to make a man pay for takinâ someone she loves? Iâm not about to stop her.âÂ
Tommy just squared his jaw, watching Joel intently for a moment.Â
âSo weâre clear, Iâm not just out here for you,â he said. âIâm out here for Bambi, too. Sheâs my family and Iâm going to do what she would want me to do, including saving that kid from herself.âÂ
Joel rounded on his brother fast and firm, forcing him back into a tree.Â
âYou really mean to tell me what my wife wants?â He was seething, in Tommyâs face. âI left her and our girls in the place you told me was safe and now sheâs gone, I might never get her back and youâre gonna tell me how to handle it? That it?â
âYou really gonna blame me for this?â He asked quietly. âYou gonna tell me Iâm in the wrong?âÂ
âDad?âÂ
Ellieâs voice appeared behind him and Joel stepped back from Tommy who cleared his throat awkwardly.Â
âEverything OK?â She asked, looking between the two men.Â
âFine,â Tommy said. âWeâre just⌠worried.âÂ
âNo shit,â Ellie said. âMe too.âÂ
âWeâll give the horses an hour,â Joel said, looking between the two of them. âThen weâre back on the road.âÂ
It wasnât a relaxing break. Ellie patched up the knife wound on his shoulder. Once that was done, Joel just tried to not pace, feeling the burn of Tommyâs gaze on his skin. But it was like he was on fire, his muscle and his marrow burning with the need to move, to do something besides just fucking stand here at the waterâs edge and watch it go past, as though everything was normal and life shouldnât have come to a grinding halt because you were gone.Â
It was just shy of an hour when Joel couldnât take it anymore.Â
âCâmon,â he said, mounting up again. âLetâs go.âÂ
They rode for a few hours more in brutal, damning quiet when Tommy finally spoke again.Â
âShould talk about a plan,â he said.Â
âPlan is to get my goddamn wife,â Joel spat. âWhat else do I need.âÂ
âWeâre gonna be outnumbered, for one,â Tommy said, his voice almost eerily calm. âFor another⌠it sounded like Mitchum ainât gonna be thereâŚâÂ
Joel was quiet for a moment, waiting for him to finish the thought. He didnât.Â
âSounds like youâre arguinâ about the fact that thereâs one less person standing between me and my wife,â Joel looked at his brother, his jaw clenched tight. His hand went to cover his pocket again, feeling where your fingers were against his leg. Â
I promise to protect you.
âIâm not,â Tommy said. His tone reminded Joel of the way you spoke to the feral horses youâd brought to Jackson. Like Tommy knew he was an unbroken, wild thing, something that was dangerous and could lash out at any second. âBut⌠He knows where to find her now and it doesnât sound like heâs going to stop coming for her. We need to get her back but we need to make sure sheâs safe and to do that, we need to kill him, too. We have to wait for him to come back otherwise weâre just buying time, thatâs all. We have to end it.âÂ
Joel looked straight ahead, grinding his teeth.Â
âHeâs right,â Ellie said quietly. âWe need to kill the guy at the top, too, or it wonât stop.âÂ
He was almost embarrassed to admit, even just to himself, that he hadnât put much thought into that. Heâd been singularly focused: Get to you, save you, destroy whoever he could reach whoâd hurt you.Â
But if he wanted to do what heâd vowed to do, he couldnât let it be that simple. He would have to make sure he cut the snake off at the head. There was no other way.Â
âSo what do you propose we do?â He asked gruffly, even though he knew they were right.Â
âFind âem,â Tommy said. âTake someone from the perimeter, if we can. Pull information from âem. If we can know when heâs coming back⌠if itâll be soon, we can wait him out. If itâll be long, we get Bambi and get a message back to Jackson, bring people out to take care of him when he does come back.âÂ
Joel nodded slowly, considering.Â
The only faults he could find in the plan was that it could mean you were with these monsters longer than it took to reach you or that he wasnât the one to take Mitchum apart. He needed to get to you as fast as he could, make sure you were still breathing and still you as fast as he could. And once he had you back, he wasnât leaving your side. Heâd have to trust someone else to handle your captor and that made his skin crawl. Mitchum needed to pay. He needed it to be long and harsh and cruel and he needed to know that, when he died, he knew why.Â
But holding you was more important than any of that.Â
âAlright,â he said. âWe get there, we find someone, we take the information. We can decide from there.âÂ
Tommy nodded but was quiet for a moment.Â
âItâs the right move, Joel,â he said gently. âYouâre doinâ everything you can for her and weâre going to get her back. SheâsâŚâÂ
âDonât fuckinâ lie to me,â he snapped, his chest getting tight, so tight it was getting hard to breathe. âDonât tell me sheâs going to be alright not⌠not when I left her there, not when I shouldâveâŚâÂ
âSheâs strong,â Tommy cut him off, looking quickly at Ellie whoâs head was hung low. âSheâs the strongest person I know. Sheâll make it.âÂ
The three of them made it to the edge of what they thought was Mitchumâs territory as night started to fall, finding a place to hole up and collect information.Â
âYou two stay put,â Tommy said, once it was dark. He went down to the basics, leaving his pack and horse behind. âIâll find where to go. Donât do anythinâ stupid.âÂ
Joel clenched his jaw but gave him a nod, watching what little he could see of his brother in the dark.Â
âGet some sleep,â he said to Ellie after sitting in silence for too long.Â
âIâm not tired,â she said, her voice harsh but quiet.Â
âTry,â he said. âIâll keep watch.âÂ
She sighed but he heard the rustle of her getting her sleeping bag from her pack all the same and watched the outline of her as she settled in nearby on the ground. Joel kept his hands on his rifle, tracing his fingers over the familiar edges of it. The weapon was a comfort, the corporeal reminder that he was not powerless, that he could do damage and take what he needed. He had what was necessary to save you, he just had to do it.Â
âJoel?â Ellie said softly.Â
âHm.âÂ
âAre you OK?âÂ
His hands stilled on the gun and he looked over to her. He couldnât make out her face in the dark but he could feel her eyes on him.Â
âShoulder donât hurt,â he said. âMâfine.âÂ
âYeah, butâŚâ she paused. âWhat about the other stuff.âÂ
Joel sighed, not really sure how to answer that question. How did he tell Ellie that he felt like he was on the edge of a knife? There were only two options for him: bringing you home or not going home at all. He knew that now, there would be no coming back from this without you. He didnât want to come back from this without you.Â
âYou can talk to me, you know,â she said. âIâm not a little kid anymore. I know you still see me like a kid butâŚâÂ
âI know youâre not a kid,â he said. âBut there are some things⌠some things just ainât yours to carry.âÂ
She was quiet for a moment, long enough that Joel thought the conversation might be over. But it wasnât.Â
âHow do you do it?â She asked.Â
âDo what.âÂ
âHurt people.â She sounded so small it reminded Joel of when they were coming to Jackson, when she was scared and uncertain and had already survived so much more than she should have.Â
He sighed.Â
âJust do.âÂ
âHow do you not lose yourself to it?â She asked. âWhen I saw him there, when⌠when I knew what he did and knew he was still breathing, I got so angry. Like all I wanted in the whole fucking world was to hurt him that way, too. I wanted to make him pay for it, pay for everything and I would have hunted him to the ends of the fucking Earth to do it but when I actually⌠when you gave me the knife, when I was able to⌠It didnât feel better but I couldnât stop it. I knew it wasnât helping her and it wasnât changing anything but someone needed to make him pay and I wanted it to be me but all it did was make me sick but I couldnât stop it. How do you stop it?âÂ
He adjusted his grip on the gun, fingers pressing too hard into the stock, his chest tight.Â
âLot of practice,â he said eventually. âStarted⌠it started out just for information. And⌠well, truth of it is, I wasnât able to feel much when I started doinâ it. After I lost Sarah, I just didnât feel much of anything at all. I just wanted to keep Tommy alive. Did a lot of shit I regret in the name of keeping me nâhim alive. But that made it easier. And doing it when⌠when thereâs trouble, when itâs you or her⌠I donât feel much then, either. Canât feel bad about doinâ anything to a man like that when heâs between me and⌠Thereâs nothing in me to feel bad. Only hard part is not killinâ someone who deserves it too fast. But the informationâs important. Easy to remember to get it when I need to. Itâs just⌠itâs practice, same as anything else. Practice you donât need to have, baby girl.âÂ
Ellie sighed.Â
âI get what you mean,â she said eventually. âI lost control with Cody before but⌠I donât know. Itâs like thereâs part of me thatâs missing right now and I donât know what to do if I donât get it back.âÂ
Joelâs heart clenched at that.Â
âIâm sorry, baby girl.âÂ
âI know,â she said quietly. âWe⌠weâll take care of each other, right Dad? No matter what?âÂ
Joel was silent, trying to figure out how to speak without his voice catching.
âWe will,â he said after a moment. He wasnât sure if he was lying to her.Â
Ellie was asleep when Tommy made it back to their small camp, sitting heavily beside his brother.Â
âFound their perimeter,â he said quietly. âWe ainât too far, half a mile maybe? Got an idea of how they patrol, there are spots we can grab one. Looks like a decent set up, weâll have to be smart about how we do this, Joel. If we ainât, it could get her killed as much as it would you or me.âÂ
Joel knew Tommy was saying that to try to keep him from charging in, hot headed and foolish, but that didnât make it feel any better to sit here and wait.Â
âThink we get a few hours rest,â Tommy said. âGrab one of their men just before sunrise.âÂ
âAlright,â Joel said, settling in to wait, trying to ignore the pull in his chest at the thought of you so close but so out of reach. âYou sleep, Iâll keep watch.âÂ
âJoelâŚâÂ
âIâm not sleeping without her,â he cut him off. âIâll be fine. Sleep.âÂ
Tommy was silent for a moment.Â
âShe wouldnât want you doing this to yourself, either,â he said quietly. Before Joel could argue, Tommy got up and got his sleeping bag from his pack, settling in on the other side of Ellie as Joel looked toward Mitchumâs base, watching the place where you were in the dark.Â
***
Abby was right. They werenât letting her rest.Â
You werenât entirely sure how long you were watching over her as she slept when you heard the front door open. You knew it was still dark, it couldnât have been that long. Youâd been trying to do something to keep yourself calm in the time that youâd been sitting there, watching over the girl who had nearly murdered your husband.Â
Your entire body was tense and on high alert. You didnât think you could hope for much else while you were here. Even before youâd never really been able to turn off the constant thrum of fear that pulsed through you. It wasnât paranoia, it was self preservation. You had to be prepared for someone to come and hurt you at any moment. Your heart beat faster because of it, breaths came faster. You were sure youâd lost more blood because of it when they took your fingers. But you knew you couldnât stay this tense for long and be useful. You needed to calm down enough that you could function and eventually rest. You needed to recover the blood you lost before you could do anything at all.Â
But the tactics you used before to keep yourself sane couldnât happen now. You couldnât pretend to play guitar anymore. Youâd never tried to play with just three fingers on one hand and thinking about losing that hurt, more than even losing the fingers did. You werenât in any condition to train, either.Â
Instead, you just stared at the wall over Abbyâs shoulder, her back pressed to it. You tried to think about how to get out, what you had to leverage. If there was a time where you and Abby might be unchained at once, maybe together you could overpower them.Â
Maybe Joel would come for you.Â
Not that you thought he wouldnât try, you knew he would. But youâd changed hands, groups had gone separate ways. Tracking you would be basically impossible. You couldnât count on him to find you under these circumstances. You could only count on yourself and your need to get back home to him.Â
Still, you thought youâd have more time of staring at the wall before anyone would come for you or for Abby. You were wrong.Â
You tightened your grip on your chain and looked around for other options for weapons but Mitchum and his men had been thorough, the room stripped bear of everything but the bare necessities. You grabbed the bucket from the end of your bed - one that, thankfully, you hadnât needed to use yet - before turning to the sleeping girl on the other bed.Â
âAbby,â you hissed quietly, stretching your unchained leg out and jostling her mattress. She jerked and scrambled, already panicky and gasping for breath. So different from the girl whoâd held Joelâs life in her hands. Her darting eyes found you and she seemed to remember then, relaxing a little. âSomeoneâs in the house.âÂ
âFuck,â she swore, looking around for something to fight with but coming up as empty as you had.Â
âHow far can your chain reach?â You asked as quietly as you could, eyes darting toward the door.Â
âUm,â she moved almost to the middle of the room, her chained leg stretched far to the side. âThis far.âÂ
âOK,â you nodded, not sure you believed it. But yours went about as far, and you were able to place yourself in front of her. âJust.. stay behind me.âÂ
âYou really think this will work?â She asked. You looked back over your shoulder at her. Her teeth were gritted and fierce but her eyes were wide and afraid.Â
âThey wonât touch me,â you said. âIf you stay behind me, youâll be OK. Just stay behind me.âÂ
The door opened and a man you didnât recognize stalked in. Mitchum had either expanded or replaced a lot of his henchmen in the years youâd been gone. The man looked you up and down for a moment, his eyes calculating and hungry, before looking behind you.Â
âCome here, girl,â he said, ignoring you completely.Â
âFuck off,â Abby snarled, but she stayed behind you.Â
He squared his jaw, his nostrils flared.Â
âDo as I say,â he snapped. âOr Iâll make it hurt.âÂ
She laughed once, darkly.Â
âLike you wouldnât anyway.âÂ
âFine,â he said, going to move around you. âIâll drag you, then.âÂ
You didât let him pass. Instead, you lashed out with your unbound leg, kicking hard and landing a blow on his inner thigh - not quite where you were hoping to hit but it was enough. He hissed in pain and stumbled, looking vicious.Â
âFuckingâŚâ he rounded on you, moving toward you, but you raised your still-booted foot, ready to kick again.Â
âTry it,â you said. âSee what happens. Think your boss would just let you get away with fucking up his favorite toy before he got back? Take a guess what happened to the fuckers who took my fingers.âÂ
He hesitated then, looking between you and Abby.Â
âNot getting her without going through me,â you said. âAnd heâll kill you if you go through me.âÂ
His lip curled.Â
âBullshit.âÂ
You shrugged.Â
âRisk it if you want,â you said. âOr ask the men who brought me in. Personally I think itâd be fun to watch you become clicker foodâŚâÂ
You pressed back closer to Abby, feeling her at your back, ready to move as best you could if you needed to.Â
The man, however, didnât move. He just let out a short, enraged scream and turned his back to you for a second, stomping toward the door before turning back.Â
âMitchum is back soon,â he said, your body tensing at his name, heart pounding a frantic rhythm against your ribs. âHeâll take care of you himself.âÂ
He stormed off, slamming the door behind him.Â
You relaxed then, your heart still in your throat as you moved back to your side of the small room. You didnât want to be any closer to Abby than you had to be.Â
She, it seemed, had the same thought, moving to her mattress and pressing her back against the wall, taking slow but shaky breaths as she did.Â
âYou alright?â You asked, pulling your injured hand back into yourself again. It felt so much better there for some reason. Not any less painful but at least less exposed.Â
âFine,â she said, a little breathless. You nodded, closing your eyes for a second and counting your breaths, trying to force them to slow. âWhy did you do that?âÂ
You looked at her for a moment as she watched you, her eyes narrowed but in curious examination, not anger.
âI meant what I said,â you replied. âWeâre stronger together. And⌠I might have every reason to hate you but no one deserves what they do. Not even you. Iâm not about to just let them do it. I donât have much power here but I have some and goddammit Iâm not going to waste it.âÂ
She nodded a little and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.Â
âThank you,â she said eventually. âYou didnât have to do that. Iâm not sure how much more I can take and⌠Thank you.âÂ
You just nodded, fingers absently seeking where your wedding band had rested just days earlier, a motion youâd done almost daily since Joel had put it on your hand. Instead, you found broken flesh. You took your fingers back.Â
âYou should try and sleep,â she said after a few minutes. âI wonât be able to for a while, not after⌠Iâll keep watch. Wake you up if anything happens.âÂ
You nodded slowly before stretching out on mattress, trying to calm yourself enough to actually rest.Â
You did manage it, for a few hours. You drifted in and out more than properly slept, but it was something. When you finally woke, you traded with Abby, her lying down to rest while you kept watch.Â
There wasnât much to watch for, though. Your threat, it seemed, had been taken seriously. No one came for Abby and you knew no one was going to come for you, not while Mitchum was away. You werenât sure what was going to happen once he did come back. You just hoped youâd have some kind of opening when they moved you to wherever they tried to take you for him to try and use, that youâd be staying close enough that you could easily come back for Abby and that the two of you could make a break for it together.Â
Once you were both awake again, you tried to learn what you could as quietly as possible. Abby gave you an idea of the layout of the place you were in, where the horses were kept, when people tended to congregate. Sheâd been here long enough to have a decent enough lay of the land, enough of one that you thought it could be helpful when trying to find your way out.Â
She was, as you learned, a resourceful young woman. Sheâd made one escape attempt already but she was caught quickly. She learned from it, though, telling you where she thought was better to avoid after watching certain areas after her attempted break out.Â
If it werenât for your shared history, youâd probably like her. You could even sympathize with her, to a point. If someone had taken the only person you had left in the world, you probably wouldnât care much about the reason they did it either. Youâd just want them to pay. But all that pain had been what landed her where she was.Â
After leaving Joel to bleed and die in the lodge that day, sheâd been content with it for a while. Satisfied that sheâd ended the man who had ended her father, she felt like she could move on and she tried to, for a while. She spent time with the group of people who had helped her hunt Joel down, started looking for someplace to call home.Â
Then, doubt took hold. She couldnât be sure he was gone. Sheâd left him with you, after all, someone who seemed as determined to save him as she had been to destroy him. How could she know, with deep and comforting certainty, that he was truly gone? How could she just live her life if there was a chance he was out there, living his?Â
So she set off toward Jackson. Her friends had tried to talk her out of it but she was unrelenting. She needed to see evidence of his demise before she could rest and - on the off chance he survived - she needed to finish the job. Two had come with her for a while, trying to talk her out of it the whole way, but, eventually, they gave up and she was alone.Â
She didnât know what her plan was, really. It wasnât like she had resources to take on an entire town but she figured heâd leave eventually. Sheâd found him almost on his own before, she could do it again.Â
She was closing in on where she thought Jackson was when one of Mitchumâs men - patrolling the areas around the town, looking for a foothold - found her. She fought hard and took several of them down before they took control of her, chaining her and dragging her back to Mitchumâs camp more than a month earlier.Â
You had the fleeting thought that you should, in some way, find this satisfying. That her lust for pain had brought her here, victim to a monster of another kind entirely, knowing that if sheâd just left well enough alone, she would be with her friends.Â
But you couldnât. You knew the kind of pain Mitchum wrought, how he and his men took a person apart from the inside out, separating them from their humanity with surgical precision until they were just a shell of who the were before. No one deserved that, not even her, especially not when you thought of her as somewhat like a girl youâd been once, one filled with so much hurt and anger you thought you might burn the world with it.Â
It was an uneasy alliance, one that you were forced to trust. She watched over you as you slept and the two of you were only disturbed by an angry delivery of jerky and water.Â
You wished you had some idea of when Mitchum would be back. Being left alone was almost disturbing and the feeling of looming agony was heavy and only grew heavier as time passed. You knew he would come back eventually, returning from whatever dark business he had and heâd come straight for you when he did. He always did when he came back unless he was too injured to do what he wanted with you. Any frustration that had built up in his time outside he seemingly loved to work out with your body, relieving it with your fear and pain. You could only imagine what he would do to you now, when youâd been a source of frustration and denial for him for so long and when he was apparently willing to trade so much for your return. The only solace you could find in that was the fact that he likely wouldnât kill you too quickly. That would give you more time to get out and get back to Jackson, assuming he didnât accidentally break you past the point of survival.Â
You were pretty sure it was the afternoon the next day when someone came into your room again. You and Abby moved to the middle of it, you in front as you stared down the man, watching for an opportunity. You were stronger now, still not recovered from losing your fingers - no where near it - but you felt like you had a fighting chance now. You werenât about to miss your shot at escape if it arose. But he just smirked, collecting the buckets from the feet of the beds.Â
âDonât get too excited,â he said. âJust cleaning up for the boss. Doesnât want to deal with your stink.âÂ
Your heart sped up and you fought to keep it from showing on your face. If they were doing this now, he had to be close. He might already be here and time was running out.Â
In truth, regardless of how careful Mitchum was to keep from killing you, you werenât sure you could survive any of it again. His hands on you now would be poison, the feeling of him inside you now ruinous. There was some part of you that had started to believe that this was behind you. That no one would ever touch you without your permission again, that you had the skills and the tools to fight whoever came for you and you were safe. You could finally relax.Â
That sense of safety had healed parts of you that you werenât sure youâd ever get back if you lost them again and the man who would take them was all but knocking on your door.Â
âFuck,â Abbyâs voice was quiet and panicked at your back.Â
âHe doesnât like an audience,â you said softly, watching the door. âTheyâre going to take you away. See if you can make a run for itâŚâÂ
Before she had a chance to respond, the door opened again, the man returning the buckets. This time, they were far from the ends of the bed, tucked into the corner near the door where you couldnât reach. You swallowed and tried to force yourself to stay calm. You couldnât do this if you were panicked, you had to focus.Â
âAlright,â he said, standing and looking the two of you over before nodding to Abby. âYouâre coming with me.âÂ
âFuck you,â she spat and you felt her tense behind you.Â
âThatâs the idea,â he sneered. âAnd you Iâve got permission to fuck up, so best if you listen.âÂ
âStill have to go through me, you fuck,â you snapped. âDonât think you can just do what you want with me.âÂ
âNo,â said a chillingly familiar voice from the other side of the door. Mitchum came in slowly, smirking and confident, his boots falling heavy on the plywood floor. âBut I can. Youâre my toy, little doll, in case you forgot. And just because you went and got yourself all feral out there doesnât mean you can just run roughshod over my men like you have been.âÂ
You resisted the urge to scramble as far back from him as you could reach. You knew it wouldnât help, heâd get to you anyway and then heâd have evidence of your fear when he did. You fought to breathe and hold yourself steady, even as your heart raced and your stomach churned.Â
Mitchum prowled forward, a limp in his right leg you didnât remember him having before. You tried to think back to a few nights before, when Cody had handed you over, and picture his gait then but you were so afraid and so lightheaded you could hardly recall anything specific. You stared up at him as he squatted in front of you and you tried not to flinch back. Everything about him being close like this felt wrong, the threat of his presence, the stink of horses and chewing tobacco and sweat, the uncomfortable heat of his body. Everything in you screamed to run, you had to force yourself to not try to take off so fast that it would pull your chained leg out of its socket and he reached out, his hands chapped and harsh, snatching your chin into his rough grasp.Â
âYouâve always been a pretty thing,â he said, forcing your face to the angles he wanted as he examined you. âGlad to see youâve still got that fire in your eyes. Iâd have to fuckinâ kill Cody if he took that before I had my chance. Thought about it for your fingers - youâre no fun if you go too easy, canât have you too damaged. Should never have sent him after you, should have known better⌠Was he who helped you the first time? Always thought he was goinâ soft for you. Not too soft, apparently, butâŚâÂ
You jerked your chin away from him and he let you go, a satisfied smirk on his face when you did.Â
âLevi,â he said, glancing back to the man whoâd come in with you. âTake the other one where ever you want, back bedroom should be open for you. But youâd better not damage her permanently, sheâs a fun one, too.âÂ
âCâmon,â he went to take Abby but he wasnât paying attention to you, leaving himself exposed as he tried to move past you. You took advantage of it, lashing out with your still booted foot and slamming the heel into the crotch of his jeans. He cried out and fell to his knees, clutching at his genitals before he fell to his side, damn near writhing and he moaned in pain.Â
You looked at Mitchum.Â
âYour lackeys are fuckinâ weak,â you said through clenched teeth.Â
He barked a laugh, the stench of rot on his breath as he did, before he turned to look at the man who was struggling back to his knees.Â
âNow how am I supposed to believe you can wrangle a woman if you canât even handle âem when Iâm around?â He asked before whistling, high and shrill. A moment later, two more men came in, armed and large. He nodded to the girl. âTake her, do what you want as long as itâs nothing permanent. Take this idiot with you.âÂ
They moved with more caution, unchaining Abby carefully before hauling her away. She met your gaze for a moment, her eyes sharp but afraid. They closed the door behind them.Â
âBefore you get any bright ideas,â he said. âGot more men waiting not far away. Iâm the only reason youâre still alive. Want to stay that way? You do what I say.âÂ
âYou think I want to live if Iâm stuck here with you?â You asked, eyes darting over him as best you could, seeing what weapons he might have that you could reach. âRather die than be stuck with you forâŚâÂ
âAnyone else?â He cut you off. âIâd believe âem. But you⌠you were always different. Something special. You just donât have it in you to die, not like that. Youâll just keep on going until I make you die. And that, pretty thing, is hard to find.âÂ
He didnât give you a chance to respond, instead clamping his large hand around your throat and squeezing. Your eyes went wide and your fingers scrabbled at him, trying to claw him off of you but failing miserably as he dragged you by your neck to the mattress, throwing you roughly onto it. He moved you so roughly that your skull smacked into the wall, making your head spin and knocking you off balance.Â
You tried to reorient yourself, vision doubled for a moment, as Mitchum unlocked the chain at your ankle, removing the metal from your bloody leg before pulling off your remaining boot and reaching up and opening your pants. You scrambled to stop him there, too, shoving at his hands while trying to kick away from him but he grabbed the ankle that had been bloodied by the chain and yanked you toward him, the shock of it jerking you to a halt.Â
âThis would hurt less if youâd just cooperate,â he snapped before ripping your jeans down over your hips and to your knees. You ignored him, feet scrabbling for purchase on the mattress. It didnât seem to make much difference and soon, all you had on from the waist down was your underwear.Â
âNow letâs see,â he said, panting a little as he moved up your body. âYou still got my mark on you, little doll? Or did you find a way to get rid of it?âÂ
Before you could do anything to stop him, he tugged your shirt - Joelâs shirt - up and the side of your underwear down, exposing the brand heâd pressed into you the night heâd lied to you about Savvyâs death.Â
âThere she is,â he said, almost reverently, his fingers tracing the letter on your skin and you wanted, desperately, to climb outside of yourself in that moment. Or, at the very least, claw away every scrap of flesh that heâd touched to purge him from your body. âAlmost surprised you left me here so long. Maybe you missed me, tooâŚâÂ
âFuck you,â you hissed through clenched teeth.Â
Mitchum looked up your body, a sickening smile on his face.Â
âYou may not know this,â he said before gripping your thighs and forcing them wide apart. He wedged his large body between your legs before letting them go. You could feel the thick of his penis through his jeans and it made your stomach roll. âBut you need someone like me. Youâre too headstrong, too wild on your own. Without someone to keep you under control, youâll destroy yourself. Youâre much better off with someone like me. Just give me what I want and you get a pretty good life, just like one of those horses you love so much. Just let me break you and this gets so much easier for you.âÂ
His hand went around your throat again, fingers tightening to choke you until your vision grew spotty, your legs instinctively kicking as you clawed at his arm, trying to pull him away so you could breathe. You could see, just barely in your field of vision, his other hand going for his belt and you knew, if you passed out, youâd wake up with him inside you, forcing everything youâd fought for since youâd escaped him the first time out of you when he did.Â
You couldnât do that. Not again.Â
The fear and the realization were so sharp that you had a split second of clarity. Instead of your hands instinctively pulling at the thing that was nearly killing you, you gave up on that, instead throwing them forward, your thumbs quickly finding their place in Mitchumâs eyes, pressing as hard as you could as your consciousness faded.Â
It didnât take long for him to jerk back from you, releasing the hold he had on your throat and giving you the chance to take a breath. You almost choked on it, the rush of oxygen a shock to your system and you felt his weight leave your hips. You took advantage of that, too, kicking blindly, bare feet connecting with the round of his stomach and the thick of his neck.Â
âFucking cunt!â He roared and dove for you but you were able to dodge him, his hands missing your body, head coming to land near your shoulder. You had just enough leverage with your body weight to throw him into the wall with a sharp thud and you scrambled away, going for the door. But then you remembered the guards that were waiting on the other side of it.Â
You gave a whistle like the one he had, high and shrill, standing just to the side of the door as you waited to ambush the men who came when they thought he called.Â
It only took a moment, the first one rushing in, a puzzled look on his face as he watched Mitchum try to catch his breath and get off the mattress. You jumped on the guardâs back, wrapping your arm around his shoulders and pulling back on him. He choked and sputtered against you, slamming you back against the wall but you tucked your head into his neck so you wouldnât get hit there again. Instead, you sank your teeth into the tender flesh there, not like a lover but like an animal, ripping and tearing in search of his jugular. He shrieked and fumbled for his knife, grabbing it off his belt and slashing blindly back toward you.Â
The man didnât need much precision, though, the blade sinking into the thick of your arm just as your teeth closed around the flesh of his neck. You ripped your head away, a gush of blood in your mouth as you pulled his skin from his body, spitting the part of him you took onto the ground. The knife was still lodged in your arm and you released your hold on his shoulders to pull it free, adjusting your grip on it as quickly as you could to stab it into his bleeding neck. He dropped to his knees and you released your hold on him, rushing into the hall covered in blood, the knife in your grip. You wiped your mouth on the back of your sleeve and were about to make for the room where you thought theyâd taken Abby when another figure darkened the mouth of the hall - the other guard.Â
âWhat theâŚâ he began. You didnât give him a chance to finish. You launched yourself at him, his hands flying up on instinct to protect himself and he did a good enough job of it, catching your shoulders and keeping you not quite at armâs reach. But you didnât need to be any closer than that, sinking the knife into his throat, too.Â
You heard a commotion in the back bedroom then, heavy thuds and a scream as the door flew open, Abby leaning against the frame and panting for breath, blood dripping from a gash at her cheek.Â
âLetâs get the fuck out of here,â she said, a broken piece of wood tight in her grasp.Â
You just nodded once, making for the door, acutely aware that you didnât have shoes or pants - so like the first time youâd fled for your life all those years ago on the ranch as the world came crashing down around you.Â
The two of you peered out of the window at the front of the house, the guards who had been posted just outside gone.Â
âThink those assholes were the ones who came in as back up,â you said, eyes darting back toward the bedrooms. You knew you hadnât killed everyone but you couldnât risk going back to finish the job, not now. People would notice the missing guards too fast and then youâd be outnumbered. âWhich way?âÂ
âEast,â she said. âThe shortest route to the woods. We can lose them there.âÂ
It was dusk, not the best time to be on the run but at least soon youâd have darkness on your side.Â
âRight,â you said, looking over at her for a moment. âSee you on the other side.âÂ
She looked at you, too, like she wasnât quite sure what to make of you.Â
âYeah,â she said, giving you a firm nod.Â
You led the way, knife still firmly in your grip as you moved onto the porch, crouching low and sweeping the area. There were men in the distance, running toward something you couldnât see with rifles drawn.Â
âGo,â you whispered, staying bent over but letting your legs extend, ignoring the pain of sharp weeds and broken concrete below your bare feet as you ran, looking frantically for anyone who might try to stop you.Â
You froze on instinct when there was a sharp whistle that cracked through the air, three short blasts like some kind of signal. You grabbed Abby and ducked between two houses, just in time to see a cluster of men with rifles tight in their grips running past.Â
âEver seen them do shit like that?â You asked quietly.Â
âNo,â she said. âThey used whistles before for signals but never threeâŚâÂ
âWell, letâs hope whatever the fuck made them raise the alarm stays busy with these assholes,â you said, peeking around the corner. No one else was coming. âLetâs go.âÂ
You darted from house to house, seeking cover in shadows where you could and you were starting to think that, maybe, youâd managed it. That you were going to get out of here and find a way back to Jackson when Abby shrieked behind you.Â
A guard had grabbed her, his arm around her neck as he yanked her back. She flailed and thrashed, trying to dislodge him but he withstood her, pressing a handgun against her temple.Â
âIâll do it!â He snapped and your hands went up as Abbyâs eyes met yours, wide and wet and afraid. âIâll shoot her and youâre next if you donât just calm down and come with meâŚâÂ
âPlease,â Abby said, but she wasnât begging him. Her eyes were locked on yours, pleading. âDonât let him take me again, just let them kill me, pleaseâŚâÂ
You held her gaze, tears burning as you did.Â
âIâm sorry,â you said, voice wet as you started to lower yourself toward the ground. You looked toward the guard. âJust going to set the knife downâŚâÂ
âGo slow,â he said, the gun still to Abbyâs temple.Â
You just nodded, watching him closely, waiting for her to do something that would draw his attention. You didnât need to wait long.Â
âNo!â She screamed, the sound thick with tears. His eyes went to her but that was all you needed. You shot forward and thrust the knife into his calf, the blade embedding in his muscle before you twisted it. He screamed and instinctively dropped the weapon, his hands flying toward you and his leg, his hold on Abby gone. She stumbled forward and you snatched the gun from the ground, shooting him in the head at such close range it covered you in his blood.Â
âThanks,â she said shakily. âI⌠thank you.âÂ
âTold you,â you said, rolling the dead man over so you could get the rifle from his back. âWeâre in this together.âÂ
You handed her the smaller gun and kept the rifle for yourself and the two of you pressed on. You were able to dodge other trouble as you heard the commotion from the edge of the neighborhood get closer. There was the crack of gunshots and the boom of explosions and you just hoped whatever was coming for you wasnât worse than youâd already been stuck with. Mitchum had pissed off a lot of people in his time. If he was gaining territory now, there was no telling who might have come to put a stop to it. And that was assuming a hoard of infected hadnât picked up on this place, something you could only survive by outrunning.Â
âDo you know where the stables are?â You asked, gun still tight in your grip.Â
âNo,â she said. âBut Iâm not exactly a great rider, if we donât have time to saddle a horseâŚâÂ
You almost laughed at that, the absurdity that a horse could possibly hinder you.Â
âDonât worry,â you said. âAll I need is a horse. I can take care of shit after that.âÂ
She looked at you for a second before she took a deep breath and nodded.Â
âRight,â she said. âStillâŚâÂ
âLetâs split up,â you said, grip tightening on the rifle as you said it.Â
âNo,â she said quickly. âFuck that, we split upâŚâÂ
âWe need to get the fuck out of here,â you said. âAnd out run whateverâs making all that noise. Our best shot is on a horse. You go right, I go left, we meet up in the tree line on the other side. If you find the stable, just grab a horse, donât worry about any tack, I just need a horse. Got it?âÂ
âYeah,â she said. âFuck I hope youâre not crazy.âÂ
âIâm not,â you said. Taking a deep breath. âBe careful.âÂ
She looked at you again.Â
âYou too.âÂ
You went your separate ways, smoke on the horizon now as you searched as best you could for some sign of horses but found nothing. You were nearly stopped once by one of Mitchumâs men but you shot him before he could flag anyone down, the sound of the gunfire blending with the sound of the chaos that grew closer.Â
You made it to the tree line, a wide open span of grass between the house at the back of the subdivision and the start of the forest. You looked around quickly before you ran, darting from the shelter of the house and moving as quickly as you could for where you said youâd meet Abby, hoping that she found a damn horse.Â
But you barely made it that far when it happened. A thick, meaty hand closing over your shoulder, ripping you around to face Mitchumâs ruddy skin as he seethed, a murderous look in his eye.Â
You raised the rifle and tried to shoot even though he was far too close and he knocked the gun away as you pulled the trigger, the bullet going wide and barely catching the side of the leg he limped with.Â
Still, he hissed in pain before he lifted his leg, planting his foot in your chest and kicking you, hard, forcing you to stumble back, your bare feet catching on a tree root and sending you to the ground.Â
âYou fucking bitch,â he stalked over as you scrambled up onto your hands, pulling yourself backwards from him, breathlessly looking around for something - anything - that could help you. âYou think you can just do whatever you want, that it?âÂ
His foot collided with your shoulder this time, forcing you onto your back and he all but fell beside you, taking your face sharply in his hand.Â
âCould have just cooperated,â he said, panting, keeping his face a good distance from you now so it was just out of reach and your fingers had nothing to scratch at. âCould have made life easy for yourself. You think Iâm the worst thing out here, huh? Think there arenât other men who would have let you fuckinâ die a long time ago?âÂ
âFuck you,â you hissed as his fingers dug into your cheeks.Â
âYou want me to treat you the way those other men would?â He asked, releasing your face just to punch it. The blow made your head spin and your vision go spotty. âFine, I can do that, I can stop beinâ gentle with you. Because you better believe I was being gentle before. Wonât be gentle now, not for you.âÂ
He grabbed your knees and wrenched your legs apart, going between them before you could snap them shut and you more heard his belt buckle than saw it.Â
âYou want to die on my cock?â He asked. âWho am I to fuckinâ stop youâŚâÂ
Time slowed, only for a moment. In that long, torturous second, you remembered everything from your time in captivity that your mind had tried to protect you from. The haze of pain the last time Mitchum had you, the way he forced your body to bend to his will in such a way that it didnât feel like yours anymore, the burn of his brand on your flesh, the strange mix of fear and hope that maybe this time he would kill you.Â
But you remembered everything that had moved in to replace all that agony, too. The way youâd slowly, gently come to love Joel more than you knew it was possible to love somone. The way Ellie was the opposite, bursting her way into your life and leaving you not other choice but to love her with everything you had. The way youâd grown to love everyone in Jackson, all these people who had come to rely on you, too. The way Savvy had joined you there, finding a place in a world you thought had died years before her birth.Â
You couldnât let him unmake all of that inside you. You had too much to lose, too much that made you who you were now, you didnât have room for it all alongside the pain he was trying to force on you. You couldnât let him take it all away. Not now.
Time righted itself again, just as his hand came to rest over the gusset of your underwear and you roared, the sound more ripping itself from you as you shot forward, slamming your forehead into Mitchumâs nose and feeling the satisfying collapse of it below your skull. He shocked back from you and you wrapped your hands around his neck, shoving yourself onto your knees and screaming as you did. He was larger than you and you had to work to knock him off balance but you were determined and he collapsed back, your hands still tight to his throat as you sat on his chest, knees on either side of his ribcage.Â
He kept his wits about him as you tried to choke him, though, his fist catching you sharply on the chin and knocking your hands free for a moment. He took advantage of it and grabbed your left hand, bringing the place where Cody had cut your fingers away to his mouth and biting down, making you shriek in pain. You ripped your hand back from his mouth and punched him across the face with the other as he tried to wrench you from your place on top of him, leveraging your body with his own.Â
Eventually, he managed it, his large hand shoving against your ribs as his torso twisted at just the right point when you moved to punch him again, sending you sprawling onto the forest floor.Â
He was on you again in a second, the heavy weight of him on top of you as you tried to free yourself.Â
âTold you, you little bitch,â he panted. You could feel his erection through his pants. âYouâre mine and if I say youâre gonna die on my cock? Youâre gonna die on my fucking cock.âÂ
You screamed, trying to wrench your hands free but it was no use, the panic in you rising. This, something inside you said, was the end. There would be no return, there would be no survival and there would be nothing left of you to save.Â
And then something pulled his body from yours. You didnât stop to see what, rolling onto your knees and scrambling to your feet, running into the trees before something else could destroy you.
***
âBambi!â Joel screamed, frantic, but you didnât seem to hear him, running headlong into the trees.Â
âI got him,â Tommy panted, a boot on the man heâd pulled off of youâs chest and a gun pointed at his head. âGet her!â
âDonât kill him,â Joel said sharply to his brother. âHeâs mine.âÂ
He didnât wait for a reply, just taking off after you as fast as his bad leg would let him move. He was so close to you now, so close to feeling you alive in his arms, so close to keeping you where no one would ever hurt you again.Â
But Joelâs body was heavy. Heâd been awake for far too long and had put it through far too much, especially for someone his age. But he didnât have another choice. He couldnât rest, not when he knew what was happening to you.
Heâd stayed awake all night, going with Tommy to grab someone toward the start of their morning patrol. It would be hours before anyone knew they were gone.Â
The man they took was young, not much older than Ellie. Joel should have felt bad about that, he thought, especially when he knew that heâd done much the same thing when he was far older than this boy, after he was raised in a time where he knew better how men should behave. But that didnât matter. He was nothing more than an obstacle in his path to you. One made of flesh and bone and pain but an obstacle none the less. It did not take long to break him and he told Joel what he needed to know: that you were in the camp, kept in a guarded house toward the middle of it, and that Mitchum was on his way back that day. They expected him there before nightfall. Joel killed the man quickly and hid the body, then three of them moved to hide out the rest of the day, not able to get close enough to the camp to watch Mitchum come in. Theyâd just have to hope the guard was right and that nothing held up his return.Â
It was early afternoon when Ellie noticed something coming up behind their hiding spot. She damn near jumped to her feet, rifle in hand and aimed into the forest.Â
âWhoâs there?â She snapped. âNot afraid to fucking shoot if you donât answer.âÂ
âTake it easy, Williams,â Gene said, emerging from the brush with his horse following behind him. âBeen lookinâ for you three.âÂ
âNormally, Miller, Iâd be up your ass for being this easy to track but, this time, it was lucky,â Warren said, coming up behind Gene. âShould mean the others can keep up, too.âÂ
âThe fuck are you doinâ out here?â Tommy asked, moving to embrace the men.Â
âMade it back from looking for the kids to learn theyâd made it back and you three headed out,â Gene said. âSoon as we could trust the horses to make the ride, we came too.âÂ
âIf youâre here to try to talk us out of thisâŚâ Joel began, tightening his grip on his rifle, but Warren cut him off.Â
âWeâre getting her back,â he said, a sense of finality in his tone. âWe canât let aggression like this stand. It shows weakness, that weâll just let any asshole come to our city and take our people. And besides all that⌠she is our people. Not going to just them have her. Weâre here to help you, Joel. And thereâs more coming behind us.âÂ
He was right. By the time it was getting closer and closer to dark, damn near everyone from Jackson who had a patrol rotation had amassed where Joel, Tommy and Ellie had holed up to wait. The last to join were Maria, Julie and Savvy, Gatling perched on your daughterâs lap as she sat astride Perseus.Â
âWhat are you doing here?â Ellie asked, looking at her, eyes wide. âYouâre supposed to be back in Jackson, itâs not safeâŚâÂ
âIâve spent more time out here than you,â she said defensively, looking at Ellie like she was daring her to argue. âAnd sheâs my mother, sheâs out here because of me. Iâm not about to sit at home on my ass while everyone else fights for her.â
Warren focused on coordinating everyone else, planning a full blown incursion of Mitchumâs encampment. Joel didnât care. As long as he was able to get you back safely, the rest of it didnât matter. Warren, thankfully, seemed to understand. He left Joel, Tommy, Savvy and Ellie out of the planning. The rest was on him. The four of them were finding you.Â
As everyone got into position to launch the attack, Joel rode up alongside Warren. He adjusted the grip on his reins, looking for something to do with the nervous energy thrumming through him. He was close to you, so close he could almost feel the warmth of you next to him.Â
âThank you,â Joel said, more glancing at Warren than really looking at him. âKnow we ainât always gotten alongâŚâÂ
âYou think that really matters at a time like this?â He asked, raising his eyebrows. âWe take care of our own. You and her? Youâre both part of this place now, like it or not. That means we ride for you.âÂ
Joel nodded.Â
âYou focus on finding your wife,â Warren continued. âWeâll make sure none of âem ever come back for her or for anyone else.âÂ
âMitchum, the leader, is mine,â Joel said, meeting his eyes this time. âAfter everything heâs done, heâs mine and I mean to make him pay for it.âÂ
Warren looked at him second, the smallest hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.Â
âWouldnât expect anything less. Good luck, Miller.âÂ
Joel sighed and looked toward the camp.
âYou too.âÂ
The whole of the encampment was drawn to where the people of Jackson had begun their attack, giving Joel, Tommy, Ellie and Savvy plenty of space to search. They still had to be careful, ready to kill anyone who challenged them, but they didnât need to. It was hard, letting the handful of men who ran past them go knowing that they may have been men who had hurt you but Joel swallowed that small hurt. The only comfort was knowing that theyâd meet death soon, anyway. He just hoped itâd painful when they did.
Joel found the building he thought was yours, a house at the center of the encampment like the man theyâd taken before had said. It was empty of everything besides signs of a fight, dead guards and bloody chains evident. Joel found your boots and jeans in a bedroom and his hands shook as he picked them up, blood around the ankle of one leg of the pants. His chest got tight as he folded the jeans, picked up the boots and put them in his pack before he left to look for you again.Â
He had to keep reassuring himself that you were here, that heâd find you soon, anything to keep the panic from taking over. He had repeated that comfort so many times that, when he saw you, he thought, for a second, that heâd imagined you. That his mind had broken under the exhaustion and the fear and had started showing him the only thing that keep him going. But you were in nothing but a shirt - one of his shirts - with blood on your bare legs and a rifle in your hand and he knew you were real. He wouldnât picture you like this, hurting and afraid and, for a second, there was relief. Heâd done it, he found you.Â
You took off before he had the chance to call your name and he grabbed Tommy, Savvy and Ellie to go after you when they were stopped by a group of men who were heading for the fighting at the edge of the encampment.Â
Joel had very little patience for them. They were just more obstacles, more things that needed to be destroyed so he could reach you. They made quick work of them, not even bothering to move their bodies from the street before following the small path between houses that you had.Â
When he didnât see you at first, he was terrified that he was too late. That youâd run into trouble and heâd find you limp and lifeless on the ground and all of this would have been for nothing, that heâd have to find a way to stay here with you because there would be no going back otherwise.Â
But he heard you then, your scream harsh and angry and afraid and he ran for the sound. Your cries shifted for a moment, to one of shock and pain, and then you went quiet. He tried to push himself faster, harder, and then he found you. The sight made him sick, you fighting below a man trying to hurt you. It was a sight so like those heâd seen with other women before but now, he would do the right thing. This time, he would save you.Â
He roared and ripped the man from your body, tearing him back and throwing him to the ground and you scrambled away, not even looking back over your shoulder as you did. He had no choice but to follow you.
While Joelâs body was beaten down, yours was, too. He could see it as he drew closer, the bandage around your hand, the blood at your arm, the slight limp on the leg with the bloodied ankle. You were running like your life depended on it but he still caught you quickly, his hand closing around the wrist of your intact hand and pulling you back against him.Â
It was like he came back into his body when he did, the feeling of you in his arms the thing that tied him to the Earth, to his humanity. The pain in his shoulder from the knife heâd taken there hit him then, the soreness of his leg, too. None of it compared to the relief that was there when he touched you. You were alive. The rest of it didnât matter.
âNo!â You shrieked, colliding with his body, planting your injured hand against his chest to try and shove him back. âDonât touch me! Donât fucking touch me!âÂ
âBambi!â He said, panting for breath, clutching you tightly to his chest, his hand finding your cheek and forcing you to look at him. Your eyes were wide and wild, just like they had been the first time heâd seen you. They darted, frantic, over his face and there was a kind of desperation there he had never seen before, one that sent a chill up his spine. âItâs me, itâs me, Iâve got you, itâs OK baby. Youâre safe, Iâve got you, youâre OK.âÂ
âJoel?â You said it like you didnât believe he was there, those wild eyes softening at the edges.Â
âItâs me,â he said again. âIâve got you, sweetheart. Itâs OK.âÂ
âJoel,â your voice cracked and you pulled your wrist from his hold to put your arms around his neck, clinging to him. âYouâre here, the girls, we have to find the girls, heâŚâÂ
âTheyâre safe,â he said, wrapping his arms around you and holding you tighter than he should but he couldnât seem to stop. âIâm so sorry I wasnât there, baby, mâso sorryâŚâÂ
Your legs gave out and he held you tight, lowering you both gently to the ground as you cried against him with choking, wracking sobs that shook your whole body. He just held you, rocking you gently as he did, his nose pressed into your hair as his lips kissed the crown of your head again and again.Â
âIs she OK?â Savvyâs voice sounded so small.
Joel looked to find the girls standing beside him, watching with concerned looks on their faces.Â
He wasnât sure how to answer them.Â
âWeâll get her back to town,â he said, still holding and rocking you. âItâll be alrightâŚâ Â
âJoel,â Tommy called. âWhat are we doinâ? We gotta move.âÂ
He pulled himself back from you just enough to look at you, putting a finger gently below your chin and tilting your face to his. Your eyes were glassy.Â
âThat man,â he said softly. âThe one who was on top of you. That Mitchum?âÂ
Your chin trembled but you nodded. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, leaving his lips there until he felt you take a deep but shaky breath. He pulled back enough to see you again.Â
âIâm gonna go take care of him,â he said. âOur girls are here, theyâre gonna stay with you, OK?âÂ
âTheyâreâŚâ you frowned and looked around until you saw them, your eyes going a little wide when you did. It was like you couldnât fully process anything that wasnât right in front of you. Your eyes darted back to him. âWhat are they doing here? They should be back in Jackson, they shouldâŚâÂ
âTheyâre OK,â he said gently. âThey wanted to come get you back and they did. You stay with them. Iâll take care of him and then we can all go back to Jackson togetherâŚâÂ
âJacksonâŚâ You frowned for a moment, like you were trying to think of something and then your eyes went wide again. âJackson, they want to take Jackson, theyâre coming for the city, thatâs what Cody was trading me for, heâŚâÂ
âSâOK,â Joel said, running a soothing hand over your hair. âAlready killed Cody. Weâre killing the rest of them here today, whole town is out here. Weâre ending it. They wonât be a threat, not anymore. Itâs OK, baby. You did it. You saved the girls, you survived. You can rest now.âÂ
He looked up to Savvy and Ellie, giving them a small nod toward the ground. They knelt next to you, one on either side, looking at each other for a moment before reaching to gingerly touch you. You flinched at first and then relaxed and Joel kissed your temple.Â
âGatling,â Savvy said, the dog suddenly at attention at her side. She snapped and touched your shoulder. âGuard.âÂ
The dog turned and stood sentinel, watching with ears pricked. Joel stood, leaving you with your daughters and your dog before prowling to the man who had tried to take everything from him.Â
As he drew close, there was an explosion, closer than Joel was happy about hearing, and Tommy looked at him.
âDonât think we got the kind of time you want,â he said, tightening the grip on his gun. âBetter make it count.âÂ
Joel gave him a nod, squaring his jaw before looking down to the man on his side. Tommy had bound his hands and his eyes were somewhere between rage and fear. Something told Joel he hadnât been challenged, not this directly, in quite some time.Â
He reached down and took a fistful of his shirt, lifting his shoulders roughly from the dirt and dragging him back to a tree. He propped him up there, kneeling beside him and he saw a flash of defiance for a moment, like he was going to move to stop Joel.Â
Joel wasnât having that. He punched him, hard and sharp, across the face, sending his head whipping around. He glanced back, finding Tommy over his shoulder as he leveled his gun at Mitchum. Joel turned his attention back to his quarry.Â
âI donât know who you are or what you want,â the man said through clenched teeth, looking between Joel and Tommy. âBut Iâm sure we can make a dealâŚâÂ
âTime for deals is long past,â Joel said, pulling his knife from his belt. He turned the blade over in the fading light between them, giving Mitchum a chance to actually see the size of it.
âWhat do you want?â He said, his eyes darting from the knife back to Joelâs face. âName it, itâs yours. Territory? Fine. Support of my men? You have it. Resources? Take it.â
âYou think itâs that simple?â Joel asked. âWhat I want, you canât give me.â
âTry me,â Mitchum said, teeth clenched.
âWhat I want,â Joel said, voice flat and calm. âIs to take back everything you took from my wife.âÂ
He took his knife and plunged it into Mitchumâs leg then, sinking the entire length of it into his thigh until he hit bone. The man screamed, writhing and thrashing below him. Joel held the knife in place, each jerking motion making the cut wider, harsher. It wasnât long before he stilled, panting for breath. Joel kept his hand on the knife.Â
âYou took her from her daughter,â Joel said, twisting the blade as he did. He kept his voice quiet, hopefully quiet enough that neither Ellie nor Savvy could hear. Mitchumâs feet scrambled uselessly against the dirt. âYou branded her.â He pulled the knife free. âTold her youâd raped and murdered her child.â He thrust the weapon into his arm now, wanting to save his stomach until he knew he was ready for him to bleed out. âHeld her captive for years.â He twisted it, cutting a new path through his flesh as he screamed and panted for breath. âSent your men to hunt her down and take her away from me and our girls.âÂ
He pulled the knife free of his arm, the man limp and panting on the ground and Joel had this sickening feeling settle in his stomach. He could never hurt Mitchum enough to fix it. No amount of agony he brought upon him would bring back the parts of you he broke. No amount of torment would bring Joel comfort when it was done. He would always hold you and look at you and see the ways he failed you, from decades before when he should have done better and saved women like you to days ago when he should have been there to keep you and the girls safe. You would forever be the reminder of the many ways he should have been better and forever be the bearer of the scars because he wasnât.Â
âAnd you did all of that,â Joel said, taking the knife and cutting through the denim of Mitchumâs jeans, revealing the thin cotton of boxer shorts below. âSo you could, what? Rape her?âÂ
Mitchum shook his head, straining to get away from Joel but he had nowhere to go. Joel still took his shoulder and shoved him roughly back against the tree, anyway.Â
âYou think she was some thing you could just take?â He asked, trailing the tip of the knife over the round of his stomach, the breadth his chest, pressing the point into his chin to force him to look Joel in the eye. âThought if you branded her like livestock youâd own her? That it?âÂ
âI⌠I tried,â he managed through clenched teeth, panting for breath.Â
âTried what?â Joel asked when he didnât continue.Â
âTried to get her to come with me,â he said. âTried to buy her horses. Could⌠could have used her but she decided to fightâŚâÂ
âSo you thought youâd treat her like an animal?â Joel asked, head cocked to the side. âSee, that donât sit right with me. Not one bit.âÂ
Joel took the knife from his chin and went to the boxers, carefully cutting the elastic over the fly. He quickly glanced toward you and made sure the girls werenât looking too closely before he used the blade to fold the fabric back, exposing his penis and balls to the air.Â
âAnything you and your people want,â he squirmed below Joel. âAnything, name it, anything at allâŚâÂ
âRight now?â Joel said, looking at his face. âI want this.âÂ
Joel lined the tip of the blade up with the base of Mitchumâs penis so the width of the knife ran down his length and pressed through it, slow and firm. Mitchumâs legs kicked uselessly as he shrieked, his body straining for an escape but Joel didnât give him one. He just pushed the knife further and further into his flesh until the handle of it was all that was visible, the blade bloodied by his genitals.Â
Joel left it there and was silent until Mitchum had screamed himself to silence.Â
âWeâre somethinâ alike, you and me,â Joel said, watching him. âBoth know what we want, know how to take it. But difference is, I only take it when itâs owed and I only take it from some who deserves to lose it. You should have left her alone. Shouldâve left her alone then, really shouldâve left her alone now. You decided to take more than whatâs yours and now you have to pay for it.âÂ
âFuck you,â he managed through gritted teeth, his face wet with tears and spit.Â
Joel nodded slowly.Â
âSee, you have a lot to learn,â he said. There was another blast, one that sounded close, molotov cocktails flying between opposing sides in a war the man bleeding had begun. âAnd I donât got much time to teach you.â Joel pulled the knife from his body and he screamed in pain, trying to double over but Joel didnât allow him to. âSo Iâm just gonna take it from you in blood and in pain because when you die? Want you to know why. Want you to understand that you could have lived. If youâd just kept to yourself, not taken what wasnât yours to take, not taken her, you could have lived. You chose otherwise.âÂ
He put the knife into his leg, just over his knee and pushed, dislodging his kneecap as he screamed. Joel nodded, learning the different tenor of his cries. He liked hearing the change in it, the way his pain shifted and pulled from him. He moved to his shoulder, driving the knife down through it and in toward his lung, listening to the change of his pain.Â
Mitchumâs blood was sticky and hot and gunfire was getting louder and Joel was lost in taking him apart. He grew tired of the distance the knife afforded, deciding that he wanted to feel the collapse of your tormentorâs body with his own skin. He left the blade embedded in his arm before taking his thumb and pressing it into the wound at his shoulder, the sticky heat of his blood driving him forward as he felt the give of his body beneath his force. Once he was satisfied with that, he curled his hand into a fist and pummeled his face to the point of disfiguration. Mitchumâs nose was broken, his jaw dislodged, eye socket collapsed, a mass of bone and viscera that was clinging to life, something Joel didnât understand but was grateful for all the same. He couldnât keep hurting a corpse. He only had as long as Mitchumâs will to live hung out and he wanted that to be a very, very long time. Even if it didnât heal you or him, even if it brought him no satisfaction, he wanted it. In this world, the only justice to be found was in pain and in blood and he intended to give you justice in the only way he knew how.Â
Tommy, he knew, was trying to pull him back from the edge, but he tuned him out. He understood why his brother was worried, why heâd pulled him back before, why heâd stepped in with Ellie the way he did. He knew, on a certain level, that the path he was done was not who heâd made himself to be in Jackson. But, with Mitchum in his grasp, he didnât care. All that mattered was destroying the man who had tried to destroy you.Â
He wasnât sure how long heâd cut and beaten and hurt Mitchum when he heard you, your voice quiet and shaky over his shoulder.Â
âJoel.âÂ
He stopped what he was doing, leaving the blade embedded in Mitchumâs side and adjusting his body to block the carnage from your view before turning to see you there. In that moment, you were a contradiction. Heâd never seen you look so vulnerable or so strong, your injured hand cradled to your chest but a defiant look on your face. Heâd never seen you so small or so tall, so desperate or so determined. Gatling was at your side, glued to your leg as she stared at Mitchum, her ears pressed back on her head and her eyes narrowed. He got to his feet, wiping his bloodied hands on his shirt before stepping closer and taking your cheek gently in his hand.Â
âSweetheart,â he said quietly, searching your tear streaked face, your eyes so wide and afraid and unyielding.Â
âI want to finish this,â you said, your voice thick. âI want to finish him and I want to go home. Please, take me home.âÂ
He looked at you for a moment, your gaze pleading and stubborn, before pressing his lips tenderly to your forehead.Â
âWhatever you want,â he said softly, dropping his forehead to yours. âIâll give you anything you want.âÂ
You closed your eyes and took a deep, shaky breath before taking his hand in your uninjured one, lacing your fingers together. He touched your wedding ring in his pocket, still attached to part of you, as you led him over to Mitchum, Gatling still at your side.Â
The man was slumped against the tree, covered in blood, the sound of his breaths rattling and wet and Joel knew he didnât have long left.Â
You stood over him, looking down at him with your hand tight in Joelâs, something cold and almost analytical passing over your features as you did.Â
âI wouldnât have wanted to do it like this before,â you said eventually to the dying man at your feet. âI never liked killing before. I never wanted to kill anybody before you, never. Even⌠even people who hurt me or tried to take what you took, I never wanted to kill them. When I did kill, I never much liked doing it. But I want to kill you. You made me want to kill, you made me like this. I was good, once. And you took that. So Iâm going to kill you and Iâm going to like it and you should know that itâs because of what you made me.âÂ
Joel gave your hand a squeeze, ready to hand you whatever weapon you asked for and you held tightly to him.Â
But you didnât need it. You gave his hand a squeeze before you released it.Â
âGatling,â you said, snapping your fingers and pointing to Mitchum. âKill.âÂ
The dog obeyed instantly, getting down low and growling, her ears pressed back to her head before she shot forward, a bullet from a gun, and locked her jaws around his throat, ripping and tearing, Mitchum screaming for only a moment before going quiet, the only sound left on the air the guttural snarl of your dog ripping him apart.Â
Joel was certain the man had been dead for a few minutes by the time you called her off, Gatling immediately dropping the shredded flesh when you gave the release command.Â
You collapsed against Joel then, burying your face in his shoulder and sobbing into him as he held you.Â
âYouâre OK,â he said quietly, running a bloodstained hand soothingly over you. âIâve got you. Never gonna have to do that again, youâre OK.âÂ
He held you close for a moment, until your breaths became less shaky and he thought you might be able to stand on your own. Joel pulled back from you then, brushing your hair back from your face. Your eyes were glassy again.
âLetâs get you dressed,â he said gently. âThen we can get the fuck out of here.âÂ
You just nodded and watched as Joel got your jeans and boots from his pack. He helped you into them, guiding your body through the necessary movements. You trembled under his touch and all he wanted to do was get you home so he could hold you close and tight and never let anyone lay a hand on you ever again.Â
When you were dressed, Joel got to his feet and you fell against him. His arm slipped around your waist and he held you close, Ellie and Savvy moving to be alongside Tommy. Ellie had her arm around Savvyâs shoulders, holding her back from the devastation that had once been Mitchum.Â
âShould see where everyone else is,â Tommy said, watching Joel carefully. âDonât like how quiet itâs gotten.âÂ
Joel nodded slowly, having forgotten for a while that there was anything else to worry about outside of getting you back.Â
Tommy led the way, Ellie and Savvy staying close to him, you still against Joelâs side as he followed his brother, on alert for anything that was a threat to you.Â
He didnât need to wait long. There was a rustle in the brush and Joel turned and raised his gun, only to see a young woman emerge, a rifle tight in her grip. For the second time that day, Joel thought he might have been imagining things. Because the girl in front of him looked just like the one who had nearly killed him months earlier.Â
âYou,â Tommy snarled, raising his gun, too, and Joel realized that he wasnât imagining things. She was here, too. âWhat the fuck are you doing here?
âDonât want to hurt anyone,â she said, lowering her weapon, nodding to you. âAnd Iâm here for the same reason your friend is.âÂ
Joel turned to shield you but you stopped him and he looked down to you, frowning slightly. He lowered his gun then and saw out of the corner of his eye as Tommy did, too.Â
âItâs alright,â you said, staying pressed tightly to his side, watching her. âYou made it.âÂ
âSo did you,â she said, looking you up and down, her gaze staying on your face. âYou OK?âÂ
âI think so,â you nodded, still clinging to Joel.Â
She didnât look like she believed you but she pressed on anyway, turning her cold gaze to Joel.Â
âI donât want to be here talking to any of you for any longer than I have to be,â she said. âSo Iâll let your wife explain the rest of it. Just know that after what she did for me, I wonât ever look for you again. And if, for some reason, we run into each other? I wonât hurt you. Iâd appreciate if you did the same.âÂ
âYou really expect us to just let youâŚâ Ellie began but Joel cut her off.Â
âSâOK baby girl,â he said, still watching the woman who had nearly killed him. She still seemed so young. She had a look in her eyes that reminded him of you, wounded but determined. He remembered what little he could of her after she turned on him that day, how sheâd seemed so angry and in so much pain for someone so young. Heâd told Mitchum that he only took what was owed and only from people who deserved it. Even after everything, he wasnât sure this girl deserved it. âNo use in killing people who donât need to be.âÂ
âThank you,â she said, looking at you. âAnd I really hope this is the last time I ever see fucking any of you but⌠thank you, for what you did for me. I wonât forget it.âÂ
She watched your group, her gun still held low, not turning her back to any of you until she was swallowed by the brush.Â
âYou really want to just let her go?â Tommy asked, looking to Joel.Â
âThatâs bullshit!â Ellie said, looking quickly the direction the girl had gone in. âSheâs a fucking threat, sheâŚâÂ
âSheâs not,â you cut her off, tightening your hold on Joel. Ellie deflated a little but you pressed on. âYou canât let revenge swallow you up, honey. You just canât.â
âGood lesson,â Warren said from behind Joel. He instinctively turned, keeping you away from the newcomer even though Joel knew the man well. He looked you over briefly before turning his attention back to Joel. âSee you found her. Itâs done, we wiped them out. A few injuries on our side but nothing major. Weâre going to see whatâs here and post up a few guards, make sure anyone else who comes around and thinks they can try us knows better, but all the trouble weâve run into on patrol lately should be done for now.âÂ
âGood,â Tommy said. âBout time something went our way around here.âÂ
âExpect youâll be heading back?â Warren asked. Joel just gave him a nod. âGood. Let the folks at home know weâre all OK when you get there. Safe travels.âÂ
âYou, too,â Joel said, tugging you closer.
He held you close as Tommy led the way back to where theyâd left the horses, taking stock of you as you went. Your breaths were shaky but even, your footing unsteady but driven. Joel couldnât be sure what was done to you here. He could only hope that you would find peace in Jackson and the life you shared with him and that, in time, youâd recover from it.Â
The encampment was decimated, bodies of Mitchumâs men on the ground, Jackson folks already going from house to house taking stock, piling the dead together to burn. You stared at the carnage, a half dead look in your eyes as you did. Joel just held you, feeling everything again for the first time since heâd found you gone, until the five of you reached the horses.Â
âDonât have one for you,â Joel said gently. âBut Ellie can ride with me or her and Savvy can ride together ifâŚâÂ
âI want to ride with you,â you cut him off, looking at him with those wide eyes of yours. âPlease, Joel. Take me home.âÂ
And so, he did.Â
A/N: And Mitchum meets his end. I hope it was worth the wait for you all!
We are very, very close to the end of this fic, just two more chapters to wrap everything up. But Bambi is back with Joel, they have their girls and Jackson is saved. It's all going to get better from here :)
Thank you all so so much for going on this journey with me. It's been wonderful to share Joel and Bambi's story with you and it wouldn't be the same without you.
Love you!
Next Chapter
Taglist: @ashleymsnodgrass@planet-marz1@kalea-bane @juneswonderlust @ilovepedro @h-annahayy @starstruckmusiciansartghost @beccerjune @mumma-moonchild @netonetoneto @mellymbee @purplelye @n7cje @flugazi @evyiione @randomhoex @aliengirl99 @orcasoul @reds-ramblings @pedropascalsbbg @fupoola @tinypotatothing @knopes-waffles @lilmizmoz @ayamenimthiriel @jenispunk @panda-pascal @sarap-77 @flugazi @your-slutty-gf @daniegraceg @partyofone3413 @cumberpegg @noisynightmarepoetry. @fifia-writes @grumpygrumperton @srmacaroni @txlady37 @bigboiseason123 @ashleyfilm @arizonadreamingg
#fanfic#joel miller x female reader#yearling#joel miller x reader#joel miller x you#joel miller x oc
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Charlie and the Chomping Cabbages
Watching Charlie Weasley had never been so rewarding. Heâd done you the favour of pulling off his shirt in the midday heat, sweat perfectly outlining every single one of his ridiculously toned muscles. Shoulders and chest broad enough to wrestle young dragons and abs you could bounce a roll of Galleons off of. The leather breeches he wore clung to his arse as he squatted down to inspect the garden.
âAnd you think a dragon did this?â He pointed at the long gouges in the earth marring the once perfect line of Chinese Chomping Cabbages. A fair few still remained, but more still had been ripped from their cradles and strewn across the plot.
âI donât think; I know.â You raised a challenging brow. No matter how fit you thought him, you knew he was dead wrong in this matter. âI saw it happen.â
This time he fully stood up, both hands propped on his hips in a decidedly aggravated manner. âWhy didnât you just say so from the start?â
âI did,â you stressed, already near your boiling point from the sheer thickheadnesses of the Dragonologist. âAnd I quote, âThat canât be right. I need to see the scene first handâ.âÂ
He scowled at your impression. Perhaps dropping your voice to a comical low and waving your arms about wasnât quite the best way to convince him. What he didnât know was that youâd never have teased anyone you didnât like in such a way. Your usual tendency was all straight backs and stiff collars.
âWell, I stand by what I said then. I see no reason why a dragon would attack your cabbages like this unprovoked.â
You pounced. âAha! So you admit that, if provoked, a dragon very well might have dragged their stabby claws right through?â Only, instead of jumping in place like you meant to, your ankle rolled upon landing. âAhh!â
Your arms flailed as you fought to stay upright, and Charlie threw his arms forward in an attempt to catch you. All of his mass amounted to nothing with your legendary clumsiness, and you both hit the dirt in an unceremonial thud that knocked the breath right out of you.
The loss of air could also be attributed to his body on top of yours.
âOw.â He started to shift, then froze before he could fully lift his weight. âDonât look to your left.â
You looked to your left.
A gigantic cabbage bared its teeth an armâs length away from your face. How youâd tended your garden without noticing what could be an award-winning Brassica youâd have to consider later.
âCh-Charlie? How is not looking at it going to help?â you whispered. Who were you kidding? Itâs not like speaking quietly was going to save either one of you.
âMerlin, heâs huge,â the wizard muttered. You stifled an inappropriate joke. Difficult, given the way your smaller body fit against his.
You knew you only had precious seconds before the produce launched itself at you. Your magic wasnât quite fast enough to cast anything particularly useful before those teeth ripped out your throat. You needed something hard, and fast.
Hard and expendable, so obviously not that.
âOn the count of three, shove off,â you instructed Charlie, keeping a close eye on the twitching leaves. You felt him nod, the bristle of his cheek rubbing against your own.
Inner green leaves started to arch inward. â1.â
The outer layer flared open like a lizardâs crest. â2.â
Clenched teeth loosened. â3!â
Palms flat to the earth, Charlie pushed himself away in a surge of power, and you brought your far hand around in front of you.
The weapon: a stray carrot that had rolled against where you lay.
The attack: jamming said carrot straight into the jaws about to devour you.
An average-sized Chinese Chomping Cabbage can be slowed down by a larger-than-average root vegetable. This, however, was the largest specimen youâd ever seen, and your carrot was on the smaller end of the spectrum.
Beggars canât be choosers.
Its sacrifice gave you just enough time to roll away and for Charlie to sweep you up and into his arms. The cantankerous comestible hesitated just long enough to snap straight through the carrot before rotating to follow.
By this point, Charlie had whipped out his wand, while his other arm held you close against him where he could keep you safe. Unfortunately, this meant that you couldnât quite reach your own wand jammed below your armpit. With a series of slashes, Charlie attacked.
âDiffindo!â
The slicing spell would have sheared straight through a regular cabbage. This one? Only the top couple of layers peeled away, further enraging their attacker.
âCharlie! This isnât your average dinner cabbage! You have to use something stronger!â You fought his hold so you could grab your own wand.
âIâm trying! Itâs not like Iâve ever done this before!â
Your wand came loose from its holster just as the behemoth rolled towards you, teeth clacking the whole while. The two of you stood with arms extended, sending spell after spell at the monster that never seemed to shrink or slow.
You could stand your ground and be forever known as the first recorded humans on the Romanian Reserve to die by Chomping Cabbage, or you could run and henceforth be labelled as the tamer and researcher who fled an overgrown vegetable.
Decisions, decisions.
One that was made for you with the loud roar that filled the air, then a gush of wind that nearly knocked the two of you right back to the ground. A flash of red filled your vision.
âNorberta!â Charlie cried.Â
The Norwegian Ridgeback couldnât quite flatten the cabbage with one swat of her powerful talons, but she could follow it with a slash of her tail and a stream of fire. An overwhelming stench of burnt vegetation filled your nostrils.
âUgh. So long cabbage rolls and salad,â Charlie said in disgust. He gently turned you to look up at him. âYou alright?â
Sweaty and covered with dirt as you both were, sex should have been the last thing on your mind. Youâd just escaped death. A deadly dragon continued to stomp through the remaining rows of cabbages. Your crops were a lost cause. But Charlie looked down at you and only you, the deep blue of his eyes drinking you in while he continued to cradle you close.
âI told you Noberta had it out for my cabbages.â
His jaw dropped at your words, and you laughed aloud. As if youâd let his hunkiness deter you from proving yourself right. Charlie threw his head back and laughed along with you, the fullness of it invading your chest and giving you the courage youâd lacked until this point.
Up went your hands into his wild auburn locks, threading fingers through the curls and tugging his lips down to yours. He jerked in surprise at the touch, then deepened the kiss with a tilt of his head and a swipe to the seam of your lips.
And that was the story of how you snagged Charlie Weasley, one you told time and time again over countless flagons of beer and fresh-from-the-oven cabbage rolls (minus the teeth).
WC 1203
Cross-posted to Facebook, Tumblr, & AO3.
Hump Day drabble written for the Weasleys, Witches, & Writers Facebook group.
Prompt: âIâve never done this before.â
Okay, so I blasted past the 1k word limit. See what 2 weeks away from home does to me? (and coffee too late in the day)
I have an intense craving now for cabbage rolls, the likes of which my childhood friendâs mother used to serve up to us on a regular basis. I havenât tasted that nostalgia in what feels like years.
Chinese Chomping Cabbage users unite! Who needs spells when you have carnivorous vegetables?
I almost forgot to note my infrequent use of 2nd person. I recently started playing with this following a pov workshop in one of my writing discords. Let me know what you think!
#harry potter fanfiction#harry potter flashfic#Facebook: Weasleys Witches & Writers#charlie weasley x reader#reader insert#charlie weasley
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In The Shadow of Dragons Chapter 2: Forbidden Fruit

18+ | 3.1k | Daemon Targaryen X Female OCÂ | possessive, protective, objectifying, simping, raunchy Daemon | Uncle / niece incest, Smut, Dragons, Political Intrigue, Plotting, Murder, lots of old timey concepts that don't make a lot of sense today, but are still kind of hot/fun.
The rest of Daemon's night once Ryna leaves. He also spends some time thinking back on the past. Continuing the story from Daemon's POV.
CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 Also on AO3
Daemon drained the last remnants of his chalice, savoring every drop of the wine as it passed his lips. Then, he leaned against the edge of the parapet, allowing the refreshing caress of the night air to sooth his thoughts and quell his lingering passions.
He could still taste her on his lips.
His sweet little niece.
He chuckled softly at the idea that heâd gone from barely being able to speak to her, to the young princess practically begging him to take her maidenhead.
And he wouldâŚ
But first, if he was to go up against Viserys, heâd have to tread carefully.
He would need to be the perfect, repentant uncle. His brother would have to see Rynaâs affections had curbed his rashness and impulsivity⌠at least in his eyes. The task at hand was indeed a daunting one, for Daemon would have to win over the Kingâs favor, which was no small feat.
With an exasperated sigh, he turned and began the journey back inside the castle, his mind consumed with ideas on how to gain his brotherâs trust once more. The party was still in full swing when Daemon returned to the Great Hall, but he could tell immediately that tonight might not be the best time for conversation.
His elder brother sat alone in his chair, drinking deep of his wine. He was the King of Westeros, but he looked like nothing more than a drunk wallowing in his cups. Daemon felt an ache in his chest at the sight of what his proud brother had become. Had the Hightower bitch and her ilk brought the King so low in Daemonâs absence these past years?
He knew a simple word from him would have the Kingâs attention, but as he watched his brother raise the chalice to his lips and pour a generous measure of wine down his throat, he knew no real progress would be made this evening.
Perhaps in the morning with Viserysâ head clear of the effects of the drink, Daemon would be able to speak with him.
Just a momentâŚ
A smile tugged at his lips as he realized that it would be much easier to handle his brother in the morning when his head was likely to be thrumming from the effects of the Arbor red.
Yes, that is precisely what I need.
Daemon glanced around, hoping to lay his eyes upon his little niece, but there was no trace of her among the masses. Sheâd likely already retired to her chambers for the night, a thought he realized was disappointing. He stepped up to one of the long tables and began preparing a plate of food, his appetite finally getting the better of him.
Once satisfied with his selection of meats, he walked over to the dais and sat down at the edge of the empty table, close to Viserys who sat aside it. Daemon refilled his cup from a carafe that was still nearly full and nodded politely to his brother.
âFinally tired of prowling the countryside for whores, brother?â Viserys bellowed with inebriated enthusiasm.
Perfect.
Daemon laughed gruffly as he chewed the cold meat heâd bitten off. âNot as of late. It grows tiresome having to entertain every desperate widow and wanton maid who seeks a night with the infamous âRogue Prince.ââ He took a long swig of his wine before continuing. âIt seems that the reputation Iâve built for myself follows me, whether I desire it or not.â
Viserys let out a belly laugh that echoed through the Great Hall. âDonât dont that you relish in such rumors. Youâve always loved the attention.â The King gave his own thigh a hearty pat, the wine had clearly taken its hold on him. âI admit, I have always enjoyed the tales of your exploits, brother. Especially the one about the two septas!â
âAh yes, the beautiful and devout septas. Iâm sure the Seven above must have heard every single prayer uttered within my chamber that night.â Heâd almost forgotten about that particular night, but it wouldnât help him in the slightest with his current conquest.
âBut enough of that, weâre here to celebrate the birth of your grandson.â And my inevitable claim to your daughter. âHow goes the realm in my absence, Brother?â
Viserys chuckled, raising his chalice up to his brother, but not before emptying its contents with a quick swig. âAh, itâs the same as it always is. The great houses squabble amongst themselves like children⌠And my daughter continues to drive me to an early grave. I confess, Iâm not sure what to do with her.â
âWhich of my nieces is troubling you?â Daemon asked with the raise of his brow and smirked.
âBoth of them,â Viserys groaned with frustration. âI hear nothing but contemptuous rumors about Rhaenyra and Ryna wonât even consider a suitor, always with some excuse about how all lords available are unworthy of her.â
Daemon had to hold back a scoff. She is not wrong.
Instead he hummed in agreement, playing the role of the dutiful brother flawlessly. âIt is indeed a pity, dear brother. She has reached the age to marry and has had ample opportunity to choose a husband. As King, her union should be at your prompting, should it not?â
Viserys let out a sound that was something between a snort and a sigh, letting his annoyance show through. âYes âshouldâ and âwouldâ are two different things, particularly when it comes to my daughter,â he said shaking his head. âRyna is just as headstrong as her elder sister, even though she is more agreeable on the whole.â
Daemon nodded along as he finished his meal and set the plate aside, knowing only too well of Rynaâs fiery side. The way she had demanded he give up the throne on the battlements had been a stark reminder that she was no longer an entirely docile child. That boldness would prove useful to him though, especially with the plans he had in mind.
Sheâll be a willful little wife. One I look forward to taming.
Viserys refilled his chalice and drowned in another helping of wine, his tone growing more somber as he continued. âRyna is a good girl, but her head is in the clouds when it comes to marriage. I fear that she has an idealistic dream of the perfect match, a husband who will love her and shower her with affection.â He took another long drink. âSuch men do not exist, at least not in the ranks of the eligible lords of the realm. But a certain kind of affection can often grow once wed.â
Daemon let a pointed laugh die against his closed lips. No man would cherish sweet little Ryna as much as I, brother. He tried to ignore the pang of jealousy when Viserys mentioned some faceless cunt of a lord touching the princess in any way.
âThat does not surprise me. Iâm sure my niece will have high hopes for any potential match,â Daemon said with a feigned indifference. âAll young girls wish for such a perfect husband, but the princess must consider her duties to the realm.â
Viserys gave Daemon a queer look of surprise, as if he were not expecting his brother to be so reasonable on the subject. âYou truly think so? Have all the women you have known desired such a union?â he snickered at the implication. âDonât tell me youâve suddenly become a romantic, after all of these years.â
Daemon leaned back in his chair nonchalantly. âPerhaps I have grown tired of bedding whores and have a desire to settle down in my old ageâŚâ He reached over for his chalice and took a slow, pensive sip, watching Viserysâ face change as he was clearly caught off guard by such a statement. âI had tried, but the Gods did not see fit to let my last lady-wife persist through childbirth.â
The King nodded mournfully, âLaena⌠I am sorry brother.â Viserys dragged his chair over to his brother slightly and gave Daemonâs leg a gentle, understanding pat.
âYes, LaenaâŚâ he mused, not wishing to think on the past. âI did care for her. I tried, truly,â he said with a twinge of regret in his tone. âBut I simply did not share a love for her like the great love you shared with Aemma. I never shall I suppose, but I still wish I couldâŚâ He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts for a moment before looking back to Viserys.
âAemma was my favored wife, itâs true. I believe it is why I dote on Rhaenyra and Ryna so much. I still miss her terribly, but you cannot simply force a love like that, not with a lady you do not feel it for.â Viserys sighed knowingly before continuing, emotion obvious in his expression. âI was fortunate enough to find my love. Perhaps, even you will find yours one day, Daemon.â
Daemon struggled hard to suppress a smile at that last statement. Oh, Iâve found her already, dear brother. Iâll see that little princess of yours as my wife if itâs the last thing I do. Though that was not a conversation he wished to have tonight.
He feigned a sympathetic smile as he refilled his chalice with dark red wine from the carafe. âPerhaps⌠Only time will tell.â
The talk between brothers continued, consisting mostly of harmless banter. Daemon did his best to maintain the friendly demeanor, letting his brother babble on and on drunkenly as the hour grew late. With each passing hour, he could see Viserysâ body grow heavier with sleep and inebriation. Though the King continued to fight it, his eyelids grew heavier until he finally relented to the alcoholâs pull. With that he slowly sank back into the chair, his head slowly rolling sideways.
Daemon sniggered as the Hightower bitch shuffled up to the high table, attempting to correct the drunken image he was portraying to his subjects. She snapped for the guards to help her escort the King out of the Great Hall and back to his chambers. Daemon nodded towards Alicent keeping the bare minimum of civility before turning his attention back to the celebration.
There were still a decent amount of guests lingering, laughing amongst themselves or drunkenly stumbling towards the exit. He stood and stretched like a cat, then made to leave the Hall.
He walked with a brisk pace back towards his rooms, trying to quell the anticipation he felt building in his chest. Ryna would be in her chambers now, likely having changed into some comfortable night shift. Daemon had a fondness for sleeping gowns; they were always made of a thin, light material that left nothing to the imagination.
Daemon shook his head trying to dismiss his growing excitement at the thought of all those pretty pale curves, begging to be claimed.
No, no. I must be patient.
He reached the door to his chamber and made quick work of the few latches that secured it. Once inside, he kicked the door shut and began to disrobe, pulling off his leather vest and then his doublet. He changed into a linen tunic, not bothering to fasten the ties, but simply letting the material hang loose. Daemon then laid down on the bed, folding his arms behind his head while he tried to relax into the soft mattress.
âYou never once glanced my way.â
Rynaâs words rang in his head, his brow furrowing as he recalled the frenzied distress of her voice and the pain present in her eyes. He had done a good job of hiding his feelings it seemed, at least in recent years. When his little Ryna had still been a child, things had been simpler. Daemon never had to hide his care for the girl, for she reminded him of himself. A second child, always wanting for love and attention and always deprived of it. It was never a hassle to spoil her with gifts and trips whenever he had time to.
It wasnât until he came back to Kingâs Landing after his victory in the Stepstones that he first started to notice his youngest niece in a different light. And there was something about his newfound attraction to her that both delighted and disgusted him.
She stood out from the crowd gathered in the Great Hall to witness his return and her blond and silver curls flowing down past her shoulders drew Daemonâs attention almost immediately. He did not even recognize her at first with those pouty, deep pink lips leading straight into a full bosom.
After Viserys accepted him back, he had waited for the right opportunity to approach her, but Rhaenyra had insisted on throwing herself at him every moment she was able. Which of course resulted in uncomfortable glances from both her father and goodmother as she tried to inject herself into a conversation where she did not belong.
But as Rhaenyra and Alicent walked off together and Viserys made conversation with his Hand, Daemon finally found the right moment to speak to her. He approached the young woman who had replaced his niece as she sat alone on a stone bench, nibbling away at a sweet cake. He felt like a stranger to someone once so dear to him and he regretted those four years heâd spent away from Kingâs Landing most in that moment.
Ryna acted as though not a day had passed and surprised him when she jumped up from her seat and embraced him as though she were still a child. There hadnât been much in his life that heâd felt wicked for, but the arousal he felt shoot to his groin in that moment was one of them. He knew then he could not stain the memory of someone so pure with such debauched thoughts.
Daemon backed away, not even giving her the gift he had tucked away in his pocket, and he had stayed away from her since. It might have been cruel, for she had tried to approach him so many times after, but he thought it best that he keep his distance. She did not deserve a wolf such as him barking at her heels. He would deny himself this one indulgence.
As he stood beneath the heart tree thinking of what must never come to pass, Rhaenyra approached him once more. She was practically lusting after him, all but saying it out loud how much she desired him. It was then that he realized how similar they were. They were both vicious and willing to do almost anything to get what they wanted. Almost anything.
It dawned on him that perhaps he deserved Rhaenyra. That they deserved each other. And that it would be a means to return to the throne heâd been robbed of. And in that instant, heâd make a foolish mistake. Heâd tell himself that what he felt for his first niece was good enough. It wasnât about love after all, it was about gaining advantage. About producing heirs. She had the same Valyrian blood running through her veins, and she was just as dark as he. Not good and innocent as his precious little sweetling was.
And just as many have been wont to do when aggrieved, he had taken the bait. As she bat her lashes at him, flirting while proudly displaying the necklace he had once given her while she spoke of not wanting to be married off. She might as well have been begging him to marry her instead, but Viserys would never go for it and he knew it well. So heâd stolen her away from the castle at night, brought her out to see the sights, and ultimately ended up in the basement of a brothel with her.
Daemon hadnât even been sure what his intentions were that night. Perhaps he wished to sully her maidenhood in an attempt to force Viserysâ hand into either self-sabotage or the desired marriage. Or perhaps he just wished to forget, to claim another girl instead of the one he wanted, but dare not touch. Even then, he could not go through with it. He could not even lose himself in Rhaenyra for that golden head of hair reminded him too much of his sweetling.
He had been foolish. He never should have reacted so poorly, but the truth of it was that he had no idea how to handle what heâd felt. Daemon should have simply used restraint in dealing with Ryna, but heâd never been good at resisting temptation. He wasnât certain he had what it took to control his base desires in the face of such carnal enticements.
Perhaps in the end it had been best that he had run away from it all. Heâd learned much about temperance from his marriage to Laena, even if his thoughts had always remained preoccupied with another. And in all those years he spent away, Ryna had grown into a true Valyrian woman, rivaling the beauty of all who came before her.
Earlier that very night, heâd become a few cups deep after hearing the chatter of several lords that had been vying for his sweetlingâs hand. The sickening rumors that the King would be forcing her to wed brought him out to the battlements to sulk. But, when he saw her parade out in front of him, dressed in a beautiful blue gown with her hair glimmering in the moonlight, he decided he could no longer hold back. He must approach her, revisit the feeling that had kept him away for so long and see if it still made him feel like a disgusting cad.
He was more than overjoyed when it did not.
It might have been that enough time had passed and he no longer recalled her so vividly as the child she once was, or perhaps it was the thought of losing her forever to another man that finally allowed him to be free of his shame.
Then there was the very way Ryna had responded to him so eagerly. He supposed that alone was enough to chase away the doubts heâd been harboring. She was his and had always been his. His niece had been meant for him and him alone.
Daemon sighed heavily, thinking of the way her lips had felt against his. How flawless her porcelain skin was and how soft her thighs felt beneath his fingers. He could feel his cock growing rigid as he began to drift off, the wine finally doing him in. Read Chapter 3
#daemon targaryen x oc#daemon targaryen fanfic#daemon targaryen#house of the dragon#daemon targeryan#hotd daemon#fanfic#hotd#a song of ice and fire#daemon targaryen smut#hotd fanfic#daemon smut#daemon fic#asoiaf#itsod#in the shadow of dragons#shadow of dragons#mgurl#shadow of the dragon#daemon x oc#house of the dragon x oc#daemon fanfic#hotd smut#daemon targaryen x ofc#female oc#daemon x female oc#house targaryen#targcest#daemon x niece#fanfiction
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Sandman Predictions
So weâve been speculating wildly what the remainder of The Sandman might look like on here and in our community (join us!) for a while.
And I thought it would be fun to put my predictions to paper (so to speak) so I can be embarrassed about them later and laugh at how wrong they were đ
Taking all the casting announcements and BTS in consideration Iâve collected like a magpie (check out my #sandman S2 tag), I will have a stab at itâŚ
Only 12 Episodes or Aiming for Renewal?
Both is possible, but I am more and more leaning weâll get the whole thing in twelve episodes in two batches of five each with two wraparound episodes (one will be AGoY/THCoL in the middle, one the last three issues of The Wake).
We know the episode names for six episodes that are directed by Jamie Childs. That doesnât mean they were in order, or that there wonât be other directors involved. It wouldnât surprise me if they at least went for female writers/directors for AGoY/THCoL, and if thatâll be the episode that separates (or rather connects) SoM and Brief Lives. So here comes my totally unhinged prediction for 12 episodes, including the titles we know (mind you, they might also be working titles). The chapters from the comics are to be seen as fluid and not absolute, because there are a lot of scenes that are not linear in chronological terms and will probably be shuffled around a bit:
Batch One
âMore Devils Than Vast Hell Can Holdâ (that title is a direct quote from AMND): A Midsummer Nightâs Dream, SoM Prologue & Tales in the Sand flashback
âSeason of Mistsâ: SoM ch. 1-3, ch. 4 is getting dropped
âThe Ruler of Hellâ: SoM ch. 5 through Epilogue
TBA: AGoY & THCoL âBrief Livesâ: Brief Lives ch. 1-3. Maybe the first parts of Thermidor (could also be ep. 5).
âBrief Livesâ: Brief Lives ch. 1-5 âThe Song of Orpheusâ: Brief Lives ch. 4-6 and The Song of Orpheus segueing into
âThe Song of Orpheusâ: Brief Lives ch. 6. Bast is an excellent cut to SoO. âFamily Bloodâ: Brief Lives ch. 7-9. Parts of Thermidor will also be in there.
Batch Two
âFamily Bloodâ: Brief Lives ch. 7-9 TBA: TKO ch. 1-4
TBA: TKO ch. 1-4 TBA: TKO ch. 5-7
TBA: TKO ch. 5-8 TBA: TKO ch. 8-10
TBA: TKO ch. 11-13
TBA: The Wake (all of it apart fromâŚ)
TBA: Sunday Mourning/Exiles/The Tempest
Edit 19/09:
[strikeouts in text done on same day]
So Iâve read The High Cost of Living again over the past few days because it didnât want to leave me alone, and Iâve now convinced myself weâll get it as a side-plot to Brief Lives in episodes 4-6, and that weâll get tiny bits of AGoY, (mostly to set up Wanda/Ruby for Brief Lives and Hazel/Foxglove for THCoL) as a side plot to SoM in episodes 1-3. Spoilers ahead, so skip if thatâs not your thing:
Both Sexton and Orpheus have a death wish. I donât want to drag this out too much because the post is long enough as it is, but suffice it to say, Sexton rethinks after spending a day with Didi/Death, while Orpheus is granted his wish. And this is what ultimately sets Morpheus on his own path. The meaning of âSo liveâ would be beautifully contrasted that way because it has different meaning to different people, depending on their own experience. Add to that Death spending a âbrief lifeâ for one day herself, and I can somewhat see the vision.
Failing this, THCoL could also be a special in episode 13 that hasnât been announced yet (Iâd rather have Overture though if Iâm honest).
In more detail:
A Midsummer Nightâs Dream and The Tempest will be bookends, one before SoM, one after The Wake (they donât necessarily have to be full episodes, they could be half each and make up roughly an hour combined. It really depends on overall runtime).
Weâll kick off batch one with Season of Mists (maybe the prologue and will also be in episode 1âthere are several points in AMND that would make good cuts into SoM), and Tales in the Sand wonât be a full episode but incorporated as flashbacks (maybe around the family dinner). After we conclude SoM, weâll get one episode of AGoY will be a side-plot to SoM, as per above (if it happens at all), and leads into THCoL as a side-plot to Brief Lives as per my edit above, because thereâs a through-line in there for Fox and Hazel, plus we can set up Wanda/Ruby for Brief Lives.
Bonus 1:
Johanna will be somehow involved in SoM (sheâs the Hellblazer after all), and weâll get her to hook up with Murphy. No need for a longwinded introduction of Thessaly. Or, failing that, we just cut out the love interest completely, Morpheus does his moping session because Nada rebuffs him again, but Jo will still take Thessalyâs place as the crone.
Weâll move into roughly three episodes of Song of Orpheus/Thermidor and Brief Lives from there. Wanda will die in Brief Lives like Ruby, not in AGoY.
We finish the first batch with Morpheus alone on his chair after you-know-what đŠ
Second batch: TKO and The Wake. Little bits of Worldâs End will be woven in where it fits, maybe already in the first batch as well. Same goes for little bits of standalone issues from Fables and Reflections.
Jo will take Thessalyâs place and protect Lyta because sheâd just believe itâs the right thing to do (she also sympathises because she lost Astra). Whether she also holds a deeper grudge depends on if they set them up as having an affair or not.
My guess is four episodes TKO and one for the Wake. Sunday Mourning and Exiles will be done in one episode. The movie concept art that Jill Thompson did ages ago showed Daniel in the distance on the beach with the other three, and I think thatâs a good tie-in point to lead into Exiles. Even the Tempest might fit in there if they make the last episode more feature-length. And youâve got your two Shakespeare bookends.
Bonus 2:
Hob will be reinstalled to his narrative purpose because at least half the fandom will drop him like a hot potato and ship Morpheus x Cluracan instead. Because:
If you think 12 episodes are tight: Yes, if you want to see every detail and issue of the comics. But not everything you see in a graphic novel translates well to screen, plus you donât perceive time the same way. What takes ages to read can be something like 30 seconds in a film. Add to this that the movie that never happened was conceptualised as a trilogy if Iâm not mistaken, so probably 6-8 hours planned runtime in total. So they always had a definite idea how to streamline it, and they were planning for it before. 12 episodes with 45 to 60min each give us more to play with than a movie-trilogy (plus we can already take the time off that we spent on S1). I think itâs doable, but of course it means tightening arcs and dropping stuff.
However, Iâll be honest with you: With all thatâs been going on, and having seen that they filmed right through until the end, Iâd rather have them wrap up now. Because I honestly canât see a S3 happening after all thatâs already been cancelled and put on hold because of you-know-what (Iâm thinking of Disney shelving The Graveyard Book and Amazon putting GO on hold and sitting on the Audible despite it being finished).
But also: These decisions have likely been made long before these considerations even became an issue: Renewal was on a knifeâs edge, and choices were made back then we can only guess at. Scripts arenât written over night, neither are sets changed around wildly on a whim (plus actors arenât just tied to one project and canât just willy-nilly change their schedules). And some sets for TKO were already confirmed and booked in May. So they were always going to do what weâve seen in BTS shots. Itâs not a sudden development.
In any case: If they aimed for more seasons than two, I think this prediction could still hold in general, weâll just get it more fleshed out. In that case, Iâd say 10 episodes of SoM and Brief Lives (5 each), and A Midsummer Nightâs Dream and THCoL as standalones with the rest as side-plots woven in (that includes AGoY). Then S3 comprising TKO and The Wake with more space for standalone episodes and Worldâs End. Maybe even Overture as a special. I very much doubt they would go for more than three seasons in total though.
So these are my predictions, now Iâd love to hear yoursâŚ
#the sandman#sandman#the sandman netflix#sandman s2#sandman season 2#sandman spoilers#the sandman season 2#the sandman s2#sandman speculation#queue
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Hello, I haven't had time to read as much as I would want but I'm here with an update regardless, because if I don't keep these constant, I'm gonna forget things and this, so far, seems like a book in which I don't wanna forget things.
previously, in harrowbean the ninth:
this happened
currently, after "parodos" and ch. 1:
so I'm making up a timeline in my head with the information at hand
which is never straightforward
that'd be too easy, here in tlt we like to be kept on our toes
we like to be punched in the gut when we least expect it
so get ready for bad math
this would probably make our good friend palmolive atreides weep
I'm sorry palomilve's force ghost, I'm doing my best
SO
the first entry was the night of the emperor being terminated
the "parodos" bit (we'll get to that) is 14 months before the emperor is snuffed out
ch. 1 is nine months before the emperor kicks the bucket
I believe act 1 is going to be happening around that time, since ch. 2 seems to be following without another indication
because of what happens in "parodos" aka flashback, aka prologue 2: elecric bogaloo, we can attempt to estimate when the events of gideon happened
harrowbean tells ortus in the flashback that he's gonna train with aiglamene for 12 weeks
let's assume that's kind of the amount of time gideon trained, plus the time it took harrow to plot how to girlsplain, gatekeep and gaslight gideon into it
the only one girlbossing here is camilla, I don't make the rules
so, if gideon and harrow were ready to leave the ninth somewhere around 2-3 months after the flashback, it'd be circa 11 months before the events in the prologue
and ch. 1 starts 9 months before the events in the prologue
so gideon might have happened somewhere around 11-10 months before the prologue
I can't tell how long they were in canaan house (it felt like 12 years and 5 minutes at the same time) but I think about a month is mostly right, given that once bodies start dropping, things are all happening together
all of this is relative, since time in space is ????
but I need to do this for my own peace of mind
if you give me time measurements I'm gonna measure, ok?
I need to organize things
I know I will end up making a graphic at some point I just know it
this is what I get for calling palmolive a turbonerd
ANYWAY, MOVING ON
or, moving back, since we're in prologue 2: electric bogaloo aka flashback time
here we have ortus (the one we knew, not the one we will get to know, according to the characters list) telling harrow he doesn't wanna go to the field trip
this is ortus
if you're wondering why I don't nickname ortus, I'll repeat myself but "orto" means "ass" where I'm from, so that's enough to remember him by
harrow is like "I know you're underqualified but we're understaffed, so it is what it is"
the important part is that harrowbean says she sees the barbie in the freezer walking about
like a ghost or whatnot
she refers to her as "the body" and I assume that's barbie in the ice cube because someone reblogged my recap where I mentioned her and tagged
ever since then I've been wondering why she was referred to as The Body and now I'm gonna assume this is it
so harrow tells ortus he needs to hide the fact that she's mentally unstable
[non funny side note: masking is unbearable and it's awful we live in a social and cultural environment where we feel pressured to do it, especially when you're an adult having to fulfill expectations of supposedly "age-specific" activities and responsibilities, it's exhausting and I cried about that in therapy a mere week ago so, hitting hard, this bit
don't let people make you feel "less than" because the way in which you navigate the world and your experiences is different from what's expected in some theoretical socially constructed category
and fuck everyone who, in order to put people down in arguments online, ever make fun of those who aren't mentally, economically or socially as independent as what the category of an adult is supposed to be to them
argue with concepts, argue with opinions and facts, don't tear people down in the name of "moral upper hand" by telling people they're losers for needing help
side note done]
so, harrow entered the whole canaan thing not only carrying the weight of her house, her family and her entire people
she also came into it believing she's not mentally sound and seeing The Body walking around unnoticed by other people
whether or not her visions are mentally unsettled or something that actually happens because she opened the tomb, just the whole situation of her birth is enough to make anyone collapse, so we got you, harrowbean
we're here for you
and all that without mentioning what it'd be like seeing your girlfriend cavalier impale herself in front of you
I'm taking liberties with the 'girlfriend' bit but idk
so, next we know, 5 months have passed from that and harrowcita is struggling in her new environment of the clown emperor's ship
she is made to carry gideon's sword and she can't
she can't seem to know what to do or to communicate with said knowledge and she's throwing up a lot
WHICH IS GREAT!!!!!
I mean, it's not great that she's suffering
but it's GREAT because if she can't communicate with gideon's slurped soul, maybe it means gideon's soul has not been slurped AT ALL
more fuel for my wishful thinking of gideon's soul returning to her and getting regenerated and saved and being alive
I also like very much this situation in which harrow sees the sword as personified and they hate each other without gideon
it's like prim's cat in the hunger games with katniss
but with an inanimate object
I'm really liking that dynamic
is like they both miss her and can't relate to each other
ALSO barbie body ice cube is still there
just chillin' and being silently supportive, I think
not sure what her deal is but what if she's not the bad one here? because this emperor kind of sucks tbh
not in a 'he's evil' way but in a 'idk if he know what he's doing' way
I don't know about this guy tbh
so we're leaving off with harrow being mentally and physically struggling, ghost barbie roamin' the rooms, voices of people organizing stock and gideon in my head like this, walking in limbo to get back to us
also, another day without camilla
I thought I wasn't gonna have much to say and this is so long, I'm so sorry...
#luly reacts to tlt#harrow the ninth#tlt#harrow the ninth spoilers#tlt spoilers#the locked tomb#long post#gif cw
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â
â Only a vampire can love you forever | CH 7

á´ á´á´á´ÉŞĘá´!ęąá´á´ ÉŞá´á´ x á´Ęá´ĘĘĘ!Ęá´á´á´
á´Ę x á´ á´á´á´ÉŞĘá´!á´á´ÉŞá´ĘĘÉ´ | 5.5á´ á´Ąá´Ęá´
ęą
CW : Dark!sevika, age gap, private school, toxic, forbidden love, mentions of blood, hopeless lesbians, TEACHER X STUDENT, porn with plot, oral sex, reader is a virgin, innocent reader, theres like a 500 year age gap, courruption, masturbation, cheating, odd love triangle?, READER IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUNCH OF ATRACTIVE VAMPIRES
A/N : đź
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
The dream clawed at you again.
Same hallway. Same flickering lights. Only this time, it wasnât Jinx reaching for you.
It was Bella.
Her face pale. Eyes bloodshot. Mouth slightly open as if sheâd been trying to scream. Blood soaked her collar and spilled down her chest in thick, black-red waves. You backed away, breath caught in your throat, trying to wake upâtrying to moveâ
Her hand shot out, grabbing your wrist.
You screamed.
BANG BANG BANG.
Your eyes flew open. Your skin was clammy, heart hammering. Sunlight poured through the cracks in your curtains, too bright, too sudden. You sat up quickly as the knocking came again, loud and urgent.
âMiss Y/N?â
Another knock. Firm. Authoritative.
You groaned, stumbling to your feet, your oversized sleep shirt clinging to your back. You shuffled to the door, rubbing your eyes with one hand as you yanked it open with the other.
âWhatâ?!â
You winced the second it left your mouth, too harsh, too loud. Your throat still raw from the scream that had dragged you out of sleep.
And standing thereâ
Two police officers.
Behind them, your Dorm RA, nervously fiddling with the lanyard clipped to her belt.
The taller of the two officers looked down at a small notepad, then to you.
âMiss Y/N?â
You blinked, suddenly wide awake. â...Yes?â
The officer looked to his partner. Something silent passed between them.
And thatâs when your stomach dropped.

The disciplinary office buzzed faintly with fluorescent lighting. The hum was constant, just enough to crawl under your skin.
You sat perfectly still in the stiff-backed chair, hands clasped in your lap. You could feel your heart pounding in your throat, but you kept your face calm.
This wasn't new. Being pulled into rooms like this never meant consequences for you.
Not with the Kirraman name behind you. Not when everyone assumed you were harmless.
But stillâ this time felt different.
One of the officersâtall, broad-shouldered, buzzed hairâslid a small paper coffee cup across the table toward you. No lid. It steamed faintly.
You didnât move to take it.
âMiss Y/N,â the second officer said, older and softer-spoken, âyouâre not in trouble. Weâre just asking questions.â
You stared at the coffee, then flicked your eyes up to him.
âWhy am I here?â you asked, voice quieter than intended.
They exchanged a glance.
Then the taller one cleared his throat, sitting up straighter.
âWe wanted to ask about an incident that took place⌠a few weeks ago,â he said carefully. âAn off-campus party. A student, Bella Drey, was reportedly struck in the head with a bottle.â
Your stomach dropped.
You said nothing.
âYou were there, correct?â he continued.
You hesitated. âYes. Butâ I didnât see anything.â
âWere you near Bella that night?â the older one asked gently.
Your heart rate spiked. Just slightly.
The bond reactedâechoing that panic back into your chest.
âI wasâyeah, we⌠ran into each other.â
âDid you witness the altercation?â
You looked down. âNo. I walked away before anything happened.â
Silence.
You could feel their eyes on you.
The younger one leaned in slightly. âDid Bella ever express concern? That someone might come after her later? Did she mention anyone by name?â
You shook your head slowly. âNo.â
Another beat.
And thenâcarefully:
âMiss Y/N⌠is there any reason you think someone mightâve wanted to hurt Bella?â
You blinked.
For a second, just one heartbeat, you nearly said it.
Nearly said Jinx.
The blue hair. The smirk. The eyes. That dream.
But you didnât.
You just stared at the coffee again.
And said, âNo. I donât know anything.â
But your pulse wouldnât slow. And you could feel itâthat gnawing fear building in your chest.
Because if they were digging into that night⌠Then something must have happened now.
Something worse.
You were still staring at the coffee when the older officer cleared his throat again. This time, his tone shiftedâgentler, but heavier.
âMiss Y/NâŚâ
You looked up, and the expression on his face made your stomach twist.
âIâm afraid Bella Drey was found early this morning⌠deceased.â
Your breath caught.
Deceased.
That word hit different than dead. Dead was violent. Sudden. A punch. Deceased was soft. Distant. Final.
You blinked rapidly, already shaking your head. âWaitâwhat? No, she was justââ
The younger officer reached into the folder and slid something across the table.
A photograph.
You didnât want to look. But your eyes flicked down anyway.
It was blurry. Grainy. Taken quickly at the scene, maybe before the medics had arrived.
But it was unmistakable.
Bella, slumped in an alley. Head tilted at an unnatural angle. Blood on her collar. Her skin was paleâtoo pale.
You grimaced and immediately looked away, stomach rolling.
The cup of coffee was still steaming between you.
âWe understand this is upsetting,â the officer said, voice neutral now. âBut weâre trying to determine if thereâs any connection between the assault at the party⌠and what happened to her last night.â
You didnât answer.
Couldnât.
The image still burned behind your eyelids.
âSo,â the younger one asked, watching you closely now, âcan you tell us where you were last night?â
Your pulse jumped again.
Youâd had another nightmare. Youâd woken up sweating. And then the knock came.
You werenât anywhere. You were in your dorm.
Alone. Unprotected. Vulnerable.
âI was in my room,â you said quietly. âAll night.â
âCan anyone confirm that?â
You swallowed, throat dry. âI⌠I donât know.â
They didnât write anything down.
But their silence said everything.
The questioning had quieted, but your pulse hadnât.
You sat stiff in the chair, your knees together, your hands resting on your thighs, knuckles white.
Across the table, the older officer reached into his jacket and pulled out a business-style card, sliding it toward you. The younger one did the same.
âIâm Officer Marcus,â the taller one said evenly. âAnd this is Detective Greyson.â
Greyson gave you a nod, though her eyes didnât quite soften.
âIf you see anything concerning,â Marcus continued, âhear anything strange⌠give us a call.â
You reached out and took the cards with shaky fingers, your eyes flicking once more to the folder still on the desk. The photo of Bella. Her body. Her blood.
But before you could respondâ
The door burst open.
âWhat the hell do you think youâre doing?â
Caitlyn.
She strode into the room like she owned itâwhich, in many ways, she might as well have. Her Kirraman family crest shimmered faintly against the dark navy blazer she wore like armor. Her heels echoed with every step, sharp and unwavering.
Behind her, the disciplinary office attendant hurried in, flustered and clearly out of breath.
âIâm sorry, sheâshe was too fastââ
âSheâs a student,â Caitlyn snapped, voice cold as steel, ânot a suspect. And this?â She gestured to the two men at the table. âThis is an unlawful interrogation without academy representation or legal counsel.â
Marcus and Greyson remained seated, unfazed.
Greyson raised an eyebrow. âNo interrogation, Miss Kirraman. Just questions. Sheâs not in trouble.â
âYou have no authority to question her without her guardianâs knowledge or our legal team present,â Caitlyn said, voice lowering, more dangerous. âYou think the Kirramans wonât sue you into the ground over this? Even if we lose, youâll spend the next decade buried in court fees.â
There was a long, tense pause.
Marcus sighed and leaned back, folding his arms. âSheâs free to go. Weâre done for now.â
Caitlyn looked at you, offering her hand immediately.
You didnât hesitate. You stood, slipped the cards into your pocket, and took it.
She gave the two men a final look. âNext time, you call me. Not her.â
They didnât reply.
But you knew they would.
Because whether they wanted to admit it or not, Caitlyn wasnât bluffing. A lawsuit from the Kirramansâeven a hollow oneâwould cost them everything.
She pulled you out into the hall, her grip firm but not painful. The moment the door clicked shut behind you, her entire demeanor cracked just a little.
She looked at you, eyes softer now. âAre you okay?â
You opened your mouthâthen closed it.
You werenât sure what to say.
But Caitlyn already knew.
âCome on,â she whispered. âYouâre not going back to your dorm alone.â
The moment you stepped out into the hallway, your legs felt like jelly.
Caitlyn hadnât let go of your hand yet. She was still walking fast, guiding you through the academy corridors with the force of a storm barely contained behind her composed expression.
You could tell she was angry. No, furious.
But beneath itâ was worry.
âCaitlyn,â you said softly.
She didnât stop, but her eyes flicked to you.
âI need to see Sevika.â
She slowed.
Just a little.
You stopped walking. âPlease.â
Caitlyn turned fully to face you, her jaw tense. âYouâre safe now. We can go back to the house. You donât needââ
âI need her,â you said, a little firmer this time.
And it wasnât about defiance. Or choosing sides. It was about feeling like the room wouldnât spin if both anchors in your life werenât fraying at once.
Caitlyn stared at you, and for a moment you thought she might argue. That sheâd tell you no, that sheâd remind you whoâs been by your side first.
But instead, she looked down.
Then nodded.
âOkay.â
Her voice was tight.
She hated it.
You could feel that through the bondâhow much it twisted her stomach. How much her pride was burning. But her grip on your wrist gentled again.
âLetâs go find her,â she said quietly.
And together, you turned down the west wing of the buildingâ toward the old staff offices. Where Sevika always disappeared when she wanted the world quiet.
You didnât say it out loud, but you both knewâ
Whatever Sevika was about to hear⌠it wouldnât just shake her.
It might change everything.

Sevika sat in her office, lights low, blinds drawn.
Her chair creaked softly beneath her as she leaned back, flipping through a worn paperback with one hand, a pen tapping idly against her thigh with the other.
She wasnât reading.
Not really.
Not with that pressure building behind her eyes. That prickling static under her skin that hadnât let up since sunrise.
Something was coming.
Something sharp. Heavy. Yours.
She closed the book.
Sat up straighter.
The bondâyour bondâwas tight. Throbbing. Not in pain, exactly⌠but in weight. Like a scream held just behind your teeth. Like you were trying to hold everything in so no one else could feel it.
But Sevika could.
Even with her walls up.
Even when she tried not to.
She stood and walked to the door of her office, opening it before the knock came.
And there you were.
Eyes wide. Shoulders tight. Jaw clenched like you were trying not to cry.
Beside youâCaitlyn. Standing close. Protective. Her blue eyes cutting through Sevika the second their gazes met.
Sevika looked between you both once.
And said nothing.
Just stepped aside, opening the door wider.
You walked in first.
And Sevika could feel it before you even said a wordâ
Sevika closed the office door behind you, the soft click of the lock sealing the world out. The lighting in her office was dim, only a desk lamp casting a pool of gold across the papers and half-read books littered across the surface.
You stood in the center of the room, your arms crossed tight over your chest.
Caitlyn hovered behind you, silent now. She hadnât said a word since Sevika opened the doorâher body language stiff, her jaw set.
Sevika watched you closely, not saying anything. Not yet.
But she could feel it.
Whatever you were carryingâwhatever was eating at youâwas coiled tight in your chest like it might explode.
âI was pulled into the disciplinary office this morning,â you said finally, voice low.
Sevika didnât move.
âThey were waiting outside my dorm. Woke me up from a dream⌠another one. About Bella.â
Sevikaâs brow twitched. âThe girl from the party?â
You nodded, your throat dry. âThey showed me a picture of her body.â
That made Sevika shift.
Just slightly. Enough for her hand to curl against the edge of the desk.
Your voice cracked. âSheâs dead. They said she was found in an alley off campus early this morning. They think it might be connected to the party.â
Neither woman interrupted you.
You went on, breath trembling. âThey asked if I knew where I was last night. Asked if Iâd heard anything. If Bella had enemies. I told them no, butââ You swallowed hard. âI think it was Jinx.â
Sevikaâs eyes flicked up sharply.
âWait,â Caitlyn said behind you, stepping forward. âYou didnât tell them that, right?â
âNo,â you said quickly. âOf course not.â
âBut you felt it,â Sevika said, voice low, a little rough. âDidnât you?â
You nodded.
âI didnât see it, but⌠I knew. I felt the blood. I felt the fear. I think I felt her die.â
Sevika cursed under her breath and leaned against her desk, one hand scrubbing down her face.
Caitlyn stepped beside you, placing a hand on your shoulder. You didnât push her away.
âThey gave me cards,â you said softly, pulling them out of your pocket. âOfficer Marcus and Detective Greyson. They think Iâm a witness. Maybe worse.â
Sevika didnât take the cards. She just looked at youâeyes dark, intense, conflicted.
âWhatever this is,â you whispered, âitâs not just about me anymore.â
Sevikaâs voice was almost a growl. âNo. Itâs not.â
And Caitlyn added, colder now, âWhich means Jinx just broke the rules in the worst way possible.â
The halls of the academy were eerily quiet.
Youâd just barely managed to slip away before Caitlyn and Sevika disappeared behind one of the heavy, sealed doors that only certain students were allowed throughâvampire business, as Caitlyn called it. An emergency meeting. One you definitely werenât invited to.
So now you were alone.
And it felt⌠wrong.
Every creak of the floor under your shoes made you flinch. Every draft of cold air down the corridor raised goosebumps on your arms. You kept looking over your shoulder, gripping your phone in one hand with your finger hovering over Caitlynâs contactâeven though you knew she wouldnât answer. Not in there.
âI just need to find somewhere to wait,â you whispered to yourself, rounding a corner that led toward the old music wing, long abandoned after a pipe burst in the ceiling last fall. âSomewhere quiet.â
And thenâ
âLooking for something, sweetheart?â
You froze.
The voice was soft. Low. Almost playful.
You turned slowly, heart already starting to pound.
Violet Warwick leaned against the wall just behind you. Hair half-tucked behind her ear, uniform sleeves rolled up, boots crossed at the ankle like sheâd been standing there forever.
âOr maybe someone,â she added, pushing off the wall.
Your breath caught. âIâno, I was justââ
She held up a hand, smiling. âRelax. Iâm not here to bite you. Not unless you ask.â
Then, impossibly smooth, she stepped forward and took your handâlifting it gently.
You tensed, but her touch was light. Careful.
She brought your fingers to her lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles like something out of a fairytale.
And the second her lips touched your skinâ
The bond flared.
Not Caitlyn. Not Sevika.
Her.
It was faint. Wrong. But it was there.
You gasped, stumbling backâbut your feet wouldnât move.
You tried again. Nothing.
Your whole body was stuck. Locked in place like someone had wrapped invisible chains around your limbs.
Violetâs eyes glinted, and she stepped closer.
âYouâre a little more interesting than they let on,â she whispered, voice dripping with curiosity and danger. âYou feel that too, donât you?â
You couldnât speak.
She brushed your hair back behind your ear, her fingers cool and impossibly gentle, and leaned down toward your throat.
You saw her fangs. White. Sharp. Bared.
âLet me guess,â she murmured. âNo one told you what happens when too many of us touch your blood.â
You couldnât scream.
You could barely breathe.
And thenâ
CRASH.
The door at the end of the hall slammed open.
âGet away from her!â Caitlynâs voice rang out, sharp, furious.
âBack off, Vi.â Sevikaâs voice followed, low and deadly.
Violet paused, her lips inches from your neck.
Then she looked up with a wicked little smirk. âOh well. Maybe next time.â
She snapped her fingersâand you dropped to your knees, breath coming in ragged gasps as your body came back to you all at once.
Caitlyn was already beside you, grabbing your arms, checking your face.
Sevika moved in front of you, shielding you with her body, eyes locked on Violet.
But Violet?
She just blew you a kiss, winkedâ
âand disappeared into the shadows.
You were still on your knees, gasping like youâd just surfaced from drowning.
Your limbs tingled as sensation returnedâpins and needles prickling through your legs, your fingertips twitching. Your whole body felt violated. Not touched, not bitten, but⌠held. Puppeted.
Caitlyn was at your side in an instant.
âY/N, heyâhey, look at me,â she said, her voice softer now, but trembling beneath the surface. Her hands cupped your face as she crouched down in front of you, brushing your hair out of your eyes. âAre you okay? Can you hear me?â
You nodded shakily, throat too tight to speak.
Sevika was behind you, her metal hand resting on your back, firm and grounding.
âI shouldâve fucking known,â she muttered, glaring down the hallway where Violet had vanished. âI felt something shift.â
âI told them this would happen if they let them roam without rules,â Caitlyn hissed, barely able to keep her voice down as she checked your pulse. âShe couldâveâGod, if weâd been seconds laterââ
âShe didnât bite me,â you croaked, voice hoarse.
Both of them stilled.
âShe wanted to,â you added, eyes wide, still dazed. âI saw her fangs. I felt theâwhatever she did. I couldnât move. I couldnât do anything.â
Sevika cursed under her breath again and stood up straight, pacing a few steps away before dragging her hand through her hair. âThat was a power. Some kind of control responseâprobably blood-based. If she touched you, she could trigger it without biting.â
Caitlynâs jaw clenched as she pulled you into a protective hug, her arms wrapping around your shoulders tightly.
âShe shouldnât have been able to do that,â she said, almost to herself. âThat means the bond's pulling more than we thought. Pulling in others.â
You buried your face into Caitlynâs shoulder, heart still thudding.
âI donât want to feel anyone else,â you whispered.
Sevika looked at you, something hard behind her eyes softening for the first time in minutes.
âYou wonât,â she said, stepping closer again. âWe wonât let them get near you.â
Caitlyn nodded against your hair. âWeâre putting an end to this. Starting now.â
But even as she said itâyou could still feel the ghost of Violetâs kiss on your hand.
And worse⌠A part of you did feel it.
That new, unwanted tether. Like a third string, distant but undeniably there.

The council chamber was tucked deep beneath the oldest wing of the academyâthick stone walls, sealed doors, and no windows to the outside world. Only candlelight flickered in elegant sconces along the walls, giving the space a hushed, almost sacred weight.
The room was full. Every seat at the long, dark-wood table was occupied.
Vampires. Pristine. Ancient. Beautiful in that way only predators could beâstill, quiet, and always watching.
At the head of the table sat Cassandra Kiramman, draped in deep crimson, her hair pulled into a tight chignon. Regal. Calculating. Every word she spoke felt rehearsedâbut never insincere.
Beside her was Tobias Kiramman, Caitlynâs father. Dressed in tailored charcoal-gray, his expression unreadable, his hands folded on the table like he was waiting for someone to slip so he could crush them with one sentence.
Caitlyn sat farther down, fists clenched in her lap, her jaw locked so tight her teeth might crack.
Sevika stood behind her chair, arms crossed, her eyes shadowed and unreadable.
The topic had already taken over the room.
You.
Y/N L/N. Human. Bitten. Twice bonded. Still alive. Still on campus. And now, seen by Violet Warwickâwho had touched you, tasted your bond, and left without consequence.
âThe dual bond is unstable,â one council member said, tapping their finger lightly on the polished table. âAnd unknown. Itâs never occurred naturallyâat least not in the last two centuries. What happens when it pulls her apart?â
âSheâs already showing psychic resonance,â another chimed in. âSheâs connected to Caitlyn and Sevikaâbut now others are responding. That Warwick girl. Whoâs next? Viktor? Jinx? What happens when her blood starts calling to anyone who gets too close?â
âWeâre not talking about a girl anymore,â an older vampire said flatly. âWeâre talking about a trigger. A potential collapse of centuries of secrecy.â
Cassandra lifted a hand and the room fell quiet.
âWhich is why weâre proposing immediate relocation,â she said calmly. âTo the care of her parents. She will be protected, hidden, monitoredâno contact with the student population, no further exposure to the bond.â
Caitlyn stood up so fast her chair scraped the floor.
âNo.â
Cassandra didnât even blink.
âWeâre not exiling her,â Caitlyn snapped. âShe hasnât done anything wrong. Youâre treating her like sheâs a weapon waiting to go offâsheâs not. Sheâs confused and scared and under our protection.â
Sevika said nothing.
Her eyes were cast down at the table, lips pressed into a hard line. She hadnât spoken once since the meeting began.
ThenâTobiasâs voice cut through the silence.
âCaitlyn. Sit down.â
She didnât move.
âI said sit.â
Caitlyn clenched her jawâbut obeyed.
Tobiasâs voice was calm, precise. âYouâre too close to this. We understand your emotional attachment, but this isnât personal. Itâs a political risk. A supernatural anomaly. One we canât afford to keep in plain sight.â
âSheâs not a threat,â Caitlyn whispered.
âShe will be,â he replied without hesitation.
Then Cassandra nodded once, slow and deliberate. âI agree.â
The decision began forming like frost on glass.
And Sevika?
Still silent.
But something dark flickered behind her eyes.
She was thinking.
Not about what was safest.
But what sheâd be willing to do⌠if they actually sent you away.
The meeting room emptied slowly, voices fading down the long hallway as the elite disappeared behind heavy doors and into waiting black cars.
Only Caitlyn and Sevika remained.
The silence in the chamber was thickâlike smoke after a fire. Still burning. Still dangerous.
Caitlyn stood with her back to the long council table, arms folded, eyes locked on the stone floor like she could glare a hole through it.
Sevika leaned against the far wall, her metal arm flexing unconsciously, jaw working like she was chewing on words that refused to settle.
âYou didnât say anything,â Caitlyn said suddenly.
Her voice was low. Controlled. But not calm.
âYou stood there the entire time and didnât say a single fucking word.â
Sevika didnât look at her.
âI didnât need to,â she muttered.
âYou did.â Caitlyn turned to face her now, eyes sharp and wet with restrained fury. âTheyâre sending her away. Away from the one place she felt safe. Away from us. And you just stood there like it didnât matter.â
âItâs not about what matters,â Sevika snapped, finally pushing off the wall. âItâs about what keeps her alive.â
Caitlynâs lips partedâlike she might scream, or laugh, or break all at once.
âSo thatâs your answer? We just let them exile her? Lock her away like sheâs a threat? Like some creature they can study?â
âNo,â Sevika said, her voice low now. Measured. âMy answer is I donât make moves until I know how far Iâm willing to go.â
Caitlyn took a step closer. âAnd?â
Sevika looked at her.
Really looked.
And for the first time since the meeting, something honest cracked through her silence.
âI donât think I can let her go,â she said.
The words hit the room like a confession.
Caitlynâs breath hitched.
They stood in the quiet, both of them too stubborn to speak first. Both of them aching in different ways for the same girl.
âShe wonât survive this if weâre not on the same page,â Caitlyn said finally. âIf we fight each other instead of them.â
Sevika nodded once. Just barely.
Then turned away again.
âSheâs not gonna take it well.â
âI know.â
âSheâll try to run.â
Caitlyn exhaled. âThen we donât let her.â

The greenhouse was warm and damp, the glass above fogged over from late afternoon condensation. The smell of earth clung to everythingârich, sweet, and almost suffocating. It was the only place on campus that still felt alive⌠even if everything in it was quietly dying.
You crouched near the corner, your fingertips brushing the wilted leaves of a once-blooming peace lily. Its petals had curled into themselves, yellowed at the edges. No matter how much water, how much lightâ It was going.
You didnât hear the door open.
Didnât hear the soft footsteps.
You were too lost in your own thoughtsâtoo weighed down by the council, the tension between Caitlyn and Sevika, the way your own body felt like it was tearing itself in two.
And thenâ
âIt has a disease,â a quiet voice said behind you, smooth and dispassionate. âItâs going to die. No matter what you do.â
You gasped and turned sharply.
Viktor.
Standing in the shadowed aisle between the planters. Hands in the pockets of his coat. Still. Silent. Watching.
You didnât speak.
You couldnât.
He walked slowly toward you, the sound of his boots muffled by the mossy floor. He stopped beside the dying plant and crouched, thin fingers reaching out.
A spark flickered at the tips of his fingers as they hovered just above the leaf. Faintâlike static before a storm. The leaf twitched, then stilled. The spark vanished.
You didnât know if heâd tried to save it⌠or help it die faster.
Viktor stood again, brushing off his hand absently.
âI understand what itâs like,â he said quietly, his eyes on the plant⌠then shifting to you. âTo work so hard to save something. To pour every part of yourself into it.â
He paused.
âAnd thenâŚâ his gaze flicked downward, slow and deliberate, landing on the scars at your neck.
âIt just blows up in your face.â
You swallowed hard, your back straightening.
He wasnât smiling. He wasnât mocking. Just⌠watching. Like he was trying to decide if you were another dying thing he couldnât fix.
You wanted to say something. Anything.
But all that came out was a whisper:
ââŚWhat do you want?â
Viktorâs eyes, dull gold and softly glowing, lingered on your face a moment longer.
Then he simply said,
âCareful, Y/N. The roots rot first.â
And just like thatâhe walked away.
Leaving you in the quiet greenhouse, surrounded by things that had once been beautiful⌠and couldnât be saved.
You watched him walk away, his limp pronounced but unhurried, his coat trailing just above the floor of fallen petals and damp moss. His presence lingered long after the greenhouse door clicked shut behind himâlike smoke, or static, or something colder.
You let out the breath you didnât realize youâd been holding.
What the hell was that?
Turning back to the planter, your eyes flicked to the spot where Viktor had crouched moments ago.
The peace lily.
The same plant that had been withering for daysâits leaves brown, curling in on themselves, the soil dry no matter how much water you poured inâ
Was now green.
Lush. Upright. The petals fully open and gleaming with dew.
You knelt down, reaching out to touch it.
Warm.
Alive.
That tiny spark from Viktorâs fingers... it hadnât been for show.
He did something.
You stood up slowly, your eyes drifting over the workspace where heâd been standing. A rusted watering can. A cracked ceramic pot. And thenâ
Your gaze caught on something.
A thin silver bracelet, resting neatly on the edge of the table.
At first, you thought it was just decorativeâmaybe part of his uniform.
But when you stepped closer, your stomach twisted.
Intricate blood-red markings were etched into the silver band. Symbols you didnât recognize⌠but your gut did.
They felt wrong.
Like they werenât meant to be seen by human eyes.
Like they were watching back.
You reached out, fingers hovering just above the metal, unsure whether to touch it at all.
A vampiric symbol.
Not Caitlynâs. Not Sevikaâs.
This was something older. Something darker.
You backed away slowly, your mind racing, heart pounding.
Because Viktor hadnât left it by accident.
Heâd wanted you to find it.
And now?
You had no idea what it meant.
But the plant beside you whispered its answerâ
Life. Or death.
Depending on who held the power.
The greenhouse was still, save for the distant hum of fans and the quiet creak of old glass shifting in the frame.
You stared at the bracelet for one last momentâits silver glinting faintly in the lightâbefore you snatched it off the table and shoved it into the pocket of your navy blue blazer with your school logo on it, heart pounding. The metal was cold. Uncomfortably cold.
Thenâ
The door creaked open.
You spun around just as Sevika stepped inside, eyes scanning the room like she already knew you were there.
She found you quicklyâhalf-hidden behind the tall ferns, your face flushed from panic and adrenaline.
âHey,â she said, her voice low, controlled. âDidnât mean to scare you.â
You didnât speak.
She took a few careful steps forward, pausing beside a wide planter full of basil and lavender. âWe need to talk.â
You braced yourself. âAbout the council.â
Her jaw tensed. âYeah.â
You nodded slowly, your hand tightening in your hoodie pocket around the cold curve of the bracelet.
âTheyâre weighing options,â Sevika continued. âKeeping you at the Kirraman estate was their original offer, butâŚâ She hesitated. âTheyâre now considering something more⌠permanent.â
Your blood ran cold. âWhat does that mean?â
âThey might try to send you back,â she said carefully. âBack to your family. Off-campus. Full severance from the bonds.â
You blinked. Once. Then again. Like you hadnât heard her right.
âBack home?â
Sevikaâs brow furrowed at your tone. âI know itâs not ideal, butââ
âNo.â
Your voice cracked like a whip. Loud. Sharp. Final.
Sevika stiffened.
You took a step back, eyes wide with disbelief. âIâm not going back there.â
She opened her mouth to say something, but you were already shaking your headâfast, your breath hitching in your chest as your voice rose.
âIâm not going back to a house where I was a guest in my own life. Where my dad pretended my mom never existed the second she was buried.â
Your hands were trembling now, knuckles white.
âHe married some basic Pinterest-brained woman three months later and let her kids take over everything. My room. My space. My name at the fucking dinner table.â
Sevika was silent. Watching. Listening.
You laughedâshort, bitter. âAnd when I didnât fall in line? When I didnât smile for their Christmas card? They asked him to send me away. And he did.â
Your throat tightened. âHe packed my bags, booked my flight, and told me this school was a âfresh start.â But he didnât mean that. He meant get lost.â
You looked at her thenâeyes shining but hard.
âSo no. Iâm not going back. Iâd rather die here.â
Sevika stepped forward slowly, her expression unreadable but her voice quiet.
âYouâre not going anywhere.â
You didnât move.
âNot if I can help it.â
For a moment, the only sound was your breath and the distant rustle of leaves in the greenhouse.
And the faint, cold weight of the bracelet pressing against your hip.
The greenhouse held its breath with you.
You stood there, trembling with rage and grief, your chest tight with every word youâd just forced out. The kind of truth that burned on the way up. The kind you didnât say out loud because once you did, it lived in the air with youâreal. Permanent.
And Sevika⌠she didnât say anything right away.
She didnât offer the usual empty comforts. Didnât mutter âthat sucksâ or try to fix it. She just stood there, looking at you like she could see all of itânot just the words, but the weight behind themâand wasnât afraid of holding it.
Then she stepped closer.
Slow, deliberate.
You didnât pull away.
You couldnât.
Not when her hand came up to gently brush a curl away from your damp cheek. Not when her metal hand settled at your waist, solid and grounding.
âYou didnât deserve that,â she said softly. âNone of it.â
Your lip trembled, but you didnât look away.
And then she leaned inâslowly, watching your eyes the whole time, giving you every second to move if you wanted to.
But you didnât.
And when her lips met yoursâwarm, steady, carefulâit wasnât lust.
It was anchor.
Her mouth pressed to yours in a kiss that didnât rush. That didnât ask. That held. It said what she didnât know how to say:
Youâre not alone. Youâre not going back. Iâve got you.
When she finally pulled back, her forehead rested against yours. Her thumb brushed your jaw, soft despite the calluses.
You closed your eyes, breathing her in.
And for the first time in days, your heart didnât feel like it was breaking.
It just felt full.

comment to be added to the taglist
#arcane#arcane sevika#sevika#lesbian#sevika x reader#wlw#wuh luh wuh#sissormetimbers#caitlyn x reader#caitlyn kiramman
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Hello! Thank you for the tags, @blackberrysummerblog @mooncello @monbons @artsyunderstudy @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @thehoneyedhufflepuff @nausikaaaand and @alexalexinii. You are wonderful!
Today I'm sharing an anxious plea for reassurance + a snippet of chapter 9 of Basil Pitch's Diary, posting June 7. Below the cut for spoilers and anxiety.
<ANXIETY> I'm working on chapter 10 now and friends, it's slow going. I still love this fic with all my heart, but chapters 1-9 I had mapped out more or less scene by scene months before I started posting, and before writing most of them. Writing them was like novelizing a movie I'd watched in my head a countless times.
For the rest of the fic, though--Ch 10-13--I had only broad strokes figured out. I knew the very ending, and a handful of key emotional beats along the way, but the connective tissue was basically "Collect Underpants ... ? ... Profit."
I've now plotted the rest out in reasonable detail, with help from the extremely kind and insightful @facewithoutheart and @thewholelemon. But I am a plotter to the core and it feels much scarier to be writing a story I just made / am still making up than one that's been living in my head for years.
Also, you guys: Chapter 9 is really fucking good. I'm really proud of it and excited to share it. And also scared that the rest of the fic won't live up to the promise of all I've set up. This fic is my baby and I just really want to nail it.
Intellectually I know I'm just swinging on the creative-confidence pendulum, and that future me will be able to write as well as past me. These doubts are just intrusive thoughts, skittering around my head like the mice that live in my walls. Harmless, but such a nuisance. </ANXIETY>
Anyway! Here are some sentences of Chapter 9, which, did I mention, is really good. Baz is finally going dancing with DeNiall.
âSo, cousin. Whatâs your strategy?â I just raised an eyebrow and gestured at myself. My shirt was a perfectly cut navy so sheer that it read as cobalt over my pale skin. Climbing my chest were embroidered red and pink roses, between which you could clearly see my nipples. Iâd changed out of Oxford cloth at Fionaâs. (I didnât tell her Iâd stopped in Blackfriars to drop off my grandmotherâs furs and my grandfatherâs Dickens.) Through my sleeve you could also see my motherâs wand holster, which my father now insists I wear whenever I leave the house. Heâs also looking for a second dog. Something more territorial than Rusty, whose lick is worse than his bite. After the numpties he spent a week teaching me defensive spells. His skill surprised me, though it shouldnât have. Once, when I was small, someone tried to mug him as we were leaving a theatre. My father didnât panic or capitulate, just calmly kneecapped the man with a vicious Why me, why now.Â
Tagging @angelsfalling16 @brilla-brilla-estrellita @palimpsessed @cutestkillaÂ
@comesitintheclover @confused-bi-queer @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @drowninginships @dragoneggos
@emeryhall @ebbpettier @aristocratic-otter @hushed-chorus @youarenevertoooldÂ
@ic3-que3n @shrekgogurt @ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @j-nipper-95
@katatsumuli @valeffelees @martsonmars @whogaveyoupermission @whatevertheweatherÂ
@messofthejess @nightimedreamersworld @alleycat0306 @raenestee @wetheformidablesÂ
@onepintobean @run-for-chamo-miles @skeedelvee @alleycat0306 @iamamythologicalcreature
@twokisses @shrekgogurt
#wip wednesday#my writing#basil pitch's diary#baz pitch#imposter syndrome#me being scared#malcolm being hot#america's sweetheart nancy kerrigan
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Even more ranting (3/3)
General Worldbuilding; Characters; Stylistic Choices and Concepts (here)
1. In general, Iâm trying to limit how much I anthropomorphize the sticksâ Iâd mention hands, but not fingers; if they havenât been drawn with eyes (i.e. are not TCO, TDL, TSC, or the crossover sticks), I try to avoid mentioning eyes when discussing their expression; if they havenât been drawn with mouths, I avoid mentioning mouth bits. I broke the rules and mentioned TCO having teeth, and describing others as biting things, though. :(
I also let them bleed for dramatic effect, but whether or not itâs red and acts like normal blood is up to you.
That said, I believe canonically the sticks have our sensory organs, just invisible to us, but since theyâre invisible to us, mentioning them can temporarily jar me out of a ficâ the one that really gets me for no reason is mentioning hair. (A personal preference.)
2. I tried to be deliberate with the names other people used for each other, which may differ from how they think of themselves.
For example, Alan and the CG all call TSC "Orange" (even Orange themself), but Chosen calls them "Second," as he's a bit more distant and doesn't know much about Orange and their nicknames. Agent and victim call TSC by their full name, as they are at even more of a social distance.
Dark is the only person to call Chosen "Cho", and Chosen doesn't really append the "One" or prepend the "The". Verbally, most people don't include "the" as part of the name because I, the author, think it looks clunky as dialogue, but Agent would probably include the "the" in his internal narration, though.
Speaking of "the," Chosen dropping "the" from Agent's name in Ch. 4 was not me getting tired of writing it out. It's supposed to be indicative of Chosen's changing opinion of the guy, where "Agent" goes from being Smith's epithet to his name, in Chosen's mind. I'd actually considered making the switch in Ch. 3, but 3 is more of the catalyst for the change, so I pushed it back.
3. I considered writing the victim interlude in lapslock, but that just leaves more room for mistakes and is harder (for me) to read, so I didn't. I also considered starting out with victim narrating their name as "Victim", then "victim", and then "the victim" as they start to spiral, but the capitalized version is inconsistent with how I'm approaching their attitude towards their name, so the first stage was dropped.
4. Finallyâ victimâs power. Itâs actually a protracted computer memory joke. :)
(victim wasnât saved (âwritten to memoryâ) in their first death, and now has trouble being written to everyone elseâs person-memory.
On that note, victim being recovered from being âdeletedâ is computationally plausible, probably more so than being recovered from being unsaved. Standard computer deletion doesnât get rid of data, it just marks it as junk that can be overwritten. Since victim was recovered quickly, there wasnât much time to be overwritten.)
The initial concept is that victim is extra-forgettable to the Becker sticks (as Alan's PC was where they were deleted), but that got sorta dropped? Not super great for writing a story where victimâs missingâ if I had a longer fic where vicâs working in the shadows, I might have included that, and had the Becker sticks have conspicuous gaps in memory as part of a side-plot.
This actually was come up with before AVA 11 came out and victim's full backstory was unknown, so it really was just a memory joke, with the hypothesis that victimâs grey color came from not being saved, and that there may be other lingering effects; but with the information we got in AVA 11, hereâs sort of how I think the development of the power went down.
Being unsaved planted the seed of the power in victim; throughout their many deaths, victim sort of acquired an internal mantra of âdonât notice me, donât look at me,â which helped solidify the power. Of course, it didnât work on Alan. In their escape, getting so tangled up with Mitsiâs life particles gave Mitsi some natural resistance to victimâs ability (because, TBF, if Mitsi wasnât immune, I donât think victim would have the survival skills to make it). Breaking through the Sky Tiles really messed victim and their code up (I mean, it even changed how their head was animated), and made their memorability problem worse.
As a treat(?) for reading thisâ holy cow 3k+ wordâ ramble, hereâs the first thing I wrote for the AU to play around with the idea, made defunct by AVA 11! And yes I fill in parts I donât want to write with carets.
<Scene: Vic leading Agent into figuring out his power><Some sort of lead in> The boss snorted softly, and tipped over the nameplate they kept on their desk, as if anyone could forget that this was the bossâs office.
âAll right, Agent,â said the boss, âWhatâs my name?â
âSir,â Agent said, âIâve worked for you for over a year. I know who youââ
âMy name, Agent Smith.â
Agent sighed. âItâsâŚâ he trailed off. He should know it. The boss made no effort to hide their identity. It was just on the tip of his tongueâ why didnât he know it? Something was wrong.
âPrecisely,â said the boss, a touch sardonic.
Agentâs brow furrowed, the boss had introduced themself; they had tracked him down and given him a tech demoâ theyâd said their name wasâŚ
âItâs V⌠Itâs Vicââ once again Agent paused. That wasnât the bossâs whole name. Thinking back on it, heâd thought that the bossâd had an odd name, butâŚ
â...huh,â said the boss, âMost people donât get that far.â They tipped the nameplate back up so that Agent could read their name again.
Ah right, that was their name. No wonder Agent thought it was odd.
âApparently,â said the boss, âI just have one of those faces. The forgettable kind. As well as that sort of name, personality, and personal history.â
âI donât think thatâs⌠normal,â Agent said, slowly.
âAssuredly not.â
<Agent leaves>
âŚfuck, what was the bossâs name again?
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found you - ch. 5 (part I)

pairing: gojo satoru x female oc (ara natsuna)
tropes: psycho! rival! athlete! yandere! gojo x introvert! booksmart! sheltered! rbf! oc
warnings: 18+ only babes, stalking/possessive themes, profanity, coercion, pet names (kitten, baby), begging, mentions of abusive parents, w33d, dub/non-consented sex, unprotected & protected sex, rough sex (just pls be an adult before reading this)
word count/plot: [17.3k!] ara catches gojo's attention when news breaks that she is the top academically ranked student in their grade. he is ranked second. he tries to befriend her but she ignores him. despite her obvious disinterest, his obsession begins...
a/n: ahaaa so i know this has been a long time coming tbh i wasn't even sure if i was ever going to end up finishing writing this chapter bc it is soooo long. prolly the biggest chapter yet. i just didn't want to post it without completing it all and maybe at the end of this chapter (in part 4) you'll see why. regardless tysm for even being interested & pestering me enough to feel guilty about leaving u guys on a cliffhanger for so long haha. u guys got me thru writing this toxic bs but here it finally is!! enjoyy
ch. 1 , ch. 2 [ part 1 | part 2 ] , ch. 3 , ch. 4 , chapter 5 [ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 ]

She couldnât stop crying. The loud pitter-patter of the rain behind her felt like her tears.
Gojo clutched her so tight, it was almost reassuring. She almost wished he could crush her to dust. She was tired of herself.
And now, she reached rock bottom. She went to him.
She knew what that meant. What stepping into Ijichiâs car would entail. And she hadnât stopped.
She went to him.
And now her consequences were own to bear.
Ijichi grabbed her fallen duffel bag from the ground beside her. Heâd offered to carry her bag for her but she refused. She supposed it didnât matter now because she dropped it the second Gojo held her in his arms.Â
Gojoâs voice was faint to her ears, âThat all her stuff?â
âYes, sir.â
âTake it to my room.â

Her breathing evened out as the last of her tears slipped down her face. She had no tears left to cry.
The moonlight streaming through the windows casted shapes along on the floor, a slanted reflection of the tall windows. The outlines luminous enough to subtly brighten the dimly lit living roomâif thatâs what this expansive space even was. It was so quiet, her sniffles and uneven breath felt like the loudest thing in the room.
His fingers ran down her hair, âYou done?â he whispered, voice soft.
She glanced up at him-heat scattering along her cheeks as she realized this was the second time sheâd cried on him as if he werenât a part of the reason. She supposed it didnât matter anymore, especially not after the decision sheâd made.
His iridescent eyes searched her face as he whispered once-more, âCan I kiss you now?â
Her puffy eyes narrowed, âSeriously?â she croaked.
A low, whiny sound left him as he tugged her further up his lap-pressing his forehead to hers. âJust one, just one,â he insisted-trying to convince her, âOn the cheek.â
It seemed he was helpless to his instincts because he didnât wait for an answer-quickly tilting his head to press a short yet eager peck to her cheek.
She felt him pause, his lips ghosting up her temple before kissing her forehead. She sighed, she knew it wouldnât be just one.
Suddenly he was kissing her all overâshowering her face with short, chaste kisses that landed everywhere but her lips.
She writhed on his lap before placing a hand on his chest to push him back, âSatoru!â
âSorry, sorry.â he sighed, âI just missed you. A lot.â
She merely stared at him, searching his crystalline eyes. She could only imagine why.
My body, you mean.
âAll of you.â he corrected, a light smile slipping across his lips.
She instantly tensed. She hadnât meant to say that outloud.
He lightly flicked her forehead, âYour mind..â
He lowered his hand, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip, â..your naughty mouth..â
His fingertips trailed down her navel, âI guess I missed this place too..â
Her eyes widened, quickly catching his hand before it went lower.
His lips curled into a smirk, âBut your panties kept me company.â
âYou-?â Her face instantly heated up when she realized. She threw his hand away from her, âUgh. Youâre actually disgusting.â
His eyes glittered with amusement, âYet you came back.â
She glared, her face simultaneously blazing brighter as she hastily turned her face aside.
He laughed-the sound too triumphant for her liking.Â
A yawn suddenly left her lips. It seemed her lack of sleep finally caught up to her.
âYou tired?â
She froze-her eyes flitting to him. If she said yes heâd most likely take her to his bedroom and she didnât trust what that would entail. She didnât trust him. She truly couldnât tonight. Especially not with the way her whole body ached.
âNo.â she replied instinctively.
âHmm,â his blue eyes raked over her countenance, âAre you hungry?â
She shook her head.
âAre youâŚstaying the night?���
She swallowed before whispering, âYes.â
âJust tonight?â he asked-a little too quickly.
She paused, her voice hollow, âLonger.â
She saw something flash through his glowing eyes. His arms around her tightening possessively.
He nuzzled her hair, inhaling sharply-before exhaling when he pressed his forehead to hers, âAre you gonna tell me what happened?â
She hesitated, voice shaky, âN-not right now.â
His gaze sharpened, eyes colder than ice, âWhy?â
âBecause..â she slipped her shaky hand over his jaw, âI donât want to be sad anymore.â
He went quiet at that, seemingly still for a moment. Her fingers stroking his jaw wavered as something close to fear made her stomach knot.
Suddenly he tilted his face into her palm, his eyes flickering close like a cat enjoying their scratches.
âHm..â he murmured before kissing the bottom of her palm, his eyes bright, âI got an idea.â

He showed her âtheirâ home (he kept calling it that)âgiving her a house tour. Well, estate because that's what it really was. There were so many rooms, so many floors. It was entirely impossible for her to remember them all.
It was 4 am and they still werenât done with touring the âhouseâ yet. It was truly unreal. It was nothing like sheâd ever seen, not even in her dreams. The architecture was so âold worldââeverything exquisitely detailed down to a T. It was breathtaking, and overwhelming.
A music room. ball room. library. gym. balconiesâseveral balconies, as well as living rooms, dining halls. engraved ceilings. statuesâreal-life, hand carved statues. She couldnât fathom it. She couldnât understand how someone could have so much.
Her head was spinning.
She stared at the marble steps growing larger behind him as he carried her upstairs. Looks like her tour was done for the night.
She glanced up at the sky themed mural on the vast ceiling and walls. She could only imagine how long that took to paint. It suddenly struck her that every part of the house contained some sort of blue. Not always the exact same shade but there were hues of blue everywhere.
Especially the main areas. The kitchen, the foyer, the extravagant pool directly in front of the manorâshe couldnât help but notice that those areas were the same shade of blue. The blue felt oddly familiar, maybe because it meshed so well with the rest of the white and tan-ish gold theme of the manor. She couldnât help but commend whoever the interior designer was-theyâd truly done the estate justice.
She glanced up at him and suddenly everything clicked into place. His eyes. Everything blue was a similar shade to his eyes. Even now, the sky themed mural on the ceiling above matched perfectly with his eyes.
âGojo..?â
He glanced down at her. His platinum hair was slicked back today-for what reason, she didnât know but it seemed the gel couldnât tame him either because unruly white strands hung all over his forehead.
He pouted, âYou know how I feel about that name, sweets.â
âSatoru.â she corrected quietly.
A subtle smirk formed on his lips as he perused her countenance fondly, âMhm?â
She absentmindedly held onto his shirt tighter, âDoes everyone in your family have blue eyes?â
He raised a playful brow, âWhy do you ask?â
âCause.. there's a lot of blue everywhere. You said this has been your family home for generations so I thought-maybe-â she fumbled with her words, âIt wasnât a coincidence.â
A sly smile slipped across his lips, âSmart girl.â
He lowered his head to dramatically blink in her face, purposely showing her his big diamond blues up-close. She pushed his chin away, squinting in disapproval.
His smile widened, âYeah, everyone in my familyâs got blue eyes. It doesnât matter who we marry, the kid always gets blue eyes.â
He glanced up at the sky mural above them as he made it to the top of the steps, âI guess we made it a personality trait.â he teased.
She glanced at the rest of the floor ahead of them. It looked empty. In fact, the only people theyâd encountered during her tour was a maid here and there.
âWhere is everyone?â she asked impulsively.
âWhat do ya mean?â
She glanced up at him, âIs there no one else here?â
Sheâd known he was an only child but.. all this space? There had to be others.
He nodded before pressing a delicate kiss to her neck as he continued to carry her through the hallway.
âNo one but us.â he smirked.
A cold shot of fear entered her system as she rapidly became hyper-aware of her situation, who she was withâwhat she was doingâhis arms carrying her, bridal style, at that.Â
She tensed, âPut me down.â
He glanced down at her-walking a bit slower, âBut weâre almost to my room.â
Her eyes widened ever so slightly-an uneasy feeling swirling in her gut, âWeâre going to your room?â
âYeah,â He blinked, âWhatâyou wanna stay up?â
She paused, âNo.. Itâs late, Iâm tired.â
When he didnât respond, she added, âA-and we have school tomorrow..â
A short laugh left him, âOh, weâre not goinâ to school tomorrow.â

She stared at his room. It was the size of her living roomâquadrupled. It was dauntingly surreal, the level of luxury he was encircled with. It was nothing short of royalty. She didnât understand how he eagerly stayed all those nights in her room when he had access to this much space.
It felt irregular for her to even be seeing all of thisâlike she shouldnât be here.
His chest brushed the back of her head. His hands lightly touching her waist, âYou gonna stand here all night?â
She hesitated before stepping past the threshold. His hands sliding off her as she walked into his room.
He waited a beat, watching her step further into his domain with slow, unhurried steps. It was almost teasing, the way she took her sweet time, as if he hadnât repeatedly dreamt of her being here with him countless of times. Whether it be a passionate fantasy of them intertwined on his bed or a glimpse of a future where they made this home less emptyâhe never dared to believe heâd get here this soon.Â
The feeling that settled in his gut was so utterly possessive-it was visceral in its intensity. This was their room now. Everything here was hers as much as it was his.
She looked so curious, so hesitant-maybe for good reason. He watched her twirl around slightly, taking in the room as if it were too much to accept. Her eyes swept over the lounge area, the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony, the leveled embroidered ceiling. Her neck arching as she tilted her head back to peer at it.
A subtle smile slipped across his lips. Too damn cute. Her eye for art was too obvious, her eyes always catching little details. His great-great grandfather also had an eye for such things. He utilized that interest when he designed this place. Sheâd fit right in here.
He quietly closed the doors behind himself-his eyes never leaving her. He covertly followed behind when she stepped through the short pathway that led into the private area of their room. Her eyes skimmed over the king sized bed, the flat screen TV across it, the multiple doors at each corner-those leading to his closet, bathroom and study. Heâd show her them all tomorrow.
She stood beside his bed, completely distracted by her surroundings when he silently approached her. His arms snaked around her sides, drawing her close to kiss the crown of her head. She gasped.
âDo you know how much I missed you?â
His low voice sent a shot of fear up her spine. His hands traveled up her hip bones to the dip of her waist, squeezing lightly. She winced-hard.
âW-wait-â she quickly turned around, hastily sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes wide, âI canât tonight. I really canât.â
His white brows drew together when he spotted her arm over her stomach, âWhy?â
âB-because-â she came up with something on the spot, âIâm on my period.â
He took a step towards her, âYou know a little blood doesnât scare me.â
Shit. Shit! She did know that. Her frantic mind couldnât come up with a good excuse.
She slowly shifted further back on the bed-trying not to move too fast. She knew if she made it too obvious that she was trying to gain some distance from him, heâd act without a second thought.
âM-my cramps are really bad. It hurts-a lot, please.â her voice shook.
He held her gaze for a long moment. She thought her anxiety would end her before he responded.
âTake your shirt off, Ara.â
Her eyes widened, âI-Iâm in pain, Toru-please.â
His eyes flared, âNot for that.â
He moved towards her and she instinctively scrambled back. Just as she made it halfway across the bed, he grabbed her by the leg. She screamed as he dragged her back to the bedâs edge.
She struggled against him, crying and writhing as he pinned her wrists above her head-forcing her in place. He ripped her shirt off with his free hand.
She sobbed, turning her face aside, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. She couldnât bear this-she never let anyone see her like this.
His lucid eyes slowly took in the sight of her body. Her skin tone matching bra the only article of clothing on the upper half of her body. Bruises of varying colors blooming all over her torsoâespecially along her clavicle, sternum and abdomen. There were also thin red cuts on her skin-some longer than others, some scabbed over and others still bubbling with caked blood.
He released her wrists, standing over her in pure, unadulterated silence. He stared as she instinctively turned to her side, curling in on herself as she sobbed-unintentionally revealing her back. It was in worse condition than her front, with a few larger cuts marking her shoulder blades and spine. Most were already scabbing. A bruise faintly resembling the shape of a hand on her upper arm.
âHe cut you.â his voice was flat, purely factual.
She shook her head, her voice cracking, âN-no, I fell on broken glass.â
âDonât lie.â he snapped.
âIâm not!â she shouted through tears, partially sitting up, âHe kept kicking me so I fucking fell on the pieces of the mirror. H-he dragged me t-through it s-so-âÂ
Her voice cracked and she curled in on herself once moreâtrembling.
âHe.. dragged you?â he repeated, voice hollow.
âHe threw so many things..â she murmured to herself, a bit zoned out, âI donât know how heâs gonna clean it all up.â
His eyes widened. Suddenly she sat up, âHe remembered you, yâknow. He asked me who the white haired boy was.â
He stared down at her-appearing to consider that, âIs that right?â
She glanced aside-deep in thought, âYes. He remembered you.. hurt him that night. I-I donât know how.â her voice ended as a whisper.
âSo he knows of me then..â he nodded a few times, âThatâs good.â
He sauntered backwards a couple steps, âI should pay him a visit.â His tone was oddly light.
Her eyes snapped up, refocusing on him, âWhat?â
He glanced down at his rolled up sleeves, eyeing the Patek on his wrist, âItâs not too late now, is it? He should be up.â he mused.
She rose from her seat on the bed, âW-what are you talking about?â her voice slightly raspy.
He lowered his arm, shrugging, âItâs about time we officially met, no? Iâve been wanting to introduce myself for a while..â
His eyes raked over her body once more before he tugged at his tie-easily loosening it as he turned around, âThereâs a lot I want to ask him.â
Her eyes widened. His tone was too light. His attitude too airy. Something wasnât right.
She closed the distance between them-nearly tripping as she ran on wobbly legs to stand in front of him, âWhat are you saying?!â her voice panicked, âYou canât see him-You canât-Heâs n-not okay. I didnât tell you so-â
âRelax, Ara,â his voice was silkier than honey as he touched the side of her face, âI just wanna talk, thatâs all.â
She gripped his shirt, staring up at him through tear-filled eyes as she spoke, âNo, you donât. You donât!â
She searched his face wildly, heart beating erratically in her chest as she whispered, âYouâre angry.â
He stared down at her for a long moment before a fervid smile slowly blooms across his lips, âYou got me all figured out, donât you?â
He tilts his head, his hands slipping around her loose fists at his shirt. He tugs her wrists-forcing her close-close enough that his lips brush hers with every word he spoke.
âNo one touches whatâs mine, remember? No one.â
He yanks her wrists off him-with enough force to make her stumble backwards. She gasped out, clutching the armrest of a nearby loveseat to keep from falling. She quickly glanced up to see him stalk towards the door.
âNo!â she ran towards him, attempting to grab the back of his shirt, âToru! Toru-please!â
He easily side-stepped her.
She lunged, clutching onto him with all her might. Her arms locked around his waist as she buried her face in his back.
âStop, toru! StopâSTOP!â she cried out, he could feel her body trembling with the force of her cries, âIt doesnât matter! It doesnât fucking matterâI hate him!â
He froze. If there was one thing about Ara, she never-ever-spoke badly about her dad. Even if he brought up an obvious disparity, it didnât matter. She would easily shoot him down with a cold look or say âdonât talk about himâ with such a severe edge that even he decided it wasnât worth the argument.
Her arms tightened around him as she whispered off, âI hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate himââ her voice cracked.
Suddenly her arms disappeared from his waist and he immediately turned around. Her back was to him, her hands running rampantly through her hair as she sobbed, âI HATE HIMâI HATE HIMMM!â
The pain in her voice, the frustration echoed throughout the walls and seemed to rack through her own body as she visibly shook.
He reached for her, âAra-â
She smacked his hand away, âNo!â
He reached for her again, voice softer, âAraââ
âNO!â she screamed before scurrying away from him, âYou donât get itâyou donât get it!â
She shook her head, another sob leaving her lips before she raked her hands through her hair once more, âI did everything for him-everything! I did everything for my family but guess what? GUESS WHAT?â
She went on, âNo one gives a shit! My dad doesnât give a shit. My mom doesn't give a shit. And n-now I donât give a shit. Iâm done. Iâm done!â
But she was lying. Her watery eyes, trembling lips, wobbly knees. Every part of her was hurting.
She dropped to her knees and he immediately went to her. He lowered himself before her but before he could get a word out, she shoved him backâbarely making him budge.
She yelled, âI donât wanna see him again! I donât want to-â her voice cracked.
He pulled her close, letting her lean against his chest. His long arms easily enclosing around her back, one hand at the crown of her head, âYou donât have to.â he murmured into her temple before kissing her forehead, âYou donât ever have to.â
A deep sob left her, the kind that made her feel so utterly vulnerable. Sheâd been trying to hold it back, gritting her teeth so tightly to the point that it hurt but it was useless. Useless, when it came to being held in his arms.
She clutched his arms as he sank lower to the floor, letting her fully lean into him-in between his long legs. He gently rubbed her back, trying to quell her trembling as she buried her face into his chest.
Suddenly her head shot up-a lost look to her tear stained eyes, âY-you canât see him either! No one can see him-â her voice was so small, so hoarse from all her yelling and crying. Her frail hands tightened around his sleeves, over his biceps, as she shook her head.
âYou canât leave me,â her voice cracked again, âYou canâtââ
His eyes widened before he instantly cupped her face, âNo, kitten, no, no, no,â his voice oh so gentle as he planted sweet deft little kisses all over her face as she cried, âIâm not leaving you, Iâm never leaving you.â
âYou promise?â
How could I ever deny you?
âI promise.â
Her shoulders sagged before she curled into his chest once more. He wrapped his arms around her again-one hand at her lower back and the other in between her small shoulder blades. One long leg semi raised beside her while the other was bent at the knee, outstretched on the floor. His fingers raked through her hair as he rested his chin atop her head.
He patiently listened to the pace of her uneven breaths as she cried, listened to the way her breathing gradually staggered less and less and grew into something more slow, more shallow.Â
âWhy is it always you..â she suddenly asked. her voice low, a subtle scratchiness to it before she repeated herself, slightly stronger, âWhyâs it always you?â
She pulled back from him slightly and he loosened his arms to give her some room. He glanced down to find her staring-somewhat zoned out-at his chest.
âWhy are you always there-â for me, her voice cracked, â..why do you always know what to do⌠what to say⌠to make me feel better⌠why.. why? why!â she didnât know when she started to hit him but she was. Her tiny fists connected with his chest, blow after blowâcontinuously yelling âwhy!â as she did so.
His lips were moving, probably saying her name but she didnât hear itânot until her arms were pinned to the floor and he was over her.
âAra!â his voice wasnât angry at all, maybe a bit admonishing but even then he didnât appear offended. She wasnât sure if she wanted him to be.
His bright blue eyes stayed on her for a lingering moment. He was slightly out of breath, she felt it against her skin as puffs of air traveled down her neck. She watched his eyes slowly look her up and down-as if just now realizing their proximity. His hands unconsciously tightened around her wrists.
She quickly turned her face into her elbows, âNoââ
Suddenly he yanked her wrists higher, forcing her arms to straighten. No where for her to hide now.
Her eyes widened as he leaned closer, his face merely millimeters away, âI make you feel good..â his eyes trailed up and down her face once more, âcuz your mine, Ara, your mine.â
Her mouth parted a hair's breadth and suddenly his lips were on her. In that all consuming manner that sheâd nearly forgottenâno, more like tried to forget. Every part of her lit up in that heedy addictive way that only he knew how to ignite. His tongue sweeped her mouth as he tilted his head, needing to taste all of her. A broken whimper left her lips as he kissed her like a madman, an addict who hadnât gotten its fix in too long.
His jaw opened up as he pulled back for a millisecond only to attack her mouth again. Her lips were merely his to use with how demanding he was being. It was like he was trying to prove his words to her, by branding her lips with his own. She could feel the desperation of his obsession thrumming through him, through the force of his hands on her wrists, through the pressure of his lips on hers.
When he finally pulled away, his vivid eyes were hazy with lustâhis hair infinitely more disordered than usual.
Her elbows shook as she attempted to move her hands underneath his grip, âToru.. let me touch you.â
He froze-as if in shock-before instantly letting her wrists go. She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him aside so that he laid on his back, on his elbows. She climbed atop him, planting her ass on his absâinches away from where she knew heâd prefer her to be. He stared at her with wide eyes as her hands slid up his chest to either side of his neck.
She took her time lowering her face above his.. before kissing him. Her kiss was slow, light and teasing at first. Her lips pressing his sweetly before nipping at his lower lip-a trick sheâd learned from him. She felt his breath hitchâand reacted a millisecond before he could. Her tongue slipped past his lips and intertwined with his. She gripped his jaw-controlling the pace as she turned the kiss into something molten hot and sensual to a degree that made him dizzy.
So much so, he nearly lost strength in his elbows and fell back but she broke the kiss. He leaned up slightly-chasing her lips-but she pushed his shoulders, making him fall back.
He groaned.
She smiled slightly. He never wanted their kisses to end.
Her palms rested over his pecs as she stared down at him. She mumbled something, her voice entirely too faint to hear.
His head immediately snapped up. His big blue eyes blown wide, âWhat?â
She squinted, âIâm not saying it again.â
A seductive grin split across his lips as he sat up, she slid into his lap in the process.
âYou missed me?â His forehead pressed into hers as his eyes sparkled with satisfaction, âI knew it.â
âYour hearing things.â
His hand slipped into her hair, around her nape and suddenly they were kissing again. His lips insistent at first before growing more gentle, more probing.
He pulled away, his nose nudging hers, âYou're staying here.â
He hadnât asked but she heard the undercurrent of question in his tone.
She nodded.
His fingers around her nape tightened slightly, âNot just tonight right?â
He already asked her this but she hesitated anyway, âIâm here now, arenât I?â
A slight laugh left him as he recalled the countless times she vehemently denied him from bringing her here whenever he offered, âRight.â
He watched her glance away, unsurely, âIâll stay here as long you let me.â
Something within him swelled so strongly he nearly crushed her in his arms then and there, but instead he snaked his arms slowly around her shoulders, drawing her as close as possible.
She felt his smirk against her lips, âIâll keep you here forever then.â

She awoke to the sweet smell of waffles and maple syrup. She jolted upright on the bed, only to immediately crumple in on herself at the pain that consumed her. It looked like all the pain-numbing salves the nurse applied last night could only deter so much.
She gasped slightly, hand over her stomach as she writhed.
âMaâam-Maâam, are you okay?â
Her eyes shot open to see she was in an extravagant, sunlight lit room-Gojoâs room. Last night had been real then.. not just a bad nightmareâŚ
She pulled the covers up when she saw an elderly woman in a monochrome outfit standing at her bedside. A cart filled with several trays of breakfast food behind her.
She blinked, completely at a loss for words.
âShould I call the doctor?â The woman inquired-despite her monotone voice and wary gaze she seemed genuinely concerned.
âN-no,â she croaked before clearing her throat. She slowly straightened to a sitting position, â.. Who are you?â
âIâm Marin.â
Ara gave her a once-over and belatedly realized that her outfit could surpass as a maid uniform. She supposed her all black attire was a requirement, similar to Ijichi-who always wore black head to toe. The only color being that tiny blue emblem at the chest pocketâthe Gojo family sigil.
Ara swallowed, âWhereâs Satoru?â
âHe wanted me to inform you that he had a family matter to attend to. He wonât be long. Heâd like for you to eat breakfast without him.â
âHe didnât go to school?â she questioned.
She shook her head, âNo, maâam.â
Her brows furrowed as she glanced at the several trays on the cart beside her. There was too much-food-drinks-fruits-it was completely excessive.
âHe doesnât.. expect me to eat all of that, does he?â
Marin paused, âIâm sure heâd want you to eat as much as you like.â
She stared at the cart in wonder. The entire contents of the cart was enough to feed a family of ten-maybe even fifteen.
Marin followed her gaze to the cart and clasped her hands together in front of herself. âPlease let me know if you need anything else.â
âErm-â Ara stammered, âIâm good. Thank you.â
She slightly bowed her head and exited the room.

She felt the sheets shift slightly and immediately opened her eyes. Gojo sat on the edge of the bed, beside her.
He looked absolutely breathtaking. The sunlight streaming through the open windows lit the edges of his white hair, casting an angel-like glow to one side of his face. His blue eyes glittered as he smiled.
He tousled her hair, âWakey, wakey.â
His touch drew out of her daze. She quickly shoved her face back under the sheets, groaning. She heard him laugh.
He tugged the blanket lower-revealing her face again. âAraa, you barely ate yâknow.â
âI ate enough.â she muttered, âWho eats that much in the morning?â
âMe.â he said, rather upbeat.
She narrowed her eyes before freezing when he leaned close. She turned away a millisecond before his lips touched hers.
âI-I didnât brush my teeââ
His hand found her throat, rendering her frozen when he pressed a sweet yet passionate kiss to her lips.
He withdrew, a satisfied smile on his lips, âYou know I donât care about that stuff, kitten.â
His blue eyes looked her up and down slowly. In the midst of his silent perusal she asked, rather quietly- âDid something happen with your family?â
His eyes widened before he smiled again, âAh, right-you met Marin. Whatâd you think of her? She was so curious about you.â
Ara blinked, â.. she was?â
His smile turned impish, âI donât usually have girls running into my arms and crying on my doorstep-despite what you may think.â
She buried her face into the sheets once more, âShut up.â
âYou were so cute yâknow-â
She squeezed the sheets tighter, âStop talking!â
He chuckled, tugging her blanket down again. He leaned towards her, âMake sure to call her if you need anything when Iâm not here, âkay? She knows where everything is. Sheâs been with my family for 50 years.â
Her eyes shot open, â50 years?!â
He smirked at her shock, âMhmm..â
He cupped the side of her face, his thumb playing with her bottom lip, âYouâre gonna be with me for much longer..â he grinned.
She smacked his hand away. âGo away.â she mumbled before pulling the sheets up once more.
He laid down atop her, tickling her through the blanket. She gasped before laughing uncontrollably. She twisted underneath him-making a mess of the sheets as she did so.
His grin widened, âNever.â
âToru-toru! Wait, wait. It hurts.â she whined through laughs.
He paused, immediately tugging the blanket down to see her flushed face. He watched her gather her breath, âSorry.â he replied.
He waited a moment before resting his head on her chest, continuing to stare at her. He absentmindedly twirled a strand of her hair until her breath returned to normal.
âAre you gonna lay in bed all day?â
She turned her face aside, not meeting his gaze, â.. Is it bad if I do?â
He stared at her-his blue eyes searching her face for a moment, âCourse not.â
She glanced down at him, holding his gaze for a few seconds before her face heated up. She didnât know how he managed to look so innocent sometimes-despite being the most chaotic individual she knew. Maybe it was those big baby blue eyes. They ought to swallow her up whole at this point.
She placed her hand over his eyes, âYou shouldâve went to school.â she muttered.
He shook his head to move her hand away, âAnd leave you here all by yourself? After I just got you back? Hell no.â
âSatoru-â
He nuzzled his face between her collarbones-making her squirm from ticklishness, âI wanna stay with you.â he whined.
âOkay, okay.â She huffed, turning her face aside to cover her eyes with her arms. She didnât want him to see the effect his words had on her.
A moment of silence ensued until she felt him kiss her cleavage, somewhere along the soft skin that treaded above her breasts. She shivered, shifting slightly, âToru..â
She was grateful he hadnât tried to touch her again after everything that occurred last night. She wasnât sure if her wounds would stop him when he kept kissing her before bed. She could tell he wanted to go further.. but it seemed he had enough decency to hold back.
She felt his breath whisper down her skin as he hummed, âThis doesnât feel real.. you being hereâŚdoesnât feel real.â
She raised her arms slightly to look down at him laying over her. Her breath caught at the sight. He was looking at her as if.. as if he had everything he wanted.
She gently cupped his jaw, her chest inadvertently rising as she forced herself to breathe. If someone had told her at the start of this semester that Gojo would look at her like this she wouldâve told them to go back to the psych ward they were discharged from. And yet, here she was.
Her eyes flitted between his before she swallowed inaudibly. She used her hands on his face to lure him closer, gently pressing her lips to his.
He instantly deepened the kiss-his head pushing her further into the pillow. A subtle sound left her, âmmmh!â
His tongue moved eagerly against hers-unrelenting. She slipped her fingers through his hair, swiftly kissing him back with just as much strength.
He immediately tilted his head, intensifying their lip lock-until she began to run her fingers through his hair, somewhat coaxingly. Her lips moved softly over his-kissing him sweetly before using her hands in his hair to gently pull him back.
Their shallow breaths filled the minimal air between them. She ran her hand over his smooth cheekbone as she spoke quietly-through uneven breaths, âWhat if Iâm not real..â
He exhaled in faint humor, his gaze flitting between her lips and eyes, âYeah?â
A subtle smile bloomed on her lips, âIâm just a figment of your imagination..â she teased.
He nuzzled her nose with his own, his typical smirk on his lips. âNah.â
âYouâre dreaming.â she continued.
His smirk widened, âWe do different stuff in my dreams.â
Her eyes widened before she shoved his face away. His bright laughter filling the room.

âI really donât wanna go..â
âShould we both skip?â
âNo.â She glanced up at him, âYou should go to class.â
Gojo blew out a puff from his joint, âNow thatâs not fair.â he complained.
âWhyâd you park all the way out here?â Another voice pitched in from nearby.
Gojo glanced over from his perch against the car before tossing his unfinished joint in the air and rushing to- âSuguru!â he slipped his arm over the maleâs shoulder, greeting him enthusiastically.
Suguru accepted his liveliness with a mere shake of his head. He lightly elbowed Gojo before returning his hands to his pockets, âWhatâs got you all-oh.â
Suguruâs dark eyes landed on Ara and nodded in greeting, âGlad to see you back.â
Gojo used his free hand to gesture towards her, âYou see, Ara here is going through a little..â he paused, as if considering the right word for it, â-social anxiety moment so I parked all the way here for her sake.â
She glared, âWhat?!â
It was true to some extent. When they pulled up to school in his car, heâd pulled into his unofficial yet âofficialâ parking spot-which was the first one closest to the school. No one else parked there but him-it seemed no one else âdaredâ to. But Ara wasnât mentally prepared to step out of his car and have all eyes on her again. Sheâd gotten comfortable slinking back to her semi-unnoticeable demeanor at school and wasnât ready to be forced back into the spotlight again.
âIt looks like you're trynaâ hide.â Geto muttered, kicking a nearby rock to cover the joint on the ground.
Gojo blinked at Ara, âAm I wrong?â
Araâs glare intensified, âI asked you to park away from the school entrance, not the furthest spot in the entire lot! Now we look even more sus.â
The boys watched her discreetly peek past the car. She instantly noticed the other students glancing their way-a few even pointing at Gojoâs car-before murmuring amongst themselves. She raised her hands to her head, turning her back to them as she made a noise of frustration.
Geto chuckled under his breath before glancing at Gojo beside him, âYou didnât kidnap her, did you?â
Gojo beamed, âNope. She came back to me by herself.â
âFor real?â
âFor real real.â

Ara closed her locker door only to jump when she saw Millie behind it.
Millie stood with her hands on her hips, âYou and Gojo are back together?!âÂ
âHoly shit, Mills,â She glanced around before snapping quietly, âCan you talk lower?â
Millie threw her hands up, âHow come you didnât tell me?â
Ara sighed, readjusting her tote bag over her shoulder before turning to walk down the hallway. Millie walked in stride beside her.
âIâm living with him now.â Ara mumbled.
Millieâs eyes nearly popped out of her head, âWhat?! No way.â
Ara kept her eyes low, âYeah.â
âHow?â Millie asked.
Araâs eyes shot to her, âI told you. My dad kicked me out.â
Millie stared at her before stammering out, âWait so.. your Dad was legit about that?â
Ara raked a hand through her lengthy hair, barely keeping the annoyance from her tone as she responded lowly, âYes.â
Millie pried, âHe hasnât contacted you since then?â
Ara stopped walking, not looking Millie in the eye as she nodded.
Millie merely stared at Ara in shock-while she fidgeted uneasily under her gaze. Millie knew how Ara was, there was no way she was comfortable living without her Dad.
Millie asked, âWhat are you gonna do?â
Ara shrugged.
âAre you really not gonna call him?â
Something flashed through Araâs eyes before her poker face returned. She merely shrugged again-still avoiding eye contact.
Millieâs brows furrowed. This behavior was completely unlike the Ara she knew.
Millie belatedly added, âAlso.. I thought you never wanted to get back with Gojo? You seemed so sure..â
Ara winced, âUm..â
âAra!â
The girls both turned around to see Gojo waving his hands wildly from the other end of the hall. A bright, boyish smile on his face.
Millie glanced back at Ara to see her gnawing at her bottom lip. She finally met her gaze, her voice low, âGotta go. See you.â
Ara quickly walked past her.
Millie watched Ara walk up to him-completely unaware of the students moving aside to make room for her. She watched a cute yet shy smile bloom on the girlâs face the second Gojo engulfed her in his arms. Light laughter coming from her as he squeezed her obnoxiously.
Millie couldnât believe her eyes. Ara wasnât the type to enjoy PDA. Even when her and Gojo dated before, she never accepted his PDA without her typical grumpiness or scolding. This was.. different.
Gojo lowered his face to kiss her and she welcomed it-a small, pretty smile on her lips when he withdrew. He automatically returned her smile with a cheeky one of his own.
Wow. She really is different. Millie concluded before staring at them a little longer. Something about them was just so intriguing to watch..Â
Ara looked so small compared to him-especially with the way she had to turn her face up to look at him. Even her hand on his chest looked small. Maybe it was the height difference-maybe it was their clashing personalities-she couldnât pinpoint it.
I guess Iâd cave too if I had the chance. Millie giggled to herself before glancing down at her phone to check the time.
Shit. She only had two minutes to get to her class. Just as she turned to head in the direction of her next class, she froze.
She slowly turned around to see she was standing directly beside the door. Ara mustâve stopped walking here on purpose.
She smiled, glancing over to check where sheâd last seen her-only to find that she was gone, as well as Gojo.
She sighed. Ara was always the considerate type-once you got to know her anyway.
At least, that hasnât changed.

âWhat the hell?â
âWhat is it?â
Ara spun around, she hadnât expected him to be here. He mustâve skipped basketball practice again. This was the third day now-coincidentally the same amount of days since sheâd been here, living with him. It seemed he was trying to find every excuse to be home now.
She stared at him leaning against the entrance of their shared closet. Half of the closet had been cleared out and replaced with feminine clothes, accessories, shoes-you name it. It was completely excessive.
She blinked before pointing at the countertop where her duffel bag had been, âWhereâs my bag?â
âI dumped it.â
âWhat?!â she snapped, her voice sharper than a blade.
He held his hands up, laughing airily as he sauntered towards her, âHeh-heh! Just kiddingâkidding!â (a/n: he wasnât kidding, heâs about to make Marin go dumpster diving)
He grasped her shoulders before spinning her around to face the various rows of high-end, maybe even fresh off the runway items.
âYour clothes were dirty so I put âem in the wash. You can use all this now âkay? I ordered a lot cuz I didnât know what youâd wantâa stylist helped me but we can always do more shopping if you donât like it.â
She stared at âherâ side of the closet in shell-shocked silence. Everything about it was just⌠unfathomable. A stylist? Did he seriously go to a stylist?
She unconsciously gravitated towards a floor length dress on a hanger. It was undoubtedly stunning. It mightâve looked plain and simple to some but it was quite literally everything to her. A pure white silk dress that looked almost perfectly tailored to her frame. It had the most unique ruching around the chest area and was backless.
She moved the dress aside to look at the other dresses behind it and nearly gaped. A blue thin strap, beautifully detailed, high-low style dress lay before her eyes. It was somewhat early 2000s inspired as well, clearly haute couture. The following dresses-a nearly sheer purple dress, a more modern-esque black dress, an elegant silky light pastel yellow dress-weren't any less impressive.
She found herself touching the angelically soft material of the pastel yellow dress, âThis is insane.â she murmured.
The corner of his lip curled upwards.
She immediately withdrew her hand, facing him, âWhere the hell would I wear this.â
He shrugged, âGalas, soirĂŠes, red carpets, any black tie event.â
She stared at him like heâd grown three heads before remembering he was somewhat known in the media for his father's nameâand basketball, annoyingly enough. She was sure his last name contributed to that as well since his family was listed yearly on Forbes richest families, aka billion dollar dynasties. The media would never leave those families alone.
She fixed him with a glare, âIâm not going to any of that.â
He whined, âYou have tooo. I need a plus one.â
âNo-â she cut herself off when she saw the classic Louboutinâs amongst the several womenâs shoes arranged on the built in shelves, âRed bottoms, seriously?â
His grin reappeared, âTheyâre hot.â
She rubbed her temple, âBaby, yâknow I can barely walk in kitten heels.â
His eyes widened momentarily before his arms slipped around her-drawing her small back against his chest. It was hard to focus on her little complaints when she oh-so-rarely called him pet names.
He kissed the spot of her temple sheâd been rubbing moments ago, âYou can practice in them?â he suggested lightly.
He kissed her cheekbone while winding his arms a bit tighter around her waist, âMâsorry, kitten. I know I got carried away. I jus got excited cuz you look so sexy in everything-â
He kissed her neck, â-had to spoil you..â
She flushed deeper, âSatoru..â
Her breath scattered all over the place when he continued to kiss and nip her neck.
She pushed at his arms around her, âToruâToru, wait, I need pajamas.â
His head suddenly shot up, âPajamas? HeheâI got you.â
Her brows furrowed when he quickly released her and began to open several drawers, efficiently searching for whatever he was looking for. He usually never let go of her that easilyâor eagerly, at that. It made her nervous.
âAha~â he grinned brightly, holding up something that she couldnât see until he tossed it to her. She instinctively caught it as he said, âWear this.â
She didnât miss the glint of mischievousness in his eyes before she caught it. She held open the nightgown. She immediately bunched it up-a bright flush on her face.
âIâm not wearing this.â
âPleaseeeee, donât be mean.â He was suddenly behind her again. His arms slipping around her waist as he buried his face into her neck, âI got it for you.â
She squirmed slightly, âToru-â
âTry it, just try it. You can take it off later if you hate it that much but I wanna see it on you.â
She pushed at his arms around her waist, âLet go-â
He dug his face into the crook of her neck once more, âNo.â he whined, squeezing her in his arms, âNo. no. no-not til you tell me you're gonna try it.
She pushed at his arms again, âLet go, you fool.â
He began to tickle her and she shrieked before laughing. âOh- my god! Stop! Stop!â
He kept tickling her and she doubled over in laughter. He grinned boyishly as she tried to push his arms.
âStop what?â
âToru!â she yelled before shaking her head, âOkay! Okay! I will-let go,â
He didnât stop. âPromise?â
âPromise-!â she squeaked through giggles.
He instantly let go, a bright smile on his face, âReally?!â
She immediately shoved him, âFuck you!â
He was laughing now, âYou promised~â

She stepped out of the closet, covering the top half of the thin nightgown with her arms. The material was incredibly soft, in fact she mightâve liked it if it wasnât⌠the way it was. The straps were awfully thin, it ended a little higher than mid-thighâin fact she wasnât sure if it even fully covered her assâand the chest area of the nightgown was see-through.
âSatoru,â she called out-a bit hesitant, âIâm not wearing this. Iâm taking it off, okay?â
When she didnât hear a response, she walked further into the bedroom, âOkay?â
Sheâd kicked him out of the closet to change-despite him wanting to stay-but she hadnât expected him to leave the room. She supposed that saved her the trouble.
Just as she speedily turned around to zip back into the closet and steal one his shirts, an arm slipped around her and she yelped.
âWoa, woaâwhere you runninâ off to..â
She tensed when she was pulled flat against his chest. Her back against him as he slowly slid his hands down her sides. He sighed-in a way that was anything but regretful.
âYou look so cute, Ara.â
He gently kissed her below the ear and she shifted slightly, turning her face into her opposite shoulder. She wrapped her arms tighter around her chest.Â
âCan I take it off now? You saw it..â
âHold on, hold on,â he whined a bit before pausing, âBut I didnât see all of it, did I?â
She blinked, âWhat?â
He moved his arms over her own wrapped around her chest. âYouâre hiding something, arenât you?â he teased-though there was an undecipherable undercurrent to his tone.
She swallowed, too dumbstruck to respond when he grasped her hands and slowly led them down to her sidesâunveiling her ample chest, barely contained within the lace bust.
He inhaled sharply through his nose.
She closed her eyes, unable to bear the weight of his gaze. She felt his gaze from above her shoulder-in fact, she felt it all over. From the strands of her hair pressed against his chest to the goosebumps rising along the skin his eyes pierced. She couldnât bear itâand his silence only made it more unnerving.
He squeezed her hips, making her jolt.
âDoes that hurt?â he asked, a bit quietly.
She swallowed, âN-no.â
His hands slid higher up her sides, into the dip of her waist. He squeezed lightly, âWhat about here?â he murmured.
She was so tense, she wondered if he sensed it, âNo.â
His hands slid higher, his fingers fitting right underneath her plushy underboobs as he gently squeezed her over her ribs.
âAnd here?â he asked, not a trace of emotion in his low voice.
A sprinkle of pain spread from his hold but it was rather faint. It seemed the wounds her father had given her had healed some. The nurseâs ointments were more effective than she thought.
âA little.â she murmured.
Suddenly he pressed his face into the side of hers.
The sound of his low groan was muffled by her hair as he fisted her nightgown needily. Her nightgown bunching up between his fingers.
âOkay,â he breathed out, his nose grazing her temple as he withdrew-his voice ragged, âThatâs okay..â
Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She didnât understand what he was on about.
âI can work with that.â he murmured.
Suddenly he tugged down her straps, âLetâs take this off-â
She didnât get the chance to react when she was getting walked to his bed-his firm frame walking behind her forcing her to stumble ahead. She held onto the front of her nightgown to keep it from falling.
âWait-â she tried to fast walk ahead but couldnât when she was suddenly grabbed by the hips. She yelled when she was held up and tossed onto the bed. She landed face down in the sheets with her hips in the air.
He hastily unbuckled himself-the sound of his belt hitting the floor and zipper quickly followed.Â
She attempted to turn around only for him to steady her hips and flip her nightgown up. He caressed the soft skin of her hips, groaning under his breath, âFuck, jusâ looking at you..â
She twisted partially to look at him, her movement rather restricted due to his grasp. Fear bloomed in her gut at the hunger in his eyes. She instinctively reached towards him, âToru, wait-Toruââ
He grabbed her forearm, pinning it to her lower back, âWhat is it, kitten?â
She winced at the uncomfortable angle he held her arm at, âIâm not ready, Toru-please, Iâm not ready.â she pleaded futilely, âMy body hurts..â
He bent over her, pressing short needy kisses along her jaw and temple as he rasped, âYou said only a little..â
She felt his cock ghost along her inner thigh. He was hard-hard enough that she had to look.
She glanced underneath her partially twisted body to see his rigid cock between her raised hips. His cockhead a prominent shade of pink, as if it was swollen for attention. She couldnât ignore the veins popping out against his pale length. Her eyes widened as his angry cockhead twitched and touched her belly, a clearish white substance dribbling out the tip.
She buried her face into the sheets, holding back a sob.
âAra..â his voice was ragged-speaking into her temple, âI miss you, Ara. I wanna be in you..â
She felt his tip graze her pussylips and jolted.
âToru-toru! Be gentle, be gentle-please.â she begged.
Her begging made him want to do anything but. He straightened to hold his cock at her entrance. He released her restrained arm to keep a hand on her ass.
He pushed his cockhead through her narrow hole, groaning through his teeth, âFuck, Ara..â
Heâd only gotten an inch past the tip in and her cunt was already acting like she couldnât take it. Her pussy was too damn tight. He wouldâve burst right there if he hadnât gotten himself off that morning-well, every morning since sheâd moved in. Sometimes itâd be multiple times a day. It was the only way he kept his hands off of her for this long.
He gripped the rest of his length, trying to push himself deeperâshe yelled out, gripping the sheets, âToru-Toru! Please-nnghââ
He pulled out slightly, only leaving the tip in. Her cunt was so tight it wasnât letting him leave.
Fuckinâ hell. He glanced down at the sight of his cock stuck in her pussyâonly a fourth or so in. The rest of his veiny length waiting to be fully drenched. He was desperate-delirious-addicted.
He squeezed her ass cheeks, hard, âBeen two months and you forgot me already, hmm? Do I need to reshape you all over again?â
She gasped, âN-no, please, be gentle with me, please..â
âSh, sh, sh..â he pressed his hand into her nape, pushing her down, âSâokayâŚâ
He spoke into her temple, âJust listen to me and youâll be okay, kitten. I promise.â
She cried silently into the sheets.
His hand slid down her nape, along her spine. He gently pressed the middle of her back, âBend more here.â
He watched her back arch further-her nightgown dropping low to reveal her waist. He just wanted to hold that pretty little waist and fuck her senseless.. but that would have to wait.
He caressed her hips, his tip still lodged in her cunt. His eyes flitted closed as his cockhead nudged her walls, âRaise your hips a bit.â
She complied, her thighs trembling oh so bad as she did so. God, sheâs so cute.
He lowered his hands, letting his palms run over her soft ass before his thumbs touched her pussylips right where it suctioned his cockhead. She jolted, whimpering.
âLoosen up here.â he ordered, raspily.
âI-I canât!â she cried out, face buried in the sheets-hidden from him.
âYou didnât even try, kitten.â he teased.
She merely whimpered in response.
He bent over her once more, pressing his hands to the sheets beside her head while pushing his hips into her slightly.
âYou wonât like it if I do it.â
A low, weak whiny sound left her before she wriggled her hips slightly. He watched eagerly as she spread her knees, angling her hips up high around his cock, only to tremble when she tried to lower herself over him.
He groaned, her cunt walls sucking him in so fucking tight. He grabbed her hips, his long fingers leaving marks on her soft skin as he attempted to work with her and slowly push himself in.
I missed this⌠so muchâso fuckinâ much.
Her pussy walls were wrapping around him just right. The rigidness of her cunt gradually giving way the further he seated himself.
Her mewls and whines didnât stop-only getting louder the deeper he sank into her cunt. His cock was half-way in when he lost it. His fingers dug into her waist-forcing her still-before savagely thrusting his cock all the way through.
âToru!â she shrieked, âToru-toru!âfuck!â
His forehead dropped to her nape as he groaned. His grip on her waist unforgiving as he delivered short desperate thrusts to her cunt. Lewd sounds echoing throughout his room.
â-mâsorry, Ara-mâsorry, I canâtâI canât stop.â he rushed out, completely lost in the feeling of her.
ânnngh-torunnh-ngh! unh-unh-toru!â
His speed picked up. The lewd sound of their sex louder now that her pussy had grown slippery within.
âMissed you sâmuch-so fuckinâ muchââ he half groaned, half-growled into her ear. His grip on her waist relentless as he pounded into her.
âNever gonna let this pussy forget me again.â
She moaned when his cock reached a spot too deep. She couldnât take it. He promised he would be gentle and yet here she was. She shouldâve known.
His cock twitched and her eyes widened. Oh no.
âSatoru!â she cried, ânot inside, not inside-please-â
Suddenly his hand fisted her hair, forcing her face into the sheets as he bent over her. His voice ragged beside her ear, âLet me, Ara, let me-I deserve it.â
âT-toru-nnghf-f-fuck-uungh.â
He didnât slow down, âBe good to me and take it-all of it.â
âToru-uh!-ngh! ohhh.â she moaned through tears.
His cock throbbed within her slick cunt. His tip pulsating against her cervix before spurting within her. She felt his warm cum fill her cunt upâitâd been too long since heâd had her bareback.
His mouth was half-open, his eyes squeezed shut as he buried his face into her neck. His hands clasping the back of hers as he groaned.
She felt so fucking good he couldnât stop. The tip of his cock twitched as it spilt load after load within her.Â
He needed herâhe needed this.

He squeezed her tits while looking down at her. Her tits bouncing hypnotically with each rough fuck.
His free hand fisted the sheets beside her head, her hair splayed out all over his fingers. The heels of her feet knocking into his lower back as she lay spread open between his knees. Her smooth legs supported by his firm thighs. Her body trembled-addictingly-with each deep rut of his cock. Her eyelids sewn shut as she bit into her lower lip.
He let go of her right breast to grasp her jaw. His thumb swiftly tugging her bottom lip free from her teeth.
âDonât quiet yourself. Itâs just me.â
She merely reddened.
His cock pistoned into her harderâforcing her to cry out.
âToru-uh-ungh!-hnn-â Broken moans left her.
He bent over her, his hand finding her tits once more. He squeezed greedily before palming her perky nipple. She was breathlessâand so helpless to his advances he couldnât help but fuck her harder. It didnât help that her tiny pussy walls seemed to gobble him in.
âBe as loud as you want.â he urged-wanting to hear it all. She would always have to keep quiet at her fatherâs house.
She held onto his forearm as her body jerked.
âunngh-satoru!-p-please-nngh!!â
Her cunt tightened around him. She was close.
He saw it in her face-her trembling lips, her strained expression. She always tried to hide her pretty face when she came, as if she were doing something wrong. It was truly adorable, but she couldnât hide from him now.
Nor did they have to hide from anyone else.
His lips ghosted her neck as her entire body arched, âThis is our home now.â

His cock slipped out of her with a lewd sound. A low sigh left her lips as she plopped onto the sheets. Her breasts pressing into the bed uncomfortably but she was too tired to care.
She felt something warm and thick slowly slip out of her cunt, traveling down her thighs. She couldnât even think straight.
Suddenly she felt his cockhead touch her leaking cunt again-she jolted, âT-toru!â
But he was already back inside her, buried half-way to the hilt. She was so gummy inside that there was no resistance. He nuzzled her cheekbone, strands of his light hair sticking to her skin. âOne more time. One more,â he urged.
She whined through strangled gasps as she felt him push his cock deeper, shoving his spilled cum back in.
âHhnngh, toru..â She shook her head, her voice cracking, âY-you said that last time.â
He thrust his hips into her and she cried out-quickly fisting the sheets once more.

She lay in bed, facing him. The moonlight streaming through the thin curtains the only light in the dark room.
Her short uneven breaths loud in the silence.
The air felt thick from their nonstop activities. The scent of sex stuck to the sheets. Her breath still hadnât recovered-neither had her heartbeat.
His blue eyes glimmered in the dark-not one emotion on his face as he stared at her. He appeared completely composed, a calm aura radiating from him. As if completely satisfied.
He looked agitatedly beautiful. His pale face flushed as he lay his head atop his lean bicep. Strands of his white hair pointed every which way from their sex. She couldnât count how many times sheâd sifted her fingers through his hair to draw him near or away whenever she came.
Light pink nail marks decorated his tautly muscular chest. There were a few along his bulging shoulders as well. She hadnât realized she marked him that much. She didnât even want to think about the marks he left on her.
His hand ran up and down her side reassuringly, lightly squeezing her over her ribs.
He scooched closer, âBreathe, Ara..â
He kissed her forehead, âYouâre perfect yanno.. perfect.â A low, slightly rugged edge to his voice.
She closed her eyes when he began to lightly thumb the sensitive skin of her under boob. He always liked to touch her there.
She instinctively held onto his arm, stopping the subtle movement. Her eyes flickering open to find his eyes still on her.
The silent stream of fear coursing through her couldnât be withheld as she shivered. Her hand wavered over his elbow; her gaze dropped to his arm to reel herself in. She needed to focus on something that wasnât his eyes.
Her eyes followed the bright green veins protruding against his triceps, down his forearm-like little pathways along his skin. She didnât notice her hand following her gaze, her fingertips lightly tracing his dark veins.
When her fingers made it up to his wrist, she took his hand-gently lifting it off of her. She intertwined her fingers with his before placing their connected hands beside her cheek, using it as a makeshift pillow for the lower half of her face.
She glanced up at him-finally confident enough too-and immediately flushed at his expression. His light, clear-ish blue eyes were looking at her as if she was the only thing in the universe.
She glanced away from him again, inadvertently squeezing his hand as she did so.
âToru..â she whispered.
âHm?â
Her eyes flickered back to his, âWhat would you do if I didnât come back?â
She felt his hand subtly twitch in hers before a short silence ensued. It was hard to make out his expression in the dark. Theyâd fucked all evening since they got back from school so no one had gotten the chance to turn on any lights-in his room anyway.
Suddenly his hand in hers yanked her close. His lips caught hers mid-gasp. The kiss was needyâdesperateâand unrestrained. His tongue lashing against hers as he winded his arm around her lower back, keeping her close as she twisted slightly. Her hands on his chest the only thing keeping some distance between their bodies.
He drew his face back, a small grin on his lips as their noses grazed each other.
His arm subtly tightened around her back, âI had a few ideasâŚâ
His eyes shimmered as he searched her face, âYouâd hate me if I told you.â
Her breath hitched. She didnât doubt his words.
Her tone was flat, âYou donât think I hate you already?â
His white teeth were visible in the dark. She hated how attractive his smile was.
He leaned closer, his forehead nudging hers, âNahh..â
His hand on her lower back traveled down to her ass, squeezing her with enough strength to make her yelp.
He watched her cry out with a grin before whispering into her ear, âYou moan like you love me.â
Her face instantly went hot. She pushed his hand away from her ass and quickly turned around to face the other side of the bedâonly to be stopped by a firm hand on her hip.
âWhere are you goinâ Araa?â A bit of laughter intertwined in his tone.
She didnât have time to answer because suddenly she was pushed to her back and her hands were pinned to the bed.
He squeezed her wrists before moving her arms so that only one of his hands was necessary to keep her down. His one hand was large enough to curl his fingers around both of her wrists.
His blue eyes were fierce in the dark as he leaned above her, nearly panting as he looked her up and down. She suddenly wished that she wasnât naked.
She turned her face aside, raising her elbows slightly as if they could cover her.
âWhat are you doing?â she asked shakily.
His head dropped low, making their foreheads touch, âIâm showing you how I woulda had you tied to my bed..â
Her eyes widened as his free hand touched her arm-his knuckles grazing her skin-making her hands buckle slightly. His gaze was distant, yet alert.
He cupped her breast, making a low whimper leave her lips. Her tits were already so marked up and sore from his attention, she wasnât sure she could handle anymore.
He continued, âIf Suguru wasnât around you wouldâve been right here a week in. Tied up, spread open..â
He squeezed her wrists, âI pictured it.â
His voice dropped low as he looked her up and down again, âI had the rope, just no you.â
His forehead against hers pressed her deeper into the sheets, âI missed you so much, Ara.â She couldnât miss the desperation running rampant in his tone.
He palmed her breasts, needily, âSuguru stopped me from getting you so many timesâI hated it. I jus wanted you back.â
Her eyes widened, âH-he knows?â -that you would literally kidnap me?
âHe knows I donât like being abandoned.â
She gasped when his thumb pressed into her nipple, âToru!â she squealed.
He leaned back to watch her writhe below him. His gaze growing fond as he played with her. He missed those pretty expressions on her face so damn much.
âHe kept telling me to leave you alone..â he tilted his head, tips of his white hair tickling her face, âbut look at you.â
Her body arched, pressing her chest into his to slide his hand off her breasts. Her nipples were too sensitive, his touch was too much.
âToru!â she whined, âNo more, toru, please.â
He pecked her lips, loving the feel of her bare tits pressed up against him. He let himself lean into her with all his weight, nearly crushing her petite body. His free hand slipped under her thigh, tugging her leg around his waist.
She moaned weakly. If sheâd known her question would lead to this..
He pecked her once more, âSuguru said youâd come back if we were meant to be.â
Her eyes widened as he kissed the heart of her throat.
âHe was right.â he whispered, before shoving his length through her slick walls. Her pretty whines masking his groan.
He was right.

âAra Natsuna?â Mrs. Finch called.
âAbsent.â Gojoâs voice answered.
Mrs. Finch raised her head from her clipboard to cut a glance towards Araâs deskâto find it empty. Sheâd been ready to scold him but it seemed he was being honest-for once.
She merely squinted at him before continuing down the list.
He smiled to himself, completely unaware of the looks coming from the other students glancing his way. He sat propped up on his elbow, hand supporting his head. His posture lax as he absentmindedly spun a pencil in his free hand.
Suddenly the pencil was snatched away, instantly drawing him from his thoughts.
He blinked to find Geto staring quizzically at him-pencil in hand, âWhatâs with you?â
The corner of his lip curled, âOh, nothing.â

Ara glanced down at the steamy dish on the ornate plate before her, with several utensils set out on either side of the plate. She hesitantly raised her hand only to freeze when she heard a camera click.
She immediately glanced up to see Gojo lowering his phone, a smirk on his lips, âShit-â
She reached out, trying to snatch his phone, âWhat the hellââ
He easily stretched his arm out of her reach, his grin widening, âAht, aht, this is for me.â
She leaned back in her seat, scowling, âWhy?â
She watched him scroll through his phone with a stupidly wide grin, âBecause,â he explained lightly, âI donât have enough pics of you.â
Her brows furrowed as he continued, âI always take pics on your phone cuz I want you to think of me but when you left I realized I didnât have you on my phone.â
He set his phone down on the table before resting his face on his propped arm. He reached over to flick her chin with his free hand.
âYou wonât give me the chance to miss you like that again but I donât wanna make the same mistake twice.â
A smug smile slipped across his lips before he gestured towards her food, âEat. You asked the chef for it after all.â
More like he had asked for her since she was still shy with the house staff. She wasnât used to having people at her beck and call but she also wanted to test if his chef really could cook everything.
It was simple banter with Gojo at first-with him trying to convince her that his chef could truly cook anything-but it ended with her googling an uncommon dish to purposely throw off the chef. Now, they both sat at the lavish long table in one of the several dining rooms with a steaming bowl of Käsespätzle in front of her. And it smelled delicious.
Sheâd only picked the German dish because she remembered once seeing a microwavable, frozen food tray version of it at the grocery store. She never saw it again so she assumed it was seasonal.
She scooped up a bit with her fork before taking a hesitant bite. She was careful to school her reaction as she chewedâheavily aware of Gojoâs eyes zoned in on her.
âHow is it?â he asked.
It seemed the chef had defied her expectations.
She swallowed-doing her best to keep her poker face intact, âItâs⌠okay.â
His eyes glittered with amusement as he watched her grip over her fork waver and her little tongue deftly swipe her bottom lip to lick up a bit of cheese sauce.
âOh?â he raised a brow before reaching out to her plate with the bowl atop it, âIâll take it then-â
She instinctively smacked his hand, âItâs mine.â
He grinned and she immediately flushed-belatedly seeing through him.
She quickly withdrew her hand, crossing her arms, âNevermind, itâs yours.â
He suddenly grabbed the bottom rim of her chair and tugged her seat close. He shoved aside the several neatly aligned utensils to place her plate before her.
âYouâre a bad liar, kitten,â a teasing grin on his lips as he raised a forkful to her lips, âjust eat.â

Ara grabbed her lunch tray and turned around. She didnât meet anyoneâs eyes as she walked through the cafeteria to the courtyard entrance.
She used her back to open the courtyard door before stepping outside. The weather was nice enough to make her feel warm through her blazer.
She took a moment to scan the freshly landscaped expanse of green before her eyes landed on the familiar gazebo. She took her time as she made her way towards it. The closer she walked she began to overhear their voices.
âThatâs not the answer.â Getoâs voice.
âYes it is!â Gojo.
âItâs not, whereâd you even get that equation from?â
âAra!!â Gojo exclaimed the second she entered his line of sight.Â
He reached for her as she set her tray down beside his. His muscular arms winding around her to bury his face in her sternum, a low whine coming from him.
She placed her hand over his head, absentmindedly raking her fingers through his fluffy white hair as she half-sat, half-stood on the bench attached to the table.Â
âWhat is it?â she muttered as she glanced down at the open notebook and ipad-displaying a textbook page-laying on the table.
She instinctively reached for the notebook just as he raised his head to look up at her from against her chest. She read over his scribbles as he complained.
âSuguru is saying Iâm wrong~â
She recognized the problem immediately, it was a physics problem.
âIs this Mr. Langard?â she asked.
âYes.â âYep~â Geto and Gojo answered simultaneously. Sheâd taken his class last semester.
She pointed at an equation in Gojoâs notebook, âThatâs wrong.â
Geto immediately pitched in, âExactly.â
âBut thatâs what photomath used!â
âSeriously.â Geto grumbled.
âThat equation isnât bad-if you're looking for an estimate,â she leaned over to use her fingers and zoom in on a specific sentence in the online textbook, âYou need precise numbers for this question.â
Geto quietly read over the zoomed in text-which confirmed her words. He hadnât known that, heâd merely been following Mr. Langardâs instructions. Gojoâs lips made a small âoâ shape.
Geto then went on to use his apple pencil to minimize the textbook to one half of the screen and reveal his own notes in the other. He swiped to a specific point in his notes before circling an equation.Â
Geto added, âThis is the equation you're supposed to use.â
She peered at his work before reaching out to swipe her index finger across the screen to see if there was more, only to find blank sheets.
A subtle frown graced her features before she responded, âYeah but your answer is incomplete.â
Both boys merely stared as she slipped the apple pencil from Getoâs fingers and scribbled in a new formula underneath his numerical work.
She continued to deftly solve the equation until she circled the answer, âThis is the answer.â
Getoâs brows furrowed as he turned the iPad to himselfâquickly readjusting it for him and Gojo to see when Gojo loosened his hold around her to lean towards the ipad.
Gojo silently assessed the work as Geto glanced up towards her, âHow?â he asked.
âWe need to convert it back to its original units.â Gojo answered-rather quickly.
Ara nodded, before sitting down beside Gojo.
Geto shook his head, gradually retreating into his slouched position as he did so. âI completely missed that.â
Just as she handed the apple pencil back to Geto, Gojo pressed a haste yet passionate kiss to her cheek. She immediately shoved his face away.
He was beaming, âI love having a smart girlfriend.â
Getoâs attention returned to the ipad, his thin brows furrowed in concentration, âThis formula.. do they ever ask for estimates on exams?â
Ara shook her head briefly, âNo but that formula is mainly for checking your work. If your answer is far off from the estimate then you probably did something wrong.â
âAh, makes sense.â Geto said, until Toji plopped into the seat beside him.
Toji was peeling an orange in his hands, âWhatâre you guys talking about.â he asked, though he didnât sound too interested.
âNothing you would understand.â Gojo answered sweetly.
âFuck you.â Toji retorted.
Tojiâs head was suddenly shoved and they all looked to see Shoko behind him, cigarette in hand. Toji rubbed his head, âThe hell?â
âYou skipped again? Are you planning on repeating this year too?â
Toji frowned, âWhy do you care?â
âI donât. Miss Payton was asking about you.â
Toji raised a brow, grinning, âWas she?â
Shoko rolled her eyes before sitting beside him, âDonât tell me you gave her STDs too.â
Geto's brows raised, âtoo?â
âYeah, didnât you hear Inez got herpes?â Shoko gave Toji a dramatic side-eye, âZenin was messing with her last sooo we all know who the herpes handler here is.â
Geto and Gojo burst out laughing while Tojiâs face twisted in annoyance.
Geto shook his head, âHerpes handler is crazy.â
Gojo reached out to high-five Shoko, âSyphilis sampler.â
Shoko high-fived him back, âGonorrhea gobbler.â
âWill ya shut the fuck up.â Toji spoke up, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache.
Suddenly Haibara ran up to the table, all huffing and puffing.
âHi guys.â he chirped through breaths.
Shoko looked him up and down, âWhy are you running?â
He used his thumb to point behind him, âNanami wanted to race hereââ he turned around to glance behind himself. No one was there.
Shoko snorted, âIdiot.â
Haibara barely frowned before slipping into the seat next to Ara. Ara was diligently eating her lunch.
He greeted her politely, âHi Ara.â
She glanced over, âHey.â
He smiled shyly, âCan I have one of your mozzarella sticks?â
âDonât give it to him,â a male voice stated. Ara glanced over to see Nanami walk upto the table, âHe already ate mine.â
Nanami lightly smacked Haibara on the back of the head before sitting down next to Shoko.
Shoko offered him her cigarette and Nanami took it without a secondâs hesitance, only to toss it on the ground and stomp it out.
âWhat-!â Shoko exclaimed.
He glanced over at her, âI thought you were tryna quit?â
Toji snorted, âShe says that every week.â
Shoko shot him a look, âNoo.â
Gojoâs tone was teasing as he tilted his head, âAre you actually tryna quit then?â
She scratched her head, âI was..â
âHow long did you last?â Geto asked.
â30 minutes.â
Geto chuckled while Nanami shook his head.
Gojo faced Nanami, âYo, whatâd you get on your exam?â
Nanami answered flatly, âNinety eight.â
Shoko smiled-nudging him, âI knew you were gonna ace it. We should celebrate.â
Haibara immediately piped in, âYeah! Letâs.â
Nanami kept his eyes on Shoko, âDonât we have to go to the mall today?â
âOh shit, you're right. I need to get a gift for my aunt.â
âCan I come too?â Haibara asked.
Shoko nodded, âYeah, yeah, come,â her eyes landed on Ara, âYou come too.â
Araâs eyes lifted up from her lunch, âMe?â
âYeah, we donât hang out enough,â her eyes cut to Gojo, âsince Gojoâs gatekeeping you.â
Gojo smirked, âIâm not gatekeeping her~â
âThen why donât you bring her to the hangouts?â
âBecause sheâs always studying!â he pouted.
âOh câmonnn,â Shoko tilted her head at Ara, âYou gotta come out sometime. How about this weekend?â
Ara glanced at Gojo to see him looking at her with thinly veiled anticipation. Ever since they got back together heâd been asking her to come hang out with his friends with him or not-so-subtly tell her who was throwing a party this weekendâshe always declined, using studying as an excuse. Though it wasnât entirely an excuse. She wasnât like Gojo who didnât have to try to keep up stellar grades.
She would tell him to hang out with his friends by himself, which he sometimes did, but he never went to partiesâsince it was against his self-assigned rule of not going without her.
She knew not attending these âpartiesâ was making his social butterfly ass itch.
She ran a hand through her hair, â..how about after midterms?â
âSo next weekend?â Shoko asked.
âYeah.â
She felt Gojoâs hand at her back, âReally?â he asked.
She glanced at him, noticing the subtle spark in his gaze before rolling her eyes, âYeah.â
Shoko announced, âShe can get ready at mine.â
Gojo immediately responded, âWhaâno, sheâs getting ready with me.â
âNo-â
âYes-â
âYou see! You are gatekeeping her.â
âIâm not!â

Gojo bounded up the steps before scurrying down the hallway to his room. He gathered his breath before entering the bedroom.
The doors opened soundlessly as he stepped within. There were some lo-fi beats playing from the speaker and he smiled slightly before his gaze fell on Ara.
She was sitting on his bed, papers splayed out before her. She used a textbook as a firm surface to write on as she shifted her attention between her notebook and laptop.
Her hair was down loose, tucked behind her ears to keep her hair from falling in front of her face. She wore a pair of fuzzy shorts and a tank top. One baby pink ankle sock on her left foot whereas the other sock lay a foot away on the floor. Her face a mask of deep concentration.
His smile widened subtly, tilting his head as he watched her.
He told her she was free to use the desk but she always seemed to find her way to the bed.
He deftly picked up his drawstring bag and backpack off his shoulder before letting it drop to the floor. Her eyes immediately darted up.
Her eyes widened, âSatoru.â
He walked towards the bed, a wide smile on his lips, âHey.â
âHow was practiceâaah!â
He jumped atop the bed, letting his head rest on her lap and the rest of his long limbs crinkle her papers.
His arms slipped around her, âI missed you.â
Her eyes widened as the bed shifted from his weight and her Macbook tipped over the bedâs edge.
âTORUââ
Suddenly his arm shot out and he caught its edge a millisecond before it tumbled off.
âGot it.â
At her silence he glanced up and instantly grinned at her shell-shocked expression. He placed the Macbook on a safer area of the bed before slipping his arms around her again.
He tilted his head on her lap, âCan I have a kiss now?â
She blinked-gathering herself from her shock to respond, âYou think you deserve one?â
He pouted, âI donât?â
She stammered out, âY-you literally jumped on my homework and damn near broke my laptopââ
âBut did it break?â
She glanced down at him, âWhat?â
His bright eyes didnât waver, âDid your laptop break?â
Her brows furrowed slowly, â.. no but-â
âAht aht. I saved it, so weâre good.â
She squinted, opening her mouth to refute him only to get interrupted by a whiny nonsensical sound, âItâs not like I canât get you a new one if it broke, okay?â
He partially raised his head from her lap. His adam's apple bobbing within his neck as he spoke, âNow gimme a kiss.â he pleaded.
She rolled her eyes before gently slipping her hands around either side of his face, âYouâre so annoying.â
He grinned delightfully, âI know.â
She bent low, letting her nose lightly nudge his before pressing her lips to his.
He couldnât deny the butterflies that erupted in his gut.
He leaned up slightly, trying to access more of her lips but she continued to peck himâsome of her pecks longer than others. She was truly such a tease.
Just as he leaned in some more, she broke the kiss. Her hands cupping his face slid down to his neck, her thumbs stroking the skin along his sharp jaw..
âToruââ
She yelped when his arm around her grabbed her thigh, deftly tugging her down so that she was no longer sitting. Instead she now lay beside him.
His hand clasped her throat before he kissed herâdeep and with tongue. Just the way he liked.
He lightly bit her lower lip before breaking the kiss. His gaze was fond as he looked down at her, âYou know how perfect you look on my bed?â
She couldnât find any wordsâto breathless by his kisses to speak.
âI used to dream about you being here..â His piercing eyes slowly looked her up and down, making her skin rise with goosebumps wherever his gaze touched, â..never thought Iâd get to see it this soon.â
He kissed her cheek, âNow I get to see you sitting pretty on it everyday,â
He kissed the corner of her lip, âIâm too lucky..â
His lips hovered over hers, âI get to come home to you.â
She placed her hand on his chest-stopping him a millisecond before he leaned in.
âToru waitâw-we canât.â
He made a short sound of dismay before continuing to shift himself over her. He easily angled himself between her legs, âWhy not?â he whined once-more.
She cupped his jaw just as he leaned in again, âCuz you stink, fool.âÂ
He chuckled as she went on, âGo shower.â
âLiarrrr.â His nose nudged hers playfully, âYouâre just tryna get rid of me.â
She reddened, âNooo.â
He shook his head wildly, letting strands of wet hair touch her face.
She immediately faced elsewhere, âEw! Get your sweaty hair off me-â
He laughed, his lips ghosting her cheek as he stopped shaking his head, âItâs not sweat, baby. I showered in the locker room.â
She swallowed inaudibly, her eyes widening with indecision.
Suddenly his hand found her throat, his long fingers gently probing her to face him.
She cupped his hand over her throat, âToru, we have homework..â she whined hesitantly.
He pressed his forehead to hers, âSh, sh, sh. No more excuses..â he murmured before unbuttoning her top one by one.

ânngh-ngh!-unnnââ She gripped the sheets tight as he pounded into her. Her macbook and papers scattered along the ground.
His fingers dug into her hips as he panted. She looked so fucking good, he couldnât stop.
Her back was to him, his large hands easily fitting into the curves of her waist as he moved her hips as fast as he liked. She could barely moan properly due to his pace.
Her hair swayed sexily with each deep thrust of his cock. Her body jolted when the tip of his cock reached somewhere deliciously deep.
âtoruâŚ!â she rasped, âoh godâoh godohgodohgodânnnh!â
She bent over, her hands resting on his knees as her cunt twitched around him.
He groaned, âfuckkk, ara, ara, ara..â
He sat up straight from his position against the headboard. He cupped her tits-squeezing them heartily-as he pushed her small back against his chest. He shoved his cock deeper into her, making her yelp.
âtoru please!â she cried as her cunt tightened drastically, âplease-tâmuch, toomuch.â
He didnât stop fucking her through her high. His bright eyes peered down at her over her shoulder, kneading her tits greedily with one hand and keeping his palm against her stomach with the other.
âcum, ara. cum.â he huskily urged her, his eyes only growing brighter with each squeeze of her cunt, âcum on me jus like that.â
He groaned when her body listened to him. Heâd been fantasizing about fucking her like this all dayâthe feeling of her cunt suctioning his cock like this. Fuckk, her pussy was perfect. perfect.
âa-araa..â he groaned into her ear as his cock throbbed. He knew she felt it too when a whimper left her lips. Her legs continued to shake as he burst inside herâhis cum so warm she could feel it through the condom.
Her head was spinning as he squeezed her tits hard. She knew thereâd be marks left behind. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily as she ran a hand over forehead to move her hair out of her face.
His haggard breaths trailed down her skin as he began to massage her breastsâmore kindly.
She kept her eyes closed as his lips ghosted her neck, âAgain.â
His fingers found her clit and she instinctively squeezed her legs together. His fingers didnât budge, neither did his stiff cock within her.
âLetâs do it again,â he murmured-almost drunkenly as strangled gasps left her when he rubbed her clit, âagain and again and again.â

âYou donât understand, this one has 12 new weapons-â
âYou said that about 30 times.â Nanami muttered.
Haibara was too distracted by Toji and Geto heading towards the kitchen.
âYo! Where you guys goin? Letâs go to the spot.â
Toji opened the french door refrigerator, âIâm tryna eat something first.â
âCâmonnn, we can eat later-â
Nanami ruffled Haibaraâs hair, âArenât you a little too excited for a game?â
Haibara immediately faced him, âItâs not just a game!â
âCan you tell he gets no bitches,â Toji closed the fridge when he spotted nothing but fresh ingredients, âWhereâs the chef here?â
Haibara pouted, âHey.â
âMe and you both, Haibara,â Geto slid off the stool beside the island counter, âIâll get Marin.â
Toji raised a brow, âMarin?â
âThe maid,â Geto answered, âSheâs cooked for you a thousand times and you still donât know her name.â
Toji scratched the back of his neck, âOops.â
Geto disappeared down a hallway just as Haibara announced, âAlright, you all get ten minutes to do your shit before you're required to show up to the game room, okay? Be fast. I donât wanna start without everyone.â
âOkay, dweeb.â Toji muttered.
âShut up, donât act like you're not hype.â Haibara replied lightheartedly.
Toji grinned, âTrue.â
âWhereâs Gojo?â Nanami asked.
âDunno, but Toji can let him know he has to get to his ass to the game room, okay? Letâs goooo!â Haibaraâs voice faded out as he bolted from the kitchen in the direction of the game room.
Nanami shook his head.

Suddenly her airpod disappeared from her ear. She glanced over and screeched.
âOh my god!! What the fuck, Satoru!â Ara yelled while scurrying out of the chair, hand over her heart. âScared the shit outta me.âÂ
He smiled-a bit too brightly, âHeh, I wanted to surprise you.â
She glanced over at the clock before frowning, âArenât you supposed to be at practice?â
He set the airpod down on her desk, âWe got out early today.â
She stared as he stepped towards her. He cupped the sides of her face, keeping her eyes on him.
âArenât you happy to see me?â
She lightly grasped his forearms, tilting her head back when he leaned over her.
âNo..â she smiled slightly when his lips grazed hers, âNever.â
He pouted, âMeanie.â
She didnât have to go on her tiptoes to press a light peck to his lips. He eagerly returned it, his arms sliding around her waist to tug her against him.
He tilted his head, prying her lips open with his own before going still. He then kissed the corner of her lip, her jaw, her neck..
âTell me the truth, kitten.â
She blushed, quickly closing her expectant mouth. She turned her face aside and pressed her forehead against his chest. His large hands rubbing her lower back as he lightly nipped at her ear.
She shivered. Her hands grasped his firm biceps as she spoke-her voice wavering, âYou already know how I feel about you..â
âDo I?â he squeezed her hips, âTell me again.â
She squealed slightly before shaking her head, voice small, âYou donât need to hear it.â
He chuckled slightly. She was always worried about making his ego too big, wasnât she? Too late.
He kissed her forehead, âFine. Then show me.â
Her brows furrowed only to loose all train of thought when his hand wrapped around her neck and tilted her face up.
She stared at him as he nudged her nose fondly, âShow me you're happy to see me..â

âWhere the hell is he..â Geto muttered.
Theyâd been waiting in the game room for a good five minutes before Haibara got restlessâconstantly asking him about Gojo's whereabouts as if he knew. Gojo wasnât answering his texts either, just like the rest of them.
He sighed while walking up the steps, hands buried in his pockets. He made it Gojoâs bedroom, pushing open the door with his shoulder.
âunnghânngh! ohh, toru..â
âYo-â he immediately cut himself off when he processed what he heard.
His eyes instinctively landed on the bed and froze when he got a split second glimpse of Gojo propped over someone. Even with the blanket over them it wasnât hard to tell that whoever it was had their legs around his waist. A short feminine yelp came from under sheets and the blanket suddenly got yanked higher, only revealing the top of her lengthy hair.
Geto immediately turned around, hastily running a hand over his face in shock. Ara. Heâd completely forgotten she lived with him now.
Even through his breathlessness, he could still hear the smirk in Gojo's voice, âSuguru!! hi~â
Getoâs face burned, âDammit, I didn't know yââ he quickly cut himself off when he swore he heard not-so-subtle sounds of the bed moving and a whispery âstopâ.
Geto raised his hands, âFuck, Iâm out.â
Just as he bolted towards the door, Gojo called out, âSuguru, wait!â The little shit was laughing.
He continued heading out the door, face still hot.
âSorry!â Gojo called out, his voice laced with humor. âYou guys can start without me!â
Just as Geto closed the door he faintly overheard Araâs voice, âYou didnât lock the fucking door?!â

Ara hesitated before entering the semi-dark room. Her eyes followed the atmospheric lights dancing along the high ceilings and walls while recalling the first time Gojo showed her this roomâironically, the last time sheâd been in there.
The huge flat screen TV on the center wall was the main source of light. It wouldâve resembled a movie theater if it werenât for the gunshots blasting infinitely from the speakers in the walls. She didnât know how they managed to sound proof this room.
âHaibara what are you doing?â Nanami snapped.
âIâm reloading! Wait, waââ
Suddenly the sound of a bomb rang from the speakers.
âWhat the fuck!â Toji hollered.
Gojoâs maniacal laughter filled the room, âOops~â
âYou said you had no bombs left!â Haibara protested.
She watched Suguru smack the back of Gojoâs head as he continued to laugh.
Gojo suddenly raised his hands, one hand clutching the video game controller as he shouted in his typical whimsical demeanor. It wasn't hard to tell that he was-unapologetically-explaining himself from his body language but his words were suddenly too far to make out. too distant to decipher.
Her eyes had latched onto his hands and her mind had gone elsewhereâŚ
She couldnât believe those hands were pinning her wrists to the sheets moments ago. or that sly voice of his was in her earâall breathy, whiny and worshipping.
She didnât even need to close her eyes to rememberâŚ
...
"araâaraa," he whined over the repeated smacking sound of his cock pummeling into her. her inner thighs growing slicker with each thrust.
...
"T-toru!" she cried out. she couldnât take it anymore. He'd grown bigger inside of her and was stretching her to her limit. Sheâd lost her ability to think eons ago.
He didnât stop. He spoke haggardly, between fucks, "your cunny knows what it wants rightâhow to milk Toru dry."
...
His cock throbbed within her.
"gripping me so tight," He groaned outâever so desperately, "you wanna get knocked up so bad."
...
âmmmm,â He groaned from above her.
She felt his eyes on her skinâhis hands on the back of her thighsâhis hot cum on her stomach.
He spread her knees further apart, letting her watch as he rubbed his length through her foldsâover her clit.
âtoruuuuuââ she pleaded, weakly.
He watched her body arch, trying to give her overstimulated pussy some space but he refused-merely lowering himself against her to keep his cock glued to her clit. She moaned when the pace of his grinding picked up.
He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes never leaving her face, âyâknow how beautiful you are, ara? sodamnperfect, i canât take it.â he was breathless.
Her hands found his chest, trying to push at him, âstop toruâpleaseââ she whined. He came twice already, it should be enough.. should be enough..
âStop telling me to stop kittenââ he rammed his length into her, thrusting without a second thought, â-you know i canât.â
...
âAra!â
She blinked, suddenly back in the game room. She glanced over to see Haibara beside her.
He smiled, âWhen did you get here?â He was about to greet her with a side hug until he heard-
âAra?â another-all too familiar-voice piped up. Haibara stepped out of the way to let her see Gojo. His face was upside down as he looked at her, his head against the couchâs backrest.
âToru.â she instinctively responded before walking towards him.
âToru.â Toji mocked under his breath.
Gojo immediately straightened in his seat as she approached, his eyes bright and curious. When she stood close enough he tugged her onto his lap.
âYou were lookinâ for me?â he asked her, a note of verve in his voice.
Her eyes met Geto-who was seated right beside him-and immediately flushed. Geto glanced away, seemingly red himself.
âYeah..â she answered Gojo hesitantly. She placed a hand on his shoulder to adjust herself on his lap more comfortably before facing him, âWhyâs the game paused?â
âCuz Haibara will get his panties inna twist if we play without him.â Toji answered.
âHe went to the bathroom.â Geto supplied.
âAra~â Gojo suddenly whined, tugging her chin to make her face him, âWhat happened?â
He deftly searched her face before smiling in a way that was endearing yet smug. He murmured, âYou came to me.â
âYeah..â he playfully pinched her cheeks as she spoke on, âI jus wanna know how late youâre gonna stay up.â
âOh?â he raised a brow, deliberating, âWhy? You want me to join you in bed?â
She flushed, âNo I was just checking cuz you have a midterm first period tomorrow..â
His eyes sparkled, âYouâre worried? How cute~â
Suddenly her face and throat was getting peppered with kisses. She laughed, pushing at his chest to get him off. He didnât budge, continuing persistently.
She finally managed to push him back a little, âStop you idiot,â she breathed out through giggles.
He was still grinning, âYouâre worried about me~â
She shoved his shoulder, âIâm leaving.â
He immediately grabbed her hips and planted her back down, âNope, you're gonna stay here.â
She tried to pry his hands off her as he continued, âCâmonnn, watch me play.â
She glared, âThatâs boring.â
âThen you play.â
âIâm not a kid.â
She faintly heard Toji say, âWowww.â
Gojo smirked, âYou never played video games before, have you?â
âNope.â
âYep, youâre not goinâ anywhere.â

He glanced down at her and grinned.
She sat in between him and Suguru, his controller in her hands. She was doing surprisingly well for a beginner, he wasnât sure if she was truly picking it up that fast or if it was pure luck. Maybe a mix of both.
She was definitely more engaged than she let on, her bottom lip stuck between her teeth and steady gaze on the screen gave her away.
Suguru leaned over to give her a pointer and she nodded before opening her inventory as he instructed.
Suddenly the sound of a bomb going off blasted through the speakers.
âYo, what thE FUCK! WHO THREW A BOMB???â Toji bellowed. Poor guy was in the lead. was.
She yelled back, âIt was an ACCIDENT!â
âHow DO YOU ACCIDENTALLY THROW A BOMB?!â
Gojo opened his mouth only to get interrupted-
âLIKE THIS!â
His laughter was masked by the sound of another bomb exploding through the speakers.

He skipped several steps as he bolted upstairs. He boisterously shouldered open his bedroom doors, tossing his duffel bag to the floor before catapulting straight to the bedâ
He stopped a second before lift-off, staring at the neatly made bed.
Where is she?
He didnât move, merely turning his head to aptly scan the room. Her backpack was nowhere to be seen. Her home slippers were left in place. Her daily afterschool coffee left untouched on the nightstand.
She didnât come home? Marin wouldâve said something.
He took a step towards the nightstand only to note a lighter brown line of foam within the rim of the clear mug residing a slight bit higher than the coffee itself. She did come home.
He didnât waste a second slipping a hand into his pocket and retrieving his phone. He tapped the screen twice before a location showed up.
His brows furrowed, â555 Palm Avenue..â he murmured to himself before his eyes widened.
Shokoâs house.
He tilted his head, faint confusion passing over his features before he raised the phone to his ear.
She picked up on the second ring.
âHi loser.â Shoko.
He tilted his head, âIeiriiiii, whyâd you steal her?â
âWhat the hell did you do to her phone that it wonât turn off location sharing with you?â she huffed, âI wanted you to have a panic attack.â
âHeheh. Nice try,â his smile flipped into a pout, âNow give her back.â
âNever.â
He slipped his car keys out his pocket before tossing them into the air and catching it, âIâm coming.â
âNO! This is a pre-game for the girls only.â
âEh? Iâm one of the girls too,â he said before adding, âthe fuckk.â -in a feminine voice.
âShut the hell up. And donât do that again.â
He was cracking up as she continued, âSheâs getting ready here.â
âI wanna seeeee.â
âNope.â
âCan I talk to her then?â
âNope.â
He whined, âCâmonn, donât do this to me, Ieiri~â
When she remained silent he continued, âpleasepleaseplease-â
âYouâre like a puppy with separation anxiety. How is she not sick of you?â
He grinned, âShe loves me.â
âShe said that?â
He blinked before his brows furrowed slightly, âNot yet.â
âThen donât assume.â
He knew she only meant that in jest but suddenly he was thinking about it.
He heard the sound of footsteps over the phone, a door opening before the sound of a lot feminine voices. He heard Shoko say something and then-
âHi baby,â My sweet Ara. She sounded worried, âIâm so sorry, I wanted to call you when she picked me up but she wanted to prank you.â
He shook his head, smiling, âsâokay, kitten. i jus miss your pretty face.â
He heard her exhale softly, âYouâll see me tonight, all dressed up.â
He groaned, âughh, i donât wanna waittttt.â
He could hear the smile in her voice, âstop whining you child.â
He grinned, âlet me see you at shokoâs then.â
He heard shoko yell, âNO!â in the background.
âdid you hear that?â Ara asked with a light laugh.
âyes. tell her i said she sucks bootycheeks.â
Shoko yelled once more, âi know!â
Ara spoke, âiâll see you at britâs okay?â
He pouted, âfineeee.â
âbye baby.â
He smiled slightly, he couldnât help but feel warm whenever she said that. âsee you, kitten.â

Shoko sat her down in front of a vanity.
âAlright, now that hair is done, we can do makeup.â
Ara stared as Shoko opened all the drawers of the extravagant vanity before her, revealing a countless amount of high-end makeup. Most of it barely touched.
âShoko!!â a girl yelled from downstairs.
âWhat!â Shoko yelled back only for silence to follow.
She rolled her eyes as she mumbled to herself, âWhat does Arden want now,â she gestured toward the makeup, âKnock yourself out, Iâll be back.â
âWaitââ
Shoko turned around, eyes alert.
Ara hesitated before admitting, âI donât know how to do my makeup.â
Her eyes widened, âForreal?â She then crossed her arms, âActually I canât even blame you, I only started doing my own makeup like a year ago.â
âWould your Mom do it for you?â she asked, considering the fact that the vanity before them was hers.
âNah, I had a makeup artist.â Shoko appeared to be in thought before she said, âHold on.â
She walked out of the room and yelled, âAnybody here good at makeup??!â
A ton of feminine voices arose, answering her. Ara wasnât the least bit surprised since half of their schoolâs female population was here.
She heard Shoko yell something before peeking her head back in the room, âAlright, we got help for makeup. Do you want anything to drink?â
Ara hesitated. Sheâd told herself that she wouldnât drink after the last party butâ
âSHOKO!!â
âIM COMING IDIOT!â Shoko yelled back before saying, âIâll be back.â
She left within a blink of an eye, only for someone else to enter the room a second later. Karina.
Ara stared as Karina walked closer, looking insanely perfect as usual. She also had a bottle of Pink Whitney in her hand.
She set the bottle down on the vanity, âYou need help with your makeup?â

a/n: continued in chapter 5 [ part 2 ] >:) & here's a link to the previous chapter if anyone needs it
#jjk#jjk fanfic#jujutsu gojo#jujutsu kaisen#jjk oneshot#jjk smut#gojo fanfic#gojo imagine#gojo x oc#gojo hcs#gojo headcanons#gojo x you#gojo angst#satoru gojo#satoru smut#gojo oneshot#anime#jjk anime#jjk x you#nanami kento#toji fushiguro#geto suguru#shoko ieiri#jjk fluff#gojo drabbles#jjk headcanons#gojo fic#gojo smut
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