#posting this in the middle of the night cause i no longer care

[ianashas-palace]

So what if they flirted even more in Leblanc

[viviennevermillion]

love languages

✧ ɴᴏᴛᴇꜱ: hsr debut post, hope this does well. i'm only at chapter 2 part 1 so pls bare we me. (gn!reader), aeons can walk among mortals for this

✧ ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: bloom in the dark — emorie

✧ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ: blade, dan heng, jing yuan, luocha, march 7th, nanook, yaoshi

✧ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: some angst & hint at character death in blade's because i'm still figuring out how to write anything but angst for a character whose main objective is that he wants to die, i had way too much fun making the aeons eldritch

✧ giving: gifts

As much as Blade loved you, as much as he treasured the memories he shared with you and as much as he'd hate to cause you pain or grief; you were all too familiar with his predicament. You had been ever since you agreed to stay by his side, to love him for as long as you had together. That was the price you'd pay for loving a man who considered himself dead in spirits already. A shell of who he once was.

Part of him felt guilty for indulging you; how could he call himself yours when he'd take the exit from his cursed immortality if it presented itself before him tomorrow? How could he promise you his heart if he couldn't promise you a future?

He knew there was a chance he might outlive you by centuries. He knew there was a chance he'd say goodbye to you in a month. Still, you were willing to be with him, through all the uncertainty.

So he gifts you things to remember him by, should he part from you too soon for your liking. Some of them were expensive; after all he had more than enough life behind him to no longer be bound by material limits. Some of them were simple trinkets or flowers he preserved using glycerine. All of them held meaning but the overarching message was: "We were born in different times. If it were for the natural order of things, we never would have even met. I've been suffering since long before I met you. And yet, curiously, despite all; I treasure every moment I had with you. I'm glad to have loved you."

✧ receiving: physical touch

One thing Blade would have never expected when he met you; but was more than glad to realize, was that you could make him forget his anger and pain, even if it was for just a while; even if it always inevitably returned.

He loved falling asleep in your arms. It was the closest thing to the peace and salvation he craved that he could currently have. For just a few hours, he was content. He had forgotten what that felt like.

He loved the feeling of your fingers carding through his long, dark hair. And you loved the smile you so rarely saw on his face when you did this. Blade's breathing would calm and he'd nuzzle your neck as he was being held in your arms.

Blade also loves waking up in the middle of the night, feeling you shift in bed beside him and pressing a few lazy kisses to his lips before he fell back asleep.

He loves the way you tend to his scars, how you seem to wash the pain off his body with your caring touch; despite feeling guilty for how he has made you worry again. You'd end up disinfecting and bandaging his wounds and sometimes he had to chuckle at how you treated him as if he was fragile, despite having likely seen more hardships than you could ever imagine.

✧ giving: acts of service

Dan Heng doesn't really know how to express his love for you at first so he defaults to helping you out however he can.

He helps you with little jobs around the Astral Express and loves to team up with you for any missions or chores that fall on both of your plates.

Especially with all the knowledge he gathered from the archives and basically living in there; he's more than ready to help you figure out any mysteries you encounter on your journey with the Astral Express.

If he needs to explain anything to you or answer a question you have about stuff like the Aeons or any factions you encountered, he'll often pull you onto his lap at the desk and show you important info about it in a book or online. "I hope I could answer your questions. Did this help you?", he then asks you, looking into your eyes. "Yup!", you shoot him a smile and give him a quick kiss to the lips which leaves him blushing and just staring at you for a while.

"Hey, Astral Express to Dan Heng, you still there?", you chuckle and wave your hand in front of his eyes. He just blinks like, twice and then picks you up bridal style: "Come on, let's figure out that task Himeko gave you." He's just trying to distract from the fact that you flustered him.

Sometimes he tries to cook for you. The emphasis is on tries. You'll walk into the train kitchen and he'll be there stirring something in the frying pan and glancing at a recipe. "What are you doing there, love?", you ask and kiss his cheek. "I'm making lunch for you", he states and you hug him. "Aww, that's so sweet of you!", you press a few appreciative kisses to his lips, "wait why does it smell burnt?" "What-"

✧ receiving: quality time

Dan Heng is what we call 'a good listener'. He's not the best conversationalist but he likes to hear you talk and he remembers stuff you told him that even you have forgotten about until he one day just brings it up out of nowhere.

He loves to spend the time between trailblazing expeditions just hanging out with you. You check your phone and receive a text from him like "Hey, want to come over to my room? 🫀"

"?" "March told me that I should add a heart to my messages to make you feel more loved. Did I not do it correctly?" "Dan Heng, sweetie, no..."

You enter his room and he has made you two cups of coffee, the only thing he's actually good at "cooking". The two of you have decided to watch a movie and lay down on Dan Heng's mattress. "I can feel the bones in my back snapping in half, how do you sleep on this?", you raise your eyebrow. "I don't think it's that bad", he mumbles, seeming lost in thought.

While watching the movie, he has his arms wrapped around you. His only opinion about it is "it was good".

Also enjoys playing board games with you, specifically card games. You're pretty equally matched so there's no telling who wins this round. When he wins, you ask him what he wants as a reward and he just gives you a soft smile and tells you a kiss will do.

✧ giving: physical touch

Jing Yuan is a fairly affectionate man behind closed doors. He doesn't leave for work without giving you as many goodbye kisses as you want and doesn't let go of you throughout the whole night while he sleeps. You could get up and grab a glass of water from the kitchen, as soon as you return, Jing Yuan wraps his arms around you once more; even when he's in deep sleep.

He enjoys just sitting idly with you, both of you doing your own things and he's just holding your hand or has a hand resting on your thigh. He also loves when you lean your head on his shoulder and as soon as he feels you do that, he turns his head to place a kiss on your forehead.

Sometimes you'll be reading a book while sitting between his legs and he ends up pressing multiple kisses to your cheek or trailing them down your neck. He smiles against your skin everytime he does this. He's not always seeking to touch you but he has his clingy 10 minutes where he wants attention and sometimes that happens to interfere with whatever it is you're doing at the current moment.

Most of the time you can't resist indulging him and just kissing him for a while, burying your hands in his hair or cupping his cheeks gently.

✧ receiving: quality time

Jing Yuan loves those days on the Xianzhou Luofu that are so peaceful that he gets to spend the entire day with you. You decide to take a nap during noon, falling asleep in his arms, listening to his steady heartbeat. You feel Jing Yuan press a few soft kisses to your forehead while you're dozing off.

When you awake, he's no longer next to you. You get up and find him in the kitchen, preparing a late lunch for the two of you. You wrap your arms around his waist from behind and glance at the frying pan to see him fry some eggs.

You hear a chirping sound and fish a small finch out of your boyfriend's hair. "Don't worry you, we're not grilling your brethren", you whisper softly and put the bird on the windowsill, "fly free, my little friend." The bird lifts off. You raise an eyebrow at Jing Yuan. "Was this the last one?"

He chuckles. "Should be." This at least gives him an excuse to take a bath with you and maybe you'll volunteer to wash his hair. He loves the feeling of your fingers brushing through his hair and just relaxing and letting you pamper him. "You know, if that's what you want, you can just ask right?", you remind him, "you don't need to call your woodland friends for help." Jing Yuan just laughs and gently guides your chin closer to his face so he can kiss you softly.

He enjoys playing chess against you, though you tend to suggest to play a die-based game instead so you can win by having good luck, because Jing Yuan has several centuries of chess practice under his belt. "You know that still doesn't mean you'll win", he watches you unpack the Ludo game with an amused expression. "I have good luck, I got you after all", you say confidently. "Well I've heard an old saying from a distant planet that when you luck out in love it means you have bad luck when it comes to games", he argues and crosses his arms with a smile on his face. You roll your eyes and he responds by kissing your lips.

Sometimes he watches you play chess against Yanqing. "Does it hurt to lose to an 8 year old?", he teases you. "Silence, Jing Yuan, you taught him this stuff." Your lover lets out a laugh. "And yet he still has so much to learn before he can beat me."

✧ giving: words of affirmation

When Luocha loves you, he doesn't hesitate to tell you. After all, his companion in the coffin consistently reminds him that life is short and he better have no regrets, should misfortune strike him tomorrow. Luocha adores you and in his mind, there's nothing stopping him from letting you know.

He's also a bit of a smooth-talker to you and you only. He never gets overbearing with his flirting, but you can expect a few cheesy compliments followed by a kiss to your hand. He'll pick you up for your date, takes your hand in his and leads it to his lips. "You're as beautiful today as the first time I saw you", he smiles and whispers against your skin.

Getting together with Luocha could take ages if you insist in knowing why he's being so suspicious first; but once you do he's ironically an open book for you. He has shared his greatest secret with you and you've given your hearts to one another, so why should he hold back now from telling you what's on his mind?

Sometimes his words are on the nose, such as cupping your cheeks and telling you that he loves you with all his heart or that he wants you to traverse the stars with him from now on. Sometimes the love he has for you is put into telling you how he remembers certain areas around the Xianzhou Luofu as "that place where you surprised me with a bouquet of flowers when we met up for tea" or "that shop where you almost made the coffin fall over". You learn with time that there are a lot of things he associates with you and your memories together.

✧ receiving: physical touch

Luocha loves your affections. He's the least grumpy man ever in the morning. You could wake him up at 3am for kisses and he'd be down for it. He loves when he wakes up and the first thing he feels is your lips on his cheeks or your fingers running through his long blond hair or your fingertips drawing circles on his bare shoulders.

He pulls you into his chest and you can hear his heartbeat while he holds you close. He lifts your chin up and his lips meet yours before he even opens his eyes. He kisses you softly, his tongue circling around yours as he tries to pull you even closer. "Good morning, my love", his voice sounds raspy before he presses a kiss to your cheek.

Luocha loves to take a walk through the city and hold your hand in his while doing so. He doesn't say it but he definitely melts if you stop your walk for a minute just to give him a hug or kiss him gently.

One time you get caught in the rain and Luocha finds shelter for the two of you under a secluded pavillion. You are cold so he wraps his jacket around you and holds you in his arms until the skies clear. He presses a kiss to the top of your head. "Are you still cold, my dear?", his voice sounds so soft and he gently squeezes your shoulder. You shake your head. He lets out a chuckle. "That's good, then", he replies before resting his head on top of yours and closing his eyes for a while.

He enjoys resting his head in your lap while you run your fingers through his hair. You might be busy with something else, not noticing how he smiles up at you like you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen (you are). He eventually closes his eyes and rests his cheek against your stomach.

✧ giving: words of affirmation

March 7th talks quite a lot, especially if you were to ask Dan Heng about it. So if she's in love with you; her feelings are bound to slip out with her words. It wasn't hard for you to become aware of her crush on you because she just accidentally blurted it out one day. She was so happy when you told her you felt the same; even if this conversation was the furthest thing from planned.

March loves to explore the civilizations you travel to on the Astral Express and buying lots of souvenirs and clothes from there. So sometimes she'll drag you from shop to shop and often finds things she thinks would look good on you. No matter if you're wearing a fancy suit / dress or a 5 credit neon green "I survived the Belabogeyman attack" shirt from a shady souvenir shop, she hypes you up like you're on the front cover of a popular magazin.

"Aw look, you're so cute", she squeals and hugs you from the side, trying and failing to lift you up. There's at least 5 people in the shop staring at you and the shopkeeper glares at March, silently reminding her to keep her voice at an acceptable volume for a public building. "Oops... sorry", she cringes slightly and then turns to you again with a bright smile, "you should totally get this!"

Everytime you enter her room after a trip you find a new photo you took together on her wall. "Look at your smile on this one", she holds one of them up, "it makes me happy whenever I look at it."

Dan Heng told her to stop talking about you all the time so now she talks with you about you.

Definitely tells you she loves you plenty of times.

✧ receiving: gifts

March loves gifts. She's the kind of person who can't wait to open her birthday presents so you guys have to hide them from her every year; preferably somewhere where she can't reach or won't find them.

So when she receives gifts from you for no special occasion, she's gushing so much.

She loves flowers and chocolates. She definitely has a sweet tooth but will still share the chocolates with you. She is very interested in the meaning of the flowers you gift to her so if you can tell her about that, she'll be all the more happy. She loves romantic gestures like this. She has mostly read about them in romance novels and she's more than thrilled to finally receive them herself.

March also adores jewelry, whether you bought something for her or crafted it yourself. She'll wear it everyday and she's very proud whenever someone asks about it.

She posts about the gifts she receives in her status online as well. She'll be like "y/n got me this! 💓💓💓"

She dm's the pictures to Dan Heng as well and he leaves her on read.

When you gift her something, she gives you a hug and a kiss on the cheek before opening it. Once she opened it, she smiles at you brightly and kisses you on the lips. "Thank you so much for this!", she takes your hand into hers and squeezes it.

Receiving gifts from you makes her so happy. But being loved by you makes you feel like every day is her birthday either way. And for you, every day was March 7th.

✧ giving: quality time

Loving an Aeon wasn't the easiest endeavor. Especially not Nanook. But somehow you had touched the destructive god's heart and for the first time since they became what they were today, there was a life they wanted to treasure and protect.

They don't understand much about the human world as it was today, having mostly spent their time on a different plane of existence. It was only when they connected with you and took an interest in you; that they decided to walk among them for a while, to be able to spend time with you. At first their bitterness became apparent every day they spent with you, only scoffing at the people they saw going about their daily life and the things that they had built; which all would be wiped away by destruction if Nanook were to have their way.

But you took that as a challenge. You wanted to see if you could find something they liked about life, unaware that you had become that very phenomenon.

You made it your favorite pastime to show them all sorts of things from the material world and see their reaction to them. "What do you think of this painting?", you ask them, holding up a work of art you got from a market. "I'm not too fond of the sound it makes and the cosmic essence it depicts", they respond with a deadpan expression and you just look at them in confusion, "right, I forgot you can only perceive three dimensions."

Nanook, despite not letting it show, enjoys spending time with you; even though it could be challenging sometimes considering they were an Aeon and you were not. Sometimes they would ask you about things you couldn't see and other times they struggled to discern what things they saw you could pass through and which ones you considered "a wall".

✧ receiving: physical touch

Nanook loves your touch, much as they would like you to never notice that. They're not used to any physical sensations so they're very sensitive. They're unable to form coherent sentences when you so much as press a kiss to their lips. According to them it was very difficult to convey their thoughts in your way of speech when you were "trying to overwhelm them like this"

Giving Nanook affection also proved to be a challenge in more ways than one. The first time you tried to rest your head on their chest, your cheek touched the golden essence flowing out of them and you could perceive what you could only describe as the worst sensory overload anyone has ever experienced; a colorful mix of incoherent screaming and the faint sound of explosions; the feeling of all-encompassing despair and grief.

"What was THAT?", you stared at Nanook in shock, panting. "The entirety of traces left behind by destroyed worlds and ending lives from at least the last couple millenia", they answered very casually. You sighed and held your head, now suffering from a migraine. "At least it doesn't disintegrate me", you took a deep breath and started rummaging through your closet. "Only if I want it to", Nanook explained. "Charming", you whisper to yourself in a sarcastic way and toss them a shirt, "put this on."

Kisses are such a novelty to them. They're like "what was that?"

"Affection." "Do it again."

One time you pressed several kisses to their shoulder and Nanook just slow-blinked at you for like 5 minutes, before resting their head on your shoulder.

✧ giving: gifts

Yaoshi loves to bestow "blessings" upon you. Though, you have to teach them at first what you would consider an acceptable present.

The first one is immortality if you want it. Yaoshi would love nothing more than for you to be by their side forever.

Their next attempts at gift-giving left you feeling a little lost. They manifest before you, excitedly grabbing your cheeks and your waist and your shoulders with their hands and pulling you into a kiss. "My dearest, I made you a creature", they exclaim and reveal a Frankenstein-esque abomination the size of a volleyball. You can't quite discern what it actually is but it looks like an abstract mixture of a hamster, frog and a dragon. "Uh...thank you?", you try to be as polite as possible, unsure what to do with the creature as it spits a smaller version of itself onto your bedroom floor and then disintegrates. "It reincarnates out of itself", Yaoshi explains. "I can see that", you nod with wide eyes, patting Yaoshi's head.

One day, Yaoshi guides your spaceship to a distant location. "This is a planet I renovated for you", they join you as you land and explain their thoughts behind all the different new kinds of flowers they created specifically for you. "You're my greatest inspiration", they kiss your cheek and wrap their arms around you.

You eventually sit them down and calmly explain to them that one planet is more than enough and that you definitely do not need another creature. You teach them about your customs of giving gifts and they listen attentively. Maybe a bouquet of flowers would do next time.

✧ receiving: quality time

Yaoshi wants you to stay by their side forever. They perceive the passage of time very differently from you, yet they treasure and vividly remember every second by your side. Your bond of love is a sacred one in their eyes and they want to feel as close as possible to you.

They especially love talking to you and learning about your experiences that are so vastly different from their own. Despite being so intertwined with life itself; Yaoshi learns so much about life just from being with you. They never would have imagined you could give them so many new perspectives on the universe just by sharing your thoughts and beliefs with them.

Yaoshi always listens to you attentively and you see a sense of childlike wonder in their eyes when you speak about the way you experience the world, the things you value and the memories you treasure.

"Isn't it marvelous; how we see the world through such different lenses and are entirely different entities, yet we love each other so deeply and unconditionally", their voice sounds soft as they pull you onto their lap, holding you with their six arms and planting kisses on the back of your neck repeatedly.

Unlike Nanook, Yaoshi is very clingy. Quality Time with you always involves touching you in some way, be it kissing you repeatedly or holding you tightly within their embrace. Sometimes they sing you to sleep with a gentle voice, running their fingertips over your shoulder.

[venusacrossthestars]

your hands in mine

Pairings- Charles Leclerc x fem!reader

WC-1k

warnings- fluff, thunderstorm, 1 sexual-ish innuendo

A/N: this is something special for @arieslost and her obsession with hands, especially Charles' hands. I wrote this and am posting in today (3/12) in honor of our 3 years of friendship. I wouldn't be who I am without her. nyoom duo till the end.

f1 masterlist

The roll of thunder is what startles you out of your slumber. Senses clouded by the lingering effects of sleep. For a moment you are unsure as to where you were. This looked nothing like your apartment. Another wave of thunder brought back the realization, I spent the night at Charles’. 

You and the Monégasque driver had spent the entire day together, doing everything and nothing. He had a week off between races and was adamant about spending it all with you, not that you were complaining. This night had been no different. The two of you had gone out for a nice dinner, a little local spot near Charles’ flat that had live music. Your walk home was filled with a comfortable silence, which was one of your favorite things about being with Charles. The two of you didn’t need to be in constant conversation with each other, just each other presence was enough. 

The peacefulness followed the both of you as you worked through the motions of your nightly routine. Yours ended with reading a few chapters of whatever book you were reading and Charles practicing the piano. Kissing him before you each went off to do your own routine was the last thing you could fully remember. You must’ve fallen asleep out on the balcony and Charles must’ve carried you to bed. 

Turing over in Charles’ arms was a task easier said than done. Anytime the two of you spooned his arms would magically become vice grips, impossible to get out of. However, Charles must have been equally, if not more, beat than you. The rain helping lull him to sleep as it had done to you, his arms were lax across your middle, making it easier to roll over to your opposite side. 

As the wind picked up, a cool breeze swept through the open windows making you nestle further into Charles’ bare chest. Your hands coming to rest across his chest. Another thing to love about him, he always slept shirtless. It was impossible to deny how handsome Charles was, and contrary to popular belief of the media, you weren’t with Charles only for his looks and fame, though it was a perk. You didn’t care about any of those things. When he was with you he wasn’t Charles Leclerc Prince of Ferrari, he was just Charles and that’s all you needed. 

The rain began to pour harder and you couldn’t restrain yourself from staring at Charles’ sleeping figure, it was as if Michelangelo personally carved him out of marble. His sharp features only a tad more relaxed in his slumber. Shamelessly, you move your hand from his chest and lightly begin to trace his face with the backside of your hand, carefully trying not to wake him. Content with your mapping skills you move your hand back to his chest, now mindlessly drawing shapes into his tan skin. 

You continued your drawing, listening to the sounds of the storm as it raged on, lost in your own world. You would’ve stayed like that for longer if it wasn’t for a practically bright flash of lightning followed by a wave of thunder that had enough force to shake the room. This startled Charles from his slumber, which in turn startled you. 

“We should close the window before the floor gets all wet,” Charles mumbled out, still in the clutches of sleep. 

“Too comfy, don’t wanna move,” you mutter into his skin. 

Charles slides out from under you, causing you to whine at the loss of contact. 

“I’m going to be right back, mon cheri, do not worry.” 

With your eyes well adjusted to the darkness of the bedroom, you can make out the outline of Charles’ back, along with the muscles that flex as he closes the window and redraws the curtains that have been blown open. You watch shamelessly. How can a man be that perfect? 

“See something you like?” Charles teases, standing at the foot of the bed. 

“Best view in the city.” Your answer seems to satisfy Charles as he climbs back into bed, back to your previous position. 

Now, instead of your hands tracing Charles’ features it is Charles whose hands soothingly roam your arm. On one particular ticklish pass of his hand, you let out a small giggle and before he can go back to try and tickle you again you grab his hand. 

With his hand in yours, you bring it to your lips and press small kisses against each of his knuckles. Happy with the amount of kisses you have given him you bring his hand back down and absent-mindedly play with his fingers. Charles, still awake, says nothing and continues to let you do as you please. 

“I love your hands,” you admit. 

“I know,” he chuckles out, “I like my hands too, especially when they are wrapped around your throat.” 

You gasp at the statement, “you pervert. I’m complimenting you and your head is stuck in the gutter.” 

“It always is when you’re around.” 

You roll your eyes at his comment and he pinches your side in retaliation, “you can’t even see what I did.” 

“I know you, and I know you just rolled your eyes at me.” 

Well, he’s got you there. You stop messing around with his fingers and now it is Charles’ turn to fiddle with yours. He copies your motions, bringing your hand to also kiss each knuckle. Instead of stopping as you did with his, he lightly massages the meat of your palm. 

You are fighting the feeling of sleep, but it is a losing battle between the massage Charles is giving you and sound of the rain hitting the now closed window. Charles mutters something that your foggy brain is unable to catch. 

Laced with sleep you ask, “what did you say?” 

“Just that I love your hands too.” Charles says while kissing your ring finger but you are too far gone to hear the last part. “And one day I’ll put a ring on your finger and be able to call you mine forever.”

[golden1u5t]

One where the BAU takes Spencer to the strip club for his birthday and he’s basically mesmerized by the reader dancing on the pole so Derek books her in the V.I.P room for Spencer. Just Spencer basically nervous asf and catching a boner cause the reader has majorrr sex appeal. You can add your own twistttttttttttttttttttt I would just love to see Spencer x Stripper! Reader😝

this post is 18+

"She's pretty nice, huh?" Derek put his hand on Spencer's shoulder, he too mesmerized to do anything other than nod his head. Derek shook his head and chuckled, he left Spencer to watch you on the stage.

Pretty soon your dance was over and you were leaving the stage, Spencer frowned as he watched you leave. He stood up and headed back to the team, he was ready to leave now.

"I'm ready to leave now." He grabbed his coat and pulled it on his arm. Derek downed his drink and took Spencer's jacket off, he wrapped his arm around him and started guiding him to the back.

"Not just yet, pretty boy. The night's not over yet." Derek opened the door to the private room and shoved him in. "Enjoy your private show."

Spencer looked around the dimly lit room, he walked over to the chair that sat in the middle of the room and sat down. He was confused but he trusted Derek with his life so he stayed put. Pretty soon the door opened and you walked in. Spencer flushed a shade of pink, he watched you close the door behind you and walk further into the room. You walked over to the speaker that was on the table and connected your phone, not having looked at him yet.

"What music do you want?" You asked, scrolling through the music on your phone. When he didn't answer you, you turned around to look at him. "Hm, I noticed you."

You turned back around and put on whatever music you liked since he didn't seem to have a preference.

"Oh, you did? That’s, uh, that’s great.” He rubbed his sweaty palms on his slacks and cleared his throat. You set your phone down on the table and walked closer to him. As soon as you stepped into his space he could smell your perfume, he could feel his cock hardening already.

“Mhm, you were the only one that sat through the whole dance without leaving. You were the only attractive one, too.” You walked behind him and ran your hands over his shoulders and down his chest. Spencer went rigid as you felt down his body, his breathing was irregular and you noticed that. “You’ve never done this before, have you?”

“N-No. Today’s my birthday.”

You hummed and walked around the chair, swaying your hips in tune with the music. Spencer’s heart nearly burst out of his chest when you sat on his lap, his hands remained firmly at his sides.

You reached back and cupped his head, starting to move your hips on his crotch. Spencer gasped at the friction, his eyes fluttering closed. He was dying to touch you, his hands twitched every so often as you moved yourself on him.

Soft groans and whimpers fell from his lips even though he tried his hardest to contain them. You were used to the men, sometimes women, making sounds while you danced on them but they never got you going like how Spencer’s were. You found yourself grinding on him longer than you usually would have, pushing him to make more of those beautiful sounds.

You turned around in his lap and wrapped your arms around his neck, all professionalism was gone and you couldn’t care less. Spencer eventually gave up on trying to keep his hands to himself, he grabbed at your hips as warmth seeped through his boxers.

You had to get off of his lap before you tried to fuck him right then and there. You smoothed down your mini skirt and cleared your throat, walking over to stop the music playing.

“I don’t- I-“ Spencer tried to gather his jumbled thoughts and form a complete sentence but he just couldn’t, not after what just happened. He opted to standing up and heading to the door.

“Here’s my card.” You pulled him by the belt loops and pushed the card into the waistband of his pants. “I’ll be waiting for a call, birthday boy.”

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlight prompt: Danny and Duke being childhood friends, but Danny tells Duke the moment the accident happens and such cause he trusts him, only for Danny to go radio silent when giw decide to block the town communications in senior year.

So Duke-does he tell Danny he's Signal or not? Up to you-gets worried the longer no contact goes by.

Maybe the away game thing seen in other posts where the sports team still does away games and Danny gets enough good will with star or dash maybe and they send a message to Duke that's some coded phrase and Duke knows shits going down?

(yourlocalcorviddad, it's a side blog so didn't want to send from main sorry)

Danny is not someone who is on his mind a lot, these days. It’s to be expected, considering how distance and their double lives eat up all the time they have to talk. Really, it’s a miracle that they were able to speak enough to learn about their own individual vigilante work, especially with Duke bouncing around foster homes for a good portion of that time. 

They haven’t spoke in months but that’s normal for them.

Duke thinks he can be forgiven for not knowing something was wrong. He still won’t forgive himself for it.

“Danny’s gone?” he repeats, feeling numb. There’s static ringing in his ears, his entire world hollowing out.

The guy in front of him looks grim, unable to meet Duke’s eyes. Did he introduce himself? Duke can’t remember, can’t keep his spiraling thoughts straight in his head. “He’s gone. His entire family is gone and we haven’t been able to call for help because… well…”

“It’s those guys, right? The ones in white?”

“You know about them?”

“Danny told me. Danny told me a lot about what he did in Amity Park.”

The guy lets out a slow, relieved breath. “Good, then I don’t have to explain. Sorry, it’s just that it’s not something we talk about, especially out in the open. After the last few months, things got really bad. We know the GIW took the Fentons, but we can’t find out how or why and they’ve got us on a tight lockdown.”

“Then how did you get out?” Duke asks. Another arguably more important question pops into his mind a second later. “Actually, how do you know about Danny and… you know. The other things.”

The grimness on the guy’s expression fades away some beneath the sudden shame and embarrassment. “Oh, that. Well, I dunno how much he told you about his, like, daily life, but, um. I’m Dash. Baxter. I bullied him?”

Dash. 

Dash. That’s a name he recognizes. 

Danny’s complained about Dash a lot in the past. Since they were in middle school, really. Duke would always get mad on Danny’s behalf about how terribly he’s being treated, how no one would stop such obvious bullying. And every time, Danny would laugh it off and say in that soft voice of his, It’s alright, Duke, really. Having you care is more than enough for me.

It never stopped the bullying, though, but the way Danny talked about Dash changed when they both entered high school. He was still annoyed about everything Dash did, but there were less insults about him, less venting about every little thing that pissed Danny off about him, as if he just didn’t care anymore.

And there is, of course, the most memorable time Danny called Duke about Dash over the summer.

Hey, Danny, Duke had began, only to be cut off by Danny yelling, I kissed Dash?! Or he kissed me?! What am I supposed to do now!

And Duke, despite the jealousy he felt at hearing that Danny and Dash kissed, laughed so hard he cried while Danny yelled at him to be helpful. 

There wasn’t any discussion on Dash since, beyond a comment here and there about a funny fanboying thing Dash had said about Phantom. The focus of their conversations shifted towards how hard it was to be heroes or vigilantes, quiet reassurances that they’re both doing the best they can, tips traded about best ways to patch themselves up and get through the night. Sometimes, it felt like Danny was the only person in the world to really know Duke; all his pain and promises, his dreams, everything he was Before and who he became in the After.

He’s missed Danny, but the last message Danny sent him told him that things were getting rough in Amity Park, and to not call or contact him until he reached out first.

So Duke trusted in Danny and focused his attention in Gotham, putting his all into becoming a better hero, someone people can rely on. 

He thinks that maybe he should have fallen into the Bats’ bad habits of invading privacy to make sure Danny’s okay. 

Too late for that now, though.

“I know you,” Duke says after a long moment. “He talked about you sometimes. Come with me, we have a lot to discuss.”

Dash looks appropriately nervous, but he doesn’t argue. 

It’s a tense, quiet walk to the library where Barbara works. She’s stationed at the front desk when he arrives and greets him with a smile, eyes flicking towards Dash in question.

“Hey, Babs, got a private study room open?”

Her gaze sharpens and Duke can’t help the feeling of relief that flows through him, knowing that Oracle is ready to look out for him. “Let me check,” she says, turning towards the computer to click around a few pages. “Study room 8 is open.”

That’s the study room with a working lock and soundproofing. It also has cameras and a mic inside, but all the other study rooms have one too, just for safety purposes. Things could always go terribly wrong when people are locked together in a small room, and having video and audio evidence of what happened has assisted in more than a few cases. 

He leads them up to the second floor, past the students studying and the group of young children in the back corner of the library listening intently to a read aloud. 

The only occupied study rooms are those up front, closer to the stairs. The back rooms are empty and quiet, the perfect place for a little impromptu interrogation.

“So,” Duke says as he closes the door to study room 8 behind them. Dash sits down as if this is just a casual conversation, but the way his foot taps against the floor betrays his nerves. “Danny’s gone. And somehow, that lead you to me.”

Dash glance around, then leans closer to drop his voice into a harsh whisper. “The Guys In White got some insane upgrades a few months ago and forced every citizen of Amity Park into a surveillance state. The entire Fenton family is gone, but we all know it’s really because they want Danny.”

“Explain the situation in Amity Park some more.”

“Well. It’s like this: we didn’t take them seriously, so they upped their moves and got us trapped. No one goes in or out of Amity Park without good, verifiable reason. We have a curfew and we can be randomly stopped and searched for ectoplasm or exposure to ghosts. Most of the ghosts have left, but a few of the stronger ones hang around to cause trouble to get the GIW off our backs for a bit.”

“So how did you end up in Gotham?”

“I was invited to tour the college. And since outsiders were expecting me, the GIW let me go. But there’s definitely some that tailed me to Gotham, but I can’t find them at all. Even talking to you now is a huge risk for me.”

Which means they don’t have much time to talk before someone comes looking for Dash. His words, paired with everything Duke’s heard from Danny, paint a deeply unpleasant picture in his mind. “Are you going to be in trouble?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s Danny we’re all worried about. He told me before he got caught that if anything happened to him, I should find you. Tucker helped us narrow down where exactly you are and sent you that text to get you to where we met.”

“What do you think I can do?”

“I don’t know,” Dash admits. “But Danny trusts you, and he needs your help.”

Duke was never going to say no to this request to begin with, but damn if those words don’t make him want to run to Amity Park without waiting for anyone else.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. I’ll help rescue him and bring down the GIW. You should go now, before they get too suspicious.”

“What are you planning?”

“I got a couple of friends who are good at destroying government property. Trust me, you’ll see what we’re up, we’re pretty noticeable if we’re pissed off enough.”

“Don’t take too long then,” Dash says, standing up, “I expect a good show from you. See you around, man.”

And with that, Dash pats Duke’s shoulder and leaves the study room. Duke doesn’t follow after him.  He’s got a rescue to start planning, and the less time he wastes, the better.

In the end, it’s pretty simple. It’s not a hard mission at all when the time comes for them to act, but the amount of data they gather and have to shift through is daunting. But that’s more Tim and Barbara’s forte, so he trusts them to handle it. 

Together with Red Robin, Spoiler, and Black Bat, they hit Amity Park hard and fast. 

One night was spent learning the lay of the land and every station and lab set up by the GIW. The second night was spent burning it all down and tossing open cages full of green blob ghosts and a few transparent, weakly glowing human ghosts. Stronger ghosts, glowing brightly, joined them in a few places with battle cries and maniacal laughter.

They split up and took down all the bases and patrol stations on their own, sweeping through the city like vengeful shadows. 

By dawn, the GIW were in shambles, without any bases or equipment, and rounded up for arrest. 

Cass was the one to find Danny and his family; his parents were forced to create weapons for the GIW under threat of Danny and Jazz’s torture. Danny was locked up like an animal and studied. Jazz had restraints on, including a muzzle, and a bloodthirsty rage in her eyes. Apparently, she had put up the most fight and, while being studied for repeated exposure to ectoplasm and radiation, started biting people.

The Fentons are big names in this conflict. Tim makes the executive decision to burn one of his out-of-state safehouses so they can hide and recover in peace, then promptly moves them into it as soon as the EMTs give them the all clear. They’re gone by the time the sun is rising over the horizon, and the curious Amity Parkers that have gathered behind the blockade of police cars have to be reassured that the Fentons have been taken away for their protection, not for further abuses. Even then, tensions are high and the locals are clearly prepared to start rioting now that they have a chance to fight back.

As vigilantes, they’re not meant to interact with cops much. Perhaps it’s simply their experiences in Gotham that keep them at a distance, disappearing into the neighborhood the moment attention shifts off of them. Either way, Duke is hurrying out of Amity Park with the rest of the team on his heels, eager to return to Gotham and follow up on their own leads to make sure the GIW is properly gutted and dismantled. 

Duke heads off for the Hatch as soon as they reach Gotham, hoping to shed the suit and finally be able to call Danny. The guilt of not noticing how bad things had gotten rolls through his stomach, and more than that, he’s missed hearing Danny’s voice. 

The first few calls go straight to voicemail. Duke leaves a quick message asking Danny to let him know how he’s doing as soon as he can talk. 

Then he goes for a shower and to change into civilian clothes, prepared to make his way to Wayne Manor to let Bruce know how everything went. And hopefully distract him from his Disappointed Father/Leader Lecture about taking on missions behind his back, as if Duke can’t handle himself. And also because Bruce has no leg to stand on when it comes to this. He’s fully prepared to throw that entire lecture back into his face at a moment’s notice.

The post-mission exhaustion is hitting him hard and fast. Duke has to brace himself against the wall once he’s out of the shower, resisting the urge to just lie on the floor and sleep there until he starts feeling more human. 

Somehow, he gets himself into some sweatpants and a plain shirt, pulls on a pair of mismatched socks, and begins gathering his things so he can get to the Batcave. 

He’s in no state to be driving. Maybe someone would be willing to take him there?

Just as he reaches for his phone to thumb through his contacts and see who he can bother, it buzzes in his hand. Duke blames the way he jumps on his exhaustion, then blinks his tired eyes to squint at the name that pops up onto the screen.

Danny.

All at once, his exhaustion fades away. A rush of adrenaline runs through him as he scrambles to accept the call, already pacing around the room so he doesn’t fall asleep. 

“Hello?”

There’s a moment of silence, then the exhale of a breath that turns to static over the call. “Duke,” Danny’s tired voice says. “Duke…”

“You doing okay? I couldn’t get to you before you and your family had to leave and go into hiding, but I’ve been worried about you, man.”

“I’m good. We’re all fine, now. Fentons are strong, you know? We’ll bounce back in no time.”

From what he’s heard about Danny’s family, that’s most definitely true. He’s seen the pictures of walls Jack Fenton has burst through with his body. It’ still hard to believe that no one in the family is a meta, outside of Danny.

“You need anything? I can get it to you, just say the word. Anything at all.”

Danny hums, then asks with a playful note in his voice, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“I need you. How fast can you come meet me? I’ll even pay for express delivery.”

Duke laughs, so relieved at hearing the lightness return to Danny’s voice that he feels weak in the knees. “It’ll be at least two days. I gotta sleep and debrief with Batman before I can see you. It’s gonna take some time to get out of Gotham again.”

“Maybe I can go to you, instead,” Danny suggests. “Fly over and be there is less than an hour.”

“Are you in any shape to be flying right now?”

“I’m fine! Already healing and everything,” Danny insists.

“It might be dangerous if any rogue GIW agents go after you.”

“Well,” Danny says, “That’s why I need to get to my knight in shining armor sooner rather than later, right?”

Duke bites his lip to fight back a smile, blinking his eyes forcefully to keep them from closing under the heavy weight of exhaustion. “Does that make you a damsel in distress?”

“I mean, I did need rescuing, so I guess? I’m not much of a damsel, but I could put on a pretty dress for you. It’ll be like playing pretend when we were kids.”

“Oh, man, I kinda miss those poofy dresses. I think I could still rock on, put it on top of the armor when I go out for patrol.”

Danny snickers. “Signal: the most well dressed vigilante in Gotham.”

“That’s me, baby!”

The last of the agonizing fear that’s choked him since he first talked to Dash finally melts away. Danny’s fine now. Everything’s okay; the GIW are done for and there’s plenty of people willing to look out for the Fentons. This will never happen again.

“Hey,” Danny says, voice suddenly turing more serious. “Send me your location. I wasn’t joking when I said I could fly over to you. And before you say anything! I do need it; Jazz and my parents are smothering me and I just need to get away from everything and pretend all of this never happened.”

The admission softens Duke, makes him shove away everything that tells him this is a bad idea, that Danny needs more rest first, that having Danny fly over alone and without warning any of the Bats fills Duke with anxiety. 

He does miss Danny. More than he can put into words.

“Yeah, okay,” he says at last. “Come meet me, Danny.”

He texts Danny the location of the Hatch before common sense tells him to be more careful with his base of operations. Not that it matters, anyways; if there’s anyone in the world he trusts with everything, it’s Danny. 

Then he sends the Bats a quick text saying he’s crashing in the Hatch and to not bother him until the sun is fully up two days from now. Oracle gives him a thumbs up emoji, which is a good guarantee that she will personally see to it that no non-emergency messages interrupt his rest and recovery time.

Duke has no idea how long it will take Danny to get to the Hatch, so he putters around, cleaning up the space and straightening it out in an attempt to keep busy enough that he doesn’t crash. Travel really takes it out of him. It’s one of the cons of being born and raised in Gotham: he doesn’t have the stamina to travel outside of it, especially when they were there and back in less than three days.

Thank god for Tim’s many motorcycles and his tendency to see the speed limit as a weak suggestion that can be ignored while on a mission.

Ultimately, the call of sleep is too strong to resist. 

One moment, Duke is sorting through files on the Hatch’s computer, and the next moment, he’s face down on a bed with his face shoved into a pillow. 

Blearly, he manages to pull his phone out of his pocket and send Danny a typo-ridden text that hopefully gets across the message of might be asleep so just come in, don’t wait for me to answer the door.

He’s out like a light as soon as it sends. The last thing Duke registers is his phone dropping out of his hand and falling against the mattress with a little bounce.

When he begins to wake up, something’s changed. As much as he wants to go back to sleep, awareness comes back to him slowly and Duke forces himself to claw his way out of unconsciousness to figure out what, exactly, is bothering him so much. Until he figures out what’s changed in the room, he won’t be able to sleep because he’ll be worried about someone breaking in.

His mind comes back online long before his body does. It’s only when he tries to move that Duke realizes he’s no longer alone on the bed; there’s someone wrapped up in his arms, body temperature a little too cool to be a normal human.

Blinking open his eyes, Duke looks down at the head of messy black hair and feels Danny’s soft breath ghost across his chest. 

“Danny?” he manages to say, voice rough with sleep. 

Danny hums and doesn’t move.

“Hey, look up. Let me see if you’re really alright.”

“Mmm, no,” Danny mumbles, burrowing his face into Duke’s chest some more. “‘m sleepy.”

A good argument. Duke is also sleepy. 

“Fine,” he says, “Check in the morning, then. G’night, Danny.”

“Night, Duke. Thanks for saving me.”

He tightens his grip on Danny, contentment burning warm in his chest. “Always, Danny. I’ll always save you.”

That’s why he’s a hero, after all. To save others, to reach a hand out to everyone the way he needed when he was younger. To keep the people he loves safe. To make sure Danny always finds a way back to him. 

This is what makes all the pain of this lifestyle worth it.

Danny makes everything worth it.

(@yourlocalcorviddad tagging to make sure you see this!)

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Intertwined

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Fem!Reader - Soulmate Au!

Word Count: 6.1K

Warnings: Angst, arguments, Elijah being overly protective but denying himself happiness as always, canon typical violence, a bit of fluff at the end.

Author’s Note: Because I'm apparently on a sequel kick, here's another. I promise I'm getting to the requests that I have and all the things I still need to work on from last year. I'm going where the muse takes me in my writing flow. So there's that. Also please note that you need to read Hidden Marks before reading this one.

I do not and will not ever give permission for my fics to be copied and posted on other sites. Don’t do it. Don’t be that person that ruins it for me and everyone else.Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. While likes are appreciated, reblogs are gold. Seriously, if you enjoyed this in the slightest, please reblog ♥

Hidden Marks || TVDU Masterlist || Main Masterlist || Taglist

It had been months since Elijah had seen the three intertwined circles on the middle of Y/N’s back that made up her soul mark. The first and only time he'd seen it, he'd been pulling a wooden bullet out from her back when she asked for his help. From the moment Elijah helped to remove the bullet, the mark haunted him. 

Seeing her mark should have been a great thing. It should have brought him some peace and happiness to see her mark. That her mark matched the very one he had just below his left clavicle. A perfect pair that made sense for how close they had become as friends over the century. If anything, since seeing her mark he's been conflicted on his feelings. 

Part of him wants and tries to be protective of her. His soulmate that had come into his life when he least expected it. The woman that had become his best friend over the century had been the one thing he never actively searched for. He now knew why she stepped into his life and never left. But it was the other part of him that caused him to fight daily with his feelings. 

Y/N would be in danger because of him. She would soon become a target if even the slightest word had slipped about who his soulmate was. An endless cycle he'd force her into if an enemy ever came knocking. Threats and being captured for the sole purpose of being leveraged against him. 

Not to mention if his brother had ever lost his temper with him. Klaus wasn't one to spare the women in Elijah's life before. What difference would it make this time? All it would take was one action that made Klaus feel the slightest ounce of betrayal and he'd take it out on her. 

Elijah was willing to take on the devil himself if Y/N was in danger. He was reminded of it any time she recklessly put herself in harm's way. An argument he had with her plenty of times during their friendship, but held a deeper meaning as of recently. 

He was also reminded daily how easily she could bend him to her will with a simple smile as she walked into the room. Or the occasional knowing look she'd give him when he or his siblings said something she didn't agree with that would almost instantly change his mind about the situation. Especially if she added in her details that would make it reckless on her part. 

But no matter how many times that feeling of comfort and love started to grow for the woman he believed he could only care for platonically, he could never voice it. He could never bring himself to mention the details that he knew. And because he chose to keep it to himself, it began the yoyo effect of wanting to keep her at a distance and keep her close for his own sanity. 

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Y/N either. From the moment she offered him a night out to deal with the humans who had put the bullets into her back, she noticed something different. She noticed the way his demeanor changed around her. He grew worrisome over the smallest of things he never had before. And even fought with her longer over details of plans to help take down the threat the Mikaelsons had been faced with. 

She found herself frustrated on the days that he brushed her off and all but ignored her. He had never once been cold to her in the time that she had known him. They had pushed each other’s buttons on occasion, but Elijah had never once pushed her away like he had been doing now. Every time he did, it hurt more than Y/N had ever expected it to. 

They were close friends, she knew that. She knew there would always be moments that Elijah would pick his family over her. That there would be moments where he would keep his family safe and do anything he could to also keep her safe. She knew she was not the highest priority. But why did it feel like someone had staked her when he walked away from her when she felt she really needed him for a few moments?

That's when the thoughts of doubt had been planted in her head. Doubts that were formed and fueled to drive her insane for most of the night that made it almost impossible to sleep. What had she done to earn such coldness from someone that she was close with? Had she crossed a boundary that she had suddenly been unaware of? 

The final straw that broke her had been moments ago when she offered to go with him to deal with the beginning of a threat. It was always something they had done together. A way to have Elijah’s calm and calculated approach and her glimmer of chaos that would always work out in their favor. But when he told her to stay behind, she could no longer keep anything at bay anymore. 

The moment Elijah had told her to stay behind, her face fell at his words. And as he walked past her to leave his expression hadn’t changed. And as she turned to face him, she let it all out. 

“What have I done?” She asked, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Have I wronged you in some way that makes you no longer want to be around me?”

Elijah heard the way her voice cracked towards the end. He had hoped that his actions wouldn’t hurt her. But here she was asking what she had done to him when in reality it had been him to do it. He turned to face her and shook his head slightly. 

“No.” His voice was composed in comparison to hers. “You have done nothing at all.”

She shook her head as she crossed her arms. “I’ve known you for over a century, Elijah. I know well enough to know you are lying to me. If I’ve done nothing wrong there wouldn’t be this shift between us where it feels like you suddenly want nothing to do with me.”

“I assure you that if I had wanted nothing to do with you, you would not still be standing here.” It was as close to the truth he could go to without coming out right with it. “We are facing a potential threat that I feel as though I need to do this with my siblings. We have no idea what they are fully capable of and the last time I checked, you are not as indestructible as you believe.”

Elijah had no idea how this threat would continue to play in their lives. He had no idea what knowledge they planned to use against them in an attempt to try and take him and his family out. That was why Elijah wanted to do this without her. He wanted to make sure that she would remain safe. 

He didn’t want to take Y/N with him with the possibility of allowing them to get an inkling that Y/N had now meant more to him than he let on. He didn’t want her in danger from something he didn’t fully understand. This was the part of him that was willing to do anything to protect her. He just had to slightly push her away in order to do so. 

“That never stopped you before.” She noted as she took a step towards him. “I may not be an original, but I am still a whole lot older than a majority of the threats that walk into the city. I have proven myself over and over that I can handle my own. I’m even better by your side. But ever since you’ve seen my mark, it’s like you don’t want to be near me. All I want is the truth from you. Did I do something or did my mark tell you something that you haven’t told me?”

Elijah looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up to her. He could see the hurt in her eyes as she expressed everything. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell her even though every part of him wanted to. To bring some peace to her mind on his reasoning instead of making her feel as though she wasn’t wanted. 

“I’m going to try to make this as clear as I can." His voice was still even, almost void of any emotion. "This threat is not to be taken lightly. While we do not have the full specifics on who they are or why they are here, I do know they have come close to harming the people I care about." His eyes met hers. "While our normal plan pairs perfectly with the riff raff we deal with, at this moment it does not. So no, you will not accompany me tonight. I need you here." 

After taking in his words, all she could manage was a nod before he was gone from her sight. He didn’t even give her a chance to respond or fight him on what he was telling her. And it left Y/N feeling defeated. 

Her mind still tried to make sense of the changes that had come over the last few months. Every push and pull that happened between the two being analyzed as if it had been some rather important document or experiment being worked on. She was trying to find something, anything, to show what caused Elijah’s sudden change. No matter how many ways she thought about it, it only came back to one starting point: the night Elijah saw her mark. 

Had seeing it really thrown him off to not want to be near her like he had used to? Not showing them their marks had been a preference they decided on early in their friendships. If there was ever a day they felt comfortable in showing what it was, they would have. And that night, with a bullet in her back, it hadn’t mattered if Elijah had seen it or not. 

She ran a hand along her face, trying to shake off the thoughts that had kept her pacing her room for hours after he had left. She no longer cared about the mark or who she may have possibly shared it with. Why did that change now that Elijah had seen it?

It made her wonder if he had seen the mark on someone else. If there was a possibility that he felt guilty in some way after seeing it. There had been plenty of enemies in his existence. At some point he could have easily come across it and not realized it until he saw it on her back.

Did it belong to someone who had betrayed him? Had he seen it on someone that he had taken their life out of necessity? Or had this person been a victim of the many spells he had endured? 

Deep down she knew it was the fear of losing Elijah. Something she had thought about over the century and a half she had known him. Friendships can only last so long before one reason or another comes along. She knew plenty of people who had left her on the back burner after finding their soulmate, even during her human years. 

She had grown used to having Elijah in her life. It would take her longer to find a memory that didn’t involve Elijah versus the ones with. Over the years she had become dependent on the fact that Elijah had always been there for her just as she was for him. He was a constant and part of her hated the thought of her ever losing that. 

At the thought, Y/N had felt her heart sink. A simple thought putting everything into perspective to her. The idea may have been formed from past experiences, but it all made sense. Elijah must have found his soulmate. And if that was the case, she was sure this was the beginning of being put further back on the burner.  

“Y/N?!” Rebekah’s panicked voice had broken her from her thoughts, causing her to move quickly to find Rebekah. 

Upon reaching the courtyard, a gasp left her lips as she found Rebekah dragging a half standing Elijah towards the couch. The majority of his clothing had been covered in blood. Parts of the fabric had been torn in several places. It was as if Elijah had picked a battle he couldn’t win. 

“What the hell happened?” Y/N asked as she moved to help get Elijah settled on the couch. Her eyes had still been taking him in, accessing his injuries. 

“Witches.” Elijah breathed out as he tried to get a hold of reality. He had lost enough blood and his mind had been a distorted mess from the magic he had been subjected to. 

“Everything had been going according to plan but whatever spell they used on him, it threw him off course.” Rebekah took the moment to leave the room to get items they needed to help Elijah for the time being until Freya could get back there. The moment she was back she continued. “The others are still there dealing with them.” 

Seeing the items Rebekah had brought, Y/N reached for the towel that had been sitting in a bowl of water and began cleaning off the blood from Elijah’s face and neck. “I can understand the disorientation, but what the hell ripped into him?” 

There was panic rising within Y/N. She hated that he had made her stay behind. She could have been there to help him in some way. Been there to help prevent him from being hurt as he was now. 

"Between the spell and some of the wolves within the vicinity, he couldn't watch his back." Rebekah said as she picked up another towel and folded it before placing it on Elijah's forehead. Afterwards she began picking up little containers of what Y/N could only assume were herbs and salves that Freya had instructed her to use for the time being. 

As Y/N ran the towel over his neck, Elijah lifted his hand to her hand, stilling her movements. It caused her to look up at him. His eyes had been looking over her face, before they settled on her eyes.

"You're safe." His voice was barely above a whisper. 

She nodded her head. "I am safe. You made sure I was." She wasn't sure if that was what he needed to relax more as she attempted to help clean him. "Freya will be here soon." 

With that, Elijah seemed to relax his hold and it allowed for her to continue wiping up the blood. So far it looked as though any of the injuries he sustained were healing. It may have been at a whole lot of a slower pace, but his wounds were healing. But the moment her hand moved to remove the shredded fabric stuck to his skin along his left shoulder and chest, his hand grabbed a hold of her wrist, not wanting her to continue. 

"I need to make sure your wounds are healing Elijah." She said softly as she brought her eyes up to his once more. "Or to at least give me the peace of mind that this looks way worse than it is." 

"For once let someone take care of you." Rebekah added and pulled his hand away from Y/N. It had been too easy to remove his hand. His strength is almost non-existent given what he'd been through. 

Elijah hated that he couldn't get his mind to process the protest he wanted to give. He hated that he couldn't give a strong enough response to say he'd deal with it later. But the spell within his mind made it difficult to think clearly for more than a second or two at a time. 

Elijah’s eyes never left Y/N’s face as she began to move the fabric away from his chest. He didn't care about the wounds he was facing. He didn't even care that Y/N and Rebekah were caring for him. It was what laid just under the layers of fabric she was removing, that had him worried. 

Quickly dipping the towel into the bowl of water between her and Rebekah, Y/N brought it back up to his chest and began to rid him of the drying blood. There was a part of her that was relieved to not see some gaping wound that he was trying to prevent her from seeing. 

That relief soon turned into curiosity as the blood was being wiped away. The beginning of Elijah's mark became clear as day. With each wipe of the towel the mark continued to grow. And as last of the reminisce of blood was removed from the mark, she all but dropped the towel. 

Just below his left clavicle had been three intertwined circles. It ran horizontally across his skin in the exact same way it ran across the middle of her back. And for a moment she fought herself on reaching out just to run her fingers along the mark. A need to make sure it was really there. 

Elijah had watched her the whole time. Even through his hazed mind he could see the way relief had flooded her eyes before her brows began to furrow. The curiosity in her eyes had been evident and there was nothing Elijah could do to fully protest in his current state. All he could do was watch her as she learned what he had months ago. 

Her soulmate had been right there in front of her for over a century.  

Her eyes snapped to him and Elijah could see several emotions flash through her eyes. He could see the way there was a sliver of excitement before hurt filled them as she tried to stop the tears from welling up. 

"What is it?" Rebekah asked as she caught on that Y/N had stopped her movements. 

Y/N shook her head slightly before looking away from Elijah. "Nothing worth noting." She said as she went back to wiping the blood. 

She kept her eyes away from the mark and as best as she could from keeping them from looking up at Elijah. She could feel his eyes on her. But she refused to look his way. 

All of her wild thoughts that had been going through her head earlier had only been partially right. She honestly never thought this was the case. And if she was being honest with herself, this felt worse. 

He had found his soulmate like she thought.  But she hadn't expected it to be herself. Not with the way he had pulled himself away from her during the course of the last few months. Not with the way she felt that she was losing her best friend. 

Elijah knew that he was her soulmate and he didn't tell her. There wasn't an excitement at knowing that the person they spent decades with had been the one person they both chose not to actively look for. Their life had been great just as it was. Until Elijah saw her mark. 

She tried to stop the spiral of thoughts that began to form. It was already too late to try to spare her heart the pain it was currently feeling. No matter how hard she tried to focus on helping Rebekah take care of him, one single thought played in her mind on a constant loop. 

He knew they were soulmates and he tried pushing her away. 

The moment Freya came running into the courtyard with Klaus and Kol behind her, Y/N pulled herself slowly away from the side of the couch. It was a way to not only keep the now unwanted attention of her facial expressions away but to give the necessary space Freya would need. 

When she moved a little too far for Elijah’s liking, his hand grabbed a hold of hers. This time his grip was tighter in comparison to earlier. He was getting better, stronger. The venom from the wolf bites was leaving his system while the spell kept a tight hold over him.

Y/N's eyes met his one more time. She could tell he was pleading with her to stay there with his eyes. Almost to say that once Freya helped him he'd explain everything to her. That he needed her to stay there.

There was something in her eyes that changed a moment after his words had pierced the air. “Would you tell me if you saw the mark on someone else?” 

“Of course.” He said even though it had been a lie. He knew he wasn’t going to speak of the very mark that was on his chest. 

Her heart ached at the sudden memory that filled her mind. She wanted to break down. She wanted to run to get fresh air. Do anything that would allow her to process the information she had been given in the last few minutes. 

Freya came over and knelt down beside Elijah, giving Y/N the chance to pull her hand away from Elijah. She took several back as she tried to decide if she wanted to stay or leave the area. But a heartbeat later she was mumbling some excuse and left the courtyard. 

It was only when she was safely behind the door of her room, she felt more clarity than she had downstairs. The wave of emotions she felt calmed in comparison.  While silent tears had begun falling, it hadn't felt like her world had come crashing to a halt as it had. 

"For as many times as I've come here to hide away, there's never been another person here." Y/N said as she took in the stranger. "Might have to find a new one if this one is compromised." 

"I can assure you, I've known about this place for a lot longer than you." The stranger looked towards her. "I may have been out of the city for some time, but I will know more about the history than you ever will.”

A laugh passed her lips causing a smile to form on his lips. “What if I told you I watched that town in the distance be built?”

His eyebrow raised slightly before he looked towards the town she had been speaking of. “I’d then ask if you knew what was out there before the town was built.”

“A small village.“ She responded.  “One that was destroyed just a few years after I was born. There are stories of a creature that roamed the woods that surrounded that village. A creature that was hunted but never killed.” She shrugged her shoulders before looking back towards the stranger. “Though I’d love to hear what you have that can top that.”

He laughed for a moment before he placed his hand out between them. “I’m Elijah. And I assure you, I can surpass any story you’ve been told about the area.”

“That’s a challenge I’m willing to take.” She said as she placed her hand in his. “I'm Y/N.”

That year Y/N needed to get away from the life she had found herself in after being a vampire for a few centuries already. The mountaintop just above the town she was born in had always been her go to place to reevaluate her life as a human and as a vampire. That night, Y/N had been debating on watching the sunrise for the last time. 

But Elijah had been there to pull her thoughts away from the sunrise and into a life that she had now thrived in. Elijah had been there when she needed him the most. Her soulmate had been the one to pull her back from the edge and she never knew it until now.

Elijah had saved her that night. He saved her and it wasn't long after he paid off a witch to create a daylight ring for her. A friendship shouldn't be had just in the dark. Those had been his words as he held up the daylight ring for her to take a few minutes before sunrise a few weeks later.

Her heart picked up in pace as her mind continued to accept everything that happened. The details of their meeting to this current moment made sense from a soulmate perspective. No matter how many times the flashes of memories played through her mind, there was no changing the facts. 

"What if I don't want to marry my soulmate?" A young Y/N asked as she kicked her shoe at the dirt. 

Her mother's laugh filled the air. "You don't always have to marry your soulmate. Sometimes it depends on what best suits the both of you. Your soulmate can be a best friend or even a lover. Sometimes they're both." She knelt down to Y/N's height. "There's one thing I know though. Having them in your life in any form is a whole lot better than not having them in your life or losing them. So when you are able to meet the person that knows your soul without needing to try hard, fight as hard as you can. Fight with them, for them and alongside them as needed." She ran her hand along Y/N’s cheek. "I know this doesn't make a lot of sense right now, but I promise one day you'll understand. "

The sound of the knock on her door followed by the door slowly opening had pulled her out of her thoughts and memories. Without even looking she had already known it was Elijah. She quickly wiped at her cheeks before she turned towards the door. 

The moment she had, Elijah could see that the whirlwind of emotions he saw earlier in her eyes had shifted. Even as her eyes welled up, he could see the hurt along with acceptance. And if he was being honest with himself, the acceptance is what scared him. 

He took a few steps further into her room before he came to a stop. "What I've done was-" 

"Cowardice?" She finished for him before he got the chance to even form the next word. It made him raise his brow. "Because whatever reasoning you have for not telling me was the worst decision you have ever made. And I know there have been plenty of questionable decisions you've made." 

"I know I should have told you that night." He gave a slight nod. "For a brief moment I wanted to. But then I realized the danger you would be in because of me." 

She had already begun shaking her head before he finished speaking. "Danger that I haven't already been in from just being close with you. Or to your siblings for that matter." She watched as he opened his mouth to speak but she quickly continued to stop him. "I know it's not the same. Putting it out there makes it more real and practically puts a target on both of us. I know what that target looks like. That just means we'll be better prepared for it." 

She knew from experience how easy it was to use a soulmate as leverage. How easy it was to threaten them to get someone to bend to their will. There was a dark decade in Y/N's existence where she had once toyed with humans and their soulmates. A time where her humanity had been switched and she hadn't cared. 

She knew the tricks that could be played. She knew how much damage someone could take before they snapped. The emotional torment that could be played on both parties to get the point across was something she lived for during that dark decade. 

At least that was until her humanity had been forcefully switched on. She tormented herself afterwards on how she could carelessly manipulate people by using the one weakness they all had. It was part of the reason she found herself heading back to the mountaintop. 

"If today has taught me anything it's that you were safer without me near." He watched as her eyebrow raised before he continued. "While having you by my side would have been beneficial for many reasons, I watched as my worst fear played through my mind because of a spell. A spell that provided sufficient reasons on why I was right on my decision to not say anything." 

"A spell that was used to distract you.” She noted. It explained why he had seemed so relieved at seeing her safe. "And a fear that we could have worked out beforehand if you simply had told me. I spent the last several hours wondering how and when I had become the problem. Part of me knew that you had found your soulmate and that was why you were pushing me away. That maybe you were trying to distance yourself from me to make room for them." Her eyes began to well up. "I just never thought you'd be pushing me away because I am your soulmate."

Elijah shook his head slightly as guilt filled him. He could see in that moment how hurt she had been by it. The emotions she had displayed when he first came into the room broke down bit by bit. And the thought that she believed she was the problem stung him in ways he never believed it would. 

"I don't know if I can be what you need me to be." He said a moment later. "It has been proven time and again that whenever I let an ounce of happiness into my life, it's quickly taken away. I refuse to have the same thing happen to you. And if that means keeping you at a distance or even you leaving the city-" 

"Nothing has to change!" She cut him off as she shook her head. "We have been by each other's side for over a century without even knowing we were soulmates. We have been through hell and back together without even questioning how it was possible. I have fought by your side not caring if I died in the process." She wiped at her cheeks as more tears escaped. "I will continuously be by your side even after this. I don't care if it is as something more or keeping things as it has been. But don't you dare for one moment think that I would be safer with you pushing me away or even deciding that it's better without you in my life." 

He sighed softly before taking a few steps to close the distance between them. "If anything were to ever happen to you because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself." His hand came up to her cheek before using his thumb to wipe away more of her tears. 

"It's going to happen with or without you in my life." Her eyes met his. "I am no stranger to being threatened by your family. I have had Klaus's hand on my heart and I'm still here in front of you." She placed her hand on top of his as she leaned into his touch slightly.  A way to prove that she was there. "I am not even a stranger to having a witch use me as leverage or even used to fight against you. I can leave tonight and what's to stop anyone from coming after me once it's actually figured out?" She watched as he took in her words. "This isn't just one sided either. I am afraid of what each new threat could mean for you. I want and need you to be safe, maybe even for my own selfish reasons. But I will not let you push me away without at least fighting to stay. I will continue to be by your side no matter how much you push. I will stand there by your side and face the enemy with you and die there with you if it comes to it. I will continue to be your friend or more if that is what you need and you'll never have to worry that I'll leave you. But I will not let you try and push me out of your life for the fear of what could possibly happen to me just because you're afraid to let yourself be happy."

Elijah's eyes never left hers as she spoke. He couldn't bring himself to look away from her. Not when he was seeing everything play through her eyes. Every emotion, every piece of history and hopeful future had been displayed within them. And he could no longer ignore what he'd been trying to avoid. 

He knew everything she said was right. He would hate himself if anything happened to her while she was gone. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would feel if he ever learned the news that something had happened to her. He couldn't ignore the fact that throughout the years and even now she was fighting for her place to stay no matter how hard he tried to keep her at bay and safe in his eyes. 

The same safety that he had been trying to provide her since the night they met. How broken her eyes had looked from the moment she took a seat next to him on that mountain top. And how everything within him had told him to protect her from anything. Even himself if it ever came to it. 

But as he looked into her eyes now, he could see the woman that had become his best friend.  The woman that stood there beside him as threat after threat came. How she cared for him in his moments of need even though he fought her on it. The one person he couldn’t go more than a few days without speaking with. It was why the thought of losing her scared him even more than he ever believed. 

After a moment, Elijah nodded his head. “I give you my word that I will not push you away or ask you to leave.” His thumb gently moved along her cheek. He watched as something changed within her eyes. “I don't believe I could actually watch you leave, let alone be alone out there in the world. Nor can I picture a day where you are not in my life in some form or another. You have your selfish reasons and I have mine. But I have never wished for you to look so hurt as you have today and I will spend as much time as needed to make up for it. ” He looked elsewhere for a moment before looking back at her. “I just don’t know how things will change from here.”

The part of Y/N’s heart that expected the worst had felt relief. Relief that he wasn’t going to continue to push her away. Relief that he was willing to accept that they were soulmates and that she wasn’t going to go down or leave without a fight. And if anything, there was a small tug of a smile at her lips at his words. 

“We continue as friends, just as we have.” She offered. “If in the future things change, we’ll go from there.”

A hum of agreement passed his lips as he pulled his hand away from her. As he did, He maneuvered his hand to take a hold of her’s, finding comfort in just holding her hand within his. Her offer of nothing needing to change played in his ears.

There was something within him that agreed with that. Mixed within the agreement was the hope that things would change for the better. But for now this was a step in the right direction. A step that meant he wasn’t going to push her away as he had planned to. It was in a direction that he strongly believed he’d never lose her in the way that he feared.

“We’ll handle things as we always have.” He nodded his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. 

“Together?” She asked as a small hopeful smile pulled at her lips. 

She could joke about how they would work together as she always had in the past. She could have added in how reckless they could be. How the calm and chaosbetween them would keep things interesting. But at that moment, she only needed the confirmation that it would continually be them against everything else that came at them.

“Together.” He promised with no intention of ever breaking that promise. Even when the world learned of the mark they share, he’d keep his promise and keep each other close to their sides. As a friend, as a potential lover, but most importantly as soulmates that would never have to live without the other. 

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Scars.

Pairing: Astarion x reader Genre and warnings: angst, lots of it, hurt barely any comfort, allusions to sexual assault, past trauma, graphic description of torture, kidnapping, blood, violence, set in act 3, mention of death. Notes: not proof read ngl, i wrote it after dreaming it, and i didnt even wanna read it again, i cried like a bitch cause it’s kinda like…. past experience projected? just yeah dont ask if im ok after writing this, the answer is no lmao... also just a side note since it’s the first time im posting on this profile, but english is not my first language so please be mindful about it. Edit 10/06/23: i finally went through it end edited it.. i hope i catched all the errors cause idk if i'll ever be strong enough to give it another read ahah

Getting so close to someone meant so much for Astarion, and the more he cared, the more new fears would swim through his brain. 

Since you arrived in the lower city, and his bed was no longer cold at night, a new nightmare snuck in.

The idea that Cazador would be able to get to you, and weaponize you against him, made his cold blood run even colder. Several nights you woke up to a trembling and sweating Astarion, as he was begging for mercy. He never explained too much about these nightmares to you, just letting you know it was about Cazador again and again, but he left out the haunting possibility of you getting hurt because of him. On the other hand you believed it was because you were getting so close to the Szarr palace, and Cazador knew about it just as much as Astarion did.

It was the middle of the night when the sound of a broken glass stirred you awake. You looked around you, Astarion still deep into his meditating state, while the others were asleep as well, none of them reacted to the sound like you did. Maybe you just had a light sleep, you thought, and someone in the tavern dropped a few glasses or something. It was when hands gripped your wrists that you jolted up, looking behind you. It was too dark to see, and all you could spot were the deep red eyes, like Astarion's, though they lacked the warmth of his.

A shiver ran through your spine as you realized what was happening, but when you tried to call for the others, you realized how deep in shit you actually were: no sound would leave your lips, like you were silenced.

"There's no need to be afraid, Tav." A deep cold voice whispered so close to your ear. "They can't hear you".

The voice chuckled at your failed attempts to call for Astarion, Karlach or anyone, as tears were starting to pool at the edge of your eyes.

Another pair of hands took hold of Astarion, magical shackles fastened around his hands and feet, just as they did to yours, and then they started dragging you both away.

The deep voice spent the whole travel taunting you with stories of Cazador, how cold blooded he was, and just how much he enjoyed torturing his victims. From one point of view you were already accustomed with such stories about him, but from the other, the idea of Cazador getting hold of Astarion again, made your blood freeze again. You were not going to let Cazador hurt him again. You were set on the idea.

When you reached the corridors of Cazador's palace, the silencing spell finally wore off, though Astarion was still not moving. Terror flashed through your eyes as you wondered if they had already…

"What did you do to him?!" You breathed out as you tried so hard to keep your calm in front of the spawns that were dragging and pushing you through the dark hallways.

The spawn scoffed as he pushed through and through.

"Don't worry, he's not dead" You could feel his eyes rolling at the question, like it was some dumb question you should have known the answer to. "..yet" he added at last.

You couldn't stop your mouth from twitching, between the state of rage that was slowly building up, or the terror of them hurting Astarion.

"What's going on? Can i know that at least?" You wanted so bad to cast a spell on him, charming him into freeing you, but without the use of your hands, you were useless.

"Cazador wants to give you a warm welcome into Baldur's gate" He giggled, as the smell of old blood mixed with the sour taste of the bile threatening to spill from your lips, and you couldn't hold it anymore, and your feelings started spilling out.

You couldn't help then to try and get Astarion free at least. You wanted to shake those hands off of you, to wiggle out of the shackles that bound your magic, but no matter how much you tried, you were like set in stone, unable to do anything but move forward, shed tears, and talk. Or more specifically, beg.

Beg them to hurt you, instead of Astarion. 

Beg them to keep you here, and let your star free.

Beg them to turn you if needed, but spare Astarion's life.

Anything, if it meant not hurting the man that stole your heart with a dagger to your throat.

Quickly you were tossed in a cage, adjacent to Astarion's, and locked in.

The shackles that bound your feet dissipated, as the cage started ascending upward.

It halted in front of an altar, you guessed, that directly faced into the chasm you ascended from. Other spawns, around twenty you were able to count, started taking seats around the edges, sitting all in religious silence on their knees.

Astarion was still passed out, cradled on the floor of the cage, both restraints still tightly bound to him.

"Please, please, please" You cried out as the last bit of your strength was going to be dedicated towards trying to get Astarion free, far away from this place. "Let Astarion go, i beg you" You repeated your plea again, as you saw all those spawns stir from their seats, they wanted to turn their heads, to face whoever was foolish enough to beg Cazador for mercy, to trade spots with Astarion.

Everyone in that room knew what was going to happen, he was going to show them what happens when you disobey, when you run away thinking you can escape him. Instead you were so foolish and blinded by love, that you wanted to take Astarion's place, unaware of the extent that Cazador would go to. Yet you didn't stop, you kept begging and begging until a voice, the voice, echoed through the altar's walls.

"Tsk you just gave me a wonderful idea" the man hummed as his scepter started glowing, and Astarion started stirring awake, he looked around him, his tired eyes quickly widening as the reality around him had set in his mind.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch" Astarion growled as he stood up so quick, and gripped at the iron bars separating him from Cazador. 

"Touch her and I swear I'll spill your guts right here" He spit out of the cage, a symbolic spit cause you were too far away to reach him.

"My, my, our dear Astarion has forgotten all the manners" He cooed as his lips smacked together, his voice so honeyed it was bringing you to the verge of vomit.

You wanted to reassure Astarion, let him know that you were going to do your best to free him, that you were both going to be out of there alive soon, but could you? Could you lie so much to the man you loved? Words were stuck on your tongue, making your throat drier and drier.

You guessed you zoned out for a few seconds as your head was flooded with thoughts, missing the hate Astarion was throwing at his master.

"Ah sweet Astarion, your dear Tav has given us a great idea though, it would be a shame to let it go to waste" He hummed, as the staff light up again, the lock on your cage fell down the chasm, as your trembling body was slowly being dragged out of the cage by magic.

"No, no, no, no" Astarion reprated as his eyes locked on you, falling on the long streaks of tears running down your cheeks as you tried to offer him a sad smile, your lips muttering an "it's going to be okay" while his body was about to give in to desperation, loud sobs echoed from him, as your heart broke at his sight: he was barely standing up now, his hand gripped tight as he screamed through the hall to let you go, to not hurt you, to stop. "This is just a nightmare" He fell on his knees as you were slowly dropped on the cold floor, barely keeping your head up as you realized you were still in his shirt, the one he loved on you.

"Oh dear Astarion" Cazador cooed again as he kneeled in front of you, his cold fingers getting ahold of your chin, to tilt your head towards his. "This is not a nightmare, this is real" His words were like cold daggers through your chests, you knew that whatever was going to happen, it was not going to be fun.

Before you could say anything, Cazador's hand slipped to your waist pulling on the shirt as you flinched away, disgusted by the touch of the vampire in front of you.

But he didn't care, he was swift in removing it, leaving you bare in front of dozens of eyes.

You could hear the rattling coming from Astarion's cage as he attempted to break free over and over again while his chest was about to explode.

He didn't have the right to undress you in front of everyone, he didn't have the right to touch you at all, not when he prayed every night to have the chance to see you bare, to hold you. His thoughts were swinging back and forth between desperation and deep seethed rage.

"My, my I can see why our Astarion has fallen for this little creature" Cazador's compliment almost made you retch as you stumbled back a little. "She even puts up a fight" He chuckled as he lunged forward just enough to grip at your wrist and whipping you on your feet.

Every inch of your skin was visible to everyone, from the battle scars you got through the years of adventuring, to the teeth marks on your neck, down to the stretchmarks that lived on your hips.

A shiver ran through your spine as Cazador’s fingers grazed over the two marks on your neck. “Mh, your blood seems to be sweet enough, right Astarion?” His cruel words hit Astarion through the chest. He was one word away from a breakdown as he couldn’t do anything but witness his nightmares coming alive, not his Tav, not when he would be so careful to cradle you and comfort you to his chest whenever he'd drink from you.

Whatever he was screaming was incomprehensible to you, as all you could feel was the way Cazador gripped and pushed you towards a plush chair, where he sat with legs wide open before dragging you on his lap. You felt so nauseous as he bent you towards the arm rest, making you face the cold grey floor.

You wanted to hear the taunting explanation of what he was going to do, but all the sounds were drowned by the thrumming of your chest and the desperation in your own thoughts, repeating over and over that you were going to find a way out, trying to convince your brain to shut off and dissociate as you were there, like you were just in a nightmare, and you’d be awake soon.

All you could gather was few words like “knife”, “mark”, reminder”, and then “Astarion”. He was torturing him through you, and you couldn’t do anything about it. The worst part in this, was that you were the one that gave him the idea, cause you wanted him to free Astarion, and instead he let it all out on you instead than on your Aster, as a punishment for you both. You cause you were so careless to offer yourself though you didn't know the risk, and Astarion for being reckless and disobedient. Right there, as the dagger pierced your spine, you regretted not whispering Astarion how much you loved him, while you were tight against his chest, when the world around you was asleep, and you had a corner of peace. You always knew what you felt for him, from that moment on the beach, at the shipwreck, and yet you just wanted to tell him in the right moment. But what was the right moment? You might never know, as a broken scream broke through your lips, salty tears flowing free, so much that you thought for a moment that you might have died of dehydration, if the knife wasn’t going to do it first.

He carved and carved over your back, intelligible lines and symbols as you finally understood what Astarion meant when he told you how he got his scars. How gut wrenching the pain was as he couldn’t move, and how Cazador didn't allow a break, and retraced the lines that were wobbly if he moved too much.

“You know?” Cazador asked, as everyone’s eyes were on what he thought was a work of art, your carved skin, while Astarion’s plea echoed over and over in the room. “Our sweet Astarion used to whine just like you” He hummed. “Just a pathetic little child” He spit out like venom as you could barely breathe out few words along the lines of “you disgusting monster”, though you were not sure you actually let them out until, Cazador’s laugh filled every corner of the disgraced altar. Your tadpole writhed as another line was cut at the height of your hips, before, Cazador started retracing the lines and pulling away the skin, exposing the deepest layers of your flesh, the pain was so deep your vision blurred, and you were so close to passing out right there.

You don’t know how long you sat there, you slipped between pain and numbness as Cazador slapped you back to consciousness whenever you'd slip away, you had to endure the agonizing scarring and remember every second of it. He decorated with bloody lines almost all over your body.

You didn’t know what was worse between laying on the raw scars of your back, seeing your own skin being peeled away or the cries and sobs coming from the man you loved. You had to find a way, you couldn’t give up, you couldn’t allow this monster to walk the earth again. You had to do it for Astarion.

You were not sure when he dropped you on the floor, your body barely able to hold itself together as finally you could look around you and towards Astarion. Every face around you was stoic, like they were used to witnessing such spectacle, and they knew what was going to happen next.

You wanted to reach for Astarion, to take him away from the revolting scene in front of his eyes, you wanted to take away his pain, give him the last bit of hope you had, but when you were about to link your tadpole to his to do it, you hesitated. Connecting your minds meant he would feel how dirty, wretched and lost you felt, along with the gut wrenching pain ebbing through your body.

You could barely make out the words Cazador said as his nails dig through your skin again, even when he pulled your eyes to his you could barely read his lips as he said words you just wanted to cancel from your brain. A broken sob regurgitated from your throat as he was going to take the last thing you had. You just had to let your brain go, right? To ignore the teeth dipping in your throat and the putrid hands slithering down your skin, taking away enough blood to barely keep you alive as he took you in front of everyone.  It was no longer just physical pain, it was the way you felt your own body being stolen away and used in way no one ever dared before.

Numbness was all that was left of you after a while, of your barely beating heart while more hands crawled their way through places were you never wanted anyone to touch, then, in that moment, you realized you were free of your shackles, because you were so drained and broken that you could barely do anything. You could barely by aware of your surroundings, of how many bodies were preying on you, as you could barely manage to move inches.

Your vision was all but clear, you could make out the outline of Cazador as he was buttoning up his blouse again. Then you could see Astarion, still caged, struggling to stay sane as he wanted just to take you away from the monsters abusing of you, abusing of the fact that you were powerless in front of them. His eyes were a bloodshot, he was so hurt that he resorted to supplicate for mercy, to let you go and just kill him, whatever that could stop the agonizing pain. You didn’t have much strength left, maybe if you put all of yourself, you could muster two spells before passing out again. 

It took all you had to even raise your hand towards the lock that sealed Astarion’s crate, you mustered all your willpower to cast that knock spell, just enough to let the damn lock fall down. Astarion instantly turned to you, to your teary form still being touched by unworthy creatures, noticing how your hand barely held up, as you tried to cast one more spell, just for him, before another broken scream echoed in the room, bouncing from wall to wall till it reached Astarion's core. The kind of scream that should never be drawn by someone, nevertheless by you.

The radiant dagger materialized in his hands, and for a moment he didn’t notice it as he was fixated on the broken look on your face, encouraging him to end his master, although you suffered right there, paces away. “I love you” You mutter barely, you wanted to let him know before you could draw your last breath, then everything blurred.

Everything was muffled, you couldn’t see what was going on around you, you just felt all the presences around you disappear, while Astarion’s voice was crystal clear through the excruciating pain.

"I'll kill you, then I'll bring you back, and kill you again.” He shoved Cazador on the floor, just like he did with you, to remind him how he hurt you, how he used you, how he touched the only person he should have never laid hands on. “I’ll do it over and over again until you have suffered a tenth of what you did to her. Then I'm going to gut you one more time, and paint this shithole with your putrid blood. The halls of this place will reek with your disgusting blood, to let the whole city be aware of your death and from which the hands it came from” His hands were shaky, but he had to do it. For him, but mainly for you. All that was left of him was you, and nothing could ever be enough to vindicate you.

The shiny dagger stabbed over and over again through Cazador’s chest, while Astarion cursed him, every thrust of the dagger through the heart earned a new mocking insult, a new reminder of what he did, while all of Astarion's anger was channeled into annihilating him.

You just laid there, all you could do was listen to the grunts and the hate slipping from your lover’s lips as he dipped that dagger in the gutted body. You didn’t even realized when he dropped the disemboweled body on the marble, you weren’t even sure you could breathe, at that point.

A pair of shaking arms wrapped around your drained body, Astarion’s shirt was used again to cover your skin, as he picked you up, trying to be as delicate as possible. His salty tears fell over your body as he carried away from the nauseating scene, you frail body barely shivering, and your chest barely moving. He was muttering something to you, but everything sounded foreign at your hear.

He had to move quickly, find Shadowheart or Halsin, or anyone to heal you, to keep you alive. It was in this moment that he wished he could beg a deity to keep you alive, but he didn’t trust anyone else to tend you. He needed to rush outside of this place and get you to safety. 

He didn’t expect to see everyone outside the locked ballroom door, as they fumbled to open the door. They were taken by surprise at the sight of Astarion cradling you to his chest, all covered in blood, while his eyes were a pit of pain and tears.

Shadowheart didn’t hesitate to heal you right there before they all guided you towards the tavern you've been resting. They all offered to carry you, to make Astarion breathe a bit while on your way back there, but he refused. “I can’t..” He mumbled. “I don’t want..” His voice was just a whisper, broken. “I need” He wanted to break down again with you in his arms, but he had to lay you down first, to let you rest in a warm bed, he had to bring you to safety again, away from anyone that could pose any harm to you. He needed to see that smile again, cause no power flowing through his veins could have replaced you. He failed you once, he was not going to do it again. You saved him, twice, he had to do it just once for you. He had to thank you, and he had to tell you how much he loved you.

[lincolndjarin]

Best Kept Secret

chapter twenty four : lunar interlude : riduur

ao3 link ✿ series masterlist ✩ main masterlist ✧

pairing : bodyguard!Din Djarin x afab!princess!reader

rating : 18+ mdni

word count : 7.8k (at last, a normal chapter length)

summary : din is so in love it's obscene at this point, keep it in your chest man (it being his heart.)

warnings, etc. : language, fluff, smut, this chapter is a sappy nightmare,,, like i've got one last chance to be sappy before i need to do my action packed finale so this is just me being sappy, din djarins so in love it makes me sick, fingering, p in v, clit stim, reverse cowgirl, creampie, cockwarming, massages, just general happiness like why are these idiots so happy what is their problem

a/n : WOOF this took a fucking WHILE to get out, and for those who waited, prepare to be UNDERWHELMED lmao. this is the last chapter before the final arc of the story and i was feeling rather sentimental while I wrote it. anyhow,,, i have a million excuses for why this took so long but like who cares cause it's here now yippee!!! as for every chapter i've ever posted i have no idea if i like this or not so there's that, i kind of hate this one the way i hate every lunar interlude, like i've never written a din pov and felt good about it lmao so i guess we'll see. comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

He doesn’t deserve this.

How could he possibly be deserving of you? Yet somehow you make him feel as if he is. With your soft touch and the way your eyes get just a little bigger when you see him. 

He’s going to ask you to marry him.

Is that something he can do? 

Technically of course you don’t really consider yourself married as far as he can tell. Sure you have a husband but that’s all he is, a husband. 

An obstacle. 

The two of you could still be married. 

And you wanted to leave this place. So he was going to give you exactly that. 

A home, far away from here. 

He pulls you into the cabin, wanting nothing more than for you to see the smile on his face. Of course you won’t let him do that much to his confusion. 

Maybe if you’re married to him you’ll look. 

The longer you wait the more nervous he gets about it. 

A lot can go wrong with this kind of thing. 

Very specifically, you could just not find him attractive in the slightest, which wouldn’t be great all things considered. If that happened maybe he could just live with the helmet on and you’d be okay with that. 

“Do you want to sleep here tonight or go back to the castle?” You look exhausted as he asks, he practically carries you towards the bed. 

“Here’s fine.” You look too tired to walk back anyway. 

He drags the mattress off of the busted frame, setting it on the floor. You seem surprised that he didn’t have a bigger reaction to your love confession. 

He did the first time you’d said it a few days ago. 

After the first day stuck in your room, you had said it that night. All you had wanted to do that day was fight and he hadn’t been able to give you even that. He knew you were right. It was stupid to stay. 

Even if things are okay now. 

You had said his name so clearly with such urgency that he believed you might be about to start another argument in the middle of the night.

“Din?” You had grabbed the front of his shirt and it wasn’t until he’d tried to talk to you that he’d realized you were still asleep. 

“Are you okay, sarad?” He sat up and cradled your head in his hands but you’d only held on tighter as you mumbled in your sleep.

“I love you.” And just like that you were collapsing back in his arms, still asleep as if nothing had happened. 

He hadn’t cried like he did that night since the kid left. 

And it didn’t matter when you didn’t say it back in the morning. (Despite the fact that he had said it quite a bit.) You loved him and he knew it. And he had made sure to show you just how much he loved you on that second day. 

He grins as you sit down on the bed with a yawn. He takes it upon himself to kneel beside you, unlacing the back of your gown. You have no resistance as he helps peel the rain soaked fabric from your skin. 

“Let me get you a change of clothes.” He leaves you to get out of the rest as he finds you a simple set of sleep wear. You let him redress you until he finally lays you down and stands, going to change out of his own wet clothes. 

When he steps out of the fresher you’ve turned the lights off he's in a clean flight suit with his helmet on as he slides under the blankets with you. 

“Warm enough?” The cabin feels colder than the castle as he pulls you closer. 

“I’m perfectly comfortable here.” Your voice is heavy with sleep as he rests his chin on the top of your head, beskar bumping against your hair. 

“Get some sleep.” He mumbles, not bothering to close his own eyes. 

“You promised you’d eat the candy.” You whisper into the darkness, you sound  barely conscious. 

“I did not.” At least he’s pretty sure he didn’t, he’s realized at this point that if he says anything with enough confidence you usually believe it. 

“You alluded to it.” You’re right, he probably did. 

“Do you really want to see the damage I would do after eating that thing?” He’ll never do it. In all honesty he’s a little nervous he’ll accidentally hurt you.

“A little.” You flip over in his arms so you’re facing him now, when you look at him he finds himself falling victim to the pleading look in your eyes. Damn nightvision. 

“Go to sleep.” He has to close his eyes, if he stares at you too long he’ll give in despite his own worries. “I love you.” He murmurs. He needs you to know it. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” You laugh softly before going silent. 

It only takes a few more minutes before your breathing gets quiet and steady against him. 

When he’s certain you’re asleep he reaches over to turn the lamp back on. You’d think with how often he does this that you’d have seen his face on accident at some point but maybe he’s just really lucky. 

He likes to look at you without the helmet on.

It’s fine with it, but nothing compares to seeing you without the barrier. Sometimes, if he’s still wearing the helmet and he takes it off you smile in your sleep when the airlock hisses. But since you’re insistent on not looking he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to really look at you. So he does it on nights like these. 

You get so sleepy after sex. 

So he gets to hold you, and watch how your eyes flutter open the tiniest bit when he can’t help himself and kisses your cheeks until he can bring himself to sleep. Or how you mumble back to him when he whispers things to you in Mando’a. 

Most importantly you look less worried when you sleep. You always look so worried but not when you’re like this. There is plenty to be worried about so he can’t hold it against you. 

He’s going to build you a house someday. And he’s going to give you a garden. 

So you can go outside and look at the flowers whenever you want. 

And you won’t ever have to worry again. 

With a soft hiss of air he removes his helmet, setting it somewhere in the sheets as he looks at you, unburdened. He likes the way your lips part just a little bit as the corners of your mouth lift. 

He leans forward, pressing a kiss to your cheek before rolling over to rest his head on your chest so he can feel you breathe until he falls asleep, it helps him to match your breathing. Your hands hold him, even in your sleep you run your hands across his back and shoulders. One time you had a nightmare and you pulled his hair so hard you’d woke yourself up. But he’d never complain, it’s one of his favorite things about you. You love him even when you’re sleeping. Like right now, your nails lighty scratch at the nape of his neck. 

It helps him sleep.

☆

When he wakes up he’s got a blanket thrown over his head and you���re already up, sitting at the table.

“You fell asleep without your helmet on.” He hears you grumble. 

“Sorry.” He chuckles as he searches for it in the mess of sheets only to find you’d set it on the floor beside him. Once it’s properly in place he finds you reading. He stands behind you, looking over your shoulder. 

“How did you find that?” He tries to grab the translation book but you swat his hand away. 

“You said we had no secrets.” Your eyes are scanning the pages. “Ner means mine.” You grin up at him as you say it. 

“Yes, it does.” He stares right back down at you. 

You lean backwards, grabbing the front of his shirt. 

“Ner.” 

Would you think less of him if you knew how often his face turned red when you spoke to him like that? A few weeks ago that kind of worry would drive him mad, but now? He knows you wouldn’t mind, knowing you'd probably feel accomplished to get such a reaction from him. 

“Gar serim.” You’re right. He murmurs back before getting your things together, listening to the sound of the pages frantically flipping behind him as you look for the words.

When you find the page you give him a dopey smile 

He suddenly remembers something, going to the fresher and searching through last night's wet clothes he finds the vial, bringing it to you, you don’t need any instruction from him as you pop the cap off, drinking the contents before setting it aside. 

“What do you want to do today?” He holds up the scraps of your dress, trying to decide if it’s even worth putting back on. 

“I’m a little tired, maybe we could read today.” You turn just in time to watch him toss it back on the ground. 

“Sounds perfect.” This will give him some much needed time to think.

He has a plan for today. There are a few things that he needs to get done before he leaves.

Like tell you that he has to leave. 

Of course he doesn’t want to leave you, even if it’s only going to be for a few days, but he wants to do this the right way and to do that he needs to leave. 

Just a few days. And then he doesn’t have to leave you ever again. 

And he needs to get away from you long enough to make the failsafe he knows you don’t want. You’re always together at this point, (not that he would have it any other way.) so it won’t be easy to find time away to do it but he’ll figure it out. 

“We should get going.” He’s pretty sure he has everything he needs and you need to be back in your room before any staff might notice you’re gone. 

“But  I wanna keep doing this.” You give him your sad eyes as you gesture to the book and he’s already ready to give in. 

“You can bring that to the library.” He groans and that’s all the convincing needed to get you on your feet. He manages to get you back to your room just before the girls arrive. He stands where he’s expected to stand out in the hall. It’s the only time he really spends away from you. 

When the door opens he instinctively stands up a little straighter.

They put you in a white dress. 

A pretty white dress. 

Did you know what this would do to him? 

You can’t possibly know the effect this kind of thing has on him, if you did you wouldn’t put him through this. 

“Ready?” He says as he peers at the translation book still happily tucked under your arm.

“Of course.” He’s mesmerized by your gown, it’s simpler than the ones they normally do you up in, white fabric flowing off your shoulders down to the floor, as you walk it trails behind you a bit. It’s a familiar quiet as he walks you to those large wooden doors, opening them as you rush inside. 

“What do you want to read today?” You’re searching around the shelves, you’ve already set your own reading in the nook. 

“Surprise me.” He won’t be reading today anyway, he needs to plan. 

“Here.” You hand him a book on speeder maintenance, normally he’d be thrilled to spend the day reading the sort of thing but he really should just take today to think. 

He sits first. Leaving space between his legs for you to sit which you happily do. Once you’re settled he opens his book, pretending to read as he lets his mind focus on what's important. 

Starting with the part where he tells you he’s leaving.

Or that he’s decided rather recently that he needs to leave.   

He should just do it now, get it out of the way so it stops bothering him, especially because he’d like to leave as soon as possible, but you seem so relaxed right now and he’d hate to ruin that. 

So he’ll focus more on the trip itself than the telling you part. 

It should only take a few days. A quick trip to the forge and back. 

He’s pretty sure he’s found out where the convert currently is. He doesn't have as much free time as he used to so it took a little outside help, seeking out old colleagues until finally hearing word of an outer rim planet where they might be located. He’ll catch a transport ship there, take care of what needs to be taken care of, and be back to you before he knows it. 

Then you can plan your life together. 

He would love to just bring you to the forge with him, go from there and never look back. That would be ideal. To get you out of here as quickly as possible. But that’s not possible, if he’s gonna go this he’s gonna do it right, so he’ll plan everything down to the last detail to make sure that it’s as safe as possible. If he’s being realistic he knows you’ll have to do something drastic, probably along the lines of faking your death. 

Will he have to kill Kodo? 

He’d like to. 

He’s wanted to kill Kodo for some time now, he’s just a little worried you’d be mad, you were so mad when he hit him. 

He never wanted you to be that mad at him ever again. 

So maybe he won’t. 

That would be the easiest way to get you out though, to be fair. Kill Kodo and run, and deal with the consequences after. He’ll hide you away somewhere until things die down and then he’ll build you something permanent. A home for the both of you. 

He could also just whisk you away into the night one of these days. 

He honestly isn’t sure how long they’d look for you, the last thing he’d want is for you to have to live a life on the run, he wants for the both of you to be able to settle. If it was clear he had taken you it would be deemed a kidnapping, it would be a long search, how long would they look if they believed you just ran away? He doesn’t talk to other staff members enough to know how seriously the royal family would take such a thing. 

Faking your death would probably be the easiest thing. 

No one comes looking for you. 

He isn’t entirely sure how you’ll handle that suggestion but if you’re serious about starting a life together it isn’t going to be easy. 

“I’ll be right back.” He stands, and you immediately give him a confused look, he never gets up and leaves, but he’s just realized that you’ll need to be taken care of while he’s gone. Who will protect you when he’s away? He definitely doesn’t trust anyone here to watch over you, Elaine would be his first choice but she’s busy when she isn’t tending to you and in all honesty he isn’t sure what she would do if something were to happen to you. 

So he’ll have to go with someone who he knows is available to watch you and who he’s certain won’t harm you. 

You aren’t going to be happy with his choice. 

When he steps out into the hall he calls his name, a few moments later Leo appears, he already seems reluctant, Din never summons him but this is important, and he doesn’t have any other options. 

“I’m leaving, tomorrow, I have to take care of some things, Kodo said it would be fine for me to take time off when I took the job.” Tomorrow. Well that’s settled then he supposes. The twi’lek trembles under his gaze, clearly unsure as to where he’s going with this.  

“While I’m gone you will watch her.” Din adds on at the end, Leo looks clearly unhappy with this arrangement as he stumbles back a bit. 

“Me?” 

“I won’t repeat myself. You will watch her, you will make sure she doesn’t leave the castle when I am gone. If somebody tries to get near her, you stop them, if somebody tries to hurt her, you will stand between them, if she gets hurt you will feel whatever pain she feels tenfold upon my return. If she so much as gets a papercut while she’s reading in the library there will be repercussions.” He straightens his posture to make himself the tiniest bit more imposing over Leo. “Is that understood?”

“Yes, you’re understood.” Based on the fear in Leo’s eyes he’s certain he may have gone a little overboard but he’d rather be safe than sorry. 

“Good.”

That’s taken care of. 

Once Leo is gone, disappearing down the hall, he opens the door, slipping back into the library where you’re standing in the entryway.

At least he doesn’t have to figure out how to tell you. 

“You’re leaving.” You say it like it’s a fact. Which of course you now know it is. 

“Yes.” No sense in hiding it. 

“And you just weren’t going to tell me?” He definitely should have told you. 

“I was just about to tell you.” He hates when you look at him the way you are now. Like you can see right through the steel, like you know he’s lying, like you can see the guilty expression on his face. “I was going to tell you soon. I have to go take care of some things.” 

“Take me with you.” You say it more like a demand and less like a request. He probably should have seen that one coming, even if he wasn’t going to get something to surprise you with he probably wouldn’t be allowed to take you off planet. 

“I wish I could, sarad, but I have to go alone, I’ll only be gone a few days.” Kriff, he really should have told you sooner. 

“Where are you going?” You cross your arms in front of your chest. 

“I… can’t tell you.” Not a great excuse, he knows that. 

“If I’m being honest I don’t love the sound of that.” He can’t blame you, if your roles were reversed he wouldn’t just let you go. 

“I know but I need you to trust me, I’ll only be gone a few days.”

“And you absolutely have to go?” You sound less mad and more upset now. If he wasn’t leaving to do something for you, your expression alone would be enough to make him stay. 

“Yes. He says it like he’s confirming it for himself. 

“I’ll miss you.” All the anger has left your voice, now you just sound sad. 

“I’ll miss you.” More than anything. 

“When will you be back?” 

“I’m not sure exactly, I won’t be long.” Unless he can’t find the convert, but you don’t need to know that part. You nod and he’s a little surprised at your acceptance of all this. “I have to leave in the morning.” A deep frown settles on your face. 

“So soon?” He really should have told you sooner.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. If you have to then you have to.” You give him such a sad smile, he wishes he didn’t have to go but he wants to do this right. 

“Can you stay here, I’ll come get you in a few hours.” He cradles your face in his hands, wishing he could wash away any of your doubts, but now that you know he should probably go get ready. “I have to go pack a few things, I’ll be back before dark, okay?” 

“And then you’ll stay with me the rest of the night?” And every night after. 

“Of course.” 

“Okay then, hurry back.” 

This will also probably be the only chance he gets to make that fail safe.  

He lifts his helmet a bit to plant a kiss on your forehead before leaving you, watching as you instinctively close your eyes as he does. There isn’t a lot of time for him to do what he needs to do before you’ll be expecting him so he gets back to the cabin as quickly as possible.

He’s quick with everything, packing his bag with only the essentials and tossing the empty box down before finally sitting down at the table. 

Now to write the note. A letter with instructions on what to do if something ever happens to him. 

He doesn’t like the idea of you being left alone with your husband. The thought of it makes him sick. 

If another body guard were hired they wouldn’t protect you from him. 

Maybe he should ask Elaine to help you if that happens. 

She could get you out. 

If he wasn’t here he would want you to leave as quickly as possible, to go somewhere safe. He lists out all the places you could go, names and coordinates of people who can keep you safe at the mention of his name. He spends a solid hour staring at that piece of paper, writing out anything he’d want you to know before folding it up and setting it in the box. 

With that taken care of he kneels on the floor, feeling around until locating the familiar loose board under the kitchen table. 

He’d found it a week after moving in and it seemed like a perfectly good spot to hide things. He’s got a collection of things already set aside for you, he pulls each item from its hiding spot, putting them into the box before holding up a small chainmail shirt. He retrieves the stick shift knob from the shelf, wrapping it in the shirt and putting it in the box. 

In his note he’s left you with a task, to give those to the kid, and to tell him that he’s sorry. 

Lastly he fills a bag with credits, about a month's salary, you should be able to buy yourself a ship if you want, he isn’t sure if you’d know how to fly it but with the money provided you can pay someone to fly it for you. With that he sets the box under an extra flight suit in his bag before returning to the castle, on his way out the door he grabs the few bars of beskar he has. 

You’re right where he left you in the library, your brows furrowed as you stare at that damn book, he should have hidden it better. 

“Wanna go get some dinner?” You look up when he speaks, holding his hand out which you gladly take as he pulls you towards him. 

“We can do that. You’re all packed?” Thankfully you look less upset than you had earlier. 

“All packed.” He drops your hand as he opens the door, following you as you walk to the kitchens. He watches the way the back of your dress just barely drags along the stone floors as you ask for two dinners, handing his to him to carry with a smile as you continue to walk.

When you arrive back at your chambers you’re quick to lock the door, he watches as you rush to the closet, already sitting with your back to him when he steps inside, dim lamp light illuminates the room as he sits, his back brushing against yours as he listens to the sounds of your eating. 

What he wouldn’t give to eat face to face. 

He can’t remember the last time he shared a normal meal with someone. He ate in front of the kid but he always kept the helmet on, it would have been years and years ago, maybe with his parents. 

He finds the latch for his helmet, tossing it aside, he’s already decided he won’t be putting it back on tonight, he chews his food thoughtfully. What would life look like with you after this place? He certainly wouldn’t want to eat dinner like this every night. 

Maker, why won’t you just look? Everything would be easier if you’d just look. He would abandon his creed entirely if that’s what you wanted. Instead he loves the one person in the galaxy who doesn’t want to look. 

“You’re being quiet.” You finally break the silence as he sits up a little straighter.

“I’m always quiet.” He murmurs. 

“You think I don’t know that? You’re being extra quiet, what’s wrong.” 

“Nothing’s wrong.” He takes another bit as you lean back against him, resting your back on his as he hears you set your plate aside.

“You’ve been quiet all day.” Of course he has, he has to leave you tomorrow and you’ve been in a white dress all day. 

“I’m quiet every day.” He finishes his food quickly, reaching around blindly until he finds your plate, standing to set the both outside the room, when he turns around this time he faces you, kneeling on the floor behind you as he plays with the lace on the back of the dress, lining a series of buttons in a straight line down your spine. 

“You’re avoiding the point.” You snap at him but he just continues to trail his fingers across the intricate patterns of your dress.

“I’m just gonna miss you, that’s all.” 

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Your tone has softened.

“Want me to show you how much I’m gonna miss you?” He gives the back of your gown a teasing tug. 

“That might be nice.” You’re already reaching towards the lamp but he takes your hand, guiding it back into your lap. 

“Leave it.”

“Din…” You have a soft warning tone as he kisses your exposed shoulder. 

“Please, I want to see you.” He murmurs against your skin as he bunches up the fabric of your dress, pulling it up towards your hips. 

“But-” He’s quick to cut you off. 

“It’s fine, if you don’t look then you won’t see.” He swiftly unlatches his armor, setting it aside as he pulls you into his lap, his chest flush with your back. He turns to kiss your cheek, watching your eyes flutter shut as he does. 

He bunches up your skirt enough so he can see your thighs, pulling his gloves off so he can touch you, he likes the feeling of his skin on yours, how often does he get to have this? Only ever with you, not that he’d have it any other way. You’re just so soft, he likes the way you feel when he spreads your thighs a little wider, watching your mouth open a tiny bit as you inhale sharply. He’s already terribly hard, trying not to rut against your ass as he lets one hand dip between your legs, under your skirt, as the other one drifts up towards your chest, splayed out across your sternum to keep you in place.

He pushes your panties to the side, admiring the wetness he finds already there as he swipes his fingers along your seam. He tilts his head to the side, eager to watch your expression unburdened by his helmet as he pushes two fingers into you. 

Once he’s in your peripheral you close your eyes, leaving him to observe the way your mouth falls open as he gently slides his digits in and out, feeling you shift in his lap to grind against his palm. 

He’s fascinated by you, by the way you move in sync with him, with each movement of his hand you match it with a rock of your hips, or by arching your back.

“Din-” Your voice comes out as a high strangled cry that makes his cock ache against the fabric of his flight suit. 

“Go ahead, I wanna watch.” He mumbles as he presses his cheek to yours, staring down, mesmerized by the sight of you riding his fingers, his own mouth falling open as he feels your entire body tense up, feeling you clamp down on his fingers as you come. He keeps his fingers inside of you until your breathing evens out, once you come down from your orgasm he removes them, bringing them to his mouth as he uses his other hand to reach between the two of you, pulling his cock free. He stares down at the sight of himself against the pretty white fabric of your dress as he moans against his own fingers, stroking himself for a moment before popping his digits out of his mouth, grabbing your hips and lifting you a bit. 

He lets out a small groan as your hands reach down to line him up at your entrance, he lets go of your hips, letting you sink yourself down onto him, his hands wrapping around your thighs instead, squeezing the meat there with a pleased hum. 

You’re going at your own pace as he fights his own impatience, doing his best to not thrust up into you as he latches his mouth onto your shoulder, biting softly as you take nearly all of him, gasping his name the entire time. 

After another moment you’re fully sat in his lap, your breathing heavy as one of his hands moves from your thigh to your clit.

“Can you come again? Like this?” He rasps the words out against your skin, you nod as he begins to swirl his fingers in small precise circles, his moans match your own as he feels you slowly lift yourself off of him, your chest bouncing as you fuck yourself on him. 

Gods as his witness he’ll never wear his helmet again during sex. 

It’s just better to really see you like this, he can’t believe he deprives himself of this so often, the way your body trembles, the sounds you make, everything is simply better without the filters and the modulation. 

“Maker- Din!” Your strained plea snaps him out of his thoughts as he looks at your face, your eyes and nose scrunched up in frustration. “Please, fuck me, Din please.” You always sound so sweet, at this rate he’ll never be able to say no to you.  

He sits up a little to give himself more leverage, one arm wrapped around your waist to steady you, his other hand reaching behind himself to prop himself up as he thrusts up into you. His hips snapping up as he grits his teeth, a growl forming in his throat. He keeps you there for a bit, keeping up a brutal pace as he lets gravity do most of the work, bouncing you on his length, eventually relaxing after feeling your legs give out from under you. He sits back up on his knees, steadying you with both bands now, keeping you impaled on his cock as he leans forward, kissing up the column of your throat.    

“Kiss me, please.” He murmurs against your jaw, desperate for more of you as he lets out a low whine, wishing you would just look at him.

Your eyes shut as you turn your head to kiss him, he brings one hand up to your face, his other still on your stomach as he groans, rocking his hips upwards again. 

“You can look.” He pants, holding his forehead to yours as he stares at your face, contorted in pleasure as he pushes himself deeper into you, watching the way your eyes flutter a bit, never actually opening.

“I- I can’t.” You gasp out as he fucks up into you, short shallow thrusts, relishing in the way you take him, squeezing his cock with every rock of his hips, the way your face looks as he leans in for another kiss, quick and chaste, a sharp juxtaposition to how he’s fucking you, only pulling out in the slightest before slamming back into you. 

“You can, I want you to.” His voice is ragged and desperate at this point. 

“I will, just, not tonight.” 

“Ni vercopaanir gar Ru'kel haa'taylir.” I wish you would look. 

“I will, Din- I promise I will.” He’s sure you didn’t learn enough to know what he said but he’s still satisfied with that answer.

“Okay.” He kisses you again, swallowing your moans as he picks up the pace, pulling you down onto him as he rocks his hips upwards. He manipulates your body like it’s nothing, his hands holding you tightly enough to keep you upright as he continues to slam himself into you, you’re soaking his cock at this point as he muffles his grunts with your mouth. He knows you’re both nearly there, with the way your words become nonsensical. He turns his head to whisper into your ear. “Come for me, sarad.” He groans, his mouth falling open as a slew of filthy noises fall past his lips he feels you pulse around him, he frantically goes to pull out but you shake your head no, slamming your hips back against his and riding out your orgasm he watches you mumble, barely coherently. 

“In- Inside, Din.” 

You don’t have to tell him twice. You give him the sweetest cry as he bites down on your shoulder, he growls against your flesh as he releases the fire pooling in his stomach. 

“Bid jate- bid jate par ni.” So good for me. He mumbles against your shoulder.

He fucks his cum deeper into you with a few more sloppy thrusts before sitting back on his heels, staring at the ceiling as his chest heaves, letting you rest back against him as you go limp in his arms. 

Once he’s caught his breath he leans back, keeping himself inside you as he kicks his legs out. He swallows, still a little unsteady as you sit up, one of his hands wanders to you back, drawing a star there with one of his fingers. 

“Are you okay?” He whispers softly just before you lay back on top of him.

“Why do you do that?” He doesn’t stop you this time as you reach over and turn the lamp off, taking his hands and guiding him to turn the both of you onto your sides as his erection softens inside of you. 

“Do what?” He blinks, adjusting his eyes to the darkness and biting back a groan as you adjust yourself to put your hips flush with his.

“You switch languages, usually when you’re near the end, or when you say something kind.”

Oh.

He’s never really thought about that. 

“How did you know what I said?” He brushes a bit of hair behind your ear as he runs his hand down and up your spine slowly. 

“I asked my question first.”

“Fair enough. I guess it just happens, I’ve never really thought about why. I suppose it’s just another layer of armor, another way to conceal things.” You don’t respond, presumably thinking over his response. “Your turn, how did you know what I said?”

“I guessed.” Smart girl. 

“Of course you did.” He places a kiss against the back of your neck before resting the bridge of his nose there. “Do you wanna sleep like this?” He rocks his hips a bit to accentuate his point, drawing a gasp from you. 

“Yes, please.” You whisper back.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” He smiles before closing his eyes, wrapping his arms around you, the last thing he feels before falling asleep is you intertwining your fingers with his. 

☆

He wakes up before you, careful to leave you undisturbed as he reaches over to turn on the lamp, happy to just watch you for a few more minutes before he leaves. Watching the rise and fall of your chest. After a moment he realizes he slipped out of you while he slept.

He’s in no rush but he knows the moment you wake he’ll have to go so he stays still for a while, enjoying the morning quiet until your eyes slowly open, and you stretch your arms with a groan. 

“Good morning, sarad.” He says softly, kissing your shoulder as you shudder at the sensation. 

“You’re leaving.” You whisper to him.

“I am.” 

Much to his surprise you turn to face him, of course he realizes a second too late that your eyes are closed. 

“Be safe.” You murmur, taking his face in your hands before kissing him. Maybe this will be a happy morning despite his worries about going. 

“Always.” He gives you another kiss before sitting up, dressing himself quickly, looking over at you every so often only to find that your eyes are closed until you hear the soft hiss of his helmet. 

“I’m serious, you better be careful.” You sit up and face him as he kneels beside you.

“I will, I promise.” He holds your face in one hand. “Goodbye, sarad’ika.” You give him a radiant smile. 

“Ret'urcye mhi, cyare.” Goodbye, beloved. That’s what you’d been learning yesterday. He’s a little taken aback by the sound of those words leaving your mouth, his own smile forming. 

“Jate bora” Good job. 

He doesn’t tell you how poorly you pronounced each of those words, too infatuated to care as he leans down, lifting his helmet enough to kiss your forehead. 

“I’ll be back in a few days, okay?”

“Okay.” 

He uses his free hand to gently grab your chin, giving you one last kiss.

“I’ll see you soon.” Once he’s shut the closet door he slips the fail safe box under your bed. 

And just like that he’s out the door, on his way to the nearest shipyard. 

☆

It goes surprisingly smoothly. 

He’s only gone for about four days, he gets lucky as far as transportation goes, managing to catch a cargo ship going directly to the planet he’s looking for. He doesn’t recognize it and in all honesty he isn’t sure he’s ever been there but he finds the convert easily enough.

It took a bit of convincing but he got what he needed from the armorer and just like that he was catching a ship back to you with two rings attached to a thin chain around his neck. 

He’s eager to see you immediately after landing but he’s filthy from the trip so he goes to the cabin first, shedding his armor and clothes before stepping into the fresher. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t started taking care of himself more after meeting you. 

He’d avoided mirrors all together until you. 

He’d shave when his beard got unmanageable. He’d cut his hair when it stuck out the back of his helmet. And that was it. 

And then you came along and suddenly he was staring at himself in the dingy mirror he’s in front of now. The first day he realized he wanted to impress you he spent hours in the cabin fresher, trying to even out his facial hair, and give himself something that resembled a respectable haircut. He needs another one soon, staring at himself now he knows he’ll need to shave before he sees you but he can probably go a few more weeks without a haircut. 

He’s pretty sure you like his hair long, even if you’ve never seen it, that’s the only reason he hasn’t just buzzed it all, the way he’d normally do it. You’re always touching it. 

So he cleans up his beard before stepping into the shower, he’s in a hurry, scrubbing away the days of travel and grime. He finds a clean flightsuit and dons his armor as quickly as possible, his hair is still wet when he puts the helmet back on. 

He makes a beeline towards the castle as the sun sets, the promise of you drives him forward despite his exhaustion. 

He checks the library first, finding the nook to be empty. He goes to your chambers, if his count is correct you would have had dinner with Kodo yesterday, so if you aren’t reading you should be in your room. He’s pleased to see a nervous looking Leo outside your door, his eyes go wide as Din approaches. 

He stops a few inches away from Leodall, looming over him. 

“Everything went smoothly?” His voice is low and husky. His professional voice. 

“Yes, of course.” He’s pretty sure Leo is too scared of him to lie so he gives him a curt nod of approval. 

“Then you’re dismissed, thank you.” He really is thankful, despite his dislike for the twi’lek. He watches him scurry away before hastily pushing your door open, stepping inside to find you there. 

You’re laying on your stomach, a book laid out on the bed in front of you. A look of anger crosses your face when you look up, assuming you’d find Leo in the doorway but once you see him you’re sitting up, rushing over to him and wrapping your arms around him. 

“I missed you.” You mumble against his chest plate as he returns your embrace.

“It was only a few days.” He laughs softly as you look up at him. He’s just happy to be with you again. 

“That doesn’t mean anything, I still missed you.” With the way you’re looking at him it’s a wonder he doesn’t get on one knee right now. 

Instead he can’t help it as he yawns, he’d been in such a rush to return to you he’d barely slept during his trip.

“Are you tired?” Your brows furrow in concern as he shakes his head no. 

“No, I’m fine, I’m just happy to see you.” He’s about to lift his helmet to kiss you, but you frown and pull him towards the closet. He isn’t entirely sure he’s going to be able to properly fuck you in this state but he’ll make it work. As you shut the door he starts taking off his armor and you turn to help him, carefully removing each piece until he’s in just his flight suit and helmet. You gently put your hands on his shoulders, pushing him down to the floor before kneeling beside him. He puts his hands on your waist and is a little surprised when you tenderly pull them away. 

“Lay on your stomach.” You tilt your head to the side and he’s about to argue but you click your tongue and point at the blankets. “I let you disappear for a few days with no questions, you owe me, now lay down. And take off your flight suit.” 

With a reluctant groan he does as he’s told, sliding his flight suit down to his waist, his confusion only growing as you straddle his back. His bewilderment vanishes though as he feels your hands kneading his shoulders. He’s about to flip himself over and tell you he’s fine but as he opens his mouth to complain you dig the heel of your palm into his back and instead a moan slips out. 

He doesn’t make much of a fuss after that, letting you methodically take care of the many knots and tense spots across his back. 

He turns his head to the side, closing his eyes as you hum a song to yourself, caressing and kneading every inch of visible skin until you’re satisfied. He feels you lean down, planting a kiss along his spine before climbing off of him and laying down beside him, he sits up with another rather embarrassing moan. He’s trying to flip you over to do you as you laugh, pulling him back down to lay with you. 

“You need sleep.” You once again catch him off guard as he feels your fingers on the helmet release, the kiss of air accompanied by the click of the lamp as you remove his helmet, kissing his forehead. 

“I missed you too.” He whispers into the darkness, realizing he hasn’t said it yet.

“I know you did, now get some sleep.” You pull his head down against your chest, squeezing his shoulder as you do. He really is exhausted, he hadn’t realized until he was reunited with you that he doesn’t sleep as well without you. 

“I love you.” He sleepily mumbles against your chest. 

No one takes care of him the way you do. Your soft hands continue to rub his back as he succumbs to sleep. 

“I love you too.” He feels another kiss on his forehead as he exhales the last of his energy. 

If he wasn’t so tired he probably would have proposed right then and there. 

☆

Having the rings has made him a mess.

Anytime you do anything he just wants to ask. When you’d kissed him this morning, when you’d walked out of your room in a green dress grinning at him like you’d done it just for him, when you’d handed him the speeder maintenance book from before because you just knew he hadn’t read it last time. 

And right now, as you read like you always do, sitting beside him. 

Now more than ever he wants to ask. 

He had wanted so badly for it to be special. 

He was thinking of maybe doing it in the gardens some night, where he had kissed you for the first time. But you look exactly how he always wants you to look right now. 

Your face buried in a romance book with a smile dancing on your lips. 

Tucked away in the nook, safe from the world. 

“How much of the Mando’a book did you end up reading?” He plays with the edge of the page he’s on now, he’s been pretending to read again, unable to pull his focus from you. 

“The translation book? Not a lot.” He watches as you turn to give him a smile. 

“Do you know what riduur means?” He knows you don’t, but he can’t stop himself from saying it. 

“No, I don't think I learned that.” You close your book, staring at him curiously. 

“It means partner, or spouse.” 

“Oh. Okay…” Your eyes get a little bigger once he says that. 

He gives you a nod before looking back down at his own book, silently cursing himself out for not going through with it. He hadn’t realized that having rings made would make him fall apart every time he’s in your presence. 

You’re just so… perfect. Do you have to be so perfect? You learn his language and you respect him and you love him and you’re endlessly sweet. 

He just wants to keep you like this forever.

Safe and happy. 

That’s why he can’t help himself as he sets his book down, he fidgets with his helmet for a moment before turning off the modulator, he wants you to hear his voice without the filter, sitting up, he cradles your face in his hands. 

“Can I ask you something?” He whispers.  

I am no longer doing taglists so follow @lincolndjarinnotifs and turn on notifications to be notified when new chapters are posted !!

[zanarkandskylines]

Hello! I was wondering if I could request a balugou or Todoroki x reader helping reader grieve their father. Their father died unexpectedly, and even years later they haven’t processed grief a lot yet. Like some days they’ll be fine, then something will remind them of their dad, or randomly in the middle of the night they’ll cry when they realize they lost their father. If not, totally okay! Love your work so so much!

omg anon, absolutely! i (unfortunately) have a lot of feelings about grief and have no problem talking/writing about it as i find it therapeutic. i super appreciate the respectful approach and thank you for reading my work! supporting my little fleeting thoughts brings me more warmth than you know. 😭💗 i am gonna choose bakugo over the two of them since i don’t think i could do todoroki well enough, hope that’s okay!!

lost in the echo 『 ♡ 』 bakugo x fem!reader ⇢ it all happened so fast - one moment, your family is happy and healthy. the next? it's broken and in disarray, loss shattering your whole world. in a world of super heroes, people often forget just how painfully human they are when sickness strikes.

꒰ tags & content ꒱ heavy talks of grief (parent's passing), talks of self harm/substance abuse (drugs/alcohol), talks of cancer/illness & hospitals | major emotional hurt/comfort, eventual fluff, sprinkles of angst about being perceived while grieving, soft bakugo, reader’s best friends are bakugo and mina, bakugo’s secretly crushing on reader, “happy ending,” characters are 18+ ꒰ cross posted to ao3 | wc; -1.5k ꒱ -`✧ katsuki bakugo masterlist 

☆ inspired by "neon grave" by dayseeker ☆

⋆ ˚ʚɞ — just a general note to please, please mind the tags for this fic. it's not dark content, per se, but it deals with heavy subject matter (descriptive self destructive habits & harm) and could be upsetting for some. much love for you all! ♡

───

“This party sucks,” you whine, leaning on Mina’s shoulder. “Monoma’s drinks are weak as hell.”

Mina pats your head and exhales dramatically. “Might be time to call it a night, babe. It’s almost midnight, and they’re weak cause you’ve downed six cups.”

You roll your eyes. “Whatever.”

The two of you had been invited by some of the class 3B students to hang out in their dorms over the weekend, AKA drink and bullshit the night away. Months ago, you wouldn’t have been caught dead at any of these parties, but nowadays? You were looking for any way to silence the nagging voice in your head. Mina tagged along, mostly to keep an eye on you since none of your other classmates attended said parties. She’d been on her phone most of the night, texting and scrolling in the corner as you knocked back drinks.

“Who the fuck are you texting?” Your words came out acidic, but that wasn’t your intention. The alcohol was beginning to sink in, stirring the emotions in your chest. It was Russian Roulette, you never knew which one would be loaded in the chamber and ready to fire.

Mina clicked her tongue at your tone, raising her eyebrows. “Why do you care?”

Ah, that was code for “I’m texting Bakugo updates on how you’re doing because we’re worried for your wellbeing.”

Logically, you knew they just cared about you. You’d had a tough couple of months - nothing crazy, just that your dad fucking died and tragically lost his battle against cancer.

The news wasn’t easy to hear, let alone digest, the longer it sat with you back when your mom first broke the news. Cancer. One of the most gut churning words in any language. The sheer mention of the term is enough to make anyone’s hairs stand on end, especially when it’s applied to someone you love and care about.

Fluorescent orange bottles lined your kitchen counter back home, multitudes of medication prescribed to keep your dad in a haze while his body decayed. They taunted you, a constant reminder of the grim reality your family was stuck in. You’ve memorized the smell of the hospital, too - that faint stench of death mixed with cleaning supplies. Late nights in the glow of vending machines of the ER lobby and long days spent listening to nurses drone on about hope and miracles. They even had the gall to give you and your mom false hope, declaring he was in remission one week before he died.

You shake your head to rid yourself of the memories, pissed off that even in your buzzed state of mind, all of it was crystal clear. Mina gives you a quizzical stare, realizing that you haven’t heard hear her talking to you the last few minutes.

“We’re leaving,” she exclaims, grabbing your wrist. You tug it from her grasp and chug the rest of the drink in your hand, tossing the now empty cup to the floor.

“Fuck off, Mina! I know you’ve been talking with Katsuki all night. You two treat me like I’m a fragile little bitch!” You yell, waving your arms for dramatic effect. At this point, she’s used to your combative outbursts. She knows you’re grieving, but goddamn, she wanted to smack the shit out of you when you got like this.

“Suit yourself, I’m goin’ to bed.” And with that, she leaves.

Mina actually walks out and leaves you.

You storm to the door, throwing it open and pursuing her down the hallway of the Class B dorms.

“Minaaa!” You call after her, slurring the latter half of her name. She’s got her phone to her ear as she cocks her head to the side, acknowledging she heard you but isn’t listening.

You’re not proud of what you’re about to do.

Sprinting to catch up to her, you take the phone out of her hand from behind, the screen blinking the caller ID briefly - Bakugo. A sinister cackle escapes you while bringing the phone to your ear.

“Katsuki fuckin’ Bakugo. You and Mina are the fucking worst. Why can’t you just let me self destruct, huh?!” The rage bubbling in your guts was too strong to ignore. The metaphorical gun was loaded, and unfortunately for Bakugo, he was the target.

“You treat me like I’m some weak-ass bitch. Just ‘cause my dad fuckin’ died doesn’t mean shit! I’m not a goddamn child, Katsuki!” Your voice cracks over the word ‘child.’

“Treating me like a kid is rich coming from you, ya know. Hah!”

Mina attempts to grab the phone from you, but fails when you duck out of her reach, dancing down the hall away from her. Bakugo still hasn’t said a word back to you.

“The guy who treated sweet little Midoriya like shit for no reason, bullied him over a fuckin’ non-existent grudge. You’re the goddamn poster child of a shitty friend.”

“Y/N, ENOUGH!” Mina screeches, ripping the phone from your hand. She turns away from you while raising the phone to her ear once more.

“I’m sorry Baku-“ Mina’s interrupted by soft snivels. She could tell he tried to hide it - you made him cry.

“Hey, she’s just drunk and being an asshole. She doesn’t mean it,” she whispers. “Get to bed, I’ve kept you up long enough.” Mina hangs up the phone and turns her attention back to you. She doesn’t say a word - her eyes tell you how disappointed she is with your actions.

You quietly sulk behind her back to the Class A dorms, reveling in the guilt of your actions.

───

Monday comes along and you still haven't said two words to Bakugo. Admittedly, you're ashamed of yourself and don't have the courage to apologize right now. It wasn’t the first time you’ve gotten into a small tiff, it always goes back to normal. You’re sure this’ll pass and he’ll just talk to you again…right?

But he doesn’t.

Classes wrap for the day and he leaves homeroom without looking your way.

───

The silence in your dorm room is starting to drive you mad, not having a decent enough distraction for the endless loop of thoughts circling in your mind. You wander into the bathroom and lazily open your medicine cabinet. A set of translucent orange bottles occupied the bottom shelf - you’d taken them from home, stealing your dead dad’s various medications. A pang of guilt stabs you in the gut while you shuffle through them. You had zero idea what most of these pills even did, but if it got you high? Who fucking cares.

You’re about to dump a few in your hand when something stops you, dropping the tablets onto the floor.

What the fuck?

“Dad…?” You speak aloud, knowing full well how fucking insane you sound for thinking your father’s ghost smacked the medicine out of your hand. As expected, there is no response, just dead air. You scurry back to your bed, grabbing for your phone. Instinctively, you’re about to click Bakugo’s name when your eyes fall on the time: 11:56PM.

You call him anyways.

After a few rings, the line picks up and you hear shuffling before he verbally answers.

“…Hey.”

“Uhh, hi. Sorry for waking you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Can you come to my room?”

There’s a pause.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. Door's open.”

The line ends with a click.

A minute or two later, your dorm room door cracks open, Bakugo stepping inside and closing it quietly behind him. He hesitantly makes his way over to the bed and sits beside you.

“Y’okay?”

“I almost took some pills. Something stopped me, though and I didn’t.” Shame creeps through you as you're acknowledging the destructive behavior for the first time in months.

“…I’m glad you ditched ‘em.”

Another pause.

“I’m sorry for the other night.”

Bakugo inhales deeply before shifting his gaze to the floor. “Yeah. ‘S fine.”

Obviously, it was not fine.

“Katsuki, seriously. I’m sorry for being an asshole.” You place a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t deserve to have you here right now.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t say shit like that. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t wanna be.”

The two of you sit in silence for what feels like an eternity.

Bakugo speaks up first. “Why’d you call me over? Y’coulda told me about the pills over the phone.”

Your eyes begin to well with tears, overcome with emotions that you'd been withholding for too long.

"I miss my dad," You say between hiccupped sobs. "I don't know what to do...it fucking hurts."

Bakugo doesn't hesitate to pull you close, awkwardly throwing his arms around you. "I know."

Everything comes pouring out of you, every single emotion that you've shoved away into the imaginary closet in your head since the funeral. No matter how many times you tell him that he can leave, he doesn't. He stays with you the entire night, laying beside you as you cry yourself to sleep.

───

When you stir awake the next morning, Bakugo's arm is securely hooked around your waist as he's peacefully resting behind you. You give him a light shake to wake him up.

"Mornin'," he grunts, sleepily opening one eye. "How ya feelin'?"

Honestly? You felt...okay.

"Good, I think. Better than I have in awhile," you say, rolling over to face him. "Thank you. I'm sorry again for-"

Unexpectedly, his lips are on yours, silencing your apology. You let out a squeak before melting into the warmth he offers, tugging on your waist to pull you closer to him. He breaks the kiss long enough to mumble, “Forget about all that. Just shut up and kiss me, dammit.”

You can’t help but feel guilty about his affection, how you didn’t think you deserved it after treating him so horribly. All Bakugo wanted to do was be there for you when you pushed him, and Mina, away.

“But…why now?” You ask while pulling away, perplexed at how casual he’s being about all of this.

He just shakes his head, grin plastered on his smug face. “Cause I don’t like seein’ you cry. And Mina may or may not have blabbed about a certain drunken rant ya went on about me.”

What the hell was he…oh. Ohhhh.

Dammit Mina!

“What did she tell you?!” You blurt out, covering your face with your hands. Bakugo grabs your wrists, pulling your hands away from your flared cheeks as he laughs.

“She didn’t say shit, but now I wanna hear it.”

You smack him playfully in the arm, huffing as you turn over. He scoots up and lays his head behind yours on the pillow.

“I care about you, idiot. That’s why. Do I need another reason?”

You close your eyes, a smile settling on your lips as you grab his hand, moving back to snuggle closer to him.

“No. That’s good enough for me.”

The pain in your heart momentarily subsides and offers you a glimpse of hope.

Things will get easier, no matter how dark it is.

💥 tags; @slayfics

[nelyos-right-hand]

I've been reading post-reembodiement fics lately, and Fëanor trying to fix his relationship with his sons/ making amends for his mistakes is a pretty common occurrence in them.

Whenever that happens Curufin is almost always the first to forgive his father, and if Fëanor starts to make stupid choices again, he is often the first to support him.

And I see why many people see it that way. In the Silm, Celegorm and Curufin are their father's strongest supporters and the most ruthless when it comes to following their oath. Curufin is also described to be Fëanor Junior and they probably had a very close relationship.

But what if that changes after the first age?

Through the entire first age, Curufin continued to believe in the oath and their father. Sure, the others followed the oath as well, but I don't think that any of them did it because they actually believed in it.

Maedhros did it because Fingon was dead and he had stopped caring. Maglor, Caranthir and the Ambarussar did it because the oath was driving them. Celegorm did it because he was no longer sane and wanted revenge and bloodshed. He did it because he was hurting and now it was time for others to hurt.

But Curufin still did it for Fëanor. Because yes, right now things were looking pretty bad, but in the end everything would turn out fine. They were going to get the Silmaril, and then they were going to defeat Morgoth, fulfill their oath and make their father proud. Things were still going according to plan. Curufin himself might be unable to see it right now, but that's just because Fëanor was a genius. He had planned for this because he wouldn't have made them swear the oath if he hadn't, right? Everything was gonna be fine, all he had to do was trust his father.

But then suddenly he turned around just in time to see Dior drive his sword through Celegorm's chest. And he didn't even have time to process that because in the next moment he was hit by an arrow, and another, and another, and another.

Curufin didn't live very long after that, maybe two or three seconds. But in that time he realized something.

Things were not going according to plan. They couldn't because there was no plan. Fëanor didn't have any idea what he was doing when he swore the oath. And he most certainly didn't have his sons' welfare in mind at that moment.

They wouldn't get the Silmarils, not even one of them. They wouldn't fulfill the oath and they wouldn't defeat Morgoth. They wouldn't even survive.

Celegorm was dead and Curufin was dying and their other brothers would die soon too, and it would all be for nothing. He had spend the last five-hundred years believing in and fighting for a purpose that wasn't even a real purpose but the fantasies of a dead madman.

He had been betrayed by the person he loved most and now he would die for him.

(Hint-Celebrimbor-hint)

(Alright, so Fëanor didn't actually betray Curufin because that would mean that he did it on purpose or that he had any ill intentions towards him. That, of course, wasn't the case because Fëanor did love his sons dearly, he just, you know, went absolutely mad after Finwë's death. Curufin just feels betrayed because he is dying and stuff.)

So back in Valinor Curufin has the most trouble forgiving his father. That surprises Fëanor as much as the rest of the family cause it kind of contradicts his actions in his previous life but maybe death does that to people.

In the end he does forgive him of course, but it takes some time to fix their relationship and it takes way longer for him to trust Fëanor again then it did for the rest of his sons.

These are just some loose thoughts cause it's the middle of the night and I'm bored but I think it's interesting because it's different from what we usually see of Curufin.

[pinkrelish]

𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

bestfriend!eddie x fem!reader

✶He made it clear he never wanted to see you again, and yet, here you were running into him face-first after he hunted you down.✶

NSFW — parent death, alluding to abuse, light angst, 18+ overall for eventual smut, drug/alcohol mention/use

chapter: 4/15 [wc: 3.5k]

↳ part 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11

AO3

Chapter 4: Waffles Heal All Wounds

A diner. That’s where you woke up. The frowning woman knocking on your car’s roof told you so.

Squinting from the sun behind her, you rolled down your window and tried to appear more awake than you were. “Hi?”

She put a hand on her hip where her brown half-apron was tied. “You’re illegally parked.”

You leaned your head out and, sure enough, when you had pulled into a parking lot last night out of desperation to avoid an embarrassing death of ‘cried too hard and hit a tree,’ you parked sideways, taking up three spaces. “Oh shit, sorry.” You fumbled for your keys in the cupholder under a mountain of tissues.

Maybe it was how haggard your appearance was, or specifically the streaks of dried mascara on your cheeks, but she took an ounce of pity on you. “Cops like to stop to get coffee here, didn’t want you getting a ticket,” she said, going inside to flip around the sign on the door.

“‘Preciate it!”

Having nothing better to do until later, and still reeling from the after effects of your massive post-sob hangover, you decided a morning beginning with a stack of syrupy waffles sounded amazing right about now. You adjusted the rearview mirror and scrubbed yesterday’s fuck up from under your eyes, staining your crisp white tracksuit’s sleeve. Doing your best to tidy up your appearance regardless of the nauseating remorse churning your stomach.

“What else did I expect?” you chided your reflection.

The same middle-aged woman from earlier sat you at the booth in the corner. It was your decision to face the wall. After the memories of last night had flooded in, you just wanted to be left alone to sulk; head in your hands, waiting for food you were losing the appetite for the longer you stewed over what you’d done.

When the waitress returned to take your order, you were still hunched over, rubbing your palms into your eyes. “Waffles.”

“Long night?”

“Yeah.”

“Waffles cure everything!” she expelled her wisdom, chipper than when you were causing her problems in the parking lot.

“Doubt it.”

Nursing your headache with soothing sips of fresh coffee, you sat in disillusioned silence. Tinny music cut in from a radio near the kitchen. Someone turned the pages of a newspaper. The door chimed. Chimed again. Tiny birds chirped, hopped, pecked around the concrete outside. A chair creaked as someone sat down a few tables behind you. None of it an adequate distraction from your cynical sentiments about being in the small town you had ambivalent feelings towards. Hating your rather optimistic bout of nerves yesterday at the prospect of seeing him again. Building and building. Excitement, adrenaline over seeing your childhood best friend. Hoping.. Hoping against all odds he’d be just as happy to see you too.

Stupid.

So stupid.

Two waffles appeared before you. A small cup of syrup and a packet of butter, too. Delicious. Unfortunately, you weren’t hungry for more than half of the one on top, surrendering by dropping your fork and knife on the plate, not caring about the loud clang they made, struggling to chew and swallow what was in your dry mouth.

After what seemed like the longest thirty seconds of your life, you drank the rest of your coffee and scooted to the end of the booth and stood up, too busy ruminating on your failures to pay attention to what was in front of you.

RATT.

The band’s logo came into focus a fraction before your nose collided with it. Along with patches on a jean vest. Hints of weed and alcohol despite the gentle, sober breath grazing your face. The invading scent of stale cigarette smoke and worn leather. Old Spice, too. You’d think he’d find something new to wear since you left, but he didn’t, and somehow, the pang of nostalgia was both comforting and vicious. A trap you understood like an old friend.

Standing toe to toe with Eddie, you were shivering in the artificial cool air. He was warm. A welcoming presence once upon a time, now stiff and awkward with your sudden proximity. Bodies touching on accident due to your timing of getting up to leave the moment he approached. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped; the only tell he was equally as flustered as you. When you forced your gaze to meet his, you caught the flick of his eyes lifting from elsewhere lower on your face.

“I’m ready to talk,” he stated.

Relief and fear was evident in your simple, “Okay.” You motioned for him to join you, and of course, he was already moving to do so without your permission.

This booth was not made for two people on tentative speaking terms. Sitting across from Eddie, the top of the table was cramped with your plate and drinkware; underneath, you fidgeted until your legs were between his, so he could stop stepping on your shoes. He knocked your right knee in the shuffle and you clenched your teeth to hide the wince.

“You look rough,” he said, clearly indicating the smeared lines of mascara on your cheeks.

“You look handsome,” you retorted in the same deadpan tone.

Against his will, his eyebrow quirked. Sincere amusement flashed in his dark brown eyes. A charitable glimpse of the boy you used to know. “Haven’t been called handsome in years. If I call you beautiful, can I have the rest of that?” He pointed at the waffles, and of course, you were already pushing them towards him.

And that was it. That’s all it took for you to fall victim to your old ways. Volunteering, practically, to fawn over the most minute of details in how he ate with your fork. Chewing with his mouth slightly open, always. Sipping from your water glass.

Either he’d meant to put his lips over the exact print your chapstick left behind in a sort of pseudo kiss, or he had impeccable aim.

The waitress lingered at the end of your table gripping her notepad and tapping her pencil on it nervously, shifting her gaze from you to the cops at the counter staring you down with a fierce sneer.. Well, not you. They were glaring at Eddie’s existence, who was distracted by the birds outside.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked.

Eddie swept his attention to her, a grand smile on his face and hands clasped cutely on the table. “Could I get a coffee, please and thank you?”

She didn’t look at him. Rather, eyeing his myriad of heavy metal patches. Making assumptions about him and turning on her heel. Treating him differently from how she treated you, regardless of the fact you may as well have been cut from the same cloth. If it bothered him, he didn’t let it show. In mutual agreement, you remained quiet in the lulled purgatory of lapsed conversation, waiting until she returned with his coffee, refilled your own, and walked away to pick up where you left off.

“So..” Eddie stabbed another piece of waffle. “Why’d you leave without telling me?”

“Starting with the million dollar question, I see.” You sank back into the dense cushion of the booth, and when that felt too far away for your private conversation, you rested your forearms on your thighs and picked at your cuticles. “Do you know what my last memory of you is?” Glancing up from the plate, he shook his head, and you’d never recover from the way his curls bounced.

Accepting your burgeoning grin, you wore gladly, aware it wouldn’t last. “We were standing in your kitchen. Riders on the Storm was playing in your room. I had just blown out the candles on the birthday cake you made me and I remember thinking how that was the nicest thing anyone had done for me, birthday or not. It meant even more coming from you. The year before that you picked me flowers, which I still have pressed in a book, by the way, but there was something special about you going through the trouble of baking me a cake and decorating it. We’ve known each other for most of our lives and not once have you looked at me like you did when I took a piece. You were just so.. I don’t know, proud of me.” You exhaled a long sigh until anxiety closed in on your lungs. ”I wanted our last memory together to be a happy one. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Did you eat it? The cake?”

“Hell yeah.”

He allowed his smirk to come through. “Good. Didn’t want it to go to waste because of your mom.”

“Right..” you agreed, wiping your sweaty palms on your pants. Your change in demeanor was palpable. An omen like vultures circling the obvious. Eddie’s rings clinked on the table as he set down the fork, tilting his head to get a better read on your expression painted in melancholic hues from the rogue cloud covering the sun.

“You made me strong,” you said, crossing your arms and digging your knuckle into your lip, savoring the mild pain on your gums. “You know I couldn’t cry around her, or else she’d.. whatever. I would just hold it in. All day. And when things got really bad, at night I’d play the BBC Radio’s adaptation of The Hobbit. It’s not the same as you reading to me, but it helped.” Outside, the birds flew away. “I thought about you every single day, Eddie.”

“I thought about you too,” he admitted, tearing open sugar packets. Your heart leapt at each scrape of the spoon against the ceramic mug. “Tried not to.”

Prepared to hear as much, but at a loss for words, you prompted him for more, “Yeah?”

He ran his tongue across the back of his teeth. “Yeah.”

One uttered word wielded like a weapon. You had never seen him angry before last night. Pissed off over inconveniences, sure, but last night.. He hated you, and though you could hazard a guess why, he hadn’t explained his side of the story yet.

For someone who wanted to talk, he hadn’t said much.

“I thought you would be okay.. I mean, I was the one moving to a new state and starting over from scratch, at least you had other friends here.”

“Not like you,” his vulnerability was whispered, “Our friendship was different. You knew that.”

“Eddie..”

Finished eating, he set the plate at the end of the table and ran his hand over his face. Doing the thing he did when he wanted to hide how upset he was; dragging his fingers over his closed eyes and down to his jaw. Working through the sting of knowing a memory he hated was beloved by you. Confused as to what he should be feeling when the night that changed his life for the worse was meant to comfort you through trauma. Was it right to be mad at you?

A difficult thing to parse when so much of sitting across from one another was intrinsic to your time together, having done it casually day after day, cramped together at the small green table in his kitchen, or huddled at the end of the cafeteria table away from the other students, or skipping class to sit at the picnic table in the woods. Longing for the familiar territory of one another’s company and not knowing if it could ever be the same, or if it would last.

“Listen, I don’t remember much about the day you left,” he explained. “Or the days after, really. I kinda went off the deep end, but I do remember telling Wayne I knew you were leaving and I was just taking it hard, so he doesn’t know the full scope of everything, if you were wondering.”

Even when faced with your betrayal, his first priority was protecting your image.

The desire to hold his hand consumed you. It manifested in tears spilling over your lower lashes. It clutched onto your breath. An urge so severe it panicked you, and yet, its inappropriateness kept you frozen. “I never meant to hurt you. I.. F-Fuck.” You stared at the ceiling, gathering your emotions. Imagining a time when you two were inseparable. Laying in the grass, listening to music together.

When you could speak again, you accepted your consequences. “I’m so sorry, Eddie. I don’t know where to go from here, but I’m so sorry for hurting you. I’m so sorry.”

Pennsylvania State University Women’s Gymnastics Team. A chance at a better life. Reading the embroidery on your jacket with the same somber expression as last night, he spoke aloud softly, honestly, “You were right to leave.”

Patting down his pockets for some substance to escape the past, and finding nothing, he changed the subject instead. “I imagine you didn’t drive all this way to give me closure, so why are you really here?”

“Well, I guess that’s as good as a segue I’ll get..” Thankful for the switch in mood, you made a few more uncommitted hems and haws, bouncing your leg against his inner thigh. “She, uh..” You waved your hands, searching for the words, and settling on a lilting, “She.. died?”

Rightfully so, he angled his ear at you and clarified, “Your mom died?”

“Like two months ago.” You shrugged, wide-eyed, waiting for his reaction. He made a drinking motion. “Yep, liver failure.”

“Do you want my condolences?” he asked straightfaced.

You pulled a short, but comical, grimace and offered the truth, “Nah. It’s complicated, I guess. I should feel sad she’s dead, but in some ways, I have my life back.. I never told you, but my bank account has always been under her name. She’s had full control over everything, starting way back when I worked at Benny’s on the weekends. Even up til she died, she used my student loan money to go on benders. I specifically got another waitressing job so I could skim some of the tips without her noticing. She’d still berate me if I didn’t earn enough, so it was a tough balance, but it was the quickest job I could think of where she couldn’t access everything.” Eddie reached into his jacket’s inner pocket to take out the envelope you left for him. “No! Keep it, really. It’s for you and Wayne. Or, at the very least, to pay you back for all the weed over the years.”

Hesitating, he accepted you weren’t going to take it, and put it back. “I never would’ve made you pay for weed.”

You snorted. “What a gentleman.”

“You could’ve made more tips by stripping, just so you know.”

“I take back what I said.”

Deflecting to your mugs of coffee after the short fervency of your eye contact became too heated, you continued, “Her death has been a real bitch to deal with. Not in a sad way. Just, God, it doesn’t quit. One thing after another. I didn’t expect to have literally nothing in my bank account, and do you know how expensive dying is, even after the medical bills? Not only did I have to put together some stupid funeral arrangement for this bitch, I had to do shit like terminate the lease on her apartment. And you wouldn’t believe how bad this woman trashed it. Had to hire help to clean it out, and now I’ve come to find out she’s still paying for shit like the lot in Forest Hills.” You rolled your eyes to the high heavens. “Who fucking knows why. Probably just to waste my money. Anyway, that’s why I’m still here. I’m going through the process of having everything transferred in my name and having them demolish that fucking trailer–which reminds me I need to schedule a dumpster for that because the contractor won’t supply one. Oh! And as a bonus ‘fuck you’ because Hawkins is ass-backwards and hates me, they won’t accept anything by fax. I have to go to court and sign shit in person, so I’ll be back here again in 30 to 45 business days to finish the permits for the aforementioned construction, praying my car makes the drive, and then I’ll be free.”

Eddie nodded patiently, eyebrows raised, giving you the grace to vent to him as he finished his coffee. “It’s not even my life and you make me want a cigarette.”

You laughed, hard, and fuck, did it feel good to laugh again. To reap the reward of his shy smile. His leg resting against yours. His fingers cupped around his mug in the center of the table, where yours were too, doing the same thing. Tapping your mug for the sole purpose of discovering the delicate nature of his knuckles being softer than yours with each beat.

He sat forward, sliding your knee along his inner thigh. “You sure you don’t want your tips back to help pay for all this?”

Quick to respond, you inquired, “Would you like to stuff them in my G-string, or would you rather I lay down and you can rain them on me?”

It was his turn to laugh. Bright like his naturally higher voice, which you adored, and a bit cackling too, as if he were a villain. A full laugh coming from the heart. A dangerous thing, you realized when you looked at each other a bit too long.

Once eye contact had been established, there was no coming back. The affection in your gaze roaming his face. The tenderness in his smile, just like old times. But a reserved version. On guard. Already fading at the rhythm of your pounding hearts.

“I feel like I’ve been going on, and on, and on,” you said. “Tell me what’s been up with you–?” Your watch beeped. 11:00 blinked at you. Swiveling around, you examined the lively restaurant brought to life by the lunch rush. “Have we really been here that long?”

Eddie shrugged. “Got somewhere to be?”

“My first appointment of the day. I’ve gotta be downtown in, like, ten minutes.”

Too soon.

Hope ignited the instant neither of you made to leave. The backs of your fingers touching his, metal to flesh as you learned the sensation of his ring’s edges against your skin.

He said, “I’ll walk you to your car.”

You said, “Okay.”

Neither of you moved.

“Wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“No, that would be terrible.”

He puckered his lips to rid himself of his uneven grin, fixing his gaze on your touching hands. You did the same. Existing in the strange dynamic you found yourselves in. A state of unforgiveness, but willing to blot each other’s wounds for the sake of healing and moving on.

Your watch beeped again. “Okay, I really have to go now.”

After paying, you took one step out the door and did a double-take, bewildered beyond belief. “You still drive that thing?”

Eddie joined your side, following what you were pointing at. “Yeah, it’s the same van.”

“I would’ve thought you had crashed it by now.”

He clicked his tongue, offended, “I’ll have you know I’m a perfectly safe driver.”

“You literally drove it into a ditch the day you got it,” you reminded him. He flapped his hand like a mouth to mock you. You shoved his arm. “I meant to ask, how did you know where to find me?”

Coming round to your vehicles, he lingered at your trunk while you unlocked your door. “Gut instinct.” You raised your brows, asking him to elaborate, and he spun his keys around his finger, dragging his feet on the walk to his van parked next to you. “I just knew.”

“All right then, keep your secrets,” you conceded. “Oh yeah!” He paused, hand on the headrest, about to climb in. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Turning to regard you as if you’d said the bizarrest thing, Eddie’s hair flowed over his shoulders in the wind, a precious pinch of confusion between his brows, and a handsome twist to his mouth.

“You mentioned a boyfriend I could go home to last night, but, alas, I must regretfully inform you I do not have one.” When he remained speechless, you broke. Doubled over with laughter, holding your sides. Giddier than you had any right to be.

Eddie shook his head at you. Then, he thought about it. “You said you’ll be back in 30 to 45 business days?”

“Unfortunately!”

“Okay,” he said, “Okay.”

He was quick to get in his van and shut the door behind him, as were you to start your car and get to your appointment on time, but.. It wasn’t until your third alarm beeped that you realized you had been sitting there, tracing your thumb over your grin, forgetting to drive away.

And it wasn’t until you glanced in your rearview mirror, you saw Eddie was doing the same thing, remembering he wasn’t dreaming.

Taglist: @xxhospital-for-soulsxx @myfavoritesareproblematic @henhouse-horrors @tlclick73 @sidthedollface2 @i-will-duckyou-up @qnsfwthoughts @captainonaboat @eddiemuns0nl0ver @godcreatoreli @harrys-tittie @eg-dr3amer3 @trixyvix88 

[let-them-read-fics]

Midnight Mercy

Pairing: Gahyeon x Fem!Reader

Warnings / Misc. -- Smut, Somnophilia, Slight Degradation

Word Count: 2,607

Summary: The term "wet dream" takes on a whole new meaning in the middle of the night, nestled between the sheets of your bed.

Gahyeon needs your help in finishing what she unconsciously started.

Disclaimer: This writing is a work of fiction, and no disrespect is meant for those mentioned herein.

A/N: Hey everyone! I’m sorry for not uploading sooner; life just got in the way a bit. Buuuuut, I’m back now, and I’ve got a few writings already finished that I just have to edit and post for all of you to enjoy :) I hope you like this piece <3 Handong’s story will be posted soon, also, so keep an eye out for that!

◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚

“Y/N,” a sleepy mumble came from behind you, paired with a bit of shuffling beneath the sheets. 

“I’m here, Gah,” you responded, equally as tired and fully aware that she was away in dreamland somewhere and incapable of actually hearing you. 

“Y/N/N,” she spoke again, this time a little louder – a little more forceful. 

You rolled over, intertwining your legs with hers and laying an arm across her midriff to offer her some reassurance. Perhaps she’d feel it and fall back into a restful slumber again. 

“Shhh,” you soothed, the noise slightly altered from the way your cheek pressed against your pillow. 

When your fingertips lightly stroked her side in a gentle, mindless pattern, she seemed to relax and settle down. Whatever was bothering her stopped, and you lazily smiled, falling back into the rhythm of sleep right behind her.

- 20 Minutes Later - 

Unconscious, unintentional stimulation. That’s all Gahyeon’s mind cared about as it prompted her body to continue the slow grind that it had begun a few minutes prior, aiming to relieve the pressure that plagued her core. 

Her hips wound in sensual circles and strokes, causing her clit to rub just right against something firm and warm that just so happened to be nearby.

Only when the rocking became more forceful did she begin to wake up, and only then did she realize what she had been doing. Her pulse was quicker than normal, pumping harder in her chest, and her breathing was faster, too.

Aided by what light the moon had to offer, she peeked down at where your bodies were joined. The covers had fallen – or been pushed – away, exposing both of you to the night air. 

Both of her legs were wrapped around one of yours, and as she moved to reposition them, her mouth fell open instead. 

A large wet spot glistened on your thigh, darkening the leg of your grey sweatpants in a way that both embarrassed Gahyeon and aroused her. 

Though she hadn’t meant to, she had nearly gotten herself off on you. 

Her eyes tracked up to your face, where she found blissful ignorance etched into your features. 

You were laid out on your back, breathing softly. The neckline of your tank top had ridden lower than it was meant to, due to your drowsy tossing and turning from before. She couldn't help but focus her attention there, admiring the way that your nipples were peaked beneath the thin material, just out of view. 

She bit her lip, needing to busy her mouth. 

The waistband of your sweats had long ago fallen below its proper place as well; your hip bones peeked out above it, and it was all her fault. Her grinding had slowly worked your pants down, pulling them little by little. 

Crimson blush crept up the back of her neck, working up to her cheeks the longer she admired you. 

Did you have any idea how beautiful you were?

While thousands of people threw themselves at her on the daily, all vying for any miniscule amount of attention she'd pay to them, here she was giving every bit of it to you – wholly and undivided. 

She was simply a pawn in your unconscious game. And yet, for a fate that sounded so taxing, she lived for it. 

Her bout of adoration was interrupted as you shifted, sensing some sort of change despite still being asleep. 

Ignorant to the situation at hand, you scooted closer, returning your body to its previous position next to hers as you unconsciously sought out the warmth that she provided so well. 

Your arm wrapped around her abdomen as you pulled her in, and your leg shifted back between her thighs; the motion of your readjustments reached her clit, sending a wave of pleasure washing over her again. 

It reminded her of just how sensitive she was. How close.

Your cheek pressed to her chest, nuzzling there comfortably. 

“Y-Y/N, baby,” she addressed, though her voice betrayed her. What she intended to sound firm was anything but; it classified more so as a broken moan than anything else. 

“Mmm,” you hummed, still blissfully unaware of what was happening. Sleep played on the edge of your mind, cradling you there. 

She gave into the selfish urge to grind again, just a little. No harm, no foul… right?

Her head pressed back into the pillow when your lips brushed against her breast, settling dangerously close to her nipple. Your breath fanned out across her exposed skin, exploiting how sensitive it was; her thin crop top was practically useless as a barrier. If anything, it only heightened what she was feeling. 

It was almost too much to handle; her head spun, dizzied by everything that came along with having you so close. 

“Y/N, wake up,” she tried again, voice still airy.

You muttered a low protest and drew her closer, not listening. 

“You feel so good,” you complimented through a sleepy, blissful sigh, your lips ghosting across her skin with the words. Your hand skimmed down further, meeting the curve of her side, before coming to rest above the line of her thong. 

The pulse between her thighs grew stronger with everything you did. Shame pervaded her mind at the idea of using you like this to get off, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted it. Wanted to take advantage of such a perfect opportunity – of you, and your flawless body. It made her feel dirty, but turned on all the same.

“Gah,” you uttered, beginning to wake up and break through the haze of sleep. “What’s wrong?” She was tense in your arms, and doing everything she could to keep some distance between you. 

You blinked a few times, adjusting to the dark before propping up on your elbow to look at her. 

With her head turned away, you couldn’t see the helpless way her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, or the furrow of her brows as she focused hard on refraining from riding your thigh. 

Your grip on her waist tightened as you shifted close enough to peek at her face; the subtle move made her moan, and it was then that you began to piece things together. You glanced down between your bodies, finding her two thighs trapping one of yours in precious need. A gentle smile showed on your face, full of curious wonder. 

She was absolutely ruinous.

“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner, baby?”

“I tried,” she said. “You were out like a light.”

Two half-truths that conveniently enabled her to forego explaining her deeper desires. Admitting just how much she had enjoyed the thrill of using you in your altered state wasn’t an option in her mind. 

The slight undertone of annoyance in the unsteady waves of her voice made your smile deepen. She really must have been suffering. 

“Use me now, then,” you resolved simply. “Finish what you started.”

She turned her face to look at you – finally – allowing you to see her rosy cheeks and the want in her eyes. Her hair was mussed, a bit disheveled as it splayed across the pillow in multiple directions. Still, she was breathtaking. 

“Y-you don’t mind?” She asked smally.

You let out a little laugh at that. “Of course not. Why would I?”

“I didn’t know if you’d be in the mood. Since you’ve been so busy lately, I didn’t want to bother–

“Gahyeon, look at me,” you interrupted her rambling, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. “I will always be in the mood for you, okay?” You raised your brows expectantly. 

She nodded, taking your words of reassurance to heart. 

“Making you feel good makes me feel good. So come here,” you coaxed, settling back against the pillows behind you. “...I want to watch you ride me.”

Her heart skipped a beat, both in part from your sweetness and also from your request. She wasn’t often plagued by shyness, but you had the mysterious ability of bringing it out in her at times like this. 

A timid smile reached her lips as she rolled over, obediently moving to straddle you. Her wet shorts made contact with your exposed stomach, making you draw in a breath. She laid down atop you, aligning her body with yours; she was practically humming with need.

“You’re so good to me,” she praised, musing gratefully. 

You smiled as her lips grazed your cheek, pressing a few soft kisses to it before she buried her face in the safety of your neck. You wrapped your arms around her, letting her settle comfortably between them and find her confidence again. 

Her hips began to move in small strokes, still reserved, like she was testing the waters. Your hands gained purchase on the small of her back, guiding her to move freely and release her inhibitions. 

“Go ahead, sweetheart. Don’t hold back.”

The reassurance in your sweet voice successfully spurred her on, and she began to own her desire, slowly but surely. 

In time with her grinding, her pillowy lips drug across your neck, leaving open mouthed kisses in their wake. 

She gave into the urge to mark you when you moaned her name under your breath, just loud enough for her to hear. 

“Is this what you wanted to do while I was asleep?” You asked, tilting your head to the side to give her better ease of access. “Too much of a slut to be patient… Just wanted to use me to get off, huh?”

She nodded, humping faster. The degradation in your tone made her clit throb harder than before, and the humiliation of being found out made her heart pound. 

She should’ve known you’d put the pieces together eventually. 

“Didn’t wanna wait…” she mumbled between kisses, fessing up, “...felt too good to stop.”

She allowed her hands to wander over your body, ghosting her nails across your skin just enough to leave goosebumps as she trailed them towards your chest. She kneaded one of your breasts through your tank top, groping it like she’d been dying to ever since waking up. 

You whimpered, and the sound of it made her hips jerk and stutter briefly. 

“Fucking hell, Y/N,” she cursed under her breath. Her shorts rubbed against your stomach and pelvis, spreading her slick everywhere, making a mess on you. The heady scent of her arousal filled the space between you, igniting something within you with every inhale you drew in. 

In one motion, she pulled your top down, fully exposing your chest to her eager eyes. The thin straps of it fell down your arms, hanging loosely. 

Under her heavy gaze, it was your turn to be shy; she sat up to take in the full sight of you, still straddling your waist. 

Her hands splayed across your stomach as she continued to grind, reveling in the friction that her clit received. The force of her thrusts moved you as well, causing your breasts to bounce.

The image of you like that only made her wetter, and she made it a point to etch it into her mind to remember later. 

Your fingertips skated to the edge of her shirt, which you promptly pulled off of her and tossed elsewhere into the surrounding darkness. 

You sat up and kissed her exposed skin, encouraged by her poorly-suppressed sounds of pleasure. 

She was a work of art, and as you nipped and licked everywhere your mouth could reach, you attempted to paint a hundred different odes to her. Little tributes, all reminders of your devotion to her that she could discover later. Every mark was a splash of color, growing a deeper shade as you fell even more in love. 

With your bodies intertwined and her writhing insatiably within your arms, you felt invigorated. 

Your lips enveloped her nipple as you took it into your mouth, swirling your tongue around the hardened peak. She melted into you at the feeling, pushing herself closer and closer to give you as much access as possible. 

On their own accord, your hips began to wind. 

Your own clit throbbed, having been completely ignored the entire time. But now it brushed against the bunched up crotch of your sweatpants as you moved, attaining a taste of relief.

Erratically, Gahyeon’s muscles jumped against you. You could feel her impending orgasm beginning to take over; her moans grew louder, and her movements less controlled. 

They were stuttered and messy, even causing the headboard to collide with the wall a few times. But you couldn't have cared less; you simply smiled triumphantly and met her with the same level of intensity, encouraging her to chase after her high and use you however she needed to. 

"Y/N/N, baby" she warned, voice whiny and strained with effort, "I'm gonna…"

You released her nipple with a wet pop and brought a hand up to the nape of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. She submitted immediately and gave you control, welcoming your tongue into her mouth as she teetered on the edge. 

You threaded your fingers into her hair, tightening your grip without warning. The sensation – paired with one final, perfectly timed grind – sent her over the edge. 

A slew of whiny moans came out of her, high pitched and breathless. Stars erupted behind her eyelids, and her mind raced with thoughts of you. She held tightly to them, hanging onto the glorious feeling for as long as possible, never wanting it to end.  

As you coaxed her through the aftershocks, she suckled on your lower lip, languidly riding out every last one of them. She jerked a few times, clinging to you like her life depended on it. 

She was especially sensitive when you reached into her shorts and circled her swollen clit with your thumb. 

"How about another, baby? Since you did so well for me." You offered against her lips, enjoying the way she trembled.

Her resulting, sheepish nod inspired a smile to form on your face.

“Oh and, for the record,” you added, brushing the tip of your nose against hers, “you can do whatever you want with me, anytime; even if I’m sleeping. I don’t mind.” 

You felt the way that she clenched at that, her walls responding to the mere future promise of it alone, and your grin only deepened. 

She shook like a leaf as you moved even closer, allowing your lips to hover next to her ear.

“I know you want to, jagi. It's cute." 

An embarrassed groan left her, but you were only encouraged by it. 

"Maybe I should pretend," you teased, shutting your eyes as you laid back down onto the pillows. "This better?" 

When you let out a fake snore, she whined in protest and smacked your shoulder. 

"Yah! Cut it out!"

You chuckled and pulled her down, pressing a kiss to her cheek to smooth things over again and win her back. Your fingertips swirled across her clit again, like an unspoken apology to ease her anger. 

Despite the pouting she was doing, she leant in to kiss you anyway.

It didn't take long for her to melt into it, either – giving herself up to you again like the good girl she was. 

Moonlight fell across her features, highlighting all of the ways they scrunched together in pleasure when you quickened your movements in her shorts. You eased two fingers into her and curled them, inspiring a loud moan to slip out of her mouth.

With a smirk, you accepted what fate had in store:

Neither one of you would be getting any more sleep tonight.  

[crp-low-quality-content]

Eyeless Jack x AFAB reader: memories

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CW: gore, cheating, angst, character death, mentions of sex.

A/N: First time posting an angst fanfic that I planned and had an idea behind, well if no one likes it I'll just pretend nothing happened. I hope it's good and you enjoy it.

Reader's POV:

I lived with him for a few years, he's always been very affectionate with me and perhaps one of the only people I've been able to trust in my life.

And it really was, I never had luck with people and relationships, to the point where I couldn't even trust my own family.

And since I had a difficult life in the city with a bad job, annoying people and loneliness, I agreed to move to where Jack lived, a cabin in the middle of the forest.

At the cabin he brings everything i need and want, while I take care of it and grow some of what I eat.

And it was good, for the first time I could experience the feeling of genuine happiness that I missed from my childhood.

He made me happy after a troubled life.

I know it's weird to have this relationship because he's a demon, or something like that, but it's just that in life you meet people that are so evil that they make demons more trustworthy.

And I loved him, since the day we met for the first time.

Well, I confess that I was a little scared before but it seems that he became less threatening each time I got to know him more.

And as soon as I gained his trust, we started to have a friendly relationship, and then slowly everything escalated into a romantic relationship and then I decided to live with him.

And everything seemed like a Disney princess story, we always did everything together, we cooked, we watched movies, we showered, and in the end, we were cuddling and kissing. It's like we couldn't stay apart from each other.

I had never had a person who gave me so much love before, so I always reciprocated by making handmade gifts, taking care of him and doing whatever he wanted, he was like a sun in my life.

He even put his mark on me, the demonic mark like a bite on my neck during one of our love making sessions, a permanent mark which represents a unbreakable bond as he told me.

Everything was always so good, that even when we fought, we started talking again as if nothing had happened before.

But it seems like this year he started acting weird towards me, suddenly all that burning fire and unconditional love from Jack had gone out like a dead flame.

He was more distant than usual, he spoke very little to me and all the sex, making out and words of affirmation were slowly becoming less frequent.

I thought he was sick, or that something had happened to him, maybe someone was causing this or hurting my love.

But every time I tried to talk to him, he just avoided bringing up the subject, diverted the conversation or invented something very important to do at that moment.

Of course, this made me worried, maybe I had touched a nerve, maybe something very worrying was happening to Jack, but as he didn't want to tell me I just respected it.

And of course I also suspected that something was wrong with me, but as I was sure I hadn't done anything, I thought something had happened to Jack.

And the days went by, I remember that that was the grayest week of my life, I really remembered what it was like to feel alone, what my life was like before.

Even though I had things to do and distract my mind in the cabin, it was strange doing all that without Jack's company.

It was as if those activities had lost their meaning and were empty.

But after a week he spoke to me again, apologized for the sudden silence and we went back to normal.

He never told me what had happened, but I was happy that at least I had Jack back.

We had sex that night and it was one of the best I've ever had, it was like filling a need I couldn't hold back any longer.

The next day I woke up feeling strange. Jack, suspicious of the situation, went into town that morning and returned with a pregnancy test.

We didn't know whether to be happy or shocked by the situation.

We didn't even expect it to be possible for us to procreate.

In the end we accepted that, and Jack started to take care of me so that our baby could come into the world healthy.

But deep down I still felt weird, and it wasn't anything related to the baby or my pregnancy.

My intuition kept screaming that there was still something wrong, something that had changed in my life since Jack had been silent that week.

Even though he still gave me all the love in the world, I felt like that love didn't feel the same, like it wasn't truly genuine or meant to fill some hole.

Some hole he didn't want me to discover, so I kept my guard up for any clues as to what was going on.

It was until one night I was sleepless so I stayed up late in bed with Jack without him noticing.

Until he went on another night out to collect organs and I stayed in bed waiting, maybe that had something to do with what was happening.

And since I was sleepless, I stayed awake until he came back. And he returned, not realizing that I hadn't slept yet.

Until then everything was normal, He took off his clothes and went to bed, and as he lay down next to me I smelled something strange and unusual on him.

It wasn't blood or mud, it seemed more sweet but slightly acidic.

That's when I realized what was going on but I kept my composure, I tried not to cry or think about it or he would feel the scent of my sadness.

The day dawned gray, as if my world had died and I had lived a lie for several years.

I didn't see Jack as my one and only love anymore, and now he was just a stranger to me.

It was as if we had never loved each other before, and nothing I experienced with him was real.

He lied to me, he lied.

I waited for him to leave and cried all morning until he came back.

I didn't know what to do, I would never be able to forgive him, I've had my dignity taken away too much in this life, I wouldn't want it taken away again.

I confess that Jack changed in some way, there was something strange in his aura, something that scared me.

I felt like the first time I met him, he seemed more threatening now.

I didn't feel safe in his presence even though he seemed "normal." It was as if at any moment he was going to attack me and he was manipulating me just to give me a false sense of security.

A security that he always promised, he was always very protective of me, but now it seemed like I was just another prey.

But It was already almost nine months of pregnancy, my belly was huge and our baby would soon come into the world.

Maybe he wouldn't try anything with me when our son was born... Or no, maybe he was just waiting for me to deliver the child.

All of this was my speculation, since Jack had a strange vibe after that night.

And I myself must have changed in some way towards him after that night, I became a little distant but I tried to hide it.

I always remembered the smell and how it felt to be betrayed.

But I was afraid I thought to try to get revenge and he would want to retaliate and take my life in some way.

I know it seems absurd, but I had already completely lost trust in him due to what he had done and the circumstances of our relationship.

It was like coming back to reality and seeing how stupid I was to think that a literal demon was worthy of being loved.

If he was already interested in someone, what if he started to like that person or thing more than me?

And if that happens, what will happen to me?

What if... What if he thinks about getting rid of me?

...Kill me?

My mind sometimes imagines too many things, sometimes I go out of my normal range, but this is a great possibility within everything I've ever experienced.

More tears fell and I felt a terrible pain in my chest, I collapsed crying again on my bed, until I felt weak and fell asleep.

I woke up in the afternoon and Jack was by my side. He had asked if I had slept at night and commented on how swollen my eyes were.

There seemed to be some concern in his tone, but I replied that I just hadn't slept well.

As the week went by I came up with a plan to find out but I didn't know where to start, so I had the idea of ​​following him on his outings, but it would be difficult.

I would have to sleep in clothes suitable for going out at night, but he would suspect of me, since I always slept in pajamas.

Until that afternoon I saw a letter left for me on my plantation, the place I usually access the most, so it was definitely for me.

Yeah, it had my name, it was for me.

When I opened and read the letter I felt things like shock, hatred and then sadness again.

It seemed like everything I was suspecting was confirmed there, I wasn't paranoid.

The person who wrote the letter was getting involved with Jack, and he wasn't human, just like him.

He described how easy it was to steal my husband and how he was good in bed and I was a cuckold.

I didn't know whether to cry again or kill Jack, but since I was only human, what could I do?

I was trapped in a cage and my captor was much more powerful than me.

I wanted to believe it was all a lie and show Jack the letter, but given his strange behavior and everything that had happened so far I decided it was better not to.

It was just better for me to accept the truth once and for all.

As I couldn't face Jack and I was afraid that if he knew that I discovered everything he would do something to me, the best alternative was to leave without warning and hide.

So I slowly packed my things, I organized my clothes and my belongings in a way that would make them easy to put in my suitcase when I leave, but without raising suspicion or seeming too easy.

And the week passed, soon I was going to give birth to our son and that made me nervous because it was the week I was planning my escape.

Jack seemed closer now too, and he hadn't left my side all week, probably because of the baby.

It was the first time that his presence irritated me, I tried to show any affection but that would be useless if he smelled me and felt that I didn't love him anymore.

Maybe he didn't even suspect it since he never said anything, or maybe he did, I don't know.

I got the news that someone Jack knew had been injured and needed his help, oh it was just Toby.

So Jack had to leave but and promised to return as soon as possible.

And for me, it was my chance to finally leave and when he took a considerable distance from the cabin I quickly opened my suitcase and threw my things inside.

I already knew that region very well from living there and knew how to get to the nearest city, I was taking money and a first aid kit and food, I was more than prepared.

It was when I was leaving that I froze at the door when I came across a tall, pale figure, that thing was Humanoid and with strange features but handsome in some way, it seemed to be male.

The thing just looked me up and down and laughed in a mocking tone as if I had lost some competition.

He explained who he was and asked if I had received his letter.

I felt that hatred climbing my chest again when I remembered that fucking letter, that demon was provoking me again, but this time I didn't care much, since I didn't feel anything for jack anymore.

That demon continued to tease me as I headed away from the cabin, telling me all sorts of things that might offend me.

I tried to ignore him as much as possible but I couldn't take it and started responding to him in an equally rude and cold way.

He laughed and continued teasing me, but I kept my composure and just gratuitously offended him trying to regain my dignity.

Somehow I was amused by this because I saw he was getting angry and I was winning.

It was then that he released how flawed the idea of ​​a demon loving a human was, how weak we are and a bunch of other bullshit.

He said jack never loved me and will never love me, that humans are nothing but prey for demons.

Even tho it could be a truth I replied that even so, I was married to Jack and he was just the other guy.

This angered him deeply, and as I smiled and savored my victory I soon felt something crossing the area between my belly and my chest.

When I looked down I saw that the fucker had thrust his huge claws into me and then ripped them off with such force that I fell to the ground.

The pain was piercing, it was like nothing I had felt before, I felt my blood leaking and pouring on the ground, my veins popping and my face getting hot with my tears.

Until I howled and moaned loudly trying to contain a loud scream that could alert Jack.

For some reason I preferred to fend for myself rather than ask for his help, I already doubted any intention he had with me.

I didn't think he would actually help me.

I crawled away from the creature while he laughed like a child at some immature joke.

He told me to get away from there before Jack came back and finished the job.

It broke me too, how did he know I distrusted Jack? Was he just saying something or did he know something?

I tried to get up and leave as quickly as possible, but the pain was unbearable, I had to limp and lean against the trees without making any noise, keeping my hand pressed against the wound, I moved away from the creature and its laughter became more and more distant behind me.

it was only then that I remembered the baby, and then an even greater pain cut through my chest.

My mind filled with thoughts and my heart with panic, what if he had hurt my child?

My baby could be my only hope of being truly loved in this world.

I couldn't sit still and think, so I felt an even greater motivation and strength to get out of there and find someone to take me to the city.

Before going, I opened my suitcase and first aid kit and cleaned the wound and bandaged it.

I ate something noticing that the sun was setting, I didn't know if there would be cars on the road after that time, so I hurried through the forest to get there as quickly as possible.

I finally found the road, but I was already losing my strength and a lot of blood, what was in the kit might not be enough to stop an internal bleeding. And so I started walking slower still looking for a car or someone.

I had been walking for a few minutes, I was feeling very weak, everything was getting dark so I felt on the side of the road I lost my bag and I was waiting there for someone to arrive.

But no one came.

I felt like an abandoned dog on the street, who had escaped from an abusive home and was left to slowly die.

My vision started to get blurry and dark and soon I lay down, seeing the moon in the sky, it was hard to see it's details but I knew it was my only source of light.

And somehow I felt comforted, the moon might never leave me and I didn't feel alone in its light.

I slowly things didn't make much sense, but I could see every memory of my life so far playing like a movie for me.

I saw my family, school, high school, college, my first job and all the misfortunes and bad things that happened to me,every wound, every abandonment, every betrayal, even Jack.

I saw our life in the cabin and how absurd it was what he did to me after so much joy, maybe I really was insignificant to him, maybe jack was like any other man in the world, even though he was a demon.

Then I saw the demon that killed me.

This life was too difficult, maybe the child I was carrying could be my true light, but I couldn't never let them see the sun for the first time anymore.

I was sure that if I was going to be able to see my son anywhere, it wouldn't be here on earth.

Maybe next time I'll be able to meet you my little hope.

I closed my eyes and haven't heard anything since.

Investigator's POV:

This was the letter encrypted by a medium who visited the forest after several reports from visitors regarding paranormal activities in the region.

The activities vary, from voices, screams, cries, to a kind of Poltergeist in the forest that throws rocks at visitors and causes scratches on their skin.

There has even been a report of an alleged possession, it must be a very disturbed spirit.

The cabin in the region, which has been abandoned for a long time, is the location of most intense activity.

According to the descriptions, the spirit that disturbs the region must belong to −/·−/−−/·−/·−·//−−/·−/·−·/·−·/··, who after disappeared ten years ago was presumed dead weeks after a long search.

I try to process this story, which is pretty crazy by the way, a relationship between a demon and a human in the middle of nowhere, where the two got married and were going to have a child...

I even thought it was the medium's joke but after some investigation everything was confirmed when we found in the basement a frame containing a photo of the missing person and the thing they were married.

From the photo and the description on the card, this demon is very reminiscent of the internet legend "Eyeless Jack", that became popular in the golden age of creepypastas.

In the backyard of the cabin, where there was probably a small plantation, there was a simple tomb, which, when investigating the buried remains, confirmed that it belonged to −/·−/−−/·−/·−·//−−/·−/·−·/·−·/··.

We found no remains of the couple's child or this Jack, which perhaps indicates that they are alive or have left the region.

Of all the cases I've ever dealt with, this was the craziest.

Me as a paranormal investigator, I have dealt with all types of paranormal activity before, with varying stories, but nothing compares to this.

This ghost appears to be much more aggressive than any spirit I've ever investigated, and its story is pretty crazy too, somewhat intriguing.

But so far there's nothing left to see, maybe tomorrow I'll find more clues and then call a priest to bless the place.

[everlastlady]

hi! im a new user on tumblr and i happened to stumble onto ur acc when looking for helluva boss fanfics!

i was wondering if you could do a striker x male!reader fanfic! as a trans man, its hard for me to find male!reader fics cause theyre a pretty hard find and a lot of the fandoms im in are kinda small!!

if u arent doing requests, thats totally fine! i can understand not doing them considering u mentioning ur break from the fandom ( btw i hope that things go well for u during ur break from the hh/hb fandom, it can be tiring )

if u are and u do do this request, thank you so much!! it means a lot to me. <3

have a good day!

Thank you! Before I take my break I'm going to get these request out of the way. But thank you! And of course I'll write Striker X Male Reader. I'll also definitely start posting mlm fics soon because I'm still getting into the comfort of writing mlm since I used to writing a lot of other fics. But I hope you enjoy this Striker X Male Reader!

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Striker X Male Reader: Hit & Run.

☕ Author's Note: Hello! My little imps, demonic sinners, and powerful overlords. Happy Pride Month! And welcome back to this story of Striker X Male Reader. I had fun writing this while blasting music. So I hope you all enjoy but also fun fact I'm bisexual, demisexual, & demi romantic. I realized I was bisexual in middle school because I had a crush on my friend Heather and I thought I just liked her because she was my friend but the universe was like nah you wanna kiss her. Lol I discovered I was demi romantic and demi sexual when I turned 19 and since then I've been feeling comfortable with who I am. My account will always be a safe place for the pride community. You are not alone, you are strong, you are loved, and my dms are always open.

☕Word Count: 2083

☕Fandom: Helluva Boss.

☕Story Contains: Blood/A beat up cowboy.

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You stirred in your sleep and opened your eyes. You noticed that your husband Striker was no longer in bed. But this was normal; Striker usually go up early in the morning or at midnight to get ready for a job. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you started dating the outlaw. You closed your eyes for a few seconds, you were still exhausted from work. But you were glad that today was your day off, you fell asleep again but woke up a couple of hours later and decided to start your day. You took a shower and got dressed. You walked into the living room and smiled at the wedding picture on the table. You remembered this day and how you meet Striker. The outlaw had run out onto the road and got hit by your car. You had stopped and panicked seeing that you hit someone. When you placed him in the car and offered to take him to the hospital. He refused to go and ask that you just patch him up, you were unsure of this but nodded. When you had taken Striker in and patched him. He really didn’t talk to you, he seemed more interested in getting patched up and leaving but with his condition. He couldn’t do that yet so he stayed with you for a few weeks. Striker was quite the asshole to you when he was under your roof. He would growl or snap at you when you tried to help him. Refused to eat your cooking because said it sucked. But deep down he loved your cooking and would sneak into the kitchen at night to eat leftovers. You worked as a nurse at a hospital so you knew how to take care of Striker. He slowly started to warm up to you and he would do this by teasing you. Striker was taller than you so he would call you a small fella and sometimes hold items above your head. He would also poke you sometimes or make jokes. Striker did help out around the house, sometimes he would cook and you loved his cooking. “ I guess you could say I’m the better cook. “ Striker chuckled. You rolled your eyes. After Striker was healed. It was time for him to say goodbye; which made you sad. You would hate to admit but you felt something for the outlaw. But you weren’t sure if he liked you or if he liked guys. “ Hey, Striker. “ You said walking up to him, as you watched him get on his horse.

“ Yea, darlin’? “ Striker said. Hearing him say that made you blush but you shook your head, it was too soon to admit your feelings. “ Have a safe trip. “ You said, smiling at him. Striker smirked that smirk you loved so much as his gold tooth glimmered in the sun. “ Thanks for taking good care of me. If I see ya again you better be ya hear me. “ Striker smacked Bombproof with his tail and rode off. You waved goodbye while blushing and smiling. You thought about Striker’s words and nodded, you head back inside. You haven’t seen Striker for a long while, but you did what he said and became a doctor. You had just finished working late and had pulled into your driveway. You got out of your car and yawned. Pulling out your keys. You unlocked the door and walked inside; you switched on the light and jumped seeing Striker sitting on your couch looking beat up and bleeding out; he saw you and smirked. “ Hey, there darlin’ it's been a while. “ Striker said and winced in pain. You quickly close the door and ran over to Striker and were careful with him. “ Striker what the fuck happened!? “ You said and ran to get your med kits. You came back and Striker started removing his clothes and staying in his boxers. You blushed and set the medkit down. You placed his bloody clothes into a bag and started to patch him up. “ I had this job, and this job didn’t go as I planned. I killed the targets but I got a little messed up during the fight. “ He said chuckling and wincing in pain. “ Sorry, and you didn’t get messed up a little you got messed up a lot. “ You said and slipped off your blood gloves. Striker lifted your chin with his finger. “ Yeah, but a cute doctor is patching me up~ “ Striker smirked. You quickly stood up and Striker’s reaction made you laugh. “ But I’m glad you did become a doctor and I wonder if you still make good food. “ Striker stared at you. You smiled. “ I’ll give you some things to clean yourself up with and I’ll make us dinner. Since you are here and I patched you up, then you owe me some catching up okay? “ You said. “ Sir yes sir. “ Striker said and chuckled.

You walked into your room and grabbed a washcloth and a towel for Striker. You found a pair of grey sweatpants and a black T-shirt that could fit him from when a friend was staying with you. You walked out and handed Striker the items. “ Thanks, pumpkin. “ Striker said. “ New nickname? “ You said with a chuckle. “ Oh, little thing I have a bunch of them let's see if you can unlock them~ “ Striker shot you and wink then walked into the bathroom. You stood there smiling and blushing. You walked into the kitchen and decided to make your favorite meal, hopefully, Striker will like it. After cooking you had finished. “ Something smells good and I know it's not just me. “ You turned around to see Striker standing there. His white hair was a mess from showering. You walked up, shit he did smell good. “ Y~Yeah I made (food name). “ You said. Striker grinned and claps his hands together. “ Then what are we waiting for let’s dig in. “ Striker sat down as you made him a plate or bowl of food. You sat down to eat with Striker. The two of you catching up. Striker was proud that you had become a doctor. “ Here darlin’ let me clean those for you. “ Striker said trying to grab your dish. “No, you need to rest Striker. “ You said frowning. Striker chuckled and pulled you close with his tail so that you pressed up against him. “ I’ve been an assassin for years. I know what my body can handle darlin’ and I’m sure you've been on your feet all day. “ Striker stared at you with a serious look. “ You go unwind, my mama taught me how to treat a host the right way. “ Striker smirked and let you go.

You were standing there flustered but walked off. You saw that Striker had gotten the blood stains out of your couch. “ Oh. wow. “ You walked into your room and started to undress so you could shower. You weren’t sure if Striker was flirting or teasing you but those feelings you had for him a while back were returning. But what if he leaves again? You frowned and turned on the shower and washed yourself up. You let the water hit your body and you thought about Striker. You weren’t sure if you would ever tell him. You sighed and turned off the water, you stepped out dried off, and changed into your pajamas. You opened the door and jumped. You saw Striker standing there holding a pack of popcorn and a tub of ice cream. “ I was still hungry and saw you had snacks, wanna watch a movie? “ You smiled and nodded. “ I would love to. “ Striker offered his hand to you. You grabbed his hand and later that night you and Striker were watching an old western movie had had suggested both of you had finished off the ice cream and popcorn. You saw that Striker had fallen asleep at the end of the movie. You stood up carefully sliding him down on the couch. You walked off and returned with a pillow and a black blanket. You carefully slipped the pillow under his head and covered him with it, you watched him stir in his sleep. You smiled and walked off.

You got yourself ready for bed since tomorrow was your day off but you still valued your rest. You got into bed and sat there thinking of Striker and you fell asleep. You planned for a restful sleep but you woke up screaming and crying. But something held, you looked up to see Striker looking at you with a worried look. “ (Y/N) are you okay? I heard ya screaming and crying. Did you have a nightmare darlin? Here scoot over I’mma slide in. “ Striker said. You scoot over and Striker got in your bed and pulled you close and rubs your hand. “ You can tell me what happened if you want. “ He said looking at you with a smile and a caring look. You sighed, you might as well tell him and if he rejects you then at least the nightmare wasn’t wrong. “ I had had feelings for you, I love you Striker, but I had a nightmare that I told you how I felt and you just laughed you kept laughing telling me that you don’t love me. “ Tears threatened to spill again. “ Y~You love me? “ Striker said. You look up to see Striker blushing and had a large grin. “ D~ No, (Y/N) I feel the same way I about you when we first met and you patched me up and you let me stick around I developed feelings for you, I just didn’t know how to tell you. I couldn’t get you out of my head ever since I left. It’s one of the reasons I came back. “ Striker chuckled and you couldn’t help but let the tears fall because you were happy that he felt the same way. “ Strik- “ But you were cut off as Striker kissed you and you kissed him back. The two of you locked in a passionate kiss both of your tails wrapping together and getting tangled. Striker promised to stay in the bed with you and the two of you talked all night.

Striker told you that if you agreed to be his boyfriend then you would have to deal with the outlaw lifestyle the things that came with being an assassin even a couple of rules. You loved Striker so you agreed to be his boyfriend and follow his rules which were no calling him while he is working, no posting pictures of him on your social media, don’t let others know about your relationship with him, and be careful who you trust. Striker had these rules to protect himself and espically you. So you agreed to these rules. Striker held you close and kissed your head. “ I love you bo. “ Striker said as he kept his tail around you. After that night you and Striker continued your relationship. You supported him and he supported you. Of course, now he was no more careful when taking on jobs but even when he got a bit messed up, you were always there to patch him back. Eventually, Striker proposed to you when he made you a fancy homemade dinner. The two of you had a small private wedding but you didn’t care about some grand wedding you had Striker and that’s what made you happy. Striker always made you laugh and smile. He would play songs on guitar for you, even written you a few songs, and maybe sometimes he took you on trips. He always brought you a gift back from his jobs, Striker loved you and he’ll always love you.

-Back In the Present -

You felt someone kiss your neck. “ Striker~ “ You blushed as the cowboy pulled you close while placing his hand on your chest. “ I see my beautiful bo is remembered our wedding day. “ He said also staring at the picture with you. “ And the day we met. “ You said while setting the picture down you turn around and kissed Striker. He held you close and kissed back. “ I still remeber the nervous mess you were when we met. But you were my nervous mess. I’m glad you hit me with your car. “ He said laughing and shaking his head. “ How many times will I have to say sorry, but yes I’m glad I hit you with my car too. “ Striker dipped and kissed you.

[literallythegrabber]

TBP characters x somehow famous reader ? ( It's up to you how ) thank you for reading my request 👍

so I wasn't sure whether or not you wanted the cast or the characters themselves, so I just went with cast because it made more sense.

If you wanted characters I can redo it! 💗💗 (this looks way longer than it actually is btw)

Mason

he definitely stalks you

like not in a creepy way, he's just always on your social platforms, literally waiting for you to post.

he's totally your biggest fan, and will literally attempt to fight all of your haters.

Before your relationship, I feel like he was very nervous to talk to you.

Like if you two were ever at a screening together, or a fancy event back when TBP was popular, this man would legit stare you down from across the room. Then proceed to duck under a table if you catch him staring.

But during your relationship he would be way more relaxed and confident.

He would be chill about pda and taking you on dates in public, but your fanbase would be doing cartwheels, cause everybody ships yall.

Miguel

He's so obvious about his crush on you that it's hilarious.

If you seen those lives where he's just reading comments, then one mentions your name. He's gonna ramble on about you for the rest of the live.

WILL NOT SHUT UP ABOUT YOU, and his friends are tired of it tbh.

bro literally forgets he's famous too and turns into the ultimate fangirl.

But during your relationship he's so sweet.

Always wanting to hangout with you, taking you out in public almost every day.

If yall ever broke up, yalls fans would explode.

They be acting like yalls children with how lovey dovey yall are.

Brady

I feel like he'd try to hide it.

Like he's not in denial, but he don't want nobody knowing about his crush on you.

"conceal, don't let it feel" he's literally elsa.

He kinda keeps to himself around you, in public and all that.

He wouldn't want to overwhelm you, especially with how the media reacts when two popular human beings get together.

So you'd def have to approach him and ask for a date.

During your relationship, he would thaw the ice a bit.

You'd have to reassure him of your relationship a lot.

He just wants you to be comfortable. Lazy nights at home, introverted hangouts, cooking together.

Pretty chill.

Tristan

literally the opposite of brady.

IS YOUR BIGGEST FAN AND DOESN'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

He's definitely trying to rizz you up at a fancy event, and you're just like 😐

Like whispering random shit in your ear, trying to make you blush, posing with you at every opportunity.

Kinda annoying tbh

But if you give him a chance he'll tone it down. He'll start be more genuine and less flirty.

Taking you out to dinner, not wanting to take pictures with fangirls even though you scold him for being rude.

def starts arguments with you for fun. Starting light hearted arguments with you for fun.

this mf is still annoying.

but overall very cute.

Jacob

He's honestly pretty chill about you.

He just casually approaches you strikes up conversation.

In the middle of an interview? "These lights are bright, am I right y/n?" Talking with a fan? "Y/n, don't you have that same shirt?" Signing an autograph? "Do you think aliens are real?"

like shut up 😭

He really just enjoys talking to you, hearing your voice is the highlight of his day.

Yall would ease into a comfortable friendship before he ask you out.

From there on its late night ft calls, stealing each other's clothes, and going on casual excursions.

def the easiest to date.

Madeleine

She's so funny.

Either confesses right off the bat, or confirms you're hers after yall lock eyes.

kinda reminds me of that one audio, YOU ARE MINE, YOU ARE MINE.

Yall could be talking about pregnant hyenas, and she'll randomly be like, "I love you".

like girl what?

During your relationship she would be super cute.

Yall always out together. You can never catch her inside for more than 10 minutes.

Mason be feeling like a third wheel every time yall three are in the same room.

Yall just in the corner flirting and mason's just sitting there like 😐.

def your hype girl, yall always turning up.

srry, this was so long 💗💗

[ihavethedreamies]

Snow in Sweden | Renjun

Huang Renjun - NCT Dream

Word Count: 9.3k

Pairing: Renjun x AFAB!Reader

Genre: Reader-Insert, Fluff, Cuddling, Eventual Kisses, Pining, Flirting

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, the Reader punches someone, Jaemin

Uh, this is pretty long lol. It was exactly 9,300 words when i checked but I might have edited it and changed it. I am more proud of that then the rest of the story.

I am referencing this sweatshirt for a Jaemin.

I used this site for making the group chat messages. I made it my own because it was hard to find something fake chat maker with a group function and I have never used Telegram, so I edited it some, so that's why its formatted the way it is.

Edit: I did change the title, it was just Winter Romance.

I am cross-posting this on Archive under the same name. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on Tumblr my name and icon are exactly the same on the other two sites. Happy reading!

Part of you wasn't quite sure why you agreed to this, but the guys wanted to so bad. Sweden in the middle of winter would be…a lot. They said winter was the best time to go however, because they wanted to go to stay at the Ice Hotel. You didn't mind the cold, but Scandinavia in the winter? The only country that did better with winter than Russia? Let alone staying in the ice hotel, which the rooms are literally made out of ice. However, when they told you it would only be for one night, the rest would be in a normal hotel room, you caved. Plus, you would get to meet sled dogs and ride in a sled. Before your group even left, everyone paired up to decide on a trip partner. You drew out on a piece of paper a bunch of lines, and everyone traced a different path to get a partner. The teams were Mark and Chenle, Jeno and Jisung, Jaemin and Haechan, and you got teamed up with Renjun. Honestly, you sighed a breath of relief, thinking of all the nonsense that could have happened otherwise. You weren't sure to feel worse for Jaemin or Haechan, in that situation. Since everyone had to share a bed, Renjun definitely felt like the best option. Plus, he was sweet and quiet with you and would be good company for the events. You had to stamp down the heart-fluttering it caused though. Your small crush on him that you had since you met him had only gotten much worse the longer you had been friends with all of them. He was also the only one you couldn't find a fault with. Chenle was loud. Donghyuck was touchy. Jaemin was flirty. Jisung would be way too embarrassed and not be able to sleep. Mark star-fished across the bed and you didn't care for that. Jeno would have been okay, if it wasn't for the fact that you two almost slept together a few months ago after a great deal of drinking had been had. All of them but Jisung and Chenle had stayed the night at your apartment and Jeno got to share your bed with you. Never again, he was dangerous. Not that he would try anything, but anyone with eyes could see how attractive he was.

After all the pairs were decided, with much ruckus after, you logged on and got everyone signed up for everything. Everyone agreed to save up their money and pool it together to afford everything. It also helped that your uncle was helping you get cheap airline tickets to get there and got you a discount at the hotel. Plus, Chenle was freaking rich.

"You sure you're okay being my partner?" Renjun whispered to you as you plugged in the debit card information. Everyone had given their money to Chenle, and he handed over his black card.

"Of course." you reassured, looking over the information before you hit submit. After checking everything was good, you hit submit and the confirmation popped up and your phone dinged with the email receipt. Another ding went off and you glanced at it to see a second email. You opened it and Renjun looked over your shoulder at it.

"Congratulations. Your booking has won a random raffle drawing and one of your rooms has been upgraded to a deluxe suite. The room under the name "Huang" has been selected…" You read out loud and the two of you just stared at it for a second.

"That's our room?" He clarified and you nodded. That sounded so nice! You pulled up the website of the resort and looked at the specifics of it. It was bigger and had more amenities. The biggest difference though was instead of two beds pretty much just shoved together; this was just one bed. It would also be smaller than the two small ones next to each other, meaning you would be much closer together. He must have come to the same realization and you two just kind of sat there, not sure what to say.

"Did you do it?" Hyuck burst in and you two jumped, scooting away from each other.

"Y-yeah. It seems we won some kind of raffle and our room got upgraded." You motioned between the two of you.

"Man! Lucky!" The other boy pouted and Renjun gave you a sheepish look.

"Let's go eat and figure out all the other plans."

About a month later, on the first day of winter break, everyone gathered together in front of your apartment building with all of their luggage. You were the only one that could drive, but your car could barely fit four people, let alone eight. None of you were old enough to rent a car either, so for a little more money than you wanted to pay, the airport was going to send a van to pick you guys up. Glancing at your phone, it was about five minutes before the transport was supposed to get there. It was only kind of cold right then, no snow and just a slight breeze. You soaked in the cool weather knowing it would get much, much colder. It had been decided that everyone literally had to do everything with their specific partner. That meant sitting with each other to the airport, on both planes, at all meals, sharing the hotel rooms, and every activity. They decided this since no one was paired up with their normal partner. You were normally actually with Renjun, so you two were not so fazed, but Jeno was normally with Jaemin, Donghyuck with Mark, and Jisung with Chenle. This trip was going to be interesting. When the van finally pulled up, the nice gentleman driving got out and helped everyone get their luggage inside. Climbing inside the shuttle, you sat in the back row near the window and as per the rules, Renjun sat right next to you. It was about a forty-five minute drive to the airport, and the traffic was heavy with all of the college students leaving for break. The man driving said it might be about an hour and you were glad you guys decided to leave almost four hours early. Your dad had ingrained in you to get to the airport early just in case anything came up to delay progress. You felt like one of the people in the insurance commercials that are turning into their parents.

"So, where are all of you headed?" The man-made conversation as traffic trudged along.

"Sweden." Mark answered, sitting closest to the front with Chenle.

"Wow! In the winter?" The guy chuckled and you rolled your eyes.

"I know! But they want to stay at the Ice Hotel." You shouted some for the driver to hear you.

"A hotel made out of ice? You better be a gentleman and keep your girlfriend nice and warm." He turned in his seat to give Renjun a look. Everyone froze and looked at you two and you gaped.

"Oh, uh, no, we're not-"

"I will sir." He spoke over you and the rest of the guys looked at each other in shock. You looked at Renjun, but he would not meet your eye.

"Good boy." The rest of the trip to the airport was not exactly quiet, but Renjun and you just sat there, listening to the crazy. You two didn't say a thing till you finally arrived at the airport and you all got your luggage out.

"Good luck, everyone!" The shuttle driver waved, and you all entered the airport. You had somehow managed to become the group leader because you had flown the most out of everyone and they started to call you mom as you managed everything. You checked your bags and were grateful you had weighed them ahead of time because they all just were under the limit. Beforehand you made sure everyone had their passports in their pockets for easy access. Showing them off to the ticket agent, Hyuck complained his picture was bad. No one had a good passport or license photo. Everyone got their physical tickets handed to them, and like the plan, everyone had booked seats next to each other. Jisung and Jeno were in Row C, Row D for Mark and Chenle, Row E for you and Renjun, and Row F for Hyuck and Jaemin. Getting through security was a racket because you all had to take off your friend group necklaces and rings, plus you each had a laptop, and a tablet, your phones, and three of you brought their switches. None of you thought about the shoes you were in; it was easier to wear snow boots than pack them but to get them off and back on again was a task. Once everyone was through, with them almost giving Jaemin a pat down because of a stupid joke he made, you finally all made your way to the gate.

"You really shouldn't make a joke about what's in your pants at an airport." You scolded him and he shrugged. You finally got a good look at his sweatshirt which read 'Orgasm Donor'. Simply sighing, you turned and led the way to your gate. You had to have a layover in New York and then continue on to Sweden. This fact started an argument with Donghyuck because he didn't understand the concept that not every airport was international. You all still had over an hour before boarding, so you stopped to get cinnamon rolls which is honestly a must at the airport.

"Can I have two?" You ordered and the boys gave you a look.

"One for later." You shrugged and received your snack. Everyone sat around the waiting area near the gate to eat. The whole airport was packed so some of you had to sit on the floor. Renjun sat in front of you and because there was so little room he basically had to sit between your legs. Hearing some giggling, you looked over to a short distance away where there was a group of girls about your age maybe a little younger. They were looking at your group and chattering. Honestly, you didn't blame them, not when all of them looked like they did.

"Are those girls talking about us?" Your partner whispered up to you and you nodded.

"Hm. I don't blame them." You huffed a laugh, and he tilted his head back to look at you upside down.

"Why?"

"Look in a mirror, dear." You thumped his forehead with your finger, and you didn't catch the red that flushed his cheeks and ears. You were surprised that the fact they were trying to fit their entire cinnamon rolls in their mouth at once didn't deter the girls.

"You're gonna ruin your amazing new sweatshirt." You pointed out to Jaemin and he managed to catch the glob of frosting before it made his sweatshirt look like he practiced what he preached.

"Um, do you guys live in New York?" An overly sweet voice called out and they all looked to see the girls had approached. You recognized them actually; they were freshmen at the college most likely.

"No, we're just going there before-" You got cut off.

"You want to go get something to eat when we land?" The one that seemed like the leader asked.

"We're only staying about an hour till we get on our next flight." You got in and she sent you a sneer. There were six girls, and you had an idea that they were trying to set up some group date.

"So, you two can stay here, and we can go with the boys." She scoffed and you felt Renjun stiffen. Did they think he was a girl? His hair was longer with blonde underneath the black, and he's quite pretty. When he showed up last week with his hair like that again you were secretly extremely happy, he's always looked so good with it.

"I'm pretty there's no time for that, also-" You started.

"We all would much rather stay with (Y/N) than any of you." Renjun cut it, making his voice a bit deeper than it normally was. They all did a double take when he spoke, and the other boys sat straight. Renjun used his 'you better listen to me, or I'll beat your ass' voice.

"We must stay with our princess and serve her." Hyuck sat up on one knee and bowed in front of you. You felt your eyebrow twitch. He was such a little shit.

"전하 (Your highness)!" They all cheered in Korean, bowing low to you and you couldn't hold in your laugh.

"You stupid idiots, stop." You waved them off, still chuckling and the girls hmphed and turned to go back to their seats.

"Maybe I should cut my hair…" Renjun whispered, running his fingers through his hair at the back of his head.

"No! It looks so good on you! That was so on them." You pointed out, smacking his hand away and petting the soft strands down. Once again, his face and ears reddened, and you saw it this time. After one last pat, you sat back and felt your own face get warm.

"You know, we could order one of these for all of us and having matching sweatshirts too?" Jaemin gave his stupid little smile.

"How about we don't." Jeno flicked him on the forehead. Jaemin dramatically yelped and squirmed excessively. Everyone just dicked around the rest of the time till the flight boarded. As they called certain rows, since you all were right after another you got to board at the same time. You had a fairly small carry on so you just kept it at your feet so you wouldn't have to put it up in the overhead.

"If you want to put your bag up, we can watch something on my laptop." You suggested as Renjun waited for Mark to put his backpack up.

"Okay." He took his shoulder bag off, and Mark took it from him to lay it up near his. You took the window seat, though you had no plans on looking out of it, your fear of heights too prominent. The flight to the east coast was about three and a half hours, but the flight to Sweden would be another eight hours, THEN from Stockholm to the airport closest to the Ice Hotel is about two hours, plus there would be a thirty-minute drive to the hotel. It was going to be a LONG trip. It was currently ten in the morning; you would get to New York at 3:30 pm eastern time. The arrival time for Sweden would be 6:30 in the morning, the next airport would be 9:00, to get to the hotel to check in by 11:00. That would be almost sixteen hours, and luckily being next to Renjun would allow you to actually sleep. At the same time, you had a Jaemin behind you, so you hoped that he didn't bother you the whole time.

"If I sat next to you, I could make my sweatshirt honest." He whispered between the seats as you got settled; before you could scold him, Renjun was kneeling on the seat and reaching over to smack him. You held back a guffaw at this and you knew you would be defended this day yet.

"I'm going to burn that the minute he takes it off." The shorter man whispered angrily, and you nodded in agreement. You had downloaded several things onto your laptop to pass the very long time, and luckily the plane had a normal outlet for you to plug it in. You dug through your bag, which held way more than it appeared, you found your wired earbuds and the splitter that went with them.

"You have your own?" You asked and he got his out so you could watch some movies.

"Wait, you downloaded Captain America?" Hyuck was peering between the seats.

"Yes."

"Lucky." He sat back with a pout, and you shut your laptop when the flight attendant announced to do so, and you made sure you were buckled in. As the flight attendant gave the emergency instructions, you all struggled to stay serious as Jaemin mimicked the woman quietly. As the plane began to taxi to the runway, Renjun nudged you and pointed out that the girls from before were sitting in the middle seats, some of them in the same row as Jeno and Jisung. Jeno was in the aisle, and of course it was him, no one could resist a Jeno…or really a Jaemin, but he was locked in where he was. Thank the Lord, especially since he was wearing what he was. While Jeno was incredibly attractive and nice, he could be shy, especially with girls. Jisung would be of no help, and really neither was Mark. You were pretty sure Chenle was already asleep. The plane lurched as it started to go faster, and you pressed your back into the seat as it began to ascend. You waited patiently for them to announce devices could be used again, so you reopened your laptop and put your phone on airplane mode. You all had your blue tooth turned on and were able to connect on a little server together. The group chat blew up immediately. 

You forwarded him a picture that you two took that fateful night. You didn’t see Jeno's reaction to the picture getting sent, he had no idea a photo existed. You did, however, see Renjun's reaction.

"When did you take that?" He whispered and you shrugged.

"That night you all stayed over after drinking. It'll tell em' off." You couldn't meet his gaze.

You stood up a bit to look over your seat and saw him shake his head, wave his hand, and show them the picture. The girl that was closest to him scoffed and shot her head back to look at you and you sat right back down.

"It worked." You chuckled and Renjun frowned.

"Come here." He said all of a sudden and he held his phone out, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pressing your head down to rest on his shoulder. He snapped the selfie, resting his cheek on your head and then let you go. You sank in the seat, adjusting your hood to pool on the side of your face to cover your red cheeks. Your phone dinged but you ignored it. It’s when it kept going off did you finally look. 

You put your phone away and shut the volume off even.

"You still want to watch a movie?" You asked the boy next to you as he angrily typed.

"Huh?" He looked at you and you shook your head in amusement.

"You wanna watch a movie still?"

"Oh! Yeah." He too put his phone away and you got Captain America pulled up. When his phone would not shut up, he moved to turn the volume down but saw this message instead.

Very quickly that message was straight out deleted since Renjun was the mediator of the chat. He shut his phone off and then you two watched your movie. The plane was declared ready to land right as the movie finished, so you packed everything up. Once the plane touched down you were willing to slide the window shade up and open. You saw that it had either snowed recently or just stopped. You weren't going to be leaving the airport though since your next flight was not in too long, but you could look out the window. They didn't have a set way for people to get off, so the group of you waited for almost everyone else, including the gaggle of girls, to get off before you did. Mark got everyone's bags down and passed them around and then everyone got off with their partners. Once everyone was huddled together in the airport, they gathered around you so you could figure out how to get to the next gate. You looked at the map on the website and realized it wasn't that far off. As you passed the bathrooms, you all decided it would be a good idea to go; so, they mobbed the place, Chenle's voice echoing off the tile. You shook your head and entered the restroom. There was one stall open, and you were able to get in quick and be done quick. Washing your hands, you heard a group start to come in and they came around the corner and it was the girls from before. You hoped Jeno was joking that they might want to fight. Trying to avoid eye contact, you brushed down some fly away hairs with the water still on your hands and you tried. Didn't work.

"Are you really his girlfriend?" You heard the dreaded snide quip.

"Huh?" You turned to her, pretending you had never seen her in your entire life.

"The really hot guy with the white-blonde hair, he's really your boyfriend?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" You felt yourself get defensive. That was a little rude. A lotta rude, actually. She looked you up and down and scoffed. She was probably a good three or four inches taller than you and had heeled boots on to…well, boot. You were in a baggy sweatshirt that hid your figure quite well, it was actually Hyuck's. You realized to an outsider your friend group would be quite odd. You were the only girl and honestly the way you acted with them; anyone could figure any of them your boyfriend. If they saw what you saw though, they would really not know what was going on, especially Jaemin and Jeno. You felt your phone go off, the boys probably wondering what was taking so long.

"What about that guy that was ten times prettier than you? Isn't he your boyfriend?" Another one smirked and you were now getting mad.

"Well of course she would rather have the hot one, bet she can't even feel that kid-" That was it. You socked her in the nose. She screamed out, blood spurting out and you spun around and stormed out.

"(Y/N)?" Mark called and they all turned to look at you. They saw the anger on your face, and the blood on your hand.

"What happened?" They ran over, and Renjun shoved Jaemin out of the way to look at your hand.

"Punched that bitch." You shrugged and they all kind of formed a circle around you when the other girls came out of the bathroom. The one you punched was holding paper towels to her nose and looked like she was going to say something, but when an extremely pissed group of seven guys turned to look at her, she shut her mouth and they quickly left toward the baggage claim. Hopefully she didn't report you and get you kicked out of the airport. Maybe since you weren't on the plane when it happened it would be okay.

"Why?" Jisung finally asked and you shook your head.

"She said something bad about Renjun…" You muttered as he fussed over you, cleaning the blood off your knuckles. The rest of them nodded and exchanged some looks and they said they were going to head to the gate.

"Come with me." Renjun kept holding your hand and led you to the single-family bathroom and brought you in. Leading you to the sink he helped you wash your hand, there was a small bruise forming and once he was done, he even dried your hands for you with a paper towel, then placed a small kiss on your knuckle.

"What did she say?" He asked. He was standing so close that if you looked up, your noses would touch.

"She said she didn't believe I was Jeno's girlfriend. Then one said they thought you were, and that you were prettier than me. Then they suggested that of course I would want Jeno, that you…" You didn't want to finish.

"I what?"

"That…they implied that you wouldn't…be, you know, good in bed." You mumbled the last part out.

"So, you punched her?"

"Yeah." When he wouldn't say anything after that, you weren't quite sure what to do next, but he was still holding your hands. He stepped closer and pulled you into a hug, you happily returned it.

"Thanks."

You two left and met up with the others at the next gate and sat down in relief. You could tell they all wanted to ask but were too afraid of the both of you to actually do it. Everyone just joked around for the next forty-five minutes waiting to board the next flight off to Sweden.

"Flight 127 to Stockholm is now boarding." They called over the intercom and you all moved to get in the line.

"Can those sitting in Row AB, seats three and four please come to the checkout desk?" One of the flight staff taking tickets announced and you nudged Renjun for him to go with you. You both stepped up and the lady looked vaguely apologetic.

"I'm sorry, but it seems your seats were double booked. We can keep you on this flight, but our only seats are in first class, I figured you wouldn't mind the upgrade." The woman smiled, her accent was thick and pretty.

"O-oh!" You handed her your two tickets, and she handed you the new ones that just printed off your names and that allowed you to cut to the front. The others looked at you and you shook your phone and sent what happened in the group chat. 

You heard them groan and you followed Renjun down the walkway to get on the plane. The flight attendant helped you get where your new seats were, which were up a narrow stairway. Looking around in awe, you were both giddy at the luxury of the situation. You were led to a little pod with two seats, and it was NICE.

"This is so cool!" You grinned at him as you sat down, and he agreed. In front of you were screens to watch whatever movie you wanted (just had to pay for it) and the seats were so comfortable. The arm rest in between you two had a series of buttons on it and before you could look and see what they all could do, he pulled it up and out of the way, so it wasn't between you two. There were the same buttons underneath!

"Woah!" You were so preoccupied with the ~technology~ that you didn't realize what he was doing. You got buckled in and there was so much room at your feet both of your bags fit comfortably. You didn't know if it was the seats, or the plane, but you barely felt when the plane began to roll down the runway and take off. You were given all the same information from before, just now in a pretty Swedish accent.

"I think because we're in first class, we'll get fancy food!" You cheered. Since it was such a long flight, there was a meal included already. He smiled and watched as you cooed at all the upgrades. When the little light blinged off that the seat belts could be removed, you gladly complied and leaned forward to dig through the pocket in front of you.

"(Y/N)?" Renjun called and you hummed, waiting for his reply, still looking at stuff. He took a while to say anything, so you sat back to look at him and he fiddled with his sleeve.

"Renjun?"

"Never mind…" He shook his head but gave you a smile in reassurance. You continued the flight in luxury. You watched movies together and the meal was so much better than you are sure they were served in the rest of the plane. About three hours in, you were getting kind of sleepy, and you knew you were going to still deal with some jet lag. You wished you could have been more ready to train for the time change, but with classes and stuff, it was too difficult.

"Renjun, imma take a nap." You yawned and he smiled.

"You going to rest your seat back?" He looked at the panel to find the right button.

"Yeh." Once he found it, you pressed it till you were comfortable and slipped the provided eye mask over to block out the light. He smiled as he watched you fall asleep quite quickly. He found it super cute that you slept with one of your arms raised, your hand up by your head.

He smiled, putting his phone down and while he would definitely not be sending it to anyone, especially Jaemin, he secretly wanted a picture. He paused before he hit the button though, it felt a little creepy.

"Renjun?" Your voice made him jump and put his phone away.

"Yeah?"

"Is there a blanket or something, I'm kinda cold." You slipped the eye mask up and he looked in the compartment beneath the seat and even asked the flight attendant. She apologized profusely, but the machine that usually washed the blankets was not working and so there were no extras. He had an idea. The boy rested his own seat back, and since it was similar to a couch, it laid his seat right down next to yours and the arm rest was already folded up so it wasn't in the way.

"Come here." He opened his arms out for you, having fully reclined and putting the footrest out.

"Y-you sure?" You were squealing inside. Sleeping in the arms of your crush? Hell yeah. The fact that he always smelled amazing? Even better.

"Of course. We're going to share a bed at the hotel anyway."

"Well, yeah, but this is…public."

"You…don't have to." He looked so dejected that you were quick to consent.

"No! I…thanks." You shot a shy smile, and he rested his arm back down; you let him pull you in close. It was very nice and warm, and he really did smell so good. You could tell resting on his chest that he had way more muscle there than you were expecting. Trying to tell your heart to calm down, you moved your head more into the crook of his neck and quickly found yourself falling back asleep. He drifted off as well and the flight attendant passed by and cooed at how cute you two were. She even called over one of her coworkers to see.

Nearly two hours later you finally woke up, having a bit over two more hours to go. You were so enjoying laying on a Renjun though. So much so that you wanted to just lay there forever. However, your body had other ideas.

"Renjun?" You lightly shook him to wake him up and he groaned in protest, pulling you closer to him.

"Ren- I need to go to the bathroom." You shook him again and he opened his eyes this time.

"Oh, sorry." He let you go, begrudgingly and you stretched before getting up and going to relieve yourself. When you came back, he had fallen back asleep, and you giggled. He was so stinking cute. After you sat back down, he allowed himself to fully wake up and you both sat your seats back up. Instead of starting another movie - not enough time - you both talked about what you were most looking forward to. You were not only going to meet the sled dogs but go on a ride with them. And with reindeer too! You were also really looking forward to the northern lights and you were kind of dreading the ice room stay, but Renjun promised you would like it. He picked out the room, making it a surprise. They were different every year and he promised you would love the theme. When the announcement came that they would be landing, you once again opened the window to see outside after the plane touched down. There was also snow here, but so much more than in New York. It was dark out, but you could still see how pretty the scenery looked. Gathering your stuff, you were able to disembark first since you were in first class. You had to wait for a bit for the rest of the guys to get off and they looked ragged.

"I hate you two." Chenle pointed at you, rubbing his neck.

"Was it really that bad?" You asked, feeling a little guilty.

"No, he just slept weird and hurt his neck." Mark shook his head and Jaemin sidled up to Renjun with a stupid grin on his face.

"So."

"Fuck off." The shorter man scowled and Jaemin let out a 'wow'.

"What did they feed you guys?"

"Some kind of roast and potatoes."

"Oh."

"What did you get?"

"Steak…" You wouldn’t meet their eyes, the jealousy clear. Since you had just arrived in another country, you still had to go through customs and that seemed to take forever since you were all very tired. When you finally were done you looked at the time on your phone; you realized you would have to book it to get to the next gate since it was all the way across the airport. By the time you guys got there, there was only fifteen minutes before you had to board. You would be on a much smaller plane since it was basically just a shuttle flight to get to the smaller airport. The smaller plane was loud, especially since your seats were right near the wing, but it was fairly empty and so you guys got to be loud when talking with each other. The flight was short, and you all made sure to put your jackets on since you would be getting off the plane outside.

"Woah!" You yelped as the cold air hit you. It was luckily not in the negatives, but it was way colder than back home! Everyone bundled together close to try and block the wind some, and you automatically wrapped your arms around Renjun's. Everyone laughed as you ran toward the much smaller airport where you went to receive your luggage. Being much farther north now, you could see the sun on the horizon, and you could hear a couple that had been on the plane with you talk about how the sun kind of stayed in the same spot nearly all day since it’s so far north in the winter. Once you all finally had your suitcases, you asked someone at a help desk where to go to wait for the shuttle; he told you and you didn't have to wait long once you got there. No one else was taking that particular shuttle and so you all had the van to yourselves. Probably for the best considering there were eight of you and were loud as hell. Finally, after so much travelling, you got to the hotel! You still had to walk quite a while to get to the entrance and you all let out a sigh of relief once you did.

"It's so pretty!" You turned around looking at everything all around and without waiting too long, Jeno had gone over to a pile of snow, balled it up, and yeeted it right at Jaemin.

"You!" The one that got hit returned the blow and an all-out battle began. You really did not want to deal with it, and neither did your partner, so you both went into the hotel to check in. The first night was the night where you would spend the night in an ice art room, but they got you checked in for your normal rooms first. When they would only give the keys to the people assigned to each room, Renjun went and got the rest of the guys. They came in, covered in snow, but with giant grins on their faces.

"My children." You pointed to the group and the concierge laughed to herself and everyone else got their respective keys. Everyone was on the first floor except for Renjun, and you since you had been upgraded. As you were chided by your friends, you guys went to the elevator and went on up to your room. The door dinged open, and you entered, the nice clean scent hitting you. Guess all hotels, not just American ones, smelled the same.

"The bed is nice!" He cheered, jumping on it, but was careful not to let his boots touch it. You jumped on next to him and you both laughed. Being on your stomachs, he was able to move and drape his arm over your shoulders and he bonked his head to yours like a cat.

"What time is when we meet the sled dogs?" Renjun asked and you pulled out your phone to check the time.

"After lunch, which will be in like half an hour." you told him and he nodded. He rested his head down on his other arm and you lay your head down as well, looking at his pretty face.

"I know I didn’t hear it but thank you for punching that girl for what she said." He said softly and you avoided eye contact.

"I haven't had the privilege of knowing the truth but-" You halted, realizing you just high-key, hardcore flirted with him. Not a simple flirt either, it was straight up a move. He gaped at you, and you retreated quickly.

"I'm gonna freshen up and then we can meet everyone else for lunch." You ran to the bathroom and shut the door, staring at your extremely red face in the mirror. You also stared at the sweatshirt you were in, and it felt weird to be wearing it. For some reason, it bugged you that it was Donghyuck's all of a sudden. You shucked it off, leaving you in your undershirt and you used the bathroom, washed your hands, and fixed your hair. You came out and threw the sweatshirt on the counter in front of the bathroom door and turned the corner to find him opening his suitcase.

"C-can I wear one of your sweatshirts?" You asked quietly and he spun around so quick.

"Oh, yes." He dug through his belongings and pulled out one that was a nice soft yellow. He tossed it to you and when he turned back around you buried your nose into it. Smelled sooooo good. You put it on and while it wasn't as oversized as Hyuck's, it still was nice and big. As he packed a small backpack with minor things, you did the same and you both headed to meet the others for lunch. You quickly grabbed the discarded sweatshirt and when you found everyone already at a table, you gave the wad of fabric back to the owner.

"I said you could use it the whole-" He stopped, noticing you were in another sweatshirt. It was also clear whose it was.

"Hmm. I see." He pouted a bit and took the hoodie from you, rolling it up and shoving it in his own bag. When you guys ordered, the waitress had to use four pages to take everything down since there was a crap ton of you and the guys ate a whole lot. The food finally came out and you were sure the workers and the other diners were flabbergasted by the amount of food you all packed away in such a short amount of time. After you guys ate you headed out to where you were going to meet the dogs then go on a sled ride. Everyone was so excited to see the dogs and everyone was not only prepared for jokes about Jeno looking like the dogs, but everyone also had a list there were prepared to use.

"You know if one of the pups gets hurt, we can just strap in our own." You patted Jeno as you said it and he groaned, and everyone laughed. You had begun the long, long few hours Jeno was about to go through. When they let you meet the dogs, you all squealed in excitement and the workers laughed at the excitement you all had. You might have been in your twenties, but dogs bring out everyone's inner five-year-old. There were eight dogs for each sled and while it cost more money to get four sleds all to your own group, it was worth it. Everyone with their partner shared a sled and once the tour guides were able to haul the dogs and you guys away from each other they went over the procedure. After hearing all the rules and agreeing to the terms and conditions (the only time you really knew what you were actually agreeing to), you were coached into getting in the sled and they strapped and buckled everyone in for the ride. You were so excited that you didn’t even process laying back into Renjun and that he warmly wrapped his arms around your middle under your own. Going off of height, the other six determined who sat in front and back. Mark was in front of Chenle, Jisung was behind Jeno and Jaemin was behind Donghyuck.

"I want one!" You shouted as the dogs got all strapped in. They were huskies mind you, and you know what they do? Scream. You really didn’t need more screaming in your life.

"We have one!" Chenle shouted forward making everyone laugh but Jeno. The tour guides drove the sleds from where they stood at the back and on their signal, they took off. You squealed in delight, holding on to Renjun's arms around you, linking your gloved fingers with his. The ride was a few hours and when it was finally done, you felt sore and numb all at the same time. After your excitement adrenaline calmed down, you fully rested on Renjun, resting your head on his shoulder. He squeezed you a bit and relaxed himself. It was nice and warm being snuggled like that and you did not want it to end. Your tailbone did, but not you. Getting off the sleds everyone groaned and stretched and reluctantly said goodbye to the doggos.

"I am so freaking tired." Chenle whined and everyone kind of hobbled their way back to the hotel. Sitting on a sled for nearly three hours and not really able to move really makes everything stiff. There was still a lot of time before you could check into the ice art rooms for the night, but everyone really needed a nap.

"If you even so much as touch me, I will destroy you." Jaemin wagged his finger at Donghyuck who rolled his eyes, "Like I wanna touch you anyway." You were pretty sure Mark was actually going to fall asleep walking. Jisung trailed in the back with Jeno, the latter was the only one who looked like he had some energy.

"Sled dogs don't get tired from sled-dogging." Jaemin pointed out and Jeno stuck his tongue out at him.

"How are you doing?" Renjun bumped your arm with his.

"Good." You smiled, already thinking fondly of your sled ride together. Everyone got to the hotel and the rest of the guys went to their rooms and Renjun and you went up the elevator to your own lodging. Getting in, you shucked off your gear and he let you change in the bathroom before he went in himself. You were in fluffy pajama pants and still his sweatshirt. You didn't think you would ever willingly take it off. He came out in his own pajama pants and instead of the baggy t-shirt he often wore, he was in a tank top that was way tighter than you thought it would be on him. Feeling a blush rise to your cheeks you shuffled over to the bed while he shut the curtains. It wasn't super bright out, but it was enough. The comforter was super plush and warm, and you sighed, burying into the pillows. The bed dipped as he climbed in with you and once, he was settled, you turned to lay towards him, and he smiled.

"C-can I…?" You shifted a bit closer, and his smile widened. Opening his arms, you shuffled into them and rested your head on his shoulder, and he enveloped you. Despite the fact that he was the smallest guy in the friend group, he was still quite a bit taller than you and he still smelled so good. It didn’t take long for either of you to drift off.

You grunted in annoyance as your phone alarm went off. That meant it was time for supper before you would check in to your ice rooms and sleep for the night. You tried to roll over to retrieve your phone, but you were held firmly in your place. He was stronger than you thought he would be.

"Ren, its supper time." You shook him a bit and he grunted.

"No. Let’s just stay like this." He muttered, his voice rough from sleep and oh, it did things.

"R-Renjun, we gotta eat so we can go to the ice rooms." You whispered, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. That got his attention. He had picked the room out for you specifically and he was quite excited to see your reaction.

"Okay, okay." He let you both sit up and you stretched in unison, getting up to go eat, still in your pajamas. You both fixed your hair in the mirror and headed out together to the restaurant of the hotel. It was quite funny once you were all together. Everyone else in the restaurant were dressed like adults; all of you were in your pajamas and only Renjun and you had bothered to fix your hair. As everyone waited to get their order taken, you went to each one and helped tame their hair. You really felt like their mother sometimes. As you were petting down Jisung's stray hairs, the waitress came to take your orders. Once again, a lot of food was ordered, and it was all devoured quite quickly. Everyone sat to digest for a while before beginning another nonsense conversation. You all still had some time till you could go to stay the night on ice, so you headed to the lounge. Not the ice one, that would be a bit much in just your PJs. You got a couple looks since everyone else was dressed normally, but none of you cared.

"Sit down, I'll get your drink." Renjun smiled and you sat on one of the couches, Chenle, Jisung, and Hyuck joining you.

"So." Hyuck started, and you glared at him.

"Is his sweatshirt better than mine?"

"Yes."

"Ouch. Why?"

"It…smells really good." You shrugged, pulling the sleeves down over your hands. The boy whined dramatically and soon the others came back with the drinks. Renjun handed you an Aperol Spritz and you were surprised he remembered your favorite. You didn't drink too often, but you really enjoyed these.

"Thank you!" You smiled and he joined you on the couch. He was shoved even closer to you when Jaemin sat with Donghyuck and you really, really didn't mind. You all tried not to make too much of a ruckus, but you were sure all of the other customers were quite relieved when you left. When you went to the part of the hotel where you prepared, you were given your gear and instructions, and you were a little nervous. You had to suit up in warm under layers, warm boots and socks, your coat, and a nice warm hat. You all had bought matching hats and gloves for the trip, and you could tell the hotel employee helping you was trying not to comment on it. They gave you specific sleeping bags and told you how to safely stay in the room, so you didn't freeze. You all made sure to use the bathroom ahead of time, not wanting to have to get up in the night. One everyone was ready, you headed to your rooms. Mark and Chenle were staying in a room that was decked out with a bunch of lizards…for some reason. Jaemin and Donghyuck's room was full of ice cactuses, which was a little funny when Renjun saw it. He was still mad about what Jaemin did to his poor little plant. Jeno and Jisung's room was cute, with animated like decor that lay slanted like a in a video game. You finally were led by Renjun to the room he picked out for you, and as you entered, you were in awe. The ice art was designed to resemble space, nebulas, galaxies, and stars. It was beautiful. You loved looking at the stars and admired the beauty of space and images captured from telescopes.

"Renjun, this is gorgeous!" You beamed, the lights shining through the ice further accentuating the design.

"I thought you would like it." He came close to you, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear that had fallen out of your hat.

"Thank you." You gave him a small hug, still holding your sleeping back in one arm. You guys prepared for the night, and before you crawled into your sleeping bags, you took all your layers off. Shivering from the cold, you slipped into your sleeping bags quick and sighed at the warmth that built from your body heat. You looked at each other and giggled. You were both still so tired from the long trip and you fell asleep fast.

Around eight in the morning, your alarm woke you two up, and while you really wanted to sleep a bit longer, you were both quite eager to get back in and into the warmth. Bundling up fast and gathering your supplies, you dashed back to the main hotel, the rest of the guys not too far behind you guys. Returning the sleeping bags, you all dashed once again to your hotel rooms to take a nice warm shower.

"You can go first." Renjun offered and a small voice in the back of your mind called for you to ask him to join, but you shut it up really quick.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." You took him up on his offer and the warm water was so nice. They warned you not to do too hot of a shower since your body had been pretty cold all night. You tried not to take too long since he was probably quite cold too. You realized you had forgotten normal clothes to change into after, so you cracked the door open and called for him to bring you something to wear. He stuck just his arm in so you could grab the clothes. Dropping the towel, you looked at what he brought, and your face visibly flushed in the mirror. He had given you a set of your underwear - you knew it was necessary, still embarrassing - and another one of his sweatshirts along with a pair of your jeans. You came out, shuffling to your bag yourself to get your socks and he dashed past you to get himself a warm shower and you giggled at his eagerness. He got done faster than you, which made sense, he's a dude; when he came out you almost keeled over. He had remembered everything but a shirt, so he emerged without one. He had more muscle tone than you would have guessed, and his skin was perfectly smooth, and you wanted to touch him.

"Ah!" He flushed and dashed to his bag and quickly put a shirt on, then his own sweatshirt. While you both were wearing a different colored one, the design was exactly the same, which meant you two were matching.

"I hope you don't mind they are the same…" He wouldn't quite look at you as he got his boot on.

"No! I…actually like it." You shrugged and Renjun grinned back at you. Going to get breakfast, you all talked about how the experience was. For some reason, the cold made Jaemin snore and Hyuck was quite cranky. Jisung slept very well since he normally slept like a mummy. Mark struggled because he was so restricted and apparently ended up with his head at the foot of the bed. Chenle talked about how he woke up in the middle of the night and got scared of the giant lizards and you all told him it was his own fault for choosing that room. Jeno actually liked it, said it was invigorating, but he also took ice baths.

"What was is like for you guys?" Mark asked you and you beamed.

"The whole room looked like space! It was so cool!" The boys all looked at you fondly as you spouted out how pretty it was. They all gave Renjun a look and he glared at every one of them in return. The rest of the day was to be spent with the reindeer. The experience was quite similar to the dogs, you got to meet the reindeer and there were a lot less of them since only one was required to pull the sleigh. The tour guide led the sleigh and you and Renjun bundled up in the front for the ride. The experience was similar, but they took you on a different path and showed you new things. It was just your speed though, you got to just sit there and enjoy, especially with Renjun's chest at your back and his arms around you. The rest of the day after was spent carving your own ice sculptures, playing in the snow, and eating yummy food. After supper, one of the hotel attendants came and told you that the northern lights were bright and vivid right then, so you all bundled up to go see them. It was amazing, you had seen videos and pictures, but to see it in person was awe inspiring. As you looked up at the sky, it began to gently snow.

"It's so beautiful." You gasped, and Renjun came up next to you.

"So are you." He grabbed your hand and you turned to him in shock. The other guys were a distance from you, taking pictures and pointing out the stars behind the rolling colors.

"I-I am?"

"Yes." He chuckled, turning your fully toward him. His gloved hands cupped your cheeks, rubbing his thumbs over the reddening skin. As he stepped closer, you gripped the front of his jacket. Renjun bumped his forehead on yours, your noses brushing.

"Can I…?"

"Please." And he kissed you. You had no idea how long exactly you had been waiting for that kiss. He pulled back too soon, so you stretched up to capture his lips again and his one hand moved to the back of your neck, the other curling around your back. Moving your hands to his chest, he bit your bottom lip and took the chance to slip his tongue in your mouth. You gave a slight moan and when he pulled back, you both were breathing hard, and a trail of saliva connected you.

"I…I think I've fallen in love with you." He admitted and you wanted to cry.

"I think I have too."

"GET A ROOM!"

"KISS HER AGAIN!"

"Kiss her again. Kiss her again. Kiss her again."

So, he did, and honestly, you never wanted him to stop.

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