#sighs so deeply. art is hard lately

[lungblossom]

i'll be out of your way in a sec

[misspygmypie]

You're Not My Real Dad

Part of the "Meet & Greet... and more?" Universe Pairing: Lando Norris x Noah Words: 1501 Request: Omg I absolutely love the meet and greet series. 😍 I was wondering if I could request something where Lando and Noah get into a fight. Like Lando told him to clean up his toys and Noah dose the whole 'your not my dad' line. But happy and sweet ending of course. 😌 Masterlist

Please do not repost, thank you, and leave some feedback :)

Lando had barely stepped inside his apartment when he felt the weight of a long race weekend lift off his shoulders. But as he walked through the modern space, lined with sleek furniture and bathed in the soft glow of evening light filtering through the large windows, his attention was drawn to a new challenge awaiting him. His seven-year-old son, Noah, had been struggling a bit with his recent move to Monaco and today was no different.

The apartment was a mix of the unfamiliar and the exciting - a space with stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea. Yet, for little Noah, it was all a bit overwhelming. The transition had been difficult and the chaos of his new room showed his unease.

After a quick shower Lando headed towards Noah’s room, his footsteps soft on the polished floors. He knocked lightly on the door before opening it. Noah was deeply engrossed in constructing a Lego spaceship on the floor, surrounded by an ocean of toys, books and scattered art supplies. The room looked like a miniature storm had hit it.

“Hey, buddy,” Lando said gently as he stepped into the room. “I see you’re building something amazing there.”

Noah looked up briefly, his concentration breaking. “Uh-huh.”

Lando smiled, sitting down beside him. “I’m glad you’re having fun but it’s time we clean up a bit. The room’s a bit messy and we need to get it sorted.”

Noah’s eyes narrowed and he pushed a Lego piece aside with a sigh. “I don’t want to.”

Lando’s heart ached at the reluctance in Noah’s voice. He understood how the move had been hard on him - new city, new school, new environment and now it seemed like even the small tasks were a burden.

“Noah,” Lando said softly, his voice concerned, “I know it’s been a bit tough lately. Moving to a new place can be really hard but we need to take care of our space so it feels more like home. Come on, let’s clean up a bit.” He reached for a stray Lego piece on the floor but Noah’s small hand shot out to grab it back.

“No!” Noah screamed. “I don’t want to! I hate it here!” He pushed the Lego piece away and kicked at a pile of books, sending them tumbling across the floor.

Lando’s patience began to fray but he tried to meet Noah’s gaze. “I understand that you’re upset. It’s a big change and it’s not easy but this mess isn’t going to help.”

Noah’s face flushed red, his anger escalating. “You don’t get it! You’re not my real dad! You don’t know how I feel!” He grabbed a handful of toys and threw them across the room, the clatter echoing off the walls.

Lando’s smile faltered. When he heard those words - “You’re not my real dad!” - his heart sank. It felt as though someone had physically twisted a knife in his chest. The sting of Noah’s outburst cut deeper than any racing setback he’d ever faced. The room, once just a mess of toys and books, suddenly felt like a battleground of emotions. 

“I may not be your real dad but I care about you a lot. I’m trying to make things better here. It’s not just about cleaning up, it’s about making this place feel like home.”

“No!” Noah shouted. “I don’t want this! I don’t want you telling me what to do!”

Lando’s face hardened as he stood up, his hands on his hips. “Well, what do you want, Noah? Just to sit here and wallow in the mess? That’s not going to fix anything. I’m trying to make things better for you!”

Noah shook his head, his anger now giving way to raw emotion. “I want my old room, my old friends. I want things to be normal!”

Lando’s shoulders sagged as he realized that shouting wasn’t going to help either of them. His anger dissolved into frustration and sadness. He took a deep breath and walked over to Noah, kneeling down to be at his level. “I know you miss your old life but we have to face this new reality together. If we keep fighting like this, it’s only going to make things harder.”

Noah looked away, his small body trembling. “This place is too big and too different.”

Lando’s mind raced, reflecting on the countless ways he had tried to make the transition easier; setting up Noah’s room, spending extra time with him whenever he could and making sure he felt welcomed in their new surroundings. Yet, despite these efforts, the move had taken a toll. Hearing Noah made Lando question if he had done enough or if he had somehow failed.

In his personal life there were no pit crews or advisors to help Lando navigate these emotional terrains, just him, his love for Noah and the desire to be the best father he could be.

Despite the hurt Lando knew he had to remain calm and supportive. He took a deep breath, pushing aside his own wounded feelings to focus on Noah’s needs. It was clear that Noah was feeling lost and was reaching out in the only way he knew how.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Lando said quietly, his voice steady. “I know things are different for you and it’s not easy but I care about you and I’m here for you, even if it doesn’t always seem that way. Being your dad means helping you through tough times and sometimes that means cleaning up a messy room together.”

Noah’s eyes welled up and he looked down at the scattered toys, overwhelmed. “I don’t want to clean up. It’s too much.”

Tears began to roll down Noah’s cheeks and he buried his face in his hands. The sight of his son, usually so full of energy and laughter, now so vulnerable and upset, struck Lando deeply. He knew this move had been incredibly tough for Noah, tougher than him and Y/N had expected, and the weight of the transition was clearly taking its toll.

Lando gently pulled him close. “It’s okay to be sad,” he said softly. “I understand. Moving is hard and it’s a lot to handle but you don’t have to go through it alone. I’m here to help and I’m not going anywhere. We’ll figure this out together.”

Noah’s bawling became more intense and his little body shook with the force of his crying. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I didn’t mean it. I know you’re my dad. I just… I just don’t know how to feel.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Lando whispered. “You’re allowed to feel however you need to. It’s okay to let your feelings out. I’m here with you and we’ll get through this. It might be tough now but we’ll find our way.”

Noah’s sobs gradually subsided and he looked up at Lando with tear-streaked cheeks. “I really miss my old room,” he said softly.

“I know you do,” Lando said gently, brushing a tear from Noah’s face. “And it’s okay to miss it. We can make this new place special too. Let’s work on it together, one step at a time.”

Noah nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Okay. Can we make it fun?”

“Absolutely,” Lando said, his heart lifting at the sight of Noah’s willingness to try. “Let’s turn cleaning up into a game. We’ll see who can find the most missing pieces and put them away. And afterwards we’ll have a movie night with popcorn and whatever else you want, just the two of us.”

Noah’s face brightened slightly and he gave a small, grateful smile. “Popcorn sounds good.”

“Popcorn it is,” Lando said, smiling back. “Let’s go.”

They began tidying up and Lando made a game out of it, pretending that each toy was a hidden treasure to be found and organized. He exaggerated his excitement over each discovery, making Noah giggle despite himself. The room quickly started to look more organized and Noah’s mood lifted with each passing minute. Noah’s laughter returned as he found a new rhythm in the task and Lando felt nothing but relieved.

When they finally finished the room was clean and tidy. Noah looked around. “We did it, dad.”

“We sure did,” Lando said, giving him a high-five. “Now, let’s pick out that movie.”

They made their way to the living room where Lando let Noah choose from a selection of Disney movies. Noah’s choice was Cars - an obvious choice - and they settled in with popcorn and cozy blankets.

When the opening credits rolled Noah snuggled up against Lando, a sigh escaping his lips. The earlier tension had eased and the comfort of being with his dad made the new apartment feel a little more like home. Lando looked down at the boy in his arms. The transition to Monaco was still a work in progress but moments like these made it clear that, together, they could make it work.

________

AN: Anon, I hope you like it and it's what you had in mind 🥹🫶

I'm starting a new taglist for any stories Lando x Noah related, let me know if you want to be on it!

Also, keep them requests comingggg, I have next week off and need something to do 🤭

Taglist: @eloriis @pacifierbby @landossainz @littlegrapejuice

[starry-pierrot]

Our Kits

Narinder hadn't expected his life to go this way but he can't say that having a pregnant spouse isn't something he's come to enjoy. He just hopes he can handle the responsibility. ------ Tw: Lamb fluff pregnancy, birth (Nothing graphic), mentions of fluids, cute newborns.

Characters: The Lamb(NB), Narinder, Bishops, Rose (my oc), Aym and Baal mention

------------ Woop woop! We got another one! This one is based off @doughyfluff 's super cute pregnant Lamb art. I for one an frothing at the mouth for their art and I couldn't help it! Dms are always open to screech at me Marz wink wonk. Anyway enjoy! EDIT: OOPS-Please keep in mind this is only based off someone's comics, it is not a direct storyline nor 100% canon on how they imaged things. Just for fun!

The sun poured in through the window as the night became morning, lighting up the room of the temple in a soft glow. Chirping birds making a fluffy ear twitch before a body in the shared bed began to shift and move. Lamb cracked open their eyes and as gently as they could they sat up and stretched with a yawn. 

Already they could feel their body being more tired than it usually would without the circumstances, but they needed to go and prepare for a ritual. They couldn’t just ignore their duties despite how large their belly had gotten. Some light toast and maybe a meat bowl sounded good, Heket probably has their special order at least prepared by now for breakfast. 

But before they could slip out of the bed Lamb felt warm arms slip around their middle and gently hold their stomach as a warm body leaned against them. “Good morning, mama,” the sound of Narinder's gravely voice sparking their heart to beat just a little faster and their cheeks to warm.

“Eeep! Narinder!” Lamb chuckled as they looked back at him, that third eye staring up to them with an adoration they weren’t ever sure they’d get used too. 

“You’re up early.” Narinder continued. 

“Well…I do have a ritual to prepare for. You know, being the leader and all.” At this Narinder’s face scrunched up in displeasure, usually he would be just fine with handling any cult business but lately he’s been quite more favorable to just stay in bed. 

“Don’t bother, it's a Holy Day.” Narinder moved with them as they stood up, his arms wrapping ever tighter around them. Kisses on their neck to tempt them to stay in bed. 

“You know I can’t do that.” Lamb tried to pull away to get away before they were trapped, a smile on their lips before another yawn took over. 

Suddenly their cat began to purr. “You are their god,” his hands began to run along their pregnant belly as the purrs only increased in volume, “and as your high priest I request a Holy Day.” His fingers rubbing little circles into their soft wool, “And as your husband I demand more bedtime.”

Lamb tried so hard to ignore him, tried to move away but those bastardly hands were keeping them right where he wanted them. Then a little nibble to their ear finally made them sigh and sag back against the warm body behind them. “Alright alright!” They laughed as they were gently dragged back into the bed, covers pulled over them. “I suppose another hour wouldn’t hurt.” 

Soon the two were back in a tangled web of limbs and pillows, Lamb quickly fell asleep but Narinder seemed to rather be enjoying just holding them. Looking at them as they breathed deeply, safe and warm in their bed. Looking down he could see the bump showing through the blankets and an ever more loving smile came across his face. 

Never had he thought he’d end up like this. The High Priest of his usurpers cult, his own brood on the way and he even had his family here with him. They were all so different from back then. Back when they had all hated each other. And he had the Lamb to thank for that. 

When he had first learned that the Lamb was pregnant he was excited! But also incredibly nervous to the point that he had asked Shamura for every single book they had on raising children. 

“I am to assume Lamb is with child?” Shamura had asked him, despite his injuries he seemed to be quite cognizant at times. 

Narinder of course didn’t expect Shamura to realize it so soon, feeling his cheeks heat under his fur. “....yes.” 

“Oh happy day.” 

Every night he had been reading at least one book before bed, Lamb had thought it was adorable and teased him little about it. 

But as time went on he wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be ready enough for them. He of course did what he could and tried his best, through the morning sickness, crusade mood swings and even that first kick the Lamb felt. That had been one of the best days of his life. 

Though if he was honest with himself he was nervous. Scared. Could he raise his kits? Would he be a good parent? What if he did something wrong? All fears the lamb insisted were unfounded. He had to trust them right?

And as he began to feel his eyes droop he couldn’t help but think that at least Lamb would be with him. He wouldn’t be in this alone like with Aym and Baal.

He was in love. His family was back in his life. 

He wouldn’t be alone.  

—---

The weather was nice and cool as Narinder went to Mess Hall to pick up dinner for himself and the Lamb, they were getting much closer to their due date and he didn’t want them to walk if he could help it. A chuckle passed his lips thinking about how big they’ve gotten, it was a little comical with how small they were, often pouting about not being able to move as well as they used to. Narinder however thought it was adorable and took every chance to pepper that belly with kisses and purrs. 

Walking in he quickly slipped into the back, Heket was working on cleaning up and only gave him a glance in greeting. “Are these the ones?” he asked her. 

Heket gave a little sound of annoyance, “Yep…..how’s…lamb?” She asked while she washed the dishes, she had also been one to guess what was going on early. Considering the lamb had been taking more food , which had displeased her.  

“Annoyed about being in bed all day but doing fine. They have been requesting more meat bowls with those spices you like to save.” The Lamb had begged Narinder to ask Heket for more, though Heket usually liked to keep those special spices to herself. 

A huff as the frog rolled her eyes, “Only….because they’re…gravid.” She agreed, “I’ll make…some for…late night snacks.” Heket was amused at just how demanding the Lamb could be sometimes. Of course they were polite about it but even she could tell if she ever said ‘no’ there would be hell to pay. Not that she’d deprive a pregnant lamb of food. 

“Thank you, sister. You can just leave them here and I’ll pick them up later.” Narinder picked up the bowls and made his way back out the door, his tail giving her a short pat on her back on his way. It didn’t take him long to get to the temple, the large building quiet as he stepped inside. 

Though with his sensitive hearing he could hear what sounded like panting, the ear flicking as his brows scrunched a bit. Quickly moving up the stairs he gently pushed open the door that led to their bedroom, “Lamb, I’m back with the food. Heket said she’ll make you more of those spic-” he stopped. 

Lamb was sitting on the side of the bed, their legs spread and their tunic wet and dripping. They looked at him with a bit of a chuckle, “H-hey, Nari. Um…my-uh-my water broke.” Oh how they had the composure to look shy he would never know. 

“How long ago?” 

“Um-about an hour-ow!” Suddenly a wince had Narinder's fur puff out. Placing the food on the dresser he wasted no time in suddenly scooping the lamb up into their arms. 

“Wh-Narinder!” Lamb squeaked. 

“We’re going to the medbay. Now!” Oh he was not ready for this. Sure he’s read all the books he could find but actually being in this situation was not something he was mentally prepared for. What did the books say? It could take up to a couple of hours to a whole day for labor to actually begin to start but sometimes it could also start sooner than that. Before he knew it he was walking through the medbay tent, “Kallamar!’ 

The squid jumped at the shouting of his name, almost dropping a syringe, “Narinder how many times have I told you not to yell in the-oh dear.” The squid quickly put what he was doing down, telling an assistant of his to continue as he rushed over. “When did their water break?” 

“About an hour ago.” Narinder responded for them, Kallamar took a quick look over before bringing the both of them over to a bed to sit the lamb down on. 

“Any contractions?” Kallamar asked. 

“M-maybe? It uh-just feels like cramps.” Lamb answered. 

Kallamar hummed, “You might be having some Braxton Hicks. If it’s only been an hour it might be too early just yet.” Gently the squid felt around their abdomen, ignoring the slight hiss from Narinder, “Are they constant or coming and going?” 

“Coming and going…I uh-haven’t felt one since Narinder picked me up.” 

Pulling away Kallamar hummed once more, “Alright it seems you’re in the very early stages. You could stay here for now but I recommend getting a good walk in to maybe help it along.” 

“Wait, that's it?” Narinder asked as he looked at Kallamar confused. 

“That’s it for now. There's nothing we can do until they’re in active labor. It could take a couple of hours for their body to prepare. Just come back when you have constant cramps, but maybe don’t stray too far from the medical tent. I’ll alert my nurses to check in on you every once in a while.” Though the squid took one more look over the Lamb, “…maybe we should change them out of that soaked tunic first.” 

After a quick change of clothes Narinder and the Lamb were walking about the cult. With Narinder carrying them out in a soaked tunic earlier it didn’t take too long for word to get around that the Lambs child might be born soon. Though it seems the cult has a good mind to keep their distance for the time being. Leshy however-

“So whatya gonna name it?” the worm asked, “Better be something cool. Only a dork like Narinder would choose something lame.” 

“Leshy.” Narinder growled out, “I think Lamb would appreciate-” 

“He’d pick something like Nemo. Or Orion.”

Lamb couldn’t keep the smile off their face as Narinder just sighed, his hand rubbing their lower back. “We haven’t picked one yet. I want to meet them first.” 

“Going for the personality check then. Sweet. I call dibs on being the first uncle to hold them.” The worm’s leafs shook in excitement, “Gonna teach them all the cool diggin’ holes-” 

“You are not going to teach our child to be a menace like you.” Narinder cut in, ears folded back. Oh how he loved his sibling but if the kid turned out anything like him he was sure he’d be doomed as a parent. 

“You know damn well it would be boring without someone like me around here!” Leshy laughed, “Come on what kind of uncle would I be if I don’t teach them a little something!” 

Soon the two began their usual sibling bickering, not an actual fight but shouting and maybe a shove or two once the Lamb stepped away. Eventually Leshy left the two to go back to his own spouse, letting the two spend their time in peace. 

Several hours later they were back in the medbay, the contractions began to get closer and the Lamb was set up on the bed with Narinder behind them rubbing their lower back. For now they were left in a private room with frequent check-ins by either Kallamar or one of the nurses. 

“You’re doing great.” Narinder quietly said into Lamb’s ear, “You’re doing so good. Going to be the best parent.” 

“Narinder.” 

“You’ve been through worse. I hope they're a lamb. I mean I don’t care either way but I want to see a baby lamb-” 

“Narinder.”

“Just breathe and you’ll be fin-” 

“NARINDER!” Suddenly the crown’s power flares in a show of red magic, the Lamb’s horns growing just a bit more sharp as they look back at him with red eyes. “Sweetheart-”, oh fuck they were using their god voice, “You know I love you but if you keep talking I am going to kick you out and you will wait in the waiting room!”

Narinder stared at them for a moment before nodding, thoroughly quieted by the outburst of their spouse. The crown’s power dissipated and soon the lamb was groaning as they felt another contraction. Well if him talking wasn’t helping then he would do the next best thing. 

Leaning forward Narinder carefully placed his chin on the Lamb’s shoulder and began to purr, the Lamb sighing as they relaxed to the sound. 

Soon however it was obvious the time had come. The obstetrician, an alpaca named Rose, quickly prepared everyone. Originally Kallamar had been the one who wanted to help with the delivery but as soon as Narinder saw him put some gloves on-

“What are you doing?”

“Well I’m delivering the new family member! I couldn’t let just anyon-” 

“You touch them and I will cut off all of your tentacles.” 

Kallamar wanted to argue but seeing that expression on Narinder's face and the threat…well he had given into his cowardice and conceded. However he stuck close by making sure to at least be there in case something went wrong and he actually had to intervene despite Narinder’s threats. 

Leshy and their spouse, Shamura and Heket soon showed up after waiting outside as the contractions became less and less apart. 

Narinder had watched the lamb through all their hardships when they were his vessel, all the deaths, all the choices and how they handled the cult. He knew they could do this even if they were crying and squeezing his hand to the point of possible fracture. He could feel tears in his eyes but blinked them back.

“Push, my Lamb! I can see the head!” Rose encouraged, “Almost there!” 

Lamb cried out as they gave another push though weakened about halfway through it, huffing and puffing. “Fuuck-it hurts-” 

“I know, but you gotta push, you're almost done!” 

With another push Lamb cried out, this time trying with all their might. And then a wet sound and a cheerful cry, “You did it!” Quickly Rose carefully took the baby and gently began to clean it up, focusing on the face and nose until a shrill cry filled the room. She had barely wrapped the baby up before Narinder snatched the baby away from her. Gently of course. Kallamar kept his distance but was obviously excited to see the child by the way his tentacles anxiously fidgeted. 

Lamb couldn’t help but cry even more when they heard their baby, seeing them only made them sob out. Narinder just about cried out himself seeing that he had somehow managed to create life for once. Instead of taking the life of something he created life. “They’re beautiful…oh so beautiful.” Narinder leaned in to kiss their head, though that didn’t seem to deter the little one from making as much noise as they wanted. 

Not that either parent minded. 

“Agh!” Suddenly Lamb was curling up, their face scrunched up in pain as another contraction broke their attention away from their newborn. 

“Lamb?!” Narinder worriedly looked at them before looking at Rose and Kallamar, Rose quickly taking charge with a nervous Kallamar flanking her. 

After a moment her head popped up, “Oh shit-you’re gonna have to push for me again, my Lamb!” She instructed. 

“Again!?” Lamb, Narinder and Kallamar all asked out in surprise. 

“Someone’s getting a sibling!’ She happily told them, “Now push.” Lamb looked at Narinder in surprise before another contraction hit and they pushed, once more crying out. Soon another small body slipped out with a wet plop and just like before Rose was quick to act. 

The room soon was filled with two crying newborns. The second child was handed off to the lamb and Narinder just couldn’t help it anymore. A sob broke out of his throat as the tears he had been holding back finally began to stream down his face. 

“Oh Narinder…” Lamb mumbled as they saw their husband cry like a child because of his own children.

Discreetly Rose and Kallamar slipped out after a quick look to make sure there wasn’t a third, though she had to tug the squid along. 

Narinder hiccuped as he scrubbed at his eyes, but the tears kept coming, “T-twins…we ha-have twins!” It was awfully familiar to him as he once had to raise Aym and Baal on his own, though this time he hopes he does a better job. 

“N-no wonder I got so big…” A chuckle as they thumbed the little ones forehead, the newborn’s cries soon turning to hiccups. And once one began to calm down so did the other. 

“They're beautiful. I…I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful…not even as a god.” Narinder whispered as he carefully slipped into the cot next to Lamb. Using his right arm to wrap around their shoulders as they moved closer. “What should we name them?” 

Lamb took a good look at the two newborns, they both seemed to be a mix of themselves and Narinder. Though one seemed more cat-like and the other more sheep. One even had Narinder’s three eyes. “...you know I like the name Lilith.” 

“Lilith?” Narinder seemed to think about it in his head for a moment, “It is a lovely name. And maybe.. Dantalion for the other one?” He asked just before leaning in and kissing the newborn’s head. 

“I think that would be perfect. Perfect names for the perfect kits. Our kits.” An exhausted smile rested on the Lamb’s lips. 

“Our k-kits.” Another sob from Narinder made Lamb chuckle and lean over to give him a sweet kiss. 

“Our kits.” 

[whiteskullofroses]

Hi! I saw that you accept request for Baldwin IV. If you do still accept, could you pls write one where y/n and Baldwin would stay up too late talking to each other until one falls asleeps? Thanks 💕

Hi there thank you for the request! And to clarify, you can always request any characters you want❤️ Enjoy!

LATE NIGHT TALK

Baldwin Iv x reader

It was a cold night in Jerusalem. You were walking around the palace gazing up at the stars and thinking about life when all of a sudden, a familiar voice grabbed your attention: "Y/N!" He called out to you from his room. It was all lit up with candles so you could see his shape clearly: "Care to join me?" The young king's voice sounded so energetic, even though it was already midnight. You answered: "With pleasure!" And happily headed out to his quarters.

Once you reached the hallway that led to his room, you noticed that the door was already opened for you but still, you knocked on the wood to make your presence known.

He turned from his desk to look at you. His mask shone from the candles around him and made his blue eyes sparkle.

"Care for a round?" Baldwin gestured towards the chess set and sat down at the table. "Y/n" Sitting down and listening to his words "I've missed you tonight. I rarely see you these days."

You smiled and replied: "Work has been incredibly tiring," taking a sip of some wine a servant poured: "I've hardly found any time for friends."

Baldwin leaned closer to you: "Well now it's the time. Relax."

You started the chess game and asked: "How come weren't you at the banquet last Monday?"

The King moved a pawn and sighed: "I had an unexpected meeting which I couldn't miss."

Nodding, you moved on since you didn't want to trouble him with hard topics so late in the night.

"Have you read any new poetry lately?" Asking him like you always do, you always loved to listen to him talk about the things he was passionate about, one of them being literature.

Whether it be myths from across Europe containing dragons and other mystical beings or poetry that many saw as simple, however from a trained eye's perspective it was true art projected onto paper.

"Yes, I've read this wonder piece from a book from France Preseren called 'Poezije'" Grabbing the book from a nearby chair and flipping through it, Baldwin proclaimed: "Would you like to hear it?"

"I'd love to, Baldwin." You supported your head with your elbow on the table, as the late hours of the night cut into your brains. "Where did you get it from?"

"I believe I got this book as a gift from my sister when she visited Carniola."

Finally, he started reading, his voice soft as ever:

Fresh flowers will spread fragrance far and near,

Like roses when the winter's passed away.

Your eyelids became heavier and heavier with every word he spoke:

And spring displays its marvelous array,

While through the trees white scattered blossoms peer

Your breathing became deeper, with waves of relaxation washing through your body. All of a sudden you felt like you were 10 years old again, when your mother used to read you books to help you fall asleep.

All this time away from your parents and away from your childhood made you forget how soothing it was and how much you enjoyed it.

Baldwin continued reading the poem whilst you were drifting off into peaceful sleep, right there on his 'chess table'.

He hardly noticed you falling asleep right opposite to him as he was focusing on the text he was reading. But when he finished reading the poem and looked up from the book, he realized you slept through half of it.

He chuckled to himself. Baldwin wasn't mad or annoyed with you, rather he felt a sort of fulfillment that he managed to get you to fall asleep.

For a moment he just sat there, staring at you. You didn't know it at the time but he admired you deeply. For your intelligence and your beauty. He found that this was one of the times he could truly silently look at you and not feel bad about it.

Whenever he would catch himself gazing upon you he would get this guilt deep in his chest. He felt as though it was appropriate for him to look at you when the two of you were just colleagues.

So he slowly walked up to you and carefully picked you up. Walking up to his bed and laying you down in the middle, he knew he couldn't sleep there that night, that would be simply too much.

He decided to go and spend the night in the guest room. Just as he was about to leave your side, you woke up and grabbed him by the wrist, gently but enough so he could feel it.

"Baldwin, stay."

THE END.

[kurogane2512]

Ningguang Birthday 2023

Happy birthday to Ningguang!! Not me being one day late to post my waifu's birthday fics once again but ugh exam season. Anyways, I combined all the scenarios shown in her birthday art, comic and mail this year for this fic so hope you guys like it! I will also be doing all Ningguang requests in my inbox today to celebrate her day! <3

Game: Genshin Impact

Characters: Ningguang x fem!reader

Type: Fluff

The Tianquan of Liyue was known for many things, her wealth surpassing all perhaps. The Tianquan of Liyue was known as many things; calculative, materialistic, intelligent among many more. Some would say she had no care for finite possessions for the mora she possessed was infinite; however, she had proved to all she was much more than the exquisite woman she appeared to be. She was Liyue's guiding star and protector, shining down on it as brightly as the Jades she possessed. Yet, a part of her was still unknown to many, not even her closest secretaries knew of it....

"Lady Ningguang, the Yuheng declined your invitation to play Liyue Millennial today." Baiwen informed her lady on one pleasant morning when the Tianquan was surprisingly free of her never-ending duties.

"Oh? Did she state the reason?" Ningguang questioned.

"She said she has some personal matters to attend to and cannot give so much time to the game."

"I see....And what about Captain Beidou? I heard the Crux is currently docked in Liyue."

"Oh, they left last night, Lady Ningguang. We did send the invitation to her but received no reply..."

"Hmph, as expected of her.....And what about the other invitees? I assume everyone denied as well."

"Y-Yes, Lady Ningguang...." Baiwen replied hesitantly.

"Hmm....I didn't expect that new card game to become so popular and make everyone enamored with it. Hehe, it can't be helped, I suppose. Chess mates are becoming hard to find, if only she was here...." Ningguang paused and stared into empty space before sighing, "Is there anything on my schedule today, Baiwen?"

"Yes, Ms Yun Jin asked you to witness her new show today at 1 pm, she also made arrangements for lunch. Everything else was moved to other days to give you time for yourself, milady."

"Hehe, how considerate of you. I understand then, you all are dismissed for the rest of the day as well."

"O-Oh, thank you very much, milady!" Baiwen bowed with a smile and exited Ningguang's office gleefully. Ningguang sighed and rested on her table while pondering deeply, "It has been like this for months now, till when will I keep playing on my own....? What's the point of a 2-person game if there is no partner? Hmph, I'm sure the excitement for that card game will fade away soon and Liyue Millennial will stand the test of time...."

Ningguang squinted her eyes and sat up then walked outside to the external platform of the Jade Chamber, gazing at the scenery in front of her. Her eyes wandered over to the distant sky adorned with fluffy clouds and she suddenly spotted a faint twinkling of a star.

"Heh~ To be able to spot the brightest star on a sunny morning like this....The higher you stand, the closer you are to the sky, after all."

A smile formed on her face as she observed the star before it was no longer visible due to the bright sun illuminating the sky.

"I wonder if I'll spot a shooting star tonight....It would be nice if our very own shooting star came here today but I suppose that's wishful thinking...."

She looked down at the city and decided to take a walk around until it was time for Yun Jin's show. She went through the market and asked for a few things but didn't buy any as there was no requirement and there was nothing new worth investing in. She then reached the venue for Yun Jin's play and watched the stage being set-up before Yun Jin walked out and began her performance.

"This is from the new piece I've been working on. What do you think, Tianquan Ningguang?" Yun Jin asked at the end of her performance.

"Wonderful. It hasn't been long since we last met but you've surpassed yourself once again, Yun Jin." Ningguang replied earnestly.

Yun Jin beamed a smile then moved her gaze to the other people in the audience and was caught by surprise for a moment spotting a familiar figure.

"What would you say?" Yun Jin questioned while looking at a person behind Ningguang.

"As Tianquan Ningguang said, it was really wonderful."

Ningguang's eyes widened hearing the all too familiar voice, she then slowly turned around to see none other than the shooting star she had wished to meet not so long ago.

"Y/n?"

You smiled, "It has been a while since we met, Lady Ningguang and Yun Jin."

Ningguang's heartbeat fastened for a moment before she composed herself and stood up while clearing her throat, "Pleasure to meet you again as well, Y/n. How has your journey been going?"

"It's been good so far. I was missing Liyue hence thought to visit..."

Ningguang smiled at your confession, "My~ Of course, you are always welcome here. Come, have a seat. We were about to order lunch."

You accepted Ningguang's proposal and sat on the table with her and Yun Jin as a feast was being served. Ningguang was not expecting to see you today of all days, she wondered what really was your reason to come. Was it a mere coincidence that you chose to come today of all days or was there something in your mind? However, she realized she didn't care for the reason. 

When she sent invites out to her associates to play chess with her today, she had written one for you as well but refrained from sending it in the end. She knew you were more than enough capable of matching against her in Liyue Millennial, you had done it before. But she didn't know what was in your heart. Ningguang always liked being able to predict the next move of those around her, but you were the most uncertain piece on her board.

"What new region have you visited now, Y/n?"

"Oh, I went to Fontaine from Sumeru. I still have more things to do there but I had to do a few errands at Mondstadt recently then decided to come here too to meet everyone...."

"Hehe~ And here I thought your annual trip to Liyue would always be for Lantern Rite. You surprised me yet again~"

You chuckled softly and continued eating until bidding farewell to Yun Jin and being in the marketplace together with Ningguang.

"Well, I suppose you have to meet your other friends now, Y/n. It was good to see you again and I hope your future travels are as pleasant as ever." Ningguang spoke with courtesy before turning around to walk away but you stopped her.

"U-Uh, Lady Ningguang, if you aren't busy then may I take some more of your time? I wanted to say a few things...."

"Oh? Well, it's your lucky day then as my schedule is free. Come, walk with me. However, there is one condition~"

"W-What might it be....?"

Ningguang sensed your nervousness and chuckled before walking up to you and leaning close to your face, "You will not call me 'Lady Ningguang' for the rest of the day~"

You blushed seeing her up close and nodded, "I understand...."

Ningguang smiled and proceeded to walk and you accompanied her, you looked around the bustling marketplace and tried to start a conversation but were unable to. Ningguang was ethereal in your eyes and you'd always get slightly nervous around her as you didn't want to disappoint her in any way. You knew she held you in high regard and you wanted to maintain that impression.

"Well? What might it be that you wish to converse with me? Are you facing some kind of financial problems? Or perhaps you need help in some kind of business-related commission?"

"N-No, none of that....Well, I am running short on Mora recently but I wouldn't come to you for that."

"Why not? I'd be more than happy to assist you. Of course, I wouldn't just hand you a bag of mora but I can get you sufficient work that pays well. With your skills and caliber, there are a number of high paying jobs suitable for your needs and many would be more than willing to hire you just from hearing your name."

"Haha, I see....I'll keep it in mind for the future."

"Well? You haven't answered my question."

Ningguang stopped walking and turned to face you, slowly becoming suspicious now.

"A-Ah, it was actua—"

"Oh, if it isn't Y/n. How are you doing recently?" a familiar voice called out to you and you turned around to see none other than Keqing waving at you.

"Keqing, long time no see. I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm the same as ever. I see you already met Ningguang. So, what brings you to Liyue?"

"Nothing much, just thought to meet everyone."

"Haha, that's great. Now that you are here, want to have a duel with me? I recently updated my deck~"

"Oh, right now? You don't have any work to do....?"

"Hah~ The next appointment isn't until 2 hours, I went around asking others if they are up for a match but everyone was already engaged in another and I haven't found any opponent...."

Keqing briefly paused and glanced at Ningguang, "....and a few others don't like playing it anyways."

"I-I see....Well, I don't really have any work right now so—"

"Oh, that's perfect then! Come, there are a few empty tables at Yangshang Teahouse."

You hesitated to reply then looked over at Ningguang, "....Would you like to come along, Ningguang?"

"Oh, don't bother with Ningguang. Genius Invocation TCG is too low for her status~"

"I see..."

Ningguang squinted her eyes at Keqing's remark then glanced at you and saw a pleading look on your face, seemingly indicating that you wanted her to come along. She didn't understand it, why were you so eager to have her there? You could have just left her and went about your merry way.

"As it happens, I'm rather interested in seeing a duel between our Yuheng and the esteemed Hero of Liyue~"

Ningguang mused with a smirk and Keqing sighed then the 3 of you made your way over to Yangshang Teahouse and settled on a faraway table before taking out your decks and setting up a duel. Ningguang noticed that your deck revolved around her card, she was the main damage dealer and all your supports were tailor-made for her. While she felt proud that you had invested in her card, she knew Keqing was quite formidable and her deck was rather advantageous against yours. Still, she was betting on you to win nonetheless. 

The game gradually became more heated as none of you were backing down, even attracting a crowd of on-lookers to the interesting match. Both of you had lost one card each and were close to reaching round 5, Ningguang had already figured out Keqing's strategy by observing her play so far but she was quite stunned by you. She actually couldn't figure out what your play was, she thought of many options seeing your cards but you'd always make an unexpected move and prove her wrong.

"Oi, Lady Yuheng is actually being cornered....Haha, as expected of Liyue's hero!" someone chimed from the crowd, eliciting more similar remarks all around. Ningguang chuckled looking at you, "Always so interesting....If only you showed such keen interest in Liyue Millennial too."

The match finally came to and end as you defeated another card of Keqing and she decided to forfeit as she knew she can't make a comeback with her remaining card. You emerged victorius with a resounding applause from the crowd and appreciation for a good game from Keqing.

"Well played indeed, Y/n. I didn't know you are such a good player in this as well." Ningguang remarked.

"I have played many matches going all around Sumeru, Inazuma and Mondstadt by now. But you flatter me, Ningguang, I still have room for improvement."

"Hehe, that's good to hear. The game has been very popular all over Teyvat, no wonder you were dragged into it as well."

"....Is it true you aren't a fan of it as Keqing said?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that.....I simply find it too simplistic for my tastes. I did enjoy it in the beginning but I don't see myself continuing in the long term, I'd much rather spend time on my chess."

You looked at her with a smile and nodded in understanding when a few more people approached you inviting you to duel with them. You felt overwhelmed with the crowd gathered around you and noticed Ningguang had walked away to give them space. You politely declined everyone saying you had other commitments and caught up with Ningguang.

"N-Ningguang, wait! There was something I wanted to say!"

Ningguang stopped and turned around to look at you when you saw a surprising expression on her face. You didn't ever imagine you'd see the Tianquan of Liyue making this kind of expression; full of loneliness and sadness....

"Ningguang, what's wrong....?"

"Hm? Whatever you might mean, Y/n?" she feigned innocence, swiftly changing her expression back to normal. You knew she was hiding something. You looked up at the sky and saw the sun was slowly setting, the light still spread in the sky but you couldn't wait any longer.

"Ningguang, is it okay if we go to the Jade Chamber? It'll give the best view."

"Best view for what?"

You smiled, "You'll see. Just trust me, will you?"

You extended your hand to her and she hesitated for a moment then took it and you both walked to Yujing Terrace to ascend to the Jade Chamber. By the time you reached, the sky had darkened further which was good news for you. Ningguang was about to take you inside as usual but you stopped her on the external platform and asked her to watch you. Ningguang waited in anticipation and mystery, she had absolutely no idea what you were going to do.

You looked up at the sky and saw stars appearing then took out a launch tube and placed it on the ground before turning around and facing Ningguang. Her heartbeat suddenly fastened as excitement engulfed her thinking of the possibilities of what was going to happen. You then took a deep breath and launched a firework in the sky which burst into a brilliant crimson light illuminating the words- 'Happy Birthday Ningguang'

Ningguang's eyes widened reading the words, did you have this planned all this time? Was this your main reason for coming to Liyue? More fireworks were released in the following minutes, all containing different drawing and words that described her, or at least described her as you thought her to be- beautiful, kind, selfless, elegant, compassionate and many more. She was truly taken aback, it felt like the whole sky belonged to her and was wishing her on her special day. Her surroundings were nothing but the brilliance of these fireworks that you created.

"Ningguang." your sudden voice reached her ears and she moved her gaze towards you. You smiled at her and said, "Happy birthday." A firework burst behind you at the same time with the words, 'I love you' and she was the most surprised now. How were you always capable of catching her off guard was beyond her. Nobody could do this to her, yet here you were. Her heart was beating faster than ever, the fireworks ended long ago but the thumping of her chest still resounded in her whole body.

At last, she calmed down and regained her demeanour with a smile on her face, "Thank you very much, dear Y/n. This was magnificent and that in the end....was that true? Did you mean it?"

You smiled and nodded, "It is....everything was true. Each and every word was from the bottom of my heart, it is what I have felt for you ever since we first met...."

Ningguang smiled as well, "....Was this your real purpose for coming here today?"

"It was....I just wanted to celebrate your birthday. I know this isn't much but—"

"Don't say that. I don't care how much it was, it's the thought and effort that counts and I'm feeling blessed that you did this for me...."

Ningguang walked closer to you and suddenly embraced you, "I love you too, Y/n. Thank you very much for this."

Your eyes widened and you slowly wrapped your arms around her body, "I-It wasn't much...."

Ningguang chuckled, "Would you believe me if I said I had wished to meet you today?"

"What...?"

Ningguang released the hug then looked at the stars in the sky around you, "I wished to see a shooting star today and was reminded of you since you also came in this world as a shooting star, after all. Hehe, it seems I ended up wishing to a shooting star indeed and the Archons heard my wish."

You blushed hearing her words, "I-I see....By the way, the sky is really beautiful from here. The stars seem so close...."

"Mhm, the higher you stand the closer you are to the sky. I did build this Jade Chamber to be the guiding star of Liyue, it is only rightful I should be among them."

You gazed at her as she looked at the stars then were reminded of her expression from earlier, "....Doesn't it get lonely at the top?"

Ningguang was caught by surprise at your words and looked at you in surprise, but by now she had gotten used to your unpredictable nature and simply smiled.

"Well then, wouldn't you stand by my side being Teyvat's very own star?~"

You blushed, "It would be my honor...."

You gazed at each other with a smile and you felt intoxicated, bewitched by her. The night sky around you adorned with stars emphasized Ningguang's beauty even more, her own self twinkling with them. You released your arms from around her and stepped back then took out a Kamera and pointed at her.

"Oh, you would like to capture this moment for me?"

"Yes, I still have some fireworks left too."

"A lovely suggestion. I heard that many people in Fontaine take pictures to celebrate their birthdays nowadays."

"Yes, it is quite crazy over there when it comes to technology...."

You giggled and set up another launch tube by the time Ningguang chose a spot, you then took out 2 Kameras and alternated between them in taking photos of Ningguang with the stars and fireworks.

"My, I didn't think you would have such a collection of different Kameras. It seems you are quite potent when it comes to photography~"

You smiled then finished clicking the pictures and showed to her, "These are really well taken. I'll keep some of them and you'll keep some too, right?~"

"Yes, I'd love to...."

You said in a daze as you watched her stand beside you and happily look at the photos.

"O-Oh, is there something you'd like to do? We still have time left until the day is over, I feel bad that we barely did anything worth a celebration."

Ningguang smiled softly and caressed your cheek, "You made the day special enough for me by coming here and doing all this. But still, if you insist, I do have something in mind~"

She held your hand and pulled you inside the Jade Chamber, taking you downstairs to her office where you saw a game of Liyue Millennial was laid out on the table.

"Did you play with someone today?"

"Oh....well, I invited a few people but everyone refused giving one excuse or the other. Keqing even had the audacity to say she personal matters to attend to then was happily playing that card game with you."

She sighed bitterly and you remembered her distaste for TCG then spoke, "Are you having trouble finding chess mates nowadays due to TCG?"

"....Yes, that is true.  Everyone is quite enamored with it; I even got some complaints saying that chess is too difficult and stressful and that I should simplify its rules."

"I see, that's unfortunate....I would love to play with you from now on. Truth be told, I have gotten quite bored of TCG having played it so much. Not to mention, playing chess with you is an incomparable experience...."

Ningguang blushed at your sudden compliments, "My. You never fail to impress me, give that sweet tongue of yours a rest for some time, would you?~"

"I-I'm sorry but I was just saying the truth...."

"Hehe, well then, would you care to indulge me with a game now?"

"Of course, as you say."

The two of you sat on opposite sides of the table and took out chess pieces to arrange on both of your sides, the rest of the game hadwho already been set hence making it easier and faster to start.

"Hmm, would you mind if we make the game slightly different than usual?" Ningguang suggested.

"Not at all. What shall we do?"

"Every time one of us loses a piece, the other gets to ask a question or order them to do something. How does that sound?~"

You suddenly became nervous of Ningguang's mischievous suggestion accompanied by the smirk on her face, "Uh, are there some things we can't ask or do?"

"Well, I'm open to everything. But if you want to keep some boundaries then I will abide."

You pondered for a moment and thought of certain possibilities causing you to become slightly flustered then nodded, "Okay, I'm fine with everything too."

Ningguang's smirk widened, she knew what was going on in your mind and she would be lying if she said she wasn't thinking the same things. She let you take the first move and you finally began playing, an interesting and heated game of Liyue Millennial ensuing.

"My~ Rarely anyone can match up to me this way and keep me entertained, I knew I was right about her..." Ningguang pondered with a smile.

The game went on for some time until you finally lost your first piece, and the first ever piece in the whole game hence giving Ningguang the first chance to ask something.

"Hmm....well, I'll give an easy one since it's the first loss. Have you had your first kiss yet?"

Your eyes widened in shock, "T-This is easy?!"

You looked at Ningguang's playful expression then replied with a slight blush, "N-No, I haven't...."

Ningguang chuckled in amusement and squinted her eyes looking at you, subconsciously licking her lips then continuing the game. Next was your turn to ask her something as she lost her first piece.

"Um, have you dated anyone before me....?"

"I was confessed to and even offered marriage proposals but I refused all. So, you are my first— in everything~"

You knew what Ningguang implied by that, and you truly hoped it would come true. The game continued more and you continued asking each other questions, some rather intimate but nothing overbearing. Ningguang was winning hence got more chances to tease and fluster you from her questions, also enabling her to know more about your likes and dislikes.

"Hmm, let's change the direction of the questions now. This time, I ask you to take off your shirt~"

"H-Huh?! That's a huge jump all of a sudden!"

Ningguang smirked, "Let me rephrase it then. I order you to take off your shirt~"

You were further shocked and tried to protest but she was unhinged, "Don't forget you agreed to everything, dear Y/n. I don't take lightly to people going back on their words~"

You gulped and eventually nodded then proceeded to slide off your shirt and keep it aside, sitting in front of the Tianquan in just your bra and pants now. Her gaze trailed all over your exposed body, cunningly observing your features as if they were an intricate design carved by the finest of hands. The game then continued and you finally got your chance to make her do something too.

"Uh....t-take off your dress....."

You gathered all your courage to say that, earning a short chuckle from Ningguang who expected this, "How bold of you, dear Y/n~"

"I-It's only fair, right?"

"Hehe, you are correct...." Ningguang stood up and proceeded to untie the strings of her dress, you intently watched her remove her accessories starting from the fur around her neck, down to her finger claws then finally slide down her qipao and standing in her black lace lingerie. Your face heated up as your eyes subconsciously took in her features, her perfect curves and breasts all in front of you to feast on.

"You are staring a bit too much, dear Y/n. Hold in your urges until later tonight, will you?~"

"I-I don't have any urges!" you exclaimed bashfully and looked away while she sat down at her place with a giggle, "How adorable you are...makes me want to have my way with you right here~"

The atmosphere between you two grew tense as the game continued, you were struggling to keep your eyes off Ningguang's body while she was enjoying this little game too much. She was much swifter in stealing glances at you and made it seem she was focused on the game rather that the immoral thoughts she was having.

"The next order I have for you is...." Ningguang trailed off and stood up from her seat then walked towards you, your heartbeat fastening as she came closer. She then straddled your lap facing you and wrapped her arms around your neck, your heart skipping a beat at her action.

"....Kiss me~"

Her thumb brushed across your lower lip and you put your hands on her waist to pull her closer as she leaned in and connected your lips together. Her soft and moist lips gently cuddled with yours, a blissful feeling spreading in your body at the contact. She was everything you needed, only you knew how much you had held back all this time to hold and feel her this way. Without much thinking, you grabbed her tighter and suddenly pushed her to the table making her lie lean on it while you kissed her passionately.

Surprised by your sudden rough movements, she wrapped her legs around your waist and pulled you down to kiss you deeper. Your tongues entangled in a heated manner, heavily breathing into each other's scents. She moaned into the kiss as she felt you rub against her abdomen, her nails digging into your back as you went down to kiss her neck. Your hand slid towards her thigh and caressed her dragon tattoo, a low chuckle leaving her lips sending vibrations in you.

"And here I thought the Hero of Liyue was much more restrained. You knocked off all my pieces in one go, it seems I'm obliged to follow all your orders now~"

You blushed then grinned, "Well, I did knock out my own pieces too so that makes us equal and considering you were already winning earlier...."

Ningguang continued, "....I'm the true winner and get to order you once again? Is that what you want?~"

"If that's what you want to give me as my return gift, I'll gladly accept it~"

"Haha~ A return gift, you say? And here I thought you still had more gifts to give me~"

"You still want more, Tianquan Ningguang? You do realize you'd have to give a fair amount of return gifts then?~"

"And you think I cannot afford that?~"

Ningguang smirked wider and you smiled then snuggled into the crook of her neck, "What do you want me to do, Tianquan Ningguang?~"

"Stay with me on this lonely night and many more lonely nights to come. Be the star that shines beside me and never leaves me alone"

You leaned up and looked into her eyes, "I accept the contract, my Tianquan."

You smiled at each other and passionately kissed once again, her legs tightened around you and you lifted her off the table to carry her to her room and lay her on the bed. The Tianquan spent the night together entangled with her lover, she no longer felt lonely being at the top of the world and knew you would always be by her side in any and everything. She looked into her mirror next morning after a passionate and lustful night and caressed the marks left by you on her neck. Of course, she had to get you back for it. No wonder you were given strange looks by people as you left the Jade Chamber later with a red kiss mark adorning your cheek that she so discreetly made as a goodbye kiss.

[rreskk]

NEW MEDIA

A late valentines gift for my girlfriend (I love you ;D). Also inspired by @miranita's latest trikey art from her twitter!! Check her out, talented as Hell! :)))

Summary: The boys decided to try and record their private time together. TW: Smut Pairings: Michael De Santa/ Trevor Philips Word count: 1638

“Are you recording?”

Michael grunted when two hands praised his hardened cock.  The other man – preoccupied with lust – sprawled out below him, looking directly into the camera, kneeling on bed with sweat drizzling down his sideburns and scrawny skin.

“Yeah.” Michael whispered back, zooming in with his fingers on the screen. Trevor took this as a signal and started to stroke his boyfriend’s beasty cock that he knows all too well.

The camera flash was on as the full sight was in motion. It captured the way his cock was being warmed and licked around by that nasty tongue of his boyfriend – experiencing hardcore desperation before the recording even started – that he paced around the tip like a desperate dog, panting and panting and panting and whinging.

“You like that, Trev?” Michael took notice, “You love my cock, don’t you, baby?”

Trevor would’ve replied but he was too infatuated by the cock sitting down his hungry throat. He sucked and ignored how much he needed to gag at the thickness of Mikey’s size. It was his favourite part about it, the way it could easily rip him apart in the most dirtiest manner, wanting to feel it bruise him from the inside.

And it excited him more when feeling the flash startle upon his flustered face. Trevor glanced up and made low noises, eyes staring into the lenses, aroused by the idea of being watched; whoever would watch this, probably perverts and whatnot freaks. But he know someone would.

“Oh, yeah…” The voice murmured from the background as Trevor grew more active, his head rocking up and down. Michael grasped onto the collar of his boyfriend’s grey vest, his hand becoming pulsed and deeply veiny from the rough lighting of Trevor’s bedroom. The fingers clenched hard. His knuckles turned white and pressed against Trevor’s chest harshly, encouraging the man to abuse himself on the cock in his mouth.

“Argh – “ Mikey heard him moan.

Before he could have too much fun, he pulled out of Trevor’s mouth and ignored the pathetic cries of his name. The camera captured the saliva on his cock that drooled from the tip to his dark pubes, causing this overstimulation where Michael knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He grunted, moving his boyfriend onto his back dominatingly, removing the vest in the process. By removing, he snatched it instead; with distress and want.

“Fuck me, Mikey.” Trevor whined as his clothes were vanished aggressively. The fabric ripped from his chest and so exposed his complete nakedness, at mercy of Michael who recorded every step so the potential viewers could watch this tough criminal become submissive as a whore.

“Wait for it,” Michael ordered, “Stay on your back. Spread your legs.”

Trevor groaned and arched his spine while positioning his backside to lean upwards, his legs squatted and inviting. His face was snarled but his eyes glistened with mischief and humour. That jester-like man caressed his displayed stomach and waited for further instructions or signals.

Then the camera flash blinded him again and he knew it was coming. Trevor breathed heavily and loudly, small sighs departing from his scarred lips, his whorish mouth feeling empty without Michael’s cock shutting him up. He loved being fucked to the point of numbness. It brought him back fond memories from the younger days – thinking about younger Michael – just how simple yet intense things were. There was a shared spark, and they were trying to bring it back.

“That’s right…” Mikey held the camera and lined himself up. The flash startled his erection which twitched and sat outside Trevor’s anus, the tip rubbing across just to make him squirm.

“Fuck, sugar… C’mon. I’m so ready for you. You want me so bad.” Returned Trevor who tried to grind at every passing opportunity. However, when he tried to insert pleasure, a sharp moan escaped his throat suddenly when Michael slapped his ass, spanking out of discipline for acting up too soon. Like a dog, he was treated… Like a damn dog.

“Stop acting like a brat or you won’t get it.”

“Ohhh…” Trevor sucked in his lips and turned, shoving his face into the duvet sheets to avoid having his pleasure taken from him. All he wanted was a good fuck from Michael. He craved it for too long.

“Good, good,” Michael whispered, pushing in, pushing out; getting comfortable and easy with the sensation, small mewls exiting his throat, “Oh… Fuck, shit. Fuckin’ A…”

It would piece together like a puzzle. As soon as he thrusted into Trevor, they both grunted at the cause. His massive cock forced its way into Trevor’s tight anus but he loved the challenge and pain. He grabbed onto the duvet and cried, even when the fabric suffocated his noises. The camera would stare as he reacted so violently pleased with the physical beating.

Mikey chewed his tongue and grabbed onto Trevor’s hips with one hand, the other zooming the camera close to the younger man’s face. He enjoyed humiliating his fuck-buddy since everyone sees him so intimidating and dangerous. Michael wondered their reactions to seeing Trevor acting like a wrecked puppy. He wondered how good it would feel to degrade Trevor into craving his cock with every second of his life, needing to see his face drenched with tears and cum, voice breaking with begs and worships.

“Yes, yes, yes! I know you have it in you, sugar – fucking fuck me! Ruin me!” Trevor’s voice echoed through his trailer while Michael slammed his palm against his extroverted mouth, silencing him from disturbing the neighbours since it was the early hours of the morning. Trevor’s brows raised at the swift loss of words but soon rolled his eyes back, continuing to moan into his boyfriends hands.

“Shut the fuck up,” Michael hissed and thrusted harder, “Not another damn word. You’re gonna take it, Trev. You’re gonna fucking take it.”

He could then feel that brattish mouth twitch into a smirk, a slimy tongue wickedly licking against his rough palm while his body completely dominated the other by pressing Trevor into the mattress as the cock proceeded further and beyond. The camera changed and focussed on Mikey’s cock eating at his sore anus, pre-cum aiding it’s entrance and exit, the tip reddening by minute.

“Fuck… Mikey…” Trevor’s untouched boner stood straight with a heavy load waiting to burst. It shook helplessly. He tried to comfort himself but Michael slapped his hands away before slapping his cock, recording the whole abuse. The torture gave Trevor a second reason to cry, his face scrunched with agony.  

“Don’t.” Was all Michael said.

The duvets creased up more when the pace between them increased horrifically. Trevor’s body mounted up and down, his back torn between sweat and the bedsheets, penis struggling to contain any further fucking like the chump he was. It was swollen and he breathlessly reached for Michael’s arms which held the camera.

“You want them to see?” Mikey teased and zoomed into the mans distressed face.

Trevor growled as cum drooled from his tip. Any more words from his boyfriend’s mouth, and he’ll cum. He knows it.

“Ohhh, what’s this…” His hips shuddered when the camera flashed onto his soon to be cum-painted stomach. Trevor winced when Michael handled his tired cock, squeezing it relentlessly. This released more semen that it all came out in that second. His throat went numb and he moaned pathetically, only to be overpowered by Michael who seemed amused by the easiness of his orgasm, “You can’t help yourself, Trev. Look at you… A fucking mess.”

“Shit, fuck… Sugar…”

“You’re an easy little fuck-toy, baby. All you need is a fucking minute and you’ll cum right away.”

“Mngh – “ Trevor grunted as he was being fucked still.

“Now, now…” Whispered Michael before tossing his boyfriend onto his stomach, them fine shoulder blades tensing and clenching when Trevor had more access to the duvet for support. He gripped onto them, being penetrated harder due to the better position. Mikey caressed the defined muscles on the back in front of them, then leaned forward, placing the camera in front of Trevor with a pillow supporting it.

He now had both hands free, and they directly occupied the neck.

Trevor gasped and stared into the camera as it recorded the blurred background of Michael thrusting with his hands covering that “cut here” tattoo. It felt so raw and deep that Trevor couldn’t help but cum again. It dampened the sheets, his eyes oozing salty tears.

“I love you, I fuckin’ came– “ He struggled to speak.

“Oh yeah?” Michael’s voice appeared faint from the back. He liked showing off his mans beauty when being toyed around, “You came again, baby?”

“Mikey, I love you. Fuck…”

“I know you do.”

Trevor moaned and groaned, “Fuckin’ love you!”

“Keep it together, Trev. Keep it…” Michael winced when he approached that feeling, “Shit…”

Trevor noticed how sloppy the cock was and it was hardened to stone when it bullied his anus repeatedly. It made him excited and he stared into the camera with a tearful smirk, ignoring the hands around his neck, waiting for the moment where his older boyfriend would cum.

“Fuckin’ A…” Mikey breathed shakingly and thrusted one more time before gasping out of pleasure. He buried inside Trevor, leaning forward, his chest grinding his back, leaving a whole load inside the man underneath.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, taking in the anticipation. Trevor had left a puddle of sweat and drool onto the sheets as Michael reached for the camera, showing the future audience one last peek of the anus that was bricked with white cum. His breathing was heavy and he exhaled, stopping the recording, leaving behind a filthy video of their nastiness, haunting the hard-drive into uploading days later.

[lottiecrabie]

Cock warming professor! Matty while he's working on some material for his next classes🥰

cockwarming professor matty while he marks papers… (had to include cockwarming, it's the lottiecrabie brand)

Can we have a lil professor Matty smut blurb…

alright alright Fine. i’ll give in for the cockwarming

matty sits at his desk, a collection of colorful highlighters and pens scattered around him. there’s a brown mug ring on one of the papers, the half-finished and growing cold cup moved just a few inches away.

you sit on his lap, snug against his body, head dipped into his neck. your vantage point offers you a peek of the papers he’s grading— striking through incoherent phrases and leaving ??? in his wake. you giggle at some sloppy attempt to explain lowbrow art, matty pinching your hip in answer. telling you to be nice.

he’s buried deep inside of you, cock hard as you drip on him, impossibly still. it doesn’t make you want to be nice at all.

he’d warned before you came over to his flat near campus that he had papers to grade. told you that he would be busy and distracted. explained he wouldn’t be able to give you the attention you wanted until late at night.

but your roommate is being a major bitch, and your vibrator has been broken after some foolhardy adventure in the bath, and matty wore your favorite shirt of his today. unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, knowing damn well the two of you spent last wednesday night scrubbing at his collar to wash away the lipstick stain you left on it, lingering in post-orgasm glow, giggling as he kissed up your neck and bent you over the sink.

the combination was too deadly for you; you came over hot and bothered and a tiny bit bratty, begging for him to lose sight of his upcoming deadlines.

you pushed and pulled and tugged until matty finally snapped, sitting you on his cock and asking you to be quiet.

his work goes on seemingly uninterrupted: he reads the words with miraculous focus, underlining the parts he finds particularly insightful in green, your favorite color. you’d almost believe the act if he didn’t twitch inside of you, breath hitching when your hips grow sore in their positions and you shift above him. his hand digs into your skin then, clenched fingers holding himself back from the filthy things surely spinning in his mind.

his solution works nonetheless. filled so thoroughly with him, you nose his neck, kissing his pulse point, licking off his remaining cologne. most importantly, you stay quiet, a good, obedient thing sitting primly in his lap. matty mentions it a few time, whispering, ‘you’re doing so well, baby. so good for me. are you gonna keep going? gonna continue being my good girl?’ you nod in eager answer.

your cunt flutters every time he sighs, disappointed in a poor answer, the sound resonating sinfully in your head. you try rolling your hips, but he pins you in place, giving you a dark, warning look. it’s enough to make you shiver.

finally, matty gets to your copy, your name screaming on the title page in square times new roman letters. he throws a look your way, smiling. you flush at the attention, hiding in his neck as though your belly doesn’t swoop with excitement.

‘let’s read through, yeah?’ matty says.

he recites your words back to you, using that academic tone of his that has your blood running languidly in your veins. he comments on your grasp of the theory, on your insightful comparisons, on your sharp arguments. he corrects a few typos, counterattacks where he disagrees. he speaks of art to you as he lays so deeply inside of you. the two concepts mesh dizzyingly in your head; it spins with thrill trying to consolidate them.

of course, you can’t control yourself, hips rolling as matty reads your paper, praising you on your good work. it’s slow, barely there at first, until the need gets too overwhelming and you whimper in his neck, snapping up and down his cock. matty indulgently lets you, rubbing at your hip, at your back, encouraging you.

the orgasm you’re building in yourself is quick and grand. you feel it coursing through your limbs, warning its close arrival. your face wrinkles, closing your eyes as you cry out his name.

‘wait,’ matty says, using that authoritative voice that has you clenching around him. ‘i’m not even done with the conclusion yet.’

you shake your head, whining. ‘please, sir.’ you ride him quicker, chasing that finish, silently begging for it.

matty tsks. ‘i thought you wanted to be my good girl.’

‘i am,’ you nod fervently.

‘then wait.’ he pins your hips down, freezing you as he splits you apart. a shocked groan comes out of you. your head falls back, panting through the robbed end.

completely in control of himself, matty goes back to the essay, finishing the law few paragraphs staining the page. you’re restless over him, whining and pleading, practically soaking him every time he dares compliment your work. you try remaining as still as he wants you, but you can’t help the few minute movements.

matty finally finishes his spoken word of your paper. in green, he writes A on the page, circling it. he grins up at you, stroking your cheek. ‘oh, you did great.’ you pout, nodding as he rakes his hands through your hair. ‘okay, baby. you can go ahead now.’

his last word is barely out of your mouth that you rise on your knees, falling down on him with a relieved moan. you’re tired now, your hips sloppy and irregular as you chase back that delicious orgasm.

matty pets your hair, kissing your cheeks. ‘let me help. a pretty girl like you shouldn’t have to do the work.’ he holds you up, snapping his hips inside of you instead. it’s a quick, rough affair, leaving you drooling in his neck, lipstick staining the collar.

‘are you gonna come?’ you nod eagerly. ‘yeah? gonna come for me?’

‘yes, sir.’

he presses on your clit, rubbing at it. ‘do it, then. i wanna hear you.’

with a broken cry, you fall apart, stars shining behind your eyelids. matty continues fucking up into you, leaving you so sensitive you have to stop him to catch your breath. it’s a role reversal you hadn’t expected.

matty coos at you. ‘you’re perfect,’ he says, smacking your lips. you grin lazily at him, pride rolling in your head. ‘let me clean you up.’

you shake your head. ‘take me on your desk first.’

[copiousloverofcopia]

Hey there Ghesties!

I don't feel much like celebrating Independence Day, but I always feel like celebrating Secondo so...

Thanks to my love ghestie @alaskarostova here is some Secondo x Loren continuation story (from my Papas In Love story, Let There Be Night) as the ghouls finally meet the twins!

I hope you all enjoy and thank you for staying with me.

Honestly, I have been struggling to find the desire and motivation...not to mention time to write as of late.

There is a lot going on in this Prime Mover's world, so it's been hard to write.

I appreciate you all so much!

*Art by my talented ghestie @sirlsplayland

The Sound of Purrs

Secondo and his Prime Mover, Loren, are exhausted in the morning hours following the birth of their twins Marianna and Christian. While the two of them revel in the bliss of their new family, a knock on the infirmary door will change Secondo's definition of "family" forever.

Also available HERE on AO3! Want to read the original story this is based on, go HERE!

Read below the cut!

It had been a whirlwind of a night. The sun, having just settled into its position in the sky. The morning light, shining through the windows in the infirmary. Settling warmly across the room, now still and serenely quiet.

Loren smiled softly, humming to herself as she awoke from a much-needed rest. The contented Prime Mover, holding her newborn twins closely in her arms. Her eyes falling over to her loving Papa, sitting on the edge of the bed—ever present at her side. Both of them, taking in the moment. Soaking up the warmth from the rising sound and feeling a sense of relief beyond measure.

This was a moment they both had waited for. One that they had never imagined in the beginning would ever come to them. They had gone through so much together in such a short time. Only a little of a year had passed since Secondo had called the timid Sister into his office. Offering her a change to have the child she always dreamed of. A business proposition that had manifested into more than they dare hope. 

Their tumultuous, but deeply felt, romance had led to a further complicated pregnancy. All of which had culminated in a precipitous birth. Triggered by an attack that Secondo blamed himself for allowing to happen. Thankfully now it was all over. 

Loren’s ex would be punished, lucky to still have his life, kept far away from the family they had created. Loren and Secondo, now finally able to relax. Both of them, smiling as they watched their little ones sleeping away in their mother’s arms. Small chests rising and falling as they filled with each breath—healthy and happy. 

The Papa and his Prime Mover were already completely enamored by them. Their pale skin, like porcelain—so delicate and unflawed. Each of them bearing their father’s right eye and a hint of their mother’s grace. It was only hours after their arrival and already they had become their mother and father’s reason for being. 

The couple’s starry-eyed wonderment came to a brief halt when a knock rang out from behind the infirmary room door. Secondo smiled over at Loren as he rose up from his spot on the bed. The indentation of his body, slowly disappearing as he stretched himself out. Still stiff and sore from having slept beside Loren on the less than desirable sofa.

“I’ll see who it is. You rest there momma.” he smiled, bringing himself down to kiss her. His lips placed gently atop the crown of her head. Taking in the sweet scent of her hair—a small memento to carry with him as he made his way to the door. 

“Ok.” she smiled back, letting out a gentle sigh as he pulled away. Walking slowly towards the door, carefully turning the handle before he attempted to open it. All the while doing his best to regulate the creaking. Hoping that he might keep the little ones in their slumber for just a bit longer. 

As the door came ajar, he could see a familiar face staring back at him. It was Earth, one of his most trusted ghouls, waiting for him in the hall. The ghoul’s ghastly eyes, glowing white with fear as he swallowed back. Gathering the nerve to speak with his Papa. After all, as with any other Papa, it was well known that his ghouls had a resounding respect for him. With Secondo however, it was also one that was laden with a healthy amount of fear and caution.

“Papa.” The ghoul spoke softly. The ghoul’s eyes, coming up to nervously meeting with his Papa’s. Earth could feel the intensity of his heart. Beating faster in his chest than ever before as he wished he hadn’t let the other’s talk him into being the one to address him. 

“What is it ghoul?” Secondo asked him, his voice filled with a familiar annoyance as he brought his hand up to rub at his tired eyes. The exhaustion of all that had occurred, finally having taken its toll. 

“It’s um…um…well the guys and I…” he began. Secondo was amused at Earth’s disheveled response. Noticing, the more his vision regained focus, that there was a cluster of ghouls—his ghouls standing there in the hall. Each of them; Air, Fire, Aether, and Water—all patiently waiting as he and Earth spoke. 

They all stood in a respectful silence. An expectation, and the decorum, they had all been well accustomed to since their summoning. Secondo noticed that there was something different about them today as he looked at them. Though it took a few moments, while Earth was still gathering his words, Secondo realized that all of the ghouls’ tails were slowly swaying. 

The side to side motion was a sure sign that they were happy—even more so that they were feeling excited. It was even more apparently with Aether, whose tail was practically wagging. The poor ghoul, too excited to fully contain himself. Secondo smiled, bringing up his hand to hold out before Earth. Stopping the ghouls stammering in its tracks as they all stood waiting for what their Papa might say.

“Hmm… Let me guess. You want to see them?” Secondo hummed, realizing what they had come for. It had been so obvious that the ghouls wanted to see the babies. Children they would help to protect and serve above even their own Papa. The future rulers and heads of the Ministry. 

“Yes… please Papa. We promise we will be so so careful.” Water assured him. Pushing past Earth to plead his case. The rest of the ghouls, coming to lean in. Waiting with bated breath to hear what he might say in response. Secondo surprised them with the raising of his brow and the pressing of his lips into a thin smile. His visage, both intimidating and worrying as he readied to answer them. 

Just before he did, however, he shocked them. Closing the door in Earth’s face. The horde of ghouls standing in shock out in the hall. Staring into the grain of the door as if it had mesmerized them—still realizing what had just happened. 

On the other side of the door, Secondo turned around to face Loren. His Prime Mover staring back at him in confusion. Chewing her bottom lips as her nerves mounted. “Sec…” she began before Secondo shrugged, giving her back a smirk. Hinting to her that he was only toying with them. 

“What do you say amata? Shall we let them see our prince and princess?” he asked her. Loren’s eyes lighting up.

“Absolutely. Let them in already.” she said, excited and smiling back at him. Trying her best to sit up in bed. Secondo opened the door again to find his ghouls hunched over and beginning to walk down the hall. Backs to the door as they prepared a return to the front of the infirmary. Guarding the newborns and their parents with a sense of devotion and loyalty.

“Cosa state facendo tutti? Entrate qui subito.” Secondo snapped, all the ghouls quickly turning back around to face him. Their fangs bared, but only in their grinning. Gleefully bounding past him into the room—all eyes fixed on Loren and the small bundles she held in each of her arms. 

“Buongiorno amici.” Loren said softly. Her face, glowing—beautiful and happy. All of the ghouls were amazed at how she could look so good after having gone through so much only hours before.

“Buongiorno signora, possiamo possiamo vederli?” Water asked, slowly approaching Loren’s left side. The four others standing close by Papa. Waiting for their turn to visit the babies.  

“Of course you can.” Loren responded, ready to hand little Christian over to him. The ghoul, carefully taking the sleeping infant from his mother. His nerves, firing as he caught sight of Secondo glaring at him. Cautiously standing by, his own nerves held on edge. 

Secondo, already struggling with having anyone other than himself and Loren hold them. Holding back on his protests and concerns. All the while, trusting his Prime Mover’s judgment that all would be fine in the end. Knowing that at this point in their lives, she knew the ghouls even better than him. 

It was in the first half of her pregnancy, when Loren had grown quite close with them. A hard time for everyone involved. The two of them at odds with one another. Something they both would rather forget. 

She was left feeling betrayed, alone, and struggling with the pain of what she thought she might never have. It was then the ghouls were there. Giving her the strength to continue on as a haven for comfort and support in her time of need. Shoulders to cry on and arms to be held in while she waited for Secondo to come to his senses. 

A struggle that thankfully soon came to an end. Managing to bring them all so close together that it was rumored the ghouls were now more loyal to her than even Papa. And while that might have been assumed as a serious transgression towards their beloved Papa, it was a fact that Secondo himself actively supported. After all Loren and their then unborn children meant more to him than his own life. He would have willed it so had it not happened organically. Loren and the babies' well being held above all else. 

“Go on you fools before I change my mind.” Secondo groaned as the others skittishly approached. Aether, finally stepping over alongside Loren and Marianna.

“Can I?” Aether asked, Loren nodding her head before placing her daughter in Aether’s arms. The ghoul cradled Marianna close to his chest. Feeling tears welling up in his eyes, and so worried that he might break such a fragile perfect thing. “She’s beautiful Loren.” he began watching as Secondo sent him a look. Hearing the ghoul speaking so informally to his Prime Mover. “Ah...I mean Prime Mover, of course.” he laughed nervously.

Quickly the rest of the ghoul came a bit closer. Air and Earth by Aether and Fire by Water. All of them, staring down at the small babies with such love in their eyes. It was only when Marianna began wiggling around in Aether’s arms that he freaked out. Jolting up a bit, and worried that he might have done something wrong. Wincing when he saw Secondo’s eyes growing wide.

“You drop her, I skin you alive ghoul.” Papa warned. Aether, instantly panicking as he quickly handed the infant to her father. Secondo let out a resounding chuckle, waking both the infants with his resonance.

“Now you’ve done it.” Loren laughed, watching as Christian awoke. Looking up unexpectedly into Water’s eyes. Readying the telltale scrunching of his nose and eyes pressing shut before letting out a tiny but powerful cry. 

“I think���I think I broke it.” Water said. His voice filled with some concern, but more so a playful sarcasm. Then, as if on instinct, he began swaying the baby back and forth. Gently moving until the baby had begun to settle once more. His little mismatched gaze fixed back on Water. 

Suddenly Secondo felt remorseful for having not considered introducing the ghouls before. Even more so for having been so harsh with Aether, not that he’d admit it to anyone but Loren. Keeping his thoughts to himself as his actions proved the Papa’s true feelings. Tapping the ghoul on the shoulder and motioning towards him with the baby. Aether was dumbfounded, looking into his Papa’s eyes for reassurance. Secondo nodded, handing him back his, now awake, newborn daughter. 

The ghoul was thrilled to have the baby back in his arms. Taking a page from Water’s book and swaying the baby gently as he walked. His tail, now fully wagging with excitement as he held her. Fire, Air, and Earth deciding to huddle close around Aether and Water as they held the babies. 

Secondo took his place back next to Loren. Allowing himself to rest beside her and trusting that she knew better than he about the ghouls' capabilities and tenderness. Loren was elated with the turn of events. Taking her husband’s hand in hers before pulling him down to kiss her. Aether and Water, carefully going to sit on the sofa across from them. 

At some point it became too much for them. All of the ghouls, unable to control their smiles—hoping that their fanged grins wouldn’t scare baby Marianna and Christian. To their delight the infants were completely unphased by their hellish appearance. Instead, they were engrossed with them. It was as if they had somehow could feel the ghouls' intentions. Their will and need to protect them from any harm that might come.

As the hell born creatures grew more comfortable with them, the nervous energy in the room began to dissipate. Carefully, and one at a time, the ghouls began taking turns to study them. Gliding their fingers across the babies’ chubby cheeks while marveling in their adorable features. Gently holding their heads, so tiny and sparsely covered in hair—being extra careful with their claws as the little ones wiggled in their arms. The ghouls, positively in love with each and every one of their little coos. 

These little beings stealing their hearts thought they had only known them mere minutes. The sound of their contentment, echoing loudly in the room. A smile spread wide across Loren’s face as the sound of purrs filled her ears. Secondo’s face however, filled with confusion. 

“What is that?” he asked, Loren looking up at him. Baffled that he did not know the sound of his own ghouls purring. She pulled his face to have him look at her. 

“Are you serious?” Loren asked, Secondo even more confused now than before.

“Of course I am…I would not have asked if I wasn’t.” he explained, unamused that there was yet something else everyone but him seemed to know. 

“That’s the ghouls Sec. They are purring.” Loren smiled, her eyes filling with tears. Gently rolling over her cheeks as he hugged him. “They’re happy.” 

“I…” Secondo began as he held on to Loren. The harsh realization, overtaking him, “I have never heard them do that before.” 

“Oh, my love. I have a feeling you will be hearing it a lot more from now on. Or at least I hope.” Loren remarked. Secondo kissed her deeply. Pulling away only to smile, foreheads pressed against one another. His Prime Mover then pulled even closer in his arms; Secondo looked over to his beautiful babies. Happy and safe in the arms of his ghouls—his beloved ghouls. His friends—his family.

“I hope so amore, I hope so too.” 

Notes:

Amata-beloved

Cosa state facendo tutti? Entrate qui subito- What are you all doing? Get in here at once.

Buongiorno amici- Good morning friends. 

[shadyteacup]

dazai saying that oda would be an absolute beast (hehe) if someone truly pissed him off is so hot actually like id probably piss him off intentionally because hes definitely gorgeous when hes mad

I spy with my little eye, someone who’s into hate sex👀

Coz bestie same😩

I mean… kajshshshshsushajaiNSJAUSUSHW JUST SKSJSUSNSN

Ok, *clears throat* here goes nothing:

Oda enters the apartment silently, trying his best to not wake you up. He had had a stressful day, but someone had magically appeared at the scene of a tiresome mission, and done half his work for him. Whoever it was, wore a large black coat, not very uncommon in the mafia, and a peculiar red mask. He swore he made eye contact with his mystery saviour when they were about to leave, and they gave him a wink.

While they did do him a favour without him even asking for one, he was still worried that they might’ve been hurt. After all, they took quite a few blows. But he had to admit, they did a good job at beating up the enemy.

Just as Oda was about to walk over to the bedroom, he noticed light from inside the bathroom. He scuffled over, assuming that you had forgotten to turn it off, when he heard shuffling inside.

He slowly turned the knob, to find you sitting against the wall, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as you wrapped a bandage around your forearm.

Odasaku’s beautiful orbs widened in horror when he saw a peculiar red mask lying precariously on the edge of the sink.

“So that was you.”, he spoke, voice too low to sound even remotely friendly.

You jumped at the sudden interruption, face going pale and heart beating faster. You hadn’t realised how late it had gotten. You had wanted to clean up before he came home.

“I can explain!”, you said, hoping to ease his clenched shoulders. Whenever he got angry, his shoulders clenched, defining every single ridge and curve of his toned muscles.

“Go on. Explain.”

You gulped, and continued to ramble on about how you had been practising martial arts and had wanted to make his day easier, which is why you barged into a dangerous battlefield-

Oda punched the wall above your head, making you squeak.

He didn’t say anything afterwards, choosing to stare at you with rage filled eyes.

Your stutters were embarrassing, you thought. You didn’t know if you had suddenly gotten so dumb because of fear, or something else, as you took in the rare sight.

An angry Oda Sakunoske was a rare, but beautiful sight. The way his jaw clenched, fists tightened just enough to showcase his veins, the way his eyes seemed cold yet just so fucking sexy… You wanted him to destroy you.

“Are you going to keep staring like an idiot?”, he said, voice low and uncannily calm.

You gulped, and chose to take a risk. You nodded.

He sighed and kneeled down to your level, clasping your chin in his fingers.

“You never learn, do you.”

He suddenly tightened his grip and leaned in to whisper in your ear, “ I don’t like my partner getting hurt.”

He grabbed your neck, taking you by surprise. He didn’t squeeze hard enough to hurt you, yet made it hard to breathe.

“All you had to do was stay at home and look pretty. I provided you with everything. Didn’t I?”

You couldn’t reply, the pressure was too much for you to respond.

“Answer me.”

You whispered a timid “yes”.

“All I ever ask of you, is to stay safe.”

He inhaled deeply, before growling, “Then why, pray tell, did you put yourself in real fucking danger?”

“If you wanted some thrill, some danger, you should’ve just asked.”

He pulled you towards him, and smashed his lips onto yours, not letting go of your neck even once.

You gasped into the kiss, surprised at the way his tongue barged into your mouth, claiming it as his. You were falling short of breath, but he didn’t seem to care. He held onto you neck, and held you in place, even as you tried pushing him away. Your breathing was erratic, as you desperately needed to inhale, but he didn’t budge. You tried pawing at his chest and shoulders, but nothing worked. He maintained his iron grip onto you.

When your arms fell away from his shoulders, too weak to push him, he let go.

You gasped for air, falling forward into his broad chest, too weak to hold yourself up.

“Because now,” , he said, whispering in your ear, “you’re going to get punished.”

[traffic-was-a-b1tch]

anthem of the heart

(jake kiszka x reader) 18+

summary: you and your best friend move into a new apartment after college, wanting a fresh start in nashville. however, you come to find that your neighbors are musicians. very loud musicians who like to keep you up at night. especially one, who likes to bother you on purpose. you would hate him… if he wasn’t so hot.

warnings for overall series: eventual SMUT!!!, angst, mentions of past abuse (not jake), abuse (not jake), mentions of past sexual assault (not jake), sexual assault (not jake), enemies to lovers, cursing, let me know if I missed any. (i’m still making this series up as I go along so it might change)

warnings for this chapter: heartache (my b guys it had to happen), arguing, crying, poor communication, cursing, mentions of sex, a certain abusive someone comes back into the picture… (again my b)

author’s note: hello everyone! I just want to say again that I appreciate all of you who have missed this series! and again: it is FINISHED! I will be posting all the parts right after each other! enjoy!

• • •

Chapter Eleven:

it had been four months since he asked you to be his girlfriend, and you were loving it.

you went to his gigs and he supported you at work by bringing you lunch most days. he was always teasing you about how big your office is. not to mention when he brought up how he could easily pretend to be a client and fuck you during work hours. that was a hard pass for you.

you talked endlessly about music, movies, art, work, politics, literally everything. you didn’t even argue a lot. which says a lot about your patience to deal with his band, and about his to deal with your work stress. it made it even better when kaylee and danny became official. you remember the two of you jumping on the bed like little kids in celebration.

it was truly the best summer of your life.

you and kaylee had been invited to countless band game nights, where you crushed them all at scrabble and got beat by sam and josh at charades.

“you’re saying words! that’s cheating, sam!”, jake argued.

“not if it’s just noises! I can make noises, that’s legal!”

you rolled your eyes at the stupidity radiating from the argument. “how do you deal with this?”, you asked danny while kaylee was snuggled against him on the couch.

danny took a long sip of wine and shrugged before answering, “I just enjoy seeing them spiral.” you and kaylee laughed hard at that.

it had been a great four months full of memories. but now, summer has ended and its late october. it was almost time for you to leave for work and you pulled on a coat before heading to the kitchen to grab your keys. you were almost exclusively living at jake’s. it was mostly due to the convenience, but also because danny always at your place with kaylee. let’s just say it isn’t peaceful in there with them.

“hey, beautiful”, jake greeted, flipping pancakes on the stove. “you want any?”

you walked to him, “I would but I gotta go. i’ll grab an apple.” he nodded and you leaned in, kissing him deeply. he pulled away, “don’t start something you can’t finish, baby.”

“who says I can’t finish it?” you reached around his hips to tease his low waistband.

he almost groaned, “the clock.”

you sighed, kissed him on the cheek, and backed away to the door. “fineee. have a good day and i’ll see you tonight.” after grabbing your keys, you were out of there and at work in 30 minutes.

the day went relatively fast, a few meetings and a lot of emails to answer. little bats and pumpkins decorated your office and brought a little halloween spirit to the large space. it was only a day away after all. at lunch you got a text from jake.

jake: i’m making dinner tonight. I have big news to tell you. grab some wine before you get home ;)

you smiled and replied that you would and you were excited. you always wanted to be home with jake, but now you really couldn’t wait to get home.

a few hours passed and you finished up your last bit of work before practically skipping out of work. you drove by the grocery store and picked up some wine, flowers, and candles. the excitement for his news was eating you up and you wanted the vibe to be right.

as soon as you walked back into the apartment, you got a whiff of something delicious. you kicked off your shoes and followed the smell to the kitchen, finding jake there, stirring a pot of sauce. you set down your groceries, work bag, and keys before walking up behind him and wrapping your arms around his neck. he turned and kissed you softly, making you melt.

“hey, baby. how was you day?”

“so much better now”, you answered.

you both smiled and you squeezed him once more before looking in the oven. “what are you cooking?”

he smiled sheepishly, “ratatouille.”

you looked back at him and giggled, “like from the movie?”

he defended it, laughing, “it’s a good dish! so what if it was popularized by a talking rat?” you were still laughing as you left to go change into some loungewear you keep at jake’s. a loose crop top and long comfortable pants were calling your name right now. you were just pulling on the top when jake called to you, saying dinner was ready.

you came back in to see jake plating the meal, so you decided to help. you put the flowers in water and set them on the table before popping open the bottle of wine and pouring two hefty glasses for you both. you gave jake his wine and sat, a beautifully colorful plate of vegetables in front of you. you took a bite and instantly fell in love with it. the roasted squash added an amazing flavor, and you regretted making fun of it.

“it’s good, huh?” jake smiled at you as he took a bite for himself.

“it’s incredible! where did you learn to cook like this?”

he chewed and chuckled before answering, “my mom.”

“I need to thank her”, you shook your head. “but I can do that later. right now, I need to know!”

he looked up at you and teased, “need to know what?”

“ughhh you know what I mean! i’ve been dying for you to tell me all day!”

“fine, fine”, he laughed. “remember the last show we did? the one at that bar, the end?”

you nodded. how could you forget? they were on fire that night. they played two new songs from their unreleased ep and the crowd loved them!

“of course! it was a great night for y’all!”

“well”, he continued, “a representative from lava records was there. they want us to sign with them and go on a small tour!”

you couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“that’s AMAZING, jake! oh my god!!! this is so great for you!” you couldn’t help it. you got up and tangled him in a hug, your arms and legs wrapped around him. he spun you around, both of you squealing and laughing. when he stopped, you kissed him deeply and looked in his eyes with nothing but pride. you were so proud of him. your hardworking boy. your rockstar.

“well, where’s this tour?!”

“all over the states. josh got all the details but we’re gonna be gone for a few months at least. but trust me it’s a relatively short tour compared to what we’ll be doing in a year or so.”

you felt the wind stop in your sail for a minute.

“wait, what? you’re leaving for months at a time?”

“well, yeah”, he giggled, “that’s how it works, baby.”

“so, i’m not going to see you for months?!” you were trying to stop the hot whips of panic creeping up on you. this was a happy moment for him and you didn’t want to ruin it, but you didn’t realize that this was part of the deal.

“well, that’s what I wanted to say to you.” he smiled and grabbed your hands, “you’re coming with us!”

wait, what?

“we leave tomorrow!”

“wait, jake-“

“we invited kaylee, too! she’s packing as we speak.”

“jake”, you interrupted his happy rambling and he looked at you. you shook your head slowly, “I can’t.”

his expression slowly dropped from joy to confusion and he let you go, backing away a bit, “what do you mean? why not?”

“jake, I have work! a career. I can’t just leave.”

“well, this is my career and I can support us for a few months. you don’t have to worry about money!”

“it’s not about money, it’s about it being my job. i’ve worked so hard for this position. I can’t just leave for a few months.”

“why not? i’ve worked hard for this too!” his voice was starting to raise.

“calm down, jake. all i’m saying is that I can’t leave. this job needs me here, and i’m not just gonna let all that go just so I can be with you on tour for a small amount of time.” you reached out for him but he pulled away.

“you don’t want to let it go to be with me?”

“no, jake! that’s not what i’m saying! i’m saying that it’s a huge commitment! I doubt they’ll let me take months off and come back like nothing happened! I need this job, jake. i’ve worked years and years for it; it’s my dream job. I mean, we’ve only known each other for like five months, I can’t just drop everything and leave with you. it’s a huge leap of faith.”

“and? you don’t have faith in me? in us?” he kept backing away. it was like the more you were saying, the further he withdrew from you.

“no, jake. that’s not the point, you’re not listening-“

“no, you’re not listening! I want you there with me! I love you!”

you were left speechless.

you hadn’t said that word yet, even though you’d both felt it heavily over the past months.

“jake, I-“

“I love you. I need you there. please, do this with me.” he was getting emotional, every word dripping with genuine fear. “I can help you find a new job after. or, better yet, you won’t even need to work again! I can support us both with this!”

it was paining you to see him like this, but you knew what was for the better. if only you could make him see.

“jake. I spent four years at college and got a degree for this specific job. it’s my life. I can’t give it up for a relationship.”

he looked like you had shot him in the heart.

“so it’s your life? not me? i’m just some relationship?”

“jake-“, you pleaded.

“you won’t go?”, he asked finally. his eyes were killing you; he looked so sad. but he just didn’t get it.

with tears welling up in your eyes, you shook your head. he scoffed, looking away and nodding.

you grabbed his hand, “jake, see it from my perspective. you don’t understand-“

“oh, I understand plenty.” he swiped his hand out of your touch. “you don’t love me.” his eyes were now filled with anger and hurt, and he let them linger on yours for a minute.

tears fell down your cheeks as he stormed off to the bedroom. you wanted to tell him desperately that it wasn’t true, but he just wasn’t listening to you. this job won’t just wait for you, it will replace you. you’ve worked too hard for that to happen.

he came back in with a suitcase, probably the one he packed for tour, and ignored you trying to talk to him.

“jake, please. listen to me. it’s not that I don’t want to go. I really can’t. please, baby, don’t go right now. you can’t leave mad. what will happen to us?”

you had followed him to the door, and he finally whipped around to face you. “frankly, I don’t care what happens to us. you’ve made it clear that you don’t care either. you’ve made your decision.”

he stared into your eyes one last time, and you saw the brown in his gloss over with tears. “goodbye”, he choked out. he grabbed a pair of keys and slammed the door in your face. the silence was deafening, and you could barely hear yourself breathing. you dropped to your knees, sobbing and defeated.

“I love you.”

you could barely manage it. it was the truth that had been holed up in your throat this whole time. you were just a bit too late. you held your head in your hands, crying so hard your head started hurting.

you laid there, crying on the ground for at least an hour before you had the strength to stand up. you had to use the counter as support as you walked to the table. you collected the dinner plates with cold half-eaten dinner still on them, and took them to the sink. you washed them, dried them, and put them away before wrapping up what was left of dinner and putting it in the fridge. you were on autopilot, taking care of what needed to be done.

you went to the door to grab your keys and go home, but they weren’t there. jake’s were but yours were missing. he must’ve grabbed your keys instead of his own when he left. you winced at the memory, still a fresh wound. you didn’t even care anymore; you left, went the few feet to your apartment, and knocked.

kaylee answered, joy radiating from her smile as she said, “surprise! are you excit-“ she scanned your face and became instantly worried. “what happened?”

you can’t even help it. as soon as you see kaylee, you can’t pretend anymore. you can’t hold anything back. she’s your best friend. you immediately start sobbing again and fall into her arms.

“shhhh, it’s ok. what happened?”

you told her. every detail about the fight made you relive it and cry more. she just nodded and soothed you as best she could. she also tried to distract you from the suitcase laying on the floor, as she was probably in the middle of packing when you showed up crying. she led you to your bed and laid you down, tucking you in.

“every couple fights, babe. this one was just poorly timed. he won’t leave mad, i’m sure of it.” she ran her fingers through your hair, making you calm down. “just go to sleep. our flight leaves around six pm so I promise you’ll hear from him before then.”

you nodded, sniffling.

“plus, i’m going to be at danny’s tomorrow so i’ll talk to him and have him knock some sense into jake.”

you laughed softly and she squeezed your hand.

“thank you, kaylee. for everything.”

she gave you a smile,“I love you, girl. nothing will ever change that.”

kaylee left quietly with one last squeeze of my hand. darkness swallowed the room and you felt sleep tugging you under.

just sleep, you kept thinking. maybe you’ll see him in your dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the alarm went off and you grumbled. it felt like you had only slept for five minutes. you turned it off and sat up, the silence in your room paralyzing. you didn’t even dream of him. fuck, you were in too deep. you were willing to beg just to see him in your mind.

stop. you can’t do anything about it now.

time for work.

you got dressed in a black pantsuit with thin, white vertical stripes and white heels. you straightened your hair and put on light makeup.

just get through the day, you kept telling yourself. he’ll call soon. he has to.

the apartment was quiet, so kaylee must be with danny already. you weren’t hungry so you didn’t even look at the kitchen before heading for the door.

fuck. jake had taken your keys. you left the door unlocked so you could get back in after work, and left. you’d have to catch the bus.

forty minutes later, you were at work. it was a struggle to ride the bus, with its cramped, cold nature. but you had made it here in one piece. the building was buzzing with people, all clad in halloween costumes.

you forgot all about today.

you opened your office and were met with your boss. “hey, barbara. how are you?”

“oh, there you are! a little late today?” you could tell she was a little concerned, not trying to be rude. you had, in fact, shown up early or on time every day since you got the job.

“yeah, uh, car trouble. had to take the bus.”

“oh ok. I hope it gets fixed soon! I left our new clients file on your desk so you can get started on the paperwork. I don’t want you here after hours! it is halloween after all!”

you chuckled softly, trying to act as normal as possible, “yes, ma’am.”

you moved to sit at your desk and she started for the door.

“speaking of, where’s your costume? can you tell what I am? i’m a zombie!” she made a mock-scary face, and you had to admit that you did see her vision in the shades of green she was wearing and the unkempt hair.

you reached into your bag and pulled out your best attempt at a costume for today: a pirate’s eyepatch. you slapped it on and said, “happy halloween.”

she smiled, laughed, and left without another word.

the eyepatch was a bad idea. it reminded you of jake. it was a small part of a full pirate costume that you got to match with jake as a couples costume. you had planned on going to a halloween party tonight at josh’s and now…

this. what great fucking timing.

you weren’t worth a lick of work today. you tried your hardest to finish the bit of paperwork on your desk, but everything reminded you of him. no matter what you did, you couldn’t run from him.

lunch was unappetizing, so you skipped it. you used that time to catch up on the paperwork you should’ve been doing earlier. in fact, you barely got it all done in time for five pm. time to go home. you left it all on barbara’s desk and took the cramped bus back to your apartment. not jake’s. yours. fuck, that thought hurt so much.

you got up the stairs, and opened the door.

what. the. fuck.

to your horror, there was a man in a purge mask standing in your living room. a man that had the same build as…no. no way. there was no way.

“trick or treat.”, tanner cooed.

• • •

yeah, i’m sorry about this one guys.

taglist: @gvfpal @hollyco @piratejakesgf @sunandthemoontwinflames @kiszkas-canvas-deactivated20240 @jjwasneverhere @anythingforjtk

[baconcolacan]

How would Stay Tord react or take care of Tom, if he secretly overworked himself and fell asleep somewhere?, (like on the desk or just in a chair lol)

Not an art request

You guys make it so hard to resist.

Words: 5513 "Prompt" not to the letter.

“You should clock out soon, boss.”

“Yeah yeah, Paul. Soon, okay?” Tord yawned, long and slow, and felt his eye twitch. A burning, itchy, irritating feeling started to make itself known as he did so. He blinked a few times and winced at how dry his eye felt, he switched his pen into his right hand to continue writing, while his left hand reached up and rubbed at his eye. Another yawn escaped him at the action, he felt his left leg start bouncing as his body began to stretch out, his joints popped as he flexed, making him let out a pleased groan as the stiffness within him began to abate.

His eye still felt like it was stinging though.

“Paul, could you get my eyedrops at the table over there??” Tord gathered the files on the table into his hands, he tapped them against the surface to get them all aligned before he turned to his desk drawer to deposit them. Rows of different work files greeted the weary military commander, some tagged with small red stickers to indicate that they still needed his attention, all in varying shades depending on their urgency.

He felt a small twinge in his heart when he remembered the day Tom had come into his office with a pad full of the stickers.

“You’re overwhelming yourself, idiot. Step aside, I’m fixing your shit.”

He put up a half-hearted protest that day, not really meaning it, just wanting an excuse to mope and lean against his beloved to whine to his heart’s content. Usually, if he was being bitchy enough about it, Tom would acquiesce and coddle him a little, as much as he was allowed to in public at least, and Tord would never say no to his husband spoiling him with a few stolen kisses.

He felt another pang in his heart at that, knowing how Tom would have made it home by now if Paul was telling him to clock out. This would be…what, his fourth time working late? No doubt his husband was already asleep. Still, the thought of Tom having to eat dinner alone again made his stomach twist guiltily, sour in the way it felt.

Still….he’d been pushing work back so much recently, and it was starting to pile up and cause minor problems to arise in his army, it may not look like much now, but too many of them will become a much bigger problem all together.

…was he really prioritizing work over his own husband?

Tord bit down on his lower lip at the thought, a tangy, metallic taste seeped onto his tongue.

He shook his head.

He set the files he had to the very back where most finished paperwork was, which wasn’t much compared to those incomplete. He sighed deeply to himself and clicked his tongue when he felt his eye sting yet again, his hand ghosted over the files with light pink stickers before settling for those with dark red ones. He frowned as he rubbed at his sore eye again.

“Paul?? Eyedrops please…” He held his right hand out to the direction he knew his General was seated at. Paul and he had decided to do some of the accounting work today, which was the result of an unfortunate case of the flu spreading to almost everyone in their accounting department. He had been beside himself when he caught wind of a significant number of their employees requesting sick leave, it had been such a headache to deal with at the start.

Of course, he had some words with patient zero, the whole point of being sick was to not report to work at all! He wasn’t running a sweat shop! He preferred quality work over quantity, and paperwork that had blotchy writing and traces of snot and drool was not quality.

Needless to say, patient zero- and all their unfortunate victims- were on paid sick leave until further notice. ‘Do not come to work’ was a highly stressed point, especially to patient zero.

Paul and he trudged through all the work they left behind, with Paul taking refuge at his tea table while he camped out at his work desk. Paul had been somewhat annoying about it though, always complaining about how his back hurt, or how his hands were cramping, or how stupid it was they didn’t think to invent tech that made paperwork easier, or how its unethical of him to withhold lunch until the paperwork was done bla bla bla…….

Tord just learned to tune him out.

……..Wait…..Why can’t Tord hear him complaining?

“Paul???” Tord finally looked up from his desk drawer, three new files with bright red stickers clutched in his hand, he blinked in surprise at the darkness of his own office, half the room’s lights had been switched off. His brows furrowed together as he looked over to where his tea table was stationed at to his right. Now shadowed in darkness.

There he saw Paul’s own mountain of files stacked precariously on top of each other, papers jutted out haphazardly while a multitude of paperclips kept them all from falling apart. He spotted the plastic cup of used pens that Paul had begun to collect, after the first three had run out of ink mid-way through his work pile, which had looked to be overflowing with much too many pens at this point.

Paul’s thermos- which had been delivered by Patryck- was still sitting idle on top of the tea table next to his paper pile, alongside his calculator and reference papers of past accounting records. His service dress cap was still hanging on the edge of his chair, dangling precariously over the wastebin he had moved to his side, after a number of errors had him throwing out a few of his papers in frustration, as it had meant he would have to redo them- and their calculations- again.

But, amongst all of these items, there was no sign of Paul himself.

Tord frowned, feeling a smatter of disbelief that one of his Generals would just suddenly leave his station without excusing himself. He scoffed with a slight bout of irritation as he fell back on his chair, uncaringly dropping the files he held onto his work desk as he combed his fingers through his own hair. The nerve of that man!

Had he been too lenient with Paul?? With Patryck? Sure they were friends, but during work hours he was their boss, not to mention their superior officer, and this right here was a blatant disrespect for the chain of command.

Maybe he needs to have a talk with his staff soon, about duty and respect, maybe.

Paul had just told him to clock out, when the hell did he leave??

….What time was it?

Tord let his head loll to the side, he clicked his tongue in irritation when he realized that the grandfather clock in his office was in the shaded part of it. He squinted his eyes at the confounded thing before he gave up entirely. Why the hell does he still even have analog stuff??

….ah, yeah, aesthetics……

With a tired sigh, Tord turned to his right arm and removed the glove covering it, a glint of metallic red greeted him along with a soft blue glow of lights. He pressed down on the middle of his palm until he heard a click.

“Time?” He blew out as he rubbed at his temple with his free hand.

“It is 2:09 a.m. Red Leader.”

Two o’- What?!

Tord sat up at that, he spun his chair partway around to look at his grand arch window behind him. Outside of RA HQ, he could see a few of the night watch already stationed at their towers, the cold blue of the floodlights on top of the towers shining brightly up ahead at the farthermost territory of their HQ. He spotted the shadows of the night shift Red Sentries zipping across the surrounding forests, sometimes hovering over to the watchtowers to deposit their camera footage to the database before zooming off again.

A wanning gibbous moon shone high in the sky.

Christ, he didn’t realize how long he had been working for.

Paul often clocked out around 11 p.m. at the latest, so that means….Paul had told him to clock out 3 hours ago?!

But- But he just heard him say that!

Oh hell….maybe he really does need to leave this work well alone for now, his sense of time is starting to get all screwy….

….Fuck….he was a hypocrite, he’s patient zero now. Poor Paul was patient one, he supposed. Though, at least Paul had sense to still keep a somewhat decent time. He always did say that Tord’s work-life balance was-

…..Shit.

Thomas.

His husband. His poor husband who he hasn’t even been paying any attention to this week. His poor husband who he left all alone this week because he never came home on time anymore. His poor beloved who would have been eating all his meals alone because Tord decided that neglecting his health- and love life- was worth it to finish a budget record.

Oh my god…..he’s becoming a workaholic asshole. An absent husband!!

Dread began to build up in Tord’s chest as his thoughts began to spiral.

What if Thomas thought he didn’t love him anymore?? He wasn’t able to tell him he loved him this week!

Or worse! What if Thomas was falling into a state of anagapesis?! Falling out of love with him because he’s been a neglectful, unloving, asshole of a husband!!

“I hope you and your literal work wife are happy together.”

Tord felt himself blanch as the blood began to drain from his face. An unwanted image of his husband, of his dear sweet Thomas, dabbing a handkerchief to his eyes as tears fell down his cheeks. Imaginary Thomas continued to sob as he slammed a piece of paper onto his desk, still weeping heavily into the white lacy handkerchief he kept to his face.

Tord looked down at the paper on his desk in sheer horror.

Divorce papers.

“I’m leaving you for a real man, Tord Larsin!”

Tord looked back up at imaginary Thomas in front of his desk, only to stand up in shock as a faceless man holding a crudely made instrument had pulled his husband to his side. Imaginary Thomas wept into his shoulder before glaring back at him, causing Tord to physically flinch.

“Hello!” The faceless man greeted cheerily with a wave. “Yes I am a real man!”

“He plays the bass, actually LIKES ska, has a normal job at a coffee shop, and thinks anime is super weird!” Imaginary Thomas huffed and hugged himself closer to the homewrecker. “And he actually pays attention to me and LOVES me! Unlike YOU!” Imaginary Tom sniffled before the faceless man began to turn them both away.

“Okay honey say bye bye now! Let us go to our real people home and have many children!”

Imaginary Tom looked back at him, glaring balefully.

“Goodbye, Larsin.”

Tord let out a horrified shriek, thankfully unheard due to his soundproofed office.

NO FUCKING WAY WAS THAT EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!!

He bolted over his work desk, uncaring of the paperwork that was sent flying in every which way, as he burst out of his own office with all the aggressive force of a charging bull and the desperation of a damned man running from the devil himself.

‘DON’T LEAVE ME FOR A BARISTA, THOMAS!!!!’

Should he be concerned that he had just had a vivid and active hallucination?

Well yes.

But that wasn’t his main concern at the moment, plus, he was much too sleep deprived to be thinking straight anyway. Ah, such is life, and love, supposedly.

Tord ran down the hall, his vision tunneling and his train of thought chugging along on just one, heavily walled, and extremely magnetized, track. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest as thoughts of his beloved husband visiting a coffee shop was starting to form into an irrational fear, the back of his thoughts were already thinking up of ways to get his Thomas quality coffee that was so goddamned good he would never even want to set foot in some whore coffee shop!

Thomas was his, his, HIS!

NO FUCKING BASS PLAYING BARISTA WAS GOING TO TAKE HIM FROM HIM.

LIKE HELL!!

….

….Though…would Tom be happier with a bass playing barista??

All at once, Tord found himself skidding to an abrupt halt, his boots squeaked loudly at his sudden cease of motion, the momentum nearly making him fall flat to his face if he hadn’t caught himself on time.

Tord clasped his hands together, his eye staring at nothing as he began to think deeper about- a frankly goofy- the situation. He wasn’t sure if it was the sleep deprivation, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he even deserved his beloved at this point, seeing as he spent a week practically acting as though Thomas didn’t even exist.

If he could stand to ignore his husband for a week in favor of accounting, what if he could do it for a month?? A year?? Hell YEARS?!

That didn’t sound like love.

What if Tom would be happy with barista bass player real man??

Tord’s overworked, over exhausted, and sleep deprived mind ran around him in circles.

He felt himself began to tear up.

Oh GOD, after he had promised his Thomas on the day they were married, after he had promised him he was a changed man, that he was going to be better, that he well and truly loved him, that he was so sorry for all the years and all the times he had made him cry, how he was so so sorry for ruining their lives when he left him behind, how he- Huh, wait why is Thomas’ office lights still on??

Tord blinked rapidly, coming back to himself as quick as his spiraling mind could allow. He straightened himself up and tilted his head at the sight before him.

Up ahead, at the end of the hall opposite of his own office, the doors to his beloved’s office were opened just a crack, letting the warm light from within spill out into the semi-shadowed hallway he was standing in. Thomas was never one to leave his lights on when he had gone home, even more so keep his doors open, his husband had always liked his privacy, so his office doors were always closed to everyone but Tord, as he also had a key to it anyway.

Frowning, Tord slowly approached the office doors, his hand carefully inched down to the pistol holster at his side, just in case.

Once he reached the dark wood double doors, Tord carefully pushed one of them open just a little more. He evened out his breathing as he took a peek into the office, because if some intruder thought they could just waltz into his beloved’s space, well, they would wish that they hadn’t.

Part of him hoped it was a bass playing barista, somehow.

What he saw however, instantly melted any of his aggression away.

There, reclined on his chair and sleeping soundly, was his beloved husband, Tom.

Tord felt himself smile softly as he fully opened the door, careful not to make any sound as he stepped into the room.

Thomas’ office was much smaller than his own, which was really just at the behest of his beloved. Tom claimed that he didn’t even know what he’d do with so much space, seeing as most of his duties and operations were focused on field work more than anything, and when he had no active operations, he’d spend more time in Tord’s office to help him handle logistics at HQ. So really, even having his own office didn’t seem all too practical anyway.

Which Tord swiftly dismissed, saying that he had to have a place where he could posture his authority, seeing as he was a Lieutenant General of the RA (and unofficially its Army Director). Plus….well, they could use the extra space for other things….

Tom had slapped him on the arm for suggesting that, calling him a ‘depraved weaboo’ for even thinking about it.

Well, what does that say about him? When he let Tord bring a couch that could convert into a bed into his office without a single word?

Yeah, Tom needed his own office. For sure. Not for any ulterior reason of course. Like he said, it was to posture authority. Yep.

Tord passed by the couch and gave it a fond pat as he did so.

He circled Tom’s desk and immediately made his way to his beloved’s side, his gaze softened as he leaned down to get closer to his husband. Tord chuckled as he brushed at the stray lock of hair that refused to be gelled out of Tom’s face like the rest of them, his husband was annoyed by it but Tord thought it was cute.

He sighed as he cupped the side of Tom’s face, but the smile on his own dropped when he noticed the blinking lights on Tom’s visor.

Was….was Tom in subcon-command?!

HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!

“Kjaerlighet!” Tord took his husband’s face in his hands, lightly slapping at his left cheek as his right hand took in his vitals. “Kjaerlighet!! Tom!! Thomas!!” His right arm beeped and gave him a readout of Tom’s vitals through a holo-screen. Tord’s eye snapped to the data, quickly taking in the status of his idiot husband, thankfully nothing seemed to be amiss aside from the usual high brain activity that came from being in sub-com.

Tord blew out a frustrated breath and turned back to his still dozing husband, he pressed a finger from his robotic hand to the side of Tom’s visor. The action caused Tom’s head to roll a little to the side, causing the other to mumble something Tord didn’t hear, but it did make him smile in exasperation. “R.L. OV3 3447-Alpha.” A series of robotic chirps responded to his code, accepting his override access. Tord placed his free hand to the other side of Tom’s head as he prepared to remove the visor from his husband.

“39-Lima-550-“

“TT3 SL-Delta.”

“YEAOW!” Tord reeled back, shaking both his hands, as a controlled shocked coursed up his arms. The fingers on his robotic arm spasmed and whined, while his flesh hand smoked due to his glove still being on when he had been electrocuted. He huffed and bit at the singed finger of his white glove, he pulled it off his hand and let it fall to the ground before turning an incredulous, wide-eyed look, at Tom. Who, at this point, had reset his chair so he could sit upright, his arms had crossed as he looked at Tord.

“Kjaerlighet!” Tord meant for it to be scolding, but instead it came out as a whine when Tom tilted his head at him. God help him. He was so weak to his husband. “What was that for?! I know you were subcomming! You know how dangerous that feature is! Didn’t I tell you not to do it without me, Bing, or Larry present?!”

“I don’t need babysitting, Tord. I know what I was doing.” Tom sighed as he propped an arm against the desk beside him, he leaned his head against his palm. “Besides, I wasn’t sub-com for that long, it’s only been a quarter of an hour actually.”

“Still!” Tord strode forward once his robotic hand stopped twitching, he knelt in front of his husband as Tom let him take his free hand into his own. “You know how I feel about you doing these things, kjaere. The sub-com system is still experimental, the mental stress it causes you is too much.” He brought his husband’s hand to his lips, just pressing against it, mumbling into the skin. “I’m scared that something could happen to you…while I’m not there…”

“Tord….” Tom squirmed on his seat as he looked down at his husband. He had wanted to deflect, sometimes Tord was just too overbearing, too overprotective of him, but it was difficult when Tord was being vulnerable with him. Sure, his husband was a paranoid bastard, but it was born from years of his time at war with the rest of the world, born from his fear of…well….losing him.

Its so unfair, it used to be so easy to jab back at his husband.

…Maybe he really was getting old, hell….

Tom sighed and took his hand back from Tord, the split second look of heartbreak on the other’s face quickly disappearing once he settled his hand to the side of Tord’s face. “Elskede, look, I really did know what I was doing, but I didn’t mean to scare you like this. I was only trying to oversee the night watch while you were still at work, and I just…” As if on cue, Tom yawned into his other hand, “I just..got tired…is all. I thought I could let my body rest while still overseeing night watch, which, ugh, wasn’t even worth it. I still feel like shit….”

“Well, why are you even here, kjaere??”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tom gestured at him from top to bottom with his free hand. “You, Tord. You’ve been overworking lately, Paul has been complaining about your hours instead of his own. Patryck is becoming concerned with your mental state, he says you’ve been jumpier than usual.”

Tord felt his heart sting when Tom let out another yawn.

Patient two. His husband was patient two.

As if he didn’t feel bad enough about neglecting his love….now he dragged him into this.

“God, fifteen minutes sub-com but not even that made me feel rested.”

Swallowing his guilt, Tord chuckled, albeit shakily. “Your brain activity is insanely high when you sub-com, Thomas.” Tord rested his hand on top of Tom’s own on his cheek as he looked up at him. “Of course you would still be tired, Bing didn’t invent it for napping while working purposes you know?” He chuckled again as Tom huffed. “It’s an emergency feature, in case someone manages to knock you out in the field, so you can take control of the remote weaponry to defend yourself.”

“Yeah yeah, couldn’t hurt to try though, right?”

“Thomas you could have fried your brain, it would have hurt to try.”

“You’d never let me get hurt like that though.”

Tom meant it to be teasing, but Tord only smiled up at him, adoration plain on his face as he leaned up into his husband’s space. Tom was caught off guard when Tord suddenly went in for a kiss, pushing him back against his chair in the process as his husband moved to deepen it. It wasn’t even much of a dirty kiss, it simply felt as though Tord was trying to press as close as he could, still, by the end of it, Tom felt a little lightheaded as Tord pulled back, he was a little ashamed to admit that he chased the other’s lips when he did.

Tord rested their foreheads together and caressed the side of his face, still smiling.

“Never. I would never let anything hurt you, my love.”

Tom’s heart skipped a beat at the tone of his voice. He felt his face heat up. Stupid Norwegian and his stupid declarations of love…

“Yeah, well…cool, I guess…” Tom had turned his head to the side as his embarrassment reached a new high. Even after all these years, he still wasn’t sure how to respond to Tord’s earnestness, he felt really shitty for it, but Tord had always reassured him that he knew that he loved him, because of course his husband would. Tord just seems to know the things Tom could never say outright.

He glanced back at his husband, though he didn’t move his head back.

And found Tord looking absolutely shattered.

…huh???

(Well, maybe SOMETIMES he doesn’t know the things Tom could never say outright.)

“Tord-?”

“I am so sorry, kjaerlighet.” Tom ‘blinked’ in surprise, the visuals in his visor glitching out in response to his emotional state. He furrowed his brows and squeaked when Tord suddenly took both his hands and clasped them together within his own. The Norwegian leaned further into his face, disappointingly not for another kiss, causing his chair to lean backwards into a dangerous position.

“Aye-! Hey! Tord you’ll make us fall-!”

“Please please PLEASE forgive me my love!!” Tord wailed as he continued to lean into Tom’s space. “I didn’t mean to neglect you this week!! I didn’t mean to be such an asshole!! PLEASE forgive me kjaerlighet!”

“Hey! Shh! Tord! We’re in public! Don’t be so loud!! Don’t call me that!”

Tom switched his visor into his command screens and immediately selected the base cameras. He flicked through the cams until he found the main HQ building cameras, more specifically the ones that were stationed outside his office as well as the general area radius of Tord’s own office. Thankfully, none of the staff had decided to hang back like the two of them had, even maintenance had made themselves scarce. And what night guards they had wouldn’t make their rounds here until after 3 a.m. so for now they were in the clear.

He sighed in relief and relegated the cams footage to the lower right corner side of his visor screen.

Only to come face to face with a teary eyed looking Tord who took up his entire vision.

“Bwah! Tord-!”

“I AM SO SORRY, THOMAS!!” Tom instantly found himself gathered up into his husband’s arms and out of his office chair. He wheezed and choked as Tord squeezed him close as he sobbed. “PLEASE PLEASE P L E A S E DON’T LEAVE ME! MY LOVE I AM SO SORRY FOR NEGLECTING YOU!! PLEASE LET ME STILL CALL YOU MY LOVE!! PLEASE!! YOU ARE STILL MY KJAERLIGHET RIGHT?!”

“To-AUGH!- ORD!!” Tom gasped out as he pushed against his husband’s hold. “Not…the….point!!” He managed to put a little bit of space between them, his legs kicking uselessly below him the moment Tord lifted him up. He glared down at his stupid idiot of a husband who only returned a kicked puppy look at him, Tom took in a deep breath and internally braced himself against Tord’s pleading look. He is not THAT weak to his husband. He is not THAT weak to his husband. He is not THAT weak to his husband-

“We’re in public idiot!” Tom slapped him lightly on the chest. “I was okay with it when your voice was low, but you are screaming it out now!”

“The offices are soundproof!”

“YOU DENSE-! My doors are open, Tord!!”

Tom gestured stiffly at the double doors which Tord had failed to shut closed when he first came in. Tord looked over to the side, he thinned his lips.

“…Ah…..”

“Yeah, ‘Ah’. God you’re daft when you don’t get enough sleep..” Tom pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “For your information, before you start panicking, I checked the cams. No staff. No maintenance. Night guards won’t make their rounds here till three.” Tom huffed when Tord pulled his wide eyed gaze away from the open doors.

Tom hooked his fingers under Tord’s chin, gently coaxing the man to look up at him. “Hey, eyes on me.” He sighed at the look on his husband’s face, most likely he was just starting to realize the danger he could have put them into now that he seemed to be thinking straight. Tom cooed at him, gently brushing at the hair that fell over the scarred side of his face.

“Elskede, we’re alright, be calm.” He pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m here.” He kissed his cheek. “You’re here.” He kissed the scarred side of his face. “There’s no one else but us.” Tord shut his eye in response, allowing Tom to kiss his eyelid as his husband hugged him closer, leaning his ear against his chest. Tom carded his fingers through his hair. “What can you hear?”

“….Your heart…”

“And why is that?”

“…Because we’re here….because you’re mine…”

“And you are mine.” Tom finished as he felt Tord begin to relax. His husband shifted his hold on him, carrying him bridal style but still refusing to relax his grip, burying his face into his neck as he breathed in slow. Tom laughed lightly at the action, continuing his previous ministrations on Tord’s hair. “..What’s this about neglect Tord? What brought this on??”

“…….” Tord sniffled against his skin. Tom had to stop himself from chuckling. His husband could just be so goofy at times, he really had to talk to him about his habit of scaring himself with his own thoughts, or better yet, maybe he should talk to his therapist about his husband’s self-destructive habit. “….I wasn’t….around…”

“I’m sorry love?”

“I haven’t….I haven’t been good to you…”

Now it was Tom’s turn to feel incredulous, he sent a baffled look his husband’s way, but Tord was still hiding his face against his neck so he wouldn’t be able to see it. “You haven’t-? In what way have you not been good to me?”

“I neglected you this week!” Tord admitted into his skin, with just so much genuine panic it almost sent Tom reeling. “I prioritized my work over my husband! I brushed you off!! I was being an absentee asshole and now you’re going to fall out of love with me and- and you’ll go to a coffee shop because I haven’t found any good coffee yet and you’ll meet a barista and he plays bass and makes you laugh and then you’ll divorcemebecauseyoudontlovemeandthenyou’llmarrybassbaristaandhavekidswithhimandI’MgonnadiealoneBECAUSEI’LLNEVERLOVEANYONEELSEBUTYOU-“

“Hey hey hey! Tord breathe! What??? Coffee shop?? Bass barista????? Darling what are you talking about????”

“I left you all on your OWN for an ENTIRE WEEK!” Tord looked up at his face, the sheer anguish on his face more comical than not to Tom who was starting to find the whole situation too outlandish to take seriously. “I don’t even say ‘I love you’ that much anymore!!”

Tom looked down at his husband, his mouth partway open in disbelief and shock. He floundered a bit, before he gave up and let his head fall into his hands. “Oh my god….Tord Larsin, never EVER try to burn the midnight oil for multiple days, ever again starting now.” He felt his own exhaustion start creeping into his bones, he let himself go limp as he leaned against his husband’s chest. “You and I are not as young as we used to be, at this point, if you try to even stay up past 8 p.m., I’m pretty sure you’ll start getting brain damage.”

“But- kjaere- the barista.”

“Tord.” Tom gritted out, instantly making Tord shut his mouth. “You’re delirious, you haven’t been sleeping well. You just made up a wacky arse scenario that is never going to happen.” Tom tiredly pulled at his left glove, he tucked it into his pocket and brought his hand up to Tord’s face. “See that ring? I married you you dense motherfucker, and god knows why I fell in love with you this hard,” He let his hand fall on top of his abdomen once he was sure he got his point across. “Fact of the matter is, commie, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just so disgustingly in love with you for some reason I can’t even explain.”

Tom nuzzled himself closer to his husband, who had gone unnaturally still. “So shut up already about this barista or whatever and just take me home….I’m tired, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to collapse so remember,” Tom lifted his head to stare into Tord’s eye, only smirking when he saw how red in the face his husband had become. “I love you, that isn’t changing any time soon. Okay?”

Tord only stared at him silently for a moment, before he leaned down, lifting Tom’s head up in tandem, and capturing his lips in a deep, swooping kiss, pouring every ounce of love and adoration he could muster for the man in his arms. The man he had been so lucky to have a chance to keep for himself, to hold close and listen to his heart, to keep by his side for the rest of his life. Someone who could love him for all his flaws, had seen his worst, and still decided that he saw something beautiful in him.

His kjaerlighet.

“I love you, so so much….”

“I love you too. Could we please go home now?”

Tord laughed quietly, subtly adjusting his grip once more before moving to exit the office. “Go to sleep, kjaere.” He pressed their foreheads together as they passed the threshold of the doors. “I’ll get us home safe. I promise nothing will hurt you.”

Tom smiled as he settled in Tord’s arms.

“I know.”

////

GET PERCIEVED YOU LOVESTRUCK IDIOT

[erstwhilesparrow]

🍓 🏜️ ❄️? for the ask game? if you want also 🍬?

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

hm... taizi, i think! i started reading their writing right around the same time i started high school and i went, "wait. you can just do this?" i'd read fanfic before this but taizi's work was what made it click for me that fanfic is, like, A Type Of Writing, and you can do it really well, and put it in places where people will see it and enjoy it. so i did the thing. wrote lego ninjago fanfic in microsoft word on the days school started late and i had nothing to do in the hour before the bus arrived.

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

oh gosh, that's difficult. i think, and maybe this is too vague, maybe the ones that get into the crunch of the thing. i am always on my all fic is meta train, so i think comments that seem to Get That, and expand on or pull into the open my thinking are my favourites? also a big fan of when someone says something i didn't think about while writing, but is nevertheless There In The Fic! new insights! that's very cool to me.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

oh god oh fuck. i'm gonna take 'dream' here as meaning i cannot personally Make It Happen because a lot of the things i could say i dream about seeing in a fic are also things i could just put in a fic and tada, there, not a dream anymore. so it's gotta be some kind of stupid plot-heavy ensemble cast AU because that's just not the kind of thing i know how to write well enough to be satisfied with if i did it. i know if you asked me this again, like, tomorrow i would probably have a different answer, but right now i am sighing longingly about some kind of empires smp modern au. catrina belovedgamers and i were talking in dms the other day about a circus au in which some of the strays, stowaways, and outcasts of the world discover, with great joy, that they never have to go home again if they don't want to, and the idea of scott and shrub and joey (these three specifically, yes) getting happy endings amid the shenanigans of Circus makes me really tender. but it also has to be sad and difficult. it has to Deal with the corruption and xornoth and the fact that none of this is easy, and scott still has to try to kill himself and joey still has to get tangled up in xornoth and be just as prickly as he always is and shrub still has to lose everyone. and that's Just the three newest runaways this circus has picked up, all of wra is still here too, and so are pix and lizzie and joel and jimmy, so. do you see why this would be really fucking hard to write,

who would write it best? for it to be warming and gentle all the way through like a cup of tea at just the right temperature, probably taizi. but for it to pluck out the sad and difficult bits exactly right, probably alouette_des_champs, who consistently does The Best modern aus for pretty much every fandom they've written for. they are not in mcyt fandom at all, but they did this with drawga (comedy art actual-play web series), and atla, and naddpod (actual-play d&d podcast, also mostly comedy), and if there's anyone who could do this right i bet it's them.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

[guy who deliberately surrounds itself with people who have good fandom opinions that it generally agrees with voice] do i have. unpopular opinions. about popular fandom characters.

i think canary jimmy is deeply boring and gets focused in on to the exclusion of almost all the Interesting Things Literally Happening On The Screen? i have total faith that it can be a fun/useful/interesting framework with which to consider [jimmy in the life series] but mostly i think.... jimmy's got a personality in there. it feels weird that he seems so popular but so few people have Things To Say About Him outside of what he represents to other life series members.

i dunno, that feels like a really easy take to have, just disagreeing with The Most Popular fanon. and maybe i haven't Reviewed The Literature enough. but that seems like it meets the requirements. so!

[tickle-bugs]

Thank you so much for offering to write a fic for me for my exam! You are the absolute sweetest 🥺😭 I couldn’t think of another beetlejuice prompt, but if it’s not too much trouble, could I suggest a wicked prompt maybe? This is semi based off a true story! I’m a dancer, and we are working on a showcase. At the end I have to do like a flirty wave type thing and for the life of me I can not figure it out so my instructor said to wiggle my fingers like I’m tickling somebody. That gave me a prompt idea. Maybe Glinda is teaching Elphaba how to flirt with boys and teaching her to do a flirty wave and she tells Elphaba to wiggle her fingers like she is tickling someone. Elphaba can say something like “that’s hard to imagine. Why don’t I practice instead?” And then she tickles Glinda. Maybe if it’s not too much trouble Glinda can tickle Elphaba back after. Sorry for the long prompt. Anything Glinda and Elphaba would be perfect or anything Beetlejuice! I’d be happy to read any stories from you. Your stories bring me so much joy.

Good luck once again! Hope you enjoy this <3 This prompt was so cute and so was the story!!!

Strange Exhilaration

“Are you ready, my pupil, for your most important lesson yet?” Glinda twirls excitedly. 

“Are you going to throw more glitter at me?” Elphaba shakes some glitter out of her skirt. 

“Would you please cease the seriosity? It’s time for the art…of the goodbye.” Glinda flourishes and silver sparkles puff into the air around her. 

“The goodbye is the crème de la crème of flirtations. It cements you in the mind of a potential target.” Glinda paces, each of her gestures throwing a bit more shimmer into the air.

“Target?” Elphaba murmurs, curbing the urge to sneeze. 

“It’s about captivation, adoration, and, of course, exhilaration. Observe.” Glinda strikes a slinky, sultry pose against the wall, both casual and elegant at the same time. She turns, slowly, never breaking eye contact until the moment she strides away. 

“Wow.” Elphaba prays that Glinda doesn’t notice how breathless she suddenly is. 

“You try, Elphie.” Glinda pulls her up to her feet. Elphaba mutters to herself a little, observing the wall as if she were to scale it, rather than lean against it. 

At first, she just plants herself flat against the wall and stays there, like a startled animal. Then she starts to lean, slowly and with a horrifying amount of eye contact, as if she’s trying to snap her back in half. 

“Oookay. How about we start with something simple, like…a wave?” Glinda sweeps her away from the wall and gives her shoulders a squeeze. 

“You don’t have to patronize me. I’m terrible at this.” Elphaba sighs deeply. 

“The wave is the most important part. It’s the goodbye that keeps on giving. Now, show me what you’ve got.” Glinda nods firmly. Elphaba waves a bit awkwardly, but it is a human wave. She takes that as a win. 

“A side-to-side wave says ‘let’s be paramours who don’t…amour’. Try keeping your hand still and just moving your fingers.” Glinda tenderly adjusts Elphaba’s hand. Elphaba twitches her fingers as if she’s cramping. 

“Much better! This time, try to fully wiggle all of your fingers. Ooh! Like you’re tickling someone!” Glinda bounces on her toes with a blinding smile. 

“Like I’m what?” Elphaba squints. 

“Oh, Elphie.” Glinda takes her hands with gentle, well-meaning pity. 

“It’s not something I do.” 

“Yes, well…neither is fun, but we’re working on that.” Glinda pats Elphaba’s hands. 

“It’s hard to imagine.” Elphaba’s eyes glint with mischief. “Perhaps I should practice instead?”

“Excellent idea! Wait—“ Glinda narrows her eyes in suspicion, but it’s too late. Elphaba goes right for her ribs with a triumphant cackle. She squeals and keels over onto her bed in a pile of ruffles. 

“Y-You tricked—“

“I would never.” Elphaba deadpans, giving Glinda’s waist a squeeze. 

Glinda snorts. Elphaba grins wickedly.

“Elphaba, if you have even an ounce of mercy in your soul—“

Elphaba cuts off her theatrics with nibbling pinches, ones that make Glinda’s bubbly giggles bloom into full peals of sweet laughter. Glinda’s whole face scrunches as she tries to fight it, but another well-timed squeeze coaxes a second snort from her with ease. Glinda whines into her hands, fully folding into Elphaba’s side. 

“Galinda Upland snorts? This is priceless.” Elphaba snickers, releasing Glinda with a final poke. 

“No one will ever believe you.” Glinda wipes her eyes and fans her face. Elphaba chuckles and fans her too. 

“Now, I believe revenge is in order.” Glinda cracks her knuckles. 

“Hm?” Elphaba blinks, startled. 

“Oh, did you not hear? Let me assist.” Glinda primly clears her throat. Elphaba goes to bolt, but Glinda pulls her back and immediately acquaints her with the deadliness of acrylic nails. 

“I said, revenge is in order,” Glinda yells over Elphaba’s laughter, grinning brighter than the sun. Elphaba crunches into a ball but Glinda tsks at her, poking at the back of her ribs until she uncurls.  

“Take notes on this demonstration, Elphie. This is precisely how I want you to wave.” Glinda skitters her fingers over Elphaba’s stomach, nearly knocking their foreheads together. 

“Galinda! T-Tickles!” 

“That’s the point, silly.” Glinda laughs, hovering her fingers just above Elphaba’s knees—a death sentence. She yelps and grabs Glinda’s hands.

“Truce?” She gasps, still giggling, and laces their fingers together. 

“That can be arranged.” Glinda winks, fondly wiggling her thumb over Elphaba’s palm. Elphaba squeals and pulls away. 

“What was—“

“Nothing.” Elphaba stares at the floor. 

“You’re a terrible liar.” Glinda slowly pulls Elphaba’s hand into her lap. She scritches over the lines in her palms, gentle but vicious. Elphaba’s face burns dark green and she hides in her free hand. Frantic giggles leak out between her fingers. She kicks her feet and shivers. 

“I can’t believe your hands are tickly,” Glinda squeaks in sheer joy, skittering her nails across Elphaba’s palm. Elphaba makes an embarrassed little wailing noise and attempts to implode. 

Glinda finds an awful spot where the heel of her hand meets her wrist. With one finger, she unravels Elphaba at the seams. She shrieks and flops backwards on the bed, praying that it’ll swallow her whole. Instead, Glinda coos at her. Great. 

“If you keep this up—“ Glinda gestures to the mass of still-snickering Elphaba— “You’ll win any heart you desire.”

“Cruel and unusual,” Elphaba wheezes tiredly, blinking up at Glinda with a wobbly smile. Glinda unravels the last bits of Elphaba’s braid, letting her hair splay around her in a halo. 

“I mean it. You’re beautiful, Elphaba.” Glinda rests her palm on Elphaba’s stomach. She gives it a fond pat. 

“And you are…blonde.” Elphaba snickers preemptively, rocketed into giggles by Glinda’s well-practiced dramatic gasp. Those giggles mature when Glinda vibrates a claw into her stomach, delightfully wicked, and sends them tumbling into another round of familiar nonsense. 

“Maybe next time I should tickle you during lessons. Laugh once for yes and twice for no.”

“Glinda!” Elphaba grabs her wrist for something to hold onto. 

“Ga-linda. Clearly we have our work cut out for us.”

[ayyy-pee]

Chapter 9 - Apology Tour

Discord 18+ - Twitter - Kofi

Pairing: Suguru Geto x Female Reader

Summary: Attempts to reconcile are made.

Genre:**College AU**

Story Warning: Smut, Vaginal Sex, Toxic Behavior, Jealousy, Jealous Behavior, Oral Sex, Unprotected Sex, Breeding Kink, Creampie, Possessive Sex, Possessive Behavior, Virgin Reader, Yandere Suguru, Emotional Cheating

Suguru Art by: Ilameys

Your eyes opened slowly as you attempted to stretch your limbs, ultimately failing when you realized they were tangled up in someone else’s. You felt a tickle against your cheek and pulled back, finding Suguru asleep next to you, his messy hair falling over you both. It was late. You could tell from the way the moon casted a pale glow into your room and the eerie silence of the night outside of your windows. Suguru was holding you tightly to him, like if he let go he’d fall off of the earth. It was cute, but it was also really fucking hot so you wriggled out of his grasp. He sighed almost sadly at the loss of your body against his and you couldn’t help but smile seeing the cute furrow of his eyebrows. You took a moment to admire him. 

Had he always been so incredibly handsome?

The memories of the activities you took part in with Suguru washed over you and you felt your face heat up furiously as the thought. The thought of Suguru between your legs, tasting you, touching you - being the first person you’d ever done such a thing with. A part of you wondered what it would be like if you ever decided to take the next step with each other one day, your heart pounding hard imagining it. 

You would have never thought you’d be here with Suguru. You’d both started the year off hating each other so deeply you couldn’t have a conversation without trying to rip the other’s throat out. You don’t know when your feelings for Suguru changed, but you suspected it was long before you even met Satoru.

You squeezed your eyes shut at the thought of him. Poor Satoru, poor Utahime. You would have to find a way to make it up to them. You could have saved Satoru from heartache by not dating him in the first place or even breaking up with him when you felt your feelings for Suguru begin to grow. You regretted hurting him. Utahime…you had no idea she felt anything more than friendship towards Suguru until the night of the club. Though as you thought back, you figured if you had spent a little less time glaring at Suguru yourself, you would have noticed the soft caresses of her hands on Suguru’s arm when she laughed, the way her face turned beet red when you would pass him on your morning runs together (you thought she was just tired), or even the way she always seemed to bring him up in conversation.

Actually thinking back now, it was pretty obvious.

You shook your head, not trying to get into that right now. Right now, you needed a glass of water. Apparently having someone snatch your soul out of you from between your legs resulted in extreme thirst. You climbed out of the bed, careful not to disturb the dark haired man currently occupying your bed and snuck out of your room, grabbing your phone along the way. You roamed down the hall into the kitchen, eyes widening in surprise when you found a familiar head of brown hair tied back with a white bow also in the kitchen.

Utahime was scrolling through her phone when her gaze drifted up to you. You flinched at the way her face contorted in what you could only describe as very poorly disguised disgust.

“Hime–” you began. She held her hand up, stopping you before you could even start.

“I really don’t want to talk to you”, she snapped. 

Always a hothead.

“I know, but please Hime. It’s been weeks. I just need to tell you how sorry I am”, you pleaded. “I swear it wasn’t my intention to hurt you or Satoru. I know you don’t want to hear this, but please. Just give me a second. I’ll answer any of your questions with complete honesty.”

“How long?”, she questioned, not wasting any time.

“How long what?”

“How long have you been messing around with Suguru?”

You shook your head vigorously, “I was not messing around with Suguru while I dated Satoru.” You decided it was probably best to leave out that you were now messing around with Suguru.

She eyed you suspiciously, but proceeded with her questioning. “Okay, well how long have you had feelings for him then?”

You pursed your lips. You didn’t want to lie to Utahime, but you truly didn’t have an answer to the question - you didn’t know. You told her as much.

She scoffed. “So, you both just suddenly felt like touching all over each other out of nowhere, almost kissing out of nowhere when five seconds before you couldn’t even stand to look at each other. Makes sense.” The sarcasm dripped off of her words.

“Well no,” you tried to backtrack. “That’s not fair, Hime. Suguru and I have been getting along for a while now. I just couldn’t tell you when those feelings turned into more than friendship”, you paused briefly before adding, “or if it was ever friendship I felt to begin with.”

She only sighed, closing her eyes. Utahime was stubborn. She didn’t forgive easily and you wouldn’t blame her if she chose not to forgive you for this. But if it came down to that, at least you could take solace in the fact that you were honest.

“I wish you would’ve told me what you were feeling”, she finally spoke up. Her eyes softened as she spoke to you. It seemed you were making headway here. “Instead of letting me look like an idiot the night of the club. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“I know. And I know what I did was shitty. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was feeling for him. And I was dating Satoru. It’s no excuse. I definitely should have been honest about my doubts, but…I don’t know”, you took a deep breath, trying to find your words. “I was confused and I told myself I wouldn’t act on any of these feelings and I didn’t, but then Suguru made a move and…I let my feelings get the best of me.”

Utahime watched you, her steady gaze looking for any sign that you were lying. She opened her mouth to speak when you heard the door creak, indicating someone was coming out. You squeezed your eyes shut, knowing the impending result would not be good as Suguru sleepily entered the kitchen, taking in the sight of you and Utahime staring at each other. He lifted a hand, waving dumbly to Utahime who ignored him completely.

“You’re kidding me right now”, she scoffed. The tension in the room thickened and you knew you had to try and calm her down before things blew up again. “Probably should’ve led with him being here - in your bed I’m sure.” You could feel the anger beginning to radiate off of her.

“Stop, Hime. Suguru came over to drop off some debate material. We started talking and then–” And then what? You were trying to de-escalate, not lead Utahime to blow the roof off the apartment. “This is the first time I’ve talked to Suguru in weeks, I swear . And we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re thinking.” A half truth was better than the whole truth it seemed, at least for now.

“It’s true”, Suguru chimed in for some fucking reason. Both Utahime and your heads snapped towards him, eyes burning holes through his head.

“Will you shut up ? Read the room, monkey.”

“Me?” He asked, clearly offended. “You’re the one babbling like an idiot just trying to say you’re sorry. Seeing as you never shut up, I thought you’d have better speaking skills than that. Listen, if we’re going to date the mumbling thing has to stop. It’s a pet-peeve.” He scolded.

“ Dating ? Who said anything about dating ?” You gritted out.

Suguru balked. “ I’m saying it now! Don’t act like you don’t want to–”

Utahime rolled her eyes, groaning loudly. “I actually don’t even fucking care about this anymore. Satoru was right. You both have some weird ass dynamic going on here and I don’t want any part of it.” She made her way through the kitchen, maneuvering around Suguru to head to her bedroom.

You called out to her, “Wait, Utahime! I really am sorry. I wasn’t trying to develop feelings for this stupid fucking knuckle dragging ape–”

“Okay, relax–” Suguru murmured, running his hands through his hair.

“ But , it just happened. And it really wasn’t my intention to hurt you in the process. I really am so sorry and I’ll do anything for you to forgive me!”

You and Suguru watched as she stormed off, only turning back to each other once you heard the door to Utahime’s room shut followed by the click of her lock. Suguru shook his head.

“My bad. I didn’t know she was out here. I just saw you were gone so I came looking for you.”

You rubbed your eyes in frustration. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll try talking to her again later.”

Suguru hummed. “I don’t see what she’s so mad about.”

You glared at him as he made his way towards you, wrapping his arms around your waist and placing a kiss on the top of your head. “You’re so damn oblivious. She likes you.”

He leaned back to look at you, confusion gracing his features.

“Don’t tell me you never noticed”, you scolded.

“I never noticed”, he admitted. “I was too busy hating you every second of the day to notice any other girl.”

You leaned your head against his chest, letting out a deep sigh as you felt your phone vibrate in your hand. You glanced down at the screen, gasping quietly when you saw Utahime’s name.

Hime: i still need time. can’t say i’m happy for you because you both actually really fucking suck 

A second message came through seconds later.

Hime: but…just give me time

You smiled to yourself, holding your phone to your chest. There was still hope to salvage this friendship, but you knew you had your work cut out for you. Utahime didn’t forgive easily. She was definitely going to put you through it to gain her trust back. You quickly replied.

You: I’ll be here when you’re ready. Whenever that is

“Anyway”, Suguru’s voice brought your focus back to him. “I should head out. We have an exam early tomorrow and debate right after. I want to get some studying in before then. Try to actually show up for once so I don’t have to bring you all those heavy ass journals again.” He grimaced, remembering how you took forever to open the damn door. You’d never guess since he pulled himself together the moment he saw you, pretending those journals weighed almost nothing.

“How did you convince what’s his name to bring you all of that shit everyday anyway?” he asked, eyes narrowing down at you. “You like him or something? Does he like you ?”

You rolled your eyes, trying not to smile at his blatant jealousy. “Are monkeys usually this territorial?” You teased.

Suguru leaned down, taking your face in both hands. “I see the post-orgasm high has worn off. You’re so mean to me again.” He whined, chuckling when he felt your body stiffen at the mention of your earlier activities. He leaned down to kiss you, nipping at your bottom lip and smiling against your mouth when you yelped. Suguru took this opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth and press his tongue against yours. His tongue roamed your mouth, sliding against your own, both of you quietly moaning against each other. You kissed like this for a while, slowly and lazily exploring each other’s mouths before Suguru pulled away reluctantly with a sigh.

“I really wanna stay here and kiss you all night, but if I do I’ll never let you get any sleep”, he whispered against your lips. You nodded, giving him a weak smile before stepping out of his reach. You walked Suguru to the door, saying your goodbyes and giving each other quick kisses before he was gone.

Though Utahime was home, the apartment felt emptier than ever. You wandered back to your room, stopping in front of Utahime’s door. You raised your fist to knock before stopping yourself and ultimately deciding against it. She said needed more time. For once, you needed to be a good friend and listen to her. You wandered back your way to your room and crawled into bed, texting Suguru to let you know when he got home.

You wondered if and when you reached out to Satoru, he would react the same way. If anyone really had the right to be irate with you, you definitely felt it was him. It was one thing to have feelings for another man while you were with him, but you had developed feelings for his best friend . You had likely had feelings for his best friend long before you met him and you still dragged Satoru along for the ride.

You were such a bitch for that.

But you couldn’t change it now. Especially now that Suguru had…stayed over for a bit. The best you could do was wait patiently for Utahime to come to you when she was ready to talk more. As far as Satoru went, well…you hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

--------

Suguru entered his apartment, expecting to find Satoru splayed across the couch but instead finding the place dark and quiet. He switched the lights on, reaching into his pocket to shoot you a text that he made it back safely per your request. He headed to his room, quickly showering before gathering his study materials and heading back to the living room. It didn’t seem Satoru had been home today, not that Suguru had seen much of him anyway.

It had been a few weeks since everything happened and Suguru didn’t like to think about how this was the longest he and Satoru had ever gone without speaking.They’d had their fair share of disagreements, had been called into the Dean’s office a few times after showing up to lectures bloodied and bruised following a physical altercation. Their friendship was nowhere near perfect. But they always forgave each other. Satoru shutting Suguru out felt as terrible as when you did it. In all honesty, he missed his friend.

He sighed as he set his study area up on the coffee table the way he preferred - pencils and erasers on the left, pens and highlighters right under. Extra journals on the right alongside flash cards and sticky notes. He arranged everything to his liking before wandering into the kitchen to grab a beer. 

As he sat back on the couch, his phone vibrated with a text from you.

You: goodnight monkey. thanks for tonight <3

He smiled to himself, for a second forgetting his problems with Satoru and relishing in the happiness of knowing he had you now. Kind of fucked up given the circumstances, but he couldn’t help it.

His thoughts drifted back to just a few hours prior, you with your legs wrapped around his head. Your sighs of pleasure as he worked you over with his tongue. He wished he hadn’t left your apartment, but damn he had already gotten a fucking B on an assignment because of his infatuation with you. Suguru…a B…Although, he was able to corner his professor and bully an extra credit assignment to practically erase the blemish on his academic record, he couldn’t risk another failure such as that one. Suguru shivered at the thought. He had to ace this exam no matter what.

He tied his hair up loosely, flipping his textbook open. No more distractions.

--------

Hours passed before the apartment door swung in, Satoru waltzing in with his phone glued to his ear.

“DJ…Baby I already told you”, he groaned into the phone, voice barely tinged with annoyance. “Mel’s just a friend. She was helping me get my tire out of the backseat! That’s why she was bent over like that!”

Suguru rolled his eyes. It looked like Satoru was back to his old games. It was clear he was acting out after breaking up with you. You truly were the only girl he had ever really given himself to and you’d stomped on his heart. Suguru couldn’t blame the way Satoru reacted. Though if you broke up with Suguru, he’d– wait…were you guys even together? He thought back to your earlier conversation in your kitchen where you vehemently denied being with him to Utahime. Playing hard to get when he’d already literally had a taste of you? You were going to make him crazy…crazier? Whatever. He would talk to you about it later.

He kept his eyes glued to his book, leaning back on the couch as he tried not to listen to Satoru gaslight the shit out of this moron on the other end of the line. 

“Alright baby. Call me tomorrow. Okay. Okay. Yep. I’m gonna miss you too, baby. Alright. Goodnight.” Satoru hung up, rolling his eyes, fingers flying across the screen, no doubt texting someone who was definitely not the person he just hung up with and ignoring Suguru.

And Suguru wanted to ignore Satoru too, he really did, but he thought back to you in the apartment putting yourself out there to try and gain Utahime’s forgiveness. While you still had a long way to go to fix anything, at least you tried. The only thing Suguru had ever tried to do was break you and Satoru up. He was a shit friend and he knew it, but maybe it was time to acknowledge how terrible he was to the person who needed to hear it.

He placed his book down and glanced over to Satoru, still texting. Satoru was never going to initiate the conversation. It was always like this when they had disagreements.

“It’s 3am.” Suguru stated simply.

Satoru scoffed. “Thanks, Father Time.”

“I’m just saying. Don’t you have exams tomorrow? Shouldn’t you be studying instead of manipulating some random person into forgiving you for cheating?”

“Oh, sorry. Should I invite them over? Introduce you? Maybe you can take this one too.” He offered, sarcasm laced through every word. “Not that I’d mind. This one’s kind of annoying.” He muttered quietly.

“I didn’t take y/n.” Suguru countered. You were an adult - smart, capable, you could make your own choices. Did Suguru try to sway you more towards breaking up with Satoru and being with him? Sure. But you could’ve chosen not to go that route. In fact, you had ignored plenty of Suguru’s advances in favor of staying with his white haired friend. It wasn’t his fault the connection you shared with Suguru was stronger than the one you shared with Satoru and you eventually folded to his attempts.

“Yeah well, she was mine first.” Satoru argued childishly.

Suguru hoped Satoru was talking about some other girl because if he thought you were ever his to begin with, he was delusional. But, this was not the time to bring that up. Satoru had talked to him, actually acknowledged him for the first time in weeks. He was giving him an opening and Suguru was going to take it.

He met his friend’s gaze. “Sit down, Satoru. I need to talk to you.”

Satoru stood for a moment, watching Suguru carefully before moving across the living room to sit on the other end of the couch. “This better be an apology”, he mumbled.

“It is.” Suguru leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he looked over to Satoru, dark eyes locked to his glacial stare.

“I do owe you an apology, Satoru.”

Satoru snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, obviously. You and…her.” He pointed out, unable to say your name.

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to apologize to you. You just have to give her the chance to.”

“Oh, so you’re on speaking terms with her then?”

“I’m not interested in lying anymore, so I’ll be straight up with you. I just came back from her place a few hours ago.”

Satoru nodded, eyes locked with Suguru’s. Satoru exhaled sharply and Suguru half expected him to lunge across the couch but he just sat there, the wheels clearly turning in his head.

“You dating her now?” He finally asked.

Suguru shrugged and ran his hands through his hair. “We ran into Utahime earlier in her apartment and she made it pretty clear we weren’t together so–”

“So I could get her back if I wanted to.” Satoru interrupted.

Suguru shut his eyes tightly. He knew what he was doing. Satoru was trying to egg him on, get a rise out of him. He wanted Suguru to lose it and if Suguru were being totally honest with himself, it was easy for him to snap when it came to you. But that wouldn’t get him anywhere here. He understood Satoru was still upset with him. He had every right to be, but Suguru knew how much it meant for Utahime to forgive you. You were a good person, which meant you probably cared a lot about Satoru forgiving you as well. This would make it easier for you if the time came for you and Satoru to have a conversation.

He took a deep breath, calming the rage threatening to spill out of him at Satoru’s words before meeting his gaze again. “I don’t think so. We kind of already took the next step in whatever this is between us.”

Was it petty to bring this up? Yes. But Satoru didn’t know Suguru was privy to the fact that you two had never done more than kiss. This was only confirmed by the baffled expression worn on Satoru’s face. Good. Now any notion he had of trying to win you back was out.

“Wow. So she’s serious about you then. You two–” he pointed at Suguru, then motioned in a random direction indicating he was pointing to ‘you’. “You two hooked up?”

“Yeah. Sort of.”

Satoru narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Suguru knew his nosy ass wasn’t going to let it go until he got details. Suguru felt his face heat up, cheeks surely red as he nervously tried to recall tonight’s events to his roommate without giving too much detail. It wasn’t like it was the first time Suguru had told Satoru about his escapades, but he didn’t want him knowing too much about how it felt to put your legs over his shoulders, the quiet whines you let out when touched in just the right spot or how it felt to have your legs squeeze around his head when your walls clenched down on his fingers. He’d keep that just to himself. 

“We didn’t have sex. W-well, not penetrative sex? I mean…I guess my fingers penetrated? But I-I mostly used my mouth–” Suguru took in Satoru’s amused expression at how flustered he’d become. Suguru rolled his eyes, opting not to continue. Satoru let the silence fall over them before breaking into laughter.

“Weird way of saying you ate her out.”

“Okay.” Suguru cut him off. “Now you know so I’ll just come right out with it.” He sat up straight, turning his body to face Satoru as he continued. “I think she’s serious about me, Satoru. I know I’m serious about her. Despite our…interesting way of speaking to each other, I’ve been serious about her for a really long time and I just realized it recently. I’m sorry for being an asshole and going behind your back to try and get her, but I couldn’t sit idly by and watch her fall for you. I understand if you never want to forgive me, but I had to tell you I’m sorry even if I don’t truly regret my actions, because it got me her.”

Satoru nodded, the wheels again turning in his head. He didn’t speak, only leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and watch Suguru carefully. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Satoru sighed heavily.

“If I’m being honest with you, I think I knew you both had feelings for each other. I was too busy trying to impress y/n that I just sort of ignored it. Doesn’t mean what you did was right though…” he sighed, scooting a bit closer to Suguru. He placed his hand on Suguru’s shoulder. “It’s gonna take me some time to get over this but…I think I can forgive you eventually. You know you’re my best friend…my one and only. I can’t stay mad at you for too long. I love you too much.” 

Suguru smiled, comforted by the fact that Satoru would eventually come to fully forgive him. Satoru kept his gaze locked to Suguru’s, blue eyes burning into deep brown. Satoru had called him his best friend, his one and only. From now on, Suguru vowed to live up to that title. They stayed like this for some time, staring into each other’s eyes until Suguru felt Satoru’s hand give his shoulder a gentle squeeze as he leaned towards him slowly.

I can’t stay mad at you for too long. I love you too much.

Satoru leaned closer and closer as Suguru watched, not missing the quick glance down at Suguru’s lips. Suguru leaned back just as he felt Satoru’s breath ghost across his lips.

“Oh– love me…like…in a friend way right?” He asked, chuckling nervously and Satoru let out an awkward howl of laughter. 

“Yeah! Yeah! Just as a friend!” He reassured him. He stood abruptly, wiping off nothing from his pants. He gave Suguru a once over before looking away. “Anyway, um…thanks for the apology and for owning up to your shit. I appreciate it. I’m gonna head to bed. Night, Sugu.”

Suguru watched as his friend wandered past him and straight to his room. What the hell was that? Was he going to kiss him? No. There was no way. But the way he was looking at him, leaning towards him, watching Suguru’s lips as he gripped his shoulder tighter and tighter. If Suguru had let it go on for a second longer, would Satoru have…

He shook his head, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. “God, he always gets so fucking weird after a fight.” He muttered to himself.

With the stress of his friendship with Satoru now somewhat resolved, Suguru felt he could finally breathe again. He had you now, well sort of. There was still a conversation that needed to be had there because he could not go through this again. Watching you be with someone else, it was out of the question for him. But, he’d worry about that later. 

He picked his book back up, resuming his studies. Nationals were upon him and he couldn’t afford to lose.

TAGS:@sacvh @suguju @pink4lili @nekonanamii @watyousayin

[the-kcm-muggleborn]

Kind For You

Fandom: Hogwarts Legacy

O/C: Sebastian Sallow x Edwart Thompson x Ominis Gaunt ✨️platonic✨️ (My OC)

Warnings: None:}

Word count: 1k>

Chapter 4

Part 1

Weeks went by. November was at its end.

Edwart was studying hard, trying to keep up with everything that had happened the past 4 months, his head was a mess, and all that ancient magic was exhausting. He wished there was simply a book he could educate himself on. Edwart was disappointed and tired because there was still so much the Keepers were not telling him. And to add to it Ranrok and Rookwood were starting to get too close to finding the truth about this powerful magic. 

Edwart was sitting in the library working on his astronomy assignment when Sebastian came in looking for him.

“You're here. Brilliant.” He sat next to Edwart who just signed deeply.

“What is it that you need, Sebastian?” He spoke sharply.

“Uu someone’s in a sour mood. Relax. I just wanted to talk.” Sebastian raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. 

Edwart left his assignment and rubbed his hands across his face. He leaned in his chair and groaned. “I apologise. I've just been having trouble sleeping.”

“Again?” Sebastian spoke with concern in his voice. “Maybe it's time you got to Nurse Blainey?”

“No. No, I'm fine, it's just something that's been… Never mind that.” Edwart shook his head. “What did you want to talk about? I could use a distraction.” Edwart smiled slightly.

“I spoke with Ominis. I told him none of us will be able to avoid Dark Magic forever. So the more we know about Salazar Slytherin and the Dark Arts. the better prepared we'll be.” 

Edwart sighed slightly. Not the distracting topic he certainly hoped for. Sebastian continued. “Unfortunately. only a Gaunt knows the location of the scriptorium's entrance and Ominis won't tell me. I’m simply out of ideas.”

Edwart wasn't sure if helping Sebastian with this one was a good idea. But he deeply trusted both Sebastian and Ominis. So he decided they'd be safer together than apart. “Do you want me to try and talk to him?”

“You? I suppose it's worth a try. but don't get your hopes up. Ominis is annoyingly stubborn. Nothing new.”

“Okay then. Lead me to him.” Edwart packed his things and both boys headed to the dungeons. 

“Keep an eye out. Never know who's watching, although that hasn't stopped us before.” Sebastian said jokingly.

“Strictly speaking. it has. We were caught.” Edwart spoke back, matching his friend’s tone.

“Ugh. Don't remind me. Damned poltergeist - such a nuisance” Sebastian rolled his eyes as they kept walking.

Both boys finally reached the dungeons when they noticed Ominis leaning against a wall.

“Oh. There’s Ominis. Go. And good luck.”

Sebastian took a turn and awaited a few feet away. Edwart took a deep breath and walked over to Ominis who looked rather lost in thoughts.

“Hello, Ominis. How do you do?” Edwart decided to go about this friendly but firmly to not waste time.

“I'm… Alright. ” Ominis smiled lightly. “It's just Sebastian's been pestering me lately about something and I'm frustrated with him.”

“Can I be honest?” Edwart decided to get straight to the point but he did not want to lose his politeness.

“I suppose?” Ominis seemed suspicious.

“Sebastian told me about the scriptorium trouble. We were talking about Hogwarts founders, and he mentioned it. Wouldn't say much more, though.”

“I understand. Well, he seems to think it contains the answer to saving Anne. I think it's likely full of Dark Magic that is better left untouched.”

“You've never been inside?” Edwart asked with interest.

“Of course not! I only know about it because of my favourite aunt- Noctua. She thought like I do. Didn't agree with the family on the use of Dark Magic. She wrote regularly to my father about her efforts to gain access, and then she simply vanished.”

“Sebastian told me a little of what happened when you were young. What your family made you do. I'm sorry, Ominis.” Edwart treaded carefully. 

“Should’ve known he would have told you.” Ominis signed. “I think neither of us had the most idyllic childhood.”

“True. That’s why I think we could be stronger if we went together than let Sebastian go alone and possibly get himself killed.”

“Maybe you're right…” Ominis said hesitantly.

“That is a bit unnerving.” Edwart crossed his arms. “I understand your hesitation. I suppose even if it might lead to answers about what happened to your aunt. it does pose a risk.”

“Aunt Noctua went down this path with good intentions and lost her life. I don't want the same to happen again. To neither of you.” Ominis shook his head and started slightly pacing again.

“You don't know that history will repeat itself. Besides, you said your aunt thought like you. This could honour her memory and get you answers about Slytherin and Sebastian answers for Anne. Your aunt pursued this alone.” Edwart stopped Ominsi's pacing by putting both hands on his shoulders to grab his attention “We will do it together. I'll promise you. I am taking responsibility.”

Ominis swallowed thickly. As he was finally convinced. “Hmm. I see what you've done here. And, I confess, you've convinced me. I didn't think it was possible…”

Edwart backed away and thanked Ominis. “Let's go fetch Sebastian.”

“Edwart-” Ominis stopped him. “Do you..? Know what you're doing?”

“Can't say that I do.” Edwart chuckled “But there's safety in numbers. Trust me, Ominis.”

As the trio was finally together. Ominis led both boys to the alleged entry of the scriptorium. 

“I hope I… we don't regret this,” Ominis said under his breath as he stood to the side. “These braziers grant access to the scriptorium.”

“Now, you'll share? You wouldn't tell me when I practically begged.” Sebastian pouted a bit.

“It wasn't you who told me what I needed to hear,” Ominis said as calmly as ever. “Opening the entrance has something to do with threes.”

Edwart looked around, he noticed 3 symbols on a stone wall in front of him.

“Well- three heads are better than one.” Sebastian joked.

“It's two heads are better than one.” Ominis furrowed his eyebrows.

“And by that logic, three is better than two. Simple mathematics Ominis.” Sebastian smiled. 

“I see 3 symbols here” Edwart poked at a wall. “I think this is the stone door.”

“Well done, now to open it.” Sebastian said. “three braziers.”

“Someone’s been actually listening.” Ominis chuckled. 

“I do that…” Sebastian agreed. “Occasionally.”

Edwart cast 3 fast confringos. which opened the door. 

“Something's happening,” Sebastian said almost excitedly.

“I hope we're ready for this.” Ominis on the other hand looked as anxious as Edwart never saw. 

Part 2>

-------------- Autor's notes:--------------

Thank you so much for reading Part 1 of the new 4th Chapter! I know it's been long-awaited! I'm still working on it but it's certainly looking good. Many more missions to come and a third trial! I'll be skimping on those and some of the side quests that do not have cutscenes. Hope you enjoyed it

[buffyandwillow]

buffy and jenny season six fic prompt? mayhaps?

Alternate Jenny-is-alive s6.

Buffy kicks a stone with her boot, looking anywhere but in front of her, where her friends are debating the best place to stop for takeout to bring back for movie night. They'd planned a whole evening: Scooby patrol, fast food, martial arts movie madness. All in an attempt to make her feel better, to make her think that things are normal and safe and OK.

"What do you want, Buffy?" Willow asks. Buffy glances up just long enough to see Willow's wide-eyed smile, earnest and open and a little bit apprehensive. "We're thinking Chinese, or shawarma?"

"I-I don't know, you guys," Buffy says. She doesn't know. She can't think about this. She can hardly stomach the feeling of the pavement, hard and unforgiving, underneath her feet. "I mean, on one hand you have noodles, and on the other..."

"Big pile o' meat," Xander says with approval. "I know."

Buffy doesn't need to look up to know the way her friends are looking at her: with a mix of concern and hope. No, not hope. Wishfulness. They're wishing she could be the way she was. The way she used to be.

Once they got back it would be another three hours, at least, before she could excuse herself to sleep. It's too much. She can't pretend for that long. She can't--

"You know, I think I saw that last vamp doubling back. I should go check, make sure he doesn't cause trouble."

"Oh... Well, if you think--do you want us to come with?"

Buffy lifts her head slowly, dredging up her last vestiges of energy to force a smile onto her face. Willow's lip has turned downward into a disappointed little frown.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Buffy gives a little shrug. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up."

After a few more back-and-forths of persuasion, Buffy watches them go.

It's easier this way.

•

Buffy hears the soft rustle of a leather jacket and sighs. "I just want to be left alone."

"I know," a voice that isn't Spike's says.

"Oh--it's you."

Jenny comes to sit on a nearby headstone, using both hands to boost herself up. "You were expecting someone else?"

Buffy points her toes together, looking down at the grass. The grass is much softer under her feet than the paved streets. She feels more at home here. "Not really." They're both quiet for a minute. Buffy breaks it first. "Did Willow ask you to look for me?"

"After six years, I know you well enough to come looking on my own," Jenny says wryly.

"I'm fine," Buffy tells her, more out of habit than anything.

"I didn't ask." Jenny's words have a hint of a smile to them. "I wouldn't. I won't ask you to lie to me, Buffy. You don't need to pretend you're okay."

Buffy doesn't have a rote response to that, so she says nothing. She taps her feet against the headstone. Her mind, never fully present lately, drifts off between the rows of graves.

"Buffy..." Jenny hesitates for a moment, but continues. "You're allowed to not be okay. You don't owe it to anyone to feel okay."

"Don't I?"

Something deep within her twists and turns like a knife. With another kick to the headstone, Buffy turns to look at Jenny for the first time since she'd sat down.

Jenny's eyes are so unlike her friends'. No hope-wish-want-fulness. There is only compassion there.

"My friends brought me back," Buffy says. "They gave me my life back. Don't I owe them something?"

Jenny looks steadily back at her. "Of course not."

Buffy holds her gaze for a long moment, and then--with a shiver--she looks away. This world that was once hers is so much colder than where she's been. She wraps her arms around her, and speaks now to the ground in a quiet voice. "Why couldn't they let me go?"

"They love you very deeply," Jenny says. Her voice is quiet, too. "Sometimes that makes people do impossible things."

"Jenny, I don't think I'm supposed to be here. I feel... wrong." Saying it aloud lets Buffy breathe a little more deeply, a little more easily, just for a moment. "Please don't tell the others."

"I won't."

"I'll tell them when I'm ready."

"I know."

Jenny hops down from her perch and touches Buffy's shoulder, very briefly. Buffy feels a little warmer, somehow. Warm enough to uncross her arms and let her feet come back down to the ground.

"I'm glad you're here," Buffy admits, as they begin their walk back home.

Jenny smiles. "Me, too."