#so my thigh is hurting and I’m loving the new job it’s just a drastic change so my body is having A Response to it all

[froggi-mushroom]

A lot has been happening recently which means I had a little bit of an emotional moment earlier and my mum’s been so gentle to me for the rest of the day I just

[catxsnow]

YOU NOT HIM T.D.

Request: Can i request reader liking dick but he reject her because she is too young or something lol. But then tim has a crush on her and she slowly starts to fall for him. Then dick regrets it. Pretty please? 🙏 Thanks!

Warning: angst, mentions of blood, if you squint really hard mentions of sexual content, fluff

A/N: This might be one of my favourites 🥺🥺

Word count: 5.1k 

Bruce Wayne was somehow able to adopt all attractive children. Every single kid that he had living under his roof turned out to be ridiculously handsome later on in life. Dick, the oldest - a ladies man through and through. Jason had his whole 'bad boy' persona - though you knew him well enough to know he was nothing but a sweetheart.

Tim was nothing but lovable. He was kind and sweet to you since the beginning. Even Damian who was still young was going to grow up to be just like his father. They were all incredibly good looking people - all of which had made you weak in the knees.

You had been running alongside Bruce and his family for a couple years. Long enough to have known their identities and long enough to be an equal with them. It was had being a sidekick to the great Batman, but you had made do. Being partners with Tim worked fine, but the moment he left, you did too.

Years of training, hard work, and pining over Dick Grayson. The only problem being - he was twenty-six and you were just past the age of eighteen. Far too young for him and in his eyes, way too immature. That didn't stop you from liking him more and more every time you saw him.

You had even gone out of your way to move to Bludhaven to be closer to him. Working more cases in the night with him, getting every chance that you got to be with him. You were hopelessly yearning for him.

Dick Grayson was perfect. He was kind, patient, a total badass. In all your time of knowing him, he always took his time with you no matter the situation. If you couldn't get a proper training move down, he'd stay with you until you got it. Having trouble with your school work - he'd sit with you and figure it out.

He truly was the perfect man, and you wished nothing more to know if he felt the same way. So, the next time you saw him - you risked everything. You told Dick of your feelings for him, how you wished to be together and be the one to love him. You spilled your heart out to him, hoping that he would accept you.

As you should have known, he didn't. Dick saw you as nothing but a little sister he never had. You were far too young for him. His love for you was always there, just not in the way that you had hoped. Heartbroken, you assured him that you understood him and that everything was okay. As long as you didn't lose him forever, that was what mattered the most.

You were thankful that Dick didn't make things awkward between you. Every time you saw him it seemed just like old times - but now you knew not to get your hopes up anymore. Dick had made his choice, and he wasn't going to change it.

With a broken heart, you moved back to Gotham. Back to working with Batman and Robin- neither of which you were fond to be back with. Things weren't the same, Bruce and Damian didn't need you anymore. You would fly solo unless it was some sort of big raid - often times having to go home to an empty apartment where you would have to sew your own wounds.

You missed what your life was like in Bludhaven. Going back would be too hard, you needed to distance yourself from Dick, let these feelings simmer away until there was nothing left. At least, you hoped that was what was going to happen.

Another night of Gotham and another night of blood soaking through your suit. It had only been a few weeks since you had been back but it felt like a lifetime. Gotham was draining and you forgot how terrible it treated you.

"Heard you were back in town," a voice called out. You were in the bathroom, trying to stitch up the cut along your torso. The sudden arrival had caused you to jump, making your wound even worse. "Oh fuck, sorry."

Tim Drake stood at your door. He wore jeans and a t-shirt that showed just how much stronger he had gotten since you had last seen him. You glared at him between winces of pain. Tim carefully grabbed the needle and thread from your bloody hands, wordlessly taking your place and finishing the job.

"What the fuck, Tim," You snapped. Since being home, you were in no mood to speak to anyone of the Wayne family. It was nice being on your own for a while. Besides, he was supposed to be with the Teen Titans right now. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard you were back in Gotham," He repeated earlier. His stitching jabbed you a little too violently and you jerked at the pain. Without realizing you had latched onto his thigh to try to dim the searing hurt that ran up your body. You never noticed Tim's breathing catch in his throat and the heat that crawled up his neck. "Thought I'd come by and see you."

"How'd you find me?" You asked. You never told anyone where you had set up your new home. Tim only gave you a look - of course. He knew how to find you, he could find anyone if he so wanted to it wasn't too difficult. You appreciated him for going out of his way to meet up with you.

Tim finished the last stitch and wiped away the rest of the blood that stained your skin. He placed a white bandage over it and stretched his back from being crouched for so long. Without missing a beat, he followed you to your room, watching you rummage through your drawer to find a t-shirt to wear.

"I'm guessing you didn't just come for a visit," You continued. Tim leaned against your door, arms crossed over his chest. While he explained himself, you went out to clean up your weapons used from the night, something to keep you busy and your mind off the idea that he might bring up Dick's rejection.

"I came to see if you wanted to join me," He announced. You raised an eyebrow at him. So many times you had explicitly stated that you wanted no part of any team. After learning everything from Batman, you picked up on his undesirable trait of not wanting to be part of a team. Whether it was the Justice League or the Teen Titans.

You scoffed and pushed past him to retrieve your bloody suit. It would need to be fixed and cleaned up before tomorrow night. Tim followed you through your small home. He had wanted you to join for a long time, now that you were done your little escapade in Bludhaven, it was the perfect chance to convince you.

"Come on, you're coming home with wounds every night and I'm worried about you," Tim tried to change your mind. Your eyes narrowed at his words - this hadn't been the first time that he had seen you in Gotham.

"You've been following me?" You asked, but more so looking for confirmation. Tim hung his head in shame. He felt like an idiot for letting that slip - you shouldn't have known about it. It had been several days that he had been in Gotham. Bruce knew, he never told you until now.

"I was worried about you," Tim confessed. "I heard about what happened with Dick and I didn't want you to do anything drastic." More like he was hoping that he could be the one to swoop in and win your heart. You were only a year older than Tim, but while you were pining after Dick, he was pining after you.

Those years as being partners he had fallen in love with you. He loved the way that you were so excited to save people, how you were so easily able to solve problems, and the way you smiled when you were excited. This whole time, you hadn't noticed because you were so busy with trying to sway Dick.

You cringed at him revealing knowing about what happened between you and Dick. That was the last thing you wanted to hear come from him mouth - it was embarrassing. You didn't even want to think about what it would be like if Damian found out what had happened; he would never let you hear the end of it.

"I'm not going to work with a team of kids," you kept up with your answer.

"They - we - aren't kids. I just thought maybe you'd like some fresh faces," Tim argued. The selfish part of him wanted you to come just because he wanted to see you. He wouldn't tell you that, not yet anyways.

You had to admit, the idea of getting out of Gotham and seeing some fresh faces sounded a little too perfect to you. It would be nice to put Batman and Co. on the back burner until this stupid flutter in your heart for Dick went away. As much as you didn't want to join a team, it was your best option.  

The bloody suit in your hand dropped to the ground. Maybe it was time for a completely new revamping. New name, new suit, new team, new city. You had been the same vigilante for years - Dick, Jason, even Tim had all grown out of their original stage and into something new. Maybe it was time for you to do so too.

"You know what? Fuck it."

><

"Tim!" You screeched. Your face was bright red from all the blood flowing to it. Everything was viewed upside down and you were starting to get dizzy.

It had been well over a year since you had joined the Titans. They were all excited to see you there, many faces that you had never seen before and even more that you liked to consider friends. Bart, Kon, Cassie - you were all so excited to see them. Joining this team seemed like a pain but the second you stepped into the tower you knew you made the right choice.

Your new persona made you feel alive again and you were more ready than ever to get back out on the streets to kick some ass. This new life that you created here, it was something that you never thought you would be able to do. For the first time in a long time, you felt happy, at home. Something that never truly happened at the Manor.

"Tim! Let me go!" You laugh echoed through the massive room. The two of you had been training - though at that moment neither of you were taking it seriously in the slightest. Tim had grabbed you by the thighs and hauled you over his shoulder, running around and not letting go.

You slapped his ass, hoping that it would be enough to get him to let you go. Instead, he slapped yours even harder. Thankfully he set you back down on the ground, but didn't considering letting you out of his hold. Tim pulled you against his chest, kissing you long and sweet to make up for his behavior.

"Sorry, my love," Tim smirked. No he wasn't.

Maybe the reason that you were so happy with you new life was because of Tim. Tim Drake had been the one to convince you to change homes, and the one to wiggle his way in to mend your broken heart. He had stood by your side through thick and thin, doing everything in his power to make you feel better.

Along the way, he had also gotten you to fall in love with him. Dick was out of your mind, every thought now consumed by Tim. The first year you were there, it was incredible to see such a change within you. Everyone saw it - Bart making the most fun of your growing feelings for Tim. Feelings that you denied for a very long time.

Everyone could see how hopelessly in love you were with each other. You hadn't been able to believe if for a long time. Tim was your friend, your partner - not a lover. There was no way that you saw him like that, right? You had never been so wrong in your entire life.

Maybe these feelings for Tim had always been there. Maybe you were just too busy following Dick around that you didn't have the time to realize it. Or maybe he had brought out a side of him that you hadn't realized existed. You saw him differently than you had when he was Robin.

It was one night that the two of you were alone in the tower - a first since you had been there - that had gotten you to admit your feelings. The night was calm and you guys took the opportunity to play a movie on the big screen. Unfortunately for you, the whole movie you had been consumed with the idea of kissing him.

A perfectly timed sex scene had given you a strange amount of courage. You couldn't take this tension with him anymore. So, you had nearly leaped on top of him, pressing your lips against his. Tim didn't hesitate to react to it, kissing you back and pulling you onto his lap. You straddled him, fingers threading through his hair as he desperately tried to peel your clothes off.

After a very embarrassing, almost naked, confrontation with your teammates that had suddenly arrived, you and Tim became inseparable. Several months of dating and you knew that you had made the right choice with him. Tim cared about you in ways that you never thought a man would do for you.

"Yeah, yeah," You waved him off. Your face was finally going back to normal as the blood flow balancing out. "There's a lot of ways you could make it up to me, you know?" You grinned, hands trailing up his bare chest.

"Oh yeah?" Tim placed his hands on your hips, pulling you completely flush against him. He trailed soft kisses up your neck, eager to hear what you were thinking. "What'd you have in mind?"  

Suddenly, your foot hooked into his ankles and you pulled his legs out from right under him. Tim groaned as his back painfully hit the training mat and a disappointed look filled his eyes. "Buying me lunch."

Tim didn't let you get very far. He pulled the same move as you did and brought you down on the mat. Tim trapped you beneath him, his legs on either side of yours and hands by your shoulders. You could get out if you so wished - but you didn't.

You were thankful he let your hands free. You placed them on either side of his face and pulled him down so you could connect your lips. There were many times that you would be in the training room, Tim convincing you to make out and every time someone would walk in. This time you felt dangerously brave.

Tim gasped as your hands trailed down his chest and towards his shorts. "You really want to risk that right now?" He asked between kisses. You responded without words, and instead adding pressure to your hold. Tim groaned into your neck, there was no way that he could say no to you.

"Tim!"

You had never seen your boyfriend jump off of you so quickly before. The voice hadn't belonged to any of your teammates and the tone of it wasn't scolding, it was excited. Whoever it was, obviously hadn't fully seen what had been going on. You should have expected that you wouldn't get what you wanted.

"(Y/N)?" Dick Grayson faltered in his spot. It was the first time that he had seen you since he had let you down. Nearly two years without seeing how much you had grown.  He had heard that you had moved into the tower, but it had been a long time since you had gone home to Gotham.

Tim went without you, working with Bruce for a few cases here and there. No one had visited the tower while you were there and you had to admit that you were thankful for it. Leaving your past behind - besides Tim - it was refreshing. Seeing Dick again had brought back a tug in your heart that you thought was long gone.

"Dick," You half smiled. His hair was shorter than last time you had seen him. Muscles more defined than ever. The bags under his eyes were worse but his smile was still the exact same. Dick hadn't expected you to be with Tim, not romantically. You never seemed interested in him growing up.

Your breathing caught in your throat. After seeing him for the first time in a long time, you didn't realize the wave of emotions that would come. You were confused by everything flooding your brain - hope, guilt, desire, even anger.

"You look great," he complimented, bringing you in for a hug. It was true. You had grown a lot in these two years. Different hair, more fit than you ever been in your life. Being on this team had done you good in more ways than one.

"What're you doing here?" Tim asked. Dick stared as you interlocked hands with your boyfriend.

"I'm, uh, taking Kori's place as team leader for a little while," Dick explained. Kori had mentioned before that she was going to need to take some time away. She never said what for or when, but she must have had to leave sooner than anticipated. "You guys are together?"

"Yep," your voice strained. You never imagined that this reunion would be so tense. It was easier to see Dick right after he had let you down than it was now. For some reason, his appearance had created a tension. You weren't sure if it was from you, or if Tim was suddenly jealous of his older brother, or Dick was just uncomfortable with it all.

"Congrats," Dick nodded. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. A sudden noise came from outside the room. "I'm gonna go see everyone else I guess. See you later tonight?" You and Tim both nodded in sync. It seemed like the moment that he stepped out of the room, you both let out a breath of air.

"That was weird, right?" You asked, staring at the door that Dick left from rather than up at Tim. You couldn't have been the only one to find that whole confrontation painful. Tim nodded in agreement. His jaw was tight and he glared at the door Dick just left from. "Wait a second, you're not jealous of Dick, are you?"

"No!" Tim defended. Unfortunately for him, you could tell that he was lying. "He was your first love! It's only been two years since he told you he didn't feel the same way. Besides, you didn't see the way he was looking at you. I just..." He trailed off, unsure if he was willing to say what was on his mind.

"You're worried I still have feelings for him," You finished. Tim wearily nodded. You placed your hands at the base of his neck, thumb brushing against his jawline. Tim was forced to look you in your eyes, as much as he didn't want to at this moment. "I love you, Tim. Only you. You have nothing to worry about."

You pulled him down for another kiss. Tim finally melted into your hold. He knew that you loved him, genuinely. However, it was still hard to have Dick be living in the same home as you once again. He felt childish for being jealous for no reason. Dick had already stated that he didn't have feelings for you - he didn't need to worry now.

At least he hoped.

><

Apparently Tim did have something to worry about - and it wasn't you.

Dick's time in the tower extended longer than he imagined it too. He was only supposed to be there for a week or two, now it had been nearly a month. While it was nice to have him around, especially on missions, Tim was eager for his brother to leave them again. He hated when the two of you spent time together.

Maybe it was just him being jealous, maybe he was paranoid. Either way, whenever it was the two of you alone, Tim got antsy. Kon was the first to notice. He assured his best friend that he had nothing to worry about - as far as his Kryptonian sense could tell, you didn't have any feelings for Dick.

Tim found himself spending more nights in your room, keeping you in bed longer than he normally would in the mornings. He even held hands with you more often; you had enjoyed his affection, even though you knew where it had stemmed from.

It was an afternoon of training did he finally have enough. Dick was using you as a partner to show off some new moves for all the team to learn. The two of you danced around the mat, anticipation running high. You were both drenched in sweat, breathing heavy from your previous spar.

"Come on, Big Bird," You taunted. Dick hated that name, it only reminded him of Sesame Street. He hadn't heard that name in a long time - not since he had seen you last. For some reason, it had caught him off guard enough for you to make your strike. Dick reoriented himself rather quickly.

Instead of you taking him down, he had roughly slammed you to the floor. Dick hovered over you, eyes soft as he met yours. Ever since he had been back with you in the tower, there was something eating him alive. Guilt? Shame? He tried to blame his feelings on those but he knew what it was: regret.

Dick regretted letting you go all those years ago. When he was asked to take over the Titans Tower, he was excited to see you. In two short years he had hoped that you hadn't moved on. Not seeing you nearly every day left a hole in his chest and he didn't realize what it was until seeing you again.

Upon realizing that you were with Tim, he felt his heart crack. Of course he had lost his chance with you - and it was no one to blame but himself. Dick pushed you away because he thought you to be too young, when in reality he was just scared of hurting you.

"Dick!" Tim's voice echoed throughout the training room. There was a harsh tone to it, full of jealousy and frustration. It had broken him out of his trance. Dick hadn't realized just how long he had been pinning you down. You tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he was far too strong to get of without hurting him. He had been completely lost in thought being that close to you again.

He shook his head to rid those thoughts, thoughts of you. Dick pushed himself up off the ground and stuck his hand out for you to grab. You didn't take it. Instead, you moved back to Tim's side. He instantly swooped down to kiss your lips. Dick knew what Tim was doing - he was being possessive of you. It was easy to notice with the glare that followed. 

"That's it for today," Dick announced. He left the training room, followed by the rest of your team. It was only Tim, Bart, and Cassie that knew about your history with Dick. Bart and Cass both gave you a weary look as they walked by you. For once, you felt uncomfortable under their gaze.

Finally, it was just you and Tim left. He stared at the floor, thoughts running through his head and keeping him in this trance. What was Dick thinking? Why was he acting like that? Like he regretted his choice with you? He was beyond angered at his brother for looking at you like he was.

You grabbed both of his hands, staring up at him as if he was the only thing that mattered in this world. Tim's gaze where Dick hovered of you wouldn't falter - and sadly you had known exactly what he was thinking. Dick was a ladies man, he knew how to flirt his way through everything and he certainly knew how to flirt with you.

If there was one person in this world that could convince you to leave Tim, it was Dick. He was the one to have your heart first, not Tim.

"Babe," you finally spoke. Your hands slid up his arms until cupping his face. Tim finally met your eyes with a broken look. "I love you, and only you. I need you to know that."

"I do," he whispered. It sounded as if he didn't believe himself, and in some ways, he didn't. All his life he grew up wondering how Dick got women so easily. Now, as soon as he finally gets you, Dick comes back with god knows what intentions. "I love you, too."

"Big Belly Burger?" You offered. Tim hinted at a smile, somehow you always managed to make a dark room light.

"You're buying."

><

You had managed to avoid Dick for the rest of the week. Patrol was exclusively with Tim, training you were paired with Cassie, even at dinner you would sit as far as possible from him. Whether it was because you were good at avoiding him, or if he was putting in the effort as well, you didn't mind the space.

It was your teammates that would catch Dick glancing at you at random points in the day. No one would ever say anything about it, but they all knew that something was going on between the two of you - or something had gone on. In all your time there, it seemed like Tim was the only one on your mind, they didn't think Dick had an important role as well.

It wasn't until the end of the week did Dick corner you. It was late at night, Tim was asleep in your bed and the others were all in their rooms. You found yourself in the kitchen for a late night snack and some tea. One of the few times that you were alone, he knew that he needed to talk to you and set things straight.

"(Y/N)," Dick startled you. Your back was towards him and the sound of his voice had caused you to jump - along with spill boiling hot tea on your hand. "Shit, sorry," he apologized. Dick ran cold water on the tap and gestured for you to put your hand under. Instead, you turned the water off and dried your warm skin.

You didn't want his help.

"What do you need, Dick?" You asked. Tired bags were under your eyes as you looked to him. What he had done at the start of the week had been keeping you up all night.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry," Dick began. "I'm sorry for hurting you all those years ago, I'm sorry for the other day, I'm sorry for not realizing your feelings sooner... and mine. I didn't realize how much I cared about you until seeing you again, or I guess seeing you with Tim. I know that I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I needed to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Tell you that I love you," Dick revealed. His arms were crossed over his chest and he avoided your gaze. It took him two years to realize his mistake of missing out on you and he regretted it. He wished that he hadn't been so ridiculous to think your age mattered - now when in the grand scheme of things it wasn't even a big age gap.

Your breathing stopped for a second. Two years ago you would have been ecstatic to hear those words come from his mouth. That was all you wanted to hear from him. Now, now the words sent a chill down your spine and left you with a dry mouth. You didn't want to hear that from him anymore.

The grip on your mug tightened until you swore the ceramic was going to crack. You let out a huff of air, frustrated with his words. Why was he telling you this now? To ruin your relationship with Tim? To win your heart back? You loved Tim, and that was the end of the story. Dick was your friend, that was all.

"I think it's time you head back to Bludhaven, Dick," You met his eyes once more. The team would do fine without him or Kori for a few more days. Right now, you just wanted him gone. You didn't want to have to look Dick in the eyes knowing that he loved you and you no longer felt the same way.

The distance apart had done wonders on you, now he needed to do the same. Forget about you, find someone else. You wanted Dick to be happy, to be in love. He was still basically your family, you always wanted what was best for him. Being around you after this revelation? That was far from what was best.

"I'm sorry," Dick apologized once more.

"So am I," you placed a hand on his shoulder as you walked by. You paused at the doorway, debating whether or not to tell him that you wished him all the best. In the end, you decided against it and walked back towards your room.

Tim was still asleep in your bed. His back was exposed and the covers were down to his waist. Snores filled the silent room, muffled by the pillow that he was hugging. This was the love of your life. You were always meant to be with Tim, never Dick. It might have taken you over half a decade to realize it, but it was well worth the wait.

The mug of tea that you had made for yourself was set on your desk and long forgotten. Instead, you slipped into bed with Tim, who stirred at your appearance. The pillow he was hugging was replaced with you and he snuggled into the crook of your neck. Tim sleepily left a kiss against your skin, too tired to fully wake.

"I love you, Timmy. More than anyone," You whispered. He was already back asleep, unaware of the words you spoke. Unaware of the conversation that you had with Dick. It was best that he didn't know. You and Dick were adults, there was no childish rivalry needed. You didn't want to be the one to ruin a brotherly relationship.

Tim had you, that was all that mattered.

[forthetherapyy]

Fav Larry Fics I Read In August 21

We’ll Cast Some Light (You’ll Be Alright) - fondleeds

For Harry and his team, times have never been harder, especially when a few old friends turned foes show up. Harry is left with just over forty days to overcome the hurdle of tension between them and reconcile their past, and figure out just what Louis is hiding from him before it’s too late. (74k) [It’s a demon hunting fic with exs Larry, what more could you want?]

Someone To Fly Home To - kingsofeverything @kingsofeverything

Louis. 55 year old pilot who wants someone to fly home to. Harry swipes right. - Louis and Harry’s marriage ended more than a decade ago, but fate keeps bringing them back together. (34k) [Love some older larry and exs to lovers is a huge fav, clearly.]

The Nation’s Sweetheart - snowy38 @snowy38

In limped a graceful giant; slim bodied but broad shouldered with thick thighs. Harry's hair was a little wild where it had grown out of it's usually boyish short style. For some reason Louis' fingers flexed, as if wanting to course through the flicks in the bottom of his rich brown hair. It had been curly once. Louis had seen pictures of him innocent with wide green eyes and a wider, bright white, toothy grin. Everything about him screamed privilege. Louis wondered if he knew he'd only taken this job to stop him losing his flat. (77k) [This was so good, I haven’t seen it recced before, which I do not understand, it’s ridiculously good.]

Speaking of Marvels - quitter, navigator

AU. Louis is a nanny in suburban New Jersey, and the neighbors' son is home from college for the summer. It was supposed to be a fling. (100k) [The writing is so beautiful and it’s the perfect length, their feelings are tangible.]

Our Lives, Non-Fiction - indiaalphawhiskey @indiaalphawhiskey

Heralded as the next Neil Gaiman, Louis Tomlinson does not appreciate being told that his very serious novel is in dire need of a PR boost. Even worse, that it comes in the form of a joint book tour with the UK’s #1 online romance-writing sensation Marcel Styles. Already turbulent at best, their partnership takes a drastic turn when, overly stressed about his looming deadline, Marcel accidentally blurts out a secret: though he’s famed for his scorching hot literary love scenes, he is, actually, a virgin. Convinced that the only way to rid himself of writer’s block is to gain some experience, Marcel asks Louis, author-to-author, to sleep with him – for Science. And of course Louis agrees because, well, what on Earth could possibly go wrong? (113k) [This was reccomended so many times but I always put it off, I don’t know why?!? It genuinely thought me a lot about my own writing. So heartfelt.]

I’m Weeping Warm Milk And Honey (That You Stay Surrounding Me) - FangirlFlailings 

Louis is a first-year medical student, still a little tender as he recovers from a personal trauma. Harry works, amongst other things, as a professional cuddler, though he comes with baggage of his own. They don’t mean it to, but the intimacy that blooms between them quietly changes them both. (78k) [Really beautiful writing, their connection was so intense and safe, my heart hurt for Louis. Please check the tags!!!]

It Feels Different When You’re With Me - Rearviewdreamer @all-these-larrythings

Harry fell in love with sign language as a kid. He never imagined the first love of his life would lead him straight to his second. (45k) [Just really sweet and comforting ending.]

Oh We’re In Love Aren’t We - delsicle @eeveelou

Louis is trying to get through his second year of university while dealing with his three stupidly loud and stupidly in love roommates, a series of boring classes, and his job working the graveyard shift at his campus’s favorite drunk food shop. Harry is new to town and looking for somewhere to live when he finds a long-abandoned apartment that brings him right to Louis’s doorstep. Or, a soft 19/19 university AU in which Harry is getting a fresh start, Louis isn’t subtle, no one does their homework and 3 AM is an excellent time to fall in love. (20k) [It’s jsut soft soft soft.]

Lightning Strikes Twice - dinosaursmate @dinosaursmate

Louis slipped his hand onto Harry’s thigh, snaking his fingers up and inwards. “I’m a big fan. You’re so talented, and I have to admit that I actually fancy you a bit.” “Yeah?” Harry reached up to push Louis’ fringe out of his eyes. “Well, you know, I like to try and be accommodating to my fans.” “You’re quite well known for that,” Louis whispered as he turned his head some more, their mouths an inch apart. “So I hear.” Rock star Harry Styles was nineteen when he met Louis, a groupie with a huge heart that Harry couldn’t quite shake from his mind. Fate granted him a second chance at the age of sixty, his washed up and lonely existence being transformed by a widower with a bookshop. (104k) [Desperately hot and very emotional all at once.]

Flash Back to Me - akatomlinson @mason-conaway

Louis narrows his eyes, wanting more than anything to tell Liam to go fuck himself, but he can’t be sure, is the thing. As much as he knows for a fact that he would never date someone like Harry Styles, he has months missing from his memory. And it’s scary to think that, in that time, everything he’s come to know about himself could have changed so drastically. Or the one where Louis loses his memory and Harry just about loses his mind trying to win him back (or something). (73k) [Amnesia fic!! You really felt Louis struggling with his memory and also with liking Harry despite not wanting to; hence we have angst.] 

[rubyleo-vibes]

The entire weekend

Chris Evans naughty mood lives rent free in my mind

So my hormones have been really crazy lately and when I’m about to write something naughty my mood changes drastically and have the feeling to write something angsty and before the first idea dies, here we go. I hope you like it. Enjoy my beautiful gems

word count: 1,894

warning: +18, smut, dirty talk, body fluids, slight dom vibes? 

________

“You okay doll?” I heard Chris’s deep voice, trying to catch my breath I feel his hand caressing my tummy, “i think I’m ruined and you?” I giggled I turned my head to see his darken baby blue eyes- “same here and we haven’t even doing that much but we already close to real thing...”he kissed my shoulder -“... I promise doll” and he gave me a smirk and kissing my lips slowly and passionately, one of his hand placed on my cheek and the other exploring my upper body.

We were laying in bed, our clothes abandoned all around his bedroom, damp sheets underneath and our sweaty bodies screaming for attention. I mean when this man told me that he wasn’t planned to letting me go the entire weekend and today was about teasing each other, lots of foreplay and coming until he say so, wasn’t even kidding, why? Because he wants to please his shiny gemstone and he knows how much i love the whole foreplay stuff, so his plans for the weekend was to tangle our bodies and his excuses were “we need lots of foreplay to make us ready for all the sweet dirty things that I planned to do with you this weekend, and I know that you are an expert on the job doll and so am I”, and that was four hours ago, so many kisses here and there, touches all over our bodies, teasing each other unlit we were cried and just saying “ do it, wanna see you”.Patient is a virtue...so building the tension and the desire for our taste, our sounds and the owners of a sweet frustrated release was a freaking honor and a reward for our egos . One day we talked about how long we could push the foreplay and Chris took to serious that conversation, cause today he put in table a lead time for both of us.

He said “just foreplay” “teasing you and teasing me”, our cries rumbling the walls, the room feels like summer even though was the middle of winter. It wasn’t a punishment,no, it was a pure pleasure, you know just fun games. Four hours of sweet foreplay, he was the one in charge to allow us to come as hard as we want, yes he decides when he wanted to come and when I was allowed to do it, nothing mean or cruel, as like said just funny games.

Pure lust in our eyes, the only rule we agreed for that night was that we can’t connect our bodies the way we always do, so he can’t be my plug until the clock says is midnight. Yes call us crazy but this game was pretty fun to play. The time says it was another hour ahead to feel the real and sweet electricity we make when our bodies are properly connected. How the heck we aren’t fucking each other, don’t know, but we are two strong and stubborn humans who wanted to push the limits and prove that we have the virtue of being patient.

“Come on doll I know you can give us another hour of that sweet teasing,” Chris said while he was getting up to change his position, spreading my legs and make space for him, once between them his stare admiring my shiny heated body, his hands massaging my thighs. And here we go again... what are we doing now? , cause we touched, talked dirty, played, lots of fun and every time is hotter and the insatiable feeling gets worse than before.

I laughed by his words and he just frowned-“prove me if you want... you know I can, but you? You look like you are about to break your own word”- I said with a bratty tone, but he just laughed and said “ oh pretty girl, you know I can keep my dick this last minutes out of your warms walls, you’re so strong and patient, so good for me” while he lean to kiss my cleavage and the top of my breast, I wimped feeling his lips on me and his talking dirty game coming in my ears, I couldn’t help and my body shove, he giggled- “and so responsive too, can’t wait to make you mine, if I was you I’ll enjoy this last time of teasing cause they won’t be able to appear the rest of the weekend”, the bastard played pretty good, he finished saying kissing my earlobe and his warm breathtaking mine away. But he was right, I need to enjoy this little game, and two can play.

I arched my back, brushing my nipples against his tattooed hard chest I feel his heavy cock twitching against my thighs, his entire body tensed by the way I played too- “you know...” I started my next move, while I began touching his grown biceps, his new training for that new role was hitting different levels and he knows that, -“...i can be as good as you want...”- he was now looking me in my eyes, so desperate and anger-“... My body can respond to you anytime you want to... but remember that you’re at the same place too... Remember that I can make you hard faster than the velocity of the light...”- I said brushing our lips and his lips slightly apart.

“You made things to me pretty girl, I can’t deny you that..and”- he stopped a second to give me a quick kiss and continue-“remember I’m yours..”- I gasped and replayed-“you’re mine, you’re my man”- I kissed him quickly and he continues his speech-“ exactly... and you’re mine, my beautiful Ruby, so beautiful and unique, all mine baby..” I moan before our lips started a battle that he won. Catching our breaths after a short but heated kiss I said-“ all yours...” my eyes closed trying to bring more words, I felt how his heat moved away from me, kneeling again between my legs.

“11:11 doll, make a wish, I’m already asking mine,” Chris said while he checked the clock on his nightstand, bringing my attention to him I bite my lip watching him stroking softly his cock while his turn his eyes to me again, a cheeky smile on his face waiting for my response-“did you made it pretty girl?”- I nodded-“oh yeah?”- he pumped his length harder and I raised my hips for attention, he just lets a small laugh out “oh I can tell we asked for the same thing... but we have a deal pretty girl, why don’t you tell me what was you wish, mmh?” His voice sounded so deep and harsh, I was losing my mind, but I have to continue my game too, but any freaking word has the courage to let out my mouth.

“What happened doll?, I thought you were talkative, you’re the teasing queen”- he said and my eyes couldn’t leave his big hard cock, and swallow again my words, he was enjoying this and obviously took vantage of it -“oh... you want this pretty girl mmmh?”- he brings close his cock to my wetness -“you want my cock isn’t huh?, yeah i know, i’m so hard for you, so hard that hurts petty girl, you want to know what was my wish mmmh?”-  i took a deep breath and bring myself together again and anxious to hear his answer i whispered- “what was your wish?”- he smiles wide-” there she is, I was missing your voice doll...”- he chuckled and before he continues, he began to rub his hard against my puffy lips, we immediately moan at the feeling of our aching skin- “... my wish was this... your beautiful pussy, shit! i want it so bad, i want it to feel you around me, but we need to be patient isn’t pretty girl?”-

He grunts while he rubbed harder against me, coating him with my juices, both breathing heavily every second, I began to make a circular motion trying to feel him further than what he was doing, but Chris stopped me, he pressed harsh my hips against the bed, on oh his hands on my hip preventing to move and the other playing with my clit and grabbing his cock and slapping my pussy with his hardness, making me moan and letting a puddle under me, he moaned even louder by the pleasant feeling of my greedy cunt, we both were counting the seconds to feel us connected. 

-”yes pretty girl keep going with those pretty noises  you’re  making, i love hearing  you, fuuuu-cckk baby girl  i love how your pretty pussy sounds, so wet for me, she looks so pretty with my cock rubbing her, shhiiiit baby, can’t wait to be inside you..”- i was playing with my tits, my walls were clenching around nothing, his dirty talk excited me, I always do, but this time he was losing control, the veins on his necks stood out from the effort of not burying himself in me, his arms have marked the triple all he screamed a high level of eroticism, we continued like this for several minutes, talking dirty and rubbing our sexes without penetrating, saying what we would do to each other once they want twelve o'clock, his cock shining with my juices looked so appetizing. His painful red tip plaything dangerous at my entrance, but never getting inside.

-”fuuu-cckk Chr-Chrisss! i’m so close, please!”- i cried out loud, a burning feeling inside me screaming to see the light, Chris groan i felt how his cock twicht and i knew he was close too,- “aaaahhhg yeah! mmmmmh yeah pretty girl? are you gonna come for me?, yeah you are, i can't  wait to feel that pretty tight pussy squeezing me and coming around me...”- he rubbed faster-”... come on pretty girl, come for me, i’m right behind you, i’m gonna come so hard, where do you want it baby mmmh?, i think I’m gonna come right here, close to your pussy, yeah! gonna make her look even pretty”- at this point we were both lost, everything was so hot, i scream when I felt his tip rubbing harder my dripping pearl, and just like that let my release come out by the body, I was shaking, Chris didn’t let me close my legs, he rubbed faster and with a loud moan he painted my cunt with his white warm seed.

He let himself fall on me trying not to hurt me, with a spleen he supported the two of them breathing heavily, made a mess, his warm breath on my neck and his moans turned me on even more, I hugged him by the neck. He kept playing with his cock in my pussy and expanding his seed in me, something sounded at the back, the clock updating us by the time and from one moment to the next I felt how he collected his disaster and without warning, he buried himself in me , I felt how he stretched my walls, we let out a cry of pleasure, Chris kissed my neck and said- ”fucking finally, is midnight and we have the entire weekend to fuck as much as we want and there'll be no fucking foreplay, did you get it pretty girl ?, no more funny games ”- i cried and just nodded in response.

------

Ruby’s note 

ammm okay! i need a moment, please don’t touch me, i need a cold shower know. 

Let me know what did you think 

show me your love

say yes to reblog 

love you all

[seostudios]

happy without me: all about luv - h.rj

ALL ABOUT LUV ‣ HAPPY WITHOUT ME

just face it, she’s happy without you. but i don’t believe it, is she really?

paring: huang renjun x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff

word count: 2.5k

info: exes to lovers!au, non-idol!au, college!au, cousin!jaemin

warnings: sensitive themes, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, toxic relationship, mention of rape and sexual assault, sexual assault, explicit/vulgar language 

tag list: @jenotation @luvlyjaemin @woofie-nctzen-fanarts-320 @tzuqui @sunnyrenjunnie @nino7011 @thatanonymousgirl-as14 @minhehe @chrspychan @jimelonji @mykokorobeats4u @aminihhj @jeonjungkat @wishfulldreamss @ilymarkchan @ja3hy4n @beautifulbakerycookiegiant @jisungiepwark52 @sharamanne @commentgirl @littlefluu @chicksung​ @lixseu​ @jenosgirlllll​

a/n: i’m sorry this is so short i did renjun dirty :( i got writers block writing it but it’s ok! ill do better on the next one which is chenle or jeno (prolly jeno) i gotta chekc but yay finally part 2 to all about luv

APRIL IN JEJU

It's been 7 months since you've parted ways with your first love. You two were the supposed high school sweethearts of your year so it confused most of the other students when they found out. Renjun and you were meant for one another but the fact he decided on attending SKKU since had received a scholarship for his outstanding academic records, he couldn't turn down the offer and was determined on enrolling however you were attending Cheju Halla University which was all the way in Jeju City. That was a 55-minute plane ride away from Renjun! Avoiding the future relationship problems to come from long-distance you two would most likely face, the breakup was mutual and you two parted ways at the airport indulging in a rather pitiful hug.

Here you were, walking through the Department of Equine Science, trailing behind your friends Soomin and Mina. It was the first time you decided to skip class and it was thrilling in your opinion, "Come on, they're waiting!" Soomin whisper-yelled. They?

You make sure to ask her who 'they' were since you and Mina weren't standing dumbfounded and possibly in trouble. "The volleyball team dummy," Soomin says skipping to past the classrooms into Gym A. It brought you back to the old times, visiting Renjun during Soccer practice, making sure he's well-fed and not overworked. Quickly snapping out of it you join the girls on the bleachers to cheer on the boys. Although you are able to tell people you've moved on from your first love, you've spent restless nights looking back at your messages, pictures just reminiscing the past.

The butterflies he's caused you still flutter every now and then hoping their commotion was heard and you've finally made the big move back to Seoul but sadly you haven't gotten up and gone yet.

Tonight you were preparing for a mini-quiz, it so happened that Mina shared the class with you. Scheduling a sleepover at Soomin's place here you all are sitting in her living room stuffing your faces with whatever salty and sweet treats her mom had bought. "Oh. My. God." Mina tells you after reading your DM request on Instagram, "What?" you ask confused over what she thought was so extraordinary. She motions Soomin to look at your earning a surprised what the fuck from the girl. "Min-fucking-Ho wants to DM you... He's like one of the hottest guys in our division and has never been seen with a girl so wanting to text you definitely a what the fuck moment. You shake your head before opening the DM request..."He's asking me out for dinner?" You say which Soomin demands you to accept the offer before he moves on. "You've gotta move on from Renjun you know? He won't come by swooping you by the legs asking you for his hand in marriage. He's all the way in Seoul Y/n, I'm pretty sure he's moved on by now with someone else it's time you do too. Now hand e your phone so I can tell him you want to go on that date." Mina tells you after you attempt to reject Minho. She gave you the truth even if it hurt (a lot), you sigh in defeat handing over your phone.

"Can't believe you're going on a date with Minho," Soomin says watching Mina type away. "I know right, lucky girl" Mina replies as you nod. 

APRIL IN SEOUL

Meanwhile, at SKKU Renjun's majoring in Arts & humanities. Languages, Literature & Linguistics which has been taking up most of his time keeping his mind off his recent split. He was devastated the first week but had to obviously push it aside if he wanted extraordinary marks just like in high school, even if he wanted his thoughts to be occupied with your figure in his head he simply couldn't know his classes were paying attention to him along with the other honor students that attended on a scholarship.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Jeno, Renjun's only friend at Sungkyunkwan asked. He's got to know Renjun for who he was today but he's never really opened up about his life before University. Jeno noticed Renjun staring at your recent Instagram post for a little too long to not think you were at least flirting in direct messages. "No," He said quick and panicky before shoving his phone back into his pocket, after relaxing he turns to Jeno. "She's my ex, we broke up 7 months ago." Jeno's mouth goes agape momentarily in realization, "Why? If you don't mind me asking..." He asked the smaller boy beside him. "She went to Jeju for University when SKKU was just a 20-minute train ride from our neighborhood," Renjun replied with a scoff recollecting the memory of the day you told him you got accepted into Cheju Halla. Jeno nods understandingly deciding to continue studying instead of riling him up.

JULY IN JEJU

A full three months have passed and you were still in the first place you were in back in April, heartbroken. Although a lot of things have drastically changed since April it had only made you feel worse about yourself. For starters, you've been 'dating' Minho since April even if you realized on the first date he had only wanted you to fulfil his sexual desires. He's strung his act long enough and you've tried breaking up with the boy for a month now but he won't let you, he's always threatening you "I'll tell the school what type of whore you are."  or something about inflicting pain on someone close to you like Soomin or Mina, which is why you've kept quiet for about the last three weeks.

You were in pulled harshly by the arm by Minho as he pulled you into the supply closet of the Gymnasium, “Minho, I don’t want you to touch me there,” You politely ask the boy who’s currently taking advantage of his supposed spouse. “I don’t even want to date you! Why do you keep acting like this- Let go!” You whisper-yell to Minho who’s trailing his hands up and in between your thighs. "Shut up," He simply tells you before snaking his hand to your mouth shutting you up as you let out a choked cry.

JULY IN SEOUL

"She looks so happy with that Minho, right?” Renjun asked Jeno, scrolling through your tagged post. “I mean from what we know yeah,” He tells him. Renjun sighs, he knew he would genuinely be happy for you if you moved on but it had seemed rather quick. "It's almost been a year, she's moved on. Why don't you?" Jeno asked innocently. Renjun had a gut feeling of some sort; telling him not to move on and instead of ignoring it like you (which brought you nowhere since you're still deeply in love with him) did he's just kept a close eye on you. Shaking his head no he tells Jeno, "Something isn't right about.." He lifts the  phone to the photo of you and Minho, Mina had tagged you in, "That."

DECEMBER IN JEJU

"I promise I'll text you, I just need to get off this freaking island for winter break at least." You tell Mina and Soomin on Face-time, "Okay we will miss you! How did Minho take this? It's your first Christmas together and you leave?" She asked worriedly. You mumble a fuck before looking at the camera. "I didn't tell him," You say earning gasps from the two. "He's your boyfriend though.." Soomin said; "Who doesn't treat me like a fucking human being." Your words were strong, rippling a wave of awkwardness, "I'm fine by the way I’m staying with my cousin Jaemin, but if I don't come back it’s cause he spoilt me into staying."

DECEMBER IN SEOUL

"Merry Almost Christmas!" Renjun screeches before entering his shared apart with his new friend group, Jeno had introduced Renjun to his best pal, Jaemin and Renjun had taken in a very lonely Haechan later introducing him to the two. Today they were all celebrating their first Christmas together with a classic holiday film and cupcakes every day until Christmas.

"Guys we have a guest today!" Jaemin sings opening the door widely to show a shorter girl beside the boy with a suitcase in hand.

"What are you doing here?" Renjun and you said simultaneously as you locked eye contact. "I'm visiting Jaemin, my cousin." You tell him hands moving into the air to point towards the boy, "I am Jaemin's roommate." He responded before getting up from the couch brushing off the crumbs off his lap before walking towards the door to stand in front of you. He hadn't grown any taller still rocking his tiny 5'7 figure, but tall enough to tower over you, who hadn't grown since freshman year.

"She's here." Jeno tells Renjun who's head is under the pillow, "She's here." Jeno repeats, "She's here, She's here," Renjun whispered to himself taking it all in. He always wished for you to get off the fucking island go back into his arms, transferring to SKKU, knowing you had the skill to land a spot without hesitation, but finally seeing you after 10 months of no contact was frightening to him. Why did you seem so brittle? You looked pained, it wasn't his job to care about you anymore, but he couldn't help himself. He loved you more than himself and there's a (humongous) chunk of him that still did. Renjun gets up and sits crisscrossed on the single bed across from Jeno's bed where he was idling on his phone laying down "She's here but she's not here." He said which caught Jeno's attention, his face wrinkling in confusion. "She's not okay, something's wrong. I know it," He finishes getting up to walk out to you- who's catching up with Jaemin in the kitchen while preparing for dinner, stopping immediately as a rush of nerves came over him telling him to stop.

"Hope you boys like Hotteok!" You said facing Jeno and Haechan who were smiling in awe of your cooking skills, "I know Injun and Jaems like it so I made it tonight." You cheerfully smile towards the other two boys. “Glad to see you remembered,” It took a lot for Renjun to even say a sentence to you without having a gaze on you for a little too long afterwards.

It was his chance, he walked out of the bedroom the moment he saw you walk by his door towards the guest room. "Can I come in?" He asked. "Of course Injun," You couldn't believe yourself, being so calm and comfortable with all the tension. Had it really been ten months? He thought to himself as he sat beside you on the bed. "So," He rubbed his thighs nervously "How've you been?" Horrible. You stare down at the carpet admiring it while you figure a way to lie to the boy who knew you better than you knew yourself. "Fine,  I've been..." You sigh avoiding eye contact, "Fine." He looks at you concerned, "You can't lie to me Y/n." Grabbing your hand caressing it for a second knowing it relaxed you a bit in tough scenarios. Suddenly your phone began to ring, grabbing to read the caller id. "Oh, should I go?" Renjun asked after reading the contact name 'Minho' "No!" You shouted quickly grabbed his wrist pulling him back down before he walked out. Declining the call you spoke, "I'd talk to you over anyone any day." Damn, when did I get so smooth You mentally note that smirking to yourself slightly watching as Renjun bursted into a frenzy of laughter, "Smooth," He comments.

"So, was that Minho guy...your boyfriend?" He asked in which you replied with a strong No. "Well," You started "A boyfriend is someone who listens to me someone who values my opinions and beliefs. Someone who is truly interested in what you enjoy doing, or what you like most in life and interested in who I am as a person." You pause to see him grab you hand intertwining your hand, quickly signalling you to continue. "Someone who makes me laugh, or trusts me. But more importantly, disrespect me and force me into," Tears collected in your eyes threatening to fall, "Things." Renjun knows what to do to comfort you quickly pulling you into his embrace, melting when you wrap around him, head in the crook of his neck sobbing quietly. "He made me do things Renjun-ah. Horrible things. I hate him so much, I can't break up with him. Figured running away would've been a better option." He strokes your hair telling you it's okay and to relax. He couldn't help but smile though; he was right. He knew, he knew something was off and made it his number one priority to find out what it was, who would've known you would open up and make your first actual conversation with your ex- whom you dated for a nearly all of senior year about the toxic relationship you found yourself in after him.

JANUARY IN SEOUL

"I got to leave tomorrow." You told Renjun, whom you rekindled an old flame with over your stay. C

"Do you think about me sometimes? 'Cause I think about you sometimes" You asked Renjun looking at him from the mirror, as he watched you do your hair for an outing with your cousin. After that night in your bedroom, you decided on hanging out more and became close friends once more. But the butterflies in your stomach didn't leave, instead, they emitted flying more enthusiastically near him, with him. "I don't think about you sometimes 'Cause I think about you all the time," He said, which made you look down to the floor before turning around to face him. "It made me so jealous knowing you were so far away with that disgusting bastard happy without me" He grabs your hand; which you intertwine your fingers with happily a smile dancing upon your lips watching him reciprocate it.

"Stay." He tells you. You cuddle into his embrace as he caressed the top of your head. The two of your legs entangled under the sheets having one of your midnight talks. "You know I can't," You start quickly zipping your mouth not wanting to go any further, "Students who have outstanding academic records, or who have financial difficulties, who have submitted a complete scholarship application," Renjun said, which just made your jaw drop. Did he do his research?  "You can still enroll for the second semester which starts in two weeks. Have your friends send your belongings." He finished watching as you lifted yourself up resting your head in your palm. "Really?" You asked, breath taken away to say more. Could you really live here in Seoul? With Renjun? "Yes, I can kick Jeno into the guest room while we can have this room all to ourselves." He kissed the top of your hand watching the cheeky smile erupt from you with giggles. "We can be together." You said- asked to yourself, "We can be together" Renjun tells you before pulling you back. 

[angstyaches]

Here We Go

CW: violence, threat of serious injury, manhandling, choking, loss of control, supernatural activity, swearing. Definitely more whumpy/angsty than sickfic, since that’s the mood I’m in lately. Basically, it’s a Whole Mess and at this point, and I’m just gonna own it.

Head tilt to a prompt from @mxnsterparty about Charlie overhearing Shayne saying some cold things about him to Elliott. (I might still use the prompt again or expand upon it at a later time!)

Swallow the World: Ouija Board Pt. 10

“Relax, darling.” Felix looked over from the passenger seat, eyes flicking up and down as his boyfriend sat across from him like a clenched muscle. “What’s the matter with you?”

Elliott shook his head. Elliott didn’t know. The energy humming in his body was so intense, it was causing an almost electrical-sounding whir inside his ears. He’d woken up feeling light-headed and nauseous in their hotel room, but had managed to avoid letting Felix know anything was wrong. Until just now, apparently.

It was his hands, probably, that gave him away. They still clutched the steering wheel even though the car was stopped. His knuckles were very literally beginning to turn white. He unclenched his grip, one wrist clicking as he slid his hands into his lap.

“You look a little flushed.” Felix laid a hand on his thigh, turning slightly in his seat. “It’s going to be okay, just –”

The front door of the house flew open and shut, and Shayne stormed into the driveway somewhere between those movements.

“Oh, I don’t fucking think so!” he shouted. “No fucking fly zone, assholes!”

“Lord,” Elliott growled, clenching his fingers against his knees. 

“Here we go,” Felix sang under his breath.

Elliott heaved a sigh as he shoved open the driver’s side door and stepped onto the loose gravel. “Seriously, Shayne, do we have to do this again?”

“Madelyn and Watson don’t even come around here. Same goes for you,” Shayne said as they met halfway between the car and the front door of the house. He lifted a hand to point towards Felix, who hadn’t gotten out of the car yet. “And your little friend.”

“Shayne, I spoke to Ryan on the phone last night.”

“And why would I give a shit –?”

“Because,” Elliott sighed, contemplating - just for a second - the possibility of blacking out right then and there. “She said you can come back with us.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It – it means what it sounds like, man,” Elliott explained as calmly as he could while fire seemed to gnaw at the marrow of his bones. “You can come stay at the Aldridge townhouse. For a while, at least, until you decide what you want to do long-term.”

The confusion on Shayne’s face was shot through with a sickly paleness. ���Wh-why would I..?”

“Because,” Elliott said, almost reaching out to put his hands on Shayne’s shoulders. He pulled them back at the last second, flinching internally as the boy took a step back. “You were partially right yesterday, Shayne. The Devines know you’ve been hoarding demons from this patch of forest. As far as Ryan knows, they don’t know why. As in, they don’t know about your friend being possessed.”

“Friend?” Shayne spat, voice trembling as it rose. “You think I’m stupid like you, that I go around letting myself get attached to people, fucking up their lives?”

“Don’t,” Elliott snarled, heat gathering in his cheeks and in the roots of his teeth. The restless energy was starting to itch under his skin. His lips began to dampen, gums tingling as his fangs crept downwards.

“You seriously think I would be anywhere near this god-damned place if I didn’t have to be? If there was anybody else who would do it?” Shayne yelled.

“Seriously, Shayne, stop,” Elliott said warily, noticing through the whirring fog in his head that the door to the house was opening again, this time a lot more slowly.

“You think I’d actually make friends with someone like Charlie? I don’t have friends, Elliott, I have a fucking job.”

“Hey,” Elliott murmured, reaching out to shove his hand against Shayne’s shoulder. “Shut the hell up, man. Your friend can probably hear –”

“How would it even work?” Shayne demanded. “Madelyn and Watson practically breathe down my neck, no matter where I go.”

“You don’t have to worry about Madelyn and Watson,” Elliott explained. “If there’s any trouble, Nancy will sort them out. You – you can finish studying, and travel back here for your exams when they start –”

“No,” Shayne spat. “This sounds like – you think I want to be a disgusting bloodsucker like you some day? Like him?”

He pointed towards the car, towards Felix. Rage curdled in Elliott’s veins, his lips dampening as his fangs began to creep down from his gums.

“Leave Felix out of this, man,” Elliott warned. “If it weren’t for him, I’d have left you and your friends stranded yesterday, so show a bit of respect –”

“Respect?” It was barely a whisper, and yet from the look on his face, it seemed as though Shayne had just vomited. “That’s – that’s all you people care about, isn’t it? Empty words. You shout respect when you don’t give a shit about other people. I bet you even use the word love, don’t you? But how can you love someone, Elliott, when there’s absolutely nothing going on…”

Shayne drew a shaking finger up towards Elliott’s chest, eyes glued on it as he stopped it just an inch away from touching him, from feeling the point where his heart was working at half the pace of a living human. Faint red patches began to distort the peripherals of Elliott’s vision.

“…in here?”

Elliott snatched Shayne’s hand out of the air, twisting his wrist in a sharp motion that made the boy wince. He also grabbed a fistful of the front of his hoodie, dragging him forward slightly. There was a ringing in Elliott’s ears that reminded him of cymbals crashing together.

“Touched a nerve, huh?” Shayne asked. “Do you tell him you love him anyway? Does it make you feel better to lie?”

“I’m gonna give you five seconds to apologise, and tell me you’re going to shut up and listen.”

Shayne closed his eyes, breaking into a slight grin as Elliott wrenched on his wrist again, twisting it out from his arm.

“Well?”

“Fuck you.”

Elliott swung him by the arm and threw him against the bonnet of the car. The irrational anger snapped at his heels and the back of his neck like a pack of dogs closing in, attempting to tear him apart while also urging him on.

The car rocked, causing Felix to jump in the passenger seat. His golden eyes turned cold through the windscreen, holding Elliott’s gaze as he shoved open the door and let himself out.

___

“Shayne!” Charlie cried out, and he started to run across the gravel. What’s the plan, exactly? He gritted his teeth at Charlie Two’s question. Of course there was no plan. What kind of plan could a boy possibly have, rushing towards a clearly unstable vampire?

“No, no, no, no, no,” Felix muttered, shooting forward to intercept him. The mint-haired vampire was shorter and even slimmer than Charlie was, but the muscles in his arms seemed to turn into stone as soon as he shoved himself at Charlie, wrestling him back from the car.

“He’s – he’s gonna hurt him,” Charlie whimpered.

“No, he’s not. But he’s gonna hurt you, if you try something, bud.” Felix glanced over his shoulder, his grip on Charlie trembling a bit. “From what he’s told me, this – this is fairly standard for these two. They don’t exactly get along.”

“Oh, you think?” Charlie snapped, recoiling a bit at the snap of sarcasm in his own voice. Who are we? Shayne?

___

Elliott twisted Shayne’s arm against his back, not leaning hard enough to hurt him, but enough to keep him from wriggling. The rage licked at his vision, heightening when he heard a sound that was halfway between a cough and a laugh, and a single breathy word;

“Asshole.”

Blood-red flashed across Elliott’s vision and he leaned harder on his arm. “You want to say that again?”

That drew out a long wince, as Shayne tried to twist his body to accommodate the new pressure on his shoulder. “That you’re an asshole? I’ll never get tired of saying that, El.”

Elliott leaned forward and grabbed a fistful of Shayne’s hair, adrenaline coursing through him as he pulled him up from the bonnet. The sensation, the rush of power, was so intense that he hesitated a moment, undecided about what to do with him next.

All he could see was something in his grasp that he could perceive as weak, weaker than he was.

A thing that didn’t know its place in the order of things.

A thing he could easily rip apart, sink his teeth into, and drain until it was nothing more impressive or useful than a pile of sodden leaves.

All he heard was the rushing sound in his ears, and a broken whisper.

“Just fucking do it.”

Elliott blinked and broke through the hot, red fog for a moment, loosening the fingers that were gripping Shayne’s hair, and yanked him around by his shoulder. Thin streaks of tears had already marked the boy’s face, but those weren’t what sent Elliott right over the edge. He snatched his cousin up again, muscles clenching powerfully as he dragged him up onto the balls of his feet, fingers crushing into the soft flesh of his neck and throat.

“The hell did you just say to me, man?”

Shayne didn’t even lift his hands to try to pry Elliott’s hand away, and that just made the anger run even deeper. He made a choking sound before forcing the words out.

“I said do it, asshole.”

___

Felix felt Charlie’s weight sink heavily against him, and he struggled to keep them both upright. He was desperately blinking back tears as he watched the scene unfold, unable to recognise the Elliott who was practically ablaze with white-hot anger. He was generally quick to jump on a fight, and he’d assured Felix that things tended to get heated between him and Shayne, since Shayne enjoyed stirring him up for the fun of it. 

But this wasn’t fun, and Felix was having a hard time convincing himself to keep a hold of Charlie, to keep believing that Elliott, his Elliott, would come to his senses before he did anything drastic, but… 

But then the colour started to drain from Shayne’s face, and Elliott continued to lift him higher off the ground. 

A soft clattering sound began to overwhelm Felix’s ears, and it took him a slow moment to realise that the sound was coming from below them, from between the layers of gravel in the driveway. He’d have said it was an earthquake, if earthquakes were known to happen in this part of the world, but they simply weren’t. The stones were moving all by themselves, or at least… they were moving.

“Felix,” Charlie murmured. “Get back from me, now.”

His hands trembled as he let go of Charlie’s arms, and he practically fell over as he moved away, scrambling for balance and turning around to see…

“What on earth?” he gasped.

___

“What’s wrong with you, man?” Elliott hissed, feeling his fangs begin to scrape against the flesh of his chin, heat gathering behind his eyeballs. He licked theatrically at his lips, unable to stop the threatening gesture before the need took hold of him. Shayne squeezed his eyes shut rather than let Elliott see them roll back, and finally, finally, his hands began to grab at Elliott’s arms, and something like relief trickled down through the hot tar filling Elliott’s head.

Good.

“Elliott!” Felix yelled, hard enough to make Elliott finally turn his head.

The red seemed to touch everything but Felix, who was like a cool oasis in a scorching desert. Elliott had to drag his mind forward out of the rage like it was a chest laden down with rocks that he had to pull out of a burning building before it collapsed. Colour began to return to the world in patches, the first being the wine-red paint of his car, though it wasn’t sitting where it should.

Fear became a spike in Elliott’s gut.

It was as though an invisible crane had hooked the back end of the car and hoisted it up out of the gravelled driveway, so that the bonnet was dangling almost two metres from the ground. Only there was no such crane, of course. The gravel from the driveway was also being dragged up into the air, falling in reverse and in slow motion.

Elliott wondered blankly if he was so deprived of blood that he was hallucinating, but that was when more colour seeped back into the scene and he was able to focus on the blonde boy standing in the driveway.

Or at least, this creature had been a boy last time he’d checked.

This was… something else. Something that had eyes and arms, sure, but Elliott couldn’t quite put any combination of words together in his mind to describe it. His eyes couldn’t settle on it for too long before darting away in awe and fear.

When it spoke, it spoke right into the hollow of his chest, it seemed.

“PUT HIM DOWN.”

Elliott leapt back from Shayne, hands jerking to his sides as his skin prickled all over. The dark-haired boy fell to his knees by Elliott’s feet and clutched at his throat before doubling over, lowering his head to the ground too.

The car was lowered gently until it had a few inches to go, and then slammed down with a crash; a dozen or so pieces of gravel clattered down over the roof and the windscreen. Intentionally, perhaps.

“Shit,” Elliott whispered, staggering and then dropping to his own knees. The buzzing rage had given way too a feverish trembling, coupled with guilt so intense that it came with nausea. He felt his fangs retract harshly, pressing into his aching gums. “Shayne, are you okay? I-I don’t – I couldn’t –”

“Asshole,” the boy hissed, lifting his head slightly.

The retort stung slightly, before Elliott’s head swam all the back into focus and he realised what he’d done. His hands fluttered by his sides, and breathing became difficult, like the air was full of sand.

“Elli,” Felix said gently.

Elliott jumped and looked up from the ground, to where his boyfriend stood about ten feet back from him, as though he was unwilling to get any closer to him. Elliott felt a twist in his gut, and he tucked his hands into his armpits, afraid, so afraid, of what his body might make him do if he didn’t keep it under control.

“Fee,” he croaked. “I-I didn’t -”

The crunching of gravel accompanied Charlie as he sprinted over and practically threw himself over Shayne. Elliott scrambled back, trembling inside and wondering how this boy could have looked so… so different, so unnatural and abjectly horrifying.

The embrace lasted a total of two seconds before Shayne was shoving the blonde boy away, and Elliott sank even further back from the scene to avoid being shoved or tripped over.

“Get away from me,” Shayne was saying as Charlie tried to approach him again.

Elliott felt cool hands brush against his shoulders, relief flooding his head as he leaned into Felix’s touch.

“I was… I-I was afraid you wouldn’t come to me,” he breathed, turning to press his forehead against Felix’s leg.

“Well, you see, darling, that’s because you’re an idiot.”

Elliott scoffed in relief as he was dragged gently to his feet, despite Felix’s slight build, whispering apologies over and over again. When he was steady enough to stand mostly by himself, Felix placed a hand on his jaw and smoothed a thumb over his cheek.

“I don’t know where this anger keeps coming from lately,” Felix said, eyelashes fluttering as he examined Elliott’s face, “but it’s going to have to stop snatching you away from me.”

Clenching his jaw, Elliott lowered his head to the top of Felix’s. The moment was short-lived, as Felix began to pull away and approach the scene that was happening behind them. Elliott found it hard to focus, but he just about made out a couple of shoves before Felix intervened, and one figure storming off.

__

Charlie’s heart felt like it might fall to pieces if he didn’t manage to keep at least one hand on Shayne’s body long enough to calm him down. His stomach dropped when he realised this wasn’t going to be possible. Despite how shaky and pale he was, Shayne was determined to shrug him off, and Charlie could feel him slipping away in every sense of the word.

“Where..?” Charlie’s voice cracked as he lost hold of Shayne’s arm. “Where are you going?”

He threw his arms out in a wide shrug as he headed towards the forest. “Fuck knows. Trees. Demons. What else am I good for?”

No.

“No,” Charlie cried out, beginning to run after him when his legs seemed to give out under him. Gravel drove itself into his knees and the palms of his hands as he fell, some of it actually sticking in his left hand as he lifted it and pressed it to his head. He stiffly tried to lift his head, his neck twisting in jerking motions. “Shayne...”

A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and a voice like silk spoke to him.

“It’s alright, buddy.” Felix. “I’m gonna go get him. It’s gonna be fine.”

Charlie opened his mouth wide, like there was a scream lurking in his throat that wanted out, but it was stuck solid. Instead, he retched drily, his stomach tossing like the waves from his dream, from his memory, only this time the scene in his head was sprinkled with Shayne’s words, fresh and scalding, assuring him that they weren’t friends. They never were. He was just a job.

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

The Royal Snow Day

Day 1 of 2020′s 31 Days of Ficmas.  Thanks to @doctorroseprompts for the list!

Prompt: Snowed in

Rating: M (nsfw)

Pairing: 12xRose AU; part of the Queen of Hearts universe

Summary: Rose’s first snowfall in Gallifrey exceeds her wildest dreams, as her royal fairytale continues.  The ensuing snow day leads to an unexpected, melancholy conversation.

2020 31 Days of Ficmas masterlist  |  Queen of Hearts masterlist

AO3

---

Beep.  Beep.  Beep.

“Oh, c’mon,” Rose whined, reaching out blindly to swat at the alarm.  “Fuckoff.”

Ian’s answering snicker said he was already awake, the sheets rustling as he spooned up behind her. “Good morning.”

“Too early.” Still, she snuggled back into his arms, reveling in his warmth.  “Mhmm.”

“Has it snowed, since you’ve been here?”  The kisses he pressed against her neck were thoroughly distracting, so much so she almost missed the question.

“No, why?”

Her husband merely chuckled, the arm around her waist squeezing her.  “Open your eyes.”

It took her a long moment to overpower the urge to curl into him and drift back to sleep, but when she finally did as he said, she was so glad she did.

“Oh!”

When they’d gone to bed the night before the sky had been clear, with trees as far as the eye could see, the Alps rising majestically in the distance.  When the leaves had started falling a month before, Rose had understood for the first time how drastically the elevation could change in her new home; for quite a ways into the distance the trees were bare, their leaves having changed and fallen, but behind them were evergreens, sloping up the side of the Alps until they stopped abruptly; past that point was nothing but whiteness climbing towards the sky.

Now, though- now, the sky was full of clouds, and the grounds looked like a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in snow, bright and cheerful despite the grey sky, and even as she watched, the flakes continued to fall.

It was spectacular, almost out of a movie, and she was surprised at the tears pricking her eyes. “You live like this?” she breathed in awe.  “Is this normal?”

The breath of Ian’s laugh was hot against her neck.  “Sometimes. More so in years past…  Definitely when I was a kid.  Used to be able to ice skate on the lake, even.  But d’you know what the best part of this is?”

“Oooh, snowball fight? Please say snowball fight!”

“No- I mean, sure, we can do that- but actually, until it stops and they’ve had time to start the cleanup, we’re stuck here.”

That was enough to tear Rose’s gaze from the window, and she twisted around to face him.  “We’re snowed in?”

He nodded, pushing some loose hair out of her face.  “For the time being.  No engagements with our public today, I’m afraid.  And since that was our whole schedule…”  One of his knees nudged at her own, and she obligingly lifted her top leg to let his slide between.  “Our day is wide open.  How would you like to spend it?”

“Honestly?”  When he nodded, she glanced back over her shoulder. “I’ve never seen so much snow in one place at one time.  I’d love to just… go out and play in it.  Snow angels, snowball fights…  You know, like you see in films.  Bet Sophia and Sebastian would like that- they’re still young enough I think.”

“That sounds like fun,” he agreed, smiling.  “When, now?”

Rose rolled onto her back, looking first towards the window and the picture-perfect snow, then to her husband, warm and naked beside her.  “Depends,” she said coyly.  “Is it better to sort of pre-warm up before we go out, or to wait until we come back in?”

“Hmmm…”  Ian settled himself above her, so close they were almost touching, but far enough away to mostly be a tease.  “Well, in my professional opinion as a doctor-” he paused to suck at her pulse point, “I would recommend both.  Some pre-activity to… get the blood flowing as it were, then once you’re back inside, a hot shower, maybe a soak in a steaming tub…”

“Is that so?” she drawled, letting her legs fall apart before tugging on his hips, encouraging him to lay flush against her.  “And would you recommend these as solo activities?”

The corners of his mouth turned up, but he hid it by kissing his way across her decolletage to the other side of her neck.  “Oh, no. It’s very important to always have a buddy with you,” he said earnestly.  “Someone to keep an eye on you… check for hypothermia, that sort of thing.”

Rose nodded, scraping her nails lightly along his spine, smirking when his hips jumped.  “Whatever you say, Doctor.”

He dipped his head, kissing her deeply, and she arched up against him in response.  Even after six months together she still got the same giddy feeling in her stomach, heart soaring at the merest taste of him, her very universe narrowing down to where they touched, the rest of the world be damned. It didn’t hurt knowing that he was equally affected by her, the evidence hot and throbbing against her thigh.

Yet the picture-perfect scene playing out on the other side of the glass called to her too, and though she tried to hide it, her husband knew her well enough at this point to sense her distraction.  To his credit, though, he was chuckling as he pulled back.

“Do you want to stop to watch the window?”

Biting her lip, Rose gave him a sheepish smile.  “No, I want you…”  She ran her hands down his back to his arse, squeezing for emphasis.  “But, maybe a change of position?  D’you mind?”

“Of course not.”  He backed away, sitting on his heels.  “And we don’t have to- I promise I’m just as happy holding you and watching the snow fall.”

Sitting up herself, she took a moment to look around before nodding decisively.  “Right.”  Nudging him out of the way, she positioned herself on her hands and knees in front of the window, before glancing back at him over her shoulder.  “Does this work?”

Ian was already slotting himself between her knees, one hand rubbing at her hip and thigh as the other brushed against her slit.  “Uh huh.” He met her eye as one long finger probed her opening.  “You’re supposed to be watching the snow.”

“Git.”  Facing forward again, she marveled at how the storm seemed to be picking up.  “I’m going to remember this.”

By the time they collapsed in a sweaty, sated pile, the view was a whiteout and second to the heat between them.

-

“This is absurd.”

Hands on his hips, Ian stared out the ballroom doors to the patio incredulously – or attempted to, given that their view consisted solely of snow.  Heavy, packed snow that covered the doors so thoroughly he wasn’t sure anything truly existed past them.

“It seems to be a snow drift, Your Majesties,” Jabe shrugged.  The manager of the grounds, it would be her team’s job to clear the snow, and he made a mental note to ensure they all got fat bonuses in their next check. “It’s not nearly so bad along the sides of the Palace, or necessarily the front, but it may take several days to clear the lakefront side or the drive.  In these conditions, we cannot even begin until it stops, and though it has slowed, we do not want to be caught out in it if it increases again. As it is, we will need to dig our way from the sides.”

“We’re really snowed in,” Rose breathed.  “I mean, this is…  Wow.”

Their hands tangled together, and even as Ian worried for his subjects, her childlike wonder warmed his heart more than he could say.  “The Queen would like to go out in it for a bit.  How do you recommend we do so?”

“Over my dead body, to start.”

He turned to see his aunt striding towards them, bundled in a thick jumper, eyes narrowed in their direction.

“I’m afraid she’s correct,” Jabe said, apologetic.  “At least, in her implication – it’s simply too dangerous at this time.  Several of my braver groundskeepers attempted to go out the front, and suffice it to say it did not go well.  The worst injury was a sprained wrist, and several bruised prides, but it was enough.  We cannot risk Your Majesties’ health or safety.”

“What about- and maybe this is stupid, I don’t have much experience with heavy snow- but like… climbing out a first-floor window?  It wouldn’t be too far down…” Rose trailed off as they stared at her.  “Never mind, just a thought.”

Ian smiled kindly at his wife.  “Perhaps if we were twenty, but I think we- or at least I- am too old for that.  And there’s no way of knowing how far you might sink into the drift.  I don’t want to have to call your mother and explain you drowned in snow.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed easily, squeezing his hand.  “Though, personally, I’d be more afraid of Donna.”

He shivered dramatically at the idea, making her giggle.  “Ooh, don’t make me think about it.  Very well, we surrender to our house arrest.  Is there any support we can offer to Arcadia, or the rest of the country?”

“No, not now.”  Sarah shook her head.  “When I saw the storm start last night I reached out to the Roadworks Department, but they were on top of the situation.  We’ll likely need to cut them a check for overtime as they certainly hadn’t budgeted for all this, expecially not as a one-time dumping at the start of the season, but that was all the support they need- at least for now.  The worst of it is here, along the lake- once you get a kilometer or so inland it’s not nearly so heavy.”

“That’s good,” Ian and Rose said in unison, before grinning at each other.

“Have you spoken to Donna?” he continued.  “I suppose this means they’ll need to extend their trip.”

Sarah nodded.  “She’s heartbroken at the delay of course,” she said dryly, “but will soldier through.  The children are thrilled to have another few days with their grandparents.”

Rose tensed next to him, but other than shooting her a curious look, he ignored it for the moment. “All right, I’ll give her a call in a bit.  Thanks for the update.  We’ll be up in our suite.  A hearty soup or stew is sufficient for dinner tonight, I think- something simple. I don’t see a need for anything non-essential to be done today, but I’ll leave it to your discretion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The women curtseyed as Ian turned to leave, tugging Rose along with him.

They walked in silence until they reached their bedroom, where he helped her out of her warm outerwear they’d optimistically put on.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”  Rose sank onto their couch, curling up in the corner and staring blankly at the fireplace.  “I’m fine.”

Biting back a sigh, he settled next to her, careful not to touch her.  “Rose.”

“I just… realized something I hadn’t thought about before.  It’s no biggie.”

“If you’re sure.”  He didn’t believe her, but didn’t want to push, knowing she would come to him when she was ready.  “Want another log on the fire?”

She didn’t answer but he did it anyway, enjoying the burst of sparks as the new log caught and started to burn.  She didn’t say anything when he draped the throw from the back of the couch over their laps, and she still didn’t speak as they watched the fire crackle and occasionally leap.

“My mum’s the only grandparent our children will know.”

He started at the sound of her voice, having been nearly hypnotized by the silence and the flames, and turned to look at her.  “Yes, she is,” he agreed cautiously.  “And I have no intention of trying to keep her from them, if that’s where this is going.”

“No, I know that, it’s just… I guess, I always thought I’d marry something with parents- someone who could give my kids a grandfather, someone who could… could almost be a father to me.  I say always, but it’s only really in the last decade or so once I got off the estate, but still.”

“I had a similar epiphany when my father died,” he shared tentatively.  “In amongst all the things I’d officially lost- never really had, I suppose- like my career and my freedom, I realized that… because I’d been concerned with my own wants, I missed out on the opportunity for my future wife and children to know my parents, and for them to know, well, you.  And our children.  To make them proud.  They were proud of my career, that I was helping people even if it wasn’t in the way they wanted- they thought I should have spent time learning how to rule at my father’s side- but… they wanted me to settle down, have a family.  I’m sorry they didn’t get the chance to see that, though I suppose if they had it wouldn’t have been with you, and that I cannot regret.  My point being- I know how you feel.”

Rose shifted on the couch, moving curl into his side.  “The real problem with all of this,” she sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder, “is that she’ll feel the need to make up for being the only one, and spoil our kids absolutely rotten.  I mean, at least your parents had Donna and knew the twins, but I’m all Mum’s got, so our family will be the sole focus of her grandmotherly love.”

He couldn’t help but smile stupidly at the idea.  “That’s all right, I suppose.  We’ll just have to have many children, to spread out the attention.”

Rose took his hand, lacing their fingers together.  “Depending on your definition of ‘many’, I agree.  But for now…”

“Yes?”  He watched her stand, taking a moment to admire her; the glow of the fire behind her made her seem ethereal, like some sort of goddess too good for the world blessing him with her presence.

She tugged on their joined hands, smiling coyly.  “I could use some warming up.  And this doctor I know says that body heat transmitted bare skin to bare skin is the most efficient way.”

“Well, if you insist…”

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

Plea for My New Self

Sanders sides Vampire College AU - it’s gay - it’s full of fun fluffy tropes - a bit o’ hurt/comfort - mostly fluff

Words: 4,894  Warnings: Food, Money Issues, blood drinking Characters: Virgil, Roman, Logan, Patton, (Deceit mentioned) Ships: Prinxiety, Analogical, Eventual LAMPD/CALMD Universe: Plea for my New Self Genre: Fluff, Gay nonsense

Chapter 26: Flaws

Chapter 1 for New Readers - ffn mirror

   Virgil tapped away at his laptop, writing an English paper. They were all working on homework together in a study room at the library. Logan suggested it, and it seemed like a very nice compromise between spending time together and actually doing their job as students. Virgil had plenty of time to work, but Patton was struggling a bit in psychology, and Roman had fallen back because of all the time he was practicing his parts. They shared the subject and could help each other, which was nice considering Virgil’s psychology schooling was pretty out of date and he couldn’t help much outside of the history portion. It looked like Logan was writing a history paper based on the books he had stacked next to his laptop for references and citations.

   The room was on the small side, which made Virgil uncomfortable, but Virgil sat next to the door, and Roman would periodically put his hand on Virgil’s arm or leg and that calmed him down for the most part. Roman was probably just being affectionate, but maybe he caught Virgil’s glances at the doorway. Outside of the size of the room, though, it was very nice to just quietly work together. Virgil had read this story a million times and wasn’t a fan of writing another essay examining themes and symbolism on it. Especially since it was about community-mandated murder. But he could write it with minor effort on his part. It was just annoying.

   If Logan and Virgil weren’t writing essays they probably would hold hands or something. Logan seemed to like doing it. Virgil couldn’t understand why a human would want to hold an ice cube, but he wasn’t complaining. Logan explained he didn’t always like contact and it was better to let Logan initiate or offer first. It sort of seemed like he’d be interested right now since sometimes he leaned towards Virgil while flipping through a book. Either way, Virgil was pretty happy. He enjoyed talking to Logan more than anything, so it didn’t bother him too much that Logan needed his space sometimes. Not that he didn’t very much enjoy kissing him. But in general, Patton and Roman were hanging off of Virgil any time Virgil dropped his shield, so he was pretty satisfied with the amount of contact he got these days. Virgil looked up from his laptop and met eyes with Roman. Roman shot a glance between Logan and Virgil and looked curiously back to Virgil. Virgil raised his eyebrow in confusion, trying to figure out what he was trying to communicate.

   ‘Are you going to tell him or what?’ Roman asked Virgil telepathically, looking pointedly at Logan again.

   ‘About the vampire thing? I don’t think he’d believe me if I tried. Why bother?’ Virgil thought back with a minuscule shrug.

   ‘I dunno, it seems dishonest to have him be literally the only person in the room who doesn’t know,’ Roman thought, motioning to the room with his highlighter.

   ‘If he doesn’t want to know, I won’t force it on him. Some people aren’t comfortable with the supernatural,’ Virgil replied mentally. ‘I at least need to get his opinion on that, first,’ Virgil motioned with his hand to try to express his priorities.

   ‘What are you guys thinking about?’ Patton thought, looking curiously to the two of them. Virgil hadn’t realized they had looked up from their textbook.

   ‘I think Virgil should tell Logan,’ Roman thought, eying Logan again and looking critically to Virgil.

   ‘Tell him he’s a vampire?’ Patton asked mentally, looking a little lost.

   ‘Yeah. They’re dating. It just doesn’t seem right,’ Roman thought, furrowing his eyebrows.

   ‘It’s not like you learn everything about somebody as soon as you start dating. It hasn’t been that long. Everybody’s got baggage,’ Virgil rolled his eyes. This was a little extra.

   ‘No, I think Ro’s right,’ Patton thought, looking concerned.

   ‘I don’t want to force it on him. He gets a choice on this, too,’ Virgil chided them mentally.

   ‘I think you’re just trying to avoid something hard,’ Patton looked critically at Virgil, too.

   ‘No, he’s doing that with you,’ Roman smirked impishly.

   ‘Roman, you want to come up to the roof with me to see if you bounce?’ Virgil thought warningly and glowered at Roman.

   ‘What are you avoiding with me, Virge?’ Patton looked at Virgil a little sourly.

   ‘Yeah, Virge, what are you not telling them?’ Roman leaned forward and smiled roguishly at Virgil.

   ‘We’re studying, you gobermouch, do we really have to do this now?’ Virgil crossed his arms and tapped impatiently on his jacket. Roman and Patton just stared at Virgil in bafflement for a moment.

   ‘Did I have a stroke? Was that even English?’ Roman raised his eyebrow.

   ‘Fine. Patton, I think your job makes it too hard to keep up with school. School is important. If you want to quit the craft store, I’d pay you more than they do. You’re part of my clan and entitled to the resources we have,’ Virgil huffed, looking at Patton imploringly. Patton looked surprised, considerate, and then angry. Well, shit.

   “I understand that I am not the best at social cues, but it is odd that you two are glaring at each other with no words exchanged,” Logan pointed out, looking up from his laptop.

   “Patton thinks I should tell you I’m a vampire and I want to give Patton money they don’t seem to want,” Virgil said flippantly, waving his hand. Roman looked shocked.

   “This vampire joke again? It’s very odd, Patton. If Patton doesn’t want the money, don’t give it to them. I don’t understand why it is these things are being treated so critically,” Logan suggested and looked oddly between Patton and Virgil.

   “Thanks, Logan, you’re right. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. I would appreciate it if Patton would consider it, but I don’t like forcing things on people, so I understand if you won’t take it. The best I can do is make the resources available and see if anyone is willing to take them. I will just be honest,” Virgil said, hoping Patton understands his meaning. Patton frowned at him, but they didn’t look angry. ‘Told you,’ He thought to Roman. Roman huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically. Patton looked sad for a moment longer, but smiled and nodded eventually. Virgil felt relieved.

   “Okay. Sorry for distracting you, Lo,” Patton apologized quietly.

   “We are here together, I’m happy to discuss things with you,” Logan smiled. Patton smiled much brighter after that and looked back down. They went back to studying in silence, but Roman was tapping his fingers on his thighs and watching Logan rather than getting back to studying.

   ‘You know, I’d love to see how far his disbelief goes,’ Roman thought. Patton looked up from their book in surprise.

   ‘I’m pretty curious myself,’ Virgil smirked mischievously.

   ‘Roller coaster,’ Roman thought empathetically. ‘It destroyed me,’

   ‘Don’t be mean to him,’ Patton chided them.

   ‘I’m not going to do that. I shouldn't have even done that to you, Ro. I’m just wondering how far he can rationalize things,’ Virgil shrugged, uncrossing his arms.

   ‘That doesn’t seem in good spirits,’ Patton frowned.

   ‘Of course it’s friendly, Pat! It’s not even at his expense. Obviously, it’s fine if he knows, so why not just make it a little easier to connect the dots?’ Roman motioned with his head toward Logan.

   ‘Well, that doesn’t sound bad when you say it like that,’ Patton admitted. ‘Just don’t pick on him,’

   ‘Why would I want to pick on my boyfriend?’ Virgil rolled his eyes. ‘That’s such a dick move. I like him,’ Virgil pulled a partial frown. ‘I’m just thinking that maybe there’s not much of a point of hiding anything,’ Virgil raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

   ‘You want to make bets on what makes him question if it’s really a joke or not?’ Roman wiggled his eyebrow temptingly.

   ‘$500 bucks it’s something drastic. He's pretty logical to a fault,’ Virgil smirked to Roman, who smiled back playfully. 

   ‘This is leaning back into not-in-good-spirits territory,’ Patton frowned. Virgil paused and considered for a moment.

   ‘Pat’s probably right. Thanks for being my good sense,’ Virgil sighed and shot an appreciative smile to Patton. ‘I still think he’s stubborn, though. I seem to like stubborn people,’ Virgil chuckled quietly and shook his head, trying to focus on writing again.

   ‘Hey,’ Roman thought somewhat indignantly.

   ‘You are a little stubborn, Ro,’ Patton looked sheepishly at Roman.

   ‘Hey,’ Roman crossed his arms.

   ‘And I love that about you,’ Virgil shot Roman a smile and Roman softened slightly.

   ‘Fine,’ Roman huffed, not sounding completely satisfied. Virgil would just have to make it up to Roman later. ‘I guess we should get back to work, huh, Pat?’

   ‘Yeah,’ Patton thought, a little despondently.

   ‘I’ll get you guys ice cream or something if you can catch up, how about that?’ Virgil offered, trying to lift their moods.

   ‘Okay!’ Patton beamed at the idea.

   ‘It’s something to look forward too, I guess,’ Roman frowned slightly, but nodded.

   “You want to get ice cream when we’re done, Logan? There’s a gelato place in walking distance with great ratings,” Virgil asked smoothly.

   “Are you trying to motivate Patton?” Logan smirked at Virgil.

   “That, too,” Virgil smiled back.

   “Ice cream is delicious!” Patton pouted.

   “Nuh-uh, Patton, this is gelato. This is better,” Roman said, tutting and shaking his finger.

   “Why is it better?” Patton asked curiously.

   “It’s Italian?” Roman shrugged, not sounding sure himself.

   “Gelato is lower in calories, fat content, and has a silkier texture than ice cream. Flavor profiles are subjective, however,” Logan provided.

   “Yeah, that,” Roman motioned to Logan. “I’ve heard about it, they also have espresso,” Roman winked to Virgil.

   “Oh, I wasn't aware,” Virgil rubbed his hands together in delight.

   “I suppose that means Virgil is motivated now, too,” Patton giggled.

   “I have written multiple essays on the stupid short story, I needed it. There’s a limited amount of ways to rephrase the stupid symbolism to not plagiarize myself,” Virgil grunted and dourly looked back to his laptop.

   “Did you take advanced English in high school?” Logan asked curiously.

   “I’ve just already taken this class elsewhere,” Virgil shrugged, shooting a look at Roman. The corner of Roman’s mouth twitched upward.

   “The credits would not transfer?” Logan asked, sounding disappointed.

   “Nope,” Virgil popped the ‘p’ and Roman snickered slightly.

   “I’m sorry to hear about the redundant material. Hopefully, the latter semesters will be more interesting,” Logan said with a small nod.

   “Thanks,” Virgil smiled, holding out his hand. Logan took it curiously and Virgil pulled it up to kiss his knuckles. Virgil was rewarded with slowly spreading blush before letting go of his hand and getting back to work. Roman stuck out his tongue just above Virgil’s laptop screen and Virgil chuckled, finding Roman’s leg under the table to hold contact with him. Roman smiled slightly and Virgil got back to work.

—

   “Oh my gosh, gelato is so good!” Patton squeaked, excitedly eating another tiny spoonful of their vanilla, cheesecake, and chocolate gelato. They sat on the covered patio outside the gelato shop, taking up the sole table outside. They were alone other than brief passers-by, which was pleasant. The sun was still in the process of setting, so it washed everything with orange-red light. Virgil tried his best to stay hidden in his hoodie and in the awning’s shade.

   “The espresso is pretty nice, too,” Virgil smiled, taking another sip. The steam from the espresso fogged up his sunglasses.

   “They just pulled that espresso shot, Virgil. Isn’t it too hot to imbibe?” Logan asked, sounding concerned.

   “High heat tolerance,” Virgil shrugged. “It doesn’t feel too hot,” Roman snickered and took another bite of his dark chocolate, pistachio, and strawberry gelato. “Aren’t those weird together, Ro?” Virgil asked, looking at the disturbingly green gelato.

   “No, it’s good, your tongue is just made for black coffee,” Roman smiled. “How were the gelato bites, Logan?”

   “Very satisfactory,” Logan smiled widely.

   “Do you have a bit of a sweet tooth you’ve been hiding?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

   “No,” Logan’s ears turned slightly pink.

   “Hey, I can’t judge for that. Have you ever seen me have anything but black coffee?” Virgil chuckled and offered in solidarity.

   “I- no, actually. No, I haven’t,” Logan sounded surprised. “I worry for your teeth enamel,” Logan laughed slightly, but his lips pulled into a slight frown.

   “My enamel is fine,” Virgil smiled widely, not bothering to hide his fangs.

   “Yes, your teeth look very healthy. I do not even see coffee staining. Do you have veneers? You have extremely long canines and sharp teeth,” Logan observed Virgil’s fangs.

   “I’m going to go with no, since I don’t even know what that is. These are what I was born with,” Virgil chuckled.

   “Are his teeth why you call Virgil a vampire, Patton?” Logan asked as he curiously examined Virgil’s fangs. Roman nearly sputtered on his gelato and covered his mouth, giggling wildly.

   “Uh, yeah, that’s part of it!” Patton said awkwardly, running their hand through their hair nervously.

   “What the other part?” Logan looked to Patton, and Virgil leaned forward, very interested in what Patton had to say.

   “His temperature and the whole blood-drinking thing,” Patton shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but was clearly stressed by the situation.

   “Coffee bean harvesting practices can be inhumane, but calling it blood is very… extra,” Logan chuckled slightly, looking proud of himself.

   “Mmm, blood,” Virgil muttered, taking another drink of espresso. Roman choked on his gelato and Patton patted his back very quickly, looking panicked. “Pat’s talking about the fridge full of blood in my dorm, though,” Virgil looked to make sure Roman was all right, but after a cough or two Roman just looked incredibly bemused, putting his hand on his chest to breathe deeply. Patton sighed in relief.

   “Why on earth would you have a refrigerator full of blood, Virgil?” Logan asked incredulously.

   “Drinkin’, of course,” Virgil shrugged. Roman chuckled and shook his head disbelievingly, still catching his breath.

   “Is this some gothic thing I am not aware of?” Logan asked, still sounding baffled.

   “Actually, I think blood bars for goths used to be a thing until they were shut down for obvious health reasons,” Roman offered. “I’ve heard of it anyway,”

   “I think those were just a myth perpetuated by the one vampire show,” Patton said, sounding unsure.

   “Can you use your roller coaster powers on anything other than just you?” Roman asked curiously, motioning to Virgil.

   “No, it’s just me,” Virgil shook his head. “I’d totally make my coffee float if I could. I always wanted to try drinking like an astronaut can in zero gravity,” Virgil leaned forward on his elbow and swished the espresso around in his cup.

   “Oh, that would be so cool!” Patton chirped, playfully holding their little gelato spoon up in front of them and eating it as if it was free-floating. Virgil couldn’t help but grin at the adorableness. Even Logan was mesmerized in watching them and turned red when Patton smiled at him.

   “What about your gift? You’ve never mentioned what it was before,” Roman asked, turning from watching Patton’s cute display to lean back and look towards Virgil.

   “Hm, it’s not that obvious, visually. I wouldn’t do it, anyway,” Virgil said dismissively, flipping his hand slightly.

   “If this is an extended joke at my expense, I do not appreciate it,” Logan frowned.

   “I wouldn’t make you the butt of a joke, Logan. That would be awful. You’re just opting to stay out of a loop we’re trying to let you in on,” Virgil held out his hand for Logan to take, but Logan shook his head, still looking upset.

   “Oh, oh, let's invite Deceit!” Patton blurted out excitedly. “His gift could convince him,” They added with a sly smile.

   “I still think Virgil should just do the roller coaster thing,” Roman insisted. “It convinced me right away,”

   “Ro, we’re sitting on a gelato shop patio, use your brain for once," Roman huffed an offended breath through his nose. “I’m still not positive if this is something he wants,” Virgil rolled his eyes. Patton pulled out their phone.

   “What is something that I may or may not want?” Logan asked, sounding equally upset and intrigued.

   “Knowing the actual size of the world around you,” Virgil said, sipping his coffee again.

   “The earth is 6.6 sextillion tons,” Logan said resolutely.

   “Wow, it is? That’s cool. I can’t really picture that,” Roman said, leaning back and lazily eating his gelato.

   “D said he would come to hang out with us!” Patton announced cheerily.

   “Really? He never responded when I asked, I was worried he was still mad at me,” Virgil muttered, feeling relieved.

   “That’s your other boyfriend, correct?” Logan asked curiously.

   “Yeah, he’s so great. If you like sass, sarcasm, and being over-the-top, anyway,” Virgil said dreamily.

   “I think he was just interested in annoying you,” Patton said, looking down at their phone with an odd expression.

   “That’s completely normal,” Virgil laughed affectionately.

   “What about your gift, Pat? You are gelato powered right now, you could probably pull it off,” Roman suggested.

   “I can only do it for a few seconds,” Patton muttered nervously, wringing their hands.

   “What are you implying Patton can do?” Logan asked, examining Patton curiously.

   “Patton can make a shield,” Roman said, motioning to them as if he were a showgirl showcasing a prize.

   “If you want to show off, I doubt there’s any harm in it,” Virgil sipped his coffee. Virgil checked the skyline to see how far the sun has set to judge how much time they had before Deceit could start flitting there.

   “Please don’t gloss over the supposition that Patton can make a shield. I would like to know what that means,” Logan said.

   “Put your hand on Patton and they can show you,” Roman motioned to Patton with a big cheesy smile.

   “If you don’t want to touch me, you can just hover your hand nearby,” Patton said, standing up out of their chair and moving it out of the way, staying just clear of the table. Logan stood up and held out his hand, hovering it close to Patton. Patton scrunched their face and focused, and Logan’s hand was pushed away. Patton exhaled, sounding strained. Virgil would be worried about the public display of powers if it didn’t just look like Logan pulled his hand back to any curious onlookers.

   “What an amazing magic trick,” Logan said, looking at his hand. Roman laughed and finished off his ice cream. Logan sat back down, looking mystified.

   “I bet you want seconds after that. You want more coffee, Virge?” Roman asked, getting up from his chair as Patton sat back down with a sigh.

   “Yeah, thanks Ro,” Virgil smiled and squeezed his hand.

   “Do you want a different flavor, Pat?” Roman asked and pushed his chair in.

   “I want that gelato milkshake with the dark chocolate and hazelnut,” Patton replied, finishing their cup of gelato with a few scrapes against the side.

   “You want seconds, Logan?” Roman paused before heading back inside to see if Logan wanted anything.

   “No, thank you,” Logan nodded. Roman went inside. “How did you do that, Patton?” Logan asked, looking between his hand and Patton’s tired-looking face.

   “It’s hard and takes a lot of focus,” Patton leaned back. “Come sit next to me. Please, V?” Patton asked, Patting Roman’s abandoned seat. Virgil switched seats for Patton. Patton leaned against Virgil and closed their eyes as soon as Virgil sat down.

   “Good thing we’re getting you more food,” Virgil chuckled slightly. “I don’t know if you’d make the walk back without it,” He mused, reaching up to play with Patton’s hair for a second.

   “I’m demanding a piggyback ride, either way,” Patton crossed their arms and nodded, still leaning tiredly against Virgil.

   “I’m fine with that if my wonderful boyfriend is,” Virgil shrugged.

   “If Patton requires assistance, back I would not be opposed to you helping them,” Logan said, possibly still trying to figure out the magic trick, because he was very distracted and checking his own hand.

   “Hey, seat thief,” Roman grumbled as he came back with the milkshake for Patton and another espresso for Virgil. Patton pouted intensely at Roman. “Fine, I don’t need it, anyway. Are you ready to head back?” Roman huffed, but his annoyance melted away quickly at Patton’s expression.

   “I am. I hope you explain to me how you did that trick sometime,” Logan asked in wonderment, getting up from the table.

   “Only Patton can do that, sadly,” Roman sighed. Virgil got up and squatted down, and Patton leaned forward on his back. Virgil picked them up and did the rest of the work, turning around to let Patton grab their milkshake off the table and they took off back to the dorms. Roman held on to Virgil’s espresso for him while Virgil carried Patton.

   “I would still be interested in learning the mechanics,” Logan said, sounding intrigued.

   “So would modern science, probably,” Virgil joked airily. “Do you have time to meet D?” He asked Logan hopefully. 

   “I have finished my homework for now and am mostly caught up in my studies, I can spare some more of the evening,” Logan said, walking alongside Virgil. The sun had gotten low enough as they ate gelato and Virgil was free to walk around without gearing up, which he was very thankful for. Keeping his hands covered while carrying Patton would have been a pain in the ass. Hopefully, that meant that Deceit was on his way, too. Virgil missed him a lot.

   “Drop your shield,” Patton whined.

   “You should know I couldn’t drop my shield outside if I wanted, don’t you remember that knot Roman talked about?” Virgil groaned.

   “I’ve named it Balthazar,” Roman chirped, sniffing Virgil’s coffee through the small mouthpiece.

   “Okay,” Virgil drawled in bafflement, but just rolled with it. “Balthazar says the outside isn’t safe, so I can’t drop it,” Virgil supplied.

   “I am proverbially lost once again,” Logan said, sounding annoyed.

   “Logan, how do you feel about the supernatural?” Virgil asked plaintively.

   “It is an interesting story,” Logan responded, sounding vexed and confused.

   “How would you feel if the supernatural was real?” Virgil continued questioning him.

   “That is not realistic, I don’t need to consider that,” Logan said. “Is this line of inquiry supposed to elucidate me in some way?”

   “Yeah. Just, for the sake of argument, think about how you would feel about some supernatural things being real,” Roman said, flipping around his free hand and looking like he was considering drinking Virgil’s espresso. He better not be.

   “Roman, the sun is down and you’re already up way too late for your morning classes, don’t you dare,” Virgil hissed in objection.

   “Fine! Fine! You don’t have to bite my head off,” Roman huffed. “It just smells good is all,”

   “One sip,” Virgil said, holding out a single finger. Roman smirked and took a drink.

   “Hot,” Roman held out his tongue.

   “Idiot,” Virgil chuckled.

   “Are you okay, Roman? Here, have some of my milkshake, it’ll cool down your tongue,” Patton passed Roman their milkshake. Roman took it and sipped gratefully.

   “That is unsanitary, Patton,” Logan looked a little disgusted as Roman passed Patton’s milkshake back.

   “It’s fine if it’s Ro. Did you consider what Roman said?” Patton looked hopefully at Logan.

   “It would be very interesting despite the implications being concerning,” Logan admitted, sounding a little frustrated.

   “Would you care to extrapolate on the concerning implications?” Virgil asked plainly.

   “Oh my god, you’re such a nerd,” Roman rolled his eyes at Virgil.

   “You’re both sugared up and wild. Let the man think,” Virgil chuckled.

   “I don’t like the concept that there are certain things are simply outside of human understanding,” Logan said after a moment of consideration.

   “Well, that’s a tough one. But would you open to the possibility despite the drawbacks?” Virgil asked gently.

   “I… suppose. But this is a silly thing to consider,” Logan insisted.

   “It’s just friendly conversation, Logan. The silliness can be for the sake of recreation or whatever. I don’t speak nerd as fluently as Virgil,” Roman flipped his fingers dismissively.

   “I suppose that’s fair. I’d be very interested to meet extraterrestrial life,” Logan said brightly, looking much more upbeat.

   “What about terrestrial but still extra?” Roman asked, tittering. Virgil shot Roman a look of annoyance. Even if it was accurate, it was a little rude. One of those ‘just @ me next time’ kind of feelings. Roman stuck his tongue out at Virgil, looking very proud of himself. 

   “I’m afraid I don’t follow,” Logan furrowed his eyebrows.

   “Non-human species on earth,” Virgil clarified. 

   “Who are dramatic and wear too much fake makeup,” Roman smirked. Okay, Virgil wasn’t sure if this was better or worse.

   “I resent that, Princey. I may be a kettle but the pot shouldn’t throw stones in glass houses,” Virgil glowered at Roman.

   “I, uh, that’s too many metaphors, Virge. I have absolutely no idea what you just said,” Patton said, a little flustered.

   “Mood,” Roman said, nodding in agreement.

   “You’re too dramatic to be calling me dramatic,” Virgil frowned.

   “Boys, boys, you’re both dramatic,” Patton said patronizingly and patted Virgil’s head. Virgil sighed theatrically, perfectly aware of the irony. Roman tittered behind his hand at that.

   “So you don’t object to me saying you wear too much makeup?” Roman continued to laugh at Virgil.

   “It’s the style,” Virgil shrugged as much as he could manage with Patton on his back. Patton giggled at the bump.

   “I like Virgil’s makeup,” Logan said, surprising Virgil. “His makeup aside, though, I think it could be educational to meet non-human species. I would love to study them,” Logan said. “I also agree that you both have had too much sugar,” He added, sounding a little amused by it. Patton giggled and took a long sip of milkshake.

   “Cool. Vampires are real,” Virgil said matter-of-factly. Roman spat out something next to him. Damn it, was that fucker stealing his espresso again? He will never get to sleep. Virgil sighed deeply and shot Roman a glare. Roman grinned brightly back at him, making an innocent face. That bitch.

   “This again? Honestly, it’s getting old. I thought this was a discussion for entertainment purposes,” Logan made a face.

   “It can be two things!” Patton said cheerily. “Are werewolves real?”

   “Yes, and they’re assholes,” Virgil groaned, remembering some unpleasant interactions with them. 

   “I’m pretty certain that’s racist, Virge,” Roman snickered.

   “Fine, the limited number of werewolves I’ve met are assholes in that they picked fights I didn’t want to engage in. They’re just as territorial as vampires,” Virgil amended his statement. “There’s no stupid twilight rivalry or anything, it’s just territory nonsense. There’s a reason I don’t set one,” The annoyance with them continued to leak out in his voice despite trying to stay neutral.

   “D mentioned mermaids, are those real?” Roman asked excitedly.

   “Yes, but they don’t look anything like Ariel. There’s one I met in France that really knew how to jam,” Virgil answered this one much more jauntily. He was a fan of merpeople.

   “When were you in France?” Logan asked incredulously.

   “Mid-1800s? I was with D at the time,” Virgil said, looking up and trying to remember specifics, but he couldn’t. He shook his head slightly as he gave up.

   “And danced the paso doble with him,” Roman snickered behind his hand. Virgil shot Roman a look, but he put up the innocent face again. Virgil could only diagnose him with too much texting with D combined with espresso. Or maybe he’s just feeling like being a bastard today, which was a mood. 

   “You have to let me see!” Patton said, bouncing slightly in Virgil’s arms.

   “Pat, be careful, I don’t want to drop you,” Virgil hissed and held Patton tighter.

   “You won’t drop me,” Patton wrapped their arms around Virgil’s neck, putting their milkshake right next to his face.

   “I don’t have a dress for it,” Virgil said dismissively. “And I’m not hand-sewing one again, I continue to be thankful for electricity,” Virgil groaned.

   “Then we’ll go shopping,” Roman smirked and held up an arm as he suggested.

   “I regret ever suggesting gelato,” Virgil rolled his eyes and huffed at the sugared-up idiots.

   “No, you don’t,” Patton grinned against Virgil’s ear and nestled their head into his neck.

   “No, I don’t,” Virgil laughed in agreement. It was nice to see them so happy, even if he and Logan were slightly distressed with their nonsense.

   “You are very creative, Virgil,” Logan said dismissively.

   “Thanks?” Virgil raised his eyebrow. Virgil couldn’t blame him for needing more proof. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but Virgil was already in it and may as well finish the job. The delightful and telltale thrum of reconnecting with Deceit hit as they continued their trek back to the dorms.

   “D’s near!” Patton cheered, jumping again. Virgil flinched from the sudden high volume declaration.

   “Pat, you’re right next to my ear,” Virgil hissed, wishing he could reach up to rub his ear.

   “Sorry!” Patton whispered apologetically and squeezed Virgil lightly. Virgil rolled his eyes. This was all getting ridiculous.

personal taglist: @elizabutgayer​ 

the taglist repository  (ask to be removed):

supernatural beings taglist: @callboxkat @legendsgates @nonasficcollection @rainbowbowtie @10moonymhrivertam

DLAMP taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account @a-fandom-trashdump @averykedavra @legendsgates @notveryglittery

Virgil centric:  @demoniccheese83 @thatgaydemigodnerd @arya-skywalker @rainbowbowtie

[sad-af1121]

Exposed (One-shot)

Summary: Thanks to Hugo Boss for dressing Sebastian for the night, you couldn't resist being a minx and drastic actions are taken for pleasure.  Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader Word Count: 1.6k Warnings: PURE SMUT: dirty talking, masturbation (female), blow job, vaginal penetration (please wrap before you tap) aka un-safe sex, a little bit of rough sex?  A/N: I found this beauty in my drive and I think I wrote it up when this look came about in the media. I’ve tweaked it up a bit and hopefully, it gets y’all hot and bothered because I certainly am by Sebastian’s style at the time. Like always: Feedback is welcomed 💜 | Not my picture. Here for reference.

“You’re home early,” you grin, opening the door to your shared apartment before stepping to the side to let Sebastian in. He had attended a fashion show earlier in the day and you weren’t expecting him for another hour until you two went out for dinner. 

“I made my appearance and had a few drinks; thought I’d come home early to spend some time with you,” he smiles, his eyes becoming soft as he leans in to peck your lips. When he pulls away, he eyes you up and down “Wow, you look…” he becomes lost for words, a tint of pink blooming on his cheeks, “Fucking good. God damn.” 

Your cheeks begin to burn, “Thank you. All for me and well, you too.” You smirk before laughing when Sebastian playfully pouted. 

“At least tell me ya missed me.” 

“I literally almost died without you here,” you exaggerated, placing a hand on your chest. “How could you leave me like this? I thought we had something, Seb.” 

He amusingly rolls his eyes, huffing out a laugh, “Okay, a bit too much.” 

You giggle, plopping yourself on the couch. “Gotta admit it, I’m one of a kind.” 

“That you are, my love,” he breathes, kicking off his shoes before walking over to sit next to you. “What were you up to?” 

“This,” you say, pausing the television. Sebastian squints his eyes as he tries to decipher what you’re watching. “Peaky Blinders? What’s that about?” he asked, itching his chin. 

“Basically a gang during the 1920s. We had mafias here and in Birmingham, England they had gangsters. They’re real people and stories. Pretty cool stuff and I love.” You say, replaying the episode you were watching before Sebastian came home. 

 “Okay well, I’m gonna take a quick shower before dinner then,” Seb informs, kissing the top of your head. He stands, slipping off a black, white and blue leather jacket and drapes it over the armrest of the couch. With a bright grin, he scurries to the bedroom as his clothes fly off and land on the bed. 

Chuckling at his actions, your eyes are drawn to the jacket, causing you to involuntarily bite your lips as your mind go elsewhere other than something innocent. Earlier in the day, you were secretly stalking Sebastian online after he sent you a picture of the evening's look. Your jaws instantly dropped when you saw how mesmerizing your man looked and you just craved for him to be home, all to yourself. Plus you wanted to see more pictures of him because why not. He wasn’t going to send you more pictures since he, himself would be busy mingling with people. Sebastian styles were always on point yet severely sexy. Something about a man dressing that fine made you weak in the knees, your cheeks burning with admiration. It didn’t help that he had a buzz-cut and a new look to his scruff. And that was what surprised you the most.

You were even lucky to feel the difference at your core the night Sebastian came home with it. The memory alone was making your heat ache for more but...

You couldn’t help but wonder how that leather jacket would feel against your bare skin. And only bare skin, nothing else.  After a few seconds, you hear the shower running, pulling you out of your thoughts. Without another thought, you quickly bounce up and undress, kicking your heels off and wiggling out of your jeans and bodysuit. You grab the jacket, rubbing the fabric between your forefinger and thumb before wearing it. 

It was still warm and had his scent which clouded your senses. You spent so much time in your own world that you didn’t see Sebastian standing behind you with only his boxers, his jaw dropped and brows raised enough to hit the roof. 

“Baby,” Seb whispers in astonishment, swallowing thickly as his eyes roam all over your body. Gulping air, he feels heat rising up his entire body, bringing an electrifying burn of pleasure. 

You swore you heard his voice drop a few octaves, sending a satisfying chill down your spine. Slowly turning, you let the material slide off your shoulders just enough to show off your bare neck but enough to cover your breasts. You didn’t remove your panties, knowing if you did, you would have been touching yourself on the couch- catching Sebastian more off guard. 

“I think this looks great on me, don't you?” You purr, pressing your thighs together, your clit throbbing and aching for his touch. Sebastian lowers his gaze, growling as he notices your taut nipples pressing against the coat. His coat. 

Sebastian’s baffled, frozen with lust that no words escape his mouth. His eyes are black, jaw clenched as he fights the urge to grab his erected cock, which is very noticeable. Without a word, you walk up to him and drop to your knees, obeying a command that was never said but wanted. Carefully, you place your hand on his bulge, squeezing it firmly while your playful eyes stare up at Sebastian, burning into his. 

He releases a shaky breath, groaning quietly before he curses something in Romanian. You take this as a good sign, wrapping your hand around his thick shaft and pushing the tip into your mouth, giving it enough pressure to tease him. 

“Drăguț babygirl” Sebastian moans, his husky, deep tone hitting your heat like the stroke of his cock inside you. His hands go in your hair, gripping firmly as you continue your actions before pulling his cock out from your mouth. 

“You didn’t answer me, Seb. Do I look good with this on?” You ask firmly this time but with a tint of a sultry tone, pumping his cock faster as the foreskin glides over the precum, coating itself. Seb doesn’t speak, only grunts and moans spilling out of his mouth, making him lightheaded with ecstasy and passion. 

Pouting because he won’t answer you, you pull away and get back on your feet. “Seb I-”

“Get back down. Now.” He growls, roughly pushing your shoulders down and you comply, sitting back on your knees. Your core devilishly tingles more, the desire for him to be inside you increases. Sebastian grabs his cock by the base and pushes it past your lips, making you take him all. A wave of dominance washes over as he thrusts in your mouth, scrunching his face as the pleasure builds. 

You constantly moan in response, bringing a hand down to your clit as you circle the little bud of nerves, relieving somewhat of the tension. Your panties are soaked and you know he can smell your arousal, urging him on to violate your mouth. 

“You’re gonna take this fucking cock like a good girl, isn’t that right? Huh?” Seb grunts, fucking your mouth like there was no tomorrow. Your cunt pulsates for him and you wished the pain would go away. Or at least taken care of. 

Observing you, Sebastian smirks and pulls you off his length before yanking your arm toward the ottoman in the living room. He bends you over the furniture, being gentle not to hurt you and slides your panties off to the side, giving him a perfect view of your heat- soaked and trembling. 

“Fuck” You moan breathlessly, your eyes rolling when you feel the delicate fabric snap at its sides, the burn stinging with hunger.  As Sebastian’s thick cock is pushed inside of you, you bite your lips, horribly trying to suppress your pornographic moans. 

“Isn’t this what you wanted? Me to fuck you with that jacket on, hmm?” He sneers, grunting. Your heat hugs him perfectly and he can feel your climax near. 

You can’t possibly respond back as he fucks your brains out, rough and deep. Just the way you like it. Squeezing your eyes shut, you try to answer him but instead, you feel the leather jacket being ripped off your body before your chest is firmly pressed against the ottoman. Sebastian places both hands on your back, straightening his body and legs as he pumps his cock in and out. The stretch is too good that your mouth drops, a toxic pleasure drugging every nerve in your body, enough to make you want to weep by the way he’s pounding into you. 

As if time was on your side, you both come together but Sebastian pulls out and empties his seed onto your back, cursing incoherent words under his breath. You didn’t care that he wasn’t inside you because you were a trembling mess from your own release, completely ruined and worn out. A blissful cloud laid above you, taking you away in ecstasy. 

With a few more strokes, Seb squeezes the tip to make sure he’s got every last drop on you before falling to the ground and leaning against the couch, chuckling deeply. “Actually, my cum looks better on you than anything, dragă.” He pants, licking his lips as your eyes flutter open with butterflies roaming around in your stomach. You were shocked to hear him say this, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks once more. However, you'd be lying if you said you hadn’t liked it. To want more as the hungry escalates for his lust and love again. 

Not hearing a rebuttal, Sebastian leans in, allowing the tip of his nose to roam against your neck and trails his lips towards your own, tenderly kissing you and humming to the taste like sweet honey,  “So. Much. Better.” 

****

Tags will be in reblogs since they didn’t work last time ;’)

[deadlyaffairs]

I love you

This is part of my lil challenge, where I am challenging myself to write for seven days straight. Pray for me.

Prompt: We’re roommates and you make me so mad! But I love you.

Words: 2,089 (honestly didn’t feel like that)

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Fem!Reader, Roommates!AU, Musicians!AU

A/N: Inspired heavily by Burlesque, or well more importantly the friends-to-lovers, roommates with angst but ultimately fluff trope! That was long to write lol. Also, I know I said the second one-shot was coming out later today, but that was before the idea struck me and it kinda feels good to be caught up since technically I was already behind on my challenge. Hope this makes up for it and hope you ENJOY!

It was late at night when Ben awoke to the sound of the flat’s door being opened and gently shut. He had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for you but would never admit that.

Around mid-day, Ben is sitting at the island laptop opened and writing some lyrics. He looks up and smiles at you as you walk through after unlocking the door. “You got home pretty late. Quite unusual.” He says taking his bottom lip between his fingers guarding his face.

You glance at him, your body heating up in embarrassment. Your heart beating rapidly as suddenly the feelings you’ve been having for Ben begin to surface. “Oh yeah, sorry, I-I well I sort of met up with that one guy... Landon. The one who's been coming into the club lately.”

“Landon that prick?”

You watched Ben fight to look at you longer than necessary. You looked at your feet in light sadness. However, your eyes were ready to bug out of their sockets when you remembered the flashy shoes Landon had left you at rehearsal.

When you looked up, Ben was typing at the computer, trying to put you at the back of his mind. You squared your shoulders suddenly angry at his comment and dropped your keys onto the key foyer and practically stomp to your bedroom.

“New shoes?” Ben asks just as your about to shut your door. You look back at him. His eyes are still trained on screen and his fingers are still moving. But you hear the word he mutters. “Classy...”

At that, you feel your blood boil, and your chest is rising and now your body is filled with anger. You huff and slam the door hard enough to resonate against the wall it was on but, not hard to cause a disturbance.

A few days later, you’ve still been ignoring Ben. It’s been four days of silence from your end that Ben is angry at you being angry at him.

“You know ‘s only one reason why reason a bloke buys women shoes ya?”

You glare at him as you shut your bedroom door. You walk out in a small number you only bring out to really make some people mad. The v-line plunged down to highlight the valley of your chest, your skin was practically glowing in the faint light of the flat’s terrible lighting. The dress was tight-fitting and stopped a little higher on the thigh. The silk material was silver and the flashy shoes you were given tied together beautifully.

“So what if I’m getting a little male attention?”

“It’s a bit more than a little ya?”

“Not from anyone that matters.” You mutter not looking back to gauge his reaction. You’ve said what you’ve said, there was no taking it back or fixing it.

For Ben, it was a blatant jab at him. At his feelings. They had both been playing a game of cat and mouse. Not knowing they spent too much time switching between the two to realize neither were getting any catching done.

The two of you spent more days ignoring each other. Staying in your room or Ben staying in his. Avoiding each other around the rest of the flat. You decided to start spending your days with Landon, getting to know him, doing things like going out to eat, watching movies. You liked going out, but you couldn’t help but feel hollow inside your chest because at every moment you could, you spent it picturing Ben. Doing these things with you and not Landon.

The next night you get home late, all the lights except the kitchen one are off. You furrow your brows and walk inside. You see no faint glow of light under Ben’s bedroom door and sigh, biting your lip you go to your room, you undress and get ready for bed.

A few hours later you woke up to noises that sounded blurred with the door shut, but you knew better. Ben was doing it on purpose, pressing the highest setting of the blender. You groan and rise out of your warm bed, feeding exactly into what he wanted, to rile you up. 

“Ben... Ben... Ben... Jones!” You say over the noise of the blender. Ben is making what appears to be one of his many shakes. He stops only when you call him Jones because He can’t help but love that you’re one of few who actually still call him by his last name, his real one.

“Goodmorning love, sleep well? Shake?”

“No... a little peace and quiet would be lovely.”

Ben presses the blender, giving an unspoken reply. You squint your eyes at him.

“Really now?” You go to ask but Ben again presses the button on the blender the noise returning. You purse your lips and turn around ready to go back to ignoring him, you’ve taken three steps but face him once more “Christ Ben! What is your problem? You’re acting like a fucking prick!”

“It’s not just me ya? You know at the club, we’re like a family, we look out for each other.”

“Right, like Lucy and Rami, Joe.”

“Ya? What about Landon eh? He looks out for you? y/n? He can make things happen for you.”

“He’s a good man, a smart one at that. He goes for what he wants.”

“In the end, it’s about the choices you make love,” Ben says as he stands in front of you, shake long forgotten. He stares you down for a moment before walking off towards his bedroom.

“Oh that’s genius, you’re a bartender/ drummer who writes songs that are never ready.” You say without really wanting to but angry at him for coming at you the way he has. 

Ben slowly stops and turns to you, “Alright, I see then.” He shuts the door behind him and you exhale deeply, shutting your eyes.

Ben and you ignore each other. It doesn’t last long, a day and a half. But it was enough to get your skin to crawl, what you had to say constantly eating at you.  Naisa, a girl from the club where Ben and you worked was getting married and you both had been invited, Ben wasn’t wrong, at the club you all were like family.

You wore a simple red dress, it was long sleeve but was off the shoulder. It stopped right above the knee and you paired it with your tan heels. The makeup was simple, you never truly cared to get doll up yourself, but heavy makeup came with the job. You wore a similar shade of red on your lips.

You arrived later than Ben, he was home for the first part of you getting ready but when you walked out completely finished he was gone, had he been for long? You didn’t know.

At the reception for the wedding you tried to look for the blond but to no prevail. You had caught him briefly at the ceremony. He sat a few rows in front of you. You about given up trying to find him when you reached the bar. 

“A shot of tequila please.”

“Two please.”

You glanced at your side and saw Ben, who was clearly already feeling a little bit drunk.

“Looking lonely there Ben.” You say

“Liberated, questionable. Libated, definitely. Lonely? No, not lonely. Never lonely. Cheers” Ben says smoothly.

Your chest pings at that, was that supposed to hurt as much as it did? Was that meant for you? You scoff and faced away from him.

“Clink!” Ben says and downs the shot. You fight the giggle that makes its way out, downing your own shot.

Ben nudges you and is suddenly in your space. “Love are you still mad at me? Cus..” He slurs just a bit before picking himself back up. Completely in your face now, which you're sure is red from how hot it feels. “Cus if you are... bring it on baby.”

“Are you drunk?” You ask even though you know the answer. You want him to realize how drunk he is acting.

Just as you ask the DJ plays Bruno Mars’ Calling All My Lovelies. “I love this song!” Ben shouts standing and giving the DJ and look.  You walk away since he is not paying attention to you anymore.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ben says as he grips your arm pulling your body back into his. To stop yourself from hitting him too hard you put your hand to his chest as you’re pulled back into him. You can feel his body warmth and remove your hand.

He has his arm under yours and his free hand grabs the one you’ve lowered. “I need to apologize to you.”

“What for.”

He gives you a look, and even now it still takes your breath away, how he can simply look that good? How can he make your blood boil, but get you weak in the knees?

“For being a prick.”

“You were.”

“I was.”

“Mm-hm.”

He smiles at you but it falters just slightly before he asks “Why are you here alone?”

You look up at him, his eyes the brightest green you’ve ever seen. You step just a little closer to him. “Do I look alone to you?”

His smile slowly makes its back to his features before he dips you, changing the mood drastically. Later that night you two are stumbling through your flat. The reception and day over with. You fall onto the couch and kick your feet up.

“My feet are killing me! Please take off these shoes Ben.”

He follows you to the couch and yanks at the heel. You laugh as he fumbles with one. “I got it, oh whoa, whoa, aha!” He says once they’re both off.

Your laughter dies down after the good show you received. You look up at him, you hope your eyes are saying everything you can’t bring yourself to say. Ben too, watches you, he’s standing over you and from this angle he can’t stop picturing you underneath.

“Good night.”

“Night.”

Ben walks to his bedroom, shutting the door. You sigh and sit on the couch for a bit. You rub your neck as you try to stop your thought from going back to Ben. However, your thoughts are cut short when Ben’s door opens and he stands there in a blue sheep pajama set. You laugh at it.

“Cute.”

“Mum got em, thank you.” He walks out to the front door. Locking it. He turns to you “Forgot to lock the door.”

You nod. “Got it?”

The lock makes a noise as he twists it once again, Ben’s green eyes find yours and you want to do nothing more but dive into them. “Good,” he says. He walks to his bedroom, pauses and looks at you, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Ben shuts his door and you barely had time to blink before it is ripped open with his shirt gone. “Back again?” You ask with a smile.

“Water... don’t need a nasty hangover in the morning.”

“Right.”

Ben walks to his room once more, he stands in the doorway looking at you. “Good night, again.” He smiles, shutting his door.

“Night... again,” you say to yourself and begin taking your jewelry off. You've turned away from Ben’s door, not being able to see.

It’s opened once more and you laugh quietly to yourself not bothering to look at him, continuing with tugging the jewelry off.

“I think I’m hungry. Yeah... I’m a bit famished.” He walks past the couch to the kitchen and you have to look twice to make sure you saw what you did. His bare ass. You cover your face as laughter rakes through your body.

“Jones!” you peek through your fingers, “Your! It’s...”

He holds out a box of cookies, “What is so funny?” He moves away from the island looking down and using the box to cover his manhood. “Oh, well, I never.” He says in his best southern American accent. 

You continue to laugh, shielding your eyes but also giving in and opening your eyes a few times. He walks over to the couch. He stands over you for a moment. “Want a cookie?” He says normally as he shakes the box, his body is red which tells you he is nervous. You bite your lip, almost taking the bait. He shrugs and walks off. 

“No? Well if you change your mind... you know where they are.” He sends you a wink before shutting the door with his leg and one hand.

You watch and watch. The door remaining shut longer than you hoped. His light also turns off. The smile leaves your face and you begin to grab your things, ready to head to your bedroom. The door to Ben’s door opens slower this time and you look up, not shielding your eyes because let's face it, you knew him too well.

He walks out of his bedroom and he’s dressed in his usual sleep attire. Sweats and no shirt. You chew your bottom lip and you open your mouth to say something but he stops you with his lips. The kiss feels like it was always meant to. A secret told... a promise kept. It was slow, everything felt like it went slowly when the skin of his lips melded against yours.

Ben pulls away and you’re both silent, breathing, tired of waiting. The kiss ignites something in the two of you.

“I love you.” You say and although Ben curses himself for not saying it first, he doesn’t stop himself from saying it back.

“I love you too.”

TAGLIST:  @fallingprincess​

LOVE YOU <3

[zankivich]

The First Time: Werewolf Shawn! x Black Reader

a/n: So hear me out...I really fucks with this. If you don’t that’s unfortunate. It takes place in the In My Blood universe but could definitely be read as a stand alone piece. I kind of love these characters so I might write more for them in the future? Let me know if that’s something you’d like to see! 

Warnings: Smut. Just smut. And a little bit more smut. 

Getting Shawn into bed is actually the hardest thing in the world. Even after you accept the fact that your boyfriend turns into a wolf that is in charge of over wolves and they all can hear each other’s thought and run like fucking wolves together, this man still has the audacity to keep you waiting. And in the kindest way humanly possible...you just could not take it anymore.

It’s another night of you staying over at Shawn’s. He had cooked you dinner. Had watched netflix with you on the couch and ran his fingers through your hair. He even let you move your way into his lap, lips trailing up and down his neck. But, once again, the second your hips began to move in interest, he locked those obnoxious arms of his around your waist to stop you. Ugh.

“Baby.” He whined peering up at you with those beautiful eyes of his. “You have no idea how hard you’re making things.”

You snorted. “I do know how hard I’m making things. What I’m confused about is why you’re not doing anything about it.”

“You know why.” He sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He was beginning to sound like  a broken record.

“No. Stop that shit. Stop saying you’re going to hurt me. You’re not. You couldn’t. You would never hurt me. You’re my mate, right?”

“But sweetheart--”

“Right?” You pressed. “Would you ever hurt me Shawn?”

His eyes turned a deeper more amber version of the honey you knew so well. You’d begun to recognize it as his wolf response to being challenged, or hearing anything that his alpha self didn’t like. White boys are so dramatic.

“Of course not. Never.”

“Exactly. So, why don’t you just come make me feel good then?” You whispered grabbing his chin between your fingers and kissing him roughly.

You held his cheek in your hand, fingers melding to his warm flesh as your tongue nestled into his mouth. He groaned against your lips and let you do as you pleased for a moment. Your body began to heat up as he kissed you back, as his teeth nipped harshly against your lip. It was bruising and passionate and heated, which only made you want more. You just wanted more of him.

“I promise to repay the favor.” You whimpered fingers resting in his hair.

His arms around your waist tightened until he was gripping more harshly on your hips. Finally he was matching your kiss with the hunger that you always felt beneath the surface. This is what you’d been wanting for so long. When you were mates with someone there was an impulsive need to take care of them, to please them. It was instinct that you had been fighting damn near since you met him, and one that you were quite frankly tired of neglecting.

“Please? I need you.”

One second, you can feel his heartbeat through his t-shirt, can practically feel the tension in his body as he’s kissing you. It’s the same as always. He’s building you up, making your heart race increase, and touching your body in ways that only teases you. The next you are actually flying through the air as he throws you over his shoulder and heads for the stairs.

“Shawn!” You giggled. “Put me down!”

“Can’t take you anywhere.” He grunted heading straight for his room. “You’ll be the death of me, you know that?”

You slapped playfully at his ass.

“Once you go black, you never go back, baby!”

“You’re such a dork!”

He lets your body fall with a slight bounce to the bed before crawling right in after you. His thighs bracket your hips and his eyes, honey and golden as ever, peer at you like he could pull back every layer until he got to your soul. You didn’t want to just be intimate with him, you wanted to feel him in a way you never had before. You wanted to share everything that you were, every part of your being with him. He was Shawn. He was your mate. You needed him in the exact same way he needed you.

“I love you so much.” He hummed thumb running softly along your bottom lip.

You parted your lips, nipping playfully at the digit before letting your tongue snake around it.

“God. You’re gonna destroy me aren’t you?”

You shook your head. “No. Just gonna love you a little bit. Just want to touch you is all.”

“Jesus...C’mere.”

His lips find yours again and it’s immediately back to the level of passion from downstairs. You worm your arms around his neck and he props your legs around his back. Things shift when his hips start to press against yours in interest. Shawn had always been so reserved that you weren’t ready for the feeling of him rutting against you, or the feeling that it would stir within you either. Your thighs tightened around him and a moan was stifled by his mouth  as you tried desperately to feel more of him. It was all about more. You had never felt anything like it in your life.

“You’ve gotta get these clothes off.” He huffed pulling back just enough to tug at your t-shirt.

He made quick work of your bra, warm calloused hands reaching for the underwear you’d worn underneath them. His eyes bore into yours, the color much darker than before. Almost amber. You had never seen his eyes that shade before and you quickly got lost in them. So, when the ripping sound came you barely noticed until your underwear was in your boyfriend's hands in complete tatters.

“Holy shit.”

“I told you.” He grunted pulling his t-shirt over his head in one smooth motion.

He hovered over your body, abs poised and veins prominent beneath his arms. He looked absolutely ridiculous. And you loved every single moment of it. When his sweats come off and he’s tugging at those boxer briefs, you don’t dare to blink just in case he changes his mind. Just in case he takes it all back. When he wraps his fist around himself because he’s already hard, you get the sense that this time is different. Way. Different.

“I’ve wanted to touch you for so long.” He murmured, voice husky

You tilted your hips slightly up as an open invitation.

“Now’s your chance.”

When he manhandles your legs open and slots his head between your thighs, it’s a new level of drunkness in your veins. His curls tickle and his tongue is warm and languid. It’s like he’s mapping you out from the inside, exploring everything you have to offer. And god it feels so good. You’re whining like you’ve ever whined before, and your hips won’t stay still. He laps at your clit and it feels excellent. You’re thoroughly convinced that it can’t get better. And then he wraps his arms around your hips from underneath your thighs and threads his fingers together against your stomach as he begins to suck hard and tight in a way you’ve never felt before. His arms are like iron bars. There’s no movement, no breaking his grasp. You absolutely lose it.

“Oh my fucking god!”

His head bumps rhythmically against your stomach as he eats you out like it’s the only thing he was put on earth to do. Your entire body tenses and you tug desperately at his curls, but he only slurps harder. His tongue becomes pointed and he quickly starts laving against the most sensitive part of your being. You don’t even know when your orgasm starts because it feels like you’ve been shattering ever since he touched you.

“Shawn. Shawn. P--Please baby I’m gonna cum!”

If you had a brain cell left in the world you would’ve laughed at yourself for how embarrassingly high--and loud--you were but holy shit. This was not some normal fucking. This was some sci-fi, my boyfriend’s a werewolf which apparently translates to having the best tongue game in existence type fucking. How dare he.

When he pulls his head back finally your thighs twitch anxiously without him. Your body is wracked with pleasure, and you’ve never been so turned on in your life. It doesn’t help that he’s staring down at you with those fucking eyes and those swollen lips like a GQ cover titled “I can eat your girlfriend’s pussy better than you”.

“You smell so good.” He groaned large hands grasping at your thighs to pull you back closer to him. “And you taste...damn baby, you taste so good.”

You whined softly, still sensitive as he ran his thumb through your wet folds.

“If i hadn’t just came my brains out, I’d break up with you for making me wait so long for that.”

He chuckled moving smoothly onto his arms so that he was over on top of you again. Your eyes locked and he kissed you gently, in a way that was so drastically different from just moments before. He licked deep into your mouth, cradling your head in his too big palm. It was maybe the most loving kiss you’d ever shared, and it kind of gave you whiplash. But, like, the best whisplash ever. Your toes curled against his thighs and your stomach felt so full of butterflies. You’d never felt so loved than when he was kissing you like that.

He moved to pressing staccato like kisses to your cheeks and down to your neck and clavicle, kisses beginning to linger until he was sucking into the flesh.

“Y/n?” He whispered after he’d sucked a mark into your neck below your ear.

“Y--Yea?”

“I’m gonna wreck you.”

There are some moments in life where one most come to terms with their unpreparedness. Perhaps you thought you studied well enough for a test only to look at the first question and realize the error of your ways. Perhaps you got a job that you were slightly underqualified for, and had to pick up the slack. Or, perhaps you had just wanted to make love with your boyfriend, only to find that he had every intention of leaving you bed ridden. When you peered up into Shawn’s eyes as he sheathed himself with a condom, there wasn’t a doubt in your mind. The alpha was out to play. And you were surely about to get more than you could have ever dreamed of asking for.

When your bodies lock together it’s another new feeling. You’d been with plenty of partners in the past, but this was something entirely different. Mated love making was supposed to be more intense because you were in a sense bonded to each other. He was made for you. And you him. It was like one of those thousand puzzle piece sets, with the two most satisfying pieces coming together with ease. He filled you and it was the most erotic feeling you had ever come across. You felt full, felt like he was reaching something in you that had gone untouched. Your back arched involuntarily and you released a sound that had him panting against your collarbone. It had barely started and you already felt gone.  

“Fuck. How do you feel this good?” He whined.

You groaned nails digging into his hips.

“So good, baby. Please move. I need it.”

“You need it?” He whispered eyes peering down at your lips.

You nodded trying to peer up at him with innocence as you twitched your muscles purposely.

“Need all of it.”

“Jesus, y/n.”

He pushed closer, the back of your thighs meeting the front of his. Your legs fit perfectly over his shoulders and he reached for the headboard as his hips began to move slowly at first, searching and stretching you. It was as if he could feel how you were feeling, because the moment you grew accustomed to him inside you, he was pulling out and slamming back in like fucking freight train.

“Holy shit!”

He fucked you like he owned you. His hips were rugged and quick, slapping so roughly against you that you couldn’t tell what was up and what was down. A fine sheet of sweat took over both your bodies and you could smell him. God you could smell him and it only turned you on even more. It wasn’t just that he was moving fast, but that he moved so incredibly deep within you too. He shifted his hips again and again until he touched a spot that had your back arching clean up off the bed.

“Oh my god, Shawn!”

“Is it there?” He grunted not letting up even remotely. “Right here?”

“Y--Yea! Holy shit, yes!”

He pulled back off the headboard one hand gripping your thigh and the other gripping your waist as he shuffled to rut against the spot insight you that would have you bursting for him like an overripe fruit on a hot summer day. When you came it was like a wave that drifted aimlessly back before crashing on top of you all at once. Your hands pushed at his wrists, but it was useless. He kept fucking you through it until you came again, one right on top of the other. His strokes only got  louder, more wet and squelching as your legs shook.

“Fucking look at you.” He hummed grabbing your waist tighter. “You’re so beautiful, baby.”

He slid out of you and let your legs drop to the bed allowing you to breathe for perhaps the first time since you’d entered the bedroom.

“Holy shit, Shawn.” You gasped voice high,  grabbing at your boobs just so you could feel rooted to the planet again.

He chuckled. “You’ve said that before...Flip over. I’m not done yet.”

Holy. Shit.

“Don’t you think doggy style is a little cliche in this scenario?” You asked in a desperate attempt to find some footing in this situation.

He ran his fingers along your ankle and licked at his lips.

“I could flip you over myself. I was just giving you the opportunity to do it yourself, sweetheart.”

You barely recognized him in this state. Mostly because Shawn was always sweet as sugar to you. His alpha side had always been reserved for the pack. He had never ordered you before. This was certainly new. And most definitely the hottest thing you’d ever experienced. Wow.

“Lay on your side.” He directed as you began to shift.

You raised an eyebrow and peered back at him, but he simply tapped lovingly at your thigh.

“Trust me. You’ll love it.”

You did as he asked, biting your lip as he immediately shuffled forward on his knees and raised your leg over his shoulder again.

“Is there some kind of wild sex demon gene in the werewolf genome that I don’t know about?”

He snorted and reached for his length easing slowly back into you and stretching you with you a groan.

“Nothing genetically. Just want to please you.” He whispered pushing deep into you. “Can I please you, baby girl?”

“Yes. You. Can.”

His palm lands on your ass and he uses it for leverage to begin moving inside you. It really is different, in that this position allows him to get deep and stay deep and it’s absolutely incredible. Your toes curls against his shoulder and he only moves harder until he’s not even pulling out anymore, he’s just rutting against you again. Your eyes flutter close and your fingers dig desperately into the sheets. It feels like you might explode already.

“Goddammit Shawn. That’s so fucking deep.” You whined. “I can’t, baby.”

“You can. You’re doing so good, honey. Feel so good around me. Wanna make you cum again, okay?”

The bed is rocking. You can’t grab hold of anything that will make you feel less like your body is floating. And now he’s gripping your hips with those fucking arms and drilling into you again, hips snapping against your heat, grunts leaving his lips that are animalistic and hungry. You’ve never felt so gone. You can’t keep it in so you reach for a pillow to stifle your moans--or screams, but who’s keeping track--only for him to reach over and snatch it from you.

“Don’t do that.” He whined, voice soft and breathy. “I wanna hear you when you cum for me.”

His curls are damp with sweat and he pushes them back on his forehead before licking at his fingers to get them wet. He reached between your legs to angle at your clit, all the while fucking you into the bed without mercy. The last thing you remembered was him biting into your ankle. It was the most weirdly possessive thing you’d ever experienced, and for whatever reason--in conjunction with the clitoral and vaginal stimulation--it had you cumming like a water faucet.

Your hips thrashed beneath his hold and his goal of being able to hear you was dutifully reached as anyone within a quarter mile probably heard you cry out. It felt so incredibly good. Your orgasm was this long, drawn out moment of indescribable pleasure. Your body was hot and you couldn’t quite breathe. Whatever he was doing to you was a completely foreign experience, and you were reveling in every new height that you reached together.

“Fuck.” you groaned as he left your body to plop down beside you.

You were an absolute wreck panting and gasping like you’d just run a 5k. Shawn peered over at you with a smirk watching the way that your chest rose and fell. Something about it must have been erotic to him, because before you knew it he was leaning over to grip your boobs firmly in his hands, tongue tracing one of your nipples playfully.

“Babe--Babe you gotta stop...I--I can’t.” You begged.

He pressed his sweaty curls against your neck and hummed.

“I’m sorry I just...God I want you.”

You moaned at his words and ran your fingers through his hair.

“How have you not cum yet?” You groaned.

“I was built to please you.” He whispered. “I’m your alpha. Your mate. I wasn’t focusing on my pleasure; I was focusing on yours.”

You peered down at him, his face still hidden in your neck as goosebumps appeared all over your body. He was built for you. That was the most fulfilling thing you could ever think of. To know that as much as you could ever love him, as much as you could ever want him, he would always give it right back to you. It was the type of love you’d never even thought to wish for, and yet it had plopped right in your lap. And you never wanted to let it go.

You tugged softly at his curls until his eyes met yours and you could kiss him with all of the love and the wonderment that he had shown you that night and every night that you were together. His cheeks so warm and rosy in your palms. His tongue, soft and pliant in your mouth. Everything about him was perfect. And all that you do was yearn to please him in the same way.

“One more time.”

His eyes widened slightly and he ran his thumb soothingly along your jaw.

“You sure? We can be done, baby. I can take care of myself.”

You shook your head stubbornly. “C’mere.”

He slid between your legs once again, the blankets pulled up around the both of you to hide where your legs were nestling around your hips. He kept your lips attached as you worked through the stretch of him filling you once again. You were just the right side of sore and you grabbed aimlessly for his ass to pull him deeper against you with purpose. Your thighs tightened and your pelvic muscles tightened and he cried out for you like you’d been crying out for him all night long. His hands turned to fists in the sheets and you couldn’t help but watch him in amazement as he finally lost his cool for the first time.

“F--Fuck. Baby, please.” He grunted, jaw tight with tension.

You swirled your hips and grinded tighter against him.

“Don’t hold back for me. Just want you to cum.”

He pulled back just enough to make eye contact with you. His arms settled on either side of your head and he pulled out just enough to have your back arching as he pushed back in. The eye contact now was stifling, your stomach tightening every time he moaned against your lips. You wormed your arms around his neck and met his hips thrust after thrust. His eyes got visibly darker and his grunt got lower, all of that coordination and skill from the nightly completely falling apart as he lost himself in his own pleasure. It was fucking beautiful to watch. And it meant that when he cried out for you, when he reached his own climax, you were there with him even then, without a clue as to how he’s managed to bring you to an orgasm one last final time.

You collapsed there, sheets still damp and skin shiny with sweat. He rooted you to the bed with all of his weight and you stayed just like that. Deeply intertwined. Almost as if you’d become one.

It was everything you had imagined. And then some.

[hotforharrison]

Heart’s Desires ch 1

Series Masterlist --> Chapter 2

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield/Reader

Summary: In a desperate moment, you make Harrison an offer he can’t refuse.

Word Count: 2,239

Warnings: Language and sexual content that is not actually smut.

A/N: It was supposed to be a oneshot, inspired by a dream I had. That obviously didn’t happen. It has been upgraded from oneshot to a mini-series.

Seeing the world had always been on your bucket list, but you’d never made it farther than a couple of states over. Time, and your youth, were passing by at an alarming rate. You knew your life needed to change, and soon, while you still had the chance to enjoy it.

You’d been browsing your options for a change online for a few months. Nothing struck you as something you could see yourself doing, temporarily or permanently. You toyed with the idea of teaching English internationally, but you didn’t want to be completely alone across the world from everything and everyone you knew.

When an online friend from London brought up that her company was opening a new location near her and hiring over 100 people in your field, you jumped at the chance to apply. You wouldn’t be alone, and you wouldn’t have to worry about not speaking the local language.

You assumed there would be thousands of more qualified, more local applicants and didn’t expect anything to come of it. However, after a lengthy interview process, they hired you with a start date in four months, after the facility was opened. You’d never been more excited, and simultaneously overwhelmed.

Your life quickly started to drastically change. A few very busy months later that included packing up what you could of your life and moving it across the Atlantic Ocean, you were settling into your new apartment with your online friend turned roommate. She was fortunately as lovely as she had been online, and it looked like she would be a great roommate.

You gave yourself two full weeks to relax and sightsee before you started your new job and day-to-day living in London. Things were definitely looking up for you.

London was really a beautiful city, and you thoroughly enjoyed exploring, both with your roommate and alone. After an enjoyable afternoon perusing the Camden Market by yourself, you were waiting in line at a Starbucks, mostly for the familiarity. There were no decisions there. You already knew your Starbucks order by heart.

The person standing behind you bumped into you hard, almost making you fall. You immediately turned around to see who it was, and if they were hurt, when you saw him. He looked exactly like Harrison Osterfield. “Oh my god.”

“Sorry, love, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” he told you, looking at you with striking blue eyes.

He also sounded like Harrison, from his Instagram stories and YouTube videos. Your mouth dropped open, and you were having trouble forming words. Could it really be him? He did live in London after all.

“Everything alright?” he asked, concern evident across his face. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, I just… you look like someone,” you eventually said, rather than outright ask.

He seemed amused. “And who do I look like?”

“Uh, Harrison Osterfield? You’ve probably never heard of him. Sadly, most people haven’t, which is really a shame,” you responded.

“That might be because I am Harrison Osterfield,” he commented.

“Holy shit,” you mumbled. “This is probably, I mean I was wondering.” You paused and took a deep breath. “Would you like to hang out with me sometime? Don’t feel obligated or anything. I mean I’m some random girl from Starbucks who you know absolutely nothing about, and I, uh, yeah, I probably shouldn’t have opened my mouth, but I can’t take that back, and now here we are.”

“You mean like a date?” he asked, cocking his head.

“Yes? That is, if you’d be interested at all, and if you’re not seeing anyone. I wouldn’t want to step on any toes,” you quickly added, feeling your face blushing deeply. “God, I’m really bad at this.”

He chuckled. “I’m not seeing anyone, and don’t worry, it’s endearing. I don’t mind cute girls getting flustered over me. Anyway, I’m free for the rest of the day. You’re obviously not from around here. Have you been to the British Museum yet?”

You were surprised he said you were ‘cute,’ considering all the gorgeous girls he probably sees daily and has a chance with. You were completely shocked that he agreed to spend time with you, on an actual date, in his own words.

“You’re right. I’m definitely not from around here. I actually just moved to London a few days ago. The British Museum was on my sightseeing list before I start my new job,” you told him.

He smiled at you brightly. “Looks like we have a date, then!”

-----

You’d spent the last 45 minutes walking around the British Museum and looking at exhibits. It was a great museum. The exhibits were interesting, but Harrison was distracting you from fully appreciating them because you’d been crushing on him for ages, and you were actually on a date with him.

You occasionally chatted quietly with him between exhibits, which was pleasant enough. You would’ve liked to talk more, but you were feeling rather awkward. Regardless of the unbeatable company you were in, you were kind of bored and really wanted to be somewhere else with him. He seemed to be bored, too, but too nice to say anything.

You had a sinking feeling that your once in a lifetime date wasn’t going to end with plans for a repeat performance, or an invite back home for the night, and god, you wanted that invite, more than just about anything.

Since he hadn’t, you decided to bring it up. “I hate to ask, but are you having fun?”

He turned to look at you. “Honestly?”

You nodded.

“Not really. I’m sorry, love,” he told you, moving a hand to your arm to squeeze it comfortingly.

“Before you go, I very much don’t want this to be over yet, and, well...” You swallowed heavily and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “what if I told you after we leave here that you could do anything, and I mean anything, to me that your heart desires?”

“Really now?” He smirked. “My opinion could be swayed. You have absolutely no idea what you just agreed to.”

“But I take it I’m going to find out?” you guessed, hopeful that your time with him wasn’t coming to an end.

“Very soon.” His fingers trailed their way to your hand and ran across your palm teasingly, sending a wave of tingling down your arm and intensifying the dull ache that had been between your thighs since you met him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

You followed him silently, wondering what you’d gotten yourself into, simultaneously excited and nervous. Your mission was accomplished, though. Your date wasn’t over, hopefully not by a long shot, and you got that invite back home.

And, really, what could he be into that was that scary? Online he seemed to be nothing but a sweetheart, and there had been nothing in person that had indicated anything different.

----

Harrison took you to a large brownstone house well away from the hustle and bustle of downtown London. He descended the steps at the side of the house until he reached the entrance to what you assumed was a basement apartment. He fumbled through the keys on his keyring before he found the one he was looking for and unlocked the door, ushering you inside.

The apartment was rather barren and looked barely used. Maybe he was just away a lot? “Not to judge or anything, but I expected your place to be more...homey.”

“It is,” he said. “This isn’t where I live.”

“Oh, so you just take girls here...for privacy?” you guessed.

“Sort of. You’ll see.” He led you by the hand down a hallway to a room, opening the door and turning on the light.

The room was quite large and had a variety of furniture that you could place as something used in BDSM. It wasn’t anything you were familiar with. You hadn’t even read Fifty Shades of Grey or seen any of the movies when they came out. Now, you kind of wished you had.

The only thing you could definitely identify was a four-poster against the far wall, metal slats across the top and some restraints hanging on the side. It had no bedding, only a fitted sheet and pillows. The corners had restraints attached. That seemed pretty straightforward. The rest, not so much.

“Go ahead, look around,” he encouraged.

“I’m not sure what I’m looking at, to be honest,” you told him.

“I can take you on a tour, and then you can let me know what you think. We’ll start with something basic.” He led you to a black padded bench that looked kind of like a saw horse with two small attachments for what you assumed were knees and arms. The top had a half circle shaped, more heavily padded neck rest. “That’s a bondage bench. I use it to position and restrain a sub for spanking, or fucking, or whatever else I’m in the mood for.”

“Okay,” you said quietly. That didn’t sound particularly terrifying. Not really anything you’d fantasized about in the past, but you weren’t opposed.

You glanced over at the second nearest piece of furniture. There was a swing hanging from the ceiling near it with a larger piece of leather, what looked to be support straps at its sides, and four cuffs attached by a chain at each corner.

“That’s a sex sling. It’s easier to move a sub around and eat her, or fuck her, or play with her mid-air,” he explained.

“Okay,” you repeated. That also didn’t sound scary, as long as the sling was securely attached to the ceiling, and it seemed to be.

“Anything you’re particularly curious about?” he asked.

You looked at a metal device that was I-shaped with a long bar coming from the front, ending in a circle. The other end had a shorter bar attached to a machine with a thin metal rod protruding from it. “What’s that?”

He chuckled. “That of all things? That’s the slave driver. It’s a fucking machine with restraints. Your neck goes there.” He pointed at the circle. “Your wrists and ankles are restrained at either end with cuffs. And a toy fitted for the machine attaches to this.” He gestured at the thin metal rod. “I can show you the attachments, if you like.”

That was more overwhelming, and sounded like it would be embarrassing, but it didn’t make you want to run away. You took that as a positive.

You followed him as he walked over to a set of drawers near the bed and opened a middle drawer, urging you to come closer. “There’s several different sizes of dildos, a couple of double penetrating dildos, and some plugs.”

You looked at them, some startlingly large. Your experience with sex toys was rather limited, but you weren’t turned off by it. You picked up the smallest dildo and ran your fingers over the soft silicone for a few moments, enjoying the feel of the material against your skin, then put it back in its place.

“So, after a small preview, are you scared?” he asked.

“I’m...nervous, but curious,” you replied, before adding, “and still really, really turned on. That might be more you than the things in this room, though.”

He chuckled. “So you’ve never done anything kinky before?”

You shook your head. “God, this is embarrassing, but I’ll be honest. I can count the number of sexual experiences I’ve had with other people on one hand, and the most adventurous out of all of them was trying to have sex in the backseat of a car. Keyword ‘trying.’ It didn’t really work.”

“Poor girl, so neglected. If you want, I can change that. I promise that I’d take such good care of you. Only the best for my subs,” he promised. “And don’t be embarrassed. I have an innocence kink, and you don’t even have to pretend to be innocent. Works out well for both of us.”

You swallowed heavily, not entirely sure what you were getting yourself into, but your arousal hadn’t ebbed the tiniest bit in the face of all the possibilities. “I think I’d like to at least try, but I’ll leave what I’m trying up to you.”

He grinned. “That’s the answer I was hoping for. I like options and giving them to my subs, or potential subs in the case of you. Would you like to jump right in and play in here right now, or get to know me a bit better and maybe try some tamer things first in the actual bedroom where I take my partners to sleep? With your lack of experience, it’d be less intimidating. I really don’t get off on making my subs afraid.”

You considered your options. “I think I’d like the actual bedroom first. It’s, well, it’s been a while, and I don’t want it to be too much, in the bad way.”

“We can do that. So, you want me to ease you in gently?” he asked.

“Please,” you confirmed.

He took your hand in his and squeezed it. “It will be my pleasure, pretty girl. Are you ready to go to the bedroom, or do you want to look around more in here?”

Your desperation for him made that easy. “Definitely the bedroom.”

The promise of what was to come sent a shiver of anticipation through you.

Tag list:

@bewitched-haz​ @adayasgeorgia​ @moorehollandplz​ @thollandss​@dasexydevitt13 @imagine-lovebug​ @robbinholland​ @strang-ersclub​ @hollandisapuppy​ @goldenpeaxh​ @legendsofwholock​ @superheroesaremytea​ @tomblrholland @niiight-dreamerrrr​ @spidermanffh3000​ @devildisguiseasangel @theyy-lovemo​ @eeyore101247​ @angelhaz11​ @i-love-scott-mccall​ @jinx4karma​ @definitely-not-black-cat​ @lizzyosterfield​ @screamsbytom​

[euphoricethan]

Just Like Railroads - E.D (au)

Summary: Rome. Passionate and hardworking. Always seeing the best in people regardless how many mistakes they’ve made, caring and not disobedient. She’s the whole package deal. There isn’t one thing she can’t do. But when love comes her way, it doesn’t fit right in the palm of her hand.

Word count: 2k.

The Library.

It was never inevitable to her. She knew how to control it, and she also knew there wasn’t a single person that could change her mind.

Romaine. Rome. Nineteen and attending her second year of college at UCLA, living in a small apartment alone, --along side her cat Frankenstein-- watched soap operas and read when she didn’t feel like staring at her television any longer. She often wore comfy clothes (jeans if she was feeling spicy) like leggings and cardigans, big sweaters, etc. Although it was rarely cold enough for her to be wearing her preferred style in the warmer months, the library she worked at was always freezing.

In California, it is a cliché for every girl in the city of Los Angeles to be blonde, skinny, and beautiful. Rome broke all those stereotypes from the day she was born in Good Samaritan Hospital almost Nineteen years ago. 

She wasn’t blonde, --that was obvious by the soft light red to hazel curls that rippled around on her head that started about four inches down-- was far from being placed in the ‘skinny’ category, and to her knowledge, was nothing near as beautiful as her friend Kourtney, who of course just by her name, fit perfectly snug into the stereotypes. 

Romaine was humble too. Since she worked at the library, she mostly dealt with single moms who send their kids in the playroom they had tucked away in the corner because they couldn’t afford daycare, elders who sat quietly in the corner reading the oldest books they had and asked too many questions about how to run the computers, and young teens who were trying to make public libraries the new clubs. 

Everyday, it was the same few people: Mary, who had suddenly became a widow over the summer and placed herself in one of the back tables grieving for her husband; Max, a nine year old boy who hit on her from over the counter; and Mr. Adalance, a kind old gentleman who waited outside every morning for the library to open. 

Everything to her was the same; stuck on an orbit.

It was just different people in different scenarios.

Different people in different scenarios is what Rome thought of as love. She was never able to understand that a person could be out on the town, randomly bump into someone, immediately start dating, get married, and have kids in the matter of a year. 

She could go on and on to Kourtney as long as she’d listen, but eventually she would just tell Rome: “Calm down, I mean how would you know, you’ve never been in love…” and Rome would start up all over again. 

Clearly, Rome hasn’t had a bad first love, or divorced parents that changed it all… she just thinks that there doesn’t need to be a ring or a certificate to bind two people together or in order for them to be in love. And she’d try her hardest not to fall in love because it’s like running with scissors; bound and determined to get hurt at some point as long as you have them in your hand.

She believes that love is real, but she feels it in different ways than most of the other people in her life.

She has love for her parents, her friends, and Frankenstein of course. But romance, isn’t quite her thing. (as much as she reads about falling in love.)

Her whole life, ever since she could possibly remember, was just all a choice rather than fate. She thought, well maybe if I push it away, then I won’t end up heartbroken and just like everyone else in the world.

Years later, when she was walking up to accept her diploma, she realized that love, was a choice. And that she would set herself apart from the rest of the world and be perfectly fine for the rest of her life.

Well, lets face it: she was fine. Until Ethan happened.

She was closing up, her backpack thrown onto her shoulders and her dark orange cardigan hanging down to her thighs. She liked it that way, and to her, it was as if she were still at home wrapped in a blanket.

Rome held the door closed, pushing it more with her foot since Amanda, the manager refused to get better locks for the building because quite frankly, Amanda was a hard-working-business-woman who owned and managed as many small businesses as she could. Which made Rome upset since she didn’t care for the place as much as her and would do anything to get a higher position. 

That didn’t matter though, because as long as Amanda was still on a business streak and traveling all over the country buying business after business, Rome had no chance.

Once she managed to lock up completely, she was face to face with a large stack of books sitting near the ATM that was just around the corner.

She furrowed her brows, glaring down at the book-stack while trying to figure out why they were there.

Surely someone hadn’t just dumped them there, right? Why didn’t they bring them in? Is this one of those upside-down-honey-on-your-car things? Why books? 

Her questions weren't answered until the next morning after she gently picked up the books while looking around for a creepy guy watching her, but was relieved when she realized someone thought they were closed --which they were-- so they set them down for someone to take.

That morning when she opened up the store, she had nearly had a heart attack to the sudden realization that she had knocked her coffee down onto the pavement and completely soaked her white fluffy cardigan.

“You’re kidding me.” she whispered with a hard sigh and proceeded to quickly walk to the front door where Mr. Adalance was standing waiting for her.

“Good morning love,” he greeted her with a smile. 

“Hi.” she rushed out as she fumbled with the keys in order to let him inside.

“You look like you’ve got your hands full,” his soft humor was not appreciated by Rome today.

“Yeah, it’s been a bit stressful I’d say.” she opened the door wide for him.

He made a noise that sounded like a small laugh, and proceeded to step inside the building that was just warm enough to bare with the 40 degree weather that was Los Angeles in the middle of November.

After she had followed him inside and managed to get the place up in running --not that there was much to do in a library-- she made a dash to the bathroom in efforts to try and save one of her favorite clothing items.

“Oh no…” she muttered to herself, taking a damp paper towel to her clothing and seeing that there was no sudden or drastic change.

Rome tossed the towel out, and thought that if she was stocking books or behind the counter keeping Max entertained that she would be alright and she could just wash it as soon as she got home.

When she had walked out of the restroom, she was greeted with an unfamiliar face awkwardly standing at the front counter waiting to be helped.

It was completely normal for someone new to come in once and just ask where things were or if they sold books, but this person looked different.

They were dressed nicely, and had big long dark curly hair that was longer and more full than Rome’s by a long shot. Their complexion was darker than her, with light makeup and the mascara on their eyelashes was perfectly even and placed on each individual eyelash.

She walked slowly up to them, and wrapped herself up into the damp cardigan with a whisper.

“Hi! Are you Romaine?” She asked, a bright smile and straight teeth shining a light in Rome’s face.

She shuffled behind the counter. “Hi, yes that’s me?”

“I’m Aurora; but most people call me Charli.” as she introduced herself, she held her hand out for her to take.

She did, but she was slow and to be honest, she was a little scared.

Was this a new manager? Some relative she never knew she had? An old friend she went to high school with or someone that went to UCLA?

Her questions would forever be forbidden behind her skull until she had enough courage to ask: “Are you taking over for Amanda?”

With a small smile, she shook her head and furrowed her cleanly cut eyebrows. “No, actually, I’m here for training; I’m the new assistant manager.”

Rome’s gut was suddenly heavy. Her insides had filled with a thick tar, and it ran through her veins down to her toes she had lost her balance and had to quickly straighten her knees in hopes of not collapsing. 

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Um, why don’t you come around and I can get you started.”

After teaching Aurora --or Charli-- the basics of the store, how the computer works, proper shelving for books, the different sections and how to deal with customers, she had finally made it to her lunch break, and was sitting in the back room thinking about rather to be upset or angry or neither of those things at Amanda.

And although her day seemed to be coming off as a rough start, she thought that after finding those books outside the store, spilling her coffee, or finding out that Amanda had hired an assistant-manager instead of giving her the job, she still hoped something --even if it were small-- would make her day a little less stressful.

Nothing else that day had been remotely as bad as the events that took place earlier, but she was fed up with Amanda and having her train a new employee (especially it being a new assistant-manager) without her knowing or having those stupid books left out.

“Like, there is just so many things that happened today!”

“First, after I left and got to work, I spilled my coffee all over my favorite cardigan, then I found a stack of books on the floor near the book return slot, and there was a new assistant-manager waiting for me!”

Frankenstein purred softly into her hand. “I know! Unbelievable…”

After her rant, she crawled completely underneath her covers, letting Frankenstein sit as he pleased and flipped off the light to fall peacefully into her pillowy dreams.

The next day, she was prepared to see Mr. Adalance was nowhere to be found.

She thought maybe he was home, or maybe he was running late; maybe she was.

Until she placed the key into the door to see that it was already unlocked.

Rome had entered the building, seeing a very largely built man with his back facing her as he leaned over the counter.

As her footsteps got closer, she saw Aurora smiling wide— her hands pressed against the counter like she was on the tips of her toes and trying to climb over.

But Rome stayed quiet, and placed her things behind the counter ignoring Aurora and the mans’ conversation.

“Hey, Romaine, this is Grayson.” she said and looked at her in hopes of her responding and sparking a conversation with them.

She looked him up and down— at his arms, his fluffy plaid jacket, his dark hair that was swept stage right and flopped near the left of his forehead.

Romaine wasn’t trying to be rude, but all these little changes and unexpected news was getting the best of her. Which is why she lifted her brows and gave him a small closed-mouth smile before she walked behind Aurora and started stocking shelves.

Later that day, after she had checked out customers and finished her book, she was about to go on her break when Grayson had finally said something to her. “Hey, Romaine, right?”

She stopped in her tracks to face him and stay silent until he talked again.

“Um, did you get any books in? I think my brother might have dropped them off on accident.”

The memory of finding the stack of books outside the store, spilling her coffee, seeing Aurora was all coming back to her.

Not to mention that she had finally found the culprit who she thought at the time was some little nine year old who dropped them off the night before.

“Ask Aurora.” and she took her things to the back to enjoy her break with herself for the ten minutes she had as she left him on the other side of the counter not even saying a simple: “Bless you.” when he started to sneeze multiple times.

__

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 4 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: Hello everyone! Wow! Thanks for loving my fic?!?! I'm still baffled. I'd like to thank Kate, Julia, Laura and anyone else who had to put up with my endless nagging and requests for proofreads and feedback. The rest of you - y'all better enjoy this one!!! This part has no flashbacks because why live in the past when the present is so fucking awesome right?

Word Count: ~2.5K

Warnings: Chaotic Joe, slight smut (I know, right?), insane fluff, swearing (of course), drinking (obviously).

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

###

"Then don't."

Annabelle dropped her backpack to the floor in the middle of Ben’s living room and took exactly three steps forward before her body collided with his, their arms wrapping around each other as their lips crashed in a heated kiss.

“Um, I -”

“It’s fine,” his voice was almost a whisper, “I still don’t have any condoms.”

Lifting her chin with the palm of his hand, he hungrily kissed Annabelle and felt her stand up on the tips of her toes as she tried to deepen the kiss even more. Ben started to stumble backwards, leading them back into the bedroom, grabbing the hem of her deep purple sweater and pulling it up. They broke the kiss so Ben could pull her sweater over her head and chuck it aside and quickly rid himself of his own jumper.

“Oh, shit,” Annabelle giggled when she took in Ben’s black wife-beater and her black tank top, “we match.”

“You know what they say,” Ben’s breath was warm against her ear as he reached for the hem of her top, “great minds think alike.”

Annabelle wrapped her arms around his neck and practically jumped into his waiting arms, laughing as he dropped her on the bed and plopped down over her, catching himself on his arms right before he crushed her under him.

“You are so fucking amazing,” he purred as he nuzzled his way down her neck, leaving soft kisses on the mounds of her breasts, “how are you so fucking amazing?”

“I, uh,” her fingers were grasping at his short, blond locks, right as his hand rubbed her clothed crotch, making her gasp, “hm?”

“Tell me when to stop?” his green eyes bore into her own.

###

“You’re awfully quiet this morning,” Ben flicked his blinkers up, one hand chasing the other on the steering wheel as he took a turn around a street corner, “penny for your thoughts?”

“I just can’t get over how good this feels,” Annabelle sighed and smiled when Ben put his hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, “and you really didn’t have to drive me to work.”

“I wanted to,” he shrugged.

“Ben, my car is still parked outside your building,” she interlaced her fingers with his, “it makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” he glanced at her and then back at the road, “Jamie will drive you and Clara to the pub to meet us, and then you’re coming home with me.”

“Am I?” she chuckled, “very bold of you to assume I’d agree.”

“After last night?” he winked at her, making her blush, “I have a feeling you’ll come back for more,” he giggled, poking his tongue out, “we still have some unfinished business to take care of.”

“Always so cocky…” Annabelle mumbled and bit her bottom lip.

“You bring out the best in me,” he shrugged and smirked, “what can I say?”

“Sometimes you can just shut up and look pretty, you know,” Annabelle said as she gazed out of the passenger’s side window, earning a tighter squeeze on her thigh from Ben, “ow!”

###

“Okay, okay,” Rami placed his drink on the table at the pub and looked at Annabelle as she squirmed to fight off Gwil’s pokes at her ribs, “Annie, you’re the last one left - marry, fuck, kill. Go.”

The table went mildly silent as Annie gulped the drink she had in her mouth and bit the inside of her cheek as she pondered the question.

“Kill Jamie,” she said and Gwil threw his fists in the air mouthing yes, clearly pleased she didn’t pick him by default for being her cousin, “marry Ben,” she continued, “fuck Joe.”

“Oh, yeah?” Joe flashed a sly smile from his place right across the table from her.

“What?!” Ben’s head snapped to the side to look at Annie, almost spilling his drink.

“Interesting!” Rami leaned back, shooting a confused look at Annie and Ben who sat next to each other.

“Fuck Joe?” Ben slammed his glass on the table, “are you joking?”

“Are we all going to ignore the fact that she’ll kill me in a heartbeat?” Jamie’s eyes were wide, “Me? Her one true love? Her royal husband? Why? Why, Annie?”

“So, wait, are we talking a hump and dump situation or a reoccurring event here?” Joe leaned forward.

“Anyone wants another drink?” Gwil pointed randomly with both hands at Lucy, Clara, Jamie and Rami, “no?”

“Yes, please!” Ben seethed, “what do you mean, you really want to fuck Joe?”

“Ben,” Annie cupped his cheek in her hand, “it’s just a stupid game.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” both Ben and Joe said at the same time.

“It means nothing!” she looked from Ben to Joe, “it’s a game!”

“So you don’t want to fuck me?” Joe pouted.

“Does it really matter?” Annie laughed nervously.

“Oh, oh wow,” Rami looked at the three as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks, “Annie wants to fuck Joe!”

“Well, can you blame her?!” Joe smirked.

“It was a game!”

“I need a bloody smoke,” Ben’s knee was bouncing up and down under the table as he chewed on his fingernails before he got up abruptly, patting his pockets.

“Me too, actually,” Jamie said and got up, following Ben outside.

###

“Fuck!” Jamie growled at his lighter that wouldn’t do its’ one job, “Ben, got a light?”

“Yeah,” Ben exhaled a cloud of smoke and fished his lighter out of his pocket and threw it to Jamie, who caught it with one hand, lit his cigarette and threw it back to Ben.

They stood in awkward silence for a couple of minutes, Ben rubbing his thumb just above his eyebrows with the hand that held the cigarette between his fingers, looking down at the sidewalk outside of the pub.

“You alright?” Jamie broke the silence, kicking at a rock.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben shook his head as if to shake a thought out of his mind, “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you’re fuming,” Jamie chuckled, “Annie’s choices got you riled up?”

“I’m not going to talk about this with you,” Ben said as he looked the other way from where Jamie was standing, “but thanks anyway.”

“What the fuck, man?” Jamie asked, and Ben looked at him and shrugged, “what’s your problem?”

“My problem?”

“You clearly have one,” Jamie nodded, “what is it?”

“Nothing, I’m sure you’re great,” Ben shrugged.

“Bullocks,” Jamie rolled his eyes, “you’re bothered because I dated her?”

“I really don’t care.”

“So, yeah,” Jamie took a long drag, “I’m not after her anymore, mate.”

“Good for you.”

“I’m serious. I love her, she’s one of my closest friends,” Jamie flicked the butt of his cigarette to get rid of some access ash, “but that’s that. We were horrible as a couple, we made each other miserable.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Ben replied monotonously.

“You make her happy,” Jamie shrugged, his words catching Ben’s attention, “and it shows.”

“Which is why she’s keen on fucking Joe?” Ben scoffed, “right.”

“What is the matter with you?” Jamie’s voice climbed in pitch, “seriously! It was a stupid game!”

“You don’t get it.”

“What? That she has great chemistry with your mate?” Jamie laughed, “yeah, I do. She has great chemistry with men. Deal with it.”

“I don’t care about the chemistry she has with men,” Ben sighed, “but there’s clearly something there. I’m not blind.”

“No, you’re not blind,” Jamie nodded slowly, pursing his lips, “but you are stupid.”

“Fuck off.”

“If she wanted Joe, she would have had him by now.”

“I know.”

“Did she?”

“No.”

“Then get the fuck over yourself and tell her exactly what you fucking want your relationship with her to be,” Jamie said, “there’s nothing Annabelle loves more than blurred lines.”

“What are you on about?”

“Ben, listen to me,” Jamie put both of his hands on Ben’s shoulders, “Annabelle loves blurred lines. It’s her comfort zone,” he huffed at Ben’s confused face, “it keeps her from getting hurt and lets her fuck around with anyone without hurting them because there were never any rules to the game.”

“Still not following you,” Ben furrowed his brows, “but okay?”

“She’s petrified of relationships for a damn good reason,” Jamie continued, “she might tell you what it is someday. But you’re different,” he poked a finger at Ben’s chest. “She might be a bitch, but the bitch cares about you more than any one of us would like to admit.”

“Well -”

“Shut up and listen,” Jamie cut him off, “you want her, yeah?” Ben nodded silently, “then you’d better tame that fucking beast, and you’d better do it fast.”

###

Ben and Jamie returned to the pub, unharmed, laughing at a shared joke between them. The entire group of friends fell silent at the drastic change in dynamics between the two.“What, you’re friends now?” Annabelle scoffed.

“Oh, Annie,” Jamie’s tone was teasing, “are you jealous?”

“I don’t like this,” Annie said with furrowed brows, looking at Gwilym as if he had any control over anything, “make it stop.”

“They’re big boys, Banana,” Gwil shrugged, “if they want to be friends now, they can be friends now.”

Ben and Joe sat on either side of Annabelle, causing everyone to take careful glances at the explosive trio. While Annie and Joe were deep in conversation, Ben kept using his body language to send one clear message across. Whether he leaned closer to her, put a hand on her thigh, wrapped an arm around the back of her seat or mindlessly twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, everyone seemed to pick up on the message quite easily.

Annabelle, however, wasn’t happy with this new change in dynamics and was adamant to get a rise out of Ben. Turning her back slightly to him, she focused most of her attention on Joe.

“I’d have you know,” Joe was starting to slur his words, “I’m a terrific dancer!”

“It’s true, actually,” Gwil nodded.

“He does have some sick moves,” Rami confirmed, making Joe bow his head in appreciation for the compliment.

“I won’t believe it till I see it,” Annie shrugged.

“You want me to show you?” Joe started to get up but was quickly pulled to sit back down by Jamie, “what, the girl needs proof!”

“Read the room, man!” Jamie laughed.

“The queen of England asked me to dance!”

“She’s not the queen just yet,” Jamie patted Joe’s head, “you’re good.”

“But -”

“No, Joe!” the entire group said in unison, causing Joe to pout like a petulant child.

“I promise,” Annie squeezed Joe’s shoulder to get his attention focused on her, “we will dance. I promise.”

###

“Ben, Ben,” Annie panted as his lips travelled down her jawline. His hands worked their way up her sides, pressing her body against the wall outside of his flat. “Can we take this inside now?”

“But I’m having so much fun,” Ben whined, a smug smirk on his face before her took her bottom lip between his teeth, nipping it gently.

“What’s gotten into you?” Annabelle’s eyes shot from his lips to his eyes, her breath catching a little when she saw hunger flash in them, “what did Jamie say to you out there?”

“Well, that did it,” Ben huffed and released her body, turning the key in the lock.

“Seriously,” Annie prodded on as they entered the flat, trying not to fall face-first to the floor as Frankie ran circles around their feet, “what did you two talk about? You were literally fuming and then you come back and -”

“Why are you so worried about what Jamie and I talked about?” he crouched down to hook Frankie’s leash to her collar and reached around Annie’s body to give her bum a light squeeze, “we’ll be back in a minute.”

With that, Ben and Frankie went out the door and off for a late-night walk, so Ben and Annie could sleep in. Annie crossed her arms and huffed at the closed door before she took off her red Converse low-tops. Muttering profanities to herself, she went to the kitchen to get a drink when her phone vibrated.

‘Is Ben giving you shit for wanting to fuck me, still?’ Joe was never one to beat around the bush.

'I honestly have no idea.' Annie replied, ‘did he say something to you?’

‘No.’

‘Did Jamie tell you all what he and Ben talked about?’

‘We didn’t ask.’

‘Seriously, Joe! The one night I need you to be a relentless gossip! You had one job!’

When no reply came, Annie placed her phone on the kitchen counter and turned to lean back on it, crossing a leg in front of the other. She sipped her water slowly and straightened up a little when she heard the front door open and close and the scratching of Frankie’s feet on the floor.

“I don’t like this new friendship you and Jamie have.” Annie announced when Ben walked into the kitchen and took the glass of water she placed on the counter for him.

“We’re not friends.”

“Then what the fuck happened tonight? One minute you hate his guts,” Annie’s voice rose in pitch, “the next you’re having a smoke together and no one comes back with a black eye?”

“He’s not all bad,” Ben shrugged, “and if anyone would have gotten a black eye tonight, it would have been Joe.”

“You’d never hit Joe.”

“Mentally, I would.”

“That makes no sense at all,” Annie chuckled.

“Neither do you,” Ben took her glass from her hand and placed it in the sink, “we’re good like that.”

“That, we are,” Annabelle murmured and smiled up at Ben as he trapped her against the counter, his arms on either side of her, “yes?”

“Hello.”

“Hi,” Annie giggled and leaned back when Ben leaned down to kiss her.

“Really?” Ben sighed and grabbed Annie’s cheeks with one hand, forcing her to face him and pressed a kiss to her lips.

###

“Please -”

“I have condoms,” Ben seemed to read Annabelle’s mind, “I told you, we had unfinished business to handle.”

“Oh, thank God,” Annabelle breathed, her chest heaving up and down as Ben’s lips covered every inch of her torso with wet kisses and gentle bites, “can you…?”

“Not yet,” his big, warm hands kneaded her breasts, “your tits are so big,” he murmured against her skin, “how can someone so small have such big tits?”

“Genetics?” Annabelle squeaked as Ben rolled her nipples between his thumbs and index fingers.

Ben sat back on his heels and parted Annabelle’s legs, a wide smile creeping up when he saw she had a wet spot on her lilac panties. Biting his lip, he reached down and placed his palm flat on top of it, rubbing her gently. The friction from the fabric and his hand made Annabelle buck into his palm, a deep flush rising on her cheeks.

“You’d better go get those condoms now, Ben.”

###

TAGLIST: @ramibaby-deactivated20190212​ @xgoingdownx​ @clara-who​ @violetpond​ @sweeterthancheese​ @drummerqueenrmt​ @westansstuff​ @rogerinamainbitch​ @justgivemethekeys​ @borhaprogerina​ @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47​ @rogerspoison​ 

[whatarubberchicken]

AU YEAH August - 23 - Historical

@auyeahaugust

Khepri: Egyptian Scarab God - Ladybug

Maahes: Egyptian Lion God – Chat Noir

Miraculous: Tales of Khepri and Maahes

A gentle wind blew through the courtyard of the Palace, making the lanterns flicker against the walls of alabaster stone. A young man looked out over the Nile, taking a deep breath before turning to the tiny goddess beside him.

“I hope I’m wrong, Tikki,” he said heavily. “And I wish I could do this as myself, but….”

“I know you don’t like to change into a girl as Khepri,” the little goddess chirped. “But it’s for your own protection. Everyone is looking for a female of the royal blood who has taken the title of Sacred Scarab. You are overlooked and unnoticed.”

“Whereas Maahes is free to come and go whenever he pleases,” the young man sighed with envy as he thought of his feline superhero partner. “Ah, the freedom of not being part of the royal family. Even if it’s only a distant cousin.”

“Your information and insight are critical to our missions,” Tikki said firmly, kissing him on the nose. “Especially this one. Now, are you ready? You promised everyone you’d meet at sunset.”

“Right, right. Tikki, transform me!”

The young man felt the power wash over him and once again sighed as he looked down at his now-decidedly-female body covered in spotted linen. Fortunately, Khepri’s kalasiris (sheath dress) allowed for much more movement than he’d thought possible, and he effortlessly jumped from building to building as he made his way to the meeting place.

Being a female as the superhero (goddess) Khepri wasn’t so bad, really. The change was useful in keeping his identity secret, but he might’ve been able to enjoy it more if—

“There’s my beautiful lady bug!”

--he hadn’t accidentally told Maahes about the change. Now, the cat-themed superhero had taken it upon himself to tease Khepri about it whenever he could.

“Shut up, you drunk old cat!” he—she—spat, tossing her yoyo at him. The catboy easily moved his head to the side to dodge it, fully-aware that she wouldn’t actually hurt him. “Were you followed?”

“Was I—was I followed?” Maahes asked in mock-outrage. “I? The Great Hunter? The Protector of Ra? The—”

“Careful, Eater of Captives,” Khepri warned him lightly, landing beside him and playfully flicking his nose. “You collect many more titles, you won’t be able to keep track of them all.”

“For the last time, I didn’t eat him!” Maahes exclaimed. “I used my power at the last minute and it just looked like I did!!”

“Whatever,” Khepri said, dismissing the subject. “We have more important things to worry about right now. Like whatever the Pharaoh is planning over at the palace that has all the soothsayers in a tizzy.”

“You think Apep is behind it?” Maahes asked lowly, referring to the supernatural villain they’d been after for years.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Khepri admitted with a grimace. “Somehow, he’s gained influence with the Pharaoh himself. And we can’t just ignore it this time. We’ll have to do something. Something drastic.” She was about to say more, but she heard a rustle in the shadows that indicated the other person they were supposed to meet with tonight had arrived.

“You realize what you’re talking about, right? Assassinating the pharaoh?” Maahes growled, making a sign against evil. “A living god? And one with no sons to boot! His lineage will be ended forever! You’ll destroy Egypt! There’ll be a civil war! At least!”

“Believe me, I know.”

“So, you got a plan for getting past this? Tell me you have a plan. I know you’ve got a plan.”

Khepri heard a soft sob from the corner where her informant was still waiting to be called forward, and she grit her teeth as she pushed forward with the conversation. It was better if this came from the mouths of “gods” anyway.

“Tut has been a puppet king most of his reign. Why not simply put the puppeteer in power?”

“Oh, sweet Hathor preserve us,” Maahes exclaimed, running his claws through his hair. “That’s your plan?!”

“You got a better one?” Khepri asked, her eye starting to twitch.

“Take control!” Maahes exclaimed. Khepri sighed in exasperation. “You said it yourself, you have some royal blood—”

“No.”

“—and we already know we’ve been chosen by the gods for the good of the kingdom,” the cat superhero added, indicating his suit.

“And I’ve already told you, I have no interest in ruling,” Khepri reminded him. “I don’t even want a shrine as Khepri. I just want to do my job.”

“And if your job includes ruling Egypt?”

“I already have someone in mind.”

Maahes looked taken aback. “Who?? Who could possibly be better than us?”

“Someone who is already officially in power. Your majesty, will you join us?” Khepri gestured to the shadows behind her. “Maahes, may I introduce, by the grace of Ra, Pharaoh’s Great Royal Wife, Ankhesenamun.”

The young woman stepped into the light just long enough for them to see her, and then lost her nerve to be standing before actual living Gods. She fell to her face before them.

“Have mercy, Eyes of Ra!” she cried. Maahes chuckled a bit as Khepri quickly attempted to coax the young queen back to her feet.

“Peace, my queen,” the scarab-themed heroine said soothingly. “We’ll not hurt you. We simply wish to ask you some questions about your beloved husband.”

“Beloved?” Ankhesenamun choked out. Tears streamed down her face. “Yes, he called me beloved once. I was his and he was mine. Together for eternity, we said. But now… I am unable to give him any heirs. Now he thinks I am weak. Cursed. Now, I am replaced by my own mother! One whom the Sun God has already claimed. Has always claimed! Nefertiti is dead, and still I feel her presence all around. He calls her his sweet, long-lost princess! Says he wants to bring her back from the Land of the Dead! MAY RA FORGIVE HIM THIS BLASPHEMY!!” The young queen broke down, crying, not seeing the uneasy look the two superheroes shared.

“Did he, um… say how he was going to bring her back?” Maahes asked slowly, wetting his lips.

“No, Lord of Slaughter,” Ankhesenamun sniffled.

Maahes groaned and Khepri smothered her laughter at the cat god’s least-favorite title.

“Actually,” Maahes said slyly, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around Khepri’s now-feminine shoulders, “I prefer the title ‘He Who Is True Beside Her.’” He waggled his eyebrows at Khepri and received an elbow in his gut for his trouble.

“Please ignore the son of Sekhmet,” she said irritably. “He’s obviously been drinking. Any information you can give us about the Pharaoh’s plan would be helpful, your Highness.”

Ankhesenamun swallowed. “He said… something about sacrifice,” she said slowly.

“Does this have anything to do with the mysterious disappearances lately?” Maahes asked, suddenly all business.

“Disappearances?” Khepri asked, whirling to look at her partner in surprise. “I thought those were just rumors!”

“I’ve been doing some sniffing around downtown, milady,” the cat said with a saucy wink. “Turns out, they’re all true, more or less.”

“How many?” she demanded.

“About 90 people?” he shrugged. “All within the past three months.”

Khepri cursed. If Tutankhamun had gotten ahold of the Scroll of Spells like she thought he had… well, he was dangerously close to something unforgivable.

“My queen,” she said quickly. “It pains me to ask this of you, but can we, the protectors of the gods, count on your help?”

Anhkesenamun hesitated. “Do you have to kill him?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“I will try not to,” Khepri assured her, smiling sadly at the young woman, so obviously still in love with her husband. “But, if worse comes to worse… I must think of Egypt first.”

………….

The next day….

…………

Khepri swore as she raced across the courtyard, her yoyo already in hand. Already, there was a gaping hole in the sky and a group of mummies were carrying the queen high above their heads, even as she sobbed and begged Tutankhamun to stop.

She felt her gut churn. His own wife. He was willing to sacrifice his own wife because he wanted someone more powerful, more beautiful. But it had to be her. Even after all the pain she’d been through, she loved him more than anything.

And only one with a pure heart could love so deeply.

Even now, Ankhesenamun didn’t fight as the reanimated mummies placed her on a beam of light, all of them chanting.

“My lady!!” she heard Maahes cry across the courtyard. He was trying to take out as many mummies as possible, hoping to disrupt the spell. But, a spell like this… they needed to take out the source.

“You cannot stop me, you vile insect!!” the Pharaoh shouted, turning to face her. Idly, she noticed that Apep’s power had given him muscles and reflexes that the true Tutankhamen had never had in his short life. He blocked her kick easily, and she barely dodged his swing, springing backwards to get out of his range. Tut started laughing, mad with power. Khepri narrowed her eyes and began twirling her yoyo behind her.

She had promised the queen she would try, but if it was a decision between saving Tut or saving Egypt….

“You are nothing but a pathetic. Little. Lady-bug,” Pharaoh spat.

Instead of becoming angry and arguing back, Khepri just smiled at him and nodded.

“As you say, Pharaoh.”

She brought her spinning yoyo down hard on his thigh, not bothering to see how much damage she did as she sprang for his scepter. He bellowed in pain and then in anger when he realized he’d been tricked. Praying for a new, purifying spell, Khepri activated the scepter again, this time with her own true magic.

“Sacred Scarab!”

The void to the abyss and the beam of light disappeared. Tutankhamen’s sacrifice fell from the sky. Maahes displayed his cat-like reflexes when he jumped and caught Queen Ankhesenamun. As one, the one-hundred mummies surrounding them collapsed as the scepter in Khepri’s hands was purified.

“My love!” the queen cried, racing over to Tutankhamen. He turned away from her, still sitting on the ground and clutching his leg.

“Don’t look at me,” he muttered sullenly, as he turned back into teenage king that was his true form. “I hurt you. I listened to Apep’s empty promises and betrayed you.”

“That was not your fault!” Ankhesenamun insisted. She looked at Khepri desperately. “Tell him, goddess!”

“You are neither the first, nor the last man to fall victim to the forces of evil,” Khepri agreed, regarding the Pharaoh solemnly. He seemed to be in a lot of pain from the injury she’d given him earlier. “Do you wish me to heal your leg?”

“No, Goddess Khepri,” Tutankhamun ground out, trying to stand. His wife rushed to his side to help him and he leaned on her, gasping. “This is the symbol of my great sin. All those people… my beloved….” He looked at his wife mournfully. “I will bear this pain. Even in the afterlife. It will weight on my soul forever.”

“There is no need for that,” Ankhesenamun protested. Tutankhamun shook his head at her and turned back to Khepri, even as Maahes also made his way over to them.

“Please, goddess, if it is the will of Ra, keep no record of this horrific incident,” Pharaoh pleaded. Khepri bowed her head.

“I cannot do that,” she said regretfully. “But, if it is any consolation, the record I must make will be buried deep in the record halls of the gods. Along with this,” she said, indicating the scepter of power she had stolen from him.

Tutankhamen nodded, resigned. “If you must, please make it look like a legend, instead of something I actually did….”

Khepri smiled. “I’ll do my best, my Pharaoh.”

……

Less than a week later, the Pharaoh Tutankhamen was dead, having never recovered from his injury.

Khepri took caution as she strode into the palace, where the queen still grieved.

“You did this,” Ankhesenamun sobbed. “It’s your fault. You promised not to kill him!!”

“I promised to try,” Khepri said, stoically keeping any emotion from her voice.

“It’s still your fault!”

“It is,” the superheroine agreed.

“I should set the guards on you! Have them hunt you throughout the kingdom!”

Khepri didn’t bother to reply, and just leveled the queen with a dry stare. She was technically a goddess. The guards would throw their weapons down and abandon their queen before daring to lay a finger on her. Ankhesenamun gasped in a deep breath, trying to steady her sobs.

“But I won’t,” she said, her voice still shaking a bit. “Because it will do no good. Not against you.”

“Have you sent for your grandfather?” Khepri asked, hoping to get to the reason she’d even bothered to come here today.

“I sent for him days ago; just after the… ceremony.”

“Very good.” Khepri turned to go.

“I will erase you from history,” Ankhesenamun called after her. “You will get no shrines. No monuments. In the parts of history I allow to remain, you will be a minor god, lost in the glory of Ra!”

Ah, the irony. Khepri carefully hid her smile.

“As you say, my queen.”

….

Maahes was waiting for her on a rooftop nearby. “Have I told you how brilliant you are today, milady?” he asked, falling into step beside her.

“Considering I’ve spent the past few days holed up, recording what happened before the pharaoh’s successors try to rewrite history, probably not,” Khepri said, allowing herself to smile at her partner as they headed away from the palace.

He smirked back at her. “And considering you just got the most powerful woman in the country to give you exactly what you’ve always wanted, what do you want to do now?”

“We should probably lay low for a while,” Khepri said, thinking. “The Pharaoh’s successor will want to keep the queen happy to earn her support, and that may mean promising things….”

“Like your head on a plate?”

“Mmm, exactly.”

Maahes grin turned into a leer. “You can always come live with me, milady—”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Maahes? I’m a man! I’m actually a man!”

“And you’ll find I’m as flexible as a cat,” her partner said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Khepri facepalmed. “I certainly hope Tikki’s future charges don’t have to put up with anyone like you. Or your awful puns.”

“Sorry, milady,” Maahes said, cheerfully throwing his arm around her as they headed off into the sunset. “You’re doomed. Doomed for all eternity….”

Khepri elbowed him in the gut and threw her yoyo to the nearest building.

“Only if you can keep up, cat!” she sang, flying away.

He laughed as he chased her. “Bring it on, milady!”

......

End.

[hymn2000]

Hope I’ve Got Something To Lose - MCU AU fanfic - C6

Story overview: Peter has an accident, and Tony makes a drastic decision. In the midst of everything, a face from the past reappears - but Peter isn’t too sure about reconnecting after everything that’s happened.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

Part of my irondad and spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: injury, hospital stuff, hurt/comfort, mental health stuff, family stuff

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 6 - The Man You Never Saw

-

Malaki moved from Peter’s lips and kissed him on the apple of his cheek before moving back slightly.

“I know there’s about a million and one reason why we couldn’t or shouldn’t” he started, rubbing Peter’s thigh. “But I was thinking... My parents are at work, and even if they weren’t, my room is upstairs, and I’ve got a second bedroom in the annex. Maybe we could go back to mine for a bit? Spend some time together?”

Peter looked at him. He swallowed hard and pushed Malaki’s hand off his thigh.

“Too forward?”

Peter nodded. 

“Wanna rewind a few seconds and act like I never asked?”

Peter paused, and then nodded. Malaki cleared his throat, put his hand back where it had been, and acted like he’d just finished kissing him.

“Are you hungry? For something other than me, I mean”

Peter laughed, and then shrugged.

“Should we go and get something? I don’t mind what. I kinda really fancy ice cream. Is that weird?”

Peter shook his head and smiled. Malaki stood up, holding a hand out to Peter.

“Come on then, beautiful. I think I know a place you’ll like”

-

Peter felt all giddy and fuzzy as he walked home. Malaki was always such good company, and even more so now, given the current circumstances. Peter slipped into the house carefully, going so far undetected. He snuck up to his room, quickly changing back into the pair of joggers and old t-shirt he’d worn for bed the night before. He was glad he did, because he suddenly heard footsteps. He wasted no time, diving into bed and pulling the covers up to his chin, pretending to be asleep.

The bedroom door opened, and mere moment later, he felt Tony shaking his shoulder. Peter whined and opened his eyes slowly.

“Still in bed, chick? You know it’s like, two in the afternoon”

“Really? Oh..”

“Don’t worry; you needed the rest anyway. Plus, it’s partly my fault. I got really caught up with stuff down in the lab”

“I guessed as much” Peter said, looking at his oil-stained clothes and the workman’s gloves tucked in his belt. 

“Yeah. I just caught sight of the time and thought I’d better check on you. Are you gonna sleep a bit more, or do you want to get up now?” 

“I think I’ll get up” Peter said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “I think I’m gonna have a bath”

“Ok, chick” 

Tony went to give him a hug, but Peter jerked away from him before he got the chance.

“Don’t!”

Tony pulled back.

“Peter? Are you ok?”

“Mmm. I’m just real sore today. It’ll hurt if you start squeezing me”

“Oh. Oh sweetheart, ok. You need to take your pills if you’re still in pain. You shouldn’t suffer needlessly. Hey” he took Peter hand and kissed the back of it. “Don’t look so sad. You take your pills and have a nice bath and have something to eat, and you’ll feel much better”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I hope so”

Tony gave his hand a squeeze and let go. He stopped when he reached the door.

“Hey, Peter? Why don’t you come down to the lab after you’ve had your bath? The new code is 227711” 

-

Peter spent quite a long time in the bath, thinking about how he’d gotten away with sneaking out, thinking about Malaki, thinking about the new code. If he was being given access to the lab again, surely he’d eventually get the suit back? He supposed the only thing he could really do would be to just wait and see.

-

It felt weird and foreign going into the lab again. Tony gave him a little wave.

“Hey kiddo. Hey, can you come and hold this into place for me? I’ve broken the vice and I can’t find the spare”

“How do you break a vice?”

“The same way your father managed to set fire to the kettle”

-

Peter didn’t want to leave the lab. He tried not to make a fuss, but he found himself stopping in the doorway and biting his thumb. Tony gave him a little push over the threshold and pulled the door closed.

“Don’t look so worried: I’m not going to change the code”

“Promise?” 

“Promise. Come on now, your father’ll be back by now. Now cross your fingers that he’s had a good day”

-

Loki was definitely in a good mood, and after ruffling Peter’s hair, he’d grabbed Tony for a kiss, and the two of them had very soon fallen down onto the sofa together. Peter didn’t fancy hanging about watching them showcasing their love, so he tactfully slipped away and went to look through the kitchen cupboards and decide what they might be able to have for tea.

-

Loki came into the kitchen for two reasons: firstly, to get himself a drink, and secondly, to investigate the cause of the crashing sounds.

“What are you up to there, love?” Loki asked, switching the kettle on and getting his mug down from his cupboard.

“Cooking” Peter said. 

“I see. And what are you cooking?”

“You’ll find out when it’s ready” 

Loki laughed. He let the kettle boil, poured the water, and left his tea to brew. He went to stand behind Peter, and lowered his head to the boys level.

“I know you didn’t go back inside after I left this morning” he said quietly. 

Peter froze momentarily. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

Loki smacked him hard on the bottom.

“Ow!”

“There’s no use lying to me, kiddo. You can’t pull the wool over my eyes that easily. Does Tony know?”

Peter shook his head and looked at him over his shoulder. “Are you gonna tell him?” 

“No. But I can’t cover for you all the time. You really shouldn’t’ve snuck out like that”

“But I’m sick of being stuck inside all the time!” Peter started, and then he saw the look on Loki’s face, and wilted. “What are you gonna do to me?”

“How about I just do this?” he smacked him again, harder this time. “And we draw a line under it. Keep it between us?”

Peter very nearly went into a sulk, but he realised how valuable Loki’s offer was, so he sighed and nodded. Loki went to finish making his drink, and Peter resumed what he was doing. 

“Oh, and Peter?” Loki said, stopping in the doorway. “Don’t leave the pan handles pointing out like that. You’ll knock them off in passing”

Peter looked at him, and then back at his pans. He moved them so the handles were over the counter. Loki nodded.

“Good boy”

-

Tony covered his face with his hands when Loki told him Peter was cooking.

“Oh god, what did I do to deserve this?! I can’t cope with another repeat of that chilli flake disaster”

Loki laughed at him. “You’re overreacting, my dear”

Tony moved his hands. “Am I? Did he tell you what he was making?”

“No” Loki said, sitting beside him. “He had a recipe book out, but he shut it when I came over”

Tony sighed. “Well, saves me a job, I suppose”

Loki leant against him, sipping his tea. “Whatever he makes, at least it can’t be anywhere near as bad as anything you made when we first got together”

“Ah, I think you’re right there” Tony admitted. “Remember that panna cotta?”

“I’m afraid so” Loki shook his head. “I also remember burnt pasta and hard tofu, and I still have no idea how you managed that”

“Shoutout to Pepper, eh?”

Loki nodded, raising his mug in a cheers gesture. “Shoutout to Pepper, indeed”

-

Loki fell asleep for a little bit, and had to be woken up when dinner was ready. He didn’t feel 100%, but he was happy to step up to the plate for Peter’s sake.

“So, how much chilli did you use today?” Tony asked when they sat down in the kitchen. “Do we need to get the doctor on standby?”

Loki kicked him under the table. “Leave the poor kid alone: you’re upsetting him” 

“No I’m not! Am I, Pete?”

“..You are a little bit”

Tony sighed. 

“Well you don’t have to eat if you don’t want to!” 

“Hey hey, no need to get shouty”

Before either one of them could escalate it, Loki stood up and put an arm round Peter’s shoulders.

“What have you made for us tonight, sweetie?”

Peter didn’t want to speak again in case he started crying, so he went and got the recipe book and showed him. 

“Well, there’s nothing offensive about that. Is there, Tony?”

Tony had a look at the page. Cheesy chicken and broccoli whole wheat pasta.

“Why whole wheat?”

“Because that’s what the recipe says, you dunce” Loki said, snapping the book shut and hitting Tony over the head with it. “Anyway, I’m starving to death, so can we stop arguing and just eat, my darling husband?”

“Yeah yeah, ok, ok”

“Thank you. I need a drink”

“I-um, I’ve already got you one...” Peter said.

Loki looked at the table. “So you have”

-

Towards the end of the meal, Tony stopped and looked at Peter.

“Have you left something in the oven, kiddo?”

“I’m timing it..”

“Oh right. What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really...” Peter swallowed. “I just felt like making a cake...”

“What kind of cake?”

Loki kicked him hard under the table.

“Ow! Loki! What was that for?!”

“My foot slipped”

“Like hell it did!”

They stared each other down, but then the front door opened, distracting them. Loki got up to go and greet Thor, while Tony stayed at the table. He sighed heavily, and then noticed Peter looking at him.

“This is good, chick. You should make it again some time”

-

Something about Thor’s presence just lit up the house. Luckily, Peter’s cake was a success, and once they’d all had some, Loki made everyone a drink, and they went out to the living room. Peter cuddled up beside Thor, who put an arm round him.

“I heard about your accident” he said. “You’re a right little bruiser”

“Don’t encourage him” Loki said, leaning against Tony and opening his book.

Thor just laughed. He gave Peter a squeeze.

“Sorry I didn’t get to see you sooner. I was away”

“In space?”

Thor nodded. “Still, I’m back now. I haven’t seen you properly for ages. We should go and do something together. How about tomorrow night?”

“No can do” Tony said. “We’ve got something planned”

“Aww, I don’t want to go to that dumb party anyway” Peter pouted.

“That’s just tough” Tony said. “You’re going”

Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s such a waste of time”

“Better do as your parents say, kiddo” Thor said. “We’ll do something another time”

-

Peter played up to the sympathy vote as much as possible the next evening, whining and clutching his ribs and looking at his parents with big sad eyes.

“Now you stop that” Tony said. “You’re not getting out of this so easily”

“I nearly died! I’m not strong enough for this”

“Stop play-acting and go and get changed. Your clothes are on the bed”

Peter whined, but he knew when he was beat. He went off to his room, wrinkling his nose at the clothes that had been set out for him. He hated having to dress up all posh and tell people over and over again that he goes to St Hendricks and he’s on the swim team, and no, Mr Stark isn’t his biological dad, but that doesn’t mean he’s not his real dad. It was all so tedious.

-

Peter glared at his shiny black brogues as he sat in the back of the car. He was annoyed, because these shoes always reminded him of Roddy St. James of Kensington, and now he had the song stuck in his head. He wanted to be at home. He looked at Loki and Tony. Loki hated these parties too, unless he could spend them getting drunk with Pepper. Tony seemed to enjoy some of them. Peter sighed heavily and slumped in his seat.

“Sit up straight, Peter: you’ll wrinkle your shirt”

Peter whined but did as he was told. “Why am I even going? I hate this things”

“Don’t be so melodramatic” Tony said. “There’ll be some people your own age for you to hang out with”

“No there won’t. There never is, and even when there is, it’s all toffee nosed twats from the same school who just stick in a little group talking about what fwightfully good fun they’re having”

Loki laughed, but Tony tutted at him.

“Now now, don’t be so rude. I don’t like you swearing like that. I want you on your best behaviour tonight”

“What do you mean?” Peter said, trying to think if he’d done anything naughty at any other party he’d been to.

“I mean, I want you to act like a little gent. Be polite, don’t go running about causing mischief or breaking things or spilling stuff-”

“When do I ever do any of those things?”

“And certainly no interrupting or talking back, young man” Tony said. “Look, this place is basically a palace, and they’re pretty proud of it. I don’t want to have to be apologising for your behaviour”

“Oh Tony, leave him alone” Loki said. “He’ll be fine. He’ll probably just sit in a corner with me and die of boredom”

“Good idea, you keep him with you all night. I won’t have another hospital trip, thank you very much”

Peter rolled his eyes - and then stared as the house came into sight. It really was a palace, like something out of an old Victorian film. He suddenly understood what Tony meant. 

-

Peter looked up at the grand building, at it’s wide steps and turrets and stone statues. It was really something. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad: he could just wander off and explore the architecture.

“Oh my god, Peter!”

Peter looked round, and very nearly tripped over his highly polished feet. His eyes widened. His heart started to thump, and he felt sick. He couldn’t speak. Loki put a hand on the small of his back.

“It helps if you walk, Peter” he hissed, pushing him along. 

Peter looked up at Loki, stumbling as they went inside. He knew he should have fought harder to stay home.

-

Peter flinched as Tony clicked his fingers in front of his face.

“Earth to Peter. Come on kiddo; say hello now”

Peter looked at Tony, and then up at the host. He was a big man, tall and broad, and old, with a heavy white moustache and stern-looking eyes. He looked every bit as Victorian as his house. Unintentionally, Peter made eye contact - and promptly buried his face in Loki’s side. Fortunately, Tony and the host just laughed.

“Now now, no need to be so shy” he laughed. “He certainly didn’t inherit your confidence, did he, Tony?”

Peter shifted slightly, watching the grown ups talking. The host soon looked back at him.

“So where do you go to school, Peter?”

Peter didn’t say anything. Tony sighed, but Loki gave him a reassuring squeeze.

“He goes to St Hendricks” Tony answered for him. “He’s a smart kid, good grades all round, part of the swim team, all that stuff”

“So you’re sporty, are you?”

Peter kept quiet. 

“Shy little thing, aren’t you?” 

He stopped a nearby server, taking two champagne glasses and handing them to Tony and Loki. He picked up another one and went to give it to Peter, but Tony stopped him.

“Not for him, please: he’s just a baby” he said. 

The Host nodded and kept that glass for himself. 

“Of course, of course. Mustn’t corrupt the youth” he laughed to himself, stopped another server, and passed a glass to Peter. “There you go, sonny”

Peter didn’t want a drink, but he took the glass anyway. He had no idea what it was. He stayed close against Loki until mercifully the host went off, and Tony was collared by someone else. 

“Thank fuck for that” Loki mumbled. “What’s the matter with you? Tired?”

Peter shrugged, taking a swig of the unidentified substance in his glass, and promptly choking, dribbling a good half of his mouthful down his chin.

“Oh for the love of-” Loki sighed heavily, thumping him on the back and whipping out a handkerchief. “What are you like, eh?”

Peter wriggled away from him, not appreciating being babied in public. Loki held him still and mopped him up anyway. Once he’d done, Peter shoved his glass at Loki. Loki sighed, and took a sip obligingly. 

“Oh, that’s disgusting” he said, wrinkling his nose. “No wonder you choked”

He put the glass on the tray of a passing server and had some of his own drink to wash the taste away. 

“What are you looking at?” he said, waving a hand in front of Peter’s face. “You’re all zoned out”

Peter didn’t say anything, and then squeaked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun round quickly.

“Hi again”

Peter looked back over his shoulder, only to find that Loki had already disappeared.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Well, what are you doing here?”

“Um. My parents made me come” Peter said, swallowing hard. 

“I would have texted if I’d known you were going to be here” Liz said. “I got your number from Ned. I’m not sure if it’s the right one or not”

Peter just looked at her. 

“I don’t really know anyone else here, and my mum is with her friends” Liz said. “Do you want to hang out together?”

‘No’, Peter wanted to say. He wanted to shake his head and go and find Loki and hide under his arm until it was time to go home. But he knew how that would look, and he didn’t want to be nasty.

“C-can we go outside? It’s getting real hot in here”

-

The big white marble steps at the front entrance seemed an obvious choice as somewhere to sit, but Peter feared any late arrivals would pop up and disturb them. He didn’t really want to see anyone else. He didn’t look at Liz while they walked outside, but he couldn’t ignore the sound of her heels clacking on the stone. At the edge of the staircase was a stone banister, and as he peered over the side he saw it dropped down quite a way, onto a relatively concealed grass bank, and a little further on, there was an outdoor swimming pool. It definitely wasn’t in view from the windows of the room being used for the social, so he thought it was a safe place to hide out for a while. If this conversation with Liz was going to happen, he wanted it to be done in total privacy. 

“We should go down here” he said, and vaulted the banister. 

Liz wasn’t quite so adept, especially not in her dress and heels, so it took her a little longer. Peter offered a hand to help her down the other side, but quickly retracted it when she was steady on her feet again. They sat down on the grass, and stayed silent for a moment or two.

“I know you and Ned don’t talk anymore” Liz said. “I know you didn’t keep in touch with anyone else from Midtown. If the Stark’s weren’t famous, no one would even know where you’d ended up”

“Midtown doesn’t matter anymore. It hasn’t mattered for a long time. It barely even mattered even when it was my school”

“It’s just so strange thinking you just disappeared. When I left Midtown-”

“Yeah, you kept in touch with all your friends. So what? We left under different circumstances” Peter stood up, taking a deep breath and leaning back against the wall. “Your dad went to prison. The building I lived in exploded. My aunt died. If I hadn’t known the Stark’s, I don’t know what would have happened to me after that. Well, I do know: I would’ve been shoved into foster care in just the clothes I was stood up in. You know I’ve even got a social worker now? And a therapist, and I never wanted one of those either. My parents kinda had to force me into it. They don’t really know what that explosion was like. Do you know how long I spent blaming myself? Thinking that if I’d stayed where I was I could’ve saved her, cos if I survived, she should have as well? And, you know, I’ve ended up in A&E a few times since, and you know what the worst part is, what’s worse than the injuries? Being in that department just reminds me of hours sat in cubicles with this throbbing pain in my head, grabbing every member of hospital staff and begging them to find May... So I got taken in, and then I couldn’t keep going to Midtown, so I got sent to some other school, and there was this boy, and basically the whole year, but this one boy in particular, and it was just” he laughed awkwardly. “Flash thinks he’s a bully, and he doesn’t have a clue. He was always a twat, but he was nothing, he really wasn’t. But this guy and his friends... So they found out how much they were hurting me eventually, and then they took me out of that school, and then da- uh, and then Loki left, and then I ended up at St Hendricks, and Loki came back, and it was fine, yknow. I’ve got friends and I get good grades and I’m on the swim team and like, it’s better, yknow. It’s good. So sure, maybe at first it was because I was ill, but why now, when I’ve rebuilt my life, which is arguably better than my last one, would I want to talk to anyone from Midtown? No one ever really liked me there. So everyone’s like, oh, Peter never kept in touch, but what effort did any of them make to keep in touch with me? They didn’t care. And now neither do I. I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. They can’t offer me anything now that would make my life any better. So I don’t really know what you want with me, Liz, because we weren’t really friends back then either. We ran in different crowds, we had different lives. And now, well, if you want something, just lay it down, but whatever you think you want, you can’t have. I’ve changed so many times since you moved. I’m nothing of the person you once knew”

For a moment Liz just looked at him. She couldn’t remember ever hearing him speak so much in one go before. She stood up, and Peter looked at her - nervously, she thought. He was breathing heavily, as though he’d been running.

She stood in front of him, and she hugged him close.

*