#sorry I'm a little bit salty today

[moody-alcoholic]

Making them feel good

Hello to my American readers cos it's 3:30 here and I'm tired.

MDNI +18 content

Summary: Ghoap x Reader, throuple. Slow burn (sorry but not sorry). 2.7k words. Reader is female (she/her), army nurse, non descript physical features, names used: Ashe.

CW: MDNI + 18 content. Smut, multiple blowjobs, oral (M receiving x2), kissing & licking, cum swallowing, little bit of Mdom, tiny bit of hurt/comfort. Look they're expressing their feelings what can I say.

Previous parts - masterlist - next part

Enjoy ya filthy animals <3

You feel your body moved, there are more then two hands now. Your head is on Simon’s lap the blanket still wrapped round your body. You force yourself to keep my eyes closed not wanting to cause a bother. 

“You let me sleep too long” You hear Johnny say. 

“You needed it.” Simon replies. 

“What about you?” Johnny says sighing. 

“Don’t worry about me.” Simon says his hand falling on your shoulder. You feel Johnny move closer to Simon leaning over to kiss him, you hear their lips smacking together. 

“I always worry about you.” You hear Johnny say quietly. 

“I know.” Simon says as they pull apart. You feel like you’ve just invaded their privacy, maybe you should have moved to make them know you’re still there, or something. Simon’s hand is rubbing your shoulder as you feel Johnny move off the sofa. 

“Want anything to eat?” You hear Johnny ask from a distance he must be in the kitchen. 

“What you making?” Simon asks.

“We don’t have anything in.” Johnny says, you hear the sound of a fridge door close. “What time is it?” 

“7,” Simon says. 

“Lets order in, what do you think she’ll like?” Johnny asks you can hear him making his way back to the couch. 

“Let’s order from that Mexican place that does the super stuffed burritos.” Simon says. You hear Johnny tapping on his phone. 

“40 minutes?” He asks.,

“Yeah that’s good.” Simon says. You try to convince yourself you’ll let them know you’ve been a wake but you can’t help yourself keeping your body still and your breathing steady, you doze off again. 

The doorbell jolts you awake, for a second you think you’re in a hospital and it’s a respiratory alarm going off. When you see the darkness outside you remember where you are.

“You okay?” Simon asks his hand on the small of your back. You nod letting yourself wake up properly the smell of fresh cooked food filling your nose. 

“We got some food if you’re hungry?” Johnny asks as he puts the delivery bags on the table. Your body’s stiff as you sit up straight the blanket falls to the floor. 

“I need to pee.” You say pulling yourself to your feet. Your body still feels sleepy as you make your way to the bathroom. You lock the door making your way to the toilet. ‘You should always pee after sex to decrease the risk of UTI’s’ your nurse brain tells you, bit late for that. You look in the mirror as you wash your hands. The bags under your eyes are getting heavier, you need to get a good nights sleep. When you leave the room you see Simon and Johnny on the couch, Johnny with his arm around Simon’s shoulders munching on a wrap. You make your way back over to the living room, feeling guilty for eavesdropping on their conversation earlier. 

“There’s chicken or pork which one do you want?” Johnny asks taking food out the bag. 

“Chicken sounds good.” You say and he hands you the wrap you sit in the recliner next to the sofa pulling your knees to your chest. The news is playing, you pretend to pay attention to it as you pull the foil off the wrap taking a bite. It tastes good, salty and oily exactly what you need after today. Simon and Johnny talk about whats happening on the news, you’re half listening to it as you eat the burrito.  

“Looks like it’s all kicking off.” Johnny says. Simon replies with a grunt. All of a sudden the Burrito tastes stale in your mouth. You put it down on the coffee table. The pit of guilt is not going away. You try to rack your brain to why you’re feeling like this. All you can think about is Simon. Johnny got to fuck you, Simon didn’t get anything, Johnny said he was rough Simon didn’t seem rough. 

“Simon,” You say as you turn to look at him, Johnny is laid up against his chest. His eyes fall on you as you slip out the chair crawling on your knees toward him. “I want to make you feel good.” You say as your hands find his knees.

“Oh yeah? How you plan on doing that?” He asks playfully, his legs parting so you can run your hands down his thighs. 

“Let me suck your dick?” You ask. He chuckles and you look at Johnny who winks at you stroking Simon’s chest. Simon’s hand reaches down into his sweatpants pulling his cock out. You were right he’s bigger then Johnny, of course he is, and he’s not even fully hard yet. 

“Think you can take it?” He asks, his voice low as he strokes himself in front of you. You don’t care if you can or not now it’s a challenge. You look up at him nodding, Johnny is smiling as he nuzzles his face into Simon’s neck. Your hands reach out as you move your body between his legs making sure you’re comfortable on you knees and take his cock in your hands. You rub up and down using your thumb to push into the underside. Simon’s head tilts back as Johnny licks his neck. You take a breath in pulling his foreskin back so you can wet his tip with your tongue. 

“Fuck-” he moans his free hand resting on the top of your head. You just go for it locking your mouth round and forcing yourself to take the whole thing. You hold your breath letting him fill your mouth up all the way down to the back of your throat. You gag your mouth filling with saliva, Simon’s fingers run through your hair. Your head bobs up and down as you make sure to take every inch of him your tongue pressing into the underside of his cock as it grows bigger in your mouth. 

“Like the way she makes you feel?” You hear Johnny ask between kisses. Simon just murmurs in response, you could never imagine him letting himself go like this especially when he’s walking around with that skull mask on, the one that sends shivers up your spine when you see it. Right now he’s at your mercy, his body twitching with each stroke of your mouth, each kiss from Johnny. Simon grips your hair helping your head move up and down, he’s rough just like Johnny said making you take him all the way to the hilt as tears form in your eyes. You don’t mind though this is your time to make him feel good. You move faster pressing harder with your tongue, Johnny’s moaning sweet things into Simon's ear making your body crave touch too. You move one of your hands into your underwear rubbing your clit, you don’t care if you get off but it feels good and it makes you more eager to please. Simon’s hand moves from your hair to your face, gently tapping your cheeks. 

“Hey, look up at me love.” He says, you force your eyes open without stopping your pace. Johnny’s mouth is burred in Simon's neck, his hand under his shirt rubbing his chest. “I want you to look me in the eyes when I fill your mouth up.” 

Holy shit the tingles travelling through your body are almost electric. You keep your eyes on him letting him thrust in and out of your mouth, your fingers circling your clit as you keep in time with his thrusts. He’s moaning as he gets closer to the edge, you don’t take your eyes off him. He pushes deep into your mouth and you push your head as deep as you can as he cums, his hot seed fills you up as his cock throbs in your mouth. You wait until you feel him relax before pulling your head back swallowing his cum.

Johnny is still stroking Simon’s chest whispering in his ear just quiet enough so you can’t hear. You don’t care though you made him feel good. You feel the pit go away in your stomach as you move your body from between his legs taking your hand out your underwear. You watch as Johnny kisses Simon his hand stroking his cheek. 

“Johnny you have to let her do that to you.” Simon says as he pulls away, his hand gently touching himself. You look up at Johnny with needy eyes, the prospect of making him feel good too has got you all worked up again. Johnny seems to pause for a second looking between you and Simon. 

“I don’t mind.” You say trying not to sound greedy. Johnny smiles pulling away from Simon spreading his legs so you can move between him. He’s already hard as he pulls his cock out. You look up at Simon who’s eyes have glazed over and he moves closer to Johnny. 

“You sure you’re alright lass?” Johnny asks as you take him in your hands. You nod, your tongue licking the bead of precum off his tip. He’s not as big as Simon, not that you’re complaining you’re going to make him feel good just the same. You lock your mouth around him taking his cock all the way to the hilt. His moans are just as good as Simon, the ache between your legs intensifies as you enjoy each inch of him filling your mouth. 

“Shite, Si, she’s almost as good as you.” Johnny says. You don’t have time to processes what Johnny is saying you just move faster looking up at him as his eyes roll back in his head. Simon pulls Johnny’s chin to look at him their lips locking together. Johnny twitches in your mouth causing you to close your eyes and moan on him. He likes that and you  work faster hearing him pant trying to keep his cool composure as he gets closer to the edge. Simon's voice reverberating off Johnny as he tells him how good he’s being. It doesn’t take long before he’s coming too, you take him deep just like you did with Simon making sure you feel every spasm and throb until he’s twitching from over stimulation.

You pull away swallowing your second load of the night watching as Johnny sucks in deep breaths Simon stroking his face. You smile at them getting up picking your glass up from the coffee table and heading into the kitchen. You run the tap for a few seconds then fill the glass up drinking it down then leaving the glass in the sink. When you walk back to the living room you see Simon’s head on Johnny chest. You decide not to interrupt them heading to the bedroom and crawling into bed. You close your eyes exhausted but satisfied, you can still taste their cum in your mouth as you drift off to sleep.        

—————————— 

You wake with your arm spread on Johnny’s chest, light is coming in through the bedroom window. Simon is behind you snoring softly, you don’t even remember them coming to bed. You slowly and quietly slip out from between them leaving the door ajar and heading into the kitchen. You’re craving a coffee and after searching through the cupboards for a while you find some and boil the kettle. Your eyes keep flicking to the bedroom door hoping you’re not waking them up. You decide to take the coffee out to the balcony grabbing the throw from the couch on your way out.

The sounds of busy central London fill your ears as you breathe in the frigid air. You make your way to the chair pulling the blanket round you and watching the activity on the Thames. The sun is still low in the sky covering everything in a burnt orange hue. You relax back in the chair sipping your coffee. You think back to yesterday and how natural everything felt. Johnny and Simon being so accommodating, you’ve never felt anything like this before, you’ve never had boyfriends or one night stands treat you anything like the way Johnny and Simon seem to fawn over you. The coffee burns your tongue as you swallow it down.

There was something different with Johnny and Simon, you knew this time it was going to be different. Not just because it was a three way relationship but the fact that it felt like a relationship and not just a fling or a few month fling. Holy shit you were actually falling for them, falling for them both. There was no Johnny without Simon and there was no Simon without Johnny. You smile as you sip the coffee watching the sun rise over the London skyline. 

“You okay?” Johnny makes you jump as he sticks his head out the door, your free hand flies to your chest. 

“Jesus, sneak up like that on everyone?” You ask as he walks out the door. 

“You think I’m quiet you should hear Simon.” He says smiling. “Or I guess you don’t hear him.”

 You smile at him get up drinking the rest of your cup as you walk towards him. He moves aside to let you in as you drop the throw on the couch heading to the kitchen. Johnny follows you the whole time as soon as you’ve put the cup in the sink his arms are around you. You turn to look at him as he pulls you closer to him. His lips moving to yours, you sink into his embrace as he kisses you moving his tongue round your mouth. 

“Yesterday was amazing.” He says as he pulls away your arms locking round his neck.

“Oh yeah?” You say in a desperate attempt at praise. Johnny just smiles at you his lips moving back to yours, it’s slow and sensual the type of kiss that makes your knees shake, your body warms up as he presses you against the sink. 

“Johnny,” You say breaking away from the kiss. “Johnny, I think I’m falling in love with you, you and Simon.” You wait for the laugh, or maybe he’ll be angry that you say you love his husband. You hold your breath waiting for the inevitable let down of being the third wheel. Instead his hand cups your cheek pulling your face up to his. 

“You know how long we’ve been waiting for that.” He says, you look confused but he pulls you in for another kiss. 

“This isn’t a fling, it’s not about the sex, its about a relationship.” Johnny says as he strokes your cheek his forehead on yours. You feel a wave of emotions come over you, suddenly you feel like you’ve said the wrong thing. Johnny seems to pick up on your change in body language his hands finds your waist and he moves you back to the bedroom.

“I don’t want to wake Simon.” You whisper as he pushes you through the door. 

“Just trust me.” He whispers as he guides you to the bed you get in with your back to Simon, Johnny laying next to you. He reaches over you grabbing Simon’s hand pulling it over you and onto him. 

“See this, feel him behind you, this is real and this is want we want, it’s not a fling.” You nod listening to his words. You feel Simon stir behind you as his hand grips Johnny’s side. Simon nestles his head in your neck kissing you. Your body is frozen hoping he’ll go back to sleep and get some rest.  

“Relax baby,” you hear Simon say sleepily, your eyes are still locked on Johnny as he strokes you cheek. You let your body relax. 

“We love you too.” Johnny says quietly kissing your forehead. 

It’s not just a fling, it’s a relationship. 

Next part

[lunarmoves]

lunch today was a burrito you'd snagged from el chips with your employee pass. it wasn't anything much, just a tortilla with some beans slapped inside and cheese for extra flavor. rather sad, now that you thought about it, but at least the sauces you'd added made it taste better.

you often took your lunch break in the daycare, nestled comfortably in the chair behind the unused security desk. so that's where you were, taking advantage of naptime to eat your food in a quiet, peaceful place. it was dark, but the lighting from the windows behind you was enough to allow you to see. that and the small lamp positioned in a little corner of the desk.

you took another bite out of your burrito, mindful of the crinkling aluminum, then paused halfway through chewing. "you've been staring at me for the last ten minutes."

moon's face plate clicked to the side, his squatted position atop the desk before you making him loom rather ominously over your much smaller form. "messy," was his short response, though it only made you roll your eyes.

"i'm not messy and you know it," you replied and took a sip of your drink to wash down some of the beans stuck between your teeth. "you've never stared at me on my other lunch breaks like this. something up?"

he was quiet for a moment, light from his eyes painting your vision in watercolor ruby. then he looked away, turning his gaze to all the snoozing toddlers resting on the playmats. "...keeping you company."

you raised an eyebrow as an indication for him to elaborate. since when did he care? when moon didn't hear anything from you, he huffed—a strange sound, coming from a robot—and mumbled something just loud enough for you to hear. "humans eat food with each other all the time."

you blinked at him—the resolute way he was avoiding your gaze—and mulled over his words in your head. there was a tendency for humans to put meaning into shared meals—into spending time eating with each other as an act of friendship, camaraderie, or love. your gaze softened and you took another bite of your burrito to spare him from the embarrassment that came with being vulnerable.

"that we do," you said gently, then nothing else. a quiet settled easily between the two of you and eventually moon went back to watching you eat your food. very, very intensely.

you cracked after about five minutes, more amused than anything. "okay, what is it? there's something else on your mind, isn't there?"

"no," he immediately replied, then at the expectant look you gave him, he deflated. he tapped the metal of his fingers against the top of the desk—a sound that seemed to echo throughout the daycare. "....yes."

you waited as he seemed to ruminate upon his words, before eventually—at your gentle, inquisitive hum—he relented. "gustation is not one of our utilities," he started unsurely, tentatively. you tilted your head at him, curious at what he was getting at. moon hesitated for only a split second, then pressed on with what he'd been previously contemplating. "your burrito. what does it taste like?"

oh! you weren't sure what you'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "well..." you started slowly. "it tastes like... beans. and cheese. kind of spicy, too." when moon gave you a flat look, you held up your hands in a shrug. "sorry, you caught me off guard."

"we know what burritos are made of," moon told you indignantly, and you knew if he could, he'd roll his eyes at you. "we just do not know what it tastes like. try again."

you snorted and took a bit more time to think, taking a bite to chew more carefully and parse out the flavors. "it's savory," you eventually settled on saying. "a bit salty, but the blandness of the tortilla balances it out. spicy, like i said before, because of the hot sauce." you thoughtfully rubbed at your chin with your free hand.

when moon made a sound that was like clicking one's tongue against their teeth, you realized that was not quite what he was looking for either. "yes," he grumbled, "but what is that like?"

hm. this was getting more convoluted by the minute, but you were not opposed to taking time to try to explain flavors to him. you set down your half-eaten burrito and wiped your fingers on a spare napkin you had lying around. then you leveled him with a pondering look. he looked back, patiently waiting with his fingers tip-tip-tapping away.

you decided to start with the easiest one. "spiciness," you began, mind racing with what to say, "is like... holding something hot. like... when you overheat and your fans kick into overdrive to cool yourself down. it hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt."

he took in your words—digesting them slowly—then nodded. you continued. "umami is like… sitting at a hearth. uh, maybe like when you have a kid sleeping on your lap after a long day.” shit, this was hard. you stared up at the ceiling decorated in all its glowing stars as you contemplated your next words. moon only waited quietly and for that you were thankful.

“saltiness is like— like a steely tang. distantly reminiscent of the ocean.” you tapped a finger over your lips. he probably hadn’t ever seen the ocean, huh? “it’s like the color white. it can be used to bring out other colors, but too much and it just ruins everything.”

you hadn’t mentioned the other three tastes in describing your burrito, but you might as well for his sake. “sourness is like a zap of electricity. very sharp! kind of like…” you trailed off and gestured at moon to come closer. he was limited due to his protocols restricting him from passing beyond the desk, but he could at least lean forward enough that you could reach up to his face. he gave you a curious look, and you almost felt bad when you gave him a flick on the forehead. a small twang echoed from the contact of your nails on metal. “like that.”

“ow,” moon said in a deadpanned voice as he leaned away from you. one of his hands lifted to cover his forehead, and you chuckled before continuing your little lesson.

“sweetness is easy. it’s like a kiss on the cheek or a hug from someone you really like,” you said with a small smile. moon’s face plate tilted to the right at that, his gaze locked onto your face. tap-tap-tap went his fingers. “and last, but certainly not least, bitterness is like… hm… like”—you pulled a face, scrunching up your nose and sticking your tongue out—“like that. unpleasant. a battery that has melted apart.”

you picked back up your burrito and took a bite from it, letting moon stew in your words in the meantime. it looked like he was in a completely different world and you wondered what was going on inside that flat head of his. you swallowed down your bite and added “i’m sure there are better ways to describe them, but that’s all i’ve got for now.” you shrugged.

there was a quiet, quiet moment where moon just stared down at you. a tension seemed to line his shoulders and back, expressed only via the fidgeting of his hands. you raised an eyebrow, only slightly concerned. “…something on your mind?” you asked gently. and just when you thought he wasn’t going to say anything for the rest of your lunch break, he seemed to deflate and reached out a hand towards your face.

“thank you,” he mumbled, the smooth metal of his thumb swiping over the plushness of your bottom lip. it was cold. you had to suppress a shiver. your breath got caught up in your lungs, a burning sensation crawling its way up your neck as you watched him carefully. he leaned back and regarded the smudge of hot sauce on his thumb. you had to resist the sudden, vicious urge to lick at your lips.

the entire daycare seemed to hold its breath.

“what we wouldn’t give,” moon eventually said lowly, something indecipherable tinging his voice, “to share a meal with you.” an ache nestled itself in your chest.

and then he sighed—longing and wistful. the sound getting swallowed up by the vastness of the daycare.

[tsu-kitty]

𝓸𝓅𝓉𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸

♡ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 › 2.0k

♡ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 › atsumu x reader, gn!reader, atsumu gets in an off-page fight over the reader, fluff.

♡ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 › after getting stood-up on a date, atsumu sees his chance to swoop in and steal your heart.

♡ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 › i only recently jumped on the atsumu train, so he may be a bit ooc, but i'm in love with what i wrote so hopefully you will be too and you can forgive me. also, not proofread, sorry, i was so excited to post this.

The tears streaming down your cheeks were cold and salty and stung when the winter wind hit your face. You hated that you were crying. It wasn’t like you were heartbroken. You didn’t even like the guy, you barely knew him. It was more that you were a hopeless romantic who accepted an offer for a coffee date despite knowing little more than the guy's name. Love was unpredictable, a mysterious being that worked in round-about ways. Maybe she had chosen this unknown blue-eyed boy from the class below yours to be your soul mate.

Alas, after stopping you on your way home to ask if you'd like to go on a date and exchanging numbers, he hadn't even possessed the human decency to reply to your messages asking where he was, if he was running late. The only response you received was the minuscule text under your message bubble reading “read”.

So, no, you weren't heartbroken. You weren't entirely sure what you were. Disappointed? Embarrassed? Both seemed to fit. Regardless, you tried to find the bright side. Maybe you’d just dodged a bullet. If his actions today spoke anything of his character, then he would have been a lousy boyfriend. 

Still, here you were, dressed up in a cute but warm baby blue and pink outfit, ready for at least a morning of cosy winter date activities. It would really be a waste of a cute outfit if you were to go home immediately. Who said you couldn’t take yourself on a nice date? 

Wiping the tears off your face, you spun on your heel, determined to not let the day be unhappy. First, you needed a snack and a warm beverage. There was an adorable cafe in the other direction that was miles better than the one your not-date had suggested.

“Oh, Y/N!”

“Atsumu?”

The tall blonde boy grinned, wiping the light sheen of sweat on his forehead away. Judging by his shoes and athletic attire, he was out on a run. “Hey, Y/N. How are you? What are you doing here?”

Miya Atsumu wasn’t someone you would consider yourself to be particularly close to, but the two of you had miraculously managed to be in the same class all throughout highschool. So, you knew him more than an acquaintance would, but less than a friend. However, you were on a given-name basis, mostly due to him having a twin brother. Atsumu had been seated behind you this first semester, though, so there was always potential for the relationship to bloom into friendship. Still, you weren’t there yet, so confessing to being stood up just moments ago was out of the question.

“Oh, um, you know, just the usual—”

“You’re crying.”

Suddenly, he was right in front of you, his nose barely ten centimetres from yours, cupping your face in his big, rough hands. His chocolate eyes were wide and concerned, pulling his thick brows together. 

“N-No, I’m not,” you stuttered, taken aback by Atsumu’s unexpected closeness. Your heart was pounding against your chest, anxiety pushing its speed faster and faster. If he got any closer, you’re sure you would pass out.

“Your eyes are red and watery,” he said with a seriousness you didn’t know he possessed. 

“I have allergies,” you lied. 

“Y/N, I’m not a complete idiot.”

“Listen, I’m fine,” you said, trying your best to avoid his eyes as you peeled his hands off your face. They were too close, too intense. “I promise. I’m already over it.”

“Okay, then what were you crying about?” he asked, bending his head to try to follow your gaze.

“It’s nothing really. I just got stood up.” You forced a smile. “But it’s okay, I’m over it really. I barely even knew the guy.”

Something in Atsumu’s expression shifted darkly before landing on a bright smile. “Oh, really? I’m sorry that happened to you. Who were you supposed to meet?”

Suspicion tickled at the back of your mind, but you told him anyway. “Furutani Hide.”

“Furutani, huh?” Atsumu pondered. “Nah, can’t say I know the guy.”

“I don’t really either,” you confessed. “He asked me out randomly at school.”

“Why’d you say yes if you don’t know him?” asked Atsumu, brows pulling together again. 

It occurred to you at that moment that his eyebrows were a lot darker than the rest of his hair. Was he a fake blonde? How had you never noticed before? His hair was kind of an unusual colour now that you really considered it.

“Well, uh… I don’t know…” you said sheepishly, twisting a ring around your finger. “My friends say I’m a hopeless romantic . I think I’m just… optimistic.”

You raised your eyes to Atsumu’s and found him staring at you eyes wide and mouth agape. Then he cleared his throat and regained his composure. Why he lost it in the first place, you weren’t sure. Maybe he… No. Had you not learnt your lesson? This was the kind of thinking that had led to you crying your eyes out not five minutes ago. 

“Either way,” Atsumu said, scratching the back of his head, “it’s his loss. I mean, can’t say I know you super well, but just from being your classmate for three years, I can tell you’re a pretty cool person.”

His words caught you off guard. 

“Really?”

Atsumu shrugged. “Yeah.”

A gentle heat rose in your cheeks. “Wow. Thanks, Atsumu.”

“Eh, no problem. Look, I gotta go, but I’ll see you at school on Monday. Try to cheer up in the meantime, okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered, returning his wave as he started up his jog again. 

By the time Monday rolled around, you were completely over being stood-up and your brain was on its way to forgetting about the whole incident. That was until you happened to be passing by the teacher’s lounge when the door slid open and out trudged Furutani Hide, slouched and dazed, looking extremely worse for wear. His hair was sticking up in odd places, his tie was screwed drastically to the left against his white shirt which was oddly dirty. Worst of all, one of his nostrils was plugged with a tissue and the other was freely leaking crimson blood. 

At the sight of you, Furutani’s back straightened before he snapped at the waist, blurting, “Y/F/N, I’m terribly sorry for asking you on a date then standing you up. I am a spineless coward and will never do such a thing to anyone ever again. I will stay out of your way and never bother you again.” 

You watched slack-jawed as he bowed twice more then sprinted out of sight, down the hallway, nearly knocking over three other students. 

“Well, I’m glad we got that cleared up.”

Turning back to the teacher’s lounge, you watched  Miya Atsumu waltz towards you, hands tucked into his trouser pockets, as casual and confident as ever. He was sporting an all-too-pleased-with-himself smirk and bandaid on his cheekbone. His hair and tie were also askew, but in a slightly purposeful way. His shirt was relatively spotless but his trouser knees were stained with dust.

“Atsumu…” you said slowly, piecing together a scenario that you hoped both did and did not happen. “What did you do…?”

“Bold of you to assume I did anything,” he replied coyly, stepping almost as close as he had when you last spoke to him. “The pig probably just had a change of heart.”

“Atsumu,” you repeated, harsher than before.

Sighing, he rolled his head around his shoulders then met your questioning gaze. Were you really going to make him say it?

You didn’t falter, making a show of crossing your arms and shifting your weight onto one leg, popping your hip out.

Atsumu sighed again. “Fine. I didn’t like the fact that he stood you up on your date. Soooo… I may or may not have…” He avoided your gaze. “... told him he needed to apologise to you when I saw him at lunch.”

You waited.

“And punched him in the face.”

“Atsumu!” you gasped. Yes, you had assumed some sort of fight had occurred, but you hadn’t expected Atsumu to be the instigator. “What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t really.”

At least he could admit it.

“I was just really pissed off,” he said, shrugging.

Whilst you were flattered that a boy would get into a fight on your behalf, you really couldn’t condone that sort of behaviour. “There was no need for you to be pissed off,” you scolded him.

“He was literally flirting with some other girl,” Atsumu exclaimed, hands flying out of his pockets to emphasise the drama of his statement.

“That doesn’t matter, Atsumu,” you continued. “I’m over it. Way over it. Even if I wasn’t, it hardly concerns you, so why would you—”

“Uh, yeah, it kinda does concern me, ‘specially when it’s hurting the person that I like.”

You froze. “Oh.”

Atsumu rolled his eyes. Now, it was his turn to cross his arms judgmentally. “Yeah, ‘oh’.”

At his unexpected confession, all the words in your vocabulary had left you along with the air in your lungs.

Atsumu continued with his confession, full steam ahead stepping closer to until your own retaliation steps had you almost pressed against the wall. “You know, for someone who’s friends would call them a hopeless romantic but would prefer to describe themselves as ‘optimistic’, you really are blind to romance.” He placed his hands on the windowsill on either side of your body, caging you between his arms. “I’ve been flirting with you since the start of the year when I got seated behind you.”

Your heart was beating like you’d just run a marathon, pounding against your ribcage. You regained just enough words and air to mumble, “I thought you were just being friendly.”

“Oh my God, Y/N,” Atsumu groaned, physically deflating. “You’re so dense.”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

“Don’t apologise,” Atsumu replied, lifting one arm to tuck a stray hair behind your ear. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I should have just been straight forward with my feelings.” His fingers trailed down and around to your jaw to pull your gaze up to his. “I like you, Y/N. Have for a while now.”

Butterflies burst in your stomach, the heat from their frantic fluttering flowing into your cheeks. 

“And, I dunno if you’re, like, traumatised by your last date, but I’m still gonna ask. Do you want to go out with me after school today? I can guarantee you there is no chance of me ditching. Plus, I sit right behind you, so you can keep an eye on me the whole time.”

He waited patiently while you processed his words. His sunny brown eyes flecked with gold and bronze watched you intensely, anticipation steadily building. It was clear to you that he was being sincere when he said he liked you. The way he was looking at you was something you had fantasised about over and over: a look of fondness and hope and unwavering affection. It was an optimist’s dream come true. 

You were right in your thoughts on love. Not about her choosing Furutani Hide as your soulmate, but about her being an unpredictable, mysterious being that worked in round-about ways. Who could have predicted that the final push for you and Atsumu would be him beating up the guy that stood you up? Not even the most hopeless of romantics.

“Yes,” you finally replied, causing Atsumu to flinch, his face lighting up. “I do want to go out with you.”

Much to your amusement, Atsumu jumped for joy, fist pumping the air in excitement. “Oh my God, that’s great. I’m so hyped, you don’t even know.”

You giggled. Yeah, this seemed more like your soulmate.

[crazyforhwa]

hard hours ?,!

my brain is full of yunho right now. imagine the reader has a oral fixation and it calms her down when she has something in her mouth.

he’s playing valorant or something and she really needs his pretty cock asap and he lets her just warm his cock in her mouth while playing

eventually he gets a little needdddyy! include some exhibitionist themes like him praising her while on mic with mingi or smth? go crazy with it!!

Put on a show..

pairing: gamer!yunho x fem!reader ft. gamer!mingi

genre: smut with little to no plot, fluff

summary: You get a little bit too needy when your boyfriend is busy playing with his friend..

word count: 1,8k+

tags/warnings: nudity, none of them are idols, reader has an oral fixation(it's not that good, I'm sorry), video call, exhibitionism, oral (m! receiving), slight clit play, spanking (f! receiving), praise(only once), short aftercare, there's no actual intercourse, they're just playing around, vulgar words

Feedback will be highly appreciated, I'd like to know what you guys think! ♡︎

Yunho and Mingi were playing. Again. The amount of "one more round" you have heard from your boyfriend in the past two hours is funny at this point. You couldn't wait any longer, you wanted him so bad.. So you decided to gain his attention in a different way. You weren't going to play innocent, not today. Taking off everything besides your underwear, you got on all fours and quietly crawled towards his gaming setup.

After finally finding your place under the desk, you looked up to see his face fully focused on the game. Yunho knew about your oral fixation, and it wasn't a problem for him. He actually enjoyed it, the thought of your pretty face stuffed with his cock never failed to give him a boner. However, not used to initiating things, you were unsure as fuck of your actions. After a short moment of thinking, you hesitantly tugged on the seam of his sweatpants. It clearly shifted something inside of him, his adam's apple bobbing. His fierce eyes looked down on you, focusing for a second on your perky nipples. He's getting riled up, that's a good sign..

"Want you in my mouth.." you mumbled out quietly. He sent you a look of approval, a silly grin painting his face. You licked your lips hungrily and pulled down his pants completely. What a surprise, he had been going commando all this time.

Yunho's half-hard cock slapped against his abdomen, the wet sound so loud, some of it could be heard on his mic, catching the other male's attention. You gently grabbed his member, and even though it wasn't fully erected, you could feel it pulsing and twitching under your touch, the tip already leaking with precum, begging to be sucked on. Not wanting to wait any longer, you wrapped your lips around his dick, this particular action making him moan out loud. This time, much to your relief, his mic was off. 

As expected of his thick girth, your jaw got sore in mere minutes. However, that didn't bother you at all, content with finally having him in your mouth after waiting for so long. His salty essence kept on dripping, this time, down your throat. He was so heavy, putting some great force on your tongue, and it felt so good, muffled whines kept on escaping your used mouth. Soon enough, he was fully hard, the vibration of your voice too pleasurable to bear with. Deep, breathy grunts could be heard around the bedroom, your boyfriend getting closer to his release.

On accident, Yunho turned on his mic, your filthy sounds loud and clear for his best friend. "Are you alright? Hello?" Mingi asked. You immediately froze, too scared to get caught. It didn't really phase Yun, and he gently nudged your chin with his finger to signal that you should relax and go back to what you were doing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, bro," he confirmed and went mute. To ease your worries, his fingers ended up on your head, softly stroking your beautiful locks. It encouraged you a lot, soft whimpers leaving your lips once again.

Without your knowledge, Yun turned on his microphone again, this time on purpose, letting the other male hear all of the nasty noises you guys were creating. At first, Mingi would ignore the sounds until..

"Such a good girl. Yeah, are you pleased with having your pretty mouth stuffed with my cock? Hm?" your boyfriend said, making you moan like a bitch in heat. That's it, a tent started slowly forming in Mingi's shorts. Fuck, he didn't want to come off as a pervert, but everything that was happening right now got him stroking his sensitive length through the thin fabric, biting on his lower lip in order to reach an orgasm without your knowledge. Ah, he was so glad to have his camera turned off.

At some point, Yunho stopped thinking about the game, the thought of fucking that little throat of yours completely fogged up his brain.

He grabbed the back of your head and started moving his hips, which was not so smart as he quickly lost control of himself, and his long dick hit the back of your throat, making you gag loudly. "What was that noise, man??" Mingi finally asked, although he already knew the answer. You thought Yunho would try to save himself, but oh, you were so wrong.

He turned on his camera and rolled back his chair until you were visible. "What was that noise, you ask?" his hand grabbed a handful of your hair. "Off." you immediately let go of his cock with a pop sound. You looked at Yunho's monitor and saw Mingi in his pajamas. He looked so shocked yet so fucking hot, the sight of his long, blonde hair made your panties sticky with arousal. "Say hi to our friend, whore," your boyfriend demanded. "H-hi, Mangi," you tried your best, but it didn't sound appealing, your voice too groggy.

The man behind the screen clearly had no clue that his camera was on, as he pulled his length out of his shorts, half of it visible to both you and Yunho. "Hello.." his deep voice could be heard from the speakers, sending shivers down your spine. Before you could say anything else, Yun filled your mouth with his girth again, this time more roughly, making you scream out of surprise.

You made eye contact with him, and his eyes said one thing. Suck. So you did so, a white, creamy residue forming around your lips from how fast you bobbed your head up and down. "Let's play another match," said Yunho in a shaky tone, followed by a muffled groan when you squeezed his heavy balls.

Mingi, however, being too stunned by what was happening, didn't answer. Yunho released a deep sigh and stopped your movements. "If you want to watch so much, then watch, idiot.." he stood up and changed your position in a way so the other male could see both your mouth and cunt. He grabbed his moistened tip and directed it to your lips, forcefully prying them open. Oh, you were in for a ride.

"Come on, slut. Look at him, he's so desperate. Probably wants that precious body all to himself. Let's put on a show for him, shall we?" not expecting a response from any of you, he started thrusting into your mouth. His moves were rough and fast, tight balls slapping against your chin with every push. You choked on his member, streaks of salty tears running down your face, but you loved it. You loved every second. You wanted him to absolutely ruin you. Use you like one of his toys.

"Look at her, isn't she so pretty?" Yunho asked. Mingi just nodded his head, not knowing where to look. "Take off your soaked panties, show your stupid cunt to him," your boyfriend ordered, so you slowly pulled them off, the black piece clinging to your skin because of the wetness.

Once you were completely bare, Yunho continued on with fucking your throat. To turn on Mingi even more, you decided to pleasure yourself and started slowly rubbing your puffy clit with the black langerie piece. You moved the soaked material up and down, nudging your bundle of nerves in the best places possible. It felt so good, your tight hole kept on closing and opening, clear arousal dripping out of it, ending up on the floor.

Your boyfriend caught up pretty quickly on your shenanigans and decided to spice it up by using his free hand. He slapped your buttocks with so much force, you swear it had you seeing stars for a moment. He kept on spanking you, leaving red handprints on your ass and making it jiggle.

And oh, it definitely helped Mingi. With his lustful eyes focused on your body, he started jerking off his dick even faster. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was biting his lower lip. Fuck, he looked so delectable.

Yunho's sounds got louder, and so did yours. Finally, his head tilted back, sweat dripping down his face, and his mouth wide open from the intense pleasure. He was letting out the beautifulest moans and groans known to mankind as his cock started throbbing, and soon enough, thick strings of cum shot from his tip right into your throat. You swallowed everything and pulled away to catch a breath.

You found a portable mirror laying on Yunho's desk, so you grabbed it to check out yourself, and to say less, you looked like a cheap whore. Ruined makeup, teary eyes, sweaty skin, dishevelled hair.. Fuck. 

You tried to stand up but failed miserably, your legs too wobbly to take a step. Yunho softly grabbed your waist and sat you down on his lap in the gaming chair. "Everything okay? Want me to bring you some water, tiny?" he asked, his voice laced with worry. You giggled at him, happy to have your gentle giant back. "Yes, please. My throat hurts a little bit.." you answered. Yunho kissed your temple in response and left to get something for you. 

Your thoughts went back to Mingi, and you immediately opened up discord to see if he still was on the call. He was! "Mangi..?" you asked, unsure if he would respond, as the screen was black. You heard some shuffling, it appears that he had to put his headset back on and fix the position of his camera. "Oh, yeah? I'm here," he said, his face finally visible again. A subtle blush adorned his cheeks, and his blonde strands were all over the place. Your lips widened at the cute view. You guys chatted for a while, talking about everything, waiting for Yunho to come back.

"Hey.. I wanted to ask you something.." he interrupted out of the blue, nervousness evident in his words. You replied with a simple "Hmm?", not knowing what to expect from someone so unpredictable like him. "Did you.. Cum? During our call.." His voice was so damn awkward. You couldn't see his face anymore, but you could bet he was scratching the back of his neck while asking. Not wanting to lie, though, you slipped out a quiet "No.." and cleared your throat. Gosh, what have you gotten yourself into. 

Before you could change the subject, you felt a muscular arm grab your chin and tilt your head away from the computer. It was Yunho. "My lady didn't cum, hm?" he asked, that deep voice of his laced with mockery. Your eyes widened, thighs rubbing against each other. Upon seeing your weak state, he chuckled and got close to your right earlobe. He gently bit on it and let out the sexiest sigh you have ever heard. 

"I guess it's your turn now, tiny."

author's note: thank you so much for this ask, I hope you will like it, anon🫢 Because it's my first ask ever, I've decided to turn it into a drabble. It's trash, I know, but it's my first time writing something in less than 12 hours. Oh and, I'm sorry, I went a little bit overboard with the exhibitionism themes💀

taglist: @ateezreader (send an ask to be added)

[huexuri]

⊹ what are we? (fem!reader x gyu)

NSFW, MDNI!

warnings: fem!reader, college au, crying (not dacryphilia), slight body worshipping, size kink mentions, bsf!beomgyu

note: gyu looks so fucking good in the photos above i'm so wet (i'm menstruating.) and also i was gonna end this as fluff but why stop there when u can have so much more right

you finally arrive to your same old eyesore of a college building, drained and exhausted which was very painfully obvious by the way your eyebags were heavier than usual and the way you didn't even bother to make your hair like you usually did — just slapping on a claw clip like a hair tie and your hair is falling apart each step you take. your shirt is crumpled because you didn't bother to iron it, and your heavy ass bag is barely staying on your shoulder as you have to readjust it every 5 seconds.

you really didn't want to come today, but you don't have a choice. your legs hurt and your eyelids are uneven and you're sighing the entire way to your hostel. you being in horrible shape, swearing to yourself that if someone asked you if you were okay, you'd burst into tears and start having a breakdown in the middle of your lecture. and your best friend beomgyu noticed this, being the only one watching you as you walk through the hallways lazily.

finally settling all the mess that followed you this morning, you head to the bathroom to try to look presentable. putting your hair in an actual ponytail and curling your lashes while smothering on some of your lip balm, you finally collect yourself and head out, just to bump into another student, standing at the end of the hallway seemingly waiting for someone.

"oh my god- ugh! i'm really so sorry, today has just been a rough one, i'm so blur right now—" you mutter out frantically, accidentally knocking the little strawberry protein bar off their hand and onto the floor.

"girl!! it's okay, it's me! it's gyu, don't worry oh my gosh.." beomgyu giggled slightly at your anxiousness and picked up the protein bar. brushing the dust off of the plastic packaging, he hands it to you.

you take some time to regain yourself — you're about to cry because of how bad your day is starting, but realizing that it's beomgyu that you bumped into after seeing static, you finally let out a sigh of relief.

"oh.... um what's this gyu??" you take the protein bar from him. it's your favourite strawberry protein bar that you always stole from beomgyu because you didn't know where he got it.

"it's for you, i know how much you liked it so i bought a separate bar for you. you seemed really tired so i thought that it'd help a bit." your friend said casually, patting your shoulder as reassurance.

"i'm not tired!" you said frustratedly, "just... today's not going well, i—"

"i can see right through you, i know you're not okay. just eat it, and i'll see you in class. okay?" he pecks at your forehead so casually as if he does it on a daily basis. this was the first time he'd ever done that, and you can't lie, butterflies swarmed in your churning stomach.

beomgyu starts to walk away as you stare at him in disbelief for a good 5 seconds, before shouting a weak "stop!.." his way, and his head turns right at you.

running to him while stuffing the bar into your pocket of your sweatpants, you hug him so tightly, the warmth of his body and the plush of his hoodie feeling like silk on your skin.

when he bends down to return the hug, your head in the crook of his neck, you finally break down onto him, beads of salty tears staining his hoodie.

"i'm so sorry, i don't even know why i'm c-crying." you mutter, even more muffled when you speak into the cloth but he still understood you.

"hey, hey, shh.. it's gonna be okay. what about we hang out later, or like.. i bring you shopping, or... do you need water? what do you need? it'll be okay, please don't cr—"

"i need you.." you reply hastily, sniffling, and arms wrapped around him tighter than before.

"after the lesson, okay? okay pretty? don't cry, you're so strong." beomgyu replies, his big hands patting the small of your back. he always called you pretty as a supportive friendly "go girl!" way, but it felt so different when he reassured you, it felt so genuine. it made you feel prettier than he'd usually do. you felt like his pretty girl.

pulling apart from his embrace, you nod and sniffle, your nose and eyes red as he cups your face and wipes your tears away with his thumb, sweetly caressing your face.

the both of you finally calm down and you walk to class together. you don't know how to see him now, is he still your friend or are you both more than that? maybe he was just being affectionate because he's a supportive friend, but what kind of friend would—

snapping out of your thoughts as you both arrive to your seats, gyu being seated next to you. he admires you as you munch on the protein bar he gave you, even breaking off a piece for him.

your lecturer is talking but all you can think about is his arm around your chair, lightly fidgeting with the sleeve of your shirt. your head is rested comfortably on his shoulder and you're really trying your best to take notes. but it's hard when you both are so close like this, it's like another side of him has revealed to you the moment you started sobbing. you're not complaining. it feels great to have someone like him as a.... friend?

classes finally ended, and the both of you meet up again, planning to go to a shopping mall to cheer you up. you already did feel better after he hugged you, but beomgyu kept insisting he'd bring you out to eat all the bingsu you want, and that it'd be on him. how can you ever decline that?

the both of you had the best day at the shopping mall, and the both of you even took little polaroid photos together.

hopping in his car, preparing to return to the both of your designated hostels, there's the sound of the car engine revving and the both of you sigh after what seemed to be .. sort of a date.

but there was still an aching question that never faded from the back of your head that you'd ought to ask him since this morning.

"what are we?"

you hadn't realized you just said it out loud. when he replies you, you slightly shiver.

"wanna find out?" he replies to you as he started to drive.

"..."

there was a silence for a few minutes. it wasn't awkward, but rather as if he gave you time to ponder.

"can i kiss you?" you blurted out, breaking the silence.

beomgyu swerved and parked at a remote place. it was dark outside and the city lights are miles away.

"what are you waiting for?" beomgyu looked at you with expectancy in his glistening brown eyes.

looking around hesitantly, hoping that nobody would see you guys, beomgyu lifts your chin with his soft hands, waiting for an answer.

"i-i don't know," you muttered.

"then go on, kiss me, pretty girl." beomgyu smiled at you with reassurance.

you closed your eyes as he pulled you close. his cold lips met yours and one of your palm cups his cheek as the other grip on his fluffy hair. your noses touch and beomgyu sighs as he sinks into you, now torso on top of yours, the both of you decide to take it to the backseat.

not breaking the kiss in this entire 20 seconds as your tongues play fight with each other, your mouth taking his lips in, his teeth gliding onto your lips. you sloppily let go of the kiss as a string of saliva connects your lips with his. you're both catching breaths and panting slowly, gazing at each other with awe.

"what are we now?" you say, almost in a whisper.

"is this not enough to answer your question?" beomgyu says while wiping his mouth.

"i don't think so.." you coo, and a pretty grin replaces beomgyu's tireless expression.

running your fingers down his torso and trailing little kisses down his clothed pecs, getting closer and closer to his bud, you look up at him, eyeing him with consent and he nods.

you lift his shirt up to reveal his toned body that he always hid under his baggy shirts. you praise his body with your love and finally, you lay a tongue on his bud. hands on his chest as his shirt's folds rest on the top of your head. you draw little circles with your tongue around his bare nipple and he sighs at that, his back arching away from the car seat for a bit before laying on the car seat again, head thrown back after looking at the lovely sight from above.

you do the same to his other nipple, painting it wet with your spit before letting go and slowly making your way down to his waistband, getting dangerously close to his erection that grew the more you came closer.

beomgyu strokes your hair and tucks your face framing piece behind your ear, with hope that you'll quickly help his aching boner already..

tracing his v-line with your soft fingers and tugging at his waistband before gazing up at his pretty features, waiting for permission.

beomgyu eagerly nods his head, eyes glossy with plead.

"please, go on.." he whispers impatiently, his cock already seeming to want to burst out of his pants.

"okay, okay." you giggle softly and unzip his pants, pulling it and bunching it up towards you, only to be met with the sight of his throbbing cock, the only barrier between you and him being the thin polyester of his boxers.

he's bigger than you expected. it felt odd that you'd be thinking about your best friend's cock now that it's in front of you. once you struggle to pull down his boxers, immediately his cock springs out and slightly hits his own stomach. now, with much ease you continue to pull down his boxers and... well, you're not even sure if you can take him whole.

with a final knowing look at him, beomgyu gives you the green light as he adjusts his position to rest his back.

he gasps as you take him in your mouth, the feeling of your warmth enveloping his shaft is exhilarating to him.

"s-shit,... that feels so..." beomgyu murmured, his eyebrows in a slight frown. his eyes lustrous, looking at your pretty face as you sink down on him.

he loses himself in the pleasure,, moaning softly and thrusting upward into each stroke of your mouth. he gently fists at your hair — eyes fluttering shut as his mouth grows agape, whimpers escaping him now and then.

you on the other hand; you're hollowing your cheeks so you can take him as much as you can, despite his almost unnatural size and girth. the beads of precum that slide effortlessly down your throat each time you lower your head onto him and his slit taps the back of your throat.

"d-does it feel good?" you mumble, with him still in your mouth.

"fuck yes it does, i..." beomgyu's eyes roll backwards when you basically swallow his cock. "you're so good at this, h-how.. oh my— holy shit,"

you start to increase your pace at his words, bubbles of spit collecting at the back of your throat, coating the entirety of his quivering tip, slightly gagging on it.

"oh my fucking god."

beomgyu's whispers send you to heaven on earth. his pretty shaking voice is like candy for your ears. the sight of his sweaty hair falling in front of his eyes, his lips drying up because it'd been slightly parted for so long. finally licking his lips and bucking his hips up into you, you can feel his pelvis stutter, and you know he's going to squirt into your mouth, so you prepare — positioning yourself to sink onto him before he—

"fuck, cummin', a-aah—"

hot cum spurts down your throat and with ease, you take it all. his hips buck up to pump it all out of him and his grip on your hair loosens.

you finally let go of his cock along with the breath you'd been holding for god knows how long. stretching his boxers over his cock and then his pants, you crawl onto him with one final kiss so he'd taste himself off of you.

"today wasn't a bad day after all hm?" beomgyu smiled, his hand rubbing your upper back as if to release the tension from your previous position.

"not anymore, now that i can confirm that we're more than just best friends." you return the smile gently.

"yeah, we're best best friends!" beomgyu teased.

"gyu!! oh my god, you little rat..."

[spidernuggets]

could you pretty please, if you have any request spaces left open, do a little something where y/n is like a ball of sunshine type character and nothing ever seems to break her or get her hopes down, but one day jason is suuupper pissed off about smth and he verbally takes it out on her and it makes her cry, and he feels bad immediately but won't admit to that just yet because he's in his asshole era (maybe this would fit titans jay better), and he just doubles down like why the hell are you crying that he's seen her handle waayy worse than this and still manage to stay upbeat, and she's like forcing herself to stop crying and pull herself together and she tells him it's cuz it's him and hes like oh of course you'd cry over me cuz I'm just so awful and she's like actually no cuz it hurts to be on the receiving end of his anger because she's a little bit in love with him. Angst is my absolute fav so that's why I'm asking for sadness 💔😢

Jason Todd x Sunshine!Fem!Reader

Note: Yayyy angst! 🥳🥳

"Oh, oh, of course it's me! Blame Jason Todd once again for being such a prick and an asshole!"

"Hey, Jay! Wanna train together?" You came skipping into the training room, seeing Jason already throwing a couple of strikes to a punching bag.

"Not today." He replies, refusing to look at you and continuing to hit the bag, quickly wiping the sweat dripping from his forhead.

"C'mon, just one quick sparring match, hm? Please! You said you'd show me how to do that cool headlock thingy," you kept your upbeat attitude, missing the memo that Jason was not having it today.

"Jesus, I said no! Would you fuck off, I'm busy," he raises his voice at you.

He was in a mood because just a few hours ago, Dick threatened to bench him if Jason couldn't keep in line. If Jason won't stop disobeying orders, Dick wouldn't think twice about taking the mask and cape away from him.

But when Jason raised his voice, your smile quivered. "Oh.. I'm sorry. Maybe later, yeah? I know sparring makes you feel better!-"

You were cut off by Jason, fully yelling at you this time. "For fuck's sake, can you not take a hint or are you really that fucking dense? I don't wanna fucking spar right now, and I don't wanna spar with you! So how 'bout you get this through your thick skull, and fuck off!" He didn't mean to say any of that. He mentally punched himself for ever opening his mouth.

He knows you just wanted to make him feel better, but his stupid brain made him take his anger out on you. He always admired your happy and positive attitude. He doesn't know how you keep it up. Every time you walked into the room, it was like an angel came in with a glowing aura accompanying you. And his heart always swelled at the fantasy that you shared that aura with him every time you spoke a word to him, every compliment you gave him, every smile you sent his way. He wanted to apologise, but his thick pride got in the way.

"I..." You could barely get a word out. Jason has never talked to you like that before. Hell, he never even raised his voice to you before. You hiccuped, your throat getting clogged up, and you felt like you needed to hurl whike your chest ached.

It was too late before you noticed the salty tears travelling down your reddened cheeks. And it was too late before Jason noticed his mouth talking faster than his brain could think.

"Fuck, now you're crying?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "There's literally nothing to cry over, and I shouldn't even need to tell you twice to leave me alone!" What the fuck, why won't he stop talking?

You tried to wipe away your tears and tug your lips upward to show at least half a smile, but a choked out whine escaped instead.

"Honestly, stop crying, would you?" He really couldn't stop himself. Words just kept vomiting out his mouth like that time he drank one brew too many last time he kicked some villain's ass. He liked that memory. Granted, he was throwing up buckets, but you were behind him as he was hunched over the toilet seat. You thought he'd forgotten the next morning, but he clearly remembered how you were right behind him, rubbing his back in comfort, telling him you'd stay with him as long as he wanted. He also remembered the way you supported him up while walking him back to his room. He remembered you tucking him into bed, placing a trash can beside it, making sure he's sleeping on his side. He remembered you quietly reminding him about the water bottle you left on his nightstand. He also remembered that bold and cheeky peck you left in the soft curls of his head while telling him to get some good rest.

"You literally got stabbed and had a near death experience, and you were smiling the whole time you were recovering! Now you're crying? And for what?!"

"You- You're being mean," you sniffled.

He scoffs again and lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, oh, of course it's me! Blame Jason Todd once again for being such a prick and an asshole!"

You tried holding in your sobs, but that led to you almost choking on your held breath, your chest feeling full, and your head feeling sore. Jason wanted nothing more for you to slap him, hit him, shut him up. He wanted to tell you he didn't mean it, that he was sorry. He wanted to run up to you, hug you in a tight embrace, and tell you not to cry because he actually is a prick and an asshole.

"Literally, why the hell are you still even here! Get lost, I'm not gonna say it again!" He yells for the final time before going back to the punching bag. And after the few seconds he got back to it, he glanced at where you were standing and saw you were already gone.

He curled over, leaning his hands over his knees, panting furiously. He wasn't sure if the tiredness came from the punches or the yelling. Maybe both. But picturing the broken look on your face pissed him off even more. Not because you were sad. Because he was the one who made you sad. This made him hate himself even more.

He tore the boxing gloves off his hands, projecting them off somewhere in the room, and yelled out in anger. He didn't even notice he started crying himself.

It's been another couple of hours. Your cheeks were long dried, but that didn't stop your shallow breaths from shaking continuously.

You then heard light knocks coming from your door. You took 3 deep and calm breaths before going towards it to see who it was.

Jason was pretty much the last person you'd expect to be standing on the other side. Furthermore, him holding a small bouquet of flowers in his trembling hands was the last thing you'd expect him to present to you. But you were scared to make the wrong move that might tick him off again.

"Jason, can we talk later I-" You said slowly in a whisper, looking at the ground while shaking your head, trying to close the door on him.

"Y/n, please," he holds the door, leaving a little gap open between you and him. "I'm sorry. I- I shouldn't have yelled, and I-"

"No, Jason, stop. It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you, and I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare apologise." This time, when Jason raised his voice, it was different. It was softer. "It's not your fault. I was just angry, and I took it out on you. The only thing I was right about was that I am a prick and an asshole. And- and I took your gorgeous smile away from you, and-" He started to word vomit again, but this time, it made your lips tug upwards. "And I don't want you to fuck off or get lost. I never want you to get lost because your so amazing and."

He continued his rambles and didn't notice that you opened the door wider. He tore his gaze away from the ground, and his heart raced when he felt your hands cupped around his own that were holding the flowers.

"The flowers are really pretty, Jay," you smiled at him.

Your happiness was so magnetising that he mirrored your smile. But it faltered. "I'm sorry," he repeats. "You shouldn't have cried over me because of how much of an asshole I am.."

You sighed, taking the flowers from his grasp and holding them close to your chest, your finger gently gliding over some of the petals. "Let's be real, Jason, you're always an asshole. But... I was crying because you've never been so angry at me before. I was crying because I hated knowing that I was the one who pissed who off."

"Shit, oh, sweet thing, no," he quietly replied, holding both your shoulders, making you look at him. Your face warmed at the nickname. "You- You didn't piss me off. I was already pissed off before that. It was just bad timing, and me being a hot head- you can never make me angry."

Neither of you realised how the two of you were in such close proximity.

"Well... you can make it up to me?" You say, your spark of sunshine and optimism coming back.

"Yeah- yes, how, I'l do anything," Jason quickly replied.

You step back, walking to your desk, pulling an empty vase to put the flowers in. "There's a cute cafe that opened downtown," you started, admiring the arrangement of flowers. "Go with me?" You shyly ask, back still facing him.

Jason smiled wider, thinking that alone time with you would count as a date. "Of course, sugar. Anything else?"

You giggled and turned around and crossed your arms. "Yes. You're paying, obviously," you walked up to him.

"Obviously," he copied.

"And I want this to be a date." This was a new, bold side to you. You've never been this straightforward before.

Jason glances up to the ceiling for a few seconds, pretending to think. "Yeah," he places his his hands on your waist, your own resting on his chest. "I think that could be arranged."

[hellsslibrary]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚NSFW Alphabet with Azul Ashengrotto˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

DNI : minors.

!!Warnings : switch!top!male!reader, switch!bottom!Azul, size difference kink, oral, toys, cock warming, praise/humiliation kink, power dynamic, ink(I'm not sorry).

#a.n. : While everyone is writing kinktobers, I'm still trying to finish this. But wait after the alphabets, there will be kinktober... In November, to make it more convenient (and maybe earlier, if I try). Also, no pictures today because I want to redo the decor, and I'm writing this part of Azul for two beautiful ladies, so...(I'll add them later)

A = Aftercare (What are they like after sex?)

He is embarrassed about this (just a little), but he will help put things in order in what he and his partner have done. Prefers to rest a bit before cleaning, but if his partner starts, he will certainly help too. Especially if he was in a dominant position.

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part as well as their partners)

Well, in your body it would... Certain parts. He definitely has a kink for the size difference (you can't argue with me, I want to pin him against the wall). And he will love anything if it is bigger than his body parts? Palms, muscles, if any, tongue, di—. Yes.

Honestly, he really likes his chest, and not just the nipples specifically, he likes it when his partner touches him anywhere on the chest in general. I just have a headcanon that he has very petite chest, even for a guy and well... Sorry.

C = Cum (basically anything related to sperm)

So... His sperm has the most ordinary consistency. It is released quite a bit during orgasm, but it tastes quite salty. There is his ink in the sperm (fanfiction with the overblot form of Azul is always in my head, maybe I’ll write them too someday)

Mmm, I think he likes it when people cum in his mouth. Fish sperm, according to internet experts, is simply disgusting. So he likes this taste, definitely.

D = Dirty Secret (Self-explanatory, their dirty secret)

He is the power bottom almost always, simply because he is flattered by the idea of control. But damn, he has moments where he just wants you to take it all into your own hands and take it as you please, mostly without considering his opinion (but still having his consent to it, of course).

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they are doing?)

... No. Simply no. He's definitely a virgin. I doubt he even knows much about sex in theory. Well, dick, hole there, sperm, orgasm. That's all, okay?

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Doggy style~. Don't lie to me that you didn't want to bend him over his table in the VIP room, I won't believe you (it's not exactly doggy style, but who cares). He mostly refuses to look you in the face when you're dominant, so why not.

If he is dominant... Missionary position? I just like the idea of a dominant bottom underneath a service top and well... Azul would be a good fit. He likes to be snuggled anyway.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious at the moment? Are they humorous? etc.)

Extremely serious, but with a hint of playfulness, if that makes sense. For example, if he has sex with a partner, it means that they literally mean the world to him and he is exposing a part of himself that is really vulnerable, so he likes it if both parties take it very seriously, but he also likes to have an opportunity to tease you and pull your strings just to see how you react.

H = Hair (How well groomed is it? Does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

I wouldn't say he's shaved, but his hair is definitely short, so there's no real need for that. The color is absolutely identical and they are also slightly curly, just like this hairstyle...

I = Intimacy (How are they feeling at the moment? Romantic aspect.)

He is very romantic in general. As I said earlier, he exposes a part of himself that is truly vulnerable, so when his partner takes it seriously, he feels very loved, generally respected and accepted, so he becomes much more romantic both sexually and in general .

J = Jack off (Main canon of masturbation)

He has a lot of stress in his life, you know? So, fuck... I think he would like to do this more often, but he doesn't do it often anyway. He still prefers your hands.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

He probably likes to be humiliated and praised at the same time, and I can't explain it for the world, but I know it. Also likes power dynamics, likes to be bossed around and have less power than the other person, but still respected. But when it comes to dominating you—... For now. He also loves getting your cock warm (sorry). Well... I like to attribute this kink to all busy characters, except for Vil, what will you do to me.

L = Location (Favorite places to do things)

Very personal to him, so the only place he could really do this is either his room, his partners room, or some motel if he's really desperate. Specifically and for the most part, this is his room because he knows where everything is and he has certain toys that he can just pull out whenever he wants. Although... With a lot of persuasion or no choice (if one of you was EXTREMELY horny), he would agree to have sex in a less secluded place

M = Motivation (what turns them on, turns them on)

When he and his partner have a truly romantic relationship (that is, serious) or when you start whispering all sorts of dirty things in his ear and touching his thighs, for example.

N = No (Something they wouldn't do is disabled)

Hmm, I should at least list with someone no (with Vil there will be a direct list, lol), but Azula will also receive this honor. Rape, he also really doesn't like threesomes because he feels it's more about getting laid than actually caring about each other and wants to dedicate all his love to one person in particular. And also his real form until a very distant moment in the relationship.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Receiving. You can't tell me otherwise because this man looks like he was made to be flexed, especially with his skinny waist like...(sorry, I got carried away) and he probably doesn't mind either sit on your face (if that’s what you’re into, of course). The ratio would be something like this: 60% for you, 40% for you.

He's not particularly good at giving blowjobs, but it's all made better by his enthusiasm to bring you to orgasm as quickly as possible... As long as he's not teasing or denying your orgasm, of course.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He is slow and sensual as he loves to enjoy every moment he can spend with his partner in this way. Also wants to make sure that the other person knows that he loves them for real, and not just for sex.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickie games, how often, etc.)

Doesn't like quick games, but if he's really busy and his partner wants to do it, he'll agree to one. Well... Actually, they happen quite often, if I may confess.

R = Risk (are they playing with experiments? Are they taking risks? etc.)

Willing to take risks, but very quickly draws a line under what he doesn't like to do (he absolutely doesn't want many things until he becomes comfortable with his boyfriend/he has more trust in him). He wants to spend time with his partner as fully as possible.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they last? How long will they last?)

He becomes very weak in this position, so can usually only last about 7-10 rounds at most (still a reminder that this is a magical world, kittens). He actually only tries three or so, but if his partner wants to try a few more, he's more than welcome. True, only a few.

T = Toys (Do they have toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He probably has a dildo that he pleasures himself with from time to time, but he only really uses one. He takes good care of it and always makes sure it's properly cleaned so he doesn't get an infection or get sick or anything like that. Not a big fan of toys in general, but if that's what you want, he's okay with it.

U = Unfair (How much they love to tease)

He really likes both sides of the coin. He enjoys both teasing his partner and receiving teasing from him. Loves it when he squirms under his partner and he starts making comments about it, although he always complains about it, he likes it. And I also like the completely mirrored version.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Very loud because he often forgets to be quiet, the only thing he can really think about is his partner at that moment so nothing else matters. Although, if you persuade him to have sex outside of your rooms with him... He will hardly utter a sound, he is too ashamed.

W = Wild Card (random character headcanon)

He... Loves... Jerk... You... With...His... Tentacles. Okay, listen to me. When in the end, you gain his trust completely, he will agree to many things in his form. And damn... The tentacles are clearly faster and more skillful than his arms (even if they are quite chubby).

X = X-ray (Let's see what's going on under those clothes)

12 cm/just under 5 inches. He has a mole on his balls. His balls are surprisingly quite large and plump.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Like I said, his sex drive is quite high considering his stress level, but on average... He's fine with about 2-3 times a week. Although, what if you want more? He's all yours.

Z - Zzz (How quickly they fall asleep later)

Doesn't fall asleep right away, he likes to compliment his partner or talk a little before he falls asleep. If his partner is asleep, he can simply lie there for 10-20 minutes and come to the realization of what he just did before falling back to sleep.

[drabblesandimagines]

Sweet & Salty

I'm feeling a bit sad today so wanted some comfort... Sebastian x (afab) reader, Stardew Valley, Fluffity fluff Warnings: Mention of recreational drug use

-

It’s been a day. You’d sat down heavily on your porch steps, trying to keep the tears at bay. You should probably go mope in your bed, instead of staring at the land that is causing you so much distress. Despite your carefully placed scarecrow, you must’ve miscalculated the distance because the crows have still had a go at your most recent plantings and that’s hard-earned money down the drain - again. You’ve been here two months now and, surely, by now you should know better. The farm has been somewhat transformed since you arrived - a mass of weeds, stone and dead branches - but it’s nowhere near how you remember it in your grandpa’s heyday. He would’ve never made such a rudimentary error in his scarecrow placement.

Some of the fences around your crop patches have started to erode too – it won’t be long until they need replaced, but you’re trying to save up your wood supplies to put in a coop from Robyn. You desperately want to add chickens to the farm as eggs would be steady income – or at least you reckon – but you also don’t want them pecking at your crops alongside the crows, so having a fence seems important too. Your endless to-do list swirls around your head again. Why’s everything so hard?

It's not just your failings on the farm on your mind, but also your lack at making any real friends around here. Shane glared at you this morning as he headed off to work. That’s not unusual, despite your best efforts of a smile and a friendly greeting. Then Haley looked you up and down, judging your dirty dungarees. You’d only popped into town to get some seeds from Pierre’s. It didn’t make sense to get changed… Elliott is sweet but locked away in his cabin most of the time, Emily in her own little world… Sebastian, Sam and Abigail have invited you to play pool with them, but they’re such a tight-knit group and you always feel like you’re missing out on the joke, especially when you were partnered up with Sebastian. He’d been teaching you how to hold the cue correctly, leaning over you, his breath tickling your ear. Sam and Abigail kept nudging each other and whispering, but you couldn’t catch what about and it was clear Sebastian was becoming irritated. You’d begun to think they were making fun of your abysmal pool skills.

Ugh. Your emotions are a rollercoaster and the twisting pain in your stomach reminds you why – stupid period. It emerged with a vengeance this morning. It had stopped in your last months of JoJo Corp. There was no chance you were pregnant, your last intimate relationship fizzling out a year previously, though you’d taken tests just to be sure. The doctor in Zuzu City said you were stressed, burnt out… that it would return once you were feeling better in yourself. So why had it returned now, of all times? You feel more stressed and burnt out than ever before, regretting ever moving here. Why did you think you could become a farmer…?!

The barrier finally breaks and you let out a sob, hugging your knees.

To your shame, there’s a scuffing footstep and your heart stops as you look up, worried who’s seen your breakdown.

“Sebastian?” You sniff. You’re tempted to rub the tears from your cheeks but maybe he hasn’t noticed in the evening light. The black-haired man is standing there looking sheepish, a brown paper bag from Pierre’s clutched in his hands.

“Er, hey…” He’s not meeting your eyes. Poor boy probably wants to run. “Sorry, I… I was just leaving Sam’s and I didn’t want to go through town and see everyone, so I thought I’d take the scenic route back home through your farm…”

“Oh.” You mumble, waving him on. “That’s okay. Go ahead.”

He takes a step as if to go on his way, but then hesitates. “Are… Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you plaster a smile on, which you’re sure makes you look ridiculous as the stupid tears are still flowing. “I’m just being silly. Don’t let me keep you.”

He stares at you for a moment, before a sympathetic smile graces his lips. “You’re a terrible liar, you know?”

“I’m not ly- Ow!” You flinch as your stomach cramps terribly and you squeeze your arms around it, hoping in some way it might alleviate the pain.

Sebastian is suddenly at your side – the paper bag from Pierre’s dropped to the ground. He’s kneeling down on the first porch step with a frown on his face. “Whoa, are you hurt? I can get Harvey…” His hand hovers over your arm,

“No, honestly, I’m fine…” You try and wave him off again with one hand, the other arm still wrapped around your stomach.

He stares at you, a raised eyebrow. He seems to be putting the clues together – the wincing, clutching your stomach, the tears… He nods, making up his mind and gets to his feet, picking up the discarded bag from Pierre’s as he does so.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” He offers you his free hand.

“Thank you, but I’ll be okay. You get on home…”

“Farmer, I know I’m probably not the person you want to see right now, but let me help you out, okay? I can’t go home and just leave crying on your porch.” He waves his offered hand again. You look at Sebastian, hesitantly. He looks genuine, at least, but there’s something a little off about him tonight… Heck, you’ve already made a fool of yourself enough, so what’s one more thing?

This time you accept his hand and he easily pulls you to your feet and leads you up to your door. He opens it – you’d easily adapted to the habit of leaving the front door unlocked since moving to Pelican Valley.

You go to open your mouth, to tell Sebastian thank you, but he can go now. You’re inside, you’ll go to bed and pretend this never happened.

“Sit down.” He orders, pointing at your bed. “You like hot chocolate, right?” You wonder how he knows that, how he knows you have a stash. Had you mentioned it at the saloon before? “I’ll make you a cup.”

“But you don’t know where…”

“I’ll find it. Sit!” He pushes you gently towards the bed and you do sit, keeping a wary eye. To be honest, it is quite easy to find your cups and kettle. Robyn had advertised an extension to you but you don’t even want to think about the price and the materials needed. For now – perhaps even for the rest of your life - you’ve got a cupboard filled with crockery and silverware. The fire’s roaring away, you’re thankful you’d lit it earlier to try and make it cosy ahead of going to bed later on. The cabin always had a slight chill at night. Sebastian retrieves a mug and spoon, scooping the hot chocolate powder into the mug, fills the kettle with water from the jug you keep besides the cupboard, before taking it over to the fire to heat.

“Do you have a hot water bottle?” He asks over his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Hot water bottle.” He enunciates.

“Y-yeah, I think it’s under my bed. Let me…” Before you can bend down, he drops to his knees and Sebastian is now crawling under the bedframe to retrieve it. You pull your legs up off the floor to the bed, not sure what to say.

He reverses back out, holding the fluffy hot water bottle in the air triumphantly, and gets back to his feet. “Finally, where do you keep the snacks?”

“I don’t have any. Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting to entertain.”

“Not for me,” a chuckle – it sounds a little odd coming from him - “..for you!”

“For me?” He’s acting so weird.

But he’s not listening, already rummaging around the brown bag from Pierre’s. He walks over to the sofa and empties the contents besides you – there’s a couple of packs of chips, cookies and candy. “Ta-da!”

You look at the assembled junk food and back up at the black-haired man, noticing his blood-shot eyes.

“You’re high.”

Sebastian laughs again, rubbing the back of his head. “Guilty. Is that a problem?”

“No, it just… explains a lot.” You wince again as the kettle on the fire whistles. Sebastian grabs the mitt you keep nearby for that exact purpose and places it on his hand, removing the kettle from the fire and placing it down on the hearth. Methodically, he pours some hot water in the hot water bottle, tightening the cap, before pouring some in in the cup he retrieved, stirring the hot chocolate powder until it dissolves. Once he seems happy with his work, he brings the two over to you on the bed.

“Okay, since you worked out my thing, it’s my turn. Time of the month, right?” He flops down next to you on the bed, ripping open a bag of chips. “My sympathies.” It feels surreal as he holds the bag towards you and you take a handful – maybe junk food would make you feel better, and the warmth of the hot water bottle is soothing too now against your sore tummy.

The only sound for a few moments is the rustle of the chip package and the crunching of said chips. You take a sip of hot chocolate, probably a weird combination at that moment in time, but it’s working.

“Sebastian…”

“Mm?” You’ve caught him with his mouth full.

“How are you so good at this?”

“Erm…” He swallows. “Well, I guess cos I have a sister and a mom… and a friend named Abigail.” He replies in a teasing tone. “Maru and Abi usually just get super pissy though. Mom’s the crier.” Sebastian leans forward and grabs the blanket off the end of your bed, throwing it over the both of your laps in a smooth motion. Who knew he could turn into a right chatterbox? “Wanna watch some TV?” He picks up the remote control and turns it on without waiting for a response, flipping through the channels. “Do you have a preference? Nothing deters Abi from horror, Mom and Maru go chick-flick mad…”

You burst into tears again.

“Whoa, okay, no TV! That’s fair too.”

“N-no, it’s n-not that.” You let out a shuddering breath. “Why are you being so nice?”

“Because we’re friends…?”

“No, everyone hates me here.” You know you’re being irrational now, but the floodgates have well and truly opened.

“Come on, you know that’s not exactly true.” His face looks serious now.

“It is. I don’t know what I was thinking – I worked in customer support, why did I think I could farm the land? I’m going to be broke by the end of winter if I lose another batch of crops and this town is so tight-knit that they’re never going to like me being here.”

“I like you being here.”

“No, you’re just saying that because you feel sorry for me.” You go to take another handful of chips, but he snatches the bag out of your reach indignantly.

“I am not.”

“You are.” You clip back.

Sebastian lets out a huff in frustration and he acts before he can even consider the consequences. He puts a hand on the side of your face, turning it slightly and presses a gentle kiss on your lips for a moment or two, immediately causing your tears to cease.

“Would I kiss you if I didn’t like you?”

“I…” You don’t have any words.

He swipes his tongue over his lips. “Mm, salty. That’s not how I expected our first kiss to go, I’ll be honest.”

“Our first kiss?” Your face is on fire. It has to be on fire, why else would it feel so hot?

“Yeah, well, I told you I like you, didn’t I?” He grins, before it drops. “Though I’ve just realized that you probably don’t like me like that, I’m high, and now I’ve made this a hundred times wor-…”

You cut him off, caressing his lips with your own for a moment.

“No. I like you too.”

“Well, that’s that settled, then, isn’t it?” He leans back, a smug look on his face before he grabs the packet of candy. “Shall we see what a sweet kiss tastes like next?”

-

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi I'm also running an event for x reader fics to celebrate 200 followers, so please check it out and send in your requests.

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Remember You and Me Part 4/8

Summary - After a traffic accident reader is left with no memory of her life with Ruben, who desperately tries to get her to remember him.

Enjoy!

You walked into the lecture hall, heart racing as you took a seat. It had been months since the traffic accident that left you with no memory of your life. Returning to university you hoped that familiar surroundings and familiar faces would help you regain some of your lost memories. But as you looked around the room, you realized that you didn't recognize anyone.

A sense of panic washed over you. Who were you before the accident? What had you been like? What were your interests? You glanced down at your notes, hoping to find some clues, but they were all blank. You had no memory of ever taking the course before, let alone studying for it. As the lecture began, you felt like an outsider, watching the other students as they took notes and participated in discussions. You longed to be able to do the same, but you just couldn't remember how.

After class, you approached one of your former classmates, hoping that maybe he could help you. "Hi, do you remember me?" You asked hesitantly.

The boy looked at you blankly before shaking his head. "I don't think so," he said kindly. "I'm sorry."

You felt a sting of disappointment, but you didn't give up. You approached another classmate, and another, but no one recognized you. It was as if you had never existed before the accident.

Back home you trudged through the front door, heels clicking against the hardwood floor. You could feel the weight of the day dragging you down, like an anchor tied to your ankles. Luckily Ruben wasn't home from training to ask you how your day went. What would you even tell him?

You locked yourself in your bedroom , throwing your purse and phone onto the bed before collapsing onto the soft pillows. You could call your parents but then again you didn't want to talk to anyone. You didn't want to think in general. All you wanted to do was to remember.

You closed your eyes for what felt like a minute, waking up to a light knock on your door.

"Y/N? Are you okay?" It was Ruben, knocking on the door. You didn't respond. He tried again, his voice a little softer. "Dinner is ready if you're hungry."

"I'm not hungry." You groaned.

"Oh, okay. Have you eaten already?"

"Yes." You lied.

Ruben was only trying to be supportive, but you just couldn't bring yourself to talk. Not yet. Maybe never.

The minutes ticked by, you heard Ruben wander off to the kitchen. You could hear the sound of the fridge opening, the clink of dishes being set down. Your stomach growled, but you didn't have the energy to get up and get a snack.

Maybe an hour had gone by when you heard the sound of the door opening, and Ruben's footsteps approaching. He sat down beside you on the bed, his hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, I brought you some food," he held up a plate of crackers and cheese. "I know you're not hungry, but I thought you might want something to eat."

You looked up at him, feeling a lump form in your throat. You knew you couldn't keep this up forever. You took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.

"It was a rough day, but I don't want to talk about it."

Ruben just nodded, his hand still on your shoulder. He handed you a cracker. You took a bite, the salty flavor filling your mouth.

"I'm here for you," he said. "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here."

You nodded, feeling a sense of gratitude.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

You sat up in bed.

"Were we happy?"

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"In our marrige, were we happy, like before my accident?" You never imagined you'd be married at the age of twenty four. What you and Ruben had together must have been special.

He looked at you a bit taken back. "Yes. I'd say that we were happy. Very happy actually."

"How do you know?"

Ruben's eyebrows furrowed.

"Did I tell you that I was happy, like with words?"

"Y/N, whatever happened today..."

"Forget about that." You waved. "I just want to know if there was ever a time in our relationship that I wasn't happy and if I ever told you the reason?" Like the fact that nobody in your class knew of you.

Ruben sighed, looking to try his best to give you an answer that would satisfy you. "There was a time not long before the accident..."

"Yes?"

"You were often tired and struggling with food. But it wasn't necessarily because you were unhappy. You were also..."

"What? I was what?"

Ruben hesitated. "Y/N what really happned today? Please, you can tell me."

You shook your head. "I went to class and it wasn't what I expected, that's all."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I still think I have to go back there. For my memory."

He nodded. "I understand."

You tilted your body, letting it rest against Ruben's. For the moment he was all you had. The only thing about your past and present to hold on to.

"Another question." You said.

"Shoot."

"Do you have any fears?"

You looked up to see Ruben pondering the question.

"Yes." He said. "Many fears, actually."

"Oh, yeah? What's your biggest one?"

Ruben chest rose and fell as he let out a deep sigh. "My biggest fear is probably that you'll do remember me someday. But that you'll realize that I'm not enough for you, that you'd want to leave."

"Oh."

Not the answer you expected from him. It was deep and honest.

"My biggest fear is that I'll do remember my life before the accident. I'm afraid I'll remember it and not be satisfied with who I've become as a person."

"Compared to...?"

"Who I was as a child."

Ruben nodded. "Well, I've also had that fear. But I've realized that growing up isn't somthing worth fearing, especially if you are surrounded by people you love and people that love you."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"What?"

"Surrounding yourself with people that you love and people that love you. It's the same thing, no?"

Ruben shook his head.

"It's not? Elaborate please."

"Well, right now I'm sitting next to you, right? I'm surrounded by you."

"Right."

"However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you love me."

"I guess not." You thought about it, how you felt about Ruben. He made you feel safe, yes. And there was definitely more feelings to unfold within you, but love... you weren't sure if you were ready to express those words exactly.

"I'm so sorry Ruben."

"For what?" He frowned.

"I can't imagine how confusing this must be for you too."  Here you were feeling sorry for yourself. Forget about strangers in a classroom not knowing who you are. You couldn't imagine having your loved ones forget about you.

"We're in this together right?" Ruben said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

"Right." You nodded. "Together."

[luciathcv]

comfort - sjy

summary: you're an emotional crying mess and your boyfriend comforts you || warnings: like one curse word || genre: angst, fluff || word count: 650

I lie in my bed, a sobbing mess. The reason I was sobbing, you may be wondering. One of the keys on my laptop broke off today. I was already irritable the whole day and that was just my last straw. So now here I was, completely engulfed under the covers, bawling my eyes out. 

At first, I’d tried to calm myself down and stop my crying but it just wouldn’t stop so I ended up just giving in. How pathetic, I thought.

“Y/N.” I hear the familiar voice of my boyfriend, Jake, saying my name. I was so embarrassed. I once again tried my best to stop crying but was failing miserably.

I then felt the mattress sink down a little next to me and his hand went on my back over the covers. I didn’t want to leave these covers and have my boyfriend see how pathetic I was for the nth time in this relationship.

“Baby, come out of the covers.” Jake then softly says. Gosh, he was probably sick of dealing with me.

I ended up giving in though, crawling up a little bit in the bed and pulling the blanket down to my lap as I sat up in the bed, looking down at my lap. Jake then takes my hands and holds both of them as he faces me in the bed.

“What’s going on?” Jake asked me, a concerned tone in his voice.

I stay silent for a few moments. “I- everything- I can’t- my laptop-” My voice was stuttery and shaky due to the fact I was just crying.

“It’s okay, baby. Take a deep breath.” Jake tells me and I do as he says, still not looking up at him though.

“Today… has already been pretty shitty and I haven’t been in a great mood today and then- then my laptop key… I was using my laptop and the key suddenly broke.” I explain, my words are still a little shaky but better than before.

He nods, “It’s okay. We can go and get it fixed tomorrow.” Jake tells me and I just felt so embarrassed. I was freaking out over something so stupid. “But it’s okay to be upset. You had a rough day.” Jake suddenly adds, almost on cue. “Do you want a hug?” Jake then asks me. I nod in response and he nods before pulling me into a warm hug.

After hugging silently for a while, I have to say something. “I’m sorry.” I tell him.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s no big deal to go fix the key.” Jake responds, thinking I’m talking about the laptop. I mean, I was but I was also saying that for another reason.

“I’m sorry for being so annoying.” I then tell him, straight up saying what I meant.

He stiffens a little, I could feel it. He then pulled away from me so that he could look at my face. “You think that I think you’re annoying?” Jake asks me.

I shrug in response, “You’re always having to comfort me.”

He sighs, “Princess, that’s my job as your boyfriend. To be there to comfort you whenever you need it. Even if it’s for small things and especially if it’s for big things. I'm always here for you.” Jake tells me and I could tell he was being sincere. “You know why?” Jake then asks me.

“Why?” I softly ask.

“Because I love you. I love you so much. I love you the most in the world. And I hate seeing the person I love the most, so upset.” He tells me.

I don’t say anything for a moment before finally I say, “I love you too. So much.”

“I know you do, baby.” Jake says as he leans in and kisses me. The kiss was salty from my tears but neither of us cared, too involved in one another.

ᥫ᭡ link to my masterlist

[abiiors]

can we get a little ross blurb where both of you are just innocently making love and you cry at the end and he comforts and praises you

(mdni, 18+ only // female reader)

okay so i've changed your prompt very slightly just because i've wanted to do a proper fluffy aftercare blurb for a bit. hope you don't mind ♡

every inch of you is covered in sweat, covered with rough kisses and hickeys and your brain is a haze. everything is happening all at once--every neuron, every pain and pleasure receptor in your body is on high alert and yet your head feels numb and so foggy.

it's been like this for minutes now--since the moment you came after being denied four times but ross is still going. although he's fucking you slower than before now, riding out his orgasm (and letting you ride out yours) by thrusting into you repeatedly.

you know how this usually ends--you collapse on top of each other, limbs tangled up and sweaty and covered in bodily fluids. you kiss, slow and gentle and intimate, and then you begin the clean up after cuddling for a bit. that is the usual. but today feels different.

your arms tremble, your thighs sting and the knot in your stomach tightens further. this doesn't feel good--none of this... just moments before you were screaming out in pleasure and now here you are, wincing and trying not to cry as he pulls out slowly.

he's saying something too--his voice is all around you, trying to penetrate the fog in your head but all you hear is snippets and broken sentences.

"...baby?...okay?"

"hey..."

and then soothing fingers trail down your spine. suddenly, you're well aware of how wet your face feels, of the salty taste on your lips and your dry mouth. oh god, it's like everything comes rushing in all at once and your arms give out from under you until you faceplant on the pillow, practically curling in on yourself and ross' worried face comes into view.

"hey, hey, darling look at me," he speaks in a hushed but rapid tone. there's sweat on his brow, on his forehead and his beard glistens with your slick but his eyes are full of concern.

"baby, what's going on? are you okay?" he asks, gently running his fingers through your hair.

you release a shaky breath and attempt to speak through the dryness in your mouth. "i'm okay, just... give me a moment."

ross nods and leans down to press a kiss to your forehead but he doesn't pull away entirely. instead he traces your features gently--first your nose, then your cupids bow, your lower lip all the way to the contours of your jaw till he's back to swiping his thumb on your eyelids and cheeks, wiping away the tears.

the roughness of the pad of his thumb is grounding. familiar. once you've composed yourself a bit, ross wraps an arm around you, pulling you into his chest. "you sure you're okay, darling?"

well no, not entirely. the anxious knot still tightens in your stomach and you can't stop the occasional sobs and sniffles from escaping. every time you make a sound, his arms tighten around you and he buries his face in your hair, placing tiny kisses.

"you were so so good, my love. so perfect. i'm so sorry, i went too hard on you..."

your heart breaks at how worried he sounds, how guilty. "i-it's not you, i just--" you choke up slightly but clear your throat again. "just got a bit overwhelmed."

some of the rigidity in his body melts away and you feel yourself growing calmer too, a bit less shaky now that you can properly breathe once again.

"tell me what you need, darling. we can just lay here, no pressure. you've been so good for me, now let me take care of you," he murmurs, his thumb gently caressing your cheek.

you manage a weak smile, and nod against his chest. "just stay with me, please. just for a bit."

"absolutely. anything else you want?"

you take a moment to think, to breathe in his scent to ground yourself further. "and can we have a bath in a bit?"

"anything for you, sweet girl," he speaks and you can finally hear a small smile in his voice.

you pull back a bit to look at him, to give him a sweet kiss and feel his strong, steady heartbeat against the palm of your hand. you're okay, you realise. you're okay as long as he's here, as long as he's holding you and cuddling you. and judging by his tight hug, he doesn't plan on letting go anytime soon.

[elfieafterdark]

It's the first day of school. Santa Monica is the same as it always is. The September air probably isn't actually that cold, but it certainly feels cold to Harrow Tridentarius.

She's spent seven years living here, with her adoptive family. Her real family. She wakes up, gets dressed in her new fit (now with more mesh), packs her bag, and heads downstairs.

Corona must still be asleep, but she can always count on Ianthe to have woken up and made coffee.

"Mornin' Harry." Ianthe says, looking like a pale fairy queen, if said Queen short shorts and a big university sweater. "Sleep all right?"

"Yes, thanks." Harrow replies, grabbing her favorite travel mug and the coffee pot. "You?"

"Not really, but what's new huh?" Ianthe is lounging in a really big leather bar chair. Picking at some toast.

"Aww, I'm sorry Thay." Harrow tops off her travel mug with a healthy dose of creamer, then digs through the fridge for a Pop-Tart. "What are you up to today?"

Ianthe sets her plate down and grins, "I don't have classes until tomorrow. So naturally I'm going to a party tonight."

"Judith?"

"Hah, no. Dulcie."

"Makes sense." Harrow shoves the foil wrapped pastries into her oversized pockets. She hugs her sis, and makes for the entryway. "I got to run."

"Be late for once Harry." Ianthe says, "You know you don't have to arrive at school an hour early right?"

"I like to-"

"I know I know, you like to get your locker sorted and figure out where all your classes are." Ianthe gingerly picks up a piece of toast again, buying like it's plotting something. "Love you! Have fun! Get sloppy, make bad choices!"

Harrow rolls her eyes, slipping on her dark purple high tops. "Love you too, make sure to drink water." And she's out in the street.

She loves Santa Monica, she loves the ocean, she loves the beach, she loves the salty air. She loves the piers, she loves all of it.

It's way better than Montana that's for sure. She shudders, either from the chill or from remembering that ranch she spent her early years on.

Doesn't matter. They're gone. Anna is doing well, she's doing well. She walks, she doesn't need to, she could have someone drive her. Mom's, well there's no way around it, mom is loaded.

But Harrow likes to walk. She likes to look around, she likes to see how things along the route she always walks change day to day. The old bakery, the new five-story tall multi-use buildings. The dog who's always lounging on the porch of that old house.

Canaan secondary school is the same as it always is, an upscale architectural nightmare of faux stone and glass. It's perfect. Seems like she isn't the only person here either, a few cars in the student parking lot, a bus full of nervous freshmen pulling up. Noise. But the comfortable kind of noise.

She gets her schedule, and is grateful to see a few familiar teachers. As well as a new name: M. Cristabel for biology.

Wonder who she is.

Harry hits a brisk pace to her new locker, which is mercifully down in the art wing of the school. Her favorite haunt, walls plastered with noteworthy projects from last year.

A few excessively dark and tastefully macabre samples are her own. She's proud of her art. Of herself. Even if she is a little bit strange. The polished floors shine, and her converse squeak a little as she goes.

She scouted out all her classes, she's crammed all her unnecessary stuff into her locker. (Extra hygiene products, extra non-perishable snacks, a spare jacket because she gets really cold randomly; and so on). Now she can find her friends, or wait for them if they aren't here yet.

Down the main hall she goes. Past the somehow even more nervous freshmen, down the front steps.

And she crashes into something sturdy with red hair.

"Oh shit!" The red haired sturdy thing, a girl apparently, says with some kind of new england accent.

Harrow falls, drops her stuff, namely her Pop-Tart. But none of that really matters. Not when she looks up and sees the girl. Tanned skin, freckles, a swishy top of hair and shaved sides. A flannel tied around her waist. Jeans and a white tank top. Mirrored aviators slipping off her nose.

"I'm so sorry!" The tall and muscled girl blurts out, "Oh God I hope I didn't hurt you."

"No harm. I'm all good." Harrow says, smiling as this slab of girl helps her up. "You did accidentally smash my breakfast though."

"Fuck." The girl says, "We got a bit of time before class starts, can I buy you something from the corner store?"

Oh. Uh oh... This girl is smooth. Chances of her being like Harrow are pretty low of course... But what's the harm right?

"Well I'd have to know your name first." Harrow says with a smirk.

"Right. Gideon. Gideon Dve." Says Gideon, Gideon Dve.

"I'm Harrow."

"Your name is Harrow? That's actually badass. Okay Harrow, can I take you to the corner store and buy you some replacement breakfast?"

Harrow feels a shiver, like a drop of cold water running down her spine. It's not at all unpleasant though.

"Yes," she says, "I'd like that. Lead the way, Gideon."

[angelsanarchy]

Tangerine Skies: Possum x Y/N Series CH 6

Tagging: @svgarcaine @icarus-star @romanroyapoligist @tempt-ress @madamemaximoff06 @shady-the-simp @liquidsmoothdomme @auggiethecreator @ethical-cain-vinnel @blacksoul-27

TW: Oral sex, deepthroating

Y/n woke up to Possum's hard on pressed into her back. Possum snored softly into her neck and she reached between them to stroke him.

"Mmm I like dreams like this." He groaned as he stirred.

"Yeah? How do dreams like this usually end for you?" Y/n had felt him grow harder in her hand as she turned around to face him, his grip on her body not allowing her to straddle him.

"Usually with me having to get some wetnaps from a gas station for my sleeping bag." He kept his eyes shut as he laughed and Y/n couldn't help but notice how young he looked like this.

"Well If I use my mouth, you won't have to use wetnaps." Y/n kissed his chest and he groaned. His grip on her loosened and she slithered down to his cock, placing little kisses below his bellybutton.

"I don't know that I will last very long. This is the most I've cum in a while...consecutively anyway." Possum sat up on his elbows watching Y/n closely.

"I just want to choke on you for a few seconds and you can cum whenever you want." Y/n smirked licking the tip. He hissed at the feeling and watched her spit on his length. She tried to push a bit of his pubes out of the way of her mouth as she started to bob her head slowly, letting his dick probe the side of her cheek. She suckled the sides, teasing him slowly before she took the majority of him in, gagging instantly.

"Fuccck. Fuck fuck fuck." His head fell back but he remained propped on his elbows. She could feel his hips trying to stay still but whenever he thursted just slightly she pulled off. She kept trying to keep her hair from falling into her face and Possum noticed, taking her hair into his hands and holding it as he watched her gagging.

"I'm about to blow." He moaned and Y/n could taste the salty spunk hit the roof of her mouth with force before sliding down her throat. He whined with every little pull as she milked his cock to semi-softness before crawling back on top of him.

"I'll never be able to wake up in this tent without a hard cock now." Possum breathed making Y/n laugh.

"Sorry not sorry." She shrugged. Possum smiled at her before glancing at his phone.

"Shit I'm late." He got up and started shuffling about his tent, paused and kissed Y/n with a smile.

"Thank you for the wake up call." He ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

"Anytime." She smirked putting her clothes back on. She watched him gather his things and she almost thought he was preparing to pack it in but he turned around and looked at her.

"I need to ask a huge favor." He took her hands into his and she shook her head.

"What's wrong?" She asked concerned.

"I need you to watch my little brother. I can't take him where I have to go today and I don't want him to worry. He just needs to eat a few times and he'll find the facilities on his own." Possum explained.

"Where are you going that you can't take him?" She asked curiously

"I'm doing a delivery for a guy and if I get caught up, I'm afraid of what they'll do to him." Now Y/n was worried.

"Possum...please don't do anything stupid." Y/n said making Possum freeze.

"It's all good. I can handle it. Will you please do this for me? I don't trust him with anyone else." Possum pleaded.

"Are you in some kind of trouble that maybe I can help with? You don't have to do something that could get you arrested." Y/n tried to talk him out of it.

"I'm always in a little bit of trouble but it's been nice to come back home and have something make it all worth it." He smiled sweetly at her.

"I'll watch him but I want you to stay in touch with me. I'll worry if you don't come back." Possum kissed her quickly and pulled her phone from the picnic table.

"I just put my number in your phone. Try to text me and not call. Calling could get me in some sticky situations. I promise to come back." Possum put his hands on her shoulder and she nodded.

"Hey, you can trust me. I've done this a million times." Possum grabbed his bag and handed the smaller one containing his brother in it to Y/n who took it.

"Please be careful." She said making him roll his eyes.

"Of course! I'll be late so you two don't wait up." Possum gave them both a kiss on the forehead before taking off towards the main road on foot. Y/n watched her phone like a hawk most of the day, keeping an eye on Opossum and trying not to worry.

She wished she had his location and not just his cellphone number but that seemed like a bigger request after only knowing someone for this long. She was startled by a text message and she opened it to see a photo of Possum standing next to a tent in what looked liked like a camping store. The picture was of him looking mischievous and the caption read:

"This tent just gave me a boner...I hope no one notices." Y/n smiled at the text.

"Never thought I'd be jealous of a tent." She replied getting a laughing crying emoji and an alien emoji back. She started to worry less knowing he was at least in a store where other people could keep tabs on him. Maybe he would be alright.

[max1461]

I guess...

I've made some posts criticizing the mindset/priorities of "tech people" recently, and I think I've been a little bit unfair. I hope it's clear by now that I don't have an inherent problem with people who value different things than me. But I guess I'm just a bit salty about this, for probably a couple of reasons.

I used to consider myself a "tech person", when I was a lot younger. As a kid/early teen (in the 2000s) I started learning to code, and I wanted to either be a game dev or a penetration tester when I got older. I spent a lot of my time in online tech spaces, of various sorts. And I remember a different tech culture. I remember a culture that was... what's the word, mischievous? Unruly? People who wanted to take things apart and put them back together again, people who wanted to break things and reverse engineer things just to prove that they could, people who valued, I don't know what to call it, fucking around? And people who did not want to be told what to do. That old(er) tech culture is where I learned most of my left-libertarian sensibilities in the first place. I guess it was "hacker culture", in the very broadest sense of that term.

But the "tech culture" I see today, even from people my age and of my approximate politics, is just not the same? It's so fucking self-serious. It's not playful, it's not rebellious. It's about Changing The World (i.e. reshaping the world in the image of tech people). That's what I dislike about it so strongly. It's big, it's universalizing. It's not "I don't want the Man to mess with me", it's "I want to invent the new thingamabob that'll reshape everyone's life in five years". Not that doing that is necessarily bad, but aspiring to it is... I don't know, troubling to me?

And here's where I have to talk about rationalism, because rationalism (I don't want to generalize unfairly, but let's just say... in a lot of cases) epitomizes this attitude to me more than anything else. This self-seriousness so extreme that it almost feels religiously-inflected. It's about the whole future light cone, it's about optimizing the timeline. I just, it makes me fucking uncomfortable to be around that kind of talk!

[This post, by the way, was prompted by the recent statements of Balaji Srinivasan, which are another prime example of the shit I am talking about]

And, look. I want this post to be understood as basically personal in nature. Whatever my political or object-level disagreements with Yudkowsky, Alexander, Srinivasan, or any others may be, I don't need to articulate those disagreements with an attack on their Weltanschauung. I think it is valuable that people with many different sensibilities exist in the world, and I think, like most any other, the sort of grandiose and zealous sensibility represented by the 2020s tech-adjacent intelligentsia probably provides worthwhile perspective in various domains. But I can't help resent it a bit, because it's pretty much as far as possible from my sensibility, and I feel like I just can't get away from it! It keeps showing up in places that I'm trying to spend my time!

Ah well. I know this was fairly critical, and if you're a big rationalist light cone type of person, I... am sorry for being so critical. I really do support you in Doing Your Thing, at the end of the day. I just wish the general set of attitudes I see from that crowd could maybe be a bit less totalizing, and a bit more friendly to other sorts of people pursuing other things under other auspices. I don't know.

Now that I've said my piece, I'll try to be less passive aggressive in various posts.

[thatoneguydownthestreet]

Houswardens x male reader but reader is from the apocalypse: gas mask edition part 2, the electric Boogaloo

We got azul and kalim today. I was going to do Vil too but it's been a while since I started this and I just need to get it out. I'll do him and idia next time. Maybe malleus too.

Azul Ashengrotto

Leona 2.0

This man took one look at you and said no

He took one whiff of you and said fuck no

And it wasn't just the chemicals this time, no, because there was also the faintest, familiar smell of the sea....

The salty, sweet, familiar smell of his home was mixed with gun powder, plastic, and chemicals

And he hated it

What the hell are you? Why did you snell like the sea? Were you a another merman like him and the tweels?

You weren't, he'd come to find out

This did not make things better

Probably made them worse tbh

And what in hell is on your face

It looks....

unnatural. creepy. Disturbing.

....

Welp.

Time to avoid you at all costs

He doesn't really make it a secret that he doesn't want anything to do with you

And he fully expects you to take the hint and maintain about ten feet of personal space between the two of you at all times

Unfortunately for him, you either don't take the hint, or you've decided you were done with giving fucks, because you just so happen to currently be in the middle of the Monstro lounges' restaurant

....well shit

No but seriously what the fuck are you doing here?

Like, do you want to make a deal? Are you just hungry? Are you going to pull out a gun and start blasting? What.

It turned out to be the second option, but he was still pretty suspicious

You understand right? Of course you do

So, with a heap of fake confidence, he gathered his only two friends (that also doubled as bodyguards), and went out into the lobby to question both his existence and your presence

"Oh hello. I'm sorry to intrude, but what business do you have here?"

"...am I not allowed to be here"

"Oh no no no no! My apologies, I misspoke. I just mean...do you want lunch, or did you come here to strike a deal?"

"..."

"What kind of deal?"

And with that, he panics

He didn't think this far, what could you possibly want? And more importantly, what the hell could he get out of it?!

He looked towards jade

Jade didn't look back at him, and consequently missing the panic in azuls eyes

Instead, jade guides you up from your chair and towars the back

You know, where they do "business"

Azul took a sharp inhale

Can't turn back now

It's OK. He can do this.

He couldnt do this

But by god he could act like it

So calmly, and with a heart that has beating much too fast, he caught up with the tweels, looking calm and collected

And feeling the opposite

...

When he put the contract out in front of you, he was...a bit disturbed to say the least

The mask. It blocked out your face, so he couldn't see your face, or your eyes through the dark lenses

But the tilt of your head let him know that you weren't looking at the contract at all

No, you were looking at him

Oh great seven-

"Is something the matter?"

"No. Well, yes. You never answered my question. Just what kind if deal is this?"

"Well. If you would just look down, you'd see our contract-"

"No. I want to hear this from you directly"

Ah shit. Why.

In all honesty, he hadn't thought about this contract too much. Taking what little information he had about you and making an assumption

The contract was one that would change your face to anything you wanted

I mean, you must be a bit...unsightly, right?

Why else would you wear a mask?

When he told you this, you just stared at him, and he got the sudden feeling that he had made a mistake of some kind

"I'd say I'm rather decent, considering my circumstances."

"Then why, may I ask, do you wear a mask?"

"I don't know how clean the air is here. My sector was right by the ocean, so we had a lot of toxins in the air. You understand"

....

Pause

"Well i... i cant say i do. And toxins? What exactly does living right next to an ocean have to do with toxins?!"

Also sector? What the fuck does that mean?

Azul knew he was losing his cool right now, but honestly he was tempted to take your words as slander

He saw Floyd getting figitty out of the corner of his eye

Oh that wasn't good

You however, looked confused, your body language at least

What?

Azul took a deep, deep breath in

He could question your words another time

Right now, he had business

"OK. So I'll ask again. Why do you wear a mask?"

"...I'm going to assume you don't know what a gas mask is then."

No Y/N. No he doesn't

"The mask I'm wearing right now is a special one that allows me to breathe in toxic or chemical gases without dying, or become terminally I'll at least....I prefer to keep it on thankyou."

Well that explained nothing

But it also explained...everything

Ah, so the air quality were you were from is bad huh?

But how bad? You mentioned people dying, from what he assumes was simply by breathing, so it must have been...terrible

...Damn

But still, how was this because of the ocean?

How was what you were describing, because of his home?

You got up from your seat

Oh?

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, but I have no interest in being in this contract. I think I'll leave the lounge now actually. I need to find ace and duece"

Azul saw jade reach out to touch his brother's arm, stopping him from saying or doing anything too...reckless

...huh.

Azul dispelled the contract

...

Well now he had questions

What type of air do you know

And more importantly, what type of water

Kalim Al-Asim

Social cues and the concept of self preservation completely fly over this man's head

So of course he just straight up gies up to you and asks

Or at least, he tries to

Yeeeaaaahhhh no, jamils not gonna let that slide

Sorry but if kalim dies on his watch, he's the one who takes the blame and...."gets in trouble"

Kalim doesn't really know what to think about the mask

And that only fuels his curiosity, and jamils impending breakdown, that much more

Kalim shares the grand majority of his classes with jamil, so most of the time he's just stuck starring at you when he wants answers

Fortunately for him, unfortunately for everyone else, he still has a few classes without jamil there to keep him alive

Bro sees an opportunity and bro takes it

One moment your trying to do your homework before class starts and the next you're on the floor

Good thing you didn't see him coming because you were about this damn close to rocking his shit

🤏 This. Damn. Close

His smile almost made it worth the panic though

"Y/N Y/N! Can I ask a question? What's with the mask?"

"The mask? Oh. It's to breathe air"

"...huh?"

Now you have to remember, kalim has a lot of siblings, a lot of younger siblings at that, so he's a little used to people saying slightly cryptic things with full confidence that he'll understand

Which, usually, he does one way or another

This is not one of those times

"What do you mean to breathe air? The air's fine?"

"Well maybe to you. But I don't have magic"

"...uh"

You look at his confused face, and quickly begin to realize that the other people in the class, including Mr.Trein are all starring at you.

Oh yeah. You were laying on the floor with Kalim on top of you and talking about the air.

...which you had to say look remarkably clearer than what it was from your world, but then again, people here have magic.

...

Oh yeah, you're still on the floor

"Uh, Kalim. Can you maybe get off of me please?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah!"

I'm sorry what?

What did you not having magic have to do with your ability to breathe air?

Maybe you were merfolk?

No that's not it, if you were merfolk azul wouldn't look at you like you just said the sun was a cookie

So....

Yeah he doesn't know what's going on

Kalim, being kalim, tells jamil

And Jamil, being Jamil, connects the dots for him with one simple sentence

"Maybe the air was really bad where he came from or something"

Everybody praise jamil for being both the smartest bitch on the planet and being able to make the most obvious connect for his oblivious master

No really, praise him, he deserves it

But now that he has a reasonable answer to his question, this is once again, your problem

BECAUSE THE VERY NEXT DAY

"Hey you know the air is clean right?"

"Huh?"

"The air. It's clean. You don't have to wear a mask"

"Kalim. I don't know how to explain this to you any better. I don't. Have. Magic."

"And you don't need magic!"

"Y/N! It's clean!"

"..."

Kalim brought you some of jamils food the next day

You still had your mask on, but you were a bit more figity than usual

And he noticed

____________________

Holy shit I am so glad that's finally done.

I'm going to work on a request and then I'm writing jamil smut....so uh. Look forward to that ig

[writingsbychlo]

UNDER THE MISTLETOE (day three)

summary; kallias and vivienne spend the day attending to their duties, leaving you alone with azriel, and your growing feelings.

word count; 11,051

notes; I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. It's been a really busy month, and I did not want this part to take so long to write because I love this series so much. I really hope the next part is a lot faster. I will do my best!

Reaching your arm out towards the other side of the bed, your hand was met with soft bedding, folded neatly down at the corner and smoothed over. You smiled, rolling a little closer to it, seeking out the warmth that side of the bed seemed to offer. 

As soon as the faint smell of mist and cedar met your nose, your eyes were snapping open clearer, to look at the other side. You’d fallen asleep, you weren’t sure when, but you distinctly remembered that Azriel had still been there when you had. He’d been so warm, he’d smelt so good, and when your eyes had started growing heavy and your head had rolled back to rest between his arm and his shoulder, everything had gone blank. 

The warmth of the covers and the mattress below suggested he had only just left. The heat his Illyrian heritage brought him ran far warmer than you did, and the smell seemed deeply ingrained. Yet as you sat up, glancing around the room and blinking in the morning light coming in through the window, you caught no sight of him anywhere. His door was closed, and you were sitting in the centre of the huge Winter Court bed all alone. 

It settled something chilling in your chest. 

Rubbing at it lightly, you took a deep breath, trying to remove the deep frown from your face by rubbing at your cheeks. Azriel’s door opened, brows raising at you when your eyes met. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I-” You rubbed again at your cheek absentmindedly, “I slept on my face, think I have a crease there.”

“Ah.” He looked at you like he didn’t believe you, gaze flicking over your face, lingering just a tad too long for someone who took your word, but it gave you a chance to analyse him too. He was now dressed; dark blue jeans, those same leather boots, and a black jumper. The jumper looked soft, you wanted to rub your cheek on it. “I-”

There was a knock at the door, his mouth snapped shut quickly. He paced the room to your door and you tried to straighten up, cheeks warming that you were still in bed when he’d clearly been up for a while. The salty smell of bacon and sausages met your nose, the squeak of a trolley wheel as he carted it in, thanking the person on the other side before shutting the door. 

“I got us breakfast.”

“I see that.” Smoothing a hand over hair that was likely wild and tangled, you felt suddenly exposed in a way you never felt around Azriel. You were so used to baring your soul to him, to letting him in to see it all, and sharing everything with one another. “Are we not having breakfast with Kallias and Viv, then?”

“No, not today,” He was unloading trays onto the bed and you crossed your legs beneath the covers, covering your bare arms a little bit, feeling like you were practically naked before him. “Someone called for you before, I didn’t want them to wake you, so I answered. I hope that’s okay. They said Kallias and Vivianne have already had breakfast this morning, and asked whether we wanted the dining room set for just us or to eat here.”

“Oh.” You could barely form a response as he sat himself down on the edge of the bed bedside you, two mugs of tea he’d just poured from the pot in his hands. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You only nodded, sipping from your mug so as not to need to reply. “Okay. I’m glad I didn’t wake you when I got up, you were sleeping so peacefully. You deserve some good sleep, don’t think I don’t hear you wandering around in the kitchen at the House of Wind in the middle of the night.”

You didn’t actually know he knew that, and finally, your smile seemed to return. “You don’t need to worry, I just can’t sleep sometimes, I need tea. Why are you still up at those times?”

“I just can’t sleep sometimes.” He smirked, and you rolled your eyes at him. 

“Keep your secrets, that’s fine.” You eyed the breakfast that had been plated up for you, stomach rumbling happily, and Azriel was already digging in as it sat balanced on his lap. You waited, wondering if he would circle back around to it. To the fact that he’d stayed, apparently, and not come back. He’d woken up next to you and after being disturbed, he chose instead to retreat to his own room rather than come back. 

You couldn't let it get to you, you weren’t losing a friend of centuries for a few years of growing feelings. You took him in, watching him frown while pushing a pile of mushrooms towards the edge of his plate, and herding the rest of his food away so they were at no risk of touching. It made you genuinely smile again. Yeah, there was no way you’d throw all this away just to push for more.

“So, what are we going to do today, then?”

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to ask when they’d be back, so I figured we could find an advisor, ask them, make plans around that.” You hummed, lifting a piece of egg and bacon to your mouth, considering his words as the two of you ate quietly. “We should go sightseeing.”

“Definitely! There are some nice little villages nearby, we could go and have a look around one of them.”

“We could get lunch out, maybe?” He was pushing his plate aside, leaning over to pluck a piece of toast from your plate, tearing the corner off happily. “Somewhere proper. Yesterday was fun, but I need a real meal, not street food. Maybe a steak, or a burger.”

“You just finished breakfast. You’re still eating mine.”

“Don’t kill my food-buzz.” He waved a hand, reaching out for your other piece of toast, and you slapped the back of his hand. “Hey!”

“Hey, you! You can’t have that, I haven’t had any yet.” Picking it up, you took a large bite out of it, and he frowned for a second. Then, you lifted up a piece of bacon and offered it to him, and all sadness was gone as he accepted it. “You’re like a cat. Just give you some treats and you’ll give me love and affection, but if I don’t, you scratch my eyes out.”

“Can I be a black cat?” He taps the tip of your nose, using the distraction to swipe the final sausage from your plate, and you sighed. Passing the whole plate over to him, you shuffled out from the bed, stretching as you stood. 

“You are buying me lunch because you ate my breakfast. I’m going to order a lot of food.” As you walked away, you swiped up a change of clothes. “So much food.”

“I only ate half of the breakfast!” He yelled, and you let the bathroom door swing shut behind you, muffling your laughter as you settled into the morning. 

As you got ready, you could hear him finishing the food, arranging all of the plates back into the trolley and wheeling it all out into the corridor to be collected. He never rushed you, he always gave you as much time as you needed, and his patience was one of the biggest things you loved about him.

When you were ready, you found him sitting on your bed as soon as you stepped out. One foot still on the floor, one on the bed with his book in his hand, and he looked up at you.

“All ready to go.”

“You look lovely.” He folded the book closed and put it back, and you glanced down at yourself. Leggings, knee-high boots and a large sweater you were pretty sure was an old one of Rhysand’s. 

“You’re just saying that because you’re hoping that if you butter me up I won’t comment on the fact that you had your shoe on my bed!”

“I was hoping the shoe would distract you from the outside clothes on your bed.” He smirked, standing up and readjusting the blankets on the bed he’d made in your absence. 

“Some secret keeper you are, exposing yourself.” You teased, and he only shrugged, meeting you by the wooden door and yanking it open. He motioned for you to exit into the corridor first. 

“Oh, you know I never keep anything from you.”

“Such a shameless flirt, too.” His jaw dropped, and you held up your finger as you walked along, head shaking at him. “Don’t you dare say ‘only for you’, or any cheesy variety of that.” He smirked again, eyes twinkling, and yours narrowed. “God, I know you too well. Don’t say that either.”

“Why should I say it when you’ve clearly got it all covered.” He tucked his hands into his pockets, shoulders shaking with poorly contained laughter, and heat bloomed over your cheeks. “I’m flattered you know me so well.”

“Shut up.”

“No, truly, I think it’s positively adorable that you-”

“Excuse me!” You cut him off, dashing ahead and waving down the closest person passing by, and Azriel’s laughter followed you as you approached the male. The closer you got, the more of his uniform you could take in, recognising him as one of the Royal Advisors. “Hi, I was just wondering when Vivianne and Kallias would be back, and if you could tell us what we’d be doing today.”

“My apologies, ma’am. The Lord and Lady will be gone all day.”

“Oh.” Disappointment swelled within you, already feeling like a whole day of your vacation was about to melt away. Azriel sidled next to you, coming to a stop and letting his hand rest on the low of your back as he offered the male a polite nod, which was quickly returned. “Where did they go? If I’m allowed to ask, that is.”

“Of course you are, ma’am. They’re attending to some of their royal duties for this time of year.”

“Royal duties?” 

“Yes. I’m afraid they won’t be back until dinner, at the earliest.” You shared a look with Azriel, shrugging. You didn’t exactly know what to do now, and if the smile on the male’s face before you was anything to go by, he was reading the two of you like a book. “Would you like some recommendations?”

“We were thinking of doing some sightseeing.”

“And visiting one of the villages!” You chipped in, and Azriel murmured his agreement.

“Do you like hiking?”

“Love it,” Azriel spoke before you could even open your mouth, and despite how much you truly did love the outdoors, Azriel’s love went a lot stronger. The last time he’d asked if you wanted to go for a ‘hike’, you didn’t realise he’d planned you all a three-day camping venture. You’d been all but crawling it by the end.

“Well, there’s a nice walk over the top of one of the hills, on the other side, there’s a village. There’s a couple of places to get food, a few little shops, lots of nice things to see as you walk around.” It sounded wonderful, and Azriel seemed to agree as he started taking down directions to the hill, and all the details he’d need to know.

“I’m going to go and change my boots before we go.” You grabbed his hand, one squeeze, and Az nodded. 

“Alright, yeah, I’ll meet you upstairs.” He dipped, pressing a kiss to the top of your head before you passed him by. The feel of it was still sitting on your hairline when you reached your room. 

Swapping out of your simple boots for something with more grip, you rounded up your gloves, as well as Azriel’s gloves, tucking both pairs into your pocket and wrapping a scarf around your neck. Your coat followed.

Then you were considering your jumper, wondering if the knit was going to be a little chilly and let in the cold. You were used to Velaris temperatures, the most snowfall you ever encountered was on the rare occasions when you visited the camps, and you never dressed casually for that. As you were staring in the mirror with a frown, Azriel waltzed back into the room, grinning and waving a piece of paper in his hands. 

“I got directions and recommendations!” Spinning in his direction, your hands planted on your hips, and he matched your stance, copying the serious look on your face. He waited only a moment, before his grin cracked through, and his gaze swept over you once. “I don’t suppose my leathers would be appropriate for this walk?”

You only scoffed. “I still can’t believe you brought those on vacation.”

“I wanted to be prepared!” You only grumbled a response out, turning back to the task at hand. Searching through your drawers for your thickest jumper, you realised you were wearing it, and yet the prospect of hiking in the cold all day made a chill sweep through your body just at the thought. 

“I think I need to change my jumper.” You were tucking all of the other ones back away neatly as he approached, leaning his hip on the edge beside you and crossing his arms. You closed the drawer, looking up at him, and he was wearing something between a smirk and a smile. 

“You’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to get cold!” 

“That’s why you have a scarf.” His hands came out, adjusting it around your neck and tying it loosely in a better knot than you had done, before tugging the lapels of your coat tighter around your shoulders. “And a big thick coat. Besides, once you start moving, you’ll warm up real quick, and if you wear too many layers then you’ll be uncomfortable. Plus, it'll be nice and toasty when we get lunch at the pub.”

“Lunch at the pub?” You echoed, perking up somewhat, and the smile on his face broadened. 

“I have instructions for a walk, over the hill, straight to a cosy little pub that serves excellent cheeseburgers and meat pies.”

You breathed out a slow sigh, already imagining just how good that food would be after a long walk. “That sounds so good.”

“Uh-huh, so you’ll be just fine as you are. I can guarantee it.”

With one more final glance at your dresser, you caved, agreeing with him. “Alright, but you need to wrap up warm too. I’ve got your gloves, but go get your coat, at least.”

“Yes, dear.”

“What a view!” Azriel was breathless as he laughed, standing at the very top of the hill with his arms held out wide, staring down at the view on the other side of the mountain. A view you couldn't see yet, because you were lagging behind him, hands on your knees as you stared up at him. The hill he’d chosen was more like a mountain, you suspected he’d done it on purpose, and when you raised your head to look at him, he was staring, waiting. “Come on!”

“I’m trying!”

He only chuckled, walking a few feet back toward you effortlessly, and you scowled at him as he approached, straightening to your full height again. “This is nothing, I know you can do it. I’ve seen you climb bigger, faster.”

“Yeah, when someone was in danger, or I was being chased! I’m trying to take in the scenery, and you’re sprinting like a marathon!”

“I’m walking, I have long legs!” He managed to slow himself enough to match you as you both reached the summit again, and your breath was stolen from your lungs at the awe-inspiring sight.

Stretching out as far as you could see, picturesque-like scenes from paintings and dreams. Blankets of white, dotted by evergreen forestry and towering trees. Villages were spotted between them, snaking around the base of the mountain, all the way to the palace and the capital city. Lit up and decorated, they all seemed to glow with the holiday spirit, emanating golden light and pure tranquillity out into the air. Being above it all, staring down at the glittering landscape from so high above, it made you feel so small. Made every worry, every fear, every thought seem to diminish until you were totally and completely at peace, because how could anything be wrong when you were surrounded by such devastating beauty?

“It’s amazing, right?”

You leaned a little closer to Azriel, shoulder bumping against his own and he bumped back. “It’s the same feeling as the first time I ever saw Velaris.”

“Do you miss home?”

You did, a little, but Azriel made you feel like you’d always have a home, no matter where you went. So, you shook your head, and when you moved your attention to him, he was already looking at you. “I have you, so I’m doing just fine.”

Azriel’s hand brushed over your own, leather gloves sliding against soft wool as he weaved your fingers together. Once he had done, he held tightly, and your gaze flickered down to your now connected hands, shadows weaving around your wrists. “So I can keep up with your pace, see the sights with you.”

A thick lump was wedged in your throat, and you smiled in response, the beating of your heart making it so hard to remain calm. With a final look at the horizon, you moved back to the path, and he fell into step beside you, joint hands swinging between your bodies.

As you descended the other side of the hill-that-was-definitely-a-mountain, the sights became all the more stunning up close. Every blurred light came into focus, every picture-perfect view became a new reality as you stepped into it, every sound of bustling life grew. You could smell the smoke curling out of chimneys, pine wood and coal. Groups of singers on the street corners as you wandered the small town sang carols and hymns. Children played in the fields and the parks, snowball fights that made Azriel smile and tighten his hold on your hand that much more. 

“Who won this year?”

You’d left after the annual snowball fight, of course, you’d never been one to ruin traditions, especially not such important ones. At the mention of it, serenity and bliss melted away into a foul scowl, one built of pettiness and grudges. “Rhysand.”

“Really?” You couldn’t truly believe it, not when he had a son keeping him up all hours of the night, a wife in recovery, and a court to run on top of it all. “You were beat by the father of a newborn who’s running on three hours of sleep a night, and always smells a little bit like baby sick-up? Don’t tell him I said that.”

“You know that naturally I’m going to have to tell him?” His head shook, a pretty black curl falling between his brows. “He’s my brother, I don’t keep secrets from him, I keep them for him. I have a sense of honour, and love, and more importantly than any of that, you’re teasing me. So, I’m going to tell him, as revenge.”

“Fine, then I guess I’ll just have to tell him about the time I caught you-”

His cheeks flushed with red, jaw dropping open, and he stopped dead in the street, yanking you to a halt with him. Snow had begun to fall since your trip down this side of the hill, and his hair was now dotted with melting specs of frozen white. Every flake that fell to his cheeks melted instantly at the heat residing there. “You wouldn't!”

“I might have to! I mean, what was all that you said? Sense of duty, honour, love..”

“Where’s your sense of duty and honour and love to me?” He mock-glared, the two of you continuing to walk as the temperatures began to drop slowly with the weather. Every step took you closer and closer to a warm pub that would provide you with lunch. 

“You started this!”

“I hate it when you’re right.” He grumbled, kicking at a pile of snow by his shoe, and you sighed happily at the admission.

“And I love always being right.”

“You’re not always right.” He shoved you away from him, letting you yelp in shock. You flew far out, almost tripping and skidding on a patch of ice, before he was using your connected hands to pull you back, crashing into his side as he grinned. “I just basically saved your life. Now you owe me.”

“I’m not sure endangering one’s life is how that’s supposed to work. Is this how you treat all ladies you take out?”

“Of course not, if you were a lady, I’d treat you much better.” You didn’t give him a chance to react, scooping down to pick up a handful of snow, and dropping it onto the top of his head. Dry crumbles flecked down his face and into his scarf, dipping through his hair and he jolted in shock as it went down his back. “Evil woman!”

“You told me I wasn’t a lady, so I’m not acting like one.” Your tongue stuck out, and he copied it playfully. Catching both of your hands this time, he pulled you back to him, until your hands were pressed to his chest between your bodies, gripped tightly in his hold. 

“You’re not just a lady, you’re my best friend, my partner in crime, my- well, you get it.” A more nervous, more intimate smile tugged on his lips, his thumbs running over your knuckles through your gloves. Something felt like it was settling between you both; something warm like a summer’s day, something old and new at the same time, something special. Azriel then cleared his throat, glancing up at the creaky sign swinging in the frigid winds above your head. “We’re here.”

“Right. Good timing too, we can avoid the snowfall while we eat lunch.”

You hoped that once it stopped snowing and the wind moved on, the temperature would begin to climb back up, too. As you both stepped inside, the chill of the outdoors was shut out by a gust of hot air. Several fires sat dotted around the pub, one on each wall, a bar occupying the other, just by the bar. Some tables were full, some empty, dotted around the place as drinkers and groups went about their day. Not a single one of them offered more than a cursory look or a polite nod, and it was nice to escape the feeling of being an inner court member every once in a while. 

Despite how many doors that being Rhysand’s friend opened, being associated with the High Lord also had its drawbacks too. Making friends was hard, and keeping friends was harder. Casual chatter became impossible, and the ability to temporarily silence a room simply by merely entering it tended to make you feel more anxious than powerful. The stares lingered, the whispered gossip ran rampant, and the feeling of inclusivity had left years ago. Being here, being nobody special, made you feel remarkably normal in a way you didn’t know you missed quite so much. 

Azriel had left your side as soon as you’d entered, letting you observe it all in peace as he went to the bar to place an order. By the time you’d finished soaking up the atmosphere and dwelling in your thoughts enough to find him, he’d finished. He turned to you just as you arrived at his side. Looping a heavy arm around your shoulders, you let the weight both ground you and warm you, eyes fluttering shut for a second with nothing but peace. 

No rush, no emergency to dart off and solve, no work. Just dinner, with your favourite person, after a happy walk to take in the views. 

There really wasn’t much more you could hope for.

“How about that table in the back, near the fireplace? Bet it’ll be extra warm.” Your eyes snapped back open, chasing away that chain of thought before it became depressing rather than happy, and following his gaze to the back of the pub. A little more secluded, behind a half-wall divider, a large table with four rickety chairs sat around, and it seemed like the quietest spot that would also provide heat. 

“Perfect.”

Leading the way, the two of you navigated through tightly packed tables and moving crowds until you were there, and he let his wings untuck slightly from his back as he began to unbutton his coat. Your legs were aching, and the closer you got to sitting down, the more tired you felt. Tugging out a chair, you practically collapse into it, stretching your legs out across the empty floor before you. 

Stripping off your coat and shimmying out of it, you hung it over the back of your chair, gloves going next, and you flexed your fingers in the direction of the heat. “That is seriously like heaven.” Your words were practically moaned, and Azriel chuckled, his gaze lingering on your hands where they hovered not too far from the fire. “My fingers were cold.”

“You should have told me, you could have had my gloves too.”

“And let you get frostbite? C’mon, I’m not that mean.” His answering smile is enough to know that the tension was broken, the flash of fear in his eyes gone, and a younger-looking fae pottered over to place down the drinks he’d ordered at the bar before anything else could be said. Two glasses of water, a teapot and two mugs, and you rested your hands on the outside of the covered pot, sighing as the warmth seeped into them. “I'm starving.”

“You should have eaten a bigger breakfast.” Your friend tutted, leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs so far out under the table that they took up all of your space too. 

“You’re literally the worst.”

“I’m the best.” He corrected, and you raised a single brow in expectation of proof. “I ordered you a cheeseburger, with extra fries, and onion rings.”

“Did you-”

“No mustard or pickles.” 

“Okay, you can claim that title, for now.” He shrugged, but you could see the pride etched onto his face, swelling in the air around you both as he portrayed the perfect image of smugness over it. Tipping out the liquid from the teapot as you actively ignored him, your face screwed up as the liquid that poured from the pot was absolutely not tea. “Azriel, what in the name of the Cauldron is that?”

“Eggnog.” He, too, seemed curious about it, as he pulled the one half-filled mug over to himself, and your nose scrunched up. 

“Eggs? You got us hot egg to drink?”

“Hot eggs with brandy in it.” He supplied, as though that helped the situation, and a chuckle from the edge of the table brought your attention. Two plates were placed down, one before each of you, and a third in the centre of the table piled high with the aforementioned extra fries. 

“Eggnog does contain egg, but it’s also got sugar and vanilla in it. It’s a sweet drink, a cream base.” She supplied, folding a tray under her arm. As you inspected the beverage again, Azriel lifting it up to sniff it, you didn’t miss the slow roam of her eyes over his body, what she could see anyway, and the subtle flush rising to her cheeks when his gaze flicked up to her. He nodded, smiling in thanks for the food, before turning to you. 

That cold, sharp pang of jealousy was something you were used to, you’d been jealous over many different things in your life, but being jealous over Azriel was something new. 

“You want to try some?” He reached out, one hand picking up yours and placing the cup in it, his thumb smoothing over your skin as he encouraged you to take a sip. The action didn’t go untracked by the waitress, whose head dipped as she left, promising to check in soon. You expected Azriel to pull away, expected that he had somehow sensed your jealousy and was simply acting to reassure you, but even when the space was utterly vacated, his hand still lay over yours. “C’mon, take a sip. I dare you.”

You couldn't back down from a dare, not when that cheeky look was on his face, and so you raised it to your lips and took a hearty gulp. It was hot, and sweet, and was really not that bad. The taste of the brandy was strong, itching your throat a little as it went down and you coughed to clear the tickle, but when it had settled, it wasn’t making you gag as you’d expected. 

“So?”

“It’s actually not half bad.” You were already craving another sip somehow, the taste of it lingering on your tongue, and you took it from his hand, blocking out melodic laughter as you drank again. “It’s warming. I don’t know if it’s the sugar or the brandy, but it’s chasing out the chill.”

“Are you saying this just to mess with me?” He mused while plucking a handful of fries from the ‘extras’ plate, and chewing on them, never breaking eye contact as he waited.

“If I was messing with you, I wouldn't have taken another drink of it, would I?”

“Maybe you have an excellent poker face.” 

“You know I don’t.” Too many memories of failed poker nights with your friends. Nights where Rhys cleared out all your money despite not needing anymore, Cassian laughing, Mor drinking and giggling, and Amren simply shaking her head at you. Not your strongest asset. “You just have to trust me.”

Picking up your burger, he hissed under his breath as he picked up his own, inspecting it before his face as he prepared to take a bite. “You’re playing the trust card on me? That’s low.”

“I’d trust you with my very life, Azriel, I can’t believe you wouldn't trust me with a drink.” You only pushed the mug back towards him, smirking at the distrusting look on his face. “C’mon, take a sip. I dare you.”

He wouldn’t back down from a dare, and he definitely wouldn't back down from his own dare echoed back to him. With that sigh, he picked up the cup.

“You know, the walk back is not nearly as exciting.” You sighed. Filled with good food, and a sugar rush from an indulgent dessert the two of you had split, you had more than enough energy for the return journey, but the joy had been diminished. Turning your back on the beautiful town had been hard, you’d spent all of thirty seconds allowing yourself to daydream about what it might look like to simply move there, to live there, and then Azriel had smiled. 

He’d grinned, and told you to keep moving so the rising snowfall didn’t freeze you to the spot, and you’d been more than happy to follow him anywhere when his glove-covered fingers had laced back between your own and tugged you along behind him. Your cheeks warmed a bit as you looked to him now, his focus dead ahead on where the pathway over the mountain had been, all of it now covered in a fresh blanket of snow. 

Your hands were still swinging between your bodies with every step, your shoulder brushing halfway up his bicep every time you stepped too close, his wing flared out a little to shield you from the cold winds, breaking the flurry hurled at you both. Snowflakes occasionally caught on his eyelashes, blinked away quickly, or caught when he rubbed at the reddening tip of his nose. The tips of his ears were the same, and you reached out, tracing one curve, and his shoulders only stiffened for a half-second, before he was looking at you again. 

He looked so stark in comparison to all the white surrounding you both. Black hair, black wings, golden skin and honey-coloured eyes. And then, he was smiling again. Soft and sweet, and not nearly as cheeky as before, something that was always meant just for you. Your hand dropped back down to your side, and he came to a pause on the walk. 

It had been silent for a while before you’d spoken, companionable quiet that settle between you both, but that silence was shattered by his hum, dissatisfied, and his smile was replaced by a contemplative frown. 

“I thought it would have stopped snowing by now.”

“Well, it is the Winter Court.” Your jibe was met with a roll of the eyes and an upwards-flick of his lips at the edges, but his gaze never faltered from surveying the landscape to look at you. “What’s going on in that head, shadowsinger?”

“We need to go up, for direction. At least until we crest the top of the hill, because we’re losing sight of the path, and we’ll get lost on the ground. I can see better from the skies.”

Your line of vision shifted, looking up at the grey clouds, squinting against the fat snowflakes that fell into your eyes the longer you stared. “All right, you go up and get a look, and I’ll wait here.”

That brought his attention back to you, with startling speed his head snapped to face you from where he was also staring at the sky, and you jumped a little at the urgency. “Are you insane? I’m not leaving you down here alone.”

“We’re in a wood, what’s the worst that’s going to happen to me?”

“Okay, well, when we get home, you clearly need a recap on basic safety training. ‘What could happen to me in a wood’, what kind of question is that?” Your chuckle only made his lips purse further, he was not nearly as amused as you, apparently. He seemed to forget that he’d been the one to train you two hundred years ago, and every day since, and that you’d be perfectly capable of handling any woodland threats that decided to make themselves known. His concern, however, was adorable, and so you chose to say nothing. “It’s not about you, but I don’t know these skies. I could lose sight of you beyond the clouds, I could lose direction and be unable to get back to you, I could get caught in an air current or anything. We stick together, I only know you’re safe when I can touch you.”

As if to emphasise his point, Azriel placed his free hand on your waist, tugging you a little closer to his body, and glancing around warily, as though he’d scared himself into believing you were surrounded by threats in the broad daylight. “You’re going to tire yourself out trying to fly both of us through the storm.”

“This isn’t a storm, and I’ve carried Cassian through much worse in the Steppes, while lightning tried to strike me and ice was growing on my boots. I think carrying you through a little snow is something I can handle.”

“Alright, sassy pants, I get it.” You expected a smile, something fond like another eye-roll or a scoff, like you’d usually get. Instead, he only dipped down, mumbling a ‘thank you’ that was muffled by his lips pressing a warm kiss to your hairline. His fingers detangled from your own, and he bent, scooping you up into his arms in a fluid movement you were more than used to after all these years of flying with him. He shuffled you in his hold, your arms looped around his neck familiarly. His shoulders rolled back, wings flaring and flexing as he stretched them out from where they’d been tucked in, his head tipping side to side. Just like that, silent, lethal, without warning, Azriel launched himself into the sky. 

Cold air whipped around you both as you hurtled upwards, speeding through layers of snow and ice and wind, until he banked out, so high above the mountain you could see over both sides of it. The palace in the distance, the stretches of miles and miles of fields, the occasional bodies moving around looking like beak dots on the landscape, the town you’d just left, a twinkling beacon on the horizon. 

“I’ll never get tired of the way things look from the sky.”

“You should let me take you flying more.” He pulled you closer, pressing you so hard into his chest you could feel the slight buzz of the hidden siphon under layers of clothes. Slipping a hand down from around his neck, you rested it over the warm stone, and it pulsed twice in a soft burst of power, like a heartbeat, in acknowledgement. “I have some places I’d love to show you someday.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ve seen everywhere in Velaris.” You’d spent years exploring the city with your friends, when you were younger you’d made sure to learn every secret hideaway and hole-in-the-wall, and as you’d grown older, you’d found joy in simply learning the streets and the markets and the villages, until you knew it all better than the backs of your own hands. 

“Who said they were in Velaris?” There was a cheeky grin on his face, and you didn’t get a chance to question him, to question where these places were and how he knew them, before he was banking right so hard your fingers tightened on his jacket, gripping on for dear life as the two of you tumbled through the air. 

“Az!” His wings flapped hard, warmer air brushing across the two of you as you were dragged through the air, veering off-course from the palace you’d been heading towards. Barely thirty seconds in the sky and you’d lost sight of the palace completely, his body slowing until the two of you were merely hovering in the air. His wings flapping occasionally to keep you airborne. 

“Told you, air currents.”

“Did you seriously just choose now for an I-told-you-so?” You slapped at his shoulder, pushing enough that he whined while laughing, readjusting his grip on you that had slipped during your tumble through the skies. “You’re the fucking worst.”

“Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad.”

“What if you’d dropped me?” His eyes darkened a little, brows furrowing, smile dimming. 

“When have I ever dropped you?”

“There’s a first time for everything.” Your tongue stuck out at him, and just like that, your chest was warming at the sight of that playful glint in his eyes relighting. 

“If we fall, we fall together.” Just like that, he tucked his wings in tight to his body, the two of you dropping through the skies toward the ground below, and a scream tore from your lips as he laughed. You were clinging to him so hard your body was practically wrapped around him, shaking at his shoulders. Your stomach clenched and flipped, a nauseous feeling taking over and you squeezed your eyes shut. 

“Azriel! This isn’t fucking funny!”

“It is to me!” His laughter was carried away on the wind, whistling and beating around your ears as you pressed your face into his neck, shaking your head. 

“Alright, I get it, I get it! You’re the best flyer ever, King of the skies, biggest wingspan, world’s greatest Illyrian, super spy, my best friend ever, please, anything that will make you stop!” His wings snapped out, the two of you levelling out close enough to the ground that snow sprayed up around your bodies, melting as soon as it fell on hot cheeks, and Azriel landed with a run, panting through his laughter until he came to a stop, ankle deep in the snow, falling to his knees with you still clutched in his arms. “I actually hate you.”

Your stomach was still twisting in knots, heart still racing, and yet when you finally peeled your face from his neck to look up at him, it all seemed to become irrelevant. He rarely ever looked this happy, this carefree, with flushed cheeks and a wide smile and eyes that appeared like they’d never seen horror; not the horrors he’d had to endure. A bubble of laughter worked its way up, you didn’t know why or how, but as you calmed down, amusement took over. 

You were laughing, fingers still clutching tight to his shirt, laughing as his whole body shook, leaning back to support you as you dangled in his arms, toes brushing the snow. Eventually, he lowered you down, until you were resting across his thighs, one arm behind your back still, and he used the hand freed from under your legs to smooth back hair that had gone wild in the fall. 

“Did you at least have a little fun?”

“No.” But it was a lie, and you both knew it, the exhilaration had been something else, the thrill of feeling so utterly helpless while also knowing he’d never let anything happen to you. The excitement of something new, even after all these centuries. “Maybe a little. But that’s not an invitation for you to pull that stunt again.”

“How else will I get you to say such lovely things about me?” You scoffed, pushing him away and tumbling into the snow, brushing it off as you stood, and he followed. “I mean, ‘best flyer ever’ is a high compliment...”

You turned your back on him.

“I particularly liked ‘King of the Skies’, can you repeat that in front of Cass and Rhys next week?”

You stomped away from him, hearing his deep laughter and the swish of the snow as he followed you. 

“‘World’s greatest Illyrian’, can I get that on a patch to sew onto my leathers?”

He had almost caught up with you. Stupid long legs.

“‘Super spy’, ‘best friend ever’...” He fell into step beside you, and your arms crossed and he smirked. “I feel like I’m forgetting one.”

“Nope, pretty sure that was it!” You chirped, elbowing him in the side as he threw an arm over your shoulders, tugging you in closer. 

“No, no, there was definitely one more. You sure you can’t remember?” He stretched one wing out, curling it around your body until the talon on the tip was brushing your cheek with every step. Your lips stayed sealed, biting the inside to stop a smile as he made a happy sound, pleased with himself for his teasing. At least he’d forgotten all his self-induced woodland anxieties, even if now the pair of you truly were lost. “So, where exactly are we going?”

“North.”

“Right, right..” He pointed to the left of you both. “North being that way, of course.”

“I am going to beat you up when we get back to training at home.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” You only groaned, ignoring the burst that gave you, and racing up to the hand hanging over your shoulder instead, As soon as your fingers brushed his, he flexed them, like he knew what you wanted. At least someone did, because you really weren’t sure what had possessed you to do so, but your fingers wove together, his hand squeezing yours, and he twisted you closer to his side as you continued walking. 

The little town on the horizon was where you were truly headed, once you were back into civilisation, you were sure the pair of you would be able to find your way back to the palace. 

“I think, if I was ever going to live anywhere other than home, it’d be Winter Court. Here.”

It was such a large change of topic your head spin, vulnerability replacing his cocky attitude from minutes ago, and you fumbled for a response. You’d always guessed Azriel would go somewhere different, like Day or Summer, somewhere that never reminded him of his past or the things he’d been through. The biting cold, all of it was like where he’s grown up, even if it was much prettier. You tried to word your question around it carefully; “Even if the cold reminds you of the Steppes?”

He turned to look at you, something soft playing on his lips as his chin dipped in a single nod. “Even if the cold reminds me of the Steppes.” You both knew you weren’t talking about the weather, but rather what the conditions and the scenery and the lifestyle reminded him of, a kind of silent conversation passing between you both, like you’d always been able to have, to understand one another without needing words. “I never think of anything bad when I’m with you, though.”

“It is a truly lovely place to live.” You conceded the confession to hide the clench of your heart, turning to face him too, his gaze flickering over your face, before turning back to the path ahead. “I think I’d like to come here more often.”

“I think I’d like that too.”

The skies were already beginning to tint purple. With solstice only just having passed, the nights were long and the days were short, and now the joke about getting lost out here had become a real possibility. Shadows swirled around your body, wrapping around every part of you in moving streams, a band around your waist, all the way up to your shoulders and along your thighs. “It’s getting too cold to keep walking.”

With that, he tugged you close enough to him that your nose brushed his shoulder, his arms a tight force gourd his waist and the shadows kept crawling, expanding, until everything around you was as cold darkness. The world seemed to fall away beneath your feet, your body reacting the same as when you’d fallen or of the sky. When you travelled in the shadows with Azriel, you had no idea which way was up, or down, whether you were falling or flying, it all felt the same. Terrifyingly, exhilaratingly, the same. The kind of darkness that settled into your very soul, so inky you could no longer even see Azriel, only knowing he was there by the what of his body as he held you tightly, still gripping you even as it cleared, until the cream walls and blue tapestries of the palace met your sights instead of bright white snow and green forests. 

The shadows melted back into his body, crawling back slowly over your body, lingering as they went, one wisp stroking lightly over your cheek before disappearing over his shoulder, and his grip loosened a little. 

A throat cleared.

Sitting at the dining room table, with a platter of cookies beside a pot of tea, were Kallias and Vivianne, both with raised brows, the after with a slight smirk. “What have you two been up to today?”

“We went for a walk.”

“We went for lunch.”

You glanced at Azriel, he glanced back. Vivianne pulled out the chair beside herself. Kallias motioned for two more mugs to be brought in. As Viv tapped the seat of the chair beside her, you moved, unbuttoning the heavy coat layer and hanging it over the back of the chair before sitting. Azriel copied, sinking down beside Kallias, pulling off his gloves one at a time and tucking them into his coat pockets. Mugs were delivered, Kallias poured two cups of tea, and they were staring at you both expectantly.

Sitting down opposite you, Azriel’s legs stretched out almost entirely onto your side of the table underneath, and you folded your legs neatly to the side, but not without shooting a glare in his direction first. He only smirked, slouching a little deeper, stretching a little further. Cupping your mug in your hands, the fresh scent of mint tea drifted up to your nose and Vivienne took it upon herself to stir a spoonful of honey into the mix as you warmed your fingers. 

“So, where did you go for lunch? Not too far, I hope, the snow has been getting heavier all day.” Kallias threw a frown at the window, darkness now coming in as ice began to frost over the outside of the panes, a shudder going through you at the memory of it. 

“It’s pretty out in the snow, I like it.” You only shrugged, sipping your tea, and Azriel smiled gratefully for his but did not lift it to his lips, letting the steam curl off of the top. When you winced at the flash of heat on your tongue and pulled it away, you understood why. “We went on a walk over the mountain recommended by your staff, and had lunch in a little village on the other side. This cute little pub with eggnog.”

Kallias seemed to share some kind of fond look with his wife, who perked right up in her seat as she glanced toward the window herself, as though she might be able to see right out through the darkness to the town on the other side of the hill. “You visited ‘Olwen’?”

“I, um, I think so.” Heat rose to your cheeks as you realised that not once had you ever bothered finding out the name of the town, biting down on your lower lip. You’d been far too preoccupied soaking up the sights, the scenes, the experiences… the company, to have even thought about it. 

“Yes, the pub was called The Robin’s Nest. You know it?” Azriel swept in, eyes on Vivienne as she nodded enthusiastically, but his legs twisted under the table, crossed at the ankles but his foot nudged your calf in silent acknowledgement. 

“We love The Robin’s Nest.” There was a wistful tone to her voice, a faraway look in her eyes as Viv seemed to slip away into some sort of memory, and you glanced between her and Kal as his eyes rolled at her.

“I took Vivienne to dinner at The Robin’s Nest on our first date.” He explained, and she reached across the table, hand sliding out, palm up, waiting for him to return it. He did, lifting her hand from the old wood surface and pressing a few kisses across the backs of her knuckles, blue eyes sparkling as he matched her loving gaze. “We walked the same trail, up and over the mountain and went to the pub.”

“We had such a good time, we ended up staying overnight in one of the rooms upstairs.” She snickered, turning to both you and Azriel conspiratorially as colour flushed over Kallias’ pale cheeks. The red was a stark contrast to the ocean of his eyes and the ice of his hair, spreading all the way up to the tips of his ears as she continued to giggle. 

“I was a perfect gentleman, thank you very much.” He made to pull his hand back, and she gripped tighter, giggles only becoming full-blown laughter at the playful frown he was donning at her amusement. 

“Yes, the perfect gentleman, much to my chagrin.” He shot her a wicked grin at that, a sparkle in his eyes that held a promise for a later, and promise that whenever the two of them found themselves alone again he would be anything but a gentleman, and even you felt a small stroke of warmth over your cheekbones at the promise he gave her. “Didn’t you find it romantic, too?”

Her voice was a little lower as she asked, husky, and she coughed to clear it, rosy cheeks and shining eyes a giveaway of how she truly felt, but she was doing an admirable job at hiding just how much her husband affected her. His thumb smoothed over her knuckles before he pulled back, sipping his tea smugly and waiting. 

“I mean, the snow, the walk, the little pub. Couldn't you just feel it?” Viv stared like she knew a secret, something you didn’t and you glanced around the table, finding Kallias had the same look on his face as he appraised you. You glanced to Azriel, whose gaze was fixed firmly on his tea, finally picking it up to take a sip and hide his smile, being of absolutely no help at all in this little interrogation. “Well?”

“I mean- sure.” That wasn’t enough, the silence stretched onto uncomfortable levels. “Okay, yes. I can’t deny it, it was very romantic. The whole of this place is, coming here has been like stepping into a whole new world, some things are like nothing I’ve ever felt before, everything feels heightened, surreal. There are a lot of romantic places back home, too, but once you know them all too well they lose a bit of that charm. Everywhere new is just.. wow.”

Evidently, it was the right answer, as Vivienne reached out to squeeze your hand, a wide smile on her face, a look like an older sister as her gaze flickered over you, dating to Azriel, and then back. “What else did you get up to?”

“Oh, y’know, Azriel tried to kill me, so not much.”

“I did not try to kill you, I was trying to prove a point!” A heated glare met you across the table as you shrugged, your turn to play coy and oblivious, and he gaped at you. “For the record, not only was I right, but I know you secretly loved it.”

“And how would you know that, hm?”

“I just know.” He countered weakly, lips pressing into a thin line, a poorly-veiled smile hiding just below. “Besides, you’re being dramatic. The worst that would have happened was a few broken bones.”

“Yeah, if one of those bones is my skull.” You crossed your arms, a pout on your face that was also doing little to hide a smile, and if his boastful smirk was anything to go by, he knew it too. Vivienne and Kallias were awaiting an explanation, your hosts staring between you both eagerly. “We decided to fly back when the snow got too thick to see the path, and since Azriel sucks at flying-”

“World’s best flyer, right?” 

“Sucks at flying, we got stuck in a current and tumbled through the sky. I was scared he was going to drop me, and to make some kind of stupid point which I still don’t get, he just dropped us out of the sky until we were like three inches-”

“Ten feet.”

“-Off of the ground.” You puffed out a breath, and Vivienne shifted, rubbing her fingers over her lips to hide her laugh. Kal wasn’t so polite, openly laughing at your expense as you huffed. Azriel was all but beaming at the validation, brows raising as he looked at you, and your foot jolted out to kick at his shin. Your knee bumped under the table as you did, only fuelling the laughter as he joined them. “You're all the worst!”

“Oh, c’mon..” A pout formed on Kal’s lips, though he was clearly teasing you, and Vivienne only laughed harder, reaching for her mate’s hand and squeezing for the joke. “Although, what was the point you were trying to make?”

“It was two-fold.” Azriel held up two fingers, everyone’s gaze closing in on them, except his, as he stared at you. “Firstly, mostly, was that I know exactly what I’m doing, and just because we get stuck in an air current doesn’t mean we’re in danger. It’s just a little.. bumpy.”

“And secondly?”

“Secondly,” He responded to Viv’s prompts, waggling one finger, and your gaze moved up to his own, breath hitching a little at the intense look in his eyes, staring at you as though you were the only light in the darkness. “Was to prove that if you fall, I fall. Together.”

“Oh.” It was barely a whisper as it left your lips, his hand lowering to the table but he never dropped your stare, another batch of heat flushing over your face as he nodded. Silence stretched on for a second, tension growing thick around you but you couldn't look away, couldn't find the strength, not until the rustle of fabric to your left as Viv shifted made you acutely aware of the others still in the room. “So, what are the plans for tomorrow?”

Your voice was a little too loud, too high, and you winced, but nobody commented on it, Kal and Viv having the decency to breeze over the moment you’d somehow slipped into instead of lingering on it. “Assuming the snow doesn’t get too much worse, we were thinking we could go ice-skating! The lakes and ponds have all long since frozen solid, and there’s a park near here that does ice-skating.”

“Sounds fun, Azriel’s been trying to work out how to get knives on his feet for decades now.”

“Oh ha-ha. You think you’re so funny.”

“I think I’m adorable.” You snarked back, and he only rolled his eyes, sipping from his mug again. 

“Make sure to dress warm, you two. When you fall on your asses, and you will fall on your asses, it’s gonna’ be cold. Wear something waterproof, if you have anything.” Azriel slammed his mug down a little too eagerly, turning to point at you victoriously. 

“I told you that it was a good thing I brought my leathers.”

“Yeah, yeah, you and your leathers,” Waving a hand in the air to accompany your grumble, Viv chuckled. He looked far too prideful at it, something else dancing in his eyes, and you could only shrug. The chatter went on for a few more minutes as Vivienne explained the day to you both, and when you’d be called for breakfast, before Kallias was making up a poor excuse for himself and his wife, offering her his hand as he rounded the table.

The two disappeared in hushed whispers, cuddled close as they made their way from the room, and you and Azriel soon followed suit, making your way quietly back up to your matching rooms. 

Entering through your door, the fire flickered to life, enchantments coming in handy as warmth instantly began to take over the room, faelights slowly humming to life to cast a soft glow across the space. Despite it all, the chill was still seeping into your bones, deeply engrained from a day out in the cold, and you barely moved past taking off your boots. 

“I think I’m going to take a bath.” Azriel seemed to be able to read your mind as he began wandering towards his door, turning to glance at you over his shoulder. “You should too, before you catch a chill.”

“I plan to.”

He lingered in the doorway, just for a second, eyes scanning you over once, before disappearing on his own side and closing the door quickly. You shuddered, still feeling the weight of that look lingering over your whole being, warm enough that when the effect finally fizzled out you felt even more exposed. 

Twisting on the taps to start running hot water into the tub, you left it, wandering into the room to seal the curtains up tight against the chill on the glass outside, and to throw a few more logs onto the fire, hoping it would burn long into the night and keep you warm. Following a quick rifle through the cabinets to find some sweet-scented bath salts and oils, you were sinking into the hot water, groaning as the heat kneaded at your muscles and released the tension. 

With nothing but time and silence, as you got yourself clean, you were finally allowed to sink into your thoughts. Pulling your knees up to your chest and dropping your head down to sit on your knees, you were careful not to let your hair dip into the water. Too tired already to start trying to control the wet strands, simply breathing in the fresh smells of spiced berries and closing your eyes. 

This day had been a rollercoaster of many kinds, up and down. Physically you were exhausted from the journey and mentally you were drained, but emotionally, you felt like your heart was doing flips in your chest. There had always been something lingering under the surface between you and Azriel, something dangerous to your friendship simmering and shifting, occasionally bursting out through ruptures you were quick to seal. 

The more time you spent here, however, the more those small tears seemed to become caverns, feelings you’d spent so long ignoring because it simply wasn’t the right time, or you were scared, or any number of other obstacles blocked your way. Here though, like a breath of fresh air, you were letting them finally come to the surface.

You were drowning in them, barely even able to take a breath at the surface before more were beginning to crash down, so many you could barely even begin to sort through them. It was in this same daze that you climbed from the tub and dried yourself off, slipping into the pyjamas you’d brought with you. 

It was with this same daze, that you questioned where you could bring yourself to give in to it all, to trust that if you fell he really would fall with you, together, in every sense, as you put your skin creams on and watched your reflection contemplatively. 

It was with this same daze that you wandered back into your bedroom, to find your room already occupied. 

All those thoughts were wiped clean away as he smiled, brows raising at you as you stood and stared at where he was hovering by the side of your bed. “Do you want to read together again?”

He waved his book at you, but the question seemed arbitrary, as he was already pulling back your covers, adjusting the pillows on one side of the bed to accommodate his wings, and patting at it with his other hand. 

You took a second longer, trying to recall back on the decades since you’d started repressing your feelings at all, trying to remember even one of the reasons you’d ever tried to hide it away. But, as he smiled at you tiredly, hovering as he waited for your answer, you came up short. 

“I’d love to.” 

His smile only widened as you put out all the lamps except for the ones on either side of the bed, double-checking the seals on the door and window like he’d taught you so long ago, before joining him in bed. He was holding up the edges of the blanket beside where he has already gotten comfortable, and you slid in beside him on the mattress, adjusting the blankets over your legs and reaching for your book.

When you leaned back, his arm was already outstretched behind your pillows, curling at the elbow to pull you a little closer. He only offered a smile, before flipping his book open to the right spot, shaking the bookmark out, and falling into his story.

You did the same, settling yourself more comfortably back against his arm, the heat of his body chasing out any lingering cold there had ever been until you could barely remember what a chill felt like. His fingers toyed with the ends of your hair, pausing when something particularly intense happened in his book, when there was a twist he didn’t expect or a sudden change. Sometimes, his breathing even paused, a slow sigh following it as he passed the moment. 

After attempting to read the same page for the fifth time, you gave up, realising you were observing him, the tells of his own book and the excitement,  far more than you were observing him. If he noticed your lack of page-turning as you marked and closed your book, he didn’t say, only turning to face you when you put the book down on the side and switched off your lamp. 

“You getting tired?”

“Little bit.” It was a white lie, and you couldn't tell whether or not he saw right through it. It was easier, though, to simply let him assume. Far easier than actually voicing the truth, than telling him that no, you weren’t tired at all, but the idea of simply laying there and basking in his presence selfishly before the two of you went home was far more appealing than reading a book you could catch up with anywhere, anytime. No, this was precious, this was new, this was a moment you were grabbing with both hands. 

He folded his book closed, leaving his thumb tucked between the pages to mark it, his arm behind you shifting, curling you closer to his body and his palm soothed over your hair slowly, fingertips threading into the strands, brushing your scalp until your eyes fluttered shut. “You want me to go so you can sleep?”

“No, no.” Your head shook, and with your eyes closed, without seeing him watching you, it was easier to shuffle a little closer to him, cheek cushioned against his arm as he continued to play with your hair sweetly. “You keep reading, I’ll just snooze a little.”

He chuckled, turning back to his book and flopping it back open, his arm falling to a heavy and secure weight around your shoulders and you lay popped up against him. Sleep was the furthest thing from your mind, as you instead busied yourself with watching the lazy swirls of his shadows on the bed, like an extra blanket covering you both, or counting the steady and slow lulls of his heartbeat, your breathing evening out to match his own. 

Sleep was the last thing you wanted to do, you wanted to make the most of every second of this, and yet, as his presence had always done to you, you were calmed. Soothed. Relaxed. To the point that your eyes were no longer closed for the rouse but because they were too heavy to hold open now, your breaths shallow and light because you were hovering on the edge of unconsciousness, and your body weightless as the world around you began to slip away. 

It was in this state, that you were sure you felt a soft kiss pressed to the top of your head, a smile on your lips as his cheek followed, with a whisper of ‘goodnight’ before you were gone.