#special shout out to Eat Your Young

[another-corpo-rat]

OC Playlist Meme

Tagged by @swearingcactus (tyyy <33) copying the sharing a wip along with these cos thats such a fun idea and it is wip wednesday my dudes alas my readable wips are but snippets rn so also including my characteristic ramblings as well

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Hello Zepp + Overture

“So long as I won’t lose my life through sparing his…” She mirrors Hanako’s pause, not for dramatic effect or to consider her words but merely because she could. Gesturing lazily with her hand, “I’ll allow it.” And it’s a delicious thought; that Yorinobu’s survival is decided on her whim. Maybe if he knew that he wouldn’t have tried fucking her around, instead ordering Adam to kill her the moment he felt her gaze sharpen against his back.

One of the more recent additions to her playlist due to the fact I feel like I don't explore or put forward how truly cruel this woman can be. I needed a little reminder of that and what better way than the theme from one of my favourite horror franchises. There's something about 2:23 onwards that really meshes with her; the potential for tragedy that builds into something decidedly not in that vein.

Call Me Cruella

Victoria hums, amused but there’s an edge to it. A sharp point aiming squarely at the man across the room. “He’s a nobody.” She hisses, venom finally curling around her tongue and dousing the words.

I refuse to watch the film this song is from but my goddd if there's a single song that suits Ms Victoria Crane near perfectly its this one; the sheer unapologetic nature of indulging in one's own awfulness and THRIVING for it. The threads of vanity and fashion throughout the lyrics are just perfect too, esp for my fashion-indulgent lil bitch tbh

Villain

Victoria’s violence is different, much different than hers and Adam’s; an insidious flow of insults off a barbed tongue, coated in a soft rasp that makes the horrid words pleasant to listen to. Different and bloodless, yet entrancing all the same.

While I adore Call Me Cruella and do consider it largely Victoria's 'song;' this was what I had playing constantly throughout all of her development. It was probably what had me lean into making her a corpo since I wasn't happy with her in the Street-kid origin, and just making her unapologetically a villain. i could have just made her an awful street-kid but also. i like evil women in suits

From Eden

And she would never accuse him of being soft, even in his gentler moments there’s a risk of cutting herself against him. Both literally and not. But there’s something cautious to him now, a lightness to his touch, a hesitance that strikes her as odd. “Adam?” She breathes out into the dark of the room, watching the barest glints of light shift against the edges of his frame. His optics brighten minutely, a barely-there flash of surprise and his hand pauses, knuckles gentle in their rest against her cheek.

and this is just purely there for self-indulgence. hozier just has me in a chokehold and there's something about this one of his that lowkey fits Victoria/Adam and the thing they both refuse to put a name to for the longest time.

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Tagging with no pressure! @merge-conflict, @vox-monstera, @theviridianbunny

[peachdues]

THE GREAT WAR

PART I ♤ SECRET PREGNANCY AU

A/N: After seven months, it's finally here. Part I of Giyuu's Bundle of Joy. This fic involved a ton of research and tears. I hope you all enjoy. Special shout-out to @squishybabei @kentohours @homo-homini-lupus-est-1701 @ghost-1-y and @xxsabitoxx for letting me bombard your DMs with endless snippets from this fic for feedback. Note that this is a multi-part fic, and it will be a non-linear story.

CW: explicit sexual content ☼ MDNI ☼ loss of virginity ☼ unprotected sex ☼ protective/possessive Giyuu ☼ canon-typical violence

LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE

January, 1915

The moon’s rays filtered through the sparse canopy of the trees from above, bathing that small portion of the forest in its silvery glow. There, about twenty paces ahead, Giyuu locked eyes on his target.

A demon; one he’d been pursuing through the dense forest separating his Manor from the base of a great mountain for the last several miles

The demon had yet to notice him, for it was focused entirely on its own prey — a human woman, who was frantically zigzagging as she ran in a desperate effort to evade its clutches. 

She was succeeding rather well in her endeavor, managing to dart out of the beast’s reach right as it snapped its sharp, deadly claws at her back. But the girl then miscalculated her movements and stumbled over something — whether it was a tree root or her own feet, he could not say — and she went airborne. For one, sickening moment, Giyuu feared he would not be fast enough to save her from falling victim to the demon he was readying to kill.

The girl squealed as she fell, just narrowly managing to avoid the swipe of the beast’s claws as they cut uselessly at the air where her back had been only seconds before. Something long and wooden flew from her hand as she sprawled across the forest floor – a broom.

Odd. 

Steps quick and even, Giyuu’s thumb flicked his sword free from its scabbard. Within seconds of him drawing his weapon, the Slayer’s blade sliced seamlessly through the demon’s neck, its head thudding pathetically to the forest floor before the beast could comprehend the threat.

He landed swiftly on the balls of his feet, the Water Pillar quickly shaking his blade free of the demon’s blackened, rotted blood before sheathing it at his hip. A quick job – that was how he liked it; free of fuss. 

Behind him, he heard the leaves coating the frozen ground of the forest shift and crack as the human girl he’d rescued rose to her feet. He grimaced; while helping rid the world of the blight inflicted upon it by demons was his life’s sole and true purpose, and one he fulfilled without hesitation, he was little more than a fish out of water when it came to talking to those he helped. 

The girl had yet to flee; Giyuu suspected she might be in shock, if not a bit simple, and he sought to prod her along. After all, the sooner she left the forest, the less likely she’d end up a demon’s meal and waste his efforts in preserving her life. 

“You should be fine now. Please return to your ho-,” The dark-haired Slayer’s words were cut off with a sputter as the head of the woman’s broom whacked him sharply up the side of his skull. 

Giyuu stood there for a moment, dazed and slightly confused as he turned towards the woman whose life he’d just preserved. 

The Water Pillar had not paid her much mind upon discovering her seconds away from becoming the slain horned demon’s newest meal, his attention having been entirely focused on eliminating his target. But now, without the distracting threat of a man-eating beast, he could see she was clad in the traditional attire worn by Shinto priestesses, though she looked far too young to have achieved such a status. Instead, she appeared to be much closer to himself in age. The front of her red hakama pants were streaked in mud and dirt from her fall, and several strands of hair had fallen loose from where they’d been gathered in a ribbon just below her shoulders. 

And she was glaring at him. 

“What are you?” She demanded, and the Water Pillar noted the faint tremor in her voice that she worked to conceal behind her defensive stance, her broom braced in front of her like a blade. 

A slow blink. “I am Tomioka.” 

It baffled him that he let his name slide so freely when he’d never been one particularly keen on sharing it. Yet, he’d thought that perhaps the exchange of names would get the wild woman before him to calm, and perhaps lower the sweeping tool —-

“What the hell is a Tomioka?” 

Giyuu wondered whether the — Miko, that was what young priestesses in training were called — had hit her head in the fall. “My name.” 

A faint dusting of red spread across the Miko’s cheeks as she realized the absurdity of her mistake, though she still did not lower her weapon. Rather, she jutted it towards him in what Giyuu thought may have been an attempt to be threatening. 

“And what was that thing just now, Tomioka? And what are you?”  Quickly, her eyes swept behind him, scanning. “Are there more?”

Idly, Giyuu wondered why he was bothering to indulge in such a silly conversation to begin with, chalking it up to the mere fact that they were still in a dark forest, with dawn still several hours away. 

The foolish girl would end up a snack for another demon if she did not turn around and go home. 

“It was a demon. I’d been tracking it for several miles when it stumbled across you. You can count yourself lucky — do not hit me again.” He cut off with a warning, eyes narrowing as the Miko drew the broom back up over her head. 

There was a tense moment as the two regarded one another, Giyuu’s eyes locked on the Miko’s trembling arm as she stared distrustfully back at him. 

The girl’s hands twitched as the broom cleaved through the air once more, but Giyuu knocked it easily away, sending the cleaning tool flying uselessly to the side where it rolled under a bush. 

“Are you finished?” Giyuu asked, irritation creeping into his tone as he stared coolly at the flustered Miko. 

“You’ve stripped me of my only weapon, so I suppose I have no choice,” the young woman sniffed, her tone as frosty as his glare. 

Giyuu grimaced. “You would not have lost the privilege had you simply done as I asked.” 

The Miko folded her arms stubbornly across her chest and glowered at him. “You would truly leave a woman defenseless in the woods? With nothing to protect herself?”

Giyuu scoffed. “You are not a woman; you are a menace.” 

The young woman’s mouth opened and closed several times as her face flushed several shades deeper. “Y-you!” 

A crack! somewhere in the woods made the sputtering Miko fall silent with a small squeak, and Giyuu was bemused to find that the woman’s hands shot to him for safety, when only moments before she’d tried to clobber him away from her. 

“You said that…that thing earlier was a demon, yes?” She whispered and Giyuu nodded, tense as his eyes swept through the shadowy line of the trees, searching. 

“Do you think there are more?”

“So long as we continue sitting here like a pair of lame ducks, more are bound to come sniffing.” The wary Pillar replied. “Which is why I suggest you return home — without bludgeoning me further.”

The young Priestess continued to cling to his arm, her eyes wide and anxious. Giyuu cleared this throat, and when the woman’s attention snapped back to him, he pointedly glanced down at her white-knuckled grip on the sleeve of his haori. 

“Apologies,” the Miko blushed, and her hands quickly relinquished their hold on his sleeve. She wrung her hands nervously before her. “Might you escort me back to my Shrine? It’s not far from here – less than two kilometers.” 

Still within his territory — albeit at the opposite end of the forest where is own Manor stood. He grimaced, but nodded stiffly. His efforts to save the woman’s life would be in vain if she walked away from him and straight into the waiting, eager claws of another beast that lurked in the shadows.

The Miko smiled brightly at him and offered her name. Giyuu elected not to reply, and the girl settled into step at his side, a small frown pulling at her lips.

“I’m sorry for earlier — for hitting you with my broom.” The girl — Y/N — said a short while later, the faintest trace of shyness in her tone. 

Giyuu did not think the apology warranted a response, and so he gave none, but the chatty little devil prodded him once more. 

“Did I injure you?” She gestured to the side of his head where her broom had caught him. 

Giyuu snorted, raising an eyebrow at her. “The day I am hurt by a mere broom is the day I retire from the Demon Slayer Corps.” 

Y/N hummed in contemplation. “And what exactly is the great and mysterious Demon Slayer Corps?” 

The Water Pillar’s eyes remained forward. “I should think the name is self-explanatory. There are demons who eat humans. We slay them.” 

Inwardly, Giyuu cringed at the harshness of his words. It did not happen often, but there were times when he wished he was better with them, when he wished he did not come off quite as aloof and callous — 

“You do not know how to talk to people very well, do you Tomioka-sama?” Y/N’s tone was not judgmental; it rather had a mild curiosity to it, as though she were merely commenting on the weather or the quality of a cup of tea. 

But the Water Pillar did not know how to answer her. Kocho once told him that others disliked him, but Giyuu wasn’t sure that was entirely true; after all, no one had ever said so much to his face. 

Then again, if the young shrine maiden’s words were anything to go by, then perhaps the Insect Pillar’s scathing assessment hadn’t been too far off the mark. 

“What even brought you into the forest so late at night?”  Giyuu did not know why the question needled at him, but he found the pressing silence of the trees more disconcerting than the Miko’s voice, and so he was desperate for the distraction. “And why a broom?”

Y/N herself seemed surprised at his sudden interest. “Night-blooming herbs,” she said plainly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “They are critical for certain rites and medications. And I cannot collect them any other time. The broom was for protection, obviously.” 

“I wasn’t aware shrines still performed rituals,” Giyuu pushed an errant tree branch out of their way, and ahead, faint lights began to swim into view. The Shrine. “Are you not a mere relic of a time long since-passed?” 

“I’ll have you know that we still perform basic cleansing rites for those in the village,” Y/N bristled. “And we provide medical aid, since there is no hospital nearby.”

She shot him a cold look. “Modern medicine would not have developed but for ancient practices such as ours.”

Giyuu frowned. He hadn’t meant to insult the woman. “Be that as it may,” he said flatly. “Demons prowl at night. You wandering into the forest none the wiser  is akin to you waltzing into their territory with a giant sign that says ‘Eat me.’”

Y/N grimaced. “Then what would you have me do? Neglect my duties?” 

He could sympathize with that. “No, I’m not saying you should forsake your obligations,” he furrowed his eyebrows at the thought. “Perhaps it is simply a risk you must take. But you should at least be aware of your surroundings.”

Y/N looked upon him with a miserable expression. “You’re of little help, you know that?” 

Giyuu only frowned, perplexed as to why she couldn’t understand the import of his words.

An awkward silence ensued, punctured only by the faint hoot of an owl. For that, the established swordsman was grateful; noise meant the absence of predators, which meant they were safe – for now. 

“You mentioned tracking the demon earlier – how long had you been doing so?” 

“A while.” 

The girl was relentless. “And you just so happened to track it here? Where it was conveniently chasing me?” 

“I patrol this region. Your rescue was nothing more than coincidence and luck on your part.” 

“My gratitude is endless,” the shrine maiden said drily. “Forgive me for not falling to the ground in prostration.”

At that, Giyuu fell silent and refused to engage in any further conversation. The shrine maiden, for her part, seemed to take his cue that he had no interest in her or exchanging meaningless pleasantries, and so she too, went quiet. 

The forest floor eventually began to slope gradually up, and before long, Giyuu found himself walking along a carved rock path that curved through the trees until it widened at a great set of stone stairs. At the very top of the steep incline, he could spot a great Torii gate.

Y/N turned to him with a beaming smile. “Allow me to introduce you to the Shrine." Tomioka opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly added, “You should at least know who it is you have dedicated your life to protecting.” 

“I’d rather not.”

But she was already leading him up the stairs, his wrist pinched delicately between two of her fingers. Realistically, Giyuu knew it would take him no effort to shake the woman’s hold and disappear into the night. But to his own bemusement, he allowed her to tote him behind her as though he were little more than a useless pet. 

The pair passed under the Torrii and into a sprawling courtyard. Though night sky was a deep, inky black, the perimeter of the courtyard was dotted with several stone lanterns -- toro -- each of which had been lit with a generous flame. Giyuu's quick perusal of the Shrine, however, was cut short as the Miko led him into the Shrine's main structure -- the honden -- and tugged him down a narrow hallway. Based on his rough appraisal of the building, Giyuu surmised she was taking him to the center of the honden, likely where the girl's master was.

His theory was proven correct when Y/N drew up to a great slat of shoji panneling. The Miko knocked softly on one of the wooden beams before she slid the door aside, revealing a great, open room that was littered with scrolls, half-dried pots of ink, and burned incense sticks. There, in the center of the room, knelt the head Priestess of the Shrine. She was an old, shriveled, wrinkled thing. The white hair that she’d gathered into a knot at her neck was as wispy as the thinnest clouds, and a quick glance over her hands revealed swollen joints covered by skin spotted with age.

But the Priestess did not appear to be a gentle elder by any means; her thin mouth was curled down into a sneer that was directed at the Miko at his side, and her eyes were hard and cold.  

"Head Priestess," Y/N bowed to her elder. "This man is called Tomioka, and he helped save me tonight in the forest."

Giyuu resisted the urge to snort. Helped, indeed.

The old woman's eyes shone bright with an emotion he could not name as the Miko continued. "A creature attacked me as I was returning home. Tomioka says he is a swordsman whose occupation --"

“I know what he is, girl,” the Priestess snapped at her student before she turned those beady eyes to him. “A member of the Demon Slayer Corps will always be welcome at this Shrine – particularly one as esteemed as yourself.” 

The Water Pillar straightened at the old woman’s casual mention of the Corps. “I was not aware that of any Shrines so affiliated with the Corps.” 

“There was a time when the Demon Slayer Corps would partner with shrines such as this to carry out its mission,” the Priestess replied evenly. From his periphery, Giyuu spotted Y/N’s head snap toward her mentor, her jaw slack. “Once, priestesses were akin to shamans who offered a variety of rituals for cleansing and protection. You slayers relied on our connection with our communities to operate more effectively, and we in turn, counted on your protection to fight what we could not.”

Despite the distinct scent of sake that clung to the elderly shrine keeper like a cloud, her eyes remained sharp and fixed upon him, and her wrinkled mouth pulled into a rueful smile. “Now, it seems, our wise and benevolent government has forced us both to retreat to the shadows to operate in secret.”

She bowed her head. “You have nothing but my respect, Lord Hashira. You are always welcome here.” 

Giyuu did not respond, but he inclined his head toward the Priestess in polite acknowledgement. 

Y/N gaped at her Master. "Lord --?"

The old woman poured another generous serving of sake and brought the choko to her lips. “Though we are honored by your visit, young Lord, I’m afraid your presence is nothing more than a calculated effort by this one,” she nodded pointedly at the young shrine maiden at his side, whose cheeks pinkened. “To keep herself out of trouble. My apprentice was not permitted to leave the grounds, you see.” 

“Oh hush you old drunk,” Giyuu’s eyes snapped to the irate Miko in surprise. “I told you earlier I was going to the village market –” 

“Telling me while I am in the middle of lessons with the younger girls and sprinting off before I can respond is hardly me giving you permission,” the Priestess’s mouth curled into a sneer. “You’ve defied me for the last time, girl.” 

The old Priestess turned away from her apprentice, dismissive. “You will take the rice bundles and hang them in the drying shed – every last one, for the next three days.” 

“You hag!” Y/N fumed, her face pinched in outrage. “I was on rice duty all last week without an ounce of assistance –” 

“And you apparently have yet to learn your lesson,” the old woman retorted bitterly, shooting the seething Shrine Maiden a withering glare. “Considering you still think it seemly to mouth off at any and every opportunity –” 

The Miko spat a curse at the elder Priestess so filthy and colorful that even Giyuu could not mask his surprise, raising his eyebrow. But if Y/N’s outburst shocked the Shrine’s head, the old woman gave no sign. Instead, she only glowered at the young woman as the latter turned and shoved the shoji door harshly to the side. Giyuu, ever the unwilling observer, was left to be pulled by his wrist back into the hall behind the young Miko before she whipped around to face her senior once more. 

Giyuu had thought himself stunned by the crassness of the Shrine Miaden’s language before, but nothing prepared him for the sight of the obscene gesture she made at the old woman before she slammed the door firmly shut. 

A telling crash on the other side of the wall signaled the Elder Priestess had hurled her empty sake dish at the door with all her might. “And work on your aim!” Y/N snapped before turning sharply on her heel to stomp out of the honden, tugging the Water Pillar helplessly behind her. 

“She seems unstable.” said Giyuu once they were a safe distance away from the main Honden. 

Y/N brushed aside his concern with a flippant waive of her hand. “Granny is harmless. As her charge, I suppose I instigate her nearly as much as she torments me.” 

Granny. It made sense, then, the curious affection the girl held for the rancorous head Priestess, even if he could not bring himself to fully understand it. 

“You are more than welcome to stay the night,” the Miko’s mood lightened considerably the more she put distance between herself and the drunken head Priestess. “We serve breakfast at sunrise, but of course, you’re not obligated to attend.” 

The ravenette’s mouth quirked down in a faint grimace, the only sign of his discomfort. “I should return to my own home.” 

“It’s quite late,” Y/N glanced up at the night sky, now awash with stars that surrounded the fat, glowing moon like thousands of glittering jewels. She turned back to him with a radiant grin. “At least allow me to show you around.”

—

If anyone had asked him, Giyuu Tomioka would not have been able to explain the series of events that had led him here. 

He distinctly remembered telling the vexatious young Shrine Maiden no, that he could not stay the night, yet somehow he’d found himself in the Shrine’s old, musty guest house, already prepared for his stay, a lantern flickering merrily in the corner. 

He glanced warily at the fresh sleeping kimono folded beside his futon. The possibility of him actually sleeping in such an unfamiliar place was nil and while the Water Pillar certainly had no issue in appearing impolite to others, he thought that perhaps the Shrine was affiliated with the connection of Wisteria Houses dotted throughout the land, and he didn’t want to risk offending the head Priestess and cause her to shut her gates to other slayers in need of lodging. 

So, Giyuu paced the floor of the small guest house, restless. Though his eyes remained carefully trained on the window of his room, waiting for the slightest hint of movement that would give him an excuse to leave without offending his hosts, no sign of either his crow or any demonic threat  manifested. Though, he supposed with a frown, it shouldn’t surprise him that he’d not heard from Kanzaburo; the ancient bird was likely flitting about the forest, lost.

He continued to pace until finally, the sky in the East began to lighten signaling that dawn was fast approaching. Stealthily, he slipped out of the small hut that had served as his temporary accommodations and made his way toward the Torii under which he and that Miko — Y/N — had passed upon their arrival.

He’d almost cleared the gate when he saw the elder Priestess standing beside the Torii, apparently waiting for him. Giyuu nodded his head at her, the only expression of courtesy he was willing to give, but he was halted as the old woman flung out a single arm in front of him, her hand flat and palm turned up, waiting.

And that was how Giyuu learned the Shrine was not, in fact, a Wisteria House; not as he was forced to fork over a considerable sum of his earnings into the Priestess’s expectant hand. 

Wisteria Houses meant Corps Members stayed free of charge; the price the Shrine’s keeper demanded in exchange for his brief stay bordered extortion.

At least he’d had the money; if he’d been of any lower rank, the old woman would have cleaned him out.  

He scowled as he departed but his irritation quickly fell away as he finally laid eyes on Kanzaburo, who nearly collided with his Master’s head as he struggled to pant out his orders. 

And so, as the Water Pillar trekked through the forest and toward his new assignment, the view of the Shrine faded behind the dense canopy of the mountain forest, and so too, did any final, sparing thoughts of it, or its inhabitants.

———-

Nearly a month passed since Giyuu stumbled across the strange shrine maiden in the forest separating his Estate from the old Shrine, and the Miko had nearly faded from his memory. Not that such a feat was difficult; the raven-haired Pillar’s mind was far more occupied with tasks like patrol and chasing down leads that could potentially lead the Corps to an Upper Rank demon to focus on much else. 

He’d intended only to find a decent meal and then depart the village before nightfall to investigate rumors of women disappearing in a small town to the south. Night was rapidly approaching, however, and he’d yet to find any vendor that sold anything he liked, much to his chagrin. He was about to cut his losses and continue on, when he spied a familiar blur of white and red idly perusing one of the stalls, apparently oblivious to the impending sunset. 

Without thought, his feet carried him toward her, his annoyance sparking to life. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

The Miko’s – Y/N’s – head turned back and her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the Pillar standing behind her. 

“Tomioka-sama,” she greeted with a polite bow. “I did not expect to see you so soon.” 

He ignored her greeting, choosing instead to take a step closer. “I asked what you were doing.” 

If she was taken aback by his terseness, she didn’t show it. “I am returning to my shrine after an afternoon of errands,” she replied smoothly. “As is usual for me.” 

“It is nearly dark.” 

“An astute observation,” and to his annoyance, he saw an amused twinkle in her eye. “Do you also know that tonight is also a full moon?” 

Said moon had already made an appearance above them, growing brighter and brighter as the sky faded from twilight to night. 

Giyuu had never been one for rolling his eyes, but the young woman’s knowing smirk grated at something inside him, made him feel as he often did whenever Kocho would make a sly comment with that smile of hers, that for some reason made him feel like he was the butt of some joke only she knew. 

He grimaced. Teasing; that’s what the shrine maiden was doing. She was teasing him. 

“It is nearly dark,” he repeated. “And I did not think you’d be naive enough to risk traveling after sunset.” 

“I believe it was you who insisted I did not have to ignore my duties, so long as I paid attention to my surroundings.” She replied coolly. “So that is exactly what I am doing.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Fine. If the stubborn girl wanted to be bait for whatever awaited her in the forest once the sun finally set, then that was her choice. He’d saved her once, and he’d given her sufficient warning; what she did from then on did not concern him. 

He was about to bade her farewell when a slurred, boisterous voice boomed her name from across the market. Several heads turned toward the source, including Giyuu's, until he found a round faced, piggish man stumbling away from a sake stand, his cheeks flushed a bright red.

The man repeated the Miko's name in that grating, sing-song voice of his. "Whe're you goin' all by yourself so late?"

He didn't know what possessed him to ask, but Tomioka turned to the shrine maiden. "A friend?"

“His name is Susumo,” she said airily, though she could not conceal her scowl as the man drew closer. “He’s merely the village drunk who forgets to keep his hands to himself.”

The shrine maiden’s eyes narrowed accusingly at the villager, and the Miko remarked, in a raised voice, “And he is not welcome at the Shrine, though he pretends to forget otherwise.”

Susumo only held his hands up, as though in surrender. “You can’t blame a man for wanting to know what lies under all those layers,” and as if the implication of his lechery wasn’t clear enough, he gave the Miko a leering once-over. “Can’t say I was disappointed.” 

“But your friend is right,” he slurred, a smirk forming on his lips. “The dark is too dangerous for a pretty thing like you to risk walking back alone —“

“I shall escort her,” Tomioka said abruptly and she whipped back to him, her mouth falling open. “After all, I’m welcome at the Shrine.” 

Susumo, too, gaped at the Swordsman. The Miko recovered quickly however, unwilling to allow the opportunity to pass or for the Slayer to suddenly come to his senses and realize he’d rather leave her to fend for herself in the forest. 

“You have my gratitude, Tomioka-sama,” and she gave him a small bow of her head. Relieved, she flipped her braid over her shoulder and smiled warmly up at her raven-haired companion. “Shall we?”

She did not wait for Tomioka to answer, nor did she give any further acknowledgment to Susumo, who only continued to stare at the Hashira, his face bright red. With a feigned indifference, she breezed past him, but a sudden yelp from behind caused her to snap back in alarm. 

The first thing she noticed was the proximity of the back of a dual-patterned haori as it stood between her and the village drunkard. The Water Pillar’s shroud nearly brushed the tip of her nose, forcing her to step back. Cautiously, she peered around Tomioka’s rigid form, and her eyes widened at the sight before her. 

Susumo, it appeared, had tried to grab her, only to be cut off by the Water Pillar himself, who snatched him by his wrist. Though it did not appear that Tomioka was using a great deal of effort to restrain him, it was clear Susumo was struggling — greatly so — against the ferocity of the Slayer’s hold, given how a vein bulged in his forehead, his face,  rapidly turning purple. 

Her gaze flicked to the Swordsman’s hand, and she felt herself blanch at the odd angle of Susumo’s wrist. 

She was no doctor, but she knew wrists weren’t meant to twist as his did in Tomioka’s crushing grip. 

“Leave.” the Water Pillar ordered coldly, and there was a darkness in his eyes that matched the brutality of his hold. “Your presence is unnecessary and unwanted.”

“Y-you! Susumo sputtered.

But Tomioka’s grip only tightened. “Now.”

And then he released him, Susumo half-stumbling back from the Swordsman. His eyes were wide with both fear and loathing, and he muttered incoherently under his breath as he massaged his rapidly-swelling wrist.

The Water Pillar, however, did not pay any more attention to the red-faced villager. He turned only to the shrine maiden, who remained frozen in place, her eyes wide. "Shall we?"

Numbly, Y/N nodded and the two set off down the path that led back to the Shrine. Dimly, the Miko noted that the Slayer kept noticeably close to her as they walked, as though he was unwilling to let her wander too far away. The air between them as they traveled was thick and tense. She was on edge enough thanks to Susumo and his oily words, and she was desperate to do anything to distract herself from the buzzing mounting under her skin. 

She cast a sly, sidelong glance at the Swordsman walking at her side. He’d not been receptive to her small-talk the last time he’d escorted her back to her Shrine, but saying something — anything — would be better than this stifling quiet threatening to choke her.

“How old are you?” Before the Swordsman could decide whether to answer, she continued on. “If I had to guess, I would suspect you’re around my age, and I just passed my nineteenth birthday.”

She hummed aloud. “You seem quite young, yet you’ve achieved some level of status as a swordsman, according to Granny.” Her eyes fell to the blade secured at his hip before she lifted them back to his profile. “Yet you’re as withdrawn and taciturn as an old man.” 

Her words, thankfully, seemed to irritate him into responding. “Are you always so forthright?”  

The Miko grinned. “Perhaps I am like you, Lord – what was it? Hashiba?”

“Hashira.” 

“Yes, that. Perhaps I am like you, Lord Hashira – utterly lacking in social ability.” There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she brushed her shoulder against his bicep. “But at least I make up for it by talking.” 

“Talking is a distraction,” Tomioka monotoned, his eyes fixed resolutely on the hidden path of the forest before them. “It only serves as an interference to one’s duties.” He looked pointedly at the Miko’s profile, but inexplicably found himself unable to look away. “Or an excuse to ignore them.” 

But she was unflappable. “And yet you are the one who decided to escort me all the way back to my Shrine – so who is the one ignoring their duties, Tomioka-sama?” 

“I think you enjoy diverting my attention,” the Water Pillar retorted, though Y/N could see the rising annoyance in his eyes. 

She felt his gaze bear into her as she flipped her loose hair behind her shoulder. “It’s not possible to distract someone unless they find the diversion in question captivating, Tomioka-sama.” 

The Water Pillar almost looked amused. “And you are certainly that, Y/N.” 

The Miko ducked her head to avoid that piercing gaze, so that the ravenette would not see the faint rosy blush creeping across her cheeks. “I did not think you had the constitution for teasing, Lord Hashira.” 

Tomioka looked at her fully then, a frown tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I do not jest.” He hesitated for a moment, eyebrows furrowed as he scrutinized her. “Nor do I lie.” 

Y/N’s lips parted. There was something about the way the Swordsman beheld her that made her stomach flutter. In her last encounter with the enigmatic Slayer, she’d been so rattled by her close encounter with the demon, that she hadn’t truly noticed much about the man who’d saved her life, apart from his bland detachment and rather unfortunate social skills. 

But now, the Miko was struck by how handsome the raven-haired Hashira was; she was mesmerized by the deep azure of his eyes, as vast and deep as the sea. His skin was a delicate alabaster, and, contrasted with the flesh of his hands which were calloused and scarred, his face had not a blemish in sight.

She blinked, clearing away some of the fog that had crept into her mind, put there by the vexatious Slayer. “I must return to my duties,” she said softly.

They spent the remainder of their journey back to the Shrine in silence. She was quick to break away from him the moment they passed under the Torii, though not before she muttered that he was welcome to stay, should he so choose.

She busied herself with her duties, but even the neediest obligations could not fully distract her from feeling the burning heat of his stare as the Water Pillar’s watched her fiercely from across the courtyard. And nothing, nothing at all could have prepared her for how he eventually  joined her in carrying out her duties, 

The Water Pillar stayed the night once more, departing sharply at daybreak. Later, as Y/N swept the courtyard free of loose brush and clutter long after his departure, she noticed a crow sitting high in a tree, its black eyes watching her every movement. Though its gaze was sharp, the presence of the great, sleek bird did not disturb her, though not as much of a feather twitched from its perch upon the branch as the Miko continued through her day. 

As she’d readied for bed later that night, she realized she’d felt oddly comforted by the crow. She imagined it a silent protector, a new guardian of the Shrine, no different than the statues of the gods which dotted its grounds. 

She settled into her futon with a great yawn, the image of a certain dark-haired Swordsman flickering in the back of her conscience until she was swept into sleep’s sweet embrace.

Just outside the Shrine’s sleeping quarters, the bird remained, eyes carefully tracking every shift in the shadows, waiting. 

And then the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, and the threat of night receded once more.

But the crow remained. 

———

Spring, 1915

The crow became a permanent fixture at the Shrine, though it always seemed to keep strictly to a single tree at the edge of the property, one that gave it a full view of the courtyard and structures surrounding the main honden.

Despite the bird's constant presence, more than a month passed before the Water Pillar returned, though he'd seemed even more sullen and withdrawn than he'd been during their previous two encounters. Y/N did not consider herself a friend to Tomioka by any means, but she was the only one brave enough to approach him as he'd lingered by the Torii, apparently unsure whether he should seek out their hospitality or return to the forest.

"You are welcome to come and sit for a hot meal," she called cordially, though she maintained a tentative distance. She frowned when he did not respond. Instead, the Water Pillar continued to stare unseeingly at the cracked stone path leading to the Shrine's courtyard.

"Tomioka-sama?" She pressed gently and the Swordsman's attention finally snapped to her, as though he'd just become aware of her presence.

The haunted look in his eyes sent a chill up her spine. The Miko cast one, cautious glance up at the sky, and her eyes narrowed at the wall of black clouds steadily rolling in from the east. A shift in the wind brought forth the distinct, metallic scent of rain, and if she listened hard enough, she swore she could hear the distant rumbles of thunder. “You know, there will be a storm tonight — please consider waiting it out here, where it’s safe.”

Tomioka only stared at her for a moment before he nodded. His hand twitched into a vague gesture inviting her to lead the way, and Y/N escorted him to the Shrine's elder, in search of her permission.

Granny Priestess agreed to let him stay, but on the condition he paid for his imposition. The Water Pillar had silently agreed, producing one small money bag from his pocket and placing it squarely in the Priestess’s outstretched, waiting hand. 

The heft of the bag had made Y/N frown; it seemed a great sum in comparison to their meager lodging offerings, but the Swordsman did not object, so she held her tongue. To comment would only serve to irritate her Master, and the old hag was scornful enough to assign her to duties that would isolate her from the raven-haired Slayer.

Only after the old Priestess sauntered off, leaving behind nothing but the lingering, bitter stench of sake, did the Miko speak again. 

“I’m glad to see you in good health, Tomioka-sama,” she bowed, though she thought she spied the corner of his mouth twitch down at her formal greeting. “I trust your patrol went smoothly?” 

The Water Pillar’s expression was tight; dark. “It did not. The demon I was tracking managed to get away.” His jaw clenched tight. “But not before it slaughtered an entire family in the mountains.” 

All at once, the world around her seemed to slow. It had been easy to assume the dark-haired Swordsman before her always managed to find his target just in time, before it could slaughter its victim. Now, as she beheld the lethal coldness that had settled over his features, Y/N knew her assumptions had been wrong. 

Perhaps, she noted with a shudder, her rescue had been the exception and not the rule. 

Beneath the icy stoicism limning the Water Pillar’s eyes, the shrine maiden noted a distinct heaviness that weighed down his shoulders; made them curl slightly forward, defeated.

She resisted the urge to reach out to him, in comfort. “I won’t offer you empty platitudes,” she murmured. “But I can invite you to offer your prayers for those who were lost.” 

He looked at her, brows drawn, and she knew his instinct was to decline, so she added, “I will do it regardless of whether you join me.”

All at once, any protest he had was snuffed out within him. Instead, he was left with a curious softness as he regarded the shrine maiden, so assured and earnest in her invitation. 

He didn’t know why he’d sought out the Shrine.

He’s been angry; angry at himself for not being faster, for allowing innocent people to die on his account of his failure.

He still felt angry. Yet, as he followed Y/N into the Shrine’s haiden to light incense, he also felt a solemn gratitude for the Miko, who’d not let him indulge in his self-loathing but instead requested he act, and act with her. 

So he had; and somehow, the weight on his chest, the one that threatened to suffocate him, lightened bit by bit until Giyuu felt like he could breathe once more. 

Later that night, Giyuu spotted the shrine maiden from his window as she darted around the courtyard to light the tōrō to illuminate the Shrine grounds. A deep rumble of thunder, however, signaled the spring storm had finally arrived. Y/N, however, only continued with her task, huddling over herself to strike the matches needed to finish lighting the lanterns as rain began to dampen the landscape around her.

He was about to go outside and demand she return to the warm, dry haven that was the girls’ sleeping quarters lest she catch a cold, but then the last of the lanterns were lit and the shrine maiden straightened.

And then she tilted her face up toward the sky, allowing the rain to wash over her. 

And she grinned. And Giyuu was mesmerized; so much so, that he had not stopped staring at where she’d stood, laughing in the rain, even long after the Miko retired to bed.

-

Y/N awoke well before sunrise the following morning and spent hours laboring over the hot stoves in the kitchen. By the time the sky finally lightened, she'd only just finished her task and was in the process of boxing up her creation when she spotted one of her fellow shrine maidens passing by the entryway.

The Miko called out her name. "Has Lord Tomioka awoken yet?"

Her sister trainee lingered in the doorway. "Oh yes, he's been up for a while," and the girl looked back over her shoulder. “But he is already on his way out —“

The Miko swore viciously under her breath as she slammed a lid atop the small bento and hastily wrapped it in the small cloth she’d swiped from the laundry. 

“Move,” she barked at a small group of trainees that had gathered in the hallway outside the kitchen. The girls flattened themselves against the wall as Y/N sped by. She hurtled up the stairs, nearly tripping in her haste. Just as she burst into the courtyard from the honden, panting and winded, she spotted him.

“Tomioka-sama!” Y/N called, hurrying after the retreating form of the Water Pillar before he could pass through the shrine gates. “I have something for you!” 

The raven-haired slayer turned back to her, his face neutral, though Y/N could tell, by the slightest raise of his brow, that she’d piqued his interest. 

“Thank goodness you hadn’t left yet,” the Miko said brightly, holding out a small bundle wrapped in furoshiki cloth. “I was worried this wouldn’t be ready before you did.”

Tomioka’s eyes dropped to the parcel in her hands. “What is it?” 

Y/N motioned for him to take it, and to her slight surprise he did, holding it slightly in front of him as though it were liable to burst open. “A meal for the road. Granny and I prepared it this morning — as thanks, for everything you’ve done.” 

But the Water Pillar was already shaking his head, trying to press the package back into the shrine maiden’s hands. “I need no thanks; I do my job, and your shrine happens to be part of it.” 

If his words disappointed her, Y/N did not show it. “And yet we are grateful all the same,” she said firmly, arms crossing in front of her chest to avoid taking the small bento back. “Besides, it’s salmon; it will only go bad if you don’t eat it.” 

Had she not been watching him, Y/N would have missed the slight widening of his eyes, or the way his hand twitched back towards himself, bringing the packed lunch closer to him. 

Cerulean eyes watched her for a long moment, before dropping as Tomioka tucked the bento into his pocket. 

“Thank you,” was all he said before he turned away and continued through the gates of the shrine, setting off on the path which would lead him through the forest. 

If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve sworn the Water Pillar looked happy as he departed. 

———

The Slayer returned exactly one week after she’d given him the home-cooked salmon – but he did not return empty-handed. For there, wrapped in the same furoshiki cloth, was a strange, oblong object, sitting in the palm of his hand though if he thought it heavy, Tomioka gave no indication. 

“What’s this?” Y/N leaned curiously over the Pillar’s outstretched hand and squinted, trying to discern what the cloth could have been concealing. 

Tomioka pushed his hand toward her, beseeching her to take the parcel from him. “A knife.” 

The Shrine Maiden looked up at him in alarm, pulling away from the Water Pillar. “Why on earth would I need a knife?” 

He rolled his eyes. “Protection.” 

“From what?” The Miko wrinkled her nose down at his offering, though there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “As I recall, I walloped you just fine with my broom.”

Tomioka shot her a dull look. “Be that as it may, cleaning tools are useless against demons. Without the sun, the only thing that works against them is decapitation with this — its metal is unique.” 

He parted the folds of the cloth to reveal a simple blade, though Y/N found it daunting all the same. The hilt was basic, an unembellished metal handle wrapped in plain black leather. The blade itself was an unassuming silver, slightly longer than her hand. 

The Slayer motioned for her to take it, though she only shrunk away. “You know how to use one, yes?” 

The Miko’s eyes met his, wide and anxious. “For domestic uses, of course, but not –” 

Tomioka’s fingers closed around her wrist and lifted, guiding her hand toward the dagger. His hand moved to cover hers, wrapping them both around the hilt of the blade before squeezing. “Grip it like this,” he held their joined hands up for her to inspect. “Keep your hand in a fist; do not lift your fingers away from the grip – that’s the best way to injure yourself instead of your target.” 

But the shrine maiden could hardly focus on the Pillar’s instructions. Her attention was directed entirely at the way her hand was swallowed by his, his skin warm and his grasp firm. She studied how his calluses – thick and forged from years of brutal sword training – pressed against hers; how, despite the roughness of his fingers and palms, and his solid hold still remained gentle. 

“-- and thrust like this,” he remained oblivious to her distraction as moved her arm in a sharp jab, a second and then a third time, before dropping her hand.  “Now do it yourself.” 

His command startled her out of her trance, a heat creeping up her neck from beneath the collar of her kosode. She held out the blade awkwardly before her as scrambled to recall the Water Pillar’s words. To her dismay, all she was able to conjure was the memory of his touch, and how cold she suddenly felt without it. 

Lamely, she mimed jutting the knife at an invisible enemy, the blade gracelessly wobbling through the air. Though she was by no means a swordsman, even she knew something was off, her movements disjointed and clumsy.

She glanced shyly back to the raven-haired Demon Slayer and deflated as she was met only with bemused resignation.

Tomioka shook his head in disdain. “Perhaps you would fare better with a broom.” 

The Miko bristled. “I am not a swordsman —“

“You’ve made that abundantly apparent.” 

“— and I do not have the basics you seem to take for granted.” She finished, glaring indignantly at her raven-haired companion. “So teach me.”

The Water Pillar considered her for a moment before he gave her the slightest, almost imperceptible nod of his head. 

“Watch me.” He turned his body toward the Miko and mimed getting into a defensive stance — feet ajar, his weight evenly distributed on each leg, and bent. 

He looked back to the Shrine Maiden expectantly, and she parroted his movements, crouching into what she imagined was the perfect mirror of his position.

It wasn’t.

“No — you need to—“ Tomioka straightened and huffed, impatient. He moved quickly behind her, and without thinking, his hands shot to grip her hips to guide them into the proper stance, until her weight was evenly distributed on both feet. 

“Like that — now bend your knees.” The ravenette pushed down on her hips until her legs bent, apparently oblivious to the way the Miko flushed crimson.

He was close; far, far too close. She’d never been touched the way the Water Pillar touched her. Tomioka’s hands were twin brands, burning her skin even through the layers of her shrine attire, and it sent every nerve beneath her skin buzzing.

She was aware of every inch of him pressed against her; of his arms, caging her in, his hands twin brands against her hips as he turned and pulled her into the proper stance. She was aware of how warm he was, of how formidable his presence felt, even though to her, he posed no threat. Every movement of his was precise and fluid, like the water he’d claimed to style his techniques after.

And if his touch wasn’t distracting enough, his scent threatened to overwhelm every last bit of sense she’d clung onto. Y/N didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed how good he smelled — like mahogany and citrus — so rich and so warm; a stark contrast to his otherwise cold and aloof nature mask.

The swordsman, however, appeared to remain oblivious. “There,” he finally said, having satisfied that she’d achieved proper form. For moment, the two of them lingered there, with Tomioka’s chest against the shrine maiden’s back, his hands remaining steady in place on her hips. It was as though they’d frozen: Y/N, out of a mixture of shock and red-cheeked embarrassment, and Tomioka out of utter cluelessness.

Another beat passed before the Water Pillar finally realized the compromising nature of their position. His hands dropped quickly from her hips, and there was a rush of air at Y/N’s back as he swiftly stepped away, putting distance between them once more. 

The raven-haired Slayer gruffly cleared his throat. “You should also keep wisteria on you.” And Y/N gulped down her embarrassment to turn back toward him. 

Tomioka kept his face neutral and cool, but the tips of his ears had turned pink. “Check your perfumes for it or ask one of the other shrine girls if you can borrow theirs – oil would be better. More concentrated”

Any residual awkwardness that may have lingered fell quickly away. The Miko only stared blankly at him, her head tilted slightly to the side as her eyebrows pinched together. “Perfume?”

Tomioka blinked. “Yes. As all women have.” 

It was an effort to fight off the smile twitching at the corners of her lips. “Exactly how many women do you know, Tomioka-sama? Such that you would know their perfumery habits, that is.” 

His mouth thinned into a firm line. “Enough.” 

And though Y/N supposed he’d meant to sound self-assured and confident, the Slayer was betrayed by the slight doubt in his voice, as though he’d been questioning his own answer. 

The shrine maiden only continued to look at him, her eyebrow slightly raised, amused. The longer the silence stretched between them,the more awkward the ravenette grew, his discomfort plain from the way he shifted under her stare. 

“You seem like someone who would use it.” He finally offered, after another moment of quiet.

It was her turn to blink, taken aback. Her smirk quickly slid from her face and with a grimace, she felt her right eye twitch, ever so slightly. “Apologies, then, for disappointing you.” 

Tomioka frowned and he made like he was going to respond, but the Miko squared her shoulders and stalked briskly past him. 

“I must return to my duties, and I’m sure you need to do the same,” she paused in the doorway of the garden hut and cast one, sidelong glance back to where he stood, clueless. “Until next time, Tomioka-sama. Thank you for the blade.”

With that, the Miko paced briskly away from the garden hut, her spine stiff. The Water Pillar remained in place for a moment, stupefied, before he collected himself once more, before setting off back toward the forest; to his Manor.

And as Giyuu retreated through the rusting Torii gate, he could not quite shake the distinct impression he’d done something wrong, though he knew not what. 

–

The Water Pillar returned the following week, though to a decidedly cooler greeting than that which he’d steadily grown accustomed to receiving. 

That wasn’t entirely true — the majority of the Shrine’s residents had welcomed him warmly, their kindness always far more than he thought he deserved. Only one hadn’t greeted him as enthusiastically as the others, and to his annoyance, that one was the only person whose opinion of him mattered, even if he couldn’t quite articulate why.

She hardly stopped to acknowledge his arrival, only gracing him with a brisk nod, though she’d refused to meet his eyes. Bemused, Giyuu followed her across the courtyard as she made her way to the Shrine’s small storeroom. He leaned against the doorway and watched as the Miko began pulling jars of dried herbs from the rickety shelves lining the walls and stacked them on a sizeable work counter that cut halfway across the room. All the while, she continued pointedly ignoring him, humming lightly under her breath as though she could not see or hear him as he shifted against the doorframe, waiting.

Her obstinate silence grated at him. “May I assist you?”

“No, no, I am perfectly fine, thank you.” She turned away to browse the shelves once more, before finding what she needed: a stone mortar and pestle.

The grinder settled against the wooden counter with a heavy thud and the shrine maiden snatched up one of the jars she’d stacked and dumped its contents into the bowl, followed by another bottle of herbs. Pestle in hand, she set to work grinding the leaves together, mixing in a vial of fragrant oil she’d kept in her pocket to create a thick paste.

Giyuu watched her quietly as she worked. “You’re…” he frowned. “You’re behaving strangely.”

Y/N glanced up at him. “In what way?” 

“You’re trying to avoid me.” 

“Am I?” She straightened, rolling her shoulders. “Only because I’ve not yet bathed today. I didn’t want to risk offending you with my stench.” 

Giyuu paused. “Why would that matter?” 

“You made sure to point out you thought I needed perfume during your last visit.” 

He pushed off the doorframe, eyebrows knit together. “For protection.” 

The shrine maiden rolled her eyes. “Yes, and apparently, because you believe I am the type to need it.” When Giyuu only continued to stare at her with that same, mildly lost expression, Y/N groaned, exasperated. “You implied I stink.” 

The Water Pillar’s jaw slackened as he gaped at her. “That is not –” 

“It is what you implied,” she repeated, turning away from him to focus on her task of grinding herbs, though the force with which she ground the pestle was perhaps greater than necessary.

Giyuu rounded the small countertop of the Shrine’s storeroom to face her head-on. “I like how you smell.” He insisted. “It’s nice.” 

The Miko’s irritated churning of the stone paused and her eyes finally lifted to his. For a long moment, she watched him, head slightly cocked. 

“You are very odd, Tomioka-sama.” 

But she said it with a small smile that he almost wanted to return. 

Before long, things between them returned to normal once more, with the Miko directing him to collect her gathering basket from where she’d left it in the Shrine’s infirmary and bring it to her. Once he returned, he helped her grind charcoal to make incense sticks as she chatted happily away. 

Surprisingly, Giyuu found himself not only engaged in her musings about daily life at the Shrine, but offering her small personal anecdotes of his own, though he was not nearly as proficient as she when it came to story-telling.  

Once the sun began setting once more, and he received no new orders from Headquarters, he simply sought out the Shrine’s head Priestess and silently passed her a small money bag. 

And then Giyuu retired to the guest’s quarters for the night. 

—--

As spring warmed into summer, the Water Pillar began making bi-weekly visits to the Shrine that quickly melted into habit; expectation. Once a fortnight, a thrill would settle over the young maidens in anticipation of the arrival of the stoic yet handsome Slayer, with girls of all ages eagerly looking toward the Shrine gates in hopes of spying him the moment he crossed beneath the Torii. The elder employees of the Shrine had learned to time Tomioka’s arrival by listening for their excited gasps, exhaled as a collective as brooms and rices sacks were dropped where their handlers stood, the girls far too interested in rushing to greet the exalted Slayer than they were in completing their tasks. 

“I do not see the reason for such excitement,” she sniffed, though even she wasn’t stupid enough to think her fellow trainees bought her bluff. “He is only a swordsman.” 

“A handsome one,” a wispy trainee named Miyoko sighed dreamily. “And no doubt strong and capable.”

The group of maidens dissolved into another fit of giggles, concealing their blushes behind their hands.

“His face is attractive, but his hair is odd,” another commented. “It looks like he’s hacked at it with his own blade.” 

“Oh, who cares about his hair? I’m far more interested in what’s beneath that uniform —“

“Enough,” Y/N snapped. While her friendship with the Water Pillar was tenuous  at best, the suggestive way her sisters-in-training spoke of him left her feeling decidedly discomforted.

Though, if she were honest with herself, she’d admit that she, too, wondered whether Tomioka’s strength was the product of a finely-hewn tuned physique. But she wasn’t, so she bottled that thought up and tucked it tightly away, where it belonged. 

Slowly, her cohorts all turned to look at her.

“You seem to spend a great deal of time with him, Sister,” Miyoko directed at Y/N, who felt her cheeks heat. “Is there anything you’d like to share?”

“Tomioka-sama always asks where Sister Y/N is, the moment he arrives!” A tiny voice chimed, and Y/N’s eyes slid shut in an effort to fight off a wince.  “Sometimes they even do chores by themselves!”

Komatsu. At only ten, she was the Shrine’s youngest trainee, and followed Y/N around like a shadow. Not that the shrine maiden minded all that much; she tended to spoil the girl a bit, when she could. But as pure as the girl’s intentions surely were, she’d yet to lose that childlike earnestness that made her prone to revealing information that Y/N rather remained a secret. 

“Alone with a man?” Miyoko repeated, her eyes shining with malicious glee. “How scandalous — even for someone without a family to embarass, dear Y/N.”

“Careful, Miyoko,” she warned softly. “Don’t go speaking on matters of which you know nothing.” 

“Or what? What would you do?” 

As fond as Y/N was of her sisters-in-training, one did not make it through the Shrine’s rigorous education and training without learning how to trade in the kind of currency young women valued most.

Information; specifically, gossip. 

So the shrine maiden only leveled Miyoko’s own smug smirk with one of her own. “Or I shall tell Granny how you spend your afternoons kissing the boys from the village, rather than tending to your lessons.” 

The other girls gasped, their stares turning back to the gossiping shrine maiden. She savored how quickly the girl’s prideful grin slipped from her face as the weight of the threat settled. 

While Y/N, parentless and thus without anyone to truly care about her propriety, was being primed to take over Granny Priestess’s position overseeing the shrine, her position was unique. She was parentless and thus, without anyone to truly care about her propriety or whatever other ridiculous expectations of modesty that were often attached to other young women her age. In being no one, Y/N was relatively free to do as she pleased, and that freedom almost made up for her lack of belonging.

But the other girls residing at the Shrine were different. Families across the region sent their daughters to the Shrine for training, not only in their cultural practices and arts, but also for education; to become well-rounded women who would then serve to be valuable marriage prospects once they returned home. 

Scandal would not affect her; but it would affect someone like Miyoko.

“How do you think your parents would feel, to know their heir was behaving so brazenly in public? Risking her reputation on the marriage market before she’s even entered it?”

Truthfully, she liked Miyoko; had gotten along well with her, in fact. But she would not risk those sacred few moments she spent with the Water Pillar in an effort to keep the peace with another trainee. Not when those few instances she spent in his company were the only times she’d felt connection — true, human connection and belonging. 

Her sister-in-training ruefully fell silent, and Y/N savored her victory. Later, when she was left with nothing but the company of her own thoughts, however, the exchange played back in her mind.

In all her posturing, she’d managed to avoid having to answer for Miyoko’s lofty observation. 

You seem to spend a great deal of time with him, Sister. 

She did; and, to her slight horror, she realized that she had no interest in stopping. 

She only wanted more.

–

It was past dawn when Giyuu trudged under the great Torii gate of the Shrine, exhausted and aching. 

It had been a long while since a demon was last capable of wounding him, but he’d been blown backward by a delayed attack that hit after he’d beheaded the damn thing. As a result, he’d been sent flying back, slamming through a dilapidated wall of the abandoned hut he’d tracked the creature to, resulting in a sizeable gash to his shoulder. 

He grit his teeth in mild annoyance. He would need some treatment of his wounds — not that they were deep by any means, but they were substantial enough that he knew infection could spell trouble for him, should it spread. 

Some small, irate voice in his head snidely reminded him he could have just as easily gone to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment — that, in fact, the Insect Pillar’s estate had been much closer to the location of his mission than the Shrine had been. He’d rationed that, as much as he admired and respected Kocho, he was still a bit raw from her mocking about how unliked he truly was among his comrades. 

Besides, he groused. Kocho was not the one he really wanted to see, anyway. 

He found Y/N in the Shrine’s storeroom, seated upon the floor with a detailed ledger spread out before her as she took inventory of various scrolls and texts.

Giyuu did not bother to announce himself. “You have medical training, do you not?”  

The Miko startled, the charcoal stick she’d been using to tally the ledger clattering to the floor. She blinked up at him in surprise. “Tomioka-sama — welcome, it’s been a few weeks — forgive me, I did not see you come in.” She quickly rose to her feet, shutting the store ledger and tucking it under her arm. 

Her eyes found the blood-stained shoulder of his hair and widened. “I have some; I can stitch and dress wounds —“

He nodded. “Then I require your assistance.” 

—-

Y/N led him to a small office inside the honden that served as the Shrine’s unofficial infirmary.  “Take a seat,” she nodded at a small stool that sat under the room’s solitary window, right by a modest working table. “Let me see what we have.” 

Tomioka sat upon the stool with his back to her as she busied herself sifting through cupboards in search of supplies. “What sort of wound is it?”

She turned back and nearly dropped a tin of medicinal salve she’d located as she beheld the Water Pillar strip himself of his clothing from the waist up. 

There, across his right shoulder blade, she saw it — saw his blood. Quickly, she located thread and a needle and she grabbed a roll of cloth that could double as wrappings and she crossed back across the room.  

She spread her bounty out across the table, right beside the neatly folded pile of his clothing. Silently, she set to work cleaning the gash, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she saw that it was little more than a shallow flesh wound.

“Lucky you, this won’t need stitching,” she said lightly as she wiped away the last of the dried blood from the Water Pillar’s skin. “But I shall need to wrap it so it won’t become infected.”

Tomioka only gave her a curt nod. She stepped back to work open her tin of medical salve, and as she warmed the substance in her hands, she let herself fully examine the Swordsman sitting before her. Her eyes trailed over the sculpted planes of his back. It surprised her how muscular he was, given his leanness. Yet, without the layers of his uniform shirt and haori, she could see he was well-built, each muscle defined. 

She didn’t know why it surprised her that there was a man beneath the mask of the Slayer, but what a man he was. Her mouth went dry at the thought. It was an effort not to allow her eyes to wander lower; to ponder what he might look like under his uniform pants, stripped and fully bare before her — 

“What is that scent?” Tomioka’s sudden question startled her away from her increasingly treacherous thoughts. 

She’d never been more grateful to be facing away from him. That way, he could not see the blush coloring her cheeks as she hastily slathered the salve across his wound. “Anti-septic; I know it’s rather stringent, but — ”

The Water Pillar shook his head. “I know what antiseptic smells like. I mean you. The scent you wear.” 

She pursed her lips for a moment before she recalled the distinctly floral scent of her cleansing oils. “Sakaki blooms, I suppose.”

“What properties does it have — what are its effects on others?” He pressed. She was surprised at how insistent he seemed, and there was almost an urgency in his tone that unsettled her. 

“None, to my knowledge — why do you ask?”

The tips of Tomioka’s ears turned pink and he turned away from her, lips pressed into a firm line. “Forget I said anything.” he muttered after a moment, his shoulders and spine stiff.

Neither one of them spoke again as Y/N finished treating the Water Pillar’s  injury and wrapped it. 

“You're done,” she said after a moment, tapping him lightly on his other shoulder. 

“You have my thanks,” Tomioka quickly refastened the buttons of his uniform shirt as the Miko stepped aside, pointedly wiping her hands clean with a small cloth. She only looked at him once he lifted his haori from where he’d carefully laid it atop the small examination table, but her eyes narrowed as he rose from the stool, shrugging the material back over his shoulders. “I am happy to pay you for the resources you used —“ 

Y/N did not appear to be listening, not as she leaned forward and pinched the sleeve of his haori between her thumb and index finger. 

“You have a tear,” she frowned, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. “Right here, see?” 

There, on the side bearing his sister’s half of his haori, right where his sleeve met his shoulder, was indeed a small hole, the threads around it broken and shifting slightly in the wind. 

The Miko’s hand fell away, and she squared her shoulders, mouth set in a firm but determined line. “If you’ll give me a moment, I assure you I can have it repaired in no time –” 

“Not necessary,” the Swordsman said abruptly, twisting back from her. “I can figure it out on my own.” He would not part with it, would not so much as let another put their hands on it and risk ruining his most cherished possession. 

Y/N only stepped toward him, ignoring his attempt at distance. “There’s no need to be prideful,” she huffed impatiently. “Truly, it would take no effort at all –”

“No.”

“Why are you being so difficult?” She snapped, but her hands continued reaching for him, for his sleeve – 

Tomioka snatched her wrist mid-air and held it there, halting her. “No one touches this. Understand?” 

Y/N’s lips parted in faint surprise at the Water Pillar’s severity. Her eyes darted to where his fingers were locked tight – uncomfortably tight – around her wrist. When she glanced back at the stone-faced Slayer, she felt a chill lick down her spine. She’d known he could be intimidating against threats, even without saying a word. It was his eyes – his eyes would harden, with the lapiz hue of his irises darkening to something more akin to indigo, as he stared down an opponent. She’d witnessed it the very first night she’d met him. 

She just hadn’t thought she would ever be on the receiving end of such a cold glare. 

“I understand,” she said softly, and she began flexing her wrist against his grip in an effort to work herself free from his hold. “Please forgive my indiscretion, Tomioka-sama. I overstepped.” 

The raven-haired Slayer blinked and quickly let her go, her wrist falling limply back to her side. Just outside the infirmary’s small window, he heard the familiar, urgent cry of a crow.

He’d never been more grateful for a distraction.  “I must be on my way.” His tone was stiff; clipped. 

“But — you’ve only just arrived —“ 

“Farewell, Y/N.” Giyuu gave her a curt nod.

Helplessly, the Miko watched as the Water Pillar stalked out of the small office, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He did not so much as spare a glance back, leaving Y/N to wonder whether she would see that odd patterned haori again.

The thought she might not made something cold and heavy sink into her gut.

—-

(One week later)

It wasn’t often that Giyuu Tomioka found himself annoyed, much less angry. He much preferred channeling his existing emotions into slaying demons, allowing them to taste a fraction of the rage and hatred he felt deep within, a vicious fire he so rarely let bubble up to his service.

Until that evening. After the fiasco that was Mount Natagumo and the subsequent chaos at the Master’s mansion as a result of the Kamado boy and his demon sister, Giyuu had finally noticed that the previous day’s trials had resulted in the tear along the shoulder of his haori that he knew could no longer be ignored. 

He grit his teeth; the battle against the Lower Moon spider demon had hardly required him to exert any energy — yet the demon’s last ditch attempt to preserve its life had managed to enlarge the small hole in his most prized possession, and the Water Pillar was utterly without the skill to repair it. 

So, he’d been forced to sit through the meeting with the Master, the hole in his haori feeling more like a gaping wound that only festered with every passing moment, until finally, finally they’d been dismissed. 

Giyuu hadn’t wasted any time departing swiftly from his Master’s estate, though that hadn’t stopped him from catching the tail end of Shinazugawa’s biting remark of how fuckin’ typical it was for him to leave without so much as a farewell to his comrades. He tried not to let the Wind Pillar’s words get to him; but he was unworthy of their company regardless, so he supposed it really didn’t matter what they thought of him. It shouldn’t. 

And so, that was how Giyuu found himself padding silently along the cracked, stone pathway which led to the Shrine at the edge of his designated territory, ready to eat crow and ask for assistance from a particular Miko whom he felt certain would not hesitate to remind him of how he’d coolly rejected her help only days earlier. 

Hence, his irritation. 

So, his movements stiff and his mouth twisted into a firm grimace, Giyuu stalked under the Torii and into the main courtyard of the old Shrine. It was coming upon midday, though there was a thick cover of clouds overhead that threatened that open up at any moment and shower rain across the region. He ignored the respectful bows of the Shrine’s various inhabitants and staff, eyes sweeping over faces in search of her. 

He located her near the storehouse, chatting with one of her fellow trainees as the pair worked to clean vegetables. Giyuu trudged over to her, eyes locked unwaveringly on her serene, easy smile, as he tried to ignore the way it made something in his gut clench and churn. 

He drew to a stop right before her and her Shrine-sister, the latter looking up at him with wide eyes, her hands stilling over her work as she looked up to the Slayer in awe. 

Giyuu cleared his throat but Y/N only continued wiping the dirt from carrots with her cloth. 

The ravenette tried again. “I am in need of your assistance.” 

Y/N’s comrade nudged her with her elbow, but the Miko only continued to clean, pointedly ignoring them both. 

Giyuu pursed his lips. “With my haori. The tear has grown larger —“

“I am busy.” Y/N’s tone was clipped. “Perhaps there are others who might assist you.”

“Please.” 

The Shrine Maiden’s hands finally stilled and she lifted her chin to face him. The moment she beheld the pleading sincerity in his eyes, coupled with the hard set of his jaw that betrayed just how desperate he was, her gaze softened.

She sighed. “Very well then,” she rose, brushing her hands free of any residual dirt. She held her chin high and squared her shoulders, determined not to show him how he’d bruised her ego; how he’d frightened her. “Follow me.”

—

The Shrine sat at the base of a great mountain. But, nearly half a kilometer up the winding, twisting path leading up the mountain and carved into its side, was a grassy hilltop that then plateaued into a small overlook that boasted a phenomenal aerial view of the Shrine below. 

The summer grass had turned a vibrant shade of emerald, broken up only by dots of tiny white and blue wildflowers that had gathered in small clusters sprinkled throughout the overlook. At the back of the clearing stood an ancient willow tree, its trunk gnarled and knotted with age, its wisps swaying lazily in the wind.   

It was her favorite spot; a little ways away from the hustle and bustle of the Shrine, which meant they would have some privacy as she worked. Y/N settled down against the grass and pulled a needle and a spool of thread from her pocket. She turned her face up toward the Water Pillar where he stood over her. “I’ll take that haori, now, if you’ll please.” 

Wordlessly, Tomioka carefully slid the garment from his shoulders and handed it to her, though he hesitated in letting go as she took it gingerly into her hands. 

It was clearly very important to the Slayer, and perhaps that was why she felt the need to reassure him. “I promise to take care of it.”

He nodded stiffly and let go of the fabric and the Miko quickly set to work repairing its torn shoulder. The Water Pillar lingered awkwardly beside her for a moment longer before he too, sat in the grass next to her, though his back remained straight, his posture rigid.

She glanced at him as her needle wove the haori’s fabric back together. “I suppose this happened because of your occupation?” 

It was faint, but the shrine maiden swore she saw his mouth twitch into something reminiscent of a grimace. “Yes.”

“You should be lucky it wasn’t your flesh.”

At that, Tomioka scoffed. “I would not allow such a weakling to get close enough to try.”

“My, I’d not pegged you as the boastful sort, Tomioka-sama.”

“It’s not boasting; I speak only the truth.” He retorted evenly. 

The shrine maiden only hummed as she worked. “And what of your family? Do they support your path as a Slayer?”

The Water Pillar turned his head away, his form stiff. For a moment, the Miko feared she would be left to repair his haori in silence, with nothing but the faint whistling of birds to keep her company. 

“I have none,” Tomioka’s voice was soft, nearly swallowed by the wind. “There is no one left to object, even if they wanted to.”

Y/N’s hands paused their work as she thought. “You are alone?”

It would be nice, she supposed, to find another who, like her, belonged to no one; a kindred spirit of sorts.

“I suppose,” Tomioka spoke up after a moment, his eyes squinted in thought. “I have a mentor. But it was he who trained me to join the Corps.” 

“I should hope he’s more sober than mine,” Y/N drawled. “And less irritating.” 

The Miko’s attention was so fixed on her careful stitching along the hole in his haori, that she didn’t see his faint smile at her words. 

——

The Slayer and the shrine maiden continued talking long after she’d finished repairing the tear in his haori. It was only when Tomioka had realized nightfall was a mere hour away that the two reluctantly descended the hillside to return to the Shrine.

“I almost forgot.” The Water Pillar said, halting in front of the honden as Y/N escorted him back to the Shrine’s entrance. He dug into his pockets and pulled something free. “Here. For you.” 

The Miko gaped down at the fat red fruit that sat heavily in his palm. “This is -“ she said breathlessly, “A pomegranate!” 

He nodded, arm still outstretched towards her as he waited to drop the ruby fruit into her hand. 

She shook her head. “No, Tomioka-san, I cannot accept something so expensive-“

“I insist.” The Water Pillar withdrew a small knife and split the fruit in half, staining his hands crimson with the juice that spilled over its soft flesh.

Hesitantly, the young Miko accepted the half he offered her, and thumbed some of the fat, glistening jewels loose. The moment she brought them to her lips, Y/N sighed, contentedly, and for some reason, Giyuu found his cheeks heating as he watched her savor the sweet fruit. 

She lazily opened her eyes after swallowing her first mouthful, but she was startled to see the Hashira staring at her, unwaveringly, and she realized he’d moved closer towards her than he had been only seconds earlier. 

Tomioka’s azure eyes were fixed hard on her lips, as he leaned in close to her, Y/N flushing as he drew nearer. 

Is he going to kiss me? Her traitorous heart thundered at the idea, and it caused her no short amount of grief to know she was uncertain whether she wanted him to do so. As her emotions warred with her logic, the Water Pillar’s gentle fingers cupped under her chin, and his thumb brushed delicately across her lower lip. 

“Pomegranate juice,” he said, but Y/N could still feel the warmth of his breath still as his hand lingered under her chin. His eyes were wide as though he, too, could not believe what he’d just done. 

“Yes,” she breathed, before she felt her cheeks heat. “I – I mean, thank you.”

The Water Pillar’s gaze dropped to her lips and her stomach twisted violently. All at once, awareness seemed to come crashing down upon him, and he then stepped back, his hand falling from its hold on her face and back to his side.

The shrine maiden remained frozen in place for a heartbeat longer. “Are you certain you’re unable to be our guest tonight?” Her voice was little more than a pitiful squeak.

Her eyes lifted to his and she knew the answer before he spoke it. “I cannot,” and to her surprise, he almost looked as disappointed as she felt, but he added hastily, “But I will be back. Soon.”

“Soon,” she echoed, feeling rather dazed. “Yes. Of course. I — we — look forward to it.”

She was thankful that Tomioka had already turned away from her as he made his way down the long, winding steps that led to the main route out of the forest; that way, he could not see the way her cheeks burned crimson, or how she buried her face in her hands as she cursed her own embarrassment.

—

Giyuu was grateful his back was to the young Miko as he retreated through the Shrine’s gates and back to the path which would lead him home. It meant she could not see as he stared at his thumb – the thumb he’d used to clear away the small bead of pomegranate juice from her lips – or how his eyebrows pinched together. It meant she could not hear his heart as it beat wildly in his chest at the memory of how soft and full her lip had been beneath the pad of his thumb, soft enough that some treacherous part of his brain had urged him to lean in, to see if her lips would feel as good against his – 

He shook his head, trying desperately to dispel his wild intrusive thoughts. It was ludicrous; he did not think of the young shrine maiden in that way. Not when she frequently sought to needle him, not when she frustrated him to no end. 

His collar suddenly felt tight; his skin, far too hot. His gaze dropped back down to the hand that had touched her, and it clenched. 

A pomegranate. It was only a pomegranate; nothing more. 

“It was a thank you gift,” Giyuu declared, as though speaking the words out loud gave them more force. “It is nothing more than an expression of gratitude.”

And even his crow, ancient and dull as he was, scoffed at the obviousness of the lie.

——

Late Summer, 1915

Summer blazed hot and humid. But neither the sweltering heat of the sun nor the most arduous missions he took exhausted Giyuu more than the complicated, tangled mess of feelings that had taken root within him. Because with every day that passed, the Miko of the Shrine at the edge of the forest occupied more and more of his mind. And Giyuu did not know what it meant or what he should do about it. 

She’d not just repaired his haori or made him salmon; she’d somehow wormed her way into his every waking thought, and to his great confusion, he found himself almost unwilling to think of anything but her. 

Admittedly, Giyuu Tomioka did not have the requisite tools in his social arsenal to successfully navigate human interaction. He hadn’t quite known the extent of his ineptitude however, until the Insect Pillar had so cheerfully pointed out that none of his comrades, in fact, liked him. That revelation had made him doubt every interaction he’d had since, made him wonder whether even the lower ranked Slayers viewed him with the same apathy, if not the same outright hostility toward him shared by Shinazugawa and Iguro.

He’d come to doubt them all — except her.

Y/N was different; at the end of each visit to the Shrine, the Water Pillar did not find himself feeling drained or unwanted.  He felt lighter; rejuvenated, even. She was a breath of fresh air that Giyuu found more difficult to go without with each passing day. 

She still picked at him, but she did so without the malice he’d normally come to expect, even from those he considered friends, like the Kocho. The young Miko had a way of teasing him that did not leave him feeling decidedly othered. Rather, her japes only spurred him to respond with his own, though admittedly, they tended to fall flat.

He’d known, from the moment she’d attempted to bludgeon him with her broom, that there was more to the Miko than met the eye; but he hadn’t imagined he’d find himself as drawn to her as he was, unable to tolerate going more than a handful of weeks without paying her a visit.

And, given the way she’d blushed after he’d thanked her for repairing his haori, perhaps she was drawn to him, too. Perhaps he hoped she was.

But he would have to wait to find out, for his obligations to the Corps had taken him to a village a considerable distance away from his designated territory. He’d been tasked with investigating a series of disappearances of young women in the region, but his orders had come abruptly enough that he’d not been able to spare a visit to the Shrine before he departed.

He was anxious — eager — to return, though not before he took care of the demon likely behind the mystery plaguing the village he now patrolled.

Nightfall was still a little ways off, and so Giyuu found himself wandering the streets to pass the time. He made his way to a sizeable outdoor market, still packed with shoppers oohing and ahhing over vibrant displays of silk, crafted jewelry, and sugary confectioneries.

Idly, he too, joined other patrons in browsing the small vending stands that lined the bustling village streets, though his perusal was disinterested, if not bored. But his eyes snagged on one small bauble displayed on the merchant’s small stand upon a swath of silk. It was small; unassuming. But the carefully crafted decoration was painted in a startling shade of crimson that he found hard to ignore. 

The image of a certain Miko flashed through his mind. He couldn’t leave without it. he wouldn’t; not when its paint so perfectly matched the color of Y/N’s hakama trousers.

I spend the year longing for autumn. That was what she’d told him, that day on the hillside after she’d repaired his haori. 

He almost smiled to himself. This would be a way for her to enjoy her favorite season even in the scorching heat of summer or the biting cold of winter. 

He waited for the merchant to notice his presence, his fingers twisting around the small money sack he kept tucked in his pocket. His eyes flickered back to the small trinket. Idly, Giyuu wondered when he’d begun associating the color red with the shrine maiden and not with the blood he’d always imagined stained his hands. 

He continued to stare the merchant down until he finally managed to catch the vendor’s eye, who flinched at the intensity of his unblinking stare.   

Giyuu jutted his chin toward the small token. “How much?” 

—-

He found the Miko a few mornings later, relaxing on the hillside overlooking the Shrine. She laid amongst the late summer wildflowers that had bloomed, her form framed against the grass with petals of soft blue and bright marigold. 

Giyuu wordlessly settled beside her, and he tried to ignore the thunderous beat of his heart against his sternum as she rolled her head toward him to greet him with a sleepy smile. They exchanged pleasantries and settled into a comfortable silence, both content to watch the sun rise higher over the horizon.

Easy; it was so easy for him to sit beside her, like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

“So, you are to take over the Shrine, one day?”

Y/N’s head turned to the Water Pillar in surprise; though he’d grown steadily more talkative over the months since she’d met him, it wasn’t often that he initiated conversation. 

She settled back against the cool grass of the hilltop overlooking the Shrine, enjoying the precious few moments of quiet in the early morning before the chaos of the day called her away. “Yes,” though there was a slight uncertainty in her voice. “I’m sure it’s the expectation, after all. I have to repay Granny for her kindness.”

Giyuu frowned. “But is that what you want?”

“What I want is irrelevant,” the Miko folded her arms behind her head and tilted her face up toward the sky. Her eyes tracked the great, fluffy clouds that drifted lazily by, though the Water Pillar suspected she was attempting to avoid having to meet his eye. 

“It’s not irrelevant,” he countered. “If nothing else, you should be allowed to consider other possibilities.”

She did not answer him, and the silence between them stretched enough that he thought to drop the subject, not wanting to press her any further. 

“I think,” she said in that faraway voice that Giyuu had come to learn meant she was trying to conceal some deeply felt emotion. “I think should like to belong somewhere.” Her eyes shone. “No, that’s not it — I want someone to belong to me, and I to them. 

“A husband.” He said flatly. 

The Miko shook her head. “I have never belonged to anywhere or to anyone. I’ve no family to call my own - only an old woman who took pity on me as an infant and raised me. I wonder — what must it be like?” She laid back on the grass and closed her eyes. “That is the one thing I would change. I belong nowhere because I’m no one — nobody’s.” 

Giyuu frowned. “I don’t think that’s true—“

“It is true,” she insisted, though she said it with such ease and conviction, like it was the most obvious and natural thing in the world. “I am here for a moment and then I will be gone, and no one will ever know or remember that there once was a shrine maiden named Y/N here. I’ve made peace with that.”

I would, Giyuu wanted to tell her. I would remember and I would tell them all. 

“I am nobody as well,” Giyuu admitted quietly after a moment. “And I have no one left to belong to.” 

The image of her face, so kind and sad and full of understanding at his words, had stayed with him for the rest of the morning and even as he settled in for a few hours of sleep in the Shrine’s guest wing.  

And in his dreams, her face remained a constant.

—

The sky had turned a vivid shade of orange by the time the Water Pillar emerged from his guest lodgings, ready to depart and resume his duties.  Y/N had been helping another shrine maiden tote firewood across the courtyard when she heard a quiet call of her name.

She turned and saw the raven-haired Swordsman standing near the great Torii gate. 

She looked back to her fellow trainee, who waved her off with a knowing smile, and Y/N brushed her hands clean against her hakama pants before she approached him. 

“Leaving so soon?” And she tried to mask her disappointment at the shortness of his visit. 

Giyuu nodded. “We’ve been stretched thin, in light of a few…changes to our ranks.”

The Miko nodded grimly. He’d told her that a fellow Hashira had been slain a few months prior, and another had retired following a rather violent battle that had destroyed part of a far off city.

“But I wanted to give you this.”

She glanced down to his outstretched hand, where a small parcel was wrapped in plain furoshiki cloth. Stunned, she took the package from him, her eyes flicking between it and the Water Pillar watching her intently.

Gingerly, she unfolded the bundle and unveiled a long, but fragile metal and wood reed.

A hairpin, she realized with a soft gasp. Y/N could scarcely bring her fingers to run over the exquisitely crafted ridges of the leaves that adorned the top portion of the pin, afraid that even the slightest pressure from her touch would cause the Water Pillar’s precious gift to her to crumble. 

I spend the year longing for autumn, she’d told him. She hadn’t thought he’d been particularly interested in listening to her talk; but as Y/N cradled the delicate ornament between her palms, she felt a blush begin to creep across her cheeks. 

As her fingers traced across the delicate ridges of a cluster of maple leaves, lacquered in a thick coat of scarlet paint — a perfect match to the hue of her traditional Miko hakama pants — Y/N realized that perhaps Tomioka had been paying more attention to her than she’d realized. 

For the Water Pillar had given her a piece of autumn to hold onto year-round. 

“Tomioka-san, you do not-“ 

“Giyuu.” The ravenette interrupted her. “Please, call me by my name; it’s Giyuu.” 

Y/N’s mouth closed, but she smiled softly, considering. “Alright. Giyuu — please, you do not need to feel obligated to bring gifts for us — it was only salmon.” 

But Giyuu only shook his head. “I don’t bring gifts for everyone; just you.” 

Y/N turned scarlet. 

“Please, just-“ Giyuu frowned, and Y/N could have sworn she saw the faintest glow of pink coloring the Hashira’s cheeks. “Just take it.” 

“Okay,” her voice resembled a mouse’s squeak as she cradled the pin delicately between her hands. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.” 

“And it wasn’t just salmon.” 

Y/N looked to him in surprise, her head cocked in curiosity. “Pardon?” 

Giyuu exhaled harshly through his nose before stepping closer to her. “This is not only because you made salmon.” Her eyes tracked his hand as it rose to grip the front fold of his haori in his fist. “This – this is all I have left of my family.” 

“My sister,” he gestured to the red half of his haori. “She died protecting me.” His hand drifted to the green and orange patterned half of the garment. “And this belonged to a dear friend. He also perished protecting me – and others.”

The Miko’s lips parted, understanding and sorrow flooding her eyes. “Tomioka-san — Giyuu — I had no idea —“

“They both died because of demons – because I could not help them. And now this is all I have left to remember them by.” And then he did the unthinkable; he grabbed her hand and pressed it against the checkered portion of his haori, right over his heart. His hand was warm and firm. Gentle, though she could feel his callouses against her knuckles as he held it in place. “So it wasn’t just salmon.” He repeated, and there was a heat in his eyes Y/N had not seen before, one that stoked a fire in her belly. “And you are not just anyone.” 

A soft exhale blew past her lips at the sincerity of his words. For the first time in all her nineteen years, she wondered if this was what it meant to mean something to someone.

“Thank you,” she breathed, eyes wide and sparkling with unshed emotion. “I will treasure it.”

She swore she saw a faint blush creep across the Water Pillar’s cheeks, but she brushed it aside as nothing more than the shadows of the sky as twilight darkened the horizon. 

Tomioka nodded. “I must get going now; I will see you soon.”

She did not want him to go.

But the shrine maiden concealed the pang she felt in her chest with a breezy smile. “Farewell, Tomio-“

“Giyuu.” 

She blushed. “Yes — Giyuu. Until next time.”

—

“I cannot believe he lets the old woman charge him an arm and a leg to stay a single night,” Miyoko said in awe as the pair watched the retreating form of the Water Pillar through the shrine house gates. 

The hairpin clutched tightly in her hands suddenly felt like a stone weight. “I’m sure he stays here only for convenience’s sake,” Y/N replied airily, turning sharply away from the egress to the shrine to hide her warming cheeks.  

Miyoko snorted. “Hardly. The Demon Slayer Corps has tons of safehouses throughout the country. Corps members get medical treatment, hot meals, and lodging free of charge.” Y/N’s sister-in-training grunted as she heaved a hefty bag of rice flour from the storeroom to the girls’ side, no doubt hauling it out to prepare the evening meal. 

“I’ve heard of at least four such houses in this region alone. As a Hashira, Tomioka-sama could go to any one of them and be treated far more kindly than he is here.” 

Y/N frowned. “I wonder why, then, he continues to return here so often? Surely our shrine is some distance from his home, given that he stays the night each time.” 

Miyoko shot the young shrine maiden a knowing glance. “Perhaps he tolerates the Granny’s abuse because he is fond of the company.” 

Y/N only felt her face grow hotter as she ducked down, though she felt Miyoko’s amused stare burn through her back. 

—-

The Water Pillar had returned from his intel assignment and promptly journeyed to the Shrine, its inhabitants abuzz as they prepared for the arrival of autumn and the colder months, now only mere weeks away. 

He found the shrine maiden of his interest inside the main wing of the manor, back in the kitchen as she prepared herbs to be incorporated into various salves and medications. Y/N smiled brightly at him as he’d sidled up beside her, taking a handful of dried greenery from the bunch next to her and deftly pulling the leaves from the stem and handing them to her. 

“Is it your day off?” The Miko gratefully accepted the leaves he’d stripped and dumped them into the rocky mortar to join the others. 

Giyuu felt his stomach clench as his fingers brushed against hers. “I have completed my duties for the time being, yes.”

"You're welcome to help me, as long as you do not mind a bit of busy work."

He didn't; of course he didn't. In fact, as he accepted the heavy stone pestle from the Miko and set to work mashing the leaves she handed them into the mortar, Giyuu rather supposed he would do just about anything to remain in the shrine maiden's company, even if that meant assisting her in a task as banal as grinding medicinal herbs. And though the Slayer and the Miko fell into their well-practiced habit of quietly tending to Y/N's duties side by side, there was a notable absence of the bright chatter he'd grown accustomed to hearing during his visits.

The Water Pillar frowned. “You’re quiet.” It was not a question. “There is something on your mind.” 

“Is there?” Y/N hummed loftily, her hands continuing to strip leaves from their stems. “Perhaps I am simply focused.” 

Giyuu found his eyes wandering to the side to study the Miko’s face more often than usual. Though she maintained a pleasant smile as they worked, he could see that it did not fully reach her eyes. And even her sage expression could not conceal the way the troubled look in her eyes, hands pausing their work as she stared at something behind the walls of the small shrine kitchen. 

“Something is bothering you.” Giyuu took the bundle of herbs clutched in her hands and replaced them with his pestle, allowing her to work her frustrations over the paste forming at the bottom of the stone bowl. 

She blushed and refocused her gaze, grinding the pestle hard. “Nothing is wrong!” She chirped. 

“You are a dreadful liar.”

The Miko replied with an airy laugh that made his throat tighten. “So I’ve been told — often, in fact.” 

“There is…trouble in the village,” Y/N said carefully, though she kept her hands busy as she continued to grind herbs into a thick paste. “It is nothing we can’t handle, but it has put many of us on edge. Particularly Granny.” 

Giyuu frowned as he handed the shrine maiden another bunch of leaves from her basket. “What sort of trouble?” 

She hesitated. “It is petty village drama, nothing more.”

“You won’t give any further details?” 

The Water Pillar could not explain it, but he found himself troubled by the way the Shrine Maiden forced a smile and a far too casual shrug of her shoulders. “There are none worth re-hashing.” 

He frowned, but he did not press her further, resolving instead to poke around later. Perhaps he would see whether the Shrine’s head Priestess’s tongue was as loose with information as it was with vulgarity once she’d properly indulged in her sake; he’d make certain she was well-stocked in advance. 

Giyuu furtively glanced back at the shrine maiden’s profile, in part to see whether he could deduce anything from her expressions, but he found himself instead studying her, puzzling over a change in her appearance he hadn’t noticed before.

Sensing his stare, the Miko turned to him with a light smile that then  faltered. “What –?”

“You changed your hair.” It took everything within him not to reach out, to see if her hair would feel as silky in his fingers as it looked shifting softly in the wind. “I’ve never seen it down.” 

“Oh!” Her smile turned bashful, a pretty pink dusting spreading across her cheeks. “I wanted to wear my hairpin – see?” 

She turned her head, the long curtain of her hair rippling smoothly with the movement. With her back to him, Giyuu could see the pin he’d given her neatly tucked into the long strands of her hair, pinning half of it back. The red of the pin’s maple leaves posed a lovely contrast with the hue of her hair. 

Y/N was already quite beautiful, but with her hair partially down, he thought she looked softer; younger. She peeked over her shoulder at him, fingers nervously combing through her tresses. “It’s not practical for every day, of course, but I thought since you’d likely be arriving soon –” 

His eyes widened and Giyuu became acutely aware that his heart now thumped wildly in his throat as Y/N choked off with a squeak, apparently realizing what she’d revealed. Though she hurriedly turned back around, Giyuu could see how the tips of her ears burned bright red. 

Despite her efforts, her admission hung like a cloud in the air between them. She’d worn it – the hairpin – for him. 

Giyuu swallowed thickly. “I like it.” He cleared his throat and turned, allowing his own unruly hair to obscure his face. “On you, that is.” 

For once, the Miko had neither a quick remark nor barb to lob back at him. Instead, she only turned back to her task of grinding her herbs, a thick curtain of her hair concealing her face from his sight.

Once she'd finished bottling up her new medicinal salves, Giyuu helped her carry the tins to the Shrine's storage house, directly across the courtyard from its main wing. The shrine maiden remained curiously quiet, even in spite of his own lame attempts to converse with her. He'd finally given up after his dry comment about the weather went ignored. But every so often, he let his eyes wander to her as they returned to the honden, and that nagging feeling returned as he watched her gnaw incessantly at her bottom lip, a faraway look in her eyes. 

Giyuu was not a nosy man, but the Miko's clear distraction unsettled him. He was about to pull her aside, to demand she tell him exactly what it was that had chased away the smile he so longed to see when they were approached by Y/N's haughty Master.

“Lord Tomioka,” the head Priestess nodded curtly at him in greeting. “I am glad to have run into you — I am in need of your assistance.”

The old Priestess turned to her young protégée. “Go assist the younger ones; they need to give their offerings before dinner.” 

Y/N’s mouth opened to protest but the head Priestess cut her off. “Now.”

To his surprise, the shrine maiden did not argue with her Master, only turning to him to give him a helpless shrug before she began to make her way toward the Shrine’s honden. 

The Water Pillar grimaced. He tried to convince himself the pit in his stomach was only because her odd behavior gnawed at him; that he was only curious to learn what it was that troubled her.  But as the Miko cast one last, reluctant look over her shoulder at him, Giyuu found that he was as unwilling to watch her go as she was to leave. 

If the Shrine’s head priestess noticed his inner anguish, she paid it no mind. “You will accompany me in the kitchen.”

—-

The first thing he noticed was the conspicuous absence of the scent of sake, which he’d grown accustomed to following the Priestess around like a pungent cloud of perfume. He resisted the urge to scowl; he would have to find another way to get the old woman to talk.

Giyuu followed the woman into the small structure that stood adjacent to the honden that served as the Shrine’s kitchen. He watched silently as she pulled a cleaver, large and deadly sharp, free from where it was stored in a cabinet and laid it atop a butcher’s block. The elder stepped outside of the kitchen and returned a moment later, a recently de-feathered and skinned chicken in hand.

“Things around here seem…tense,” Giyuu observed carefully  as the old woman slapped the chicken on the counter for preparation. 

“Tense is one word for it, I reckon,” she bit, taking up her cleaver. “The world we live in is dark. I should think you would know that better than most.”

The corner of his mouth dipped down. “But even your girls seem unusually subdued; distracted.” 

Her eyes flashed to his, piercing and sharp. “You mean Y/N.”

It wasn’t a question. 

“She is always restless this time of year,” the old woman sighed. “Though she loves autumn, she despises winter — or, rather, she despises how it reminds her of what she does not have. And winter is well on its way.” 

He nodded, recalling what the shrine maiden had revealed to him that day, on the hillside.

“But your observation is correct — that is not all of the reason she is so distracted,” the old Priestess said darkly, and Giyuu was surprised to see how alert and focused the normally soused elder seemed. “A man from the village — Susumo — has been following her. Demanding her.” 

Giyyu straightened. “What do you mean by ‘demand?’” 

The haggard woman cursed below her breath as she broke down the chicken’s body. “I mean in the way that men often feel entitled to women — especially angry drunks like him.” 

Every hair on Giyuu’s body stood straight as the weight of the Priestess’ warning settled. 

“I have forbidden her from venturing out in the dark alone,” the Granny continued, harshly wrenching a joint on the fowl. 

“She is a Priestess in training; surely that status affords her some protection?” Giyuu’s knuckles turned white where his fists clenched at his sides. 

“I’m not sure the shrine is enough to keep him out for much longer. He’s been lingering — and threatening consequences, if I do not agree to hand her over to him for marriage.” The old Priestess grimaced. “Her status does her no good if he burns this place to the ground.” 

The old woman set her cleaver next to her with a heavy thud, her frustration palpable. “The girl is of age, and I am not her blood family; there is no one here who can claim authority over her, not like a parent or an elder sibling.” When her eyes lifted to his, Giyuu could see a hint of fear underlying the hard anger in her gaze. “These days, I half-expect to awaken and find that she’s been stolen in the night.” 

The Water Pillar felt his jaw clench. It was rare that he felt the burning flush of anger and it was not directed at a demon, but the idea that Y/N was being harassed and threatened by some village drunkard who felt entitled to her, lit something hot in his stomach. For as vexatious and confounding as he found the young Miko to be, no one deserved to be stalked like prey. 

Especially her. 

“I’ve had a crow stationed here to alert me of any demon attacks for months,” Giyuu began, and the old woman looked to him in surprise. “But I will assign more to keep watch during the day. If there is anything strange afoot, they will tell you.” He paused a moment before adding, “And they will alert me, too.”

The head Priestess laid down her cleaver to look at him, long and hard. “Then she may have a fighting chance yet, Lord Hashira.”

————-

By the time he found Y/N once more, dinner was over and the moon had risen high in the night sky, casting the shrine grounds in its pale, silvery glow.

He’d told her, rather tersely, that he was unable to stay the night, and he tried to ignore how his chest tightened at the crestfallen look that flashed across her face. Despite her tangible disappointment, she insisted on escorting him out of the Shrine, desperate to cling to every second that might be spared to them.

“You are rather quiet tonight,” the Miko observed, walking him to the grand Torii. “More so than usual.” It was an understatement; the Water Pillar had been downright sullen and withdrawn from the moment he’d returned from whatever takes Granny had insisted she help him with. 

Rather than give her any explanation, Giyuu halted his step and reached for her wrist, stilling her. “You did not tell me you were being harassed.” 

She looked up to the Water Pillar in surprise. “How did you —?” 

He released her from his grip in favor of drawing closer to her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Y/N opened and closed her mouth, struggling to find her words. “I suppose,” she began, but her mouth quirked down in a frown. “I did not think you needed to be burdened by something so insignificant.” 

Giyuu stared at her as he mouthed the word insignificant, the look he shot her giving the distinct impression he thought her an idiot. “I do not think your safety is insignificant,” Giyuu’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, clenching it tight. “Nor do I think you are insignificant.” 

“Compared to your other obligations? I should think I’m very unimportant.” Y/N turned away from him, fiddling with a gathering basket she carried on her hip to avoid having to look him in the eyes.

But the raven-haired Pillar caught her wrist and turned her back to face him, not willing to be ignored. “If you call for me, I will come to you.” 

Y/N’s heart lurched at the Water Pillar’s words, spoken with such conviction and sincerity that it made her falter in her step. “Tomioka-san,” she said breathlessly, her eyes wide as she turned to him. “You have far more important duties to see to than to concern yourself with than mere village drama —“

But the raven-haired Hashira only shook his head as he took another step towards her, his expression severe; calculating. “You have the knife I gave you, yes?” His eyes dropped to her pocket, and Y/N felt compelled to show him that the small blade was indeed tucked safely within the folds of her hakama pants. 

“Giyuu,” she pled, and she noted the way that he twitched towards her at the sound of his name falling from her lips. “Please, don’t worry —“

“I do not make promises I cannot keep,” the Water Pillar cut her off, closing the distance between them until the tips of his zori nearly grazed hers, his head bent down towards her as the heat of his stare threatened to consume her. “So I repeat: if you call for me, I will come to you.” 

Any thought of arguing faded from her mind as Y/N became keenly aware of the lack of space between their bodies, of the way her hands, clasped in front of her chest brushed against the folds of his haori as it shifted softly with the wind. 

“I understand,” she breathed. Y/N held his gaze for a long moment, though it was in part due to the battle waging within her not to allow her eyes to drop to his lips.

She would not let herself acknowledge how close they were; how soft they looked, or how warm they might feel against hers; her skin. 

Giyuu lingered as well; after a pregnant pause, he finally stepped back, blinking as though coming out of a trance. “Good,” he nodded, and he glanced furtively over her shoulder. His eyes narrowed and he nodded as though satisfied before he turned crisply on his heel to begin his trek towards his duties and away from her. “Do not forget.” He called one last time over his shoulder, before the shadows of the woods swallowed him whole. 

As Y/N dazedly made her way back towards the shrine, a crow following closely behind her, she almost laughed at the suggestion she could. 

——-

Autumn, 1915

The weeks passed by without much fuss, and soon, the palpable tension that had settled over the Shrine as a result of Susumo’s lingering threats subsided. Soon, life at the Shrine returned to normal, and Y/N often found her mind wandering to thoughts of raven hair and endless blue eyes. 

Until that night.

It had been a normal evening at the Shrine; autumn, blissful autumn had arrived, heralding forth crisp winds and golden skies. Though the days were steadily growing shorter, Y/N found herself rejuvenated by the new chill, especially as she watched the leaves of the trees shift from green to gold to ruby. 

The leaves on her hairpin indeed had been a perfect match to those which were steadily drifting from the tall maples dotting the Shrine. Though she couldn’t wear her hair down the way she had the last time the Water Pillar paid the Shrine a visit, Y/N had found new ways to incorporate his gift into her daily life, weaving it through her plait or tucking it behind her ear. 

That night had been one like any other; after dinner, the girls of the Shrine had scattered to tend to their evening duties.  The shrine maiden had been walking alongside her Master, planning for the upcoming festival in the nearby village, during which the Shrine would seek new patrons to keep it operational. The women mulled over which families might be more inclined to assist them, and settled on a prominent merchant known to frequent other shrines on his travels through the country.

That was when they’d spotted the smoke.

“Fire!” A shrill voice cried, and both the old Priestess and Y/N blanched. “The honden is on fire!”

All at once, chaos broke out across the Shrine grounds as girls darted to and fro, frantic. Granny began barking at her charges, ordering the younger ones to gather in the courtyard while instructing the older girls to assist in putting out the flames.

"The granary!" Someone else cried. "The granary has gone up in flames!"

The elder Priestess snatched Y/N's wrist in her weathered hand. “The scrolls!” Granny's expression of horror was a sure match to her own. “They’re in the storeroom near the granary!” 

The scrolls in question had been in the Shrine’s custody for over five hundred years, carrying sacred inscriptions of the gods and prayers essential to its operation and legitimacy.

They were priceless; irreplaceable. 

“I’ll go!” And before her Master could protest, the Miko had already turned away and began sprinting toward the fire that was rapidly engulfing the granary near the back of the property.  

Thankfully, the storeroom had yet to catch fire, but if the one steadily consuming the granary was not dealt with soon, it wouldn’t be long before it spread to consume the small wooden hut. 

And Y/N knew it wouldn’t take much to reduce the storeroom to ash. 

Coughing, she pressed her arm to her nose and mouth, using the large bell sleeve of her kosode to block some of the smoke that burned her eyes and nose. She pulled her other sleeve over her hand to protect it as she pushed the storehouse’s door aside. 

Inside was dark; quiet. Though the nighttime made it difficult for her to see the scrolls and prints carefully rolled and tucked away into tiny cubbies lining the hut’s walls, Y/N wasn’t stupid enough to waste time searching for a candle to light. So, with only the flames eating away at the granary at her back to light her way, she began pulling handfuls of scrolls free from their storage, tucking them under her arm. 

She turned to take her first armload of priceless Shrine artifacts from the storeroom and nearly tripped over a collection of heated coal pans that had been stacked in the corner to keep the scrolls sealed within the room at a stable temperature. She managed to hold onto her scrolls, however, and she quickly moved them away from the hut, placing them safely on a nearby rock that was still far enough away from the storeroom should it catch fire. She returned to the hut to survey what else she needed to salvage, but a familiar, tiny yelp and the flurry of movement in her periphery made the Miko’s stomach twist.

“Komatsu!” Y/N turned and saw the anxious younger girl lingering at the storage hut’s door, her tiny hands trembling. “Get away from here! It’s not safe!” 

“B-but Sister,” the girl cried, hopping anxiously from foot to foot. “This is too much to do on your own —“

“You need to go find Granny,” the shrine maiden ordered. “I will join you in a moment.”

The girl’s lower lip wobbled. “But —,”

“Now!”

With a great sniff, the girl turned away, leaving Y/N alone once more. The Miko sighed and resumed her hasty perusal of the hut’s shelves, searching for anything else that could not be replaced. 

There was a rustling near the doorway and Y/N bit her lip in an effort not to swear in front of her younger peer. “Komatsu, what did I say —“ 

She turned to admonish the girl, but her reprimand dried instantly on her tongue. For there, in the entryway to the storeroom, was Komatsu, her eyes wide and her face bone-white with a terror that matched Y/N’s own.

Because the girl was not alone.

Wrapped around her bicep was a hand, as large as a small boulder, and tipped with long, wicked claws that threatened to pierce Komatsu’s bicep. The hand was attached to a forearm, inhumanly thick and muscled. Slowly, Y/N’s eyes dragged up the length of the monstrous arm to behold the sinister face that grinned at her. 

It was Susumo — only it wasn’t Susumo. Y/N recognized the vague features of the face that had once belonged to the village drunk and her personal tormentor. His hair was the same as was the general shape of his face, and the cruelty of his smirk, but that was where the resemblance to the Susumo she’d once known ended.

Now, he boasted a row of sharp fangs that distended nearly to his lower lip. And his eyes — no longer were they a cold, soulless black; now they were crimson red, and his pupils were cut into catlike slits.

Demon. A voice whispered in her mind. Demon.

“Enjoy my fires, Priestess?” Even Susumo’s voice had changed, forming a growl that matched his monstrous appearance. “I set them for you — I knew you would not be able to resist seeing such a spectacle.”

“Komatsu,” Y/N ignored him in favor of addressing the young girl, though her voice was unusually high though she fought to keep it as steady as possible. “Please go find Granny and help her with the honden.” 

The young trainee trembled but Susumo’s clawed hand only tightened around her arm. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that, sweet Priestess,” the demon crooned. “You have something I want, you see.”

The slick, oily look in his eyes made his desire clear.

Y/N’s eyes darted quickly around the hut, finally falling on a series of coal pans stacked to the side of the room, only a few feet from where she stood, paralyzed. Her quick, cursory glance at the pans revealed iron that was slightly red, and she swore she could see the air around them distorted by the heat.

Hot; they were still hot.

The Miko looked back to where the demon continued to leer at her, ravenous. “Fine,” she said coolly. “I will go with you, Susumo.”

Komatsu looked between her and the demon in horror, but Y/N only kept her eyes locked with the demon’s. She edged closer to where the coal pans were still burning hot, eyes not daring to drop his as she drew closer to the demon and the younger trainee. He grinned, revealing cruelly sharp and bloodstained teeth, and his yellow eyes shone with a triumphant smugness, believing the Miko was surrendering to him at last. 

As she brushed past the pans, Y/N furtively reached out a hand and closed her fingers around one of the handles. “Komatsu,” the Miko kept her eyes carefully trained on the demon. “Run.”

Her hand seized around the coal pan and with every ounce of her strength, she swung it toward the demon. The hot iron of the pan slammed into the side of his head, forcing him to drop his hold on the younger girl. There was a struggle between the older shrine maiden and the demon, who fought to wrench the pan free from her fierce grip, but Y/N would not relent. 

“Run!” She shrieked at the girl again, and Komatsu darted away. Y/N’s fingers stretched to close around the tiny lever on the handle of the coal pan, and with a snarl of fury, she managed to latch around it, squeezing it with all her might. The lid of the pan opened and red-hot coals spilled forth over the demon’s head. Susumo howled in fury, and Y/N dropped the pan, letting it crack against his head as she shot past him, desperate to escape the tiny storeroom.

The faster she got into open air, the better chance she had of living. 

But a claw, sharp and deadly sunk into her bicep, and yanked her back. She could not help the small scream that tore from her throat as she felt his talons rip at her skin and the sleeve of her kosode was shredded into ribbons beneath his nails.

“Sister Y/N!” Komatsu’s tiny, terrified voice cried out from several feet ahead. 

The shrine maiden swallowed her building panic. “Go!”

The little girl hesitated again and Y/N knew she could not follow after her, not without risking her safety once again. With a defiant scream of rage, the shrine maiden tore her arm free of the demon’s razor-like claws, fighting back the bile that rose in her throat as she felt blood run down her arm, hot and thick. 

The demon grasped wildly at her but found only air. Thinking only of the safety of Komatsu and her fellow trainees, Y/N turned on her heel and ran for the trees, away from the chaos unfolding at the Shrine. 

And the demon, still snarling and panting and undoubtedly enraged, followed her into the forest.

Shit, shit, shit!

Y/N hurtled over a snarled root as she ran, her life dependent upon every stride as she fled the newly-demented Susumo.

In the back of her mind, the Miko knew her efforts were in vain; because for every inch she managed to gain, the angry demon at her heels seemed to gain a foot.

“You’ve denied me for far too long!” The monster’s voice growled behind her, far too close for comfort. “I will have you!”

Y/N palmed the small nichirin knife tucked safely within the deep pockets of her hakama pants, and wildly she wondered whether it was possible to decapitate a demon with such a small blade. Perhaps the Water Pillar should have left her a sword. After all, a sword could not really be that different from a broom, and she’d walloped her fair share of handsy drunkards and would-be thieves with the cleaning tool.

If she lived through the night, she would tell him as much the next time she saw him.

Y/N’s musings did nothing to help her avoid the root of an old tree that jutted out from the earth, snarling around her ankle and sending her flailing to the forest floor. Angry tears of frustration clouded her eyes. Although she knew these paths like the back of her hand, that knowledge did her little good in the dark, as she fled for her life.

Scrambling up to her feet, Y/N caught sight of a pair of eyes watching her from the brambles, dark and inky.

A crow. The image of a certain Hashira flashed before her eyes, as Y/N recalled the way that the members of the Demon Slayer Corps used crows to communicate.

Perhaps this crow was so affiliated, and she was desperate enough to try. “Please!” Y/N begged, sobbing as the crow stared down at her with those black eyes. “Giyuu!”

———

The night had been unusually peaceful for the Water Pillar.

His ambling patrol around his territory’s perimeter hadn’t revealed so much as a whisper of demonic activity. But the absence of any conspicuous threat did not mean his guard was down; his eyes remained sharp, his ear finely tuned, listening for any shift in the wind, any sign that something was amiss and required investigation —

A sudden rustle of leaves sounded from his right, and Giyuu’s hand moved reflexively for his blade, bracing against its hilt in preparation. A small shadow burst from the canopy above him, its wings flapping wildly. He recognized it instantly as the crow he’d assigned to watch over the Shrine — to watch over her.

“Demon attack at the Mountain Shrine!” The crow squawked, circling above him frantically. “Demon attack! Go now — quickly!” 

He hadn’t hesitated to turn sharply on his heel, furiously making his way toward the Shrine. He broke through the line of trees at its edge in record time, and even he’d been taken aback by the chaos that had broken out.

“The honden is on fire!” the old woman cried out to the Pillar as he swiftly landed among the chaos unfolding across the shrine grounds. “The girls were still doing their evening duties – but then another fire was started near the granary!” 

“My crows said a demon had made an appearance,” Giyuu’s eyes carefully scanned the terrified, frantic faces of the Shrine’s residents, his hands braced against the hilt of his sword. “Has anyone been hurt?” 

The head Priestess stared at the Water Pillar in muted horror. “I have not seen – but I haven’t taken any headcount of the girls to know –” 

A piercing cry from near the south gate of the Shrine cut the old woman off, and both Priestess and Slayer whipped toward the sound. A girl, no more than nine, was half-running, half-stumbling toward them, frightened tears streaking down her face. 

“Komatsu!” the old Priestess blanched as she caught sight of the small apprentice’s busted, bloodied lip. With a sob, the young girl flung herself into her elder’s arms and clung tightly to her. “What on earth –?” 

“Sister Y/N!” the girl called Komatsu wailed, and Giyuu felt himself go cold. “Granny – th-that man – he’s a monster!”

The head Priestess paled in recognition. “Susumo?” Giyuu’s gut clenched at the name. The old woman knelt before the girl, her hands clutching wildly at her slim shoulders as she shook her lightly to recenter her. “Komatsu, was Susumo the monster?” 

The young girl nodded. “He was so – hiccup – fast! I didn’t even see him!” She only cried harder. “And t-then Sister Y/N – she grabbed the coal pan and dumped it on him until he let go.” Komatsu trembled as she lifted a shaking hand to wipe at her cheeks. “A-and then she t-told me to r-run –” 

THe old Priestess caught the girl’s quivering chin in her hand and forced her to meet her eyes. “Where is Y/N, Komatsu?” 

Komatus’s eyes were wide with fear. “She ran,” she whispered. “Into the woods – b-but Granny – she was bleeding –” 

The Shrine’s Priestess turned to the Slayer, ready to beg him to follow after the demon and her apprentice, but the Water Pillar was gone. For a brief moment, she feared all hope was lost; that they’d been abandoned and non one would be able to save the young Miko – her heir – from whatever horrid fate awaited her at the ends of Susumo’s crazed, brutal claws.

She caught a flurry of movement right against the dark line of trees that snagged her attention; a flap of the edge of a mismatched haori, and the glint of a blade being drawn, its wielder already furiously making his way into the shadowy depths of the forest. 

The Priestess exhaled and clutched her trembling young trainee to her chest. As she soothed the shaken young girl, the old woman prayed the Water Pillar would not be too late.

–

She was fucked; well and truly fucked.

Y/N had no idea how long she’d spent sprinting furiously through the forest, but she knew she was quickly running out of stamina. Worse, it seemed the demon on her heels knew she was slowing, and was now playing with her. But even his patience seemed to be at its wit’s end; for a sudden sharp blow to her back sent the Miko flying several feet forward until she slammed against the uneven, rough terrain of the forest floor.

Y/N gasped for air that would not come as she tried to push herself up. Crawl! Her mind begged her body. Crawl, damn you!

A dark chuckle from behind sent every hair on her body standing straight on end. A hand locked around her ankle and flipped her over until she was nearly nose to nose with the demon crouched over her. “Got you,” he sang, and the moonlight glinted off the sharp edge of his fangs as he grinned. 

Her fingers found the handle of the knife the Water Pillar had gifted her in her pocket. With a determined grunt, she pulled it free and plunged it deep into the meat of his shoulder, praying furiously to any god who would listen that she might have hit an artery so that he would bleed out. 

The demon loosed an enraged scream and fell away from her, hands blindly fumbling for the blade.  

No longer pinned beneath him, Y/N  scrambled back. Her hands scraped against the broken brush and pebbles below her in her desperate attempt to put distance between herself and the demon rising to his feet ahead of her, snarling. As he began advancing toward her, Susumo gripped the knife she’d buried in his shoulder and with a grunt, he wrenched it free and tossed it carelessly to the side, right along with the last shred of any hope she’d had of making it out of the woods alive.

The demon’s mouth curled into a cruel, savage grin, the moonlight glinting off his long, wicked fangs. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he growled, saliva dripping down his chin as his nostrils widened to scent her blood and her fear. 

This was it; there was nowhere for her to run, no weapon she could try and protect herself with. There was nothing she could do; she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Just as Susumo drew upon her, close enough that she could smell the rancid, pungent odor of rotted meat on his breath, he stumbled back, startled. 

One moment the demon was standing mere inches from her, ready to devour her whole; the next, he was sent sailing back, his body smashing into the trunk of a nearby tree with a sickening thump! 

A blur of dark matter soared over the Miko’s head toward the monster. Susumo barely had time to stand before the shadow converged on him once more. There was a flash of light — the moon reflecting off metal — followed by a dull thud. The shrine maiden’s heart lodged in her throat as she watched the head of the former village drunkard roll across the forest floor before distingrating, his body following soon after. 

She was nearly hyperventilating as the shadow turned to face her, but the pall of the moon finally illuminated the face of her savior — her Water Pillar.

“G-Giyuu,” she stuttered, her eyes stinging with unshed tears of relief that washed over her all at once.

But Giyuu did not respond, his lapis eyes narrowing in on the dark stain spreading across the white of her kosode. Y/N cowered at the cold, unbridled rage that contorted the ordinarily stoic Hashira’s face as he began to shake at the sight of her blood. In a flash, Giyuu had closed the distance between them and knelt down by her side, gripping her wounded arm in his hand as he tried to pull her tattered sleeve down and  inspect her wound.

“Tomioka — Giyuu,” she pled, trying to wrench her arm from his iron-like grip. “Please, it’s not that bad —“

“Did it get you anywhere else?” Giyuu demanded harshly, and the authority underlying his tone made Y/N fall silent for the first time since she’d known him. “Did it -“ the Water Pillar hesitated. “Did it touch you anywhere else?”

Y/N was trembling, and the Hashira’s hand around her arm tightened. “Ah!” She winced. “No, I promise, Giyuu, it’s just a flesh wound, I’m fine-,”

“You are bleeding. You are not fine.” Giyuu snapped back. “You could’ve been killed, or turned, or -,” the Water Pillar began to hyperventilate, and it shook the young Miko to her core. The Water Hashira was normally so unflappable, so stoic, that his panicked anger frightened her.

“-So do not tell me you’re fine,” Giyuu’s rant continued. “Not when you could’ve — not when I might’ve failed — not again --”

She was at a loss for what to do as she watched the raven-haired man struggle to form words. Vaguely, she recalled the way the Granny-Priestess had once explained to her that when someone panicked, they needed to regulate their breathing, and there were many ways someone could help force another to breathe properly…

Stomach fluttering, Y/N’s free hand came up to grip the fold of the Water Pillar’s haori. Giyuu’s incessant rambling only ended when her lips urgently pressed against his own, his eyes going wide. A heartbeat or two passed and then the Miko pulled away, her eyes serious as she stared at the stunned Water Hashira.

“You need to give me a sword.” She told him, earnestly, her face blazing.

———

Giyuu helped her back to the Shrine, though the Miko found herself needing to bat off the Water Pillar with a stern reminder that she’d only sustained a small arm wound as he’d tried to scoop her up into his arms.

The Swordsman had been rather subdued the entire journey out of the forest, his eyes curiously wide and dazed right until the pair breached the tree line at the edge of the Shrine’s property. The moment they stepped into open ground, they were swarmed by the tearful, relieved faces of the Shrine’s inhabitants. Words of gratitude to him were woven through worries over the Miko’s arm wound as they made their way across toward the small infirmary which, thankfully, had not been touched by Susumo’s fire.

The honden itself was still standing; though the flames had finally been subdued, smoke still curled up toward the sky, blocking any view of the moon or the stars. 

The head Priestess waited for them outside the infirmary. Though her face was grave, Giyuu could spy the relief shining in her eyes. He stood numbly by as the Miko and her master regarded each other warily for a moment, before the elder Priestess reached forward and yanked her charge forward into a fierce embrace.

“Reckless girl,” she chastised gently against the side of Y/N’s head. “Thank every one of the gods that you’re safe.” The old Priestess’s eyes found those of the Water Pillar. “And thank you, Lord Tomioka.”

Y/N was promptly escorted inside to have her wound examined and stitched. Despite the old shrine keeper’s gratitude for his aid in saving the young shrine maiden, that thankfulness apparently did not extend to permitting him inside the infirmary with them, and for good reason. For under the Elder’s withering glare, the Water Pillar realized that Y/N’s treatment would require her to be stripped of her kosode, leaving her exposed and bare. 

As unwilling as he’d been to part from her, the thought of witnessing the Miko undressed and vulnerable had been enough to temper his urge to look after her, if nothing else because the mental image of her in such a state flustered him to no end.

Though, he supposed his bewilderment also had something to do with what had transpired between them in the forest.

Kissed him; the shrine maiden had kissed him. 

His fingers drifted to his lips. They still felt warm where they’d been graced by hers, and he swore he could still feel the softness of her mouth from where it had brushed against his. 

He needed to talk to her; he needed to know what the hell she’d been thinking, kissing him like that. 

But as shocking as the Miko’s kiss had been, there was something else, something far heavier, that weighed on his mind. 

She’d nearly been killed. By a demon. On his watch. 

He should’ve apologized; he should’ve begged for her forgiveness for letting her come that close with death. For letting her get wounded because he hadn’t been fast enough.

I was concerned for you, he wanted to tell her. I thought I would be too late.

No; concern didn’t cover it; did not do near enough justice to his true emotions upon learning the Miko had fled into the dark forest with a hungry, loathsome demon hot on her trail.

He’d been scared; terrified; almost beside himself at the possibility that he’d be too late and find that she’d already been reduced to the beast’s meal, 

He’d been scared he’d never again see her smile or hear her laugh, and that had terrified him more than anything. For it was the memory of both that soothed his anxious nerves each time he startled awake from visions of his dead loved ones, demanding to know why they had died in his stead.   

He’d feared that he would have to add her face to those he saw when he slept — the faces of those he’d failed to protect, who’d died for his sake. He’d been terrified of seeing her image in painstaking clarity, just as he saw the faces of his sister and Sabito every morning. 

He did not know what to do with them, these confusing feelings, so abundant and intense that they’d welled up within him and threatened to spill over. He couldn’t name them, let alone begin to untangle the knot they’d formed within his heart. All he knew was that every one of them were inextricably tied to her. 

His shrine maiden. 

His.

—

Y/N’s arm ached, but it had been properly sewn and bandaged, and there was work to do before she could settle in for the night; and so, she found herself helping her peers with cleaning up the courtyard from the debris of the night’s events. 

Truthfully, she'd been grateful for the distraction. Occupying herself with cleanup meant she did not have to think about what she’d done in the forest. But then Granny Priestess saw her trying to heave away broken wood with her freshly stitched arm and Y/N found herself forced to abandon her fellow trainees as the old bat smacked her upside the head and squawked about how she was going to break her stitching and complicate the healing process.  

The Miko tried not to pout as she retreated, opting instead to grumble over the old woman’s dramatics as her arm stung and her ego throbbed. When she finally returned to her sleeping quarters, exhaustion slammed into her, making her limbs heavy and leaden. Unable to quite rally the energy to crawl into her futon, she slumped against the doorway of the room, her head and her heart a tangled mess of emotions she couldn’t quite name.

What she’d felt the moment the Water Pillar had stepped into the moonlight had been more than mere relief that he’d managed to save her life for the second time. She’d felt safe, so unbelievably safe that the forest itself could have been on fire and she wouldn’t have been afraid; not as long as he was there with her.

Something between them had shifted; that much was clear. In truth, things likely had begun to change the moment she repaired his haori, and she’d admitted to him her deep-seated loneliness and lack of belonging.

She only hoped he felt the change, too.

—

Much to Y/N’s chagrin, autumn was quickly giving way to blasted winter.

Though, the Miko hadn’t been able to fully resent the rapid shift in the seasons; repairs at the Shrine had consumed nearly all of her attention, and as Granny’s heir, she was expected to contribute to its reconstruction more than any other trainee.

That expectation meant Granny left the task of figuring out how to finance the necessary repairs entirely to her young protege. Y/N had spent all of two days agonizing over ways to raise the necessary funds when she awoke to find a mysterious sack of money that had been left on the doorstep of the honden. Inside had been an amount more than generous to cover the cost of repairs from the fire, with a hefty remainder that could be put toward other necessary improvements to spruce the Shrine up, and perhaps restore it to its former glory. 

No note had been left with the money to indicate the identity of the Shrine’s benefactor.  But amid all the excitement of her peers at the thought of being able to afford materials and laborers to assist with the more difficult aspects of the Shrine’s refurbishment, Y/N had spotted a familiar crow perched high in a nearby tree.

That position had afforded the bird with a perfect view of the money sack, allowing it to silently ensure it fell into the proper hands. But repairs had finally slowed, and Y/N now found her days returning to normal. Almost. 

What was not normal was how agitated she'd become in waiting for his return.

Another week passed without any communication from the Water Pillar, and the Miko had grown desperate for any sort of distraction. She found herself one late, autumn morning passing the time in the Shrine’s garden hut. She was pretending to be searching for tools that would help her prune the wilting Shrine garden when something grazed against the small of her back. Startled, she turned and was greeted by familiar, unruly raven hair and a pair of deep azure eyes. 

“Giyuu,” his name slid easily off her tongue, and suddenly she could not remember why she’d called him anything else. 

A ghost of a smile graced his lips. “Hello, Y/N.”

A poignant silence followed, and her cheeks grew hot. "Don't mind me," she said quickly, turning her head away from him as she pretended to organize stray gardening supplies. "I am only just now finishing my tasks for the day."

Though he remained silent, she became acutely aware of the way Giyuu’s eyes followed her as she tried desperately to keep herself busy, to avoid having to meet that piercing, discerning stare. 

“I did not get a chance to properly thank you after the turmoil of that night,” she said casually. Nervously, she hoped that his heightened senses did not alert him to the way her heart fluttered in her chest, or how her stomach flipped in her gut. Her nails dug into her palms as she lifted her head to meet that unnerving, fathomless stare.

But the Water Pillar had already closed most of the distance between them, having moved so silently she’d not heard him, despite even the creaky, uneven slatted floor of the garden hut. “How is your wound?” He asked softly, his hand skirting up the outside of the arm Susumo had wounded. “Has it healed?” 

It took a great amount of effort for Y/N to remember how to keep her breathing steady. But she forced her lips into an easy smile as she rucked up the flared sleeve of her kosode to reveal her bicep. “It will likely scar,” she admitted, her fingers lightly tracing over the three, angry red marks that remained imprinted on her skin, though they’d fully scabbed over. “I consider myself quite lucky, all things considered.” 

“Why did you do it?” 

The Miko ducked her head, willing the sheet of her hair to fall and conceal her mounting blush. She did not need to ask him to clarify; she knew after what he was asking.

But she feigned ignorance all the same. “I don’t know what you mean, Tomioka-sama –” 

“Don’t call me that,” and even though she refused to meet his eyes, she could sense his irritation at her avoidance. “We’re well past such formalities, Y/N.” Giyuu stepped closer to her, his cerulean eyes melting into something more akin to the midnight blue of the evening sky. “You kissed me. That night.” The Water Pillar’s hand glided up the arm that Susumo had injured, caressing softly over the healed skin beneath the sleeve of her kosode.

“I-I did no such thing!” Y/N sputtered, though her reddening cheeks betrayed her. “I was only attempting to help you calm down — you were panicking, and inconsolable.” 

Giyuu’s responding smirk only served to irritate her more. “Should I thank you then, Y/N?” His hand slid from her shoulder to below her chin, his delicate fingers curling to tilt her head up towards his, as he closed the distance between their bodies. “Should I show you how grateful I am that you were able to assuage my worry?” 

Y/N tried to focus on anything but the feeling of Giyuu’s breath — warm and enticing — against her face as he leaned in close. “You had no reason to worry; I was completely fine before you showed up.” 

“Fine,” the ravenette scoffed, his grip on her chin tightening slightly. “So fine that you were bleeding and about to become that beast’s snack — or worse.” 

“But you saved me, did you not?” Y/N whispered, unable to stop her eyes from dropping to the Water Pillar’s sensual, soft-looking mouth before rising once more to meet his punishing gaze. “And then I helped you.” 

Giyuu’s second hand brushed against her waist and the shrine maiden thought she might leap out of her skin. “You did,” he conceded, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a small, half-smile. “Though I apologize that you needed to do so — I suppose I become a little over-zealous when things that are precious to me are threatened.” 

Even if she could have thought of some witty remark to throw back at him, those words surely would have been blocked by her heart as it lodged in her throat. 

Things that were precious to him. She was precious to him.

“So I’ll ask again, Y/N,” Giyuu whispered, and his nose brushed delicately against hers. “Should I thank you for your assistance?” The fingers beneath her chin stroked her jaw. “Should I kiss you?” 

She fought to suppress the excited shudder that licked up her spine. “Yes, Lord Hashira,” she breathed, and her stomach turned cartwheels as Giyuu’s gaze dropped to her mouth. “Perhaps you should.” 

“Who am I to deny the request of a priestess?” Giyuu murmured, and then his lips were moving against hers, warm and soft. Y/N’s fingers flew to clutch the Water Pillar’s rocky biceps beneath the soft cloth of his haori, anchoring him against her. The hand that had gripped below her chin slid to the side of her face, tilting her head so that the Water Pillar could have better access to her as he pressed his lips harder against hers. 

Y/N moaned into his kiss, wanting him closer, impossibly closer to her than he currently was. 

Giyuu broke away from her once, though he kept a hand on the back of her neck to keep her in place. “What are your duties today?” 

Y/N’s fingers curled around the front of the Water Pillar’s haori, her forehead resting against his. “None of import.” She gave him a sly smile. “No one will miss me if I am gone for a few hours.” 

Giyuu returned her smile with a tiny smirk of his own. “In that case,” he tugged her hand and he began to lead her towards the grassy overlook where they’d spent a great deal of time talking and learning one another. “I could use your assistance.”

–

Y/N hadn’t greeted the sunrise with the intent to neglect her shrine duties, but she couldn’t say she regretted how she ended up spending the day.

They spent the day resting on the hillside overlooking the shrine grounds, rolling back and forth upon the browning grass as they kissed each other again and again. 

“You weren’t wrong, that day — right after we met,” Giyuu gasped against her lips as they broke apart, the blush on Y/N’s cheeks a sure match to his own. “I do not find you captivating.”

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed. Her mouth parted, a protest on her tongue when Giyuu surged forward, his lips brushing against her neck. The Miko’s words choked off with a squeak as the Water Pillar danced his lips to the hollow of her throat, his tongue flicking out once right where her heart pulsed wildly. 

“I think you are utterly transfixing; enchanting,” he breathed against her skin. “You have cast a spell over me that I do not want broken.”

“I find it hard to believe anyone could wield that sort of power over a Hashira,” Y/N’s voice was high pitched as Giyuu’s lips made their way back to hers.

In the back of her mind, Y/N wondered if his words were motivated purely by his physical desire for her. It would not have surprised her if he was only so taken with her because he longed to be touched; held. Like him, she’d gone much of her life without intimacy from anyone. She could not blame him for seeking it from someone so willing to give as she. 

“But you are not just anyone, not to me.” was all he replied, his lips moving softly against hers once more. “You are…everything.”

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. The Water Pillars words, dripping like honey from his lips, were only sweetened by the fervent sincerity of his eyes as he pulled back to gaze into hers, so deeply, she felt as though he could see every thought in her head.

She wondered if he lowered that piercing, discerning stare, whether he’d be able to see straight to her heart, too; see how it bore his name. 

Even though her breath guttered in her throat at his words, her heart clenched painfully in her chest. The idea that she’d attached more meaning to their relationship than he, that perhaps she’d overestimated her value to him made her tense, made her want to push him away and —

“You’re distracted,” Giyuu murmured against her lips, brushing his nose against hers. “Your thoughts are loud.” 

Her fingers caught the front fold of his haori, fiddling idly with it. “There is nothing for you to repay, you know. You do not owe me your time or your attention. I know the Shrine is simply a part of your designated patrol. I understand if its convenience is the only reason —” 

A single finger pressed itself against her lips, quieting her. “You think and talk too much.” The ravenette chastised. Her mouth parted, a protest forming on her lips, when he cut her off again. “Ah ah,” Giyuu silenced her with his lips, his tongue flicking out to skim along her bottom lip. Above her, he shifted and allowed his weight to fall against her, pinning her beneath him. Reluctantly, his mouth broke away from hers. “It is my turn to speak.” 

“I do not come to the Shrine because it is easy,” Giyuu’s lips brushed hesitantly against her jaw. “Nor do I come here out of any preconceived obligation to repay your kindness.” 

He pulled back to study her, panting and flushed beneath him. As his eyes slowly combed over her, Y/N felt a strange knot pull and twist in the depths of her stomach. “There is only one thing that brings me back here, no matter how exhausted I am after weeks of endless missions; no matter how often certain junior Corps members pester me to train them.” His eyes narrowed at the hollow of the Miko’s throat, exposed by the way her kosode had shifted as the pair of them rolled around the grass. Curious, Giyuu leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against it. 

And then he did the unthinkable;  the Water Pillar moaned, ever so softly, against the fluttering of Y/N’s frantic pulse. The sound, so rich and full of need – of want – washed over her and drowned out all other thoughts, all other higher reasoning from her mind. INstead, the Miko was left with nothing but the sharp urge to press her thighs together, an unknown heat beginning to pool in her most sacred area. 

“Do you know what that thing is, Y/N?” He whispered against the soft dip in her throat, his breath hot as it fanned across her skin. “Can you guess what it is I cannot stay away from – could not, even if I desired otherwise?” 

His fingers dropped to the collar of her kosode, tracing lightly over its crisp, white fold. “When I close my eyes in the mornings, it is your face I see,” he murmured. “It is your laugh I hear in my dreams; your scent I find myself longing for when I awaken.”

The Miko shivered as his index finger traced from her collar up her throat, over her chin until it came to rest on her bottom lip, gently stroking over its curve. “It is you I seek to turn to remind myself that there is still good in this world – good still worth protecting. Why is that, Y/N?” His eyebrows furrowed and he seemed almost earnest in his question. “Why is it that my mind refuses to be occupied by anything but you?” 

“Because I vex you,” she said softly, eyes wide and locked with his. “Because, try as you might, you’ve never been able to fully fit me into a box as you have with others.” 

Giyuu shook his head. “Vex me?” He tsked at her. “Perhaps once that was true. But now? I desire you in ways I can hardly understand, and it drives me mad.”

Her breath hitched in her throat. “What are you saying?” 

“I think I’ve been rather clear,” and instinctively, Giyuu rolled his hips against hers, desperate to relieve some of the friction mounting in his groin. “And it’s that I want –” 

But the Miko did not get to hear what Giyuu wanted; not as he was drowned out by the screeching cry of a bird from high above. Only, this bird was not the dull, graying crow she’d come to associate with her Swordsman.

“I thought your crow was older?”

The Water Pillar frowned as he turned to look up, his eyebrows drawn together. “That’s not Kanzaburo — that’s one of the Master’s —“

“CAW,” the bird circled above their heads in narrow, rapid turns. “Lord Tomioka! Return to headquarters immediately!”

Giyuu’s jaw clenched. “Can it not wait?” 

Y/N, however, only gaped up at the bird flying above them. “It talks —?” 

But the crow only cried again, “Emergency meeting at headquarters!!

With a short, frustrated exhale, Giyuu rolled to the side of the Miko and rose, but not before he extended a hand and helped lift her to her feet.

He gingerly brushed some loose grass from her hair. “I’m sorry.” 

She only shook her head as she reached to adjust his haori, righting it in his shoulders. “It’s your duty, Giyuu. I understand that.”

He scowled back up at the bird still circling above them, bleating a refrain of “Emergency! Go now!”

“I’m not finished with this conversation,” Giyuu said plainly, a frustrated hand working through his hair. Though his annoyance was plain as day, it fell away as he looked back to the Miko at his side, his gaze softening. “Nor am I finished with you.” 

A single finger reached under Y/N’s chin and lifted her head toward him so he could brush another kiss against her lips. “I will come see you – soon.” 

With a shy boldness, the Miko rose on her toes and gave him one final kiss, and Giyuu’s hand tightened where it rested against her waist. “I’ll wait for you, Lord Hashira.”

———

December, 1915

Y/N cursed at the ancient priestess who insisted on using only gas-powered lanterns rather than the newer, much safer, electric powered lights that other shrines had begun using. 

“We are an esteemed shrine dating back hundreds of years,” the old crone had simpered, “Tradition has kept us going this far!” 

Y/N hadn’t helped her cause by asking whether tradition or spite was what kept the hag from dying off and finally leaving her in peace.

And that was how the young Priestess-to-be found herself stomping through the snowy grounds of the Shrine, forced to light each and every lantern by hand using a match and oil, utterly by herself.

She knew better than to levy such an obvious taunt at the old woman, but admittedly, Y/N hadn’t been in the best of moods as of late. 

Giyuu had not returned since that day on the hillside, when he’d kissed her silly and told her he could not stop thinking of her. It was as though he no longer existed; even the crows at the Shrine were no more, having all disappeared one morning before she’d awoken.

As the weeks passed, the weight of his absence had grown heavier, threatening to beat her into the ground below. 

But Y/N had done her best to hold her tongue over the last weeks as her anxiety mounted, and Granny should’ve known that — so really, it was her own fault if she’d taken offense to the Miko’s barb.

She grumbled and cursed under her breath as she trudged toward the small garden hut standing at the furthest edge of the Shrine’s grounds — her last stop of the night. She shoved past the old, rickety door and braced her merrily flickering, hand-held lantern out before her, bathing the small hut in a warm, orange glow.

All was silent and quiet within the small storeroom. The air was cold, though the slatted walls of the hut offered some protection from the howling, snow-dotted winds outside. Determined to complete her task and return to the comfort of her warm futon, the Miko fumbled around one of the store shelves for a small can of oil. 

“It’s you,” a quiet voice startled her from behind, and Y/N nearly dropped the lantern clutched in her hands.

But she did not feel afraid as she recognized the calm, soothing cadence of the voice, that voice that belonged to the one person capable of making her blush. 

The one person who held her heart.

“It’s been a while, Giyuu. I was wondering when I’d see you again.” She turned and saw the raven-haired man standing in the doorway of the garden hut, his face characteristically neutral, though he seemed tense, even more so than usual.

Instantly, she moved toward him. “What’s wrong?”

His eyes tightened, and the darkness which swam within them betrayed his aloof facade. “Things have changed quickly in my world,” he began, and she saw his fists clench at his sides. “We believe the demons are preparing for war — and so we have been as well. 

“War?” She repeated softly, her step faltering. “I hadn’t realized the demons were so…organized.”

Giyuu nodded. “One creature is responsible for all demons. He is the orchestrator; he is the one we must kill, and we believe the opportunity to do so is drawing nearer.”

The monotonous cadence of his voice fell away as he quietly added, “That is why I haven’t been able to return — we’ve been training. This battle — it may start at any moment.”

He made like he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself, pressing his lips into a tight line. 

“And?” She prompted gently, taking a solitary step toward him.

“He hesitated, and she spied how his throat worked to swallow. “And I do not know when I will be able to see you again. After tonight.”

Y/N watched him for a moment, her eyes searching his. “When you say you don’t know ‘when’ we will see each other again,” she began, cautiously. “Do you mean ‘if?’”

Giyuu’s answering silence said more than any words could. 

For a moment, the Miko could not remember how to speak, not as she felt the organ in her chest splinter into a thousand, mismatched pieces.

“I just wanted to see you,” the Water Pillar struggled to swallow around the growing lump in his throat. “One last time.” 

She could scarcely breathe. 

He was leaving and he might never return. 

Leaving to go try and put an end to the scourge of demons that plagued their world. It was a noble thing to do; sacrifice in its purest form. 

But she hated it. 

She was filled with such a deep melancholy that it nearly brought her to her knees. As the Water Pillar turned to leave, Y/N couldn’t stop herself as she reached for him, her arms encircling him as her hands locked over his front, stilling him.

“Giyuu,” she said thickly, her face pressed into the back of his haori as she willed the tears in her eyes not to fall. “Giyuu.” 

He turned in her grasp and looked down at her in awe, a finger rising to brush the errant tear that had escaped down her cheek as he held her gaze. 

The flame within her lantern flickered as Giyuu softly grazed his lips against her own, Y/N’s arms weaving around his neck to hold him close to her. 

His hands were gentle, if not a little uncertain as they found her waist, but once they came to a rest against her, he pulled her close, arms winding around her middle and holding her securely against him as he deepened the kiss. She moaned softly into his mouth, her hands tangling in his hair as she opened up for him, his tongue gliding alongside her own until she was left breathless and wanting. 

Vaguely, the Miko was aware that he was walking them deeper into the garden hut, allowing the old door to thud shut behind him, and the thought of not returning to her plush futon suddenly did not seem like such a loss. 

Giyuu’s hands returned to her face, thumbs stroking softly along her cheeks as he broke their kiss to brush his lips against her eyes, her nose, and forehead. Y/N’s hands parted the Water Hashira’s haori from his shoulders as Giyuu’s fingers dropped to her collar bone, sliding beneath her kosode, and grazing her bare shoulder. 

“You have been my most treasured encounter,” he whispered, and she felt her heart seize in her throat, tears threatening to spill anew from her eyes.

A year’s worth of interactions had all led to this moment, but it was not the satisfying payoff of the tension and longing that had been steadily building between them.

This was a goodbye. 

Because it was likely that the Water Pillar would not survive the impending battle; but neither did he want to leave this end untied. 

She had known, deep in her heart, that this affair had been doomed before it had ever begun, but that hadn’t stopped her from falling for the kind, brave, selfless man now kissing her like she was his entire world anyways. 

She would not get to have him in the morning, so she resolved to give herself to him for the night. 

Giyuu’s hands eased her kosode from her shoulders, exposing her to the cool air within the garden hut. His warm hands, however, worked to chase away any chill that spread across her skin as he ran his palms over the curve of her shoulders before sliding down to rest on her bare waist, his long fingers grazing just below the curve of her breasts.

Her own fingers trembled as she fumbled with the buttons on his uniform shirt but in time, she’d worked them open and Giyuu broke their kiss long enough to let his shirt drop to the floor beneath them. 

The two stood there for a moment, chests rising and falling rapidly, as they looked at one another, half-nude and vulnerable. The shrine maiden and the slayer knew that they had come upon a precipice, and if they stepped off that ledge, there would be nothing to break their fall. 

Y/N made the first move, taking a tentative step towards the Water Pillar as she trailed her fingers lightly up the beautiful, sculpted ridges of his abdomen, relishing how warm he was beneath her touch. 

Giyuu shivered beneath her fingertips as the miko’s hand came to a rest against his sternum, marveling the way his heart thundered beneath her hand. “Are you certain?” He breathed, his face was impassive, but his own uncertainty was betrayed by the slight tremor in his voice. His hand rose to gently cup the side of her face, his thumb ghosting over her bottom lip. 

She reached to grab the Pillar’s free hand and brought it up to rest against her sternum, mirroring her own hold on him so that he could feel the steady drum of her own heart — and how it thrummed for him. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m yours, Giyuu.” 

Once, she had believed the Hashira incapable of expressing anything other than cold aloofness. she’d not been able to comprehend the subtle ways with which his eyes could signal his mood; how they darkened when angry, or how the outer corners turned up, almost imperceptibly, when he was content. 

But she had long since learned to read him, and so, her stomach fluttered at the way the raven haired man’s gaze heated with both adoration and desire — for her. 

Giyu brushed his nose against hers affectionately before bringing their lips together once more, his kiss growing fervent as her hands slid up to tangle in his ebony hair. Y/N gasped into his mouth as she felt Giyu bend down, his hands gripping firmly under her thighs as he lifted her up, forcing her to lock her legs around his waist. Her lips parted, and Giyuu’s tongue slid seamlessly into her mouth.

Her lover locked one steely arm firmly around her lower back to support her as Y/N felt him lower them to the floor to lay her down, the Water Pillar’s free hand coming to brace against the back of her skull, to protect her head from thudding back against the wooden slats of the hut floor. The Miko steadied herself, prepared for the cold bite of the dirty hut floor to nip at the bare skin of her back, but she was only settled against something warm and soft; something that smelled distinctively of the Slayer panting above her. 

Her fingers dropped to her side and grazed against the familiar fabric of Giyuu’s haori; his most prized and cherished possession, spread out beneath her to protect her from the cold ground,  a makeshift bed against which she would let him take her and make her his.

He withdrew his lips from hers to sit back, his cerulean eyes tracing over every inch of her, from the way her dark hair spread out in a soft halo around her, to the blush staining her cheeks. His eyes darkened as they lowered to her bare chest, at the way it rose and fell jerkily as Y/N struggled to control her breathing. 

Giyuu’s long, slim fingers reached out to trace along the top of her scarlet hakama pants, his finger tips just grazing along her ribs and the underside of her breasts. 

“I’d never known such -,” He covered his struggle for words by pressing a sweet kiss against the hollow of her throat, a soft gasp escaping the Miko at the unfamiliar sensation. “Such beauty,” Giyuu’s lips trailed down to skirt across the ridge of her collar bone. “Not until I met you.” 

His face was against her sternum, pressing kisses as he trailed his lips down her skin. “I am sorry I could not give you more time.” His voice was soft, softer than even she had ever known. Before she could respond, Giyuu’s mouth hesitantly brushed against the stiffened peak of her breast, and Y/N’s mouth fell open with a soft cry. 

Azure eyes flashed up to meet hers. “Is this — is this okay?” 

The Miko's eyes fluttered shut as she nodded, unable to trust that she could hold her voice steady if she spoke. Her fingers weaved their way through the Pillar’s thick, raven locks, and she grazed her nails against his scalp in encouragement. 

Giyuu grunted softly at her touch, and he leaned forward to suck more of her soft mound into his hot mouth, teeth grazing lightly against her nipple as he explored her. 

“Oh,” she moaned, her thighs inadvertently pressing together as Giyuu’s tongue and lips worshipped her bared flesh, licking and sucking and nipping at her in his devotion. 

“Beautiful,” he murmured against the soft, sensitive skin of her breast. “So very beautiful.” 

He repeated the movement again and again before he traced his mouth across her sternum and began lavishing her other breast with the same fervor. Her hands fisted in his hair as she mewled for him, enamored with the feeling of his hot mouth latched around her. He gave her more and yet it was not enough; every pass of his tongue over her stiffened peak only amplified the ache between her legs, only made the emptiness she felt more pronounced.

A breathy, whining and needy moan blew past her lips in time with a reflexive buck of her hips against his.  

The ravenette pulled off her breast with a start, his eyes bright and his cheeks flushed as he gazed down at her in awe. “Do that again.”

“W-what —?” She pushed herself up on her elbows to look down at him, her chest heaving.

“Tell me what to do,” Giyuu’s breath was ragged though his fingers continued trailing down her sides, seeking out the ties securing her bottoms around her waist. “Tell me how I might help you make that sound again.” 

“I –” Y/N squirmed beneath the intensity of his gaze, her thighs rubbing together to stifle some of the electricity she felt between her legs. “I want you to – I need you closer.” 

Her eyes drifted to the bulge that had formed between the Hashira’s thighs, and she felt her heart skip in her chest.

Giyuu pressed his groin against hers and ground. She gasped at the spark of pleasured friction the movement stoked between her thighs, and her eyes flew to meet his, only to see they were as wide as hers. 

And just as hungry. 

Her hand gently cupped his face. “Closer. Please.” 

He pressed his cheek into her palm and with a soft groan, his fingers quickly loosened the fastenings of her bottoms and then he was pushing them down her hips and over her legs, discarding them carelessly to the side. Giyuu sat back on his knees and let his eyes roam her, now fully bare and laid out beneath him. 

When his appraisal of her finally reached the thatch of curls between her thighs, the Water Pillar loosed a shaky breath. She had half a mind to cross her legs, to conceal the most intimate part of her body from the raging fire of his gaze as he studied her, but she forced herself to remain relaxed; open.

One, broad and calloused hand stretched tentatively out to run along the outside of her hip and down her leg, before smoothing back up in the inside of her thigh. His eyes flicked once to hers, and then he leaned forward and brushed delicate kisses down her abdomen, over her hip and along her thigh. He continued his descent as he slowly pushed himself back from her, and once he imparted one last, sweet press of his lips against her ankle, he rose. 

The flickering light of the lantern cast shadows along the alabaster of his skin, further accentuating how the muscles of his torso and abdomen flexed and shifted as he worked to free himself of the remainder of his clothes. His eyes did not leave hers, not even as his hands found the buckle of his belt and tugged it loose, and Y/N found herself free falling into their depths.

The ravenette dropped his belt to the floor, and then his fingers were at the waistband of his trousers, pulling and fiddling with their fastening. At last, Giyuu freed his lower half from the confines of his uniform pants and stepped out from the puddle they made at his feet. 

Y/N’s breath hitched in her throat as her eyes raked over his beautiful form, so lean yet solid and muscular. Her cheeks burned with a renewed blush as her gaze followed the small, dark trail of hair beginning just below his navel, and down between his hips, where the evidence of his desire stood proud. 

Her throat went dry. He was large — the flared head of his tip nearly grazed his navel, and his width was a little more than two of her fingers. Her thighs clamped together nervously, as she pondered how on earth she’d be able to accommodate him.

Giyuu noticed her hesitation, and a faint dusting of pink spread across his cheeks. “I have never -“

The shrine maiden shook her head. “Nor I,” she whispered, though the knowledge that this was as new to him as it was to her helped ease the clench in her stomach. For all her nervousness, the Miko could not ignore the heat and longing which burned within her as she lifted her eyes back to his. She found her muscles softening as she saw the same fire within those cyan pools she’d come to love. Y/N laid back against the floor — against the comforting soft of his haori, and let body relax, her legs falling open to him. 

She held her hand out to him, beckoning, “Come back to me, Giyuu.” 

The ravenette did not hesitate as he returned to her, covering her body with his own as he pulled her in for a heated kiss, the weight of his hardened length resting heavily against her hip as he settled between the cradle of her thighs.

Y/N moaned into his mouth, instinctively rolling her hips against him, desperate to feel closer to the man who had claimed her heart before she’d realized anyone was capable of holding it.  

Giyuu groaned, softly, against her as she repeated the movement, breaking their kiss to look down at the flushed Miko threatening to drive him wild with her silken touch. As much as he was desperate to feel her — every part of her — he knew what they were about to do would not be nearly as pleasurable for her as it would be for him. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” the Water Pillar’s eyes were stormy, a tempest of competing desire and pain at the idea of causing her even the slightest discomfort raging within him. 

Y/N brushed her lips against his once before trailing along his jaw, pausing only to suck softly as the soft spot beneath his ear. “I am only ever undone by you; never hurt.” 

He moaned softly, lowering his head back down to reclaim her mouth firmly with his own, his lips beseeching her to let him consume her. 

She was only too happy to do so, parting her mouth so that his tongue could slide in and dance languidly with hers, as he reached between them, gripping hold of his aching length and positioning himself at her entrance. 

The first brush of his hot, velvety tip against her folds broke their kiss, both gasping at the new yet intoxicating feel of the other’s most intimate area. 

Giyuu braced his free arm by her head, his fingers stretching to run comfortingly through her hair, as he pressed his forehead against hers. “If it becomes too much, just tell me, and we can stop.” His voice shook ever so slightly as he waited for her signal, the ache in his groin becoming nearly painful. 

The Miko grazed her lips against his throat. “Don’t stop.” She murmured. She hitched her legs higher up on his hips, angling herself so the trembling man above her would have better access to her. 

Slowly, so very slowly, the tip of Giyuu’s length began to push into her, and Y/N felt herself temporarily forget how to breathe. Above her, Giyuu’s eyes squeezed shut in a concerted effort not to sheathe himself within her in one stroke. 

“Y/N,” Giyuu panted, unable to stop the shaky moan that fell from his lips as he sunk into her warm heat that wrapped tight, so impossibly tight around him.

The shrine maiden winced at the unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable sensation of being slowly stretched and filled by the Pillar. She felt as though she was a wave, crashing and breaking and parting around a rocky shore with every inch gained by the press of his hips against hers. 

Giyuu hardly had a quarter of himself seated within her when he felt his head brush against a thin barrier. His eyes opened to look down at the Miko, panting beneath him, her eyebrows pinched in slight discomfort. When she noticed he’d stopped, she peered up at him through her thick eyelashes, her cheeks flushed. 

The hand Giyuu had held at his base to help guide himself within her lifted to grip her hip, her legs relaxing as his fingers massaging soothing circles into her flesh. Giyuu removed his forehead from its resting place against hers and he buried his face into the side of her neck as he pressed his body flush against hers. The hand he’d used to brace himself found hers, and he lifted to rest above her head, his fingers twining tightly with her own. 

“I’m okay,” she whispered, pressing a sweet kiss against the shell of his ear. Giyuu nearly shuddered at her words, and he pressed his hips forward, his cock finally breaching that thin, inner barrier to the rest of her welcoming heat. 

Y/N cried out at the bright spark of pain that flared through her as Giyuu claimed her as his own, but the Pillar held her steady, pressing open-mouthed kisses against her neck. 

A hitched gasp blew past Giyuu’s lips as he became fully seated within her heat, her core gripping him like a vice. He panted against the sweat-dampened skin of her neck as they both adjusted to the sensation, her nails digging harshly into the skin of his back as she waited for the discomfort to subside. 

Giyuu pulled his face back to look down at her, the hand he’d had on her hip rising to cup her face as he brushed his lips across her cheeks and eyes. 

“My beloved, are you all right?” His breath came hard and fast as he panted, the growing friction between where they were connected becoming hotter, more demanding the longer he remained still. 

Y/N’s eyes slowly opened to meet his, he felt her relax as he kissed her, slow and gentle. 

Her lips broke from his and she nodded, shakily. “You can move — just hold me. Please.” 

Giyuu let his full weight fall against her as he wound an arm tightly around her waist, his other hand tilting her face up so he could kiss her fiercely, eager to show her what she meant to him when his words otherwise failed to do so. As she opened up to him, tongue flicking out shyly along his lip, Giyuu rolled his hips experimentally against hers. 

Both the shrine maiden and the Pillar cried out in unison as Giyuu’s movement stoked an intense pleasure where they were joined.

It was like a spark of flame had ignited between her legs before shooting up to her belly, making her insides clench and pulse. 

It was addicting, and, judging by the way the raven haired swordsman above her hissed, he’d felt that jolt of electrifying pleasure, too.

“Oh,” Giyuu moaned as he began to move atop her, his cock sliding in and out of her heat as he worked to set a pace. “You feel – this is –” his stutters broke off  into ragged pants that melted into broken moans with every movement as he found his rhythm.

The grip he had on her hand tightened as he pulled back from her neck in favor of watching her body jolt and bounce with each of his thrusts. 

His head dropped down to study how his length, now coated in something shiny, appeared with every long draw of his hips out before disappearing back into her warmth. 

He threw his head back. “Heaven,” the Water Pillar groaned out, a tendon throbbing in his neck as another cracked moan slipped free from his throat. “You are heaven.” 

Shallow thrusts turned deeper, more purposeful, as the Water Pillar settled into his tempo. Each push of his hips opened her up more, bit by bit, until Y/N’s limbs liquified and she was left moaning and whimpering in time with his movements.

One particular thrust made her cry out, caused her legs to reflexively tighten around Giyuu’s hips as something hot flared deep within her stomach. 

“M-more,” she managed, her voice tapering off with a squeak. She needed to feel that spark again, wanted to feel that jolt of electricity that made her stomach clench. “P-please — ah!— Giyuu —“ 

With something between a moan and a growl, Giyuu  angled himself to thrust deeper, his weight pushing her hips back from the floor. Her legs were forced to hike higher up his waist, her ankles locking instead against the dip in his spine rather than his backside. 

The new angle meant that Giyuu was able to hit at a spot that sent a bolt of lightening between her legs, and she could feel herself tighten around him. 

The combination of her walls fluttering and pulsing around him and the strange fullness she felt was both overwhelming and exhilarating. She did not think she could stand to feel empty again; to not feel him consuming every inch of her.

Gradually, the small garden hut was filled by the sounds of their pants and moans, weaving together to form the melody of a song meant only for them.

Giyuu began thrusting harder, and soon, a dull clap of skin began to reverberate off the hut’s slatted wood walls, adding a steady beat to the rhythm of their pleasure. Though the air inside the hut had been nearly as frigid as what lay beyond its door, both the Miko and the Slayer found themselves coated in a thin sheen of sweat that made their skin glisten in the faint, orange glow of her lantern.

Above her, the Water Pillar was as lost in his pleasure as she. Guided purely by instinct, Y/N arched her lower back away from the floor until her breasts were flush against his sternum, desperate to feel that jolting spark between her legs. 

She felt the walls her of her core clench tighter around Giyuu’s length with her movement, and he answered her with a deep growl as his arm cinched tighter around her waist.

Deep; he was so deep within her, that she wondered whether he might reach her soul before they had to part.

Giyuu’s thrusts quickened, the base of his groin grinding against that sensitive spot between her thighs that had her wanting more as she moaned, her thighs squeezing the Hashira’s hips.

His head was thrown back, his eyes tightly shut as the most beautiful sounds of pleasure Y/N had ever heard poured from Giyuu’s mouth.

“I — fuck.” He growled as one arm tightened around her waist to the point of pain, the other grabbing her hand to bring it to his lips in a futile attempt to stifle the sounds lilting from him like song. 

His name fell from her lips like a hallowed oath and Y/N’s legs fell to the side, allowing Giyuu to chase the crescent of his release, as hips pistoned into her with wild abandon. 

“Y-Y/N,” her black-haired beauty of a lover grit through clenched teeth, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. “My treasure, I-I’m gonna-“ 

The Water Pillar buried his face into the side of her neck, cradling his groans into her throat, and Y/N could feel his length twitch within her.

As Giyuu’s hips slammed into her one final time, so to did the realization that she loved this; she wanted always to be this close to him, wanted always to be unable to tell where she ended and he began.

She loved him. 

But the bitter truth was that she’d never again get to hold Giyuu the way she was right then, legs wrapped tightly around his waist as she felt something warm gush through her, a pleasured groan, so beautiful and husky tumbling from the Hashira’s lips as he pressed a sweet kiss against her collarbone. 

She would not get to love him past this most sacred rite. 

If she were honest, she’d likely never again experience this intimacy with anyone, for as long as she lived — for how could anyone else ever possibly compare? 

She supposed she’d been doomed to never hold onto the people who were meant to love her since the day she was born. She should’ve known better.

But as the roll of Giyuu’s hips into her heat slowed, and his labored breaths eased, Y/N could not find it within herself to regret it; to regret him. 

Because, fool though she was, she loved him. 

Giyuu collapsed against her, his face nuzzling into the crook of her neck as he came down from his high, still buried inside her as the two panted. 

Her hands moved of their own accord to card through his raven hair, fingertips massaging his scalp as his breathing slowed, his breath adding further moisture to the already sweat-dampened skin of her neck. 

She wished they could remain like that always; that the dawn creeping over the horizon would not herald forth the sun, and they could stay on the floor of the garden hut forever, wrapped in one another’s embrace. She desperately wanted to memorize the tempo of his heart as it beat steadily against his chest, the vibrations of which she felt against her ribs. Such a beautiful melody, it was, and yet it filled her with such despair to know she might never again hear its sweet song; that it might cease playing forever, the moment Giyuu resumed being the Water Pillar once more, and walked through the shrine gates for the last time. 

But Y/N had never had anyone she could call her own, and as much as she loved the man nuzzling her neck as he whispered sweet nothings against her skin, he’d never been hers to keep. 

“My beautiful, beautiful Y/N,” Giyuu murmured, kissing his way up her throat to her lips. “Are you alright?” 

She held his lips for a moment before breaking away, letting her eyes roam his face, and she nodded. “Are you?” 

To her utter surprise, the Water Pillar chuckled softly, his laugh breathy and his smile heartbreakingly beautiful. “Yes, my treasure. I am more than alright.” 

He brushed a kiss against the tip of her nose. “After all, I am with you.”

———-

He’d brought her against his chest and they’d laid there together, simply staring at one another, trading soft kisses as Giyuu traced a finger over every feature of her face at least twice. 

If he was to die, he knew his last thoughts would be of her, and he wanted to be sure he’d committed every last detail of her face to memory.

Soon, far too soon, the deep indigo of the night sky was broken by the first, watery rays of morning light, and both the Miko and the Slayer knew their time was up.

The lovers dressed quickly, their backs to one another as both steeled themselves for the goodbye they could no longer avoid. 

And now, that time had come. Though it was Giyuu who walked to his likely doom, Y/N felt as if she was embarking on her own death march as the pair drew near the towering Shrine gate. Perhaps she was; after all, he would be taking her heart with him, and she was unlikely to get it back.

Y/N did not know whether to lean in and kiss him, one last time, or whether such a display of affection would only scratch at the gaping, open wounds they now bore on their chests, where their hearts had been. 

Giyuu, apparently, did not know what to do either, so the two only stood there beneath the Torii, eyes swimming with emotions neither could bear to voice. 

There was a beat, and then the two moved toward one another, drawn together like magnets as they locked themselves in a tight embrace. Giyuu’s hand cupped the back of her skull as Y/N pressed her face hard into his shoulder. Her fingers dug into the fabric of his haori, desperate to keep him rooted to her — to life, safe and away from demons. 

But he couldn’t stay; she knew that. And so, with a deep inhale in a desperate attempt to memorize that mahogany and citrus scent of his she so adored, Y/N pulled away. She made to step back from him entirely, to put distance between them, but those warm fingers caught her under her chin, tilting her head up to face him before his hand slid to cup her cheek. 

The emotion swimming in the azure depths of his irises threatened to chisel away at the lock she kept on her own. Tears burned in her eyes, but she would not let them fall; she would not make this harder for herself — for him — than it already was. 

“If you do not hear from me, leave the mountain. Go to the city, and do not go out at night. Keep your dagger and wisteria on you at all times, even when you sleep,” Giyuu’s eyes were serious, the hand on her face holding her in place. “Live, Y/N. Grow to be an old woman. Die only from age.”

The shrine maiden closed her eyes as she willed herself not to cry. “And if you win?” 

Giyuu hesitated for a moment and Y/N knew better than to ask him to make a promise he could not keep. 

“Send a crow, if you can.” She whispered, feigning a small smile. “It would be nice to not be afraid to go and gather night-blooming herbs.”

The Water Pillar nodded, his hand smoothing through her hair one last time as his lips pressed against her forehead. “Thank you, Y/N.” 

She didn’t need to ask what for.

She hoped she’d never forget the way he said her name; the longing and the breathless passion that dripped from every syllable, and the way it sent shivers down her spine. 

Giyuu broke away from her and set off towards the east. Y/N watched until he was nothing more than a speck on the horizon, before he disappeared entirely. 

He did not look back. 

————————

He hadn’t trusted himself to look back at her, though every fiber of his being had screamed at him to turn around and behold her beauty one last time. But the Shrine Maiden had become his largest weakness, and Giyuu knew if he’d looked back, he would never make it back to his estate; to the Corps. 

And if you win? She’d asked him, and he hadn’t been able to form the words of the answer he’d so desperately wanted to give her.

Because while Giyuu Tomioka never made promises he couldn’t keep, that did not mean he didn’t hope. Right then, more than anything, his greatest desire was to win this war; win it, and come back and tell Y/N that she no longer needed to fear the night. 

In any other life — if Giyuu had been any other man — there would be no question as to who he’d choose to spend the rest of his days with. 

And so, Giyuu thought as he forced himself to march forward, his eyes burning, if he made it out of this war alive, he would go back to the Shrine and tell Y/N of their victory himself.

And perhaps she’d then allow him to make her his wife.

Keep an eye out for Part II to see if Giyuu comes back and makes good on his promise!

COMMENTS, REBLOGS, AND LIKES ALWAYS APPRECIATED!

[hypewinter]

Prev

Tim came down the stairs with an empty mug in hand. As he entered the dinning room he found a kid happily eating pancakes. Ah this must be the new adoptee, he thought to himself as he recalled last night's group chat.

"This is not a new adoptee," Bruce said looking up from the boy. Man, Tim hated when the old man guessed their thoughts like that.

"Say whatever you need to convince yourself B," Tim replied with a shrug as he went into the kitchen.

Bruce shouted after him, "He already has a family!"

The boy immediately interjected, "She's not my family silly! She's my friend."

Tim chuckled to himself as he filled his mug and came back into the dining room. "Aw B," he said smugly, "he doesn't even have a family. You're not saying we're gonna leave him on the streets are you?"

Bruce for his part, glared halfheartedly at Tim before turning back to the little boy. Tim also took this time to observe the boy. He believed Oracle had said his name was Danny. Danny was currently happily kicking his legs as he stabbed at his pancakes. Tim couldn't help but note how the pancakes had already been cut into bite sized pieces. Other than that, he seemed perfectly fine. No apparent injuries or adverse reactions to sudden movements. His clothes were also nice and clean. Probably Alfred's doing. Speaking of the old butler, he came in and set a plate down in front of Tim.

"Oh I'm not-" One eyebrow raise was enough for the young man to shut his mouth. He looked down at his plate only to immediately turn back to Alfred with an eyebrow raise of his own. "Mister Danny claimed it was not fair he was the only one to receive such special pancakes. He was rather insistent that everyone experiences such happiness this fine morning," Alfred informed.

Ah, that explains why Tim had gotten star shaped pancakes. He looked over at Danny who was smiling giddily at him. As Tim took his first bite of pancake, he couldn't help but agree with that assessment.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Danny?" the boy looked up at him. "As you know our... mutual friend left you in my care. As such after you're finished with your pancakes, what do you say I take you back home?"

"Ok!" the boy replied before shoveling more pancakes into his mouth.

"I think I'll tag along too," Tim said. There was no way this little "drop off" was going to go as planned and he wanted to be there to see it. After all, someone had to keep the group chat updated. Besides, he took great joy in Bruce's half perplexed half annoyed expression.

"Don't you have some meetings to attend today?" Bruce asked through gritted teeth, guessing his son's angle. "Nope," Tim answered sweetly. "My schedule's all clear today."

"Fine," Bruce relented. "If you want to come along on this very quick drop off, I won't stop you."

Tim smiled into his mug. This was gonna be fun.

-----

"We're here!" Danny exclaimed as they pulled up to an abandoned looking apartment building.

"Are you sure this is your home?" Bruce asked cautiously. Tim couldn't blame him, this place was on the outskirts of the Bowery and looked like nobody had lived there in years.

Danny opened the door and hopped out. "Yep!" he said. "I know because I'm a big boy and big boys know how to get home." He puffed out his chest proudly.

"Right," Bruce muttered pensively as he examined the building.

They all entered the building and began ascending the questionable stairs with Danny taking them two steps at a time. As they climbed, both Bruce and Tim noted how rundown the building looked. Walls were peeling and there was rubble and trash all over the floors. The railing on the stairs looked so rusted that a gust of wind could probably knock them over. Most of the lights didn't work because of one thing or another which luckily wasn't a problem considering it was daytime. But none of that was even the most concerning part. No, the most concerning part was how silent it was.

As they walked down the hall, it was simply too silent. Even taking into account that most people would already be at work right now, it was still too quiet. There was no hint of people coming back from work the night shift. No sound of those staying home sick or someone with a day off. No dogs barked, no cats made any noise. It was an eerie silence that seemed to blanket the whole building. It was unnerving.

Danny stopped in front of a door and opened it with ease. There was no lock or anything. Once again adding to the list of concerning evidence. They entered after Danny to discover a shabby looking flat past the door. There was barely any furniture, and the furniture that was there looked like it should have been thrown out years ago. The floor boards seemed as if they would give way at any moment too. The windows to the far side allowed lighted in but that only served to illuminated the mountain of dust everywhere. The apartment didn't even look lived in. There were no clothes anywhere, no dishes, no sort of decorations, nothing.

Danny seemed undeterred by any of this and happily pranced into a room off to the right. Tim followed him as Bruce stayed behind to look around more.

As he entered, Tim was relieved to find that at least this space looked lived in albeit barely. The bed had Superman themed sheets on it and there was a backpack leaning against the closet. The bed also had a blanket laying on top of it which Danny ran to and grabbed. He came back over to show Tim.

"This is my most precious thing!" he explained excitedly. "My friend gave it to me. Feel it! It's super soft."

Tim knelt down and felt the blanket which was black and had stars all over it. "You're right," he said. "It really is soft." Danny beamed. "Told ya!"

Tim smiled at the boy's obvious excitement despite his less than stellar living arrangements. Just then, Bruce called for him. Tim returned to the main room with Danny in tow, still clutching onto his blanket.

Bruce turned to him and handed him a piece of paper with an unreadable expression. The paper had cursive scrall on it that simply read, Take care of him my knights.

Danny looked up at them both curiously and Tim just sighed. So much for this being a quick drop off.

[nightmareonslvtstreet]

5 Man Train

-‘๑’- Summary:  Being stalked by a curse is horrible, but a meeting with the top sorcerers in Tokyo makes is all the better…and I mean ALL THE BETTER.

ꕥ Pairing: Nanami x Toji x Choso x Gojo x Geto x shy!reader (Y/N)

✎ Note: In this AU everyone works at Tokyo Jujitsu High and Geto didn’t lose his mind.

・❥・Warning: sexual content (18+ ONLY), consent (consent is so fucking hot), size difference, bulging, train, orgy, v in p sex, deep throating, p in a sex, swallowing, anal sex, ass eating, dirty talking, mature language, chocking, edging, spanking, facial, domination kink, major creampie(s), multiple sex partners, oral sex (both), penetrative sex, double penetration (both holes), and triple penetration ( is that even a thing XD).

A/N: Y’all don’t interact with me in thr comments. I wanna know your opinions :(. I hope this lives up everyone’s expectations. Thank you in advance for reading!

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️MDNI!!! Sexual Content After The Break! You Have Been Warned!!!!⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“FUCK! She’s so pretty. Look at the tits on her. Those perfect lips made just right for suckin’ a worthy dick.” Gojo shouts as he sees the picture of you on the meeting board. Toji and Choso nod their heads in agreement with their arms folded across their chest.

Toji whistles, “Her ass is perfect for backshots.”.

“While she is pretty, she may be in danger.” Geto speaks as he brings everyone’s attention back to the board.

“Moving on. We’ve received a report that this young lady is being stalked by a Special Grade Curse. We don’t have much information about this curse since it just appeared out of nowhere and we have no record of it from the past. Principal Yaga requested she come to us, so we can corner and contain the curse here. Completely cutting it off to the public. Good for us that we won’t have to put up a veil.”, Nanami goes over and he believes everyone will listen even though he knows they aren’t.

“Here you loud and clear, Specs”, comments Toji as he makes the report paper into an airplane and sends it flying across the room. Nanami rolls his eyes and take a seat. The group waited what seemed like forever for you to arrive. Some growing more impatient than others. Gojo and Geto didn’t help the time move faster as they started messing with Toji. They took his paper plane and flew it into his ear as he dozed off. The two pretended as if they did nothing leaving Choso to receive the punishment. The four men laugh as Nanami buries himself deeper into his newspaper eventually getting annoyed by the extra noise. Just as Nanami opened the door, a soft knock hit his chest. Everyone had taken notice and risen from their chairs to see why Nanami stopped in his tracks only to find you standing outside of the door. A teary eye woman with her hands clutching her purse tightly. Nanami dropped his newspaper quickly and embraced you into his warmth. He guided you into the room and sat you down at the head of the table. Kneeling beside you, he took your hand and told you everything was going to be okay. You squeezed his hand and tried to suck your tears back into your eyes. Choso felt bad for you and decided to bring you some tissues from the office closet. He lifted your chin with his index finger and wiped the tears from your eyes. The rest of the men gathered around you taking a seat at the table.

“Hey Doll, tell us what’s the matter?” Toji questions while taking your hand into his and stroking it lightly.

You find comfort in their actions and being to unload upon the men about your traumatic experiences with the curse. You explain to them that it feels like someone is watching you all the time. Your dreams haunted by certain visuals you weren’t comfortable with expressing. How your body gets hot at night and you wake up a sweaty mess. If you had been talking to anyone else they would write you off as crazy, but it seems like these men believe every word you said. No judgment insight. After you told them everything, the blonde haired man stood up, “Thank you for sharing that with us, Miss (Y/L/N). I believe we should all introduce ourselves to make this go by easier. I also think this will calm your nerves a little.”. You shy away in your seat lowering your head and tucking your hands in your lap, but nod in agreement.

“Great. I’m Nanami. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Choso.”

“Hey baby I’m Gojo”

“I’m Geto. Nice to meet you beautiful.”

“And I’m Toji princess.”

You start to blush as the compliments didn’t go over your head. As a gesture of appreciation, you tilt your head thanking the men for helping you in advance. Some chuckles and smirks were given towards your reaction, but you didn’t mind. Suddenly your jolts at the familiar presence that just entered the room. Faster than a blink of an eye, the men readied themselves as the curse emerged. All at once they attacked the curse trying to exorcize it. Before any attack landed though, the curse just disappeared . The men looked at each other confused before glancing back at you. At that moment, it felt like a thousand bricks had lifted off your shoulders. Failing to understand your situation, you jumped in the air repeatedly overjoyed the curse was gone. The room started to heat up, but no one thought anything of it. Unbeknownst to you, the group of men eyed you as your prefect tits, juicy thighs, meaty ass jiggled as you bounced up and down. Choso has been hard as a rock since wiping your tears and the others are becoming semi-hard. Gojo even starts to palm himself through his pocket. Geto and Nanami coughs to gain your attention and try to recompose the others.

You calm your excitement down slightly embarrassed by your outburst. You walk towards the men and hug them individually. Some holding you close to their body and others holding you longer than expected. They try their hardest not to make their boners noticeable as you continue your onslaught of appreciation. “I really can’t express how grateful I am to you all. I’m so happy Mr. Yaga got me in touch with you guys. Please, if there’s anyway I can express my gratitude further let me know.”, with those words you turn away from the men and gather your belongings. Bending over to pick up your purse, the curve of your nice ass was outlined by your summer dress. Their minds started to race:

Geto: ‘God I want to fuck her so bad. Feel her draining me dry.’

Toji: ‘I want to see that plump ass bounce on my dick as I fuck her into submission.’

Gojo: ‘Fuck…just image my dick sliding in and out of that tight throat.’

Choso: ‘I bet her pussy is as beautiful as her’.

Nanami: ‘I hope her legs can touch her ears, I want to be as deep in that tight cunt as I can be’.

It was almost like they were thinking on the same wavelength. Quick glances start to make their ways between the men. Gojo and Geto raise an eyebrow and points their thumbs at you. When the others caught on, Gojo used his hand to form an ‘O” while Geto slide one of his fingers in and out of the hole mimicking sex. Chose and Toji nod in agreement while Nanami was still on the fence about it. Don’t get him wrong, he wanted to make you cream on his dick just as much as everyone else, but he didn’t want to hurt you or take advantage of you. It wasn’t like they had normal sized cocks and you certainly didn’t give them the impression of being a pro at sex. Conflicted Nanami threw his hands up slightly. The attention leaves the silent conversation as they start to notice you heading towards the door. As you make your way to the door, a large body blocks your exit.

“Mr. Toji? Is…Is something wrong?.”, you clench your bag awaiting his response. He just looks you up and down and bites his lip seductively. A faint blush spreads across your face as you shy into yourself trying to block his view of you with your bag. He slowly puts his hand under your chin to raise it. His hot breath ghosts your ear as he says, “Calm down princess. I won’t hurt ya’. I just thought of a way you can show your gratitude to us.”. Nanami spoke up, “Toji! We shouldn’t push it. It’s highly inappropriate and unprofessional.”. You look around confused, but ask for clarification. “Um…we find you attractive and want to have sex with you…to show gratitude from both sides.”, Chose admits. Geto sighs loudly and Gojo laughs while they raise their hands and slap Choso’s back. Your heart starts to race as the words finally register in your head. Nanami grabs a chair for you and holds it while you sit in it.

You look up at the five men now towering you. Their frames big, bodies muscular, face handsome, and dicks big. REALLY BIG. Your blush grows wider and more visible. As your mind races, your body gets hotter and your pussy wetter. You shift your legs a little in the chair trying your best to hide your growing wetness. Geto kneels down before you and kisses your hand, “We won’t force you to do something you don’t want to. But it seems you’re becoming flustered from the thought of us same as we are of you. If this is something you want and something you can handle-…Please give us your consent”, they finish in unison. Your body is on fire. Heat spreads far and wide as your breath starts to become heavier. You take a moment to consider everything that was just laid out in front of you. You gather the remaining bit of your courage and give Geto a light peck on his cheek retreating into your hands after. He smirks a bit and Gojo raises your head, “You use words baby. We need to know for certain you can handle us.”.

“Yes…Sir. I-I can handle you all. I consent to all of you and everything you give me.”, you say as loud as you can slightly covering your face. Nanami smiles and kisses the top of your head. Choso teases him, “Your mood switched mighty fast Nanami” before giving you a kiss on the cheek. Toji lifts your head and steals a kiss from your lips, dragging his tongue along your bottom lip. Gojo pushes him off playfully and kisses your neck. Lastly, Geto returns your sweet peck with a kiss on your jawline. “Before we start…Are you a virgin?”, Nanami questions. “No Sir. I lost my virginity a few years ago. I haven’t been with anyone since then though…”, you admit while feeling slightly uncomfortable remembering your failed relationship. He hums in acceptance of your answer, “Understandable. I won’t ask any further about your personal life.”. You gave him a soft ‘thank you’ and a smile. “Now that the small talk is over. Your safe word is Rose baby. If things get too painful for you, say that word and we’ll all stop no matter what. You or any of us can back out of this at anytime. Got it?” Gojo explains as he palms his dick showing off just how mighty it is through his pants. Your mouth waters a little, but you nodded your head understanding every word.

With that Choso rolled your chair to the office table. He picks you up and sits you in the middle of the table. The men circle you as you sit on top of your knees. “Stripe.”, was the only words that left Geto and Gojo’s mouths. You slowly peel off your dress and the warm office room air hits you. ‘Was it always this hot in here?‘ You cover your breast with one hand and slipped the rest of your dress off with the other. You shut your legs tight preventing them from seeing your covered pussy. The men take time to admire every part of your body to the last curve. You hide your face as the embarrassment gets to you. “Don’t be shy princess. We’ll take real good care of you.” Toji says giving you sly smirk making you blush. “So who’s gonna go first?”, Toji questioned before loudly shouting ‘me’ over everyone else in the room. Tension starts to rise as the men silently compete over who will go first. You giggle softly at their actions. Toji smirks at you and gives you a swat on your ass. You yelp a small moan and hold your butt. The rest of the men laugh a little while Choso brings a pen to the table, “Here’s how we’ll decide. She’ll spin the pen and whoever it lands on gets her. So on and so fourth. Hopefully she’s not fucked too dumb by the end of it”. The men agree, but Nanami makes sure it’s okay with you as well. You tell him yes and spin the pen.

The pen spins wildly until it lands on Choso. “Really.” Gojo comments in an annoyed expression sticking his tongue out in a dramatic manner. Choso flashes him a sly smile and reaches his hand out to you. You slide off the table and on to his lap. He calls you pretty and takes your lips into his. The kiss feels so good and even better when his hands find their way to your meaty ass kneading it like dough. You both moan in unison in each other’s mouths as you grind on him. Breaking away for air, Choso tells you to turn around in his lap. When you do so, you’re met by big dicks being stroked by big hands. Drool leaves your mouth as the onlooking men bite their lips and tighten their grip on their dicks. Choso pinches your nipples through your bra causing you to moan. You blush hard and press your body into him as he massages your tits. “P-please Mr. Choso…Ahn…s-suck my nipples.”, you beg as his slow massaging turns torturous. He kisses your ear and unhooks your bra letting your plump breast drop. He plays with your nipples earning him a few more moans before he being to suck them. Taking his time going from the right to the left. Your moans grow louder as your legs start to squeeze together. “Mmm-Cho-ahhh…Chose…so-oh...Good-ah!”, you scream out as his other hand snakes down into your panties and rub circles on your clit. Your needy pussy chases his fingers as your free hand grabs his hair giving it a soft tug. He moans around your nipple sending vibrations through your body. “Seems like she found his dirty secret”, laughs Geto. Choso picks up his speed bring you close to the edge, “I’m….ahh oh god….’m so close!”. He stops his fingers suddenly and he kisses down your neck.

You whimper from the loss of his thick fingers. “Get up here baby.”, he pats the table and you climb on top. He helps you face the others and tells you to arch your back. You can hear the stroking become louder as your pussy becomes on display more. Choso gives your ass a nice slap making your pussy clench around nothing. “Damn-fu-ahh. That pussy is so pretty and needy.” Gojo breathes out heavily as he strokes his dick squeezing it at the base. Choso rubs your clit again, “Want me to eat this needy pussy baby?”. You nod your head and spread your legs further eager for his tongue on your sweet sweet cunt. Choso laughs and blows his breath on your exposed heat. You flinch a little as his tongue starts to eat you out. You grab at the table moaning his name loudly. Wet sounds fill the room as he laps at your wetness, sucking at your clit and sticking his tongue in your pussy hole. You give a deep moan as he slides one finger into your pussy and starts to pumps slowly. “How you feeling? Let Mr. Choso know.”, he says as he fingers your tight pussy faster and eats you out. Your mind goes blank as the orgasm hits you. Cum drips from your hole onto Choso’s chin as you shut your legs tight holding his face hostage between your thighs. After riding out your high on his face, you lay down fully, twitching form the shock. “You okay?”, he asks with a worried expression on his face. You give him a thumbs up and spread your legs again for everyone to see your pussy. Choso smacks your ass and kisses the spot he made contact with.

“Guess you can say she enjoyed it.” laughed Nanami as he slowly strokes his cock while Choso wiped his mouth and uses your juices to stroke his long cock. He runs his hand up your legs and kisses you. You chase after his lips, but he cuts you off and hands you the pin. “Spin it, princess.” Toji says to you as he captures your lips next. The pen spins and lands between Geto and Gojo. You reach for the pen again, but Nanami stops you. You look at him and then Gojo and Geto.“Want to share your turn?” Geto asks as he stands with his cock pointing straight out. “You know I don’t mind sharing with you” Gojo replies with his curved dick jumping a little. “Come Here (Y/N).”. You get on your hands and knees and crawl towards them. They lift your head and kiss your cheeks. You giggle and kiss them back. Gojo strokes your cheek and takes your hand and wrap it around Geto’s dick. Geto moans softly in pleasure. “See baby. Stroke him just like that and make sure to squeeze his tip a little.’, he says as he teaches you how to pleasure Geto. He spits in your hand and helps you stroke Geto off.

“Dammit Satoru…mmm-ughh.”, he chokes out moans. Gojo kisses you passionately as you stroke Geto off. “Now do try to suck him off.”, Gojo tells while you massage Geto's loaded balls. His moans fill the room. Gojo holds your hair back and you slowly take Geto’s cock in your mouth. “Fu-fuck so warm and tight.”, he says as he places his hand on the back on your head helping you swallow all of what you can of his dick. After a few pumps, he starts to fuck into your mouth. Gawking noises hits everyone’s ears as they watch the slobber run down your chin as his balls slap against your face. Gojo laughs as Geto’s grip on your hair becomes tighter and pulls himself out of your mouth. “Think you can deep throat me sweetheart?”, he asks permission. “Yes Sir.”, you say as you open your mouth for him. He whistles at your actions while putting his massive dick back into your throat. He instructs Gojo to hold you still as he takes your mouth. What started as slow strokes quickly turned into quick deep thrust into your throat. He grunts and groans as he thrusts into your mouth. “Fuck! You better not drop a single sperm out of this pretty little mouth. You here me (Y/N)!”, Geto warns as one of his hands makes it to your throat to hold you further in place while you moan on his tip. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I’-I’m cum-mmmffp!”, Geto shoots thick ropes of cum into your throat as you try your best to swallow everything.

Geto kisses your cum stained lips, ‘Good job pretty.”. He helps Gojo flip you over. Your head next to Gojo’s cock while your pussy is in his face. You take his dick into your mouth too quickly and gag yourself squirting a little on his chest. Geto helps you readjust and you thank him. You try again at suckin him off while Geto starts to drag his tongue on your asshole. “Hurry up and take me all the way baby.”, he slaps your pussy for a little encouragement. “Mmm-Mr. Sa-Toru!”, you moan out as the slap stings a little, but the pain slowly turns to pleasure. You suck and stroke his dick as Geto holds your hair for you. Gojo fingers, and eats your pretty cunt out and you moan on his dick in return. The vibrations causes his hips to buck in your mouth. He bites his lip in satisfaction, “Yes baby..suck that big dick and drain my balls.”. He picks up his speed and bucks harder into your mouth. Geto holds your body up a little and moves in closer. Gojo catches on and helps him support you as Geto starts eating your juicy ass again while Gojo eats your pussy. You bob your head his dick and taking it out your mouth occasionally suck on his balls while you stroke his tip. You become overwhelmed from all the pleasure as that familiar knot forms again. The duo bully your ass and pussy while they play with your clit and ass with their fingers. “Cum…shi-shit…Pretty cum for me!”, Gojo shouts holding your head down to bottom out in your throat. He releases his cum which flows back down his cock as you cream on his face getting some on Geto. They flip you over and sit you on the table again. “You’re so fuckin hot sweetheart.”, they say in unison as you all take a break to regain yourselves. After making sure you can continue, the pen is placed in your hands yet again.

You look at Toji and Nanami as you spin the pin, still a bit dazed from being upside down. The pin stop on Nanami and Toji snatches it, “Fuckin’ useless shit! Saving me for last!”. He throws the pen to the ground and it scares you a little. His dick twitches as he regains control of himself. Toji smiles at you while rubbing your cheek and tells you it’s fine just a little overreaction. You smile back at him and kiss the inside of his hand. “Aren’t you a sweet girl.”, Nanami teases as he drops his pants fully and loosens his tie. He holds his hand out and you take his thumb into your mouth sucking on it. “You sure you want to get me started sweetheart? I can be a bit mean.”, he growls in your ear. The other men laugh as they continue to stroke themselves. You smile at him spreading your legs for him to see your dripping cunt. He smirks at you and tells stand in the center of the table. Nanami joins you on the table and lays on his back, motioning for you to straddle him. You do as your told and as a reward Nanami gives your pussy a few slaps with his cockhead. You try to close your legs, but he opens them wide and stares at your pussy. “God she’s beautiful.”, he says as he picks you up and hovers you over his face giving your pretty pussy lips a kiss before returning you to your previous spot. Nanami asks you to raise your hips a little as he lines himself up with your entrance. You hesitate a bit looking at his massive dick. He notices your expression, “You want to stop?”. You shake your head, “N-no…I’m just a little nervous. I’ve never had a dick this big before”. The room roars in laughter as Nanami sits up to kiss your face, “I’ll take it slow, so you can adjust to my size. When you get comfortable and ready for me to pound your pussy let me know.”. Your facial expression changes to one of relief as you raise your hips over him again.

“No wonder that cunt is so needy. You’ve never had any real dick before.”, Gojo says making the men and you laugh. Nanami holds the meat of your thigh with one hand as he uses his other hand to keep his dick steady as it slowly stretches your tight pussy. Even with the prep, you struggle to take his cock. A tear rolls down your face as he bottoms out in you. Nanami grabs you and holds you close to his chest. The others watch as your pussy is stretched by his cock. Nanami wipes your tears and comforts you as you adjust to his size. After a minute or two, you tap his shoulders gaining his full attention. “Ready for me to move baby?”, he questions to which you nod your head. He slow strokes you trying his best to make your pain turn to pleasure. Once it does, he picks up his speed and your pussy clings to his dick, “Mm-fuck baby…clenching me so fuckin’ good.”. You throw your head back in pleasure as he holds your hips and abuse your cunt. “T-ah…thank you…Mr. Na-ahhh ah ah….Nana-mi!.”. He starts to slow his thrust down as he feels your orgasm approaching. You whimper placing your hands on his chest and looking at him with needy eyes. He puts his hand in your hair and pulls it, “If you want to cum, ride this dick until you cum all over me.”. Your heart thumps at his words as you slowly get on your toes using his body to support yourself. When you start to move your hips, the sound of your wet pussy could be heard through the room along with grunting and groaning. Your pussy gets wetter from all the sounds and eyes being on you. Chose sucks his teeth, “Damn I should’ve fucked her first.”. “Don’t worry, I’ll fuck her enough for you, him, and him.”, Toji smirks as he points at Choso, Geto, and Gojo while they scoff at him.

Nanami starts to moan as his grip on your hair and waist grows tighter. As you ride him, he ruts his hips up to fuck you back. “Yes baby…mphf-fuck yeah…give me at orgasm. Give me that fuckin’ orgasm!”. His thrust became more violent and you start to fall apart on his dick clawing at his chest. Tits bouncing in the air as you pause your movements to let him fuck you, “I’m going to fill this pussy so-mmmf…so good (y/n).”. The others move in closer as they suck at your neck and nipples while your cunt is being pounded by Nanami’s fat cock. “I’m…cu-ah…cumming…”, your voice trails off as you cum and squirt wetting Nanami. He wets everyone else by fucking you through your orgasm, releasing his seed in your tight cunt. Once you calmed down, Nanami lifts you up as everyone watches his cum drip out your pussy, whistling at the lovely site.

You look over at Toji who holds his hands out for you. Nanami passes you off to Toji and he kisses you deeply. His tongue invades your mouth and you moan in his when he smacks your ass. “Turn around fa’ me princess…and arch your back fa’ me.”, he instructs you as he stokes his dick. You turn around and wiggle your sexy ass at him before arching. Toji smirks and places a kiss on your back before putting his hand on your waist. You look back at him and hold onto his arm as he lines himself up and slowly enters your hole pushing Nanami’s cum out. Your pussy tightens and you moan out as he continues to enter you. “Don’t fight me doll. Let me in that sweet cunt.”, Toji says causing your face to heat up. You relax a bit and he takes the opportunity to shove the rest on himself in causing you to say his name loudly. He pushes down on your back and starts to fuck you. His thrust are so strong and fast, your ass and tits bounce in response. You dig your fingers into the table and try to move your body away from him a little. The pleasure is too intense and tears start falling down your face. The others smirk at you while encouraging you to take him. Toji’s thrust suddenly stops as he finds himself chasing your pussy with his last thrust.

He grabs you by the hair and pulls you up into his chest, “Stop fuckin’ runnin’ before I hold you down and make you take me. I’m not as merciful as Nanami.”. Your pussy flutters as you soak in his words. “I’m…I’m sorry Mr. Toji…I’ll behave.”, you apologize as your pussy grows wetter. He slaps your tits and pussy before letting go of your hair. You try to go back down into position, but Toji stops you, “You lost that privilege sweetheart.”. He shoves his dick back in you and hold you to his chest. The others watch in awe as his dick bulges in you. Nanami and the others press on the spot making you and Toji throw your heads back in pleasure. “Why didn’t you let us see the bulge you made in her?”, Geto questions Nanami as Gojo wonders as well. “It was only for me to see.”, Nanami admitted with no shame. Everyone laughs and calls Nanami a cold bastard.

Toji kisses your neck and holds your tits in his hands, “Fuck yourself on me. Do a good job and I’ll reward you by makin’ your ass see stars.”. He gives you a good thrust to signal you to start. You move your hips on him as best as you could. Your ass slaps against his pelvis as your pussy tries to swallow him whole. Your tongue rolls out of your mouth as your back arches loving the way his dick curves up and hit your spot every time. “I think she deserves some strokes. Don’t you?”, Choso suggest to Toji. He smiles and moves his hands to your throat and clit. He rubs circles on your clit and chokes you as he fucks into you hard. “Toji! Toji! Ahh! Ahhh!”, you scream his name as he bullies your cunt. “I’m right here babygirl. Let me kiss that cervix with my tip.”, Toji says as he somehow manages to fuck you deeper. Precum starts to form on the others dicks as they watch your pussy get slaughtered. “You cryin’ ?” , Gojo teases as he wipes your tears. Geto chimes in, “Aww is Mr. Toji bullying that sweet girl’s cunt?”. You moan out again and you claw at his arms. Your completely under his control right now and you love it. You love being used by these men. You love they way they abuse your cunt and make it their own. “Please. Can. I. Cum. Mr.-ah…TOJI!”, you moan out with each thrust he gives you. He bites into your neck and continues to fuck you, but you notice his thrust are becoming slow and random like Gojo and Nanami did. You clench your pussy in an attempt to make him cum first which makes him slap your cunt in response. He bends your body down some and lock his arms into yours, still fucking the shit out of your cunt. You start to lose breath as he digs into your guts so rough, but lovingly. “I’ll let you cum only beca-ahh fuck…I wanna’ stuff this pretty begging cunt…mmfu-full right now…”, Toji says through grunts as he starts to fill you up unable to hold back anymore. Everyone watches as they see Toji’s dick twitch inside of you shooting out his hot sticky load. As you feel the hot seed spread in your cunt, your orgasm sends you over the edge. Your body starts to slump down and everyone reaches out to catch you. Nanami grabs a water bottle as Choso holds your head up to drink. “Fuck. My bad princess…I put too much stress on you.”, Toji apologizes as the others provide you with comfort. You lay there for a minute while everyone else starts to pull up their pants.

You jump up, “R-Rose!”. All eyes snap towards you. You muster up all your courage and get on your knees on the table, “Please don’t…don’t go just yet.”. Tears start to form in your eyes, “…you didn’t even let me take you all at once…”. Your head jolts up at the sound of pants dropping simultaneously.

Geto: “You”

Gojo: “want”

Choso: “us”

Toji: “all”

Nanami: “at once?”

You laugh at their shocked faces and they grin at you. They gather around the table again as you sit in the middle. They discuss amongst themselves how it was going to go. Gojo and Geto call your ass while Nanami and Choso wanted your pussy. That tight loving throat of yours was claimed by Toji. Before they started to position themselves, they asked you one last time if this was okay. You reassured them as Choso and Nanami helped you stand. Gojo and Geto overlap their legs and push their cocks together while everyone spit on their cocks to act as lube for your ass. The other three helped lower you down as you hissed in pain from the stretch. They moan as they bottom out in you giving you time to adjust. After making sure you could keep going, Geto and Gojo supported your back as Nanami and Choso slid in your cunt stretching it wide. You all moaned in unison as they went as deep as they could. Toji stands on the table and taps your lips with his cock. You opened your mouth and took him in slowly as the rest start to move their dicks in you. Your face contorts in an uncomfortable expression as the pain overpowers the pleasure. Toji notices and stops everyone, “Either find a rhythm or fuck off. You’re hurting her.”. They all apologize and you tell them its okay before taking Toji’s nuts into your mouth gurgling on them.

Geto starts moving as with Choso. As they move out, Nanami and Gojo move in keeping your pussy and ass full. They work together to rise your body a bit, so Gojo and Geto can fuck into you properly without disturbing Choso and Nanami too much. They fuck into you slow using your moans as confirmation to move faster. “Open wide babygirl. Try your best to deep throat me.”, Toji says as he pushes your head down his dick. It’s almost suffocating and your eyes roll back once again in pleasure. Your pussy and ass clench causing the rest to moan out. Toji pulls out and everyone watches the spit from the back of your throat connects your mouth to his tip. Toji licks his lips, “I love that shit.”. He fucks into your throat as the others start fucking you mercilessly. The knot in your core builds rapidly and you start to call out , “Nanami! Choso! Toji! Geto! Gojo!”. Toji shoves his dick back in your mouth as your become a moaning mess on his tip. The others either dig their fingers into your body, pitch your nipples, rub your clit, and slap your ass as they rutted into you. Geto grunts as Gojo slaps your ass again, “Who…ahhh…ah-ass for? Who does this ass belong to?”. “Gojo and Geto! Ahhh yes…My ass belong to Gojo and Geto!”, you scream out as Nanami and Choso fuck you deeper hitting your g-spot repeatedly. Choso chokes out between moans, “ah-shit…and this tight pussy-“. Nanami joins him, “who does this pussy belong to baby…ohh-shit!”. Once again you scream their names as you can feel your core tightening ready to release any second now. Toji grabs your face and forces you to look at him, “Who does theses pretty lips belong to?”. You kiss his cock up and down before leaving a sloppy kiss on his tip, “My lips and mouth belong to you Mr. Toji”. You hold eye contact with him as he as you one last question, “Your body? Who owns it?”. You look at everyone and throw you head back as your powerful orgasm washes over you, “M-my body belongs to you all!”.

Toji holds your head up as you ride your high out. “D-don’t…s-stop…fu-fucking me…”, you beg them as your begging turns into babbles. You’ve been fucked dumb and the men fucking you are enjoying it as they can feel their balls swell with cum. Toji gently taps your cheeks and you open your mouth for him with dazed eyes. “Fuck! I…can’t hold on any..longer-ahhhhhh”, Chose moans as he creampies you. Gojo hisses and pumps his load into with Geto following right after him. Nanami is next to cum in you as his cum pushes out Choso causing a sticky white waterfall to run down your pussy. Toji fucks into your sloppy throat, “Swallow my cum like the good girl I know you are.”, he says between heavy breaths. Toji holds your head still as he starts to shoot his cum into the back of your throat. You try to swallow around him as he cums causing him to moan your name. After draining his nuts into your throat, he pulls out and you lick your lips gathering the rest of the cum and swallowing it as well. Everyone pulls out of you and give you time to rest before they hear a screech from the other side of the room. The curse has remerged, but this time it exploded.

The room became normal temperature again and Gojo speaks up, “So that’s why the room was so hot. The curse was still here.”.

Geto chimes in, “The curse was more than likely sex based.”.

Toji speak next, “She did say it’s been a while since she was laid.”.

“Yeah.”, Choso agreed.

“Well at least it’s gone now.”, Nanami adds before turning his attention back to you as you hold onto him. You burst out in laughter from how silly the situation was. All that trauma just because you didn’t get dick in a while. The others laugh with you and started cleaning up the office room. They came back to the table to clean you up as your legs were too fucked out to work properly. Once everyone was clothed, they all gave you their personal business cards and informed you to call them in case the ‘curse’ returned. You kiss them all understanding what they meant and Geto picks you up bridal style. As you and the others open the door, your met by Principle Yaga.

“Did they exorcise your curse?”, Yaga asked.

“Yeah…they exorcised it real well.”, you say a little embarrassed hiding your face in Geto’s neck. Everyone else laughs again before you all exit the room leaving Yaga confused.

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[avocado-writing]

home

pairing: 14th doctor x reader & 10th doctor x reader

rating: E

notes: no gender or age given for reader, just that you last saw the doctor fifteen years ago. thank you to @mcganns for being my beta!!

This too shall pass.

It was a sentiment that you had to cling onto when he left, because fuck knows it was the most painful thing you’d ever felt. And you’d run away from actual explosions before. Big ones, in space! Supernovas which could eat entire planets while you hung onto the side of a little blue box. 

And yet none of it even begins to compare to when he fucking left you. 

He said it wouldn’t be forever. Well, he shouted it at you as you fell out of the TARDIS. There was a time explosion, and you got rocketed back to your little flat in the middle of Hackney, on Earth only a few days from when he’d picked you up — but in your reality months of adventure had passed. 

You’d not really settled back in, certain that he was going to come and rescue you. But then days turned into weeks into months and you finally accepted that the Doctor had abandoned you. 

So you went back to it all. Your mundane little existence before a mad, brilliant man had whisked you away. Your boss was a bit miffed that you’d gone AWOL but you were their best employee so they couldn’t afford to let you go, all you got was a slap on the wrist and a command not to let it happen again. The people you loved didn’t really seem to notice your absence that much, which stung; you couldn’t blame them though. You’d probably not miss you much either. 

The Doctor. He made you feel special in a way nobody had before. Like you were the centre of a whole, giant, fantastic universe, and he adored you for it. 

Still. 

No point mulling that over again, is there?

Fifteen years. Things did get better. You moved on eventually. But you still find your thoughts drifting back to him every once in a while, and that fragment of time you spent totally utterly in love with each other. When you think about the way he kissed you, without realising it you end up touching your lips.

No. No. Stop. 

The singing of the kettle snaps you back into reality, and you pour yourself a hot cuppa. Ah, tea. The antidote to everything. You go to turn the radio on for some company as you shift into your morning routine when you hear a knock at the door. 

Probably the postie. He’s a bit early today, you think, but make no more of it as you undo the latch and open the door. 

Your heart stops. 

Because there he is, of course. 

Older. Weathered. Not the young man you once knew but a grownup version of him, as exhausted by life as you are. 

You drop your mug. Quick as a flash the Doctor grabs it out of midair. The tea sloshes onto the floor but at least nothing gets shattered. 

He goes to look up at you, but his attention is drawn back to his hand. 

“I bought you this mug years ago,” he says, utterly amazed. 

You shut the door in his face. 

Well, you try to, anyway. But he sticks a foot in between the door and the frame, with one of those stupid Converse he always wears.

“I know you’re angry, I know. But please let me come in.”

It’s such an absurd statement you find yourself laughing, a high and desperate noise. 

“Absolutely not!” Actually, no. That’s not enough. “How dare you. Why are you even here?!”

“Because I wanted— I needed to see you.”

You still want to slam the door on him, but there’s a desperation to his voice that gives you pause. And when he looks at you with those sad, puppy-dog eyes? Those eyes as lined with age as you are?

Fuck. You’re so weak. 

So that’s how you find the Doctor sitting at your kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of him. You lean against the counter, defences still up, eyeing him from over the top of your mug. He drums his fingers against the tablecloth. 

“I like your house. Your calendar is nice, I enjoy the kitten motif.”

“Don’t,” you spit, slamming the mug down and sloshing tea onto the floor, “don’t you dare. You don’t get to waltz back here and start telling me ‘oh, I enjoy your furnishings, haven’t you made a nice little life for yourself since I abandoned you!’ I let you in to speak your piece, though god knows why. Say it and be done.”

The Doctor looks deflated. His shoulders sag, mouth falls. You take a moment to properly look at him. He seems… tired. Tired in a way you never knew him to be when you went on your adventures. Part of you wants to offer comfort, but the other part of you wants to withhold it maliciously. Anything to make him feel the way you felt. 

“I looked for you,” is what he settles on, heavily. You didn’t expect that, and it knocks you. 

“What?”

“I did. After the explosion, I tried searching all over the galaxy for you. I didn’t know where - when - you’d ended up. I scanned and scanned but something stopped you from appearing on the TARDIS’s sensors. I think… the amount of artron energy emitted during the blast somehow cloaked you.”

You say nothing, your silence an invitation for him to continue his explanation. 

“It took years. Literal years, for me. Every spare moment I had, I dedicated to looking for you. Head buried in the circuitry of the TARDIS, trying to fix whatever was hiding you, gave myself a couple of nasty shocks too. And, when I finally tracked you down, I’d regenerated.”

You blink. Right. Yes. He’d explained that, but you’d never seen it with your own eyes. The same person, a different face. 

“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me if I didn’t look like me. But I had to try anyway, didn’t I? So I came here. To your house. I got myself all ready for it, knocked on your door… and found that you were married.”

Your fingers grip the counter. 

“Oh.”

“He seemed nice. Loved you a lot, as you deserved. And I couldn’t tell you I was back, could I? I saw you pottering around in the kitchen, making the tea - you were always the best at making tea - and you were happy. How could I ask you to leave that all, uproot the life you’d made for yourself, just to jump back in the TARDIS with me? How could I be so cruel? I couldn’t, could I. So I left again. Tried to move on. Like you did.”

You’re crying now. You can feel hot tears slide down your face and soak into your jumper. 

“Oh, Doctor,” you manage. You want to tell him so much. It feels like it might burst out of you. But instead you settle on:

“Why now?”

He smiles thinly. 

“Because somehow I got this face back, and I wanted to see you. I wanted to be selfish for once.”

You find yourself at the table, on the wonky chair opposite him, sliding your hand over to cover his. It’s rough and warm. Just like you remember. He says your name with reverence, but like it pains him. 

“I never stopped loving you. Ever. Through it all, every adventure, I knew it wasn’t complete because you weren’t there. It just wasn’t the same without wonderful, brilliant you,” he admits. He sounds defeated. It breaks your heart — or, actually, it might just put it back together again. 

A beat passes. His confession lingers in the air, heavy, thick and choking like smoke from an untameable fire. 

“His name was Simon. He was a baker. He was lovely, actually… and we got divorced two years ago.”

The Doctor’s brow furrows. 

“You… what… why?”

“Because he knew there was someone else I never really let go of. Someone else who, despite everything, I still loved.”

He looks you in the eyes, and you see something glimmer there that you long since gave up on. 

Hope. 

And then, suddenly, you’re kissing. 

It’s like nothing has changed. His lips are still rough and searching on yours, a hint of tongue giving away into more the deeper you entangle. He sits you up on the table and steps into the space left by your spread legs, and between each kiss he says your name. It’s full of adoration but lined with desperation, too. 

Like the kisses he gave you the first night you laid together, on a bed in his spaceship floating across the galaxy. When he buried himself inside you and you felt his two hearts beat in rhythm with your own. 

“Doctor…” you manage. 

Fuck. You need him. You didn’t realise how badly you needed him. You didn’t realise a piece of your soul has been missing this whole time, fucking torn out of you and leaving a jagged hole in its wake. And him, back, telling you he loves you and always has? You’re patched together like kintsugi. 

Your Doctor is the molten gold you need. 

“Please. I need to…” he’s so desperate he can barely get the words out, but you nod; he’s undoing the belt buckle of your jeans and pulling them off like they’re silk. When his thin waist meets yours you cross your ankles behind him and lock him into place, and his hands - a little fumbling, a little nervous to be mapping out the plain of you again - begin to trace your chest. You lean into his touch to let him know yes. This is okay. I want this. Make me whole again. 

His warm, rough palms slide under the hem of your shirt and lift it easily over your head, the only break in a while you take from your kiss. You let yourself grab his tie to bring him closer. He’s fully dressed still and you’re almost naked; you remember how he used to like that, enjoy feeling a bit more put together than you. Cheeky blighter. Still though, as his suit scratches your skin, you can’t say you don’t agree. 

However. In this instance he has far too many clothes. 

You tug at his jacket and he knows what you need, letting it fall to the floor with his tie and waistcoat following it. He ruts against you as he unbuttons his shirt a bit, not the whole way, but just enough for you to feel the warmth of his chest. He’s so skinny. You’ve always been a bit worried that, on one of your rougher days, you might snap him in half. You still are now, actually. 

Cupping his face in your hands you let your thumbs caress his cheekbones. Your Doctor. Older but the same. Just like you. 

You can feel him more than half-hard against your leg. No more time wasting. You need him. You need him, you need him, you need him. 

It doesn’t take long to undo his fly and have him in your hand. You’ll always be glad he chose this human anatomy. Though you’d love him no matter how he looks, there’s something wonderful about his cock as it is here. He lets his head fall forward onto your shoulder with a moan if your name. 

“Oh… you’re…”

“Mmm hmm,” you agree, a genuine smile passing your face for the first time in god knows how long. He’s just the right length and on the thick side, and you know what a delicious stretch he is when he pushes inside of you. You can’t wait to feel it again. A couple of pumps and he’s ready, dripping precome and a ruddy red. Another time you’d bend down and taste him, remind yourself what a Time Lord’s cock is like. But now today. Well, not now. 

You lay back, readjusting yourself so he can push your underwear to the side and find your entrance. A couple of fingers - those long, delicate, clever and cunning fingers - press inside you and test you out. You’re ready for him. He makes a choked noise in the back of his throat as he realises and you laugh, properly, throwing your head back. 

“Come on, Doctor. Show me that you’ve missed me.”

He used to never shut up. And now he’s stunned into a desperate silence, lining up with you and pushing in as he does his best to make you feel what he’s been feeling too. 

A loneliness is fixed. He slides home inside you and your hips meet, the both of you letting out a long and ragged breath. You sit there for a moment, locked in the most intimate embrace, and just feel each other. You fist your hands in his shirt. He’s here. He’s real. You feel him trace his palm up your back as if you assure himself of the same thing. 

Slowly he begins to move. It is a long and lovely drag, his cock hitting all the points you missed being touched, and when he feels you gasp he goes harder. The Doctor nuzzles into the skin of your neck, nestling to the warmth of you there, and you hear him repeat a mantra both of your name and “I love you”.

Over and over. As if the two phrases are inextricably linked. 

You’re so full. You’re so light. Everything feels perfect in this moment. And when he reaches between your bodies to touch your sex, push you to the edge, you know you’ll climax for him embarrassingly fast. 

When you come you see stars light up behind your eyes. The sky, the unfiltered and untamed sky takes you over. The Doctor says your name one final fine and releases inside you, his hips riding it out as if to savour every second in the sweet grip of you. 

He can’t look at your face when he asks you. He says it from the safety of your shoulder where his face is buried, because if you say no you know his heart will shatter. 

“Come with me, in the TARDIS again. I know I shouldn’t ask you to leave your home but… you complete me, you know. Always have.”

“Leave my home?! Doctor, don’t be daft. This is just a house in bloody Hackney. You’re my home.”

You pull back to meet his gaze. He’s tired, but bright. His eyes twinkle. And there’s the Doctor you know. 

“And of course,” you continue. And, as the smile engulfs his face and he lights up, “it’s not like I’m doing anything else, am I?”

This time, when you go AWOL from your job, you never come back. 

[ericshoney]

Trying and rating baby food ~ Brothers!Sturniolo Triplets

Summary: When Nick, Matt and Chris try baby food for their Wednesday video, their little sister Y/n wants to try it too.

Warnings: none that I know

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

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Matt mumbled.

"It will be fun!" Chris exclaimed, but pulled a face as he saw the first baby food.

Nick, Matt and Chris were planning on eating baby food for their Wednesday video. Chris was shouting about the types of baby food, earning a slap from Nick.

"Try and be quiet, idiot, remember who's here and taking a nap." He reminded.

"Oh yeah. For anyone who doesn't know, our little sister is here visiting but she's having a nap in Matt's room after a day of running around." Chris said to the camera.

"Let's get on with the video." Matt said.

The trio started to try the various baby food items, a few of them not bad, a couple were terrible. As they continued on, you woke up and climbed out of Matt's bed, walking into the kitchen where they were. You noticed your older brothers sat at the table, but didn't quite see the camera.

"Ah shit, that was a bad one." Chris mumbled, trying to wipe the taste away.

You giggled softly, knowing it was a bad word he just said. You then walked over to Matt and tugged his hand. He looked down, giving you a soft smile.

"Hey bub, good nap?" He asked.

As he looked and talked to you, Nick and Chris looked over to see what was going on, both their faces lighting up upon seeing you.

"Yeah. Whatcha doing?" You replied, peaking up at the table.

"Trying baby food." Nick answered.

Matt picked you up gently, placing you on his lap so you could see better. Even though you were five years old, you were slightly small for your age.

"Wanna try." You said.

"Alright then. Guys we now have a special guest!" Chris cheered as you giggled and waved.

You watched as Nick grabbed the next one, saying the name of it. He opened it and put a bit on the spoon, watching it drip off back into the jar, making Chris scream.

"On three." Nick said, holding the spoons up. You all tried a bit, giggling at your brothers reactions.

"Not bad." You mumbled.

"Yeah cause it wasn't long ago you was eating this shi-" Chris replied, about to swear but cut of by Matt.

"Stuff!" He shouted, shooting the youngest male a glance.

"Chrissy said it earlier!" You exclaimed.

"What? When?" Nick asked.

"When I woke up." You answered with a big smile.

"Chris!" Matt scolded with a small laugh.

"I didn't know she was there!" He replied in defence.

"For anyone who doesn't know, we try our hardest not to use bad language around Y/n, we don't need her picking it up at such a young age." Nick said to the viewers.

You laughed again as you all continued trying baby food, the puffs being your favourite as you kept asking Matt for more. The guys smiled, happy to have spent a fun video with you.

[mrsshabana]

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮”

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟖: 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞

꒦꒷‧₊ Summary You are one of Douma's most loyal followers, and he decides that some affection from you is exactly what Gyutaro needs. But Gyutaro is worried because he has no experience in this department, so Douma steps in to guide him. ꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaro x Douma x female!reader, 18+ MDNI, threesome, oral sex, vaginal sex, creampie, manipulation. ꒦꒷‧₊ Note 2.5k words

✧:･ﾟ→ Kinktober Masterlist

“Oh Gyutaro, you are going to love this,” Douma chimes excitedly as he leads upper moon six through the elaborately decorated halls. 

Gyutaro curiously follows Douma, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“But I did! This is a special occasion!” he squeals, “It’s not every day that we get a new upper moon!”

With Douma’s guidance, Gyutaro and Daki were able to quickly rise through the ranks. But of course, only Gyutaro was the true upper moon six. While he worked hard to become stronger, Daki was too busy terrorizing weak humans. And when a real challenge came along, she went crying to Gyutaro for help. 

Gyutaro takes his new rank very seriously, so he doesn’t want to waste time with meaningless gifts and celebrations. But he respects Douma, so he puts up with his shenanigans. 

When the upper moons arrive at a door at the end of the hall, Douma puts his hand on the handle and smirks deviously before twisting the knob and pulling the door open.

Gyutaro’s eyes widen at the sight before him. A beautiful young woman wearing elegant robes with seemingly nothing beneath them. 

“A human?” he murmurs, “But why?”

The smirk on Douma’s face widens, “But for pleasure of course.”

Gyutaro shakes his head and holds his hands up defensively, “N-no, I don’t need things like that. I-”

“Shhhh,” Douma shushes him before he can finish his sentence, “I know what your weakness is, Gyutaro. You’re lonely,” his gaze softens as he looks into Gyutaro’s eyes, “Painfully, painfully lonely. And I’ve given you the solution right here.”

Gyutaro clenches his teeth and shouts, “I’m not lonely! I have my sister! She’s all I need!”

“Oh really? Are you sure?” He leans in closer to Gyutaro and whispers, “I think we both know that there are needs that siblings cannot fulfill.”

Gyutaro frowns and looks down at the ground, letting Douma’s words sink in. He hates to admit it, but it’s true. The connection he shares with his sister is immeasurable, but there are times when he wishes he had more. Wishes he could be loved in ways that he thought weren’t meant for men like him. He was always too ugly, too cruel, too repulsive. Even before turning into a demon, he never would have imagined having something akin to romance in his life. 

“Fine,” his voice cracks as he gives in, “But… I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t worry, Gyutaro,” Douma grins and puts a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

You curiously watch as the two demons approach you. Scared but also excited for what is to come next.

Ever since you accidentally walked in on Douma devouring a human corpse, he’s been trying to figure out what to do with you. Lucky for him, you are a devout member of the Eternal Paradise Cult. So even something as shocking as seeing your leader eating human flesh couldn’t sway you from your faith. Your loyalty was to Douma and the cult, first and foremost. 

At first Douma was going to dispose of you himself, but you were too beautiful to just kill like that. He had to come up with some way he could use you. And what better use for a cute human woman than to give some much needed affection to the demon that needs it most? And not just any demon, a demon that he takes great pride in teaching and guiding. 

He knew you would be perfect for Gyutaro. Hoping that having a beautiful woman by his side could boost his confidence. So much so that perhaps he wouldn’t let his insecurities hinder him in combat anymore. That was the hope at least.

Douma had already made you aware of what was supposed to take place tonight. He told you that you would be introduced to a dear friend of his, and that it would be your duty from now on to serve him.

Keeping his words in mind, you smile and bow politely as the demons approach you. 

Both men take a seat in front of you, surrounded by fine silks and embroidered pillows. 

“This is Y/N,” Douma says with a smile. “Pretty isn’t she?”

Gyutaro nods shyly, “Y-yeah… she is.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gyutaro,” your soft voice is like a melody to him. He almost chokes hearing such kind words directed towards him.

“See? She’s incredibly obedient!” Upper moon two says with glee, “Why don’t you try touching her?”

Gyutaro’s eyes go wide and a blush creeps onto his cheeks, “Touch her?” He gulps and looks at your sitting form. With a shaky hand he gently slides his hand under your robe and touches your thigh, “She’s so soft…”

“Try touching her here,” Douma suggests as he takes Gyutaro’s other hands and guides him to your chest. Softly cupping Gyutaro’s hand over your breast, “See? She likes it.” 

A soft whimper escapes your lips and your face heats up as Gyutaro touches you. 

“C-can you show me what else she likes?” Gyutaro says shyly, looking at Douma for guidance. 

Douma’s lips curl into a deceitful grin, “Oh but of course Gyutaro! It is my job to guide you after all.” He wastes no time slipping his clawed finger under your robe and slipping it off of your body. Leaving yourself bare, the lustful gaze of the upper moons fixated on your body. 

Gyutaro’s eyes are filled with nervousness and excitement, while Douma’s eyes are much more calm and calculating, though he looks just as eager. 

The rainbow eyed demon gently pushes you down to lay on your back and carefully parts your legs. Exposing your most sensitive area to their hungry eyes. Gyutaro stares in awe, his cock already rock hard and jutting out under his baggy pants.

“Right here,” Douma glides his finger down your slit, “she likes to be touched here.” He uses his fingers to part your slick lips, “Try touching her with your mouth.” 

“My mouth?” Gyutaro says in confusion.

“Yes! Go ahead and taste her, I assure you she’ll taste delicious.”

Gyutaro doesn’t quite know what he’s doing, but he’s so eager to play with his new toy that he acts without thinking. Moving to lay on his stomach, and position his head between your legs. He gets right into it and begins to sloppily lap at your pussy. 

“ Ah! ” you gasp at the suddenness of his actions. Your instincts tell you to close your legs but you fight off the urge, knowing that you must obey the orders from Douma no matter what.

But luckily for you he intervenes, “Slow down Gyutaro,” he chuckles, “try softly licking her here.” He gently tilts Gyutaro’s head upwards until his tongue hits your clit.

Gyutaro holds onto your thighs as he slowly licks your clit and rubs circles into it with his tongue. Looking up for your approval, he’s pleased to hear your soft moans and to feel your body relax under him. 

While Gyutaro is getting acquainted with your pussy, Douma figures he might as well have some fun too. Moving to lay beside you, he takes off his shirt and leans towards you. 

“Don’t worry Y/N,” he coos, “I’m going to teach Gyutaro how to take care of you.” 

“Thank you, Lord Douma,” you moan.

Douma hums to show he’s pleased with your obedience, then he moves closer to your chest and begins sucking on your pert nipples. Kissing and circling his tongue around one, while his hand plays with the other - gently pinching and tugging.

Gyutaro gains more confidence as he hears the sweet sounds you’re making for him, “She’s so wet,” he says between kisses and licks. 

Douma momentarily takes his attention away from your breasts to take a look at your wet cunt. “Wow Gyutaro! Look how wet you made her,” he cheers, “You’re learning so quickly!” 

“Does this mean…” he trails off, looking away - too embarrassed to say it out loud. 

“That she wants you to fuck her?” Douma verbalizes exactly what he had been thinking, “That’s exactly right!” 

Gyutaro moves his face away from your core and wipes his mouth with his hand, “B-but… I’ve never done anything like that before. What if I mess up? Or…” he trails off again but takes a deep breath to recompose himself, “Or break her?”

“There’s no reason to worry, Gyutaro, I am here with you,” Douma coos, “And I will guide you the entire time.” 

Gyutaro is a panting mess, staring at you with a lustful gaze as you can see his cock throbbing under his pants. While Douma gives you a look of reassurance, one that gives you a sense of tranquility. 

“Go on and get on top of her,” Douma instructs, holding Gyutaro by the shoulder and guiding him to position himself on top of you. Which he promptly does, crawling on top of you and caging you beneath him. He’s seen humans having sex in the district before, so he thinks he knows what to do next. 

He pulls down his pants and grabs the base of his cock, gliding his tip along your slick folds. “C-can I put it in, Y/N?”

You’re so surprised that he even bothered to ask that it takes you a moment to respond, “Of course you can.” You smile sweetly at him, cupping his cheek with your hand. 

Your gentle touch makes his head feel fuzzy and he’s unable to think about anything other than being inside of you. So he pushes his hips forward and tries to slide into you, but he can’t seem to find your entrance. Aimlessly pushing into you, resulting in whines of discomfort to leave your lips. 

“Be careful with her, she’s fragile. Let me show you.” Douma grabs Gyutaro by the hips and tilts his body until he is properly angled towards your entrance. Then he slowly pushes Gyutaro’s hips forward - his aching length finally sliding into your tight entrance. 

Gyutaro’s eyes almost roll to the back of his head as he lets out a moan of satisfaction, “ F-fuuuck! She-she feels so warm.” 

“The intimate embrace of a woman is truly unmatched, I knew you’d like her,” Douma grins, seemingly pleased to see Gyutaro enjoying his gift. “Start off slow, you don’t want to hurt her.” He keeps a hand on Gyutaro’s hip, guiding his thrusts to a slow pace. You can feel that Gyutaro is aching to just fuck you as hard as he can, but Douma is keeping him in line. Guiding his movements to ensure not only your comfort, but a better result in the end. 

“Pay attention to her, Gyutaro. Listen to her moans and look closely at her body, you can speed up once she’s ready.”

Gyutaro nods and continues at the steady pace Douma had set for him. Groans of pleasure escaping him as he plunges his cock into your velvety walls.

Watching you get fucked by his apprentice makes his cock twitch. He thought he would be able to ignore it, but the temptation is too much to bear. There’s no harm in indulging right? He might as well use you while he can. So, Douma pulls down the front of his pants and languidly strokes his length as the sound of your moans fills his ears. 

You’re so busy being pounded by Gyutaro that you don’t notice it at first. But when Douma’s cock suddenly appears hovering over your face, there’s no missing it. The size is similar to Gyutaro, long and girthy with large veins decorating the shaft. Though Douma’s looks more human than Gyutaro’s. 

“Hey!” Gyutaro growls, “She’s my present.”

“Come on Gyutaro, I’m just trying to show you how it’s done,” he lies through his teeth, “Don't you want to know how to receive oral sex? I’m doing this for you after all.”

Gyutaro scowls and looks up at him, momentarily putting his thrusts to a halt, “Fine.”

Douma smiles innocently before looking down at you - placing his cock against your lips, “Open wide, dear.” 

With a nod, you open your mouth wide and tilt your head back. Douma slides his thick length down your throat as Gyutaro goes back to abusing your pussy. 

“ Ahh that’s it, good girl,” Upper moon two moans as you take him into your mouth. He begins slowly thrusting into you, you now having to take double the abuse. 

Gyutaro picks up the pace as jealousy begins to rise within him. He wishes that was his cock inside of your mouth right now. But he’d never admit that watching you take a dick down your throat actually turns him on. He grabs your hips tightly, and thrusts into you more aggressively. The sound of skin slapping and the groans of pleasure from the two upper moons fill the room. 

Tears roll down your cheeks as you’re filled with an overwhelming pleasure. Gyutaro is ramming into your sweet spot while Douma is ramming into the back of your throat, only giving you a few seconds to catch your breath before he forces you to take him again. 

“You’ll be a good little pet for Gyutaro won’t you?” Douma teases.

“Mm mm hm,” you hum. The vibrations from your throat bring another wave of pleasure through Douma.

“ Ahh , you’ll pleasure him as good as you are to me right now, won’t you?”

“Mm hm!” you nod eagerly. At this point your legs are trembling and you fervently suck on him. One of your hands is holding onto Douma’s thigh, while the other is wrapped around Gyutaro’s wrist. Both men picking up their pace. But you are the first one to reach your peak.

Your gummy walls tighten around Gyutaro as you gush all over his pelvis. Moaning and gasping around Douma’s throbbing cock, that threatens to spill at any moment. 

The sensations of your orgasm quite literally milk Gyutaro dry. He’s quick to follow you, moaning and tilting his head back as he fills you full of hot sticky cum. His black nails digging into your flesh as he shoots rope after rope into you.

And finally, Douma cums down your throat. Moaning and grinning as he’s filled with a sense of satisfaction. His dick twitches as he empties his load into you, staying so deep down your throat that you have no other choice but to swallow. 

“Great job to both of you,” Douma says with an affirming smile as he slides his length out of your mouth. 

You’re barely able to process anything that he’s saying. All you can do is pant and tremble beneath the two demons. Drool rolling down your chin, and cum seeping out of your cunt. 

Gyutaro finally slides out of you and gently places you back down on the pillows. He tenderly runs his thumb along your hip.

“Still think you don’t need her?” Douma asks with a cocky grin.

“Fine… I guess I could find some use for her,” Gyutaro blushes, “Thanks for the present.”

[strawberryblue-blog]

Babysitter —Ruben Dias.

summary: Being Carlota's shared babysitter with Ruben has never been so difficult.

warnings: none. enemies to lovers, curses, cute, soft, some jealousy, etc.

words count: +2.5k

#SEXYNOTE: HI!!! I really apologize for disappearing again, i already finished my first semester and i'm back for you 💌 Thank you for all the support while i was gone, love you 🩷

Soirée music played in the place as you talked animatedly with your date, drinking an expensive red wine cellar that you had saved for a special reason and laughing when George talked to you about his life.

Today you had decided to bring your date home and prepare something to eat, quietly and thoughtfully, to get to know your co-worker better, who had insisted on taking you out to dinner but when you had another plan in mind, he modestly agreed.

A few months ago he had come to your job as a finance manager at the company you worked for, these last few weeks you had been getting to know each other better and you were happy with your new relationship. You were really hoping that you could make something happen, because George was a gentleman and you liked him a lot.

So after welcoming him into your home, you were now sitting on the couch, after dinner, drinking and chatting about yourselves, getting to know each other a little better. There was no hint of seductive closeness on his part but you tried to laugh at all his jokes and look delighted with his stories so he would notice you had attention. The talk was coming along great, exchanging laughs and melodious glances. Maybe he hadn't approached you but you could tell he was looking at you, he was being nice and you really enjoyed the time with him.

Until the doorbell rang and you were a little surprised, almost scared. It was quite unusual for someone to come at this hour and even less so if they had not warned you before. You politely excused yourself, confused as to who it was and walked to your door.

Oh no. It couldn't be.

You quickly opened the door when a baby's cries startled your ears and you saw the man standing in front of you, holding the desperately crying child.

"What are you doing here, Ruben?" you asked closing the door behind you, your hands went to the baby to take when the young man handed her to you defeated.

"She won't stop crying, I've done everything but she won't listen to me" you say quickly and you cradle the child trying to calm her down.

"Shhh" you say stroking her back while looking for an explanation from the young man. "You're supposed to take care of her today, it's my day off!" you whisper as you continue to stroke the baby's back and cuddle.

Carlota, the little one only a few months old, cries desperately on your shoulder as you cradle her trying to soothe her but it seems something else was bothering her.

Her watery eyes looked at you as her crying continued to impact your ears, you hated to see her cry and you probably looked like you were going to cry too. It wasn't the right time but you couldn't help but feel sad for her.

"I know but I can't calm her down, I tried for quite a while" he says worriedly. "And I'm not going to bother her parents on their last day of vacation" he replies and you want to punch him.

Damn it. Just now? Ugh!

Carlota is the daughter of Ines, your best friend and the daughter of Bernardo, the best friend of who is standing in front of you. Ruben Dias. A self-centered jerk you can't stand but the two of them are Carlota's godparents and were in charge of being her babysitters for these days, while your best friends and father of this little girl were on a mini "vacation".

"I told you everything you had to do, it was only one day, Ruben!" you say angrily again. Your hand rubs Carlota's back, seeking some comfort for the little girl.

"I did it, Y/n!" he shouts exhaustedly and you shush him.

Your neighbors have probably already heard his screams arguing and clearly the little girl's screams, so you reopen the door to your house and walk in with Carlota in your arms. You need to calm her down or it will be worse in a while.

Damn. For a moment you forget that inside your home was your date and you sigh, cursing slowly when you see him in the living room. George stands up from his place on the couch and looks at you confused as you walk towards him with a little girl in your arms, you think as you try to find the right words to explain the event. Ruben walks in behind you and you can hear him hold back his laughter, mocking you and even though you're not seeing him but you're sure there's a smirk on his face.

"Oh, I get it" you hear Ruben whisper as he sets Carlota's purse on the living room table.

«Don't say anything, please» you plead in your head as you give an apologetic smile to your date, who is still looking at you confused and even a little scared with the whole situation.

"I'm so sorry, George" you apologize to him. "It's an unforeseen emergency..."

"You'd rather have a date than take care your daughter" Ruben's words make you go speechless.

Quickly your eyes dart to him and you can see his gaze enjoying this moment, your teeth squeak as you clench them smiling at him to shut him up.

"No!" you shout quickly but you startle Carlota, who cries loudly again and you have to gently rock her.

"This is a misunderstanding" you tell him quickly.

George opens his mouth to say something and you can see how his face is disfigured, he is somewhat disappointed and surprised, you can even see how he is trying to take things in. You don't judge him, you would be too if your date looks like with a baby out of nowhere. But it's not what he thought.

"It's not what it looks like, she's my..." you try to say but Carlota's desperate scream accompanied by a cry comes again.

You try to calm her down as the little girl hides between your neck and shoulders, curling up. This is chaos, Ruben seems to be enjoying it from his spot as he smirks and you are desperate to calm Carlota down and attend to your date.

"I-I..." you hear him try to say.

"Uh man, she didn't tell you she has a daughter, definitely a red flag" Ruben sneers again.

You're about to explode, Ruben is being a complete idiot for no reason. He needs to shut his mouth immediately before you start crying too.

"It's not my daughter!" you say but to no avail, the baby's screams make anything but understandable and if Ruben keeps talking you're going to kill him right here.

You are beginning to despair. Carlota is still crying and you're starting to suffer for her, your date is about to leave and will probably never call you again and you can see Ruben enjoying the situation as if he planned it. Idiot.

Your date grabs his coat from the seat and starts walking towards the exit without hearing you shouting her name, no way. You hand Carlota to Ruben with a murderous look and run to stop him.

"George, wait!" you yell. "I can explain..." The boy's frightened look looks at you one last time and you see him disappear as the elevator doors begin to close.

Great. Just when you were about to go for more, this happened. Now you were going to have to explain the whole situation to him (if he still wanted to go out with you) but you were sure Ruben had scared him off with this whole misunderstanding.

Damn it, Ruben.

You walk like a murderer into the house, you can see how Ruben cradles Carlota, she is still crying but when she sees you she stretches her arms towards you. You hold her as you walk away towards the kitchen, looking for some peace inside because you are about to murder someone. You open your refrigerator and can see the cold gel pacifier that Ines once left for Carlota. You take it and give it to the little girl, who when she tastes it for a few seconds, her crying starts to slow down.

She was upset because her teeth are starting to grow and sometimes it hurts, Ines had said that the cold gel pacifier helped her and surely Ruben had forgotten it.

Peace and harmony reigns again when you no longer hear crying, Carlota even hugs you as you lead the way back to the living room. You stand in front of Ruben and look at him, trying to find an explanation.

He has a flat smile and a laughing expression as if feeling guilty.

"Oh, I forgot" he mumbles simply and grimaces.

"Are you fucking kidding?" you ask suddenly. "I told you, Ruben. Several times!" you say and your blood boils.

He doesn't answer anything, just takes the girl out of your arms and starts walking towards his things. You call out to him, trying to stop him but he keeps walking away from you.

You want explanations. There is no way he has forgotten that her teeth are growing and that he has her medicine and pacifier cold, even though you told him before you left. You had seen to it that Ruben had everything on hand so that Carlota wouldn't miss anything and you wouldn't be bothered.

"You come and interrupt my date just because Carlota was upset with her teeth, you could have called me" you ask confused. "I left you everything, the food, the bottle, even her gel pacifier for her teeth in your refrigerator with her medicine, I don't understand, I gave you every explanation" you keep saying angry but he ignores you.

He starts to put things away, looking like now he is the one who is in a hurry to leave. You won't let him go so easily. Not without hearing him out first.

"Did you really have to come, Ruben?" you ask would be. You cross your hands on your chest and watch him waiting for his answer, as if you have all the time in the world. "Did you really have to interrupt me?" you insist.

"Is Carlotta an interruption for you?" he questions ignoring your question. Great, he's turning the tables.

His brown eyes intensify as his question makes you frown. His gaze stays glued to yours and you feel a funny feeling in your stomach.

"Of course not!" you squeak in denial. "But I told you I couldn't take care of her today, to call me in case of any emergency" you spit through your teeth, you are angry and very much so.

"Look, Carlota, your aunt would rather put someone in her bed than take care of you" he says lifting the girl in front of his face, who watches him curiously

Carlota lets out a laugh that makes you sigh with love. Even without knowing what he's saying she seems happier than ever now. She is so beautiful.

But you're angry and you won't let him get away with it, even if he's funny.

"I'm seriously, Ruben" you murmur harshly.

"What if Carlota really needed something?" he asks in response. "Would you have let something happen to her just to get a man?" sighs suspiciously.

Oh. There is the problem.

Ruben just wanted to screw up your date. Ideas start to come to your head when you think the most. Had he tried to scare George? Saying Carlota was your daughter, acting like an idiot in front of him. Was he jealous? of you? of your date? He clearly wanted to interrupt you, it wasn't an emergency.

"Are you jealous that i had a date, Ruben?" you ask with an amused grimace. "Why did you say that to George?"you keep insisting.

His gaze weakens and he raises his eyebrows quickly shaking his head. Of course he is. A laugh hides in your throat when you think about it again. There is no way. He just wants to ruin you.

"Ruben..." you say again. "You could have called me" you complain as you throw yourself on the couch.

"I just got scared, she wouldn't stop crying and i didn't know what to do" he says after a while.

"You still should have called me"

"Then Carlota and I will leave if we bother so much" he keeps saying as you roll your eyes at his words.

"Give her to me" you ask stretching your arms out to take her, since they're here at least you're going to enjoy your beautiful niece.

Ruben approaches you slowly, sitting down next to you and reaches for Carlota. As you take her in your arms, your fingers touch Ruben's hands and you feel a shiver down your spine. His eyes meet yours for a few seconds but you break the contact when you quickly move away, standing up, holding the girl in your arms until you lay her on your chest and caress her back as she babbles.

The child's crystallized eyes begin to close as she sits quietly on your chest and you smile helping her to sleep with your caresses and your little melody that you begin to hum. You can't help but be moved by the image, she looks so angelic, asleep in your arms as you gently cradle her.

Behind you you feel an exhausted sigh and you slowly turn around watching Ruben begin to fall asleep on your couch. You hide a smile as you see him there, his body is relaxed and he really does look tired, just as tired as Carlota. Now he looks really calm, so much so that you don't know whether to leave him there. You move a little closer and move his shoulder slowly, he opens his eyes again somewhat startled and looks at you confused.

"Let's go to bed" you whisper carefully so as not to wake the little girl. Ruben smiles somewhat sleepily and you roll your eyes in denial.

You start walking towards your room, taking all the care in the world not to disturb Carlota and when you get to your room, you settle her in her crib (which Ines also left one day) and cover her with her teddy bear blanket. The little girl rests peacefully while you caress her chubby cheeks with tenderness.

You hear Ruben enter the room and you tell him to lie down on the bed, while you take off your shoes. He does the same and settles into your spacious bed.

"You really are desperate to have a man in your bed" he whispers teasingly as you lie down in front of him.

"Fuck you" You roll your eyes again with a giggle. He just keeps saying stupid things but you still sigh rarely.

"I only let you sleep in my bed because you'll be the one to wake up if Carlota cries in the middle of the night" you tease amused.

You don't mind sharing the bed with him today and you know he could sleep perfectly well on your couch but from there he won't hear Carlota's cries from here and tonight you'll make him suffer.

"Good point" he mumbles settling into place to find a comfortable position.

"Goodnight, idiot" you whisper closing your eyes to fall asleep.

"Goodnight, princess" he replies after a few seconds and your body vibrates as you feel his words.

The heat in your cheeks starts to burn and you have to open your eyes, so you say nothing, completely ignoring his greeting, pretending to be asleep. Why is your heart racing in such a hurry? He's just teasing you. Damn it.

After a while of struggling with your thoughts, you open your eyes when you feel a slight male snore and see Ruben resting comfortably in front of you. You carefully stretch out your arm, grabbing the blanket and cover him a bit as you sigh deeply.

Your pulse quickens for some reason as you watch him in detail. You shake your head quickly and want to stop looking at him... but you can't.

[therhythmafterthesummer]

The King of the Forest (M) ~Bang Chan

Pairing: WerewolfKing!Chan x HumanPrincess!Reader Themes: Supernatural/Fantasy AU | Smut | Mild Angst | Royalty | Mediaeval Setting Word Count: ~3k | AO3 Synopsis: As a Princess, all you’d ever been deemed good for was doing what you were told and keeping to your role, something that frustrated you beyond belief. It wasn’t until you met that young wolf in the forest that you finally realised there was more out there for you. [You can find a follow-up story here]. Warnings: reader is implied to be chubby/curvy (of course, when is it not atp) · descriptive attributes of the reader are used. such as: exact age & having long hair · themes of misogyny · themes of motherhood/pregnancy · possessiveness · pet names · graphic depictions of intercourse (smut warnings under the cut).

Author’s Note: shout out to 🐧 anon for suggesting the idea of WerewolfKing!Chan x Princess!Reader in these two asks. at this point i’m convinced i’ll end up going through every possible iteration of werewolf!chan i can lol. it probably won’t go in the direction it was expected, but i hope some of you get to enjoy it regardless~ special thanks to @cursed-mars-bars & @straylightdream for beta-reading this.

Due to all the abovementioned warnings, this story is intended for an adult audience only. Minors please do not interact.

Smut Warnings: mentions and depictions of loss of ‘virginity’ · praising (duh) · oral (F.Rec) · unprotected penetration [piv] · probably body worship · marking · breeding · public sex? · cum eating (probably not in the way you expect)

Disclaimer: the story represented in this work does not represent Stray Kids in any way; anything described in this story and all actions performed by the characters are purely fictional, this was created just for good fun.

This was wrong. It was so, so wrong. At least, to the standards of some. 

As a princess, you’d been taught that all you’d ever be good for was marrying you off to a powerful family, to be used as an offering for political convenience and alliances, with no regard for your own wants and needs. That was, of course, as long as you maintained your virtue. Or what your mother referred to as ‘virtue’.

‘No man wants to own an already used glove’, you heard the Crown Prince say once, which sounded just so ridiculous to you. Not only because women were most certainly not pieces of clothing, but also because your dearest older brother had probably laid with dozens of men and women without being married himself.

Hypocrites, all of them. 

“Your–Your Majesty…” You gasped. You could feel blood rush to your head under the devious tongue of the man between your legs. Although, you weren’t sure if man was the right word to use to describe him.

He hummed, effectively sending delicious vibrations through your body that made you whine.

“I told you, pup…” He detached himself from your centre enough to speak, temporarily replacing his mouth with his fingers to rub slow circles on that bundle of nerves between yours legs. “When we’re here, just the two of us, I want you to use my name. Hm?” 

Swallowing the saliva that had collected in your mouth, you nodded.

“Say it, Your Highness. Say it with your whole chest. Relish the fact that only you get to do so”.

The movement of his fingers on your clit had your head spinning, but you needed to comply–you wanted to comply–so, after taking a deep breath, you did. “C–Chris”.

A smile formed on his lips, but it wasn’t smug, nor belittling. It was a genuine smile, one of those that always made him look his age, as if he hadn’t experienced any form of cruelty in his life, a smile that made your heart flutter in your chest. “Again”. 

“Chris…” You could barely hold eye contact anymore, it was hard to do so when your brain was trying to send you into fight or flight whenever you looked into his eyes–a feeling that completely clashed with the one building in the pit of your stomach due to Chris’ movements between your legs.

“That’s it, pup. So good for me”, you felt yourself flush, not only at his praise, but also because he returned his mouth to your centre to lightly suck on your clit.

If your father knew you were here, laying on the ground, in the middle of the forest, with the Wolf King himself feasting on your cunt, he’d surely send you to a convent to repent. Not only for ‘losing your virtue’, but also for ‘losing your morals’ by giving yourself to what he believed to be a barbaric beast.

You didn’t care, though. You never did.

Your father didn’t know Chris. He didn’t know anything that wasn’t what he’d been taught by those before him, he’d never even bothered to question it. He didn’t know that, in reality, the man you had wholly–willingly–given yourself to, was heaps more civilised than he would ever be.

“Oh…” You brought a hand to Chris’ head to bury your fingers in his hair, shivering not only at the feeling of his plush lips and his wet tongue on your clit, but also at the silky feeling of his dark strands between your fingers. You needed to hold onto something, something that could keep yourself attached to reality while he quickened the pace of his tongue.

In retrospect, you figured it was only a matter of time before you ended up here with Chris. You’d known him since you were a child. The first time you saw him he was but a young pup, a fluffy canine that had found you sitting on the ground, with your back against a tree, sobbing in the middle of the forest after you’d had an argument with your mother.

You didn’t know what he was back then, you thought he was just a regular, maybe overly friendly and domesticated wolf, but after a couple of times of seeing him in the forest, he finally revealed himself to you. You would’ve honestly never expected for an animal to shift into a boy, much less a boy like Chris.

He was so…regal.

As soon as your eyes met when he was in his human form you could immediately tell he wasn’t just some boy–not only because of the obvious furry situation, but also because of the way he carried himself, because of the way he articulated his thoughts.

After a couple of times meeting as just a boy and a girl in the forest, you got to truly learn who he was. The Prince of the Forest, he’d said. His mother led the biggest clan of lycanthropes in the vast forest, a realm that would be his in due time.

Meeting Chris had changed your view on the forest, on what your people said of this place. You’d been taught it was filled with beasts that ate people, that killed people, that deceived people… But when you met Chris, a simple boy who just so happened to also be a wolf, a boy who kept you company and understood you and respected you as an equal, you realised your father and your mother and everyone around you were all just full of shit.

It was fascinating, really. Learning the hierarchical structures of the forest as an outsider… Especially when Chris clearly trusted you enough to confide in you. Which was why, in a cruel turn of fate, by the time you were sixteen, you could no longer go to the forest to meet him.

Your father had noticed you were frequently missing, and one day, while you walked the familiar paths to your usual meeting spot, you noticed someone following you. Thankfully, it all happened before you met Chris that day, but, regretfully, it also meant that you never got to say goodbye.

You often found yourself thinking about Chris after that. Not all day, but almost every day you did. At least once… When you saw your father’s hunting dogs, when you ate something you liked, and even when you started to bloom into adulthood and your dreams bled into images of greens and the feel of smooth skin and warm lips on your own.

For your twenty-fourth birthday, your father had kindly gifted you a betrothed, probably the complete opposite of anything you could’ve possibly wanted. ‘You’re getting too old, my dear. Your younger sister already has two children of her own. It’s time you finally fulfil your duty, aren’t you happy?’

You were not happy, to say the least. You were furious. You’d managed to avoid any arrangements for years, always got the other party to call off the engagement first, but this time it wasn’t working in your favour, they’d have you marry soon after you turned twenty-five. Which was why you found yourself back in the forest. Trying to escape the sombre future ahead of you.

That was how you found Chris again, that was how Chris found you again. After almost ten years. Sobbing on the forest floor with your back against a tree and your head pressed to your knees.

You honestly hadn’t expected to see him again. There was, of course, a small light of hope in you that wished you would, but you never entertained it, it just hurt way too much if you did. However, what you also hadn’t expected, was the hurt look in his eyes, nor the tremble in his voice when he asked you ‘Why did you never come back?’

So, with a tremble of your own in your voice, you told him the chain of events that led to your disappearance. ‘I just didn’t want them to find you, Your Highness. It would’ve gotten both of us in danger’.

You could still remember how Chris cradled your face in his hands that night, rubbing away the tears that had fallen down your cheeks with his thumbs, just as he muttered a very quiet, and very soft ‘Your Majesty…’ 

The confusion must’ve been clear on your face, because he chuckled, offering a ‘It’s Your Majesty now, Your Highness. I’m King now. A lot has happened since we last met. I can tell you all of it, if you wish to hear it, but with one condition… Right here, between us, I’m just Chris, and you’re just you. Just like before…’

Just like before, he’d said… But before you’d never been that physically close to each other. Before, you’d never kissed like you needed each other to breathe. That wasn’t what you did before, but somehow it felt just so incredibly natural, almost as if you’d spent a lifetime doing so.

You did talk a lot that night in the forest, both of you. Chris told you the events that led to his coronation, about the war amongst clans that took his mother’s life as well as many others. A war that, despite the many costs, he managed to win. Just like you told him stories of your own–much less interesting stories than his, to be honest. 

You, also, lost your ‘virtue’ that very same night. You really hadn’t planned it to be that way, it just sort of happened, and you weren’t sure if it was the moonlight shining on you both, or if it was the longing accumulated during those almost ten years spent apart, but, at that moment, there was nothing more that you wanted than to feel Chris’ body against yours.

Any time his lips attached to your skin sparks of pleasure and love ignited within the deepest areas in your heart. It didn’t matter if it was on your lips, your cheeks, your chest, your tummy, your thighs, or between your legs… His kisses steadily kindled the burning flame in the pit of your stomach, making it burn bright just for him.

The pleasure you’d provided to yourself all these years had been nothing compared to how you felt with Chris. You weren’t sure if it was the fact that it was someone else that was stimulating those sacred areas of your body that no one else had ever touched, if it was the fact that you’d been in love with him practically since the day you met him in the forest over thirteen years ago, or if it was the combination of it all that had stars clouding your vision and your heart growing ten sizes in your chest… 

Regardless, you knew this would be a feeling that no one else would be able to replicate, and if there was ever someone capable of it you just didn’t want them. You wanted no one else but Chris.

It wasn’t until he’d finally soiled your tummy with his release, when he had carefully cleaned it off of you and you laid in his arms that you finally told him of your engagement. Maybe it was a bit cruel, you’d admit. To drop such a bomb on him in one of his most vulnerable moments. His eyes clouded with a dangerous mix of pain and sadness and anger.

So much of it all you did get scared for a second. Until he cradled your face in his hands and very confidently said ‘Marry me’.

You were at a loss, suddenly feeling incredibly inadequate to marry a King, even more the Wolf King of the forest. You didn’t know enough of his people, you didn’t know if they’d accept you, if you’d be fit to cater to their needs. All concerns which you voiced to Chris. He’d reassured you that his people were very different from yours, more accepting, and that you were already more than capable of leading, that he’d never wanted anyone else by his side that wasn’t you.

Over the course of a year, you got close and personal with Chris’ kind. It was honestly almost insane, maddening, how these people that shifted into beasts had shown you more kindness than your own kin. It baffled you, knowing how much pain you had endured over nothing throughout your short life when you saw just how much more socially advanced they were. Although you shouldn’t have been surprised, not when these were the people from which the man you fell madly in love with was born.

So here you were, a few days after your twenty-fifth birthday, gone without leaving a trace, just a month before your marriage to Duke WhateverHisNameWas, laying on the forest floor with only a thick coat to protect your back, and a completely different man than the one you were supposed to marry between your legs–but, admittedly, the only man you’d ever wanted.

“Chris, I’m…” You could hardly speak. Tears were collecting in your eyes, you could feel your lower belly tightening further with Chris’ diligent licks and gentle sucks, with the tight grip of his hand on your soft lower belly, and the delicious drag of his four digits inside your walls hitting your most sensitive spots.

Chris hummed in response, picking up his movements, bringing you closer to that satisfying climax you were so desperate for.

Quiet moans spilled freely from your lips once that blinding pleasure consumed you whole. Your thighs trembled, your grip on his hair tightened, and you simply let the feeling overtake every single one of your senses.

When Chris finally detached himself from your sensitive warmth, your body slumped. You were gasping for air a bit, with your eyes barely open, just enough so you could catch a glimpse of the satisfied smile on your lover’s lips before he came back up to connect his mouth with yours.

You sighed, content, looping your arms around his neck as you savoured the unmistakable taste of your pleasure still lingering on his lips.

“Are you sure about this, pup?” Chris asked when he finally pulled back. 

How considerate of him to worry about this now.

“I am. I don’t want to be anyone else’s. Just yours. Only yours”, you replied confidently, because if there was something you believed in right now was just how irrevocably his you were.

Your breath hitched in your throat as you felt his warmth between your legs, as you felt the tip of his length drag along your folds and spread the remnants of your release all over you both. Chris looked deeply into your eyes, looking at you like you mattered, like you were someone truly important, someone he cared for.

“No one else’s”, he repeated, just as he leaned in to connect his mouth to yours again, as he finally started to push himself into you.

You whimpered at the feeling. Not only because of the undeniable stretch, but also for what it represented. What it had always represented.

Chris hushed you softly, attaching his lips to your cheeks so he could press soothing kisses on your soft skin. He took his time, slowly giving you every centimetre of him he had to offer, until he was fully sheathed within your heat. It didn’t matter if you’d done this before, if you’d taken him more times than you could count, having him fully inside was always difficult for the first few minutes, but you never complained, not when you knew just how incredibly good it would soon feel. 

“Can’t promise you I can remain this gentle, pup”, he mumbled against your cheek, just like he often did. He was capable of gentleness, but he was also capable of being incredibly unforgiving, so he always tried to give you a heads up–not like you didn’t know this already. Pressing one more kiss on your cheek for good measure, he pulled back to look you in the eyes. “I’m using every single drop of willpower to not let the beast consume me… But, fuck, you’re just so warm…”

You cradled his face in your hands, dragging your thumbs over his skin, unable to keep your eyes from shifting focus between his eyes, his nose, his lips, the tiny, barely perceptible freckles that littered his cheeks… “It’s okay, my love. Let it consume you if you must. I’m his, too, after all”.

Ever so slowly, Chris finally moved, starting a rhythm, letting you adjust to the movement of his thickness within your walls. With a hand buried in the hair on the back of his head and the other spread palm flat on his warm chest, right over his racing heart, you wrapped your legs around his waist. The movement shifted the angle of your hips, and moans fell from both of your mouths at just how deep inside of you he could reach like this. 

“That feels… Fuck…” He increased the tempo of his hips, eliciting desperate whines and moans from your mouth once he started to fully ram into you. You could feel your breasts bounce with every harsh thrust of his hips, but even if to an outsider it might’ve seemed like he was pushing your limits, this was one of the tamest versions of himself, one that balanced his human needs along with his animal ones fairly well, one you were more than acclimated to.

“Good…” You finished the sentence he’d started, throwing your head back when his cock hit your sweet spot, effectively sending jolts of pleasure up and down your spine. “Fuck… There. Right there, love”. 

“Mmm… Here?” With precise thrusts, he repeatedly stimulated those utmost sensitive areas inside your walls, making you lose your train of thought and leaving you no other option but to desperately nod to answer his question.

With a hand next to your head and the other holding on tightly to your hip, Chris kept his steady pace. The nacre moon charm that always hung from the chain around his neck continuously dragged against your chest with every thrust of his hips, the quiet tinkling it produced barely audible among the cacophony of blissed-out sounds he was coaxing out of you, and the ones you were coaxing out of him.

Chris buried himself deep inside you time and time again, until you lost track of time, gradually speeding his movements, increasing the strength in which his hips hit your soft skin.

“Close… So, so close…” He mumbled eventually, and you shivered in anticipation. 

He lowered himself on his elbows, getting close enough to start leaving sloppy, open mouthed kisses on your neck. 

“Do it, Chris”, you whispered in his ear, panting a bit, pressing one of your hands on his lower back. “Mark me, my King”.

Chris groaned, and before you knew it, he was sinking his teeth on the junction of your neck and your shoulder. The sting of his bite quickly shifted into a feeling of unadulterated ecstasy, a feeling of euphoria that spread all throughout your body, dragging searing heat in its wake.

A low, animalistic growl resonated from your lover once he reached his own climax and started to pump you full of him, of everything he had to give. You barely even registered it, too consumed by the pleasure still coursing through your body, by the feeling of his canines still attached to your skin and his unfaltering thrusts.

After a minute, with a grunt, he pushed his hips flush against yours, burying himself as deep as he could inside of you, and his movements finally stopped. His tongue soothed the fresh bite he’d left on your skin, and you shuddered a bit.

His mouth was once again on yours, kissing you deeply, just like he had always been meant to do.

When he pulled back from the kiss, Chris looked you in the eyes, softly caressing your cheek with his knuckles. “You’re all mine now, pup. Mine to keep, to love, to breed. Only mine”. 

“Always have been”, you replied simply, regarding him with a small smile on your lips. 

Chris chuckled, and he leaned down to press a brief kiss on your lips. 

He finally pulled himself away from you entirely, bringing his hands to your inner thighs so he could keep you fully spread open for him. With his eyes so focused on your centre, you suddenly felt heat creep on your cheeks–a bit of an absurd reaction, considering he’d seen your modesty innumerable times, although never after stuffing you full of his seed. That was a first.

Chris dived in again, and you trembled as you felt his warm, wet tongue lapping up your sensitive folds, gently cleaning you up.

When he was done, he straightened himself, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and smiling brightly at you. 

You brought your hands to your soft lower belly, just as a bashful smile settled on your lips. “You really think I could…”

You let your question trail off, and Chris chuckled as he brought his hands to your sides. Slowly, he dragged them down to your hips, where he squeezed the plump swell of them. “When I saw you again after all these years, when I saw these hips of yours, I knew you’d be just perfect to carry my pups, love”.

“We might have to give it a few tries, though”, you extended your hand, and Chris immediately took it and helped you sit down. The coat he’d placed on the ground before he laid you on it was soft against your bare skin, and you couldn’t help but appreciate his thoughtfulness.

“Then we’ll try as many times as necessary”, Chris sat with his back against a tree, and pulled you to sit on his lap.

Resting your arms on his broad shoulders, you leaned in for a kiss, and as soon as your mouths touched, he let out a satisfied hum.

“My father is a goddamn fool for thinking he could marry me off to some guy”, you said as soon as you pulled back, burying your fingers in his hair and gently dragging them over Chris’ scalp, making him chuckle. 

He pushed your now undone hair off of your shoulder, exposing the mark he’d left so he could softly trace it with this thumb. The area was incredibly sensitive, and his tender touch made you shiver. “Doesn’t matter now. The second anyone so much as tries to take you away from me will be the moment they draw their last breath. You’re already my Queen, my love. All mine”. 

You leaned in again, pressing a kiss to his lips. Pulling back just a bit, with your mouths barely a hair’s width apart, your lips brushed against his with every whispered word that came out of your mouth. “Yours, my King”.

Maybe if your father had taken you seriously for one second in his life, you wouldn’t have ended up here, married to the King of the forest. But as Chris held you in his arms, and as he eventually helped you re-dress so he could take you to what would now be your forever home, you figured it was best not to dwell on hypotheticals, not when you finally felt this incredibly cared for and so incredibly full of love.

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General Masterlist

[everythingelseisextra]

Everything Is Fine

Request: No Description: Tired of being stuck in the same life every day, you decide to face your anxiety and go into town. You spend hours going unnoticed, until someone, finally, speaks to you. Warnings: idk there's mentions of alcohol? also the reader has anxiety? Word Count: 1547 Author's Note: This will be a multi-chapter fic slow burn Tommy x horse trainer reader. I am absolutely begging people to read it. I'm putting a lot of myself into this and hopping people like it. I'm a little nervous to post it, to be honest. Please lmk whether I should continue or not.

It’s been weeks. You do your work, lifting bales of hay and dragging buckets of water to and from stalls. You exercise the horses and deal with the insanity that comes from off-the-track animals. You go until you’re dizzy and sweating and then finally take a break to breathe and drink and eat. And then you go home, and you sleep in your tiny bedroom, and eat breakfast in the gray light of dawn, and it’s fine. Everything is fine. And your whole life is just a constant cycle of fine. Trying to shake it from you feels like trying to swim to a shore you don’t know exists, while the sea expands around you, endless. There’s nothing wrong with it, you think. There’s nothing wrong with the act of treading water, unless you start to drown. But you can stay afloat. You can always stay afloat. And everything is fine. 

It’s been weeks since you moved here, and, for the first time, you decide to go into town. You take your time, body heavy, weighed down by the faint storm in your mind, and duck your head as the cab pulls up. You can’t afford a car. Silence fills the small interior as the driver moves off, heading towards the faint outline of the city on the horizon. The countryside looms, pale green hills cut through with brown and gray paths, and you’re small, insignificant, because there’s so much around you and so little inside you. Soon, the hills smooth into flat, paved sidewalks and roads, and the car wanders through the wreckage that is Small Heath, the closest town to your property. Around you, shouts and the murmur of other vehicles, flashes of dark-dressed people, children running amuck on the streets. 

“Where to?” The driver asks, their voice quiet. 

“Wherever’s closest and serves alcohol.” You place your hands in your lap, staring out the window at the black and gray around you, the shadows dancing across stone walls, the flicker of lamps as being lit as night draws close. 

The driver nods.

After a few minutes, you’re greeted with a dark exterior, matching the rest of the city. Nothing special, but you didn’t ask for anything special. You asked for alcohol. You pay the driver and step out of the car, looking up at the words The Garrison resplendent in gold above the entrance. Some light in this city of devils. You shake your head, questioning your own sanity in setting foot in a big city like this. You’re from the country. You’re made to live small days and dream small dreams, stay in the quiet outskirts. And, yet, here you are. 

You enter, with some trepidation, and quietly make your way through wooden tables to take a seat at the bar, eyes on the grayed photos decorating the wall in front of you. You close your eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, and let your thoughts flow freely, trying not to judge yourself. The chatter of voices surrounds you, and the creak of chairs as weights shift, the clatter of glasses on tables. You’re dressed differently than everyone else in this bar. You hadn’t changed after work. Jodhpurs and a tight, tucked-in shirt, no overcoat. You release a tense breath and look up as the bartender approaches you. 

“Gin, I guess. Last Word, if you can do that.” You hate how shy you make yourself sound. You can face off a twelve-hundred pound animal with no fear, but become timid at any form of social interaction anywhere but your property. It makes you cringe. 

The bartender, a young blond woman, smiles faintly and nods at you. You go back to looking down at your hands in your lap, ears tuned to the noises around you. You catch phrases from conversations, little sayings, the chatter filtering in and out like a badly tuned radio. You receive your drink and sip slowly, waiting for the alcohol to find its way into your system and calm you, if only a little. The hair on the back of your neck raises; there are eyes on you.

As the night goes on, you find yourself in a cyclorama of constant movement, with you in the center. People come in and out. Shouting, standing on tables, making drunken toasts. Chairs get knocked over, thrown, laid on. The bartender calls to some of the men, smiling her little smile, and, at one point, sings a lilting tune that you faintly recognize but don’t know the words to. All the while, you’re still, silent, your own anchor in the blowing storm of the sea. 

No one sees you. No one cares. You finish your drink and sigh. Maybe part of you hoped someone would notice you, come over and speak to you. Maybe part of you wanted something more than fine. Maybe part of you thought you were some kind of special, some kind of chosen, the main character of your own story. Maybe part of you—

“Never seen you here before.” A voice next to you, low and gravelly, but soft enough that you don’t jump. 

You open your mouth to speak. The words are on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t seem to let them out. You shake your head, frustrated. The words are there. You can feel them burning on the inside of your throat; never been here before. You can’t speak them. You can’t even look at the man beside you. 

“Who are you?” His accent is different than yours, stronger. The softness starts to dissipate from his words and you grow tense, trying to breathe, trying to hold it together. 

Again, you try to speak, but can’t find the words. 

“I asked you: who are you?” He steps towards you. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch icy blue flicking over you, dark, high-quality clothing, and a cap held loosely in his hand on the bar, glinting in the golden light. That gets your attention, and you turn your head slightly, trying to get a good look without actually looking. Slim slivers of silver line the brim of the hat. 

“When I ask a question, I expect an answer.” Now there’s a threat in his voice and you pointedly look away. 

“I’m not from around here,” you say. You don’t want this man to know you. You don’t want a man who carries hidden weapons and threatens on the first meeting to know who you are. 

His head lifts slightly, so he’s looking down at you, and his mouth opens a bit, his tongue at the inner edge of his lips. Thinking. When he speaks, the threat is gone, the faint burn of his words completely erased. “You race horses?” 

You shake your head. 

“Why are you dressed for riding, then?” His arms cross, the cap on his left side. You track it silently, still not looking at him.

“I train them.”

“For racing.” He nods to himself, starting to look away from you, seeking his next target.

“No. After.”

He looks back, those piercing eyes back on you. Half of you wants to shrink into nothing, and the other part— well, the other part is fascinated with the idea of being someone else for the night, slipping into someone else’s skin and walking around, of being brave and social. His eyebrows raise slightly, a request for more information. 

You sigh, turn yourself in your seat, and face him. Brave. “I rehab horses that injure themselves on the track. Instead of shooting them, they give them to me.”

“Never heard of that.” You’re caught in his gaze, trapped there, and the most you can do is stare back. He sounds dismissive. 

“It’s real. You can come see it for yourself.” The words escape you before you ask them to, before you have time to think them through. Inviting a stranger to your property, where he could do anything he wanted to you in the middle of nowhere, where your screams would travel over the hills and reach no one. 

“Who are you?” He asks again. 

You shake your head. “I’m no one.” 

“Where are your stables?” 

You bite the insides of your cheeks for a moment. There’s no way of getting out of this. You already invited him. “A straight shot into the Northern countryside from Small Heath.”

He gives you a single nod. “Expect me tomorrow morning.”

You close your eyes, a faint burning sensation in the back of your throat. “Okay.”

You hear him start to walk away, heavy footsteps on the wooden ground, then, they stop, and your blood goes cold. 

“Thomas Shelby,” he says, and you open your eyes to find him looking over his shoulder at you. You get your first, non-panicked look at him. Small, well-muscled stature, with the posture of a man who doesn’t mind taking up space. Pitch black hair, shaved in the typical anti-lice style, with pale, porcelain skin and sharp cheekbones. And those eyes. Those eyes that look with such pointed intention, like every glance is a web of planning and strategy. 

“What?” So distracted by his appearance, you don’t catch his words. 

“My name. Thomas Shelby.” His head turns away from you, and his next phrase is faint. “Remember it.”

Part Two: Commit to the Bit

[pearlprincess02]

playlist for: ARIES EDITION

part 1 for more artist

BY ARIES MOONS

"ambitionz az a ridah" - tupac / "scream & shout" - will.i.am (feat. britney spears) / "bitch better have my money" - rihanna / "see you again" - wiz khalifa feat. charlie puth / "queen of the night" - whitney houston / "dear mama" - tupac / "drip" - cardi b (feat. migos) / "work" - rihanna (feat. drake) / "so emotional" - whitney houston / "money" - cardi b / "just like a pill" - pink / "come & get it" - selena gomez / "ring" - cardi b (feat. kehlani) / "i needed you" - blackbear / "where have you been" - rihanna / "young, wild & free" - snoop dogg & wiz khalifa (feat. bruno mars) / "bodak yellow" - cardi b / "on my own" - ross lynch / "raise your glass" - p!nk / "exchange" - bryson tiller / "love you like a love song" - selena gomez / "california love" - tupac / "hot girl bummer" - blackbear / "diamonds" - rihanna / blow me (one last kiss) - p!nk / "don't" - bryson tiller / "idfc" - blackbear / "feelin' myself" - will.i.am (feat. miley cyrus, wiz khalifa, french montana)

MORE SONGS (JUST VIBES)

"roar" - katy perry /"run the world (girls)" - beyoncé / "uptown funk" - mark ronson (feat. bruno mars) / "stronger" - kanye west / "don't stop believin'" by journey / "fighter" - christina aguilera / "eye of the tiger" - survivor / "i will survive" - gloria gaynor / "can't hold us" - macklemore & ryan lewis (feat. ray dalton)

BY 1ST HOUSE MOONS

"i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me)" - whitney houston / "thriller" - michael jackson / "kill bill" - sza / "chained to the rhythm" - katy perry (feat. skip marley) / "big pimpin'" - jay-z (feat. UGK) / "i like it" - cardi b (feat. bad bunny, j balvin) / "breaking the habit" - linkin park / "sex" - the 1975 / "greatest love of all" - whitney houston / "firework" - katy perry / "black or white" - michael jackson / "robbers" - the 1975 / "broken clocks" - sza / "bartier cardi" - cardi b (feat. 21 savage) / "i will always love you" - whitney houston / "unconditionally" - katy perry "run this town" - jay-z (feat. rihanna & kanye west) / "i'm every woman" - whitney houston /"don't stop 'til you get enough" - michael jackson / "the weekend" - sza / "numb" - linkin park / "WAP" - cardi b (feat. megan thee stallion) / "california gurls"- katy perry (feat. snoop dogg) / "empire state of mind" - jay-z (feat. alicia keys) / "good days" - sza / "material girl" - madonna

MORE SONGS (JUST VIBES)

"stronger (what doesn't kill you)" - kelly clarkson / "unwritten" - natasha bedingfield / "titanium" - david guetta feat. sia / "eye of the tiger" - survivor / "brave" - sara bareilles / "shake it out" - florence + the machine / "the middle" - jimmy eat world

aries moon playlist (honorable mention : moon - mars aspects)

BY ARIES VENUSES

"home with you" - madison beer / "alejandro" - lady gaga / "american idiot" - green day / "consideration" - rihanna (feat. sza) / "fantasy" - mariah carey / "pretty savage"- blackpink / "born this way" - lady gaga / "BOYSHIT" - madison beer / "EARFQUAKE" - tyler, the creator / "feel special" - twice / "obsessed" - mariah carey / "judas" - lady gaga / "hips don't lie" - shakira (feat. wyclef jean) / "needed me" - rihanna / "911 / mr. lonely" - tyler, the creator (feat. frank ocean and steve lacy) / "FANCY" - twice "baby" - madison beer / "it's not living (if it's not with you)" - the 1975 / "DDU-DU DDU-DU" - blackpink / "bad romance" - lady gaga / "when i come around" - green day / "rude boy" - rihanna / "see you again"- tyler, the creator (feat. kali uchis) / "selfish" - madison beer / "what is love?" - twice / "robbers" - the 1975 / "holiday" - green day / "is this love" - bob marley & the wailers / "IFHY" - tyler, the creator (feat. pharrell williams) / "I CAN'T STOP ME" - twice / "reckless" - madison beer / "girls" - the 1975 /

MORE SONGS (JUST VIBES)

"can't be tamed" - miley cyrus / "S&M" - rihanna / "womanizer" - britney spears / "i will always love you" - whitney houston / "love me harder" - ariana grande (feat. the weeknd) / "break free" - ariana grande (feat. zedd) / "we found love" - rihanna (feat. calvin harris) / "heart attack" - demi lovato

BY 1ST HOUSE VENUSES

"hot n cold" - katy perry / "pillowtalk" - zayn / "girlfriend" - avril lavigne / "formation" - beyoncé / "boss bitch" - doja cat / "good 4 u" - olivia rodrigo / "last friday night (T.G.I.F.)" - katy perry / "entertainer" - zayn / "déjà vu" - beyoncé (feat. jay-z) / "hurricane" - halsey / "favorite crime" - olivia rodrigo / "dark horse" - katy perry (feat. juicy j) / "dusk till dawn" - zayn (feat. sia) / "irreplaceable" - beyoncé / "now or never" - halsey / "complicated" - avril lavigne / "best friend" - saweetie (feat. doja cat) / "teenage dream" - katy perry / "drunk in love" - beyoncé (feat. jay-z) / "without me" - halsey / "chanel" - frank ocean / "juicy" - doja cat / "flawless" - beyoncé (remix feat. nicki minaj) / "my type" - saweetie / traitor"- olivia rodrigo / "self control" - frank ocean / "streets" - doja cat / "good years" - zayn / "partition" - beyoncé / "control" - halsey / "sk8er boi" - avril lavigne / "rare" - selena gomez / "pyramids" - frank ocean / "graveyard" - halsey / "single ladies (put a ring on it)" - beyoncé / "hands to myself" - selena gomez / "tap in" - saweetie / "woman" - doja cat / "bad idea right?" - olivia rodrigo / "my happy ending" - avril lavigne / "nights" - frank ocean / "who says" - selena gomez / "better" - zayn / "ghost" - halsey / "say so" - doja cat / "moon river" - frank ocean / "obsessed" - olivia rodrigo / "when you're gone" - avril lavigne / "love you like a love song" - selena gomez / "gasoline" - halsey

MORE SONGS (JUST VIBES)

"feelin' myself" - nicki minaj (feat. beyoncé) / "fancy" - iggy azalea (feat. charli xcx) / "confident" - demi lovato / "glamorous" - fergie ft. ludacris / "love myself" - hailee steinfeld / "me too" - meghan trainor / "beautiful" - christina aguilera / "pretty hurts" - beyoncé /

aries venus playlist (honorable mention : venus - mars aspects)

OTHER ARIES PLAYLIST

aries sun playlist (honorable mention : sun in 1st house, sun - mars aspects)

aries rising playlist (honorable mention : mars in 1st house, mars - asc aspects , mars dominants)

main masterlist

©pearlprincess0

[gachawolfiebloom]

A Grumpy Troll and A Prince

Chapter 1: Lives of Misery and Joy

Tags: Comedy, action, adventure, and romance

Once upon a time...

In a happy forest, in the happiest tree lived the happiest creatures ever known...

The trolls!

These cute and tiny creatures loved nothing more than to sing, dance, and hug, dance, and hug, and sing, and dance, and sing, and hug, and dance-

Well you get the idea -_-

But then one day the trolls were discovered by a bergen!

The bergens didn't know how to sing, dance, or hug. They were the most miserable creatures in all the land. Once they saw how happy the trolls were, they wanted some of that happiness for themselves.

Eating a troll made them feel so happy that they started a tradition...

Once a year, every year, the bergens would gather around the troll tree to taste true happiness.

On a holiday called...TROLLSTICE!!!

—

The king of the bergens was fast asleep until the door slammed open. His son, prince X was already up and had come to wake his father up.

"Good morning dad!"

It was very early in the morning so it was going to be quite hard to get him up at this hour. "Dad wake up!" He was quite pestering, but since he was just a kid it was perfectly understandable why X had so much energy.

He began jumping over the bed as he just kept shouting "Dad! Dad! Dad!" If this exhaustion continued then they might miss this special day. With not a second to lose, the prince grabbed the king's chest hairs and ripped them clean off at full force.

"AHHHHHH!!!!" The king's eyes shot open and he yelled "X! What time is it?" The young prince squealed as he replied "It's trollstice!"

The castle doors flew open as the king yelled out to all of his kingdom "Trollstice! Our one day to be happy!" All of the bergens didn't spare a second as they all hurried to the troll tree that was in the middle of town. They all chanted "We want trolls! We want trolls! We want trolls!"

As they all gathered around the troll tree, a familiar voice addressed the crowd.

"Please give it up for your keeper of the trolls. Your master of happiness. Your royal entertainer..."

The figure that the voice belonged to turned around to find that it was...

"Me."

It was none other than the TV Adware, Mr Puzzles himself. All the bergens cheered, which pleased  him very much. He did love a good show after all. "This is a very special trollstice as one of us has never tasted a troll before." The young prince in the crowd gasped. "He's talking about me!" Mr Puzzles stuck a hand out to X .

"Prince X, your time has come." The king gave a warm smile to his son as he reassured him that he had been quite the nervous one when he had his first troll. The prince nodded and took his royal entertainer's hand.

"I present you to the ways of true happiness."

He opened the gate to the tree and pointed to a flower that was sitting on a branch. "I have chosen a extra special troll for you." He took the supposed "troll" and bent down to the little bergen.

"The happiest, most positive, sweetest troll of all...and because every prince deserves royalty, I give you the one they call prince Smg4!"

In pure excitement, X snatched the troll out of Mr Puzzle's hands and whispered "Please make me happy Smg4." He stuck him in his mouth and began chewing. The ominous TV man watched with a smug and curious grin.

"What are you feeling?"

Suddenly, the prince spit out the troll in disgust. "That's rotten!" It actually wasn't a troll at all. Mr Puzzles examined it to find it was only a wooden replica of the actual prince. "It's...fake!?"

"FAKE!?"

Mr Puzzles turned towards the tree in shock and kicked it, causing thousands of copies to rain down, teasing the entertainer for being tricked like that. X started to get worried as his breath quickened. "They're gone!?" The king's anger started to rise as he sternly asked "Where are they..."

Mr Puzzles stuck his hands out defensively and said "Don't worry. I'll find them!" The prince could hear some kind of disturbance in the ground as he placed his head down closer to the ground. It sounded like...the pitter patter of little feet?

Underneath the tunnels, all the trolls were hurrying to escape this hellhole of a kingdom. "Here comes Smg4!" The trolls passed along the little prince up to his father. He had just been born and it was very crucial that the poor little troll was protected at all costs. The king of the trolls breathed a sigh of relief when his son was safe in his arms. "There's my little prince."

One of the trolls informed him that some of the others couldn't keep up. The king had sworn to make sure that none of the trolls were left behind and he was intended to keep that promise. He scooped up any troll that couldn't make it and generously used his clothes to cover mud puddles.

It started to become increasingly harder to catch up as the tunnels were broken into by shovels and pickaxes. What could be going on up there? That question was answered as all the bergens were ferociously digging away on the surface while the king yelled out "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! MAKE MY SON HAPPY!"

Mr Puzzles grabbed a pickaxe and yelled back "HE WILL BE HAPPY!" as he threw it into the ground. As the tunnels were collapsing, that very tool used to slash the ground had caught the king and he was stuck. A shovel was about to block the path so in a flash of heroism, he threw the injured trolls he was carrying to safety.

Luckily they all had made it to the end with the others, but one thing was missing. Where was the king?

"I don't think the king made it..."

They all gasped as it was fair to assume that their heroic and brave leader was dead. He had sacrificed himself for his kingdom. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, a voice echoed through the tunnel.

"When I said no troll left behind, I meant it!"

The king was okay and...*ahem* uh lacking some body coverage.

One of the trolls realized someone was missing as he piped up "Wait! Where is prince Smg4?" The king gave a reassuring look and said "Don't worry. He's safe." He pulled the prince out from his hair as the cute baby chanted "No troll left behind!"

"Awwww." That was the most adorable thing they had seen all day. The king got back to the matter at hand as he ushered all his subjects away from this terrible place. "But we'll be a lot safer the further we get from bergen town." The trolls had all successfully escaped and were off to find a new place to call home.

Meanwhile at bergen town, the bergens had formed an angry mob and took away Mr Puzzles. "That's right! Take him away! Get him out of my sight!" No matter how much this adware struggled to escape, he could not break free from the angry grasps of the citizens.

"YOU ARE HERBY BANISHED FROM BERGEN TOWN FOREVER!!!"

When the overcome could not be achieved by physical force, Mr Puzzles tried to convince them to give him a second chance. "We can all be happy again! I'll find the trolls!"

They tossed him into the dirt and closed off the passage into the kingdom. Getting up and wiping mud off his face, Mr Puzzles was very irritated on losing his status and reputation. He had a broken antenna and a glitching screen while replying with a cold expression "And I'll shove them down your ungrateful throats..."

Poor X watched the chaos outside as he went up to his dad to ask him a question. "Dad...I never got to eat a troll. What's going to make me happy now?" The king's servant, FM, who was just as old as the young prince, watched the conversation while cleaning the floor.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You will never be happy."

X sulked and wallowed with one final reply. "Never?" His father nodded and the realization sunk in that he would be miserable for the rest of his life. FM couldn't help but feel sorry for the prince as there was a strong feeling that just wanted to make him comfort that young bergen. With nothing but cleaning duties to do, FM sighed and got back to work.

_

After days of searching, the trolls finally found what they were looking for. A beautiful forest that was filled with luscious resources. The king looked at the sight and announced to his citizens "Here! This is where we will rebuild our civilization! It has everything we need. Fresh air, clean water, and...SWEET ACOUSTICS!" The prince took out his cowbell and began banging it as a catchy rhythm began to play.

~20 years later~

The prince had just finished reading this very story to some troll children. "Twenty years ago today, the king made us safe and now every troll is free to live in perfect harmonyyyyy..." The kids joined in on the sweet sounding key. "That's why we hug every hour!" One of the kids cheered. "Yup!"

"I wish it was every half hour." One of the other kids replied. "So do I, but that wouldn't leave much time for singing and dancing would it?" Suddenly, a question of curiosity entered this innocent child's mind as they shyly raised their hand. "Prince Smg4? Do the bergens still want to eat us?"

"You bet!" They all gasped. Dang. Very subtle to drop that statement on a bunch of young children after reading that terrifying story...

"But just because it's the only way they'll ever be happy."

"Isn't there anything else that will make them happy?"

The young trolls tried to think of solutions that could solve this problem. If it still hadn't been resolved for 20 years then it seemed very unlikely to easily clear that up.

"What about having birthday parties?"

"Or slumber parties!"

"Or staring at your parents while they sleep."

"..."

"I don't want to be food!" Four came over and comforted the frightened little troll. "Don't worry. No troll ever will be." Now back to the more positive side of things as there was a special event going on tonight. "That's why we're celebrating with the biggest party ever! Everybody is going to be there!"

One of the trolls piped with interest about a certain someone. "Everybody...?" The prince was quite confident that  "everybody" would be there and he was going to make sure of it. He took out the cowbell that he had ever since he was a baby and began banging it with excitement. The leaves of the plant that they were in, opened up as Four did what he did best.

"Everybody, move your hair and fell united! Ohhh!"

He danced down the staircase and began sliding down a stem as he used his hair to flip himself into the air.

"Everybody, shake your hair and feel united! Ohhhh!"

He began making dramatic poses that models do as the music pumped him up.

"Yeah!"

Four started to hand out invitations from a basket he was carrying for the big party.

"Everybody's coming to the celebration. Imma hook you up with your invitation. Let your hair swing and party with me. No bad vibes just love, you'll see."

He and Bob began to pull out some wicked dj skills on top of some kind of bug-like creature.

"Do the D-A-N-C-E. One-two-three-four fight! Stick to the B-E-A-T. Get ready to ignite!"

The bug creature exploded into hundreds of butterflies as Four and his friends all danced together with all the trolls and all the other creatures that seemed to live with them in the forest.

"You are such a P-Y-T. Catching all the lights. Just easy as A-B-C. That's how you make it right!"

Meggy pulled out a sick beatbox trap as she danced some fancy footwork.

"It ain't hard out here when you're doing it right. Put a smile on blast. That's the troll life!"

"And I'm here to help you through it! Come on Boopkins, I know you can do it!"

Boopkins was trying to lift a huge dumbbell as Four's confidence made him shoot it high into the sky. Using this as an opportunity, Four took the basket of invitations and dumped it down for all the trolls to collect one. Mario wanted to take a picture of his pet, Mario Junior with the invitation. He framed the picture on the wall and tapped his chin in thought.

"Still needs something..."

Luigi got an idea as he took some glitter and threw it on the picture. Mario stood in silence until he turned back to his brother and stared intensely at him.

"That's gay!"

Four and all of his friends, Mario, Meggy, Luigi, Bob, Boopkins, Tari, and Melony were singing and dancing on a leaf that was sliding down the same stem from earlier.

"Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop the beat! I can't stop, can't stop, can't stop the beat! I won't stop, won't stop, won't stop the beat! Go!"

The trolls all began to hold hands as they danced and sang around the forest.

"Everybody, shake your hair and feel united! Ohhhh!"

Turns out troll hair could do a lot more than we knew because the trolls had made their hair blue and wavy to resemble and ocean while using leaves to make the boat while poor Boopkins was stuck as the sail.

"Sunshine day! Everybody's singing! Sunshine day! Everybody move your hair and feel united! Ohhh!"

The trolls began stacking themselves on top of each other with displays of rainbows, hearts, flowers, and of course...glitter.

"Yeah!"

They all breathed heavily as that performance was quite a mouthful. However, not everyone thought it was terrific...

Case in point, one troll was slowly clapping with an disapproving expression on his face. It was Smg3, the grumpiest troll in all of the village. He had quite the faded tone of skin and hair, a prickly beard, and of course, the sourest expression out of all the trolls. Unlike the others, the thought of singing and dancing made him disgusted and he hated all the trolls...especially the prince.

"Unbelievable guys. Really, really great. Good job. I COULD HEAR YOU FROM A MILE AWAY!"

"Good. I was worried we weren't projecting enough."

"Four. If I can hear you...so can the bergens."

The others all rolled their eyes and groaned in annoyance. Three was always complaining about the bergens and how they were going to come back to eat them all. It really made you wonder why he was the only one who was so concerned about this.

"Oh boy."

"Here we go again...🙄"

"Oh Three..."

"You always ruin everything."

"Warning us about the bergens."

Three looked confused. He didn't do it that much. Did he? Turns out he had ruined a birthday party, wedding, and even a funeral with that stupid bergen talk of his.

"Oh come on. We haven't seen a bergen in 20 years. They're not going to find us."

"No. They aren't going to find ME! Because I'll be in my highly camouflaged, heavily fortified, bergen-proof survival lair."

"You mean you aren't coming to the party tonight?"

The others tried to hype up and encourage him to come.

"But it's going to be the biggest..."

"LOUDEST..."

"The craziest party ever!"

Three couldn't believe these idiots. He never showed up to these things for the fear of what risks he was taking if he did. 

"Big? Loud!? Crazy!? YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAD THE BERGENS RIGHT TO US!"

Mario was getting sick of this guy's attitude as he leaned over to Four and whispered "Are you sure you want to invite this party pooper to poop all over your party?" Four responded with a much more positive tone, despite these two being total opposites of each other.

"Yes! I think everyone deserves to be happy!"

"I don't do happy."

"Three, I know there is happiness inside you. You just need our help to find it."

He pulled out a creative looking invitation that had a little Three, holding a heart that said "Three you're invited!" The mini version of him sang "Celebrate freedom from the bergens!" Three didn't look impressed. That annoyed expression stayed stuck on his face, even when the card spit out glitter all over his face. Four on the other hand, looked at him with a willing face in hopes he would say yes.

"What do you say?"

Three's expression relaxed as he took the card, but then he threw it on the ground and stomped on it as hard as he could.

"Oh my god." Boopkins replied in shock. Nobody expected that, even though Three always acted like a jerk to them. He wiped the glitter off his face while making it perfectly clear to them (for the millionth time) that he would never attend one of these stupid parties.

"I wouldn't be caught dead at your party, but you will be. Caught and dead."

Suddenly, another troll came down from the sky with a more relaxed tone.

"Whoa whoa. Let's calm down here Three."

Tag6 hopped off a firefly that was carrying her, and embraced the sweet bug. "Thank you for my safe passage here. Goodbye." She waved farewell as the firefly flew off. Now let's clear things up shall we. She turned back to Three and said "Okay, first of all, thanks for sharing your unique perspective of things...again."

Mario and Meggy snickered a little as they exchanged glances with each other.

"But just for now, why don't you try a little positivity okay?"

Three sneered at the sweet, polite troll. He always had a grievance with her as she always seemed way too friendly with the other trolls. Not only that, but Four kind of seemed to like her and that only deepened There's hatred. He always tried to tell himself "Why should I care. It's not like I'm jealous or anything." Despite that, something bugged him about seeing those two get closer together.

"Okay fine. I'm positive that you all are going to get eaten."

A glint sound of chimes began to ring as it turned out that their hug time bracelets were going off. "Hug time!" They all squeezed together to include everyone, including Three. He tried to squirm his way out when Luigi wrapped his arms around him. That was the last straw. He pushed out and said to Four "Someday, when the bergens find us and the survival of every troll is in your hands, I sure hope the answer is singing, dancing, and hugging because that's all you know how to do!"

Mario tried to stand up for his friend as he shot back "That's not true! Smg4 can also make memes!"

Three looked angrily into Four's eyes and said one last thing that really hurt his feelings.

"I can't believe you're going to be king one day."

He then walked off with a bunch of sticks that he had collected for his evil villain lair of protection. Four sighed glumly as Tag6 went over to comfort him.

"Don't listen to him. He's just mean and toxic. Some of us just don't want to be happy."

"...I guess."

"You guessed right. Boop."

Tag6 booped his nose as Four smiled and they all went off to get ready for the party. Little did they know, a fearsome foe would soon make his arrival.

Chapter 2: An Unwanted Visitor

[fortunekookie07]

Well here it is the story I was working on. Not sure about the ending buuuuuut these things usually kinda write themselves. I kept going back and watching memories. Both ones I have and ones others have shared to get Rafayel's character right. I hope he isn't too OOC.

Little Seastar

Rafayel paused mid brushstroke as a delicious aroma wafted to his nose from upstairs. His stomach rumbled in response. He was hungry. It had been hours since he had eaten anything. Too absorbed in his latest work to remember to eat. He set down his brush and palette before climbing down from the ladder.

He let his nose lead him up the stairs to the kitchen. He paused in the entryway watching you. Soft music was playing in the background, and you were humming as you sautéed the shrimp in the pan. Then you turned around, and a smile came to his lips. Walking forward, he enveloped you in his arms and kissed you softly.

"I'm hungry," Rafayel said in his whinny tone, looking over at the pan of shrimp. You kiss his nose and step out of his embrace. "Lunch is almost ready. Will you go get Maren?" You step back to the stove and get shoves his hands in his pockets and walks out of the room.

A minute later, Rafayel is rushing back into the room, surprise written all over his face. "Come see this now!" He demands grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the kitchen and to the living room. Concern rushes to your face and your heart clenches in fear.

He pulls you into the room and points quietly. It takes a moment before your eyes register what you are seeing.

There sitting on the floor is Maren, your four year old daughter blowing bubbles at a fish swimming through the air around her. She starts giggling and then cups her palms together. The fish immediately swims into her hands.

Rafayel holds his finger up, stopping you from speaking as he quietly moves to her side, bringing his fist up to his mouth for a moment. When he lowers his hand and opens his palm, a blue fish appears. He sends it to Maren. She squeals in delight, clapping her hands as it mingles with the red fish swimming around her.

Her head whips around, and her eyes go wide. "Daddy!" She shouts, waving her arms. He leans down and scoops her up, kissing her face and cheeks as she giggles loudly.

You look down at them, a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart. Maren looks just like Rafayel. The same purple hair and blue pink eyes copied perfectly into her face. Most people said she was the perfect mix of you and Rafayel, but looking at the two of them together, she was definitely leaning more towards him.

"Where did you learn to do that, my little Seastar?" Rafayel asked, standing up with her in his arms. "By watching daddy!" She says excitedly, smiling from ear to ear. She notices you are also in the room and waves her arms in your direction. "Mommy, mommy, did you see? Did you see what I did?" You take her into your arms and smooth down her hair.

"I did see that little fish is cute." You hold her to you and look over her head at Rafayel in concern. It's perfectly fine for Maren to blow bubbles and make fish appear at home, but she is too young to understand why she shouldn't do that outside the house.

Most people believe that Lemurian's are gone. Only the ruins at the bottom of the sea all remain. You know differently, of course. Your husband is one of the last direct descendants of the mystical bloodline. Your daughter, too.

It was time to teach her about her heritage and how special she was. You share a look with Rafayel before turning to the kitchen. "Come here my little guppy, time for lunch. I made shrimp pasta." Another thing that Maren had gotten from Rafayel was her love for seafood. It had to be fresh too, they both disliked the frozen stuff. If it wasn't fresh they wanted no part of it.

"Tomorrow we are going to take a trip on the boat." Rafayel said placing Maren's bowl on the table as you set her in her booster seat. "Are we going to see the big fish?" She asked looking at Rafayel, her eyes were practically sparkling in excitement. "Well yes, but other things as well." He said sitting down with his own bowl and sliding mine over.

Her bedtime stories often were about the sea creatures that Rafayel had known as a child. He had befriended some whales and told Maren about them in great (and probably exaggerated) detail.

Early the next morning Rafayel for once was not slow to get out of bed. The sun had not started its ascent across the sky and he was already rearing to go.

"Come on, hurry up slow poke." He said, gently smacking your cheek to make sure you were awake. You roll your eyes at his antics but ge out of bed regardless.

Once dressed in your swimsuit you pull on a pair of shorts and slip your feet into a pair of sandals. Rafayel has dressed already and is making his way to Maren's room, she has the same issues with getting out of bed. Not wanting to leave the warm confines of her blanket or release her favorite plush seahorse. However such was not the case this morning.

She bounced our of bed like she'd eaten a bunch of sugar. You eyed Rafayel suspiciously. He only winked at you in return. You shake your head with a smile at their antics and set breakfast on the table. Toast with Blueberry jam and scrambled eggs.

You watch as Maren bounces into the room full of energy. Rafayel has dressed her in a blue one piece bathing suit. The one with a ruffled skirt and a lighter blue bow on the back. He's even done her hair up with two pigtails. When Maren turns around you can see part of her hair has been braided up into both sections. You shake your head. Rafayel was truly gifted with his hands. Who knew that also included style your daughters hair every morning.

With breakfast eaten and Maren just begging to leave you begin your last checks. Picnic basket packed with all sorts of treats and a cooler of drinks, it's time to load up the car and leave. The drive to the docks is short and it's not long before you're parking the car and getting out.

Maren all too eager, has already undone her seat belt and is waiting for the door to open. She dashes down the path running to the boat. As if realizing something she turns and looks at you confused. Mommy, which one is our?" You stop short and then burst out laughing.

Of course Maren doesn't remember which boat to get on. She wasn't born yet the last time a sea trip was taken. "Daddy!!!" Maren cries scrunching her face up and sticking her bottom lip out. "Mommy is picking on me!" She cry running over and clinging to his leg. He moves her back and squats down to her level taking her left hand.

"Well that's not nice, shall I punish her for you?" He asks all serious. Maren's face lights up, delighted. "Yes!" She says a mischievous look on her face, mirroring the one on his. He leans closer and whispers in her ear, a wicked glint in his eye as he stares at you the whole time.

Oh brother, you think holding your face and shaking your head. Suddenly an idea pops in your head and you toss your head back hand to your forehead.

"Oh what should I do? My own daughter and husband are plotting against me!" You cry, laying the drama on thick. "And you say I'm dramatic." Rafayel mumbles standing up again.

Twenty minutes later the boat is prepared and finally headed out to open sea. A breeze has picked up and the smell of the sea water is thick in the air. Rafayel is manning the boat. He knows exactly where to go, requiring no map or guidance. This was his home after all. He had always know the way home.

Before much longer the boat is slowing down, destination close at hand. Deep in the waters below lay the ruins of Lemuria. The lost underwater civilization. The boat stops completely and Rafayel releases the anchor so the boat doesn't drift while unoccupied.

You kick off your sandals and strip your shorts off. Turning to look Maren has also discarded her shoes and looks a little nervous. Rafayel presses a button and the stairs pops out from the side, along with a platform to sit or stand on and dip your feet into the water.

He helps Maren down the stairs and tells her to wait on the platform. You don't notice this as you are pushing your shoes under the lounge chairs and folding your shorts and placing them neatly on the seat. You don't see Rafayel sneaking up behind you until it's too late.

He's scooped you up and you squad in surprise arms going around his neck to hold him closer. "W-what are you doing?!?" Your voice is still a few octaves higher then normal from shock. "Punishing you." Is all he says before walking over to the edge of the deck and jumping into the water with you.

Your shock barely has time to register before his lips find yours and presses a fire kiss to your mouth. Despite five years of marriage his love and desire for you have never died or dimmed.

"Rafayel!" You shout smacking his shoulder and swim to the surface. His laughter resounds around you before he grabs your ankle and pulls you back down to him kissing you again. "Don't be mad." He says after making you feel dizzy.

"Is this what you whispered to Maren?" You ask crossing your arms and raising a brown. "Maayyybe!" He says finally going back to the surface. Maren is waiting on the platform both eager and uncertain.

"Come here my little starfish." Rafayel says holding out his arms as he leans up onto the platform. She takes a step closer. "All Lemurian's can breath underwater." He continues holding his arms out to her but Maren scoots back a step and fists her skirt. "I'm only half...". She trails off the rest of the words not needing to be said. Rafayel hoists himself out of the water and goes over to her hugging her tight.

"Half does not mean less, you already have some abilities. So breathing underwater is a given. It's the most basic." She looks at him hopeful. "But what if I can't." He kisses her cheek. "In that unlikely and impossible case ill give the ability to you. Mommy can because I gave it to her a long time ago." She nods finally convinced.

You watch as Rafayel slips back into the water and holds his arms out for Maren again. This time she takes his hands and he lifts her into the water. He slips below the surface and holds her hand waiting for her to come on her own. Finally she ducks her head underwater and takes a shallow breath.

You watch anxiously for any signs of not breathing but none come. "There you have it Starfish, water breathing abilities". Rafayel says proud as he swims lower. You follow him down to the bottom.

The sun is almost in the middle of the sky by now, lighting up the bottom of the ocean floor. At first glance all that lies below is seaweed, coral, the odd seashell, and random things that sparkle. But off in the distance you start to see spiraling towers of marble. The closer you get the more the shapes come into view before your eyes.

Marble and gold have been used to create what was once beautiful structures. Long abandoned now, it's not hard to imagine how lively this once was. You remember Rafayel told you before that this was Whalefall city. His place of birth.

Rafayel begins with the tale that he had told you. When he had been born the Lemurian race was already in a decline, not many had been born in a long time and he was one of the last. You had never asked why. Some topics just shouldn't be broached. He didn't bring it up now either.

You make your way to the great temple, the sight still as magnificent as the first visit was. Time has preserved it well. Little damage can be seen. You walk up the steps of the temple trailing behind Rafayel and Maren. She is listening raptly, hanging on to every word he says.

The moment she steps across the threshold of the doorway she is surrounded by thousands of bubbles swirling around her like a tornado. When it dissipates there on her face were purple-blue shimmering scales. They were delicately placed under eyes down her checks and neck. Very similar to Rafayel's.

"Beautiful." You whisper kneeling down and tracing the shimmery scales. "What is it mommy?" She asks you confused. Rafayel answers instead. "The ocean has claimed you as one of its own." He was in awe of the appearance of the scales.

"I've never seen or heard of this happening so quickly before. Some wait years before they experience this." Rafayel's voice got softer as he kept muttering. He crossed his arms and tapped his chin deep in thought. Finally he said "my daughter is just special." His statement was proud, if his broad smile was anything to go by. "Come on angelfish there is lots to see and not a great deal of time!"

He excitedly took the two of you on a tour of the temple explaining in great detail about his culture and former home.

As you were getting ready to leave a noise vibrated through the water. "What was that?" You look all around trying to find the source. "Whales." Rafayel says pointing to a ways off. "A pod is passing by. It's best not to disturb them. They have young with them and mothers are quite protective of their babies." Maren looked like he'd just said that her favorite seahorse was a vicious monster that would eat her, her bottom lip trembled as she looked down.

She stopped walking and then stared. "Daddy what is this?" She was holding a tiny white object that was wiggling. "That's a seastar." He says walking back over to her. "Oooh, can I keep it?" She asks eagerly.

You shake your head no before speaking. "No Maren, this is a living sea creature. You can't take it out of its home." You prepare yourself for the worst, but surprisingly Maren gently puts it back down from where she'd picked it up.

"I'm hungry, can we go eat now?" Thankfully she's already forgotten about not getting to see the whales.

[byeuijoo]

not so secret 𐀔 kim woonhak

genre : pure fluff ⋆ warnings : nothing particular just some marvel endgame movie spoilers ⋆ word count : 1219

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ୨ ✩ ୧

your mother always taught you that lying was a sin, but was lying so bad if it meant preserving something that could make you happy? you'd thought long and hard about whether you should finally tell your group of friends that you were in a relationship with one of them — all this to end up telling you that keeping your love story a secret for the time being was the best solution.

you and woonhak tried hard to keep a low profile, slipping away from time to time, each time finding a new hiding place to spend a little moment just the two of you. but sometimes, the temptation to glue each other was too strong — and fortunately, it seemed totally natural to your friends' eyes.

after a long week of classes, your tradition was to spend the night at sungho's house, eating anything and everything while playing silly games with quality background music specially chosen by the one and only han dongmin. so here you are, in sungho's living room, sipping your peach iced tea while watching jaehyun fight dongmin over the best marvel superhero.

« i'm telling you captain america is the best ! » he suddenly swung a cushion at the black-haired boy's face. and after that, taesan retorted, trying to convince jaehyun that iron man was actually better than captain america. « but he's dead ! » jaehyun shouted, which amused the rest of the people in the room, including you. but your attention was drawn to a certain young boy, climbing the stairs, who gave you a look and a smile you couldn't resist.

« i'm going to the bathroom, i'll be right back. » you say to the boys, before throwing off your blanket and making your way discreetly upstairs.

looking around you, tiptoeing on your toes, your body was suddenly dragged into a room, which almost made you cry out in surprise. but your eyes soon found the beaming face of your boyfriend, who had taken you prisoner in his arms.

« i could have hit you. » you said softly, pinching his rib, which drew a little laugh from his lips. « i know you wouldn't have done it. » he said in return, in a whisper, before placing a kiss on your cheek.

it was this kind of moment that you cherished the most, a relaxing, soothing atmosphere that made you feel safe and warmed your heart. and this kind of cocoon, you only had it with woonhak. certainly, you were still young, just discovering what love is — but you already knew that your heart had a soft spot for him.

camouflaging your tiny body against the warmth of his, woonhak stroked up and down your spine, simply enjoying your presence. « we're going to get caught if we stay here much longer, » you whispered, gently straightening up to rub the tip of your nose against his cheek, « we should go back downstairs. »

the young boy nodded, but didn't miss the opportunity to place a little kiss on your cheek, which made your heart beat faster. you didn't even have time to retort, he was already out of the room, running to join the other boys in the living room. tapping your cheeks to keep from grinning like an idiot, you followed his lead as you joined them again, without noticing the suspicious looks juggling the youngest and yourself.

later that evening, jaehyun had the bright idea of playing a silly and childish game called : truth or dare. sitting next to woonhak, his hand naturally clinging to yours but camouflaged by your blanket, you rolled your eyes as you observed the dares given, each more idiotic than the last one. « you guys really are a great team of idiots.. » you sighed as you finished your pizza, instantly regretting your words when your gaze met dongmin's.

« y/n, you talk a lot but don't play much. » you saw it, the machiavellian look in his eyes, and the mischievous smile on his lips just afterwards, the black-haired boy undoubtedly had an idea in mind, « so, truth or dare? »

in both cases, you knew you would regret your decision. but in both cases, you were obliged to play. so, glancing slightly at your (secret) boyfriend, who was urging you to answer, you sighed, finally declaring : « truth. »

taesan seemed satisfied with your answer, and glanced at jaehyun who nodded briskly, with a smile so big it could take up the whole of his face. « are you and woonhak in a relationship? » he asked so boldly that you might have fallen off your chair if you'd been sitting on one.

you were trapped, and your round, big eyes must have betrayed your answer. you seemed speechless, unsure if it was the right time to finally confess to all your friends that, yes, you were in a relationship with woonhak. but before you can say anything, leehan, who had slipped in behind you unawares, pulled the blanket from over your hands and revealed to everyone what was hidden underneath : your fingers entwined with each other.

« you can no longer deny it. » commented riwoo, who found the scene unfolding in front of him particularly amusing. and when you finally give in, nodding positively and sighing, thunderous applause and shouts of euphoria echoed through the room, « yes. we're together. woonhak is my boyfriend. »

observing the reactions of the boys one by one, who all seemed very happy to finally know the truth, you insisted that he was YOUR boyfriend while throwing lasers with your eyes at jaehyun, who had just thrown himself at the younger boy, already starting to tease him about your relationship. woonhak's hand unhooked from yours in a desperate attempt to get rid of the big puppy that was crushing him right now, giving sungho the opportunity to approach you, a smile far too glorious to be natural.

suddenly pushing him away and crossing your arms against your chest, you prevented a laugh from escaping your lips, wanting to continue sulking. « you're not mad? » you asked in a small voice, glancing at your friend out of the corner of your eye. for his part, sungho shrugged, shaking his head negatively, « not at all. if you hadn't told us, you must have had a reason to do so. » — you loved that he was so understanding, and you thanked him inwardly for not reacting immaturely and reproaching both of you for your silence. but something wasn't quite right : how could they all have known?

« how long have you known about this? » you finally asked, as he ruffled your hair in a comforting gesture. the eldest of the group sat down beside you, patting your shoulder as you watch the youngsters making a mess a little further on, « dongmin has been having doubts for a while, » he explained, before pinching your cheek, « but next time remember to lock the door when you hide somewhere in my house. »

with a falsely shocked expression and round eyes, you nodded and laughed. in the end, sharing your secret with your closest friends wasn't such a bad idea.

⠀

reblogs & feedbacks are highly appreciated !

[staretes]

partner.

synopsis: navia has a little chat about endearments with her baker lover. w/c: 373 words tags: navia x baker! reader a/n: hehe for mama ying's @i23kazu ebg event, so glad to have gotten navia

"(name)! your favourite customer has arrived!" a shout from the door accompanied by the ringing of windchimes is heard, and you look up just in time to see navia stroll into your bakery, just in time for your break. your eyes light up, and you signal for one of your employees to take over before meeting her at the corner of the counter. 

"favourite? i don't know about favourite…" you tease, and navia, giggling, plays along and fakes a gasp,

"of course i'm your favourite! who else could it be!" 

"hm, there's this one wonderfully pretty lady named navia…" you hum, pretending to swoon, and you see her laugh out of the corner of your eye "so bright and beautiful, like the sun… i should ask her out sometime, don't you think?" 

  "hey! i am navia!" she giggles, "and we are dating!" 

"oh i see! then what would my lover want to eat for tea on this fine afternoon?" you smile.

"macarons!" navia immediately exclaims, and you chuckle.

"knew it." you head to the back of kitchen to grab the box of macarons you packed that morning. everyday, you fill a box with her favourite flavours to give to her. you join her at a table, and pass her the box. like always, her face lights up when she sees the rainbows of macarons you prepared. "here you go, demoiselle!"

"ah, you call every young lady 'demoiselle'" navia pouts teasingly, "shouldn't you call me something special?"

"you're right, i should…" you ponder, "what do you want me to call you then?"

"some people call me 'boss', others 'demoiselle', but none of that does anything for me." navia admits, breaking apart a bright yellow macaron and handing half to you. you take it, grinning.

"what should i call you then, ma chérie?" you tease, and she giggles shyly, and beckons you to come closer. you lean in, and she whispers,

"my favourite thing to be called is 'partner' - but only by you, of course. so, just know that my vainer side would be over the moon if you could indulge me a little more often." 

you smile to yourself, and wipe the crumbs off her lips with your thumb. "of course i will, partner."

[channiesbedroom]

Pancakes for Breakfast | bc

I spend my entire life thinking about what Chan would be like as a Dad so have this little oneshot of cuddly appa Chan !!

- Dad!Bangchan x Reader - No warnings, just pure sweet fluff

“Appa! Appa! Appa! Appa!” Chan turned to face you, half of his head hidden under the duvet. You snort, unable to contain your laughter as he gives you his best impression of puppy-dog eyes. Your daughter continues to shout from her bedroom – “Appa! Come here!”.

“Darling, you’re not Seungmin. The puppy eyes don’t work on me. Go and get your child.” With a huff, he throws the duvet off, sliding out of bed and slowly tucking his feet into his slippers.

“Our child.” He mumbles as he stumbles out of the room, still half asleep. You let yourself lie back on the plush pillows, easily dropping back off to sleep as the shouting stops, and your 2-year-olds voice becomes softer, clearly happy that her Appa has come to get her out of her crib. It feels like you’ve barely gone back to sleep before a weight appears on your stomach.

“Mama, mama, mama.” A tiny voice whispers directly into your ear. “Mama needs to wake up for breaky.” You open your eyes tentatively, finding yourself face to face with Sarang, your daughter. She’s lying on top of you, with her face mere inches from yours.

“Good morning my baby.” Her face scrunches and she huffs. “What’s that face for?” You giggle.

“I’m not a baby, Mama. I’m a big girl.” You wrap your arms around her tiny body and squeeze her, struggling to lift yourself up with her weight still lying on you.

“The biggest girl. Shall we go and see Appa?” She nods frantically, wriggling until she’s out of your arms, sprinting down to the kitchen. Chan is standing at the kitchen counter, a stack of pancakes and a punnet of strawberries in the middle of the table.

“Ta-da! Mama, Appa made us pamcakes!”

“Pancakes, sweetheart. Not pamcakes.” Chan laughs. She clings to his leg, nuzzling her head against his flannel pyjama bottoms. You try to slyly take your phone out of your pocket, hoping to capture a picture of the sweet moment, but Sarang notices immediately, letting go of Chan and pulling her face into a huge smile, tiny hands trying their best to form a peace sign.

“Bang Sarang, you are such a poser.” Chan lifts her up under the armpits and sits her on his hip, pulling the same face, and holding the peace sign slightly more effectively.

“Just like Appa, hey?” He’s grinning from ear to ear. You love seeing Chan like this. You were young when you unexpectedly got pregnant with Sarang, and you never expected anything from him, but he was the perfect father to your little girl. He had to spend so much time working and travelling, but he always made an incredible effort to spend time with her, facetiming her every single day that he was away. He was the perfect boyfriend too, despite the crazy late nights, after which he’d creep into bed, trying not to wake you. Being in a relationship with an idol was hard – despite you having been in a relationship since you were teenagers, you’ve had to keep it secret from nearly everyone. Only your direct family – your parents and siblings, and of course his family, know all the details. You’ll never forget the emergency meeting you had to attend with JYP only a few days after you saw those 2 lines, where you had to sign a special contract about keeping your secret.

You look back to your 2 favourite people, who by now are sitting at the table, scoffing pancakes faster than you could imagine. You are constantly impressed by Sarang’s ability to eat just as fast as her father.

“Mama! Eat your pamcakes, they’ll get cold!” Her bossiness, however, she definitely got from you. She looks at Chan, tiny arms crossed, and her brow curved into a frown. She slips into Korean easily, telling him that he needs to scold you so that you’ll eat faster. Chan laughs.

“Sarang, you can tell your mama that yourself!” You’re laughing with him. Your Korean still isn’t perfect, despite years of practice, so Chan is the parent who speaks Korean with Sarang, whilst you always speak to her in English. She hasn’t yet realised that you can still understand almost everything she says, despite struggling to reply in the same language.

“I’m eating them! I promise!” Her furrowed brow relaxes a bit as she climbs up the side of Chan’s chair and perches herself in his lap, leaning against his chest and trying her best to wrap her arms around him.

“What do you want to do today baby?” You turn to look at Chan, trying to work out whether he’s speaking to you or your daughter, as he has the unfortunate habit of using the same pet names for both of you. His eyes are firmly fixed on Sarang’s face, his hands looking huge as he holds her steady. “Aquarium?” She jumps up immediately. Sarang loves aquariums and has done since she was a baby. You scoff slightly.

“Babe, I can’t really take her there today.” You don’t want to let her down, but no-one knows that Chan has a child, so he’s never been able to take her out unless you’ve privately booked. You know for sure that you haven’t booked to visit her favourite aquarium.

“About that.” He looks up at you, your heart immediately melting at his soft smile. “I spoke to JYP yesterday. And it’s ok.” You’re confused. What’s ok? You reply with a questioning hum and a tilt of your head.

“The big reveal. Your choice how we do it, we can announce something on social media, or we can just start subtly being seen together, y’know.” You can tell he’s nervous as he talks, but he has no reason to be. You jump out of your seat and almost run to be next to him.

“Are you serious? We’re actually allowed to leave the house together?” You have tears in your eyes, and you can see that tears are starting to form in Chan’s eyes too. Sarang, in contrast, doesn’t seem to have any idea what a big deal this is.

“Yes, my love. We can basically do whatever we want. They recommend that I call one of the managers to come with us if we’re going out in public, but officially, we’re fine.” He stands, Sarang settled on his hip, and uses his spare arm to wrap around your shoulders, squeezing you tight.

“Well, baby.” You wipe your tears and stroke Sarang’s hair, unable to hold back your grin. “Let’s go to the aquarium.”

“I’m not a baby!” She screeches. You and Chan reply in unison. “You’re a big girl!”