#stellie stuff

[jmiemagvans]

Merry Christmas everyone!

@narilily, @cagenewman, @chloenwckobia, @brooksienewman, @xsylcuenco, @docolives, @darpow, @ahlandrieu @stellylee

Nari

For our resident plant mama... first some really fun wine glasses! I laughed a little too hard. And the next one is a butterfly puddler, which I felt fitting because gardens and butterflies.

Cage

A backpack for your travels. You're busy and you've got a lot to do! So this is for a future trip somewhere special. And a make-your-own-game kit, something you and Colton can do together, which is pretty cool, I think!

Chloe

Some coloring pencils since we talked a little bit about being creative! Well, you can use these for just doodling or anything you want, really! And I found this plus tamagotchi which I found to be really funny and cute.

Brooksie

I saw these cufflinks that are made of the workings of a watch. They look really snazzy to me, honestly. The bag is something I also thought was pretty cool, something to help your work at the farm and moving stuff around.

Sylvia

To one of my best friends here and anywhere, I think these earrings are really cute, and they go with almost anything, right? And the slippers made me think of you, being stylish and colorful.

Livvy

So I hear you like squishmallows, so here is one that is a cat! Plus you have a cat named Mallow, so that's perfect, right? Next... I hear you like wine... so, a wine slushie kit to use to your heart's content!

Darrius

Okay, these history quotes made me laugh. But I always love chatting with you and talking about your classes! So a cheeky mug and an even cheekier shirt.

Annie

For your shopping adventures, a new tote bag! It's colorful and it's made of recycled materials, which makes it even better. And a make-your-own play dough kit for the kids!

Stelly

I hear you like music, so I found this really cool mechanical music box where you can put bumps in the sheet music to match your favorite tunes, and as you turn the crank, it plays! Next is a sunography kit! You can make pictures in the sun with this special paper.

[sophiasinclairxo]

who: sophia & @stellylee

where: enchanted forest gala

It took a lot for Sophia to not drown her anxieties with a few vices but she just stuck to her glass of wine for the evening. She started regretting attending the event alone when someone walked by and caught her eye immediately, maybe it was their aura or the outfit, or a combination of both but before she could speak the words tumbled out, "Oh my God, you're an actual goddess, who are you?" for the first time in awhile she was awestruck.

[arocoomer]

I was looking through kinda old art and this is so fucking funny

[glass-of-memories]

The two of us are a reflection of each other. The differences was he forget the present while I forget the past.

-The Writer thoughts on a certain interpreter; April, Spring, 1951

[actualbird]

UHM HELLO!! idk how to use tumblr tbh and im awkward so this is gonna be. uh. yeah HOW DO YOU GO BACK TO ANOTHER LINE - moving on. i love ur polynxx hcs soooo so much please i need more more more 🤲🤲

wahhh, hello and welcome to tumblr :D!!! im so glad i enjoy my nxx polycule stuff hehe and it's been a While since ive written for them (be it for fic or hcs) so this ask came at a lovely time. without further ado, here's some:

the nxx polycule date permutation hcs

due to everybody's schedules being immensely packed all the time, all 5 of them cant go out on dates/get-togethers very often with everybody in attendance. like, when theyre All together it's often for NXX Work OR they save it for special occasions (ex. christmas, new years, any of the team's bdays)

that being said, the Top 1 most common not-everybody date permutations are: artem + mc + luke, and then marius + vyn

-

artem + mc + luke can meet up often and easily because artem and mc work at the same place (so they can quickly figure out when their schedules align, quickly meet up), AND all three of them LIVE IN THE SAME STELLIS CITY DISTRICT!!!

they all live in South Stellis (mc's address was mentioned in The Birth of Stellis | Tears of Themis "Behind The Scenes" Episode, and artem's and luke's can be seen easily in the Stellis Explore function) so i can imagine just like

artem and mc finishing up with work and wanting to go out to dinner together and both of them independently and intuitively understanding that on the drive to the restaurant, they should go pick up luke because if left to his own devices he'll probably only chips and a stale salad for dinner.

mc shoots luke a quick text like "let's have dinner! artem's treat!" 5 minutes prior to them arriving at his shop, and luke panics trying to find something nice to wear because if it's Artem's Treat then that means the restaurant is gonna be QUITE UPSCALE AND FANCY and he doesnt want to look like their boyfriend who they picked off the street from a dumpster because earlier today he had just so happened to be tailing a lead for a case that sent him into the forest so hes all muddy. but hes only got like two (2) sweaters that he himself finds viable for a Fancy Restaurant Date

so when mc and artem arrive to pick him up, hes wearing the blocky xmas partyland sweater. at which mc visibly winces at and at which artem internally winces at

but they all go out for a nice dinner out anyway

-

MEANWHILE, marius + vyn's homes are in completely different stellis city districts: orchideshine and long beach, hemingway heights respectively. and the Stellis Explore function seems to posit these two locations as pretty far-ish away from each other, yeah, BUT....

marius' PERSONAL STUDIO is right in the same neighborhood as vyn's place

i assume marius' personal studio is in this area because another thing thats in hemingway heights (that's just not mentioned in the Stellis Explore function) is Stellis University, where marius is taking his masters. so right after his classes, he can drop by his studio and destress before heading over to the CBD for work

ORRRR HE CAN DROP BY VYN'S PLACE UNANNOUNCED AND SWEEP HIM OFF HIS FEET FOR AN IMPROMPTU DATE

marius has mastered this art. he comes to learn vyn's schedule at the university, at the research center, and at his home so that he only shows up when vyn isnt busy and is most likely to actually say yes to an impromptu fancy lunch

and vyn acts like hes Bothered but he really isnt, especially when marius has the money to treat him out to the High End Pastry Places that even vyn "pastry master" richter can appreciate

basically it goes

marius, yelling on vyn's yard: hey vyn! let's go out on a date!

vyn: get off my yard

marius: PLLEEEAAASSSEEEE, i'll take you to that bougie place you like!

vyn: fine (secretly pleased to be spoiled)

-

that being said, while these are the most common date permutations due to the simple reason of proximity, they all still find time to meet up in different permutations and all together

vyn appreciates luke taking him out on dates to more simple places, like a family owned diner or a hole in the wall ramen place. while it's not his usual kind of place, he enjoys the food and seeing luke light up talking about the memories hes had in this particular establishment ("one time, i ate here immediately after a mission and i was still bleeding out!!" "....please take care of all open wounds before you have ramen")

marius and luke and mc often meet up online and video call to game together. sometimes artem will join in on the call, despite not being much of a gamer himself, but he just likes hearing their voices and enthusiasm and yelling in the background while he cooks or works

ARTEM AND VYN GO TO THE FARMER'S MARKET TOGETHER. theyre both culinary Geniuses after all, and together they are extremely picky about produce and honey and handicrafts like an old married couple

and of course, they all get together every once in a while when their schedules permit and have a lovely time and enjoy each other's company

-

bonus, what kind of dates each of their residences are best for

artem's residence: best for full-team dinners and movie marathons in his home theatre

mc's residence: best for cozy afternoons because her place is so homey!!

vyn's residence: best for full-team outdoor brunches and tea times and also if you want a touch of nature relaxing in his garden

marius' residence: best for THAT WALK-IN WINE CELLAR and also movie marathons because have you seen the wall-mounted flat screen TV in his bedroom??? phew

luke's residence: best for uhhh...if you wanna slip on stray files on the floor or stub your toe on his palette bedframe? JHFKJ JUST KIDDING, best for in-person gaming hangouts

[daxerian]

Hard times

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Warnings: swearing, kinda toxic relationship, translated french and spanish

Words: 8.6k

A/n: I kinda enjoyed writing this😜

When y/n and Charles broke up in 2022 fans were shocked. They wanted to know what happend between their favourite couple that they have been in love for the whole 7 years they have dated.

When they broke up only Charles posted a story that said "there's no bad blood between us, we broke up in good terms. So please respect the privacy of y/n and our daughters, love Charles" and stuff like that you know? Well y/n didn't post anything because she knew that Charles made that up.

They ended their relationship in a fight. Arguing about the twins and then the breaking point of the relationship between the two happened.

"They've been to the paddock multiple times, I don't get it. Why can't they come now?" Charles spoke rather harshly on y/n, "Charles they've only been to the GP's that are hosted in Europe not America! They are 4 not 10 to spend 14 hours flying to Vegas" y/n only told him the truth and Charles knew that but something just bad just clicked inside of him. "Well if you weren't such a bad mother to them, you would let them come with me" and when that sentence came out of his mouth, he knew he just ended something beautiful.

"Oh" y/n said, of course she was hurt by the man she loved for nearly a decade. "No, Mon Chéri I didn't mean it like that" now feeling guilty he tried to apologize to her but he also knew that he fucked up and she wasn't going to take any apologies, "You call me a bad mother? I gave up my life in Spain just to move here so I could support your career, I left my whole family behind my back just to live with you in Monaco and travel with you so I could always be there for you and you call me like that? The mother of your children? You should be disgusted by yourself Charles" and of course Charles stayed quiet, finding himself crying too but the thing that broke him was when he saw the two little girls listening to their argument in the hallway.

"Oh mes doux anges" (oh my sweet angels) Charles said with hope that they didn't hear a lot, "Papa why is mami screaming?" Stella asked while Anastasia was quiet. "Me and papa were just talking about uhm life!" y/n made an excuse trying to convince the twins that everything is okay. "No you weren't" Ana said, and when she said that it was over because Ana is the quiet twin so when she said that then the explaining had to come.

"Well me and mami had a hard time deciding about something" Charles said, "But why are you crying? And why is mami crying too?" Stella asked. "We didn't agree on the same thing and that made us sad Stelly" y/n answered her eldest daughter. "But you said you left home to be here" Ana said, "Mami said that because she's angry, now come on let's get you both to bed, Il est tard" (it's late) Charles said. "buenas noches mis niñas" (good night my girls).

*next day*

The twins were spending the day with Arthur and Lorenzo so that Charles with y/n can discuss things.

"So what are we going to do?" Charles asked, "The twins heard us fighting, you called me a bad mother, and I don't think we can just say sorry and love eachother again like that argument never happened"

"I said i'm sorry for calling that" Charles started to get a bit angry and y/n didn't know why, he never got mad when people told him the truth so what's happening in his head is a mystery. "You think an apology can fix what you said?" y/n asked, "Why shouldn't it?", "Why shouldn't it? It's like what if I told you that you are a bad father that doesn't try his best, what if I told you your whole career is a joke, what if-" y/n couldn't even finish her sentence because Charles snapped at her, "You know I'm fucking trying to be there for our children" Charles is now raising his voice but for what reason? Y/n doesn't know "But are you trying enough? Were you here when they were sick with an infection? Or when they were crying that they miss you? No! You were away Charles, you didn't even bother to call for 2 weeks" It was now y/n’s turn to raise her voice at him. And Charles knew she was right so he stayed quiet.

"Charles I love you, and I always will. But I don't think this relationship is going anywhere with the arguments we've created over the past months" the anger that was in both of them faded out quicly. "No, please anything but this, y/n think about the twins, I-" Charles couldn't even find the words anymore, he knew he wasn't the greatest fiancé in the world but he tried to be there for her, for their children, for anybody. "It's the best for us, I won't move to Spain because of the children, I will stay here so we can be in contact and they can be with their papa and create memories" y/n said with all the hope that she had left for their relationship.

"And take this" she also added, "Are you sure?" Charles asked and also hoping she would keep the engagment ring he proposed with. "Yes take it Charles, there's no point in keeping it" y/n answered. "Okay, but how are we going to tell the twins" Charles asked rather sadly. "I don't know Charles" they made an eye contant and just like that, they knew exactly what to do.

They had to pretend that they are still together.

It was easy at first, Charles was sleeping in the guest room and y/n in their room, and in the morning Charles went to their bedroom and layed down again because the twins always went to their for the morning cuddles.

But then it came down to the end. Stella found Charles sleeping in the guest room.

Y/n tried to explain but Stella wouldn't listen to her, so she knew she had to tell her the truth. "Stelly me and papa got into difficult situation" and Little Stella was curious why her parents had difficulties between each other so, she answered her mami that it's okay and went to wake up her twin sister.

Later that day when y/n went to buy groceries, the two of them decided to investigate so they simply asked their papa. "Papa?" Ana asked Charles while looking at her twin, "Yes?" Charles answered. "We know you and mami don't love eachother anymore" Ana said and Charles was left speechless.

"What?" Charles asked the 4-year-old, "She said that we know you don't love mami anymore" Stella repeated. "No I love your mami very much" Charles answered trying to make it better. "No, mami told Stella that you-" "Okay stop the investigation and eat your food" Charles quickly ended this conversation.

*a few weeks later*

"Remember to still be kind to mami and then we will see eachother again tomorrow" Charles told the twins after their family time at the yacht. "But we want to see you everyday papa, this is not fair!" Stella basically screamed at her parents, she didn't get it, why were they with mami everyday and why not their papa. "We talked about this Stella, and don't yell at me!" Charles answered her, "But me and Stella want to be with you and mami everyday like before." Ana told Charles and he felt guilty, he felt guilty about that he couldn't save his relationship, and he felt guilty because he felt like he failed as a father.

*4 days later*

"Are you excited to see papa again?" y/n asked her children, "Yes!" both of them answered at the same time. And of course y/n saw how happy they are to finally visit their papa, but y/n couldn't lie and felt that something wrong will happened if they go over to Charles. And she was right.

Y/n knocked on the door and instead of Charles she saw a woman. A significantly younger woman. She looked like a teenager. "Malia!" Ana was happy to see the girl again whilst Stella just looked at her with disgust. "Move Malia, PAPA!"

Stella screamed for her father because she didn't like Malia, she was like evil to her and such an angel to her twin Anastasia. And y/n was curious, she wanted to talk to Charles so she did.

"Charles can we talk?" y/n asked Charles and he instantly understood what she wanted to talk about so he took her to his balcony. "Look I know what you want to talk about, if it's about Malia you can ask" Charles told her but not even making eye contact with her. "How old is she?" "20" Charles answered a bit ashamed. "Look Charles, I can't say anything about who you date but please don't make her think that she can be a new mom for them, please" y/n told him. "I already told her" "I appreciate it Charles."

Even though they didn't made it together as a couple, they will always be soulmates in every single way possible. And will always be parents to their amazing daughters who got them through a lot. They wouldn't trade it for anything. Not even the most expensive diamond, or painting, or anything really. Charles only needed y/n, Stella, and Anastasia. His 3 girls.

A/n: if you get any ideas for stories you can always request them with any driver ❤️ And I hope you enjoyed reading this

[sdaomine]

'til death do us part... or 'til i kill you first

Things take a sharp turn when Marius and Vyn discover each other's secret identities. Filing a divorce is on the table, but Vyn takes matters into his own hands—after all, he'd rather end the marriage here than in court.

A/N: Finally, FINALLY done with this fic that has long been rotting in my drafts! I've been wanting to write a Mr. and Mrs. Smith AU for my favorite gay ship but lacked the time to actually finish it (but here we are!). I wrote this in 2022 but only concluded it today, AMIDST my many, many university backlogs <3 Anyway, I know some stuff here won't make sense but this is a self-indulgent fic so... yeah.

wc: 13.8k words.

==

Six years in.

Six years of a wonderful marriage. Six years of black tea and chocolate drink during early mornings. Six years of intoxicating kisses, sweet and zealous; six years of what the youngest von Hagen called the best fuck he’d ever get in his lifetime.

You see, when you marry the love of your life and spend wild, beautiful years with them, you start to think you are building your relationship’s mighty foundation—that sooner or later, the two of you would be able to finally lower those invisible walls which had always separated you, because admit it or not, there is no marriage built without deep, dark secrets.

But six years in and Marius von Hagen finds himself holding tightly onto his gun—a pretty sleek silencer he so cherished, a gift from his brother—his back pressed hard against the wall just beside the stairs, waiting.

“Hah—shit. Shit,” he muttered under his breath, his chest heavy, almost suffocating. Marius pressed one hand against his heart, feeling its erratic pace and, at this very moment, he was all but trying to calm his rapid breathing.

But then there was a quiet creak on the wooden stairs.

Marius’ eyes screwed shut. Fuck fuck fuck—

Marius threw himself to the side, hiding further beneath the wall, just in time—just in time before a series of raining bullets holed through the wooden wall and the staircase banister, which was soon followed by another round of rapid firing. Marius shook his head as he waited for it to stop.

With one arm protecting his head, Marius leaned slightly against the safer side of the house. Deep down he cursed and cursed the sheer agony of having to prop himself like that against the wall, right after he had dived into the floor like it was some massive pool of water. “Goddamn,” he cursed quietly, and however could he not? His once neatly painted Victorian walls that probably cost some other person’s soul were now ripped into shreds, the wood falling off, their deadly splinters scattered around. There were holes all over, both small and wide, and Marius took a little peek.

There he is.

Vyn Richter, Stellis’ most esteemed psychiatrist: well-mannered, elegant, so fucking pretty. Marius was in awe even when the doctor, who still wore his pearl, white coat, carried two massive rifles in both of his hands. Fucking assault rifles. Just where the fuck did you keep those in our fucking house, Vyn?

A sly smirk curved the doctor’s lips. Vyn caught a glimpse of his husband peeking through the small holes and asked, a little too seductively for Marius’ taste, “Darling, you are still alive?”

Dammit!

Vyn held back a scowl when he heard nothing. Marius used to surprise Vyn whenever he came home from work, so it was not impossible the young CEO had already switched hiding places. And so Vyn, as silently as he could, made his way down the stairs—

“Still am, baby.”

Vyn dived down the stairs instinctively,  hissing out small, foreign curses as he landed—crashed—on the floor. He helped himself up with animalistic speed and grabbed his weapons, dashing towards the room opposite the wall where Marius continued to fire his silencer gun.

The doctor clutched his side and winced. Two minutes in and he already got himself a bruise.

“Stupid brat,” he muttered sharply as he reloaded his rifle. “Whatever crossed my mind? I should have killed him that fucking night.”

==

Two nights ago.

Vyn—in his white Mercedes—took a sharp turn round the bend of his English garden, leading out of the mansion gates. He was running, no, driving away from Marius. Why? Nothing much, really. Just that after six years of marriage Marius found out that aside from being a psychiatrist, his dear husband actually worked as an assassin. Learned that Vyn was a killer from another agency, which unfortunately for Marius was PAX’s worst rival with… well, dirty work.

But that wasn’t the worst part. Marius was an experienced killer, too, a secret even the best psychiatrist in the country must have somehow missed.

So… shit.

It was supposed to be a romantic dinner date. Vyn came home earlier than usual (he had to call off his assassination schedule that night) so he could cook his husband’s favorite dinner. The ever-so-loving Vyn Richter even lit candles on the table, did some last-minute flower arrangements, all so they’d have a good time (He even had half a mind to light candles and scatter rose petals across their bedroom, for a change). It had been a while since the last time he’d eaten a proper meal with Marius, anyway.

But there was something amiss, and Vyn was upset. Upset with the fact that he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Or what could possibly go wrong.

Although he was quite certain it involved his husband. And involved he was indeed because Marius was all but suspicious that whole evening, asking this and that, inquiries Vyn himself often utilized whenever he questioned a target or a client. And he wouldn’t have been a renowned psychiatrist if his husband’s dubious actions went unnoticed. Marius. I did not know he would be this daft.

Until the bottle of wine Marius was holding suddenly slipped from his grasp, and Vyn—who was seated, his back turned away, his attention wholly fixated on anything other than Marius and his wine—caught the bottle swiftly with one hand.

It was then he realized he’d made a grave mistake, because if anything his husband’s grip was always firm, and not in this life would Marius von Hagen let a million-stellin wine slip from his hands.

Marius let it slip on purpose.

And now Vyn drove his Mercedes the way a lunatic would their car, ramming on the trash bins and fences and even some of the patches of roses from his beloved garden, all to escape from his husband. Because apparently, his dirty secret’s out, and Marius is out to get him (perhaps).

The car screeched as he took a sharp turn, finally out from their mansion. Was he a free man, now? Not exactly—Marius von Hagen suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, running. Vyn muttered under his breath. Goddammit. He took the shortcut. I forgot about the shortcut—

A bang sounded, and the next thing Vyn knew, there was a crack on the windshield. The car halted abruptly.

Vyn scrutinized the crack. A bullet.

“Did…” he mused—hissed, rather—as his eyes trailed to where Marius was knelt on the ground, slowly helping himself up. “Did this bastard just try to shoot me?”

Marius almost flinched when Vyn, just a meter or two from him, slammed his hands on the car horn repeatedly. If it wasn’t his pretty little husband Marius would’ve just shot the car until the tires go off and the driver dead; but then again it was Vyn inside that car, and—

And the windshield… has a crack. And I have a gun. And I…

Marius swallowed. And he must’ve accidentally pulled the trigger when he hopped out of the bushes from the sidewalk and tripped. And now Vyn thinks he tried to shoot him.

“Baby, accident.” Marius now stood in front of the car, and the sight of his husband—who looked angry as hell—could be seen clearly from his line of vision. He hoisted both arms, the way a cornered, guilty criminal would, and repeated his words gently, “Baby, accident. Accident.”

Marius gestured to his gun. “I tripped. Accident,” he shouted. Marius didn’t really give a damn anymore whether or not the neighbors would hear him. “Baby, accident—no, stop!”

Marius inhaled sharply as he heard the engine rev—and it revved loud, as if a warning, more than enough to tell Marius if he didn’t step out of the way at that very moment Vyn would drag him to death by way of a hit and run.

And he did not hesitate.

“No, stop! Wait!” Marius waved his arms frantically, almost throwing away his gun just so he could show Vyn he wouldn’t dare hurt him. However it was his mistake that he pondered it at all, because Vyn Richter was the pettiest man alive, petty enough to actually hit the gas and hurl the vehicle towards Marius.

Oh, shit. Is this my end?

The car steered forward, its speed almost inescapable (for anyone in Marius’ situation). Marius gathered all his weight and lunged at the car, and Vyn then piloted the steering wheel in a rapid pace, left and right, in an attempt to haul his husband—probably ex-husband soon—out of the car, but to no avail. “Get off my fucking car!” he yelled irritably. “Marius von Hagen!”

Marius even managed to smirk as he held onto the side of the car (for dear life). “Stop the car—” he shouted back, his face almost hitting the windshield. “Vilhelm von Hagen!”

“Fuck you.”

“When?”

“Saturday, if I have not killed you yet by then.”

“Sweet.” Marius took advantage of Vyn getting carried away by their banter—Vyn could only hiss out in frustration as Marius broke the passenger seat window with the handle of his gun. It didn’t take long before he was halfway inside the vehicle, and Vyn was fumbling with his seatbelt.

But Marius was a second too late. The moment he’d gotten inside entirely, Vyn had already thrown himself out of the vehicle, and the Mercedes, along with Marius, was heading straight to the dark woods.

“Fuck you,” Vyn spat, still lying on the asphalt, catching his breath. He had wounds and scratches all over his skin—so much for all his skin routines—but that did not matter at the time. He fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Good evening,” he greeted rather blandly. “Yes. Please fetch me, and bring something sweet. I need my sugar levels to spiral.”

==

Present times.

And so they are here, trying to shoot one another’s head. Marius had initially come to gather his hidden weapons, only to find them gone. Vyn must’ve found out. The psychiatrist, on the other hand, returned home and got his guns ready. Heck, Marius even considered the great possibility of his husband setting up traps within the house.

Now we can tell who loves who more.

Yeah. That would be me, Marius would say. I love this sick fuck more than he loves me.

He peeked at the stairs. Marius caught Vyn claiming the opposite wall as his barricade, swore to god heard his muse wince at what could’ve been new bruises. He chewed on his lower lip as he crouched and stalked along the hallway with confident precision—he moved the way shadows would devour the night, utterly soundless as he coursed towards their dining area, which was also a connecting room to their massive kitchen.

To Vyn’s kitchen, his mind noted, almost like an instinct. His beloved had always been the one to cook all their meals, bake mouthwatering desserts and mix their cocktails and most times they’d end up hot that Vyn would find himself bent over the counter with Marius railing him from behind. Sometimes atop that long table, where Marius would feast on his husband the way he would his favorite meal; in return, Vyn knelt on the carpet under the table and sucked Marius’ hard cock until he moaned and screamed his name and squirted his cum on Vyn’s crystalline smooth face.

Marius was never in the kitchen, that sacred place. Sacred to his husband, at least, but when he did go there, it was always to admire Vyn while he prepped their meals.

He let out a bitter chuckle as he entered the dimmed space. Good old days.

Marius scanned the room, one he was most familiar with, before he proceeded to check under the table and chairs, ran his hands along the wall, removed the exquisitely-framed portraits hanging on them as a precaution. He knew Vyn couldn’t have been here for long; he wouldn’t have ample enough time to set up his baits within the house, but just in case.

He’d learned well not to underestimate Vyn. Vyn Richter, of all people.

Keeping his steady stance, Marius trod towards the high archway that led to the kitchen hall. He moved with a spy’s practiced grace and quiet, walking about the area as he quickly drafted a plan in his head. It was safer here, he thought, for almost little to no lights were switched on, and none of them would dare, since the lights could only be opened with two claps or a snap. Even without Marius’ careful movements, Vyn won’t be able to locate him that quickly. Especially since their house was a goddamn mansion.

No, screw that. A goddamn castle. If Vyn had not declined his husband’s initial offer with regard to housing, their residence would have looked like Buckingham Palace, except it was in Stellis.

Well great. How nice would it be to reminisce while your husband’s lurking in the same house, trying to kill you? Marius blew a sigh through his nose, frustrated. Couldn’t this be resolved with yet another delftware imported from France—

Marius went cold. “Fuck.”

He went cold because somehow, he’d forgotten that he didn’t really own this kitchen. That even though he’d been here a lot of times to fuck his husband on that table and over that counter, he wasn’t there enough to fully know and memorize each tile, each wall, each delftware that perched on display. Because somehow, Marius had focused on the possible threats that he’d missed the most unsuspecting yet lethal ones: Vyn’s decorative collection of teacups and teapots and plates.

And perhaps the odds were not in his favor tonight, because Marius accidentally bumped into one, and the teapot—even though he had caught it with his hand at first—proceeded to take its fall and break itself into hundreds of tiny shards. Marius stilled, his blood thrumming in alarm.

At first, there was silence. The eerie kind.

And then rained a series of bullets from the dining room entrance.

“Fuck fuck fuck—”

Marius dived into floor, clutching his silencer. He crawled swiftly under the long table until he reached the archway to the kitchen. He stood on his feet and snatched his other pistol from its belt holster, scanning the kitchen—a fucking enormous kitchen—for efficient shields, weapons, or if the heavens somehow favored him again, a possible way out. An escape from his deranged husband.

He’s too beautiful for someone demented, though.

He heard footsteps. Slow and steady, its familiar, elegant cadence enough a warning for Marius to keep his guard, his guns hoisted and at the ready. In one stride, he took refuge beside the fridge, the opposite side of it facing the entrance.

And then there was a distant, honeyed voice. “You dare break my delftware.”

“You fired because of a fucking teapot?” Marius sneered, but cackled all the same. “You’re crazy.”

“Your fault for marrying me.”

“A horrible decision, really.”

Vyn pulled the trigger and fired, the bullet merely grazing past the fridge. A warning. “I gathered. Seeing how you are out almost every other night, only to a foolish spouse will that go unnoticed,” Vyn uttered, his voice laced with venom—bitterness. “Tell me, darling. How many ladies have you fucked while you were gone?”

Marius resisted the urge to step out of his hiding spot and confront his husband head-on. “Fucking stop it, Vyn. Are you serious? This again?” he complained, the grip around his silencer tightening in his simmering anger. “I never cheated on you, godammit. I told you—I was out for business. How many times do I have to drill that into your head?”

“Ah, yes. Business. And what exactly is your business, Marius?”

Marius chuckled. “I could ask you the same, baby,” he said in his smoothest, sweetest voice, then strode out from his refuge, aiming his silencer at Vyn. In those few, shared seconds of conversation he’d noted where his husband stood, where he was facing, the appliances which surrounded them—Vyn won’t be able to duck anywhere, and could not possibly sprint too fast to shield himself from Marius’ attack.

But then again—he shouldn’t have underestimated.

Because when he’d stepped out, Vyn was not there.

He was already behind him.

“Shit—”

He did the most possible, most horrible thing he could think of: as he swiveled round to Vyn’s direction, Marius hooked his fingers under the fridge’s recessed handle, pulled it open, then slammed its massive steal door against Vyn.

“Scheisse.” The fridge door rammed against him face-first—Vyn’s nose throbbed with a nasty pain, and he sensed hot liquid leaking from it, tasted the coppery tang of blood when it drifted further into his mouth. “Fucking. Swine.”

He knew the fridge door would be a serviceable shield, knew the bullets he’d fire would protect Marius no matter what and doing so would only be a disadvantage. However Vyn blasted back that instinct, that knowledge, and proceeded to rain yet another series of bullets towards Marius (or the fridge, actually), all because of sheer aggravation. How dare he slam that door into his face—was he not his muse, his darling? Was he not this ethereal man Marius had always drawn and sketched and painted on his canvases for he wished to preserve his beauty?

Goddammit—the curse looped inside Vyn’s head, his nose flaring with rage. His nose fucking hurt.

And Vyn screamed along his firing, both weapons aimed toward the fridge. The kitchen was dimmed, with no lights on and so all he could see were the blazing yellows and oranges and reds, could only hear the all-too-familiar bangs and booms as the shots blasted through the metal.

He stopped attacking. Vyn wept the blood from his face with the sleeve of his once immaculate, white coat, wincing as he did. His nose stung so much and it rendered him so very, very furious. “Marius von Hagen,” he said. Hissed.

A low chuckle. “Vilhelm von Hagen. Or would your surname be back to Richter now?”

And there was silence, utter silence, before Vyn’s life flashed before his eyes.

The psychiatrist could only slide back as the fridge—which was a whole lot bigger than him in all aspects possible, completely towering over him—started slanting from above and down to crush him. It was too swift that he could only clumsily stumble back, almost slipping on the tiles and making a fool out of himself.

Marius heard Vyn curse in a vague, foreign language—German, no, Svartian, probably—as he scurried to save himself and dodge his husband’s pretty little trick. Actually, screw that, Marius thought. Pushing this goddamn fridge might very well be his disadvantage: one, it was too heavy it took a lot of effort and energy, and two—the kitchen was a spacious room and he threw his only barricade away.

No matter. He will just have to remedy that, in whatever way he can.

Like taking advantage of his disoriented, recuperating rose by means of taking their electric stove and throwing it in Vyn’s direction.

He’d turned away before that stove hit his husband.

No. He didn’t want to see that.

Didn’t want to see his husband hurt.

He released a sharp breath and looked skyward, then blinked his eyes repeatedly, well-aware of the stinging tears threatening to flow. He ran to the exit all the same, his only goal to escape—he didn’t wish a violent shoot-out with his love, inside their home, no less, but he needed to return the act lest he got killed.

All this—the thought of killing Vyn would kill Marius just the same, anyway.

Heh. He didn’t seem to hesitate shooting me, was what roved in his mind as he made his quick escape. God. That hurt. That fucking hurts.

And he was now well on his way out, finally, with only a step before the archway when Marius peered over his shoulder—then regretted it shortly after.

A kitchen knife had grazed past his ear, the tip of its blade hitting the wall with a dull, slicing thud.

Marius stood there for a while, utterly shocked. Vyn hurled the blade too skillfully that blood trickled down his ear—only a slight brush with the knife, truly, and there was only a minor sting—and Marius recalled it again and again, the way that knife went past him so swiftly, almost like a soft winter’s breeze.

Maybe he deserved it. He’d broken not only Vyn’s delftware but his nose, too.

“Just to remind you, my darling.” Vyn stood steady far across him, his gun hanging by his side, his other arm still held forth after throwing the knife like a sports dart. He was bleeding, his nose and his arm, yet his poise was much like a prince’s, still, as if he hadn’t partaken in this chaos of an indoor shoot-out.

Oh and despite himself, Marius swooned when Vyn had addressed him darling.

“That you destroyed my fridge.” He leveled his gun, his aim at Marius’ direction. “And inside that fridge were all the pastries I had worked so hard for this goddamn week—more particularly that matcha cake.”

Ah, Marius thought, almost nodding unconsciously. I’m thoroughly fucked, then.

The psychiatrist fired another time, only once, but close enough to shoot off Marius’ ear.

Thoroughly, completely, perfectly fucked.

If that bullet blasted a few inches down Marius was sure he’d only have one serviceable ear left. Fuck it. Vyn’s aim was as good as his so thank the heavens the odds somehow favored him tonight because if they didn’t, his head would be pounding with a static burn at this very moment for he got his ear blown off to oblivion.

Marius sprinted. Not out, because the hallway was narrow and with how accurate Vyn’s aim is, he was certain he’d get shot at some point. So instead he darted to the side at lightspeed. “Goddammit, Vyn!” he shouted as Vyn fired constantly, following his every stride; thank goodness there were no kitchen lights and Vyn couldn’t see clearly even with those ugly glasses. “You’re really going to blow off my ear? How am I to hear your needy moans then?”

“You will not hear them again.”

“Not of pleasure,” said Marius as he slid behind the mid counter, hiding away from Vyn. He tugged open the small cabinet and swiftly made a slice on the gas hose before he slithered away like a madman and out to the archway. It would be nasty with that leaking gas and Vyn’s shotgun.

Wow, thank god we weren’t all into electric shit.

When Vyn fired, the kitchen exploded in flames.

Vyn threw himself back, and he crashed into the wooden floor, breaking his glasses in the process. Every part of him ached, and his head pounded; his vision was obscured without his glasses, the narrow hallway a distant horizon he was not sure he’d reach because he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe—

His thighs burned, a hot, searing pain pulsating within his loins, and it was only then that he realized he was on fire. Like it was his second nature the doctor halted thrashing and crawled to the nearest open space, that area near the archway, and rolled himself across, exhausting the flames on his person.

He wouldn’t dare glance at his burns. He couldn’t stomach them for sure.

Not because they were gruesome, no, but because he cared greatly for his vanity, and now his efforts had been all in vain. So much for face and body value.

He snatched his gun, then, and hastened out of the burning kitchen and into the dining area.

Vyn didn’t mind the burn, the throbbing, the pain that wished to devour him. Not when his adrenaline was spiraling and begging to be put to fucking use. His instinct—an assassin’s or a husband’s, he couldn’t discern—led him out and around the lobby, up the stairs, to that one, distinctive chamber his husband treasured most.

The Atelier.

The memories rushed in with each step, every soundless stride. He’d designed that room with Marius, had decorated it day and night with him. Had baked cookies and delivered them there, so Marius would have something to eat as he worked on his new opuses; had stayed by his side as he recounted stories with his paint.

Had taken off his silken robe as he perched on the chaise, naked, looking so ethereal as Marius painted him, brought his beauty to canvas.

The reward? Marius had fucked him silly all through the night, on that very same couch.

Vyn took deep breaths. He acknowledged those memories, accepted them. Then locked them all away.

He hoisted his gun, and tiptoed close, closer. No signs told him Marius was inside, but Vyn steered forward, trusting his gut as it churned at his intuition—he is here. I do not know why, but I know he is here.

He ticked that box with a check.

As he entered the room a silencer shot, hitting just behind him. Marius stood by the opened windows, his weapon in hand; a thick cable wrapped around the atelier’s metal handle and it fell outside, down to Vyn’s precious garden. He was escaping.

“Heh.” Vyn aimed his gun at Marius, the smirk on his face menacing. “Planning for escape?”

Marius threw him an annoyed glance. “You put the house on a fucking lockdown.”

Vyn shrugged his shoulders. “You were able to open that window,” he said. “Whatever happened to the alarms?”

“Switched them off first.”

“And the window?” No one was supposed to open any part of the house when it is on lockdown.

“I know shit on this house that you don’t know of.”

“Ah. Well, that does not matter.” Vyn trod forward, careful. The weapons were still aimed at one another as he neared a small, circular table where Marius’ rarest pigments sat in glass bell jars. “What matters is… oh, look. These are your pigments.”

“Vyn.”

“Such rare pigments,” mused Vyn, eyeing the expensive, imported, rare set of paints atop the table.

Marius took a cautionary step forward. His hand reached towards his husband, the gesture as if attempting to halt whatever deranged thing Vyn framed out to do. “Vyn—”

“Imported from Italy, yes?” The older man trailed, his finger brushing against the glass. “Ah. And this one was from our Grand Tour—France, if I remember correctly. From Louvre.”

“Don’t shoot it.” Marius’ voice shook. “Don’t fucking shoot it.”

Vyn stopped. He chuckled—then looked up at Marius. “All right,” he said with an innocent smile, “I won’t.”

Then struck the table’s legs so it tumbled down, onto the floor, the special paints now mere, vibrant stains that tarnished the wooden tiles.

Vyn sneered at Marius. “Screw you.”

And proceeded to fire not to his husband, but everything inside the atelier: the canvases, both empty and brimming with colors, the vases and the chairs and stools, the portraits on the wall, the unfinished sketches and all the works in progress—the Seti Falls among other brilliant landscapes of their travels in Skadi, in and around Stellis, all the way to Europe.

Marius seethed, and one may even argue he was about to breathe out flames. “You fucking fiend—”

Vyn halted his advances when his aim pointed to an unfinished portrait of him.

Gods, he looked beautiful in it. Like the image of a prince, one of which a hopeful maiden would see only in the fairytales she reads, wondering if she’d ever snag a man as handsome as him. His lips were curved into a half-smile, all so lucious, and Vyn felt that familiar, rancid guilt tug at him—only a little, he wanted to deny it—as he wondered the many hours Marius had worked to capture him as beautifully as he could. Not that it was a hard task, for Vyn had always been a most spectacular muse, but still…

He lowered his gun and spared that portrait from his rage—saved himself from his own, unfettered violence.

But soon enough, Dr. Richter would realize that only portrait Vyn had been granted salvation.

Vyn nonchalantly aimed at his husband another time, did not hesitate, even a sliver, as he pulled the trigger toward Marius. But Marius dodged and rolled to his back, deftly until he tumbled against the wall under the window, and with a terrifyingly calm expression poised himself to kneel on the tiles.

Vyn reloaded his gun. “What are you doing, kneeling there?” he seethed. “Have you given up, darling?”

“No,” said Marius, a chuckle rumbling down his body. His amethyst eyes had darkened, and Vyn tensed, feeling gooseflesh all over his skin as Marius took something out of his person—a hand grenade.

“You know what,” the young von Hagen began, his voice low and cold, “I shouldn’t have tended your garden during the days you weren’t here.”

“You are to stop this instant.”

“What do you say? Fuck off and say adiós to your precious little garden.” It only took a split of a second as Marius pulled the pin with his mouth, and tossed it behind him, the grenade hurtling over his husband’s precious sanctuary of roses and lilies.

Only a split second before Vyn Richter’s garden exploded into a thousand, splendid fireworks.

And if it weren’t for his unmitigated, passionate fury thrumming with each breath, each step, and every thunder of his heart transcending over the harrowing, golden flames burning in the dead of night, of which singed the beloved flowers he’d tended to for years, Vyn would’ve fallen to his knees onto the wooden tiles, and cried his heart out in heavy grief.

But Vyn stood there, not moving an inch, as he watched the scorching fire. The flares flickered in his eyes, round and round the deepest trenches of those golden hues, until all he could see and feel was…

Well, nothing. As if unbothered.

However his mind, his brilliant mind toiled clearly—too vivid, the thoughts smooth-sailing in his ocean of schemes.

“Dieser verdammte Marius,” he muttered—that goddamn Marius—as he strode near the doorway, opened an emergency cabinet, and pulled the heavy, metal handle, activating the manor’s fire sprinklers.

Wet chemicals erupted from the ceilings, all over the house. Vyn navigated the halls and the rooms with precision, checking the bedroom, the lounge, the bar, in a search for a certain von Hagen.

He hoisted his gun as he trod to each chamber, each corridor. Vyn went down the stairs and proceeded, with much caution, to the main living room—

When a click sounded behind him.

“Let’s stop this now, Vyn,” Marius said quietly as he drew closer, his silencer only a meter or two away from his husband’s back.

“Unlock the house, and we can separate in peace—”

Vyn swung around, pivoting on his heel, and knocked Marius’ weapon out of his grasp.

Marius stumbled to the side, but maintained his balance almost as instantly. “What the—”

“You are naive to think that after all this, I would let you out.” Now it was his time to brandish his gun, leveling the weapon slowly to Marius, who now had both hands raised in surrender. He was on the farthest corner of the room, trapped; his only escape was the very path Vyn stood on, getting in his way out, deliberately so. “Well, well. What do we have here?”

“Your loving husband.”

Vyn’s brow raised, and his features scrunched into disdain. “I would not say that—”

He was cut off by Marius pouncing onto him with all his weight, Marius’ hands wrapped around his own, restricting him and the gun. And before Vyn could even try to get away Marius sent him to the ground—Marius had forcefully slid his leg against Vyn’s, and when his husband lost his balance, the two of them plunged into the floor.

At the impact, Vyn’s grip loosened, and Marius kicked the gun away from them as he helped himself up.

Oh, zounds. Why did I kick it away? I should’ve taken it—

A flower vase came hurtling toward him, and Marius shielded his face from the glass, letting it break into tiny shards as it fell to the floor. And his jaw might’ve been broken, too, for Vyn had suddenly appeared in front of him, and threw Marius the best jaw-breaking punch he had ever received.

“Fuck—”

It was painful, to be sure, but he had no time for such. He caught Vyn rushing to the doorway.

What’s he doing?

Marius’ face scrunched and he winced, the pain in his jaw utterly excruciating.

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck.

He’s going for the gun.

“No way in hell.”

Marius the nearest object he could find—a mini coffee table—and hurled it in Vyn’s direction.

He stood on his feet and sprinted to the doorway. The table had hit Vyn’s torso, the impact heavy on his waist, and he dropped to the floor, groaning in pain.

But before Marius could reach for the gun himself, Vyn held him by the leg.

He landed face-forward. His arms, thank goodness, saved him from rendering his handsome face wretched. Marius rolled onto his back, only for Vyn to lunge at him.

Vyn first threw a punch to his jaw yet again, but Marius caught his wrists. With a mighty force Marius was able to toss Vyn to the side—he was the stronger one, after all—and Vyn ended up with his back against the couch.

Vyn was still recuperating when Marius came to wrap his hands around Vyn’s neck, restricting his breathing. His hands went instinctively around Marius’, punching and pulling and desperate to get away. At last Vyn gathered enough strength to move away from the chaise and to the side, bringing Marius with him; Marius who, despite his strength, admitted to struggling with Vyn’s futile attempts to escape.

But the next thing Marius knew, he was throwing his husband across the room.

Vyn flew directly to the massive grandfather’s clock, the glass shattering and raining over him.

Blood now stained the doctor’s face, his body. But at that very minute he wouldn’t feel any wound, any injury. Just the unfaltering will to fight to death with his husband.

He felt betrayed.

He was scared. He was so scared he would lose him—to a woman, to PAX, to this. Add the five consecutive nights he’d prepared dinner for them and Marius never came home.

He’d rather end the marriage here than in court.

Marius dashed towards him, ready to pounce. Vyn caught sight of the expensive wine bottles on the table beside him.

And so he snatched two of the wine bottles and smashed them on either side of Marius’ head. The bottles crashed, and Marius bellowed in pain. Crimson leaked in his skin, his clothes—was it the wine? His blood? Vyn swallowed as took in the sight of his husband, hands on his head, moaning in deep pain; he looked away immediately and strode out from Marius’ reach.

Marius chuckled. “Of course you’ll go for the gun.”

“Do you not think it the easiest way out?” Vyn merely said, his voice higher, obviously vexed. Yet the way he spat those words was honeyed, still. “I shoot you, I win.”

“Is that what this is all about?”

“Yes.”

“Ah.” Marius staggered, but pressed onward. “Then you’re not getting that gun.”

In quick strides Marius threw himself at Vyn, but the older man rolled himself easily over the couch. Marius pushed the chaise to the side with one swift move, and only the oval glass-lined coffee table separated them.

Like that table’s gonna do shit.

And it all began with footwork. In his fighting stance, Marius assessed his husband, the two of them circling around the table slowly, vigilantly. Waiting for the other to hint at their weakness, to give away their hidden cards—neither knew the other’s tricks, having only found out their secret careers this evening.

But goddammit, Marius cursed inwardly as he observed his muse with that perfect sparring form, however his bearing elegant, still. The lock of his shoulders, the way his forearms were bent to his elbows, his knees curved just right; that determined face, his brimming confidence—goddammit, goddammit, goddammit.

Perfect.

He’s perfect.

I love him.

“Well fuck me. You always made me carry your heavy stuff, but now you look like you’re ready to carry me to my grave.”

Vyn smirked—then pushed the table with his foot.

The force was too strong that Marius knew he wouldn’t be able to stop it on his own, and that he’d only hurt whatever part of him that met the table’s edge. The table slid forward, launching straight at Marius, and all he could do was leap on top of the table.

It was small, that table. Marius lost his balance and fell face-forward to the marble tiles.

“Fuck it,” he groaned, his elbows stinging. “I fucking hate you—”

Vyn gripped his shoulder and swung him around, his back now on the floor. “Hello, my love,” he purred as he pinned both Marius’ hands atop his head, then straddled him. “Do you like this?”

Marius smirked. “You on top? Hell yeah.”

Vyn’s fist went flying to his face.

“FUCK—” Marius groaned, his nose stinging. He could almost taste the metallic tang of blood. “I can’t believe you ordered me to carry your shit around when you can punch this hard.”

“You betrayed me.” Vyn landed another punch. “You are a liar! You lied to me!”

“Look who’s fucking talking!”

“Go to hell.”

With his weakening grip on Marius, the young von Hagen was able to snatch his arms and finally turn the goddamn tables. He wrapped his legs around Vyn’s torso and flung themselves to the side.

Vyn gasped. Marius now sat on top of him, towering over him. His grip on Vyn’s wrists was too tight they could’ve been red with the mark of his fingers, or a nasty purple because of bruising—god, they could’ve been a pale blue for that grip might as well halt the blood from coursing through.

“Now, now, sweetheart.” Marius pinned his lover’s wrists on the floor. He noted the slightly frantic tussling, Vyn’s… sexy labored breathing. “I think I like this better,” he whispered. “Me on top of you.”

And Vyn could only gasp as Marius grappled his throat. Not to kill him—to weaken him, somehow. To make him lose consciousness. And then he’ll decide from there.

“Hck—” Vyn’s choking filled his ears and, even when he wanted to, he couldn’t look away. “M-Marius—”

Stop it. You’re hurting him.

His grip did not weaken.

“Hck… P-Please—”

Don’t say it. Don’t.

Say it. Vyn hurt you. You’re just returning the favor.

I can’t...

“Look at you. I love choking you like this,” Marius spat, his eyes dark and wicked. I’m going to hell for this—I’m sure of it. “If only this were a different circumstance.”

He caught Vyn’s arm flailing to his sides, and Marius wondered why he’d suddenly stopped grasping the hands that throttled him—until Vyn seized something and smashed it to his head, sending him backward.

A lampshade this time. From yet another small desk drawer just beside them.

Well, Marius thought. I should’ve seen that coming.

Vyn was, however, still frail from Marius’ attempt to strangle him. His breathing was strained, his face breaking out in cold sweat.

And hot tears rolled down his pale, bloodied cheeks.

However his adrenaline pumped again, and again, and even when his head pounded a fire burned from within, and he tried to go on all fours, a futile attempt to stand.

Marius now stood, albeit unsteadily due to the impact of the lampshade on his temple. “Come on, honey,” he managed to say despite himself, imitating a sparring stance, “come to daddy.”

Vyn inhaled a sharp breath.

He turned on his back, then, and used all his remaining strength to kick his husband’s groin.

“Fucking fiend—” Marius moaned in agony as he fell to his knees.

“Heh,” Vyn chuckled darkly. “Who’s your daddy now?”

“Ahahaha,” Marius managed a laugh. For some reason, it did not sound even the least sarcastic. In fact, it sounded so… genuine. “That’d still be me, Vyn,” he breathed, “still me.”

Then he rolled to the side, Vyn the other way around.

When they got up to their feet, nimble as men who were yet to be injured and beaten up, Vyn and Marius found themselves in a rather precarious situation:

Their guns on each other’s heads.

Blood coated their faces. Some trickled down, some already dried from earlier’s violence, the crimson-brown marking their skin as if pinpointing just where they had tried to inflict pain on one another. Desperate breaths filled the thrashed room, heaving in attempts to ease the thumping hearts, seemingly beating for something other than the desire to kill—perhaps beating for love, still.

The room had now quieted. No more crashing and shattering and heavy thuds brought about by relentless kicking and punching and hurling. The once catastrophic space was now but a peaceful one, at least in terms of sound and every other external force of nature.

“Let us end this here.”

Vyn’s tone never wavered. It was still as honeyed, elegant. But neither had the strength to actually ask, is that what you really want?

“Baby.”

“Stop,” he said, or rather breathed, as if Vyn had drained all capacity to speak, and Marius almost didn’t hear it, but he did. He always did. “Don’t you dare call me that.”

“Okay.” Marius nodded. His gaze remained fixated on Vyn, who so determinedly held out his gun, although Marius wondered why his finger was a little far off from the trigger. He took that as a good sign—something to hold onto. “So,” he began, his silencer still aimed towards his husband, “what now?”

I do not know, he had the urge to say. But he wouldn’t say it. Not in this life.

“Are we to stay like this the entire night, Vyn?”

“No, of course not.”

“Should I worry now?”

“As you should.”

“You’re going to kill me?”

Vyn’s eyes snapped to him, meeting those eyes of dark amethyst, and Vyn realized he hadn’t been looking at Marius this whole time, only to a random part of his face so it would seem like he was strong enough to take this head-on. But when their eyes met he felt his breath catch, and gods did Vyn want to whip everything back in time just so this didn’t happen. Just so he would have him back.

It is still him, he told himself. This youthful man, so willingly returning his gaze even though Vyn bore some brutal promise, always the man who could see him, who chooses to see through him and accepts what sought refuge beneath the facade—still Marius.

My Marius.

Vyn gasped, more loudly than he’d intended, when the silencer dropped to the floor.

His line of sight panned up to Marius. “What are you doing?” he hissed with unmistakable, rising fury. “Pick it up.”

Marius raised his arms, slowly, in surrender. “I don’t want to.”

“Pick up the gun.”

“I can’t.”

He inhaled sharply that the air could cut his throat, which was painfully drying, his heartbeat starting to race another time as he attempted to persuade him, “Pick it up, Marius! Pick the fucking gun—”

“No,” Marius said, shaking his head in regret.

“FIGHT. FAIR. THIS IS NOT FAIR.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

“Believe me.”

He was pleading, and Vyn knew that. Not pleading for his life, but pleading his love.

Until Vyn asked, “Why did you do it?”

His eyes lit up. It didn’t matter whether Vyn would accept his answer, he didn’t even care if he would believe him, but he was so damn happy Vyn was at least interested to know. And he deserved the truth—he ought to grant his husband that.

“I’m…” He breathed in, his line of sight entirely on the floor, trying to find the perfect explanation. “I don’t know. I guess I just love—”

“Killing other people?”

He looked up at Vyn. “Bloodlust—that’s it, yeah?”

Vyn scoffed. “Bloodlust. Are you kidding me?”

“I had killed someone for Giann. Accidentally,” he began, “an act of self-defense, to save myself and him. He was drugged and unconscious and we were alone, and we were kids.

“And I felt like a different person, you know? Stabbing that man to death. Torturing him until he begged that I end his suffering. Instead I got a blunt knife…” He trailed, his voice now dripping with that familiar longing, that familiar tone of satisfaction Vyn so knew about him, “started carving the family insignia deep into his skin while I listened to his pleas, his screaming, and watched the way his blood leaked from his cuts…

“It was, to say the least, a feast to my senses.” Marius chuckled, his voice dark, almost evil. As if Vyn’s kind, youthful husband had gone, had turned into someone unspeakable, someone he didn’t know. Or perhaps, a Marius he has yet to meet. “That was when I realized I let another me live within. He’s someone who loved drawing blood, someone who craved for violence. All of this, Vyn—I do it all for fun. I couldn’t get it out of my system. So, yeah.”

“You could have told me,” whispered Vyn. Marius wanted to believe he saw those golden irises soften, even only for a passing beat. “You could have trusted me.”

“I trust you, baby. But no,” he said resolutely, “I love you, so damn much, and I wanted to be perfect for you.”

Marius took a step forward. Vyn’s grasp tightened around the gun.

But Marius pressed forth. Arms falling heavy on either side he took yet another step, his mouth curving on a slight, sad smile as he walked closer, and closer, dangerously closer to the beautiful man who carried such a hideous promise.

“I want to be the perfect man…” Marius halted, just a few breaths away from the gun aimed directly at him. He crouched a little, leaned forward—

Vyn gasped. His whole body tremored, a sudden chill running all over his skin.

Marius wrapped his long fingers around the gun’s barrel, tugging it towards himself, pressing his chest against the hot muzzle. “The perfect husband for you.”

He observed as Vyn continued to nibble on his lower lip, biting it hard that it reddened with the threat of blood, and Marius’ chest tightened as he saw those golden hues now glossy with emerging tears. Vyn’s breathing had gone from composed to ragged, and soon the hand which held the gun started to shake.

“Vyn,” his husband called softly, “I love you, okay?”

He was surprised to feel hot tears filling his eyes, a stray of it rolling past his bloodied cheek. “Marius…”

“Vyn?”

“I…” he paused, grasping for words, suddenly losing all the vigor to fight. His heart shattered at this, at everything—at himself for being such a petty husband who never truly gave Marius the chance to prove himself, all because of some missed dinners. Who never gave Marius the benefit of the doubt even when Vyn saw in his eyes a flicker of hope.

He was so lost swimming in his ocean of thoughts that he never noticed Marius, who started easing away the gun ever so calmly, and Vyn—exhausted and drained out of his wits—allowed him his weapon to make its descent, down until he himself decided to drop it to the floor.

And he seemed to be in a daze indeed as Marius pressing closer to him went unnoticed, until Vyn realized, only after almost a minute, that Marius had gotten their bodies closer, almost skin to skin…

Marius knew he was quite awake now—from all his little reveries—and while he expected Vyn to land another blow or finish him once and for all, he was surprised when his husband’s gaze flitted from his lips before it settled up to his eyes, his pale, slender hands sliding to his chest as he whispered, “I love you too, Marius.”

Then Vyn was pushed onto the couch.

The doctor gasped, too surprised that it was a pitch higher than usual, and for a moment he was afraid that Marius had gotten the upper hand with his trick and now he ought to strangle him, but his gut believed otherwise, and his gut turned out to be right because Marius leaned down to kiss him—rough and wet, hungry as his tongue lapped in his mouth, a quiet sentiment of how Marius would rather kiss and touch and fuck him instead of sending blazing bullets all over their house.

“Mm—oh, Marius…” he whined as Marius pressed against him, almost straddling him, his hands relishing the softness of Vyn’s face and disregarding the feel of dried blood there, and now making their way towards the back of Vyn’s head, fingers brushing, tangling, pulling on those silver locks.

He felt his pants tighten at the sound of Vyn’s moans, and he grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged his head back, suddenly feeling the lust of tasting Vyn’s exposed neck. Marius leaned down, his mouth pressed against his neck, trailing wet, open-mouthed kisses along soft skin, tasting blood and hot sweat. He bit lightly at the hollow of his shoulder—

“Ah!” Vyn cried in perhaps both pleasure and pain, his fingers clutching desperately on Marius’ sleeves—sleeves that were rolled all the way up near his elbows and it was so sexy Vyn almost wanted to wave the white flag, in the middle of their shoot-out, just so he could fuck him. So he could kiss him, kneel in front of him, fulfilling his husbandly duty of sucking his cock. “Marius…”

“We literally just started,” Marius said as he looked up to meet Vyn’s eyes, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips.

“Fuck you.”

“Darling, I’m about to.”

“Well why don’t you get on with it? Or would you rather waste my—oh, fuck—Marius!”

Vyn could only screw his eyes shut, and Marius could only let out a satisfied groan as he ground his hips against Vyn’s, biting his lip as he felt that hard erection, the proof of his husband’s growing need and oh, how he’d love to satisfy him. “What was that?”

“Will you ever stop talking—”

Marius shut him up with another kiss on the mouth. Vyn tasted sweet, as usual, however Marius made out the metallic flavor of blood, but it’s not like he would mind. It’s his husband’s blood, anyway, and he’d be most willing to take a sip of it, drink it, chug it until it sank down his throat the way he would his chocolate drink.

Ah, but Marius loved it more when it was Vyn who did that with his cum.

As he kissed Vyn he continued moving, grinding his hips until all he could hear were the melodies of Vyn’s whines and sighs, and gods was he so distracted Marius failed to notice Vyn already taking the matter into his own hands unbuttoning Marius’ shirt, and with fervent speed at that.

He suppressed a laugh as he bowed his head, watching in awe as Vyn fumbled with the buttons of his black shirt, breathing so hard and sensually as if he could wait no longer. In fact it felt like Vyn would be very much happy to just tear his shirt apart—not that his husband would mind, either.

“You were so determined to kill me earlier,” Marius said as Vyn unbuttoned the very last one, “but now you’re so hot and horny for me. I told you I did like your mood swings—hmph!”

He was cut off by Vyn’s mouth claiming his own—much to his delight—and soon he found himself hooking his arms under Vyn’s spine and the back of his legs, his feet then making way to their bedroom on the second floor. Vyn wrapped his arms around Marius’ neck instinctively, even pulling him closer as if he needed more, plenty more of him, and Marius loved the way his husband craved for his kisses that it must have given him some omniscient power to navigate the halls and the stairs in the dark so precisely.

In a minute a heavy thud reverberated, echoing across the massive bedroom as Marius opened the door—or rather twisted the knob then kicked the door—and went towards the bed with much haste. He’d licked, bitten, lapped at Vyn’s mouth one last time before he dropped him to the king-sized bed, covered in midnight-lacquered sheets, and proceeded to take off his shirt—

“Wait,” Vyn protested, but before his husband could respond he hooked his two fingers round the belt loop of Marius’ pants, and tugged him closer. It was so damn hot Marius’ cock twitched.

Suddenly he wanted to grab a fistful of Vyn’s hair and make him suck his dick. He’d fuck Vyn’s mouth so well with his hard cock the man would be a beautiful, crying mess the moment he swallowed his cum.

“I…” Vyn turned a little red. “I want to suck you.”

Marius swallowed as he hurried to comply, feeling a certain heat within him intensify. Vyn was already kneeling on the bed, making quick work unbuckling Marius’ belt and letting his cock spring free and fuck, Marius’ cock was heavy and warm and slick with precum, and Vyn felt his own twitch against the fabric of his pants.

He did not waste time. Vyn wrapped his long, slender fingers around his husband’s cock, feeling Marius throb against his palm, his cold fingers. He had sucked Marius dry since god knows when, but suddenly he felt like this was all new, that he was nervous and shy again, and it was as if he was taken back to their first night as two married men. That first night after Vyn said Yes, I do, I shall marry you, and Marius beamed and Vyn thought his husband could rival the sun. Funny what some husband quarrel and house violence could do to you—

“Just so you know, Vyn.” A low, impatient voice pulled him away from his thoughts. “I’m this close to shoving your face down my cock, if you don’t mind.”

Vyn bit his lip as he saw yet again that massive, hard cock staring right in front of him, waiting to be devoured. God, his husband’s cock was so beautiful, thick and velvety soft that his breath caught. And realizing once again that someone was getting impatient, Vyn leaned in and licked gently under the crown of Marius’ dick.

“Fuck.” Marius’ head dipped back, feeling his cock twitch against Vyn’s tongue. “Please—”

He rasped as Vyn complied, letting his mouth close around the head of his husband’s rock-hard cock—

“Fffuck,” Marius breathed, panting as Vyn made swirling motions with his tongue as he slid halfway down his length, “Fuck, Vyn!”

His eyes screwed shut, his hands clutching onto Vyn’s silver locks, and moaned out a broken cry as Vyn sucked his whole length, deep throating him, his wet, warm lips touching his Marius’ hot skin. “Fuck, Jesus.”

Vyn moaned around his cock, and as Marius felt it vibrate around him he dipped his head back again, seeing the goddamn stars. Vyn’s moaning didn’t stop even as he sucked his husband’s dick, Marius’ cock moving in and out of his mouth. Marius tasted so good. Every time Vyn sucked him it seemed he tasted even better and better, as if there were new flavours to his taste of clean sweat, of salty skin, and god even his precum seemed heavenly to Vyn’s tongue, melting like chocolate. His eyes fluttered shut as he sucked. God, he would suck this man’s cock forever.

Until Marius tugged Vyn’s head back, “Fuck, wait.” He panted heavily, and as he saw Vyn lick his lips—still glistening wet from his own saliva and Marius’ precum—Marius wanted to plug that pretty little mouth with his dick again. But he held himself together and said, “Wait. I’m… I was about to…”

“I’d swallow everything, Marius.”

“Fuck, stop it. Stop it or you’ll have to choke on my dick the rest of the evening.”

“What is the matter?”

Marius’ cheeks tinged a bit pink. He looked much like a teenager who wanted to try sex with his crush. “I want to… I—”

“Too good?” Vyn smirked.

“Fuck you.” A smile tugged at the edge of his lips. Marius caressed Vyn’s hair, as softly as he could. “I want to come inside you.”

Vyn swallowed, his mind once again drawn to their little memories of fucking every night until both their legs had given in, and Marius thought the same. God, he  couldn’t stop staring at his husband. Vyn looked ethereal bathed in the bedroom’s soft orange glow…

However this time it was Marius who was stripped—so quickly—from his reveries as he was pulled, thrown to the bed, with Vyn taking off his shirt, leaving his necktie around. His shirt was hauled off to the floor in a second, and now Vyn looked like some fallen angel as he straddled Marius, untying the silken tie with deft fingers, his wet lips parted in awe…

“What are you gonna do with that, huh?” Marius’ hand slipped round his husband’s waist. We’ve been married for years but goddammit, your waist is so fucking small.

“You’re gonna use that on me?” he added, whispering against the shell of Vyn’s ear, making his husband shudder. God, he loved it when Vyn did that. Loved it when his ministrations, even the smallest ones, had a great effect on him. “And look at you, don’t you think you’re a bit overdressed for the occasion?”

“I—ah—”

His cock twitched again that it almost hurt, as if begging to be hilted inside Vyn’s ass. Vyn had the sexy habit of whining and making those kinds of sounds whenever he’s surprised or caught unawares, like that very moment when Marius stripped him off his vest with one go, the buttons clinking on the floor in unison. Marius didn’t waste a second and gripped the sleeves of his doctor’s coat, tugging it off him.

Until Vyn caught his wrists and said, “Let me.”

The muse started taking off his vest—slowly, tantalizingly. He knew all too well this act was a feast for his husband’s eyes, for his cock. The slutty bottom that he was, Vyn removed his clothing alongside his heavy, sexy breathing, his mouth slightly ajar, with some stray, silver strands falling over his eyes.

The vest went abandoned. Thrown to the floor just like all else. The shirt followed, Vyn making sure the sounds he made were heard, acknowledged—oh acknowledged indeed, what with his husband’s erection poking against his leg—and he couldn’t help but suppress a smile knowing Marius was having a hard time keeping his hands to himself.

When everything was unbuttoned, Vyn let the right sleeve slide down his arm, revealing some skin on his chest, his collarbone, his shoulder. Marius had seen it all, but still he thought he looked so ethereal, and so hot all the same that he was torn between treating him right—sweetly, gently—and fucking him so rough and so hard he won’t be able to walk the next day.

By instinct, Marius looked away. He bit his lip as he did, setting his sights away as he was suddenly so overwhelmed, so doubtful—do I even deserve this, he asked himself, realizing that it had been his fault why the shoot-out occurred in the first place: he missed a lot of dinners with Vyn. He was always out for his business of killing other people. He hurt him in all ways possible, especially tonight.

But then, “Marius.”

His gaze returned to Vyn. “Darling?”

“Do not look away.” Vyn’s hands, soft and cold, reached to caress his face. “Just look at me,” he said, his voice like that of an angel’s, “this is all yours—all of me. I am yours.”

Marius made sure that shirt was off his husband immediately.

He’d kissed him again, a mix of love and dominance, of lust and longing. Arms tight around Vyn’s waist he pulled his muse close to him, skin to skin, but he wanted them to be closer. He wanted to be inside him—to own him, body and soul.

He loved Vyn. Marius wouldn’t know who he is without him.

“I love you,” he grunted as Vyn ground against his erection, “I love you.” His hands wandered up his spine and down his ass, squeezing it, eliciting a moan from Vyn. “I love you.”

But it wasn’t long until Marius took his black, silken tie, staring intently, lustfully at Vyn before he hoisted it in between them, “May I?”

Vyn raised his wrists in answer. “And my tie?”

“For your eyes,” Marius said, his eyes darkening. “I was thinking your mouth, but I love hearing your noises.

“I love hearing your moans. Your whines. I love it when you scream my name.”

Marius licked his lips, and his chest swelled with triumph as he saw Vyn shiver again, turned on by a few words. Vyn gasped in surprise as Marius finished tying his wrists, pulling on the knot a bit harshly than he’d intended.

“Now,” Marius said as he worked on Vyn’s red tie, “you love the dark, don’t you darling?”

A whine escaped his lips as he was pushed to the bed. He couldn’t even recall how Marius looped and that red, silken tie around his eyes. All he knew now was he’s on the bed, on his back, his hands tied in front of him. “Ah, Marius…”

“What was that?”

Vyn could only nibble on his lower lip. “Please… oh!”

He moaned as he felt his husband’s mouth, warm and wet, close around his nipple. His toes curled at the sensation, especially at how Marius knew just how to kiss, lick, and suck his nipple and make him cry and moan so loud. His body moved frantically, the pleasure almost maddening now that his vision was obscured, and not knowing what Marius was gonna do next was killing him.

However soon he felt large hands grip his thighs, hoisting them, and Vyn most willingly submitted by wrapping his legs around Marius’ hips. He was now on top of him, could feel his hot, ragged breaths against his skin.

“You’re so hot,” Marius whispered as he kissed Vyn’s beauty mark, that one on his collarbone, “I just love fucking you so much,” he said, before unbuttoning Vyn’s pants and sliding his hand down under, wrapping his fingers around Vyn’s length.

“Oh! Marius, ah—”

“Yes, just like that…”

“Please!”

“You like that? Damn, you’re actually making this harder for me… let me just…”

Marius stopped, his hurrying hands fumbling on Vyn’s pants, in much haste to get inside him. Oh how badly he wanted to fuck his husband when he all but looked like a willing captive, writhing underneath him—he let his fingers travel down under, lingering on Vyn’s back, then trailing further south, massaging his arse, lifting Vyn a little in the process.

Marius did not waste any more time and took the head of his own cock, moving his hard-on closer until it rubbed softly, carefully over Vyn’s hole. He rasped as he did a little push inside. “Shit.”

“M-Marius…”

Marius took that as his signal to push further, letting out a small grunt as he moved another inch, then another, and he took satisfaction witnessing Vyn’s mouth parting as he whined, silver brows furrowed in pleasure. “Ohh, Marius—”

Marius gripped on his husband’s waist and hilted his entire cock inside him.

Vyn whined again, so loud Marius wondered if his voice reached the outside, even with their windows closed. Vyn cried as Marius moved inside him, his thick, warm cock fitting perfectly in his ass, hilting deeper and deeper with each thrust that Vyn couldn’t stop muttering curses and Marius, Marius didn’t have any words for it—just sounds, low and needy. Just grunts, and moans, and whines and cries.

Marius thrust again. Harder, deeper—

“Ohh, just like that!”

“Yeah?”

“Mm—ohh, f-faster please—!”

Marius nodded frantically, and he thought how much Vyn had an effect on him that, despite Vyn being the one tied up and writhing underneath him, Marius was actually the one in his mercy.

Good. Deservedly so. Vyn Richter was his Saving Grace and he’d worship the man forever.

“Ah—fuck! Marius…!” moaned the older man, biting his lip as he welcomed the familiar pain—and pleasure—down his nether part. It was only then Marius realized he had been too excited to claim Vyn that the thought of using a lubricant or even covering his dick with saliva never crossed his mind.

“Fuck, Vyn. Does it hurt?” he asked, but never stopped moving, pulling and pushing back in.

“N-no! It feels good. You feel good…” he moaned as he shook his head, “I’d rather you—ah!—fucked me hard.”

And it was enough to make Marius pin his husband’s hands atop his head, cursing as he thrust in, and out, so hard and so deep tears started rolling down Vyn’s pale cheeks. “Faster?”

“Y-yes!”

Marius gripped hard around Vyn’s wrists, railing the man as hard as he could, making Vyn cry with each powerful thrust. The sounds of wet, forceful squelching echoed across the room and, partnered with Vyn Richter’s needy moans, Marius thought damn, I should’ve brought a recorder.

Well, it’s not like he couldn’t do that soon. Pretty sure Vyn would be most willing to film all their blasphemous activities together. “I’m close.”

“M-me too…” Vyn bit his lip, his back arching in ecstasy brought about by their bodies, skin to skin. Marius pounded faster. It felt like fire, really, and he felt his stomach surging and ebbing and surging again and again with pleasure. They moved in sync now, Vyn’s hips thrusting to match his husband’s pace, and he knew he was close when he felt that electric sensation zipping through his veins, his loins, his cock. “M-Marius…!”

His balls drew up tight as Marius slammed into him, again and again. Vyn could only let out a broken cry as he sensed Marius’ hand grasping his cock, jerking it as fast and as hard, perfectly matched with the way Marius pumped his dick inside him in a relentless rhythm.

Vyn came. Loud, majestic, his hot cum spurting on Marius’ stomach and making a beautiful mess there, much like the way he was one. His head was fucking spinning and he thanked Marius for it. And he kept on crying out even as Marius came, his fresh seed filling Vyn up like he was always meant to.

He kept on going. Grinding in him so deep, so sensual, thrusting again and again and letting his very hard cock feel inside Vyn, helping both of them through the very last of their orgasms. Again, then again. One last time, until Vyn croaked weakly, and Marius grunted as he fell on the empty space on the bed, beside his husband.

Despite the exhaustion, he shifted to his side. Took the blindfold off his husband. Vyn’s eyes fluttered open immediately, albeit blearily, the fringe of his long, silver lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. He gave Marius a weak smile. “That was…”

Marius let out a soft laugh, feeling the last bits of his energy dripping away. “I want to fuck you again.” He relaxed, but felt himself stiffen at the sight of his husband: ethereal. Beautiful with his cheeks flushed and mouth parted, his neck and chest gleaming in sweat. Vyn Richter, once again, in the afterglow of mindblowing sex.

“I love you,” he whispered, though he was not sure if Vyn heard. His eyes were already closed, and he looked like he was fast asleep. Marius smiled and snuggled close to him, with Vyn’s soft breathing lulling him to slumber.

==

Sometime around his dream, if he ever truly dreamed, he heard a silken voice say, “I love you, too.” Felt a gentle kiss on his forehead once, twice. Then another, “I will love you forever.”

When he awoke in the middle of the night, the quiet surrounding them, he saw Vyn was sound asleep. He rested his head against the hollow of Vyn’s neck, inhaling his sweet scent, and wrapped his arms around him. “Vyn,” he whispered, “I’ll love you forever, too,” before he kissed him on the cheek.

Somehow, Marius knew he hadn’t dreamt it.

==

Vyn awoke three hours earlier than usual, his eyes bleary, almost blind as he stared at the digital clock which blinked 5:58 AM. He wouldn’t be up this early, but his phone rang so alarmingly in the distance—atop that couch beside their bed where Marius fucked him the whole night—and with a ringtone he wouldn’t dare not pick up, lest he received yet another lecture. An hour or two of it, even if that lecture came from his, well… not his superior, because he was the superior.

He sighed—it was his junior calling. “Good morning, my rose.”

“DON’T ‘MY ROSE’ ME, RICHTER-VON HAGEN!” came his beloved junior’s rather sweet response, and Vyn instinctively pulled his phone away from his ear, unless he wanted his hearing damaged forever. “WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU?”

“Language, beloved.”

“VYN!” Ah, there it was. He knew she was suppressing those sobs. It was conspicuous she had been pulling back tears the moment Vyn answered the call, the moment she’d heard his voice and confirmed he was alive, although not much well. “I was so, so worried about you… I thought… I thought you were—” she paused to take a light sniff, “dead. The squad is on their way. What happened?”

“I… I cannot tell you right now. I am sorry, dear,” he said, his gaze drifting to his husband who was still snoring in his sleep, and gods did Vyn thought Marius looked ethereal even during his most vulnerable moments. He fucked me so well last night…

“And please, Rosa,” he said, “tell the squad to halt their mission. I am all right—harmed, but I am faring well. And so is my husband.”

“Oh, my god. Mr. von Hagen was a witness?”

“Sort of. I shall tell you all about it when we meet.”

“Which is when, exactly?”

“Tomorrow,” he replied, his fingers running across the bare skin of his chest, wincing at the hurt from where Marius bit him. “You are in charge for now. Make certain the HQ is still up and about,” he said, “you are my second-in-command, so do what you must in my stead. Meet me tomorrow, same place.”

“Oh, uh—tomorrow, you said?”

“Yes. Is something the matter, dear?”

“Er, well…” she trailed, and Vyn’s brow arched in curiosity. He tried to rewind their past conversations, see if she’d mentioned anything she ought to accomplish tomorrow. There was nothing in particular, and Vyn was about to tell her twice until she cleared her throat and answered, “I actually… have a date tomorrow, Vyn.”

Ah. Understandable.

However, “I have taught you of the risks which comes along with our line of work. I hope you do keep your emotions out of your job—”

“What a hypocrite,” Marius muttered beside him. Was this idiot fake-sleeping the whole time?

“Never you mind. I am not against your relationships. I will meet you in two days, then,” Vyn continued—not without glaring at his husband first and foremost in the morning—and added, “but of course, what is this lucky lad’s name? Age, hair colour—”

“Luke Pearce, thirty years old. Coral eyes, chestnut blonde, and very cute.”

“Make certain you put up his records in the office. That aside—please enjoy your date, Rosa.”

Vyn pressed on the end button. He was thinking whether to check up on his husband or do a background check on Luke Pearce first, but he heard another phone call—this time from Marius’ phone—and even though he never truly meant to listen… well, however could he not?

“Hey, Luke?”

Vyn’s ears perked at the sound of his name. Luke.

“Yeah, sure. Wait, you can’t tomorrow?” Marius asked through the phone, his voice getting inaudible as he yawned, “oh, man. Congrats on bagging your first date—oh, wait a minute. Is this girl Rosa you’re going out with?”

“Who is that?” Vyn mouthed to him with those piercing golden eyes. My junior, his husband mouthed back, shrugging his shoulders. It’s not like I can hide it anymore from you.

Well, Luke was not his junior since Luke was older by a few years, but Marius had been an assassin earlier than him. And, well… he was Luke’s boss.

Vyn didn’t need to do a background check. He’d have to pester Marius for it. Just great, what are the odds that their juniors were going on a date?

The first thing Marius did when he ended the phone call was tackle Vyn into a hug, which the older man reciprocated much lovingly (despite his grumpy morning face). He was still scowling, but it was a contrast to the warmth which he gave Marius in return, and the eagerness emanating from him as he pressed closer against Marius’ exposed chest. It wasn’t very soon that Vyn had started nuzzling his face against his husband’s cheeks, like a cat trying to be sweet.

“Vyn.”

“I thought you addressed me as darling or love or baby, but I suppose we—”

“Really, Vyn? This early in the morning?” Marius laughed as he cuddled him more. “You know, I was just gonna ask you something…”

“You want to fuck me again?”

And there it was, that familiar pout and puppy eyes, all too powerful even for Vyn that he knew immediately he wouldn’t be able to deny him. Well, it’s not like he’d decline some more good fucking. “Don’t you want me to?” Marius said, his pout much guilt-enducing now.

But not until Vyn pushed the sheets down until it reached his thighs, revealing his now bulging erection, his sudden craving for Marius. “Whatever are you waiting for?”

“Fuck. You sure know how to—”

Another phone call.

Vyn sighed and took the phone. His eyes widened, only for a fraction of a second, upon seeing the caller ID.

“Please tell me you’ll ignore that.”

“Unfortunately for us—” he slid a finger down the green button, “we cannot decline this one.

“Good morning, Captain Morgan.”

“This is Artem,” came that deep, familiar baritone, and Vyn felt himself shiver from the way Artem sounded in the mornings. The senior lawyer had always been a morning person, but there were times too wherein he was too lazy to get up for work—can you actually believe that?—so Vyn had to do all sorts of things to get him moving. His voice during those moments hadn’t changed at all: deep and husky, almost seductive.

“Artem,” he repeated, and the name seemed to capture Marius’ attention, too. “Good morning. Why are you calling this early in the morning? And why are you using Captain Morgan’s phone?”

There was a sigh at the other end of the line. “Darius forgot to bring his phone,” he answered. “I called to let you know he’s coming, along with his squad. Too many noise complaints last night. They’re going to investigate.”

“Just so you know, Wing—my house is an estate. I am quite certain no one was bound to hear us…” Oh, shit. Marius threw a grenade in my garden.

He shot Marius a glare before he returned, “Tell Captain Morgan to go home.”

“I kept telling him that,” he replied, quite vexed now. “It was supposed to be our day off, Vyn. Our only day off, and you just had to ruin it.”

“It is not my fault you cannot persuade your boyfriend to stay in bed with you.”

“Are we—”

“Hello there, Artem.” Marius had snagged the phone away from Vyn, having felt that impending argument that would probably last hours—he wouldn’t admit that he was only jealous because Artem was Vyn’s only ex-boyfriend, almost husband—and had taken matters into his own hands. “We’ll meet Captain Morgan when he gets here, all right? I’ll tell him to go home, so let’s have peace, yeah? Bye!”

“I could have handled that, Marius,” Vyn spat, but not before Marius hopped out of bed and went to browse through his cabinet. He got himself a clean set of sleepwear in pastel green, Vyn’s most adored colour, and threw the shirt in Vyn’s direction. “Give me the pants as well.”

“No,” said Marius, already in the process of wearing it, “you take the shirt, I take the pants. It’s too long for you, anyway.”

Vyn crossed his legs, folded his arms. “What are you planning?”

“We’re gonna give ‘em a show.”

==

When Vyn opened the front door to their house, he was met with the rather hot welcome of flashing lights, towering video cameras, fully-dressed reporters and papparazzis in all black. He could make out the faint sirens coming from the police cars parked outside the estate, and he only hoped no one was able to round the bend leading to his recently-bombed garden.

“Vyn Richter, is it true there was a shoot-out here last night?”

“Vyn, did you have a quarrel with Mr. von Hagen?”

“Vyn, the people are curious—is divorce on the table yet?”

“Are you and Mr. von Hagen are going to be available in the marriage market again?”

“Vyn, rumors say that you and Mr. von Hagen are involved in matters of Mafia and secret services. Is that true?”

“Vyn, are you pregnant?”

His eyed widened. “I beg your pardon?”

“VYN!”

If he really ought to be true to his role of being a… babygirl who would pretend to be lightheaded or unwell after coming across crazy reporters with no sense of privacy, he would’ve done it after a few more moments or so. However Vyn truly was made unwell by said blinding lights and mad interviewers, and by instinct he pressed a palm against his temple and leaned against the doorframe, suddenly dizzy at the commotion. “Please…”

“Give him space, everyone. Move, move!”

Oh, dear. Thank goodness for Captain Morgan, he thought as Darius practically shoved the reporters out of the way as he reached for Vyn. A strong hand gripped him by the arm, enough to steady his slowly unstable body. “You okay, Richter?”

“von Hagen,” he corrected. “And not quite, Captain.”

“You can hold onto me,” he said, then faced the crowd of reporters again, “stop it with the cameras. If I see another shot I’ll have you all arrested—”

“You better listen to him.” Marius stepped beside Vyn, and in a heartbeat slipped his arm around his huband’s slender waist. Vyn felt his cheeks grow warm at the feeling of Marius’ hand holding him around the waist, in front of all these people—not to mention he was only wearing a green button top and Marius only in his pajamas. Thank god the cameras had stopped—courtesy by Darius who threatened an arrest—because those dark red hickeys and bite marks were clearer than the clearest of blue skies.

This man, Vyn thought as he leaned against Marius’ chest, he really likes to show off, doesn’t he?

He tried to hide a chuckle. It was true Marius loved to show off, but he loved it most when Marius showed him off for everyone to see, for everyone to know who owned him. At this moment, the message was pretty clear. Even the most senseless person would make sense what Marius wanted to say—that Vyn was his, and Marius was Vyn’s. It was written all over the young von Hagen: from the smirk on his lips, the red marks on his exposed chest. The top which covered Vyn’s probably hickey-filled body.

And so Vyn acted the part, pretending to be nauseous as he rested his head against his husband’s shoulder this time, and hooking his arm around Marius’. “I am not feeling very well…”

Marius squeezed his waist gently. “I’ll get you inside,” he said, and Vyn nodded faintly. Marius then turned to Captain Morgan, who was staring at them rather incredulously. It was conspicuous he never wanted to be here, to witness all this—he’d rather spend the day fucking Artem. “Sorry, Cap. I’ll give you a call and help you fix our mess. For now…” he paused and gestured to an exhausted Vyn, “my husband needs rest. You’ll handle this for now, yeah?”

Darius sighed, massaging his temples. “Yes. I’ll also let Artem know.”

“You better go home to him. He was pretty pissed with us this morning.”

“And whose fault is that, Mr. von Hagen?”

“Ehh ~” Marius pouted, but before he could say another word Darius asked, “What am I going to report? There were a lot of noise complaints. Some said it sounded like a grenade.”

“The answer is right in front of you.” Marius winked. “You see, this is what happens when you’re away for work too long. You tend to really, really miss your husband…”

Darius wanted to roll his eyes—no, he wanted to punch Marius. Does this brat really expect me to write ‘very loud, earth-shattering sex’ as the reason for those noise complaints?

Whatever could he do, though? He couldn’t possibly deny the Marius von Hagen of all people. Besides, he was not anointed as the newest NXX member for him to report Marius and Vyn just like that. Fine—he was going to write that unreasonable reason.

Marius seemed to know Darius was not going to deny him, and so the captain was met with the von Hagen’s signature, youthful grin that seemed to say: Hehe, you can’t deny me, can you?

Darius eyed Vyn one more time. He didn’t seem as sick as he appeared, but Darius knew he was indeed exhausted. However he wondered, as he waved the couple goodbye and ordered the reporters and paparazzis to keep out lest they get arrested, how can Richter—er, von Hagen—be this radiant after that violent shoot-out?

The moment Marius closed the door, Vyn muttered:

“Tell Vincent to arrange you an appointment with me,” he said, almost half-moaned, “based on my findings last evening, you need psychiatric help.”

… This hypocrite!

[vyntilador]

Hi It's me from the Tiktok,I Have this Headcanon On Tot Boys Being a Dad Like I'm Sure Artem is gonna Spoil His Children ESPECIALLY Marius Like The moment he hears His Child Mumbling About "Wow This Kitty plushie looks cute" and He be Like "Then Get em" he might Also Buy the Whole Store(I wish a had a marius in my life) AND for Luke,Like i think he's gonna be A Chill Dad yk Like Setting a prank together with his child and do cute Stuff y'all Mostly go out to Have a Family Bonding Since Luke is Busy being a Detective (a hot One) and lastly Vyn i think He's the Type of that Who Enjoy Reading his Children a Story When it's Bedtime and he's the type to also Gossip with his Children like "Dad there's this Kid-" and he go like "C'mere Tell me all about Ur school and stuff" LIKE ISN'T CUTEEE and While Us Just Watching Them Interact and Smiling like an Idiot, anyways This is just What i had in mind ofc ur free to Say no to my Idea But Yeah That's All,Hope you have a good Rest!🖤

Father, May I?

NXX boys as dads</333

————————————

Genre: fluff ofc but I'm adding angst parts after every story bcs it's my specialty duhh(I WAS BORED SORRYYY)

A/N: BESTIE UR A GENIUS THIS IS RLLY CUTE TOO😭😭😭 IMMA HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS ONE TYVM SRY IF I REPLY TOO LATE SCHEDULES PRETTY TIGHT</333 also i might make this into 2 parts bcs it might take long idk depends if I finish this quickly!! Sorry for the wait<3

Vyn Richter

This man is literally A DUKE of a kingdom LITERALLY LOOK INTO MY EYES AND TELL ME HE WONT GO ALL OUT FOR HIS PRINCESS</333

He doesn't rlly flex it often in the stories (except when he literally showed to their faces that only he had an invitation to that one Pluto cruise ship lmao

Speaking of cruise ships, he'd definitely be renting/buying a whole cruise ship for your daughter's birthday or if she's not into those, he'll arrange for her birthday party in the ballroom in their castle/family mansion in Svart

Honestly, he never wanted to ever come back to Svart if it wasn't for his little princess</33

You told her a bedtime story saying that her dad is a king and you're actually a queen which makes your daughter a princess

The story was supposed to make her sleepy but she ended up getting too excited and literally begging her father(Vyn) if they can come to their castle (he didn't agree at first, hesitant onto how the people of Svart and most importantly, his father woulf react but who cares his child wanted to go there so why not🙄)

Yeah with that said, after that, he just went on a spoiling spree on his daughter but he won't overdo it ofc🤷‍♀️ He doesn't want her to turn into someone condescending and just a bad person as a whole and with that kind of raising technique of his, she grows up into such a sweet girl and he sometimes can't help but smile stupidly with how his daughter resembles her mom so much 😭

Angst part

Ok so me and a friend of mine had this hc where like I forgot most of it but it was just how if Vyn decides to leave you and come back to Svart (he doesn't know that you have a child together so u ended up raising your daughter alone)

Can you imagine the shock on his face when he passes by the house he used to live with you in Stellis, only to see you playing in the rose filled garden with a little girl

You turn around to the sound of your name being called, hesitant but you still did it as you recognized his voice. He stood in front of you in formal attire, looking down on you with a soft glimmer in his eyes, seemingly shocked and feeling guilty

He asks you why you didn't tell him about your daughter but you immediately interrupted him saying that he never gave you a chance to speak

If you let him in your lives again, he'll make sure that his daughter lives the best life, guilty with how he almost made her live the same childhood as him</3

But even after the second chance you gave him, you desperately picked up the broken pieces of your heart from the ground as you tear up at the sight of the father of your children and the King of Svart, Vyn, being wedded to a woman on equal footing as him.

Artem Wing

Mkay so first of all, uhm TWINS?? Lets say it's a boy and a girl. Well the girl resembles you in EVERY way possible. She's stubborn asf but determined with whatever she puts her mind into. She sometimes pushes his brother into doing stuff he loves like inspiring him yk??

Her brother tho, she's like Artem lmao💀 He's usually calm and silent in a corner somewhere doing arts and crafts while his sister is in the middle of the room singing twinkle twinkle little stars from the bottom of her heart

You'd think that the sister would be the protector between the two of em but it's actually your son. He's kinda timid and shy but he won't tolerate any unjust actions towards his dear sister</3 (You nudge Artem and chuckle at how much your son resembled your husband</33)

When it comes to what your children want, like toys, clothes etc, I wouldn't say that he'll buy anything they want (that's a lie he actually buys them whatever they want when you're not within the vicinity lmao)

It usually goes like this, your daughter is asking Artem to buy both of em something because their friends have it and he'll usually refuse when you're there but the moment you go out to buy groceries, you'd just end up dropping the bags of grocery you had with you the moment you come home as you lay your eyes on the newly bought bikes that looks expensive asf in front of your home LMAOOOO

Yall remember that one personal story where he spent millions for us during the investigation?? He'd def do that to you and your children

They aren't even born yet and he's already having your house renovated for their rooms, already buying shit ton of toys, going to the mall ONLY for food and suddenly, hes calling you over to ask if this little baby onesie would look cute on your children</3

There is no Angst part. I mean, ITS LITERALLY ARTEM WING. HES THE GREENEST OF THE GREEN FLAGS MY BOY HAS NO FLAWS.

Luke Pearce

Also twins ngl. Energetic ones at that

Twin girls?? Absolutely (do yall know the fanarts of Lukerosa with this daughter named xiaxia😭😭😭)

Well lets just pretend theres two xiaxia's here

Anyway, he's like those uncle/grandmas that give you chocolate or money in secret when your parents aren't looking

Like maybe before you all eat dinner, daughter 1 is already hungry and is sulking bcs you didnt let her have a bite of the ice cream and here comes papa Luke to the rescue, passing her a piece of chocolate discreetly 😭

Gives your daughters piggy back rides especially when going out to family night outs or when just going to the park to have a little picnic. Or at weekend nights when you're both not working, you're all in the living room laughing softly at the 3 of em seeing them dance in the middle of the room to some children's music

OH AND ARRON IS DEFINITELY SUCH A CUTE UNCLE TO THEM OMGGG hes giving them plushies, money...toy guns..(as soon as Luke found out about it, he's immediately banned from coming over lmao/j)

Hes vv soft to his princesses but he isn't too soft that he gives them everything. I'm not rlly sure but I think he'd like practice disciple with wanting stuff like, 'Do you want the chocolate or the animal plushie? If you get the chocolate, it wouldn't last very long but if you get the plushie, you'll have it forever!'

Goes to your childhood home sometimes to hang out in the attic where you and Luke used to play in and introduces your girls to Sherlock Holmes</3

(DRESSES THEM UP AS JOHN WATSON N SHERLOCK HOLMES😭😭😭😭)

Just the best dad overall tbh

Angst part<333

He was very hesitant with having children with you with the thing abt his life and his line of work but the moment that he sees the smile on your face slowly dissipate and turn into a look of gloom, he feels guilty for even hesitating for a moment and immediately hugs you

He knows he won't be around for a while so even if he really wants to give your children proper discipline, there are moments where he just spoils them to their hearts content

Sometimes at night, he sits alone in the balcony of your own home and he smiles softly knowing that you now have little angels to look after you once the time comes.

The burden of all of these dawns on him tho. Like, what would your daughters feel like when they realize their dad's gone? What if his work as a spy results in his family getting hurt? Or worse, what if one of them gets pulled into the NXX stuff?

There are times where guilt and despair overwhelms him so pls go easy on him amd always give him cuddles<33

Your touch used to bring him comfort but why is it that when you brushed your hand against his face to wipe his tears away as you laid half conscious in his arms, it brought an overwhelming sense of fear and guilt?

He hugs your body closer to him as tears fell continously from his face, hurting at how his princesses will probably have to grow up without parents.

Marius von Hagen

He spoils them. No negotiations, no questions asked.

He has a son too btw!! (his son hates him lmao)

Your son hates it when his dad hogs or steals all your attention which then ends up having a mini Marius sulking and hugging your legs asking you with a pout if you love Marius more than him LMAOOOO

I forgot where I read this but I think its the personal story???? idk i forgot Where the cat sneaks in to his home and just hates him overall

Your son would def wanna keep the cat and claim that the cat is now his "accomplice"

Yea but with all that aside, Marius is definitely soft for his son</333 He inherited everything of his dad but he has your eyes which makes him more vulnerable to puppy dog eyes of your son when he asks his dad to get him something

He's well aware of his footing in society so he knows how to stand up to himself well. Or if paparazzi surrounds you, poor baby would scream at them and tell them how he hates them for making his mom(you) have a hard time

Surprisingly, the reporters feel bad and start making way for the three of you to go home

Marius is definitely proud of him for standing up for himself and his mom. Speaking of that, he's another sucker for his kid when you're away. You could literally blink and the moment you open your eyes again, there's suddenly a mountain of toys around u lmao

Angst part

Marius is also very aware of how dangerous it is to live in front of the camera and being exposed to the judging eyes of the public so he tries his absolute best to keep you both safe. Including with scandals, where it's said that PAX CEO Marius von Hagen is having an affair with someone else while having a family of his own. His heart breaks into a million pieces as he looks down on his son thats literally crying and hitting his leg with little to no force because of how hard he was crying.

Hes cursing his own dad on why he has the guts to make u cry like that. His last straw snaps as tears swell into his own eyes as he bends down to pick up your crying son and he hugs him tightly.

He considered leaving PAX and having someone else run it seeing how bad of an effect it left to his family but you begged him to stay there seeing how important the company is but what you didnt expect was that he'll someday put his company first before his family.

A/N:I think i kept turning away from the og plot im so sorry😭😭😭 i made this at 12 last night bcs i couldnt sleep so m sorry if it does look too good💀💀

I also just went with it and did all of em lmao I WAS ALSO HUNGRY WHILE MAKING THIS SO THATS PROLLY WHY I WAS STRAYIMG FROM THE PLOT LMAOOOOO

[ladylooch]

imagine baby winnie pulling at david’s mustache

"Winnie the Poooooh!" David calls excitedly as he walks into the backyard of Connor and Lucie's home. "How is my favorite baby!?"

Stella Wood gasps. Davey holds his hands up in surrender.

"You are a big girl, Stell. All good, okay?" Stella smirks, then goes back to where she is building her newest lego set. Across the room, Winnie Wood pushes the bottle away that her dad is trying to put back into her mouth. Connor holds it up to Davey, along with his chunky, cabbage patch of a baby.

"Win, you are the bees knees!" Davey exclaims gathering the baby and the bottle.

He supports her with one strong arm, cupping her thick thigh to keep her up while he helps Mack haul in more groceries for family dinner. They're having a whole day of hanging around and eating delicious foods. Each adult is responsible for a dish. Whoever can get Stella to eat the most of their dish wins bragging rights until the next dinner. Lio has already declared himself victorious. They all reminded him Kraft Mac and Cheese wasn't gonna count.

"Let's get you some more of this good stuff. Help you grow big and strong so you can play legos with Stelly soon." David murmurs, giving Winnie back her bottle. She happily sucks it back into her mouth.

"Uncy Davey! Can you help me with my legos?!" Stella asks. "I'm having trouble."

"Well, if you're having trouble, I'm gonna be no help. We should ask the smartest person in the room... Mackncheese?"

"Suck up." Mack chuckles. "I gotta work on my dish! We can't all put out cheese and crackers and call it a win."

"Hey! I made my own pickle- OW!" Davey suddenly yells. All the adults in the room turn quickly, then laugh at the grip Winnie has on the hairs of David's thick mustache. Luckily, her grip slips because the hairs aren't long enough for her to continue to fist on. Winnie laughs at the funny way his mustache moves as he tries to stretch out his upper lip. "That was no joke, Win." He rubs at his upper lip. "No wonder your daddy can't grow a stache." David smirks.

"Wow." Connor says, tongue in his bottom lip as he looks across the room at him. "Baby, get him again! Defend my honor!"

The adults laugh. David holds Winnie jokingly at an arms length as she curls up into a squat, grabbing at her chubby feet. She squeals. Stella squeals and the room is lost to a fit of giggles just as Savannah and Lio walk in next.

"Too much fun in here!" Lio calls. "Tone it down!"

"Buzzkill." Mack boos him as he gives her a hug. "Lio! We said no Kraft!" Mack smacks his chest, seeing the blue box tucked into the canvas bag. "Foul!"

"You're outta here!" Connor yells.

"I don't know why you are all fighting!" Stella yells over the crowd. "You know I'm just gonna pick auntie Sav."

[the-bird-and-the-flute]

Marius - Tears of Themis (ToT) - You Shall Be Mine!

Pairing: female reader x Marius

Warnings: angst, make out

Word count: 2438

A/N: okay, that was not the fic I was writing for marius bday, but let's all pretend it is. I honestly can't believe it took me 4 months to finish this ahaha

“Oh my, I’m so excited! My first art class with the one and only Marius von Hagen! I'll not lose this opportunity! He shall be mine!” you confidently say it to reassure yourself.

“Definitely! Keep your hopes high and you will get him! If Ms. Lauren said so, it will happen!”

“I hope so Amy. Because she did get it right that you were going to marry your now husband.”

“I know, right? She is indeed a great fortune teller.”

“What commotion is that over there? I think it’s close to my classroom. I’ll go check it out. See you later, Amy.”

“See ya!”

You head towards the commotion near your classroom to find out that this chaos was caused by Mr. von Hagen himself. Several women were screaming and some even fainted. All of them are your classmates by the way.

You were excited to finally get a chance to see in person the bachelor Ms. Lauren said it was going to belong to you, but, apparently, other women also had the same idea.

“I was so inspired to draw anything just to get a chance to talk to him, but look at this-”

With no other option, you go to class. At the end of it, Marius asked all the students to show him their drawings, and as expected, they were all in line fighting to see and interact with the youngest von Hagen first-hand.

It’s finally your turn to show your art, however, your excitement is no longer there, but you still put on your best smile in respect of Marius efforts to teach a bunch of noobies to draw something in only one class.

You briefly talk to Marius, he gives you a few suggestions to improve your art and after thanking him, you pack your stuff up to go home. While you are leaving Stellis University, you spot a few of your classmates chatting and approach them to ask their impressions about Marius and the reason why they decided to apply to his course.

Apparently, none of them was there because the fortune teller told them they would marry Marius. But, on the other hand, they told you that they recently saw an article in the most famous gossip magazine that a von Hagen expert affirmed that Marius wants to settle down for good, after years of being involved with several women.

The von Hagen youngest heir is no longer that young, but he still is the most eligible bachelor in Stellis. Some say that nowadays there are men at the age of 20 who are the new deal, but if those polls are indeed accurate, women still think that there is no one like 40-year-old Marius.

A week later, you are in his class, but, once more, there is no progress. It’s impossible to talk to Marius. You feel defeated and unable to come up with a plan B.

“I shouldn’t have trusted Ms. Lauren, but she hit the nail on the head when she specifically said who Amy was going to marry. I guess the seer just got lucky, although, at that time, Amy didn’t even know her now-future husband.”

“But you know what? I’ll talk to her again. Let’s see if she will have the courage to lie to me again after I tell her there are hundreds of women trying to seduce Marius.”

It’s still early, so you head to Ms. Lauren’s booth at Stellis Park for another appointment.

“Welcome, dear. It’s so nice to see you again. How is your friend Amy doing?”

“Thank you for having me. She is doing great. I suppose you know why I’m here, right?”

“Hehe, don’t tell me that you already gave up, sweety?”

“Did you read that article about Mr. von Hagen? Coincidentally, it was not long after I first came here.”

“I did not. What was it about?”

*sigh* “A supposedly von Hagen expert said he wants to get married for real."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's good news then! The cards don't lie."

"So you still believe he will be mine?”

“Of course, dear. I can see your souls are connected. But you seem dispirited. Be patient, okay?”

“Yeah…”

You left the appointment, but you’re still gloomy. You decide to buy an ice cream to cheer you up while you ponder on what to do from now on.

“I don’t think I should waste my time with Ms. Lauren. As I expected, she kept insisting I would marry a von Hagen. You know what? I’ll just focus on my art classes. It’s a lifetime opportunity for a Z fan like me.”

“Ohh… that’s actually an excellent idea. Focusing on your class, I mean.”

“Huh?”

You turn around to see Marius looking at you leaning on a nearby tree in the park.

“Shit… How much did you hear? Er… I mean… Nevermind. I… I better get going. I have to work tomorrow, so… Bye, Mr. von Hagen!”

You walk as fast as you can without looking back, but something tells you that he is making fun of you while you helplessly try to run away from him.

Outside the park, you finally stop for a moment to breathe properly. There is no sign of Marius nearby, so you finally allow yourself to relax leaning on a wall.

It’s a lovely sunny Saturday, the park is crowded, probably hundreds of people coming and going, but your mind is elsewhere. It seems that the more you try to approach Marius, the more bad luck you get.

In the end, you just feel frustrated that you wasted your money AGAIN to see the fortune teller, who basically said the same damn thing. And to make things worse, now your professor is aware that you are a terrible student who is only there to try to hook up with him.

A moment of clarity comes to your mind, and you realize that although you were now planning to just take his classes with no ulterior reason, Marius may expel you from his class as he already knows you are just wasting his time.

“Fuck… How did I manage to ruin everything so fast? I’m probably the worst stalker Stellis has ever seen.”

“ But- Wait! I can fix this. I KNOW! I’ll find him, apologize, and ask him to replace me with another student. I just took two classes so I’m sure he can find another person willing to join in the remaining classes, right? At least, there is a chance he won’t think I’m a gold digger.”

Resolute, you go back to where he saw you. Your ice cream melted at this point, but you just don’t care and eat all of it to give you the extra boost you need to face him again.

Finally, Lady Luck smiled on you. Marius is still there. It seems he is alone, so you take the chance to approach him before you change your mind.

“Ahem… Mr. von Hagen… Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Oh… I didn’t think you’d come back. Don’t tell me that you are here to ask me out…” says the bachelor with a teasing smile.

“No! I’m so sorry about that. I just came to apologize for earlier and also well…”

After explaining your situation…

“I see… I don’t need your apology though. You know, what? I know how you can make up for what you have done.”

“What?”

“As you claim to like Z so much, you’ll help my assistant Vincent to organize the following exhibition we're planning. Then we'll be even as you took a place from someone who might actually come to study.”

One week later, instead of going to your class, you head to the exhibition’s location to help Vincent. This is your last day working with Marius' assistant. Since Monday, you have been visiting the location after work to help with what you could.

You had more fun there than you imagined. Having a chance to see so many captivating paintings and sculptures is only for a privileged few.

“And that’s the last one. I think I’m done here, Vincent.”

“Thank you so much, lady. Master Marius will be pleased to see everything is ready for tonight.”

“I hope so, I don’t wanna get in trouble again hahaha.”

“Hehe, don’t worry, you did a terrific job. By the way, here is the ticket for tonight.”

“Huh?”

“What? Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t… I was not expecting this, Vincent.”

“Huh? But that’s just a thank-you gift for your hard work. I thought you liked Master’s work.”

“O-Of course I do! It’s just that… I’m sorry, Vincent. I really can’t accept it. I hope you understand.”

“But… *sigh* Okay, lady. If you change your mind please let me know. You can still enter tonight without a ticket.”

“Thanks. Well, it’s time for me to go. It was a pleasure working with you, Vincent. Good luck.”

“Likewise.”

You nod to Vincent apologetically because deep inside you know you will not attend the event. You mentally thank Vincent for being so understanding. You haven’t seen Marius since he offered you this position to work with them to organize the event. It turned out that Marius even paid you to work there, even though he didn’t need to.

You take the money to treat yourself in a restaurant of your liking to chill. You have this sense of accomplishment and relief that you can close this Marius chapter in your life and move on from that crazy idea you’d marry him.

The following days would have passed by smoothly if it wasn’t for Mr. von Hagen's regular presence watching you leave work. The first time you saw him, you just couldn’t believe it. You had to look twice to make sure you were not seeing things. He was certainly looking at you inside of his car. That unmistakable seductive smile that probably all women in Stellis have seen at least once on TV or in person.

So many theories crossed your mind of why he was doing that, but you tried your best to ignore his presence. He never approached or got out of his car. Vincent also didn’t text you to ask for anything, so you were clueless at this point.

You tried to ignore him for a week, but it got to a point that you could no longer pretend he was not there, so you finally decided to question the man.

“Good night, Mr. von Hagen, may I know what’s the matter?”

“Oh, good night. What a coincidence, huh? I was just passing by. Do you work here by chance?”, he says playfully as if it was not a straight-up lie.

“Yeah, what a coincidence indeed. I do work here. Do you have a meeting with someone from my work?”

“Not really. But as we are already here, why don’t you come on in so we can chat a bit?”

Sighing, you enter his car. Marius laughs as if he was enjoying this whole thing. Before you can ask again what’s his problem, he shows you the fortune teller’s business card.

“What? How did you get this card?!”

“I think you are asking the wrong question here, missy. You should ask me what I was doing that day at the park. I was expecting you to figure it out, but apparently, you are too polite to ask anything about my personal life.”

“Well… after what I did it would be awkward to ask you that.”

“If you were curious enough we could be in a totally different situation now, missy.”

*sigh* “It can’t be helped. I’ll have to tell you. I also got an appointment with Ms. Lauren that day.”

“WHATTTT?! For real?”

“Why are you surprised?”

“Er… I don’t know, you don’t see the type of person who would pay for a fortune teller’s service.”

“Hehe, maybe you are right. The thing is, I was kinda bored walking at the park a few months ago and decided to give it a try just to see what she would tell me about my future.”

“I asked her about my love life and she had the audacity to tell me I would finally get married and that my future wife was one of her client' friend. Just like you that day, I didn’t take that seriously, but deep inside I wished she was right.”

“Surprisingly, not long after I talked to her, I saw you around here chatting with your friend when I was driving home, and you caught my attention. Since then, I’ve been watching you closely. The more I observed you, the more interested I got, to the point I decided to invest in OUR future. So I’ve been trying to lure you as you were so dense.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Hahaha, that’s right, missy. I paid the fortune teller to tell you what I wanted. That day you saw me at the park I was going to thank her as she indeed brought you to me.”

“I was a bit concerned though when she told me you were discouraged to stalk me when you heard about that interview I gave and that most women in our class were there because of that. At the time, I was very frustrated about my personal life, so I said that to mock the interviewer. I have always lied about my private life to those journalists, so it never occurred to me this would shy you away from me.”

“As a von Hagen, I love to be challenged and I love to be surprised as well. So when I found out you went to her booth, I was soo excited to see if you were going to make a move.”

Unable to process what you just heard, you get in shock for a moment. Seeing you were not reacting, Marius makes his move, kissing your lips with no hesitation. Open-eyed, you look at him in disbelief, trying to mumble something, but he just keeps going and going until you finally give in to his charms.

Almost out of breath, the two of you stop for a second. There is no hint of embarrassment on you or Marius' faces. It felt so right that there was no regret. On the contrary, your eyes lock with his, giving him the answer he needed. He goes for it again. But, this time, you’re ready to enjoy every second of it, letting him touch you as he pleases. All the chagrin, desperation and bashfulness you felt in the past few weeks finally paid off. Marius von Hagen will indeed be yours.

[rosa-qing]

Marius Von Hagen X F! Reader

Notes : Ambiguous Period

In one of the prestige houses in Stellis, a party was being held. One of the invited guests was Marius.

His car arrived caught the attention of everyone. Camera flashes as he came out of the car. He reached out his hand towards you in which you hurriedly grabbed it.

Standing beside him as you wear a purple off the shoulder gown, while Marius was wearing his usual suit.

His arms wrapped arms around your waists as they took photos.

Getting enough of it you both head inside the venue.

“I'm glad you could come Mr. Von Hagen” a man wearing a neatly black suit approached them. The man extends his hand towards him

"It was my pleasure, thank you for inviting us" Marius smile and shook his hands.

“May I ask is she your?” The man asks

You took a glance at him waiting for his answer. He tightens his grip on your waists as he pulls you a bit closer.

"My date" He smiled and looked at you

The man didn't press anymore question, instead he talked about the collaboration they want from PAX.

Watching them talk about all the business stuff but your mind still wonders about the question earlier.

Why just hearing the word date makes your chests hurt.

Marius saw you on a dazed so leaned down asking if you're okay.

"Uhum, I just need to get some drink do you want one" She looked around finding the waiter carrying some drinks

"Jie-, I mean just one glass will do" Marius almost slip and forgot he's at a party. He loosens his grip on your waists so you can leave.

Walking away from them, you look back and saw Marius seriously talking with others. Made you realize how completely different he is when he's with you.

The cornered of your lips raised as your heart skips a beat. You shake your head, dismissing the thought immediately.

You love him but what are the odds that he loved you back. A sigh left your lips, you turn back around and walk away.

Walking around until you ended up at a beautiful garden. Roses and lilies were all in full bloom, you stared and awe while taking a step in.

Walking pass by a bench, you sat down. Closing your eyes feeling the cold wind passes you by.

"Jiejie" a familiar voiced called you, turning around you found walking towards you.

"Why are you here aren't you needed at the party"

He smiled and took a sit next to you

"Looking for my drinks" He teases you

You glared at him as his smile grew wider

"I was looking for you" he has that tender look in his eyes as his gaze lands on you. Feeling your heart beating fasts you looked away and changed the topic.

“Isn't this beautiful” a nervous laughed slip from your lips.

"Yeah it is" He answered

Turning around only to meet his gaze staring softly at you. While holding a red rose.

"May I"

You nod, as he places the red rose between your ears. His fingers gently traces down the corner of your cheeks. He leaned down, lessening the distance between the two of you.

You could feel your heart skipping a beat as the warmth spread through your cheeks. Instinctively you close your eyes waiting it to happened.

But only cold wind brushes by, you open your eyes only to see him smiling at you

"Marius Von Hagen, if you're here to play tricks on me then I'll be going"

You stood up and was about to walk away when suddenly he grabbed your arms pulling you towards him.

“Ma-” You wanted to call him out but he presses his lips against yours cutting you off.

Wrapping your arms around his neck as you get lost in his kiss.

“What took you so long” you asks breathlessly

"I was waiting for the perfect moment but jiejie seeing you look like makes me want to kiss you. It took-"

You put a finger between his lips, shushing him

"Just kiss me again" You pulled him down and kiss his lips. You both get lost in each other's lips

Surrounded by flowers and under the moonlight you shared the sweetest kiss.

[pollocamis]

Well. I love reading headcanons, and I don't think I saw anyone do this one yet, so I thought I'd do it myself. That being said, I present to you:

NXX AND SWEARING

or: when do they swear & how they react to swearing

Luke

he's very polite so he's not one to swear a lot

and most people think he doesn't bc of that

but he does occasionally in a casual way if among the right people

as in when he's telling Rosa about his day he might be like "my God I had a client today and you won't believe what this motherfucker did"

and yes it might sound surprising to hear he'd say anything remotely bad when Rosa's present but it's also worth mentioning they have a very intimate relationship even before they date

swearing can be a sign of intimacy right

anyway getting back on topic: he definitely swears under his breath whenever he gets hurt in a mission or when shit gets real

bc his job can be and will be stressing and what better way to unwind than dropping an f-bomb amirite

is not phased at all if Rosa swears (they lived together for so long, he's definitely heard her say some abominations)

Artem

you'd think he's at the "never swore before and refuses to do so" tier

but hear me out: he's actually done so before and will do it again

never publicly tho

he's very professional so none of his colleagues ever heard anything remotely resembling a swear coming from him (and they NEVER will.)

but when he's alone he'll probably gently do so if having a hard time in a case or feeling frustrated or in pain or whatever reason

and if his colleagues never heard him swear imagine Rosa

she'll NEVER. EVER. hear Artem swear

unless their dinamic changes a bit later on I'm not sure about this I play the global server :P

tho I don't think he'd feel very comfortable in doing so

now that I think about it, I guess he'd feel guilty or at least strange if anyone heard, especially considering they'd definitely be weird about it (WDYM **ARTEM WING** IS SAYING FU-)

if Rosa swore around him (which I don't think she'd do) he'd be confused and probably worried depending on the situation (the confusion stemming from the fact he's not used to hear ppl swearing unless it's someone blatantly trying to disrespect him)

(she isn't ofc)

Marius

regularly swears

I read "Gordon Ramsay's child" in a tier list and I'm laughing (unrelated)

he's very professional and polite when speaking to ppl in business bc let's be real who in their sane mind wouldn't be haha *sweats in Brazilian while looking at our current ruler*

but put him among close friends and this kid know no boundaries in language

in summary: it's situational and he knows exactly what situations he should and shouldn't do so

as a bonus his father probably also swears with him at home once he's reached a certain age, I don't get the strict language parent vibe from him

I believe he tones the swearing down to a minimum when he's talking with Rosa tho

yk gotta cause a good impression

but will swear if not directed at her like "Artem needs to stop licking Neil's balls lmao" (he'd DEFINITELY say stuff like this if not for censoring)

when she does it back tho he's shocked for a sec but is back on track right away

only for the first few times tho, after that he knows what to expect

Vyn

he either doesn't know swear words on whatever language Stellis speaks or simply refuses to swear

either way he doesn't

at least not that we know of...

nah he doesn't

he's at the tier "has not sworn before but can if so desired" except he still hasn't desired to do so

he's had a strict upbringing as a prince so that's probably why

and also his thing with flaws yk he probably considers bad language a flaw

oh if only he knew about famous Brazilian poet (/j) Cris Nocolotti and her song that goes "when you say 'get fucked' for the first time/ you will retake the reins of your life in your hands" (loose translation)

if Rosa swore around him (which I don't think she'd do especially since she's calls him Doctor Richter after they're dating like come ON) he'd be amused actually (again depending on the situation)

yes I did say he thinks bad laguage = flaw but he seems to like seeing Rosa's multiple sides so there's that

Rosa

she does.

let's be real have you read those stories she's in

she's almost dying every five seconds

if she's never swore in any of those moments she's the most polite girl in the entire world

or simply already dead inside

anyway I don't think she cares a lot if she's not in a professional setting

or trying to cause a good impression ofc

or around someone who doesn't swear, I feel like she'd respect the other person's wishes (hence my thoughts on her w/ Artem/Vyn)

just like Marius: it's situational and she knows the right places

she doesn't get mad at people swearing tho and will be ok with the nxx boys swearing with her

now I wonder when hearing Artem/Vyn swear would she be amused or worried

probably both

[samsspambox]

the nxx villain au you didn't need, but i'll give it to you anyway bc it won't leave me alone

now, stellis is a place with a shit load of crime and tbh, are you sure you wanna invest into the real estate market here? anyway, what if our gaggle of hot protagonists were actually villains? you know, more in theme with the city they live in? i will be offering up some different options for them to be different types of villains in part bc maybe you want them to be morally grey, but also bc i cant decide what villain they should be.

be warned: will be talking about stuff villains do (death, drugs..) so read with caution if you're uncomfortable with this stuff!

red flags aside: here we go!

Luke

okay so going from least morally grey, i think this mf could be a vigilante

hear me out, he already has this innate sense of justice if he joined the nsb (well,, he was recruited when he was 16/17 so did he really join by his own volition?)

anyway

vigilante pearce but he doesn't hold back the punches bc sometimes, stopping someone means getting blood on your hands

it also fits well with his lone wolf tendencies we see in chapter one where he literally shuts off the fucking coms while investigating something

sub point: assassin for hire luke pearce

no moral compass, just having a target and ending the target (:

i also think he could a lab rat/field agent combo for a counter intelligence agency that the nsb doesn't fuck with

or alternatively: what if the nsb didn't find luke but herrison did?

he could be one of the fuckers working on the nxx drug but also? what if he went out and tested it unsuspecting people?? a whole ass menace to society

this one is kinda tangential but: underground mass drugs/arms distribution luke pearce

mob king luke pearce? mob king luke pearce.

i mean hes already in this space in game where he doesn't want mc to see him as raven bc that's the 'worst version of him' so what if, fuck it, he embraces that?

with his bio-engineering knowledge he could be the one making the drugs and save on the labor lmaooo

Vyn

fake psychic

LMAOO HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT

he can easily read people and based on that he can tell them what they want to hear (no, this isn't me plugging the mentalist as a show you should watch, stfu)

anyway he has a flair for the dramatics and can perform magic tricks too, you could put him in a daytime television show and he could make millions

similarly about reading people i could see him being an interrogator but like,, the shady type

they type that if you're held hostage would rip you to shreds and he wouldn't even have to touch you

he can also serve as a type of lie detector??? again, vyn would be pretty good at reading people

here's a big one: traitor to svart

he already hates the place and he's basically given a position of power if he stays

he wouldn't be good at reading people in this one bc he didn't go to school for psych, he focused more on how to run a country

but i feel like vyn just has this really good talent for reading people regardless of training

anyway he kinda just,,, let's people fuck over svart and everyone is none the wiser

Marius

he could be an art thief tbh

i'm not talking about copying paintings— well he could do that as a side hustle but no— i mean like actually going in and stealing paintings

he could resell them under the guise of 'i found this stolen artwork and i just had to save it, you know? now give me money'

he wouldn't even be held as a villain he'd be a fucking hero

next one: he's the son of a person with a conglomerate empire do i really need to say more /j

no but fr him as a villain could just be him not caring for what's happening in the compay

who's to say he wasn't the one to send giann off bc he wanted the company? (yes i am implying that marius had giann killed, this is a villain au)

another one who could be a good candidate for a mob boss but here's the catch: this fucker would also be involved in politics

after all, no one can come after you if you make laws that prevent people from coming after you!

tax fraud, disappearing people, parties, admission fraud, you name it. he's probably done it. no one can catch him tho (:

Artem

listen i mean this from the bottom of my heart and as an artem stan: he's boring.

there's no feasible way for him to become a villain without outside incentives. he's literally one of the least corruptible people in the game, how do we get him to be a villain?

well, we blackmail him. we force him to be a villain.

see, arty will defend his clients to the bitter end. what if he pulls a baldr and that also means 'by any means necessary'? just one time wouldn't hurt, right?

wrong. now ingrid roseworth has some pretty incriminating stuff on artem, but if he signed on with baldr she wouldn't release that stuff

oh he wants to take them to court? pity, then the whole world will know what he did without them even lifting a finger.

so he goes to baldr. it just snowballs from there until he's bribing his own father. there's no rest for the wicked, after all

this is literally the only way i can see artem go villain. he's too straight-laced to actually become a villain and he believes too much in justice

well, he can also go vigilante but again, his moral code wouldn't allow him to do it.

would they be in a group? i don't think so?? i'm like 90% sure that all of them being villains would mean they would clash heads often enough, so no. if i were to put them in a group tho?

id go with assassin luke, traitor vyn, bad ceo von hagen, and then blackmailed artem. they're all plotting the fall of svart so that marius could buy his own country. vyn doesn't care what happens to the place, it isn't home to him. marius just wants a country. luke is there bc he's getting paid and so is artem, though he'd use the fall of svart as blackmail to ceo von hagen, since it was planned from the beginning.

and yeah. those are my thoughts for a villain au involving the nxx! have fun <3

[arvadthecursed]

My parents keep wanting Stella to come upstairs and stuff and while I totally get it, I also just... don't want that? I know I'm gonna sound selfish. But she's my cat. She sleeps above my head every night. We play together, we snuggle, I feed her, water her, take care of the litter. She "watches" TV with me while I wind down for the night. She greets me every time I walk in the door. Like, she's MY cat. I love her so much and I treasure the bond we have.

I also just... Worry about her health. So for a quick TLDR, Junebug hates Stella. He was keeping her from using the litter boxes, leading to her using the couch and later my sister's bed (she was in my sister's room) as places to potty because Bug literally would chase her out of the boxes. This is why I took Stella into my room, because of Bug's animosity toward her. (To be clear! I am not blaming Bug, he's a cat.) But my mom refuses to believe that Junebug would do that, even though me and my dad have both told her so.

When Stella gets stressed, she has accidents. She's had a couple in my room, once when Declan got in and later when my parents left a window open and the neighbor was doing noisy construction. And if my parents force her upstairs with Bug, and he continues his behavior, and she has an accident, it wouldn't be her fault. But my mom was really upset about my sister's bed, it's probably ruined. But she also won't admit or acknowledge that Bug made it so Stelly couldn't use the litter box!!

another TLDR, when I was like 4 my parents got me a cat. The cat loved my mom, but the kitty peed in the sink once, and my mom immediately took her to the pound. I don't think my mom would take Stella away because I'm an adult now and I'd go get her back (and my dad would back me up), but I worry her expectations are... not realistic for Stella.

Stella is perfectly happy in my room. I worry that needlessly stressing her out will cause a lot of friction for everyone. I just love Stelly so so much and all I want is her happiness and her health. And I know it's selfish to want to keep her all to myself but she's truly MY cat, the only pet I've had that has truly, 100% been mine.

My parents worry she's "locked away" in my room but like, she's got food, water, a litter box, and I have plenty of toys for her. She's an older cat too, so she spends most of her time just chilling anyway. It's not like I'm keeping her in a tiny cage. My room is pretty big, about the size of a small-to-medium dorm room. She has a cat tree to look out the window if she wants. She's not locked up!

Idk. Sorry for the big long weird ramble. I just love Stella so much and I don't want her to be hurt by Bug (he has knicked her nose before), and I don't want her to be tormented by being taken out of where she feels safe. She's my little angel.

[aimixx]

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I love you all so much and for liking my content! Thank you so much for your support I'm giving yall a bouquet of flowers and a basket of rubber ducks<33

I wanted to do the ship your moots thing because it's so cute and also Valentine's day! WISHING ALL MY MOOTS HAPPY VALENTINE'S MWAH MWAH ILY ALL SO MUCH

Starting with my bff @baeshijima

Soph, you fr are a blessing in my life and I'm so happy that we met and became such great friends! No amount of words can describe how much I love and appreciate you. I still remember how we met through me sending you asks and we instantly became besties. Now look at us, a healthy friendship and we love our fictional men with angst, but fr tho I see you as a little sister and I'm so happy and thankful for this. Thank you so much for always being there for me, I'll always be here for you if you need anything bff I got you<33

Have your Valentine's day date with Alhaitham!

You would expect Alhaitham to not care about things like Valentine's day, but he does. Ever since you two started dating and he started to care about all the things you care about, your interests, hobbies and many more. Not only does he feel closer to you, but he also gets to try new things with you. He knows how excited you are about Valentine's day, so he prepared everything, even went as far as asking Kaveh on date ideas which send his roommate into a shock. He prepared everything to see you happy. For Alhaitham, you smiling is the prettiest view he has ever seen in his life.

Next up, beloved bestie @stellumi

Omg we've been friends for a long time but we began to communicate more frequently and you are an amazing person and very supportive too. I see you as a big sister and also a great friend, thank you so much for this amazing friendship bestie. I love u sm and will always be here for u<3

Have your Valentine's day date with Vyn! (bcs u made me fall for him)

Vyn is ready for this day, in fact he has been preparing for a long time now to have the perfect date together for Valentine's day. From the nice breakfast and tea that you two will have together in his house, to a nice date all around the city of Stellis and visiting places you've never been to. Vyn knows you, and knows how to make you happy, your happiness is also his happiness. You are the precious rose that he wants to protect for the rest of his life and always make you happy. So when you took his hand and enjoyed the day together with all the surprises you two prepared for each other, you two were very happy. "Darling, did you have fun today?" He asked, in return you gave him a soft smile. "Everyday with you is happiness."

@astranne my beloved

Even though we knew each other for a short while but you really are a good friend and I really like talking with you. We either scream about fictional men (kazuha) or would talk about random stuff and I really like this atmosphere we have. Thank you for being my friend I love you so much<333

Have your Valentine's day date with Kazuha!

Poets. Poets are so romantic and Kazuha has an idea to spend Valentine's day together. While he was traveling, he found many beautiful sceneries that reminded him of you and also gave him more ideas for the date. When the day came, he took you to his favorite spot on top of a mountain in Sumeru where you can enjoy a great view of Port Ourmos with the sunset. He prepared a special Haiku for you and you two shared a lovely time together Kazuha makes sure that you always feel loved, and he never skipped a day to do so.

bff @lilikags

holds you gently and gives you a pat. We knew each other for so long and enstars made us become besties and thats a huge happyele w right there. You are a little sister to me and an amazing bestie I'm so glad we became close friends. I will always be here for you and will always have your back. Thank you so much for being my friend ilysm<333

Have your Valentine's day date with Nazuna!

He took a break from work and college for you. Today, he is not a famous idol or a college student, he is your boyfriend who will spend every second of the day with you. You and Nazuna had a cute amusement park date together. Getting yourselves matching headbands, going on many rides together, taking many pictures and enjoyed the fun atmosphere. At the end of the day, he gave you a cute matching keychain and a soft kiss on the forehead. All while muttering how much he loves you.

my bae @spiriteddreams

I really like the chaotic soft vibes you give, its so comforting and it's what made me want to get to know you. We recently became friends and honestly you are such a sweet and amazing person who I really am grateful to have in my life. Thank you for being my friend bestie ily<333

Have your Valentine's day date with Xiao!

A surprise date for Xiao. For the past few days, he was very focused on protecting the lands of Liyue and ended up exhausting himself even though he doesn't want to admit it. So you came up with a plan with the help of the adventurer's guild and the traveler. The adventurer's guild and the traveler made sure that the lands of liyue are safe from any harm as you prepared a nice, relaxing date with Xiao. A nice picnic together on the shores of Liyue as you two laid on the sand and enjoyed the nice weather. Xiao has never felt this relaxed before, he never felt so peaceful. As he held your hand and gave it a soft kiss, he wished you a happy Valentine's day.

my chaotic bestie @cherry-froggie

I love your energy so much omg I'm so happy I met someone as amazing as you. You are so awesome and I'm so grateful to have you as a friend. Happy Valentine's day bestie Ilyyy

Have your Valentine's day date with Scara!

Becoming a wanderer has its perks, and they are all perks that Scaramouche likes. The best part about being a wanderer is meeting you, you who treated him nicely and joined him on many of his adventures, you who always talked throughout your travels and he never complained, you who is always here for him. For Valentine's day, he decided to show you just how much he appreciates your presence in his life, even though he still doesn't trust people, but you are the one he trusts the most

[actualbird]

have you noticed that time’s antiques has a CRAZY amount of ceiling lights? and whenever luke is there every light is on? his electricity bill must be absolutely crazy. not to mention he has a literal DARTBOARD in his detective office. this has led me to realise that not only is his taste in clothing questionable but his interior design skills are also bizarre

omfg yes YES luke's interior design tastes are BIZARRE and hes a WEIRDO (affectionate)

i now feel possessed to screencap everything in his building that i am either baffled by or want to point out because i found it cool. buckle up, i (as always) have a lot to say

so let's go on a tour of luke's home

FIRST FLOOR: THE ONE FREE OF MOST SIN BY VIRTUE OF BEING AN ANTIQUE SHOP

a lot of my confusion here can be waived since it's an antique shop and those are meant to be crowded and kitschy and maximalist, thats their whole Thing and i love that. like, the lights, which uve already commented on, there are SO MANY but theyre charming to me here because it fits, this disparate chaos but still emanating warmth

tho that being said ive noted down some bits that do still pique my interest

EXHIBIT A: antique cash register. given its placement on the counter/main table, i assume it's used for actual business and not an item for sale. of course, it could just be for display, but im jarred because it's right next to the High Tech Touch Screen. do people in stellis even pay with cash anymore? they seem to be hugely digital even in currency. it'd be funny if this thing WERE used for actual business and it's filled with all of luke's loose change and coins that he has trouble getting rid of so he instead foists them off to unwitting customers

EXHIBIT B: my only real complaint for this portion because how can any customer get to those drawers, theyre BLOCKED BY OTHER STUFF

EXHIBIT C: alright antique TV but i cant tell if it's just showing a random VHS tape or if it's doubling as luke's CCTV camera display. cuz it kinda looks like CCTV display of a road. which, honestly, is pretty cool!! it's a fun marriage between old tech and new. this is something im less confused by and more just something i wanted to point out cuz it delighted me to think about

SECOND FLOOR: NOT NECESSARILY CONFUSING BUT GOD IT IS SO MESSY IN HERE LUKE LET ME IN HERE I NEED TO CLEAN THIS ROOM

EXHIBIT A: certificates!! this is cool, i wish we could see them clearer. i guess these could be luke's PI certification though maybe one of them could also be his master's degree? which would be odd to have displayed in a detective agency given his degree is in bioengineering but itd be funny to match vyn who has his Two Doctorates on display in his office HAHA

EXHIBIT B: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT C: door with 221 B on it which i think is super cute. hes such a nerd hes just got that blatant sherlock reference in his literal detective agency office, so everyone who walks in will know that he is not only a detective, but also a fanboy. im not sure if this door is what leads to his third floor home but itd be SO LOVELY if yes!!

EXHIBIT D: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT E: peanut's bird perch!!!! this is endearing to me because it looks like such a....such a Gym Flavored Bird Perch kjhJHVSDFH LIKE it's made of metal and chains and not at all like most bird perches u'd find that are usually a wooden or more natural design. this is a bird perch for birds that work out. maybe luke made this for peanut himself to get peanut to exercise. peanut is offended by this. peanut perches on it regardless

EXHIBIT F: luke, please tidy up and god if u keep missing throwing trash into the trash can just moVE THE TRASH CAN CLOSER TO UR DESK

EXHIBIT G: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT H: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT I: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT J: luke, please tidy up

EXHIBIT K: dartboard!!! which u mentioned. i like that it's here in the detective agency office floor because i get to imagine luke stumped on a case and then playing some darts to help himself refocus <3

THIRD FLOOR: LUKE PEARCE, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS

EXHIBIT A AND EXHIBIT B: okay my question here was gonna be "hoop lights?? tiny ladder????" but i answer it myself in a post wayyy wayyyyyy back where i talk abt how i think these interesting furnitures are there for Peanut Pearce Enrichment. it simply makes no sense if i dont assume this, but that aside, it's endlessly endearing to me to think that luke has fashioned a bunch of his living space to give joy to his emotional support birdson. imagine peanut hopping up that tiny ladder! or flying thru one hoop light and perching on another! avian paradise :D

EXHIBIT C: luke's palette bedframe....god this thing drives me nuts. it's not BAD but what gets me about is that it seems like such a stub-ur-toe hazard, a bruise-ur-lower-shin hazard, and a tripping-over-this-corner-that-sticks-out-and-is-on-the-path-of-foot-traffic-otw-to-the-kitchen hazard. the clumsy will be HARMED!!!!! LUKE, WHY WONT U GET A PROPER BEDFRAME!!! OR AT LEAST FIX THIS BEDFRAME TO BE THE EXACT SIZE OF UR BED SO IT ISNT THAT MUCH OF AN INJURY MAGNET JKAFVAJHFVA im on my knees....

EXHIBIT D: why on earth does he have a whole cupboard filled JUST with camera lenses. wait brb //asks a friend who is has a professional photographer dad............ok nvm hes off the hook for this one, apparently this is normal for photographers. im simply diagnosing luke with dedicated nerdery once again then. i love him dearly.

EXHIBIT E: HE WAS A GAMER BOI, SHE SAID SEE YA L8ER BOI!!!!! man peep all them games!!!! and his consoles next to them!!! i hope luke plays matches against other ppl and that hes Fucking Terrifying to other players. i know we've seen him game with mc and hes mostly adorable, but when hes gaming against non-mc individuals......i hope luke pearce is accidentally going Raven Mode against some random 13 year olds in apex legends or something. just because itd be so damn funny.

EXHIBIT WE'RE SAVING THIS FOR LAST: this is the most baffling to me among all the things in this whole building. it's a....trash can? but Not. it's a large trash can shaped container used for containing things, which, okay, that could work. but luke is using it to contain MAGAZINES????? AND ROLLED UP PAPERS?? im speechless. that is simply the most non-intuitive container to go for when thinking "hm, where should i put these objects made of paper, a material famously known for their flatness" aND HIS CHOICE OF CONTAINER IS A CYLINDER ?¿¿?¿??¿????LUKE!!!!!.

luke is a strange little guy. hes also the epitome of cluttercore. im obsessed with everything about him.