#that being said none of this excuses anything and it was reckless of him to just burn down an entire world and imo it reflects how-

[eldragon-x]

wait what trauma does bill have?

smiles. I'm so glad you ask, I'm pulling out the extra-canon lore.

We have a few points to get an idea of what Bill's old home world was like, mostly from the AMA and Journal 3.

Edwin Abbott Abbott is the author of "Flatland" a novella about a 2D world of the same name. Flatland is an incredibly bleak world where not only the world itself it a simple plane with no depth, but the dystopia of a social system depends on a hierarchy and the heads of society surpress any information about other dimensions through imprisonment at best and execution at worst and anything that deviates from the norm is shunned and shut down and at worst killed off.

Journal 3 references Flatland with Exwhylia, implying Bill may be from a similar dimension as it.

And looking at all that, it's easy to see how Bill "hates restrictions and loves outsiders and is a weirdo" Cipher grew to hate it all enough so to burn it down, especially considering triangles were low on the social ladder. And suddenly this scene

holds more weight doesn't it.

Additionally, it seems to be implied that Bill had a rather bad upbringing based on Hirsch saying his relationship with his family was "worse than Stan's" on the NYCC 2015 and Journal 3 specifying that Bill killed his parents alongside everyone else in his dimension:

Also maybe not neccessarily trauma but defenetly falls under "Bill has massive issues": The Axololt implying that Bill, despite all this, regrets destroying his dimension so much that he's deeply unhappy about it and his happy over the top jokester personality is somewhat of a persona:

Hope this helps 👍

[total-lunareclipse4]

🌜One sided hate🌛

pairing: five hargreeves x reader

summary: you work for The Commission, but so does your coworker who you hate. After a sweet gesture during your special day, you begin to wonder if maybe you’re the problem.

warnings: none I can think of

word count: 1.9 k

There wasn't anything extraordinary about today. You'd felt the same as always when you had woken up by the alarm blasting from your phone, and when you'd gone to turn it off, you'd realized that you didn't have any messages. Not that this came as a surprise to you, you hadn't even felt disappointed like years prior. The type of life you chose to lead was a very solitary one. Having a family wasn't compatible with working for The Commission, and friends got tired of associating with you when your work caused you to miss every important event in their life. Also, there was the fact that you didn't even stay in one place for long periods of time, traveling through humankind's history as if you were going from one country to another.

As you got in the shower, you dreaded going to work today. Usually, you were very fond of what you did, but today you were going in to do paperwork. Whenever a mission was over, you had to spend the next couple of days writing endless detailed reports about everything that had gone down for your supervisors to go over. In some cases, you would be called in and scolded for doing something reckless that had put in danger the integrity of the organization. That had only happened to you once, but the pain in the ass you had for a coworker had not let you live it down. He was the perfect employee, your boss adored him and everyone in the office was constantly kissing his ass. Not you, however, you did not care how good he was at what he did, you were also pretty damn good about it and didn't need to put others down to prove it.

Distracted by these thoughts, you lost track of time, realizing that you were now running late. Annoyed that you were going to have to miss breakfast, you quickly headed for your place of work. Upon arriving, you were quick to get inside, trying to hide from your boss so she wouldn't realize you were late. However, as your luck would have it, she was waiting for you by your desk.

With her red lips pressed firmly in a tight line and her pale arms crossed over her chest, she gave you a frown before speaking;

“Agent, a word.” She started walking towards her office and you had no choice but to follow. Once both of you were inside the room, you closed the door and sat down reluctantly.

“After today, that makes what? Three times you've been late this month?”

Four, actually. But you weren't going to correct her.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, wishing to be anywhere but here.

“No excuses today?” One of her eyebrows shot up.

With a sigh, you replied, “No, just a promise not to let this happen again.”

She looked taken aback by your change in attitude, being used to the endless rants that explained why you had been late that day. Some of your best stuff had been used during these meetings, realizing that you were most creative during the early hours of the morning.

“I love this job, and I'm good at it. I won't be late again, I promise.” You tried to keep your sentences as short as possible, wanting this conversation to end quickly.

Your boss rested her chin on her hand and waited a few seconds before speaking again.

“Look, I'm gonna be honest with you here. You have one of the best success rates, however, being a good killer doesn't necessarily make you a good worker. You need to take this job more seriously. Be on time, dress more professionally, hand in your reports when they’re due. Next time I won't be letting you go with just a warning.”

You tried to ignore her comment about your clothes, since you thought you usually looked very professional. There was a lot of thought put into your outfits. But this wasn't the time to argue with her.

“I'm sorry. Like I said, it won't happen again.”

“Good. Close the door on your way out.” You gladly took this as an opportunity to get out of her office, but when your hand had reached the handle, you heard her call after you.

“Wait, before I forget,”

So close, you thought.

“Have Five go over your report once you’re done with it.”

“What? Why?” your words carried a little more aggression than you'd intended, something that didn't go unnoticed by your superior.

“Because I'm telling you to do so.”

You debated if this was a discussion worth having, deciding that it indeed was.

“But he has the same rank as me, why is he supervising my work now?” You could tolerate putting in some extra work now that your job was sort of on the line, but answering to Five was something that you thought you could not tolerate.

“You have the same rank, yet, he’s never been late.” You knew this was a sign to drop the subject before she regretted not firing you in the first place.

You opened the door, resigned to leave.

“One more thing,” you heard her say, “don't ever question me again.

“Yes ma’ am,” you replied and went to sit over at your desk.

This was proving to be the worst birthday ever.

Once you were all settled in, you decided to start moving some files around, figuring that if you wanted to be taken more seriously, you had to start by cleaning up your place of work. That’s when you first noticed the little brown bag and the paper cup with your name written on it. Upon closer inspection, you realized they happened to be your favorite drink and pastry. There was also a note attached written in very neat handwriting that read: “Happy birthday, enjoy breakfast on me.” On the bottom left corner were three doodles you figured were a poor attempt at drawing balloons.

You looked around the office, but none of your coworkers seemed to be paying you any attention. Against your better judgment, you took a sip from the beverage, thankful that you were going to be able to eat some breakfast afterall.

Around noon, you were almost ready with your report, and you decided to take a quick lunch break as a reward for your work. You headed for the snacks machine, almost having forgotten about the terrible morning you’d had. However, things seemed to be going bad again when you noticed a particular coworker standing by the machine.

Taking a deep breath, you chose to rise above and walked over to get some food. You noticed he was whistling your favorite song, apparently not having realized you were there.

“Goodmorning,” you said as to let him know you were there.

Without turning back to look at you, he bent over to pick up the soda that had fallen from the machine and replied,

“Actually, it’s the afternoon.” Already annoyed, you looked down at your watch to realize he had been right. It was exactly twelve PM. You chose not to say anything, waiting for him to leave so you could buy your lunch, but instead, he opened his can with a loud POP and leaned against the machine.

“Did you like the breakfast? I wasn’t sure if that was still your order,” he asked.

You were shocked by the revelation, expecting the gift to have come from anyone but him. You had so many questions, and a couple of insults too. Regardless, the only thing you could mutter out was a poor attempt at being grateful.

“Yeah, thanks,” you spoke dryly.

“I know you never have any breakfast so I thought it an appropriate gift.” He took a sip from his soda.

“You couldn’t possibly know that,” you spat, annoyed.

He gave you a half grin, an insufferable look that said please, who do you think you’re talking to?

“You’re always late, usually looking like a hot mess. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you don’t have time to eat breakfast. Not saying that I’m not a genius though.” You hated that he was making assumptions about your life like that, however true they may be. He didn’t know the first thing about you.

“And humble too,” you replied, anger taking over your tone.

He furrowed his brow, as if confused by your response. Did he seriously expect you to act any differently after he called you a mess?

“Have I done something to offend you?” He asked.

You let out a loud puff. Where could you start?

“I don’t appreciate you treating me like garbage just because you’re on the good side of our boss.”

He let out a laugh, an actual audible laugh that made you want to strangle him.

“Buying you breakfast on your birthday is treating you like garbage now?” He always managed to twist your words to leave you looking like the bad guy.

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Then what were you talking about? Enlighten me please, when have I ever been rude to you?”

This was your opportunity to show him how insufferable he had been over the years, however, after giving it some thought, you couldn’t come up with much.

“Like that time I got told off for making a mistake during a mission and you made fun of me afterwards.” You felt silly saying it out loud. It sounded so childish.

“That’s what this is about? I was just playing around, that’s what friends do!” He laughed again, taking another sip.

“We’re friends?”

“We aren’t?” He asked. His brows furrowed in a confused looked.

Suddenly, you realized all of the anger you had held against him over the years was nothing but one sided and utterly pointless, given that Five actually thought you two were friends.

“No, not to my knowledge,” your tone was soft, no longer mad but a bit embarrassed by your past attitude.

Five took a good look at you, inspecting you for a moment. He seemed to be making a choice in his mind, which he shared with you when he spoke again.

“Tell you what, let me take you out for dinner tonight, as a way to celebrate your birthday properly. We can actually talk and get to know each other then. That way you can make an informed decision about whether or not you wish to be my friend.”

You pondered about it for a few seconds, unsure if to trust the guy who you'd considered your enemy for as long as you’d worked here. After a little bit, you came to the conclusion that eating dinner with a coworker was better than sitting alone in your apartment feeding on leftovers, even if that coworker was Five Hargreeves.

“Fine, let’s have dinner.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“Yeah sure, whatever,” you smiled. You figured you could try to be a little kinder to him after years of unjustified rudeness.

He smiled back and began walking away, once he was a few feet away from you, he turned around to face you again.

“And hey, don't forget to have that report on my desk before you clock out today,” he said with a wink before leaving you alone.

The anger came back, making you feel the urge to punch that stupid grin off his face.

Maybe all was not forgiven.

……..

author’s note: I’ll probably do a part two if this goes well of them having dinner!

[chuuhaiatyo]

You.

Legend of Hei, Fengxi x Reader, Part 1?

Angst, Smut

Reader is human and female

I’m sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English isn’t my first language 🥲

-

“I would never be with you, human”

The words echoed in your mind. You knew what you were getting into. You were just a simple human, he was a whole other being, someone you were sure, you could never reach.

Yet he always came back.

You weren’t sure what for, because you were convinced that it definitely couldn´t be you. The hope that had been building in your chest with every soft gaze he gave, every small chuckle, every gentle touch, had been diminished one time too much.

You were suffering. His presence made you suffer.

This pressure. It was building up in your chest, making you want to blurt out the questions you had, but the only that came out was a meek

“Why?”

Fengxi’s gaze met yours. Those eyes that made your heartbeat pick up, made your cheeks flush..

Made your eyes tear up.

“Why?”

“Why do you come back?”

There was an uncomfortable silence. His gaze felt heavy upon you, it made you regret ever asking. But you could not continue living like this. You needed to know that this was not just a waste of time. That this was not just to keep your attention for his own satisfaction, to use your affections for his ego.

He turned away again.

”It is none of your business.”

You could feel the anger rising up, the frustration, everything you have suppressed until now.

“It is my business. You know how I feel. You know that I hurt. Yet you keep coming back. What for? Not for me, surely. You’ve made that clear. So, what are you coming back for, Fengxi?”

Your voice was a lot steadier than you had expected it to be. You had imagined this moment countless of times, of confronting him like this, lashing out, crying, letting it all out. But now you were surprisingly calm.

-

Fengxi did not want to confess why he kept coming back. His pride wouldn’t let him. With all the things he had said, all the hate he had showed towards Name’s kind, all the rejections he had given her, he could never confess of the feeling he had been trying to suppress for every second he spent with her.

He had hoped that she would never question him. Just let it continue like this. Because he was addicted to her kindness, to the love she gave. Not only to him, but every being. He had thanked the sky for her forgiveness every time he hurt her, knowing he had done wrong and wishing she could just overlook it.

But she had overlooked it countless of times now, and he knew that it would only be a matter of time until she would one day, leave him and continue on without him. She would have all the things he couldn’t give her. Things that he had learned every human seemed to work towards in their life. Stability. And he knew he was too wounded to give her that. Too filled with hatred, too tainted by it.

At the end of the day she was only human. He knew he should leave her be, let her enjoy her life, she was young after all. His own insecurities were eating him alive, every time he was with her, and he was projecting them onto her, using the excuse that she was human.

He hated humans for what they did. He could never forgive them, he was sure. But Name was someone who shared his passions and would always support him. That was what she had told him. He remembered the moment all too well.

“You know Fengxi.. I really admire your passion and determination..”

“I’ll always support you.. As long as you don’t do anything reckless, that is”

She had rambled, her cheeks red and a timid smile on her face. He knew that moment that he felt something for her. Something that overshadowed his hatred. He had a hard time admitting it, he was sure it would never leave his lips. It went against all his morals, all his plans.

-

He could feel her hand gently reaching for his. Her skin was soft, untouched. His was rough. He was tainted. Someone as kind and as soft as her, should not be tainted by him. He longed for her attention, for her touch, yet every time he got it, he rejected it. He was scared.

Yet as he was about to pull away, she held his hand tight.

“Fengxi.. Please..”.

Her eyes were pleading. She gently cupped his cheek. Her hands were warm. The warmth that he had been longing for was right here..

Before he could, in any way, pull away, and hurt her, he felt soft, trembling lips against his.

-

Your body had moved by reflex. You didn’t care if he would push you away, curse you out, cut contact, whatsoever. This was the only thing that you wanted, the only thing you craved.

Your lips moved gently against his, with a certain unsureness.

You were just about to pull away, but then he slowly reciprocated. He was just as unsure as you were. It made you feel all warm; it gave you comfort, knowing you weren’t alone in this. You hadn’t expected him to reciprocate.

Your hand gently reached his shoulder, softly pushing yourself away from him. But before you could say anything, his hand grabbed your shoulder and he kissed you once again.

It was not a gentle, tender kiss. It was demanding, messy, animalistic even. Teeth clashed against each other, his tongue met yours, and you could feel the metallic taste of blood in your mouth. You pulled away. Fengxi saw what he had done. His eyes fell from your wide eyes, to your heavily flushed cheek and then to your bleeding lip. His sharp canines had teared the soft flesh of your lips.

He had hurt you, once again. And it wasn’t because of his inexperience.

It was because it was him who was kissing you.

He didn’t dare meet your eyes again, scared of the emotion they held. Shock, anger.. maybe even hatred. Yet, his body acted on his own, and he grabbed you by the chin, pulling you to him, and gently licking the wound. It was his way of apologizing.

A tender smile graced your lips. You didn’t care much about the wound. You pulled him another kiss, now once again, gently kissing him. If he did enjoy this, you were sure he enjoyed this a lot more than being rough. You knew he needed to relax, let his guard down once in a while, be vulnerable. It was as if he had forgotten how it worked.

Your hands met his chest. Then his shoulders. And then they tangled in his hair, as the two of you tumbled to the ground.

He didn’t dare touch you. He didn’t want to hurt you once again. Because this was seemingly the only thing he was capable of.

But you gently broke the kiss, taking notice of his hesitation. You gently took one hand and led it to your waist, same as the other. He looked uncertain, but forgot all his worries as he got pulled into another kiss once again.

His hands began exploring, hesitantly at first, but then with more courage.

They slid from your waist to your hips, and then a bit under your shirt, making you gasp softly at the contact.

And with that your shirt was off.

You felt embarrassed and averted your gaze. But you didn’t notice the blush on his cheeks.

His lips met your neck and he kissed and licked it softly. He got a bit rougher and tentatively bit the sensitive skin, leaving marks. His marks. It made your body burn with excitement.

His lips slowly descended downward, and he began trying to take your bra off. You helped him, but before he continued, you tugged at his clothing.

You didn’t want to be the only one being naked..

-

You let your fingers tentatively run over his chest, and then slowly his back. Your cheeks were now a deep red, same as Fengxis.

He slowly unbuttoned your pants, pulling them off, along with your panties. You pressed your thighs together, tightly, trying to hide yourself. Your eyes were closed in embarrassment. This was the very first time being naked in front of a man..

Fengxi’s attention was elsewhere. He gently cupped your breast giving it a tentative squeeze. And then he took one nipple in his mouth, licking softly. His eyes were fixed on your face gauging your reaction. His hand gently cupped the other breast, gently flicking the nipple.

Your hand was clasped over your mouth as a soft whimper escaped.

He slowly descended downwards. He lifted your legs..

“Here..”, you whispered, your hand guiding his to your clit.

He began gently rubbing, and your hand shot up to your mouth, desperately trying to muffle the sounds. It was so embarrassing. Of course, it felt good, and you were excited because it was him but you were so unsure…

But all that uncertainty fell away, as his head descended between your legs. Your hands which had been trying to keep your quiet, were now tangled in his hair.

It was new, but so good. You felt dizzy, your head clouded in pleasure, as he tried. Soft moans and whimpers escaped you. But you were too distracted to care.

And Fengxi was getting impatient.

”Can I..?”, he asked while positioning himself, breaking you out of your daze. You nodded

“Please be gentle, okay?”

He nodded. And then he slowly pushed himself inside. At first it felt like the air was being knocked out of your lungs. It felt a bit uncomfortable. But as he began moving it began feeling good. Your hands were grabbing at his back.

“Faster..”

His eyes never left yours, his forehead pressed against yours, as moans escaped both your lips.

You had never seen him so vulnerable before..

And as a soft Name left his lips, you responded in a moan. His lips met your neck, as his hips moved faster.

You had wished for this moment, and had lost all hope of it ever happening. Yet here you were.

His hand tangled in your hair, as your nails dug into his back.

”Fengxi… don´t stop please..”

You had never heard your voice before like this. So desperate, so needy. But when his lips met yours in a desperate, demanding kiss, you knew you wanted him to eat you alive with his passion.

You wished you were the object of his passion, the one you admired so much, the object of his desire, the thing that kept him going.

His name fell from your lips like a mantra, as his hips rolled against yours.

His lips brushed against your ear, as you heard him whimpering and groaning softly.

”Name.., I´m close..”

”Me too..”

-

You were resting against his chest, sweaty and tired. Yet, your mind wouldn’t stop running.

Would he leave, like all the other times you left yourself vulnerable in front of him?

But you felt him gently rubbing your back, holding you tight in his arms.

Tears welled up in your eyes. You felt embarrassed for crying in front of him, scared of how he would react. But you couldn’t hold it in this time.

“Please don’t leave me.. Please don’t hurt me again.. I just want to be by your side.”

You chocked out. You were expecting a rough rejection. Yet, he was surprisingly gentle.

“You don’t understand, Name. I can’t give you what you want. I can not give you the love you need, secureness, not even a family*. The only thing I do is hurt you.”

”But you are everything that I want..”

They lay in silence. Name was too good for him.

“But I am not what you need.”

-

* I read that canonically it’s rare for elfins to have offspring (?)

[xawkward-ariesx]

Sometimes Merlin wondered if he'd done something to piss off the triple goddess because he could think of no other reason that on top of being a powerful wizard in Camelot - where such a thing was punishable by death - and the personal manservant to the Prince of said kingdom, he'd also drawn the short straw when it came to soulmates.

Not everyone had a soulmate but your chances were increased if you had magic. And even if you did have a soulmate, that didn't mean you'd have the gift of being able to hear each other's thoughts. It was supposed to make it easier for soulmates to find each other but Merlin didn't consider it a gift when he'd been taught to shelter his thoughts since he was a child, such a skill that was even more essential now he was in Camelot and constantly performing illegal magic. He had to censor himself a lot.

He wasn't always successful.

"Stupid Prince, maybe I should just let him die. See how he likes it."

"Excuse you! You can't say that." His soulmate's voice rang through his head, garbled as always like he was hearing it from underwater.

"What's it to you?" Merlin shot back. He wasn't about to be reprimanded for his thoughts by a stranger. They were the one intruding after all.

"It's regicide!" His soulmate squawked outraged.

Merlin rolled his eyes at the mental shriek returning to his task of collecting herbs from the forest for Gaius.

"Its not regicide, I'm not going to kill the Prince. He's just stupid and reckless. He always ignores the signs and one day I'm not going to be there to save his royal backside and it will be karma for his idiocy when he dies."

The voice spluttered, "Save him!? You can't talk about a member of the royal family like that. Who are you?"

"None of your business." He answered sharply shutting the flap on his satchel now that he had everything that he needed.

"I'm your soulmate!"

"So?" He was picking his way through the forest to head back to the castle barely paying the conversation any mind. "Doesn't mean your entitled to know my life."

It was actually safer for Merlin that his soulmate not know anything about him. He couldn't risk exposing himself or endangering his soulmate by proxy because his mere existence was technically illegal.

So with that he consciously shut off his end of the mental connection. He'd still be able to hear his soulmate but they'd get nothing from him.

"Oi! You can't do that, I'm still talking to you." The words were muffled even further now that Merlin's end was cut off. It was rather satisfying, like shutting a door in someone's face when you no longer wished to continue the conversation.

"You can't ignore me like this!"

Merlin began to hum to himself as he crossed through the lower town to drown the other voice out. Eventually they settled into petulant silence and Merlin was able to drop off the herbs to Gaius before returning to his duties for the Prince. It was just in time for lunch so he went to retrieve his food before making his way to Arthur's chambers.

Arthur was scowling from his desk when he let himself in. Arms crossed over his chest as he glared at nothing, Merlin would almost say he was pouting, but he kept that thought to himself.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked not caring about decorum.

"My soulmate is ignoring me." Arthur grumbled, shooting him a sharp glare. As though it was Merlin's fault that his soulmate didn't want to put up with his prattish ways when, Merlin didn't even know who it was so he could hardly be to blame.

"That must be awful," Arthur seemed to untense minutely at Merlin's words before he continued. "I can't imagine having you for a soulmate. I wonder which unfortunate princess was stuck with such a fate."

"Oi! You can't talk to me like that, Merlin. I'm the Prince."

Merlin snorted at the familiar retort as he set the table for the Prince in question's lunch.

"And we don't know that they're a princess." He grumbled so softly it was almost as though he was talking to himself.

"Why not?" Merlin frowned.

Arthur let his head fall back against the top of his chair with a sigh as if Merlin was intentionally asking a ridiculous question, which he didn't think he had.

"The chances of having a soulmate are slim, the chances of them also having the mind link are even fewer. There are just over twenty kingdoms in Albion, and less than that that have any princesses to speak of. It's just unlikely that my soulmate is a princess."

"You don't know that that though. Have they told you they're not a princess?" Merlin pointed out, trying to helpful if only because Arthur was less likely to throw something at him if he was in a better mood. And definitely not because he looked like a kicked puppy, nope, not at all.

But if anything this just seemed to intensify the Prince's glower.

"No they won't tell me anything about them. Apparently its none of my business." He rolled his eyes.

"Even more likely that they're royalty or at least nobility and are hiding it from you then."

"Shut up Merlin."

Merlin huffed, "I was just trying to get you to stop sulking you prat."

"Princes don't sulk Merlin and I don't want to talk about it."

"Whatever you say sire, lunch is ready."

[feralbutfluffy]

32. Aziraphale

Part 32 (!) of Too Wise to Woo Peaceably

******************

Oh.

He hadn't meant to do that, had he?

He’d been so abjectly horrified by the idea of someone using his likeness to hurt Crowley, and it had all been too much - too many feelings - and his heart had felt like it was being crushed in a vice, and Crowley had looked so defeated, sounded so dejected, and, oh, before the thought had even properly formed it had just… happened.

He'd kissed Crowley. On the mouth. Slowly. Deliberately. Sober. With no readily available excuse other than… 

He'd wanted to. 

He'd had to. 

It hadn't felt like he had a choice in the matter, actually.

Aziraphale considered these entirely lacking. None could absolve him.

Meanwhile Crowley was staring at him. There was something open and questioning about his expression, and Aziraphale rather thought he looked as if he’d just told him that he’d decided to sell the bookshop and become a traveling magician. Certainly the effect was lessened by the swelling on the left side, but the meaning was unmistakeable:

Have you lost your mind?

And really Aziraphale thought it was, in fact, completely possible that was the case.

‘I wasn’t trying to tempt you, you idiot,’ Crowley had said. And then, ‘Just wanted you.’ 

As if those three words weren’t themselves a temptation.

Wanted, though. Past tense. It hurt, and Aziraphale told himself he deserved the hurt. His own fault, really.

He felt a ripple of indignation when he thought of how Crowley had apologised - apologised! - for the fact that Aziraphale hadn’t been strong enough to listen to an accounting of what had been done. He had apologised for telling him, as if that were the grievous crime, as if his battered body wasn’t stark evidence of the true offence. And Aziraphale wanted to say all of this and more, but he couldn’t seem to get a single word out.

If Aziraphale were more reckless or more selfish, he might have pressed his forehead to Crowley’s, murmuring something pleading and needful. He might have taken Crowley’s hand, interlocked their fingers, and kissed his knuckles before dipping his head to kiss him on the mouth. If Aziraphale were more reckless or more selfish, he might have pulled back to drop featherlight kisses on Crowley’s bruised eyelid, on his split eyebrow, on his cut lip. He might have kissed Crowley’s temple and jawline with a tenderness that translated the words trapped in his chest into physical touch.

But Aziraphale was cautious and self-denying, so instead what he said was, “Oh, sorry about that.”

Something in Crowley’s expression shuttered.

Oh, he had made a mess of everything. Everything. And now he couldn’t even have a conversation with his oldest friend, because how could he with everything that had passed between them?

He thought of Crowley sitting across from him at The Ritz, wine glass dangling playfully from long fingers, dark lenses hiding warm yellow eyes, lips curved into a sensuous smile, and the throb of devastation punched the air from his lungs with ruthless efficiency.

And now, his friend - or perhaps not even - was lying on the floor of his bookshop, radiating pain, healed but still hurting.

Crowley was watching him, waiting, and Aziraphale thought he saw a flash of something like disappointment pass over his face, but then it was gone and he was back to watching and waiting, and Aziraphale had no idea what he was waiting for but he was certain that if he had known he would have offered it.

For lack of any better ideas, he decided to speak. 

For lack of one singular better idea, he said the first thing that came to mind.

“You’ve never frightened me, Crowley.” 

He hoped the truth of the statement was able to navigate the miserable distance between them. “I wasn’t afraid of you when you were enjoying a spot of arson at Job’s, or pointing a gun at my face, or pinning me up against a wall, and I certainly wasn’t afraid of you because of a mere kiss.”

Not that there had been anything mere about it, but no matter the enormity of the kiss itself, it had been entirely eclipsed by the magnitude of what had truly frightened him; namely, the seemingly endless pit of desire that had suddenly formed in his chest, swallowing every thought and leaving only adrenaline and hunger and pulsating lust. And yes, it had scared him. It had scared him. It still scared him.

“I know there is nothing I can do or say to change what happened. You don’t know how sorry I am that we didn’t reach you sooner, before-” he gestured vaguely at Crowley, who said nothing, his expression unreadable. “And I’m very sorry they used my likeness against you, I hate to even think of it, but I’m glad you told me. You've done nothing to apologise for.”

A muscle in Crowley’s jaw twitched. 

“Saraqael and I will be leaving shortly. I’ll try to come back.” His smile was crooked and not quite as reassuring as he might have intended. “If I don’t, then at least it will spare you any more of these terse, awkward conversations.”

He felt calmer now, calm enough to make a joke, apparently, although neither of them laughed. 

Crowley’s eyes were half-closed now, his gaze almost hidden beneath his lashes. 

“You’re going back? You’re going back up there?”

“Yes, there are matters… matters yet to be resolved. Unfinished business.”

“Of course.”

The demon’s shoulders visibly tensed. Aziraphale reached out, but Crowley flinched at the movement and he dropped his hand guiltily.

“I can’t believe you would go back!” Crowley practically spat out the words. “Supreme Archangel of all Heaven… Must be a hell of a job.” Crowley tried to smile but it held no warmth, no joy. It was a hollow outline of a thing, inverting its own meaning. 

Aziraphale frowned as if Crowley was being deliberately difficult. “Well of course. We need to talk to the Metatron.”

Crowley hissed a breath out between gritted teeth. “What?”

“The Metatron. He’s who- Well, your… situation; he orchestrated it.”

“Yes, obviously, I know that-”

“So Saraqael and I are going back up to discuss it with him.”

Crowley was muttering something under his breath and Aziraphale leaned closer to hear what he was saying. It sounded very much like counting.

…twothreefourfivesixseven-

“Don’t worry, we have formulated a plan and I’m sure we’ll be back before you-”

“You can’t go up there- Ngk! Oh…” He shuddered. “Sorry, horrible sense of deja vu.”

“Well hang on a minute, you were fine with it a moment ago! Why did you think I was going up there?”

“To reclaim your post, obviously!”

“Reclaim my post? After what they did to you? Crowley, are you absolutely certain Saraqael managed to heal your concussions?”

“ You’re the one who talked about unfinished business!”

“Yes, of the violent variety!”

Crowley closed his eyes in what looked like a plea for patience.

“You are not going up there alone, Aziraphale.”

“I know, Saraqael will be with me.”

“You know what I mean. If the reason we’re a threat is that our combined miracles work a bit too well, what use is arriving without me?”

“You’re healing. You can barely stand. Be reasonable, Crowley.”

A huff, low and reluctant. “I think I’m the only one being reasonable, actually.”

“I have to do this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I have to avenge you.”

“You don’t have to do anything of the sort. Actually, I forbid it.”

“They have to be punished, Crowley! They'll keep coming after us! You’re- You-” Aziraphale broke off miserably, before saying in a plaintive whisper, “I thought I was on the side of good.”

Crowley didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Aziraphale could remember every time Crowley had tried to gently nudge him into accepting that that was not the case, and he could also remember how he had dismissed him out of hand each and every time.

He opened his mouth to apologise again, but snapped it closed when Muriel suddenly appeared beside him. They had a huge, luminous smile on their face. Aziraphale found he was deeply relieved to see that the day’s events hadn’t entirely put out Muriel’s shine. They looked tired and slightly haunted, but they were still smiling, still reading, still finding things to feel joy about, and that was extremely encouraging!

Muriel dropped to their knees, sat back on their heels, and waggled a small brown journal over Crowley’s chest, in front of Aziraphale’s nose.

“How come you didn’t tell me about 1941?!”

[meowcats734]

After I'd done my best to resolve the crisis in the cabin, Vuliel had gone off to a corner to get used to his new, double-souled state. I didn't blame him—the solution I'd slapped together was haphazard at best, and it couldn't have been comfortable for either of them.

But I had helped. The constant grind of grabbing new attunements whenever I could, even if it meant making my friends angry or sad or regretful, had paid off. I was one step further away from the cowering, helpless witch of self-hatred that had hidden helplessly while different shades of grey tried to kill each other before my eyes. 

Lucet had excused herself from the cabin after watching me desperately battle to hold Mertri's dying soul together, and I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what she was doing. But the rest of the refugee soldiers in the cabin immediately burst out into a clamor of overlapping voices, asking who we were, how we'd found them, whether we knew how to get out of the storm. Our answers ranged from deflections (a traveling oracle and his children) to truths (what part of 'oracle' did you not understand) to cautious bargaining (why don't we all get settled first), but it seemed like we weren't going to get rushed by a bunch of desperate Peaks soldiers, so I let Sansen handle most of the negotiation and nudged Meloai.

"I'm going outside," I whispered, as Sansen asked if the soldiers knew about a witch of lust in the army. From the sounds of it, he wasn't getting very far. "Let me know if... I dunno, the Peaks folks get all snippy about me using regret or something."

"Will do. Hopefully none of them get mad at me for being a mimic," Meloai whispered back.

One of the sharper-eared soldiers whipped his head our way. "You're a what?" he asked.

I sighed. Sansen didn't seem too agitated, so I was sure Meloai would be fine. That was their battle to face.

I had my own.

###

Lucet was casting frost spells when I exited the cabin. Not many, and not much—none of us really understood the amplification of frost magic that raged beneath the rift, but Lucet seemed to be getting the hang of it nonetheless. 

"Are you going to say I'm reckless for using my magic right now?" Lucet asked. There wasn't even any acrimony in her voice—just resignation.

I shook my head, stepping up next to her. "No. No, I was stupid when I told you to stay away from frost magic. You're smart and capable, and a much better witch of sorrow than I am."

Even as I watched, Lucet delicately cleaved a wafer-thin sheet of sorrow from her soul, flicking it out like a throwing card. It scythed through the air, a trail of frost hissing with amplified magic. It was a respectable frostbolt, one that I certainly couldn't replicate.

"Twelve attunements," she finally said.

Neither of us had to ask what she was talking about.

"I know," I whispered.

She didn't say anything more, just slicing off another chip of sorrow from her soul, practicing the frostbolt until her hands frosted over and her sorrow ran numb.

###

Eventually, Sansen came out to tell us that we'd reached an agreement with the soldiers. By the frustration in his face, I could tell he hadn't found any news on Jiaola's whereabouts, other than confirmation that at one point, he'd been here in the army. 

"They apparently got lost in the conflict, so we gave them directions out of the storm," Sansen said. "And we're getting use of the cabin, since... well, they're not using it anymore. Everybody wins."

"Odin would be jealous," I said. Sansen just shook his head and turned to leave. I hesitated, turning to see if Lucet would stay outside, but she squeezed my hand reassuringly and followed Sansen into the cabin.

It didn't take long to get settled in. The soldiers had, with military efficiency, already set up a space for us to sleep. All we had to do was use it. 

But I'd barely hit the mattress when something struck my soul, jolting me awake.

And suddenly, I wasn't Cienne, weighed down with worries about Lucet and Jiaola.

I was Sansen, and I had just jolted awake in tears, fragments of memory spinning off from my soul.

###

My husband was—is—the strongest witch I know. He wasn't strong in the sense of fireballs or artillery strikes, but he cared, fiercely and truly, about the people he loved. About his family. And it said something about him that the two were one and the same. Even when the odds stacked against him seemed insurmountable, even when he'd been beaten down over and over again by a mocking world that hated and feared him, he still found a way, time and time again, to protect those he cared for. And that was his strength, one deeper and truer than any spell could ever be.

Is, I reminded myself. That is his strength. He's still alive, somewhere out there, in the storm.

"We'll find him," a quiet, young, high-pitched voice said from my side, interrupting the thakka-thakka-thakka of hail on the cabin roof. My nephew Cienne wasn't related to me by blood, but that wasn't what family meant to us anyway. "Jiaola's a fighter. He'd want his husband to keep his head up."

I snorted. "My head's up, kid. More than you. I'm, what, a hand taller than you? A hand and a half?"

Cienne stuck his tongue out at me, unamused. I guess he never did like it when I poked fun at his height; I made a mental note to stop. "I can tell you're running low on hope."

Ugh. This was the danger of living with witches: everyone cared so much about your emotions. It was endearing when it came from my husband, but I was the one who was supposed to be taking care of my nephew, not the other way around. "C'mon, kid," I said instead. "It's late. Head off to bed. We've got a long day tomorrow, and you need your sleep."

Cienne grumbled. "I'm supposed to be in the Academy right now. I'm practically built to pull all-nighters. You need your sleep, Sansen. Now git, before I cast a sleep spell on you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you actually know how to do that?"

"Sure do. A good thwack on the head should do it. Maybe I'll knock some sense into you while I'm at it." Cienne turned around, a ball of blazing witchlight in one hand, then paused. "Take care, Sansen. We'll find your husband eventually."

I closed my eyes. "Yeah. I know."

When I opened my eyes again, Cienne was gone. He'd left the light behind.

I sighed and trudged over to the repurposed dining hall that we were using as a communal bedroom. The kids were already sleeping—having the luxury of actual beds after so many weeks on the road was a potent sedative. I glanced towards my bed.

The shadows beneath it seemed to stretch and writhe.

There was a reason why I'd been getting less sleep, as of late.

But Cienne was right. Restless, nightmare-plagued sleep was still better than no sleep.

I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, and some part of me fancied that the shadows swallowed me whole.

###

The nightmare wasn't, and then it always had been. One moment, I was dissolving into the oblivion of sleep; the next, I was standing in a crashing hailstorm, watching my husband struggle to stay alive.

"Damn you," I whispered. I tried to pinch myself awake, tried to snap out of the dream, but my body wouldn't move, my eyes wouldn't close. All I could do was curse myself and watch.

Watch as Jiaola fought for his life.

"Stay close to me!" Even in the chaos of the storm, Jiaola always did find a way to protect those around him. A squadron of soldiers in the uniform of the Silent Peaks clustered around him for shelter as the old witch held up a hand, hail smashing on a barrier maintained by nothing but Jiaola's soul. "Can any thermal-capable witches provide us with warmth?"

"It's no use!" The soldier next to him—a young woman I didn't recognize—cursed as her magic fizzled out. "The ambient frost magic—it must be interfering. We're going to freeze to death out here!"

"No. No, I refuse. We need shelter. A way to keep body heat in. Make a snow cave. I'll keep the wind out for now." Jiaola held out both hands, as if supporting some great weight, and in a massive bubble around him, the air stilled. Snow froze in air that was suddenly as solid as steel, creating a dome of shelter in the supernatural storm—

And then a comet of ice, larger than a person, rained from the sky and blasted a hole through Jiaola's sanctuary. I tried to look away by reflex. I knew what happened next. I'd lived through this fucking nightmare every day for the past four weeks.

The world went blurry and white with the impact.

When the snow settled, Jiaola was nowhere to be seen.

"I can take you to him," a voice said from behind me.

And now came the hardest part of the nightmares. I glared, my body frozen in place, as the demon stepped into view.

They were tall, masculine, barrel-chested, even human-looking. But my husband was a witch, and I was no fool. I knew the Dealmaker well, and I knew that they were a demon. One who offered things otherwise unattainable.

But the Dealmaker's offers always came with a cost, even if it was hidden at first. And my husband had personal experience with the Dealmaker's temptations. It was a terrible idea to even so much as consider taking their hand.

And yet.

And yet it had been months since I'd seen Jiaola's face. Months since I'd held his hand, since I'd last run one thumb over the wedding ring the two of us had fought so hard to be able to wear, months since I'd known he was sent off to war and lost in a blizzard and just maybe gone forever.

"No," I whispered, and it took all the strength I had left in my soul to refuse.

The demon tilted their head. "As you wish."

And the dream reset to the beginning. Jiaola stood defiant against the storm, providing shelter for the innocent, as he always did.

And the storm snuffed him out like a candle.

Like it always did.

"I can take you to him," the demon murmured once more.

I wished my body would move, so that I could close my eyes and plug my ears and not have to see my husband vanish over and over and over again. "...No..." I managed, and it was weak and feeble and still.

"As you wish."

And the dream reset again.

And again.

And again.

And each time, I felt my will erode. Each time, I felt myself slipping closer to taking the Dealmaker's hand.

On the eighth time this night, the nine hundred and sixtieth time in total, I saw my husband fall one last time.

"I can take you to him," the Dealmaker said.

My mouth never dried, my throat never roughened, but I was still so, so tired of speaking even those two tiny letters.

I opened my lips. Closed them again. Tasted the shape of my words.

"Mayb—" I began, and something in my soul burned.

I was thrown back, shocked, as the false landscape around me unravelled. The demon jolted to life, stepping back, as something shadowy and clawed and protective stirred from within my soul.

"Wh—what are—" I began to say.

"DEALMAKER," the larger demon rumbled, and its sinuous form curled around mine, glaring down at the cautious Dealmaker. "THIS ONE'S SOUL IS NOT YOURS TO SET FOOT IN. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT."

The Dealmaker gathered themself, crouching into a low combat stance. "I have no right? Who gave you entry into this man's soul?"

The serpent of shadow and flame lowered itself to the Dealmaker's eye level.

"HIS HUSBAND."

Then it surged forwards, striking the Dealmaker in a single, decisive blow that cracked my soul with the sheer force of it, sending memories flying every which way, and the illusion the Dealmaker had summoned was blown apart like icicles in a blizzard.

Leaving me alone with the serpent.

I told my beating heart to calm down as the serpent turned towards me. "MORTAL. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY... SUDDEN APPEARANCE."

"No. No, don't apologize for protecting me." Weakly, I laughed. "He... he always did that. Does that."

"YES. I AM A FRAGMENT OF YOUR HUSBAND'S ESSENCE. I HAVE INHERITED MANY OF HIS TRAITS." The serpent hesitated, then continued. "INCLUDING, AS IT SEEMS, HIS PENCHANT FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION."

"What?" I blurted out.

"MY POWER IS... LIMITED. ONCE I HAVE IGNITED MY SOUL FRAGMENT, I CANNOT EXTINGUISH IT. THE MEMORY THAT FUELS MY EXISTENCE WILL BE UNMADE IN ITS ENTIRETY SOON, AND I WILL FADE. I... APOLOGIZE, FOR MY INSUFFICIENCY."

"No." Rifts, it was absurd to be comforting a snake-monster larger than a house, but I tried my best anyway. "No, you did amazingly. You did... you did what he would have done. I... just wish that it wouldn't mean I was alone, after this."

"YOU ARE NOT ALONE," the serpent said, coiling around me. Somehow, it felt like an embrace. "YOU HAVE YOUR NEPHEW. YOUR FAMILY. AND ONE DAY, YOU WILL SEE YOUR HUSBAND AGAIN."

I smiled. "Yeah. He's... he's the strongest witch I know. We'll meet again."

"SOME SUNNY DAY," the creature agreed.

And then it was gone, one moment a serpent, the next a mere shadow, fading as day broke.

My eyes jolted open, tears running down my cheeks, as the monster under my bed faded away, as did the demon it died protecting me from.

###

I blinked out of the memory, gasping, and turned to my left. It was a profoundly disconcerting experience to see Sansen from a different perspective immediately after accidentally absorbing the memory that'd been blasted off his soul in the battle—and from Sansen's pained expression as he clutched his head, it wasn't much better from his end. The fight inside his soulspace that'd blasted off his memories of the recent past probably wasn't doing him any favors.

But despite the disorientation and pain, I laughed.

Because in the memory Odin had taunted Sansen with of the place where Jiaola had fell, and I recognized the part of the Redlands where it was set.

"Hey, Sansen," I said, sitting up. "I've got good news, and I've got bad news."

A.N.

Soulmage is a serial written in response to writing prompts. Stick around for more episodes, or join my Discord to chat about it!

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[renegadeontherunn]

hi have a snippet of a wip i keep telling myself to finish before i share but i wanna share it sooooo bad so HERE (you get no context)

Obi-Wan knows it's preposterous to hate the man who's trying to save his village from pirates more than the actual pirates themselves, but when he sees the bounty hunter leaned against one of the barns or walking through the village center, he can't help but glare.

It’s not his fault, he decides. Really. It’s just that as soon as the man landed his (rather shoddy) ship on the edge of the village, Obi-Wan knew there was something suspicious about him. Something to be wary of. Something potentially dangerous. At least the pirates had made their intentions crystal clear. This bounty hunter . . . he wasn’t so sure. But when he’d quietly brought it up to Runa the other night, he’d told Obi-Wan to stop being so paranoid.

“Or maybe it’s another one of those prophetic dreams,” Runa said with his eyebrows raised in mocking.

Obi-Wan glowered. “I never said they were prophetic, Runa. Just strange.” Ashla called him then, with an accompanying question about dinner. “Never mind. Goodnight.” 

He hasn’t told Ashla anything. She’s only fifteen; old enough to help Obi-Wan teach at the school, but she’s still young. And, he thinks with a familiar swirl of warmth in his chest, she’s still his daughter. Which means he gets the final say, though he knows it’s a delicate balance between protecting her without being stifling and letting her flourish into her own person knowing she still has so much to learn. 

So Obi-Wan keeps the rest of his thoughts to himself. He’ll just have to be careful, is all. Keep an eye on—

“Ani, was it?”

The man turns, a slight smirk on his face. “So I’ve been told.”

Obi-Wan forces a polite chuckle. “I understand you’ve been doing this for quite some time, but might I ask after your plan for eradicating these pirates?” Always scope out a potential threat before engaging; or so his father drilled into him. He tries to teach Ashla this, but she tends to think with her fists before her head. 

“My plan?” The bounty hunter—Ani—rubs the back of his neck. Obi-Wan raises a brow.  “Right.  Does . . . killing them work for you?”

“That’s your plan? Just . . . kill them?”

Ani straightens. “You got a better one?”

Obi-Wan huffs. “Surely, any plan at all is better than none.”

“I just told you my plan.”

“That is not a plan. That’s barely even a goal. How exactly do you expect to succeed if you don’t know how you’re going to do so? Perhaps you should ask some of us. We know the area, and the pirates, best.”

“Thanks for the suggestion, but who’s the bounty hunter here? With years of experience? Because last I checked, it wasn’t you.” Ani turns, striding back toward his ship.

Obi-Wan’s tight-lipped smile drops. “Excuse me? Is this how you treat the people you’re supposedly trying to help? Because if so—” They both stop short at the sight of Ashla laid beneath the hull of Ani’s ship.

“Hey!” Ani calls, dirt misting up under his running feet, Obi-Wan just behind. “Are you trying to rob me?”

Ashla hauls herself out from under the ship and jumps up. “I was just—” Ani grabs her arm and pulls her away. “Hey! Let go!” She aims a swing straight for his face, but he ducks out of the way, so she knees him in the—well, Obi-Wan has at least enough sympathy to wince.

As Ani folds and stumbles back against the ship, Ashla turns and sees Obi-Wan. “Dad!” Obi-Wan looks pointedly at Ani. “Oh, sorry, I should’ve—sorry,” she says to Ani even as she jogs over to stand beside Obi-Wan. “Did I do the thing again?” she whispers. 

Obi-Wan sighs, trying to tamp down his fondness. “Oh, you mean the reckless punch first, ask questions later thing? That thing?” Ashla laughs. “Why, now that you mention it, yes, I think you may have.”

Ani finally recovers himself and storms over to them, face red. Obi-Wan prepares himself to apologize on Ashla’s behalf. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ani towers over them both. Ashla sobers. “First you try to rob me, then—”

“I wasn’t robbing you! I was just checking out your ship. It’s a class BH-2 picket ship, right?”

Ani looks at Obi-Wan, then back at Ashla. “How’d you know?”

Ashla just shrugs. “You know, you should switch out the engine for a skipper’s, if you want to upgrade it.” Ani’s brows raise. “What? If you know your stuff, you’ll know I’m right. Skippers are like the fastest in the galaxy.”

“You got one of those here?” he asks. Obi-Wan’s surprised at the change of tone. Ashla nods enthusiastically.

“Yeah! One of the pirates had a skipper, but they crashed it on the south bank when they landed. I’m not positive the engine is still functional, but there’s a chance. If you want to go look at it, give me a shout.” Woah, what?

Ani laughs, clearly warming up to her. “I might actually take you up on that. I’m Ani.” He holds out a hand. A mechanical hand.

“Ashla.”

He eyes her. “Your hand-to-hand isn’t half bad, you know. I’m surprised you haven’t taken out the pirates already; you guys might not even need me.” Ani gestures to Obi-Wan. “Oh, uh, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Obi-Wan,” he replies. He opens his hand, palm up, in the traditional greeting of Bridhe. So old fashioned, Ashla always calls him, but tradition is important. He takes a breath, ready to instruct Ani on how to respond, but Ani places his hand on top of Obi-Wan’s and looks down—respectfully, perfectly. Obi-Wan blinks in surprise and lets go. Ashla’s face brightens.

“How’d you know how to do that?” She leans forward. “Your look was really good! It took me months to get it right! Who taught you? Have you been here before?”

Obi-Wan puts a hand on her shoulder. “Take a breath, dear. There’ll be time for all your questions.” He looks back at Ani. “How did you know? I’ve yet to meet an off-worlder that did.”

Ani shrugs, that smirk back on his face. “With a job like mine, you get around. It usually pays to know some of the customs.”

“Oh.” Obi-Wan would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed. “Well, thank you. And yes, Ashla certainly gets into her fair share of brawls. I think we’re all a little shocked she hasn’t run toward the pirates head-first.” 

Ashla gives him a purposely proud look. Obi-Wan rolls his eyes and tugs on one of her braids. He’d done a poor job of them this morning, it seemed. The flowers have already fallen out. 

“A little fighting never hurt anyone,” Ani replies easily. “The way I see it—”

“Where else have you been?” Ashla interrupts.

“Ashla.” 

Ani waves a hand. “I’ve picked my way through pretty much the entire Mid-Rim, plus a few Outer Rim worlds.” A hard look passes over his face, but it’s gone just as fast. Ashla’s eyes are wide. 

“Woah,” she says. “I’ve never even been off Bridhe.”

“Really?” Obi-Wan can’t tell if Ani’s just being polite—unlikely—or if he’s actually invested in this conversation—surprising. “How do you know so much about ships?”

“I’ve always wanted to learn to fly. Reading books about it just isn’t the same, no matter what my dad says.”

Obi-Wan scoffs. 

Ani gets an adventurous look in his eye. “Well, we’ll have to change that, won’t we? Maybe once these pirates are dealt with, I can teach you a thing or two about flying.” 

“Really?” Ashla has never looked so excited in her life, and that’s saying something. “Come on, I’ll show you the skipper!”

Before Obi-Wan can process what’s happening, or more importantly, object, they’re already halfway across the square, Ashla skipping eagerly next to Ani’s easy stride. Obi-Wan hears her laugh, the sound loud and bright against the honeyed sky, and then a faint whirring of speeder engines zipping down the hill, and an icy pick stings his spine. He sees the first pirate, skidding down through the grass, as her blaster aims almost carelessly on his daughter.

“Ashla!” Obi-Wan screams, panic choking his throat, alarms in his head shrieking loud enough to drown out the pounding of his feet on the path.

Time melts to syrup as he lurches for his daughter, too far away to do anything, horror pushing him forward too slow, too slow—

Ani’s head whips up and the shot is fired just as he grabs Ashla around the waist and they both plummet to the ground, shielded behind the boulder that serves as their well marker. But Obi-Wan doesn’t stop running until his knees hit the ground next to them and his hands are on Ashla’s shaking shoulders. “Are you alright?” he demands, voice harsh with residual fear. “Are you hurt?” 

Ashla blinks and shakes her head, the movement jerky as her hands grip Obi-Wan’s robes. “I’m okay.” He pulls her into a hug, his chin resting on its usual spot on the top of her head. He lets go when the shouting behind him grows louder, and he realizes Ani is no longer beside them. “Stay here.”

Obi-Wan’s staff is worn in his hands, but his first two hits knock a pirate off their speeder and into unconsciousness. Something bumps against his back and a blaster pistol is shoved into his hands. He looks up to Ani’s face, still smirking even as shots and screams blur the air around them. “Know how to use it?”

Instead of answering, Obi-Wan fires at a pirate that would’ve taken Ani’s head off. Ani laughs, the sound like rolling thunder. They stand back to back, fighting as one while more and more pirates come over the hill, and more and more pirates fall. Obi-Wan catches Runa and T’alik smacking raiders to the ground with their staffs, and Lihana ushering people into one of the barns for cover. 

It’s almost too easy, Obi-Wan thinks as he and Ani rush for the square’s edge. Without speaking, somehow just knowing, Obi-Wan takes the left while Ani takes the right, and they work in quick tandem to drive away the remaining raiders. 

When the pirates have all fled back to wherever it is they’re hiding out, Obi-Wan and Ani look at each other. He looks as surprised as Obi-Wan feels.

“How did—I mean that was—” Ani huffs a laugh. “Looks like we make a good team.”

Obi-Wan knows what he’s really saying, can hear the silent question in his voice. Something is off—but also feels so . . . right? But that will have to wait. Ashla first. Obi-Wan turns and runs back to where she’s standing—far from the well marker—wiping blood off her knuckles. Of course she hadn’t stayed put. He scoops her up in a tight hug, breathing a sigh of relief as her own arms wrap around him. “Are you alright?” he asks again. She nods into his shoulder. He makes eye contact with Ani past Ashla’s disheveled hair, and gives him a loaded look. Ashla pulls away, but keeps her hand in Obi-Wan’s. “Thank you,” he tells Ani gravely. 

Ani blinks. “Of course.” He looks at Ashla. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

He and Obi-Wan lock eyes once more, an almost-conversation passing between them. Obi-Wan clears his throat and tugs Ashla closer. Warm blood is dripping down her fingers. “We should go.”

Ani nods a bit too vigorously. “Right, yeah, of course. I’ll go . . . make sure no one else is hurt.” 

They turn away, Obi-Wan already fussing over Ashla’s hands. He decides to think about what happened today later. Or even better, never again.

—

Obi-Wan thinks Ashla might burst with her contained excitement.

“Wow!”

Ani looks downright smug. They’re standing in the cockpit of his ship, Ashla’s hands running reverently across the console. Ani said he’d help her get some “hands on experience” with real ships—Obi-Wan just hopes that doesn’t mean actual flying. 

Ashla’s face is bright with a wide smile. “This is incredible! You know, I’ve read so much about these, but it’s totally different when you’re actually in a real starship. I can’t believe this is yours.” She turns in a slow circle, eyes darting all around. “Is R2 in here?”

Ani’s face twitches. “Who?”

Ashla looks at him, then at Obi-Wan. “What?” She blinks and gives a small, confused laugh. Obi-Wan’s brows furrow as she fidgets with the tie of one of her braids. “Oh. Never mind.” She laughs again, strained. “It’s nothing.” She turns back to the viewport. 

“Right,” Ani says slowly. “Well, anyway, I should get to bed. Got a long day of flight lessons tomorrow, right Ashla?”

They say their goodbyes and part.

Obi-Wan and Ashla walk back home in comfortable silence as the sage sky deepens to emerald. The floor is warm when they slip their shoes off, and Obi-Wan contemplates if there’ll need to be satin sip tea involved in the evening routine. Ashla is twisting her hands together, a habit she got from him, and hovering outside her bedroom door.

“Is everything alright, my dear?” Obi-Wan asks, tone lightly inquisitive, eyes on the counter to lessen it even more.

Ashla runs her hand down the length of one braid. Obi-Wan nods to himself—a small smile cresting—and makes the tea. There’s a murmur in the back of his mind telling him that something is about to happen, and, as he always says, there’s nothing a conversation over tea can’t fix. Ashla is already moving toward the low table on the rug, bottom lip now the victim of her teeth.

She sits stiffly, gently untying her braids, though her hands seem restless. Obi-Wan busies himself with the tea, humming quietly as he moves about the kitchen.

Ashla is finished by the time he places a steaming mug in front of her, deciding he’ll go for a casual approach. “What is it?” he asks, taking a seat across the table from her, folding his legs beneath him on the soft carpet. Ashla immediately takes a sip of her tea; Obi-Wan holds back a sigh. No matter how many times she burns her tongue—

She huffs at the taste of the tea and smiles. “It’s not anything satin sip level, Dad.” Obi-Wan just smiles back. She sighs. “Do you feel like things are . . . not right?”

That’s certainly a new one. “What do you mean?”

“Like everything is fine, but something is off.” She bites her lip again. “Like that time we went to the market with Lihana—do you remember—when those merchants—or like . . . like when you came home and I had moved all the furniture a few inches to the left? And you didn’t notice at first but then you kept bumping your side on the couch edge?” Her words are tumbling, clumsy coming out of her mouth. “It’s like that, but . . . with everything.” She groans. “That probably makes no sense.” 

Obi-Wan’s hand comes up to his chin. “I can’t say I’ve noticed what you’re describing.” Ashla drops her head onto the table. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“Really?” Ashla raises her head, looking so relieved Obi-Wan wonders how long she’s been thinking about this. “Because I feel like I’m going crazy.” She scooches closer to him. “Honestly, I think it all started when Ani got here.”

“I see.” Obi-Wan’s heart thumps in his chest. Ani’s only been here a few days and they’ve both noticed something strange. Fear skims up Obi-Wan’s neck. “We’ll have to keep an eye out for anything else.” He looks at his daughter, knowing that if anything happened to her—“And thank you. For confiding in me your concerns.”

Ashla gives him a look, then punches him lightly in the arm. “Duh,” she says in a way so Ashla, it dissolves the tension in the air immediately. She stands to get ready for bed, picking up her tea. “I’ll let you know if I figure out a better way to describe it. It’s almost like deja vu.” She shrugs, then leans down to kiss Obi-Wan’s temple. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, my dear.”

Her green-painted door closes with a soft click and Obi-Wan is left in the amber light of their living room with nothing but swirling questions and no answers.

The pirates don’t return for several days. Life flows on as usual; warm mornings break, the noon sun watches the daily chores, night drops a blanket over their little town. Ashla continues her schooling, Obi-Wan his teaching. Ani mostly keeps to himself, though Obi-Wan often sees him drifting in and out of the square helping on odd jobs. It’s normal. It’s nice.

Which is how Obi-Wan knows something bad is coming.

[thebleedingeffect]

Thinking about just how fucking tragic the Frye twins are and how desperately they need to communicate because it's obvious how much they love each other but there's so much driving them apart.

Just like, the very concept of twins being born into a family where their destiny has already been chosen for them. There's no arguing, there's no communication, there's no compromise, no, they're going to be raised as assassin's and that's final. Two children who are twins in every way, but with a father who practically drills in the ideals of the creed and how to be a proper assassin. Hearing the same lectures every single day for years, endlessly trying to reach this perfect ideal that your father expects you to be because you're not allowed to be anything else. A father who endlessly judges and tests you, refusing to raise you as their own child and instead just an assassin in the making.

What does that do to a kid? Well, we see it perfectly with Evie and Jacob. Evie is the golden child, the perfectionist, the child who will do anything and everything it takes to win her father's love and approval. Her father's recognition is what comforted her as a child, but it was only at Jacob's expense that she became the most beloved child. She endlessly chases after her father's legacy after his death and she parrots the same criticisms that their father said to Jacob. That he is reckless and doesn't care at all about consequences.

That he doesn't care about others, that he is a poor excuse of an assassin.

Evie internalizes everything that their father ever told her because in her eyes- Ethan Frye was someone who was to be never doubted, never questioned. His memory is to be forever untarnished because if she dares to question his memory, their childhood, she'll realize that her father was never the perfect man or assassin. It'll bring into question everything that she is and everything that she believes in, the very tenets that were drilled into her at such a young age and the ones she accepted because she had no other choice. Evie is terrified of failure and she's terrified of being wrong, of having the wrong judgment, of not knowing everything and not being the one in the right. Evie is the golden child left without their parents' guidance who ends up parroting the same hurtful things, unaware that she's both hurting herself and her brother.

And Jacob, oh Jacob... here's the thing, I truly believe that Jacob had once tried to be what Evie was so effortlessly becoming. The studious, well-behaved daughter, the daughter who is perfect in every way and is the star in their fathers eye. Evie, who is endlessly compared to him, the sister who is perfect without ever questioning anything or even give the slightest hint of wanting- no, demanding more. Jacob, who's so tired of having his life decided for him, for having a father who despises having him as a son and constantly puts him down. A father who never saw him as a son, because he was an assassin before all else, and even if the creed was good and the tenets were true- it didn't matter because it was all force fed into him with none of the understanding or compassion directed to him.

Jacob is the problem child, a chaotic blight to the brotherhood itself. Uncontrollable, reckless, and so hungry for recognition and to make his own path because he was never allowed to in the shadow of the brotherhood. He's hungry, starving even, for someone to understand and to stay by his side and to not highlight his every little flaw. Jacob is made up of sharp edges that are endlessly sharpened with having his fathers legacy constantly thrown back at his face while being treated as little more than a burden. A title that he's been carrying for almost his entire life and is now being carried by his sister now that their father is no longer there to torment him instead. Jacob returns the disappointment in Evie's eyes with barbed words of his own because he can't fucking admit his own weakness and wants! The fact that he wants his sister and not just his fathers shadow! But he can't tell Evie that so he just returns everything that she gives him because he can't be honest with himself, so how can he be honest with her?

They're just... so tragic because they desperately need to talk to each other as actual siblings and not be stuck in their fathers shadow. They deserve so much better than to be at each other's throats for their own misled beliefs about the other as well as always expecting the worst from each other. They need to fucking!!! Talk!!!!! But will we get that??? PROBABLY FUCKING NOT.

[wholelottatransbians]

oh, the link i sent got eaten!, i meant about the Fic WITH CONFIDENCE (a QUIKLESS!Izuku fic where he is hit with a confidence quirk) in the fic, he saves Bakugo before ALL might needs to help and proceeds to ream out Death Arms, in fact, even if I can't put the link, here is the scene:

Death Arms grabbed the shoulder of the green haired boy as he tried to leave.

“You. What’s your name?”

The boy looked exhausted. He looked at Death Arms for a long moment. He had to shake him a little to get a response. “M-Midoriya Izuku? Why?”

Death Arms decided it was his duty as a hero to give this kid a wake-up call he clearly needed.

“Do you have any idea how reckless that was? That boy could have died because of you! You’re lucky All Might was here to save the day. What were you thinking running out like that?”

Midoriya was silent but he looked more awake.

“Well? I’m waiting.” Death Arms said, arms crossed. If this kid thought staying silent would get him out of a lecture he was in for a rude surprise.

“You’re right,” Midoriya admitted slowly, as if tasting each word before they left his mouth. “It was fortunate that All Might was here to save the day.”

Death Arms felt his anger ebb a little. At least he was seeing sense.

“Because you sure as hell weren’t doing anything to help.” Midoriya ended, tone sharp and on the rise. It was loud enough to gain the attention of some bystanders.

“Now hold on- ”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Midoriya interrupted him. “You think you have the right to lecture me? After you just stood there while someone was dying? At least the other heroes were helping with crowd control and putting out fires. What’s your excuse for not acting?”

Great, people were gathering and bringing out their phones. Death Arms even saw a news crew breaking away from All Might to come their way. He needed to end this quickly or this kid was going to be ridiculed to hell and back online.

“Hostage situations are delicate. One wrong move and it’s all over. Things ended well today but that won’t always be the case when you act like you did.”

Midoriya looked shocked. 

“A hostage situation?” the incredulity was almost tangible, “A hostage situation?!” he repeated, “Is that what we’re calling murder attempts now or did you never learn to tell the difference before becoming a hero?”

“Hey! Watch your tone!” Death Arms yelled back. “You were reckless and could have died! You could have also caused that boy to die!”

“He was being suffocated! He was already going to die anyway because none of you tried to help! And don’t call me reckless - I tried to give you this,” Midoriya threw the slingshot to the ground, “but you told me to get lost. I made it with a piece of wood that had fallen from Kamui Woods and some torn elastic - it might be from Mt. Lady, don’t really know, I just found it on the ground. I thought, since you have super strength in your arms, you could take the villain out with it.”

Death Arms and the crowd watched as the child that was so calm and composed earlier, lost himself in a rant.

“But you brushed me off. No, worse - you thought I was asking for an autograph.” the boy sounded pained by that. “You have a lot of nerve calling me reckless when you just stood there. Where was this nerve when someone was literally being choked to death in front of you?”

“I was a bad matchup for that villain. It was better to wait for backup.” Death Arms raised his voice for people to hear. They would understand.

“So having a quirk that doesn’t suit the situation means you automatically get to sit out guilt-free even when a life is on the line?” Midoriya asked and Death Arms would never admit it, but he almost took a step back because those green eyes were calling for his head on a pike. “Glad to know our taxes are being used to let heroes like you get away with negligence."

Midoriya turned to the crowd. “Hey everyone! Remember, if you’re ever being threatened by a villain and Death Arms arrives to help, there’s a 50/50 chance he’ll just stand back and wait for someone else to do his job!” 

Oh for the love of-!

“That is not what I said!”

“Yes it is!” a heckler from the crowd called out and there was a murmur of agreement.

“Then break it down for me since I’m apparently too reckless and foolish to follow your higher thinking.” Midoriya scoffed.

why not more refecences to KObayashi san chi no maid dragon? i want to see more Kanna refernce between the girls!

Okay, that's pretty neat, should look into that at some point. The interaction in Hero Time is just too short for something like that, so they just had to make do with Death Arms getting washed up.

I've read the series, didn't hate it, it's just... you want to make a Dragon Maid reference in my Alien Superhero AU, not my Super Strong Half Dragon Girl AU?

[deathfavor]

@kisumshi said: "what made you this way?" dorahan

send 🍻 + a question for my muse's drunken (honest) answer

Hanma doesn't normally drink to the point of actually being drunk. There are times though, like tonight, where it happens be it intentional or accidental. ( It's the former in this case.) But he's only ever once drank to the point of blacking out and never since. He's seriously contemplating it in the face of that question and he promptly settles on another shot that's definitely going to fuck him up later. But who gives a shit? Not Hanma. Not any other fucking soul on this planet will either. ( Liar. He can see Draken's expression and it makes his stomach curl unpleasantly because Draken probably does even when he shouldn't. Because Draken's just too fucking nice. He shouldn't care about Hanma at all. Hanma thinks Draken's niceness will be Draken's own downfall and he dreads the thought of that. ) His throat burns and he can't tell if its the alcohol or something else.

" What way? So fucked up? " Hanma asks with a bark of laughter that rings hollow in his ears. " Same pathetic sob story as pretty much everyone else. " He responds, staring at the glass in his hand with something close to disdain. " Pathetic excuse of a mother who'd rather be drunk and sleeping around and whatever other shit she does. If she's still around anyways. Don't know who my father is, probably dead or locked up or some shit like that. " He takes another large drink from the bottle, winces at the burn but doesn't complain - he grins, bitter and angry in a way he doesn't normally show. Maybe he doesn't even realize that anger himself. " Pops tried to care for me whenever my mom dropped me off at his place before she started to forget and left me on my own. I think he pitied me and that pissed me off so I became a little hellion. Ran away before I was even ten and been living on the streets most of the time since. Disappointment runs in the family I guess. " He laughs, and laughs but it's not an amused laugh.

He finishes the bottle and sets it aside, staring ahead. " Got into shit I shouldn't have way too young, saw things I shouldn't, probably broke a few things up here. " He taps his head as he stretches out his legs and grins, teeth hiding an empty void that fills his skin. He swears if he breathes he'll hear it echo between his spine and his ribs. " Then I just...stopped feeling anything at some point when i was young. I fought and broke shit just to feel something. Wanted to be entertained somehow. Wanted to have people's attention but even that faded. Especially when I was winning fights all the time. Thrill of it all wore off and i was so bored all the time again. " Hanma spreads his arms with a laugh. " Yet here I still fucking am. Fucked up six ways from Sunday and then some. " He snickers, turning towards Draken.

His expression falls, turns flat and lifeless as he stares at the blonde. " That shit what you want to fucking hear, Draken? " He knows damn well Draken's seen the ugly bruises the decorate his skin tonight and reckless shit he's done recently. And Hanma doesn't care. Doesn't care when he's choking on blood or fucking with shit he probably shouldn't. " Wanna know all the sort of fucked up shit survived? That I've done? " He asks, a manic tone creeping back into his voice with masochistic delight.

He leans closer towards Draken, words forced out from his clenched jaw. " I don't need any of your damn pity, got it? You can take it and shove it somewhere else. " He hates the thought of it all, but he can't take back what he's spilled in his drunken state. He can just drink enough to forget he's said anything. His head falls, his whole body slouching as he leans on Draken' shoulder despite the way he'd snapped like a wounded animal. His voice softens. " Doesn't matter. None of this crap does. I don't give a shit for these gangs. I just...." He heaves a tired sigh, eyes closing for a minute and leaving whatever he started to say unfinished.

He's fucked up - he never should've said any of that shit because he doubts Draken's the kind of person who can just forget. " I hate nice guys like you. " Hanma comments quietly; it lacks any venom or bite or malice. It just sounds like a bone-deep exhaustion. It isn't true and he doubts either of them believe it, because if Hanma truly hated him, he wouldn't be here drinking with him. He wouldn't cook for him, wouldn't text him, wouldn't stay over, wouldn't let his mask drop or curl up to Draken at night, he wouldn't do any of this shit. That, Hanma thinks, is the worst part. He doesn't hate it.

Hanma lifts his head after several minutes of being so still that one could be forgiven for thinking he fell asleep. " Can you hand me another bottle? I'm already this fucked up, might as well keep going till I forget. Just drop me off at the hospital if it seems like I got alcohol poisoning. " He laughs, pathetic and exhausted but too lazy to fight to get another drink. Maybe he's had enough to forget by the morning anyways. His head falls back against Draken's shoulder, hair flat from its usual spiked state as his eyes seem distant and devoid of life despite how his chest raises and falls to prove otherwise.

[pwurrz]

what if.. childe knows that dottore is experimenting on children? what if he knows, and is utterly horrified by it and vehemently against it, but he can’t say or do anything about because he doesn’t want to put his own family in danger?

he discovers one of the kids by pure accident. he was looking for dottore, but couldn’t find him or any of his segments, so naturally he headed towards the doctor’s lab. and that’s when he finds one of them.

cowering in the corner of what could only be described as a jail cell, begging childe not to get any closer for fear of being hurt. he quickly reassures the child that he’s not going to hurt them, and he immediately starts concocting a rescue plan. if he tried hard enough he could cut through the bars of the cell with his hydro daggers, or-

“tartaglia.”

a pit settles in childe’s stomach, more severe than the usual one that accompanies dottore’s presence. childe stutters out the excuse that he was just looking for him, but given his proximity to the cell and his dimming vision, it’s obvious what he was planning to do. dottore knows this, and he’s decidedly unimpressed with childe’s attempt at a lie.

the air of the laboratory is uncomfortably thick with tension, and anyone could sense the danger of the situation. but childe, ever bold and stubborn (and perhaps slightly stupid in this moment) decides to be blunt and ask outright:

“what are you doing, dottore?”

“that’s none of your business, now is it, eleventh?”

“why does it involve kids?”

“ah, yes. the countries we have friendly relations with so generously decided to donate their youth to our.. various causes. some believe their children are simply joining our military program, others handed them to me specifically under the impression i could cure whatever ailment they’re suffering from.”

the thought that these poor kids, already suffering so severely that their parents thought they had no choice but to give them up to the fatui, were suffering even more purely for dottore’s amusement was a thought that made childe’s blood run cold.

desperate escape plans formed in his mind, like a cornered animal moments before its inevitable death. he couldn’t beat dottore in a fight, he definitely wasn’t strong enough for that. could he distract him and give the child enough time to escape? but what if there were more children? sacrificing himself to save one child would end up dooming countless others.

almost as if dottore could read his mind, the doctor simply said “you know, if something were to happen to all of my test subjects, i would have to find replacements from somewhere.. closer to home.”

it was obvious what he meant, but the sinister tone of his voice and the leer he sent childe solidified it; he was directly threatening childe’s family.

the kid in the cell next to childe was around teucer’s age, and it was so easy to imagine him in there instead, facing torturous experiments while childe was helpless to save him, knowing his reckless actions put him there in the first place.

for the first and last time in his entire life, childe took the cowards way out. that decision, and the desperate cries of the child begging him not to leave, continue to haunt him to this day.

[mydisenchantedeulogy]

In Chains [Chapter Fifteen] Let Go [Trafalgar Law]

Warning(s): arguments, sex, fingering, make-outs, tears.

No minors allowed!!

She never realized it before, but the sea beneath the waves was mesmeric. It was vast, in a frightening way but also extremely beautiful. Samira stared in awe at the dark abyss outside the porthole in the hall; the lights on the sub gave her little to work with but the changing shades of blue were enough to keep her attention.

I'd rather think about this than the events yet to come.

Meaning her long-awaited reunion with her family.

Ever since the sub was repaired all Samira could think about was this. She didn't want to go home, but something told her to trust Law and that was what she was going to do. Still, so much had gone passed her notice; the little things.

Like the sea deep beneath the ocean.

How many times had she walked past this same porthole and not looked out of it? Too damn many. And today may be her last chance. Tears filled her sad eyes.

I'm going to miss this. And them. And even--

"What are you doing?"

Samira lurched in fright and looked over her shoulder at the curious polar bear standing behind her. She took an uneasy breath and put her hand over her chest.

"You scared me, Bepo."

"I'm sorry," he uttered as he bowed his head in shame.

Samira brought up her hands in protest. She forgot how sensitive he was.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You just caught me off guard is all. I was too focused on the ocean."

Bepo hummed and peeked out the port hole. Was there something out there?

"I don't see anything."

"There isn't anything in particular out there," Samira admitted with a snort. "I just like the way the ocean looks beneath the waves."

Her face heated up in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. It sounds ignorant saying it out loud. I just never took the time to admire it until now."

Now that she was going home.

"I see it every day in the control room," Bepo mentioned as he scratched his head. He wasn't sure, but he reckoned that Samira was just upset. He understood her pain. The idea of her leaving upset him too. But what could he do?

"I... have a copy of Princess Uta's 'New Genesis' solo song," he blurted out suddenly, hoping to redirect her thoughts.

It seemed to work for now. Samira smiled widely and her eyes lit up in excitement.

"I'd love to hear it. Perhaps Law will let us blare it over the intercom system when he wakes up."

Bepo hummed.

"He's working at the moment in his room, but maybe later. I'm a big fan."

"He's still awake?" Samira asked in shock.

The bear shook his head. He was used to his captain going days without sleep, but even he was worried about him as of late. Law was planning something extreme and though the crew knew a little about it, he wasn't sure what the man was doing. But one thing was certain, Bepo trusted him.

"I don't believe this," Samira uttered in annoyance.

The man was reckless with himself. She knew that she should let it go; it was honestly none of her business, but she couldn't stand seeing him like this. It angered her to no end.

"We'll have to do a rain check on the song. Please excuse me."

Bepo hummed watching Samira as she stormed by. Perhaps he should not have told her that Law was awake. This wasn't going to end well for her, or the stoic man. 

"I'm sorry, captain."

With an uneasy breath, Samira knocked on Law's bedroom door. She waited until he gave her permission to enter, then walked in, closing it behind her.

"What do I owe the pleasure, Amunet-ya?" Law asked as he glanced up from his map at the said woman. She appeared to be annoyed, something he was not ready to deal with. 

"Bepo said you were still awake. Have you not rested since we returned?" She asked.

Law sighed. He had an idea she'd give him hell once she found out. 

"I haven't the time. The repairs on the ship had to be overseen and now I have work to do."

He hadn't the time? Samira narrowed her eyes at him. Why was he being so stubborn?

"Do you hear yourself? You sound like an idiot."

Law tossed her a heated look.

"I'm in no mood to deal with you right now, Amunet-ya."

"Boo hoo," Samira stated.

She was in no mood to hear his excuses. The man was sleep deprived, yet he continued to force himself to work.

"It won't hurt you to have a day of rest. You need it," she asserted.

Law pinched the bridge of his nose and stood. He walked over to the hatch and opened it, motioning for the door.

"Leave."

"Not until you lie down," Samira retorted.

What was her problem? She was more annoying than ever, in Law's opinion. He turned his tired eyes towards her and tightened his jaw.

"I can't rest just yet. I have to plot our next destination and not to mention where we're going is dangerous."

Why was he like this? He acted as if everything should be done according to a plan, and if that plan failed, he was a complete wreck. Was he worried about the crew? Samira softened her eyes.

"I know the Isle better than you do; I can lead us. But if you continue to push yourself then you won't be much help when it comes to watching after the crew. I saw what happened back in New Kelna. You expended your Devil Fruit power until you could no longer use it."

"I don't need this from you," Law mentioned with a shake of his head.

Samira turned up her eyes in annoyance.

"Then rest. I can keep an eye on the crew."

The pirate captain tossed her a glare. Was she serious?

"I said no. Leave or––"

"Or what?! Samira shouted. She had enough. Her power peaked, but she didn't care. "You can't do a damn thing to me in this state! As a pirate captain that makes you look reckless and weak! The crew needs you at your––"

She gasped as Law slammed the door shut. She wasn't expecting him to act so violently. Staring into his tired eyes, she felt her skin heat up in embarrassment. Her stomach twisted in dread, but she found his closeness comforting. Without caring about the consequences of her actions, Samira leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

Law widened his eyes. Why in the hell was she kissing him? Her lips were warm and welcoming, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back.

"What has gotten into you?"

Samira flicked her tongue out to wet her lips.

"I just wanted to kiss you."

Law grunted and though his head was telling him to push her away, his body was tingling from her touch. He buried a hand in her long white hair and leaned her forward, kissing her roughly. The woman hummed in response and he pressed harder, knocking her back against the wall of his room. Her fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, bringing goosebumps to his skin. This sensation was familiar; it was chaotic and confusing, but it felt so good. He felt untamed; his cock hardened.

It's her Devil Fruit, he reminded himself. She must have been infusing him with it.

The pirate captain pressed his hips into hers, hearing her groan in pleasure. He wanted her. Deprived of sleep and tingling with her power, he couldn't force himself to push her away. Law brought his hands down and grabbed her bare thighs, using the wall and his strength to lift her. He grinned as she gasped into the kiss, seizing the moment to slide his tongue into her mouth.

Samira shivered in pleasure. She wasn't sure what swayed Law into this position, but she wasn't going to argue. It's not like she'd be around to see him much longer; not when her homeland was fast approaching. Pressing her tongue against his, she tightened her lips and sucked lightly. In response, Law thrusted his hips, pushing his erection against her clothed pussy. She wasn't aware that her dress had slinked up her thighs, exposing her panties to him until she felt his jeans brush against her upper thighs and outer lips. Her legs slid around his narrow waist and tightened, wanting to feel him more.

Sliding a hand between them, Law pulled aside her panties and sank his forefinger into her wet heat; the E of his tattoo disappeared inside of her. Samira tightened in response, moaning into the kiss. As easily as the last, he added his middle finger and curled the two, pumping them into her. His thumb eased between her folds and toyed with her clit as he did.

Not able to hold back her moans, Samira broke the kiss and rested her head against the wall she was pressed against. This felt unreal.

"You're so... so––"

Law snorted.

"Are you having trouble talking, Samira-ya? You had so much to say a moment ago."

"Seh (shut up)!" Samira exclaimed. "Anna aredk (I want you)!"

He had no idea what she had said, but he knew that with her tone, it was probably a slur regarding his remark. Law removed his fingers, grinning as she arched her hips against him.

"Please."

She sounded so desperate. He understood her annoyance. Law wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her from the wall over to the desk. She managed to yank his V-neck up in the back as he sat her down, knocking his fur hat to the floor. He groaned and removed the shirt, exposing his bare chest to her.

Samira widened her eyes. The ink that she had seen peeking out from the neck of his shirt was a tribal-style heart with his Jolly Roger on it. There were even simpler drawn hearts on each of his shoulders.

"Rayie jidana (so gorgeous)," she uttered in awe.

The pirate raised a brow. He considered asking her to refrain from speaking whatever her native language was during this, but something in her tone made him reconsider. Her fingers traced along the black lines on his chest then slid down his stomach to the lining of his pants. Law shivered as she leaned forward and kissed his taunt skin. Burying his fingers in her hair, he allowed her to tease him a moment before he stepped back and walked around the side of his desk, leaning down to retrieve a square-shaped foil package from within.

Samira hummed, recognizing it as a condom. This was happening. Goosebumps littered her arms as she watched Law shove the condom into his pocket and return to the back of the desk. His fingers sank into her hair and leaned her head back.

"Lie back," he ordered.

Without a word, she rested on her back and shivered as the chill bit into her skin; her nipples hardened in response. But this was forgotten as Law sank his hand between her thighs and slid her cotton panties down. He noted the bit of wetness on the crotch as he balled them up and tossed them onto the floor, grinning as he sank his fingers back into her wet heat.

It was about time. Samira hummed as he curled his fingers in her and fucked her. She liked his hands and what he was doing to her, sending small teasing waves across her body, but she wanted more. A grin spread across her face as she stared up at him, observing his focused expression as he watched his fingers sink into her.

"Captain?"

Law's attention turned to her, eyes widening a bit. He couldn't believe it. Was she teasing him? As much as he tried he couldn't suppress the low groan that tore from his throat.

"I need you," Samira stated.

His cock throbbed in response. Law removed his fingers from her and wiped her arousal on his pants as he reached up to unbutton them. Taking the condom from his pocket, he placed the edge of the foil between his teeth as he freed his hard cock, then tore the package and covered himself with the condom.

Samira watched in nervous anticipation as Law positioned himself at her entrance. It was now or never; she had the chance to back out if she wanted to, but she didn't. She wanted him so badly. There was a bit of pain as he slid into her, stretching her to fit his size, but she took an uneasy breath and focused on the faint sensation of pleasure that was present. It grew as Law thrusted into her over and over.

The said man groaned and grabbed the edge of her dress, yanking the front up over her navel. The snake tattoo gleamed at him from her waistline; an ominous drawing that made her more gorgeous to him. With one hand Law gripped her thigh, and with the other, he teased her clit. Witnessing her arch her back and softly moan brought a grin to his face. A moment ago, she was barking orders at him and now she was on her back, taking his cock with his name on her breath.

Samira clutched the edge of the desk with both hands and rotated her hips. She wasn't going to last long, not with Law stimulating her as he thrusted into her. Each one was starting to press against her cervix and though it hurt a bit, her mind was too mesmerized to care. He knew too well how to stir the pleasure building inside her. A strong wave made her walls tighten; Samira tossed her head back and stiffened as it peeked then simmered down. She was so close.

"Law... more. I need it."

Releasing her thigh, he reached down and wrapped his fingers around her neck, squeezing her. Samira tightened around him and for a moment Law regretted the action. His cock twitched; he almost came. The princess stared up at him with tears in her red eyes; her mouth was open just a little, uttering his name the best she could. It was intense. He wanted to stop, to catch his breath before he spilled in the condom, but all he could think about was how tight and warm she felt; how beautiful she looked as she pleaded with him to let her come. He drew short, quick circles around her clit with his thumb and tightened his grip around her neck, watching her eyes roll back as an orgasm washed over her. Samira tensed up and her pussy fluttered in response, sending Law quickly over the edge with her.

The hand around her neck loosened and pulled away. Samira took in a deep breath and slowly came down from her high, resting her back against the desktop. She was in a haze for a moment; her insides throbbed and her body relaxed. The pirate hovering over her leaned against her as he caught his breath, then removed himself from her – much to her dismay – and took a step back.

Law removed the condom and tied a knot in the top, humming at how much he came. He never really took time to masturbate so it was no surprise that he had spilled quite a bit into it. He walked around the desk and tossed the used condom into the waste basket, then dressed. A grin spread across his face as he noticed that Samira had not yet moved.

"You should clean up, Amunet-ya. Aftercare is important if you don't want a UTI. You can use my bathroom."

"Yes doctor," Samira teased.

She sat up with a grunt and slid off the desk, turning to face him.

"A moment ago I was your captain," Law mentioned.

Heat spread across her face. During sex it was hot, but now it was just strange.

"I shiver to think how that would turn out."

"With your mouth, I assure you that'd you would never be free of punishment," Law retorted.

He sat down at his desk and stifled a yawn, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the woman in front of him.

"If I had known that was all it would take to put you out, then I would have given myself to you sooner," Samira joked.

Law hummed. Would she have now? The woman tightened her jaw.

"It was a joke."

"Whatever you say, Samira-ya."

She turned up her eyes and leaned down to pick up his shirt, then tossed it at him in annoyance.

"You are the most infuriating person I have ever met."

Law snorted. He too felt the same about her, but she was more tolerable than Eustass Kid and Monkey D. Luffy. Watching her storm passed him to the bathroom, he leaned his head back with a sigh. Even with her ability gone, he still felt untamed. Perhaps he wanted her more than he thought; the image of her beneath him remained in his mind, even when he laid his head down on his desk and closed his eyes.

With her business done Samira left the bathroom and returned to find that Law had fallen asleep at his desk. She turned up her eyes in annoyance – at least he was resting – and walked over to his bed, yanking the blanket off and resting it over his shoulders. For a moment she stood there and watched him; the slow rise and fall of his chest made her too feel tired. Perhaps she would return to her bunk and take a nap too.

Warm tears suddenly stung her eyes.

"I... want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me this far. All of this will be over soon and I can hardly believe that I'm going home. I just –– Please don't forget me."

Samira sobbed, then quickly covered her mouth so as not to wake Law. Her shoulders shook in anguish as she silently cried. Why did it have to come to this? She didn't want to leave the crew.

I don't want to leave you.

Tightening her jaw walked towards the door. Noticing the hat on the floor, Samira picked it up and rested it back on the captain's head. She watched him for a moment, then sadly smiled and left the room in a rush.

Law eased open his tired eyes and then shut them again once he knew that Samira was gone. What he had in mind was not going to sit well with the Princess of the Red Sand. She might never forgive him; he was certain that she wouldn't. 

[punkscowardschampions]

Buster & Rio Pt.1

Buster: [Okay, so we know the vibe has to start out awks and even more so this time because of how they left things and the radio silence for months after]

Rio: [The girlies are not living laughing loving and we would’ve wanted to reach out SEVERAL times but did not because trying to stick by what you said about being smarter and not being reckless, even though you definitely could’ve sneaked before now but c’est la vie, the vibe was ruined by a certain someone who I’m sure is accosting us and giving us the lowdown on the start of her year as if we asked lmao]

Buster: [Ugh Nancy get a CLUE babe, nobody wants to talk to you ever but especially not Rio rn, the way he is PUSHING past his sister to get away from both of them because cannot even with the thought of overhearing any of that convo but he would never dream of touching Rio atm, even + especially not in such a hostile manner]

Rio: [Like babe you’re literally on the shit list, even though you have no idea why because that argument you started was so inconsequential to you, meanwhile it ruined so much for us, the urge to also push you away would be SO real because we remember what he said about y’all hanging out at functions being besties and we’re like NO; obviously don’t be that obvious but get away from her by getting Baby Libi because she has no interest and you know it]

Buster: [mhmm, it’s actually heartbreaking because not only did Nancy not have any real interest in that drama at the time but it’s also been forever since and she’d have totally forgotten all about it, meanwhile these two are as devastated still as they were then, the audacity! You go and catch up with Fearghal aka the only person you care about here who you isn’t your other sister and parents you came with, Nancy won’t care about doing that either so you’re fine too boy]

Rio: [It’s so rude but so real, at least you did have school to focus on, as well as all the work stuff and looking for places to live for Rio, because otherwise you’d both just be fully emo with no decent distractions for either of y’all; when it is so awkward to be in the same room again but you can’t do anything to break that right now because it’s so heavy and you should at least let him have some drinks, try to enjoy himself, before attempting any kind of approaching it]

Buster: [play some pool or darts and win at those, that’ll cheer you up, we know what a competitive lad you are + yeah get some drinks down you sir because unlike christmas you can’t have started early, the most you could do is start on the plane and the flight is so short you probably didn’t because you’re not your messy sister]

Rio: [Thank God everyone’s vibe is feral, so no one is going to judge the rate at which drinks are being downed here, it’s a must, as we’re just casually watching you win whatever game you’re winning, giving Bea and Ava baby Libi updates because obviously you have been full force put the Liam stuff behind me and get the fuck over it vibes]

Buster: [for me it’s the look he’s going to give her from across a crowded room while he’s mid dart throw or pool shot at how she’s carting this baby around like it’s hers because as much as she was on team pretend Liam wasn’t my stalker at xmas she was at least keeping her distance and he was v much encouraging and helping her do that so this is a big no from him]

Rio: [when you’re going to go RED because you know exactly what he’s thinking and saying with that look but unlike being Nancy’s friend, which we don’t want to, this is a stance we’re not going back on because we can’t handle the thought of Edie cutting us out of her or Baby Libi’s life; none of this stops us from wanting to get out of here right now, so passing this bab to someone else for a cuddle so we can excuse ourself outside for a moment]

Buster: [the shake of his head like he’s really disgusted by someone’s piss poor dart or pool performance and not her interacting with her own niece is upsetting me, thank you, so yeah Ava please save the day again and take this bub and let her take that second she needs, you’re the real mvp here hun]

Rio: [Thank God for smoking area people who are always like you okay hun, ‘cos you can befriend and eventually come in with them to make them cocktails instead of Nance like in the OG, try and fail not to remember Christmas when you and Buster were making drinks/shamelessly flirting]

Buster: [and he can demand she makes him one like in the OG but it’s giving even more treating her like staff/he’s a snob and all her fam are beneath him for obvious reasons + he can be shamelessly flirting with one or several of these girls for equally obvious reasons and a horrible parallel to when y’all were flirting]

Rio: [do your own head shake of disgust, set the ingredients out along the bar for him and walk off like make your own damn drink]

Buster: [do obvs, with all the can’t the staff bants to these girls as if you don’t know her because they’d have no reason to believe y’all are related when he’s being extra posh cos lol lol this is all fun and games and he isn’t at all watching her walk away with grim satisfaction like hooray this is working and I must keep it up forever]

Rio: [at least when you’ve moved as far away as possible without leaving the room, it can be to dance with whoever and everyone and you can find Nancy just doing her drugs out on the floor and seize your opportunity to take them from her as a sassy dance move like lol bye babe]

Buster: [we know he sees this because he’s sneaking looks at everything she’s doing literally always, so bringing her a drink even if she’s more tempted to throw it in his face atm as means to take said drugs from her so that Nancy the big flop is never getting them back]

Rio: [obviously we aren’t just gladly giving them to you this time, ignoring the drink you’re trying to give us like no thank you, doing a casual dance away move]

Buster: [taking a sip of it himself like okay fine, your loss, because he’s obviously taking them from her anyway, soz he’s taller and stronger than you and can and will pull you back and take them in a hot move, were trying to be more subtle than this, you’ll have to excuse us everyone]

Rio: [pushing him, not as hard as he pushed past Nance earlier because never the vibe, no matter how angry we are at you, soz to whomever may get splashed by that drink]

Buster: [giving her such a challenging look like yeah do it because the vibe for him always is that she shouldn’t keep the peace and let things go and should instead feel her feelings whatever they are even if that means confrontation]

Rio: [shaking our head again but fully as a no this time because we don’t want to do this and weren’t meant to in front of everyone, or what were the last few months for]

Buster: [doing such a disapproving tut like ffs as he walks away as if she’s being such a doormat rn and not in fact doing the right thing by not causing a big scene in front of everyone]

Rio: [the ‘arsehole’ is under our breath so doesn’t count as the first thing we’ve said to you]

Buster: [Winnie said that we should engineer this *staff bathroom moment because one of y’all is coming out as the other goes in, it probs makes sense she’s about to come out as he’s coming in to start on this coke stash, not right away clearly, I have no doubt y’all have been ignoring each other and sulking for however long]

Rio: [make your own noise of disapproval because it’s beyond obvious what he’s coming in to do, at least he’s taking it to a bathroom unlike some people but still, can’t miss the opportunity]

Buster: [we all know he heard it but getting himself set up to do this line like he didn’t, fully expecting her to immediately leave]

Rio: [just folding your arms and resting back on the door so no one else in the fam can come in, not that you deserve the lookout but we’re doing it anyway ‘having fun?’]

Buster: [it hits SO different this time and I’m FINE, looking up at her after he’s done this and hitting her with his OG ‘not yet’ like he purely means not until the coke hits and nothing else]

Rio: [none of us are fine, shifting from the door to get your hands on the baggie and set up your own line because we got the stash and we want our dues ‘my condolences’ in the least sorry tone of all time, nudging you out of the way so we can snort this]

Buster: [barely moving because any excuse for all the proximity always, shamelessly watching her do this and checking her out while she does, before of course wiping her nostril whether she needs it or not like he did in the OG too]

Rio: [when you can’t stop looking at him either but you’re doing it with a 😠 expression like he’s doing all this just to be annoying and mean, not because he wants to]

Buster: [smoothing her dress down + pulling the ridiculously short hem a bit like he also did in the OG as if he doesn’t see her angry face and is nothing but the most helpful bestie of all time because it’s like a role reversal and I can’t resist, neither can he]

Rio: [‘maybe if you focused more on what you’re doing, you’d be having a better night’ just staring down at this hem, even when he’s moved, like what are you doing]

Buster: [‘I’m very focused on what I’m doing’ STARING at her for the longest time ‘and you know exactly what you are’ then STARING down at the dress again like mhmm you wore this with intent]

Rio: [‘being a dick’ like yeah, I noticed, good show, maintaining the eye contact despite that being more and more difficult because of what he’s doing now, raise a brow like excuse me]

Buster: [‘Why would I play fair when you aren’t?’ likewise keeping the eye contact going forever and always ‘we can’t be friends, especially if you’re going to keep dressing like that’ as if he also doesn’t look hot af in his ootn, oh lads]

Rio: [‘you made it clear you don’t wanna be friends’ gesturing towards the door and therefore to his behaviour at the bar and then on the dance floor ‘how I look has nothing to do with it’ but even our tone saying this gives away that’s not true and the eye contact now is another clue]

Buster: [‘you made it even clearer first, and you haven’t rushed to contradict yourself since’ because those months of radio silence HURT sis]

Rio: [‘that was you’ quieter and moving away but not outright leaving, acting as if we need to clean up the remnants and evidence of this coke sesh right now immediately]

Buster: [not a full wrist grab but putting his hand on hers and said wrist slightly therefore to stop her from cleaning up, like priorities, babe, we’re trying to have a deep and meaningful here ‘I did what I had to do, that’s all’ as if she didn’t and went above and beyond compared to you]

Rio: [‘You said we weren’t friends then, you, you wanted to figure it out, looks like you did’ crossing your arms because this is so uncomfortable ‘was I meant to ask for an update on how it was going, what?’]

Buster: [‘We aren’t friends, we can’t be, I figured that out when we were [the dare kiss age]’ lowkey so !! when he says this because emotions and a line of coke has not helped]

Rio: [staring at him like you can’t compute this ‘why did you do any of it then?’]

Buster: [‘Do you really not know why?’ staring at her incredulous because hello we can’t be friends because ILY]

Rio: [‘You think I’m a slut and you’re irresistible’ looking away]

Buster: [‘only one of those things is true’ so so gently lifting her chin so she has to look back up at him ‘I am irresistible’ softly and quietly because it isn’t pure bants]

Rio: [do burst out into a small but inescapable lol because the tension and you are stressed ‘you’re stupid’ but with more feeling than shade, headbutting his chest gently because no we still don’t want to look at you]

Buster: [‘you’re perfect’ because tis too true and he feels it too much to not say it ‘that’s what I think’]

Rio: [‘I’m a mess’ shaking your head and using the movement to hide even harder into the crook of his arm because casually the worst and weirdest three months AND FOR WHAT, NANCY, FOR WHAT]

Buster: [‘you’re flawless’ because don’t just mean it looks wise rn though he defs also do]

Rio: [‘shh, stop’ because we can’t handle it, will make eye contact with you again though, even though now we’re ridiculously close to you]

Buster: [fixing her hair like it got so messed up by the headbutt and her burying her head for a sec, not breaking the eye contact for a single moment]

Rio: [‘I have no clue what I’m doing’ like I must confess, so sorry but no, I am just confused and hurt]

Buster: [‘I accepted an offer from Trinity’ blurting that out because it feels terrifying that you’ll be in the same city as each other with this all hanging over you and not knowing how to resolve it]

Rio: [the pause whilst we process that because leftfield but we understand what you’re saying ‘You’ll love it there’ because he will and we’re saying it’ll be okay]

Buster: [‘I’ve worked hard to get there’ because gotta try and remind himself what his priorities should be and that there’s still a real life happening y’all could very easily ruin, that hasn’t changed]

Rio: [smile like I know ‘well, congrats’ because don’t know what else to say ‘it’s not like I’ll be there’ for the bants but also, we won’t so there’s that]

Buster: [‘Should I have gone to America?’ when he would hate that so much but he’s just like IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? Despite knowing that months of not speaking or seeing each other has changed nothing]

Rio: [doing a what? Face ‘not if you want to go to Trinity, no’ like that’s the only reason you can think of, yes it is the most important but still ‘why would that be a should?’]

Buster: [‘Because’ taking a step back because you have no idea how to verbalise all the reasons why it feels like such a bad idea for y’all to be in the same city]

Rio: [‘why do you have to hate me, just because we can’t be friends, it isn’t that black and white’ like for fuck’s sake, because we can’t carry on with the radio silence, that was dumb]

Buster: [‘I don’t hate you, I never have’ just out here blurting out every !! thought and emotion in his head, it’s fine]

Rio: [‘and I don’t hate you’ like AND ANOTHER THING lmao, oh lads, hope no one needs to pee, we’re busy being emotional in here]

Buster: [‘well, congrats’ because if we don’t at least try and take it down a notch, we’ll DIE]

Rio: [pushing him like oi 😏 ‘yeah well, you make it much harder than getting into Trinity would be’ bants but also don’t be mean to me please]

Buster: [‘I know’ so sincerely because he knows he is a dick and he’s soz he has to be and also he knows damn well she could get into Trinity if she wanted to because I’ve said it before and I will again, she’s as intelligent as him]

Rio: [‘do you have to do all that, can we not just-’ stopping and gesturing uselessly because do what, we know but don’t want to just say it]

Buster: [setting up another line for her like a peace offering and gesturing that it’s hers and she should do it, not what she meant but y’all have to start somewhere]

Rio: [for this reason, take it because you don’t need to reject it like the drink, set him one up when you’re finished like there you go ‘better?’]

Buster: [wiping her nostril again 100000x more lovingly than he did it the first time like yeah there you go that’s better, before obviously doing his own coke]

Rio: [do his for him so you can look at him without awkwardness or anger or ALL the tension, because you’re trying here ‘your sister is clueless’ as an acknowledgement that that girl did not know shit, clearly now but not at the time soz]

Buster: [playing with her fingers how they do to each other but a sigh escapes because ugh Nancy fuck you forever ‘I told you’ because he did and he can’t ever resist letting the world know he’s rarely wrong]

Rio: [‘it really, really seemed like she did at the time’ emphasis on those reallys like believe me because obviously it did or you wouldn’t have freaked out like that, looking down at your hands, giving his a squeeze for a second because we don’t want to say sorry because it became more complicated than just that but still]

Buster: [‘Yeah, I just didn’t want to hear it at the time’ because the tea is she was doing the right thing being cautious and he was being reckless and he’s had to time to recognise that now ‘you did the right thing though’]

Rio: [‘I didn’t wanna say it’ with a shrug because it took all our willpower truly but we do actually give a shit about your life and our own so you thought you had to ‘so, truce?’ taking his pinky as you’re still holding hands casually]

Buster: [looking at her like yeah but you had to, because he’s too stubborn + always thinks he knows best and can find a way around anything and so would never, a fact he’s self aware of even if he’s not about to admit any of his faults out loud lol, a nod and smile at the idea of a truce because yes please]

Rio: [shake on it and pinky swear like ‘that’s double binding’ and smile smugly like now you HAVE to be nice to me]

Buster: [‘When they cover it in first year, there’s one less lecture to have to go to’ studying law bants, as if you’d ever skip a lecture you nerd, but playing like she’s done you a massive favour]

Rio: [we know you better than that and the ‘yeah right’ comes as easy as the lol ‘bit late to convince me you’re not a massive swot’]

Buster: [when you’re genuinely just trying to push her in a playful oi manner but you’re you and in a confined space so it’s just hot]

Rio: [LOOKING at you, steadying ourself by putting our palms on the wall ‘there’ll be people out there your parents haven’t told, probably’ like go ahead]

Buster: [the oops lip bite just making it hotter still ‘You want me to leave right now, yeah?’ so in her grill more than is remotely necessary]

Rio: [‘do YOU want to go and convince some girl you’re really very cool right now?’ like it’s your priorities needing sorting and addressing, not mine lmao but we’re just staring at your lips the entire time you’re talking and then when we are]

Buster: [‘What girl?’ because the levels other people don’t exist to him rn, following her gaze and it making his own go to her lips when she’s talking + lick his own, it’s debatable to what degree any of that is deliberate vs involuntary]

Rio: [when you’re about to sass him about the smoking area girls but then you don’t even wanna bring them up because you are distracted and frankly glad about it, cup the side of his face]

Buster: [‘You know everything you need to about me, don’t you?’ because the only girl he’d ever want to be convinced of anything lbr]

Rio: [‘Do I?’ in a you tell me type way, like literally is there anything you wanna say]

Buster: [‘I haven’t changed, you can’t improve on perfection’ cocky but we’re genuinely being serious that he’s still the same person in all the ways that do and did matter underneath it]

Rio: [roll your eyes but we’re smiling because we’re glad and we also get the point you’re making ‘Guess so then’]

Buster: [not a hugger but you can’t stop yourself in this moment even though I’m sure it surprises him how !! he’s doing it]

Rio: [making a little noise like you’ve had the wind knocked out of you, not for comedic effect but being genuinely that shook but immediately hugging you back tighter so you don’t think you have to stop]

Buster: [take a moment to just hug and release some of the tension you’ve been carrying in your body forever, boy, it’s okay]

Rio: [the sigh of relief is so genuine here too ‘I missed you’]

Buster: [a little noise because he didn’t even realise how badly he wanted to hear that until she said it, fully burying his face into her neck like I shall stay here forever thank you]

Rio: [gently steering you towards the sink like let’s be vaguely comfortable if we’re staying like this because we likewise don’t wanna stop, stroking your hair so softly]

Buster: [that movement towards the sink reminding him where they are and another member of the fam or one of Fearghal’s employees could wanna piss at any moment so they shouldn’t do this here or have they learned NOTHING, can’t immediately stop though because the way she’s stroking his hair is too nice and he’s too into it ‘here isn’t where we should be doing this’ eventually, with so much effort needed to get the words out and look at her]

Rio: [a noise that’s between a hmpf and an mhmm because we know but we’re still annoyed about it tbh, soz everyone ‘it’s just a hug’ quietly because you know he’s correct but still, give us a break fam]

Buster: [picking her up ‘Let me take you somewhere else’ like can we because arguably not the best idea either but you both want to]

Rio: [doing a little gasp at being picked up ‘where?’ because of course we’re not saying no]

Buster: [‘Where’s the nearest party?’ because she would and does know]

Rio: [tell him as if it means anything to him before being like oh yeah, you’re not a proper local yet ‘few streets over, barely a walk’]

Buster: [‘no walk for you’ gonna carry you the whole way, we all know this]

Rio: [😍 at him ‘better leave this place on my own two feet though’ doing a OTT sad face like gutted, obviously]

Buster: [putting her down like he’s as gutted to do it because he is, holding her wrist and doing his little thumb stroke over it before he leads her to the door like okay go]

Rio: [doing another sigh but nodding like okay, as if it’s going to take you any time to be outside and far enough away to be back together, go girl, stop being the drama]

Buster: [he’s being the drama too, watching her go and then counting to a way higher number than is necessary in his head before he even dares to make a move to follow in her footsteps]

Rio: [be chilling out front waiting impatiently for him]

Buster: [go find her, we chose st paddys precisely because it’s a wild one so it’s not like you have to worry about the fam noticing]

Rio: [you have the time and space to bebop about and it not be noticeable, for sure, so take his hand and lead him through the packed streets]

Buster: [allow it because you don’t know where you’re going hun and you can and will pick her up and carry her into the party when you get to the house, there’s plenty of time to be extra]

Rio: [we’re trying not to linger like arguably the street is also not the place for this so we are basically running and not really looking at you like come on boy lol]

Buster: [we see y’all trying so hard not to take unnecessary risks and we respect it, well done, lads, and it isn’t far anyway you’ll soon be there]

Rio: [the quicker we get there, the quicker we can stop lowkey ignoring you for our own sanity, pull up on this rowdy house like here we are]

Buster: [pick her up and carry her in like I said because y’all have feral things to do like coke off each other and dancing the way you could never in front of your fam]

Rio: [the freedom hitting you all at once and casually treating this like a race or something because you can’t chill out]

Buster: [for real though, hence no time will have passed before he’s kissing her neck when y’all are dancing because it’s actually outrageous and ridiculous that we’ve made you wait this long to kiss]

Rio: [tilting your head towards the ceiling because this intimacy is killing you and it’s been nothing for months and now he’s just here again like you didn’t stop being this extra ‘what have you been doing?’ because you wanna know and you’re thinking about that gap now]

Buster: [looking up at her from where he’s just been GOING IN on her neck like oh you wanna talk RN REALLY? But he’s amused and also thinks it’s cute she wants to know what he’s been up to, so telling her even though he’s blatantly just been busy with school and his usual sports activities and working out, typical lad things, but talking in her ear so he can be as extra with her earlobe when he’s caught her up on his life]

Rio: [‘If you don’t wanna talk, you should make it so I can’t’ like excuse me, you know what to do and stop teasing me, sir but we’re glad you actually told us, not that we imagined you’d go completely off the rails because that’s not you at all but it’s nice to hear it from your mouth and not just assume and fill in the blanks]

Buster: [‘I’ve missed talking to you’ because he has, if y’all just wanted to hook up that’d be one thing but that’s clearly not all this is, giving a look like okay go on it’s your turn to fill me in because he’s likewise actually interested in her life and what she’s up to ‘How’s work going?’ that sounds so hilariously casual and run of the mill if you don’t know what her job is]

Rio: [open your eyes because have clearly had them closed from being into all that he is doing to you, looking at him like yeah? ‘I liked hearing about you, getting to know you again’ however brief the Christmas affair ended up being, it’s still true; so we’re telling you about the way we’ve 1000% thrown ourself into our sexwork because we would’ve anyway but being sad and lonely and thinking we had to move on, it would’ve helped you not get into another shit relationship or be excessively messy; also got a job at a bar at some point too, so that with school has filled enough of your hours too ‘better than partying about it’ with a shrug like well, I did the best I could]

Buster: [‘I’m proud of you’ not even trying to be daddy about this, he just is because y’all could’ve been so messy and gone fully off the rails and I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you had but neither of you are those bitches and he loves to see it]

Rio: [smile like yeah, you too ‘it has its perks’ because an office job would not keep you as entertained, blatantly ‘still…’ putting your arms around his neck like I’m glad you’re here again]

Buster: [just have a lil slow dance about it regardless of what type of song is playing]

Rio: [just snuggling once again because we have emotions about it]

Buster: [‘And I’m sorry’ because he never says this ever so it really shows how many emotions he has atm]

Rio: [‘Wasn’t your fault’ but we’re touching our forehead to yours because we still appreciate it, even if this basically means throwing ourself into your arms to reach]

Buster: [picking her up again to help her reach and just because ‘There’s so much I did that I shouldn’t have done and even more I didn’t do that I should’ve’]

Rio: [an unintentional lip bite as you’re maintaining such dramatic eye contact ‘so which is which?’ whispering even though you don’t need to]

Buster: [remembering when she bit the inside of her mouth to shit and even though that’s not what’s happening here, so softly touching her lip like don’t, unthinkingly]

Rio: [obviously you’re remembering too and his finger is in your mouth before you even know what you’re doing like check because the vibe is you’ve been having to hold back so it’s still all fucked up]

Buster: [doing it slower and more lovingly than he did the first time, which is going some because we all remember he was taking his time and being soft af then, accidentally on purpose killing her with eye contact that’s v !!! all the while]

Rio: [grabbing his other hand and squeezing it because you’re overwhelmed already, to the point that sucking on his finger is as genuinely a comfort thing for you as a saucy move]

Buster: [SUCH a dramatic intake of breath just from this because likewise overwhelmed and everything y’all do always feels like so much more than it is, but his move is to properly cradle her more than he was before because she’s baby and also please listen to how fast my heart is beating rn and know it’s mutual despite that being already obvious]

Rio: [pressing your ear firmly against his chest and listening ‘I can’t tell which is yours and which is mine’ because your own heart is pounding in your ears as you’re trying to listen, so !! as you squash your body against his in every place of contact you can]

Buster: [when that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard but also the most legit thing because it feels so right that you’d be in sync like that when you are about so many other things ‘Of course they’d beat the same’ just like yep my heart wants everything you want nbd]

Rio: [‘We are the same’ slowly, cautious but a definite statement still because as far as we can tell, it’s the truest thing we know]

Buster: [it’s so true that he’s gotta just say her name with all the feeling ever the way he hasn’t been able to for the longest time and has not yet this convo]

Rio: [catching the noise you make in your throat, not allowing it to fully escape ‘yes, Buster?’ like this is anything close to casual]

Buster: [doing the lean in thing, meaning when he speaks his lips brush against hers ‘can I… can we?’ imagine if she was like no we shall never kiss on the mouth goodbye]

Rio: [‘you have to, we need to know’ because truly, been waiting a lifetime it feels like and it’s all it takes not to start this ourself]

Buster: [‘Are you sure?’ because it feels like crossing a line that you can’t uncross despite all the other shit y’all have done ‘still’ adding that because she said she was sure in their last convo before radio silence and he remembers, all this being said against her lips again, he has not remotely moved back even 1mm]

Rio: [‘aren’t you?’ lowkey like come on but not fully because if you aren’t then we shouldn’t, obviously ‘it’s not going to hurt anyone, it’s only us here’]

Buster: [‘It could hurt you, but I swear I won’t’ because her mouth but obvs he wants to do it so kissing her really softly at first like let’s see if this is okay]

Rio: [the ‘you can hurt me’ getting cut off by how torturous it is being this soft, pressing your lips against his with less pressure than even your words were creating ‘oh my God’ because can’t believe what this feels like]

Buster: [having a not at all casual competition to be the softest like the child of baze he is, despite the fact it would be KILLING you both and what you both actually wanna do is lose it fully and put EVERYTHING into this kiss immediately]

Rio: [tracing your tongue over his bottom lip and sucking it as gently as is possible like you’ve never done this before and all the sensations are brand new]

Buster: [when even the sound he makes is soft and so quiet and the hair pull he can’t help doing when he deepens this kiss by sucking on her tongue is also v gentle]

Rio: [‘you taste like [the drink we did not make you]’ as a moan when we’re capable, holding your face on either side to pull ourselves further into this kiss, running said tongue around the roof of your mouth]

Buster: [telling her what she tastes like, which I feel like is something more unexpected and feelsy, his tongue so gently touching the side of her mouth because he promised he wouldn’t hurt her but can’t leave it alone]

Rio: [‘you weren’t here’ biting his bottom lip, still gently but so you know what we’re saying with it]

Buster: [‘From now on, I will be, always’ with the most feeling ever]

Rio: [kissing you harder, with more urgency]

Buster: [obvs going with it and matching the vibe, and now that y’all have started, cannot and won’t stop doing the absolute most with this makeout sesh]

Rio: [we are making out now, unrepentant, out of our way, randoms at this party]

Buster: [mhmm, watch out or get crashed into because none of you exist to this pair right here and right now and they’ve had enough forced interruptions for SEVERAL lifetimes so they aren’t stopping for anything and he simply has to find any available surface to put her down on before he drops her because his hands are too concerned with touching her everywhere and not concerned enough with holding her up the way he was when this started and still lowkey needs to be]

Rio: [literally unable to stop now, whether that’s concerning our own peril or anyone else’s, irrelevant because we have to kiss you with the force of how long we’ve had to hold back, pull him into you when you’re sat down by whatever he’s wearing today]

Buster: [so sad I got cockblocked with my other outfits because the st paddys one SLAYED, but yeah, he’s being as dramatic in contrast to how gentle y’all were being but a moment ago, there’s simply too much tension and they are finally anonymous enough at this party to be able to properly act on it, gotta just try and do every poss makeout position in the world rn, soz]

Rio: [sorry they’ve been thinking about this forever and a day now and they were feral enough before we put a massive cockblock in the way ‘are you sure?’ in the breaks you’re barely giving yourselves because have to]

Buster: [being even more feral somehow to show her how sure he is ‘I haven’t stopped wanting to kiss you since I was dared to’ when he can get the words out, however long it takes]

Rio: [slowing down again like you have to make this last because you’ve been waiting that long and it has to be worth it 🥺 eyes unavoidable at this]

Buster: [pulling out all the stops to make her close her eyes because it always KILLS him when she does 🥺 but that really isn’t hard to do with this slow and intense vibe they’re back in]

Rio: [‘We’re doing this’ like it’s just hit you, even though we are closing our eyes because easily achieved when you’re DYING]

Buster: [kissing her closed eyes like ty ily good girl because likewise dying and couldn’t handle being looked at like that ‘yeah, we are’ cos determined to never be cockblocked again, kissing her cheek and jaw and neck too, just having a lovely time]

Rio: [making a soft noise because that was adorable and we’re about it ‘it’ll be so easy, when you’re here’ genuinely because we do think so ‘only as reckless as we want it’ pulling him closer again so you can shamelessly run your hands over his body]

Buster: [‘our house, our rules’ outing that you want and are shamelessly thinking about living with her when you’re in Dublin, it’s fine and so casual]

Rio: [doing a GASP because had not even considered and now we are like okay, that would be everything ‘we’re roommates, yeah?’ smirky like oh you’ve worked it out, hooray, taking this time to kiss on your neck because yet to and we can’t resist]

Buster: [‘and occasional work colleagues’ because meant what he said about that even though y’all didn’t get to send a sex tape to her flop bf, the way his voice sounds because that’s a hot af idea that we’re now also thinking about and she’s kissing his neck for the first time too so]

Rio: [just breathing on your skin so heavily rn ‘yeah?’ tiptoeing our index and middle finger along your collarbone casually]

Buster: [a noise that’s like yeah but isn’t as coherent or casual as that because it can’t be rn ‘Unless you’re not convinced I’ll be capable of doing the job’ again as if she’s gonna be like nah lol]

Rio: [doing kisses everywhere our fingers are walking, as if we’re not controlling the specific path they’re taking all up his neck and around his ear, over his jawline to the other ear, when we get to your other side, doing a hot lol because obviously that is the opposite of what we think ‘people want real, that’s it’]

Buster: [heart eyes af at her hot lol because she doesn’t do that as much as he do ‘then they’ll love it’ because y’all could not be more real and extra about your feelings]

Rio: [‘nearly all of them’ shoutout to the shit ex, who’s definitely still keeping tabs, you would not be living hun ‘I would’ just admitting that, incase he didn’t know]

Buster: [a smirk because we know who she’s reffing with that and fuck him forever along with Nancy tbh, you deserve worse sir, you’re once again lucky Buster hasn’t beat the shit out of you ‘[shit ex’s name, probably slightly incorrectly for the fuck you] will have to get over it, or something else will happen he’ll really struggle to’ probably don’t have a fight with this grown man, boy, but you know ‘he had his chance, too many chances’]

Rio: [shamelessly 😍 at you being all smirky and protective about it ‘he’s still failing to work out who gifted me my ski trip’ this man CONVINCED it’s an OTT subscriber, no, no, honey ‘he’s way behind’ because not seeing this coming, thankfully lmao]

Buster: [‘Did you go?’ because if there was insta pics content he wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to look at it or he’d have broken the radio silence and talked to her so genuinely doesn’t know if she did or not]

Rio: [‘do you think that’s ungrateful?’ because we did because you were adamant we should go, before we said we’d go together, hence we definitely still went even if it was tinged with that sadness tbh]

Buster: [shaking his head ‘I told you to’ because he did and he was adamant and he really meant it, he’d have been gutted if she didn’t, however understandable if under the circumstances she didn’t want to]

Rio: [tell him about it, even if you sound slightly like a travelblog about it because really just about what a nice place it was because ‘I did miss you more there, though’]

Buster: [pulling her into his lap to hear about it because gotta sit there and tell him, obvs, listening intently because genuinely interested + contributing when he can ‘I’m going to have to kill whoever taught you to ski’ not even joking because he wanted to do it more than anything]

Rio: [cuddling into him very much like you did at Christmas as if no time has lapsed and you do this all the time, rub his arms comfortingly because we know ‘I couldn’t take anyone else, or, try and meet someone there-’ shaking our head like no because would not be right, even taking a friend or whatever ‘I’m sure I’ll still be really crap and you will wanna show me how to do it properly’]

Buster: [wrapping his arms around her because he shouldn’t be buzzing that she went alone but soz he is, I can’t help that ‘you can’t have been that bad, I wouldn’t avoid news of you breaking your leg or something’ like someone in the fam would’ve told my parents that dramatic goss, and then obvs telling her any goss he has about how crap his flop friends are at skiing and the cringe disasters they’ve had like lol lol]

Rio: [nudging him like oi, why would you assume I’d be that bad but we’re amused by these stories ‘your friends are unbearable’ we are clearly thinking about Nancy rn too but not trying to start that rant when we’re making up for lost time]

Buster: [‘I used to be unbearable too’ said like it’s casual and we’re not absolutely consumed by self loathing if we take a sec to think about some of the shit we’ve done with and whilst we’ve been a part of this friend group + the shit we’ve let slide that the others have done]

Rio: [‘It’s never too late’ because we’re not going to tell you you weren’t when we didn’t know you for a long while and what we did see wasn’t anything too to the contrary ‘not to sound like my mother’ because what was said about Alison and Edie before, shrugging though ‘cos we do believe it]

Buster: [‘it isn’t who I am anymore’ with his own shrug because gonna keep downplaying this til the day we really get into it and tell you the tea but that isn’t today ‘I’ll get us something we can cheers to that’ moving her off his lap and going on a drink run so he can take a sec to get out of this mindframe and back to where y’all were at]

Rio: [dust yourself off here girl and mingle momentarily because the vibe dipped and you feel it]

Buster: [go to the kitchen and try not to accidentally get in a brawl because you’re so posh and english, the vibe hasn’t dipped so far you need to do that, come back and find her with whatever drinks you’ve secured in a few, the way he’s gonna immediately grab her by the wrist and pull her away from whatever peeps she’s with because not trying to share her with nobody for even a sec]

Rio: [can’t even pretend to be mad, soz to whoever that was but you aren’t that interesting and he’s still the only person we want to talk to right now ‘you remember how to cheers properly?’ like in Irish, for the occasion lol]

Buster: [‘I’m not doing that, babe’ like lord no because how embarrassing, instead kissing her like it’s been a thousand years because it feels like it]

Rio: [‘spoilsport’ like we aren’t kissing you back with all the enthusiasm] 

Buster: [pushing her like we’re so offended and not just shamelessly wanting to push her up against something and makeout like our lives depend on it, which is obvs what ends up happening, these drinks and how easily they could spill be damned]

Rio: [LOOKING at him like we’re as offended at this audacious move ‘you hate what I wore that much?’ because definitely getting some of this drink on you, there’s no way]

Buster: [‘I hate that you’re wearing anything’ being that blatant about it as he LOOKS back]

Rio: [the briefest of looks around this party at these other random people like blame them, before we’re making out with you again, losing our drink in the process because unbothered]

Buster: [1000% back on his dryhumping her bullshit, we all knew it was only a matter of time, his drink has probably been literally thrown because the levels he does not care either]

Rio: [saying his name with so much frustration, matching our movements to yours ‘Can you tell I’ve missed you?’]

Buster: [‘I know, baby’ that babe from before turning into the first ever baby so fast there because he’s frustrated too, doing as much as he can to try and make you both less so but it’s probably doing the opposite actually, soz ‘everybody can’ as if anyone at this party cares what y’all are doing remotely but we know it’s y’all’s kink]

Rio: [‘Don’t you want them to know you like me?’ like he’s not dryhumping you right now]

Buster: [‘I don’t want you to have any doubt about how much I like you’ doing the MOST as if that needs to be proven ‘they can watch, and listen’ that sounding indecent as per]

Rio: [accidentally/on purpose, who can say, giving you a lovebite just behind your ear, almost in your hairline, because we were just kissing you all over casually and that has us shook ‘like me the best’ likewise being more deliberate with how we’re moving now like PLEASE]

Buster: [DYING about this lovebite, how could he not ‘be my favourite’ lowkey sounds like a demand because it kind of is]

Rio: [whisper in his ear ‘you know you can do what you want to me, yeah?’]

Buster: [‘The things I want to do to you…’ like it’s really hitting him that they’re here and this is really happening actually]

Rio: [nod, so your head is pressing closer against his ‘I know’]

Buster: [you’ve gotta give her a lovebite too sir, it’s only fair, probably on her collarbone because of when she was walking her fingers along his earlier]

Rio: [‘do you think anyone will notice we’re matching?’ 😈 smile because they won’t and it’s all just your kink]

Buster: [‘we’re not yet’ and immediately doing another lovebite in the exact same place she did his because ofc they will be and gotta be]

Rio: [copy his spot on him too, regardless of moving clothes out of our way if necessary]

Buster: [it’s a good excuse for you to take your jumper off and put it on her for the first time tbh to do your trick of acting like it hides the fact you’re touching her indecently for the first time ever, though we all know it hides nothing]

Rio: [when you’re overwhelmed literally by this jumper moment and you’re just losing yourself in how big it is on you and how it smells like him so much and then suddenly he’s touching you and you can’t do anything but puppydog eyes and whimpering]

Buster: [overwhelmed is exactly the word because never done this before and how long he’s wanted to touch her like this for + how fucking adorable she looks in his jumper + those eyes and all her reactions, RIP to you both honestly, he cannot stop STARING at her with the biggest heart eyes in the entire world, I’m like please don’t drop the L word rn, you’re not allowed ‘Jesus, you’re fucking beautiful’ that’s slightly safer ground]

Rio: [being so dramatically loud and extra with our reactions you’d think we’re doing it on purpose but truly have just forgotten we’re in a crowded room, thank God for loud music and people shouting because damn ‘how are you doing that?’ because the way we’d be so close so quickly because the tension, anticipation and emotions could not be higher]

Buster: [always gonna be here for it and reacting to her reactions as dramatically despite the fact she isn’t even doing anything to him but that, which would likewise seem so fake and so extra but he’s genuinely just that turned on by how turned on she is, not soz, pulling at this jumper in a ! manner with his mouth since both his hands are v busy rn doing the most ‘You belong to me, the same as this does’ because that’s how and why he can and is]

Rio: [soz we’re too busy being killed by what you’re doing to be returning the favour, boy, your time will come lol; but now we’re just OBSESSED with everything you’re saying and doing ‘I’m yours’ repeatedly, getting more feral with it as we go]

Buster: [‘yeah you are, all mine, we can’t fight that, don’t’ just telling her to cum right now immediately with the intensity of that last word and obvs also his feral actions]

Rio: [I can’t help that we definitely are, everything about that was just it for us, everyone at this party casually gonna know your name now]

Buster: [I can’t help that she’s getting 0 time to recover when she has before he’s instigating another !! makeout sesh because would’ve been dying to kiss her this entire time and close enough to do so but couldn’t and wouldn’t dare to muffle or miss a single sound she was making or word she was saying, meanwhile he’s saying ‘I really like you’ and adding more and more reallys in between kisses because gotta let you and everybody else know]

Rio: [The way we’re doing really intense but quick kisses so you have to add more and more reallys before we have to fully role reversal and push you against the nearest whatever with the force we’re making out with you]

Buster: [the contrast between that and how adorable and smol she still looks in his jumper is everything and he’d be blatant about how much he likes that too with his loud af noises about it]

Rio: [‘If I make you cum, will you say you’re mine?’ because your turn to be touched and we’re so ready we can barely hold back for your response]

Buster: [likewise as overwhelmed, yet again, don’t mind him just pulling her hair very dramatically and giving her a neck lovebite that’s equally dramatic when said hair is out of his way]

Rio: [doing your best to start slow and not just go absolutely feral on him ‘you’re so fucking-’]

Buster: [shaking his head and leaving it against her because already dying lbr ‘this is all you, Rio’ like he can’t believe she’s finally touching him because cannot]

Rio: [‘I wanna make you feel so good, baby’ so sincerely as we're increasing the pressure because holding back truly isn’t an option]

Buster: [telling her what a good girl she is, of course, simply must]

Rio: [getting closer and using your body in every way you can to do more right now without turning it into a different sex act entirely ‘I need you to cum for me too’]

Buster: [‘It’s only been for you in so long, you know that’ soz every other girl ever, tis true]

Rio: [forcing such dramatic EYE CONTACT ‘how long?’]

Buster: [maintaining that eye contact obvs ‘The truth is, I’m always thinking about you, never anyone else’ just admitting that it’s been her forever since you started doing and caring about sexy things, it’s fine ‘I have as far back as I can remember’]

Rio: [Having to straddle you again because excuse us we have to be as close to you as humanly possible right now after this admission, you’re welcome that we’re continuing what we were doing with our hands with our knickers right now, having to kiss you so softly in comparison to those feral antics because beyond romantic]

Buster: [‘How could I not idolize you, you’re that divine’ needing to get these words out because so into everything she’s done so far, is doing rn and will ever do, but the struggle to be coherent is too real and there’d be so many moans going on, don’t even talk to me about the peak romance of the way he’s kissing her back]

Rio: [‘you’ so insistently, matching how we’re moving like no it’s you because we can’t cope with this but also never want it to stop ‘I need to give you what you deserve’ like these girls ain’t and we know it]

Buster: [cannot cope either and is losing it here, excuse us everyone ‘I need you’ with all the feeling ‘we’re meant for each other, to be together’ the drama mick]

Rio: [‘We can be, like this’ again, the most earnest like you aren’t riding him in this houseparty, trying to make him cum ‘nothing has to stand in our way, it can’t’]

Buster: [‘Nothing and nobody will, not ever, we won’t let anything stop us again’ as sincere, despite the very clear can’t and won’t stop of these feral antics also going on alongside] 

Rio: [shaking your head so fiercely because still mad at that waste of time tbh, soz we had to manufacture it before you fully got carried away and eloped ‘You make me so happy’]

Buster: [grabbing her hand and doing a pinky promise as if the words he just said weren’t extra enough and he also needs to swear in a legally binding way lol ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you feeling exactly like you do now’]

Rio: [fully going in and doing basically all you can so that is the truest statement and promise it can be because yes]

Buster: [hard same, which is just as well because you can’t go on like this forever lads, have to cum eventually, feel free to kiss while you do this time though because we really denied you the chance to do so at xmas hardcore and I still feel bad about it]

Rio: [unless otherwise stated we’re just making out tbh because the fact we can is a novelty that has not worn off, honey, not after all this time not being able to]

Buster: [mhmm, it’s an absolute constant, including when he gets up to find a bathroom and clean up the endless jizz he finds himself covered in when with this gal because he will be taking her with him and leading her by the hand like she lead him through those streets for the glorious parallel of y’all getting to be alone in a bathroom again eventually, but there’s no way there won’t be a queue of drunk peeps 47 miles long so you’ll have plenty of time to be kissing and anything else you want]

Rio: [We love a parallel, we also LOVE inconveniencing all the partygoers who want to use the bathroom after us because you know we’re shamelessly taking as long as we please here, not caring how unpopular we make ourselves because too in love, sorry ‘were you dreading seeing me?’ because it was awkward]

Buster: [yep his whole MO is that he’s a bit of a prick and does not remotely care so, party peeps you’re barely on the radar and the least of his worries, bye, I also love and need to point out that he’s really savouring checking her out in his jumper while they are standing in this queue, including twirling her around so he gets every angle ‘Dreading that I might do something the opposite of all this’ because he can be a massive cunt when he’s hurt and angry, we all know]

Rio: [We are truly making the most of this jumper moment for ourself and for him because we love it too but not as much as we love how much he likes it; nod your head because we get it and you could’ve wasted another occasion ‘I think we’d always end up here’ like we’re bound to be, whatever happened inbetween ‘but I’m glad it was tonight’]

Buster: [‘me too’ on both counts, looking around at the carnage all around them though as he pulls her in closer to him to protect her from it because there’s probably some bullshit fight or row happening further ahead in this queue, like damn we really can do whatever we want rn and we really chose well]

Rio: [cuddle into him and hide under his arm, not that you are particularly frightened but you can and it’s nice feeling safe and secure ‘I can’t believe you’re going to Trinity’ best surprise ever casually]

Buster: [raising an eyebrow like oh? Giving a face like he’s so offended, as if she’s saying she can’t believe it because as if he’d get in, but he can’t keep it up as he’s shamelessly buzzing as well so the smug smirk he can’t help doing and ruining the fake offended face for quickly turns into a genuine smile which turns into a lowkey grin ‘I can’t wait’ yet again so sincere and excited because he hates chelsea with his whole heart by this point and needs to leave but obvs things could not have worked out better how they have with y’all on top of that, those 3 words making me a bit emosh because his tone, he never just gets pure excited like a kid at christmas about anything and if he does nobody is openly being shown it like this]

Rio: [the way we are BEAMING at you because we’ve definitely never seen you this excited and we could not be happier for you, even if we weren’t now shamelessly invested ourself, we would still be buzzing for you to get out and start living your dream; turning this one arm around your back embrace into a full two arms around you squeezing you so tight hug]

Buster: [‘I knew you’d be glad I was going there, whatever happened between us, or didn’t happen’ because she’s always been his hype gal and there’s no denying that or how much he appreciates it ‘I wanted to tell you as soon as they told me, I almost did, then, and loads of times after’ that second part said quieter into her hair which he’s buried himself in]

Rio: [‘I’ll always want the best for you’ just true, picking up his hand and giving it a kiss, stroking our cheek with it after ‘I must’ve started a million messages to you’]

Buster: [‘that’s why you’re my girl, believing in me and refusing to give up on us’ because also true, he couldn’t be with someone who wasn’t like him in both those aspects]

Rio: [‘I love hearing you call me that’ with the biggest hearteyes ‘I wanna be your girl all the time’]

Buster: [‘you are, my favourite girl, for all time’ giving her the hearteyes back ofc]

Rio: [‘even when you’re a rich and successful lawyer?’ on our tiptoes so we can just look in your eyes and focus on nothing else]

Buster: [picking her up as per so the eye contact can be even more intense ‘Especially when I’m a rich and successful lawyer, I’ll thank you for helping me get the success by spoiling you with the riches’]

Rio: [‘you’re so fucking daddy’ doing a little lol because we are so into you it’s ridiculous]

Buster: [listing off the mad shit he’s gonna buy her like a mansion and what cars etc like when they were little kids playing mash when we accidentally made them baze 2.0 in another life, like yes I am daddy because there’s no bants or getting silly with it, he means this all wholeheartedly]

Rio: [the noise we have to make because we don’t even know where to begin with how much we want all of this ‘what do you want from me?’ as we’re stroking your lips because you’re saying the nicest things]

Buster: [‘You’re everything I want’ because true ‘you just have to do what you already have been, it’s perfect’]

Rio: [doing your thing where you’re speaking against each other’s lips because emotionally compromised ‘all of me is yours, before anyone else’]

Buster: [his 2nd ‘baby’ of the night slipping out there against her lips before he’s kissing her because can’t cope]

Rio: [kissing him back, trying to go as deep as possible ‘cos can’t be close enough ‘we were made for each other, I’ll never be as good for anyone else’]

Buster: [‘I haven’t forgotten’ because remembering when y’all got home at christmas and were being your most feral and said that even though you were drunk af and should’ve forgotten he couldn’t and didn’t, could not be kissing her any deeper rn or holding her any closer, it’s simply not possible]

Rio: [doing a little squeal and sucking your bottom lip into our mouth, nibbling it gently though because behaving]

Buster: [I have to say that y’all get your spot in this bathroom so that you can fall into it, and probably lowkey almost whoever is coming out, cinematically, kissing and never stopping, through the door and then against it when you can bring yourselves to close it, soz I don’t make the rules, except I do, and so I also say that despite the fact they came in here for him to clean up once they’ve had the longest makeout sesh against the door, he has to do his fave thing ever and eat her out right there and right then because it has yet to happen and that’s a tragedy, pick the most iconic bathroom surface to do this and go at it, boy]

Rio: [We love the visual and the vibe honey, shout-out to everyone in that queue who’s going to know exactly what’s going down when y’all just need to piss, we don’t care at all; ‘I missed you so badly’]

Buster: [soz not soz to everyone still in that queue because he can and will do this forever and ever no fucks given, he loves it and letting her know that and how much he missed her too in no uncertain terms with everything he’s doing cos defs not gonna stop to talk]

Rio: [just giving you all the reactions it is possible to give because duh, everything was already SO intense and now it’s been kicked up a thousand notches it feels like, holding his face up for a second because overwhelmed and need you to know that in no uncertain terms too ‘you are so good’]

Buster: [overwhelming is not the word again, for both of you, we get it, literally taking everything in me to stop him saying ily because you can’t yet thank you and we already cannot discuss his face or how his voice sounds since we know he’s the most into this it’s possible to be for someone who’s not on the receiving end lol ‘I have to be, it’s what you deserve’ failure is never an option but especially rn at this ‘and you taste so good, do you know that?’ Kissing her like see]

Rio: [I can say it at some point ‘cos she did but I’m trying to hold out for as long as I can lol, as hard as that is right now because we are THE most into you we’ve ever been and yeah that’s really saying something; just here moaning into your mouth and this kiss being so frenzied ‘cos we don’t even know what to do with all these feelings ‘when are you going to fuck me?’ like PLEASE but also probably not here in this random’s bathroom when there is literally a queue at the door]

Buster: [I’m likewise trying to save it because he did not say it this convo and I don’t think you should sir because I always accidentally make characters say it too soon cos I have no chill but not everybody is that bitch, anyways, hitting her with another ‘not yet’ because first thing he said but with ENTIRELY different energy obvs lol, really deliberately taking his time to kiss back down to where he needs to be to resume his feral antics, alternating between killing her with softness and doing lovebites anywhere on her body he feels like it]

Rio: [I’m as bad for it tbh but she is one I can actually stand by it with because it makes sense in this scenario so yolo lmao; be back at it again and the fake pout you do at the not yet is SO short-lived because we cannot ‘own me’]

Buster: [you're not an immediate ily kind of boy with how we’re doing this reboot of y’all so I must find chill, it’s fine, you do say lots of other v intense things and have extra reactions it’s not like she’s giving it all and he’s cold, speaking of, finding a way to moan SO loud in response to what she just said despite what he’s up to cos v into it]

Rio: [we all know you do boy, it’s fine, can’t be very well starting this secret affair if we’re going to be insecure about things like that, we’re both risking it all, whatever we do and don’t say, though we are saying SO much rn because dying, to the point of unintelligible but you know the vibe ‘I’m yours, daddy, your girl’]

Buster: [neither of you are insecure peeps and I can’t relate but I truly love it for you, he’s likewise dying because already his fave thing to do but he’s deffo never gonna have had this kind of reaction before and we all remember and know that the d word especially is EVERYTHING, so he couldn’t be doing more rn, soz again peeps outside this door, and it also couldn’t be more blatant that he’s as turned on as her this entire time]

Rio: [‘I think I’m gonna-‘ because how much more can we take ‘If you keep, you’re killing me’]

Buster: [you've gotta keep on and kill her, that’s the law, enjoy that everyone outside the bathroom door]

Rio: [holding onto you now like we’ll genuinely faint if we don’t, kissing you as we shakily move towards this door on the way out for a parallel]

Buster: [could not be holding onto her tighter because that !! about everything that just happened, pick her up and carry her out of here the way you did into this party for an added parallel, still kissing forever and therefore almost crashing into queue peeps on your way out, I love that you didn’t even clean yourself up like you went in their to do boy just got into more of a mess with how horny that made you lol, but I get it, priorities and I’m sure someone was hammering on the door by the end of all that with how loud you would’ve both been]

Rio: [you really made an attempt and then totally forgot about it and I love that for y’all; ‘everyone at this party hates us’ so proud of yourselves like heheh 😏]

Buster: [I like to imagine they are just chilling on either one of the top or bottom stairs depending if that bathroom was upstairs or down, recovering and unrepentant, doing his own smirk and looking at her like as long as you love me idc cos he really gives no fucks, lots of peeps hate him I’m sure especially when he’s in Dublin + it’s st paddy’s and he couldn’t be more posh or English lol ‘I’m used to that’ the unspoken but I’ll never get used to us doing this ‘don’t worry, I’ll protect you’]

Rio: [do a sad face like no, I don’t like that at all ‘I’ll protect you’ holding onto his arm like I’ve got you, babe]

Buster: [He does not like her sad face at all so giving her a huge hug even though he wasn’t a hugger]

Rio: [‘I’ll get you a drink you can finish’ like hold on]

Buster: [‘I’ll go’ he has to offer because he’s that bitch even if she’s like no no]

Rio: [just get up and do wait here hands like no you won’t]

Buster: [absolutely must pick her up and put her back on the stair cos it’s too easy and go himself]

Rio: [😒 but 😏]

Rio: so rude

Buster: Someone would start talking to you if I let you get them, I’m not sharing you

Rio: Where do you want to go next, so we can be alone

Buster: Maybe we should go back, there are plenty of places at the pub we can be alone, especially when everyone’s so distracted, and we’ve already played hide and seek in them all

Buster: our chances aren’t going to be as good anywhere else

Rio: That’s your fault for looking like that

Rio: but sounds like a plan

Buster: I don’t know, if I’d have planned for any of this I would’ve booked a hotel for us to escape to before the rooms were all rented out by tourists

Buster: Perhaps I had the right idea at Christmas taking you back to ours

Rio: We’ll have to show face again, at least for a while

Buster: Yeah true, it would look suspicious if we both completely disappeared

Rio: entirely tempting as that is…

Rio: You’ve come all this way to see people, I’m always in and out

Buster: Being too easily tempted is what fucked things up for us last time

Buster: Lesson learned

Rio: Doesn’t mean yours is entirely off-limits, we just have to time it right, before your parents want to be home but long enough that we’re not being looked for by anyone else

Buster: Patience is apparently a virtue, I remember

Rio: 😌 Remind me, like

Buster: I don’t think keeping you waiting for [whatever drink he has found in the carnage of this kitchen] will really cut it, babe

Rio: As long as that’s all that’s taking you

Buster: It doesn’t matter what’s taking me that long or even how long it takes me, I know you’ll stay exactly where I put you

Rio: Not if you’re talking to someone else

Buster: It worked earlier, I don’t need lightning to strike twice

Rio: It did not

Buster: I’m not talking to anyone except you

Rio: Uhuh 

Buster: Come on, it’s a nice surprise, I swear

Rio: Now you have my attention

Buster: Good, because you’ll like it

Rio: I like you

Buster: Well, you’ll like me more

Rio: feels impossible but if anyone could

Buster: It’d be as impossible for me not to have faith in you

Rio: I haven’t moved, I trust you

Buster: I’ll allow it if some lad I don’t trust sits next to you

Rio: I can handle lads

Buster: So can I, but my way would spill the drinks and ruin your surprise

Rio: Yeah you owe me watching you fight but not right now

Buster: It wouldn’t count, be over so fast you’d barely see anything at all

Rio: Come be hot over here, I miss you

Buster: [do come back and hand her whatever drink you don’t really care about and the surprise which you do, I like to think it’s something else that reminds y’all of your date day but idk what that could be, unless you found ingredients for the cocktail and you’re just making that for her rn after handing her a boring decoy drink *pulls cocktail shaker from behind his back* vibes lol]

Rio: [whatever it is we’re a sentimental bitch so you know it’s going to get us lmao, basically kissing you mid-sip ‘cos we had no clue honestly so we are that caught unawares ‘you’re indecently cute, you know that?’ just LOOKING at him]

Buster: [clearly he’s a sentimental bitch too, behaving like this when nobody asked, god bless you both, I love you, giving her the biggest hearteyes because he loves her too and he missed her too clearly even though he wasn’t even gone that long]

Rio: [We know neither of you has truly had the chance to express this sort of energy fully but damn]

Buster: [‘I couldn’t stop myself thinking about it, it was always on my mind’ meaning that date obvs]

Rio: [‘It was the best day’ not even being hyperbolic about it here ‘there’s no one to hide from there, not then, anyway’ because no one else needed y’alls time and attention that day]

Buster: [‘If we were staying, I’d take you out again’ damn baze needing to go home and thwarting him being able to take her on another date]

Rio: [tell him where you could go because obviously you know more places here ‘We can, when you’re here and it’s not an event’ because will be entirely different when you just live here too]

Buster: [not this boy looking up the place she said and telling her everything he’d order for her off their menu like we’re just having a lil fantasy date here and now]

Rio: [obviously we’re going along with it because we love ‘you can feed me again’]

Buster: [feeding her some of her drink like yep just like this because we love to be extra]

Rio: [being as about it as you were in that restaurant lbr]

Buster: [we know it’s mutual af]

Rio: [shaking our head ‘cos ‘I can’t stand being around you and not being with you’ getting in his lap to prove our point]

Buster: [pulling her closer to show that’s mutual af too, touching one of the many lovebites he gave her when he was going to town earlier, probably a thigh one that nobody at this party rn can see but y’all know is there]

Rio: [giving him that knowing smile about it ‘it’s like having your name on me’ touching another, more obvious one, ourself as we say this]

Buster: [playing with whatever jewellery she is wearing tonight thinking about how he could engrave it secretly or it could be his initial or all the possibilities like hmmmm ‘you could, you know’]

Rio: ‘I’d need a longer dress’ because imagine if you tried to do your name in hickeys, it’d be well down her leg lmao but we’re also watching you of course so the ‘yeah?’ is quieter and more real]

Buster: [an amused expression at what she said but he’s stopping what he’s doing long enough to write his name on her back like not if I did it there, that would work, getting to the end before he LOOKS back at her and answers the second part with a sincere ‘yeah’ of his own because legit thinking of subtle ways to do it so they wouldn’t get caught, sadly it cannot just be his name on a necklace in this era, one day lads, one day]

Rio: [loling because it tickles but we’re also so hearteyes ‘You know I want it’ like I would love nothing more, boy]

Buster: [‘You know I’ll give you everything you want’ because he will and gotta remind her of this even though he’s said it before and she knows]

Rio: [writing ‘you’ all over him and hiding in his chest because yet again we’re overwhelmed]

Buster: [kissing her everywhere he can reach while she’s hiding because still letting her but simply must when his feelings are as high]

Rio: [making a little noise on every kiss, as well as moving in your lap]

Buster: [his own lil noises every time she moves]

Rio: [‘I’ve never needed someone like this’ tilting your head up enough that isn’t entirely muffled]

Buster: [‘I’ve never needed anyone’ like fullstop in any sense and in all areas of his life because self reliance and independence is everything, take note Nancy you flop]

Rio: [‘I know’ stroking his chest, casually but so soft ‘you’re good at it, though’ like despite the lack of practice ‘you let me be as needy as I want’]

Buster: [‘I’d let you break every rule I’ve ever held myself to’ because he would and he will do when y’all inevitably hook up at some point with no protection in sight, but soz not soz this is how special and how much of an exception she is]

Rio: [rest your chin on him because you have to look at him again !! ‘You know I’ll make it worth it’ so serious about it]

Buster: [‘It’s already started, and you did’ thinking about how he’s called her baby and that’s a first, small rule break though it is]

Rio: [shifting to push yourself up so you can really slowly kiss him, cupping his chin so you can pull him in]

Buster: [never need an excuse for a makeout sesh, fully lying her on these stairs, absolute disrespect and no fucks given to anyone else who might be around]

Rio: [having a marvelous time on these stairs, step on over if you must, people, we’re really not paying attention at all, we have making out to catch up on ‘cos feeling like we should’ve been doing this forever nbd]

[beels-burger-babe]

Try it, I Dare You

*** Greetings! So this little fic is part of Familial Attachments which I wrote ages ago. I randomly got inspired by Big Bro! Lucifer and decided to branch off of it. Quick reminder that this MC is not a Teen! MC and therefore not underage. Thanks, everyone for the love and support! This fic is a long one. -B ***

Summary: As Lucifer forms a more familial bond with MC, the other brothers find themselves falling for the human romantically. Lucifer notes the changes in his brother's intentions and is not pleased.

Gaining you as an honorary little sibling was one of the best things to ever happen to Lucifer.

It gave him someone he could open up to, someone to fawn over, someone he could be soft with.

This change in dynamic between you and Lucifer had caused a number of things to change in the House of Lamentation in general.

You and Lucifer had become practically attached to the hip. Where you went, it seemed he wasn't far behind. The other brothers had joked that he had degraded himself to be your guard dog (a comment that had them all scrubbing the entirety of the hall's floors with their own toothbrushes), and in all honesty, he sort of had. Lucifer spent more time outside of his office, and would instead do his work in the lounge, where he could personally keep an eye on you.

It was this extra time around you that had caused Lucifer to begin to notice things.

It began, as most problems within the house do, with Mammon.

You had been talking with Mammon on the couch as Lucifer quietly did paperwork in the background.

He hadn't been listening in on the conversation (as frankly, it was none of his concern and you did deserve your own privacy), but your bright laugh had momentarily caught his attention.

When he glanced over, he saw you double over, nearly in tears from something Mammon had apparently said. It was nice.

What wasn't so nice, was the openly soft, adoring look that he was giving you under the knowledge that you weren't looking. His cheeks were dusted visibly flushed as his eyes glistened with affection.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed as the expression quickly disappeared once you turned to face Mammon once more and continue your conversation.

Paying closer attention now, he noted how Mammon's hand was draped over the back of the couch, his fingertips ghosting over the tops of your shoulders. A fond smirk remained glued on his face as he watched you talk passionately, and didn't even make an attempt to interrupt you as he would with most people.

Most damning, however, was the fact that the blush never quite left his face.

Lucifer pressed his lips into a thin line.

Mammon quite clearly had romantic interests in you, and that just wouldn't do.

It wasn't that Lucifer didn't trust you to know what's best for yourself. No. He knew that you were exceedingly clever and did, in fact, trust you to make your own choices. It was precisely why he hadn't done anything about Asmodeus's hollow flirtations, or Satan's teasing, or Belphegor's sleepovers. He knew that if you were truly bothered by it, you were more than capable of getting them to leave you alone.

He didn't, however, trust his brothers with you.

With the new pathway of thinking that Mammon's actions had opened that day, Lucifer had noticed that Mammon was not alone in his not-so-innocent intentions with you.

In fact, it appeared that you had captured the hearts of each of his brothers.

It was all too obvious to him now.

Satan's hands lingering on yours as he passed you books. Asmodeus's comments being less shallow and materialistic and more personal and sentimental. Levi's awe-filled eyes, being fixed on you rather than the games the two of you played. Belphegor, cracking open an eye to peer up at you when you weren't looking as he "slept" on your lap. Beel's fidgeting and blush as he asked you to help him work out. Mammon practically melting whenever you ruffled his hair; even as he protested and swatted at your hands.

Lucifer cursed his past self for being so oblivious.

Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that you, the innocent pure soul that you were, were completely oblivious to all of their advances. You would simply giggle or brush it off entirely as just one of the many weird things that his brothers did.

It was unacceptable.

Lucifer, although he seldom admitted it, loved his brothers. He truly did. But he also knew how reckless, moronic, and just overall dangerous they could all be. You deserved better than that. It was for this reason that Lucifer had made it his personal mission to put an end to these revolting advances.

-

Asmodeus smiled as he practically skipped over to where you were reading in the living room, "Hey MC," he draped his arms over your shoulder from behind and nestled his chin on top of your head. "What are you doing today?"

You chuckled and moved your head to gaze up at the bubbly demon. "Good morning, Asmo. I'm not doing much. Just relaxing, I guess. Why?"

Asmo could feel his smile widen at the information. He had been trying to get you all to himself all week, but there was always someone else around or something else that you had to do. Now was his chance!

He hummed as he snaked around the chair to face you. "Then that means you're free to spend the day shopping with your truly!" He shot off a cheeky wink to end it all off.

Asmo felt his heart flutter as your eyes glittered in excitement at his words. "I'd love to Asmo! Just let me gather a few things and we'll-"

"Ah! MC. Are you heading out for the day?"

All the light and warmth that Asmodeus had been feeling instantly plummeted as Lucifer entered the room. His brother was obviously trying to play it off as though he hadn't orchestrated this, not even looking at the two of them as he thumbed through a few papers in his hands, but Asmodeus knew better.

You, however, were none the wiser.

You practically lit up as Lucifer walked into the room. "Yeah! Asmodeus invited me to go shopping with him. We're probably going to be gone for the better part of the day," Asmodeus's bad mood caused by his brother's presence softened as you looked back at him.

Asmo plastered on a smile and wrapped an arm around your shoulder while glared sharply at Lucifer. He hoped that maybe this time he'd actually take the hint and leave everything alone. "Was there something you needed, big brother? Or are you just here to grace us with your presence?"

Asmodeus regretted his words, as the moment he saw them, Lucifer smiled sharply, like a cat who'd just captured its prey. "Well, since you asked, Asmodeus, I was hoping the two of you could pick up a few things for me," Lucifer began to list off rare item after rare item. Asmo could nothing but watch as the dread in his stomach grew heavier and heavier.

You chuckled nervously as Lucifer reached what had to be the twentieth item. "That's quite a bit, Lucifer. I don't think I'd be able to remember it all, and even if I did, I don't know where to begin looking for half of the things you listed," your face scrunched up adorably in thought before you snapped and looked up at the two demons. "I know! Why doesn't Lucifer come with us! That way he'll be able to get his things, and we all can spend time together. Sounds nice, right?"

And there it was.

Asmodeus did everything he could to keep the disappointment off his face, as Lucifer patted your shoulder. "That sounds like an excellent idea, MC," Asmo bit back a growl as Lucifer pulled you out of his arms and lead you towards your room. He glanced back at Asmo with a smug, prideful, look on his face. "We'll go get ready. Thank you for arranging this day out, Asmodeus."

Asmodeus could do nothing but pout as Lucifer walked away with you.

-

Satan had never felt so... tender-hearted before.

He watched you affectionately as you rambled on about your day while effortlessly helping him make supper.

There was something so wholesome and domestic about the entire situation that reminded him of the few romance novels he had read. Initially, when he read those books, he thought the poetic descriptions of the person's heart skipping and the tingling warmth filling their body was a gross exaggeration, but now he knew, and he never wanted that feeling to go away.

He moved by your side and stirred one of the pots on the stove while you diced tomatoes. As he listened to you speak about an enchantment you were trying to get the hang of with Solomon, he suddenly remembered one of the more cliche moments from the books he read.

Glancing at the sauce, Satan carefully scooped up a little bit into a spoon and gently blew on it to cool it down. He turned to you and held the spoon out towards you. "I'm not sure if I got the spices balanced outright. Would you mind-"

Before he could speak any more, a head. that most certainly did not belong to you, swooped down and ate the sauce off the spoon. You and Satan blinked as Lucifer, who had somehow appeared behind you, pulled away from the spoon with a thoughtful expression. "The sauce is good. I'd say it's probably done now," Lucifer stated calmly as his thumb wiped at the corners of his mouth. Satan's grip tightened on the spoon's handle as he snarled at his brother.

You looked awkwardly between the two as Lucifer draped his arm onto your shoulder. "Lucifer? What are you doing here?"

Lucifer's expression softened as he looked down at you, "I just wanted to check in on you," Satan's eye twitched at the excuse. Lucifer tilted his head before he continued. "Also, I saw Mammon sneaking into your room, muttering something about your jewellery box and wanted to give you a heads up."

Your eyes widened as your head snapped in the direction of your room. "What?! Why didn't you start with that?!" Lucifer's smile widened as you made your way towards the kitchen exit. You glanced back at Satan with sympathetic eyes, "Sorry, Satan. I'll promise I'll help you make dinner next time!" Before Satan even had the chance to respond, you had taken off down the hall, yelling his older brother's name.

With you gone, Satan turned to Lucifer with full, unrestrained fury. "What the fuck was that for?" he spat as he stepped into Lucifer's space.

The elder brother merely rolled his eyes and stepped around Satan as though he was nothing more than a hissing kitten. "I could be asking you the same thing. You were getting awfully close there."

Satan's face grew red, though it was hard to distinguish whether the colour was from anger or embarrassment. "That's none of your business!"

Apparently, Lucifer didn't deem a response necessary, as he simply dismissed his brother with a cocky wave of his hand and strutted out of the room in the same direction that you had left.

-

Beelzebub was taking a chance and stepping outside of his comfort zone.

Ever since discovering a small, weak flower in the shadows of the Hall of Lamentation and nursing it back to health, Beel had taken up gardening as a hobby.

None of his brothers knew about it, to his knowledge, and that was okay. If anything, the soft-spoken demon preferred it that way.

But when he noticed that it was particularly nice outside and that you were roaming around with little to do, he decided to let you in on his little secret.

Beel stole a glimpse over his shoulder at you. You were hunched over, humming to yourself as you worked away, your hands knuckle deep in the rich soil with smudges of dirt smeared across your forehead. The gentle dim light of the Devildom sky bounced off your skin and blanketed you in its glow, only adding the beauty you projected.

The sight alone stole his breath and momentarily made him forget about his hunger.

He opened his mouth to speak to you, but was cut off by the sound of heavy footfalls thundering towards you and a loud dangerous growl.

Beel's eyes widened as he notice Cerberus turn the corner, heading straight towards the two of you in a dead sprint.

Without thinking, Beel quickly tackled you to the side, just as the three-headed hell hound rushed past you, demolishing the garden in his wake.

You did a double-take between Beel, Cerberus and the garden as you scrambled to your feet. "Cerberus? How in Diavolo's name did he get loose?" you anxiously ran a hand through your hair began to head in the direction he took off in. "Lucifer taught me a few tricks for catching him. I'm going to go get him! I'm so so sorry about all of this Beel! I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Without another word you took off after the beast, shouting it's name.

Beel frowned and looked at what remained of his garden. He felt his heart sink a little at seeing all of his hard work destroyed. With a heavy sigh, he slowly made his way towards Cerberus's den to see just how bad the damage was.

Only, when he arrived, the pen's door didn't even have a scratch on it; almost as though someone had let the dog out.

-

Leviathan paced around his room as he muttering to himself as tightly clenched to tickets.

"Alright, Levi. It's not a big deal," he whispered reassuringly. "You just have to go out there, hand them the tickets, and ask them to come with. You already checked their calendar when you were in their room last time, and there are no mentions of any upcoming events on their Devilgram, so they won't be busy. O-Of course, they could always reject you for being a stupid shut-in and a gross o-otaku, b-b-but they're your Henry! Right? They have to agree! Okay!" Levi took a deep breath of courage and quickly flung open his door.

He charged to the living room where he knew you would be lounging with Lucifer.

Upon seeing him, your expression lit up and you graced Leviathan with one of your dazzling smiles. The otaku swore that he could hear his heart go "doki-doki". He stumbled to a stop as his face blushed, and quickly hid the tickets behind his back. "H-Hi MC."

"Hey, Levi-chan!" Oh Diavolo, he loved it when you called him that. "What's up? You look like a man on a mission."

Levi briefly noted Lucifer side-eyeing the two of you as he began to stutter out an answer. "W-Well you see, uh... I-I just um...There's this th-thing that..." He let out a small noise of frustration at his own incompetence.

But you never laughed, or sighed, or groaned, like any of his brothers would have. No. You merely sat there and waited patiently for him to find his words with a gentle smile on your face.

Another deep breath and Levi composed himself. "Did you want to go to an idol concert with me this weekend?" Levi couldn't even bring himself to look you in the eyes as he asked the question. "O-Obviously you don't have to, b-b-but you seemed to like their music when I played it the other day, a-a-and you aren't busy so I thought-"

"Actually," Levi's mouth snapped shut as Lucifer spoke up, "MC and I have plans with Diavolo this weekend."

Levi's head whipped over to look at you and noted the slightly confused expression on your face. "I thought that was next weekend?"

Amber eyes narrowed at the words, as Levi slowly turned to glare at Lucifer. It was all to clear to the Otaku what was happening here.

Lucifer shrugged, not even phased by the venomous stare of his brother, and pulled out his D.D.D. "Barbatos messaged me saying that Diavolo had an important meeting pop up next week and asked if we could move our little get-together to this weekend instead."

You huffed and crossed your arms. "I know he's the prince and can't help it, but making last-minute changes like that is just rude."

Lucifer chuckled at your annoyance and ruffled your hair. "I know, but it's nothing either of us can help. I'll just confirm that we're good with the change and-"

"No." Lucifer and Levi both looked at you in shock. Levi dared to let his heart flutter with hope at the determined look on your face. "I can make plans with Diavolo any time. This concert is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it clearly means a lot to Levi. Tell him that I'll have to take a rain check. I'm going to be spending the weekend with Levi-chan."

Levi instantly let out a cheer of victory as he stepped forward spun you in the air. "Thank you, MC!!! Oh we're going to have so much fun! I swear you won't regret this!"

You giggled as you were set back down onto your feet. "Thank you for inviting me! This is going to be amazing!"

You and Levi began rambling about all the things you wanted to do at the concert and what you'd need to prepare in advance for the ultimate experience.

Levi couldn't believe it! He was going to spend an entire weekend getting to show you the things that he loved! It'd be just the two of you and it'd be perfect.

"I have an idea," Levi felt himself tense as Lucifer spoke up once more. "Why don't we all go together? That way you can spend time with Diavolo, while also getting to attend the concert?"

Levi's heart sunk as you squealed at the idea, jumping excitedly around a smiling Lucifer.

So much for his perfect, romantic, weekend.

-

Mammon took a deep breath as he stared at your bedroom door.

This was it. He was finally going to tell you how he felt.

He had it all planned out. He was going to go in there, and gift you the necklace he had noticed you looking at the last time the two of you went downtown. Then, he'd explain how through the past months of living with you and being your protector, that he found himself becoming enraptured by every single little thing that you do. He'd explain how he knows that he's clingy and greedy when it comes to spending time with you, but that's because there's nothing he treasures more than being by your side. And then, he'd say that he loves you, and hope that you say the same in return.

Fucking romantic right? Mammon had this in the bag.

He confidently lifted his chin as he knocked on your door before walking in. "Hey MC! I know it's late, but do ya gotta-" he trailed off at the sight before him.

Both you and Lucifer were in fluffy, white robes on your bed. Lucifer had a headband in his hair, brushing his bangs away from his clay mask-covered face. You were beside him, also sporting a mask, your tongue peeking out of the corner of your mouth as you carefully painted his nails.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at his brother, obviously annoyed at being disturbed, while you smiled over at Mammon. "Hey, Mams! Just a sec," you smoothly finished applying a coat of red polish to Lucifer's pinky finger before recapping the bottle and turning to the white-haired demon. "What's up?"

Mammon felt his face heat up, as he quickly hid the small box in his hands behind his back. "I- Uh- Nothin'! Just wanted to talk with ya. Can ya come with me for a few minutes?"

Lucifer sighed as he examined his freshly painted nails. "Might I remind you that you're the one disturbing us, Mammon? If you've got something to say," Mammon gulped as knowing, irked, obsidian eyes bore into his, "spit it out."

You smacked Lucifer's arm. "Hey! Be nice," you offered Mammon a sympathetic smile as you turned back to him. "Sorry, Mammon. You were saying?"

Mammon swallowed down the lump in his throat as humiliation flooded his veins. He awkwardly looked away and waved off your concern. "Nah. It was nothin' important," he subtly slid the necklace box into his back pocket, "I-I'll talk with ya tomorrow or somethin'. It's nothin' ya need to worry about."

You blinked owlishly at Mammon. He could practically see the gears churning inside your head; you obviously thought something was wrong. "Are you sure? If it matters to you, Mammon, that means it's important. I can spare a few minutes if it's really bothering you."

You began to stand up, but as you did, Lucifer caught your wrist."MC, he already said you didn't need to worry about it. If it was that important, he would've just told us. I'm sure everything is fine," Mammon tensed as Lucifer shifted his cold gaze onto him, "right?"

Mammon quickly nodded as he stumbled back towards the door. "Yeah! Yes! Everything is perfectly fine! I-I'll just get goin' and leave to continue whatever this is. Bye!" He scurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him, before slumping against it.

He could faintly hear the sounds of you scolding Lucifer, and felt himself slump in defeat.

He'd just have to try again another day.

-

Belphegor fluffed the blankets and pillows that he had set up in the backyard.

It was perfect. He had actually put in work to make sure it was.

A sea of blankets would protect the two of you from the chilly, Devildom, night air, while his finest pillows would make sure you were comfortable. He had brought out a thermos filled with tea and some snacks to make the evening extra cozy.

It was everything the two of you would need to take in the meteor shower tonight.

A click sounded behind him. Belphie perked and quickly turned to greet with you a smile.

Only, instead of you, a rather smug-looking Lucifer stood in the doorway.

Belphie growled and went back to arranging pillows. "What do you want?"

Lucifer shrugged and began to set up a telescope. Belphie gritted his teeth at the sight of it. "I'm just here to take in the meteor shower like you are. That's all. It is quite a beautiful sight after all, and it also happens to be very enlightening."

Belphegor sneered at his older brother as he turned away from him. "Well do it somewhere else! I'm watching the shower here with MC, not you. So go away!"

Lucifer tilted his head in mock confusion as he held up his phone. "Oh dear, but I've already invited the others to join us out here."

Belphie's head snapped up at Lucifer's words. "You what?!"

As though summoned, the rest of his brothers toppled into the backyard.

"I was unaware there was a meteor shower tonight," Satan claimed as he laid down his own blanket near Belphie's perfectly structured nest. "To think I almost missed out on it."

"Eh, I don't care about any stupid stars or anythin'," Belphie groaned in annoyance as Mammon plopped himself down beside him. "But if anythin' falls near us, then those meteor pieces have gotta be worth a fortune!"

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes as he leaned against the house, game counsel still in hand. "Nothing's actually falling, dumb ass. They're just space rocks passing by."

Asmodeus giggled while he snuggled himself up on Belphie's other side. Belphie wrinkled up his nose and tried to lean away from the physical affection. "Then why are you out here, Levi, if they're just space rocks? Can't you admit that they're beautiful, like me, and you wanted to experience something real for once?"

Levi let out a squawk of embarrassment. "There isn't anything that 'reality can offer me that anime can't! I've seen meteor showers at least ten times all with amazing shots and angles that you could never get in real life!"

Asmodeus merely shook his head in response. "Whatever you say, Levi," he reached over to the picnic basket that Belphie for you and him had packed and held it over his head. "Beel! Snacks!"

Belphegor gaped at his twin as the ginger giant grabbed the basket and sat down behind them. "Beel?! You too?"

Beel looked down guiltily and looked through the food. "I'm sorry, Belphie. But Lucifer said there'd be snacks and that everyone else was going to be there, and I thought it'd be nice to have a family event."

Belphie groaned and held his head in his hands. "You knew I was planning this for just me and MC though."

Beel frowned and held out a cookie to his twin. "Sorry."

Before Belphie could argue anymore or even get the chance to kick everyone out, the door opened once more.

"Oh," everyone looked over to see you standing there in your pyjamas. Belphie's heart clenched as your confused eyes found his. "I didn't know this was a group gathering! I would've brought down some pillows for everyone or some snacks if I had known!" you smiled brightly at the group as you walked towards them.

"No need. Belphie went ahead and provided enough for everyone already," Lucifer claimed and patted the ground next him. "You can sit with me, MC. There's plenty of space over here."

Belphie cursed under his breath as you accepted Lucifer's offer and huffed as the meteor shower began.

Lucifer smirked as he took in his brother's defeat with glee, and you babbled away none-the-wiser by his side.

His brothers could try to woo you and corrupt you all they wanted, but Lucifer wasn't going anywhere. For every attempt they'd make, he'd be there to stop it.

You had deemed Lucifer your big brother, after all, and as such, he'd make sure that you were always safe from his brothers' infernal influences.

***The ending is meh, but whatever! I hope you guys enjoyed this fic! It was both fun and hassle to write, but I love it nonetheless! Thanks for your amazing support and love! Sorry for the lack of fics lately. Love you all!***

Taglist @all-oxidized-to-green @candymeowz, @thegrimgrinningghost @henry-and-the-seven-lords @satans-beloved-riv @cosmixbun @sufzku @lovelythoma @mothervictoire @obey-mes-treasure @kissed-by-a-dementor @yukihaie @justtiarra @mammoneybb @obeys-world @poly-bi-mf @armycandy10 @burrixino @arkarul @pumpkins-mainside-blog

[atticsandwitch]

Obey me characters with an MC who does reckless things because they're afraid of being a burden.

Self indulgent, comfort, angst Less headcannons, more drabbles.

First, in a group chat without MC: House of Lamentation (7) Satan: I just found MC in the kitchen, trying to open a can with a chef knife. Mammon: WHAT Mammon: Why would they wanna do something like that?? Asmo: (Wide eyed emoji) Belphie: Yea, that's stupid even for Mammon Mammon: HEY! Satan: They couldn't find the can opener, and they said they didn't want to bother anyone. Levi: That's actually kind of cute. Levi: It's just like the main character of this anime I just started watching who acts really tough and independent, but deep down is afraid to ask for help and just wants to be loved! Satan: That's not all Lucifer: it's not? Satan: Solomon saw MC yesterday climbing the bookshelves in the RAD library. Satan: Apparently they'd reached the sixth shelf before he could levitate them and the book they needed back to the ground. Beel: Are all humans like this? Lucifer: No. It seems we've found a particularly troublesome one. Levi: Actually I saw them do something similar earlier this week. Asmo: Oh no. Asmo: I bet Mammon's having a heart attack rn Mammon: (sweaty nervous emoji) Levi: They were standing on the counter trying to reach something on the top of the cabinets waaaay in the back. Belphie: That's not that bad Levi: They were also standing on an upside down pot because they were still too short. Levi: and they were wearing heels. Lucifer: Everyone, make sure to keep an eye on MC as often as possible

Lucifer

Sighs out loud reading the group chat

"And here I thought I would just have to protect MC from demon attacks"

He decides to have a talk with you once he gets a little time, and not just about safety. He has a whole lecture planned out about climbing the book cases at RAD.

Unfortunately he's swamped with paperwork and bills to go through, so he doesn't have the chance to talk to you right away.

The next day, however, you're all invited to the Demon Lord's Castle for another overnight retreat, or event of some sort.

Everyone is having fun and causing a ruckus, as usual, and at some point during the evening the group loses you.

You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, but the palace is so huge you get lost even with directions. At a certain point you know you can find your way back and ask for help, but you can't bring yourself to, and decide to press on to try to find it yourself.

Eventually you find yourself standing in front of an ornate mirror with no reflection. You stop and ponder it for a moment, and as you're about to step away you hear a whisper. You can't make out what it says, but it compels you to step closer. In a corner of the reflected room you notice what looks like a puppet made of bone, with blackened eyes.

"~MC~..." An ethereal whisper, "...c...l...oser..." and in a blink of your eye it's closer to you, and you've stepped closer without realizing it.

Your heart is racing, but you can't stop yourself from reaching out to the mirror. Is it really a mirror...? Another blink and the bone puppet is closer. It tilts it's head at you, and outstretches an arm.

You try to pull back, but realize you can't, you're now mirroring the actions of the puppet as it steps closer, and closer.

Suddenly your vision goes black and you're pulled backwards by the waist, away from the mirror.

After a moment, Lucifer removes his gloved hand from over your eyes, and spins you to face him. He looks worried, frightened almost, but soon regains his composure.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom, MC" He says

It takes you a second to form words again, "I... I was.... I got lost" You had to really think hard about it for a moment.

Lucifer sighs, "You know the castle can be dangerous. If you weren't sure where to go, why not ask someone to show you?"

You were feeling particularly vulnerable after what had just happened, and so decided to be deeply honest, "I'm afraid of being a burden..." you mumble.

He's surprised by the admission, but pulls you close.

"Of all the burdens I've had to shoulder in this life, I promise that you are not one of them, MC" He whispers into your hair as he kisses the top of your head.

Mammon

Immediately goes to find you after he finishes reading the group chat.

He finds you doing something dangerous with a knife again, and grabs your wrist to stop you.

"Oi, human!" He only calls you that when he's angry, which is rare, "What do ya think yer doin'?"

"I'm just-" he cuts you off

"I don' wanna hear it!"

"Then why did you ask?" you're stare at him. Mammon's face reddens and he realizes he's still holding your wrist, so he gently takes the knife out of your hand and sets it down.

"I mean- What's goin' on with ya lately? Everyone says yer doin' a buncha dangerous stuff!" He put his hands on his hips and only resumes eye contact as he finishes his sentence.

"What do you-?"

"Like climbin' bookshelves, and whatever this is-!" He gestures to the knife and you look away. You're silent for a while; too long for Mammon to take, "C'mon, MC, talk to me" His voice finally softens, arms dropping to his sides. You finally meet his eyes, and the look of concern on his face is heartbreaking.

"I like doing things myself..." you can tell he's not buying it, "I... I just don't want to be a burden..." You admit quietly, voice wavering somewhat.

His eyes go wide, "...MC..." he says softly. Mammon pulls you in for a tight hug, one arm wrapping around your shoulders, and the other hand resting on the back of your head, and holds you like he'd do anything in the world to protect you, which he would.

"Listen up, 'cuz Mammon's gonna give you some free advice" you hear a sniffle, and realize he's crying.

His human was hurting like this, and he never even noticed. What kinda demon am I? He thought, but he knew this wasn't about him right now, so he held you tighter.

"You will never be a burden to me...Ya got that?"

Leviathan

Thinks its pretty adorable that you actually seem to be a little tsundere.

Because of this, and his social anxiety, he doesn't confront you about it right away. Not until the jellyfish incident anyway.

One night you're hanging out with Levi in his room, when you notice that one of his jelly fish decorations had fallen to the ground. So, you decide to string it back up for him.

You looked around, Levi absorbed in his game, and tried to judge the distance between the edge of the bed-tub and the ceiling. That should do it! you think, and climb the edge of the bed-tub. The edge was difficult to balance on, but you knew you'd be careful, and you could almost reach.

Levi turned around just in time to see you, arms stretched too far over your head and on your tip toes on the edge of the tub, and watched as you lose balance completely. He saw it, you were going to fall backwards toward the other side of the tub and crack your head!

Now, he may not be as fast as Mammon, but he is still a demon after all, and just as you felt the jolt of the fall as your foot slipped, you felt arms around your middle, pulling you forcefully forward.

Leviathan had jumped to your rescue, unconsciously changing into his demon form, discarding his controller unceremoniously to the floor, and in his panic underestimated his own strength.

The two of you ended up both landing on the floor, you on top of a very red Leviathan.

"Wh-wh-what were you doing normie?! You were about to fall and crack your skull on the tub!"

You guiltily hold up the jellyfish, "I was just trying to fix it"

"Well get a ladder next time!" It's taking everything in Levi to ignore the position your both in, because its' just like that time in- nevermind, this is more important.

"All you had to do was say something! I was sitting right there!" He still hasn't let you go. He sees the look on your face change into something he can't quite get a read on, but whatever it is, is also full of sadness. "You could have died just then, MC. Why wouldn't you just ask for some help?" His voice is softer, "I was right there" and softer still, almost desperate.

"I..." He could tell whatever you were about to say was difficult for you, "I'm just so afraid of being a burden"

He's heartbroken, "You're my best friend, my player two, my Henry th-the- the person I love" He goes red again and quickly continues as if to bury the words beneath more words, "You're a lot of things, MC, but you're not a burden"

Asmodeous

Worrying is bad for the skin. Worrying is bad for the skin. Worrying is bad for the skin. But he can't help it.

One night you get home particularly late, and none of the brothers have seen you. They were about to send out a search party when you finally came home.

When he finds out you walked home alone again, and were so late because you got lost, that's when he finally decides to confront you.

"You walked home alone again? And took WHICH street?! MC don't you know how dangerous it is for a human in the Devildom, especially one with no real magical powers? Not to mention in that area!"

How were you supposed to know? You were lost. He knows these things, but doesn't give you a chance to point them out.

"Beel saw you leave right after classes. If you were so lost why didn't you call one of us?" he asks. The worry and exasperation is plain in his voice.

"I..." you start, "I didn't want to bother anyone that's all" but he can tell there's more to it than that.

"Why are you so worried about bothering us? Don't you know we care about you?" He asks, concern slowly turning to sadness.

"I just don't want to be a burden..."

His eyes go wider than before, which you didn't think was possible. "What in the three realms would give you the idea that you're a burden? MC, you're so precious to me, and if anything were to ever happen, I-"

He begins welling up with tears and pulls you into a tight hug.

"MC, I was worried sick. We all were. Please... Come to me when you need help... I love you"

Satan

He walked in and found you trying to use a chef knife to open a can, brought you the can opener, and ultimately left; not entirely sure what to make of the situation yet.

The next time he saw you, you were climbing on top of an unsteady looking stack of books to reach something in the House's library.

Were those one of his stacks? Had you stacked them yourself? It didn't matter. What mattered was that the books all began slipping out from under you.

He rushed over, and caught you with ease as you fell, but your momentum ended up knocking you both to the ground.

He sighs, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Sorry, " you let out an embarrassed laugh, "Are you okay?"

"Yea, and you?" he asks. You nod, and he helps you up. To his confusion you immediately begin stacking the books back up.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asks, suspicious. It looks like you're about to try to climb the stack again.

"There's a book I need" He was right.

This must be how Lucifer feels. He sighs again, and grabs your hand to stop you.

"You can't keep doing stuff like this, MC. It's dangerous" He looks serious, but his cheeks are a little pink, "I'm worried about you. Why won't you ask for help?"

"I..." You start, but hesitate, averting your eyes.

"Tell me the truth, MC" Satan almost pleads, a sad look in his eyes.

"I don't want to be a burden... that's all..." You say, so quietly it's almost a sigh.

Suddenly it all made sense; the way you tried to hide when you were upset, how you always carried just a little too much, the way you always offered to help, even if there was little work to do... Why hadn't he put the pieces together before now?

"Then, I need you to do something for me" He says, after thinking a moment. He steps closer, "I need you to start asking for help,"

He pulls you close, and hugs you tightly, "I know it'll be difficult, but that's why I'll always be there for you"

He pulls away slightly, still holding you, to look into your eyes. His face is very red now, "I'll do whatever it takes to show you that you're not a burden," Kindness and determination burn in his eyes as he leans in for a kiss.

Beelzebub

He was walking down the hall when he spots you down at the other end near an open window.

The wind blew something out of your hand, so you leaned out the window to try to grab it. This is when Beel got worried, his instincts kicked in and he picked up his pace.

Your homework got caught by the wind, but stopped by some of the vines clinging to the House of Lamentation, so you leaned out the window but it was just out of reach. You knew you could get it if you could reach just a little further, so you lean out a little more... Just a little more...

Unfortunately that's when you lost balance, and felt yourself tip forward. You'd be out the window in no time flat, and then you'd be flattened on the ground.

Thankfully Beel was able to grab you by the waist and hoist you back inside to safety.

You thank him, and explain the situation but he still looks confused.

"Why wouldn't you just come get one of us? We could've easily gotten it down for you" he asks.

"I thought I'd be able to reach" you try, with an embarrassed and unconvincing smile.

"Tell me the truth, MC. Why are you so afraid to ask for help?"

"I don't want to be a burden..." You say softly, sadness written plainly on your face and in your voice.

"Oh" You look up and the sad, sympathetic look Beel gives you makes you want to cry. "I know the feeling"

"You do?" You ask, tears beginning to spill over

"You think I don't know how many problems my stomach causes for everyone?" He gives you a slightly more serious look, "But that doesn't matter" And now a reassuring, although still slightly sad smile, "Because the people who love and care about you will never think of you as a burden. And trust me, MC, there are plenty of people who love and care about you"

"Like who?" You didn't want to ask, part of your brain knew the answer, but you just had to silence those negative voices.

Beel blushed, "Like me" he says, then silently wipes the tears from your face and pulls you into the softest, safest hug you've ever felt.

Belphegor

He wasn't worried at all initially. Sure humans are fragile compared to demons, but they're not that fragile. Plus you've survived this long on your own and now you've got demons, angels, a prince, and a sorcerer all looking out for you. Not to mention the way brothers' tend to exaggerate.

He was laying outside under a large tree, intending to try out a new nap spot, when he saw you leaning out of the window.

He smiled and was about to wave when he realized something was wrong. You were leaning too far out of the window. You were going to-

He jolted upright like he'd been hit by lightning as he watched you lose your balance

He already knew there was no way he'd be able to make it to you in time, even with demonic speed.

Thankfully Beel was there. Belphie let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when he saw Beel pull you back inside and got up to go make sure you're alright.

He realizes his brothers were right to be worried, and he's angry about it.

You're on your way back to your room by the time he catches up with you, but he can see that your eyes are red from crying, and his anger evaporates. He asks you what's wrong, and you explain everything.

Why you almost fell out the window, your conversation with Beel, and how you're afraid of being a burden.

"Well, Beel's right, you could never be a burden to any of us" He says, so don't even worry about it" he says, giving you an easy smile, despite how sad he felt for his human.

"That's... Easier said than done..." You reply, unconvinced.

"That's why I'll always be by your side, MC. I won't even give you the chance to worry about it!"

He pulls you into a hug and strokes your hair, starting the waterworks all over again. He'll hold you until you've calmed down again, and then pull you up to the attic where you two can make a pillow fort and nap.

He'll probably also start a tickle fight just to hear you laugh again.

Btw, who made you feel this way, MC, he just wants to murder torture talk.

Diavolo

Lucifer has shared his concerns, as he often does, so Diavolo is aware of your reckless nature. He finds it somewhat amusing, but mostly concerning.

It's during one of the events that he finally witnesses it for himself.

He always found it sweet how you tried to help everyone, and you were doing it again. You were running around helping all of the brothers with everything. He doesn't know how those seven managed without you before you came to the Devildom, and the way they rely on you is more than a little amusing.

This time you were helping Asmo with decorations, but he seemed to have disappeared somewhere, no doubt to fix his makeup, or to take a break to avoid sweating too much.

When Diavolo walked in his eyes went wide. You were using progressively taller stacks of chairs to climb the tallest stack in the room in order to hang decorations on the ceiling, and your arms were so full of supplies that there was no way you could balance properly on the already unsteady stacks.

He'd already made it to the base of the stacks when the one you were on started to wobble.

"MC!" he called out in a panic, but this seemed to startle you, and the jolt caused you, the stack of chairs, and all your decorations to come crashing down.

Diavolo caught you effortlessly, and shielded you from any flying chairs in the process.

"Mc, are you okay?" He asks, eyes still wide, "what in the Devildom were you thinking?"

"Sorry, I was just trying to help" you say

He feels anger towards the brothers creeping in the back of his mind. That they would leave you alone, with so much work, and still none of them are to be found after such a loud crash; it's unacceptable. But he pushes those thoughts back for now.

"That was dangerous, even for a demon. You could have been seriously injured just now," The look of concern on his face tugs at your heart.

"Sorry" you mumble again, "You can put me down, now... I should start cleaning up"

"Forgive me for being selfish," He smiles a little, "But I don't think I want to put you down just yet. The clean up can wait"

Your face reddens. You're not sure what to say to that, but you can't deny that it feels good to be held like this in his strong arms.

He looks briefly around at the mess of scattered chairs and decorations that you had intended to hang and clean up by yourself, "Tell me, MC," He looks back to you, "You seem to have a hard time asking for help, why is that?"

You're surprised by the directness of the question, and look away. He notices, and feels a bit guilty, but knows that if things continue the way they are, you will definitely get hurt one day.

"I guess it's because... I'm afraid of being a burden" you answer honestly. You feel that you owe him that much.

"I see..." He hums, then smiles happily, "Then perhaps I should carry you around until you admit that you are not a burden!"

"WHAT?" the look on your face makes him laugh heartily.

"Just kidding!" He chuckles, "...Maybe"

"Diavolo that's- I-"

"You are extraordinary, MC," There's a serious look on his face now, "In fact I could describe you in a million different ways, but the word 'burden' would never be among them"

He begins walking out of the room, still carrying you in his arms.

"What are you doing? What about the decorations?"

"I think I'd like to keep you to myself for the day, if that's alright with you, my dear" Diavolo smiles down at you.

As you two walk down the hall, away from the ballroom you hear the brothers' voices as they enter, "Whoa? What the heck happened in here?" Mammon exclaims.

Barbatos

He had invited you for tea, and you offered to help Barbatos make and serve it.

You try to carry too much, and in your rush drop the entire tray, shattering the beautiful tea set and all of the plates of desserts.

"I'm so sorry!" You immediately bend down and begin tying to pick up the pieces, "I'll replace it-" You stop as you realize that you're not sure you could even afford to replace a royal tea set.

"Allow me to help" Barbatos says, bending down.

"No, no, it's fine! I can get it!" You look up and give him an unconvincing smile, and while you're not paying attention to what you're doing, you slice your hand open on one of the sharp pieces of porcelain.

Barbatos pulls a roll of gauze and bandages out of one of his pockets, "Let's get this taken care of, shall we?" he says, but you're still picking up pieces with your other hand.

"I can do it, I just-..."

"It's only a tea set," As Barbatos stills your frantic hands, he notices your tears.

"I'm sorry," You finally say after a long moment of silence, during which he begins bandaging your injured hand, "I tried to help, but I was still only a burden after all..." Barbatos is surprised by this admission, to say the least.

"You should know that It makes me very happy to be able help and take care of people. I especially enjoy the way your face lights up with a tinge of surprise whenever I do something for you that you are not expecting..." He pauses in thought, and looks as though he's realized something that makes him sad, but whatever it is, he keeps it to himself. He finishes bandaging your hand, and places his on the side of your face.

"MC, It is a pleasure, and genuinely brings me joy to be able to do things for you. Please allow me to help you more often."

He takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and dries your tears.

He leads you to sit in a comfortable chair, "Please, rest until you feel better, and allow me to take complete care of you today"

He makes some tea and food for you both to share and makes sure you don't have to lift a finger for the rest of the day, leaving the broken tea set completely forgotten on the floor in the other room for the time being.

He always has kind words for you whenever you see each other, and while he enjoys your help in the kitchen, he always makes sure not to let you do too much, and he never lets you clean up.

He takes extra care of you from now on, and Diavolo finds it absolutely adorable, though he may be a tiny bit jealous.

Solomon

You might've actually given this man a heart attack.

He would've thought it was funny if it hadn't looked like the bookshelf was about to come crashing down on top of you.

"Don't worry! I'm used to climbing things; I'm careful!" You try to convince him, "That does not, in fact, make me feel any better, MC"

He dedicates time to teaching you a levitation spell or two, depending on your magical abilities, so you don't have to climb things any more.

As he's teaching you he decides to ask you about the book shelf incident.

"Something's been on my mind lately" He says, turning to you as you practice. You ask him what it is as you turn your attention to his face and notice that he looks troubled. "The other day, in the library. You knew I was there, sitting nearby... Why didn't you just ask for my help?"

"Oh, I just thought I could get the book myself" That wasn't the answer he was looking for, so he presses on.

"But surely it would've been easier to use a ladder, then. wouldn't it?"

"Well... I- uh- wasn't sure where they were" you sounded a little embarrassed, and turned your attention back to the spell.

Solomon looks a little saddened, "Hmm..." he pauses. You didn't want his help and you didn't even want to ask him a simple question? "MC, is there a reason you didn't want to ask me for help?" Watching you, he saw that the question gave you pause.

"I... have a hard time asking for help sometimes..." You admit, hoping that's the end of it. But of course, it isn't.

"Oh?" he gently prompts you to explain.

He can tell that you're only pretending to pay attention to the spell now, to avoid eye contact, "I've just always been afraid of being a burden"

His face grows sadder for a moment, but you continue to avoid his gaze. He folds his arms, and moves a closed fist to his chin in thought.

"I think that sometimes, not asking for help can be more of a burden" he says, finally catching your attention. You look up questioningly and he continues in a gentle voice, "Think about it, you're placing too much of the burden on yourself, which is making everyone around you worry. And besides that, what if you get hurt? Then you'll need more help from others than you would have in the first place"

It's your turn to look troubled. You hadn't realized that you were worrying everyone, or that you were causing them trouble.

He lets you think for a moment, before placing a comforting hand on your back.

"MC, it's okay to rely on others. People like it when you ask for help. It makes them feel special to you" He says, and when you look up he's giving you one of the kindest smiles you've ever seen on this shady magic boomer's face.

He hopes you catch his little hint, I want to feel special to you, MC

"Thank you, Solomon. I'd never thought of it that way" you smile back, "I'll try to ask for your help more often"

"I'll look forward to it!" He says with an even brighter smile.

Simeon

He noticed just in time; you had decided to walk home alone again and two suspicious looking demons were about to corner you down an alley.

You were scared, you think they had been following you for at least a couple blocks, and now you had nowhere to go. You were at a dead end.

"You two want to leave." A familiar voice, "NOW." Simeon was smiling, but he looked so intimidating in the shadow of the alley, and something ominous was also radiating off of him. Was he angry?

"C'mon it's not worth it" one of the demons said, "Killjoy" said the other. Simeon watches them leave with an intimidating expression before finally approaching you.

"MC, are you alright?" He asks, features now full of concern.

"Yea! Thanks for that, I was starting to get a little worried"

The concern on his face grows, didn't you know how much danger you'd been in just then? "Those two had been following you for a while... Why didn't you call out for help? Or call someone on your D.D.D?"

"Well... I- I just thought maybe they were walking in the same direction, so I wasn't sure..." You sounded nervous.

How could you be unsure? Simeon had never seen a more suspicious looking pair of demons in his life, and if you'd heard what they were saying they wanted to do to you, you'd understand why he was angry. He sighs.

He notices you're shaking, ever so slightly. Maybe you had overheard... You seemed to be more shaken than you were trying to let on.

In the silence he realizes that this part of town wouldn't be part of your normal route back to the House of Lamentation, "Were you lost?" You nod. "Why not ask for directions?" He asks

"Everyone was so busy when I left RAD... I didn't want to bother them. They're always taking care of me as it is... I just thought..."

So that's why you were walking home alone

"I'll walk you back then" he offers you his hand, and you want to take it, but to his surprise you can't bring yourself to.

"That's alright! You've already done so much for me. I'm sure I can find my way home now!" You try to force a smile, but Simeon can see right through you.

"MC... What's really going on?" His face is serious again but his voice is kind as he steps closer and rests a hand on your shaking arm.

You can't hold back tears any more, "I... Just don't... want to be a burden... to anyone" The quiet words break Simeon's heart.

Who could've made you feel this way?

He draws you into a strong, gentle hug, cradling the back of your head to hold you closer and stroke your hair.

"Don't ever think like that, MC" He breathes into your ear, "You are so loved"

Luke

You're going to give this smoll baby angel a heart attack, and there's not much he can even do to about it.

You were carrying too much, like you always do, and Luke noticed almost too late.

You were heading straight for the stairs, and your books and supplies were stacked too high for you to see!

"MC, LOOK OUT!" he shouts.

You stop just as your foot passes the threshold of the first stair and you feel the drop.

You drop everything you're carrying, but thanks to Luke's warning you stopped your own momentum before you could tumble down the stairs with everything else.

Relief floods through Luke as you stare at the mess, shaken and disheartened by the prospect of the clean up.

He runs to you, demanding to know that you're okay.

Of course he helps you clean up and carries as much as he can for you.

He's always offering to carry things for you now, even if all you have is a book or two.

He keeps a nervous eye on you from now on too.

Give this poor baby angel a hug.

[phoeebsbuffay]

Imagine this is an alternative universe where Ahsoka was never humiliated in the Jedi judgement and thus never expelled of the Order. Everything is as happy as it should [had] be[en].

Warnings: none; it may be a shorter fic. It’s filled with fluffy.

***

Anakin is like the proud father watching the success of a prodigious child. Ahsoka sees it in his eyes when she comes back from a mission she’d been assigned solo not long ago. She misses him; the mission was tough, providing with many challenges that prevented the communication of them.

However, there she is and she cannot help but give him a warm embrace. Because by doing so, she feels at home. Anakin tears up a little, deep inside, because he reads her sentiments and he’s overjoyed by this demonstration of familial affection. After Padmé, his Padawan is the closest to a family.

“How did it go? I can see you were great as usual.” Anakin says proudly.

Ahsoka beams at him.

“Why thank you, Master. I should give you the credits for turning me into such a great Padawan”, she gives her Master a smug grin.

Anakin laughs. So much like him.

“Eh, watch that pride, Padawan. It’s not the Jedi way to congratulate one’s merits.” He only says it as a joke because he knows how both of them are too alike to be the humble kind, to Obi-Wan’s dismay.

Ahsoka giggles. She feigns a curtsy.

“As you like, Master.”

Amidst such a joyous reunion, he takes his Padawan for a nearby restaurant. There is peace at long last, so there’s reason to celebrate.

“How have you been?” Ahsoka asks Anakin before they settle on a table and ask a local waiter for coffee. “Mostly important, how is Padmé?”

Anakin flushes. So she knew, uh?

“I’ve been great, thank you for inquiring.” He opts for ignoring the Padmé part. Ahsoka is too innocent to know the matters of adults, according to him. “Obi-Wan recently destroyed Grievous, have you heard?”

“Oh, that’s excellent news!” She pretends to ignore how skillfully Anakin changes the topic of their conversation. “So I get you’ve been pretty occupied eh?”

“Aren’t we often occupied, my dear Padawan?” He smirks at her. Anakin thanks the waiter for fetching them coffee. “But please I want to hear your mission. How did it go?”

Anakin delights himself in listening to Ahsoka’s progress. She, on the other hand, appreciates how he is the only one to be patient enough to listen to her. To actual listen all the while giving her space to be herself.

He cannot help a smile when Ahsoka tells about the difficulties she overcame throughout a mission.

“So I’ve met this girl, Rafa, and her sister. They remind me of us. Their dynamics are very similar.” Ahsoka smirks. “The older sister is always so bossy.”

Anakin’s heart melts upon the subtle comparison she makes. Later that day, he’d proudly share this moment with Padmé (“She said we are family! She in fact remembered me in the particular details of her mission. Can you believe it? She called me her older brother when she made new friends!” To which Padmé would giggle and say: “She’s adorable! But how should this be otherwise, Ani? Ahsoka is blindly devoted to you, perhaps in the same way you are loyal to Obi-Wan.”), but for now he does not give away too much the attachment Master and Padawan formed.

“Aren’t you reckless, young one? But then again this is why you are my Padawan”, says Anakin. He uses the coffee as an excuse to keep away the pride smirk that twitches in the corner of his lips.

Ahsoka, however, sees it. She smirks too.

“I could never make being somebody else’s Padawan, Master”, she says before resting her chin over her hands. “But when will you tell me about your secretive relationship? I thought you trusted me.”

“Ahsoka!” Anakin protests, but he knows the blush in his cheeks betrays him. If there was not anything between him and Senator Amidala, then he’d only laugh at the idea and dismiss it. But, bloody hell, she knows him too well. “I should not owe you any explanation about my friendship with Padmé!”

“Friendship, eh?” She teases him. “I am friends with Lux and…”

Anakin laughs.

“HO HO! The two of you are anything but friends!” His laughter sounds thunderous even after Ahsoka blushed because she’s been caught. “I know you, Snips!”

“As much as I know you! Come on, Master! You are purposely making this about me when it should be about you!”

Ahsoka blushes deeply. It’s when she remembers the coffee. It’s getting cold. She quickly drinks the espresso in one whole sip.

“All right. If I admit I have feelings for him, will you admit yours for Senator Amidala?”

Anakin crosses his arms.

“You are not letting this go, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Very well. Yes, I am secretly married to Senator Amidala.”

Ahsoka giggles softly, but there’s something in her eyes that makes Anakin smile.

“Your turn, Snips.”

She regrets not having any more coffee to hid herself behind the cup.

“He’s not a bad person”, she says.

“Despite being part of the Separatists and almost having injured you in the process?” Anakin raises his eyebrows.

“Master!” She protests. “It’s all in the past now…”

“I don’t like him”, says Anakin in a paternal voice. “He’s not good for you, Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka is amused by how Anakin does not feel nor a little bit inclined to share you to others, refusing to admit that you are growing up and thus able to harbor sentiments of a romantic nature for other boys.

“And who else is?” She tests him by posing this question.

“You are a child”, says Anakin, stubbornly so. “Children are not allowed to form relationships. But you deserve better friends that is all.”

Ahsoka laughs heartily, and he smiles as a result.

“One day you’ll have to admit I’m not that young girl you took under your wig, Master.”

“One day”, he admits unwillingly. “But today is not that day.”

He decides to pay the check. It’s time to leave, Padmé is waiting. So he drops Ahsoka in her quarters before going home.

“Why don’t you visit Padmé and I tomorrow?” Anakin invites her. “It’ll be a lovely family reunion don’t you think?”

Ahsoka’s eyes brighten upon his words. She smiles widely. The three of them are a family. She beams.

“I’ll glad see you then, Anakin.”

“Sleep well, Snips. I’m counting on you tomorrow”.

They smile one last time before following different paths. Neither had been this happy before for finding in each other the family they needed.