#their name is like the sun ch5

[ofherlionheart]

does anyone remember if zuko went to lu ten's funeral

[abitohoney]

All I Want for Christmas Is You

Chapter 6 of 6 - Bells are Ringing

AO3 link

CH1 || CH2 || CH3 || CH4 || CH5 || CH6

Sevika x female reader

Rating: Explicit, MDNI, 18+, NSFW

Tags: Sevika/Reader, AU - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Lesbian Sex, Cunnilingus, Teasing, Humor, Vaginal Fingering, Orgasm Delay (nothing extreme), Begging, Strap-Ons, Face-Sitting, Corny & Cheesy Dialogue, kinda sappy, light bondage

Word Count: 7.4k

Fic Summary: It’s your first year spending the holidays with Sevika, and though the two of you couldn’t be any different in your level of holiday spirit or view of the traditions that come with it, your shared adoration (and sexual attraction) for each other is more than enough to get both of you through it together.

A collection of little holiday-inspired scenes, technically chronological, but really could be read in any order or as stand-alone oneshots. Includes a nice blend of sugar (fluff) and spice (smut).

Chapter Summary: Beyond excited at the prospect of marrying your one true love, you arrange a small wedding in record time. In less than a week's time, you’ve got your special day planned and set for New Year's Eve. (includes a nice blend of sugar and spice)

AN: Brand new chapter for this holiday season!!!

Beyond excited at the prospect of marrying your one true love, you arrange a small wedding in record time. In less than a week's time, you’ve got your special day planned and set for New Year's Eve. It helps that the only guests invited are Sevika’s- and by extension your- friends. Silco and all his crazy crew.

Turns out your impatience paid off for more than just you. You learn Sevika is actually quite a mess of nerves when it comes to these things. In those few days leading up to your big day, she’s either pacing your home muttering things to herself or smoking cigarillo after cigarillo at your tiny kitchen table and nervously tapping her foot nonstop.

When the day arrives though, it couldn’t be any closer to perfect. There’s a lovely dusting of snow covering the ground, trees, and buildings. The sun shines brightly above, making everything sparkle like something from a lovely snow globe. It’s chilly, but without a single breeze, it’s actually comfortable.

You sit in the small dressing room connected to the reception hall, donning just a white corset bra and short slip as Ran works on your hair and makeup. You’re rather surprised at how skilled they are, not only in application and technique, but also in selecting such a beautiful mix of silver and white accents. Ran even dons a lovely silver suit, and subtle streaks of sparkling silver in their choppy black hair.

Just as Ran finishes up your lipstick, you hear the door fly open.

“Here’s your dress lady!” Jinx hollers as she comes bounding over to the two of you, slinging your wedding dress around like a ragdoll.

She knows your name, but insists on calling you ‘lady’. Likely something to do with her dislike of Sevika and thus you by relation. You take no offense to it, honestly finding it rather entertaining. How your forty-year-old fiance managed to have beef with a teenager is something you’ve yet to learn, but it amuses you nonetheless.

“Thanks Jinx,” you reply with a smile, “You can just hang it up right there.” You nod towards a small rack behind a privacy screen.

She all but throws it onto the rack before clomping over to inspect Ran’s work. As she leans down, well into your personal bubble, you try not to laugh at her scrunched up face while she scrutinizes your makeup. She too is all dolled up with silver and white. Although it’s obvious she did her own work considering it looks as though she’d simply locked herself in a closet and set off one of her bombs, but full of silver and white glitter.

“Nice job Ran,” she finally exclaims before straightening back up with a dramatic swing of her blue braids. “She looks halfway decent.” Her bright eyes look down at your figure before meeting your eyes. “Lady, I really don’t know what you see in Sevika. You should marry Ran. Ran’s single.”

You nearly choke at that last comment, eyes growing wide.

Ran appears considerably less shocked, their dark lips curling into a crooked grin.

“Well, Jinx, I see a lot in Sevika–”

“Also I thought white dresses were only for virgins.”

Now Ran bursts into snorts and barely contained giggles.

You narrow your eyes at the mischievous blue-haired girl.

“What?” she exclaims, then dramatically rolls her eyes and head. “Everyone knows you two did the dirty deed in Silco’s pantry at the Christmas party.” She accents those words with a circle of thumb and pointer finger on one hand, sticking the pointer finger of the other hand repeatedly in and out of the circle.

Ran’s thoroughly enjoying themselves now, and you can’t decide whether you should laugh at Jinx’s crude and ridiculous gesture, or be embarrassed by the fact that more than just Silco knew what you and Sevika had done.

“Speaking of that lumbering oaf, I’m gonna go see how Silco is fairing with his attempt to make her less ugly,” Jinx states before promptly spinning on her heel and skipping towards the door to an adjacent room.

You turn back to Ran, who is just finally recovering from the hilarity of that scene. “I really don’t know what to make of that girl,” you admit, “She’s funny, but obviously blind. Sevika is literally the most attractive woman I’ve ever met.”

Ran shrugs before starting to pack up all their supplies.

You make your way to the floor-length mirror behind the privacy screen to admire your hair and makeup. Ran had really outdone themselves. All that was left was to slip into your wedding dress. A quick glance to the clock says you have less than twenty minutes before the ceremony starts. You wonder how Sevika is fairing. You hadn’t seen her since breakfast that morning, and she had been a disaster of fried nerves.

You hear the door to her dressing room fly open suddenly, followed by the cackling of Jinx as she prances back in.

“What’s so funny?” you ask suspiciously as you step back out from the screen.

“Sevika is freaking out!” she cackles.

Oh no.

Brows knitted in worry, you rush past Jinx and towards the door.

“Hey! Isn’t it bad luck for her to see you before the wedding?” Jinx calls out.

“I don’t care. She needs me. Besides, I’m not in my dress yet.”

The moment you step into the room, you realize just how bad it is. Sevika is sitting, or at least she’s in a chair, but bouncing her legs so erratically it looks like she’s got bugs. She’s facing Silco as he works on applying her makeup. Or at least trying to.

Before you can even say anything, Sevika’s wild eyes are on you and she’s leaping from her chair, ignoring the fact that the eyeliner Silco was in the process of applying has now left a black streak clear down the side of her cheek.

“Oh, that’s not a problem. I’ve just been trying to apply your makeup for the past hour,” Silco drawls with a dramatic throw of his hands.

“Babygirl!” Sevika exclaims, her stormy gray eyes taking in your state of undress, “Are you okay?”

She too is not fully dressed, donning only a pair of white boxer briefs and a white wife pleaser.

Silco turns in his seat to peer over his shoulder at you, rolling his good eye before capping the liner and tossing it into the pile of cosmetics.

Sevika steps around Silco to get a closer look at you. Her brows are knitted in worry and sweat beads along her hairline. She really was freaking out.

“I’m okay,” you assure her, taking her human hand into yours and rubbing it soothingly. “But it looks like you aren’t. What’s wrong?”

“I’m fi-” Sevika pauses, her eyes growing wide. “Where are the rings?!”

She spins around, searching the small room in a frenzy. You have honestly never seen your fiance so frazzled in all your time with her. She was usually so level-headed, or at worst furious, though never with you. She was quite literally a hot mess.

“Sevika, they should be in your jacket pocket. Remember, we put them in there this morning so you wouldn’t lose them.” You pick up her jacket from where it hangs over the back of a chair, pulling out the two boxes from the inside pocket. “See. They're right here. No need to worry.”

Sevika spins around and you can literally see the relief wash over her face. After you slip them back into the pocket and lay the jacket back down you take her hand again and pull her close. You smile up at her softly. Using the side of your thumb, you wipe away the bead of sweat at her temple. “Everything is going to be just fine,” you assure her. She doesn’t appear to believe that, her brows still tightly knitted in worry. So you take her human hand and sneak it under the back of your slip so she can feel the skin of your bare ass. The corner of her mouth twitches as she takes a handful and squeezes.

So close.

You wrap your arms around her neck and pull her down for a sweet kiss. Or at least you intended it to be. The moment she pulls your body flush to hers, she seems to relax. Her tongue prods at your lips, which you happily grant entrance. She swirls her tongue around yours, both of you moaning softly.

Silco intentionally clears his throat, but neither of you pay him any mind. You’re not about to stop kissing your fiance when you can literally feel her worries melting away, taken over by lust.

Her metal hand joins her flesh hand beneath your slip, grabbing a handful of your other asscheek and gently kneading it. She slots her knee between your legs and uses her grip on your ass to drag you up along her thigh. The long, deep moan you release echoes in the tiny room when she finally breaks the kiss to catch her breath.

The two of you stare into each other’s hooded eyes, aching, needy, and oblivious to everything else around you. Specifically Silco.

“I want to fuck you right here. Right now ,” Sevika husks, emphasizing that last word by dragging your aching cunt up along her thigh again.

“Sevika,” you whine, recalling you two have only a little time left before you need to be out and ready for the ceremony. But Janna, do you want her right now.

“No. Really, don’t mind me. I rather enjoy a free show,” Silco drawls sarcastically from his seat.

“Sevika, we have to get ready,” you say softly.

She stares down at you for a moment, lips parted as she contemplates. You know she’s fighting between admitting you’re right, the logic, and wanting to fuck you silly against the door, the instinct.

“If the two of you wish to be at your own wedding- on time- I suggest you save your escapades for tonight,” Silco drawls.

Sevika releases a long sigh.

He’s right.

You’re right.

She releases her hold on you and steps back.

Though she looks just as hot as she did moments ago, new beads of sweat glistening against her dark skin, she at least doesn’t appear to be the least bit worried. But, just to make sure, you grab the small flask of whiskey you had snuck into the other pocket of her jacket and pass it to her.

“Drink. I need you to relax and enjoy our big day.” Realizing her eyes are not on your face, you follow their stare to find she’s focused on your breasts, which are pushed up and out thanks to your ridiculously tight corset-style bra. You smirk up at her. “Why don’t you give each one a kiss for good luck.”

Silco groans loudly.

Sevika’s lips curl into a smirk and she bends down to not only give each breast a soft kiss, but also to make an attempt at sucking a bruise into the supple flesh.

“Sevika!” you chastise, “You can’t mark them. People are going to see it!”

“That’s the point,” Sevika mumbles against your skin before licking a long stripe from one breast to the other. As she straightens back up, she flashes you one of her lopsided grins, knowing damn well she was pushing your buttons and getting you worked up.

With a roll of your eyes, you stretch up to kiss her cheek. “Save the bad behavior for tonight,” you tell her before heading back to your dressing room.

Great.

Now you’re horny and hot as hell, and you’ve got to get into your dress and somehow manage to look and act normal as you walk down the aisle towards the woman who got you so hot and heavy in the first place.

Though you managed to finish getting ready with plenty of time to spare, you can’t help but worry about Sevika.

You stand beside Ran, arm linked with theirs, as you wait for your time to walk down the aisle. The aisle is a long, white length of silk that runs down the sidewalk that leads from the sliding glass door you stand before, clear up to a beautiful gazebo. The gazebo is dressed in lovely drapes of white and silver silks, flowers, and a sprinkling of lovely green sprigs. The snow is lightly falling, creating the perfect winter scene, just as you’d always imagined it. And the icing on the cake; you can see your gorgeous fiance standing under the gazebo, dressed in a beautiful white suit, perfectly tailored to her muscular and curvy build. Her silver tie sparkles just as brightly as the snow surrounding the area, as does the lovely white snowflake pin that holds her silky ebony strands back in its typical half-ponytail. She looks absolutely stunning.

Silco stands back and off to the side, dressed in a silver suit similar to Ran’s, acting as both best man and the one to give Sevika away. Even from this distance, you can see the small smirk on his face as he watches Sevika. It honestly warms your heart how damn cute this is.

You take a deep breath, and slowly release it through your nose. Nerves tingle and burn beneath your skin, but you wear the most enthusiastic smile. It’s a wild mixture of anxiety and excitement bubbling up with each passing second.

Ran taps you on your arm and you turn to find them giving you an encouraging grin. “Ready?”

You take one more breath, then nod.

Ran opens the glass door, arm still linked with yours, and guides you out as the music plays.

The guests, only a couple dozen or so, all turn from their seats in the chairs along the front of the gazebo to watch. It’s almost comical, seeing all of Silco’s crazy crew all dressed up in fancy suits and dresses, all full of bright smiles as you walk down the aisle. Some even look close to tears.

But your attention is quickly drawn to your waiting fiance whose eyes are locked on you. Sevika smiles that cute little crooked smile you love so much as she takes in the sight of you in your beautiful white dress and fluffy white shawl. The snow is feather soft as it falls on you and your guests. Though Sevika is sheltered beneath the gazebo, you can see specs of snow just starting to melt into her dark hair.

You’re all smiles and bright eyes as Ran walks you up the stairs leading to the podium where Sevika stands with the officiant. Seeing her up close, you can really see how downright stunning she is. Her white suit fits deliciously snug, accenting every line of muscle, every curve of chest, hip, and waist. The silver tie, snug to her neck, sparkles much like her silver eyes. But what really knocks you out is the way she’s smiling at you. Like you are literally the most beautiful and perfect thing in the world to her. Your heart swells knowing that’s exactly what’s going through her head.

You stand across from her, nodding to Ran as they step aside and towards the back as your maid of honor.

As the officiant addresses the guests, you almost tune him out entirely, too lost in grinning at your wife-to-be, who appears just as lost in you. Your warm breaths mingle, little white clouds swirling and mixing between you. Though the air is chilly, your entire body heats with excitement and adoration.

Sevika looks as if she’s finally lost all those anxious thoughts. You’re not sure if it’s the drink you handed her earlier, or if she’s just too distracted by you to care. Whatever the reason, you’re grateful that she finally looks comfortable. This moment is just as much for her as it is you.

Sevika repeats her vows as if on autopilot, her eyes on you the entire time even as she slips her hand into her pocket to retrieve your ring.

“With this ring, I thee wed.” Her voice is deep and low, as if she only intends for you to hear. As if you’re the only person there.

Your cheeks burn and ache with how hard you smile as she slips the ring on your finger. She must be feeling the same, her smirk so big and wide you can see that adorable little tooth gap of hers.

She hands you her ring from the same pocket and you can hardly contain your glee as you slip it onto her thick finger. “With this ring, I thee wed,” you say softly, voice shaking with excitement and emotion. You feel the familiar prick at the corners of your eyes, so close to bursting into happy tears.

Sevika’s eyes are glued to your lips and her fingers twitch at her sides. She knows what comes next.

“You may seal your union with a kiss.”

The officiant barely finishes his sentence before Sevika’s metal hand is gripping your waist and pulling you against her body. Her human hand slides along the side of your cheek, fingers behind your head guiding your lips to hers in a bruising kiss.

She kisses you like she’s been craving it for years. All tongue and teeth with no regard to the onlookers. Not that they seem to mind as they cheer, clap, and whistle.

You wrap your arms around her neck and attempt to match her fervor only for her to pull you impossibly closer. Her tongue swirls around your own. You’re almost dizzy and out of breath by the time she finally releases you.

She rests her forehead against yours, a dopey smile on her face as the two of you attempt to catch your breath. The condensation from your now much warmer breaths almost clouds your vision.

“Not even death will take you from me,” she whispers.

You beam up at her. You’re not sure how that could be true, but you believe every word she says.

The two of you walk hand in hand down the aisle together as the guests toss the freshly fallen snow at you. You giggle and shield your face against Sevika’s shoulder, clinging to her bicep and trusting her to guide you back to the reception hall.

By the time the two of you manage to get inside, you’re both covered in the white fluffy snow. You do your best to dust it off Sevika’s suit and hair as she does the same to you.

Sevika grabs you by your forearms and pulls you against her. You gasp at the unexpected move, nearly forgetting how to breathe when you meet her fiery gaze. She looks ravenous.

“I want to fuck you,” she husks, her lips a hairsbreadth from yours.

“I- I do too, but-” you start, words failing you when she teases her tongue along your bottom lip.

“But nothing,” she rasps, “Let me take you into that dressing room and fuck you for the first time as my wife.”

Your cheeks burn and your core aches at her words. As tempting as it is- as tempting as she is- you two will be expected out in the reception hall any minute.

“We- we just need to be patient. After the reception, we can start our honeymoon and do it as many times as you want.”

“How long is the reception,” she all but growls in frustration.

You giggle at her impatience. Though you don’t entirely blame her. You’re just as enthused to consummate your marriage.

“A few hours.”

“Fuck,” she curses, shaking her head while it still rests against yours. “Babygirl, I can’t wait that long.”

“You can,” you insist, “I know you can. Just be patient and it will all be worth it.” You pull back from her. She reluctantly releases you from her grasp, her nostrils flaring in sexual frustration. “Just think how much more fun it will be when you can finally release all that pent-up energy.” You reach up on your toes to kiss the tip of her nose before whispering in her ear. “I’ll let you have me however you wish.”

You pull back to examine her face. That soft, sexy smirk is back. Seems you’ve placated her. At least for now.

“Now come on, wife , let’s go entertain our guests,” you say as you link your arm with hers.

The reception goes on without a single problem. With an open bar, you were pretty sure Silco’s crew would be more than content, no matter the circumstances. Most of them mingle amongst each other near the bar after dinner, but several do make it to the dance floor where you and your wife spend a good part of the night.

The first song is specifically for you and Sevika. It’s slow and sweet. Sevika surprises you, remaining well-behaved despite how close she holds your body to hers. Her arms are wrapped tightly around your waist, yours around her neck as the two of you sway back and forth to the slow tempo.

You both wear soft, adoring smiles, gazes locked and turning out everyone else around you. Sevika tilts her head before dipping down to press a chaste kiss to your lips. Your skin warms and tingles at the sweet gesture. Then she brings her mouth to your ear. You expect her to whisper something dirty, but you’re left pleasantly surprised.

“I love you.”

Those three simple words nearly take you out at the knees. When she pulls back to peer down at you, you’re certain you’re going to cry. How did you ever get so lucky to snag such a beast of a woman whose heart she only shares with you? No one else gets to experience this side of her. At least not up close and personal like this.

“I love you too,” you choke out, so damn close to breaking into tears. You rest your head on her strong shoulder, face buried against her neck for the remainder of the song, not trusting yourself to keep it together if you remain looking at her.

Several drinks in and Sevika definitely starts losing that control, quickly shifting from sweet, lovey-dovey to that fiery passion you knew all too well. Not that you’re complaining. Even your inhibitions start to slip away the more you drink and dance.

By the time the DJ calls for you and Sevika to the middle of the dance floor for Sevika to remove your garter, Sevika has lost all restraint.

Sitting on the chair facing your guests, you know you’re in for it with how Sevika eyes you like fresh meat. It’s no surprise when she puts her whole upper body beneath the skirt of your dress. Not at all necessary for the task at hand, but you know she’s got other things on her mind than just retrieving that tiny bit of lace wrapped around your thigh.

You take your bottom lip between your teeth, biting back the sounds that threaten to escape as you feel her lips press against the inside of your calf. Your cheeks burn under the scrutiny of so many people. And it only worsens when you feel the press of Sevika’s warm, wet tongue slowly gliding up the inside of your thigh. The one without the garter.

Sensing her final destination, you bring your hand to cover your mouth and hope the audience thinks it’s just to stifle giggles. She reaches your thin lace panties and pauses. Unknowingly, you hold your breath, legs damn near trembling in anticipation. It’s a good thing you have your hand over your mouth. There’s no holding back the wanton mewl she pulls from you as she slides that devilish tongue clear up the center of your slit, moaning as she tastes your arousal through the thin fabric.

You close your thighs around her head, realizing all too late that you’d just sealed your own fate. She takes advantage of her locked position, her mouth pressing against your barely clothed cunt. Another swipe of that thick muscle has your mind reeling and your core clenching.

Just when you think she’s going to do it again, she takes mercy on you and pries your thighs open. She moves to the opposite thigh, her teeth catching on the edge of the lace lining the garter and smoothly pulls it down your leg and off over your heel. She stands, garter still between her teeth, cheshire smile on her smug face. She grins at your flushed face for a moment before turning to the audience to show off her successful retrieval.

Everyone cheers, hoots, and hollers, spurring on that ego of hers. If you weren’t so damn flustered, you would give her a good piece of your mind. Unfortunately, you aren’t even sure you can manage to stand on your wobbly legs.

The remainder of the night doesn’t get any less risque. After several more drinks and dirty, slow-grinding songs, Sevika removes her jacket, rolls up her shirt sleeves, and loosens her tie. She stands behind you, hands on your hips as she grinds against your backside to the beat.

Her mouth moves up along the side of your neck, sucking, licking and nipping at the stretch of delicate skin. You tilt your head to the opposite side, granting her more access as you moan softly, uncaring if any of your guests on the dance floor can hear.

Her lips pause at your ear. “How much longer are we gonna do this, babygirl?” she husks.

You hum and smile as you push your ass further back into her, rubbing it in a motion you know she can really feel.

She growls and nips at your ear. “If we don’t go soon I’ll just drag you to the bathroom and fuck you there.”

You slide your hands down the side of your body until they meet hers where they grip your hips. “Aren’t you the one who always speaks of patience?” You tease. “We’ll be done soon. Couple more songs.” You glance around the room, there’s only a few stragglers over at the bar and a couple on the dance floor. “Almost everyone has left.”

“Well then maybe I’ll fuck you right here then,” she purrs, sliding her flesh hand down to cup your cunt through the layers of your skirt.

“Sevika!” you chastise, but it’s lost to her in the way you moan her name and grind against her hand.

She chuckles, warm breath wafting over your neck and shoulders, and good god you are very tempted to take her up on either of those offers.

You two barely make it to your private little cabin she booked for your honeymoon before she attempts to rip your dress off. You stumble in as she kicks the door shut behind her, her hands ripping at the zipper of your dress. The dress falls into a pool on the floor, quickly forgotten. You’re left in just your corset bra and slip skirt.

“Wait!” you exclaim as she attempts to rip those off as well. “I bought something special for the occasion!”

“So What. I’m just gonna rip off whatever you put on,” she husks and pulls you back towards her by your waist.

“Fine, but at least let me put it on so you can see it once!” you insist. You squirm in her grasp, too tipsy to manage your movements. Not that you would have ever stood a chance against her strength anyway. “It will be real quick. I promise.” When you dodge her mouth reaching for your neck, she finally caves.

“Fine. But make it quick,” she huffs.

You scramble over to your suitcase, nearly toppling over when you bend down to pull the bag out that hides your lingerie. Sevika snorts from her spot leaning against the wall behind you and you shoot her a nasty glare. “You’re a bit drunk too,” you remind her, “You hit your head not only getting into the limo, but also getting out.”

She rolls her eyes before her hungry gaze follows you as you saunter- or more like wobble- towards the bathroom.

You’re grateful for selecting a fairly simple set of lingerie. In your current state there’s no way you would manage anything complicated. After slipping out of your bra and slip with minimal tipping over, you quickly pull on your white, lacy babydoll. You take a quick glance in the mirror, pleased to find the cut of the babydoll perfect. It accents every curve delightfully and reveals just enough skin to tease.

“Thought you said this would be quick!” Sevika grunts from just outside the door.

When you sneak back out the door, you don’t bother hiding the grin painting your face. You know she’s going to like your little outfit, even if she does rip it off you. “Patience, Sev,” you purr.

She pushes herself off the wall and turns to you. You swear you can see her pupils widen the moment her gaze travels up your scantily clad form. That lovely crooked grin of hers appears and you can’t help but giggle at her obvious approval.

“You like it?” you ask sweetly.

She steps closer, that sexy smirk curling higher. “I do.” She slides a finger across the fabric hugging your breasts. “In fact-” She lets that finger glide down the thin fabric between your cleavage and licks her lips. “-I think we’ll keep it on tonight.”

You giggle. “Doubt that.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?”

You reach up to grab her tie with a playful smile. “I bet you can’t last more than three minutes before you’re ripping this outfit to shreds.” You start to pull her towards you as you slowly back your way to the bed.

Her lips curl into a crooked grin. “Oh you wanna make a bet, babygirl?” Her hands find your hips, eyes locked on yours as you continue to pull her.

You nod.

“I win, you’re mine to do with as I please for the entire night.” Her voice is low and dangerous. As if what she’d do with you would truly be devastating. But you both know, no matter who wins, you’re both going to enjoy it.

“Well if I win, which we both know I will, you’re mine to do with as I please for the entire night,” you counter.

“Deal.”

You take a quick glance at the clock beside the bed. 11:41. She’s got to last until 11:45. Highly unlikely. Your attention returns to her and don’t bother trying to hide your confident smile.

The backs of your knees bump into the mattress and you tug on her tie, pulling her lips to yours. Both of you moan into each other’s mouths, tongues swirling and fighting for dominance. Of course Sevika wins, every part of her overpowers you. Not that you mind.

You continue to pull her along as you sit on the bed and scoot backward. She follows without breaking the kiss, her knees moving along the bed on either side of your thighs. It’s not until your head collapses against the pillows that you finally release her and break the kiss. Lips parted and wet, you both attempt to catch your breath.

Sevika hovers over you, her hands on either side of your shoulders and knees on either side of your hips, eyes half-lidded and burning with lust.

After a moment she finally rises on her knees. She loosens her tie and pulls it over her head. Her grin is lecherous. That should have been your warning, but rather than toss the tie aside as you expect, she scoops your wrists up and wraps the tie around them before securing the other end to the headboard.

Your gasp of surprise is met by a sinister little chuckle. One that has that familiar ache between your thighs pulsing.

She quickly removes her white blouse and tosses it aside before shimmying out of her pants, leaving her in just her white wife pleaser and boxer briefs.

Her mouth crashes into yours again. This time her kiss is wild. Sloppy. But she doesn’t linger there long before she’s making her way down the side of your jaw to your neck. She moves her knees, pressing them between yours and forcing you to spread them open.

You wrap your legs around her waist, moaning as she finds your pulse point and sucks hard. Then she’s moving even lower until her mouth finds your breasts. You desperately want to thread your fingers into her hair as she sucks matching love bruises into the plump flesh of each breast, releasing a frustrated huff and pulling against your restraints. You can feel her lips curl into a devious smile, clearly amused by your distress.

“You’re an ass,” you whisper breathlessly.

“You love it,” she mumbles before licking a long stripe between your cleavage.

As much as you’d like to argue that fact, not only is she right, but your head empties the moment she rocks her hips, dragging herself between your legs.

“Sevika,” you whine, eyes fluttering shut as pleasure rolls through your body.

She chuckles and rocks her hips again.

You can already feel the desire pooling low in your belly. The two of you have been craving each other the entire day. It’s not going to take much to get either of you off. Especially not when she keeps acting so fucking cocky.

One of her hands grope at your breast while the other remains on the mattress. She continues to grind into you, pulling moan after moan from your parted lips. Her fingers slip beneath the cup of your lingerie and attempt to pull it down.

She growls in frustration, the fit of your lingerie apparently a little too good. The rhythm of her hips falters as she diverts her attention to her attempt at removing the offending material. You peer down at her through hooded eyes, a small smile on your face as you witness her struggles.

She mutters something under her breath, most likely a curse, and you barely contain your laughter. It’s only a matter of time before her frustration boils over and she rips your clothes off, just as you said she would.

She glances up at your bound arms, realizing she can’t pull the lingerie off over your head and it’s her own damn fault.

This time you snicker and she flashes you a nasty look. She sits up on her knees, and even though you know what’s coming next, you still release a startled squeal when she reaches down with her clawed metal fingers and tears right through the flimsy lace. She doesn’t stop there either, making short work of your underwear as well.

Now she’s the one chuckling. Not that it matters to you. A quick glance to the clock, 11:43, and you’ve confirmed your victory.

“You lost!” You exclaim, but you’re not prepared to find that smug smile still painting your wife’s face.

“Did I, though?” She taunts, her eyes darting up to your bound hands, then back to your surprised face.

Realization sinks in, but before you can protest, her mouth descends to your breast, teeth clamping down on the hardened peak.

Your sharp gasp dissolves into a soft moan as she soothes the marks she left with a swirl of her tongue. Your eyelids fall closed again. Her lips remain curled in a devious grin while she continues to suck and tease the sensitive nub.

She moves to pay the same attention to your other nipple, alternating between biting, licking, and sucking. All the while you strain against the tie holding your wrists, desperately wanting to touch her. To guide her head lower where your body aches for her the most.

“Sevika, please,” you whine, arching your back when she bites down particularly hard.

“Please what?” she asks.

Your eyes slowly flutter open to find her smirking face now hovering over yours.

“Please touch me.” You know those words won’t be enough for her. They never are. She’s a sadist who loves to make you tell her exactly what you want, just so she can see you flustered. Though you'd be lying if you said that didn’t make your core burn just as much as it did your cheeks.

“I’ve been touching you, sweetheart.” she teases.

“Lower…” your whine trails off into a wanton moan when she intentionally pushes a knee between the apex of your thighs.

“Where?”

“Sevika!”

“Use your words. Tell me where you want me to touch you.” She’s taunting you, but Janna it’s so damn sexy, especially with that husky voice of hers.

You squirm beneath her, trying desperately to rub yourself against her knee, but she quickly pulls it away with a chastising “Tsk”. You’re so damn turned on and needy you can’t help the pathetic sob that rips from your throat.

Finally, you cave.

“Touch my pussy! Please, Sevika!” you beg, cheeks burning.

“That’s my good girl,” she purrs and you keen. She brings her lips to yours in a passionate kiss, stealing your breath away. She slides her calloused fingers slowly down your stomach until two fingers rest just outside your wet folds, her middle finger hovering just above.

She swallows your whimper.

You swallow her evil little chuckle.

She finally takes pity on you and slides her middle finger through your slit. Her tongue swirls around yours, mimicking the motion of her fingertip circling your clit.

You writhe beneath her. The sensations are too teasingly slow and soft. You need more. You need her inside you. When she hears you whimper against her lips, she finally breaks the kiss to peer down at you.

“Sevika,” you gasp, “Stop teasing!”

“Hmm,” she hums, “You want my fingers inside that pretty little cunt?” That damn cocky smirk still paints her face and it makes the knot low in your belly pull tighter.

You nod your head frantically.

“You sure it’s ready?”

Another nod.

“I don’t know, babygirl. I don’t want to hurt you if you’re not ready.” She runs the tip of her finger through your entrance again, collecting your juices before returning to tease the bundle of nerves above.

Even in the haze of your arousal, you’re aware that she knows damn well you are more than ready. You can feel the wetness leaking down the insides of your thighs. And you know she feels it too. She’s toying with you. Trying to get you even more riled up than you already are.

“I’m ready!” You try to give her a stern look, but it falls short when she slides two fingers through your folds.

She hums again, “You are pretty wet.”

You say nothing, just stare up at her with pleading eyes. Janna, she’s so fucking sexy you’re certain the moment she finally does give you what you need you’re going to lose it almost instantly.

Just when you think she’s finally caving, she drags that blissful torture on even longer, deliberately sinking her middle finger ever so slowly inside you. Simultaneous groans fill the room. For as many times as she’s used those fingers, you’ll never get used to how sinfully thick they are. How you can feel each knuckle and each callous drag along your walls. Likewise, she never gets enough of how deliciously tight and wet you are.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” she groans, her warm breath wafting over your lips as she lowers her head. “Such a tight, wet pussy.”

A wave of pleasant warmth rushes over your lower half, followed by an ache that makes you crave more.

“And it’s all mine, isn’t it?” she husks.

Words fail you as she slides the last remaining length of her finger inside you and trails the tip of her tongue across your bottom lip. Your eyes flutter shut.

“Is this pussy mine?” she asks as she begins slowly sliding her finger in and out.

You swallow thickly and try to answer, but you’re too drunk on pleasure.

“Answer me or I stop,” she growls before nipping at your bottom lip.

You yelp, more startled than hurt.

“I- I-” you struggle to form words while she relentlessly distracts and teases you, running her tongue along the little indents she left on your lip. “Yes, it’s yours. All yours.”

“That’s right,” she husks, her lips grazing yours before she seals them with another quick kiss.

She starts fucking you with a slow, steady pace, rocking her hips with the motion as if she was strapping you. You rock your hips along with her, teeth catching your bottom lip in an attempt to hold back your moans. But she’s not having that.

She slips another finger inside, increasing her pace until you’re unable to keep your mouth in check. Moan after moan spills from your parted lips as she fucks you in earnest. Your hips rock with hers in time with her fingers thrusting. The bed shakes, headboard rattling against the wall. Neither of you notice, too high on the sounds and sensations the other is providing.

You can feel your orgasm rapidly approaching, the knot in your belly burning and drawn tight. The rocking of your hips falters until you finally give up and let her take complete control.

She gladly takes over, speeding up even more, curling her fingers so with every withdrawal she’s hitting that sweet spot that makes you see stars.

“That feels so good,” you mewl.

“Yea? You like that?” she huffs, her breaths just as ragged as yours.

“Janna, yes!” You fight against your restraints, desperate to touch your wife.

“You’re close aren’t you?” she grunts against the side of your neck.

“Yes!”

Those fingers are thrusting inside your sopping wet cunt so hard now the room is filling with debauched squelching sounds.

Your body tenses, every muscle pulled taut. You’re so close.

“Cum for me,” she growls before sinking her teeth into your neck.

All the sexual tension that had been building that day finally releases in a tidal wave of pleasure. Blinding light flashes behind your closed eyes. A string of nonsensical words spill from your mouth. Your walls clench and spasm around her fingers, pushing your release out in a gush that drenches her hand.

“Fuck, sweetheart. That’s it. Let it all out. Such a good girl for me,” Sevika groans into your ear, her fingers pumping into you while you ride out that blissful high.

When your body starts to twitch beneath her, overstimulation setting in at the end of your high, she slows her pace before finally pulling out completely.

You’re startled from your post-orgasmic bliss when you suddenly hear fireworks somewhere in the distance. You turn to glance out the large glass door to see the bright colors lighting up the night sky, then you see the time. 12:00. New Years.

Unbelievable.

You turn back to your wife with a smile as large as you can manage in your fucked out state.

Resting on her forearms and knees, Sevika peers down at you adoringly, her lips pulled into a satisfied grin. Both of you pant, equally out of breath.

All you can manage to think at that moment is how damn lucky you are to have such a wonderful wife. Not just because she’s indescribably good in bed, but also because she’s so fucking sweet. She rented this cute little private cabin for the two of you to spend your honeymoon. Prepacked said cabin with goodies and firewood for the fireplace. She even perfectly time your special moment with the fucking fireworks!

She reaches above you to remove the tie from the headboard and your wrists, and you immediately pull her down for a sweet kiss.

When you release her, she pulls back just far enough to touch the tip of her nose to yours.

You suppose you can forgive her for reneging on your bet. Kinda hard to complain when she fucked you so good AND timed it with the New Year.

“Happy New Year, wife,” you whisper.

She smiles down at you lovingly. “Happy New Year, my perfect wife.”

[theharddeck]

your love is the love i need || chapter 3/4

pairing: javy machado x femme reader (no y/n), callsign Cross

summary: Mrs. Machado is on a plane home, so there's no need to keep pretending...but it's awful tempting when you wake up in bed with someone you've been in love with for months.

warnings: 18+, minors please DNI – the smut starts here, folks. it's not PiV not yet but come back for ch5, but there's mutual masturbation, swearing like you'd not believe, and questionable sanitary decisions who am i

length: 3.8k

A/N: *appears after four months with 1.8k words of smut* thank you to everyone who reached out to check on this fic, who asked for updates, and who encouraged my lunacy. so excited to continue to tell their story!

chapter one / chapter two

Monday Morning

You woke up slowly, the sun shining through your blinds, and your arms wrapped around a sleeping Javy Machado. 

You lay still for a second, cataloging the moment. 

You’d both shifted in your sleep; Javy had rolled over and you’d followed him, your chest against his back and your nose pressed into the nape of his neck. You didn’t think of yourself as a big spoon, and you’d bet anything that Javy wouldn’t publicly admit to being the little spoon, but it felt so comfortable this way, to be wrapped around him, holding him.  

You knew he was a heavy sleeper, from the time he’d fallen asleep in one of the common rooms, and Bob and Fanboy had started stacking things on top of him, to see how long it’d take him to wake up (four coffee mugs, two couch cushions, nine folded flight suits, six F/A-18 manuals, a carefully balanced Halo, and it’d been one of the coffee mugs falling to the floor and shattering that’d done the trick).

But you still held your breath when you pulled away from him, hoping he wouldn’t wake. When he didn’t stir, you propped yourself up on your elbow, looking down at him. 

He really was just so beautiful. 

Curled on his side, he looked sweeter than normal, but sleep had done nothing to diminish his handsomeness. He nuzzled deeper into one of your silk pillowcases, an endearing gesture that had you wishing you didn’t have drills in a couple hours. He still didn’t wake, but he did mumble something when the bed shifted, and you kept your steps light as you walked out of the room. 

No need to wake him until it was necessary. 

You ran through an abbreviated morning routine in the bathroom, before padding though the house to look for some tea. The sun shone in a slender patch through the morning shadows in your small kitchen, and you hefted yourself onto the countertop into that sliver of light, humming contentedly as you felt the warm rays over your skin. The kettle was within arms reach, as were the cinnamon rolls and your ipad, and you opened the sticky pastries as you flipped through your apps until you found the New York Crossword puzzle.

You were a couple bites into your second cinnamon roll when you heard the floors creaking in the hallway, getting louder. 

“What’s an eight letter word for Roger the Dodger?” you asked, not looking up. 

“God, I hate that I know this,” Javy mumbled to himself, from the door, before he sighed dramatically. “It’s Staubach.”

You typed the name in, your eyes widening when it completed the row. “Didn’t know you were a football guy.”

“I’m not,” he still sounded somewhat chagrined, “Jake idolizes the man more than Cyclone.”

You looked up at him, prepared to make some quick quip, but as you took in the sight of Javy standing in your doorway, eyes still sleepy, body still lax, you genuinely forgot words. 

He looked like a dream. 

The tshirt he’d slept in was wrinkled, and he rested a shoulder against the doorframe, slouching slightly. He looked comfortable, he looked like it was normal for him to be in a tshirt and boxers in your kitchen, first thing in the morning, fresh-faced and almost-smiling at you. 

 After everything in the last two days, after spending the night with the man, you knew you had nothing to feel bashful over, but it was still a lot to process—the reality of Javy being here, like this. 

“Hi,” you said, stupidly. 

“Hey,” he said, and his lips spread in a smile. The sun on your skin seemed cooler, like it was a lesser force than the light of his smile, and you shifted in your seat, brushing at your mouth with the back of your hand, hoping you didn’t have frosting all over your face.

“Want one?” you offered, gesturing to the pyrex of cinnamon rolls. 

“Sure,” Javy shrugged, pushing away from the door. 

You didn’t think you could look at him, barefoot in your kitchen and walking slowly towards you, without combusting, so you nudged the cinnamon rolls closer to him, and looked back at the crossword. 

In your peripherals, you saw Javy pull a roll out of the dish, and start unwinding it with his fingers. His shoulder was practically leaned against yours, and he seemed content with the silence, so you went back to your crossword. You could feel his attention on the screen, but you didn’t mind, and the sun felt nice against your skin as it crept higher in the sky. 

“Hmph,” Javy went to say something before he remembered his mouth was full of frosting, chewing aggressively for a second or two until he was clear. “This isn’t fair.”

You looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “What isn’t?”

Javy frowned down at the last bit of cinnamon roll in his hands, before popping it into his mouth with a shrug. “Too good of a morning,” he said, like that made any sense at all.

When you didn’t react to that, Javy looked up at you, like he was waiting. He also was licking frosting off his fingers, like that was casual, and you shook your head, letting him know you needed more context. 

“Just like,” he started, his tongue ghosting over his thumb, “waking up in your house, that smells like cinnamon because you made cinnamon rolls after you met my mom yesterday, before we made out and, you know, cuddled to sleep…I don’t know, it just sounds fake. Like, too good.”

You pressed your lips together, but you knew it wouldn’t hide your smile. 

“Now what?” Javy asked, and you shook your head. 

How did you say hey you’re too pretty to be real and also say things like that and also look like THIS with pillow marks on his face or wasn’t standing barefoot in your kitchen with frosting on his fingers?

So you leaned forward on the counter and kissed him, pressed your lips to his and licked the frosting off his tongue. And maybe you got what he was saying, because it wasn’t fair, it was too good, now that you knew how Javy tasted like first thing in the morning. 

Javy pulled a long breath in through his nose, his shoulders rising as he pushed away from where he’d been leaning on the counter to stand in front of you. One of his hands ghosted over your knees, now digging into his stomach, and you parted them, so he could stand closer to you. It was kind of like that first night on your stoop, where the steps had given you extra height you didn’t have normally, but this time Javy was physically between your legs, and you decided that was nice too. His other hand was on the back of your neck, his thumb stroking up your jaw as he cradled your head with the rest of his hand.

“Why isn’t the weekend longer?” Javy mumbled between kisses, his words lingering between your lips. The momentary separation caused by his words gave you an excuse to kiss the corner of his mouth, then down his jawline.

“It should definitely be longer,” you whispered back, your tongue teasing down his neck, and Javy leaned more heavily into you. You peppered his neck with light kisses, knowing the last thing either of you needed was to leave him with marks, but too enchanted by the way his breathing quickened to stop. 

“Fuck,” Javy gritted, the words punched out of him when your lips grazed over his pulse point in his throat. God, you liked the sound of that, his surprise and his desire, his gorgeous voice gone rough. You hummed in response, and at the vibrations, Javy’s hand tightened on the back of your neck, and you knew you were playing with fire, but you wanted to hear more of it.

“And if the weekend were longer,” you asked, pressing your lips to the place where his pulse was racing, not at all surprised that your own voice sounded breathless, “what would we do about it?”

Javy laughed, something darker than a chuckle, and he pulled back to capture your mouth with his again. There was something urgent in this kiss, hungrier than before, and you felt yourself pulling closer to the edge of the counter, closer to him. 

You felt warm all over, felt heat pooling low in your stomach, felt your body reacting faster than it had any right to. You didn’t know if Javy could taste your desperation on your kiss, but you pressed closer to him, and he made a low sound in his throat, like he approved. 

But then he pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. His thumb stroked up your neck, his other hand still settled on your knee, and he pulled in a deep breath through his nose. 

“You’re not playing fair,” he said, but he sounded more awed than upset.

You blinked your eyes open, your skin heating when you realized he was watching you already. 

“We’ve an hour before we have to be on base,” you whispered, not an excuse, but an offer. Your skin still felt so hot, and you could feel your pulse pounding in your fingertips, in your core.  

Javy groaned, his eyes fluttering shut and you felt him shake his head from the way his forehead moved against yours. 

“Baby, you know an hour’s not enough for what I want to do with you.”

You shivered, either from the deep timbre of his voice, the serious meaning his words held, or the sweet way he’d said ‘with’ instead of ‘to’.

“Well now you’re not being fair,” you muttered, and you could hear something like a pout on your voice, but it wasn’t your fault. Not when Javy was giving you ideas for over-an-hour activities for the two of you.

He laughed again, warmer this time, and pulled you to him again. This kiss was chaste, comfortable, the kind of easy like you knew there was a next time. And as much as you wanted to sink into it, you knew he was right. 

“Let me take you to dinner,” he said, and the implicit “first” wasn’t lost on either of you. “Better, I can make you dinner.”

Your eyes narrowed, and you were dangerously close to asking him to pinch you, to make sure you were still awake.

“You can make me dinner, Coyote,” you accepted, keeping your voice light, since he was apparently determined to be a gentleman this morning. 

Of course, using his callsign had Javy’s head dropping to your shoulder, and another half-hearted groan escaping out of him. 

“’m trying to be a good person, here,” he said into your shoulder, and you patted his chest lightly, consolingly.

“One of us has to be,” you muttered, and he huffed into your sweatshirt. “Alright, let me down.”

He stilled, almost imperceptibly, but you got the feeling he’d gone from nuzzling into your sweatshirt to hiding in it. 

“Give me a sec,” he mumbled, shifting his hips slightly. The motion drew your eyes downward between the two of you and—ah. 

You shouldn’t be surprised. 

Javy was tall, it was early in the morning, boxers were thin material...but the sight of his impressive erection brought back the heat of your make out session, and then it was your turn to shift on the counter. It wasn’t even entirely lascivious, it was just nice to know you were wanted, that there was physical proof of it. 

“Sorry,” Javy’s voice was still muffled in your sweatshirt, as he mistook your arousal for discomfort. “I’ve just been thinking about this for so long.”

He trailed off, and you thought quickly about the time left in the morning, how you both needed to be focused at work today, and if there was a way to compromise–take the edge off, so to speak, without leading further down distraction. And you thought of how he’d barely touched you this morning, but his voice and the way he moved were dizzying enough, and your hand that’d been on his chest wound up to rest along the side of his face. He turned into your hand, a small gesture that made your heart flutter, and your decision solidified. 

“Do me a favor?” you asked quietly, and you felt when Javy nodded. “Sit at the table?”

Javy lifted up from your shoulder, confused, but when you smiled at him, he moved to do as you asked. 

You didn’t close your legs, still spread from where he’d stood between them, but you covered the cinnamon rolls and pushed your ipad away from you. You watched him cross the small width of your kitchen, settling into the chair facing you. His legs were somewhat spread still, and you knew you could do this.

“What have you thought of,” you asked, nervousness and anticipation mixing in your voice, “when you thought of this?”

For a moment, Javy was still, confused, and then his eyes fell to where your hand was running along the hem of your pajama shorts. He let out his breath slowly, and then his chin lifted as he sat back in the chair. He pushed his shoulders back as he settled, preening, his feet flat on the floor, and his eyes watched you intently. 

“You want me to talk you through it?” he asked, his voice somehow even deeper, and it was like you could feel it washing over you. 

You nodded, not trusting your voice to come out steady, and were rewarded by a gorgeous, slow smile spreading across the face of the man at your kitchen table. 

“Yeah, I can do that, honey,” he said, his voice soft enough to make you hold your breath, desperate to catch every word. He looked at you for a long moment, his gaze heavy, like he was committing this sight to memory, and you got the feeling it wasn’t going to be as simple as him telling you his fantasies. 

Namely because he was going to be the one giving directions.

“Pet yourself,” Javy said, voice steady and deep, “over your shorts.”

You couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped you when you did as he asked, your hand sliding between your legs. The contact was muted through the cotton, but your body still reacted to it, or maybe just to the fact that it was Javy who’d asked. 

You stroked your hand between your legs, feeling your arousal building, feeling the slide of your hand shift as your body warmed to your touch. 

“That’s it,” Javy breathed. “Press down, just like that…fuck, honey.”

He broke off, and you looked up at him, to find him pressing a hand over himself. Your legs twitched, and you felt your fingers grow wet, as your arousal soaked through the thin material of your shorts. 

“You’re wet for me, already,” Javy said, his voice awed. “I can see it from here, baby, damn. Damn, I wish those were my fingers between your pretty thighs.”

You whimpered again at the curses falling past Javy’s lips, after all his restraint and chivalry. He sounded so good, he sounded like he had it as bad for you as you did for him. 

“This isn’t what I thought about,” he said, his voice low, answering your question. “Because when I thought about it, I’d be right there, between your legs. It would be me feeling you soak through your panties. I could touch you, smell you, taste you, whatever I wanted, and you’d be looking at me–fuck, just like that, honey.”

His words were heady, and you could see the way he meant them. His eyes were intense and you looked away, your touch now feeling more like a tease than a beginning. 

“Need more, Jay,” you managed, your voice shaking. “Please.”

“Anything, honey,” Javy said immediately, “anything. Bet you don’t know you could have anything if you asked like that, looking like this. I always imagined–okay, slide your hand into your panties, now, you can touch yourself.”

As you drew your hand back up to your waist, Javy kept pressing down on his dick through his boxers. It looked uncomfortable, but he was so focused on you, that you didn’t push him, not yet. 

At the first brush of your fingers over your clit, you sighed in relief, and Javy groaned. 

“You sound so pretty, baby, fuck. Just like I imagined, so sweet. Does that feel good? Your fingers on your pussy, for me?”

You nodded, feeling feverish. 

“So good, Javy,” you gasped, your fingers finding a familiar rhythm. “I’m so wet, I feel—fuck, it feels so good.”

Javy’s hips jerked up, and you licked your lips, knowing what you needed. 

“Let me see you,” you asked, your voice bordering on a whine.

His head fell back as your request registered, his hips rising of their own accord again. 

“You’re gonna kill me,” he said to the ceiling, but then he shifted his hips to slide his boxers down to his knees, and pulling his hard dick out.

You moaned, a wanton sound that seemed to echo around the quiet kitchen, but fuck, look at him. Proportions were one thing, but he was so thick, and when he wrapped his big hand around himself, you shivered imagining how your hand would look in comparison. You watched a tremor work across his chest as Javy pulled his hand over himself, and your thighs spread wider of their own accord. 

“Fuck, honey, how you’re looking at me right now…” Javy’s words pulled your eyes back to his, and you knew what he meant. 

His eyes were dark, so intense, focused on you and you could feel his desire for you, palpable. His jaw clenched as he stroked himself, and you wondered absently if you could come just from the sight of him.��

Then you realized his hips were moving.

 It was subtle, just the flex in his thighs, but you could see a steady motion he was trying to disguise as he pumped into his hand, and you felt it in your core. Your own hips were shifting, then, pressing into the circling motion of your fingers in time with Javy’s movements. 

“Are you moving with me, baby?” Javy asked, his voice rough. “Fuck, it should be me; I want you on my fingers, on my thighs; God, honey, the way you move–”

You whimpered at his words, working your hand faster. 

“I want that so bad, Jay,” you managed. “You’d make me feel so good.”

“So fucking good,” Javy said, like a promise. “Can you slide a finger in, honey, feel how tight you are.”

You did as he asked, moaning as you clenched down on the intrusion, your hips still rocking. Your body adjusted, and it was good but then you looked over at Javy. His thick cock, a pearl of precum appearing at the tip of it, the hefty width of it, fucking steadily into his hand…his broad hand, wide fingers, also so thick…and the your hand felt small, felt insufficient, and you whimpered, shaking your head. 

“’s not enough,” you whined, your voice sounding pitiful, wanton, and Javy groaned across the room. That sound was the most beautiful thing you’d heard, masculine and needy and perfect, and you added another finger, like that would satisfy the ache in your core. 

“Did you add another one, honey?” Javy asked tightly. “You need my hands, don’t you, need me to make you feel full? Fuck, baby, you’d take me so well, I know it.”

You fought the irrational need to cry; you wanted that too, wanted it desperately. But you thrust your fingers into yourself, let Javy’s beautiful voice wash over you, and it could be enough. 

His chest was rising and falling quickly as his breathing got more labored, and you felt like you were coming out of your skin; you’d give anything to feel his panting breath over your skin, his chest heaving as he worked both of you higher. That hand around his leaking cock, how it would feel over your pussy, playing with your breasts, on your throat–

“You’re doing so good for me, baby,” Javy groaned, his eyes glued to where your wrist emerged from the hem of your shorts. “Those whimpers are killing me, shit, you sound so good. Can’t wait to hear how you’ll sound on my dick, when it’s so fucking deep in that pussy.”

You moaned, you felt so taught, like everything was hanging on Javy’s words, on how good you were doing for him, on how much he wanted you. Your hand was aching, and this was so much sooner than you expected, but you felt your toes curl and your thighs started to tremble as Javy’s thrusts into his hand sped up. 

“I’m so close, Jay,” you cried, your head falling back and your hips starting to lose their rhythm, and Javy groaned at whatever he saw when he looked at you. 

“Fucking beautiful, honey, you’re so gorgeous. Let me see it, please, come for me. Come for me like you’re going to tonight, after I’ve fed you and fucked you, after we’ve spent all day imagining my dick so deep in that pussy, after I get to taste those moans off your lips, come on, honey–”

Your fingers pressed deep into your cunt and the promise and pleading of Javy’s words with the steady thrust of his hips sent you over the edge. Your back arched and your orgasm screamed through you, summoned by Javy’s gorgeous voice and his thick fingers and he hadn’t even touched you but you felt him, you felt that it was for him, and you came hard, the world blurring as Javy praised you from across the room.  

“Oh, fuck, baby, that’s it. So good,” he was panting, but you could hear his pride like a caress. “You did so good. Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum, honey, you’re just so pretty like this, fuck–”

Javy cut off and you opened your eyes to see his hips still as he thrust into his palm, and then ribbons of cum spurted over the front of his tshirt. 

You clenched down on your fingers, still slowly soothing yourself, your emptiness magnified with the sight of him finding his release. God, he was so beautiful. 

His chest heaving, his strong thighs flexed, his brow tense and his eyelashes fluttering, he looked like a work of art, like something divine. His jaw loosened as he finished, his lips parting and a soft sound of satisfaction eased out of him and you felt it settle under your skin. 

The kitchen was quiet, the air thick with pleasure and relief and so much unsaid, and your eyes drifted shut, still trying to catch your breath. When Javy laughed again, it was musical, light and sweet. And when you looked over at him again, he wore the softest smile on his face, a million kind things in his eyes as he looked at you. 

“Shit, Cross,” he sighed, laughter in his voice. “How are we supposed to make it through the day, now?”

You smiled back, tired and sated, with no idea in hell.

//

taglist (folks who always humor me, folks who reblogged the last chapter, or folks who sent asks to be tagged): @laracrofted @mxgyver @callsign-fangirl @bradshawsbitch @ninaxwaffles @blowmymbackout @daggerspare-standingby @javihoney @sebsxphia @princessphilly @roosterforme @maddiemunson333 @vallyb @hearttohearteyes @bioodforbiood @gretagerwigsmuse @rae-gar-targaryen @hangmanbrainrot @beyondthesefourwalls @mandylove1000 @blckgrl-sunflower

[echantedtoon]

Waning Obsession(Yandere Kokushibo x Reader) Ch5 All In A Lable

(Warning: Kokushibo threatens someone. Y/n gets a cut on her hand. Mentioning of scars on her hands. Mentioning of discrimination against demons.

The patterns for the candles Kokushibo wants is linked below. Pics not mine, they're all found on Pinterest:

Pale White-Blue blueberry scented Candle:

pin.it/68rfj8GYM

Green mint scented Candle:

pin.it/1H0fAWex8

Pink cherry blossom scented candle:

pin.it/62SIvvgnP

Baby blue violet scented candle:

pin.it/1uhbbKt9l

White vanilla scented candle:

pin.it/ELGQDvXq9

Beige peach scented candle:

pin.it/65y6gUwD0

EDIT: Spelling Errors are corrected.)

"He was real."

"I KNOW THAT! STOP RUBBING IT IN MY FACE!!"

"I'm not-"

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!!"

You sighed and only rolled your eyes before just going back to carving small lemon scented soap into a sun. A few more of your little soaps had been bought since the mysterious samurai had finally left nearly three weeks ago now. A feeling of relief flooded you after that for one because finally the demon was gone, and because he had showed up on time proving to your boss that you'd been right all along. Since that day things were awkward and oddly quiet around work with your boss only speaking to you about work related things..Until you decided to finally address the elephant in the room and quietly brought up the man, only for her to snap back to her old self again and bark orders. She muttered to herself now not looking at you and busing herself by dusting off the lower shelves.

It certainly had been an experience.

You had never expected to run into a demon. You never expected to be paid in gold. And you certainly wasn't expecting to ever see him again after this. After all why would he even come back here? He had gotten what he wanted from you and didn't need anything else if he was passing through to his brother's engagement party then there really wasn't any reason for him to come back. He stayed around kong enough anyways. He paid, he took what he wanted, and then he left. Nothing more, nothing less. Life resumed as usual as soon as he left. Your regular local customers came and went. You smiled at people and waved at them. It was as peaceful as it had been before you met the demon.. Although you had forgotten his name. He only said it once and the situation had been overwhelming enough for you to not focus on that small detail.

However life went on as normal.

You weren't sure what to do with the gold you'd gotten so for now you put it in a small hiding spot in your home for safe keeping. Never knew when an emergency might pop up. For now you were content with just going about your life and carving your cute little soap sculptures. A sun hadn't been one you were planning on carving but you were reminded of the red candle you carved the sun on when you saw your boss making more of them. This particular soap bar was yellow, so why not carve it into a sun? You got halfway done that particular day and you weren't in any hurry. It could be worked on more tomorrow.

"I want you to meet someone for me. Please."

Well....That was certainly something you weren't expecting this morning.

You had just arrived back to work that morning, your boss requested you cook for her which you obliged. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to request you to do things like her laundry or cooking. And you had just grabbed the broom to start sweeping the front again. However you had looked up briefly hearing the familiar shuffling footsteps of your boss as she came in. At the time you didn't pay her too much mind other than saying good morning but when she spoke that sentence you were so taken aback you ended up silently staring at her. Did ...Did your boss just say please? YOUR boss? To YOU of all people?! You stared at her for what must've been forever before she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I need you to make a delivery for me," she clarified holding up a box covered by a cloth. The fain scent of food came from inside.

...oh..OH. A delivery. Of course it was involving something work related. Silently you leaned the broom against a shelf and reached out to take it from her. ".. Isn't this the good I made for you just a little while ago?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. I need you to take it to my grandson." She waved you off as you blinked confused before pointing towards the door. "He lives on the street just behind my home. You can't miss it. It's the only home with a bush next to it."

You weren't sure what to think about this. She wanted you to make her food only to go give it to her grandson?? If she wanted you to cook some food for her grandson then why didn't she just ask you to cook for him in the beginning? Instead of arguing with her you just decided to take it from her.

"Right...Is there any reason why he wanted this?"

"He's busy working and I simply promised to send over food to him. He already knows you're making it for him."

You slowly nodded. "Alright."

Strange but nothing too out of the ordinary. In fact you found it kinda sweet she'd care about her grandson like that. So you were off. Carrying the small bento box wrapped up in your hands and you slipped between two houses to make it quicker. After all it was just the street right behind your boss's house. You popped right out and stopped in the middle of the dirt road. Scanning your eyes around, you easily spotted a house with a bush by its door just two homes away from you. It took no time at all for you to walk on over, hop up the steps, and then knock loudly on the door. There was silence were a few seconds before footsteps approached and a second later the door slid open. You smiled..but paused when you saw who it was.

"O-Oh...Are uh..Are you the grandson of the later that owns the fragrance store?"

Before you stood a...man. About your age. He lazily looked at you with glasses that made his eyes look too tiny. He yawned in your face and rubbed his neck. Hair a mess and clothes wrinkled like he had just crawled back out of bed. Wasn't he supposed to be working? He took his sweet time staring at you before finally answering.

"Yes." You visibly winced at his voice. It sounded like a cross between a chicken with a cold and a raspy old man who smoked for the past forty years. "What do you want, Woman?"

...You rose a bold brow at him but wanting to get this over with you just held up the box. "Your grandmother asked me to bring this to you."

He stared at the box before looking back at you with a frown. "Oh. You must be the girl. Well it's about time you showed up!" He snatched it away from you harshly. "I expect things from now on to be on time! I'm busy copying important documents."

From now on? It's not like you worked for him! With an inhale you stepped back. "Well. It was..nice to know you got your food. Excuse me. I have to get back to work." With a grimace you turned and walked off quickly grimacing. "Oh. I really see the family resemblance." You muttered under your breath.

"Well?" That was the first thing your boss said to you as you stepped back into the shop.

"Oh. He got his food like you asked."

Her brows furrowed. "Is that all? What did he say?"

"Well...." He was incredibly rude. "He said he was working on copying important documents." Even though you didn't believe him.

"That's my Sabo!," she gushed proudly. "Such a hard worker. Just like his grandfather."

You grimaced at her. "He certainly is... something else."

"Yes he is. He's not like other men."

You briefly wondered what poor woman married her son and was unfortunate enough to give birth to that 'something else'. "Right. I'm just going to finish sweeping now."

You assumed that would be the last time her grandson would be brought up but you were again surprised by the fact he was brought up three days later.

"You want me to clean his house this week?"

You were absolutely not expecting her to be assigning this task to you at all. But your boss just nodded confusing you further. Why would she want you to clean her grandson's house?

"And everything else he might need done. Windows, dusting, laundry, dishes- I want it all done by at least sunset tomorrow."

"Doesn't he take care of that himself? Or have his family help him with that?"

She scowled. "You'll do as I say. Poor Sabo is taking a well deserved break from work and spending some well deserved quality time with me and my son today. You're to go over immediately and get started!"

You gave her a deadpanned look. Now you were cleaning up her grandson's home today? Sigh. Ok. His home was a two roomed house and not very big. It shouldn't take too long. However you severely underestimated the state of the home. You opened the door to an empty house...And a very MESSY house. Where was dishes and laundry strewn about EVERYWHERE!! Crumpled up papers, apple cores, and other forms of trash were littered the floor alongside the dishes and laundry. And the whole place STANK!! A mountain of ashes was stacked high in the fireplace as if it had never been cleaned out after winter! And his bedsheets...You turned your head and coughed trying not to be sick. How could one person let their house be this bad? Sucking in a deep breath you braced yourself and turned to walk in.

The first thing you did was open up all the doors and windows you could find letting in fresh air to filter through the place. The second thing you did was the laundry wanting to get that done before tackling the floor. If you did all the laundry before you cleaned the floor then they'll dry before the end of the day...and they seemed like the worst part so you might as well do it and get it over with. Out went the whole futon pillows and all along with any other laundry to be washed. The next thing you did was to pick up the dishes and throw them aside to be washed before grabbing the broom and sweeping any and all trash just put the door and onto the streets with the ashes. They could deal with the trash if they didn't like it in front of the house. You were only told to take care of the house not the roads. The floors were scrubbed clean from any leftover grime before you could move onto the less stressful tasks of actually cleaning the dishes and dusting off what little furniture that was actually in the house which wasn't a lot. So you were making excellent progress.

The bathroom was the worst to clean out though. You were NEVER doing it again. A shudder ran down your spine just remembering what it looked like before you cleansed it from the pits of hell it was drowned in.

You were just finishing up cleaning what windows the house had when the door was suddenly wretched open causing you to jump as someone stomped in. That someone was your boss's grandson. Sabo if you remembered right. He just came right in and paused looking around everywhere. Behind him shuffled in the form of your boss as she suddenly clasped her hands and pushed at her...'precious' grandson.

"See? What did I tell you?"

His eyes looked around the place. A hand reached out to run a finger along a shelf before examining it and humming when he saw no dust. Then he look at you in the middle of cleaning the windows ... before scowling. "She still hasn't finished! You said everything would be finished by the time we got back!"

"I'm almost done with the windows," you calmly assured him even if you were completely annoyed on the inside. His stupid voice hurt your ears. "Then I can go bring the wash in. It should be dry by now."

"Where's my dinner?!," he rudely demanded ignoring everything you completely said. "A man expects to come back home to a clean house and home cooked meal waiting for him!"

"No one asked me to cook for you."

"I shouldn't have to! It should already be common sense!"

You gave him a deadpanned look before just turning and finished with what you started. "I'll get your laundry in just a moment."

"Why you-!"

"It's alright, Dear." His grandmother cooed at him patting his arm. "I'll make you dinner tonight. Let her finish taking care of you."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Hmph. She has a lot to learn still. My porch hasn't even been scrubbed."

"It's alright, Dear. I'll take care of it." She shot you a dirty look. "How could you forget something as important as the front of the house?!"

"You just asked me to take care of the inside of the house and most of the chores. The only thing outside I was aware that I needed to do was clean the outside of the windows."

"Forgive her, Sabo. She's always like this." You gave her a look as she continued to scold you. "Finish up and go clean off the porch! You've wasted enough of our time!"

You only sighed and continued finishing up the last window. This would indeed be a long day. You didn't get a chance to even go home until around sundown. You just silently brought in the cleaned wash up, listened to them both complain that you didn't fold them before bringing them inside, and then just went out to scrub the porch and steps. You left right after without telling either of them. If they didn't like it then his grandmother could cook for him and fold his laundry, of he could not be a lazy dirty pig and clean it up himself. He was a grown man for crying out loud. Also if your boss was so worried about her precious grandson then why doesn't she just take care of him? Or get his parents to do it? Whatever. You did what was asked of you, you shouldn't be bothered with it anymore.

Oh how fate loved dealing you a bad hand.

"You want me to what?"

"Restock his firewood supply."

You ended up staring at her like she was crazy. "And how exactly am I to do that?"

She scoffed. "There's already a pile of firewood behind his house. Bring some inside to place by the fire pit and take care of anything else you see that needs to be dealt with before you come back."

"... Didn't I just clean his entire home yesterday? And why doesn't he do those things himself?"

"I'll let you have the rest of this week off. WITH pay."

"...."

Well...When she put it like that. You could use a few days off for relaxing by yourself, and she'd still pay you too! Guess she didn't want to do everything for her lazy grandson as well. But-

"Won't be be home?"

"He's with his father conducting business with the Kadashi family up the road. So he won't be in your way."

Well if he wasn't going to be there then you guessed it would be fine. You're also getting a reasonable compensation out of it so it wouldn't be so bad. Besides it was just bringing in some firewood.

...It was not just bringing in some firewood.

You got there and opened the door and found a small pile of dirty dishes leftover from the night before from what you assumed your boss made dinner with, and all the clean laundry from yesterday just dropped in a pile by an unmade bed. THEY HADN'T FOLDED THEM AT ALL?! OR AT LEAST DID THE DISHES!? Your anger rose as you shot a scowl back towards your boss's home. Why those greedy people! They must've left these for you to do for daring not to do it yesterday. Rotten people! At least the rest of the home was still clean. You made quick work folding, washing, making the bed, and bringing in enough firewood to last him for a few days leaving the chopped logs by the fireplace before returning to finish what work you had to your boss.

"Well?" She asked you as you came back in and grabbed a small crate of sage incense bundles to put on one of the shelves. But for some reason she had a..hopeful smile on her face.

This time you didn't bother to hide your annoyance at the situation. "Everything is in order like you asked but he could've not have left a giant mess for me to fix."

Immediately her hopeful smile at you frowned. "Is that it? Nothing else to say?"

You rose a brow at her in the middle of putting another bundle on the shelf. "Yes. What else is there to say about it?"

She scoffed and waved you off looking angry. "Nevermind. Just finish restocking that shelf and then mop up the front here."

Your brow rose higher than before but you were already annoyed so you just decided to finish the work before you could go home. You didn't feel like fighting with the walking headache anymore today. What was that about anyways? Whatever. Her weird family was none of your concern. You just hoped she didn't think you'd put up with taking care of a man child on top of your job here and already doing things for her. However you'd unfortunately run into them again a lot sooner than you thought.

It had been a two days into your peaceful little vacation away from work. You decided to go to one of the local farmers and see if you could buy a pound of rice from him. So...there you were. Minding your own business. And then you turned to leave once you gave the money to the farmer and got your rice. And you saw them. Or more correctly they saw you. Your boss stopped walking and stared at you for a long moment before turning to bark at a two men and a woman behind her, pointed out you, and then all four walked over to you.

Oh no .

What did she want now? She better not ask you to do anything for her on your days off. You'd DEFINITELY not be doing anything else for her grandson. Especially now. A tired sigh escaped your body before you braced yourself as they stopped in front of you.

"Y/n!," she barked your name loudly.

"Oh hello. It's...nice to see you today," you politely greeted despite how you felt. "What are you doing out today?"

The old woman proudly pointed behind her. "I'm going to lunch with my family. My son has just finished his business with a tenant and allowed his wife to join us."

'Allowed?' You didn't like how that sounded. You looked behind her. There was a middle aged man and woman, not as old as your boss but definitely a lot older than you. The man looked exactly like his mother. Resting annoyed face and looked incredibly annoyed just staring at you as if you were the cause of it. The woman standing next to him just looked bored and uninterested in anything. And the third man was Sabo. He looked a little more presentable but like his father and grandmother, wore an annoyed face. Yep. They were all definitely related to one another.

"Oh yes. I see them around town sometimes." You nodded at them. "How do you do? It's a nice day today. Don't you think?"

"Yes," the man said rudely and bluntly as his wife just...stared.

You waited for them to say anything else...but they didn't do you awkwardly smiled. "Well it was nice to meet you but I have some chores to do at home-"

"She's taken adequate care of Sabo's house as of late," your boss interrupted you, "She even cooked him a meal."

"She could've been more precise," Sabo complained with a scoff crossing his arms, "It took her two days to get everything done and didn't even cook me dinner!"

"Well, I am not working as a maid, Sir," you spoke up with an annoyed narrow of your eyes, "I am an assistant at a fragrance store. I'm sure cooking and cleaning doesn't come with the job."

"Women working," his father spoke up annoying, "A laughable reality really." Your brow twitched annoyed. "A woman's place is at home with the children."

".... Doesn't your mother own the shop and employ me?"

"I own the house."

Yet he allows his mother to run a shop and at the same time demean other women for working? You decided that you didn't like any of these people. "WELL...It was certainly a surprise to see you all again but I need to go home and make lunch-"

"Good. You can show them how well you cook."

You looked back to your boss. "...What?"

She looked at you like it should be obvious. "You need to show your possible in-laws how well you can take care of house and husband obviously. Cooking is one of the most important skills a wife needs to know."

Silence.

You stared at them blankly. Going to each of their faces before back to your boss. You didn't say anything processing the words that she had had just spoken to you. "...I'm.. sorry. Come again? I don't think I heard you correctly."

She scoffed. "How naive are you?!" She crossed her arms looking at you with a scowl. "Obviously if you're going to marry Sabo you need to show worth to your in-laws first!"

"WHAT?!" You nearly dropped the bag of uncooked rice in your hands out of shock. Jaw dropping and eyes going wide. There's no possible way you heard that right! Who in their right mind would think that you two were together?! "WHO SAID THAT I WAS GOING TO MARRY HIM?"

"Well obviously you would," she said matter of factly like it was obviously her fantasy world would come to life if she demanded it enough. "After you turned down that nice Nori boy for years, there's hardly anyone else your age in town for you to marry. My Sabo isn't going to be young forever and he's graciously agreed to do you the favor of offering marriage when clearly you won't be able to find anyone else." She sighed. "He's such a sweet boy."

"Whoa! Wait a moment!" You held up a hand frowning deeply. "When did I ever agree to marry him or even shown interest in that?!"

Again she scoffed. "You were supposed to take initiative when you brought over his food and saw what good things he could provide you in his home!"

You ...you just blinked. "Are you serious? ...I made that food for YOU because you asked me too, and then I brought it to him because YOU asked me too. I didn't cook it for him!"

"It was a test for you so he can see how well you cooked. You obviously need more lessons but he found it edible enough."

'Edible enough?' "I didn't assume it was a test! And about the other thing, I only cleaned his house the first time because again you asked me too! I wouldn't have done it otherwise for any other reason!" You still had nightmares about cleaning that bathroom. "And I only went back a second time because you made a deal with me for my break off! I wasn't cleaning his home to show off my cleaning skills!"

"Yes. About that, you still need more practice to be more thorough and quick," Sabo piped up again annoyed, "And then you left without finishing up or making me dinner. That reflects bad on a prospective wife."

"I'm NOT your wife!" You all but bellowed out causing a few people on the street to look at you. "I'm not even interested in you! You're rude to me and can't even clean!"

Your boss gasped clutching her kimono offended as if you called her grandson every curse word under the sun. "HOW DARE YOU?! MY GRANDSON IS THE MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR IN TOWN!! IF ALL THESE OTHER WOMEN WEREN'T ALREADY MARRIED, THEY'D ALL BE FIGHTING FOR HIM!!" Oh yeah? Then how come he wasn't already married off then? "YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL I'D EVEN CONSIDER TAKING YOU AS A GRANDDAUGHTER-IN-LAW!!"

"I'd be more grateful if you didn't." You bluntly spoke deadpanned before bowing. "It was very nice to meet all of you but I'll have to decline your offer. I'm NOT interested. Excuse me. I have to go home now. Please have a nice day. I'll see you again at work next Monday, Ma'am." With that you quickly turned and walked off leaving them floored.

"HOW DARE YOU?! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT BEING PAID FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR THEN!!"

You walk faltered. Slowly coming to a stop... before you suddenly inhaled and continued walking. Fine then! If she wanted to play that game then fine. You could survive by gathering food from the woods and there's not many things you had to actually buy anyways. You already learnt a long time ago how to spread your money thin to survive. You could survive the rest of the year like that if you had to. She continued to curse you out as you stomped away feeling frustrated, annoyed, and so, so angry!!

What was seriously wrong with these people?!

Making you take care of her grown adult lazy rude good for nothing grandson with the ulterior motive of you just magically falling for his repulsive personality! It sounded like a bad romance novel! Oh yes! Surely you would enjoy cleaning up his filth so much that you would have no choice but to dedicate the rest of your life to being a second mother to this man child- WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!? And the nerve of trying to matchmake you without even asking! You may tolerate a lot in order to survive around here but that doesn't mean you're going to just marry someone because they want you to! THAT'S LUDICROUS!!

AND WHAT THE HELL DID SHE MEAN BY POOR NORI!?

That guy was never a good man to begin with!! He nearly killed an old man last December after getting drunk and picking a fight with him because he bumped into him!! There was a reason why he was exiled by everyone else!! Thank the gods too. You didn't know how much more you could take of him bothering you. He was almost as bad as your boss and her family. But you weren't surprised that she didn't see anything wrong with another terrible person. With annoyance you stomped off back towards your home. It looks like instead of relaxing you'd be busy planning out the rest of the year's budget with what money you had.

"You'd be set for life! You're making a foolish mistake!" That was the first thing said to you when you came back to work on Monday.

Set up to be someone's caretaker for life she met. "Thank you for the offer but I'm not interested."

And again a little while later you met Sabo. Or more like he showed up to his grandmother's home as she left. Although by the wink she gave him before going out to 'run errands' you doubted it was a coincidence. He proceeded to drone on and on and ON about nothing but himself-

"So my family makes pretty good money in town. My father practically owns all of it." He leaned against the shelf as you picked up the many things he knocked off but didn't pick up. "He gained even more property when he married my mother. Now he rents all the buildings out to everyone else who uses them. I don't have to work a day in my life thanks to his fortune and I'll just inherit everything when they die-"

"Fascinating.. Really." Your sarcastic blunt tone went right over his head as you shot him an annoyed look still picking up the mess he made.

"I know. So you wouldn't have to do anything but tend to my needs."

"I'm really not interested-"

"Did I mention that he owns those people? If he wanted to he could demand half their crops as payment!"

You tuned him out and ignored him after that. He didn't even notice you left to go back home at the end of the day too busy complaining that you didn't cook him anything while you were busy working (duh you were WORKING) and his grandmother hadn't left him anything to eat either. You just went home. The next day you were scolded for not dropping everything to cook her precious grandson lunch and dinner... Despite the fact she left you alone to run the ENTIRE store by yourself all day AND Sabo kept making messes you had to clean up. Constantly knocking things over, moving things around from their rightful place, and anything else else he did. It was like he was a literal walking natural disaster! Like Sabo, you tuned her out and just did what you had to do before going back home. The next week was the same. Sometimes Sabo would visit only to talk at you about himself or to just complain about everything. He never bothered to talk to YOU about stuff YOU like. He only ever asked how well you could cook and clean and raise hypothetical children if he ever bothered to ask you anything at all. You had tried ONE day to try and talk to him putting in a lot of effort. But he always either somehow always steered the conversation back onto himself, ignored what you said completely, shouted over you for 'interrupting him', complained, and insulted you. You gave up halfway through and went back to tuning him out which is what he seemed to want the most.

Until one day things changed and got a lot more complicated.

You had been sitting there in the middle of carving a blue violet scented soup into a small fish. Ignoring him and tuning him out as usual except the door was open with how warm it was. He never seemed to notice the difference anyways. Well today he seemed to finally notice because he scowled. Then suddenly you felt a hand grabbed your shoulder making you jump.

"WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU I EXPECT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!"

And he yanked you back by the shoulder. And your hand slipped. And a cut was made right across your your hand. You screamed out in pain dropping the carving knife and soap to clutch your wrist! Immediately he let go and the sounds of your scream attracted your boss who shuffled out of the back.

"What is with all that racket?!," she demanded.

"Your stupid helper was clumsy and cut herself!," Sabo spat pointing at you annoyed.

You paid them no mind clutching your hand hissing as a stinging pain throbbed from it. You slowly opened your alm and saw a three inch cut along your calm up and down. Thank goodness it wasn't deep at all but that doesn't mean it still didn't sting-

"It seems not only are you an annoying wench, but incredibly stupid too."

All three of them stopped and turned to the doorway. Your boss froze and her face paled. Sabo looked annoyed and confused. And you went wide eyed. A very tall man stood in the door, long burgundy hair and a large hat hiding his upper face. A black and purple checkered haori coat around his shoulders and a katana secured to his side. All the color drained from your face as your eyes widened and a pit formed in your stomach.

The demon had returned .

He casually took a step inside when no one spoke and turned his head towards. "... You are harmed."

...You blinked. "I...I-Its not a deep cut." You managed to softly speak out.

A second later a large hand holding a white cloth was held out to you. You blinked looking at it before looking up at him. "Stop the bleeding and clean the wound. You'll be needing your hands."

You looked between him and the handkerchief.. before you slowly took it from him. "T-Thank you."

"You also had a cut hand when we first met. Has that healed correctly?"

Surprised you blinked again. You didn't even know that he noticed that. "Um." You nodded. "Yes. I'm alright. Thank you for asking. I cut myself by accident all the time-"

"This was not an accident." His harsh tone made you stop talking as he slowly turned now to Sabo. "You are at fault."

Sabo scoffed. "If she wasn't so clumsy then she wouldn't have gotten hurt." He crossed his arms sneering at the demon. "She should've listened to me from the start. A wife needs to learn her place-"

"I AM NOT YOUR WIFE!" The demon tilted his head back to you as you stood up with a scowl. "For the last time I'm not marrying you, I never agreed to have anything to do with you, and I want nothing to do with you!"

"Shut up and know your place! If we're courting-"

"We're NOT courting! You just bother me at work!"

"Yes we are! Now why don't you shut up and actually be useful by making me some lunch you-"

SHING-

Sabo. Froze. As a shiny metal blade was pressed against his throat where the jugular was. It happened so fast no one saw it coming. The demon blankly stood firm, holding the sword to his neck.

"Hold your tongue or I will cut it out to shut you up." The demon spoke calmly.

"How DARE you! My father owns half this village and-" He was silenced when the sword pushed further into his skin.

"I will not repeat myself. Get out now. If I should hear you came to bother this woman again, I'll keep my promise and be sure that you never speak again." The sword was removed from his neck. Sabo nearly collapsed hitting a shelf and knocking multiple soap bars and bags of bath salts down before he scrambled to his wobbly legs and ran out the open doorway. You watched Sabo disappear before a hum got your attention back onto the demon. "You are very troublesome aren't you?"

You blinked before frowning. "It's not my fault. He's a stubborn man that couldn't take a hint."

The katana was out away with a small click. "It seems like you two know each other."

"Only as acquaintances. His family tried to set us up for a marriage but I refuse."

His head turned to you and you saw one of his lower eyes peek out at you between his bangs. "You didn't accept his offer? If his family owns half this village then that would mean you would marry into a well off family."

"He wasn't interested in me for that." He hummed in question at you. "He's lazy, spoiled, and self centered. And that's me putting it nicely. I was paid to clean his house and a literal pig pen was cleaner than it."

"Disgusting."

You nodded. "I'm not marrying a man only to become a second mother to him."

He didn't comment on that. "Go treat your wound and come back. I have more business for you."

Business? He came back here for more business from you? Wonder what he wanted. You silently just turned to walk past him and your frozen boss into the back to take care of your hand leaving the two there. After a moment of silence his head tilted at the pale woman.

"That man has the same disgusting smell as you. Your entire family disgusts me. Away from my sight."

The sword was quickly popped up enough to show a glint of the blade making her squeak like a mouse in fright and shuffle as quick as her legs could carry her. You weren't surprised finding your boss cowering in the back, even if you didn't know that he had threatened her. You only slowly shuffled back into the room where the demon still was waiting. Staring directly in your direction even before you stepped back in. Pausing in your steps, you took a breath, and smiled at him with a customer smile.

"I-It's a surprise to see you again," you greeted him with a small bow. "What brings you back to our store?'

"... I'm here to see about your wares."

"Oh..Did you not like ones you bought?," you asked slightly worried.

"They were acceptable. My brother and his bride found them quite to their liking," he confirmed making you sigh in relief, "However our mother saw their gifts and was interested in having a few of her own."

Oh...OH! He was just here for some more candles! That was a huge relief. "Of course. It's very sweet of you to get so many things for your family."

He hummed. "How is your hand?"

"Oh." You held up your bandaged hand with a smile. "It's much better now! It's not very deep so it should heal really quickly, but I thank you for your help."

He glanced over at her. Her sweet smile and soft looking lips aimed at him and those eyes-...Those turquoise eyes that had plagued his thoughts catching the morning sunlight through the windows just right and making them sparkle like diamonds. She looked the same as the day he met her. Instead of commenting on her compliment, he instead turned back to the colorful variety of pleasant smelling candles. Unlike his city's festivals, this shop didn't overstimulate his senses. On the contrary he found the mixed scents of different herbs and flowers delightful. However now what he liked didn't matter. What he needed to think about was what his mother would like...

A slight fruity scent his attention and guided him to the bottom of the tall shelf. He knelt down to look and found his curiosity drawn to a few pale blue candles. They looked a milky blue almost white and it carried the fruity smell of blueberries. A hand reached out to grab the biggest one out of all of them and leaned back up.

"Those were made just yesterday," she spoke up behind him. "They're some of my favorites so far." He looked at her. "They smell almost good enough to eat." She giggled at her own humor, and he felt his heart jump ahead two normal beats.

A small of his head turned from her. Claws sunk right into his palms leaving small cuts that easily healed instantly once he breathed in and out slowly relaxing his hands. Off guard. ...Yes. He was just caught off guard by a woman other than his mother so freely laughing and acting so casually around him. ... Someone so beautiful- He forced those thoughts from his mind but couldn't help but look back at the candle he just picked out.. before kneeling down to grab another sweet blueberry scented one. One after another he picked up five more. Taking his time to slowly scan the shelves and picked ones he was sure his mother would enjoy.

A grass green one that smelt like mint. A pink one that smelt of cherry blossoms. A darker blue one that smelt like the violets in his garden. His mother would definitely like that. A pure white one that smelt like sweet vanilla. And lastly a beige candle that smelt like the wild peach trees he'd visit. After looking over each and every one carefully deciding that he indeed wanted these ones specifically, he turned and walked right up to her. Her big, sparkly eyes blinked at him before speaking.

"Are you finished choosing?"

"Not yet. I have more work for you." She gave him her full attention as he held up one of the seven candles in his hands. The blueberry scented one. "I want you to carve clouds into this one as it reminds me of the sky." She nodded and it was carefully placed on the small table next to them before he held up the green one. "Carve plants into this one. I do not care what kind." Again it was placed down with the first before he held up the pink one. "Sakura flowers." The darker blue one. "Ocean waves." The white one. "Snowflakes." And finally the beige one. "I do not want a pattern for this one. Instead I wish for you to carve a dove on it's surface. Can you do all of this?"

He watched those beautiful eyes carefully regard the candle in his hand before glancing at the other five on the table still thinking. Calculating. But never loosing that soft smile. Before she nodded. "Yes. I can do all of that but it'll take me about a month to finish everything."

"That is acceptable."

He already thought of what he wanted for the candles before he got here. His mother loved nature so it would only make sense for him to pick patterns based around that. The peach scented candle was placed down with the others but she seemed confused as he still held the other blueberry scented candle. He walked back over to the place he remembered finding carved soaps and sure enough found a few more. His mother expressed interest in wanting a few of these too and what his mother wanted she got. A few caught his eyes and automatically he reached out to pick up one purple lavender scented one carved into the shape of a bird, and a second grey one that smelt of sage and caved into a maple leaf. However he paused when his eyes saw something else.

A SUN

A bright yellow lemon scented sun stared up at him...A hand hovered over it for a moment before slowly enclosing itself around it and picking it up to silently stare at it.

"I carved that one last week. I was reminded of the candle you had me first carve, and the color seemed to fit so well."

He didn't respond to her at first but did eventually turn around and walk up to her again with everything he wanted. "I want these."

She still smiled at him and smiled. "Of course. If you want I'll-" She didn't get a chance to speak before a bag big enough to hold a single full sized cantaloupe was held up to her, a metal jingling coming from inside it.

"As said before, money is no issue. This should be adequate enough pay for everything."

She blinked-Before slowly reaching out to grab the bag and nearly dropped it from the weight behind it. "I-Is this-"

"Gold. Yes." She looked at him wide eyed. "Take it. I have enough of it to buy everything in this entire town if I wanted to." He watched as her eyes filled with a mix of disbelief and awe looked at the heavy bag in her hands.

"I..I don't know what to say." She eventually smiled. "This should last me all year." A relieved sigh left her soft lips. "At least now I won't have to worry about having to support myself and struggle."

He perked up at that and tilted his head. "Struggle? Did you lose your home?"

She looked at him before frowning again. "No. Thank goodness I didn't. But I'm afraid I had accidentally made my boss very angry with me. She's making me work without pay for the rest of the year."

"What?"

She nodded her head to the oddly stiff man. "I..might have offended someone close to her and she took great offense to it. B-But I'll be alright especially now with your generous job!"

He continued to stare. "...It is none of my business but why do you stay and receive such treatment from her?"

Her smile turned sad as she stared at the bag. "I wouldn't feel comfortable working at the tavern when the men go and get drunk. For a single woman in such a small village, my options are limited. Especially without being married. As you probably witnessed, not many people around here like the idea of that."

"Is that so?" His eyes narrowed slightly but otherwise his stance did not change. "That is petty."

She shrugged. "It's just how it is in a small village like this."

Multiple eyes scanned her saddened features for a long moment. It shouldn't bother him that a woman he barely knows was going through something like this. He's had more devastating things happen to him before. He's had to go days without food and water fighting constantly on the battlefield. He's had wounds so bad he had to bite down on his sword as they treated him to repress his screams. He's nearly been killed on multiple occasions. He's grown separated from his mother's warmth. His own twin kept away from him like the plague. And he had to endure severe punishments from his father if he so much as even questioned him. A stranger suffering from just being poor and having a pushy suiter should mean nothing to him but yet-...

It was just because he was doing business with her. Yes. He didn't want the woman he was doing business with evicted or dying of hunger before she completed the job he assigned to her. Yes. That was it. He doubted he'd find someone else to complete this job like she would so he'd have to remedy the fact to protect his investments.

The scent of blueberries caused her to look back up and blink her eyes in surprise as the pretty candle was extended to her. "Take it."

He waited patiently for her to place the bag down on the small table and take the seventh candle from his hand. "Oh. What did you want me to carve in this one?"

"Nothing. It's for you." Turquoise eyes blinked at him. "Take it as a thank you."

She blinked bewildered. "Thank you for..what exactly?"

"I take it that you have not revealed to anyone who or what I actually am. Otherwise I would have been treated with disdain as soon as I stepped foot into town." He nodded at you. "I would like to keep it that way. It just makes it easier for everyone."

She stared at him again- "And I thought I told you that it doesn't matter to me what you are. You're a man. Just like anyone else I've seen."

BU-BUMP-

She flinched as he quickly snapped his head away from her eyes. "... Pardon. The sun was getting in my eyes."

Her brow rose. The sun was in his eyes?? His eyes that were covered by his bangs and the hat he wore?? He paid no mind turning to leave. He already got his business over with and he'd gotten what he paid for. His father was still incredibly busy. With their forces being restless and resources being scarce in their areas, he's been having to deal with a few problems on the inside and out. So the peace talks have been pushed back until the men could be pushed back in line which he didn't see happening anytime soon. He had time to fulfill his mother's reau-

He froze from a pressure on his hand. ...His head turned. His lower eyes looking down. A much tinier bandaged hand had grabbed his own. It's nothing special. Weak really. If he wanted to he could easily throw her hand off of his and yet- His looked up at her in question. Her smile was back directed at him.

"Thank you." His entire head turned to her now. "I mean it. Thank you for everything. You don't know how much I needed this money, and I appreciate your kindness so much." Her smile softened. "I-...I know this probably won't make a difference to anything, but I don't think you're as bad as people assume you are, and I'm sorry for that."

There was a longer amount of silence before she looked down as his own hand enclosed around hers gently to avoid hurting her more. "..Your name?"

"What?"

"Your name. ..What is your name?"

She smiled wider. "It's Y/n. My name is Y/n."

Y/n....

B E A U T I F U L

"And your name? I know you told me before but I'm afraid I've forgotten."

He gently pulled his hand away from hers. "You may call me Kokushibo."

He turned without saying anything else and walked out the door.

Night fell upon the town. She had long since left for home and others were already snug in their houses for the night. Most lights were off except for a few working late. One of which was an old woman putting a few last overstock candles into a crate when she paused by the sounds of a door opened. Her resting scowl looked up ..but quickly fell in fear as something stared at her from the darkness. A single gleam of metal glowed reflected from the fireplace. Their face hidden from view.

"Don't bother screaming. You and I will be talking very briefly."

The door closed silently as they stepped inside.

[lastbluetardis]

Sacred New Beginnings (14/?)

Summary: James Noble thought he traded away his chance at love and a happy-ever-after when he signed a contract with a record label that turned him into an international celebrity. But a chance meeting in a dive bar may prove him wrong.

Ten x Rose AU

This Chapter: Teen, ~5900 words

AO3 || Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11 | Ch12 | Ch13 |

James doesn’t remember the drive home. Apart from his desire to collapse in a boneless heap in his bed, the only thought running through his mind is Rose, and how horribly he had made her feel, yet how kindly she had treated him.

He can hardly believe he had told her he’s falling in love with her, can hardly believe that truth himself. He tries to keep his expectations low, convincing himself that he’ll be okay if Rose says she doesn’t feel the same way, or that the risk isn’t worth the reward, and yet he’s already preemptively mourning her loss.

Without recalling the route he’d taken, James pulls into his dark and empty garage and kills the engine. His house is equally dark and empty—he spares a moment of regret that he had run away from his mum and hinted that he wanted her gone from his home by the time he’d returned. He’ll have to make it up to her and explain everything that happened, but not tonight.

Zombie-like, he trudges to his bedroom, strips down to his boxer-briefs, and buries himself beneath his sheets. Sleep claims him easily, pulling him into a dreamless slumber that he does not rouse from until late the following morning, when the sun is up and his security team are ambling around downstairs, undoubtedly waiting for him to get his lazy arse up.

With the amount of work he’d gotten done yesterday, James is in no rush to get to the studio. He is well ahead of meeting the deadlines as outlined on his contract: he had signed for ten years or five studio albums, whichever came first, and he has already produced three albums over the past five years. He could easily take a year-long hiatus from songwriting and producing, but why would he? Why would he take a break from a job that brings him so much enjoyment?

Though he doesn’t expect to see her name, his heart still sinks when Rose’s name isn’t among the call or text notifications on his phone. Neither is his mother’s, and that, too, sinks his spirits. He opens his text messages with her and types, “I’m sorry I was a twat. Things are complicated right now and I need space to think. Let me take you to dinner this coming weekend? My treat.”

His mother answers almost immediately. It’s always your treat. Let me cook for you instead?

His mum, bless her heart, isn’t the best cook; she’s not awful by any means, but she doesn’t season things as well as they ought, so meals she makes tend to turn out bland. Nevertheless, he replies, “Absolutely. Can’t wait. Saturday at 6?”

I’ll pencil you in.

After that message, half a minute passes before his phone buzzes again.

I worry about you, Jamie. I just want the best for you, and I want you to be happy with your life.

The use of his old childhood pet name twists at his guts. “I am happy, Mum. Most of the time, anyway. Things are just… weird right now. Give me time. I’ll sort it out.”

Did you talk to Rose?

He sighs and rubs the heels of his hands into his sleep-gritty eyes. “Sort of. Things are weird, like I said. I’ll tell you the whole thing later. Promise.”

Okay. Have a good day at work 💖

James closes out of his phone, ignoring the dozens of other messages waiting for him. He pulls on ratty work-out clothes and clomps downstairs, where Jack and River are playing chess at his gargantuan kitchen table. They glance over at him, but wisely make no comments as he pulls on tennis shoes and descends to his home gym.

He works out lazily but for far longer than usual, and only ends his leisurely stroll on the treadmill when his stomach demands food. He powers off his equipment and makes his way upstairs, where Jack and River have shifted to a game of Scrabble.

Finally, as he is brewing a pot of coffee and putting bread in the toaster, River says, “Your mother said you had a rough couple of nights.”

“My mother is over-concerned,” he retorts, then shrugs and adds, “I’m working on it. I’ll be fine.”

“We’re just doing our job. Can’t keep you safe if you’re slipping into self-destruction.”

James winces, recalling the night when Jack had had to rush him to the hospital after a night of self-loathing-induced binge drinking. That had been years ago, and James had never gotten close to that sort of behavior since, not even the bender he’d gone on the night before last.

Still, James knows he has unhealthy coping mechanisms, and he appreciates their concern, however unwanted it is.

“I’ll be fine,” he repeats. “Really. Just a little hiccup is all.”

“Problems in paradise?” Jack asks.

“Sort of. Not in the mood to talk about it, really.”

They both shrug and get back to their game, mercifully leaving him alone for the rest of the morning before escorting him to the recording studio. With the green light from his label, James begins the recording process for the songs that will appear on his next album. There is an itch in the back of his mind, telling him that the album isn’t quite finished yet, but it’s at least 75% there, so he works on the songs he’s sure about and will fill in the gaps as they present themselves to him.

There is no set date for a launch on the record, but James thinks he’ll have it ready for post-production shortly after the holidays. It will be his quickest album by far, with a majority of it having come together in under a month. It’s an odd feeling, being so prolific, and he’s gripped with fear that his label is merely feeding his ego by telling him his new material is wonderful, when it’s actually flaming hot rubbish. It’s only by reminding himself that they won’t make any money if he produces an awful album that he keeps those nasty insecurities at bay.

Rose is woven throughout this album, present in nearly every melody and lyric as James croons love ballads and rasps out the terror of a relationship that’s on thin, breaking ice. For the songs he was allowed to write on his previous albums, he always drew from personal experience for inspiration, but this is the first time an album is capturing his present reality so completely. For a crippling moment, he’s terrified that he’s made a huge mistake, and that he should never, ever, ever let the public into his private thoughts of and experiences with Rose. But when he thinks about scrapping the album to start again, a deep sense of grief and mourning overtakes him, and his mind automatically reconstructs each song as they are. No, he doesn’t think he can throw away what he’s made, but he should at least give Rose the courtesy of telling her that much of the album is inspired by her; if she ever wants to talk to him again, that is.

While he knows she’s busy teaching, it doesn’t stop James from checking his phone every few minutes—🌹Bad Wolf Girl🌹 is never in his notifications. Since he isn’t sure if a message from him would be welcome after she asked for time to think, he doesn’t initiate contact with her and hopes she doesn’t take it as a sign that he has lost all interest in her.

oOoOo

Over the coming week, he buries himself in his work, recording the instrumentation and vocals for his new album between continued publicity for Catalysis. Despite the whirlwind press tour he had done in America, his promotional duties are far from over, since he now has to promote the film here in the UK. James is herded from interview to interview, appearing on radio and television talk shows in equal measures. He performs the main song from the film dozens of times, and it’s a good thing he loves all the music he writes, otherwise he would have grown tired of it.

He doesn’t mind these sorts of publicity events, really. It gives him an excuse to talk about other people, and to praise everyone who worked on the film. Catalysis had gotten good ratings from its American audience, and now everyone in the UK is vibrating with anticipation to also watch it. He wonders if Rose will see it; she’d expressed interest in it when he first told her he was going on a promotional tour, but perhaps this hiccup they’ve run into has soured the film for her.

Because of the nature of the film, love lives tend to come up in interviews. Before, James would have had no problem telling the truth, because the paparazzi usually had already captured most of the details. But now, he has to wrack his brain on how to talk about the relationship he isn’t even sure he has. He already hurt Rose by his blasé comment on the LA red carpet about just having a bit of fun, and he refuses to do that again.

So when a talk show host asks him how he met his current partner, James shrugs and says, “It was a happy accident. I went out for a walk, ended up at a pub, and there she was.”

He can practically see the host’s eyes sparkling with triumph that he has pulled information from him. Deciding to nip any follow-up questions in the bud, James says, “Things are still new and uncertain, so I would appreciate moving on from this subject. Cheers.”

There is no way for the host to politely continue badgering, and the disappointment is palpable as he moves on with his questions for some of the cast about the making of the film (as though they haven’t answered these questions a dozen times over by now).

While James’s response to that interview question has given the paparazzi something to needle him about, he finds he actually doesn’t give a damn about appeasing them. Why had he ever given those sharks an inch, knowing they’ll take a mile? So when his security team guides him to his car to shuffle him to his next interview appointment, James utterly ignores the crowd of paparazzi snapping his photo and shouting questions at him.

“Where did you meet her?”

“On to a female partner this time?”

“What’s her name?”

“C’mon James, you gotta give us something! Don’t be such a tease.”

He flashes them all a saccharine smile and a salute as he gets into the car. Idris glances at him through the rear-view mirror, and it’s only when she’s heard the telltale click of the seatbelt buckle that she pulls into traffic.

Beside him, River casually says, “I approve of your new method of dealing with the paparazzi.”

“I’m tired of their shit,” he says, breathing out a huge sigh and slouching into his seat. “Dunno why it’s taken me so long.”

River rests her hand on his knee and squeezes. “Good. It’s about time.”

When he first entered the public eye, he was terrified of bad publicity, terrified that he would make one wrong move and his record label would drop him before he could even try to atone. He played nice with the press, indulging in all sorts of interviews and answering any ridiculous question the paparazzi shouted at him. He figured being his true, honest self was fine, since he had nothing to hide.

But then as he gained more fame and more invitations to parties and gatherings, where he was able to sample all of the pleasures that came with celebrity status, the press got wind of some of his more unsavory, uncouth behavior. At first, he was embarrassed to have been caught in any number of compromising situations, so he would answer the media’s questions to try to set the record straight about what happened.

And then it became part of his life, having every personal moment broadcast to the world, and he didn’t have the energy to hide from the media or spin tales about his behavior. He no longer cared if his romantic nights were gossiped about, no longer cared if he was photographed drunk or high. His fans still loved him and came to his defense to normalize sex and marijuana usage, or to claim that what he did in his private life was his choice.

But now… now he’s just so tired of indulging the people who wouldn’t think twice about ruining his reputation based on rumors. Let them report what they want, but he’s no longer giving them free access to his life.

“Are you and Rose… okay?” River asks.

Though her eyes never leave the road, James can feel Idris’s attention has shifted to his answer. Jack has even angled himself in the front seat to better hear his response.

“I don’t know,” James admits. “I want us to be. But I made mistakes, and Rose needs time to think about some things. We’ll see.”

River pats his thigh, then directs her focus to Jack to go over the plan for when they make it to the next radio broadcast studio.

oOoOo

The week is long and exhausting, but so prolific that James is proud of what he’s accomplished. Three songs for the album are completely recorded, and he has the instrumental parts for three others recorded as well. He’s riding the high of productivity, so he invites a few friends he knows are in town for drinks at a pub in the middle of London. They all take him up on the offer, and within an hour he’s sat at a booth with some fellow musicians.

There’s Astrid, who is relatively new to the industry. She got her big break a year and a half ago when she won a televised singing competition and was offered a one-album deal from a record label who rents out the same recording studio as his own label. He had met her when they were both working late one night, and he had stopped into her office for a quick chat which morphed into an hour-long conversation about their careers and how overwhelming it had been to go from complete anonymity to an international celebrity overnight.

Then there’s Sally, who has largely flown under the radar but has produced some of the most soothing music he has ever listened to. She has the most enviable work-life balance, putting out a new record every two to three years, then disappearing from the public eye and living off of royalties and album sales until her next one.

Amy also tags along, though she says she has to get home a bit early since she and her husband are off to his parents’ for the weekend.

The four of them take up a private booth at the pub, with their security teams working together to keep the crowds away from them. It doesn’t matter—James sees dozens of phones pointed at them as everyone tries to snag a photograph of them all. Sally utterly ignores them, while Astrid waves brightly from afar. Amy, on the other hand, doesn’t look up from her Amaretto sour and gives them all the middle finger, to a round of raucous guffaws.

“Charming as ever,” he drawls, elbowing her in the ribs.

“I’m Scottish, can’t help it.”

They all nurse their drinks and share a large platter of starters, chatting about their work and lives. Turns out that Astrid just received word that her label signed her on for another contract, this one for three more records. She’s obviously been desperate to share the news, and James and the others shower her in praise and congratulations.

“Well, this is a celebration,” he claims, pressing an enthusiastic kiss to her forehead. “Drinks are on me.”

“Even though she’s the one with the huge signing bonus?” Amy drawls.

“Shush,” he says, pressing his finger to her lips. “We’re celebrating, and the celebratee never pays.”

Amy rolls her eyes, but then she grins and squeezes Astrid’s hands as she says, “That’s great news. Congratulations. Really well done.”

Their server brings them their second round of drinks and takes their order of more food. As James stuffs a nacho into his mouth, his phone buzzes in his pocket and a notification pops up on his smart watch. He’s inclined to ignore it, but a red rose emoji snares his attention, and he fumbles to tap the message on the watch face.

Are you busy? I’d like to talk. Can you come round my place?

James practically jumps out of the booth, garnering him three sets of confused stares.

“So sorry, something’s come up,” he says. “I’ve got to go. We should do this again soon. Astrid, really well done. I’m so proud of you. Sally, always nice to see you; let me know if you ever need anything. Amy… well, I’ll see you next week, probably?”

“Everything all right?” Amy asks.

“Yep,” he says, hoping it’s the truth. “Just some personal matter I need to address. I’ll put our tab on my card, don’t worry about paying.”

Amy lifts her glass in a toast of gratitude, while the other two women verbally thank him. James salutes them, then turns on his heel and disappears from the pub with his security team.

“I’ll drive myself, thanks,” he says, holding his hand out for the keys.

“After two drinks and only a handful of nachos? I don’t think so,” River says, pinning him with a glare that has wilted many an overenthusiastic fan or photographer. “I’ll drop you off.”

“It’s to see Rose,” he presses, gesturing again for the keys. “I feel fine.”

“And I will drop you off,” she emphasizes.

James curses under his breath, but decides to not waste any more time and concedes. He hops into the passenger’s seat and yanks his phone out of his pocket to reply to Rose’s message.

“On my way. I’ll be there in… well, however long it takes to navigate Friday night traffic.”

He then programs Rose’s address into the satnav and tries not to be impatient about the drive to Rose’s flat. He keeps checking his phone, to make sure he read her message correctly and that he isn’t hallucinating that she wants to see him. But no, there it is, for him to reread over and over again, her asking him to come over so they can talk.

He swears it takes over an hour, but it’s only twenty minutes when River pulls up in front of Rose’s building.

“Call me when you’re ready to be picked up,” she says. “I’m on duty until midnight. If it’s after midnight, Danny’s the one on call.”

“Got it,” he says, as though he regularly forgets which of his agents is on the clock for him.

James slams the door shut behind him and practically sprints into the building. The foyer is bustling with evening activity, and he immediately ducks into the stairwell to avoid the gazes of the gaggle of young people.

As he climbs the stairs, he types out a, “I’m on my way up,” message to Rose. He’s huffing and puffing by the time he makes it to the tenth floor, and he takes a moment to catch his breath before going to Rose’s door and knocking.

She opens it after a heartbeat, having obviously been waiting for him. Though the hallway is empty, she ushers him inside and swiftly latches the door behind him.

Then, she spins and smiles shyly. “Hi. Thanks for coming. Er… d’you… d’you want something to drink? Tea?” She chews on the side of her thumbnail, then frowns and says, “Oh, wait, you don’t like tea. I’ve got some wine, if you want.”

“Tea is fine,” he interrupts, hating the nerves that are emanating from her with every rushed word she speaks. “When I’d told you I’m not big on tea, I mostly meant that I would almost always order coffee over tea. But I still drink tea.”

God, now he’s the one rambling like a loon. He takes a breath and repeats, “Tea is fine.”

“’Kay.” She watches him for another moment before shuffling to her kitchen.

He isn’t sure what to do with himself. Should he sit on the sofa? But that would feel weird, when she’s making him tea. Should he offer to help? But it’s not like he can help the water boil faster. So he ends up resting his elbows on her kitchen island, trying not to stare at her and utterly failing. He’s coming to realize she looks beautiful no matter what she’s wearing, be it that magical faerie gown from their date to the Renaissance Faire, or the yoga bottoms and oversized jumper she’s currently wearing. Her hair is pulled up in a loose and messy bun, exposing the graceful arch of her neck, and he has the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her waist and plant kisses all along the column of her throat.

God, how he wishes he’ll one day be able to do that.

Before too long, the kettle beeps and Rose turns to him, holding two boxes. “Chamomile, or breakfast tea? Breakfast has quite a bit of caffeine, since it’s my morning tea, but maybe you don’t like chamomile?”

“I like chamomile,” he answers. “Thanks.”

Rose nods to herself, and breathes in deeply. He wishes he could take the tea boxes out of her hands and wrap her in a hug, squeezing her until she melts into him, telling her that it’s just him, that she has nothing to be nervous about.

But he just stands there like an idiot, answering that yes, he would like honey, and no, he doesn’t like milk in his tea. He comes up to her side and can’t help but touch the small of her back ever so briefly before picking up his mug.

“Let’s sit,” she says, gesturing to her small kitchen table.

He does, keeping his feet firmly planted on his half of the floor, so unlike the dinner when they’d made a game of footsie while they ate. He wraps his hands around the ceramic, letting the warmth seep into his palms as he breathes in the smell of her flat. There are subtle hints of vanilla, so faint he probably wouldn’t notice it, except he has had Rose’s scent in his lungs and in his memory ever since the first time he’d held her in his arms.

“How was your week?” he asks, desperate to fill the silence between them.

“Fine. I’ve been reading Romeo and Juliet with my Year Tens. They all hate it,” she says with a fond smile. “To be fair, it’s not my favorite play either. I’ve been trying for years to take it out of my curriculum, but the headmaster won’t budge. Insists it’s a classic and therefore must be taught. I instead use it as a teaching moment about healthy versus toxic relationships, be it romantic or familial.”

“That’s a clever way to spin it.”

Rose makes a noncommittal noise as she sips her tea. “And your week?”

“Fine,” he parrots. “I started recording new music for my next album.” With the pleasantries out of the way, he asks, “So… you wanted to talk?”

She sighs and ducks her head to stare into her tea, as though it holds everything she wants to say.

“Yeah, I… it was a lot to process, what you said,” she admits, cheeks pinkening. 

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way,” he says, even though his heart is already beginning to break at the thought of leaving her flat and never seeing her again. “I just… I clearly miscommunicated so badly that you felt used, and I couldn’t bear that I made you feel that way, and so I wanted to give you the truth. I should have all along, but, well, I was a little in denial. And really, really scared.”

“Scared?” she asks, frowning.

“I’ve lost so many people who think they can handle my life only to realize later that they can’t,” he explains, trying not to pick at those old scars and reopen them. “And it hurts every time.”

Rose’s face softens, and she tentatively reaches across the chasm between them to brush her fingertips over his knuckles, which are nearly white with how hard he’s squeezing his mug. He relaxes his grip and, slowly, so as not to spook her, gives her his hand to hold, if she wants. She doesn’t exactly hold it, just rests her fingers overtop of his. But it’s enough. It’s more than enough. He basks in her touch, aching to thread their fingers together and never let go.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “That sounds so hard.”

He takes a drink of tea as an excuse not to look at her.

“I really want to believe everything you told me,” she continues, and James swears he stops breathing. “It’s just… unbelievable. How could someone like you be falling in love with someone like me?”

James frowns at her, and he reverses the positions of their hands until he’s the one covering her fingers.

“Don’t say that. You’re wonderful, Rose. Absolutely wonderful.”

“You don’t even know me,” she protests.

“But I want to. The Rose I’ve come to know over this past month is incredible, and I want to know more of her… I want to know all of her, if you’ll let me.”

Rose stares at him, unspeaking, for several uncomfortable moments. “Why were you in the pub that night we met? Why me?”

James blinks at the non sequitur. “Er, there’s no reason, really. I’d gotten home from a stint in America, my boyfriend had broken up with me, and I needed to get out of my house. I heard the music coming from the pub, decided to give it a try. End of story.”

“Yeah, but you were propositioned by several people,” she presses. “You kept turnin’ ‘em down. So why me?”

James retracts his hand from hers to scrub it over his weary face. “I don’t know, Rose. I don’t know what you want me to say. Those other people that night were plastered, and I mostly wanted to be alone. But then I came back from the loo, and a perfect stranger had saved my seat for me, and she talked to me like I was a person, not some freak show. She laughed with me and danced with me and was kind and normal to me, even after realizing who I was. I didn’t have some sort of ulterior motive that night. I just needed to get out of my house for a bit. Then I found you, and I was enchanted.”

Rose chews on the corner of her mouth, then brings her mug to her lips and sips slowly. He mirrors her, drinking his tea and enjoying the notes of honey mixed with the chamomile.

“How come you didn’t deny what the article said? About me being a rebound? How come you kept playing us off as a bit of fun for you?” she asks. “I don’t like feeling like a secret.”

“Well, would you prefer me to flaunt you to the public and let the paparazzi tear your life apart?” he retorts, and immediately regrets his sarcastic tone.

Before he can apologize, Rose snorts humorlessly. “Guess not. It’s just that I didn’t understand what was happening. I didn’t understand how you could be so sweet and lovely when we were together, but then tell the whole world that you’re playin’ and sleepin’ around with me. That was so humiliating to hear you say that.”

His cheeks burn with remorse and a desperate desire to go back in time and wallop his past self for those comments.

“I didn’t mean it,” he insists, trying to reach for her hand, but she slips it away. “Rose, I swear. I didn’t mean what I said. Well, I did. But not the way you’re thinking. Remember, I thought you wanted casual with me. So I had to keep convincing myself that we were only having fun together. And I wanted to keep you from the media. I didn’t want them to know exactly how I felt about you, because I couldn’t stand it if they found you and treated you the way they treat me.”

“I guess that’s fair,” she mumbles. “Still humiliating though.”

“Then let’s figure out what I can say instead,” he suggests. “I don’t want to hurt you, Rose. And I’m so, so sorry my stupid, thoughtless comments hurt you. What should I say when interviewers ask me about you? Er, I admit I already told one interviewer this past week that I met you in a pub.”

The corner of Rose’s mouth lifts in the ghost of a smile. “Yeah, I heard.” The smile dies as she confesses, “I don’t know what you should tell the media. I’ve never had to think about this before.”

“Neither have I,” he reminds. “Usually my partners are famous, so we don’t need to stay private. But this thing with you—if you want this thing, that is—is precious to me, and I don’t want the media to have it.”

“I don’t know what the answer is,” she confesses, and part of him wilts, because surely she’s going to say that even though he’s great, she can’t handle the stress of him living in the public eye. “I mean… I guess you can keep telling people we’re just casual.”

“No.” His rebuttal is immediate and forceful, and she snaps her gaze to him, confusion pinching the lines of her brow. “I refuse to say that. You’re so much more to me than some random woman I’m having sex with. I refuse to let people think that of you, and honestly, I’m getting tired of that reputation too.”

He pauses for a moment, but then barrels on. “When I first became famous, I was seeing this woman who told the media we were casually dating, but she told me that we were serious and monogamous. She said she always gave vague answers like that to the media. We dated each other for about three months, and her answers to the paparazzi were always the same: that I was just some fun, that she was welcoming me into the spotlight, that she was mentoring me. It messed with my head, because she was laughing at our relationship to the public, but acted completely differently when we were alone. When I couldn’t stand it anymore and asked if we could go public as a committed couple, she said that I was taking our relationship far more seriously than what it was. It was one of the worst feelings in the world to be told I had misinterpreted everything, even though I know what she had told me. And I don’t want to do that to you. I won’t have you constantly questioning and doubting what I tell the media because it’s the opposite of what I tell you.”

Rose looks at him with such heartbreak in her eyes that he feels like she was stripping him naked in front of her. It’s confusing and overwhelming, so he instead stares at his half-drunk mug of tea. A moment later, a soft, socked foot brushes along his ankle. He flicks his gaze to her to see her smiling sadly at him.

“I’m so sorry that happened. Thank you for telling me. That woman was a twat.” Rose continues caressing her toes along his shinbone as she says, “I don’t know how to tell you to deal with the media and interviewers. You’re the expert there. I… I’m going to trust your judgment, I suppose.”

The hopes that James hasn’t dared put too much faith in rise in a crescendo of excitement.

“Does… does this mean you want to keep seeing me?” he croaks.

Rose licks her lips, then nods. “Yeah. I… God, I’ve loved this past month with you. It’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I really like bein’ with you.”

The air leaves his body in a long whoosh as he scrambles out of his seat. Her eyes bug when he kneels in front of her, but then when he opens his arms for her, she understands. She pulls him to his feet and flings her arms around his neck, clinging to him. He gathers her as close as he can and tucks his nose into her hair, breathing her in.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “Thank you. God, I’m so sorry, Rose. I’m so sorry for everything.”

“So am I. I didn’t mean to make you feel unimportant. I’m sorry.”

“Neither did I. Let’s start over, eh? Hi, I’m James. You might recognize me from the dozens of posters of my face splattered across the city.”

Rose laughs and holds him tighter, releasing the knots of tension that have been snared around his stomach all week.

“Hi, I’m Rose, a random schoolteacher,” she says, a grin evident by the warmth in her voice.

“Nice to meet you, Rose. Will you be my girlfriend?” he asks, holding his breath as he awaits her response.

She finally pulls her face out of his neck to look at him. Her eyes trace every contour of his face, drinking him in as her fingertips brush along the nape of his neck, stroking the fine hairs there.

“You’re serious about this?” she confirms, though with how quietly she’s speaking, James isn’t sure if she’s addressing him or herself. She locks eyes with him and asks, “You… you said you might be falling in love with me?”

He nods silently, wondering if someone like her could, one day, be able to love someone like him.

“Okay,” she murmurs, leaning in to press her forehead to his. Their breaths meet in the small space between them, the moment so intimate he never wants it to end.

Rose angles her face down, capturing his lips in the gentlest, sweetest kiss he has ever had. It melts his bones and sends heat searing through his bloodstream, screaming at him to hold her closer, to kiss her more deeply and let those kisses tell her everything his brain is incapable of putting into words.

But he doesn’t, he keeps the pressure soft, molding his lips to hers over and over again as they exchange dozens of little kisses until he has lost track of time. He ducks his hands beneath the hem of her jumper to touch her bare back, holding her to him because he can’t bear to let her go again. She, meanwhile, cradles his neck with one hand while her other cups his cheek, feathering her fingertips lightly over his day-old stubble.

After an immeasurable moment, Rose pulls away. Her cheeks are deliciously pink, and she’s smiling so tenderly at him that he feels like the most important person in her world.

 “Okay,” she repeats, brushing her thumb along his tingling bottom lip, “let’s see if we can fall together.”

[kyriat-stories]

Three days later, before the sun had risen, Noor and Eira embarked their ship. Tjen had paid for their journey with the goat, and some skins, and was giving them his last admonitions for the journey.

- Always keep an eye on your things! And when you arrive at Krete you must immediately go to your uncle’s house. Don’t let anyone lure you to do something else! Especially not men!

- Yes, yes, uncle Tjen, we know! Eira said in frustration. We already know these things, you said them more times than there is trees in the forest.

- I’m just worried, Tjen admitted. I want you to arrive safely.

- So where are you girls going on Krete? An elderly woman asked.

- We are going to the Manthos village, where our uncle lives, Noor said.

- Ah I see. I’m going to a village not far from there. I can help you when we get there, if you want to, don’t worry. My name is Hadarah Husik, by the way.

- Thank you Mrs. Hadarah, that’s so nice of you. Are you from Krete?

- No, but I have a daughter who is married to a merchant from Krete. I’m going to visit her now. Do you know Kretika, the language in Krete?

- Eh.. not well I’m afraid. Our father taught us some words, but I don’t know if we can make ourselves understood. Do you?

- I only know a few basic words as well, but my daughter speaks fluently, so I don’t think I will have to learn it. I’m too old for that, Hadarah laughed. Anyway, It’s nice to have met you, I was concerned about me being the only female on board, so I’m happy I’m not.

- Same for us! I’m Eira and this is my sister Noor. But honestly I’m more worried if the boat will sink or if there will be a storm and things like that. We’ve never been on open sea before.

- I’m feeling sick already and we haven’t left the harbor yet, Noor moaned.

- They say it will pass after a couple of days, Hadarah said.

- I don’t know if that’s very comforting, Noor whimpered, I feel terrible already!

- All on board! The captain shouted. Rowers get ready!

- Oh holy spirits, we are leaving! TJEN! TJEN! WE ARE LEAVING!

.

Previous | Index | Start Ch5 | Characters | Next

[tc-doherty]

Character Out of Context Tag

I wasn't tagged I just wanted to do this one. I'm using The Ghost, of course. Because it's timely.

Rules: Include one character quote of your choosing ⁠from each chapter of your WIP (or as many chapters as you'd like). Give absolutely no context, save for what's between two parts of an interrupted sentence, should that occur. You may mention who said it.

Tagging @did-i-do-this-write @emilyoracle @outpost51 and anyone else who wants to do it~

Ch1: “Last I checked,” he said, “your name is still Seneria. You aren’t Solaris yet. For now, these problems aren’t your problems.”

Ch2: “I hardly think that ‘do nothing’ is an appropriate response.”

Ch3: “Did you have fun sneaking around like a thief, spying on your father?” he asked. “Making me lie to your tutor for you?”

Ch4: “Secrets cannot hide from me. It’s Solaris’ duty to shine light in the darkness.”

Ch5: “How is it that you manage to completely misunderstand when you ought to be forthright and honorable, and when you should just lie?”

Ch6: “It’s rude to eavesdrop on my private thoughts, cat.”

Ch7: “We don’t speak his name, Ria. He’s sleeping, not dead.”

Ch8: “There’s a difference between cowardice and common sense, Seneria.”

Ch10: “…so I told him he was playing a fool for the boy, you know, spending all that gold.”

Ch11: “I’m not what you wanted and I don’t think like you or act like you and you’re afraid of what I can do,” [redacted] said. “And I don’t for one minute believe that you ever did anything as humble as farming!”

Ch12: “I never asked her. We just met on the road and decided to work together.”

Ch13: “If I agree to tell you, will you go home?”

Ch14: “We will not speak here,” [redacted] said. “You accepted my invitation. You cannot refuse it now.”

Ch16: “Wait!” she said. “What about Hermokrates?”

Ch17: “…Gheist,” he said. “My name is Gheist Locke.”

Ch19: “Magic food does not need to be made. It simply is.”

Ch20: “It won’t really do any harm, will it? Just let me see him for five minutes. You can be there the whole time.”

Ch21: “I am so sorry!”

Ch23: “I’m the daughter of a king, and the future Solaris besides. Who am I supposed to be friends with?”

Ch25: “And you believed him?”

Ch26: “I thought divining was Moon magic.”

Ch27: “You would be foolish enough to think that spilling Celestial blood here is a good idea.”

Ch28: “You’re the future Solaris, aren’t you? It should be easy enough for you to do.”

Ch29: “That’s what Hermokrates thinks, and my parents, and my people. But I don’t care. I don’t care if they think I’m too young or that I can’t be Solaris because I’m a girl. I am Solaris.”

Ch31: “I will never help you.”

Ch32: “He can be freed?”

Ch33: “I am the greatest mage they have ever heard of. Everyone knows of me.”

Ch34: “You want me to go along with him? To put people in danger?”

Ch35: “Do you really think the daughter of a king would take instruction from a mere logger’s son?”

Ch36: “I trust you. I won’t fight you.”

Ch37: “I’m going to do my best to destroy him.”

Ch38: “I suppose more room to move might be worth climbing all those stairs.”

Ch39: “I don’t know if it’s the best thing to do, but it works for me.”

Ch40: “Then I want you to know, I forgive you.”

Ch41: “Of course. We have to come back, we have too much to do out here.”

Ch42: “Whenever you are ready. Just as the moon reflects the sun, I will support you.”

Ch43: “Sure, there isn’t anything the two of us can’t do together.”

[stacywaters]

Coffee and Violets (SUGA) CH5 - Not Quite a Date

"No, no this won't work either."

You're currently at your apartment going through every article of clothing you own. Hoseok never told you what you should wear to this not quite a date.

It's a fancy restaurant, sure, but it's also just a meeting between two friends. You guys are just going to be talking about music, so you should stay casual, right? And if you dress too formally and he doesn't, then it'll be embarrassing and show that you were in fact greatly looking forward to this.

You decide on a simple black dress that goes to your knees. It's sleeveless, but you figure you'll only be gone for about an hour. The meeting will be over before the sun even starts to set, so you won't need to bring a jacket.

The restaurant isn't far from your apartment so you decide to walk. Arriving at the building, you're astounded by the atmosphere. Tall and wide windows peer into the room and gloss over the tables. You leave the comfort of the awning and stroll into the restaurant. A thick red doormat covers the entryway and warm, moody lighting fills the room.

"Hello Ma'am. Have you made a reservation?"

"Umm.... I'm here to meet someone?" You say with apprehension in your tone.

"Ah. What is the party name?"

Shoot. Hoseok never told me what to say! "Well, I'm here to meet someone named Yoongi.... I think?"

"That'll be right this way."

You follow him through the busy restaurant and begin to feel self conscious. Everyone here is decked out in expensive jewelry, velvety outfits and hair that must have been professionally styled. You don't fit in at all, with your hair lightly brushed and only some makeup on.

Your feelings only get worse when you find yourself at his table. He's wearing what almost looks to be a suit. he looks stunning, and for a minute you can almost imagine that this really is a date, before looking down at your attire and being reminded of the harsh reality.

"Ah, this is a bit embarrassing." You say as you sit down, "You look so nice and I'm here in what could be considered a nightgown. Ah- not to say you look nice, er,. you do look nice but I mean-"

He interrupts with his soft laughing, "Thank you, but to be honest? These are actually just my pajamas."

What kind of a person owns pajamas like that? You think to yourself. An awkward silence forms between the two of you. Finally, he breaks the silence.

"So, how was your day?" He asks you.

"It was good, and you?" You ask, desperately avoiding eye contact.

"It was pretty stressful all day, but it's better now." You can't help but look up, only to be met by his intoxicating brown eyes. Was that... a flirt? It couldn't be, he's just talking about how he's happy to be done with work for the weekend.

Despite your own awkwardness, Yoongi was able to continue the conversation smoothly. Your guys' laughter died down as you stared off onto the empty plates and glasses on the table.

"So, Hoseok told me you needed help with music?" Yoongi asked.

"Ah, yeah. I wanted to find some new music for my cafe."

"Do you have any specific genre in mind?"

"Well, the cafes I usually go to have jazz music playing. However I'm quite fond of piano music... I guess it's kind of close to me since my mom always played the piano when I was a kid."

"I play piano" he says and smiles gently.

"Really? It's such a pretty instrument. I'd love to hear you play sometime"

He rolls up his sleeve to check the time on his watch.

"Hm... it's only 5:00 pm, do you want to come over to my apartment to hear me play? Like- I can play a few styles to give you a better idea of what you're looking for..."

"Okay! Ah but first-" You try to ask him if he wants to split the bill only to see him walking over and paying for it himself. Taking Hoseok's advice, you stand idly behind Yoongi and try to just have a good time.

You two walk out of the restaurant together. The sky is painted in scarlet and orange. The walk together was silent, from the beginning to the entryway to his apartment.

When you come inside, he leads you to the main room with a brown piano at the center of it. He sits down and begins to play. Soft notes envelop the silence, swinging in a way unique to the jazz style.

When the song ends, you clap profusely and smile.

"That was amazing! How long have you been playing for?"

"Thank you, I've been playing since I was fairly young." He responds, turning away to hide his face. "Would you um... like to sit down?" He clears room on the piano bench for you to sit.

He plays a few more songs and you sway along to the rhythm. You close your eyes and sink into the comfort of his playing. After a while of discussing, you guys decided that he would record a few performances for you to play at the cafe. He also suggested making a playlist of similar music for you. You agreed.

"I might even be able to perform at the cafe eventually. If you want!- that is." He says.

"That would be wonderful, Yoongi." You smile.

You check your phone to find it 8:00pm. Shoot, did you really just spend three hours here talking about music?

"Oh it's late, I really should get going. Thank you for today. I had a great time, you were a lot of help." You turn to open the door and leave when a hand grabs your wrist.

"I can uh, walk you home."

"No no! Don't worry about it, you've already done so much."

"It's fine, I enjoy walks at nighttime. I usually don't sleep until late anyways. Plus, I'd worry if you- Hoseok would hate me if I let you walk home in the dark." A blush spreads through his face as he tries to cover up how much he cares about you. You feel a warmth on your face as well.

Walking home you feel chills run down your arms. You'd worn a sleeveless dress this evening, not thinking you'd end up staying so long. A warmth envelops you and you welcome it, until you realize. Yoongi gently draped his jacket over your shoulders. He stays quiet. You blush and turn around to look at him. Despite the low lighting, you can still see him. Though he tries not to show it, he looks incredibly flustered. Even more than you.

[villanevehaus]

2, 11, 17, 45, and 100 (From your own AUs, which are your favorite characterizations of Eve and Villanelle? e.g. Ox vs TME’s Oksana/Vil)

!!! tysm !!! fic writer asks

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

hmmm, idk! i tend to get along w my narrators. i originally wrote ox getting more upset about eve's realization in ch5 (youre a decade younger than me and a woman and i leave soon etc) but decided it was ooc? thats really the only thing that comes to mind tbh. ive moved events and scenes and whatever but thats moreso overall structure rather than character/narrator.

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

i have learned SO many neat things while researching oh my god. watched a documentary about the history of telephones in america! LOTS about vipers and venomous snakes, how housefires happen/get out of control, SOOO much medical shit, a lot about billie jean king! print history, art history, geographical & archaeological history. i don't 'worry' about research per se but i do tend to do a lot of it bc i always feel more confident with what im writing if its more grounded in reality. also this is what the worlds deadliest snake looks like.

17. what is your favourite line that you've written?

Her scar tissue aches with the memory of genesis, finally able to name a creator. is one that i love but isn't published yet and wont be for a hot sec. obligatory mention of the one-sentence chapter in eve undone that's Her orbit becomes misaligned, casting her soul in shadow as she's pulled from the sun. I also really like this very long sentence of There's nothing keeping your soft, smooth, tiny little body from a force that will willingly feed you to jagged rocks, stinging nettle, starvation, dehydration, ruination, evisceration, or all those hungry things made of teeth and teeth and teeth and teeth. bc i am ofc not immune to sea allegories.

45. name three of your favourite fanfic writers.

@sharkodactyl /pigflight on ao3 || @eveandpsyche / herbeloveve on ao3 || telanu on ao3 - ive only read this of their fics but it genuinely changed how i view relationships so!

100. From your own AUs, which are your favourite characterizations of Eve and Villanelle? e.g. Ox vs TME’s Oksana/Vil

god what a cruel question, how could you do this to me. i reeeeally have a soft spot for my sweet girl's eve & nelle ngl, but i think i just have a soft spot for my sweet girl in general oops. its difficult for me to choose bc stuff like thin walls and my sweet girl's characterizations are SO shallow just by virtue of the works they belong to being so short in comparison to the others? they almost dont fall in the same question. like my sweet girl is 48k and TME (which is nowhere near being done and also isn't even my longest work) is 134k, so obvs theyre not only different but differently fleshed out- 3 whole my sweet girls fit in TME, and TME aint even over.

i really adore TME eve tho shes such a cunt, and TME oksana/vil is about to get bananas. but also ox is also so so so sweet. IDK theyre all too different !! aa !

first reaction best reaction my sweet girl ♡

[digitalcactuswriting]

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!) I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

tagged by @skadren!!! thank you for the tag :D

hoo boy do i have a lot of wips. hooooooo boy. also, i have this superstition where i’m afraid that if i properly name the project its final name before it’s actually finished being written, i won’t finish it... which means there are some truly absurd or really boring non-descriptive names on this list 😂

General Sephiroth’s Yeehaw Retirement Ranch

seph’s hair gets stuck

moments

retrograde

bebe!sephiroth

cloud and genesis’ road trip from hell

a symphony to the sun and stars

in all its lingering echoes

orchestra au

caramel, through time

ch5 zack pov

zack apotheosis

even the flowers

seph likes to lie on the ground

gast interlude

how to bell your general

coalescence

capture the flag

genesis, the planet’s phoenix

dragonflies and supernovas

happy birthday

paintball

fall from greatness

THE GANG GO TO IKEA

son of vermbird

seph goes back in time and so does cloud

nefrit

i cannot tag as many people as i have wips, because i’m not sure i even know 27 separate people in my life period KSJFGSJHF so i’ll tag... @hybridcitrus​ @fangirling-phoenix!!!

[leowolf0816]

Confession//Ch5

Chapter four

Word Count: 1173

Matt's P.O.V.

After a long couple of weeks of fighting both criminals and my building lust, I decided I may need to go to confession. So here I stood in the archway of St. Agnes Church debating if my confession is what will lead me to clarity or into insanity.

Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and pushed open the doors revealing a room lit by color from the multiple stained-glass windows that wrapped around the church. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my exposed skin. Slowly I made my way to the confessionals where I heard the soft mumbling of someone confessing. 

I patiently waited for the confessional to be free. I broke down my cane so that I could sit comfortably. taking a deep breath I made the sign of the cross over my chest. 

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last confession" I take yet another breath. "Let me start by saying that I have hurt some bad people for doing bad things..." I took a minute to compose my thoughts into an easier string of words that did not give away too much.

 "These people had gotten away with a lot by paying off multiple officials and I couldn't just sit by and allow them to take innocent women or hurt innocent people" I glared into space for a moment. 

"I've been fighting wars that only I could fight and battles only I could win" I shook my head.

 " I know that sounds prideful but it is true in this situation I am in and I must apologize Father for I can not fully confess to the violence I have committed not in fear for what you or god may say but for fear of what may happen to you if you know this information in full yet I can not contain my sins in full I tell you what I can in hopes that god may forgive me some day for the things I have to keep from you," I notice the sound of his scrunched face in confusion.

"My dear child are these things you confess illegal?" His question makes my skin crawl but in true fashion, I try to avoid lying as best I can as in confessional I must confess sincerely and honestly in order to be cleansed of my sins.

"But that is not all Father for not only have I committed violence against my fellow man but I fear soon I may commit lustful acts" I take a deep breath. 

"I may not be able to see but each time she walks into a room my skin buzzes as if knowing she's there" I slowly forget I'm in a church as thoughts of her cloud my mind.

"She is followed by the scent of rose and sandalwood its as if she leaves a ghost of her everywhere she goes as if she is an angel sent from god to torment me with the need to prey to be able to see her in all her angelic glory as no words can properly describe her beauty as much as the when her angelic laugh fills the room and seems to echo in my ear long after she has left me morning her presence" I smile thinking of her laugh.

"she makes me feel like a pirate lost at sea drawn in by the songs she sings and the words she speaks... But Father she may be angelic but oh she is also a demon sent from satan to tempt me in such ways that I would rather worship her than god praying for a taste of the heaven between her thighs or to hear her holy voice be bathed in unholy words" I can feel my dick hearden at the thoughts planted in my head making her unheard screams of pleaser ring in my ears.

"She distracts me from all that I have worked hard for but oh I would throw it all away just to be able to pin her against the wall of my office with her skirt hiked up and legs wrapped around my waist or splayed out on my desk legs spread wide with me buried deep inside her and uttering soft curses and prayers to make it last forever for that is now how I envision my heaven to be" I can hear a hard swallow but I'm to into my thoughts to comprehend it is not my own.

"And as I am home alone with my thoughts images of her tied to my bed and dripping with sweat and desire as her legs shake and she begs me to let her cum as she whimpers and whines my name and curses that of god seem to pledge my mind... I take a deep breath at the image of her bare chest rising and falling as she lay splayed on the bed. I may not be able to see but lord can I imagine being ready to dive back in not wanting to be away from that heaven for even nearly a minute" I can feel my mouth run dry but still but yet still it drools at the imaginary sounds of hers running through my ears.

"For even if just to kiss her I would go to hell I would do so and then tell the devil I had seen heaven without stepping foot through the gate I would brag that I had heard angels sing without going to heaven at all" slowly my voice died out and oddly I felt a new still not quite comprehending what I had just confessed to the priest sat beside me his mouth agape with no word in sight. 

Slowly his words seem to come back to him as he clears his throat before he spoke "I must say I have yet to have heard quite the detail in a confession of that sort but if you truly feel this way about this woman look into yourself and see if it is she you truly want or if it is merely something else you seek... as for the violence you have inflicted on others try to resculpt your urge for violence into something more creative and less harmful" As he spoke I listened but already I knew that it was her I sought and her that I wished to place my violence in along with my want, need, care, and joy. 

I said the Act of Contrition expressing a wish to avoid sin. Father Lantom was quiet for a moment seeming to ponder what he wished to say before he said his absolutions and blessings. I thanked him as I left the confessional extending my cain again. Slowly my senses truly came back to me no longer fully clouded by the lust of my thoughts and with that the realization that a group of nuns was lined up by the confessional and some were blushing while others were scowling over what they had overheard me say. 

[zaenight]

The dragon and her knight ch5

This is based off of 6x4

------

Nova awoke with a small groan hearing noises from below,snuggling into bellamy's bare chest.

"We should get up,see what going on." Bellamy said with a small smile as Nova groaned.

"Fine." Nova said with a grunt as Bellamy kissed her neck.

With a kiss the two got dressed,meeting Echo in the hallway.

"Guess you two had fun." Echo said with a smirk.

"You were right,he is good with his mouth." Nova smirked.

"You two talked about me in bed." Bellamy questioned with a raised a brow,amuesment in his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know,just so you know if it doesnt work out im always available." Echo winked.

"I'll keep that in mind." Nova smirked grabbing bellamy's hand as the three made there way down stairs.

Bellamy raised a brow giving Nova a small smirk.

"Dont look at me like that,she's hot,but dont worry my eyes are on you." Nova winked.

Walking downstairs they met with Clarke,Raven,Echo and Jordan.

Raven wiggled her brows at Nova,a small smile on her face.

Nova winked at her.

"Murphy and Emori?" Bellamy questioned were the couple were.

"Went to guard the ship with the others." said Jordan.

"Murphy missing a chance to act like a drunken fool?,Now im worried" Echo said.

"Im sure he'll be fine." Nova said to the girl,from the small talk the man made at the bar it seemed he could handle himself.

"Maybe the rest of us should go there too." Raven said to the group.

"What? no I need this." Jordan said to them

Bellamy gave a small smile,Nova winked at the boy.

"We're guests of the primes if we Isolate ourselves on the ship,they may take offense." Clarke said to them.

"Also I'm pretty sure they won't take to kindly to us if we take Nova." Clarke stated.

Nova let out a small laugh,Bellamy wrapped his arm around her waist giving her a smile.

"Jordan? Nova? guys come on!" Delilah said waiting for them at the bar.

"I'll be at the bar." Raven said,with that her and Bellamy walked off,with nova patting Echo's shoulder.

Nova's smile was tense as the horns sounded,Bellamy also noticed how her mother was glaring at the fact she was with him and not with the rest of the primes.

"Welcome to naming day." Russel said as cheers sounded from the crowd.

"Today we observe the four pillars of sanctum,they are." He said waiting for the crowd to continue.

"Repent,renew,rejoice,rebirth." The crowd stated.

Nova gripped Bellamy's hand,both him and echo noticed her glancing at Delilah,and her sending a death glare to her parents.

" You okay?" Bellamy whispers into her ear.

"I don't know yet." She answered back,Bellamy raised a concerned brow at her.

"Correct rebirth,Rebirth!today we mark the return of our beloved Priya." Her father stated,a solemn look in his eyes.

"Hallowed be her name!"The crowd chanted.

Nova glanced at Delilah and rested her head on Bellamy's shoulder.

"Indeed as we Bequeath her name to our equally beloved Delilah." Russel said sparing a glance to Nova,as the crowd clapped for Delilah,Nova noticed her fathers trained glare on Bellamy.

"As is tradition with every Naming day,I will begin the process of making amends and as your Leader It's my job to keep us safe during the red sun." Russel stated.

Bellamy noticed Nova leaning on him more and more and realized her legs were begining to lock down.

He wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling letting her lean into his side as her father spoke.

"Kaylee,I failed you in this when I realized you and your family didn't make it to Ryker's keep before the eclipse,I closed the door I kept it open As long as I could." Russel said,Nova tensed at Ryker's named,which Bellamy rememberd was the name of her ex.

"Until the Life of everyone else was at risk,It was a decision with tragic consequences,I know the heartbreak you feel,I know your pain,I miss Josephine everyday." Russel Said to Kaylee specifically,his voice cracking.

Nova winced at the pain in her leg joints,at some point Echo had to help Bellamy keep her up straight.

"And the fact that I'm the cause of this pain for you..." Russel said,Nova rolled her eyes as the two dramatically hugged the claps of the crowd filled her ears,she was still trying to stand up straight.

She noticed her mother nod her head at one of the guards,who slowly made his way to her,she hugged Bellamy's waist harder as the guard made his way towards her.

"Go back to your post,im handling myself just fine." Nova told the guard.

"Nova it might be a good idea for you to rest." Echo said with concern laced in her voice.

For Echo it was very rare to show emotions,but there somthing about Nova.

"She's right you know." Bellamy said putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Okay,okay take me to the bar im thirsty any ways." Nova said as the Guard picked her up she pecked  Bellamy on the lips and pecked Echo's cheek.

"Im telling you I might just steal her away." Echo said raising a brow at Bellamy.

"You can try all you want but im not going down without a fight if it comes to that." Bellamy said with a wink and a small smile.

--------------

Inside the bar she passed by Raven who was drinking,she patted the guard who then sat her by raven.

"I'll tell you what happened to my leg if you tell me what happens to yours." Raven said downing a shot.

"When the first red sun happened it didn't affect me like the others,I didn't want to kill others or myself."

"And one day when I was out exploring the eclipse happened,and instead of nothing happening my whole body just locked up."

"It felt like i was on fire and then it went away." Nova explained.

"Except  in your legs." raven questioned?

"Yeah Sometimes its okay and sometimes its like my bones are on fire or breaking over and over." Nova finished.

"Huh, I got shot,by murphy." Raven said a small trace of amusment.

"Never would have guessed." Nova said as Clarke walked in.

She decided to leave the two,limping upstairs to her bedroom,thinking of Delilah.

A tear fell down her cheek,everyone she loves leaves her some way or the other.

She just hopes they won't,suddenly she felt a pounding in her head and the need to draw.

As she finished the drawing she wanted to scream,Clarke was on a table her parents around her.

The next drawing was a girl,who looked

like Clarke,but she knew,Nova knew,that it was her elder sister.

Josephine Lightbourne,smirking as if she knew Nova would figure it out.

-----------------

[sagaofstardustmkg]

Fire and Water [CH5 Body Drop, 2/3]

Upon Sasha's invitation that cannot be ignored, you're all herded towards the desert, your clothes slowly becoming increasingly heinous to look at. The rising morning sun beats down on your heads as you all follow down to the skate park. Upon first glance, the skatepark looks like a wreck. A mess litters a sizable area of the park, but that's not where Sasha is gesturing to.

He stands at the rim of a bowl, waiting for you to peer down into it. He stands with a smugness, thrilled at the reality before you. Your gaze wanders down into the heated cement bowl to see...

Mizukabe Sansei. In the flesh, still and lifeless. As tumultuous as his time with you all has been, he prided himself in helping others. He claimed himself to be strong, to have known nothing but tough love and physical training. It's a strange sight, to see the man who had endured numerous blows to him both physical and emotional to be sprawled out before you all, look of pain still evident on his face. It seemed whatever caused this finally brought the man to his end, and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. At least he was with the ghosts he had become so close to.

NAME OF VICTIM: Haruki Okumura TIME OF DEATH: 6:48AM TIME OF DISCOVERY: 7:00AM LOCATION: Skate Park CAUSE OF DEATH: Blunt Force Trauma

SASHA’S INPUT: Surely you all saw this one coming, didn’t you?

[sashi-ya]

{+18} - Law x Fem Best Friend ♥ CH.2

♥ Daily living with the Heart pirates crew AU  ♥ Spoilers after Dressrosa Arc. Law´s backstory.  ♥ Female reader. Little physical description. Everybody is 18+, canon ages.  ♥ TW: Nightmares related to PTSD. Little NSFW. no further warnings. If you think I should include some feel free to tell me ♥Thank you for the likes and follows, I appreciate it them so so much! If you wanna know when I’ll be updating the next chapters, you can follow me on Twitter @LawIsMyWaifu, come interact I love to have mutuals that love Law and One Piece as much as I do ♥

Word count: 4.1K

» List of parts: {CH1}  {CH2}  {CH3}  {CH4} {CH5} «

Chapter 2.

The sound of his low, raspy voice resonated all over my head, making my body react instantly. I gasped as I felt a strike of pleasure travelling down my stomach to in between my legs. Closing my eyes, unable to move, I didn’t want to move, I wanted him to keep whispering, to kiss my neck… “Hahahaha, I’m sorry, I’m just fooling around, your face, you look astonished Y/N-ya”, he said while laying back on the bed, laughing. I chuckled as I stood up brushing my clothes as if I was trying to fix them. “Stop it, I’m not into that you ass. Goodnight”, I said trying to dissimulate how agitated and embarrassed I was.

Almost running, I left the room, directly to mine, holding on my hand my underwear. I jumped to my bed resting violently on my back. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” ... a little time passed until I passed out.

Hard knocks on my door woke me up. “Vice-Captain!! wake up! breakfast is ready!!!” Clione shouted from the corridor. “God damn how many times I have to tell this whole crew I fucking hate being awakened with shouting?” I mumbled annoyed, covering my face with the sheets.

I was brushing my hair when I remembered my “memory box” for some reason. Opened my drawer and found the little velvet red box that holds my “treasures”. Inside, there is a photo of my parents with me when I was 7, happy, eating some ice cream with them. It was taken during one of “the white parades”, on Flevance, before everything turned into hell. A little blue bow that my little sister used to wear, some photos of Law, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin and me when we were the only members of our crew. And, a necklace Law made with some seashells as a gift for my 15th birthday, were also inside.

I got watery eyes while looking at it, “I must be getting old”, I thought, “I got emotional over the memories” ... laughed and put everything back to its place.

“Morning..” I said, greeting the whole crew that was already devouring their breakfast. I noticed Law wasn’t there, so I had to ask. Uni told me he was in the control room preparing for the arrival at the next island. I took a few pancakes and some tea and headed to the control room to ask my captain if he needed help.

“Good morning, doc”, I saluted him. Law that was seated facing the controls, turned the chair to look at me nodding. He has more dark circles as always, so I asked him, “Oi, did you sleep last night? are you feeling sick again?”. “I’m ok, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I got caught up with the book I was reading”, he answered with his usual unfriendly tone. “Yeah, right” I answered back, rolling my eyes, and proceeded “Let me know if you need something before we get to the island”.  Left the control room and went back to my room.

I knew him well to know he hadn't slept because something was worrying him, and not because he was reading the old comic book of “Sora, the warrior of the sea against the evil Germa 66”. But hey, Law never shows any emotion besides annoyance if he is not sick.

A few hours later, the submarine got to the shore of some winter island, and we all got ready to accomplish our assigned tasks.  “Ok everyone, we will meet here at 7 pm, is that clear?” told my crew members, everybody agreed and headed to the island.

The temperature was pretty low, and it was snowing. Law was wearing the long black coat with yellow dots and our Jolly Roger that he used to wear at Punk Hazard, his hat and of course the Kikoku over his shoulder. I love when he wears warm clothing, he looks so cozy, hiding his mouth behind the collar. (He does it so his lips don’t get chapped with the cold breeze, haha).  I don't like to wear the boiler-suit when we get to explore islands, so I decided to wear a long yellow coat with a hood, also with our crew's Jolly Roger emblazoned on the left side of the chest.

We asked a few civilians where to find a pharmacy and headed to the destination following their instructions. Law didn’t say much during the walking, as he normally does.

The island seemed a little bit deserted, yet it had picturesque streets, full of colour that stand out from the snow.  It has cobbled lanes, some canals of crystallized water, there were wooden houses and shops with little lights that garnished their architecture giving the place a romantic aura. The scenery behind the city center included big snowed mountains and a big castle over one of the highest peaks.

I saw a boutique with some cute sweaters on display that caught my eyes and I wanted to try them on. “Law, would you mind if I enter here? I want to buy a new sweater.”, I said. Law looked at me and made a gesture with his hand as he was saying to go ahead.

While searching for the sweater I like on one of the clothing racks I saw through the shop window that a few kids approached the captain. The seller asked me if I needed some help, so I stopped looking at him and l directed my gaze to the girl in the shop. So, I forget about him.

After buying two cute pullovers, we continued walking through the picturesque streets.

When we finally arrived at the pharmacy shop, it seemed like it was closed, but the door was open, so we entered. I rang the bell over the counter and waited for someone to show up. Law walked in front of me and had his hand over his sword. I knew he was alert and trying to protect me even if he didn’t say a word. I didn’t think we could be in danger, yet he never fully relaxes when we are outside. After all, he is one of the most wanted pirates of our generation, so it's understandable he trusts no stranger.

After a minute or so, an old lady approached the counter from the inside of the store. She seemed a little weak and perhaps a little sick. She coughed, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, and then greeted us. “Good afternoon, how can I help you?”, she asked. Law handed her a list of supplies we needed, and we waited. “Oi, don’t you think she looks bad? I mean, she is probably sick, should I ask if she is ok?”, I told Law who gave me a disapproving sight. I rolled my eyes, and said, “Fiiiine…”, “You know that I hate you rolling your eyes at me, you did it yesterday and now too. Stop it.” I looked at him with an “excuse me?” face and while I was about to spit an insult to him the granny appeared. “I’m sorry, I put on the bag some of the supplies, but I don’t have everything you need. We are short on medicines'', she informed us and started coughing harder. “Excuse me, Mrs. Are you alright? are you sick?”, I asked as she seemed to lose composure from all the nagging coughing. Law, that hated when I don’t give a fuck about what he had just said, gave me the look of death. “Oh young lady, we are pretty much sick, a strange illness is hitting the island. Even the only doctor in town fell ill. The orphanage, though, is getting the worst part. All of the kids are bedridden”, as she said, the memories of Flevance and the amber lead disease hit me.

Law's expression changed to a more compassionate one and asked about the symptoms they were experiencing. He might be serious, he might not want to get involved in a lot of things, but he is a true doctor. And he can't let people die if he can help.

We decided to visit the orphanage in hopes of helping the sick people, so we asked the old lady to give us directions to it. She said it was pretty far from the city center and told us her husband would take us there with his cart.

"Thank you so much for offering your help, young doctors", said the old lady's husband that later told us his name was Gerald. The cart was pulled by two brown percheron horses that opened their way through the white landscape.

We had a small talk during the journey, until Gerald asked, "how long have you been together? Are you already married?". Despite the freezing cold weather, my cheeks turned to fire, and I could sense Law hiding his head even more into his coat and hat. Almost as if clarifying that we were no couple was a life or death situation I said, "WE ARE JUST BEST FRIENDS!". I realized I almost shouted and felt mortified. Gerald looked at us with a little smirk and kind eyes, excusing himself for the mistake.

A few minutes after we arrived at the orphanage. It took us almost 30 minutes to get there and the sun was starting to set on the horizon.

When we entered the place, the situation was worse than we thought. There were kids and adults lying on the ground, some of them shivering, others coughing while others were straight unconscious. A few nurses were working in order to maintain them, but the situation had clearly surpassed them.

Immediately Law and I started working. While I helped the nurses, Law used his ope ope no mi power to scan the bodies of the sick people.

We got to the conclusion that what they were suffering was a type of bacteria that caused the respiratory symptoms and the fever.

During our duty, there were times when our eyes interlocked, and we smiled at each other. I wouldn't say we like people suffering, but, we certainly enjoyed working to save lives together.

A few hours passed since we arrived there, the sun was already set, and outside it seemed as if a snowstorm was beginning. I've lost track of time until my portable Den Den Mushi started to ring. "Oi, y/n, where are you? Is Law with you? Are you alright? We've been waiting for you on the shore! It's 9 pm already and we were supposed to meet at 7!", shouted Shachi from the other side of the line. "Oh my God I'm sorry I forgot to tell you!... you see …" I explained to them what we've been doing and that we were probably not going to return to the submarine in a few more hours.

The kids and the other people began to get better and those who were helping there offered us some food that we accepted happily.

While we were having dinner, Gerald got back from outside, who's been in the forest collecting some firewood. He informed us that the weather was getting really bad so coming back to town would be pretty dangerous.

Law and I agreed that staying there for the night was the safer choice.

One of the nurses, Sister Alley, told us we could spend the night in the cabin next to the orphanage. "I'm really sorry guys, I wished we had a better place for you, we owe you so much. The cabin has a fireplace, Gerald would start a fire to keep you warm”, she said. We both smiled at her and thanked for it.

We walked some meters through the forest until we started to catch sight of a wooden cabin. Despite being a strong pirate, I’m the queen of the clumsy people, so I slipped off with what I assume was an ice patch on the already snowy ground. I was about to hit the ground when Law grabbed me by the waist and saved me from a few bruises. His face in front of mine, the feeling of being safe on his arms, I wished it has been eternal. But the romantic moment was destroyed by Law mocking me. “It must be the devil fruit; how come you are so clumsy? Be careful”, he said, and I told him to shut up, this time I wasn’t embarrassed, but I was almost angry at him.

“Here we are, let me help you with the fire”, Gerald said, opening the wood door that creaked as it moved. The inside felt cozy, there were a few cushions and pillows on the ground next to the fireplace. There were no separate rooms, so in the middle of the lounge there was some kind of mattress with a few blankets over it. Our “host” asked for forgiveness about the lack of separate beds, but Law intercepted him and said, “It’s ok sir, we are grateful to have a warm place to stay until tomorrow. If you need help with any patient during the night, just please tell us”. It might be ok for you, damn Law. Was I supposed to sleep with him? - I mean, I wanted to, but, he was still my best friend, and those thoughts should have been erased.

Gerald wished us a good night and returned to the main building.

I hung my coat and as I love to explore, I started to do so around the little wooden house. The kitchen seemed really equipped, so I grabbed a kettle and some cups. Gerald was kind enough to give us some tea bags, so I thought making some tea was a great idea.

Law was next to the fireplace, wearing only a sweater and his jeans. Apparently he has already hung up his coat and his white spotted hat. I saw him once more with a lost sight that seemed to contemplate the firewood.

Looking at him with my face resting on my arm that was over the breakfast nook, I got lost worshiping his profile. I’ve always adored his upturned nose, his spiky black hair, his facial hair, the contrast between his grey eyes and the tanned skin. How come he has always been so handsome, but I’ve never seemed to fully realize?.

The whistle of the kettle intensified as the water started boiling, but I was so into admiring my best friend's beauty that I didn’t notice. Law turned to me and woke me up from my reverie shouting “Oi, Y/N, the kettle!”. My stupid smile quickly erased from my face, and my whole skin turned red. “Sorry”, I said straight away and turned off the burner.

I served two cups, noticing that the tea has an amazing scent. I believe it was hibiscus mixed with some other spices, perhaps some cardamom and maybe a little hint of clover. The smell of the tea mixed with the slightly one from the logs burning, was wonderful.

I walked to where my captain was, “Here, I think you may like it”, I said and handed him a cup. Our fingers brushed softly when grabbed the tea, he looked at me and said “Thanks”. I sat not so near him over one of the cushions and sipped a little bit of my tea. Law looked at me and stood up from his place. I could sense how awkward he felt when he made a little pause, and then walked away.

Why is he leaving? Did I make him feel uncomfortable?, I asked myself trying to hide little stings of pain on my chest that traveled to my throat. Somehow I felt like crying, and when my eyes started to get slightly watery, Law approached me placing his hand over my right shoulder.

I turned my face to him, looking up with a slightly pouty face. I was about to cry, and I didn’t even know why when I noticed a blue little box on his hand.

He sat next to me and said, "Do you remember when we were 15?, that day when I gave you that necklace I made myself for your birthday? I looked at him confused but I answered, "yes, of course, I got it on my memory box, I'm afraid to wear it outside the polar cause it might get lost and I wouldn't forgive myself if I lose it". He was now looking at the little box moving it around nervously and finally said "I got you a better one". He handed me the little box still not looking at me.

"A present?? OMG Law, thank you very much!" When did you buy it??" I almost shouted in excitement while opening the box. Inside there was a fine rose gold necklace that has a little anatomical heart figure as a pendant. I grabbed it and admired the beauty of the jewelry I had in my hands. The heart had a little red stone crimped on it, that shined with every movement.

"Law, this is too much! It must have cost you a lot of Berries, I don't deserve such a fine jewel!, thank you so much", I expressed with a big smile on my face.

"You do deserve more than this, you know. I'm glad you like it", he said, a little embarrassed. “When you were buying the sweaters, I asked some children there if they knew a jewelry store, turned out it was just around the corner”, he confessed.

“Thank you so much, it is just perfect! You know how I adore hearts; they remind me of you.. “Doctor Heart Stealer”” I almost shouted, realizing I have said too much…

I tried to put it on my neck, but I couldn’t clip it right, so I asked him for help. He stood up, kneel at my back and passed from behind the necklace around my neck.

Some branches hit the window violently as they were suffering the merciless wind of the snowstorm outside.

He struggled a little and finally fastened the collar and when he did, the electric power went off. The fireplace was the only source of light, the dance of the fire created figures with shadows and highlights all around the walls of the cabin. We remained silent, maybe a little scared or even surprised, but enjoying the sound of the weather and the creak of the fire.

He was still behind me, and after a few seconds he placed a soft kiss on my back that sent a shiver through my spine. Once again I was unable to speak, did he… did he just kiss my back?.. Before I could say or do something Law stood up and headed to one of the windows. “The storm seems to be even worse than earlier; don’t you think?”, he said, trying to device something through the window.

I couldn’t focus on anything else than the kiss he softly planted on my nape, minutes ago.  He suddenly yawned and walked to the mattress that was in the center of the room, on the floor. He then took his jeans off and hopped inside the bed, naturally. I remained on my spot, contemplating his actions. “How could he be acting so normal?, I’m right here. He just gave me a necklace, kissed my skin and now he just goes to sleep?” I said to myself, still with a confused expression on my face.

“Oi, aren’t you coming to bed?”, he asked me, freely. “Yes… give me a second”, I said, and ran to the bathroom. The toilet was pretty tiny and basic, but enough for me to hide for a few minutes. “Come on, Y/N you slept with him two nights ago, it’s ok, he is like your brother, it’s ok…” I thought, trying to calm myself down.

I finally left my hiding place and headed to the mattress. Law was lying there, he took off his sweater, probably while I was in the bathroom, so he was only using a white tight undershirt, that molded his torso anatomy. Some blankets were covering the under part of his body from his hips. He had his forearm over his eyes, covering them with his neck stretched back.

I bite my lip, as a reaction for such a tempting scene. I was enjoying it, watching him breathe peacefully. I started feeling hot, so I took off the sweater but not my jeans and approached the “bed”.

I thought Law was already asleep, so I got in bed trying not to wake him up. I muffled myself up with the sheets. I remained still, hearing the snowstorm, fixing my eyes on the wooden ceiling, as the memories of my childhood flooded my mind. It must be the snowstorm, the wind, the cold that triggered these memories. eventually I fell asleep.

“No, stop it, my family, leave us alone!!!!”, I screamed. “Y/n-ya! Y/n-ya!, wake up!” said Law, pulling me out from the terrific oneiric world I was submerged in. I got lost into his eyes, and remained there with tears streaming from my eyes, rolling into my cheeks. Law was holding me close to his body around his arms. “Are you having those nightmares, again? why didn’t you tell me?”, he asked, worried. “This is the first time in ages, I think it must be the storm, perhaps the orphanage, the children…”, I expressed amid tears. My best friend brushed his tattooed fingers through my hair, moving it out of my face, and then wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Oi, do you remember what happened when I gave you the first necklace?” he asked, trying to distract me. A feeling of warmth invaded my insides, suddenly I felt happy. “I do...” I said, laughing timidly, and continued, “It was my first kiss”. He smiled back at me, and said, “Mine too”.

For a second we both closed our eyes. I was grabbing the pendant with my left hand cherishing it and the memories of our younger days when we kissed for the first time. We haven't had much time to think about love while striving to survive so we forgot about it, letting the days, months and years pass, leaving the experience as a mere child’s play.

Suddenly we started laughing, Law didn't let go of me, and our faces were pretty close. “Everything's better when you laugh, I hate it when you cry, it makes me so sad…” he said, rubbing his thumb over my right cheek. I stopped laughing, as he got even closer. Almost as if the point of our noses were about to touch. I could feel the warmth of his breath over my lips, and he did too. My heart started racing, and the only thing I could hear was the blood pumping on my ears. I wasn’t moving, I wanted him to kiss me, I wanted to kiss him… I just didn’t care that he was my best friend, I just needed him to kiss me.  What is taking him so long? Why am I not moving if I wanted this more than anything?. After a good minute, that felt eternal, he exclaimed “Fuck it”, and plant the sweetest kiss over my lips. A feeling of happiness filled my insides, I’ve never been so joyful in ages, it felt the same way as the first time. I was like a teenage girl experimenting love for the first time. Both smiled still with our lips pressed. I doubted for a second if succumbing to my deepest desires was the right thing to do until he decided to turn the cute kiss into a more passionate one. From then on, the desire I’d been accumulating inside of me took control of my body…

We kept on kissing; Law slid a hand under my shirt timidly caressing the skin of my tummy. The kisses migrated from my mouth to my neck, mixed with little bites that surely would turn into hickies tomorrow.

“Law…” I gasped when his hands reached my breasts. “What?” he replied, whispering next to my ear and pinching one of my nipples in between two fingers…

Chapter 3

Ch1: Link

[itskatastrophe-x]

Far Off Places (CH5)

Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6

Word Count : 2,748

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

You blinked a few times as your surroundings came back to you and Ranboo was kneeling in front of you, shaking you gently. “Hey, sorry we took so long. We both can kinda talk for… Well hours.” You looked out the window to see the setting sun and you cursed yourself for being asleep for so long. You thought back to your dream and debated on whether or not to tell Ranboo about Dream visiting you. He seemed to catch on to your thoughts though and asked if you were ok. “Yeah, I’m just groggy and in pain from sleeping on stairs.” He apologized again but you waved him off as you stood and stretched. “Where is Foolish?” You looked around for the totem-god but he was nowhere to be seen or heard. “He went back to his summer home for some supplies but said he’d be back before morning. He told us to go home and not to wait around.” You nod and he takes that as his cue to lead you both out of the building.

The air outside was biting and small snowflakes found their way onto your shoulders. You wrapped yourself tighter in your coat and shivered. Off in the distance you could see the eerie glow of lava from the silhouette of the prison. You stared at it as you walked and ended up tripping, only just barely catching yourself, the snow on the ground slightly buffering your fall. Ranboo was quick to help you up and you thanked him, still staring at the prison. He caught onto your stare and cleared his throat. “Did you want to see it?” You look at him but he couldn’t meet your eyes. You said a short ‘yes’ and apologized. “No, it’s ok. You’re new and have never seen it. Of course you’d want to see it. It’s honestly pretty impressive once you forget there’s a murderer and manipulator locked in it.” He heads towards it and you practically have to jog to keep up with his fast pace. 

You’re slightly winded as you finally approach the looming towers. There’s a shallow pool of water separating you and the grim walls, an ocean beyond it. You stare up at it in awe, admiring the handiwork and intricacy of it all. You wondered how long it took to make and what it looked like on the inside. “It’s called ‘Pandora’s Vault’,” Ranboo says in a small voice. “Have you been in there?” He nods, not able to look at the building in front of you. “I’m sorry if this is a bad topic, but what is he like? Dream, I mean. If you don’t want to-” “No, it’s ok,” he cuts you off. He finally looks up at the walls and sits down, patting the spot next to him. “He’s… He’s ruthless and cold. He acts like he cares about people and what they have to say, but only really cares about how it makes him look. The more power, the better. He’s killed people in cold blood and laughed about it. He… He’s in my head. He knows how to use my enderwalk to his ability, and even I don’t know what it is.” He pauses for a while and you both sit in silence, the sky clearing so the stars and moon shine down brightly on you. 

“He used to be a mentor. Someone to look up to. He helped us with so many things. Taught us how to fight and protect ourselves. But then he snapped. I’m not sure exactly what caused it, but it might have been L’Manburg. People wanted freedom from his rule so they created a new country. He got power hungry. Killed Tommy and Tubbo over stupid discs.” You could see him fight back tears but then he steeled himself again, showing no emotion. “Tommy, Tubbo, and a whole bunch of other people ended up cornering him. Tommy took two of his lives and they threw him in there,” he gestured towards the prison. “Dream and Tommy were locked in there for a week together because…” He trailed off and his eyes glazed over. You watched as he sat there thinking, spacing off completely. He shook his head and looked over at you, finally meeting your gaze. “He beat Tommy to death with a grin on his face. Sam said he was laughing the whole time.” You stared at him in shock. “So, why didn’t Sam stop him?” Ranboo shrugged and looked away again. “Something about protocol. Not being allowed to let guests out when the prison was placed under lockdown.” You thought for a moment, a slight breeze making you shiver. 

“Do… Do you think he can be saved? Like, do you think he could ever be the person he was before? I don’t know him, of course, so I wouldn’t know, but do you?” He chuckled. “Y’know… I never really thought about that. I’d say… Probably not. He’s done so many horrible things. I don’t think he can be redeemed.” You nod, silence falling over the two of you again. You don’t know how long you both sat there before you fell asleep, the sound of gentle waves splashing against the sand and a gentle breeze wafting the smell of flowers and sea salt to you. The moon shone brightly against you, basking you in a comforting glow as you slowly slumped over onto the beach below. Ranboo, too, was slowly falling asleep, barely able to keep his eyes open. The only thing that alerted him was you bumping his shoulder before descending slowly to the sand. He brought up his inventory sheepishly and brought out supplies to make a small tent for you, figuring carrying you in his tired state this late in the night would be too much of a strain. When he finished your tent, he made his own right next to yours and crawled in to fall asleep.

The smell of flowers carried into your dreams and you woke in a start. There, standing above you, was the man in green with the smile mask. The full moon positioned behind him cast a beautiful glow on everything around you. You looked around to see yourself laying in a field, the trees far off in the distance and a city in the opposite direction. Their tall buildings decorated in an oriental way and a giant dragon statue resting on a hill. You look back up to see the man has extended a hand to you. You bring yourself to your elbows but stay that way. He shrugs and drops his hand as he turns, steps sideways, and falls backwards. “I may have lied to you,” the man says. You look back at him in curiosity. “About what part?” He takes a second to decide whether or not to tell you. He takes in a small, hissed breath before answering. “My name. I may look like Dream, but I’m actually DreamXD. A separate entity, but the same in a lot of ways.” “So what does that mean? The same but separate?” He shifts slightly. “Well, I’m a god, essentially. I can do almost everything.” 

You lay back down and put your hands behind your head and look up at the stars. “So why do you want me to help Dream?” He sits up and bounces slightly. “I’m boooored,” he drawls. “And… I’m not allowed to let him out. Or… I can’t.” You look up at him as he brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them. “Can’t? Is that the ‘almost everything’ you said?” He nods. “Sam made the prison to keep Dream in… But also to keep me out.” He looks back at you, mischief hidden in his eyes behind his mask. You hum and close your eyes. “I’ve heard the things he’s done. I’ve never heard of you. Why is that?” There’s a low growling and you open your eyes to see the air around him ripple and sparkle. This only lasts for a couple seconds before he takes a deep breath and recollects himself. He falls back down and the air around him feels cold and lonely, and for a split second you feel bad for the man. 

“So, are you saying you're bored of things that are happening? Is Dream really as bad as people make him out to be?” DreamXD laughs shortly. “Absolutely. Dream is horrible. He deserves to stay in prison, but the server… The pawns are boring me.” You furrow your brows at his wording but brush it off as just you being confused. The people here might call things by different names and words. “What happens if I do somehow manage to break him out? Why should I do that?” It’s his turn to hum. “Well, you don’t have to. Breaking him out could be suicide. Or it couldn’t. No one knows who you really are here. I doubt anyone really trusts you yet either. But Dream? Dream would see you as an ally if you break him out. You would have power. People would fear you. You could have your own land to call your home. Riches that no one else has. He would probably grant you immunity for his freedom and he would protect you so long as you don’t betray him.” You mull all of this over and sit up slowly, looking down at the man beside you. “And why should I trust you?” He sits up as well, facing you now and crossing his legs. “Why shouldn't you? I mean, really, who can you trust? You have so many choices you can make, you just have to take a leap and trust the fall. And if you could come across me in the real world… Well… Again, I’m a god. If you do this for me, you could have anything you wanted. It’s just all up to you.” 

You run your hands through your hair before standing up and start pacing back and forth in front of him. You stop and look down at him. You can practically feel the grin on his face. “And if I don’t?” He shrugs and stands as well. He’s tall and menacing, but the energy radiating from him raises your adrenaline and excites you. “Who knows? He could get out on his own and you would be in his way. Or maybe he stays in and you get to live your secret life with Ranboo, Techno, and Phil. You just have to jump and fall. You’re an outsider. A nobody. Do you want to stay that way, or do you want to be known? You were royalty. You could be again, if Dream allowed it of course.” “If,” you repeat. “This is a lot relying on an if.” You turn and look out over the field leading to the city below. “Let me think on it.” You turn back to face him but he’s gone. You hear his chuckle and turn in various directions, soon realizing his voice is now in your head. “I’ll come back in a week. Have an answer by then and maybe I’ll have a reward if you choose to let him out.” 

And just like that he’s gone. You stand there, body vibrating from excitement of now having something on the line. It isn’t until that second that you realize you don’t know your surroundings. The past couple of dreams you’ve had, you knew where you were since you had been there before. But this time was a new setting. The edges of your vision rippled and waved a green hue before everything faded to the bright color. 

Warm. You were overly warm and sweaty as you rolled over. You noticed the sun wasn’t burning into your eyes when you opened them. Instead you were met with the sight of a large woolen blanket thrown over some logs as a makeshift cover. You sat up and a coat rolled off of you and onto the sand below. Everything was covered in a light dusting of mist and dew from the morning air and you could hear the gentle lapping of waves coming from a few feet past your tent and the crackling of a fire. You slowly crawled out of the tent, the chilly morning air combined with the breeze coming off of the water chilling you. Ranboo sat next to the fire, book in hand but not moving, totally spaced out. You crawled the rest of the short distance and Ranboo looked up at you and smiled. “Good morning! Did you get much sleep?” You sat across from him, the fire now in between the two of you. “Yes, actually. I never used to get much sleep because of my dreams, but lately they’ve been somewhat bearable.” He smiled politely at you and you smiled back, happy from the warmth coming from the fire and the thought of his kindness.

You both sat there talking for at least an hour about random little details about your lives, relishing in the sweet breeze. He asked questions about your dreams and you explained them the best you could. He listened intently as you recalled details about your life that you got to relive in your dreams. A lot of them were horrible stories to relive, but the dreams helped you resolve a lot of conflicts through the years. When the conversation finally switched, Ranboo told you stories about his life. He admitted to not remembering a lot of it, but he had been doing research and keeping track of things by writing them in his books. He flipped through a couple pages and let you look at a few. There were scratches of pictures and notes written in another language across various pages. He didn’t let you look much longer and shut the book quickly, seeming to realize something or had seen something. He went idle for a moment and you sat there in silence, the fire long forgotten about as the embers glowed. 

“Ranboo?” His eyes glazed over, staring off towards the prison. His mouth made small movements, seeming to be whispering quietly to himself. “Ranboo,” you said again, this time reaching out to touch his shoulder. He looked at you slowly, mind clearly stuck in a fog. He looked at you inquisitively but said nothing. You remembered hearing him say something about an enderwalk state and assumed this is what he meant. It didn’t last very long though as his eyes came back into focus, regaining their vibrant hues. “Well, we should head off,” you said, happy to have him back but wanting to play it off in case it made him uncomfortable. He stared at you for a moment longer before nodding his head, getting up, and packing away the tent supplies. 

The trip back was quiet and slightly tense, but still comfortable. There was a sense of calm and trust, but also caution and doubt. He didn’t ask what happened and you didn’t mention it. If he wanted to talk about it more, he would and that would be his choice. He seemed to shy away from the topic in passing anyway so why bring it up on purpose? Same went for your previous dreams. Thinking back on what DreamXD had said made you question so many things. You wanted to trust these people, but why should you? He made a very good point about that. Ranboo seemed to be the only one you could currently trust. But what did you want? He mentioned power, but it was never really about that… Right? Why were you a figure head before? You thought back about your time as a ruler, remembering certain details that pointed to you loving the power you had. The way everyone loved you and did as you told them to. The way you could get your hands dirty and still have people trust and fear you at the same time. People knew not to get in your way, but they also knew they could trust you with their problems and count on you to resolve things quickly without error. Maybe it really was about power? Or maybe you loved the thrill of being in control of so many people’s lives. Or maybe you just loved how people bent to your will without it being questioned. Whatever it was, you had a week to think about it before having to give DreamXD your answer.

[jennsmischievousmind]

Fucks not Found

One, but not done [END]

Ch1 Ghosts | Ch2 Florence | Ch3 A Matter of Seconds | Ch4 I need a Backdoor | Ch5 Die Hard | Ch6 White Flag | Ch7 Haunt the Living | Ch 8 One, but not done [end]

Seven sighed as One disappeared when it was time to pack everything "Is he always like that or is he just being purposefully annoying?”

“How the fuck would I know?!” Three slammed a crate on the ground, holding his back like an old man.

“Who?” you were all packing the mission’s gear in the Haunted House.

“One,”

“Purposefully, no doubt!” you chuckled.

Later you knocked on his trailer door,

"Old man, we have to talk,"

"Let me guess, you want a bigger trailer so you and skater boy could go at it, not gonna happen,"

"Hum .. not exactly, look I know it's the first rule you told us about, and we broke it, actually 4 of us broke it. We're human One,"

He sighed "I just.. need you to be focus on the job."

"We are fo-.."

"Getting shot prove that you were focus," he threw his phone on the desk

"Alright you got a point,"

"These numbers are for your own safety," he stated angrily "but I guess now it's all fucked up."

"Not necessarily, I mean, now we all know each other better, we have better bonds,"

"Tell me about it," you smirked at his saying "... actually don't," he furrowed his eyebrows as you chuckled.

"Think about it," you pointed out as you were stepping out "this team, could do so much more,"

He nodded and something snapped.

"Hold on," he rummaged through a drawer to finally hand you a silver key, his eyes changed for a second “Might be cliché but he would have been proud.”

Smiling slightly at One, you left to open your brother's safe.

There were photographs, a few envelopes with the same cachet and a P/O box address on it.

One of the photographs, in black and white yellowed by the time showed your Mamma and Papa at your age in front of the Coliseum, looking happy as ever, the warmth of their smiled enveloping you instantly. Another one with your Mamma in swims wear gracefully sat on the sand, holding both of you. You were so tiny, wearing terrible hats and frowning at the sun. You found yourself laughing, a tear landing on the envelope’s corner behind the pictures.

Setting aside those pictures, you flicked the envelope open. Eyes scanning the document multiple times you were not sure what you were reading. Palm against your agape mouth, you read the main text.

 “Dear Anonymous donator,

We would like to thank you for all these years of generosity. Your help has given access healthcare to people in dread need of it. With the help of caring people such as yourself, we have been able to afford the construction of a new volunteer centre, which will provide a facility to help maximize the amount of lives we can save.

Your last donation in date had us all profoundly touch and grateful.

We will never not be thankful enough. We wish we had a name to put on the facility’s wall. But we respect your privacy and so we’ll stop asking from now on.

All proceeds of your donations advance our lifesaving mission.

Thank you, dear anonymous donator.“

The tears blurred your vision until you couldn't see through it. He had found his anchor.

You cried, not of sadness but of proudness. For you he was still the kid throwing stones on the neighbor’s roof, the one who couldn’t sleep on stormy nights, the teen who cried when his crush rejected him. He was your anchor for years.

One paid you much more than you needed to live. You assumed now your brother had donated the payment. And all these years when he worked multiple jobs... it all became clear.

"You were the better twin, baby brother!" You mumbled to yourself.

Weeks later the Donations continued yet the anonymous donator had a found an alias.

Six

Passing by the pool you stopped once more before leaving the scorching desert until One would need you.

Weeks ago you brother was laughing at you on the other side of this very pool, these memories were gold now, they didn’t make you sad anymore, you grinned remembering him holding his chest while laughing on the ground, little fucker.

“Hey luv,”

“Hey,” he sat next to you on the edge of the empty pool

"So we're out?" His hand snaked around your waist bringing you closer.

"Not for now," you smiled thinking about this time spend with this weird squad, eager for a new operation.

“So where shall we go until next,”

“You're ready to stick with me? Are you mad?" He laughed as you touched his forehead for any kind of fever.

"Banged my head a few times yeah, but I'm pretty sure I'm mad...about you."

"God you spent to much time around One." He gently reached for your jaw turning your head to him, the blush creeping on your cheeks not helping to hide that you actually liked that he was ready to come with you anywhere, he leaned in for a quick kiss.

.

The warm air and sounds of busy streets of Italy passing through the ajar window woke you up. Looking at your watch on the bedside table you immediatly turn your back to it, snuggling back into Four's chest. Too early. The night was short.

"What do you say about Transylvania?" he mindlessly ran pattern on your back with his warm fingers.

"For what? Vampire retreat?"

"Hiking, but I can bite" feeling his teeth of soft spot on your neck you squirmed.

"Aouch, alright, we'll go to Transylvania tomorrow. I got to see my brother first."

He nodded, his smile sliding off.

"What?"

"I'm...I'm not really comfortable with...mourning," he played with your fingers on his chest avoiding your look "I ..uh.."

"Calm down babe," you straddled him, the sheet sliding down your bare body "I'm not asking you to come with me." You chuckled at his concerned face, and his lost of attention at the sight of your naked body.

He sighed, "You know he was like a brother to me..." you tilted your head watching him

"That would be weird.." you removed your hands from his

"shit no not a brother," he caught your hands putting them right back on his chest" a .. a best friend,"

"Stop talking," you leaned in, enclosing his lips with yours. His hands immediatly reached your tighs, you felt a shiver ran his chest as your finger brushed his skin from his throat to his navel. A firm squeezed on your thighs made you giggled, he was so easy to trigger.

He sat up, one of his arm tightly set around your low back while the other snake to your back, his hand holding the back your neck. A lovely mess of tangled limbs in silk sheet was all you were. You pushed him back on the bed, holding his hands up his head.

You nibbled on his earlobe, and chuckled when he groaned at the ministrations trying to fight your hold on him. He could easily removed himself from your grip, guess he wouldn't this time.

Finding your way down his neck, chest, navel ... taking your sweet time until you reach the point of no return. He gasped, his head lolling back on the pillow "God I love Italy,"

.

“Ciao brother” cross seating at the grave of his fake death, there were flowers already with a cup of mochaccino beside it, you laughed, only One person could have done that. Glancing at your own grave, you shivered at your name engraved in the marble stone.

You recall the all mission as if your twin was there listening to you, “This one is for you, and the next, and the next.” You breathe in feeling tears coming up, “I kept your cross," you scoffed, "you can thank Four for that. As long as I have it, I’ll have you, mammà and papa with me promise.” kissing the cross you left a single tear rolled down your face.

One knew how to be a ghost, perfectly, no one could trace him, anyone but you. .... The gps tracker in his watch helped. If he knew, he’d probably wouldn’t be happy, but hey he is your cash source can’t lose an eye on him.

“So, that’s your secret!” looking at the little boy in the playground whom looked like the man beside you.

“Shit! He jumped

“Hey,” you grinned leaning on the grid, sliding your shades down.

“Aren’t you supposed to be OUT of Italy?” he groaned

“It’s my homeland One, what’d you expect?” you pointed at your wig and shades “Disguise,”

“It’s always better than Three’s in Vegas,” He joked “You’re kicked out, it’s immediate,” He stated, not even believing it himself.

“Yeaaaah, I don’t think so,” you nudged his shoulder. A ghost of a grin appeared knowingly.

"Do you follow everyone, or are you my private stalker?"

"You really wanna know!?" You shifted on your two feet, he got the idea that everyone had a stalker in the name of Eight.

"Cleavers," you used his own line

"Shut up," he answered tired of your shit, resulting in you laughing a bit too loud.

Regaining a sense of calm you felt he was still uneasy about you seeing his son. “Your secret is safe with me old man,” He nodded a tight smile on his lips, and somehow he knew he could trust you.

“Haunted house, in a week.”

“Noted.” Saluting with two-fingers you took a few steps back still eyeing him with fondness, proudness, maybe not just a cash source in the end. He flicked you off, a bright smile spread on your face.

“Where’s Four by the way?” he called out

“Somewhere on the roofs, he can’t help it.”

He lifted his head, you took this time to disappear around the corner.

Calling Four you stumble upon his voicemail “Skater boy, you better bring down your cute ass. We’re heading back to the Haunted House in a week. Mission 2 is coming. Love ya!”

A week later

"Please don't,"

"One, I only hugged her for a second," you rolled your eyes. Five was still holding your shoulders.

"Tell me you're not going to freak out everytime two of us are close,"

Two had a grin on, Five was being clingy on purpose. It had been a month since you've seen everyone, except Four and One. You had missed everyone, Five especially, after the parkour lessons, the incident on the yacht you had become close friends.

"Hey squad," Four let his skate rolled until it hit a wall. He reached you kissing your cheek, then sending you a wink as he took a seat next to Three. You eyed One, holding a laugh, Five carefully removed her hands from around your arm. Four looked dumbfounded as One sighed, staring at you. He then flung his arms in the air.

"Fucking Millennials!"

Thanks to everyone who read, liked, commented on Fucks not Found. It was fun to write, let me know what could be improved, I'm still working on my english that's why everything is not perfect and quite limited. Looking forward a new story. Thanks again.

A/N: don't forget to double tap if you liked it. 🙏