#there is NO reason why anyone's skin tone should get changed this drastically and that's not even mentioning the facial features

[softpine]

what if you wanted to see your sim in cute 90s fashion but AI said

[gojology]

— Gojo and Nanami | Their Insecurities

pairing : insecure gojo x gender neutral reader, insecure nanami x gender neutral reader warnings : unedited, probably some misspellings, maybe some cursing, i probably dont make sense at all wordcount : 1703 a/n : this is so bad dear god please forgive me for deeming this as content

GOJO SATORU ‧₊˚✩彡.

☆ Gojo’s insecure about his lack of bodyhair. His lack of facial hair and arm hair worries him. Being babyfaced wasn’t something positive in his eyes- no, he wishes he was physically more masculine.

   Your eyes meet his, the sun rays bathing both of you in an orange filtered light. His mouth is slightly opened, skin flush to the touch. After a night of intimacy, your ready for another round, pushing your palm towards his forehead. “Good morning, Satoru.” you say, voice slightly wavering even in the most private presence, without the formalities and what not, he’s surprisingly normal, and it’s taken you a bit to adjust to that. He’s warm, but it’s the good kind of warm, and it shows on his silly, dopey smile.

    You guess it wasn’t the time for more sex, so you resist your urges, directing the energy to something else.

    Gradually, your palms find themselves on his cheeks, and you pinch them slightly, giving him a look you hope is loving- because you really do mean it. Your rest assured, as the curve to his swollen lips grew even wider. The sounds of bird chirped as your fingers danced across his jawline, finally at your final stop, his chin. 

    You tip his chin up, and sure enough, hickeys are adorning his neck. A feeling of joy and honor fills you for a brief second, you were the one that was allowed to see him vulnerable, given the pass into his locked up heart. He finally breaks the silence between the two of you, pushing away your slack hand delicately. 

    It’s peculiar, there’s a tremble to his lips, like he’s scared, or about to burst into a fit of tears. You think it should be the other way around, but here you were, arms held close to your chest, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation, bated breath preventing you from questioning the sudden change in tone. 

    “Hey, um, Y/N, weird ass question, but, am I hairy? Like, wooly mammoth hairy?” 

    You can’t tell if it’s sarcasm or not.

    Trying not to make a face, you shrug your shoulders. “Well, I mean, not really. You’re actually pretty nonhairy, in terms of uh... The average-” you pause, realizing how drastically his face fell. “-But I do like non-hairy guys! Who would wanna date a wooly mammoth anyways? Hey, baby..” you coo, giving him a tiny peck on the cheek, fluttering your eyelashes.     “What’s this about? Hey, you know, you can just be straightforward with me, I don’t mind.” 

    He doesn’t take a moment of hesitation, exasperatedly blurting out, “Does my lack of.. Hair, bother you?” but it seems he regrets it, your cheeks puffing up, stifling a giggle. Yet, he maintains the bone-chilling eye contact, his eyes are as vivid as ever, so blue it looked like the entrance to heaven. Your immediately lulled, whatever he was going to say was definitely urgent.

    “W-What? Are you being serious?” covering your mouth, your voice is muffled, but his face looks absolutely terrified, and you relish in how funny he looked. It wasn’t everyday that he was genuinely frightened, well, maybe he didn’t show it often.    “Of course not! Why would I be even remotely worried about bodyhair when I have something way more eye-catching in front of me?”

    The shock turns into a sheepish smile, returning for a second time, your heart melting instantly. He takes a long, deep breath, exhaling the tension away, tugging at the covers to go over his chest. You hadn’t realized that he had stolen more than half of the blanket for himself, but you don’t make a fuss about it. 

    For all the weight he carried on his sagging shoulders, you’re sure the warmth is appreciated. 

NANAMI KENTO ‧₊˚✩彡.

☆ Nanami thinks he’s a boring person, through and through. Outside of work, he doesn’t see why anyone would want him. Some days, he wonders if he should pick up on Gojo’s personality, telling jokes and being sarcastic and what not.

   The fine, white porcelain Nanami had gifted you was beautiful, to say the least. Nanami frequently shone it until it glimmered in the light, wiping any smudge or speck of dirt that dared to get on his beloved tea set that he gifted to you a few months prior. Gold trim, alongside depictions of birds fluttering about, and your favorite flowers. It’s perfect for you, and that’s why he had gotten it. His eyes had instantly brightened, picturing your beaming face as you served the two of you some tea.

   But he wonders, would you be happier if he perhaps gifted you something more up to date in comparison to the porcelain? He had enough money to buy you the world, bags, jewelry, he’d often used to hear stories of his co-workers giving their wives expensive, well, anything, and they’d be over the moon. A sudden realization grew inside of him at the thought of this:    

   Was he too out-of-date?    

   The thought went rampant in his usually collected mind, twisting and turning at night, only the sound of you, deep in sleep, could calm the troubled man down. As a consequence to his overthinking, he got little to no rest, and if he got little to no rest, his eyebags would turn their ugly, sneering faces in his direction.

     And so, as he’s baking tea cakes to go along with the afternoon tea the two of you would routinely drink, he’s going deep into depth of himself. He’s a good worker, good at...

     What was he good at? Aside from work, he can’t see why he’d be of use. Nanami acknowledges he’s stoic, which may be good in some cases, but often, everyone runs away from him because he appears as scary with those cold, calculating eyes. As opposed to Gojo, everyone enjoyed how lenient of a teacher he was. Well, Nanami isn’t sure on that, maybe aside from Megumi, Nobara, and Yuuji, everyone hated that. Regardless, him and Gojo don’t share something in common.

     Gojo has humor, and he doesn’t. 

     So why did you like him? 

     Nanami’s subconsciously drumming his long, bony fingers against the counter, eyes studying the ceiling like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do. Steadily, an acrid smell completely overwhelmed your senses- now, you’re hacking into your arm, and finally, Nanami comes back to Earth. 

     He blinks a few times, like he’s drinking in his surroundings, before he realizes the tea cakes are completely burning into a crisp.

Now, he’s on heightened alert, yanking open the handle to the oven and fanning out the flames with a random oven mitt he had hastily grabbed for. Beads of sweat are developing on his skin, before finally, you rush in, still hacking up a storm with a large pot of freezing water in your shaking hands.

     Nanami curses himself for ever appearing as informal, but then he remembers he’s infront of his significant other, he didn’t have to put on an act. His face relaxes, and he opens his mouth to speak, to apologize, but he’s paused- by you. You raise your palm up at him, the other hand opening up a window looking over the garden.

      “Nana.” he freezes completely, the affectionate nickname was specially reserved for confrontations like this. You spoke softly, which, for some reason, was significantly worse than you screaming into his ear. Your eyes follow suit, staring at his collar, loosening his tie. He winces, but Nanami’s not sure why he does. You had touched him millions of times, so why was it now that he didn’t accept it?

     “Yes, my love?” he finally breathes out, wrapping a strong, gentle arm around your waist just loosely. You place your thumb just below his lower lip, your index finger rubbing his plush lips all at the same time. The exchange is purely affectionate, yet, he’s still tense. 

    “What has gotten into you?” you murmur. 

    “I- Nothing, darling, I’ll bake another-” 

    “No.” is all you say before you grab him by the chin, unwavering. Usually, those piercing eyes of his are emotionless, something shocking. The eyes are the gateway to the soul, so why is it that it’s blocked off? But you guess it wasn’t the case here, he stared back with the same level of intensity, fear and peculiarity. You stay in that position for a little, savoring just how much you must mean to him, it wasn’t everyday he was vulnerable and let you inside.      Your breathing is heavy, eyelids heavy as well due to his routinely ruckus every night, but you’re determined to erase any trace there was left of that.       You kiss him. It’s sloppy, yet chaste. A fight for dominance usually occurs between the two of you, and almost routinely, Nanami wins, but this time, he lets you do the work. 

   Your lips never once trail away from his own. Heavy breathing through nostrils, hands roaming where it shouldn’t at such an early time, but who gave a fuck about the rules? It wasn’t a workplace, and you’d never let it be one. He clings onto your figure, you savor his muscular physique. Not once do his hands not roam, your flesh was his, and his was yours. 

    Finally, you pull away, heat rising to your cheeks, tears are beginning to dawn on your glassy eyes. “I’ve listened to you roll around in bed every night, mumbling shit about how you don’t see why I’d want you. You better donate your eyes and brain to charity right now.” 

   This wasn’t the reaction, or beatdown he was expecting. He flinches at the vivid image he got of you gouging out his eyeballs. “...Why must I do that? 

   “Because, you don’t use them, obviously. If you took a fucking second of your life to look deeper into your personality below the surface level, you’d see how fucking amazing you are and I love you for that.” 

   Shaking your head furiously, you shush him up yet again when he finally decides to speak up, tears are beginning to spill down your cheeks. “Shut up, Nana. Shut. Up.” pulling him in for another kiss, your hands grabbing at his shoulder like he was going to let go. 

   But he never did. 

[prioritysope]

Trust

Reader: Female

Character: Hawks

Rating: Explicit

Summary: After a long day, you arrive home, finding a letter saying that your fiancé. Takami Keigo, is cheating on you. So you decide to confront him, he denies these accusations and he decides to fuck those thoughts off of you.

Tags: Established Relationship, Angst, Mirror Sex, Vaginal Sex, Breeding, Oral Sex (f. receiving), Degradation, Dacryphilia, Slight Orgasm Denial, Slight Praise, Edging, Swearing, Dirty Talk, Overstimulation, Choking, Daddy Kink.

At this rate, you no longer knew how many hours you had been crying, but when you looked at yourself in the huge full-length mirror that was in the corner of the room, you noticed your eyes already swollen and red. Just remembering the reason for your tears, more fell on your cheeks and you were already physically and emotionally tired to continue.

When you got to the apartment you share with your fiancé, Hawks, you noticed an envelope as soon as you walked in. Frowning, out of clear confusion. You looked at the clock that was in the living room.

7:15 pm

There were still a couple of hours until Keigo returned from his patrol. You looked doubtfully at the envelope that was in your hands. It had your full name in some ugly handwriting. Inside you felt a hunch, because the letter did not contain the address of the apartment, so the person had to know where you lived and bring it themself. You went to the room you shared with Hawks.

“I hope this is joke from Keigo or some neighbor.” You whispered to yourself while looking for a razor to open the envelope. Finding it, you sat on the edge of the bed. Your hand was shaking a little, but you were able to tear the happy envelope and remove the paper that was there. You left the torn piece of paper on the bed, keeping the letter. With some fear you opened the letter.

You read everything calmly. The tears did not stop falling down your cheeks until some fell on the piece of paper. You couldn’t believe what you just read. Hawks cheating on you? It was impossible. You doubted with all your heart the fact that your boyfriend, now fiancé, from five years ago is unfaithful to you. However, you were also beginning to think that it was true, so you decided that you would face him and have him confirm it himself.

You were in a complete trance, still standing in front of the mirror; however, the sound of keys and a door opening pulled you out of it. You felt an electric current run down your spine, knowing that Keigo came from his night patrol.

“I’m here, baby!” You heard Hawks voice. You went to bed, took the letter, placing it in the back pocket of your shorts. Each time you heard his footsteps approaching the room, which caused more nerves in you. You swallowed hard when Keigo walked in, his face was relaxed, but as soon as he saw your face, it changed drastically. “Y/n, love. What’s wrong? Are you feeling bad?”

You felt like you were short of air. Seeing his worried face made your blood boil. Your lips parted, as if you were going to say something, but nothing came out. Although you are almost nowhere to explode from anger and sadness, the nerves would not leave you.

Hawks approached you, standing a few inches from your body. His right hand rested on your waist, trying to get close to his body. However, with some force, your right hand hit Keigo’s cheek, making him turn his head to his right. The impact was strong, that his cheek began to turn red. He looked at you confused at your action. He brought his left hand to rest on his own cheek, gently massaging it.

“What was that for?” His voice was deep, it sounded mad, but there was still a hint of concern in his gaze. His golden eyes sparkled.

You let out a sigh, relaxing a bit.

“How much longer are you going to pretend you love me?” You let out almost screaming as the tears threatened to come out again. You wanted to swallow everything and be strong, but just imagining your partner kissing and touching another person in the same way that he does with you, it hurts like a thousand daggers in your heart.

“Pretend? What the fuck are you talking about?” There was clear confusion on his face at your accusation. He tried again to get closer to you, but again you pushed him away. You needed a lot of explanations. “Love, tell me what’s going on. You’re worrying me.”

“You have a minute to explain this shit to me.” You snapped, throwing the letter in his face, which he took a long time to take. He opened it with some curiosity in her golden eyes. She read everything calmly, frowning at hers. Her gaze shifted from the piece of paper to you. He gulped loudly. “Time is running out, Takami.” You warned.

“Y/n, babe. I can assure you this is false. You know I hardly have time for you in general because of the many missions the Commission orders me to do. You have to trust me, sweetie.” Keigo whispered, as he took your hand again, this time you let him. He pulled you close to his body, feeling a certain warmth to wrap you around. It was incredible that you had a few words from Keigo and you were already believing him, but this time, you felt a great distrust in all this.

How did he pretend that with that you would already believe him? How did he pretend that with that you would already believe him and everything will be as if nothing? Although you hated yourself for mistrusting him so easily, for he never gave you reasons to doubt him. However, it was not so easy when it would not be the first time you were cheated on. and everything will be as if nothing? Although you hated yourself for mistrusting him so easily, for he never gave you reasons to doubt him. However, it was not so easy when it would not be the first time you were cheated on.

“I know I shouldn’t doubt you, but this is all very weird, Keigo. This came to me today. Who is going to want to separate us when we’ve been together for four years? At this rate, I don’t think anyone.” You said against his chest, letting a couple of tears fall down your cheeks, again. They both stayed like that for a couple of minutes, totally silent. After a while, Hawks attached you more to his body, being able to feel something hard brush your thigh, causing you to abruptly separate from him. You looked at him with an arched brow, gently denying him. You couldn’t believe this. “Please tell me that you haven’t been turned on by this whole situation.”

“Can you blame me? If you look extremely sexy while you’re angry and with tears on your beautiful face. It makes you want to rub your face on the mattress while I penetrate your tight pussy like there is no tomorrow.” Hawks murmured, a smirk on his lips.

Your cheeks turned a crimson color at the words that came from the hero’s lips. No matter how long they were together, you were always surprised by the fact that Keigo turned almost everything to something sexual and many of the times he managed to get you where he wants you. You wanted this time to be different, you wanted to stand firm.

“The real question here is. Why the hell do you think about those things? We’re practically in the middle of an argument over alleged infidelity on your part. But you act like you don’t care in the least.” You said with clear annoyance in your voice.

“Come on, princess. It pains me to know that you doubt me, when I have never given you reasons to think that I am truly unfaithful to you.” Now it was Hawks who seemed irritated with the whole thing, which pissed you off even more. “Let me show you how much I love you and that you are the only one in my life.”

You felt it was stupid for him to get mad. The one who should be furious is you, and so you were. You felt your blood boil with each word and attempt to touch you that Keigo gave. Your hands made fists, but it was so strong, even the knuckles looked a little white. Your mind was blank, your throat felt dry.

Keigo approached you again, but this time you stayed still in your place. She grabbed you by the waist to turn you around and get back to the mirror. You felt his hands walk through your curves. From your waist, he went down to your thighs, which he spread to your breasts. You kept your gaze on the ground, you wanted to keep your dignity.

“Look in the mirror.” Hawks said with a commanding tone. You bit your lower lip, trying to suppress any sounds that wanted to come out of your mouth. Then you felt your fiancé’s hand wrap around your neck, making you look at your own reflection in the mirror. You felt the various rings on his hand. “Don’t play hard, baby. I can bet how wet you are for me.”

With those words, your boyfriend slid his free hand down your side. You cursed wearing only your boyfriend’s shirt and your panties. Hawks’s hand went straight to your crotch. You tried to close your thighs, but this one did not allow it. His hand wandered under your shirt, so he could touch your hot skin more directly. Going up to your chest, taking one and squeezing it a bit. He also pinched your nipple to continue his way south. He reached for your panties, entering slowly. His long fingers trailed over your wet folds, drawing a gasp from you.

Your breathing began to shake at such stimulation. Sometimes Keigo brushed your ignored clit, making you moan. You hated the fact that he had so much power over you and your body. A big part of you wanted to push him and continue the discussion, but your other part wanted to play along. And the way things were going, it would all end with the second option.

“You look so beautiful in my shirt, too bad you won’t last long with it on.” He whispered in your ear, kissing your ear and then biting the lobe. Such action elicited a somewhat high-pitched moan from you, quickly flushing with embarrassment. You practically threw your dignity to the ground, all because you were weak to the blonde’s touch. “Keep making those sounds for me, princess.”

As the minutes passed, everything became too hot, you did not know if it was because of the heat or the situation so compromising. Hawks slid his hand out of your underwear, then down until he could throw it across the room. With care, he began to spread kisses down the back of your thighs, also sliding his tongue and leaving some bites.

“So beautiful… so perfect. I don’t know how you can believe that I have been cheating on you, if all I want is to get home so I can see you and fuck you against the mattress.” He whispered towards your skin, leaving one last bite in your soft skin.

“N-no, s-stop.” You begged still with heavy breathing. You didn’t even know why you kept asking him to stop, when deep inside you wanted him to go on and fulfill his promise to fuck that idea out of your head.

“Come on princess. I know you’re a good girl, don’t be a brat.” Keigo whispered against your ear. You could feel his breath against your neck, making you squirm under his touch. He moved away from your body for a while. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Hawks making his way to the speaker in the corner of the room. He turned it on, quickly connecting his phone and going to Spotify. “I hope you’re ready, baby. Because I won’t stop until you understand that you are mine and I am completely yours.”

With the first few seconds of the melody playing loudly, you could easily recognize the song: Into It by Chase Atlantic. Currently now everything was more in the mood.

You heard soft footsteps behind you until you felt your boyfriend’s hands on your waist. Then he took the shirt you were still wearing, pulling it off easily. You were completely naked in front of his eyes, which were filled with lust. You felt like he was fucking you just by seeing you, which made you a little flustered. Keigo is usually extremely passionate, but when he’s jealous or angry, everything gets wilder. Leaving you without the ability to walk the next day.

With both hands, Hawks spread your butt cheeks, giving himself a good view of your dripping pussy for him. He slowly licked his lips. He desired to devour you as if you were his last meal. There is nothing more Keigo loves, than eating your pussy with devotion. Also adding his fingers, to ride your orgasm, seeing your legs shaking and moaning his name as if it was the only thing you could say.

With the music still going, Hawks decide to continue. With his right hand, he brushed against your womanhood, making you gasp slightly and throwing your head back. His hand felt cold, but it felt good. With two of his fingers, he traced soft, slow circles across your neglected clit. You bit your lower lip, you felt faint with something so simple, causing you to hold the mirror tightly.

Takami scooped up some of your fluids, bringing those same fingers to your mouth. You opened your mouth, taking both digits. You moaned as your fluids made contact with your tongue. You ran your tongue through both thick fingers, until you felt like you were choking because Hawks introduced them to your throat.

“Taste your own juices, darling.” He murmured, his voice huskier and deeper than normal. “Your lewd expressions… so sexy.” You let out a surprised gasp at a new sensation until you lowered yourself to your breasts, seeing Hawks’s other hand with one of his feathers circling your nipples. If before with only his fingers you were already twisting, now it was more. Keigo pulled his fingers out of your mouth, spreading some of the saliva on your cheeks and going down to stroking your clit again.

“K-Keigo-” You stifled a groan when your boyfriend pinched your clit, sending you waves of pleasure mixed with pain. You arched your back a little, moving towards him a little, looking for more contact and only received a spank from him.

“Use your big girl words.” He groaned, spanking you again, leaving his five fingers etched into your smooth skin. You tried to speak, but now Keigo began to stimulate your clitoris more, probing those same fingers through your wet entrance; but without penetrating you. “I told you something.”

“I need your fingers, please. Fuck me.” You begged, letting out a sigh. You lowered your gaze to the mirror in front of you, seeing your own face. Totally flushed, strands of saliva running down the corner of your lips and onto your cheeks. Also some tears running down your cheeks, because of the pleasure that was beginning to invade your body. “Please.”

“Your wishes are orders, princess.”

By the reflection of the mirror you saw the malicious smile on his lips. He circled your entrance, then inserted his index finger. He slowly thrusted that finger in and out, enjoying your tightness and wetness. You were so wet, even your own fluids were sliding down your thighs. After minutes, he added a second finger, to make his thrusts harder and deeper. His fingers touched places you thought were impossible. You tried to suppress your moans and gasps, but it was impossible.

“You’re taking my fingers so well.” I have let out a deep growl, without stopping the thrusts. With his thumb, he made circular motions on your clit; giving you an immense surge of pleasure. You lifted your pelvis, riding his fingers, seeking more pleasure. “My dirty little slut so desperate.” He continued with his work inside you, while with the feather he had in his other hand, sliding it down your stomach.

Little by little you began to feel the familiar knot in your abdomen, you arched your back. Your moans were more constant. Every second your orgasm was getting closer and closer, and you were hoping that the fact that you were clenching around your boyfriend’s fingers would notice and make you cum. However, when you were about to, Keigo pulled his fingers out of nowhere, leaving you feeling empty inside and clenching around nothing.

A whimper escaped your lips, giving the blonde a pleading look, but he only gave you a mocking smile.

“Were you going to cum? Oh, I didn’t realize, do you want me to continue?” His tone of voice was sarcastic, totally making fun of your state as he admired you in the mirror. He slapped your sloppy cunt a couple of times, eliciting a high-pitched moan from you.

However, Hawks didn’t even give you time to respond when he already had you lying on your back in the center of the bed. Fully open legs. Your boyfriend looked at you just like a hunter to his prey. He was still wearing his hero clothes, pulling a pout out of you. You wanted to see his bare naked body.

Keigo stood in front of the bed, his eyes glued to your body. He loved to admire every inch of your body before devouring you. He slowly began to remove his clothes, tossing them to the sofa that was on the corner of the room. Once naked, with a smirk on his lips, he climbed onto the bed. He leaned between your legs, taking your thighs in his hands. He deposited a bunch of kisses and bites on them, before coming face to face with your throbbing cunt. With two of his fingers, he parted your folds, revealing your entire core. You heard how Hawks spat on your clit and with those fingers he scrubbed everything.

You arched your back when you felt the blonde’s tongue pacing from your entrance to your nervous little friend. Then the same two fingers enter your interior again. The movements were slow, while he kept playing and stimulating your clit with his mouth and tongue. You tried to hold back the moans, not even biting your lip could do it. Hawks was like this for a couple of minutes, constantly driving you to orgasm, but stopping just in time. Which made you whimper as you squirmed under his hands.

“So fucking good.” He moaned against your clit, his voice rough with lust.

A high whine left your lips as your back arched. Your hands reach down and dig into the messy blonde hair you loved so much. Dragging his fat wet tongue up and down your slit.

After hanging around you for a while, he removed his fingers from inside you and brought those same fingers to his mouth, letting out a growl.

He settled between your legs, lifting them until the back of your knees were in his arms. You were totally open to him, which made you blush.

“I’m gonna fuck you dumb. So dumb that all you’re to do is moan nothing more than my name.” Hawks growled. Hi slips found yours once again in the night.

The pair of you moaned as his tip slid along your entrance, but once you felt him bottom out inside, you couldn’t hold back your loud moan. The pressure of his cock against your cervix was all encompassing.

“God dammit…” Hawks moaned, teeth sinking into your neck as he rocked his hips into you. His eyes were glowing with determination and awe.

Hawks’s soft groans filled your ears as his thrusts grew in strength and pace, his cock pistoning into you with enough force to shove your back onto the bed.

“Oh god.” You cry out, trying to catch your breath as the brutal warmth from before returns. Your entire body was trembling with need of reaching your precious orgasm.

Hawks snapped his lips onto yours. His mouth moved in sync with yours, making it hard to breathe but you could care less as his sweet taste coated your tongue. You let yourself become lost in his touch.

He continued to whisper naughty things into your ear, his hand eventually wrapping around your throat as he makes sure you look into his eyes when you stumble over the edge.

“Such a cockhungry slut.” He hisses under his breath.

You feel the pulsation of his cock against your spongy walls, his hands nervously roaming your body and groping one of your tits, as he continues to abuse your throbbing cunt.

“S-So good…so fucking good, nngh-” Your little whimpers and whines are slurred, barely coherent as the feeling of being filled to the brim pushes you into a haze of pleasure.

A deep, guttural moans leaves the both of you when he pulls himself out of your tight hole, dragging his huge cock along the walls of your little cunt in the most deliclous way possible before he almost brutally shoves himself back in again.

“Just like that, you little slut.” He grunts, sitting up on hus knees, his eyes focusing the way his fat cock stretches your hole just how you loved.

As time went by, you wanted to try to drive him crazy. And the only thing you thought was to slowly caress your boyfriend’s feathers, eliciting a high-pitched moan from him and making him look at you badly. Just when you wanted to continue, he took both of your wrists and with his quirk, he held your wrists over your head. Keeping you still onto the bed.

“Let’s see if this would keep you still and without touching my wings.” He grunted low.

His thrust went back to a steady rhythm, hard and so, so deep.

“Open your mouth.” Hawks grunts. He see how you obey him and later a single drop of spit get in your tongue. “Swallow my spit, whore.” And so you did. The loud, lewd sound of it rings in your ears in the best way possible and acting like a literal aphrodisiac in combination with the delicious taste of his saliva coating the hot musle of your tongue.

A row of loud, high pitched whines and a combination of sobs and moans are the only thing you manage to respond with, your brain clouded with the feeling of his thick cock dragging along the spongy walls of your cunt.

“Now go on, angel.” He growls, pushing his hand in between your legs to rub circles into your hardened clit. “I want you to cum for me. Be a good little dumpster for Daddy and show me what only I can do.”

You can barely process his words, the lewdness just fueling the fire in the pit of your stomach as you lose yourself in the feeling on your upcoming high. But you still start nodding, cringing at the feeling of your saliva dripping down your jawline.

And with one last thrust, you feel your high crashing down onto you with such a heaviness, you’re left absolutely breathless while your cunt keeps gushing your luquids onto the bed and Keigo’s abdomen.

Your whole body is trembling as the waves of your orgasm hit you, a row of incoherents words leaving your lips.

“That’s my baby.” Is the first thing your brain manages to process again, everything still a blurry mess and when you look at Keigo, you realize you’re still cumming.

Your cunt is almost painfully spasming around his big cock, your juices dripping down the sides of his length as he helps you ride out your orgasm.

“You’re such a good, good slut for Daddy, aren’t you?” His thrust a little sloppier than before and from the way he’s digging his fingers into the skin of your waist, you know that he’s also quite close.

“You’re also going to take all of Daddy’s cum, right, baby? We gotta make sure I fill you up nicely.”

You take a deep breath, your slightly overstimulated cunt sending shivers down your spine as your eyes focus on Keigo’s parted lips.

“Please, Daddy…need you to fill me up with your cum.” You encourage him and his body tenses up as his grip on your waist becomes firmer before he starts cumming inside of you with a deep, raspy moan; coating the walls in several shades of white with three thick spurts of his cum.

Hawks buries his face in the crook of your neck as he slowly calms down, loud breathing and rushed gasps for air the only thing to fill the insides of the empty room.

“I love you so much.” He whispers and gives you a soft kiss, his cock still firmly buried inside of your sensitive cunt before he shoots you a soft smile; looking almost boyish with his glossy eyes and flushed cheeks. “Promise me that you will not mistrust me again, baby.”

“I love you, too, D-Daddy.” you whisper, gulping harshly as the words leave your lips, feeling his strong yet comforting gaze. “And I promise you that I will trust you.”

[beautifulblhell]

One Last Time

A/N: Just some Atsumu angst bc I’m in the ‘mood’ lol 😭

WC: 1420

Tags: Angst, timeskip Atsumu

A special thanks to @bigbrain-nothoughts for helping me proofread this!!🥺🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️ Thank you so much!!!💕

The soft moonlight streamed through your window, a cool, gentle light that illuminated Atsumu’s features. A thin sheen of sweat covered both of your bodies, and under the silver light, it made Atsumu seem like he was glowing. He was leaning over you, giving you a brief moment of reprieve after the crashing pleasure you both felt moments ago. Your limbs were still tangled together, and the sound of your heavy breathing filled the quiet room.

Lifting your hand, your fingers strayed through his bleach blond hair. It was much longer than when you last saw him.

But of course, it has been a year.

“Like what you see?” Atsumu teased you when he saw you catch sight of his toned abs.

Atsumu gently brushed back a lock of your hair from your forehead, eyes softening unknowingly at your hesitant gaze.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” A hint of concern coloured his tone. Atsumu was never one for moments of silence - at least, not with you.

It was quick, you made sure of it, to commit every part of him

His eyes, those bewitching brown eyes that had you spellbound the moment you first gazed into them, were now gazing adoringly at you, and for a moment, the words that you’ve been keeping locked in your heart all these years nearly tumbled out of your mouth.

But you swallowed them back at the last second. Hiding behind a playful smile, you teased back, “Do you need a longer break?”

A laugh rumbled from his chest, a sound which you loved to hear, but at the same time brought a dull ache inside your chest. Suddenly, you arched your back and a inhaled sharp intake of breath.

“And you were saying?” Atsumu grinned, he languidly moved his hand, watching the way you unravelled before him.

“Atsumu,” you called out his name, desperation weaved into your voice. And the same desperation was mirrored in Atsumu’s movement.

Because both of you knew the time you had together now was precious.

Your name spilled from his lips in a low groan. He lifted your leg on his broad shoulders. His lips left a burning trail along your thighs, hot enough to melt your current worries away.

For now.

Your eyes caught sight of your alarm clock at your bedside table, the little blue light displayed the flashing figures: 03:30AM.

If only the night would go on forever.

**********

07:02am

You opened your eyes. To your dismay but also utter expectations, the other side of your bed was empty, cold to the touch, not a single sliver of warmth remained.

Again.

A part of you knew this was going to happen. Still, you held onto the small flame of hope that maybe, just maybe, he would stay.

“Stay with me.”

The words you could never say to Atsumu. Because it would be a shackle binding him to you, and you knew you couldn’t. Not for the sake of his career. And you’ve seen how hard he worked to get to where he is now. But a part of you still wanted him to stay, at least long enough for him to be there when you wake up.

Tear drops trickled silently onto the duvet. The scent of Atsumu faintly lingered on these very sheets — the only reminder of last night, but all too soon, even that will be gone, leaving only a ghost of him in your memories.

******

One last time.

That’s what Atsumu always told himself when he came knocking on your door at 2am, you were still bleary with sleep when he swoops in and kisses you with urgency, like a parched man on the desert finally finding an oasis. And everything would seem alright as he whispered sweet nothings into your lips and skin.

Sweet, empty promises that would never ring true once dawn broke. Then he would be gone. And when he would be back neither of you knew.

He tried his best, really, but the daily phone calls and text messages dwindled drastically once he began travelling out of the country for his games. He was well aware of your hesitance to contact him, fearing that you were getting in his way. Some nights he would stare at his phone screen, wondering if he should call you, but in the end, he never did.

He knew he could never give you the stable life you wanted, a husband that would come home on time every day, without getting the silent treatment for months before turning up on your doorstep suddenly.

But all that rationality was gone when he tasted your lips, and the feeling of your warmth.

One last time.

That’s what Atsumu always told himself.

The seasons swayed. Winter melted into spring, spring flowed into summer; the passage of time never waited.

When Atsumu finally came back to Japan, it had been more than two years.

A slight drizzle greeted him, and Atsumu used that as the excuse for the fast pace he was walking towards your house.

A hint of autumn lingered in the air. Time has chipped away fragments of familiar sceneries, but the familiar road leading to your house stayed the same. By the time he turned onto your street, he was nearly sprinting.

The familiar sight of your door brought a wave of nostalgia and comfort to Atsumu. Even if everything else changed, as long as you were here, it didn’t matter. Knocking on your door, Atsumu unconsciously swept his hair back, hoping the rain didn’t make his hair drizzle too much.

The door opened.

For a moment, the air stilled. The sound of rain hitting the pavement blurred out everything for Atsumu. The box of chocolates tumbled from his hands.

There you were, as beautiful as always, except…

Atsumu couldn’t breathe, as if a frost had descended upon his lungs and froze them.

You were holding a small toddler.

Atsumu knew immediately the child was yours. Those almond shaped eyes and nose.

You stared back, eyes wide.

“Tsumu,” your voice was barely above a whisper, but Atsumu couldn’t answer. A pain, as if physical, twisted against his heart, decapitating him of his words and movement, forcing him to stay frozen, unable to move forward nor backwards.

Someone called your name. A man appeared from inside with a concerned look. He placed a hand on your shoulders. Atsumu’s gaze landed on the silver ring on his ring finger, matching the one on your hand.

Move, Atsumu screamed internally at himself. Finally, his legs obeyed. Stumbling, before regaining control of his limbs, Atsumu turned to run, run back in time if he could. He vaguely heard you calling his name, but he ran blindly down the streets.

He ran until he couldn’t anymore, until his lungs were burning, but still, it didn’t make the pain in his chest lessen. If only he could outrun time, and wake up with you by his side once again. His pained pants were barely heard as the rain above him poured down. Atsumu tilted his face towards the suffocating grey sky. Droplets of rain fell unceasingly on his eyelashes, quivering, before falling, trailing down his cheeks. As if the heavens were crying the tears in his heart.

If only this rain would wash away the reason why he could never let you go that’s burning so strongly in his heart.

That’s when he realized.

The reason why he came back to you time after time.

The reason why he could never leave you.

Ah…

Because…

You were his ‘home’.

A torrent of memories crashed through him, nearly drowning him. Memories of you watching late night movies together, your hand running through his hair as he laid in your lap, the aroma of his favourite meals wafting from the kitchen, along with the scenes of the future he once dreamed of having with you.

The one person who he could always come back to, the one person whom he loved more than anyone.

He always thought he could tell you tomorrow, as you had forever ahead of you, but the tomorrow will never come. Because he has lost you forever.

*********

Soft golden brown eyes, ones that mirrored the man that just left, lingered at the closed door before peering at your contorted face.

‘It was better this way’, a phrase you’ve grown accustomed to telling yourself on days where that small flame of hope flickers in the depths of your heart.

It was better this way.

Then, you locked your door.

Masterlist | Ko-Fi | 2021.06.20

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

What's wrong with Echo?

Probably the most egregious whitewashing offense out of all of them is Echo. Compare how he looks now to what he used to look like:

After being frozen for over a year, he's lost all of his melanin. Many fans believe a year without sunlight while locked in a freezer will burn away every last drop of melanin someone has. This is not how melanin works. Those of us who share a skin tone equal to or darker than Echo's know that even years indoors won't lighten our skin to such a drastic shade like this--and no amount of nutritional deficiency and lack of sunlight will drain someone's melanin in such a manner. While certain environmental or traumatic factors can affect one's melanin output and lead to things like vitiligo, this is not the case with Echo, and as much as not been confirmed by the team (1). Echo's appearance in the series is actually lighter than he appeared in the season 7 arc. This is a result of a group of designers who do not know how melanin works, who assumed that people of colors' skin changes the same way white people's does, and who then rendered something extremely unlikely for the sake of "storytelling". Many dissenters of #UnwhitewashTBB cite "narrative/visual storytelling" as a justification for the gross amount of whitewashing that has happened with The Bad Batch. This argument is weak because Echo's being pale serves no real purpose to the plot or characterization of himself or anyone else in the series. Echo's missing limbs do--he uses his probe to hack into computers, for instance. Some have said that Echo is pale for the same reasons that Darth Vader is pale: damage done to the body, an assumed lack of blood, and his being "more machine than man" and somehow less/inhuman because of it. Besides this being grossly ableist, Vader and Echo have only their prosthetics in common. In every other way, they're completely different. Why should Vader and Echo have a narrative connection via visual storytelling like this? Is that the type of story that should be told about Echo: that he is less than or inhuman because of his disabilities? Should we use ableism as a justification for racism? And why assume the creators intended to do something that makes no sense when the much more plausible answer is right there: they do not know how melanin works and defaulted to how white skin behaves under extreme conditions. Beyond this, as of this carrd update (7/29/2021, after the release of episode seven) Echo has basically been ignored by both The Bad Batch and the plot. Fans have begun to think that his presence is for nostalgia and nothing else, because his treatment in the series has been subpar to a worrying degree. Disabled fans are concerned about the ableism surrounding Echo. The Bad Batch is introduced to us by insulting regs and establishing their superiority complex. They harass his brothers and doubt his loyalty to his family for the entire arc, and then we see Echo again, and it's revealed that he's disabled: multiple amputations and various devices needed to keep him alive. Even when he's saving their lives, the Bad Batch don't trust him. At the end, Rex says that if Echo no longer "fits in" with clones like him, he can go with The Bad Batch. There are multiple issues with this, the largest being that Echo is disabled, not a criminal, and not a freak. There is absolutely no reason as to why the 501st that he's fought beside for most of the war beforehand would suddenly reject him now that he's missing some limbs and hair. There wasn't ever any point in TCW where clones were shown to collectively be ableist. Why wouldn't have Echo been able to fit in? Why wouldn't he have been accepted? Would Jesse or Kix have mistreated him for being tortured and abused by the separatists? Would Anakin have? Combine this with the continued narrative coddling of the Bad Batch. They have genetic superiority-fueled egos, never saw Echo as their equal, but have him join their team anyways, proving once again that this team of whitewashed superiors are better than the brown "regs" they despise because they "accept" Echo and his disabilities. The message that the team is sending just with that decision at the end of that arc is dually racist and

ableist one. The issues do not end there. Echo is new to the team, so it's understandable that he doesn't have a wall-set bed on Kamino, but he also doesn't have a seat on the Marauder. Despite being a double amputee, he's made to stand in many of the scenes we see him in, while the rest of The Bad Batch reclines in some way. One example is in episode seven, when everyone is asleep waiting for Wrecker to wake up and Echo is the only one standing. His lack of an arm is another example--he's still made to climb and carry things literally one handed, while the probe attachment only occasionally serves a purpose. Why not give Echo a hand that opens up with a probe inside it? Disabled fans have noted that it's like the team refuses to acknowledge Echo's status as a disabled character, instead either choosing to put him in extremely uncomfortable situations that an able bodied person would be fine with, or ignoring him entirely. In episode seven, we also see that Echo has a patch on his head before anyone else has even had the surgery to remove the chip. And when Wrecker wakes up, Rex says they only need to do three more, excluding Echo. Was Echo's chip removed off screen, and if so, why skip it? This may be a continuity issue, but such an oversight calls into question how much the writers see Echo as more than just the butt of jokes and the metal ragdoll, subject to constant uncomfortable situations and dehumanization. Within the Bad Batch, the implications are still dire: they may have pulled out Echo's chip as a tester before doing the "real" work of taking out Wrecker's. Echo is referred to as "more machine than man" by Tech in the premiere, and then Crosshair makes a comment about how Echo has been "turned into that", regarding his series of prosthetics and technology keeping him functioning. The worst offense is when he gets sold, and it's played off for laughs that the mostly-metal disabled man is now being treated as actually metal and inhuman. The Clone Wars already had issues with acknowledging the clones' status as slaves (Slick is villainized, the Kadavo arc makes no mention of how Rex feels being sold into slavery), and it's disappointing to see that these issues have continued into The Bad Batch. Fans are hoping that Echo doesn't keep being put into dehumanizing or otherwise dangerous situations for a disabled person, like when he got thrown and stunned in episode seven. (1) If the team had wanted to show damage to his skin without completely bleaching him, they could have designed him with patchiness, vitiligo, and/or other skin tone variations that show that damage has been done. Fans of color have also noted that this change seems to be permanent, as Echo does not seem to be regaining his melanin. Hunter | Crosshair | Wrecker | Tech | Omega | Home Fan Theories | Photo Gallery | Art Tutorial | Other Issues | FAQ | Goal

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

CONFESSION

Prompt: Y/N is having some trouble with Dexter’s new storyline, and he will have to use all of his tools to make her admit her feelings

Word Count: Long-ish

Pairings: Dexter Lumis x Reader

Warnings: +18, smut, dom x sub dynamic, brat taming (slightly), bondage (limb restriction), dirty talk (a shit ton), spanking (light), jealousy

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tag: @moxgirl , @theworldofotps , @galens-mistress , @sassymox , @yungbludjazz360 and the lovely anon (who just like me) is a part of the “Thristy for Lumis” club 😈🤣

Notes: I wanted to “keep it light” with my first fic (hopefully first of many!) with this beautiful blonde man, so here we go. If you’d like to check out my other stories, you can find them on my Masterlist

Yes, I am a little jealous, ok? I’ll confess that to you, but to him? Never!

“Hey babe, I was thinking maybe we should-“ He stopped talking once he realized I was zoned out

“Y/N?” He asked, a little louder “Are you listening?”

“Yes” I spat

“Jeez, are you ok?”

“Peachy, just peachy” I mocked, applying the moisturizer on my skin, which was still damp from my shower

“You’re angry...and you’re angry at me, I presume” I could feel his blue eyes staring at me “What did I do? Did I say something? Do something? Or maybe, it was something I was supposed to do but didn’t?”

In the short amount of time since Dexter and Indi’s storyline started, it already irritated me deeply! I like Indi, she’s nice, funny, a good friend to me and a damn good actress! The way she convinced people that she was actually in love with Dexter was insane. Even I had a little trouble remembering that she isn’t.

But I’m...territorial, I don’t like people trying to get what’s ‘mine’ , so needless to say that the plot vs. reality is starting to get a little blurry for me (although it wasn’t for them)

I love Dexter, and I’m happy for him! I was also happy for Indi, but my brain was having a smidgen of trouble processing it.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N? Peanut...please talk to me?” He sweetly asked

I sighed “You’ve done nothing wrong, Dex. I’m just...it’s me ok? Don’t worry about it”

He sensed my insecurity and crawled to the very end of the mattress, kneeling when he reached the foot of it, staring at my still-standing figure.

Placing both of his hands on my hips, he trailed his nose up my neck and collarbone, saying

“You smell so fucking good” He tried to pull me towards the bed but I declined

“Dex, not right now” I took his hands off my hips and took two steps back

“Not right now?” He tilted his head to the side, in confusion, knowing I never decline to have sex with him “Something is wrong, what is it? What happened?”

“Nothing! I just...I’m not in the mood right now” I said

“You’re not in the mood?” He chuckled, in disbelief “Peanut, you’re ALWAYS in the mood! Fuck, even when I’m not in the mood you get me in the mood! So that excuse will not work for me. Tell me, what’s going on?”

“Dexter, please, not right now, ok? We’ll fuck as much as you want to later, just not now, damn it!” I said, angrily

“I’m not pushing you to talk because I want to fuck you, I’m pushing you to talk because there’s something on your mind, and instead of talking to me, your husband, like a grown woman would, you’re just pushing it to the side like a fucking teenager!” He grabbed my hands, asking “Don’t you trust me?”

I nodded, and he continued “So tell me what’s bothering you! I love you and I wanna help you! But I can’t do it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, peanut”

“I don’t want to say it, because it’s dumb” I murmured

“Baby” He cupped my cheek “If it’s bothering you, it’s not dumb. Tell me, what is it?”

A muffled and inaudible ‘I’m jealous’ left my lips

“I’m afraid you will have to say it a little louder” He cackled

“I wish that storyline with Indi would be over soon” I looked up at him, to find a smug smirk

“You’re jealous?” He asked

“No! I’m not jealous! I don’t get jealous!” I crossed my arms in front of my chest

“Yes, you are!” He teased “I like when you get jealous, that way I know you still have the hots for me” He tried to grab my waist

“Stop it!” I shoved him away “The reason I don’t like the storyline is because you always receive a script with too many lines to memorize and…” I trailed off

“Babe, my character doesn’t talk!” He laughed “You will have to find another excuse for your jealousy”

“Stop saying I’m fucking jealous” I pouted

“Come here, my lil peanut” He beckoned me

“No, I don’t want to”

“Y/N, I said, come.here” His eyes were turning into a cold shade of blue

“And I said, no!” I stomped my foot

Dexter quickly grabbed a handful of my hair, and pulled me towards him

“When I tell you to come here, you better come here, do you understand?” He asked, with an icy tone in his voice

When I didn’t respond, he tugged on my hair harder

“Yes, sir” I said, nonchalantly

“Oh, she’s bratty today, huh?” His other hand wrapped around my neck “I’m sure we can fix that, can’t we?”

Part of me was mad at him for teasing me because of my jealousy but the other part was getting slightly turned on with his attitude. So I decided to test the waters

“Let me go” I yanked his hand off my neck, but Dexter stared at me amused, as he kept his grip firmly on my hair

“You don’t want me to let you go, do you?” He teased

I huffed in response, which made him laugh loudly

“Of course you don’t! You want me to fuck the jealousy out of you, don’t you, baby?”

“I’m not jealous” I tried to wiggle away from him, but that only made him tug on my hair harder

“Y/N, if you wanted me to make the jealousy go away, you just had to ask nicely”

“I don’t want anything from you” I spat

“Na ah” He slapped my face lightly “Don’t you fucking talk to me like that!” He warned “Ask for it nicely, like a good girl” He teased

“Fuck off!” I tried to push him away, but he was faster

Dexter pulled me towards the mattress, I landed on it facing down and he quickly straddled my hips, securing both of my wrists behind my back with one of his hands

“Such a dirty mouth for a pretty girl” He chuckled, dragging his cloth covered bulge against my ass

“You look so cute when you’re all mad like this'' Dexter bit my shoulder and scraped his teeth against my neck “So my lil peanut is jealous, huh?” He cackled “You think Indi will steal me away from you? That’s why you’re so angry?” He took my hair away from my face, so he could look into my eyes

I stared deeply at him, with something in my gaze making his blue eyes soften

“Baby, neither Indi nor anyone else could take me away from you, you’re the woman of my dreams! I don’t want nor need any other woman in my life. The storyline is just that: a storyline, pure fiction. I like Indi the same way that you do, as a friend! She’s never tried to cross that line and if someday she or any other woman crosses it, I know what to do. I love you and I’m more than happy with our marriage. You’re my best friend, my lover, my wife, you take care of me, support me, you’re my everything! My intelligent, sexy, funny and gorgeous everything! Do you understand what I’m telling you, peanut?” He asked softly

“Yes, Dex. I understand” I smiled

“Good, now” His eyes began to get mischievous again “About that attitude...” He trailed off, reaching down to his sweatpants and undoing the drawstring

“I’m sorry for my behavior, sir” I said sheepishly, with my eyes glued to his hand

“Oh, what a drastic change!” He smirked “If I knew that at the mere thought of a dick inside of you, you would change into a good girl so quickly, I would’ve shoved it in you earlier”

Dragging my oversized t-shirt up, Dexter began to slide one finger through my wet folds

“Please, sir” I moaned “I’ll be a good girl, I promise you, just please give it to me” I whined

“Such a greedy little whore for cock, aren’t you?”

I nodded, but that didn’t suffice to him

“Say it! I wanna hear you begging for it, I want you to say the words”

“I’m a greedy little whore for cock, sir. Please, give me your cock, sir. I need it so bad...please, I’ll behave. Can I have it? Please, let me have it” I begged

Dex knelt in between my knees and placed himself on my entrance, sliding only the tip in before he stopped

“You need it? So get it, it’s all yours!” He slapped my ass “C’mon, take it”

I moved back towards his dick, as much as my restricted arms and position would let me, but I couldn’t slide him as deep as I wanted nor could I move as fast as I wished, which made me whine in frustration

“Awww, my poor peanut, what’s wrong? You can’t go as fast as you want to, can you?” He teased and I shook my head

“Do you want me to do it for you instead? Do you want sir to fuck you deep and hard?”

“Yes, sir. Please!”

I gasped loudly when he finally gave me what I was begging for...hard, fast, rough and so deep.

“Is this what you wanted?” He asked

“Yes, thank you, sir”

The familiar burning was already starting to rise inside of me

“Are you gonna cum around my cock like a good little slut, Y/N?”

“Yes, sir” I said, breathlessly

“So what are you waiting for?” He chuckled in my ear, and that was the only confirmation I needed

Dexter slowed his pace as I came down from my high. Noticing he didn’t cum, I asked

“Why didn’t you cum?”

He slid out of me, released my wrists and turned me around, so I could face him

“Who said” He slid back in “I was done with you?” Smirking, he began to increase his pace bit by bit “I still need you to confess that you’re jealous” He winked

And I knew that this little game wouldn't finish until dawn..

Please, if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedbacks are always appreciated 🥰😘

[sweetestlamb]

Come Undone

Author’s note: Well, I know I said it was coming this weekend but I decided to break it apart and post this part first. It’s another roller coaster but I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Thank you to everyone who messages me and supports me and loves this story. I am so thankful for you.  Enjoy my babies :) Thanks for the photo @prodmina, (I’ll use the other thing later in the story too) you are a doll and as always thank you @ewolfwitchwisegirl for this beautiful header! 

p.s Crazy fun fact I had no idea what Seojun’s mom’s name was so I put random initials thinking I’ll check later and fix it. Only to guess completely right! I am so proud of myself LOL 

She stands dumbfounded in his arms, unable to process the words that have left his lips. She couldn’t have heard him right, why on Earth would someone like him who had girls fighting to be his girlfriend want anything to do with her? Did he pity her that much? Was this the premise of a high school drama and he’d taken some sort of bet to befriend her? Somehow all of those options seem more feasible than him having genuine feelings for her.

But it’s her first real confession, she’s always seen others receive this and never experienced it herself. There had been some grandiose ones at school but she secretly tells herself she prefers this, just them two without an audience. it feels more intimate and authentic, as if he couldn’t wait another minute and his feelings for her overwhelmed him. Her heart is beating rapidly despite her deep calming breaths, he’s effectively turned her world upside down with just those small three words.

I like you.

She can’t control the way her heart flutters, but surely it would react that way to anyone? It wasn’t connected to the confession-er, she was merely affected because someone liked her that was human nature. It didn’t matter that it was Han Seojun, they were nothing to each other. Pity was surely clouding his emotions and she wanted no part in being there when he realized that and abandoned her, it was best not to get attached at all she argues with her traitorous heart.

Her phone brings her back to reality, suddenly she remembers where she’s meant to be right now and her father’s enraged face appears in her mind. He’d told her not to embarrass him, which meant she had to go on this date and paint on a happy face and pretend that she wasn’t dying inside. All for a man who treated her no better than scum under his shoes.

Pulling out the phone, Obligation flashes on her phone screen that’s all he was after all she’d already forgotten his name, it was of no importance to her. She doesn’t know if she should answer, still confused about her next step and while she’s ruminating a hand suddenly fills her vision and snatches the object from her hand. Twisting out of his hug she stares in shock before trying to grab the phone back, “Are you insane? Give it back!” But he steps back, putting more space between them as he holds the stolen object just out of her reach tauntingly using his looming height.

“Is this your date? Obligation.” He reads the name from the phone, venom in his voice and she’s taken back by his tone he’s hardly ever serious or cold with her. She’s seeing many different facets to his personality today.

“Han Seojun, give it back!” She demands, stomping her feet before lunging for the item, putting a hand on his shoulder for more leverage. But she miscalculates and her face smashes into his jaw making him cry out in pain and sending her flying forward her body crashing into his painfully, he steadies her with an arm around her waist bringing her dangerously close to him. Their eyes connect as if they are magnetized, just like that day in front of her house.

“Is this your answer, princess? You sure know how to hurt a guy.” She peers at him in bewilderment before searching his face, there’s not even a fraction of a smile on his lip and he refuses to meet her eyes. Gazing off into the distance although he’s speaking to her. He seems…hurt and he’s not doing a good job of hiding it at all, it’s written all over his face and she wonders vaguely what kind of world he must live in to be able to so freely reveal his feelings? She yearns to grab his lips and literally turn his frown upside down, smiles look much better on him.

“You mean it.” She whispers in awe, the ice around her heart defrosting as his palpable pain washes over her. He’d thought she was rejecting him for her “date”. He clearly wasn’t a great listener, she had no feelings for that guy it was just another part of her world that she had no control over. For some reason she wants to explain that to him, make him understand that in another universe maybe things would be different, maybe she would be allowed to want and she would explore this but this isn’t her reality, things are not that simple. Love isn’t an option for her.

“I told you. About my world, I can’t–”

“That’s just an excuse. You have a choice Sujin.” He states his word are cold as ice, he looks livid as he puffs out an exasperated breath of air and frantically runs his fingers through his hair.

Shoving him hard she sneers up at him before shouting in his face, “What choice do I have? I have control over nothing in my life, my first date is being stolen from me. I’ll probably have to kiss him too so that will also be stolen! I can’t control anything I didn’t even choose this outfit. None of this is my choice.” It’s not his fault, and he’s the one person that’s been there for her and that makes her even angrier, why isn’t she allowed to have this? Go on a date with a boy who might care for her, why is life cruel enough that this is being presented but she can’t grab onto it with both hands?

For the first time ever, he doesn’t deflate or back off like he usually does when they get to these moments, he’s usually her safety pin pulling her back from the edge of detonation so she’s not ready for him to scream back at her, “Then choose me! Fuck all of that, fuck your father.” He lifts up her phone which has started to ring again, “Fuck this guy! Just choose me, let me be your first.” They both stand still, staring at each other the jingle of her iPhone not enough to cut the thick coiling tension and then she watches in gaped surprise as he angrily slides her phone open. “Stop fucking calling, she’s not coming. She’s with her boyfriend.” Then he slides the phone close, finally handing it back to her looking at her with those hard glistening eyes. She looks at the phone and then back at him, eyes wide as the moon.

Stupefied and flustered she stutters out, “You’re n-n-ot my boyfriend. What are you doing?”

“Let me take you on a date. Pick me Sujin.”

They stand at an impasse, neither talking following the outburst but their eyes are locked having a conversation all their own. He looks impossibly young standing there asking to be chosen, he was always so shameless with his emotions uncaring about letting them ooze out of his pores. Although he was no longer saying anything, his face was screaming at her, his eyes were kneeling before her on bended knees.

When the phone vibrates again, she's so entranced that she doesn't make any move to check it so when the cab driver calls out her name from his window, she jumps in surprise at the sudden interruption.

"Ms. Kang Sujin?" He eyes them both, glancing back and forth as if he too can feel the tension laying heavy in the air between them.

After a moments pause she finally relays the message to her mouth to speak, answering quietly, "Yes. That's me."

Seojun watches her unwaveringly, never breaking eye contact to look at the driver. He's standing unnaturally straight, all of his usual swagger drained from his body as he watches to see what she'll do.

Turning to the cab, she reaches out a hand to grab the handle, the cool metal smooth in her grasp.

Pulling it open she turns to look at him one last time before making her decision, with an expressionless face she ultimately slides into the passenger seat. The leather squeaking over her naked thighs, primly she places the little white bag in her lap. When she finally focuses back on Seojun, the hurt on his face is almost too much to witness instead of hiding it like she would he lays it all at her feet, lips twisted in a broken snarl and his fingers clenched tightly by his side.

She waits for some kind of retaliation, for the switch to flick and for him to erupt on her for refusing to listen to his plea. Almost salivates at the idea of him showing her that this was all an act, he didn't truly like her once she rejected him he would lash out and whatever this was would be obliterated. No one was that good, she didn't deserve goodness.

"Text me later then. Let me know when you get home."

His voice is devoid of any anger, calm and smooth but tinged with resignation, gracefully accepting defeat and still concerned about her well-being. Surely he was created in a test tube, there's no reasonable explanation for the way he never reacts the way she expects- the way anyone would in his situation. A sad little smile spreads across his lips and it's the most despairing thing she's ever seen, she never wants to see it again not on his face. As he moves to slam the door shut, somehow still a gentleman even in this predicament, spontaneously she grabs his hand.

"Get in."

She can't believe the words that have left her mouth but she's also buzzing, why isn't she allowed to be selfish and take something that she wants? She can't promise him forever still, her life hasn't changed that drastically but she can give him today, give herself a real first date with someone who doesn't make her skin crawl.

He looks rightfully confused, she knows that she's not making any sense. Playing hot and cold.  But her heart is telling her that she's allowed this, she has a choice and today she's joining herself. She's never done that before it's terrifying but maybe it'll be easier with him, maybe he can teach her how.

"Fuck that guy. Take me on a date." She whispers astonished repeating his own words , staring up at him for his response and the answering smile that spreads across his handsome face is enough to power a whole city. She almost beams back his happiness is that contagious.

He squeezes her gloved hand, sliding into the cab beside her their legs pressed closely together. She looks away, moving over discretely but he simply follows her boyish grin on his face, no one has ever smiled like that because of her; it's honestly mesmerizing.

Sounding thoroughly amused, the driver confirms her destination and she realizes she hadn't thought that far and she has no idea where they should go. Placing a burning hot hand on her knee, Seojun easily gets her attention.

"Do you trust me princess?"

She stares back at him, blooding pumping from his soulful tone and his skin on her skin. She's making a horrible mistake, she's sure of but she'll have regrets tomorrow. Boldly returning his look she nods mutely, forced to look away when he laughs so beautifully it makes her stomach drop. Today she does. 

"No we have a new destination."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She looks quizzically at said destination.

"A mall?" She scrunches her nose climbing out of the cab, brushing past him as he holds the door open for her. She tries to ignore the flapping in her stomach, his constant chivalry is a welcome surprise.

"Already doubting me princess? This isn't our date, I wouldn't bring you to a mall on our first date." He sounds affronted but in a teasing way and she wasn't prepared to hear him call this a date even though she'd said those same words herself minutes ago.

"Then why are we here?"

He opens the entrance door letting her go first, she's not sure she'll ever get used to this. He hasn't let her open one door since he chased her out of the coffee, using those long limbs every time to beat her to the door.

"You don't need to keep doing this?"

Now it's his turn to look quizzical, "Do what?"

They're walking side by side now, she notices that he's adjusted his steps to match hers. She hardly wears heels and walking in them is not her expertise, she'd only worn them because her father insisted claiming women should wear them on a date. It made them more appealing to men. She ha cringed in disgust at the comment. 

"Open every door we encounter. I can open them too."

Suddenly he grabs her hand stopping her in the middle of the mall, she tries to tug her hand away no longer covered by her gloves but he tightens his hold preventing her from pulling away.

"You told me to take you on date. This is me on a date, I want to open all your doors. You picked me so just enjoy it, this is all for you." She stares at his small content smile embarrassed by his undivided focus on her. Her cheeks burning up without her permission she races away before he can see.

"Let's go."

But he's too quick, running ahead of her and walking backwards eyes scanning her face.

"Are you blushing? Was I too charming princess, did you heart flutter?" He teases her reaching out a hand to squeeze her cheeks, she smacks his hand away glaring at him.

"Shut up before I leave."

He winks in response nonplussed by her empty threat walking purposely before stopping in front of a retail store. Looking through the window she can see trendy clothes, definitely Seojun's style.

She gazes over at him unimpressed, "Did you bring me here to watch you shop?" He looks at her equally unimpressed before raising an eyebrow, "Come on princess. You have a lot to learn about me."

Still with this damn nickname and now because she hadn't reprimanded him enough it seemed it was here to stay. 

Seojun walks over to a rack immediately, pulling out shirts and putting over her figure. Nodding his head before putting the article back and moving onto another rack.

I didn't even choose the outfit. Her own voice rings in her mind remembering their heated discussion on the sidewalk and suddenly it all makes sense they're here to get an outfit for her,  something chosen by her.

"Do you like this?" He holds up another shirt, light blue with a cute picture of a puppy on the front. She sneers at him pushing the offending object away.

"I'm not five, why would I wear that?"

He shrugs at her putting the shirt in front of himself now, "What? I think it's cute. Wouldn't I look cute in it?"

He does, the idiot. His lips pushed out into a perfect pout matching the puppy on the shirt but before she can lie through her teeth and tell him no, another high pitched voice interrupts them.

"Oh! You are so handsome, I'm sure anything would look just delicious on you."

When she turns around she's greeted by a chipper store clerk, she doesn't look much older than them and she only has eyes for Seojun,  not once looking in her direction despite being right next to her.

"Is it your first time here? Do you need help? What are you looking for?" The girl rapid fires out questions and she doesn't like the way her chest tightens watching the girl blatantly flirt with him. Clutching her fists she stalks off to a random rack not wanting to look bothered by the invasion, he's allowed to talk to whoever he wants. He's not hers nor she his.

She idly lifts a white T-shirt, it's plain besides a small upside triangle design on the pocket. She knows the brand, they're part of a nonprofit company that gives all their proceeds to children homes. She searches for her size resisting the urge to see what Seojun's doing. He startles her when he peeks over her shoulder his chin almost landing on her collar. 

"You like that?" He croons into her ears appearing out of nowhere.

She twists around hoping to put some space between them only to lose her breath at the sight of him, he's removed his bomber jacket standing in a black T-shirt but that's not what catches her attention, it's the dark winding dragon weaving intricately down his bicep. The swirls of black and dark blues of the creature's body are captivating as gray smoke curls out of the dragon's mouth. "It's new." He flexes the arm, bringing it closer to her until it's close enough for her to touch. So she does. Trailing a finger from the dragon's head almost on his wrist and meandering up his arm, stopping at the edge of his shirt sleeve where the tattoo disappears. Realizing what exactly she's doing she snatches her hand away, putting the wayward appendage behind her back.

His eyes are dark when she glances up but neither of them fill the silence, she shuffles going back to the rack and absently pulling out a pair of black jeans.

"I've always liked dragons. They're larger than life and nobody messes with them."

It sounds like he's describing himself, or the persona she's seen at school. The school heart-throb with girls fawning over him and boys wanting to be him, his motorcycle, piercings and now tattoos only adding to his allure. On paper he was the quintessential bad boy but she knew now that wasn't entirely accurate. She'd seen how protective he was of his sister and how doting he was of family, he loved his family and it was clear that the feeling was mutual. And then there was the way he treated her, he was something more than what everyone saw.

Lamely she only replies, "I didn't know you had tattoos."

Thrusting his other hand into her face he shows his wrist, small letters are branded there. Initials.

GW. MH

"GW....Go-woon."

He nods agreeing, "Yeah these were my first tattoos, my mom and sister’s initials. After my father passed away I had to step up, I wanted a reminder that I had people worth living for."

She freezes at his admission, unprepared for the personal and revealing turn this conversation has taken. His face is blank but those eyes, they never lie they are brimming with emotions. She has to fight the urge to hug him, instead patting him on the shoulder.

"Your family loves you. They're lucky to have you."

They aren't the only ones but that's too much for today. She has already reached her mistake quota.

He leans into her touch, resting his head on her shoulder for only a moment before straightening up and smiling.

"Didn't know you were capable of giving compliments princess, I feel special."

She lets him break the tension knowing that he probably didn't intend to open up that much, his cheeks are dusted in red confirming her inkling.

"Don't get used to it. You hardly do anything worth complimenting."

They slip back into their usual banter, as she searches for a dressing room thankfully there's no line and she goes in. After changing she looks at herself in the full sized mirror, she tucks the edge of the shirt into her pants. It's simple but it's more her, the real her. Her father insists that they wear the most expensive clothes and she owns many different brands but most days she'd rather just dress like this and not feel like she's on an imaginary runway. Pulling the door open, she almost collides with Seojun not prepared from him to be waiting right  outside her door.

He changed too, and she blinks at him.

"We're not wearing matching outfits. Go change." She states blankly. 

He chuckles softly, straightening the already perfect shirt on his body. He added a silver chain and black boots to his outfit and she groans internally because she'd also planned on pairing her outfit with black boots.

"It just happened. I guess our style is compatible." He winks at her going to model in front of the mirror.

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in the men's dressing room?" She hisses at him as he preens in the glass.

She gets her answer in the form of a familiar high pitched tone.

"Oh it looks great on you! You have to get it, it really shows off your arms." Then she watches in dismay as the other girl actually reaches out to touch his arm, Seojun smoothly moves out of her reach but the girl is adamant and places a hand on his back instead standing next to him by the mirror.

Her eyes squint in annoyance, he might not be hers but the outfits should have made it obvious that they were something to each other but the girl was choosing to turn a blind eye. She stops holding back. This is all leaving a bad taste in her mouth. Interjecting easily, she moves the proprietary hand on Seojun's back with a flick of her wrist. 

"Do you accost all your customers like this?" She deadpans at the other girl, watching her eyes widen before her face morphs into a tense smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"I didn't notice you there. Is she your sister?" The store clerk defers back to Seojun as if dismissing her completely and in the corner of her eyes she sees  the hard glint of his jawline, he doesn't look pleased. That gives her the courage for her next action.

"Do you usually buy matching outfits with your siblings? We're on a date. We don't need your help as you can see, we already have what we need." She motions between them and their matching outfits, watching the other girl who looks ready to scream before turning to Seojun with beguiling eyes, as if begging him to deny her words. 

He wraps an arm around her shoulder, pressing their sides tightly together. The other girl looks at them in disbelief before he answers in his deep voice, "You heard my girl. I'm off limits."

She tells her heart to calm down, this is all a show after all. It was about the principle of the matter, she didn't appreciate this complete stranger ruining her first date. It wasn't about Seojun in particular. He wasn't hers, she knew that. They both watch as she stomps off, angry blush on her face and retort under her breath. Sujin's tempted to follow her and hear what she's saying under her breath, but she collects herself. Turning to Seojun she complains, "This is how you act on a date? Flirting with other girls?"

He gasps at the accusation pressing a hand against his heart, "I never flirted. I told her I wasn't interested when you left the first time. I didn't think you'd be the jealous type though. "

She opens her mouth to deny that claim despite all the evidence proving otherwise but he beats her to it.

"I like it." He ruffles her hair before walking off.  She stands there in gaped mouth surprise, how dare he? After picking her jaw up off the ground, they finally join the line, clothes folded in their arms. Deciding to change back into them after ringing up the order. 

They get ringed up by another store clerk, when she tries to pull out her credit card Seojun looks at her like she's personally offended him.

"I'm paying. Don't bother arguing, this is me on a date."

"You two are so cute! I love your matching outfits." The cashier coos at them missing the cold glare from her co-worker in the distance.

As they leave the store she waves snidely at the other girl, even allowing Seojun to rest his arm on her shoulder to put on a even more convincing show.

She knows she's being petty but the other girl started it, she's just finishing it. Maybe next time she wouldn't flirt with boys who were with other girls, she was teaching her a life long lesson.

"You're something else princess."

As soon as they get outside, the store clerk no longer in sight she pushes his hand away. They need to redraw the line in the sand he's getting too comfortable touching her and calling her that nickname. And she might be getting too comfortable hearing it.

"That's enough. Stop calling me that." She expects him to be annoyed or hurt by her switch in attitude but instead he's nodding his head fondly with his hands held high, "I make no promises about that P. But I think it's time to get this date started."

She groans staring at this back, she'd completely forgotten to make him change and now everyone was staring at them in their matching outfits. That stupid flirtatious clerk had derailed her thinking.

"Hey! Seojun, let's go to another store. You need to change!" she yells chasing after him.  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He groans as the sensor sounds out, loud noise blaring in his ears signaling that she's hit him again, he only catches a glimpse of her before she's barrel rolling behind a pillar and out of sight.

She'd totally played him, adamant that she'd never done laser tag before. He should have known when she came after changing looking far too comfortable with the gigantic imitation gun in her hand, her hair scooped into a high ponytail. It was admittedly distracting, bringing attention to the long regal line of her neck. He noticed how the instructor paused mid sentence upon seeing her, his eyes lingering a little too long for his liking. Easily he moved between them, dwarfing her with his larger frame staring the guy down until he snapped back looking away while rubbing his neck.

She hadn't noticed the interaction too busy aiming her weapon and asking questions, he had second guessed bringing her here wondering if this was too childish. It was there first date after all and he wanted there to be others, was this thoughtful enough? But watching her roll and dive for cover he knew that he'd made the right choice, even if she was currently destroying his ego.

He had immediately fell for her tricks, running to her aid when she tripped and fell whimpering in pain on the ground. His heart had stopped as he raced over to her, her name on his tongue but before he could utter the word she rolled over, smirk on her face as she aimed perfectly in the middle of his chest, gaining the most point value. She stuck her tongue out before hopping up and disappearing into the darkness. He had stood there shocked clutching at his chest. 

"Do you really have time to day dream? I don't know if you've noticed but you're losing. Badly."

She calls from somewhere and he shakes his head at her mocking comment, the trash talking has been steadily increasing with each shot she landed. He should have expected this, for her to be competitive. He's seen it at school sometimes that grimace on her face when she saw that she was second again, glaring at Suho before shoving the ranking away.

He wishes he could say that he's been taking it easy on her but he hasn't, he's been trying his damn hardest to no avail, every time he spots her she dodges him easily, before reappearing behind her and making his sensors go off. He's not the most competitive person but losing this badly is simply embarrassing, a small part of him wants to impress her.

Okay, a large part. Shoot him.

He groans when just that happens, she shoots him and that's it. Game over. 

Winner flashes across the front of her camo vest. But when a radiant smile spreads across her flushed face he wonders who is truly the winner.

Cocking an eyebrow he whistles, "You sure you've never done this before?"

She tries to hide a smile but fails epically before admitting the truth. "I might have done this before, once or twice."

"You're a game shark. Taking advantage of poor innocent souls. Is this anyway to treat your date?" He feigns hurt pouting dramatically, bottom lip wobbling. She rolls her eyes at him, ponytail swishing as she skips away before calling over a shoulder, "Even if I told you, you would have still lost. I'm just better than you. Did you even hit me once?" She taunts, looking far too attractive with that snotty look on her face. He must be going crazy.

"You're such a brat. " He concedes enjoying this version of Sujin too much to take any real offense to her insults.

"Rematch?" She purses her lips before aiming right at his head, with one eye closed.

"You're on." She accepts his challenge before running over the counter to purchase more time, he trails after her knowing that he's lost much more than this laser tag game. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She kicks his ass a second time, he does manage to land one shot on her but it only makes her even more competitive and it's a flurry after that, his censor ringing off every few seconds. It's a short rematch, her notices how other guys seem mesmerized by the beautiful girl with the near precise aim. She starts attracting quite the audience and he decides they've been here long enough. This isn't the end of their date after all, he doesn't want to waste this time.

"Alright, you win ninja remind me never to do this with you ever again."

She stands triumphantly before wondering off to change.

The ponytail is down when she comes back out, thick dark curtain over her shoulder. His fingers itch with desire but he controls the urge, he's seen what she's capable of. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ She shakes her head as he pulls out her chair but he sends her a charming smile, he wasn't joking when he told her this was how he acted on dates. Maybe it's because he only has his mother and sister but he has always respected woman immensely, doing these little acts makes him feel like he's cherishing them. His mother has never opened a door in his presence so this feels natural to him.

They're in a quaint diner with dim lighting and cushy oversized chairs, she looks around curiously taking in the minimalist artwork and splashes of color on the wall.

"Do you bring all your dates here?" She asks all nonchalance as she thumbs through the menu, surprising him when she immediately goes to the dessert section eying the different cakes. He sits in disbelief that she has a sweet tooth, she's just full of surprises today.

"Sujin." He puts iron into his voice grabbing her attention, when their eyes are connected he speaks again, "I think you know me better than that. Don't make this cheap."

It's obvious what she's been trying to do since they left the laser tag center, put as much distance between them as possible. Every once in a while her phone vibrates and he can see her tense up before declining the call. The reality of what she's done has set in and now she's putting back up her fortress. Brushing off his compliments and implying that everything he's been doing is all part of some first date playbook, he's trying not to be offended but it's hard to wrangle in his emotions. 

It always is with her.

They stare at each other until a server comes to take their order. She orders a chocolate mousse cake that sounds like something his sister would love- cloyingly sweet and diabetes inducing- and he orders another slice to bring home to her, maybe he can use that to bribe her and hear more about how Sujin saved her. For himself he gets an egg sandwich with avocado and bacon, starving now after his long day. He'd gone to work straight from school and fatigue is catching up with him.

"I'll be right back." He announced abruptly, the chair screeching as he excuses himself from the table.

He splashes cold water on his face, waking himself up and clearing his mind. What will they do after this? It's clear that she's dreading what comes next. Nothing has changed, she still has to go home and he knows they'll be repercussions to today. He can't let her face that alone but getting her to agree to him being there is going to be near impossible. The trust between them is still thin, like the first layer of ice that covers a frozen lake and he's terrified to rupture it.

What is he supposed to do?

Trepidation grips his mind as he makes his way back to their table and as he draws closer, he notices that she's completely distracted, arms balanced on the armrests as she stares out the glass, lost in thought and a million miles away. She looks beautiful, if he was a poet he would write sonnets about it.  He has no idea how this day is going to end, feels dread swirling in his stomach as well and he pulls out his phone angling it as he stands in front of her. Wanting to capture this moment, tattoo this image in his mind. 

Click!

The loud notification of his camera breaks her reprieve and anxiously he starts to staff the traitorous device in his pocket but not before she spots him.

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He answers innocently, sitting down and taking a huge bite of the sandwich that was delivered while he was away. Her chocolate cake is still perfect, thick and sweet the aroma wafting across the table. She was waiting for him.

Grabbing her fork, he stabs a huge piece of the decadent treat lifting it to her mouth.

"What are you doing?" She retreats attempting to steal her fork back but he weaves out of reach, laughing at her grumpy face.

"Open up princess." He tries to feed her again but she turns her head away, he has to catch himself before he smashes it on her cheek. He gets the feeling that wouldn't have ended well if he didn't have fast reflexes.

"Seojun."

"Princess."

"Don't call me that."

"Open up."

"No!"

She's fully glaring at him now, arms folded across her chest and he stares back impishly before formulating a plan.

"Fine. Suit yourself."

She looks surprised at his quick acceptance of defeat before he starts to bring the cake to his own mouth, exaggeratedly opening his mouth wide to consume the delicacy and instantly she lunges across the table looking ferocious, her mouth open wide in anger and finding an opening he twists the fork and pops the cake into her mouth.

Her face is thunderous, anger filling every line before the flavor explodes on her tongue and she freezes mid lunge looking like a chipmunk with her full cheeks and wide eyes. She slowly chews savoring the bite before finally swallowing. He waits for her reaction with bated breath.

"How was it?" He laughs at her dark stare, passing the fork back over the table. Almost too eagerly she grabs the utensil, shoveling more of the sweet treat into her mouth. Silently answering his inquiry, in minutes her plate is empty only a smear of icing remaining.

He chews his own sandwich deliberately.

When his phone starts to vibrate he doesn't detect it at first, too lost in the puzzle that is Kang Sujin; laser tag extraordinaire with a sweet tooth the size of Seoul. A gentle smile washes over his face when he sees the caller ID and he makes a rash decision that may or may not get him in more trouble. Declining the call, he goes into the contact and chooses FaceTime instead waiting patiently until a face pops up.

"Seojun, where are you? Your sister said she saw you at work earlier and you were on your way home. Did something happen?" His mother’s concerned voice rings out from the speakers. 

Glancing subtly over at Sujin he sees her freeze before realization lights up her eyes and he knows she's going to bolt. Not giving her a chance to flee, he reaches around the table grabbing her chair and tugging her over until they're side by side. Both of their faces sit in the small square on his phone and his mother gasps at the sudden addition to your conversation.

"Oh! Who's this? Are you out with friends?"

"Mom, this is Kang Sujin. The girl I like." He states proudly, smiling brightly at the screen. 

His mom's eyes become comically wide, glancing back and forth between the two of them before she waves back excitedly. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you my dear. I hope my son is treating you well." His mother has that look on her face that she always gets before she scolds him, clearly seeing the other girl’s discomfort. Sujin is unmoving next to him, a pregnant moment passes before she blinks twice and realizes that she's being spoken to.

"He is. It's nice to meet you too." Her voice is tinier than he's ever heard it.

 Worlds different from the person who looked ready to stab him over chocolate cake.

His mother's eye immediately soften at her quiet voice.

"Well I won't keep you. Make sure she gets home safely and don't come back too late. It's supposed to rain later." She warns them both waving softly before ending the call and the screen goes dark.

"What are you doing?"

She's furious. He can hear in the cadence of her voice, she's vibrating with it.

"Why would you do that?”

"Why are you so angry?" He rises to her bait, knowing this was the inevitable end to their near perfect date.

"You had no right to do that. I don't need to be anymore involved with your life."

A slap across his face. That stings and he can't control his reaction, recoiling like he's been hit.

"What was supposed to happen after today? Why did you agree to this? Was this supposed to get you out of my system?" He barks at her. He’s so annoyed this is happening in the middle of a diner, like those couples you always see and judge praying that they'll take this somewhere else.

"It was supposed to get you out of my system!" She screams back. 

There's the truth, the ugly truth. It's not different from anything she's ever said to him but hearing that now after confessing to her feels like salt being poured into his wounds. Or acid behind injected into his veins. 

"What about my feelings? I like you."

Harshly she stands snatching her purse and throwing down a few bills on the table, with a tone filled with venom she looks him dead in the eyes, unwavering. "Don't." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ It wasn't supposed to end like this, his heartbroken face is frozen in her mind.

Don't.

She was selfish, a horrible selfish bitch and she used his feelings for her. That's what he would think and that was best, he needed to face the reality that one stolen moment didn't make her life brand new, she was still the broken mess he'd stumbled upon in the rain. No matter how vehemently he tried there was no mending her she was beyond repair.

But it had felt nice. Being with him, feeling like a normal teenager on a date. For a minute she'd forgotten her reality, when he called his mother it was the wake up call she needed. She wasn't the girl you brought home to your mother, at least not for him. The woman looked so much like him and she could feel their affection for each other through the phones, her own mother has never looked at her with such devotion. Jealousy crawls at her insides, she'd forgotten she was a monster until she saw them. She couldn't drag another person into her storm.

He doesn't call. She thought he would, expected him to chase after her and demand more. She stares through the window of the bus watching the raindrops slide down the glass, his mother had been right. Taking out her phone she types a message.

I'm sorry.

Staring at it, there's so much she's sorry for but mostly crashing into his life. If only he'd ignored her like everyone else this could have all been avoided, he would have been spared. She leans back in her seat with a deep sigh, message unsent.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She's drenched standing outside her house, pacing back and forth pulling at the skin between her fingers. Her father has to know by now, but he hasn't contacted her once. It feels like the calm before the storm despite the torrential pour of rain around her.

The click of the front door opening makes a shiver race down her spine. Her father stands ominously in the doorway, face set in stone.

"Where have you been!" He screams, booming voice cutting through the fall of rain.

She instinctively takes a step back but he grabs her by her soaking shirt collar and slams her into the brick wall, she cries out as pain surges through her body. "You little bitch, I told you not to embarrass me." He hisses into her face, spit landing on her chin.

"Honey, stop! You're outside somebody will see!" She hears her mother crying from the doorway and she almost laughs at the reasoning, it's okay to beat her to pulp as long as it's inside where no one will see. It was all about upholding appearances.

"You shut your mouth! This wouldn't have happened if you raised her better!" He turns to sneer at her mother and she capitalizes on his momentary distraction, twisting out of his hold and running down the sidewalk. For a moment she thinks she's free but then a sharp pain shoots through her head and she's painfully yanked backwards by her hair. She shouts at the burst of intense pain, hot tears streaming down her face.

He drags her by her hair before shoving her into the wall, her skull bounces off the hard surface and white starburst explode behind her eyelids.

Squinting through her tears and the water soaking her face she sees her father with his fist drawn back. She waits for the blow, clenching her eyes shut. If she's lucky this will be it, it'll all be over.

But the moment drags on and the punch never lands and then she suddenly hears a voice she never expected.

"Get your fucking hands off her!" 

She's barely able to lift her hand and watch as her father is shoved powerfully, falling to his knees from the impact. Rubbing at her tender scalp she peers up at her savior only to see the furious face of Seojun, his hair is matted to his scalp and he looks murderous.

"You came." That's all she can get out before her world goes pitch dark, he was here. He was truly here even after everything she said. Why? Why was he always there? 

Her last cognitive image is him running frantically towards her with his arms outreached, his lips are moving and she wishes she knew what he was saying but there's no sound and then there's nothing.

Darkness. 

[hammeredalcoholic]

untitled

jotaro kujo/reader ; noriaki kakyoin/reader

hey yeah i write things that make my heart hurt. this is a Work in Progress !

warning: angst, slight nsfw/18+

Why were you here?

What was the point of coming to Morioh in the first place? 

Yes, it felt good to be back in Japan after 10 years. The scenery was gorgeous, the ocean blue blinding on each sunny day, the twinges of orange and reds that bled across the sky every night. It felt good to be home. 

But, there was a reason you chose not to come back. 

Memories. Deep, bleeding cuts that have long since healed due to your stay in the States. You thought that you were ready to face your fears. You had confidence that when you got off the plane, you would be fine. 

You weren’t. 

You were not prepared in the slightest. As soon as your feet hit the ground of the airport, your memories washed back. Wounds started to bleed, filling your insides with painful sorrow. Red hair and beautiful violet eyes were all you could picture. 

His voice-- serene and calming, hushed tones and gentle laughs. It bounced in your head, and you swore you could remember everything he ever told you on that trip. That ugly, god forsaken trip that you should have never gone on. 

Egypt. 

You never wanted to go there again. No matter what, you were not going anywhere near that country. The pain was too much, and no amount of healing would prepare you to go there. It was an unspoken promise as soon as you left with the remaining Crusaders, that none of them would ever go back. 

Japan may not have been as bad as Egypt, but that’s where you met him. That’s where you went on your first date. That’s where you had your first kiss, no matter how awkward and unpleasant it might have been. Hell-- even your first time, tucked away in his room while his parents were away for the evening. 

And he wasn’t here anymore. 

All those memories were burned into your brain, written in detail, and saved. There was no way you’d be able to forget him. He was everything you ever wanted-- and then some. But his life was ripped away from you, practically wrenched from your grasp. 

It hurt. 

You cried over him for weeks. Months, even. You didn’t have the heart to tell his parents that their son was gone, so you left it to Jotaro and Mr. Joestar. When they got back to you, they told you that his mother was asking about you. If you were alive and well, or if you had died alongside him. 

That made you double over in your chair and let out an ugly sob. You wished that DIO would have killed you. You wanted nothing more than to be with him-- no matter where it may be. But no, DIO had decided that his fate was certain at his hands, and yours was not. 

That’s why you decided to leave Japan. To go somewhere new and refreshing, to start life over again. Mr. Joestar offered to have you live with him and Susie until you had graduated college, and you took up his offer.

It was nice. 

The United States was drastically different from your home, and the quick pace of everything and everyone was a nice change. You were happy to finish your degree, and finally start to do something that you were passionate about. Alongside that, you did agree to help with the Speedwagon Foundation, being an agent to help with any bizarre occurrences around the world. 

That’s what led you here. 

A simple phone call from Jotaro informing you that he needed help in Japan, and that the Speedwagon Foundation will pay for your travel fares. From the way he worded things, it didn’t sound like you had a choice in the matter, so you packed your bags and left.

Now, sitting in your empty hotel room at 1 in the morning, you were having doubts. 

You missed him. You missed him with every fiber in your being. 

The drink that sat in your hand was half empty, and the pleasant buzz that invaded your senses was causing these emotions to double. You missed his affection-- his kind words, his soft touches, you even missed the sounds of the shitty bed frame hitting the hotel wall in Singapore. `

You needed a cigarette. 

Getting up from your spot on the bed, you slipped on a pair of slippers. You were positive that Jotaro wouldn’t mind seeing you in your sleep clothes. And if you remember correctly, he’s accidentally seen you in much less. That thought alone caused your heart to sink. 

Quickly exiting your room, you walked over to his, which was just across the hall. Hopefully he was awake, or else you’d feel pretty bad about waking him up at this hour, especially for a stupid cigarette. Lifting your hand, you knocked softly and stepped back. 

Sounds of shuffling papers and footsteps were heard, and then the door opened slightly. Jotaro’s face peeked out between the crack, before opening the door wider. “Oh, it’s just you.” He turned his head from you within moments, but left the door open for you to enter.

“Sorry for bugging you so late.” You stated, walking in the room and gently shutting the door behind you. Jotaro was now sitting at his desk, going over a stack of papers. He did mention that he was trying to finish his thesis for his phD, so that had to be it. He acknowledged your statement with a grunt, not bothering to face you again.

“I just wondered if you’d share a cigarette with me. For old times sake.” 

That got his attention. Orbs of aquamarine were trained on you, as if looking through your soul. It made a shiver run down your back, but other than that, you weren’t bothered. You and Jotaro had a semi decent relationship whilst in Egypt, and you had grown closer as the years passed. He was a good friend, and someone to talk to. 

“I suppose I could go for one.” He mumbled, running a hand through his hair. He got up from his seat and went to his coat that was hung on the wall, fishing out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Let’s go out on the balcony.” You registered his words, moving to slide the glass door out of the way, and stepping out into the night.

The air was chilly, sending goosebumps across your skin. Jotaro followed behind you, leaving the door open and fishing two cigarettes out of his pack. You quickly pulled one from his grasp and held  it up to your mouth, and he sparked his lighter and lit it for you. Taking a harsh drag, you felt the nicotine rush through your system. 

It was a good distraction. 

You let the smoke sit in your lungs for a moment before exhaling, looking over at Jotaro. He hadn’t changed much really-- still tall, stoic and built, although you did notice that he had become more in tune with his emotions as he aged. He still wore something similar to his school uniform from back in the day, but the black turtle neck was a nice choice in your opinion. 

What would Noriaki look like if he was here? 

Would his hair be long? Would his scars have faded? What kind of clothes would he wear?

You wished he was here. No matter what he looked like. Small tears burned at your eyes, and your hand moved up to wipe them away-- but Jotaro caught it. His eyes were trained on you-- watching as the tears formed and slid down your cheeks. 

“You miss him, don’t you?”

The words stung like a fresh wound, cutting open your heart and letting it bleed. They registered in your mind and all you could do was let out a sob. 

“Why did you make me come here?” You wanted to be angry-- scream the words at him, make him understand how much pain it caused you to be here. But they shriveled and died on your tongue, coming out as nothing more than a choked whisper. His eyes widened, and his grip on your hand grew slack. 

“I didn’t-” He started, before shutting his mouth again. You didn’t blame him, he probably had no idea what to say. His eyes still burned, staring at you with intensity you haven’t seen in years. 

“You’re not the only one who misses him.”

Your eyes shot open, looking up at Jotaro. He was crying. Wait-- no, he couldn’t be. In the 10+ years that you’ve known him, you have never once seen him shed a tear. But yet they poured down his cheeks in waves, fat and ugly.

This was the most defencless you’ve ever seen Jotaro Kujo.

And it hurt.

You moved on instinct alone-- you hands going up to his shoulders and bringing him close. He slumped over in your grasp, his head molding into your neck. Hot tears slid onto your shirt, wetting the fabric.

“He was the first one to understand me.” His choked words made your heart clench, but you didn’t say anything in response. Jotaro’s body shook, his hands coming up to your back, holding onto you for dear life. “I never thought anyone would. But he did. I didn’t even have to say anything-- he just knew. Knew what I wanted, what I was feeling--” 

His words crumbled, breaking down into hushed sobs. You held him, running your hands along the planes of his back. “I know.” You said, barely above a whisper. “He was something special.” 

It felt like hours. Hours just standing there, holding Jotaro and letting him cry. He probably needed this-- it seemed like he was never able to truly show his emotions. But right now, it was what you both needed. 

But then, he pulled back. Tears staining his cheeks, painted a soft pink-- his aquamarine eyes bloodshot and puffy. His hands shook at where they were on your back, gripping the material of your sleep shirt. His words were so small, broken and full of sorrow--

“Please forgive me for this.”

His lips crashed against yours, his hands pulling you closer. It didn’t feel real-- it was soft and passionate, and you couldn’t help but respond. You hands trailed up his chest, grabbing onto his shirt and deepening the kiss.

You didn’t know the last time you felt like this. 

But it felt so right.

His lips were moving, opening slightly and letting his tongue dart out. You understood what he wanted within seconds, parting your lips and meshing your tongue with his own. It was heating up-- little gasps and hiccups echoed in your ears, and you tried to pull him as close as possible. 

As soon as you did, he pulled away. Jotaro was looking down at you, an unknown look in his eyes. Was it lust? Wanting? No-- it was a look you’ve seen in violet orbs. Deep and passionate, and oh so familiar. 

“What do you need, Jotaro?” 

The words were confident, your hands running down his chest. He shivered just slightly, before gripping your shoulders. His eyes were so different-- pale and light, like the ocean waves licking the soft sand on Morioh’s coast. 

His arms pulled you close, his breath ghosting along your ear. Jotaro’s voice was wrecked, a husky baritone that made your legs shake beneath you. 

“You.”

Your eyes shut, desperately trying to keep your composure. Would Noriaki be okay with this? Would he be jealous? Upset? The questions plagued your mind like a disease, and it was hard to focus on just one. The sound of your own voice surprised you. 

“Then take me.”

Within seconds you were back inside-- Jotaro’s arms around you, pulling you close to his chest. It was different. You haven’t truly been with anyone since Nori, the pain of trying to find someone who would understand was too much for you to bother with. But with Jotaro-- he knew. 

He understood your problems. 

He has experienced the same pain and loss.

Your knees hit the bed, and you fell against the stiff sheets, Jotaro between your legs. His eyes were on you-- burning with need. You felt guilt arise in your shoulders, sliding down your back in pulsing waves. Was this what you wanted? 

“Jotaro, I--” 

Words that threatened to spill never came, silenced by the man’s lips capturing your own. It was so heated, smoldering-- passion that had been put to the back of your minds finally coming out. Your hands clawed at the shirt on his back, tugging at the unruly mess that was his hair. 

His touches weren’t any better-- sliding along your body, cupping and groping-- trying to memorize you. Feel your responses, what made you shake under his fingertips. 

...

to be continued ?

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.25}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 5.2k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

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Two minutes after the elaborate goodnight wishes, the five girls were finally on their way down to the dungeons. Cas was babbling away as always, entertaining both Melissa and Lisa to the fullest, while Jorien and Robin merely listened and observed as they followed behind. The three girls up front barely made it down the spiral staircase, giggling as they were, but not even the gloomy darkness of the dungeon hallways could bring the calm and quiet of the night into their conversation as they happily chatted on and on about the many highlights of the dance. Thus it wasn't surprising when a minute later nobody took notice of Robin's quiet yelp as she was whisked away from the group in a crossing of one gloomy hallway with an even darker one.

The adrenaline in Robin's blood skyrocketed immediately, the yelp dying on her lips in a broken moment of initial surprise. Then the familiar arm around her waist and the comforting scent of home quenched every spark of fear or panic in her mind.

She found herself pressed against the cold stone wall a second later, kept in place by the weight of his body while his soft lips on her own demanded a fire she gladly returned, and every last cell in her body lit up in roaring flames as an immediate response. Her heart was bursting, drumming furiously against her ribcage while its echoes pulsed through her entire body in sheer blissful heat. Oh bloody fucking hell, this was magnificent… breathtaking, in every sense of the word. And it still was terribly dangerous, even here now in the dark. That, perhaps, was the only flaw of the moment, their one and only honest mistake.

"Are you aware that you are way too good at this?" Snape finally asked, ragged breaths brushing against Robin's skin as he leaned his forehead against hers. Upon this she smiled, but her eyes stayed closed as she found herself too overwhelmed to open them. She didn't need to; she could feel him, his presence, his warmth, his entire being…

"Really?" She finally let out a humoured and incredulous huff in reply. How could she be any good at this if she had never kissed anyone before? Was her lack of experience really not all that noticeable?

"Without a doubt. I would never allow myself to get this carried away in a school hallway of all places if you didn't enchant me beyond any measure. Beyond any reason."

"Sev-..." She was cut off by his lips, both in word and thought and she lost every string of reason that had just started to gather back together. Oh screw experience, they were way too good at this to even think of that. She must be doing something very right if he couldn't stop this madness either, couldn't resist the growing addiction.

It once again was the noise of people crossing by in a hallway close by that broke them apart, and only then Robin noticed for the first time how much it hurt to stand on one's tiptoes for an extended amount of time. For a kiss like that, she still would do it again and again any time.

"I should apologise for seizing you like that without your permission." He finally said when the retiring students' laughter and chattering had faded in the distance, then he took a step backwards to give Robin her space as well. "Who knew I could act like a dunderhead myself, given the chance."

"Oh, I knew." Robin couldn't help grinning as she stepped away from the wall, which earned her a small glare and a not-smirk. "And as much as I understand and appreciate your point, you do have my permission. Besides, where would be the point in suddenly pressing me against a wall and kissing me senseless if it came with a warning?"

Snape didn't look at her, but the corners of his lips were twitching and she could tell with utmost certainty that he was amused even though being rather flustered at the same time. It was surprisingly adorable, really, and made her wonder if he had never been in such a situation before. Well, not exactly the same situation, obviously, but still…

"I have wanted to do that for a long time now." He replied to her surprise, and his eyes were back on hers, dark and intense and every last idea of adorable was gone. Instead, his gaze made Robin shiver in delighted excitement. "But never would I have thought that it would be better than anything I was even vaguely able to imagine."

"You imagined kissing me?"

"More often than I should admit to, if I want to keep some last scraps of dignity at least."

"I've seen you lying in a muddy river before, as well as being stuck in a giant cobweb. And if that's not enough, we were just snogging in the hallways like the hormonal teenagers we scold for doing the very same. I think it's a bit too late to worry about your dignity with me." Robin chuckled, louder even when Snape rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but her heart soared when he smiled again after all. "We really should get out of the hallways though, I'm tired of fearing people might run into us. I really don't see how the danger of getting caught can be appealing to someone, for me it's just nerve-wracking."

"I could not agree more."

After taking two seconds to straighten out their appearances just in case, they made their way through the gloomy darkness side by side like they had done so often by now, with the small but significant change that the accidental touches, the brushing of hands and bumping of arms were more intentional than not this time, and both knew it to be their fullest intention as well. Robin couldn't keep the grin off her face, but she bit her bottom lip to tone it down as much as possible. She hadn't felt so much giddy excitement in one night since… well, ever really. And when they walked right past the office, then past the lab as well, a liquid lightning ran from the top of her head down her spine to her very core and every cell beyond. These new rushes were only an additional layer to the bottomless adoration and affection that had been there for years now, to the deeply rooted love she held for him, but it was a heavenly addition nonetheless. It certainly gave the term 'allconsuming' an entirely new meaning, an inevitably deeper one.

It was only when Snape stopped in the crossing of hallways that on one end led to the common room and to his rooms on the other that Robin's smile faltered. With a confused frown she didn't bother to hide she came to a halt as well, looking up at him with the question clear as night in her eyes so she wouldn't have to say the words. It was safer than admitting to being as boldly assuming as she had been… somehow she hadn't doubted that they would at least have a coffee. Like always. Or… did he need space now, with everything that had happened? After all the days and nights they had spent together, he didn't really strike Robin as the kind of person who would need space, not from her. From others, yes, always if possible, but he hadn't sent her away in years, rather on the contrary really. So-...

"I don't know if this could be considered a good idea by any means." He said in a calm tone, reluctant almost while yet he reached out for Robin's hand and pulled her closer to himself. Always the contradiction, that man…

"And why wouldn't it be a good idea?" She asked in return, calm encouragement colouring her voice now that she knew the reason for his hesitation wasn't a sudden wish for distance. Indeed, as if to prove that point, he interlaced their fingers and drew her closer the last bit in a single move of gentle elegance.

"Because if you come with me right now, I won't let you leave again until we are late for breakfast." He replied quietly and yet in that intense sincerity that had Robin's heart skipping beats while her eyes were glued to his. Gods, he really did mean it… excitement struck her like lightning, her heartbeat posed the thunder.

"I can live with that." She managed to say in a breath, her lips curving up into a smile upon the repetition of his earlier words. Then they formed a smirk as she went on. "Bold of you to assume that I'll want to leave for breakfast though."

"Oh, I've never been partial to having three meals per day anyway."

His reply made Robin laugh, then smile up at him brightly and with just a hint of tease. "It's not such a bad idea after all, huh?"

"That would depend entirely on who you ask." He quirked an eyebrow at her with a not-smirk, then walked on down the hallway with a start while keeping hold of Robin's hand. She didn't need to be not-told twice to follow, and was again walking by his side when he spoke on. "I for my part cannot complain, and I honestly don't care about any other opinion but yours beyond that."

"Complaining wouldn't help you at this point anyway, because I have recently discovered the perfect way to bribe you."

"Is that so?"

"Open the door and I'll show you." Robin replied easily but with a teasing smirk no less once they reached his rooms in the bow of the hallway.

"Don't tempt me."

"Isn't that what a temptation is supposed to do?" She quipped while her smirk broadened. "Tempt?"

"You are insufferable."

"Or perhaps tease? Allure? Seduce? Ens-..." She didn't get further when she was pulled through the now open door and into the darkness behind it, barely catching how it was thrown shut again before she found herself tightly trapped against it from the inside. The grin that wanted to form on her lips died a broken second later when she got exactly what she wanted, and yet, as always, so much more.

His lips moved against hers in hunger, returning every bit of passion she gave, and yet there wasn't a hint of roughness in the kiss, no blunt strength which would taint the blissful sensuality. In a spark of boldness or bravery, Robin traced the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip, only for him to gasp against her lips in return. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and did the same thing again, the gasp turned into a silent moan and he pulled her with him away from the door, staggering through the darkness with a baffling certainty until one unfortunate movement of his hand over the hurting spot on Robin's back made her first hiss in pain, then flinch at the intensity of it. He let go of her immediately in return, and Robin's first fathomable thought was a silent curse directed at Morgan for being the cause of what had broken apart this moment. The stupid pain in her back.

"What did I do this time?" Snape asked in honest concern as well as subtle remorse, and a second later the fireplace lit up from a wordless spell, illuminating the remainder of the room in a gentle orange golden glow. They had almost reached the sofa by now, obviously having made their way there before the pain had put a stop to their plans.

"You did absolutely nothing wrong, I promise." Robin immediately gave him a small but reassuring smile, and held onto him so he wouldn't even think about moving away. "It's just that spot on my back that's still hurting ever since Morgan touched it, it really doesn't matter. Don't worry."

"Your back simply started hurting out of nowhere upon his touch during the dance? And he didn't speak a word?" Snape still inquired further, in lingering concern but quite obviously more at ease now that he knew it wasn't his doing that had hurt her at least. Robin had to smile at his sheer inability not to worry about her; it made her heart soar in warmth and adoration all the more. And seeing as he wouldn't stop asking, now that she had brought the mysterious pain to his attention, they might just have to deal with it right now.

"Not a word that was a spell, at least… and yes, he just traced his fingers over my back and that caused a strong stinging and burning that faded a moment later though. Now it hurts whenever someone even comes close to touching it. That's why I flinched so stupidly." She shrugged with a half smile. "Sorry for that."

"Don't apologise for what clearly isn't your fault. I should curse Morgan into oblivion for hurting you right in this instant… but I would rather take your pain away if I can." Snape sighed, then paused for a moment, lost in thought, before he finally spoke up again. "Did it hurt when your back hit the wall? Or the door? Or is it just a hand's touch that hurts?"

The question made Robin frown to herself; she hadn't considered that. The answer she came up with for herself then rendered her frown even deeper. "I believe it's just an actual human touch that causes me pain. It didn't hurt at all when I leaned against whatever surface, and neither does the dress make it sore or anything like that… But you and the girls could hurt me quite a bit by just touching any spot on my back. What does that mean?"

"I have a vague idea." He grumbled to himself at the thought of it, and Robin understood the sentiment only too well in this regard. "Can you touch it without pain?"

"I can try…" She mused and did just that, but even though she only barely could reach the spot with the back of her fingers when she twisted her arm enough, there should have been at least a little sting. But no, nothing, no pain at all. She frowned to herself again. "That's weird. I can't even precisely tell you where it is when it doesn't hurt… and I can touch it without pain. Perhaps it's nothing."

"Magical wounds should not be taken lightly, especially if inflicted by someone as irresponsible as Morgan. We should take you to the hospital wing."

"Or you could look at it here." Robin suggested easily, shrugging with one shoulder as she observed his reluctant but not averse expression. "You know more about the situation with Morgan, about what happened tonight and about me than anyone in the infirmary. I really don't mean to doubt their abilities at all, but I think if it's a magical thing of more or less unknown origin, it falls more into the dark arts anyway, which precisely is the point where I would prefer you to look at it. Who knows, maybe it really is nothing and we're through with it in two minutes… we could save ourselves the time of way. I have other plans for tonight than sitting around the infirmary with a bunch of punch-drunk students."

"Do you?" He couldn't help the smirk on his lips upon that, even though it was clear that he was trying to fight the short lived amusement due to the otherwise serious situation. At least it wasn't serious enough to warrant the complete absence of humour on his end, so that was a relief at least.

"Yeah, actually. I was hoping for a drink and the continuation of where we were interrupted, but I'm still open for further suggestions." She smiled up at him and he rolled his eyes, but the amusement stayed nonetheless, which sufficed to give Robin some more courage. They'd be through with this in no time, they always had been when she'd been injured. "Do you happen to know a spell to undo a million tiny buttons? I haven't found one yet, but if anyone knows such a thing, it would have to be you."

He let out an amused huff, then quirked an eyebrow at Robin. "I believe if there was such a spell, I would have discovered it by now. Every time I tried to invent one myself however, it led to the destruction of the garment rather than the desired result. Therefore I unfortunately have to disappoint you. Why do you ask?"

"Because it would have spared you work." She chuckled, somewhere between humour and embarrassment, the latter of which however she strongly tried to reason against. He'd seen her in various stages of undress over time, and it had never been a big deal. Or had it? Would he think differently of it now than he had over summer? Gods, why was she nervous now?! It wasn't even the kind of situation where she should be nervous, they were just trying to make sure that her back was alright, for heaven's sake! And she still stood with her point that she would rather have Snape looking at her injuries than anyone else, even in complete disregard to the most recent developments between them. This had nothing to do with that, it was just a coincidence. An oddly fitting one, going by the line of events.

Robin resisted the temptation to roll her eyes at herself and her antics and merely turned around so that her back was right in front of him, making an obvious point of what she wanted him to do. This wasn't a movie; plots didn't just fall into place like that. Two things could happen without any obvious correlation between them. She sighed, then focused on the task at hand. "Perhaps I should've worn a dress with a zipper like everyone else, huh? Then again, I wasn't really expecting anyone having to undress me tonight."

She didn't need to look at him to know that he was hesitating, and if she was honest, she couldn't really blame him. Truth was that things were different now, or could be different now, and it was uncharted territory for both of them. Either of them was uncertain what to make of it, afraid to make a wrong move. At least it brought some peace and relief to her mind that he obviously was just as insecure as she was in this new and yet so very familiar moment of innocent intimacy. Even though things like this had happened in the plenty over summer already.

"We're just looking at my back for the damage Morgan did yet again… Just like the times he dislocated my shoulder, or cut open my hand, or-... well, you know what I mean. You've seen me torn up and bloody before, and we've always taken care of it. And I know for a fact that your hands aren't cold, so there really is nothing to worry about, right?" She said in a calm, almost soothing voice, both to him and herself, and contrary to what she had thought, it actually caused an overwhelming wave of ease and comfort to wash over her when he finally started with the first button in the back of her neck. When his fingers brushed against her skin however, her breathing hitched nonetheless while goosebumps covered her skin within a broken second. Perhaps this wasn't entirely like it had been over summer… But comfort and excitement were what it caused yet again, and that really seemed to be a reoccurring theme with them. Their own perfect ambivalence. Home and adventure at once.

It didn't take long at all until the buttons were open down to her waist, just far enough so she could slip the spiky and stiff shoulder parts off her arms, which left her to clutch the front of her dress to her chest quite a bit more tightly than necessary. Robin blamed the neckline of her dress for making her forsake any kind of bralette… It left her upper body entirely bare now, and that in return was the reason why she was clutching the front of the dress to her chest. But then again, she didn't really mind it too much if she was being honest with herself. Having an excuse to show some skin… forcing her to be bolder than she was… it really was terribly exciting for some stupid reason. A lucky coincidence, even if a bit poorly timed. Most of all however, Robin liked the reaction she was getting from the man behind her, judged by the fact that his heartbeat had doubled in speed by the time her back was exposed to him almost entirely. There it was again, that overwhelming excitement that came with the power she seemed to have over him… the knowledge that her mere being did such things to him. But they were just looking at her back for the spellwork done on her, and she gave herself a mental slap to stop pondering how they could go on from there. Unrelated situations, and all that…

"So… how does it look?" She finally asked in a surprising calmness, considering that her every sense was heightened to the extreme. Gods, she wanted him to touch her skin again, even if it would hurt… No, bad thought, bad Robin! There was work to do, and she was getting distracted!

"Like three hand-length cuts that seem to have scarred. Did you ever notice those before? They look far older than just a few hours." He mused in return, then carefully pulled Robin closer to the fireplace by her elbow. She didn't resist and merely walked backwards blindly until she was in the direct light of the fire, and thereby also in the reach of its warmth. He stopped her there, and for a moment she wondered if he needed the light or if he had just noticed the goosebumps on her skin. Duh, obviously he had… they were hard to miss, even if they weren't at all caused by the cold. Either way, his hand lingered on her arm, and that was even more welcome than the fire's warmth.

"Actual scars? I don't think I've had them before, no. And truth be told, you probably would've seen them before if they had been there for longer." She finally remembered to reply, then frowned to herself. "And in addition to that, I can't remember ever getting severely injured on the back. Other than the thing with the bludger in fifth year, that is… I never really knew exactly how badly I hurt myself there, and I never dared to ask."

"Badly enough to have me terrified of your impending death."

"Oops…" She breathed rather lamely, then chuckled to herself almost apologetically. "I guess passing out in the infirmary right in front of your eyes didn't help much with that."

"No. Neither did it prepare me for the instance last summer where you actually came close to death when you passed out on my doorstep." He said in a sigh, then the hand on Robin's arm vanished as he spoke on. "Let us ensure that it won't happen again and find out what that pest of a man did to you this time. Tell me when the pain becomes noticeable, yes?"

Robin only hummed in agreement, and jumped a second later when he placed a hand on her shoulder this time, in a gentle touch that had her melting right on the spot. Slowly and with just enough pressure to be noticeable at all, his fingers danced across her skin, down to her shoulder blade and over her spine, tracing three lines at last with a bit more pressure. Robin had to bite her lip to keep in both a sigh of bliss and a whimper of pain. For some odd reason these two were currently very hard to tell apart in that they both caused an echo of his touch, a heat pulsing through her in the rhythm of her heartbeat.

"Didn't that hurt at all?" He asked with a frown practically ingrained in his tone, as well as confusion in the plenty, and Robin had to call defeat to circumstance.

"Oh. Yes, it did. Sorry, I really should have said something." She admitted in a quiet voice, then got a grasp of herself and continued on a little louder. "But I didn't want you to stop, so I kind of… forgot speech over the overwhelming feeling of having your touch on my back at all."

"You do make it very difficult for me to focus on the problem at hand when you say things like that."

His words brought a smile to Robin's face as it suddenly eradicated the nervousness, and she was only glad that he couldn't see it. "I'm sorry."

"You're not."

"True, I'm not." She couldn't help chuckling at her own half-hearted attempt to fool him, and even more at his trenchant ability to see right through her. "But I'll try to focus on the problem now instead of how amazing your hands feel on my skin."

"Robin…" He warned her quietly, but she could still hear the smirk in his voice, and that's when she couldn't help laughing.

"It's really not my fault!" She protested, and almost would've dropped her arms in a grand gesture if she hadn't remembered just why she was holding her dress in place in the very last second. This entire situation was as ridiculous as it was dangerous as it was wonderful. "You try focusing on anything beyond the tingles when your entire body is a goddamn wildfire!"

"I am trying right now, and you're not making it any easier. The sight of you alone is distracting enough."

"Just that little bit of skin is supposedly doing to you what your touch does to me? Sorry, but I sincerely doubt it."

"You shouldn't." He replied entirely seriously now, and the mere tone of his voice was enough to make Robin shiver again. "It does not take naked skin or fancy gowns for me to think of you as far more than simply ‘delectable’. You are nothing short of the most breathtaking creature I have ever been blessed to see, to stay with the trivial matter of physical appearance for once. But indeed, while I could not care less for others' looks and garments, you never fail to enchant me entirely with any of yours, and seeing as I have previously not had the opportunity to see quite so much of your skin, it does affect me quite strongly now at long last."

Robin's heart skipped a beat, then set into a steady gallop that made it delightfully hard to breathe. But for some reason, the words on her lips did not care for that at all. "You make it very difficult for me to focus on the problem at hand when you say things like that." She mirrored his statement, smiling to herself at the thought. "But do you actually mean it or are you just trying to get revenge on me by equal terms?"

"Both, obviously, but the latter is rather a lucky side effect of the former. And since we are discussing it already, you can call me blind if you will, but I do actually find your hair very attractive on any day, especially because it is a perfect mess." He answered easily, while his fingers continued to trace irregular patterns over the injured part of her back that seemed to hurt more and more by the minute. "Even though I very much appreciate the recent absence of the pineapple scent."

Robin found that she didn't mind the pain, especially not when his reference to her words from earlier this evening as well as the dreaded pineapple made her laugh, and the knowledge that he did, in fact, mean all of those things he'd said made her skin tingle pleasantly. He never made shallow compliments; when he deliberately said something nice for once, one could be sure that he meant it to the fullest.

"I think that might be among the loveliest things you have ever said to me." She smiled after a moment, when her soaring heart would let her speak up through the haze of emotions. "Directly said to me, that is. You say a lot of nice things when you don't mean to."

"Don't get used to it. What a crazy world would we be living in if I started saying nice things regularly now… It would entirely destroy the efficiency and purpose of my compliments." He scoffed in obvious sarcasm and tease, while placing his second hand on her shoulder to keep her in place for whatever he was doing.

"You're an idiot, Sev-..." Robin's words and laughter were cut off with a start when Snape placed his other hand directly on the hurting spot on her back, with quite a bit more pressure than before. It caused a pain far too strong for any measure to ripple through her every sense, and a well of tears to spring to her eyes in return. "Ouch! God damn and bloody hell…"

"I might be an idiot, but an idiot who can focus far better when we banter as usual. That seems to have become somewhat of a precondition for me to be able to work efficiently." He returned, then removed his hands from her entirely before he spoke on in a much more tainted tone. "I apologise for having to hurt you, but in order to undo the spell before it became even more dangerous, that unfortunately was inevitable. Now however, the pain should be gone once and for all in just a moment."

"Wait, you… you know what Morgan did to me and just… undid it like that?" Robin turned around to face him with a deep frown creasing her brows in an instant. "Is that what you were doing while we talked?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't bother telling me?! At least a little warning, perhaps?"

"I had the choice between distracting you by making you laugh and thereby forget about the pain I was unfortunately causing in the process, or to further said pain even more by talking about Morgan and his vile doings." He replied so easily that it made perfect sense now, that it appeared to be the most obvious solution ever. "As you see, it wasn't even a choice to be made."

"Thank you. That… was a really clever thing to do, actually." Robin sighed and gave him a soft smile, then took a moment to appreciate how the shadows of the flames danced across his skin before she spoke on. "So… no more pain for now?"

"Not as far as I can tell, at least."

"Let's find out for sure then, shall we?"

______________________________

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[nimmy22]

A Mistake: Chapter 5

"Our encounters will only end once I say so. Now, answer this. Why were you limping?" Wesker watched through his shades as she flinched when his hand came to rest on her injured leg. He found this development displeasing. Someone trespassed on his right to be the only one to hurt her, to use her, to kill her. And correction was in order.

"What's it to you?" Cara hissed, slapping his hand away.

"Wrong answer dearheart, let's try again." His hand found her leg once more, and this time he gave a not-so-gentle squeeze. He flashed his pearly whites with a smirk, watching her grimace and suck a sharp breath. "Why were you limping?"

"I fell... down some s-stairs and hurt my...leg," she cried, looking away from him.

Wanting things over quickly, she hoped he would lose interest and leave her be. Why would he even care if someone laid a hand on her? Especially when he was still wavering between hot and cold on whether to kill her or not. If someone killed her, then Wesker should consider it a time well saved. She was beyond confused by this.

"Fell? Are you sure?" Wesker frowned, removing his shades. Cara had no idea why he even wore them while presenting...indoors. They seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face, but at least he took them off in the rain. She mentally kicked herself for spending a second analyzing the fashion sense of a corrupt officer. It will certainly not prolong her life.

Wesker suddenly drifted closer to her face with scrutinizing eyes. "I suppose you also hit your head in the fall?" He said before putting pressure over the bruise on her head. The more she struggled to turn her head, the harder he applied the pressure. She cursed her cheap foundation for having melted off within so little time, likely exposing her bruise. The humid weather wasn't helping her situation either, aiding the cream to melt off her skin.

"Stop it! It hurts. Please, I answered your question. what do you want now?"

Not many dared to bluntly lie to Wesker, and those who did were now entertaining earthly maggots as a free buffet. The little girl lied to him without shame, leaving him with the urge to loosen his collar as his blood began to simmer. He had to restrain himself, not wanting to smash.... his shades.

"Do you take me for a fool? You forget you're still dealing with a cop, and I can certainly tell the difference between physical violence and injuries from a fall. I've dealt with countless domestic violence and child abuse cases. Now, answer the question before I rip off those pants to confirm." Wesker growled, punching the garbage bin centimeters from her head. She squeaked like a mouse, shielding her head with her arms, folding into a fetal position. Peeking through her fingers, Cara spotted the dent he left in the metal and audibly swallowed. He could crush her skull if he wanted to and why he has yet to do so is beyond her.

"Ok fine! It was...my...dad, h-he...hit me. Happy now? But whose parents don't bring out the belt every now and then? It's not that big of a deal." Cara slanted her body away from him and fidgeted with her sleeve. Until this point, she had never admitted to anyone what went on at home behind closed doors. Not even her closest friend knew a thing. But she was forced to disclose one of her deepest secrets to this bastard just because he asked her nicely.

"I see." Wesker stood up, pondering something for a moment before walking back towards the school doors. Pausing by the door, he spoke without looking at her. "Clean yourself up and go back to the assembly. Then after that, I want you to walk across the street to the laundromat's parking lot. You will wait there for me."

"Why?" Cara swallowed, a cold feeling creeping over her like a heavy blanket. Wesker didn't answer, as he was already gone, and she was met with the sound of doors slamming shut. With a sigh, she wiped her tear-streaked cheeks with her clammy hands.

Raising to her wobbly feet, Cara straightened out her clothes, doing her best to clear the dust. There was no way to reduce the puffy eyes. She decided to play it off as being devastated for the poor boy who ended up an overcooked steak.

She was definitely in over her head, but without a choice, she was forced to do what he wanted. He already knew pretty much everything about her, her home, school, and family issues.

--------------

"You sure you don't want a ride home?" Claire said, hugging her friend tightly and being a major cause for much discomfort. She somehow managed to touch all Cara's painful bruises all at once, completely unaware. The two stood in the school parking lot, finished with school for the day.

"I'm fine, Claire, really. I just had a weak moment. Don't worry about me. I just need to have a little walk with some thinking time."

"I can come with,"

"No!" Cara jerked back before realizing what she did. Claire blinked, staring at her friend with her mouth open. "Oh shit, sorry. I mean...I want to...be alone for a while. You should go annoy your brother at work. He'll appreciate that."

"Are you ok? You're acting weird, not just today but this whole week. What's going on?" Cara felt more beads of sweat forming on her forehead with each question Claire asked. She needed to get away before she said something she shouldn't have.

"I'm fine, I swear. You're just reading too much into things." Cara said, backing away from her friend.

"Cara!" Claire called out, watching Cara hurry across the street. "What the heck is going on," she wondered aloud.

Claire was about to follow her when a hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, ready to snap the fingers of the fool who dared grab her in such a manner.

"Miss Redfield, great seeing you." Wesker greeted her, his grip on her shoulder unmoving. Her eyes widened as she recognized the fool being her brother's boss.

"Oh...Captain Wesker. Um...Great presentation." Claire said, trying to shrug out of his hold. He let go, but very slowly. She didn't know why he was interacting with her this long. The most she ever got from Wesker was a nod or asking where Chris went after abandoning his desk for half an hour when he should've been doing paperwork. The answer was tacos she made herself and brought to the station for Chris.

"Thank you. I'm just hoping at least a few students will hold onto my words." Wesker responded, discreetly watching through his shades as Cara disappear from view. He simply couldn't have a foolish Redfield ruining his plans. "So where are you headed off to?"

"Uh... I was just about to head home," she said, pointing her thumb over to her motorcycle.

"Drive home safely. Wouldn't want your brother distracted on the job now, would we?" They both knew Chris would get distracted regardless, but she didn't like his tone when talking about her brother.

"No, of course not," Claire gave him a sweet smile, flapping him the bird behind her back. "Have a nice day, Captain Wesker."

"You as well, Miss Redfield." Wesker walked away, heading across the parking lot to his cruiser before driving off.

With a long sigh, Claire looked back to the direction her friend had run off to, but she was already long gone. Claire groaned, promising herself that she was not about to let this go. She owed Cara to be a good friend and help her sort out whatever she was going through. The next time she saw Cara, they were going to have a very good talk.

-----------------

Cara stood in the parking lot of the laundromat, fidgeting with the zipper of her jacket. The little piece of metal was already bent in two places from her abuse. She was alone, the place had closed down months ago, its owner was an elderly lady who passed away. She had no children to inherit it, and so the place had to shut its doors. It would make sense why Wesker would want to pick her up here. Students had no reason to crowd this property, having a plaza on the other side of the road abundant in fast-food joints and an arcade.

The temperature hadn't changed drastically since the morning. Yet, she found herself shivering in her jacket and hugging it closer to her body. Her eyes kept darting about, dreading the imminent interaction. She hated the waiting, but she didn't want to find out what he had in store for her.

Wesker drove into the parking lot, eyes zeroed in on the pitiful creature shivering alone and looking misplaced. Good thing he was here to 'help her out.' He thoroughly enjoyed how she nearly bolted upon spotting the car. He stopped next to her and waited.

Cara waited for him to emerge from the car or to roll down a window to tell her what he wanted. He did neither of those things, and so she shut her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and reaching for the door handle of the passenger seat. Still saying nothing, she slid into the seat before shutting the door as hard as she could. Between them, the air freshener swung back and forth with greater momentum charged by the thick atmosphere.

"So nice of you to find the time for me, dearheart. I am flattered."

"Of course, With whom else could I see myself spending time?" she didn't bother asking where they were headed, knowing how far questions seemed to set her back with him.

They pulled up to a simplistic two-story home, its lawn cleanly kempt but lacking any other colorful vegetation. She couldn't help but think it was the end of the road for her when the garage door sealed shut behind them.

Leaving the car, he walked into the house, depositing his keys on a bowl by the door. Cara followed close behind but far enough to dodge an attack, or so she hoped. Walking by the deposited keys, her fingers itched to grab them, make a run for it, but her brain didn't feel like making the deadly mistake so soon into the day or... week. Biting her bottom lip, she followed him into the living room.

Like the outside of the house, the inside lacked color, instead opting for white and shades grey. All in all, it looked like the kind of place that will get very messy if someone were to get murdered in it. But that didn't put her at ease. She still had no idea what he wanted.

Cara's fingers were inches from touching a plain white vase when Wesker finally spoke. "Welcome to my home."

She snatched her hand back so fast, her shoulder almost popped out of its socket. She opened her mouth several times, but nothing came out.

"You...live here?" Finally, she managed to form a few words.

"I do not like repeating myself, but yes, I live here. Stay here. I will be back." Wesker left Cara in the living room, making his way upstairs. Passing several doors, he came across one that streamed a golden light from beneath. Knocking three times, pausing, and then twice more, he waited for the response. He smiled, hearing the sound of four subsequent knocks and a scratching sound. This was their code, a living memory of his army days.

The door opened and smiling up at him was Sherry. He accepted her into his open arms before picking her up. "Your back, uncle Albert."

"Yes, and I brought you a really nice present."

"What is it! ...a puppy?"

"No, try again."

"Is it a dinosaur? A game? A dress? A book? Is it edible?" Sherry filled her bubble with guesses, eyes twinkling. She rubbed her hands together as if the friction could make the surprise appear faster. She had been alone all day and bored out of her mind.

Wesker shook his head at her simple thinking but enjoyed her expressions.

Walking into the living room, Wesker felt Sherry's gasp shake her whole body. "Cara!" the little girl squeaked before jumping out of the older man's grasp. She raced to her babysitter, unable to believe her eyes.

Cara's expression transformed from a scowl to a tender smile upon noticing Sherry, eyes brimming with tears.

The little girl snuggled against Cara, relishing the comforting scent of her friend. Truly, she thought she was in heaven. "Thank you, Uncle Albert! This the greatest surprise ever!" Sherry beamed at her uncle, half her face smushed against Cara's chest.

"And it gets even better. Cara agreed to come play with us every day right after school." Wesker burst Cara's bubble with a rusted pin, killing all hope of escape.

Cara's smile immediately fell. She shot daggers at the older man who merely took a seat on the couch, legs spread wide apart as he rested his arms over the back of the couch.

"Really? I can't believe it! I am so happy. We can do so many things, Cara, not just on Friday nights."

"Y-you can't-" Cara stuttered, struggling against herself to end the happiness of a little girl. To Cara, disappointing Sherry was a terrifying thing, especially if she the very cause of it.

"Why don't you take her to play in your room?" Sherry was already leading Cara before the dirty cop finished his sentence.

"Wait, Sherry. You go on up, and I will um...come to play in a few minutes. I just need to talk to...Uncle Albert for a sec." Cara spat his name.

"Ok!" Sherry said, bouncing on her feet, and ran upstairs. Once the little girl's giggles grew distant, she turned to Wesker who was already watching her with the eyes of a lazy predator. His shades sat in front of him on the coffee table, neatly folded.

Cara couldn't help the tingling shiver as he watched her. She gathered her courage and stood up straight, forcing her nerves down before speaking, "What if I don't want to continue the job?"

Wesker laughed at the ridiculous proposal.

"And break the poor girl's heart? She has consistently asked for you every day, more so than for her own parents. Where is Cara? Is she ok? Can I visit her?"

"Stop using her against me! I don't want to get involved more than I already have with you."

"Sherry experienced horrible things that night, all because of who her parents are. So, if she wants her delicious babysitter back, then she will have her back. Simple." Wesker knew which buttons to press to get her to do exactly what he wanted. The fear factor wasn't everything, and it wouldn't last long. He knew she loved his niece like a little sister, and he will use that to secure a tight collar over her neck.

'A delicious babysitter.' For some reason, these words stood out to Cara, and she found herself unable to formulate a coherent sentence, feeling the temperature of the room rise rapidly.

"But why does it have to be here? In your house?"

"As much as I support my dear friend William, he can be a little too preoccupied with his work and often becomes disengaged from the outside world. He forgot to call anyone to fix the damages, and so the house has yet to be repaired. Until it's ready, Sherry will stay here, that is unless she chooses to stay indefinitely, which I don't mind at all. It's always too quiet around here."

Seeing no way out of this, Cara begrudgingly walked upstairs, defeat weighing down her steps. Her mood brightened a little while playing with Sherry, but she couldn't put her whole heart into it. Her choice was taken away, and she couldn't live with that. But in the end, she had to be grateful as this was still better than being murdered and stuffed into a dumpster or buried alive.

For now, she will do her best to make Sherry happy. The little girl has been through a lot already.

----------------

Hours later, Cara stood in front of the sink, swirling the cool water in her glass before gulping it down. She was halfway through the water when she felt something warm, soft, and feather-like touch the back of her neck. She spun around to see Wesker walking away, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. She barely registered the icy water spilling on her clothes as she realized what happened. Her stomach weaved knots, pulling them too tight to undo.

Wesker had kissed her neck. And then he just walked away as if nothing happened. This had to be the strangest trick her mind could play on her. Or was it? There was simply no way a man like him will ever be interested in her. Never.

It felt like a terrible joke, and yet, she found her hand touching her neck, a rosy blush making its way.

[container-of-apple-juice]

Decided to post chapter 2 separately because I’m proud I finished something for once lmao

Part one here —>

Sasuke pulled his phone out once again to call (now both of them) a Lyft, but Naruto stopped him by lightly swatting at his arm with both of his hands.

“Naaaah Sasuke, lets walk! It’s not too far.”

“It’s fifteen minutes. And for some reason you don’t have a jacket.”

[[MORE]]

Sasuke kept his phone in his hand, but he paused his thumb over the screen. It was after midnight. He was looking skeptically at the drunken boy beside him when Sasuke’s mind flashed back to the challenge they had both accepted earlier.

He decided that he wasn’t too eager to get home to his bed where he would be forced to confront...whatever emotional ramifications that whole situation would definitely cause him.

“M’not even cold.” Naruto supplied casually, throwing his arms back behind his head with a grin.

Sasuke thought he could hear his heart in his ears again, but sighed in resignation and started walking forward, leaving Naruto staring dumbly after him.

“Fine, let’s go then.”

Naruto caught up easily and they walked in companionable silence for the first few minutes, enjoying the way the alcohol made the night sky swirl pleasantly above them. It was surprisingly clear.

The moon was nearly full, or maybe it was just waning, but it’s glow provided a dim white lighting that paired well with the warm buzz of the occasional street lamp.

Naruto particularly enjoyed how the differing hues colored the dark hair of his walking companion, and the way the shadows contrasted on Sasuke’s notably paler skin.

But he realized suddenly that he’d been openly staring at Sasuke in the near darkness and tried to discreetly turn his head away in fear of being caught.

He wasn’t sure what made him want to walk home, but something was bothering him.

“I can’t believe you almost turned down a dare, Teme.” His voice was sudden in their silence, but the softly teasing tone as he bumped their shoulders together felt natural to Sasuke even while it caused them both to stumble a bit as they walked.

“Idiot, I wasn’t the only one they dragged into that dare. I wasn’t about to accept something that made you-“ uncomfortable? Disgusted? Question my feelings for you- no-

He snapped his mouth shut and felt his lips tug downward at the corners slightly. He opted to leave the thought unfinished as they rounded a street corner, finally turning onto the street that led to their neighborhood.

Shit. Shit shit. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but he thought for sure Naruto would just let the situation slide by, at least during their walk home.

Naruto snorted.

“And you call me an idiot,”

Sasuke glared at him reflexively, but it was admittedly softened by the variety of booze currently in his system, leaving him with more of a pout than anything. The expression on the Uchiha’s flushed face had Naruto’s grin widening even further as he finished his thought.

“You know I’d do anything for you.”

Sasuke was about to reply when Naruto suddenly jumped up onto the long, narrow edge of the cement planter they were walking alongside.

“You’re drunk. Get down.” Sasuke continued walking as he spoke, his words lacking conviction. There was no stopping Naruto from doing whatever reckless thing he wanted to do in the moment.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Sasuke closed his eyes as Naruto’s words from earlier rang in his ears once again.

“Yeah, right. Unlike some people, I don’t back down from a challenge.”

“Nobody challenged you to make a stupid decision on our walk home.” And as if to punctuate his words, Sasuke turned his head just in time to see Naruto slip a bit on the edge of the concrete before steadying himself and holding still for a moment to ensure his stability.

The blonde boy gave him an overly confident double-thumbs-up before starting to walk forward, only to immediately slip once again from atop the slippery, raised concrete.

Sasuke instinctively reached out to catch Naruto by the arm before the idiot could fall back entirely into some stranger’s yard; the only problem with that being the poignant lack of coordination both of them were currently inflicted with.

The shocked gasp pulled from Naruto’s lips was the first and only thing Sasuke managed to register before the reckless boy’s body collided with his own, landing roughly on top of Sasuke as his back met the pavement, effectively knocking the wind out of them both. It was a graceless crash; a rough slide of fabric and skin against damp grass and gravel in the near pitch blackness.

“This-“ Sasuke managed to get out, both of them catching their breath, “-is why I call you an idiot. Just by the way.”

Naruto winced as he leaned up on one elbow from his fallen position over the Uchiha, opening his mouth to defend himself before snapping his jaw shut as realization struck him about just how close they’re current positions left them.

Sasuke watched with rapt attention as Naruto’s words left him suddenly- head pounding from both the collision with the pavement and the alcohol that still coursed through him. Naruto didn’t stop his eyes from falling heavy-lidded to Sasuke’s lips, causing the boy beneath him to lick them instinctively. Naruto licked his own in response.

Sasuke swallowed thickly, mind racing.

“We need to get home.” He spoke softly, shocked at the gentleness in his own voice. The crisp stillness of the night air and their close proximity made the moment feel incredibly fragile and Sasuke couldn’t stand it. But he made no move to push Naruto off of him just yet.

The deepening blush on Naruto’s face had nothing to do with the alcohol.

“Shit, sorry, you’re right-” He moved to stand up but Sasuke groaned loudly as Naruto’s knee pushed down on him painfully hard. “-fffuck, ah, Sas, I’m so so sorry-“

Sasuke slapped his hand over Naruto’s mouth, raising his other arm to bury his eyes in the crook of his elbow. He let out a slow sigh.

They lay quietly on the sidewalk for a moment before Naruto gently removed Sasuke’s hand from his mouth.

“...are you okay?” He spoke much more softly this time, truly concerned and clearly feeling guilty.

Sasuke moved his arm a fraction away from his eyes to glare up at the boy still on top of him in the damp grass.

The light from a single streetlight several feet away was enough to cast a faint, warm glow along the right side of Naruto’s face as the boy looked with worry down at his friend.

Sasuke thought the soft orange hue suited him nicely as it caught on his cheek bone and wrapped along his jaw, casting shadows alongside the three pale scars across his cheek, accentuating them drastically.

Sasuke was tired and his body hurt and he was starting to think that maybe he was sobering up, but evidently not enough to stop his hand from reaching toward the warm, glowing face just a few inches above his own.

He traced his thumb across the symmetrical lines that marked Naruto’s cheeks for as long as he could remember, noting the warmth beneath his touch and feeling mesmerized by it.

Sasuke swore Naruto was holding his breath as the Uchiha raised his other hand to mirror the first on Naruto’s other strikingly warm cheek.

“...I’m okay.”

He felt Naruto leaning down just as Sasuke decided to pull him in.

His lips still shocked Sasuke with their soft warmth, despite having tasted them less than an hour ago.

Naruto let the breath he was holding out through his nose as their lips moved in time with one another slowly and deliberately, vulnerable in the open night air amongst the shadows and colliding hues.

Sasuke was just sliding his hands back into Naruto’s hair when the sharp clang of a metal fence startled him enough to break their trance.

Both boys turned their heads abruptly, faces burning in embarrassment over having been caught red handed, but Sasuke immediately felt his shoulders relax back into the grass when all that met his gaze was an orange cat sat beside a fence one yard down from where they lay on the sidewalk.

Their bodies were halfway in the walkway and halfway in the grass that lined the pavement on the side of the road. Anyone walking down the street would have stumbled across the two of them.

“We should get home.” Sasuke spoke without turning his gaze from the cat, despite seeing Naruto turn his head back down towards him.

There was a prolonged beat of silence between them as Sasuke continued to watch the cat stroll languidly across the street.

Without a word in reply, Naruto got to his feet (being extra careful where he placed his knees) and offered a hand to Sasuke.

Sasuke regarded him briefly before accepting the warm offering and allowing himself to be pulled back up to his feet. He hissed through his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as his head pounded angrily in response to the shift. He cursed himself and immediately tried to quell his physical responses to the pain.

Naruto looked at him apologetically as Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, carrying most of his weight on his left leg, although Naruto didn’t think anyone but himself would’ve noticed the slight change in posture. Sasuke opened his eyes only to see Naruto grinning at him in a way that made him instantly wary.

“What are you doing?”

“Lemme carry you.”

“Tch. Don’t be dense, you’re too drunk to even properly carry yourself.”

Naruto ignored him and turned around, kneeling down in front of Sasuke and holding his arms out in the offering of a piggy back ride. Sasuke dragged him back up by his collar and started walking forward without releasing his grip.

“Wha-Oi! Oi-Oi-Oi- Sasuke!” Sasuke snorted satisfactorily as Naruto floundered at his side. The boy could definitely break out of Sasuke’s grip if he really wanted to, but instead he snaked both arms around Sasuke’s waist from his position behind the slightly taller man, startling the Uchiha into releasing his grip on Naruto’s shirt.

“Naru-oh fuck, Naruto!”

Naruto cackled triumphantly as he lifted Sasuke by the waist and brought him up to his chest in a bridal-style carry.

“I swear on everything you love, put me down right-the-fuck now, Naruto-“ But instead of listening to the seething boy in his arms, Naruto simply gave his most wicked grin and took off in a sprint in the direction of their apartment. He hadn’t even let Sasuke finish the threat.

Sasuke gripped Naruto’s shirt like a vice in response, more than sure that they would both eat shit before they made it home. Again.

But Naruto’s hands seemed firm and steady where they held him close to his chest. Fuck, Naruto was lucky he was still a little drunk. He would absolutely still kick his ass for this later, though.

The thought of his sweet revenge kept Sasuke sane as the wild boy kept on trudging toward their shared appartment with seemingly wreckless abandon.

Sasuke Uchiha does not get carried.

But when Naruto set him down at their front door less than a couple minutes later he found himself speechless, even though he wasn’t the one currently out of breath.

The blonde boy was panting harshly at his side but he rested his hands on his hips triumphantly, standing tall. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled his keys out of his pocket, turning to unlock the door as he spoke.

“I’ll go ahead and add the fact that we’re both still alive right now to your list of drunken achievements.” The door swung open and Sasuke heard Naruto shut it behind them only seconds later.

“I’m going to bed.” Sasuke said once he’d somehow successfully taken his shoes and jacket off.

“Wait- Sasuke.” Naruto’s tone sounded incredibly too sober and intense for Sasuke’s comfort but he paused in his tracks and glanced back at Naruto nonetheless.

“What is it?” He was rightfully proud that he was able to control the tremor threatening to bleed into his voice.

“What happened earlier, between us..”

“You mean when our so-called friends forced us into a physically vulnerable moment while drunk off our asses? Or when you fell like a novice and made us both eat shit in the middle of our neighborhood?”

“The, uh...the physical vulnerability.”

Sasuke glanced down, he couldn’t help but think that that response could apply to either moment.

He remembered how good Naruto’s weight had felt fully pressed on top of him on the sidewalk, despite the pain of the fall. And how close they’d been- how it had felt to finally, properly kiss Naruto instead of the agonizing, shadow of a kiss they had felt during that damn Pocky Challenge-

“What about it.” It wasn’t so much of a question as it was a challenge- a challenge for Naruto to just come out and say it.

Say what Sasuke was dreading- to confront the tension that had started between them the moment they began living in the same room together in their freshman year- and the unrelenting, confusing and mesmerizing bond they’d felt even before that, before either one of them could remember. That strange tension between the two of them that felt both comfortable and terrifyingly electric, like the smallest breeze could send it all crashing down around them, all the while knowing that they could remold the broken pieces into something even more beautiful-

“Well, I mean, about the challenge- we really didn’t-“ Naruto swallowed, stepping closer to Sasuke “-we didn’t really finish it did we? I mean, the way they showed us...”

Naruto didn’t stop approaching him until Sasuke felt his back hit the wall of the hallway leading to both of their bedrooms. He hadn’t even realized he was backing up until that moment and he decided that he was never drinking again if it made his reflexes this bad.

“I just wanna-“

“Naruto...”

He felt an all-too-familiar and impossibly warm grip on his hips, the warmth on either side of him lowering his defenses despite his ingrained apprehension. He found his space was crowded with a mix of their energy, like a palpable buzz between them as Sasuke closed his eyes.

“The way they finished it...”

Sasuke felt Naruto’s breath against his own lips and parted them ever so slightly in response.

Sasuke’s mind raced as their mouths collided for the third time that night. The rhythm this time around came to them as naturally as the changing of the tide, ebbing and flowing to accommodate their occasional gasps for air.

The fingers on either side of him tightened as a tentative, exploring brush of tongue eased his mouth open.

Naruto tasted like tequila and warmth and, though he’d never admit it, everything Sasuke had imagined countless times before.

“Naruto-“

Sasuke broke their kiss as the name escaped his lips, leaning his head back against the wall, suddenly overwhelmed and apprehensive.

“S’uke..”

Sasuke shuddered involuntarily beneath the breath of the blonde in front of him and felt himself swallow thickly. He dared to raise his gaze, eyebrows drawn closely together as he took in the flushed, tan cheeks before him. Naruto’s own gaze was hooded and dark in the dimly lit hallway of their apartment and Sasuke braced himself with a harsh grasp on each of Naruto’s exposed biceps.

“You’re..you’re drunk. We should go to bed.”

“Come to mine?”

Sasuke closed his eyes once again, his mouth suddenly going dry. It was a bad idea. It was a terrible idea. Why was he so tempted? Why couldn’t he even begin to form a refusal on his lips? Dammit.

“You’ll regret it in the morning.” He spoke, impossibly soft, which he instantly regretted, cheeks flaring up despite his frustration because Naruto was laughing at him-

“Teme, this isn’t anything new. Don’t you see it?” His eyes sparkled, shockingly clear as they searched Sasuke’s.

And he was right. Sasuke knew he was right, but it still felt like a punch to the gut to hear Naruto admit it so openly. After all the years of agonizing over his own feelings, Sasuke had truly begun to think it was hopeless.

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, not realizing he’d let it fall open until just then. He glared daggers at the boy still only inches away from him, Naruto hadn’t even removed his hands.

“Idiot. And you waited for our stupid friends to dare us?”

“Oi, you’re one to ta-“

Sasuke dragged Naruto back toward him by the collar before he could finish, once again crushing their lips together in a way that he was sure would never get old. They both smiled into the kiss, any reservations having flown rapidly out the window at this point.

A light scraping of teeth against Naruto’s bottom lip earned Sasuke an instantly addicting groan and warm fingers digging deeper into his hips.

“You mentioned something about going to your bedroom?” Sasuke spoke quietly into the space between their barely parted mouths.

“Oh, hell yeah.” Naruto spun on his heel and began dragging Sasuke down the hallway.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he was once again being dragged around by Naruto, but he didn’t even try to fight the smile quickly taking over his face.

[imagine-loki]

Soulbonds and Fairy Dust (rewrite)

TITLE: Soulbonds and Fairy Dust (rewrite) CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 5/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine one of the fae has been helping the Avengers, jumping in to help them on missions and vanishing before Shield can bring her in.  Loki joins the team and convinces her to come talk to the team and consider joining before Shield takes more drastic measures. RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS:  This is a rewrite of the original work of the same name.  Also on AO3 here

Loki’s scarlet eyes widened in shock and horror as he tried and failed to bring his Asgardian form back.  He hated seeing the sapphire skin and the markings on his body.  He hated the suddenly colder room.  He hated that he was a monster. 

He couldn’t don his illusions again, no matter how hard he tried, not while she held him in her control.  She was only exerting a tiny piece of her abilities, just a small piece of her control.  It was only a hint of what she could do with his truename.

   She saw his eyes widen when he realized how much control she had, and how much more control she could have if she so chose.  His expression still turned hard when he realized that he couldn’t bring his illusion back, his eyes panicked for a moment before they turned harsh and angry. “Sigyn, enough!” He snapped at her, snarling in rage at what she’d done.  He hated the proof that he was a monster and her cruelty in using it as her example.

Sig snapped her mouth shut and looked down, cringing from his anger.  She’d been expecting it, but still couldn’t help be frightened by the angry powerful male.  She’d had true horrors in her past and had a hard time getting past those.  “I’m sorry,” she said softly, talking to her lap, refusing to look up at him.  “I release you,” she added, just to be safe after she’d released him from her power.  “Your illusion will be back in a minute…” she added softly and hated that she could hear the fear in her own voice. That meant he could hear it too. 

He turned away from her, turning his back to try to hide his true form until the illusion reappeared.  It was no use.  Though Sigyn hated that he seemed so ashamed of his beautiful sapphire skin and the raised runic markings, of his beautiful scarlet eyes.  

This was Loki just as much as his Asgardian illusion was.

“There’s no need to hide,” Sigyn told him just as softly, her voice gentle and loving.  She dared to look up at him while he focused on getting his illusion back. 

It took effort, but he finally managed to summon the illusion back, finally managed to look how he wanted to again.  He turned back to her as soon as he was looking Asgardian again.  He was still glaring and she shrank back from him. “There is a reason I hide behind illusions, Lady,” he told her firmly, anger in his voice and tone, snarling her title.  The way he said it, she knew that was all he was going to say on the matter.

She nodded and looked back down at her lap.  “Sorry,” she said again. She really hadn’t meant to upset him. “You needed to understand the power of names and this was the easiest way to show you…” her voice was soft and afraid.  And she hated how fearful her words were. She hadn’t meant to hurt him.  

He sighed and properly looked at her, past the haze of his anger.  He finally realized he didn’t want to lose his best friend again, especially when he’d just gotten her back again. He took a deep breath, another, before he spoke again. “It’s alright.  I was just surprised.  I did not expect anyone to be able to break my illusion…” he gave her an expectant look to explain herself.

Sig nodded and relaxed slightly, looking up at him again. “It’s part of the power of true-naming.  If a fae with sufficient power knows a being’s true name they can control at least aspects of that being, or completely control them.  Names are dangerous.  True-naming is a rare skill among the fae, so you don’t have to worry, I’m one of the very few who can do it, and none can do it like I can. But that is only a touch of what a fae can do with a being’s real name, ergo why real names aren’t used,” she explained, thoughh she wasn’t sure her explanation was clear.  She were still speaking softly, cautiously, bordering on afraid.  She may have known this man when they were both children, but that was centuries ago and she only barely remembered pieces of it. She really needed to take the time to undo the blocks on her memories. She just needed time to do so. 

Loki nodded along in understanding, figuring out what she meant from her explanation.  “Then I can live with a nickname. I actually like Lokes,” he gave her a reassuring smile. He may not have liked her method, but it had been effective in explaining what she’d meant quickly. 

“I can pick a different one if you’d like,” she offered immediately.  “I just needed one quickly for the outing. I know how it feels to be stuck with a term of address she don’t care for…”

Loki gave her a real smile and shook his head.  “Lokes is fine.  Like I said, I actually like it, especially coming from my old friend.  I’m just not used to having a…kind… nickname.  Thor’s moronic friends weren’t kind with their nicknames and Stark is… well Stark.”  Sig nodded her understanding. She’d gotten the impression already that Loki and Stark hated each other.  And that was enough to make her wary of Stark. “Is there anything else you wish to share?” Loki asked her gently, wanting more information, but not wanting to pressure her. 

 She hesitated, unsure what else he would want or need to know.  “Sorry, I’m not used to anyone taking an interest. Anything else you wanted to know in particular?” she asked in reply.  Fae secrets were secret for a reason, but she would be honest with Loki.

“How long have you been fae?” He asked and she saw the curiosity in his eyes.  He was always desperate to be able to find out answers to any mystery that he came across.  

Some things never changed.

Sigyn had to think that over.  “Well, I’m not entirely fae, but I’ve been like this,” she indicated her pointed ears, tri-colored eyes, and sidhe red hair “Since shortly after they took me.  500 or so years ago?  You seem to remember when that was better than I do at the moment…” When she’d been taken all those years ago, she’d still been a child. Maybe 6 or 7 by Midgardian reckoning of years.   And Loki was older than her by fifty years, she remembered.  She didn’t know how or why she remembered that random fact, but she knew it was true.   Aging among the Asgardians happened in spikes of aging followed by long plateaus. She’d been around 500 when she had been taken.

Loki nodded, thinking over her words.  “The whole kingdom was in an uproar when you vanished. Mother and the Allfather sent out the palace guards to search for you. They would have done it anyway, but it was even more urgent since you were so close to the princes, to me and Thor.  They searched for at least a decade with no leads. I’m so sorry, Sigyn…” he said softly, his eyes and and tone full of centuries of old sorrow.  Tears welled in his eyes, though he refused to let them fall.  

“They wanted you,” she told him softly, her eyes haunted with old memories “or Hammer-brain, but you were more fae like,”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That didn’t make any sense.  Though he was royalty, but that didn’t seem like enough of a reason to single him out. “Why me? What could I have possibly offered them?” He asked her, hoping she’d have more insight.  “I was only a child too…Yes, I was a prince, but that couldn’t have been enough of a reason…”

“An alliance between the fae and Asgard?” she suggested with a shrug.  “They didn’t tell me much of their dastardly plans. They were so angry when they realized I wasn’t a princess…” she told him, remembering their anger, their hate.  Those memories she hadn’t been able to block out.  She’d saved her family, but hadn’t been able to save herself her own pain. 

“You were basically royalty, just not officially. I doubt that Mother or the Allfather would have given into the fae even if they had taken me. Especially the Allfather,” she noted that he didn’t call Odin ‘father’ anymore and she wondered what happened to cause the rift. She’d missed a lot while she was gone. 

 “They didn’t think Hammer-brain would take to the magic or transition.  You and I, on the other hand, already had magic, since your mother was teaching us. Like I said, they didn’t exactly share their plans with me;  I’ve only put together a few bits and pieces over the years…” she explained as best she could.

He nodded, accepting her story.  It made sense that they wanted mages, which would make Thor useless for their plans. “I’ll have to let mother know. It could be important. Do you know why the fae wish for an alliance with Asgard?”

 “The Asgardians are one of the long-lived races.  And the seidr is compatible with fae magic.  The fae aren’t… dying out necessarily, but they aren’t having nearly enough children and the children they are having are with the Midgardians, since the Allfather won’t let them into his realm and it’s hard for them to get into the realms with the other long-lived races as well. The children with the Midgardians aren’t immortal and their magic is weak at best. They think the chances will be better to strengthen both the fae and the Asgardians with an alliance,” she spoke quickly, trying to get all the ideas she’d been able to gather out of her mouth in a coherent thought.  She wasn’t entirely convinced she was being coherent.

Somehow, Loki kept up, nodding along in understanding.  “I’m so sorry about what happened to you. It should not have.  I wish…I wish we had done a better job protecting you.  You were ours to defend, and we failed you,”

“Lokes, we were children!  It wasn’t you fault. We were just kids. And I’ve made it out of Underhill now…” she tried to reassure him.  All she wanted to do was cross the distance between them and pull him into a hug, but she knew instinctively that he wouldn’t appreciate it. 

“I know. I just wish I could have done more to help you. Or at least let them take me over you!  They should have taken me!” He sounded so frustrated and helpless and she knew he’d been chewing himself out over it for centuries.  He was a prince and a warrior.  It was his job to defend those in his care.

“No, Loki,” she had a slight hesitation over using his name, but customs were different here and she’d seen how he didn’t care for nicknames.  This conversation needed his real name.  “You would have fared worse there than I did, and I would not have wished that on anyone,”

“What exactly happened to you in Underhill?” His voice was full of heartbreak at her tone, her words, the past he was gleaning that she’d had.

“A lot of awful things. The fae are not kind to those who aren’t fae.  It’s only possible to gain power there by having powerful friends or being strong enough or beautiful enough to gain power other ways.  So even though I was part of the seelie court, it wasn’t safe. I told you that no one goes by their real names, everyone has monickers.  Mine was ‘mongrel’.  So believe me when I say that you would have fared worse, Prince,” she told him.  His title also counted as a nickname in her book and wouldn’t offend him.  She wasn’t saying it out of cruelty, but to emphasize the seriousness of the conversation.

His expression still looked haunted, but he nodded, forced to accept her words. “My brother and I, along with this team, will do all we can to keep you safe. You have my word, Sigyn,” he told her firmly. He sounded determined to keep her safe this time.  He wouldn’t lose his best friend again. 

Sigyn gave him a small, warm smile.  “I’m not exactly helpless,” she reminded him as her smile turned to a smirk that so very mirrored his usual one.

He grinned back at her, feeling like old times and familiar footing.  “I’m aware. You were trained by my mother. It would be an insult to her if I said she did not have the power to defend herself, or train others to do so,”

Sigyn giggled.  It was a sound she hadn’t heard herself make in centuries and was wonderful and melodic. Loki relaxed at the sight and sound of a happy Sigyn.  “And no one would dare insult Mama Frigga,” she agreed, her old form of address for the Queen of Asgard falling off her tongue automatically and it sounded perfect and like it was still correct.

His smile widened to a true smile, a smile she remembered on a much younger Loki.  “Very true,” he agreed warmly and she recognized the expression he wore when he thought of his beloved Mama.  “Very true indeed,”

[inkribbon796]

Egotober Day 27: A Father’s Blessing

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Prompt: Ghost

Summary: For Dr. Iplier’s birthday. Dark and Iplier have that long overdue chat, and the Host is expectedly not very happy.

A/N: I cheated with this one, in that the Host is almost like a ghost in terms of the Author, in that he is what remains.

Warnings: none

Dr. Iplier was busy trying to patch the Jim’s up. They had been tailing a news story. It wasn’t the first time Iplier, Henrik, or some other unfortunate doctor had done their darkest to patch one of the Jims up. In typical Jim fashion they were almost impossible to keep still, you couldn’t separate a Jim pair or trio up lest things get worse if one Jim was left bored and unsupervised, and the Jim or Jims being treated always claimed this was their first visit to the hospital.

Iplier was pretty sure the latter was impossible, that he had to have treated this particular Jim before, but he’d given up trying to reason with a living force of nature.

“Alright,” Iplier stepped back from the Jim he was treating, who had broken his leg in some accident. The doctor offered up some crunches. “Now I know it’s hard for you but try not to do anything too drastic. You need six to eight weeks to heal.”

“Oh I can just get Jim to cover my shift,” R.J, one of the only Jims that Iplier seemed to be able to identify, smiled and was kicking back and forth his good leg.

C.J, a camera Jim, smiled, “Ooh, he is a good Jim for the task.”

“Just make sure you stay off the leg,” Iplier told him with a promise that he knew probably wouldn’t be honored and he’d have to fix whatever new injury had cropped up.

And after dealing with the Jim’s, Iplier noticed he was done for a day. It was an early day for him. He was excited to spend the rest of his evening with the Host and his friends.

But as he walked out to head to his car, he saw the Host sitting right outside the entrance, and when the door opened Iplier noticed that he looked a bit worried.

“You okay, did something happen?” Iplier asked, glancing around but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“No, the Host and the others are unharmed,” the Host answered, but he stopped looking in the doctor’s direction, he seemed nervous.

“Host, whatever happened, it’s okay,” Iplier walked over to kneel next to him.

“The Entity wishes to meet with the Host’s doctor, and he has been incredibly insistent about the matter,” the Host told him. “The Host’s first instinct is to deny the Entity. The Host and Iplier’s relationship is none of the Entity’s concern.”

“So you don’t want to go?” Iplier asked in concern.

“The Host,” Host made a disgruntled, frustrated noise. “The Host does not want the Entity to . . . disapprove. The Host’s doctor is perfect but the Entity has high standards.”

“Oh,” Iplier commented, instantly regretting not saying more immediately. “Well if you don’t want to go then we don’t have it.”

“The Entity will only keep insisting, the only reason that the Entity has not approached Eric is because of Illinois luck,” the Host reported. “The Host does not have that power.”

“Can I hold your hands?” Iplier asked.

“Dr. Iplier can always hold the Host’s hands,” the Host smiled.

“I know, but I don’t want to startle you by grabbing you,” Iplier promised, gently taking his hands. “If you don’t want to go, we’ll go back to the base and stay there.”

The Host paused to think about it, clutching Iplier’s hands. “The Host wants to get this over with.”

“I love you,” Dr. Iplier told him. “And just because your old man happens to be an asshole of a mob boss, won’t make me stop loving you.”

Smiling, the Host leaned in a bit closer, “The Host loves Dr. Iplier as well. He only wishes that he could tell his doctor that directly.”

“You tell me in lots of ways,” Iplier reminded. “It’s okay, do you still want to go?”

“The outing won’t be entirely unpleasant,” the Host evaded.

“But do you want to go?” Iplier insisted.

“No, but this discussion needs to happen,” the Host decided and stood up as a tinted black car drove up. Host didn’t let go of Iplier’s hand. The driver’s side window rolled down. The man looked a bit nervous.

It was at that moment that Iplier focused his attention away from Host’s face and onto what the Host was wearing. Instead of some random shirt he had found, he was in a nicer dress shirt and a pair of dress slacks.

“Author?” The driver asked, clearly almost as uncomfortable as he was fearful.

“The Host,” the Host corrected.

“Right, right,” the driver corrected nervously. “The boss told me to pick you up.”

The Host used his voice and his sight to open the door. “Dr. Iplier should get in first.”

Iplier got in and the Host followed him in. The car drove off and the Host pulled a divider up to isolate the two of them. The drive wasn’t too long but the drive brought him to Dark’s favorite restaurant. The Host walked them in and Iplier noticed that most of the restaurant staff gave Host a wide berth. As if they were afraid of being hit or attacked by him. The Host just led Dr. Iplier past the hostess without even pausing to talk to her or letting Iplier slow down.

Upstairs there was a table that was lower to the floor and there were just cushions on the floor. Dark was sitting there, and he looked over at them. He didn’t say anything, and Iplier knew he was hard to ready but he did not look happy.

Host led Iplier over to sit down on the other side of the table, the Host sat on Iplier’s right, in-between the two men. There were already menus in front of them.

“Doctor,” Dark greeted through clenched teeth. Then he turned to the Host and in a much less confrontational tone asked, “What do you want? Going to try to order a burger here, or do you have more sense than Arthur?”

“That’s nonsense,” the Host scoffed. “This restaurant doesn’t sell burgers. The Host will have the ginseng chicken soup, and a Diet Coke.”

“Really?” Dark sounded surprised. “You really do have a different pallet. Good, Arthur always worried me about his diet.”

“I can’t read a word of this,” Iplier warned, the menu was purely in Korean.

“Dr. Iplier actually would like the bulgogi, and an iced tea,” the Host answered for Iplier.

“Ohhh, there are drink labels on here,” Iplier realized.

Dark collected their menus, and slipped a note in Korean through a small portal. Then, as if Iplier wasn’t even there, Dark asked, “Why their doctor?”

“Why is the Entity sleeping with a madman?” Host asked in return.

“He’s a bit old for you,” Dark reminded.

“Hmm,” the Host’s face bunched up a little, “and how much older is the Entity than the Madman?”

“Hhnn,��� Dark hummed, leaning his chin on his palm and resting it on the table. “Touché. You have me there.”

“I’m right here,” Iplier told them, a little frustrated.

“Hush, I’ll be with you in a moment,” Dark dismissed.

“It’s not like the Host is trailing dangerous men and needs to be watched like Yan,” Host defended. “Maybe the Entity should stop his daughter before she dates someone who should actually hurt her.”

One of the waiters came in with their drinks, his eyes bouncing between the three of them and Dark silently dismissed her to the young lady’s obvious relief.

After a little bit of a standoff where Iplier and his relationship with the Host were the only topics, Dark finally turned to Iplier. His finger tracing along the rim of his tea cup.

“You realize that none of this is exceptionally personal towards you,” Dark told him. “You only keep people alive who range from a mild inconvenience to exceptionally insulting. But should you ever harm the Host I will skin you alive, inch by inch, and feed your soul to hellhounds.”

Iplier’s eyes widened, “Wasn’t planning on it.”

“Good,” Dark took a sip of his tea. “The Host has more than suffered enough, and I will not stand by and allow anyone to harm him.”

“Something we can both agree to,” Iplier promised.

“I expect Host’s medical records, immediately,” Dark told him as their food came in.

“He’s not a minor, so no,” Iplier told him, and the waiter looked terrified at the exchange.

Dark hummed, “I hate being told no, but I like you protecting Host so I’ll allow it.”

Iplier had to admit he did like the food, he wound up eating some of Host’s soup and Host snuck off some of Iplier’s beef. The rest of the evening was free of threats for the most part. Dark was less hostile than he was initially.

Host led him out, a stride or two ahead of Iplier and was talking to the driver that had initially brought them to the restaurant.

Iplier didn’t catch the conversation but when Iplier reached them the Host turned to him. “The driver will return the Host’s doctor, the Host will stay with the Entity for a while and will join the doctor in a half-hour.”

“Alright,” Iplier glanced around. “Stay safe, alright?”

“Of course the Host will,” the Host promised.

With a goodbye kiss, Iplier finally got into the car and it slowly drove off with the doctor as the only passenger.

The drive was quiet for a bit and Iplier felt so awkward that he was actually checking his phone because there was literally nothing to do. The driver kept occasionally glancing at him nervously.

“You look like you’ve swallowed a frog,” Iplier met his eyes in the rear view mirror briefly before the driver looked away.

“Can I ask a question?” the driver asked, sounded a bit uneasy.

“Sure,” Iplier allowed.

“So how did you meet him? You work with the heroes too?” The driver asked.

“Yes, I’m not at liberty to talk about my patients, but I met the Host on an operating table,” Iplier admitted. “We’ve been close ever since.”

“Huh,” the driver responded, but didn’t offer a secondary comment.

“Host told me word was getting out about our relationship,” Iplier tried to change the topic just a bit. “I wasn’t aware he could still part a crowd.”

“Well, and you don’t have to answer it, but word gets out,” the guy began, “and you’re dating the Auth— I mean the Host, and he’s terrifying. So everyone just assumes you are too.”

That gave Iplier pause. He’d never thought that the reason he hadn’t been attacked by someone from the criminal underworld was because they were scared of him.

“Oh,” Iplier commented, unsure if he should admit that he wasn’t dangerous or not. Eventually he decided to say, “Well I don’t have any reason to hurt you.”

The driver seemed to relax, “Thank you, Sir.”

The car stopped in front of the heroes’ base. “My car was still at the hospital.”

“I was instructed to take you back to the base,” the driver sounded nervous.

“Well then one of those two can portal my car back here, because I need to go to work tomorrow,” Iplier shrugged and the driver sounded like he was choking on his own tongue.

“You okay?” Dr. Iplier’s hand froze on the door handle, he turned to look at him.

“Were you referring to the Demon Dark or the Host?” The driver asked hesitantly.

“Probably Dark since he doesn’t bleed from the eyes when he uses the Void,” Iplier answered.

His driver chuckles a bit, “You’ve got balls of steel, Sir.”

Unsure how to answer that he shrugged. To be fair with everything he’d seen by this point, he either did have balls of steel, or outrageous professional apathy. So the comment was warranted. “Guess I do.”

Then he thanked the man and got out, walking into the base. His car was already there and he could enjoy the rest of the evening with the Host and his friends.

[crypticpaw]

Cat Bath

Entrapta X Hordak fic!

Author’s note: This is an entrapdak fanfic written by me! I wrote it as feral because that’s the way I draw them so I just thought it would be fair. If you don’t understand what’s going on, just search #entrapdak on my blog and take a look at my artwork! I’m not very confident on my writing and I feel like there’s a lot of stuff I need to improve on. Tell me what you guys think! I hope this is fun!

Please, tell me how I went! I hope you all like it, and let me know if you’d like to see more! Thanks for reading!

-Why are you always so licky?! -Entrapta asked in a anoyed tone. She tried to suppress a low growl, still writhing underneath Hordak's paws, caught on another one of his "grooming" sessions. Which normally meant sitting her down and licking her entire body, leaving her a pouting and blushing mess.

This wasn't new. Since they first started to allowed themselves to show physical affection, Hordak was outraged at the fact that dogs don't groom themselves, and made it so every now and then that Entrapta should be groomed. Even if he had to chase her and grab her by the scruff to do so.

-Stop writhing! - he said, still with his tongue at her ear. -We would have been done by now if you didn't struggle!

Entrapta let out a whine of protest as he left her right ear to lick her belly. She felt her cheeks warm up and pushed his head with her hind leg. He growled loudly, it didn't faze her not in the slightest.

-Entrapta, we've been over this! I groom you so your fur won't tangle and the already dead fur won't stick to your body! It's healthier this way!

-Then why don't I see you do it?

-Because I don't have as much fur as you. -he caught her midway out of his grasp, and flipped her on her back again. -And I don't try to fight it!

She barked and whined trying to writhe away from the cat's paws, her face redder than a tomato. It did not seem to faze Hordak, though, as he continued his work on her sides this time. Entrapta's ear fur embraced and tangled around Hordak's body, despite the protest. She knew grooming was also a sign of love and worry, based on her observations. His tail was wrapped around her ear fur and sometimes when she was silent, she could hear very low purring.

Entrapta did not want to be silent today. Hordak decided it was a good idea to stop her midway into a brilliant experiment to lick her clean and she would not go down without a fight.

-Why DO you do this, anyway? -she asked in a huff.

Hordak sighed.

-I told you. It's that so your fur won't tangle and the dead fur can leave so healthier fur can grow on it's place. -his licking grew softer. She made a mental note to get him to talk more during grooming session. -And it also keeps it smooth and clean.

Entrapta frowned.

-Smooth and clean? You're not cleaning me! If that's your objective, you're making it worse! You're just slobbering me! I thought you hated slobbering! -she protested, confused this time.

-I am not slobbering you! I do not drool! I am not a dog! -Entrapta stuck out her tongue at him at that last sentence. -And how else are you supposed to do to brush your fur if not groom it?

-That's easy. I just use a brush.

It was Hordak's turn to be confused. His ears perked up and he tilted his head at her statement.

-A brush...?

-Yeah, like one of these. -her fur left his body for a second to reach the drawer on her nightstand beside her bed. She took out a strange tool, smilar to a screw-drive but had bristles at the end of it and a lot of purple fur.

He sniffed it, still not understanding her point. It just smelled of her...

-Hordak, have you never seen a brush before? -Entrapta was surprised. He always was so worried about his appearence and makeup and everything, very picky with dresses and sometimes even insisted she get changed for some reason. -How do you even brush your fur after your baths?!

-I told you, I groom myself.

-Doesn't it taste like soap after you bathe?

They were both so confused.

-Beloved, why would I ever put soap in my fur before grooming?

-No, not grooming! -Entrapta shook her head. -I mean after an actual bath. You know... Soap and water and shampoo?

Hordak wrinkled his nose and his ears pressed against his head. Red teeth showing.

-Why would I ever groom in water? I despise it! -he hissed.

Entrapta's ears fell and her eyes widened as the realization hit her.

-Hordak... You have NEVER taken a bath?!

-Well...

She gasped loudly.

-LORD HORDAK OF DRYL, ARE TELLING ME THAT YOU'VE NEVER BATHED IN YOUR LIFE?!?

She was raised on her ears, her fur on her scruff was tingled and her teeth were showing. Her tone was loud and severe, almost comanding. Hordak was taken a back as she continued to lecture him.

-That's nasty, Hordak! Even I know better than that! -she barked. -That's irresponsible and highly anti-hygienic! Now I'M disappointed!

Entrapta's ear fur now gripped strongly around his body. His ears fell back and his tail hid between his legs.

-We need to get you to the tub asap! -she jumped out of bed and made it for the bathroom door, but Hordak dug his claws on the bed and screeched in protest when she pulled him.

-Absolutely not! -he yelled. -I am not going one meter close to water! I'd rather have my skin grow mold! I understand your worry for my well being, Entrapta, but I will do just fine grooming myself! There is no way in this world I'll get in a bath tub!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hordak yelled and clawed at the edge of the tub, desperately trying to get out. Entrapta's ear fur still held an iron grip around him, pulling the more he struggled.

-THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I DEMAND YOU RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT, ENTRAPTA! -He tried to sound menacing, but his words came out as desperate more than anything. -IT'S A WASTE OF TIME AND RESOURCES! I CANNOT BELIEVE-

He was cut off by a stream of water dropped in his scalp. He screeched, yowled, clawed and paddled, but Entrapta was holding him still, watering him with the shower hose. She grabbed her shampoo, conditioner, sponge and everything else she thought would be necessary and hopped back at her shouting mess of a lab partner.

She brought him to the edge where she stood and shushed him with a kiss on the lips. Hordak's face turned red, even redder than it already was, and he turned to her in anger.

-WHY ARE WE STILL GOING THROUGH WITH THIS?!

-'Cause you're still dirty, silly! -she answered in a fake innocent tone.

Entrapta took one of her bottles and poured it's content on the water.

-What is that?

-Bubble bath mixture! It makes the water all bubbly! -she mixed the water with a strap of her fur and bubbles started to form.

-What for? -she gave him the now empty bottle and he read the label: "Extra Bubbly! For extra fun in the water and extra comfort!".

This was not comforting at all! He threw the bottle over his head and clung to the edge of the tub again, digging his claws on the marble. Entrapta took off her mask and wiggled her hips before jumping right in. She raised out of the water again and shook her head before turning to him.

-I just like it bubbly! How's the experience of your first bath so far?

-Hellish! -he hissed. -I've been striped bare out of my armor and clothes! I've almost drowned in bubbles, and I am still being held captive in this idiotic joke of a torture room!

Entrapta couldn't help but laugh. Hordak could see her tail wagging on the water, splashing bubbles around. She grabbed the soaked sponge and paddled to him.

-It's just a bath, Hordikins! It's for your own good! Not a torture session!

-I doubt that! -her laughter rang in his ears again. He eyed her strange tool as she approached him. -What is that?

-It's a sponge! For scrubbing!

-Scrubbing...?

-Yup! Like this! -she reached with the sponge and scrubbed his neck gently. He immediately started clawing and screeching once again.

Anyone out of the bathroom would swear Entrapta was probably degutting Hordak alive, but the Lord of Dryl's first experience in a bath tub was simply not going smoothly. He questioned her in her shampoo and conditioner as well. Entrapta tilted her head.

-I won't get any chemical substance on you, you big dork! It's just shampoo! It's made to wash your fur! Like this! -she poured a little on her paw and smoothed her fur with it.

Hordak watched her in awe. She seemed so calm and relaxed, he couldn't understand It. Wasn't she cold? Couldn't she smell at all? She turned back to him.

-See? It wasn't that bad! -pouring more in her paw again, she climbed on him to get to his fur on his head.

He tried backing away again, but was already cornered. He did not shout, but still growled loudly at her paws on his fur.

-I still don't get it... You seem so worried about your appearance overall, I assumed you took a lot of baths in addition to grooming! -Entrapta explained. -Why are you so scared of water?

-I am not scared! I'm... I'm bothered... -Hordak lied.

-Buy why?

He growled and took a deep breath. Hordak was terrible with his words when saying his feelings out loud. Even for Entrapta.

-My... Body temperature dropped drastically, and the soap and the shampoo... Smell! Awful!

Entrapta stopped and turned to look him in the eyes, cupping his face between her paws so their noses touched.

-I'm sorry, I didn't realize it. I can turn the temperature higher if you want?

He nodded. She left his face to adjust the tap. In a few moments the bathroom was filled with vapor and Hordak felt his muscles relax.

-Do you feel better? -she asked in a genuine concerned tone.  -The smell bothers me as well and the shampoo and soap I use are already pretty weak, so I didn't thought it would bother you... We could find one that doesn't smell so bad.

-Thank you, beloved...

She kissed his forehead and a low purr escaped out of him. She wagged her tail again when his claws drew back.

[thespiralgrimoire]

Would you consider posting your thoughts on the Twilight series? Because the bits and pieces I catch on your main are HILARIOUS though maybe it’s just because I find salt hysterical LOL

Oh good grief

Under a read more for my sake if not anyone else’s

The year was 2007. I was 11 year old, in 6th grade, nursing a substantial superiority complex over my classmates, and idolizing the 7th grade girls. This is where my story begins.

Now I won’t get into all the semantics as to why I was such an insufferable little garbage person in middle school, but I will tell you that I was convinced that I was not like other girls. While this proved true, my reasons as to why were completely off the mark in my tweens. Back then, I thought it was because I was smarter, wiser, and more mature than any of the other 6th grade girls in my class.

But not the 7th grade girls. The 7th grade girls were it, man. Nobody was cooler or smarter or more creative than the handful of ladies who were blessed with the patience to put up with my nonsense in middle school. So naturally, when they read Twilight, I read Twilight.

Twilight, if you have the good fortune to not be intimately aware of it by now, is about the Bella Swan, blandest girl in the entire world, moving to a small town to live with her emotionally awkward father, where she meets the Cullens, a clan of vampires who don’t drink human blood, because they’re trying to be morally upright. Her scent is irresistible to one of the vampires, (the only single one among them because the rest are dating each other) named Edward. Edward has the ability to read minds, and Bella is the only person he’s ever met who is immune to this power. I must stress again that she smells so good that he has to physically restrain himself from eating her, and murdering all witnesses. For reasons I can’t really remember now except “because that’s what the books are about”, they fall in love.

Here’s the thing about these books: Even as I was reading them, they gave me the creeps. Something in my little baby mind was vaguely aware that Edward was a messed up motherfucker, and Bella was a one-dimensional stand-in for the reader, and everything interesting in this story was happening on the fringes, facilitated by the far more interesting side characters. There were parts of these books that were uncomfortable to read. There were parts that made me seriously question why these books were so popular. There were parts that made it physically difficult to keep reading. About 3 things happen in the entirety of this series that feels good and satisfying, and none of them are things that the author, who I will derogatorily refer to as Smeyer, meant to be satisfying.

Two things kept me reading these books. The first was, obviously, the 7th grade girls, and my other friends in other grades who quickly caught the hype wave.

The second. Was the fact. That the writing style of these books, despite being the modem for a story that is absurd at best and a giant, flaming, stinking dumpster fire of bad takes, racism, and sexism at worst, is HYPNOTIC. A lot of my opinions about this series have changed drastically over the years, but this is one that I was acutely aware of even as I was reading these books. No matter how stupid or frustrating or repulsive the things that Smeyer is writing are, her writing style will not let you put the story down once you’re invested. And since I was reading these for social clout, I was invested on page 1. I want to believe that this was a trick played on my young mind, but after reading the first chapter of Midnight Sun (the newly released book that is literally just Twilight from Edward’s POV instead of Bella’s), I can confirm that this woman’s style is genuinely Like That. I enjoyed maybe 6 sentences of the 15-page chapter and I am still frothing at the mouth to read more.

So now that I’ve justified why I subjected myself to this shit in the first place, let’s get to some feelings about it.

Edward is a CREEP. He knows this. His family knows this. His love rival knows this. The only person who does not know this, rendering the fact completely inconsequential to the events of the story, is Bella. I’m not really willing to talk about how Edward is such a disgusting model for what young girls should expect out of a partner that there was discourse for MONTHS over Fifty Shades of Grey, but.... Edward is such a disgusting model for what young girls should expect out of a partner that Fifty Shades of Grey exists. It’s literally Twilight fanfiction. Fact check me. I wish I was making this up.

Bella is, as I said before, a cardboard cutout of a human being. The book is from her point of view, and includes copious amounts of her thoughts, and yet it’s still clear that she has absolutely no personality. She is supposed to be your Jane Everywoman, and yet there is not a single relatable thing about her. Her three personality traits are Brown Eyes, Clumsy (but not in a way that matters often), and Likes Edward. That’s it. This girl has nothing going on, which only draws more attenton to the fact that literally everyone else in the story has a rich and interesting backstory. But they’re side characters and this is about Stale White Bread Bella over here, so go fuck yourself if you want more information on Rosalie using her vampire abilities to get revenge on her fiance and his buddies, who assaulted her to the point of near death, or Alice, who sees the future and spent a good chunk of her life in an asylum, or Jasper, who was a Union soldier fighting the Civil War which was ALSO the vampire war???? Fuck off with that shit, this is about Bella.

But you know who the best characters are? The werewolves. But not REAL werewolves. These are Native Americans whose initial transformation is triggered by the proximity of the vampires, because vampires once terrorized their people and now this ability to turn to wolves is hereditary to protect themselves. The fact that these fellas are not REAL werewolves, and that there are real lycanthropes of lore, is mentioned in passing in the last book and never mentioned by anyone ever again.

One of these wolves is Jacob, Bella’s childhood friend and, for the first two books, an absolute sweetheart. Just a big goofball who’s a couple years younger than Bella, and all he wants is the best for her. Real wholesome shit. When Edward leaves her because he thinks that she’s too attached (SHE IS),  Jacob literally talks Bella back from the brink. The wolf pack, and the Native American tribe, welcome her as one of them. They’re adorable. I can’t stress enough that they would have also been an excellent candidate for the focal point of this shitshow.

But it doesn’t last. Edward does some real dumb shit in Italy and Bella has to go rescue him, which tips off the Vampire Illuminati that Edward was trying to get killed by (i.e. the real dumb shit). They don’t like that Bella, a human, knows about them, and demands that she be turned. Edward’s family is divided on this. Eventually they decide that they got time because the Vampire Illuminati are ancient and don’t have a good enough sense of time to hold them accountable immediately.

So Bella is fine and Edward is fine and everybody is back in the same town and they’re dating again and literally everyone in the town is like Bella what the FUCK. Nobody likes Edward because they think he’s no good for Bella. They are written like the bad buys. Jacob especially, becomes a huge asshole. Because he decides that he’s in love with Bella now. Because werewolves can imprint on people, which is just a sloppy soul mate mechanic used for absolute evil in this story. He wants to fight Edward over her. Edward is chomping at the bit to throw down, but pretends to be the bigger person even though he’s just as big an asshole about all this as Jacob is. This is as misogynist as it sounds. From this point on Jacob is now also a creep.

Oh, but it gets worse!

I gotta talk about the last book in the series now, Breaking Dawn. Because this shit was so awful that it made me regret, instantaneously, ever second I spent enjoying Twilight.

Bella and Edward get married after they graduate high school because Edward is a religious virgin and Bella is HORNY. They go on their honeymoon. Bella gets pregnant. This is Not Something That Is Supposed To Happen.

Smeyer tells us WHY this happened post-canon. Edward, the virgin, has never nutted. Because of this, he still has living sperm in his balls. So when he boffed Bella, his 80-year-old sperm made it count. I wish I was making this up, y’all. I’m tearing up thinking about it.

Bella is now pregnant with a half-vampire baby that is destroying her body from the inside out. It is growing at an exponential rate. She’s eight months along after three weeks. Edward can hear its thoughts. It loves Bella. Bella has to drink blood or die. Jacob is like What the Fuck. I am also, pretty thoroughly like What the Fuck. A couple members of the Cullen family are, very quietly, like What the Fuck.

Queue the most forced and ineffectual pro-life discourse you’ve ever read in your life.

All is well and good until it’s not. Baby suddenly wants to get out of Bella RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY and thrashes so violently that it shatters every bone in her body between her ribs and her femurs. Edward has to rip her uterus open with his teeth. Baby is out. It has a full mouth of teeth. It bites Bella. Edward whips out several syringes full of his own saliva and injects them into Bella all over to make her change into a vampire. This is all written in disgusting graphic detail that still makes my skin crawl to think about. I cannot fathom why Smeyer was not made to tone this scene down.

So it takes a few days for Bella to change into a vampire, during which time the Cullens (and Jacob) have to look after her hellspawn of a daughter. Jacob decides that he must kill her, because she basically killed Bella. But--- surprise! He wasn’t in love with Bella! He was in love with the eggs in her womb-- particularly this one egg that is now a baby! No more crush on Bella! No more beef with Edward! He’s just in love with a newborn infant. I am, at this point, wondering in my little 12 year old mind, how this was allowed to be published.

Bella wakes up a vampire, and in her first display of rational thought through the entire series, does not like this. Don’t worry though, that’s quickly cancelled out by her naming her baby daughter Renesmee.

Renesmee is clearly supposed to be a sweet and gifted little angel that you’re meant to love, but frankly, all I can picture is the Chucky doll but quieter. She does not talk much, because she has the ability to share thoughts by touching people’s faces. She also grows super fast. In a few days she’s toddler age. Nobody knows what the fuck is going on and nobody has time to worry about it because the vampire Illuminati found out about this (a vampire friend of the family snitched) and they’re coming to fuck up the whole family.

There is a reason why they want to do this but it’s stupid and frankly I’m not going to explain it.

So the vampires mobilize. They call all their vampire friends because their plan is just to fight the thousands-years-old vampire Illuminati over this horrible child. For some reason dozens of vampires agree to this. They’re all smitten by Resume I guess.

So the illuminati comes, the family tells them that Ramune isn’t the problem that they think she is, and they leave.

That’s it. That’s the climax.

And then everyone gets their off-putting happily ever after: Bella and Edward can now fuck as much as they want because neither of them can die. Bella abandons her human life without so much as a second glance. Resonate will physically be an adult by the time she’s 7, which means that Jacob can start fucking her then. Bella’s dad sort of knows what’s going on, but doesn’t. For some ungodly reason I don’t make a bonfire out of these books.

You may notice, if you have any knowledge of Twilight, that there are whole plots that I didn’t talk about. That’s because I’ve surely forgotten things. While I read these books with what I can only describe as a manic fervor in my youth, I could never bring myself to reread them. On God, I tried. Multiple times in the last decade I have pulled my box set, hard covered Twilight books off my shelf, and opened them up. But I never even make it through the first chapter before I am so put off that I have to put them back. The plots are flimsy. The main characters are made of sand. The secondary characters are treated like garbage. The lore is disturbing.

And yet as soon as I heard that Midnight Sun was coming out, I knew that I must read it. I’ve made it through the first chapter. I do not know when and how I will make it through the next, but I know, for little middle schooler Theo’s sake, that I must.

Twilight? Horrible. Twilight Fandom? Geniuses.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[magickdream-creations]

Chapter Seven :: The Calm

“Always be genuine. People can sense when someone isn't being themselves.” - Jeffree Star

Laughter rang throughout the lair in differentiating pitches and tones. Pure, honest, unfiltered laughter. The whole group was lounging about enjoying their dinner of several large pizzas with varying topping combos. The story swaps had them all in stitches except for Casey Jones, who had a soured embarrassed expression as the current tale was a recount of his first encounter with the turtles and their master.

"Tell me you didn't actually fall for it, Jones!" Dorian was gripping his side with his right hand while the left kept him upright by bracing against the floor. Casey gave the man a pointed glare as an answer which only served to make Dorian start up another fit of laughter.

"Oh, he totally fell for it!" Michelangelo grabbed out a slice of three-cheese before leaning back in his spot on the couch.

"Hauled balls straight at Master Splinter and got his ass handed to 'em!" Raphael leaned over and bumped fists with Mikey earning a slight groan from Casey that made both teens roar with laughter again. The two youngest had found it far more hilarious since they had been the ones who had baited him into the whole ordeal.

"Kiss my ass you two," Casey grumbled before taking a drink from his soda trying his best to not let them get under his skin any more than they already had. He had not been at all amused by the recount of his unfortunate meeting though, if he were honest he would not have changed it one bit.

“Oh, that is absolutely priceless! I would have loved to have seen the look on your face Casey.” Lyra wiped a laughter induced tear from her eyes before grabbing out another slice of pepperoni for herself.

“So the whole Elite Eight thing you've mentioned in one of your stories. Is that a fancy group or some sort of ranking system?” April was genuinely curious about the inner workings of their clan. She had never heard about them until tonight and the reporter in her could not help but want in on more for a story. Dorian had almost choked on the bite of pizza he had taken but was able to chase it down with some soda before answering.

"In a sense, both assumptions would be correct. The Elite Eight is the highest skilled assassins throughout the whole organization and the four of us fall under those ranks." He watched as April leaned closer as if hoping for more detailed information on the group which only made Dorian chuckle.

"What are the ranks and what determines those ranks?" April was full of questions she wanted to be answered which in that instant seemed to make Dorian a little nervous. He knew what she was up to and he was a bit leery of telling inner workings to someone who had no real way to defend themselves. A quick scan around the room told him everyone else was listening intently to the new topic of conversation now. There was no getting around it.

“Listen. I don't mind telling you but you have to swear you will not go public with any of this until we have taken down the corruption. It is for your own safety April that you play it like you never met us or know anything about the Black Lotus. Promise?” Dorian gave a quick thought and looked over to Casey not knowing much about the guy other than he was a former cop turned vigilante. He was not taken chances on anyone getting hurt over stories. “That goes for you as well Jones. Promise?”

“Promise,” the two spoke in unison as everyone settled in more comfortably to hear the explanation Dorian was about to give them.

“Our ranks are determined by the eight codes of Bushido. The one you show most of is the rank you are put under.”

“There are only seven codes of Bushido.” Leonardo raised a brow but the tone he spoke in sounded a bit unsure which got a small chuckle from Dorian.

“Seven spoken yes but, there is an eighth one that is a sort of unspoken one that everyone should always follow when they learn or enact the Bushido way. The eight codes are as follows and in order; justice, courage, respect, honesty, honor, loyalty, wisdom, and mercy. Mercy is the one that no matter what you must show to your opponent.” Dorian paused in his explaining long enough to finish off the soda he had been working on and popped open a new one. It was enough time to let the information he gave so far sink in.

"So each of you represented a code more so than the others and that's how you're ranked? Does age not effect it at all?" Donatello was quite curious about how their ranks worked since it would mean who they had thought was the leader of their assassin friends very well could not be the leader. Dorian shifted a little from where he sat and that elicited a stifled giggle from Lyra.

“Nope! Age has nothing to do with it. We're just really nice to our big brother and let him play leader when we're out on missions.” Lyra got up and went over to Arietta who had sat away from the group to doodle in her sketchpad while she had eaten. The youngest quickly attached herself in a fierce hug causing Arietta's earbuds to pop out and the ebony-haired assassin looked not at all pleased at the interruption.

“Do you mind?”

“In fact, Arietta here is the highest ranked out of the four of us!” Lyra grinned not really paying mind that she had interrupted her sister's sketching zen. Arietta rolled her eyes having understood fully what the topic of conversation was just by what her little sister had said.

“That ranking system is ridiculous,” she spoke in a not so amused tone as she closed up her sketchbook. Her cheeks were lightly tinged with a blush of embarrassment.

“So how come Arietta isn't the leader?” Mikey was a following everything about the ranking system but the fact that the higher ranked assassin was not the one leading the team was a little confusing. Why would they have a ranking system if they did not adhere to it?

“There are several reasons. This mission tonight has really been the only mission all four of us have been on together. They never send more than two of the elites out at the same time and it's rare that the missions really call for something so drastic. Arietta over there hardly gets sent out with anyone since she doesn't play well with others." Calliope grinned up from her book on medicinal properties of plants. The way the spine was worn down showed how many times she opened it and read the contents within.

“They call it her being courageous and we call it being rash and foolish.” Lyra let out a giggle as she let go of her hold on Arietta to make her way back to the spot she had claimed on the floor. She scooted herself near the table covered with pizza boxes and picked up her slice that she had neglected in her moment of teasing.

“So says the honest one.” Arietta stuck her tongue out at her little sister and shook her head gently when she received a grin right back. With a sigh of defeat she shut off her music but she opened her sketchbook up once again to the page she had been working on. A small wave of her hand in Dorian's direction was the only signal she was going to give that she was fine with the topic at hand and that he could continue.

"Well, that covers the virtue parts of the ranking. To better protect our identities we were each given a code name in Japanese that are animals. Those animals we somehow fit so that's how the figureheads came up with the concept. I will tell them to you in English so it doesn't get redundant. The order by rank are as follows; dragon, fox, raccoon, rabbit, crow, wolf, cat, and rat. We've never had the pleasure of working with Ryuu or Nezumi before and Neko we've only ever met in passing." Dorian pulled out his final slice of pizza and took a bite figuring that was a good explanation to give to April on the ranking system of their organization.

"What about Karasu?" Master Splinter had begun versing himself in Japanese over the years as a way to pass the time so figuring out the code name for the one that wasn't mentioned did not take much thought.

“Oh, we know him pretty well. Arietta knows him even more so than we do.” The tone Lyra had spoken in was enough to suggest something on the more romantic side which caused Arietta to snap her attention up quickly.

“Damn it Lyra I told you we're just really good friends! I turned his ass down flat. End of story!”

“Right. Is that why he would follow you around like a lost puppy or got super depressed when you were away on missions?” Lyra's words instantly turned Arietta's expression from one of embarrassment to one of agitation in mere seconds. The youngest let out a squeak of surprise as her sister came racing toward her. Lyra acted fast and shot up from the floor launching herself over the table towards the couch in a rapid jump. She used the spacing between Michelangelo and Donatello, whom both were innocently sitting on the couch, so she could get behind the furniture and further her escape plan.

“I'm going to box your ears Lyra!” Arietta was right behind her little sister following the exact same path the rainbow haired sibling was taking. The laughter ringing out from everyone was not phasing her irritation in the slightest instead, it was only fueling it more.

"Someone grab her! She's on a war path," Usagi laughed out as she ran from the back of the couch to the recliner Raphael was lounging in. She jumped the sides and prayed she would be saved but her next course would be to head back towards the couch in hopes that Mikey or Donnie would be her saviors. Raph was not about to miss out on evening the score so just as Arietta tried clearing his lap as a hurdle to get to Lyra he grabbed her around her waist mid-jump making sure to grip her tight against him.

"Let me go Red!" Arietta squirmed with all of her might to try and get out of his hold to no avail. He had a damn good grip and he was not making any move to let her go. Lyra gave a victory sign with her fingers and that triumphant grin made Arietta want to pummel her sister even more so than before.

"Not a chance Foxy." Raph grinned as he kept a tight hold on her but he was nice enough to make sure he did not hurt her in any way. "Now we're even. Two to two."

“Asshole.” Arietta stopped her struggling knowing now that her efforts were completely futile. She resigned to sitting across his lap with her arms folded over her chest. She gave a slight huff of defeat.

"You love me." He grinned at her making sure only she could hear what he said that time as the laughter started dying down. She only rolled her eyes at him and turned a hard glare toward her sister who at that point was claiming her spot on the floor again. In all actuality, Arietta was trying to hide the small blush that tinged her cheeks from Raphael. She was not quite sure how to react to sitting in his lap even spite the reason for her being in the situation in the first place.

“So what was it like for you guys growing up? Did you get to go watch movies or play sports?” Casey smirked as he grabbed out the last slice of jalapeno and bacon. He put the now empty box on top of the others stacked at the side of the table.

"We didn't really have what you would call a normal childhood. Most of our lives we spent training to become the lethal weapons we are. If we weren't training we studied academically at the compound. We had a very tight and strict schedule we had to follow by." Calliope put her book down on the arm of the chair she was in before she got up to retrieve more food. She put a slice of spinach artichoke on a plate and deciding to be merciful she grabbed up two slices of Hawaiian before taking the extra plate over to Arietta. She smiled seeing the excitement light up in those violet eyes when Arietta took the plate from her and she sat her own in her chair deciding to be even nicer to her younger sibling. Retrieving the sketchbook and pens Calliope brought them to the artist and set them in her lap before taking her seat again with her refill of pizza.

“We weren't completely in the dark though. We would sneak out when we could to go to the movies or go spend a few hours in the arcades. There were a handful of times Lyra and Calliope would go to the mall on their little shopping sprees.” Dorian chuckled lightly remembering the many times when he had to listen to them act like giddy school girls while they showed off their newest purchases.

"I always thought it was funny that Hisoka knew we got new stuff but never got on to us about where we got it from or how we got it." Lyra mused out that thought and Arietta stiffened in the middle of taking a bite of her pizza. Raph only raised a brow at her as she took the bite before giving him a shake of her head subtly. He filed that away as something to ask at a later time. Another question was more pertinent for him to ask anyway.

“So did you guys get to choose your weapons or were they chosen for you?” He knew that had been a good one to ask since it caused his brothers to perk up and pay closer attention. Their weapons had been chosen for them carefully by Master Splinter and they had all been equally curious if others had been dealt the same way. Dorian was looking at the ceiling for the moment as if he was plucking the strings of thought from the very air above them.

"As initiates, we all trained in various weapon styles. Some we excelled at more than others but I suppose it was neither us nor the Weapons Master that chose. It was the weapons themselves that chose us. They just kind of fit like gloves I guess." Dorian gave a small shrug since he never really put much thought to it. He just simply knew his naginata was his and his alone. "We have many weapons in our arsenal but our main ones are our deadliest when we use them."

"Way to get all mystical on them, Dee." Arietta teased her brother as she switched out her now empty plate for her sketchbook. Her statement caused laughter to rise from all of them and even Dorian got a chuckle out of it.

“Any favorite missions you guys want to tell?” Michelangelo scooted out on his cushion of the couch with a cheesy grin on his face. After a most of the night had been spent with the four brothers recounting their own adventures. He was excited to hear a few of the assassins' tales.

“Barcelona.” Both Arietta and Dorian spoke out in quick unison while Lyra and Calliope merely groaned out together. Calliope picked her book back up to continue reading while Lyra put her face in her palm in exasperation.

“You're going to scar everybody with that one.” The rainbow haired girl moved her hand from her face to give Dorian a lighthearted glare. He answered her back with a small grin.

“What happened in Barcelona?” Leonardo was actually genuinely curious to hear about one of Dorian's missions. The more they got to know the Quintus siblings the more he began to get more curious about how Dorian worked. He crossed his arms as if to shut those thoughts in completely and lock them up tight.

“I'll let my beautiful wife over there tell this one.” Dorian looked over to Arietta who in turn was glaring daggers at him.

“I will end you.” She growled out to her big brother.

"You two were married?" Raphael was about as shocked as everyone else at that one. He could hear Casey still trying to clear his airway from his drink going down the wrong pipe. "Hold up, you're brother and sister, right? How would that even work?"

"That is the absolute worse way to start a story, Dorian." Arietta pinched the bridge of her nose to keep a small headache at bay. "We weren't really married we just pretending to be for the sake of the mission. This was only the second mission Dorian and I have ever been on. The other mission isn't near as lighthearted but we'll save that one for another time."

“Promise?!” Mikey interjected with such a hopeful tone that Arietta could not help but to laugh with the rest of the group. She moved her hand from her face and looked to the youngest turtle to give him a small nod. She made a cross sign over her chest to seal in that she promised she would before she closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest to begin the tale.

"This happened about four years ago and our mark was the Prime Minister of Spain. The guy was using his political position as a way to keep up the flow of drugs and human trafficking. He was pretty bold about it but very thorough in making sure nothing connected back to him. The guy was a total devil and the Black Lotus was hired to get rid of him once and for all. Since pretty much everyone else had missions of their own it fell to Dorian and me to get the job done. We posed as a drug kingpin and wife so we could attend the grand masquerade party the man was holding at his estate." She paused her story and took a drink from the soda Raphael offered her before she continued on.

“It didn't take much to become buddies with the guy. He was a completely disgusting pig. He talked a bit of business with Dorian while I did my best act of playing a very sexually needy wife. A few drinks in and the guy was practically begging for us to let him in on the action or even just watch.” Arietta shivered recalling the way the guy would subtly rub against her arm or place his hand against her back.

“This sounds like something out of a movie,” April spoke gently trying to stomach the thoughts of the two siblings having to deal with such a sleazy man.

“Sometimes the movies get it right. We found his proposition as an opportunity to get him alone and away from his bodyguards so we agreed.” She gave a small shrug as she calmly told the story but she felt Raph nudge her side and she looked at him. His eyes held a bit of shocked curiosity and she had a feeling about what she was going to ask her.

“Did you two actually do anything to each other?” He did not flat out ask it but it got his point across making Arietta scoff slightly before she punched his bicep lightly.

"Oh hell no! Dorian was able to slip the poison into the Prime Minister's drink while we were in the room and we had to stall for about ten minutes for it to take effect. The most we had to do was put on an intense make-out session and my dress came off. That was it. Once the guy hit the floor we were out of there to catch our scheduled extraction flight back to Japan. No one even knew he was dead until the late afternoon and by that time we were back to the compound getting set up with our next orders." She picked up the plate from her lap intending on leaning over far enough to put it on the table. Dorian just had to open his big mouth though.

“Isn't my wife a bad ass babe?” He laughed out at his joke but yelled out as the plate Arietta had smacked him right in the forehead all Frisbee style. He rubbed his head as the room erupted into more laughter.

"You had better sleep with one eye open big brother," Calliope smirked and got a glare from Dorian in return.

“Speaking of sleep. We'd better head home and catch up on our rest.” Casey stood up and stretched a bit before fishing out the keys to the van. April stood up and gave a small stretch of her own and a little yawn to go with it.

“We're both off of work so if you guys need anything just get a hold of us.” She paused a moment and held back a laugh before she pointed at the now passed out Lyra. The bubbly young woman was using her arms as pillows as she slept against the table. “Somebody has a head start.”

"Yeah, all that hyper happiness makes her crash out like she just came down from a sugar high." Dorian stood up and was about to scoop up his sister when he felt pressure on his shoulder. He looked to the source and was a little confused to see Donnie was the one who had stopped him.

“Let me take her. I've got to get a start on going through all the data she helped me collect anyway.” Dorian gave the turtle a small nod and watched as he carefully scooped up his youngest sister with such gentle care as if she was made of glass. He could not help but smile as Donatello headed toward the spare room that had been set up as a bedroom for the four of them. Master Splinter got up from his chair and cleared his throat to get the attention of those who remained in the room.

"I suggest you all get some rest. We will begin team training once Lyra and Calliope return from their errands." He gave a tilt of his head to bid them all a good night before he headed toward his room to retire. Arietta let out a soft groan and buried her face into her sketchbook for a moment.

“It won't be that bad.” Raphael poked her side and she pulled the sketchbook away just enough to give him a slight glare.

“Have you never really work as a team?” Mikey's voice held a little concern with the way Arietta was reacting to the prospect of teamwork. Arietta closed up her sketchbook and set it on the arm of the recliner before she patted Raph's arms to let her up. He did not argue with her and let her up watching her make her way towards the room. When she was out of sight the brothers looked to the two remaining Quintus siblings. Dorian gave a shake of his head as Calliope closed her book up for the final time.

"We do find strength in working as one unit, Arietta, however, believes it better for herself to work alone. Believe me when I say that patience will be the key with her. She'll learn to do it but it will just take a lot of time and more than likely a lot of arguing." Calliope got up and started to the room but she paused seeing Arietta walking back out wearing dark jeans, combat boots, and a black hoodie. Quietly Callie grabbed a hold of her sister's arm to stop her. They locked eyes but neither said anything to one another.

“Where do you think you're going?” Dorian spoke out killing the silence as she stood up and went over to the two. His tone had an almost fatherly quality to it.

“If you want me to even think about giving this whole team thing a shot you'll let me go get some me time first. I've got to get a clear head.” Arietta looked to Dorian but she showed no real anger or agitation at either one of her siblings. Calliope let go of the arm she had in her grip and she sighed gently. Leonardo had got up from the couch and approached the trio keeping his eyes locked on Arietta.

“You're not going out there by yourself. It's too dangerous.” He readied himself for an argument as the woman was about to open her mouth to speak. Another voice completely cut her off before she could take the breath to talk.

“I'll go with 'er.” They all turned to Raphael who had been the one to speak up and he only shrugged at them. Leo smirked and looked to Ari who at that second pulled her hood over head.

“I'll go too.” He gave Dorian a smirk as the guy looked up at him in surprise. “We'll make sure she doesn't get into any trouble.”

“Great. Just what I needed. Two babysitters,” Arietta spoke in a chuckled tone but her whole body instantly tensed as Callie pulled her into a fierce hug.

"You have got your tessen?" She smiled as her younger sister nodded and gave a pat on the back rather than return the hug. Callie let her go and gave both Raph and Leo a very stern no-nonsense look. "You all had better come back safe. Two hours tops or I swear Dorian and I will come find you."

"Yes, ma'am." Leonardo smiled and lead the way as Arietta followed behind them. Raphael took up position behind her and leaned closer to the ebony-haired assassin.

“Motherly much?”

“I heard that!” Calliope shouted out which made the three of them hurry out of there. Mikey let out a small laugh having enjoyed seeing his older brothers get a little spooked.

“Remind me never to make you angry, Callie.”