#these took awful long but i am so proud of these because like??? look??

[1hellofacookie]

Her job

is...

Beach?

and kissing women

kenjoy

[arminsumi]

I WANT TO KISS YOU [3]

GOJO さとる + fem!reader

You and Satoru falling in love despite a language barrier.

2.8k

CHAPTER INDEX

Summary : you've come to visit Japan to meet these two boys you met online. Though Satoru can't speak English and you can't speak Japanese, the two of you still fall in love. Very cute. Very cheesy. Oh no... wait is there a tension between you and his best friend, too? Oh boy...

Taglist : @miwanilla / @sukunasdirtylaugh / @coco-cat / @babydiamondblog / @mp3playerblog / @froufrousnowman / @lovesickramblingsofmine / @arminswifee / @instantmusico

Visit : INBOX / LIBARY / JJK / GOJO / GOJO FAVES

You, Suguru and Satoru were stood in the shade of a flowering tree near a vending machine, getting drinks after a long hour of exploring Tokyo.

Since Satoru was tall enough to reach, he stretched his arm up and pulled down a flower from the tree overhead.

Then he turned to you.

「お花だ。」 he said softly, 「綺麗じゃないですか？」 Ohanada. Kirei jyanai desu ka? (Flowers. Aren't they beautiful?)

You listened and tried your best to understand the whole meaning of what Satoru just said.

When he saw your unsure look, he said it all again but slower and better pronounced.

Your eyes lit up with excitement as soon as you understood what he said.

It was a small moment in which you and Satoru felt triumphant over the language barrier between each other.

「はい、 綺麗です。」 you replied with confidence. Hai, kireidesu (yes, it's beautiful)

Satoru tried to speak a little more, to test how far you could understand him. His heart was beating harder.

「この花。 。 。それはあなたのためです。」 Kono Hana... Sore wa anata no tamedesu.

"Huh?"

Suguru started laughing after seeing your expression to this — it felt like such a complicated sentence to you — but Satoru thought it was simple enough for you to piece together.

Suguru was about to translate for you but Satoru waved his hands to say no — don't translate.

「いやいや、できるよ！」 Satoru interrupted. Iyaiya, dekiruyo! (No no, I can do it!)

Suguru laughed and nodded, "Okay." he said and gave you a vending machine soda then opened his own grape soda.

"Flower... for you." Satoru said to you.

Your lips stretched into a smile.

"Thank you, Satoru."

His heart throbbed because of the way you said his name.

He gave you a gentle look as you took the flower. The small skin-to-skin contact between your hands felt electric.

Satoru looked at the flower as you twirled it in-between your fingertips.

なんて面白い。彼女の美しさはこの花の美しさを鈍らせた。 How interesting. Her beauty dulled the beauty of this flower.

He nudged his best friend.

("Hey Suguru, it's definitely pronounced like "Flower", right?")

("Flour...?")

("Flower...?")

"Suguru, are you messing with him?"

"Yes, I am."

("Well, did I pronounce it correctly or not?")

Suguru gave him an assuring nod. Satoru seemed a little proud of himself now.

"Niiice." he said.

You gave him a cute thumbs up. He gave you a cute thumbs up back.

"You two are the cutest..." Suguru smiled softly at the exchange between you and Satoru. "I won't translate this for him, act like I'm saying something boring. But I wanted to tell you that he's been wanting to ask you out to an aquarium date — but he's too worried that you won't feel safe with him, since you can't rely on him to translate anything into English."

"Aw... that would be okay, though. I don't understand why he would be worried. We can use our phones like how we do anyways to translate stuff."

"Yeah, exactly. When I say "worried" I actually mean he's insecure. He told me he doesn't like it when — (私たちは政治について話しています) — "

He quickly said something to Satoru because the poor boy was starting to look back and forth between you and Suguru confusedly as the two of you talked more and more.

彼女とそんな風に話せたらいいのに。言いたいことはたくさんあるけど、言葉が通じないからこそ、僕らの愛は特別なものになるのかもしれない。 I wish I could talk to her like that. There are so many things I want to say, but maybe our love is special because we can't communicate in words.

" — sorry — wait, what was I saying?" Suguru returned his attention to you.

"Haha, you already forgot?"

"Yeah. Damn... what was I gonna say?"

Then Satoru asked him something, and he talked a bit with him and intermittently translated things for you.

And god, it was so attractive to listen to Suguru switch from Japanese to English for some reason. His voice changed. In English it became deeper, and in Japanese it was rumbling with sensuality.

You three took the train to somewhere.

Suguru and Satoru had been on either of your sides, the one acting as a translator and the other acting as a puppy — oh Satoru was just thoroughly obsessed with you.

彼女は天使のようだ。 She's like an angel.

("Suguru, how do I say... that I think she's like an angel?")

("Oh wow, that's quite something to say. Should I say it for you?")

("No, I can say it to her myself...")

So Suguru teaches him; "You're angelic."

And Satoru turns to you and says; "You're angelic."

Satoru looks at you, you look at him and gently raise your brows. He feels his heart start to pang fiercely in his chest and he giggles to cope with his overwhelming feelings.

"You too, Satoru."

"Thanks..." and then he said your name so gently, it made you fall a little bit more in love with him.

You three went for lunch somewhere after a lengthy walk.

Suguru ordered something spicy and offered for you to try it.

"Careful; it's spicy." Suguru told you caringly.

Satoru felt a lighthearted pang of jealousy, and acted on it;

"Hey!" he makes a barrier between you and Suguru, "No way."

"What's the matter?" you asked, thinking that Satoru maybe didn't want you to eat spicy food for some reason.

"No flirting."

"OH MY GOD! SATORU! WE WEREN'T — ughjndbs. We weren't flirting!" Suguru became completely flustered and hid his reddened face.

His overreaction showed that he felt like he'd been caught... uh, flirting. It was funny. Then Satoru made you two laugh even harder because he offered you a bite of his food a few minutes later.

("We weren't flirting...")

("Yes, I know. I was kidding, dude. Kidding.")

("You're so embarrassing, Satoru.")

("But you love me, right?")

("Nope.")

("Ah come on! Well it's fine — if you don't love me, she will love me.")

He turned to you and batted his lashes. Everything he was doing was making you and Suguru laugh.

"Love me?" he said cutely.

"Yes, I love you." you responded.

His heart throbbed.

私を愛して。

私につかまって。

キスして。。。

ああ、キスしてください。

You wondered what Satoru was thinking when he looked at you dreamily.

You three were on the train ride home after a long day spent exploring Tokyo.

Satoru sighed and slid down tiredly in his seat, arms folded over his chest like he was getting ready to take a nap. He glanced over at you in his peripherals, and his heart fluttered.

彼女の肩の上で寝たいです。 I want to sleep on her shoulder.

He brought out his phone and typed into the translator, then nudged for you to read it.

JPN : あなたの上で寝てもいいですか？ Anata no ue de nete mo īdesu ka?

ENG : Can I sleep on you?

You went through Japanese responses in your head, but then decided that a simple nod and encouraging pat on your shoulder sufficed.

So with your permission, he shyly rested his temple on the edge of your shoulder.

天国とはこういうものに違いない。 This is what heaven must be like.

He felt soft and drowsy.

You and Suguru talked in quieter voices so that Satoru could doze off, but then the two of you stopped talking altogether and instead adoringly watched him fall asleep.

His lips were a bit parted as he slept gently on your shoulder. You noticed a teeth mark on his lower lip.

"He must have a habit of biting his lip." you remarked.

"Yes, he does." Suguru confirmed, "It's a nervous habit, he's done it since middle school. I remember he said he bit his lip raw once when he was outside the principle's office after he got in trouble for getting into a fist fight with another kid — "

"He got into a fist fight with another kid when he was little?"

"Yeah. To be fair, though, the other kid started it because he said Satoru looked sickly." Suguru said.

"What!" you exclaimed.

"Yeah, middle school was ruthless. A lot of kids in our class didn't like how Satoru looked. Someone spread a rumor that his hair and eyes meant he was sick, and so if they got close they'd also get sick. So besides me and Shoko, no one really approached or befriended him."

"Jeez! I want to go back in time and also get into a fist fight with those middle schoolers now... teach 'em a lesson about spreading stupid rumors..."

"Haha... don't worry, he and I got into more than plenty fist fights to make up for it. Though, I was usually the one prying Satoru off of some other kid — they didn't stand a chance against him." Suguru laughed reminiscently.

"Oh, was he strong even as a kid?" you asked.

Suguru nodded and looked at Satoru, "Yeah... he's always been the strongest person I've known. But he's still got weak points."

"What weak points?" you asked.

"You, for one." Suguru replied, "... and sweets."

"I'm his weak spot? Ahah... well now you've made my face all hot." you chuckled embarrassedly while feeling your cheeks.

"Have I?" Suguru tilted his head.

His voice got deeper.

Suguru felt up your cheeks to test — and surely enough, they felt hot under his cool touch. You shared an electric moment with him.

「ああ、お姫様のほっぺは本当に温かいですね。」 he said.

"Huh? What does that mean? What did you say?" you asked.

"... I just said your cheeks are indeed very warm." he lied.

"Oh..." you take in a breath and stare at him, "Hey, Suguru..."

"... yeah?" he replies a little breathlessly, trying to close the proximity between you and him.

"... uh, I think we missed our stop..."

"Oh...? Oh — shit, yeah we did. Well, let's wake up the polar bear..."

So Suguru woke up Satoru.

「 さとる？私たちは電車の停留所に乗り遅れた。 」

「ああ、くそ。」 Satoru replied sleepily.

His head lifted from your shoulder, yawned and stretched and made noises like a cat, and then brought his phone out to type into the translator.

JPN : あなたの夢を見ました。

ENG : I dreamed of you.

You replied.

ENG : I hope it was a good dream.

JPN : 良い夢だったらいいのですが。

Satoru smiled sleepily at you. His eyes were puffy and lidded.

JPN : 夢の中で私たちは猫でした。

ENG : In the dream we were cats.

You let out a laugh as soon as you read the translation.

Suguru was checking train schedules, and said to you then to Satoru that the next train home was in an hour.

"Well, how are we going to spend the hour? Loitering around the station?" you asked.

"No way; spending an hour loitering around the station would be a bore and a shame. Let's go somewhere nice." Suguru said.

So you three disembarked the train and navigated through the station.

Satoru was giggling while desperately trying to communicate with you using his eyes and body language, as well as broken English. Each time you responded with a confused smile or "what?", he giggled harder.

Then once you surfaced from the metro steps you took a moment to look around at your environment in wonder.

"The feeling here is different." you commented. "It feels calmer."

"Yeah, you're right it is. Where we've been exploring all day was very busy." Suguru nodded, then promptly translated what you said for Satoru, then Satoru also nodded in agreement.

"Satoru and I haven't been around these parts, so we don't know any places to go."

You took a deep inhale and caught a whiff of a good aroma.

"Well, how about we go wherever that delicious smell is coming from?" you suggested.

The aroma that you smelled lured the three of you into a restaurant nearby.

When you sat down, Satoru pulled out your chair for you.

The atmosphere was warm and homely. Soft gold glows of lanterns lined under the outside roof of the restaurant.

You were sat outside in the cool night air.

Satoru apparently made a snobbish complaint about the dessert when it came.

"Satoru's a fussy princess about desserts." Suguru told you, "If they're not sweet enough he thinks they're bad."

Satoru interrupted and urged the two of you two look under the table.

「おい、見て見て！猫。 」 he said. Oi, mitte mitte! Neko. (Hey, look look! A cat)

He petted the cat, meanwhile Suguru didn't even bother.

"Minto may not like you, but maybe stray cats do." you said.

"It's probably not a stray. It looks healthy, the restaurant owner probably takes care of it. Anyways..." he raised his hand to remind you of how Minto scratched him recently, "I won't risk getting another cat scratch, I'm not carrying any bandaids or antiseptic."

"Cutie..." Satoru was talking to the cat. It seemed to really like him, but then a clattering noise of dishes from inside the restaurant scared it off.

"Don't go!" Satoru whined, then grumbled something in Japanese that made Suguru laugh.

"Aw, Satoru did you just get heartbroken by a cat..." You laughed.

Satoru looked at you as soon as you said his name.

He had been half stretching off his chair to pet the cat.

His hair flopped when he turned his head at this odd angle, looking cat-like himself.

He winked at you.

You giggled flirtatiously back.

"Wow, this tension..." Suguru looked between you two. "It's just eating me up."

"Haha, shut up..."

"You two need to kiss."

「キス？」 Satoru perked his ears up.

"Yeah, kiss." Suguru said.

"Kisu, or Kisshu, from Tokyo Mew Mew?" you joked.

"Huh?" Satoru looked at you.

"Huh?" you looked at Satoru.

"Quiche? Kisshu? Kisu?" Suguru looked at Satoru.

"What??" Satoru looked confused.

The three of you started laughing, not sure what anyone was saying anymore. But anything you did say seemed absolutely hilarious. Maybe you were just high on each other.

After food, the three of you went exploring again, and got lost in each other's company.

Whenever Satoru looked at you, his eyes glittered with wonder. He looked so in love, so enraptured with you, that no one else in the world seemed to exist anymore to him except for you.

You were becoming his everything.

The three of you debated an interesting topic while getting lost in Tokyo; what is love?

Satoru was grumbling and making frustrated noises because he didn't know how to tell you what he thought in English, and he also didn't want Suguru to translate too much because he thought it might be overwhelming for him.

He got a little jealous when you and Suguru understood each other perfectly and seemed to reach a conclusion.

But actually, Suguru was saying something different to what Satoru thought.

"I think the two of you have the purest kind of love. Neither of you say almost anything to each other, instead you just feel love. Which is what you're supposed to do — love is not meant to be declared with words, only felt with hearts."

"Wow... Suguru, you're pretty poetic. But yes, I agree. Wordless love is very pure. Then again... it would be nice to understand each other, you know?" you said.

Suguru shrugged in response, "Enjoy it for what it is now. You'll understand each other one day anyways."

"Love is..." Satoru interjected, thinking hard.

You and Suguru looked at him expectantly.

He'd been preparing himself while you and Satoru had been talking.

"... love is small stuff." he said. "You know?"

"Love is... in small things?" You tilted your head at him, "I like that."

"Mhm. Small things... you know... like... uhhh... like... flowers." he said, and made the giving motion — from his heart to you, "Flowers, you know?"

"Yes, flower giving is a love language." you smiled, recalling the flower that he gave you. You'd pressed it into your Japanese pocket phrasebook to preserve it.

Suguru translated what you ha said to Satoru, and then the latter boy nodded and started blushing.

でも、桜の木全体では、私がどれだけあなたを愛しているかを表現することはできません。 But a whole cherry tree can't express how much I love you.

© arminsumi

I do not permit the copying/reposting/translation/plagiarism of my works. Do not steal what I've worked hard to create.

This is fictional work.

[galacticsuperstitions]

the minds of a lab at three different points (LONG rambling under the cut)

I am constantly in awe of the analyses people put out about Arknights on this website. I feel like my own interpretations are somewhat lacking as a result, but I was confident enough to post this, at least. I've had this idea for a long time now, I think since Lone Trail released, but I've only been able to make the time for it now.

Rhine Lab has so many fucked up elements and people involved in it that it's actually impressive. They were really gunning for "most unethical scientific consortium" reward. Really, though, it's just the result of Kristen gunning for her parents' wishes. All of the directors want something and all of those somethings are different.

Things I want to mention or just feel proud of (allowing myself this because of how long this took):

-I was originally planning on crossing out Saria's surname to reflect that we still don't know what it is in canon, but I don't know why whoever has this poster would do that, so I just kept it in. Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, which Saria's name apparently derives from. Technically, her name here is the same thing twice. Oh well.

-I don't know who this poster belongs to. It's just in some Rhine Lab tech's personal desk, I guess? Doesn't explain the doodles, though. Maybe they were bored and feeling spiteful about the potential job insecurity of your boss being comatose in space.

-I realized only while making this post that I made Saria's, Muelsyse's, and Jara's doodles reference Kristen, yet Kristen's only references herself and her parents. Completely unintentional, but appropriate nonetheless.

-I am so happy with how the poster came out. It makes up for how hard I had to fight Canva for it to come out like that. Here it is in full if you want to look at it closely for whatever reason. (writing an actual description for this thing was fun!)

-Andenate doesn't actually have a face under the sticky note. That's why he's still Mike Wazowski'd in the poster png. I didn't feel like drawing one since it wouldn't be shown in the finished pieces anyway. His jacket is just the same as Magallan's.

-Ifrit's picture board was a literal last-minute addition. It's why the images are sketches rather than being in the lineless style of the poster. It feels fitting, though, so I'm keeping it that way. Seeing Ifrit all grown up and doing so well in Lone Trail was wonderful. There's something in her being happy and healthy and also surrounded by not just her loved ones and friends from Rhine Lab, but also people outside of it. She's cultivated her life to be as fulfilling as she wants it to be, and while there is still room to grow, she has plenty of support and insight from others for it to do so. I may be misrepresenting her a bit (the sleepiness doesn't help), but man. I love Ifrit. She's so cool.

[somethingubercool]

my petite protégée (bau x reader/spencer x reader)

Y/N is new to the BAU and works under Garcia. she finds herself being able to see something in the case no one else does, impressing the team, including a specific doctor

this is fem!reader but i will try to make my fics more gen later. in requests btw, if you would like to, please specify what gender you would like the reader to be

genre: fluff

word countL 8.7k

trigger warnings: just regular criminal minds stuff

A/N: So, this took a different turn, a fluffier turn. Originally this was gonna be an angst fic but then I was in a cute mood so. Tell me if you guys want me to continue the Techie Reader series because I would be happy too.  Also, the reader is around 20, and I’m placing Spencer at 26-27 so there is a bit of an age difference, but not too much. This is around season 3

 UPDATED A/N: I wrote this in 2020 and then deleted it when I deleted my old Tumblr. But, I was really proud of this fic, so....here it is.

 This system was far more complicated than what you’ve practiced with when you were at the academy, but you shouldn’t be too surprised knowing the kind of equipment that the FBI tended to use, it was all taught to you at The Academy.

 “And I’ve developed all the software myself!”

 In addition to the fact that the software was designed by Ms. Penelope Garcia herself.

 “This is...amazing,” You gawked, eyes scanning over the array of code Garcia so gracefully decided to show you, whether it was for you to study or be in awe at. Either way, you were doing both, leaning forward in order to scan your eyes over as much of the sequences as you possibly could, although you doubt you would remember it all. You were intelligent, IQ of 159 and almost perfect grades throughout all of your schooling, but you were better with making connections and remembering numbers than memory, so even if you wanted to remember all of Garcia’s code, it was nearly impossible

 “That’s right, stare in wonder!” Garcia exclaimed in a grandiose tone, to which you nodded intrinsically, the blue hue of the laptop flashing into your eyes as you scanned the computer one last time.

 “I am in wonder,” You replied directly, turning around in your rolling chair to look at the extravagantly dressed woman in all of her glory. “But how long did it take you to program this?”

 “A magician never reveals her secrets, Y/L/N.” Garcia replied ominously, to which you gave her a deadpan stare before bursting out into a smile and shaking your head playfully.

 “You’re the boss.” You whispered back, spinning around in your chair once more so you would be facing the computers, hearing the rolling of another set of wheels as Garcia pulled up an extra chair next to you.

 “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to someone telling me that, although it feels nice.” She giggled, smiling at me before pulling the keyboard closer to her and entering whatever information was needed in order to pull up the FBI’s security page. As you read through the page, you could see all the requested information pertained to you, and even before you could reply with the needed responses, Garcia began to type.

 “Do you have a middle name?”

 “Ah--”

 “Oh, wait. Never mind, I know that.” She scrolled further down the page.

 “Age?”

 “20.”

 “Oh! You’re a youngster, younger than Reid even.”

 You did not recognize that name but decided to not inquire about it.

 “Address?”

 “3--”

 “Oh wait, I know this too. It was on your introductory paper.”

 You begged to wonder why she was asking you these questions in the first place if she knew most of the information, but frankly, you didn’t mind spending time with Garcia so you plainly allowed this to happen.

 “Alright, all your information is in. You’re now my protege, my little bear.” You giggled at the nickname as soon as it left her mouth.

 “Little bear?” You asked, raising your eyebrow amused.

 “Cause you’re cute.” She replied, making you pout appreciatively at her. Yeah, you definitely did not mind spending time with Garcia. 

 “So, what exactly am I supposed to do as your petite protege.” You asked, smirking at her when she raised her eyebrows appreciatively at you for your french,

 “Well, mon petit ours, the BAU will be calling into us multiple times for references, further research on specific dates, events, records, anything regarding the situation at hand or regarding a potential witness or unsub.”

 “Unsub?” You asked, confused.

 “Unidentified subject. The bad guy.”

 “The bad guy.” You confirmed, signaling her to continue.

 “And sometimes, multiple members will call me at once, I’ll be too popular.” She exclaimed playfully, causing you to giggle again at her antics as you nodded in understanding. “So that is where you step in, my little bear. If I am currently researching a topic or on a call with another one of our special agents and am too busy to respond, they can call you.”

 “And I can research the topic as well.” You asked in an attempt to confirm your position, which Garcia affirmed with a single nod.

 “Exactly. I’m going to make a copy of my system to a whole new set of monitors that they should be bringing in tomorrow. It probably would have been here today but--”

 Suddenly, the door was yanked open, shining a bright light into the relatively dimly lit room, causing both you and Garcia to squint and shield yourselves from the scorching rays.

 “Garcia, we have a new case.” You heard a female voice say, one that you were too preoccupied shielding your eyes from to see. 

 “But there is a new case,” Garcia completed, sighing in relief when the blinding ray of light shrunk away as the female voice closed the door. As soon as your eyes were safe, you were able to unfold yourself from your shielded position and look at the source of the voice and the beam of light, a beautiful, petite blond woman with her arms crossed, a manilla folder in her hand, and an amused smile being the origin of it all.

 “Aww, JJ! No sudden lights in the Batcave!” Garcia whined childishly, pouting at the woman, presumably JJ, who was now approaching the two of you with an entertained look in her eyes. She shook her head at Garcia as she leaned against her chair and held the manilla folder up at Garcia’s face. The moment Garcia’s eyes landed on them, they filled with dread.

 “Please tell me this is just penny thievery.”

 “Serial murders.” The woman replied flatly, causing Garcia to shut her eyes in discomfort.

 “That isn’t penny thievery.” Garcia groaned, taking the manilla folder in her hands before throwing you an exasperated sigh to which you sympathetically smiled at. It was at that moment that JJ finally acknowledged you properly.

 “Agent Jennifer Jareau, nice to meet you.” She greeted you, taking your hand in a simple shake as you smiled at her.

 “Y/N  Y/L/N. Techie.” You replied jokingly, to which Agent Jareau seemed to appreciate, smiling at you in a pleased manner.

 “She’s my little protege.” Garcia commented, replying in an exaggerated French accent that caused all three of you to giggle.

 “How old are you, by the way? You seem young.” She asked you, scanning your face as you politely smiled at her. 

 “I get that a lot. Contrary to popular beliefs, I can legally drink within a year.” You replied with a small smile, to which Agent Jareau tilted her head in acknowledgment.

 “Can you believe it? She’s twenty. A literal baby.” Garcia whispered to Agent Jareau, however, clearly with the intention for you to hear, causing you to roll your eyes at her comment. 

 “Again, can legally drink in a year. In Europ,e I can do it right now.” You retorted playfully, smiling at Agent Jareau, shyly, who simply chuckled before nodding her head towards the manilla folder in Garcia’s handande gesturing towards the door.

 “Come on, we need to talk to the rest of the team.” And with that, Garcia got up and prepared to head to where the team was, you presumed, leaving you perplexed on whether you should stay put in the room or follow Garcia and Agent Jareau, not wanting to intrude in places you didn’t know if you were even invited to. However, Garcia answered that question for you rather quickly, stopping her movements in order to spin around at her heel and point at you definitively,

 “You should come with.” She stated, to which you looked back at her with wide eyes and an unknowing stare, baffled to what exactly is taking place. You could see that Agent Jareau had paused and look behind her in the corner of your eye, waiting for the both of you. You gawked at Garcia once again.

 “Ahh...am I allowed to?” You asked dumbly, looking between Garcia and Agent Jareau for a concrete answer. Jareau fixated her eyes on Garcia who looked at you as if you were equally the most precious and most ridiculous person alive. 

 “Of course, you are. But, ah, just for investigation’s sake, why don’t you just sit so that we can give you the information precisely.” Garcia stated, looking back to Jareau for confirmation, to which she nodded and smiled at.

 “Sure.” Jareau simply added, waiting for both you and Garcia to catch up with her. Pushing yourself up from the chair, you adjusted your top before walking towards Garcia, who threw you a proud smile and hum as both of you caught up with Agent Jareau and headed towards the briefing room.

 “We call it the Roundtable,” Garcia whispered to you as the three of you started to mount up a set of stairs, your eyes preoccupied with scanning the numerous amounts of desks and workers around you, watching in awe. Even though you strived to work here one day, called even before you fully graduated, you still could not believe that you were now part of the Bureau. All those sleepless nights where you agonizingly worried if you would ever make it, finishing reports and projects on just caffeine alone, striving to be a part of the Bureau, none of it seemed real now that you were actually there. To you, all of this was insane.

 “And this is it.” You were pulled out of your internal monologue by Agent Jareau’s voice, quickly fixating your eyes on the glass door that separated you and what seemed to be a round table surrounded by various chairs, propped a few feet away from a large screen and projector. Well, at least it fits the name.

 “Come on, we have to set everything up before the team comes in,” Garcia said to you, taking your forearm gently and guiding you inside the room, to which you quickly pushed open and examined your surroundings. Wow, you were actually there.

 “Can you two set up the monitors while I inform the team?” You heard Agent Jareau ask, causing you to turn your head around and stare at her with wide eyes. 

Holy shit you were going to meet the team.

 “Yeah, gotta call everyone in so we can stare at photos of dead bodies like any other Tuesday.” Garcia chirped sarcastically, causing Agent Jareau to throw her a playful, exasperated look while you let out a faint giggle. With that, Agent Jareau left the room, leaving you and Garcia to set up the monitors.

 “Alright, mon petit ours, let’s do this!” Garcia instigated with an encouraging exclamation, to which you smiled and replied to with a slightly less optimistic exclamation of your own. Garcia could have told you to be more cheerful, but you were convinced that she saw your nervousness and decided that what you gave was sufficient. “Can you start setting up the monitors while I get the photos together? I’m gonna transfer you the file so that you can upload it to the monitor from your computer.”

 “Why can’t we just connect the monitor to your computer?” You question with knitted eyebrows, to which Garcia smiled.

“It’s just basic training.” She stated simply, to which you snickered.

 “Doesn’t everyone know how to set up a monitor?”

 “You’d be surprised.” She said with an underlying tone of exasperation, making the smile on your face grow larger. Once you connected the monitor to your computer, you opened your account and waited for Garcia’s transfer, which happened immediately after you opened the account. You looked up at her in playful shock when the little ding exclaimed from your computer. “I’ll teach you how to be fast and efficient later.” She said with a proud smirk.

At that moment, the glass doors of the room were swung open, causing you to jump slightly in shock. In walked four individuals, of them only two recognizable to you, them being Agent Jareau and SSA Aaron Hotchner. He was the one who you first spoke to when you walked into the Bureau, and although he was quite stoic and straightforward, he was nice to you. When you two made eye-contact, he gave you an acknowledging nod, and you gave him a respectful one back, smiling quickly before turning your head towards the laptop, quickly downloading the slide-show that Garcia sent to you before projecting it to the monitor. Once you had finished, you looked up and sent Garcia a nervous smile, to which she sent you an encouraging one back.

At that moment, you could feel two pairs of eyes staring at you, belonging to the other two agents you didn’t recognize, one of them being a beautiful, raven-haired woman and the other a handsome, darker-skinned man, both of them looking between you, Hotchner, and Garcia expectantly. SSA Hotchner turned to Garcia, who jumped into action, walking over to your place in front of the monitor, near the table, and placing two hands on your shoulders with a firm grasp.

“My Power-Rangers, this is Y/N  Y/L/N. Our new Techie and my petite protegee!” She introduced, making you blush at the sudden attention before bowing slightly, one of which you found embarrassing because who even bows in America before straightening yourself and throwing a nervous smile to the two agents. They both gave you polite smiles, the raven-haired lady coming up to you and holding out her hand.

 “Hi, Agent Emily Prentiss.” She introduced, to which you replied with a soft smile before taking her hand and giving it a shake. The male agent followed, holding out his hand as well and throwing you a comforting smile.

“Derek Morgan. Nice to meet you Y/L/N.” He said, smiling as you shook his hand with a slightly more relaxed demeanor now that introductions were essentially over. You pulled away from them and looked at each member of the team, smiling nervously before tilting your head sideways to look at Garcia, who gave your shoulders another encouraging squeeze before you spoke.

“I look forward to working with everyone.” You said politely, to which Hotchner nodded, Agent Jareau smiled, Agent Morgan gave you an amused nod, and Agent Prentiss spoke up.

“Can I ask how old you are? Sorry, you just look so young for someone to graduate from the Academy.” She questioned, looking between Garcia and you for an answer. Before Garcia could explain, you decided to interject. 

“A-actually, ah, I didn’t.” You explained, fumbling slightly as you attempt to elaborate on your response. “The, ah, the BAU was looking for another Technical Analyst to help with the spike in crimes, and, ah…” As you felt your words start to lag, Garcia gracefully stepped in and finished the elaboration for you, thankfully.

“And now she works under me, haha! I am the master.” She explained in an overexaggerated tone, one that made you giggle and relax, in alliance with how Penelope’s jokes usually made you feel.

“That she is.” You agreed, pushing yourself to make a playful comment. Agent Morgan gave you a smile for that, and even that slight gesture made your tension lessen.

“Well, we can all get to know each other later. Right now, we have a case.” You heard Agent Hotchner say, and immediately, your demeanor changed, becoming serious as you nodded at him and walked over to the computer you set up near the monitor. Garcia returned to her respective laptop, pulling a chair to sit in between Agent Morgan and Agent Hotchner as Agent Jareau handed out files to each member of the team. However, you could not help but realize that there were two extra files in her hands after she finished giving each agent their file. Neither you nor Garcia needed one.

Shaking your head slightly, you decided to not dwell on the miniscule detail and focus on the case, pulling up the slideshow Garcia had sent you before reaching for the remote near your hand, handing it to Agent Jareau who thanked you politely and gestured towards the empty chair at the table, inviting for you to sit. You took the invitation, kindly, and watched as various images popped up on the monitor. What you saw, what was presented to you, the team, caused you to flinch and divert your eyes for a second, before you realized that you yourself would now have to see these images almost weekly, daily even. So, stomaching your disgust, you turned back to the monitor and laid your eyes upon the images of the bloody and brutal girls presented on the screen.

“Two days ago, 26-year-old Lina Turner was found dead in her own home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her face was mutilated along with her sex-organs.” You tried to suppress the gag that was coming up your throat when you looked once again at the monitor, photos emphasizing the consequences of the gruesome acts committed flashing before you before the images switched to an entirely new woman, this one with red-hair and of short stature, contrasting the previous woman presented on the screen, who was a slender, yet tall brunette.

“Only thing consistent with the victimology is the fact that they’re females.” You heard Agent Morgan state, his eyes fixating on the two photos of the woman now displaying next to each other on the screen.

“Well, considering the fact that they’re both females and their sex-organs were mutilated,” Emily shook her head in empathy and disgust. “the unsub could be male?”

Your head tilted down as you reminded yourself what the term meant, mouthing ‘unidentified subject’ to yourself before turning and looking back up to the other agents. For a split second, you saw Agent Jareau smile at you endearingly before returning to the table.

“The women were also objectively attractive and fit, coupling that with the mutilation to their genitals, we could most likely have a sexual sadist on our hands.” Agent Hotchner said as he read through the files.

“Well, nonetheless, Philly PD wants us there as soon as possible.” Agent Jareau informed, to which Agent Hotchner closed his case files and stood up from his seat, nodding to Agent Jareau who turned off the monitor and handed me the remote with a quiet thank you. “Wheel’s up in 20.”

“Where are Reid and Rossi?” Agent Prentiss asked, causing your ears to quirk up and your eyes to land on her in confusion before glancing back at Garcia, who acknowledged your confusion with a smile.

“At the Academy. They’re giving a lecture.” Agent Hotchner informed, pushing the leather through the latches of his satchel before heading towards the door.

“Oh boy, Reid trying to talk to a group of young adults, that’s gotta be fun.” Agent Prentiss joked, snickering at Agent Jareau, Agent Morgan, and Garcia who all seemed to share the same opinion and knowledge on a subject you were completely oblivious to.

“At least he’s got Rossi,” Agent Jareau sighed, cradling her files in her hand before catching up with Agent Prentiss.

“Hey, Y/L/N, shouldn’t you be in class now too?” Agent Derek said as he turned towards you, a playful smile on his lips that you internally, greatly appreciated, but externally, you still donned a look of surprise.

“Ah, yeah.” Confidence, Y/N, confidence. “Should probably tell my professor I won’t be able to finish my programming project by tomorrow.” You joked, earing various laughs, chuckles, and snickers from the present agents in the room, causing you to feel accomplished.

“Hope he’s not angry,” Morgan added, leaning against the door.

“Ah, he might be, but I’ll just hack into his computer and delete all his files.”

“You can do that?” Agent Prentiss asked, slightly alarmed. “Those are files secured by the bureau.”

You grinned leisurely and shrugged your shoulders. “It wasn’t too hard.”

“Wasn’t?” Agent Prentiss gawked.

“Uh oh, with her you two are double trouble, mama.” Derek exhaled, to whom you assumed to be Garcia, who let out a chuckle before walking over to you and wrapping an arm around your shoulder, which you easily relaxed into, feeling quite comfortable with her now, already.

“Apparently all you have to do to get a government job is hack into the government,” Garcia added, leaning her head against your shoulder, causing you to giggle.

“What a simple task.” You replied, sarcastically, causing Agent Prentiss to shake her head in disbelief before smiling at you.

“Oh, I like her.” She commented before pushing open the doors and heading down towards her desk, Agent Jareau laughing at the whole interaction before catching up with the dark-haired agent.

Agent Morgan looked between you two, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek before letting out a quiet chuckle in content. “You two are gonna completely destroy the office,” he said before pushing open the door with his shoulder and turning outward. “See ya later, Baby Girl. See you later, Pretty Protegee!” He called as he walked down the hall and towards the stairs, leaving Garcia smiling and you with a slight blush on your cheeks, a grin plastered over your face as well.

“Pretty Protegee?” You asked, turning towards Garcia with a wide smile.

“Ah, he does that with a lot of people. Although, I will admit—well, gloat,” You snickered at this. “That I have the most nicknames. But yeah, he does that a lot. Its one of his endearing qualities.” She explained, causing you to nod in understanding.

“They’re really nice,” You commented, before remembering something that irked you earlier. “Who are Rossi and Reid, by the way? There names were mentioned before and Agent Jareau had extra files in her hand so, I assume they were for them.”

“Ah!” Garcia exclaimed, wrapping her arm around your bicep as she placed her computer under her arm and started to lead you towards the door, your laptop and file already in your hands. Rossi is this, like, super-rich author who was actually one of the original starters of the BAU. He kind of retired to work on his books, which are like uber-famous, by the way, but came back not too long ago.” You pouted in acknowledgement as she fed you the information, walking across the catwalk with her and towards the elevator. “And Reid—he likes to be called Doctor Reid, by the way.”

“Is he a Doctor?” You inquired, pressing the elevator button corresponding with your floor.

“He has like, 3 PhD’s and can read a bazillion words per minute. He’s super smart, like Einstein smart.” She ranted, her hands moving animatedly as she spoke.

“Einstein discovered the theory of relativity, Garcia.”

“Well, Spencer has an IQ of 187!”

That shocked you, the piece of information donning on you as you both ascended to your chosen floor, your mind trying to rap around the thought.

“Jesus Christ…” You gawked, looking at Garcia with wide eyes.

“Yeah, he’s an actual genius.” Garcia cemented, wide eyes mimicking yours in empathy. You shook your head in disbelief before the doors of the elevator opened, allowing the two of you to step out and head towards Garcia’s lair.

“How old is he? You said he was young.” You asked, opening the door for her, which you thanked you kindly for before walking in.

“Twenty-six.”

“You’re kidding…” You whispered, eyes wrapping around the idea of working with a genius. Of course, everyone in the bureau was intelligent, but people easily get wrapped around by numbers, and you were quite enamored.

“Yeah,” Garcia said, waking up her computers before taking a seat in her comfy chair, and you had followed close after.

“Hmm, does Morgan have a nickname for him as well? Young genius? Einstein?” You asked, opening the case file as you started your laptop back up.

“Yeah, it’s Pretty Boy.” She said with a chuckle, causing your head to spin around in interest.

“Pretty Boy?”

“Cause he’s pretty!” Garcia giggled, spinning towards you in her chair, her fingers fiddling with the fluffy end of the pencil that she decided to pick up.

“He’s pretty?” You inquired, raising an eyebrow before turning back towards your laptop, which still had Garcia’s presentation displayed on it. You quickly exited the screen, shivering in disgust at the memory of the photos.

“Yeah…” There was a slight quirk in her voice that did not settle with you well.

“…Garcia.”

“Why are you so fixated on the fact that he’s pretty?”

“I’m not, Garcia I don’t even know him!” You defended, although you don’t know why you were defending yourself at all, but the slightly upbeat in Garcia’s voice pushed you to explain yourself as if you were caught doing something wrong.

“But the fact that he is pretty interests you.”

“Garcia, again, I don’t know him.

“I think you’d like him, my petite protegee. He likes Star Trek and reading and a whole lotta sugar in his coffee.” She giggled, turning back to her monitor, causing you to stare at her in defense as your mouth moved and contorted to spit out explanations and excuses that never came. Instead, you decided to sigh defeated, slumping in your chair before you loaded your file up to the presentation you desperately hated by knew you needed to look at, quickly skipping towards the ID photos of the two victims before you opened up your case file.

A beat of silence went by.

Screw yourself for being inquired by this guy.

“…so, he’s a nerd?”

Another excruciating beat went by.

“Yeah, he is.” A pause. “Are you into nerds, Y/N?”

You do not know how this escalated so fast, but god do you wish you could turn it back.

* * *

“Your magic oracle is here to serve you, oh wise one.” Garcia said as she picked up the phone, causing you to burst out into laughter behind her, earning a playful glance before she turned back around towards the phone. “Ignore my petite protegee, she has lost all her magical senses. Whatcha need?”

You heard a faint question of ‘petite protégée?’’ from the other end of the phone, and as much as you wanted to stop yourself, you could not help but wonder, Reid? However, logically, the voice sounded too old to be Reid, and by process of elimination, assuming that it’s not a Philly officer due to how the voice seemed genuinely confused by your presence, you concluded that it was Agent Rossi. Though, you cursed yourself for allowing even the thought of Reid to slip through your mind.

“Baby girl, can you look up to see if any of the victims recently had a plumber or any kind of manual worker come to visit them recently?” You heard Morgan on the line ask, and even before you could glance at her, Garcia had started to search away, which at this point you should expect.

However, what you did not expect, was for the other desk phone to ring.

Quickly, you looked at Garcia for guidance, who paused her furious typing to stare at you in expectance, encouragingly nodding at you to pick it up. You pushed yourself off your chair to reach for the phone, bringing it up to your ear in preparation.

“Hel—”

“Garcia can you check to see if the victims all went to the same school?”

The sudden question surprised you, causing you to become speechless as your nervous mind attempted to connect with your mouth and form concrete setences.

“Ah…”

“Garcia?”

“Ah…I’m not Garcia.”

“You’re not?”

Process of elimination.

“No, I’m her new assistant.”

“Oh.”

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Spencer Reid.”

“So, I’ve heard.”

“Y-you’ve heard about me?”

Your nerves released themselves via soft chuckle as you awoke your laptop from sleep mode.

“Garcia told me a lot about you.”

“What did she say?”

‘Reid.’ It was faint, quiet, but it definitely came from Agent Hotchner, the firmness indicating for Reid to be punctual and to not become distracted by whatever you two were doing. It seemed like the two of your snapped out of your weird trance simultaneously, your fingers hovering over your keyboard and phone placed on speaker as soon as Reid started to talk.

“R-right! Sorry. Y/L/N, can you see if the three victims went to the same high school?”

At this point, you could barely feel the keys on your keyboard as your fingers aggressively typed away, pulling up various records of the victims before key-searching on education and diplomas.

“Same high school.” You concluded, surprised by the connection.

“That’s what I thought.” You heard Reid whisper on the other line, but you were certain that it was more towards himself than you. “Thank you, Y/L/N.”

“No problem, Reid.”

Then the line suddenly cut, and you were left in slight dazzlement at the little interaction you got with Doctor Spencer Reid, the man whose voice was too soft and adorable to be true.  

You turned agonizingly slow in your chair back towards Garcia’s direction, dread evident through your body as your eyes fell upon her plotting grin, her smirk putting the Chesire-cat to shame.

“….what?”

“What was that little thing you two had in the beginning?”

You let out a groan in dramatic agony.

“Garcia! I barely know him!”

“But you seem smitten.” Her last word was too punctuated for you to be comfortable, so you threw her a sharp glare before turning back towards your laptop and pulling up your programming exam.

“Oh, you are not going to ignore me!” She exclaimed behind you in offense, to which you have an exaggerated shrug of your shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Garcia, but I have important matters to attend.”

“Oh, this is not over, missy.” She let out an offended gasp, and you bit your inner cheek to inhibit yourself from letting out a chuckle as you loaded up your Java program.

* * *

“Your oracle is ready for you, sir.” You heard Garcia say into the phone, your seat rolled up next to her as you both leaned in towards the device, the entire BAU team compiled on the other end.

“We looked through various records and backgrounds, but no one seems to fit the profile.” You heard Agent Hotchner explain from the other end, Garcia immediately pulling up the information you two have collected on the victims and previous suspects so far. Still, it seemed as if the team has got gotten anything conclusive, and since the last time you called, apparently, another body was discovered in a hotel room, more brutally mutilated than the others.

‘He’s evolving.’ You remembered Doctor Spencer Reid say in a previous phone call, only meaning that the situation was getting worse and the team was running out of time.

“Okay, let’s get over what we know so far,” You heard Agent Morgan start, speaking to both the team and the two of you present in the computer lab. “This unsub is efficient and quick,”

“He sexually assaults the victims, humiliates them,” Agent Prentiss added, disgust and fatigue evident in her voice.

Wait.

“Mutilates their bodies and their faces, so he has something against their looks” Agent Jareau voice emulated from the speaker.

Why is it…

“All the victims are from the same college, so the unsub is connected to them in that means. Former student or staff member?” Reid threw, voice questioning.

Why can’t it be…

“These girls were all pretty and popular, maybe he was upset that they made fun of him, or never dated him?” Rossi tried, hoping to find something, anything to add to the case.

Hold on.

“Why do you keep saying that the unsub is a ‘he’?” You interrupted, much to the surprise of Garcia, who looked at you, taken aback, and to the silence of the team, which you interpreted as surprise as well.

“…what do you mean, Y/L/N?” You heard Hotch ask through the phone, causing you to become flustered by your outburst, voice wavering slightly as you attempted to justify yourself.

“I-It’s just—” You felt Garcia’s hand squeeze your shoulder, helping ground you, and you took a soft breath before speaking. “You guys kept talking about how the unsub was neat and efficient. You said it was most likely a sneak attack, right?”

“Right, but the preference in females and in relationship with their sex organs—”

“Lesbians exist, Prentiss.” You interrupt, causing both you and her to chuckle slightly before continuing. “But, it doesn’t have to be sexual.”

“You think it might be revenge?” You heard Agent Rossi ask, and before you responded, you pushed yourself away from Garcia’s desk towards your laptop, opening up your closed device and pressing on the various files that you researched during the case.

“So, I got bored when you guys didn’t call us,” You heard Agent Morgan let out a chuckle. “And I started looking into the victim’s high school backgrounds since Doctor Reid mentioned the fact that they all went to the same school.”

“You can just call me Reid.” You heard him tentatively say from the phone, and you forced yourself not to react to Garcia’s smirk before continuing.

“Okay, since Reid mentioned the fact that they all went to the same school. These girls were the queen bees of the school, the Heathers, the Regina Georges.”

“The what?” It was Reid again, and you could not help but let out a giggle at his confusion.

“We’ll discuss that later, Doc. But they were the meanest girls you could think of, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone wanted revenge. You said it might be a boy, but what if it was a girl? Girls, especially high school girls, can be vicious to other high school girls. Maybe one of them snapped.” You explained, displaying your findings to Garcia who scanned them impressed, rubbing your shoulder in pride.

“If they did snap, it would be recent.” You heard Agent Hotchner state quickly before continuing. “Garcia, can you look up any girls from that school who had mental problems during their time in high school, had any psychotic disorders after they graduated, or had any interaction ever with any psych facilities.”

You heard the furious clicking of keys before they came to a sudden halt.

“This is quite a list for such a small school.” Garcia said breathlessly, causing you to shrug.

“Not all of them were bad, some of them might just give anxiety.” You reasoned, to which she smiled softly.

“The unsub, even if brutal, was neat, almost professionally neat. They also would need the specific tools and information to correctly damage and mutilate their sex organs. Baby girl, look up doctors, nurses, med students—”

“Focus on med-students. The victims were 26 and taking in the change that the unsub is also, they probably would still be in med school.” Reid specific, causing Garcia to open her key-searcher and specific the search even more.

“Ahh, geez, I got three names.” She replied, to which you scrunched your eyebrows in shock and disgust.

“How?” You exclaimed softly, to which she shrugged before turning back towards her keyboard.

“The unsub knows the area well to dump the bodies in secluded yet well-visited sites, so search locals, people who were born here, raised here, and stayed here.” Agent Jareau finalized, and in a sudden halt, one name and picture centered at the screen.

“Rebecca Malwizer. Twenty-five. 3356 Walnut Drive.”

“Let’s move.” You heard Agent Hotchner command before the phone was picked up and his voice was heard sharply. “Good work, Y/L/N.” Suddenly, the line was cut, and the bat cave was filled with silence.

Until Garcia enveloped you in a bone-crushing hug and spurted various praises and exclamations to you.

“Ahhh! I have the smartest protegee in all of existence, that was so good!” She gushed, rocking you two back and forth as you laughed at her antics, your hands grasping onto her forearms as you two swayed, chuckling softly at her.

“I learned from the best.” You replied, enjoying the wonderful warmth that was Penelope Garcia.

“Aww, well I can assure you that Doctor Spencer Reid loves smart women like you.”

“Aaaand, you ruined it.” You replied flatly, rejecting her once comforting hug and making attempts to escape them, which she did not allow, only pulling you tighter into her mother-bear embrace.

* * *

“They should be coming any moment!” Garcia exclaimed, jitterily walking towards the elevator with you dragging your feet behind her, smiling softly as you hugged a soft, pink blanket around you,courtesy of Garcia herself.

“They’re probably tired,” You said behind her, catching up to the excited blond with a sigh, leaning against the desk you found yourself near, the entrance to the floor only a few feet away from you. The BAU had been gone for three days now, each day requiring the team to work for countless hours without sleep, meaning neither you nor Garcia got to sleep either. You mentally cursed at the bribing you would have to do with the professor before remembering that you now worked under the Behavioral Analysis Unit and could ask the department to help you be excused.

“Which is why we need to help cheer them up!” She countered, sending you a wide yet strained smile, forcing you to shut up and bend to her will, chuckling to yourself as you cuddled into the blanket, closing your eyes just for a moment as you waited for the team to arrive.

Not even a minute later, the doors creaked open.

“Hello! Hi! Welcome everyone! Hello!” Your head jutted upwards when you heard Garcia exclaim, body jolting straight so you could face the team in front of you.

Agent Prentiss, Morgan, and Jareau all laughed at Garcia’s greeting, with Agent Hotchner giving her a firm nod, acknowledging her before his attention turned to you,

“That was good deduction, Y/L/N.” He addressed to you, giving you a slight grin that filled your whole body with pride, even if all you could return was a tired smile.

“Thank you, Agent Hotchner.” You said, voice as professional as you could make it in your exhausted state.

“Call me Hotch. No one on the team calls me Hotchner,” He said before gracing you with a full smile, which only made you feel more accomplished.

“Okay, sir.” You replied, glancing slightly to see Prentiss, Morgan, Jareau, and Garcia all smiling at me as well.

“Oh, on that note, call me JJ. That’s what everyone calls me here.” She said, tilting towards you,

“Will do.” You replied, nodding.

“So, you’re the new technical analyst.” The source of the voice was an older gentleman with dark hair and a slight beard, his face appearing as if it had seen the worst that the world had to offer, while at the same time the owner of seventeen yachts. “Y/L/N?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow at you.

“Y/N Y/L/N, sir. You’re Agent David Rossi?” You asked, feeling nervous again at the presence of one of the agents, especially one who apparently was world-renowned.

“I am,” He affirmed, holding out his hand to shake, which you took instantly. “So, tell me, what did these knuckle-heads tell you about me?” he teased, earning a chuckle from you, pulling your hand away from him to tug on the blanket that was slipping from your shoulders. You wanted to be polite, but you were cold.

“All good things, I can assure you.” You smiled, looking over to Garcia out of habit. However, when you did, you saw a slight twinkle in her eyes, snarky and maniacal, in the most well-intended, Garcia fashion possible. You decided to follow where she was staring, and as soon as you did, your eyes landed on her intended receiver.

Oh.

“H-hello.”

Oh fuck, he was adorable.

“H-hi.” You could physically feel Garcia radiating from where you were.

“I’m, uh, Doctor Spencer Reid.” He said, adorned with a soft, half smile and a quick wave of his hand.

Ohhhh, Garcia was never going to let this go.

“But you told me to call you Reid, right?” you said, smiling at him softly. He looked stunned for a second, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide. He gave you a dazed nod, to which you didn’t know if you wanted to smirk at or blush, so, you decided to do both, looking at your feet timidly.

“Y-yeah. I did.” He finally chirped, his voice a tad higher pitched than it was before, for reasons that you were too red to consider.

“Well then,” Oh you did not like the airiness in Morgan’s voice either. “It looks like everyone knows everyone.”

“Well, we can get to know each other more later. Right now, we all need some rest. All of you have the weekend off.” You heard Hotch announce, followed by various sighs of relief and pure pleasure—that��s the most accurate way you could describe it—by the other members of the team, causing everyone to head to their desks tiredly.

You felt Garcia’s arm wrap around your bicep before she laid her head against your shoulder.

“Please drag me back to the bat cave so I can get my stuff.” She mumbled, cuddling into you, to which you giggled and rested your head on top of her hair.

“Come on, Garcia.” You said, affectionately, maneuvering yourself around so both of you could go back to the tech lab and grab all your supplies.

As you did, however, you quickly locked eyes with Reid, to which both of you gave each other a soft and timid smile before continuing your courses of action.

* * *

“Hey! Y/L/N!” You heard your name be called right as the elevator door was about to close, causing you to glance up in surprise. When your eyes locked with the warm brown ones of a certain doctor, your hand instantly reached for the elevator buttons and you pushed for the doors to open again.

“Thanks,” Spencer whispered softly as he got in, standing next to you in the elevator and waiting for the doors to close.

“No problem, Reid.” You replied, giving him a polite smile as the doors finally shut, and both of you started to descend downward. The both of you were silent initially, and at that moment, you quickly glanced over at the man, taking in his purple cardigan, the brown sweater-vest peaking from under it, as well as the sleeves of his white undershirt, and his leather satchel, which he held onto the strap of with two hands. With the addition of his converse, mismatched socks, one pumpkin themed while the other one contained math equations, and his floppy brown hair, the only thing that radiated from the man next to you was warmth, a warmth that competed with the pink blanket that was wrapped around your shoulders.

Oh, right, you still had that one.

“Is that Garcia’s?” Reid asked, referring to the suspected object.

You gave him a curt nod in affirmation. “Indeed, it is. I should probably give it back to her but its too warm.” You joked, causing both of you to giggle slightly, the young doctor giving you a soft smile that made your heart tighten.

Oh wow, he was adorable.

“You, ah, what you did during the case, that was really cool.” He complimented, looking up at you with appreciation and earnestness.

“Thanks, Reid. But I’m sure you have those breakthroughs all the time, being a genius and all.” You complimented, causing him to shake his head and smile.

“It was still impressive.”

“I appreciate that, Reid.” You thanked, looking at him softly, and keeping your gaze on him, your mouth slightly ajar in thought, to which he waited patiently for. Suddenly, your expression broke, and you decide to ask him now, or never, because what the heck?

“So…you like Star Trek?”

You have never seen a twenty-six-year-old’s eyes widen so fast.

“Do you like it too?” he exclaimed, voice loud and excited, causing you to giggle loudly.

“I prefer Star Wars, but—”

“What?! Why?” The way that he looked so wounded and sounded so devastated almost made your heart break if it was not for the current subject matter, which you were very passionate.

“Because Star Wars is superior!” You exclaimed, causing Reid to audibly gasp in offense.

“I couldn’t disagree with you more.”

“I am so sad that you believe that Star Trek is better than Star Wars, Reid. Truly, that is a great tragedy.” You replied in faux sympathy, causing him to scoff playfully before turning back to you. By this time, the elevator had reached your destination, but both of you were too engrossed in your conversation to care, walking off together into the parking lot.

Both of you continued to argue about which film series was better, animated, and passionate until you reached your car, to which you leaned against before turning back to the young doctor.

“Okay, fine. But answer me this: Sherlock or Doctor Who?” You looked at him challengingly, watching as the man paused his movements to ponder, expression frozen as he tracked through his mind to find his answer.

“Doctor Who.” You wanted to let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank god. For a second, I thought I would have to murder you, Doctor Reid.” You joke, causing him to smile at you broadly before laughing himself, making your insides to fill up with warmth like they previously did, smiling dopily as your rested your head against the window.

“I like Sherlock, but the tenth doctor is just—”

“David Tennant is a gift from God, I completely agree.” You said, smiling widely at him. For some reason, this caused a pause in your conversation, one that was not odd, but almost relaxing, natural. You were honestly taken aback by how comfortable and easy the conversation between you and Reid was, and you had a hunch that he felt the same.

“Ah, it’s getting late. You should probably get home.” He said, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“I should get home?” You inquire, causing his eyes to widen and his demeanor to change.

“I-I don’t mean that in, ah, a demanding way, its just ah,” He was fumbling for a response, and you didn’t know if you should relieve him of his anxieties or let him continue out of amusement. “I-I’m sure you’re capable of taking care of yourself—”

“I’m sure that I am too.” You hummed, only causing him to spur further into his defense.

“I—Just, it’s late and unsubs are out at this time and—”

Of course, he still called them unsubs, even off the job.

“Relax, Reid. I get what you were trying to say.” You interrupted, your eyes softening as his body visibly relaxed, head drooping slightly as he looked down at his shoes, giving you a shy smile when he lifted it up once again. You returned him one equally as shy. “But thank you for looking out for me.”

“Ah, no problem…”

Then, you two just looked at each other, eyes soft and demeanors gentle, the quaint and quiet atmosphere that the nearly empty parking lot surrounding you in a serenity that made the situation more intense, but…warm.

Maybe warm was the best way to describe Doctor Spencer Reid.

“I should, ah…” You interrupted softly, breaking the quiet atmosphere that encompassed the two of you, to what seemed like Reid’s disappointment. But you didn’t want to read too much into things. “I should get going.”

“R-right.” He affirmed, nodding towards your car before looking behind him “I should get going too, enjoy the weekend before Hotch calls us in again for a sudden case.”

“Oh, god, does he?” You groaned and looked at him defeated.

“You sadly cannot control when a psychopath will attack”

“Those damn psychopaths.” You murmured jokingly, causing Reid to laugh. You let out another giggle before reaching over and unlocking your car door, throwing your bad into the backseat before turning to Reid once more, holding your blanket closed with one hand before extending the other out to him. “Well, goodnight, Reid.” You said, waiting for him to shake your hand in affirmation.

When he stared at your hand for more than a couple seconds, you could not stop yourself from being confused, scrunching your eyebrows at the young doctor.

“Reid?” You asked, looking up at him.

Suddenly, his head snapped back at you, then glanced back down at your hand, before unwrapping his hand from where it was on his satchel strap and taking yours, holding your hand gently as you shook.

“G-goodnight, Y/L/N.” He said softly, smiling at you timidly. After a few seconds, he stopped shaking your hand, and to your shock—and secret pleasure—he held on for a few more seconds, before letting go and quicklyreturning his hand back to his satchel strap, awkwardly rocking on his feet. “I-I’ll see you Monday.”

“I’ll see you Monday.” You confirmed, looking up at him.

Neither of you made an attempt to move.

“Hey, Reid?” You asked, slightly dazed at the continuous contact.

“Y-yeah?” He replied, seemingly as entranced as you were.

Whatever the hell was happening, you didn’t want to stop. But you had to go home. Your professor might kill you for not turning in your programming assignment on time.

“I really gotta go.” You giggled out, causing the boy to almost jump out of contact with you, pulling back his hand and wrapping it around his satchel strap. You smile at the flustered expression on his face, one that you are sure matches yours.

“R-right. Sorry…” He trailed, but you instantly shook your head.

“Don’t be. It’s just...I got this programming assignment, and my professor would kill me if I don’t turn it in on time.” You explained,

“Oh! I’ve programmed once. I programmed on Java and even was able to create a program where—”

“Reid?”

“Hm?”

“I gotta go.”

“Right!” He exclaimed, blushing ever so darker at his own antics.

This, however, got you thinking.

“How about you continue your thought Saturday night, at my house.” You offered, and for a moment, Reid didn’t respond, choosing to stare at you stunned. He started at you long enough for you to regret your question, considering it a mistake, before he answered.

“Y-yeah! Sure!” He finally replied, his face sporting a wide smile that immediately allowed you to relax.

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, umm, I’ll text you the address?” You offered, to which he looked at you awkwardly.

“I, uh, don’t text often.”

“But you text on the case?” You asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, but I don’t bring my case phone home.” You explained, to which you let out a soft breath, expecting nothing else from the doctor, with the minimal knowledge you had of him.

You hoped that the knowledge grew.

“Then…your home number? I’ll call you to tell you.” You offered.

“Can’t you just tell me now?” He questioned with a raised eyebrow, to which you shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yeah, but this is more fun.” You giggled, and he smiled in response.

Quickly, you pulled on your backpack so you could unzip the small compartment, pulling out a sharpie before turning around and holding it out for him, as well as extending your wrist.

He ogled the two offerings in confusion.

‘Your number, Reid.”

“Oh!”

Quickly, he grabbed the sharpie, and with a gentle hold your wrist, one that caused butterflies to flutter in your stomach, he quickly jotted down his number. Once completed, he let go on your wrist and gave you back your sharpie.

“So, ah, Saturday?” he asked, to which you confirmed with a nod.

“Saturday. Then I can show you how much better Star Wars is than Star Trek.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” You retorted playfully, causing you to laugh.

“Okay, okay, or we can watch Doctor Who?” You asked instead, to which he gave you a satisfied nod. “Cool…” You turned back to your car, knowing now that you have to leave, or your professor will murder you. “See you Saturday, Reid;”

“See you Saturday, Y/L/N.”

You could not help your heart from fluttering when you saw Reid stand in the parking lot and watch to make sure you left safely.

You also could not help the soft smile you sported once you got home and when you saw Garcia’s text, exclaiming about how she saw you and Reid, and demanded you tell her the details.

[runningfrom2am]

in this life or the next (part II)

summary: you and rafe won the 75th annual Hunger Games as a team, but at what cost?

pairing: rafe x fem!reader

wc: 11.4k

tags/warnings: not as much as you would expect for a Hunger Games fic honestly. spoilers for the og Hunger Games movies I guess (but also not bc i changed it up a bit- you'll see), Ward being a shitty dad (as per usual). also this isn't thoroughly edited bc.. it's long and i'm still lazy.

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a/n: hi guys! this is part two of this fic, and i'm honestly pretty proud of how this story is coming together!! i hope anyone who enjoyed that one enjoys this one :) also i very much set it up for part three so look forward to that (eventually).

"Without further adieu, I'm pleased to welcome back, from District One and District Five, Rafe Cameron and Y/N Y/L/N, this year's Victors!" The base of the talk show's theme music bellowed in your ears as you followed your cue, holding tightly onto Rafe's hand as you took the stage again. You never imagined you would be back here, but you're grateful to be.

"Rafe, Y/N, I cannot honestly put into words how pleased I am to have you both back with me tonight. We're all so excited to have you- aren't we?" Caesar smiled, riling up the crowd once more as the cheers had died down. Rafe had a smile glued to his face, squeezing your hand once you were both sat down before letting it go.

"We're happy to be back." Rafe replied and you nodded, smiling over at him. He looked so much better- the colour had returned to his skin, a subtle pink flush you didn't care to take notice of before the games.

"I bet you are." Caesar nodded. "We have so much to talk about, but first, I'd like to personally congratulate you both on your win. This was the first-ever games to produce two winners, I hope you understand the extent of your accomplishment."

"Thank you, yeah." You smiled, turning your attention to the man across from you. "I couldn't have done it without him."

"Likewise," Rafe said, gently nudging your shoulder with his hand. You rolled your eyes, shaking your head with a smile.

"God, I just love your chemistry." Caesar said, smiling and leaning his chin onto his palm. This resulted in more laughs and cheers from the audience. "This is a perfect segue, actually," He sits up straighter again, a slight laugh leaving him. "You were aware that we were all watching, right? Because there were some very real... intense moments between you two in the arena that had us on the edge of our seats. The whole 'will they, won't they' tension was so palpable. So, I think we all just want to know, was it real?"

Rafe nodded, watching the man intently as he listened to him speak. You were both wondering where he was going with that, but while you felt your face burning red, you came up with a logical answer that effectively dodged what he was really asking. "I mean, yeah, of course, such significant amounts of stress on both the body and the mind would make anyone vulnerable in a way you wouldn't expect."

Rafe shifted in his seat, turning his gaze to you as Caesar nodded at your answer. "But with Y/N it was just so easy. She gave me a new perspective on everything, which I appreciate still so greatly. Just, yeah I don't think I could ever see myself sort of... opening up in that way with anyone else." Rafe added, thinking for just a moment before shaking his head with a slight laugh. "I didn't even care that the world was watching, because I knew she was listening, you know?"

A chorus of 'aw's came from the audience and you smiled at him, looking to Caesar quickly to gauge his reaction. His was fairly similar, hand clutched to his chest with a pout in his lip. "Well, there's your answer, folks. It's very real. That is just so sweet." He nods.

"Rafe is right," You chimed in, silence falling over the building. "But truly it is just such a harrowing, scary experience, and up until last year's games we had never seen tributes connecting in a way that we were given the opportunity to, in a similar way to Katniss and Peeta had, the tributes from twelve last year. I think that is a new experience for both the viewer and for us as tributes, and it sets a new standard for the games. I just count myself so lucky that I got chosen to be Rafe's partner, because otherwise we never would have met- or we at least wouldn't have gotten the chance to see each other as real people, with thoughts and feelings and families waiting at home."

When you finished speaking, the silence stuck for a few moments that felt like an eternity. "Well... Yes, I suppose you're right, Y/N." Caesar agreed, but you still felt in your gut that you had said something wrong as the audience murmured and whispered to each other. "I think this is a good time to move on, because Y/N, you just have such a way with words, and we all saw in the games that you have... just one of the most amazing minds we have ever seen in a tribute."

"Isn't it cool?" Rafe added, leaning in and looking between the two of you with a smile on his face. "Caesar, I told you she had a secret weapon!" The audience loved this, instantly coming back to life with laughs and cheers.

"Yes, you did! We definitely didn't expect that!" Caesar chuckles. "So, Y/N, let us in a little bit more- at what point did you realize that the arena was recycled?"

"Oh, immediately." You answered with a nod, folding your hands in your lap. "Honestly by the time I saw the cornucopia for the first time I confirmed it, it was kind of a relief."

He claps his hands together, clearly impressed. "That's incredible! You proved it over and over again. My favorite part was the bag- we were all so confused and I personally got a bit of a laugh when you were trying to point it out to Rafe and he just had this hilarious confused look on his face! From the first thirty seconds, you guys already had this dynamic that had everyone in Panem hooked on watching you. So please, Y/N, tell us what your secret is. How your brain works, if you will."

"Please, Y/N/N." Rafe agreed, mocking Caesar's intrigued posture as he gazes at you waiting for you to elaborate.

You laughed, gently smacking his shoulder. "I just... I don't know. I see something, learn something, whatever the context may be, and then I just know it. I assume it's the same for you, but I just hold on to all the extra stuff. I think I'm broken, or something. I didn't even know this was abnormal until Rafe pointed it out during our training- I just always thought I was smarter than my siblings." You joke, laughing slightly.

"Well, I can only imagine you would be hard to compete with academically with a mind like yours." Caesar chuckled. "So, tell us, what's next for Panem's favourite couple- as I understand you now are."

You and Rafe made eye contact briefly. You hadn't talked about it, despite having hardly left each others sides since you returned. "I don't know." You shrug. "I suppose whatever you guys tell us to do."

"I think we'll go home, see our families, relax a bit and then we'll be back and ready for the victory tour in a few months." Rafe cut in. Had you said something wrong again?

"And we can't wait- we will miss having you guys on our screens everyday, that is for sure." Caesar smiled, standing up which made up your signal to do the same.

"We look forward too seeing you again soon." Rafe smiled, shaking Caesar's hand as you stood up, quickly adjusting your dress in the meantime.

"Thank you so much for joining me tonight, and congratulations again on your win. Enjoy your time at home." Caesar turned to you, giving you a quick hug before you held Rafe's arm and walked offstage, waving to the audience for hopefully the last time in a while.

As you recalled the memory of the last time you saw Rafe in person, you find yourself getting nervous at the idea of seeing him again. It had been a long six months- and you had exchanged an endless string of handwritten letters.

Life for you in the Victor's Village was pleasant, refreshing, even- since it had felt like forever since you had known any kind of peace. It's in a quiet area of town, giving you lots of space to enjoy real fresh air in a way that felt safe. Unfortunately, your vivid nightmares couldn't be quelled by the cool breeze or your sisters sleeping peacefully next to you or the room across the hall.

Rafe had found out that yes, you did sign your name with a heart normally. At least, you did in the many letters he had received from you. It had been the longest six months of his life, but at the same time, a whirlwind of everything happening all at once. Regardless, he spent the entire time walking on eggshells around his father.

When Rafe was reunited with his family, his sister had thrown herself at him with such force he stumbled back when he caught her in his arms, holding her tight with a hand over the back of her head. "I never thought I would see you again..." She mumbled, chin wobbling against his shoulder.

"I missed you so much, Wheeze, you have no idea." He whispered back, gently stroking the back of her hair. He put her down gently, but she refused to let go of his waist as he acknowledged the rest of his family. Sarah, stoic, standing alongside their dad with a matching expression. She, somehow, had a smile behind her eyes that Rafe was all too familiar with. Sarah was happy to see him, though she would never admit it in Ward's presence.

"Rafe." Ward smiled, suddenly, shockingly, only until Rafe realized they had cameras on them as his father walked up and smacked a hand onto his shoulder, guiding him away. District One was proud to have another Victor to add to the growing roster, and they would always celebrate accordingly. Somehow, Rafe didn't feel special.

"Hey, Dad," Rafe replied, smiling nervously as his dad gave his shoulder a squeeze. He knew he was in trouble- big trouble, and maybe staying in the capitol wouldn't have been so bad. He hoped you were facing a more genuine welcome in Five.

"Are you excited to see your girlfriend today?" Sarah asks, bringing him back to reality as she leaned against the entryway to their home gym. To Rafe, their whole house felt cold now. The mansion was decorated mostly in white, with marble flooring and high ceilings that made the home feel so much emptier than he remembered it. Most of the time, he stayed alone at the home he'd been granted in the victors village.

"Yeah. I don't think she's my girlfriend, though." He replies, hardly tearing his eyes away from the combat training equipment that still haunts him.

Sarah furrows her brow accompanying a confused laugh. "What? Only all of Panem sees you as the hottest couple, but you don't know?"

"We never got to talk about it. So, yeah, I don't know."

"Will you ask her?"

Rafe shrugs, getting up from the bench and throwing the towel over his shoulder. "Probably. She's the only good thing I can think about, these days."

"You better get on that. I heard from the news that there's an engagement announcement on the horizon!" Sarah calls, turning on her heel as she heads back down the hall.

Rafe sighs, grabbing his water bottle and heading out after her. He's wanted to talk about this, of course, but in the victor's interview you mentioned that anyone would be so vulnerable with all that stress- and he couldn't help but be a little hurt by that. Then again, you've sent him letter after letter since you had been apart, so the signals he's getting are mixed- to say the least.

As he changes into the clothes his dad picked out for him for the first day of the Victory Tour, he hopes that seeing you again will bring only good memories. Not that there are many to choose from- but something in his gut is telling him that you will be the cure to his nightmares, or at the very least, someone to talk to about everything, even if it's just for a few months a year. Forever.

You're standing at the train station, surrounded by your family and an array of cameras, everyone anxiously awaiting the two of you being reunited. It's unknown to you if he will even get off the train, part of you hopes that he doesn't so your sisters don't get the chance to bug him. "He'll be happy to see you, hey?" Your mom interrupts your thoughts, nudging you gently with her elbow.

"Maybe." You shrug, pulling at the loose strings on the hem of your dress. "I don't know, I don't want to go. I'd rather stay home, Mom."

"I know, sweetheart... And we'll miss you." She sighs, kissing the side of your head and pulling you close with an arm around your shoulders. "But maybe it'll be nice to talk to him. He must understand you better than we can, these days."

"I don't know about that." You say softly, gazing down the tracks at the sound of the train quickly approaching. You take a deep breath, turning to hug your sisters so you have time. You were on a very tight schedule already, Opal was making sure of that. The train couldn't leave a minute late- even though you're sure that you and Rafe may be precious cargo, considering you're the only ones on it, spare for your teams, and the only reason the train is making this journey at all.

"I'll bet he jumps out of the train and tackles you to the ground because he missed you so, so, soooo much!" Your youngest sister giggles, clinging tightly to your arm.

You decide not to acknowledge it, eyes locked on the silver metal as it pulls up in front of you. "Don't say anything to him, you best leave him alone." Your dad reminds her, peeling her from your arm and into his side instead.

The door slides open, and just as you're lifting your one bag you're met with Rafe. Seeing him for the first time in person for months is shocking. He looks tired- you guess he's been having nightmares too. "Y/N.." He says, almost breathlessly as he leans against the door of the train.

"Hi." You whisper, giving him the best smile you can muster. Truly, you are happy to see him, but you do know he has to put on a show of the two of you being reunited. He jumps down, taking three large strides toward you before pulling you close and burying his face in your hair. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too." He mumbles, letting you go after a moment.

"Welcome to District Five, I guess." You laugh nervously, gesturing around you.

"Thank you, I've never been here before," Rafe explains, rather unnecessarily. "The ride was beautiful."

Opal is trying to usher you from behind the camera to move onto the train, and Rafe's hand is hanging at his side, fingers brushing gently over your arm. You get the message, just about to finally wave off your family for a second time. "Wait, hold on." Your dad cuts you off, stopping you both in your tracks.

"Thank you, Son." He nods, holding out his hand to Rafe. You can see his chin wobble, but you can also see that he's trying to keep a brave face for the cameras. Your family had been warned to not speak to him, to just say goodbye and let you walk onto the train since your reunion would be telecasted live- but he just couldn't let Rafe get away without him knowing how much he appreciated him saving you.

Rafe takes his hand and shakes it, returning the nod. "I would have died before taking her from you." They would have a less formal opportunity to meet towards the end of the tour when you revisited Five for a big celebration in both of your honour. You were already dreading it. Anyway, now, they only really had time for pleasantries. Not even that, if they were to follow Opal's schedule.

Cameras are quickly cut, and you wave goodbye now as you're actually forced onto the train. "Gosh, you two, we have places to be. Seriously." Opal says sternly, walking on behind you along with your stylist's team.

It's only a little while until you were talking again, like you had never been apart- and like everything was normal. Until, as the sun set over the mountains in District Eleven, you both got quiet, looking out the array of windows in the very last car.

"I'm glad to see you normally sign your name with a heart."

"Huh?"

"Uh, in the cave. You put your name on the wall, with a little heart beside it. I remember wondering if you normally write your name like that, and you do."

"Oh, yeah. When I'm signing something, I guess." You agree with a slight shrug. After a few moments of comfortable silence, both of you staring out the window over the tracks, you continue. "We're going to get in trouble. About what you said to my dad."

"I meant it," Rafe replies, not missing a single beat.

"Did Snow come to see you too?" You ask.

"Yeah." He nods. "I don't really care though, what can he do to me that he hasn't already done, you know?"

"He'd go after your sisters."

"He mentioned something about that. He won't, though. He's just trying to scare us into smiling for the cameras."

"I don't know..." You sigh. "I'd rather not risk it. Play it safe."

"You'll be doing that for the rest of your life, and he'll only demand more and more." Rafe shakes his head at you, reaching out and taking your hand. "With whatever is happening in the districts, he wouldn't run the risk of hurting our families. Your family, in particular. Panem loves your family, you gave them security by speaking so highly of them in the games, and they bought their own by spending all that money to send both of us something from home. He couldn't touch them without the whole country losing their minds."

"What? What's happening in the districts?" All you had seen on TV was reruns of your interviews and highlight reels of your own games. You tried not to watch much TV.

Rafe's eyes flicker with confusion as he scans your face. After a moment he realizes that of course, you wouldn't know. He only knows because of his dad- the news was so heavily censored in the outlying districts that there's no doubt you wouldn't have heard about the uprisings. "I-uh... My dad told me some stuff. There's been a couple of uprisings, nothing serious, but still. He wants us to keep them happy." He decidedly leaves out the fact that people in farther districts, outside of your own, are really not your biggest fans.

"Oh... Well, I'll try my best. Do you know what they were about?"

"No, uh, I don't know much about it. Sorry." Rafe mumbles, dropping your hand to push himself up from the couch. "I should probably get some sleep. You too."

Looking at how dark it is outside now, he's probably right. You have a long couple of weeks ahead, starting tomorrow. Starting it off with a full night's sleep would no doubt be beneficial- and who knows what time Opal will be waking you up in the morning.

You stretch out your arms as you stand up, yawning as you follow Rafe out the door and toward your cabin where your things are waiting for you.

It's not long after a quick shower that you pass out in bed, already tired and lulled to sleep by the steady movement of the train. And it's not long after that until you're standing on the silver pedestal that typically haunts your dreams yet again.

You look around, trying desperately to put together the pieces of where you are. You can't. You can, everything looks the same, but there's a feeling of panic in your gut that tells you you don't know a thing as the timer ticks down in front of you, the sound echoing throughout the arena.

Your head snaps to the left when you hear someone yelling for you. Your sister. She looks pale, you can practically see her shaking from where you're standing. She's yelling at you still, but you can't make out what she's saying as you realize that it isn't just her. Your whole family is there, and no sign of Rafe.

How are you supposed to do this without him?

The timer reaches zero, and the alarm blades signaling the games have begun. You're quick to sprint for your youngest sister, your first goal being getting her away. As you reach her you look back toward the cornucopia, blood already sprayed across the side of the glistening metal and bodies on the ground. Exactly the way it was last time.

"We have to get you out of here. We have to go south, we have to-" You're cut off by her freezing, stumbling back, and falling into the grass.

You call for her in a panic, looking back over your shoulder. You have nothing. There's nothing you can do to help as she chokes on blood from the knife now embedded in her chest.

It was you. You're standing there, a sick smile on your face with dropped shoulders- you had thrown it. Just how Rafe had taught you.

You wake up to the sound of your own screaming, sitting up quickly and kicking off your blanket. Your hair is stuck to your forehead as you scramble to place your surroundings. It wasn't real. It felt so real.

"Y/N?" You look up to the door in a panic as Rafe pushes the door open, brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

His presence starts to calm you almost instantly. "Yeah, just a dream." You say breathlessly. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"I couldn't sleep anyway." He insists, stepping in and closing the door. "Can I stay?"

You just nod, sliding over to make room for him.

Rafe pads across the floor, climbing in bed next to you and laying down, getting comfortable as you lay facing each other. Your heart is still racing. You still see your sister suffering at your own hand.

Without saying a word, Rafe reaches up, hesitating for a moment before brushing your hair back from your forehead. "I get nightmares too." He whispers, settling his hand on your cheek, gently brushing over your skin with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." You whisper back, eyes still open as you try and look at him in the dark.

He knows you're not apologizing as if it's your fault, more so saying you wish that neither of you were plagued with the memories of what you had been through. "Me too." He whispers, finally closing his eyes. Maybe now, with you here, he'll feel safe enough to get a full night of sleep without being interrupted by the screams of the kids that he killed.

You wake up with another jolt when the door flies open, slamming against the wall. "Oh, thank god. Rafe! What are you doing in here? Get up, hurry. We've spent far too much time searching the train for you." You blink a few times, rubbing your eyes as you process the harsh awakening by his escort, Zara.

"I'm up..." Rafe grumbles from beside you, taking a deep breath in with his head pressed against your back and an arm over your waist.

"God, you scared me. Now come on, we're already late." She says, standing and holding the door, waiting for him to get moving.

He sighs in response, and you feel a rush of cold air as he leaves you, stretching as he gets up and follows Zara out of the room. The train has stopped moving, you notice this quickly as you get up yourself. It's safe to assume Opal is waiting for you as well.

Walking out onto the stage of District Twelve is humbling, to say the very least. They are among the poorest of Panem's districts, even District Five seems like the Capitol compared to this. The pedestals in front of us display images of the four tributes behind where their families stand. It is all too real as you stand there in front of a large crowd in yet another uncomfortable dress.

Rafe holds your hand as you walk out, scanning over the crowd too. Even his already fake smile begins to fade at the sight and he looks pale. He's clutching your speech cards in his other hand, and you clock how it's slightly shaking from nerves as you are directed to begin speaking and he raises the cards.

"We are united as Panem is united. Our love has opened our eyes to the greatness of our country." You can tell in his voice he's trying to maintain his charismatic charm, but it's failing him. He can't tear his eyes away from the tributes' families, recognizing the faces on the screens behind them. One of the girls stands out, and he shakes away her voice in his head begging him to spare her life with her leg caught in the trap he asked you to set. He adjusts his focus to the mountains in the distance before he continues. "Love illuminates the truth-"

"You're standing where Katniss and Peeta should be!" He's interrupted by someone shouting from the crowd. It's easy to pick out the voice in the sea of people. A boy, a few years older than you with dark hair and a strong build. He's worked his whole life, no doubt. There's a blonde girl next to him- Prim. Katniss's sister, who she had volunteered for last year.

Rafe is frozen, staring at them for a moment before looking back to Zara, who gestures for him to continue. He's squeezing your hand now, tighter. "That's her sister." You whisper to him before he gets the chance to speak again. "May I?"

He looks down at you, silently asking if you're sure. Secretly, Rafe is relieved. You nod to him again and he hands you the cards. You don't need them, so you place them down on the pedestal in front of you.

"I understand the tremendous loss your community has faced at the hands of these games. And I am sorry." Rafe taps your arm, watching you now as you speak. You look up at him briefly and he nods to you. "We are sorry." You correct, reading from him that that is what he wanted.

"We can't fix the past, but I can tell you that without Spruce, Fletcher, Trilly, and Cerise we wouldn't be standing here today. We are forever in debt to them, and to you, for something that we didn't want to take in the first place." You pause, clearing your throat as you feel a tightness in your chest. "I never knew Katniss or Peeta, but watching them at home inspired me, and remember wondering when I watched Katniss volunteer for little Prim if I would do the same for my sisters, and as much as I love them I realized that I don't know if I ever could. And then, at the end, when she and Peeta both chose to die rather than live without each other, rather than pumping out another victor from the games- I was in awe. Of their bravery, and of their sacrifice. I thought I could never do that. They were braver than me."

You stare around the silent crowd, aiming to memorize every face. "Then I met Rafe, and I finally understood them. We would have done the same, but we were given a greater opportunity. I don't know why it was us and not them, and what we did to deserve our lives again, but I am truly sorry that it wasn't them." You spit out, choking over every word.

"It's because he's one of them!" The same boy shouts, pointing at Rafe and you notice peacekeepers shoving their way through the crowd toward him.

Rafe swallows the lump in his throat, keeping a straight face as he looks out at the boy.

"We are sorry that you lost loved ones." You say again, looking up at him briefly.

Before you can continue, Rafe is moving you aside to speak again. "I will donate half of my winnings to the families of our fallen tributes, as well as the families of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. It is the very least I can do, and I know that it won't bring them back, but I am sorry."

Rafe sees the peacekeepers quickly approaching and he wraps one arm around you, holding the other out towards them. "Hey, hey! Don't touch her, we'll go." He says, letting the peacekeepers guide you back off of the stage and out of view as chaos breaks out in the crowd.

"Y/N Y/L/N are you crazy?" Opal is there quickly, looking like she is ready to smack you if she didn't know better.

"What? What did I do?" You ask, panic evident in your voice as you hear shots firing outside.

"She just said what she thought they wanted to hear." Rafe defends you, but even he knows you messed up. In the eyes of the President, anyways.

"Yes, but that is the exact opposite of what Snow wants to hear! And you! Offering them his money? Did you think that was smart?"

"I- I don't know, I didn't know what to do and lord knows I don't need it! They can have it all for all I care." Rafe sighs, shaking his head dismissively.

"Rafe! You were given explicit instructions to keep the peace! Your father is going to be furious, you realize that right?" Zara intervenes.

"Instructions to what, sell this 'against all odds love story'? They want us together so they can brainwash Panem into thinking that privileged districts and the stupid Capitol can get along with the others, and that we're all a big happy family, but its all bullshit. I don't want to be a part of that and I never asked to be." Rafe shouts at her, and Opal gasps as you look away.

"I'll- uhm, yeah. Right. Opal, can you come with me back to the train? I want to leave." You mumble.

She glares at Rafe as she places a hand on your back, leading you toward the exit with peacekeepers following to escort you out of the building.

Heartbreak wasn't exactly on your bingo card for the first day of the victory tour. At least you got your answers, though. Rafe wants nothing to do with you, and now you can go about the rest of your life being forced to pretend you're in love. Great.

The tour continues as scheduled. Every day, occasionally with a day of travel time in between, you find yourself standing on a stage, a smile glued to your face, reading from a script with your hand wrapped around one belonging to a boy who couldn't care less about you. It's torturous.

The day finally comes, after cycling painfully through all the other districts that you make it to the first of two big parties, you're finally home.

"Y/N, Honey, welcome home." Your mom greets you at the door with a hug.

"I missed you." You mumble, pulling her into a hug. She shuts the door behind you as you step away, looking outside for just a moment.

"Where's Rafe?"

"He's staying down the road." You mumble, avoiding eye contact with her and stalking up to your room.

You feel guilty about being grateful for the many empty houses in the victor's village, allowing him his own place to stay instead of staying with you.

You have a few hours of peace before Opal will come with your stylist to prep you and your family for the party and address that's happening tonight, and the one thing on your agenda before then is a good, long nap.

A good, long nap, however, was not something on your sister's agenda, and it was only a matter of minutes before she was barging into your room.

"Y/N! How come Rafe isn't here?" She asks aptly, throwing herself onto your bed next to you.

"He's busy." You grumble, pulling the blankets tighter around yourself.

"Oh, like you? So busy right now you can't say hi to your favourite sister?"

"You're not my favourite."

"Rude." She makes herself at home in your bed, curling up next to you. For the first three months you were home, she didn't leave your side. She had slept in your bed every night, uncomfortable both with the move and her new room away from the one you had previously shared, and also with the idea of losing you again. "Did you kiss him?" She giggles once she's settled in, whispering despite the first time you kissed Rafe being broadcast on national television for the whole country to see.

"No." You whisper back, feeling tears prick at your eyes. "He hates me."

"What? How? I need more details than that, I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"It was all fake. To get people to like us, to make us win and now to keep Snow from coming after our families." You say quietly, finding it difficult to admit your naivety to even yourself. "He never meant any of it."

Your sister is shocked, jaw slack with your explanation. She's only sixteen, but you can see the gears turning in her head. She loves a romance book, and growing up in a house where your parent's hands were rarely disconnected has built her into somewhat of a relationship expert. Or so she thinks, at least. "No. No, that's not true."

"It is, he said it."

"Exactly like that? What were his exact words?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"I don't remember."

"You're lying. There's not a thing anyone has ever said to you that you've forgotten." She insists. "But, fine, I guess it doesn't matter because I know it's not true. I've seen the way he looks at you when you're not watching. He's so in love with you it's absurd. Trust me."

You sigh, pulling the blanket away from your face to look up at her. "Don't say that."

"Why? I'm right."

You sniffle, wiping your eyes on the sheet before explaining. "He said we're being forced together to prove something to the public, and he never wanted to be a part of that."

"I knew you were lying." Your sister smiles, pushing your hair back from your face. "But that means nothing. Less than nothing! I wasn't there, but he probably meant that he doesn't want to be together just to be a public spectacle, or to push some agenda that's not his own. That says nothing about how he truly feels about you."

"I don't know..." You reply, skeptical of her thought process. "You should have seen him. He was so angry-"

"At you?"

"Well, no-"

"Then it wasn't about you." She assures you, tucking herself into the blanket. "We'll have a nap, and then you'll talk to him tonight."

"I don't think that's a good idea." You protest.

"It is. Now shh, I'm napping." She hums, eyes already closed as she drapes her arm over your side.

The exhaustion took over and you did end up falling asleep, your sisters breath on your face calming you enough to get some well-needed rest.

You're woken up abruptly, thrown into a show dress that is at least comfortable enough to breathe in, and after being smothered in makeup and hair fried, you're pushed out of the door and into a car.

This address will be hard. You know Jack's family, and to see them standing on the pedestal across from you, behind the crowd, leaves you sick just at the thought of it. Maisie's as well, though you were far from responsible for her death. Again, the idea of why it was you and not them crosses your mind. At this point, you doubt it will ever stop.

Standing backstage, waiting for your queue, Rafe approaches you hesitantly. He knows you're angry, but over the last couple of weeks, you haven't given him a moment to explain. He wishes he could just explain.

"Do you want me to take the lead on this one?" He asks, adjusting the collar of his shirt as he takes his spot next to you, suit tailored to match your dress.

"No. I've got it." You reply coldly, eyes locked on the door ahead of you.

Rafe sighs, reaching out to grab your hand, as was your routine now. You can hear the introductions on stage ahead of you, the audience quieting down. At least this time, the district is mostly celebrating a local win, rather than mourning the senseless deaths of four of their children. This time, it's only three.

You take his hand, building up the energy to smile. You're happy, and you're happy together. Convincing your home district will be harder because, for the rest of your life, you have to keep up this show.

"Can we talk later?" Rafe whispered, leaning down and your skin tingled with the contact of his breath.

"Okay." You say, tone hardly audible as the doors open for you. Let the show begin.

You both smile and wave your way onto the stage, for the first time being met with cheers rather than blank stares. It's refreshing until you see Jack's parents adorning their little stage at the back. You wish they looked angrier, like they believed you were responsible. For some reason, you feel like they don't.

You don't realize people are waiting for you to speak until Rafe does for you, once again ignoring the queue cards.

"District Five, thank you for welcoming me into your community. I have never been here before, but when I say it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, I mean it." He smiles, clearing his throat while the people clap. "I also want to say thank you, because without the sacrifice of your people, I wouldn't be standing here today. That means the world to me, more than I can ever express."

You chew on your lip, scanning across the back and finally seeing your own family. Their presence brings you a comfort you didn't know you needed so badly. "And to Y/N's family, thank you, truly, for raising your daughter into the incredible girl that she is. Without her, there is no chance I could have survived. She saved me. I can never repay you for what you have given me." You watch as your dad pulls your mom close with an arm around her shoulder, hugging her. She looks like she's going to cry, your dad does too.

You try not to laugh as your sister stands with her arms crossed, shaking her head at you, a smug smile on her face. "I told you." You read her lips, and you shake your head back at her.

"Okay, okay, thank you, Rafe." You chuckle, taking the mic from him. "I would just like to say, I am so lucky to be back, and thank you to all of you for being such amazing, supportive people my whole life. It takes a village, they say, and I know I was enough of handful for the whole village to be sick of." You shrug, pulling some laughs from the audience. "I also want to say, to Maisie, Jack, and Caylen's families, I am truly sorry for your loss, but they fought hard. I hope you are proud of who they were. And Mr and Mrs Kyle, I hope you know I never wanted to hurt Jack. I'm so sorry I ever did." You finish, taking a step back to signal that you were done.

Rafe drops your hand to gently rub your back as your eyes are once again trained on his parents. They're crying, of course, as are you, but as his mom nods at you, you feel an incredible weight lifted off your shoulders. One death you felt so personally responsible for, and their family was kind enough to forgive you. Rafe hasn't been so lucky, you've seen it first hand. As you guessed, he is sick about it. Somehow, seeing Jack's family offer you that moment of forgiveness makes him feel better, too, knowing that you won't be suffering the way he is forever.

"Remember, this is your day. Everyone is here to celebrate you, dear." Opal reminds you, gently smoothing the front of your dress back at your home, getting changed for the party. "I am so proud of you."

You smile, for some reason finding yourself fighting off tears. "Thank you, for everything. I know I wasn't always pleasant to be around."

"No one expected you to be." She assures you, planting a kiss on your cheek. "My beautiful victor..."

You look up as there's a knock on the door to your room. "Rafe is here, can we let him in?" One of your stylists assistants says through the wood and Opal answers before you get the chance.

"Yes, let him in." You give her a look and she chuckles, placing her hands on your shoulders. "He's been dying to talk to you, dear. We'll give you a few minutes, and we'll be right outside."

You sigh, nodding as the door gets pushed open. "Rafe! Dear, you look so handsome." Opal smiles at him, patting his shoulder as her and your stylist shuffle out, letting Rafe in and closing the door behind themselves.

Of course, you would be matching his outfit. By now you anticipated it, but Rafe's suits never failed to impress you. It was almost entirely white, with gold cuffs and collars, and somehow, the shoes were a gold leather as well. All matched perfectly to the accents on your dress, and you wonder if his suit alone cost more than the house you grew up in. It's likely.

"You look beautiful." He breaks the silence, smiling at you nervously.

"Thanks.. You too. Handsome. I mean, white suits you."

He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've missed you." He says, looking at you intensely to gauge your reaction. "Look, if... I did something I'm sorry. I was hoping we could talk, I want to fix things."

"If you did something." You scoff, nodding. You can't help but laugh a little bit.

"Okay, I did something. That's obvious, then. Okay." Rafe says, wracking his brain to figure out exactly where he went wrong. He has a good idea, because you ghosted him immediately after his fight with Zara and Opal in Twelve, but they had both forgiven him, understanding that he wasn't upset with them personally. "How do I fix it?"

"Oh, you want to fix it? That's rich. Truly."

"Y/N, I don't understand. You have to level with me, please." He begs, brow furrowed with upset now.

"You wouldn't want the Capitol to think we're fighting, right? You had a change of heart?" You ask rhetorically, grabbing a drink from the cart they moved into your room.

"Please, just spell it out for me. I can't go on like this, I almost lost you once. I'm not doing it again."

You sigh, the desperation in his voice forcing you to be more empathetic. "Okay, Rafe. Fine. You told them that you wanted nothing to do with this relationship. Right in front of me. I don't understand why you couldn't grasp that that hurt me, but if it wasn't clear, I really care about you."

Rafe looks down, staring at the carpet as he listens, nodding as he connects the dots. "Oh- oh! Oh, no, I didn't mean that. You have to know I didn't mean that, Y/N, come on!"

"Then why would you say it?" Your tears are threatening to return now as your voice shakes.

"Okay, I mean, I meant it, but that has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me? It has everything to do with me!"

"No, it doesn't." Rafe insists, stepping closer to you now. You can't bring yourself to back away. You've missed having him close. "I meant I don't want to be with you just so they can have a new front page couple. I meant I want to be with you because I want to be with you. Because I love you, not because they want me to love you."

You freeze, thinking over what he said. His I love you echoing in your mind like you're standing in a wind tunnel. "I... What?"

"Y/N," Rafe chuckles, reaching up now and holding your face in his large hands. "You are the smartest person I have ever met in my life, but sometimes, you are so dumb."

You can't help but giggle at that, shaking your head slightly. Rafe looks at you like you're holding his world in your hands. "Do you mean it?" You ask after a few moments.

"I've never meant anything more." You can feel his breath on your skin for the second time in one day, and you don't think you can go without it for another. You're sure your heart stops beating for a moment as he thumbs over your bottom lip, and just as you're sure you could throw up from how pretty he looks up close, you're pulling on the front of his jacket to close the gap between you.

It works, beautifully, and despite your confidence in the moment, he's very gentle. You've kissed before, sure, but you were both pumped so full of adrenaline that you couldn't stop laughing long enough to enjoy it- and that's looking past the fact that he was likely moments from death; thank god for the anti-venom the peacekeepers brought on board.

You hold tight onto his jacket, likely to keep your knees from buckling under you as his lips pass over yours, over and over again. "I love you too." You mumble into his skin, and you can feel him smiling against you.

"Kids? It's awfully quiet in there! Not to interrupt but we are on a deadline here!" Opal calls through the door, knocking on it gently with a gloved hand.

At the intrusion you practically jump apart, sighing a breath of relief when she doesn't open the door. "Okay, coming! Just one second." You reply, trying to hide the shakiness in your voice as you gather your things.

You don't know why you're desperate to avoid suspicion, but you're pulling the door open before either of you say anything else to each other. You both know you're okay, and that's what matters.

"Oh! Good, you're ready to go? Let's get moving." Opal nods at you as you pass her, cheeks burning. "Oh my, absolutely not!" She gasps, and you turn to see as Rafe walks out and she's producing a small linen from her bag and wiping off his mouth for him.

"I can do it..." Rafe mumbles, grabbing it from her to remove the rest of your lipstick from around his mouth as you both feel your faces turning red.

Unfortunately, you were only allowed time for one night at home before you moved on to the last uncovered district in your tour, District One.

"Are you excited to be home?" You ask Rafe, once again curled up in the back train car looking at the view. You've got a blanket draped over both of you, your legs falling over his lap.

"I really liked your brother. He's cool." Rafe dodges the question tactfully, and it's not lost on you that he doesn't want to talk about his home. "And your sister was hilarious."

"Yeah," You scoff, shaking your head. "I don't know who gave her Posca, but they shouldn't have. She was drunk out of her mind."

"Isn't she fifteen?"

"Sixteen actually, her birthday was last month." You laugh, dropping your head back onto the armrest behind you. "Be honest though, if you were given that opportunity at sixteen wouldn't you take it?"

Rafe shrugs, running his hand up and down your thigh. "Probably not, my dad would throw a tantrum."

"Is he strict?"

"Extremely."

"Oh. Still? I mean, one, you're eighteen- you're not a kid anymore, and two, shouldn't he just be happy you're alive? Even if that means you're drinking underage?"

"You would think." Rafe sighs, patting your leg gently. "Our reputation is his number one priority. Not his kids."

"I see." You nod softly. "That must be hard for you."

"Well, it's all I've ever known. So it's not that bad. I just worry about my sisters."

"I would too." You agree. "But, they have you. That makes all the difference."

"I try to. He wants them to volunteer, though. The only thing better for his business than one kid in the games is two, and the entertainment factor in that is valuable." Without any cameras around to record your every move, for one of the first times ever, Rafe can speak more candidly to you about it. And it is such a relief.

"That is just... so unfathomable to me." You reply. "Not to disrespect him, or anything, I mean all the respect for who he is and what he does, but I just can't imagine why he wouldn't prioritize your lives more. Especially after your mom..." You trail off here, realizing that's a door only he should open. You had seen a profile of him on the news, as a matter of fact your whole family sat down to watch it together after you got home. You don't know details of what happened, but they mentioned that she passed when he was ten. It broke your heart.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." You try and correct yourself, feeling him tense up under you as he stares out the window across from you.

"It's okay." Rafe insists, relaxing himself again to continue tracing patterns on your leg. "You're right. It is kind of backwards. I never got that before, but after going through what we did... I wouldn't ever want my sisters to get pushed through the same turnstile. You know?"

"Of course." You nod softly, grabbing his hand off your leg and holding it.

"Anyway, my mom never wanted us to volunteer. She stood out that way, people looked down on her because of it. Then she got sick and... yeah." Rafe continues and you squeeze his hand.

"I'm sorry, truly." You say, tone gentle.

"It happens." Rafe shrugs. "I admit, I was disappointed when Sarah didn't get picked with me. Especially with the team aspect, and I'm surprised that she didn't, but now I'm so glad she wasn't. Not to say she wouldn't have been a strong competitor. If she gets picked next year I guarantee she will win, actually." He says, smiling fondly with a shake of his head. "I've tried talking her out of volunteering, but she hasn't budged. She wants to please Ward, and I get that. I just hope she has the strength that I didn't."

"That's hard. I mean, at least I don't have to convince my sisters not to volunteer. They wouldn't do it if we begged them to, not that we ever would. Obviously." You chuckle, and Rafe does too. "Maybe... Would you mind if I talked to her? I have a way with little sisters."

"By all means." Rafe nods. "Good luck, though."

"I have a question." You say, after a moment of silence between the two of you, the train rattling over the tracks below you with an almost unsettling smoothness.

"Shoot."

"Since so many people volunteer, doesn't that take away the purpose of volunteering? Do they put all the volunteers into a bowl and draw names anyway? How do they pick?"

Rafe laughs, dropping your hand to reach out and ruffle your hair. "You will see."

It isn't long before you start pulling into One. It looks like a mini Capitol, but with more mansions and less giant buildings, it was extravagant nonetheless. Your face was practically glued to the window the whole drive in, as Rafe pointed out who lived where, and any landmarks you passed. It was fascinating, and you wished you were on speaking terms when you arrived in Five. There would have been lots to share.

You can't help but note that his family wasn't there to greet the train, at least you don't think they were- there was a crowd of strangers there waiting excitedly, along with more security to escort you and your teams away from the station.

Everyone there seemed to be a fan, particularly of Rafe's, and this was a comforting change of pace.

Rafe watches you with a fond smile as you stop, crouching down to talk to a little girl who wiggled past security and pulled on the bottom of your dress.

"This is for you, Miss Y/N." She says, so quietly you can hardly hear her over the sound of shuttering cameras and shouting in your direction.

You take the small flower from her and smell it. "It's beautiful, thank you, hun." You smile, taking it and tucking it behind your ear. "What's your name?"

"Clara."

"Clara, that's such a lovely name. Thank you for coming to say hi."

"Can I give you a hug?"

You nod, opening your arms to the little girl who practically falls into your lap, hugging you right around your neck. "When I grow up I'm going to be just like you. I'm gonna win." She says as you let her go, and your heart drops in your stomach.

Your smile falters and you nod at her a little. "Stay safe, okay?" You settle on, gently pushing her hair out of her eyes and standing up as Rafe places his hand on your shoulder, signalling it was really time to go.

You ease the girl back to her waiting parents, before standing upright and joining Rafe, waving to people as you follow him to the car, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling you're left with after that interaction.

The speech in District One was easier, similar to District Two, where people seemed happy to see you- more careless of the lives of young people they had lost. To them, it was an honour to go, even if you never returned home. That's where you first laid eyes on Rafe's sisters, and you could see immediately the difference he was telling you about.

Sarah looked much more like him, and Wheezie like their father, you could only guess that their mother had the dirty blonde hair and blue eyes she passed onto her oldest children.

At the party, it wasn't long before you saw her again, despite the large property and the sea of guests. Pretty much the moment you walked in, Ward was on the two of you with the girls in tow.

"Y/N! It is so good to meet you." He smiles, reaching out to shake your hand which you quickly oblige.

"You as well, Mr. Cameron."

"Please, call me Ward. All my friends do." He grins, nodding to the two girls with him. "These are my daughters, Sarah and Louise."

You try and introduce yourself, but you hardly get past a smile before he's ushering the group of you along. "There are loads of people who have been looking forward to meeting you. Come with me."

You just smile and nod, Rafe staring blankly at his dad as he leads the way.

You meet lots of people, and despite your average height you feel like they're looking down on you. No doubt you're seen as somewhat of a freeloader- carried through the games by Rafe's strength and training, but despite this, Ward introduces you to every last person as Rafe's girlfriend. Not that you mind, you had to assume that's what you were. He didn't seem bothered by it, so neither would you.

"I'm off to grab a drink, care to join?" Sarah offers, linking her arm with yours after what must have been the twenty-fifth new person in the last hour.

"I'd like that." You agree, giving a slight wave to Rafe who nods in approval before you're gone.

"It's a lot. I'm sorry." Sarah says, smile on her face as she guides you through the crowd.

"No, it's nice. I like meeting new people."

"No you don't." Sarah cuts you off, and you can tell it's not with bitter intentions.

"Not really, no." You cave and agree, laughing quietly.

"Rafe told me that. He said you didn't talk the first few days he knew you."

"That's not true." You laugh, correcting her quickly. "Not entirely. I was in shock, I guess."

Sarah shrugs, dropping your arm as you reach the bar. Before either of you say anything the bartender, an avox clad in the standard red uniform, places two drinks in front of you.

"Thank you." You smile, lifting the glass. They just nod and quickly move on as Sarah grabs her drink as well.

You sneak off into a somewhat quiet corner, where you can sit and talk without too many people overhearing. "Rafe speaks very highly of you, I was looking forward to meeting you." You offer as you both sit down at an empty couch.

"Now that," Sarah laughs, coughing slightly on her drink. "Is a shock."

"What?" You laugh. "No way, he loves you."

"No." Sarah shakes her head, gesturing across the room to where she's spotted her family. "He loves Wheezie. I'm just around."

You look over to where she pointed, seeing Rafe standing with his sister as they discreetly jab each other in the side while Ward is talking to yet another "important" friend. Rafe is trying to hide his smile, keep it professional, but he's cracking.

"He loves you too. Just as much." You insist. "Are you open to my theory?" You ask, looking at her as she returns her gaze to you, raising a questioning brow.

"Please." She tilts her glass toward you, urging you to continue.

"I think you guys are a lot alike. And that scares him because he doesn't want you to be like him." You say confidently, polishing off the statement with a sip of the champagne in your hand.

"That..." Sarah takes a drink before continuing. "Is not an entirely bad theory."

"Are you going to volunteer?" You ask, deciding to get right to it. Sarah doesn't seem like the type to dance around what she wants to say, she's confident in every statement she makes. She truly does remind you of Rafe when you first met him.

"Did Rafe ask you to talk me out of it?"

"No. I offered." You reply honestly. "But really I'm just curious. He does tend to be kind of biased these days."

"I see." Sarah nods, thinking on it for a moment. "Tell him I haven't decided yet."

"I have two sisters, both your age and Wheezie's, but I also have an older brother. I see myself in both of you." You explain. "I think you should do what feels right to you. Not to Rafe and me, or to Ward, or to anyone, really. But if you did ask me, I would tell you I would volunteer again somehow if it meant sparing my sisters. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Sarah listens to you intently. Whether her reaction shows it or not, you can tell she's really thinking about it. That's all you could ask for. "All the fame and the money it could bring your family isn't worth Wheezie's life, so why would it be worth yours?" You add.

"Would you give it up now if it meant you would have never met my brother?" She follows up with a simple question, but it stumps you.

"I don't know." You answer honestly, watching him again across the room. "But he was the only good thing to come out of it."

The air is warm in the Capitol, and you're not sure whether to attribute that to the humidity of polluted and stuffed air, or the several fire features decorating the President's property lawn where you're attending yet another party in your honour. It feels far from welcoming.

You can't bring yourself to drink, despite how tempting it is to drown out the evening in bottles of whatever alcohol they're handing out on seemingly endless trays of crystal glasses. 

You're clinging to Rafe's arm, accepting compliments from people who look like they've never known any kind of trauma in their lives. The way the Capitol elite feel entitled to every detail of your life makes you nauseous.

"Thank you everyone for coming." The President's voice is booming suddenly over speakers you can't see, and everyone's attention is drawn to where he's standing on the balcony overlooking the property. "It is my honour to host our most recent victors here with us tonight, Rafe Cameron and Y/N Y/L/N!" He stops to allow applause as you smile awkwardly and nod to those around you, waiting anxiously for him to continue. You just want to get this over with. 

"Your love story has been an inspiration to us all, and I'd like to raise a toast to your success and to your happiness." People around you congratulate you, and you lean your head onto Rafe's shoulder, squeezing his arm.

"President Snow would like to see you both in his office." A peacekeeper says, appearing out of nowhere and gently escorting you into the building.

"What do you think this is about?" You whisper as you reach a blocked-off hallway.

"I don't know." Rafe mumbles back. He has a good idea though, to him toast sounded more like a threat than a celebration. "Just... let me handle it. Okay?"

You just nod, stopping behind the peacekeeper at a big wooden door. He nods, gesturing that you enter.

"Have a seat." Snow offers, and Rafe pulls out your chair for you, deciding that he would stand. "Thank you for coming."

"We were in the area." Rafe replies impatiently. "What can we do for you?"

"I wanted to discuss our agreement one more time, since clearly, the two of you were left a little confused." Snow says, resting his hands on the desk that sits between you. 

"The money was a show of good faith." Rafe replies, resting his hand on your shoulder. 

"To you, maybe, but to them, it is a sign that you are on their side." The President corrects. "You are not one of them. Not anymore. If they believe that you are, that they have people with power on their side, the uprisings will continue and the death toll will be catastrophic. I have a feeling that both Districts One and Five will not recover."

You bite your tongue, keeping your eyes locked on the rose sitting in front of you on the desk. "I think there is no use in giving the people of Panem false hope, because you do not have the power you think you do. You are not invincible. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." You nod softly, anxious to leave.

"Go enjoy the party. After all, it's all for you." Snow dismisses you, and neither of you are in a position to argue.

Leaving the Capitol again was a relief, especially with the promise that a train would be made available to either of you as you wished to travel exclusively between your home Districts. Not that you would particularly want to travel anywhere else, anyway. 

Rafe had a preference for coming to visit you, despite your home being much smaller than his. And much more crowded, but he didn't mind. Having a home full of sounds felt much more welcoming to him, even if he was only there for a weekend here and there. He had sisters to look after as well.

In all those months, he came down twice a month, and you looked forward to it every time. Everything was so normal, besides the interviews you did every so often, just to show everyone how happy you were thanks to the "generosity" of the Capitol, and that's a story you're more than pleased to stick with if it means keeping your families safe.

"It isn't far, right? Because I'm too out of shape for a long hike." Rafe jokes, letting you pull him by the hand through a wooded area not far from your house.

"Oh please, you could do it in your sleep." You laugh, shaking your head. "But no, if you must spoil the surprise, it's not far."

Rafe follows you silently, smiling as he watches you beat your way through a slightly overgrown path. The image flickers in his mind of you in your windbreaker, hair tied back around itself to keep it away from your eyes as you run through the bushes in the arena.

"Here, look." You interrupt his thought process with a jolt, the sunlight blinding him as you push past a final branch and hold it out of his way. "Behold, the pride and joy of District Five." You smile, gesturing out over the cliffside.

"Oh, wow." 

"Isn't it pretty?" You ask, dropping his hand to walk closer to the edge overlooking the large dam. "All the electricity in all of Panem comes from here."

"I didn't expect it to be so... scenic." Rafe says, joining you closer to the edge as you sit down.

"Yeah, it's pretty." You agree, crossing your legs. "My dad worked in there for years, he just retired. My brother works there now."

"I can imagine." Rafe says, tearing his eyes away from the depth of the ravine in front of him to look at you. You look so at home here, he can tell by how you're hunched over so casually tossing pebbles off the cliff that must be a thousand feet deep. Even then, you're not scared. "Do you come here a lot?" 

"Is that a pickup line?" You giggle, leaning back on your palms as you look over at him.

"Well, no, but would it work?" He smirks, placing his hand over yours as he matches your position.

"Only because it's you." You laugh, shaking your head.

"That was the correct answer." Rafe chuckles, looking back down at the giant damn that's filtering water through, powering his family's mansion back home. He thinks of all the hours your dad put in, sometimes sixteen-hour days he recalls him sharing, that he was working in the power plant to keep the lights on at Rafe's kitchen table where he sat with his dad and his sisters rarely uttering a word. The same hours your brother is working now.

"How do you feel about this mentor thing?" You ask out of nowhere. "We start soon."

"I don't know. It'll be weird to be working against you." Rafe replies.

"Don't think of it like that. Besides, what was it you told me, that you have a whole team of them? You probably can just sit back and watch them work." You say, trying to raise his spirits a bit. "That gives us more time to visit."

"I feel like 'visit' is a strong word." Rafe laughs. "Hopefully it'll be more than that." He says, moving over to wrap his arm tightly around your waist, kissing your cheek.

"That would be nice." You agree with a sigh. "I don't know, I just don't know what kind of advice to give. What, find someone you trust? I think we just got lucky."

"You'll be the best mentor." Rafe insists. "I wish I had you."

"I wish we hadn't needed one. I don't want to see kids come through year after year and watch them die. I wish I could make it stop, it all seems so pointless."

"It's about control. They'll never give that up." Rafe shakes his head. "So don't think for a second it's your fault."

"I know... It's just so complicated."

"I'm glad it brought me to you, though." 

You smile, leaning your head on his shoulder.

"Hey!" You're startled by a voice behind you, both of you standing up quickly. "You have to come back." Your brother says, chest heaving from his exertion of running all the way up the hillside.

Rafe relaxes from where he placed himself in front of you at the sound, letting you step in front of him. "What happened?" You ask, seeing the look on his face.

"There's been an announcement." He answers, laboured breathing starting to return to normal. "About the games."

The two of you follow him in silence all the way back, anxiety in both of you spiking after your brother wouldn't answer any more questions. When you walk into the house, you're met with a paused TV, your parents on the couch, and your sister with tear-stained cheeks and reddened eyes. "What happened?" You ask again, hoping to get some answers.

Rafe pulls you close to himself after shutting the front door, leading you into the living room. "Here, um, have a seat, kids." Your mom says, hardly audible as you sit down.

She wipes her eyes as your dad presses play on the television, and it's a rewound clip of the news. Rafe wraps a shaky arm around you on the couch as Caesar Flickerman starts speaking.

"We have a unique announcement today regarding the upcoming, highly anticipated, Seventy-Sixth annual Hunger Games." He starts, and you get tunnel vision as you stare at the screen. "This is a twist no one saw coming on the heels of last year's Quarter-Quell, but President Snow has decided there will be a permanent change in the rules. From now on, any victor remaining under the age of eighteen will once again be eligible for the reaping."

taglist: @bookishbabyyy @madelynie, @whore-4-drewstarkey, @slut4drudy, @winterrrnight, @totalswag, @sadfury @fullfledgedemo @rafemotherfuckingcameron, @urfaveluvr, @chenslucy, @hxnnah-397, @s-we-e-t-t-ea, @tahliac11, @saccharinesammie, @ietss, @maybankslover @redhead1180, @suzyheartsrafe, @wpdailyminimeta, @aegons-bitch, @rafegirly, @lovelyxtommy, @dee127, @r1vrsefx, @gillybear17, @flonkertn, @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles, @thelomlisrafecameron

[im-not-corrupted]

A sequel to this Dreamling fic here, though this can be read as a standalone. Written for @merry-moody-missy, who requested I write more and get the two of them together. Also, thanks to @samsalami66​, who gave me a prompt (that felt more like a fic outline, but that’s great too XD) for this fic.

Edit: Part one and two are now on Ao3!

--------

Dream came to him more often, after that.

Once a month became once a fortnight. He wasn’t half as reserved these days as he typically was; if anything, he seemed to be even more comfortable in Hob’s presence, now. It was rather wonderful to witness for Hob, who, for the longest time, knew Dream only as his distant Stranger. A far star, unreachable. A sun for him to orbit, but a sun who would only bless him with light once a century.

Every two weeks, Dream appeared beside him at some point in the day. It didn’t matter where; he’d often appear at the back of Hob’s classes while he was working, entirely unnoticed by his students. Or he would materialise next to him and fall into step as Hob walked home, content to follow in silence, or to listen as Hob recounted his day.

The first time he did that, stepping up next to Hob when the space beside him had been previously empty—well, the first time scared him half to death, naturally. That simply wasn’t the kind of thing one grew to expect, even after living for nearly seven centuries.

(He didn’t care. In fact, Hob looked upon that day with fondness, a grin upon his face, because that was the first time he’d heard Dream laugh.

He didn’t have a particular lovely laugh. It wasn’t melodic, or sweet. It wasn’t the kind of thing you expected to be a sound of joy at all, really—if Hob tried his best, he’d only be able to describe it as an awful, croaking thing, terrifying and perhaps the least lovely thing he’d heard before—but Hob didn’t care at all, because Dream laughed.

Loudly, and without abandon. Rosebud lips had spread wide in a smile that stole Hob’s heart entirely, and the joy in his eyes was unmatched. There, stood in the middle of a London street with laughter in his face and sunlight catching his stray hairs—well, he was beautiful, and Hob found himself falling.)

(No. No, that wasn’t true. He found himself falling for Dream a long time ago. He was already so far gone for him; hearing him laugh had merely made him fall further, and he hadn’t known such a thing was possible.)

Today, Dream appeared in his apartment—only, this time, he did so before Hob was about to sleep.

Which…wasn’t a problem. Not at all. Sleep didn’t matter, not when Dream was there. He would gladly drop anything and everything, if Dream wanted him to. If his friend wanted his time and his energy. All of it was his anyway; he needed only to ask.

(And he did ask, these days. Indirectly, naturally—Matthew somehow gained the job of messenger raven, and would often fly to the Waking world for the sole purpose of seeing Hob and delivering a message.

The message was usually short. A quick, Boss asks if you’re free today?, and Hob would reply, Let him know I am before quickly cancelling his plans.

Dream still didn’t ask for what he needed. But he still asked, in a round-about Dream kind of way, and Hob? Hob was proud of him. He remembered all too easily the pain on his face when he thought he burdened Hob with his affections; he could only imagine what it took for his friend to be able to ask whether he was busy or not, after that.)

“Dream,” he said, blinking at the being who materialised at the foot of his bed. To his credit, his heart didn’t so much as stutter, proof that he was used to Dream simply appearing out of nowhere. Proof that they truly were friends, now, after so many centuries of him wanting exactly that.

(They were friends. He couldn’t quite believe it, sometimes. They were friends, and Dream didn’t shy away from that title when Hob gave it to him. If anything, he seemed proud of it, like the title of ‘friend’ was an honour.)

(It certainly was for Hob, at least, so he understood that.)

Dream stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly, cat-like. He didn’t seem at all surprised to see Hob underneath his duvet, which—seemed fair. He still didn’t have much of a clue what Dream was, for it didn’t matter, but he knew now that it had to do with a place called the Dreaming—his realm, which certainly gave Hob a bit of an existential crisis the first time he heard that—and sleep. Perhaps he had a second sense for when people were about to sleep. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing Hob had seen him do.

”Hob,” he said, then frowned. Some of that old hesitance kept him from saying much else for a moment, but he eventually asked, “I did not think…Is this a bad time?”

Progress, Hob thought, and shot a grin in his friend’s direction. Dream was making progress, small and still so, so important, and he was simply glad to be a part of it. “Not at all,” he promised, because this was Dream. Dream, who owned his heart entirely by this point, who Hob would gladly dedicate every waking moment of his days to if he could. If his friend would appreciate that, if he would even want that.

That hesitance held him in place for a second longer, but that was all. His floor-length, high-collared coat disappeared, shadow replacing the impossibly soft material of it before vanishing entirely, leaving Dream in a long-sleeved top (black, of course) that felt so casual on him.

(He’d seen Dream without his coat many times before, now. Another testament to the fact that Dream felt comfortable—safe, even—with him. It still startled him, though, and it never failed to make warmth bloom behind his ribs. This—this vulnerability, his desire to abandon armour when with Hob—was another display of trust, and Hob wouldn’t get over that any time soon.

Dream trusted him. It was a fragile thing, that trust, not at all suited for Hob’s bloodied and calloused hands. He’d had many years to practise gentleness, though, and he used it with this; with Dream’s trust, a gift offered so painstakingly.)

And then Dream was moving, climbing onto the bed and tucking himself into Hob’s side. One half of his body ended up entirely on top of Hob’s, his face buried into the crook of his neck, and let out a soft, contented sigh.

It tickled the skin of his neck a little, but Hob hardly cared. How could he, when he turned his head to the side and found himself face to face with Dream’s feather-soft hair, when Dream’s arm came to wrap around his waist?

He chuckled softly. His heart felt so full, all of a sudden, his fondness for this strange and lovely creature lay on top of him almost overwhelming. There wasn’t enough room behind his rib cage for it all, for the adoration pouring from his heart in waves. He brushed his fingers through Dream’s feather-soft hair, the smile on his face growing wider as his friend burrowed further into him, and, without thinking, he said gently, “Yeah, dove, I love you too. And I missed you dearly.”

Missed you dearly wasn’t quite enough. It didn’t explain the way he missed Dream like an ache, in those two weeks he was off doing whatever the ruler of an entire realm did. But it was true enough, so he let the words hang in the air. Dream deserved to know he was missed when he wasn’t around; deserved to know Hob thought about him, even in the louder moments where his head was so busy. Missed you dearly didn’t quite fit, but it said enough.

It was only when Dream’s head snapped up in a movement faster than anything Hob had seen from him before, ocean eyes almost comically wide and lips parted slightly, that Hob realised what he said.

I love you too. It wasn’t a lie. He didn’t think he was capable of that, even subconsciously, when it came to Dream. Always, his heart has been laid bare before him, every little thing it contained inside free for his viewing. Hob made little attempt to keep it hidden. His fondness, his adoration, always slipped into his voice unbidden. Experience told him every attempt to mask it would fall short; there was simply too much to keep it trapped behind his ribs. It was always his friend’s choice whether or not he took it at face value or not.

He did love Dream. Loved him like he loved life; endlessly, with more depth than he thought himself capable of putting into words. Though he wasn’t much of a poet, he would try, if Dream asked that of him. He would do much for his dearest friend, his Stranger, if only he asked.

”Love me,” Dream murmured softly. He sounded almost disbelieving, as though he hadn’t thought of himself as something able to be loved. That thought rang too true for Hob’s comfort; he had to stop himself from holding Dream closer, unwilling to make him uncomfortable in an attempt to offer comfort. “You have. Said this before.”

Not in quite so many words, Hob thought, but yes. He had. Never apologise for wanting to be loved, he told Dream, and that was another admittance in and of itself, wasn’t it? It was an I love you, and I’m happy to do so, and a request; Let me love you, I want, it was always yours anyway.

Fear coiled in his stomach, a poison almost potent enough to stop him from answering entirely. But he met Dream’s gaze and saw the impression of new stars within them; he met his eyes and saw a fragile kind of hope. Fear or not, his dearest friend deserved to know he was loved.

“Yes,” he answered gently. Perhaps he’d run, now, leave Hob as he had in 1889. That, Hob thought, would be alright. It’d hurt, but it’d be alright. Dream would come back to him, just as he had once every month before, and now every fortnight. That knowledge was just enough to make the worst of that fear melt away, and to loosen his tongue. “I love you dearly. With everything I am. Doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to—I don’t want anything from you that you aren’t willing to give, I promise you that.”

A furrow appeared between his friend’s brow. That hope didn’t leave his eyes, even despite the confusion that joined it. “Why would you tell me this, then, if you did not want reciprocation from me?”

Hob ached, suddenly, at the confusion in Dream’s voice. Had nobody loved him without expectation before? Had nobody loved him simply for the sake of loving him, because they couldn’t do anything else? “Let me rephrase,” he said gently, and he sat up. Dream frowned further at being disturbed, though said frown disappeared fast enough when Hob cupped his face. “I would kill to have you feel the same for me. It would be so many centuries of pining resolved in a mere moment; I would love for nothing more than you to love me back. But I don’t expect you to. I didn’t tell you I love you expecting you to say the same. I told you I love you simply because you deserve to hear it; nothing more, nothing less.”

Silence hung heavy between them for a moment, in which Dream simply stared at him without moving a muscle at all and Hob grew increasingly conscious about the fact that he was still very much holding Dream’s face in his hands.

He was about ready to let go, no doubt followed by an awkward apology, but Dream said slowly, “You are. A strange creature, Hob Gadling. I continuously find myself baffled by you.”

Quietly, Hob laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment then, love.” His hands fell from Dream’s face, only for his friend to catch them by his wrists.

”And,” Dream continued, slow and stilted, and Hob froze. Dream’s skin against his, not quite a normal body temperature, was different when initiated by Dream himself. It meant more, somehow. “And. You are not alone. In your feelings.”

Hob was fairly sure his heart stopped in his chest at that. Just for a moment. In his defence, this moment did feel particularly heart stopping. Important enough to fling his own world off its axis.

When he found himself capable of thought again, he asked, barely able to contain the joy pouring from his heart in waves, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Dream?”

”I am saying,” he said heavily, severely, like this moment was as important to him as it was to Hob, “that I adore you, Hob Gadling. That you are a comfort I did not expect to find. That your arms are a place of safety, that I find comfort in your presence, that you are a fresh breath of air after so long spent underwater. I am saying that your continued friendship is an honour, one I am eternally grateful for; I am saying that you baffle me entirely, your joy for life and your willingness to love me, and that love is too small a term to label the depths of my feelings towards you, but it is enough for now.”

Hob stared at him, wide-eyed. His heart spilled over, everything it contained too much, and all of it Dream’s. All of it, shared by Dream, too. “Christ, love,” he said, his voice light with elation. A sob caught in his chest as his hand, still held by the wrist in Dream’s grasp, came up to play with the raven hair at the nape of his friend’s neck, as he pulled Dream into a kiss.

It was gentle. Barely a hint of pressure at all, for fear he’d perhaps misunderstood. But Dream made a noise against his lips, surprised yet pleased, and kisses back eagerly, an answer to a question Hob didn’t realise he’d asked.

Eventually, though everything in him screamed against it, too lost in the sensation of Dream’s mouth against his own and Dream’s hands clutching at the thin top he wore for bed, he pulled back for breath. Dream gazed at him, eyes so dark they were almost black. Hob could see the stars so clearly, now, and found himself breathless for another reason entirely.

Awed, he said, ”You’re beautiful.” His thumb stroked the skin underneath Dream’s eye, reverent and worshipful, and Dream practically preened.

At some point, he lay back down, taking his friend—Dream, his Stranger, who he had loved for centuries and who loved him in return—with him. He tucked himself against Hob’s side, knee wedges between Hob’s legs and an arm thrown over his waist. The duvet was pulled over up to both their shoulders, and Hob let himself kiss the crown of his head.

He needed to sleep. He was tired, his head a little foggy. But elation kept his chest light, and there was enough joy in his veins to last a lifetime. They’d have to talk tomorrow, Hob knew that, but they’d figure that out.

For now, this—this was enough. More than enough.

”I love you,” he said again. His eyes slipped shut. 

Sleep would come difficult, with the way his heart felt so full, but that was alright. A small price to pay for the way Dream shifted against him before pressing feather-soft lips against his cheek, whispering, “And I you, beloved,” before settling back in place again.

Hob slept eventually. And when he did, he dreamt of Dream.

[baileypie-writes]

Would yyou pllleeeeeaaaseee do velvet x male reader?? (any scenario) thx

A/N ~ Sure! Hope you like the scenario I picked out!

~How Dare You Say That!~

Velvet x Male!Reader

Fandom: Trolls 3: Band Together

Reader: Male

Relationship: Romantic

Synopsis: An interviewer says something about you that makes Velvet very upset.

Warnings: Hurt/comfort, Velvet getting really mad, crying(Velvet), cringe

Sitting in the back of the studio, you couldn’t help but smile. Your girlfriend, Velvet, and her brother were having an interview. The camera crew were busily scrambling behind the scenes, but your attention was only on her.

She looked stunning. Her fashion sense was always the best, way better than yours, and the outfit she picked out today made her look like a star. Not that she didn’t always look like one.

“So where did your guys’s talent come from? Is it genetics? Are your parents good at singing too?” Asked the interviewer.

“Oh, goodness no!” Veneer answered. “Our parents were dentists!” The crowd erupted in laughter, making Veneer look proud of himself.

The interviewer laughed as well. “Well, I’m sure they’re proud of you!” Velvet and Veneer looked at each other, smiling.

“And I’m also sure that your boyfriend is proud of you too!” He said, looking at Velvet. She smiled, looking at you. You nodded, giving her a thumbs up, confirming the interviewer’s statement.

“He is.” Said Velvet, proudly.

The interviewer continued. “Speaking of your boyfriend, how long have you two been together?”

“A few months.” Velvet seemed happy to be talking about you. She looked back at you, giving you a big smile.

“Really? Well congratulations to him. Must be nice to be dating a famous pop-star!” Velvet’s smile dropped a bit. So did yours. Was that comment really necessary? She took a quick glance at you, letting you know that it also made her uncomfortable.

“He seems to really love you!” He continued. Velvet nodded. “It’s great, considering so many people date stars for the money and fame. Honestly, you can barely tell which relationships are real these days! Glad to see that this guy’s different. At least I hope so! Only time will tell, am I right?” He winked, and the crowd laughed. But neither you nor Velvet thought it was funny.

You were very uncomfortable at this point. Many people were looking at you, and one guy even patted your back in a joking manner. Velvet’s expression changed from awkward, to just plain mad.

“What are you implying?” She asked, glaring directly at the man. “Are you saying that my boyfriend could only want me because I’m famous?” The crowd went silent. The interviewer opened his mouth to speak, but Velvet cut him off. “How dare you say that! He loved me before anyone knew who I was! He could never be that shallow!” She stood up, grabbing her brother’s hand. “Come on, Veneer, we’re done here!”

The crowd was filled with gasps and murmurs as they walked off stage. You got up from your seat, and followed the camera crew, who were trying to get to Velvet and Veneer.

~~~~

You eventually got to the dressing room. The door was being guarded by two big men, blocking it from the various camera crew people, as well as the interviewer.

He was giving Velvet a half-assed apology. He was also calling her sensitive, saying that it was “just a joke”. You walked up to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder to move him out of the way. You scowled at him, causing him to back away. You looked at the two guards.

“Let me in.” You demanded. They stepped aside, obviously knowing who you were. You opened the door, and your heart sank.

Your girlfriend was sitting at the vanity, Veneer comforting her. She was shaking, and quiet sobs could be heard. You felt awful for her.

“Hey Velvet.” You said in a calm, comforting tone. She jolted up, and spun around. Tears were running down her face, as well as her mascara. It was honestly shocking for you to see her like this. Sure, you’ve seen her said before, but this is the first time you’ve seen her cry.

You walked over to her, and gave her the biggest hug you possibly could. “I’m so sorry sweetie.”

“You’re sorry?! It’s that stupid man’s fault! What was he even thinking, saying something like that?! And people had the audacity to laugh! How is implying that you’re a greedy liar funny?” You were sure that the people on the other side of the door could hear her. You specifically hoped that the interviewer did. You rubbed her back, letting her vent.

“I mean, is that what people really think of you?” She said. You pulled away from the hug to look at her face. Her mascara was even more runny than before.

“Velvet, I don’t care what people think of me. They can think whatever they want, but that doesn’t make it true. I love you, famous or not. And I didn’t get to say this verbally before, but I am very proud of you.” Velvet was still crying after you spoke, but now, they were happy tears. She was so happy finally hearing someone say they were proud of her. You hugged again, not caring one bit about the group of people outside.

(Bonus Content)

Veneer had just finished writing a lengthy post shaming the interviewer. Seconds after it was posted, the likes were already rolling in.

People were giving tons of support to you and Velvet, and absolutely none for the that shitty man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[darling-miaxoxo]

Would love it if you wrote filthy smut for alma (and angelique too because who doesn’t love her)

jealousy --> lust

a/n: this shit filthy asf. yes ik this took me a long long time. happy new year, merry christmas. :) and btw, reader is BUFF, like BUFF and kinda mommy if it weren't for the fact that shes a sub 👀 btw @notmanagingmymischief, not really proud proud but it's good enough for me :3 warnings: nsfw/smut (threesome, inappropriate use of magic, enchanted strap on, pet play, mistress kink, mommy kink, magical lube, praise kink, degradation kink, double penetration, bondage, dubious consent, brainwashing, etc), jealousy, slight angst, fluffy aftercare, biting, gentle bath tub sex.

ship: sub!reader x dom!angelique bouchard x dom!alma peregrine

fandom : mphfpc, dark shadows summary: you come back from a long trip from Japan and when you come back, you find that another woman has made her way into the loop.

Your fingers typed on the laptop, finally finishing your work up for the last time. You sighed as you clocked out, the screen showing "Work in Japan now completed. You may now return to Wales." You sighing as you smiled, closing your laptop and packing your things.

You had booked a flight to Wales. Its been 2 years since you last saw them. Your peculiarity was that you could summon anything you want/need with a snap of your fingers.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ time skip

It was currently the next day. You had packed your stuff, it was 4:00 AM and you were currently in the airport, waiting for your flight to start boarding. You decided to take some pictures for the memories, smiling as your passport had the stamp from Japan. You waited until 4:30 for boarding. Once it did happen you went inside the plane as you waited for the flight to take off. Scrolling on your phone as they made the announcement.

You sighed as you turned on airplane mode, starting to play some offline games, looking outside the window, luckily you booked the seat, you hated aisle seats, people were always hitting your hand.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ cut to when you're in wales

You get off the ferry, paying the driver a bit of an extra amount of money, considering you wouldn't be using it anymore. Your backpack and your sling bag on your body as you walk towards the loop. You look at your watch and find that the time is 10:00 AM. That took an awful amount of time.

You walk towards the loop entrance as you look around you to see if anyone's watching. Once you find that the coast is clear you enter the loop, hearing a loud pop in your ears. You forgot about how loud the pop was.

The dark sky suddenly changed into a bright and beautiful sky. The sun is shining brightly as you put on some black shades. You hated the heat, as you had got used to the cool in Japan. When it was summer, you hated to go outside. You sighed as you walk towards the house as your black flats made a click-clack noise on the pavement.

You make your way to the house as you knock on the door. Fiona opens the door as she gasps and hugs you suddenly. "Y/n!! Where have you been?" She asked, you smiled as you responded happily, taking off your shades.

"Japan darling. No need to worry. Where's Miss Peregrine dear?"

Fiona smiled as she grabbed your hand and led you inside. You smiled as you followed her lead, looking around the house, you saw many portraits that weren't there before, you were smiling at that. Fiona led you outside, you squinting as you put on your shades, as you smiled when you spotted Miss Peregrine, the smile faltering, as your jaws clenched.

"Well Alma. It seems we meet again."

You said in your work voice (which was stern and deep) as you fake smiled, and looked at the blonde woman next to her. She seemed mysterious.

"Ah. Y/n. I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

Alma had said to you. You and Alma had an interesting relationship, one day you slept together in the.. sexual sense and then the next she ignored you. You glanced at the woman next to Alma, she looked pretty at least.

"You don't seem happy to see me."

Your brow raised, your voice was deep, a tang of jealousy in your voice, your voice cold and mean, as Alma looked up at you. You were a bit shorter than her but, your heels made you 3 inches taller. Which made you smirk as you look down at Alma.

"Anyway, this is Angelique. She arrived a few weeks ago."

Alma introduced you to the blonde woman, you put your hand out for her to shake, your black leather crop top jacket hanging, making you look a bit intimidating, as Angelique was a bit hesitant to shake your hand but shook it anyway.

"Y/n. Y/n Y/l/n.

You introduced yourself. Your smile widening as she shakes your hand. Her handshake was firm, which was good in terms of business of course.

"Angelique Bouchard. Nice to meet you. Alma has told me wonderful things about you."

She said, a look of jealousy in her eyes for some reason. You removed your shades as your eyes tried to open without closing. The bright sun got in your eyes.

"My apologies, I'm not used to bright sun anymore."

You said, your hair reflecting against the sun in the most beautiful of ways. You put your shades back on as Angelique eyed your Gucci sling bag.

"Do you mind if I stay for a while Alma darling?"

You questioned Alma, a smirk on your face as Alma nodded, her not having a choice as she couldn't give away your room, as your room had posters that were way too inappropriate for children.

You grinned and went inside as you went back to your old room, the posters still in because you had glued it to the wall, taking off your leather jacket and hanging it in your closet, revealing your white tank top as you decided to lift some weights, trying to get stronger so that you could beat your personal best of 30 kilograms.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ cut to afternoon

Fiona called you, saying that it was time to eat as you smiled. Pausing your work out routine as you went down only in your tank top, your biceps in sight as alma took one look at you and almost drooled at how good you looked.

As Alma gave the command to eat, you started to, carefully eating slowly to not make a mess and to chew properly. The children talking about their day as Angelique just glared at you, you glaring back as Angelique stopped. Then you were caught off-guard when one of the children asked what you did away.

Alma was quick to respond with a quick glare which made the child stop asking. You nodded, swallowing your food as you responded.

"Well, I went to Japan for work dear. I had to make deals with clients. It was fun."

You said, finishing your food as you carefully excused yourself and placed your plate in the sink, going up to your room, you had taken off your heels and instead wore shoes with stockings. You went inside your room as you just continued your work out, lifting 15 kilogram weights like it was nothing.

Alma came in, closing the door behind her and calling your name.

"Y/n dear, the children and I are going on the daily walk and Angelique is staying home. I want you to stay home and I want you to get to know her. Understand?"

Alma commanded in a stern tone. Her stoic face symbolised that she was serious. You chuckled a bit as you haven't seen her this commanding since you slept with her.

"And what if I don't?"

You teased as you stood up and looked up at her.

"Then I'll punish you. You wouldn't want that would you? Or are you a dirty slut?"

Alma said, her tone stern as you blush at the filth coming out of her mouth. You nodded slowly as you went back downstairs going past her smirking face.

You went downstairs as Emma looked at you and waved before leaving with the other kids. You sat down on the couch and continued to read a book.

When the children left, Angelique came up to you and sat next to you. She asked what book you were reading and you told her Murder on the orient express. She suddenly got closer to you.

"Well, Alma told me a lot about you. More specifically, about how much of a slut you are in bed."

Angelique whispered to you, you blushed quickly at the degradation. Angelique smirks as she suddenly pushes you down on the couch, licking your ear.

"A-Angelique, wouldn't the kids see? Even if they're on their daily walk what if they come home early?"

You stuttered as Angelique smirked and bit your neck, leaving lovebites all over it. You whimpered and groaned as she bit your pulse.

"Well then, don't be so loud."

Angelique whispered as she covered your mouth and continued roughly biting and tugging on the skin on your neck. You gasped and whimpered as her sinful ministrations manipulated your pleasure.

You gasped as she found your pulse. She bit on it and licked the bite mark. You whimpered submissively as Angelique teased you.

"Please.. Please Angelique... Please.. please just fuck me.."

You begged, Angelique smirking, you gasped as Alma suddenly barged in. She was a panting mess as she smirked. Angelique got off you.

"My my, some one started without me."

You gulped, you were shocked when Alma came close and kissed you, you whimpered as she slipped her tongue in your mouth, whimpering as Angelique smirked, kissing your neck from the side, sucking and biting, creating hickeys.

"mmph~!"

You whimpered, Alma pulling away as she smirks..

✰ cut to later ✰

You were on their bed, naked as your neck was filled with love bites, your eyes squinting as you saw Angelique applying a magical lube to both their strap ons. You gulped as you felt Alma blindfolded you. "A-Alma.."

"Oh don't worry, you'll enjoy it sooner or later."

She replied in a nonchalant voice, you felt something weird.. like something was tying you up..

"I forgot to tell you, Angelique has magic."

Alma whispered to you, you were shocked.. you squealed when Angelique had tied you up to the bed with her magic, you tried to move your wrists but it was no use. Alma chuckled as she slowly went inside you.

"Fuck!!!!!!!~"

You moaned loudly, it felt like she was wearing a 9 inch strap.

"Hun, we're not even 3 inches in."

Your eyes widened, how did it feel so.. long?... And rough... "Such a slut, aren't you? A dumb slut who can't even take 2 inches without screaming." Angelique teased, degrading you even more.

"H-how- how?!.."

You questioned, Alma chuckling and responding with 2 words. "The lube."

Fuck.. it felt so good.. just.. wanna.. be.. cum..dump..

Alma then just started to pound in you, rough and hard as you moan loudly, gripping the sheets, fuck.. her vigorous fucking was turning you on more! Angelique then slowly inserted her strap in your asshole, causing her to gasp in shock at how tight you were.

"Mmph!!!~ Fuck!!!"

You moaned, Alma had moaned partially loud when you had clenched your pussy, you then starting to clench more as she moaned in your ear, Angelique starting slow as she gets you used to the feeling of the strap.

"Fucking hell!!!!"

You moaned loudly as Alma and Angelique had started to pound into you at the same speed, Alma hitting your g-spot rigorously.

You whimpered as Angelique attached a collar to you, tugging on the leash attached as her boobs suffocated your face. You started to slowly suck on her breasts as a calming way to try and avoid the rigorous thrusting that came from both Alma and Angelique.

✰cut to later✰

You were sore, legs and arms numb as Alma and Angelique took off the blindfold, smiling. Alma kissed your neck one more time as Angelique carried you to the bath. You whimpered as the hot water calms down your nerves.

Alma cooed, applying some medication onto your love bites. Angelique bathed you, applying shampoo as she massaged your head, her hands felt so nice. You purred as Alma has started to medicate your love bites. Alma then started to insert her fingers in your sore hole, going at a slow and sensual pace.

Alma continued to thrust, letting you reach your high as she lets you ride her fingers as well. Alma smiled before starting to wash your private parts. They then washed off the soap as they put the towel on you, drying you off. They then put silk pyjamas on you, carrying you to bed as they lay down beside you. Angelique kissed your forehead as she allowed you to nap peacefully.

[justice4canyonmoon]

harry being all shaky and scared after having a bad dream 🥺 but you wake up because you hear him crying and you comfort him with kisses and stuff

wow, this is the first thing I've written in a long time! Couldn't get myself into the headspace I need to write smut, but I really liked this prompt, so here we are :) It's a bit on the short side, but I think it's quite cute! Hope you enjoy :)

warnings: nightmares, car accident

WC: 641

“Gemma!”

He woke up with a gasp of his sister’s name, hands trembling with shaky breaths. The dream was awful: you, his mother, and his sister were all driving to one of his shows when a drunk driver hit you head on, killing you and Anne on the spot. Gemma had been taken to a hospital, and the near scream of her name that happened when he woke up was when the heart monitor stopped beating. His heart thumped in his chest, and he turned to the bed beside him to look at you, focusing on the way your chest moved with every breath, assuring him that you were alive. 

Harry turned so he was facing away from you, trying to regulate his breathing without waking you. But every time he took a breath in, it was harder and harder to take the next. It wasn’t long until he found his face wet with tears, thinking about the way he was forced to watch the three people he loved most leave the world. He kept his sniffles and sobs as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake you for something as silly as a nightmare. But it felt so real. 

“Harry?”

He felt his body tense, hearing your voice, still thick with sleep, calling his name.

He hummed in acknowledgment, not wanting to speak in fear of you hearing his shaky voice.

“Are you crying, honey? Is everything okay?”

Maybe he wasn’t as subtle as he thought.

“‘M fine, love. Go back to sleep, didn’t mean t’ w-wake yeh.”

He heard the tremble in his voice and knew you would do the same.

“Oh, honey,” was all you said before you wrapped your arms around his waist, “what’s wrong?”

“Just a dream. Nothing too important, that’s why I didn’t want t’ wake yeh,” he mumbled.

You got him to turn over so he was facing you, and now you could see the fat tears rolling down his cheeks. You reached up, gently wiping them away with your thumbs.

“H, I never want you to feel like you can’t wake me up if you need me. Whether it’s an emergency or you just can’t sleep, I’ll be here. Maybe sometimes I’ll be grumpier than others,” that got a chuckle out of him, which you were proud of, “but I am always happy to help you.”

He smiled, leaning into your touch, “Thank yeh, my love. Best partner I could ask for.”

You smiled back, kissing the spots you had been rubbing with your thumbs, “Of course, honey. What kind of dream got you this worked up, hm?”

He sighed, dropping his eye contact with you as he struggled not to cry again, “Saw you, Mom, and Gem die in a car accident as yeh were drivin t’ one of my shows.”

Your lips turned into a deep frown, “That sound so scary, H, I’m sorry you had a dream like that. But I’m right here, very much alive, and if you want, we can call Anne and Gemma in the morning. Promise I won’t leave you like that. None of us will.”

“I’d really like to call them tomorrow. It’s been too long since we’ve spoken, anyway.”

You nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

You pulled his body closer to yours, wrapping one arm around his waist and rubbing his back, while the other moved up to smooth his hair back. You leaned forward and pressed loving kisses to the top of his head, trying simultaneously to provide him comfort and lull him back to sleep. 

Just as you thought you heard his breathing evening out, you hear him murmur, “I love yeh.”

You smiled against his hair, “Love you too, honey.”

He relaxed into your arms, finally falling back asleep, and now that he was feeling better, you could do the same.

[faulty-writes]

Hello! I really love your work and your representations of the characters, i never seen a mha account write this good.

Could your please do romantic headcanons of iida with a chilhoodfriend? It can be anything you want.

Thank you for such amazing work, i really like your fanfics and how you write the characters.

[ Awe, thank you! I appreciate that you enjoy my writing and support my blog! <3 I hope I did your request justice. ]

The first time you met him, you were five years old, at a meeting, attending a prestigious school for gifted children. Tenya was standing across the room, observing his surroundings with his family, and when the two of you made eye contact, you shyly glanced away while he smiled.

You didn't tend to make friends, and Tenya put people off because of his odd way of speaking and bizarre arm movements. However, you found them endearing, and over the course of your elementary school years, you grew closer and had each other's back.

When the time came for you to advance to the next grade, you felt saddened that you would be separated from Tenya. But fate had other plans, and you, yet again, found yourself attending another school together. You happened to bump into him while trying to navigate through the crowd of fellow students. He was happy to see you. "It's quite astounding that we should meet again! However, I am quite honored to have you by my side once more!"

The two of you shared various hobbies. In fact, it was you who introduced Tenya to the wonders of encyclopedias and since then, he committed to them. Others might think he only read them because of his intelligence but the truth was, he read them because they reminded him of you, his dearest friend.

"I wish to make my family lineage proud and attend Yuuei to become a hero!" You'd be shocked at his confession if it weren't the same thing you wanted to do. But you remained silent as he took your hands, and your heart raced as he looked at you and said, "Forgive me if I am being rather forward. However, I want to request that you enroll at Yuuei as well. Regardless of whether we are separated into different departments does not matter because I do not want to lose you."

It wasn't until you witnessed Tenya during the entrance exams that you realized your attraction to him. His built physique and agility had you smitten, and this was the origin of your feelings for him. Likewise, despite ending up in the general studies department, Tenya's feelings for you shifted into a more romantic sense when he witnessed how hard you worked on your academic studies.

Apart from the obvious mutual attraction you felt for one another, neither of you confessed your feelings for fear of ruining your friendship. But those around you seemed to notice the romantic tension in the air whenever you two were together. Of course, every time someone questioned either of you, there was denial.

The first time you tried to kiss him was during the winter when you slipped and scraped your knee on a patch of ice. Tenya offered to carry you to the bathroom where he could properly dress and treat the scrape. He was so gentle when he was applying antiseptic that you couldn't help but lean forward with the intention to kiss him but ended up bumping heads instead.

Your first actual kiss was during the first-year prom dance, the lighting gave a romantic atmosphere as did the soft music. Tenya looked handsome in his blue suit, and his eyes sparkled in the darkened light. You couldn't help but lean forward, and to your surprise, he followed, and a spark came when your lips collided.

"Are you certain you wish to proceed with this…" he cleared his throat, "step in our relationship?" He was happy that the two of you had shared that wonderful kiss and had, at the same time, nonverbally expressed your feelings for one another. But he was still concerned that romance would ruin your friendship.

You managed to help Tenya through his worries and proved that despite your long-life friendship, the two of you were indeed romantically compatible. It was shortly after this that Tenya began to envision your future together. He, as a pro hero, and you by his side with the potential of expanding the Iida family.

[heatedwither]

in the white.

deadite! ellie x fem reader.

summary- when you finally come back to the apartment from your trip to the grocery store, ellie notices something different about your scent.

word count- 4.7k.

warnings- smut, mentions of blood and violence, cursing.

note- this has been in my drafts forever. i’ve decided to release this before ‘the decay of your body’ because i am very excited to share this, and to be honest, i am proud of this one.

being held captive by a walking corpse was not something you were looking forward to. from the moment that trained nose took in the faintest whiff of your scent, she knew. that was the one. you were gonna be the one human she spared and kept hidden from the outside world, only staying by her side because she cannot understand why you would even need to be away from her when your job is to just sit there and look pretty for her. and as much as she wants to tackle you down and make you bleed that gorgeous shade of red, she can’t risk passing a demon onto you and watching it take over her precious girl’s body, that’s her job. you aren’t allowed to leave the apartment, roaming the building is a big no because ellie would not hesitate to drag those demons back down to hell, laughing as she pulverized them to nothing. rarely are you ever allowed to go outside, unless you need one of those monthly trips to the grocery store that ellie hates so badly since it feels like forever that you are gone, and those revolting scents that are plastered onto your body nearly makes her fall into a fit of rage. those disgusting humans had the audacity to get too close to what belongs to her.

ellie is absolutely and utterly obsessed with all things you. it was because of her obsession that you are alive and breathing instead of rotting like all the other poor souls in the building. forget about having time to yourself, alone time is out of the question. ellie needs to be right in your face at all times. you're trying to cook something? she's right there looming over you. shower time? you better not lock the door because she will bang and bang until the door finally caves in.

it’s a good thing she’s limited to the apartment, if she were able to roam the city there would be nothing but chaos, ellie would make sure to slaughter anyone she comes into contact with. that person is too close? dead. he smells weird? dead. that innocent person who hasn’t even acknowledged your existence? dead.

she’ll go on and on and rant about how she’ll hunt them down and gut them with her own hands, something you have to listen to while she tries to remove that awful smell from your body and replace it with hers, which results in you being pinned down and smothered by a very possessive demon. all the while she’s letting out a low, guttural noise as she attaches to your body, making sure you can’t slip out of her grasp. it didn't take much for ellie to turn absolutely feral, she's like that by nature, but you bring out another side of her that she has not experienced, something that demon was not aware of.

you struggle, but there’s no way you can wiggle out of her tight hold. one hand holds your arms above your head while the other is wrapped around your neck, threatening to squeeze just a little harder if you continue thrashing around and making this difficult for her. any other time she may enjoy watching you try so helplessly to shake her off, but right now she needs to rub her scent on you. there is no way she is going to let you stink up her apartment with someone else’s filthy stench, especially if it’s stuck to you, her human. ellie didn't care what the situation was or where you were, if she noticed a difference in your scent she was gonna mount you and keep you underneath her, lasting for however long she wanted.

all you could see was her tangled red hair and the perfect ink that was still visible on her graying skin. you were panting, breathing hard and ellie twitched at the smallest change in your scent- fear and excitement. perhaps that was what drew her to you in the first place, how delicious your fear was, the intoxicating scent of your blood growing hotter whenever you are in her presence. your heartbeat thumping so hard in your chest that she can hear a mile away. it’s unlike the other humans, she can hunt them down and hack and slash away at their bodies for game but you, she cannot bring herself to actually harm you. as much as she would like to see you looking pretty in a pool of blood, she needs you alive for her.

you're her sweet girl, her human that was made for her. you can be troublesome at times, but ellie will always put you back in your place and remind you who's the bigger, more lethal person between the two of you. you try not to give her any problems just so you can stay alive another day, but you are only human and no matter how many times you are exposed to ellie's behavior, a part of you will always be terrified of her and what she can do to you whenever she's had enough.

her face is now buried in your neck, her long tongue lapping away right against that spot where she has perfectly mapped out one of your major arteries. that specific area, pumping and pulsing with blood. it’s one of her favorite spots to just nudge her nose, taking in your scent as she drags her tongue against your skin, leaving behind that black liquid that occasionally seeps from her mouth whenever she locks eyes with you. her nails dig into your shoulders, deep, but not enough to actually break skin.

you’d be lying if you said you didn’t secretly enjoy how vulnerable and weak ellie made you feel. here she was, pinning you down and drooling all over you, rubbing that pungent odor all over your body. at first you thought you’d never get used to having this demon smother you in that foul stench and practically glue herself to you most of the time, but after many tiring occasions you grew used to it, and to be honest, you liked it.

you wince and let out one of those whimpers she loves so much. her body twitches and her hand slowly trails down your chest, her fingers grazing the material of your shirt before frantically ripping it off of you. there goes another one of your shirts ruined, but ellie did not care one bit, simply due to the fact that it was in the way, and she never understood why you felt the need to wear pieces of cloth over your body especially since you looked so perfect undressed. the cold air hit your chest, making you shiver, but that was enough for ellie to grab your hips and lift them up slightly so she could press them against hers. she slowly started grinding against you, dragging her tongue against your skin, tracing your veins and arteries underneath your flesh. her hands undid your bra, which she was nice enough to not rip off this time. her face immediately went to your breasts, which she enjoyed licking and nipping at. she’s always adored your body, but she loved littering your skin in bruises.

you could feel the vibrations in her throat as her mouth attached to your soft flesh, her tongue was burning up- just like the rest of her body that was producing so much friction against you. ellie had mounted herself on your thigh, her bony fingers pressing into your hips as she rocked against you.

ellie finally removed her face from your chest, locking eyes with you and drooling at the sight of her sweet girl all flustered and burning up just for her. that look that drove her crazy, your eyes peering up at her and your lips parted, letting out small pants and huffs.

“please… ellie..”

you begged, but you had no idea what you were actually begging for. all you knew was that you wanted ellie to touch every part of you, smother you in her eye watering scent once again and somehow, press herself harder against you. your pleads were music to her ears, often times she would tease you endlessly just to hear you beg and whine so pathetically. this woman took pleasure in watching you suffer, she loved how you reacted to every little thing she did, she could barely lay a finger on you and you would absolutely lose your mind. ellie took pride in this, her being the only one who could have such an effect on you. she knew you would always submit to her, you were her good girl after all. she leaned her face closer to yours, her slender fingers creeping up to your jaw and holding it in place so you had no choice but to meet her piercing gaze.

“please, what?”

ellie's voice turned deep, demonic, much different than that sweet motherly voice she usually used around you. that feral grin turned into a straight face and you knew ellie was completely serious, she wasn't very pleased with you referring to her as that name. she had allowed you to call her ellie sometimes, but the demon always reminded you that ellie was somewhere burning away in hell. you could feel her claws poking into your flesh, ellie's patience was non existent, you knew if she asked you something you better reply quick and not make her wait. if she was upset, you better hope that you can somehow managed to calm her down.

your heart started racing, you knew you messed up, this was the part where ellie finally tosses you aside and puts an end to you, right when you were enjoying her feral and carnal nature towards you. truth be told, ellie had no plans of getting rid of you, she enjoyed implementing fear inside you. she’ll sink her claws in your flesh just a little more if that means seeing you shake underneath her.

“sorry… mommy”

you whined, face turning red in embarrassment as the words bounced off your tongue. ellie’s lips soon curled into that wide grin she usually has plastered on her face, her pupils dilating and that pungent black sludge dripping from her mouth that you weren’t such a big fan of, but since it was from ellie you thought of it as a form of affection.

“good girl. now… what do you want from me, hm?”

ellie’s hips started moving slowly again, just barely pressing against your thigh. her grip on your jaw softened and her fingers caressed the side of your face. as soft as ellie tried being with you, it never lasted for long, it was something you still had to teach her, and ellie wasn’t the greatest at understanding how humans worked. you once tried teaching her what a simple hug was, but ellie stared at you like you were insane and figured you wanted something else. you never realized it, but you taught ellie a lot. as clueless as she can be about humans she’s noticed everything you do- your habits, the way you do everything. ellie has studied you carefully and there was nothing she hadn’t already seen you do. she doesn’t understand why you do things, but she knows you do them.

a wave of embarrassment hit you again. you knew what you wanted, but actually saying it? you wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. you knew ellie found amusement in your embarrassment, she would brutally tease you and degrade you for being such a filthy girl.

you couldn’t handle it anymore. ellie made you feel so dirty, but you enjoyed it because it was her making you feel so dirty. right now all you could think of was ellie’s hands roaming every part of your body, how every touch made your skin grow hot and much to your embarrassment, how much you wanted to grind onto her perfect thighs.

your scent changed, ellie immediately picked up on it. her head twitched and you could hear a clicking sound erupting from her throat, she could smell your arousal. you could hear her sniffing around and soon she lowered herself, dragging her nose from your breast to your stomach slowly. those faint touches were enough to make you soak through your panties, her face was buried against the waist line of your skirt, just sniffing, trying to take in as much of your arousal as she could.

ellie didn’t seem to be interested in your response anymore, that was a first- but now she’s currently occupied with something else. she’s focused on that sweet scent coming from between your legs. a low growl vibrated from her throat and before you could even look at her again she was already peering up at you with her shit eating grin. you locked eyes with her and you could feel the blood rush to your cheeks.

so many delectable scents coming from her sweet girl. it was difficult for ellie to actually hold back, you could tell from those guttural noises and the way her nails dug into the flesh on your hips.

“answer me you filthy slut”

of course she didn’t forget.

you whimpered at the raspy demonic voice, your eyes closing and threatening to release a tear. ellie’s voice never failed to make you jump. the woman in general was terrifying, and you’ve accepted the fact that she always will be like that. your thighs shut together and a tingly feeling shot through your body, another proof of ellie’s effect on you. there was something about those bloody fingers, the ones that tried their best to caress you but always ends up burrowing into your skin. her face that was always so close to yours, covered in blood and saliva that you would occasionally wipe off at times and ellie would just stare at you, confused as to why you did that. and her voice, the way she could change from a calming motherly one to something so terrifying and evil. this woman gave you butterflies in every way. it took a while getting accustomed to her demon antics, but you are probably just as obsessed with her as she is with you.

“t-touch me? please, mommy?”

you begged nicely, just as ellie taught you to do. if you were a good girl and begged for her she may or may not stop teasing you so much, but ellie always did what she wanted and that also meant ignoring your requests if she felt like doing so. she was selfish in a way, but her demon brain can’t understand actually giving in for a human and doing as they say. that doesn’t mean she doesn’t listen to you, ellie believes you are the only exception but even the exception doesn’t always get what she wants.

ellie’s head lifted just slightly so she could get a good look at you, her weak little human who’s looking so cute and vulnerable. she was pleased with how well you could beg, though ellie was always one to make you beg until you got sick and tired of it. you think batting your lashes and being cute could make her cave in? she wasn’t going to let you get what you want so easily. her fingers danced around the material of your skirt, lifting it up a little. you knew she was teasing, there wasn’t a time ellie had ever let you get what you wanted so easily.

“ohhh you greedy girl”

ellie laughed at how pitiful you looked. god, you couldn’t even look at her anymore. one more glance and you were sure that evil grin would send you into a fit of frustration and a tear may or may not run down your cheek. you could feel her graze your thighs, tracing over the marks she littered on you last time.

“such a filthy little slut. all you can do is beg for me to ruin you, isn’t that right?”

she wasn’t wrong, thoughts of ellie occupied many parts of your brain, often pushing aside other thoughts to make more room for all things ellie, and right now all you can think about is ellie using you to her liking. her words made you squirm underneath her, and you nodded your head. at this point you didn’t really care how pathetic and needy you looked, you wanted ellie and you didn’t care how much you had to please her. truthfully, you wanted to please her. you wanted ellie to be proud of you and praise you. the thought of her ever losing interest in you was terrifying, so you felt the need to always meet her expectations, even if she did have high standards.

“mhm.. yes… yes mommy”

your words came out between breaths. ellie's hand was now higher up your thigh and her finger tugged at your panties before once again, ripping them off of you along with your skirt. there was something about how aggressive ellie was that never failed to get you aroused. she's a demon, but she's your demon, who, despite being hostile to any living thing around her, has a soft spot for you and only you. even if she does threaten you or lose her temper sometimes, annoy you to the point of wanting to make an escape from the apartment, you know it wouldn't be the same without her.

ellie did not waste any time grabbing onto your thighs and forcing them apart, exposing your dripping cunt to her. it felt like she was taking forever to finally touch you, when you peered up at her you could see her darkened saliva leak from her gritted teeth. she noticed your gaze and she stared at you, giving you a little smirk before lowering her head and resting her forehead against your stomach. the look she gave you forced another stream of arousal to leak out of you and all you wanted was to shove her face between your legs and keep her there, but you knew ellie took her time with you- unless she was having one of those moments where she desperately needed to mate with you.

it was typical ellie behavior to press her nose into your skin and sniff you, you were used to that, but when her hot breath is so dangerously close to your cunt, and you can feel her throat vibrate against your clit, you almost lose it there. her hands are on your waist, keeping you still as she drags her mouth down your abdomen. it wasn't like ellie to actually kiss your body, but when she did her lips felt like they were burning into your skin, sinking right to your core. you watched as her face got closer and closer between your legs and you couldn't help but clench around nothing. ellie took a whiff of your arousal once more, a deep growl erupting from her throat just before she made eye contact with you.

"you smell delicious"

you didn't have time to react or even register what ellie had said to you, her face was already buried between your legs and lapping at your cunt. a sob spilled from your mouth and you could feel ellie grin against you, as much as you squirmed it did nothing to shake the woman off. she was glued to you, absolutely obsessed with your taste. ellie was very messy and sloppy whenever she ate you out, she was very adamant about reducing you to a filthy, wailing mess. her tongue danced around your clit before flattening her tongue and dipping between your folds, collecting any wetness that leaked out of you. tears fell from your eyes, it was all too much, ellie's tongue was everywhere at once, flicking against your clit, buried inside you and hungrily lapping at every part of you.

ellie's hand was on your abdomen, her thumb slowly rubbing against your skin as she continued her assault on your cunt. you could hear and feel her groan against your clit, the vibrations sent shivers down your spine and your back to arched, which failed due to ellie immediately pinning your hips down again. she enjoyed how much you squirmed and tried to wiggle away, being able to force you back down and overpower you. you whined, choking out a sob over how perfect ellie's mouth felt on your cunt. your head was spinning and growing foggy, not a thought in your brain except how disgusting you are for giving your body to this vile creature. the embarrassment hit you again, how exposed and needy you are for ellie, sobbing with that fucked out expression. all you can do is moan and say her name over and over, babbling whatever incoherent words are coming out of your mouth. you look down at she's staring right into your soul, not once blinking as she makes a bigger mess of you, drooling and spitting over your cunt.

"look at you, just a dumb little slut. you like my tongue, don't you?"

you nodded frantically, tears streaming down your cheeks and ellie chuckled at your pathetic expression. your legs were wobbly, but your hips attempted any movement they could- desperately grinding more against ellie's mouth, which she seemed to enjoy by the sound of her guttural noises and groans. she loved your taste, perhaps it was more addicting than your scent she's so obsessed with. this woman could eat you out for hours, non stop. her stamina is infinite, if it means having some fun with her precious darling, ellie would fuck you forever.

ellie didn't have a particular rhythm, she just devoured you as much as she possibly could. you could hear the absolute filth of her slurping and lapping away, sucking and then mixing her saliva with your arousal. she was like a starved animal, rough and filled with carnal desire. it didn't bother her how much you thrashed around and jerked your body, her darling couldn't slip away from her, your squirming only made her more hungry for you. your screams and sobs always earned an evil laugh from her, and her fingers would press into your flesh, bruising and marking up your body. you slowly reached your shaking hand down, stretching out your index finger to hook it with ellie's bony one. as weak as your body was, every part of you turning to mush, you couldn't let go of ellie's finger, you held onto her, the only part you could.

“oh, fuck.. mommy.. hnng”

you eyes closed shut and you bit down onto your lip, your vision was going blurry, you couldn’t meet the woman’s eyes even if you tried, and you were sure she was still staring at you. ellie wasn’t going to take her malign pupils off her pretty girl, especially when she looks so perfect at her mercy. she carefully examined every tear that fell down your cheek, every breath and those adorable expressions you make whenever she teases you in such a way that makes your head spin. you were growing closer to the point of passing out, but ellie’s sinful mouth was successful at bringing you back to reality, the filthy, shameful reality of your want and need for this demon you’ve grown so fond of. it’s wrong, disgusting, but you’re too far gone and you simply don’t care. you’ve fallen for this wicked woman, you let her hands corrupt your mortal body and you couldn’t be happier to be bound to your captor.

something was pooling in your stomach and your grip on ellie’s finger tightened slightly, she took notice of that and twirled her digit around yours, playing with your much smaller hand. curses were mumbled underneath your breath, you were dangerously close to cumming, but you knew that ellie would not have you climaxing without her permission. you were afraid that one more swipe of her tongue would send you into that state of bliss you were needing so badly.

“i’m so close.. mommy.. can i please cum?”

you whined, weakly grabbing her wrist and bucking your hips as much as you could. if ellie rejected your request you would have just cried and wailed, bearing her torture that shouldn’t feel as good as it does. your hips stuttered, every part of you ached, and that was exactly what ellie wanted. she wasn’t done until you were broken, she’d wreck you until you were nothing, but her wicked hands and sweet curses were enough to soothe you, even if she isn't the most gentle afterwards as well. you tried to hold out as long as you could, though ellie's tongue worked faster against your swollen clit.

“that’s it, be a good girl and cum for me”

your thighs were trembling, slowly closing in on ellie's head, the heat between your legs kept getting hotter, ellie's voice did something to you. it wasn't her demonic voice that sent chills down your spine, she sounded genuine, helping you through your high. right there you could believe ellie had even the slightest bit of humanity in her rotten body, and it was all for you, her precious darling.

with a scream your hips bucked and your hand tugged at ellie's, the hot pool in your stomach breaking apart and soon you came undone. there was drool leaking from your mouth, your chest rising and falling with every deep breath, as tired and oversensitive as you were, you locked your hand with ellie's, and for once her grip softened, almost caressing your hand gently. your lower body went numb, yet you could feel ellie place a small peck to your clit before leaving a couple on your thighs. you shuddered at every little kiss she placed on your thighs, there was so much tension in your body and all you could do was lay there, vision blurry and heart nearly beating out of your chest. you were panting, whimpering her name between each breath and ellie lifted her head from between your thighs and leaned closer to you, taking the side of your flushed cheek in her hand. her claws weren't poking into your skin anymore, she was holding you like some kind of fragile piece of glass, in such a way that was foreign to both you and her. with her touch you could finally calm down, you leaned into her touch and for once you could somehow feel at ease with your demon.

she's a menace, a parasite that has drained you of your innocence and freedom, but you've accepted that, you've accepted ellie and you believe there is nothing better than that wicked smile she always has plastered on her lips. ellie's face was buried in your hair, continuing her usual ellie things that include gluing herself to you and trying to take in as much of your scent as she possibly could. the little strength you had allowed you to wrap your arms around her body, fingers tracing the bones of her back and shoving your face in the crook of her neck. she whispered praises into your ear, licking and nipping at your skin. you're so used to her doing that, but it feels like a reward for being such a good girl for her. ellie always made you feel safe, but being so close to her like this made you feel special, like you were truly her precious little darling. it was a rare feeling, you had no worry in the world right now. all that mattered was the demon who was currently smothering you with her body so much that if you take another second of it you might suffocate, but as long as you were with ellie you didn't care about anything else. you're content with everything, content with ellie. you can tolerate how absolutely unhinged and evil she is, you prefer her that way, a vile thing who was birthed into some dark cavern of hell and summoned by an ancient relic that you shouldn't be so grateful for, but if it weren't for the human curiosity then you wouldn't have this demon you're so attached to.

and you've completely fallen for this demon.

[igotanidea]

chapter 1 : Another privateer: Nikolai Lantsov x fem!reader

A/N: I'm having so much fun writing this. So much that chapter 2 may be coming faster than expected 😊 😊 😊

CHAPTER 1 : ORIGINS

Y/N Y/L/N was a Grisha. An Inferni, to be precise. Raised in the small palace but never adjusting properly to the royal life. She was not like Zoya, proud, confident and more queen-like than an actual queen. She was not like Genya, careful, gentle and quiet (even if that came with a bit of cunning). Or like Nadya with all her positive attitude and calmness.

No.

Y/N was someone you would call a trouble maker.

More often than not her kefta was disheveled, torn or dirtied, her hair messy, her face reddened, eyes glistening. She was the kid who was running through the palace corridors, fooling around, teasing and playing pranks on everyone else. Not listening to her Inferni teachers, skipping classes and causing havoc. All those rules and limitations that she was so swiftly finagling were boring and confining and she could not deal with them. She did not want to deal with them. She did not want to relent.

However, such vivid expression of emotions and god, forbid – fun -was unacceptable.

Especially from a kid.

Especially from an Inferni, who dealt with the most dangerous and unpredictable element.

And especially from a legacy as her father used to call her, even if the sound of the word made her sick to the stomach. Much to her resentment Y/N came from a long line of merited, noble house and what was expected of her had little to do with joy. Her father was the personal advisor of the king so her family was always close to the royals and that meant attending banquets, balls, playing the role of someone she was not. And someone who she did not wish to be. A lady.

She had obligations, duties and strict agenda and it was weighting her down.

“Sit still!” her mother scoffed her during another preparation for another royal dinner. “You have to act like a girl and look like one, not a tatterdemalion.”

She never complied with any rules.

One day, when it all became too much, she used her skills to set the curtains in one of the classes on fire and run away from, as far as possible. And that’s how she found herself in the presence of second son, prince Nikolai Lantsov. Of course she knew who he was when full of anger, with fierce face expression run into the forest surrounding the palace, ready to burn it to the ground. Of course she remembered that a prince should be treated with respect. She clearly recollected all the bow in his presence, act coy and cautiously, be gentle….. Saints! Even the memory made her roll her eyes and she could not care less. As for the prince he took one glance at her messy figure and literal fire in her eyes made him gasp in awe on the inside and smirk characteristically on the outside. He remembered that girl.

“Hard day?”

“You have no idea.” She muttered flopping onto the ground with a heavy groan.

“I actually think I do. You know, I am the prince after all.” Silent emphasis on the title did not slip by her.

“Oh I’m sorry, moi tsarevich.” She immediately jumped to her feet and bowed in the funniest way he had ever seen, almost tripping over her own feet “forgive me for my audacity. Will you grant me the honor of resting on the ground in your presence?”

“You’re something different, aren’t you?” he looked at her carefully with sparks in his eyes “not like the other Grishas here?”

“Whatever that may mean, I guess not.” She shrugged “Whatever, but my parents would probably disinherit me if they knew how I’m addressing the prince at the moment.”

“Good thing the prince appreciates your honest attitude.” He laughed whole-heartedly and all the tension in her shoulders disappeared just because of that sound. Apparently he was something else than what was presented to people as well.

“Does he?” she raised an eyebrow “I thought him to be the one greedy for blarney and cocky.”

“Can you blame me? I mean look at that handsome face.” Nikolai grinned and that earned him a chuckle from her “Someone’s feeling better, I see. I know, I know, my sense of humor is impeccable.”

“Cocky it is” she nodded to herself.

 “True, I don’t mind a good praise. But I’m bored with pretenses and restrictions. I can’t really do much of what I want in the palace and that is just…..”

“Infuriating?”  

“Yeah…..” He glanced at her once again but this time it was like he really saw her “I’m Nikolai. Not a prince, not a tsarevich, not a royal.”

“Bet you say that to all the girls you flirt.” Y/N spat, but deep inside started to wonder if he really was on a fist name basis with every girl Grisha in the palace. Given his direct approach to the matter that truly was something to wonder about. And it made her feel ….. weird. Saints! She barely met him and he managed to spark something with all the attention focused on her. Probably the first person she met who did not considered her a menace.

“Careful there.” he warned playfully “You got yourself in good terms with me and if you want to keep being yourself you’re gonna need someone to look after you. Guess that’s gonna be me.”

“Look after? Really? I’m not some stray cat who needs protecting. Besides, I’ve been doing fine till now.”

“How about the turn fine into amazing?” he smiled and she could not help reciprocating. “come on, look me in the face and tell me that does not sound promising.”

“I’m Y/N.” she laughed unable to do what he asked but not wishing to say it straight away “Want to make some mess?”

***

From that day they became friends, but kept it in secret, stealing all the little moments together. No one knew. For three years. And it all came out because of Zoya and her scheming.

***

There were probably better ways of meeting than sneaking out in the middle of night to that one spot in the forest, but both Y/N and Nikolai had some flair for dramatics. He was a prince trained in sword fights and combat and she was an Inferni, what was the worst thing that could have happened , right? Besides, the palace and adjoining grounds were a safe place, right?

“Nik! You came!” Y/n emerged from behind the trees immediately spotting her best buddy, already there, waiting for her. Honestly, she felt relieved when he showed up first. Nikolai has been acting strange for the last couple of weeks, avoiding her, defending himself with all the duties. Well, as if she didn’t have things to do! Between being Grisha and training and her obligations towards father and the crown, she really had to cut down on sleep and rest to tear time for him. But it was important. Maybe it was more important for her than for him. And all that’s been happening got her mind spinning and well, worrying.  

“Missed me that much?” he smirked observing her coming closer, her coat disheveled, hair messed, as usual since some things never changed, even after years.  

“Pf! You wish.”

“And what if I do?” that mocking expression disappeared from his face, replaced by seriousness and care.

“I bet you say that to all the girls…..” she laughed, trying her best to defuse the tension. Even though the Inferni were the Grishas who could not start a fire out of nothing, at that moment she swore she could make a flame from all the feelings inside.  

“No. No I don’t” he took her hand in his, caressing it gently and intertwining their fingers. Her small hand aligning so well with his.  

“What are you doing?” as much as she wanted to turn around and run away that simple gesture as holding hands got her absolutely frozen in place. Rooted to the ground.

“Dazzling you with my charm?” his other hand travelled up to cup her cheek.

“It doesn’t work on me.” She opposed, eyes widening in shock, breath hitched in anticipation of what was coming.

“Too bad.” he leaned forward, but before their lips met pulled away leaving her absolutely confused.

She frowned but the teasing smirk on his face told her everything she had to know.

“Told you” Y/N shrugged “it’s not working. Bet you know it as well since you backed down on your own.”

“I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” He spat back.

“Mhm. Sure. Whatever game you were playing here, tsarevich, you lost. Bet you don’t like that, do you?”

“How was your day, fireball? „he let go of her completely, sitting on the tree trunk and patting the spot next to him invitingly “Managed to fry any dummy of an opponent?”

“Many. But you know, the night is still young, I got a chance to add another one to the list.”

“Got your mind on anyone in particular?”

“Maybe. Not that it’s of your concern. How was your day, prince?” she was trying, but could not hide that annoyed tone and he knew well enough that if it came to calling him with official titles it was serious. Good. At least now he knew what feeling she was hiding inside. Not that he was going to take it easy on her. “did you managed to charm anyone? Your brother, perhaps?”

“Don’t even get me started on that…..”

***      

Ever since that almost-kiss in the forest something has changed between them and it was hard to determine whether it was a good or a bad shift. There was a lot more teasing than usual and that giving the fact, Nikolai were a natural at that. But now, when he saw her in the palace or in the ground or in the library he was always approaching her, commenting on her fighting skills and technique, even in the presence of other Grishas. On top of being known as the most unruly person in the Little Palace, now the rumors considering her relationship with prince has started. Oh, Nikolai just loved to make her life harder than it had to be and she had enough, ready to confront him and tell him off.

Right at the moment.

But when she ditched her Inferni practice (again) and was on her way to the royal wing of the palace, unexpected appearance of her father put her off the stride.

“Y/N” he smiled in a predatory manner, putting arm on her shoulders and walking her away from destination “I’ve got good news. Our family has been invited to the banquet. You included.”

“What? No. No way. I’m not….”

“You are going, I won’t hear a word about it. And you will behave.”

“but….” She squirmed. The grip on her was hard and hurt to the point when some tears showed in her eyes. And of course that was the moment Nikolai chose to show up. Just one glance at her face was enough for him to take action, she did not wish for.

“Lord f/l/n.” he spoke in the most royal tone he could.

“moi tsarevich.”

“Y/N” Nik turned his gaze on her, but she did not say and only another press on the shoulders made her mutter some sort of greeting “I think there’s no need to keep your daughter a prisoner, lord f/l/n. Whatever she may have done we have other sort of punishments in the palace.”

“Of course.” with such words she was able to breathe normally again “this one’s a challenge. Refused ‘to attend the …..”

“I know. “Nik smirked “but I really hope to see you tonight, Y/n”

“Tonight?! What do you mean tonight!?” she cried out “I need like a week of mental preparations for that!”

“No, you don’t” both men said in unison, each with different tone.

Yes, she was forced to attend.

to be continued

tags are open.

@pinksirensong - you're probably gonna kill me when you get back and see all the things I tagged you in ... ...

[gyll-yee-haw]

Birthday Surprise

Hii, everyone! I'm back with something short to celebrate our man's bday and the release of his book! (so proud :'))

Hope you like it! (I'm kinda rusty, haven't written anything in YEARS)

Prompt: You give Jake a very special birthday present :)

Like 1k words

Warnings: fluff, mentions of pregnancy.

You were almost shaking in anticipation. Oh, how long the two of you waited for that moment... ever since you got married, and maybe even a bit before that, you and Jake have always discussed starting your own family. Seeing how he was with his nieces always made your ovaries ache.

Now he was in his "uncle era" as you would call. Releasing and promoting his book "The Secret Society of Aunts & Uncles" was just so exciting for him and you were beyond proud, seeing him so happy and trying new things.

You were almost sad that era would have to end... soon he would start a new one. And he had no idea.

Ever since your test results came positive, you knew you had to find a special way to tell Jake. He deserved that.

You found out two weeks before his birthday. Perfect opportunity... I mean, it was so hard to buy him presents... he always loved everything you got him, but you knew he never actually needed anything. But this year... it would be unforgettable.

-----

When the day came, you thought you would have a heart attack, you barely got any sleep. You knew he would love the surprise, but it had been so hard to keep it a surprise, it was almost driving you insane.

You found him sitting on the sofa, wearing an oversized green sweater after the two of you had his favorite breakfast. He seemed so calm and content. He looked cozy, he looked like home. You realized you were staring at him like a fool with a smile on your face. It was the right time, you felt it.

"Jake?" You called him as you walked to join him on the sofa. You held a box in your hands.

"Yeah, baby?" He gave you his sweetest smile.

"I wanted to give you a present. But... not something you could just buy, you know? Wanted it to be special." You explained, looking at the box. He could see you were nervous because of how you were gripping on it for dear life. You just felt that... when the box was no longer in your hands, the situation wouldn't be under control anymore.

"You know you didn't have to give me anything, my love." He tried to calm you down. "Just being able to wake up by your side for another year is more than I deserve."

You took a deep breath and handed him the box. He sat closer to you and hugged your shoulders, giving you a forehead kiss before opening it.

He unwrapped a very clearly homemade book. He looked at you in awe.

"Y/N? That's... that's so thoughtful, did you do all of this...?"

"Well, Ramona and Gloria helped with the illustrations." You explained, seeing him smile just imagining you and his nieces working together on this project. "I wrote the story and struggled to bind it for several days, so... I know it looks messy, I just..."

"It looks absolutely perfect." He got emotional before he could even imagine what was inside...

"Will you read it out loud?" You asked shyly. "Wanna see your reaction..."

"Sure!" He smiled excitedly, as he opened the book.

Writing is hard, I will not lie... But there's a man who makes me wanna try. I wonder how can he be... Looking this good at forty-three?

He left out a laugh and rolled his eyes.

How can you deny he's the greatest uncle of all times... When someone calls him "uncle", you can see the pride in his eyes.

You could hear the emotion on his voice. You could see his eyes running through the illustrations with absolute adoration.

He's more than an uncle, it's true He gets called another thing or two The greatest actor, the funniest guy, He doesn't even have to try. How lucky am I, cause in the end I get to call him my best friend

That's it. Now he was going to read the important part. Your heart was about to burst.

But there's something he's never been called before... Something he'll have to wait a few months for. But I'm sure he will be glad Cause he'll have someone to call him... dad.

At the end of the page, you glued the pregnancy test. He stared at it wide-eyed, speechless.

"Honey, is this..." he was afraid of saying it out loud. It was too good to escape his lips.

"Yes. It's true." You grabbed his hand and placed it softly on your belly. "I'm pregnant, Jake."

He murmured something inhuman as he placed his gift on the side so he could bring you to his arms and fill your face with little kisses.

"This is... the best birthday present I ever got... I mean... they both are, the book and this..." he looked at your belly, then to your eyes. "Thank you, my angel, I love you so much... I love... this baby so much already, I..."

"We love you too." You replied as you felt your eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry, but now you'll have to start working on 'The Secret Society of dads'..."

"Y/N." He freaked out when it hit him. "I have NO IDEA how to be a dad..."

"I'm just joking" you laughed at his reaction. "You don't have to write a book about it."

"I just have to raise the child, which seems easier, huh?" He raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

"I know it's hard." You reassured him. "But you got me as a coauthor in this one."

"In that case... I just know it will be the most beautiful story."

______________________________________________________________

As promised, tagging my sweet @gyllenhaalstories, who inspired me to come back, and made me feel very welcome <3

[le-panda-chocovore]

Satosugu Hurt/Comfort + Fluff

@get0suguru I said I would so here it is !

Honestly, I don't think I'll write an entire fic but I need to get the ideas out of my head. Feel free to use this for your inspiration (and send me the link please !)

This is not properly written, this was a bullet list of ideas and I just took off the bullets because the paragraph became longer and longer and it was a mess. Feel free to use this for your own inspiration (and please send me the link if you publish something) !

English isn't my first language and I'm very tired, sorry for the mistakes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Geto Suguru & Gojo Satoru - 3rd year students

After Riko's death, Suguru slowly starts to spiral and question his role in the world, while Satoru starts training more and more alone and is sent on solo missions. The encounter with Yuki worsens Suguru's state.

Satoru notices that something's wrong and invites Suguru to eat something with him. Suguru feels a bit better when those blue eyes are looking at him. They make the habit of sharing a meal whenever they can.

They spend more and more time away from each other and Suguru's still spiraling, but every time they manage to meet, he allows himself to enjoy the life he has a little bit. Those blue eyes might be worth the pain.

Haibara dies and Suguru's hate for non-sorcerer is growing even quicker than before. He wonders why he's still there trying to protect them. He doesn't want to risk his life for them. He doesn't want to lose his friends for them.

A few days after that, Satoru finds his friend standing alone in the gymnasium. "You look like you're going to disappear." Suguru doesn't look at him when he answers "I'm so tired. I don't think I can keep going on." Satoru hugs him desperatly "Please stay with me. I'll figure things out, I'll make it easier for you, I'll give you everything. Stay for me. Please."

-Alternative to the emotional moment because Gojo won't act serious if he's not forced to (and because I don't know which dialogue I prefer)- Satoru, half-joking : "You look like a ghost, like you could disappear anytime." Suguru, not looking at him : "Maybe I can. Maybe I will. I can't find anything worth the sacrifice, I can't bring myself to be happy in this world." Satoru, rolling his eyes like the dramaking he is : "Duh, I'm here idiot ! Am I not the source of your happiness ? Am I not the best thing that happened in your life ? Am I not the one who brings a smile on your pretty face ? Don't you dare say that nothing in this world can make you happy when you're friend with me, dumbass !" Suguru is speechless, then he laughs and Satoru's proud to be right. Suguru calls him an idiot, but he agrees.

They're even closer than before now, always touching some part of their skin whenever they're together, and Satoru constantly reminds Suguru that everything will be fine as long as they stay together. He says things like "Look at me, I'm here." and "Can you stay for me ?" and "Remember that you're not alone" and "Just try to endure it a bit longer, I'm with you" every now and then. It gives Suguru the strength to keep going day by day despite his deep disgust with the jujutsu world.

Sometimes, Satoru is away for a long time, and Suguru is alone with the disgusting taste of the curses he has to swallow. He feels sick and awful, and he's so close to giving up everything. Satoru calls him when he can but he won't be back soon. He makes him promise to wait, and Suguru's not sure if he can do it. So Suguru crashes into Satoru's room and spends the entire time in the bed, which smells like Satoru. It helps.

One time they're cuddling in Suguru's bed (because Satoru decided he would sleep there that night) and Suguru grows an obsession with Satoru's small waist. Like, he can't stop touching it, it's driving him insane, he feels so high, like he just took every drug existing. Of course Satoru notices "Is that me or are you having an existential crisis over my waist ?" but of course it doesn't bother him at all. Now he uses this too as an argument to make Suguru stay at the school : "You can't live without my perfect body. Can you imagine running away and not being able to touch me anymore ?" The worst part is that it works.

Suguru saves the twins and kills the two adults who were accusing them, but he restrains himself from destroying the whole village. Instead, he calls Satoru who immediately teleports there despite being on a mission elsewhere. Satoru covers the crime scene and tells Suguru to pretend that the two non-sorcerers got killed during the fight against the curse. It's classified as collateral damage. The two of them bring Mimiko and Nanako to the school and teach them about the curses and the exorcists.

Now, Suguru has two more reasons to stay. He's still depressed and he still hates the monkeys, but he starts to believe that things would end up fine. He has people to protect now, he has people to love. He can fight for that.

When they graduate, Satoru and Suguru move out of the school with twins, and they take Megumi and Tsukimi with them.

[meanbossart]

Misc. Ask compilation

These aren't all of the asks I want to reply to, just some that I can answer relatively quickly to clean the ol' inbox out before things get out of hand. Thanks for your patience!

HAHAHA THANK YOU FOR PERUSING AROUND and for enjoying my work! I had a... Weird Gale experience my first playthrough which led to his characterization being what it is in my comics. Here's the beat-by-beat of all the shenanigans: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/740827466716807168/alright-i-am-like-90-sure-there-is-one-line-in-a

And here's just some of my personal thoughts on him! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/736193145686114305/can-you-tell-me-more-about-how-you-would-make-gale

I would be lying if I said I'm not conflicted to know my style still bears some remnants of my edgy teen roots (not your fault not noticing it though, you aren't the first and won't be the last) BUT... That comic did mean a lot to me as a youth, so I guess I should be proud 🤷 and honestly it is a little cool that such a thing would survive for so long in what I do, crazy how that works.

LMAO, re: the bottom/top debacle, I was honestly so surprised to see people react to it like it's something novel. If I ever expected to get any push back on the matter, I thought it would be from people assuming DU drow was the top and taking issue with how violent and big he is (and yknow, some people are weirdly protective of Astarion as if he isn't a sneaky murder machine rippling with lean muscle)

Very disheartening to see that mindset still so alive and well among young people, but I guess it just means I gotta draw DU drow throwing more back and Astarion drooling over more ass until the stereotype is forcefully banished out of people's minds!

(more asks below the cut)

"Sleeper agent activation phrase" absolutely took me out, Thank you so much LOL

YEAH I got it pretty late though, Astarion had already told my durge that he was a vampire of his own accord (and the response was, of course, "no duh") I forgot wheter this happened before or after the first romance scene triggered, but I think after.

Since this was after DU drow decided he was gonna fuck him out of pure contrarian spite and was shamelessly laying it extremely thick, He happilly let Astarion drink his blood. Hell, he was probably a little Too Eager - the guy likes pain and he likes letting people he trusts do with his body whatever they will, and while he didn't yet trust Astarion at that point, that event might've very well reminded him of something from his past that planted a seed which would eventually grow into his genuine affection for the guy.

Ah, he definitely got a half-chub as it happened too. I'm sure Astarion noticed it and just walked off rolling his eyes and thinking "eugh of course" lmao.

Hello!!!

Oh man, I grew up fascinated with horror things. I remember from a very young age just looking at the covers and backs of horror movies at the film-rental even though I wasn't allowed to watch them. I was also easily scared but I sought those things out anyway - I think i just enjoyed the visceral reactions it drew out of me and was always curious about most things taboo.

When I got access to the internet that just opened a (very unfortunate) door to all things vile and awful like it did for so many people at that age in time. Though my tastes have changed a lot since then (Less August Underground, more The Devils kind of guy nowadays) my stories and art are just always going to fall into a horror-y category because I just... Don't think there's many better ways to showcase the human experience and emotional range without many of the elements native to the genre, and I'm all about that.

Thank you for your question and your sweet words, have a good week yourself!

I did a little write-up about that over here! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/742508493562593280/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

That's the result of a scene that happens relatively early in the story I'm writing ("A Novel Experience" on Ao3).

{SPOILERS} DU drow accidentally passes out on a blade which puts a relatively deep gash on his hip. Meanwhile, Astarion is weakened and starved after certain events that transpired the prior night. They have a private exchange both in a somewhat hazy-state of mind and Astarion ends up prodding and prying at his wound while feeding, so it's a laceration and bite mark that just scarred over badly.

Elves apparently don't grow body hair so never LOL guess they'll just have to slip&slide up on each other for heat

[ellatoone7]

Follow you wherever (Alessia Russo x Reader)

Lying on the pitch has always been comforting for you, when you were much younger and your parents forced you to play sports you'd just lie down on the grass while making daisy chains.

Alesia being a football maniac was funny to you, while you lay down on the grass Alessia would be tearing it up on the pitch. Just like now, as you watch her take shot after shot.

Eventually, when she finally tires, she makes her way over to you, flopping down with a huff, "My left foot is so bad." You scoff gently before looking over at your blonde…friend?…girlfriend?…you didn't really know.

Sure, you had kissed a few times (loads of times) but you hadn't exactly discussed what you were. You knew you loved her and she knew she loved you. You had technically been seeing each other since you were 5 when she got on one knee and asked you to marry her back in juniors.

"Your definition of bad is different to mine." Alessia throws you an appreciative glance before leaning in to kiss you softly, you push her back reluctantly leaving your hand on her chest.

You give her a quick kiss on the cheek before falling back down on the grass, Alessia copies you. The skyline started to darken, you were in awe at how the moon looked.

"Look at the moon.

"I have to tell you something."

All your thoughts of the sky vanish as Alessia cuts you off, you sit up giving her your full attention. "I got a college offer." Your head snapped towards her, "Less…Oh my god!" You jump at her nearly knocking her over.

"I'm so proud of you." Alessia gives you a weak smile, "I'm not gonna go." You pull back giving her a stern look. "Yes, you are." She shakes her head.

"No..."

"Yes.."

"No..

"Yes."

It went back and fort, "Alessia Mia Teresa Russo, you are fucking going to that college." She huffs at the use of her full name, "Its in America." All your defence crumbled as she stared at the ground, worrying her lip between her teeth.

"Oh...wow…okay!…UCLA?" She nods making you swallow roughly, "How long?" Alessia took a deep breath, "4 years..." The silence hangs between you, suffocating.

"That doesn't change anything." Alessia scoffs, changes everything!" Her voice raises indicating she's getting frustrated.

"Less, please. You're goi-“

"No I'm not! America is all the way across the world, I'll be away from my family, I have a good thing going here and most importantly you are here!"

"Don't do that!"

"Do what!"

"Blame me for not following your dream!"

"I’m not blaming you."

"You're going, end of story."

"I am not leaving you."

"Alessia! We don't even know what we are!"

That seemed to stun Alessia as her mouth open and closed desperate to come up with an answer, "Your my..”

"You're going."

"Please."

"Im not letting you waste this opportunity!"

"What about us?"

"What about us?"

"I love-

"-Don't you dare do this to me."

"But, I don't want to leave you." There's a tremble in her voice that makes your heart ache,' "Less, we have the rest of our lives to be together. You're 17, you've been working for this your whole life."

"It's so far away."* You nod gently biting your lip before moving closer to her, "I know, but it will be so worth it. You'll get recognised over there. Do you know how big that would be."

The silence hangs between you once again, 'When do you leave?" You dreaded the answer because no matter how prepared you could tell yourself you were the idea of Alessia being all the way across the world scared the shit out of you.

"Next week."

"Promise me you'll go?"

Alessia hesitated before turning to look at you, "I promise." You nod giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "I'll get Ella to look after me, yeah?" Alessia scoffed giving you a teasing nudge before wrapping her arms around you.

As you stood there hugging her, you already knew you'd be following her out. The goodbye the next week was one of the hardest things you've ever had to do.

All Alessia's family was there along with some of her England team mates to wish her the best, Ella had her arm wrapped around you for comfort while you watched your girlfriend walk away.

You lean your head on the brunettes shoulder when she's out of sight and she presses a quick kiss to your temple.

"It's gonna be okay." You sigh nodding, "I know. I'm going after her.?"

Ella huffed knowingly, "I figured."

…

3 months had passed, you were exhausted after the 9 hour flight but you knew it would be worth it. You were so grateful for Lotte, you had told her about the plan and she was fully on board, sick of hearing her blonde friend mope about you.

After reuniting with her you finally got some rest in the car as you knew it was going to be a long drive. Once you got there you were practically shaking, what if she's found someone better over here? What if she's not happy to see you?

That all vanished when you saw her though, she hadn't spotted you yet so it gave you time to look at her, 3 months wasn't a particularly long time but absence makes the heart grow fonder.

You wish you had a camera the moment Alessia saw you, she froze in her place the glass of whatever she was drinking was out of her hands and next thing you knew you were wrapped up in her strong arms, her face buried into your neck.

You could feel her tears dropping down your neck as you let out a watery giggle, "| missed you." Alessia had to choke down a sob as she clutches onto you for dear life.

You didn't notice Lotte and the other girls leave Alessia's dorm room, you both were too caught up in your emotions to even think about anything else.

You stood there for hours just holding each other, Alessia's face was bright red and her eyes were puffy when she looked at you, her green eyes pierced into yours, "FaceTime does not do you justice." You giggle before cupping her face and brining her into a searing kiss.

Alessia eagerly reciprocated as she grabbed you waist pushing you back into her study table, your hands tangled into her hair pulling her as close as you can as she hoists you up, your legs immediately hook around her back and that's when you knew things were getting very heated.

You and Alessia had been threading carefully back in England never going further than making out on her bed, you and her had always wanted it to be the right time and you just knew there would be no better time than now.

"I missed you so much..." Alessia breathed out as she kissed your neck placing you down gently on her small bed before immediately crawling on top of you.

…

You woke up to the sun peaking through the curtains, Alessia had her arm draped around you as she slept behind you. You stretched out your legs feeling the slight soreness from the night before.

Alessia stirred, she placed a soft kiss to the back of your neck before pulling you closer. "I can't believe you're here." Her morning voice was a rarity to you, whenever you had sleepovers at each other's house you were never allowed to sleep in the same bed.

You had heard it a few times over the phone but it was always hard to catch her due to the time difference. "I've missed your stupid face, you know. She rolled her eyes playfully before pinching your side, you rolled over in her arms to face her.

You leaned in to give her a lazy kiss, Alessia sighed against your lips, her eyes stayed closed after you pulled away, "God, I've missed that." You hum while she busies herself playing with your hair.

You both catch up not that you have to as you've spoken every day since she's left, she cried for another 10 minutes when you told her you were staying for as long as she was.

You spent that whole day wrapped up in each other, making up for 3 months. You were heading back from a restaurant she took you to, you spent the whole night putting on fake American accents while laughing like crazy people.

You found a patch of grass and next thing Alessia knew you were lying there, arms spread out a blissed out smile drawn across your face.

You stared up at the sky getting that sense of deja vu as Alessia grabbed your hand brining up to her lips before peppering it with kisses.

The moon was breathtaking here, you thought it was pretty in England but this was a whole new level.

"Look at the moon..." Alessia let out a chuckle, "It'salmost as pretty as you." You scoff playfully giving her a nudge.

You both spent the rest of the night giggling while staring up at the stars.