#this morning wondering if he was being nice/pleasant to me to lull me into a false sense of security before he fails me

[waugh-bao]

*

[bluelinen]

My Camboy

Pairing: Cam boy!Choso x AFAB!Reader Content/Warnings: smut, masturbation, no penetration, female anatomy, no use of y/n, porn no plot, well.. very little plot at the end

MDNI

Ting~*

You've always had this guilty pleasure for as long as you could remember. Since your very first time stumbling across that incredibly risqué audio.

You loved noises. Loved hearing the hoarse animalistic groans of pleasure as one grasped desperately for a release, strings of uncouth words and phrases dripping from a yearning mouth.

The carnal coarseness of such a voice, uncontrolled, unrestrained. It's what's led you down a path such as this, where that ting that notifies you of when his stream begins is the one thing you look forward to almost every week.

You don't see his face on stream, if you did you wouldn’t know what you’d do. It’d probably scare you shitless.

Not that he’s an ugly guy or anything. Quite the opposite really, you found the view of his face quite pleasant to look at every morning you saw him in your shared apartment.

See that was the thing. He’s your roommate.

Which meant that if you were brave enough or, you suppose, just plain crazy you could open the door from across your own and fully witness the complete uncensored revelry of Choso’s bare chest as his fingers brush across the button which makes your screen as well as your eyes light up.

A flurry of messages roll through the side bar proclaiming their greetings. A bunch of ‘hey's’, ‘hi’s’, ‘omg you’re so fine’s’. Even a few small gifts.

Yours was the largest of them, you made sure of that.

The bottom half of his face quirks up in a small smile as he whispers into the camera, his voice deep and airy. “It’s so nice to see all of you here..”

He reaches a hand up into his hair, out of sight from the camera, and a set of snaps from elastic releases his raven locks from the signature spiky style they usually were in, strands languishing comfortably along his shoulders. “I really hope that all of you have had a nice day today..”

He starts trailing a hand from his neck slowly down his broad chest. “Cause it’s been such a long.. long day for me y’know.”

“My muscles feel so tense..” His voice is a hypnotizing lull. “Tired too. I've been needing to find a way, a good way, to sooth this dulling ache.”

You yourself smile knowingly towards your screen.

He smiles back. “I’m sure you could help me with that though, couldn’t you?”

“Tell me you’ve had such a long tiring day too.. “ His sultry voice murmurs as his fingers inch down further towards his waist, his touch achingly slow, seamless as silk.

A spry fleet of comments surge in answer.

“The day is so hard isn’t it? So demanding..” He palms a growing bulge covered by the thin fabric of the shorts he’s wearing.

“We deserve a good release, don’t we?”

He fingers the edge of his waistband.

The chime of several gifts being given causes him to smile.

“Mm.. that’s what i like to hear.”

A low hum leaves his throat as he continues his faithful touch along his crotch and you watch with anticipation, waiting for the very moment he's decided, as you have already, that enough is enough.

It only takes a few minutes before he reaches his waning limit, a soft moan and quick snap of the waistband reveals the honest erection. Large and familiar it stands from it’s restraints proudly, clear substance already glistening from the sore crimson tip.

Choso smears the clear liquid along the head of his cock like a lubricant and you wonder how there's already so much, a small somewhat delusional part of you desperately wants to think that it's from the thought of you.

He begins moving his long fingers along his length, gentle smooth strokes coaxing a light train of moans to leave his lips. Each lithe sound causing an increasing tension to form between your legs.

“Ah.. i really wish you were here to help me with this..” He says to the camera, his voice light as he steadily increases his pace. “Fuck.”

He slides his fist from base to tip to base— and back again, low strained little whimpers following every stroke of his hardened cock sending a burning feeling of arousal to your core, little sparks of lightning dancing along the surface of your sodden clit. It’s only a matter of seconds before your hand reaches down to sooth your own aches, the onslaught of sounds desperately attracting one to the other like some burning magnet.

Sliding the pad of your finger along the soaking slit, building up your pace slowly, softly as you try to match the increasing intensity of his touch with your fingers upon your own wet cunt.

“Can you.. Mm.. Can you see how hard I am for you?” He groans as he suddenly stops to display the veiny painfully hard erection. He sits back lounging in his desk chair and it throbs and jerks impressively, engorged at the tip, almost pleading for release. Each involuntary jerk sends a flutter through your core and with a finger on your clit you pause, desperately wishing for him to continue so that you could also.

“I need.. ugh.. I need you- fuck.” He whimpers gingerly, smiling into the camera.

A dastardly scheme of course, but one you fall for every time. A click of the button with your free hand sends the swift notification across the screen notifying him of your donation as well as the donations of many many others, giving up your hard earned coins just for the man to continue stroking his hardon. It’s an awful cycle. But it's one you seemingly can’t stop. Audios, videos, they just didn’t cut it anymore, not in the same way.

Maybe it was the interactiveness, the control.

It was something magical about the way his cock twitches and how his veiny painted hands do something sinful about it while he whines and moans into the mic. You felt like you’d honestly sell your very soul just to see to it that the red rosy tip on your screen chases its unrelenting release every single time.

It allowed for you to do the same. And it felt so good, so damn good every single time.

Barely a minute and the flow of gifts had his fingers find firm fit around his shaft again, continuing the erotic train of degenerate touch. “Aah you always come through..” A chain of hitched sighs. “I Mm.. always know I can count on you.”

His pace only becomes faster and so does yours, his lovely voice, groans and ruts pulling you closer and closer to your peak as he chases his.

“Fuck i’m close.." He moans. "so so close.”

You can tell. The way his sweet lips part and quiver, wisping breath letting out those saccharine sounds.

The sticky head of his twitching cock ready to spill rich fluid.

It made your tongue swipe across your bottom lip in anticipation.

“Mm yeah.. I know you love this, you love.. ah.. you love watching this.” He releases a sequence of pitiful little haggard breaths. “You close? You about to c-cum? fuck.”

You sync every last stroke along your clit with his on his dick. Sharing every lewd moan and sigh, it’s just you and him in this dark little room.

A string of ineligible words fall from his sweet lips as he continues.

“Let’s cum together, ‘k-kay?”

You were getting there, a sheen of sweat forming across your damp forehead. You wanted to release, to come undone but not without him. You wanted.. no needed to hear him before you finished, it made the end all the more divine.

“Come on..” Your lips mutter softly under your breath. “Come on..”

“Oh God- oh fuck-”

He exclaims with a jerk of his hips before he comes undone with a final forceful tug, a delicious cry, thick milky spurts of cum wastefully flowing from the tip and pooling onto his thigh.

A dear part of you wishes you were actually there to put it to some good use.

Your brows pinch, nose scrunching as you let out a final moan. The good shivers running through you in great waves through your orgasm. You smile towards your screen, rush of honey swelling in your chest.

As you look down at your own mess, clear pearly liquid languishly dripping from the tips of your fingers you think.

Oh..

'this is becoming a bit of a problem, isn't it?’

*-*-*

Your teeth clink against cool glass as you promptly gulp down cold liquid, the crisp clear swill of the water that slips down your throat revitalises your body, clearing your mind.

A clear mind, god you needed that.

The glass is soon emptied and you rush to the sink for another one, you’re twisting the tap open when you hear the familiar footsteps of your roommate walk into the kitchen with a mumble.

You turn your head to find the man approaching you and you blank, panicking a little. It wasn't usually you found yourself face to face with the man you had just fucked yourself to a few minutes ago. It wasn't exactly the best scenario to find yourself in.

Fuck.

It was only a moment ago that Choso sent his goodbyes to the chat and it looks it with the light pink hue roaming the warm skin of his cheeks, the relaxed haze over his lazily lidded eyes. He looks so dazed.

Despite your dismay at his sudden appearance you can't help but appreciate the expression so honest on his face. The one thing about his streams was that you'd never witness the aftermath of those escapades, truly it was a shame.

He looks so fine after being fucked out.

Choso strolls into the kitchen with the cover of his usual cool look of indifference but you were very well aware of the many other expressions he was capable of making. From the nose down anyway. The sounds he was capable of making. It makes you have to stop from audibly swallowing as you hurriedly look away. You were going crazy.

Your breath catches when he comes ever closer, leaning towards you, dishevelled black mane of hair brushing forward as he does. You swallow. Do you look suspicious? Does he suspect anything?

You feel a rush of water overflowing from the forgotten glass, drip dropping along your fingers and into the kitchen sink, almost jumping as his arm reaches out— and passes you to reach the empty glass on the countertop behind you.

He narrows his eyes slightly at your flinching. “Something wrong?”

"No!" You exclaim immediately before realising you've overreacted a little.

You gave a false little cough before repeating the word. "No. I'm good." A little suave this time.

"Good?" He raises a brow.

"Yeah-yeah." You insist as you hurriedly turn off the tap. Taking your glass and swigging a sequence of urgent gulps. "Just a little jumpy today."

"Right.." Choso looks a little unsure but chooses not to press further as you cleared way for him to get to the sink.

As the water pours into his glass he suddenly remembers something and is about to say whatever that something is to you before you make like a magic trick and disappear into thin air, retreating immediately to your room before you can make a further fool of yourself.

Curling up into a ball upon your many blankets and hugging your favourite pillow underneath your chin you thrash around in your shame for a while before sighing and burying your head into the pillow.

God one day.

One day you really were gonna get caught.

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

A/N: First post here rawr👹 genuinely think i'm tweaking, hope y'all enjoyed it though ^^

Art drawn by @//Umbra3terna on tumblr & edited by me :33

[sister-dear]

Maybe 19 or 26 from the soft prompts for Link/Groose/Zelda if you feel like it?

Alsdkjfsdfs. 26 (bed hair) immediately made me giggle so I had to go with that. XD Thank you for sending in a prompt! (For this soft fic prompt list!)

Fandom: Skyward Sword Pairing: Link/Groose/Zelda Other tags: fluff, established poly relationship Wordcount: 639

People expected, of the three of them, for Sky to be the sloppy one. It wasn’t an entirely unfounded assumption. After all, he wasn’t the most put together during his teen years. Always waking late meant always running out the door as fast as possible, clothes half on and boots undone and hair in whatever state he woke with it in. 

He’d gotten better over time. The unstructured nature of days on the surface suited him more than the strict schedule of the knight academy. It helped, too, to have not one but two people around with kisses and delicious breakfast smells to make getting out of bed more appealing. 

He’d also kept the locs he started wearing after those painful first few trips to the surface. Much easier to take care of it all that way down here, with the added benefit that he can do the maintenance it requires later on in the day when he’s feeling more awake and still have it look neat.

Zelda braids hers every night without fail. Sharing a bed with two men, she declared, was nowhere for loose, long hair. It did have more of a tendency to get caught under heads and stray elbows and Zelda’s own shoulders when it was loose. 

But Groose. 

Groose woke an absolute disaster every morning. Link knew he must spend at least some time on his appearance every morning. He hadn’t realized just how much until they all started sleeping in the same small house together.

It wouldn’t be so bad if he’d wrap his hair in a sleeping scarf like Link, or use less grease to keep the sides smooth. But he didn’t, and so of the three of them, Groose was the one who woke with the worst bedhead more often than not. 

Link just usually didn’t get to see it, because he usually woke long after Groose was up and looking his usual self. 

Not today. 

Today, light tinkling giggles invaded his dreams. Link smiled. Burrowing his face further into Zelda’s bosom, he let the gentle shaking of her chest lull him back down towards sleep, less concerned with whatever she laughed at as much with her being happy. 

But a light, persistent jostling kep him from sinking back into dreams. 

“Link,” she whispered. “Link, wake up. Look.”

Still groggy but curious now, he lifted his head away far enough to see her looking at something behind his back. 

Twisting around to see took a bit more effort than it might have, sandwiched between the two of them with Groose’s heavy arm flung over his waist, his hand on Zelda’s hip. Link got himself turned just far enough to see and promptly clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle his snort. 

Groose’s hair. 

Somehow he’d managed to nudge the pompadour entirely sideways in his sleep. On his side with mouth open and drooling onto the pillow, his brilliantly red hair still stuck straight up into the air off the space just behind his ear.

“Do you think it would stick straight out to the side if he sat up?” he wondered, just loud enough for Zelda to hear. 

“I think it would.” Soft laughter followed her reply. 

Smiling, Link shuffled around until he could settle back how he’d been. 

“You’re looking a little messy, yourself,” he observed, smoothing down the flyaways that worked themselves free of her braid in the night. He yawned, feeling the siren call of sleep. It was still early. Too early to be awake. 

She smiled, soft in the dawn light. “You can brush it for me when you wake up.”

“His too?”

“That mess will need more than brushing, but you can try.”

“Sounds nice,” he mumbled, blinking heavy eyelids. The feeling of her lips pressing to his forehead chased him back into pleasant dreams.

[lilybachmann]

The setting of the whole scene; The backdrop will be divided that one side is showing gray bricks, a side of a castle, and another is presenting a beautiful garden with a bench.

The outfits:

Desdemona

Iago

Othello

Othello’s old jacket, which is put on him by Iago

CASSIO

That policy may either last so long,

Or feed itself upon such nice and waterish diet,

Or breed itself so out of (circumstance,)

That, I being absent and my place supplied,

My general will forget my love and service.

This line embodies the epitome of Cassio’s fears. He feels as though he betrayed Othello so terribly that it will be impossible to ever regain his trust. Despite Desdemona’s persistent consolation, Cassio cannot help but think that Othello will soon forget him and his loyalty. In order to reflect the contrast of Desdemona’s calm and soothing demeanor with Cassio’s anxious rambling, the music transitions swiftly from a lulling melody to loud, sharp notes, respectively. As for the lighting, the general atmosphere is warm and pleasant, but, as Cassio grows increasingly agitated, a cool-toned spotlight focuses on him as he speaks. He is frantic and fidgets with his clothing and hair, his head lowered. The set is simple, with one side decorated with bricks to represent Cyprian castle, and the other the flourishing gardens of the castle grounds.

DESDEMONA

Why then tomorrow night, (or) Tuesday morn,

On Tuesday noon or night; on Wednesday morn.

I prithee name thy time, but let it not

Exceed three days. In faith, he’s penitant;

And yet his trespass, in our common reason–

Save that, they say, the wars must make example

Out of her best–is not almost a fault

T’incur a private check. When shall he come?

Tell me, Othello. I wonder in my soul

What you would ask me that I should deny,

Or stand so, mammr’ng on? What? Michael Cassio,

That came a-wooing with you, and so many a time,

When I have spoke of you dispraisingly,

Hath ta’en your part–to have so much to do

To bring him in! (By’r Lady,) I could do much–

Desdemona’s air is a stark contrast compared to that of the previous scene, where she was consoling Cassio. Now, as opposed to calm and collected, she is urgent and hasty, adamant that Othello see Cassio and decide whether to forgive him fairly, with proper consideration. The music, which quiets during the transition between the scene with Desdemona and Cassio and when Othello enters, once again gains volume. The volume gradually grows as Desdemona speaks, conveying her determination to the audience.( The song “To The Sky” by Dirk Massen will begin when Desdemona is talking with Cassio. However, the middle, climax part will be played during this statement). The lighting is focused on both Othello and Desdemona, though Iago stands to the side with a look of satisfaction on his face. Desdemona walks back and forth impatiently, gesticulating emphatically with her hands in an attempt to appeal to Othello. Othello stands quietly and solemnly listening to her speech.

Through those 2 statements and the overall dialogue between Cassio and Desdemona, there will be playing “Zahada” by Nyle Downs. In the beginning, it is quite sad but then it slowly becomes more enthusiastic and hopeful.

IAGO

I do beseech you,

Though I perchance am vicious in my guess—

As, I confess, it is my nature’s plague

To spy into abuses, and (oft) my jealousy

Shapes faults that are not—that your wisdom

From one that so imperfectly conceits

Would take no notice, nor build yourself a trouble

Out of his scattering and unsure observance.

It were not for your quiet nor your good,

Nor for my manhood, honesty, and wisdom,

To let you know my thoughts.

Iago, though seeking to build suspense and tease Othello’s curiosity, is also using this moment as an opportunity to build Othello’s trust in him. His aim is to make Othello angry and impatient by hinting at and withholding a secret from him. However, in order for Iago’s malicious plan to work, he needs Othello to take his words seriously. So, he assures Othello that his secret is not to be taken seriously, since he tends to let his judgment be clouded by his emotions. The actor will be cautious in his manner, doing his best to avoid turning Othello’s anger on himself.

Although the light is warm it is creating a fog, which indicates the mixed emotions. Moreover, there will be playing “Wind Song” by Ludovico Einaudi

IAGO

I do not like the office,

But sith I am entered in this cause so far,

Pricked to ’t by foolish honesty and love,

I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately,

And being troubled with a raging tooth

I could not sleep. There are a kind of men

So loose of soul that in their sleeps will mutter

Their affairs. One of this kind is Cassio.

In sleep I heard him say “Sweet Desdemona,

Let us be wary, let us hide our loves.”

And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,

Cry “O sweet creature!” then kiss me hard,

As if he plucked up kisses by the roots

That grew upon my lips; ⟨then⟩ laid his leg

O’er my thigh, and ⟨sighed,⟩ and ⟨kissed,⟩ and then

⟨Cried⟩ “Cursèd fate that gave thee to the Moor!”

Here Iago convinces Othello that Cassio is in love with Desdemona and that she is cheating with him. Thus Othello will be placed in the centre of the scene and Iago will walk around him. Moreover, the cold and hard light will follow him. Through this statement and a few next, Iago will slowly gather and put the military jacket onto Othello.

During this scene the music “The Sacrifice” by Michael Nyman will be played seeing as it is dramatic and has a lot of tension.

OTHELLO

Never, [Iago. Like to the Pontic Sea,

Whose icy current and compulsive course

Ne’er ⌜feels⌝ retiring ebb, but keeps due on

To the Propontic and the Hellespont,

Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace

Shall ne’er look back, ne’er ebb to humble love,

Till that a capable and wide revenge

Swallow them up. ⟨He kneels.⟩ Now by yond marble

heaven,]

In the due reverence of a sacred vow,

I here engage my words.

This statement and the following part of Othello’s dialouge with Iago expresses the plan for revenge. The main character is blinded by the rage and thinks only about executing his punishment of Desdemona. Therefore, this moment is a demonstration of a build up tension.

The music played will be “Winter - Lux Aeterna” by The London Ensamble, the middle, climax part. Furthermore, the lightsz will be divided, the strongest one’s on Othello and a bit weaker one’s on Iago.

[randomoranges]

so, like, this morning i was thinking of what’s left to the plot and after this whole bit with calvin going off into the great winter there’s another Main Sequence of events and then it’s the end? how???? i mean, there’s still a lot of fic left, but - wow, that’s a thing on a far away horizon that can actually be achieved before the next decade, lol. 

prince au part 106

Edward called it a success, when after their hot drink and a pleasant chat; they eventually meandered out and headed back towards the castle. The prince seemed to be in a better mood and even if it wasn’t a permanent fix, Edward silently congratulated himself on not making it worse.

 The sun had already started setting and even though it would soon be dark, for now, the sky was a brilliant shade of orange with streaks of yellow and deep mauves. Étienne stopped on the way back and looked at the sky, a pensive if calm expression on his face.

 “Whatever your plan was for today, thank you. I didn’t realise how much I needed a change of pace or how stuck I was in my own head.”

 Edward reached out for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself; hopefully we can do this together again...”

 Étienne beamed, “Yes and hopefully it won’t be so cold outside!”

 The walk to the castle was pleasant and by the time they made it back, it was dark and the winds had picked up again. Étienne suggested they make good use of one of his favourite nooks to sit and warm up by the fire and Edward agreed, not sure he wanted to leave the prince alone just yet, afraid he would find his previous sullen mindset.

 He found it comical how Étienne managed to cocoon himself in at least two different blankets, whilst still snuggled close to him, but he didn’t mind. It was quiet and cozy and after the noisy locale they had been in and the brisk winter air, this was nice.

 “Say, Edward...” Étienne started, moments later after a lull during which Edward thought for sure the prince had fallen asleep. “Would you mind – can I ask you a favour?”

 “Of course.” He wondered what it was Étienne could possibly want to ask him, considering the tone of his voice. He sounded near shy and just this side of vulnerable.

 “Would you mind,” He started again, “Would you mind staying with me tonight?” He finally asked.

 Edward was shocked, but before he could answer, Étienne went on, “It’s just – I hate sleeping alone and with Calvin gone – I just... I don’t want to be alone, again. He’s always – been there and even when he wasn’t with me he was never really far. I know it’s – unconventional and it’s fine if you don’t want, but I would – really appreciate you being there tonight. Just to sleep. Nothing else. But, again, it’s fine if you don’t want and I know it’s a strange request...” He babbled on, that nervous edge to his voice returning as he bunched up the blankets in his hands and twirled the material around his thumbs.

 “If that’s what you want, sure, I don’t mind.” He may have had opinions about Calvin and even though he wanted to tell Étienne to forget all about him at this point, he also knew that Étienne would never. But, if he could make him feel marginally better for a little longer, he wasn’t about to say no.

 Étienne threw his arms around his shoulders and held him for the tightest of hugs. The only thing Edward could do was hug him back.

--

PREVIOUS: CV CURRENT: CVI NEXT: CVII

[whatanoof]

Morning

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Cal Kestis x Reader

Word Count: ~1.25k

Content: oral sex(m! receiving), cum swallowing, cursing, smut, fluff

Summary: You’ve learned to appreciate your time with Cal. Especially in the early hours of the morning, when no one else is awake and his morning wood is poking your back.

Mornings on the Mantis aren’t really mornings. There is no time in hyperspace, no specific star or method of timekeeping other than the old clock that Greez keeps running above the table, and that’s mostly there to remind people to eat. Greez refuses to skip meals. Either way, that little clock controls everyone’s circadian rhythm, because what else would you use?

You’d had a small timepiece when you’d joined the Mantis crew, and that had been synced to the food clock since. It has conveniences: you’re able to time Merrin’s speed and agility in her relic magic practice, Cere would come to you to wake her from meditation after a set amount of time, you could track the amount of time until hyperspace drop, etc. But the one thing the timepiece couldn’t track was how long Cal would be away from you. 

That was a inconvenience, to be sure. But the biggest advantage would have to be now, waking up in Cal’s arms and seeing that you have hours left until you reach Dathomir. BD-1 is powered down and charging in the bedside port, Cal’s lightsaber is laid carefully on the table, and his clothes are slung messily on the floor for when he’ll have to wake and dress. If only you could get him to stay like this, you might be happy for the rest of your days.

He’s too responsible for that, you know, but it’s nice to dream sometimes. 

The blankets are so warm, and you’re comfortable in your little nook away from the rest of the crew, and you can feel yourself being dragged back under towards sleep. You wiggle your hips slightly as you sink further into the warmth, completely ready to savor these few hours with Cal. Until you feel a telltale hardness against the small of your back that gets you completely ready for other things.

Cal is human, though it’s often hard to remember that when you see him training with his lightsaber or meditating for hours on end. But the erection sitting in the small of your back is a perfect reminder of it. 

A wicked idea occurs to you, and you carefully worm out of his arms, sliding down to rest between his legs. It’s almost ridiculous how your mouth waters when you pull his cock out of his pants. Maker, you’re craving this, though you can't really believe it’s taken so long for an opportunity to present itself like this.

You drag your tongue up the shaft from base to head, wondering if maybe you should let him rest. He’ll need the strength. But the heaviness of his cock in your hand and the growing arousal in your core chases away all responsible thoughts. You want to make him feel good, even better than sleep could. He’ll wake up soon enough.

“Wha--What?” Right on cue.

“Good morning.” Your fingers curl around his shaft, relishing the warmth of his skin and how he absolutely throbs in your hand for you.

“Mornin’?” His voice is so adorably raspy right after he wakes up, grating in all of the right places to create sparks of heat between your legs. “Oh--” You run your tongue over the head, and his thigh goes rigid under your hand, almost as deliciously hard as his cock is in your mouth. The rest of his body follows suit, and he arches off of the bed, “What’re you doin’?”

Oh. That’s right. He’s probably never had anyone go down on him before. It sends a thrill through you, knowing that you’re the only one who’s ever made him feel like this, that you’re the only one who knows his taste, that you’re the one who’s about to show him just how good it can be. 

“It’s called a blowjob, Cal.” You plant a quick kiss on the underside of the shaft, revelling in how it twitches at the touch and Cal’s back arches. Fuck, you want it in your mouth now. You sink down on his length, careful to avoid scraping your teeth against it while your hand slides over what you can’t fit.

“Fu-- stars, babe.” You smile at the almost slip-up. You’d never heard Cal swear before. In fact, you’re pretty sure he hadn’t heard much of any swears before you joined the crew. You would forever cherish the confused, wide-eyed look on his face the first time he’d heard you cussing out one of the sharper corners aboard the Mantis while cradling a stubbed toe.

“How--ho-- much… Dath’mir?” You almost roll your eyes at the question. Only Cal Kestis could try to think about an upcoming quest while he’s getting his dick sucked.

You pull off with a pop, “I can stop.”

“No!” He gasps, shaking his head frantically against the pillow, “Please don’t.” Maker, he sounds so… wrecked right now. All because of you. You can’t resist the grin that spreads over your face at the thought. You’re painfully aware of the other crew members on the ship, and how the only thing separating you two from discovery is an unlocked automated door that could be breached at any investigation into the noises. And yet, that somehow only makes you want to drag more of those noises out of him.

“Okay.” You plunge back down, relishing in the little aborted thrusts of his hips as he fights to keep still for you. He whines against the back of his hand as you fondle his balls. Fuck his moans sound good right after he’s woken up. Before this, there had only been quickies, steamy makeout sessions that ended with dry humping in bed before he fell asleep. But this, this is so much better.

It only takes a few more minutes until he’s grunting with every stroke of your hand and his voice is raw, like he’s solely drawing air from the back of his lungs in an effort to stay coherent. His thigh is rock solid under your hand with how hard he’s tensing, and you quicken your pace.

“Babe--” His hand slaps weakly on your shoulder, and you understand. Drawing in one last deep breath, you push forward until your nose meets the curls at the base of his cock. You inhale carefully through your nose, fighting the urge to gag as Cal lets out one last shaky moan before he’s coming hard down your throat. You tongue him clean before tucking his softening length back into his pajama pants and crawling up to snuggle into his side.

The Mantis is dead silent, the only sounds around you coming from the quiet whir of BD-1’s charging pad and Cal’s heavy breaths slowly calming into their normal rhythm. Cal turns so that he’s spooning you, arms curling around your waist as he presses forward into your back. The peaceful content, along with the pleasant reminder that Dathomir is still hours away, lulls you into a drowsy wakefulness where all you know is the bed beneath you and the warmth of Cal at your back. Finally, he breaks the silence, “Could we do that more?”

You snort and wriggle around to face him, “Only if you return the favor.”

Stars, now his face matches his hair. He blinks shyly down at you, “I--uh--I’ve never done that before.” 

You smile and peck him on the nose, “I’ll talk you through it.” You snuggle back into his arms, “Stay with me Cal?”

He sighs deep into his chest, and you feel the gentle rise and fall of his body, “I’ll stay as long as I can.”

[garbagevanfleet]

Brightest Blue (series)

PART ELEVEN

Pairing: Josh x reader Warnings: talk of sex and such, feelings Summary:  Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place.

Notes: alright, this is terribly late again because im a depressed snail at heart, but its longer than usual, so i hope that makes up for it. If you read my fic at all, i love you. If you interact with this fic in anyway, i want to wed you. 

taglist: @valleyd0ll @satingrass-maidensfair @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @peaceisouranthem @oblvions @hansonobsessed @myownparadise96 @anditsmywholeheart @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies @bigblack-catattack

MASTERPOST

You woke up in a daze of fuzzy but pleasant memories. You were trying to blink the sleep from your eyes when Josh entered your line of sight. He had emerged from the hallway, completely naked save for the necklace he’d been in the night before, little water droplets slipping from his curls to his shoulders. 

You shot up in bed, and as you did, the comforter fell away from your body. It took you a moment for you to realize that it was the air hitting your bare skin that was making you feel chilled, but it didn’t last long. Your face turned beet red as you quickly picked the sheet back up to cover yourself. 

He was giving you an odd look - somewhere between amused and concerned. “Are you alright?” he tried cautiously, still standing there stark naked. 

“Josh! You can’t just walk around naked,” you complained, stuttering on your words as they came out. 

He snorted a laugh. “What? First of all, this is my room. Second of all, it’s a little late to try and protect your modesty.”

You rolled your eyes at him until you realized what he was talking about. “Oh my god, we had sex last night,” you whispered to him like it was a secret, a tiny smile on your lips. 

He nodded, breathing a laugh. “Yeah.”

You experimentally shifted in your seat before grimacing up at him. “That would explain why I’m sitting in a damp spot.”

You could only describe the laugh that escaped him as a cackle, honest and unabashed. “Gross.”

You had to say you agreed with him. 

There was a cautious moment, where you stared at each other, both unsure of what to say. 

“Are we good?” he tried quietly like he was a little scared of what you were going to say.

You patted the spot next to you and he clambered in as he was told. You leaned against him as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. 

“Of course, we are,” you assured, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck. 

“If it’s going to make you feel better to pretend it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be mad.”

You pulled away and looked up at him with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

He shrugged, sporting a nervous smile. “I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

You heaved a big sigh, shifting to look into his eyes. “Josh, I want you to listen to me really carefully, okay?”

He nodded.

You slowly reached up to cup one side of his face in your hand. “I don’t regret it - actually, I had a really nice night. I just think that it would be best for everyone involved if it didn’t happen again. We probably shouldn’t be romantic...or naked around each other.”

The expression he wore seemed like an understanding one, at least to you.

“You want me to make pancakes? Maybe chocolate chip banana?” you offered, giving him a cheeky smile. 

He couldn’t help but match it. “Yes. You’re probably going to want to put your tits away first though.”

“You first,” you quipped, smacking the back of your hand against his peck. 

+++

The rest of the weekend, the two of you spent watching Christmas movies on the couch (even though the holiday was more than a month away) while you worked on sewing the costumes. Josh had offered to ask the theater department if you could borrow a sewing machine, but you had been way too afraid of it to try and use it, so it sat in your room alone. That did, however, leave you to sew 26 costumes by hand. Well, more like 24, since Rachel had two of them mostly done. 

You were finding it oddly fun though, even though your fingers hurt by the fifth stitch or so. The hardest part was making sure you worked on the basics of every costume first - your instinct was to work on one at a time until it was perfect, but you knew you had to be smart about time management. Luckily, even though it was only near mid-November, Michigan’s weather was lovably unpredictable. The weather station had called for snow only through the weekend, but, in reality, it was Monday evening by the time it was done dumping snow - giving you a full three day weekend. 

Kate had been sending you pictures of the pieces of the set she had taken home with her to work on, and you couldn’t hide how impressed you were with her work. You would almost be offended at how good it looked if you hadn’t known she was an Art History major with a heavy side of sculpture work. 

In the last two weeks before the production, you barely got to see Josh. He would walk you to school, but then you usually wouldn’t see him for the entire rest of the day. You tried to wait up for him on Thursday night, but you ended up falling asleep on the couch, and woke at 1 am to him gently patting your shoulder. 

“Hey, you should get up and go to your bed.”

You blinked up at him, sitting up and brushing your sleep-mussed hair from your eyes. 

“You’re home so late,” you scolded half-heartedly, pulling your borrowed sweatshirt closer to your face. 

“I know, sorry. There’s still a lot to do, especially after we got snowed in last weekend,” he replied, sitting gingerly on the armrest. 

“I told you that I’m happy to help however I can.”

He smiled at you, but you had to admit that he looked over-tired. You’d been watching him burn the candle at both ends for three days straight. “It’s a lot of stuff that only I can do. Like going over the music and making the final set diagrams.”

You hummed in understanding as a response. 

“Want me to carry you to bed? You can come sleep in mine if you want,” he offered through a crinkly-nosed smile. 

You grinned back at him, genuine at first, but it quickly turned melancholy. “Josh,” you said under your breath. “I’d love that, but I don’t think it’s good for us to share a bed anymore.”

His expression fell, face turning blank. He nodded at you, standing and giving you a disappointed smile. “Sleep well,” he wished, patting your shoulder again once before retreating to his room. 

You stayed on the couch for a while, your knees tucked up to your chest, as you sat in your guilt. You had known it was stupid of you to have ever let things turn anything other than platonic with him - it had been undeniably fun, but he was your roommate, for fuck’s sake. You had to see him every day, eat your meals with him. Had you not selfishly let yourself go there in the first place, you’d be cuddled up beside him tonight. 

It had been so lovely having any kind of affection - platonic or otherwise - that you let yourself get carried away. 

When you finally got up and went to bed, Josh’s light was still on, his door shut for one of the first times since you moved in. 

+++

Kate took you out for breakfast on Saturday morning to a local hole-in-the-wall that she swore had the very best pancakes she’d ever eaten. She had shown up in a puffer jacket that looked so warm, it made you jealous. 

You’d been chatting easily about your classes and the play, but when you had finished your first cup of coffee, there was a lull in the conversation. 

You hadn’t meant to say it, it just bubbled out. “I slept with Josh.”

She glanced up at you through her jet black lashes, stony-faced. “Yeah,” she replied, way too calm, sounding like she was wondering why you were even telling her.

You blinked at her for a moment. “Did you hear me? I had sex with Josh.”

She nodded. “Do you want me to pretend like I’m shocked?”

You grimaced at her, and in a whiny tone, responded, “Yes, please.”

A nervous laugh escaped her as she fixed her features to display a surprised expression. “You did what?!” she asked - purely for your benefit. 

You groaned at her. “Okay, I get it. I feel so bad about it, Kate.”

Her cherry lips shaped into a puzzled frown.  “Why?”

A deep sigh filled your ribcage - you had been hoping it would clear your head, but no luck. 

“Because I desperately miss being able to be platonically intimate with him and it not being awkward. Before this, I was sleeping in his bed from time to time when I got too cold and we would cuddle.”

“Why can’t you go back to that?” 

“Are you listening? I slept with him,” you groaned. “All I can think about is him on top of me now.”

She scoffed, her chipped nails tapping against her glass of diet Coke. “Imagine how he feels - Josh had real, honest to god feelings for you, I think. Like for a while.”

“You said that, but I don’t know. How do you know that he didn’t just want to sleep with me? Like not in a conscious way, but what if he just wanted affection? What then, Kate?”

She had one dark eyebrow raised at you as she sipped at her straw. “Because I know that’s not true.”

“How would you be able to know that? Because you see him sometimes at school-” 

She cut you off with a confident smile. “I know because I talked to Jake about it.”

You almost blew past it - that is until you realized what she had said. The two of you shared a long, silent moment as you stared at each other. 

“You’ve been talking to Jake?” you asked, trying to keep your tone even so she didn’t know how excited that made you. 

“I have talked to him in the past, yes. He said that he already knew, but he was able to pry it out of Josh when he was drunk once.” 

You stared at her. “Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here right now, I think we can both agree with that. But can we start with you and Jake?” 

She huffed a disbelieving laugh as she set her hand on yours on the table comfortingly like she was trying to cushion the news. “Josh has some feelings for you - the real kind.”

In an effort to prolong the moment that it was time for you to speak again, you picked up a bite of your breakfast and popped it in your mouth. The moment always comes though, no matter how long you try to put it off. 

“I can’t,” you said quietly, shaking your head in disappointment. Then when she prompted you with a confused look, you finished. “I can’t risk it. I mean, maybe there could be something there, but he’s my roommate. And my best friend - there’s no way I’d ever get lucky enough again to find someone I connected with like that if things went sour and I had to move out.”

She licked her lips absently. “My advice would be to think about it - for literally as long as you need to. I’m confident that you’ll figure out what you want.”

You nodded, not entirely convinced one way or another. “It’s hard because he’s so fucking cute,” you said in faux disgust. 

“And sweet,” she added. “Don’t forget that.”

You shot her an accusatory look. 

After a long pause, a smile found its way to your lips. “How cool would it be though if we were both dating one of them?” 

She laughed, picking a syrup-covered strawberry off her plate and chewing it with care. “Not me, I can’t be tamed. Jake is really hot and everything, but I got shit to do, you know?”

You scoffed at her. 

“I’m definitely keeping him in my contacts though,” she said with mischievous eyes. 

+++

 You didn’t directly see Josh for the rest of the weekend, though he left evidence of his presence scattered through the apartment. He had left his hair mousse out on the sink and the toothpaste cap off of its tube in the bathroom, some crumbs of a sandwich he packed for lunch in the kitchen, and a note on his bedroom door. 

Can you please feed Penny a couple of flakes for dinner? If you have any time today, I’d appreciate it if you could spend some of it with her. See you sometime soon! - J

You plucked the paper off the door where it was barely hanging by a thin strip of green floral tape and smiled as you read it again. 

His bedroom was dim, hid away from the sun by his closed blinds. The desk by his door was covered in books - textbooks, music books, books for his English lit class, and one you’d seen him reading for fun on more than one occasion. On the hardwood floor next to his bed was a stack of papers, and even though you knew you shouldn’t you crouched to peek through them. 

They appeared to be rough drafts of plans for the play - nothing too exciting, but they were charmingly eccentric. He had done little doodles of his ideas for sets and props, even a whole sheet of costume ideas that caught your eye. You pulled it from the messy stack and folded it into your pocket. 

Careful not to spill any water, you moved Penny in her globe to your bedside table, but as you stared at her through the glass you frowned. 

You pulled your phone out and snapped a picture of her, trying to make sure you got an accurate portrayal of her size. She looked at you, sticking her lips out of the water in search of food. You remembered Josh’s warning about overfeeding her the first day you’d met him and it brought a genuine smile to your lips. You promised her you’d be back, holding your finger just above the water and letting her press her mouth to it. 

On the ride over to Petsmart, you had called your mom, asking if it would be okay if you borrowed some cash, to which she agreed to after her usual line of questioning. When you pulled into the parking lot, you checked your bank account just to make sure it transferred okay, always nervous that you’d get to the register and your card would decline.

You spent longer than you should have reading articles online as you studied the tanks, all set up in rows for purchase. They weren’t as expensive as you’d expect a water-sealed glass box to be, and after you were confident you had picked the right one, you still had plenty left in your budget for the dressings. 

You picked a couple of fun decorations - a fake log for her to hide in if she wanted to and one that looked like part of a broken Greecian statue. The part that took you the longest was picking out the healthiest-looking plants. You had read that goldfish often like to eat live plants, but you couldn’t bring yourself to buy fake ones - the plant lover in you knew it was a cardinal sin. 

A very kind cashier agreed to help you carry your haul to your car, even helping you shift it all correctly so you could make it fit. You left him a secret tip, even though he denied at first, and thanked him profusely.

Getting the tank into the apartment was the hardest part. You realized just how lucky you were that you didn��t live above the first floor. 

By the time you got the tank situated back on his dresser, your muscles - especially in your legs - were protesting, but you weren’t done yet. You grabbed an empty ice cream pail and started to fill the tank, one trip at a time until it was about 3/4’s full of water. 

The decorations had to be shifted multiple times before you liked their position enough to start pouring in the gravel around them. A Youtube tutorial taught you exactly how much of each chemical to add and how to put together the filter, and then you left it to cycle as you returned to your room.

Perched on your bed, you pulled the sheet of costumes from your pocket and studied it. You pinned it to your corkboard. Undeniably, the cutest design he had come up with was for the door mouse - grey fabric, huge ears, and a rope tail. 

The rest of the unfinished costumes were in a cardboard box by the side of your bed - you hadn’t moved it anywhere because you knew you’d be back at it before too long at any given time. You bent down off the side of your bed and rummaged through the different fabrics until you found the one you were looking for - a grey-blue faux suede deal. You were pretty sure you had enough to make it work. 

You fished your phone out from where you had buried it under the covers when you shifted and called the one person that could help. 

“Hello?” Kate mumbled, sounding like you’d just woken her up despite it being noon. 

You giggled at her. “Hi, I’m playing my best friend card. I know you’ve helped so much, but can you please please come work on these costumes with me?”

She hummed and then went silent for a good, long moment. “Give me ten to wake up and get dressed.”

A beaming smile spread across your face. “Kate, I love you so much. I’m going to Venmo you money to get coffee and donuts, okay?”

“Hmm, I do like donuts.” She sounded pleased.

“Good! Bring Jake too.”

+++

The knock on your door came a half-hour later. You jumped from your bed, racing to let them in. Jake was dressed in the softest-looking flannel shirt you’d ever seen, a drink carrier in his hands that housed three drink cups. 

“Okay, so there are three jobs that need to be done. Measuring and marking, cutting, and sewing. If we each take one of those jobs, I’m confident we can finish a couple of the costumes today. I’ll let you guys pick first,” you informed as you lead them into your room. 

“I’ll take cutting,” Kate said, prompting Jake to reply that he’d like measuring. 

You handed Jake the notebook of measurements with a grin. “Rachel,” you started with a sneer. “Did a lot of the calculations for us, thank god. All you have to do is measure out the fabric. The tricky part is making sure you do it in a way that will leave enough fabric for the rest of the costumes.”

“Not a problem,” Jake responded with a smirk. “And I think her name is just ‘Rachel’, not ‘Rachel’.”

Kate shot him a look on your behalf. “I think she was just making a referencing the fact that Rachel left your brother with a huge ass list of things to do completely alone, not that she was jealous.”

“Jealous of what?” you asked accusatorily, a scowl painted on your face. 

Jake put both of his hands up in defense., but he didn’t appear apologetic in the slightest. Smugly, he said, “I’m just saying-”

Kate reached out and smacked his chest. “Jake, shut up. Okay, what one should we start on?”

“I’m going to have Jake start with this one.” You turned to the page in the notebook that showed the measurements for the door mouse, laying it out by him. “This is the main fabric. Kate, I have a lot of the Queen of Heart’s fabric measured and marked already, so I’ll have you start cutting that. There’s a lot of little pieces to that one.”

Kate looked at the six different fabrics you’d laid out for her, one eyebrow cocked at you. “Have you been getting any of your own homework done at all?”

Your cheeks flushed as you nervously rubbed at the back of your neck. “Let’s stay on track, shall we?” you replied, pretty much answering her question. “We’ve got one week until the production, and I know the costumes have to be done at least a day ahead of time.”

They both just stared at you in varying stages of disbelief. 

“Don’t look at me like that. We can do this,” you assured, sounding a hell of a lot more confident than you actually were. “Now let’s get to work.”

+++

When Josh got home, you were nearly sleeping on the couch, the remains of your current project in your lap. You peeked at the clock.

10:54 pm. 

“You’re home so late,” you whispered, for no particular reason. 

“I know,” he agreed, wiping his hand over his face after he took his jacket off. 

“Come sit with me a minute,” you requested, shifting so he would have space. He gave you a grateful smile, immediately crossing the room to do as he was told. 

After a moment, he cautiously wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “Is this okay?” he asked quietly. 

You gave him a smile. “Yeah, it’s perfect.”

You knew he must have been tired because he wasn’t talking a mile a minute like you were used to after not seeing him for long. 

“Are you hungry?” you asked.

He hummed, sounding like he was close to passing out. “I am, but I can make myself something.”

You scoffed, “Absolutely not. You got get into bed and I’ll bring something to you in a second.”

He reluctantly got up off the couch and clambered into his room. You waited patiently for him to notice the surprise, grinning to yourself when you heard him gasp. 

You listened as you made him a sandwich, and you couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but you knew he was talking to Penny just by the tone of his voice.

As you rounded the corner into his room, he turned and gave you a smile as bright as the sun. 

“Did you do this, or did Fish Santa come early?” he asked, his finger pressed against the glass of the tank. 

“Well, kind of both,” you responded through a laugh as you sat next to him on the bed and delivered his sandwich to his lap. “You can consider it your early Christmas present.”

He stared at you for a long beat, looking like he might cry. You knew you’d never be able to handle that, so you pulled him in for a hug, tightening your arms around him when he hugged you back. 

“You’ve been working so hard,” you whispered. “I miss my best friend.”

He turned his face, pressing his nose into your cheek in a move that felt a step or two farther than friends.

“I’ve put everything I have into this,” he admitted, and you were too scared to ask if he meant the play or something else. You sat like that with him for a long moment before he pulled away, giving you a thankful smile. 

“I’m sure you need time to decompress, so I’ll leave you be. Eat and then get some sleep, okay?” You stood and headed for the door, turning when he called your name. 

“Thank you,” he said.

[cheekygreenty]

Little Witch - Part 20

The Darkling x Reader

He carried you to your bed that night, gently slipping off your kefta and taking out the uncomfortable hairpin in your hair while you slept like a baby.

Zoya had barged into his office earlier and mentioned that you were swarmed with duties so naturally he did was had to be done and took it all on himself for that day. Your door felt no vibrations from knocks after Zoya left and the 'accidental dozing off' turned into your full night sleep with Aleksander by your side yet again.

You were furious as you woke up, to say the least. Your enraged muttering breaking Aleksander's sleep as you whipped out from under his arm and out the bed. You only dared to shoot him a look of displeasure before you slammed the door shut as you left. He barely registered your body running around the room, nevermind the nasty gaze sent his way

'Good morning to you too'

****

'Is everything in order?' You were still fixing the kefta belt as you approached the head of guards.

'Yes Deputy. We've been letting performers in for about an hour now and it's all going smoothly.'

'No requests to see the Sun-Summoner?'

'Plenty, but we've taken care of them just as Zoya Nazyalensky told us to.' He curtly nodded, tilting his head in the way of the prison-holding cells.

'I'm glad to hear that.'

As you went to see how Marie's kefta was coming along, you found the room empty and her nowhere to be found, the seamstress looking equally as confused as she entered the bare room. You caught Genya heading for the Vezda suit out of the corner of your eye and called her name loudly.

'Marie is late to her kefta fitting, like very late. Do you have any idea where she is?'

'I think she may be with Alina, I'll be sure to fetch her' she said and waltzed away from you.

'Genya wait!'

'Yes?'

'When you get Ms.Starkov ready, give her this ring' You dug around in your pocket for the metal ring and handed it to the red-haired Tailor. 'Make sure she's wearing it.'

'Of course Deputy.'

You watched her white kefta diminish behind the doors and sighed loudly, going down the mental to-do list of the morning. I'm already tired.

*****

'Have you seen the Deputy?' Aleksander asked Ivan as they headed for his chambers.

'Last I seen she was helping conduct perimeter checks with Fedyor.'

'Good.' He wanted to see you in your winter fete kefta, silently hoping you chose to keep with the black but he knew he was being greedy. He can't have both you and Alina.

'Get her for me, I need to speak to her.' Ivan nodded and turned back around in search of you, clearly displeased at the task.

Putting his lust for you away, Aleksander returned to a working state of mind. He needed to speak to you before the fete started. It was essential you heard what he had heard from the Grand Palace.

He retreated to his chambers and began to get ready for the fete until a certain someone entered the room unannounced.

***

'Deputy Y/L/N, the General wishes to speak to you.' Ivan was at your door with a glum look on his face as a team of ladies tended to your hair and face.

'Now?' You laughed but he only shrugged. You rolled your eyes and signaled for them to finish what they were doing and let you leave.

The ladies frowned but stepped away, clearly dissatisfied. Not only did they get a late start due to you chasing Alina and Genya down on the Palace courtyard, but now they had to finish early too. You had yet to change out of your kefta and into the fete's outfit but for now, you ignored your appearance.

All that mattered to you was that the evening went smoothly and without security threats and if the General requested to see you, you would be there to discuss whatever had gone wrong. This is Ravka after all, something always goes wrong.

'I'm coming, relax your frown for once.' You joined him at the door and walked silently alongside him to the Darkling's quarters. The Palace was buzzing with life as foreign ambassadors took up residence in the rooms and servants prepared the spaces with brimming luxury. Ravka needed to display its strength and wealth today and if it meant meticulously counting the fresh roses in each room, that was what was had to be done.

Although your demeanor showed a relaxed and posed facade, you were very stressed. You hadn’t gotten enough sleep recently and given your extreme training schedule before you arrived at the Palace, the amount of time you spent using them now, or lack thereof, had managed to dwindle you mentally. You were hanging on by a mere thread.

Ivan knocked on the door for you before moving away to the side. You didn't wait for his response and just walked in but stopped short when you looked ahead. The Sun-Summoner you had scolded not even 30 minutes ago was standing in his quarters, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He stood next to her looking equally as red-handed. Realization flooded you that you had interrupted an intimate moment between the two summoners. You cleared your throat, trying your best to act normal.

'You requested to see me, General.' His head tipped up at your collected demeanor, wondering whether you felt the tension too.

'Yes, I did' He moved around to the table, walking past Alina who decided it would be best she left and got ready. You smiled at her as she left, muttering some pleasantry about seeing her at the fete but deep inside the jealousy began boiling in you despite your attempts to rationalize it.

'Y/N -'

'Let's not talk about it. Please.' Your voice was a whisper, a strong contrast to the voice Alina heard. 'I agreed to the plan, I have no right to argue with you.' You feebly smiled. His stare was pitiful on you but he did as you asked.

'I need you to speak to the Queen when she arrives at the Little Palace.'

'Why?' Your face contorted into an expression of confusion and disgust, quickly forgetting about what just happened.

'My intel tells me she is in awe of you. Genya overheard her speaking to one of her aids about you and a possible position for you in the Grand Palace'

Your eyes widened at his words. You had been tolerating the Queen like a toddler, giving into her whims and tantrums in hopes of her staying calm, not in hopes of being whisked away to work for the crown.

'Are you serious?'

'Yes'

'Saints' The weird headache was back, settling into the back of your head like a dull drum.

'Listen to what she has to say'

'Do you think I would accept whatever she has to offer? You'd be a fool to assume I would even consider it.' He turned away from you, displeasure obvious on his face.

'I just ask that you entertain her. And would it really be so bad? Whatever it may be, it would aid our course substantially-'

'All I ever wanted and needed were my Grisha, Aleksander. That's why I came back, not for the Lantsov Crown.'

'I'm not forcing you into anything Y/N. Just listen to her.' His voice was soft and gentle like he was lulling you down from an outburst but you knew he was plotting, taking every advantage he could grasp.

'Alright.' you sighed, still processing all the information at once. The Queen, The Fete, The Grand Palace, Alina, and Aleksander. It was clouding your mind like a fog. 'I should go get ready' Your mind was bursting at the seams with thoughts and speculations, you needed to have some alone time and you prayed to the Saints 20 minutes would be enough to put yourself at ease.

He reached out for you but you were already moving to leave, leaving him hanging in his chambers with a look of sorrow on his face.

Your feet dragged you to your chambers with little energy but much heaviness. The Summoner blue gown and kefta hanging on the door were glued to your gaze as you debated even going to the fete.

Within a span of 10 minutes, Aleksander had somehow managed to overwhelm you to the point of a lingering breakdown. You weren't sad or angry or jealous, you were overwhelmed, your mind was blank yet full and it made you want to cry. The stress of the last couple of days did not help either.

But alas you got yourself together, wiping the lone tears away and putting on your fete attire. It was heavy and comforting, like an armor ready to be destroyed as you entered the battlefield. The foreign diplomats were to meet you today and bring word back to their home countries about the Witch, the Deputy Commander of Ravka's Grisha Army and you would look the part too.

You held your head high and radiated the most powerful energy you could muster while you walked to the makeshift throne room before the official start of the fete. She was sitting there next to the King looking every part of a Lantsov Queen.

The crown settled on her head nicely and looked to be of perfect fit as you approached her, curtseying and making pleasant conversation. It was draining to listen to her empty stories in anticipation of what you knew was coming. In a shocking reality however, you had no idea what she was really thinking and neither did Aleksander, or Genya, or anybody.

It wasn't until she grabbed your wrist tight in her hold and made you kneel next to her in the empty room did you freeze and crumble beneath her. The King was watching eagerly with his head held high and a smirk on his face. In that moment all you were was their subject and she was the Queen, commanding a commander. You were no General, or Grisha, or high ranking officer. You were simply a girl who held their eyes for too long. A girl who was not simple but regal.

It was nothing short of debilitating. The facade crumbling and crashing to the ground with silent thuds while the words stuck in your head like a pulsing bee sting.

'We wish for you to marry my son, my dear Nikolai'

--------

Part 21

Shockerrrrr I know but don’t worry for those who haven’t read the novels, I will not be introducing Nikolai as a character. Maybe I will when I decide to move this to AO3 but not as of right now.

Taglist (tell me if you want to be added to the Little Witch taglist!!)

@theonelittleone @searching-for-gallifrey @0-artemis @lostysworld @xceafh @fire-in-her-veinz @patdsinner33 @cleverzonkwombatsludge @wizardwheezes @aleksanderwh0r3 @tomhollandisabae @hotleaf-juice @justmesadgirl @exo-1204 @houseofdupree @oberonpascal @eireduchess @lunas1x1 @adoringb @grisha-of-shadow-bone @rosiethefairy

[hwari-ssi]

Floraison | 4

genre: fantasy/soulmate au

warnings: it kinda gets angsty, smut (in the future)

word count: 3.6k

pairings: ot7 x reader

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

A/N: omg omg aaaaa sorry for taking so long!! honestly, it wasn’t easy writing this one because of my insomnia. i just wrote whatever came to mind, so i hope you’ll understand (you can roast me) D: oh, and there’s a surprise at the end!! lol i hope y’all won’t hate it

Jeongguk really did end up sleeping beside you after all. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving you alone. He held your small frame against his lean body, your quiet breaths subtly tickling his neck like a feather.

He'd been awake for some time now, but didn't want to go outside yet. Not when you were fluffy and warm, all curled up tightly next to him. He glanced at your sleeping face, lips parted slightly and breathing softly.

It made a lot of sense why the three of them already felt so attached to you. How your senses calmed within seconds when Namjoon touched the crown of your head earlier. You were their mate. Once a soul finds their other half, it was impossible not to be away from them.

That's what he felt for the others, and now, you. He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the bedroom door creaking slowly, a disheveled Taehyung peering in, still very much half asleep.

"Is our princess here?" The older asked, rubbing at his eyes which were red from fatigue. Jeongguk motioned for him to join in, wanting to stay until they had to leave the room for breakfast. The former ambled over to the bed, not hesitating to reach over and wrap his arms around you. Your scent hit him like a ton of bricks. Celestial and flowery—such a pleasant aroma.

The sudden movements brought you out of sleep, and you opened your eyes to see another stranger. Shaggy brown hair, strong eyebrows, sharp jaw, and what an adorable boxy smile he has.

"Hello, darling." His husky voice made you shiver, and the action wasn't missed by the two. Your cheeks flushed with pink, reddening even more when Taehyung brought his face closer. He held eye contact, but you couldn't do it so you turned to the other side, where Jeongguk happily opened his arms for you, caging you in when you scooted forward.

"Gguk?" His heart does a little flip at the nickname you gave him and smiles at the sight of the blush adorning your cheeks, realizing albeit too late at how you were practically attached to his hip. Had anyone else been that close, you would have felt your space was being invaded, but in this case, the faint smell of his cologne and his close proximity increased your pulse rate. Your arms were still around the boy, clinging to him like a koala, and you awkwardly clear your throat.

"Hey, no fair," Taehyung pressed his face into your hair and smiled when he heard you giggling. The three of you settled into a comfortable silence, Tae's breathing was fanning over neck, while the other's fingers danced on the small of your back, massaging the skin every now and then.

Their actions combined turned you putty in their grasp. You nuzzled your face into Jeongguk's neck, almost purring while you gave him the attention he'd been wanting to get from you all morning.

The men had smiles plastered on their faces as you continued to lavish his neck with affection. You may not know exactly what you were doing, but they did, and it made their hearts soar in happiness. You were claiming them, as your soulmates, and you were unaware of that. The feeling it gave brought you peace. At that moment, you understood each other perfectly. This is what you've always longed for. Tranquility. The stirrings of revolutionary ardour. A sort of freedom, if you will.

A gentle knock from the doorway brought the three of you from your daze."Breakfast is ready," Jin smiles at you lovingly. Taehyung almost wanted to protest, but he wouldn't want to keep you from eating. and so he forced himself up, pulled you with him and laughed at Jeongguk who was trying to fix his unkempt state.

The elder came over and took your hand, leading you out the room and down the stairs, into the dining hall. Everyone was already gathered around the table that was filled with scrumptious-looking food.

That's when the others took notice of your presence. You were indeed beautiful, just like how Jeongguk described you. Your gray eyes were what stood out to them the most. A tell-tale sign that you are one of the stars from above. Deep as the ocean, deep enough to fall in and drown, the windows to your soul were. With a simple glance, she could calm a torrid sea of heart ache. Longingly they looked at her, with the warmth of a hearth during Winter's Eve, deep in the forest wherein lovers would share the fire. Perfectly wonderful and endlessly enticing them, every blink a kiss to their soul. They almost melted at the sight.

"Jimin and Hoseok went a little overboard this time," Jin says with a chuckle. He led you to an empty chair that was next to Yoongi. He sent you a smirk, picking at your messy ponytail. "Fucking cute." You smiled shyly as he laughed softly at your reaction. Jimin took the seat alongside you and started placing food on your plate. You thanked him, and he gave you a pat on the head in response.

"These taste amazing," you said, as you happily munched on your baked cinnamon donuts. The cooking duo didn't know they were holding their breaths until they heard your affirmation.  They tried not to be obvious with their staring, but both of them wanted to see how you would react to their cuisine, making a mental note to make these again for you whenever.

You took a slug of your drink, all the while glancing at the sea of new people. To your right was Yoongi, features akin to origami. Sharp edges and angles. Cute button nose, and lips carved like a doll's. For an adorable face, he has such an intimidating glare. You turned to Jimin next, whose jawline was pronounced, lips full and pillowy, and has straight eyebrows. He regarded you with warmness, like a mother would tend to their child. and Lastly, Hoseok—the boy was sunshine personified. The brightness in his eyes reminded you of home. A heart-shaped mouth with a beauty mark placed just between the cupid's bow and vermillion border. He also has dimples like Namjoon's.

"So, darling, how did you meet the youngest of our bunch?" Taehyung asks, rousing you from your reverie. You were now aware that all of them were staring at you curiously, and it made you want to bury yourself inside a hole. You tried not to let the memories resurface, but his face flashed in your mind, making you drop your utensils. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Thank you for the hospitality, it was well received, but I should go."

"Sweet one—"

"No!" Your sudden outburst surprised them. "I should leave.. I don't want to cause you any trouble.." the stare shared between everyone went unnoticed by you. Jin carefully made his way towards your chair and knelt so he was eye-level with you. Your head was pointing on the floor, eyes downcast, and he took that as a sign you were feeling dejected. He tilted your chin up, only to see tears gathering in your eyes, making Tae feel bad.

"It's okay, little one. We won't hurt you. You can be honest with us." He spoke, sincerity filling your ears. You tried to tell if he was lying, but the way he was looking at you told you otherwise. Yoongi's hand smoothed your hair down, the motion quickly lulling you into a sense of security. You gathered your courage and responded in a meek voice, "I had a previous master, and it took me so long to realize he was treating me badly.."

The word master made bile rise in each of the men's throats. They can only imagine what horrors you went through. Stars, like you, are a kind of rare breed that is gifted by the star goddess. You harness multiple powers, one of which being pyrokinesis, the ability to command and emit fire at will. However, your inability to get a handle on your newfound gifts inevitably results in tragedy. When you turned a certain age, you emitted a burst of fire so immense that it destroyed a city block, killing your entire family and everyone else in the vicinity, having no other choice but to leave your home planet, Stellaris. That's when you turned to Asteria, asking the goddess for a new life and change of scenery. She was hesitant to send you somewhere far away, so she settled for earth, where your soulmates were. Except, you ended up in the wrong hands.

A hybrid smuggler, perhaps? breeds like you cost more than an arm and a leg. Maybe the power you possessed is what drew him in. He manipulated you, used you to fight against dangerous paranormal phenomena. You knew you had to get away—you weren't even supposed to meet him. The bastard took you against your will, threatening to send you back if you didn't listen. You lost the battle because of your naivety.

"Does anyone want dessert?" Jeongguk spoke up, trying to keep everyone's mood from lowering as they learned about your life history. "We won't give you back to him, Y/N," The elder states, eyes boring into yours with determination. You wanted to speak, but the words got caught in your throat. "You needn't worry, lovely. We will do no such thing." Jimin reached for your hand and held it to his chest. Still unable to find your voice, you settled with a small nod, making the boys smile from ear to ear.

"Here," Yoongi nudges your shoulder in a gentle manner as he positioned his fork close to your mouth. It had a piece of steak and nicely cut asparagus on it. "You need protein in order to stay strong, our pretty kitten." he says, almost stuttering as the pet name escapes his tongue without realizing it, it's glossed over though. 

You blushed, eyes turning into half-moons as your lips curved upward. "Thank you, yoonie." He'd get so soft after hearing you call him with a sweet endearment. Yoongi's gummy smile was showing, and you couldn't help the butterflies flittering inside your tummy after seeing him smile adorably. The man was usually pretty good at hiding his feelings but, somehow, he was horrible at doing that right now because you were currently in his radar.

"Alright. Since we're finished with dinner, why don't we clear the table?" Jin declared, while everyone lifted themselves from their seats. Taehyung piled most of the dirty dishes, placing them in the sink. You helped collect the cups and followed suit, watching Hoseok as he turned the faucet on with a sponge in hand. "Can I help?" You tugged on his sweater, your shy demeanor made him want to coo at you.

"Of course, little one. You can dry the dishes and Jeonggukie will put them away," The younger's ears perked at the mention of his name, reaching for a towel that was hanging on one of the kitchen cabinets and handed it you, caressing your cheek with his free hand in the process. The others observed the scene, tenderness painting their expressions. It seemed more evident that you fit in perfectly with every passing moment. You belonged here, with them.

"I'll be in my office. Got some digging to do," The elder mouthed at Yoongi, almost having trouble catching the words because he was deep in thought. Chances are, that son-of-a-bastard owner must be looking for you, but there was no way in hell they were going to give you back to him. Not if you didn't want to go willingly. The idea saddened him, because seeing how the younger ones had already taken such a liking to you, it made him feel protective.

"Would you like to watch a movie with us, Y/N-ie?" Jimin came up behind you and rested his chin on your shoulder as you dried the last bowl. Jeongguk takes the plate from your hands and presses a kiss to your temple.

"A movie? I've only ever seen one film though.." Hoseok beckons you over to him and holds out his hand. You let him guide you through the hallways, leading you back up the stairs and into a bathroom. Your eyes widened as you noticed it was huge and prettily decorated, you dare say it might even be bigger than your master's headquarters. He disappears for a hot minute to get something before stepping in, holding a pair of new sleepwear for you to use. You took the soft material from him, and smiled in thanks.

You eye at his arms, one pulling a rectangular, sheer-white cloth made of linen out of a cabinet, the other, a crystal bottle. he leans over the bathtub, turning the tap on and let water fill the tub before pouring the liquid. The sweet smell invaded your senses, automatically putting you in a good mood.

"You're all set. I put the clothes on the counter. We'll be waiting—" He turned his back to you, wanting to leave you to yourself but you cut him off when a whine left your lips. Immediately, he was by your side again, asking you what he possibly did wrong.

"Can't you stay, hobi? I don't want to be left alone.." You felt safe with him. His heart swells with pride. Although the idea of being with you in the same room, having nothing to cover your body made his heart race and face flush. He mentally slapped himself for thinking such vulgar thoughts. Now is not the time, you idiot, the voice in his head kept him in check, and he was grateful.

"I can help you wash your hair," He offered, high-fiving himself for not stuttering. "I'll wait outside. Just call for me, princess. okay?" You hummed in reply. You rid yourself of your dress, letting the fabric pool around your feet and stepped into the bathtub, submerging your body in the water and letting the warmth seep through your aching muscles, releasing all the tension.

You scrubbed at every part, making sure to remove the hidden grime found on your skin. Soon enough, your entire body was clean. Your natural glow was back. You reminded yourself to thank him later for making the water all sudsy because bubbles are always fun to play with."Hobi, I'm ready!" You folded your knees up to your chest just in time as Hoseok walks inside, not forgetting to shut the door behind him.

He sat at the edge of the tub, ready to lather your hair with shampoo when he sees the lines scattered across your back. The atmosphere turned gray. He stopped on his tracks. His gaze darkened. Of course he had to mask it—he didn't want to make you feel sad again, so he takes a deep breath, and decides to inform the others about this matter later. Your well-being was his first priority at present.

Silence fills the room as he massages the product on your beautiful locks. You didn't forget to thank him, mumbling as you relaxed at his touch. He looked at your small form sorrowfully, kept himself from asking for fear of you possibly running away. He only hopes that the time you'll open up to them will come in the twinkling of an eye.

"Everything's going to be fine now, sweetheart. We won't bring you back,"  you carefully maneuvered your body to his front, the water swishing around the tub at your movement. Your collarbones were showing, complexion looking a bit smooth, reminding him of rose-tinged ivory. You're looking better now, the pink in your cheeks much more visible compared to earlier.

"I can stay?" You bit your lower lip, shoulders shrinking. You wanted to stay here forever, but there was a strong likelihood they would change their minds. Because who would want someone broken? Someone like you?

"We all want you to stay, Y/N. Even if it means forever." Hoseok promises, running his forefinger along your jawline, tilting your head up so you were gazing into his dark orbs, slowly pulling you in like a vortex. "There's seven of us, baby doll. No matter what happens, We'll keep you safe." Why were these people so willing to help? It made you want to breakdown and cry, but you willed yourself not to."Okay, hobi." He smiled, kissing your forehead sweetly.

He pulled himself from the bathtub, the smile never leaving his face as he moved out of the room. You smiled in return as he shut the door, stretching your body in the water once more and stood, reaching for the towel, wrapping it around yourself. After getting dressed in the clothes your hobi got for you, you folded the dress and bundled it up in your arms before leaving the bathroom.

"I'll put those in the wash," Jin says as he ran into you, taking the clothes and continued his walk down the hall. You watch him disappear into another room further ahead and made your way to the living room. Upon entering, you found most of them gathered on the couch or seated on the floor, blankets covering their lower bodies.

You were glued to your spot, not quite sure where to sit. A few seconds later, The elder reappears and quietly takes your hand in his, leading you to an empty space beside Jeongguk and sat on the couch, ushering you to sit on the floor right in front of him, solving your little dilemma. You leaned back against his legs and he starts running his hands through your hair, smoothing out any tangled strands. To say you were content would be an understatement; you felt so at home. so peaceful. so cared for.

"Everyone ready?" Taehyung asks, a chorus of agreements resonating throughout the room. The boys settled into comfortable positions, while Jin's hands stayed on your locks, his nails subtly scratching your scalp. An hour later, the credits were finally rolling. Jin looked over to see both you and Jeongguk peacefully snoring, head resting on his shoulder as your quiet breaths lulled him into a deep slumber.

"We should move them, Jin. They'll wake with sore necks if we leave them be," Namjoon says, rising from his seat, gesturing at the others to clean up before lifting you from the ground. He makes his way into their shared bedroom, where four of the elders in the group sleep. He situates you on Yoongi's bed, placing an extra pillow under your head so you won't be uncomfortable whilst in dreamland.

"Sleep well, princess. You are safe here, with us." He caresses your cheek affectionately. "If he does find you, we won't let him take you."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ

"He what?" Yoongi slams his fists on the table, anger flashing over his features. He couldn't understand. He did not want to understand either. How heartless would a human have to be to actually inflict injuries upon such precious beings like you? Just across from him was where Namjoon and Jin were seated, the former tonguing at his cheek as he tried to control his raging emotions. He was fuming. On the other hand, Jin and the rest remained dead silent. The atmosphere thickens with visible tension, each of the men taken aback by the information as Hoseok relayed it.

"Shouldn't we report this to the peacemakers?" Jeongguk turns to his elders, eyes pleading for justice. But the younger knew they possibly couldn't let this matter fall into their hands. The uproar it would cause would surely put different worlds to engage in a war. Everyone knew not to mess with Asteria's children. Because to hurt them, would mean facing one's immediate death.

"We can't, young one." Jin reaches for the younger's hand, looking a little crestfallen. "Besides, I heard the bastard got beaten to a pulp by his own shields because they simply couldn't let him step over them anymore," The elder says bitterly.

"Serves that fucker right," Yoongi scoffs, smirking triumphantly. The man must be trying to escape from the consequences of his actions, he thinks to himself, leaning back against his chair, one leg crossing over the other. At least you can live a peaceful life now, without having to worry about anything or anyone else but yourself. That's what mattered to them the most.  

The soft padding of your feet down the stairs alerted the men that you have risen, your soft sobs reaching their ears as you were getting nearer. Namjoon didn't hesitate to meet you halfway, scooping you up into his arms and hugged you for the longest time. “Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?” He wipes your tears away with his thumb, all the while placing lots of kisses on your forehead, nose, and temples.

He walks back to the dining room, refusing to place you back down on the floor, your face buried into his neck because you were too shy to face the others. Tears continue to fall from your eyes. You’re scared, the nightmares made you terrified. “Hey, it’s okay, baby girl,” Yoongi saunters over to your side and holds your face, brushing the tears on your cheeks and gives you another set of kisses on your eyelids, the rest joining in to surround you with worried looks. “It’s okay. We’re right here, princess. You’re alright. You have us. You're okay."

You cried on Namjoon's chest, sobs turning into sniffles after a period of time. You eventually fell back asleep, with them giving you all of their soft reassurances, and Namjoon's hand stroking your hair gently. You looked so vulnerable and so lovely that it made him want to shun you from the world. Oh, what a dangerous world earth was.

But the thing is, you didn’t know you were lucky to have seven, powerful gods disguised as humans, as your soulmates.

[halfway-happyyy]

I would love something a little angsty with Alex getting annoyed because the reader won't open up to him fully and let him take care of her but he doesn't realise it's because she's independent (yay girl power) and is kind of scared of depending on him incase she loses him and ends up being alone again but it ends all fluffy and cute! 🥺

btw I really love your writing , it always makes me so happy!! 🥰

Thank you for the support my friend! Here ya go, hope you like it 💜

“Your mother did not raise you with a wolf in your chest so you could howl over losing a man.”

As the March sun filtered in through the parted drapes of the penthouse window, you marvelled at the miniscule dust particles dancing in the bright strip of light, how they churned and drifted on in no particular direction. Your lover had yet to wake up and save for the cacophony of the unfamiliar city waking up around you, the only other noise in your room was of his soft snores. You couldn't be sure what time it was; the sunlight pouring in offered little indication. A lingering headache from the night before- a by-product of the alcohol consumed, throbbed incessantly at your temples and you closed your eyes and took a deep breath to centre yourself. When it was quiet like this- when you couldn't spot his impossibly weather-worn suitcase, or the tattered burgundy passport -tangible evidence of the life of a man who greeted aloneness like an old friend- you could almost picture the future you both fantasized so often about. Alexander shifted next to you then, the white cotton sheet falling to rest below his toned abdomen. Turning onto your side, you traced the smattering of freckles adorning the edge of his collarbone like constellations in the sky. Though he was off on a four-month long shoot the next morning, it was not lost on you how wonderful it was to know somebody so intimately, and how extraordinary that of all the people in the world, you got to dream next to him most evenings.

“You’re a million miles away,”

His voice bore the brunt of recent sleep and made you homesick for something you couldn’t put a finger on. “I’m right here sunshine,” You raised the palm of your hand to his cheek, caressed the warm, stubbled skin there, and watched a sleepy grin bloom on his face. “See?” You smiled at him.

“I see you,” He whispered. You regarded each other for a while, neither of you rushing to fill the silence until he traced a fingertip along the line of your jaw. “What were you thinking of just then?”

“I was thinking of how I'll never willingly drink vodka again, as long as I live.”

Nuzzling in to the warm hollow of your neck, his muffled chuckle sent a pleasant shiver through your body. He pressed a kiss to you and asked, “What were you really thinking of, though?”

You sighed softly. “I was thinking of how nice it would be to live in this moment for the rest of my days,” swallowing hard, you continued. “But that's woefully unrealistic so I will be content with however long this lasts.”

Alexander pulled away to gaze at you, his expression dubious. “Why is it unrealistic to think we could have many moments like this one?”

An almost imperceptible shift had occurred in your relationship recently that had become increasingly difficult to ignore. Where he had always been content to let everything in his life take a backseat to his career, he had started actively talking about a life in Sweden that didn't necessarily involve film. You indulged him every single time, of course. Usually, these conversations took place late into the evening, with you both nose-to-nose between the sheets. “Let’s go to Sweden,” He’d whisper. And you’d nod your head and say, “Okay Alex. Take me there…” And you would fall asleep to his voice; to the dreamy lull of his accent as he spoke of the life he knew as a boy, and of the life he wanted with you one day.

“We just live different lives right now, Alex.”

He blanched. “What on earth does that mean?”

You swallowed hard. “It means that when I can swing it with my job- I take two weeks off to visit you in a random city. I pay the plane fare-

“Don’t do that.” He murmured, lowly. “I offered to pay for your trip here, kid. Multiple times. You refused me every single time, so please don’t sit there and tell me that I don’t at least try.”

“How do you think that makes me feel, though? That what- the man that I’m currently seeing makes exponentially more money than I do, and so he should then feel obligated to pay for my every want and need? I’ve done alright for myself my entire life, Alex.”

I’ve done alright without anyone.

“I know you have.”

“I think,” You sighed softly. “That what we have going for us right now works well.”

A humorless laugh exited his mouth in the form of a puff of air and he uttered something under his breath in Swedish. “Of course, it works. It’s no strings attached in the most basic way. We get what we want from one another, and then we head off in different directions until we feel the itch again. It works, but it’s not enough.”

It’s not enough.

Those words rattled around in your brain, and when you repeated them, they tasted bitter on your tongue. “It was enough when we met. It was enough when birthdays and family gatherings were missed. It was enough until three or four months ago, when you suddenly decided that you wanted more. How did that come about, Alex?”

He shifted onto his back; his blue gaze trained on the ceiling above him. “I am so fucking sick of missing out on those things though,” Tossing his hands into the air in frustration, he took a deep breath. “It’s just time, kid. I can feel it in my bones. I want things with you that I’ve never wanted with anyone else before. I want a life with you- more than two or three weeks at a stretch. I want months and years and possibly even decades with you,” He cleared his throat and continued. “But- and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed it before, that I know that something about it scares you. I can feel how tense you become at the slightest mention of a life together and you don’t have to tell me why, I don’t know that I’m owed that, but I certainly do wonder.”

You turned onto your back and clasped your hands over your stomach, the prickle of looming tears behind your eyes suddenly made you angry. “Like a moth to a flame, I am intrinsically drawn to people who make habits out of leaving when they’ve gotten what they wanted and I’ve made the mistake of making homes out of people before, Alex.” You shook your head, could feel the lump rising steadily in the hollow of your throat. “And every single time it happens, I’m left homesick and alone in the end. And I’ve got no one to blame for it but myself. So please forgive me if I’m just not there yet.”

His expression was unreadable as he turned back onto his side to view you fully. “You haven’t done anything wrong,” He murmured. “I know how much it hurts to have your heart broken; I’ve been down that road more times than I’d like to admit, and I know how difficult it is to pick yourself back up from it. So, I can appreciate how well you guard yourself. But I’m laying it all out on the line for you, kid.” He reached for your hand and brought the back of it to his lips. “And if this is something you think that you might genuinely want- take your time. However much of it you may need. I know the days ahead may not be easy, but please know that you aren’t alone. I’m not going anywhere.”

And a weight that you had forgotten was even there dissipated from your chest in that moment. Though trepidation lingered, it was met with a faint light at the end of the tunnel. Alexander- your sunshine boy. You shifted back onto your side so that you were facing him, your foreheads nearly touching. You inhaled deeply and offered him a small, knowing smile. “Alex?”

“Mhm?”

“Take me to Sweden.”

His azure eyes lit up at the mere mention of home. “Right now?”

You nodded, contentedly. “Right this very second.”

He pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to your forehead and began.  

“There’s something wonderful about the idea of a home on the water…”

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 3

A/N: Finally we get to see Azula’s true nature! Also, the first time we get to see Zuko!! To be clear, Azula is in this fic a lot, but this is far from a redemption fic. 

part 1 | part 2 | part 4

Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 

Y/N found herself outside in the palace gardens. She was running from something, but it wasn’t scary. She was laughing and she heard other girls laughing around her. She began to climb a tree, stifling her giggles the entire time. For some reason, she had to be quiet.

“You’re going to get in trouble for being up there,” Someone said from below. 

Y/N looked down between the branches to see a boy her age. He was wearing a high ponytail held with a small fire pin. 

“Why?” she asked. She jumped down to the lowest branch and sat there hanging her legs over the side. She didn’t want to get down just yet. 

He arched one eyebrow. “Just ‘cause. If the palace gardener sees you climbing the trees, he’ll yell at you.”

“Well I’ll just tell him that my new friend is Princess Azula and that’ll shut him up.” Y/N laughed again and made a start to go back up the tree.

“Well, I’m her older brother Prince Zuko and I’m telling you, you’re gonna get in trouble.” He looked like he wanted to emphasize his sentence by sticking his tongue out at her. 

“Why aren’t you playing hide-and-explode with us?” Y/N asked. She jumped down and landed lightly in front of Zuko. They were the same height, which made her feel oddly proud. 

“I don’t like playing games with Azula,” Zuko said. “I’m ten–”

“–well I’m nine and a half and I can still have fun,” Y/N interrupted. 

“You’re almost my age and you’re friends with Azula? What happened? Did you get held back?” Zuko taunted.

“No!” Y/N made a face. Suddenly she felt very self conscious. She didn’t know what ‘held back’ meant but it didn’t sound good, not when he was laughing at her. “This is the first time I’ve ever gone to real school. I just got put in her grade.” 

Suddenly a fireball landed at Y/N’s feet; sparks flew up and singed her pants and burnt her legs. She squealed, a mix between surprise and pain. 

“Azula!” Zuko snarled. He half stepped in front of Y/N, all hints of the earlier teasing gone. Zuko produced a similar fireball and threw it at Azula’s feet but she kicked it away, making it land in a nearby bush. 

“You’re it, Y/N,” Azula ordered. 

“It’s not fair, Azula. She’s not a bender,” Zuko argued. 

“Neither are Mai and Ty Lee. And they don’t whine like babies.” The last part she directed at Y/N with a sneer. 

“I’m not whining!” Y/N protested. She pushed Zuko out of the way and covered her eyes, beginning to count to twenty. She peeked at Zuko at fifteen. All the girls had already scattered but he just stood there watching her. “I’m faster than Azula anyways. I can catch her.” 

She paused and looked at Zuko who stood there awkwardly. “Are you going to hide or what?” She asked. When she covered her eyes again she heard him run away, looking for a hiding place. She waited a beat before counting again, “–SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN..”

Y/N woke to darkness. But it was always dark below deck. The only light came from candles and lanterns hung in the hallways. Her own candle was only an inch high and fading fast from the accumulation of wax. She could feel the familiar rock of the ship lulling her back to sleep… Y/N sat up quickly. She could tell that it was morning, possibly very early but she couldn’t risk going back to sleep. She tucked the covers under her neck and over her shoulders to snuggle down to ask the important questions. Why was she dreaming of Zuko? 

The day they met was probably one of their most innocent and least notable moments. At least that’s what she thought. Or it was possible her brain was trying to make her feel guilty about what she and Azula were going to do today. That day wasn’t the last that Zuko had tried to protect her from his sister, it actually set the stage for years of him standing up to Azula in her place. Not that she needed it, she could hold her own plenty, but it felt nice to be protected. 

Sometimes she wondered if they had more time together, if they’d have become better friends than her and Azula. Even though he was a fire-bender too, he spent a lot of training with his dual swords. Time that was spent with her on the training grounds. They sparred daily until his banishment; spirits, Y/N was sure they’d even sparred the day of the war meeting that started everything. Now she was going to find him, and lie to him, knowing that what awaited him at home was not a crown but a prison cell. Y/N shook her head to clear it and slid out of the bed and into her clothes. No use in thinking of the past when her future was all that was necessary. Honor and glory and all. 

Y/N could hear Iroh and Zuko arguing a mile away. Azula and her had gotten there an hour before and broke inside the little cabin they were living in. They’d not so inconspicuously gone through all their stuff and upon not finding anything worth while, sat around just waiting. 

“We don’t need any more useless things. You forget we have to carry everything for ourselves now!” Zuko lamented as Iroh dumped a bag of seashells on the table by the door, that looked suspiciously like the same seashells next to Azula on their dining table. Neither one had looked up to see them inside. 

“Hello, brother,” Azula said. “Uncle.” Both of the men jumped. 

“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked as he stepped his body in front of Iroh’s. He looked from Azula to where Y/N was sitting in the window sill behind Azula. Her stomach dropped. This was the first time she’d seen his scarred face. Pink and red scars circled his left eye and wrapped far back enough to cover his ear. His hair was no longer long, but shaved around his ponytail. He looked so much older even though it had only been three years. Y/N wasn’t sure what made him look so different, whether it was a scar that marred his face or the anger that seeped deep beneath his pores. 

“In my country we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions.” Azula picked up a seashell and inspected it. She glided across the room to stand in front of him. She was so much shorter than Zuko and Y/N but she carried so much power. “Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?”

“Don’t call me that!”

“To what do we owe this honor?” Iroh spoke up, breaking up the fight between the siblings before it started. Y/N moved to stand behind Azula. 

“Hmm, must be a family trait. Both of you are so quick to get to the point.” Azula was still playing with the men like they were rabbit-mice. She snapped the shell she was holding in her hands. “I’ve come with a message from home. Father has changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He’s heard rumors of plans to overthrow him–treacherous plots.” Y/N looked to Zuko to gauge his reaction. His face had softened at hearing the news from his Father.

“Family are the only ones you can really trust,” Azula told him earnestly. “Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home.” Azula paused to look out the window. 

Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 

When no one said anything, Azula whipped her head back around to stare at her brother. “Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful. I just gave you great news.”

“I’m sure your brother simply needs a moment–”

“Don’t interrupt, Uncle!” Her voice changed from sickeningly sweet as she plied Zuko with the words he wanted to hear to savage as she screamed at Iroh. Azula had never learned to be patient, and she wanted them on the ship now. “I still haven’t heard my thank you,” She growled at Zuko. “I’m not a messenger. I didn’t have to come all this way. I could have sent Y/N for this.”

Y/N tensed at her words. She bit her tongue so hard that she tasted blood. How dare Azula think she was her messenger hawk?

“Father regrets? He wants me back?” Zuko muttered. Y/N felt like this was a conversation with himself that they were all intruding on. Y/N had to admit that the words that Azula used to trick them were sweet as honey, but also not very believable. 

Y/N touched the back of Azula’s arm. “I think that he needs time to take this in. It’s all very sudden for him.” She sent a smile in Zuko’s direction that he did not return. 

“I’ll send Y/N to call on you tomorrow.” Azula concluded and she and Y/N took their leave. 

“Why are you sending me tomorrow?” Y/N asked once they were out of range of the house. 

“Zuko trusts you more than he does me,” Azula admitted. “I figure even if he decided he doesn’t want to come, you’ll be able to sweet talk him down the hill to our little ship.”

“Zuko and I were–” 

“Oh shut up, Y/N. You two always had an eye for one another.”

Y/N felt her cheeks heat up. “I–”

“Besides that’s the reason my Father wanted you to come anyways.” They had reached the wooden dock that the ramp to their ship rested on. 

Y/N stopped dead in her tracks. “What?” 

Azula cocked her head. “Well, I figured you’d caught on to that already the way you were making moony eyes at my brother up there.”

“I wasn’t–How was I supposed to know I was only brought here to flirt Zuko’s ass all the way back to the Fire Nation?!” 

“Just back to the ship. Once he gets here we’ll put him in a jail cell.”

“AZULA!”

“Look,” she snarled. “You’re good with a sword but what the hell is that going to do against a fire bender? It’s a fact that you being a non bender means you’re a liability in a fight.” Azula turned and marched up the ramp. That was the end of the discussion even if Y/N had more to say. 

She looked down at her toes at the blue-green water between the slats. She could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears. She blinked them away and followed Azula onto the ship. 

Y/N fisted her hands in her tunic and stalked to her room. Control your anger, control your anger she repeated over and over in her head. She wasn’t like Azula or Zuko, she couldn’t make something with the anger that grew and festered in her chest. She couldn’t throw a fireball at the nearest wall and hope that her anger dissipated like the sparks that fell to the floor. She shut her door and immediately balled up her fist and let it slam home against the wall. The thin metal crumpled easily under her hand. It stung, but that was good. Y/N let out a breath she thought she’d been holding since the dock. She collapsed onto her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. 

It wasn’t a secret that she was a non-bender. But it’s not like it didn’t hurt to be reminded that she wasn’t as worthy because she was one. 

Please like/reblog!!

[chibinekochan]

How to become a Demon Ruler 110

Part:   01 I 02  I 03  I 04 I 05  I 06 I 07 I 08 I 09

GN. Reader insert

taglist:  @ayesha95    ;  @nomnomcupcakesworld ;  @fex-phoenix   ; @depressed-bixch ;   @kitsune-oji

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

I wake up slightly exhausted. 

  At that moment I remember I have some shopping to do. I instantly feel energized. 

  I stand up and do my usual morning routine but instead of the outfit that Barbatos prepared for me, I decide to venture into my closet. 

 I feel like I'm on an expedition. Barbatos has been very busy with acquiring whatever he could find in my size. A true wonderland of clothes. 

 I'm very impressed and overwhelmed. 

 At long last, I find an outfit perfect for a shopping trip. 

 I hurry to meet Barbatos at the breakfast table. 

 Instead, I find Diavolo waiting for me. 

"Good morning Diavolo. I didn't think I'd see you this early."

"Good morning, what a lovely outfit. I sadly bear some bad news. Some demons caused a massive problem, and Barbatos had to go and resolve it." Diavolo looks very distraught. 

"Oh no, is he going to be okay?" I'm mostly concerned about Barbatos' safety. 

"He is an immensely powerful demon. We don't need to worry about him. I feel just bad that we have to scrap your plans." Diavolo looks honestly stricken with grief. 

"It can't be helped. Undoubtedly I can get to enjoy the town another day. Even when I was honestly looking forward to this." I feel disappointed, despite everything. 

 Diavolo seems to be more hurt than I am. 

 Then suddenly his eyes light up. "I will just go with you." 

"What? Don't you have responsibilities and didn't Barbatos say it's dangerous since you are the prince?" I can't imagine that this is a good idea. 

"I can surely take a day off? And I'm not worried about my safety at all. I merely want to make you smile." Diavolo has no concerns at all. 

"I will be fine. I can probably find some nice gifts in the castle, and can always order something with express shipping." I find his offer very sweet, but Barbatos’ possible reaction makes me very worried. Mostly for Diavolo. 

 "Nonsense. I will simply wear a disguise and will take all the blame from Barbatos." He waves me off. I somehow start thinking that Diavolo just genuinely wants to go to the city. He seemed pretty excited about going. 

  "What if you get attacked?" I still can't shake the bad feeling in my gut. 

"I'm touched that you worry about my health but I assure you that there aren't many demons that could hurt me. In addition, I will gladly protect you with my life." He says this so casually that my mouth almost drops. 

"Please don't do that. I would never be able to be happy if you would get injured because of me." I somehow feel very sad thinking about this. 

Diavolo looks at me with gentle eyes and places his big hand on my head. "I won't let that happen." 

 My heart beats like a drum. 

Suddenly I have forgotten any argument that I could present. 

 "So does that cover all of your concerns?" Diavolo looks at me with his nonchalant eyes. 

"Not really... but I trust you." I somehow can't resist him at all. Truly dangerous. 

Diavolo nods with a beaming smile. "Then let's go." He holds his big hand out towards me. His eyes meet mine. I have absolutely no way of saying no right now. 

 So I take his hand. It's just as pleasant as it was the last time. I smile at him. "Yes, let's go." This is very charming and thoughtful of Diavolo.

 Maybe there is nothing to worry about? Honestly, who could be stronger than the demon prince? Well, maybe his father. 

 I will just enjoy this day with all my heart. 

 With this decision made I feel much better. 

  So we head into town. I'm pretty surprised to find it looking pretty normal. Other than that everybody is a demon. 

 True to his word nobody seems to take note of Diavolo. 

 I kinda just look at everything for a while. Everything seems new and exciting while being strangely ordinary. 

 There is a clothing store with some very nice stuff. I find something I like and want to show it to Diavolo. I turn around, just to find Diavolo is no longer there. 

 He is so tall it's a mystery how he just straight-up vanished. 

 I don't know where I am right now. The best option I have is to call Diavolo. 

 Just before I get my phone out a man with curly flaxen hair and striking eyes. If I had to recipe him in one word it would be gorgeous. 

"Sorry dear, but would you mind telling me where you found that shirt?" He asks me with a seductive smile. 

"Right over there. If you get it for yourself, you should get it in pink." I blurt out without much thought. 

"Haha, I see you possess a sense of my style. Would you mind helping me for a little moment? I promise I will make up for it." He looks at me in a flirty manner. I feel flustered about someone so pretty hitting on me but I can't get distracted. "Sorry but I just got separated from my Ummm brother. So I need to find him." I almost slip and call him Diavolo. I can't let a stranger know who I am with. 

"So your umm brother can't even wait a single moment longer?" He smiles at me with his flirty gaze, somehow it fills me with an abnormal desire to follow along with his request. It's the strangest sensation. 

"Well… I mean…" I don't know why, but I can't seem to refuse him.

"Pretty please? I know you won't regret it." He lulls me with his eyes. Like a hunter eyeing his prey. 

His hand nonchalantly grazed my arm, a shiver followed his touch. Such a mysterious feeling. Then suddenly an electric spark flows between us. "Ahh." I yelp in pain and jerk my arm back. Whatever happened between us is suddenly gone. "I should go now." 

"How very interesting of you to break my charm like that." He looks at me very amused. 

I look at him in confusion. "Are you an incubus?" 

He giggles. "I might be to some but no." 

"Asmo what are you doing?" I hear someone speaking in a harsh tone. 

"I was just passing time." Asmo shrugs. 

I look at the tall raven-haired man that has just called out to him. He seems very impressive. 

That name, though. "Wait, are you one of the seven demon brothers?" 

"Do you want an autograph?" He flashes me a sparkling smile. 

"Not at all. The name was just familiar." I couldn't care any less to be honest. 

"There you are, I was looking everywhere." Then I hear Diavolos familiar voice. 

 I feel immense relief. The tall black-haired man looks at Diavolo with some sort of annoyance. 

"Sorry, I just saw something nice, and then you were gone." I feel ashamed that I got lost like a small child. 

"That was on you Diavolo. Lucky it was only Asmo who ran into you. Has he done anything to you?" Initially, he looks at Diavolo and then at Asmo and me. Asmo seems utterly amused by the whole situation. 

"No." I don't think I should mention him trying to charm me. 

"Asmo did you try anything?" The tall man sternly looks at Asmo. 

Asmo shrugs. "I might have tried to charm them, but it wasn't working." 

 Here I tried to assist him but he just straight-up admits it. 

"So your charm wasn't effective? That's pretty impressive." Diavolo seems proud of me. I don't understand it but it feels nice. 

"Well maybe impressive, but still having a human running around here will only cause trouble." The black-haired man doesn't seem to hold back in front of Diavolo. They must be close. 

"Especially such a delightful one." Asmo chimes on from behind me. I'm not sure what to feel about his comment. 

"Right? I haven't even introduced you probably yet. Let me fix this. Meet my new sibling." Diavolo goes over to me and introduces me in a genuinely friendly and proud manner. 

"I see so that's the one I heard so much about these past days." The dark-haired man looks at me with seemingly conflicting feelings. I can't tell at all what they are. 

I'm unsure what to say to him. 

Diavolo then turns to me. "And these are Asmodeus and Lucifer." He points at them with his typical smile. 

Somehow I feel very mingled emotions now myself. So this man is Lucifer. I stare at him with awe, fear, and curiosity. 

Then I gather a small breath. "It's an honor to meet you." I politely bow for him. 

I can hear Asmo laugh behind me. 

"You could use some of their humbleness." Lucifer reprimands Asmo and then offers me a slight smile. 

"Well, they are cute. Now I look forward to that party." Asmo seems very cheerful. 

"First of all we have to finish our business here so come on now," Lucifer speaks to Asmo like he is a small child. 

"But I wanted to purchase this." Asmo sighs in an overly dramatic way. 

"I'm sorry we have to cut our first meeting so short. After everything I have heard, I'm very curious about you. I can't say I'm disappointed." Lucifer seems to look right into my core somehow. I'm not sure how to feel about him. 

"I hope we will have a delightful conversation soon." I bestow him a courteous smile.

"I hope we can continue where we left off." Asmo winks playfully at me. 

Diavolo raises an eyebrow at him, Lucifer shaking his head. 

They then walk away. Leaving me and Diavolo behind. 

 "Are you alright?" Diavolo looks at me, searching for any injuries. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry I just let go of you." I had promised him to keep holding hands too. 

"It was my fault. I got distracted when I saw Lucifer and wanted to introduce you, but when I turned back around you vanished." Diavolo is feeling guilty. 

"I got distracted by the clothes here too. So I guess we are both bad." I offer him an encouraging smile. 

"You can't be bad, so I accept the full responsibility." Diavolo is pretty adamant about this. 

"I wonder what you even told Lucifer about me." This is bothering me. 

"Umm just about everything. I guess you could say I was bragging about you." Diavolo seems very pleased about this. 

"But I'm just an ordinary person. There isn't much to brag about." I feel a bit embarrassed. 

"Maybe you just can't tell how amazing you are, but anyway have you found something nice here?" Diavolo seems to want to change the topic and since it's pretty embarrassing I let him off. 

"I kinda liked this top but now I think it would suit Asmo better, especially in pink." I can't imagine wearing this after all. 

"I think it would great on you, but let's get it for Asmo." Diavolo takes a brief look at the top and then hands me the pink-colored version. That is one present down. 

 I then spot a rack with very stylish-looking sunglasses. "Oh, those would look on Mammon. What do you think?" I hold a pair out to Diavolo. 

"I can see him wearing them, so I'd say it's a great choice." Diavolo approves right away. "You took a liking to Mammon didn't you?" Diavolo seems to ask nonchalantly, but I can tell it's somehow bothering him. 

"He is pretty okay, but I don't think I'd ever date him." He just isn't my type. 

Diavolo nods with a smile, it looks like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. "That's good then." 

Mammons reputation must be very terrible if both Barbatos and Diavolo disapprove so much of him. I can't imagine any other reason for their behavior. 

 "Where should we go now?" After paying for the items we stand outside again. 

"I think Satan's favorite bookstore is right around the corner here. Lucifer once showed me." Diavolo once again takes my hand. 

"You are very close to Lucifer aren't you?" I can't tell why but it bothers me somehow. 

"It's complicated, but he is someone who I'd like to call a close friend but I fear he perceives it differently." Diavolo has a complicated expression. "I understand him better now. He is very close to his brothers. I never fully understood that. Ever since meeting you that changed, though. A lot of his actions make now sense to me. Maybe we can overcome the rift between us one day." Diavolo looks wistful at me. 

 It sounds like their relationship is very complicated. I can't imagine what kind of feelings Diavolo might have hidden deep inside of him. 

 "I hope that I can support you even more in the future." This surely is the best course of action. If Diavolo truly harbors secret feelings of some sort I want to be there for him. Even if I can't completely ignore my pain. 

 "That is very sweet of you. This is one of the things that I love very much about you." He gives me a shiny smile. Strangely it hurts today. Especially since his words of love have a different meaning than romantic love. 

Maybe it is for the best if I strive for a purely sibling-like relationship with him. I feel uneasy about this, but I can't think of a different way to protect my heart. 

 I conceal my feelings by turning away and noticing the entrance to the bookstore. "This must be it." 

"Oh yeah, good catch." Diavolo was seemingly lost in thought. 

 We go into the store, and I head directly to the counter. 

"Hello, I look for a picture book with a lot of cat pictures. Preferably cute ones." I know exactly what I'm looking for. 

"We have a few of these over in the picture book section right over there." The store clerk gives me a normal customer service response. 

"Much obliged. I wonder if you know about a customer named Satan. I want to buy the book for him, and wonder which of them he already has." I decide to flat out ask him. 

The clerk gets an uneasy expression. "I can't just give information out like that."

"I know but it's a present. Imagine I'd gift him a book he already has. He would be extremely upset. I just want to make sure he is happy." I smile at him, knowing very well that Satan is the avatar of wrath. A person well known for his anger. 

The clerk's expression darkens. "He has every single one of the ones sold in the devildom." 

So he is aware. "I see thank you so much." I smile, well of course it wouldn't be this easy. 

"It seems like I have to ask Barbatos for help with this one then." I turn back to Diavolo. 

"It seems he is pretty obsessed with cats." Diavolo seems unsure what to say. 

"It's not an issue at all. I somehow think he probably owns every piece of cat literature that he can get his hands onto. Lucky enough I own something that he doesn't own. A massive collection of VHS with adorable cat videos. These were gifted to me. All homemade and very cute. I will also ask Barbatos to bring me some of my old Manga for Levi." I smile at Diavolo. I somehow expected this. 

"That only leaves a pillow for Belphie but more difficult will be to find something for Lucifer. I heard he likes classical records and other rare collectibles but I'm sure you know more about that."  I look hopeful at Diavolo. 

He nods. "It's very hard to find something for him. He owns almost everything that he wants." He sighs. 

I feel terrible for him. 

"Maybe it would be better to give him something like concert tickets." I try to think of a way around this specific issue. 

"That's not a bad idea, but he rarely gets to enjoy them due to his fame. Trust me I relate to that issue." Diavolo looks down. 

"How about tickets for a human world concert then? Or we could reserve him a private concert. Well, that might be too pricey, but that would be a good option for a future present from you." A human concert would at least solve the fame issue. 

"A brilliant idea. I will also keep the suggestion in mind for his birthday." Diavolo smiles happily. I'm delighted I could help, but it's still hurtful. 

"So should we look for a pillow now?" I change the topic. 

"Yes, there is a luxury bed store around here that just opened. I remember cutting the ribbon myself just a few weeks ago." Diavolo doesn't seem to notice my shift in topics and just goes along with it. 

 So that is where we are heading next. 

 The bed store is very high-end. I grab several pillows. None of them seem good enough. 

"Do you know what kind of colors Belphie likes?" I think this will help me to narrow it down. 

"Hmm purple? He likes cow patterns." Diavolo thinks about it for a bit. 

"Cow pattern hmmm." I look around and see one with that pattern. "Let's see." I squish the pillow. It's very pleasant. "I think this one is pretty nice. What do you think Diavolo?" I hold the pillow out to him. 

He touches it. "Indeed, this will be perfect for him."

I nod in agreement when an overly eager seller approaches us. "That is a lovely choice. We also have a matching couple’s bed set for a very memorable time." They are desperate for sales. 

"Oh, we aren't…" I want to correct the clerk. 

"This is a very cute set. I think we should take it." Diavolo seems to have no clue that the clerk thinks that we are a couple. 

It's certainly a cute set, so I don't have the heart to correct him. "It's absolutely lovely. Should we purchase one for Barbatos too?" I find one that is the same style but a different color."This one would match." 

"What a lovely idea. We get these three then." Diavolo hands it all to the slightly troubled clerk. They know better than to question a customer.

  So we pay and head outside of the store. 

-

 I hope you enjoyed today’s surprise guests.

[doiedreams]

State of Lucidity // l.ty

◈⇢ Synopsis: apparition!Taeyong’s appearances at night is what you think keeps you sane, but what was once a healing escape is becoming an addictive attachment Taeyong doesn’t want you to fall victim to.

◈⇢ Pairing: apparition!Taeyong x reader

◈⇢ Genre: fluff ద, angst ᱬ

◈⇢ Listen to: What Dreams Are Made of (by Evan McIntosh) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

◈⇢ Warnings/Content: lucid dreaming, small mention of addiction, hints toward dream reality confusion

◈⇢ WC: 1.6k words

A view of your drab ceiling shifts into the focus of a hazy atmosphere as your eyelids flutter open. The sound of a vague, lulling white noise begins to fill your ears, as it feels like you’ve been transported to another realm. In a way, you have.

You feel a presence becoming more palpable next to you, and the mattress you lay on lightly begins to sink at your side.

Turning your head towards it, you sigh as your eyes meet the dark, and yet so bright, eyes of Taeyong. With the way his eyes gleam, you’d be able to find his gaze if the room was pitch-black. The corners of his perfectly shaped lips turn upwards and he lets out a soft giggle. You join him, feeling a euphoric feeling course through your body upon seeing him once again in all his angelic glory.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” you whisper.

“I tell you every time. It won't be the last time we meet.” His fingers brush against your hand beside you, and you allow them to intertwine at your side. “I have something for you.”

“And what might that be?” you ask.

Laying in bed on your backs, Taeyong taps his finger against your hand, bringing your attention to the space between your bodies. You feel a cool, smooth surface touch your fingers and you sit up, looking over to find a plate next to your legs. On the plate sits a pile of bright red, crownless strawberries, and a cloudy white substance next to them.

You turn towards Taeyong, who's still laying on his back in your bed looking at you with twinkling eyes, and ask, “Is this-?”

“Strawberries and whipped cream,” he finishes. “Your favorite.”

He reaches for the plate and balances it on his belly as he lays on his back.

“Come eat.”

You shoot him a quizzical glance before laying your head back on the pillow. You pluck a strawberry from the plate, scoop up some of the cool cream with the bottom, and plop it into your mouth. A burst of juice surges in your mouth as you chew, and you can’t help but feel like you’re sitting in a strawberry field, facing the sun with Taeyong’s smile shining just as bright next to you. This feeling of freedom, like you can be anywhere and everywhere on earth without moving an inch, is what makes you love being with Taeyong; you couldn’t feel this way with anybody else. You proceed to crush the juicy goodness between your teeth, savoring both the vibrant tang of the red fruit and the sugary coolness of the whipped cream.

The hint of mouthwash that once resided on your tastebuds when getting into bed is no longer there. It’s as if you've been bound to your lucid dream with Taeyong forever, not once partaking in the materialistic everyday routine involving brushing your teeth, making food, and going to work. Instead, it seems like the only lifestyle you've ever known is the one in which you bask in his presence in your soft bed, having conversation after conversation about pleasant memories that you somehow don't remember by the time you awaken.

“Mm, I love midnight snacks,” you hum, as you continue to take strawberries from the plate.

“I know. That's why I brought these.”

“Don’t you want some?”

“Nope. I'm only here for you,” he says as his eyes twinkle even in the room’s dimness. Catching sight of his smile once again brings butterflies to your stomach. His smile. Such a healing sight makes it so hard to part ways with it. And those lips. To feel them on yours just once would fulfill you with everlasting bliss.

-

“Your smile is so pretty,” Taeyong said in a hushed tone, his face hovering over yours, fingers lightly stroking your cheeks as you lay against your polyester sheets.

Your hands rested upon his shoulders and felt their way up his neck until they reached the sides of his face. “Yours is perfect.”

You yearned to close the space between your faces, but before you could, Taeyong said, “I’m sorry. I should go,” and shifted over to his previous spot on the bed, letting go of you.

“Taeyong-”

“I don't want you to get hurt,” he cut you off. Your perplexed stare sparked guilt in his chest as soon as he spoke. He could practically hear the questions darting in your head at the moment, and in response, all he said was, “Please, trust me.”

You decided to say nothing more upon seeing his soft smile that constantly told you that everything is okay.

-

Since that moment, you’ve wondered, what does he mean? How could I possibly get hurt? He wouldn’t hurt me. Yet, you never dared to ask him. The reassuring smile that never seemed to leave his face was the only answer you ever needed.

“All done?” Taeyong asks, pointing at the last strawberry before offering it to you.

You take it from his hand and eat it, nodding to let him know you’ve been satisfied. He sets the plate aside, and with a deep sigh, shuts his eyes and reaches for your hand once again. You allow him to hold your hand, but keep your eyes open just to be sure he's still with you.

The blurred haze hovering over you slowly begins to slip away as you start to feel reality force itself into your space.

“I think it’s best for me to go now,” Taeyong whispers softly, his breath leaving a phantom kiss on your skin.

You shake your head, rumpling the fabric of the pillowcase beneath your head, as you begin to object. “Just a li-”

“I can't stay any longer. I'm sorry.” The glint in Taeyong’s eyes slowly begins to dim down along with the atmosphere of the room, but his soothing smile doesn’t diminish one bit.

Recently, it seems as though you spend less and less time together. You can’t be upset with him, as you know he tries to make the departure as bearable as possible for you. Plus, he keeps his word: he’ll be back. He always comes back. He’s never given a reason as to why he needs to leave so early, but you're sure it must be the same reason he told you he didn't want to hurt you that night. He couldn't possibly hurt you. He's healing. He's therapy.

Yet, he's an obsession. A medicine that you manifested for your survival. He’s the embodiment of your pain turned to healing, and his addictive nature is getting the best of you. You're losing your grip on reality and Taeyong knows it. The stronger your attachment to him becomes, the easier it is to slip away from your real life. Every single morning, you leave more and more of yourself with him when you get out of bed. Every night, the desire to be with him gets stronger. He doesn't want to be responsible for the damage you'll do to your real-life relationships. Nor does he want to be at fault for the crushing guilt you feel when you have to leave your room and face reality every day. If he’s not careful, you’ll become more and more dependent on his presence to heal the legitimate wounds this obsession brings.

He loves you. He wants you too. Just not at the expense of your lucidity. He wants you to be able to live without him. It’s for your own good.

You don’t know of the damage this attachment could bring. Maybe it’s best you do, but the only desire you have is to spend eternity laying next to him in a bundle of linen. If your mattress could swallow you whole and transport you to a place where it's just the two of you, you’d let it.

Your head begins to swim and the white noise that once occupied the space around you starts to fade out. A tugging force on your hand rouses you from your thoughts, and you turn your head to meet Taeyong’s eyes.

“I promise, you’ll see me again.” He gives you a reassuring nod, accompanied by his pretty smile. A sigh leaves your lips, but in response to his consolidating words, you nod back and squeeze on his hand.

“Thank you for the strawberries and cream. It’s always nice having you here.”

His smile becomes one with a glint of sadness. I was never even here. “You’ll always have me.” His gaze darts away from your eyes and a pit begins to form in his stomach knowing he’s feeding your attachment to him. When will the line between dream and reality become completely blurred? It won’t be much longer, but he can’t just leave you forever. You need him. “Enjoy the rest of your sleep.”

With that, you can no longer feel a hand in yours and the only sound you hear is the slight hum of your AC. You run your hand along the cold bedsheets of the empty space next to you and feel an immediate longing for warmth. The bright red light illuminating from your alarm clock indicates you should be asleep for at least another hour before it goes off with its annoying wake-up call. You pull the covers over your body, and with a tart taste at the back of your mouth, you shut your eyes and rest, waiting to be awakened into your clouded reality.

a/n: I highly recommend listening to the song listed in the description. The vibes are just right and the fic correlates with some of the lyrics. It was supposed to be fully fluff but then I’m like damn,,, it’s a shame Taeyong aint even really there lmao and it just developed from there. as most of you know, I’m mainly a fluff writer. Anything that it isn’t purely soft fluffy content is new territory for me haha. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed it ♡

proofread by: @give-seconds @meraki-mark @byunbaekby @orange-nimon-cross @pastelsicheng @heartyyjeno @drydrops891 thank u! ♡

[nishimochas]

❁﹝ enha!tegories ﹞

‣ ⒈  enhypen as some of my favorite cottagecore-esque songs.

❁﹝ lee heeseung as like the dawn by the oh hellos. ﹞

“ and like the dawn, you broke the dark and my whole earth shook. i was sleeping in the garden when i saw you. ”

light crept through the windows over your slumbering figure, heeseung's eyes steady over your face, studying every curve, angle, every dip and crevice. a sigh escapes him, content, as his fingers brush over your features in a soothing manner. the soft simper he wore blooms into a smile as your eyes begin to flutter open. you share his smile with a sleepy one of yours and snuggle closer to his frame.

"good morning, sunshine."

the moniker is met with a chuckle as he leans in to press a gingerly kiss on your crown. your arms circle his frane loosely, savoring the warmth. heeseung's heart swells when his eyes meet yours. he knows he hasn't yet seen a more beautiful sight, and he doubts such a sight to even exist in earth.

to wake up next to you for all the mornings of his life, to have you as his first sight with each break of dawn – nothing would ever compare.

“ you were the brightest shade of sun i had ever seen. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ jay park jongseong as home by jacob banks ﹞

“ so baby, baby, won't you let me in? i'm knocking on your door so let me in. i just need someone to love, i just need someone to hold. ”

the afternoon had been quaint, pleasant and proper enough for a leisurely nap. you curled up within the blankets as your system drowns out the tv noise, thoughts drifting away. as if in instinct, your hand reaches for the mess of pillows by your side – where jay usually sits, limbs in a tangle with yours as you both doze off. you couldn't hold back a sigh; it wasn't quite like home without him there.

buzz buzz.

you check your phone for the notification. an immediate smile tugs on the corner of your lips upon reading the message.

[ from: jjongddaengie 😎 ]

i'm almost home, baby. wait for me?

and so you set your phone aside and envelope yourself with the soft fabric, fighting the urge to giggle in anticipation. as the white noise of the movie you half paid attention to lulls you to sleep, you enter oblivion in the knowledge that in not very long, jay will come back home and see you as you are. you know you'll be greeted with two arms around your waist and a kiss on the shoulder; and at that moment, you know you'll always find home right where he is.

“ i need someone to kiss goodnight, and to give my heart a home. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ jake shim jaeyoon as coffee by beabadoobee ﹞

“ don't stay awake for too long, don't go to bed; i'll make a cup of coffee for your head, i'll get you up and going out of bed ”

nights like these, when it is calm and the winds are gentle, are best enjoyed with a cup of hot coffee. it's become a habit for you jake to lounge on your front porch, each with a steaming cup with hand as you two chat about everything there is under the sun and beyond. this night was not very different; same seat, same sweaters, same mugs, only this time, there was complete silence between the two of you.

you'd expected it to be tense, for an unsettling echo of quiet to descend between you. but much to your surprise, this... this was comfortable.

"jakey?"

"yes, love?"

you breath almost hitches at his answer – no matter how many times he's been affectionate with you, it'll always feel special. different. like there was no other soul in the entire universe who could ever say it the way jake does.

you take a sip from your coffee cup and glance back at him, wearing a proud grin only he could ever give you.

"let's do this more often."

“ won't you come down and get me? i like it when you hold me tight. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ park sunghoon as yellow by coldplay ﹞

“ look at the stars, look how they shine for you and everything you do; yeah, they were all yellow. ”

driving out at such an ungodly hour was, prior to being an impulse, something you and sunghoon have given much thought to. it was only when the two of you were still wide awake after having tried everything that you hopped into the car for your late night escapade. a song you weren't familiar with played in the radio station to fill the silence, but you were far too focused on counting the billboards to notice.

"twenty two... twenty three... ooo look, it's one of those ads about billboard ads–"

you roll down the car window to see further out, still counting under your breath each time you pass one by. he glances to his side and sees you; you two looked so cliche, almost straight out of a music video. he pulled over at an empty park and your displeasure was immediately made known.

"hey, i wasn't done counting..."

sunghoon chuckles from the driver's seat and pulls you in by the wrist, lips pressing softly against your temple in the most delicate of brushes.

"you can go back to counting when i'm done kissing you."

“ your skin and bones turn into something beautiful. do you know i love you so? ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ kim sunoo as strawberry blonde by mitski ﹞

“ i love everybody because i love you – i dont need the city and i dont need proof. all i need, darling, is a life in your shape; i picture it, soft, and i ache. ”

the sun was especially kind today – it's warmth remained watchful over the grass you and sunoo sat on, but through a veil of clouds so as to not be so glaring. the perfect day for a picnic, as he said so himself. he always goes all out for them; whatever you craved for, he had it all. you looked through his basket with a giggle, noticing a few delicacies he doesn't usually bring.

"why macaroons?", you ask while helping him set up the mat and the containers.

"didn't you say you wanted macaroons last week? i thought i should bring some for you! i tried baking them but they didn't turn out very nice–"

his babbling was halted with a macaroon to the mouth, sending you both into a fit of laughter. you'll never get tired of how considerate he is, how much he pays attention to the things you say and how much sunoo truly cares. you popped a strawberry macaroon into your own mouth and rested your temple against his shoulder. now, you couldn't help but wonder: would it have tasted better if he made it?

“ look at you, strawberry blonde – fields rolling on, i love it when you call my name. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ yang jungwon as santa monica dream by angus and julia stone ﹞

“ goodbye to my santa monica dream – fifteen kids in the backyard drinking wine. you tell me stories of the sea, and the ones you left behind. ”

it's nearing three in the afternoon and jungwon's just about finished with helping you pack. he ushers the last suitcase out and into the car where your father waits for you. it wasn't difficult to tell that he was trying to avoid your gaze.

"hey..." you take his hand in yours, making him see you eye to eye. there's something quite crestfallen with how he looked at you; you had to go and pursue your dream away from home, he knew that, and he was happy for you. but you knew him better than that.

"i'll miss you, dork."

he could only give you a little smile, but it was more than enough. you look behind him and see the fridge door, battered with polaroids, receipts and letters. reminders of you, so he'll never forget.

you wave goodbye and so does he, not caring at all to wipe the tear streaking down his cheek. he'd miss you so and you all the same, but no matter where you are, or where you'll go – jungwon knows he'll be dreaming of you each and every night.

“ i'm singing songs about the future, wondering where you are. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ ni-ki nishimura riki as kiss me by sixpence none the richer ﹞

“ nightly, beside the green, green grass. swing, swing, swing the spinning step, you wear those shoes and i will wear that dress. ”

"hurry, we'll miss the fireworks!"

ni-ki half dragged you through the open venue, clad only in socks and you in his shoes with you broken heels in one hand. you could barely hold your laughter; you'd assume the punch had no alcohol, but given how giddy you were, it wouldn't have been surprising if it were revealed to be booze.

"cinderella! wanna get out of here?", he shouted beside you, the sentiment almost drowned out by the cacophony of fireworks and cheer. you took him by the wrist and maneuvered you two through the crowd. he'd figured that was a yes. you two found a cozy nook under the garden tree, spending the rest of the prom night watching from afar and laughing at his dirty socks.

"man, i'm seriously convinced that thing had alcohol in it." he laughs and nods along, peering over for a better view of your face.

"is that why you're so pink, then? drunk blush?"

immediately flustered, you hurry to cover your warm cheeks with two hands. another laugh escapes him – you almost expected him to tease you. but instead, ni-ki takes your hands away from your face, nudging your chin up so your eyes will meet his. you couldn't miss the smug grin he wore even if you wanted to.

"hey, kiss me."

“ lift your open hand, strike up the band and make the fireflies dance; silver moon's sparkling, so kiss me. ”

❁ :: i'm honestly kinda disappointed in this HSHSB brain go brr, but i hope u guys like it 🥺💕 (edit: i really should have proofread this wow)

[moonsaes]

Take Care

pairing: choi seungcheol x fem reader

genre: royal!au, fluff, smut

warnings: oral sex, penetrative sex, dirty (but kinda sweet??) talk, creampie

word count: 6k

summary: as king, seungcheol often forgets to take care of himself. your job is to remind him.

note: this has been my baby for the past 2 months, and now she’s finally ready!! this is also the longest piece i’ve ever written, so feedback would be greatly appreciated!! all my hugs to @127vevo​ for looking over it.

Your nails are red again, raw and cracked from the counsel that saw too much dispute and too little compromise. Ryujin always reprimanded you for the habit, the steady cluck of her tongue stopping only to order you to dip your hands into the medicinal bowl. She would nearly faint if she saw the current state of your fingers—you’re grateful you let her retire early tonight.

The bath would normally be drawn by the time your foot crosses the meeting room’s threshold. Tonight, the basin sits empty, polished and shining in the dim candlelight. You’re not sure why the girls insist on polishing the wood for it to only get wet again, but they press forward every morning with quick feet and low bows, so you let them.

The bin hanging on the hook to your far right looks as if it can fill the basin in five turns, four if you’re lucky enough not to spill on the way back. You don’t mind walking to the well; it’s a path you rarely have the opportunity to walk alone, so the quiet may do you some good. Maybe you can steal a sweet pancake from the kitchen on your way back—one for Cheol when he returns tonight.

Your fingers tighten on the handle at the thought of him. It’s not often he’s away for so long, but when he is, you’re too aware of how bare the kingdom feels. He had been the first to jump at the prospect of visiting the bordering villages after reports of outside raids, the humanitarian in him bursting out the moment Councilman Lee had read the beginning sentences. His fervor could be misinterpreted as inexperience to some—a young king eager to carve his legacy deep—but you know better. You know the responsibility he’s taken to the very core of him, the duty he lives by to serve those around him. It’s noble, the way he leads for others, far more noble than you had seen from anyone in the court. But it’s also the heaviest burden one could place on oneself. Cheol never reveals it, but as his other half, you can sense it. The long days and even longer nights, finger rubbed to a hard callus from his quill—he loses himself. And it hurts you far more than you could’ve anticipated.

The nearby call of a loon pulls you from your thoughts. Your feet must’ve taken you down the pebbled path to the mouth of the hot spring. It doesn’t come as a surprise, with how the route is well worn in your mind after years of travel, but you hadn’t realized how long your mind had wandered for.

You squat and dip your fingers in the water, a pleasant warmth in the night chill. It teases at the future of a basin full and steaming, ready to knead at the tension living in your body. Your fingers inch toward the bin at the thought, and it’s not until you’re raising the filled bin to your head with wobbly arms and aching back that you realize how greatly you need this bath.

Six minutes at an otherwise leisurely place is pushing ten with the nearly overflowing bin perched on your head. You didn’t account for the steady decline down to the spring, but the uneven rocks that line the path up are catching under your feet now. Every groove and ridge is impressed onto the soles of your feet—your shoes are much too old and worn—and it’s only after several stumbles and a few near accidents that the ground beneath you turns to the fine dirt of the garden walkway.

It’s inevitable that your feet will bear some marks of the journey; you’ve always bruised easily, much to the girls’ dismay. But now you have an excuse to keep Cheol busy outside of the council room, occupied with rubbing your feet as your husband instead of the king.

You follow the short path through the firs before you reach the steps to your living chambers. With careful slides, you kick your shoes off at the base of the steps, paying particular attention to the full bucket on your head. You’ll have to remember to get the thicker-soled boots from the side closet before heading back out. Maybe the lynx coat too, to set out for a dusting. It won’t be long until you’ll need it, from the way the air feels.

With cautious steps, you shuffle down the hallway, turning the first corner and continuing down the stretch toward the bedroom. One of the screen doors is crooked, what looks like a jam along the cracks. It’s something that happens when you’re preoccupied and forget how gently you have to maneuver the doors. And though it’s been a long day, you don’t remember leaving for water with the door open.  

It only takes a well-aimed kick at the base for the screen to lurch back into its tracks. You slide the door just wide enough so the width of the bin can fit through, making it a couple steps before your eyes land on a body sprawled on the bed. Your mouth opens, ready to signal the guards, but a small sigh stops you. You can recognize that sound from across the palace.   

“Cheol,” you breathe, a smile breaking across your lips.

He sits up at your voice, a little slower than usual. This trip must’ve been hard on him. He gives no indication of such however, getting up and walking toward you with a wide grin.

“My love,” he says, cupping your face in his hands, and you’re once again reminded of how his touch stabilizes you. Your body warms as his eyes trace over you, landing on a drop trickling down the slope of your nose. He notices at the same time you remember the wooden bin perched on your head, but his hands beat yours in lowering it to the ground. 

Only with the weight from your head gone do you realize the tension creeping up from your shoulders. Like a bow pulled taut, the muscles breathe with the sudden relief, and you tilt your head forward to massage at the back of your neck, a stray droplet tracing down the slope of your nose at the movement.

He leans close to catch the water at the tip of your nose with his lips. With him so close, you can smell the heady hints of sandalwood, light with the hours of rain and travel. It’s become habit to tuck yourself into the crook of his neck, and when you press forward to settle in the familiar spot, you feel the soft roll of laughter rumble through him.

His lips rest on your temple before traveling to your hair. “Go get ready. I’ll get the rest of the water.” He’s gone with the bin before you can object, leaving you to undress. It’s late enough in the season that the cold has started to creep in through the cracks. Your skin pimples when you slide the jeogori off your shoulders, and you rush to step out of your skirt and underclothes to get to the warm haven of the bathroom. Now fully bare, you can feel the autumn chill as deep as your bones, and you wonder if Cheol is cold from all the travelling. You’ll have to check his toes when he returns.

There’s already a pleasant steam hanging in the air from the first binful of water when you enter the bathroom. Looking into the basin, it’s barely enough to cover your legs, your hips if you try hard enough, but you step in to sit anyway. You’re right—it laps only halfway up your thigh, but the warmth is such a friendly welcome to your worn muscles that it makes no difference.

The heat must’ve lulled you into a drowse because a small thud has you blinking your eyes open to Cheol, kneeling by the foot of the basin. He looks up when you shift in the water.

“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you up,” he says, tucking a stray hair behind your ear.

“So you were just watching me? Should’ve called the guards,” you tease. But you can’t resist kissing the inside of his wrist. 

He flicks your nose with a playful huff before standing up and reaching for the bin next to him, a bigger one he must’ve found along the way. He rests it on the side of the basin, and with your nod, he tips it over to add to the water pooling at your legs.

“Oh,” you sigh as the water creeps higher up your body. The level now rests right below your breasts, high enough that you can bend your legs and sink down to your chin.

“Nice?”

You hum, letting your eyes drift to where he’s standing. His eyelashes cast shadows under his eyes in the dim light, and you wish you could trace them, kiss them until there’s no hint of them left.

“Join me.” You raise your arms from the water to stretch them towards him. “I miss you.”

He smiles and bends to set the bin down. “Well, we can’t have that my lady.”

He’s quick to shuck off his undershirt and pants, turning to place them on the side table. You take the quiet moment to look over his shoulders, waist, thighs—bends and crooks of his you’ve been able to imprint into your memory with an unusual ease. The thought of being able to feel him again after so many weeks makes your toes curl.

“Come here.”

He carefully fits himself in the space that you’ve made, mumbling something incoherent when he stretches his legs alongside yours and leans back against the basin. You follow suit, pushing back onto his chest until you can feel his arms dip below the water and wrap around your waist.

“Have baths always felt this good?” His lips trace at the shell of your ear, travelling down to give your lobe a quick suck.

“Mmmm,” you breathe, tilting your neck to give access to his wandering lips. “Only with you.”

You stay like this, quiet except for the occasional ripple of water. It’s as close to a sanctuary you think you may get with the looming thought of meetings and scrolls, but you push that to the far corner of your mind, running your hands down Cheol’s thighs to his knees.

“Long day?” he asks, gathering the pieces of hair that have fallen from your clip and slipping them through the teeth.

You can’t help the small snort you let out. “The absolute longest,” you say, skimming the surface of the water with gently pruning fingers, “it never fails to surprise me how stubborn old councilmen are.”

“Hey,” he murmurs into your skin, “that’s going to be me someday.” 

“You’re more handsome.” 

His hand finds yours to bring to his lips. You can feel the curve of his mouth against your palm, and the feeling makes you settle closer into the breadth of his chest. The water laps gently around your knees as you lean back, little kisses of warmth to exposed skin.

Cheol must see the beginnings of gooseflesh because he lifts an arm to place his hand over your knee. The action makes you smile—he never liked seeing you cold, even when there’s nothing but a comfortable glow all throughout you. 

Your hand pulls from his grasp to rub up and down his now-exposed arm. He’s relentless in his quest to keep you warm, but you’re also aware of how his toes curl towards your calves whenever a morning snow hits. “Do you want to talk about your trip?” you ask, massaging his bicep.

He sighs softly enough that you wouldn’t have known if not for the stuttered fall of his chest. You press deeper into his arms, as if you can push every bit of strain out of him.

“Not tonight. Tomorrow?” A small squeeze on your thigh serves as a tacit appeal for no questions, not tonight. It’s late anyway, nearly midnight if you’re thinking correctly, so you nod your head in agreement. Whatever can wait until the morning. 

Lips fall to the base of your neck, following the drying droplets to trace down the length of your shoulder blade. It’s a silent thank you for the reprieve he most likely didn’t get from the villagers, the advisors. It’s a silent thank you for being his sanctuary—he’s told you as much—even though you’re a mere attempt for what he is for you. You still try anyway.

One hand grabbing his, the other gripping the edge of the basin, you stand up, grimacing at the rush of cold air. Cheol is still sitting down, eyebrows raised. 

“It’s not hair washing day?” he questions.

“Mmmm, did it the other night,” you respond, letting your eyes wander over his chest. “Come out. I’m getting cold.”

He stands, careful not to splash any water over the side. You bear down onto your right hand to give him stability as he steps out, his wet feet joining yours to make a small puddle on the floor.

“We’ll wipe it up later,” he promises. You’re not one to argue when he’s wet and naked, so you nod and lead him out toward the bedroom.

The chill sweeps over you nearly instantaneously, and you can barely contain the shiver that cascades through you. “Cheol, it’s c—”

His hand leaves yours to cup at your hip. He taps twice, a signal you’re more than familiar with, for you to turn around. You take a look at the sly smile on his face before looping your arms around his neck and jumping. He catches you with a practiced ease, though he stumbles a bit from your added weight onto his slippery feet. 

“Easy. I’m trying to get both of us onto the bed alive.” His words are stern, but the beginnings of a laugh are pushing through his lips, pulling one from your own.

You cling on tighter to tuck your head into the notch of his neck. “Just get there quickly so you can warm me up.” 

He squeezes your thigh in acknowledgement and walks the last steps to your bed. You’ve begun to pepper kisses around the base of his neck, your eyes nearly shutting on their own accord at the feel of his steadily hardening cock between the inside of your legs. It reminds you that you haven’t had him for weeks, but even after all that time, your body responds as if he had never left.

You raise your head when his feet stop at the foot of the bed. “Don’t want to let go,” you say, your lips brushing against his own. His teeth catch your bottom lip for a gentle pull.

“Who says you have to let go?” He sucks your lip with a smile before you feel one of his hands hike your hips further up his, the other moving to brace the back of your neck. The movements are quick, and you only just process the change before he’s leaning forward to guide you down onto the bed. It squeaks in protest at the sudden weight of you two, retaliating with a small crack somewhere towards the center of the headboard.

A few moments of wide eyes pass before laughter peals out, catching in each others’ mouths.

“That’s been there for the last century and we managed to break it in two years,” he giggles, tickling the traces of your lips.

“You managed to break it,” you correct with a poke to his side. “I didn’t steal extra of Mrs. Jung’s dumplings today, so it couldn’t have been me.”

He leans back to fix you with a discerning look. “Hmmmm,” he muses, eyes roaming from across your face, lingering a little longer at your lips. “Whatever you say, my lady.”

You lace your fingers in his hair to tug him back to your mouth. “Exactly what I like to hear. Besides, they were all gone when I passed by the oh—” you groan at the sudden thought. The sweet pancake. 

“The sweet pancake!” You pinch the inner corners of your eyes. “I was going to get a sweet pancake on my way back from the spring! I know for a fact that General Yoo doesn’t let you stop at that bun stand in Seorabeol, so you must be so hungry. I can’t believe I forgot, and—and you’re laughing?” 

When you blink open, you see that he is. 

His fingers rub the space between your brows until the wrinkle disappears. “You look very concerned,” he laughs, shifting up to place a kiss where his fingers were. “And I do love those sweet pancakes, but General Yoo broke off with half the men to do evaluations in Ungjin, so I was left with Commander Pyo, who you know loves those buns as much as I do.”

You wrap your arms around his middle with a relieved sigh. “So you’re not hungry?” you ask. “And you’re not going to have to leave bed?”

“Definitely not going to leave bed,” he confirms, repositioning your legs to bring your core even closer to him. “As for whether I’m hungry or not,” a swipe of his tongue across the seam of your lips makes you let out an impatient whine, “haven’t tasted you in far too long.”

His mouth sears a trail down your neck and across your collarbones before you can kiss him, can poke fun at the sudden forwardness that still somehow makes your fingertips itch for him. All you can do is gasp and let him suckle at your nipple. His tongue is a welcomed heat on your skin, and you can feel it prickle with every swipe.

He grounds himself to move downward by holding your sides, a sight that in it of itself makes you shiver. You can always feel the roughness of hands—have essentially memorized how every ridge and callous move on you—but seeing them, large and reverent in their handling, makes you want to do everything in your power to keep them there. He’ll always take care of you. His eyes say it first, and his body never fails to assure it.

But you need him to feel the same unwavering devotion. Even when he’s gone and especially when he’s not. He never asks, never will, but there’s no one more deserving of something so unconditional.

“Cheol,” you murmur, while he kisses over the soft spot on your stomach. “Stop.” You tug gently at his hair.

His lips pull away, and his eyes are on you. “Everything okay, love?” 

“Yes, of course,” you assure with a small nod. “I just—I want to take care of you.”

“You want to take care of me?” he asks with furrowed brows. His hands are still heavy at your sides, and you reach down to grasp at his wrists. He lets you guide him onto his back, lets you straddle his hips and hover yourself over where you need him most.

He’s looking at you through half-lidded eyes as you bring yourself onto his cock, using your anchored hands to slide him back and forth between your lips. You’re already wet—have been since the moment he carried you to the bed—so he slips through with an easy slick. The head of his cock kisses your clit on one rock of your hips, sending a tingle through your core that makes you bow your head. He groans too, responding with a buck that shifts you higher up his pelvis.

“Love,” he sighs before pressing forward to kiss your lips. When he speaks again, he does so softly. “Let me taste you.”

“Mmmm,” you mumble, trying to temper your voice from whining. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you remember?” You squeeze his wrists in reminder, though you know he could easily break free. 

He smiles at the same thought. “I remember, but—” he wriggles his hands from your grasp to settle at your hips. “I think the best way for you to take care of me—” he lets out a small hiss when he lifts you off him, guiding you to turn around so you’re facing away from him. You lick your lips at the sight of his heavy cock straining against his stomach, but you’re cut off by a swift tug that pulls you back.

“Is to give me what I want.” The last few words are hummed against your skin as his lips trace the inside of your thighs. He’s taking his time nipping around the soft skin, tending to each mark with a soothing hum. Every movement is slow, purposeful, too much so for your growing impatience. You reach to run a light finger over a vein on his cock in hopes of provoking him, but he only tightens his hold on your legs. Even with you closer to his mouth, he’s still lingering around where you need him the most.

“Cheol,” you whine, pushing your hips back. “Don’t tease.”

He licks a quick stripe up the length of your lips, making you gasp and buck your hips back. His mouth is gone too soon, leaving only his hands to anchor you from seeking his tongue again. 

“What I want, remember?” 

“Fuck.”

It sounds like a promise he would make when he’s feeling indulgent, with no other goal than to get you begging. So it comes unexpected when he pulls your body down at the same time his neck cranes up. His mouth lands hot on your center, tongue pushing through to lick at your core. You blink your eyes close with a moan as his attention moves to your clit, his tongue landing quick flicks on it. The pressure’s delicious, a burning heat that makes your toes curl into the sheets. You feel as if you can cave in on yourself and still remember the imprints of his mouth. It’s so generous—the way this bliss always consumes you—that you don’t realize that his hips are moving in tandem to yours, have been for some time.

His cock is somehow even harder than before, following the path of his hips with a heaviness that makes your mouth water. You know tonight is for him, but you also think you won’t make it to see to his pleasure if you don’t feel him on your tongue.

And you can’t help the pride that streaks straight from your core to your heart when he groans at the welcome of your mouth. You start off slow—kitten licks across his slit to hear more of his muffled sounds until you wrap your lips around his head. He sucks your clit in response, thrumming over your bud with an insistent tongue when you begin to guide him further to the back of your mouth.

You begin a slow bob up and down, easing your mouth further down him each time. Your hand works his base, twisting up the smooth skin with help from the wetness dribbling from your mouth. He’s thick enough that you can’t wrap your palm completely around him, but you try anyway, eager to not leave any part of his cock untouched.

He breathes it into your thigh, where you can already feel slick smearing. “You taste so good, love. Love when you let me taste you like this. Want you just like this when you come.”

All you can do is moan around his cock and hope he can taste how wet you are. You ease your mouth off to catch your breath, your hand replacing it to set a steady rhythm up and down his cock. It’s a comfortable pace with the wetness from your mouth, and for a few moments it’s just this—the sound of your hand and his tongue warming the room.

Your whine breaks the tempo at the feel of his fingers joining his tongue before slipping into your core. He enters easily with two fingers, pulling a quiet squelch when he’s up to his knuckles. His fingers aren’t moving, waiting for you to adjust to the fullness, but you need him to move. Need him to curl his fingers and sink back and forth into you so some of the tension in your lower stomach can be relieved. He’s taking his time however, pulling out until he’s mid-knuckle and pushing back in as if trying to gauge how much you can take.

You fit his cock back into your mouth in hopes of encouraging him to move. He must get the hint the moment he hits the back of your throat because he pushes both fingers into you with a groan and begins a punishing pace. If his other hand weren’t still secured on your hip, you would’ve squirmed away from how he’s hitting that one spot with practiced expertise. With the way your thighs are beginning to shake, you don’t know how much longer you can handle before you buckle under his fingers and tongue.

You pull off his cock to release the whine that’s pushing past your lips. “Cheol, too—too much,” you moan. It is too much—his fingers fucking into you as if his tongue weren’t already undoing you from the core. Your forehead lolls to rest on his thigh, your hand around his base nearly forgotten because you’re so close. Just the sounds of his wet sucks on your clit could have you coming with a cry. They make you greedy, make you want to bury his face deeper into your core until he can’t remember anything but the taste of your slick on his lips.

His mouth leaves your heat at your words, though his fingers maintain their steady thrusts in and out. “Too much?” he says, words muffled by your thighs. “Want me to stop?” 

“No—I.” Your hips push down to find his mouth again. When he flicks at your clit, you mumble into his skin. “Just want you to make me come. Need you to.”

His hips jerk at your voice—a seemingly unspoken acknowledgement to your request by the way he adds a third finger into your pussy with a squelch. You feel full, as if you’ll always have a reminder of him in the pits of your lower stomach, and it makes you drunk to imagine what his cock will feel like. Stretching you somehow more than his fingers, dragging out of you until you can see what a mess you’ve made on him. Your hand tightens around his cock at the thought.

He groans when he feels your pussy mirroring your hand, clenching around his fingers. “I got you. You can come for me.”

You mewl at his words, moving your hips in time to his thrusting fingers. He curls them to a new angle that makes you drop your head to his leg again, and when he meets the spot with a suck of your clit, the bubble in your lower stomach bursts into hot white. Your legs give out beneath you just as his fingers pull out for support. With his hands keeping you stable, you tremble against his tongue for several thuds of your heartbeat, until you can lift yourself upright onto your forearms.

You know he’ll keep you like this, wave after wave of pleasure thrumming through you until you can’t distinguish the beginning of him and end of you. So you untangle yourself from him as quickly as your sluggish limbs will allow. You turn to face him, not quite letting yourself press into his pelvis.

“Good?” he asks, cheeks flushed and lips wet. Even after all these years, you’ll never quite get over the vision of Cheol stained with love.

You can’t resist leaning down and kissing his cheek, which warms underneath your lips. 

“More than good. Always my favorite.” Your hand brushes a strand of hair that’s fallen into his eyes. “Want to make you come though.”

The corners of his eyes crinkle at your words. “Want to make you come again though.”

You shoot him a warning glance. “I’m taking care of you, remember?” you say, raising onto your knees and placing your hands onto the planes of his chest. The skin’s smooth and taut, and when you run your palm over the left side, you can feel the unmistakable beat of his heart—a stamp you hope will never fade from your memory.

“As if I can forget,” he replies with a smile. “Not every day the queen takes care of you.”

His hands squeeze your waist to signal he’s ready, so you still your roaming hands. There are still traces of your orgasm on your thighs, along with pinkened reminders of where his lips travelled. You know the moment you tuck him between you, you’ll be even more sensitive, your pussy snug around the part of him you’ve missed so much. So you lower onto his cock with care, gaze locked on how he disappears beneath your hair. A quick glance at his face shows that he’s focused on where you’re joined as well. His teeth are worrying his bottom lip as you sink down, welcoming him with a slow slide. There’s a soft squelch when you near his base, and you can see wetness already gathering by his curls. 

“Cheol,” you let out a shaky breath as he bottoms out. He’s deep, deeper than you remember him being, but it’s been a few weeks since he’s filled you like this. You lean into your hands to lift yourself up, but his hands grip your thighs before you can shift.

His lips are parted enough so you can hear his sharp exhales. “Love,” he says, cutting off when you lean forward to place your forearms on either side of his head. A low grumble vibrates through his chest, and you can’t resist dropping a kiss to the tip of his nose. “You have to stay still for a little or I’m going to come.” He grits his teeth when you settle your hips further back, somehow taking even more of him.

A warning flashes in his eyes, stopping your movements. “Okay, okay,” you whisper, the traces of a smile forming on your lips. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

You hide your grin by taking his mouth, pushing your tongue in to try to distract yourself from the fullness you feel. His lips are giving, letting your mouth take the lead to nip and sip. He tastes like you, something that makes your center flutter. You wonder if he tastes himself on you, if he likes it too.

He kisses you for a few more moments, momentarily diverting your attention from the ache in your core. The gentle bite that lands on your bottom lip however, makes your hips twitch forward. It’s a small motion, but the way his cock shifts in you has you moving one hand down to grip at his bicep.

“Please tell me I can move soon,” you mumble with a squeeze to his arm.

Cheol’s mouth moves to trace over your cheek, toward your ear. “Yeah, yeah,” he breathes, tickling the hairs on your neck. “Move, baby.”

You place a kiss on his jaw before bracing your hands on his chest to lift up. His hands are stroking around your hips, digging into the little notches for a better hold. He’s not guiding you so much as grounding you, making sure that every sink of your hips has you meeting his curls.

There’s nothing rushed about the first moments he’s in you. It’s not until his hands begin to wander, or the ache between your legs begins to throb, that your pace starts hardening. In the nascent bits though, you’re relearning how his body fits in yours. So you take your time raising yourself until only his tip remains in you, and sliding down slowly enough to watch your wetness trail down with you.

He doesn’t demand more from you than this gradual pace, but you can sense his growing sense of urgency by his hands. Once again, they begin their journey of the terrain of your skin, leaving a searing trail in their path. Up the smooth of your stomach, over the swell of your breasts to tease at your nipples, up the length of your collarbone to the base of your neck. It makes it difficult to concentrate on him, when there’s so much of his focus on you.

Intent on his pleasure, as well as soothing your burning thighs, you brace your hands on his stomach and push your hips forward instead of up. You feel his body cave in in surprise at the sudden change, your body now grinding against his with a purpose.

“L—love, so good,” he groans. “Feel so good when you’re like thi—.” He cuts off with a moan when you squeeze yourself around him.

“Yeah?” you breathe, arching into him with a moan when your clit bumps against the base of his cock. You grind back to press forward again, chasing after the familiar tingle up your spine. Back and forth you rock, the slick leaking down between your thighs and onto Cheol’s skin fueling you to keep going despite your protesting legs. “Think you can come like this?”

“Y—yes,” he gasps, trailing his hands back down to your hips to help you move against him. The added strength of his hands angles your clit to rub against him. 

You’re struggling for breath, trying to stay upright by planting your palms against his chest, but the sight of him beneath you with eyes glossy is almost too much to bear. You can easily come just like this, have every urge to with the building pressure in your core. 

He can too. From the little dent that’s formed between his brows to his stuttering thighs, he’s nearly there too. It’s a chase for his orgasm that you will never be able to deprive him as long as you’re the one who can guide him to it.

So you push your own wave down and focus on having him come undone within you. You slow your hips just enough to lean over and rest your forearms by his face. Your pace quickens again to one almost punishing, the resounding thud of skin ringing through the air.

When you bend to kiss him, it’s gentle in comparison. Just a ghosting of lips, but it feels far more intimate. 

“Come for me, baby,” you say against his lips, feeling how his breath hitches in his throat. “I want to feel all of you.”

He breathes in response, tongue poking out to taste your lips. You purse your lips and suck at the tip while you push back with one last thrust, deeper than the rest, and he comes with a cry. A sticky warmth fills you up as you continue moving on him, hoping you can take everything he can give in the moment. His thumb makes its way to your clit and rubs in tight circles, persistent until you feel yourself quiver around him. You come with his thumb asking more from you, and you have to pull his hand away once you begin to feel too sensitive.

Your head hangs forward while you catch your breath. His cum always makes you feel dizzyingly full, and that paired with the flutters still radiating through your body, you’re relieved when he helps you off his cock. You don’t realize how heavy your limbs are until you topple over trying to swing your leg over his side.

“You’re going to kill me one day,” he laughs, bringing you into his arms so he can kiss your temple. His skin, as well as yours, is slippery with a sheen of sweat, and his cum has started to drip down the inside of your thigh. 

You throw an arm over his torso to pinch his side. “As long as it’s a good death,” you muse, smiling into his chest when he slaps at your hand. “Feel good though?”

“Mmmmm. Thank you for always taking care of me.” He places a kiss on your forehead. “Makes me want to take care.” 

[itsthemoofacewriting]

Amongst the trees

So. I’ve been having horrible writers block, the worst I’ve ever had, but then I saw b00giewara’s art on twitter. It’s so soft and pretty that finally, my mind and fingers ran. (Also, just the thought of post time skip Sanji in Water 7 outfit has me foaming at the mouth).

This sits in the same universe as Potato Peeling, for no reason other than I want it to.

Summary: On a lazy afternoon, there was nothing Sanji would rather be doing than helping Nami with her trees. Rating: T. Slightly suggestive. 

This can also be found on AO3 and FFN. 

Enjoy!

Sanji had been in the kitchen for a few hours already. Everyone had been fed for breakfast and lunch (Luffy a few more times since between then) and he’d used the lulls in-between to do his weekly inventory. He’d made more progress after lunch, only pausing to serve drinks.

The pantry was done, which took the most amount of time, and he was just about to wrap up with the fridge. As much as he didn’t mind doing the inventory, sometimes it was a nice quiet task, today he felt a bit restless. It was a beautiful day, sunny with the occasional soft breeze that took the edge off from the heat and he’d much rather be out there for once than in the kitchen counting supplies. It was his own fault really; he’d decided to do this.

However he quickly found a good reason to leave when he noticed the mikans were starting to look a bit low.

And thinking about mikans, naturally his mind drifted over to Nami. Which then lead to him thinking about how he hadn’t seen or heard Nami for a few hours either. It wasn’t overly unusual, during the day they both had things that had to be done but considering the lull- it was strange.

Poking his head out of the kitchen door and looking out onto the deck, there was no sign of her. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were fishing, Franky was tinkering with something, Brook was down for his afternoon nap, he could hear Mosshead’s obnoxiously loud weights from the crow’s nest and Robin was sunbathing. But the sun lounger next to her was empty.

Nami’d mentioned in the morning that she’d wanted to catch up on her maps. Perhaps she was using the quiet afternoon to do that. He’d give her a tiny bit longer so that he didn’t distract her from her maps, but if she hadn’t appeared by the time he was finished, he would take a drink to her and coax her into a break.

With that in mind, he grabbed an empty wicker basket from the pantry and climbed up the ladder to the upper deck.

It was peaceful up there, only the soft wind and distant sound of the crew from the lawn deck could be heard. At first, he’d thought the humming sound was from the crew, it sounded far away, but the closer he got to the mikan trees, the louder it got, and he was starting to piece together where Nami actually was.

It was confirmed when he reached the trees and turned to see Nami bent over and doing something with the soil on the furthest tree from him. She hadn’t seen him yet, too engrossed, and angled away from him. He may have used the opportunity to gawk at her a bit. He may have also taken a few quiet steps to the side so he could get a good view of her behind. But they were together now, so it was acceptable.

“Taking in the view?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder at him and belatedly he realised the humming had stopped. Of course he couldn’t sneak up on the cat thief herself.

“It’d be rude not to.” And even though he’d been caught red handed, he still tilted his head like he hadn’t.

She shook her head at his antics, and his view was cruelly taken away from him as she stood to walk over to him. He could hardly sulk when it was replaced with her sunny smile.

“What brings you into my neck of the woods then?” She asked, taking off a gardening glove to brush a piece of hair out of the way. He wasn’t quite sure why she ever bothered with gloves, she always ended up covered in soil, something that was proven now with the stains on her dungarees.

“We’re getting low on mikans, so I thought I’d take advantage of the good weather to come pick some.” He caught her bare hand in his to press a kiss on the back in greeting, lingering for a second being letting her hand go.

Her cheeks pinked. “Great minds think alike. The weather’s perfect for taking a bit of time out for the trees,” she explained fondly. It was no secret amongst any of them how much they meant to her or how much she enjoyed doing this.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Well, Usopp gave me some compost for the soil, so with that done I’m moving onto pruning.” She’d turned to face the trees, already pinpointing branches and leaves that needed to be taken off. “Want to help? I think I saw Usopp’s shears somewhere around here.”

That was the last thing he’d expected her to ask him, and he was a bit stunned by it, so all he could muster up was a nod as he went in search for the shears.

It wasn’t entirely new territory. He’d helped her with her tress countless times. Held the basket, pointed out fruit she may have missed or perhaps a bad twig that needed to go; it was always assistant work.

Having his own set of shears was a whole new playing field.  

As far as he was aware, no one helped with cutting her trees, not even Usopp or Robin and they were the other green thumbs on board. He’d never been bitter or offended by it, it was no secret how much these trees meant to her and he’d respected that.

But this. This new ground made him a bit giddy, how far they’d come since knowing each other and especially since they’d got together. How much she was trusting him. He was more than aware of how big this was.

He quickly found the extra set of shears from where she’d said they’d be and joined her back at the trees, his basket long forgotten.

“Show me what to do, I don’t want to mess this up.” Whilst he was still giddy, he was gradually getting more and more nervous. This was important and he didn’t want to screw it up. He felt like he was keeping his cool on the outside though as he stood next to her, even if he felt like he was about to have a meltdown internally.

Perhaps he wasn’t being that smooth with the knowing look Nami gave him, but she soon eyed his jacket instead. “Firstly, I think you need to look more the part. Let’s lose the jacket, you don’t want to mess that up.”

He followed her command, taking off his jacket and draping it across the railing. It was a pleasant enough day that he wasn’t worried about it being lost to the sea.

“Let’s leave the waistcoat on,” she said, trying to look innocent but he saw straight through it, although he was more than happy to let her have her way. “And the tie, it might come in handy later. But we could roll up the sleeves.”

Before he could do that himself, her hands were at his wrists, nimbly undoing the button and rolling the fabric up to his elbows. Despite the warm weather, goosebumps erupted along his forearms as her fingers grazed along the skin. They’d been together for a few months now, so touch was nothing new between them, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the casual touches he shared with her now. Don’t get him wrong, everything about their relationship was exciting to him, but it was the simplest touches and how comfortable she was around him that pleased him the most.

“That’s better.” She nodded to herself, hands lingering on his arms before pulling away and taking the shears out from one of her pockets.

“Thank you.” He smiled down at her tenderly and the flush she’d just managed to get rid of bloomed across her cheeks again. He found it adorable how the softest gestures flustered her the most.

“Right,” Nami said, clearing her throat and focusing back on the trees, “it’s quite simple actually. Cut any branches that are damaged, unhealthy or crossing over one another.”

“Like this one?” He pointed out a withered branch.

“Yes!” She confirmed brightly. “If in doubt, it probably needs to go, otherwise you wouldn’t have noticed it.”

He nodded in understanding and with that, they both started pruning. Nami had left him to have a tree all to himself as she worked on the one beside his. She moved confidently, barely batting an eyelid as she snipped away. He, on the other hand, moved more cautiously, considering each branch before cutting it off. She said not to overthink it, but he couldn’t not. He wanted to do a good job; he’d been entrusted with a whole tree.  

A few branches in and his free hand was becoming full of branches he’d cut off. He glanced to the side, wondering where Nami was putting hers. She must have read his mind, because she met his curious gaze, smiled, and moved a basket between the trees they were both working on.

“Throw anything you chop off into the basket. Usopp likes them so he can add it to the compost he makes,” she informed him.  

Sanji snorted at that, of course Usopp did. He wondered if the three green thumbs on board traded tips.

“Which, by the way, I’m pretty sure he’s sneaking coffee out of the pantry to use for his plants and to add to the compost,” she breezily informed him, already knowing what reaction she’d get from him.

“I knew it!” He said, outraged. His inventory checks had been off for ages and he’d been trying to figure out where the extra coffee had been going. “Now I have to fight Luffy off from the fridge and Usopp from the pantry. The one place I thought was safe.”

Nami laughed at his turmoil. “I’ll adjust the budget.”

He smiled at her gratefully for that.

They descended back into silence after that, and it was nice. It was just as relaxing as some of his tasks in the kitchen, but with the added bonus of fresh air and the sun warming his skin. He’d also say the company, but she spent a fair amount of time in there with him now anyway. But it was a nice change of pace to partake in one of her activities together for a change.

Nami’s hands didn’t falter as she softly broke the silence, “The first few weeks after leaving Cocoyasi village, I thought I was going to lose the trees, the constant change in weather made it hard to look after them.”

Sanji was silent as he let the information wash over him, it’d never crossed him mind before, but now he thought about it, it made perfect sense. “I never thought of that,” he said in awe.  

Nami hummed in agreement and shook her head. “Me either! Normally in the winter they need more care and, in the summer, less, but with the fluctuating weather they were all over the place.”

He cut away another branch, throwing it into the basket before moving around the tree. He tilted his head to indicate he was still listening.

Nami continued, “It took a bit of figuring out and by the time I could get a book on it, I’d already figured it out. They’re like temperamental children, I just had to keep my eye on them a bit more than normal.”

Of course she’d figured it out, she was one of the smartest people he knew. “I’m glad you worked it out, the ship would look empty without them.”

“Me too, I don’t think I would’ve dealt with it very well back then if I’d lost them. Everything’d changed so suddenly back then but they were a constant for me, it helped having them.”

He frowned at that; he could only imagine how stressful that must’ve been, but she’d never said anything.

“Not to worry though, it resolved itself and now look at us,” she said, trying to ease the look of concern on his face and changed the topic swiftly, “You’ve done a good job.” She looked at the tree critically but nodded to herself.

She stepped forward and cut off a few additional branches that he’d hesitated over. “Maybe a bit overly cautious, but I knew you would be, that’s why I let you have the shears.”

He beamed at her praise and they moved onto the final tree, working on opposite sides until whatever they could reach was done. They both stepped back, proudly taking in the much neater trees, until they looked up.

“Any chance you’re tall enough to reach the top?”

He wanted to say yes so badly but as he eyed the height, he knew he wouldn’t be able to without actually scaling the tree. “Sorry Nami-san, I don’t think so.”

“Don’t worry, I knew it was a stretch.” She put her hand on his arm in understanding and looked up at the trees. “Bell-mère used to stand us on her shoulders to reach the higher branches she wanted to prune or pick off the fruit. She said it was good for us to learn, but I’m convinced she just didn’t want to haul the stool around with her.”

He laughed with her at that and briefly imagined how adorable the sight would have been until an idea came to mind. He crouched down in front of her and when all she did was blink at him, confusion written all over her face, he elaborated, “I can’t offer to stand you on my shoulders, but I can do this.” He patted a shoulder, trying to encourage her.

She was silent for a moment, stunned at the offer. “As much as I trust you and don’t doubt your strength whatsoever, are you sure you’re up for this?” She asked cautiously.

“Huh?” He blinked at her.

“My thighs are about to be either side of your head. I don’t want to brain myself on the deck when you go down like a sack of potatoes,” she deadpanned, eyebrow raised as she looked down at him.

“It wouldn’t be the first time my head’s been there,” he quipped, leering up at her, eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

She barked a laugh, hand slapping his shoulder half-heartedly in retribution but overall, she was too amused to be angry.

It took a bit of more reassurance to convince her, but as soon as he’d convinced her, he positioned himself and helped her get onto his shoulders. He smoothly rose to his feet, barely wobbling.

Hands down it was the best decision he’d never made. If he could assure Nami’s safety, he could die happily right now. There was so much of her everywhere. Her thighs snuggly sat either side of his head, he could feel the slightest brush of her breasts against the top of his head and her hands were in his hair whilst she adjusted to the new position.

“You okay down there?” She asked, half amused and half cautious, testing the waters to make sure he was okay.

“More than okay,” he replied happily, tilting his head to the side to pillow into her thigh. She was so soft; he was in heaven.

Nami snorted above him, shaking her head and tentatively removed her hands from his hair. When he stood solid, she reclaimed the shears from her pocket and started to snip again.

Before they could dip into silence, he asked, “How often did you tend to the trees together when you were younger?” He loved hearing about her childhood with Bell-mère and took any opportunity to ask about it.

Nami was more than happy to share. “We had a big orchard, so it was almost daily. It could be pruning, picking fruit, or tending to the soil. Although, me and Nojiko spent more time running through it playing games, not so much helping.”

His hand stroked up and down her calf absently, encouraging her to continue whilst he listened. He moved to the side after noticing she’d finished with a section before she had to ask.

“We definitely over pruned when we did help, but she never scolded us,” she continued, throwing a branch down into the basket at Sanji’s feet. “After that she just kept a sharper eye on us.

“Sounds nice.”

“It was,” Nami agreed, “I always ended up covered in dust and dirt. Kind of like now actually, not a lot has changed it seems.”

“It suits you.” And it was the truth. Whether she was in skimpy bikinis or dirtied dungarees, she was the most attractive person he’d ever laid eyes on.

They moved onto the last tree and by now the bucket was almost overflowing with branches and leaves. Usopp would be thrilled, no doubt.

“She sounded like an amazing woman,” he said after a moment, letting the stories Nami had told him of her Mum play in a loop in his head. In a different world, he wished he could’ve met her, to see how similar they both were and see that part of her life.

She didn’t need any prompting to understand what he was talking about. “She was,” Nami agreed, voice filled with warmth. “She’d have loved you -little to the left-” and he took a step to the left, “-she would’ve seen your smooth talk coming a mile away, mind you, but she’d have found it amusing.”

“Like Mother like daughter,” he quipped, squeezing her calf teasingly. Nami gave a snort above him and muttered something he didn’t catch, but continued, “I’d have loved to cook with her.”

“She never would’ve let you leave.”

“I have no complaints about that.” Her home sounded like it held so much warmth, Sanji thought to himself.  

“What about you?” She asked, trying to sound confident but there was a waver in her voice. Sanji found it sweet, after all this time she didn’t want to bring up that part of his life. He didn’t mind, especially with her.

“Well, Zeff you’ll win over easily. He tries to deny it, but he has a soft spot for women too. He’ll just spend his time trying to embarrass me instead.” The day would come, he knew it, but for now he was safe. “I don’t remember a great deal of my Mum; I was too young. But I have no doubt that she would’ve loved you too. She was kind like you.”

“See, it’s that smooth talk that would’ve won you brownie points.”

“Even with you?”

“How do you think we got here?”

He couldn’t see her, but he knew she had that smart look on her face that he adored, and he rested his head back on her stomach. If she hadn’t been on his shoulders right now, he definitely would’ve pulled her into a hug.

“Okay, I’m done.” Her hands were back in his hair, shears stowed away in her pocket.

In a similar fashion to convincing her to get on his shoulders, it also took some persuasion on how to get her back down. They went back and forth, until Nami finally agreed (“If you drop me” “Never, Nami-san”) and then she was sliding over his one shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck, and falling into his outstretched arms. To his credit, he stood solid.

“Reminds you of old times, huh?” He cheeked, beaming down at her in his arms.

“At least I didn’t have to fall through the air this time.”

He let her down onto her feet and he expected her to move away, onto the next task but she didn’t move. Instead, her hands dusted over his shoulders, trying to take off any soil that had transferred from her dungarees.

“It’s been a while since you’ve worn this shirt. I like it.” Her hands smoothed across his shoulders, feeling the texture of his orange pinstripe shirt and the way it fit him snugly. He’d filled out in the crew’s two-year gap, so where it used to fit loosely, it sat tighter across his shoulders. He would throw it away, because really, he knew he was pushing his luck getting into it, but when she reacted like that, he was more tempted to never take it off.

“I like your dungarees,” he said softly, his hand fingered the denim straps as hers rested at his waist. There were dirt stains littered across them, but there was something quite charming about that. Although that might just be because of the person wearing them more than anything.

His hand moved from the strap of her dungaree and swept an errant lock away from her neck, his hand filling the empty space, thumb soothing across her pale skin. The quiet, the rustling of the trees and their afternoon spent together all added to the atmosphere until it had them leaning in closer.

They’d done this so many times before that they read each other like a well-oiled machine. Her hands tightened on his waistcoat and he was going left as she went right until their lips met in the middle. It was slow, unhurried, like they had all the time in the world and really, they did. It felt like they did anyway as they embraced, with only the gentle breeze accompanying them on the upper deck.

They parted slowly, and in his case reluctantly, but the feeling soon passed when he opened his eyes to the sight before him. Nami looked truly relaxed, face nothing but content, half lidded eyes looking back at him and wind playing with her orange hair.

That soon changed when he leaned back into kiss her and was promptly denied. Gone was the serene expression, in its place were alluring, teasing eyes. The sudden shift would give anyone else whiplash, but Sanji knew what that look meant- it would only end well for him.

Her hand was on his tie, taking a step out of his embrace and promptly turning on her heel. She pulled him after her, which she didn’t really need to do because he was glued to her back in an instead, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t a turn on.

They didn’t go very far, only walking around the trees to occupy the gap between the trees and the main mast. In all honestly, Sanji had never really taken notice of it before, but he was glad for its existence when she pressed him up against the mast and heavily leaned into him. His body pinned between it and hers.

It was intimate and if anybody wondered up there, they’d be hard to spot. She positioned herself between his legs, something he more than encouraged as he made more space for her there.

If Sanji thought she looked breath-taking before, it was nothing compared to the angelic beauty before him now. The sun filtering through the trees casted her in a golden halo and her hair looked like molten gold, oozing around her, and making her look otherworldly. She was surrounded by orange blossoms and it was the perfect backdrop to encapsulate her, she belonged there.

Sanji wanted to burn the moment into his brain but Nami had other ideas.

Their next kiss was anything but slow, it was full of purpose. It was the kind of kiss they usually shared in private, not for someone to stumble upon by accident, but he definitely wasn’t going to complain. He matched her enthusiasm, lips sliding against each other’s and his hands found themselves in the back pocket of her dungarees as hers burrowed themselves into his hair.

“Good spot, right?” She murmured, not waiting for a response before reconnecting their lips.

If he’d had the chance the response, he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to actually verbalize his agreement. He was dazed, head spinning, trying to keep up, and although they’d done this a million times before and more, he didn’t think he’d ever be over it.

Although they couldn’t start anything out here, his body didn’t seem to know that as he shifted, ready to roll his hips into hers and hopefully progress to the bedroom if they could make it there undetected, until he felt something press into thigh.

“Is that shears in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

It was a stupid joke, and it ruined the mood, but it was worth is when Nami broke into peeling laughter. Instead of throwing her head back, she burrowed into the crease of his neck, smothering her laughter so they didn’t attract attention. His arms left her back pockets, winding around her waist, pulling her into a hug instead. It wasn’t what he wanted, but they wind this down.  

“That was such a stupid joke,” she said as she started to calm down.

“Yeah, it was,” he said fondly, still soaking in the warmth of her laugh.

“Although I suppose we should stop, otherwise you’ll be in a similar predicament and I still have things to do.”

“Me too.” He looked up at the sky and from the way it was starting to descend, he knew he should really start thinking about dinner. Except neither of them moved, but Nami did rest her hands more causally around his shoulders, matching his hold on her.  

“Didn’t pick much fruit in the end, huh?” She joked, looking off to the side at the empty, abandoned basket.

He’d completely forgotten why he’d gone up there in the first place. “This is much better than what I’d expected.”

“Because you had your head between my legs?”

His eyes lit up and his grip tightened on her hips. “One of the perks, of course.”

“Maybe we could do something similar in my room later,” she suggested, in a provocative whisper, leaning closer.  

This woman. She was everything he ever wanted. He didn’t give a verbal answer, he was pretty sure he couldn’t without wheezing a few times, but his enthusiastic nodding got the point across well enough, and it made her grin.

She rewarded him for his candour with a slow kiss that was over far too quickly for his liking.

“You free tomorrow? I can probably pencil you in for some fruit picking.”

“You’re too kind, Nami-san. Making time for lowly me in your busy schedule.”

“I’m nothing if not kind, Sanju-kun,” she agreed, winking at him. “Right, I really do have to go, see you after dinner?”

She was out of his arms and walking away before he could reply, grabbing the basket full of branches to sit at her hip as she went.

She knew the answer anyway- it was potato peeling night after all.

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Urrrrrrrrrgh. I am so soft for these two, they’re so much fun to write being all soft and in love. This was so self-indulgent, and the story doubled in length because of it.

Usopp, Robin and Nami definitely get together to talk about plants/flowers.

I based my research on orange trees, so if there’s some differences, don’t come at me.

For some reason, my writers block has really exaggerated my imposters syndrome, so if this wasn’t your cup of tea, please keep it to yourself. Not sure I could handle it right now.

Also, just to tease because I’m definitely going to finish them, I had two other pieces planned for SaNami week before the writer’s block, they’ll be on the way.

As always, please excuse any errors.

Thanks for reading.