#words:2750

[just-some-guy-joust]

great news everybody. 2000 word jonny sims submission is no longer the longest submission i've gotten

[everwizard]

My thinker is exhausted. I kinda hoped this would only take one day but I guess I severely underestimated what I'm doing.

[bugsmunched]

"My Slut" - Derek Danforth X Reader

Summary: A jealous Derek confronts Y/N, one of his mother's employees, about flirting with a bunch of guys at a party when they were supposed to be there to keep him in line.

A/N: This was a little rushed ngl, but I did my best My Jhutch hyperfixation is coming back. So expect more fics, and please remember if you have any ideas please share!

Contents: GN! Reader, drug usage, smoking, drinking, plot? What plot, filthy smut, Dom! Derek, degradation, use of 'slut' and 'bitch', choking, spitting, impact play, face fucking, spoiled brat Derek, no mentions of readers' genitals, hate fucking, no prep, no protection (wrap that shit), dumbification, possessive Derek, jealous Derek

Word Count: 2750

SMUT UNDER CUT, MINORS DNI!!

"I'm not your property, Danforth." you spat, venom lacing your words as you stared at him in a cold, annoyed manner.

"Aren't you?" he asked, raising a brow and looking at you with all the arrogance in the world.

God, he was SO annoying. You couldn't believe the audacity of this sociopathic con artist. "No Derek, contrary to popular belief, I don't fucking belong to you. I don't even work for you remember? Your mother hired me. " You hissed, placing the glass of bourbon that was in your hand onto the table in front of you.

"Well I don't think my mother hired you to flirt with a bunch of men like a little whore now did she?" He asked, taking a long drag of the joint that rested in his hand.

"She hired me to keep an eye on you, Derek. I'm a glorified babysitter, I might as well have a little bit of fun whilst trying to keep you sober. "

"Yeah you don't exactly do a good job of that, now do you? I wonder if my mother knew how poor of a job you were doing. "

"You threatening my job? " You snorted, rolling your eyes in amusement. "You're threatening my job just because I flirted with a couple of guys, how mature of you Danforth. "

"just flirted with a couple of guys?" He asked, raising a brow in amusement. "Honey-"

"Don't." You warned him, not wanting to hear the sickening nickname fall out of his mouth.

"Don't fucking interrupt me, slut. " He growled, his eyes narrowing with anger. " As I was saying before you opened your disgusting mouth- Honey, I don't think palming a guy in the corner counts as 'just flirting.' And the entire party does not count as 'just a couple guys.' You're a slut, admit it. "

Your face turned a bright pink, you hadn't realized that he knew about that. It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, the drinks had just hit and one guy kept eyeing you up and down. So, when you noticed that Derek was preoccupied by some other guy talking about crypto or some similar nonsense, you snuck off and made out with the guy in the corner. But you were so deprived, that you had begun palming him desperately like a highschooler at a dance. But before it could escalate to anything more, you heard Derek calling you away, unaware that he had been watching you the entire time, seething with anger.

"I'm not a slut, Derek. If anyone's the slut it's you. You're the one who's hooking up with someone new every time I turn my head. " That really got him going. He placed the burnt-out joint in the ashtray in front of him and stood up, swiftly walking over to you, standing over you.

"You want to say that again?" He challenged, crouching down in front of you and meeting your gaze. When you didn't say anything, he growled and grabbed your chin. "What? Now you've finally decided to shut that big mouth of yours?" his grasp on your chin was harsh, yet his gaze was even harsher. Fire plagued his gaze, and his jaw clenched.

" Let go of me, you sociopath." You snapped, matching his energy.

"You can't talk to me like that. " He huffed, his grip on your chin tightening, leaving red marks on either side of your face.

"I can speak however I damn please, you don't control my paychecks."

"Someone needs to show you how to fucking respect others. " He said as he let go of your face. You rubbed the sore sides of your face, looking up at him with a scowl.

"Someone needs to teach you how to not be such a spoiled brat, you useless fucking-"

Your harsh words were cut off as his hand found itself wrapped around your throat. "shut up." he growled, squeezing the sides of your throat. Your face turned a bright red as you fought back a whimper from the feeling. When you stopped speaking, he smirked, clearly satisfied with the results of his actions. "That's all it takes to shut you up, huh? All the little slut needed was a hand around their throat?" he cooed, squeezing a little harsher.

You tried to speak, but your brain was a little bit fuzzy from the feeling of having a strong hand wrapped around your throat like that. You felt so stupid, so vulnerable, to have been so thrown off by that.

"You really are nothing but a slut, and I don't like that. I can't stand seeing you flirt with other men. You see, I don't have a problem with the fact that you are a slut, I have a problem with the fact that you're not my slut. " He said as malice laced his words.

You gave a little bit of a whine, looking up at him with desperation in your eyes. Your cocky demeanor had completely faded away, as it had changed into something new, something far more desperate and needy. Maybe he was right, maybe you were a slut...and maybe you should be his.

"C'mon baby, say something." he cooed, loosening his grip on your throat for a moment so you could speak. But you were absolutely star-struck at the moment, at a complete loss for words. When you didn't speak, a hand harshly landed a blow across your face, leaving a bright red mark. "I said say something. That wasn't a request, you dumb fuck. "

"Make me- make me yours. " You managed to stutter out, the smack he left on your cheek causing it to sting.

"Oh look, you can speak after all! The dumb slut can speak." He said with feigned amusement in his voice. "And they know their place. " He purred softly as he let go of your throat completely, standing up from his crouched position. " On your knees. And don't make me repeat myself again." He commanded.

You slipped off the couch and fell to your knees in front of him, looking up at him with pitiful, desperate eyes. What was happening to you? As soon as you were on your knees, his pants and boxers were around his ankles, belt resting in his hands, and his surprisingly girthy and pierced cock sprung free, half-hard already from the attention he was giving you. A hand harshly gripped at your hair and tugged you close to him, looping the belt around your neck and pulling it tight, much like a leash.

In one hand he held the belt that was wrapped around your neck, in the other he held his half-hard cock, stroking over the Jacob's ladder piercings. After a few moments, his cock stood at attention, a bead a precum leaking from the tip. He pulled you close via the belt, pushing his leaking tip against your lips. His other hand cupped your cheek, stroking it gently. "Open. " He commanded, and you quickly obeyed.

You parted your lips, which were now glistening with his pre-cum, as he pushed his dick into your mouth. He wasted no time in tugging on the belt, which forced you to take more of him down your throat. The balls of his piercings rubbed strangely against the walls of your throat, but you welcomed the new sensation.

Soon enough, he had forced himself all the way down your throat, balls pressed against your chin. "You really are a slut, huh?" he asked in amusement, amazed at how easily you took him down your throat. "Have you been sucking dicks behind my back? huh?" he asked as he spat on your face, it sliding down, coating your eyelashes in the process. You shook your head, trying to say something in protest, but that just caused you to gag on his cock, spit bubbling from your own mouth and dripping down your chin. It slipped off of your chin and dripped onto the floor. "You're cleaning that up later, fucking bitch. " He remarked, smacking your face lightly.

After a few moments of forcing your nose into the base of his cock, he pulled his hips away, leaving you panting with spit dripping down your face. After giving you a second to breathe, he smirked before slamming back into your mouth, holding the belt tightly in his hand as he began to roughly thrust in and out. His tip kept hitting the back of your throat, causing you to gag, which caused more spit to drip down your chin and pool on the floor.

"Fucking bitch, making such a mess." He growled, spitting on your face once again, his hand that was resting on your face going up to your hair, tangling itself in the strands roughly.

He loved the sight below him; you drooling and spitting all over his cock as his spit dripped down your face, his cock pumping in and out of your throat. The sight alone was almost enough to push him over the edge, but he wasn't anywhere near done with you.

Once again he pushed you all the way down his shaft, shoving your nose into the base of his cock. "Choke on it you dumb slut. " he growled softly, watching as you tried to breathe, which caused you to start choking on his dick, more spit bubbling on the corners of your mouth. Once he was satisfied with the mess you made on the floor beneath you, he pushed your head away, leaving you a panting mess once again.

"Looks like we finally found a use for that mouth that isn't bitching and whining, isn't that right, honey?" He cooed, using the belt that was wrapped around your neck to pull you off of the ground, his spare hand resting on your side. " answer me." he growled, his eyes filled with a dangerous lust.

"Y-yes sir." you managed to stutter out, the name for him falling out of your lips far easier than you would like to admit. he smirked at the nickname, his cock twitching in satisfaction.

"Call me that again." He purred softly, the hand resting on your side making its way to your clothes ass, gripping at it harshly.

"S-sir."

He smacked your ass, "Again." he commanded.

"Sir!" You yelped out, whining at the light sting on your clothed ass, imagining how much more that would sting if you were unclothed.

"Good job, slut. Now, undress and bend yourself over that table over there. " He said, pointing to a table that held alcohol and other drugs over in the corner.

You quickly obliged as he let go of the belt. You practically tore off your clothes, rushing over to the table and bending yourself over it, biting your lip. You scolded yourself for being so excited to fuck Derek Danforth, someone that you were hired to keep from fucking random people and doing drugs.

He sauntered his way over to you and pushed your face harshly into the table, the head of his cock pressing against your entrance. "Fuck, look at you, so eager for me to fuck you. Your boss' son, bending you over the desk and dicking you down, it's kind of pathetic, really. " He remarked, smacking your ass a few times till both cheeks were bright pink. The smacks caused you to mewl in pleasure, back arching against him slightly.

After prodding your entrance with the swollen and ripping head of his cock, he finally pushed past the barrier and sheathed himself inside of you. He didn't try and go slow, he just shoved himself deep inside of you as quick as he could, a groan escaping his lips. The lack of prep caused the stretch to burn your hole, making you wince and take a few deep, sharp breaths. You weren't used to being so full.

But before you could get used to the feel of being stretched out, he pulled nearly all the way out before slamming back in, causing your body to jolt forward, eyes rolling back slightly at the rough thrust. He repeated that rough thrust a few times, one hand resting on your hip, the other shoving your face into the desk. The harsh thrusts drew long, high pitched whines and moans from your mouth, hands gripping at the table harshly, nails digging into the wood.

"ah-ah! Slo-slow down!" You whined out, your pleading being muffled by the table. He smirked at your pleading, hips speeding up, the sound of skin hitting skin filling the air.

"I don't think I will. " He spoke in an arrogant tone, continuing to thrust his hips forward, burying his cock inside of you. A few moans fell from his lips, the grip on your hip tightening, he was sure to leave a few bruises.

" fu-fuck you." You spat, wincing as a hand collided with your ass harshly once again, a shiver being sent up your spine.

"Watch your fucking tone with me. " He growled softly, continuing to harshly piston his hips into you. His nails dug into your flesh lightly, leaving marks. "you're my little slut, aren't you?" He purred softly.

You moaned in response which caused him to smack your ass once again. " Say it. Say that you're my little slut. Tell me that you're sorry for flirting with other men. "

You opened your mouth to talk, but no words came out, your brain fuzzy from the feeling of being fucked like an animal. "oh, is the poor slut already fucked stupid? You're in for a long night, poor baby. " He mocked you, giving a particularly harsh thrust which caused you to cry out in pleasure. He stilled his hips for a moment, laying a harsh slap to your ass. "Still, I need to hear the words...say that you're my little slut. " He hummed softly, massaging the fat of your ass between his fingers.

"I-I'm yours..."

"You're my what?" he cooed, grinding his hips into you, which caused a long, drawn-out whine to fall from your lips.

"your little slut.."

"C'mon, use all your words..."

"I'm your little slut."

"I'm your little slut - what?" he mocked you, prompting you.

"si-sir. "

"Good job, bitch." He growled as he started up his thrusting once again, pulling nearly all the way out just before slamming right back into your tight hole harshly.

Foul, lewd sounds fell out of both of your lips, Derek's head rolling back slightly as he fucked into you like you were his personal fleshlight. He groped your ass, his nails leaving red marks as he marked his territory. He wanted to make sure that people knew you were his little slut, that you belonged to him. You were his little toy and he was your owner. He leaned forward and started leaving love bites on your neck, both in a way to mark you as his and a way to muffle his moans, which were slowly turning into whimpers as he got closer to his climax.

You, meanwhile, were already in a state of fucked out bliss, eyes rolling into the back of your head as you felt that knot in your stomach tighten. Your knees were becoming weak, and your entire body felt like it was on fire. You tried to warn Derek that you were about to cum, but you couldn't talk, so all you did was whine and smack at the table with your hand, arching your back to make him go deeper.

However, he was lost in his own pleasure and neglected to recognize the signs of you getting close, his thrusts quickening due to his own desperation for a release. After a few more thrusts, you yelped, a few tears rolling down your cheek as you came undone, but he barely even noticed, his growls turning into high-pitched whines as his hips stuttered.

You whined, feeling overstimulated, but soon enough he was coming undone inside of you. Thick ropes began to paint your insides, causing you to whimper at the feeling of being so full. He pulled out, which caused you to gasp at the sudden lack of something being stuffed inside your desperate hole.

He stood up straight and looked at you for a moment before realizing that you had made a mess of your own. He smacked your ass harshly, which caused you to whine out. "Dumb slut, you didn't ask for permission. Looks like... you're going to have to be punished." He murmured. You looked back and realized that he had already gotten hard once again. You were in for a long night.

[bts-hyperfixation]

Outside of the Fox

Chapter 31 of 35

2750 words

Y/N longs for a new life when the one she’d been living comes to an abrupt stop. Without much thought to those she is leaving behind, the little fox packs a backpack and disappears. She stumbles across the shelter and makes an interim home for herself while she works out exactly what she wants from her second chance.

Last

You unfurl your legs as everyone around you clambers from the back of the taxi. Seokjin extends a hand out for you, and you take it gladly, using his leverage to climb free. You stumble a little as you free yourself, and he takes the opportunity to catch you in his arms and hold you close, making you giggle as you wriggle to free yourself and help unpack the luggage.

"Aish... hold still, let me enjoy one more cuddle before I have to return to my own empty home," Jin complains.

You do as you're told. You cease your movement and instead encircle your arms around his waist. He gives a satisfied hum as he stretches his neck to rest his chin on your head. 

"Maybe you should just stick around doc," Taehyung suggests wiggling his brows.

"Yeah, that's what we did," Hoseok laughs, "The invite to move in really is just a formality, not a necessity here..."

The taxi drives away after Namjoon finishes paying, and the others gather up the bags from the driveway to lug back inside the house. 

Jungkook is the first to the door, excited to be back in his own home again. Unfortunately, that means he is also the first to see the brunt of the water damage. 

The rabbit whimpers and drops his bags on the porch, running into the living room and digging through the sodden scrap to try and find some of the things he deemed valuable. Namjoon and Yoongi sprint in behind him. Yoongi dives for the utility to turn off the water and electrics, while Namjoon pulls Jungkook to his feet away from the wreckage. The leader coddles Jungkook to his chest and assesses the damage.

"Looks like it hasn't been broken for too long," Yoongi says, "Maybe a couple of hours? Lucky really," He sighs.

"It's definitely going to be expensive though," Namjoon grumbles.

"We will have to get someone in to see if the damage goes into the studs or not," Hoseok points out as he walks through the door, "I know a guy,"

"Call him," Yoongi agrees "Jimin-ah can you help me get the valuables and see what we can salvage from this mess."

"What can we do?" Jin asks as you and he enter the room.

"Can you try and get some of the water out? It isn't too deep, maybe an inch or two? a mop, bucket, and lots of time should do," Yoongi suggests.

You and Jin nod and get to work. He opens all the windows as you open the cleaning cupboard. 

The cold winter air wraps around you as you go about gathering buckets of water, a far cry from the tropical paradise you had all just returned from. You would’ve thought March would bring some spring warmth but apparently not today. Jin works faster than you, scooping up less at a time for sake of urgency. Namjoon returns to the living room, having taken jungkook upstairs and in to his bedroom. None of you seemed to be addressing the fact that Jungkook’s room was downstairs and therefore likely flooded too.

The door to his room was shut and you were planning to keep it that way until you clear as much water out of this room as you could. You just had to remain hopeful that the door staved off most of the damage. 

The bear drapes a coat around each of your shoulders before taking hold of a mop to help you clean out the water. It takes just under an hour of the three of you going back and forth to chuck water out of the door and wring out the mops. Looking at the floor, you are suddenly very grateful for the lack of carpeting. The rug was easy to roll up and throw out into the garden. The wooden laminate had warped in some places, but was usable for now.

Hoseok’s guy said he could be round later in the afternoon, and Yoongi had spent sometime calming Jungkook down by showing him all of the valuables were okay. He even helped to dry them all off with Jimin.

Luckily it seemed Jungkook’s room was mostly unscathed. A little bit of water had started to wear at the door but it was a snug enough fit to only allow minuscule cracks. 

You all huddle into the master bedroom, lounging around to talk about your current situation.

For the time being though the plumber had suggested over the phone that you stay in a hotel or something until he could work out the extent of the leak. 

Taehyung had happily offered to pay for a place for you all to stay as well as the repairs necessary, but the vein in Namjoon’s neck had almost ruptured at the thought. A holiday was one thing (that he still wasn’t thrilled about), but necessities were something he was unwilling to let others take care of. Namjoon really couldn’t afford for 7 of you to stay in a hotel until repairs were complete

Hoseok asked if his old landlord had found a new lodger yet, he’d had a good rent deal that would’ve been cramped but doable. Regrettably the landlord had already signed a new lease.

“My place it is then!” Jin announced to the room.

“We can’t ask that of you.” Namjoon sighed.

“Then what exactly do you think you’re going to do? Live in this sodden house until you finally have the funds to fix it, in like what? Six months? A year?” Jin levels Namjoon with his most sarcastic look.

He is right of course. They didn’t know the extent of damage yet but it wasn’t going to come cheap. If Namjoon accepted all of your help it would take maybe a couple of weeks. On his already tight salary alone? It would be almost impossible. 

Namjoon looks a mixture of insulted and just plain sad as he processes the true extent of what he is going to have to overcome.

“Come on Joonie, let us help you.” Jin says, a lot softer this time, “Stay at my place and we can talk about the financials of it all at a later date.”

You all nod and Namjoon relents, agreeing that it really is your best and only option. You set about unpacking your summer clothes and packing your essentials instead. Yoongi remembers to grab the airbed from the airing closet too, between that and Jin’s bed you should all have a place to sleep, even if it’s a tight squeeze.

________________

Jin’s house is gorgeously decorated, clearly a professional had been in. There were random artworks dotted around, decorative rugs that pulled the room together, and actual coffee table books on the coffee table. It looked straight out of a beautiful home catalogue. What it didn’t look like, though, was lived in. 

Even the touches that were clearly Seokjin’s were so perfectly put away that it may as well have been a show home. Shoes were all in a neat row and coats were hung and pressed.

“Make yourselves at home,” Jin says, ushering you all through the apartment. 

“Someone should,” Yoongi mumbles, glancing around at the pristine surroundings. 

“Are you okay with us moving the furniture around to fit the blow up bed in?” Namjoon asks.

“Absolutely, change whatever you like. I’m not fussed. I’m barely here anyway,” Jin shrugs. 

That makes sense, he had told you as much when you’d been to the hospital with Jimin. It didn’t make it seem any less sad when you thought of him coming home to somewhere so devoid of that familiar warmth of a messy house. Even in your husbands house you both had personal touches scattered through his expensive estate, in fact, he encouraged you to decorate to prevent you from getting too bored cooped up their. 

You place your suitcase in a corner under the window and the others follow suit getting them out of the way. Hoseok helps Yoongi to move the sofa backwards while Namjoon and Taehyung displace the coffee table leaving a space large enough for the air mattress to fit. It’s reminiscent of when you came home to the nest Jungkook had helped Jimin to construct after your first date with Yoongi. As they squabble about directions and beddings, Jin’s house already starts to have a more homey feeling. Even Jungkook is visibly starting to unwind, his shoulders rolling down back into place.

“Can I sleep where you sleep?” The rabbit asks, sidling up to you. 

He bends so his chin is lay on your shoulder. You tilt your neck so that you can rest your head on top of his. 

“Don’t you want to sleep with Yoongi and Namjoon in this new place?” 

He shakes his head, tickling you in the process. 

“I want to sleep in the blow up bed with my blankets, and you, and Jimin… and Taehyung.” He says the last bit quietly.

“I’m sure that should be fine. Although Jin better have a big bed to fit his shoulders, Namjoon’s arms, and deal with how much Hobi wriggles in his sleep. Yoongi could be in for a long night on the floor,” you chuckle.

Yoongi overhears and groans but makes no moves to protest the arrangements Jungkook has requested. The jackal just gathers his and Hobi’s luggage, taking it in to the bedroom. Jin follows behind him with his and Namjoon’s luggage. 

In the meantime Namjoon has gone from looking sad to looking downright miserable, the weight of the world seemingly forcing his shoulders down.

“What time is the plumber coming?” You ask Hoseok.

“Someone should head back to the house to meet him with in the next hour or so, I would say,” he responds.

“ Great, come on then Joonie, I’ll drive.” 

You take the sullen man’s hand and grab a set of keys.

____________________

Namjoon sulks the entire way to the cottage. Every time you try to talk to him, he grunts in response, eventually you give up and focus on the road. Hobi sent you a text to tell you the plumber was going to be a little later than planned but should still be with you before it got dark. 

In the meantime it gave you plenty of time to try and improve Namjoon’s disposition.

“Do you want to hang around upstairs until he gets here? Or shall we get some lunch?” You ask cheerily.

“Whatever,” he grumbles in response.

You sigh and roll your eyes at the man. He has the wear-with-all to look at least a little bit guilty about his behaviour but it doesn’t seem like he plans to correct it any time soon either.

“Namjoon, you are going to have to get over this,” you huff.

You walk away from him, leaving him alone in the driveway staring up at his home as you storm inside. You don’t wait to see if he is following you.

 You march up the stairs and into your room/the office and slam the door. You’ve long since had enough of Namjoon shutting down every time something upsets him, and it wasn’t your job to baby the man. A man that wanted to lead a pack should be far less petulant about it anyway.

You shiver as you finally notice the chill that has settled through the hovel. Having left all the windows open, and with no electricity, the outside air had made it freezing inside. You crawl onto your futon and wrap the covers around yourself although it did very little to shield you when you had very little body heat to assist in warming the blanket in the first place.

 You wriggle and writhe trying to warm the air around you but it only succeeds in making you see just how uncomfortable your temporary turned permanent mattress was. The lumps and bumps stick out a lot more than you remembered. Your mood soured further the longer you sat but you refused to venture out and deal with Namjoon.

A short while later, there is a soft knock on the door and a sheepish bear poked his head in.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

You take one look at him and remember how warm he always is and decide to forgive him instantly for his attitude. You open up the duvet wide enough to invite him in and he takes the chance immediately, diving into the empty space beside you. He swings his arms around your shoulders and pulls you into his lap. He still seems unwilling to have a conversation but it’s an improvement. And you get to be warm.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we really need to,” you start.

Namjoon buries his face into your shoulder and doesn’t respond, so you continue.

“I don’t understand why you are so opposed to everyone actually contributing to the household now. There are seven people that live in this house, potentially soon to be eight if the others get what they are going for… We cannot live on your author salary alone, it’s not feasible.” You comfortingly stroke at the arms he has wrapped around you. 

He sighs deeply into your shoulder. His arms tighten around you and he breathes you in.

“None of us are even pack animals Joonie, this desire of yours to be so in control makes no sense. You’re just going to work yourself to death for no reason,”

Finally he unburies his nose and speaks.

“Did you know my father is a wolf… my mum is a bear, it’s where my features come from. But dad left a much bigger impression on my instincts. It causes me to need to provide, I can’t really control it.”

So many things about him finally click into place with his admission. Wolves were known to be overprotective, to an almost aggressive degree. As with most scientific or technological advancements the hybrid experiment was originally  an act of war. So when hybrids first came into being wolves had been mixed into the DNA a lot to try and make loyal and fearsome soldiers. As hybrids became more common place, wolves became less common because their instincts were too strong, although obviously those that already existed were breeding.

So all of Namjoon’s possessive quirks and aggressive reactions suddenly made a lot more sense.

“I understand on an intellectual level that we would be far better off if I let you all chip in. Taehyung’s like a millionaire or something for fuck sake!”

He pushes you away a little as he becomes annoyed again. You shuffle on to the futon and face him. He buries his face in his hands to not look at you.

“I hate this part of myself, it’s why I get so angry. I’m never angry with you guys… unless it’s about Jungkook, but that’s a separate issue.”

You put a hand on each of his knees, drawing slow circles to try and comfort him. 

He goes on to explain how his father had drilled into him that he should always be in charge, that he needed to provide, that he would one day be an alpha of his own pack. His father would be disappointed whenever Namjoon displayed less than what he thought of as perfect alpha behaviour. A disappointment that left clear marks on his subconscious 

He still won’t look up.

You reach up and pull him into your lap. He allows it, laying his head on your thigh. You stroke his hair and shush him gently.

“Maybe we should talk about getting a therapist for you too…” you suggest.

He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t pull away either.

“And I really think you should let me, Taehyung, and Jin handle this emergency.”

“You? Y/N you’re a secretary. You shouldn’t be using your little salary for stuff like this, it should be used on nice stuff for yourself,” he complained.

“Joon… I’m the widow of a very very rich man, I’m also worth a fortune,” You point out.

“Then why did you move in to the shelter? Or with 4 almost perfect strangers for that matter?” He stares up at you confused. 

“I wanted to see if I could make it on my own… and I guess I failed miserably,” you shrug “but I’m much happier where I am.”

“I’m so glad you stayed with us.” He says. 

He twists in your lap and pushes up your shirt, kissing your stomach and making you giggle.

Next

Masterlist

Send me asks - doesn’t have to be fic related. Can be smutty, thirsty, fluffy, angsty, whatever you’re feeling regarding BTS. Can be literally anything doesn’t have to be BTS

[davnittbraes]

Affirmations - Part One

Part of the I’m Here universe.

Pairing: Marcus Pike x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit (not this part but the next one 😉)

Word Count: 2750

Warnings etc: anxiety, lots of negative self-talk, a lil bit of dissociation, LOVE YOURSELVES BABES, Marcus being a danger to my ovaries, brief reference to previous sexytimes

Reader-insert physical descriptors: none here but in Part Two hair long enough to comb fingers through

Notes: takes place a week after I’m Here but you don’t necessarily have to read it before this. Marcus and reader are in a newish relationship, their last time being intimate they pushed some boundaries, and reader confirmed she’s got a thing for letting her partner take control. Wink wink nudge nudge. Aka this relationship is heading in the BDSM direction.

I wrote this for @shirks-all-responsibilities, who rants about I’m Here Marcus so much I thought it damn well time he show her some love in return. I mean I also very much wrote it for me, too, like what is fanfic if not absolute self-indulgence 😂

Oh my god, it’s so late. 

You pull into Marcus’ driveway, immediately cutting the engine, paranoid that the sound is too loud in the thick quiet of night covering the suburb. 

It’s too late, really.

But he had said he wanted to see you, no matter how late you finished work. That a week was too long without seeing your beautiful smile.

So incredibly sweet - and so very Marcus. 

Your gaze flicks to the illuminated clock on the car dash. 

Still…

Okay, well, he had replied to your text not long ago, when you told him you were leaving work, reassuring you that he still wanted you to come over, stay for the weekend. 

That had been the plan all week, you’d been looking forward to two whole days with him - the man who had rewritten your definition of romance. 

No, not just romance - relationships in general. What it means to be with somebody. 

To trust someone else implicitly. 

To put your soul in their hands and know they’ll treat it like the greatest treasure. 

And how that trust could lead to not only a depth of intimacy you’d never known possible, but also incredible, mind-blowing sex. 

Last weekend, he’d shown you that. Took control, pulled you out of your own head, stripped away every worry and concern and anxiety and made you come so hard you’d fallen apart in his arms after. 

Then, true to Marcus form, he didn’t push it. Didn’t force you to talk about it, just took care of you with his usual sweet gentleness.

But once the pleasure haze had faded and your thoughts came back together, anxiety had immediately started to gnaw at your throat. 

What exactly had happened? How had he made you give up control like that, become so immersed in the desire to feel good and make him feel good that everything else fell away?

That was so unlike you, always present, always aware.

Though, it had felt incredible - it had been good for you.

A release that went deeper than an orgasm. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like it. Just that… it was…

Well, you never could stop analyzing every single thing that was brought to your attention. It’s not surprising that this was making you go around in circles trying to figure it out. 

Your heavy sigh breaks the silence.

Some instinct tells you Marcus knows. 

There had been moments, during that night, when you’d seen it in his warm brown gaze. 

An understanding. A knowledge of what you were thinking, feeling, that surpassed even your own. 

You need to talk to him. 

So you’d been looking forward to this all week, to seeing him again. Struggling to fight back the anxiety that keeps trying to pull you into a spiral about that night, reminding yourself constantly that it’s okay, you can talk to Marcus about it, he’s safe. 

You can trust him. 

But all that was before you knew that your Friday was going to blow up in your face. 

Before problem after problem was dumped on you and despite your every effort you couldn’t fix them all before they inevitably got worse. 

And now you’re sitting here, long after you were supposed to be at his place. 

The anxiety is gone, now, you’d caved to it hours ago, unable to keep it at bay. It had been replaced by something you can’t identify buzzing with an uncomfortable weight in the pit of your stomach. 

You peer at his house through the windshield, chewing your thumbnail thoughtfully, teeth biting into the quick with a tiny jab of pain that distracts you enough to think through the situation. 

The porch light is on, and so is the living room light, glowing through the curtains in the big picture window. 

Okay, so he’s still up. 

And his texts throughout the night were his usual, sweet and caring and light -

But what if you were misreading them?

What if he’s actually upset with you for being so late?

What if he’s playing it off like it’s fine but he’s actually pissed, frustrated that you strung him along all day, that you prioritized work over him, that you had the audacity to show up at this hour and expect him to drop everything to entertain you. 

Your stomach turns, rolls, slow and sickly, emotion hot in the back of your throat. 

I should just go home, there’s no point in bothering him at this -

A sudden burst of light startles you out of your spiral. 

Your phone, in the cupholder, screen bright with a new text notification. 

Marcus

Can’t wait to see you, beautiful 

Tension bleeds from your shoulders, stomach righting itself with a little flip of anticipation. 

Trust. 

You trust Marcus. He’s never given you any reason to do otherwise. 

And if he says he wants you to come over, despite it being so late, then he means it. 

But -

No, this is too much, you can’t just sit here and think anymore -

The need to move shoves you into action, and you throw open the door and get out of the car, grabbing your bag from the backseat. 

You’re only three steps to the front door when it swings open, light bathing the walkway. 

Marcus meets you before you even reach the door, dimpled smile glowing in the dim light. “Hey. Heard the car pull in.”

Your own smile is an inherent reaction, heartbeat skipping just a bit as he leans in to press a soft kiss to your lips, one hand slipping around your waist to smooth over the small of your back. 

The exhaustion in your muscles leaches out, body swaying toward his, and he pulls back enough to look at you, concern in his warm brown gaze. “Let’s get you inside, okay?”

He’s already taking your bag, long fingers slipping through yours, hand on your back gently guiding you to the door and that unknown weight in the pit of your stomach shifts, edges sharp, bringing tears to your eyes. 

What is it? Why does it hurt so much?

It’s a little unsettling, not knowing what you’re feeling, especially when it’s something so strong.

What’s wrong with you that you can’t even identify this emotion that feels like it’s boring a hole straight through you?

You’re moving automatically, only vaguely aware of the door shutting behind you, the pleasant smile pasted on your face. Going through the motions, taking off your shoes, jacket, straightening your clothes.

Suddenly, large hands cup your face and a jolt runs through you, so startling it pushes a gasp from your lungs.

Brown eyes fill your vision, blurred by the threat of tears. 

Soft words seep through the buzzing in your head - when had that started?

“Are you okay?” 

Shit -

You haven’t said anything, haven’t spoken to him since you pulled in. Frustration skips along your pulse. Get it together. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” The practiced phrase comes out as usual, light and dismissive.

Marcus steps closer, thumbs tracing your cheekbones. “Look at me.”

Oh -

It’s just a hint, a whisper of the command his voice can carry - that command that guided you to heights of pleasure you’d never experienced before him. It’s enough to snap through the buzz in your head. 

Your vision clears and finally you can really see him. Really look at him. 

He’s watching you, intent, frown forming between his brows. There’s only a pause, his expression unreadable - is he angry - no stop it shut up - then he’s sliding an arm around your shoulders and turning you toward the living room. 

“Come on, come sit down.”

Relief washes cool down your back. 

Yes, good, let him guide you. 

A quiet reassurance coats your thoughts, muffling the noise. 

Trust him. 

He sits you down on the plush sofa, tucked into the corner, and settles in closely next to you. His hands never leave you, drifting down your arms to clasp yours gently, hold them in your lap. Your joined hands rest on your thighs, a counterweight to the one in your stomach. 

Grounding. Centring. 

Marcus. 

He squeezes lightly, draws your gaze to his. “Are you comfortable talking to me right now?”

Embarrassment flushes hot on your skin - it’s so unnerving, how he can see everything about you - but you force yourself not to look away, to keep your gaze on his. Trust. “A lot happened today. Just. A lot.”

Fuck, that’s not very helpful, he asked you a question and you give him this vague -

“That’s okay.”

The buzz flickers, the soft tone of his words scattering. 

“What?” You can hear the confusion in your own voice. 

A dozen emotions flash across his expression, but the warmth in his eyes doesn’t change, persistent. “It’s okay that today was a lot. You can talk about it, all of it or parts of it, if you want. Or if you’d rather not, that’s fine, too.”

You glance away, unable to look at him, his ceaseless compassion too much to handle right now. 

He lifts your clasped hands to his lips, brushes a kiss over your knuckles, that intent gaze still locked on yours. “I can reheat supper, if you’re hungry. Draw you a bath if you want to unwind. Take you to bed and hold you if you’re too tired for any of that. And during, after or in-between any of that, I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me about today.”

The weight in your stomach shifts again, presses up against your ribcage and it hurts to breathe but you manage to nod in acknowledgment.

His gaze tracks the shakiness of the movement, crease between his brows deepening, voice firm. “And if you don’t want to talk tonight, that’s fine. But it’s not healthy to keep things bottled up. Whatever happened, it seems like it’s really affecting you. So you will have to talk about it at some point, either with me or someone else. When you’re ready.”

You nod again - try to, but the movement is too awkward, it feels strange. As if it’s not you making it, it’s not your body, not your hands in his and not your lungs straining for air and not -

Suddenly you can’t see, everything is blurry, everything is gone nothing is real why -

Strong arms pull you against a broad chest and you crumple, limbs folding into yourself, weight in your stomach dragging you down down down -

Desperate, you grasp at the warmth that breaks your fall, hands clutching at fabric over solid strength, thoughts latching onto murmured words against your hair. 

Your subconscious instinctively threading into the profound presence that surrounds you, holding fast. 

It’s a lifeline. A linchpin that centres your focus, pulls you back into awareness. 

Marcus is tucking you firmer into the crook of his arm, shifting your legs across his lap until you’re fully seated there. One large hand cups your head, holds your temple to his lips, while the other passes gentle strokes to your arm, your back, your thigh. 

He’s talking, soft and muffled words but clear enough, a steady stream that brushes over your skin. 

“Breathe for me, baby, it’s okay, you’re okay, let it out. I’m here.”

I’m here. 

Marcus is always here. For you. 

Trust. 

The weight in your stomach bursts and everything pours out of you in tear-soaked words. 

“I’m so sorry I’m so late, I’m sorry I disappointed you and I didn’t want to ever do that because you’re so amazing Marcus and it’s not fair for me to treat you like this - “ your voice hiccups and you have to push through it - “I should have cancelled tonight, I knew I was going to be late, but I was selfish and still wanted to see you and I made you wait around for me and that was wrong and I’m so so sorry -“

“Stop.” 

His voice is quiet but firm, enough to silence the mess of thoughts pouring from your lips. 

You wait, heart pounding, lungs tight, muscles tensed and ready for his judgement. 

No, not judgement - this is Marcus, he cares about you, he’s here for you. 

But it’s all still there, the buzzing in your head and the weight pulling you down and it’s too much, too confusing and conflicting and you can’t handle everything. 

A whimper squeezes past your throat before you can stop it. Your eyes are closed so tight against it all that you see stars. 

He gently eases you away, his arm supporting your back where it bands across your shoulders. “Open your eyes, baby. Please.”

Trust. 

It takes everything you have to do so, blinking as his face comes into focus.

The concern that worried his brow is gone. Those warm, brown eyes are steady, but more serious than you’ve ever seen them. 

He takes a deep breath, chest shifting where you’re pressed to him. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but you were hurting yourself and I couldn’t let that continue.”

“H-hurting myself?” Your voice catches on the well of confusion squeezing your throat. 

A barely-there nod as his thumb swipes through the tear tracks on your cheek. “Listening to those negative thoughts. Letting them speak for you.”

You stare at him. Mind blank. Buzzing thoughts silent. 

He cups your cheek, his broad palm soothing on your too-hot skin. “You have your own voice. No one, not even yourself, can take that away. It will always be there.”

There’s no epiphany or flash of understanding. Just a gentle swell, rising and pulling you in, the understanding of his words. They just seep into the fibre of your being and you know. 

You know they’re true. 

You understand what he’s saying. Those buzzing thoughts, sharp and intrusive, weaselling their way to the forefront until you couldn’t hear anything else. 

That heavy weight in the pit of your stomach. A blend of guilt and shame and frustration. 

At yourself. 

For being weak, for being unable to stop the anxious turmoil from bleeding into this part of your life, your relationship with Marcus, the part that you wanted so badly to be clean of it. 

Then there’s disappointment at your inability to control it. 

No. Not just disappointment. 

Anger. 

Because despite trying, so hard, telling yourself that Marcus was good and right and you can trust him - it did nothing. 

Those negative thoughts still won out and tainted your perception. 

Then there’s despair. Cold and creeping into your bones.

You’re failing yourself.

So many times, you’ve been silent when you wanted to speak, or to shout or laugh or scream or sing. 

You’d let others keep you quiet for so long, that even when they were no longer in your life, the habit apparently remained. 

A habit you thought you’d already broken after countless therapy sessions, only for it to overtake and control you once again. 

Well. At least now you know it’s not right, not fair to you. 

Now you know you deserve to be happy.

It had taken a long time, but you’d come to acknowledge and accept that as a fact. 

But that didn’t stop you from trying to self-sabotage, apparently. 

No, stop. That’s the negative voice again.

Telling you you’re not enough.

That you’ll always fail.

Trust trust trust

Those words beat steadily within your own pulse. 

Closing your eyes - not to shut things out, this time, but to let yourself look inward - you lean into the weight of his palm, breathe deep, and trust. 

“I think that…” Your words are soft, cracked with hesitation as they come to you slowly. “I know that I do, have my own voice. I know those thoughts will only hurt me, and I have the ability to ignore them. But sometimes it…” 

You look at Marcus then, some part of you needing to see him. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember that, to hear the difference between the good thoughts and the bad ones. Especially on days when everything else is so loud.”

He’s watching you, expression so soft it pricks tears in the corners of your eyes. There’s no pity, or uncertainty, or doubt, in his face. Just an overwhelming tender emotion, a comprehension that can only come from hearing that same buzzing noise blurring the good and bad. 

One of your hands untangles from where your fingers are curled into his shirt, rises to rest over his on your cheek. 

Of course he understands. A toxic marriage, a broken engagement, so many other wounds that cut deep and left scars. 

Marcus has fought to break habits, too. 

He leans in, kisses you softly, your lips then your forehead. “Will you…” he pulls back to look at you, tongue dipping against his lower lip. “Will you let me help you? With the noise?”

Your heart beats steadily. 

You know what he means.

The memory of sinking deep into that haze of pleasure, letting go of your ceaseless thoughts. Allowing him to take control of the noise and silence it.

Giving yourself over to him, wholly and completely.

Trust trust trust

There’s no hesitation in your thoughts, in your voice.

“Yes.”

*****

Next: Part Two

Previous: I’m Here

[pocketseizure]

“I believe that man’s heart holds many dark ambitions,” Zelda said, but the king dismissed her words. She resolved to keep a close watch over Ganondorf, never dreaming that he watched her just as closely.

Many Dark Ambitions is a (mostly) platonic Zelgan story told in the form of a series of missing scenes set in Hyrule Castle of the Ancient Era, and it contains major spoilers for the Dragon’s Tear memories.

The story is complete at 2750 words, and it’s on AO3 ( here ).

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 19

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 18 🟣 Part 20

A reverse harem vampire AU ft. Mikey, Marshall, August and Sherlock

Series summary: Somehow, you've managed to live with your boyfriend and his roommates for months before finding out they're vampires, but the real shock first comes when they find out you have a special quality. A quality the guys would love to make use of...

Warnings: SMUT, NSFW, 18+, MINORS DNI. P-in-v sex, angst, ongoing vampire shenanigans, mentions of blood. Angst. And some angst.

Word count: 2750

A/N: So the grumpy vampire finally gets fucked. I hope you're all happy! (God knows I am...)

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @summersong69 @ellethespaceunicorn @mis-lil-red @sillyrabbit81 @livisss @itsrubberbisquit @ktficworld

“I, eh…” Mike appeared in the doorway of your room, scratching his neck. “I need to feed.”

“Sure,” you said, dropping your book and gesturing at the floor next to your bed. He sat down, and you offered him your arm.

For the past weeks, Mike had been feeding exclusively from your wrist, and the tension between you these days was enough to clear the room when the others were home. They literally couldn’t stand to be around you. August had even confessed to occasionally having to sleep elsewhere, which tore you up more than you were willing to admit out loud.

Of course, as usual, you didn’t have to admit it out loud, which was more inconvenient now than it had ever been before.

“This was the last time,” Mike mumbled when he was done.

“What do you mean?” The way he said it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you felt a little queasy.

“I’m going back to the Bank,” he said quietly.

What? No! “Mike…”

“It’s alright, Sw—” He didn’t finish the word, just like he hadn’t finished it all the other times over the past few weeks when he’d wanted to use your old nickname. Every unfinished, broken ‘Sweetcheeks’ felt like a new scar on your heart.

“No, Mike, it’s not alright! I—” And just as he hadn’t been able to call you Sweetcheeks, you hadn’t been able to tell him that you loved him.

Without another word, and before you could stop him, he left your room. Not much later, you heard the front door fall shut, and you instinctively knew that it was him.

He’d be back — he was keeping his promise not to run away again — but he’d be in his own room, and you’d be in yours. Even during the day, you hardly spoke to each other, and you felt like a stranger in the apartment, even though nothing had changed between you and the other guys.

“Marshall?” you whispered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. It was something you’d become quite good at over the past months.

“Yes, love?” He kneeled next to the bed and put a hand on your arm.

“I can’t take it anymore,” you said, a sob breaking your voice as tears welled up in your eyes. “I miss him so much, but it’s like I… I don’t feel the way about him that I did before, but I don’t know what I do feel, and…”

“Have you tried asking August?” Marshall replied.

Of course. How had you not thought of that?

“Tried asking me what, exactly?” August appeared in the doorway and walked towards the bed. Always bolder than Marshall, he took the liberty of getting in bed with you, wrapping his arms around you.

“Asking you how I feel about Mike,” you said with a chuckle that was still half-sob.

“Ah,” August replied, a hint of a smile in his voice, “you don’t feel the way about him that you did before…”

“Jackass,” Marshall said before you could.

“Easy,” August laughed. “I know you don’t have the same connection with him right now that you did before, or even the kind you have with us, and it’s throwing you off, because you miss it. But there’s still that… crush, if you will. I can guarantee you’re as in love with him as you were before.”

“I really hoped that would help,” you sighed when August finished, and you reached for Marshall’s sweater, pulling him in. “Get in here, you. I’m sad.”

You’d never been sure heaven existed, but if it did, you were sure it would feel a lot like being sandwiched between August and Walter. Four strong arms were wrapped around you, and neither of them seemed to mind when you put your freezing feet on their warm legs. Mike had never complained about that either, so maybe it was a vampire thing to not be bothered by the cold?

“It is,” Marshall whispered in your ear, “we barely even notice it.”

“What? That her feet are made of ice?” August snorted. “I’d say we notice; it just doesn’t bother us. The rest of you is a lot warmer.”

Your conversation was rudely interrupted by a phone buzzing, and August boldly retrieving it from his pocket, pinching your butt in the process.

“Sorry, princess, couldn’t help myself,” he said before kissing your cheek and disappearing from the room.

You buried your face in Marshall’s sweater and tried to move even closer to him, but that didn’t seem humanly possible. It made him chuckle, though, and he tightened his arms for a moment.

“Will you stay here?” you asked. Your voice was soft, and you couldn’t seem to look into his eyes.

“Absolutely,” he said, chuckling softly as you snuggled into his chest, slipping one hand into his sweater to play with the hair on his stomach. He put a hand over yours when you stopped. “Keep doing that, please, it’s nice.”

His words made you giggle. “Really?”

He hummed softly. “Yeah. Feels good, I don’t know why.”

“You know, I could touch more of you?” Where did that come from? An hour ago, you’d been crying because of Mike, and now… That being said, the new tension with Mike had done a fantastic job at masking the tension there still was between you and Marshall — because you still hadn’t slept with him, and you were still hoping that would happen sooner rather than later — but that didn’t mean that tension had been gone, or had even been any less intense than it had been before.

You’d spent a few nights together — sleeping, unfortunately — and you kissed him every day when he came home from work. And if you were already in bed by the time he got back, he found you to get his kiss anyway. Unless you were too busy screwing August — which had happened once or twice over the past few weeks. That said; you still hadn’t taken it all the way, and it bothered you more now than it had ever before. Why wouldn’t this man sleep with you, dammit?

Your internal tirade was interrupted when you felt Walter’s lips on your neck, teeth scraping gently against your skin — fangs out.

“Hungry?” you asked, but to your surprise, he denied that. “What is it? Tell me, please!”

He chuckled and tried to shrug it off, but you weren’t about to let him. What was he hiding from you? And how bad could it be, if he felt that he had to?

“Alright,” he finally sighed, “if you really want to know… I was wondering what it would feel like to… watch you…” His voice trailed off, and it didn’t look like he was going to finish that thought. Ever.

“Watch me what, Walter?” you asked sternly.

“Bleed,” he finally said, not looking you in the eye.

“Right,” you said, “August mentioned that way back when we were discussing vampire kinks… We haven’t even had sex.”

“I know,” he replied, a chuckle to his voice now that he realized you weren’t going to judge him for this.

“I’m not saying now, I’m just…”

You laughed — keeping the sound as gentle as you could manage, but it still made Marshall glare at you. Suddenly, your hands were pinned to the bed over your head.

“Are you sure you want to keep this up, love?” His eyes were kind, as was his smile, and in his voice you heard that familiar warmth — yet you trembled. He was strong and you were trapped beneath his body with no chance of escape… It was daunting — and it was fantastic.

You were almost disappointed when he let go of your wrists, even though it allowed you to drape your arms around his neck and pull him closer so you could kiss him. His lips moved against yours as gently as his bearded physique allowed, and with a slow swipe of your tongue you begged for entrance.

His hands moved slowly, carefully slipping beneath your sweater, exploring your skin — effortlessly undoing the clasp of your bra…

“Four centuries, love,” he said with a smile. “We’ve handled many a corset — these are nothing.” It took you a moment to realize he was speaking not only for himself, but for August too.

“I was hoping for an explanation along the lines of vampire-dexterity,” you sighed. “Shame.”

“Actually, the extra strength adds a challenge,” Walter mused while impatiently pulling at your sweater to persuade you to take it off — it worked flawlessly. “And your underwear isn’t even particularly flimsy.”

“That sounds like an insult?” you half-asked, half-noted.

“Oh, not at all!” He laughed. “Not as far as I’m concerned, anyway. But I doubt you even have to let August know your size… He’s been planning on getting you something he likes better.”

Well, you sure as hell weren’t going to stop him from doing that…

It was your turn now to impatiently pull at fabric until, in a split second, Walter’s sweater disappeared to God knows where, and you were left with the surprisingly pleasant feeling of coarse hair against your skin. When he moved his hips, you felt him press against you, hard and ready, and your body immediately reacted.

You needed him — a need that was flawlessly mirrored in his eyes.

“I can’t wait to have you,” he said, again with that gentle smile.

“Then don’t wait.” You were all for foreplay, but you were so ready for him and so incredibly impatient… You’d elaborate later; you weren’t exactly running out of time together, right?

All remaining clothes disappeared. You’d say ‘miraculously’, but it would be a lie, since you knew exactly what, who and how. Unlike Mike and August, though, Walter took care of protection with normal speed. It was much appreciated.

“It annoys you when they don’t,” Walter said unpromptedly — as unprompted as anything could be when the guy doing the speaking could tap into your thoughts.

“It really does,” you agreed. “So, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he chuckled softly before kissing you again. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

You rolled your eyes at him, biting your tongue to keep yourself from saying something snarky. He didn’t deserve that.

“I’m just checking,” he said, pressing his lips to your neck as he lined himself up with your entrance.

For a moment, you were consumed with the sensation of your heart pounding, your blood rushing through your veins, and the tornado of butterflies in your stomach — not to mention the feeling of coarse hair and soft lips on your heated skin. Then, he pushed into you. It was slow and gentle, and…

“Fuck, that’s tight.” You couldn’t fight back the chuckle when the thought broke into your own completely uninvited — but nonetheless very, very welcome.

Blue eyes stared at you amusedly. “I caught something involving the word ‘massive’?”

Well, yes. You had to admit that he was not wrong there, and your thoughts had indeed veered that way for a moment when he filled you up.

“Well, you do have a massive dick,” you answered with a sweet smile. It was still strange to not say these words out loud.

“Thought you’d be used to those by now…” Cheeky bastard! You felt heat rise to your cheeks and you looked away, wishing you could kick him out of your brain for a moment.

“How the fuck do you…”

“Your fantasies are loud, love.” He punctuated the thought with a harsh thrust, knocking a moan out of you. “So are Mike and August, by the way. One more rerun of one of your escapades and I was definitely going to go insane…”

“Not…” You realized it wasn’t an appropriate question, but he was all over your thoughts. “Not Sherlock? Ever? He doesn’t think about me?”

“I really think you should talk to him, love. But I promise he thinks about you all the time.” He kissed you softly, then deepened the kiss — but since you had no need for your voice in this conversation, he simply continued: “And so do I, especially now that I know what this perfect pussy feels like.”

He rolled his hips, pushing himself deeper into you, and you whined as your brain waged war against itself trying to determine whether you wanted him to go harder or keep doing exactly what he was doing.

“I never thought he’d be so gentle.” The thought crossed your mind before you could stop it, and for a moment you felt embarrassed about it — until you remembered that you didn’t have to hide from him. He was yours. You were his.

“You are. And I am. Every part of me, yours forever.” His eyes were kind, as was the smile on his lips, and his movements stayed gentle even when he picked up the pace a little bit. Apart from the moans that escaped both of you in your unguarded moments, you were silent, not speaking a single word while you made love.

It was the first time — with one of your vampires, but possibly ever — that you’d gone about things this way. Even your very first time with Mike had been more of a loud, enthusiastic kink-fest than the slow and gentle session you were a part of now. Not to mention August, who probably wouldn’t do vanilla even if his life depended on it. This was sensual and lovely. This was something completely different than the second episode of Feral Walter you’d hoped to come across in bed some day sooner rather than later. This was also the kind of tempo vampire-stamina could keep up practically indefinitely.

“Technically, yes.” Sometimes you hated being right. “But I see you don’t have any firsthand experience yet with our significantly reduced cooldown time?”

He lifted you effortlessly and maneuvered you into his lap, never taking his cock out of you for so much as a moment.

“So, when you’re with another vampire,” you wondered, “how do you ever stop?”

“We have jobs,” he responded plainly, and you rolled your eyes.

“What if you have like… a vacation? Bank holiday? Just… No reason to get out of bed the next morning?”

“Last time, August just knocked on the door and told us it had been six days,” he remembered fondly, and slivers of a memory that definitely wasn’t yours flashed in your brain, “that did the trick.”

“Wow! You get pictures, too?” The experience was enough to get you to speak out loud, disturbing a little of the peace you’d come to cherish in the short time that had passed.

“You saw something?” He whispered the question, peppering your neck and throat with small kisses in between the words before sealing his lips over yours, engulfing your senses completely with the searing hot kiss. His tongue pushed impatiently past your lips, tangling with yours. Rough hands trailed over your back, fingers gently tracing your spine, making you shiver.

Walter chuckled. “I love it when you squeeze me like that.”

You struggled to break the kiss, but he eventually allowed you to retreat. “Just a flash.”

“You’re really good with this gift of mine.” He moved his lips back to meet yours, pulling you tighter against his chest.

“Wanna know what else I’m really good at?” you asked coyly while putting your hands on Walter’s shoulders and pushing him back onto the mattress.

“I think I’m open to you showing me,” he replied, a grin slowly spreading out over his face.

“Incredible,” he sighed when you finally collapsed next to him when your thighs gave out. You’d been riding him for God knows how long, and in that time, you’d cum twice on his cock, and he had seemed to have come no closer to finishing at all.

“Was it?” you sneered, leaving him to look surprise, until he caught onto the train of thought that took you from ‘he didn’t finish’ to ‘August and Mike do’ to ‘he must have not liked it’.

“Love, I’m fairly sure even you have at some point referred to Mike as a hedonistic little fuck, and August feels everything twice.” He sighed, giving you a very annoying, meaningful look.

“What do I have to do to finish you of?” you asked.

“I’ll happily pound you through the mattress sometime soon,” he answered with a smile as he pulled you into his chest. “Oh, and a good blowjob will do the trick.”

[oubliette-odette]

The Reluctance of Love, Pt. 2

I've been having a little too much fun writing this story. I will admit, not a lot happens in this chapter - but I promise the next chapter will be good. Just a reminder that this a (sort of) slow burn.

Orc Male x Half-Elf Male, Fated Mates, Forbidden Love, Slow Burn Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Word Count: 2750 (average 20 min read) Content Warnings: mention of mating, nothing happens....yet ;) All orcish is from orcishdictionary.com, created by Matt Vancil. Not beta-read. Criticism is welcome, but be sure to distinguish criticism from hate.

I hated myself for leaving Altan there. But I knew that I would hate myself more if I did anything to him.

I remember when I was a child I had always been afraid of mating. It felt like without any choice from either person - you were expected to be intimate with them. I never liked that my body would do something to me that I couldn't control. My broodmothers always told me it was the gift of Gruumsh that assured the vitality and strength of the orc races. It was something that would be mutually felt between partners. I still didn't like it, and I still was afraid of my own body for much of my childhood.

I left home for many reasons: the fact that I was a constant reminder of my father's and broodmothers' shame. The fact that there was no one left my age unmated. But also because I knew that if I left, I would reduce the chance of finding a mate. Lordhovid only would happen with a female orc. The world beyond would reduce my chances of every having to experience it, should it ever happen to me.

I sometimes wondered if I never experienced the urge to mate because I simply didn't want it. But Gruumsh be damned, I found myself in a greater predicament than even experiencing lordhovid. My greatest fear turned out to be worse than I could have imagined.

My relationship with my home and my culture was complicated. I desired to be seen as valuable and needed by my family, but I only brought shame as long as I was unable to give them children. I left for not only my own sake, but for the sake of my family. But I still carried with me a pride of my people and a want to do what was right and I carried a hope that maybe someday I could earn their love back.

My life-partner, my raebukam, the one my body began to burn for was someone I couldn't possibly be with. If I were to return with Altan to my homeland - radiant Altan who remained golden in my memories - I would be dishonored. To bring a partner who could neither bear children or fight for the tribe would spell my damnation.

Altan...I wished I had never learned his name. Altan. Altan. His name was seared into me, branded in my memories. I wished I could have met him under different circumstances. I wished I could love him and not hurt him. I wished I could have known that his feelings for me would be returned without lordhovid influencing him.

I stayed in my tiny room above the forge for the next two days. Feverish and overheated, I struggled through the days. I hadn't been able to buy enough food and I knew eventually I'd have to leave. But I insisted I couldn't leave. I would live with this if I must. I wouldn't give in to this lust. It wasn't mine. I could control it.

On the the third day, however, I heard a pounding at my door.

I was curled on the mattress on the floor that served as my bed - I could never find a bed big enough for my size - and caught in a feverish daze, trying to not think about Altan.

"Drunrag?!" Someone shouted from the other side of the door.

My heart leapt up to my throat. I knew that voice. It was like music.

Altan.

I shrank into the corner of my room, panic formed in the pit of my stomach. "No," I rasped. "You can't be here." The last two days had been near hell - I didn't know if I could be strong enough to stop myself now.

"Drunrag...please open the door." His own voice sounded exhausted. Guilt and shame flooded through me. He had been experiencing his own symptoms of lordhovid, and I had left him to suffer them alone. I selfishly had only considered myself.

Damn you, Drunrag.

"I'm not above considering breaking this door down." He said. "It's taken me these last two days to find you, and it's been absolute hell. I'm not leaving until we have a chance to talk."

"You should if you wish to be safe." I yelled back. My voice cracked from disuse and panic. "I don't want this."

"Look, I'm still not entirely sure of all that's happening to us. But I trust you not to hurt me. Can we please just talk and see what solution we can come to?"

I struggled to my feet, and stumbled to the door. I hesitated, my hand at the lock. "I'm...are you certain?"

"Just. Open the damn door, please."

I hadn't considered that Altan could posses such fire in him.

Admittedly, I knew nothing about him. I fled before I could know him. I only understood one thing: that my body wanted him.

I slid the lock back and cracked the door open. My eyes alighted upon seeing those wide, golden eyes. Altan. Gods, he really was glowing. I let out a breath that I must have been holding since I left him. The pulling in my chest lessened, now that it felt the closeness of my raebukam. However, it was painful to be so close and be denied what my body screamed for. I felt the heat inside me begin to stir again.

"Ummm," He looked up and down through the crack, a weary yet sardonic smile crossing his face. "Do you expect me to converse through this crack? I think not. Gods, where is your sense of hospitality?" He pushed against the door, and I - too stunned to do anything really - was like a leaf, easily knocked back by the small, slender man before me. I crashed against my wall and watched him step into the room. My mouth was agape as I watched him barge in.

In that moment, I studied him, really took a good look at him. He didn't seem tall for a humanoid, but his head looked like it only reached my pecs. He dressed a bit differently than I typically saw in the streets. More loose, airy clothes that exposed his golden brown skin. His coppery curls were long, but appeared mussed and unkempt, like he hadn't been taking care of himself for quite a few days.

I watched as he studied my home. It was a simply layout, a kitchen and a bedroom. The outhouse was outside. His lips were open just slightly as he took in everything. He turned suddenly to gaze into my bedroom. As he turned, the smell of sunny wheat fields overwhelmed my senses. I shuddered and closed my eyes, ignoring the pulsating inside me that urged me to grab him and pull him towards me. Everything about him was tantalizing.

He sighed. "I should have expected this. There's really not much here." He peered into the room where my mattress lay and he frowned, "If you expect me to sleep with you there, I absolutely refuse." He turned to look at me. "You may be an orc, but that doesn't mean I will resort to your way of making love. I expect our first time to be better than...this." He gestured to the general space, which I wondered if I should find offensive, but my mind quickly slipped beyond that thought to the fact that I heard him discuss potentially sleeping together...

There couldn't possibly be a chance...not in any of the nine hells. Gods tell me he's joking.

"What did you say?" I said. "You're not actually considering..."

He stepped towards me, his voice was sharp and direct. "It's not like we have another solution, right? I've had two days to ponder this. It seems you and I are deemed a worthy pairing according to your mating instinct. And strangely, my own body seems to be confirming those same feelings. If you and I are to function at all in our lives - we have to do as our bodies tell us. We must mate. Correct?"

I couldn't look at him. It was too embarrassing. I could feel my face burning with shame, but also with anger. How could he possible suggest this when I didn't want this.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said, his voice softened.

I looked up to see him. He was standing in my home. My tiny, cramped little space with only a kitchen and a bedroom. He looked perfectly normal in it. But I could see the dark circles under his eyes, the way his hair looked like it hadn't been washed or combed since I last saw him. His own breathing was heavy, like mine. His stance looked as if he were carrying an intense weight. A weight that we could remove....if I could just give in to lordhovid.

But I couldn't. I shook my head. "No, I'm not mating with you."

"What exactly is holding you back from this?" He asked. "I apologize if this may come across ignorant, I've only met a handful of orcs in my lifetime, all of them much older than me, but I was raised to believe that orcs found great pleasure in their mating customs. Help me to understand...is it that you find me unlikable?"

I grunted. Unlikeable? No, Altan seemed friendly enough, savvy enough and possessed a lot of spirit. It wasn't something I found in most people I encountered. He seemed honest too.

I shook my head. "No."

He took a step towards me, to which I took a panicked step back.

"Do I repulse you?"

I shook my head again and grunted. I found that he did the exact opposite, I couldn't focus because my eyes would wander to all of his various features. His large, golden eyes. His full lips that always seemed quirked into a smile. His exposed chest, bare and smooth. His ear poking through those soft-looking curls. No, I could not say I found him remotely repulsive.

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked.

That, I hesitated. Yes I was afraid. Of him. Of me. But mostly of what was keeping us together: lordhovid. I was scared what it would do to me, do to Altan and of how its influence brought me here.

He cocked his head. "You're afraid of me." He said it that time as a statement, not a question.

I shook my head, "I am afraid of what you are."

"A half-elf?" He laughed. "We're not known for being terrifying."

I couldn't laugh, not at that moment. I looked at him with a dark expression. "I'm afraid of you as my life-partner. I didn't want this, nor did you ask for this."

His laughter faded and his expression softened. "You really didn't choose to do this to me, did you? You didn't choose me?"

I shook my head. "lordhovid is meant to draw together those who will bear the strongest children for the orc tribe."

"Huh...curious." He said, his voice was light, curious more than anything. I wondered how none of this seemed to be affecting him as much as it affected me. He thought for a moment. "You mentioned that you were broken."

Krandad. Broken. I had grown accustomed to be called that by my broodmothers when I remained the last one unmated from my litter.

I shifted where i stood. To speak on the most intimate, sacred part of my culture to someone who was being so kind and patient to me. Someone I should trust. I somehow felt out of place, like a child. "I am unmated. It is shameful for an orc to be unmated. At first I thought it was something wrong with me. But I believe it because it's my choice."

He studied me. I didn't like his eyes on me for so long. I could feel the burning of his stare and it made my own heated skin surge with longing and want. "You don't want to mate at all, is that what you mean?"

I gave a small nod.

"Then why are we here now?" He asked.

I shook my head, "I don't know. But you were not given a choice. Nor was I. You are a stranger...and I have damned your fate to be with me." I bowed my head, looking away from him somehow made everything in my body feel so much worse. "You have my deepest apologies."

He didn't answer, didn't speak. I worried I had upset him somehow. I glanced up, and saw him staring back at me. His gaze was like the sun on my face, warming my body through every part.

"You are an honorable man, Drunrag." He said, gently. "I see that your sense of honor and your moral standing are greater than even most men. I understand that...this," He gestured between myself and him "Isn't something you want." He closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed. "You're a more complicated person than I anticipated." His eyes were like small lines when he laughed. I liked his laugh.

"I'm sorry." I said, my voice low. I didn't mean to be complicated.

"Let me make a proposition for you, then, Drunrag." He stood tall, as tall as he could against me, it was amusing to see him puff his chest and stretch his shoulders back.

"I'm listening." I said.

"You and I will not mate." He said, he smile awkwardly. "We'll see if we can manage our lives with this symptom. I'll treat it like a cold. Just a really hot, heavy, feverish cold. Who knows, maybe it eventually goes away. Or, you could see if there's some kind of potion? Spell? A Sorcerer, perhaps, that could remove it for you. And if we find that it's too much. Well, I know where you live. Let's say we reconvene in a month and see if we need to revisit option number one."

He smiled warmly at me, and it made my insides twist. Why was he being so understanding of my situation?

"You're being too kind." I said.

He shrugged, "What else can I do? I won't force myself on you, I would hate myself for that, handsome as you are."

Handsome? He must have been trying to be polite. Nothing more. Except that I didn't know how to answer him, and I felt the silence between us build uncomfortably.

"Well," He said with a forced smile. "I suppose there's nothing more to do, right?"

I hesitated before I nodded to him. "Right?"

He looked around the space once more, and then back up to me. "I would like to think maybe we could be friends...once all of this is over?"

His smile was more genuine as he cast his attention my way. He really did have a glow to him, an aura of warmth that made him easy to like. I wondered then if maybe it would be so bad sleep with him...just once. What would it feel like to hold him? I looked down a bit and caught the slight curve of his waist. I imagined my arms...

I clenched my eyes shut, closing the thought before my body reached a new temperature.

"Thank you, Altan, for your understanding." I said, gaining my composure. "In a month's time."

His smile faltered for just a moment, a brief look of wanting and disappointment, before he nodded his head and made his way to the door. "In a month's time."

The door shut behind him and I felt his presence on the other side of it. I pondered our last interaction together. Why did he seem so disappointed?

It was frustrating to feel that tug and pull inside me that tried to pull me back to him. I shoved the urge away and locked the door after I felt some distance between us. Would I always know approximately where he was? Would I ever sense his emotions or if he was in danger?

I ran my hands through my hair, several times, to try to distract myself from the heat and pressure inside me. I was stronger than my bodily urges. I was stronger than the pull that kept me near Altan. I was stronger than all of that. I repeated the words as I looked around my now empty apartment.

Was this really to be my life from now on?

[deepdisireslonging]

Backstage Spender

The Reader works for the Penguin as a dancer. Undercover, Dick Grayson comes in at Jason’s request for a case. He’s distracted more than once in the process.

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Dancer!Reader

Warnings/Promises: canon-level violence, erotic dancing

Word Count: 2750

Note: This is the first part of the Summer Playlist Series! If you enjoy it, reblogs and comments are super appreciated. And keep an eye out for the next four songfics. Enjoy!

Song: “Big Spender” by Peggy Lee

Working for The Penguin wasn’t the safest thing to do in Gotham, but it was one of the best paychecks a girl could get. The Iceberg Lounge had great insurance (needed for when backstage negotiations broke down), dental, and quarterly bonuses. And because the club money was supposedly kept separate from Mr. Cobblepot’s other dealings, you could accept a paycheck without guilt. 

The music pulsed and thrummed as the busiest hours of the night reached their peak. Soon, you’d have to join your coworkers. You were part of the grand finale: a striptease involving large feather fans. (Everybody ignored the fact that ostrich feathers didn’t match Mr. Cobblepot’s usual aesthetic.) You would also have the last dance before the finale. Until then, you and the other dancers helped booze up the patrons. Money exchanged hands at every table for drinks, light dinners, and other ventures you ignored. What you couldn’t ignore was the handsome figure sitting close to the dance floor. 

“Isn’t that one of the Wayne boys,” your coworker asked. “He’s sitting right on your corner.”

Another girl joined your spot by the bar. “You’re gonna show off for him, right? Get all of his daddy’s dough so you can really enjoy your vacation this weekend.” She gasped at your hesitation. “You should! Look at him. Big smile, big pockets. Shake every cell you got-“

“Yes! Get it, girl!”

With a groan, you turned away from him. “He’s just a normal customer.”

“A first-time customer.” She grinned as both of your friends nudged you at the same time. “Give him a show he’ll never forget.”

You looked back. What could it hurt? He watched the rest of the lounge’s bustle with such delight, maybe he would be delighted by a personal show. “I’ll think about it.” With a huff, you lifted your tray of drinks to the sound of your coworker’s continuing persuasions. 

By the stage, Dick Grayson gently held his head on his palm. Underneath his hair, he pressed a com-link deeper into his ear. “Calm so far. What exactly are you looking for, Jay?”

“Some weapon big-wigs should walk in sometime before the main show, then disappear into the back while everybody else leaves.” Jason tsked over the coms. “Whatcha worried about? Your reputation?”

Dick glanced to the side at another table. Money passed over the top, while a small package passed underneath. “Perhaps. Gordon could retire tomorrow in the Mayor’s good graces if he raided tonight. You are keeping an eye out for cops, right? I don’t need to start a wrap.”

“The only cop around there is you. Now keep your eyes open.”

Dick rolled them instead. Again, he glanced at his watch. There wasn’t much time left. Maybe Jason had the meet-up time wrong. Or the day. Or the month. One could never tell-

Blurred by the echo of the room, the stage host announced the last performance before the big finale. 

Dick took a deep sigh as another song from before the 60’s started to play in the very modern setting. He sat up straight as a pair of large broad shoulders walked through the far doors. He sat up even straighter when the shimmer of silver and purple drew his gaze to the center of the stage.

The bar bolted to the floor at the end of the stage was your baseline. You strutted to it, eyeing the men in the front row. At the first roll of the trombone, you sank to your knees. That jump-started the hooting. And really caught the eye of your main target. You maintained holding his gaze. As Peggy Lee’s voice described her beau, you leaned back against the bar, readying for your first series. He watched you circle the pole, eager as anyone in the room to see you climb it. As the trombone trilled again, you began to spin. 

“Wouldn’t you like to have fun, fun, fun?” You leapt off the pole, walking around the catwalk to twirl your bare legs in front of the patrons. “Let me show you a-“ you bumped your hips in time with the music, “good time.”

As the chorus set in again, you dismounted the stage and made for his chair. At first, he seemed hesitant, looking around at the other patrons. Then your shimmering body held his attention. “Hey big spender… spend a little time with me.” Gently, you stepped between his knees and turned away. Glancing over your shoulder, you were delighted to see his hands twitch against his thighs. Instead of reaching for you, he slid a wallet out of his pocket. 

But before he could pull out a single bill, your song sped up, signaling the end. He hungrily watched you walk away. Green fluttered onto the edge of the stage, but you were already twirling around the pole. For the last note, you spun as fast as you could, dangling back by your knees. To applause, you did your best to catch the money people threw at your outstretched hands. You did a quick set of bows around the stage, collecting the larger bills people held up. 

The Wayne man held up a one hundred bill. With a wink, you let your hand trail over his to claim it. Damn, if it wasn’t the end of the night, you’d offer him the private show he deserved. Instead, you slipped backstage to change costumes. 

Dick was speechless. Maybe it was the atmosphere. Maybe it had been the glitter of your costume. But he was thinking about finding you after the show when an irritated voice interrupted his thoughts.          

“Earth to Nightwing?”

Dick shook himself. Eying side to side, he noted everyone around was too busy watching the stage to notice how flustered he was. “Yeah, what?”

“Where’d they go?”

“Who- oh. They, uh, they’re-um-“

Jason groaned. “You lost them? You lost them!”

Dick stood as the finale’s music began. “I didn’t lose them. Had to keep my eyes forward to keep my cover. Will you calm down?” He walked over to the bar, leaning against it to have a better view of the room. Quickly he scanned the tables. The targets were not visible, meaning they must be backstage. “They headed back, probably to a business room. Give me a minute, and I’ll have an in.” He located the stage door just as the music began to swell again. 

On stage, feathers fluttered left and right, creating a wave of cover for everyone to walk out. You tried to catch sight of your biggest tip, finally noticing him against the bar. You tried to wink, but the choreography spun you away. By the time you’d spun back, he was gone. Was he running away from you? Or maybe heading to his car before the exit rush? Deflated, you finished the rest of the number and left the stage with a smile that evaporated once you hit the wings. All around you, your coworkers flitted from one side of the small dressing room to the other collecting their things. Some would go home together to tiny apartments. And some would go home with a new acquaintance met during the night. 

You’d go home alone. 

Stuffing the last of your things into a bag, you walked out into the hall. Engrossed in your phone, you didn’t hear the scuffle until you bumped into it. 

The back doorman had the Wayne son by the neck, pinning him to the wall. Any second now, it looked like he was going to knock his lights out. 

“What are you doing?” You rushed over, tugging at the bouncer’s arm with no effect. “Since when do we beat up patrons?”

“Since when do I just let boys walk back here when you girls are going home?” The guard pinned you with a hard eye up and down. You hadn’t really changed out, opting for a simple black silk wrap dress on top. “Since when does the boss let you take costumes home?”

You’d forgotten about that rule. Quickly, you reached out to try and tug the Wayne to yourself. “He’s with me.” 

The bouncer let go of his neck at least, though keeping a hold on the front of his shirt. “That true, kid?” 

Dick gulped in air, only partially for looks. “Well,” he swallowed thickly, “she did invite me to spend some time with her-“ 

“Is he paying?” 

“Oh, yes.” Enthusiastically, you nodded and managed to rip him out of the guard’s grip.

“Hmm.” With a huff, he nodded at the doors that led to the private rooms. Convinced that’s where you’d go, he left for the bar.

Both of you sighed in relief. 

You recovered first. “So, why were you back here?” Noticing his gaze drifting down your chest, you pulled the silk over your cleavage. “Well? Why’d I stick my neck out for you?”

“Right. Ah- I’m not actually back here for you.” Like a nervous child, he reached up to run his hand over the back of his head. “I’m looking for a friend- an ex friend- who might be giving something of mine to a new friend of his. Do you happen to know where the office is?”

“Maybe.” Crossing your arms, you bit back a grin to see his shoulders slump. “How much cash you got on you?” 

“What?”

You rolled your eyes. “After you snoop, you’re gonna need an out. And since our large, grumpy friend is under the impression that I’m doing an extra session, you need to pay for the dance you’re gonna get. How much cash you get?”

He winched. “Not enough. You guys take card?” 

Was this guy dense? Or just naive? You looked at him. “Yeah. But I don’t take it you want anybody knowing you’re here. There’s an ATM by the bathroom. It ID’s as a coffee shop across town so guys don’t have this place on their bank statements.” 

“Brilliant,” he said, impressed. “I’ll, ah, go do that now and meet you back at… the rooms.” 

At first, you headed to the private rooms. But before the door could close, you stuck your head out. Instead of the direction towards the ATM, your new headache was walking down the hall towards the boss’s office. With a sigh, you removed your shoes and followed him. 

Dick kept an eye out for any more guards but made it to the ornate door without any more problems. From his pocket, he took out a small device. He knelt, feeding it under the door and tapping his ear com. From inside the office, he heard everything he wanted to. And Jason did too. 

“Finally,” Jason said. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry. I had a shadow. And then a necklace,” he rubbed his neck. “But are you satisfied?”

”Yeah. I’ve got enough. Get outta there.”

Before Dick could say anything else, Jason was gone. Hissing into the com didn’t bring him back, so Dick assumed his exit would be without back up. Even then, based on what he heard… Dick gathered up his tech. Maybe after they left he could-

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. It spun him around, bringing him face to face with a guard bigger and grumpier than the last one. 

“Wohoo-“

The guard turned. Then dropped after a punch to the jaw. 

You stood on the other side, massaging the ache in your wrist. “What? I’m a Gotham girl. What were you expecting? A Metropolis waif?”

Dick grinned. He was about to thank you when the door creaked. Fast as lightening, he grabbed your wrist and tugged you into the shadows. No one came out. And the guard was hopefully low enough to be invisible to the peep-hole. Penguin didn’t have cameras around the office. Can’t be indicted on hacked cameras if they don’t exist. 

With a nudge, you motioned behind you to the back hallway. You waited until there was a reasonable distance between you and the office before pinning him to the wall by his lapels. 

“I thought you were getting money for our cover?”

He shrugged. “I lied. I’ve already got the money.” He shifted. “Got a Gotham grip too. Ready to-“

You pressed against him into the shadow of some stage crates. The guard you’d knocked out walked by rubbing his chin. He looked like he was headed to the bar. 

“We’d better go. Come on.”

It was the longest, most silent sprint of your life. You didn’t breathe again until the private door was between you and the hallway. You made him sit down in the ‘throne’, as your crew called it, and shed the silk before turning on the lights. Without music, you swayed your hips and leaned into his face. 

He swallowed thickly, suddenly reminded why he wanted to come back while not on Jason’s time. “Thanks for your help. I can just pay you if-“ He gasped as you turned, grinding your ass into his crotch. He grabbed your hips, but you batted him away. “You really know how to distract a guy, don’t you?”

You hummed a laugh. Angling back, you nuzzled your nose against his cheek. “I’m hoping for a bigger tip since I gave you the extra help.” 

“I might do that.” His eyes closed. Once again, his hands slid over your body. But you didn’t push them away as he spoke. “If I can help out financially in any way, maybe you could help me again some- is it safe to talk in here?”

As you spun face him and sit on his lap, it took everything in you not to laugh at the surprise in his face. “Yes. There’s video in case someone gets too hands. But no audio.” You began to swivel your hips, making his mouth drop open. You would be lying if his handsomeness mixed with the danger wasn’t doing something to you too. “Video starts recording when the lights turn on. But there would be too much to listen to and store in security with all the rooms and the floor. So, video suffices.” As you angled your head back to sway, he leaned in and placed a kiss against your neck. It knocked the air out of you. “That- that costs extra, y’know.”

“Mhmm.” He guided you to lean your head the other way with the crook of his finger on your chin. “I’ve got deep enough pockets.” 

You quickly lost control of the dance. Instead, you began to move based on what felt good for you instead of giving your patron all the pleasure. He began to notice your breathlessness. 

“If you need a name to whisper, my friends call me Dick.”

“I bet they do.”

When your eyes closed, he looked you up and down. He waited until it looked like you were blissed out to mummer, “I really have to go.”

“Yes.” You dug your hands into his hair. “You should.” 

With a deep kiss to your chest, he managed to push you away. “We both should go. Your bouncer will be waiting to see me to the door.” His big blue eyes held you in place. Trailing his finger down the side of your face, he managed to whisper, “if I had more time.“

“We could have a lot of fun.” You forced a smile and stepped off his lap. “Maybe some other time. When you come back, ask for Starfire.”

“I’ll do that.”

He helped you back into your robe and saw you to the dressing room door. The guard was outside, indeed ready to escort him out. Peacefully. 

When he was few minutes down the road, the com-link crackled to life. Jason’s usually irritated calm voice had a tinge of worry. “Where are you?”

“On my way home.” Dick failed to keep the satisfied smile out of his voice. “I had to follow a lead.”

“Oh,” Jason teased. “Has Bruce Wayne’s golden child following daddy’s footsteps by claiming his first conquest?”

“No.” Dick rolled his eyes. “Maybe I just like this woman. Not to mention, she’s got a mean left hook. Might ask her to join the team.”

“That’ll be the day.”

***

The next day when you walked in, all the girls were waiting for you. 

“So, how was your night?”

You ignored them with a smile. 

They gathered around. One of them said, “Rebecca had a night with Bruce Wayne a few years ago. Said he was phenomenal.”

It was a hook. And you took the bait. 

“She can keep him. I’ve got the better Wayne.” 

***

***

Masterlist

Other Dick Grayson fics: 

Hey Bartender (Angst)

We’re Closed (Plot, Fluff, implied Smut)

Arrangement (Money Angst, Fluff, Implied Smut) (Start of Series)

[supercorpkid]

Powergirl Should Die - Final

Supergirl. Powergirl. Kara Danvers x BabyDanvers!Reader, Alex Danvers x BabyDanvers!Reader, Lena Luthor, J'onn J'onnz, Winn Schott.

Word Count: 2750.

Part 1. Part 2.

Powergirl is gone.

"Boss." You nod at J'onn when you fly into the DEO. Alex hears your voice and makes her way towards the both of you. "Tag me in tonight. I've got a good night of rest. I'm ready to patrol the hell out of this town."

"I'm sorry, Powergirl." J'onn, whose voice displays no emotion at all, says. "I'm taking you out of this case. You're too close to the cause."

"What? Of course I'm too close, it's about me!” You speak a little too loud and notice all the other agents pretending they can't hear you. "You can't get me out of the case of someone trying to kill me."

"Are they? Trying to kill you?" You hear Winn's voice on J’onn’s back and you turn your head to look at him. You must be making some face because he looks scared when he sees you. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't butt in."

"Yeah, you shouldn't, computer guy."

"Hey!" Alex defends him and you roll your eyes.

"I just –" Winn continues even after seeing you scowl. "They haven't done anything. You have been getting those messages for a couple of weeks now. You should think someone would have tried something. Did anyone try anything?"

"No."

"Besides," Alex chimes in again. "It's not wise getting yourself in danger for it. Wait around, when we catch them you can do the interrogation yourself."

"Is this for real?" You look at the three agents ganging up on you, looking dead serious about it. You shake your head in disbelief. "This whole place is a joke!"

You go to L Corp for lunch. You show up with a bag of Belly Burgers and a whole speech for Lena. The thing is, Lena truly helped you sleep well the night before. With her you felt safe and yourself. Even with her finding out that you are Powergirl, you could let yourself forget about it, at least while you were in her arms. But still you can't help but feel like you took advantage of her. 

You decide to save this whole conversation until after you both finish eating.

"Hey," Lena slides in a little closer, reaching for your hand on top of the couch. "You were quiet all throughout lunch. You know you can trust me with your secret, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm not worried about that." You give her a truthful smile and she slides in even closer, grabbing your hand and holding it between hers. 

"What are you worried about, then? Let me in." Lena requests so softly, there's no way you can deny her. "I know the writing is keeping you awake," She makes sure. "but what else is keeping you closed off?"

"Lena." Her name comes out as a whine, and as result she kisses your temple while squeezing your hand in comfort. "What if the writing is coming from someone I know?"

She furrows her brows, but doesn't press you further. "Then you can do something about it, right? You're Powergirl! You're the strongest person I know!"

"Really?" She agrees with her head. You don't buy it. "What about Supergirl?"

"I mean, don't you and Kara have the same powers? Why would she be stronger?" Lena seems sincere, like she truly doesn't think that Kara is better than you in any way, including being a superhero.

"Yeah, I guess." You don't wanna tell her that you think your own sister is writing those things. Lena is Kara's best friend too. You can't poison that unless you know for sure. And the only way you can know for sure is if you confront your sister. "I guess I do have to do something about it."

You're not exactly thrilled to have this conversation with Kara, but it seems to be overdue. 

"Hey," Lena whispers a bit closer. "I'm here for whatever you need. Always."

"I thought you would be mad that I didn't tell you I was Powergirl." 

"I was. It lasted half a second." Lena says and you smile widely at her. 

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I was so sleep deprived I just made you uncomfortable with the whole nonsense about you getting me naked. I mean, obviously you wouldn't wanna kiss–"

Lena interrupts you, with her lips crashing into yours. You first widen your eyes in surprise, but when her hand makes way to your neck, you're quick to close your eyes and melt into the kiss. 

"I wasn't gonna kiss you yesterday." She whispers, breaking the kiss, and you slowly open your eyes. Your faces are so close you see every single color in Lena's iris. She's so damn beautiful. "You were so tired, it was like taking advantage of a drunk girl." 

"I would've let you, though." You joke and she laughs before kissing you again. "Thank you, darling. You have no idea how much you've helped me last night. It was the first night in months I haven't had a single nightmare." 

"Glad to be at service." Lena kisses your cheek, and you move your hands out of hers to snuggle her into your embrace. "Same time tonight?"

"Can't wait." You punctuate it with kisses on her face, and finally breathe deep. At least a good thing since you can't patrol the city tonight. Although, you don't think there will be any writing done. Not after you confront Kara about it.

It's after work when you fly through Kara's apartment window, unceremoniously.

"Oh hey!" Kara opens her arms excitedly when she sees you and you give her a forced smile. "You were reading my mind, I was about to call you and ask you to come over." 

You make your way inside, but not before your sister pulls you in for a hug and a kiss on the top of your head. 

"Why?" You untangle yourself making way to her couch. She furrows her brows when notices that you don't hug her back, but you're already throwing yourself on the couch, supersuit and all.

"Alex told me J'onn decided to take you off the case." You raise your head at her when she comes closer, a clear scowl. "I'm sorry, mini me. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make the writing stop, ok?" Kara kneels in front of you, reaches for a loose strand of hair, and puts it behind your ear. "It will be alright."

"Will it?" You glare at her, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"It will." Kara gives you a trying smile. "In the meantime, maybe you can talk to Lena about having more sleepovers, so you can continue sleeping well. I'm sure she won't mind."

"Why are you so worried about how well I sleep?"

"Because!" You hear her heart picking up the pace, so you wait for the rest, sure you must be closing in on her real reasons. "Sleep is important, and I know you were having a hard time with it. Nightmares ain't fun." You raise an eyebrow at her, she licks her lips. "And you said you were having them for a while. How-how long again?"

"Months."

"Right. Months with no good sleep, having to work and be a superhero. It takes a toll."

"You know what else takes a toll on people?" Kara raises an eyebrow in question. "Lying."

"Um, I guess. Have you? Been lying?" 

"Me?" You can't believe she won't admit it. And she thinks you're the one lying. What the hell. "Oh no, I'm not the liar. You are."

"What?" Kara's mouth opens and closes a few times, like she can't believe she got caught. Like she didn't think you would find out. "What are you even talking about?"

And then, just like that, you snap. Anger starts boiling your blood, and you get up in a swift movement, ready to unleash hell. She stumbles back in surprise. It takes her a few seconds to get up too.

"You made me a superhero. Forced me into this life." You spit out greeted teeth. "Have you ever thought I could want something else? Have you ever thought of me as something other than a mini you?"

"What?" 

"You got me to work for you and Alex! So you could both control my every step! And now what? Now you don't want me to be Powergirl anymore?"

"What?" She repeats, looking so surprised, you don't know how she can fake it so well. When did your sister become such a good actress? "What do you mean? Of course I do!"

"Then why have you been writing on fucking billboards and buildings that Powergirl should die?" Kara's eyes widen so much, you can't help but to roll your own. "Oh Rao, stop playing dumb already! I saw you, ok?"

"You saw me?"

"Red cape, blonde hair flying in the wind. All of it." 

Kara furrows her eyebrows, "Really?" You agree with your head. "Red cape like this one?" She grabs your cape, pulling you to the direction of the mirror. "Blonde hair like that one?" She points at your reflection.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense." You can't stop the irony thick in your voice. "Yeah, sure. I'm the one writing that I should die."

"You are." Kara holds your face between her hands. "You haven't been having nightmares, Y/N. What you think you're dreaming, it's really happening. And the red cape you saw was yours."

"No."

"It's not the first time, either. You used to have them in Krypton too. Used to go around doing things you wouldn't remember and blame them on me."

"You're lying." You push Kara away from you so strongly, you're amazed she doesn't fall. "Just admit you did it! Why won't you?"

"Because I did! Our whole lives I would take the blame for everything you did while you were sleepwalking. With mother and father, Eliza, even with Alex. Gosh, Alex is still mad at me for destroying her chances to go to Europe when you were the one that did it!" 

"No, you did it! You – You exploded Alex's stuff with your heat vision and Eliza thought you were feeling left out, I saw your blonde hair!" You stop yourself, walking backwards until your legs hit the couch again and you fall in it, wordless. 

"You hate being Powergirl so you want her dead." Kara whispers lightly not to startle you. "I can't take the blame for this, because it won't stop it. You're the one that has to stop this now." She clears her throat to make sure you're still listening. "Kid, I can protect you from all the monsters and villains and planet explosions, but I can't protect you from yourself."

Your mind is screaming at you. Short-circuiting being overflowed with memories. She is right. Oh no, Kara is right. It was you all along. 

When Kal was born you were jealous of the attention he was getting, so you stole his baby blanket and hid under Kara's bed.

You lost your spy beacon, so aunt Astra could only communicate with Kara afterwards. But you blamed Kara for having stolen yours and everyone believed you. 

Alex said she wouldn't be back from college that year. Instead, she was going to Europe for the summer. You got mad and sad, you missed your sister so much and was so anxious to see her, yet she wasn't coming home. So you did it. You exploded Alex's side of the room and said Kara did it. 

And Kara took the blame. She took the blame for you again and again. She would have people yelling at her, mad at her, but she wouldn't accuse you. 

Oh my God, you just blamed your sister for wanting you dead when she was only trying to protect you from yourself again.

"Kara," You raise your tear-soaked face at her. "I swear I didn't know. I – I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know, baby." She whispers, one lonely tear rolling down her cheeks. 

"No, I – Kara, I –" You can't talk. Can't breathe. It's all too much. "I'm sorry." You fall on your kneecaps, head hanging low. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll tell Alex, I'll call Eliza and tell her too, I wish I could tell mother and father, I wish I –"

Kara kneels in front of you, pulls your face to her chest and hugs your head. "You're ok. It's ok." She kisses the crown of your head. "It's what I'm here for. I'm here to protect you. I'm here to prevent you from getting hurt. I would've taken the blame for this too, if I could. But if I did, the writing would never stop."

"You took the blame for everything." You cry harder. "Oh Rao, I've been hating you for weeks. But it was all my fault. And you," You look up to her, though you can't see right with all of the tears blurring your view. "You knew. I was treating you so badly, and you knew exactly why."

Kara shrugs. She doesn't care that you've been blaming her. Why doesn't she care?

"I told you," She answers the question right out of your mind. "I will always protect you. And I won't stop just because you're being mean to me. I'm your big sister and I love you."

You hold her tight, crying non stop, unable to tell her how much you love her too. But she knows. She knows by the way you're sobbing and giving her a bone-crushing hug at the same time. 

"It's time to let Powergirl go, baby." She cleans your tears, and helps you up. "Come on, let's let her go."

"But – But you need my help, you need me to be her." You whine, even though you are making it easier for Kara to detach the cape from your back. 

"No." Kara speaks softly and kisses your temple, soothing. "I don't need Powergirl. I need my sister. I need you, Y/N."

She helps you out of your stupid gloves and boots, while you cry. You don't know why you're crying. You're happy, you’re finally free of this gigantic responsibility that was placed on your back. You’re happy you won’t have to lie anymore. And yet, you cry.

“Come on, it’s over now.” Kara shows up in front of you with one of her baggy hoodie and you’re out of skin tight suit soon after. And so you can finally breathe again.

You watch Kara carefully folding your suit and placing them in a box. She gives it to you so you can decide what to do with it. You don’t take the box from her hands.

“You keep it. In case of an emergency.” 

Kara looks at the box in her hands. “I’ll not ask you to put on this suit again, I promise.”

And you believe her. But you also know that if any of your sisters or Lena are in danger, no one will even have to ask you. 

“You take it to the DEO then. I’m sure they’ll keep it safe.” You hug Kara tight, one last tear falling from your eye. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for keeping me safe and always protecting me. El Mayarah."

"El Mayarah, mini you. Mini sis? Minnie Mouse!" Kara says and scrunches her nose at it.

"Yikes."

"I'll think of something else." Kara guarantees, kissing the top of your head. And you make your way to the door. "Wait," She says before you leave. "You're not wearing pants."

"Oh," You look at the large hoodie reaching mid thighs. "It's fine, I don't think Lena would mind."

"I knew it!" Kara says excitedly, and then she furrows her brows right after. "Can't let you leave the house with no pants, though. Especially now that I know where you're going."

"Fineeee." You pretend to be annoyed, but you're not really. It wasn't a good idea leaving the house without pants. Kara gives you matching sweatpants and kisses your head one more time before you leave.

"I'm happy for you and Lena, little one." Then she smiles brightly, eyes lightning up as well. "I think I got it this time."

"You've got it." 

Powergirl is gone. Not dead. But definitely gone. And that lifts a huge weight from your shoulders and you're completely sure you won't have nightmares and won't sleepwalk again. At least not for that reason.

But hey, who are you to skip a sleepover date with your beautiful girlfriend, right?

[opinions-about-tiaras]

Weird shit you find on AO3:

I went trawling for Babylon 5 fanfiction recently because I hadn’t watched the show in a long time, then I watched it again, then I was all “this is pretty good, I wonder what’s been written for it?”

It’s an older show whose production run pre-dates heavy fanfiction writing, so it doesn’t have much; there’s only 2750 fics total...

... and a little over 250 of them, something like one in eleven B5 fics total on the site, collectively totaling around three-quarters of a million words over more than a decade, the author still active and posting currently, are written by this one complete loon whose entire thesis statement is “The Psi Corps is right, Bester was right, almost everything you see in the show that paints them in a negative light is wrong or a lie.”

A lot of it isn’t even fanfiction! Just... all these lengthy essays, some of which have themes like “the right to privacy is racist” and “the episodes that say the Corps are forcibly breeding people are lies and you shouldn’t believe them.”

There’s some strangeness out there in the corners, I’ll tell you what.

[inthepeakymidwinter]

A Grand Distraction (Arthur Shelby x Reader) *smut*

*This story is 18+ no minors interact* Summary: Y/N leaves a party in a rush only to meet Arthur in a back room to comfort her. *cough cough emphasis on comfort* A/N: This was a weird old one I wrote and un-published just bc I felt uncomfortable at the time with writing smut but now I'm like fuck it lets gooo. Also LOWKEY I was making a hint to the newer Anna Karenina film bc i picture Count Vronsky (aaron taylor johnson) as 'Count Ostrovsky' lmfao don't judge me Word Count: 2750 TW: smut, alcohol, tight corset/hyperventilating Tags: @theshelbyclan @globetrotter28

————————————————

It was the night of the grand ball at the Russian Count Ostrovsky’s mansion. I wasn’t sure why, but the Count had taken a liking to the Peaky Blinder boys, and more so…me. It was uncomfortable for him to pine after me, but Tommy begged me to go. It was selfish for him to ask that of me, but I knew there was business to be done on his end and I didn’t want to get on his bad side. Truth be told I was frightened of the consequences, so I decided to play dress up for one night while the peaky boys did their thing. I wore a long burgundy ball gown that was so tight around my waist I could barely breathe. This was the one thing I could ask Tommy to buy for me and he didn’t complain. I told him if I was going to do his dirty work, I would have to do it properly, and well, properly I did.

I rode on the way to the mansion with none other than the mother hen of the Peaky Blinders, Polly Gray. “You know you are going to have the Count on your neck the entire time with this dress. He won’t want to leave your side” She stated bluntly. I nodded quietly and gazed out of the window of our car. I was so nervous I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to have the Count anywhere near me let alone breathing down my neck. I only wanted Arthur Shelby. The only man who could save me from this whole thing. Arthur was tall, slim, and had a heart the size of an elephant. He was so caring and sweet to me, but I could never understand him. He wouldn’t tell me anything about himself. He’d just ask how my day was going and carry on with bartending at the Garrison. I’d get a few stares from him when I would be caught talking to his brothers, but he never did anything other than stare. It had been months, and still nothing. I was starting to doubt myself and go along with Tommy’s plan already.

Polly and I stepped into the Count’s giant ballroom. His dance floor was massive, and the servers were passing everyone champagne as they walked by. I made my way around with Polly, we both sipped our champagne and eventually parted ways before I found the Peaky Blinder boys in a corner talking amongst themselves. The first to look at me was Thomas, he tried looking back to his brothers but failed miserably as I continued to hold his gaze. John and Arthur were trying to interact with Thomas but had to track what he was looking at because he could not speak without looking in my direction. Arthur shot his gaze down my way, and I felt my cheeks heat up. His dark eyes turned colder once he remembered what I was here for, and he turned away in the blink of an eye. I felt my heart start sinking, and before I was able to do anything about it, I felt a strange finger on my shoulder. I turned around to face the young, tall, and brightly blonde Russian Count Ostrovsky.  “Madam Y/N, would you like to dance?” He asked politely, kissing my hand gently. I blushed hard at the gesture, yet my heart felt pulled towards another direction.

“I would love to, but if I’m quite honest…I’m not really sure how” I spoke.

“Don’t worry” He wrapped his left arm around my waist. “We can remedy this situation in a matter of minutes…I’ve been told I’m a great dancer” He gloated.

I smiled at him and followed his steps carefully, trying hard not to step on his toes.

“Count Ostrovsky…How did you know I was here?” I asked as we danced together. His blue eyes sparkled as he held my gaze.

“I have my ways” He laughed.

In a few minutes our dance had finished, and I felt my lungs run out of air. The corset I wore had restricted me in the worst way. “I enjoyed dancing with you Count Ostrovsky” I spoke softly, purposely trying not to let him down harsh before parting ways with him. He accepted my leave with a simple yet friendly nod, and I walked off the dance floor towards the back of the room where I had seen the Peaky Blinder boys previously.

Thomas and John had run off to the dance floor, but Arthur was standing patiently in a corner by himself. I waved at him, and he gave me a small smile. I walked over slowly, sure to inhale and exhale smoothly so I didn’t pass out. “Arthur” I called him out. “I see you’re having fun” I pointed to the bottle of vodka he held in his hand. He nodded his head and took a long swig before looking my way again. On the way towards him I wobbled slightly on the back of my heel and nearly fell, but Arthur came to the rescue and held me for a moment. I looked deeply in his eyes, trying to breathe but instead Arthur came up with words for me.

“Aren’t you a grand distraction”.

I stood upright and looked around the room to keep myself from blushing. I spotted Polly talking to some young man and decided to dart over that way to spare my feelings for Arthur. I didn’t need things to go tragically wrong tonight, and Thomas told me I only had one job. Spend time with the count. I gave Arthur a soft smile before sliding my way towards Polly. She was laughing and drinking with some young prince I had seen before at another party. I tried to chat with them for a minute, but I was quickly pulled aside by Thomas. His blue eyes stared me down and I felt my stomach tighten. “Why are you not with the Count?” He asked sternly. “I-I don’t know, we were just dancing Thom-“ “Are you serious? You two are supposed to be in bed by now” He huffed.

“Are you serious? Am I just some whore to you? You know what…I quit, I’m done playing your games, Thomas” I snapped and stormed off from him.

As I ran off my corset kept tightening and I could barely breathe. I ran down a random darkened hallway and walked into what seemed like a personal library room. I hyperventilated in the quiet room, trying to figure out how to rip the dress off myself until I heard a voice from behind me.

“I see you’re all by yourself” Arthur spoke lowly, sending chills down my neck. I quickly turned around and his face fell. He saw that I was in desperate need of air.

 “Arthur…I need your help but you cannot tell anyone, okay?” I asked him quietly. He nodded his head and I started to look around the room for an escape route. There was none. I looked at the door and saw there was a lock. I went behind Arthur and locked the door

“Y/N what are you-“

“Arthur I need you to get me out of this” I began trying to untie my dress but I couldn’t reach the strings of fabric in the back.

“Y/N are you sure I shouldn’t get Polly” He said sheepishly. I turned to looked him dead in the eyes and yelled at him to help me take it off. It felt like my lungs were deflating by the second and I couldn’t bear to keep the dress on any longer.

“Arthur I can’t breathe I don’t have time-“ I shouted at him. I started to hyperventilate again and instantly I felt his warm, rough hands start detangling all the tight knots. Within a few minutes Arthur had reached the corset and released me from its dreaded grasp. I let out a big breath and nearly collapsed onto the nearby chaise lounge in nothing but my silky white underclothes. “Arthur I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see me like this but-“

“Y/N…you’re all I ever want to see” He let out. My mouth dropped open slightly, and I felt myself get lost in his glazed eyes.

“I thought you didn’t like me like that, Arthur“

“With a bloody face like that, how could I not like you Y/N” He slurred a little and began to lean in for a kiss. I struggled with the thought of Thomas finding out, and didn’t move at first, but Arthur kept his distance once I showed a sudden disinterest.

“Thomas could find out-“ I gulped and looked into his eyes.

“Fook him” He smirked and cupped the side of my face gently. I felt my cheeks heat up as his eyes took me in. I couldn’t stand to hold the silent yet enamored gaze. I crashed my lips against his in one quick move, a desperate attempt to taste the lips of the one and only Arthur Shelby. He reciprocated my actions and locked his lips against mine. We broke away for a moment. A chance to catch each other’s breaths and assess the moment properly. “From the first moment I saw you in that dress, I wanted to devour every inch of you” Arthur growled lowly. He got closer to me and placed love hungry kisses on the right side of my neck. I breathed him in with each kiss, he softly sucked and nibbled at certain spots sending chills down my back.

 “A-Arthur” I whined.

“Tell me what you want, love” He commanded.

“You…Arthur” I mumbled as he kept kissing and sucking on my neck. His thick moustache sent me into sensory overload as it tickled and scratched me with each kiss. I didn’t know how much further we would get before we got caught but I didn’t ever want him to stop. I felt his rough hand slide against my underclothes slowly. He started at my collarbone then slid down towards my breasts. He took my right breast in his hand and gently but firmly caressed it then slid down lower towards the edge of my stomach. “Arthur” I whined. He looked at me as he slid his hand down lower, feeling the warmth between my legs radiate against his skin. It was then that he kissed me firmly again and bit my lip when our lips separated slowly. I whimpered at the thought of our kisses coming to an end if anyone realized we were gone for so long. “Arthur, someone could catch us” I worried aloud. He looked at me with furrowed brows, then sighed and kissed my nose.

“I don’t think I’d be able to stop even if someone did, Y/N” He spoke gently. I desperately craved him and his confidence. We kissed once more, and I straddled his legs as he lay on the chaise lounge. “I need you, Y/N” He grunted as I started grinding down on his thigh. I felt myself get wetter by the second and we spent the time kissing one another, slowly deepening this kiss, using our tongues slowly and playfully. Each time we touched it felt impossibly electric. A feeling that was extraordinary only because it was him. Not the count, not Thomas, not anyone else, just… Arthur.

“I wanna feel you love” He growled once more and ripped the top of my slip dress to show my breasts. I sat there in shock, but it quickly faded as soon as he reached down and started to kiss and suck on my breasts. He alternated with each one, teasing me and making my nipples hard until I moaned and squirmed in his lap. “A-Arthur please” I begged him with a thirsting need for him to please me properly.

“You want me?” He asked with a shine in his eyes. I nodded my head quickly and before I knew it, he was flipping me over, so that I was positioned under him on the chaise lounge. He began hovering over me slowly reaching up under my white slip dress. “Let me taste you first” He demanded and shoved his head under my dress. I had prayed to the sky that this man wouldn’t kill me before the night was over, but things weren’t looking too good on my end. I felt his hot breath surround my wet pussy. His lips had pressed against my clit and he started to lick me up and down, using the chance to suck on my clit whenever he desired to. It had sent me so overboard that I dug my nails into the arms of the leather chaise lounge. I didn’t know what else I could do but shout Arthur’s name each time I felt my stomach tighten into knots. He quickened his pace and it felt like I was on fire.

“Arthur-Arthur I’m going to c-cum pl-please” I moaned out. He took that as motivation to proceed eating me out as fast as he could. He swirled his tongue on my clit and licked downwards, sticking his tongue into my entrance. His tongue flicked and thrusted into me at record speed. I was on the brink of orgasm when he stopped altogether and left me hanging. He pulled himself out from under my dress and his hair was flattened, pieces falling to each side of his face. He reached up to me and crashed his lips down on me. I reciprocated the kiss as desperate as I knew how. “Arthur please…I need you” I whined for him.

“As you wish, Y/N” He smirked and undid his belt. I followed his thick, veiny hands towards his belt and the second it popped off his waist I was able to see his cock poking through his boxers.

“You’re so big” I gasped as he took off his boxers. He had the proudest grin on his face as he bent down and gave me a slow, deep kiss. I took him in my hands as we kissed and I felt his body shudder at the touch. I stroked him slowly and he separated my lips from his.

“You want me to fuck you huh?” He smirked. He shuffled around the chaise lounge, getting into a better position. I nodded my head and bucked my hips against his dick. It wasn’t until after that he saw the neediness in my eyes. He aligned his cock with my warm entrance. He thrust into me slowly, but all the way and I gasped with widened eyes. “You alright, love?” He asked softly. Even with all the lust and passion, Arthur was still a sweet gentleman on the inside. I nodded my head and he slowly thrusted himself into me. His low grunts filled me with a dark desire to make him orgasm. With each thrust I cried out his name and dug my nails into his back. I couldn’t help but to scream, his size wasn’t something I was used to.

“Art-Arthur!” I shouted as he sped up his thrusts. It felt like I was going to explode with bliss. He deepened his stroke and kept fucking me like he meant it.

“Cum for me, Y/N” He demanded roughly as he thrusted. I tried to control my breathing, but there was no point. I was finally getting all of Arthur. I bucked my hips and tried to control his thrusting from underneath, but instead Arthur sped up his thrusts and I didn’t even know he could go so fast. Every inch of him was hitting me at once and all I could do was dig my nails into him and cry out his name.

“I’m gonna c-cum, fuck Arthur” I panted out.

He kept his pace and praised me. “Good, cum for me, princess” His hands grabbed mine and forced my arms above my head. He stared deeply into my eyes as he kept thrusting quickly into me. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I started riding out the high of my orgasm. “Good girl” Arthur complimented as he kissed and sucked on my neck. He kept fucking me until he came shortly after I did. He grunted and clenched up around my walls. I moaned softly and kissed him on the shoulder. Arthur slowly slid out of me and looked at me like he sobered up via orgasm.

 “Arthur…” I whispered.

“I told you…you’re a grand distraction Y/N” He breathed out

[storiesforallfandoms]

undead ~ eddie munson;stranger things

word count: 2750

request?: no

description: she thought her boyfriend was dead, but she forgot she lived in hawkins where nothing is what it seems

pairing: vampire!eddie munson x female!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of death

masterlist (one, two)

It had been a week since the death of your boyfriend, Eddie. You could still see his face as you cradled his head in your arms. You could still hear his voice telling you that it was his year, it was both of your year. You could still hear him telling you he loved you one last time before watching the last trace of life leaving his eyes.

You wished you hadn’t let Steve drag you out of the Upside Down - literally. You were so inconsolable that Dustin had to get your group of friends to help him convince you to leave. When you fought off everyone else’s attempts, holding Eddie’s lifeless body close to you and screaming for everyone to leave you alone, Steve grabbed you and lifted you from the ground. He ignored your kicking and screaming as he brought you to the gateway between Hawkins and the Upside Down, forcing you through it. For the last seven days, you wished they had just left you there with Eddie. Sure, you probably would’ve died there, too, but at least you would’ve died with him.

You couldn’t tell your parents why you were so upset. They hadn’t even known you were dating Eddie, a fact you were going to keep a secret for the rest of your life given Eddie’s false status as a murderer. And they certainly weren’t going to believe you if you told them the truth about Eddie, Vecna, and the Upside Down. You lied to them for a whole week, saying you felt sick so they’d let you stay home from school and leave you alone in your room, and you spent all of those days crying till you felt like you were going to shrivel up into a prune due to dehydration.

Everyone else seemed to move on from Eddie’s death faster than you did. Robin and Steve went back to work and their own personal lives, the D&D kids (the former Hellfire Club, a name they retired in Eddie’s honor) were back to their games, the couples were all back to their own relationships. It was just you, laying in your bed day in and day out, holding on to the memories of Eddie that you had.

You were asleep one night when you heard a tapping at your window. At first, you thought you were dreaming and ignored it. Then it came again, this time a little louder. You opened your tired eyes and looked at the clock on your nightstand. The bright red letters read 3am. You were confused; who the hell was knocking at your window at 3 in the morning?

You groaned as the sound came again, and you finally rolled out of bed to see who was there.

“I swear, if this is Steve or Robin, I’m going to fucking ki - ”

Your sentence was cut off by a shriek as you opened the curtains and saw who was perched on the tree branch by your window.

Eddie.

His face was almost white as snow, and his eyes were glowing an angry red color, but it was undoubtably the face of your boyfriend.

But no, that wasn’t possible. Eddie was dead. You had held him while he died, you felt the life leave his body. You had all left him in the Upside Down. There’s no way he could be here now, outside of your window, looking unmistakably not dead.

You grabbed the nearest weapon you could find - which, ironically, was Eddie’s guitar that you had managed to take with you before Steve forced you back to Hawkins - and opened the window. He was smiling at you at first, until you swung the guitar at him.

“Whoa, baby!” he exclaimed, falling backwards on the branch. He lost his balance, but managed to regain it enough so he wouldn’t fall.

“Get the fuck away from me!” you hissed through clenched teeth, swinging the guitar again.

“Baby, it’s me! It’s Eddie!”

“Eddie’s dead! I watched him die! I don’t know who or what you are, but you better leave me the fuck alone before I make sure you’re dead, too!”

You swung again, but this time Eddie was quick enough to grab hold of the guitar. He managed to pull it from your hands with little effort and held it protectively to him.

“Of all the things you could’ve attacked me with, why did you have to choose the guitar?” he asked. “Even if I wasn’t actually me, it hurts me to know that you’d so willingly sacrifice my baby.”

“How do I know it’s actually you?” you asked. “How do I know you’re not some creature from the Upside Down, or one of Vecna’s little henchman or whatever sent here to drag all of us back to our deaths?”

“I guess asking you to trust me isn’t enough,” he mumbled. “Okay, how about this: you lost your virginity to me when you were in summer camp our first year together. I snuck onto the camp grounds and into your tent, pretended to be all Sleepaway Camp to freak you out cause I had taken you to see it right before you went away to camp, and then we had sex for the first time right in your sleeping bag. You had the tent to yourself, so no one came to disturb us, and you made me promise not to tell a single soul that that’s how it happened because you didn’t want us getting in trouble. You never told anyone, either. Not even Robin or Nancy. You used to tell me all the time it was the best night of your life.”

You could feel moisture growing in your eyes as Eddie spoke. There wasn’t many things that he could’ve said to get you to believe it was really him (you weren’t really an adventurous person with a lot of secrets you kept from people), but that was certainly the one thing he could’ve said. You looked into his bright red eyes and could still see your Eddie looking back at you through them.

You were about to say something, but you heard footsteps coming down the hall. You realized you must’ve woken your parents and quickly lunged for the lock on your door. Just in time, too, as the moment it turned you could hear your parents trying to get into your room.

“(Y/N)?” came your father’s voice. “We heard a yell, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” you responded. “I just had a nightmare. I’m sorry I woke you!”

“Do you want us to come in, sweetheart?” asked your mother.

“No!” you answered quickly, but then cleared your throat and tried again. “I mean no, that’s okay guys. Really, I’m fine. Please, go back to bed.”

You waited until you heard their footsteps retreating down the hall and their bedroom door close before you turned back to Eddie. You stifled a yelp as you realized how close he had gotten to you. He chuckled at the surprised look on your face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “I should’ve done this at a better time, but I couldn’t wait any longer to see you again.”

“I have so many questions,” you said. “But I also don’t want to ask any of them because I just want to hold you again.”

He smiled and reached his hands out for you. He placed them on your waist and even though the material of your pajama shirt that was separating your skin from his, you could feel how cold his hands were. You didn’t pay much mind to it, though, as you quickly leaned forward to kiss him.

He was cold all over, but his lips still felt as soft as they had before. It was still a familiar kiss, one that you had shared so many times before. You leaned in so close to him that your bodies were pressed firmly against one another. He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you from the floor, wrapping your legs around his waist so he could carry you to the bed.

He laid you down gently, breaking the kiss so he could gaze down at you. There was longing all over his face, and you felt the same. You just wanted to hold him and never let him leave. You still felt so tired, but you were afraid to close your eyes in case all of this was a dream and he wasn’t really there.

You ran your fingers over his cold, pale cheek. “Why do you look so different? Did something happen in the Upside Down? Besides, you know, the whole death thing?”

“I guess you could say that.”

He rolled onto the bed next to you and pulled you close to his side. When you rested your head on his chest, you realized there was no sound in there; no heartbeat. You gasped softly at the revelation.

“I bet that just brought on many more questions,” he said. You looked up at him and nodded. “Okay, let’s start with the fact that I was actually dead. Well...am actually dead. I’m not exactly...alive right now.”

“So you’re like a zombie?” you asked.

“Try a different kind of fantasy creature.” When you didn’t respond, he filled in the blanks for you, “A vampire.”

You gasped again. “Like...like Dracula?”

“Yeah, kind of. I haven’t been one for very long. I only woke up a few days ago and I was totally lost. I couldn’t remember anything before I died, not even you or the Hellfire Club. All I knew was that I was incredibly thirst, but not for water.”

You shuttered as you put the pieces together of what Eddie meant. If he woke up a vampire, that meant he was craving blood.

“How did you fix that?” you asked.

“Believe it or not, there’s quite a few things in the Upside Down that have blood for me to feed on. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to satisfy the craving. Once I was no longer hungry, everything started to come back. I was afraid at first that you had also gotten hurt down there, but I couldn’t find anything to tell me that any of you guys were still stuck there, so then I made my way to the gate to come back to Hawkins. The first thing I wanted to do was to look for you, but I felt so exhausted suddenly that I went to my old hiding spot and slept for hours. When I woke up, it was dark and late, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to find you and make sure you were okay, and to tell you that I was okay.”

You could barley grasp everything he was telling you. You had only learned about the existence of otherworldly creatures a few years prior after your friend Barb went missing and Nancy drunkenly admitted to you that she had been killed by some demon thing in a Hell like version of Hawkins. Every year since it felt like you were getting new information thrown at you with very little time to fully fathom it all.

“So,” you started after some silence, “is all the stuff about vampires true? Like the garlic and not showing up in mirrors and not being able to be in the sunlight?”

“Well, I haven’t tested garlic or mirrors yet, but I did step out into the sunlight when I returned to Hawkins and I felt just fine. I don’t know the extent of everything just yet, I’m sure it’ll be a learning process.”

“So if I go to sleep now, I won’t have to wait till tomorrow night to see you again?”

Eddie smiled down at you and pressed a kiss against your forehead. “Go to sleep, baby. It is awfully late and you look really tired. I won’t burst into flames or lock myself in a coffin while you’re asleep.”

You chuckled and settled yourself into his embrace. For the first time in a week, you drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~

When you woke up the next morning, you found yourself alone in your bed. Panic started to sink in. You were so sure you had dreamt the night before and that Eddie hadn’t come back as an undead vampire creature. You sat up in your bed and looked around your room, feeling a lump forming in your throat. It wasn’t until you saw your open bedroom door, which you remembered being closed and locked, that you started to calm down a little.

You got out of bed and made your way down the hall to your parents bedroom. The door was open, showing that their bed was perfectly made and their sleep clothes from the night before were thrown on top of the laundry basket, meaning they had gotten up early and gone to work while you were still asleep. That eased your panic a little more, but there was only one thing that would completely sooth you.

You felt your heart jump to your throat as you entered the kitchen and found a familiar head of messy brown hair sat up on the counter, reading the morning newspaper as he sipped something from a coffee mug.

“Please don’t tell me that’s blood,” you said.

Eddie looked up at you and a smile crossed his face. “No, it’s coffee. Turns out I can still eat and drink normal human things, I probably just need blood to actually survive.”

You crossed the kitchen to stand between his open legs. He leaned down to meet your lips with his, kissing you gently, as if afraid that a simple kiss could break you. Although, you had no idea how strong he really was now with his new undead status. Maybe he could break you with just a kiss. The thought both worried and excited you for whenever you tried to have sex with him again.

“I was just seeing what the latest news has been since I’ve been dead,” he said when he pulled away. He turned the article he was reading towards you so you could look at it. “I’m a cult leader now, huh?”

You sighed and shut the newspaper, throwing it onto the counter next to him. “They keep writing that bullshit even after your Uncle Wayne told threatened them.”

Eddie winced at the name. “Does Uncle Wayne...know?”

You shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t really seen many people since you...died.”

“Not even Robin, Nancy, or Steve?”

“Robin and Nancy check in on me every now and then, but I haven’t left the house in a week. I just didn’t feel ready to go back to normal life like nothing ever happened. It was a lot harder for me than it was for everyone else.”

He cupped your face in his ice cold hands. You were starting to get used to his cold body temperature. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

You chuckled. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t exactly ask to be killed.”

“I know, but I hate thinking about how much you were hurting while I was gone. I didn’t expect for you to get over it all right away or anything, but I thought you might surround yourself with your friends to help you through it.”

“It was too hard to be around everyone. Every time Robin or Nancy would call, I would just think about you and everything that the four of us, and Steve, have been through. Thinking about going to school just made me think about how I wouldn’t see you in the hallways or in class or anything. Everything reminded me of you. I wasn’t ready to let go.”

“You don’t have to let go now.” He kissed the tip of your nose. “I’m not going anywhere now. As long as you want me around, I’ll be here.”

You smiled up at him. “What if I want you around forever?”

His smile reminded you of a child being told they were going to Disneyland. “Well, I can quite literally be around forever now.”

When he kissed you again, you never wanted it to end. You wanted this forever; you wanted Eddie forever.

But you soon pulled away as something crossed your mind. “We should go tell the others.”

Eddie nodded. “We will. I just want some time with you, first.”

And how could you argue with that?

[dre6ming]

The delicate beginning rush-imagine

A thousand flowers

Masterlist <chapters 1->14>

Imagines Masterlist- short stories

To be added to my tag list click HERE

Pairing: Austin Butler x singer/actress fem reader

Warning:age gap(10 years) smut, thigh riding, dry humping, hope that’s all…. and fluff lots of it

Plot: Austin is over, visiting you while you’re filming and he takes you out on a walk only for you to return to the perfect ‘at home’ date.

Word count: 2750

As I push my way through the door of the apartment, with Austin behind me, giggling like little kids, then stop dead in my tracks. The apartment is drowned in the dim amber light of candles. "What?" I gasp, turning my head to look at Austin. He's grinning at me, brushing a hand through his hair. Looking back at the place, I take my snow boots off and slowly walk around. "Let me take your jacket!" Austin says, reaching his hands from behind me, unzipping the puffer jacket and slipping it off my shoulders. I wonder around, following the candlelit pathway to the kitchen. Tears gloss my eyes, as I take in the beautifully set table and the bouquets of purple star flowers, sitting all around the room. "Aus.." I turn around to look at him, he's now taken off his jacket as well and is standing close behind me, with his hands in his pockets, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. Walking up to him, I cup his face in my hands, touching his bottom lip with my thumb, saving it from the torture of his teeth. "How did you do all this? When?" I ask in awe of it all, looking it his beautiful blue eyes, which shine a bright shade of teal in the bright orange candle light.

Austin blushes, settling his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to his chest, letting me feel the tremble of his heart. "You like it?" He asks shyly, brushing his nose against my cheek, as I turn my head around to look at the scene. "I- yes, no one's ever done anything like this for me before, this is so beautiful." I say, my voice wavering a bit with emotion. "I asked Matt to come set this up, I found this small flower shop today, while you were on set, when I was exploring." Austin tells me, his hands traveling down my side, slowly reaching the back of my thighs, his strong fingers gripping the flesh. He lifts me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, making me squeal out of surprise. "I saw purple star flowers in the display window and I know they are your favorite, so I got you a bouquet." He tilts his head down, to touch his delicate lips on my neck. I tangle my hands in his sandy hair, pulling at the roots, feeling the vibration of his groan. "But then I thought about that thing you told me, how your favorite scene form Gilmore Girls is when Max proposes to Lorelai with a thousand daisies." Austin's lips brush my tender flesh, his hot breath fanning against my cheek as he chuckles. "Now I'm not proposing, but I just thought - God I'd love to see her face coming home to a thousand purple star followers."

My heart squeezes painfully with the emotion overload, all these things I'm feeling are new to me and my brain and heart are trying to work together, processing everything. "They didn't have a thousand of them, but I hope it still coun-" I cut him off by roughly glueing my lips on his. We sigh into the kiss, his hands traveling up my back, keeping me flush to him. It's a mess of lips and tongues and teeth clinging together, short breaths escaping us. "Wow, baby.." Austin exclaims, curling a strand of hair behind my ear. "Thank you so much Austin, I don't think I can explain how much it means to me, that you did this for me." I put my forehead against his, closing my eyes, soft streams of salt running down my cheeks and he's quick to kiss each tear away. Then his plush lips, land on my left eye, then on my right, then on the tip of my nose, the corner of my mouth and lastly my lips. I can taste the salt on his tongue, moaning into his mouth. "I'm so glad you like it, now how about we eat? Hm, I made pizza?"

Austin pulls back, looking at me with a childish smile and I shake my head, kissing his lips one more time, before he walks us over to the kitchen table, putting me down on one of the chairs. "Stay here, I asked Matt to put it in the oven on the heating setting, I made it before you got back from set." Placing my elbows on the table and resting my head in my hands, I watch him wash his hands, then go over to the oven, pulling out his famous pizza, the delicious smell reaching my nostrils, making my tummy twist with hunger. "So this is why you were so eager to go out for a walk?" I quirk a brow at him, also getting up to wash my hands, looking around for my cats, suddenly worried about all the candles. "They are in the bedroom" Austin reads my mind. "I'm sorry, if you want I can blow the candles out and get them here." Austin suggests, referring to William and Simba. "No, I'll just go check on them, I'll be right back."

He nods, setting the pizza on the table, as I go over to the bedroom, opening the door slowly, peaking my head in. "Aus come here!" I whisper exited, waving him over. He comes behind me, looking over my shoulder and I crack the door open a bit more, showing him, the two fluff balls, cuddled up together on the crochet blanket he's making out of hearts. "They look so peaceful." Austin whispers, circling his arms around me. "Yeah..." then my stomach decides to start calling for food, making Austin laugh, pulling me back towards the kitchen, so we can eat. "I'm really grateful you came to visit, it was starting to get a little lonely here." I say, sitting down, quickly lacing my fingers with his, keeping him close, a chuckle going past his lips as he stumbles over his own feet. "Want me to pull my chair next to you?" He quirks a brow at me, the corner of his mouth twisting up in a boyish smile. "Yes." I respond pulling on his arm, laughing when he bents down to place a kiss on the top of my head.

"I never understood why the need to sit opposite of each other on dates anyway." Austin stretches his arm out, dragging his chair next to mine, sitting down as well, placing the palm of his hand on my thigh. "Date? I've never been on a date before." I say wide eyed, grinning from ear to ear, making Austin laugh. His hand squeezes my thigh, causing the breath to get caught in the back of my throat, it's like a thousand electric shocks travel from where his palm lays on my denim cover leg. "One day, I'm going to take you out on a date somewhere nice..." he promises, moving his hand up my thigh. "One day, I'll be able to scream from the top of my lungs how I'm the luckiest guy alive, because you're mine and I yours." He's so close, I can taste his breath on my tongue and it makes my mouth water. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, my heart pumping fast, it's beats resonating in my ears. I swallow thickly and lean forward, gently touching my lips to his. "I'm yours and you are mine." I whisper before teasing his bottom lip with the tip of my tongue. Austin groans, kissing me, softly, his free hand cupping my cheek, thumb caressing my silky skin.

He pulls away too fast, making me whine, which makes him snicker at me. "Let's eat, you're hungry." Austin cuts a slice of his homemade pizza, lifting it up and bringing it to my lips. "Really? I can feed myself." I laugh, trying to take the slice from him, but he doesn't let me. "Ah ah it's romantic, now let me feed you!" He fake pouts, pushing the slice in my face one more time.

All these small things he does, from calling me sweet pet names like baby or darling to letting me shave him, or asking to paint my nails, all these small pieces of affection mean so much to me. I can't say that I've had this kind of attention before, it's not the kind a parent or a sibling gives you, it's so much more different, because the person has no biological obligation to do these.

"How do you like it?" He asks, taking a bite out of the same slice as well. I'm searching in my brain for the right way to say all the things I want, but I'm stuck and worry washes over his face when I take a moment too long to answer. Austin puts the slice down on the plate, wiping his hands on a tissue. One of his hands comes up to touch my cheek, the moment his fingers touch my skin, I feel the wetness. I'm crying again. "I can't explain to you, how much it means, that you do these things for me. Things I never knew could make me feel so many emotions at once." I chuckle, sniffing. His mouth twitches in a quick smile, then his eyes become red and hot streams of tears, go past his leads and onto his rosy cheeks. "I haven't always made the best decisions in regards of relationships and one day I'll tell you all about it, but baby, (y/n), you are the one thing I promise to never mess up." He takes my right hand in between his, bringing it up to his lips, kissing my knuckles, then opening my hand and placing it on his face. Austin closes his eyes and leans into my touch.

I look at this man, this man who everyday since we promised to give this "more than friends" thing a try, has been opening up to me, has been so gentle and patient. His soul is so pure and safe. My thumb touches his lid softly, feeling his eyelashes ticking the pad of my finger. He opens his blue eyes to me, smiling brightly, before he kisses the palm of my hand one more time. "Let's finish eating, then we can watch a movie." He says going back to feeding me. "Can we watch pirates of the Caribbeans?" I ask chewing my bite of pizza. "We can watch anything you want baby!" Austin tells me, drinking some wine.

𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍

Later after dinner and one too many glasses of wine, we've both changed in more comfortable clothes and are now sitting on the couch. I look at the screen of the tv, but my mind isn't really there, having watched this movie so many times before I almost know it by heart. In my peripheral vision I see Austin, his head in hand, leaning on the backrest of the couch, looking at me. "You're so beautiful, (y/n), do I tell you that enough?" He asks, playing with my hair, arranging some stray strands of hair behind my ear. I blush deeply and look at him. His smile is sloppy and his eyes are droopy, he definitely had more to drink than I did, he's not drunk, but tipsy and it's clear his relaxed. "Yes, you do, thank you." I bite my lip, looking at him, my eyes travel between his lips and his eyes.

Austin seems to read my mind, his hands grabbing my hips roughly, making me yelp as he settles me on his lap, straddling his hips. My heart races beyond control and it's like I can feel the blood running through my veins. "I'm yours..." he says, then he pulls me into a wet open mouthed kiss, his lips running over mine, sucking the breath out of me. My fingers search purchase in his golden locks, enjoying the softness of his hair. His chest vibrates with each grunt and moan. I feel weak, I feel so hungry for him, I feel so powerful yet so vulnerable. My hips move against his on instinct, feeling the bulge in his sweatpants, through my thin leggings.

Austin hands grip my hips tighter, pushing me further forward on him. I sigh into his mouth, trembling at the feeling of his hard on rubbing into me just the right way. "Baby, I- god don't stop, please!" Austin begs throwing his head back, moving my hips over his. "Shit, shit, that's it baby, (y/n)!" I kiss down his neck, biting and licking and sucking every patch of skin I can, marking him as mine. My hands stay in his hair the whole time, pulling and scratching at his roots, drawing the sweetest sounds out of him. "Aus.." pleasure builds in the pit of my belly, I can feel the wetness seeping through my leggings and I'm now chasing my pleasure as well as his. "Baby, (y/n), fuck, I'm close, please keep going."

Austin's hands dig into my flesh, keeping my rhythm steady. His hips lift off of the couch, meeting mine in a sweet dance of back and forth. I grind down on him, breathing hard, sucking his bottom lip, biting it, causing him to growl. "Shit, I'm , fuck, I'm cuming.." Austin grunts, tensing, then with a long and loud moan he relaxes. I'm breathing so heavily, my mind hazy, I'm still hungry for that release. "Get up baby, take off your leggings and panties, I want you to ride my thigh." Austin tells me and I follow suit, almost stumbling over my feet, struggling to take off my leggings faster.

"Jesus baby, (y/n) you're soaked. God." I bite my lip, crimson painting my cheeks. I look away, embarrassed all of a sudden, then his hands lay on my hips again and he pulls me to him. "My darling, my sweet darling!" Austin uses his nose to lift my shirt up a bit, exposing my belly and placing a sweet kiss right there, making my insides twist with need. "Come on, straddle my thigh baby." Austin pulls me to sit on his thigh, a moan leaving my lips, the moment the rough cotton of his pants touches my sensitive pussy. He smiles at me, his teeth shining in the dimly lit room. Blue eyes sparkling at me, watching me with such admiration and affection, I've never felt so beautiful before. "Like this..." he whispers, moving me over his thigh, the friction bringing me the pleasure I so much craved. I moan, keeping my eyes on his. Austin lifts his leg up a bit, the new angle pushing me further towards him. One of his hands leaves my hips, coming to my front, reaching for my clit, drawing tight circles on it. "Yes, please, Austin." I brace myself on his shoulders, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, as he keeps me grinding on him, stimulating my clit at the same time, the calloused pads of his fingers, working me like magic. "You're so wet, my beautiful girl, doing so well for me, are you close (y/n)?" His voice right in my ear, brings a new wave of pleasure jolting through me, I tremble in his arms, nodding my head with a soft cry, all words lost on me. "Come on honey, relax for me, cum all over my thigh."

Austin keeps the pace steady, whispering sweet praises into my ear, kissing the side of my face. I feel the bubble ready to burst, so I moan louder, urging my hips to move faster. "Yes, fuck, Austin, my sweet Austin!" I feel the bubble burst and it's so sweet and so amazing, it's like I'm free falling, every muscle in my body becomes drenched in this release. Austin rides my orgasm out, rubbing my back. "Perfect, good girl, always so beautiful."

We sit like this for a while, me on his thigh and him hugging me, then his hand moves from my hip and over to my leg, dragging it over his other leg. I squeal in surprise and he chuckles. "Let's take a shower, I want to wash your hair again." Austin says, getting off the couch with me tightly wrapped around him, my head leaning on his shoulder. "Ok, I guess you won the right to do it." I say, a big yawn leaving my lips. "Did I now?" Austin laughs, walking to the the bathroom. "I think you did."

Tags: @galaxygirl453 @rainydayz101 @samaraannhan20 @marlowmode @myradiaz @areuirish @micaelainthe60s @homebodybirkin2003 @pennyroyalcreep @purejasmine  @strokesofstokes @lanasfloridakiloss @denised916 @kibumslatina @macey234 @melodixs-blog @shantellescrivener @chewiethecatus @guacala @fangirl125reader @father-of-2cats @lucid315 @melodixs-blog @ilovehobi101 @richardslady121 @jensmithin @julie181 @chrisevansgirl34 @ranaissingle @onecrazydirectioner @maria-1287 @austinbutlerssimp @kingdomforapony @acoolnight @tarot-sybarite @goldenmarygio @frozenhuntress67

[sentientgolfball]

Lightning Strikes Water

Have some Delta elemental transition brought to you by having one too many jello shots over Halloweekend and randomly remembering a convo with @alas--pringles

Words: 2750

Tags: general elemental transition angst, character death

I also used this to experiment with a different writing style so feedback is appreciated :>

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

Alpha, Delta, Omega. The beginning, middle, and end. That’s who they were. That’s who they were meant to be. They were gifts, blessings sent from the Dark One himself to show his approval for the revival of The Ghost Project. They were there to do as the Clergy asked. But they never asked for anything from Delta and Alpha. Water and Fire. Ghouls they had seen hundreds of times before. But Omega, dear Omega was a quintessence ghoul. The rarest of their kind. It had been fifty years since the last one was summoned. And Omega was a perfect creature. The Clergy fawned over him, wanted him constantly near. They filled his time with every task they could think of where his magick would be of use. He became the head of the infirmary. The head of the nursery. The head of rituals and mystics. The overseer of all Ministry ghouls. But to Alpha and Delta, he was their rhythm guitarist. Their packmate. Family. 

Until the youngest Emeritus inherited them from the middle. Something changed within Omega when he met that man. Alpha said he lost his way, became human-like. Delta listened when Omega tried to convince them that they didn’t have to follow Clergy rules to the letter, but he didn’t dare do more than that. Listen. He entertained his counterpart’s ideas to help soothe him when he could. He came to regret this, just like Alpha said. 

Omega had left. He couldn’t travel anymore. He had been pushed and pulled in every direction since his summoning and finally broke, at least, that’s what Omega said. Though, if you asked Alpha he would tell you Terzo broke him. He would tell you Terzo was irresponsible and not fit to carry Lucifer’s blessing. Omega would tell you Terzo opened his eyes to the Dark One’s most glorious gift. Delta would tell you the fighting had become too much. 

Delta came to regret so much. He blamed himself for Omega leaving. You shouldn’t have encouraged his delusions, Alpha would say, but Delta could feel the unshed tears. Water tried to soothe fire but it only made him burn brighter. Delta tried to convince him to stay. I’m not leaving permanently, I’ll be here when you return, Omega would say, but Delta could smell the scent of melting plastic, grief. Water tried to call to the stars but he only floated farther away. 

Delta tried so hard to hold them together. He failed. Alpha became enraged. Omega became a recluse. Alpha was more than happy to leave for tour. Omega was content to stay behind and tend to his other duties. 

The only problem was the missing element. They couldn’t return and finish the tours without quintessence. The balance would be thrown off, all five had to be present. This was one of Delta’s regrets. He watched the Clergy frantically attempt summoning after summoning searching for a new quintessence ghoul. Every single ritual was a failure. Either the circle would be empty when the fires of Hell died away, or the ghoul would be so broken they wouldn’t make it. They had to stop when one of the humans responsible for the mystics died, body exhausted from the near-constant sacrifice to provide a physical representation of the element. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

Delta had come to the Clergy with a proposal. He didn’t tell Alpha or Omega. He knew despite their fighting they would have stopped him. 

He should’ve let them stop him. 

He revealed knowledge to the humans he should never have. His heart ached watching ghouls be ripped from the Pits only to be met with a worse fate. So he gave what he knew willingly. He offered to be their quintessence ghoul. Water was infinitely easier to summon, after all. 

They scolded him at first, It’s rude to joke at a time like this Delta they told him. He clasped his hands, sinking to his knees swearing on the Lords below he was telling the truth. It was only legend in ghoul culture, that one could transform themselves and hold a different element, but Delta could no longer watch his kin be scattered across every plane of existence with each failed summoning. He told the Clergy everything he knew. If a ghoul was consumed by an element, down to their very core, they could change. 

He should’ve known better when the Special appeared, drawn out by the conversation. The Chimera only appeared like that when the times changed. The Clergy looked to their Special ghoul, one who holds the power of all the elements, for confirmation. He assured them Delta was telling the truth, but he added a piece he was missing. 

“You’re correct about the consumption bit, but that’s the easy part. The hard part is getting your body to adapt and accept the element.” 

Delta knew the weight of the words Special spoke, but he still couldn’t find it in himself to be dissuaded. Water and quintessence. Ocean and stars. They were similar enough, the humans even said they were compliments. Both elements were soothing with an incredible power to heal and restore energy. Both elements had the power to destroy effortlessly. Both were great sources of fear and mystery. 

If it was going to be anyone it had to be him. When the Special ghoul left them steps on how to perform the ritual they made their mind up. Delta should have turned back. 

The Clergy would transform him and summon a new water ghoul to take his place. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

Delta was taken into the catacombs of the Ministry, as far from his element as physically possible. The mystics took him into a room where he was face-to-face with Omega. Only then did Delta start to regret his decision. His brother wore his mask, he had never hidden his face from Delta. One sniff of the air told him all he needed to know. There was a storm of anger, grief, and pain raging inside Omega as he went about the necessary steps laid out by the Special. Delta was disrobed, the quintessence symbol was carved into his chest over top of his water one. 

Please stop this he had heard Omega whisper into his mind as he performed his tasks. 

If this is punishment for leaving then have mercy. Alpha has given me enough. Please my Delta. 

He stood stoic in the center of the room unable to meet Omega’s eyes as he silently begged him to stop. There was a reason elemental transformations were a legend, simple mythology. It was dangerous, deadly. As far as any ghoul had ever known there had never been a successful attempt. Delta should have heeded the warnings. 

Instead, he let his heart be influenced by the smooth voice of Special. If the chimera said it’s possible then it has to work. He needed it to work. Time was running out and he swore to give the Clergy results. 

He just wished Omega didn’t have to be present. He couldn’t stand the constant anguish rolling off his packmates, and now he was forced to meet the issue in the eyes. He knew why Omega had to be here, but he wished he didn’t. There was only one way for Delta to become a quintessence ghoul. Only one way for his very core to be consumed by the element. Omega had to bring him to the brink using his magick and pray to the Lords below Delta could find his way through the storm of stardust and raw energy. 

Omega took him by the shoulders, looking into the ocean of his eyes. The last time he would ever do so. He had dug his claws in deep and chanted in an ancient version of Infernal even Delta didn’t recognize. He smelt the pop of ozone in the air before he felt the magick ripple through him. 

The moment it did, he had been plunged into a void so dark, that even his water ghoul eyes couldn’t find the light. It was cold. Unbearably cold. The tips of his fingers and tail were already turning purple. It was quiet and dark and cold for an eternity before purple lighting started to split the black. There was no pattern, no path to follow, simply just pops. He floated like that, drifting in the empty space until he saw a figure in the distance. He tried to call out, but no sound moved within the vacuum. 

But then came the voices. Or rather, voice. It was his own being echoed back to him, distorted and vile. It screamed at him. Making him face every little horrible thought he’s ever had, every fear he’s ever experienced, every miserable memory of his unnatural life. The lightning grew brighter with each rumble of the voice. Delta stood strong against it all. He would not break, not when he was needed. 

That was until the figure appeared inches from his face. It was him. He looked different, crazed. The figure had black holes for eyes that were filled with the light of the cosmos. It grinned at him. It grabbed the sides of his head and Delta felt like his brain would explode. He could feel the secrets of the stars being shoved into his head, could hear them whisper. He felt the spark of life and soul enter his body. He was connected to everything that ever was and ever will be. It was agony. But it wasn’t over yet. 

Audio turned to visual, his fears became real right before his eyes. He watched as the lightning illuminated the faces of Alpha and Omega. Hundreds of them. They cast Delta out. They turned their backs on him. They screamed at each other. They fought each other. They killed each other. They were banished back to the Pits. Hundreds of the horrible outcomes of the months-long conflict swarmed Delta as he fought to keep a level head and make it through the storm with an already fractured mind. 

He thought he had done something right when he started to feel the pain. He assumed the transformation would hurt and so he let it happen. A streak of purple lightning split through the void and hit him square in the chest. Exactly where the quintessence symbol had been carved. It felt like his whole nervous system was on fire. He could feel everything. The life of every soul in the Ministry, the hum and buzz of their emotions. He could feel Omega, every thought, every sensation he was feeling. He could feel the stars and planets looking at him, deciding if he was worthy or not. He could feel the void swallowing the water within him, leaving a chasm in his core. 

The first real thing he felt when he left that place was the cold. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, even as a water ghoul. He tried to breathe deep, tried to calm himself from the overwhelming pressure of life around him. He felt like he was suffocating. He opened his eyes to see his gills were gone, replaced by wild branching Lichtenberg figure scars that pulsed with magick. Then he noticed his skin. It was no longer the soft leathery texture of a water ghoul, it was dryer, almost like that of a human. It was a different color too. No longer a deep blue-grey, but now a dusty lavender. 

He raised his head to look at Omega. Delta could feel it all. See it all through the eyes of his kin. He felt Omega’s exhaustion, felt the piece of him that was now eating Delta from the inside. He felt sadness. He felt regret. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

He felt alive, more energized than he had ever felt in his entire existence. He learned the parts he needed in the new instrument with ease. He hardly slept. He used his magick whenever he could. Every regret he had disappeared with the success of the transformation. If only he knew what he had caused by being the first. 

He assisted the new water ghoulette, Mist, whenever he could. Being able to feel her emotions was overwhelming. He knew how difficult the transition between life in the Pits and life Topside was, but feeling those emotions again hurt him. He looked out for her the best he could. He started to look out for all his packmates. He could feel everything. He started to take it upon himself to fix everything around him. Omega couldn’t be near him anymore. When Delta tried to read him he was blocked from his mind. This just spurred Delta on. 

If Omega felt all the anguish and anxiety from his pack and still decided to turn his back for Emeritus then Delta would be what his pack needed. Delta would take on the responsibility, he would shoulder the weight of the world. 

What Delta didn’t see through his haze of quintessence was the reason his pack was anxious. He couldn’t see the way his body was deteriorating. He couldn’t feel it, too focused on every other creature to notice the way his body was giving up. Alpha tried to reason with him, but Delta dismissed him. Can’t you see it brother Delta would say there’s no more need for heartbreak. I’ll be what Omega could not. 

He had lost his mind along with his body. He wasn’t Delta anymore. Nobody was quite sure who he was. He shuffled through the halls of the Ministry mumbling to himself with energy crackling around him. He saw things that nobody else could see. Nobody except for the special ghoul who watched Delta from the shadows. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

It was hard to move. Every time he did, cracks of quint rippled from his body. He was dangerous to be around at this point. One stray bolt would leave a person writhing in the same agony Delta was feeling. Or would be feeling if he wasn’t lost in his head. He had been moved into one of the ghoul rooms in the infirmary, left under Omega’s care. He knew his brother wouldn’t make it. Everyone else had hope, that all he needed was more time to adjust. Omega knew better from their connection of elements. He could feel Delta’s mind leaking into the cracks of the void. Soon he’d be nothing, taken wholly by the insatiable appetite. 

Yet he still begged, prayed, and pleaded. He begged Delta to come back to him, to let him into his mind so he could take the void back. He prayed to the Lords below, to Lucifer himself to spare Delta for the mistakes he’s made. He pleaded with anyone who would listen to him so that he may not lose his last half. Alpha would no longer speak to him and now Delta was going to die. 

Alpha, Delta, Omega. The beginning, middle, and end. He was destined from his summoning to this fate. To watch on without being able to do anything. He did his best to make Delta comfortable while the Clergy summoned. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

The last thing Delta remembers is Omega. He can’t see or hear him, but he knows he’s nearby. 

Good. 

He wouldn’t have it any other way. The stars called his name, begging him to come home. He wanted to go home. Everything was so difficult Topside. He wanted to rest. The stars promised him rest. They promised him safety and comfort and infinite knowledge. He liked the sound of that. He asked if Alpha and Omega could come. They told him no. He wished his brothers could see the beauty he saw. The colors and lights. The stars promised him the three would be reunited, but for now it was time for Delta to join them. He obliged happily. He couldn’t feel pain anymore. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

He opened his arms as the stars surrounded him, welcoming him into their ranks.

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

He watched as he floated away from his body, glad he could see Omega one more time before he left. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

He became the brightest star next to Venus. 

Omega buried his body near the lake. 

You can’t change. You can’t be quintessence. 

[writing-about-current-obsessions]

Snowy vacation

Pairings: Daniel Ricciardo x reader

Words: 2750

>Click here to check out my masterlist<  

It’s Wednesday so here is the third Christmas drabble of this week! I’m sorry it’s not very Christmassy but this one just got away from me a little.

Everything was packed and she was ready to spend the week in the rented cabin up in the mountains, with probably no signal and with their closest neighbour miles and miles away. It wasn’t her idea, but she had to admit that it actually didn’t sound like the worst thing. She will spend some time away from everything and she would be surrounded by friends. Her best friend’s boyfriend was celebrating his birthday and decided that this was the way he wanted to spend it – in temperatures below zero, in the middle of nowhere. So, who was she to argue with his birthday wishes? Eleanor and Aaron were a perfect couple, as well as her very good friends. She was sure that she would have fun with them and with whoever else they invited.

She arrived yesterday and since her flight landed in the afternoon and a day before her best friend’s, she settled in a hotel overnight. The plan was to meet up today and drive to the cabin together. She made sure once again that her luggage was packed and she had everything before checking out of her room and waiting in the lobby. When she noticed the rent-a-car in front, she rushed out, eager to meet her friend.

She loved the sound her boots made in the snow as she walked in the parking lot and she absolutely adored waking up and seeing snow outside, so she was already excited.

When she saw who got out of the car, she immediately froze in her spot. None other than Daniel flashed her a smile as he stood and waved at her.

“Are you coming?” he grinned. “It’s freezing out here.”

She finally regained control of her limbs and moved to the car, dragging her suitcase with her.

“What are you doing here?” she frowned, looking at a shivering Australian in front of her.

“So good to see you too.”, Daniel replied sarcastically, displeased by her greeting.

“Aaron invited you?”

“Yes.”, he took the suitcase out of her hand to put it in the back. “And Eleanor called me this morning to pick you up.”

“That bitch.”, she muttered under her breath, but judging by the giggle Daniel let out, he definitely heard her.

She was sure that Eleanor did this on purpose and she was mad at herself for not seeing it sooner. It was such an evil plan to force her to be with her ex, especially when her best friend obviously knew how she felt about Daniel.

Ever since the breakup, she was thinking about him and how she wanted him back. She didn’t want to admit it and she acted like she didn’t care, but the feelings were still there. No matter how much it hurt, she still loved Daniel deeply. But, he was the one who wanted to break up, so there was no way that she would come crawling back to him, just to get rejected.

Eleanor kept convincing her for the longest time to meet up with Daniel and work things out, claiming that they were meant for each other, but it never happened. She simply didn’t want to get hurt again.

Still, she definitely should’ve expected this to happen.

“It’s warm in the car. Get in.”, he opened a car door for her, gesturing for her to sit.

She blinked at Daniel, brushing away all the thoughts that invaded her mind. She was confused and angry. She wanted to go back to the hotel and not spend the next couple of hours stuck in a car with her ex.

Daniel sighed, one of his eyebrows quirking up in question. “You don’t want to get in the car with me?”

“No.”, she shocked even herself when she answered.

Daniel seemed surprised as she scoffed at him.

“Do you seriously think that you can just show up and pretend like nothing ever happened?” she glared at him, walking to the back of the car to take her luggage back. “I’m not sitting in the car with you. I’ll take a taxi.”

She took her suitcase and dropped it to the ground with a loud thud. She was absolutely fuming and Daniel was panicking, walking over to her.

“A taxi will not take you in the middle of nowhere.”, Daniel reasoned, standing in her way. “Please, just let me take you. I’m already here.”

She faltered a little when she heard him say the word please, but she wasn’t about to give in so easily. She wanted to show him that she didn’t need him, no matter how petty that was.

“I’ll rent a car, then.”, she passed by him and started walking back to the hotel. “You can go, Daniel.”

His heart dropped. He didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome, but he didn’t expect a cold shoulder either. They parted ways kind of amicably, without fighting. When he suggested they needed a bit of time away from each other, she agreed without objecting too much and it hurt him. Daniel wanted her to put up a fight and convince him that they can be together. He knew that it wasn’t fair to think that way and that it was selfish of him to expect something like that. He wanted to focus on his career and see how things will work out, but now he realized he made a mistake. Maybe the biggest one in his entire life.

Living just a few months without her was absolutely horrible and he was now intent on winning her back. He thought that with Eleanor’s help the plan would run much more smoothly than it was going so far.

“There are no more rental cars.”, Daniel called after her, looking at the way she defiantly stomped back to the hotel in her boots. “I’ll be outside, waiting!”

Daniel leaned on the car and waited, even though he was absolutely freezing his ass off. He knew that she will check with the rental company and then realize she had no other option than to go with him. Maybe she will even call Eleanor to convince her to pick her up. He had no way of knowing for sure, but he did actually guess it right and that is exactly what had happened.

By the time Daniel could barely feel his fingers, she was out of the hotel, stomping back to his car.

He tried not to look smug, but he failed miserably. “Glad to see you back.”

“Just get in and drive, Ricciardo.”, she grumbled through her teeth, moving to the back of the car to put her suitcase in the trunk again.

He happily got back in the warm car and waited for her to join. They left the hotel parking lot and started their journey in silence. Even without asking her anything, Daniel sensed that she was annoyed and he realized how much more tough this will be than he previously thought. He didn’t expect her to forgive him immediately, but this seemed like she will never forgive him. What if Eleanor was wrong and she didn’t want anything to do with him anymore? What if this was too little and too late?

“Do you want to connect your phone and put some of your music?” Daniel suggested, glancing to the side at her.

She debated not answering him at all, but decided that she didn’t want to act like a petulant child after all. “Yours is fine.”

After that, silence again. Daniel couldn’t help but sneak glances at her every now and then, but she didn’t seem too interested in him. She kept staring out of the window, with her head leaned on her hand and her body turned away from him. Daniel knew that she couldn’t be so fascinated by the snowy landscape for more than half an hour, mostly because it looked the same for miles and miles as they passed by the woods covered in snow. He knew that she didn’t want to look at him or talk to him, but this was his unique opportunity before they got to the cabin and met up with their friends to try and talk to her.

“So, uh…”, he cleared his throat, looking ahead at the road and trying not to grip the steering wheel too much out of nervousness. “How have you been?”

“Since when do you care?” she snapped back.

He sighed heavily. “You know I do.”

“Do you?” she questioned rhetorically, the anger clear in her tone.

The car suddenly got so stuffy and warm, she wanted to get out.

“Of course I do.”, he looked at her, their eyes meeting for a second before he had to turn his attention to the road again. “I never stopped caring. And I never stopped loving you, either.”

She was silent now, not knowing what to say. The only thing she could do was turn her head towards him and stare at him in complete shock and an utter loss for words. Daniel nervously glanced at her, but he had to keep his attention on the road to turn the car for the incoming sharp curve.

Before she could think about what he meant by his words and respond with anything, Daniel slowly pulled the car to a stop. She noticed then that there was a roadblock in the middle of the road. There was a man by the side who walked over to Daniel’s window. He explained to them that the road is closed because of all the snow and won’t be cleared until tomorrow.

“This is why I fucking hate snow.”, Daniel huffed, closing the window after the man walked off.

“Don’t be so dramatic.”, she said, rubbing her temples because she could feel a headache coming.

This vacation was a complete disaster and it didn’t even start yet.

“Now I’m dramatic?” he quirked his eyebrow at her.

“I didn’t say you were dramatic.”, she folded her arms over her chest. “I told you to stop acting so dramatic.”

Daniel rolled his eyes at the smirk she was proudly showing on her face. She couldn’t help it. He turned around and started driving back. She tried to ignore it, but the thoughts about their previous interrupted conversation were still roaming her mind.

“Where are you going?”

“We can’t go to the cabin, that’s the only way and it’s closed off.”, he responded simply.

“Well, where are we going to go then?”

“We passed a hotel maybe 10 minutes before coming to the roadblock. We can sleep there.”, he glanced at her and she nodded silently, not really having any other choice.

It was dark when they parked in front of the hotel and it was still snowing. Daniel helped her with the suitcase before she managed to protest. He also sent a message to their friends, explaining the situation, because she was still irritated at Eleanor for not picking her up and refused to talk to her until she calmed down.

Then, their troubles continued.

The nice receptionist told them that the hotel was full and that they had only one room available. Daniel accepted it instantly. On the other hand, she immediately refused. If it was difficult for her to stay in the same car with Daniel, she didn’t even want to think about sharing a room with him.  

“I’ll sleep in the car.”, she grabbed the car keys out of his hands and he looked at her like she was crazy.

“Don’t be stupid, we can share a room.”, Daniel deadpanned.

“Now I’m stupid?” she mimicked him from before, making Daniel roll his eyes.

“I didn’t say you were stupid.”, he responded quickly. “I only pointed out that you were acting stupid.”

She expected a response like that, so she only huffed at him, taking the key card. Plastering a polite smile on her face, she thanked the receptionist who was staring at the two of them, completely dumfounded by their conversation. Not waiting for Daniel, she turned around and started marching to the elevator, while hearing snippets of Daniel’s apology to the woman at the front desk for their little outburst.

When she finally got to their shared room, she was even more exasperated and defeated when she saw that there was only one bed. That was the moment she really started panicking.

“Delightful.”, she muttered quietly.

Daniel only smirked behind her, not wanting to say anything. This was a golden opportunity for him – they were forced to be in the room together until tomorrow, so there was no way that she could escape a conversation with him. On the other hand, if he messed this chance up, then that was it.

“Come on, sweetheart. It’s not like we didn’t share a bed before.”, he teased.

Daniel immediately regretted it when she turned around and when he saw her facial expression. It was a mixture of anger, frustration and… Disappointment? He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but he was more than sure it was not good.

“You’re sleeping on the floor.”, she deadpanned and stormed off to the bathroom.

He ordered room service for dinner while she showered, tactfully choosing all of her favourite food in the hopes that it will put her in a good mood. It kind of worked. By the end of the meal, they were capable of having a light conversation without her staring daggers at him. So, it was an improvement.

By the time they finished the bottle of wine Daniel ordered, she was even smiling and chuckling at his jokes. There was even a moment of comfortable silence between them as they lounged on the sofa in the room, both with their almost empty glasses of wine in hand.

“You know, I meant what I said before.”, Daniel said seriously, looking straight into her eyes.

“What exactly?” she asked, heart thumping faster.

Of course, she knew what he was referring to. She wasn’t even sure why she asked.

“About still caring for you. Still loving you.”, Daniel admitted again, not looking away.

His gaze was so intense it almost took her breath away. She looked down at her lap, bracing herself for the heavy conversation that they were about to have.

“You were the one who wanted to break up.”

“And it was a horrible mistake.”, he put his glass down on the coffee table and scooted closer to her on the sofa, gently taking her hand in his. “I’m so sorry.”

She looked at their hands, thinking about how she still felt a spark of electricity when Daniel touched her. She thought that maybe it wouldn’t feel the same as before because she was angry at him and they were apart for so long, but it didn’t. Daniel still held her heart, no matter how much it hurt.

Her eyes moved up to look at him. He looked so open and vulnerable. So hopeful. And most importantly, he was sincere. His fingers kept brushing the skin on her hand, tracing patterns nervously as his hands were shaking slightly.

“You ripped my heart out, Daniel.”

His heart sank at her words. “I know. I wish I could take it back.”

“But, I still love you.”, she whispered.

Daniel’s smile slowly got bigger and bigger. “Please tell me we can try again. I’ll do anything.”

She moved closer, cupping his cheeks with both of her hands. “I just need you to be honest and talk to me. I don’t want to go through this again.”

“You won’t. I promise.”, he pleaded. “I’ll prove it to you.”

“You better.”, she smiled. “You’ll have to earn my trust back.”

“I will.”, he said with confidence.

Then, much to Daniel’s surprise, she leaned in and closed the gap between them. The relief Daniel felt when they kissed was immeasurable. He kissed her hungrily but slowly, trying to pour into this one kiss all the emotion he felt towards her. He pulled her closer to him and they were soon wrapped in a tight embrace. Despite months of hurting and feeling like a piece of her was gone, with just one kiss and his tender touch she felt whole again. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook and pretend as nothing happened; they will have to slowly build this relationship back up. This was a good start.

Pulling out of the kiss and smiling wide, she was met with Daniel’s absolutely ecstatic facial expression.

“Does this mean I get to sleep on the bed?”