#worst part is I don’t remember this happening????? when I was younger

[technicallyaminecraftsimp]

Thought I’d try and be better and eat healthier like fruits and veggies but NO all I get is allergies FINE it’s FINE

[godslino]

MIGRATION | bang chan first date series. strangers to lovers.

pairing: bang chan x fem!reader word count: 5.5k genre: fluff, romance, falling in love at first sight summary: you've never been lucky when it comes to dating, but a blind date with chan just might turn that around

chan | minho | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin · · · ♡ series masterlist · · · ♡ taglist · · · ♡

author’s note: hello and welcome to my first date series!! i seriously had so much fun writing this and i’m so excited to continue with the other members. i hope you all enjoy! if you liked it, please remember that any and all feedback is appreciated!! happy reading <3

“So…I know a guy.”

You groan, throwing your head back against the cushion of the booth you’re currently shoved into. Changbin drops his fork to gesture at you with his hand, a look of exasperation on his face.

“Come on, I haven’t even said anything yet!”

“The problem is that you’ve said anything at all.” You say, glaring at him as you reach for your drink.

Changbin, as much as you love him, is notorious for being the worst wing man in the history of wing men. His most recent pick, Jooyoung, was a friend of his from high school. A freelance writer, the owner of a snazzy apartment in one of the more sophisticated districts of Seoul, and conveniently single. They’d recently reconnected after a mutual friend threw a party that they both went to, and he was ecstatic to try and set the two of you up.

You’d been reluctant, rightfully so, but Changbin is anything but a quitter and you also just so happen to be the world’s biggest pushover (his pout is just too good, okay?), so you’d agreed on the off chance that it just might work out.

Long story short, it didn’t.

Jooyoung was probably the biggest asshole you’d ever been on a date with. Not that you were surprised, though. Changbin’s circle of friends when he was younger mainly consisted of grade-A douchebags who were born with a golden spoon in their mouths. Perks of being born into a wealthy family and attending one of the most elite private schools in the country, apparently. Changbin had attended a university on the outskirts of Seoul for a reason. Lesser known, laid back—to study music of all things—and the sole reason for his father’s headache, as he’d put it. That’s where he met you.

“Okay, but I think this guy might be the one.” He makes air quotes around the two words, and you scoff as you cross your arms.

“And what would you know about that?”

“Um, a lot? You’re my best friend, I know exactly what you’re looking for.”

This is the part where things go south—or so you assume. Changbin puts on the puppy eyes, jutting his bottom lip out to hell as he stares at you from across the table. You glare at him dead on, unwavering. He won’t get you this time. Not over your dead body.

“At least let me tell you about him?”

“No.”

“I met him at the company. He makes music just like me, only slightly better. And you know how I am, I don’t just say that stuff. That means he’s really good.”

Choosing to ignore him, you go back to poking at your noodles.

“He’s from Australia. Born here, moved there when he was young, then moved back to pursue music. Kinda ballsy if you ask me. But he speaks English, so at least communication won’t be as much of an issue as other guys.”

A small crack in your composure. The idea of this guy growing up somewhere other than Korea is…pretty intriguing.

Despite moving here three years ago for school, it’s still kind of hard to communicate when your Korean could be more polished than it is. You’d basically kept to yourself for the first year until you met Changbin. He’d easily integrated you into his group of other music majors, even though you stuck out like a sore thumb as both a foreigner and a stem major. But if it weren’t for him, you think that you might’ve hauled ass back home a long time ago due to the isolation. So to be introduced to someone who can speak english, under the prospect of possibly dating them, sparks a bit more interest.

Changbin notices the slight twitch of your brow and smirks, one side of his mouth pulling downwards. Bastard.

“Hmm, what else? Oh! Dude’s got a killer set of dimples. You’re into that, aren’t you? You used to go on and on about that younger guy in your physics class during senior year. What was his name—Jeongsuk? Jeong—Jinyoung? Jeongin! It was Jeongin.” Changbin snaps his fingers like he’s impressed with his own memory, pointing at you as you fix him with a blank stare. “He has dimplessss.” He sing-songs for emphasis.

And, really, this should not be the breaking point. You’re better than this. You’re not so shallow that you would throw away your pride for a man you’ve never met—let alone never seen before—all because he has dimples.

But, once again, you’re a pushover. A big one. So yeah, fuck it.

“What’s his name?”

Changbin blinks like he wasn’t expecting you to fall for it. “Seriously? That’s what got you?”

“You have five seconds to tell me his name before I change my mind.”

He scoffs, mouth agape. “I went as far as disregarding my own talents to play up this guy and his music making abilities—”

“Five.”

“—tried to give you a little bit of a backstory, too—”

“Four.”

“—and the dimples are the final nail in the coffin?”

“Three.”

“Chan! His name is Chan. God. Just—stop counting. It freaks me out.”

Chan. You throw the name around in your brain for a bit, pointedly ignoring the way Changbin is whining about how you sound like his mother when you do the whole number thing. It’s kind of…cute. Not enough to conjure up an idea of what he might look like, but putting a name to a faceless stranger with dimples in your head is gonna have to do for now.

“You swear this guy is normal?”

Changbin rolls his eyes. “Define normal.”

“Okay, let me rephrase myself,” you push your plate forward, laying your forearms on the table as an indicator that you’re serious, “Is he an asshole?”

“No.”

“Hm. Okay. So that’s a maybe.”

“What the fuck? I just said no.”

“Yeah? You also set me up with Jooyoung, remember? The guy who literally started flirting with the waitress right in front of me five minutes into our date? And then proceeded to yell at her when his fries weren’t salted?”

“How was I supposed to know…” Changbin mumbles, looking off to the side guiltily.

“Nevermind. Just—if this goes bad, I’m blaming you. And then I’m never going on a blind date with one of your friends again. Matter of fact, I’m never going on a date again, period. Deal?”

Changbin grins, the apples of his cheeks shiny under the restaurant lighting. He holds his hand out for you to shake, and you take it hesitantly, grimacing when he uses his strength to jostle your arm like a ragdoll.

“Deal.”

🎥🍿

Any hope you had for the date going smoothly starts to dwindle once Chan texts you the day of.

You’d gotten his number from Changbin, who had so kindly already given Chan your number before he’d even broached the subject with you. The resulting lecture about privacy and consent may or may not have extended the rest of your time at the restaurant, a sheepish Changbin rubbing at the back of his neck while you berated him for his lack of common sense.

When your phone buzzes on your bathroom counter, Chan’s name flashing across the screen, you mistakenly think that he might be messaging because he’s early. Which, given the fact that you were standing in nothing but a towel, hair still wet from your shower and face covered in moisturizer you hadn’t rubbed into your skin yet, would be less than ideal.

Chan [12:32p.m.]

Hey! I’m really sorry to have to do this, but can we push the date back an hour?

Something came up at the studio

I tried to get out of it but I have a deadline to meet, client probably won’t be too happy of their track isn’t done on time

Great. Already off to a rough start.

In his defense though, you appreciate the fact that he’s messaged a whopping two hours in advance. Most people probably wouldn’t be bothered to allow that much of a grace period.

You [2:33p.m.]

no worries!!!

you didn’t buy the tickets yet, did you?

Chan [2:34p.m.]

Nope! So we should be fine

I’ll purchase them for 6 and then be there to scoop you up around 5:30 if that’s cool?

You [2:36p.m.]

sounds perfect

hope stuff goes well at the studio!!

Chan [2:40p.m.]

You’re sweet

Thank you, I’ll see you soon :)

You’re sweet. You stare at the words on the screen, your brain buffering for a moment. A big fat loading circle floating above your head.

Suddenly it’s way too hot in the bathroom. You blame the fact that you shower with the water cranked all the way up to boiling, because really there’s no other explanation for the warmth spreading throughout your cheeks.

To be fair, it’s been almost a year now since you’ve had any sort of positive interaction with another male. On one hand, your last relationship ended in a ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ ordeal that most definitely gave the impression that it was you. On the other hand, most of the dates you’ve been on have ruined themselves within the first five minutes, never really giving you the chance to feel any sort of connection. Cocky attitudes, overly pushy encounters, and even someone who walked into the cafe you were seated at, took one look at you, and walked right back out. That one still hurts.

It’s a little sad that Chan is the only guy out of the mix whose elicited any sort of reaction out of you. Especially since you haven’t even met him yet.

The extra hour that you have to compensate for flies by a lot quicker than you expect, and before you know it Chan is messaging that he’s five minutes away.

You take one last glance in the mirror: a pair of light wash jeans that sit right above your hips, black halter top bodysuit, and a thin cream colored cardigan to tie it all together. Simple and cute. A movie date doesn’t really call for all the dramatics, and you’d hate to overdress for a first impression.

You’re in the middle of reapplying your chapstick when the doorbell rings.

Take it easy, you say to yourself, inhaling deeply as you reach for the door handle. You let the air out with one final huff, swinging the door open only to be met by a bouquet of daisies directly in front of your face.

You blink in surprise. Well that’s a first. Before you get a chance to speak, the bouquet is being lowered, and the moment Chan’s face comes into view causes a small gasp to fall from your lips.

He’s…cute. Beautiful, even. A bright smile, dimples that tuck themselves into his laugh lines as his eyes disappear into crescents much like the moon, and lips that make your head spin when his tongue darts out to wet them nervously. His hair falls messily across his forehead in a faded hue of purple with hints of brown, definitely unconventional and an obvious result of one too many washes, but he makes it work. He makes it work well.

He clears his throat, brings a fist up to his mouth to emphasize it, and then grins. “Hi there.”

It takes a second for your brain to catch up. Even his voice is attractive. He’s using english, which leads you to assume that Changbin has already told him that you’re not from here. His accent is there, not too noticeable but also strong enough to be picked up on.

“Hey.” You smile, rubbing a hand up and down your arm.

“These are for you. I, uh, as an apology for being late. Is it too much?”

You shake your head quickly. “No! No, these are—they’re beautiful. I love them. Thank you…Chan.” His name rolls off your tongue hesitantly, but it all disappears as soon as he flashes that smile again.

“Good, I’m glad,” his voice catches the breathy end of the laugh he lets out, “This is weird, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I don’t really do well with this kind of stuff. But you look really nice, and I’m excited. My car is parked just out front if you’re ready to go.”

Honest. Awkward. A laugh that makes you want to hear it over and over again. You were sold the minute his eyes met yours. Chan offers his elbow for you to take like you’re in some cheesy romance movie from your childhood.

Yeah. This one is definitely gonna go well.

🎥🍿

Chan might not show it, but he’s just as nervous as you are.

You wouldn’t be able to tell at first glance that he spent an entire forty-five minutes deciding on an outfit, only to settle with some jeans and a white shirt, a jacket thrown on top for some color.

When Changbin first proposed the idea of going on a date with you, he was adamant that he wasn’t looking for anything right now. But as soon as you opened the door, eyes wide and looking like the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, he’s glad he said yes.

“So what movie are we seeing?” you ask, frowning when Chan laughs. “What? What’s funny?”

“It’s a surprise.” He smiles, rushing forward to hold the door of the car open for you. When he puts his hand against the top part to block your head, you have to suppress the smattering of butterfly wings that start to clamor against your ribcage.

Chan is sweet. He double checks that you’re buckled in before driving off, he asks if there’s any specific music you want to listen to before foregoing it all entirely to ask about you instead, he listens with an attentiveness that has you feeling seen and heard, and he smiles with such genuinity and warmth that you feel cold once it disappears. You stare at him in awe, like he’s a figment of your imagination.

Chan’s been staring back, too. He spares glances in your direction when you’re not looking, feels the steady thump of his heart gradually increase whenever you lean a little too far to the left when he makes you laugh, and he thinks your voice is prettier than anything that’s ever played on the radio.

You learn more about him as he drives. He moved back from Australia when he was seventeen, he’s got two younger siblings and an adorable puppy named Berry back home (and pictures on his dashboard to prove it), he prefers Australia’s summers over Seoul’s winters but he finds more inspiration here in the city than anywhere else. You resonate with the fact that he doesn’t really have anyone here besides a small circle of friends. No family, no one to fall back on when things get tough.

Chan talks like he’s an old friend, like he’s re-telling a story you’ve heard a thousand times. He makes it easy to fall into step with him as if you’ve been here all along.

By the time the two of you get to the movie theater, the initial awkwardness that had hung in the air is gone, replaced by comfort and ease. Chan throws the car in park and all but books it out of his seat to open your door for you, and you giggle when he makes a dramatic bow as you exit.

The theater is kind of busy for a Thursday night. There are families with their kids lined up to get tickets and groups of teenagers at the concessions, all of which make for a crowded lobby. Chan glances down when you place a hand on his arm, mostly because you want to stay close, but also because it’s hard to ignore the feeling of being magnetized towards him. He smiles, bending at the elbow to allow your arm to slip into his.

There are cardboard cutouts along the sides of the lobby, all of which serve to promote the newest animated release about a family of ducks. You squint at the showtimes once the two of you make it to the front of the counter, letting your eyes scan the movie titles until you finally land on—

“Two tickets for Migration, under Bang Chan.”

The girl behind the counter looks up, her eyes bored. She can’t be any older than sixteen, most likely resentful about the fact that she’s stuck here on a school night. “The kids movie?” She asks, unimpressed.

Chan braves a glance in your direction and—ah, there goes that grin again. Cue the butterflies. You’d agree to a three hour long showing of static and white noise if it meant he’d never stop doing that.

“Yup, that’s the one.”

Tickets in hand, a smiling Chan right next to you, and a massive line for popcorn that honestly might have the two of you late for the previews. “We’re seeing a kids movie?” You ask, moving up a spot in the line.

“Mmhm. I spent so long looking at all the options. The romcoms seemed boring, Bin mentioned that the newest superhero movie was bad, and I figured a scary one was too cliché,” he eyes you sidelong, “Unless you’re into that.”

You huff out a laugh, not really expecting him to be so straightforward, “I definitely am not.”

“Hm, so the old yawn to put my arm around you trick won’t work?” His eyes are playful, but something about the idea of being in even more contact with him has your stomach doing flips.

“Nope. Sorry. Seen that one before.” You say, making him laugh, his earring dangling when he drops his chin towards his chest.

“I guess I’ll have to figure out something else then.”

Another thing you learn about Chan is that he enjoys interesting food combinations.

“You like peanut m&ms?” he asks, throwing a bag of them onto the counter when you nod your head. After he pays, he pockets his wallet and turns to you with a bucket of popcorn tucked under his arm and a large drink with two straws in his hand. “Could you grab the candy?”

First door, theater one. There are a bunch of parents and their kids entering ahead of you, all of them buzzing with excitement. It’s a little funny, the fact that two grown adults—no kid in tow—are walking into the showing of a kids movie.

Chan leads you to the very back row. “For the kids, just in case they can’t see over us.” He quickly clarifies after noticing the way your eyebrows shoot up in silent question, but even in the dim lighting you can still see the tips of his ears turning pink.

“Taking me to a kids movie and then propositioning me in the presence of five year olds? You’ve got some nerve.” You say, timing it perfectly as Chan is leaning forward to take a sip of the drink that’s placed in the cupholder between the two of you. He sputters around the straw in surprise, coughing into his fist.

“That’s not—” You laugh, cutting him off as he stares at you with red eyes from his coughing fit. The mood shifts after that, and Chan visibly relaxes into his seat as he starts throwing jokes out a lot easier than before.

“Learned this from my dad,” he says, opening the bag of m&ms, “It’s my favorite thing to do at the movies. Haven’t been in a while because—well, I don’t really have anyone to go with.”

You watch as he dumps the candy into the popcorn bucket, shaking it to mix everything together. He reaches in to grab a piece of popcorn and an m&m at the same time, popping it into his mouth.

“Oh my god,” he sighs, slumping into his seat, “Forgot how good that is.”

When you don’t respond, he looks over. “You okay?”

Are you? You’re not sure. Every bone in your body is screaming bloody murder because Chan is making it really hard to not want to lean over and kiss the concerned frown off of his stupidly pretty face.

The thing about it is that you don’t do blind dates. And you most especially don’t enjoy them. But Chan is different. Chan holds doors open for you and makes corny jokes. Chan laughs at everything like it’s his last day on earth and he’s making up for lost time. Chan listens when you talk and responds with genuine interest. Chan compliments the little girl in the theater lobby who’s wearing a princess dress to watch the new superhero movie. Chan shares something as special as his dad’s favorite movie snack with you. Chan is just…Chan. And you like him. A lot.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay, I’m just—thank you. For sharing that with me.” You say, the corners of your mouth lifting.

“Stop doing that.” He mumbles, eyes trained ahead.

“Doing what?”

“Smiling. It makes my head spin.”

Your heart slams against your chest. You’ve spent the entire date trying to make sense of the way Chan makes you feel, trying to put it all into words. Yet here he is, right in front of you, saying his thoughts as they come and absolutely ruining your resolve in the process. Like it’s easy for him.

There’s no time to answer when the lights go down, the screen up front widening to signal the start of the movie.

Just like any other kids movie, it’s easy to get caught up in all the surface level jokes while also understanding the themes. You and Chan laugh outwardly at some parts, hold your breath at the suspenseful ones. It’s almost like you’re a kid again, enjoying yourself fully for the first time in a really, really long while.

Chan was right, the popcorn and m&m combination is good. You reach back into the bucket for more, freezing when Chan does the same and his knuckles brush yours in the slightest of touches, sending a jolt of electricity up your arm. It happens a few more times, each one leaving his hand lingering for far longer than the last, until eventually he makes a show of digging really hard for an m&m and hooks his pinky with yours in between the popcorn. It’s cheesy and cliché but god does it make your stomach do somersaults.

About three-quarters of the way through the movie, when it’s clear that neither one of you are willing to take it the next step further, you lean into his ear.

“You okay? You look kind of tired.”

Chan turns, confused. He’s certain that he wasn’t dozing off. He did have a late night last night. He was up working on the track that still somehow managed to hold him back today, hoping to have everything polished so that he didn’t run into any obstacles before your date. But that didn’t really work out in the end.

“Huh? No, I’m fine. Honest.”

“You sure?” you ask, a slight lift to your voice, “I don’t know, you looked like you were about to yawn.”

The light from the movie hits the left side of his face, illuminating all of his features in a way that makes your breath hitch. He’s pretty. So, so pretty.

Chan blinks, slow, and then his confusion slowly turns to one of understanding. Cue the grin.

“You know, now that I’m thinking about it…I am kind of tired.” He makes a show of fake yawning, stretches his arms above his head (and not blocking any children since you’re in the back row, thankfully), before bringing his right arm down and around your shoulders.

You spend the rest of the movie like that, tucked into Chan’s side while his fingers move gently against your shoulder. He’s unbelievably warm, and eventually you find your head resting in the spot just between his shoulder and his neck, his cheek pushed up against the side of your head. The position makes it easier to reach up and pat his eyes dry at the end, a single tear slipping out as he sniffled and mumbles a ‘M’not crying’ that has you giggling and doting all over him.

He doesn’t move his arm for the entire walk back to the car, and you momentarily mourn the loss when he opens the door for you (again!) so you can climb in. When he finally gets in on the other side, he says nothing, just reaches over to intertwine his fingers with yours and places your joined hands on the center console like it’s something you’ve done a thousand times.

“Ready to go home?” He asks, looking over at you.

You glance down at your hands, then back up at him. “Is it weird if I say no?”

“Not at all,” Chan grins, throwing the car into drive, “I was hoping you would say that.”

🎥🍿

“For you.”

Chan plops down on the bench, a hand outstretched with a steaming hot chocolate ready for you to take.

“Thanks,” you smile, cradling the cup between your hands.

After some deliberation, you and Chan had decided to come to the Han River. It’s quiet, the bridge lights reflecting off the water as the sounds of the city fade into the background. The temperature is slightly on the colder side, the tail end of winter just barely there. When he notices the slight shiver of your shoulders after a particularly strong gust of wind, Chan shucks his jacket off in a heartbeat to drape over you.

“Oh, you don’t—”

“You’re cold,” he scolds, pulling at the collar of the jacket to tighten it around you. His hand lingers near the base of your neck, fingers itching to reach out and touch. He doesn’t though, just smiles and settles back into the bench. “Plus I think Changbin might actually kill me if something were to happen to you.”

“Oh please,” you roll your eyes, “Ignore him. I’m not a baby.”

Chan takes a sip of his own hot chocolate, licks his lips to catch the excess. Not that you’re staring. “I’m serious. I mean, I get it. He told me that you’re here alone and stuff.”

You hum in understanding, turning your head to stare out at the water. “So are you.”

It’s Chan’s turn to look at you now, his elbows resting against his knees, and you watch out of the corner of your eye as his face turns unreadable.

The silence stretches thin, nothing but the sound of cars passing and a dog barking nearby. It’s kind of comforting in a way. Being on your own in a new place has been one of the hardest transitions you’ve ever had to deal with. There were times where it felt like a mistake, where you wished that you’d never even gotten on the plane. But then there were times where you felt lucky to be experiencing the things you are; to be able to try new things and pursue a life for yourself that you never thought possible.

“How’d you do it?” you ask quietly, turning to meet Chan’s gaze. “I mean, you were young. Seventeen is basically still a kid. Being alone in a place like this is scary as an adult, I can’t even imagine what that was like.”

Chan smiles, but it’s sad. His eyes twinkle with something like resentment, the lights from the bridge making it look like he’s glowing. A flame that’ll never burn out. “Would you believe me if I said I’m still figuring it out?” The end of it comes out as a laugh, but you can tell he means it.

“I don’t know, being a big shot music producer with deadlines and clients seems pretty figured out to me.”

Chan nods and stares at the cup in his hands. “My parents hated it. Still do, I think.” You don’t say anything. Chan is grateful for that; grateful for the space you’re giving him to explain. “They wanted more for me I guess. But I’m not sure that more would’ve necessarily been what I wanted, you know? I’m content with where I am now. I’m doing something I love, even if it took a while to get here. They don’t see it.” He chews his lip nervously, fingers playing with the soggy material of the paper cup’s rim.

Chan doesn’t know why he’s saying any of this. He’s not the type to completely bare himself out to anyone, to scoop away at his insides until there’s nothing left besides the hollowness he feels whenever he thinks about how he traded his life back home for a life of music. But you’re different somehow. Chan knew since the moment he saw you, felt it in the way your eyes lit up whenever he spoke and in the ease of how well the two of you got along. He was doomed from the start.

“I see it.” you say, your eyes still fixed on the water. “I might’ve only just met you today, but I see it. And I get it, too. Maybe not to the same extent, but the feeling of wanting to do something for yourself even if it meant losing something else. There’s purpose in that, in you. It’s okay to be selfish if it means you’re prioritizing your happiness.” You let the words settle for a bit, hoping that you don’t sound too shallow. When you turn to look at him, he’s already looking back.

“You don’t know me enough to say that.”

“I don’t have to know you to believe in you, Chan.”

A beat of silence, and then he’s laughing, short and punctuated as he lets his head fall forward with a small shake.

“You’re…”

“What? Corny?” you supply, smiling over at him.

“No,” he says, meeting your gaze. “Perfect.”

You huff out an incredulous laugh, looking away to hide the blush that’s spreading across your cheeks. “You can’t just—god, now who’s corny? Huh?”

“I never said I wasn’t corny.” Chan argues, sitting up to face you fully.

“Yeah but you can’t just say stuff like that.”

“Why not? I think you like it.”

Your mouth opens and closes quickly, lost for words. Chan’s closer now, a lot closer than he was before. One arm thrown across the back of the bench, loosely framing you in, he bends it at the elbow to bring a hand up and tuck your hair behind your ear.

“I never said that.” you mumble, your gaze flicking down to his lips and then back up again.

“You want me to stop then?” he asks, voice just above a whisper. You know what he’s implying the minute his fingers trace the shell of your ear, moving down slowly until they start playing with the collar of his jacket.

“Is it bad if I say no?”

Chan’s hand is warm to the touch, ice to fire. You lean into it. A moth to a flame, one that’ll never go out.

“Not at all,” he repeats, just like earlier, “I was hoping you would say that.”

A dog barking in the distance. Cars beeping as they pass by. A plane flying overhead. A group of friends laughing as they ride past on their bikes. The minute Chan’s lips connect with yours, everything fades, the sounds warbling together like static. Unintelligible; nothing besides the feeling of Chan kissing you matters.

It’s slow, nothing more than a press, but you feel it in every fiber of your being. Kissing Chan feels like the poles of the earth are colliding, meeting in the middle and sending its molten core spreading throughout your entire body. Warm, warm, warm. Chan is warm. He’s soft and gentle and his lashes tickle your cheeks when his eyes flutter closed halfway through because he was too busy etching your features into his memory.

You’re the first to pull away, admiring the way Chan’s eyes slowly peel open, lips swollen and pink. Unable to resist, you lean in and peck them once more, giggling when he blinks at you in shock.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been as compelled to kiss someone as I was just now.” You smile.

“Me too,” he sighs, resting his forehead against yours. “I don’t normally kiss on the first date.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t normally do dates anyways. At least not ones that don’t immediately go up in flames.”

“What about now?” Chan asks, raising an eyebrow. “Have I changed your mind?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I kind of told Changbin that if this was a disaster I was never gonna go on a date again.”

Chan laughs and pulls you into his side, tucked right under his arm like the shape of him was molded in a way to make sure that you fit perfectly in his embrace.

“Is it bad if I say I like that idea?” He asks, glancing down at where your head is resting against his chest.

“Nope,” you say before leaning up to kiss him once more. He smiles into it when he feels your fingers playing with the curls at the nape of his neck, humming softly against your lips.

“Worst date ever, then?” he mumbles against your mouth.

“Yeah,” you sigh, pulling back to stare into his eyes, big and brown and brighter than the stars, “Worst date ever.”

[tags: @palindrome969 @summergirlsmj @n1staytiny ]

© all rights reserved. godslino 2024. please do not steal, translate, or re-upload.

[sashisuse]

okay so what we’re not going to do is villainize shoko.

jjk 261 spoilers, thoughts, and a brief analysis of shoko. (and touching on some sashisu stuff. more specifically the sash part.)

i see a lot of people bashing her for not having a reaction to the body swapping plan and that satoru was like ‘i’m mostly surprised shoko didn’t object’ SO. here’s what i’ve got to say.

shoko didn’t object because she was fully under the belief that satoru was going to win. that it wasn’t going to happen. it was literally the worst worst worst WORST case scenario. she had SO MUCH faith in satoru.

let’s rewind back to the shibuya arc. what we knew about shoko at that time regarding her use of cigarettes was that she had quit five years (iirc) prior to those events. her smoking habits literally revolve around satoru’s wellbeing.

mind you this was after she and yaga learned satoru had been sealed. she heard the news and immediately began smoking. why? because shoko is a person who masks her emotions and she does it well. she’s not the type of woman to break down in tears. she’s going to hide it and instead light up a cigarette.

we saw this with her interaction with suguru. she acted very nonchalant about his defection and the massacre he committed on the village and his parents. but when we fast forward ten years and go to jjk0, it’s made abundantly clear that she still cares about him. during the meeting where yaga declares they’re going to kill suguru — i’m pretty sure his words were ‘exorcise the curse that is geto suguru’ or something along those lines — shoko leaves. she flat out walks out. and during the night parade of 100 demons, we have a moment where see the most emotion out of shoko that we have for the majority of the series. she’s angry. she’s hurt. she has these thoughts of something along the lines of like ‘you sure made a mess for us’ regarding suguru. and it’s especially prominent because it’s the first time we’ve ever seen her like this and only time. the closest we get to seeing that again is during the sukuna fight.

she literally cares so much but she’s just emotionally constipated and doesn’t know how to show it 😭 it’s an issue both she and satoru have. they deflect. they mask. they move on and yet the carry it with them somewhere deep inside them.

so we go back forward to satoru and sukuna’s fight. where we do see emotion from shoko but what’s most important to note is the panels she’s in. when they focus on her, she’s either smoking a cigarette, lighting a cigarette up, or we see her surrounded by cigarette butts.

we see her genuinely fearful at this point. she had full confidence that satoru was going to win. that’s why she said ‘do what you want’ and didn’t object. because in her mind, it wouldn’t happen.

it’s very important to remember that sashisu, whether you see it in a romantic or platonic way, was a group that cared so fucking deeply for one another. their bonds were deep. their love for their found family was deep. it’s part of the reason why suguru defected in the end. which i can get it into but not at this time. but at the end of the day, sashisu had ass communication skills and failed to properly understand one another.

and that seems to continue on with the satoshoko side of that, which was left after suguru left. and after he died.

also, it’s really important to remember that shoko is not like satoru and suguru. she’s a healer. that’s it. that’s all she does. she doesn’t get to fight or be on the front lines like they do. she’s the one who gets to wait behind and wait until the damage is done to do her job. she’s been doing this since she was (probably) 15, maybe even younger since we don’t know her backstory. she’s going to be emotionally detached. also, keep in mind this page:

specifically her first piece of dialogue. ‘it’s more like we have to do it.’

and that’s the bottom line.

whew. this was rough. shoko ieiri you will always be loved by me.

[certifiedwhore4slashers]

Manipulative

pairing: coriolanus snow x f!reader, past oc x f!reader.

summary: he’s fallen way too deep, and he knows that.

a/n: i am in no way romanticizing nor defending his actions, he sucks as a person, this is for funsies, keep that in mind. remember he’s literally responsible for mass murders of children. also this idea is cliche ik ik. but, if you want more I will do more with original ideas.

reader has somewhat long hair, BUT no other descriptions of the reader. and I don’t usually do that. just for this post:)

warnings: yandere themes, toxicity, manipulative behavior(manipulation) obsession, possessiveness, no fluff, implied/referenced murder, slight blood, narcissistic tendencies, delusion, unhealed trauma, implied stalking, mild violence.

The meadow was where you’d often go. Ever since the games, it was a stress reliever, humming some songs or even just listening to the birds chirp.

After Coriolanus was sent to be a peacekeeper, You were sent home. District 12 was your home. You sat down on the cold rock. You were more of an creative artist than musician. Sometimes you wrote songs, and sometimes you wrote poems or just stories.

But you didn’t feel like doing anything today, just admiring the breeze in front of you. You were fairly zoned out when you hear a twig snap, and turn around.

You sigh of relief.”Sorry. Still have those instincts from the games.” You rushed over, not doing much. Still in disbelief he really was there.

You didn’t expect him to be here. But here he was. “It leaves quite the impression, He chuckled. It was a long embrace, and you say,”You found me. Quite surprised.”

“You figured I would, He teased. “Not this fast, and really it was hope, You tease right back, lips on his, it was passionate and sweet, ideal for a reunion.

“The sun’s hot, come in the shade, You offer. He had some ice, now melted and offered it.”Here. For you.” “Thank you, You reply.

You were very thirsty. The moment the water hit your tongue you were in heaven. “This must be the only cold thing in November, he joked.

You laugh in response.”So, Coriolanus Snow, What are you doing in the Meadow?” You were half joking. You never were fully serious. At least until it came to your feelings for him.

“Spending some time with my girl, He replies. The word My, a possessive tone, You notice. But brush it off.

“It’s unbelievable, You admit.”Truly. But I was surprised they brought me back. I swore It was all me.” “But it wasn’t, he points out. You look at him.”Clearly they didn’t believe me.”

His lips were on yours again, long and passionate. You two hadn’t seen each other since the games ended.

“Well, It was hard to believe for me too, He admits.”Tell me what happened after.” It was difficult to recall everything. The games were a nightmare. Especially the Arena. And Mayfair.

As the two of you share the water, You couldn’t help but wonder as he told stories, exchanging them, if something was wrong.

“Poor Jessup, You say sympathetically.”He didn’t deserve that. It was you, though, wasn’t it? The one who killed Bobbin?”

“I had to, Coriolanus replied.”He tried to kill me.” “I’m not saying what you did was wrong, but I suppose killing is for survival in the Arena, You reply. Snow only nodded.

“I heard the others brag, You say.”So I know. I thought the worst happened. You know, that you were dead.”

Heading back up beside him, You still couldn’t believe he was here. Whatever relationship you had, seemed to grow.

“What have you been up to? He asks, curiously.”It’s been a while.” “It has, you laugh.”And truly, not much. A few performances here and then. At the Hob, Maude Ivory’s an amazing singer like Lucy Gray.”

For a mere moment, You were in complete bliss. And that night was a normal evening for the Covey. Your parents were killed, well, your adoptive parents. They took you in, then Maude Ivory came along, your younger sister.

You became a part of the Covey. Until of course, their murders. But you had her, at least. “You want one? A peacekeeper asks, referring to liquor.”You might need it for your performance.”

“Sure, You grin, taking a swig, not making a reaction to the bitterness of it.”You’re right. I might need it.” Lucy Gray was a beautiful singer, but tonight, let you perform.

“Are you sure? I’m not the songbird, You tease. “I’m sure, and Maude Ivory wanted you to, She sweetly says. Your cousin was always the songbird.

“Besides, I think he’d like to hear you sing, Lucy Gray smirked. You knew who she was referring to. Truly the one who knew of your relationship, but by accident.

You wore a yellow dress, not too short but not too long either, and sunflowers in your hair. You wanted to have a good impression.

You tease her,”I think he’d like to hear you.” But you went up there, guitar in hand. A talent that you and Lucy Gray both had. It was the genes, you swore.

But you amazed the crowd as you sang. You were no Songbird. But you had some talent. And the whole time your eyes were on him.

It made him feel more special, in a way. Like the only person could make you feel this happy was him. Him. You were his, at least in his eyes.

But you did a wonderful performance. You mostly did instruments and stood in the background. You didn’t sing much.

Even though you were aware he was there, you went on, even with butterflies in your stomach. It was later that evening that things went downhill.

You said goodbye, even to Coriolanus, saying,”I shouldn’t be out so late anyway. But I promise, straight tomorrow. I’m sure you have peacekeeper things to do, anyway.”

He smiles.”It’s alright. You must be tired from that performance.” You laugh, then nod, quickly kissing him, then moving along.

You didn’t notice that he followed you. He was quite literally, obsessed. Especially after hearing your sweet voice. Since finding your home in the Seam, it wasn’t hard to follow you, and pretend he was there for something else.

Sometimes, he’d meet you there. Other times, didn’t even know he was there watching. He’d call it protectiveness. But it was really a sense of possessiveness over you.

That’s what it really was.

He heard your voice in your room, you sang to yourself. You sang a love song. That wasn’t hard to understand.

He had a sense of jealousy. It was clear the lyrics wasn’t about him. A past one, maybe. It wasn’t Billy Taupe. He had Lucy Gray. So who could you mentioned?

He was bloodthirsty. Or at least, had a taste for violence. He’d never say it or admit it. It was like he was a rebel. And he hated rebels.

But that didn’t stop him from feeling this way. As you danced and sang a little. Coriolanus defended his behavior, he was being protective of you. That nobody would hurt you.

He had fallen way too deep. And he was aware. You might feel the same about him, just as equally obsessed as he was. But that night, he wasn’t looking for trouble. Not much, anyway.

Someone stood beside him, admiring your singing. “Peacekeeper, huh? The male laughed. Coriolanus turns.”Yeah. Punishment. Not a choice.”

“She’s always been a singer, the male explained.”didn’t have much faith.” He wanted to know how the male knew that.

“How do you know? Coriolanus asked, curiously. “She wrote that song about me, the male bragged and seemed proud.”One of these days she’ll get back together with me.”

You never mentioned your ex lover much. Only that he hurt you, and that he was still infatuated. You were right about that.

“She isn’t interested, Coriolanus says, coldly. His fists clenched, along with his jaw, both from the rage he was feeling.

Maybe it was his narcissistic tendencies that were showing. A feeling of shame. A feeling that, he was superior than the male standing in front of him. He’d do so much better.

And with that, he swung. He could’ve shot him. But it was the easy way. And he didn’t deserve the easy way. His blood thirst took over a little, and like Bobbin, didn’t know how far his strength would go.

He stands back, his knuckles bleeding and blood on his uniform he’d have to explain later. Maybe it was a mistake coming to visit you. Your singing had stopped.

He pants. What had he done? Standing over the body, Coriolanus realized what he truly had done. And what could he do? He didn’t want a career as a peacekeeper; but his future would be damaged even further. He had to do something.

The Lake.

It brought him good memories. Swimming alongside you and the covey. But he’d have to hide the body somewhere.

It took a lot of his strength; but didn’t wear him out to drag him to the lake. It wouldn’t be too hard hiding evidence. His body would eventually disappear and Coriolanus doubted anybody cared about him. You didn’t anymore.

And he just watched. After the blood washed off, He walked away. He left the Seam. He'd come back. But You'd be aware of it.

Morning came, and peacekeepers came knocking at your door. The whole morning was a mess. When you did eventually meet up with Coriolanus, you decided on telling him about it.

“Did you know? She asked.”I’m assuming every peacekeeper knew. The guy I used to go out with was murdered. Found in the lake.”

“We were informed today, but I wasn’t the one who found it, He lies. He did not like lying, but he had to. He held a tight grip on you.

And he wasn’t letting you go.

[luveline]

hiii jadey <3 i’ve been having a bit of a rough time in college lately and i was wondering if you’d be willing to write some bombshell!reader where spencer talks about being bullied in high school and maybe bombshell can relate? even if not, just a lot of comfort please? i hope you’re doing well!! <333

ty for ur request!!! fem

It’s a blessing and a curse whenever you come around. Spencer’s thinking he hadn’t seen you in a while when your text lights up his screen, a summoning if there ever was one. 

Hi Spencer, I need some help with my laptop. It turns out for about ten seconds and then turns off again. Do you think you can fix it?

He has no idea. Probably. Do you want me to come by SCU? 

No need

“Spencer!” you say, practically glowing as you drop your messenger bag on his already crowded desk. “Sorry, that’s so heavy.”

“You’re here,” he says, surprised. 

You lean down to hug him in his chair. Spencer can’t ignore that he likes every part of you, your arms as they wrap around his shoulders, the perfume on your neck as you touch your cheek to his, even the soft exhale of your breath by his ear. “Hi, Dr. Reid,” you say gently. “Missed you. So happy my laptop isn’t working ‘cos now I get to see you.” 

You pull away with a grin. Your lips are a shade of pink that Spencer won’t soon forget.

“That was fast.” 

“So fast,” you say. “You know I love an excuse to see you and to not be at work.” 

You work very hard, but you’re like anyone. Stealing time is fun and free. “You’re not gonna get in trouble, right?” 

“With who? Hotch doesn’t care if I’m here and Sandy,” —you full body shiver at the mention of your boss— “won’t notice I’m gone for another hour. Besides, I can’t have a broken laptop. They’re pretty cool, right?”

“Laptops?” 

“Yeah, I like them. I just need the WiFi to work everywhere.” You squint at him. “Is that something you can do?” 

Spencer cannot make the WiFi work everywhere you go, but he can soft reset your laptop after a short investigation of the problem. It takes about five minutes, in which you steal Morgan’s chair and get comfortable next to him, legs crossed, hand resting open on your thigh. “You’re so smart. I bet you were very popular in high school.” 

He laughs, startled, a horrible sinking feeling moving through his chest. “What? Why would you think that?”

“‘Cos you’re a genius at everything, right? I bet you were always helping people with their homework.” 

His lips last. He doesn’t know what to say. “I don’t think I talked to anyone in high school who didn’t want to hang me at the top of a flag pole,” he says honestly. 

Your lovely smile falls flat. “What?” 

“I skipped a couple of grades, so I was younger than everybody, and I wasn’t well liked. I was actually bullied pretty badly.” He laughs again with that same brittle panic. He’s talking without thinking, it just spilled out, it’s spilling still, “I used to get beat up for breathing wrong.” 

You’re quiet. Spencer panics worse because why has he told you that? You’re so sweet to him but that doesn’t mean you wanted to know about his worst moments, he can practically feel the affection you had for him melting away as you realise he’s a loser, he’s pathetic–

“I was bullied too,” you say, giving him a tentative smile. “All the way through high school and a little bit after that, too. Maybe that’s why we get along so well, huh?” 

He looks at his hands. “You were?” 

“Yep.” He can hear the strain of wanting to sound normal. “I mean, I didn’t get beat up, Spencer, that’s awful and I’m– I’m so sorry.”

You’re the last person he’d ever want an apology from, because you’re one of the only people he’s ever met who likes him as he is. You could never make him hurt the way he did back then. High school was years ago and it lingers like it happened yesterday. “I can still remember the stuff they used to say to me,” he says. 

“I got made fun of for so much stuff,” you agree. “Boys I didn’t even know would berate me in the halls for just being there. I got called ugly so much I genuinely believed I was for years.” 

“You’re not ugly,” he says immediately. 

“I know.” 

He nods thoughtfully. “It’s hard trying to forget about it. I think if people knew how much I carry with me from then they’d tell me to let it go, but I can’t.” 

“You don’t have to let it go, Spence, so long as you know it’s not your fault it happened.” 

You offer your hand. Spencer stares at it. You wiggle your fingers and he thinks, Oh, grasping it quickly, before you change your mind. Your fingers slide between his and you rub the back of his hand with your thumb, smiling approvingly, eyes crinkled with pleasure. 

“They don’t know what they missed,” you say, a hint of shyness in your voice that’s swiftly covered by your usual confident drawling, “they had unfiltered and unadulterated access to the Spencer Reid, n’ I have to pretend my laptops broken just to see you. So crazy.” 

You give his hand a good squeeze.

“It was sort of broken,” he says as you take your hand back. He’s sure his brain is broken too. 

“Nah, it always does that. I just give it a love tap and it fixes it again.” 

“A what?” He laughs so loudly it turns heads. His crush on you turns to full blown infatuation.

[obsessedelusional]

Your Pretend Boyfriend

paring ✦ Eddie Munson x reader

summary ✦ You back from college, visiting during thanksgiving break. Jason Carver has always liked you the feelings not mutual. So when you catch him harassing Eddie you pretend to be his girlfriend. What happens with your pretend boyfriend? CONTAINS SMUT

word count ✦ 3,200ish

authors note ✦ BRO I’m almost to 300 followers and 5000+ likes omg y’all are tooooo sweeet to me hope y’all enjoy this

masterlist ✦ PART TWO

FEEDBACK AND REBLOGS APPRECIATED!!!

⊹ ꙳ ✦ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹

The sound of your someone calling for you takes your gaze away from your phone. Looking up expecting to see your best friend. The two of you had plans to meet at this restaurant to catch up. You were in town visiting during thanksgiving break.

To your dissatisfaction it’s none other than Jason Carver. You groan annoyed knowing where this was headed. You’re parents were close and they always rooted for the two of you to end up together. Not a single part of you wanted anything to do with him. He was a few years younger than you. Also the worst human being on planet earth.

“You visiting for break?” He smiles leaning on the wall where you’re standing.

“Yup.” You say with no emotions, giving your full attention on your phone. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of giving him any attention.

“What brings you here?”

“Meeting someone.” You answer eyes still on your phone, scrolling on something random. Pretending to be busy.

“Who?” He ask curiously.

“Can we skip to the part where you say something nasty, I tell you to fuck off and then you leave me alone?” You spit out, disregarding his previous question.

“We should hookup while your in town, give you some good ol dickin’ down. I’m sure those college boys can’t fuck you like I would.” There it is.

“For the millionth time that will never happen.” You respond, desperately waiting for your friend to arrive.

“Sheesh have you’ve always been such a bitch?” He laughs. When you don’t respond Jason walks off deflated.

You pray that is the end of that. Only for him to find his next victim. A curly headed boy you definitely remember, Eddie. It’d be hard to forget someone like him. Jason hated him, for whatever reason which made you gravitate towards him. You two were never all that close only exchanging hellos in the hallways. Occasionally bonding over your hatred of Jason. More than once telling Jason to leave their group alone.

Just as your deep in thought, thinking about Munson your phone dings. It’s the friend you were waiting for, she’s canceling on you. Her two year olds sick and can’t make it. You sigh out loud annoyed but understanding, typing a quick response.

You’re attention goes back to Eddie and Jason. Eddie was sat by himself, probably waiting for someone. Jason is giving him shit for being at a restaurant all by himself. It crosses your mind for a second and before you can realize how bad this idea is your on your way to Eddie’s table.

“Hey babe,” You smile greeting Eddie, confusion immediately spreads across his face. You mouth ‘just go along with it’ as you sit down next to him, careful so Jason doesn’t see. You plant a small kiss on his cheek, his confusion turns to a grin.

“Hey princess,” His arm slings around your shoulder. The pet name sends a heat through your body, you quickly push that away. You look up to Jason who’s slack-jawed.

“There’s no fucking way.” He whines.

“What?” You ask playing dumb.

“There’s no fucking way you two are dating.” Jason responds.

“We’ve been dating for six months, right babe?” You ask nuzzling yourself deeper into Eddie’s embrace.

“Almost seven.” He smiles, proudly.

“We actually have you to thank for that. Bumped into each other, bonded over our dislike for you. Been inseparable since.” You laugh because Jason looks pissed making this so worth it. He goes to speak but can’t get anything out, obviously frustrated.

“We’re gonna have a quick little lunch. Then head back to his place so he can give a good ol dickn’ down. That’s what you called it right?” You watch as Jason’s eyes go wide, full of pure disgust before running out of the restaurant. Once he’s out of hearing range you start erupting out in laughter, Eddie joining you.

“That was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so speechless.” Eddie talks catching his breath from laughing so hard.

“I can’t stand him. He’s been up my ass for as long as I can remember. Saw the opportunity and took it.” You respond, looking over to Eddie’s who’s arm still rests on your shoulder. He notices you noticing and pulls away.

“You don’t have an actual girlfriend right? Otherwise this’d be kinda awkward.” You ask.

“Yeah actually I do.” Unknowingly your face falls, upset that he does.

“We met six months ago been inseparable since.” He teases, you roll your eyes realizing what he means. A silence falls over you two and you can’t help but feel like you’ve overstayed your welcome.

“I’ll leave you be. Thanks for participating in my antics.” You smile standing up from the table.

“I just got myself a girlfriend I ain’t letting you so quick.” You turn to face Eddie.

“We’ve been dating for all of five minutes and it’s the best relationship I’ve ever had.” He smiles, motioning for you to sit back down. Your intrigued so you sit down, this time on the other side of the booth.

“Are you sure? Someone’s not gonna show up and be upset I’m here?” You ask, seriously not wanting to impose.

“Don’t worry about it. Plans canceled.” He shoots you a smile before pulling his phone out, typing away for a moment.

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“Hang out with my beautiful older college girlfriend? Whom I only see during school breaks. Or hangout with my friends I see everyday at school? Uhhhh I think I’ll choose my girlfriend.” His words bring a cheesy grin to your lips.

“Okay I guess I can stay and enjoy lunch with my boyfriend.” You sigh, pretending like it’s an inconvenience for you. In reality your happy, your plans fell through and now your sat across from a long haired tatted hottie.

“How old are you? Not trying to catch a case.” You tease almost positive he’s of legal age. Better safe then sorry.

“19.” He responds between laughing at your joke.

—

Lunch with Eddie was amazing, part of you grateful your friend canceled on you last minute. You feel an instant connection, not wanting the date to end quite yet. The two of you are walking out of the restaurant, hand in hand. Your brain scrambling for an excuse to prolong this date.

“So what was that comment you made about a good ol dickin’ down about?” Eddie asks and almost immediately it’s like a light bulb goes off your head.

“Jason’s been trying to make the moves on me since forever. Just before I joined my boyfriend our date he offered to do that me.” You laugh, you’re not sure where you two are headed just following Eddie’s lead.

“You and Jason, you never?”

“Never ever.”

“That’s crazy. I remember rumors went around about the two of you dating all the time.” He says, processing this new information. Jason Carver wanted you yet you were her with Eddie. He was excited by that thought but at the same time puzzled.

“Started by him. He made my high school experience hell.” You admit.

“Same here.” He sighs, you two reaching his van. Realizing this is where the date either continues or ends.

“Should we keep our story going?” You ask. Noticing Jason sat in his car with his friends, he’s watching the two of you. If he wants to watch, you’d give him a show. Mostly for own selfish desires.

“What?” He asks so you nod in the direction of Jason car full of jocks, watching Eddie’s gaze move from you to them.

“I told Jason we’d have a little lunch and then go your place where’d you give me a good ol dickin’ down.” You cringe at the usage of Jason’s phrase. Eddie’s attention whips back to you because of the words coming from your mouth.

“Gotta make it believable, right?”

“Yeah.” He says. Eddie is hesitant not because he doesn’t want to but because he can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. You push him towards his van, his back hitting it makes a loud thud. If they weren’t looking they are now.

You get closer, closing the gap between you two. Reaching for his hair, running your fingers through it. You had been wanting to do this since you sat at his table. Wishing he’d call you princess again.

“Is this okay?” You ask to which Eddie nods eagerly. Without missing a beat you kiss him. Softly at first, testing the waters. Eddie melts into your touch, his hand reaching around sliding his hands in your butt pockets. He pulls you closer into him, squeezing your ass in the process. Causing you to let out a little gasp surprised by his bravery. He smiles mid kiss only making you want more. The kisses becoming more aggressive, the wetness starting to pool in your panties.

“Get a fucking room, freaks!” Jason yells and then the sound of tires screeching past you two startles you momentarily. You pull away, grinning. Eddie’s eyes are closed, the biggest smile on his face.

“Still don’t think it’s believable enough.” You say, sighing your tone suggestive.

“Really?” Eddie asks, sounding confused.

You roll your eyes, “Your beautiful older college girlfriend wants a good ol dickn’ down.”

“You.. want me to-” He stutters, stopping before you finish for him.

“I want you to fuck me.” His dick twitches in his jeans because of the six words that came out of your mouth.

“Do you want that?” You ask.

“Yes.” He gulps, excited for what’s coming. Hopefully him soon. He opens the car door for you, you climb inside disregarding the fact that you drove yourself here. Your horny brain fogging your mind deciding in the moment you’d figure it out later.

This wasn’t like you, you never hooked up with someone so shortly after getting to know them. You couldn’t help but feel like something about this situation was different. Eddie was different, like a good different.

It’s a very short but also painfully long drive to his home. Eddie’s never been so thankful for his uncle to be out of town, couldn’t of picked a better time to leave him home alone. The drive is mostly silent, filled with music and stealing glances at each other.

As soon as Eddie parks at his home he’s out of the car running to your door, letting you out. He grabs your hand leading you to the front door. Where he struggles for a few moments to find the right key. Once inside, he shuts the door behind you before facing you. His hands press firmly on your ass to lift you, your legs straddling his body. This time he’s the one to initiate the kiss, carrying you to wherever. You didn’t care as long as Eddie was there.

For a moment your startled when he drops you on his bed. Your allowed a quick glance around his room, taking it in before you look up to see Eddie. He’s shirtless now and his shoes are missing. So you follows in his steps ripping your shoes off. When you go to take your shirt off he stops you with a intense kiss before doing it himself, then unhooks you bra exposing your bare chest.

He pulls away to take in the view, “Fuck you’re beautiful.”

Eddie smashes his lips on yours pushing you back into the bed before kissing down you neck only to stop at your nipple. The sensation is enough for you to let out a sweet moan slightly arching you back into him. Mouth still attached to you while his hands are busy unbuttoning your pants, pulling them down quickly along with your panties.

You curse your self for not wearing something sexier but you had no idea this where’d you be today. Part of you embarrassed you haven’t shaved in a while. Your worries are immediately put at ease when he spreads your thighs, letting his head rest between them.

“Beautiful.” Her murmurs before placing a sugary kiss on your clit, sending a shockwave through your body. His tongue begins rubbing against your bud. Without thinking your hands find his hair, pushing him deeper between your folds. Your head falls back, moans leaving you lips. When you think it can’t get any better, he slips a long strong finger in your pussy. Pumping into you the same pace as his tongue that is still toying with your clit.

“More please-“ You whine and Eddie listens adding another finger, stretching you out. Your a mess under his touch. Never once has a man prioritized your pleasure. You’ve become masterful at giving yourself orgasms. The feeling of it being at the hands of someone else unfamiliar. A good unfamiliarity.

“Fuckk- Eddie I’m..” Your words turn into strangled moans, a tightness growing in your stomach. Your breath hitches as you pulsate on his thick fingers, your eyes rolling back as you come undone. Your busy riding out your high but the feeling of his fingers leaving you brings you back down to reality. His laps up your juices one last time before speaking.

“Mm so sweet.” Eddie purrs sucking on his own two fingers that were covered in your juices. They leave his mouth with a popping sound as he sits up in the bed.

“My turn.” You say barley audible sitting up reaching for the button on his jeans. Wanting nothing more than to wrap your lips around his cock. He stops your hands causing you to look up to Eddie, you cant help but pout.

“I don’t think I’ll last long with your pretty lips sucking me off right now. Next time, okay?” You nod smiling at the thought there’d be a next time. Eddie kisses you pushing your head back onto the bed. Only pulling away to pull his pants off and grab a condom from his bed side table. You watch intently as his pulls down his boxers, revealing his cock. You let out a gasp as it hits his stomach, never once had you seen one this big. Eddie smiles at your reaction while unwrapping the condom. Slowly rolling it over the tip of his dick and down the entirety of his hard length.

Eddie gets back on top of you, spreading your legs. He lets the tip rest on you swollen clit before dragging it down to your hole. Slowly, inch by inch you adjust to his size. He bottoms out, you let out a whimper because you’ve never felt fuller. He uses his hands to lift your thighs up so he can get better angle before starting a slow motion. Pumping in and out of you at a painfully slow pace, only making you desperate for him to pick up the pace.

He leans down to your level, his head resting in the crook of your neck. Your chest being flattened by his. One hand rests at the back of his neck, tightening in his hair and the other hands digs into his back as he bucks his hip harder into you. He’s thrusting harder but you desperately need him faster.

“Faster- please.” You say and it comes out as a whine. You get exactly what you want because he pushed up so he can see you before recklessly pounding into you cunt faster than before. He guides your hands so you can hold your own legs up, using his free hand to find your clit running circles around it sloppily.

“How does that feel princess?” He grunts between thrusts, his finger still playing with your bud. You can’t help but smile at the pet name. He finally said it again. When you don’t respond he rocks his hips harder and you start feeling that tightening in your stomach again.

“Fuck.” You cry out, knowing you’re about to cum for the second time. The sensation of your pussy throbbing on his cock as you get closer to finishing nearly sends him over the edge but he’s determined to make you cum again. His fingers work more tactically on your clit which is just enough to have you gushing on his dick.

“Good girl.” He groans. Not even a second later he’s cumming inside the condom, inside you. Suddenly wishing that thin little layer of latex wasn’t there so you could feel his seed coat your inner walls. He kisses you sweetly one last time before pulling out and falling next to you. His chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. You rest on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“Was that believable?” He asks, out of breath.

“What?” You ask confused to drunk on dick to comprehend.

“Was that a good ol dickin’ down?” He laughs. You roll your eyes before nodding your head, yes.

—

The next two weeks we’re spent under and on top of Eddie Munson any chance you got. Dreading the fact that when break came to an end you’d have to head back to school. It was a three hour drive from Hakwins. You just got Eddie and couldn’t imagine having to let go so soon.

Eddie was so grateful Wayne left for the two weeks during thanksgiving break. He had a whole two weeks of uninterrupted time with you. He tried hard no to think about the fact you’d be leaving him in a short time. If he thought about it too much he’d upset himself, usually pushing the thoughts away focusing on the time he did have with you. So to say he was surprised when you invited him to have thanksgiving dinner with your family would be an understatement.

When you found out Eddie would be spending thanksgiving day alone you didn’t hesitate to invite him. Your heart felt for him when he admitted he never really celebrated holidays with Wayne always working. You were determined to make it perfect.

Explaining to you parents why this random dude was coming over on thanksgiving dinner was the hardest part. Only for Eddie to introduce him self as your boyfriend of seven months. They look at you like ‘what the fuck’ to which only caused you to laugh. Cursing yourself for not get your stories straight. More than happy to continue the bit but wished you could of prepared better.

“So how’d you two meet them?” Your father asks curiously. You both say different answers. You blurt out high school and he says you two met at a restaurant.

“We’ll we went to high school together, knew of each other. Ran into each other at Danny’s Dinner and hit it off.” You explain further, their faces telling that they don’t believe anything coming out of your mouth. They never question any further, thankfully.

—

Todays the dreaded day. The day you leave for college. You had already said your goodbyes to your family. Deciding what time you had left would be spent with Eddie. The two of you had just finished fucking for possibly the last time. Your brain had been heavily worried about what would happen when you left. It’s now or never, you need to ask him.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Eddie sighs. You sit up to face him, he’s laid in bed looking at the roof.

“I’ll miss you too. What are we doing?” You ask, trying to read his reaction. He looks at you with a smile.

“I don’t know about you but I’ve been faithfully committed to you for the last seven months.” He teases.

“I’m being serious Eddie.” You groan.

“Me too, princess.”

“So we are-?” You start to ask and he interrupts.

“Yes we are. Your all mine.” He kisses you.

“All yours.” You melt into his kiss, fucking one more time.

[iskandersmuts]

Diplomat's Party

Male Reader x Yuna

Tags: Smut, Yuna Smut, Sex, Blowjob, Creampie

My first attempt. I will be thankful with some feedback with anything.

1

Breathe in. Breathe out.

You see the man on the mirror. That’s you inside the bathroom talking to yourself for gaining courage. “You can do it.” You say. “You did this for the last year.” Finally, you hide again in one of the bathroom’s cabinets. One more time breathe in and breathe out. Is just matter of endure this feeling three more hours.

You leave the bathroom and start counting the hours. Right now is nine o’clock. You can leave freely this party at midnight. As your boss always says “Your job at parties is like being a Cinderella. You arrive show the best you have and before the worst parts of you appear you leave. Nobody wants to know how cool or shitty you are when you are bored or even worse drunk. So no one of you, the diplomats, can show that side. Remember we are representing a country.” He is right we can’t show some parts of ourselves.

But these parties are actually a pain in the ass. The most of the people are here for work. They are not resting. They are not having fun. They are trying to get some confidential information that will help their own interest or the interest of their countries. Is like an international convention of ass lickers, brownosers or whatever you call it. They gather together and start talking about nonsense: “Did you hear about that African president lecturing Macron about colonialism?” or “Did you see what this Bukele did with the cryptocurrency?” You just can’t say. “Of course, dumbass you know that every ass licker here read the same Foreign Affairs subscription that you read.” You just say whatever thing they also know “Yeah and it seems that IOSCO now has a project bill for cryptocurrency.” And then the questions start. “Do you have any notices on the votes of the draft resolution of the injunction… and blah blah” Just things that nobody cares about. Two years ago, you pleaded your boss to let you assist to this kind of events. And now is your third time a week in these events. You would prefer getting a massage with hot stones in your balls right now. But not everything is bad. In this field: the diplomacy. You must be really lucky to find a friend. And you were really lucky, your honest friend is Diego an Argentinian diplomat.

2

In this party at Lotte Hotel Diego does a sign asking you to leave the building and go to the yard. Both of you get outside and start talking.

“Dude, did you hear the big news?” Says Diego.

“Diego if is a diplomat thing I really don’t want to talk about that right now.” You say with your voice showing boredom.

“No is not that kind of thing. You know me. I don’t like to talk about that stuff too. Is about the party of tonight.”

“What? Someone find out about those two gay diplomats that are in a relationship?” You ask.

Diego laughs. “No not that. Something interesting. Korea has changed the main event of tonight!”

“That means that I’m not going to hear the fat lady singing AGAIN the fucking Madame Butterfly.” You say.

“Yes. And also, as they were looking for something new. Moon Jae In used his trick up his sleeve and contracted a kpop group.”

“WAIT WHAT? WHO? TELL ME!” You say almost shouting.

“Is a girl group. JYP…”

“Fucking Twice is coming? Oh my god! Really?”

“No not Twice a bit younger.”

“NMIXX? But they have few songs!” You say complaining.

“Not that younger.”

“ITZY? ARE YOU FUKING KIDDING ME?!”

“No. No. It’s for real. They are coming.”

You guessed correctly.

And now you are thinking: Finally, something good happened on these useless parties. And you are smiling in a weird way. You know is weird because Diego told you. And then you use your experience of these years to act the best you can. As a diplomat you can’t be a crazy fan even more as you are here actually “working”.  

3

The girls finally arrive. All guests are invited to gather and enjoy the show. Itzy is on the scene they greet everybody. You notice that they are not cheerful as they are in concerts of world tours. They are trying to be mature. They start with “Dalla Dalla”. You resist the urge of fanchant with the song. When they end nobody claps. For the awkward situation they start immediately another song. It happens the same nobody claps or even cheers.

This situation reminds you the footage of Red Velvet presenting at North Korea. The public were all quiet. This was the same. These boring diplomats don’t celebrate anything. Yeji as the leader announces that they are going to perform the last song. “Cheshire”. You want to fanchant so bad. But you can’t. They nailed the last song; the others were good too. But in this song, you see that they are trying their best as is their last song and till now they didn’t get any response from the public. When the song ends you don’t resist the urge and you start clapping. The people around you look at you as a weirdo. But then Diego joins you and other Koreans too. Then everybody is forced to do it. You look at them. All the girls are smiling. You keep clapping and you stand up.

“That was nice, girls” you shout.

This time just some of the other guests joins. And the rest of them just look at you and the others as weirdos.

This moment was definitively the most memorable. Because you see the girls looking at the few ones clapping while smiling. They finally thank everybody and leave the scenario.

4

You start walking around the party just remembering the faces of the girls when they saw you clapping. Their expressions. They are shocked at first. They look at you and then start smiling. It was a rough night for them. But you did the night a little bit easier for them.

Now just some minutes till midnight. You made your job and you saw Itzy you deserve a fucking drink. So, you start walking towards the bar.

“Look that old geezer is trying to dance” Says someone.

You notice that this is the voice of a woman.

You laugh.

Someone appears in front of you looks you directly inside the eyes and says. “Are you laughing at us?”

You are caught off of guard. “No sorry I didn’t mean that. Is just that no one here uses that kind of word ‘old geezer’” You look at her face trying to know his name. “Omo. Sorry Chaeryeong-shi. I really didn’t mean to make fun of you.”

Chaeryeong looks at you. “Do you know my name? Finally, I thought nobody here knew who we are.” She pauses and continues. “And don’t worry I’m pretty sure that Ryujin-unnie doesn’t care if you laugh or not, right, unnie?”

“You are pretty damm right, Chae.” Says Ryujin. “Is just that the old geezer…” You start to laugh again while she continues. “looked really hilarious when he started dancing.”

You see that behind both, Ryujin and Chaeryeong, are the other members of the group. You are internally jumping so hard that maybe your head will hit the roof. But you try to keep your composure. “Nice to meet you all of you.” You look at your watch is just past midnight. Fuck it you are not “working” anymore. “I’m really a big fan of yours.”

The other girls gather around you when they see that you are talking with Ryujin. They stand up beside you. There it is Yuna with her scenary outfit.

While you are looking at her you try to avoid looking at her chest. Or at least pretend that you are not doing it. She is using baggy pants. You wanted to look her legs too. That’s too bad. But you are lucky enough to look her perfect flat belly. When she sees you, she just smiles at you. The other girls as Yuna are wearing also an scenary outfit all of them have a blue or sky blue piece. But Yuna is the one that caught your eye.  

“You are not from here, right?” Asks Ryujin. Yeji gives a little slap on Ryujin’s arm. She is the leader indeed.

You are thinking. Thanks Ryujin. You saved me. I owe you one. It was getting weird because I was looking Yuna for too long.

“Yes yes. I’m not from here. I’m a diplomat assigned here at Korea, Ryujin-shi.”

“You are a diplomat?” Asks Lia. “I always thought that diplomats were old men.”

You answer. “Well the ones that appear on television they are. And maybe as they are the most known for the public you think that. But actually in my country if you do the right things. You can start as a diplomat at 23 years old.”

“Yeah you look kind of young. But here the most of them are old geezers.” Says Ryujin. You laugh. “I thought that the reason why nobody clapped was that they are old geezers. But maybe is because they do what you do.”

“Well. Yeah the most of the times the show is a snob thing. Like opera or traditional theather.”

Ryujin interrupts you. “What thing? What did you say?”

Yuna starts laughing. You answer Ryujin. “See your maknae here knows what I said. Yuna-shi would you mind explaining her?”

Yuna looks at you. Doubtful starts speaking. “Snob is like people that likes fancy things just because they want to be different. Right?” She looks at you.

You are melting. The eyes of your Itzy’s bias are looking right at you.

“Yeah… Is just like that, Yuna-shi.” You answer. “The people here like that kind of things. Kind of unique or least popular. The people around here think that the things that they are discussing are the most important things ever. They are so full of themselves.”

“And… You are here... So, you too?” Asks Yuna looking you again.

You smile. “I hope I don’t. Maybe I would be just like them if I answer that. How about you discover if I’m like them.” You look at Yuna.

In your head you ran the entire place 10 times. You are flirting with Itzy’s Yuna. You are nervous as fuck.

“We’ll see. Then.” Answers Yuna and grins.

Yeji looked what happened. Actually, the whole girl group watched you flirting with their maknae. Yeji stands between you and Yuna and starts shaking your hand. “You are the one that clapped for us, right? Let me thank you for that. We’d like to stay around but we actually just came here for a personal matter. We are going to the bar. It looks like you are about to leave this party, right?”

Her words weren’t even smooth. You were clearly kicked out. “Is that true? I see. Well, thank you for greeting me.” You say trying to sound as polite as you can. “Well maybe I should go…”

What you were saying is interrupted by Yuna holding Yeji’s arms with her hands. She starts pouting. “Unnie, please.”

Yeji’s answer is silence pretending Yuna said nothing. Yuna starts pouting again. “Yeji unnie, please. Besides he is a Midzy, right?” Yuna looks at you.

“Yeah. As I said I’m a big fan.” You add.

When Yeji says nothing again. And you think this is lost. Yuna uses his final technique her little kitten face. He is pleading looking directly at Yeji. Just as Pussy in boots in Shrek. You don’t receive fully the little kitten face but you see it by the side.

Fuck. You are willing to give your house if she asks you doing that face. And you start wondering why the governments and international organizations spent so much money training people like you to end wars. When probably all they need is the Yuna’s little kitten face. Dam even if she asks Putin to end the war. Will he say no?

Yeji tries to avoid her face or maybe just look at the others trying to find an answer. Ryujin just shrugs like saying I don’t care. Lia and Chaeryeong that were looking Yuna’s little kitten face just nod. Yeji sighs and says. “Fine. He can come.”

“Yaaaaaay” says Yuna. She takes your arm and pulls you to start moving. Then she releases so you can follow them.

That expression that she just used was the bubbliest yet the most attractive you’ve ever seen. And she touched you. You can die right now. You start walking behind them. You just can’t help and you take a peek at their asses. Ryujin has a really bubbly ass. Chaeryeong has the largest one and seems like is not that soft because has muscles around. Lia has the softest one like you can sleep there. Yeji has a cute butt. And finally, Yuna has a bubbly cute ass. She is using baggy pants but her butt can be noticed trough them.

While walking Yuna turns lightly her head to you to ask you. “Hey Mr. Diplomat how old… are you?” She paused because she noticed you looking her ass. You were caught in fraganti so you just looked at her and smile. “Well mmmmm… I’m actually 25 years old. International age I mean.”

After you answer Yuna says something to Yeji. Yeji also turns her head to you. Look at you and nods to Yuna.

All of you finally arrive at the bar. Ryujin asks for champagne for everybody including you. She didn’t ask any of you. She just ordered. Yeji slaps her arm. “Ryujin yaaa. Why do you always do that?”

Ryujin answers. “It doesn’t matter. All of us were going to drink that anyway. Right?”

You see around and everybody is nodding. It seems that the dominant Ryujin you see trough tv screen is actually a dominant Ryujin in real life.

“Let’s make a toast. Raise your glasses” Says Yeji. And by looking at the girls and you she is ordering you to do it. Everybody raises their glasses. “Our schedule didn’t let us to celebrate properly the birthday of our beloved maknae. Yuna we all love you.” At the end of this sentence. You start nodding hard. Yeji got quiet and looks at you. All the girls look at you too and then laugh. You blush. “Anyway…” Yeji continues. “Apparently everyone gathered here LOVES you Yuna. Happy Birthday.”

The girls take turns to hug Yuna. First Yeji, then Ryujin. You notice that everyone gets closer and say a few words in Yuna’s ear. When is your turn you gather all the courage in your body and swallow the nervousness and try to look cool.  You hug her and whisper in her ear. “Is true indeed that everybody here loves you. Happy birthday. I wish you have a good time tonight.” She grins and whispers in your ear. “Well, you can help me to have a good time tonight.”

Shit. You think. I felt her chest during that hug. And now she says this I really can’t control my excitement.

And actually, you got hard down there. While you were hoping she didn’t notice it the hug ends and she looks down like looking for something.

It seems like she felt it.

Then the girls sited around the bar and ordered drinks. You took place beneath Yuna. She leaned on you.

“Oppa…” She says and you got surprised.

“Oppa?” You ask inmediately interrupting her.

“Yes you are older than me you are my oppa, right?” She questioned.

“Well yeah I can be your oppa if you want.”

“Nice. I want to ask you something. Can i?”

“Okay. But if is something that I can’t say because of my work please don’t use your little kitten face against me. I will give in and next thing will be that I’m fired.”

She laughs. “My what?”

“Ah I named your pleading face to Yeji-shi before as ‘little kitten face’”

“Because of Shrek?” She asks.

She gets me.

“Yeah. I just love that movie. But continue. Go ahead”

She continues “Anyway I’m not going to ask you something difficult, oppa. I just want to know what should I drink? I don’t have too much experience with that.”

“You are 19 now, right? What have you drinked before? and what did you like or not?”

“Well obviously soju. At first, I didn’t like it. But then I was into that. But tonight, I want something fancier.”

“You are lucky. As this is diplomat’s party. I think this bar has international beverage too. Have you heard about pisco?”

“What?! What is that?”

“Is alcohol is made from grapes: the green ones. And well is nice when you drink it with lemon and other stuff. The beverage is called pisco sour.”

“Well why not. Today I’m celebrating my birthday. If I pretend today is my birthday. This is my first time having 20 years. So today is the day of first times!”

“That’s the attitude!”

“Two pisco sours, please.” You ask to the bartender.

The bartender hands you two glasses. And you hand one to Yuna.  

She sips. “This is like lemonade, right? Just at the end I can taste some alcohol. Is not that strong.”

You nod. “So did you like it?”

“Yeah, kind of.” Answers, Yuna.

5

A couple of glasses later you and Yuna are talking.

“You know what?” You start “I think diplomat’s life and idol’s life have something in common.”

“Why do you think that?” Asks Yuna.

“Well, your life is kind of controlled by someone: your company. In my case the embassy. I’m living here in this country just to work. And also, our opinions can’t be radical. Do you remember that time where Tzuyu waved her flag? The… Taiwanese flag?” Yuna nods. You continue “She apologized then. That means that no idol can give political opinions, right? Well, I can’t neither. I can’t say Taiwan is a country or say what I think about any president or government out loud.”

“Well… Yeah, It makes sense. So, you can’t hang out at parties too?”

You are so into this subject. “Well, if something happens like a drunk fight or something like that. I’m fucked up. Because in the headline will appear ‘The diplomat of this country got drunk and…’”

Suddenly Ryujin hugs you from behind and asks you. “Hey, since when Yuna is your bias? Have you fapped to her photos?”

You blush and start stuttering. “I-I-I D-d-d-didn’t do that!”

Ryujin laughs. “Mr. diplomat knows how to be cute!” She pinches your cheek. Then she says looking at Yuna. “Hey if you don’t achieve nothing with him. I’ll ask his number.”

Yuna hit Ryujin’s arms. “Ryujin-yaaaaa.”

You look at Yuna. “Achieve something?” You ask.

Yuna blushes a little bit. “Well did you remember before when we were walking to the bar? When you were… mmmm… looking my ass?”

You almost spit the pisco sour. Ryujin laughs. “It seems like Mr. Diplomat likes to stare asses. Did you peak mine too?”

Fuck Ryujin is so straight when she talks. This can’t be a mess. You must apologize. You think.

“Ammm… I do. Sorry.” You apologize.

“So who has the best one?” Ryujin asks you.

This brat knows how to make you nervous.

“Y-y-y-yuna” You answer stuttering.

“Well, I give up, Yuna. Mr. Diplomat is in love with you. I don’t get him. Everybody’s favorite is my ass or Chae. I’m leaving it to you.” Ryujin says while walks out to join the other members.

“Really?” Asks Yuna looking at you.

“Yeah. You are my favorite in everything! My ultimate bias.” You shout.

Fuck. It seems I’m really drunk.

Yuna stares at you and doesn’t say anything.

You blew up. She probably isn’t looking for a fanboy. You shouldn’t have drunk too much.

But she caught your arm and walks with you. You just follow her. “What happened, Yuna?” You ask.

She looks at you and keeps walking. “Today is the day of first times.”

She is leading you to the bathroom. She enters and locks the door.

You are in disguise. What to do now is pretty obvious but is Yuna so you are doubtful.

Before you decide anything Yuna kisses you.

Fuck. Is the best kiss you ever had. So this is how it feels when you kiss someone you really really like. Is like an explosion. Like there was nothing and then a big bang.

The kiss breaks. “Did you like it?” Asks Yuna.

You don’t answer just kiss her again. The sensation is something different. Like you can be here forever. But the night was just starting.

Yuna starts touching your back while kissing you. Then your chest. Your neck. She stops. “You don’t want to touch me?” She looks directly in your eyes.

“No, no. Is not that. Is just I didn’t want to ruin the kiss.” You say.

“Oppa. You know what are we doing next, right? I know you are not so innocent!” She says. And starts kissing you again.

Now you touch her. Her neck, her back you go down. Her delicious ass is being groped by your hands. You lean her closer to you by pressing her butt.  

You start kissing her neck. “Yuna. You are so beautiful and cute. Your mouth, your face, your ass.” You press your hands in her butt harder. She just moans “Mmmmmm….” But then she speaks. “I can feel your dick poking my abs. Just like before when you hugged me.”

You press her butt stronger. So, she can feel it more. Then you lift her up by grabbing her legs and kiss her neck again. “Mmm… I want to see your tits, Yuna.” While being in the air she manages to take off her blouse. You see her lingerie and anxiously you start kissing around her tits. While she is trying to untie her bra. Finally, you receive in your view her heavenly boobs. Her nipples are totally pink and are like inviting you to suck them.

This is the best feast I’ve ever had.

You kiss and lick her tits while the only response from Yuna is “Mmmm.” When you left her legs touch the ground, she kisses you again and she kisses your neck this time. Now she is trying to get your formal shirt off. You start undressing yourself. She kisses your neck and starts going down till she is in front of your crotch. She is in her knees.

“Mmmm… I want to know if you are a big fan as you said.” She touches your crotch. And starts undressing your pants. Then she just puts down your boxers.

Your dick is hard as never was. When she puts down your boxers your cock jump off and slaps Yuna’s face. She looks at you and then stares your cock.

“It looks that you were right. You are the biggest”

Then she starts stroking. You just moan.

“I thought you said it was first times’ day.”

“Yes oppa. This is my first time with a foreign guy and my first time sucking cock big like yours”

She starts licking the tip of your cock.

“Oppa I’m starting to doubt if this can fit in my mouth.”

“Let’s find out.” You say. She nods and starts putting it in her mouth.

First the tip and then she tries to push deeper. Her mouth is full but there is plenty of dick left. She starts moving. You can’t deny that you had better heads before. But… She looks at you while sucking you. Then you are aware again that the one sucking you off is Itzy’s Yuna. So, you start to feel better. Fuck you could say that you are even about to cum. You caught her head with your hands and start pushing.

“Fuck Yuna. I can feel your throat!”

She just says “Mmmm mmmm” as she can’t talk.

“I’m going to cum. Fuck. Fuck.”

You start cumming and you relax the grip on her head. And she frees. Some of the cum goes in her face.

“Mmmm… You are rough, oppa. I like that.” She picks some toilet paper of the bathroom to clean her face. “But you know what this is only starting. I want that big thing inside me now.”

She starts unbuckling her pants and puts it down and also her underwear at the same time. She has a shaved cute pussy and is already wet.

“Oppa, fuck me.” She says and then she bends and you have a total view of her ass. That beloved ass.

“You want me to fuck you?” You spank her.

“Aah. Yes, oppa. Fuck me with your cock!”

You grin and start to play with your dick around her pussy. “Oppa, just fuck me already!” She says.

You put your cock inside her. And you feel tightness. You haven’t feel something like this before. “Yuna you are so tight!” You say. And try to go deeper. “Fuck Yuna really I’m not lying you are too tight!”

“Mmmm… No oppa is just that you are too big. Just keep going. Mmmm…”

You start going deeper in a slow pace. Finally, you get to get your full dick inside. Yuna is moaning already. “Yuna, prepare yourself”

“Whaaaaaaa… aaah… mmm… mmm” She starts moaning. You are slamming her in a rapid pace. And then she says “Cumming aaaah” You don’t slow down. And then she shouts again moaning again but this time her legs start to shake. But you don’t slow down.

Fuck you’ d love to see Yuna’s cumming face. But right now in exchange you have a full view of her cute butt and her pussy while your cock enters and disappears. She is moaning so hard.

“Aaaaah… Oppa. I love how you fuck me. You are really deep into me.” She says.

And is true is almost like your tip is kissing her womb. This tightness is almost like her walls are never letting you go. Like their insides are sucking you up. Is this heaven? The pleasure right now is out of this world.

While dreaming off, it happens you cum inside her. Fuck you really fast up the pace because now you are out of breath. Yuna stands up looks at you smiles and kisses you. “That was one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had. And really orgasms because it happened multiple times” Yuna says. “You are special and fuck you cummed so much”. At the moment white liquid starts to drip from her crotch.

Suddenly the door sounds. There are lots of knock knock and then a voice: “Yuna we need to leave now. They found out about the manager bribed. We will be waiting for you on the car outside.”

You look to Yuna. And she starts explaining. “Have you heard anytime about Itzy joining a party where they were having a show. Or have happened ever that the last entertainment show joins the party in your diplomat events?”

“Well… Being honest I never heard of that. And that never happened. I don’t remember that the fat lady singer ever joined the party after her show.”

“Yeah. That’s what’s normal. But we bribed our manager to tell JYP we were already at the dorm and we sneaked into the party.”

“So you weren’t invited to the party? And wait did you lie to Jyp?” You ask.

While this conversation was made Yuna started dressing up. As you see it you start looking for your clothes too.

Yuna answers “Yeah, that’s why we were just in the bar. I mean we didn’t want to catch too much attention. And also, we were with our stage clothes if we were invited, we probably were wearing some fancy dresses or something like that. And yeah, we lied to Jyp. He is nice but sometimes he is just a pain in the ass. You know if it was for him, I’ll be virgin even now.”

“Well yeah if you had gone to the main saloon, you probably had caught more attention. Then I must be really thankful for that bribe because if that wasn’t happened, this wasn’t happened.”

“Yes, oppa. And also, is thanks to Yeji. When you looked my ass, I was asking Yeji if I can be with you and she nodded. But sadly, I must say bye now. I really want to have another meeting with you and that big thing of yours.” She kisses you and continues. “and maybe we can try other things. You know Ryujin says that anal sex is way better than normal sex. But I don’t know maybe I need to experience it by first hand.” She hands you a piece of paper.

“Is your number?” You ask like pleading.

“Aww you can be a cutie pie too. Yes, it is. I must be going. Is better if I leave alone. Wait inside here and after a couple minutes leave. Ok?” She says.

“Yes. I’ll be expecting our next meeting.”

“Me too.” She kisses you and then leaves the bathroom.

That actually happened. You think. I had sex with my ultimate bias.

And now you remember all the things the view of her precious ass. Her eyes while she was sucking you off. The taste of her lips. Her essence. Her ass in your palms. Her surprised eyes when she saw your cock. The sensation of his tongue in your cock and her throat.

The sound of your phone wakes you up. Some text messages.

“Hey Oppa is Yuna. It seems like you weren’t the only diplomat getting fun. Ryujin also had fun with an argentinian diplomat. And he knows you, so the girls and I got his number and yours. Let’s have another meeting soon”

You smile. What is even better that you fucking your bias from Itzy is that your friend could do it too and maybe he even had anal sex with Ryujin. It seems that this kind of parties are not so bad.

[woniverse-writes]

“MOTH TO A FLAME (preview)”

Bada Lee x Fem!Reader

prologue ⟶ part one

summary: y/n l/n is the youngest team member of Jam Republic, competing in the second season of Street Woman Fighter. she’s got the sweetest smile and the most vibrant personality, but she also may or may not be the biggest hothead on the show when it comes to defending her teammates. apparently that’s attractive to Bada Lee.

word count: 1.7k

warnings: swearing, reader is described as cute and petite… sorry to my non-tiny friends.

Starting something young and continuing into your present adulthood can be pressuring, especially if that certain thing happens to end up being your career. For y/n l/n, she's still very young and just in the beginning stages of her career. Still in college, but turning her studies to be online right now due to her current situation, she's working towards a business degree, and doubling that major with dance. 

So you can imagine she's a little high-strung since on top of being a college student, she's currently in South Korea, competing as a member of Jam Republic on the second season of Street Woman Fighter. Although y/n is always busy, she's always got a sweet smile on her face- which is why many people, including other dancers, have been drawn to her. It's also why she's currently facing a sea of dancers, waiting to be picked for the "no respect" battle, since she and her fellow teammate, Audrey, received the most votes as the worst dancers.

"She looks kind of scary now…" Yoonji whispers to her teammates looking at y/n. Redlic looks in the direction Yoonji is looking at and laughs a little.

"What're you talking about? y/n? She looks like a kitten trying to be a lion." Now the rest of ManneQueen is staring at Jam Republic, specifically y/n l/n. And sure enough, instead of her usual bright and smiling self, her eyes are fiery and to put it bluntly, she looks pissed the fuck off. Waackxxy was the one to turn to Redlic and go-

“No, she’s definitely got something fierce going on right now… I hope she has a lot of battle cuz I’m kind of interested in her now…” causing the rest of her team to laugh and agree. On the other side, Jam Republic is having their own discussion regarding y/n. 

“I think you should just wait and see- maybe no one will even pick you as a “no respect” dancer!” Ling tried cheering up her younger teammate.

“No I want someone to battle me- I want everyone who voted for me and Audrey to come and try us” y/n fired back with her arms crossed as she leaned back into her chair. She really did look intimidating, especially with her makeup and hair done. Audrey on the other hand was not feeling the same fire-

“Uhm, maybe we don’t need everyone to want to battle us…maybe just a few.” Audrey started to reason, 

”Cuz I don’t know if you remember, but there were a LOT of people that voted for us as the worst dancers…” which caused Kirsten and Ling to sigh, and y/n to roll her eyes and clench her jaw.

“Audrey, my love, I’m very well aware of how many people think we suck-“ 

“You don’t suck-” 

“Thank you Emma, but please give me a second”

“Y/n take a deep breath and check your well-being”

She sighed at their team leader’s advice, knowing it was to help her out and so that she didn’t get too fired up with her teammates. It’s not that y/n doesn’t get along with them- it’s the furthest thing from that- but she gets very passionate about everything, and she’s a bit of a hothead. On top of all that, y/n is very protective of those she cares about, some of those people being her dear teammates.

“I’m sorry” she mumbles a bit, but ultimately huffs out the response. To which Kirsten replies with a motherly “thank you”, causing the others to chuckle.

“I just don’t understand how they can all collectively make the assumption that we’re not as good as them- for what? Why? Because we’re foreigners? Because we smile a lot? Because we’re pretty? To me THAT just sounds like jealousy” y/n continues to rant, frantically moving her hands and arms about, expressing her frustration- and her team just listens patiently for her to finish. Once she finally lets out her final huff and relaxes back into her chair with her arms crossed again, and a pout now sporting her face, her teammates can’t help but smile gently at their youngest member- some even trying to hide giggles and chuckles of endearment. 

“Y/n, sweetheart, you’ve gotta remember- not everyone thinks like you- I wish they did, but they just don’t” Kirsten starts to comfort her, and places a hand on her head, trying her best to calm down the passionate young girl. 

Kirsten always felt like asking y/n to join her team was one of the best choices she made in regards to being a leader. She knew the younger girl had experience in kpop dance styles, having performed at multiple k-con stages and doing countless covers from other groups. Kirsten also saw an unlimited amount of potential in y/n and saw how quickly and easily she absorbed everything around her. The only thing she was worried about was how young she was. it wasn’t a huge concern to her since their whole team was pretty young, but when it came down to it, Kirsten ended up adding Audrey in as well, and the two hit it off right away! To be completely honest- Kirsten felt as if the three youngest members were her babies. Audrey being the sweet angel of a golden child, Emma being the responsible oldest, and y/n being the chaotic troublemaker who’s always trying to pick a fight with someone for hurting her sisters. 

“You just need to remember that we’re here to dance, have fun, and gain a new experience… alright?” Kirsten has successfully reduced her gremlin child to a less angry (but still very pouty) version of herself.

“…alright”

“Thank you. Now please stop pouting, you look like a kicked puppy and the other will probably start picking on you soon” Kirsten teased lightly, which caused Audrey to join in and start poking y/n’s cheek, leading to Emma tugging gently on her hair, and Ling poking her other cheek, all while Latrice coos at her and pats her head. This all of course causes her to start whining and complaining playfully at her members teasing.

But the endearment for each other doesn’t end outside of the members' little cluster. the love for Jam Republic, and specifically y/n, has now spread to the entire studio. as everyone originally took notice of the youngest member’s slight temper tantrum, most didn’t really know what she was ranting about, but they could tell she was not happy at all. The two teams sitting nearest to Jam Republic happened to be Bebe and 1Million, who originally both had members that intended to battle y/n, but after hearing her rant, some opinions changed. 

“I like her style! She’s very passionate” Harimu laughed as she explained her newfound interest in Jam Republic’s youngest. 

“That’s what I was thinking- I don’t even wanna battle her anymore, I just wanna watch her tear up the stage with all her energy” Redy chimed in.

“Do you think we should go up to her during break and try to become friends?” They begin to laugh and joke around about their shared interest in y/n. But their team’s older members aren’t quite on the same level of endearment.

“Ya- you two should be trying to take her down before befriending her, don’t you think?” Lia warns the two girls, who just look at each other and start giggling.

“I don’t know if I’d necessarily wanna go up against someone with her temper” Redy starts off jokingly, but Harimu is already coming back in a teasing mood-

“Yeah cuz you’d probably cry.” Which has Redy letting a gasp-  her jaw dropped to the floor, eyes wide with shock and (false) betrayal.

The other team seated next to Jam Republic isn’t as chipper as 1 Million though, as their leader is trying to convince her team to stick with their guts.

“You wanted to battle her at first for a reason- why would that reason change if you still haven’t seen her dance?” Bada asks Cheche, Sowoen, and Minah. They all voted y/n as the worst dancer because her style was too “pretty” and they thought she relied on having cute expressions. Bada didn’t entirely agree with her teammates, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. She even originally stated how she thought y/n’s style was refreshing and youthful, but she was worried about how she’d be with darker concepts.

“Well- I mean- she seems kinda crazy…” Cheche halfheartedly joked, but in reality, she was being completely serious.

“Why? Because she’s angry? She should be angry. Being voted as the worst dancer isn’t something to be happy about…” Bada replies calmly. No one really says anything, as they all are just trying to process whether or not their leader is defending their opponent or just provoking them. 

Bada sighs and stands up to stretch. She wants her team to not only be amazing dancers, but critical thinkers too. Of course Bada wants a win, but she also wants her team to be strong- and if going up against someone with untouchable morale will force her teammates to be stronger, then that’s what they need to do.

She also may or may not be personally interested in seeing what y/n is made of. After all, she caught her attention originally with her bright smile and explosive personality- Bada thought her bold expressions and reactions to things were an endearing contrast from her cute or refreshing facials used when dancing. So now having seen y/n in stark opposition, she’s even more interested.  

Even in the short period of time she’s known her, Bada’s interested in who y/n is and what she can do- especially since she didn’t expect that much personality to fit into such a petite person. She wants to understand her better- even more so after hearing her passionate rant about wanting to prove everyone wrong. She almost feels delusional for being as interested in y/n as she is, but Bada really can’t help but feel drawn to her- like a moth to a flame.

notes: thank you to everyone who read!! this is my first fic so i was a little nervous to share it- especially since it's not really all that interesting yet. but i thought it would be better to write the not-so-interesting stuff as an intro/preview/prologue, so it didn't take up space in the actual fic. I'm hoping to have the first full part up by sometime in the middle of this upcoming week. i want it to encompass the whole three episodes that have aired so far, so there's a lot i wanna write lol

[lukeywritesstuff]

Jealous Jack at the umich football game. A bunch of college guys are obsessing over the reader and Jack can’t take it anymore.

Fucking Loser

Jack Hughes x reader

Note: Okay bare with me on this one, I only slightly know football as I’m only starting to get into it, and by starting I mean I absolutely have no idea what’s going on and I just find one player so sexy I want him.

Warnings: jealousy, Weird drunk guys that can’t handle the word ‘no’, sexual assault mention, older man being creepy to a 20 year old, underage drinking, cursing

Jack invited me to go to the Wolverines home opener football game with him and his brothers, what he didn’t tell me was I had to sit with the crowd as they only had 3 field passes.

I came to this hoping I was gonna spend time with my boyfriend before his season started with the devils and he has to travel a ton for away games, but no, here I am in the crowd surrounded by a couple of horny guys who can’t keep their hands off me.

“Can you PLEASE for the love of God stop FUCKING TOUCHING ME!” I yell at the 2 guys either side of me, the stadium wasn’t too loud at that point so a bunch of people heard and it got the attention of Jack and his brothers, Luke and Quinn, making them come to the bleachers where we were.

“What’s going on here, why the fuck are you touching my girl when she’s asked you to fucking stop!” Jack said clearly angry with the two losers.

“We were just trying to get her grumpy ass into the spirit. Maybe you shouldn’t have left her alone here. Then maybe nothing would’ve happened.” One of the guys said.

Jacks face turned red and he was about to yell at him until Luke butted in.

“You have way too much confidence for a guy in his 8th year of college just so you can still be part of a team nobody cares about. You’re not going pro, give up on that. It’s never going to happen. You’re gonna have to leave college and get a normal job one day. Nobody’s gonna remember you, and if they do, don’t make them remember you as the loser who can’t listen to when a girl says no and assaults her. You’re almost 30, fucking act like it. How am I 10 years younger than you yet I even know better than that.”

The weirdo looked absolutely flabbergasted at what Luke said and just huffed off and walked away.

“Remind me to never leave your side, ever. I was so fucking stupid leaving you here with a bunch of FOOTBALL fans. Literally the worst breed of people.“ Jack said and started saying other shit about how stupid he is.

“Okay jack, shut the fuck up. I still love you. I will always love you. Yes I’d rather you have stayed with me, or found a way to get me another field pass. But now it’s in the past, he’s gone. His friends gone. We can either enjoy the rest of the game or we can go back to the house and relax by the lake, maybe even force Quinn to go on a relaxing boat ride to calm down after this.”

Jsck just nodded and grabbed my hand before we left with Quinn. (Luke stayed back because he was hanging out with his ex-teammates after the game)

We went out on the boat Jack and I had some coolers that he bought on our way home (even though I’m not legal for another month) and we spent the rest of the day relaxing until Luke and a hoard of college boys took over the backyard and started a fire.

[starsandhughes]

would love a cute blurb or something of sissy wanting to see trevor first! i feel like she always wants a hughes brother to comfort her

tw: mentally abusive parents

am i projecting a bit? why yes, yes i am.

takes place in high school!

———

you didn’t know why you’re surprised. your parents are narcissistic tormentors that made your life a living hell. they didn’t want you for you. they didn’t want you to try and become a family again. they wanted you to save face.

your dad emailed you. emailed! he emailed you saying that the rest of your so called family is ridiculing them about giving you up so easily.

the worst part? he ended it by saying “i love you.” he doesn’t. you know he doesn’t. neither one of your parents have ever said it. and if they did when you were younger, they never said it when it counted.

you opened the email at 12:37 am and you immediately spiraled. your chest felt tight, you were wracked with sobs, and you wanted to be anywhere but at home. your real home— with the Hughes’s.

apparently your sobs were mixed with screams, because everyone came rushing in. you were pressed up against your headboard with your knees pulled up to your chest. you couldn’t hear what Jack was trying to say to you, but you felt his touch, and you immediately pulled away. Luke grabbed your unlocked phone and eyes widened at what he just read.

“mom! don’t let them take her!” he shouted. he was freaking out now, too. you’d normally step in, you’d normally not let Luke see you like this, but this was too big to feign being alright.

you couldn’t take it anymore. you wanted out of this house at the moment. this family saved you. this family became yours. but right now? right now they were just a reminder of what you didn’t have.

“i— i need—“

“what? what do you need?” Ellen asked you softly.

“Trevor! Trevor, Trevor, Trevor…” you couldn’t seem to say anything but his name.

“it’s late Sissy,” Jack sighed. he didn’t know what to do.

“Trevor, Trevor, Trevor…”

“call him!” Luke pleaded with his older brother.

Jack ran out of the room to call his best friend. he felt bad, they had school the next morning and he was probably asleep. he was surprised that Trevor picked up the phone, but he was more than ready to go pick him up and bring him over.

Jack shouted towards your bedroom that he was getting Trevor, and everyone else remained in there to try and calm you down. it wasn’t working, but at least you weren’t a danger to yourself.

Jack must have been driving at lightning speeds, because he was back in less than fifteen minutes. Trevor ran into the room and quickly got into the bed with you, pulling you into his arms.

“i got her,” he told everybody.

they all left, and you continued to sob into your boyfriend’s chest. you felt awful; Trevor had yet to see you like this. it was bound to happen eventually, but not two months after you started dating.

“just breathe with me, sweet girl. it’ll be okay,” Trevor cooed.

you copied his exaggerated breaths as best as you could until your breathing finally leveled and your tears slowed down. you felt exhausted as you went practically limp against his chest. Trevor held you tighter and kissed the top of your head.

“i’m sorry,” you told him.

“don’t be,” he said. “it’s okay not to be okay, remember? you told me that. can’t be a hypocrite, now can we?”

“i do what i want,” you tried to joke. Trevor huffed out a laugh and kissed your head again, “that you do.”

[malarkgirlypop]

MEDIC! Part 35 (Donald Malarkey x Fem!OC)

OK, so it's long and there may be a treat at the end 😉

WARNING: 18+, you've been warned!

Based on the HBO show and the actors who portray the characters, not hate to anyone involved.

Tag list: @imusicaddict, @b00ks1ut , @mstiemountainhop, @awaterfalls anyone else please let me know.

George leaned in placing a gentle kiss on my cheek before handing me over to Don. We pressed ourselves together as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn’t say anything as we rocked. I rested my head on his chest listening to his steady heartbeat. 

I was so tired fighting with him, I missed being in his arms.

“Are you still mad at me?” He asked gently, his voice rumbling in his chest I laid my head on. 

“Yes.” I said curtly. “But I’m more sad than angry.” 

“I’m sorry for my cruel words and accusations. I’m sorry for hurting you.” He whispered

“It doesn’t matter anyway you don’t believe me.”  

“That’s not true, I do believe you.” 

I pulled back to look into his eyes. “What? But you said you wanted space?” 

“I did. You basically blew my mind, more than once! I needed some space, to breathe, to think, to wrap my head around what you had shown me. I understand I was cruel and I didn’t handle the situation very well. I stormed off and left you to think the worst, and then I ignored you for a couple of days. And for that I’m sorry, that was never my intention, but you do have to understand that at that moment I wasn’t thinking very clearly.” 

I nodded my head as I listened to him. 

“I still can’t believe you’re from 2023.” Don shook his head in amazement. 

“Hey, shhh. Not so loud!” I pulled him closer looking around to make sure no one had heard him. 

“You’re the only person who gets to know this secret about me. Also I’m not telling you anything about the future ‘cause I’m not going to spoil it, but also I can’t remember most of what happens.”   

Don laughed and smiled down at me. I felt my heart swell, I had been so sad without him that my whole body ached. But with just one smile I felt as if I could fly. The feeling didn’t last long when reality crashed back down, I would still have to leave. 

Malarkey seemed to be able to read my inner thoughts as his face grew more serious again. 

“I spoke to Speirs.” 

I cautiously raised my glance towards him.

“You’re not planning on coming home.” He sounded disappointed and hurt, I could see it all swirling behind his brown eyes. 

“I can’t.” I bit my lip as he sighed. Don was the only person I could now truly explain myself to. 

“If the shimmer appears again, I think I have to go.” I explained to him, but he shook his head. 

“Who told you that?” 

“No one told me that, but I don’t think I would be allowed to stay.” 

“And why is that?” Don questioned. 

“Well, what if I stay and the things I do change the course of the future and the world falls apart because of it. This isn’t my timeline to change. There is a theory called the butterfly effect. It's basically one small change in the atmosphere that can cause chaos elsewhere. If I stay and alter the present it may detrimentally affect the future.” I rambled on as his brows knitted together. 

“But you’ve been here for months, wouldn’t that have affected the future?” He asked. 

I sighed, shaking my head, “That’s not just the only reason I can’t stay. Don, I wouldn’t be able to get back into America. I’m not legally a citizen. I wasn’t born there, I have no identification, I don’t even have a family who can vouch for me.” 

I watched him bite his cheek as he thought. “Surely there would be another way?” 

“Can we discuss this another time? I came out to clear my head, not worry more about things.” I pleaded. I was fighting panic attacks most of the time when I started thinking about my choice. 

My biggest fear when I was younger was death, an odd fear for a child to have. But when your mother is diagnosed with an incurable cancer and is told she only has so long to live, the fear of death is explainable. 

I remember laying in bed thinking of dying, the thoughts were so overwhelming, all the unknown. Suddenly I would be here alive and then I wouldn’t, buried under ground. Would I get to live again, or was that it? Would I be content with my life, even thinking of it now sent my heart racing and stomach twisting. 

I never thought I would have a worse fear. 

Turns out when you lose everyone you loved, death seems more enticing. 

Now I’m back in a space where I am loved and love others, and the fear of death creeps back in. 

However my death has a new face, a new perspective. 

Do I stay and potentially cause so much chaos the world falls around me, killing everyone I love. Or do I leave those who I cherish most, in a world I can never return back to, being unsure if I saved their lives, and never getting the answers I want. 

The choice had me spiralling, and now I had another factor. Don knew my choice, and he knows what he wants me to choose. I know he will choose selfishly, I don’t blame him. But it’s my choice in the end, and I can’t be responsible for more death. 

“Hey, I’ll drop it. Don’t look so worried.” Don’s fingers found my chin lifting it slightly to meet his eye line as we swayed. His hand dropped down to my racing heart. 

“It’s ok.” Malarkey cooed softly, pulling me in. I dragged in deep breaths trying to calm myself before I slipped into a panic attack. 

“Can we talk about anything else, please?” I whispered shakily. 

Don pulled back as he nodded his head. “You’re beautiful. I didn’t get to tell you.” 

The comment quickly pulled my focus as a blush spread across my cheeks. 

“When I saw you under the starlight, I just about fainted.” He smiled brightly down at me. 

“Ok big guy, I said talk about something else not lie to me.” I chuckled, patting his chest. 

“Lie to you. Emily, my god!” 

“What?” I exclaimed as he looked at me incredulously. 

“You seduced me in the middle of war when we barely showered and wore the same clothes for days on end. Even then I thought you were so fucking sexy. And then you come out in this dress all done up. I lost my goddamn mind when I saw you. All I can stare at is your plump red lips and all I can think about is how badly I want to rip this dress off of you.” Don whispered in my ear, his lips trailing the sensitive skin under my jaw. 

My eyes widened as thoughts flooded my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about Don ripping the dress from my body and then devouring me. 

I swallowed trying to focus on him, but the smirk he held as he glanced down at me sent me reeling. I fanned my hot face, trying to calm down my racing mind. 

“Got you all hot and bothered did I?” Don chuckled into my ear. 

I opened my mouth ready to retort when Lieb cut in. 

“You two, let’s go, the bar’s closing!” He yelled. We looked around the room, finding that everyone else had cleared out and the barman had started aggressively sweeping towards us, signalling for Don and I to leave. 

I hadn’t even said goodbye to any of the ladies I had come with. I hoped they got home safe. Don took my hand and led me out of the bar. The rest of Easy stood outside waiting for us, they smoked and talked amongst themselves. Seeing that we had finally come out, they started back towards the camp. 

Don and I walked behind the group, our hands intertwined. 

“I love all of you.” Don whispered in my ear. I looked up at him shocked. “I know you Em, you can’t hide anything from me.” 

“You knew I would be upset about that?” I asked. “I’m surprised you even remembered.” 

“Emily, I remember every conversation I have with you. You are permanently seared into my brain.” He lifted our hands kissing the back of mine. 

It was weird to think he thought about me as much as I did him. I hadn’t been loved like this in so long. I would miss it. I shook the thought from my head before it consumed my mind. I wanted to focus on the now, I would cross that bridge when I came to it. 

********************************

We finally arrived back at the base. Don and I bid goodnight to the men as they all headed back to bed. But Don stayed at my side. 

“Are you not going to bed?” I asked as I nudged him with my elbow. 

“Not unless you’re coming with me.” 

I laughed loudly, trying to muffle the sound with my palm, I didn’t need to wake the whole base. 

“What has got into you?” I playfully hit him as he grinned.   

“You.” Don’s lips fell onto my cheek, kissing me gently. 

“Don.” I whispered harshly, trying to look around to make sure we weren’t spotted. 

“Yours or mine?”

“What?” 

“Are we going to my bed or yours?” He elaborated. 

I gawked at the man, at a loss for words. He didn’t give me a chance to choose, scooping me up into his arms, he headed towards my bed.  

My room was a single bed, with no roommates. The army was still trying to enforce the no fraternising policy, and had separated me from the men. Little did they know I spent months on end sleeping in holes with the lot of them.  

Don refused to put me down to unlock the door, as I awkwardly reached out from his arms trying to get the key into the hole, his inability to keep still was making it harder than it needed to be.  

“Open the door.” Don laughed as I missed the lock for the millionth time. 

“Put me down and this would be a lot faster.” I said in a sarcastic sing-songy tone. 

“Never!” He declared triumphantly as he nuzzled his face into my neck. I yelped, trying to fend him off as well as open the door. 

Finally after wrangling Don, I got the door unlocked. I was going to turn around to give Don a shit eat grin but the tall redhead had other plans. Like a golden retriever on steroids, he bolted into the room and threw me onto the bed. I flew through the air at a great speed, landing in a heap on the soft comforter. 

I lifted my head to look at the man in disbelief, only to find his whole body flying towards me, arms outstretched like a tiger pouncing on its prey.  

“Don!” I yelled in what felt like slow motion as he descended upon me. His lips smashed into my cheeks as he peppered my face and neck with kisses. 

“What is going on?” I tried to pull him back to ask him but he wiggled free as he nipped and sucked at my bare skin. 

“You, Emily, have been taunting me all night in that dress.” He panted breathlessly as he finally ceased his assault. Don’s eyes met mine and the need that exuded from his pupils had my heart pumping. 

“I thought I looked nice, but not that nice.” I uttered in shock. 

“You’re kidding?” Don shook his head in disbelief. 

“You look like a goddess. As soon as I saw you I knew I was done for.” The comments from Don made my cheeks hot. Never in my life had I ever felt desirable, and here he was almost drooling over me. 

“I think you need your eyes checked or something.” I joked half heartedly, Don gaze was pinning, so much so it caused goosebumps to raise on my skin.

Malarkey’s eyes darkened. "I think your eyes need to be checked, sweetheart. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and if you think I'm going to let you talk like that, you're wrong."

My mouth fell open at his bold statement, a nervous chuckle falling from my lips, but his comment vibrated straight through my core. 

“I don’t think you understand the absolute chokehold you have on me.” Don’s eyes bored into my soul. 

Teeth found my lower lip biting gently, but it wasn’t mine. Don had captured my face in his hands pulling me forward to take my lower lip into his mouth. I couldn’t stop the moan that fell from my lips as my hands dragged down his back. In moments his mouth was on mine, kissing me with such hunger it was as if he was starved. 

His hands slid from my jaw up into my hair, tangling at the base of my neck as he pulled gently, causing me to gasp. Don had me pinned to the bed, his weight bearing down on me, we were so close I could feel the heat growing between us. I couldn’t help myself as I bucked my hips up into him, he groaned into my mouth as our tongues explored each other. 

My hands fell to his top, ripping open the buttons of his shirt, I heard them clatter to the floor but paid no mind as I helped Don remove his clothes. 

Don was much more gentle with my dress. He stood from the bed pulling me with him. Malarkey bent down gathering the hem as he slid it up my legs slowly, pressing his hands into my inner thighs as he did so. 

I lifted my hands over my head as he slowly stood, pulling the dress with him. Don kissed me gently on the lips before he removed the dress altogether. For some reason I felt more exposed and vulnerable than the last time we were together. I covered my arms over my stomach, aware of how on show I really was. 

Malarkey’s brows furrowed as he watched me. He stepped closer pulling me into him. Don captured my wrists bringing them back down to my sides.

His fingers traced down my arms, swirling across my stomach as he circled me like a shark. His fingers trailed my skin as he walked around me. I physically shivered as Don’s hot breath fanned my bare shoulders. Taking my hand he led me over to the full length mirror in the corner of the room. I stood in the reflection still wearing my undergarments, Don stood behind me only wearing his pants. 

Malarkey pressed my back into his chest as he watched me in the mirror. His lips found my ear as he pressed soft kisses to my sensitive skin. 

“Do you see how fucking stunning you are?” Don asked as his hands travelled down my skin.

I shook my head, I only saw plain old me, nothing special, nothing remarkable. I never found myself to be beautiful or attractive, I was just me. 

“Should I spell it out for you?” Don whispered as he continued to stare at me in the mirror. 

“I love your curls, how they frame your big eyes and gorgeous face, they cascade down your pretty neck to your shoulders.” He presses kisses to each part of my body. 

“Your chest, that drives me wild.” His fingers dipped inside my bra playing with my hard nipples. 

I shivered as his fingers traced down the middle of my abdomen, I tilted my head back into the crook of his shoulder sighing in pleasure.

“Focus.” He muttered, bringing my head forward again to look in the mirror.

“Those curves.” I giggled as he lightly glided over my hips tickling me as he went. 

“Every part of you is perfect, Emily. I will never stop telling you how much you mean to me.” 

Even in the heat of it all his words had me choking up. Tears welled in my eyes. I took a shaky breath trying to regulate my feelings. No one had ever loved me, all of me, and voiced it so openly. I had never been loved so fiercely. 

“I love you so much, Don. I love you so much it hurts.” I let the warm tears slip down my cheeks as I turned and buried my face into his chest.   

Don’s laugh vibrated through me. I raised my head, watching his eyes crinkle at the sides as he tipped his head back laughing even harder. 

“What’s so funny?” I asked confused. 

“I’m trying to make love to you, and instead I’ve made you cry.” I couldn’t help but join in the hysterics. I grinned up at the man as he finally found his composure looking back down at me. 

“I love you so much it hurts too.” My face cracked, I didn’t think I could smile any bigger. I lunged at Don, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. I cupped his face in my hands as he bent down to deepen the kiss. 

“So what are you waiting for? Make love to me already, big man.” Even though I had asked for it I couldn’t help the yelp that left my lips as he picked me up and carried me back over to the bed. 

He laid me gently on the bed, his fingers dragged the rest of the clothes off my body. My hands found the belt of his pants, hastily undoing the fastenings and tugging them down until we were both exposed fully. 

We kissed each other hungrily, needing to be closer to each other than ever before, like we wanted to crawl into each other’s skin. His fingers traced my every curve, memorising me with his fingertips. I did the same, my lips trailed down his body, licking and sucking as I went. I watched in satisfaction as his head fell back against the bed as sighs and moans left his lips. 

I had never felt so wet in my life, my need dripping down my legs. Through hazy eyes Don reached down between my legs swirling over my core, I muffled my screams into his neck. 

Don flipped us over so I was on my back and he loomed over me. His face hovered over mine as he stared lustfully down at me. 

I wriggled in anticipation, I could feel him resting on my stomach, I needed him inside me. 

“What are you waiting for?” I breathed softly. 

“You.” Don murmured, his voice low and filled with need. 

“I’m all yours Don, no need to wait.” 

“All mine?” Don couldn’t stop the smirk that spread across his lips. 

“And I’m all yours. No one can ever take you from me, they will have to pry you from my cold dead hands.” Don’s lips brushed mine as he spoke, sending shivers up my spine. 

I smiled up at the beautiful man that lingered above me. Who would’ve thought that putting my hand somewhere it wasn’t supposed to be, I would end up with the most breathtaking love I had ever experienced. 

Don lips pulled me from my thoughts as he crashed down into mine. His hips ground against mine, causing gasps and squeals to leave my throat. 

Malarkey raised up onto his forearms, one hand snaked down to between us. I watched him move himself to my entrance, his eyes flicking up to confirm with me I was ready. I bit my lip nodding my head. My hands found his hips as he slowly slid forward into me. 

I sucked in a breath as he slowly pushed into me, I watched his eyes squeeze shut as she held his breath. We stilled together, before he rocked back. The action caused pleasure to ripple through my body. I gripped his shoulders, pulling him down onto me. 

“God, you feel so good.” Don breathed out, his voice thick with need. 

I couldn’t form a sentence as my head swirled with lust. The only noises that left my mouth were moans and whimpers of pleasure. My fingers dug into the soft flesh of his back as he moved slowly in and out of me, his pace beginning to fasten as ragged breaths fell from his lips.  

Don gripped my hips, angling himself so that he was thrusting deeper inside of me. 

“Don.” I gasped, my head falling against the bed as my eyes rolled back in my head. 

“Don’t stop, please.” I begged, I had never heard my voice so desperate. 

Malarkey shifted from his position drawing out of me quickly, I whined at the loss of his cock. My head shot up from its place on the bed, I gawked at the man. But my shocked glare didn’t last long as he stood at the end of the bed, bending forward he gripped my hips and tugged me down to him. 

With my hips hanging off the end bed, Don’s hands clutched around my ass lifting me to meet him. I arched my back as he slammed back into me with no warning. A strangled scream left my lips as pleasure coursed through my veins. 

Now only my shoulder blades made contact with the comforter, the rest of my body was suspended in the air. Don moved in and out of me faster, the sounds of our heavy breathing and bodies slapping together filled the small room. 

My hands found my breasts, squeezing them as Don slammed in and out of me, cursing silently under his breath as he watched me. 

“You’re so fucking stunning, Em.” Don growled lowly. 

In one smooth motion Don flipped me onto my front. My feet were placed on the floor as he gripped my hips. The angle we were in meant that he plunged in deeper than before, hitting the spot that made my eyes roll back in my head and toes curl. Don’s fingers tangled in my curls pulling me so that he could kiss me. His free hand snaked around my waist pulling me closer. 

With every thrust I came nearer to my edge. Don’s lips attacked my neck, nipping and sucking as he went. I gripped onto his arm that held me tightly to him, my nails digging into his flesh, I felt as if I were about to float away if I wasn’t anchored down. 

I whined as Don left me, clutching to his arm to keep me on my feet. 

“I want to see you finish.” Malarkey whispered in my ear, his hands found their way under my thighs as he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around him, as he walked us back to the bed. 

Don lay me back down as he hovered above me, his lips pressing to mine as he slid back inside me. I sighed in satisfaction as he filled me up again.

“I love you.” I whispered breathlessly when his lips left mine. 

“I’m glad we found each other.” Don replied back, finally sending me to my finish. I shuddered underneath him as he did the same. With our breaths mingling and bodies intertwined, we completed each other. 

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

Chapter 36

[artist-issues]

so here's something I'm curious about: God's Not Dead. The films, not the statement itself.

I first saw the first film when I was younger and I hadn't yet embarked on my journey on examining just what i was taught and what I truly believed, but I remember finding the film a little uncomfortable.

I saw the second film and Ive never watched the third, and I think what I really don't like the first film is how it bashes other people's walks of life (Muslim father, three brands of athiests, and how it continues the myth that Christians in The United States are being Persecuted for their Faith Right Now.

Oh yeah and how the plots are really really dumb too, since the first film centers around a philosophy class with a professor that is skipping a very important part of most College degrees and the second takes place in a Bible Belt State with a high school teacher answering a students question comparing Marting Luther King Jr to Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and being taken to court over it.

I was twelve or so when I saw that movie and I honestly was not convinced by the film That God's Not Dead (in terms of the actual arguments in the class scenes.

The specific Denomination that I grew up with (Adventist) focuses a LOT™ on the end times so I do know about the future persecution thing well but like, I don't think we're there yet.

Anyway if you don't know those movies, feel free to ignore this ask but I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts on them, wether positive or negative or neutral

Hi! I saw the first God’s Not Dead in theaters. Never re-watched it. Did not see the sequels.

The good thing about God’s Not Dead is that people worked hard to make something that might shine a counter-cultural light on the truth that the God of the Bible exists. Stories that try to point to truth are on the right track, baseline.

The bad thing about God’s Not Dead is that it took things that are real, and genuine, and true…and it made them feel fake. By telling the story with strange conclusions and weird-triumph moments.

The thesis of the movie, that God is not dead, is something that only non-Christians would need to be convinced of. But the movie is clearly made for Christians. So. Yeah, it’s uncomfortable.

But you shouldn’t find every experience that the movie tries to portray uncomfortable because they don’t happen. You should find it uncomfortable because they don’t happen in that cheesy, Hallmark-grade way.

When a student stands up to their professor and says, “no, I’m not going to go along with this, and this is super weird that you’re trying to draw this line about the specific Christian God,” guess what? The whole classroom doesn’t usually get up and agree with you. They normally barely react. So even though some professors do put their foot down and try to mock or “kill” God in the classroom, and some students do push back, no. It doesn’t normally happen in that victorious way.

Just like how some young Muslim converts to Christianity genuinely are treated poorly by their families, or their community, not just in America, but absolutely, certainly around the world. Absolutely, certainly. I literally can think of not one, but two examples I’ve recently heard of, directly, from people I know.

Like I said, the events and life-experiences that the first God’s Not Dead movie are based on do technically happen all the time in America, and the West, and the world in general. They just don’t normally come with crowd-agreement, impactful music, wise one-liners, and celebrity appearances. The worst thing that the God’s Not Dead movie does is show you hints of things that are real, and really happen in real life, but cheeseball way it shows you those things, and the caricatures it turns people into, makes the real thing look fake.

As far as “the myth that Christians are Persecuted Right Now in America” goes…you just have to decide what you mean by “persecuted.”

If you mean, are we getting our heads run over by cement mixers, or dragged out of our homes and imprisoned for studying or even owning a Bible, or kidnapped by hired hitmen once our families find out we’re Christians, like they are in Yemen or Africa or basically anywhere outside the West…no. No, we’re not facing persecution like that. We’re not persecuted.

But if you mean, in the context of this conversation, that “atheists and professors and people in the professional sector of our education systems don’t have a weirdly specific bone to pick with Christians,”then you’re wrong. They do. They have. For a long time.

My second semester in college, in my plain old World History class, the Professor legitimately opened his class by explaining to us students that if we wanted, he would allow us to replace our midterm and our final exams with book reports as long as we read two specific books he assigned us. One was a book about how Jesus of Nazareth was not the Messiah and the Bible was false. The other book was a fictional short novel with heavy themes criticizing specifically Christian religion. Those were the two books he picked for his students to skip taking the midterm and the final, if only they would read those two books. And those were the ones he chose.

Not only that, but literally in the first class, I remember being stunned when he flippantly opened his summary of the 18th century by saying, “If anyone ever tells you you should check out the God of the Bible, and follow him, laugh in their face. Don’t do it. He is the kind of God who likes to make His people promises and then strand them in the desert for forty years!” First class. Out the gate. Like it was a joke.

It’s not a joke. Dude just openly mocked two out of the three major world religions that people identify with across the globe. Explain to me how telling someone never to convert to a specific religion and to mock it instead is anything other than “discrimination?”

Can you imagine a Professor getting up in front of a class and saying, “if anyone ever tells you that you should check out Allah ] and follow him, convert to Islam, laugh in their face! And here’s one short novel and one historically inaccurate essay criticizing Allah and making fun of Islam; if you’ll read these, tell you what, I’ll let you skip the two most stressful exams of the semester!”

No, of course you can’t imagine that. A Professor who did that about any other religion, creed, or god would be fired or taken to court or penalized or dragged on social media, at least. But the only student in the whole room who batted an eye when he said that about the Christian God was me. The only one who said anything was me. And it wasn’t a big stand up, dramatic declaration. Momentous music didn’t play in the background. My friends and classmates didn’t’] gasp or support me or stand up and agree with me.

It was just me raising my hand and saying in a shaky voice with a red face, after the sixth time he’d randomly deviated from talking about the Roman plumbing system to describe how the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles supposedly disagreed about who Jesus was (big lie, not true at all, but often used to “discredit” the Bible) to say, “sir, that’s not true. It doesn’t make sense. There’s a verse in the Bible where the Apostle Peter literally tells the church that the Apostle Paul’s words are directly from God.” And then he was like, “okay, I’m going to move on.”

I mean I just felt kind of stupid because the whole class was confused about the interaction; nobody was treating it like it was as important as me or the professor was, so it felt awkward to “make a stand.” But rest assured, all over the freakin’ country, people are excited to use up way too much of their brain power and emotional energy mocking, disparaging, and trying to discredit the God of the Bible and Christianity. They don’t believe in Him, but they’re so he’ll-bent on making sure nobody else does either?? Like, I don’t believe in Big Foot, but I’m not walking around trying to barter my students into reading anti-Big Foot books by giving them a pass on their midterms. But that’s how lots and lots of “athiests” treat the specific Christian God.

That’s not new. It’s not dramatic. It’s not persecution. It’s alllll part of the same old song and dance.

But it is real. The worst thing about God’s Not Dead is it made it feel fake and caricature, when it happens all the time and matters 🤷‍♀️ Anyway. Hope that answered your question.

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

What do I Know About You? - Part 2

Its finally Heeeeeere! This was another Awesome collaboration with @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan who not only lent characters but also cowrote thic massive chunk of words back and forth with me! Also this one is Long so bring a Lunch!

Summary: Lullaby and Khopesh Finally get to have their first date, and things don't go quite as planned. Was there even a plan? No aside from a deeply uncomfortable talk about trauma and expectations. Meanwhile the others back at base scramble to understand the strange Zap and the odd recognition Anrir felt upon seeing Lullaby. Many things stand in their way; fear, uncertainty and worst of all...Paperwork!

Tags: @kit-williams (who let me use Anrir and Ghosk though his presenceis only implied!) @sleepyfan-blog @bleedingichorhearts @passionofthesith @egrets-not-regrets @bispecsual

Warnings: Negative self talk, fear and prejudice speak towards Nightlords and psychers, talk of stress induced self harm (scratching and skin picking), and public PDA

First Fic/Prequel to this series click Here:

Directly previous fic can be found here:

Next one: Coming hopefully soon.

Enjoy!

“Uh- Anrir something… Strange happened,” Claude shuffles over to where Anrir is and explains. “... I wasn’t accessing my powers, I - I wouldn’t hurt someone accidentally, or on purpose, without just cause. I just shook Lullaby’s hand- I… I…I don’t know what that was about.”

He looks down at his hands, unable to look Anrir in the face. Cursed. Having warp powers means one is cursed. Who in the name of the God Emperor ever desired such things is an imbecile. Warp powers are a curse, to the person who has them and those around them.

Anrir's face remained calm- but his eyes were a storm of emotion at hearing the confused, stuttered explanation from Claude. His initial emotion is panic, as Anrir recalls that Claude is unbonded and that means he could take actions against Humans easily. Then he remembers how soft his son could be- and watches how worried and upset the youngster is. Claude hadn't wanted to hurt the human, or intended to do so.

Anrir starts to comfort Claude- he doesn’t fully understand psykers, or their abilities, but he does know that Claude ever strives to control his abilities and really doesn’t like it when that control slips. Especially if he accidentally hurts others as a consequence, because the training that he and the other boys received on Mars hadn’t … well. It had certainly been effective in some ways, and also had a lot of unintended side effects too. Those mechanical bastards.

Claude is really grateful that Anrir is here, trying to calm him down, Karlsor had not been great at that- mostly swearing at him and scolding him, as well as asking demanding questions, that he really didn’t have answers for, and accusing him of doing a Zap on purpose, which he hadn’t done so. 

“Walk me through what happened, step by step,” Anrir asks as he gently pats one of Claude’s shoulders soothingly.

Claude nods and verbally goes over the entire interaction, as well as what he’d been thinking, feeling, and other sensory outputs as well. He looks at one of his slightly shaking hands and once he’s gone through the whole interaction again, he’s a lot calmer, a slightly thoughtful look crosses his face.

“When I was younger… and back on Mars,” Claude says slowly, now that he’s thinking and not panicking, “The times where I would accidentally zap others like that- was if… was if I wasn’t aware they were fellow Psykers and my powers would just kinda… poke at theirs? But- I didn’t think Ancient Terra had native psykers so soon?”

Anrir hums softly and thinks, "They might not be awake. Their powers could be there but they might not be fully active... the Sorcerers have theorized that why the Warp is so weak might be linked to the Eye of Terror... since it's not here in the current time." His fingers soothingly move through Claude's hair. "Which means that only extraordinarily strong psykers can manifest much of anything during this current time which is probably why it's hard for you and you probably can only do it because of your training. Again those are just theories."

“Oh,” Claude says quietly, “... So they have the potential for it then. Like… like ice that has flowing water underneath it?”

“Interesting euphemism,” Anrir muses, “I’ll have to check with some of the Sorcerers, but I think that’s an accurate description.”

Jophiel and Cedric are moving with purpose- but not trying to be super fast as they get to Claude’s side. The Blood Angel is trying not to fluff his wings aggressively at Karlsor or Anrir.  Jophiel gently grabs one of Claude’s arms- the one with the hand that had touched Lullaby.

“Claude- there you are!” Jophiel trills at his brother-cousin, sounding as normal as possible.

Jophiel can be rather tactile- it’s something that Claude knows well. But the way that Jophiel is squeezing his arm, something bugging his younger brother-cousin. Claude’s gaze snaps to Jophiel’s as his gaze sweeps over his younger brother-cousin and notices that Jophiel is Spooked by something. “Did you need something Jophie?”

“... Yes, Ced and I want to talk to Claude. Privately and alone.” Jophiel says cheerfully. His eyes slide over to the First Born and Terran Born Space Marines, lightly trying to tug Claude away from them.

His smile is a tad too toothsome to be polite, and the red is bleeding into his eyes more. Usually Jophie doesn’t get too aggressive so quickly. Just what could be bothering him. “Uh- sure Jophie.”

Before Claude could move towards his brother, Karlsor speaks up with his own growl. One of his hands twitching a little- he usually wasn’t bothered by the feathery little shit head- but the little bastard is hiding something. Karlsor can tell.  

“You can fuckin’ talk with us nearby,” Karlsor points out, with a not quite snarl- noticing the twitchy way that Jophiel was moving. Also teeth. That’s a lot of shiny sharp chompers the brat has. “And it ain’t nice to threaten others, we wanna help.”

Jophiel narrows his eyes a little at Karlsor, “... I want to talk to Claude first.”

Claude had told the other Primaris Marines about that one First Born Raven Guard Captain and his flock of brothers- the ones from M42 who had known what the Captain was doing to him, but looked the other way. 

As well as how Karlsor, Anrir and the rest of the Claw reacted, and how they’d gotten him Justice for the shit-show that had been M42. It has helped his brothers start to trust at least some specific First Born Brothers a bit more. Still- old habits, and Jophiel wants to check over Claude to ensure that he’s not… got spores on him.

"I must Insist your inquiry involve us." Anrir drawls, bringing himself to stand near both Claude and the still clearly upset blood angel. 

The younger blood angel's patience was clearly running thin. "With all due respect Apothecary Anrir, this has nothing to do with you. I would very much like to speak to my Brother regarding His Health..."

The air shifted, and Jophiel suddenly found his frustration turning to fear and a realization along the lines of 'Oh Shit those were the Wrong words to use.' Cedric twitches a little, if things weren’t so serious he would have face palmed or jabbed Jophi in the ribs, the last sentence one should say around an older apothecary is ‘concerns about health’. 

The aura now radiating from the Terran Nightlord was full of pressure. He spoke with firm words that would seem unbothered lest you could sense the venom lurking just beneath them. 

"With All Due Respect...I consider Claude my Son, so If you know something is affecting His Health, Which would Also be My Business as I am an Apothecary, I must Insist," Anrir hissed causing Jophiel to shrink back further. "You inform me This Instant."

Jophiel glanced at Cedric who seemed equally unsure what to do. Then to Claude, who glanced at Anrir.

When Claude turned back to Jophiel, he nodded. "Anrir helped me before, he might know how to help now."

Jophiel deflated a bit, but...if Claude was okay with it, Fine. The Blood Angel squared his shoulders to attention. "Very well but...not here…" Jophiel bargained. "We need somewhere more private, and...I want to look over Claude with my psykery first...or at least while I explain what I've seen."

The glower Anrir had mustered up lessens, "That is reasonable, we can convene and converse in my Medbay office. Let us not delay."

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

The cool of evening was beginning to settle in, though it was still fairly bright outside, as you and your 'date' walked the short distance to the Fire Drake Noodle House. 

You're fortunate when Anrir said it was close he meant by human standards, not Astarte ones. Only about five minutes with a single street crossing. 

"So...you've been to this place before?" You ask Khopesh. Who responded with a pleasant hum. 

"No but I have had takeout from there before. The Scallion Pancakes weren't what I expected but they were delicious." He explains as the two of you wait at the crosswalk. 

"Oh yeah I've tried those at other places! Wait...what do you mean they weren't what you were expecting?"

"Ah well…" Khopesh scratches his head kinda awkwardly. "It was just after I got bonded to Vada and Muti. I was still learning to speak and read the local language. I recognized Pancakes but not Scallions. So…I thought I was getting the sweet kind."

"Pfft!" You chuckled. "Yep, that sounds about right. But hey you still enjoyed them so that's good."

"Yes! My brothers got upset, but In my defense they were Very Good."

Ding! The little crosswalk man popped up and you two abided. 

"Wait, why did your brothers get upset?" You asked.

"Because they were technically a group appetizer and I stole and ate all of them, As well as the entree that had been purchased for me." Khoepsh replied cheekily.

"You did not!" You challenged with laughing disbelief. 

"Oh but I Did!" Khopesh declared. "And though I had to scrub the barrack floors for a Week straight, I regret Nothing!"

"Well, as long as you don't go stealing food off mine or other people's plates we'll be golden." You assure him. "Slight tangent but if you like scallion pancakes there's something else called Egg Foo Young. It's like a mix between an omelet and a pancake with meat and veggies and a gravy like sauce its Super Good-"

"Shit it's a Night Lord." You hear one of the other people hiss. "Uh let's just go the other way around…" The other person says nervously, tugging at their friend’s elbow.

You were broken from your explanation by two hushed but insistent voices. Turning around you saw two people walking quickly back the way you and Khopesh had just come, they must have exited the alley you just passed. 

"What was that about?" But before you could get even a rhetorical answer a different couple had exited a shop a little ways ahead. 

They took one glance towards the two of you before quickly diverting the path and jay walking across the street.

You stood for a moment after they'd walked off. The words came out almost without thinking. "Well...that was Rude."

Khopesh seemed surprised, "What do you mean?"

You gestured after the people that had left. "Them! They don't even know you and they just…" 

Khopesh smiled incredulously. "Lullaby are you...offended?"

You were taken aback by his nonchalance …"Aren't you?" 

He deserved so much better than to be treated like that. A thought comes to your mind that hisses out viciously, ‘He deserved so much better than you.’

"Lullaby," Khopesh cooed, now seeming touched. "I have been called Far Worse things in my time, mostly by Karlsor." He amended. "But yoooou." He brought his big pale hands up and...squished your cheeks! "You are so Cute! Getting mad on my behalf!" He chortled, rubbing and sqwoosing and lifting you Just slightly so your bodies were flush against each other. 

Okay...you actually didn't mind this...odd as it was. But you were in public. But before you could voice that you realized Khopesh was practically nose to Nose with you. "Makes me want to...Eat you up…" He growled with a sultry edge.

Staring into his dark eyes, your cheeks and face ignited, further contrasting your heated skin against his cool. 

You Really didn't mind this. But in the back of your mind you felt the alarm bells. Public, still in public and- 

"And never let you go..."

(!) There it was. Also you realized you were getting stretched a bit more on tip toe now. 

"Too much, down please." You state quickly. 

"Oh!" Khopesh seems taken aback but he releases you regardless. "My apologies, Lullaby, it seems I became too eager again." He chuckled bringing up a hand to gently rest on your cheek. "You're just so Cuuute."

You huff and can’t help but smile as you say teasingly, “You are right eager.”

‘Eager to keep you, or eager to break you,’ Your thoughts hiss at you again. You weren't certain. And that uncertainty starts to gnaw at you.

‘Talk, you Need to have A Talk.’ You think to yourself firmly. ‘And you will!! Just...dinner first. Get some food on his stomach so he's in a better mood.’ 

That horrible voice in your head hisses out at you, warningly, ‘Have you ever really Seen him in a bad mood. Do you want to find out what that looks like?’

"S'all right, learning curve and all that." You reassure him, and you continue walking. 

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

"Alright," Jophiel relaxed both his mind and body and let his warp sight dim. "I don't see anything strange on your soul Claude. You can stand up now."

He leans against the table, that was exhausting. And used far more power than it should have. But it was necessary to do so. He had to make sure that Claude was okay, and barring that, if he was not okay, that he could see what was wrong and fix it, or find someone who could.

"Ah thank you," Claude replied, hopping down from the medical table. Cedric hands him a hydration ration and a ration pack to help Jophiel replenish his energy a little bit.

Cedric, Karlsor and Anrir were gathered in the same room watching as Jophiel conducted his examination. Anrir was the first to speak. Karlsor has his arms crossed over his chest as he tries to figure out what sort of psy-exam the Blood Angel Scout-ling was doing. The younger Psyker was clearly looking for something.

"You've done your examination, now talk. Explain Why you thought something might be amiss with Claude." The Terran Night Lord commanded with no room for exception. "Spare no details, leave nothing out."

Jophiel turned and stood at attention. If he was to reveal this he would do so properly. "Yes sir, I was called by Cedric after the zap occurred. He believed as I do now that the exchange of energy was Not merely a static shock, but wanted me to surreptitiously examine the mortal to make sure."

"And?" Anrir prompted.

Now Jophiel became a bit more uncomfortable, but he pressed on. "The Human, Lullaby, has the spark of psykery. But it is...strange. It seems to originate from something that looks like a bond...but isn't."

"But Lullaby isn't bonded to Khopesh...are they bonded to someone else? And are you Certain they're a latent psyker?" Claude asks now Exceptionally curious, and the latter part of the question sounding a bit morbid. 

Claude's own powers had been Hellish to learn how to control, between the grueling training and the abuse he suffered... he didn't like the thought of a mere human having to go through even Half of that.

"Of that I have no doubt. It is the spark." Jophiel fidgeted a bit, thinking over his next words. "But...rather than manifesting as a plume of warp energy in their soul, or an aura around it...it appears to be originating from a...a mutated bond."

Anrir listened with rapt attention. "Mutated How?"

"It's...Wrong," Jophiel filled in. "From what I've always heard and seen...Bonds are supposed to resemble plants aren't they?"

Anrir nodded. "Yes, that is true. According to the librarians I have consulted, All bonds I have examined in my research have taken on the visuals of plant life. The strength and life span of the bond is displayed by the health of the vines, and usually the presence of flora. The type of which varies depending on the…relationship dynamics."

Anrir felt a slight annoying itch, like the thorns on his own bond were digging into him. He didn't like recalling their existence. His vines were Healthy and beautiful with blossoming roses that Bound his Draga to him Tightly. Just as he liked it, every rose has its thorns so it is Natural.

At least that's what Anrir tells himself. But back on topic. 

"Ahem, also, broken bonds take on a withered appearance until they desiccate back into nothing, or a new bond brings them back to life. So what makes you say this bond is mutated?" Anrir prompted. 

"Well for one, Lullaby isn't currently bonded to Anyone correct?" Jophiel reasoned, they were involved with a Nightlord with a separate platonic bond; if they had a bonded Astarte companion of their own, why would they be giving Khopesh that kind of attention? "They shouldn't even have one, that Alone makes it an outlier." Jophiel stated. "And even if it was a withering broken bond That would resemble dried out, dying foliage, That Thing," Jophiel shuddered. "Is Very Much Alive." 

"It...it was pulsing and glowing and spiraling out like a mycelium network! Some of its tendrils started moving over my Hand!" Jophiel rubbed the hand that had been touched like he wished he could scrub away the memory. "I could Feel it siphoning away my powers! It is Wrong and it is Dangerous!" Jophiel hissed, composure breaking and wings fluffing up. 

He rubs his hands against his legs, trying to get that prickling feeling that itched and scratched some of the skin off his shaken hand with the other one subconsciously as his claws extended and Cedric smacked his shoulder to keep him from making a mess of himself.

Cedric stepped in quickly. "Easy Jophie, it's okay. That Thing can't hurt you here." He said softly, giving his brother a calming presence to ground him. 

Jophiel leans into Cedric, closes his eyes for a moment, stopping himself from spiraling for a moment. Claude lightly puts a hand on his brother-cousin’s arm. Trying to help ground him as well.

Anrir watched the exchange but his mind was Racing. "Possibly the First recorded psyker of the Baseline human populace…" He mused.

Karlsor meanwhile Knew that look. Anrir was going to be in his own head for a bit Fucking Greaaat. Karlsor rubs his face- this is some really big fucking news. And they would need to keep a tight lid on this. This could spiral out of control very fast if it’s not handled properly.

"And an entirely new subset of warp bonds...incredible...fascinating…" Anrir muses out loud

"It is Not fascinating! It is Horrifying! And it carries the shadow of Decay!" Jophiel shot back with a hiss, his wings raised and flaring in his upset.. 

"Decay?" That seemed to wake Anrir up. 

"Yes! Decay! That was what tipped me off that it looked like a Mycelium. I couldn't remember the word for it until I focused on the feeling of decay and remembered seeing a diagram in one of Apothecary Hura's biology books!" Jophile huffed, though he was starting to calm down with both Claude and Cedric comforting him. He wraps his wings around both of his brothers, shielding and half hiding them from view of the two Night Lords as he calms down. The red in his eyes is starting to fade away.

Now Karlsor noted the look on Anrir's face was much more grim. "Penny for your fuckin thoughts?"

"I believe I need to speak to Apothecary Hura." Anrir stated, turning to leave his office. "The rest of you should finish whatever duties you have left, and retire for the evening. Claude,"

“Oh fuck.” Karlsor growls, “What did that fucker do now?”

"Yes Fa- Ah Anrir." Claude asked. 

Anrir smiled wryly at the near slip. "I will send you some currency, this day has been surprisingly taxing for you and your brothers." He said, turning back to the three Primaris, "Get something nice for yourselves from a restaurant of your choice. My treat."

Jophiel and Cedric seemed legitimately surprised by the offer, given the...slight disrespect from earlier. "Ah...thank you Sir."

"Thank you Apothecary Anrir." Jophiel says politely.

"And, for the sake of not causing any Uproar, let us keep this conversation Private." The cold pitiless dread came back into Anrir's voice for a brief moment. The Primaris understood the unspoken threat. 

"Yes Sir!" Jophiel says with a nod, nascent psykers, especially baseline humans faced a lot of fear and scrutiny from the people around them who don't have those powers, or understand it.

 "Understood!" Cedric said with a nod- this was confidential patient information, and unless he had no other choice, no whisper of this would come from him willingly.

"Of course Anrir!" Claude says with a sharp nod, he's great at secret keeping.

Anrir nodded, and made his way out of the room. He needed to have a little...chat with Hura about his Long Term patient. Karlsor follows after Anrir, half curious, half dreading what the flying fuck was going to happen, what information they might fish out of the Death Guard.

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

You and Khopesh arrive at the Fire Drake Noodle House, and you can't help but Marvel at the gorgeous space; emblazoned with warm reds, dark greens and shining golds. Banners display dragons and with the light fixtures having Actual Flames and the many metal worked items adorning the walls the whole atmosphere reminds you of a warmly lit forge. 

It’s such a wonderful place, you breathe in the smells of the restaurant through your nose. It smells so good.

The atmosphere inside also feels just as warm and vital as the decor...but that also means you might have to wait for a table.

"It's so pre-tty~" You fawn, utterly taken in by the environment. 

"Hmm...the lighting is a bit much...but the temperature is pleasant." Khopesh surmised, squinting his eyes a bit.

You were confused, till you remembered, "Oh right, your eyes are dark adapted...it's not too much right?"

Khopesh smiled. "You are too much," He pinched your cheek causing you to let out a painless "-Hm!". He was far more gentle than the squooshing earlier. "Your concern for me is endearing, but I have fought my way through battlefields and entire worlds where the blaze of war and the hellfire of artillery were literally Blinding. This Is Nothing, compared to that, and I will be fiiine." He assured you.

FWOOSH! A pillar of fire suddenly burst up in the kitchen with a sizzle, clearly an intentional part of the cooking. But you saw Khopesh flinch and squint even more as his eyes reacted to the sound by locking onto its bright hot source. 

Yeah, not fine. "...We're getting a booth in the back in the corner in the dark." You say simply. 

"But then we may have to wait longer." Khopesh groaned. "And aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, but this isn't Just for me, it's for both of us." You explain. "I want my partner to be comfortable while we're sharing a meal."

Khopesh seemed to take a pause. "Partner?"

You swallowed, "Y-yeah, you're my partner. At least...that's what I'd like us to be…" You explain. 

Khopesh doesn't respond, but he also doesn't seem...offended?? At least you hope not, he just seems to not quite understand.

"We can talk about it more once we've eaten." You finally say. 

Khopesh's smile curves back up, still a bit unsure looking. "That sounds ominous, Lullaby."

You shrug. "You wanted me to be honest, so I'm going to be." You declare. "But After food, cause no way am I doing something as exhausting as being Honest on an empty stomach."

"Pfft! Ha! You make it sound like Such a burden!" Khopesh chortled. 

"Is the Truth not a burden?" You reply dryly. "Ruminate on that while I talk to the host, also I've gotta use the restroom. If they call for the table before I get back go ahead and sit down okay? I'll find you."

"Of course my Lullaby, whatever you say~" Khopesh replied, it amused him when you got all chatty, and planned and laid out clear, obvious instructions. Honestly, were you able to become an aspirant you'd probably make a good Ultramarine. 

But you'd be Far more pleasant to interact with than one of those paperwork pushing, goody goody blueberries. Well maybe that's not completely fair, Khopesh had known...at least a Few Ultramarines that weren't...completely a drag to be around. 

He could only count those on one hand but Hey! They still counted. 

"Table for two please." You say as you approach the host stand, behind which stands a giant Salamander in a professional looking dark green outfit, with pale but textured hair tied back into a fashionable style. Also the marine in question looks...familiar.

The Salamander smiles in greeting. "It will be about fifteen minutes, I also heard you and your companion discussing your preference for a darker table setup. We can dim or fully extinguish any sconces once a table opens up should you so choose."

You were a bit taken aback by your whole convo being overheard. You were being too Loud again why are you Always so Lo- But you squashed that thought quickly, Astartes have excellent hearing even in a busy humming restaurant. This Host probably even tried to focus on chatter from incoming guests so he could get ahead of their accommodations. 

Clever and proactive of...Pyrus, as his name tag read. 

"Thank you, and yes! We would like that if possible…Go ahead and put the table under Khopesh please." You surmise, you wouldn't be able to hear it in the bathroom, speaking of which. "Ah by the way...could you tell me where I can find the restrooms?"

Pyrus nodded. "Ah yes, simply walk back from here to the left corner of the restaurant. Hallway alongside the patio, you can't miss it."

You give a quick nod, "Okay thanks." And hustle past to follow the instructions given. 

Meanwhile, Kerubiel had been sent by the rest of the Primaris marines as the one who had drawn the short straw and had to pick up the ‘not ration food order’ and it was from the Fire Drake Noodle House. Claude, Cedric and Jophiel had come back from going to the Chaos Base with pensive looks and thoughtful expressions.

When questioned all they would say is that they’d met someone new, who’d seemed nice. Other than that, they wouldn’t say much. Kerubiel knows that they are keeping something from him and the others.

But the rest of the Primaris Marines had allowed themselves to get distracted by food- and Kerubiel was curious about what sort of food this Fire Drake Noodle House place has, and begrudgingly looked over the menu and picked out some things to eat.

As he walks in, his gaze snaps to the First Born Night Lord sitting in the waiting area. His hands clench and unclench as he stalks over to the Chaos Traitor Bastard and glowers at him. Even if his new pride is keeping secrets from him. He can at least learn something.

“Night Lords don't usually travel Alone. Where is the rest of your godless heathen Claw of Bastards?” His curiosity gets a hold of him as he goes over to the First Born Space Marine. 

Khopesh is a little taken off guard by the sudden interrogation by the Dark Angel- he’s a big fucker. But he realizes- as he looks the rude bastard over, that he’s young- looks around the age of Claude and the other Primaris Marines. 

He’s also similarly sized, so he drawls out with a smirk on his face, “Back at base, which is where you should be...isn't it past your curfew little lion Cub?”

“I’m here getting an order,” Kerubiel says with a scowl, “I don’t have a curfew and I’m not a cub! Why are You here?"

Khopesh could see the little kitty was fishing for information. Dark Angels, over one hundred centuries and some things never Change. But fine...he'll play along.

"I'm sharing a meal with my precious Lullaby." Khopesh responded smugly. He let the follow up go unsaid. You know...because someone actually Wanted his company. 

Kerubiel could tell based on context (and logic I mean what space marine would call another space marine Lullaby of all things??) The Night Lord was referring to a human. 

Was this human his bonded? He was unsure if the Night Lord would give that information willingly. No matter though, he could find that out for himself. 

Carefully, Kerubiel drew on his psykery. He had heard about Bonds and other such nonsense. He didn’t really understand it, none of them did. None of them are Bonded. The lack of information was bothering him a lot. Information is key to survival after all.

And like in practice he saw the bond, flourishing and floral (honestly it was kinda pretty-) No! Focus! The strain of using his powers is starting to make his vision waiver, just a little bit.

But...something was off. Kerubiel may not have been the most experienced with bonds or emotions...but he could tell the bond in front of him was completely Platonic. He’d seen a few bonds of different kinds, they had different color-feel-patterns to them.

And again...context and logic. Precious Lullaby Could be a platonic term of endearment but considering how Dopey eyed the Nightlord appeared when he said it that was Doubtful. 

Khopesh grimaced as the youngster continued to Stare at him. He had a feeling he knew what he was doing. He'd let Claude and Anrir study his bond many times. So even without active psykery of his own he Knew the feeling of being examined. 

And this entitled little Snot hadn't even asked permission. But he held himself in Check; didn't want to get tossed out on his ass for being a Night Lord who got in a squabble. "Are you done being an Invasive little shit or are you just going to keep Staring at me Cub?"

Kerubiel let go of his sight, Damn that still took a lot out of him. But he would Not, show weakness. "Why would a space marine lower themselves to break bread and consort with a human they aren't even bonded to?" 

Okay Now, he was going to beat the shit out of the little snot consequence be Damned. One of his hands twitches, as he longs to clock the brat in the face with his fist.

As Khopesh was contemplating the best method of springing up from this bench and Strangling the little bastard in a headlock, Kerubial let out one more jab. "And Why would any sane  human choose a Night Lord of all companions?"

"Because I Like His Company." A terse voice comes from behind the Primaris Dark Angel, causing both space marines to perk up. 

You stand there, arms crossed as the large Dark Green hooded Bastard turns so he can see you, and you now have an unblocked view of your Night Lord still sitting on the waiting bench, though clearly much more tense than you'd left him. 

Honestly you leave for the bathroom, you use said bathroom, you wash your hands and splash your face and Hype yourself up for the talk to come and What do you come back to?? Some large petty nosy space marine getting into Khopesh’s face and asking a bunch of rude ass questions. 

At first you thought they might just know each other, until you heard the other Space Marine essentially ask, “Why would a human want to be with the likes of you?”

"Fuck. You. That's why!" You continue hotly, spurred on by your indignation and putting yourself Between this bastard and Your Night Lord, "He's fuckin Great. And Because, I can choose for myself who I damn well Please to hang out with! And not you nor anyone else is gonna tell me otherwise!" You state hands on your hips as your voice gets louder as you defend Khopesh from this asshole.

Does he need defending? Probably not, could probably fold this guy like a cheap tea table, but is that gonna stop you from puffing up and getting Right into a much larger Space Marine's face? 

Well clearly not you're already doing it. You would be more scared, but you were defending someone else. Someone who you care for deeply, who doesn't deserve to be harassed simply for being in a public place.

"Now you can either trot your merry renfaire ass along or I Will be reporting to your superior officer how you are making a damn Fool of yourself and All said superiors because clearly whoever trained you didn't impart you Manners!" You continue to rant and point a finger at him.

Kerubiel scowls at Lullaby and Khopesh, and starts to growl low in his throat at their rudeness. But while he clenches his fist, he’s no Chaos or Renegade scumbag to hurt a Baseline unless attacked first. His eyes narrow as he glares down at them and back at Khopesh.

Who now has an absolute look of looming Murder on his face. Not at You no no No. Before the prickly little cat bastard had the shitting Gall to Growl at His Lullaby, he'd been surprised and even Exhilarated by you cussing out his aggressor in front of him. 

Defending a monster like him, as if you had even a Ghost of a chance against the Primaris. All puffed up like a bluffing Hen, but you were completely serious. And so was Khopesh about that brutal homicide that was rapidly approaching this Dark Angel if he Didn't- Stop-Threatening-His-Lullaby!

Pyrus comes over- having heard raised voices- moving faster once he hears Growling Dark Angel Noises and calls out to the squabbling group. "Khopesh party of two your table is ready." He announces, trying to diffuse the situation and organically move the two arguing members apart. "We have the sconces dimmed and everything is set, if you'll just follow my fellow host right over there."

You glanced over seeing another smartly dressed host, this time a human Baseline, waving you over. "Excellent, thank you So much for the accommodations." You say in your sweetest most polite voice, before turning back to Khopesh and holding out your hand. 

"Let's go have a nice meal now, and try to forget any...unpleasantness." You gave Kerubial a sharp side eye. The bastard even had the audacity to look insulted.

Khopesh is now in a Much better mood without that nasty bastard growling and prodding at him. He's also pleasantly surprised to see the Host take his side but he pushes that thought away for now, taking his Lullaby's offered hand. 

You smile, and settle into Khopesh's side, literally hanging off his arm. Are you doing it to be spiteful? Absolutely yes, one hundred percent. But just as much you are doing it to be affectionate. 

You even decide to really lay it on, indulging in tucking yourself close to your Night Lord and nuzzling him. Treating Khopesh to some well deserved (after that bullshit especially) tenderness, and showing that green hooded Prick how Happy you were in the company of said Nightlord. Khopesh responds by purring softly, and giving the green hood prick a smug look with full teeth.

As you two move to go to your table. Pyrus moves over and accidentally bumps into the Primaris Dark Angel that’s growling a little and turns to look at him with fire-bright eyes, “Please leave, if you are going to upset guests at this place.”

“I have an order I’m picking up!” Kerubiel protests.

“Who’s name is it under?” Pyrus asks hands on his hips as he gives a disappointed look to the other astarte. “What’s your name and Chapter?”

“Primaris Marine Kerubiel of the Dark Angels. M42.” Says, before Kerubiel grumpily gives Cedric’s name to answer the second question.

 “... Ah- you’re one of the newer arrivals.” Pyrus says, which explains, but doesn’t excuse his behavior. “I’m going to report to Captain Ash’val about this incident.”

“He’s not my Captain,” Kerbuiel says one of his lower lips stuck out a little bit as his eyebrows come down in a scowl.

Pyrus stares at him flatly, he hands him the order, “please leave, unless you want to deal with the Reason we decided to call it the Fire Drake Noodle House.”

Kerubiel is curious- but he doesn’t want to get into that much trouble after finishing up healing and being finally allowed to run around outside without supervision. Fucking- Thressl’s reaction would be annoying to deal with, the cackling laughter and ribbing would be annoying.

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

"And for the love of all things Unholy Do Not scratch at the stitches." Hura scolded the newly arrived Space Wolf with the bright mane of red hair. "Unless, you want me to drag you back here and Actually put you in a cone for your impudence." 

"You wouldn't!" Thressel shot back, 

"I can and I Will." Hura assured him, snagging the willful pup by the ear. "I Might even have to shear off some of your precious red locks in order for it to fit properly. We wouldn't want that now, Riiiiiight?"

Thressel went pale, "Ack! Fine! FINE! I understand!" He snarled, barely tamping down on his instinct to Bite the hand disciplining him.

"Good," Hura cheerfully released the Pup and picked up the relevant paperwork. "Other than that your vitals seem good, your hearing is still slightly imbalanced but that may improve yet. Are their any other questions you have?"

"Nope, now let me Go ya Chaos bas-" Thressel caught himself before his big dumb mouth could land him in that dreaded cone. "I mean...I'm Fine, got no questions. And my brothers are waiting fer me."

Hura nodded, smart pup. "Any plans?" The apothecary asked as he wrote a few more notes. 

Thressel hmm'd for a moment. Cedric seemed to trust this Chaos traitor, at least with things related to healing. Sides, not like telling him would ruin their plans. "Says they ordered somethin’ called 'taik out.' Told me it was a special kind of Baseline food."

"I believe you mean Take Out." Hura corrected. "The food can be anything from any culture or style. Take out simply means the food is purchased and brought elsewhere."

Thressel huffed a laugh. "Whatever it is, I'm no one ta say no to a free meal. So can I go now?"

"Yes, pup, go run along."

The excited Space Wolf hopped eagerly off the medical table and ran for the door. No Way was he getting left with table scraps "-Oh!"

As Thressel was exiting he came face to face with a grim old face. Pale and dark eyed, a Nightlord…

"Watch where you're charging you clumsy Bitch!" Two Night Lords, the other one just behind the first snarled at him. 

“Oh Fuck off you gloomy bat!” Thressl growls at them, “I was here first!”

Hura comes over hearing the argument and ready to politely bully his cousins for being naughty if needed, “Ah- Karlsor, Anrir- come in- what’s the issue? Go- on now Thressl. Shoo.”

“Fine,” Thressl makes a face at all three First Born Chaos Space Marines but he does scuttle off to go where his brother-cousins are. 

While he’s curious to see what the Old Bastards are up to, he’d rather heal up a bit first and taste this ‘take out’ is and set Kerubiel on this fuckers, that is entertaining to watch. And the Primaris Dark Angel would tell them if he thought he had some information that he thought they needed to know.

Hura gestures for Karlsor and Anrir to join him in his office- he waits until Thressl’s superior hearing, even among the Astartes, is out of range and he turns to the two Night Lords, “What can I help you with?”

He looks them over, neither of them are injured, and Anrir is an excellent Apothecary, for patching himself and others up. He’s curious to see what it is that has the pair of Night Lords Seeking him out.

“I have some questions for you,” Anrir says, watching Hura sharply as he almost glares.

“What questions?” Hura asks.

“About the Baseline you recognized earlier, and how you and Xerxes helped them recover,” Anrir says, eyes darkening a little, “When you and Xerxes helped them … was there any… additional things that you or he did to them?”

“What do you mean by that?” Hura asks, arching an eyebrow at Anrir, having taken off his helmet to speak with them more freely.

“Did you fucking Chaos twist them?” Karlsor, says, rather not wanting to dance around something, “Cause if you fucking did- then we have a big fucking problem.”

Hura rears back as if he’d just been slapped, and insulted, “I did not, and nor did Xerxes do any ‘Chaos twisting’ on them. And what do you mean by that anyways?”

Karlsor heaves a sigh and then tells Hura what Jophiel had explained to him ending with a, “decay and mushrooms sounds an awful lot like your Grandfather’s grox-shite.”

Hura can’t stop the look on his face, “And you think I, or Xerxes can - what- affect bonds like that?” 

“Can you?” Anrir asks. 

“Or Can fucking Xerxes do it?” Karlsor asks, in a rather rude tone of voice. “And why the fuck didn’t you tell us you could do this?"

“As far as I am aware of,” Hura states honestly, “I cannot affect bonds like that, Nor has Anyone been able to so far, not the way that you are speaking of anyway. And I don’t think that Xerxes can either, if you want, I can call in my brother for you to question him on what exactly it was he did to help...save them.”

Karlsor glanced at Anrir, who had paused to think. "Time is of the essence, I do want to inter-," The old Terran Nightlord stopped himself, before he could commit a Dreadful faux paus in front of the Death Guard who was almost as old and deadly as him. "I mean...I would like your Brother Xerxes's personal recount of the events of course. But I doubt he can arrive here as quickly as we need."

Hura drummed his gauntleted fingers on his chin. "...Perhaps, there is another way...at least one that could hold the information you seek. Or rather Proof, that whatever is presently occurring with that Bond, it was Not apparent the last time my patient was here." Hura stopped his fingers and his gaze turned Deathly serious. 

"What I am about to tell and show you is Highly classified information. The event That poor child has been through sent ripples through the upper ranks, and it was immediately quelled so as not to spark panic or rebellion." Hura explained, motioning for the two Night Lords to follow him out of his office. 

They do so, and to their surprise the Apothecary leads them from the usual travel path hallways of the medbay to a generic looking door in a random room off to one side. Anrir had never truly taken notice of it, as it had the look and smell of an extra storage room. 

Hura pulls out a key card and presses it to the blank wall. A click is heard and the mystery door opens. 

As Hura shambles through and down, Anrir marvels, a disguised Stairwell, how clever. Anrir understood there were places in this base he'd never seen. Each legion had their own separate spaces so it made sense. 

But as a trusted Apothecary he was taken aback that he'd never seen or scarcely even been told about 

Down, down, down they go past more floors and doors but they only stop at the bottom of which resides another door, which Hura instead knocks on. Anrir recognizes the pattern and has to stifle a laugh. 

Shave and a haircut. Two bits.  

Again another click, and the door pops open to reveal a hallway not unlike the regular ones on the floor above. With again...more doors. 

"What the Fuck!?" Karlsor exclaims.

"Language!" Both elders hiss, causing the mouthy Nightlord to clam up.

"Fuck, sorry." Karlsor mutters. 

Hura ambles forward. "The information we seek is behind one of these." He gestures. 

"The fuck you mean...One of these?" Karlsor asks with confusion. 

"The Doors of course, little cousin." Hura cooes, with Karlsor growling lowly in response. "This...extension of the medbay was a collaborative effort between several legions and the high ranking officials within them."

"Ultramarine, Raven Guard and Even Alpha Legion contributed. Despite the primitive setup and materials it's quite...secure." Hura continued, glancing at each of the doors. 

"I'm assuming there's a catch?" Anrir posed. This all seemed too easy. 

Hura nodded smartly. "Astute observation. Yes you see every three months the records and data here are reshuffled with a tweaked or brand new sorting method." Hura explained. "There are also false or incorrect documents mixed in to further muddy things." Hura approached one of the doors. "And of course in lieu of dealing with data breaches...the Ultramarines thought it best if all These records were kept in…" Hura opened the door, revealing shelves upon shelves of folders. "Paper form."

Anrir balked at the mountain before him. Karlsor let out a plethora of swears and Neither apothecary bothered to correct him this time. 

"Fuck this! I'm keeping watch." Karlsor declared. 

Seems he had his work cut out for him. 

“Shall we begin, Anrir?” Hura says, giving the other Apothecary a smile as he starts reading and sorting through the documents.

Karlsor would rather be stuck staring at the fucking sun striped bare ass naked for hours. Then deal with oh four Paperwork. It's why He's never accepted a promotion as then he'd have to deal with the fucking Paperwork that came with such a thing. So, while he wants to know what is going on, he's not that Curious about it. 

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

"Alright folks I'll get these drink orders for you, give you some time to look over our menu. Please enjoy, and I Do apologize for that...unexpected upset." The sweet waiter states as the two of you get settled into your comfortable darkened booth in the back in the corner in the dark. 

Well it's not in the corner but the dimming of the sconces directly above you Does reduce the brightness. 

Khopesh snorts, "Wasn't your fault the Lion Cub decided to get all hissy." He assured them. 

"Yeah, no, don't worry about it." You chime in. "We're certainly not gonna let it ruin our evening." 

"Good good. If you need anything else just flag me down and I'll take care of it." As they strode away you took another moment to breathe in the atmosphere. A bit of nostalgia tickled at your brain. 

"Reminds me of this Tiiiiny Italian place my PawPaw used to love going to." You say, making some light small talk, Khopesh seems confused for a moment till you elaborate, "With the dimmed lights I mean. It was always so dark, only place that had regular lighting was the bathroom. And the only lights I ever saw lit in the dining area were the candles on the tables."

Khopesh smiled. "That sounds perfect for a Nightlord, but inefficient for a Baseline restaurant."

"True...funny enough I-" You felt a slight twinge of a headache. "I...don't remember ever seeing any Astartes in there...but I don't think they weren't welcome per se…" You shook off the feeling before the pain could amplify. "Maybe it was just too small a venue."

"Perhaps," Khopesh acquiesced. "Also what was that dish you mentioned on the way here?" He hummed looking over his menu.

"Egg Foo Young," You stated, "Though even if it's not directly called that, they might still have something like it." You surmised. 

The menu, appropriate to the restaurant's name, showed a plethora of noodle dishes and soups. The lo mein seemed tempting, but your eyes also lit up upon seeing they had a Ramen section. 

The appetizers featured a number of your favorites. But you tempered yourself. "Got a lot of good looking items," You hummed. "Just don't want to spend too much on myself. Get whatever you like though okay? As long as it's not gold encrusted or costs the same as a car payment I'm fine to cover it."

"Pfft! You really think my tastes are That expensive?" Khopesh shot back before following up with. "Besides, Anrir transferred some funds to me for this, so You and I can Both get whatever we like." 

"Wait seriously?" Oh...the cellphone exchange while they were back at the base suddenly made sense. 

"Of course! He wants us to have a nice evening…" Khopesh assured, but he noted you looked...conflicted. "Is something wrong?"

You glanced up, seeing Khopesh's vaguely worried expression. "Uh...not really it's just…" Honest remember? Try to be Honest. You let out a soft sigh. "Hmm...I guess I just felt like...expensive or not, I wanted to treat You. Like don't get me wrong! I think Anrir is Super generous for doing that. I'll have to thank him later."

"I just...I know there's not a lot I can Give or do For You. If that makes sense.” You offered. 

Khopesh didn't seem to follow. “I'm afraid I don't quite understand.” 

“Well…I guess it feels like You give me a lot, attention, affection, you make me laugh, you comforted me when I had that bad dream. And for someone like you who's so much more capable, and physically stronger than I'll ever be and…" You trailed off, noticing how Khopesh was listening intently. 

In his focus and with the soft candle light flickering gently over his features, tracing an orange highlight into his dark eyes he looked…

"Why'd you stop?" He asks, breaking you from your trance. 

"S-sorry it's just...you look Really pretty in the candlelight."

Khopesh...did Not expect that. He felt like the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in his three lungs flew from him silently with a simple but Slightly squeaky "-oh."

His Lullaby...thought he looked Pretty? Pretty? P-R-E-T-T-Y? In all the time he'd been alive he couldn't remember Ever being called that. Fierce? Commonly. Terrifying? All the time. And he knew baselines back in his time revered almost all Astartes with various shades of Fear and Awe. Some could and would even call the most frightening of their kind things like Ethereal.

But something as simple and kind as pretty? Never. The Nightlord felt his cheeks burn and he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"How do you Do that?" He groaned playfully, placing his hands on his cheeks and his elbows on the table. 

"Do what?"

"Surprise me like that!" Khopesh exclaimed, moving his hands to the table before him. Looking almost like he was preparing for a lunge. "No matter what you do, or if I Think I know what you'll do, you always seem to catch me off guard somehow! It's so Frustrating." He growled but again, there didn't seem to be any real anger in it. Honestly, it came out more like a rough purr. "But I Love it. Which I don't understand, which just frustrates me More." He giggled, running his hands through his long hair. 

Well, you were hoping for honesty, and though it was a...strange thing to find enjoyment in. "I mean...I guess I'll take that as a compliment. But back on topic." You redirected the conversation. "I guess part of me feels a little disappointed I wasn't able to do something nice for you. I'm not mad or anything, and honestly I'm still glad I get to spend time with you."

Khopesh agreed, but something itched at his mind, like there was something he wanted to say in return or perhaps he could sense there was more You wanted to say, but didn't quite know how. 

So instead he'd take a moment to read your body language in the candlelight. 

Khopesh wasn't unaware of his own appearance, he knew his features could run the spectrum of ethereal to eldritch horror in the minds of baselines. He'd known enough Nightlords who, ahem, acquired personal serfs; promising safety and security through whispered sharpened teeth that the baselines shivered from with every possible mix of revulsion and desire.

He hadn't felt that Drive like some of his battle brothers, thus he didn't give much thought to Baseline standards of beauty. Not until coming here, and not until meeting You. 

And in the candlelight you looked so...wonderful. Reminding him of a place that was Warm and Safe, something even a creature as fierce as him had hardly known. 

He looks at your skin that's been kissed by the sun over your farm, and he remembers how you'd felt in his arms. Like his own personal sun, one that didn't burn his eyes or skin but filled him with a tender warmth all the same, as well as a burning hunger and want. The want to hold, to keep, to protect. Maybe that's why his battle brothers took their serfs?

Because bright, sweet things; things that bring laughter and joy and hope don't live long in this hellhole.

Without thinking he reaches a hand across the table, palm up. You glance up from your menu as you notice his gesture. 

You seem unsure for a moment, before smiling, and wordlessly placing your hand on his, instead of directly taking it, you begin drawing soft circles on the smooth skin of his palm with the pads of your fingers. Yet again, you've surprised him, and yet again, he doesn't mind at all. A moment passes before either of you speak. 

"There is something I need to talk to you about." You state, now running your warm small fingers over Khopesh's much larger ones. "But for now, let's enjoy the moment. Honesty can come after food. You ready to order?"

It is then Khopesh realizes he'd gotten utterly distracted and quickly picks up his menu with an "Oop!"

You chuckle. "Well we'll flag down our waiter for appetizers in a moment. I think I'll get some Roulette Dumplings for myself, and some Scallion Pancakes for you."

Khopesh smiled, and you could see him brimming with excitement. 

"But if you steal all the pancakes again I Will run out of this restaurant." You threaten cheekily. 

"You wouldn't!" Khopesh gasped with mock fear. 

"I would." You shoot back. Causing both of you to laugh. 

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

It takes multiple Hours of Diligent review, but Hura and Anrir find the paperwork they'd been searching for.

The folder has a picture attached to the front, and indeed it appears to be Khopesh's Lullaby. Anrir thumbs through the reports page by page. 

It holds Lullaby's personal details, and the accounts and evidence collected from several space marines who were present at the time of the initial attack. Including several loyalist White Scars, the Death Guard Xerxes, and a Renegade Iron Warrior. 

Fascinating. An injury imparted to one Baseline spurred multiple factions into cooperation. Though he wasn't totally surprised, Lullaby seemed quite the sweet soul, and Astartes, however hardened they might be, seemed to have a soft spot in their programming for such things. 

At least...Anrir liked to believe most of them did. (That they were better than the slavish dogs of war they'd been bred for.) And indeed he felt his hands clench and his lip curl at the description he read. 

One of the Emperor's Golden Elite, a Custodes, committed this act. The Emperor who created them to be beacons and vanguards for humanity. It seems this Custodian had forgotten their place and purpose. 

He grimaced as he looked over the pictures taken, the painful looking bruises around Lullaby's neck as they laid in a hospital bed, about how the intervention of Xerxes with his...carrion wasps (Anrir suppressed a shudder.) had saved their life, and the months of painful rehabilitation they'd had to go through as was documented. Thinking back, he had an idea of the Hunt Khopesh was planning to ask for. And more importantly, his own overcrowded memory was coming back to him. 

"I know why I recognized them." He mutters under his breath. "They were in and out of the Loyalist clinic, I saw them in passing a handful of times."

"To think they had survived an encounter with a Custodes. They truly must be a lucky soul…" Anrir mused. 

Hura sighed. "I was brought in to help in their care and recovery, given my Expansive resume of experience." Hura laughed almost scornfully. "And I was Sworn to secrecy, the alliance didn't want to deal with the risk of hunting a custodes, nor the backlash they'd receive for Not calling a hunt on an attempted human killer."

"So they buried the whole damn business. Typical!" Karlsor remarked, peeking his head in. 

Anrir nodded, but that still left one thing unknown. "Not to dismiss your capabilities, but why only You for the overseeing apothecary?"

Hura smiled wryly. "Less bodies, means less lips to worry about sealing. Besides...if you check the dates I think you'll recall you were...out of town when the attack occurred?"

Anrir ran a quick swipe over his memories, true he often went on...business trips of different sorts. "Ah right." Indeed, at the time, he and his sons were taking a small trip to rectify the presence of a human trafficking den in a township nearby.

He'd found some excellent supplies in the process. Too bad he couldn't make the former owners of the place Really Beg for the mercy of the grave. 

Ah well, only so much time in a day. Anrir continued to read. The report further described the presence of a Normal Broken Bond as described by an Ultramarine librarian who examined Lullaby as they lay stable but unconscious after their trauma. 

And though not every visit, they also had their bond examined multiple times. The appearance was the same, snapped vines that were slowly desicating away. 

Perhaps Too slowly…

"Hura, what is the average time for a broken bond to wither away?"

Hura hummed thoughtfully. "Weaker bonds can resolve in a matter of days, for those of moderate strength and age, a few weeks. As for intense bonds…" Hura trailed off. 

Ah yes, one of the more...disturbing sides of this bizarre gift they'd all received. He recalled the first time he'd had Karlsor use his warp sight on a Space Marine who'd lost their intense bond, as the restrained War Hound thrashed and howled in agony. 

He couldn't see it himself, but he'll never forget seeing his son's face go even more pale. 

"It's fucking Strangling his soul." Karlsor swore. 

But back to the present. Intense bonds Could indeed stay longer, but they hadn't the chance to examine their appearance on humans. And without the Custodes present, there was no way of knowing if their side of the bond held those characteristics. 

But still, Anrir cleared his throat. "Well, it does appear my questions have been answered. There's no evidence you Or your Brother played a hand in this bond mutation. But now we must still ask "Why?"

"And what the heck do we do about it?" Karlsor piped up. 

Wait a minute. 

Anrir turned sharply to 'Karlsor'. "What...did you just say?"

'Karlsor' stood there for a moment. "I...ah...I said What the Fuckin heck do we do about it?" He stammered a bit. 

"Hey! You old fucks even halfway fucking done in there or do I need to plan on getting a new fucking bolt after we get the fuck outta here!?" A voice shouted from down the hall just past the door with the knock lock. 

Anrir bristled. "IMPOSTER!" He snarled, lunging and pinning the interloper to the nearest wall. Hura simply stood back, arms crossed and shaking his head. 

"You Really couldn't help yourself, could you?" He sighed, Anrir was confused, until the squirming Bastard wearing his son's face sighed and relented. 

Dark blue became teal, and the pale scarred face took on a more olive tone, with bright teal eyes. 

"Who are you? And if you even fucking Think about Saying Alpharius, I will start with your teeth and won't stop until I've plucked out Each and Every One of your bones!" Anrir snarled, before Hura put a tempering hand on his shoulder. 

"Relax Anrir, I know this one." Hura soothed. He turned to the Hydra and said very sternly, "Zariel…"

The Hydra sighed before acquiescing. "I saw your little family gathering and became curious myself. So I figured...what the hell? Might as well use the fact Alpha Legion helped design this space to my advantage." He shrugged. 

Anrir groaned, but did not release the pesky teal bastard. "How did you get past Karlsor?" He demanded. 

"I didn't, I figured Hura would bring you here eventually, so I got here ahead of you and decided to camp out in one of the other rooms after locating the file." Zariel shrugged. "Honestly, having a third person made it easier for me as I didn't have to worry about only approaching while the two of you were separated."

Karlsor sends Anrir a message [Oi- old man, you asleep in the hell that is paperwork?]

[I and Hura are still awake.] Anrir responds. [Just dealing with a sneaky Hydra.]

[Those fuckers!] Karlsor responds [Need back up?]

[Not yet, Hura and I have the situation handled for you.] Anrir responds.

[Let me know if you need some Psychic muscle Anrir.] Karlsor replies.

[Oh, I will.] Anrir responds.

Anrir focuses on the conversation between this ‘Zariel’ and Hura tilting his head and keeping the Hydra pinned against the wall. For now at least. One should always try to have the upper hand with the sneaky buggers.

“You should have said something or texted,” Hura says with a disappointed sigh and shakes his head. “You are lucky that I was here and that Anrir has yet to take more hostile, understandably so action with this grox shite that you pulled, Hydra.”

“Yes, but this way is more entertaining,” Zariel argues with a huff. Then he winces a little when Anrir pushes into him a little bit. “Could you let me up? I’m here to help. The Primaris Ducklings are also partially under my protection and care too.”

“Still, why are you here?” Hura asks Zariel as he strides closer to him.

Zariel shifts a little and huffs as he says that, “I couldn't help myself, we hydras love secrets and he's willing to share.”

“We who?” Hura asks, narrowing his eyes, “is your squad nearby?”

“They know where I am,” Zariel says, but they aren’t in these rooms, “So if you or Anrir, or someone else try to disappear me they’ll know who to go after and where.”

The file details many different things, more on the details of Lullaby's injuries and treatment. And that even at their last check up they were secretly looked at by a librarian. The bond was taking a While to wither, but it was withering!

Zariel points out, gesturing to one of the Librarian's latest reports, dated two weeks ago at a clinic in their hometown, “There is no sign of the decay Jophiel saw.”

“It’s… could it be a whole new bond type and … could Lullaby possibly be a nascent Psyker? Developing amidst the Baseline populace?” Hura muses.

“What a discovery!” Anrir proclaims as his eyes gleam brightly, fogging over with ideas of what this could mean. Anrir pauses as he thinks over the potential implications and says out loud, almost offhandedly, “ But...if the bond is altered...that could also mean. Ah. I wonder if Lullaby may not be able to form a permanent bond ever again.”

Zariel and Hura are quiet as they ponder those implications and Hura pipes up saying “Lullaby needs to be told. About their potential Psykery, and about the possibility of them not being able to permanently Bond with another.”

“I agree,” Zariel says, as he knows about the nature of various brothers and cousins and says warningly, “They're the patient and if they shock a less friendly space marine and that marine realizes what they are, they could be taken hostage.”

The trio of Space Marines look at each other at that. Some of their brothers and cousins could get highly reactive about certain things. And the reactions they could have were as diverse as the galaxy is.

“... I think telling Lullaby that they have an unviable bond, and that it is so unusual and mutated is… important, it could be affecting their health, be it physical, mental, emotional, psychically or in their soul, but we won’t know until we investigate more.” Hura says with a grim expression on his face.

“I will tell Khopesh he needs to bring them back to base,” Anrir says, “After their date is over to speak with them.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Hura says with a nod. “Don’t want to worry the younglings too much, but it’s important, too important to let it wait too long.”

The three of them are quiet, a somber heavy feeling curling around the three of them. Anrir slowly lets go of Zariel as they ponder what the next steps are to do. Zariel grabs the documents in Lullaby’s file and makes sure they are in proper order.

“Also, I was here to add in more of the falsified documentation and do more of the safety rotation and cipher changing,” Zariel tells them.

He’d gone into these archives for multiple reasons, some of them more legitimate and than others. While his fellow Hydra’s would understand because of curiosity and having a nose for Interview and how curious and strange certain reactions were, most others not of the lineage of the Hydra got terribly annoyed with that answer for some reason.

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

The waiter came back with a platter piled high with their appetizers and drink orders. He set down the plates of steaming hot food. The smell of it makes your mouth water and the way that it glistens in the low light just enhances the delight as your stomach rumbles as the appetizer plates are set down, and then the sharing plates. The dipping sauces and the drinks.

The waiter asks if they have decided on their dinner, or if they want him to come back in a bit. You've decided on the spicy ramen and tell the waiter as much. 

“Alright, I Must warn you though the highest spice level is more for Astartes, below that is what would be considered very hot for humans, then moderate, and then mild. Which level would you prefer?”

You thought it over. “I'll take it human moderate please.” You eventually settle on, handing the waiter your menu. 

“I’ll have it hot and spicy!” Khopesh says with a grin, “Astartes level hot!”

“... Khopesh,” You say, “are you sure you want to do that?”

“That sounds like a challenge Lullaby, and I don't back down from challenges!” Khopesh declared confidently, “Besides! You seem to like it so I'm sure I will as well.”

“Okay…if you're certain.” You reply with a shrug, deciding to grab and eat one of the Roulette dumplings, and a scallion pancake. 

You bit into the innocuous looking dumpling and hummed at the burst of spicy flavor. “Hm! Hot one on the first try!” You smiled, dipping the remainder in sauce and eating it. 

“Excuse me?” Khopesh asked, grabbing his own appetizers. 

“Oh that's what the Roulette Dumplings are, look.” You grabbed another dumpling and took a taste. A savory and sour flavor followed. “There are three flavors; spicy, sour and regular. It's a gamble what you get with every one you eat.”

Khopesh seemed legitimately intrigued, he picked up one and examined it, before tentatively popping it into his mouth. “Hm!”

That…that wasn't what he was expecting. It started out like a simple prick of sensation on his tongue, then it grew warmer spreading over his mouth, then it was Hot. It left his mouth tingling unpleasantly, even if the flavor was savory and good he-

“You doing alright over there?” You asked, noting the reddening of Khopesh's face.

The Night lord broke from his pain to shoot you a scowl, before he swallowed quickly so the burning morsel no longer sat on his tongue. It left an itchy staticky aftertaste falling down his throat. 

“Ulp! Fine, I am Fine.” He replied, rolling his mouth and tongue a bit as if trying to shake off the lingering taste. “See?? I can handle this Astarte Spice just fine!” He huffed, crossing his arms defiantly. 

“Khopesh, those were regular spicy.”

“-!” You saw him flinch. But before either of you could speak further…

“And here's two ramen bowls! One Moderate Spicy and the Other We have Salamander Spicy! Enjoy!” The waiter delivered your meal items cheerfully, and was gone almost as fast. 

Khopesh started down at the steaming bowl, and he could Feel the spice and the heat and the Hell that awaited his mouth. He felt it in every inhale. 

“Khopesh…you don't have to.” You started.

The Night lord turned his eyes sharply to you. “I will not be Cowed by a bowl of Soup and Noodles!” He declared, frustratedly picking up his utensils. “I Will enjoy it, just as you do.”

Fine! Just let him hurt himself. Fool won't fuckin listen anyway. You rolled your eyes. 

No…no, you're not gonna just stand by. 

“Khopesh…”

“Silence!” Khopesh snarled, focused on his bowl. “Do not try and stop m-”

Khopesh found himself cut off by a much smaller hand coming to grasp his own harshly. He looked up and what he saw Actually made him take notice.

You looked Pissed. Not unraveled but very much in line with; ‘Okay now the angry bitch is coming out’ as his Muti would say. 

“First of all,” You growled back with a convincing level of menace for your size. “Never, tell me to Silence, myself again. And if you even Think about laughing, I will walk out of here and leave your ass in a heartbeat. Do not play games, and Do Not talk down to me.”

Well he was somewhat at a loss for words. Seeing you like this Was kinda hot, good hot not hell hot, but also you might get more mad if he mentions that. 

Still holding his utensil hand hostage you pick up a spoon from your own side, gather some of your own broth, and hold it out to him. 

“Try mine first. Before you decide to hurt yourself to prove some dumbshit point for pride.” You insisted.

Khopesh looked at your spoon, and could smell the similar but Much less threatening aromas coming off it. He allowed you to feed him, halfway between confused and entranced. 

Until the spicy hit him even harder than the dumpling had and he reared back. “Mmp! Mmmmmuhhg Alck kkkkh!” In all his decades and battles and hardships (scrounging for rats and bugs in the gutters of Nostramo, looting and cooking corpses just to keep himself fed one more day-) he had Never been subject to a (not really flavor more like a) food sensation that repulsed him more. 

“See?” You prompted the Nightlord, who was now gulping down his drink to get rid of the bad pain hot sensation in his mouth. 

“By Curze that is Awful!” He gasped. 

You shrugged. “It's not for everyone. But then again hardly anything is.” You reply, taking a mouthful from your own soup. 

Khopesh slumped dejectedly, looking at his now cooler but still Evil bowl of hell soup. He couldn't eat this. 

“Let's go ahead and order something else.” You propose. “Something you'll like more.”

“But I wanted to eat the same thing as You.” Khopesh replied sullenly. He wanted it to be like you were sharing the same meal. Like he'd provided for both of you. “I couldn't do a proper game hunt on such short notice…I was hoping this could be similar. And that we could have more in common with the foods we like.” He explained when you looked confused. 

“ …Why? You know we don't have to be doing the exact same thing or Like the same exact things to enjoy eachothers company right?”

Khopesh glanced up, instead of frustration he saw…softness. “Khopesh. I like being here with you. Heck I'm still blown away someone as powerful and capable as you even Likes My company.”

Khopesh wanted to push you further on that point, but you continued before he could. 

“I enjoy our time together because we're different, not in spite of it. I love learning about all the little things that make you, You. And I love them just the same if they end up being the same as me, similar to me, or radically different to me.” You explain further, scratching the back of your neck as you felt the blush creep up it with the pseudo confession you'd just given. 

Well at least you weren't the only one. Khopesh had a vaguely surprised expression on his gaunt face, and a blush to boot. It was cute. 

“I guess what I mean to say is…I’m glad I get to spend time with you.” You state simply. “Although saying that, there is one thing…one conversation we Need to have before moving forward.” You place your utensils down and take a steadying breath. Now or never.

Khopesh leaned in. “I am listening.”

You nodded. “I've been thinking it over, and I Think I finally understand what my nightmares have been trying to tell me.”

Khopesh cocked an eyebrow. “You have the gift of prophecy??”

You shook your head. “Ah no. No. Not quite. Just self awareness.” You reply, then continue. “I had another Nightmare before coming here and…in that dream, you saved me from…a threat.” You chose your words very carefully, and subconsciously brushed your hand over your neck. 

Khopesh seemed agreeable to that. Yes of Course he would protect you from Anything. Can you protect them from yourself though? An nagging voice needled at him which he Firmly brushed aside. 

“But in the next part of the dream you ah…Reached Into my chest, and…ripped my heart out.” Well there wasn't any much Nicer a way to put it; Khopesh still looked horrified. 

“Are you saying you think I'd-” But you held up a hand to stop him. 

“Please, let me finish,” You pleaded, and though clearly dissatisfied Khopesh relented. “I…I adore you, Khopesh, I think I might even Love you.”

“But even though what happened to me before wasn't your fault, wasn't in anyway even Involved with you…It still left it's mark, mentally and physically.” More neck rubbing. You continued. “I think the dreams are telling me that what I fear most, is being hurt again. And the way I see it, there's two ways that could happen with you.”

“If there comes a time I can no longer surprise you…or excite you or even just…Amuse you…I’m afraid you'll throw me away…” You say quietly. 

“Or if there comes a day where, for whatever reason, I want to leave…that you won't let me.” You bring your eyes back to the Nightlord who is sitting stock still in front of you. 

His pale features are still lit with candlelight, still beautiful and haunting as ever. The rest of the noise in the background seems to fade away. 

“I Need to know…that if one day this ends. Whether it's you, or Me who decides to walk away. For whatever reason. That you'll let me.” You say solemnly. “I don't want to go down this road if I'll just end up where I was before. Broken and discarded because…because someone with strength and power over me that I could never hope to match, decides that my life and my being as a person isn't…isn't worthy to l-live.” You state, feeling yourself beginning to choke up. 

Not even worth a backwards glance. You weren't even worth a backwards glance. Unworthy to Live, Unworthy to Love! unworthy, Unworthy, UNWORTHY!

“Lullaby,” Now you felt a large cool hand reach for your own. The one that was scratching at you neck. You glance up to see Khopesh reaching over the table, his expression a mix of concerned and confused. “You're afraid.”

You couldn't help yourself, you leaned into the cool hand pressing to your face now and let out a giggle that was more sob than laughter. “T-that part is obvious.” You snort. “I just…” You gestured vaguely. “I want this to be a Choice for both of us, not an Obligation. I want us to both Choose to see where this goes. And if it doesn't work out then…we can both walk away safe. Can we…can we do that? Please?” You asked, more plaintive and less confident. 

Khopesh hesitated, of all things he did not expect…this. To see you so vulnerable, he had once before but this felt so much more Raw, since you'd chosen to show him this. 

Not to mention…the things you spoke of, he was entirely unfamiliar with. No serf would Ever dare bring these kinds of words to their Night lord…but…could he Really say your relationship had anything in common with the ones he'd seen in his own timeline? It was only then he realized he had so little to work off of. 

We could agree, a voice inside him purred, but not Truly. Pull them into our web so they can never leave. Make them believe it is their choice. They'll be so Happy to have all that dreadful stress off their shoulders. They'll never Actually want to leave. The voice sounds almost more like Anrir than himself, and while part of him is disturbed the other Desires. 

Another comes. What is even the Fucking point of this shit if there isn't Trust? You're a Night lord, we don't deal in honestly but we're not Fucking hypocrites either! That thought hurts and it's because it's true. 

Don't they deserve to feel safe? A softer thought chimes in. It's unusual but they seem to Really want this. What's the harm?

The harm is that if we allow this they could come to harm! A rougher voice shoots back. They belong safe in Our arms, why are we even entertaining-

“Khopesh?” The Nightlord is brought back to the present, and at once he is caught by your eyes. Pleading, unsure, fearful but most of all…

Hopeful. They are full of a Hope that Khopesh had long thought was beyond his kind seeing. Night lords did not inspire hope. The moment it was realized What the were, and Who they Were, all softness turned to fear and ice. 

But not you. You looked at him like he could be more than a monster...

Like he could make you feel safe, and loved

Like he could be… a hero…Your hero.

A clear voice comes next. His Vada You take good care of ‘em then.

Khopesh felt the coils of his muscles and the breath held in his lungs release. You still waited with baited breath. 

“I…” Fuck Curze dammit where does he Even start. “I was not…prepared for this I…I am…not sure what to say…” He lets out a low huff. He doesn't like being caught so out of his element.

He thinks back on your words. “I…adore the time I have had with you as well. And I won't lie, I Loathe, the thought of losing you…” He could feel a guttural snarl building up but he tamped it Down. 

“But if…having this promise between us would make you feel safe and…Happy…then I will…Agree…” He stated, still struggling a bit to get the words out, even having to close his eyes and grit his teeth as he did. 

Snff, hiccup He reopened his dark eyes to see you…crying?

Oh sweet hell what now- but before he could complete that thought you'd sprung up, come around the table and launch yourself into his arms with a cry of “Khoopeeeesh!” 

Khopesh let out a surprised “-ooF!” Though the impact wasn't anything he couldn't handle. “Lullaby what are you mMph!”

A little of that spicy bad sensation came back, but This time it was outside his mouth And it was because you were pressing your lips to his in a Firm kiss. The small flickers of displeasure from the spicy, and the feeling of unease from the strange new arrangement he'd just agreed to…all faded to a near imperceptible hum as he found himself utterly melting into your kiss. 

“Mwah,” You pulled back, but still gripped him to you, or yourself to him. Feeling again like a miniature sun, sharing your warmth with eagerness and snuggling up to and kissing him all over his face with gusto. 

“Ah so…are you, Pleased- with my phrasing?” He asked tentatively, okay now he was Really liking this. 

“Yes! You Dork!” You laughed, tilting your forehead so it rested against his. You stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the physical touch. “That is Exactly what I needed to hear.”

Khopesh felt his chest swell with warmth. Okay…he could do this. 

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” You felt the Nightlord you were still embracing start to vibrate with purrs. 

“Ah…you folks doing okay?”

(!) Both of you jolted at the awkward interjection by your waiter. Really wishing you'd gotten a table fully in the back corner at this point. (It was still further back and most people were still engrossed in their own food and conversations so…)

“Ah sorry!” You scrambled to pull yourself into a more dignified position, now realizing you'd been essentially kneeling on the space of the booth that Khopesh wasn't occupying, and latching onto him like a lamprey. 

“Lullaby…” You looked up to see Khopesh looked disappointed? Pouty he straight up looked pouty that you were trying to move. 

You let your embarrassment pass, and your heart melted all over again. “Here, let's do this.” You slotted yourself in so you were both sitting, right up next to your Nightlord, just like when you'd walked over. Khopesh smiled and wrapped his arm around you, nuzzling the top of your head. 

You turned back to the waiter. “We'll need a takeout box for this, and My partner,” You say the word full of new pride and confidence. “Would prefer something else.” You explain, gesturing to the hell ramen. 

The waiter smiled, still a little awkwardly but nodded. “Ah of course, I'll get right on that.” They also took a new order for Khopesh, who decided on the Egg Foo Young. 

“Wait…I thought you didn't want to eat something this spicy?” Khopesh asked as the waiter walked off. 

You shrugged. “One bite probably won't kill me. Besides, if I can't eat it I'll just let it spoil, then Xerxes can eat it. So either way, it won't be wasted.”

Khopesh smiled, and you returned to you less…emotionally taxing conversations. Now snuggled up close, with the stress and the fear and the awful voices dim in your mind. 

As you waited for Khopesh's proper order. You both nibbled on the Scallion pancakes and the Roulette dumplings; you consuming the spicy and passing the other ones to him. He actually quite enjoyed the sour variety. Even if his description of them was slightly…disturbing.

“The sour tinge reminds me of cooked rotten flesh, but without any actual rot.” 

How were you supposed to respond to that?? “Well…glad to hear a restaurant's food doesn't have any rot in it. What would the health department say?” You reply jokingly, which causes Khopesh to laugh. 

As Khopesh's proper food order was dropped off and you both resumed eating your entrees, you both heard a familiar Ping. Khopesh reacted to the sudden sound by glancing at his vox. 

[Khopesh, return to base as soon as you are able, and bring Lullaby. It is important.] The message is from Anrir, and it makes Khopesh feel both curiosity and concern.

“What's wrong?” You ask, not being able to see the message yourself. 

“Anrir wants us back at the base for some reason.” Khopesh replies, his tone conveying his unsureness with the situation. 

“I wonder why,” you reply a little nervously, “it could be for… not ominous reasons.”

“Not sure,” Khopesh replies, “... I hope we can end this on a positive note.”

Even if he does wonder why Anrir had to send him a message that could be anxiety inducing. He thinks and reflects on his behavior and on his lovely Lullaby's behavior and he doesn't think either of them have done anything To warrant a Scolding.

“We won't know until we see him,” You say, “so let's enjoy our time together and walk back. Yeah?”

Khopesh nods in response, pulling you just a bit closer with a low purr. “Yeah…I'm sure its nothing Too serious.”

[timdrakesbussy]

Do you have a Stardew fic recommendation list?

Oh, sure!

1. Stick Season by laststardrop | (Shane/Harvey) | Rated M

Harvey was two years into medical school when his boyfriend of three years up left him without a proper goodbye. Five year later, he finds him again.

2. No Place Like Home by Ash_Fountain | Multi (mainly Alex/Penny) | Rated E

[…] An AU where Penny buys the abandoned farm in order to build her own life. This fic follows several points of view, allowing for the drama of some of Stardew's younger citizens to unfold.

3. Things We Don’t Mean by maxRebo | (Alex/Sebastian) | Rated E

Sebastian has a complicated life. He’s been pining over his best friend for years and Sam loves him, too… just, not the way he wants. One day he finds some solace at the spa with someone he would never expect. Life doesn’t get less complicated after that.

4. In the Moonlight by UrsulaNoodles | (Emily/Shane) | Rated E

Shane's life has gone to hell, and he spends most of his nights sulking at the Stardrop Saloon, but Emily's positivity and friendship keep him afloat. He never meant to develop feelings for her, and he convinced himself that she didn’t feel the same way, but a night alone in Cindersap Forest has him thinking otherwise.

5. the wilderness farm map raises a lot of questions by eke | Multi (but mainly Shane/Male Farmer and Marlon/Marnie) | Rated M

6. Lighthouse on the Shore by CharalampidisGruber | (Alex/Sebastian) | Rated M

There's a small house in Pelican Town. Like every home in Pelican Town, this house keeps secrets. Tonight is no different when Sebastian shows up drenched on Alex's doorstep needing someone.

7. I Think I Love the Boy Next Door by animeboysruinedmylife | (Haley/Sam) | Rated M

Haley's not being dramatic, but the worst thing that ever happened to her was Sam moving in next door. She could tell from the second she first saw him that he’d be a pain in her ass. That smug little people-pleasing face. Gelled-up hair. Scuffed-up shoes like some kind of wannabe skater boy. She’s always been a good judge of character, even back then, and time has only proven her right.

8. Splinters by BlueberryFarmingForever | (Male Farmer/Others) | Rated T

The actions of a highly indecisive farmer from Robin's point of view.

9. In Your Eyes by Mouse_213 | (Sam/Sebastian) | Rated E

[…] Seb has his secret reasons for disliking Sam. Deeply rooted anger and anxiety whenever he sees Sam’s bright green eyes that Seb can’t even bring himself to tell Abigail about. And it seems like lately, all Sam wants to do is shove his way into Seb’s private, fiercely-protected life and become his friend. What’s he supposed to do now?

10. Things We Don’t Say by maxRebo | (Haley/Abigail) | Rated E

It's no secret that Haley and Abby have never gotten along. When a surprise coupling overlaps their social circles, they're forced to rely on each other for the sake of their best friends, and come to terms with what the tension between them is really all about.

11. on the (re)founding of rome by Sinister_Queer | (Alex/Sebastian) | Rated E

Sebastian remembers, in technicolor detail, the moment he first saw Alex. […] This is a story about falling in love. This is a story about re-building Rome. (Or: a jock and a goth fall in love)

12. i found nowhere (it got to know me) by szemkel | (Sam/Sebastian) | Rated E

The worst part of living in the city wasn’t the smog, the stench of car exhaust or the constant noise of traffic coming in through the opened windows; it wasn’t Sebastian’s current diet, made up mostly by instant noodles and delivery takeaways; it wasn’t the gray, soulless concrete which greeted his eyes wherever he went, either, and it wasn’t the berserk hoards of teenagers wandering about the streets every evening. To put it shortly, the worst part of living in the city wasn’t anything he had been warned about before moving there. The worst part of living in the city was the absence of Sam.

13. Book of Caroline by J_Unlimited | (Caroline/Male Player) | Rated E

For as long as Caroline could remember, she’s lived her life for others. Saddled with an unsatisfying life, she looks to the new farmer for comfort. Will he be the spark that Caroline needs to set herself free?

[targaryenluvs]

Over you’re post about the crows x child!reader. And I was thinking of the same for a while! But I wanted to ask you about the crows with a moody teen. Like she’s maybe grown up, she’s like still bad ass but she’s going through teen age eyes. Like maybe like 13-14. Sorry, I just think it would be so funny like the guardians of the galaxy and teen age groot. She can have like a attitude problem with kaz.

Teenage Scare

six of crows x teen!reader, kaz brekker x teen!reader

Mean.

That’s how most people would describe you.

No matter what a discussion was about you always had something to say. When you were younger you were new to the Crow Club. Despite your rough life you were kind and sweet.

That part of you was snacking on waffles deep inside, because with your teenage years came change. And you didn’t like change. First came with your height, you were still short for your age but you could see you were growing faster than usual. Then came your face, where it was usually smooth came bumps and rough patches, not noticeable but to you? This was an attack on your face.

Then your chest, which was the worst. From 12 to 14 it grew and grew and you had no clue if it would stop. You’d caught the eye of local boys when you didn’t want to. Which lead to a few catcalls to you, and a few broken noses for them. You didn’t want to be treated differently for something so vain, so natural.

But it would happen either way, not only did boys notice but men did too. Although they always bit their tongue since the first (and last) man to say something ended up with all his money fit snuggly in your pockets and his teeth in a bin.

It made you angry and bitter.

You had to get new clothes every few months since it didn’t fit here or there and so on. After a big job the Crows had pulled off which you played a huge role in you were definitely more than able to afford it but you didn’t want to waste all your money on clothes.

So you took up sewing in secret.

You didn’t feel like being bullied for doing something so girlish whilst you condemned the Ladies of richer houses for being shackled to a birthing bed or cooking and cleaning.

But the thing was you liked it. It brung a sense of calm, using different colours of thread and different needles giving various outcomes. And there was nothing you could make that had been made before. There was so much freedom when it came to it.

Everyone else noticed the calm of the storm that was you, pretty quickly.

“What on Ketterdam just happened.” Wylan said to Jesper as he sat down with his breakfast. “What do you mean?” He looked up at him and cleared his throat, “I’m sorry I should’ve been clearer.” Jesper laughed, “What did I say about apologising for how you speak?” Jesper smiled timidly, “Not to. I remember, just a slip. It’s just, when I went into the Kitchen, Y/n was in there.”

Jesper tilted his head, encouraging him to continue, “Cooking. She hasn’t cooked since she was twelve.” Jesper brung his hand to his forehead and faked shock, “Oh my Saints, the world is off its axis.”

Wylan smacked his chest and frowned, “It’s not funny! She hasn’t cooked in so long, she says it’s boring and we have people for it so what’s the point?” Jesper wraps his arm around him, “I’m sorry love, you’re right it is odd. But maybe the beast is about to go into a deep slumber and we get the normal Y/n back. You know how the younger teenage years are.”

“We’re all in our 20s, we may not fully remember but it was awkward and weird. Everything was changing and we were adapting. Let her adapt.” He finished as Wylan nodded in agreement, what he didn’t notice was Jespers hand sneaking towards his toast.

“Hey! Drop it!” Wylan shouted as Jesper took a big bite out of the corner, “You love me, let me eat.” Wylan huffed in annoyance before getting up to leave but Jesper promptly wrapped his arm around his waist and brought him back down, “Oh no you don’t.” Jesper laughed as Wylan did too.

“Please stop giggling like school girls, you’re making me want to vomit.” Y/n said as she sat down with her food in front of them. “Don’t make any sudden movements, we don’t want to scare the animal.” Jesper ‘whispered’ as Y/n laughed sarcastically, “For a second I was wondering why I never sit with you two in the mornings anymore, now I remember why.”

“Oh it was just a joke Y/n, please sit, I feel like I never see you anymore.” Wylan spoke as he took a sip of his juice. “Maybe open your eyes up babe, I live with you.” Wylan smiled, “Yeah but I uhm, I missed talking to you.”

“Thanks. I’d miss me too.”

Jesper snickered as Wylan hit him again.

That was one of the moments you realised how much you’d changed. Whilst fearing over things being different you’d pushed away the Crows, your family. You’d begun spending more time in your room, or with other friends your age and while having friends your age was okay, you spent more time with them than at the Slat or Crow Club.

You’d let your fear take over. Not wanting to eat with them in the mornings to hear their questions and teasings of, “Are you okay?” “Is it that time of the month?” “New clothes?”

What you’d seen as annoying were actually just genuine questions of concern. From that day on you’d ease back into your life. Eating with them in the mornings, actually attending meetings rather than hearing the summary from Inej.

You’d go shopping with Nina for food, or have your daily reading sessions in Kaz’s office. You’d shop for hats and ingredients with Wylan and Jesper and laugh when Jesper touched the wrong thing and would get told off.

You’d be home again.

The meeting was at seven pm and this time you planned on showing up.

You were there twenty minutes early, grabbing your favourite book of tales you’d obtained from East Ravka. “You’re here for once?” Kaz asked as he walked into the room. You nodded, the realisation that you hadn’t talked to him in weeks.

Kaz noticed your change first. No longer did he receive sweet notes in the morning that had him smiling at himself, no longer did he hear your humming as you read in his office, something he claimed to loathe but he’d grown familiar to the sound, like a white noise.

When he worked to hard he’d always be so engrossed in whatever he was doing he’d sometimes not notice you bringing him dinner, lunch or breakfast.

Before every meeting you’d be the first to come along, not for the sake of punctuality, but so Kaz could silently hand over his plan, and have you fix anything that seemed out of place.

Once you’d become a teenager, you grew distant and indifferent to Kaz most of all. You didn’t want him to see you as an adult. Someone he could treat the same as others he worked with. You liked how it was, him always asking you if you’d slept, him telling you off when you became cheeky, when you ate like a girl starved. (Which you never were), when he’d let you, little by little break away his barriers.

With a pat on the back, a comment of praise, a loving look etc. What you both missed most of all was your night talks. Where you’d talk about anyone or thing. Nothing was off limits, it was in these talks that you found out about Kaz’s past.

His change of scenery from his fathers farm to the bustling streets of Ketterdam, the con played by one Jakob Hertzoon on two unknowing boys. How they were cheated out of their inheritance, Jordie’s death and the eventual reasoning behind Kaz and his fear of touch.

You vowed with him to bring Pekka down.

The words which he uttered, ‘Brick by Brick’ held new meaning in your eyes. And you and Kaz held them dear, you would do anything to bring the ‘King’ of the Barrel to his knees.

After such a monumental breakthrough, even if Kaz wouldn’t admit it, you drifted and it stung.

“Early as always.”

“What else do you expect from me?”

“For you to run away, play with your little friends rather than do your job.”

You lifted your head from your book, “I know I’ve been gone a bit, but I always get the job done. I’m always there.”

“I know you are. But as a Crow you’re supposed to be at every meeting, every briefing. Just because you’re a child it does not give you a free pass to skip out on anything.”

“I’m not a child.”

“No? You run away from your responsibilities, the plan is as important as the mission. You should know the ins and outs, the layout of the area rather than running around aimlessly before finally finding a window to go through.”

“That’s was one time!”

“It’s not good enough. You’re not good enough.”

You slammed the book down on the table and rose from your seat, “I’m sorry if I’m not fucking perfect Kaz. But I’m human. We all make mistakes and you know that. There’s a reason you always make me go over every plan. You’re not subtle, having Inej bring me plans as ‘potential opportunities’ and asking for my opinion. I know she relays all the information to you. I’m fourteen not stupid.”

“It’s been a while since I heard that phrase.”

“Oh fuck you.”

“Y/n.”

You stopped in your tracks, you knew that tone, you’d heard it on countless heists and with it you knew not to mess around. You turned slowly and crossed your arms, “What?”

“Brick by Brick.”

You sighed, the words had been lost to you, having not said them in forever.

“Brick by Brick.”

“Those words are close to me. I do not take them lightly, they’re a promise, it will happen. Don’t make me regret telling you of my past if you’re slacking. If you’re slipping, if you can’t handle yourself you can’t handle this life. If you’d rather be an ordinary girl I can organise a wealthy family to adopt you. It wouldn’t be hard, you’re well educated, mannered even if you’ve shown a lack of them in the past few years. But if you want to continue, continue with the Crows then let me know right now. I cannot have someone lacking in focus and effort because they’re moping about change.”

“I want to be here, I do. And the phrase, means a lot to you I know. I know how hard it was for you to share your past with me and i’m grateful you did. It showed me so much more to you. You built all of this from the ground and as much as you’d never admit it, it means a lot to you. The Crows do. I’d never want to jeopardise all you’ve done. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting and I promise to get my act together. I don’t remember much from my years before here. And I don’t want to. This is my life, I was made for this.”

“That’s the Y/n I know. Now, go over the plan before everyone arrives.”

You sat back down, “Brick by Brick.”

You looked up and grinned, “Brick by Brick.”

[writeandsurvive]

Through it all ~ Manny Perez

Author's note: first work for Captain Perez from Fire Country! this show became my absolute fav, and I have a soft spot for Manny! I hope there are several others like me out there! Summary: Pregnancy scare leads to a long awaited convo and decisions Warnings: age gap, pregnancy (talk), kinda smut towards the end

Keeping a relationship secret in a small town like Edgewater isn’t an easy thing to do. Especially when you’ve lived there most of your life and know basically everyone. Even more when the person you are dating works for Cal Fire and more specifically, is the Captain of Three Rock. But somehow, you and Manny Perez managed to do it. For almost two years. 

At first, keeping it a secret was the best thing to do, for everyone. You were quite younger than Manny, became friends with his daughter Gabriela, and so close to the Leones, you feel like one of them. You grew up with Bode and Riley, making Vince and Sharon your surrogate parents. Manny respects them way too much to do anything to jeopardize his friendship with them. After all, he considers that Sharon saved his life when she welcomed him into Three Rock several years ago, allowing him to turn his life around.

But time went by. You and Manny were very much in love, becoming pretty serious. Or so you thought, until that day when everything came crashing down. 

You thought you were pregnant. Your period was late, which never happens. You felt tired, your breasts were hurting. This could’ve been just PMS symptoms but something didn’t feel like it was. You thought about getting a pregnancy test, but you knew everyone at the pharmacy. So, you ordered it online and the next day, there it was.

A part of you wanted to do this with Manny, but you were also scared. The baby (and wedding) talk was something that has been avoided through the entire relationship. Him being older, having a grown up daughter, being divorced… Did he want to do it all over again? The most likely answer was no. And this would’ve put an end to your relationship cause you didn’t imagine your life without kids. Weddings could be discussed. 

So, you did the test. Set the alarm for a few minutes, and waited. 

Negative. 

You cried. Bawled, actually. If you put aside what could go wrong with this, you wanted a baby. A part of you hoped you were pregnant. You loved Manny with all your heart, you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him. You wanted to carry his child. 

You don’t remember how long you stayed in the bathroom crying. But it was long enough for Manny to come in, find you in there and ask what was wrong, as he held you close to his chest. 

“I thought I was pregnant and we were gonna have a baby” You admitted through the tears, pointing at the test sitting on the sink. 

Manny didn’t react immediately. Your face was still hiding in his neck, so you couldn’t see his face. He stayed silent for a long time, just holding you, kissing the top of your head. But you could hear his heart beating faster. Was this a good sign?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He whispered.

“We never talked about this. I didn’t know how you’d react. I still don’t, actually.”

He stayed silent again. So, you had to ask. 

“Are you sad or relieved that I’m not pregnant, Manny?”

“I don’t know.” He continued to hold you but the long silence afterwards broke your heart more than those words did. 

That led to the worst weeks ever. You had the baby talk, and Manny admitted that he didn’t know if he wanted another child or not. “I’m old enough to be a grandpa.” He kept repeating. Technically, that was true. But you never cared about his age. You would try to kiss him and playfully joke that he’d be a sexy young grandpa but deep down you could see the doubt in his mind growing more and more as he became increasingly distant.

He cared about your age.

Eventually, the answer was no. He didn’t want any more kids. He didn’t want to get married again. And you didn’t see your life without kids. There was no compromise possible. So, you broke up. Your heart shattered and your bed always felt cold now without him there every night.

The rough part of this breakup was having to hide how broken-hearted you were. No one knew, and there was no point to them knowing now. You had to pretend. And so had Manny. Everytime you ran into him, you stared at each other like two lost puppies. It was surprising that no one noticed. You were not okay, and neither was he. 

Whenever you saw him at Smokey’s, having a drink - by himself or with someone - you approached him softly, touching his arm or shoulder if he was seated. “How many?” You’d gently asked. His past struggle with alcohol worried you. 

“Not many, don’t worry, cariño.” He’d smiled. You believed him.

At some point, pretending was just too much, so you found an arrangement with your job to work remotely and left Edgewater to visit family many miles away. You stayed there for several weeks. You needed to cut it off to get over Manny. Not that you actually believed that you could. 

When you came back to town, you gave a heads up to Vince and Sharon only. And of course, they immediately invited you over for dinner. You were only slightly better, and had started accepting the breakup. Avoiding Manny a little more should help. 

That was until you saw him at the Leone's house. In his Cal Fire comfy clothes, sitting on the couch with Vince as they watched some sports. Did they invite him too?

Vince immediately jumped off the couch to hug you, your feet no longer touching the floor. “I missed you sweetie.” He kissed your forehead. 

“I missed you too, Vince.”

Manny hadn’t moved from the couch, clearly as shocked as you by the encounter. You slowly approached him as he stood up, and hugged each other awkwardly. He looked like he hasn’t slept in weeks, maybe dropped a few pounds too. His scent immediately intoxicated you. Could this hug last forever? 

“Manny is staying with us, so he’ll join us for dinner.”

Staying with them? You clearly missed something while you were gone. 

While Vince helped Sharon in the kitchen, you and Manny sat down on the couch. “Why are you staying with them?” You asked. 

“It’s—“ he cleared his throat. “A long story. Don’t worry about it. How was your vacation?”

“It wasn’t a vaca— don’t change the subject, Manny. What’s going on?”

The Leones came back with some drinks, to Manny’s relief. But you were not giving up. 

It was hard to focus on the Leones and what they were saying, no matter how interesting, or intriguing it was. You couldn’t take your eyes and mind off Manny, who stayed pretty silent the entire evening. When there was a moment of silence during dinner, you lost control of your own mouth. 

“You’re catching me up with everything that happened in town, except for the most evident thing.” You stared at Manny. “Is there a big secret you’re all keeping from me that I’m not supposed to know about?”

Vince and Sharon looked at each other before looking at Manny. Clearly, it was his decision to explain or keep it a secret. 

“It’s not like nobody knows,” Sharon said. 

“It’s also not that easy to admit what a screw up I am, especially to–” Manny let go of his fork and stood up, “Excuse me.” You all watched him as he left the house. 

You didn’t think for too long before standing up too and following him outside. He was sitting in his car, engine on. You opened the passenger door and joined him inside.

“Going somewhere?”

He huffed. “Like I have somewhere else to go.”

“My place?” You offered.

“We broke up.”

“Doesn’t make us strangers, does it?”

He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, so you moved on the edge of your seat to get closer, and ran your hand through his messy hair. He only tilted his head to the side to take a look at you. “Talk to me, amor.” you whispered.

“I handled our break up poorly,” the volume of his voice met yours. “I didn’t handle it at all, actually.” his eyes started to fill with tears. “At first, I just wanted to take my mind off things– off you. It was to be one night, one game. But I won, and wanted to win more. And it was sorta working, you know? As I was playing, I wasn’t focusing on you, on us, on how unfair this is.” A single tear started to roll down his cheeks. “I’ve lost everything. My money, Gabriela’s money, my house, my insurance. And on top of that, I don’t have you anymore either.” He sat back properly on his seat, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m a fucking mess.”

You held his hand for a brief moment, before pulling on it so he would get closer. His face rested on your chest, he was trying really hard not to cry too much. On the other hand, tears were rolling down your cheeks. 

“It doesn’t matter what our relationship is, you’ll always have me, Manny. Through it all.” You kiss the top of his head, “I’ll help you get back on your feet.”

He immediately sat back up, like we triggered him. “I’m not taking money from you. I already owe 10,000 bucks to Vince.”

“Fine, but that’s not what I was talking about. Are you getting professional help?”

“Not yet, I–”

“Then you will. If staying with Vince and Sharon suits you, then stay there. Otherwise, you know my door is open. How’s your relationship with Gabs?”

“Stop it. This is not up to you to fix me. I’m a grown man, I can do this by myself.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t broken up.”

“We wouldn’t have broken up, if I agreed to have kids.”

“But you don’t and that’s okay. I get it.”

“Good, cause I don’t. What if I’m missing my second chance in life? What if–” he looked straight into your eyes, “I’m missing my one true chance at happiness?”

Manny Perez went through so many bad things over the years. Being a quite young dad, prison, money issues, rocky relationship with Gabriela’s mother leading to a bad divorce, alcoholism and now the break up and gambling. This man is one of the best humans you’ve ever met, but life keeps throwing curve balls at him. He deserves the world, and all you want is to give it to him. 

You didn’t have any words at this very moment. All you wanted was to hold him, kiss him and never let go. So that was exactly what you did. You moved as close as possible to him, grabbed him by his neck and planted your lips on his. You were both needy, like two junkies getting their fix. While never stopping the kiss, you found yourself straddling his lap before you realized. 

“Te quiero,” you whispered between kisses. It drives Manny crazy whenever you talk in Spanish to him. 

“Yo te quiero mas.” 

His hands were all over you, and yours all over him. Manny buried his face in your neck, kissing and sucking on your sensitive spot only he knows so well, earning a moan from you. 

Neither of you saw nor heard Vince getting out of the house, until he knocked at the car’s window. You immediately jumped off Manny, trying to make yourself presentable. Manny tried to hide his growing erection the best he could before opening the window. 

“How long?” was the first thing Vince asked.

“Two years.” Manny answered. “But it’s–over,”

Vince couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, is it?”

“It’s complicated, V.” you said, “Do you need something?”

“At this very moment, answers. But I suppose I’ll have to wait. Are you sleeping here tonight, Cap, or–somewhere else?”

You and Manny looked at each other for a moment. 

“I have custody for the night.” You tried to joke. 

“Don’t feed him after midnight.” Vince bent over a little to kiss our forehead before leaving. 

“Drive us home, Gizmo. We need to talk.”

“Alright, but drop the joke right now.”

He knew you better than that.

The ride was silent. Both in your own thoughts. 

Manny didn’t get out of the car when he pulled over at your place, but got him to follow you inside in the end. He had barely taken off his shoes, that your arms were around his middle, and you tiptoed to kiss his lips. 

“This is probably not a good idea, cariño.” He said, even though he intensified the kiss. 

“I honestly don’t care right now.” 

You walked backwards to your bedroom while still kissing each other, and Manny didn’t fight for even a second. He gently laid you down on the bed, getting on top of you. It didn’t take long until clothes were flying across the room. “I missed you.” He confessed, touching you everywhere he could. “Why did you leave?”

“It was too hard staying here, seeing you almost everyday. I had to get some distance, to process and accept.”

His strong naked body was covering yours. His hard cock was pressing against your wet pussy. His forehead against yours, his nose stroking yours, he softly asked, “And did you?”

“Does it look like I did?”

He chuckled and you kissed his dimple. “I need you, Manny.”

“Need you more.” On those words, he slowly entered you. 

Sex with Manny has always been amazing since the first time. He was your perfect match, and you were his. You discovered several things with him, and you both tried new things together. And every single time was mind blowing. But that night wasn’t about that. That night, he made love to you, like it was the last time ever. It felt both amazing and heartbreaking. 

But it couldn’t be the last time. 

“Maybe I don’t need kids to be happy.” You said as you were both lying down and cuddling. “Maybe I just need you.”

Manny didn’t react immediately. You could hear he was taking deep breaths, probably trying to get a hold on his emotions. After several seconds, he rolled to the side and rested on his elbow. “No.” He just said. 

“No?” You looked at him, confused. 

“You want kids. You want to be a mom. I’ve seen you with kids, I’ve seen you cry when the test came back negative.”

“But the thing is I don’t want kids with someone other than you.” Your tone was sharp, because you were getting angry. Why was he fighting on this? This was your decision. 

“For now.” 

“For fuck sake’s, Manny! I know what I want and don’t want, okay? I’d rather be with you, and not have kids, than be with someone else and have kids with them.” 

“You’re sacrificing yourself.”

“I’m making a choice. I’m choosing you.”

His voice broke. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I love you, Manuel Perez.” You stroked his cheek, “Sorry. Manuel Gizmo Perez.”

He laughed and kissed you. 

~

Over the next weeks, Manny went to counseling with your support. For everyone - especially Gabriela -, he was still living with the Leones, but the reality was he spent all of his nights at your place, where he belonged. He still refused your money, but got a second job on a boat to help pay his debts. It didn’t give him a lot of free time or even time to rest, so you tried to make it as easy as possible for him. You made sure he ate properly, slept the bare minimum, you even helped with Three Rock paperwork. 

“She’s my rock, Vince.” He admitted to his friend, as they were having a drink together. “She’s been amazing to me and I can’t even—get her something. Invite her to a restaurant, a gate away or something.” 

“That’ll come, man. For now, all she needs is for you to be okay.” 

“I have to say I’m surprised you didn’t kick my ass when you found out. I know you love her like your own daughter.”

“I do. To be honest, Shar and I have been suspicious for a while, and we agree she can’t find a better man than you. I mean, we’ve met her exes—“ he laughed and Manny joined. 

“Doesn't the age difference—shock you?”

“You’re both grown adults. But can I say something you may not enjoy hearing?”

“Go ahead, Chief.”

“She’s meant to be a mom.”

Vince didn’t know how right he was. But you and Manny agreed you wouldn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy before he told Gabriela. 

“How was lunch with Vince?” You asked as Manny came back home. 

“Nice. I got you those wings and spicy sauce you’ve been craving.” He handed you the brown bag, and you got excited about eating the wings. “I still think it’s a bad idea for you to eat the sauce, amor. You can’t stand spice.”

“Clearly, the baby isn’t aware of that.” 

Manny disappeared in the kitchen and came back with a big glass of milk. “Just in case.”

“Thanks guapo.”

He sat next to you, you kissed him briefly before attacking your food. 

“You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

“Was hard not to, cause he brought it up. But I want to talk to Gabby first.”

“When are you planning to tell her?” You asked, with your mouth full. 

“Tonight. I told her I’d stop by her place.”

The spices were hitting up. You were sticking out your tongue like a dog, and trying to create some air with your hands. Manny laughed and grabbed the milk for you. “Told you.” You started to drink some milk and your boyfriend got closer, leaning down to be right next to your stomach. “You can’t do this to your mama, baby. But clearly, you’re a Latino.” 

“He or she is a Perez.” You said between sips.

“Maybe mama should be a Perez too.” He said with a huge grin on his face.